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in the manner of one praying to God. Therefore, representations of him [were] throughout the whole land of the Romans, and in the palaces themselves in certain cities, in the images dedicated on the elevated parts of the vestibules, he was depicted standing upright, looking up to heaven, with his two hands outstretched, in the posture of one praying. Thus indeed he depicts himself praying in the painted portraits. From the third book of the same: Thus then the emperor's mother came to her end, worthy of the greatest honor both on account of her own God-loving deeds and of the extraordinary and marvelous offspring born from her, whom it is worthy to bless, in addition to all else, for his piety toward her who bore him, having so made her godly who was not so before, that she seemed to him to have been a disciple of the common Savior from the very first, and having so honored her with the imperial dignity, that in all nations, even by the military detachments themselves, she was proclaimed Augusta and queen, and that her image was stamped on gold coins. From chapter 69 of the fourth book of the same: And those inhabiting the imperial city along with the senate and people of the Romans, when they learned of the emperor's death, being bound by the terrible news, beyond all calamity, began an unbearable mourning. And the baths were closed, and the markets, and the public spectacles, and everything that it was the custom for those who are cheerful to do for the ease of life. And those formerly luxurious, now downcast, made their processions, and all together they acclaimed the blessed one, the God-loving, the one truly worthy of the empire. And they did not voice these things in shouts alone, but proceeding to deeds with dedications of images, just as they honored him when living, so also when he was dead, having depicted the form of heaven in a colored painting, they committed him to the painting as resting in an ethereal abode above the vault of the heavens. From chapter 73 of the same: In a similar way, at least, the thrice-blessed one became many times over instead of one, through the succession of his sons, so that by the erection of images among all nations he was honored together with his sons. From the interpretation of Ezekiel by Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus, and Polychronius: And just as the Romans, when painting the imperial images, station the spear-bearers around and make the nations subject, in a similar manner here also; since through the vision he depicts God the King as seated upon a throne, he shows the images of all things on earth and assigns what is fitting to the form, teaching God’s dominion over all things. Of the same: “And you, son of man, take for yourself a brick and you shall place it before your face and you shall portray upon it the whole of Jerusalem and you shall place a siege against it and you shall build bulwarks against it and you shall cast a rampart about it and you shall place camps against it and you shall set siege engines round about.” Interpretation: If it has been deemed fearsome for you to speak openly to the multitude and to foretell the sacking of the city and the destruction of the temple and the terrible things that will result from these, declare this in another way, so as both to chasten them and for you to show reasonableness. “And having taken,” he says, “a brick, draw the city.” And let the name of the city be inscribed, so that it may be known that this is “Jerusalem”. And having made the city, surround it in the form of the drawing with a “rampart,” which is a multitude of an army. And let the forces approach in battle order; for this is what he means by “camps,” that is, military detachments drawn up, not only fenced about with weapons, but bringing forward the engines, with which they will destroy these walls; for these [engines] are what “the siege engines” signifies. And most wonderfully he signifies only the surrounding of the city by the multitude, so that before the terrible things happen, having struck them with fear, he might make them cease from their lawlessness.

