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he had delivered up as captives of the spear. For a long time the wealth of this man had sorely vexed both Justinian and Theodora, being excessive 4.34 and worthy of a royal court. And they asserted that he had secretly hidden away the greater part of the public monies of Gelimer and Vittigis, and had given to the Emperor a small and altogether insignificant portion of them. 4.35 But taking into account the man's travails and the slander from outsiders, and at the same time having no adequate pretext against him, they remained quiet. 4.36 But then the Empress, taking hold of him when he was thoroughly terrified and cowardly, managed by a single act to become mistress of his entire 4.37 estate. For they immediately came together in a marriage alliance, and Joannina, the daughter of Belisarius, of whom alone he was the father, became betrothed to Anastasius, the 4.38 grandson of the Empress. Belisarius, for his part, was demanding to get his own office back and, being appointed general of the East, to lead the Roman army again against Chosroes and the Medes, but Antonina would not allow it at all; for she claimed to have been grievously insulted by him in those regions, which she would never see again. 4.39 For this reason, Belisarius was appointed Master of the Royal Grooms and sent to Italy for the second time, having promised the Emperor, so they say, that he would never ask him for money in this war, but would himself provide the entire preparation for the war with his own funds. 4.40 Everyone, therefore, suspected that Belisarius had arranged matters concerning this wife of his, as has been said, and had made these promises to the Emperor concerning the war, as has been related, with the intention of getting away from his stay in Byzantium, and that as soon as he got outside the city's walls, he would at once seize his arms and conceive some noble and manly plan against both his wife and those who had done him violence. 4.41 But he himself, making light of all that had happened and falling into great forgetfulness and disregard of the oaths he had sworn to Photius and his other associates, followed his wife, having become strangely love-smitten with her, and this though she was already sixty years old. 4.42 When, however, he arrived in Italy, matters went against him day by day, since the powers of heaven were manifestly 4.43 hostile to him. For, in the first place, the plans which this 4.43 general formed in the crises against both Theudatus and Vittigis, although they seemed not well suited to the circumstances, for the most part ended in a favourable outcome; but in the later period he gained the reputation of having planned the better course, since he had become experienced in the affairs of this war, yet in the results, being unfortunate, his plans for the most part were judged to be a show 4.44 of poor counsel. So true is it that human affairs are governed not by the counsels of men, but by the impulse from God, which men are accustomed to call fortune, not knowing for what reason events proceed in this way, 4.45 in which they become manifest to them. For the name of fortune is wont to attach itself to that which seems to be irrational. But let these things be as each one pleases to think. 5.1 But Belisarius, on arriving in Italy for the second time, departed from there most shamefully; for over a period of five years he was quite unable to set foot on the land, as was said by me in the previous books, except where there was some fortress. But sailing about all this time he went around the coastal 5.2 regions. And Totila was frantic to catch him outside a wall, yet he did not find him, since both he and the whole Roman army were possessed by great terror. 5.3 For this reason he neither recovered any of the lost places, but also lost Rome in addition and practically everything else. 5.4 And he became in this period more avaricious than anyone and a most exact steward of shameful gain, since he had received nothing from the Emperor, plundering without any decency practically all the Italians, who lived around Ravenna and in Sicily, and anyone else he had the power to happen upon, pretending to be exacting an accounting of their 5.5 lives. In this way, indeed, he went after Herodian also, demanding money, holding every sort of threat over the man.

