relief for the sick and poor

Quid deinde illud, fratres dilectissimi, quale est, quam pertinens, quam necessarium, quod pestis ista et lues quae horribilis et feralis uidetur explorat iustitiam singulorum et mentes humani generis examinat, an infirmis seruiant sani, an propinqui cognatos pie diligant, an misereantur seruorum languentium domini, an deprecantes aegros non deserant medici, an feroces uiolentiam suam conprimant, an rapaces auaritiae furentis insatiabilem semper ardorem uel metu mortis extinguant, an ceruicem flectant superbi, an audaciam leniant inprobi, an pereuntibus caris uel sic aliquid diuites largiantur et donent sine herede morituri.

And then, dearest brothers, think what this means: how fitting it is, how necessary. This plague and pestilence, which seems so terrible and deadly, searches out the justice of each person and tests the minds of humankind. It asks whether the healthy serve the sick, whether relatives truly love their own family, and whether masters pity their sick slaves. It asks whether doctors stand by the sick who beg for their help, and whether the fierce hold back their violence. It asks whether the greedy, at least for fear of death, will put out the fire of their raging greed, which nothing ever satisfies. It asks whether the proud will bend their necks and the shameless will tame their boldness. And it asks whether the rich, at least now, as their loved ones die and they face death without heirs, will give something away.

ὡς τὸ εἰκός, ἦλθε. στρατιώτας οὖν ἐκ παλατίου καὶ χρήματα νείμας Θεόδωρον ἐκέλευε τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, ὃς δὴ ἀποκρίσεσι ταῖς βασιλικαῖς ἐφειστήκει, ἀεὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰς τῶν ἱκετῶν δεήσεις ἀγγέλλων, σημαίνων τε αὖθις ὅσα ἂν αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ εἴη. ῥεφερενδάριον τῇ Λατίνων φωνῇ τὴν τιμὴν ταύτην καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι.

as was only natural. He assigned soldiers from the palace and money, and he ordered Theodore to take charge of the work. Theodore was in charge of the emperor's replies: he always brought the requests of petitioners to the emperor and then told them in turn what the emperor wished. The Romans call this office by a Latin name, referendarius.

○乙未。勅曰。如聞。此日、太宰府疫死者多。思欲救療疫気、以済民命。是以。奉幣彼部神祇。為民祷祈焉。又府大寺及別国諸寺。読金剛般若経。仍遣使賑給疫民。并加湯薬。又其長門以還諸国守、若介。専斎。或道饗祭祀。

Eighth month, twelfth day. The emperor gave an order: “I hear that many people in the Dazaifu have lately died of the epidemic. I wish to heal those struck by the epidemic qi and so save the people’s lives. Let offerings be made to the kami of that region, with prayers on the people’s behalf. Let the great temple of the Dazaifu and the temples of its other provinces read the Diamond Sutra. Send envoys to give relief to the sick, and give them medicines as well. And let the governors of the provinces from Nagato on toward the capital, or their assistants, keep themselves strictly pure by fasting, or else perform the road-feast rites.”

○丙午。太宰府言。管内諸国、疫瘡大発。百姓悉臥。今年之間、欲停貢調。許之。

Twenty-third day. The Dazaifu reported: “Epidemic sores have broken out widely in the provinces under us, and the common people are all sick in bed. For this year we ask to stop sending tax goods to the capital.” The request was granted.

○戊戌。詔。以災変数見。疫癘不已。大赦天下。[...]高年百歳以上賜穀三石。九十以上穀二石。八十以上穀一石。孝子・順孫。義夫・節婦、表其門閭。終身勿事。鰥寡惸独、篤疾之徒、不能自存者。所在官司、量加賑恤。

Intercalary eleventh month, seventeenth day. The emperor decreed: “Disasters and strange signs keep appearing, and the pestilence does not end. So I declare a general amnesty throughout the realm. To the old who are one hundred or more, give three koku [large measures] of grain; to those ninety or more, two koku; to those eighty or more, one koku. For dutiful sons and obedient grandsons, devoted husbands and faithful wives, honor the gates of their homes and villages, and free them from labor duty for life. As for widowers and widows, orphans and the childless old, and the gravely ill who cannot support themselves, let the local officials give them relief as they see fit.”

○戊辰。詔曰、如聞。比年、太宰所管諸国。公事稍繁。労役不少。加以。去冬疫瘡。男女惣困。農事有廃。五穀不饒。宜免今年田租、令続民命。

Tenth month, twenty-second day. The emperor said: “I hear that in recent years public business has grown heavy in the provinces under the Dazaifu, and the people have had much labor to do. On top of that, the epidemic sores of last winter left men and women alike in distress. Farm work was neglected, and the five grains did not grow well. Let this year’s rice-field tax be waived, so that the people can go on living.”

○癸亥。太宰管内諸国。疫瘡時行。百姓多死。詔、奉幣於部内諸社以祈祷焉。又賑恤貧疫之家。并給湯薬療之。

Nineteenth day. In the provinces under the Dazaifu the epidemic sores were spreading, and many of the common people died. The emperor ordered offerings to be made at the shrines of the region, with prayers. Relief was also given to poor households struck by the sickness, along with medicines to treat them.

○壬辰。詔曰。四月以来。疫旱並行、田苗燋萎。由是。祈祷山川。奠祭神祇。未得効験。至今猶苦。朕以不徳、実致茲災。思布寛仁、以救民患。宜令国郡審録寃獄。掩骼埋胔。禁酒断屠。高年之徒。鰥寡惸独。及京内僧尼男女。臥疾不能自存者。量加賑給。又普賜文武職事以上物。大赦天下。[...]

Nineteenth day. The emperor said: “Since the fourth month, epidemic and drought have come together, and the rice seedlings in the fields have scorched and withered. So we have prayed to the mountains and rivers and made offerings to the kami. But we have seen no result, and even now the people are suffering. Truly it is my lack of virtue that has brought this disaster. I wish to spread kindness and mercy, to save the people from their troubles. Let the provinces and districts review the cases of people wrongly imprisoned. Let them cover exposed bones and bury the rotting dead. Let wine be forbidden and the slaughter of animals stopped. As for the aged, widowers and widows, orphans and the childless old, and the monks, nuns, men, and women of the capital who lie sick and cannot support themselves, give them relief as each one needs. Let gifts also be given to all civil and military officials who hold posts. I declare a general amnesty throughout the realm.”

○秋七月丁丑。賑給大倭。伊豆。若狭三国飢疫百姓。」散位従四位下大野王卒。

Autumn, seventh month, fifth day. Relief was given to the common people suffering from famine and epidemic in three provinces: Yamato, Izu, and Wakasa. Prince Ōno, who held rank but no post, died.

○壬午。賑給伊賀。駿河。長門三国疫飢之民。

Tenth day. Relief was given to the people suffering from epidemic and famine in three provinces: Iga, Suruga, and Nagato.

○甲寅。詔曰。朕、君臨宇内、稍歴多年。而風化尚壅。黎庶未安。通旦忘寐。憂労在茲。又自春已来、災気遽発。天下百姓、死亡実多。百官人等、闕卒不少。良由朕之不徳、致此災殃。仰天慚惶。不敢寧処。故可優復百姓使得存済。免天下今年租賦及百姓宿負公私稲。公稲限八年以前。私稲七年以前。其在諸国、能起風雨、為国家有験神、未預幣帛者。悉入供幣之例。給大宮主・御巫。坐摩御巫。生島御巫及諸神祝部等爵。

Thirteenth day. The emperor said: “I have ruled the realm for many years now. Yet my good influence still does not reach the people, and the common folk are not at peace. I lie awake all night until dawn, and this is what weighs on me. Then, since spring, a calamitous qi has suddenly broken out. Truly many of the common people of the realm have died, and not a few officials have died too, leaving their posts empty. Truly it is because of my lack of virtue that this disaster has come. I look up to Heaven in shame and dread, and I dare not rest at ease. So let the common people be generously relieved, so that they can survive. This year’s taxes are cancelled throughout the realm. So is the rice the common people owe on public and private loans: for public rice, loans made up to the eighth year [736], and for private rice, up to the seventh [735]. Some kami in the provinces can raise wind and rain and have shown their power on behalf of the state, yet have not received offerings. All of them shall be added to the list of those that do. And let ranks be granted to the chief palace priest, the shrine maidens of the palace, of Ikasuri, and of Ikushima, and the priests of all the kami.”

以前四月已來。京及畿內。悉臥疫病。多有死亡。明知諸國佰姓。亦遭此患。仍條件狀。國傳送之。至宜寫取。即差郡司主帳已上一人。宛使早達前所。無有留滯。其國司巡行部內。告示百姓。若無粥饘等料者。國量宜賑給官物。具狀申送。今便以官印印之。符到奉行。

Since the fourth month, everyone in the capital and the home provinces has fallen sick with the epidemic, and many have died. Clearly the common people of the provinces are suffering from it too. That is why the articles above have been written out. Each province is to pass this order on. When it arrives, have it copied. Then at once send one official of the district, a clerk or higher, as messenger to carry it quickly to the next province, without delay. The governors are to travel through their provinces and announce it to the common people. If any have nothing to make gruel with, the province is to judge what is fitting, give them relief from government stores, and send a full report. This order now bears the Council’s seal. When it arrives, carry it out.