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by a device, and once he presented himself indeed to his general, making himself known and provoking the commander with the lisp of his tongue, a certain one of the Athinganoi, who was known and familiar to the general, declared that this very Michael and a certain other would become renowned before long and would attain to the imperial power itself not long after. The general, his soul inflamed by these things, and as if harvesting the future, did not think it right to push away the opportunity through slowness, which it is not easy nor simple to find again. So, a table was set immediately, and leaving all the others, he calls these very men to a feast. And as the drinking was at its peak, the general, bringing his daughters, 45 gave them away and acknowledged them as bridegrooms, at first he rendered them ecstatic and speechless by the strange and unexpected nature of the affair, but afterwards they accepted and consented, confessing him to be perhaps a god, not a man. 6 That there are, then, many subjects for the mantic art, such as the flights of birds, herds of dreams, and the sights of all sorts of entrails, so that I, being of little account, may not contend with many, I shall not dispute at length. But that it is pure and outside the service of certain demons, who strive to cast man far from God, neither would I myself say, nor, I think, would any other of those who think well, since we have heard that even those who do not pursue a sincere and pure life, but an ignoble and base one, obtain the precise knowledge of this. Why has this present matter been investigated by me? So that no one may think that those occupied with these things clarify any such thing by divine inspiration, and make God the cause of their unjust opinion, and, I might say, of its origin, nor should one suppose that those who give themselves over to these things have sense, since indeed many fail daily and become the causes of their own destruction. But one should blame the primeval serpent, who, walking about the inhabited world and taking hold of suitable instruments, casts the seeds concerning imperial power not in this or that man alone, but in many, and persuading and stirring these men, he convinces them to attack and to overthrow peoples 46 and to work civil wars, in the likeness of a blind man often throwing a stone at people; for throwing at many, perhaps, and not seeing, he would late and with difficulty take aim at the one being hit. These things, then, are a digression in our account, so that one might not refer such actions or indeed their more wicked origins to the divine, being assisted by that scriptural testimony, which says, "they made kings for themselves, but not through me." 7 Michael, therefore, having had this voice of the Athinganos soothsayer instilled in him as some divine prophecy, and again, having at length undertaken the murder of Leo near Philomelion rather boldly, as was said by me before, he fulfilled it, from then on having this as a constant care, and again he daringly effected his procession into the divine temple sooner than he ought, appearing wicked toward his first benefactor, that aforementioned Bardanios, but worse toward the second, Leo, inasmuch as he had also adopted his son from holy baptism. Nevertheless, he makes a certain allotment and arranges for it to be provided for the enjoyment of Leo's children, along with his mother and wife, from his confiscated properties, and he gave them some of his own servants for service, even if not all, authoritatively ordering the mother and wife to live in safety in the so-called monastery of the Despotai, but the male children 47 on the island of Prote, as has been said, where also Constantine, who was renamed Basil, having been afflicted with a kind of speechlessness after his generative organs were removed, begged God that his own voice be loosed and his tongue again regain its euphony, and he also begged Gregory, who shone forth in theology, whose statue happened to be erected somewhere there. The saint, at any rate, yielded, and hearkened to his prayer on the feast of the Lights.

