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having appointed them to services. But the magnates, some still remaining in their offices, others remaining uncared for in whatever corner of the earth, having leaped out from their corners out of anger, were free in their affairs, but not yet bold with their tongues—for the Mouzalones were in charge, they were plotting deep their angers, and all pretended to be obedient towards them, as if they were supposedly serving under the boy emperor, although biting their lips, those who had suffered at the hands of the father—who had eaten the unripe grapes of wrath 65 and had given them a bitter cup to drink—they yearned to numb the son; but even so, holding their animosity, some against the young ward, others against those in charge, having indeed suffered something from them before, nevertheless Nemesis did not allow them to rest, since they had been honored so improbably, not committing mischief out of hostility, they were constrained for the time being by their fear of them. Then the first of the Mouzalones, who was also honored with the dignity of protovestiarios, seeing that great and terrible envy was creeping up and that he was suspected by many of aspiring to the throne, and from this perceiving the great danger, he decided, being prudent, to test the army by a trial, and at the same time to learn how the magnates were disposed towards him, striving earnestly to show many signs of submission and servitude towards the young master by what he said and did. So then, having called together all the senate and all the imperial family, and all the rulers and all the military order, there being present there also the brothers of the emperor's great-grandfather Laskaris, who indeed long ago was distinguished by the imperial diadem and had restored the affairs of the Roman state which were in confusion as he found them, with not even the blind men being absent—these were Strategopoulos and Philes—and with every other magnate completing the assembly, standing on a high place, so that both the first and the last might hear at the same time, he said these things.

10. Speech of the protovestiarios Mouzalon. "To arrange our affairs from the beginning before you now, noble men and companions, seems, I think, superfluous and outside the present occasion; for necessity presses, to leave these things aside and to go through the matters at hand. For the time being, then, all but born in the palace, we were raised under a father who also served the emperors, and having been taken on as we were brought up and educated by our late emperor, with our father serving under him; and how faithfully we served, applying ourselves to whatever he commanded, mixing love with fear, you all could testify. For it was not possible for us to turn to anything else than to serve the lord guilelessly, even if perhaps we were not successful in what we were zealous for; but faith with zeal, even if one does not achieve it, we know conquers even malicious success. And that we received honors and the greatest of dignities beyond what we expected when our 67 master became emperor, was by his will. For what wondrous thing had we accomplished, so as to be honored so greatly? Nevertheless, it seemed good to the emperor, and we were in these dignities, not, however, so as to pass the time maliciously and to plot things to the harm of anyone; our conscience knows this. For such a thing was not the beginning of our honor, and to strengthen it thus afterwards we consider among the most shameful things; for if a man who has great power with a ruler should trip up others, suggesting improper things, there is no one who would not justly be indignant. But that we did not run after the ruler with ignoble flatteries and servile insinuations and draw the doors of his goodwill towards ourselves, weighing down others, the many inflictions of his blows have shown, so that we often came close to death being flogged. And how we felt love towards each one of you, and how we valued your acceptance with him above all else, I think many who know could tell; but if in some way we did not succeed in our entreaties, I know this was not our fault. But the

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ὑπηρεσίαις τάξαντες. Οἱ δὲ μεγιστᾶνες, οἱ μὲν ἐν ταῖς τιμαῖς ἔτι μένοντες, οἱ δὲ καὶ τῶν ὅπῃ ποτὲ γῆς ἀκηδέες ἔμενον ἐξ ὀργῆς γωνιῶν ἐξάλμενοι, τῶν μὲν πραγμάτων ἐλευθέρως εἶχον, τῆς δὲ γλώσσης οὔπω θαρροῦντεςοἱ γὰρ Μουζάλωνες ἐφειστήκεισαν, ἐβυσσοδόμευον τὰς ὀργάς, καὶ πάντες προσεποιοῦντο πρὸς ἐκείνους τὸ εὐπειθές, ὡς ὑπὸ βασιλεῖ δῆθεν τελοῦντες τῷ μειρακίσκῳ, εἰ καὶ ὀδὰξ οἱ παθόντες παρὰ τοῦ πατρός, φαγόντος τοὺς τῆς ὀργῆς 65 ὄμφακας καὶ κόνδυ πικρίας ἐκείνους ποτίσαντος, αἱμωδιᾶν ὠρέγοντο τὸν υἱόν· πλὴν καὶ οὕτως ἔχοντες δυσμενείας, οἱ μὲν τῷ ἐπιτροπευομένῳ καὶ νέῳ, οἱ δὲ τοῖς ἐφεστηκόσι, παθόντες μέν τι καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνων τὸ πρίν, οὐ μὴν δ' ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἡ Νέμεσις ἠρεμεῖν εἴα, οὕτω παρὰ τὸ εἰκὸς τιμηθέντων, μὴ δυσμεναίνοντας κακουργεῖν, τῷ πρὸς ἐκείνους τέως φόβῳ συγκατεκλί νοντο. Τότε δ' ὁ πρῶτος τῶν Μουζαλώνων, ὃς καὶ τῷ τοῦ πρωτοβεστιαρίου τετίμητο ἀξιώματι, ὁρῶν τὸν φθόνον πολὺν καὶ δεινὸν ὑφέρποντα καὶ ὡς βασιλειᾶν παρὰ πολλῶν ὑποπτεύοιτο, κἀντεῦθεν τὸν μέγαν κίνδυνον ὑφορώμενος, ἔγνω, συνετὸς ὤν, πείρᾳ τὸ στράτευμα δοκιμάσαι, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοὺς μεγιστᾶνας γνωρίσαι ὅπως ἔχοιεν ἐκείνῳ τῆς διαθέσεως, πολλὰ πρότερον ὑποταγῆς καὶ δουλείας σύμβολα πρὸς τὸν ἀφήλικα δεσπότην σπου δάζων, οἷς λέγοι καὶ πράττοι, ἐνδείκνυσθαι. Τότε τοίνυν συγκαλεσάμενος ὅσον ἦν τὸ τῆς γερουσίας καὶ ὅσον τοῦ βασιλείου γένους, ὅσον τε τῶν ἀρχόντων καὶ ὅσον τῆς στρατιωτικῆς τάξεως, παρόντων ἐκεῖσε καὶ τῶν τοῦ προπάππου τοῦ βασιλέως Λάσκαρι αὐταδέλφων, ὃς δὴ καὶ οὗτος τὸ πάλαι βασιλείας διέπρεπεν διαδήματι καὶ τὰ τῆς Ῥωμαΐδος πράγματα συγχυθέντα ὡς εἶχεν ἀνεκαλεῖτο, οὐδὲ τῶν τυφλῶν ἐκεῖθεν ἀπόντωνὁ Στρατηγόπουλος δ' οὗτοι ἦσαν καὶ ὁ Φιλῆς, καὶ παντὸς ἄλλου μεγιστᾶνος συμπληροῦντος τὸν σύλλογον, ἐφ' ὑψηλοῦ στάς, ὡς ἂν ἅμα οἵ τε πρῶτοι ἀκούοιεν καὶ οἱ ὕστατοι, ἔλεγε τάδε.

