at once having changed their habit and way of life, and having been enlisted for God, a band of youths into a register of virtues. 4.37 And he did not stop even at these things, the emperor working out his own salvation, but he also entrusts himself to those dedicated to God and who had grown old in ascetic practice, as those who converse directly with God and are all-powerful; and to some he gave his soul to be molded, or remolded, while from others he exacted pledges of their intercession with the divine on his behalf and of the forgiveness of his sins; a thing which indeed sharpened the tongues of the more malevolent against him, and most of all the piety of some of the monks in this matter did this; for not all accepted the proposal, but most of them rejected it with displeasure, fearing lest the emperor, having done something forbidden and then being ashamed to speak of it, might force them against the divine word. But this, then, remained at the level of suspicion, while what was apparent was a certain zeal and a desire to receive from this a remission of his sins. 4.38 Many, then, I know well, who have recorded his life in chronicles, will perhaps relate something different from our own writing; for the suspicion of the contrary prevailed more than the truth in his times; but I, having been present at the events themselves, and having learned from those close to him as many things as have a more secret history, am a just judge, unless someone should blame me for the accounts of what I have both seen and heard; nevertheless, most of what I have said will perhaps open a door for slander to the malevolent, but concerning what I am about to say I do not know if anyone would dispute the truth. But all that he arranged and managed concerning both the civil strifes and the wars against the nations would be long to recount, but having selected one thing out of all, I mean the struggle against the barbarians, I will run over this in a summary epitome. 4.39 For the race <of the Bulgarians>, which had previously by many dangers and battles become part of the Roman dominion, when that Basil who shone among emperors had made their possessions his plunder, as it is said, and had taken away their power, and as it had become completely weakened, it leaned on the strength of the Romans, having endured such a defeat for some short time, they attempted to return to their former arrogance; and for a while it did not show its apostasy openly; but when someone of those ready to stir up their boldness appeared, it at once established for itself an opposing party. 4.40 And that which moved them to such desperation, was a certain prodigy, as it seemed to them, that sprung from their own race; a man whose lineage was not even worthy of mention, but varied in his counsel and most clever at outwitting his countrymen, Dolianos by name, I do not know whether he inherited such an appellation from his father or whether he took the name upon himself; this man, when he perceived that the whole nation had resolved to revolt from the Romans, but that for want of a leader to guide them to this end it stopped short at what had been resolved, first shows himself to be most worthy of esteem, and most sagacious in counsel and most suited for warlike action. And when from this he had won their opinions, and he only needed illustrious lineage for the choice of leadership (for it was a custom for the Bulgarians to take for the governance of the nation those of royal stock), since he knew this was both their ancestral custom and law, he traced his lineage back to that Samuel and his brother Aaron, who a short time before had ruled and reigned over the whole race, by himself alone, not of legitimate royal descent

