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with a distressed mind and the 1.1.68 other excellence of his soul, as I shall presently show. Of the arches, which I just mentioned, (the master-builders call them loroi) one, which is towards the rising sun, had already been raised on either side, but 1.1.69 was not yet wholly completed in the middle, but still remained so. The piers, on which the structure was being built, unable to bear the weight laid upon them, were somehow cracking suddenly and seemed on the point of breaking up before long. 1.1.70 So the associates of Anthemius and Isidorus, being terrified by what had happened, brought the matter to the emperor, having lost hope in their skill. 1.1.71 And immediately the emperor, prompted by what inspiration I do not know, but by God, I think, for he is not a mechanic, commanded them to carry this arch around to its conclusion. For it, he said, being supported on itself, will no longer need the piers below. 1.1.72 And if the story were without witnesses, I know well that it would have seemed to be both flattery and altogether unbelievable, but since many witnesses of the things then done are present, we must not shrink 1.1.73 from the remainder of the account. So the artisans did what was ordered, and the whole arch hung securely, sealing by experience the truth of the concept. 1.1.74 Thus this was accomplished in this way, but with regard to the other arches, those which are turned to the south 1.1.75 and the north wind, the following happened. The so-called loroi of the temple, swelling with the structure, were suspended, and everything below was laboring under their weight, and the columns which were there were giving off small pebbles as if 1.1.76 scraped away. And again the mechanics, having become disheartened by what had happened, reported to the emperor their 1.1.77 present situation. And again the emperor devised the following counter-measure. He commanded that the extremities of these distressed parts, as much as touched the arches, be removed at once, and be inserted much later, when the 1.1.78 moisture of the structure had mostly abated for them. And they acted accordingly; and the structure for the future remained secure. And the emperor is said to have a testimony of the work, of this sort. 1.2.1 There happened to be a certain forum in front of the senate-house; the Byzantines call this forum the Augustaion. Here foundations of stones, no fewer than seven, have been made in a square, all arranged like a stairway, and each one being smaller and falling short of the one below it by so much that each of the stones, by its projection, has become a step, so that the people who gather there 1.2.2 sit on them as if on benches. And on the top of the stones a column has been erected, of extraordinary size, not a monolith, however, but composed of large stones in a circle, angular in their cut, and 1.2.3 fitted to each other by the skill of the masons. And the finest bronze, cast into both plates and wreaths, surrounds the stones on all sides, binding them securely, and covering them for ornament, and imitating the form of the column in almost all other respects and especially at the top and bottom. 