it has yet received, is admirably illustrated by the letters of
Cassiodorus. The _Notitia Utriusque Imperii_, our copies of which must
have been compiled in the early years of the Fifth Century, furnishes
us with a picture of official life which, after we have made allowance
for the fact that the Empire of the West has shrunk into the
Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy (with the addition of Dalmatia and some
other portions of Illyricum), is almost precisely reproduced in the
pages of the 'Various Letters.' In order that the student may
understand the full significance of many passages in those letters,
and especially of the superscriptions by which each letter is
prefaced, it will be well to give a brief outline of the system which
existed alike under Theodosius and Theodoric.

[Sidenote: Nobilissimi.]

In the first place, then, we come to what is rather a family than a
class, the persons bearing the title _Nobilissimus_[110]. These were
the nearest relatives of the reigning Emperor; his brothers, sisters,
sons, and daughters. The title therefore is not unlike that of Royal
or Imperial Highness in modern monarchies. I am not sure whether any
trace can be found of the survival of this title in the Ostrogothic
Court. Theodahad, nephew of Theodoric, is addressed simply as 'Vir
Senator[111],' and he is spoken of as 'praecelsus et amplissimus
vir[112].' It is not so, however, in respect of the three great
official classes which follow--the Illustres, Spectabiles, and
Clarissimi--whose titles were rendered as punctiliously in the Italy
of Theodoric as ever they were in the Italy of Diocletian and
Constantine.

[Footnote 110: The existence of this title is proved not only by the