Letter 4021: King Theodoric to Gemellus, Vir Spectabilis [Most Respectable].
Cassiodorus→Gemellus, a|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
imperial politics
King Theodoric to Gemellus, Vir Spectabilis [Most Respectable].
Although we trust in your diligence in carrying out your duties and in your care to avoid whatever you know displeases us, our reminder does not neglect even a conscientious man -- you will be better informed by receiving the specific instructions laid out below. Our orders should seem burdensome to no one, since the necessities of the time excuse the weight of what is commanded.
Be attentive, then, to what has been assigned to you. Vigilance is always necessary, but it is most valuable in times of necessity. Obey these reminders and conduct yourself with the provincials in the same spirit you see us wishing to show them -- so that, secure in our favor, you may gain everything that a conscientious man deserves by refusing the temptations of corruption.
XXI. GEMELLO V. S. THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Quamvis efficaciam tuam insistere credamus iniunctis et studiose deflectere quae nobis cognoveris displicere, tamen sollicitum ammonitio nostra non deserit, ut instructior reddaris, dum infra scriptis brevibus definita susceperis. proinde ordinatio nostra nulli videri debet ingrata, cum necessitas temporis excuset onera iussionis. [2] Esto itaque ad iniuncta sollicitus, quia licet sit semper adhibenda, maxima tamen utilis est in necessitate custodia. parebis ergo commonitus, ut sic possis cum provincialibus agere, quemadmodum nos eis respicis velle praestare, quatenus securus de nostra gratia consequaris, quicquid sollicitus de pravo studio habere contempseris.
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King Theodoric to Gemellus, Vir Spectabilis [Most Respectable].
Although we trust in your diligence in carrying out your duties and in your care to avoid whatever you know displeases us, our reminder does not neglect even a conscientious man -- you will be better informed by receiving the specific instructions laid out below. Our orders should seem burdensome to no one, since the necessities of the time excuse the weight of what is commanded.
Be attentive, then, to what has been assigned to you. Vigilance is always necessary, but it is most valuable in times of necessity. Obey these reminders and conduct yourself with the provincials in the same spirit you see us wishing to show them -- so that, secure in our favor, you may gain everything that a conscientious man deserves by refusing the temptations of corruption.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.