Chapter XXXI: Book VIII

CONTAINING THIRTY-THREE LETTERS, ALL WRITTEN IN THE NAME OF ATHALARIC THE KING, EXCEPT THE ELEVENTH, WHICH IS WRITTEN IN THE NAME OF TULUM.

1. KING ATHALARIC TO THE EMPEROR JUSTIN (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: The accession of Athalaric announced to the Emperor Justin.]

[Some MSS. read Justiniano, but there can be no doubt that Justino is the right reading. Athalaric's accession took place August 30, 526; the death of Justin, August 1, 527. Justinian was associated with his uncle in the Empire, April 1, 527.]

'Most earnestly do I seek your friendship, oh most clement of Princes, who are made even more illustrious by the wide extension of your favours than by the purple robe and the kingly throne. On this friendship I have an hereditary claim. My father was adorned by you with the palm-enwoven robe of the Consul [Eutharic, Consul 519] and adopted as a son in arms, a name which I, as one of a younger generation, could more fittingly receive[501]. My grandfather also received curule honours from you[502] in your city. Love and friendship should pass from parents to their offspring, while hatred should be buried in the tomb; and therefore with confidence, as one who by reason of my tender years cannot be an object of suspicion to you, and as one whose ancestors you have already known and cherished, I claim from you your friendship on the same compacts and conditions on which your renowned predecessors granted it to my lord and grandfather of Divine memory[503]. It will be to me something better than dominion to have the friendship of so excellent and so mighty a ruler. My ambassadors (A and B) will open the purport of their commission more fully to your Serenity.'

[Footnote 501: The text is evidently corrupt here: 'Genitor meus desiderio quoque concordiae factus est per arma filius, quia unis nobis pene videbatur aequaevus.' The suggested reading, 'quamvis vobis,' does not entirely remove the difficulty.]

[Footnote 502: That is, of course, not from Justin himself but from his predecessors.]

[Footnote 503: 'Ut amicitiam nobis illis pactis, illis conditionibus concedatis, quas cum divae memoriae domino avo nostro inclytos decessores vestros constat habuisse.']

2. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME ON HIS ACCESSION (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: To the Senate.]

'Great must be the joy of all orders of the State at hearing of the accession of a new ruler, above all of a peaceful succession, without war, without sedition, without loss of any kind to the Republic.

'Such has been our succession to our grandfather. On account of the glory of the Amal race, which yields to none[504], the hope of our youth has been preferred to the merits of all others. The chiefs, glorious in council and in war, have flocked to recognise us as King so gladly, so unmurmuringly, that it seems like a Divine inspiration, and the kingdom has been changed as one changes a garment.

[Footnote 504: 'Quoniam quaevis claritas generis Amalis cedit.']

'The institution of royalty is consolidated when power thus passes from one generation to another, and when a good prince lives again, not in statues of brass but in the lineaments and the character of his descendants.

'The general consent of Goths and Romans [at Ravenna] has crowned us King, and they have confirmed their allegiance by an oath. You, though separated from us by space, are, we know, as near to us in heart as they; and we call upon you therefore to follow their example. We all know that the most excellent fathers of the Senate love their King more fervently than other ranks of the State, in proportion to the greater benefits which they have received at his hand.

'And since one should never enter your Curia empty-handed, we have sent our Count, the Illustrious Sigismer, with certain persons to administer the oath to you. If you have any requests to make to us which shall be for the common benefit of the Republic, make them through him, and they are granted beforehand.'

3. KING ATHALARIC TO THE ROMAN PEOPLE (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: To the citizens of Rome.]

'If a stranger to the royal line were succeeding to the throne, you might doubt whether the friendship between him and you would endure, and might look for a reversal of the policy of his predecessors. But now the person of the King only, not his policy, is changed. We are determined to follow the revered maxims of our predecessor, and to load with even more abundant benefits those whom he most kindly defended.

'Everything was so ordered by our glorious grandfather that on his death the glad consent of Goths called us to our kingdom; and that no doubt might remain upon the matter they pledged themselves by an oath most cordially taken, to accept us as their ruler. We invite you to follow their example, and like Trajan, we, the Sovereign, in whose name all oaths are made, will also swear to you. The bearers of this letter will receive your sworn promise, and will give you ours, "by the Lord's help to observe justice and fair clemency, the nourisher of the nations; that Goths and Romans shall meet with impartial treatment at our hands; and that there shall be no other division between the two nations, except that _they_ undergo the labours of war for the common benefit, while _you_ are increased in numbers by your peaceable inhabitancy of the City of Rome[505]." Raise then your spirits, and hope for even better things and more tranquillity, under God's blessing, from our reign than from that of our predecessor.'

[Footnote 505: 'Justitiam nos et aequabilem clementiam, quae populos nutrit, juvante domino, custodire et _Gothis Romanisque apud nos jus esse commune_, nec aliud inter vos esse divisum, nisi quod illi labores bellicos pro communi utilitate subeunt, vos autem civitatis Romanae habitatio quieta multiplicat.' I do not consider that the words in Italics, taken with the context, are irreconcilable with Dahn's view that the Goths were still, to a certain extent, under Gothic law.]

4. KING ATHALARIC TO ALL THE ROMANS SETTLED IN ITALY AND THE DALMATIAS (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: To the Romans in Italy and Dalmatia.]

'He who hears of a change in the ruler is apt to fear that it may be a change for the worse; and a new King who makes no kind promises at his accession is supposed to be harbouring designs of severity. We therefore inform you that we have received the oaths of Goths and Romans and are ready to receive yours, which we doubt not you will willingly offer.' [The rest as in the preceding letters.]

5. KING ATHALARIC TO ALL THE GOTHS SETTLED IN ITALY (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: To the Goths.]

'Gladly would we have announced to you the prolonged life of our lord and grandfather; but inasmuch as he has been withdrawn by hard fate from us who loved him, he has substituted us, by Divine command, as heirs of his kingdom, that through us his successors in blood, he might make the benefits which he has conferred on you perpetual. And in truth we hope not only to defend but to increase the blessings wrought by him. All the Goths in the Royal City [Ravenna] have taken the oaths to us. Do you do the same by this Count whom we send to you.

'Receive then a name which ever brought prosperity to your race, the royal offshoot of the Amals, the sprout of the Balthae[506], a childhood clad in purple. Ye are they by whom, with God's help, our ancestors were borne to such a height of honour, and obtained an ever higher place amid the serried ranks of kings[507].'

[Footnote 506: 'Amalorum regalem prosapiem, Baltheum germen.' I know not how Athalaric had any blood of the Balths in his veins. The other reading, 'blatteum,' gives the same idea as the following clause, 'infantiam purpuratam.']

[Footnote 507: 'Inter tam prolixum ordinem Regum susceperunt semper augmenta.' Perhaps we should translate 'by such a long line of (Amal) kings obtained advancement for their nation;' but the meaning is not very clear.]

6. KING ATHALARIC TO LIBERIUS, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT OF THE GAULS (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: To the Governor of Gaul.]

'You will be grieved to hear of the death of our lord and grandfather of glorious memory, but will be comforted in learning that he is succeeded by his descendant. Thus, by God's command, did he arrange matters, associating us as lords in the throne of his royalty, in order that he might leave his kingdom at peace, and that no revolution might trouble it after his death.'

[Invitation to take the oath, as in previous letters.]

7. KING ATHALARIC TO ALL THE PROVINCIALS SETTLED IN GAUL (A.D. 526).

[Sidenote: To the Gaulish subjects of Athalaric.]

'Our grandfather of glorious memory is dead, but we have succeeded him, and will faithfully repay, both on his account and our own, the loyalty of our subjects.

'So unanimous was the acclamation of our [Italian] subjects when we succeeded to the throne, that the thing seemed to be of God rather than of man.

'We now invite you to follow their example, that the Goths may give their oath to the Romans, and the Romans may confirm it by a _Sacramentum_ to the Goths, that they are unanimously devoted to our King.'

