Introduction to Divine and Human Readings

From A.D. 503 to 539, Cassiodorus held a succession of important political offices under four Ostrogothic rulers, and strove to build a strong Italian state in which Gothic and Roman elements might work harmoniously together. In 539, he began a second career, which proved to be of even greater importance: writing a commentary on the Christian Scriptures, assembling an important collection of theological and classical works, and establishing precise rules for copying and preserving the manuscripts.

The two books in the present volume belong to the monastic phase of Cassiodorus' activities. Book I considers the nature of the Bible and the importance of various ecclesiastical and secular works as keys to its understanding, and sets forth procedures for copyists. Book II is a treatise on the seven liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.

Cassiodorus' signal contribution was to transform the monastery into a theological school and scriptorium, where the writings of the Church fathers and of classical antiquity could be preserved, multiplied, and studied. In his work he brought together the vigor of Germany and the culture of Rome, and made possible systematic bridges between the ancient and medieval world.