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3.5.1 The affairs concerning the empress Maria were thus arranged by the Komnenoi; but the emperor, having received a good education from infancy and directing himself according to his mother's admonitions, took the fear of God to heart and, holding it in his heart, was stung with grief at the plundering of the city, which everyone had suffered during his entry. For being without fault perhaps leads to recklessness one who has in no way whatsoever stumbled in his affairs; but one who has erred, if he is of the more pious and intelligent sort, immediately casts the fear of God into his soul and is wholly shaken and afraid, and all the more so if he should happen to have seized great power and climbed to arrogant heights. For fear undermines him, lest by proceeding with ignorance and audacity and insolence he both summon the wrath of God against himself and, being cast out from his rule, fall from those things of which he has until now been master. As indeed once happened to Saul; for God, because of the king's wickedness, utterly tore his kingdom apart. 3.5.2 Alexios was tormented by these thoughts and afflicted in his soul, lest he become an object of God's manifest wrath. For the evil done to the whole city by each of the soldiers, what a great mob flowed throughout the entire city at that time, he considered his own. And as if he himself were the one who had committed those all-terrible evils, he was wounded and inflamed, counting as nothing, as was likely, his kingdom and power and purple robe and jewel-studded diadem and garment of gold and pearls, in comparison with the indescribable disaster that then befell the queen of cities. For no one, even if he wished, would be able to recount the terrible things that encompassed it at that time. For even the very sanctuaries and sacred precincts and public and private properties were being plundered from all sides by everyone, and the ears of all were battered by the cries and shouts hurled everywhere; one seeing it would have said that what was happening was an earthquake. 3.5.3 Pondering these things, Alexios was grieved in his soul and torn apart and did not know what to do with the abundance of his sorrow. For the man was altogether most keen in perceiving what had been done wrongly. And as for these past events, in which the city had fared badly, he knew indeed that the hands and minds of others had brought them about, but he was also most accurately conscious of this, that he himself had provided the pretexts and the beginnings of the suffering; and again, the already mentioned slaves had been the cause of his revolt. 3.5.4 But even so, attributing all the blame to himself, he both sought and wished to heal the wound. For so, after such healing and this purification, he might undertake the affairs of the empire and direct and manage well the matters concerning both the army and the wars. He approaches his mother, therefore, communicates that praiseworthy suffering, seeks a way of healing and of release from the things that were vexing his conscience. And she embraces her son and gladly accepts what was said. With his approval, they therefore summon both the patriarch Kosmas (for he had not yet resigned the throne then) and some chosen men from the holy synod and the monastic order. 3.5.5 The emperor approaches them as one on trial, as one condemned, as a humble person or any other of those placed under authority and eagerly awaiting the verdict which the court is about to decree against him. He reports everything, not omitting any assault, nor consent, nor deed, nor cause of what had been done, but confessing everything with fear and faith, he earnestly asks for healing from them, submitting himself to penances. And they not only him, but also his relatives of the same blood and those who had joined in the revolt to the same penances

