As a matter of fact,
the view of mountain and town from the station platform is admirable,
though, of course, at so great a distance, only a whitish patch
represents the hovels and ruins upon their royal height.

I found that I had a good couple of hours at my disposal, and that to
the foot of Mons Moscius (now called Coscia di Stalletti) was only a
short walk. It rained drearily, but by this time I had ceased to think
of the weather. After watching the carriage for a moment, as it rolled
away on the long road back to Catanzaro (sorry not to be going with
it), I followed the advice of the stationmaster, and set out to walk
along the line of rails towards the black, furrowed mountain side.

CHAPTER XVI

CASSIODORUS

The iron way crosses the mouth of the valley river. As I had already
noticed, it was a turbid torrent, of dull yellow; where it poured into
the sea, it made a vast, clean-edged patch of its own hue upon the
darker surface of the waves. This peculiarity resulted, no doubt, from
much rain upon the hills; it may be that in calmer seasons the Fiume di
Squillace bears more resemblance to the Pellena as one pictures it, a
delightful stream flowing through the gardens of the old monastery.
Cassiodorus tells us that it abounded in fish. One of his happy labours
was to make fish-ponds, filled and peopled from the river itself. In
the cliff-side where Mons Moscius breaks above the shore are certain
rocky caves, and by some it is thought that, in speaking of his
fish-preserves, Cassiodorus refers to these. Whatever the local
details, it was from this feature that the house took its name,
Monasterium Vivariense.

Here, then, I stood in full view of the spot which I had so often
visioned in my mind's eye. Much of the land hereabout--probably an
immense tract of hill and valley--was the old monk's patrimonial
estate. We can trace his family back through three generations, to a
Cassiodorus, an Illustris of the falling Western Empire, who about the
middle of them fifth century defended his native Bruttii against an
invasion of the Vandals. The grandson of this noble was a distinguished
man all through the troubled time which saw Italy pass under the
dominion of Odovacar, and under the conquest of Theodoric; the Gothic
king raised him to the supreme office of Praetorian Prefect. We learn
that he had great herds of horses, bred in the Bruttian forests, and
that Theodoric was indebted to him for the mounting of tr