Letter 13007: We have received with joy your written address to us indicating your health and safety, and we thereby perceive that you so transcend your age in prudence as to make it evident that it is for the happiness of the nation of the Franks that the government of royal dominion has been committed by the favour of heavenly grace to your Excellency. And ...

Gregory to Theoderic, King of the Franks. I received your Excellency's letter with joy -- the news of your health and safety. Its clear and flowing language reveals a prudence remarkable for your years, making it plain that it is by the favor of heavenly grace that the government of royal dominion has been committed to your Excellency -- for the happiness of the Frankish nation. Among your many praiseworthy qualities, this stands out: in whatever you know your most excellent grandmother desires for the love of Almighty God, you hasten earnestly to lend your aid. Through this, may you reign happily here and live with the angels hereafter. Since this comes from great wisdom of judgment -- a gift from God -- I have fulfilled what your Excellency requested so quickly and gladly as to show by the speed of my response how much your good deeds have pleased me. Greeting you with fatherly warmth, I inform you that all the matters you entrusted to your illustrious servants Burgoaldus and Varmaricarius have been disclosed to me in private audience. I praise you greatly -- you attend wisely to the present, as befits you, and also work to secure the future through a lasting peace between you and the empire, so that by becoming united you may extend the stability of your kingdom to all time. I will report to you in due course what God is pleased to arrange. For my part, whatever is beneficial and conducive to peace, I desire and strive to see accomplished. May the Holy Trinity cause you always to advance in his fear, and bring your kingdom to prosper in this life and in the next.

Book XIII, Letter 7 To Theoderic, King of the Franks . Gregory to Theoderic, etc. We have received with joy your written address to us indicating your health and safety, and we thereby perceive that you so transcend your age in prudence as to make it evident that it is for the happiness of the nation of the Franks that the government of royal dominion has been committed by the favour of heavenly grace to your Excellency. And this in you among other things is enough to call for praise and admiration, that in such things as you know that our daughter your most excellent grandmother desires for the love of Almighty God, in these you make haste most earnestly to lend your aid, so that thereby you may reign both happily here, and in a future life with the angels . Seeing, then, that this comes, by the gift of God, from great discreetness of judgment, we have so speedily and gladly fulfilled what your Excellency desires as to show by the celerity of our execution how much your good deeds have pleased us. Furthermore, greeting you with paternal sweetness, we inform you that all the matters which you enjoined on the illustrious men your servants Burgoaldus and Varmaricarius, our sons, to be transacted with us have been disclosed to us in a private interview. And we praised you greatly, that you both attend wisely, as becomes you, to the present, and also make haste so to provide for security in the future by means of a lasting peace between you and the Republic that, being made one, you may extend the stability of your kingdom salutarily to all time. With regard to this we will announce to you in time to come what it may please God to order. For, as to us, whatever is proved to be advantageous and conducive to peace, we desire and strive that it should be brought to pass. The one thing is that, as our will is with regard to what is expedient, so should be the will of God, without whom we can do nothing. May the Holy Trinity make you to advance always in His fear, and so dispose your heart in moderation well-pleasing to Him as both to grant to your subjects now joy from you, and to you from Himself joy without end hereafter.