VARIAE, BOOK 6, LETTER 10
From: The Royal Chancery (Cassiodorus), on behalf of the King
To: [Appointees to honorary senatorial rank through codicilli]
Date: ~523-527 AD
Context: The formula for granting honorary senatorial rank — merit should be recognized regardless of wealth or physical strength.
[1] Public morals would be seriously endangered if positions of honor were granted only to the rich or to the physically strong, since you will find many whose modest fortune is outweighed by their moral wealth, and many whose physical frailty conceals an extraordinary strength of mind. It is the wisdom of a just state to recognize virtue wherever it appears, not only where it happens to coincide with a large estate or a powerful body.
[2] The rank we confer through these codicilli [official letters patent] carries the dignity of the senatorial order without the expense of active service. It is an honor freely given in recognition of character, learning, or public service — a way for the state to declare that it values what a man is, not merely what he has. Let no one think this a lesser dignity because it carries no administrative burden; it is, in fact, a purer form of honor, since it is given for merit alone.
[3] We therefore confer upon you the rank of honorary senator, with all the privileges and precedence that belong to that station. Wear it with the dignity it deserves, and let your conduct confirm the judgment that prompted the award.
X.
FORMULA QUA PER CODICILLOS VACANTES PROCERES FIANT.
[1] Periclitarentur graviter boni mores, si aut solis divitibus aut corpore valentibus praestarentur tantummodo dignitates, dum multos invenias excubias palatii refugere, qui magis possunt laudabili conversatione fulgere. multis enim facultas sua non sufficit ad triumphum, multis philosophantibus corporis valitudo subtrahitur et fit plerumque, ut sapientes inremunerati iaceant, si semper homines ad honores comitatensi observatione perveniant. rarum est uni multa confluere, cum omnibus debeat regnantis pietas subvenire. [2] Quid si expensas consulatus pauper nobilis expavescat? quid si sapientia clarus praefecturae nequeat sustinere molestias? quid si pondera quaesturae affluens lingua formidet? quid si reliqui fasces molestiarum taedio vitentur forte quam meritis? nonne si a magnis viris talia fugiantur, in verecundiam nostrae mansuetudinis quandam repulsam suscipiunt dignitates? quanto iustius bono principi inremuneratum nihil relinquere, quod fecit natura laudabile! sapientia est, quae honores meretur, totum aliud extrinsecus venit. sola est prudentia, quae rebus omnibus praeponitur, quando in homine feliciter invenitur. sit apud nos et fortunis integerrimus consularis, sint et sine longo labore primates, habeant exercitia praemia sua: sed et iste honorabilis locus sit, qui tantum meritis comparatur. [3] Neque enim absurde leges sacratissimae censuerunt eos, quos bonae opinionis fama commendat, codicillis vacantibus tales quaerere summitates. quos etsi facultas in tanti honoris apparatu desereret, virtus conscia non celaret. animati sunt ad talia, qui de sua videbantur desperare fortuna. hoc et validissimus ad labores, hoc et inbecillis corpore meretur ad laudes. nam omnes sub diversitate praedicantur, quos huiusmodi honoris nomen amplectitur et magis nescio quid amplius meriti extorsisse creditur, qui rem laborantium otiosus meruisse sentitur. [4] Atque ideo praesentibus codicillis ab illa indictione illud tibi propitia divinitate defende, ut considerata ratione praesentis temporis adepti honoris ordine potiaris: ita tamen, ut illi modis omnibus praeferantur, qui sudore maximo nostris aspectibus affuerunt. necesse est enim, ut unum cedat meritum duobus evictum. alioquin omnes ad quietas possunt currere dignitates, si laborantes minime praeferantur otiosis. consequantur illa qui possunt, nec vobis desint ista quae cedimus. sic utraque gratia concitati et illi ad palatia nostra festinare poterunt et vos optati honoris gaudia comitantur.
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VARIAE, BOOK 6, LETTER 10
From: The Royal Chancery (Cassiodorus), on behalf of the King To: [Appointees to honorary senatorial rank through codicilli] Date: ~523-527 AD Context: The formula for granting honorary senatorial rank — merit should be recognized regardless of wealth or physical strength.
[1] Public morals would be seriously endangered if positions of honor were granted only to the rich or to the physically strong, since you will find many whose modest fortune is outweighed by their moral wealth, and many whose physical frailty conceals an extraordinary strength of mind. It is the wisdom of a just state to recognize virtue wherever it appears, not only where it happens to coincide with a large estate or a powerful body.
[2] The rank we confer through these codicilli [official letters patent] carries the dignity of the senatorial order without the expense of active service. It is an honor freely given in recognition of character, learning, or public service — a way for the state to declare that it values what a man is, not merely what he has. Let no one think this a lesser dignity because it carries no administrative burden; it is, in fact, a purer form of honor, since it is given for merit alone.
[3] We therefore confer upon you the rank of honorary senator, with all the privileges and precedence that belong to that station. Wear it with the dignity it deserves, and let your conduct confirm the judgment that prompted the award.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.