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he said that he knew how to speak more garrulously than the Italians. But when one of those present brought up the memory of Speciosus, he stood up and beseeched both me and the one who had spoken, urging us to an interview with that man. And I, considering it a godsend, brought Speciosus to him as quickly as possible; for I knew the man. And he, taking him aside privately, continued to kneel and, imploring modestly, asked him to share the voice that he had. And separating me a little from the conversation, he requested that I take one hundred gold pieces to be given to that man. Which I indeed did, and giving them to Speciosus for the sake of what are called letters of introduction, I persuaded him to visit that all-good man more frequently; and how could he not? He was present at dawn, watching before the courtyard door of the one who had supposedly requested him; but the other, sending for him and treating him kindly, beseeched him not to attend upon him before he himself, having made an appointment, should ask him to be present with him; and for the rest, Speciosus, contributing to the artifice by a turn of the pretense, was released from his attendance; for it was of no concern to Phocas, who was very well prepared in both kinds of learning, to find apprenticeship in those things which he knew remarkably well beyond the many. And who would not conjecture from the man's successes concerning men, how great was his piety concerning the divine. Therefore, having mentioned one of his deeds, I will put an end to the narrations of his good deeds beyond number. 252 74 Near Pessinus, the city of Galatia—and the place happened to be so named from the falling there of countless Gauls from around the Rhone who had attacked the country, with Brennus as their leader, and were trying to claim the country of the same name as themselves, as the Romans Fenestella and Sisenna say, whose accounts Varro included in his *Human Affairs*; but I have not yet seen the books—there, then, was a sanctuary for the immaculate army of holy angels consecrated to the ineffable God; concerning which Phocas, learning after everyone else that a certain Ellamos had at one time given twenty pounds of gold to the deity, he strove for an income of eighty gold pieces to be added to the sanctuary by the clergy for hospitality. 75 He used such devices, then, in the city, and he continually poured out gold each year secretly for the ransom of captives, weeping if anyone ever recounted to him in conversation about an enemy attack and the carrying off of captives. And I am not ashamed to call Truth as my witness, since I am speaking the truth. I know that I, one of his chamberlains, obtained so much gold from him, in his absence, for the multitude of those being ransomed. For as this philanthropy abounded, he sold his clothing and adding as much as was possible for him for the need of the ransoms, he sent out a corresponding defense for them and he took up the son of Theoprepous, having trained him in every way to be occupied with such things. And he, passing by and witnessing what was happening, surpassed him in accordance with his prayers, so that that man gave thanks to the divine that though dying in the body, he would remain immortal in his pieties through the things being done by the boy. 254 76 The emperor, rejoicing that the man was so great, with much effort persuaded him to show to all in common the freedom of soul that he possessed and to undertake the care for public affairs and to steer the rudder of the whole state, which was already sinking into evils. But he unwillingly—for it was not safe to refuse the request of such an emperor—undertook the public service, yet fearing and being dizzy with the magnitude of his fears, he saw God present and eager to help him. For as soon as he received the office and appeared from the court, he was carried in his carriage, and the entire populace, every age and nature together, raising their hands to heaven, offered up hymns of thanksgiving with tears to God who had deemed worthy of such providence those who were prostrated by countless evils. And God, deeming it right to persuade men, shows that he is present in their actions and that good things proceed from his counsels. For as the prefect stood before the carriage, a certain wicked man, letting loose an arrow from a bow—for the people still

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ἔφασκεν ἐγνωκέναι στωμυλωτέρως παρὰ τοὺς Ἰταλοὺς διαλέγεσθαι. ἑνὸς δὲ τῶν παρόντων Σπεκιώσου μνήμην ἀνάγοντος, ἐξαναστὰς ἐμέ τε καὶ τὸν εἰπόντα ἀντεβόλει πρὸς ἔντευξιν ἐκείνου παρακαλῶν. ἐγὼ δὲ ἕρμαιον ἡγησάμενος ὡς τάχος τὸν Σπεκιῶσον ἄγω πρὸς αὐτόν· καὶ γὰρ ἠπιστάμην τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ὁ δὲ λαβὼν αὐτὸν κατ' ἰδίαν γονυπετῶν διετέλει καὶ σωφρόνως ἐκλιπαρῶν ᾔτει τῆς οὔσης αὐτῷ μεταδοῦναι φωνῆς. ἐμὲ δὲ χωρίσας βραχὺ τοῦ λόγου ἑκατὸν χρυσίνους λαβεῖν ἠξίωσε δοθησομένους ἐκείνῳ. ὃ δὴ πράξας ἐγὼ καὶ τῶν λεγομένων συστατικῶν ἕνεκα τῷ Σπεκιώσῳ δοὺς ἔπεισα συχνότερον πρὸς τὸν πάντα ἀγαθὸν ἐκεῖνον ἄνθρωπον φοιτᾶν· ὁ δὲ πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἤμελλεν; ὄρθριος παρῆν, πρὸ τῆς αὐλείου τοῦ δῆθεν ἠξιωκότος αὐτὸν παραφυλάττων· ὁ δὲ μεταστειλάμενος καὶ θεραπεύσας ἀντεβόλησε μὴ πρότερον προσεδρεύειν αὐτῷ πρὶν αὐτὸς διαστειλάμενος ἀξιώσῃ γενέσθαι παρ' αὐτόν· καὶ τὸ λοιπὸν ὁ Σπεκιῶσος, συμβάλλων τῇ τέχνῃ περιόδῳ τοῦ σκέμματος, ἀφείθη τῆς προσεδρίας· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔμελε τῷ Φωκᾷ, μάλα πρὸς ἑκατέραν παρεσκευασμένῳ παιδείαν, μαθητείαν εὑρεῖν ἐκείνοις, ἃ παρὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀξιολόγως ἠπίστατο. καὶ τίς οὐκ ἂν στοχάσηται ἐκ τῶν περὶ ἀνθρώπους τἀνδρὸς κατορθωμάτων, πόσης ἦν περὶ τὸ θεῖον εὐσεβείας. μιᾶς οὖν πράξεως αὐτοῦ ἐπιμνησθεὶς πέρας ἐπιθήσω ταῖς ὑπὲρ ἀριθμὸν αὐτοῦ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀφηγήσεσιν. 252 74 Πρὸς Πεσινοῦντι τῇ πόλει τῆς Γαλατίας οὕτω δὲ τὸ χωρίον ὀνομασθῆναι συμβέβηκεν ἐκ τοῦ πεσεῖν ἀπείρους ἐκεῖ Γαλατῶν τῶν περὶ Ῥοδανὸν ἐπιπεσόντων τῇ χώρᾳ, Βρέννου ἡγησαμένου, καὶ τὴν ὁμώνυμον αὐτοῖς χώραν ἐκδικεῖν βιαζομένων, ὡς Φενεστέλλας καὶ Σισέννας οἱ Ῥωμαῖοί φασιν, ὧν τὰς χρήσεις ὁ Βάρρων ἐπὶ τῶν Ἀνθρωπίνων Πραγμάτων ἀνήγαγεν· ἐγὼ δὲ τὰς βίβλους οὔπω τεθέαμαι ἐκεῖ τοίνυν τέμενος ἦν τῇ ἀχράντῳ στρατιᾷ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀγγέλων τῷ ἀρρήτῳ θεῷ καθωσιωμένων· περὶ οὗ μετὰ πάντας ἀνθρώπους γνοὺς ὁ Φωκᾶς ὡς Ἔλλαμός τις τῷ θείῳ χρυσίου λίτρας εἴκοσιν ὑφ' ἓν ἐπιδούς, τοῖς ἱερουμένοις πρόσοδον ὀγδοήκοντα χρυσῶν προσγενέσθαι τῷ ἱερῷ εἰς φιλοξενίαν ἐσπούδασεν. 75 Τοιαύταις μὲν οὖν τέχναις ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως ἐχρῆτο, χρυσίον δὲ κατ' ἔτος ἕκαστον ἐπὶ λύτροις αἰχμαλώτων λαθραίως ἐκχέων διετέλει δακρύων εἴ πού τις περὶ πολεμίων ἐφόδου καὶ ἀπαγωγῆς αἰχμαλώτων πρὸς αὐτὸν διεξίοι τῷ λόγῳ. καὶ μάρτυρα τὴν Ἀλήθειαν οὐκ αἰδοῦμαι καλεῖν ἀληθεύων. οἶδα κοιτωνιτῶν αὐτῷ χρυσίου τοσούτου τυχών, ἀπόντος αὐτοῦ, πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος τῶν λυτρουμένων. ταύτης γὰρ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας ὑπερανθούσης, ἐσθῆτα διεπώλησεν καὶ προσθεὶς ὅσον ἦν αὐτῷ δυνατὸν πρὸς χρείαν τῶν λύτρων ἐξέπεμψε τούτων ἀμύνην ἀντίρροπον καὶ Θεοπρέπους ἀνέλαβε τὸν υἱὸν κατὰ πάντα τρόπον ἐκπαιδεύσας τοιούτοις ἐνασχολεῖσθαι. ὁ δὲ αὐτὸν παριόντα καὶ μαρτυροῦντα τοῖς γινομένοις κατ' εὐχὰς ἀπενίκησεν, ὡς ἐκεῖνον χάριτας εἰδέναι τῷ θείῳ ὅτι τῷ σώματι τελευτῶν ταῖς εὐσεβείαις ἀθάνατος διὰ τῶν παρὰ τοῦ παιδὸς πραττομένων διαμενοῖ. 254 76 Τοσοῦτον ὄντα τὸν ἄνδρα χαίρων ὁ βασιλεὺς πείθει καμάτῳ πολλῷ κοινὴν εἰς ἅπαντας ἐπιδείξασθαι τὴν οὖσαν αὐτῷ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν κοινῶν ἀναδέξασθαι φροντίδα καὶ διϊθῦναι τὸν οἴακα βυθιζομένης ἤδη τοῖς κακοῖς τῆς ὅλης πολιτείας. ὁ δὲ ἄκων οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀσφαλὲς βασιλέως αἴτησιν παρακρούσασθαι τοιούτου τὴν μὲν λειτουργίαν ὑπῆλθεν, δεδιὼς δὲ ὅμως καὶ τῷ μεγέθει τῶν φόβων ἰλιγγιῶν εἶδε τὸν θεὸν παρόντα βοηθεῖν αὐτῷ προθυμούμενον. ἅμα γὰρ τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαβὼν καὶ τῆς αὐλῆς προφανεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς ἀπήνης ἀνεφέρετο καὶ σύμπας ὁ δῆμος ἡλικία τε πᾶσα καὶ φύσις ὁμοῦ τὰς χεῖρας εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνατείναντες ὕμνους εὐχαριστηρίους μετὰ δακρύων ἀνέφερον τῷ θεῷ τοσαύτης ἀξιώσαντι προνοίας τοὺς μορίοις κατεστρωμένους κακοῖς. πείθειν δὲ θεὸς ἀνθρώπους ἀξιώσας δείκνυσι παρεῖναι τοῖς πραττομένοις καὶ βουλαῖς αὐτοῦ προϊέναι τὰ χρηστά. ὡς γὰρ ἔστη τῆς ἀπήνης ἔμπροσθεν ὁ ὕπαρχος, βέλος ἐναφεὶς τόξῳ πονηρός τις ἔτι γὰρ ὁ δῆμος