[Sidenote: Share of Cassiodorus in the administration during the war.]

It will be seen that the letters written by Cassiodorus for the
Sovereign during the five years following the death of Athalaric are
few and somewhat unsatisfactory. But, on the other hand, it was just
during these years that he wrote in his own name as Praetorian
Praefect the letters which are comprised in the Eleventh and Twelfth
Books of his collection, and which are in some respects the most
interesting of the whole series. There is a strong probability that he
was not present at the long siege of Rome (March, 537, to March, 538),
nor is it likely that he, an elderly civilian, would take much part in
any of the warlike operations that followed. Upon the whole, it seems
probable that during the greater part of this time Cassiodorus was, to
the best of his power, keeping the civil administration together by
virtue of his own authority as Praetorian Praefect, without that
constant reference to the wishes of the Sovereign which would have
been necessary under Theodoric and his daughter. Perhaps, in the
transitional state of things which then prevailed in Italy, with the
power of the Gothic sceptre broken but the sway of the Roman Caesar
not yet firmly established in its stead, men of all parties and both
nationalities were willing that as much as possible of the routine of
government should be carried on by a statesman who was Roman by birth
and culture, but who had been the trusted counsellor of Gothic Kings.

[Sidenote: Dates of later letters.]

I have endeavoured as far as possible to fix the dates of these later
letters. It will be seen that we have one[69] probably belonging to
the year 536, five[70] to 537, and one[71] (possibly) to 538. These
later letters refer chiefly to the terrible famine which followed in