Cassiodorus→Cyprianus, of Sacred Largesses|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
education books
VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 40
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus
To: Cyprianus, Count of the Sacred Largesses
Date: ~522 AD
Context: A glowing commendation of Cyprianus -- his eloquence, trilingual skill, diplomatic service to Constantinople, and above all his trustworthiness -- upon his appointment to a major financial office.
[1] Although we are glad to have often exceeded petitioners' hopes, and -- what is hardest of all -- to have sometimes surpassed the very ambitions of human desire, we embrace most gladly those grants which we know we have made on merit. A man to whom the power of judgment is entrusted must be weighed carefully, and a sovereign should choose the kind of official the law itself would prescribe. Rich veins of gemstones gain their value from the gleam of gold, and they acquire their beauty of appearance because no base neighbor tarnishes their luster. [2] Just so, good character joined with splendid office creates mutual glory, and a single appointment shines the brighter for the beauty it has acquired. We did not rely on purchased praise or noisy rumor when judging you, for you have pleased us many times while we watched. You used to present the confused complaints of petitioners in a clear and lucid report; those who could not express their own grievances won their cases thanks to your advocacy. And to ensure no suspicion of favoritism, you presented the petitioners' requests in their very presence. [3] The desires of disputing parties converged on your voice, and -- a rare achievement in the art of persuasion -- you pleased both sides equally, which puts even professional orators to shame. For while it is their business to prepare a long and careful case for one party, you always had to present both sides of a sudden dispute on the spot. Add to this the weighty solemnity of the royal presence, under which you performed with such ease that what professional advocates can scarcely obtain from judges through artful rhetoric, you were proven to win from the sovereign through plain, honest argument. [4] Our readiness to decide in favor of the public good meant no delay in hearing a case. As soon as you presented the matter, the case was understood -- and why would a verdict be slow when you could summarize the arguments with brilliant brevity? You learned to judge, we believe, by serving our own court -- and so, in the most effective form of apprenticeship, you were trained by doing rather than by reading. [5] Equipped by such training, you undertook the duty of an embassy to the East, sent to men of the highest learning. But you were not overawed by them, for nothing could seem remarkable to you after serving us. Fluent in three languages, you found nothing in Greece that could astonish you, and even the sharp wit for which the Greeks are famous could not surpass you. [6] To your other merits was added that quality more precious than any praise: faithfulness -- which God cherishes and mortals revere. For amid the stormy seas of this world, where can human frailty find a firm footing if not in loyalty?
XL.
CYPRIANO COMITI SACRARUM THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Quamvis ultra desideria supplicum frequenter nos praestitisse beneficia gaudeamus et, quod est difficillimum, humanae ambitionis interdum vota superemus, haec tamen libentius amplectimur, quae nos merito fecisse gloriamur. diu quippe trutinandus est, cui traduntur examina, talisque debet a principe deligi, qualis ab ipsa potest lege dictari. gemmarum divites venae auri fulgore pretiantur et gratiam pulchritudinis capiunt, quia nulla degeneri vicinitate sordescunt. [2] Sic bone merita splendidis dignitatibus sociata alternis praeconiis adiuvantur et unius rei facies de adiuncta venustate pulchrescit: non enim de te aliquid redemptae laudi aut loquaci famae credidimus, qui nobis spectantibus saepe placuisti. interpellantium siquidem confuses querelas distincta nimis ac lucida relatione narrabas, et qui proprios dolores expromere non poterant, tuis commendati allegationibus obtinebant, et ne favoris alicuius putaretur excessus, desideria supplicum ipsis praesentibus intimabas. [3] Ori tuo altercantium desideria convenerunt et, quod difficillimum gratiae genus est, alternae parti indiscreta laude placuisti, quae res ipsos oratores quoque postponit. nam cum illis sit propositum diu tractata unius partis vota dicere, tibi semper necesse fuit repentinum negotium utroque latere declarare. additur etiam regalis praesentiae geniatissimum pondus, sub quo te ita facile contigit expeditum, ut quod illi vix possunt artificiosis schematibus a iudicibus obtinere, tu probareris a principe puris allegationibus impetrare. [4] Erat nimirum serenitatis nostrae in bonum publicum parata sententia, quia nullam tarditatem in cognoscendo negotio sustinebat. mox enim a te narrata causa conspecta est, et cur tardaret negotii finis, cum tu suggestionem lucida brevitate concluderes? didicisti, ut credimus, iudicare nostris serviendo iudiciis: ita, quod efficacissimum discipulatus genus est, agendo potius instructus es quam legendo. [5] Talibus igitur institutis edoctus Eoae sumpsisti legationis officium, missus ad summae quidem peritiae viros: sed nulla inter eos confusus es trepidatione, quia nihil tibi post nos potuit esse mirabile. instructus enim trifariis linguis non tibi Graecia quod novum ostentaret invenit nec ipsa, qua nimium praevalet, te transcendit argutia. [6] Accessit meritis tuis cunctis laudibus pretiosior fides, quam divina diligunt, mortalia venerantur. nam inter mundi fluctuantes procellas unde se humana fragilitas contineret, si nostris actibus mentis firmitas non adesset? haec inter socios amicitiam servat, haec dominis pura integritate famulatur, haec supernae maiestati reverentiam piae credulitatis impendit et, si beneficium tantae rei latius quaeras, incommutabilis fidei est omne quod bene vivitur. [7] Sume igitur per indictionem tertiam sacrarum largitionum deo propitio dignitatem. utere congruis tuis natalibus institutis. meruisti hactenus, ut honorum fastigia cederemus: age nunc, ut tibi gratiae nostrae celsiora nihilominus conferamus.
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VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 40
From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: Cyprianus, Count of the Sacred Largesses Date: ~522 AD Context: A glowing commendation of Cyprianus -- his eloquence, trilingual skill, diplomatic service to Constantinople, and above all his trustworthiness -- upon his appointment to a major financial office.
[1] Although we are glad to have often exceeded petitioners' hopes, and -- what is hardest of all -- to have sometimes surpassed the very ambitions of human desire, we embrace most gladly those grants which we know we have made on merit. A man to whom the power of judgment is entrusted must be weighed carefully, and a sovereign should choose the kind of official the law itself would prescribe. Rich veins of gemstones gain their value from the gleam of gold, and they acquire their beauty of appearance because no base neighbor tarnishes their luster. [2] Just so, good character joined with splendid office creates mutual glory, and a single appointment shines the brighter for the beauty it has acquired. We did not rely on purchased praise or noisy rumor when judging you, for you have pleased us many times while we watched. You used to present the confused complaints of petitioners in a clear and lucid report; those who could not express their own grievances won their cases thanks to your advocacy. And to ensure no suspicion of favoritism, you presented the petitioners' requests in their very presence. [3] The desires of disputing parties converged on your voice, and -- a rare achievement in the art of persuasion -- you pleased both sides equally, which puts even professional orators to shame. For while it is their business to prepare a long and careful case for one party, you always had to present both sides of a sudden dispute on the spot. Add to this the weighty solemnity of the royal presence, under which you performed with such ease that what professional advocates can scarcely obtain from judges through artful rhetoric, you were proven to win from the sovereign through plain, honest argument. [4] Our readiness to decide in favor of the public good meant no delay in hearing a case. As soon as you presented the matter, the case was understood -- and why would a verdict be slow when you could summarize the arguments with brilliant brevity? You learned to judge, we believe, by serving our own court -- and so, in the most effective form of apprenticeship, you were trained by doing rather than by reading. [5] Equipped by such training, you undertook the duty of an embassy to the East, sent to men of the highest learning. But you were not overawed by them, for nothing could seem remarkable to you after serving us. Fluent in three languages, you found nothing in Greece that could astonish you, and even the sharp wit for which the Greeks are famous could not surpass you. [6] To your other merits was added that quality more precious than any praise: faithfulness -- which God cherishes and mortals revere. For amid the stormy seas of this world, where can human frailty find a firm footing if not in loyalty?
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.