he author's praenomen. Aurelius, the gentile name,
connects him with a large gens, of which Q. Aurelius Memmius Symmachus
was one of the most distinguished ornaments. As to the form of the
cognomen there is a good deal of diversity of opinion, the majority of
German scholars preferring Cassiodor_i_us to Cassiodorus. The argument
in favour of the former spelling is derived from the fact that some of
the MSS. of his works (not apparently the majority) write the name
with the termination _rius_, and that while it is easy to understand
how from the genitive form _ri_ a nominative _rus_ might be wrongly
inferred instead of the real nominative _rius_, it is not easy to see
why the opposite mistake should be made, and _rius_ substituted for
the genuine _rus_.

The question will probably be decided one way or the other by the
critical edition of the 'Variae' which is to be published among the
'Monumenta Germaniae Historica;' but in the meantime it may be
remarked that the correct Greek form of the name as shown by
inscriptions appears to be Cassiodo_rus_, and that in a poem of
Alcuin's[4] occurs the line

'Cassiodorus item Chrysostomus atque Johannes,'

showing that the termination _rus_ was generally accepted as early as
the eighth century. It is therefore to be hoped that this is the form
which may finally prevail.

[Footnote 4: De Pontificibus et Sanctis Ecclesiae Eboracensis, p. 843
of Migne's Second Volume of Alcuin's Works. I owe this quotation to
Adolph Franz.]

[Sidenote: Senator.]

Senator, it is clear, was part of the original name of Cassiodorus,
and not a title acquired by sitting in the Roman Senate. It seems a
curious custom to give a title of this kind to an infant as part of
his name, but the well-known instance of Patricius (St. Patrick) shows
that this was sometimes done, and there are other instances
(collected by Thorbecke, p. 34) of this very title Senator being used
as a proper name.

It is clear from Jordanes (who calls the Gothic History of Cassiodorus
'duodecem Senatoris volumina de origine actibusque Getarum[5]'), from
Pope Vigilius (who speaks of 'religiosum virum filium nostrum
Senatorem[6]'), from the titles of the letters written by
Cassiodorus[7], and from his punning allusions to his own name and the
love to the Senate which it had prophetically expressed, that Senator
was a real name and not a title of honour.

[Footnote 5: Preface to Getica (Mommsen's Edition, p. 53).]

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