Letter 6006: Formula of the Master of Offices.

Formula of the Master of Offices. [The Magister Officiorum (Master of Offices) was one of the most powerful officials in the late Roman/Ostrogothic state: controlling the imperial postal service, the palace guard (scholae), court ceremonies, and the reception of foreign ambassadors.] Whoever receives the title of Master assumes a revered honor, for this name always derives from expertise, and from the title itself one can judge the character of the man. To the Master belongs the discipline of the entire palace. He calms the stormy behavior of unruly palace guards with the fair weather of his moderation. So many ranks are arranged without the slightest confusion, and he alone bears the weight of the whole, maintaining the order that the crowd itself would otherwise lose. Fulfilling the gravity of his title, he adorns the court through his conduct. Through him, a senator arriving at court is presented to our gaze. He steadies the nervous speaker, composes the one who talks too much, and even inserts his own words to ensure that we hear everything properly. He is the reliable herald of the royal audience, the glorious giver of our conversation, a kind of morning star of the palace council -- for just as the morning star promises the coming day, so the Master grants to those who yearn for it a glimpse of our serene countenance. We also entrust to him, with the greatest security, the heaviest burden of legal cases, depositing them in his capable hands -- so that, relieved by his faithful care, we may devote ourselves more vigorously to public affairs. He guards, with the strictness of his supervision, the ready speed of the post-horses, whose nature is always to be in motion, so that the concerns we address through counsel may be dispatched with the benefit of speed. Through him, the hospitality shown to foreign nations is arranged for the credit of our state, and ambassadors depart unwillingly whom he received in their sorrow [i.e., they are treated so well they do not wish to leave]. Through him the arrival of ambassadors, however hurried, is announced to us. Through him the dispatch of our own name is sent forth, and to him is principally entrusted what is felt to be so essential. In recognition of all these labors, antiquity decreed the greatest power for this office, so that no judge in the provinces could assume his post without the Master's own confirmation. It subjected the judgments of others to his review, so that what another seemed to have granted would ultimately come back to him. He does not bear the burden of collecting revenue, but he enjoys the broad benefit of the power he has obtained -- I believe so that an office established to lighten the burden of the prince would not be cheapened by too many responsibilities. He also appoints, by his own authority, the assessors of food supplies in the royal city, and makes himself the judge of so essential a matter. He gives the people their joy and adorns our times, since he appoints to the public supply men of such quality that the complaining populace, once satisfied, no longer knows how to riot. His staff is honored with such a prerogative of distinction that, upon completing their military service, they are adorned with the title of "chief of staff" [principatus], and in a remarkable fashion they are seen to have won precedence among both the praetorian cohorts and the soldiers of the Urban Prefecture -- the very men who previously owed them humble service. Thus by the favor of a great honor, a kind of injustice comes from the law itself, when a man who served elsewhere is given precedence over those whose watches he never shared. The Master's deputy is also presented to us, so that by a shared turn of favor we may choose the assistance of one who provides us faithful support. We therefore commit this office to you -- distinguished by so many titles, rich in so many marks of honor -- for the coming indiction, to be governed with appropriate gravity. Let everything you do appear to have been done by a true Master, for nothing is left wanting in your conduct if -- God forbid -- so great a dignity should fail.

VI. FORMULA MAGISTERIAE DIGNITATIS. [1] Reverendum honorem sumit, quisquis magistri nomen acceperit, quia hoc vocabulum semper de peritia venit et in nomine cognoscitur, quid sit de moribus aestimandum. ad eum nimirum palatii pertinet disciplina: ipse insolentium scholarum mores procellosos moderationis suae prospero disserenat. tam multi ordines sine confusione aliqua componuntur et ipse sustinet onus omnium, quod habet turba discretum. sic nominis sui gravitate perfunctus ornat actibus principatum. [2] Per eum senator veniens nostris praesentatur obtutibus: ammonet trepidum, componit loquentem, sua quin etiam verba solet inserere, ut nos decenter omnia debeamus audire. aspectus regii haud irritus promissor, collocutionis nostrae gloriosus donator, aulici consistorii quasi quidam lucifer: nam sicut ille venturum diem promittit, sic iste desiderantibus vultus nostrae serenitatis attribuit. causarum praeterea maximum pondus in eius audientiae sinibus optima securitate reponimus, ut eius curis fidelibus sublevati utilitatibus publicis vivacius occupemur. [3] Veredorum quin etiam opportunam velocitatem, quorum status semper in cursu est, diligentiae suae districtione custodit, ut sollicitudines nostras, quas consilio iuvat, beneficio celeritatis expediat. [4] Per eum exteris gentibus ad laudem rei publicae nostrae ordinatur humanitas et nolentes redeunt, quos maerentes exceperit. per eum quippe nobis legatorum quamvis festinantium praenuntiatur adventus: per eum nominis nostri destinatur evectio et isti principaliter creditur, quod tam necessarium esse sentitur. [5] His etiam laboribus aestimatis potestatem maximam huic decrevit antiquitas, ut nemo iudicum per provincias fasces assumeret, nisi hoc et ipse fieri decrevisset. subdidit eius arbitrio aliena iudicia, ut ad ipsum rediret quod alter visus est praestitisse. molestias quidem non habet exigendae pecuniae, sed late bono fruitur potestatis indeptae, credo, ut ex diversis titulis defloraretur dignitas ad levamen principis instituta. [6] Peraequatores etiam victualium rerum in urbe regia propria voluntate constituit et tam necessariae rei iudicem facit. ipse enim gaudium populis, ipse nostris temporibus praestat ornatum, quando tales viros copiae publicae praeficit, ut plebs querula seditionem nesciat habere satiata. [7] Officium vero eius tanta genii praerogativa decoratur, ut militiae perfunctus muneribus ornetur nomine principatus miroque modo inter praetorianas cohortes et urbanae praefecturae milites videantur invenisse primatum, a quibus tibi humile solvebatur obsequium. sic in favore magni honoris iniustitia quaedam a legibus venit, dum alienis excubiis praeponitur, qui alibi militasse declaratur. [8] Adiutor etiam magistri nostris praesentatur obtutibus, ut vicaria sorte beneficii nos eligamus eius praesidium qui nobis praestat fidele solacium. hanc igitur dignitatem, tot titulis claram, tot insignibus opulentam, per indictionem illam gubernandam tibi congrua gravitate committimus, ut omnia quae gesseris magister fecisse videaris: quia nihil moribus residuum relinquitur, si, quod absit, a tanta maturitate peccetur.