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
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 and well-proportioned to their affairs; but if perhaps they have gone astray, they are for the most part supine and, wishing to please the opinions of the many, change the colors of the octopus. But those who are stable in soul are seated somewhere above the many and by the sameness of their judgment have become multifaceted in their practice. Such is this man, whom we are shaping with his characteristic qualities; for placing the rule of the good over his civic actions, he directs the administration of his deeds toward it, not serving the will of the many, but preserving the utter straightness of the plumb-line, not accepting in witty words, but receiving in gravity of character, neither giving words of unrestrained laughter nor, if another should give them, welcoming and receiving them, measuring deeds by words, or rather making words equal to them, and if somewhere it should be necessary, circumscribing and, as it were, defining what must be done. For he does not know the strength of administration to be in the multitude and beauty of words, but he arranges his management well in the harmony of his deeds, not changing his form for those he meets nor becoming varied in his conversations, but fitting one melody of voice to all. And what is said is both one and many; for each one departs taking what is his own. But it is simple and uncompounded. He knows each thing best, marking out the unseen by what is seen, revealing to no one either what is hated or indeed what is ambitious and loved, so that he may not seem in the one case to be reproving, and in the other to be flattering; not being displeased if someone has not imitated his own character, but loving the one who is rather so transformed and does not for the most part grant favors with his tongue, but demonstrates the depth of his wisdom by his judgments, by the varieties of circumstances he is not changed in soul, nor is he now courageous, and now tossed about, but in both he is by nature firm and stable. For he knows that these things reverse themselves, and each arrives having changed its acceptance or its difficulty. He does not need many words, and these on the greatest of subjects, but as soon as something is proposed, the sharpness of his mind has grasped it and he has measured his speech for its management. He does not delight in hateful tales, but neither does he lend an ear to those who praise him. Nor in response to contrary things does he take on contrary dispositions, but knowing that both are the offspring of their own wills, he himself preserves for himself the character of his disposition, being at once himself impervious to the many and making them impervious to him. For those who are thus distorted are more affable to some, and more hostile to others; and hence they oppose the actions of the latter, but of the former they love and accept even the things that are slandered. He attaches himself to the better, but he does not do this simply, but has knowledge of the offering, for not having once dedicated himself to that does he neglect mind and wisdom—for the conversion to the divine is not for these things—but having roused his mind to what must be done, he chooses the watchword for the action from thence, and having arranged his actions well according to Attic prudence, thus he goes to the oracle. And he communes with God not by letting loose his tongue in odes, but by making his soul turn inward and bringing it together with his mind, and using that, as it were, as a ferryboat for the disembarkation to the better. And he inquires about what he wishes, and by the very contact of his mind he fittingly receives the oracle; for that which leaps forth at once from the soul, this indeed is for him the will of God. Some things are inspired, others have become rational, the former by approaching the nature of better things with the movement of the soul, the latter by considering the nature of things comprehended; and admiring the intelligible harmony, he is in the middle
χαρακτῆρος τὸ μέγιστον. ὅσοι μὲν γὰρ τοῦ πολιτικοῦ γεγόνασιν ἤθους, εἰ μὲν ἑκουσίως πρὸς τοῦτο καταβεβήκασιν, οἰκονομικοί
τε ἔδοξαν καὶ συμμεμετρημένοι τοῖς πράγμασιν· εἰ δ' ἴσως ἐπλανήθησαν, ὑπτιάζουσι τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ταῖς τῶν πολλῶν γνώμαις ἀρέσαι
βουλόμενοι τὰς τοῦ πολύποδος χρόας ἀλλάττουσιν. οἱ δέ γε στάσιμοι τὴν ψυχὴν ἄνω τέ που κάθηνται τῶν πολλῶν καὶ τῷ τῆς γνώμης
ταὐτῷ πολυειδεῖς τὴν χρῆσιν ἐγένοντο. ὁποῖος οὗτός ἐστιν, ὃν τοῖς χαρακτηριστικοῖς ἰδιώμασι πλάττομεν· τὸν γὰρ τοῦ καλοῦ κανόνα
ἐπὶ ταῖς πολιτικαῖς πράξεσι προϊστῶν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἀπευθύνει τὴν τῶν πραττομένων διοίκησιν, οὐ τὸ βούλημα τῶν πολλῶν θεραπεύων,
ἀλλὰ τὸ τῆς στάθμης διασῴζων εὐθύτατον, οὐκ ἐν εὐτραπέλοις λόγοις ἀποδεχόμενος, ἀλλ' ἐν ἤθους σεμνότητι προσιέμενος, οὔτε
λόγους διδοὺς γέλωτος ἀκρατοῦς οὔτε, εἴ τις ἕτερος δοίη, ἀσπαζόμενός τε καὶ προσιέμενος, μετρῶν τοῖς λόγοις τὰ πράγματα, μᾶλλον
δὲ τοὺς λόγους ἴσους ἐκείνοις ποιῶν, κἂν εἴ τί που δέοι περιφράζων τὰ πρακτέα καὶ οἷον ἀφοριζόμενος. οὐ γὰρ ἐν πλήθει καὶ
κάλλει ῥημάτων τὴν ἰσχὺν οἶδε τῆς διοικήσεως, ἀλλ' ἐν τῇ ἁρμονίᾳ τῶν πραττομένων τὴν οἰκονομίαν εὖ διατίθεται, οὐ μεταμορφούμενος
τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσιν οὐδὲ ποικίλος ταῖς ὁμιλίαις γινόμενος, ἀλλ' ἓν μέλος φωνῆς τοῖς σύμπασιν ἁρμοζόμενος. καὶ τὸ λεγόμενον
ἕν τέ ἐστι καὶ πολλά· ἕκαστος γὰρ τὸ οἰκεῖον λαμβάνων ἄπεισι. τὸ δὲ ἁπλοῦν ἐστι καὶ ἀσύνθετον. οἶδε μὲν ἕκαστον ἄριστα, χαρακτηρίζων
τοῖς ὁρωμένοις τὰ μὴ φαινόμενα, οὐδενὶ δὲ οὔτε τὸ μισούμενον ἀποκαλύπτων οὔτε μὴν τὸ φιλοτιμούμενον καὶ φιλούμενον, ἵνα μὴ
οὕτως μὲν ἐλέγχων δοκῇ, ἐκείνως δὲ κολακεύων· οὐ δυσχεραίνων, εἴ τις μὴ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἦθος ἀπομεμίμηται, ἀγαπῶν δὲ τὸν οὕτω μᾶλλον
μεταπεπλασμένον καὶ μὴ τῇ γλώσσῃ τὰ πολλὰ χαριζόμενον, ἀλλὰ ταῖς γνώμαις τὸ τῆς φρονήσεως βάθος ἐπιδεικνύμενον, ταῖς τῶν πραγμάτων
ποικιλίαις οὐ μεταβάλλεται τὴν ψυχήν, οὐδὲ νῦν μὲν θαρσεῖ, νῦν δὲ κυμαίνεται, ἀλλ' ἐπ' ἀμφοτέροις ἑδραῖος καὶ στάσιμος πέφυκεν.
οἶδε γὰρ ὡς ἀντιπεριΐσταται ταῦτα καὶ φθάνει ἑκάτερον μεταβεβλημένον τὴν ἀποδοχὴν ἢ τὴν δυσχέρειαν. Οὐ πολλῶν δεῖται λόγων,
ἐπὶ μεγίσταις καὶ ταῦτα ταῖς ὑποθέσεσιν, ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ τέ τι προτέθειται, καὶ τὸ ὀξὺ τῆς γνώμης κατείληφε καὶ τὸν λόγον πρὸς τὴν
οἰκονομίαν ἐμέτρησε. στυγηρῶν οὐκ ἐμπάζεται μύθων, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τοῖς εὐφημοῦσιν ὑπέχει τὴν ἀκοήν. οὐδ' ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐναντίας
προσλαμβάνει τὰς διαθέσεις, ἀλλ' εἰδὼς ἑκάτερα ἰδίων βουλημάτων γεννήματα αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ σῴζει τὸν χαρακτῆρα τοῦ ἤθους, ὁμοῦ
τε αὐτὸς τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀνάλωτος ὢν κἀκείνους ἑαυτῷ ἀναλώτους ποιῶν. οἱ γὰρ οὕτω διαστρεφόμενοι τοῖς μέν εἰσι προσηνέστεροι,
τοῖς δὲ δυσμενέστεροι· κἀντεῦθεν ἐκείνων μὲν ἐναντιοῦνται ταῖς πράξεσι, τῶν δὲ καὶ τὰ διαβαλλόμενα φιλοῦσί τε καὶ προσίενται.
τοῦ κρείττονος μὲν ἑαυτὸν ἐξαρτᾷ, οὐχ ἁπλῶς δὲ τοῦτο ποιεῖ, ἀλλ' ἐπιστήμην ἔχει τοῦ ἀναθήματος, οὐ γὰρ ἅπαξ ἐκείνῳ ἑαυτὸν
ἀναθέμενος ἀμελεῖ νοῦ καὶ φρονήσεως- οὐκ ἐπὶ τούτοις γὰρ ἡ τοῦ θείου ἐπιστροφή-ἀλλ' ἀνεγείρας ἐπὶ τὰ πρακτέα τὸν νοῦν ἐκεῖθεν
τῆς πράξεως αἱρεῖται τὸ σύνθημα, καὶ τὰς πράξεις εὖ θέμενος κατὰ τὴν Ἀττικὴν φρόνησιν οὕτως ἐπὶ τὸν χρησμὸν ἄπεισιν. Ὁμιλεῖ
δὲ θεῷ οὐ τὴν γλῶσσαν ἐφιεὶς ταῖς ᾠδαῖς, ἀλλὰ τὴν ψυχὴν εἴσω ποιούμενος καὶ συμβιβάζων τῷ νῷ, καὶ οἷον πορθμείῳ ἐκείνῳ πρὸς
τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον ἀπόβασιν χρώμενος. πυνθάνεται δὲ περὶ ὧν βούλεται, αὐτῇ δὲ τῇ τοῦ νοῦ συναφῇ καταλλήλως καὶ τὸν χρησμὸν
δέχεται· τὸ γὰρ ἀθρόως τῆς ψυχῆς ἐξαλλόμενον τοῦτο δὴ αὐτῷ τὸ βούλημά ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ. τὰ μὲν ἔνθους ἐστί, τὰ δὲ σύννους καθέστηκεν,
ἐκεῖνο μὲν τὴν τῶν κρειττόνων φύσιν ἐπιπορευόμενος τῷ κινήματι τῆς ψυχῆς, τοῦτο δὲ τῶν κατειλημμένων τὴν φύσιν ἐπινοούμενος·
καὶ ἀγάμενος τὴν νοητὴν ἁρμονίαν μέσος ἐστὶ
