For the man was truly master of his hands; but he provoked the victorious one to exhaust his desire to laugh at the emperor, and drove the matter to a point of necessity for him. For the former hated the latter, as he did the rest whose lineage was illustrious, and he in turn returned the hatred toward him not far from proportionally. He even used to declare that he feared daily lest someone might be dispatched to him from Megalopolis to gouge out his eyes. And once he even said that he was born of such a mother, speaking ill in his anger of that honorable woman, if he should return to Constantinople; from which he also made it clear that he would choose to turn to some other path and to choose something lesser over a greater evil and to give up living with his eyes rather than what one might call evil. Therefore he also contrived such a thing. And not caring with a deep soul for the affairs of the city, he persuaded Andronicus very artfully that our affairs were in good shape and that the city had been excellently prepared and lacked none of the necessary things, neither security of towers, nor stone-throwing machines, nor reinforcement of walls, nor strength of outworks, nor quantity and beauty of arms, nor any other single thing, writing falsehoods that were advantageous to himself alone and unprovable, because there was no one who either knew what he was writing or would speak or dare to speak, but persuading him, not fortunately for us. For he had contrived to instill confidence in the emperor concerning us, that we would not suffer any harm from anywhere, so that he alone might be in charge of affairs here and that they might not be entrusted to anyone else, one who could save these things, and thus that he himself might someday be relieved of his office and fall into the hands of Andronicus, by whom he would have long ago been crushed, if the sebastokrator Manuel, by speaking good things and intervening with the speech of a woman, had not been saving him, not for our peace, but as one who would stir everything into a whirlwind. And to such an extent 72 did this doux craftily outwit the emperor with such methods, that a letter of thanks was even written to him by one who was unforgiving and did not know, I think, what grace is. Wherefore also a certain cautery was smoldering in the thanksgiving. For the imperial letter, following the thanks, wished thus: "may it be that for the future also such thanksgiving is preserved for you," hinting that it was for a short time and would not remain. Which also came to pass. For through him both his mother and his brother were captured there as if for death, having themselves done no wrong. And this, not long after, for them. But he, meanwhile prevailing for our destruction and because of this hardening the emperor's soul with the idea that he was sufficient for the city's defense, was able to persuade him to our ruin. For the emperor, with some foresight, had sent an army for our defense, but trusting in the things by which