To the Emperor Maurice, on the Gold Sent for the Poor

Gregory to Maurice, and so on.

The Piety of my lords, which has always mercifully supported your servants, has shone out here in so kind a supply that the need of all the weak has been relieved by the help of your bounty. For this reason we all, with prayers and tears, beg Almighty God, who moved the heart of your clemency to do this, to keep the empire of our lords safe in his unfailing love, and by the aid of his own majesty to extend their victories among all nations. The roughly twenty-two pounds of gold that my fellow servant Busa brought, Scribo has faithfully distributed to priests, to people in need, and to others. Certain women dedicated to the religious life have come to this city from various provinces, having fled here after being taken captive. Some of them, as far as there was room, have been placed in monasteries; but others, who could not be taken in, live in extreme poverty. So it was thought good that whatever could be spared from the relief of the blind, the crippled, and the weak should be given to them, so that not only the needy people of this place but also strangers who arrive here might receive the compassion of our lords. As a result, all alike pray with one accord for the life of our lords, that Almighty God may give you a long and quiet life, and grant the most happy offspring of your piety to flourish long in the Roman state. The soldiers’ pay, too, has been so distributed by my fellow servant Scribo, in the presence also of the glorious Castus, master of the soldiers, that all received the gifts of our lords with thanks and in good order, and kept from all the grumbling that used to prevail among them. [b]