Chronographia
The lord chamberlain was like an athlete and a combatant, while the emperor basil was the spectator, not so that he might crown the other, but so that
Accustomed to ambushes and pitched battles, but more effective and valiant than him in hand-to-hand actions for indeed he who received a blow from hi
Having driven them from the camp, they killed them all utterly and breaking camp, as if from the same impulse of the soul, they turned themselves to
Of equal measure as if by a ruler in size, armed with a sword in the right hand and being irresistible in their charge, having set these men with him
1.20 from this point, for basil the change was not an end of evils, but a beginning and a starting-point for immediately the emperor, having reviewed
They became fugitives from that man and again departed, having arranged themselves on their own and, as if a broken-off part, allotted to a rank equal
He bared his feet of the purple-dyed sandal, but as if reserving for himself a part of the tyranny he approached the emperor basil, however, seeing h
He would suggest, and his speech held nothing terrible, nor anything elaborate. 1.31 bringing the kingdom down, therefore, from an arrogant and enviou
He considered the unbroken formation, and by this alone he thought the roman phalanxes were invincible. but when the soldiers were burdened by the toi
To have become emperors for from his birth until the twentieth year of his age he reigned as co-emperor in a subordinate position with his father and
From an early age, having done away with the company of tutors, he acquired bedfellows and chamberlains for himself and these were neither of noble n
Becoming benumbed, they indicated the multitude of both their thoughts and their words with certain signs. 2.7 and being large in body, so as to stand
Man) is received into the palace for a marriage alliance with the emperor and the most beautiful of constantine's daughters is both seen by him and l
Was, but a most true understanding, would have been of great benefit <ἂν> to the whole. whence he accomplished nothing more than the attempts, but rat
He might make, or rather if he should multiply the roman army, he would become unbearable to anyone, advancing with so great a multitude both of his o
The emperor. 3.10 so some ran in disorder, while the enemy became mere spectators of the unexpected victory, astounded as if at those who had been tur
The rivers of money were diverted. that this is so, the account will show more clearly. 3.13 this emperor was eager to seem pious and he was indeed t
Unformed, by which another temple is built up within us, well-pleasing and acceptable to the lord? but that man knew how to philosophize in his inquir
Brilliant and truly rosy-cheeked. the brother, since it seemed good to him, brought this man to be seen by the emperor, who was sitting with the empre
And some things he saw with his own eyes, and others he had heard, but he, as if willingly, both closed his eyes again and stopped up the passages of
And sleep, settling on the tips of his eyes, quickly flew away, and all difficult things had befallen him: harshness of character, a disagreeable disp
Having received [the confirmation] of his death through sight. but he, groaning something heavy and deep, looked about here and there, being unable to
They all went away to honour the departed emperor as was fitting and one of those preceding the bier was the new emperor's brother, john the eunuch,
He discerned the manifold nature of providence, and how great a share of the circumstances the cares of state collect for a true king, he was altogeth
Terrifying, he caused distress even by his appearance for most people, shuddering at his appearance, refrained from evil deeds. and so he was truly a
He was unwilling to make them accountable for what they had done, but covering up their unjust deeds, he courted even more freedom for their opinions,
But his mind was restored to him, free. but whenever he went forth on foot or on horseback, a guard was present around him, and turning about, they sa
Let it be left alone for now». but he, seizing upon the remark: 'do not suppose,' he says, 'o emperor, that you have escaped the ears of the multitud
The emperor, i know not whether he immediately repented of what had been done, or was otherwise disposed towards his nephew, neither paid attention to
Secretly forming images, and as if pre-engraving what he had decided to do later, he ran down his whole family, and planned to destroy all those who h
He was planning to be delivered from the pollutions that had been attached to his soul. 4.33 so some of those who are not very well-disposed towards h
At once having changed their habit and way of life, and having been enlisted for god, a band of youths into a register of virtues. 4.37 and he did not
Testifying for himself from his own loins, but having either fashioned or revealed something like a sprout from that root, he cleverly persuades them,
Strengthening, he both mounted the horse and held his seat firmly and skillfully managed it with the bridle, then he followed, joining the sections, a
They are reconciled to each other, and from then on they lived together, and conversed with one another, except that each suspected the other. 4.49 bu
Fleece of christ, and taking the covering from his head, they place upon it the helmet of salvation then indeed, having armed his chest and back with
Of a brother of superior intelligence, that they should think anything noble either about the empire or about the state of public affairs, whence they
He varied, now not waiting for his opinion in imperial affairs, and now doing and saying something else which he knew that man would not tolerate. 5.7
The matter fanned him into hatred and anger. from this a hatred for the whole family smoldered in him but he did not immediately attempt to destroy t
