VARIAE, BOOK 6, FORMULA 21
From: The Ostrogothic Chancery (Cassiodorus)
To: [Template for the appointment of a Provincial Governor (rector provinciae)]
Date: ~522 AD
Context: A model letter for appointing a provincial rector, emphasizing that judges are sent to the provinces precisely so that grievances need not travel all the way to the capital.
[1] Antiquity wisely decreed that judges be sent to the provinces, so that complaints should not have to travel all the way to us. It would be an intolerable burden if every dispute had to be brought before the royal court. Justice must be accessible where people actually live, not only where the sovereign resides. This is why the governance of each region is entrusted to men of proven ability, so that the law may speak in every corner of the realm. [2] The provincial governor should think of himself as the sovereign's mirror: what we wish for the whole kingdom, he must achieve in his own territory. Fairness in judgment, restraint in taxation, diligence in administration -- these are not merely recommendations but requirements. The governor who oppresses his people oppresses us; the one who enriches himself at their expense steals from our treasury. Let your conduct, then, be such that the provincials bless the day of your appointment and dread the hour of your departure.
XXI.
FORMULA RECTORIS PROVINCIAE.
[1] Omnino provide decrevit antiquitas iudices ad provinciam mitti, ne possit ad nos veniendo mediocritas ingravari. quis enim latronum ferret audaciam, si longe positam cognoscerent disciplinam? absolute poterat vis permissa grassari, si conquerens tardius crederetur audiri. sed quanto melius in ipsis cunabulis adhuc mollia reprimere quam indurata crimina vindicare! in compendium mittimus mala, si praesentia faciamus esse iudicia. quis enim audeat peccare, cum supra cervices suas districtionem cognoverit imminere? [2] Et ideo te illi provinciae rectorem per illam indictionem nostra mittit electio, ut re vera corrigere nitaris quos tibi commissos esse cognoscis. Chlamydis tuae procul dubio inter alia clavos intende, quos scias non inaniter positos, nisi ut, cum publicum agentes purpuram cernerent, de vigore semper principis ammonerent. geniatus indutus, vestis gratiosa, quam filio suo Priapo Venus dicitur texuisse, ut eximiae pulchritudinis matrem singulariter ornatus filius testaretur. [3] Respice quantum dederint leges et ad mensuram te potestatis extende. tibi fiscalium tributorum credita monstratur exactio. constat esse tuae fidei commissum principi renuntiare, quod in provinciis probatur emergere. tu etiam senatorem ibidem residentem iuberis audire: tu in praefectorum militem cum ipsius tantum conscientia vindicare: tuum nomen in subscriptionibus iusserunt honoratis provincialibus anteferri. quid de te aestimatum sit, datur adverti, cui tot videntur nobiles potuisse postponi. [4] Additur, quod a principe frater vocaris, ut nobilitate pretiosi nominis a vilitate criminum tollereris. cogita tantorum hominum tibi commissas esse fortunas. fama erunt nostri temporis tui mores. esto in te continens, ut possis in alios esse iudex. prima aequitas est a se praesules inchoare, ut debeant criminosi metuere quem nequeunt similem reperire. nullas enim in se culpas timet reus, quas habere respexerit cognitorem, quando agentem male nisi bonis moribus non aestimat displicere. suos actus nullus damnat in altero, quia natura est humani animi ut nitatur potius vindicare, quod se cognoverit admisisse. [5] O quale est liberum tribunalibus insidere, non esse obnoxium reo suo, ne incipiat potior fieri qui redemit. timeat districtum, timeat continentem, non audiat blandum. da ut possit rigidam formidare sententiam. avari iudices nesciunt quantum delinquunt: nam cum vendunt aliena crimina, sua faciunt esse peccata. quapropter esto sollicitus, ut bonae actionis tuae laudes potius audiamus. a nobis confidenter exigis quod remittis, quia tantum de remuneratione tua cogitamus, quantum te pecunias non quaesisse cognoscimus.
◆
VARIAE, BOOK 6, FORMULA 21
From: The Ostrogothic Chancery (Cassiodorus) To: [Template for the appointment of a Provincial Governor (rector provinciae)] Date: ~522 AD Context: A model letter for appointing a provincial rector, emphasizing that judges are sent to the provinces precisely so that grievances need not travel all the way to the capital.
[1] Antiquity wisely decreed that judges be sent to the provinces, so that complaints should not have to travel all the way to us. It would be an intolerable burden if every dispute had to be brought before the royal court. Justice must be accessible where people actually live, not only where the sovereign resides. This is why the governance of each region is entrusted to men of proven ability, so that the law may speak in every corner of the realm. [2] The provincial governor should think of himself as the sovereign's mirror: what we wish for the whole kingdom, he must achieve in his own territory. Fairness in judgment, restraint in taxation, diligence in administration -- these are not merely recommendations but requirements. The governor who oppresses his people oppresses us; the one who enriches himself at their expense steals from our treasury. Let your conduct, then, be such that the provincials bless the day of your appointment and dread the hour of your departure.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.