40

we were first to be released from trials. 77.3 When we were near the wall, the crowd of all the native barbarians was poured out around the naval station, welcoming their own people, but marveling at us. 77.4 For at the same time it happened that all the ships of the city came together and arrived at the harbor, then the multitude of goods and the rest of the spoils was brought out from each of them as if from some cities, and it was carried into certain houses that had been prepared beforehand, so that in a short time the city was filled with the reception of these things. 77.5 And they brought us forward, leading us like some trophy of victory, celebrating a triumph over us for all to see and making a spectacle of our misfortune. 77.6 For what a cry they raised and how they leaped up with their jumps, when we came to the very entrance of the city, showing the outrage against us as an occasion for their delight. 77.7 This indeed pained us more than the other things, as we could no longer bear to endure the succession of those terrible things and the excessive shame. 77.8 But when indeed after this triumph a certain house was allotted in which we were condemned to be guarded, to be kept for our arrival in Tarsus, then indeed, relieved from our many labors and resting our heads on the ground, we begged God with tears that our troubles might at last cease and that an increase of such vexations no longer find a place against us, which even to hear of was to experience; 77.9 for it has surpassed the nature of everything painful. 77.10 But these things, we who were being kept for the reconciliation and those who with us were allotted from the remaining captives in Tripoli. 78.1 But those of us who were separated in Crete on the other ships from each place were scattered along the entire coast of Syria; 78.2 whom many of the merchants, buying and then reselling in different places, exchange among themselves even until now, so that some of them have even reached Ethiopia and the barbarians who inhabit the furthest south. 78.3 If someone should wish to write down their misfortunes, he will seem like one who has idly supposed he could measure out the sand of the sea-shore. 78.4 For surely you yourself, most learned of men, if you have met any of them, both in Damascus and in the cities around it (for you have met, I know, many there because all the Tyrian ships scattered their captives in those parts), you have already learned from the many a few things of our sufferings. 78.5 For I omit to say that also our stay around Tripoli, at the time when we were briefly recognized by you as you were passing through there at the beginning, has sufficiently informed you about these things, both revealing the situation even as we were silent and exposing the anguish of our souls by our appearances. 78.6 From which you yourself, sympathizing then and sharing with us in this suffering by making it of great importance to learn the sequence of these events, became manifest, being struck with grief and pained in heart beyond measure. 78.7 Nevertheless, having been thus afflicted by those many and countless tempests of trials, and having become no better off, not even in Tripoli itself, during the time we spent there, but, as far as I am concerned, only having associated with some who were even more wretched (for there I was also orphaned of my good father, as if I had found in his loss another beginning of terrible things), nevertheless after your departure, not a long time after, by order of the tyrant, all of us together being thrown again onto the former ship with some barbarians who were transporting us, we reached this guard-post of Tarsus; 78.8 and now we are on the border of two expected outcomes, either to obtain the redemption long talked of through the saving reconciliation, or to be delivered over to death, which is present every day with frequent illnesses and otherwise dwells with those nearby in the garrison. 78.9 However, we cannot know for certain which of these two we are fated to obtain first. 79.1 And I have now fulfilled the command,

