Letter 3040: Although a multitude of cares presses upon our compassionate mind and our customary diligence turns to the various...
Although a multitude of cares presses upon our compassionate mind and our customary diligence turns to the various parts of our kingdom, we have quickly looked to provide remedies for your welfare. In our conscience, to delay what would help people is itself a kind of injury, and we cannot consider pleasant what has been held in suspense by unwelcome delay. When illness grows worse, the damage runs unchecked while the medicine is postponed.
Therefore, to you who have been devastated by enemy ferocity, know that your tax obligations are remitted for the fourth indiction, in proportion to the damage suffered. We do not take pleasure in collecting what we know the taxpayer offers in sorrow. However, from what remains untouched, military expenses must still be supported -- those who know the army fights on their behalf cannot entirely abandon their duty. A hungry defender is a weak one, and the spirit cannot summon courage when the body's strength has failed.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.
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