6

let us care for ourselves. But not even so did you bear it. So some had obtained a mind that was disposed to everything changeable and that changed along with the times and circumstances. But may those who are moved to say such things consider sometime ........ but let us hold to the matters before us.]

9 Murad, having done the first and second thing, which we have mentioned, and having sent very many letters inside on arrows, these too bound by the same oaths and announcing the same things. Since he accomplished nothing more (for it was not possible for those in the city who wished it, because of their fear of the Latins and especially of the brigands assisting them on guard duty, to use their own judgment without fear), he then turned of necessity to making war, not even then so much from the disobedience of those within and their opposition as from this. A certain Latin merchant ship suddenly appeared, having a cargo of grain and bringing it to the needy city. But they, seeing it, suspected that it had allies and arms for the war, and fearing defeat, with an alliance coming to the city, thought it necessary to use their whole force and skill in warfare before the merchant ship could be moored. A short time before, then, when he was also sending the heralds, a part of the attacking force, entering the outer wall at an unseasonable hour of the night and undermining it in safety (for there were no guards on it, since those within were not sufficient, nor could anyone drive them out in any way, since it was projected in front), they tore down many parts of it to the ground, so as to be able to enter in great numbers into the space between the walls, and to bring in ladders with ease and by these to mount the great wall. In this way, then, they made the outer cross-wall passable and often during the day, but indeed also at night, they did not neglect the archery of the small wall, when they were going towards its collapse; for how could they have undermined it with greater safety, those on the greater wall, if they did not keep them back with their arrows from advancing against them in like manner and doing similar things? Nevertheless, even so we did not neglect the work according to our ability. [But more than other things we were using the so-called device, of which we heard only the sound, but never saw any brilliant result, and this although there was much of the prepared substance among us, and it was being expended unsparingly at every opportunity.]

10 These things, then, were happening for three days, and then at that time some men, going outside around midnight in certain parts of the walls, caring for our safety, announced to us that the whole army had been prepared for war, both the infantry around Murad, and that when the fourth day dawned they wished to advance against us with all their force, and that they had prepared ships, and with these, attacking from the sea-side, in order to compel us to be occupied with twofold cares. This both greatly disturbed our souls and threw them into such perplexity, as being able to bring upon us no ordinary harm. Therefore, when this message became clear and all of us were in distress and deliberation as to how we should be disposed for the war, and with almost every age being awake, offering earnest prayers to God and to the Myrrh-Gushing Martyr throughout that whole night (for all knew that they stood on the razor's edge of danger), the Latins, considering the part of the shore of great importance because of the three triremes that were present in the city, lest the Turks come and make them a work of fire, went about and enjoined their archers, who were distributed for the guarding of the walls, to withdraw, while the others did not know this thought, nor what their withdrawal from the walls meant to them. [For if they had laid the matter bare, that they were bringing these men down from the wall for the guarding of the harbor and the triremes, those left behind at the wall would have been hopeful and would not have their flight

6

ἑαυτῶν φροντίσωμεν. Ἀλλ' οὐδ' οὕτως ἠνείχεσθε. Οὕτω γνώμης τινὲς τετυχήκεσαν πρὸς πᾶν ὁτιοῦν τὸ τρεπτὸν κεκτημένης καὶ συμμεταβαλλομένης τοῖς καιροῖς καὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν. Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγειν ὁρμώμενοι λογίσαιντο ποτε ........ἡμεῖς δὲ τῶν προκειμένων ἐχώμεθα.]

