Letter 5036: VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 36

VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 36 From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: Starcedius, a Distinguished Man Date: ~522 AD Context: A Gothic veteran, worn out by continuous service, is honorably discharged from active duty but stripped of his donative, since it would be unjust for an idle man to take what belongs to those still fighting. [1] You claim that continuous military service has so broken your body that you, once fit for the honors of war, can now barely manage even a life of leisure. You ask to be excused from our most successful campaigns -- not because you lack the will, but because necessity compels you. After thoroughly investigating your claims and finding them true, we grant you an honorable retirement by this order, since it is no mark of cowardice when a man is excused by genuine misfortune. [2] But just as we grant you a life of ease, we also, by this authority, remove your donative, since it would be unjust for a man found to be capable of supporting himself to receive what belongs to those still serving. Enjoy your secure life, then, protected by our favor from the threats of others. No one will brand you with the shame of a deserter, since those who are suspended from service by illness are rightly treated with respect for their earlier deeds. A man whom our judgment has seen fit to release deserves no reproach from anyone.

XXXVI. STARCEDIO V. S. THEODERICUS REX. [1] Continuatis laboribus attritum corpus debilitatem tibi causaris attulisse membrorum, ut, qui ante bellicis fueras aptus insignibus, nunc vel ad otiosam vitam vix idoneus approberis: expetens, ut ad expeditiones felicissimas non cogaris, a quibus non voto, sed necessitate subduceris. atque ideo allegationibus tuis diutius perquisitis et ad rerum fidem deductis otium tibi non ignobile praesenti iussione largimur, quia non est ignaviae culpa, quem excusat miseranda calamitas. [2] Sed sicut tibi remissam vitam concedimus, ita te donativo praesenti auctoritate privamus, quia non est aequum, ut, cum de tuo cognoscaris idoneus, rem laborantium accipere debeas otiosus. fruere igitur secura vita a diversorum insidiis nostro munimine liberatus. nec aliquis tibi imputabit desertoris opprobrium, quando illi, quos contigerit a militia morbi causa suspendi, ex prioribus factis habendi sunt iure reverendi. nec enim dignus est a quoquam redargui, qui nostro iudicio meretur absolvi.