From: Athalaric (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths
To: Severus
Date: ~527 AD
Context: A third letter to Severus on education, containing a passionate defense of learning and a remarkable cultural program for preserving Roman intellectual life under Gothic rule.
We return to this subject a third time because nothing we have written matters more for the future of our kingdom. The strength of arms wins battles; the strength of learning wins the future. We have observed that among certain of our Gothic subjects, learning is regarded as a soft pursuit, suitable only for those unable to fight. This is a dangerous error. The greatest commanders of Roman history -- Caesar, who also wrote and governed; Trajan, who built as well as conquered -- understood that the sword and the pen serve the same master.
It is our express wish that Romans and Goths alike should have access to the best education our cities can provide. We do not ask the Gothic warrior to set aside his sword, but we urge him not to despise the book. The law that protects his property, the contract that secures his trade, the correspondence that maintains his friendships -- all of these require literacy and learning. A people that cannot read its own laws is a people enslaved to those who can.
We have directed that sufficient funds be allocated to maintain schools in Rome and in the other major cities. We wish to see grammar, rhetoric, and jurisprudence taught to the highest standard. We also encourage the study of Greek, which opens the vast treasury of philosophy and science that the Roman world has always drawn upon. Let no promising student be turned away for lack of means -- the state's investment in talent repays itself many times over.
The preservation of learning is the preservation of civilization itself. When books are lost, when teachers are silenced, when the schools fall empty, darkness follows. We are determined that this shall not happen while we hold power. Let it be said of us that the Gothic kings not only defended Rome's walls but also nourished Rome's mind.
XXXIII.
SEVERO V. S. ATHALARICUS REX.
[1] Sicut incognita velle nosse prudentis est, ita comperta dissimulare dementia est, eo praesertim tempore, cum noxia res ad correctionem possit celerrimam pervenire. frequenti siquidem probatione didicimus Lucaniae conventu qui prisca superstitione Leucothea nomen accepit, quod ibi sit aqua nimio candore perspicua, praesumptionibus illicitis rusticorum facultates negotiantium hostili direptione saepe laceratas, ut qui ad natale sancti Cypriani religiosissime venerant peragendum mercimoniisque suis faciem civilitatis ornare, egentes turpiter inanesque discederent. [2] Hoc nos simplici ac facili remedio credidimus corrigendum, ut spectabilitas vestra praedicto tempore una cum possessoribus atque conductoribus diversarum massarum, quietem convenientium anticipata debeat cautela procurare, ne atrocis facti reos inveniat, quos poena consumat. quod si aliquis rusticorum vel cuiuslibet loci homo causa nefandae litis advenerit, inter ipsa initia comprehensus fustuariae subdatur protinus ultioni et pompatus mala vota corrigat, qui prius occultum facinus excitare temptabat. [3] Est enim conventus iste et nimia celebritate festivus et circumiectis provinciis valde proficuus. quicquid enim praecipuum aut industriosa mittit Campania aut opulenti Bruttii aut Calabri peculiosi aut Apuli idonei vel ipsa potest habere provincia, in ornatum pulcherrimae illius venalitatis exponitur, ut merito tam ingentem copiam iudices de multis regionibus aggregatam. videas enim illic conlucere pulcherrimis stationibus latissimos campos et de amoenis frondibus intextas subito momentaneas domos, populorum cantantium laetantiumque discursum. [4] Ubi licet non conspicias operam moenium, videas tamen opinatissimae civitatis ornatum. praesto sunt pueri ac puellae diverso sexu atque aetate conspicui, quos non fecit captivitas esse sub pretio, sed libertas: hos merito parentes vendunt, quoniam de ipsa famulatione proficiunt. dubium quippe non est servos posse meliorari, qui de labore agrorum ad urbana servitia transferuntur. quid vestes referam innumera varietate discretas? quid diversi generis animalia nitere pinguissima? ubi tali cuncta taxatione proponuntur, ut quamlibet emptor fastidiosissimus