Panegyric orations
To run against you from an opposing lot, he endured but the pentathlon was accomplished for you and the pancratium was completed with no one having c
The votes, i imagine the divine judgment and i refer to the incorruptible tribunal. when i test you in elections, i admire your intelligence and your
From afar it shines on those landing and extends a hand to those from the sea, escorting them to rome most painlessly. what in addition to these does
Using it and bending and curving it towards the drooping jaw, i remember the indian's eyebrow at this, how he held it more than a cubit above his head
And to a rival. let others, then, measure you against and compare you with whomever they wish, but i, though i seem to make a strange and dissimilar c
In prose, not in meters and poems or perhaps many are present, but they have no account of the matter, as if it were of no account to them. and time
The hegemony of his father, with kingdoms overthrown and not a few changes having occurred in both, those who, having exchanged their fortune for the
He took counsel of opposing nations, but by making everything purchasable with gold and royal splendors, from this he gained the goodwill of all, and
Opened, and flung wide the very gates of the soul, and associated with wicked and corrupt lives. for he did not at once know the whole line of the fam
To work deeds of injustice for he was angry with those who did wrong and would punish them. but when he began to be sick and his body was wasting awa
Not a magnificent spirit, not a musical and graceful speech, nothing else of the sort that knows how to beautify the soul and the nature of the body.
Drives a sphere, and the other the superterrestrial one, so that the one might wind its own zone in a single cycle, and the other in twelve cycles, an
Defining the virtues by its power, and practicing the higher geometry. for this, as proclus also says, has occupied the middle ground between the indi
The power of the kingdom came to him, besides these the life of david among the flocks, the pursuit, those many dangers into which he fell but was not
He locks up the monarchy into a tyranny, having exchanged one evil for another. justice is not quiet, it kindles the coals, it sends the arrow, the wi
I call it his girdle-and he draws away no small cavalry and infantry force from old rome, he adds to these also the best army of the east, and no smal
An angel wrought a more manifest victory. i have something more to say than those wonders there the cross was in types and images, a bronze serpent s
You, o king the more abundantly you pour out benefits upon us, the more you increase by being filled. from this, no one has been left out of such wea
With the eyes, then poured out and dissolved, but better and higher than all that is visible. but, o emperor—for i repeat the title to you and call it
You fill the western beacon, neither grudging us your rays nor altering the color of your disk, but the more time increases the distances, the more be
The rising of the sun, the land upon which it immediately rises, so that, if any of our people wished, having gone there he could, not with geometrica
I am an unskillful chronicler of your deeds and erring in my timing, and i do not have a nature that strikes out in both directions at once. for you a
To wish. for you both comprehend the present and conjecture the future and discover the unseen, discerning character from eyebrows and eyelids, so tha
To speak? -unseemly even in his appearance, made of tin or dipped in bile and altogether counterfeit gold, but since he was in the midst of dangers, t
With stones lying along each side, so that the conjoined may seem continuous and the well-fitted of one nature. behold for me the heights and beauties
But here is a distinct hand divided into five rosy branches. but this is a most unerring testimony of that godlike soul. but do you wish to see some t
Transcending substance and holding the principles of the forms folded together and least of all divided from the one. and you, being such, do you not
The fountains of good deeds flowed, as if from a sheer rock, having received the impetus for their flowing these proclaimed you by reputation even be
