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are contentious, but even this with a certain method and evil design, so that in none of his deeds might he appear incomplete, from which he could not procure some profit for himself! 62.3 For knowing well that shortly the redemption of the prisoners through exchange was about to take place, he contrived that not even these should obtain their freedom randomly and as it chanced. 62.4 And consider the villainy of the drama! 62.5 For with some men who came after the city was captured, those who had somehow escaped, and were buying their own captives, there followed with them a certain man named Symeon, steadfast in judgment and experienced in many affairs, who had been sent to the city by the emperor a little before for some necessary reason, about which it is not now necessary to speak. 62.6 To these men, therefore, who came frequently each day until the days of the departure, this terrible Leo announced his plan concerning the aforementioned, saying to them:

63.1 "Since I," he says, "was hostilely disposed against you from the beginning, I had decided to spare none of the captured; for what reward is there from God for granting death to enemy men in the hour of victory, a death which they themselves were rather devising against us?

63.2 But since a certain necessity urges, on account of which it is imperative for these men to be kept alive, if it is to reach a favorable conclusion, consider this among yourselves.

63.3 For I am already hastening, as the time calls me, to sail away to my own country.

63.4 Are you able, then, to take responsibility for these men, being two hundred in number, by a written guarantee, so that we may receive in exchange for them at the time of the exchange an equal number of Hagarenes, and to persuade the one who holds the scepters of the Romans to have no doubt about this, but to agree to what has been done by you?

63.5 Or are you afraid of the guarantee, as not lying in your power, it being uncertain whether it will be accepted by him or not, and do you count such an evil as nothing, by a small effort procuring a great destruction for your countrymen?

63.6 Tell me, then, which of these you incline to, so that we may at least cast our vote for one, either to spare them or to destroy them."

63.7 The aforesaid Symeon, therefore, as he was pre-eminent among the others, said to him, "I alone will stand surety for this guarantee, knowing clearly the universal humanity of our emperor, and that without any argument he will provide on their behalf, from the Hagarene prisoners he holds, as many as these happen to be;

63.8 whom I myself will convey to Tarsus, so that through me the terms of the guarantee may be fulfilled and you may have nothing to bring against me, when I have discharged the obligation.

63.9 Only let these men also obtain some salvation, so that they may gather and give burial to the bodies of the departed, which lying throughout the entire city draw even the very air to lamentation."

63.10 Hearing this, that malicious man, having persuaded the same Symeon to provide the terms of these agreements in writing and under oath, permitted all those remaining men from our side to be released.

64.1 Since matters concerning this were well for him and the villainous deed was secure, he devised another again, no less than this in the cunning of his mind.

64.2 For he ordered the entire city to be burned, so that this too might be for him no insignificant side-business;

64.3 for he knew that those who were buying the captives would not endure him doing this out of necessity, choosing rather that those men themselves be burned than to accept such a thing even by hearsay.

64.4 For before the barbarians had yet spread the flame through the middle of the city, but were still burning the houses near the sea, only then did those present agree among themselves to pay the prices for the city, and again an order was sent everywhere for the fire to cease its own work, as this contrivance too had proceeded to a profitable end for him.

64.5 For those men with the aforementioned Symeon, having nowhere else to pay the amount for this, promised the two talents of gold which the eunuch who died from the clubs had sent to the Strymon;

