37

at some point in the highest courts, and having nothing beyond his title, he made proposals to the then *cornicularius* of the bureau, so that he might give him some access to the business being transacted, and the *princeps* thus formally established the practice of offering one pound of gold each month to the *cornicularius*, after having promptly given the customary payments to all those of the bureau who by custom receive a certain share of the revenues. When these things had been thus agreed between them, the *cornicularius* in office, receiving from the *princeps* the twelve pounds of gold without any deficit and with all respect, would concede to his superior the introduction of unilateral petitions, reserving for himself, in addition to the privilege from his rank and other profits, the task of validating the transactions by his own signature, which secured for him a revenue of no less than one thousand gold pieces. 25 "But what came next I could no longer tell in words without tears," according to the Peleus of Euripides. For since all these things, just like the others, had already previously been lost, I myself also partook of the misfortune of the time, having reached the end of the ranks of service, acquiring nothing beyond the title. And speaking the truth, I do not blush to call Justice as my witness; I know that I have not received so much as a single obol either from the *princeps* or from the so-called completion fees. For from where was I to receive anything, when the ancient custom was for thirty-seven gold pieces to be provided to the bureau for a unilateral petition by those who somehow gained access to the then highest courts, but for the rest, a very modest amount of bronze—not gold—was 172 given pitifully as if out of charity, and not even continuously? Or how the *princeps* was hard-pressed regarding the payments formerly given by him to the *cornicularius* in office, not even being referred to by his bare title, no longer enduring to be present at the court, since no one was serving in any rank? But I regret, considering at this late hour what was proper, for what reason I attended the court for so long a time, finding from it no consolation; and these things have justly happened to me for having thrown myself into this public service; so that it is not at all difficult to go through in my account the narrative concerning myself from the beginning up to this point. 26 Being in my twenty-first year of age, during the consulship of Secundianus, I came from Philadelphia which bore me, situated at the foot of Tmolus and in Lydia, to this fortunate city; and after considering many things with myself, I resolved to go to the *memoriales* of the court and to gird myself for service with them. But so that I might not seem to be wasting the time in between, I decided to attend a philosopher's school. Agapius was there at that time, about whom Christodorus the poet in his single book *On the Auditors of the Great Proclus* says thus: "Agapius last in time, but first of all," with whom, while going through the first principles of Aristotelian doctrines, I also happened to hear some things from Platonic philosophy. But Fortune, resolving to push me rather toward this public service, advanced Zoticus, my fellow citizen and one who delighted in me not a little, to the Prefecture of the Praetorians under Anastasius, the gentlest of all emperors; who, being able not only to persuade but 174 also to compel me, enrolled me among the shorthand writers of the Prefecture, in which Ammianus the most excellent, who was nephew to my father, also happened to be distinguished. 27 And so that I might not by chance be idle, the prefect showed me every path to profit, so that throughout his whole time in office—and it was a moderate one, just exceeding a year—I prudently gained no less than a thousand gold pieces. So I, being grateful as was fitting—for how could I not be?—composed a short encomium for him. And he, being pleased, urged me to take a gold piece for each line from his table, and those who are called upon to assist from the so-called *ab actis*, something that had never happened before, invited and appointed me as first *chartularius*, there being only two others, who were already old men,