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3.5.1 Τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν βασιλίδα Μαρίαν οὕτω παρὰ τῶν Κομνηνῶν ᾠκονόμητο· ὁ δέ γε αὐτοκράτωρ παιδείας ἐκ νηπίου τυχὼν ἀγαθῆς καὶ πρὸς τὰς νουθεσίας τῆς μητρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀπευθύνων τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον ἐνστερνι σάμενος καὶ ἐγκάρδιον ἔχων ἐδάκνετο ἀνιώμενος ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς πόλεως προνομῇ, ἣν κατὰ τὴν εἰσέλευσιν αὐτοῦ πάντες πανδημεὶ ἐπεπόνθεισαν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἄπταιστον ἴσως καὶ εἰς ἀπόνοιαν ἄγει τὸν μηδ' ὁπωστιοῦν προσκε κρουκότα τοῖς πράγμασιν· ὁ δέ γε ἐξαμαρτών, εἴπερ ἐστὶ τῶν εὐλαβεστέρων καὶ τῶν νοῦν ἐχόντων, αὐτίκα μάλα τὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον βάλλεται κατὰ ψυχὴν καὶ ὅλως κατα κλονεῖται καὶ δέδοικε, καὶ μᾶλλον εἴ γε πραγμάτων μεγά λων ἐπιδραξάμενος εἴη καὶ εἰς ὑπερηφάνους ἀνέλθοι περιωπάς. ∆έος γὰρ αὐτὸν ὑποθράττει, μή πως ἀμαθίᾳ καὶ θράσει καὶ ὕβρει πορευόμενος τόν τε θυμὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς ἑαυτὸν ἐκκαλέσηται καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐκκυλισθεὶς ἀπο πεσεῖται, ὧν τέως ἐγκρατὴς γέγονεν. Οἷα καὶ τῷ Σαοὺλ συμβεβήκει ποτέ· καὶ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς διὰ τὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀτάσθαλον διαρρήσσων διέρρηξε τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ. 3.5.2 Τούτοις <ἦν> ἀλύων τοῖς λογισμοῖς ὁ Ἀλέξιος καὶ παθαινόμενος τὴν ψυχήν, μή που καὶ Θεοῦ ἄντικρυς μήνιμα γένοιτο. Τὸ γὰρ εἰς ὅλην τὴν πόλιν γεγονὸς κακὸν παρ' ἑκάστου τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ὁπόσος τὸ τηνικαῦτα συρφετὸς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν ἐπέρρευσεν, ἴδιον ἐλο γίζετο. Καὶ ὡς αὐτὸς ὢν ἐκεῖνος ὁ τὰ πάνδεινα ἐκεῖνα κακὰ ἐργασάμενος κατετιτρώσκετό τε καὶ ἐξεφλέγετο βασιλείαν καὶ κράτος καὶ ἁλουργίδα καὶ διάδημα λιθοκόλ λητον καὶ ἐσθῆτα χρυσῆν τε καὶ περιμάργαρον οὐδέν, ὥς γε τὸ εἰκός, λογιζόμενος πρὸς τὴν τότε κατασχοῦσαν ἀπεριήγητον συμφορὰν τὴν βασιλίδα τῶν πόλεων. Τὰ γὰρ περιστοιχίσαντα ταύτην δεινὰ κατ' ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ οὐδεὶς ἂν καὶ θέλων διηγήσασθαι δυνήσεται. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὰ ἱερὰ καὶ τεμένη καὶ τὰ κοινὰ καὶ τὰ ἴδια ἁπανταχόθεν ὑπὸ πάντων καθηρπάζοντο, τὰ δὲ ὦτα τῶν ἁπάντων κατακεκρότητο ταῖς ῥιπτουμέναις ἁπανταχοῦ βοαῖς καὶ φωναῖς· εἶπεν ἄν τις ἰδὼν σεισμὸν εἶναι τὸ γινόμενον. 3.5.3 Ταῦτα εἰς νοῦν βαλλόμενος ὁ Ἀλέξιος ἠνιᾶτό τε τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ κατεσπαράττετο καὶ οὐκ εἶχεν ὅ τι τῷ πλήθει τῆς λύπης χρήσαιτο. Ἦν γὰρ ὁ ἀνὴρ παντάπασιν ὀξύ τατος εἰς αἴσθησιν ἐλθεῖν τοῦ κακῶς πεπραγμένου. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν τὰ προγεγονότα, ἐφ' οἷς ἡ πόλις πονηρῶς ἔπραξεν, ᾔδει μὲν ὡς ἑτέρων χεῖρες καὶ γνῶμαι διενηρ γήκασιν, ἀλλὰ συνῄδει καὶ τοῦτό γε ἀκριβέστατα, ὅτι τὰς ὑποθέσεις καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς τοῦ πάθους αὐτὸς δέδωκεν· αὐτῷ δὲ πάλιν τῆς ἀποστασίας αἴτιοι οἱ ἤδη ῥηθέντες δοῦλοι γεγόνασιν. 3.5.4 Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὣς ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἅπασαν προσάπτων αἰτίαν θεραπεῦσαι τὸ τραῦμα καὶ ἐπεζήτει καὶ ἤθελεν. Οὕτω γὰρ ἂν καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοιαύτην θεραπείαν καὶ τὸν τουτωνὶ καθαρμὸν ἐπιχειροίη τοῖς τῆς βασιλείας πράγμασι καὶ τὰ κατά τε τὸν στρατὸν κατά τε τοὺς πολέμους καλῶς διιθύνοι καὶ διεξάγοι. Προσέρχεται τοίνυν τῇ μητρί, ἀνακοινοῦται τὸ ἐπαινετὸν πάθος ἐκεῖνο, θεραπείας τρόπον ἀναζητεῖ καὶ ἀπαλλαγῆς τῶν ὑποκνιζόντων αὐτοῦ τὴν συνείδησιν. Ἡ δὲ ἀσπάζεται τὸν υἱὸν καὶ ἀσμένως δέχεται τὰ λεχθέντα. Μετακαλοῦνται τοίνυν τούτου συνδόξαντος τόν τε πατριάρχην Κοσμᾶν (οὔπω γὰρ τότε τὸν θρόνον παρῄτητο) καί τινας λογάδας τῶν τῆς ἱερᾶς συνόδου καὶ τοῦ μοναδικοῦ συντάγματος. 3.5.5 Πρόσεισι τούτοις ὁ βασιλεὺς ὡς ὑπόδικος, ὡς κατά κριτος, ὡς εὐτελὴς ἢ καί τις ἄλλος τῶν ὑπ' ἐξουσίαν τεταγμένων καὶ τὴν ψῆφον ὅσον οὐδέπω καραδοκούντων, ἣν κατ' ἐκείνου ψηφιεῖται τὸ δικαστήριον. Ἐξαγγέλλει πάντα, μὴ προσβολήν, μὴ συγκατάθεσιν, μὴ πρᾶξιν μηδὲ αἰτίαν τῶν πεπραγμένων παραδραμών, ἀλλὰ πάντα μετὰ φόβου καὶ πίστεως ἐξαγορευσάμενος καὶ τὴν θεραπείαν ἐξ ἐκείνων θερμῶς ἐξαιτεῖ ἐπιτιμίοις ἑαυτὸν καθυπο βάλλων. Οἱ δὲ οὐκ αὐτὸν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐκ ταὐτοῦ αἵματος προσήκοντας καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀποστασίαν συναρα μένους τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐπιτιμίοις