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shouting to the barbarians: Great is our force, men, great is the turmoil and storm and toil, but our salvation is swifter, if only we are willing, found by our hands. Let us go against the enemy, let us not fear swords, let us stand against them, let us not shrink from the spear, and having driven them all into the sea, we shall set up here a people-slaying trophy. And all at once said as if with one mouth: Let us die, if we must, today with our fathers, but you, give zeal to all, as is possible; for you are our father and tower in battles. By these words, the fickle tribe, winged without wings, rushed to attack your fleet, a wicked, hostile, blood-drinking people, the wicked tribe of slave-born Ishmael. Doing such things, they were in the surge of so great a force, the Cretans who had fled, who many times had run into battle and many times had been struck by your fleet. What then of your army? Some lay in places by the sea—for there was cold from the North wind blowing with ill-omened gusts—while others, holding the exits of the gates, astounded those within by their presence. But having learned that the phalanx of the enemy was advancing in hollow places, and like a beast was breathing fury, but also cowardice, the ruling general in battle, Nikephoros, held this to be unbelievable and immediately he orders the whole regiment of the Thrakesians to learn the matter; for this was strange, in so great a calamity to weave deceits, those who had been cut down seven times by your fleet. Their general was a man who the sword longed for on your behalf and extended into battle and did not fear the cut of blades, who also before, having fallen among the insatiable race with the greatest courage and extraordinary zeal and having given himself to slaughter all alone and having thrown the unhorsed barbarians into confusion. He, alas, having been captured in the rout of the Macedonians and held captive in a foreign land and had the filthy ones as his bitter masters. This man, sent from there to the first company, with a love of blows, with an overflowing of heart, found the common end in the midst of the barbarians, having cast off the four limbs of his body like leaves. For as a very great and old wolf, being experienced, both a plunderer and a driver of flocks, hungry, himself into the pen of the flocks sends forth with courage and tears apart the dogs, until he is overpowered and slaughtered by the men, who often gnashed their teeth greatly at him, so that general, falling upon them, a mighty one of Rome and isolated in their midst, showed what sort of men Rome rears. For with many having hedged him in from all sides, all were terrified of the common end; for he held the sword in his hands like a thunderbolt, wielding it against enemies and making it bloody with slaughters, with which he cut down some of the enemy, others he compelled to flee trembling, others convincing to cry out to you, God, in battle, he showed them dead and befouled with dust. Yet, being struck and having fallen in foreign places, he caused many toils for the army beforehand. And indeed running, horsemen, foot-soldiers those cliffs and ravine-like places they all blocked and enclosed in the middle and made the Cretans food for birds. So much did you yourself succeed in battle, so much did you yourself conquer the barbarians from the inclination and cooperation from above. And seeing this and immediately becoming afraid the wretched old Karamountes in time casts down the bulk of his pride, and takes to flight on foot, and even alone, and runs to a small hole roofed with rock, and from there gains a wretched salvation. You should have died, old man, many years before rather than be driven and slip into rocks, like a hare escaping hunters. Sitting there until the setting of the sun he sprinkled his face with his tears, weeping for the bitter wound of his ill counsel, casting himself into unassailable worries. But rising at the first part of the night, to the inner cliffs of the mountains he drove in agony the old amir, on foot, but on all fours; for he had a force, which his hands strengthened into the service of feet. But your fleet, O greatest Romanus, turning, struck the walls with zeal, rejoicing, tearing them down, casting them to the earth.

