Letter 7038: It is a fact that the taste of good things is pleasing, and the useful pursuit of praise -- sought through...

From: Cassiodorus (formula template) To: [Recipient of the rank of clarissimus] Date: ~522 AD Context: Template for conferring the rank of clarissimus, the basic grade of senatorial rank. It is a fact that the taste of good things is pleasing, and the useful pursuit of praise -- sought through increasing virtue -- is admirable. We encourage this spirit of provident generosity so that the cultivation of morals may grow as the desire for rewards increases. Therefore, royal authority bestows upon you the honor of clarissimus rank, the ornament of our judgment, which may serve both as testimony to your past life and as a promise of future prosperity. Let nothing you do be obscure, now that you shine with the rank of clarissimus. It is a grand testimony to one's life not merely to be called "bright" but "most bright" -- for nearly everything excellent is believed of a man who is addressed by the superlative of such brilliance.

XXXVIII. FORMULA CLARISSIMATUS. [1] Constat iucundum esse rerum bonarum saporem et utilem ambitum laudis, qui appetitur per augmenta virtutis. hoc nos studium providae liberalitatis infundimus, ut maior sit cultus morum, dum crescunt desideria praemiorum. clarissimatus igitur honorem, ornamenta iudicii nostri, regia tibi largitur auctoritas, quod praebeat et exactae vitae testimonium et futurae prosperitatis polliceatur augmentum. quapropter nihil iam obscurum agere patiaris, qui clarissimatus dignitate resplendes. grande siquidem vitae testimonium est non tam clarum quam clarissimum dici, quando paene totum de illo optimum creditur qui tanti fulgoris superlativo nomine vocitatur.