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for it would not have been possible otherwise for the Augusta to know about what had happened before he himself should arrive, ostensibly for the appropriate consolation. The patriarch, at any rate, happened to learn of it even before the event, and with lamentations, as was fitting, mourned the death of the emperor, it not being known at all to those around him for what he was lamenting. But then, having received the emperor's order from Papylos, and having expressed pity, as was fitting, he sent him away after communicating the appropriate things, but he gave the order to the writer, asking if he himself could know by guessing whose signature it might be; for it so much resembled his father's that even an expert could not easily distinguish it, and only by some very slight erasure perceived in the variation did it give cause to suspect the hand. And when they had already recognized what had happened, then the patriarch was clearly distressed, and clearly consoling, hoping to have great things from the emperor 14 concerning the, as was fitting, exaltation in the church, since he himself was urging it. And the emperor's love for him, being great and wondrous, was a sure guarantee of what was hoped for. So he was engaged in these things. 2. But the emperor, having arrived in Constantinople after some days, was obviously turning over thoughts and very much considering what he might do, so that the schism of the church might be healed with the swelling having subsided. But this was a matter of no little or ordinary concern, but rather of a necessary one, as it seemed, and more important than anything. For his aunt Eulogia also happened to be introducing persuasive counsels, and for the most part urging the ruler, who was otherwise moved of his own accord, to take up the things of yesterday and the day before and to apologize to the schismatics, saying that he had acted with his father against his will and that he condemned the action, so as to be wholly in their power, and if they should deem it right for him to suffer anything, he would readily submit to punishment as one who had sinned. And so it seemed to him, as he adopted the opinions of the schismatics, as if having suddenly fallen into a gaping pit he was seeking to be lifted up by them. For the pledges through the words of chrysobulls 15 and the oaths in them, and all that had been agreed upon by the emperors, that is, himself and his father, for the confirmation of the peace that had been accomplished, were not unlike pits and ravines to him, into which he thought he had fallen by a slip of judgment. But those urging this (these were Eulogia and Theodore Mouzalon) seemed to be moved to zeal on account of what had been done, and indeed they appeared to be seeking the stability of the church, but to many they seemed to have their minds preoccupied and to be wroth against the deceased, because of which the one was exiled to the fortress of Saint