Letter 5017: King Theodoric to Abundantius, Praetorian Prefect.
Cassiodorus→Abundantius|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
travel mobilitywomen
King Theodoric to Abundantius, Praetorian Prefect.
[This is the follow-up letter, celebrating the remarkably swift construction of the fleet ordered in V.16, and issuing orders for the final outfitting.]
One must press eagerly forward with what has been begun when the nearness of completion already beckons, since the hope of a finished result banishes the weariness of labor, and it is a powerful incentive to believe that what you desire is about to be achieved. Some time ago we ordered Your Greatness to prepare the services of sailors from the shores of Italy, so that the warships our industry was able to build might be received by the crew of oarsmen we had arranged. And you -- responding to our judgment and our choice -- have shown how certain the result is when the most effective men are given the command. You report as already finished what we could scarcely believe had been started. The speed with which the ships were built almost rivals the speed at which they sail.
And it was not merely a report in words: you have placed before our eyes a sudden forest of ships -- floating houses, marching vehicles that never tire, carrying men unshaken to their destination. This triple-oared vessel reveals only the number of its oars, carefully hiding the faces of its crew. We read that the Argonauts were the first to devise such things -- and they are suited alike to warfare and to commerce. Now we who used to watch foreign fleets with envy may send our own to other provinces, carrying both awe and splendor.
You have adorned the state with this achievement of yours. The Greek has nothing to throw in our face, nor the African to mock us for. What they achieved through great expenditure, our detractors can see flourishing among us. Now prepare the rigging for the said ships -- above all the sails, those wings of ships, that flying timber, that spirit of the moving hulls, the heralds of cargo, the quiet helpers of sailors. Through their gift, men at ease accomplish what even the swiftest birds can barely match.
Isis is said to have been the first to hang a sail, when that daring woman searched the seas in maternal love for her son Harpocrates. Thus, while a mother's devotion hastened to fulfill her longing, she seemed to have unlocked what the world did not yet know. And so, with divine help -- whose power it is to bring human hopes to fulfillment -- let the entire fleet gather at the city of Ravenna by the Ides of June [June 13], so that this enterprise, now rejoicing in its approaching completion, may be brought to its fullest effect.
Since we wish, with God's help, to expand the number of our warships, any timber suited to their construction that can be found along either bank of the Po is to be cut without any obstruction. We wish materials found there to be used only for the present project, without prejudice to the owners. Let our Po send its native ships to the sea, and let the fir tree, which grew nourished by the river's current, learn to ride the swells of the open ocean.
We have also seen fit to put a stop to something that your report has brought to our attention: no one may dare to block the channels of navigable rivers flowing through various territories -- namely the Mincio, the Oglio, the Auser [near Lucca], the Arno, and the Tiber -- with the shameful practice of setting fish traps, and whatever obstructions have been placed must be immediately removed. Let the river remain open for the passage of ships. Let it suffice for human desire to seek its delicacies by the customary arts of fishing, without blocking the freedom of rivers by rustic contrivances -- lest, God forbid, private pleasure be seen to have obstructed the public good.
XVII.
ABUNDANTIO PPO THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Alacriter incumbendum est incohatis, cum iam vicinitas perfectionis arriserit, quando spes effectus taedium laboris excludit et magnum genus incitamenti credere desiderata compleri. dudum igitur magnitudini vestrae ex Italiae litoribus officia iussimus praeparare nautarum, ut dromones, quos industria fabricare valuisset, manus remigum provisa susciperet. sed tu iudicio nostro electionique respondens ostendisti, quam fuerit indubitata perfectio efficacissimis imperasse, quod quaeritur. renuntias ilico completum, quod vix credi poterat incohatum, ut paene quanta velocitate navigari solet constructio navium, tanta sit celeritate completa. [2] Nec solum verba narrata sunt: obtulisti oculis nostris subito classeam silvam, domos aquatiles, exercituales pedes, qui nullo labore deficiant, sed inconcussos homines ad destinata perducant, trireme vehiculum remorum tantum numerum prodens, sed hominum facies diligenter abscondens. hoc primum instituisse legimus Argonautas. quod et armatis aptum et congruum probatur esse commerciis, ut, qui peregrinas classes optabamus aspicere, nunc mittamus aliis provinciis et terrorem pariter et decorem. [3] Ornasti rem publicam tua institutione reparatam. non habet quod nobis Graecus imputet aut Afer insultet. illud apud nos invidi vigere respiciunt, unde illi per magna pretia sua vota complebant. nunc praedictis rebus armamenta procurate, vela praecipue