Letter 6011: VARIAE, BOOK 6, LETTER 11

VARIAE, BOOK 6, LETTER 11 From: The Royal Chancery (Cassiodorus), on behalf of the King To: [Appointees to honorary Illustris rank] Date: ~523-527 AD Context: The formula for conferring the honorary rank of Illustris — the highest grade in the late Roman aristocratic hierarchy. Cassiodorus compares a state rich in honored citizens to a sky full of stars. [1] A state is truly fortunate when it shines with many honored citizens. Just as the sky is made brilliant by its stars, so cities are illuminated by the light of dignities. Not that mere titles create virtue — but the public recognition of virtue encourages it, and a society that fails to honor its best members soon finds that fewer members aspire to be best. [2] The rank of Illustris, which we now confer, carries the weight of centuries. It was borne by the greatest men of the Roman past — consuls, prefects, the administrators who built and sustained the empire. To receive it is to join their company, at least in honor, and to accept the obligation that comes with it: to live in a manner worthy of the name. [3] We grant you this distinction not as a gift but as a recognition — a public declaration that the state has taken notice of what you have done and who you are. Wear it as the ancients wore it: with dignity, with gravity, and with the understanding that honor unearned by daily conduct quickly becomes a hollow word.

XI. FORMULA ILLUSTRATUS VACANTIS. [1] Constat felicem esse rem publicam, quae multis civibus resplendet ornata. nam sicut caelum stellis redditur clarum, sic relucent urbes lumine dignitatum: non quia fiat homo alter honoribus, sed quia modestior efficitur, a quo conversationis ordo melior postulator. quis enim opinionem suam vituperabiliter tractare velit, quam specialiter ad laudes electam esse cognoscit? illum siquidem honores glorificant, quem commendat et vita. nam malo instituto vivere nec principi fas est, quando et de illo populus occulte potest dicere, cui mores suos publice nullus ausus est imputare. [2] Cape igitur pro fide ac laboribus tuis comitivae domesticorum illustratum vacantem, ut et tuis civibus decoratus appareas, et, quod est dulcissimum mentibus bonis, iugiter propriis utilitatibus occuperis. quid enim fortunatius quam agrum colere et in urbe lucere, ubi opus proprium delectat auctorem nec aliquid fallendo conquiritur, dum suavi horrea labore cumulantur? quapropter nos dedimus delectabilem honorem, tu conversationis associa dignitatem, nam utraque sibi coniuncta sunt: unum pendet ex altero: non coalescunt sparsa semina, nisi et terrae qualitas fuerit operata: habiturus messem de nostra gratia copiosam, si a te iudicia nostra cognoverimus optime fuisse tractata.