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He, having encouraged the emperor, defended him with public acclamations and his very own hands and carried him out from the blood-stained men, being fortified by the nobility of his mind and his courage. When therefore the murderers had divided the corpse into many pieces, they hung his private parts on a pole and paraded them in triumph; for thus they raged to mutilate him even after death. But no small crowd ran up on behalf of the Caesar; and a war would have broken out against one another, had it not been stopped with all his power by the same Constantine. Through him some of the evils were checked, but the greater part surged higher than the Icarian sea when a terrible East wind blows upon it; and no one was mindful of operations against the enemy or each for himself, one being sober on behalf of the emperor, another on behalf of the Caesar, and another on behalf of the magnanimous Basil, because he was exceedingly beloved by the emperor. And immediately he set out towards the ruling city. 4.24 Now Basil was boasting of his descent from the elder Parthian Arsaces, who had taken upon himself the rule of the Assyrians by his endurance of soul and body, and in succession also from King Tiridates, descended from the same line; but indeed he was also descended from Philip and Alexander, the best of rulers. He, having been born in the land of the Macedonians, was from parents not obscure in their lineage, and having been brought up vigorously, as Achilles by Chiron the Centaur, he was trained by them in manly thoughts and deeds, and in both respects he remained renowned and dear to all. And indeed wondrously, he entered the ruling city of cities through the Golden Gates, intending to rest for a while in the monastery nearby, which is now the shrine of Diomedes the martyr, but was formerly named for Helios. But he entered having forced his mother's consent; and indeed he would have been restrained by her, if the dream she had seen had not received some interpretation from those who are versed in such matters. For she had seen a very great plant grow forth, just as Mandane once did, and boasting in its flowers throughout her house, and its great stem from the ground and its roots and leaves were covered with gold, and from this it was prophesied to her with an oath that her offspring would attain the empire, and that its greatness and long duration would come to his siblings and descendants, and that he would bestow sufficient wealth upon the country from which he was born; along with these things, a good tiding was also related to her by someone, how when the boy was playing with his peers in a certain lake, an eagle flew down upon his head, and covered it, flapping its wings; and how once an old man, from whose mouth fire was breathed out, and who revealed himself to her as Helios, announced that the empire befitted her child. 