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falcons on asses with a wingless step. The general, seeing this wide-spread, smiling to his fellow-generals, as if drawing his mind out of a storm, said, out of his cares: "Friends, let the beast, a young bird sitting now inside for food, be taken, so that from unseen and hidden resources it will fill the table with its meats; for reason says that it is in need of necessities." O renowned voice, O honey-flowing mouth of your general, glory of the palaces, what other mortal of old knew more, from what he had read, of the things now done? If anyone knows a wonder of the Romans in battles, having encountered the chroniclers who recount them, let him now compare that to the master's victories, and it will appear third in greatest height and in unceasing labors. Cyrus, Darius, Croesus, the army-commanders, Caesar, Achilles, the Macedonian and Pompey, Philip of old, whom Demosthenes writes of, the one who took little pleasure except in appearing with the best sons, Carbo, Sulla, Brutus, who dipped his sword in the blood of Pompey, let these, O king, campaign together against us your subjects; the city has no fear, having your full armor. Myths proclaim the labors of Heracles, they exalt him beyond the truth, they speak many things and astound me and report very many things perhaps worthily; but did he conquer or overthrow cities, for you might say many, but when one such as this? There was no other king of ancient Rome, there was no other like the renowned master. I have read many books of many historians, for I knew Plutarch who extols the powers of the Romans; but he often steals what is vain and introduces bombast, he elevates the small and pulls down the greater, Dio the cicada, the wise lyre; I did not find one as brilliant as you in strategies, I did not find another, a second general, I did not find another Romanus as counselor, I did not find another, not even the son of Philip, whom Plutarch holds as first in battles. So greatly were you exalted by the cooperation of God, so greatly did you conquer others in battles, so greatly did you astound enemies with the sword.

4. Just now, mighty one, light, king of the inhabited world, as your army was weary in

its position from the weight of iron and toil and care, from the great winter and unceasing frosts,

the chief dogs of the Cretans from without, the toparchs of the land and the phalanx-commanders then—for they themselves inhabited crags and ravine-like places, having been driven from there by the sword, struck by the assault and blast of the cold and not renouncing their own times, together against us—for they rushed from the mountains against their fellow inhabitants for a single slaughter. As, therefore, the wild mountain-bred race of goats, hares, and lowly gazelles, left without food in the bitter winter, advances from the soul-chilling places above and walks to hollow places, searching for food and grassy spots, so the wretched children of sin ran to the wave-receiving places of the sea, to makeshift shelters and hollows. And as the flesh-craving race among beasts, wolves, hastening to find satisfaction for their belly, advance with rage and emptiness of stomach, gaping their mouths wide before arriving, so the tribe of slave-spawn there, hard-pressed by your flocks, O shepherd-chief, rose up and sharpened the sword, eager to devour flesh instead of food, wanting to drink the warm blood of Romans and to win the first victories of the battle gloriously. The leader for these barbarians was Karamountes, the old man rich in slaughter, the new serpent of ancient days, who had in mind to seize the reins of the Cretans for his entire life. He was preparing a multitude of ten thousand to rush into the slaughter then. And when he saw them all down from the mountains, swordsmen, cavalry, infantry, taking his stand he exhorted and urged them to their swords, setting up phalanxes and new phalanx-commanders, fencing in the circumstances with circles from without, speaking such things and

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ὄνους φάλκωνας ἀπτέρῳ βάσει. Τοῦτον πεταστὸν ὁ στρατηγέτης βλέπων τοῖς συστρατηγοῖς μειδιῶν, ὡς ἐκ ζάλης τὸν νοῦν ἀνέλκων, εἶπεν, ἐκ τῶν φροντίδων· Νέον πετεινὸν εἰς τροφὴν τὸ θηρίον καθήμενον νῦν ἔνδοθεν, φίλοι, λάβῃ, ὡς ἐξ ἀφάντων καὶ κεκρυμμένων πόρων πλήσει τε τὴν τράπεζαν ἐκ τῶν βρωμάτων· δεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτὸ τῶν ἀναγκαίων λόγος. Ὦ φθέγμα κλεινόν, ὦ μελίρρυτον στόμα τοῦ σοῦ στρατηγοῦ, δόξα τῶν ἀνακτόρων, τίς οἶδεν ἄλλος τῶν πάλαι βροτῶν πλέον, ἐξ ὧν ἀνέγνω, τῶν τανῦν πεπραγμένων; εἴ τις γινώσκει θαῦμα Ῥωμαίων μάχαις τοῖς ἱστοροῦσιν ἐντυχὼν λογογράφοις, ταῖς δεσπότου νῦν δεῦρο δὴ προβαλλέτω νίκαις ἐκεῖνο καὶ φανήσεται τρίτον ὕψει μεγίστῳ καὶ πόνοις ἀνενδότοις. Κῦρος, ∆αρεῖος, Κροῖσος, οἱ στρατοκράται, Καῖσαρ, Ἀχιλλεύς, Μακεδὼν καὶ Πομπίος, Φίλιππος ὁ πρίν, ὃν γράφει ∆ημοσθένης, ὁ μικροτερπὴς πλὴν φανεὶς ἀριστόπαις, Κάρβων, ὁ Σύλλας, Βροῦτος, ὃς τοῦ Πομπίου ἔβαψε τὴν μάχαιραν ἐκ τῶν αἱμάτων, οὗτοι καθ' ἡμῶν τῶν ὑπηκόων, ἄναξ, ὁμοῦ στρατευέτωσαν· οὐκ ἔχει φόβον ἔχουσα τὴν σὴν ἡ πόλις πανοπλίαν. Μῦθοι βοῶσι τοὺς πόνους Ἡρακλέους, ὑψοῦσιν αὐτὸν τῆς ἀληθείας πέρα, φωνοῦσι πολλὰ καὶ καταπλήττουσί με καὶ πλεῖστα φημίζουσιν ἴσως ἀξίως· πλὴν ἐκράτησεν ἢ κατέστρεψεν πόλεις, πολλὰς γὰρ εἴποις, ἀλλὰ τοιαύτην πότε; οὐκ ἦν τις ἄλλος τῶν πάλαι Ῥώμης ἄναξ, οὐκ ἦν τις ἄλλος ὡς ὁ κλεινὸς δεσπότης. Πολλῶν ἀνέγνων ἱστόρων πολλὰς βίβλους, Πλούταρχον ἐξαίροντα Ῥωμαίων κράτη ἔγνων γὰρ αὐτόν· οὗτος, ἀλλὰ πολλάκις, κλέπτει τὸ χαῦνον καὶ τὸν ὄγκον εἰσάγει, ὑψοῖ τὸ μικρὸν καὶ κατασπᾷ τὸ πλέον, ∆ίωνα τὸν τέττιγα, τὴν σοφὴν λύραν· οὐχ εὗρον ὡς σὲ λαμπρὸν ἐν στρατηγίαις, οὐχ εὗρον ἄλλον δεύτερον στρατηγέτην, οὐχ εὗρον ἄλλον Ῥωμανὸν βουληφόρον, οὐχ εὗρον ἄλλον, οὐδὲ τὸν τοῦ Φιλίππου, ὃν πρῶτον ὁ Πλούταρχος ἐν μάχαις ἔχει. τοσοῦτον ἤρθης τῇ θεοῦ συνεργίᾳ, τοσοῦτον ἐκράτησας ἄλλων ἐν μάχαις, τοσοῦτον ἐξέπληξας ἐχθροὺς ἐν ξίφει.

