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Again with shame proclaim the Greek wall-buildings, which Hector's hand and missile destroy, built for the armies like a spider's web. So as some of the builders were lighting furnaces in turn with fire-blazing stones, while others suffered the turns of counter-maneuvers, throwing stones with mangonels at the foundation, the Cretan serpents, the ridge-runners, having run out from the ravines, were gathered to one suicidal council, and they were not successful in engaging with the army for the army was striking them like an arrow, but attacking the builders swiftly, they fall to the ground by the missile of the builders; for your desire, as general, was persuading them to turn the mattock into a sword. And a flow of poured-out blood occurs, becoming an infinite, watery flood, and it extinguishes the fiery furnaces, like bitterness falling into torrents, but the builder, taking the unslaked lime, had it crimson-colored in the composition of the stones. Call the city Phoenicia, o general; for it is reddened by the dye of blood. So when the ruler Nikephoros, acting as general, learned what had happened—for he had not known at that time—having sent, he seized alive from among the barbarians two hundred and fifty wicked snakes, and placing collars on their unbending necks, to these he was offering paternal dignities. O Crete, nourisher of barbarians, see your children, what sort of dignities they have suddenly partaken of. And when night had its seventh portion for the darkness of the kindly time was prevailing, they sounded the trumpets with a strange cry and everyone was holding his shield with a shout, foot-soldier, general, taxiarch, horseman. And when the day kindled its rose-colored torches from the dark passages, an unrestrained, sword-bearing phalanx of cavalry, having a multitude of fifty thousand men. And it was possible to see the full armor of many foot-soldiers, moving excellently on a tactical basis, and the generals walking in the middle as if in a flock, beast-frenzied shepherds of lambs. And as ravenous wolves, rejoicing in theft in the winter season and in prolonged frost, yoked together from the mountains with one mind, shake the sheepfolds and overpower the dogs, so the branches of your labors, yoked together, cavalry, commanders, archers, captains, were hastening to throw down the towers with speed, breathing anger like peaks of a storm. But he who at times makes the ill-colored, light-bringing torches rise and again sets them, has dimmed the splendors with baths, and night has spread her robe of dark-colored dye over all parts of earth and sky. And the multitude of your men—not armies but beasts, for these are beasts by the rending of barbarians—was keeping its going and its standing sleepless. And if someone was stolen into carefree sleep, you, standing there from the gate of dreams, speaking such things, gave voice to the harm: 'Why, o horseman, not fearing the general, have you fallen in the midst of slaughter into strange places, where rout, sharpened danger, breathes against us fire-belching inflammations? Endure a little while, putting on your helmet; now you stand for God and for justice. Let go of sleep and hold your shield, lest the general of the battle know what happened.' Thus you were cutting out the sluggishness of the worker, if indeed there was any sluggishness among your servants.

And when the gloom-destroying day also began to proclaim the light with white tunics, and with bright robes adorned the aether, it was possible to behold the earth white-formed and a herald of battle to run forth from your armies, and the phalanx to charge against the long wall, falling suddenly upon the enemies. there the general, having arrayed them, to decisively snatch up the whole multitude of collar-wearers, the fellow-commanders could not bear what happened from the bitter pain, but they opened the gates, they flew out instead of sparrows and striking against the trench, with a rebound they were climbing up the trench; but being struck from the front, they were driven backwards. So as there was a terrible character of flight, terror and cowardice, and a swift-turning turmoil, this ditch was a tomb for the enemies and a roofless house of disaster. For they themselves had fetters and places, which they were preparing for their salvation, so that they might learn from inanimate places their worthy faith

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πάλιν μετ' αἰσχύνης Ἑλληνικὰς κήρυσσε τὰς τειχουργίας, ἃς Ἕκτορος χεὶρ καὶ βολὴ καταστρέφει ἀραχνοειδῶς τοῖς στρατοῖς ἐκτισμένας. Ὡς οὖν καμίνους οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν τεκτόνων πυριφλεγούσαις ἀντανῆπτον ταῖς λίθοις, οἱ δὲ στροφὰς ἔπασχον ἀντελιγμάτων, τοῖς μαγγάνοις βάλλοντες εἰς βάθρον πέτρας, οἱ Κρητικοὶ δράκοντες οἱ λοφοδρόμοι, ἐκ τῶν φαράγγων ἐκδραμόντες, εἰς μίαν βουλὴν συνηθροίζοντο τὴν αὐτοκτόνον, καὶ τῷ στρατῷ μὲν συμβαλεῖν οὐκ εὐτύχουν ἔπληττεν αὐτοὺς ὁ στρατὸς γὰρ ὡς βέλος, τοῖς τέκτοσιν δὲ προσβαλόντες ὀξέως, πίπτουσιν εἰς γῆν τῇ βολῇ τῶν τεκτόνων· ὁ σὸς γὰρ αὐτοὺς ὡς στρατηγέτης πόθος ἔπειθε τὴν δίκελλαν εἰς ξίφος τρέπειν. καὶ γίνεται ῥοῦς ἐκχυθεὶς τῶν αἱμάτων εἰς πλησμονὴν ἄπειρον ὑδατουμένην καὶ τὰς καμίνους σβεννύει τὰς ἐμπύρους, ὥσπερ χαράδρας εἰσπεσοῦσα πικρία λαβὼν δὲ τὴν ἄσβεστον εἶχεν ὁ κτίσων φοινικοειδῆ τῶν πετρῶν τῇ συνθέσει. κάλει, στρατηγέ, τὴν πόλιν Φοινικίαν· φοινίσσεται γὰρ τῇ βαφῇ τῶν αἱμάτων. Ὡς οὖν στρατηγῶν ὁ κρατῶν Νικηφόρος ἔγνω τὸ συμβάνκαὶ γὰρ ἠγνόει τότε, πέμψας κατέσχε ζῶντας ἐκ τῶν βαρβάρων ὄφεις πονηροὺς πέντε πεντηκοντάδας, βαλὼν δὲ κλοιοὺς εἰς ἀκαμπεῖς αὐχένας, τούτοις παρεῖχε πατρικὰς τὰς ἀξίας. Κρήτη, τὰ τέκνα, βαρβαροτρόφε, βλέπε οἵων μετέσχον ἀξιωμάτων ἄφνω. Ἐπεὶ δὲ μοῖραν εἶχε νὺξ τὴν ἑβδόμην τῆς εὐφρόνης γὰρ τὸ σκότος παρεκράτει, σάλπιγγας ἠλάλαξαν ἐν βοῇ ξένῃ καὶ πᾶς κρατῶν ἦν σὺν βοῇ τὴν ἀσπίδα, πεζός, στρατηγός, ταξιάρχης, ἱππότης. τῆς ἡμέρας δὲ τῆς ῥοδόχρου λαμπάδας ἐκ τῶν σκοτεινῶν ἀνταναψάσης πόρων, φάλαγξ ἀνώρμων ἱππικὴ ξιφηφόρος, ἔχουσα πλῆθος μυριάνδρου πεντάδος. πεζῶν δὲ πολλῶν ἦν ὁρᾶν πανοπλίαν, κινουμένην ἄριστα τακτικῇ βάσει, καὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς ὥσπερ ἐν ποίμνῃ μέσον βαίνοντας, ἀρνῶν θηροβάκχους ποιμένας. ὡς δὲ κλοπῇ χαίροντες ἅρπαγες λύκοι χειμῶνος ὥρᾳ καὶ παρεκτάσει κρύους ὁμοῦ ζυγέντες τῶν ὀρῶν ὁμοφρόνως μάνδρας κλονοῦσι καὶ βιάζουσιν κύνας, οὕτω ζυγέντες οἱ κλάδοι τῶν σῶν πόνων, ἱππεῖς, στρατάρχαι, τοξόται, λοχοκράται, πύργους βαλεῖν ἔσπευδον ἐν τάχει κάτω, θυμοῦ πνέοντες ὥσπερ ἄκριες ζάλης. Ὁ λαμπάδας δὲ φωσφόρους κακοχρόους καιροῖς ἀνίσχων καὶ καταστέλλων πάλιν λουτροῖς κατημαύρωσε τὰς λαμπηδόνας, καὶ νὺξ τὸ πέπλον ἐκ βαφῆς μελαγχρόου εἰς πάντα γῆς ἥπλωσε καὶ πόλου μέρη. τῶν σῶν δὲ πλῆθος οὐ στρατῶν ἢ θηρίων θῆρες γὰρ οὗτοι τοῖς σπαραγμοῖς βαρβάρων ἄγρυπνον εἶχε τὴν βάσιν καὶ τὴν στάσιν. εἰ δ' ἦν κλαπείς τις ἀμερίμνους εἰς ὕπνους, ἐκεῖ παρεστὼς ἐξ ὀνειράτων πύλης τοιαῦτα φωνῶν τῆς βλάβης ἀνεστόμους· Τί τὸν στρατηγὸν οὐ δεδοικώς, ἱππότα, μέσον σφαγῆς πέπτωκας εἰς ξένους τόπους, ὅπου τροπή, κίνδυνος ἐστομωμένος, πνέει καθ' ἡμῶν φλεγμονὰς πυρεκβόλους; μικρόν τι καρτέρησον ἐμβαλὼν κράνος· ὑπὲρ θεοῦ νῦν ἵστασαι καὶ τῆς δίκης. ἄφες τὸν ὕπνον καὶ κράτει τὴν ἀσπίδα, μὴ γνῷ τὸ συμβὰν ὁ στρατηγὸς τῆς μάχης. οὕτω τὸ νωθρὸν ἐξέκοπτες ἐργάτου, εἴπερ παρῆν τις νωθρότης τοῖς οἰκέταις.

Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ φῶς ἡμέρα προμηνύειν λευκοῖς χιτῶσιν ἤρξατο ζοφοφθόρος, πέπλοις δὲ λαμπροῖς ἐστόλισεν αἰθέρα, ἦν γῆν θεωρεῖν λευκόμορφον καὶ μάχης κήρυκα τῶν σῶν ἐκδραμεῖν στρατευμάτων, τείχει δὲ μακρῷ τὴν φάλαγγα προσξέειν ἐπεισπεσοῦσαν τῶν ἐναντίων ἄφνω. ἐκεῖ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν φερεκλοίων ἅπαν τάξας στρατηγὸς τμητικῶς ἀναρπάσαι, οἱ συστρατάρχαι τῆς πικρᾶς ἀλγηδόνος τὸ συμβὰν οὐκ ἤνεγκαν, ἀλλὰ τὰς θύρας ἤνοιξαν, ἐξέπτησαν ἀντὶ στρουθίων καὶ πρὸς τάφρον πλήξαντες ἀντανακλάσει τὴν τάφρον ἀντέβαινον· ἀλλ' ἐμπροσθίως πληγέντες ἐξήλαυνον ἐξοπισθίως. ὡς οὖν φυγῆς ἦν γὰρ τρόμου καὶ δειλίας δεινὸς χαρακτὴρ καὶ ταχύστροφος κλόνος, ἡ τάφρος αὕτη τῶν ἐναντίων τάφος καὶ συμφορᾶς ἦν ἀστέγαστος οἰκία. εἶχον γὰρ αὐτοὶ συμποδιστὰς καὶ τόπους, οὕσπερ κατεσκεύαζον εἰς σωτηρίαν, ὡς ἂν μάθωσιν ἐξ ἀναισθήτων τόπων τὴν πίστιν αὐτῶν ἀξίαν