4.25 While Basil was staying at the said monastery, the martyr appeared in a dream to a certain monk, or as some say, to the abbot of this monastery himself, and ordered him to go out to the gateway and to bring in the one who was waiting there, who was to be emperor, whom it was necessary to care for with both shelter and clothing, as one who would establish this monastery by rebuilding it. But when he went out and saw the young man hardened, dirty, and uncared for from his needy circumstances, he suspected that some phantom was present in the vision, and he neglected to bring him in. For this reason, the martyr was seen again by the same man, sternly commanding him to go out and by all means to bring in the emperor Basil and to deem him worthy of the needed care. When the young man responded to the said summons and his entrance was accomplished, he was required by it to be mindful of this monastery upon seizing the empire. Which he also observed; for after his investiture with the purple, he offered many and very splendid votive offerings to the venerable martyr, and furthermore <καὶ> he made the monastery splendid with sufficient properties and renewed it with buildings. 4.26 Then he attached himself to a certain one of the magnates of the imperial family through the superior of the monks, who was visiting the same monastery as a friend, who had taken care of a collection of manly and youthful men, having also found others of a suitable age

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ἐκεῖνος εὐφημίαις ἐπιδημίοις καὶ αὐταῖς παλάμαις ἐπήμυνε θαρσοποιήσας τὸν ἄνακτα καὶ τῶν μιαιφόνων ἐξήνεγκεν, καλοκἀγαθίᾳ γνώμης καὶ εὐτολμίᾳ φραττόμενος. ὡς οὖν οἱ μιαιφόνοι τὸ λείψανον πολλοῖς τμήμασι διενείμαντο, τὰ τούτου αἰδοῖα κοντῷ διαρτήσαντες ἐθριάμβευον· οὕτως γὰρ καὶ μετὰ θάνατον αἰκίζειν ἐξέμηναν. ὑπὲρ καίσαρος δὲ οὐκ ὀλίγος ὄχλος ἐπέτρεχεν· καὶ προσεκεχωρήκει ἂν πόλεμος κατ' ἀλλήλων, εἰ μὴ παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντίνου πάσῃ δυνάμει ἀνέσταλτο. δι' οὗ τινα τῶν κακῶν ἀνεχαίτιστο, τὰ πλείω δὲ ἐκυμαίνετο μεῖζον ἢ τὸ Ἰκάριον πέλαγος Εὔρου δεινοῦ ἐπιπνέοντος· οὐδείς τε τῶν κατὰ πολεμίων ἐπιχειρήσεων ἢ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος ἔμφροντις ἦν, τοῦ μὲν ὑπὲρ βασιλέως γε νήφοντος, τοῦ δὲ ὑπὲρ καίσαρος, ἑτέρου δὲ ὑπὲρ Βασιλείου τοῦ μεγαλόφρονος, διὰ τὸ πεφιλοστοργῆσθαι λίαν παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος. καὶ εὐθέως περὶ τὴν βασιλεύουσαν ἀναζεύγνυσιν. 