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to rescue the captive people from the enemies, but if not, at least those who were for the time being near to him in kinship and had been sent there to him for an alliance. But, exulting greatly and being greatly puffed up, he sent back those first ambassadors and these second ones, mocking and washing them with insults, saying, "Do you wish to ransom them for only so many centenaria, when thousands have been spent by you for the sake of honor and as a gift?" At which Theophilos, suffering in his heart, and as if boiling or being driven by some fire, begged for cooling water brought from snow. But since it seemed somehow lukewarm to the burning of his heart, it happened that he too, from that drink, was seized unwillingly by the disease of dysentery, and by this disease departed from life. And so were the events concerning Amorion. 132 35 But having returned to his own country, the Hagarene imprisoned the aforesaid leaders, securing them with the stocks in a certain dark prison, having commanded them to live on a little water and bread. And they were held in safety in such darkness that not even at steadfast midday was there a little glimmer of light, but they were known only by each other's voice and enjoyed the company of the guards alone, being deprived of other men, and lived as if in the deepest wilderness. They endured these terrible things for seven whole years. And now on the fifth of the month of March, Boiditzes, who had betrayed Amorion and denied Christ, having come to the prison, called for Constantine, a prudent man and one nourished in wisdom (this Constantine was serving the patrician in the office of notary), he said that he did not want anyone of those inside to be present with you and be a hearer of my secrets. And when Constantine acknowledged that no one was present, "Come," he said, "O dearest and sweet soul (for you know the desire for you that has grown with me from the beginning), be willing, with the patrician, to pray with the protosymboulos and profane the morrow, so that you may not become a victim of the sword and tortures. For since he has this as a matter of concern and is contemplating it, I thought it profitable to declare it to you as a faithful friend. Be willing, then, to pray with him openly, but in your soul, believe in God who searches 133 the hidden things, and you will not miss his eternal life." Not softened nor deceived in mind by these words, the unconquered one said, "Depart from me, worker of iniquity, depart." And with this word he went away, having related to the patrician in private nothing openly of what was said, so that no thought of cowardice might be born in him, but only that a sentence of death had been passed against us for the morrow. At this the patrician gave thanks to God, and having arranged his affairs through Constantine, he raised up all those present for an all-night hymnody. (36) And at dawn a certain commander, having come out with arrogant pomp, permitted only the leaders to come out from the others. And so forty-two men came out, and immediately he ordered the prison to be shut. He asked, then, what year it was for them in the prison, and he moved on to other idle talk, wishing to make them obedient to his nonsense. But they, having answered that it was the seventh year, and having set themselves against their words from the divine scripture powerfully and with a noble soul, were condemned to the sentence leading to death. And when they came to the Euphrates, and their city Samarra is built beside it, the sinner tried to reprove Theodore Krateros, if somehow he might persuade at least this one to renounce death. And he said, "How do you, Theodore, speaking boldly, hope to go to God through death, whose saving commandments, as you say, you have not loved? 134 For you would not have, from the clerical order to which you were long ago enrolled, come to the state of the laity; nor hands that were innocent of blood now in wars