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πρὸς θεὸν εὐχομένου τρόπον. Τούτου μὲν οὖν τὰ ἐκτυπώματα καθ' ὅλης τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς, ἐν αὐτοῖς δὲ τοῖς βασιλείοις κατά τινας πόλεις ἐν ταῖς εἰς τὸ μετέωρον τῶν προπύλων ἀνακειμέναις εἰκόσιν ἑστὼς ὄρθιος ἐγράφετο, ἄνω μὲν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐμβλέπων, τὼ χεῖρε ἐκτεταμένω, εὐχομένου σχήματι. Ὧδε μὲν οὖν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐν ταῖς εἰκονογραφίαις εὐχόμενον ἱστορεῖ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐκ τοῦ τρίτου βιβλίου· Ὧδε μὲν οὖν ἡ βασιλέως ἐτελειοῦτο μήτηρ, ἀξία τε τιμῆς πλείστης τῶν τε αὐτῆς ἕνεκα θεοφιλῶν πράξεων τοῦ τε ἐξ αὐτῆς φύντος ὑπερφυοῦς καὶ παραδόξου φυτοῦ, ὃν πρὸς τοῖς ἅπασι καὶ τῆς εἰς τὴν γεννησαμένην ὁσίας μακαρίζειν ἄξιον, οὕτω μὲν αὐτὴν θεοσεβῆ καταστήσαντα μὴ οὖσαν τὸ πρότερον, ὡς αὐτῷ δοκεῖν ἐκ πρώτης τῷ κοινῷ σωτῆρι μεμαθητεῦσθαι, οὕτω δὲ τῷ ἀξιώματι βασιλικῷ τετιμηκότα, ὡς ἐν ἅπασιν ἔθνεσι παρ' αὐτοῖς τοῖς στρατιωτικοῖς τάγμασιν αὐγούσταν βασιλίδα ἀναγορεύεσθαι, χρυσοῖς τε νομίσμασι καὶ τὴν αὐτῆς ἐκτυποῦσθαι εἰκόνα. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ τετάρτου λόγου κεφαλαίου ξθʹ· Οἱ δὲ τὴν βασιλίδα πόλιν οἰκοῦντες αὐτῇ τῇ συγκλήτῳ καὶ δήμῳ Ῥωμαίων, ὡς τὴν βασιλέως ἐπέγνωσαν τελευτήν, δεινῇ καὶ πάσης συμφορᾶς ἐπέκεινα τῇ ἀκοῇ δεδεμένοι πένθος ἄσχετον ἐποιοῦντο. Λουτρὰ δὲ ἀπεκλείοντο καὶ ἀγοραὶ πάνδημοί τε θέαι καὶ πάντα, ὅσα ἐπὶ ῥᾳστώνῃ βίου τοῖς εὐθυμουμένοις πράττειν ἔθος ἦν. Κατηφεῖς δὲ οἱ πάλαι τρυφηλοὶ τὰς προόδους ἐποιοῦντο, ὁμοῦ τε οἱ πάντες τὸν μακάριον ἀνευφήμουν, τὸν θεοφιλῆ, τὸν ὡς ἀληθῶς τῆς βασιλείας ἐπάξιον. Καὶ οὐ ταῦτα βοαῖς ἐφώνουν μόναις, εἰς ἔργα δὲ χωροῦντες εἰκόνων ἀναθήμασιν, οἱάπερ ζῶντα καὶ τεθνηκότα αὐτὸν ἐτίμων, οὐρανοῦ μὲν σχῆμα διατυπώσαντες ἐν χρωμάτων γραφῇ, ὑπὲρ ἀψίδα δὲ οὐρανῶν ἐν αἰθερίῳ διατριβῇ διαναπαυόμενον αὐτὸν τῇ γραφῇ παραδιδόντες. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ κεφαλαίου ογʹ· Τούτῳ γοῦν ἐμφερῶς ὁ τρισμακάριος πολυπλάσιος διὰ τῆς τῶν παίδων διαδοχῆς ἀνθ' ἑνὸς ἐγίνετο, ὡς εἰκόνων ἀναστάσει παρὰ πᾶσιν ἔθνεσιν ἅμα τοῖς αὐτοῦ τιμᾶσθαι παισίν. Θεοδωρήτου, ἐπισκόπου Κύρρου, καὶ Πολυχρονίου ἐκ τῆς εἰς τὸν Ἰεζεκιὴλ ἑρμηνείας· Καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τὰς βασιλικὰς εἰκόνας γράφοντες τούς τε δορυφόρους περιιστῶσι καὶ τὰ ἔθνη ὑποτεταγμένα ποιοῦσι, τὸν ὅμοιον τρόπον κἀνταῦθα· ἐπειδὴ ὁ βασιλεὺς διὰ τῆς ὀπτασίας σχηματίζει τὸν θεὸν ὡς ἐπὶ θρόνου ὀχούμενον πάντων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς δείκνυσι τὰς εἰκόνας τῷ τε σχήματι τὸ πρέπον ἀποδίδωσι κατὰ πάντων τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ διδάσκων τὴν δεσποτείαν. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ· «Καὶ σύ, υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου, λάβε σεαυτῷ πλίνθον καὶ θήσεις αὐτὴν πρὸ προσώπου σου καὶ διαγράψεις ἐν αὐτῇ ὅλην τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ καὶ δώσεις ἐν αὐτῇ περιοχὴν καὶ οἰκοδομήσεις ἐν αὐτῇ προμαχῶνας καὶ περιβαλεῖς ἐπὶ αὐτὴν χάρακα καὶ δώσεις ἐπ' αὐτῇ παρεμβολὰς καὶ τάξεις τὰς βελοστάσεις κύκλῳ.» Ἑρμηνεία· Εἴ σοι φοβερὸν νενόμισται τὸ ἐξ ἐναντίας τῷ πλήθει διαλέγεσθαι καὶ προλέγειν τῆς πόλεως τὴν πόρθησιν καὶ τοῦ ναοῦ τὴν κατασκαφὴν καὶ τὰ ἐκ τούτων συμβησόμενα δεινά, ἑτέρως τοῦτο μήνυσον ὡς κἀκείνους σωφρονίζειν καὶ σὲ δεικνύναι τὴν ἐπιείκειαν. «Καὶ λαβών», φησί, «πλίνθον διάγραψον τὴν πόλιν.» Ἐπιγεγράφθω δὲ τῆς πόλεως ἡ προσηγορία, ὥστε γνωρίζεσθαι ταύτην οὖσαν «τὴν Ἱερουσαλήμ». Ποιήσας δὲ τὴν πόλιν περίστησον τῷ τῆς γραφῆς σχήματι «χάρακα», ἵνα ἐστὶ στρατοπέδου πλῆθος. Αἱ δὲ δυνάμεις κατὰ τάξιν πολεμικὴν προσιέτωσαν· τοῦτο γὰρ λέγει «παρεμβολὰς» ἀντὶ τοῦ τάγματα στρατιωτικὰ παρεστῶτα, μὴ μόνον περιπεφραγμένα ὅπλοις, ἀλλὰ τὰ μηχανήματα ἐπιφερόμενα, οἷς καθαιρήσουσι τὰ τείχη ταῦτα· τὰ τείχη γὰρ ταῦτα μηνύει «τὰς βελοστάσεις». Θαυμασιώτατα δὲ μόνον τὴν περὶ τὴν πόλιν περίστασιν τοῦ πλήθους μηνύει, ἵνα πρὸ τῶν δεινῶν τῷ φόβῳ καταπλήξας ἀποστήσῃ αὐτῆς τὴν παρανομίαν.