9 Πρῶτον καὶ δεύτερον ὁ Μουράτης πεπραχώς, ὅπερ εἰρήκειμεν, καὶ γράμματα τοῖς βέλεσι πεπομφὼς ἐντὸς πλεῖστα, τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὅρκοις καὶ ταῦτα συνδούμενα καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ διαγγέλλοντα. Ὡς ἤνυε πλέον οὐδὲν (οὐ γὰρ ἐξῆν βουλομένοις τοῖς ἐν τῇ πόλει τῷ τῶν Λατίνων δέει καὶ μάλιστα τῶν συμπαρισταμένων αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ φυλακῇ λῃστῶν, τῇ σφῶν ἀδεῶς χρήσασθαι γνώμῃ), τρέπεται τότ' ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐπὶ τὸ πολεμεῖν, οὐδὲ τότε τοσοῦτον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀπειθείας τῶν ἔνδον καὶ τῆς ἐνστάσεως ὅσον ἐκ τούτου. Ὁλκὰς ἐφάνη τις ἐξαπίνης Λατινικὴ σῖτον ἔχουσα φόρτον καὶ κομίζουσα τοῦτον ἐν τῇ πόλει χρῃζούσῃ. Οἱ δ' ὑπετόπασαν ταύτην ἰδόντες συμμάχους ἔχειν καὶ ὅπλα διὰ τὸν πόλεμον καὶ δεδιότες τὴν ἧτταν, συμμαχίας ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐλθούσης, ὅλῃ δεῖν ᾤοντο χρήσασθαι τῇ τούτων δυνάμει καὶ περὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ τέχνῃ πρὶν τὴν ὁλκάδα καθορμισθῆναι. Μικρὸν μὲν οὖν πρότερον, ὅτε καὶ τοὺς κήρυκας ἔπεμπεν, ὑπεισερχόμενοι τὸ προτείχισμα μέρος τῶν πολεμούντων ἀωρὶ τῶν νυκτῶν καὶ τοῦθ' ὑπορύττοντες ἐν ἀδείᾳ (οὔτε γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτῷ φύλακες ἦσαν, οὐκ ἀρκούντων τῶν ἔνδον, οὔτ' ἐξωθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἶχεν οὐδεὶς οὐδ' ὁπωσοῦν, τούτου προβεβλημένου) πολλὰ τούτου κατέσπασαν εἰς ἔδαφος μέρη, ὥστ' ἔχειν εἰσιέναι παμπληθεῖς ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῶν τειχῶν τόπῳ, κλίμακάς τε εἰσκομίσαι μετ' εὐχερείας καὶ ταύταις τὸ μέγα τεῖχος ἐπαναβῆναι. Βάσιμον οὖν τὸ ἔξω πεποιήκεσαν διατείχισμα τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον καὶ τῆς τοξικῆς πολλάκις τῆς ἡμέρας, ἀλλὰ δὴ καὶ τῆς νυκτὸς οὐκ ἠμέλουν, τοῦ μικροῦ τείχους, ὅτε πρὸς κατάπτωσιν ᾔεσαν· πῶς γὰρ ἂν ἔσχον μετὰ πλείονος ὑπορύττειν ἀδείας αὐτό, τοὺς ἐπὶ τοῦ μείζονος τείχους, εἰ μὴ τοῖς βέλεσιν ἀπεῖργον μὴ κατ' αὐτῶν καὶ τούτους ὁμοίως χωρεῖν καὶ τὰ παραπλήσια δρᾶν; Πλὴν καὶ οὕτως οὐδ' ἡμεῖς ἠμελοῦμεν τοῦ κατὰ δύναμιν ἔργου. [Πλέον δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἐχρώμεθα τῇ καλουμένῃ σκευῇ, ἧς ἦχον μὲν ἠκούομεν μόνον, ἔργον δὲ οὐδέποτ' εἴδομέν τι λαμπρὸν καὶ ταῦτα πολλῆς ἐν ἡμῖν οὔσης τῆς ἐσκευασμένης βοτάνης, ἀφειδῶς τε κατὰ πάντα καιρὸν ἀναλισκομένης.]

10 Ταῦτ' οὖν ἐπὶ τρισὶν ἦσαν ἡμέραις γινόμενα καὶ τηνικαῦτα δή τινες ἔν τισι τῶν τειχῶν μέρεσιν ἔξωθεν περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἰόντες, τῆς ἡμετέρας κηδόμενοι σωτηρίας, πᾶσαν ἡμῖν πρὸς πόλεμον παρεσκευάσθαι τὴν στρατιὰν προαγγέλλουσιν, ὅσον τε περὶ τὸν Μουράτην πεζὸν καὶ τῆς τετάρτης ἡμέρας διαυγασάσης βούλεσθαι καθ' ἡμῶν ὅλῃ δυνάμει κεχωρηκέναι καὶ ὡς πλοῖα παρασκευάσειαν καὶ τούτοις ἵν' ἀπὸ τοῦ κατὰ θάλατταν μέρους ἰόντες πρὸς διττὰς ἀναγκάσωσιν ἡμᾶς ἀσχοληθῆναι φροντίδας. Ὃ καὶ σφόδρα τὰς ἡμετέρας ψυχὰς διετάραξε καὶ εἰς ἀπορίαν ἐνέβαλεν ὅσην, ὡς βλάβην ἡμῖν δυνάμενον οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἐπαγαγεῖν. ∆ήλης τοιγαροῦν ταυτησὶ γεγενημένης τῆς ἀγγελίας καὶ πάντων ἡμῶν ἐν περιστάσει καὶ λογισμοῖς ὄντων, πῶς ἂν διατεθείημεν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, πάσης τε σχεδὸν ἡλικίας οὔσης ἐν ἐγρηγόρσει, δεήσεις ἐκτενεῖς θεῷ καὶ τῷ Μυροβλύτι Μάρτυρι καθ' ὅλην ἐκείνην προσαγόντων τὴν νύκτα (πάντες γὰρ ᾔδεσαν ἐν χρῷ τοῦ κινδύνου καθεστηκέναι), οἱ Λατῖνοι περὶ πολλοῦ τὸ τοῦ αἰγιαλοῦ ποιούμενοι μέρος διὰ τὰς τρεῖς, αἳ παρῆσαν τῇ πόλει, τριήρεις, μὴ πυρὸς ἔργον ταύτας ἐλθόντες οἱ Τοῦρκοι ποιήσωσι, τοὺς σφῶν τοξότας, μεμερισμένους ὄντας ἐπὶ φυλακῇ τῶν τειχῶν, ὑπαναχωρεῖν αὐτοὺς περιιόντες ἐπέσκηπτον, τῶν ἄλλων τὴν σκέψιν ταύτην μὴ γινωσκόντων, μηδ' ὅπερ ἐκείνοις ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν βούλεται ἀναχώρησις. [Εἰ γὰρ καθαρῶς ἐγύμνουν τὸ πρᾶγμα, ὡς ἐπὶ φυλακῇ τοῦ λιμένος καὶ τῶν τριηρῶν καταβιβάζουσι τούτους τοῦ τείχους, εὐέλπιδες ἂν ἦσαν οἱ περιλελειμμένοι τῷ τείχει καὶ οὐκ ἂν φυγὴν αὐτῶν