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δορυαλώτους παρεδεδώκει. ἐκ παλαιοῦ δὲἸουστινιανόν τε καὶ Θεοδώραν πλοῦτος ὁ τούτου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀκριβῶς ἔκνιζεν, ὑπέρογκός τε ὢν 4.34 καὶ βασιλικῆς αὐλῆς ἄξιος. ἔφασκόν τε ὡς τῶν δημοσίων χρημάτων Γελίμερός τε καὶ Οὐιττίγιδος τὸ πλεῖστον ἀποκρυψάμενος λάθρα ἔτυχε, μοῖραν δὲ αὐτῶν βραχεῖάν τέ τινα καὶ οὐδαμῆ ἀξιόλογον βασιλεῖ ἔδωκε. 4.35 πόνους δὲ τοὺς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν τὴν βλασφημίαν διαριθμούμενοι, ἅμα δὲ καὶ σκῆψιν ἀξιόχρεων ἐπ' αὐτῷ οὐδεμίαν κεκομισμένοι ἡσυχῆ ἔμενον. 4.36 τότε δὲ ἡ βασιλὶς αὐτοῦ λαβομένη κατωρρωδηκότος τε καὶ ἀποδειλιάσαντος ὅλως πράξει μιᾷ διεπράξατο ξυμ4.37 πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς οὐσίας κυρία γενέσθαι. ἐς κῆδος γὰρ ἀλλήλοις ξυνηλθέτην εὐθὺς,Ἰωαννίνα τε ἡ Βελισαρίου θυγάτηρ, ἧσπερ μόνης ἐγεγόνει πατὴρ,Ἀναστασίῳ τῷ 4.38 τῆς βασιλίδος θυγατριδῷ μνηστὴ γέγονε. Βελισάριος μὲν οὖν ἀρχήν τε ἀπολαβεῖν τὴν οἰκείαν ἠξίου καὶ στρατηγὸς τῆς ἑῴας ἀποδειχθεὶς πάλιν ἐπὶ Χοσρόην καὶ Μήδους ἐξηγήσεσθαι τῷῬωμαίων στρατῷ,Ἀντωνίνα δὲ οὐδαμῶς εἴα· περιυβρίσθαι γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἐκείνῃ χωρίοις πρὸς αὐτοῦ ἔφασκεν, ἅπερ οὐκέτι τὸ λοιπὸν ὄψεσθαι. 4.39 ∆ιὸ δὴ Βελισάριος ἄρχων τῶν βασιλικῶν καταστὰς ἱπποκόμων ἐς τὴνἸταλίαν τὸ δεύτερον ἐστάλη, ὁμολογήσας βασιλεῖ, ὥς φασι, χρήματα μήποτε αὐτὸν ἐν τῷδε τῷ πολέμῳ αἰτήσειν, ἀλλὰ ξύμπασαν αὐτὸς τὴν τοῦ πολέμου παρασκευὴν χρήμασιν οἰκείοις ποιήσεσθαι. 4.40 πάντες μὲν οὖν ὑπετόπαζον τά τε ἀμφὶ τῇ γυναικὶ ταύτῃ, ᾗπερ ἐρρήθη, Βελισάριον διοικήσασθαι καὶ βασιλεῖ ταῦτα ὁμολογῆσαι ἀμφὶ τῷ πολέμῳ ἃ δεδιήγηται, ἀπαλλαξείοντα τῆς ἐν Βυζαντίῳ διατριβῆς, ἐπειδάν τε τάχιστα τοῦ τῆς πόλεως περιβόλου ἐκτὸς γένηται, ἁρπάσεσθαί τε αὐτίκα τὰ ὅπλα καί τι γενναῖον καὶ ἀνδρὶ πρέπον ἐπί τε τῇ γυναικὶ καὶ τοῖς βιασαμένοις φρονή4.41 σειν. αὐτὸς δὲ πάντα τὰ ξυμπεσόντα ἐν ἀλογίᾳ πεποιημένος ὅρκων τε τῶν Φωτίῳ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπιτηδείοις ὀμωμοσμένων ἐν λήθῃ τε πολλῇ καὶ ὀλιγωρίᾳ γενόμενος εἵπετο τῇ γυναικὶ, καταστὰς ἐκτόπως εἰς αὐτὴν ἐρωτόληπτος, καὶ ταῦτα ἑξήκοντα ἤδη γεγονυῖαν ἔτη. 4.42 ἐπειδὴ μέντοι ἐνἸταλίᾳ ἐγένετο, εἰς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἀπ' ἐναντίας αὐτῷ τὰ πράγματα ἐχώρει, ἐπεί οἱ διαρρή4.43 δην τὰ ἐκ θεοῦ πολέμια ἦν. πρῶτον μέν γε τὰ τῷ 4.43 στρατηγῷ τούτῳ ἐν τοῖς ξυμπίπτουσιν ἐπί τε Θευδάτον καὶ Οὐίττιγιν βουλευόμενα, καίπερ οὐκ ἐπιτηδείως τοῖς πρασσομένοις δοκοῦντα ἔχειν, ἐς ξύμφορον ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐτελεύτα τέλος· ἐν δὲ τῷ ὑστέρῳ δόξαν μὲν ἀπήνεγκεν ὅτι δὴ τὰ βελτίω βεβούλευται ἅτε καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον τόνδε πραγμάτων γεγονὼς ἔμπειρος, ἀλλ' ἐν τοῖς ἀποβαίνουσι κακοτυχοῦντι τὰ πολλὰ ἐς 4.44 ἀβουλίας δόκησιν αὐτῷ ἀπεκρίθη. οὕτως ἄρα οὐκ ἀνθρώπων βουλαῖς, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἐκ θεοῦ ῥοπῇ πρυτανεύεται τὰ ἀνθρώπεια, ὃ δὴ τύχην εἰώθασι καλεῖν ἄνθρωποι, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτου δὴ ἕνεκα ταύτῃ πρόεισι τὰ ξυμβαί4.45 νοντα, ᾗπερ αὐτοῖς ἔνδηλα γίνεται. τῷ γὰρ ἀλόγῳ δοκοῦντι εἶναι φιλεῖ τὸ τῆς τύχης ὄνομα προσχωρεῖν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὥς πη ἑκάστῳ φίλον, ταύτῃ δοκείτω. 5.1 Βελισάριος δὲ τὸ δεύτερον ἐνἸταλίᾳ γενόμενος αἴσχιστα ἐνθένδε ἀπήλλαξε· τῆς μὲν γὰρ γῆς ἐς πεντάετες ἀποβῆναι οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσεν, ὥσπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐρρήθη, ὅτι μὴ ἔνθα τι ὀχύρωμα ἦν. ναυτιλλόμενος δὲ πάντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον τὰ ἐπιθα5.2 λάσσια περιῄει. Τουτίλας δὲ λυσσῶν ἦν αὐτὸν ἔξω τείχους λαβεῖν, οὐ μέντοι εὗρεν, ἐπεὶ ὀρρωδίᾳ πολλῇ αὐτός τε καὶ ξύμπας ὁῬωμαίων στρατὸς εἴχετο. 5.3 διὸ δὴ οὔτε τῶν ἀπολωλότων τι ἀνεσώσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶῬώμην προσαπώλεσε καὶ τἄλλα ὡς εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα. 5.4 ἐγένετο δὲ φιλοχρήματος ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ πάντων μάλιστα καὶ κέρδους αἰσχροῦ ἐπιμελητὴς ἀκριβέστατος ἅτε οὐδὲν ἐκ βασιλέως κεκομισμένος,Ἰταλοὺς ἀμέλει σχεδὸν πάντας, οἵπερ ᾤκηντο ἐπί τεῬαβέννης καὶ Σικελίας, καὶ εἴ του ἄλλου κατατυχεῖν ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ ἔσχεν, ἐληΐσατο οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ, λογισμοὺς δῆθεν τῶν βεβιω5.5 μένων καταπραττόμενος. οὕτω γοῦν καὶἩρωδιανὸν μετιὼν χρήματα ᾔτει, ἅπαντα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπανασείων.