securely the battalions, the walls of armed formations were seen, and when all the armies clashed, sword against shield and swords pushed against shields everywhere with violent collisions, and the battle formation showed the swords fu<s>ll of much blood, and all things were dreadful, and fear and confusion, and a conspiracy for slaughter without bloodshed. For you knew how to show them prudently the <wa>ys of necessity before the necessity, so that each one, having taken the starting points of a danger-free slaughter, might remain safer. To tell therefore of each thing and to write of that varied new work of skill, the mind of my timid heart grows weak, shaken by an indwelling fear. But just as a current, pushed forward intensely by some force into an ebb tide, so those waves of the army, moved together by your running command, either toward your person or in the opposite direction, passed by with opposing speed. And you did not shrink from so great a turmoil, but you drew it on and relaxed the tensions, you arrayed, you arrayed against, where the signal was turned along with the word of your command. How did you alone bring harmony to so great a multitude? And how, as your command struck with a rhythmic tone, did you draw the many races and differences of various characters and divisions of minds, not, like some mythical other, the wild beasts to himself, but to one mind, having harmonized the confusions of so many tongues? Yet it is not unlikely that the all-holy Spirit was at work now too, not with a fire-bearing division and vision of tongues, but with the Spirit itself again dripping the appropriate grace upon your tongue; thus, having quickly taught all who were previously neglected, you had them well-prepared. And I, though not a prophet, lord, beforehand announced in my first speech that you had neglected nothing, but also, in writing to your generals everywhere what was advantageous, you erred in nothing, if indeed what occurred to you at the right moment immediately coincided with events. The practical good counsel of your mind showed that we were in no way mistaken. Hence fears do not disturb us, cares do not slacken our eagerness, misfortunes do not bite us, toil does not oppress us; for a pious love, running around us in necessities and circumstances, strengthens the tensions of our little body more than sinews. As therefore a sophist, having joined experience to medical reasonings, does not let the disease smolder secretly into the depth of harm, but immediately cuts it out, slicing it with a sword, or burns it with a caustic, or by clearing out its internal causes with a purgative, frees the body from a difficult affliction, so you then, finding the body of the army afflicted by a harm-loving disease, restrained them from their evil greed, having purified with your word their appetites for harm. For you knew you would most easily conquer your enemies by regulating your army in piety. From this, a winged victory immediately came to you, bearing the prizes of Persian spoils before the battle.

For since you had left nothing neglected, but you sent out well-organized sorties of swift horsemen everywhere for the hunt; they came, bringing in a short time not contemptible kinds of beasts, but prominent and powerful in their boldness and having often harmed the neighborhood. But not even these, though they were beasts, did you allow to not partake of your civilized nature. Nevertheless, leaving aside the many things now, I have chosen to describe their multitude from one example. There was a certain chieftain of a bold race, leading with him the long-haired troop of the Saracens and scouting how he might secretly attack your army to its harm. Yet, allied as he was with an insatiable strategy, wishing to steal, he himself was stolen in return, and quickly they bring to your all-gentle feet the former general as a captive. And when he was brought to your might, lord, that man who had taken the much-lamented captive band for free pasturage, the one who was unfortunate fortunately, if one must say so—for coming to you he exchanges his fortune, he casts off his bonds, and all his misfortunes he immediately turned into joy, having rearranged them. And seeing the great change so quickly, he judged his salvation a reversal, the captive hoping to be a general again.

