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

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 spring water that is truly intelligent, they are deprived of the vessel that brings it out, for philosophy needs a rhetorical tongue, and art needs science; For he who is only a philosopher is graceless, and he who boasts of his art separately is deprived of the form that adorns it; and he who has combined both, if he should not also know political affairs, is a clanging cymbal according to the apostolic word, unless he should wish to stand far from public life, for then one part is sufficient for him, I mean that of philosophy. But the many, having busied themselves with one of these things, raise their brow against the others and compare what they do not know; for with philosophy, being as it is the sum of all things, and possessing the harmony through all things, nothing could be compared; for he who does so would be comparing it to itself, or how could its status as art of arts and science of sciences be preserved? And the difference between the art of rhetoric and the art of law is so great, that the one provides and arranges the principles and proofs of legal contests, teaching the litigants what arguments the accuser and the defendant might best use; whereas the art of law, gaining its strength from this, unrolls the laws suitable for each case and provides the conclusions of the arguments. Thus, therefore, that man handled these things, and he succeeded by joining what seemed to stand apart, and by sweetening his mind with the graces of rhetoric, and by dignifying his tongue with philosophical thoughts, and not being found without a contribution to public life, but also having contributed this part to the whole, yet he benefited from the art and elegance of the forum. Nor did he stop at superfluous figures, in which I see the many delighting and with which [.......] they wear out their own writings, but from which persuasion and the preparation for contests gathered these things, he was the first to decide to draw from both, and to make his arguments equal on both sides, so that he might preserve the rules of the art. Nevertheless, he took care for good composition and pleasing choice of words; and a gentle stream of beauty is fitting in his speeches; and he knew the epistolary forms as no one else, and in some places his mixing bowl is astringent, but the style, blooming against expectations, showed a rose in winter. And in this respect, of those in our time and those whom I myself have known, no one could be compared to him, but of those before our time who shone brightly in the splendor of their speeches, he would cause many to doubt about the primacy. For if someone displays long speeches to me, and then idly writes them on parchments, inconsistent with themselves and contorted, and now luxuriant, now dry and stopping at a neologistic style, this man would not be considered by me an orator and wise. For my mind is more fixed than my ear is settled; but whoever, having begun and introduced his speech with the best thought, whether artfully from the start, or hiddenly and simply, now might imitate a violent rain and come down like a Hellespontine wind, now might drizzle gently, neither carried away by the rush, nor constrained in this, but using both reasonably and at the right time. And I do not yet speak of the greater powers of oratory, of which, in our sacred oratory, Gregory the Theologian holds the first place, whom not even the heavenly trumpet could out-sound, and after him, in secular wisdom, Demosthenes and Demades, I will add also the lightnings and thunders of Isocrates, inferior to the voice of Gregory as much as they are superior to the others, yet leaders nonetheless of the entire power of rhetoric. And if someone should wish to praise Lysias, I allow and accept it, but it is not my purpose to praise rhetorical thefts in all things, nor the understated voices; but for me the magnificent is more

