35

introducing the difference of the matters and provoking them to sign; but when they did not persuade them, making frequent assaults, casting them into suspicion of things they had never known, they departed from the common synod and judged them as enemies. But they, considering association with them, who were seeking and saying such things, to be a desolation, and the desolation resulting from them a kind of safety, went about as wanderers, deprived of honor and deprived of all income, and choosing the futility of a life 113 away from his own rank. And when they were again summoned and interrogated yet again, and they brought against them as a very great accusation the reproach that they seemed to adhere to their former positions and to have their mind on them, some were not even then willing to submit, preferring an unsubstantiated suspicion to an obvious terror, not knowing precisely what they would be signing. For in the tome, among other things, there was also the exegesis of the saying of the divine Damascene, which went thus: "And if among the most theological Damascene the term ‘projector through the Word’ is found, the word does not wish to signify purely the procession of the Spirit into being, but the eternal manifestation." But what this might mean, they said they did not know, and they sought to learn the difference between the procession into being and the eternal manifestation, so that they might reject one of the expressions and embrace the other; for the expressions seemed to them to be equivalent in meaning, both the procession into being and the eternal manifestation. And those who said these things resisted to the end; 114 but some, having sought and received a written assurance from them—that the theological expression was indeed sound, and that they themselves, if not before men, would at least be accountable before God who judges the word, not only the patriarch but also the bishops appointed to the rank of teachers—signed.

2. A short time after, the tome, having come into the hands of Bekkos, irritated him to scratch back at the one who was scratching. And indeed he found fault with many other things in the tome, but he tried to show that this exegesis in particular was unsound in its meaning, as if the term 'projector' were not supposedly homonymous, being taken sometimes as a cause and at other times as a giver and provider and simply a bestower, or if 'projector' were to be kept simple, both expressions would necessarily be indicative of one meaning, both the procession into being and the eternal manifestation, and thus what was supposedly different would converge to the same thing for him. Having written this and sent it to some of his own people, he submitted the judgment concerning these matters to those who wished to examine them correctly. However, it had certainly not escaped the notice of the others 115 that he was writing such things, but for the time being they thought these things were only anger and a desire to cause pain in return, and they disregarded and neglected his writing. But this crept widely through the City of Constantine, with each of the listeners keeping it to himself, so that they might not seem to find fault on their own accord, but saying that it was necessary to pay attention as much as possible, lest the argument have some plausibility and they themselves be in danger between the two contending parties. And the refutation of Bekkos made sense to many, and they scrutinized the exegesis precisely, especially because not even those who had signed did so for security's sake, but relying on the letter from the others.

(3) And something also happened concerning the defrocked chartophylax (for Moschampar had previously withdrawn both from his office and from the patriarch, having become fainthearted over certain things, and for this reason he had the penteklesiotes following him) this strengthened his ill-will towards the patriarch, and being unable to contend with him, they looked to the tome, 116 the appearance of doctrinal security, taking care not to incur an empty dispute from many. And indeed, seeing that the criticism of the tome by Bekkos was still convulsing, they too latched on to what was written and sharpened their sword. At any rate, incited by greater impulses and the

35

γινόμενοι τὴν διαφορὰν ἀντεπάγοντες τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὑπογραφὴν ἐρεθίζοντες· ὡς δ' οὐκ ἔπειθον συχνὰς προσβολὰς ποιούμενοι, εἰς ὑποψίαν ἐμβάλλοντες ὧν οὐκ ᾔδεισάν ποτ' ἐκεῖνοι, τοῦ κοινοῦ συνεδρίου ἀπήλων καὶ ὡς ἐχθροὺς ἔκρι νον. οἱ δὲ τὴν μετ' ἐκείνων ὁμιλίαν, τοιαῦτα ζητούντων τε καὶ λεγόντων, ἐρημίαν οἰόμενοι, τὴν δ' ἐρημίαν τὴν ἀπ' ἐκείνων οἷον ἀσφάλειαν, περιήρχοντο πλανῆτες, ἐστερημένοι μὲν τιμῆς ἐστερημένοι δὲ προσόδου πάσης, καὶ τὸ εἰκαῖον τῆς διατριβῆς 113 τῆς καθ' αὐτοῦ τάξεως ἀνθαιρούμενοι. ὡς δὲ καὶ αὖθις προσ εκαλοῦντο καὶ ἀνεκρίνοντο καὶ πάλιν αὖθις, καί γε μῶμον σφίσι καὶ τὸ τοῖς προτέροις προσκεῖσθαι δοκεῖν κἀκεῖ τὸν νοῦν ἔχειν ἐπῆγον ὡς ἔγκλημα μέγιστον, οἱ μὲν οὐδ' οὕτως ἤθελον ὑποκλί νεσθαι, ὑπόνοιαν ἀνυπόστατον προτιμῶντες προφανοῦς ὀρρω δίας, μὴ ἀκριβῶς εἰδότες ὅ τι καὶ ὑπογράψοιεν. ἦν γὰρ ἐν τῷ τόμῳ πρὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις καὶ ἡ τοῦ ῥητοῦ τοῦ θείου ∆αμασκηνοῦ ἐξήγησις οὕτως ἔχουσα "εἰ δὲ καὶ παρὰ τῷ θεολογικωτάτῳ ∆α μασκηνῷ τὸ διὰ λόγου εὕρηται προβολεύς, οὐ τὴν εἰς τὸ εἶναι καθαρῶς τοῦ πνεύματος πρόοδον ἡ λέξις δηλοῦν βούλεται, ἀλλὰ τὴν εἰς ἀΐδιον ἔκφανσιν." τοῦτο δ' ὅ τι σημαίνοι, οὐκ ἔχειν εἰδέναι ἔφασκον, καὶ τὴν διαφορὰν ἐζήτουν μαθεῖν τῆς τ' εἰς τὸ εἶναι προόδου καὶ ἀϊδίου ἐκφάνσεως, ἵνα τὴν μὲν τῶν λέξεων ἀποβάλλωνται τὴν δ' ἐνστερνίσωνται· εἶναι γὰρ αὐτοῖς δοκούσας τὰς λέξεις ταυτοδυνάμους, τήν τε εἰς τὸ εἶναι πρόοδον καὶ τὴν εἰς ἀΐδιον ἔκφανσιν. καὶ οἱ μὲν ταῦτα λέγοντες εἰς τέλος ἀνθί 114 σταντο· ἔνιοι δ' ἀσφάλειαν παρ' ἐκείνων ζητήσαντες ἔγγραφον, ἦ μὴν ἀσφαλῶς ἔχειν τῆς θεολογίας τὴν λέξιν, καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐκεί νους, εἰ μὴ παρ' ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλά γε παρὰ θεῷ κρίνοντι τὸν λόγον ὑπέχειν, οὐ πατριάρχην μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀρχιερεῖς τοὺς εἰς διδασκάλων τεταγμένους ἀξίαν, ταῦτα ζητήσαντες καὶ λαβόντες ὑπέγραφον.

