Letter 8014: Receive, conscript fathers, the appointment that marks the beginning of our reign.

From: Cassiodorus, on behalf of King Athalaric To: The Roman Senate Date: ~522 AD Context: Athalaric announces the appointment of a new quaestor, Ambrosius, praising the importance of eloquence in the office that drafts royal communications. Receive, conscript fathers, the appointment that marks the beginning of our reign. First decisions are always scrutinized more closely, because people believe the sequel will match the start. No one expects a ruler to be careful later if he is not seen guarding his reputation from the very first. A prudent gardener strives to fill his plot with fruitful seedlings, so that plants tended with painstaking labor will yield the harvest he desires. How much more fitting that a kingdom should be planted with the beauty of peace from its very beginning, lest it look like an untilled field! For this reason, we decided to give the quaestorship [the senior legal and literary office that drafted all royal edicts and correspondence] as a kind of doorway through which the high honors to come might proceed in fitting order. You certainly know the candidate -- our words about him are recent. For when the death of our grandfather of glorious memory [Theoderic the Great, d. 526] filled his subjects' hearts with grief -- since a good thing lost is loved all the more in the seeking -- it was through this man that the welcome news of our accession and your security was made known to you. See what standard of justice we bind ourselves to for the future: we have made the very man who promised the preservation of justice into the guardian of your laws. He came before you as an eloquent and distinguished orator, pleasing even in his appearance, and all the more delightful to hear. Court officials should be such men -- their natural gifts evident in their bearing, their character recognizable at a glance. A man whose only distinction is his tongue is often despised when silent; but the man whose calm spirit is matched by a serene countenance is always held in honor. It would be pointless to praise eloquence in a quaestor, since he is specifically chosen for the purpose of enhancing the age's reputation through the quality of his words. Other judges are entrusted with collecting provincial revenues; others are given custody of the private treasury. But in the quaestor are lodged the marks of the court's fame, from which a reputation spreads across the entire world. We have thought it right to remind you of all this, conscript fathers, so that you may believe we seek the sort of men whose appointment serves both our glory and your security. Recognize, you who are learned, the good intentions of your prince: place your confidence in advancement, you who are known to possess literary knowledge. It is the mark of extreme laziness to sit idle when one knows the ruler has invited merit to rise. Therefore, conscript fathers, receive the distinguished Ambrosius, adorned with the honor of the quaestorship, with your customary goodwill. No one should doubt a man who has already earned your order's approval in his first office.

XIIII. SENATUI URBIS ROMAE ATHALARICUS REX. [1] Accipite, patres conscripti, iudicium quod initia nostra protulerunt, quando plus cogitantur omnino quae cauta sunt, quia talis subsecutio creditur, quale primordium venisse sentitur. nemo enim futurum putat esse diligentem, quem in ipsa novitate opinionis suae non videt esse custodem. providus institutor hortum suum fecundis nititur ornare plantariis, ut reddant fructus optatos, quae sollicitis fuerant exculta laboribus: quanto magis regnum decet inter initia pacis amoenitate componi, ne habere speciem agri videatur inculti! [2] Et ideo beneficiis nostris quasi quandam ianuam cogitavimus dare quaestorem, per quem venientium dignitatum culmina decenter exirent. sunt vobis certe de candidato nota, quando et moderna, quae loquimur. nam cum transitum gloriosae memoriae domni avi nostri subiectorum anxia corda lugerent — bonum quippe amissum dum quaeritur, plus amatur —, per eum vobis et nostri auspicii et vestrae securitatis optata patuerunt. intellegite, quali nos aequitate constringimus in futuris, ut ipse vobis legum fieret custos, qui conservandae iustitiae fuerat promissor effectus. [3] Affuit mandatis regalibus eloquens et decorus orator, permulcens etiam inspectus, quos gratissimos reddebat auditus. tales enim decet esse aulicos viros, ut naturae bona indicio frontis aperiant et possint agnosci de moribus, cum videntur. tacens enim plerumque despicabilis est, si eum tantum lingua nobilitat: semper autem in honore manet, si, cuius est tranquillus animus, eum quoque serenissimus commendet aspectus. hoc denique facto testamur copiam nos habere prudentium, quando talis eligitur, qui ex utraque parte laudetur. [4] Eloquentiae vero bona ineptum est in quaestore praedicare, cum ad hoc specialiter probetur adscitus, ut opinionem temporum commendet qualitate dictorum. aliis enim iudicibus provinciarum committatur exactio, aliis privati aerarii custodia delegetur: hic autem aulicae famae insignia reponuntur, unde per totum mundum opinio vulgata laudetur. quod vobis adeo, patres conscripti, aestimavimus esse repetendum, ut tales nos quaerere credatis, quales et nostrae laudi et vestrae securitati expediat inveniri. agnoscite, docti, bonum principis votum: confidite de beneficiis, qui litterarum probamini habere notitiam. segnissimi est torpere, cum se ad provectum cognoscat rerum dominos invitasse. [5] Quapropter, patres conscripti, illustrem Ambrosium quaesturae culmine decoratum favor vestrae benignitatis excipiat. de illo enim non debet dubitari, qui a vestro ordine iam in prima dignitate meruit approbari.