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being a laughingstock, came to the Palace, but was called Euphemia. But later in time it happened that the empress 9.50 died. And he, being both foolish and having become utterly decrepit, incurred the laughter of his subjects, and everyone held him in great contempt, since he did not understand what was being done, and they slighted him, but they served Justinian with great fear. For he, always stirring up and throwing into confusion, drove everything on in succession. 9.51 Then indeed he undertook to make the betrothal to Theodora. And since it was impossible for a man who had reached the rank of senator to be married to a courtesan, this being forbidden by the most ancient laws from of old, he forced the emperor to repeal the laws by another law, and thereafter he lived with Theodora as his wife, and he made betrothal to courtesans lawful for all others, and immediately tyrannizing, he encroached upon the honor of the emperor, with a fabricated pretext for the action 9.52 concealing its violent nature. For they proclaimed him emperor along with his uncle of the Romans, if it was at all proper, having been brought to this vote 9.53 by an excess of fear. Therefore Justinian and Theodora took over the empire three days before the festival of Easter, at which time indeed it is not permitted either to greet any of one's friends or 9.54 to speak words of peace. And not many days later Justin died from an illness, having survived in power for nine years, and Justinian alone with Theodora held the empire. 10.1 So then Theodora, as has been said, having been born and raised and trained in this way, came to the rank 10.2 of empress, being hindered in no way. For not even to him who married her did any thought of shame occur, though it was possible for him to choose from the entire Roman empire and make his wife the woman who was most nobly born of all women and had partaken of a private upbringing, and had become not unpracticed in modesty, and was endowed with discretion, and besides was pre-eminent in beauty and a virgin, and, as the saying goes, high-10.3 breasted. But he did not disdain to make the common pollution of all mankind his very own, sinking down before none of the things previously described, and to approach a woman who was clothed in other great defilements and the murder of many children through voluntary abortions. I do not think I need to mention anything else at all about the character of this 10.4 man. For this marriage would be sufficient to signify adequately all the passions of his soul, becoming an interpreter and a witness of his character and 10.5 its chronicler. Since whoever, having disregarded the shame for things done, does not disdain to appear loathsome to those who meet him, for him indeed no path of lawlessness is untrodden, but always holding shamelessness before his face he proceeds most easily and with no effort to the most abominable 10.6 of deeds. And yet not one from the senatorial council, seeing the state taking upon itself this disgrace, determined to be displeased and to denounce the action, although all were about to worship her 10.7 as a god. Nor indeed did any priest become manifest in his displeasure, and this, although they were about to address her as "Mistress." 10.8 And the people, formerly her spectators, at once deemed it right with upraised 10.9 hands to be and to be called her slave, without any proper order. Nor was any soldier angered, if he was about to undergo the dangers in the camps for the sake of Theodora's interests, nor did any other of all mankind oppose her, but all, I think, being inclined by the fact that these things were so ordained, allowed this abomination to be consummated, as if Fortune were making a display of her power, to whom, indeed, controlling all human affairs, it matters least of all either how the things done may be seemly or how these things may seem to men to have happened according to reason. 10.10 For she raises someone suddenly by some irrational power to a great height, to whom many obstacles seem to be intertwined, but nothing at all opposes her in any of her works, but she is led by every device wherever it has been arranged for her, with everyone readily yielding and giving way to advancing Fortune. But these things

