Panegyric orations
To run against you from an opposing lot, he endured but the pentathlon was accomplished for you and the pancratium was completed with no one having c
The votes, i imagine the divine judgment and i refer to the incorruptible tribunal. when i test you in elections, i admire your intelligence and your
From afar it shines on those landing and extends a hand to those from the sea, escorting them to rome most painlessly. what in addition to these does
Using it and bending and curving it towards the drooping jaw, i remember the indian's eyebrow at this, how he held it more than a cubit above his head
And to a rival. let others, then, measure you against and compare you with whomever they wish, but i, though i seem to make a strange and dissimilar c
In prose, not in meters and poems or perhaps many are present, but they have no account of the matter, as if it were of no account to them. and time
The hegemony of his father, with kingdoms overthrown and not a few changes having occurred in both, those who, having exchanged their fortune for the
He took counsel of opposing nations, but by making everything purchasable with gold and royal splendors, from this he gained the goodwill of all, and
Opened, and flung wide the very gates of the soul, and associated with wicked and corrupt lives. for he did not at once know the whole line of the fam
To work deeds of injustice for he was angry with those who did wrong and would punish them. but when he began to be sick and his body was wasting awa
Not a magnificent spirit, not a musical and graceful speech, nothing else of the sort that knows how to beautify the soul and the nature of the body.
Drives a sphere, and the other the superterrestrial one, so that the one might wind its own zone in a single cycle, and the other in twelve cycles, an
Defining the virtues by its power, and practicing the higher geometry. for this, as proclus also says, has occupied the middle ground between the indi
The power of the kingdom came to him, besides these the life of david among the flocks, the pursuit, those many dangers into which he fell but was not
He locks up the monarchy into a tyranny, having exchanged one evil for another. justice is not quiet, it kindles the coals, it sends the arrow, the wi
I call it his girdle-and he draws away no small cavalry and infantry force from old rome, he adds to these also the best army of the east, and no smal
An angel wrought a more manifest victory. i have something more to say than those wonders there the cross was in types and images, a bronze serpent s
You, o king the more abundantly you pour out benefits upon us, the more you increase by being filled. from this, no one has been left out of such wea
With the eyes, then poured out and dissolved, but better and higher than all that is visible. but, o emperor—for i repeat the title to you and call it
You fill the western beacon, neither grudging us your rays nor altering the color of your disk, but the more time increases the distances, the more be
The rising of the sun, the land upon which it immediately rises, so that, if any of our people wished, having gone there he could, not with geometrica
I am an unskillful chronicler of your deeds and erring in my timing, and i do not have a nature that strikes out in both directions at once. for you a
To wish. for you both comprehend the present and conjecture the future and discover the unseen, discerning character from eyebrows and eyelids, so tha
To speak? -unseemly even in his appearance, made of tin or dipped in bile and altogether counterfeit gold, but since he was in the midst of dangers, t
With stones lying along each side, so that the conjoined may seem continuous and the well-fitted of one nature. behold for me the heights and beauties
But here is a distinct hand divided into five rosy branches. but this is a most unerring testimony of that godlike soul. but do you wish to see some t
Transcending substance and holding the principles of the forms folded together and least of all divided from the one. and you, being such, do you not
The fountains of good deeds flowed, as if from a sheer rock, having received the impetus for their flowing these proclaimed you by reputation even be
A guide, so also there an arbiter of the administrations, that i may suit you for both, both speaking your deeds and doing the words of your administr
P]ortions are deprived of praise, but no one of all men has been suited to all words of praise. but to you so much is granted [against] all in all thi
To bring to the highest point of keenness, or your soul which was not [shattered by] trials, but also most nobly endured through the magnitude of the
And they were torn away, and their manner altered their nature [....], and they have remained, and after the separation, being both nourished and fatt