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βοῶν τοῖς βαρβάροις· Πολλὴ μὲν ἡμῖν, ἄνδρες, ἐστὶν ἡ βία, πολὺς ταραγμὸς καὶ καταιγὶς καὶ πόνος, ἀλλ' ἔστιν ἡμῖν θᾶττον ἡ σωτηρία, μόνον θέλωμεν, χερσὶν ἐξευρημένη. βῶμεν πρὸς ἐχθρούς, μὴ φοβηθῶμεν ξίφη, στῶμεν κατ' αὐτῶν, μὴ πτοηθῶμεν δόρυ, καὶ πάντας εἰς θάλατταν ἐξωθηκότες, τρόπαιον ὧδε στήσομεν λαοκτόνον. καὶ πάντες εὐθὺς εἶπον ὥσπερ ἓν στόμα Θάνωμεν, εἰ δεῖ, σήμερον πατρῶν ἅμα, σὺ δὲ πρόθυμον, ὡς ἐνόν, πᾶσιν δίδου· σὺ γὰρ πατὴρ καὶ πύργος ἡμῶν ἐν μάχαις. τούτοις τὸ κοῦφον ἐμπτερωθὲν ἀπτέρως ὥρμησε φῦλον προσβαλεῖν σου τῷ στόλῳ, λαὸς πονηρός, δυσμενής, αἱμορρόφος, φῦλον πονηρὸν Ἰσμαὴλ δουλοσπόρου. τοιαῦτα μὲν πράττοντες ἦσαν ἐν ζάλῃ βίας τοσαύτης Κρῆτες οἱ πεφευγότες, οἱ πολλάκις μὲν εἰσδραμόντες εἰς μάχην καὶ πολλάκις πληγέντες ἐκ τοῦ σοῦ στόλου. Τί δαὶ τὸ σὸν στράτευμα; τοῖς θαλαττίοις οἱ μὲν τόποις ἔκειντοκαὶ γὰρ ἦν κρύος Βορρᾶ πνέοντος εἰσβολαῖς δυσπρακτίοις οἱ δὲ κρατοῦντες τῶν πυλῶν τὰς ἐξόδους τοὺς ἔνδον ἐξέπληττον ἐν παραστάσει. μαθὼν δὲ τὴν φάλαγγα τῶν ἐναντίων κοίλοις τόποις βαίνουσαν, ὡς δὲ θηρίον θυμοῦ πνέουσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δειλανδρίας, ἄρχων στρατηγὸς ἐν μάχῃ Νικηφόρος ἄπιστον εἶχε τοῦτο καὶ παραυτίκα τάττει τὸ τάγμα τῶν Θρᾳκησίων ὅλον μαθεῖν τὸ πρᾶγμα· καὶ γὰρ ἦν τοῦτο ξένον, ἐν τῇ τοσαύτῃ συμφορᾷ πλέκειν δόλους τοὺς ἐκκοπέντας ἑπτάκις τῷ σῷ στόλῳ. τούτοις στρατηγὸς ἦν ἀνὴρ ὁ τὸ ξίφος ποθῶν ὑπὲρ σοῦ καὶ προτείνων εἰς μάχην καὶ μὴ δεδοικὼς τὴν τομὴν τῶν φασγάνων, ὁ καὶ πρὶν εἰς ἄπληστον ἐμπεσὼν γένος θάρσει μεγίστῳ καὶ προθυμίᾳ ξένῃ καὶ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν εἰς σφαγὴν μονωτάτως καὶ τοὺς ἀνίππους συνταράξας βαρβάρους. ὅς, φεῦ, κρατηθεὶς τῇ τροπῇ Μακεδόνων καὶ πρὸς ξένην γῆν δέσμιος κατεσχέθη καὶ τοὺς ῥυποῦντας εἶχε πικροὺς δεσπότας. οὗτος σταλεὶς ἐκεῖθεν εἰς πρῶτον λόχον, ἔρωτι πληγῶν, καρδίας ὑπερζέσει, μέσον τὸ κοινὸν εὗρε βαρβάρων τέλος, ὡς φύλλα ῥίψας τῶν μελῶν τὴν τετράδα. ὡς γὰρ μέγιστος καὶ πολύχρονος λύκος ἔμπειρος ὢν ἅρπαξ τε καὶ ποιμνηλάτης, πεινῶν, ἑαυτὸν τῇ μονῇ τῶν ποιμνίων θάρσει προπέμπει καὶ καταξαίνει κύνας, ἕως κρατηθῇ καὶ σφαγῇ τοῖς ἀνδράσι, οἳ πολλάκις ἔβρυξαν εἰς αὐτὸν μέγα, οὕτως ἐκεῖνος ἐμπεσὼν στρατηγέτης Ῥώμης κραταιὸς καὶ μονωθεὶς εἰς μέσον, ἔδειξεν οἵους ἄνδρας ἡ Ῥώμη τρέφει. πολλῶν γὰρ αὐτὸν κυκλόθεν πεφραγμένων, πάντες τὸ κοινὸν ἐπτοοῦντο τοῦ τέλους· ὡς γὰρ κεραυνὸν εἶχε χερσὶ τὸ ξίφος κινῶν κατ' ἐχθρῶν καὶ καθαιμάττων φόνοις, ᾧ τοὺς μὲν ἐξέκοπτε τῶν ἐναντίων, ἄλλους κατηνάγκαζε φεύγειν ἐντρόμους, ἄλλους θεὸν κράζειν σε πείθων εἰς μάχην νεκροὺς ἐδείκνυ καὶ πεφυρμένους κόνει. ὅμως δὲ πληγεὶς καὶ πεσὼν ξένοις τόποις πολλοὺς προεξένησε τῷ στρατῷ πόνους. καὶ δὴ δραμόντες ἱππόται, πεζοδρόμοι κρημνοὺς ἐκείνους καὶ φαραγγώδεις τόπους πάντας καθεῖρξαν καὶ κατέκλεισαν μέσον καὶ βρῶσιν εἰργάσαντο Κρῆτας ὀρνέων. τοσοῦτον αὐτὸς εὐτύχησας ἐν μάχῃ, τοσοῦτον αὐτὸς ἐκράτησας βαρβάρων ἐκ τῆς ἄνω ῥοπῆς τε καὶ συνεργίας. Ἰδὼν δὲ τοῦτον καὶ φοβηθεὶς εὐθέως ὁ Καραμούντης ἐν χρόνοις ὁ δυσγέρων βάλλει τὸν ὄγκον τοῦ φρονήματος κάτω, φυγῇ δὲ χρᾶται πεζός, ἀλλὰ καὶ μόνος, ὀπῇ δὲ μικρᾷ προστρέχει πετροστέγῳ, κτᾶται δ' ἐκεῖθεν δυστυχῆ σωτηρίαν. Ἔδει, γέρον, θανεῖν σε πολλῶν πρὸ χρόνων ἤπερ κλονεῖσθαι καὶ παρεισδύνειν πέτραις, ὥσπερ λαγωὸς ἐκφυγὼν κυνηγέτας. Ἐκεῖ καθεσθεὶς μέχρι δυσμῶν ἡλίου ἔρραινε τὸ πρόσωπον ἐκ τῶν δακρύων, κλαίων τὸ πικρὸν τραῦμα τῆς δυσβουλίας, βάλλων ἑαυτὸν δυσπαλαίστοις φροντίσι. πρώτης δὲ νυκτὸς ἐξαναστάς, τοῖς ἔσω ἤλαυνε κρημνοῖς τῶν ὀρῶν ἀγωνίᾳ γέρων ἀμηρᾶς, πεζός, ἀλλὰ τετράπους· βίαν γὰρ εἶχεν, ἥτις αὐτοῦ τὰς χέρας ἐπεκράτυνεν εἰς ποδῶν ὑπουργίαν. Ὁ σὸς δέ, παμμέγιστε Ῥωμανέ, στόλος τείχη στραφεὶς ἔπληττεν ἐν προθυμίᾳ, χαίρων κατασπῶν ταῦτα, ῥίπτων εἰς χθόνα.