37

μεγίστοις ποτὲ δικαστηρίοις καὶ μηδὲν παρὰ τὴν προσηγορίαν ἔχων λόγους ἔθετο πρὸς τὸν τότε τῆς τάξεως κορνικουλάριον, ὥστε πάροδον αὐτῷ δοῦναί τινα πρὸς τὰ πραττόμενα καὶ δόξαν οὕτως ἐτύπωσεν ὁ πρίγκεψ μίαν χρυσίου λίτραν καθ' ἕκαστον μῆνα προσφέρειν τῷ κορνικουλαρίῳ μετὰ τὸ πᾶσι τοῖς ἐκ τάξεως κατὰ συνήθειαν λαμβάνουσι μοῖράν τινα τῶν πόρων ἀμελλητὶ διδόναι τὰ εἰωθότα. τούτων οὕτως συντεθειμένων αὐτοῖς, λαμβάνων ὁ κατὰ καιρὸν κορνικουλάριος παρὰ τοῦ πρίγκιπος τὰς δώδεκα τοῦ χρυσίου λίτρας δίχα τινὸς ἐλλείμματος μετὰ πάσης τιμῆς παρεχώρει τῷ κρείττονι μᾶλλον τὴν τῶν μονομερῶν ἐντυχιῶν εἰσαγωγήν, φυλάξας ἑαυτῷ μετὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ βαθμοῦ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κερδῶν προνομίαν τὸ πληροῦν δι' οἰκείας ὑποσημειώσεως τὰ πραττόμενα, οὐκ ἔλαττον χιλίων χρυσῶν πόρον αὐτῷ περιποιοῦντα. 25 «Τὰ δ' ἔνθεν οὐκέτ' ἂν φράσαι λόγῳ δακρύων δυναίμην χωρίς,» κατὰ τὸν Εὐριπίδου Πηλέα. πάντων γὰρ ἤδη πρότερον τούτων ὃν τρόπον καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπολομένων, παραπέλαυσα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τῆς κακοδαιμονίας τοῦ χρόνου, καταντήσας εἰς τὸ πέρας τῶν τῆς στρατείας βαθμῶν, μηδὲν παρὰ τὴν προσηγορίαν κτησάμενος. καὶ μάρτυρα τὴν ∆ίκην ἀληθεύων οὐκ ἐρυθριῶ ἐπικαλούμενος· ἕως ἑνὸς ὀβολοῦ οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρίγκιπος οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν λεγομένων κομπλευσίμων οἶδα κομισάμενος. πόθεν γὰρ ἔμελλον λαμβάνειν, τῆς μὲν ἀρχαίας συνηθείας ἐχούσης ἑπτὰ καὶ τριάκοντα χρυσίνους παρέχεσθαι τῇ τάξει ὑπὲρ μονομεροῦς ἐντεύξεως πρὸς τῶν ὅπως οὖν εἰσβαλλόντων ἐν τοῖς τότε μεγίστοις δικαστηρίοις, τὸ δὲ λοιπὸν χαλκοῦ κάρτα μετρίου οὐ γὰρ χρυ 172 σίου ὥσπερ εἰς ἔλεον οἰκτρῶς καὶ οὐδὲ συνεχῶς ἐπιδιδομένου; ἢ ὅπως ὁ πρίγκεψ πρὸς τὰ πάλαι διδόμενα παρ' αὐτοῦ τῷ κατὰ καιρὸν κορνικουλαρίῳ συνωθεῖτο, μηδὲ εἰς μνήμην ψιλῆς γ' οὖν προσηγορίας ἀναφερόμενος, μηδὲ παρεῖναι τὸ λοιπὸν ὑπομένων τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, οὐδενὸς οὐδενὶ ἐν βαθμῷ στρατευομένου; ἐμοὶ δὲ μεταμέλει, ὀψίᾳ τοῦ καιροῦ τὸ προσῆκον ἀναλογιζομένῳ, ἀντὶ τίνος τοσοῦτον προσήδρευσα χρόνον τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, μηδὲν ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρὸς παραψυχὴν εὑραμένῳ· καὶ δικαίως ταῦτά μοι συμβέβηκεν εἰς ταύτην ἐμβαλόντι τὴν λειτουργίαν· ὥστε χαλεπὸν οὐδὲν τὴν ἐκ προοιμίων ἐπ' ἐμοὶ διελθεῖν ἄχρι τοῦδε τῷ λόγῳ διήγησιν. 26 Ἕνα καὶ εἰκοστὸν τῆς ἡλικίας ἄγων ἐνιαυτόν, ἐπὶ τῆς Σεκουνδιανοῦ ὑπατείας ἐκ τῆς ἐνεγκούσης με Φιλαδελφείας τῆς ὑπὸ τῷ Τμώλῳ καὶ ἐν Λυδίᾳ κειμένης παρῆλθον εἰς ταύτην τὴν εὐδαίμονα πόλιν· καὶ πολλὰ μεθ' αὑτῷ σκεψάμενος ἐπὶ τοὺς μεμοριαλίους τῆς αὐλῆς συνεῖδον ἐλθεῖν καὶ πρὸς στρατείαν ἀναζώσασθαι μετ' ἐκείνων. ὅπως δὲ μὴ τὸν ἐν μέσῳ χρόνον δόξαιμι ζημιοῦσθαι, εἰς φιλοσόφου φοιτᾶν διέγνων. Ἀγάπιος ἦν κατ' ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον, περὶ οὗ Χριστόδωρος ὁ ποιητὴς ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῶν Ἀκροατῶν τοῦ μεγάλου Πρόκλου μονοβίβλῳ τέ φησιν οὕτως· «Ἀγάπιος πύματος μέν, ἀτὰρ πρώτιστος ἁπάντων,» παρ' ᾧ, τὰ πρῶτα τῶν Ἀριστοτελικῶν διδαγμάτων ἐπιών, ἔτυχον καί τινων ἐκ τῆς Πλατωνικῆς φιλοσοφίας ἀκροάσασθαι. ἡ δὲ Τύχη μᾶλλον εἰς ταύτην με παρωθῆσαι τὴν λειτουργίαν σκεψαμένη Ζωτικόν, πολίτην ἐμὸν καὶ χαίροντά μοι οὐ μετρίως, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐπαρχότητα τῶν πραιτωρίων ὑπὸ τῷ πάντων βασιλέων ἡμερωτάτῳ Ἀναστασίῳ προήγαγεν· ὃς οὐ πείθειν με μόνον ἀλλὰ 174 καὶ ἀναγκάζειν δυνάμενος τοῖς ταχυγράφοις τῆς ἀρχῆς συνηρίθμησεν, ἐν ᾗ καὶ Ἀμμιανὸν τὸν ἐπιεικέστατον, ἀδελφιδοῦν τῷ ἐμῷ πατρὶ γενόμενον, συνέβαινε διαφαίνεσθαι. 27 Ὅπως δὲ μὴ τυχὸν ῥᾳθυμήσω, πᾶσάν μοι κέρδους ὁδὸν ὁ ὕπαρχος ἔδειξεν, ὡς παρ' ὅλον τὸν τῆς ἀρχῆς χρόνον αὐτοῦ μέτριος δὲ ἦν καὶ βραχεῖ τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκβάς οὐκ ἐλάττους χιλίων χρυσῶν ἀποκερδᾶναι σωφρόνως. ὡς εἰκὸς οὖν εὐχαριστῶν ἐγὼ πῶς γὰρ οὔ; ἐγκώμιον βραχὺ πρὸς αὐτὸν διεξῆλθον. ὁ δὲ ἡσθεὶς ἀνὰ στίχον μὲν ἕκαστον χρύσινον ἀπὸ τῆς τραπέζης με κομίσασθαι παρεκελεύσατο, οἱ δὲ πρὸς τὸ βοηθεῖν ἀπὸ τοῦ λεγομένου ἀβ ἄκτις καλούμενοι, τὸ μήποτε γενόμενον, παρακαλοῦντες προσελάβοντό με εἰς πρῶτον χαρτουλάριον, ἑτέρων δύο μόνων, ἤδη γερόντων,