Commends the public spirit of Symmachus, as shown in the restoration of Pompey's theatre.
Commends him for the diligence and skill with which he has decorated Rome with new buildings—especially in the suburbs, which no one would distinguish from the City except for the occasional glimpses of pleasant fields; and still more for his restoration of the massive ruins of past days[369], chiefly the theatre of Pompeius.
As the letter is addressed to a learned man, it seems a suitable opportunity to explain why Antiquity reared this mighty pile. Accordingly a very long digression follows on the origin, progress, and decline of Tragedy, Comedy, and Pantomime.
It is remarked incidentally that Pompeius seems to have derived his appellationMagnuschiefly from the building of this wonderful theatre.
The expense which Symmachus has been put to in these vast works is to be refunded to him by thePraepositus Sacri Cubiculi, that he may still have the glory of the work, but that the King may have done his due part in preserving the memorials of Antiquity.
The King of the Vandals is thanked for his presents.
'The swords which you have sent us are most beautiful: so sharp that they will cut other weapons; so bright that they reflect with a sort of iron light[371]the face of the beholder; with the two blades descending to their edges with such absolute equality of slope, that you would fancy them the result of the furnace rather than of the whetstone[372]; in the middle, between the blades, channels carved which are filled in with beautiful enamel of various colours[373].
'Along with these arms you have also sent us musical instruments of ebony, and slave boys of beautiful whiteness.
'We thank you heartily, send by A and B, our ambassadors, presents of equal value; and hope that mutual concord will always unite our States.'
The Haesti, dwellers by the Baltic. Their present of amber.
[These are the Aestii of Tacitus, dwelling in or on the south border of the country which is still called Esthonia. Tacitus also mentions their quest of amber[374].]
'It is gratifying to us to know that you have heard of our fame, and have sent ambassadors who have pressed through so many strange nations to seek our friendship.
'We have received the amber which you have sent us. You say that you gather this lightest of all substances from the shores of the ocean, but how it comes thither you know not. But, as an author named Cornelius [Tacitus] informs us, it is gathered in the innermost islands of the ocean, being formed originally of the juice of a tree (whence its namesuccinum[375]), and gradually hardened by the heat of the sun.
'Thus it becomes an exuded metal, a transparent softness, sometimes blushing with the colour of saffron, sometimes glowing with flame-like clearness[376]. Then, gliding down to the margin of the sea, and further purified by the rolling of the tides, it is at length transported to your shores to be cast up upon them. We have thought it better to point this out to you, lest you should imagine that your supposed secrets have escaped our knowledge.
'We send you some presents by our ambassadors, and shall be glad to receive further visits from you by the road which you have thus opened up, and to show you future favours.'
[The collection of amber is also noticed by Pliny ('Nat. Hist.' 37. 2). It is interesting to observe that he there, on the authority of Pytheas, attributes to the Guttones dwelling on the Baltic shore the collection of amber, and its sale to the Teutones. These Guttones were, if we are right in accepting Jordanes' account of the Gothic migrations, themselves ancestors of the Ostrogoths.]
Honoratus, brother of Decoratus, is made Quaestor.
The usual pair of letters on the promotion of Honoratus to the Quaestorship. He succeeds his brother Decoratus, whose early death Theodoric regrets. The date of the letters is the Third Indiction, September 1, 509.
The writer remarks on the prophetic instinct[377]of the parents, who named these two sons, destined to future eminence, Decoratus and Honoratus. Decoratus was originally an advocate at Rome. His services were often sought by men of Consular rank, and before his admission to the Senate he had had a Patrician for his client in a very celebrated case[378].
When he became Quaestor he distinguished himself by his excellent qualities. 'He stood beside us, under the light of our Genius, bold but reverent; silent at the right time, fluent when there was need of fluency. He kept our secrets as if he had forgotten them; he remembered every detail of our orders as if he had written them down. Thus was he ever an eminent lightener of our labours[379].'
The past career of the younger brother, Honoratus, who has been advocate at Spoleto, and has had to contend with the corrupt tendencies of Provincial judges, full of their little importance, and removed from the wholesome control which the opinion of the Senate exercised upon them at Rome, is then sketched; and the hope is expressed that, in the words of the Virgilian quotation[380], this bough upon the family tree will be found as goodly as that which it has untimely lost.
Duties of the Quaestorship.
The letter to the Senate has an interesting passage on the duties and responsibilities of the Quaestor.
'It is only men whom we consider to be of the highest learning that we raise to the dignity of the Quaestorship, such men as are fitted to be interpreters of the laws and sharers of our counsels. This is an honour which neither riches nor high birth by itself can procure, only learning joined with prudence. In granting all other dignities we confer favours, but from the holder of this we ever receive them. He is favoured to have a share in our anxieties; he enters in by the doorof our thoughts; he is intimately acquainted with the breast in which the cares of the whole State are weighed. Think what judgment you ought to form of a man who is partaker of such a confidence. From him we require skill in the laws; to him flow together all the prayers of all suitors, and (a thing more precious than any treasure) to him is committed our own reputation forcivilitas. Under a just Quaestor the mind of an innocent man is at rest: only the wicked become anxious as to the success of their evil designs; and thus the bad lose their hope of plunder, while more earnestness is shown in the practice of virtue. It is his to safeguard the just rights of all men: temperate in expenditure, lavish in his zeal for justice, incapable of deception, prompt in succour. He serves that Sovereign mind before which all bow: through his lips must he speak who has not an equal in the land.'
Abuses of the Cursus Publicus.
Repeats the injunctions given in Letteriv. 47against improper use of the public post-horses, and overloading of the extra horses. The fines imposed are the same as in that letter [with the addition of a fine of two ounces of gold (about £6 10s.) for overloading]; the examples from Natural History are similar. 'The very bird when weighted with a load flies slowly. Ships though they cannot feel their toils, yet move tardily when they are filled with cargo. What can the poor quadruped do when pressed by too great burden? It succumbs.'
But apparently this rule against overloading is not to apply to Praepositi (Provincial Governors?), since 'reverenda antiquitas' has given them special rights over theCursus Publicus.
Default in payments to Treasury made by Thomas. His property assigned to his son-in-law Joannes.
'TheVir Honestus, Thomas, has long been a defaulter (reliquator) in respect of the Indictions payable for certain farms which he has held under the King's house in Apulia[382], and this default has now reached the sum of 10,000 solidi (£6,000). Repeatedly summoned to pay, he always procrastinates, and we can get no satisfaction out of him. The petition of Joannes, who is son-in-law to Thomas, informs us that he is willing to pay the 10,000 solidi due, if we will make over to him the said farms, and all the property of his father-in-law. This we therefore now do, reserving to Thomas the right to pay the debt at any time before the next Kalends of September, and thus to redeem his property. Failing such payment, the property is to pass finally into the hands of Joannes, on his paying the 10,000 solidi to the Illustrious Count of the Patrimony[possibly Stabularius].
'It may be some little consolation to Thomas to reflect that after all it is his son-in-law who enters into possession of his goods.'
[Dahn ('Könige der Germanen' iii. 277) remarks on this letter: 'But even the well-meaning Theodoric takes steps in the interests of substantial justice which from a juristic point of view it would be hard to justify.... Evidently here the King, in his consideration of what was practically just, has decided according to caprice, notaccording to right; for the Fiscus could strictly only be repaid its debt out of the property of the defaulter, and hold the Arcarius (Joannes) responsible for the balance' (for which Dahn thinks he had already made himself liable). I do not quite agree with this view. It seems to me that Thomas was hopelessly bankrupt (the debt was 10,000 solidi, not 1,000, as stated by Dahn), and the Fiscus virtually sells the bankrupt's estate to his son-in-law, for him to make of it what he can.]
Transport of marble from Faenza to Ravenna.
'We rely upon your Sublimity's zeal and prudence to see that the required blocks of marble are forwarded from Faventia (Faenza) to Ravenna, without any extortion from private individuals; so that, on the one hand, our desire for the adornment of that city may be gratified, and on the other, there may be no cause for complaint on the part of our subjects.'
New city to be built in district of Trient.
'We have ordered the erection of a new city in the territory of Tridentum (Trient). As the work is great and the inhabitants few, we order you all to assist and build each your appointed length (pedatura) of wall, for which you will receive suitable pay.'
[This use of the wordpedaturais found in Vegetius, 'Epitoma Rei Militaris' iii. 8, and is illustrated by the centurial stones on the two great Roman walls in Britain, recording the number of feet accomplished by each century of soldiers (See 'Archaeologia Aeliana,' vol. ix. p. 28; paper by Mr. Clayton).]
'None, not even the servants of the royal house (divina domus), are excepted from this order.'