Gregory along with the child of the wife of Raoul, the hatred being increased also by what happened concerning Maria, whom the account previously showed to be her daughter and despoina of the Bulgarians, while the other, having seemed zealous and refusing the embassy to the Italians, had used his own brother Leo as his sole substitute for punishment, receiving the infliction of the rods. And at the same time, both of them traced the causes back to the reigning patriarch, a terrible thing against him, as he seemed to have taken up the cause of the indignation against them. 3. As, at any rate, the festival of Christ's nativity drew near, and it was necessary, as was customary, for the emperor to proceed in procession, and it was necessary also for 16 the mystical liturgy to be celebrated in the palace, and the procession, as a sign of grief, with the emperor standing somewhere below, did not take place, and the things of the mystical liturgy were not done, lest he who was still acting as patriarch might be commemorated. which indeed they for a time explained away by inventing reasons, but they were clearly making false excuses to others. For Eulogia, by law of sympathy, mourned the deceased, but she pretended to mourn more for the loss of her brother because of what had recently happened, and the Augusta, who was mourning her husband, she caused to be in no good hopes concerning him, as if nothing done on his behalf from then on, whatever it might be, would help. wherefore also to the patriarchs who had assembled for consolation

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γὰρ ἂν ἄλλως εἶναι γνῶναι τὴν Αὐγοῦσταν περὶ τῶν συμβάντων πρὶν ἂν αὐτὸς ἐπιστῇ κατὰ παραμυθίαν ὡς δῆθεν τὴν πρέπουσαν. ὁ γοῦν πατριάρχης ἔτυχε μὲν καὶ πρὸ τὸ δρᾶμα μαθεῖν, καὶ θρήνοις ὡς εἰκὸς τὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀφωσιώσατο θάνατον, μὴ γνωσθὲν ὅλως τοῖς περὶ ἐκεῖνον ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ θρηνοίη. τότε δὲ δεξάμενος τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως πρόσταγμα παρὰ τοῦ Παπύλου, καὶ ὡς εἰκὸς ἐποικτισάμενος, ἐκείνῳ μὲν τὰ εἰκότα κοινολογησάμενος ἀποπέμπει, τῷ δέ γε συγ γραφεῖ παρέχει τὸ πρόσταγμα, ἐρωτῶν εἰ αὐτὸς ἔχοι γνῶναι δια στοχασάμενος οὗ τινὸς ἂν εἴη τὸ μηνολόγημα· ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον γὰρ καὶ παρέϊκτο τοῖς τοῦ πατρὸς ὡς μὴ ῥᾳδίως διαγνῶναι ἔχειν καὶ τὸν εἰδήμονα, ἐκ μόνης δέ τινος ξυσμῆς βραχυτάτης ἐπὶ τῇ παραλλάξει κατανοούμενον ὑπονοεῖν ἐδίδου τὴν χεῖρα. καὶ γνω ρίσασιν ἤδη τὸ σύμβαμα τότε καὶ δῆλος μὲν ἦν πατριάρχης ἀλύων, δῆλος δὲ καὶ παραμυθούμενος, τὰ μεγάλα παρὰ βασι 14 λέως ἔχειν ἐλπίζων περὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ὡς εἰκὸς ἀνυψώ σεως, αὐτοῦ γε νύττοντος. καὶ ἡ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀγάπη τοῦ βασι λέως, πολλή τις οὖσα καὶ θαυμαστή, ἐχέγγυον τῶν ἐλπιζομένων εἰς πίστιν ἦν. ὁ μὲν οὖν ἐν τούτοις ἦν. 2. Ὁ δέ γε βασιλεὺς μεθ' ἡμέρας καταλαβὼν τὴν Κων σταντινούπολιν ἐμφανὴς ἦν λογισμοὺς