42

having provided clear proofs of my goodwill and obedience towards him, this man, which I never would have expected, shows no friendly deed towards me. But if indeed he has chosen to make war on me, it will be a concern 1.122 for God on our behalf. I remind you also of the words you yourself spoke, when we were deliberating about what must be done in Byzantium. For when you and the protostrator said about the emperor as much as you yourself know, and I had advised the opposite, you yourself, amazed, said, "I trust clearly in God, that since you are disposed in this way toward my grandfather and emperor, God himself will fight for us, and will make us free from care." Consider, then, what you are about to do; for this word was spoken to you.” When the emperor said such things, Syrgiannes for his part objected, claiming to have been slandered, and that nothing of what he was accused of was true; but by not providing sure or clear proofs concerning what he was accused of, he provided no small suspicion to one who was able from his words to conjecture the facts, that he was conscious of wicked things in himself. However, when the emperor took up the same words again, and filled him with courage, saying that he would be no less well-disposed towards him than before, he departed. However, from Byzantium daily reports arrived from the friends of the new emperor, convincing that the things concerning Syrgiannes were true, and that the elder emperor was preparing everything for the war, which would break out as soon as Syrgiannes arrived. Just as winter was beginning, on the fifth day of the month of October, again the emperor said privately to Syrgiannes: “I do not think that you have forgotten what I discussed with you a short time ago. From then 1.123 until now it is reported to me daily concerning you, that you are preparing to defect to my grandfather; nay more, that he himself is also preparing for war, so as to make war on me as soon as you arrive. And as many as are friendly to me also advise to imprison you, since the war will cease as soon as you are imprisoned. But I will say again what I have said before: that if, persuaded by my words, you abstain from both planning and doing such things, it would be well; but if you are unable to change your mind, do what you wish. For not only am I not eager to imprison you, although I could do so very easily, as you yourself would say, but I will not even relieve you of your command. I foretell these things to you for this reason, so that you might know when you have departed, that not secretly, but having been detected you were overlooked in doing what you chose.” At these words Syrgiannes, again insisting that he was being slandered, and that he was conscious of no such thing himself, with the emperor's permission, departed for the cities of Thrace which he was governing. And having seized two of them, Aprus and Garella, with garrisons, and having secured the rest so as to be able to withstand a siege, he defected to the elder emperor in the month of November. And as soon as he set foot in Byzantium, the war of the emperors was openly fanned into flame again. For the young emperor, having in a short time gathered the entire army subject to him, addressed them with the following words: “The good and advantageous nature of peace, not only to the ruled, 1.124 but also to the rulers, just as, on the other hand, the evils from war, has been made clear to all of you. I for my part would have valued all my private possessions so that the peace might not be broken; but since my grandfather and emperor, something which I would never have been persuaded of before it happened, having broken the treaties with us, has openly proceeded to war, though we have provided no cause or pretext for breaking them, but now proceed to war unwillingly and by necessity, choosing peace with all our votes, it seems to me that nothing is left than to invoke God, the witness of the oaths in the treaties, and to march against the wrongdoers, not so much to harm them, as taking care not to suffer harm ourselves. For to wait in our own territory to defend ourselves against attackers would seem not very far from not only cowardice, but also folly. And I expect that not even God himself, whom we

