Letter 7005: Formula of the Curator of the Palace.
Cassiodorus→Italy|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
education booksimperial politics
Formula of the Curator of the Palace.
[The Cura Palatii was the office responsible for maintaining and constructing royal buildings, overseeing architects, sculptors, mosaicists, and other craftsmen.]
Our palace, as everyone knows, was established by skilled designers -- and the careful attention of learned men must be devoted to it always, since that wonderful beauty, if not regularly maintained, deteriorates as age creeps in. These are the delights of our power, the fair face of empire, the visible testimony to our reign. They are shown to ambassadors amid their wonder, and at first sight a ruler is judged to be as great as his dwelling is shown to be. Therefore it is a great pleasure for the wisest mind to enjoy continually the most beautiful residence and, amid public cares, to refresh a weary spirit with the charm of fine construction.
The Cyclopes [mythical craftsmen] are said to have been the first to build vast structures in the fashion of caverns in Sicily, after Polyphemus suffered the pitiful loss of his single eye at the hands of Ulysses in the caves of the mountains. From there, the skill of building is said to have been brought to Italy, so that what was invented by such great and famous pioneers might be preserved by an emulating posterity for its own benefit.
For this reason, we decree that Your Distinction shall assume the care of our palace from the coming indiction. Maintain the old structures in their original brilliance and produce new ones with an equal sense of antiquity -- for, just as it is fitting for a handsome body to be clothed in a single style, so the splendor of the palace ought to spread uniformly throughout all its parts. You will prove yourself fit for this task if you study the geometer Euclid frequently, and if you store in your mind's contemplation the diagrams he described with such marvelous variety, so that at a moment's notice a wealth of knowledge may serve you readily.
Let the highly ingenious Archimedes and Metrobius [an architect] always be at your side, so that you, schooled in the books of the ancients, may be fully prepared for new projects. The task assigned to you is no small one, since you are known to satisfy with your art a mind most eager for building. For whenever we restore a city, or wish to found new fortifications, or are drawn by the charm of building a new royal residence -- it is under your direction that what we imagine is brought before our eyes. A glorious craft! A truly splendid calling -- to send your work down through such long ages, that posterity may admire and praise you for it.
Whatever the mason, the marble sculptor, the bronze caster, the vault builder, the plasterer, or the mosaicist does not know, he wisely asks you. That great army of craftsmen turns to your judgment, so that nothing in their work may be confused. Consider, then, how much the man must know who can instruct so many. You certainly reap the richest fruit of your good planning when you are praised for their labor -- provided you have shown them how to do their work with care. Therefore, whatever pertains to your charge, we wish it to be carried out with such propriety and such solidity that only the newness of the building distinguishes it from the work of the ancients.
You will make all this possible if you do not suppress our gifts through any greed. The man who effectively commands an artisan is the one who does not allow him to be cheated of fair compensation. A generous hand nourishes the talents of the crafts, since the worker who does not worry about his livelihood hurries to complete what is asked. Consider also the mark of favor with which you are treated: adorned with a golden staff, you are seen walking first before the royal feet among the numerous attendants -- so that by this very testimony of nearness to us, all may recognize that we have entrusted our palaces to you.
V.
FORMULA CURAE PALATII.
[1] Aula nostra sicut agnoscitur peritis dispositoribus instituta, ita doctorum in ea diligens debet esse cautela, quoniam pulchritudo illa mirabilis, si subinde non reficitur, senectute obrepente vitiatur. haec nostrae sunt oblectamenta potentiae, imperii decora facies, testimonium praeconiale regnorum: haec legatis sub ammiratione monstrantur et prima fronte talis dominus esse creditur, quale eius habitaculum comprobatur. et ideo magna voluptas est prudentissimae mentis pulcherrima iugiter habitatione gaudere et inter publicas curas animum fessum reficere dulcedine fabricarum. [2] Quas primum Cyclopes dicuntur ad antrorum modum amplissimas in Sicilia condidisse, postquam in cavernis montium Polyphemus ab Ulixe singularis oculi lugendam pertulerat orbitatem. inde ad Italiam fabricandi peritia legitur fuisse translata, ut quod tantis ac talibus institutoribus inventum est, aemulatrix posteritas in suum commodum custodiret. [3] Hinc est quod spectabilitatem tuam ab illa indictione curam palatii nostri suscipere debere censemus, ut et antiqua in nitorem pristinum contineas et nova simili antiquitate producas: quia, sicut decorum corpus uno convenit colore vestiri, ita nitor palatii similis debet per universa membra diffundi. ad quae sic poteris idoneus inveniri, si frequenter geometram legas Euclidem, si schemata eius mirabili varietate descripta in tuae mentis contemplatione condideris, ut in hora commonito famuletur tibi copiosa notitia. [4] Archimedes quoque subtilissimus exquisitor cum Metrobio tibi semper