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having imprisoned him, kept him under guard. From which indeed a certain fortune befell him, not only once, but twice, to escape and get away. 3.23 And at first, taking refuge in the church of the Theotokos, which in Byzantium is and was named the most holy, he sat as a suppliant beside the holy table. And from there, having made him rise up with all 3.24 possible force, she imprisoned him again. And the second time, coming to the sanctuary of Sophia, he suddenly sat down in the divine font itself, which Christians are accustomed to revere most of all. 3.25 But even from here the woman was strong enough to drag him away. For to her no place was ever so sacred as to be inviolable, but to violate all holy things seemed to be no matter at all. 3.26 And along with the people, the priests of the Christians, stricken with fear, stood aside and yielded everything to her. 3.27 So a period of three years was spent by him in this mode of life, but later the prophet Zacharias, appearing to him in a dream, with oaths, they say, commanded him to flee, promising to assist him in this task. 3.28 And persuaded by this vision, he rose up from there and, escaping notice, came to Jerusalem, though ten thousand men were searching for him, but no one saw the youth, even though they encountered him. 3.29 Where indeed, having had his hair cut and putting on the habit of those called monks, he was able to escape the punishment from Theodora. 3.30 But Belisarius, having disregarded what he had sworn, and choosing in no way to avenge this man who was suffering, as was said, unholy deeds, henceforth found God, as was likely, hostile to all his undertakings; for being sent immediately against the Medes and Chosroes, who for the third time were invading the land of the Romans, 3.31 he incurred the charge of cowardice. And yet he seemed to have accomplished something worthy of mention, in having shaken off the war from there. But since Chosroes, having crossed the Euphrates river, captured the populous city of Callinicum with no one defending it and enslaved many thousands of Romans, and Belisarius did not even trouble to pursue the enemy, he gained the reputation that for one of two reasons, either acting the coward deliberately or losing his nerve, he remained where he was. 4.1Around this time it happened that something else of this sort also befell him. The plague, which I mentioned in the preceding account, was devastating the people in Byzantium. And it happened that the Emperor Justinian fell most grievously ill, so that it was even said that he had perished. 4.2 And rumour, spreading this report, carried it as far as the Roman camp. There some of the commanders were saying that if the Romans should appoint another emperor for themselves in Byzantium, they would never permit it. 4.3 But a little later it happened that the emperor recovered, but the commanders of the Roman army 4.4 began to slander one another. For both Peter the general and John, whom they called Phagas by nickname, insisted they had heard Belisarius and Bouzes saying those things which have just been related by me. 4.5 The Empress Theodora, charging that these things had been said by the men against her, 4.6 was filled with rage. So, having immediately summoned them all to Byzantium, and having made an inquiry into this matter, she suddenly summoned Bouzes to the women's quarters, as if to communicate something of extreme importance to him. 4.7 There was a certain underground chamber in the Palace, both secure and labyrinthine, and such as to be compared to Tartarus, where for the most part she imprisoned and guarded those who had offended her. 4.8 And so Bouzes was thrown into this pit, and there a man who had been of consular rank remained, forever unaware of the present time. 4.9 For sitting in darkness, he was not able to distinguish whether it was day or night, 4.10 nor could he encounter anyone else. For the man who threw his food to him each day, like some 4.11 beast to a beast, conversed voiceless with the voiceless. And to all it seemed at once that he had died, yet no one dared to make any mention or remembrance of him. But after two years and four months, pitying the man, 4.12 she released him. And he appeared to all as if he had come back to life. And it happened that from this the man's sight was always dim and the rest of his body

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καθείρξασα ἐτήρει. ὅθεν δὴ αὐτῷ ξυνέβη τις τύχη οὐχ ἅπαξ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ δὶς διαφυγόντι 3.23 ἀπαλλαγῆναι. καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα καταφυγὼν εἰς τὸν ναὸν τῆς θεοτόκου, ὅσπερ ἐν Βυζαντίοις ἁγιώτατός ἐστί τε καὶ ὠνομάσθη, παρὰ τὴν ἱερὰν τράπεζαν ἱκέτης καθῆστο. ἐντεῦθέν τε αὐτὸν ἀναστήσασα βίᾳ τῇ 3.24 πάσῃ καθεῖρξεν αὖθις. τὸ δὲ δὴ δεύτερον ἐς τῆς Σοφίας τὸ ἱερὸν ἥκων, ἐς αὐτήν που τὴν θείαν δεξαμενὴν ἐξαπιναίως ἐκάθισεν, ἥνπερ μάλιστα πάντων 3.25 νενομίκασι Χριστιανοὶ σέβειν. ἀλλὰ κἀνθένδε ἀφέλκειν αὐτὸν ἡ γυνὴ ἴσχυσε. χωρίον γὰρ ἀβέβηλον πώποτε ἀνέφαπτον αὐτῇ οὐδὲν γέγονεν, ἀλλ' αὐτῇ βιάζεσθαι τὰ ἱερὰ ξύμπαντα οὐδὲν πρᾶγμα ἐδόκει εἶναι. 3.26 καὶ ξὺν τῷ δήμῳ οἱ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἱερεῖς καταπεπληγμένοι τῷ δέει ἐξίσταντο καὶ ἐνεχώρουν αὐτῇ ἅπαντα. 3.27 τριῶν μὲν οὖν αὐτῷ ἐνιαυτῶν χρόνος ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ διαίτῃ ἐτρίβη, ὕστερον δὲ ὁ προφήτης αὐτῷ Ζαχαρίας ἐπιστὰς ὄναρ ὅρκοις, φασὶν, ἐκέλευσε φεύγειν, συλλή3.28 ψεσθαί οἱ ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ τῷδε ὁμολογήσας. ταύτῃ τε τῇ ὄψει ἀναπεισθεὶς ἀνέστη τε ἐνθένδε καὶ διαλαθὼν εἰς τὰἹεροσόλυμα ἦλθε, μυρίων μὲν αὐτὸν διερευνωμένων ἀνθρώπων, οὐδενὸς δὲ τὸν νεανίαν, καίπερ 3.29 ἐντυχόντα, ὁρῶντος. οὗ δὴ ἀποθριξάμενός τε καὶ τῶν μοναχῶν καλουμένων τὸ σχῆμα περιβαλλόμενος τὴν ἐκ 3.30 Θεοδώρας κόλασιν διαφυγεῖν ἔσχε. Βελισάριος δὲ τὰ ὀμωμοσμένα ἠλογηκὼς, τιμωρεῖν τε οὐδαμῆ τούτῳ ἑλόμενος πάσχοντι, ὥσπερ ἐρρήθη, ἀνόσια ἔργα, ἐς πάντα οἱ λοιπὸν τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα πολέμια τὰ πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς εὗρεν· εὐθὺς γὰρ ἐπί τε Μήδους καὶ Χοσρόην σταλεὶς τὸ τρίτον ἐσβαλόντας ἐςῬωμαίων 3.31 τὴν γῆν κακότητα ὦφλε. καίτοι ἐδόκει τι λόγου ἄξιον διαπεπρᾶχθαι, τὸν πόλεμον ἐνθένδε ἀποσεισάμενος. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ Χοσρόης Εὐφράτην διαβὰς ποταμὸν Καλλίνικον πόλιν πολυάνθρωπον οὐδενὸς ἀμυνομένου εἷλε καὶ μυριάδας ἠνδραπόδισεῬωμαίων πολλάς, Βελισάριος δὲ οὐδὲ ὅσον ἐπισπέσθαι τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐν σπουδῇ ἔσχε, δόξαν ἀπήνεγκεν ὡς δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ ἐθελοκακήσας ἢ ἀποδειλιάσας, αὐτοῦ ἔμεινεν. 4.1Ὑπὸ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καί τι ἕτερον αὐτῷ ἐπιπεσεῖν ξυνηνέχθη τοιόνδε. ὁ μὲν λοιμὸς, οὗπερ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐμνήσθην, ἐπενέμετο τοὺς ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἀνθρώπους. βασιλεῖ δὲἸουστινιανῷ χαλεπώτατα νοσῆσαι ξυνέβη, ὥστε καὶ ἐλέγετο ὅτι ἀπο4.2 λώλει. τοῦτον δὲ τὸν λόγον περιαγαγοῦσα ἡ φήμη διεκόμισεν ἄχρι ἐς τὸῬωμαίων στρατόπεδον. ἐνταῦθα ἔλεγον τῶν ἀρχόντων τινὲς ὡς, ἢν βασιλέαῬωμαῖοι ἕτερόν τινα ἐν Βυζαντίῳ καταστήσωνται σφίσιν, οὐ 4.3 μήποτε αὐτοὶ ἐπιτρέψωσιν. ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον βασιλεῖ μὲν ῥαΐσαι ξυνέβη, τοῖς δὲ τοῦῬωμαίων στρατοῦ 4.4 ἄρχουσι διαβόλοις ἐπ' ἀλλήλοις γενέσθαι. Πέτρος τε γὰρ ὁ στρατηγὸς καὶἸωάννης, ὅνπερ ἐπίκλησιν Φαγᾶν ἐκάλουν, Βελισαρίου τε καὶ Βούζου ἐκεῖνα λεγόντων ἰσχυρίζοντο ἀκηκοέναι ἅπερ μοι ἀρτίως δεδήλωται. 4.5 ταῦτά γε ἡ βασιλὶς Θεοδώρα ἐπικαλέσασα ἐφ' ἑαυτῇ 4.6 τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἰρῆσθαι μεστὴ ἐγεγόνει. ἅπαντας οὖν εὐθὺς μετακαλέσασα ἐς Βυζάντιον, ζήτησίν τε τοῦ λόγου τούτου ποιησαμένη, τὸν Βούζην μετεπέμψατο εἰς τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν ἐξαπιναίως, ὥς τι αὐτῷ κοινολογησομένη 4.7 τῶν ἄγαν σπουδαίων. ἦν δέ τι οἴκημα ἐν Παλατίῳ κατάγειον, ἀσφαλές τε καὶ λαβυρινθῶδες καὶ οἷον Ταρτάρῳ εἰκάζεσθαι, ἵνα δὴ τοὺς προσκεκρουκότας ὡς τὰ 4.8 πολλὰ καθείρξασα ἐτήρει. καὶ ὁ Βούζης οὖν εἰς τὸ βάραθρον τοῦτο ἐμβέβληται, ἐνταῦθά τε ἀνὴρ ἐξ ὑπάτων γενόμενος ἄγνωστος ἀεὶ τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ 4.9 ἔμεινεν. οὔτε γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐν σκότῳ καθήμενος διαγινώσκειν οἷός τε ἐγεγόνει πότερον ἡμέρα ἢ νύκτωρ 4.10 εἴη οὔτε ἄλλῳ τῳ ἐντυχεῖν εἶχεν. ἅνθρωπος γὰρ, ὅσπερ οἱ ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην τὰ σιτία ἐρρίπτει, ὥσπερ τι 4.11 θηρίον θηρίῳ ἄφωνος ἀφώνῳ ὡμίλει. καὶ πᾶσι μὲν τετελευτηκέναι εὐθὺς ἔδοξε, λόγον μέντοι ἢ μνήμην ποιεῖσθαι αὐτοῦ τινα ἐτόλμα οὐδείς. ἐνιαυτοῖν δὲ δυοῖν ὕστερον πρὸς μησὶ τέσσαρσιν οἰκτισαμένη τὸν 4.12 ἄνδρα ἀφῆκε. καὶ ὃς ὥσπερ ἀναβεβιωκὼς ἅπασιν ὤφθη. ξυνέβη τε τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐνθένδε ἀεὶ ἀμβλυώττειν τε καὶ τὸ ἄλλο σῶμα