38

he summoned them to the triclinium to dispute publicly about the faith; and "Come now," he says, "you accursed ones, what sayings of scripture persuade you and give you the confidence to" calling the holy icons "idols" with unbridled and defiled tongue, "venerate, and you assure the many and the simple that it is right to do so?" and he added certain other blasphemous and discordant things against the icon of Christ our God in a louder voice. And these blessed men, saying, "Let the mouth be stopped that speaks lawless things against God," and with this they cast down his audacity (for an unjust emperor cannot bear being reproached to his face), for the time being he feigned flattery, and he sought testimonies from the prophets leading to this very thing, that they should be venerated. But when the blessed Theophanes brought forward a certain saying from the prophecy of Isaiah, Theophilus contradicted, saying it was not so, and at the same time, unrolling his own book, he showed the words to be true. But when the saint cried out that not only this one had been falsified by him, but all the books 105 that had come into his hands, he said, adding that the book should come to him from the patriarchal library situated in the Thomaites at this location for the confirmation of what was said. When, therefore, someone was sent and quicker than speech brought it, the emperor, being ashamed, deliberately erred in finding the saying and unrolled another place; but when he was instructed by the blessed Theophanes, who pointed with his finger that if he turned three more pages he would find what he was looking for, then, not bearing the outspokenness of the men, and also knowing that the truth was so, casting off his hitherto feigned long-suffering and revealing the beast, he said, "It is not just for an emperor to be insulted by such men." Therefore he ordered that they be led away to the garden of the Lausiacus and be beaten with two hundred strokes each, and that the iambic verses of nonsense he composed be inscribed on their foreheads by being barbarously tattooed. These are they. While all desire to run to the city where the all-holy feet of God the Word stood for the establishment of the world, these men were seen in that venerable place as wicked vessels of superstitious error. There, having then committed many shameful, terrible, and impiously-minded deeds out of unbelief, they were driven from thence as apostates. But having fled to the city of the empire, 106 they did not forsake their lawless follies. Therefore, having been written upon as evildoers in appearance, they are condemned and persecuted again. When this was quickly done, they bound on the crown of confession and martyrdom, while this pompous man, more wretched than all wretches, was shown to all as a blasphemer and persecutor, and more heterodox than any heterodox person ever. 15 In addition to these things, he also imprisoned Michael the syncellus of the church in the holy city along with many other ascetics in the prison, contriving to subject them to long-lasting affliction. Such indeed were his outrages against the faithful and the saints; and He who for our sake appeared as a man, being true God, he thus insulted, and His holy servants, not for so brief and limited a time, but throughout the entire time of his life, he afflicted and subjected to incurable calamities. (16) But composing certain hymns and setting stichera to music, he urged that they be sung; among which also was the "Bless ye" of the fourth mode, having adapted an ode from the "Hearken, O daughter" of the eighth and provided a rhythm, he appointed it to be sung in the church of God for all to hear. There is also a certain story that this same Theophilus, being smitten with love for the melody, as fathers are 107 for their offspring, in the Great Church during a splendid festival did not decline to lead the singing with hand gestures, giving to its clergy one hundred pounds of gold for this. And the sticheron for Palm Sunday, "Go forth, O nations, go forth, O peoples," of the

