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

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-sake as an indicator of his skill and victory, and he wisely addressed this man as father, and honored him more than Dionysius did Plato; for having seated him on a similar throne, he did not change, nor did he move the philosopher among his rivals, nor did he allot him a humbler way of life, but he even used him as a teacher, and was much helped by him towards the science of ruling, and he conversed with him often, and shared his secrets with him, and received from him the watchwords for action. This emperor then also sketched out for him the high-priestly dignity, and having seen him for the first time—for he was one, if anyone, who could judge a soul from its appearance, and infer the future from the present—he decreed him, so to speak, worthy of the grace of the Spirit. But why do I not bring the account concerning him back to the beginning, so that I may be able to enter upon the man's elevation to the high-priesthood from there and not from here? For his eloquence and virtue made him public, and set him in the middle of the public view, but his reverence for higher things restrained him, and the character of his soul, and his contempt for the height of thrones and of the [glory and] splendor from them. On the one hand, then, things compelled him to boldness in what is good, on the other, they held him back to delight by him[self] in mystical good repute; and for him, some things were against his character, others in keeping with his character. Whence he also conquers for himself, and having yielded the platform to his inferiors—for I now add this—he himself was with his betters within the veil above. I myself, then, often reproached him for his immoderate love of obscurity, for I had the confidence to do so from our fellowship in discourse, and I tried to uncover him and place him on the lampstand, so that he might thus give light to the world with the saving teachings and doctrines he had collected. But he, having swiftly spread his wing, as if fearing the open air, had remained again hidden in his nest. Then having taken him from both sides, on the one side the emperor, on the other the one chosen to direct the high-priesthood, the one by constraints, the other by votes, as an eaglet, and one rising on light wings at that, they place him on the throne of the high-priesthood, and they assign to him, as to a superior man, the superior see of Euchaïta, exalting it no more than him; offering him as a dedication to the metropolis or making it dependent on his soul; for it was fitting for the greatest of the greatest, and for the greater things, the greater man, whence the extremes, acting well, ran together to the same point. Did he then lay claim to the summit of eloquence, but neglect the deeds that follow upon words, or did he achieve these also, but neglect the right tempering of his character? Or did he also temper this beyond measure, but not arrive at the height of all virtue? Or did he even fly up to this, but not make sufficient preparation for the high-priesthood, but seeming sufficient thus? Then did he pursue the thrones as one prepared for them? But did he not pursue them, but having been pursued and having received it, did he neglect what he had undertaken, as if ceasing from his labors, and not wishing to increase the given talent? Far from it. For he was persuaded to take the throne not that he might live in luxury, but that he himself might be straitened, while providing sufficiency for others; nor that he might take away anything of the church's property, but that he might add to it more than he had. For these reasons, although in other matters he was simple in his affairs, not by nature, but by choice and the wish to live so, having arrived here, as if sleeping the rest of the time, he suddenly rises up, and girding his loins. What did he not say concerning the affairs of the church? What did he not do? What zeal and diligence did he not contribute? Immediately, to begin at the hearth, as if having beheld with his eyes the whole super-celestial order, according to the form and arrangement there

