Letter 7018: Consider what you are undertaking, and you will understand that there is no room for error.
Cassiodorus→The new Superintendent of Armorers|c. 522 AD|Cassiodorus
imperial politics
From: Cassiodorus, on behalf of the King
To: The new Superintendent of Armorers (formula)
Date: ~522 AD
Context: A template for appointing the official in charge of arms manufacture, emphasizing the critical importance of well-made weapons and the need for honest oversight.
Consider what you are undertaking, and you will understand that there is no room for error. To construct arms well is to protect everyone's safety, because the enemy is terrified at first sight by superior weaponry and begins to lose heart when he knows he cannot match it. From the current tax year, we therefore place you in charge of the soldiers and armorers, persuaded by the reputation of your character, so that you may demand from the craftsmen the quality of work you know will please us.
Do not let our absence lull you into carelessness. We see everything you do. We who, through long practice, can detect at first glance the errors of craftsmen with the most exacting scrutiny and judge what has been made with skill. See, then, with what diligence and dedication you must carry out work that is coming to our inspection. Act so that no bribery and no fault drags you down, because nothing done wrong in such a matter can be forgiven -- lest you be punished on the very account where you sinned. The product that brings both death and salvation -- the destruction of wrongdoers, the safeguard of the good...
XVIII.
FORMULA DE ARMIFACTORIBUS.
[1] Considera quid suscipis, et intellegis locum te dare non debere peccatis. arma enim bene construere hoc est salutem velle omnium custodire, quia prima facie ipsis terretur inimicus et incipit animo cedere, si se cognoscit similia non habere. atque ideo ab indictione illa militibus te at fabris armorum, invitati morum tuorum opinione, praefecimus, ut tale opus ab artificibus exigas, quale nobis placere posse cognoscis. securitas te nostrae non inducat absentiae. quicquid feceris nos videmus. age qui usu ipso subtilissima perquisitionis errores artificum possumus prima fronte deprehendere et laudabiliter operata iudicare. [2] Vide ergo qua diligentia, quo studio faciendum est quod ad nostrum venturum constat examen. age itaque ut nulla te venalitas, nulla culpa demergat, quia veniale esse non potest quod in tali causa delinquitur, ne inde puniaris de qua parte peccaveris. opus quod mortem generat et salutem, interitus peccantium, custodia bonorum, contra improbos necessarium semper auxilium. hoc primum Phoroneus Iunoni dicitur obtulisse, ut inventum suum numinis, ut putabant, auspicio consecraret. haec in bello necessaria, in pace decora sunt: haec denique imbecilles fragilesque mortales cunctis beluis efficiunt fortiores.
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From:Cassiodorus, on behalf of the King
To:The new Superintendent of Armorers (formula)
Date:~522 AD
Context:A template for appointing the official in charge of arms manufacture, emphasizing the critical importance of well-made weapons and the need for honest oversight.
Consider what you are undertaking, and you will understand that there is no room for error. To construct arms well is to protect everyone's safety, because the enemy is terrified at first sight by superior weaponry and begins to lose heart when he knows he cannot match it. From the current tax year, we therefore place you in charge of the soldiers and armorers, persuaded by the reputation of your character, so that you may demand from the craftsmen the quality of work you know will please us.
Do not let our absence lull you into carelessness. We see everything you do. We who, through long practice, can detect at first glance the errors of craftsmen with the most exacting scrutiny and judge what has been made with skill. See, then, with what diligence and dedication you must carry out work that is coming to our inspection. Act so that no bribery and no fault drags you down, because nothing done wrong in such a matter can be forgiven -- lest you be punished on the very account where you sinned. The product that brings both death and salvation -- the destruction of wrongdoers, the safeguard of the good...
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.