Timeless Christians

Cassiodorus, Magnus Aurelius

Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus was born into a noble, wealthy, and patriotic Italian family in the fifth century. They were Christians, or at any rate included the Scripture as part of their son's education, which covered grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, mechanics, anatomy, and Greek. This immense learning and his personal ability attracted the notice of Odoacer, the first barbarian ruler of Italy, who gave him a position in his government. After Odoacer's final defeat by Theodoric at Ravenna in 493, Cassiodorus encouraged provincials to support the new ruler. Theodoric responded by giving Cassiodorus authority. He rose from post to post and became a close associate of Theodoric.

Cassiodorus was a true patriot and diplomat, who sought to bring reconciliation and union between the Arian conquerors and the conquered Catholic population of Italy, and to establish friendly relations with the Eastern empire. Theodoric however, became unreasonable in his later years, and brutally killed Cassiodorus' friend Boethius in 524. Theodoric died the following year. Afterward, Cassiodorus used his influence to check the Goths and to avert an invasion by Justinian. His writings show that he was animated by a truly patriotic spirit; if he adapted himself skilfully to the varying humors of bad rulers, it was so that he might alleviate the misfortunes of his conquered countrymen.

With the triumph of Belisarius, a general from the east, and the downfall of the Ostrogoths, Cassiodorus, who was now 70 years of age, withdrew to his native province and founded the monastery of Viviers at the foot of Mount Moscius. Not satisfied with the ordinary occupations of monastic life, he set up a society of monks, devoted to the pursuit of learning and science. He endowed the monastery with his extensive Roman library, and incited the monks by his own example to study classical and sacred literature, and he trained them in the careful transcription of manuscripts. He spent large sums on purchasing books for them to replicate. Whatever time he could spare from the composition of sacred or scientific treatises he employed in constructing lamps, sundials, and water-clocks for the monastery.

Cassiodorus had a long and productive life. He composed a treatise on orthography (writing systems) when he was 93 years old! If the multiplication of manuscripts became as much an employment of monks as prayer or fasting, Cassiodorus deserves the credit. He was the first Christian encyclopedist and because of his concern to preserve his people, his religion, and his culture, his own name and accomplishments have been preserved.

abbreviated and adapted by Dan Graves from a public domain article of Rev. E. M. Young, M.A.