Payment to Gepidae on their march to Gaul.
'We desire that our soldiers should always be well paid, and that they should never become the terror of the country which they are ordered to defend. Do you therefore, Sajo Veranus, cause the Gepid troops whom we have ordered to come to the defence of Gaul, to march in all peace and quietness through Venetia and Liguria.
'You Gepidae shall receive three solidi (£1 16s.) per week; and we trust that thus supplied you will everywhere buy your provisions, and not take them by force.
'We generally give the soldiers their pay in kind, but in this case, for obvious reasons, we think it better to pay them in money, and let them buy for themselves.
'If their waggons are becoming shaky with the long journey, or their beasts of burden weary, let them exchange for sound waggons and fresh beasts with the inhabitants of the country, but on such terms that the latter shall not regret the transaction.'
[Does this payment of three solidi mean per head? That would be an enormously high rate of pay. Sartorius (p. 289) feels the difficulty so strongly that he suggests that this was the pay given to the whole troop, whose number was not large; but 'multitudo' seems hostile to this hypothesis[383]. Possibly the high cost of provisions in the Alpine mountain-country may help to explain this unheard-of rate of pay to common soldiers.]
Avarice and injustice of Theodahad.
'If all are bound to seek justice and to avoid ignoble gains, most especially are they thus bound who pride themselves on their close relationship to us.
'The heirs of the Illustrious Argolicus [probably the Praefect of Rome] and the Clarissimus Amandianus complain that the estate[384]of Palentia, which we generously gave them to console them for the loss of the Casa Arbitana, has been by your servants, for no cause, unbecomingly invaded; and thus you, who should have shown an example of glorious moderation, have caused the scandal of high-handed spoliation. Wherefore, if this be true, let your Greatness at once restore what has been taken away; and if you consider that you have any claims on the land, come and assert them in our Comitatus. Even success yonder is injurious to your fame; but here, after full trial of the case and hearing of witnesses, no one will believe that any injustice has been done if your cause should triumph.'
[The republication of this letter at the close of his official life shows what was Cassiodorus' opinion of Theodahad, though he had served under him.]
Commissariat.
'We rely upon you to collect the prescribed rations and deliver them to the soldiers. It is most important that they should be regularly supplied, and that there should be no excuse for pillage, so hard to check when once an army has begun to practise it.'
Financial abuses in Suavia.
'We send you to redress the long-standing grievances of the Possessores of the Province of Suavia, to which we have not yet been able to apply a remedy.
'(1) It appears that some of the chief Possessores are actually making a profit out of the taxes, imposing heavy burdens on their poorer neighbours and not honestly accounting for the receipts to us. See that this is put right, that the land-tax (assis[386]publicus) is fairly and equitably reimposed according to the ability of each Possessor, and that those who have been oppressing their neighbours heal the wounds which they have made.
'(2) See also that a strict account is rendered by all Defensores, Curiales, and Possessores of any receipts on behalf of the public Treasury. If a Possessor can show that he paid his tax (tributarius solidus) for the now expired eighth Indiction (a.d.514-515), and the money has not reached our Treasury, find out the defaulter and punish his crime.
'(3) Similarly with sums disbursed by one of the clerks of our Treasury[387], for the relief of the Province, which have not reached their destination.
'(4) Men who were formerly Barbarians[388], who have married Roman wives and acquired property in land, are to be compelled to pay their Indictions and other taxes to the public Treasury just like any other Provincials.
'(5) Judges are to visit each town (municipium) once in the year, and are not entitled to claim from such towns more than three days' maintenance. Our ancestorswished that the circuits of the Judges should be a benefit, not a burden, to the Provincials.
'(6) It is alleged that some of the servants of the Count of the Goths and of the Vice-dominus (?) have levied black-mail on some of the Provincials. Property so taken must be at once restored and the offenders punished.
'(7) Enter all your proceedings under this commission in official registers (polyptycha), both for your own protection and for the sake of future reference, to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses.'
[A long and interesting letter, but with some obscure passages.]
On the same subject.
'Although our Comitatus is always ready to redress the grievances of our subjects, yet, on account of the length of the journey from your Province hither, we have thought good to send the Illustrious and Magnificent Severinus to you to enquire into your complaints on the spot. He is a man fully imbued with our own principles of government, and he has seen how greatly we have at heart the administration of justice. We therefore doubt not that he will soon put right whatever has been done wrong in your Province; and we have published our "oracles" [theprevious letter, containing Severinus' patent of appointment], that all may know upon what principles he is to act, and that those who have grievances against the present functionaries may learn their rights.'