'Thus will your loyalty be made manifest, and concord and justice flourish among you.'

[There is an appearance of mutuality about this oath of allegiance as between Goths and Romans, not merely by both to Athalaric, which we have not had in the previous letters.]

8. KING ATHALARIC TO VICTORINUS, VIR VENERABILIS AND BISHOP[508] (A.D. 526).

[Footnote 508: Baronius says (vii. 121): 'Cujusnam Ecclesiae Antistes fuerit Victorinus ignoratur.' From the tone of the letter one may conjecture that Victorinus was a Bishop in Gaul.]

[Sidenote: To Bishop Victorinus.]

'Saluting you with all the veneration due to your character and office, we inform you with grief of the death of our lord and grandfather. But your sadness will be moderated when you hear that his kingdom is continued in us. Favour us with your prayers, that the King of Heaven may confirm to us the kingdom, subdue foreign nations before us, forgive us our sins, and propitiously preserve all that He was pleased to bestow on our ancestors. Let your Holiness exhort all the Provincials to concord.'

9. KING ATHALARIC TO TULUM, PATRICIAN.

[Sidenote: Praises of Tulum, who is raised to the Patriciate.]

'As our grandfather used to refresh his mind and strengthen his judgment by intercourse with you, so, _à fortiori_, may we in our tender years do the same. We therefore make you, by this present letter, Patrician, that the counsels which you give us may not seem to proceed from any unknown and obscure source.

'Greece adorned our hero [Tulum] with the chlamys and the painted silken buskin; and the Eastern peoples yearned to see him, because for some reason civic virtues are most prized in him who is believed to be of warlike disposition[509]. Contented with this repayment of honour he laboured with unwearied devotion for foreign countries (?), and with his relations (or parents) he deigned to offer his obedience to the Sovereign, who was begotten of the stock of so many Kings[510].

[Footnote 509: Probably Tulum had gone on some embassy to Constantinople.]

[Footnote 510: 'Hac igitur honoris remuneratione contentus, pro exteris partibus indefessa devotione laboravit: et praestare com suis parentibus principi dignabatur obsequium, qui tantorum regum fuerat stirpe procreatus.' This sentence is full of difficulties. What can he mean by the labour 'pro exteris partibus?' Who is the 'Princeps' whom Tulum deigns to serve: the Eastern Emperor or Theodoric? Above all, who is 'tantorum regum stirpe procreatus?' I think the turn of the sentence requires that it should be Tulum; but Dahn has evidently not so understood it, for in his Könige der Germanen (iii. 29, 30) he makes Tulum a conspicuous example of a man not of noble birth raised to high dignity, and says that the two long letters about him in the Variae contain no allusion to illustrious descent.]

[After some very obscure sentences, in which the writer appears to be celebrating the praises of Theodoric, he turns to Tulum, of whom he has hitherto spoken in the third person, and addresses him as _you_.]

'His toil so formed your character that we have the less need to labour. With you he discussed the sure blessings of peace, the doubtful gains of war; and--rare boon from a wise King--to you, in his anxiety, he confidently opened all the secrets of his breast. You, however, responded fully to his trust. You never put him off with doubtful answers. Ever patient and truthful, you won the entire confidence of your King, and dared even, hardest of all tasks, to argue against him for his own good.

'Thus did your noble deeds justify your alliance with the Amal race [apparently he has received an Amal princess in marriage], and thus did you become worthy to be joined in common fame with Gensemund, a man whose praises the whole world should sing, a man only made son by adoption in arms to the King, yet who exhibited such fidelity to the Amals that he transferred it even to their heirs, although he was himself sought for to be crowned[511]. Therefore will his fame live for ever, so long as the Gothic name endures.

[Footnote 511: 'Exstat gentis Gothicae hujus probitatis exemplum: Gensemundus ille toto orbe cantabilis, solum armis filius factus, tanta se Amalis devotione conjunxit ut haeredibus eorum curiosum exhibuerit famulatum, quamvis ipse peteretur ad regnum.' Dahn (ii. 61 and iii. 309) and Köpke (p. 142) refer this mysterious affair of Gensemund's renunciation to the interval after the death of Thorismund (A.D. 416). But this is mere conjecture. See Italy and her Invaders iii. 8-10.]

'We look for even nobler things from you, because you are allied to us by race.'

[A singularly obscure, vapid, and ill-written letter. The allusion to Gensemund seems introduced on purpose to bewilder the reader.]

10. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[On the elevation of Tulum to the Patriciate.]

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

'We are conferring new lustre on your body by the promotion of Tulum. A man sprung from the noblest stock[512] he early undertook the duties of attendance in the King's bedchamber[513], a difficult post, where the knowledge that you share the secret counsels of royalty itself exposes you to enmity.

[Footnote 512: 'Primum, quod inter nationes eximium est, Gothorum nobilissima stirpe gloriatur.']

[Footnote 513: 'Statim rudes annos ad sacri cubiculi secreta portavit.']

'In the dawn of manhood he went forth with our army to the war of Sirmium [A.D. 504], showed what one of our young nobles bred in peace could do in war, triumphed over the Huns[514], and gave to slaughter the Bulgarians, terrible to the whole world. Such warriors do even our nurseries send forth: thus does the preparation of a courageous heart supersede the necessity for martial training[515].

[Footnote 514: We do not hear from the other authorities of Huns being engaged in this war. In 505 Mundo the Hun was in alliance with Theodoric against the Empire.]

[Footnote 515: 'Tales mittunt nostra cunabula bellatores: sic paratae sunt manus, ubi exercetur animus.']

'Returned to the Court he became the most intimate counsellor of the King, who arranged with him all his plans for campaign, and so admitted him to his most secret thoughts that Tulum could always anticipate how Theodoric would act in every fresh conjuncture of events; and it may be said "by offering him counsel he ruled the King[516]."

[Footnote 516: 'Et ministrando consilium regebat ipse Rectorem.']

'He then distinguished himself in the Gaulish campaign [A.D. 508], where he was already enrolled among the generals, directing the campaign by his prudence, and bravely sharing its dangers. In the fierce fight which was waged at Arles for the possession of the covered bridge across the Rhone[517], the bravery of our _candidatus_ was everywhere conspicuous, and he received many honourable wounds, those best and most eloquent champions of a soldier's courage.

[Footnote 517: 'Arelate est civitas supra undas Rhodani constituta, quae in Orientis prospectum tabulatum pontem per nuncupati fluminis dorsa transmittit.']

'But a general ought not to be always fighting. I have pleasure in relating his next success, which was brilliant yet achieved without bloodshed. When the Frank and Burgundian again fell out, he was sent to Gaul [A.D. 523] to defend our frontier from hostile incursion. He then obtained for the Roman Republic, without any trouble, a whole Province while others were fighting. It was a triumph without a battle, a palm-branch without toil, a victory without slaughter.

'So great were his services in this campaign that Theodoric considered that he ought to be rewarded by the possession of large lands in the district which he had added to our dominions.

'A storm overtook him on his return to Italy: the remembrance of the vanished danger of that storm is sweet to us now[518]. In the wide, foaming sea his ship was swallowed up. He had to save himself by rowing; the sailors perished; he alone with the dear pledge of his love [one child?] escaped. Theodoric rushed to the shore, and would have dashed into the waves to save his friend, but had the delight of receiving him unharmed, saved manifestly by Divine protection for his present honours.

[Footnote 518: 'Discrimina dum feliciter cedunt, suavissimae memoriae sensum relinquunt.' Compare Claudian (De Bella Getico 207-8):

'An potius meminisse juvat semperque vicissim
Gaudia praemissi cumulant inopina dolores.']

'Favour then, Conscript Fathers, the ambition of our _candidatus_, and open for the man of our choice the Hall of Liberty[519]. The race of Romulus deserves to have such martial colleagues as Tulum.'

