or the central
authority, and so much for the Province. Cassiodorus in this and the
following letter says in effect: 'All the State's share of the taxes
we will take not in money, but in your staple products, corn, wine,
and oil. The rest goes as usual to the Province; but owing to the
scarcity at Ravenna we shall be glad to buy all that can be spared
either by the authorities of the Province or by individuals, whether
farmers or merchants.']

'The true way to prevent the requirements of the public revenue from
becoming oppressive, is to order each Province to supply those
products in which it is naturally most fertile.

[Sidenote: Requisition from Province of Istria.]

'Now I have learned by conversation with travellers that the Province
of Istria is this year especially blessed in three of its crops--wine,
oil, and corn. Therefore let her give of these products the equivalent
of ... solidi, which are due from you in payment of tribute for this
first Indiction[870]: while the remainder we leave to that loyal
Province for her own regular expenses. But since we require a larger
quantity of the above-mentioned products, we send ... solidi from our
state chest for the purchase of them, that these necessaries may be
collected for us with as little delay as possible. Often when you are
desirous to sell you cannot find a purchaser, and suffer loss
accordingly. How much better is it to obey the requirements of your
Lords than to supply foreigners; and to pay your debts in the fruits
of the soil, rather than to wait on the caprices of a buyer!

[Footnote 870: The first Indiction was from September 1, 537, to
September 1, 538.]

'We will ourselves out of our love of justice state a fact of which
you might otherwise remind us, that we can afford to be liberal in
price because we are not burdened by the payment of freights [on
account of your nearness to the seat of government]. For what Campania
is to Rome, Istria is to Ravenna--a fruitful Province abounding in
corn, wine, and oil; so to speak, the cupboard of the capital. I might
carry the comparison further, and say that Istria can show her own
Baiae in the lagunes with which her shores are indented[871], her own
Averni in the pools abounding in oysters and fish. The palaces, strung
like pearls along the shores of Istria, show how highly our ancestors
appreciated its delights[872]. The beautiful chain of islands with
which it is begirt, shelter the sailor from danger and