64.6 which

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φιλονεικοῦσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο μετά τινος μεθόδου καὶ μοχθηρᾶς ἐπινοίας, ἵν' ἐν μηδενὶ φανείη τῶν πεπραγμένων ἀσυντελής, ᾧ μὴ κέρδος ἑαυτῷ συμπορίσοιτο! 62.3 ἀκριβῶς γὰρ εἰδὼς ὡς μετὰ μικρὸν ἔσεσθαι μέλλει τῶν αἰχμαλώτων ἡ διὰ τῆς καταλλαγῆς ἀπολύτρωσις, ἐσοφίσατο μηδὲ τούτους εἰκῇ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐλευθερίας τυχεῖν. 62.4 καὶ σκόπει τὸ πανοῦργον τοῦ δράματος! 62.5 ἐρχομένοις γάρ τισι μετὰ τὸ τὴν πόλιν ἁλῶναι, τοῖς ὁπωσδηποτοῦν διαδρᾶσι, καὶ τοὺς ἰδίους αἰχμαλώτους ὠνουμένοις, συνείπετο μετ' αὐτῶν καί τις ἀνὴρ καλούμενος Συμεών, φρονήσει βεβηκὼς καὶ διὰ πείρας ὢν πολλῶν πραγμάτων, ὃς ἦν πρὸς τοῦ βασιλέως σταλεὶς δι' αἰτίαν τινὰ χρειώδη πρὸ μικροῦ τῇ πόλει, περὶ ἧς νῦν οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον εἰπεῖν. 62.6 τούτοις οὖν καθ' ἑκάστην μέχρι τῶν ἡμερῶν τοῦ ἀπόπλου συχνῶς ἐρχομένοις ἀνεκοίνωσε τὴν κατὰ τῶν εἰρημένων βουλὴν ὁ δεινὸς οὗτος Λέων, εἰπὼν πρὸς αὐτούς: 63.1 «Ὡς ἐγὼ ἀπεχθῶς» φησι «φερόμενος ἐξ ἀρχῆς καθ' ὑμῶν οὐκ ἔκρινον ζωῶσαι τῶν ἁλόντων οὐδένα· τίς γὰρ ἐκ θεοῦ μισθὸς πολεμίοις ἀνδράσιν ἐν καιρῷ νίκης τὸν θάνατον συγχωρεῖν, ὃν αὐτοὶ μᾶλλον ἐτέκταινον καθ' ἡμῶν; 63.2 ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ χρεία τις ἐπείγει, καθ' ἥν ἐστιν ἐπάναγκες ζωωθῆναι τούτους, εἴπερ αἰσίου τύχοι τοῦ πέρατος, περὶ τούτου καθ' ἑαυτοὺς ὑμεῖς σκέψασθε. 63.3 ἐπείγομαι γὰρ ἤδη τοῦ καιροῦ με καλοῦντος πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ἀποπλεῖν πατρίδα. 63.4 δύνασθε οὖν ἀντιποιηθῆναι τούτων ὄντων διακοσίων τὸν ἀριθμὸν δι' ἐγγράφου ἐγγύης, ὡς λαβεῖν ἡμᾶς ἀντ' αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῆς καταλλαγῆς ἰσαρίθμους Ἀγαρηνούς, πεῖσαί τε τὸν κρατοῦντα τῶν Ῥωμαίων τὰ σκῆπτρα μηδεμίαν περὶ τούτου ἀμφιβολίαν ἔχειν, ἀλλὰ συνθέσθαι τοῖς ὑφ' ὑμῶν πεπραγμένοις; 63.5 ἢ δεδίττεσθε μὲν τὴν ἐγγύην ὡς μὴ ἐν ὑμῖν κειμένην, ἄδηλον ὂν ἢ παραδεχθήσεται ὑπ' ἐκείνου ἢ μή, ἐν οὐδενὶ δὲ τίθετε τοσοῦτον κακόν, μικρᾶς προθυμίας μέγαν προξενοῦντες τοῖς ὁμοφύλοις τὸν ὄλεθρον; 63.6 εἴπατε οὖν ὁποτέρῳ τούτων στοιχεῖτε, ἵν' ἑνί γε τὴν ψῆφον δῶμεν, ἢ τοῦ ζωῶσαι ἢ τοῦ ἀπαλλάξαι αὐτούς.» 63.7 ὁ οὖν ῥηθεὶς Συμεών, ἅτε δὴ τῶν ἄλλων προέχων, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔφη «ἐγὼ ταύτην τὴν ἐγγύην μόνος κατεγγυῶμαι, σαφῶς εἰδὼς τὸ περὶ πάντα φιλάνθρωπον τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς αὐτοκράτορος, καὶ ὡς δίχα λόγου παντὸς παρέξεται τούτων ἕνεκεν, ἐξ ὧν ἔχει δεσμίων Ἀγαρηνῶν, τοσούτους ὅσοι καὶ οὗτοι τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες· 63.8 οὓς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τῇ Ταρσῷ διακομίσω, ἵν' ἐπ' ἐμοὶ πάλιν τὰ περὶ τῆς ἐγγύης λυθῇ καὶ μηδὲν ἔχῃς κατ' ἐμοῦ προφέρειν, ἐπὰν τὴν ὀφειλὴν ἐκπληρώσω. 63.9 μόνον τύχωσι κἂν οὗτοί τινος σωτηρίας, ἵνα συλλέξαντες ταφῇ δῶσι τῶν ἀποιχομένων τὰ σώματα, ἃ διὰ πάσης τῆς πόλεως κείμενα καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἀέρα πρὸς θρῆνον ἐφέλκεται.» 63.10 ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ κακοήθης ἐκεῖνος, ἔγγραφόν τε πείσας τὸν αὐτὸν Συμεὼν καὶ ἐνώμοτον παρασχεῖν τὸν περὶ τῶν συνθηκῶν τούτων λόγον, ἀπολυθῆναι πάντας ἐκείνους τοὺς ἐξ ἡμῶν περιττεύσαντας ἄνδρας ἐπέτρεψεν. 64.1 Ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὰ περὶ τούτου καλῶς εἶχεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ ἦν τὸ πανούργευμα, ἕτερον πάλιν οὐκ ἔλαττον τούτου τῇ δολιότητι τῶν φρενῶν ἐπενόησε. 64.2 πυρποληθῆναι γὰρ ἅπασαν τὴν πόλιν προσέταττεν, ἵν' ᾖ καὶ τοῦτο αὐτῷ οὐ τὸ τυχὸν παρεμπόρευμα· 64.3 ᾔδει γὰρ ὡς οἱ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ὠνούμενοι οὐδὲ τοῦτο πράττειν αὐτὸν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἀνάσχοιντο, αἱρούμενοι μᾶλλον αὐτοὺς ἐκείνους καταπρησθῆναι ἢ τοιοῦτόν τι κἂν ἀκοῇ παραδέξασθαι. 64.4 μήπω γὰρ τῶν βαρβάρων διὰ μέσου τῆς πόλεως τὴν φλόγα διασπειράντων, ἀλλ' ἔτι τὰς πλησιαζούσας τῇ θαλάσσῃ πυρπολούντων οἰκίας, μόνον ὅτι πρὸς τὸ καταβάλλειν τὰς ὑπὲρ τῆς πόλεως τιμὰς οἱ παρόντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐκύρωσαν, καὶ πάλιν πρόσταγμα πανταχοῦ διεπέμπετο παύεσθαι τῆς οἰκείας συνεργίας τὸ πῦρ, ὡς εἰς χρηστὸν αὐτῷ πέρας καὶ ταύτης προελθούσης τῆς ἐπινοίας. 64.5 οἱ γὰρ ἄνδρες ἐκεῖνοι σὺν τῷ ῥηθέντι Συμεών, μὴ ἔχοντες ἄλλοθέν ποθεν καταβάλλεσθαι τὴν περὶ τούτου ποσότητα, τὰ δύο ὑπέσχοντο τοῦ χρυσίου τάλαντα ἅπερ ἦν ὁ θανὼν ἐκ τῶν ῥοπάλων εὐνοῦχος πρὸς τὸν Στρυμόνα ἐξαποστείλας· 64.6 ἃ