The Letters of Cassiodorus Part 35

'We have therefore directed that a certain sum of money be sent for the repair of the walls and old towers of Arles. But we are also going to send you, as soon as the time is favourable for navigation, provisions to supply the waste caused by the war. Be of good cheer, therefore! Grain for which our word is pledged is as good as grain already in your granaries.'

45. KING THEODORIC TO ARIGERN, ILl.u.s.tRIS AND COUNT.

[Sidenote: Site disputed between Roman Church and Samaritans.]

'It is represented to us by the Defensors of the "sacrosanct" Roman Church that Pope Simplicius, of blessed memory, bought a house at Rome[303] of Eufrasius the Acolyte, with all proper formalities, and that now the people of the Samaritan superst.i.tion, hardened in effrontery, allege that a synagogue of theirs was built on that site, and claim it accordingly; whereas the very style of building, say their opponents, shows that this was meant as a private house and not as a synagogue. Enquire into this matter, and do justice accordingly.

If we will not tolerate chicanery [calumniae] against men, much less will we against the Divinity Himself.'

[Footnote 303: 'In sacratissima urbe.']

46. KING THEODORIC TO ADEODATUS.

[Sidenote: Further charges of misgovernment against Venantius.]

'The crimes of subjects are an occasion for manifesting the virtues of princes. You have addressed to us your pet.i.tion, alleging that you were compelled by the Spectabilis Venantius, Governor of Lucania and Bruttii, to confess yourself guilty of the rape of the maiden Valeriana.

[Sidenote: Illogical decision in the case of Adeodatus.]

'Overcome, you say, by the severity of your imprisonment and the tortures inflicted upon you, and longing for death as a release from agony; being moreover refused the a.s.sistance of Advocates, while the utmost resources of rhetoric were at the disposal of your opponents, you confessed a crime which you had never committed.

'Such is your statement. The Governor of Bruttii sends his _relatio_ in opposition, saying that we must not give credence to a pet.i.tioner who is deceitfully seeking to upset a sentence which was given in the interests of public morality.

'Our decision is that we will by our clemency mitigate the severity of your punishment. From the date of this decree you shall be banished for six months; and on your return no note of infamy of any kind shall be attached to you; since it is competent for the Prince to wipe off all the blots on a damaged reputation. Anyone who offends against this decree [by casting your old offence in your teeth] shall be fined 120 (3 lbs. of gold). And all who are accused of the same offence in any place or time, but who offended through ignorance, are to be freed from all fear of punishment.'

[A most illogical and unjust conclusion, by which the judgment of Venantius is in fact neither upheld nor reversed. And what the meaning of the concluding sentence may be it is impossible to conjecture. See Dahn, 'Konige der Germanen' iii. 107, on this absurd decision.

On the subject of the misgovernment and disgrace of Venantius, cf.

Letters ii. 15, 16; iii. 8, 36. Cf. also Procopius, 'De Bello Gotthico' iii. 18 and 22, as to his son Tullia.n.u.s. In connection with the alleged misgovernment of Bruttii and Lucania by Venantius, remember the close connection of Ca.s.siodorus 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 G.o.d 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 mult.i.tude 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 loc.u.m 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 G.o.d'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 'Not.i.tia,' in the Antonine 'Itinerary,' or by the geographer of Ravenna.

Maffei ('Verona Ill.u.s.trata,' Book ix. Vol. 2, pp. 391-2 in ed. 1825) comments on this pa.s.sage, 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 NORIc.u.m.

[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 Noric.u.m, in order to guard the north-east frontier of the kingdom.]