μὲν γὰρ ἓν τούτων προσειληφότες, τῶν λοιπῶν κατολιγωρῷεν, ἢ ὦτα νοῦ προϊστῶντες γλῶτταν ἀδιανόητον ἔχουσιν, ἢ πηγαῖον ὕδωρ καὶ ὄντως ἔννουν ἀπαντλησάμενοι ἐστέρηνται τοῦ ἐξάγοντος τοῦτο ὁλκοῦ, δεῖ γὰρ καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ γλώττης ῥητορικῆς, καὶ τῇ τέχνῃ τῆς ἐπιστήμης· ὅ τε γὰρ μόνως φιλόσοφος, ἄχαρις, καὶ ὁ τὴν τέχνην διῃρημένως κομπάζων, τοῦ κοσμοῦντος ἐστέρηται σχήματος· καὶ ὁ ἄμφω συνειλοχώς, εἰ μὴ καὶ τὰ πολιτικὰ εἰδείη πράγματα, κύμβαλόν ἐστιν ἀλαλάζον κατὰ τὸν ἀποστολικὸν λόγον, εἰ μή γε βούλοιτο πόρρω πολιτείας ἑστᾶναι, τότε γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ μέρος ἓν ἀποχρῶν, φημὶ δὴ τὸ τῆς φιλοσοφίας. ἀλλ' οἵ γε πολλοὶ περί τι τούτων πραγματευσάμενοι, αἴρουσι τὴν ὀφρὺν κατὰ τῶν ἑτέρων καὶ συγκρίνουσιν ἃ οὐκ ἴσασι· φιλοσοφίᾳ μὲν γάρ, ἅτε τὸ ἐκ πασῶν οὔσῃ, καὶ τὴν διὰ πασῶν συμφωνίαν ἐχούσῃ, οὐδὲν ἂν παραβάλοιτο· αὐτὴν γὰρ ἑαυτῇ συγκρίνοιεν ὁ οὕτω ποιῶν, ἢ πῶς ἂν αὐτῇ σωθείη, τὸ τέχνη τεχνῶν εἶναι καὶ ἐπιστήμη ἐπιστημῶν; ῥητορικῆς δὲ καὶ νομικῆς τέχνης τοσοῦτόν ἐστι τὸ διάφορον, ὡς ἡ μὲν τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ τὰς πίστεις τῶν ἀγώνων παρέχει καὶ ῥυθμίζει, τοὺς ἀντιδιατιθεμένους διδάσκουσα οἷς μὲν ὁ κατήγορος, οἷς δὲ ὁ ἀπολογούμενος ἄριστα χρήσαιτο· ἡ δέ γε νομικὴ ἐντεῦθεν ἰσχύσασα, τούς τε προσφόρους ἑκάστῳ ἀνελίττει νόμους καὶ τὰ συμπεράσματα τῶν ὑποθέσεων δίδωσιν. Οὕτω τοιγαροῦν ἐκεῖνος ταῦτα μετεχειρίσατο, καὶ κατώρθωσε συνάψας τὰ διαστῆναι δοκοῦντα, καὶ τόν τε νοῦν καθηδύνας ταῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ῥητορικῆς χάρισι, τήν τε γλῶτταν σεμνύνας τοῖς φιλοσόφοις νοήμασι, καὶ μηδὲ πρὸς τὴν πολιτείαν ἀσύμβολος εὑρεθείς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος συνεισενεγκὼν τῷ παντί, παρὰ μέντοι τῆς τέχνης καὶ κομψείας ἀγοραίου ἀπώνατο. οὐ δὲ μέχρι τῶν περιττῶν ἔστη σχημάτων, οἷς τοὺς πολλοὺς ὁρῶ χαίροντας καὶ τούτοις [.......] τρίβοντας τὰ οἰκεῖα συγγράμματα, ἀλλ' ἀφ' ὧν τὸ πείθειν καὶ ἡ παρασκευὴ τῶν ἀγώνων ταῦτα συνειλόχει, πρῶτος ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων τε ἐπιχειρεῖν ἐγνώκει, καὶ ἴσους ἑκατέρωθεν τοὺς λόγους ποιεῖν, ἵνα τοὺς ὅρους τῇ τέχνῃ φυλάξαιτο. ἐφρόντισε μέντοιγε καὶ συνθήκης καλῆς καὶ ὀνομασίας ἐπιτερποῦς· ἐπιπρέπει δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῖς λόγοις ἠρέμα καὶ ἡ τοῦ κάλλους ἐπιρροή· τούς τε ἐπιστολιμαίους τύπους ἐγνώκει ὡς ἄλλος οὐδείς, καὶ ἐνιαχοῦ μὲν στύφων αὐτῷ ὁ κρατήρ, ἀλλ' ἡ λέξις παρ' ἐλπίδας ἀνθήσασα ῥόδον ἐν χειμῶνι παρέδειξε. καὶ κατά γε τοῦτο τὸ μέρος τῶν μὲν καθ' ἡμᾶς καὶ οὓς αὐτὸς ἐγνώκειν, οὐδεὶς ἂν τούτῳ παραβληθείη, τῶν δέ γε πρὸ ἡμῶν καὶ ἀκριβῶς λαμψάντων ἐν λόγων λαμπρότητι πολλοῖς ἂν περί γε τοῦ πρωτείου δοίη ἀμφιβολίαν. Οὐ γὰρ εἴ τις ἐμοὶ μακροὺς λόγους ἐπιδεικνύει, εἶτα δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ διφθερῶν τηνάλλως τούτους ἐγγράφοι, ἀλλοίους ἑαυτοῖς καὶ παρεσχηματισμένους, καὶ νῦν μὲν τρυφῶντας, νῦν δὲ αὐχμῶντας καὶ μέχρι νεαροπρεποῦς ἑστηκότας λέξεως, οὗτος ῥήτωρ ἐμοὶ λογίζοιτο καὶ σοφός. μᾶλλον γάρ μοι ὁ νοῦς ἕστηκεν, ἢ τὸ οὖς ἵδρυται· ἀλλ' ὅστις ἀπ' ἐννοίας ἀρίστης ἀρξάμενος καὶ προοιμιασάμενος, εἴτ' αὐτόθεν τεχνικῶς, εἴτε κεκρυμμένως καὶ ἀφελῶς, νῦν μὲν ῥαγδαῖον ὑετὸν μιμοῖτο καὶ καταβαίνοι ὥσπερ Ἑλλησποντίας, νῦν δὲ ἠρέμα ψεκάζοι, οὔθ' ὑπὸ τῆς ῥύμης ἀγόμενος, οὔτ' ἐνταῦθα στενούμενος, ἀλλ' εὐλόγως καὶ κατὰ καιρὸν ἀμφοῖν χρώμενος. καὶ οὔπω λέγω τὰς μείζους τοῦ λόγου δυνάμεις, ὧν τοῦ μὲν καθ' ἡμᾶς λόγου τὰ πρῶτα ὁ τῆς θεολογίας Γρηγόριος, ὃν οὐδ' ἂν οὐδ' ἡ οὐρανία σάλπιγξ ὑπερηχήσειε, μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον τῆς θύραθεν σοφίας ∆ημοσθένης τε καὶ ∆ημάδης, προσθήσω δὲ καὶ Ἰσοκράτους ἀστραπαὶ καὶ βρονταί, τῆς μὲν Γρηγορίου ἥττους φωνῆς τοσοῦτον, ὅσον κρείττους τῶν ἄλλων, καθηγεμόνες δ' ὅμως τῆς ῥητορικῆς ξυμπάσης δυνάμεως. Λυσίαν δ' εἴ τις ἐπαινεῖν βούλοιτο, προσίεμαί τε καὶ ἀποδέχομαι, ἀλλ' οὔ μοι λόγος τὰ ῥητορικὰ ἐν πᾶσιν ἐπαινεῖν κλέμματα οὐδὲ τὰς ὑποκαθημένας φωνάς· τὸ δέ μοι μεγαλοπρεπὲς μᾶλλον