A guide, so also there an arbiter of the administrations, that i may suit you for both, both speaking your deeds and doing the words of your administr
P]ortions are deprived of praise, but no one of all men has been suited to all words of praise. but to you so much is granted [against] all in all thi
To bring to the highest point of keenness, or your soul which was not [shattered by] trials, but also most nobly endured through the magnitude of the
And they were torn away, and their manner altered their nature [....], and they have remained, and after the separation, being both nourished and fatt
But the love of art and the care concerning the divine sanctuaries, what demostheneses or the best of the writers could describe and praise? how beau
Having surpassed in his heroic deeds him and the kings up to you, but in his plans he is recorded as being less than his accomplishments, winning in [
Less, you have given the first place to reason over passion, and you have established the one like some foundation upon the acropolis, but the other y
Having considered what is seen, but when i also behold the tomb of the queen, and i behold it often whenever i wish to console some hardship of fortun
To comprehend in a speech. for to whom could the unattainable be attainable, even if he were rich in the homeric power for speeches, or the herodotan
Admiring and in return is eager to make an image and someone already having constructed a stele for you inscribed the gentle one. therefore solomon
Much praise and measured against all of time. how then could i summarize the whole in a few words? i will speak, therefore, a little of your virtues,
Everyone rejoices and exults with the one who has taken up your encomiums and because i did not weave the words of praise sooner, he is rather vexed
Gracefulness, the maturity of your thought, the symmetry of your greatness, the quick-wittedness, the stability of your mind, the unmarried life, the
At once for us the lord and most skilled in command and pleasing to all, o most excellent foresight, o wise consideration, o most noble counsel, o div
Of virtues? you, beyond any kings who ever were, honored justice and preferred philanthropy, and having attained the height of prudence, you appeared
Accomplishments? o the arrows from heaven against the barbarians, o the unseen bowshots, o the angelic powers in the air, o the divine armies against
The greatest part of character. for as many as have become of a civic disposition, if they have descended to this willingly, they seemed both prudent
Of civil administration and of divine hearing. if therefore, being engaged in one, he also holds to the other, let this for now be a secret to many. b
Of wise men going to ammon's shrine or being within the delphic tripod suddenly transferred their apparent wisdom to the more divine and greater, how
We have taken starting points, and yet more absurd, if we render praises to the good and noble men who have died, for what they have said concerning w
And not many months after the sowing, but immediately reaping the harvest and so that i might say what is from the gospel, the two were running toget
If we should set about to build him up, this marvelous man, both in nature and in diligence, has received much contribution toward his eloquence from
For having embraced one of these, they might neglect the rest, or putting ears before mind, they have an unintelligible tongue, or having drawn up spr
Pleases the petty and the overly artful. therefore, of these enumerated wise men, the one now honored in this discourse wishes to imitate gregory, and
I knew not only what the greeks knew, nor what the chaldeans or egyptians knew, but i had also condemned them, though not all of them, nor has my refu
With magnanimity, he who was both namesake and like-minded with the great constantine, and who alone nobly contended against all, and taking his name-
Regulates the state of the church, no less than moses who constructed the tabernacle below according to the pattern shown to him for whether melodies
Concerning which things, before his high-priesthood, at a time when he did not even have many resources of money, he constructed brilliantly and accom
