Letter 6003: Formula of the Praetorian Prefecture.
Cassiodorus→Unknown|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
imperial politicsproperty economics
Formula of the Praetorian Prefecture.
[The Variae include official formulae -- template documents describing the powers and dignities of major offices, used when appointing new holders.]
If the origin of any office deserves praise, if a noble beginning can lend glory to what follows, then the Praetorian Prefecture boasts a founder who was both supremely wise in worldly affairs and supremely pleasing to God. For when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was troubled by unheard-of dreams about the threat of future famine, and no human counsel could interpret the vision, it was the blessed Joseph who was found -- a man who could both truly predict the future and provide for a people in peril with the greatest foresight.
He was the first to consecrate the insignia of this office. He was the first to ascend its honored chariot. He was raised to such a height of glory that through wisdom he could give the people what the king's power alone could not provide. From that patriarch the title "father of the empire" is still used today, and even now the herald's cry echoes his name -- instructing the judge never to allow himself to fall short of that example. Rightly so: for one to whom such power could be given should always be subtly reminded of his responsibility.
This office shares certain powers in common with our own royal authority. The prefect summons people from distant places without limitation. He imposes heavy fines on offenders. He distributes the treasury at his own discretion. He grants transport warrants with equal authority. He confiscates vacant estates. He punishes the offenses of provincial judges. He pronounces sentence by his spoken word alone. What has not been entrusted to a man whose very word constitutes a judgment? He comes close to being able to make law, since the reverence due his office allows him to settle disputes without appeal.
When he enters the palace, he is regularly saluted by the custom owed to us -- and such an office seems to bend the usual rules, which in other cases would invite reproach. No office, then, equals his in power. He judges everywhere in place of the sacred [imperial] authority. No soldier may claim jurisdiction over him, except the staff of the Master of Soldiers -- a concession, I believe, because antiquity chose to yield something to those who were seen to conduct wars for the state. He even disciplines city councillors, who are called by law the "lesser senate."
He holds a unique authority over his own staff, and is known to command men whom even provincial governors would not dare to slight in any respect. His staff is talented, effective, well-trained, and resolute in every way -- they carry out orders with no hesitation or delay. To veterans of his service he grants the rank of tribunes and notaries, and he raises his own men to the level of those who serve among the leading officials in our presence.
We gladly carry out what the prefect has decided, since even we are bound by his authority to such a degree that we unhesitatingly do what we know he has decreed. And rightly so, since his foresight sustains the palace itself: he arranges provisions for those who serve us, provides maintenance allowances even to judges, and feeds the voracious legations of foreign nations with his arrangements. Though other offices have their defined titles, nearly everything that is managed with balanced moderation in our empire is handled through this one.
We therefore place upon your shoulders -- may it bring us good fortune and benefit the state -- this most splendid burden of all responsibilities, beginning from the coming indiction [tax year]. Bear it with the strength of your intellect and strive to manage it with the utmost loyalty. The more this office is pressed by diverse responsibilities, the more ample is the glory it brings. Let your actions shine so brightly that your light illuminates both our palace and the farthest provinces. Let your wisdom match your power. Let the four cardinal virtues attend your conscience. Know that your tribunal was raised so high so that, seated there, you would contemplate nothing low or base. Consider what you must say, knowing that the greatest men will hear it.
Let the public records contain nothing that anyone would blush to read. A great leader has no part in wrongdoing -- and if he does not accomplish something outstanding every day, he incurs blame even through idleness. For if we recall that most holy founder of this office, then to discharge the Praetorian Prefecture worthily is itself a kind of priesthood.
III.
FORMULA PRAEFECTURAE PRAETORIO.
[1] Si honoris alicuius est origo laudabilis, si bonum initium sequentibus rebus potest dare praeconium, tali auctore praefectura praetoriana gloriatur, qui et mundo prudentissimus et divinitati maxime probatur acceptus. nam cum Pharao rex Aegyptius de periculo futurae famis inauditis somniis urgeretnr nec visionem tantam humanum posset revelare consilium, Ioseph vir beatus inventus est, qui et futura veraciter praediceret et periclitanti populo providentissime subveniret. [2] Ipse primum huius dignitatis infulas consecravit: ipse carpentum reverendus ascendit: ad hoc gloriae culmen evectus, ut per sapientiam conferret populis quod praestare non potuerat potentia dominantis. ab illo namque patriarcha et nunc pater appellatur imperii: ipsum hodieque resonat vex praeconis, instruens iudicem, ne se patiatur esse dissimilem: merito, ut, cui tanta potestas potuit dari, videretur semper subtiliter ammoneri. [3] Quaedam enim huic dignitati et nobiscum iura communia sunt. exhibet enim sine praescriptione longinquos, magna quantitate multat errantes, fiscum pro sua deliberatione distribuit, evectiones simili potestate largitur, vacantia bona proscribit, delicta provinciarum iudicum punit, verbo sententiam dicit. quid est, quod non habeat commissum, cuius est vel ipse sermo iudicium? paene est, ut leges possit condere, quando eius reverentia sine appellatione potest negotia terminare. [4] Ingressus palatium nostra consuetudine frequenter adoratur et tale officium morem videtur solvere, quod alios potuit accusare. potestate igitur nulla dignitas est aequalis. vice sacra ubique iudicat. nullus ei miles de fori sui auctoritate praescribit excepto officiali magistri militum: credo, ut vel illis aliquid antiquitas cederet, qui videbantur pro re publica bella tractare. curiales etiam verberat, qui appellati sunt legibus minor