1.2.4 This bronze is softer in color than pure gold, and in value it falls not far short of being of equal weight to silver. 1.2.5 And on the summit of the column stands a bronze horse of enormous size, turned towards the east, a sight worthy of much description. It seems to be advancing and pressing on splendidly. 1.2.6 Of its forefeet, it raises the left one, as if to step on the ground before it, while the other is planted on the stone on which it stands, as if to take the next step; and it brings its hind feet together so that, when the moment comes for them not to stand still, 1.2.7 they might be in readiness. On this horse is mounted a bronze statue of the emperor, like a colossus. The statue is dressed as Achilles. 1.2.8 For thus they call the costume which he wears. For he wears boots and his ankles are 1.2.9 without greaves. Then he is heroically armed with a breastplate and a helmet covers his head giving the impression as

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πονουμένῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ καὶ τῇ 1.1.68 ἄλλῃ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀρετῇ, ὥσπερ ἐγὼ αὐτίκα δηλώσω. τῶν ἀψίδων, ὧνπερ ἐπεμνήσθην ἀρτίως, (λώρους δὲ αὐτὰς οἱ μηχανοποιοὶ ἐπικαλοῦσι) μία τις, ἣ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιόν ἐστιν, ἐπανειστήκει μὲν ἑκατέρωθεν ἤδη, οὔπω δὲ 1.1.69 ὅλη κατὰ τὸ μέσον συνετετέλεστο, ἀλλ' ἔμενεν ἔτι. οἱ δὲ πεσσοί, ὧν δὴ ὕπερθεν ἡ οἰκοδομία ἐγίνετο, τῶν ἐγκειμένων σφίσιν οὐκ ἐνεγκόντες τὸ μέγεθος, ἀμηγέπη ἐξαπιναίως ἀπορρηγνύμενοι, οὐκ ἐς μακρὰν διαλυθησομένοις 1.1.70 ἐῴκεσαν. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀμφί τε Ἀνθέμιον καὶ Ἰσίδωρον τοῖς συμπεπτωκόσι περίφοβοι ὄντες ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα τὸ πρᾶγμα ἦγον, δυσέλπιδες ἐπὶ τῇ τέχνῃ γεγενημένοι. 1.1.71 αὐτίκα δὲ ὁ βασιλεύς, ὅτῳ μέν ποτε ἠγμένος οὐκ οἶδα, θεῷ δέ, οἶμαι, οὐ γάρ ἐστι μηχανικός, ἐς τὸ πέρας αὐτοῖς περιελίξαι τὴν ἀψῖδα ταύτην ἐπήγγελλεν. αὐτὴ γάρ, ἔφη, ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς ἀνεχομένη τῶν ἔνερθεν πεσσῶν οὐκέτι δεήσει. 1.1.72 καὶ εἰ μὲν ὁ λόγος ἀμάρτυρος ἦν, εὖ οἶδα ὅτι κόλαξ τε ἂν ἔδοξεν εἶναι καὶ ἄπιστος ὅλως, ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ μάρτυρες πάρεισι τῶν τηνικάδε πεπραγμένων πολλοί, οὐκ ὀκνητέα 1.1.73 ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τὰ τοῦ λόγου λειπόμενά ἐστιν. οἱ μὲν οὖν τεχνῖται τὰ ἐπιτεταγμένα ἐποίουν, ἡ δὲ ἀψὶς ἐπ' ἀσφαλοῦς ᾐώρητο πᾶσα, ἐπισφραγίζουσα τῇ πείρᾳ τὴν τῆς ἐννοίας 1.1.74 