42

εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας ἐμοῦ καὶ εὐπειθείας ἐναργεῖς παρασχομένων τὰς ἀποδείξεις, ὅδε, ὅπερ οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἤλπισα, οὐ φιλοῦντος ἔργον οὐδὲν ἐνδείκνυται εἰς ἐμέ. εἰ δ' ἄρα καὶ πολεμεῖν ἐμοὶ προῄρηται, θεῷ μὲν μελή 1.122 σει περὶ ἡμῶν. ἀναμιμνήσκω δέ σε καὶ ὧν αὐτὸς ἐφθέγξω λόγων, ἡμῶν περὶ τοῦ τί δεῖ πράττειν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ βουλευομένων. σοῦ γὰρ καὶ πρωτοστράτορος περὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ὅσα καὶ αὐτὸς οἶσθα εἰπόντων, ἐμοῦ δὲ τἀναντία βουλευσαμένου, θαυμάσας αὐτὸς «πέποιθα σαφῶς» ἔφης «ἐπὶ θεῷ, ὡς σοῦ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον περὶ τὸν πάππον καὶ βασιλέα διακειμένου, αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς πολεμήσει ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἡμᾶς δὲ ἀμερίμνους ποιήσει.» σκέψαι τοίνυν ὃ μέλλεις δρᾷν· σοὶ γὰρ ὁ λόγος εἴρηται οὑτοσί.» Τοιαῦτα τοῦ βασιλέως εἰπόντος, ἐνίστατο μὲν ὁ Συργιάννης σεσυκοφαντῆσθαι φάσκων, καὶ ὧν κατηγόρηται μηδὲν ἀληθὲς εἶναι· τῷ δὲ μὴ βεβαίας παρέχεσθαι μηδ' ἐναργεῖς τὰς ἀποδείξεις ὑπὲρ ὧν κατηγορεῖτο, ὑποψίαν οὐ μικρὰν τῷ στοχάζεσθαι τὰ πράγματα παρείχετο δυναμένῳ ἐκ τῶν λόγων, ὡς πονηρὰ σύνοιδεν ἑαυτῷ. τοῦ μέντοι βασιλέως τοὺς αὐτοὺς λόγους πάλιν ἀναλαβόντος, καὶ θάρσους ἐμπλήσαντος, ὡς οὐδὲν ἧττον ἢ πρότερον εὐμενῶς διακείσεται πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἀπῆλθεν. ἐκ μέντοι Βυζαντίου παρὰ τῶν τοῦ νέου βασιλέως ἀγγελίαι ὁσημέραι ἀφικνοῦντο φίλων, τά τε περὶ Συργιάννην πείθουσαι ὡς εἴη ἀληθῆ, καὶ ὅτι βασιλεὺς ὁ πρεσβύτερος τὰ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἐξαρτύεται πάντα, ὡς ἅμα τῷ Συργιάννην ἀφικέσθαι ἀναῤῥαγησομένου. ἄρτι δὲ τοῦ χειμῶνος ἀρχομένου, Ὀκτωβρίου μηνὸς πέμπτῃ ἱσταμένου, πάλιν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἰδιαζόντως ἔφη πρὸς Συργιάννην· «οὐκ οἴομαί σε ὧν πρὸ χρόνου μικροῦ πρός σε διειλέχθην ἐπιλελῆσθαι. ἐκ τότε δ' 1.123 ἄχρι καὶ νῦν ὁσημέραι μοι ἀγγέλλεται περὶ σοῦ, ὡς ἀποστῆναι πρὸς τὸν ἐμὸν πάππον παρασκευάζῃ· οὐ μὴν ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς τὰ πρὸς πόλεμον ἐξαρτύεται, ὡς ἅμα τῷ σὲ παραγενέσθαι πρὸς ἐμὲ πολεμήσων. ὅσοι δ' ἐπιτηδείως ἔχουσιν ἐμοὶ, καὶ εἷρξαί σε παραινοῦσιν, ὡς ἅμα τῷ σὲ εἰρχθῆναι καὶ τοῦ πολέμου παυσομένου. ἐγὼ δ' ἃ πρότερον εἰρήκειν καὶ αὖθις ἐρῶ· ὡς εἰ μὲν τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις πεισθεὶς, τοῦ τοιαῦτα καὶ βουλεύεσθαι καὶ δρᾷν ἀποστῇς, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι· εἰ δ' ἀδυνάτως ἔχεις μεταβουλεύσασθαι, ἃ βούλει πρᾶττε. ἐγὼ γὰρ οὐ μόνον οὐχ εἷρξαί σε προθυμοῦμαι, καίτοι πάνυ ῥᾳδίως ἔχων, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς φαίης ἂν, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς παραλύσω. τούτου δ' ἕνεκά σοι ταῦτα προλέγω, ὡς ἂν εἰδείης ἀπελθὼν, ὡς οὐ λαθὼν, ἀλλὰ φωραθεὶς ἃ προείλου παρώφθης δρᾷν.» ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ Συγιάννης συκοφαντεῖσθαι πάλιν ἰσχυρισάμενος, καὶ μηδὲν τοιοῦτον ἑαυτῷ συνειδέναι, τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιτρέψαντος, πρὸς ἃς ἐπετρόπευε τῆς Θρᾴκης πόλεις ἀπῆλθε. δύο δ' ἐξ αὐτῶν, τὸν Ἄπρων καὶ τὴν Γαρέλλαν, φρουραῖς κατασχὼν, καὶ τἄλλα ἀσφαλισάμενος ὥστ' ἔχειν πρὸς πολιορκίαν ἀντέχειν, ἀπέστη πρὸς τὸν πρεσβύτερον βασιλέα Νοεμβρίου μηνός. ἅμα δὲ τῷ τοῦτον ἐπιβῆναι Βυζαντίου, καὶ ὁ τῶν βασιλέων πόλεμος φανερῶς αὖθις ἀνεῤῥιπίζετο. ὁ νέος γὰρ βασιλεὺς τὴν ὑποτεταγμένην αὐτῷ στρατιὰν ἅπασαν ἐν βραχεῖ συναθροίσας, τοιοῖσδε πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἐχρήσατο λόγοις· «τὸ τῆς εἰρήνης καλὸν καὶ λυσιτελὲς οὐ μόνον τοῖς ἀρχομέ 1.124 νοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν, ὥσπερ αὖ πάλιν τὰ ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου κακὰ καὶ ὑμῖν μὲν πᾶσι καθέστηκε φανερά· ἐγὼ δὲ τῶν ἐμοὶ προσόντων ἰδίᾳ πάντων ἐτιμησάμην ἂν ὥστε μὴ λυθῆναι τὴν εἰρήνην· ἐπεὶ δ' ὁ ἐμὸς πάππος καὶ βασιλεὺς, ὅπερ οὐδ' ἄν ποτε ἐπείσθην πρὶν γενέσθαι, λύσας τὰς πρὸς ἡμᾶς σπονδὰς, πρὸς πόλεμον ἐχώρησε φανερῶς, οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν ἢ λαβὴν ἡμῶν πρὸς τὸ λῦσαι ταύτας παρασχομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀκόντων νῦν ὑπ' ἀνάγκης πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον χωρούντων, καὶ ταῖς ψήφοις ἁπάσαις τὴν εἰρήνην αἱρουμένων, οὐδὲν εἶναί μοι τὸ λεῖπον δοκεῖ, ἢ θεὸν τὸν ἐν ταῖς σπονδαῖς ὅρκιον ἐπικαλεσαμένους κατὰ τῶν ἀδικούντων χωρεῖν, οὐ μᾶλλον τοῦ αὐτοὺς κακοῦν, ἢ τοῦ μὴ αὐτοὶ κακῶς παθεῖν πρόνοιαν ποιουμένους. τὸ γὰρ εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν περιμένειν ἀμυνομένους ἐπιόντας, οὐκ ἀνανδρίας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσυνεσίας οὐ πάνυ πόῤῥω δόξειεν ἄν. ἐλπίζω δὲ οὐδὲ θεὸν αὐτὸν, ὃν ἡμεῖς