assistant, ut ad nova reddaris paratissimus, qui libris veterum probaris eruditus. non enim tibi minima cura delegatur, quando animum nostrum fabricandi studio cupidissimum artis tuae ministerio probaris explere. nam sicubi aut civitatem reficimus aut castellorum volumus fundare novitatem vel si construendi nobis praetorii amoenitas blandiatur, te ordinante ad oculos perducitur quod nobis cogitantibus invenitur. decorum magisterium, propositum omnino gloriosum in tam longas aetates mittere, unde te debeat posteritas ammirata laudare. [5] Quicquid enim aut instructor parietum aut sculptor marmorum aut aeris fusor aut camerum rotator aut gypsoplastes aut musivarius ignorat, te prudenter interrogat et tam magnus ille fabrilis exercitus ad tuum recurrit iudicium, ne possit aliquid habere confusum. vide ergo quanta debet nosse, qui possit tantos instruere. recipis certe bonae dispositionis tuae uberrimum fructum, cum tu de illorum labore laudaris, si ab eis diligenter facta monstraveris. quapropter quicquid ad te pertinet, ita decenter, ita firmiter volumus explicari, ut ab opere veterum sola distet novitas fabricarum. [6] Sed haec possibilia facis, si dona nostra nulla cupiditate suppresseris. efficaciter enim imperat artifici, qui eum competenti non patitur commoditate fraudari. manus larga artium nutrit ingenia, quando qui de victu non cogitat, perficere iussa festinat. illud quoque considera, qua gratificatione tracteris, ut aurea virga decoratus inter obsequia numerosa ante pedes regios primus videaris incedere, ut ipso testimonio vicinitatis nostrae agnoscamur tibi palatia commisisse.
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Formula of the Curator of the Palace.
[The Cura Palatii was the office responsible for maintaining and constructing royal buildings, overseeing architects, sculptors, mosaicists, and other craftsmen.]
Our palace, as everyone knows, was established by skilled designers -- and the careful attention of learned men must be devoted to it always, since that wonderful beauty, if not regularly maintained, deteriorates as age creeps in. These are the delights of our power, the fair face of empire, the visible testimony to our reign. They are shown to ambassadors amid their wonder, and at first sight a ruler is judged to be as great as his dwelling is shown to be. Therefore it is a great pleasure for the wisest mind to enjoy continually the most beautiful residence and, amid public cares, to refresh a weary spirit with the charm of fine construction.
The Cyclopes [mythical craftsmen] are said to have been the first to build vast structures in the fashion of caverns in Sicily, after Polyphemus suffered the pitiful loss of his single eye at the hands of Ulysses in the caves of the mountains. From there, the skill of building is said to have been brought to Italy, so that what was invented by such great and famous pioneers might be preserved by an emulating posterity for its own benefit.
For this reason, we decree that Your Distinction shall assume the care of our palace from the coming indiction. Maintain the old structures in their original brilliance and produce new ones with an equal sense of antiquity -- for, just as it is fitting for a handsome body to be clothed in a single style, so the splendor of the palace ought to spread uniformly throughout all its parts. You will prove yourself fit for this task if you study the geometer Euclid frequently, and if you store in your mind's contemplation the diagrams he described with such marvelous variety, so that at a moment's notice a wealth of knowledge may serve you readily.
Let the highly ingenious Archimedes and Metrobius [an architect] always be at your side, so that you, schooled in the books of the ancients, may be fully prepared for new projects. The task assigned to you is no small one, since you are known to satisfy with your art a mind most eager for building. For whenever we restore a city, or wish to found new fortifications, or are drawn by the charm of building a new royal residence -- it is under your direction that what we imagine is brought before our eyes. A glorious craft! A truly splendid calling -- to send your work down through such long ages, that posterity may admire and praise you for it.
Whatever the mason, the marble sculptor, the bronze caster, the vault builder, the plasterer, or the mosaicist does not know, he wisely asks you. That great army of craftsmen turns to your judgment, so that nothing in their work may be confused. Consider, then, how much the man must know who can instruct so many. You certainly reap the richest fruit of your good planning when you are praised for their labor -- provided you have shown them how to do their work with care. Therefore, whatever pertains to your charge, we wish it to be carried out with such propriety and such solidity that only the newness of the building distinguishes it from the work of the ancients.
You will make all this possible if you do not suppress our gifts through any greed. The man who effectively commands an artisan is the one who does not allow him to be cheated of fair compensation. A generous hand nourishes the talents of the crafts, since the worker who does not worry about his livelihood hurries to complete what is asked. Consider also the mark of favor with which you are treated: adorned with a golden staff, you are seen walking first before the royal feet among the numerous attendants -- so that by this very testimony of nearness to us, all may recognize that we have entrusted our palaces to you.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.