VARIAE, BOOK 6, FORMULA 20
From: The Ostrogothic Chancery (Cassiodorus)
To: [Template for the appointment of a Consularis, provincial governor of consular rank]
Date: ~522 AD
Context: A model letter for appointing a consularis -- a provincial governor who, though his title suggests descent from the ancient consuls, actually serves as an administrator of law and order.
[1] Although the testimony of the name itself suggests that your office descends from the consuls, we know it was established with its own distinct character, lest by claiming too much from its august title it should seem to detract from the original. A worthy office in its own right, it governs a province with the authority of the law, dispensing justice impartially and maintaining the public peace. The consularis is the sovereign's representative to the people of his region: what we command at the center, he executes at the periphery. [2] Let it not be thought a lesser distinction because it operates far from the court. On the contrary, the trust required is all the greater precisely because the officer works beyond our direct supervision. His integrity must serve as its own witness, his conscience as its own judge. We have chosen you for this office because your character recommends you, and because the province under your charge needs a governor who will bring it credit rather than complaints.
XX.
FORMULA CONSULARITATIS.
[1] Quamvis dignitatem tuam a consulibus descendere nominis ipsius videantur testimonia declarare, tamen et insignia tanta circumstant, ut nullus possit ambigere te de illius lampadis claritate lucere. secures enim et fasces, quos illi dicavit genio antiquitas, tuis videntur phaleris deputata, ut iurisdictio concessa vel tacita possit ammonere provincias. sed quale tibi debet esse quod curules inclitas probatur ornare? vultus quin etiam regnantium geniata obsequii pompa praemittit, ut non solum summi iudicis, sed et dominorum reverentia cumulatus orneris. [2] O magnae temperationis inventum! de nomine consulis promitteris clementissimus et de principum imagine metuendus. in aliquibus adhuc provinciis ornatus paenula carpenti etiam subvectione decoraris, ut multis declaretur indiciis per expressas imagines rerum vices te praecelsae gerere dignitatis. considera magnum esse quod suscipis, et nulla criminum deiectione vitieris. nominis tui auctor multa conferendo praedicatur: tu age, ne ullis cupiditatibus accuseris, ut, si dare non praevales, certe te moderari velle festines. proximus enim habetur donanti, de quo potest dici 'abstinens est iugiter alieni'. certe foedissimae contrarietatis vitium est studere furtis et habere vocabulum largitatis. [3] Erigat ad laudem tuos animos, quod vocaris. non te profecto meritis imparem facis, si turpissimae ambitionis delicta calcaveris. nam errores noxios vincere, vitia maculosa superare, et iste re vera editus est de moribus consulatus. nec enim superflue prudentissimi veterum talia rebus nomina imposuerunt, dum continentiae magnae praesulem provinciis mitterent consularem. triumpha iura publica, largire iustitiam et ex fortiore parte imitari praevales, quem nominis proximitate contingis. pecuniis potest indigere mediocris, morum talenta non potest non habere, qui iustus est. [4] Non pavescas largas consulum manus: habent et boni pauperes divitias suas. illud ergo a te quaeritur, quod in pectore humano nascitur, non quod terrae visceribus continetur. quanto melius triumphare ex animi thesauro, unde numquam nascitur paenitudo, quia nec tenuis efficeris cum plura concedis, quin immo tantum locupletior redderis, quantum te bona conscientiae sparsisse cognoscis. quapropter opinionis tuae laude pellecti per illam indictionem in illa provincia consularitatis te praecipimus agere dignitatem, ut tibi non sit acceptum, quod legibus probatur inimicum. illa magis dilige, quae aequitatis iura commendant. [5] Nomen tuum actionibus proba. consule fessis et tunc vere diceris consularis. sed ut omnia aequabili moderatione pensentur, institue pecunias non quaerere et agnoscis munera tibi copiosa provenire. hanc enim condicionem humanis actibus divina posuerunt, ut ille magis possit ditescere, qui lucra turpia nescit optare. ignorantes accipiunt qui bene agunt, quia necesse est ut, dum parumper malorum ambitio contemnitur, superno munere plus donetur.
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VARIAE, BOOK 6, FORMULA 20
From: The Ostrogothic Chancery (Cassiodorus) To: [Template for the appointment of a Consularis, provincial governor of consular rank] Date: ~522 AD Context: A model letter for appointing a consularis -- a provincial governor who, though his title suggests descent from the ancient consuls, actually serves as an administrator of law and order.
[1] Although the testimony of the name itself suggests that your office descends from the consuls, we know it was established with its own distinct character, lest by claiming too much from its august title it should seem to detract from the original. A worthy office in its own right, it governs a province with the authority of the law, dispensing justice impartially and maintaining the public peace. The consularis is the sovereign's representative to the people of his region: what we command at the center, he executes at the periphery. [2] Let it not be thought a lesser distinction because it operates far from the court. On the contrary, the trust required is all the greater precisely because the officer works beyond our direct supervision. His integrity must serve as its own witness, his conscience as its own judge. We have chosen you for this office because your character recommends you, and because the province under your charge needs a governor who will bring it credit rather than complaints.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.