[Footnote 519: 'Favete nunc auspiciis candidati, et viris nostris libertatis atria reserate.']

11. TULUM, ILLUSTRIS AND PATRICIAN, TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[Note that Cassiodorus has to provide an elegant oration not only for his master, but for this Gothic fellow-minister of State. See Dahn's remarks on the writer of this letter, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 273.]

[Sidenote: Tulum's address to the Senate.]

'I pray you to receive favourably the order of the King which makes me a member of your body.

'I have ever favoured the dignity of the Senate, as if with a prescience that I should one day hold it. When I shared the counsels of Theodoric, that chief of Kings, of glorious memory, I often by my intercessions obtained for members of your body Consulships, Patriciates, Praefectures; and now, behold, I am similarly honoured myself. Reflect, I pray, that by my accepting it, the genius of the Patriciate is exalted, since none of my fellow-countrymen will hold cheaply that rank in you which he sees honoured in me. Live in security, by the blessing of God; enjoy your prosperity with your children; and strive, now as always, to show forth the true Roman type of character. I shall defend those with whom I am now associated.'

12. KING ATHALARIC TO ARATOR, VIR ILLUSTRIS.

[Bestowing on him the rank of Comes Domesticorum.]

[I have altered the order of subjects in this letter, to make it correspond with that of time. There cannot be much doubt that Arator's _pomposa legatio_ from Dalmatia was his first introduction to the Court of Theodoric, and preceded his employment as Advocatus.]

[Sidenote: Arator made Count of the Domestics.]

'By raising Tulum to the Patriciate we have provided for the military strength of the State. Now must we see to it that she is equally adorned by the glory of letters, and for this purpose we raise you, still in the prime of life, to the rank of _Comes Domesticorum_. By your example it was seen that eloquence could be acquired elsewhere than at Rome, since in your own Province [probably Dalmatia] your father, who was an extremely learned man, taught you to excel in this art: a happy lot for you, who obtained from your father's love that accomplishment which most youths have to acquire with terror from a master.

'That I may say something here of a very _recherché_ character[520], I may mention that, according to some, letters were first invented by Mercury, who watched the flight of cranes by the Strymon, and turned the shapes assumed by their flying squadron into forms expressive of the various sounds of the human voice.

[Footnote 520: 'Ut aliquid studiose exquisitum dicere videamur.']

'You were sent upon a stately embassy[521] by the Provincials of Dalmatia to our grandfather; and there, not in commonplace words but with a torrent of eloquence, you so set forth their needs and the measures which would be for the advantage of the public, that Theodoric, a man of cautious temperament, listened to your flow of words without weariness, and all men desired still to listen, when you ceased speaking.

[Footnote 521: 'Juvat repetere pomposam legationem.']

'[Since then] you have filled the office of Advocate in our Court. You might have been a trier of causes (Cognitor): you have preferred to be a pleader, though to all your advocacy you have brought so fair and judicial a mind that your eloquence and your zeal for your client have never exceeded the bounds of truth.'

13. KING ATHALARIC TO AMBROSIUS.

[Conferring on him the Quaestorship.]

[This Ambrosius, son of Faustinus, is apparently the same to whom Ennodius addressed his 'Paraenesis Didascalica,' containing some important notices of Festus, Symmachus, Boethius, Cethegus, and their contemporaries. (In Migne's 'Patrologia' lxiii. 250.)]

[Sidenote: Ambrosius appointed Quaestor.]

'A steady gradation of honours secures good servants for the State. You have already served with credit the office of Count of the Private Largesses. And you have also filled satisfactorily the place of a high official who was dismissed in disgrace[522]. We now therefore promote you to the office of Quaestor, and expect you to be the Pliny to the new Trajan. Let your eloquent tongue adorn all that we have to say, and be fearless in suggesting to us all that is for the welfare of the State. A good Sovereign always allows his ministers to speak to him on behalf of justice, while it is the sure mark of a tyrant to refuse to listen to the voice of the ancient maxims of law. Remember that celebrated saying of Trajan to an orator: "Plead, if I am a good ruler, for the Republic and me; if I am a bad one, for the Republic against me[523]." But remember, that if we are thus severe upon ourselves we are equally strict with regard to you, and expect you to follow the example of your noble ancestors, and to abstain from everything like an infraction of the laws. We confer upon you the insignia of the Quaestorship for this fifth Indiction' [Sept. 1, 526--Sept. 1, 527].

[Footnote 522: 'Gratiam quoque loci alterius invenisti. Dictationibus enim probaris adhibitus, cum sit offensionibus alter expulsus: et ita suspensum honorem tuum sustinebat ingenium, ut Palatio non sineres decesse Judicem, cujus ad tempus abrogatam cognovimus dignitatem.' I do not think we can say from this what the office temporarily filled by Arator was.]

[Footnote 523: 'Sume dicationem, si bonus fuero, pro Republica et me: si malus, pro Republica in me.']

14. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[On the elevation of Ambrosius to the Quaestorship].

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

'As a kind of door to our royal favour do we appoint Ambrosius to be our Quaestor. You know his merits of old: but, to speak only of recent matters[524], we may remind you that when your hearts were wrung with grief for the death of our glorious grandfather, it was by his mouth that we assured you of our determination to continue to you the blessings of good government.

[Footnote 524: 'Quando et moderna quae loquimur.' (Notice again _moderna_.)]

'The presence of Ambrosius is full of dignity, and has a soothing influence which the words of his speech do but confirm[525]. It is unfortunate for an orator to have eloquence for his only gift, and to have to obliterate by his oration the unfavourable effect produced on the multitude by his appearance.

[Footnote 525: So the contemporary poet Maximian, speaking of his own past successes as an orator, and a good-looking one, says:

'Nec minor his aderat sublimis gratia formae
Quae vel si decent cetera, muta placet.'

Elegiae i. 17-18.]

'We consider it not necessary to praise his eloquence. Of course a Quaestor is eloquent. While some have the government of a Province committed to them, others the care of the Treasury, he receives the ensigns of his dignity in order that by him his Sovereign's fame may be spread abroad through the whole world.'

15. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[On the election of Pope Felix III, 526.]

[As this letter has an important bearing on the royal rights in connection with Papal elections, it is translated in full.]

[Sidenote: Election of Pope Felix III (or IV).]

'We profess that we hear with great satisfaction that you have responded to the judgment of our glorious lord and grandfather in your election of a Bishop. It was right in sooth to obey the will of a good Sovereign, who, handling the matter with wise deliberation, although it had reference to a form of faith alien from his own[526], thought fit to select such a Pontiff as could rightfully be displeasing to none. You may thus recognise that his one chief desire was that Religion might flourish by good priests being supplied to all the churches.

[Footnote 526: 'Qui sapienti deliberatione pertractans quamvis in aliena religione.']

'You have received then a man both admirably endowed with Divine grace and approved by royal scrutiny. Let no one any longer be involved in the old contention. There is no disgrace in being conquered when the King's power has helped the winning side. That man makes him [the successful candidate] his own, who manifests to him pure affection. For what cause for regret can there be, when you find in this man, those very qualities which you looked for in the other when you embraced his party?

'These are family quarrels[527], a battle without cold steel, a contest without hatred: by shouts, not wounds, a matter like this is decided.

[Footnote 527: The words of Cassiodorus are, 'crinea sunt ista certamina.' No one seems able to suggest a meaning for _crinea_. The editors propose to read _civica_, which however is very flat, and not exactly in Cassiodorus' manner. I suspect some recondite classical allusion, which has been missed by the transcribers, has led to the corruption of the text.]

'For even though the person who is desired be taken from you, yet naught is lost by the faithful, since the longed-for priesthood is possessed by them. [They have a Pope, if not just the Pope whom they wished for.] Wherefore on the return of your Legate, the Illustrious Publianus, we have thought it right to send to your assembly these letters of salutation. For we taste one of our highest pleasures when we exchange words with our nobles; and we doubt not that this is very sweet to you also, when you reflect that what you did by our grandsire's order is personally agreeable to ourselves.'