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καταγελάστῳ ὄντι ἐς Παλάτιον ἦλθεν, ἀλλ' Εὐφημία ἐπικληθεῖσα. χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον τῇ βασιλίδι 9.50 μὲν ἀπογενέσθαι ξυνέπεσεν. ὁ δὲ ἠλιθιάζων τε καὶ κομιδῆ ἐσχατογέρων γενόμενος, πρὸς τῶν ἀρχομένων γέλωτα ὦφλεν, ὀλιγωρίᾳ τε πολλῇ ἐς αὐτὸν ἐχόμενοι ἅπαντες ἅτε τῶν πρασσομένων οὐ ξυνιέντος, ὑπερεώρων,Ἰουστινιανὸν δὲ ξὺν δέει πολλῷ ἐθεράπευον. κυκῶν γὰρ ἀεὶ καὶ ξυνταράσσων ἀνεσόβει ἐφεξῆς ἅπαντα. 9.51 τότε δὴ τὴν ἐγγύην πρὸς τὴν Θεοδώραν ἐνεχείρει ποιεῖν. ἀδύνατον δὲ ὂν ἄνδρα ἐς ἀξίωμα βουλῆς ἥκοντα ἑταίρᾳ γυναικὶ ξυνοικίζεσθαι, νόμοις ἄνωθεν τοῖς παλαιοτάτοις ἀπορρηθὲν, λῦσαί τε τοὺς νόμους τὸν βασιλέα νόμῳ ἑτέρῳ ἠνάγκασε καὶ τὸ ἐνθένδε ἅτε γαμετῇ τῇ Θεοδώρᾳ ξυνῴκησε, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι βάσιμον κατεστήσατο τὴν πρὸς τὰς ἑταίρας ἐγγύην, τυραννῶν τε αὐτίκα ἐπεβάτευε τῆς τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος τιμῆς προσχήματι συμπεπλασμένῳ τῆς πράξεως ἐπι9.52 καλύπτων τὸ βίαιον. ἀνεῖπον γὰρ αὐτὸν βασιλέα ξὺν τῷ θείῳ τῶνῬωμαίων, εἴ τι δόκιμον ἦν, δειμά9.53 των περιουσίᾳ ἐπὶ ταύτην ἠγμένοι τὴν ψῆφον. παρέλαβον τοίνυν τὴν βασιλείανἸουστινιανός τε καὶ Θεοδώρα πρότερον τῆς Πασχαλίας ἑορτῆς ἡμέραις τρισὶν, ὅτε δὴ οὔτε ἀσπάσασθαι τῶν φίλων τινὰ οὔτε 9.54 εἰρηναῖα προσειπεῖν ἔξεστιν. ἡμέραις δὲ οὐ πολλαῖς ὕστερονἸουστῖνος μὲν ἐτελεύτησε νόσῳ, τῇ ἀρχῇ ἐπιβιοὺς ἔτη ἐννέα, μόνος δὲἸουστινιανὸς ξὺν Θεοδώρᾳ τὴν βασιλείαν ἔσχεν. 10.1 Οὕτω γοῦν ἡ Θεοδώρα, ὥσπερ ἐρρήθη, τεχθεῖσά τε καὶ τεθραμμένη καὶ παιδευθεῖσα ἐς βασιλείας 10.2 ἀξίωμα τρόπῳ οὐδενὶ ἐμποδισθεῖσα ἦλθεν. οὐδὲ γὰρ τῷ γήμαντι ὕβρεώς τις οἴησις γέγονεν, εἴ οἱ παρὸν ἐκ πάσης ἀπολεξαμένῳ τῆςῬωμαίων ἀρχῆς γαμετὴν γυναῖκα ποιήσασθαι τὴν πασῶν γυναικῶν μάλιστα εὖ τε γεγονυῖαν καὶ τροφῆς κρυφαίου μεταλαχοῦσαν, τοῦ τε αἰδεῖσθαι οὐκ ἀμελέτητον γεγενημένην, καὶ σωφροσύνῃ ξυνῳκισμένην, πρὸς δὲ τῷ κάλλει ὑπερφυᾶ καὶ παρθένον τινὰ καὶ τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον ὀρθό10.3 τιτθον οὖσαν. ὁ δὲ τὸ κοινὸν ἄγος ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων αὑτοῦ ἴδιον πεποιῆσθαι οὐκ ἀπηξίου, ἐπ' οὐδενὶ τῶν προδεδηλωμένων καταδυόμενος, καὶ γυναικὶ πλησιάζειν ἄλλα τε περιβεβλημένῃ μεγάλα μιάσματα καὶ παιδοκτονίας πολλὰς ἐθελουσίων ἀμβλώσεων. ἄλλο τέ μοι ἐνδεῖν ἤθους πέρι μνημονεῦσαι τοῦδε τοῦ 10.4 ἀνθρώπου οὐδ' ὁτιοῦν οἶμαι. ἅπαντα γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς πάθη οὗτος ἂν ἀξιόχρεως ὁ γάμος σημῆναι διαρκῶς εἴη, ἑρμηνεύς τε καὶ μάρτυς τοῦ τρόπου καὶ 10.5 λογογράφος γινόμενος. ἐπεὶ ὅστις ἀλογήσας τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν πεπραγμένων αἰσχύνην οὐκ ἀπαξιοῖ τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσι βδελυρὸς φαίνεσθαι, τούτῳ δὴ οὐδεμία παρανομίας ἀτραπὸς ἄβατος, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀναίδειαν ἀεὶ τοῦ μετώπου προβεβλημένος ῥᾷστά τε καὶ οὐδενὶ πόνῳ ἐς 10.6 τῶν πράξεων τὰς μιαρωτάτας χωρεῖ. οὐ μὴν οὐδέ τις ἐκ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς τὸ αἶσχος τοῦτο ἀναδουμένην τὴν πολιτείαν ὁρῶν δυσφορεῖσθαί τε καὶ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἀπειπεῖν ἔγνω, καίπερ αὐτὴν ἅπαντες ἴσα θεῷ 10.7 προσκυνήσοντες. ἀλλ' οὐδέ τις ἱερεὺς δεινοπαθῶν ἔνδηλος γέγονε, καὶ ταῦτα δέσποιναν αὐτὴν προσερεῖν 10.8 μέλλοντες. καὶ ὁ πρότερον αὐτῆς θεατὴς δῆμος δοῦλος εὐθὺς οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ αὐτῆς εἶναί τε καὶ ὀνομάζεσθαι 10.9 ὑπτίαις ἐδικαίου χερσίν. οὐδέ τις στρατιώτης ἠγρίωτο, εἰ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις κινδύνους ὑπὲρ τῶν τῆς Θεοδώρας πραγμάτων ὑφίστασθαι μέλλοι οὐδέ τις αὐτῇ ἄλλος ἀπήντησε τῶν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ πάντες, οἶμαι, τῷ ταῦτα οὕτω δεδόσθαι κεκλιμένοι ἐνεχώρησαν ξυμπεραίνεσθαι τὸ μίασμα τοῦτο, ὥσπερ τῆς τύχης ἐπίδειξιν τῆς δυνάμεως πεποιημένης, ᾗ δὴ ἅπαντα πρυτανευούσῃ τὰ ἀνθρώπεια ὡς ἥκιστα μέλει οὔτε ὅπως ἂν τὰ πραττόμενα εἰκότα εἴη οὔτε ὅπως ἂν ταῦτα κατὰ λόγον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις γεγενῆσθαι δοκῇ. 10.10 ἐπαίρει γοῦν τινα ἐξαπιναίως ἀλογίστῳ τινὶ ἐξουσίᾳ ἐς ὕψος μέγα, ᾧπερ ἐναντιώματα μὲν πολλὰ ξυμπεπλέχθαι δοκεῖ, ἀντιστατεῖ δὲ παρά τι ἔργον τῶν πάντων οὐδὲν, ἀλλὰ ἄγεται μηχανῇ πάσῃ ὅπη ποτὲ αὐτῇ διατέτακται, ἁπάντων ἑτοίμως ἐξισταμένων τε καὶ ὑποχωρούντων προϊούσῃ τῇ τύχῃ. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα