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they went forward for a little while, eager to defend the young emperor. But when the disturbance had ceased, they too became quiet again. But three of the most intimate associates of the elder of the emperors, who were present there with them, namely John Meliteniotes, Andronikos Exotrochos, and the third, Bardas, and suspecting their impulse as having arisen on behalf of the young Andronikos, approached them and said, "while the emperors are talking with each other about some unknown matters, it is necessary for you to depart from here and go to the court in the palace." But when the others looked at them rather sternly, showing their anger both with their eyes and with their words, and ordered them to get out of the way and not to bother them, two of them 1.72 sat down and became quiet again, but Meliteniotes went inside to the elder of the emperors; "You must consider," he said in his ear, "what you are about to do, O emperor. For at your doors are standing some of the senate, ready to do and to suffer everything for the young emperor." When the emperor heard these things, he immediately rose from his throne and went into the inner chamber, leaving the young emperor with his audience in the outer room. And having summoned the grand logothete Metochites, and having discussed with him whatever he wished, he then sent a message through him to his grandson and emperor: "You are involved in the evil deeds I mentioned and in more; but I, overlooking all of them, will grant you forgiveness, if you yourself will do what I say. And these are they: first, to confirm by an oath to keep the faith pure for Christ; second, that no evil will be seen to have come about against me; third, to make known to me those who have chosen to cooperate with you and are devoted to you; and fourth, to confirm by an oath that you will in no way resort to flight." To these things the young emperor answered thus: "Most mighty emperor, the demand to confirm my faith by oaths, besides seeming harsh to me and terribly disturbing my soul, is also self-contradictory. For if you command me to make the oath binding on the holy Gospels and the venerable icons, by this very act you prove me to be faithful to God and to have put on Christ. But if 1.73 you think I adhere to some other object of worship, it is a useless and superfluous thing to propose those objects to me for an oath, for I have rejected their faith; for I would easily swear falsely by things that are not honored. Therefore, I beg you, O emperor, not to raise arguments about such things; for by the grace of Christ I am both a Christian and one of the orthodox. But as for neither doing nor plotting any evil against you, even now I swear by the maker of heaven and earth that neither before was I led into such thoughts, nor in the future do I wish to be found wicked toward you; but to fulfill your command, I will swear again. But concerning making known to you those who are with me and who wish the same things, I say this, that you yourself would know better than I what sort of men are likely to be attached to me. For since I have no source of funds with which I might perhaps persuade any of those worthy of notice to pay me heed, and I have no freedom of speech with you, through which by conferring benefits I might acquire for myself some friends from among those in need of help, it is possible for anyone who wishes to perceive from the circumstances the sort of men gathered around me. But if indeed there are some who are well-disposed towards me, they do not owe their goodwill, but rather are initiating an act of grace; and since they have behaved so nobly towards me for free, it would not fall short of the height of wickedness for me to be seen as most base and a traitor to them. And yet they themselves, when they approach me, attempt to persuade me of nothing else than to submit and subject myself to you, 1.74 the emperor and my father, and not to provide causes so as to provoke your serenity against me. But when I insist that I am conscious of no such thing and string together many arguments in my defense, nothing is considered sufficient by them for persuasion, which is reasonable for them, reasoning that nature would not be so warred against itself, unless the causes were extraordinary. For not even the fiercest of wild beasts to the