senatus. [5] In officio suo ius retinet singulare et talibus tantisque noscitur iubere, quos etiam provinciarum iudices non audeant in aliqua parte contemnere. officium plane geniatum, efficax, instructum et tota animi firmitate praevalidum, qui sic peragent iussa, ut nullis morentur dilationibus imperata. militia perfunctis tribunorum et notarionum honorem tribuit et milites suos illis exaequat, qui inter proceres mixti nostris conspectibus obsecundant. [6] Gratanter implemus quae ille constituit, cuius reverentia et nos ita constringimur, ut sine dubitatione faciamus quae illum decrevisse cognoscimus. non inmerito, quando palatium sua provisione sustentat, servientibus nobis procurat annonas, humanitates ipsis quoque iudicibus facit, legatos gentium voraces explet ordinationibus suis: et licet aliae dignitates habeant titulos praefinitos, ab ista paene totum geritur, quicquid in imperio nostro aequabili moderatione tractatur. [7] Hanc denique curarum omnium pulcherrimam molem, quod prosperum nobis, utile rei publicae sit, ab illa indictione tuis umeris decenter inponimus, quam tu et ingenii virtute sustineas et summa fide tractare contendas. quae quantum diversis sollicitudinibus constringitur, tanto magis laudes amplissimas dignitas haec triumphat. [8] Et ideo tantum lumen gloriae sit actionibus vestris, ut et palatio nostro fulgeat et in provinciarum longinquitate reluceat. par tibi sit cum potestate prudentia: conscientiae tuae quadrifaria virtus assideat. tribunal tuum ideo tam excelsum factum esse noveris, ut locatus ibi nihil humile abiectumque cogitares. considera quid debeas dicere, quod a tantis excipitur. [9] Monimenta publica talia contineant, quae se legisse nullus erubescat. praesul mirabilis partem non habet cum delictis, qui nisi aliquid egregium assidue fecerit, culpam vel otiosus incurrit. nam si praedictus auctor sanctissimus ille recolatur, quoddam sacerdotium est praefecturae praetorianae competenter agere dignitatem.
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Formula of the Praetorian Prefecture.
[The Variae include official formulae -- template documents describing the powers and dignities of major offices, used when appointing new holders.]
If the origin of any office deserves praise, if a noble beginning can lend glory to what follows, then the Praetorian Prefecture boasts a founder who was both supremely wise in worldly affairs and supremely pleasing to God. For when Pharaoh, king of Egypt, was troubled by unheard-of dreams about the threat of future famine, and no human counsel could interpret the vision, it was the blessed Joseph who was found -- a man who could both truly predict the future and provide for a people in peril with the greatest foresight.
He was the first to consecrate the insignia of this office. He was the first to ascend its honored chariot. He was raised to such a height of glory that through wisdom he could give the people what the king's power alone could not provide. From that patriarch the title "father of the empire" is still used today, and even now the herald's cry echoes his name -- instructing the judge never to allow himself to fall short of that example. Rightly so: for one to whom such power could be given should always be subtly reminded of his responsibility.
This office shares certain powers in common with our own royal authority. The prefect summons people from distant places without limitation. He imposes heavy fines on offenders. He distributes the treasury at his own discretion. He grants transport warrants with equal authority. He confiscates vacant estates. He punishes the offenses of provincial judges. He pronounces sentence by his spoken word alone. What has not been entrusted to a man whose very word constitutes a judgment? He comes close to being able to make law, since the reverence due his office allows him to settle disputes without appeal.
When he enters the palace, he is regularly saluted by the custom owed to us -- and such an office seems to bend the usual rules, which in other cases would invite reproach. No office, then, equals his in power. He judges everywhere in place of the sacred [imperial] authority. No soldier may claim jurisdiction over him, except the staff of the Master of Soldiers -- a concession, I believe, because antiquity chose to yield something to those who were seen to conduct wars for the state. He even disciplines city councillors, who are called by law the "lesser senate."
He holds a unique authority over his own staff, and is known to command men whom even provincial governors would not dare to slight in any respect. His staff is talented, effective, well-trained, and resolute in every way -- they carry out orders with no hesitation or delay. To veterans of his service he grants the rank of tribunes and notaries, and he raises his own men to the level of those who serve among the leading officials in our presence.
We gladly carry out what the prefect has decided, since even we are bound by his authority to such a degree that we unhesitatingly do what we know he has decreed. And rightly so, since his foresight sustains the palace itself: he arranges provisions for those who serve us, provides maintenance allowances even to judges, and feeds the voracious legations of foreign nations with his arrangements. Though other offices have their defined titles, nearly everything that is managed with balanced moderation in our empire is handled through this one.
We therefore place upon your shoulders -- may it bring us good fortune and benefit the state -- this most splendid burden of all responsibilities, beginning from the coming indiction [tax year]. Bear it with the strength of your intellect and strive to manage it with the utmost loyalty. The more this office is pressed by diverse responsibilities, the more ample is the glory it brings. Let your actions shine so brightly that your light illuminates both our palace and the farthest provinces. Let your wisdom match your power. Let the four cardinal virtues attend your conscience. Know that your tribunal was raised so high so that, seated there, you would contemplate nothing low or base. Consider what you must say, knowing that the greatest men will hear it.
Let the public records contain nothing that anyone would blush to read. A great leader has no part in wrongdoing -- and if he does not accomplish something outstanding every day, he incurs blame even through idleness. For if we recall that most holy founder of this office, then to discharge the Praetorian Prefecture worthily is itself a kind of priesthood.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.