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he shod his feet with sandals and decreed that he sign with such letters, both to manage the common affairs and to carry out those of his son. But having thrown his brother Manuel out of the rule and put him on a certain trireme, he exiled him around the land of Attalus, and he sent his wife away to her father Asan. And Asan loved his father-in-law Theodore more than his son-in-law Manuel; for he adored his wife Irene no less than Antony did Cleopatra. Manuel therefore, having put in at the land of Attalus, unexpectedly found the descendants of Hagar treating him with more humanity; for when he had said that his destination was to the emperor John, they both granted him passage and *** having supplied him fittingly. From there, therefore, he came to the emperor, and the emperor gladly received him both as one related to the family and as one long named despot; and having given him money and six triremes, he sent him off around Great Vlachia, having taken dreadful oaths from him, such a man was he, full of understanding and sagacity. Manuel therefore, having seized the region of Demetrias, and from there having indicated his attack to some of his own people in writing, and having charmed others with promises, in not many days he had gathered an army around him, and he ruled Pharsala and Larissa and Platamon and the areas around them. Then indeed, having made a truce, he came together with his two brothers, Constantine and Theodore; for Constantine, being despot, as we said, was ruling what we said he was ruling, and Theodore was the father of the renowned John in Thessalonica. And when they came together, both brothers persuaded Manuel to withdraw from the truce with the emperor John. But he, willy-nilly, as those who were present and knew about such things said, consented to their plans; and from that time they were bound together, being content with their own lands that had been divided among them, and having peaceful agreements with the Latins in the Peloponnese and Euripus.

39 Not much time passed, and Manuel departed from among men, repentant, as they said, for the transgressions committed against the emperor. And the empress Irene also died, a prudent and commanding woman, and one who displayed much imperial majesty. She both delighted in discourses and listened to wise men with pleasure; and she honored them exceedingly, as it is possible to know from this. For when an eclipse was occurring, with the sun passing through Cancer around midday, since I myself, having thus happened to be in the palace, went away—for the emperor was encamped with the empress around the places which they call Periklystra—she asked me the cause of the eclipse. And I myself was not able to say precisely—for I had only just touched upon the rites of philosophy, being taught by the wise Blemmydes—nevertheless, however, having learned from him at that time as much as was reasonable, I said that the interposition of the moon was the cause of the obscuration, and that the sun seemed to be eclipsed, but that the privation of its light was not real, but that the moon rather suffered this, whenever it fell into the shadow of the earth, because it boasts its light from the sun. But when the argument was prolonged for a very long time, the physician Nicholas contradicted what was being said, a man who had the least share in philosophy, but was a master in his own art, and especially that which is known through experience; and this man was very much loved by the empress, and he held the honor of actuary. Since, therefore, this man was contradicting, and I was chattering on more, in the middle of the discussion the empress called me a fool; then indeed, as if having done something improper, turning to the emperor she said, "I have spoken unbecomingly, then, in calling this man a fool." And the emperor said, "It is nothing new; for he is a youth." For I was then twenty-one years old, and this address was not entirely out of tune with it. But the empress said, "It is not right that one who utters philosophical arguments should be addressed in such a way by us." These things

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πεδίλοις τοὺς πόδας ἐκείνου ὑπέδησε καὶ τοιούτοις γράμμασιν ὑπογράφειν διώρισεν, αὐτόν τε διέπειν τὰ κοινὰ καὶ διεξάγειν τὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ. τὸν δ' ἀδελφὸν Μανουὴλ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐκβαλὼν καὶ ἐμβαλὼν ἔν τινι τριήρει περὶ τὴν Ἀττάλου ἐξώρισε, τὴν δὲ σύζυγον αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν πατέρα Ἀσὰν ἐξέπεμψεν. ὁ δ' Ἀσὰν τὸν πενθερὸν μᾶλλον ἐφίλει Θεόδωρον ἢ τὸν γαμ βρὸν αὐτοῦ Μανουήλ· ὑπερηγάπα γὰρ τὴν σύζυγον Εἰρήνην οὐχ ἧττον ἢ Ἀντώνιος τὴν Κλεοπάτραν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Μανουὴλ τῇ Ἀττάλου προσοκείλας παρὰ προσδοκίαν τοὺς ἐξ Ἄγαρ εὗρε φιλανθρωπίᾳ μᾶλλον πρὸς αὐτὸν χρησαμένους· ἐπεὶ γὰρ εἰρήκει πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰωάννην τυγ χάνειν αὐτοῦ τὴν ὁρμήν, παρεχώρησάν τε τούτῳ τὴν δίοδον καὶ *** ἐφοδιασάμενοι προσηκόντως. ἐκεῖθεν οὖν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα ἀφίκετο οὗτος, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀσμένως τε τοῦτον ἐδέξατο καὶ ὡς προσῳκειωμένον τῷ γένει καὶ ὡς πάλαι δεσπότην ὠνομασμένον· δοὺς δὲ αὐτῷ χρῆμα καὶ τριήρεις ἓξ περὶ Μεγάλην Βλαχίαν ἀφῆκεν, ὅρκους παρ' αὐτοῦ λαβὼν φρικώδεις, οἷος ἐκεῖνος συνέσεως καὶ ἀγχινοίας πλήρης ὤν. καταλαβὼν οὖν τὸν τῆς ∆ημητριάδος χῶρον ὁ Μανουὴλ κἀκεῖθεν τοῖς μὲν τῶν οἰκείων γραφαῖς παρασημήνας τὴν αὐτοῦ ἔφοδον, τοὺς δὲ ὑποθέλξας ταῖς ὑποσχέσεσιν, οὐ διὰ πολλῶν συνηθροίκει τῶν ἡμερῶν περὶ αὐτὸν στράτευμα, ἦρξέ τε Φαρσάλων καὶ Λαρίσσης καὶ Πλαταμῶνος καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτά. εἶτα δὴ σπονδὰς ποιησάμενος συνῆλθε τούτου τοῖν ἀδελφοῖν τῷ τε Κωνσταντίνῳ καὶ τῷ Θεοδώρῳ· ὁ μὲν γὰρ Κωνσταντῖνος δεσπότης, ὡς ἔφημεν, ὢν ἦρχεν ὧν εἰ ρήκειμεν ἄρχειν, ὁ δὲ Θεόδωρος ἦν ὁ τοῦ φημιζομένου ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ Ἰωάννου πατήρ. ἐπεὶ δὲ συνῄεσαν, πείθουσι καὶ ἄμφω τὼ ἀδελφὼ τὸν Μανουὴλ τῶν σπονδῶν ἐκστῆναι τῶν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἰωάννην. ὁ δὲ ἑκὼν ἀέκων, ὡς ἔφασκον οἱ παρατυχόντες καὶ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων εἰδότες, συνῄνεσεν αὐτῶν τοῖς βουλεύμασι· καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε ὑπῆρ χον συνδεδεμένοι, ταῖς σφετέραις χώραις ταῖς μεμερισμέναις αὐτοῖς ἀρκούμενοι, καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἐν Πελοπονήσῳ καὶ Εὐρίπῳ Λατίνων συμβιβάσεις ἔχοντες εἰρηνικάς.

