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For the greatness of her despondency and the multitude of her tears extinguished her eyes; and now she needs people to lead her by the hand and bring her to the doors of others, so that she might thus have necessary food. And I could have mentioned many other houses thus brought low, if I did not know the piety and the understanding of your soul, not wishing to find consolation for its own misfortune from the evils of others. And I have mentioned these things now for no other reason than that you may learn that human affairs are nothing, but truly, as the prophet says: “All the glory of man is as the flower of grass.” For the more it is lifted up and shines, the greater the fall it works, not only for the affairs of the subjects, but also for those of the rulers themselves. For one could not find a private house filled with so many misfortunes as the palaces are full of evils. For untimely orphanhoods and widowhoods and violent deaths and many things far more lawless and more bitter than those in tragedies especially befall this rule. And to leave aside ancient things, of those who have reigned in our generation, there being nine in all, only two ended their life by a common death; but of the others, one by a tyrant, one in war, one plotted against by his own guards within, and one by the very man who appointed him and put the purple upon him. And of the women who lived with these men, some, as they say, died by poisons, and others from despondency itself.

Of those still surviving, one who has an orphan child trembles and fears lest one of the powerful, for fear of future things, should do away with him. Another, with many pleading, has with difficulty returned from the exile to which the ruler had previously cast her. Of those who live with the current emperors, one, having recovered from former misfortunes, has much pain mixed with her pleasure because the ruler is still very young and inexperienced and has many plotting against him from many sides; the other is dead with fear and lives more wretchedly than the condemned because her husband, from the time he took up the diadem until today, spends his time in wars and battles, and is consumed more by the shame and the reproaches from all than by his misfortunes. For what has never happened before, has happened now, and the barbarians, leaving their own country, have overrun ten thousand stades of ours, and often as many again, and having burned the country-sides and taken the cities, they do not want to return home again, but as if dancing rather than fighting, they thus mock all of our people; and they say one of their kings said that he was astonished at the shamelessness of our soldiers, who, though being slaughtered more than sheep, still expect to conquer and are not willing to depart from their own country; for he himself said that he had even had his fill of slaughtering them many times.

What sort of soul, then, do you think both the emperor and his wife have, hearing these words? And since I have mentioned this war, a great swarm of widows has come upon me, many of whom were very distinguished from the honor of their husbands, but now all at once, having put on mourning and black attire, they weep all the time. For not even this was granted to them which was to your honorable head. For you, O admirable woman, both saw that fine man lying on his bed, and heard his last voice, and learned what must be done for the affairs of the house from his instructions, and through his testament he walled off every attack from the grasping and slanderers. And not only this, but you also fell upon him many times while he still lay dead, and kissed his eyes, and embraced him, and wailed, and saw him sent forth with much honor, and you did all things for his burial, as was fitting, and coming often to his tomb consolation

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γὰρ μέγεθος τῆς ἀθυμίας, τό τε πλῆθος τῶν δακρύων ἔσβεσεν αὐτῇ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς· καὶ νῦν τῶν χειραγωγησόντων δεῖται καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἑτέρων ἀξόντων θύρας, ἵνα τῆς ἀναγκαίας οὕτως εὐπορεῖν ἔχῃ τροφῆς. Καὶ πολλὰς ἂν ἑτέρας εἶχον οἰκίας εἰπεῖν οὕτω κατενεχθείσας, εἰ μὴ τήν τε εὐλάβειαν καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν τῆς σῆς ἠπιστάμην ψυχῆς, οὐκ ἐκ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων κακῶν τῆς οἰκείας συμφορᾶς παραμυθίαν βουλομένην εὑρεῖν. Καὶ τούτων δὲ ὧν ἐμνήσθην δι' οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐμνήσθην νῦν, ἀλλ' ἵνα μάθῃς ὅτι τὰ ἀνθρώπινα οὐδέν ἐστι πράγματα, ἀλλ' ἀληθῶς, ὡς ὁ προφήτης φησί· «Πᾶσα δόξα ἀνθρώπου ὡς ἄνθος χόρτου.» Ὅσῳ γὰρ ἂν ἐπαρθῇ καὶ λάμψῃ, τοσούτῳ μείζονα τὴν πτῶσιν ἐργάζεται, οὐ τὰ τῶν ἀρχομένων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ τῶν βασιλευόντων αὐτῶν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν εὕροι τις οἰκίαν ἰδιωτικὴν τοσούτων ἐμπεπλησμένην συμφορῶν ὅσων τὰ βασίλεια γέμει τῶν κακῶν. Καὶ γὰρ ὀρφανίαι ἄωροι καὶ χηρεῖαι καὶ θάνατοι βίαιοι καὶ τῶν ἐν ταῖς τραγῳδίαις παρανομώτεροι πολλῷ καὶ πικρότεροι μάλιστα εἰς ταύτην κατασκήπτουσι τὴν ἀρχήν. Καὶ ἵνα τὰ παλαιὰ ἀφῶμεν, τῶν βασιλευσάντων ἐπὶ τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς ἡμετέρας, ἐννέα γεγενημένων ἁπάντων, δύο μόνοι κοινῷ θανάτῳ τὸν βίον κατέλυσαν· τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ὁ μὲν ὑπὸ τυράννου, ὁ δὲ ἐν πολέμῳ, ὁ δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἔνδον φυλαττόντων αὐτὸν ἐπιβουλευθείς, ὁ δὲ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ χειροτονήσαντος, καὶ τὴν ἀλουργίδα περιθέντος αὐτῷ. Αἱ δὲ τούτοις συνοικήσασαι γυναῖκες, αἱ μέν, ὥς φασι, φαρμάκοις ἀπέθανον, αἱ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀθυμίας αὐτῆς.