But the love of art and the care concerning the divine sanctuaries, what demostheneses or the best of the writers could describe and praise? how beau
Having surpassed in his heroic deeds him and the kings up to you, but in his plans he is recorded as being less than his accomplishments, winning in [
Less, you have given the first place to reason over passion, and you have established the one like some foundation upon the acropolis, but the other y
Having considered what is seen, but when i also behold the tomb of the queen, and i behold it often whenever i wish to console some hardship of fortun
To comprehend in a speech. for to whom could the unattainable be attainable, even if he were rich in the homeric power for speeches, or the herodotan
Admiring and in return is eager to make an image and someone already having constructed a stele for you inscribed the gentle one. therefore solomon
Much praise and measured against all of time. how then could i summarize the whole in a few words? i will speak, therefore, a little of your virtues,
Everyone rejoices and exults with the one who has taken up your encomiums and because i did not weave the words of praise sooner, he is rather vexed
Gracefulness, the maturity of your thought, the symmetry of your greatness, the quick-wittedness, the stability of your mind, the unmarried life, the
At once for us the lord and most skilled in command and pleasing to all, o most excellent foresight, o wise consideration, o most noble counsel, o div
Of virtues? you, beyond any kings who ever were, honored justice and preferred philanthropy, and having attained the height of prudence, you appeared
Accomplishments? o the arrows from heaven against the barbarians, o the unseen bowshots, o the angelic powers in the air, o the divine armies against
The greatest part of character. for as many as have become of a civic disposition, if they have descended to this willingly, they seemed both prudent
Of civil administration and of divine hearing. if therefore, being engaged in one, he also holds to the other, let this for now be a secret to many. b
Of wise men going to ammon's shrine or being within the delphic tripod suddenly transferred their apparent wisdom to the more divine and greater, how
We have taken starting points, and yet more absurd, if we render praises to the good and noble men who have died, for what they have said concerning w
And not many months after the sowing, but immediately reaping the harvest and so that i might say what is from the gospel, the two were running toget
If we should set about to build him up, this marvelous man, both in nature and in diligence, has received much contribution toward his eloquence from
For having embraced one of these, they might neglect the rest, or putting ears before mind, they have an unintelligible tongue, or having drawn up spr
Pleases the petty and the overly artful. therefore, of these enumerated wise men, the one now honored in this discourse wishes to imitate gregory, and
I knew not only what the greeks knew, nor what the chaldeans or egyptians knew, but i had also condemned them, though not all of them, nor has my refu
With magnanimity, he who was both namesake and like-minded with the great constantine, and who alone nobly contended against all, and taking his name-
Regulates the state of the church, no less than moses who constructed the tabernacle below according to the pattern shown to him for whether melodies
Concerning which things, before his high-priesthood, at a time when he did not even have many resources of money, he constructed brilliantly and accom
And to impart to others. and perhaps he did not endure the waves of the sea, but in his toils on land he might in some way be compared to paul. and co
One of two things happening, either god descending into the mind, or the mind ascending to god. but what is the place of god's rest, or by which of al
Of a voice, nor were you instructed by any of the higher powers, to lay aside the symbols of the priesthood, and to transfer yourself to another life,
Nothing unpleasant would happen to those handling these things but for you, who happen to be a philosopher, what harm will come from these affairs? j
Of words but you, o king, will both speak publicly among the armies and bring an impulse with your speech and will rouse them together for the deed.
May you be crowned on the head with glorious trophies. may you be adorned with deeds of valor against the barbarians, and be escorted by many victorie
May you rend the sea and stop the river and vanquish amalek. may a cloud, giving shade over your head, take away your burning heat, and a pillar of li
