The Letters of Cassiodorus
Gotthico' iii. 18 and 22, as to his son Tullianus. In connection with
the alleged misgovernment of Bruttii and Lucania by Venantius,
remember the close connection of Cassiodorus himself with those
Provinces.]
47. KING THEODORIC TO FAUSTUS, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT.
[Sidenote: Jovinus, for killing a fellow Curial, is banished to the
islands of Lipari, the volcanoes of which are described.]
'Jovinus the Curialis, according to the report of the Corrector of
Lucania and Bruttii, had an angry altercation with a fellow Curial
(collega), and in his rage slew him.
'He then took refuge within the precincts of a church, and refused to
surrender himself to justice. We decide that the capital punishment
shall be remitted out of reverence for his place of refuge, but he
shall be banished to the Vulcanian [Lipari] Islands, there to live
away from the paternal hearth, but ever in the midst of burning, like
a salamander, which is a small and subtile beast, of kin to the
slippery worm, clothed with a yellow colour.
'The substance of volcanoes, which is perpetually destroyed, is by the
inextricable power of Nature perpetually renewed.
'The Vulcanian Islands are named from Vulcan, the god of fire, and
burst into eruption on the day when Hannibal took poison at the Court
of Prusias. It is especially wonderful that a mountain kindling into
such a multitude of flames, should yet be half hidden by the waves of
the sea.'
48. KING THEODORIC TO ALL GOTHS AND ROMANS LIVING NEAR THE FORT OF
VERRUCA[304].
[Footnote 304: The double 'r' seems to be the correct spelling, though
the MSS. of the Variarum apparently have the single 'r.']
[Sidenote: Fortification of Verruca in the Tyrol.]
'It is the duty and the glory of a ruler to provide with wise
forethought for the safety of his subjects. We have therefore ordered
the Sajo Leodifrid that under his superintendence you should build
yourselves houses in the fort Verruca, which from its position
receives its most suitable name[305].
[Footnote 305: 'Milites ad Verrucam illum--_sic enim M. Cato locum
editum asperumque appellat_--ire jubeas' (Gell. 3. 7. 6). Verruca
therefore means primarily a steep cliff, and only secondarily a wart.
See White and Biddell, s.v.]
'For it is in the midst of the plains a hill of stone roundly arising,
which with its tall sides, being bare of woods, is all one great
mountain fortress. Its lower parts are slenderer (graciliora) than its
summit, and like some softest fungus the top broadens out, while it is
thin at bottom. It is a mound not made by soldiers[306], a stronghold
made safe by Nature[307], where the besieged can try no _coup-de-main_
and the besieged need feel no panic. Past this fort swirls the Adige,
that prince of rivers, with the pleasant gurgle of his clear waters,
affording a defence and an adornment in one. It is a fort almost
unequalled in the whole world, "a key that unlocks a kingdom[308];"
and all the more important because it bars the invasion of wild and
savage nations. This admirable defence what inhabitant would not wish
to share, since even foreigners delight to visit it? and though by
God's blessing we trust that the Province [of Raetia] is in our times
secure, yet it is the part of prudence to guard against evils, though
we may think they will not arise.'
[Footnote 306: 'Agger sine pugna.']
[Footnote 307: 'Obsessio secura.']
[Footnote 308: 'Tenens claustra provinciae.']
Examples of gulls, who fly inland when they foresee a storm; of
dolphins, which seek the shallower waters; of the edible sea-urchin,
'that honey of flesh, that dainty of the deep,' who anchors himself to
a little pebble to prevent being dashed about by the waves; of birds,
who change their dwellings when winter draws nigh; of beasts, who
adapt their lair to the time of year. And shall man alone be
improvident? Shall he not imitate that higher Providence by which the
world is governed?
[The fortress of Verruca does not seem to be mentioned in the
'Notitia,' in the Antonine 'Itinerary,' or by the geographer of
Ravenna.
Maffei ('Verona Illustrata,' Book ix. Vol. 2, pp. 391-2 in ed. 1825)
comments on this passage, and argues that _Verruca = Dos Trento_, a
cliff about a mile from Trient, and this identification seems to have
been accepted, for Ball ('Alpine Guide, Eastern Alps,' p. 404) says:
'In the centre of the valley, close to the city, rises a remarkable
rock known as _Dos Trento, and also called La Verruca_, formerly
frequented for the sake of the beautiful view which it commands. Since
1857 it has been strongly fortified, and permission to ascend to the
summit is not easily obtained.'
Maffei says that the French bombarded Trient from this rock in 1703.
He speaks of another 'Verruca, or Rocca,' on the other side of
Aquileia, and thinks that the modern word 'rocca' (rock) may perhaps
have been derived herefrom (?).
It is remarkable that there is a place called _Verrua_ near the Po in
Piedmont (about 20 miles east of Turin). 'Situated upon an abrupt and
insulated hill, in a most defensible position, it opposed an obstinate
resistance to the Emperor Frederick II. In more recent times (1704),
the Duc de Vendome attacked it without success' (Murray's 'Guide to
Northern Italy,' p. 51). No doubt this was also originally called
_Verruca_.]
49. KING THEODORIC TO THE HONOURED POSSESSORES, DEFENSORES, AND
CURIALES OF THE CITY OF CATANA.
[Sidenote: Repair of amphitheatre of Catana.]