alas navium facientia, lignum volatile, quidam spiritus currentium carinarum, praenuntia mercium, auxilia quieta nautarum, quorum beneficio conficiunt otiosi, quod a celerrimis avibus vix probatur impleri. [4] Hoc Isis rati prima suspendit, cum per maria Harpocran filium suum audaci femina pietate perquireret. ita dum materna caritas suum desiderium festinat explere, mundi visa est ignota reserare. atque ideo, divino nobis auxilio suffragante cuius virtutis est hominum vota perficere, proximo die iduum Iuniarum ad urbem Ravennatem congregatio navium cuncta convcniat, quatenus res vicino fine gaudentes ad plenissimum perducantur effectum. [5] Sed quoniam dromonum numerum iuvante deo cupimus ampliari, si qua ligna fabricis eorum necessaria per utramque Padi ripam potuerint inveniri, nullo obsistente iubemus abscidi, quia sine praeiudicio dominorum operi tantum praesenti volumus inventa concedi. mittat Padus noster indigenas pelago naves et abies, quae fluentis amnicis nutrita surrexit, marinarum superare cumulos discat undarum. [6] Illud etiam magnopere credidimus amputandum, quod vestra fieri suggestione comperimus: ne quis in fluminibus navigeris diversis territoriis meantibus, id est in Mincio Ollio Ausere Arno Tiberi, audeat fluminum alveos piscandi studio turpissima saepe concludere, et quae sunt praesumpta, protinus auferantur. pateat amnis in navium cursus: sufficiat humano desiderio consuetis artibus delicias quaerere, non commento rustico libertatem fluminis impedire, ne, quod dici nefas est, utilitati publicae voluptas privata obstitisse videatur.
◆
King Theodoric to Abundantius, Praetorian Prefect.
[This is the follow-up letter, celebrating the remarkably swift construction of the fleet ordered in V.16, and issuing orders for the final outfitting.]
One must press eagerly forward with what has been begun when the nearness of completion already beckons, since the hope of a finished result banishes the weariness of labor, and it is a powerful incentive to believe that what you desire is about to be achieved. Some time ago we ordered Your Greatness to prepare the services of sailors from the shores of Italy, so that the warships our industry was able to build might be received by the crew of oarsmen we had arranged. And you -- responding to our judgment and our choice -- have shown how certain the result is when the most effective men are given the command. You report as already finished what we could scarcely believe had been started. The speed with which the ships were built almost rivals the speed at which they sail.
And it was not merely a report in words: you have placed before our eyes a sudden forest of ships -- floating houses, marching vehicles that never tire, carrying men unshaken to their destination. This triple-oared vessel reveals only the number of its oars, carefully hiding the faces of its crew. We read that the Argonauts were the first to devise such things -- and they are suited alike to warfare and to commerce. Now we who used to watch foreign fleets with envy may send our own to other provinces, carrying both awe and splendor.
You have adorned the state with this achievement of yours. The Greek has nothing to throw in our face, nor the African to mock us for. What they achieved through great expenditure, our detractors can see flourishing among us. Now prepare the rigging for the said ships -- above all the sails, those wings of ships, that flying timber, that spirit of the moving hulls, the heralds of cargo, the quiet helpers of sailors. Through their gift, men at ease accomplish what even the swiftest birds can barely match.
Isis is said to have been the first to hang a sail, when that daring woman searched the seas in maternal love for her son Harpocrates. Thus, while a mother's devotion hastened to fulfill her longing, she seemed to have unlocked what the world did not yet know. And so, with divine help -- whose power it is to bring human hopes to fulfillment -- let the entire fleet gather at the city of Ravenna by the Ides of June [June 13], so that this enterprise, now rejoicing in its approaching completion, may be brought to its fullest effect.
Since we wish, with God's help, to expand the number of our warships, any timber suited to their construction that can be found along either bank of the Po is to be cut without any obstruction. We wish materials found there to be used only for the present project, without prejudice to the owners. Let our Po send its native ships to the sea, and let the fir tree, which grew nourished by the river's current, learn to ride the swells of the open ocean.
We have also seen fit to put a stop to something that your report has brought to our attention: no one may dare to block the channels of navigable rivers flowing through various territories -- namely the Mincio, the Oglio, the Auser [near Lucca], the Arno, and the Tiber -- with the shameful practice of setting fish traps, and whatever obstructions have been placed must be immediately removed. Let the river remain open for the passage of ships. Let it suffice for human desire to seek its delicacies by the customary arts of fishing, without blocking the freedom of rivers by rustic contrivances -- lest, God forbid, private pleasure be seen to have obstructed the public good.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.