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τῶν ἐχθρῶν λυτρώσασθαι τὸν αἰχμάλωτον λαόν, εἰ δ' ουν, ἀλλὰ τούς γε τέως πρὸς γένος αὐτῷ πλησιάζοντας καὶ ἐπὶ συμμαχίαν αὐτῷ ἀποσταλέντας ἐκεῖ. ἀλλὰ μέγα μὲν ουν γαυριῶν μέγα δέ γε φυσῶν ἐκείνους τε τοὺς πρώτους καὶ τοὺς δευτέρους τούτους ἀνταπέστειλε πρέσβεις, καταμωκώμενός τε καὶ πλύνων υβρεσι, "τοσούτοις μόνοις" φάσκων "ἐξωνήσασθαι βού- λεσθε κεντηναρίοις, ενθα τῶν χιλίων μέχρι φιλοτιμίας ενεκα καὶ δωρεᾶς ὑμῖν κατανάλωται;" οις καὶ τὴν καρδίαν παθὼν ὁ Θεό- φιλος, καὶ ωσπερ ὑπὸ πυρός τινος ἀναζέων η  ἐλαυνόμενος, ἐδεῖτο τοῦ περιψύχοντος υδατος ἐκ χιόνος προσφερομένου. χλιαροῦ δέ πως τῷ τῆς καρδίας καύσωνι δοκοῦντος, συνέβη κἀκεῖνον ἐξ ἐκεί- νης τῆς πόσεως δυσεντερίας νόσῳ περιληφθῆναι καὶ ακοντα, καὶ τῇ νόσῳ ταύτῃ τοῦ γενέσθαι ἐκτός. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τὸ ̓Αμόριον ουτως. 132 35 Κατὰ δὲ τὴν οἰκείαν χώραν παλινδρομήσας ὁ ̓Αγα- ρηνὸς τοὺς εἰρημένους ἀρχηγοὺς ἐν φρουρᾷ τινὶ σκοτεινῇ τῷ ξύλῳ ἀσφαλισάμενος καθεῖρξεν, βραχεῖ τινὶ υδατι καὶ αρτῳ τούτους ἐντειλάμενος ἀποζῆν. ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ σκότει ἀσφαλείᾳ κατείχοντο ὡς μήτε κατὰ τὴν σταθερὰν μεσημβρίαν μικρόν τι αὐγάζεσθαι, ἀλλ' η  τῇ ἀλλήλων φωνῇ γινώσκεσθαί τε μόνῃ καὶ μόνων τῶν φυλάκων ἀπολαύειν, τῶν αλλων στερουμένους ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ὡς ἐν ἐρημίᾳ βαθυτάτῃ διάγειν. τούτοις τοῖς δεινοῖς ἐπὶ ἑπτὰ ολοις ετεσι προσεκαρτέρησαν. αρτι δὲ κατὰ τὴν πέμπτην τοῦ Μαρτίου μηνὸς ὁ τὸ ̓Αμόριόν τε προδοὺς καὶ τὸν Χριστὸν ἀρνησάμενος Βοϊδίτζης κατὰ τὴν φυλακὴν γενόμενος, Κωνσταντῖνον ανδρα φρόνιμον καὶ σοφίᾳ ἐντεθραμμένον φωνήσας (Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ ουτος ην ὑπηρετῶν τῷ πατρικίῳ κατὰ τὴν ἐν λόγῳ γραφήν), οὐ χρῄζειν εφη τινὰ τῶν ἐντὸς παρεῖναί σοι καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν τυγχάνειν μυστηρίων ἀκροατήν. ὡς δ' οὐδένα παρεῖναι ὁ Κωνσταντῖνος καθωμολόγει, "αγε μοι" εφησεν, "ω φιλτάτη καὶ γλυκεῖα ψυχή (γινώσκεις γὰρ τὸν ἀρχῆθεν πόθον σου συμφυέντα μοι), βουλή- θητι μετὰ τοῦ πατρικίου τῷ πρωτοσυμβούλῳ συνεύξασθαι καὶ μαγαρίσαι τὴν αυριον, ινα μὴ παρανάλωμα γίνησθε μαχαίρας καὶ αἰκισμῶν. τοῦτο γὰρ αὐτῷ διὰ σπουδῆς εχοντι καὶ μελετῶντι συμφέρον ἡγησάμην σοι ὡς φίλῳ δηλοποιῆσαι πιστῷ. θέλησον γοῦν αὐτῷ μὲν κατὰ τὸ φανερὸν συνεύξασθαι, θεῷ δὲ τὰ κρυπτὰ 133 ἐτάζοντι πίστευε κατὰ ψυχήν, καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ οὐχ ἁμαρτήσετε αἰω- νίου ζωῆς." τούτοις οὐ μαλακισθεὶς μηδὲ φρεναπατηθεὶς ὁ ἀήτ- τητος "ἀπόστηθι" εφη "ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ἐργάτα τῆς ἀνομίας, ἀπό- στηθι." καὶ αμα τῷ λόγῳ ἀπεφοίτησεν, διηγησάμενος ἰδίᾳ τῷ πατρικίῳ τῶν λεχθέντων μὲν οὐδὲν φανερόν, ινα μή τις δειλαν- δρίας ἐναποτεχθῇ αὐτῷ λογισμός, μόνον δὲ οτι θανάτου ψῆφος ἐς αυριον καθ' ἡμῶν ἐξενήνεκται. εὐχαρίστησεν ἐπὶ τούτοις τῷ θεῷ ὁ πατρίκιος, καὶ διαθέμενος τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν διὰ Κωνσταντί- νου τοὺς συμπαρόντας απαντας εἰς πάννυχον ὑμνῳδίαν ἀνίστησιν. (36) εωθεν δὲ μετὰ σοβαρᾶς τις φαντασίας αρχων ἐξεληλυθὼς τοὺς προεξάρχοντας μόνους τῶν αλλων ἐξελθεῖν ἐπιτρέπει. καὶ δὴ ἐξίασιν ανδρες δύο καὶ τεσσαράκοντα, καὶ εὐθὺς κλεισθῆναι προστάττει τὴν φυλακήν. ἠρώτα γοῦν πόσον ετος αὐτοῖς ἐστὶν κατὰ τὴν φρουράν, καὶ αλλας ἐκίνει βαττολογίας, κατηκόους τού- τους βουλόμενος τῶν αὐτοῦ ποιῆσαι φλυαριῶν. ἀλλ' ουτοι τό τε ετος ἀποκριθέντες, ὡς εβδομον, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐκείνων ἐκ τῆς θείας γραφῆς ῥωμαλέως καὶ μετὰ γενναίας ψυχῆς ἀντιταχθέντες λόγους, τὴν ἐπὶ θάνατον φέρουσαν κατεκρίθησαν. ὡς δὲ κατὰ τὸν Εὐφράτην ἐγένοντο, καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν ἡ πόλις αὐτῶν ᾠκοδόμη- ται Σάμαρα, ἐλέγχειν ἐπειρᾶτο τὸν Κρατερὸν Θεόδωρον ὁ ἀλιτή- ριος, ει πως ἀλλὰ τούτῳ γε πείσει τὸν θάνατον ἐξαρνήσασθαι. καὶ "πῶς" εφη "σὺ Θεόδωρε παρρησιαζόμενος διὰ θανάτου φοι- τᾶν ἐλπίζεις πρὸς θεόν, ου  τὰς σωτηρίας, ὡς φατέ, οὐκ ἠγάπησας 134 ἐντολάς; οὐδὲ γὰρ αν ἐξ ἱερατικοῦ κλήρου, ῳ  σὺ πάλαι ἐγκατε- λέξω, πρὸς σχῆμα ηλθες τῶν λαϊκῶν· οὐδὲ χεῖρας ἀθώους ουσας αἱμάτων σου νῦν ἐν πολέμοις