Formation of a navy.
'By Divine inspiration we have determined to raise a navy which may both ensure the arrival of the cargoesof public corn and may, if need be, combat the ships of an enemy. For, that Italy, a country abounding in timber, should not have a navy of her own hath often stricken us with regret.
'Let your Greatness therefore give directions for the construction of 1,000dromones(swift cutters). Wherever cypresses and pines are found near to the sea-shore, let them be bought at a suitable price.
'Then as to the levy of sailors: any fitting man, if a slave, must be hired of his master, or bought at a reasonable price. If free, he is to receive 5 solidi (£3) as donative, and will have his rations during the term of service.
'Even those who were slaves are to be treated in the same way, "since it is a kind of freedom to serve the Ruler of the State[389];" and are to receive, according to their condition, two or three solidi (£1 4s. or £1 16s.) of bounty money[390].
'Fishermen, however, are not to be enlisted in this force, since we lose with regret one whose vocation it is to provide us with luxuries; and moreover one kind of training is required for him who has to face the stormy wind, and another for him who need only fish close to shore.'
On the same subject.
'We praise you for your prompt fulfilment of the orders contained in the previous letter. You have built a fleet almost as quickly as ordinary men would sail one. The model of the triremes, revealing the number of the rowers but concealing their faces, was first furnished by the Argonauts. So too the sail, that flying sheet[391]which wafts idle men to their destination quicker than swiftestbirds can fly, was first invented by the lorn Isis, when she set off on her wanderings through the world to find her lost son Apochran.
'Now that we have our fleet, there is no need for the Greek to fasten a quarrel upon us, or for the African [the Vandal] to insult us[392]. With envy they see that we have now stolen from them the secret of their strength.
'Let all the fleet be assembled at Ravenna on the next Ides of June. Let our own Padus send his home-born navy to the sea, his river-nurtured firs to battle with the winds of Ocean.
'But there is one suggestion of yours of great importance, and which must be diligently acted upon, namely the removal of the nets whereby the fishermen at present impede the channels of the following rivers: Mincius, Ollius (Oglio), Anser (Serchio), Arno, Tiber. Let the river lie open for the transit of ships; let it suffice for the appetite of man to seek for delicacies in the ordinary way, not by rustic artifice to hinder the freedom of the stream.'
On the same subject.
These three letters all relate to the same subject as the two preceding ones—the formation of a navy, and therendezvousof ships and sailors at Ravenna on the Ides of June.
The Count of the Patrimony is courteously requested to see if there is any timber suitable for the purposes of the navy, growing in the royal estates along the banks of the Po.
The Sajones are ordered in more brusque and peremptory fashion: Gudinand to collect the sailors at Ravenna on the appointed day; and Avilf to collect timber along the banks of the Po, with as little injury to the Possessors as possible (not, however, apparently paying them anything for it), to keep his hands clean from extortion and fraud, and to pull up the stake-nets in the channels of the five rivers mentioned inLetter 17; 'for we all know that men ought to fish with nets, not with hedges, and the opposite practice shows detestable greediness.'
Capuanus appointed Rector Decuriarum.
[On the appointment of Capuanus to the office of Rector of the Guilds (Rector Decuriarum). The Guilds (Decuriae) of the City of Rome—not to be confounded with the ProvincialCuriae, membership in which was at this time a burden rather than an advantage—enjoyed several special privileges. We find from the Theodosian Code, Lib. xiv. Tit. 1, that there were Decuriae of theLibrarii,Fiscales,Censuales. TheDecuria Scribarumis perhaps the same as theDecuria Librariorum. I use the word Guilds, which seems best to describe a body of this kind; but it will be seen from their names that these Guilds are not of a commercial character, but are rather concerned with the administration of justice. Some of them must have discharged the duties of attorneys, others of Inland Revenue officers, others acted as clerks to register the proceedings of the Senate, others performed the mere mechanical work of copying, which is now undertaken by a law stationer.
It was ordained by a law of Constantius and Julian (357) that no one should enter the first class in theseDecuriae[393]unless he were a trained and practised literary man.
The office which in the Theodosian Code is calledJudex Decuriarumseems here to be calledRector.]
