'See the sacred City all white with your vota (?). See yourself borne upon the shoulders of all, and your name flitting through their mouths, and manifest yourself such that you may be deemed worthy of your race, worthy of the City, worthy of our choice, worthy of the Consular trabea.'
[The letter makes one suspect a certain narrowness and coldness of heart in the subject of its praise.]
[3.] King Theodoric to the Senate. a.d. 511.
On the same subject.
Recommends Felix for the Consulship, going over again the topics mentioned in the two last letters. It appears that it was the father of Felix who emerged, after a temporary eclipse of the family fortunes, and then showed himself 'the Cato of our times, abstaining from vice himself, and forming the characters of others; imbued also with all Greek philosophy, he glutted himself with the honey of the Cecropian doctrine.'
Mention is made of the Consulship of an earlier Felix, a.d. 428, the happy renown of which still lingered in the memories of men.
The young Felix is praised for the qualities described in the two previous letters, and also for his power of conciliating the friendship of older men, especially the excellent Patrician Paulinus.
[4.] King Theodoric to Ecdicius (or Benedictus), Vir Honestus.
Collection of Siliquaticum.
'We wish always to observe long-established rules in fiscal matters, the best guarantee against extortion. Therefore, whatever dues in the way of Siliquaticum appertained to Antiochus are now transferred to you by the present authority, and the Sajo is charged to support your claims herein; only the contention must not be mixed up with any private matters of your own.'