transcending substance and holding the principles of the forms folded together and least of all divided from the one. And you, being such, do you not guide every authority and every dominion, whether moving rightly or wandering, by your will, not being constrained by the divine simplicity, not contemplating all things in an indivisible instant of time, not ethereal in nature, not intellectual in mind, and holding all things and being yourself the most beautiful of all things? And who will gainsay it, unless he is driven in his mind? But what do you say, you on either side of the stadium, you examiners and judges of my words? Have we offered anything worthy of this contest of words? Or does the athlete sit somewhere above, while we seem to be simply shadow-boxing? For I see some of you indicating this by your postures and muttering under your breath, that I have not even come close to the one against whom I have contended. But I shall shout this out with a clear voice: You alone, O Emperor, have overcome my power in words and have been victorious. Celebrate, therefore, the victory rites, and lead a splendid triumph for your trophies, and having been crowned, offer sacrifices for the Monomacheia. 5 An Oration to the Emperor Lord Constantine Monomachos Others, most divine Emperor, while in appearance offering you eulogies with art, do this one artless thing alone: they present in their speech the virtues that birth and fortune and deed have contributed to you; for they give the suspicion that not the magnitude of each, but the multitude of many virtues constitutes the augmentation of the eulogy. But I, though I fall short of them in other respects and willingly transgress the rules of the art, because I do not even stand before you as a public orator, in this I will appear more artful than they, because having conceded to them your lineage and fortune and your countless advantages, I myself, by touching upon a few things, will show from them your power over all things more brilliantly. And you, who profess the rhetorical art, respecting your own rules, attach the glory of your ancestors to your glorious fatherland; and to this add, if you wish, the grandeur of your fortune and the novelties at your birth, both the strength of your nature and the sharpness of your mind, and the beauty of your body, its comeliness and fine stature, its cheerfulness and grace, and the other things both before your reign. I attach to it all that has been innovated in it and all that has been miraculously wrought after it, for truly all things resemble a wonder. And you, indeed, divide these things in your speech and portion them out and give to each a fitting praise. But I, having set these things aside as being both greater than speech and incommensurate with the occasion. will proceed in my speech to those things, indeed, which have been labored upon and set right by you after your accession to power. For immediately you received the decree from above from God and at once, like some shining sun, as from some center and distance, beginning from the palaces, with a mighty course you sent forth the rays of your benefactions to the ends of the earth, not shining here but not sending forth light there, but embracing all land and sea within the circle of your virtues; for it was necessary for the darkness then prevailing to be changed at some point and for our affairs to return to clear skies; from which also it was changed, for let anyone who wishes behold for me from that point on provision for the poor, protection of the needy, support of orphans, guidance, care for the unfortunate, solutions for calamities, deliverances from difficulties, cessations of injustices, cancellations of debts, excesses of benefactions, changes of hardships, and somewhere someone else, driven far from his fatherland on account of accusations, was brought back as a sweet sight to his dearest ones; possessions were saved, and other properties, which he had never expected to see even in a dream. Thus for you from all sides immediately
ὑπερπίπτων οὐσίαν καὶ τῶν εἰδῶν ἔχων συνεπτυγμένους τοὺς λόγους καὶ παρ' ἓν ἥκιστα διαιρούμενος. σὺ δὲ ὁ τοιοῦτος οὐ πᾶσαν
μὲν ἀρχήν, πᾶσαν δὲ ἡγεμονίαν εὐθυτάτως φερομένην ἢ πλανωμένην τῷ σῷ περιάγων θελήματι, οὐκ ἐχόμενος παρὰ τῆς θείας ἁπλότητος,
οὐκ ἐν ἀμερεῖ χρόνου ῥοπῇ πάντα περινοούμενος, οὐ τὴν φύσιν αἰθέριος, οὐ νοερὸς τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ πάντα ἔχων καὶ αὐτὸς ὢν τῶν
πάντων τὸ κάλλιστον; καὶ τίς ἀντερεῖ, εἰ μὴ τὴν γνώμην ἐλαύνεται; Ὑμεῖς δὲ τί φατε οἱ παρ' ἑκάτερα τοῦ σταδίου, οἱ τῶν ἐμῶν
λόγων δοκιμασταὶ καὶ κριταί; ἆρά γε δεδώκαμέν τι τῷ ἀγῶνι λόγου ἐπάξιον; ἢ ὁ μὲν ἀθλητὴς ἄνω ποι κάθηται, ἡμεῖς δὲ δοκοῦμεν
σκιαμαχεῖν ἀτεχνῶς; ὁρῶ γὰρ ἐνίους ὑμῶν τοῦτο δεικνύντας τοῖς σχήμασι καὶ ὑπ' ὀδόντα φωνοῦντας, ὅτι μηδὲ πεπλησίακα πρὸς ὃν
ἠγώνισμαι. ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτο λαμπρῶς βοήσομαι τῇ φωνῇ· ἐκράτησας σὺ μόνος, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τῆς ἐμῆς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις δυνάμεως καὶ νενίκηκας.
ἑόρταζε τοίνυν τὰ ἐπινίκια καὶ λαμπρὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς τροπαίοις κάταγε θρίαμβον καὶ στεφανωσάμενος θῦε τὰ Μονομάχεια. 5 Λόγος πρὸς
τὸν βασιλέα κῦριν Κωνσταντῖνον Μονομάχον Οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι, θειότατε βασιλεῦ, τεχνικῶς σοι τῷ δοκεῖν προσάγοντες τὰ ἐγκώμια ἄτεχνόν
τι τοῦτο μόνον ποιοῦσι, τὰς ἀρετάς σοι τῷ λόγῳ ὑποβαλλόμενοι, ὅσας σοι καὶ γένος καὶ τύχη καὶ πρᾶξις συνηρανίσαντο· διδόασι
γὰρ ὑποψίαν, ὡς οὐχὶ τὸ ἑκάστου μέγεθος, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν πλῆθος τὴν τοῦ ἐγκωμίου τίθησιν αὔξησιν. ἐγὼ δὲ τἆλλα μὲν ἐκείνων
ὑστερῶ καὶ τοὺς τῆς τέχνης ἑκὼν παραβαίνω κανόνας, ὅτι σοι μηδὲ ῥήτωρ δημηγόρος παρίσταμαι, τούτῳ δὲ τεχνικώτερος ἐκείνων
φανοῦμαι, ὅτι καὶ γένους καὶ τύχης καὶ τῶν ἀπείρων σου πλεονεκτημάτων ἐκείνοις παραχωρήσας αὐτὸς ὀλίγων ἁψάμενος ἐντεῦθέν
σοι τὸ κατὰ πάντων κράτος δείξω λαμπρότερον. καὶ σὺ μὲν ὁ τὴν ῥητορικὴν τέχνην ἐπαγγελόμενος τοὺς σοὺς κανόνας σεβόμενος,
τῇ λαμπρῇ πατρίδι τὴν τῶν προγόνων ἐπισύναπτ[ε εὔ]κλειαν· καὶ ταύτῃ τὴν ὄγκον τῆς τύχης καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γενέσει καινά, τό τε
κράτος τῆς φύσεως καὶ τοῦ νοὸς τὴν ὀξύτητα πρόσθες, εἰ βούλει, καὶ τὴν ὥραν τοῦ σώματος, τὸ εὐειδές τε καὶ εὔμηκες, τὸ ἱλαρόν
τε καὶ χάριεν, τά τε ἄλλα καὶ τὰ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας. αὐτῇ προσφύω ὅσα τε κεκαινοτόμηται ἐν αὐτῇ καὶ ὅσα μετὰ ταύτην τεθαυματούργηται,
καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς θαύματι ἐοίκασιν ἅπαντα. καὶ σὺ μὲν ταῦτα διαίρει τῷ λόγῳ καὶ μέριζε καὶ ἑκάστῳ κατάλληλον δίδου τὸν ἔπαινον.
ἐγὼ δὲ ταῦτα παραιτησάμενος ὡς καὶ λόγου μείζονα καὶ ἀσύμμετρα τῷ καιρῷ. πρὸς ἐκεῖνα δὴ χωρήσω τῷ λόγῳ, ὅσα δή σοι μετὰ τὸ
κράτος πεπόνηται καὶ κατώρθωται. αὐτίκα γὰρ τὴν ἄνωθεν ψῆφον ἐδέξω παρὰ θεοῦ καὶ εὐθὺς ὡς οἷά τις ἥλιος φαεινὸς ὡς ἀπό τινος
κέντρου καὶ διαστήματος, τῶν ἀνακτόρων ἀρξάμενος πολλῷ τῷ δρόμῳ τὰς τῶν εὐεργετημάτων ἀκτῖνας ἐπαφῆκας τοῖς πέρασι, οὐκ ἐνταῦθα
μὲν αὐγαζούσας, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ μὴ προπεμπούσας τὸ φῶς, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν γῆν τε καὶ θάλασσαν εἴσω τοῦ κύκλου τῶν σῶν ἀρετῶν περιλαμβανούσας·
ἔδει γάρ ποτε τὴν τότε κατέχουσαν μεταβληθῆναι σκοτόμαιναν καὶ πρὸς αἰθρίαν ἐπανελθεῖν τὰ ἡμέτερα· ὅθεν καὶ μετεβέβλητο, ἄθρει
γάρ μοι πᾶς ὁ βουλόμενος πενήτων ἐντεῦθεν προμήθειαν, προστασίας τῶν δεομένων, ὀρφανῶν ἀντιλήψεις, κυβερνήσεις, κηδεμονίας
ἀτυχούντων, συμφορῶν λύσεις, ἀπαλλαγὰς δυσχερῶν, ἀδικημάτων ἀποκοπάς, χρεῶν ἀποβολάς, εὐεργετημάτων ὑπερβολάς, μεταβολὰς δυσχερῶν
καὶ πού τις ἄλλος ἐπ' ἐγκλήμασι καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἀπεληλαμένος μακρὰν ἡδὺ θέαμα τοῖς φιλτάτοις ἀνεκομίζετο· κτήματα ἀπεσῴζοντο,
χρήματα τἆλλα, ἃ μηδ' ὄναρ ἰδεῖν ποτε προσεδόκησεν. Οὕτω σοι πάντοθεν αὐτίκα