The young Capuanus has distinguished himself as a advocate both before the Senate and other tribunals. There has been a certain diffidence and hesitation in his manner, especially when he was dealing with common subjects; but he always warmed with his peroration, and the same man who even stammered in discussing some trifling detail became fluent, nay eloquent, when the graver interests of his client were at stake. When he saw that the Judge was against him he did not lose heart, but, by praising his justice and impartiality, gradually coaxed him into a more favourable mood. On one memorable occasion, when a certain document was produced which appeared hostile, he boldly challenged the accuracy of the copy [made probably by one of theDecuria Librariorum] and insisted on seeing the original. This young advocate is now appointedRector Decuriarum, and thus accorded the privilege of seniority over many men who are much older than himself. He is exhorted to treat them with all courtesy, to remember the importance of accuracy and fidelity in the execution of his duties and those of theDecurialesunder him, on whose correct transcription of documents the property, the liberty, nay even the life of their fellow-subjects may depend. Especially he is exhorted to remember his own challenge of the accuracy of a copied document, that he may not ever find that memorable oration of his brought up against himself.
The Senate is exhorted to give the young official a kindly welcome. It will now devolve upon him to report with praiseworthy accuracy the proceedings of that body, the most celebrated in the whole world. He who has often pleaded before them the cause of thehumble and weak, will now have to introduce Consulars to their assembly. It is expected that his eloquence will grow and his stammer will disappear, now that he is clothed with a more dignified office. 'Freedom nourishes words, but fear frequently interrupts their plenteous flow.'
Archery drill.
'Tata the Sajo is ordered to proceed to the Illustrious Count Julian, with the young archers whom he has drilled, that they may practise on the field the lessons which they have learned in the gymnasium. Let your Greatness provide them with rations and ships according to custom.' [The place to which this expedition was directed does not seem to be stated.]
Property of a widow dying intestate and without heirs to be claimed for the State.
'We are informed that Joanna, the wife of Andreas, having succeeded to her husband's estate, has died intestate without heirs. Her property ought therefore to lapse to our Treasury[394], but it is being appropriated, so we are informed, by divers persons who have no claim to it.
'Enquire into this matter; and if it be as we are informed, reclaim for our Treasury so legitimate a possession. We should consider ourselves guilty of negligence if we omitted to take possession of that which, without harming anyone, so obviously comes in to lighten the public burdens.
'But if you find the facts different to these, by all means leave the present owners in quiet possession. The secure enjoyment by our subjects of that which is lawfully theirs we hold to be our truest patrimony.'
Bacauda receives the office of Tribunus Voluptatum for life.
'By way of support for your declining years we appoint you, for life,Tribunus Voluptatum[Minister of Public Amusement] at Milan.
'It is a new principle in the public service[396]to give any man a life-tenure of his office; but you will now not have to fear the interference of any successor, and your mind being at ease about your own future, you will be able to minister to the pleasures of the people with a smiling face.'
The Goths summoned to the royal presence.
'The presence of the Sovereign doubles the sweetness of his gifts, and that man is like one dead whose face is not known to his lord[397]. Come therefore by God's assistance, come all into our presence on the eighth day before the Ides of June (June 6th), there solemnly to receive our royal largesse. But let there be no excesses by the way, no plundering the harvest of the cultivators nor trampling down their meadows, since for this cause do we gladly defray the expense of our armies thatcivilitasmay be kept intact by armed men.'
The same.
'Order all the captains of thousands[398]of Picenum and Samnium to come to our Court, that we may bestow thewonted largesse on our Goths. We enquire diligently into the deeds of each of our soldiers, that none may lose the credit of any exploit which he has performed in the field. On the other hand, let the coward tremble at the thought of coming into our presence. Even this fear may hereafter make him brave against the enemy.'
Invitation to Court.
'Granting your request, and also satisfying our own desire for your companionship, we invite you to our Court.'
A blind Gothic warrior enslaved.
'Our pity is greatly moved by the petition of Ocer, a blind Goth, who has come by the help of borrowed sight tofeelthe sweetness of our clemency, though he cannot see our presence.
'He asserts that he, a free Goth, who once followed our armies, has, owing to his misfortune, been reduced to slavery by Gudila and Oppas. Strange excess of impudence to make that man their servant, before whose sword they had assuredly trembled had he possessed his eyesight! He pleads that Count Pythias has already pronounced against the claims of his pretended masters. If you find that this is so, restore him at once to freedom, and warn those men not to dare to repeat their oppression of the unfortunate.'
Servile tasks imposed on free Goths by a Duke.
'We expect those whom we choose as Dukes to work righteousness. Costula and Daila, men who by the blessing of God rejoice in the freedom of our Goths, complain that servile tasks are imposed upon them by you. We do not do this ourselves, nor will we allowanyone else to do it. If you find that the grievance is correctly stated rectify it at once, or our anger will turn against the Duke who thus abuses his power.'
[For the career of Decoratus seev. 3and4.]
Arrears of Siliquaticum to be enforced.
'Thomas, Vir Clarissimus, complains that he cannot collect the arrears of Siliquaticum from certain persons in Apulia and Calabria.
'Do you therefore summon Mark the Presbyter, Andreas, Simeonius, and the others whose names are set forth in the accompanying schedule, to come into your presence, using no unnecessary force[399]in your summons. If they cannot clear themselves of this debt to the public Treasury, they must be forced to pay.'
[The arrears are said to be for the 8th, 9th, 11th, 1st, 2nd, and 15th Indictiones; i.e. probably for the years 500, 501, 503, 508, 509, 507. I cannot account for this curious order in which the years are arranged, which seems to suggest some corruption of the text. Probably this letter was written about 509.]
[See remarks on this letter in Dahn ('Könige der Germanen' iv. 149-152); he claims it as a proof that Gothic law still existed for the Goths in Italy.]
Assault of the wife of Brandila on the wife of Patzenes.
'Times without number has Patzenes laid his complaintuponus, to wit that while he was absent on the recent successful expedition[400]your wife Procula fell upon his wife [Regina], inflicted upon her three murderous blows, and finally left her for dead, the victim having only escaped by the supposed impossibility of her living. Now therefore, if you acknowledge the fact to be so,you are to consult your own honour by inflicting summary punishment as a husband on your wife, that we may not hear of this complaint again[401]. But if you deny the fact, you are to bring your said wife to our Comitatus and there prove her innocence.'
[Containing the explanation of Procula's violence to Regina].
Adulterous connection between Brandila and the wife of Patzenes.
'Patzenes brings before us a most serious complaint: that during his absence in the Gaulish campaign, Brandila dared to form an adulterous connection with his wife Regina, and to go through the form of marriage with her.
'Whose honour will be safe if advantage is thus to be taken with impunity of the absense of a brave defender of his country? Alas for the immodesty of women! They might learn virtue even from the chaste example of the cooing turtle-dove, who when once deprived by misfortune of her mate, never pairs again with another.
'Let your Sublimity compel the parties accused to come before you for examination, and if the charge be true, if these shameless ones were speculating on the soldier of the Republic not returning from the wars, if they were hoping, as they must have hoped, for general collapse and ruin in order to hide their shame, then proceed against them as our laws against adulterers dictate[402], and thus vindicate the rights of all husbands.'
[If these laws were, as is probable, those contained in theEdictum Theodorici, the punishment for both the guilty parties was death, § 38, 39.]
Endless evasions of Frontosus. The nature of the chameleon.
'Frontosus, acting worthily of his name [the shameless-browed one], confessed to having embezzled a large sum of public money, but promised that, if a sufficient interval were allowed him, he would repay it. Times without number has this interval expired and been renewed, and still he does not pay. When he is arrested he trembles with fear, and will promise anything; as soon as he is liberated he seems to forget every promise that he has made. He changes his words, like the chameleon, that little creature which in the shape of a serpent is distinguished by a gold-coloured head, and has all the rest of its body of a pale green. This little beast when it meets the gaze of men, not being gifted with speed of flight, confused with its excess of timidity, changes its colours in marvellous variety, now azure, now purple, now green, now dark blue. The chameleon, again, may be compared to the Pandian gem [sapphire?], which flashes with all sorts of lights and colours while you hold it still in your hand.
'Such then is the mind of Frontosus. He may be rightly compared to Proteus, who when he was laid hold of, appeared in every shape but his own, roared as a lion, hissed as a serpent, or foamed away in watery waves, all in order to conceal his true shape of man.
'Since this is his character, when you arrest him, first stop his mouth from promising, for his facile nature is ready with all sorts of promises which he has no chance of performing. Then ascertain what he can really pay at once, and keep him bound till he does it. He must not be allowed to think that he can get the better of us with his tricks.'