he was deceived by David, he commanded them neither to enter the city nor yet to engage the enemy, having come within a hair's breadth of battle, so that from this we, not knowing of the help from those who were sent, would wait expectantly and hang on the hope of them, while they themselves lived without bloodshed, pointlessly feigning their assistance to us. And they were many: the megas domestikos of the Anatolics Gidos, Andronikos Palaiologos, Manuel Kamytzes, Choumnos and others. And there flowed to them much later also the one very close to the emperor, the parakoimomenos Nikephoros, who, sending a letter to the doux David, in another manner set his lips against heaven and let his tongue go through the earth. For he said that neither did the heaven abound with so many stars nor the earth teem with so much sand, as the army that followed him, adding also that he feared lest the Latins, learning how much power he possessed, would flee and he himself would be left empty of such a prey. He himself wrote such things and we believed; for the soul that wishes for salvation was ready for persuasion. And so it was with the things from the imperial messengers, deceiving us. But the enemy, having arrived, both from land and from sea, was being prepared skillfully for battle. And those from the west were making some other new things for

ἐγκρατὴς γὰρ ἦν χειρῶν ἀληθῶς ὁ ἄνθρωπος· ἀλλὰ προεκαλεῖτο τὸν καλλίνικον εἰς τὸ δαπανῆσαι τὸ ἐθέλειν κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως γελᾶν, καὶ ἦγεν αὐτῷ πρὸς ἀνάγκης τὸ πρᾶγμα. Ἐκεῖνός τε γὰρ ἐμίσει τοῦτον, καθὰ καὶ τοὺς λοιπούς, ὅσοις τὸ γένος ἔλαμπε, καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ἀντέστρεφε τὸ μῖσος πρὸς αὐτὸν οὐ μακρὰν τοῦ ἀνάλογον. Ὅς γε καὶ ἀνεφθέγγετο δεδιέναι καθ' ἑκάστην μήποτέ τις αὐτῷ ἐκ Μεγαλοπόλεως ἐπιπετασθείη ἐξορύξων τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. Καί ποτε καὶ τοιᾶσδε ἔφη φῦναι μητρός, κακολογήσας θυμῷ τὴν τιμίαν ἐκείνην, ἐὰν εἰς Κωνσταντινούπολιν ἐπαναστραφείη· ὅθεν καὶ διεδήλου ὡς ἄλλην τινὰ τραπέσθαι αἱρήσεται καὶ μείζονος κακοῦ ἀνθελέσθαι τι βραχύτερον καὶ τοῦ ζῆν ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν προέσθαι ὃ ἄν τις εἴποι κακόν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ μεθώδευε τὸ τοιοῦτον. Καὶ οὐ βαθείᾳ ψυχῇ μεριμνῶν τὰ κατὰ πόλιν, ἀνέπειθε τὸν Ἀνδρόνικον εὖ μάλα τεχνικῶς ὡς εὖ ἔχουσι τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ ὡς περιπεποίηται ἡ πόλις ἄριστα καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτῇ τῶν δεόντων ἐνδεῖ, οὐ πύργων ἀσφάλεια, οὐ πετροβόλοι μηχαναί, οὐ τειχῶν ἐπιποίησις, οὐ περιτειχίσματος ἐρυμνότης, οὐ πλῆθος καὶ κάλλος ἀρμάτων, οὐκ ἄλλο οὐδὲ ἕν, ψευδῆ μὲν γράφων πρὸς τὸ ἑαυτῷ μόνῳ συνοῖσον καὶ ἀνεξέλεγκτα, ὅτι μηδὲ ἦν τις ὁ εἴτε εἰδὼς ἅπερ ἔγραφεν εἴτε λαλῶν εἴτε λαλεῖν τολμῶν, πείθων δὲ ἐκεῖνον οὐκ εὐτυχῶς ἡμῖν. Πεπραγμάτευτο γὰρ θάρρος ἐμβαλεῖν τῷ βασιλεῖ περὶ ἡμῶν, ὡς οὐκ ἄν τι κακόν ποθεν πάθοιμεν, ἵνα κεφαλὴ μόνος αὐτὸς ἐφίσταιτο τοῖς ὧδε καὶ μή τινι ἑτέρῳ ἐπιτραπείη τὰ τῇδε, οἵῳ περισώσασθαι ταῦτα, καὶ οὕτω τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτόν ποτε παραλυθῆναι καὶ εἰς χεῖρας τῷ Ἀνδρονίκῳ περιτυχεῖν, ὑφ' ὧν καὶ πάλαι ἂν συνετρίβη, εἰ μὴ ὁ σεβαστοκράτωρ Μανουὴλ ἀγαθὰ λαλῶν καὶ μέσος πίπτων γυναίου λόγῳ αὐτὸν περιεσῴζετο, οὐ πρὸς γαλήνην ἡμῖν, ἀλλ' ὡς εἰς τυφῶνα τὸ πᾶν κυκήσοντα. Καὶ ἐς τοσοῦτον 72 περιῆλθε πανούργως τὸν βασιλέα ταῖς τοιαύταις μεθόδοις ὁ δοὺξ οὗτος, ὡς καὶ εὐχαριστίαν αὐτῷ γραφῆναι πρὸς τοῦ ἀμειλίκτου καὶ μὴ εἰδότος, οἶμαι, ὅπερ ἐστὶ χάρις. ∆ιὸ καὶ τῇ εὐχαριστίᾳ ὑπεσμύχετό τις καυτήρ. Ηὔχετο γὰρ ἡ βασιλικὴ γραφὴ ἐχόμενα τῆς χάριτος οὕτως «γένοιτο δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἑξῆς τὴν τοιαύτην εὐχαριστίαν φυλάττεσθαί σοι», αἰνιττομένη ὡς μικρὸν ὅσον καὶ οὐ παραμενεῖ. Ὃ καὶ γέγονεν. Ἑάλωσαν γὰρ δι' αὐτὸν ὡς ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ἐκεῖ καὶ ἡ τούτου μήτηρ καὶ ὁ ἀδελφός, οὐδὲν αὐτοὶ ἁμαρτόντες. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν μετ' οὐ πολὺ εἰς ἐκείνους. Αὐτὸς δὲ τέως ἰσχύων κατὰ τῆς ἡμῶν ἀπωλείας καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐνσκιρρώσας τῇ τοῦ βασιλέως ψυχῇ ὡς αὐταρκεῖ οὗτος τὰ ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως, ἴσχυσε πεῖσαι τὰ εἰς ἡμῶν ὄλεθρον. Ἔστειλε μὲν γὰρ ὁ βασιλεὺς προμηθικώτερον στρατιὰν ἐπὶ ἀμύνῃ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς, πεποιθὼς δὲ οἷς ἐκ τοῦ ∆αυῒδ ἀπεπλανᾶτο, παρηγγυήσατο μήτε εἰς τὴν πόλιν αὐτοὺς καταδύσεσθαι μήτε μὴν τοῖς πολεμίοις ὁμόσε χωρῆσαι γενομένους ἐν χρῷ μάχης, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν ἡμᾶς μέν, μὴ εἰδότας ἐπικουρίαν ἐκ τῶν ἐσταλμένων, καραδοκεῖν καὶ ἐκκρέμασθαι τῆς εἰς ἐκείνους ἐλπίδος, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἀναιμωτὶ ζῆν, ἀφοσιουμένους τηνάλλως τὸ εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐπικουρικόν. Ἦσαν δὲ συχνοὶ ἐκεῖνοι, ὁ τῶν Ἀνατολικῶν μέγας δομέστικος Γίδος, ὁ Παλαιολόγος Ἀνδρόνικος, ὁ Καμύτζης Μανουήλ, ὁ Χοῦμνος καὶ ἕτεροι. Ἐπέρρευσε δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐς παντελῶς ὕστερον καὶ ὁ τῷ βασιλεῖ πάνυ ἐγγύς, ὁ παρακοιμώμενος Νικηφόρος, ὃς γράμμα στείλας πρὸς τὸν δοῦκα ∆αυῒδ ἔθετο τρόπον ἄλλον τὰ χείλη αὐτοῦ κατ' οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γλῶσσαν ἀφῆκε διέρχεσθαι περὶ γῆν. Ἔφατο γὰρ μήτε τὸν οὐρανὸν ἄστροις ἐνευθηνεῖσθαι τοσούτοις μήτε τὴν γῆν ἄμμῳ τοσῇδε πλήθειν, ὁπόσος αὐτῷ στρατὸς ἐφέπεται, προσεπιλαλῶν καὶ ὑποδεδοικέναι μή ποτε οἱ Λατῖνοι ἐκπυθόμενοι ὅσην ἰσχὺν περιβέβληται φευξοῦνται καὶ μενεῖ αὐτὸς κενὸς τοιαύτης ἄγρας. Ἔγραψεν αὐτὸς τοιαῦτα καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπιστεύσαμεν· τὸ γὰρ ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ βουλόμενον τῆς ψυχῆς ἕτοιμον ἦν πρὸς πειθώ. Καὶ οὕτω μὲν τὰ ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ἀποστόλων, ψευδόντων ἡμᾶς. Τὸ δὲ πολέμιον ἐπελθόν, τό τε ξηρᾶθεν καὶ τὸ ἐκ θαλάσσης, ἐξηρτύετο κατ' ἐπιστήμην εἰς μάχην. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐκ τῶν δυσμικῶν ἄλλα ἐποίουν καινά τινα κατὰ