Letter 5041: VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 41

VARIAE, BOOK 5, LETTER 41 From: King Theoderic, writing through Cassiodorus To: The Senate of the City of Rome Date: ~522 AD Context: Theoderic announces the elevation of Cyprianus to the Senate, praising his service as a relator (court reporter) who could present cases even while the king rode on horseback. [1] Although our royal generosity has often produced candidates for your body, and our abundant favor has been, so to speak, a second nature for you, you now have a man whom it was fitting for us to choose and proper for you to receive. Just as it was fortunate for him to be raised by us, so it will be a credit to be admitted to your assembly by the law of honor. Yet the Senate enjoys one advantage over us: we employ even the unpolished recruit, while your body admits only those already proven worthy of high office. [2] Your order is rightly esteemed as distinguished, since it is always composed of the most thoroughly tested men. Its doors do not open to the unworthy; only those of the same caliber as its members are allowed to enter. Receive, then, a colleague whom our palace has tested through long examination -- a man who served our royal pronouncements so fearlessly that he often executed our commands while we ourselves watched and applauded. [3] You know exactly what we are talking about. Which of you was ever denied Cyprianus's assistance? Whoever sought his help soon received our favor. He frequently obtained during our horseback outings what used to be transacted in the formal audiences of old. Whenever we wished to refresh a mind wearied by the cares of state, we took to riding, so that variety might restore the body's strength and vigor. It was then that this delightful reporter would bring us complex cases, and his presentations never wearied us even when the judge's mood was impatient. [4] By skillfully introducing opportunities for our generosity, he refreshed our spirit, which was always eager to bestow favors. This is the candidate who attached himself to such service, and who served our temperament so well that no misstep ever brought him into disfavor. We often grew angry at dishonest cases, yet the voice of the reporter never displeased us. We sometimes condemned the case while admiring its advocate, and he repeatedly withstood the force of our temper because he possessed the secret of our goodwill. [5] He also boasts no obscure lineage. His father, as you will recall, was Opilio -- a man who, though he lived in diminished times, was still chosen for palace service. He could have risen much higher had his loyalty not withered under a stingy sovereign who offered no reward. What could a poor ruler give? Still, if he did not enrich Opilio, he made him known, since in the poverty of the state, to have earned even modest rewards is itself an abundance of praise. [6] Cyprianus has surpassed his forebears in the good fortune of the age, and whatever greater heights he has reached should be credited to our times. The measure of a subject's advancement always depends on the character of his ruler.

XLI. SENATUI URBIS ROMAE THEODERICUS REX. [1] Licet candidatos vobis frequenter genuerit munificentia principalis et fecunda indulgentia nostra vobis altera sit natura, habetis nunc profecto virum, quem et nos elegisse deceat et vos suscepisse conveniat. cui sicut fortunatum fuit a nobis erigi, ita laudabile erit vestro coetui honorum lege sociari. hoc tamen curiae felicius provenit, quod nobis et impolitus tiro militat, illa vero non recipit nisi qui iam dignus honoribus potuerit inveniri. [2] Convenienter ergo ordo vester aestimatur eximius, qui semper est de probatissimis congregatus. non enim illic profanis reseratur introitus, sed tales illuc permittuntur accedere, quales inde etiam cernuntur exire. suscipite itaque collegam, quem palatia nostra longa examinatione probaverunt: qui regiis ita intrepidus militavit affatibus, ut iussa nostra saepe nobis spectantibus atque laudantibus explicaret. [3] Cognoscitis profecto quae loquimur. quis enim vestrorum a Cypriani devotione summotus est? nam qui solacia eius petiit, mox beneficia nostra suscepit. obtinuit ille saepius in vectationibus nostris, quod in consistoriis agi solebat antiquis. si quando enim relevare libuit animum rei publicae cura fatigatum, equina exercitia petebamus, ut ipsa varietate rerum soliditas se corporis vigorque recrearet. tunc nobis causas multiplices relator delectabilis ingerebat eratque eius infastidita suggestio sub iudicis animo taedioso. [4] Ita dum causas praestandi benignus artifex ingerebat, reficiebatur animus beneficiorum aviditate succensus. his igitur adhaesit obsequiis candidatus, qui sic militavit animo nostro, ut nulla eum gravaret offensio. irascebamur saepe causis improbis, nec tamen displicere poterat lingua relatoris: damnabamus interdum negotium, cuius placebat assertor: et impetum nostri animi frequenter sustinuit, qui gratiae momenta possedit. [5] Gloriatur etiam non extrema luce natalium. nam pater huic, sicut meministis, Opilio fuit, vir abiectis quidem temporibus, ad excubias tamen palatinas electus. qui multo amplius crescere potuit, nisi fides eius sub avidissima remuneratoris sterilitate iacuisset. quid enim conferre poterat tenuis donator? qui si tamen non ditavit, innotuit, quia magnae abundantia laudis est in penuria rei publicae vel mediocria munera meruisse. [6] Vicit iste maiores suos felicitate saeculorum et, quod amplius evectus est, nostris est temporibus applicandum. talis quippe est in subiectis mensura provectuum, qualis fuerit et distantia dominorum. quapropter, patres conscripti, praedictum Cyprianum suis meritis et natalium splendore fulgentem ad sacrarum largitionum culmen eveximus, ut et vester augeatur numerus et incitetur devotio servientum. aestimate, reverentissimi patres, quid de vestro ordine senserimus, quando eos, quos vobis aggregandos credimus, multiplici allegatione praedicamus.