The Letters of Cassiodorus
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, _a 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 Koenige 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