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they will cease from many pains, and when they are handed over to slavery, the outrage to be bearable for them as is possible in misfortune, when they saw them joined together by kinship and like an unbreakable chain one holding to another and the separation difficult, since they were about to assign the shares for each ship, they devised again a wicked plan, hostile to nature. 72.3 For they ordered again that those once united be divided; 72.4 and if anywhere a mother, he says, among them had an infant in need of milk, the impious ones decreed that this one alone should remain with its mother, as being perhaps able to contribute nothing to its own life, and that the rest, having been again separated from their family ties, should be assigned to the lots mixed up and indiscriminately. 72.5 But what speech could express the magnitude of this misfortune? 72.6 And what tongue of orators could go through that varied and manifold affliction of pains, when nature itself was being cut into many pieces by this new and irrational command, having this alone as an accusation, the community of race and the innate connection of those united? 72.7 For a son was torn from his father, a daughter from her mother, and a brother from his brother. 72.8 In these circumstances, what were all these people likely to suffer, when they were being led into slavery in a foreign land, where the reverence of our faith is insulted as accursed, and most irrational passions are honored, where fornication is revered and madness is venerated, and shamelessness is deemed worthy of much honor, where the nature of males is diverted to female use, and creation is outraged, and everything is full of confusion and has been turned toward evil. 72.9 What of all these things did they lament first? 72.10 In which of them did they not choose the noose and renounce life itself? 72.11 But nevertheless they bore all things, as God provided magnanimity in all things and arranged each particular according to His own will. 73.1 But when by this command they were again divided from their mutual kinship, they sat guarded in various places, until another command came forth, that all be numbered and that the distinct company for each ship be identified according to the appearance of their persons and ages, so that in none should appear a surplus, he says, or a deficit, but according to the number of barbarians on the ships, so also the shares should be made, and nothing superfluous or lacking should be assigned to them. 73.2 They therefore first counted the entire multitude; and it was twenty-two thousand, out of all of whom, apart from us who were kept for the sake of the exchange, there was not one who had a full-grown beard. 73.3 Nor was there any woman of advanced age among all these thousands. 73.4 But the populace was select and youthful, and as if each one were striving to surpass the other either in the prime of age or in the beauty of form, even if the succession of hardships was forcing them to be estranged from their natural conditions. 73.5 But when all, having been made into shares, were again driven together with the spoils onto the ships (for both these also were distributed with the multitude), then indeed the barbarians who inhabited Crete bought not a few, not refusing to pay down much gold for them, not simply nor as it happened, but contriving for themselves from this a pretext for some gain. 73.6 For they knew they would receive many times more than what was given, whenever the time of exchange should come, when they receive their own countrymen, those who had been subdued by the Romans. 73.7 For not as in the affairs concerning Syria, so also for these is the ransoming of captives carried out, but an ancient custom has prevailed among these, confirmed by time, that they both receive back the barbarian, whoever he was, for the sake of the one being held, and they demand the price given for him to be doubled. 73.8 For this reason, therefore, the Cretans bought many of the captives, having devised our misfortune as a contribution to their own gain. 73.9 And these things were done for ten whole days, with the customary ships always re-equipping the