39 Οὐ πολὺς παρερρύη χρόνος, καὶ ὁ Μανουὴλ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἐγένετο, μετάμελος, ὡς ἔλεγον, τῶν παραβασιῶν τῶν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα γενόμενος. θνήσκει δὲ καὶ ἡ βασιλὶς Εἰρήνη, γυνὴ σωφρονική τε καὶ ἀρχικὴ καὶ πολὺ τὸ μεγα λεῖον ἐπιδεικνυμένη τὸ βασίλειον. ἔχαιρε δὲ καὶ λόγοις καὶ σοφῶν ἠκροᾶτο μετὰ ἡδονῆς· ἐτίμα δὲ τούτους ὑπερ βαλλόντως, ὡς ἔστιν ἐκ τούτου γνῶναι. καὶ γὰρ ἐκλείψεως γινομένης, ἡλίου τὸν καρκίνον διοδεύοντος περὶ μεσημβρίαν, ἐπείπερ αὐτὸς οὕτω συμβὰν ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις ἀπῆλθον- ἐσκηνοῦτο δὲ περὶ τοὺς τόπους οὓς ὀνομάζουσι Περίκλυστρα σὺν τῇ βασιλίδι ὁ βασιλεύς-ἠρώτηκέ με τὴν τῆς ἐκλεί ψεως αἰτίαν. καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν ἀκριβῶς οὐκ εἶχον ἐρεῖν- ἄρτι καὶ γὰρ τῶν τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἡψάμην ὀργίων παρὰ τοῦ σοφοῦ Βλεμμύδου διδασκόμενος-ὅμως μέντοι παρ' αὐτοῦ τῷ τότε ὅσον ἦν εἰκὸς ἐπιγνοὺς τήν τε τῆς σελήνης ἐπιπρόσθησιν αἰτίαν τῆς ἐπισκιάσεως ἔλεγον εἶναι, καὶ δο κεῖν μὲν ἐκλείπειν τὸν ἥλιον, οὐκ ἀληθῆ δὲ εἶναι τὴν τῆς φαύσεως στέρησιν, μᾶλλον μέντοι τοῦτο τὴν σελήνην πά σχειν, ἐπὰν τῷ σκιάσματι ἐμπέσῃ τῆς γῆς, διὰ τὸ ἐξ ἡλίου τὸ φέγγος αὐχεῖν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ λόγος ἐπὶ μήκιστον παρετεί νετο, ἀντέλεγε δὲ τοῖς λεγομένοις ὁ ἰατρὸς Νικόλαος, ἀνὴρ ἥκιστα μὲν φιλοσοφίας μετασχών, ἄκρος δὲ τὴν οἰκείαν τέχνην καὶ μάλιστα τὴν διὰ πείρας γινωσκομένην· πάνυ δὲ οὗτος ἠγαπᾶτο τῇ βασιλίδι, ἀκτουαρίου δὲ εἶχε τιμήν. ἐπεὶ γοῦν ἀντέλεγεν οὗτος, αὐτὸς δὲ πλέον ἐστωμυλλόμην, ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῶν λεγομένων ἀπεκάλεσέ με ἡ βασιλὶς μωρόν· εἶτα δὴ ὥσπερ τι οὐ προσῆκον ἐργασαμένη, πρὸς τὸν βασι λέα στραφεῖσα «ἀπρεπῶς ἄρα εἰρήκειν» ἔφη «καλέσασα τοῦ τον μωρόν». καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς «οὐ καινόν· μειράκιον γάρ ἐστιν». εἴκοσι γὰρ σὺν ἑνὶ τότε ὑπῆρχον ἐτῶν, καὶ οὐ πάμπαν ἀπᾴδει τούτου τὸ πρόσρημα. ἀλλ' ἡ βασιλὶς «οὐ χρεών» φησι «τὸν φιλοσόφους λόγους προφέροντα οὑτωσί γε προσ αγορευθῆναι παρ' ἡμῶν». ταῦτ'