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to those from the Dacians and the Triballi, what another man, speaking publicly, said to the senate or to the common people?" They said, therefore, that some had published historical works of such a kind, that is, expanded and tending toward the more ambitious, but that others were disposed oppositely to them regarding the writing of histories, using brevity of speech, and thereby damaging in crucial matters those who had devoted themselves to their writings, since they had omitted the most important deeds of the men whose stories were told, some of which, indeed, were worthy of being celebrated, saying very few things about them, and these not revealing their character or nature and purpose, nor how each of those who ruled took possession of the empire, 1.4 nor who he was before this, nor from what family he came. They added that some of these writings were published in an excessively plain style, and were expressed in common or sometimes even barbaric words, and were composed rather incorrectly, so that for this reason those who were versed in literature were unfavorably disposed toward them. Saying such things and thus, as has been said, criticizing historical works, they often incited me to take the books in hand, and having set aside the many things, of which some are naturally unsuited to stick in the memory on account of their quantity, and others end in nothing useful, to abridge the expanded narrative and publish a concise history, teaching in summary to those who come upon the work the most important of the things done or otherwise having happened to those about whom the writing treats. They, therefore, urged me to strip for such a labor and to take up such a work; but I, being on the one hand relaxed in mind—for the truth will be told—and living at ease, and on the other hand seeing that the matter required application and many books, was hesitating and shrinking from the attempt. But those who were prodding me did not let up, and at some point they awakened me to the task by the continuity of their prodding. For if the persistence of a drop can hollow out the hard and sheer part of a rock, much more will persistent speech knocking at the doors of the ears be able to arouse a lazy mind and a relaxed purpose. Then it also came to my mind that the labor and the occupation with writing would not be without profit even for the soul's benefit. For the spirits of wickedness are more accustomed to blow upon a mind at rest, 1.5 to stir up billows of wicked thoughts and now some, now other reasonings, and to submerge it by the continuity of their attacks, and to make it slip into sin, if not by deeds, then at least by assent, or at any rate to cause a great surge and confusion to swell up in it. But if the mind is occupied with something, it is its nature for the most part to escape the mighty waves from the many reasonings and the wicked thoughts. Therefore, both because of the encouragement from friends and for the purpose of scaring away foul or vain reasonings, I brought myself to the endeavor. Thus, then, it came about that I undertook the present work. But if I do not make the history concerning each of those who are recorded precise, I ask those who will read it to grant me pardon; for neither will it perhaps be possible for me to find as many books as are needful for me for the work, as I am now making my stay in this remote place, nor have all the writers of histories written the same things about the same subjects, but they disagree on many points, if not on most. And if I should wish to be precise about each of the things recounted, and to show what this writer says about this, and what another about the same, I myself too would make the treatise on each subject lengthy. For these reasons, it has been decided by me to omit those things on which those who have written about the same subjects have opposed one another, unless it be something of great importance, the omission of which would damage the work in its crucial parts. But if the character of the style is varied and is not consistent with itself throughout,

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τοῖς ἐκ ∆ακῶν τε καὶ Τριβαλλῶν, τί δ' ετερος τῇ συγκλήτῳ βουλῇ η τῇ πληθύι τῇ δημότιδι δημηγορῶν προσωμίλησε;" τοὺς μὲν ουν τοιαῦτα ελεγον τὰ τῶν ἱστοριῶν ἐκδεδωκέναι συγγράμματα, πεπλατυσμένα δηλαδὴ καὶ πρὸς τὸ φιλοτιμότερον ἀποκλίνοντα, τοὺς δὲ ἀντιθέτως ἐκείνοις διατεθῆναι περὶ τὴν τῶν ἱστοριῶν συγγραφήν, βραχυρρημοσύνῃ χρησαμένους, κἀντεῦθεν περὶ τὰ καίρια ζημιοῦντας τοὺς περὶ τὰ σφῶν ἐσπουδακότας συγγράμματα, ατε καὶ αὐτὰς τὰς καιριωτέρας τῶν πράξεων τῶν ἱστορουμένων παραλελοιπότας ἀνδρῶν, ἐνίας μέντοι καὶ ἐξυμνεῖσθαι δικαίας, βράχιστα δέ τινα περὶ ἐκείνων εἰπόντας, καὶ ταῦτα μήτε τὸ ηθος ἐκείνων η τὴν φύσιν παραδηλοῦντα καὶ τὴν προαίρεσιν, μήθ' οπως τῶν βασιλευσάντων εκαστος τῆς βασιλείας ἐκράτησε, 1.4 μήθ' οστις ην πρὸ ταύτης, μήτ' ἐκ τίνων ἐγένετο. τινὰ δὲ τῶν συγγραμμάτων τούτων καὶ ἀφελεστέρᾳ λίαν ἐκδεδόσθαι προσετίθουν τῇ φράσει, καὶ ἰδιωτικαῖς ἐκφέρεσθαι λέξεσιν η καὶ βαρβάροις ἐνίοτε, συντεθεῖσθαί τε σολοικότερον, ωστε κἀντεῦθεν ἀηδῶς τοὺς λόγοις ὡμιληκότας πρὸς αὐτὰ διατίθεσθαι. τοιαῦτα λέγοντες καὶ ουτω τῶν ἱστορικῶν συγγραμμάτων ὡς ειρηται καθαπτόμενοι, πολλάκις με παρέθηγον τὰς βίβλους ἀνὰ χεῖρας λαβεῖν, καὶ παρεάσαντα τὰ πολλά, ων τὰ μὲν τῇ μνήμῃ προσιζάνειν διὰ τὸ πλῆθος ἀποπεφύκασι, τὰ δ' εἰς οὐδὲν τελευτῶσιν ὀνήσιμον, τὴν δέ γε πεπλατυσμένην ἐπιτεμόντα διήγησιν σύντομον ἱστορίαν ἐκδεδωκέναι συνοπτικῶς διδάσκουσαν τοὺς ἐπιόντας τὸ σύγγραμμα τὰ καιριώτερα τῶν πεπραγμένων η καὶ αλλως συμβεβηκότων τοῖς περὶ ων ἡ συγγραφὴ διαλέγεται. ̓Εκεῖνοι μὲν ουν πρὸς τοιοῦτόν με παρεκίνουν ἀποδύσασθαι πόνημα καὶ τοιοῦδε συγγράμματος αψασθαι· ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ μὲν ἀνειμένος τὴν γνώμην ων, εἰρήσεται γὰρ τἀληθές, καὶ ῥᾳστώνῃ συζῶν, τὸ δὲ καὶ ἀσχολίας συνορῶν τὸ πρᾶγμα δεόμενον καὶ βίβλων πολλῶν, ωκνουν καὶ ἀνεδυόμην πρὸς τὴν ἐγχείρησιν. οἱ δέ με νύττοντες οὐκ ἀνίεσαν, καί ποτε πρὸς τουργον τῇ τῶν νυγμῶν συνεχείᾳ διεγηγέρκασιν. εἰ γὰρ κοιλαίνειν τὸ τῆς πέτρας σκληρὸν καὶ ἀπόκροτον ῥανίδος ἐνδελέχεια δύναται, μᾶλλον αν δυνήσεται λόγος ἐνδελεχὴς τὰ ωτα θυροκοπῶν γνώμης διεγεῖραι ῥᾳστώνην καὶ ἀνειμένην προαίρεσιν. ειτά μοι καὶ ὡς οὐδὲ πρὸς ψυχικὴν ὠφέλειαν ἀκερδὴς ὁ πόνος εσται καὶ ἡ περὶ τὴν συγγραφὴν ἀσχολία ἐλήλυθε κατὰ νοῦν. ἠρεμοῦντι γὰρ τῷ νοῒ μᾶλλον ειωθε τῆς πονηρίας ἐπιπνέειν τὰ πνεύματα, ἐνθυμήσεών 1.5 τε φαύλων καὶ λογισμῶν αλλοτε αλλων ἐπεγείρειν κλυδώνια, καὶ καταβαπτίζειν αὐτὸν τῇ συνεχείᾳ τῶν προσβολῶν, καὶ η πρὸς ἁμαρτίαν ὑπολισθαίνειν ποιεῖν, εἰ καὶ μὴ πράξεσιν, ἀλλά γε συγκαταθέσεσιν, η τέως ζάλην αὐτῷ πολλὴν ἐπικυμαίνειν καὶ τάραχον. εἰ δέ τισιν ὁ νοῦς ἐνησχόληται, διαφεύγειν πέφυκεν ὡς ἐπίπαν τὰς ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν λογισμῶν τρικυμίας καὶ τῶν πονηρῶν ἐνθυμήσεων. διά τε τοίνυν τὴν ἐκ τῶν φίλων παράθηξιν καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ῥυπαρῶν η καὶ ματαίων λογισμῶν ἀποσόβησιν προσήγαγον ἑαυτὸν τῷ σπουδάσματι. Ουτω μὲν ουν μοι ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐγένετο τῷ παρόντι συγγράμματι. εἰ δὲ μὴ διηκριβωμένην τὴν περὶ ἑκάστου τῶν ἀναγραφομένων ἱστορίαν ποιήσομαι, νέμειν μοι συγγνώμην αἰτῶ τοὺς ἐντευξομένους αὐτῇ· ουτε γὰρ βίβλων ισως μοι εὐπορῆσαι γενήσεται οσαι μοι χρειώδεις εἰσὶ πρὸς τὸ σύγγραμμα, παρὰ τῇ ἐσχατιᾷ ταύτῃ ποιουμένῳ νυνὶ τὴν διατριβήν, ουτε πάντες οἱ συγγραφεῖς τῶν ἱστοριῶν τὰ αὐτὰ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν συγγεγράφασιν, ἀλλ' ἐν πολλοῖς διαφωνοῦσιν, ει γε μὴ ἐν τοῖς πλείοσιν. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἀκριβοῦσθαι βουλήσομαι περὶ ἑκάστου τῶν ἱστορουμένων, καὶ δηλοῦν τί μὲν οδε περὶ τοῦδε λέγει ὁ συγγραφεύς, τί δ' ετερος περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ, πολύστιχον αν καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν περὶ ἑκάστου πραγματείαν ποιήσομαι. διὰ ταῦτά μοι παρεᾶν δέδοκται τὰ ἐφ' οις ἀλλήλοις οἱ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν συγγράψαντες ἠναντίωνται, εἰ μή τι τῶν αγαν ειη σπουδαίων καὶ ο παραλιμπανόμενον περὶ τὰ καίρια λυμανεῖται τῇ συγγραφῇ. εἰ δ' ὁ χαρακτὴρ τοῦ λόγου ποικίλλεται καὶ μὴ δι' ολου ομοιός ἐστιν ἑαυτῷ,