ἀλήθειαν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ ἐξείργασται, κατὰ δὲ τὰς ἄλλας ἀψῖδας αἵ τε πρὸς μεσημβρίαν τετραμμέναι εἰσὶ 1.1.75 καὶ βορρᾶν ἄνεμον, τοιόνδε ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι. οἱ μὲν λῶροι καλούμενοι τοῦ νεὼ τῇ οἰκοδομίᾳ ἐξωγκωμένοι ᾐώρηντο, βαρυνόμενα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπεπονήκει τὰ ἔνερθεν πάντα, κίονές τε οἱ τῇδε ὄντες χάλικας σμικρὰς ὥσπερ 1.1.76 ἀποξυσθέντες ἀφίεσαν. καὶ αὖθις μὲν ἄθυμοι τοῖς συμπεπτωκόσιν οἱ μηχανικοὶ γεγενημένοι τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ σφίσι 1.1.77 παρόντα ἐσήγγελλον. αὖθις δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀντεπετεχνήσατο τάδε. τούτων δὴ τῶν πεπονηκότων τὰ ἄκρα ὅσα τῶν ἀψίδων ἐπέψαυε, διελεῖν μὲν ἐν τῷ παραυτίκα ἐκέλευσεν, ἐντιθέναι δὲ πολλῷ ὕστερον, ἐπειδὰν τὸ τῆς οἰκοδομίας 1.1.78 ὑγρὸν ἀπολωφήσειεν αὐτοῖς μάλιστα. καὶ οἱ μὲν κατὰ ταῦτα ἐποίουν· ἡ δὲ κτίσις διαγέγονε τὸ λοιπὸν ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ οὖσα. φέρεται δέ τι καὶ μαρτύριον ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ἔργου τοιόνδε. 1.2.1 Ἀγορά τις πρὸ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου ἐτύγχανεν οὖσα· καλοῦσι δὲ Αὐγουσταῖον τὴν ἀγορὰν οἱ Βυζάντιοι. ἐνταῦθα ξυνθῆκαι λίθων οὐχ ἧσσον ἢ ἑπτὰ ἐν τετραγώνῳ πεποίηνται, κατὰ μὲν ἀπόβασιν ξυγκείμεναι πᾶσαι, τοσοῦτον δὲ ἑκάστη τῆς ἔνερθεν οὔσης ἐλασσουμένη καὶ ἀποδέουσα, ὥστε δὴ τῶν λίθων ἕκαστον τῇ ἐμβολῇ προὔχοντα βαθμὸν γεγονέναι τῶν τε ἀνθρώπων τοὺς ἐκείνῃ ἀγειρο1.2.2 μένους ἐπ' αὐτῶν ὥσπερ ἐπὶ βάθρων καθῆσθαι. ἐν δὲ τῇ τῶν λίθων ὑπερβολῇ κίων ἐπανέστηκεν ἐξαίσιον ὅσον, οὐ μονοειδὴς μέντοι, ἀλλὰ λίθοις ἐν περιδρόμῳ εὐμεγέθεσι σύνθετος, ἐγγωνίοις μὲν τῇ ἐντομῇ οὖσιν, ἐς δὲ 1.2.3 ἀλλήλους ἐμπειρίᾳ τῶν λιθοδόμων ἐναρμοσθεῖσι. χαλκὸς δὲ ἄριστος ἔν τε πίναξι καὶ στεφάνοις διαχυθεὶς περιβάλλει πανταχόθι τοὺς λίθους, ἐν μὲν τῷ βεβαίῳ συνδέων, ἐν κόσμῳ δὲ αὐτοὺς συγκαλύπτων, καὶ τά τε ἄλλα σχεδόν τι πάντα καὶ διαφερόντως τά τε ἄνω καὶ τὰ κάτω 1.2.4 ἐς τοῦ κίονος τὸν τύπον ἀπομιμούμενος. ὁ δὲ χαλκὸς οὗτος τὸ μὲν χρῶμά ἐστι χρυσοῦ ἀκιβδήλου πρᾳότερος, τὴν δὲ ἀξίαν οὐ παρὰ πολὺ ἀποδέων ἰσοστάσιος ἀργύρῳ 1.2.5 εἶναι. ἐν δὲ τοῦ κίονος τῇ κορυφῇ χαλκοῦς ἕστηκεν ὑπερμεγέθης ἵππος, τετραμμένος πρὸς ἕω, θέαμα λόγου πολλοῦ ἄξιον. ἔοικε δὲ βαδιουμένῳ καὶ τοῦ πρόσω λαμ1.2.6 πρῶς ἐχομένῳ. ποδῶν τῶν προσθίων ἀμέλει τὸν μὲν ἀριστερὸν μετεωρίζει, ὡς ἐπιβησόμενον τῆς ἐπίπροσθεν γῆς, ὁ δὲ δὴ ἕτερος ἐπὶ τοῦ λίθου ἠρήρεισται, οὗ ὕπερθέν ἐστιν, ὡς τὴν βάσιν ἐκδεξόμενος· τοὺς δὲ ὀπισθίους οὕτω ξυνάγει ὡς, ἐπειδὰν τὸ μὴ ἑστήξειν αὐτοῖς ἐπιβάλ1.2.7 λοι, ἐν ἑτοίμῳ εἶεν. τούτῳ δὴ τῷ ἵππῳ χαλκῆ ἐπιβέβηκε τοῦ βασιλέως εἰκὼν κολοσσῷ ἐμφερής. ἔσταλται δὲ Ἀχιλ1.2.8 λεὺς ἡ εἰκών. οὕτω γὰρ τὸ σχῆμα καλοῦσιν ὅπερ ἀμπέχεται. τάς τε γὰρ ἀρβύλας ὑποδέδεται καὶ τὰ σφυρά ἐστι 1.2.9 κνημίδων χωρίς. εἶτα ἡρωϊκῶς τεθωράκισται καὶ κράνος αὐτῷ τὴν κεφαλὴν σκέπει δόξαν ὡς