Letter 8027: The strong must not be allowed to devour the weak, nor should power be confused with right.

The strong must not be allowed to devour the weak, nor should power be confused with right. Reports have reached us that certain individuals, relying on their influence rather than on law, have been encroaching upon the properties of their neighbors. This is an abuse we cannot tolerate, because the foundations of our rule rest upon the principle that every person's rights are sacred under the law, whether they are mighty or modest. We therefore order you to proceed to the designated area, investigate the complaints, and restore what has been taken. If the powerful resist, remind them that the king's authority stands behind you. Let no one imagine that distance from the court means distance from justice. We see everything through the eyes of our agents, and the hand of royal power reaches wherever injustice is found.

XXVII. DUMERIT SAIONI ET FLORENTIANO VIRO DEVOTO COMITIANO ATHALARICUS REX. [1] Severitas publica sicut ab innocentibus vacat, ita necesse est, ut in sceleratis operam suae districtionis impendat, quia non semper unum merentur iudicium diversa merita personarum. morbi ipsi dissimilibus sucis sanantur herbarum: aliis cibi, aliis ferrum optatam revocat sospitatem et pro qualitate passionis praeceptum merentur artificis. [2] Et ideo devotio vestra per Faventinum territorium incunctanter excurrat et, si quos Gothorum atque Romanorum in direptionibus possessorum se miscuisse reppererit, secundum facti aestimationem et damnis affligantur et poenis, quia gravius plectendi sunt qui nec ammonitionibus iustis nec initiis principis oboediendum esse crediderunt, quando maior ambitus est novis dominis velle servire, ut commendati bonis initiis reliquam vitam securitatis munere perfruantur.