ιʹ. ∆ημηγορία τοῦ πρωτοβεστιαρίου Μουζάλωνος. «Τὸ μὲν τὰ ἡμέτερα ἀρχῆθεν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀρτίως συντάττειν, εὐγενεῖς ἄνδρες καὶ σύντροφοι, περιττόν, οἶμαι, δοκεῖ καὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἔξω καιροῦ· ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἐπείγει, ταῦτα παρέντας, τὰ κατὰ πόδας διεξιέναι. Τέως δ' οὖν μόνον οὐ γεννηθέντες ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις, ὑπὸ πατρὶ ὑπηρετοῦντι κἀκείνῳ τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἐτράφημεν, καὶ προσληφθέντες ὡς ἀνήχθημεν παιδευόμενοι ὑπὸ τοῦ μακαρίτου βασιλέως ἡμῶν, ὑφηγεμονεύοντος τῷ πατρί· καὶ ὡς πιστῶς ὑπηρετοῖμεν, προσκείμενοι ἐφ' οἷς ἂν καὶ προστάσσοι, ἀγάπην φόβῳ μιγνύντες, πάντες ἂν μαρτυρήσοιτε. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἡμᾶς ἐπ' ἄλλο τι τρέπεσθαι ἢ καθυπουργεῖν ἀδόλως τῷ κυριεύοντι, κἂν ἴσως τὸ εὐδοκιμεῖν οὐκ ἦν ἐφ' οἷς προὐθυμούμεθα· πίστιν δὲ μετὰ προθυμίας, κἂν μὴ ἀνύῃ τις, καὶ δύσνουν νικᾶν εὐδοκίμησιν οἴδαμεν. Τὸ δὲ καὶ τιμὰς λαβεῖν ἡμᾶς καὶ τῶν ἀξιωμάτων παρ' ὃ προσεδοκῶμεν τὰ μέγιστα, βασιλεύσαντος τοῦ 67 δεσπότου, ἐκείνου θέλοντος ἦν. Τί γὰρ ἡμῖν καὶ ἤνυστο θαυμαστόν, ὥστε καὶ τιμηθῆναι τοσαῦτα; Ὅμως ἐδόκει τῷ βασιλεύοντι, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ τῶν ἀξιωμάτων ἦμεν, οὐ μὴν δὲ ὥστε καὶ κακεντρεχῶς ὑπέρχεσθαι τὸν καιρὸν καὶ τὰ ἐς βλάβην τισὶ πραγματεύεσθαι· οἶδεν εἰς τοῦτο τὸ ἡμέτερον συνειδός. Οὔτε γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἦρξεν ἡμῖν τῆς τιμῆς, καὶ τὸ μετὰ ταῦτα κρατύνειν οὕτως αὐτὴν καὶ λίαν ἡγούμεθα τῶν αἰσχίστων· ἀνδρὶ γὰρ δυναμένῳ μέγα παρ' ἄρχοντι, εἰ τοὺς ἄλλους πτερνίζοι, ὑποβάλλων τὰ μὴ καθήκοντα, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅστις οὐ δικαίως ἂν νεμεσήσειεν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ μὴ θωπείαις ἀγενέσι καὶ ἀνελευθέροις ὑποποιήσεσιν ὑποτρέχειν τὸν ἄρχοντα καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἐφέλκεσθαι τὰς θύρας τῆς ἐκείνου εὐμενείας, τοῖς ἑτέροις ἐπιζυγοῦντας, ἔδειξαν αἱ πολλαὶ τῶν ἐκείνου πληγῶν ἐπιφοραί, ὥστε πολλάκις ἡμᾶς ἐγγίζειν τῷ θανάτῳ μαστιγουμένους. Ὅπως δὲ καὶ πρὸς ὑμῶν ἕκαστον ἀγάπης εἴχομεν καὶ ὡς τὴν ὑμετέραν παρ' ἐκείνῳ ἀποδοχὴν τοῦ παντὸς ἐτιμώμεθα, πολλοὺς οἶμαι γινώσκοντας ἐξειπεῖν· εἰ δέ πῃ καὶ μὴ ἀνύοιμεν ἱκετεύοντες, οὐ πρὸς ἡμᾶς οἶδα τοῦτο. Πλὴν τὸ