∆ʹ Ἄρτι, κραταιέ, φῶς, ἄναξ οἰκουμένης, τοῦ σοῦ στρατοῦ κάμνοντος ἐν

παραστάσει βάρει σιδήρου καὶ κόπῳ καὶ φροντίδι, χειμῶνι πολλῷ καὶ κρυμοῖς ἀνενδότοις, τῶν Κρητικῶν ἔξωθεν οἱ πρῶτοι κύνες, οἱ γῆς τοπάρχαι καὶ φαλαγγάρχαι τότε κρημνοὺς γὰρ αὐτοὶ καὶ φαραγγώδεις τόπους ᾤκουν, ἐκεῖθεν ἐξελαθέντες ξίφει, πληγέντες ὁρμῇ καὶ βολῇ τῇ τοῦ κρύους καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν οὐκ ἀπειπόντες χρόνους, ὁμοῦ καθ' ἡμῶνκαὶ γὰρ εἰς συνοικέτας ἐκ τῶν ὀρῶν ὥρμησαν εἰς σφαγὴν μίαν. Ὡς οὖν τὸ βουνόθρεπτον ἄγριον γένος αἰγῶν, λαγωῶν καὶ ταπεινῶν δορκάδων, χειμῶνι πικρῷ τὴν τροφὴν λελειμμένων, ἐκ τῶν ἄνωθεν ψυχοκρυστάλλων τόπων κοίλοις προβαίνει καὶ βαδίζει χωρίοις, τροφὴν ἐρευνῶν καὶ βοτανώδεις τόπους, οὕτως τὰ φαῦλα τῆς ἁμαρτίας τέκνα τοῖς τῆς θαλάσσης κυμοδέγμοσιν τόποις σκέπαις ἐπακταῖς ἔτρεχον καὶ κοιλάσιν. ὡς δὲ κρεῶν τὸ λίχνον ἐν θηρσὶν γένος, λύκοι, κόρον σπεύδοντες εὑρεῖν γαστέρος, βαίνουσιν ὀργῇ καὶ κενώσει κοιλίας πρὸ τοῦ φθάσαι χαίνοντες ἐκτάδην στόμα, οὕτως τὸ φῦλον τῶν ἐκεῖ δουλοσπόρων τοῖς σοῖς βιασθέν, ποιμενάρχα, ποιμνίοις, κατεξανέστη καὶ παρεστόμου ξίφος, βρῶξαι προθυμοῦν σάρκας ἀντὶ βρωμάτων, πιεῖν τε θερμὸν αἷμα Ῥωμαίων θέλον καὶ πρῶτα λαμπρῶς τῆς μάχης λαβεῖν κράτη. τούτοις ὑπῆρχεν ἡγεμὼν τοῖς βαρβάροις ὁ Καραμούντης, ὁ σφαγίπλουτος γέρων, ὁ τῶν παλαιῶν ἡμερῶν νέος δράκων, ὁ καὶ κρατῆσαι Κρητικῶν τὰς ἡνίας εἰς νοῦν ἔχων ἅπαντα τὸν ζωῆς χρόνον. οὗτος προηυτρέπιζεν εἰς σφαγὴν τότε πλῆθος δεκαπλῆς ἐμβαλεῖν χιλιάδος. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πάντας τῶν ὀρῶν εἶδεν κάτω, ξιφηφοροῦντας, ἱππικούς, πεζηλάτας, σταθεὶς παρῄνει καὶ παρώρμα πρὸς ξίφη, φάλαγγας ἱστῶν καὶ φαλαγγάρχας νέους, φράττων κύκλοις ἔξωθε τὰς περιστάσεις, τοιαῦτα φωνῶν καὶ