John Cantacuzenus, Histories

of sinister omens; and so that a truce might be made, and the news become clear to the young emperor, he himself also sent back a message of this sort: «Of your goodwill and forethought for me, O Emperor, I have many other proofs, but especially that from, so to speak, my earliest years I was chosen for offices and entrusted with the administrations of cities and armies, prompted by your own initiative; and this present act now persuades me to acknowledge many thanks to your majesty, O Emperor. I ask, then, that you add this favor as well, to allow the present day for consideration, since I am ordered to give my defense on the next.» To the elder of the emperors, then, he answered thus; and with all speed, he went to the younger one and announced the emperor’s command, with Synadenos the protostrator also being present. And it seemed to them that they must deliberate again from the beginning concerning the whole affair; for the danger was not directed at one man, but at all. And the emperor began the council, speaking thus: «We ourselves stand as witnesses for ourselves, with God also as a conscious party to what we have planned, that neither overcome by grief, nor yielding to inopportune and reckless courage, have we done or planned 1.78 anything improper. But we have shown such magnanimity and endurance, so as to furnish no cause whatever ourselves for what the emperor has planned against us, that if God from above had not held out his hand, we would have come not very far from the gates of death. Up to this point, therefore, I myself both praised and advised you to endure the terrible things: for while our affairs were still in uncertainty, the emperor thought the dispute was with me alone, and he handled matters more gently, thinking it easy to do what he had purposed, whenever he wished to bring it to a conclusion; but now that it has become clear that there are some who support me, he will no longer hold to the same reasoning, but first, having separated you from me under the pretext of offices, and having deprived us of mutual assistance, he will inflict whatever punishment he wishes on all of us, being most weak on account of our isolation. Now therefore, he has ordered you to go to the Peloponnese; and on the next day he will entrust to the protostrator another supposed office at the extremities of the Roman land and will compel him to depart with speed; and having gotten you, the most distinguished, out of the way, he will then indeed also inquire about others, if there are any. And having first arranged everything as would be well for him, he will later proceed against me too, as toward an easy destruction. But perhaps someone will say that, if indeed, according to your argument, wishing to deprive you of assistance from these men, he will entrust to them offices in the extremities of Roman rule, it would surely