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μηχανῇ, καί ποτε τῷ ἑαυτοῦ παρέστη δὴ στρατηγῷ, ἑαυτόν τε ὑποφαίνων καὶ τῇ τῆς γλώττης τραυλότητι τὸν αρχοντα ἐκκαλούμενος, τῶν ̓Αθιγγάνων τις γνωστός τε καὶ οἰκεῖος τῷ στρατηγῷ ων αὐτόν τε τοῦτον Μιχαὴλ καί τινα ετερον περιβοήτους εσεσθαι μετ' οὐ πολὺ διηγόρευε καὶ βασιλείας αὐτῆς ἐπιτυχεῖν οὐκ εἰς μακράν. τούτοις τὴν ψυχὴν ὁ στρατηγὸς ἐκθερμανθείς, καὶ τὸ μέλλον ωσπερ κα- τατρυγῶν, οὐκ εγνω βραδύτητι τὸν καιρὸν ἀπώσασθαι, ου  πάλιν τυχεῖν οὐκ εὐπετὲς οὐδὲ ῥᾴδιον. τράπεζα γοῦν παραχρῆμα, καὶ τοὺς αλλους πάντας καταλιπὼν τούτους δὴ τοὺς ανδρας εἰς ἑστία- σιν συγκαλεῖ. ὡς δὲ τοῦ πότου ἀκμάζοντος καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας 45 αγων ἐδίδου ὁ στρατηγὸς καὶ νυμφίους καθωμολόγει, τῷ ξένῳ μὲν καὶ παραδόξῳ τοῦ πράγματος ἐν ἐκστάσει τούτους τὸ πρῶτον ἐποίει καὶ δίχα φωνῆς, ἀποδεχομένους δὲ ομως μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ συγκατατιθεμένους καὶ θεὸν τάχα, οὐκ ανθρωπον, ὁμολογοῦν- τας αὐτόν. 6 Ειναι μὲν ουν τέχνῃ τῇ μαντικῇ πολλὰ τὰ ὑποκείμενα, ὀρνίθων τε πτήσεις ὀνείρων τε ἀγέλας καὶ παντοίων σωμάτων διεντόμων θέας, ινα μὴ πολλοῖς ὀλίγος φιλονεικῶ, οὐκ ἐπὶ πολὺ διοίσομαι. ειναι δὲ καθαρὰν καὶ δαιμόνων τινῶν ἐκτὸς ὑπηρε- σίας, πόρρω θεοῦ τὸν ανθρωπον σπουδαζόντων βαλεῖν, ουτ' αὐ- τὸς ειποιμι ουτ' αλλος οιμαι τῶν φρονούντων ευ, ἐπεὶ καὶ τοὺς οὐκ εἰλικρινῆ τινὰ βίον διώκοντας καὶ καθαρόν, τοὺς ἀσπούδα- στον δὲ καὶ ἀνελεύθερον, τὴν ἀκριβῆ γνῶσιν ταύτης λαβεῖν ἀκη- κόαμεν. τί μοι τοῦτο τὸ παρὸν ἐζήτηται; ινα μή τις ἐπιπνοίᾳ θείᾳ τοὺς περὶ ταῦτα ἀσχολουμένους νομίζῃ τι τοιοῦτον διασαφεῖν, καὶ αιτιον ποιῇ τὸν θεὸν τῆς ἀδίκου γνώμης αὐτῶν, ταὐτὸ δ' εἰ- πεῖν καὶ ἀρχῆς, μηδὲ τοὺς ἐπιδιδόντας τούτοις ἑαυτοὺς εχειν νοῦν οἰηθῇ, ατε καὶ πολλῶν καθ' ἡμέραν ἀποτυγχανόντων καὶ αἰτίων γινομένων τῆς ἀπωλείας αὐτῶν. ἀλλὰ τὸν ἀρχέκακον οφιν καται- τιῷτο, ος κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐμπεριπατῶν καὶ οργανα καταλαμ- βάνων ἁρμόδια οὐκ ἐν τῷδε μόνῳ η  τῷδε τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὰ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας σπέρματα καταβάλλει, ἀλλ' ἐν πολλοῖς, καὶ τού- τους ἀναπείθων τε καὶ κινῶν ἐπιβάλλειν μὲν πείθει καὶ δήμους 46 ἀνατρέπειν καὶ ἐμφυλίους μάχας ἐργάζεσθαι, κατὰ τὴν εἰκόνα τοῦ λίθους πολλάκις ἐπαφιέντος τισὶ τυφλοῦ· πολλοὺς γὰρ βάλ- λων τάχα καὶ μὴ ὁρῶν ὀψὲ καὶ μόλις τοῦ βαλλομένου καταστοχά- ζοιτο. ταῦτα μὲν ουν ἡμῖν παρὰ θεωρίαν, ινα μὴ τῷ θείῳ ἀνα- φέροι τις τὰς τοιαύτας τῶν πράξεων μηδὲ δὴ τὰς πονηροτέρας ἀρχάς, ἐκείνῃ δὲ τῇ γραφικῇ βοηθούμενος μαρτυρίᾳ, τῇ "ἑαυτοῖς ἐβασίλευσαν" λεγούσῃ, "ἀλλ' οὐ δι' ἐμοῦ." 7 Ταύτην ουν τὴν τοῦ ̓Αθιγγάνου μάντεως φωνὴν ὡς θείαν τινὰ πρόρρησιν ὁ Μιχαὴλ ἐνηχηθείς, καὶ αυθις ὀψέ ποτε τὴν κατὰ τὸ Φιλομήλιον, ως μοι πρότερον ειρηται, τὸν τοῦ Λέοντος φόνον θρασύτερόν πως μεταχειρισάμενος ἐξεπλήρωσεν, εκτοτε μελέτην τοῦτο διηνεκῆ σχών, καὶ αυθις τὴν εἰς τὸν θεῖον ναὸν θᾶττον η  εδει θαρρούντως ἐξειργάσατο πρόοδον, κακὸς μὲν περὶ τὸν πρῶτον εὐεργέτην φανείς, ἐκεῖνον δὴ τὸν εἰρημένον Βαρ- δάνιον, κακίων δὲ περὶ τὸν δεύτερον Λέοντα, οσον καὶ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ θείου βαπτίσματος υἱοθετησάμενος ην. πλὴν ἀπό- μοιράν τινα ποιεῖται καὶ πρὸς ἀπόλαυσιν χορηγεῖσθαι πράττει τοῖς τοῦ Λέοντος παισὶν αμα τῇ τούτου μητρί τε καὶ γαμετῇ ἐκ τῶν ἐκκομισθέντων κτημάτων αὐτοῦ, καί τινας τῶν ἑαυτοῦ παίδων πρὸς ὑπηρεσίαν, εἰ καὶ μὴ πάντας, αὐτοῖς ἐδωρήσατο, τῇ μητρὶ μὲν καὶ γαμετῇ εἰς τὴν μονὴν τὴν ουτω λεγομένην τῶν ∆εσποτῶν ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ ζῆν κελεύσας αὐθεντικῶς, τοὺς αρρενας δὲ τῶν παί- 47 δων ἐν τῇ Πρώτῃ νήσῳ, ὡς ειρηται, ενθα καὶ Κωνσταντῖνος ὁ μετονομασθεὶς Βασίλειος ἀφωνίᾳ πως συσχεθεὶς μετὰ τὸ τὰ γό- νιμα τῶν μορίων ἀφαιρεθῆναι ἐδέετο μὲν τοῦ θεοῦ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ λυ- θῆναι φωνὴν καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν αυθις τὸ ευηχον ἀπολαβεῖν, ἐδέετο δὲ καὶ τοῦ ἐν θεολογίᾳ διαλάμψαντος Γρηγορίου, ἐκεῖσέ που ἀνε- στηλωμένου τυγχάνοντος. ειξε γοῦν ὁ αγιος, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δεή- σεως κατὰ τὴν τῶν φώτων πανήγυριν ἐπακήκοεν.