[For remarks on this important letter see Dahn's 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 239. He makes it a simple appointment of the Pope by the bare will of Theodoric, afterwards confirmed by Athalaric. To me it seems more probable that there had been a contest, threatening the election of an antipope (as in 498 in the case of Symmachus and Laurentius), and that the matter had been, as on that occasion, referred to the arbitration of Theodoric.]

16. KING ATHALARIC TO OPILIO, COUNT OF THE SACRED LARGESSES (527).

[Sidenote: Opilio appointed Comes Sacrarum Largitionum.]

'It is generally necessary to weigh carefully the merits of a new aspirant to the honours of the Court (aulicas dignitates); but in your case the merits of your family render this examination needless. Both your father and brother held the same office[528] which we are now entrusting to you, and one may say that this dignity has taken up its abode in your house.

[Footnote 528: 'Pater his fascibus praefuit sed et frater eadem resplenduit claritate.']

'You learned the duties of a subordinate in the office under your brother; and often did he, leaning upon you as on a staff, take a little needful repose, knowing that all things would be attended to by you. The crowds of suppliants who resorted to him with their grievances, shared the confidence which the people had in you, and saw that you were already assuming the character of a good judge.

'Most useful also were your services to the throne at the commencement of the new reign, when men's minds were in trouble as to what should happen next. You bore the news of our accession to the Ligurians, and so strengthened them by your wise address that the error into which they had been betrayed by the sun-setting was turned into joy at the rising of our empire[529].'

[Footnote 529: 'Nam cum ... auspicia nostra Liguribus felix portitor nuntiasti, et sapientiae tuae allocutione firmasti, in errorem _quem de occasu conceperant_, ortum nostri imperii in gaudia commutabant.' Does this obscure passage indicate some revolutionary movements in Liguria after the death of Theodoric, perhaps fomented by the Frankish neighbours of Italy?]

'We therefore confer upon you the dignity of Count of the Sacred Largesses from this sixth Indiction (Sept. 1, 527). Enjoy all the privileges and emoluments which belonged to your predecessors. God forbid that those whose own actions are right should be shaken by any machinations of calumny. There was a time when even Judges were harassed by informers (delatores); but that time is over. Lay aside then all fear, you who have no errors to reproach yourself with, and freely enjoy the advantages of your dignity. Imitate your brother: even though a little way behind him you will still be before most holders of the office. He was a man of the highest authority and of proved constancy, and the highest testimony to his merits was afforded by the fact that even under a successor who was hostile to him the whole official staff of the palace was loud in his praises[530].'

[Footnote 530: 'Quando sub ingrato successore palatinum officium praeconia ejus tacere non potuit.']

[This letter is of great importance, as containing indirectly the expression of Cassiodorus' opinion on the trial of Boethius, and the tendency of that opinion seems to be against him and in favour of his accusers. Comparing this letter with v. 40, addressed to Cyprian, Cornes Sacrarum Largitionum and _son of Opilio_, we may with something like certainty construct this genealogical table:

OPILIO,
C.S.L. (? son of the Consul of 453).
_________________|_________________
| |
CYPRIAN, OPILIO,
C.S.L. 524. C.S.L. 527.

Now Cyprian, whose ready wit and ingenious eloquence had rendered him a favourite with Theodoric, is represented to us in the 'Philosophiae Consolatio' of Boethius (I. iv.) and in the 'Anonymus Valesii' (85) as the informer by whom Albinus and Boethius were accused of high treason. Opilio too (no doubt the same as the receiver of this letter) is described by Boethius (loc. cit.) as a man who on account of his numberless frauds had been ordered by the King to go into banishment, had taken refuge at the altar, and had been sternly bidden to leave Ravenna before a given day, and then had purchased pardon by coming forward as a _delator_ against Boethius.

Against all this passionate invective it is fair to set this remarkable letter of Cassiodorus, written it is true in the young King's name and presenting the Court view of these transactions, but still written after the death of Theodoric, and perhaps republished by Cassiodorus in the 'Variarum' after the downfall of the Gothic Monarchy. In any case the allusions to _delatores_ in this letter, considering the history of Opilio and his brother, are extraordinary.]

17. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

This letter, though it does not mention the name of Opilio, is evidently written on his promotion to the office of Comes Sacrarum Largitionum. It enumerates his good qualities, and declares that it is marvellous and almost fortunate for Athalaric that so suitable a candidate should not have been promoted in the reign of his grandfather. The father of Opilio was a man of noble character and robust body, who distinguished himself by his abstinence from the vices of the times and his preference for dignified repose in the stormy period of Odovacar[531].

[Footnote 531: 'Adjectis saeculi vitiis, ditatus claris honoribus.' The text is evidently corrupt. 'Abjectis' seems to be required; but some MSS. instead of 'vitiis' read 'Odovacris.' In any case Odovacar's government is evidently alluded to. Cf. the words used of the same man in the letter announcing the elevation of his other son, Cyprian (v. 41): 'Nam pater huic, sicut meministis, Opilio fuit, vir quidem _abjectis temporibus_ ad excubias tamen Palatinas electus.']

'He was reputed an excellent man in those times, when the Sovereign was not a man of honour[532]. But why go back to his parentage, when his brother has set so noble an example. The friendship, the rivalry in virtue of these two brothers, is worthy of the good old times. Both are true to their friends; both are devoid of avarice. Both have kept their loyalty to their King unspotted, and no marvel, since they have first shown themselves true to their friends and colleagues.

[Footnote 532: 'His temporibus habitus est eximius, cum princeps non esset erectus.']

'Distinguished by these virtues, our candidate has been fittingly allied by marriage with the noble family of Basilius[533].

[Footnote 533: This is probably the Basilius who was concerned in the accusation of Boethius (Phil. Cons. I. iv.); possibly the Consul of 541, who fled to Constantinople when Totila took Rome in 546 (Procop. De Bello Gotthico iii. 20, and Anastasius Lib. Pontif. apud Murator. iii. 132); and perhaps the Basilius whom we find in trouble in Variarum iv. 22, 23: scarcely the Basilius of Variarum ii. 10, 11.]

'He has managed his private affairs so as to avoid the two extremes of parsimony and extravagance. He has become popular with the Goths by his manner of life, and with the Romans by his righteous judgments[534]; and has been over and over again chosen as a referee (Judex privatus), thus showing the high opinion in which his integrity is held.

[Footnote 534: 'Gentiles victu (?), Romanos sibi judiciis obligabat.']

'The Conscript Fathers are exhorted to endorse the favourable judgment of the King, by welcoming the new Count of Sacred Largesses into their body.'

[In view of these letters I do not understand what Gibbon means by saying (cap. xxxix. _n._ 95), 'The characters of the two delators, Basilius ('Var.' ii. 10, 11; iv. 22) and Opilio (v. 41; viii. 16), are illustrated, not much to their honour, in the Epistles of Cassiodorus.' This is quite true of Basilius, if the person alluded to in the references given by Gibbon be the same as the informer against Boethius, of which there may be a doubt; but Opilio is mentioned, as we see, with the highest honour by Cassiodorus. So, too, is Decoratus, whom in the same note Gibbon too hastily stigmatises as 'the worthless colleague of Boethius.']

18. KING ATHALARIC TO FELIX, QUAESTOR (527).

[This cannot be the same as the Consul of 511, nor even his son; for that Felix was of Gaulish extraction, and came from beyond the Alps.]

[Sidenote: Promotion of Felix to the Quaestorship.]

'It is desirable that those who are appointed as Judges should know something of law, and most unfitting that he whom so many officials (_milites_) obey should be seen to be dependent for his law on some one of his subordinates.

'You long ago, when engaged in civil causes as an Advocate, were marked out by your Sovereign's eye[535]. He noted your eloquence, your fidelity, your youthful beauty, and your maturity of mind. No client could ask for more devotion than you showed in his cause; no Judge found in you anything to blame.