2. Ὀλίγον τὸ μεταξύ, καὶ εἰς χεῖρας γεγονὼς ὁ τόμος τῷ Βέκκῳ παρέκνιζεν ἀντιξύειν τὸν ξύοντα. καὶ δὴ κἀν πολλοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις τοῦ τόμου ἐπελαμβάνετο, ταύτην δὲ μάλιστα τὴν ἐξήγη σιν μὴ καλῶς ἔχουσαν τῆς ἐννοίας ἐπειρᾶτο δεικνύειν, ὡς ἢ μὴ ὁμωνυμιζομένου δῆθεν τοῦ προβολέως καὶ ποτὲ μὲν εἰς αἴτιον ἐκλαμβανομένου ποτὲ δὲ εἰς δότην καὶ χορηγόν τε καὶ ἁπλῶς παροχέα, ἢ εἰ μέλλοι ἁπλοῦν τὸ προβολεὺς συντηρεῖσθαι, μιᾶς ἐννοίας δηλωτικὰς εἶναι ἀνάγκῃ καὶ ἀμφοτέρας τὰς λέξεις, τήν τε εἰς τὸ εἶναι πρόοδον καὶ τὴν εἰς ἀΐδιον ἔκφανσιν, καὶ οὕτως εἰς ταὐτὸν συντρέχειν ἐκείνῳ τὸν ὡς δῆθεν διαφερόμενον. τοῦτο γράψας καὶ πέμψας τισὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ παρεῖχε τὴν περὶ τούτων κρί σιν τοῖς ὀρθῶς ἐξετάζειν ἐθέλουσιν. οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἐκεί 115 νους ἐλελήθει πάντως τοιαῦτα γράφων ἐκεῖνος, ὀργὴν δὲ ταῦτα καὶ μόνην τέως καὶ τοῦ ἀντιλυπεῖν ὄρεξιν ᾤοντο εἶναι καὶ ἠφρον τίστουν καὶ κατημέλουν γράφοντος. πολὺ δ' ὑφεῖρπε τοῦτο ἀνὰ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου, περὶ μὲν τοῦ καθ' αὑτὸν ὑποστελλομένου τῶν ἀκουόντων ἑκάστου, ὡς μὴ δοκοῖεν ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν μέμφεσθαι, δεῖν δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐνῆν προσέχειν λεγόντων, μή πως ὁ λόγος ἔχοι τὸ πιθανὸν καὶ μέσον δυοῖν ἐριζόντοιν αὐτοὶ κινδυνεύοιεν. ἔφερε δὲ πολλοῖς νοῦν ἡ τοῦ Βέκκου ἀντίρρησις, καὶ ἐφυλοκρίνουν ἀκρι βῶς τὴν ἐξήγησιν, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅτι οὐδ' αὐτοί γε οἱ ὑπογράψαν τες ἐπ' ἀσφάλειαν ὑπέγραφον, ἀλλὰ τῷ παρ' ἐκείνων ἐπερειδό μενοι γράμματι.

(3) συμβὰν δέ τι καὶ περὶ τὸν ἐσκαμματι σμένον χαρτοφύλακα (ὁ γὰρ Μοσχάμπαρ καὶ προαπέστη ἅμα μὲν ὀφφικίου ἅμα δὲ καὶ πατριάρχου, μικροψυχήσας ἐπί τισι, καὶ διὰ ταῦθ' ἑπόμενον ἑαυτῷ καὶ τὸν πεντεκκλησιώτην εἶχεν) ἐπέρρωσε κἀκείνου τὴν περὶ τὸν πατριάρχην δυσμένειαν, καί γ' οὐχ οἷοί τ' ὄντες αὐτῷ διαμάχεσθαι πρὸς τὸν τόμον ἀπεῖδον, 116 δόξαν ἀσφαλείας δογμάτων, μὴ κενὴν διαφορὰν παρὰ πολλῶν ἀποίσεσθαι προνοούμενοι. καὶ δὴ παρασπαίρουσαν ἔτι ὁρῶντες τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Βέκκου τῷ τόμῳ μέμψιν, τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐπι φυέντες καὶ οὗτοι τὴν μάχαιραν ὤξυναν. ὁρμαῖς γοῦν παρακρο τηθέντες μείζοσι καὶ τοὺς