ght of a Quaestorship. In these cases the laws have wisely
ordained that we may give such persons the rank which they merit by
_Codicilli Vacantes_. It must always be understood, however, that in
each dignity those who thus obtain it rank behind those who have
earned it by actual service. Otherwise we should have all men
flocking into these quiet posts, if the workers were not preferred to
men of leisure[446].

[Footnote 446: 'Alioqui omnes ad quietas possunt currere dignitates,
si laborantes minime praeferantur ociosis.']

'Take therefore, by these present codicils, the rank which you
deserve, though you have not earned it by your official career.'

11. FORMULA BY WHICH THE RANK OF AN ILLUSTRIS AND THE TITLE OF A COMES
DOMESTICORUM ARE CONFERRED, WITHOUT OFFICE.

[Sidenote: Illustratus Vacans.]

'The bestowal of honour, though it does not change the nature of a
man, induces him to consider his own reputation more closely, and to
abstain from that which may stain it[447].

[Footnote 447: 'Noblesse oblige.']

'Take therefore the rank (without office) of an Illustrious Count of
the Domestics[448], and enjoy that greatest luxury of worthy
minds--power to attend to your own pursuits.

[Footnote 448: 'Cape igitur ... Comitivae Domesticorum Illustratum
Vacantem.']

'For what can be sweeter than to find yourself honoured when you enter
the City, and yet to be able to cultivate your own fields; to abstain
from fraudful gains, and yet see your barns overflowing with the fruit
of your own sweet toil?

'But even as the seed and the soil must co-operate to produce the
harvest, so do we sow in you the seed of this dignity, trusting that
your own goodness of heart will give the increase.'

12. FORMULA FOR THE BESTOWAL OF A COUNTSHIP OF THE FIRST ORDER,
WITHOUT OFFICE.

[A similar honour to that which is conferred on an English statesman
who, without receiving any place in the Ministry, is 'sworn of the
Privy Council.']

[Sidenote: Comitiva Primi Ordinis.]

'It is a delightful thing to enjoy the pleasures of high rank without
having to undergo the toils and annoyances of office, which often make
a man loathe the very dignity which he eagerly desired.

'The rank of _Comes_ is one which is reached by Governors (Rectores)
of Provinces after a year's tenure of office, and by the Counsellors
of the Praefect, whose functions are so important that we look upon
them as almost Quaestors.

'Their rank[449] gives the ho