40

πρῶτον ἐμέλλομεν πειρασμῶν ἀφεθῆναι. 77.3 γενομένων οὖν ἡμῶν πλησίον τοῦ τείχους, ἐχεῖτο περὶ τὸν ναύσταθμον ἁπάντων ἐγχωρίων βαρβάρων τὸ πλῆθος, τοὺς μὲν οἰκείους προσλαμβανόμενον, τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς δὲ θαμβούμενον. 77.4 ἅμα γὰρ συνέβη πάσας τὰς τῆς πόλεως συνελθεῖν νῆας καὶ πρὸς τὸν ὅρμον γενέσθαι, εἶτα ἐξεκομίζετο ἀφ' ἑκάστης αὐτῶν τῶν τε χρημάτων τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν σκύλων ὥσπερ ἀπό τινων πόλεων, καὶ μετήγετο εἴς τινας προηυτρεπισμένας οἰκίας, ὡς ἐν ὀλίγῳ πληρωθῆναι τὴν πόλιν τῆς τούτων ὑποδοχῆς. 77.5 προέφερον δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς ἄγοντες καθάπερ τι τρόπαιον νίκης, ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἡμᾶς θριαμβεύοντες καὶ θέατρον ποιούμενοι τὴν καθ' ἡμᾶς συμφοράν. 77.6 οἷον γὰρ ἀνέκραγον καὶ τοῖς ἐξάλμασιν ἐπεσκίρτησαν, ὅτε πρὸς αὐτῇ γεγόναμεν τῇ εἰσόδῳ τῆς πόλεως, ἀφορμὴν θυμηδίας τὴν καθ' ἡμῶν ὕβριν δεικνύμενοι. 77.7 ὃ δὴ καὶ πλείω τῶν ἄλλων ὠδύνησεν ἡμᾶς, οὐκέτι φέροντας τῶν δεινῶν ἐκείνων καὶ τῆς ὑπερβαλλούσης αἰσχύνης τὴν ἐπαλληλίαν ὑφίστασθαι. 77.8 ἀλλ' ὅτε δὴ καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον τὸν θρίαμβον ἐκληρώθη τις οἶκος ἐν ᾧ φρουρεῖσθαι κατεκρίθημεν τηρηθησόμενοι τῆς πρὸς τὴν Ταρσὸν ἀφίξεως, τότε δὴ τῶν πολλῶν ἀνεθέντες πόνων καὶ τῇ γῇ τὰς κεφαλὰς προσερείσαντες ἐδεόμεθα τοῦ θεοῦ μετὰ δακρύων στῆναι ἡμῖν ποτε τὰ κακὰ καὶ μηκέτι χώραν λαβεῖν καθ' ἡμῶν τοιούτων ὀχληρῶν ἐπίτασιν, ὧν καὶ ἡ ἀκοὴ μόνη μετήγετο διὰ πείρας ἐλθεῖν· 77.9 παντὸς γὰρ ἀλγεινοῦ φύσιν ἐκβέβηκεν. 77.10 ἀλλὰ ταῦτα ἡμεῖς οἱ πρὸς τὴν καταλλαγὴν τηρούμενοι καὶ οἱ μεθ' ἡμῶν λαχόντες τῶν λοιπῶν αἰχμαλώτων κατὰ τὴν Τρίπολιν. 78.1 Οἱ δέ γ' ἐν Κρήτῃ ἐξ ἡμῶν διαιρεθέντες ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις ναυσὶ ταῖς ἀφ' ἑκάστου τόπου διεσπάρησαν καθ' ὅλης τῆς παραλίας Συρίας· 78.2 οὓς καὶ ὠνούμενοι πολλοὶ τῶν ἐμπόρων καὶ πάλιν μεταπιπράσκοντες κατὰ διαφόρους τόπους ἐν ἀλλήλοις μέχρι καὶ νῦν αὐτοὺς ἀνταμείβουσιν, ὡς καὶ αὐτὴν φθάσαι τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν τινὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ τοὺς τὴν ἀκροτάτην μεσημβρίαν κατοικοῦντας βαρβάρους. 78.3 ὧν εἰ θελήσοι τις τὰς συμφορὰς ἀναγράφεσθαι, ὅμοιος εἶναι δόξει τῷ τὴν παραλίαν ψάμμον ἐκμετρεῖν εἰκαίως τοπάσαντι. 78.4 πάντως γὰρ καὶ αὐτός, φιλομαθέστατε ἀνδρῶν, εἴπερ ἐνέτυχές τισιν ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἔν τε τῇ ∆αμασκῷ καὶ ταῖς περὶ αὐτὴν πόλεσιν (ἐνέτυχες γάρ, οἶδα, πολλοῖς ἐκεῖσε διὰ τὸ πάσας τὰς Τυρίας νῆας τοῖς μέρεσιν ἐκείνοις τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους αὐτῶν διασπεῖραι), ἔγνως ἐκ τῶν πολλῶν ὀλίγα τινὰ ἤδη τῶν καθ' ἡμᾶς παθημάτων. 78.5 ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν ὅτι καὶ ἡμῶν ἡ περὶ τὴν Τρίπολιν διαγωγή, ὁπότε διερχομένῳ σοι ἐκεῖθεν κατ' ἀρχὰς μικρὸν ἀνεγνωρίσθημεν, ἱκανῶς σε περὶ τούτων πεπληροφόρηκε, καὶ σιωπώντων ἡμῶν τὰ πράγματα παριστῶσα καὶ τὴν ὀδύνην τῶν ψυχῶν ταῖς μορφαῖς ἐξελέγχουσα. 78.6 ἐξ οὗ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς συμπαθήσας τότε καὶ ἐν τούτῳ κοινωνήσας ἡμῖν τοῦ πάθους ἐν τῷ περὶ πολλοῦ ποιήσασθαι μαθεῖν τὴν περὶ τούτων ἀκολουθίαν, ἔκδηλος ἐγένου τῇ λύπῃ πληγεὶς καὶ πέρα τοῦ μετρίου τὴν καρδίαν ὀδυνηθείς. 78.7 πλὴν οὕτω ταῖς πολλαῖς καὶ ἀπείροις ἐκείναις τῶν πειρασμῶν ταλαιπωρήσαντες καταιγίσι, καὶ οὐδὲν κρεῖττον οὐδ' ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Τριπόλει, παρ' ὅσον ἐν αὐτῇ διετρίψαμεν χρόνον, γενόμενοι, ἀλλὰ μόνον ὅσον τὸ κατ' ἐμὲ καὶ μοχθηροτέροις τισὶν ὁμιλήσαντες (ἐκεῖσε γὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ τοῦ καλοῦ πατρὸς ἀπωρφανίσθην, καθάπερ ἄλλην ἀρχὴν τῶν δεινῶν τὴν ἐκείνου στέρησιν ἐφευράμενος), ὅμως μετὰ τὴν σὴν ἀναχώρησιν, οὐ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον, προστάξει τοῦ τυράννου πάντες ὁμοῦ τῇ προτέρᾳ πάλιν βληθέντες νηῒ μετὰ καί τινων διακομιζόντων ἡμᾶς βαρβάρων ταύτην δὴ τὴν φρουρὰν τῆς Ταρσοῦ κατελάβομεν· 78.8 καὶ νῦν ἐσμὲν ἐν μεθορίῳ δύο πραγμάτων ἐλπιζομένων, ἢ τοῦ τυχεῖν τῆς πάλαι θρυλλουμένης διὰ τῆς σωτηρίου καταλλαγῆς ἀπολυτρώσεως, ἢ τῷ θανάτῳ παραπεμφθῆναι καθ' ἑκάστην ἐφεστῶτι ταῖς συχναῖς ἀρρωστίαις καὶ ἄλλως τοῖς ἐν τῇ φρουρᾷ πλησίον συνῳκισμένῳ. 78.9 πλὴν οὐκ ἔχομεν ἀσφαλῶς γινώσκειν ὁποτέρῳ τούτων προτέρῳ διαλαχεῖν. 79.1 Ἐγὼ δὲ τὴν ἐπιταγὴν ἤδη πεπλήρωκα,