[Footnote 535: 'Dudum te forensibus negociis insudantem, _oculus imperialis_ aspexit'--an expression which goes very near to styling Theodoric Imperator.]

'Receive then now the dignity of Quaestor for this sixth Indiction (Sept. 1, 527), and judge in the Courts where hitherto you have pleaded.

'You are called Felix; act so as always to merit that name; for it is absurd to have a name which denotes one thing and to display the opposite in one's character. We think we have now said enough for a man of your good conscience. Many admonitions seem to imply a doubt of the character of him who receives them.' [A maxim often forgotten by Cassiodorus.]

19. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[On the promotion of Felix.]

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

'As the sky with stars, or the meadow with flowers, so do we wish the Senate to be resplendent with the men of eminence whom we introduce into it. It is itself a seminary of Senators; but our favour and the dignities of our Court also rear them.

'The Quaestorship is the true mother of the senatorial dignity, since who can be fitter to take his seat in the Curia than he who has shared the counsels of his Sovereign?

'You know the eloquence of our candidate [Felix], his early triumphs, his modesty, his fidelity. To leave such a man unpromoted were a public loss; and he will always love the laws by the practice of which he has risen to eminence.

'Nor is he the first of his race to earn rhetorical distinction. His father shone so brilliantly in the Forum of Milan, that he bloomed forth with undying fruits from the soil of Cicero[536]. He stood against Magnus Olybrius, he was found equal in fluency to Eugenius[537] and many others whom Rome knew as foremost in their art. If the transmission of material wealth by long descent makes men noble, how much more should the inheritance of the treasures of the intellect give nobility.'

[Footnote 536: 'Pater ita in Mediolanensi foro resplenduit, ut aeterno fructu e Tulliano cespite pullularet.']

[Footnote 537: 'Is palmarum Eugenetis linguae ubertate suffecit.' Possibly this is the Magister Officiorum of Var. i. 12, and the person to whom is addressed a letter of Ennodius (iv. 26). The form Eugenetis, instead of Eugenii, belongs to the debased Latinity of the age.]

20. KING ATHALARIC TO ALBIENUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND PRAEFECTUS PRAETORIO[538] (527).

[Footnote 538: In Nivellius' edition the title of this office is given as _Praepositus_.]

[Sidenote: Albienus made Praetorian Praefect.]

'Your predecessor has been the model of a bad governor. As the North wind clears the face of the sky from the rain and clouds brought by the South wind, so do we look to you to repair the evils wrought by his misgovernment. In all things your best maxim will be to do exactly the opposite of what he did. He made himself hateful by his unjust prosecutions: do you become popular by your righteous deeds. He was rapacious: be you moderate. Soothe and relieve the harassed people entrusted to your charge. Receive for this sixth Indiction [Sept. 1, 527-528] the fasces of the Praefecture, and let the office of Praetorian Praefect return to its ancient fame, an object of praise to the whole world[539]. This office dates from Joseph, and rightly is he who holds it called by our laws Father of the Provinces, Father of the Empire.

[Footnote 539: 'Redeat ad nomen antiquum Praefectura illa Praetorii, toto orbe laudabilis.' Is it possible that there had been some attempt to change the _title_ of the Praefect, which accounts for the _Praepositus_ which in some MSS. we find in the heading of this letter?]

'See that you avoid all unjust exactions. We cannot bear that our Treasury should be filled by unrighteous means.

'Your descent from a father who has held the same high office, and your intimate knowledge of the _Dicta prudentum_, warrant us in believing that you will make a good judge.'

[I have not been able to find any hint of the name of the Praefectus Praetorio for 526-527, so bitterly condemned in this letter. As he may have held office for some years, his misgovernment may have been connected with the death of Boethius (524). Can we connect him with the Trigguilla 'Regiae Praepositus Domus' whose injustice is denounced by Boethius ('Phil. Cons.' i. 4)?]

21. KING ATHALARIC TO CYPRIAN, PATRICIAN.

22. KING ATHALARIC TO THE SENATE OF THE CITY OF ROME.

[Sidenote: Cyprian's elevation to the Patriciate.]

In these two letters the high character and distinguished services of Cyprian are commemorated. 'Under Theodoric he distinguished himself both in war and peace. At the time of the war of Sirmium he was conspicuous both in his resistance to the fiery onslaught of the Bulgarians and in his active pursuit of them when their ranks were broken[540]. He then filled, with great credit to himself, the office of Referendarius[541]. Great was the responsibility of exercising peaceful as well as warlike offices under such a master as Theodoric. In fact the training for one was helpful for the other, since it required a soldier's courage and promptness to be always ready with a truthful and accurate reply to that keen, firm-minded ruler of men[542].

[Footnote 540: 'Vidit te adhuc gentilis' (still under the dominion of the Gepidae) 'Danubius bellatorem: non te terruit Bulgarorum globus, qui etiam nostris erat praesumptione certaminis obstaturus. Peculiare tibi fuit et renitentes Barbaros aggredi, et conversos terrore sectari. Sic victoriam Gothorum non tam numero quam labore juvisti.']

[Footnote 541: For a description of his services in this function, see Var. v. 40.]

[Footnote 542: This is evidently the meaning; but something seems to have dropped out of the text.]

'Thence he was promoted to the dignity of Count of the Sacred Largesses, a post well suited to his pure, self-restrained character[543]. He is now growing old in body, but ever young in fame, and the King heartily wishes him increase of years to enjoy his renown.

[Footnote 543: 'Hoc est laborum tuorum aptissimum munus: quam sic castâ sic moderatâ mente peregisti ut majora tibi deberi faceres, quamvis eam in magna praemia suscepisses.']

'Rightly, too, is there now conferred upon him the dignity of _Patricius_, since he is the father of such noble sons, men whose childhood was passed in the palace under the very eye of Theodoric (thus like young eagles already learning to gaze upon the sun), and who now cultivate the friendship of the Goths, learn from them all martial exercises, speak their language, and thus give evident tokens of their future fidelity to the Gothic nation[544].

[Footnote 544: 'Relucent etiam gratia gentili, nec cessant armorum imbui fortibus institutis. _Pueri stirpis Romanae nostra linguâ loquuntur; eximie indicantes exhibere se nobis futuram fidem, quorum jam videntur affectasse sermonem.... Variis linguis loquuntur egregie_, maturis viris communione miscentur.']

'The Senate is therefore exhorted to welcome its thus promoted colleague, who at each accession of rank has shown himself yet worthier of his high place, and whom grandfather and grandson have both delighted to honour. Thus will it renew the glories of the Decii and the Corvini, who were its sons in the days of old.'

[The subject of these letters is indisputably the same Cyprian whom the 'Anonymus Valesii' speaks of as suborning false witnesses against Albinus and Boethius, and of whom the latter says ('Phil. Cons.' i. 4): 'Ne Albinum, Consularem virum praejudicatae accusationis poena corriperet, odiis me Cypriani delatoris opposui.' Compare the remarks made on Letters 16 and 17; and remember that this letter was composed three years after the death of Boethius, when Theodoric also was dead, and his daughter was only too willing to retrace his steps, in all that concerned the severities of the latter years of his reign. For the pedigree of Cyprian see p. 363.]

23. KING ATHALARIC TO BERGANTINUS, VIR ILLUSTRIS AND COMES PATRIMONII.

[Sidenote: Gifts to Theodahad.]

'Kings should always be generous, but especially to those of their own family.

'Therefore we desire your Greatness to transfer the farms herein described, to the exalted and most honourable Theodahad, weighing out to him so many solidi, out of that which was formerly the patrimony of his magnificent Mother; and we guarantee to him the absolute ownership of such farms, free from any claims to the inheritance on our part[545].

[Footnote 545: 'Atque ideo illustrem magnitudinem tuam praecelso atque amplissimo viro Theodahado massas subter annexas, tot solidos pensitantes, ex patrimonio quondam magnificae foeminae matris ipsius, praecipimus reformari, ejus feliciter dominio plenissime vendicandas, cujus successionis integrum jus in ea qua praecipimus parte largimur.' According to Dahn (Könige der Germanen iv. 60-61), these lands had been given in her lifetime by Theodahad's mother to the King, and are now begged for by Theodahad. But why 'tot solidos pensitantes?' Why should Theodahad receive both land and money? There seems no authority for translating 'pensitantes' receiving. Probably the solidi thus paid to him are mesne rents received by the King and accounted for to Theodahad. On the whole affair cf. Procopius, De Bello Gotthico i. 4.]

'We trust to his sincerity and good faith, that in the future he will deserve the remainder of the above-mentioned patrimony, with the addition of the whole quantity[546].

[Footnote 546: 'De cujus fide ac synceritate praesumimus, ut sequenti tempore reliqua supra memorati patrimonii cum omni adjecta quantitate mereatur.' This sentence is to me quite unintelligible.]

'What can we deny to such a man, whose obedience might claim a higher reward even were he not our cousin--a man who is not puffed up by any pride of his noble birth, humble in his modesty, always uniform in his prudence? Therefore instruct the Cartarii of your office to make over the aforesaid farms to his Actores without delay[547].'

[Footnote 547: Cf. the formalities connected with Odovacar's deed of gift to Pierius (Marini, Pap. Diplom. 82, 83), quoted in Italy and her Invaders iii. 165.]

24. KING ATHALARIC TO THE CLERGY OF THE ROMAN CHURCH.

[Sidenote: Ecclesiastical immunities.]

'For the gift of kingly power we owe an infinite debt to God, whose ministers ye are.

'Ye state in your tearful memorial to us that it has been an ordinance of long custom that anyone who has a suit of any kind against a servant of the sacrosanct Roman Church should first address himself to the chief Priest of that City, lest haply your clergy, being profaned by the litigation of the Forum, should be occupied in secular rather than religious matters. And you add that one of your Deacons has, to the disgrace of religion, been so sharply handled by legal process that the Sajo[548] has dared actually to take him into his own custody.

[Footnote 548: In the text, 'Sajus.']

'This dishonour to the Ministers of holy things is highly displeasing to our inborn reverence, yet we are glad that it gives us the opportunity of paying part of our debt to Heaven.

'Therefore, considering the honour of the Apostolic See, and wishing to meet the desires of the petitioners, we by the authority of this letter decree in regular course[549]:

[Footnote 549: 'Praesenti auctoritate moderato ordine definimus.' Dahn interprets 'moderato ordine,' 'not so absolutely as the Roman clergy desires.' Is not this to attribute rather too much force to the conventional language of Cassiodorus?]

'That if anyone shall think he has a good cause for going to law with a person belonging to the Roman clergy, he shall first present himself for hearing at the judgment-seat of the most blessed Pope, in order that the latter may either decide between the two in his own holy manner, or may delegate the cause to a Jurisconsult to be ended by him. And if, perchance, which it is impiety to believe, the reasonable desire of the petitioner shall have been evaded, then may he come to the secular courts with his grievance, when he can prove that his petitions have been spurned by the Bishop of the aforesaid See[550].

[Footnote 550: 'Definimus, ut si quispiam ad Romanum Clerum aliquem pertinentem, in quâlibet causâ probabili crediderit actione pulsandum, ad beatissimi Papae judicium prius conveniat audiendus. Ut aut ipse inter utrosque more suae sanctitatis agnoscat, aut causam deleget aequitatis studio terminandam: et si forte, quod credi nefas est, competens desiderium fuerit petitoris elusum, tuno ad saecularia fora jurgaturus occurrat, quando suas petitiones probaverit a supradictae sedis praesule fuisse contemptas.']

'Should any litigant be so dishonest and so irreverent, both towards the Holy See and our authority, as to disregard this order [and proceed first in our tribunals against one of the Roman clergy], he shall forfeit 10 lbs. of gold [£400], to be exacted by the officers of the Count of Sacred Largesses and distributed by the Pope to the poor; and he shall lose his suit in addition, notwithstanding any decree which he may have gained in the secular court.

'Meanwhile do you, whom our judgments thus venerate, live according to the ordinances of the Church. It is a great wickedness in you to admit such crimes as do not become the conversation even of secular men. Your profession is the heavenly life. Do not condescend to the grovelling wishes and vulgar errors of ordinary mortals. Let the men of this world be coerced by human laws; do you obey the precepts of righteousness.'

[See Dahn, 'Könige der Germanen' iii. 191-2, Sartorius 145, and Bauer's 'History of the Popes' ii. 323-4, for remarks on this important _privilegium_.

It is clear that it relates to civil, not criminal procedure, and that it does leave a right of final appeal from the Papal Courts to the dissatisfied secular litigant. At the same time, that such an appeal would be prosecuted with immense difficulty is clear even from the words of the decree. The appellant will have to satisfy the King's Judges of a thing which it is almost impiety to believe, that the occupant of the Roman See has spurned his petitions.]

25. KING ATHALARIC TO JOANNES, VIR SPECTABILIS, REFERENDARIUS.

[Sidenote: Confirmation of Tulum's gift of property in the Lucullanum.]

'It is a very fitting thing to confirm the generosity of others towards persons who might well have received gifts from oneself. We therefore declare that in your case the gift is another's but the will to give is our own, and the King has only been anticipated by the rapid bounty of the subject[551].

[Footnote 551: 'Profitemur itaque alterius quidem donum, sed nostrum esse judicium, et modernam principis mentem praevenisse tantum velocissimam largitatem.' Observe again the use of Cassiodorus' favourite word _modernam_.]

'Everyone knows that our grandfather wished to give you the house of Agnellus in the Castrum Lucullanum, but could not do so having already given it to the Patrician Tulum[552]. Tulum, however, with his usual generosity, seconding the wishes of his master, formally conveyed the property to you; and that conveyance we now confirm, guaranteeing the quiet possession of it to you and your heirs for all time to come. If any doubt exist as to your title, by any mischance, or by reason of any enquiry, such doubt is exploded by the authority of this letter of ours[553].

[Footnote 552: Tholuit, or Tholum, in some MSS., but no doubt the same as the Tulum of Letters 9 and 10.]

[Footnote 553: 'Ubi et si quid esset quolibet casu, qualibet inquisitione fortassis ambiguum, hujus auctoritatis nostrae judicio constat explosum.']

'And should any envious person, in contempt of our royal will, dare to raise any question in this matter hereafter, either on behalf of the Fiscus or of any private individual, we declare that he shall pay to you, or to the person to whom you may have assigned the said house, 100 lbs. of gold (£4,000) by way of penalty.'

[Why should there be the necessity of this royal confirmation of a transaction between two private individuals, Tulum and Joannes, and this tremendous penalty on all future impugners of it?

Evidently because the property had been impressed with the character of State domain, and it was doubtful how far Tulum's alienation of it might stand good against the claims of future Sovereigns.

This becomes quite clear when we reflect what is the property to which this letter refers. It is either the whole or a part of the Lucullanum, to which the deposed Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was banished in 476. On his death, as we may conjecture, this property, one of the most delightful places of residence in Italy, has been given by Theodoric to Tulum, perhaps just after he had distinguished himself in the Gaulish campaign of 508. For some reason or other, Tulum has alienated it (ostensibly, given it) to the Reporter Joannes, no doubt a Roman, who is apparently nervous lest his title to it should hereafter be impugned on the ground that the palace of the last Roman Emperor was national property. Hence this letter. There is some difficulty and variation between the MSS. in the words describing the property: 'Saepe dicta domus paternae recordationis Agnelli, in Lucullano castro posita.' For _paternae_, Migne's editor reads _patriciae_. The forthcoming critical edition of the 'Variae' will show whether there is any support in the MSS. for a conjecture which I cannot help entertaining that _Agnelli_ is an error for _Augustuli_.]