φιλοτιμίᾳ, ὁ τῷ μεγάλῳ Κωνσταντίνῳ καὶ ὁμώνυμος καὶ ὁμότροπος, καὶ μόνος πρὸς πάντας γενναίως ἀνταγωνισάμενος, καὶ τὴν ὁμωνυμίαν λαβὼν τῆς τέχνης καὶ τῆς νίκης κατήγορον, καὶ πατέρα τοῦτον σοφῶς προσηγόρευσε, καὶ μᾶλλον τετίμηκεν ἢ τὸν Πλάτωνα ∆ιονύσιος· ἐς γὰρ τὸν ὅμοιον ἐγκαθίσας θρόνον οὐ μετεβάλετο, οὐδὲ μετέστησε τὸν φιλόσοφον ἐς τοὺς ἀντιζήλους, οὐδ' ὑφειμένην δίαιταν ἐκλήρωσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διδασκάλῳ ἐκέχρητο, καὶ πολλὰ παρὰ τούτου πρὸς τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐπιστήμην ὠφέλητο, θαμά τε ὡμίλει, καὶ ἐκοινώνει τῶν ἀπορρήτων, καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ τὰ συνθήματα τῶν πρακτέων ἐλάμβανεν. οὗτος δὴ οὖν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ καὶ τὸ ἀρχιερατικὸν ἀξίωμα τούτῳ ἐσκιαγράφησε, καὶ πρώτως ἰδών-ἦν γὰρ εἰ καί τις ἄλλος εἰς ψυχὴν βάλλων ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος, καὶ τὸ μέλλον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐνεστῶτος εἰκᾴζων-τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος χάριτος ἄξιον οὕτως εἰπεῖν ἐδογμάτισεν. Ἀλλὰ τί μὴ εἰς ἀρχὴν τὸν περὶ τούτου λόγον ἐπανάγω, ἵν' ἔχοιμι ἐκεῖθεν καὶ μὴ αὐτόθεν εἰσβάλλειν εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης ἀναγωγὴν τοῦ ἀνδρός; τοῦτον γὰρ ἐδημοσίευσε μὲν ὁ λόγος καὶ ἡ ἀρετή, καὶ ἐς μέσην καθίστων περιωπήν, συνέστελλε δὲ ἡ περὶ τὰ κρείττω εὐλάβεια, καὶ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἦθος, καὶ τὸ καταφρονεῖν ὕψους θρόνων καὶ τῆς ἐκ[εῖθεν δόξης τε] καὶ λαμπρότητος. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐβιάζετο τοῦτον εἰς τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ παρρησίαν, τὰ δὲ κατεῖχεν ἐφ' ἑ[αυτο]ῦ κατατρυφᾶν τῆς μυστικῆς εὐδοξίας· ἦν δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ μέν, ἀπὸ τρόπου, τὰ δὲ πρὸς τρόπου. ὅθεν καὶ νικᾷ ἑαυτῷ, καὶ παραχωρήσας τοῦ βήματος τοῖς ἐλάττοσι, τοῦτο γὰρ νῦν προστίθημι, αὐτὸς μετὰ τῶν κρειττόνων ἐντὸς ἐγεγόνει τοῦ ἄνω καταπετάσματος. Ἔγωγ' οὖν αὐτῷ πολλάκις τὴν ἀμετρίαν τῆς ἀδοξίας ὠνείδιζον, εἶχον γὰρ τὸ θαρρεῖν αὐτῷ παρὰ τὴν τοῦ λόγου κοινωνίαν, καὶ ἐπειρώμην ἐκκαλύπτειν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς λυχνίας τιθέναι, ἵν' οὕτως πυρσεύοι τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἃ συνειλόχει σωτήρια διδάγματά τε καὶ δόγματα. ὁ δέ, ταχύ τι μὲν τὸ πτερὸν ἡπλώκει, ὥσπερ δὲ δεδιὼς τὸν πολὺν ἀέρᾳ, αὖθις ἐπὶ τοῦ φωλεοῦ λανθάνων ἐμεμενήκει. εἶθ' ἑκατέρωσε διαλαβόντες, ἔνθεν μὲν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ ὁ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην ἰθύνειν λαχών, ὁ μέν, ταῖς ἀνάγκαις, ὁ δέ, ταῖς ψήφοις, ὥσπερ δὴ ἀετιδῆ, καὶ ταῦτα κούφοις πτεροῖς ἐπαιρόμενον, ἐπὶ τοῦ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης θρόνου τιθέασι, καὶ ἐξαίρουσιν αὐτῷ ὥσπερ τινὶ κρείττονι κρείττονα τὰ Εὐχάϊτα, οὐ μᾶλλόν γε τοῦτον· ἀνάθημα τῇ μητροπόλει παρέχοντες ἢ ἐκείνην ἐξαρτῶντες τῆς ἐκείνου ψυχῆς· ἔδει γὰρ τῷ μεγίστῳ μὲν τῶν μεγίστων, τοῖς μείζοσι δὲ τοῦ μείζονος, ὅθεν εὖ ποιοῦντα τὰ ἄκρα συνέδραμεν εἰς ταὐτό. Ἆρ' οὖν τοῦ μὲν λόγου εἰς ἄκρον ἀντεποιήσατο, τῶν δ' ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις ἔργων ἠμέληκεν, ἢ καὶ ταῦτα μὲν κατώρθωκε, τῆς δὲ τῶν ἠθῶν ἠμέλησε κράσεως; ἢ καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὑπὲρ λόγον συνεκεράσατο, τῆς δὲ ἀρετῆς ξυμπάσης οὐκ εἰς ἄκρον ἀφίκετο; ἢ καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο μὲν ἀνέπτη, οὐκ ἀρκοῦσαν δὲ παρασκευὴν πρὸς τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην πεποίηται, ἀλλ' ἀποχρῶν οὕτω δόξας; εἶτα δὴ τοὺς θρόνους ἐδίωξεν ὡς ἐπὶ τούτους παρεσκευασμένος; ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐδίωξε μέν, διωχθεὶς δὲ καὶ λαβὼν τῶν ἐπειλημμένων κατωλιγώρηκεν, ὥσπερ καταπαύσας τῶν σπουδασμάτων, ἀλλ' οὐκ αὐξάνειν τὸ δεδομένον βουλόμενος τάλαντον; πολλοῦ γε καὶ δεῖ. οὐ γὰρ ἵνα τρυφῴη πέπειστο τὸν θρόνον λαβεῖν, ἀλλ' ἵνα στενοχωροῖτο μὲν αὐτός, ἑτέροις δὲ παρασκευάζοι τὸ ἀποχρῶν· οὐδ' ἵνα τι ὑφαιροῖτο τῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ἀλλ' ἵνα πλείονα ταύτῃ ὧν ἔχοι προσθείη. διὰ ταῦτα, καί τοι τἆλλα ἀφελῶς ἔχων τῶν πραγμάτων, οὐ παρὰ τὴν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν γνώμην καὶ τὸ οὕτω βούλεσθαι βιοτεύειν, ἐνταῦθα γενόμενος, ὥσπερ τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον καταδαρθάνων, ἀθρόον ἀνίσταται, καὶ περιζωσάμενος τὴν ὀσφύν. τί μὲν οὐκ εἰρήκει περὶ τῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας πραγμάτων; τί δ' οὐκ ἐπεπράχει; ποίαν δ' οὐκ εἰσηνέγκατο προθυμίαν τε καὶ σπουδήν; Αὐτίκα, ἵν' ἀφ' ἑστίας ἄρξωμαι, ὥσπερ τὴν ὑπερουράνιον πᾶσαν τάξιν ὀφθαλμοῖς θεασάμενος, κατὰ τὴν ἐκεῖσε ἰδέαν καὶ σύνταξιν