'It is a great delight to the Ruler when his subjects of their own
accord suggest that which is for the good of the State. You have
called our attention to the ruinous state of your walls, and ask leave
to use for its repair the stones of the amphitheatre, which have
fallen down from age and are now of no ornament to your town, in fact
only show disgraceful ruins. You have not only our permission to do
this, but our hearty approval. Let the stones, which can be of no use
while they lie there, rise again into the fabric of the walls; and
your improved defence will be our boast and confidence.'
[Some remains of the amphitheatre are still visible at Catania; not,
however, so important as those of the theatre.]
50. KING THEODORIC TO THE PROVINCIALS OF NORICUM.
[Sidenote: The Alamanni and Noricans to exchange their cattle.]
'It is an admirable arrangement when a favour can be conferred by
which giver and receiver are alike benefited.
'We therefore decree that you should exchange your oxen for those of
the Alamanni.
'Theirs is the finer and larger breed of cattle, but they are worn out
by the long journey. Thus will they get fresh beasts capable of doing
the work which is required of them, and you will permanently improve
your breed of cattle, and so be able to till your fields better. Thus,
what does not often happen, the same transaction will equally benefit
both parties to it.'
[Cf. ii. 41 as to these Alamannic exiles. Possibly this letter as well
as that refers to their expulsion by Clovis (cir. 504); but it seems
more probable, as von Schubert suggests (pp. 52-54), that we have here
to do with a removal of some of the Alamannic subjects of Theodoric
from Raetia to Noricum, in order to guard the north-east frontier of
the kingdom.]
51. KING THEODORIC TO FAUSTUS, PRAETORIAN PRAEFECT.
[Sidenote: Stipend of Thomas the Charioteer. Description of the
Circus.]
'Constancy in actors is not a very common virtue, therefore with all
the more pleasure do we record the faithful allegiance of Thomas the
Charioteer, who came long ago from the East hither, and who, having
become champion charioteer, has chosen to attach himself to "the seat
of our Empire[309];" and we therefore decide that he shall be rewarded
by a monthly allowance. He embraced what was then the losing side in
the chariot races and carried it to victory--victory which he won so
often that envious rivals declared that he conquered by means of
witchcraft.
[Footnote 309: 'Nostri sedes delegit fovere _Imperii_.']
'The sight of a chariot-race (spectaculum) drives out morality and
invites the most trifling contentions; it is the emptier of honourable
conduct, the ever-flowing spring of squabbles: a thing which Antiquity
commenced as a matter of religion, but which a quarrelsome posterity
has turned into a sport.
'For Aenomaus is said first to have exhibited this sport at Elis, a
city of Asia (?), and afterwards Romulus, at the time of the rape of
the Sabines, displayed it in rural fashion to Italy, no buildings for
the purpose being yet founded. Long after, Augustus, the lord of the
world, raising his works to the same high level as his power, built a
fabric marvellous even to Romans, which stretched far into the Vallis
Murcia. This immense mass, firmly girt round with hills, enclosed a
space which was fitted to be the theatre of great events.
'Twelve _Ostia_ at the entrance represent the twelve signs of the
Zodiac. These are suddenly and equally opened by ropes let down by the
_Hermulae_ (little pilasters)[310]. The four colours worn by the four
parties of charioteers denote the seasons: green for verdant spring,
blue for cloudy winter, red for flaming summer, white for frosty
autumn. Thus, throughout the spectacle we see a determination to
represent the works of Nature. The _Biga_ is made in imitation of the
moon, the _Quadriga_ of the sun. The circus horses (_Equi
desultorii_), by means of which the servants of the Circus announce
the heats (_Missos_) that are to be run, imitate the herald-swiftness
of the morning star. Thus it came to pass that while they deemed they
were worshipping the stars, they profaned their religion by parodying
it in their games.
[Footnote 310: The Ostia are denoted by A and the Hermulae by H in
the accompanying plan. (See page 230.)]
'A white line is drawn not far from the ostia to each _Podium_
(balcony), that the contest may begin when the quadrigae pass it, lest
they should interrupt the view of the spectators by their attempts to
get each before the other[311]. There are always seven circuits round
the goals (_Metae_) to one heat, in analogy with the days of the week.
The goals themselves have, like the decani[312] of the Zodiac, each
three pinnacles, round which the swift quadrigae circle like the sun.
The wheels indicate the boundaries of East and West. The channel
(_Euripus_) which surrounds the Circus presents us with an image of
the glassy sea, whence come the dolphins which swim hither through the
waters[313] (?). The lofty obelisks lift their height towards heaven;
but the upper one is dedicated to the sun, the lower one to the moon:
and upon them the sacred rites of the ancients are indicated with
Chaldee signs for letters[314].
[Footnote 311: 'Ut quadrigis progredientibus, inde certamen oriretur:
ne dum semper propere conantur elidere, spectandi voluptatem
viderentur populis abrogare.' In fact, to compel the charioteers to
start fair.]
[Footnote 312: Each sign of the Zodiac was considered to have three
decani, occurring at intervals of ten days.]
[Footnote 313: 'Unde illuc delphini aequorei aquas interfluunt.' The
sentence is very obscure, but the allusion must be to the dolphins,
the figures of which were placed upon the spina.]
[Footnote 314: 'Obeliscorum quoque prolixitates ad coeli altitudinem
sublevantur: sed potior soli, inferior lunae dicatus est: ubi sacra
priscorum Chaldaicis signis, quasi litteris indicantur.']
'The _Spina_ (central wall, or backbone) represents the lot of the
unhappy captives, inasmuch as the generals of the Romans, marching
over the backs of their enemies, reaped that joy which was the reward
of their labours. The _Mappa_ (napkin), which is still seen to give
the signal at the games, came into fashion on this wise. Once when