26. KING ATHALARIC TO ALL THE INHABITANTS OF REATE AND NURSIA.

[Sidenote: Gothic settlers in the Sabine territory exhorted to obedience to their Prior, Quidila.]

'Our glorious grandfather had arranged that, in accordance with your desire, Quidila, son of Sibia, should be your Captain (Prior). We confirm this appointment, and desire you to obey him in all things. You are so far moulded by the character of our grandfather that you willingly obey both the laws and the Judges. Our enemies are best vanquished, and the favour both of Heaven and of other nations is best conciliated for us, by our obeying the principles of justice. If anyone is in need of anything, let him seek to obtain it from the generosity of his Sovereign rather than by the strength of his own right hand, since it is for your advantage that the Romans be at peace, who, in filling our Treasury, at the same time multiply your donatives.'

[This letter is evidently addressed to Goths, and Quidila the _Prior_, who is set over them, is also a Goth. We can only conjecture what the office of Prior was: probably to some extent it involved civil as well as military authority. The conjecture of Dahn ('Könige der Germanen' iv. 173) that it corresponds to the Gothic _Hundafath_ (Centenarius), seems to me extremely probable. The title of the letter is curious. It is addressed 'Universis Reatinis et Nursinis.' Are we then to suppose that strong military colonies of Goths had been settled in these places, the Roman inhabitants having been extruded? The fact that St. Benedict was born in Nursia, some fifty-seven years before the writing of this letter, gives an additional interest to this question.]

27. KING ATHALARIC TO DUMERIT THE SAJO, AND TO FLORENTINUS, A ZEALOUS OFFICER OF THE COURT[554].

[Footnote 554: 'Florentino viro devoto Comitiaco.']

[Sidenote: Robbery in the district of Faenza to be suppressed.]

'Justice must be shown upon the wicked. Different diseases require different remedies.

'Let your Devotion speed instantly through the territory of Faventia, and if you find any persons, either Goths or Romans, concerned in the plunder of the possessors, punish them severely. How much better it would be for those misguided persons to live according to our will, and earn the reward of pleasing us.' [The last sentence is obscure, and perhaps the text is corrupt.]

28. KING ATHALARIC TO CUNIGAST, VIR ILLUSTRIS.

[No doubt the same as the Conigast attacked by Boethius in the 'Philosophiae Consolatio' i. 4[555].]

[Footnote 555: 'Quoticus ego Conigastum in inbecillis cujusque fortunas impetum facientem obvius excepi!']

[Sidenote: Possessores (or Coloni?) forced to become slaves.]

'Our Serenity has been moved by the grievous petition of Constantius and Venerius, who complain that Tanca [probably a Goth] has wrested from them the farm which is called Fabricula, which belonged to them in their own right, together with the stock upon it[556], and has compelled them, in order to prevent similar forcible demands upon their property in future, to allow the worst lot of all--the condition of slavery--to be imposed upon them, who are really free[557].

[Footnote 556: 'Cum suo peculio.' If they were not slaves they could not have _peculium_ in the technical sense. I therefore understand 'peculio' to be simply equivalent to _cattle_, a sense which is confirmed by 'Calabri peculiosi' in Letter 33.]

[Footnote 557: 'Adjicientes ne rerum suarum repetitionibus imminerent [? imminuerent] liberis sibi conditionem ultimae servitutis imponi.' Cf. Salvian, De Gubernatione Dei v. 8, 9, for a description of similar occurrences in Gaul.]

'Let your Greatness therefore summon Tanca to your judgment-seat, and, after hearing all parties, pronounce a just judgment and one accordant to your character. For though it is a serious matter to oust a lord from his right, it is contrary to the feelings of our age to press down free necks under the yoke of slavery.

'Let Tanca therefore either establish his right to the slaves and their property, or, if they are proved free, let him give them up, whole and unharmed: in which case we will inflict upon him no further penalty.'

29. KING ATHALARIC TO THE DIGNIFIED CULTIVATORS[558] AND CURIALS OF THE CITY OF PARMA.

[Footnote 558: 'Honoratis Possessoribus.']

[Sidenote: Sanitary measures needed in Parma.]

'You ought willingly to co-operate in that which is being done for the advantage of your town. When it was suffering from a long drought, our grandfather, with God's help, watered it with the life-giving wave. Cleanse out then the mouths of your sewers, lest otherwise, being checked in its flow by the accumulated filth, it should surge back into your houses, and bring into them the pollution which it was meant to wash away.

'The Spectabilis Genesius is appointed to superintend this work, and to quicken your zeal regarding it.'

30. KING ATHALARIC TO GENESIUS, VIR SPECTABILIS.

[Relating to the same subject as the preceding.]

[Sidenote: The same subject.]

'Through love of your city our grandfather, with royal generosity, constructed an aqueduct of the ancient type[559] for you. But it is of no use to provide a good water-supply unless your sewers are in good order. Therefore let your Sublimity set the citizens of Parma diligently to work at this business, that all ancient channels, whether underground or those which run by the sides of the streets, be diligently repaired[560], in order that when the longed-for stream flows into your town it be not hindered by any obstacle.

[Footnote 559: 'Antiqui operis formam.']

[Footnote 560: 'Quatenus antiquos cuniculos, sive subterraneos, sive qui junguntur marginibus platearum diligenter emendent.']

'How fair is water in a running stream, but how ugly in puddles and swamps; it is good then neither for man nor beast. Without water city and country alike languish; and rightly did the ancients punish one who was unfit for human society by forbidding all men to give him water. Therefore you ought all heartily to combine for this most useful work, since the man who is not touched by the comeliness of his city has not yet the mind of a citizen.'

31. KING ATHALARIC TO SEVERUS, VIR SPECTABILIS.

[Is Severus _Vicarius Urbis_? His title Spectabilis seems to require some such rank as this, otherwise he seems more like a _Corrector_ (Clarissimus) _Bruttiorum et Lucaniae_. Perhaps already the strict gradation established by Diocletian and Constantine was somewhat broken down, and governors received higher titles than strictly belonged to them.]

[Sidenote: Dissuasions from a country life, and praises of Cassiodorus' native land of Bruttii.]

'Since you, when on the staff of the Praefect, have learned the principles of statesmanship, we are sure that you will agree with us that cities are the chief ornament of human society. Let the wild beasts live in fields and woods: men ought to draw together into cities. Even among birds we see that those of gentle disposition--like thrushes, storks, and doves--love to flock together, while the greedy hawk, intent on its bloody pastime, seeks solitude.

'Now we say that the man who shuns human society becomes at once an object of suspicion. Let therefore the Possessores and Curiales of Bruttii return to their cities. The Coloni may cultivate the soil--that is what their name denotes[561]; but the men whom we decorate with civic honours ought to live in cities.

[Footnote 561: 'Coloni sunt qui agros jugiter colunt.']

'In truth it is a lovely land. Ceres and Pallas have crowned it with their respective gifts (corn and oil); the plains are green with pastures, the slopes are purple with vineyards. Above all is it rich in its vast herds of horses[562], and no wonder, since the dense shade of its forests protects them from the bites of flies, and provides them with ever verdant pasture even in the height of summer. Cool waters flow from its lofty heights; fair harbours on both its shores woo the commerce of the world.

[Footnote 562: Cf. what is said (i. 4) as to the large present of horses made by the father of Cassiodorus to Theodoric for the use of the Gothic army.]

'There the countryman enjoys the good food of the citizen, the poor man the abundance of the wealthy[563]. If such then be the charms even of the country in your Province, why should you shirk living in its cities[564]?

[Footnote 563: 'Vivunt illic rustici epulis urbanorum, mediocres autem abundantia praepotentium.' 'Mediocres' and 'tenues' are technical words with Cassiodorus for the poor.]