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προῆλθον ἐπὶ μικρὸν ἀμύνειν ὡρμημένοι τῷ νέῳ βασιλεῖ. τῆς ταραχῆς δὲ πεπαυμένης, αὖθις ἡσύχασαν καὶ αὐτοί. τρεῖς δ' αὐτοῖς ἐκεῖ συμπαρόντες τῶν οἰκειοτάτων τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ τῶν βασιλέων, ὅ, τε Μελιτηνιώτης Ἰωάννης, Ἀνδρόνικός τε ὁ Ἐξώτροχος καὶ τρίτος ὁ Βάρδας, καὶ τὴν ὁρμὴν αὐτῶν ὑποπτεύσαντες ὡς ὑπὲρ Ἀνδρονίκου τοῦ νέου γεγεννημένην, λέγουσιν αὐτοῖς προσελθόντες, ὡς «τῶν βασιλέων πρὸς ἀλλήλους περί τινων ἀδήλων διαλεγομένων, δέον ὑμᾶς ἀποστάντας τῶν ὧδε, πρὸς τὴν ἐν βασιλείοις αὐλὴν χωρεῖν.» τῶν δ' αὐτοῖς δριμύτερον ἐνιδόντων, καὶ τὸ θυμοῦσθαι καὶ ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ λόγοις ἐνδεικνυμένων, ἐξίστασθαί τε καὶ μὴ παρενοχλεῖν κελευσάντων, οἱ δύο μὲν 1.72 πάλιν ἡσύχασαν καθεσθέντες, ὁ Μελιτηνιώτης δὲ ἔνδον πρὸς τὸν πρεσβύτερον τῶν βασιλέων ἐλθών· «σκεπτέον σοι» πρὸς οὖς εἶπεν «ὅ, τι μέλλεις δρᾷν, ὦ βασιλεῦ. πρὸς γὰρ θύραις ταῖς σαῖς ἐφεστήκασι τῶν τῆς συγκλήτου τινὲς, πάντα δρᾷν ὑπὲρ τοῦ νέου βασιλέως ἕτοιμοι καὶ πάσχειν ὄντες.» τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνέστη τε αὐτίκα τοῦ θρόνου, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ἐνδότερον οἰκίσκον ἐχώρει, τὸν νέον βασιλέα τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις ἅμα παρὰ τὸν ἔξω καταλιπών. τὸν μέγαν δὲ μετακαλεσάμενος λογοθέτην τὸν Μετοχίτην, καὶ ὅσα ἦν αὐτῷ βουλομένῳ διαλεχθεὶς, εἶτα δι' αὐτοῦ μηνύει τῷ ἐγγόνῳ καὶ βασιλεῖ· «σὺ μὲν οἷσπερ εἶπον καὶ πλείοσιν ἐνέχῃ κακοῖς· ἐγὼ δ' ἅπαντα παριδὼν, ἀξιώσω συγγνώμης, ἂν ἃ λέγω ποιήσῃς αὐτός. ταῦτα δ' ἐστί· πρῶτον μὲν ὅρκῳ πιστώσασθαι τὴν πίστιν καθαρὰν τῷ Χριστῷ τηρεῖν· ἔπειτα μετὰ τοῦτο, μηδὲ περὶ ἐμὲ κακὸν ὀφθήσεσθαι γεγενημένον· τρίτον μετὰ τοῦτο, καταδήλους ἐμοὶ ποιῆσαι τοὺς σοὶ συμπράττειν καὶ προσκεῖσθαι προῃρημένους· τέταρτον δὲ, ὅρκῳ πιστώσασθαι δρασμῷ χρήσεσθαι μηδαμῶς.» πρὸς ταῦτα βασιλεὺς ὁ νέος ἀπεκρίνατο τοιαῦτα· «κράτιστε βασιλεῦ, τὸ τὴν πίστιν ὅρκοις ἀπαιτεῖν βεβαιοῦν, πρὸς τῷ σκληρὸν ἐμοὶ φαίνεσθαι καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν δεινῶς ἐκταράττειν, ἔτι καὶ ἑαυτῷ περιπίπτει. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς τὸν ὅρκον εὐαγγελίοις καὶ ταῖς σεβασμίαις εἰκόσι κελεύεις πιστὸν ποιεῖν, αὐτῷ τούτῳ περὶ τὸν θεὸν πιστὸν, καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀποδεικνύεις ἐνδεδυμένον ἐμέ. εἰ δ' ἄλλῳ 1.73 τινὶ σεβάσματι προσέχειν ἐμὲ νομίζεις, τῶν ἀνονήτων καὶ περιττῶν, ὧν ἠθέτησα τὴν πίστιν, ταῦτ' εἰς ὅρκον ἐμοὶ προβάλλειν· ῥᾳδίως γὰρ ἂν καταψεύσομαι τῶν μὴ τιμωμένων. διὸ δή σου δέομαι, βασιλεῦ, μὴ περὶ τῶν τοιούτων λόγους κινεῖν· χάριτι γὰρ Χριστοῦ καὶ Χριστιανός εἰμι καὶ τῶν ὀρθοδόξων. κατὰ σοῦ δὲ μήτε δράσαι μήτε βουλεύσασθαί τι κακὸν, καὶ νῦν μὲν ὄμνυμι τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ποιητὴν, ὡς οὔτε πρότερον εἰς λογισμοὺς ὑπήχθην τοιούτους, οὔτ' ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι κακὸς ὀφθῆναι βούλομαι περὶ σέ· σὸν δ' ἐπίταγμα ἐκπληρῶν, καὶ αὖθις ὀμοῦμαι. περὶ δὲ τοῦ καταδήλους τοὺς ἐμοὶ συνόντας καὶ ταὐτὰ βουλομένους σοὶ θέσθαι, ἐκεῖνο λέγω, ὡς αὐτὸς ἂν εἰδείης μᾶλλον ἐμοῦ, ὁποίους τινὰς εἰκὸς εἶναι τοὺς προσκειμένους ἐμοί. ὅπου γὰρ χρημάτων μέν μοι πόρος οὐδεὶς, οἷς ἂν ἴσως πείσαιμι τῶν ἀξίων μοι λόγου τινὰς προσέχειν, παῤῥησίας τε πρὸς σὲ μέτεστιν οὐδεμιᾶς, δι' ἧς εὐεργετῶν ἐμαυτῷ κτήσομαι φίλους τινὰς τῶν δεομένων ὠφελείας, συνορᾷν ἐστιν ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων τῷ βουλομένῳ παντὶ τοὺς ἠθροισμένους περὶ ἐμέ. εἰ δ' ἄρα καί τινες εἶεν εὐνοϊκῶς ἐμοὶ διακείμενοι, οὐκ ὀφείλοντες τὴν εὔνοιαν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον χάριτος κατάρχοντές εἰσιν· ὧν οὕτω βελτίστων περὶ ἐμὲ προῖκα γεγενημένων, οὐκ ἂν ἐλλίπῃ μοχθηρίας ὑπερβολὴν τὸ κάκιστον αὑτὸν καὶ προδότην ὀφθῆναι περὶ αὐτούς. καίτοι γε καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐδὲν ἄλλο μοι προσιόντες πείθειν ἐπιχειροῦσιν, ἢ σοὶ, 1.74 τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ πατρὶ, ὑπέχειν ἐμαυτὸν καὶ καταδουλοῦν καὶ μὴ παρέχειν αἰτίας, ὥστ' ἐμαυτῷ τὴν σὴν γαληνότητα ἐξοργίζειν. ἐμοῦ δ' ἰσχυριζομένου τοιοῦτον ἐμαυτῷ συνειδέναι μηδὲν καὶ πολλοὺς εἰς ἀπολογίαν συνείροντος λόγους, οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς εἰς πειθῶ νομίζεται ἀξιόχρεων, ὅπερ ἐστὶν εἰκὸς λογιζομένοις, ὡς οὐκ ἂν οὕτως ἡ φύσις πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἐκπολεμωθείη, μὴ τῶν αἰτίων ὄντων ὑπερφυῶν. οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ τῶν θηρίων τὰ χαλεπώτατα τοῖς