Letter 4040: King Theodoric to the Agents of Probinus, Vir Illustris [Most Illustrious].
Cassiodorus→Agents of|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
imperial politics
King Theodoric to the Agents of Probinus, Vir Illustris [Most Illustrious].
We are sometimes compelled to issue sterner commands by our love of justice, since our heart inclines more gently toward those of lesser fortune. The man who can be overpowered moves us to compassion, and this is the advantage of modest station -- that, without prejudice to the merits of the case, it may at least arouse sympathy, since cruelty lifts up the humble while envy presses down the powerful.
In your petition you allege that the respectable Basilius previously obtained our order requiring your patron to return without delay the property called Arcinatina -- which your patron had purchased from Basilius's wife Agapita with full legal formality -- together with all its documents, on the grounds that Basilius was lamenting, with tearful complaint, that his wife had been lured away from the family home. You add that our justice subsequently ordered that if your patron was confident in the merits of his case, he should promptly send representatives to our court, so that what could be settled by reason might flow, as it were, from the very springs of justice.
If these claims are not vitiated by any falsehood, we decree that Basilius shall be summoned through the office of our court. If he has anything to argue in defense of his position to prevent the case from proceeding against him, let him appear to answer your claims -- whether he prefers to come to the court or to litigate in the appropriate local forum. We impose the burden of traveling a long distance on no one unless they recognize it serves their own interests. We offer our presence as a benefit; therefore it should not be forced upon the unwilling, since what deserves to be sought should not be imposed.
XL. ACTORIBUS PROBINI V. I. THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Districtius aliqua iubere compellimur amore iustitiae, dum circa minores fortunas clementiora sunt nostri pectoris instituta. trahit enim ad misericordiam, qui potuit subdi, et hoc habet beneficium mediocritatis suae, ut probatione salva interim moveat ad dolorem, quia crudelitas sublevat humiles, premit invidia potiores. [2] Datis itaque precibus allegatis Basilium virum spectabilem nostra dudum praecepta meruisse, ut possessio Arcinatina, quam patronus vester a coniuge eius Agapita iuris fuerat sollemnitate mercatus, postposita dilatione cum documentis omnibus praedicto coniugi redderetur, dum a suis penetralibus sollicitatam lacrimabili conquestione quereretur uxorem: addentes more nostrae iustitiae postea fuisse praeceptum, ut, si patroni vestri de causae qualitate praesumerent, ad nostrum comitatum ocius destinarent, ut quae ratione convenire poterant, velut a iustitiae fontibus emanarent. [3] Quapropter si nullo mendacio asserta vitiantur, per officium nostrae sedis Basilium decernimus ammoneri, ut, si non nihil est, quod pro suis partibus possit opponere, quominus in hac causa pulsetur, vestris intentionibus responsurus occurrat, seu ad comitatum venire seu in competenti foro iurgare maluerit, quia nullis necessitatem longinquitatis imponimus, nisi qui suis hoc commodis expedire cognoscunt. in locum siquidem beneficii nostram praesentiam damus: et ideo non debet invitis imponi, quod meretur optari.
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King Theodoric to the Agents of Probinus, Vir Illustris [Most Illustrious].
We are sometimes compelled to issue sterner commands by our love of justice, since our heart inclines more gently toward those of lesser fortune. The man who can be overpowered moves us to compassion, and this is the advantage of modest station -- that, without prejudice to the merits of the case, it may at least arouse sympathy, since cruelty lifts up the humble while envy presses down the powerful.
In your petition you allege that the respectable Basilius previously obtained our order requiring your patron to return without delay the property called Arcinatina -- which your patron had purchased from Basilius's wife Agapita with full legal formality -- together with all its documents, on the grounds that Basilius was lamenting, with tearful complaint, that his wife had been lured away from the family home. You add that our justice subsequently ordered that if your patron was confident in the merits of his case, he should promptly send representatives to our court, so that what could be settled by reason might flow, as it were, from the very springs of justice.
If these claims are not vitiated by any falsehood, we decree that Basilius shall be summoned through the office of our court. If he has anything to argue in defense of his position to prevent the case from proceeding against him, let him appear to answer your claims -- whether he prefers to come to the court or to litigate in the appropriate local forum. We impose the burden of traveling a long distance on no one unless they recognize it serves their own interests. We offer our presence as a benefit; therefore it should not be forced upon the unwilling, since what deserves to be sought should not be imposed.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.