ὁμοῦ τε τὸ σχῆμα καὶ τὸν τρόπον μεταβαλοῦσαι καὶ στρατευθεῖσαι Θεῷ νεολαία εἰς κατάλογον ἀρετῶν. 4.37 Καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστη, ἑαυτῷ τὴν σωτηρίαν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ συνεργαζόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἀνακειμένοις Θεῷ καὶ ἐν ἀσκήσει καταγηράσασιν, ὡς Θεοῦ ἀμέσως ὁμιληταῖς καὶ πάντα δυναμένοις, ἑαυτὸν ἐγχειρίζει· καὶ τοῖς μὲν πλάττειν ἐδίδου τὴν ἐκείνου ψυχὴν, ἢ μετα πλάττειν, τοὺς δὲ καὶ λόγους ἐχεγγύους εἰσπράττεται τῆς πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ὑπὲρ τούτου ἐντεύξεως καὶ τῶν ἐκείνῳ ἡμαρτημένων ἀφέσεως· ὃ δὴ καὶ τῶν κακοηθεστέρων τὴν γλῶτταν ἐπ' ἐκεῖνον ἠκόνησεν, μάλιστα δὲ τοῦτο πεποίηκεν ἡ τῶν ἐνίων μοναστῶν περὶ τοῦτο εὐλάβεια· οὐ γὰρ πάντες τὸν λόγον ἐδέξαντο, ἀλλ' οἱ πλείους τούτων ἀπεδυσπέτησαν, δεδοικότες μή τι τῶν ἀπηγορευμένων ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐργασά μενος, ἔπειτα τοῦτο ἐρυθριῶν ἐξειπεῖν, παρὰ τὸν θεῖον λόγον καταβιάζηται. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὖν μέχρι τοῦ ὑπονοεῖν ἔκειτο, τὸ δὲ φαινόμενον προθυμία τις ἦν καὶ ἔφεσις τοῦ ἐντεῦθεν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἡμαρτημένων λαβεῖν. 4.38 Πολλοὶ μὲν οὖν εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι τὸν ἐκείνου βίον εἰς χρονικὰς ἱστορίας ἀνενεγκόντες ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὴν ἡμε τέραν ἴσως γραφὴν ἀφηγήσονται· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ ἐναντίου ὑπό νοια τῆς ἀληθείας μᾶλλον ἐν τοῖς κατ' ἐκεῖνον χρόνοις ἐκράτει· ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ἐν αὐτοῖς παρεντυχὼν τοῖς πράγμασι, τὰ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τῶν πεπλησιακότων ἐκείνῳ μεμαθηκὼς ὁπόσα ἀπορρητοτέραν ἔχει τὴν ἱστορίαν, δίκαιός εἰμι δικαστὴς, εἰ μή μοί τις τῶν λόγων μέμφοιτο ὧν τε τεθέαμαι καὶ ὧν ἠκηκόειν· πλὴν ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πλείω ὧν εἰρήκειν θύραν ἴσως ἀνοίξει γλωσσαλγίας τοῖς κακοήθεσι, περὶ δὲ ὧν μέλλω ἐρεῖν οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τις τῆς ἀληθείας ἀμφισβητήσειεν. Ἀλλ' ὅσα μὲν ἐκεῖνος πρός τε τὰς ἐμφυλίους στάσεις καὶ τοὺς ἐθνικοὺς πολέμους ᾠκονόμησε καὶ διῄτησε μακρὸν ἂν εἴη καταλέγειν, ἓν δὲ τῶν πάντων ἐκλεξάμενος, φημὶ δὴ τὸν κατὰ τῶν βαρ βάρων ἀγῶνα, κεφαλαιώδει τοῦτο ἐπιδραμοῦμαι ἐπιτομῇ. 4.39 Τὸ γὰρ δὴ γένος <τῶν Βουλγάρων> πολλοῖς πρότερον κινδύνοις καὶ μάχαις μέρος τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐπικρα τείας γενόμενον, Βασιλείου ἐκείνου τοῦ ἐν αὐτοκράτορσι λάμψαντος λείαν, ὃ δὴ λέγεται, τὰ ἐκείνων ποιησαμένου, καὶ τὸ μὲν κράτος ἀφελομένου, ὥσπερ δὲ παντάπασιν ἠσθενηκὸς τῇ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἰσχύϊ προσερεῖσαν, βραχύν τινα χρόνον τὴν τοιαύτην ὑπομεμενηκὸς ἧτταν, ἐπὶ τὴν προτέραν ἀλα ζονείαν παλινδρομεῖν ἐπεχείρησαν· καὶ τέως μὲν οὐκ ἐν τῷ φανερῷ ἐξέφαινε τὴν ἀποστασίαν· ἐπεὶ δέ τις τῶν ἐξ ἑτοί μου παρακινούντων τὸ ἐκείνων θράσος προσγέγονεν, ἀθρόον εἰς ἀντίπαλον ἑαυτοῖς μοῖραν κατεστήσατο. 4.40 Τὸ δὲ κινῆσαν τούτους πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην ἀπόνοιαν, τέρας τι, ὡς ἐκείνοις ἐδόκει, τοῦ γένους αὐτῶν ἀποφύεται· ἀνὴρ τὸ μὲν γένος οὐδ' ὅσον ἀξιοῦσθαι μνήμης, ποικίλος δὲ τὴν γνώμην καὶ καταπανουργεύσασθαι τοὺς ὁμοφύλους δεινότατος, ∆ολιάνος τὸ ὄνομα, οὐκ οἶδα εἴτε πατρόθεν τῆς τοιαύτης προσηγορίας κληρονομήσας εἴθ' ἑαυτῷ τὴν κλῆσιν ἐπιφημίσας· οὗτος, ἐπειδὴ τὸ σύμπαν ἔθνος ἀποστῆναι Ῥωμαίων βεβουλευμένον διέγνωκεν, ἐρημίᾳ δὲ τοῦ ἄρξαντος καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο χειραγωγήσαντος μέχρι τῶν βεβουλευμένων ἱστάμενον, πρῶτα μὲν ἀξιολογώτατον ἑαυτὸν ἀποδείκνυσι καὶ πρὸς μὲν βουλὴν συνετώτατον, πρὸς δὲ πολεμικὴν πρᾶξιν ἐπιτηδειότατον. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν τὰς ἐκείνων εἰλήφει γνώμας, καὶ μόνον αὐτῷ γένους ἔδει λαμπροῦ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἡγεμονίας αἵρεσιν (ἐν ἔθει γὰρ Βουλγάροις τοὺς ἐκ βασιλείου γένους εἰς ἐπιστασίαν τοῦ ἔθνους παραλαμβάνειν), ἐπεὶ τοῦτο ᾔδει πάτριόν τε καὶ νόμιμον, εἰς τὸν Σαμουὴλ ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὸν τούτου ἀδελφὸν Ἀαρὼν, τοὺς πρὸ μικροῦ τοῦ παντὸς γένους ἄρξαντάς τε καὶ βασιλεύσαντας, ἑαυτὸν ἀναφέρει μόνον, οὐχὶ γνησίους γονὰς τῆς βασιλείου