38

τρίκλινον ἐξεκάλει δημοσίᾳ δια- λεξομένους περὶ τῆς πίστεως· καὶ "αγε δή" φησίν, "ὑμεῖς ω κατάρατοι, τίσι πειθόμενοι ῥήσεσι τῆς γραφῆς καὶ τεθαρρηκότες τὰ ειδωλα" ἀφέτῳ δὴ γλώσσῃ καὶ μιαρᾷ τὰς ἁγίας εἰκόνας ουτω καλῶν "προσκυνεῖτε, καὶ τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ ἀκεραίους καλῶς εχειν ουτω ποιεῖν διαβεβαιοῦσθε;" καὶ αλλ' αττα προσετίθει βλάσφημα καὶ ἀπηχῆ κατὰ τῆς εἰκόνος Χριστοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ γεγωνοτέρᾳ φωνῇ. καὶ ουτοι δὴ μακάριοι, "ἐμφραχθείη τὸ στόμα" εἰπόντες "τὸ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ λαλοῦν ανομα," καὶ τούτῳ δὴ τὸ θράσος αὐτοῦ κατα- βαλόντες (οὐ φέρει γὰρ βασιλεὺς αδικος κατὰ πρόσωπον ἐλεγχό- μενος), τὸν θῶπα τέως ὑποκρίνεται, καὶ παρὰ τῶν προφητῶν ἐζήτει μαρτυρίας εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἐναγούσας, τὸ προσκυνεῖσθαι αὐτάς. τοῦ δὲ μακαρίου Θεοφάνους ῥῆσίν τινα ἐκ τῆς τοῦ ̓Ησαΐου προσάγοντος προφητείας, οὐκ εχειν ουτως ταύτην ὁ Θεόφιλος ἀντέλεγεν, καὶ αμα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ βίβλον ἀνελίττων ἐδείκνυε τοὺς λόγους πιστούς. ὡς δὲ νενοθεῦσθαι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ οὐ ταύτην δὴ μό- νον ὁ αγιος ἐπεβόα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάσας τὰς εἰς αὐτοῦ χεῖρα βίβλους 105 ἐληλακυίας, ἐκείνην ελεγε προστιθεὶς τὴν βίβλον ἰέναι πρὸς αὐτὸν τὴν κατὰ τὴν πατριαρχικὴν ἐν τῷ Θωμαΐτῃ κατὰ τήνδε τὴν θέσιν κειμένην βιβλιοθήκην εἰς τῶν λεγομένων βεβαίωσιν. ἐπεὶ γοῦν ἀπέσταλτό τις καὶ θᾶττον η  λόγος ηγαγεν, ἑκὼν μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς περὶ τὴν τοῦ ῥητοῦ ευρεσιν ἡμάρτανεν καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ ἀνείλιττεν αἰσχυνόμενος· ὡς δ' ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαρίτου Θεοφάνους ἀνεδιδάσκετο, δακτυλοδεικτοῦντος ὡς ετι τρία φύλλα διαβιβάσας τὸ ζητούμενον καταλάβοις, τότε δὴ μὴ φέρων τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἀνδρῶν παρρησίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν εχειν ουτως εἰδώς, τὸ τῆς μακροθυμίας μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ἐπίπλαστον ἀπορρίψας καὶ τὸν θῆρα ἀνακαλύψας "οὐ δίκαιον" εφησε "βασιλέα ὑπὸ τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν ἐνυβρίζεσθαι." οθεν προσέταξεν ἐν τῷ τοῦ Λαυσιακοῦ μεσοκηπίῳ ἀπαχθέντας ἀνὰ διακοσίων ῥάβδων τυφθῆναι, καὶ τῷ μετώπῳ αὐτῶν ἐπιγρα- φῆναι βαρβαρικῶς ἐγκεντηθέντας ους συνέθηκε λήρους ἰαμβικούς. εἰσὶ δὲ ουτοι. πάντων ποθούντων προστρέχειν πρὸς τὴν πόλιν οπου πάναγνοι τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου πόδες εστησαν εἰς σύστημα τῆς οἰκουμένης, ωφθησαν ουτοι τῷ σεβασμίῳ τόπῳ σκεύη πονηρὰ δεισιδαίμονος πλάνης. ἐκεῖσε πολλὰ λοιπὸν ἐξ ἀπιστίας πράξαντες αἰσχρὰ δεινὰ δυσσεβοφρόνως, ἐκεῖθεν ἠλάθησαν ὡς ἀποστάται. πρὸς τὴν πόλιν δὲ τοῦ κράτους πεφευγότες 106 οὐκ ἐξαφῆκαν τὰς ἀθέσμους μωρίας. οθεν γραφέντες ὡς κακοῦργοι τὴν θέαν κατακρίνονται καὶ διώκονται πάλιν. τούτου δὲ θᾶττον γενομένου ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τὸν τῆς ὁμολογίας καὶ μαρτυρίας ἀνεδήσαντο στέφανον, ουτος δὲ ὁ σοβαρὸς καὶ πάντων ἀθλίων ἀθλιώτερος πᾶσιν ἐδείχθη βλάσφημος καὶ διώκτης καὶ τῶν πώποτε κακοδόξων κακοδοξότερος. 15 Πρὸς τούτοις δὲ καὶ Μιχαὴλ τὸν σύγκελλον τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν πόλιν ἐκκλησίας σὺν ἑτέροις πολλοῖς ἀσκηταῖς κατὰ τὴν φυλακὴν ἐγκαθεῖρξεν, τῇ πολιχρονίῳ κακώσει ὑπάξαι μηχανώ- μενος. Τὰ μὲν δὴ κατὰ τῶν πιστῶν καὶ ἁγίων τοιαῦτα αὐτοῦ τὰ νεανιεύματα· καὶ τὸν μὲν δι' ἡμᾶς ὀφθέντα ανθρωπον, θεὸν οντα ἀληθινόν, ουτως υβριζέ τε καὶ τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ ἁγίους θερά- ποντας οὐχ ουτω βραχεῖ χρόνῳ καὶ περιωρισμένῳ κατὰ πάντα δὲ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ χρόνον τῆς ζωῆς ἐκάκου καὶ ἀνηκέστοις ὑπεβάλλετο συμφοραῖς. (16) υμνους δέ τινας ποιῶν καὶ στιχηρὰ μελίζων ᾳδεσθαι προετρέπετο· μεθ' ων καὶ τὸ τοῦ τετάρτου ηχου "εὐλο- γεῖτε," ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ὀγδόην "ακουε κόρη" ᾠδὴν μεθαρμοσά- μενος καὶ ῥυθμὸν παρασχών, ἐν τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐκκλησίᾳ εἰς πάντων ἐπήκοον ᾳδεσθαι διωρίσατο. φέρεται δὴ καὶ λόγος τις ὡς αὐτὸς ουτος ὁ Θεόφιλος ερωτι τοῦ μέλους βαλλόμενος, καθάπερ πατέρες 107 περὶ τὰ εκγονα, κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν ἐν φαιδρᾷ πανηγύ- ρει οὐ παρῃτήσατο τὸ χειρονομεῖν, δοὺς τῷ κλήρῳ αὐτῆς λίτρας ὑπὲρ τούτου χρυσίου ἑκατόν. καὶ τὸ στιχηρὸν δὲ τὸ κατὰ τὴν βαϊοφόρον, "ἐξέλθετε εθνη, ἐξέλθετε καὶ λαοί," τῆς