And to impart to others. and perhaps he did not endure the waves of the sea, but in his toils on land he might in some way be compared to paul. and co
One of two things happening, either god descending into the mind, or the mind ascending to god. but what is the place of god's rest, or by which of al
Of a voice, nor were you instructed by any of the higher powers, to lay aside the symbols of the priesthood, and to transfer yourself to another life,
Nothing unpleasant would happen to those handling these things but for you, who happen to be a philosopher, what harm will come from these affairs? j
Of words but you, o king, will both speak publicly among the armies and bring an impulse with your speech and will rouse them together for the deed.
May you be crowned on the head with glorious trophies. may you be adorned with deeds of valor against the barbarians, and be escorted by many victorie
May you rend the sea and stop the river and vanquish amalek. may a cloud, giving shade over your head, take away your burning heat, and a pillar of li
having considered what is seen, but when I also behold the tomb of the queen, and I behold it often whenever I wish to console some hardship of fortune, I am struck with awe at the beauty of what is seen and rejoice exceedingly, that the tabernacle of the divine life has met with such a nature and resting place. But I am all the more astounded at you, how you have an immortal virtue not crushed together with the deadness of the body. And when I remember those who acted tyrannically against you, some of whom I have even met while they were being judged, I marvel at your ineffable love for mankind. But how—for I will dare to ask you—did you, who bring justice upon those who raged against others, not help yourself when you were being tyrannized? But when the laws have decreed every punishment against them, and the judges, putting aside their ballots, have armed their hands, and the executioners have sharpened their steel, then you are torn in your heart and stir your nature to tears and, along with forgiveness, you also pour forth springs of good deeds. If any other is adorned with these advantages, let the orators compare him and set him beside you; but if these things belong to your nature alone, why do they, by preserving their art, diminish your virtues? For by comparing you to another, even if they maintain you as superior, yet they grant a similarity to your pre-eminent qualities. I for my part will certainly not do this, I am not so mad; but I have considered you both better and higher than all men. And with this I bring my speech to an end. 8 <To the Emperor> Behold, I too, most divine emperor, offer a brief eulogy to the infinitely-manifold greatness of your power. For I did not think it right that because of me alone both oratory and the Muses should lament, as if I had blunted their efficacy and, by collecting words, had displayed nothing worthy of the labors I underwent, and this, when the occasion all but cries out and provokes to speech and writing even insensible and inanimate nature. For yesterday and the day before, the palace was open only to the continuous introductions of taxes, and freedom of speech was great, and the way to the palace was such only for those bringing such things. But speeches and learned men were neglected, for whom the approaches to the palace were closed, and all doors were barred, and little or nothing was permitted for speeches to be brought to light. But now wisdom itself, having somehow become incarnate, or rather, having taken up residence in the soul of the emperor and established itself in its worthy eminence, calls its own nurslings and draws to itself both speeches themselves and those concerned with speeches, to display their power. Choirs of wise men flow in from every part of the earth and throng together, and speeches are their cargo. And the emperor receives and embraces them, and it is clear that he is no more gladdened and glorified by the prostrations of nations from all quarters and by the greatness of so vast a power than by these. For these reasons, therefore, I have been both sharpened and provoked, and with a shattered