4.24 Ὑπῆρχε δὲ ὁ Βασίλειος ἐκ γένους μὲν πρεσβυτέρου Πάρθου Ἀρσάκου αὐχῶν, τοῦ περιθεμένου τὴν Ἀσσυρίων ἀρχὴν ἑαυτῷ ἐκ ψυχικῆς καὶ σωματικῆς καρτερότητος, καθεξῆς δὲ καὶ Τηριδάτου τοῦ βασιλέως τῆς αὐτῆς σειρᾶς ἐξημμένου· ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ Φιλίππου καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρου τῶν ἀρίστων ἡγεμόνων ἐξείχετο. ὃς Μακεδόνων τῆς γῆς ἐκφυεὶς γεννητόρων ἦν κατὰ γενεὰν οὐκ ἀσήμων, τραφείς τε νεανικῶς, ὡς εἴ τις Ἀχιλλεὺς Χείρωνι τῷ Κενταύρῳ, παρ' αὐτῶν τοῖς ἀνδρικοῖς ἐγεγύμναστο φρονήμασί τε καὶ πράγμασι, καὶ πᾶσι μὲν κατ' ἄμφω ἐξάκουστος διετέλει καὶ φίλιος. καὶ δὴ παραδόξως διὰ τῶν Χρυσέων πυλῶν εἰσῄει τῇ βασιλευούσῃ τῶν πόλεων, κατὰ μονήν γε τὴν ἔναγχος προσαναπαυσόμενος, ἥτις νῦν μὲν ἱερὸν ∆ιομήδους τοῦ μάρτυρος, Ἡλίου δὲ τὸ πρὶν κεχρημάτικεν. εἰσῄει δὲ τὴν τεκοῦσαν ἐκβιασάμενος· καὶ δὴ ἂν ἐκεκράτητο παρ' αὐτῆς, εἰ μὴ τὸ θεαθὲν αὐτῇ ὄναρ τινὸς ἔτυχεν ἐπικρίσεως παρὰ τῶν ἐν τούτοις ἐσπουδακότων. ἑωράκει γὰρ φυτὸν μέγιστον ἐκφυῆναι, καθώς ποτε ἡ Μανδάνη, καὶ ἄνθεσιν ἐγκομᾶν κατὰ τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς, χρυσῷ τε τὸ γῆθεν μέγα στέλεχος καὶ τὰ πρέμνα διηρέφθαι καὶ φύλλα, καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἀπομεμαντεῦσθαι σὺν ὅρκῳ ταύτῃ τῷ ἐξ αὐτῆς τὴν τῆς βασιλείας ἐπίτευξιν καὶ ταύτης μεγαλειότητα καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ μῆκος διάτασιν συγγόνοις τε καὶ ἀπογόνοις ἐκβήσεσθαι, καὶ αὐτάρκη πλοῦτον τῇ κατ' αὐτὸν χώρᾳ μεθήσειν, ἐξ ἧς ἐγεγέννητο· σὺν τούτοις καὶ προεισηγη θῆναι αὐτῇ παρά τινος ῥῆσιν εὐάγγελον, ὡς τοῦ παιδὸς κατὰ παιγνίαν τῶν ὁμηλίκων ἔν τινι λίμνῃ ἀετὸν ἐπιπτῆσαι τῇ κεφαλῇ, σκέπειν τε ταύτην πτερύσσοντα· καί ποτε γηραιὸν ἄνδρα, οὗ διὰ στόματος πῦρ ἐξαπέπνει, τὸν Ἡλιού τε ἑαυτὸν ταύτῃ παραδηλοῦντα, τὴν βασιλείαν προσήκασθαι τὸ τεκνίον ἐμήνυεν. 4.25 Σχολάζοντος δὲ τοῦ Βασιλείου κατὰ τὴν εἰρημένην μονήν, τινὶ μοναχῷ, ἢ ὡς ἔνιοι, αὐτῷ τῷ ταύτης καθηγουμένῳ, καθ' ὕπνον ὁ μάρτυς ἐπιφανεὶς ἐξιέναι κελεύει περὶ πυλῶνα καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖσε προσμεμενηκότα εἰσαγαγεῖν, βασιλέα ἐσόμενον, ὃν περιποιήσασθαι δέον ἐπί τε σκέπῃ καὶ τοῖς ἐνδύμασιν, οἷα τήνδε μονὴν ἀνοικοδομῇ συστησόμενον. τῷ δὲ ἐξιόντι καὶ τὸν νεανίαν τεθεαμένῳ κατεσκληκότα ῥυπῶντά τε καὶ ἀπρονόητον ἐξ ἐνδεοῦς περιστάσεως, ὑφωρᾶτό τι κατὰ φαντασίαν εἴδωλον ἐμπαρεῖναι, οὗ τῆς κομιδῆς κατημέλησεν. διὰ τοῦτο αὖθις ὁ μάρτυς τῷ αὐτῷ διωρᾶτο κατεμβριμώμενος ἐξιέναι καὶ τὸν βασιλέα Βασίλειον πάντως εἰσενεγκεῖν καὶ κηδεμονίας δεούσης καταξιῶσαι. τοῦ δὲ νεανίου κατὰ τὴν λεχθεῖσαν κλῆσιν ἀποκριναμένου καὶ πρὸς αὐτὴν τὰ τῆς εἰσόδου διήνυστο, δι' ἧς ἐν τῇ καταλήψει τῆς βασιλείας ἐπιμνησθῆναι ταύτης εἰσπράττεσθαι. ὃ καὶ παρεφυλάξατο· μετὰ γὰρ τὴν τῆς ἁλουργίδος ἀμφίασιν πολλά τε καὶ πάνυ λαμπρὰ ἀναθήματα τῷ σεβαστῷ μάρτυρι προσενήνοχεν, ἔτι μὴν <καὶ> τὴν μονὴν καὶ κτήμασιν ἱκανοῖς κατελάμπρυνεν καὶ οἰκοδομίαις ἐνεοποίησεν. 4.26 Τότε δέ τινι προσκεκόλληται τῶν πρὸς γένους βασιλικοῦ μεγιστάνων διὰ τοῦ προστατοῦντος τῶν μοναχῶν, φιλίως κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν μονὴν προσφοιτῶντι, ᾧ τῆς ἐπάνδρου καὶ νεανικῆς συλλογῆς ἐπεφρόντιστο, προσευρηκότι καὶ ἄλλους τοὺς καθ' ἡλικίαν