ἀσφαλῶς τὰ τάγματα, ὤφθη τὰ τείχη τῶν ἐνόπλων κτισμάτων, καὶ συρραγέντων τῶν στρατευμάτων ὅλων ξίφος μὲν ἀσπὶς καὶ ξίφη τὰς ἀσπίδας ὤθουν βιαίοις πανταχοῦ συγκρούσμασι, καὶ με<σ>τὰ πολλῶν αἱμάτων τὰ φάσγανα ὁ σχηματισμὸς τῆς μάχης ἐδείκνυε, καὶ πάντα φρικτά, καὶ φόβος καὶ σύγχυσις, καὶ πρὸς φόνους σύννευσις αἱμάτων δίχα. δεῖξαι γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἐμφρόνως ἠπίστασο πρὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης τῆς ἀνάγκης τοὺς <τρ>όπους, ὅπως ἕκαστος τῆς ἀκινδύνου σφαγῆς λαβὼν ἀφορμὰς ἀσφαλέστερος μένοι. λέγειν μὲν οὖν ἕκαστα καὶ τὸ ποικίλον ἐκεῖνο καινούργημα τῆς τέχνης γράφειν ἐξασθενεῖ μου τῆς ἀτόλμου καρδίας ὁ νοῦς ἐναύλῳ τῷ φόβῳ κλονούμενος. ἀλλ' ὥσπερ εἰς ἄμπωτιν ἔκ τινος βίας πρόσω τὸ ῥεῦμα συντόνως ὠθούμενον, οὕτως ἐκεῖνα τοῦ στρατοῦ τὰ κύματα τῷ σῷ λόγῳ τρέχοντι συγκινούμενα ἢ πρὸς τὸ σὸν πρόσωπον ἢ τοὐναντίον ἀντιπροσώπῳ τῷ τάχει μετήρχετο. καὶ πρὸς τοσοῦτον οὐκ ἀπώκνησας κλόνον, ἀλλ' εἷλκες αὐτὸν καὶ μεθεῖλκες τοὺς τόνους, ἔταττες, ἀντέταττες, ἔνθα τῷ λόγῳ τῆς σῆς ῥοπῆς τὸ νεῦμα συμμετεστράφη. πῶς πρὸς τοσοῦτο πλῆθος ἡρμόσω μόνος; καὶ πῶς γένη τοσαῦτα καὶ πολυτρόπων ἠθῶν διαφορὰς καὶ φρενῶν διαστάσεις τοῦ σοῦ λόγου κρούοντος εὐρύθμῳ τόνῳ, οὐχ ὥσπερ ἄλλος μυθικὸς τὰ θηρία, πρὸς αὑτὸν εἷλκες, ἀλλὰ πρὸς γνώμην μίαν, γλωττῶν τοσούτων συγχύσεις μεθαρμόσας; πλὴν οὐκ ἀπεικὸς τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος καὶ νῦν ἐνεργήσαντος, οὐχὶ πυρφόρῳ γλωττῶν διαιρέσει τε καὶ θεωρίᾳ, γλώττῃ δὲ τῇ σῇ τὴν κατάλληλον χάριν στάξαντος αὐτοῦ καὶ πάλιν τοῦ Πνεύματος· οὕτως ἅπαντας τοὺς πρὶν ἠμελημένους θᾶττον διδάξας εἶχες ηὐτρεπισμένους. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ πρόμαντις οὐκ ὤν, δέσποτα, φθάσας προεξήγγειλα τῷ πρώτῳ λόγῳ ὡς οὐδὲν ἠμέλησας, ἀλλὰ καὶ γράφων τοῖς σοῖς στρατηγοῖς πανταχοῦ τὸ συμφέρον ἥμαρτες οὐδέν, εἴπερ ἐν δέοντί γε τὸ σοὶ παραστὰν εὐθέως συνέδραμεν. ἔδειξεν ἡμᾶς οὐδαμῶς ἐψευσμένους ἡ πρακτική σου τῶν φρενῶν εὐβουλία. ἐντεῦθεν ἡμᾶς οὐ ταράττουσιν φόβοι, οὐ φροντίδες χαυνοῦσι τὴν προθυμίαν, οὐ συμφοραὶ δάκνουσιν, οὐ θλίβει κόπος· ἔρως γὰρ ἡμᾶς εὐσεβὴς περιτρέχων εἰς τὰς ἀνάγκας καὶ περιστάσεις πλέον νευρῶν συνιστᾷ τοὺς τόνους τοῦ σαρκίου. ὡς οὖν σοφιστὴς τοῖς ἰατρικοῖς λόγοις πεῖραν συνάψας οὐκ ἀφῆκε τὴν νόσον κρυπτῶς ὑποσμύχουσαν εἰς βάθος βλάβης, ἀλλ' εὐθὺς ἐξέκοψε τῷ ξίφει τεμών, ἢ καυστικῶς ἔφλεξεν ἢ καθαρσίῳ τὰς ἔνδον αὐτῆς ἐκκαθαίρων αἰτίας ἐλευθεροῖ τὸ σῶμα δυσκόλου πάθους, οὕτω τὸ σῶμα τοῦ στρατεύματος τότε εὑρὼν κακωθὲν ἐκ φιλοβλαβοῦς νόσου ἐπέσχες αὐτοὺς τῆς κακῆς ἀπληστίας λόγῳ καθάρας τὰς ὀρέξεις τῆς βλάβης. κρατεῖν γὰρ ἔγνως ῥᾷστα τῶν ἐναντίων ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ τὸν στρατόν σου ῥυθμίσας. ἐντεῦθεν ὑμῖν εὐθὺς ἐπτερωμένη νίκη προσῆλθε Περσικῶν σκυλευμάτων πρὸ τῆς μάχης φέρουσα νικητήρια.

ἐπεὶ γὰρ εἶχες οὐδὲν ἠμελημένον, ἀλλ' ἐξέπεμπες ἐκδρομὰς εὐσυνθέτους ἱππεῖς ἐπ' ἄγραν πανταχοῦ ταχυδρόμους· παρῇσαν οἱ φέροντες ἐν βραχεῖ χρόνῳ οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητα θηρίων γένη, ἀλλ' ἐξέχοντα καὶ κρατοῦντα τῷ θράσει καὶ πολλάκις βλάψαντα τὴν παροικίαν. ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ταῦτα, καίπερ ὄντα θηρία, τοῦ σοῦ παρῆκας μὴ μετασχεῖν ἡμέρου. ὅμως τὰ πολλὰ νῦν ἀφεὶς προειλόμην τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῶν ἐξ ἑνὸς διαγράφειν. παρῆν τις ἀρχίφυλος εὐτόλμου γένους τὸ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν τάγμα τῶν πολυτρίχων ἄγων σὺν αὑτῷ καὶ περισκοπῶν ὅπως λαθὼν ἐπέλθοι τῷ στρατῷ σου πρὸς βλάβην. πλὴν ὡς ἀπλήστῳ συμμαχῶν στρατηγίᾳ κλέψαι θελήσας αὐτὸς ἀντεκλέπτετο, καὶ τοῖς ποσίν σου τοῖς πανημέροις τάχος τὸν πρὶν στρατηγὸν εἰσάγουσι δέσμιον. ὡς δὲ προσήχθη τῷ κράτει σου, δέσποτα, ὁ τὴν πολυστένακτον αἰχμαλωσίαν λαβὼν ἐκεῖνος εἰς νομὴν ἐλευθέραν, ὁ δυστυχήσας εὐτυχῶς, εἰ δεῖ λέγειν σοὶ γὰρ προσελθὼν ἀνταμείβει τὴν τύχην, ῥίπτει τὰ δεσμά, τὰς δὲ συμφορὰς ὅλας ἔτρεψεν εὐθὺς εἰς χαρὰν μεθαρμόσας. πολλὴν δὲ θᾶττον τὴν ἐναλλαγὴν βλέπων ἀντιστροφὴν ἔκρινε τὴν σωτηρίαν, πάλιν στρατηγεῖν ἐλπίσας ὁ δέσμιος.