στρέφων καὶ μάλα δια νοούμενος περὶ ὧν ἂν καὶ πράξοι, ἐφ' ᾧ τὸ τῆς ἐκκλησίας σχίσμα συνουλωθείη κατασταλέντος τοῦ ἀνοιδοῦντος. τὸ δ' ἦν οὖκ ὀλίγης καὶ τῆς τυχούσης μελέτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἀναγκαίας, ὡς ἐῴκει, καὶ προύργου παντός. ἔτυχε γὰρ καὶ ἡ αὐτοῦ θεία ἡ Εὐλογία βουλὰς εἰσάγουσα πιθανάς, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ κατεπείγουσα καὶ ἄλλως παρακεκινημένον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τὸν κρατοῦντα τὰ χθὲς καὶ πρὸ τρίτης ἀναλαμβάνειν καὶ τοῖς σχιζομένοις ἀπολογεῖσθαι, ὡς παρὰ γνώμην τῷ πατρὶ συμπράξοι καὶ ὡς καταγνοίη τῆς πράξεως, ὡς ὑπ' αὐτοῖς ὅλον γενέσθαι, κἄν τι δικαιοῖεν ἐκεῖνοι παθεῖν αὐ τόν, ἑτοίμως ὑπέχειν τὰς δίκας ὡς ἁμαρτήσαντα. καὶ τῷ μὲν οὕτως ἐδόκει, ὑποποιουμένῳ τὰς γνώμας τῶν σχιζομένων, ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ ἀνερρωγότος βοθύνου ἐξαπιναίως πεσὼν ἐζήτει παρ' ἐκεί νων ἀναλαμβάνεσθαι. αἱ γὰρ διὰ χρυσοβουλλείων λόγων πίστεις 15 καὶ οἱ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὅρκοι, καὶ ὅσ' ἄττα ξυμβεβήκει τοῖς βασιλεύου σιν, αὐτῷ δηλονότι καὶ τῷ πατρί, εἰς τὴν τῆς τελεσθείσης εἰρή νης βεβαίωσιν, οὐκ ἀπεοικὸς πρὸς βοθύνους ἔχειν καὶ φάραγγας παρ' αὐτῷ, οἷς ὀλίσθῳ γνώμης ἐμπεσεῖν ᾤετο. οἱ δέ γε πρὸς τοῦτο παρακινοῦντες (ἡ Εὐλογία οὗτοι καὶ ὁ Μουζάλων Θεόδω ρος) ἐῴκεσαν μὲν καὶ κινουμένοις εἰς ζῆλον διὰ τὰ πραχθέντα, καί γε ζητοῦντες τὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας κατάστασιν κατεφαίνοντο, ἐδό κουν δὲ τοῖς πολλοῖς προκατειλημμένοι τὰς γνώμας καὶ κατὰ τοῦ ἀποιχομένου μηνίοντες οἷς ὅτι ἡ μὲν εἰς τὸ τοῦ ἁγίου Γρηγορίου φρούριον συνάμα παιδὶ τῇ τοῦ Ῥαοὺλ γυναικὶ ἐξωρίζετο, ἐπαύ ξοντος καὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν Μαρίαν συμβάντος τὸ ἔχθος, ἣν θυγα τέρα ταύτης καὶ Βουλγάρων δέσποιναν ὁ λόγος προυδείκνυ, ὁ δὲ ζηλοῦν δόξας καὶ τὴν εἰς Ἰταλοὺς πρεσβείαν ἀποποιούμενος ἑνί γε καὶ μόνῳ εἰς τιμωρίαν ἀλλακτῇ τῷ αὐταδέλφῳ ἐχρήσατο Λέοντι τὰς ἐπιφορὰς τῶν ῥάβδων δεχόμενος. συνάμα δ' ἄμφω τὰς αἰτίας πρὸς τὸν πατριαρχοῦντα ἀνάγοντες, δεινὸν κατ' ἐκείνου ὡς δόξαντος τὴν αἰτίαν εἰληφέναι τῆς ἐπ' ἐκείνους ἀγανακτή σεως. 3. Ὡς γοῦν ἡ τῶν Χριστοῦ γενεθλίων προσήλαυνεν ἑορ τή, καὶ ἔδει μέν, ὡς εἴθιστο, προελθεῖν βασιλέα, ἔδει δὲ καὶ 16 τὴν μυστικὴν ἐν ἀνακτόροις ἱερουργίαν τελεῖσθαι, καὶ ἡ μὲν προέλευσις κατὰ δεῖγμα λύπης, κάτω που τοῦ βασιλέως ἱσταμέ νου, οὐκ ἐγεγόνει, τὰ δὲ τῆς μυστικῆς ἱερουργίας ἠπράκτει, μή πως καὶ ὁ εἰς πατριάρχην ἔτι τελῶν μνημονεύοιτο. ὃ δὴ κἀκεῖ νοι μὲν ἐπείλυον τέως αἰτίας πλαττόμενοι, δῆλοι δ' ἦσαν ἄλλοις τὰ μὴ ὄντα προφασιζόμενοι. ἡ γὰρ Εὐλογία νόμῳ μὲν συμπα θείας ἐθρήνει τὸν ἀποιχόμενον, τὸ δὲ πλέων θρηνεῖν προσεποιεῖτο τὴν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ διὰ τὸ χθὲς γεγονὸς ἐξαπώλειαν, καὶ τὴν Αὐ γοῦσταν θρηνοῦσαν τὸν σύζυγον ἐν οὐ καλαῖς περὶ ἐκεῖνον ἐλπί σιν ἐποίει, ὡς οὐδὲν ἐντεῦθεν τοῦ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου πραχθησομένου, κἂν ὅ τι καὶ ᾖ, βοηθήσοντος. ὅθεν καὶ τοῖς πατριάρχαις συνελ θοῦσι κατὰ παραμυθίαν