have been easier and much more profitable 1.79 to have arrested and confined them under guard and thus been rid of the worry about them; for what will there be to prevent the emperor from accomplishing these things? -and he will speak a sensible argument. Indeed there is nothing to prevent it; but it has by no means escaped the emperor, being intelligent and experienced in many affairs, that it is unprofitable to go to war openly before finding out precisely how many and what sort of men have chosen to associate with me. For there is a fear that, if there are many and very powerful men, he might imprison one or even two, but with the rest then banding together out of necessity, matters might not proceed according to his mind. And it is likely that he thinks there are many powerful men who have chosen our side; for the fact that in the trial the day before yesterday, I alone, being threatened, did not collapse nor was I seized by any cowardice, but with unswerving spirit and character contradicted with much assurance, and the fact that Meliteniotes reported that some of the powerful men were standing outside, eager to join in doing everything on my behalf, shook the imperial calculations not a little. Therefore at that time he immediately did what seemed to offer safety, rising from his throne. But now it seemed good to him to send you, who have become conspicuous, away under the pretext of a benefaction, and after this again, of them

ἀριστερῶν οἰωνῶν· ὅπως δ' ἀνακωχὴ γένηται, καὶ βασιλεῖ τῷ νέῳ τὰ τῆς ἀγγελίας δῆλα γενέσθαι, ἀντεμήνυσε καὶ αὐτὸς τοιαῦτα· «τῆς εἰς ἐμὲ εὐμενείας καὶ προμηθείας, ὦ βασιλεῦ, πολλὰς μὲν καὶ ἄλλας ἔχω τὰς ἀποδείξεις, μάλιστα δὲ τὸ ἐξ ἡλικίας, ὡς εἰπεῖν, πρώτης εἰς ἀρχὰς ἐκλέγεσθαι καὶ διοικήσεις ἐπιτρέπειν πόλεών τε καὶ στρατιῶν, οἴκοθεν ὡρμημένον· καὶ τὸ νῦν δὲ τοῦτο πολλὰς τῷ σῷ κράτει πείθει χάριτας ὁμολογεῖν, βασιλεῦ. δέομαι δὴ καὶ ταύτην ἐπιθεῖναι τὴν χάριν, τὴν παροῦσαν ἐπιτρέψαι πρὸς διάσκεψιν ἡμέραν, ὡς ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν ἐπιτέταγμαι τὴν ἀπολογίαν ἀποδώσοντι.» πρὸς μὲν δὴ τὸν πρεσβύτερον τῶν βασιλέων ἀπεκρίνατο τοιαῦτα· ᾗ δὲ τάχους, ἀπελθὼν πρὸς τὸν νέον, τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπίταγμα ἀναγγέλλει, καὶ Συναδηνοῦ παρόντος τοῦ πρωτοστράτορος. τοῖς δ' ἐδόκει βουλευτέα πάλιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἶναι περὶ τῶν ὅλων πραγμάτων· οὐδὲ γὰρ πρὸς ἕνα φέρειν τὸν κίνδυνον, πρὸς πάντας δέ. ἦρχε δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς βουλῆς οὕτω διαλεχθείς· «αὐτοὶ μάρτυρες ἡμεῖς καθεστήκαμεν ἑαυτοῖς, ἔχοντες καὶ θεὸν, ἐφ' οἷς βεβουλεύμεθα, συνειδότα, ὡς οὔθ' ἡττηθέντες λύπῃ, οὔτ' εἴξαντες ἀκαίρῳ θράσει καὶ παραβόλῳ, οὔτ' ἐπράξαμεν οὔτ' ἐβου 1.78 λευσάμεθά τι τῶν μὴ δεόντων. ἀλλὰ τοσαύτην ἐνεδειξάμεθα μεγαλοψυχίαν καὶ καρτερίαν πρὸς τὸ μηδ' ἡντινοῦν αἰτίαν ἐφ' οἷς ὁ βασιλεὺς βεβούληται καθ' ἡμῶν αὐτοὶ παρασχεῖν, ὥστ' εἰ μὴ θεὸς ἄνωθεν ὑπερέσχε χεῖρα, οὐδὲ πάνυ πόῤῥω τῶν θανάτου κατηντήκαμεν πυλῶν. ἄχρι μὲν οὖν δεῦρο τὸ τοῖς δεινοῖς ἐγκαρτερεῖν αὐτός τε ἐπῄνουν καὶ συνεβούλευον ὑμῖν: ἔτι γὰρ ὄντων ἐν ἀδήλῳ τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς, πρὸς ἐμὲ μόνον ᾤετο τὴν διαφορὰν ἔχειν ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ μαλακώτερον ἥπτετο τῶν πραγμάτων, εὐχερῶς νομίζων, ὅταν ἐθελήσῃ πρὸς πέρας ἀγαγεῖν ἃ προῄρητο, δρᾷν· νυνὶ δὲ φανεροῦ γεγενημένου τοῦ τινας εἶναι τοὺς συναιρομένους ἐμοὶ, οὐκέτι τῶν ὁμοίων ἕξεται λογισμῶν, ἀλλὰ πρότερον ὑμᾶς ἐν ἀρχῶν προσχήματι διαστήσας ἐμοῦ, καὶ τῆς παρ' ἀλλήλων ἡμᾶς ἐπικουρίας ἀποστερήσας, πᾶσι διὰ τὴν μόνωσιν οὖσιν ἀσθενεστάτοις, ἣν ἂν βούλοιτο, δίκην ἐπιθήσει. νῦν μὲν οὖν σοὶ τὴν πρὸς Πελοπόννησον ἐπέταξεν ἀπιέναι· εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν δὲ πρωτοστράτορι ἑτέραν δῆθεν ἀρχήν τινα πρὸς ταῖς ἐσχατιαῖς τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς ἐγχειρίσει καὶ καταναγκάσει πρὸς τάχος γε ἀπιέναι· ὑμᾶς δ' ἐκποδὼν ποιήσας τοὺς περιφανεστέρους, τότ' ἤδη καὶ περὶ ἑτέρων εἴπέρ εἰσιν ἀνερευνήσει. πάντα δ' ὡς ἂν αὐτῷ καλῶς ἔχοι πρότερον διαθέμενος, ὡς ἤδη πρὸς καταστροφὴν εὐεπιχείρητον ὕστερον χωρήσει καὶ πρὸς ἐμέ. ἀλλ' ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις, ὡς, εἴγε κατὰ λόγον τὸν σὸν σὲ τῆς ἀπὸ τούτων ἐπικουρίας ἀποστερῆσαι βουλόμενος ἀρχὰς αὐτοῖς ἐγχειρίσει τὰς ἐν ἐσχατιαῖς τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς, ῥᾷον ἦν δήπου καὶ λυσιτελέστε 1.79 ρον πολὺ συλλαβόντα καὶ κατακλείσαντα φρουρᾷ τῆς ἀπὸ τούτων ἀπηλλάχθαι φροντίδος· τί γὰρ ἔσται τὸ κωλῦσον τοῦ ταῦτα καταπράξασθαι τὸν βασιλέα; -καὶ νοῦν ἔχοντα λόγον ἐρεῖ, τὸ κωλῦσον μὲν οὖν οὐδέν· συνετὸν δὲ ὄντα καὶ πολλῶν πραγμάτων ἔμπειρον τὸν βασιλέα τοῦτο λέληθεν οὐδαμῶς ὡς ἀλυσιτελὲς, πρὶν ἀκριβῶς ἐκμαθεῖν ὁπόσοι τινὲς καὶ οἷοι τὴν πρὸς ἐμὲ προείλοντο κοινωνίαν, ὁμόσε πρὸς τὸ πολεμεῖν. δέος γὰρ μὴ πολλῶν τινων καὶ δυνατωτάτων ὄντων ἕνα μὲν ἢ καὶ δύο καθείρξῃ, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ἤδη πρὸς ἀνάγκην συνισταμένων, οὐ κατὰ νοῦν χωρήσῃ τὰ πράγματα αὐτῷ. εἰκὸς δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ πολλούς τινας καὶ δυνατοὺς τοὺς τὰ ἡμέτερα εἶναι οἴεσθαι προῃρημένους· τὸ γὰρ ἐν τῇ δίκῃ πρὸ τῆς χθὲς ἐμὲ μόνον ἐναπειλημμένον μὴ καταπεσεῖν μηδὲ δειλίᾳ συσχεθῆναί τινι, ἀλλ' ἀτρέπτῳ καὶ φρονήματι καὶ ἤθει μετὰ ἀσφαλείας ἀντιλέγειν πολλῆς, τὸ καὶ τὸν Μελιτηνιώτην ἔξωθεν ἑστάναι τινὰς τῶν δυνατῶν ἀπαγγεῖλαι ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πάντα πράττειν προσγενόμενον προθυμουμένους, οὐκ ἐπὶ μικρὸν κατέσεισε τοὺς λογισμοὺς τοὺς βασιλικούς. διὸ τότε μὲν εὐθὺς ὅπερ ἀσφάλειαν ἐδόκει παρέχειν ἔπραττε, τῶν θρόνων ἐξαναστάς. νυνὶ δὲ καλῶς ἔχειν ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ τοὺς καταδήλους γενομένους ὑμᾶς ἐν εὐεργεσίας προσχήματι ἀποστῆσαι, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο πάλιν, αὐτῶν