invitetur. sic de illo commercio nemo ingratus redit, si cuncta probabilis disciplina componit. [5] Est enim et locus ipse camporum amoenitate distensus: suburbanum quoddam Consilinatis antiquissimae civitatis, qui a conditore sanctorum fontium Marcellianum nomen accepit. hic erumpit aquarum perspicua et dulcis ubertas, ubi in modum naturalis antri apsidis fabricata concavitas sic perspicuos liquores emanat, ut vacuum putes lacum, quem non dubitas esse plenissimum. hic perlucidus usque ad fundum patet, ut aspectibus tuis aerem potius apparere iudices, non liquorem. aemulatur serenum diem aqua subtilissima, nam quicquid in imo geritur, inoffensa oculis claritate monstratur. [6] Conludunt illic gregatim laetissimi pisces, qui ad manus pascentium sic intrepidi veniunt, tamquam se noverint non esse capiendos: nam qui tale aliquid praesumpsit efficere, mox poenam divinitatis cognoscitur excepisse. longa sunt illius fontis memoranda describere. veniamus ad illud singulare munus sanctumque miraculum. [7] Nam cum die sacratae noctis precem baptismatis coeperit sacerdos effundere et de ore sancto sermonum fontes emanare, mox in altum unda prosiliens aquas suas non per meatus solitos dirigit, sed in altitudinem cumulumque transmittit. erigitur brutum elementum sponte sua et quadam devotione sollemni praeparat se miraculis, ut sanctificatio maiestatis possit ostendi. nam cum fons ipse quinque gradus tegat eosque tantum sub tranquillitate possideat, aliis duobus cernitur crescere, quos numquam praeter illud tempus cognoscitur occupare. magnum stupendumque miraculum fluenta labentia sic ad humanos sermones vel stare vel crescere, ut eis credas audiendi studium minime defuisse. [8] Fiat omnium sermone venerabilis fons iste caelestis: habeat et Lucania Iordanem suum. ille exemplum baptismatis praestitit, hic sacrum mysterium annua devotione custodit. quapropter et reverentia loci et utilitas rei dare debet populis sanctissimam pacem, quia cunctorum iudicio sceleratissimus habendus est, qui talium dierum gaudia temerare contendet. relegantur populis et proponantur ista quae diximus, ut cum inulta esse minime creduntur, excedendi licentia non quaeratur.
Cassiodorus
◆
From:Athalaric (through Cassiodorus), King of the Ostrogoths
To:Severus
Date:~527 AD
Context:A third letter to Severus on education, containing a passionate defense of learning and a remarkable cultural program for preserving Roman intellectual life under Gothic rule.
We return to this subject a third time because nothing we have written matters more for the future of our kingdom. The strength of arms wins battles; the strength of learning wins the future. We have observed that among certain of our Gothic subjects, learning is regarded as a soft pursuit, suitable only for those unable to fight. This is a dangerous error. The greatest commanders of Roman history -- Caesar, who also wrote and governed; Trajan, who built as well as conquered -- understood that the sword and the pen serve the same master.
It is our express wish that Romans and Goths alike should have access to the best education our cities can provide. We do not ask the Gothic warrior to set aside his sword, but we urge him not to despise the book. The law that protects his property, the contract that secures his trade, the correspondence that maintains his friendships -- all of these require literacy and learning. A people that cannot read its own laws is a people enslaved to those who can.
We have directed that sufficient funds be allocated to maintain schools in Rome and in the other major cities. We wish to see grammar, rhetoric, and jurisprudence taught to the highest standard. We also encourage the study of Greek, which opens the vast treasury of philosophy and science that the Roman world has always drawn upon. Let no promising student be turned away for lack of means -- the state's investment in talent repays itself many times over.
The preservation of learning is the preservation of civilization itself. When books are lost, when teachers are silenced, when the schools fall empty, darkness follows. We are determined that this shall not happen while we hold power. Let it be said of us that the Gothic kings not only defended Rome's walls but also nourished Rome's mind.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.