Τῶν δὲ ἔτι περιουσῶν ἡ μὲν παῖδα ἔχουσα ὀρφανὸν τρέμει καὶ δέδοικε μή τις αὐτὸν τῶν κρατούντων φόβῳ τῶν μελλόντων ἀνέλῃ. Ἡ δὲ μόλις πολλῶν δεηθέντων ἀπὸ τῆς ὑπερορίας ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς ἣν αὐτὴν ὁ κρατῶν ἐξέβαλε πρότερον. Τῶν δὲ τοῖς νῦν βασιλεύουσι συνοικουσῶν ἡ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν προτέρων ἀναπνεύσασα συμφορῶν ἀναμεμιγμένην ἔχει πολλὴν τῇ ἡδονῇ τὴν ὀδύνην διὰ τὸ σφόδρα ἔτι νέον εἶναι καὶ ἄπειρον τὸν κρατοῦντα καὶ πολλοὺς πολλαχόθεν ἔχειν τοὺς ἐπιβουλεύοντας· ἡ δὲ ἀποτέθνηκε τῷ δέει καὶ τῶν καταδίκων ἀθλιώτερον ζῇ διὰ τὸ τὸν ἄνδρα αὐτῆς, ἐξ οὗ τὸ διάδημα ἀνεδήσατο μέχρι τῆς σήμερον, ἐν πολέμοις διατρίβειν καὶ μάχαις καὶ τῶν συμφορῶν πλέον ὑπὸ τῆς αἰσχύνης ἀναλίσκεσθαι καὶ τοῖς παρὰ πάντων ὀνείδεσιν. Ὃ γὰρ μηδέποτε γέγονε, συνέβη νῦν, καὶ τὴν αὑτῶν ἀφέντες οἱ βάρβαροι χώραν μυρίους σταδίους τῆς ἡμετέρας καὶ πολλάκις τοσούτους ἐπέδραμον, καὶ τὰς χώρας κατακαύσαντες, καὶ τὰς πόλεις ἑλόντες, οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν ὑποστρέφειν οἴκαδε πάλιν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ χορεύοντες μᾶλλον ἢ πολεμοῦντες οὕτω καταγελῶσι τοὺς ἡμετέρους ἅπαντας· καί τινα τῶν παρ' ἐκείνοις βασιλέων εἰπεῖν φασιν ὅτι τῆς ἀναισχυντίας ἐκπλήττοιτο τοὺς ἡμετέρους στρατιώτας, οἳ μᾶλλον προβάτων κατασφαττόμενοι προσδοκῶσιν ἔτι νικᾶν καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν ἐκστῆναι τῆς ἑαυτῶν πατρίδος· αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ ἔφασκε καὶ κόρον εἰληφέναι πολλάκις κατακόπτων αὐτούς.

Ποίαν οὖν οἴει καὶ τὸν βασιλέα καὶ τὴν τούτου γυναῖκα ταῦτα ἀκούουσαν τὰ ῥήματα ἔχειν ψυχήν; Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐμνήσθην τοῦ πολέμου τούτου, ἑσμός μοι πολὺς χηρῶν ἐπέδραμεν, αἳ πολλαὶ μὲν σφόδρα ἔλαμπον ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀνδρῶν τιμῆς, νῦν δὲ ἀθρόως ἅπασαι πενθήρη καὶ μέλαιναν περιθέμεναι στολὴν θρηνοῦσι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τοῦτο αὐταῖς ὑπῆρξεν ὅπερ τῇ τιμίᾳ σου κεφαλῇ. Σὺ μὲν γάρ, ὦ θαυμασία, καὶ κείμενον ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης εἶδες τὸν καλὸν ἐκεῖνον, καὶ ἐσχάτης ἤκουσας φωνῆς, καὶ τίνα χρὴ πρᾶξαι ὑπὲρ τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς οἰκίας ἔμαθες ἐπισκήπτοντος, καὶ διὰ τῶν διαθηκῶν ἅπασαν τοῖς πλεονέκταις καὶ συκοφάνταις ἀποτειχίζοντος ἔφοδον. Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ νεκρῷ ἔτι κειμένῳ πολλάκις ἐπέπεσες, καὶ κατεφίλησας ὀφθαλμούς, καὶ περιεχύθης, καὶ ἐκώκυσας, καὶ προπεμφθέντα εἶδες μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς τιμῆς, καὶ τὰ πρὸς τὴν ταφὴν πάντα ἔπραξας, ὡς προσῆκον ἦν, καὶ πρὸς τὸν τάφον πολλάκις ἐρχομένη τὸν ἐκείνου παραμυθίαν