Letter 3007: King Theodoric to Januarius, Venerable Bishop of Salona [modern Split, Croatia].
VII. King Theoderic to Januarius, the venerable man, bishop of Salona.
[1] We command, indeed, that all should cultivate and observe justice, but most of all those who are exalted by divine honors, so that they may become near to heavenly grace, inasmuch as they are far removed from earthly desire. Johannes, therefore, has appealed to us with a tearful complaint that your holiness received from him sixty jars of oil for the filling of lamps, the price of which he demands ought to be restored to him. A good vow, indeed, provided that nothing adverse is mingled in it. [2] For although it is fitting that justice be kept everywhere, it is most especially necessary in those matters which are offered to the divine gaze, lest we suppose that God is ignorant from where He receives, if He should acquiesce in offerings obtained by fraud. And therefore, if you recognize the petitioner's complaint to be true, by that consideration of justice which you proclaim by the holy law, cause those things which are owed by right to be restored without delay: so that no one may groan that losses have been inflicted upon him through you, whom it rather befits to furnish assistance. Wherefore take care that you who are not accustomed to transgress in great matters may not now appear, which God forbid, to sin in a small one.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
VII. IANUARIO VIRO VENERABILI EPISCOPO SALONITANO THEODERICUS REX.
[1] Omnes quidem iustitiam colere et observare praecipimus, sed eos maxime qui divinis honoribus eriguntur, ut supernae gratiae fiant proximi, dum a terrena fuerint cupiditate longinqui. Iohannes itaque flebili nos allegatione pulsavit sanctitatem vestram a se sexaginta orcas olei ad implenda luminaria suscepisse, quarum pretium sibi postulat oportere restitui. bonum quidem votum, si tamen non ibi aliquid misceatur adversum. [2] Nam licet ubique deceat iustitiam custodiri, in illis rebus maxime necessaria est, quae divinis obtutibus offeruntur, ne putemus ignorare deum, unde accipiat, si fraudatis oblationibus adquiescat. et ideo, si veram querimoniam cognoscitis supplicantis, consideratione iustitiae, quam sancta lege praedicatis, facite quae iure debentur sine tarditate restitui: quatenus nullus ingemiscat illata sibi per vos fuisse dispendia, quos decet potius praestare iuvamina. quapropter studete, ut, qui non soletis pro rebus magnis excedere, nunc non videamini, quod absit, in parvitate peccare.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern cassiodorus retranslated v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/cassiodorus/varia3.shtml
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