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πολλῶν ὀδυνῶν παύσονται, καὶ πρὸς τὴν δουλείαν ἡνίκα ἂν ἐκδοθῶσι, φορητὴν αὐτοῖς εἶναι ὡς ἐν κακοῖς τὴν ἐπήρειαν, ὡς εἶδον αὐτοὺς ταῖς ἀγχιστείαις ἐπισυναπτομένους καὶ καθάπερ σειρὰν ἄλυτον ἕτερον ἐχόμενον τοῦ ἑτέρου τόν τε χωρισμὸν δυσδιαίρετον, καθὸ ἔμελλον τὰς μερίδας μιᾶς ἑκάστης νηὸς ἀπονεῖμαι, ἐβουλεύσαντο πάλιν βουλὴν πονηρὰν καὶ πολεμίαν τῆς φύσεως. 72.3 τοὺς ἅπαξ γὰρ ἑνωθέντας διαιρεθῆναι καὶ αὖθις προσέταττον· 72.4 καὶ εἴ πού τις μήτηρ, φησίν, ἐν αὐτοῖς νήπιον ἔχουσα τοῦ γάλακτος προσδεόμενον, τοῦτο μόνον πρὸς τὴν τεκοῦσαν μένειν οἱ δυσσεβεῖς κατεθέσπισαν ὡς μηδὲν τυχὸν δυνάμενον ἑαυτῷ πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν συντελεῖν, τοὺς λοιποὺς δὲ τῶν συγγενικῶν συναφειῶν καὶ αὖθις διαιρεθέντας ἀναμὶξ καὶ ἀδιαφόρως τοῖς κλήροις ἀποδοθῆναι. 72.5 ἀλλὰ τίς λόγος τὸ μέγεθος τῆς συμφορᾶς ταύτης ἐκφράσοι; 72.6 ποία δὲ γλῶσσα ῥητόρων ἐπεξελθεῖν δυνηθείη τὴν ποικίλην ἐκείνην καὶ πολυειδῆ τῶν ὀδυνῶν κάκωσιν, ὁπότε καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ φύσις τῷ καινῷ τούτῳ καὶ παραλόγῳ προστάγματι εἰς πολλὰ κατετέμνετο, τοῦτο μόνον ἔγκλημα τὴν κοινωνίαν τοῦ γένους ἔχουσα καὶ τὴν ἔμφυτον τῶν ἑνωθέντων συνάφειαν; 72.7 καὶ γὰρ ἀπεσπᾶτο πατρὸς μὲν υἱός, μητρὸς δὲ θυγάτηρ καὶ ἀδελφὸς ἀδελφοῦ. 72.8 ἐν οἷς τί πάσχειν εἰκὸς τούτους ἅπαντας, ὁπότε πρὸς δουλείαν ἤγοντο εἰς γῆν ἀλλοτρίαν, ὅπου τὸ μὲν σέβας τῆς καθ' ἡμᾶς πίστεως ὡς ἐναγὲς ἐνυβρίζεται, πάθη δὲ τιμᾶται ἀλογώτατα, ὅπου πορνεία σεμνύνεται καὶ μανία γεραίρεται, καὶ πολλῆς τιμῆς καταξιοῦται ἀναίδεια, ὅπου τῶν ἀρρένων ἡ φύσις εἰς γυναικείαν χρῆσιν μετάγεται, καὶ ἡ κτίσις ὑβρίζεται, καὶ συγχύσεως γέμει πάντα καὶ πρὸς τὸ κακὸν ἀνατέτραπται. 72.9 τί πρῶτον τούτων ἁπάντων ἐκόψαντο; 72.10 ἐν ποίῳ δὲ μὴ ἀγχόνην ᾑρήσαντο καὶ τὴν ζωὴν αὐτὴν ἀπηρνήσαντο; 72.11 ἀλλ' ὅμως ἔφερον πάντα, τὴν ἐπὶ πᾶσι μεγαλοψυχίαν παρεχομένου θεοῦ καὶ τῷ οἰκείῳ βουλήματι τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον μεθαρμόζοντος. 73.1 Ὡς δὲ πάλιν τῷ προστάγματι τούτῳ τῆς ἐξ ἀλλήλων διῃρέθησαν συγγενείας, ἐκάθηντο φρουρούμενοι κατὰ διαφόρους τόπους, ἕως ἐξῆλθεν ἕτερον πρόσταγμα, πάντας ἀριθμηθῆναι καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἰδέας τῶν προσώπων καὶ τῶν ἡλικιῶν τὸ διάφορον ἑκάστης νηὸς ἴδιον σύνταγμα γνωρισθῆναι, ἵν' ἐν μηδεμιᾷ φανείη πλεονασμός φησιν ἢ ὑφαίρεσις, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐνόντων ταῖς ναυσὶ βαρβάρων, οὕτω καὶ τὰς μερίδας γενέσθαι καὶ μηδὲν αὐταῖς περιττὸν ἢ ἐλλεῖπον ἀποδοθῆναι. 73.2 ἠρίθμησαν οὖν ἐν πρώτοις τὴν πληθὺν ἅπασαν· ἡ δὲ ἦν δύο καὶ εἴκοσι χιλιάδες, ἐξ ὧν ἁπάντων, χωρὶς ἡμῶν τῶν λόγῳ τῆς καταλλαγῆς τηρουμένων, οὐκ ἦν οὐδεὶς ὃς τὸν πώγωνα εἶχε τετριχωμένον. 73.3 ἀλλ' οὐδὲ προβεβηκυῖα γυνὴ ἐν ταύταις πάσαις ταῖς χιλιάσιν. 73.4 ἐπίλεκτος δέ τις ἦν καὶ νεάζων ὁ δῆμος, καὶ οἷον ἐρίζων ἕκαστος ἢ τῷ ἀκμαίῳ τῆς ἡλικίας ἢ τῷ ὡραίῳ τῆς μορφῆς ὑπερβαίνειν τὸν ἕτερον, κἂν ἡ ἐπαλληλία τῶν δυσχερῶν τῶν φυσικῶν αὐτοὺς ἕξεων ἀλλοτριοῦν ἐβιάζετο. 73.5 ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ πάντες εἰς μερίδας γενόμενοι πάλιν μετὰ τῶν σκύλων ταῖς ναυσὶ συνηλάθησαν (ἄμφω γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα σὺν τῷ πλήθει διενεμήθησαν), τότε δὴ τῶν βαρβάρων οἱ τὴν Κρήτην οἰκοῦντες οὐκ ὀλίγους ὠνοῦντο, πολὺ χρυσίον ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν καταβαλέσθαι μὴ παραιτούμενοι, οὐχ ἁπλῶς οὐδ' ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἀλλὰ κέρδους τινὸς ὑπόθεσιν ἑαυτοῖς ἐκ τούτου περιποιούμενοι. 73.6 ᾔδεισαν γὰρ πολυπλασίονα τῶν διδομένων λαβεῖν, ἡνίκα ἂν καταλλαγῆς ἐπέλθοι καιρός, ὁπότε τοὺς ὁμοφύλους αὐτῶν, τοὺς παρὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων χειρωθέντας, ἐκδέχονται. 73.7 οὐδὲ γὰρ ὡς ἐν τοῖς κατὰ Συρίαν, οὕτω καὶ τούτοις ἡ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων ἀπολύτρωσις ἐκτελεῖται, ἀλλ' ἐπεκράτησεν ἐν τούτοις παλαιὸν ἔθος χρόνῳ βεβαιωθέν, ἵνα καὶ τὸν βάρβαρον, ὅστις ποτὲ ἦν, χάριν τοῦ κατεχομένου κομίζωνται, καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ δοθεῖσαν τιμὴν ἀπαιτῶσιν εἰς τὸ διπλάσιον. 73.8 διά τοι τοῦτο πολλοὺς οἱ Κρῆτες τῶν αἰχμαλώτων ὠνήσαντο, τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς συμφορὰν κέρδους συνεισφορὰν ἑαυτοῖς ἐφευράμενοι. 73.9 ἐπράχθη δὲ ταῦτα ἐφ' ὅλαις ἡμέραις δέκα, ἀεὶ τῶν ἐθάδων νηῶν μετασκευαζουσῶν τοὺς