[Footnote 564: Cassiodorus must have felt the weakness of his logic here. He patriotically praises the rural beauty of Bruttii, yet the conclusion which by main force he arrives at is, 'Leave the country and live in towns.']

'Why should so many men refined by literature skulk in obscurity? The boy goes to a good school, becomes imbued with the love of letters, and then, when he is come to man's estate and should be seeking the Forum in order to display his talents, he suddenly changes into a boor, unlearns all that he has learned, and in his love for the fields forgets what is due to a reasonable love for himself. And yet even birds love human fellowship, and the nightingale boldly rears her brood close to the haunts of men.

'Let the cities then return to their old splendour; let none prefer the charms of the country to the walls reared by the men of old. Why should not everyone be attracted by the concourse of noble persons, by the pleasures of converse with his equals? To stroll through the Forum, to look in at some skilful craftsman at his work, to push one's own cause through the law courts, then between whiles to play with the counters of Palamedes (draughts), to go to the baths with one's acquaintances, to indulge in the friendly emulation of the banquet--these are the proper employments of a Roman noble; yet not one of them is tasted by the man who chooses to live always in the country with his farm-servants[565].

[Footnote 565: 'Cui enim minus grata nobilium videatur occursio. Cui non affectuosum sit cum paribus miscere sermonem, forum petere, honestas artes invisere, causas proprias legibus expedire, interdum Palamediacis calculis occupari, ad balneas ire cum sociis, prandia mutuis apparatibus exhibere? Caret profecto omnibus his, qui vitam suam vult semper habere cum famulis.']

'We order therefore that all Possessores and Curiales shall, according to their relative means, find bail and give bonds, promising that they will for the larger part of the year reside in some city, such as they may choose[566]. And thus, while not wholly debarred from the pleasures of the country, they will furnish to the cities their proper adornment of citizens.'

[Footnote 566: 'Datis fidejussoribus jam Possessores quam Curiales, sub aestimatione virium, poenâ interpositâ, promittant anni parte majore se in civitatibus manere, quas habitare delegerint.']

32. KING ATHALARIC TO SEVERUS, VIR SPECTABILIS.

[Sidenote: The Fountain of Arethusa.]

'Nimfadius (Vir Sublimis) was journeying to the King's Comitatus on some affair of his own, when, wearied with his journey, he lay down to rest, and let his beasts of burden graze round the fountain of Arethusa.

'This fountain, situated in the territory of Squillace[567], at the foot of the hills and above the sand of the sea, makes a green and pleasant place all round it, fringed with rustling reeds as with a crown. It has certain marvellous properties: for let a man go to it in silence and he sees it calmly flowing, more like a pond than a fountain. But let him cough or speak with a loud voice, and it becomes violently agitated, heaving to and fro like a pot boiling. Strange power this of a fountain to answer a man. I have read that some fountains can change the colours of the animals that drink at them; that others can turn wood dropped into them to stone. The human reason is altogether unable to understand such things as these.

[Footnote 567: 'In Scyllatino territoris.' Transcribers, thinking of the Arethusa at Syracuse, have tried to alter this into _Siciliano_; but there can be little doubt that the above reading is right. As to the situation of the Fountain of Arethusa, see Introduction, p. 72.]

'But let us return to the complaint of our suppliant. Nimfadius asserts that, while he was resting, the country people artfully drove off his beasts of burden.

'This kind of crime brings our times into disgrace, and turns the charm of that quiet resting-place into disgust. Diligently enquire into it, for the credit of our Comitatus is involved in our subjects being able to journey to it in safety. At first, no doubt, the offenders will lie close, and seem as silent as the unmoved Arethusa. But begin your investigations, and they will soon break forth, like that fountain, with angry exclamations, in the midst of which you will discover the truth. Punish the offenders severely; for we should regret that owing to the excesses of robbers that wonderful and joy-bringing fountain should be deserted.'

33. KING ATHALARIC TO SEVERUS, VIR SPECTABILIS.

[Sidenote: The Feast of St. Cyprian.]

'We hear that the rustics are indulging in disorderly practices, and robbing the market-people who come from all quarters to the chief fair of Lucania on the day of St. Cyprian. This must by all means be suppressed, and your Respectability should quietly collect a sufficient number of the owners and tenants of the adjoining farms[568] to overpower these freebooters and bring them to justice. Any rustic or other person found guilty of disturbing the fair should be at once punished with the stick[569], and then exhibited with some mark of infamy upon him[570].

[Footnote 568: 'Spectabilitas vestra praedicto tempore, unâ cum Possessoribus atque Conductoribus diversarum massarum ad quietem convenientium ... reos inveniat,' &c.]

[Footnote 569: 'Inter ipsa initia comprehensus fustuariae subdatur ultioni.']

[Footnote 570: 'Pompatus mala nota.']

'This fair, which according to the old superstition was named Leucothea [after the nymph], from the extreme purity of the fountain at which it is held, is the greatest fair in all the surrounding country. Everything that industrious Campania, or opulent Bruttii, or cattle-breeding Calabria[571], or strong Apulia produces, is there to be found exposed for sale, on such reasonable terms that no buyer goes away dissatisfied. It is a charming sight to see the broad plains filled with suddenly-reared houses formed of leafy branches intertwined: all the beauty of the most leisurely-built city, and yet not a wall to be seen. There stand ready boys and girls, with the attractions which belong to their respective sexes and ages, whom not captivity but freedom sets a price upon. These are with good reason sold by their parents, since they themselves gain by their very servitude. For one cannot doubt that they are benefited even as slaves [or servants?], by being transferred from the toil of the fields to the service of cities[572].

[Footnote 571: 'Calabri peculiosi.']

[Footnote 572: 'Praesto sunt pueri ac puellae, diverso sexu atque aetate conspicuo, quos non facit 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.' With almost any writer but Cassiodorus this would prove that in the Sixth Century free Italians were selling their children into actual slavery. But I doubt whether he really means more than that the children of the country people were for hire as domestic servants in the cities. If so, the scene is not unlike our own 'statute fairs' or 'hirings' in the north of England. It appears from § 94 of the Edictum Theodorici that parents could sell their children, but that the latter did not lose their _status ingenuus_. Must they then claim it on coming of age? 'Parentes qui cogente necessitate filios suos alimentorum gratia vendiderint ingenuitati eorum non praejudicant. _Homo enim liber pretio nullo aestimatur._' Cf. also § 95: 'Operas enim tantum parentes filiorum quos in potestate habuerint, locare possunt.']

'What can I say of the bright and many-coloured garments? what of the sleek and well-fed cattle offered at such a price as to tempt any purchaser?

'The place itself is situated in a wide and pleasant plain, a suburb of the ancient city of Cosilinum, and has received the name of Marcilianum from the founder of these sacred springs[573].

[Footnote 573: Marcilianum is now Sala, in the valley of the Calore (Tanager). Padula is thought by some to mark the site of Cosilinum. The Island of Leucosia, now Licosa, a few miles from Paestum, evidently does not represent the Leucothea of this letter.]

'And this is in truth a marvellous fountain, full and fresh, and of such transparent clearness that when you look through it you think you are looking through air alone. Choice fishes swim about in the pool, perfectly tame, because if anyone presumes to capture them he soon feels the Divine vengeance. On the morning which precedes the holy night [of St. Cyprian], as soon as the Priest begins to utter the baptismal prayer, the water begins to rise above its accustomed height. Generally it covers but five steps of the well, but the brute element, as if preparing itself for miracles, begins to swell, and at last covers two steps more, never reached at any other time of the year. Truly a stupendous miracle, that streams of water should thus stand still or increase at the sound of the human voice, as if the fountain itself desired to listen to the sermon.

'Thus hath Lucania a river Jordan of her own. Wherefore, both for religion's sake and for the profit of the people, it behoves that good order should be kept among the frequenters of the fair, since in the judgment of all, that man must be deemed a villain who would sully the joys of such happy days.'