and humble speech I have dared to touch upon things beyond speech. But be gracious to me, most excellent of sceptre-bearers, accepting this small thing in place of great ones and imitating him who did not reject the widow's two mites. Let others, then, following the rules of art, marvel and extol the advantages exceedingly lavished upon you from your father's excellence and your ancestral glory; whom I think will surely grow weary and give up at the magnitude of the subject and blame themselves for the attempt. For it would be the same to bail out the sea with a cup and to count the stars and the sand, and to attempt the heroic deeds and splendors from which you have sprung
ὁρώμενα θέμενος, ὅταν δὲ καὶ τὸν τάφον τῆς βασιλίδος θεάσωμαι, θεῶμαι δὲ πολλάκις ὁπόταν τινὰ δυσχέρειαν τύχης παραμυθήσασθαι
βούλωμαι ἐκπλήττομαι τῷ κάλλει τῶν ὁρωμένων καὶ ὑπερφυῶς ἐπαγάλλομαι, ὅτι τὸ τῆς θείας ζωῆς σκήνωμα τοιαύτης τετύχηκε φύσεως
καὶ καταπαύσεως. σὲ δὲ τό γε καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπερεκπλήττομαι ὅπως ἀθάνατον ἔχεις τὴν ἀρετὴν τῇ νεκρότητι μὴ συνεκρουμένην τῷ σώματι.
ὅταν δὲ καὶ τῶν κατὰ σοῦ τυραννησάντων μνησθῶ, ὧν ἐνίοις καὶ κρινομένοις ἐντετύχηκα, θαυμάζω σου τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τὸ ἄρρητον.
ἀλλὰ πῶς- τολμήσω γάρ σε καὶ ἐπανέρεσθαι-ὁ τοῖς καθ' ἑτέρων λυττήσασι τὴν δίκην ἐπάγων, σαυτῷ τυραννουμένῳ οὐ βεβοήθηκας;
ἀλλ' ἐπειδὰν οἱ νόμοι μὲν πᾶσαν κατ' αὐτῶν τιμωρίαν νικήσωσιν, οἱ δὲ δικασταὶ ἀφέντες τὰς ψήφους τὰς χεῖρας ὁπλίσωσιν, οἱ
δὲ δήμιοι τὸν σίδηρον θήξωσι, τότε σὺ διασπαράττῃ τὰ σπλάγχνα καὶ τὴν φύσιν ἐγείρεις εἰς δάκρυα καὶ μετὰ τῆς ἀφέσεως καὶ εὐεργεσιῶν
προχέεις πηγάς. Τούτοις εἰ μέν τις ἄλλος κεκόσμηται τοῖς πλεονεκτήμασι, πρὸς ἐκεῖνον καὶ συγκρινέτωσαν οἱ ῥητορεύοντες καὶ
παραβαλέτωσαν· εἰ δὲ τῆς σῆς ταῦτα μόνα πέφυκε φύσεως, διὰ τί τὴν τέχνην τηροῦντες ἐλαττοῦσι τὰς ἀρετάς; οἷς γὰρ πρὸς ἕτερόν
σε συγκρίνουσιν, εἰ καὶ τηροῦσιν ὡς ὑπερέχοντα, ἀλλ' ὁμοιότητα πρὸς τὰ σὰ διδόασι προτερήματα. οὐ δὴ ποιήσω ἔγωγε τοῦτο, οὐχ
οὕτω μαίνομαι, ἀλλά σε πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἥγημαι κρείττονά τε καὶ ὑψηλότερον. καὶ τοῦτο τέλος τῷ λόγῳ δίδωμι. 8 <Πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα>
Ἰδοὺ δὴ κἀγώ, θειότατε βασιλεῦ, βραχεῖαν τὴν εὐφημίαν τῷ ἀπειροπλασίῳ μεγέθει προσφέρω τοῦ κράτους σου. οὐ γὰρ δεῖν ᾠήθην
ἐπ' ἔμοιγε μόνῳ στενάξαι καὶ λόγους καὶ μούσας ὡς τὸ αὐτῶν ἐνεργὸν καταμβλύναντι καὶ μηδὲν ἄξιον ὧν ὑπέστην πόνων λόγους συλλέγων
ἐνδείξαντι, καὶ ταῦτα, τοῦ καιροῦ μονονουχὶ βοῶντος καὶ πρὸς τὸ λέγειν καὶ γράφειν διερεθίζοντος καὶ τὴν ἀναίσθητον φύσιν
καὶ ἄψυχον. Χθὲς μὲν γὰρ καὶ πρῴην ταῖς συνεχέσι μόναις τῶν φόρων εἰσαγωγαῖς ἀνεῴγνυτο τὰ βασίλεια, καὶ ἦν ἡ παρρησία πολλή,
καὶ ὁ δρόμος οἷος ἐς τὰ ἀνάκτορα τοῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα μόνοις προσφέρουσι. παρημελοῦντο δὲ λόγοι καὶ λόγιοι, οἷς ἀπεκλείοντο μὲν
αἱ πρὸς τὰ βασίλεια πάροδοι, ἐπεζυγοῦντο δὲ πᾶσαι θύραι καὶ μικρὸν ἢ οὐδὲν συνεχωρεῖτο λόγοις ἐκφαίνεσθαι. τὰ νῦν δὲ αὐτή
πως ἡ σοφία σωματωθεῖσα, μᾶλλον δὲ τῇ τοῦ βασιλέως ψυχῇ ἐνοικήσασα καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀξίας περιωπῆς καταστᾶσα τοὺς ἑαυτῆς τροφίμους
καλεῖ καὶ λόγους αὐτοὺς καὶ τοὺς περὶ λόγους τὸ ἐνεργὸν ἐπιδειξομένους ἐφέλκεται. προσρέονται γῆς πανταχόθεν καὶ ἑαυτοὺς συνωθοῦσι
σοφῶν χορεῖαι, καὶ λόγοι τὰ τούτων ἀγώγιμα. δέχεταί τε τούτους καὶ ἐγκολπίζεται βασιλεύς, καὶ δῆλός ἐστιν οὐδὲν πλέον ταῖς
τῶν ἁπανταχόθεν ἐθνῶν προσκυνήσεσι καὶ τῷ τοῦ τοσούτου κράτους μεγέθει ἢ τούτοις ἐπιγαννύμενος καὶ κυδρούμενος. ∆ιὰ ταῦτα
τοίνυν ἐγὼ παρατέθηγμαί τε καὶ ὑπηρέθισμαι, καὶ συντετριμμένῳ λόγῳ καὶ εὐτελεῖ ἐφάψασθαι τῶν ὑπὲρ λόγον ἐτόλμησα. ἀλλά μοι
ἵλεως γένοιο, σκηπτούχων πανεξοχώτατε, τὸ μικρὸν ἀντὶ μεγάλων δεξάμενος καὶ τὸν τὰ δύο λεπτὰ τῆς χήρας μὴ ἀπωσάμενον μιμησάμενος.
Ἄλλοι μὲν οὖν θαυμαζέτωσαν καὶ ἐκθειαζέτωσαν τοῖς τεχνικοῖς κανόσιν ἑπόμενοι τὰ ἐκ πατραγαθίας καὶ προγονικῆς εὐκλείας ὑπερφυῶς
ἐπιδαψιλευθέντα σοι πλεονεκτήματα· οὓς καμεῖν οἶμαι πάντως καὶ ἀπειπεῖν τῷ μεγέθει τῆς ὑποθέσεως καὶ μέμψασθαι ἑαυτοὺς τῆς
ἐπιχειρήσεως. ἴσον γὰρ ἂν εἴη κοτύλῃ τὴν θάλασσαν ἐξαντλεῖν καὶ ἀστέρας καὶ ἄμμον ἀπαριθμεῖν καὶ τάς, ἐξ ὧν ἔφυς, ἀριστείας
τε καὶ λαμπρότητας πειρᾶσθαι