Would supplicate and entreat him, and transfer him more quickly to the imperial courts. and as he withdrew, his own bodyguard followed, and a great mu
Ministered. 5.16 but his plans were thus being brought to completion, and he was winning over the chosen populace of the city and all those who belong
Ours but let this, as it has more objections from either side, be moved to another inquiry. 5.20 the emperor at that time, then, concealing the natur
He personifies the action and introduces a scene, and reveals to the senate, supposedly, the things being planned against him by her, and how he had s
Were seen outside the women's quarters, coming forth in public and shouting and beating their breasts and terribly lamenting over the suffering of the
But now the rebellion became manifest, and the people gathered in companies, and the encampment had become formidable, then indeed he was terribly agi
She did not share power, but she was exceptionally honored, and she partook of the splendor in the palace next after her sister but since kinship is
To the city, immediately every soul which until this point had been fearful and trembling is lifted up and some were offering thanks-offerings to god
5.43 the nobelissimos, then, answered me with such words but the one who had been tyrant, gently shaking his head and with difficulty releasing a tea
They lead them out but they had not yet gone far on the road when those who had been ordered to put out their eyes met them. and having made the sent
Invites him and makes him a partner in the state. and she did so but theodora does not entirely put aside her respect for her sister, nor does she ta
And her hand was most sharply prepared for both equally, i mean for death and for life, and in this respect she resembled the waves of the sea that bo
6.9 to many, therefore, it seems that only now for the first time have the nations around us poured over the roman frontiers, bursting in all at once
Romanus, then, not being very jealous, turned a deaf ear to such a rumor. but michael removed him from the palace and, under the pretext of a more ven
Michael, who indeed after romanos had ascended to power for this reason, even when he became emperor, he did not abandon his jealousy against that ma
Having passed over for reasons i shall state the things done by some, or changing it otherwise, not making a history, but fabricating events as if on
Unconquerable, but the character of each is from the majority, how i should be ashamed to say if anything has not also been done by him justly and fit
Having transferred proud offices this, then, at that time brought forth ceremonies and festivals, and the entire city was in a state of excitement, a
To shape the tongue for seemliness with words, and to purify the mind with philosophy, not having long mastered rhetorical speeches, so as to be able
It only bubbles with the great stream of words, and concerns itself with the composition of the parts of speech, and has put forth certain discourses
Are brought to light together, but for others, not only have other things miscarried, but even the matters of their speech are not well-organized. 6.4
Had preceded, he would have immediately offended them, had it not seemed good even so to his wife, whether because she concealed her jealousy, or beca
6.55 so he would pretend each time that something or other was being built, and would often go away during the month, on the pretext of inspecting som
And as she narrated, indescribable graces surrounded her. at any rate, she captivated me by often asking again and again about greek myths, and she he
Was kindled for her, and of the attendants, one would divide the quantities of spices, another would mix them together, and another did something else
To come, but nevertheless he revelled in his thoughts but this cut off his reflections and her hopes, and a sudden disease took hold, opposed to ever
I now forbear to detail the action, but i have chosen to walk a middle road between those who have written of the antiquities of elder rome's leadersh
And struck from the side. 6.78 but since we had been despoiled of italy and had been deprived of the most august part of the empire, the second michae
6.83 such, then, were the circumstances concerning him but the emperor, when he had learned both of the murder of the ambassador and of the usurper's
Delivered from the wave and having taken a short breath, he sends up voices of thanksgiving to god, and fixes the head high up on the great theatre, s
And he, having survived in his reign for a short time, passed away, and the rule fell to a certain obscure michael, against him they indeed armed thei
From below they tried to bore through but those above were throwing stones and swords and when fire was also hurled upon them, and their eyes were a
That was unshaken, not supported by natural foundations, but by firmness of calculation and better judgment. but this part i have not yet indeed perce
Had contrived exile for him. 6.101 but even when the man had gone abroad, rumor followed him again or rather, most people, having taken this as a pre
To punish for these reasons, before they were caught, they made it their business to anticipate him. 6.104 gathering, therefore, suddenly and unexpec
6.107 this was the state of affairs, and the tyrant, having sped like the wind with his entire army, encamped somewhere before the city, and what was
Insulting and dancing over them. and when he saw some of these things and heard others, and i was standing near him, treating some of the things said
As many as happened to be standing by the emperor for they thought the tyrant would enter immediately and everyone would be destroyed. 6.114 and if a
Were thrown off from their aim within but then those who were pulling back the engine more vigorously, having swung back the sling, hurl one of the l
Placing his trust in the oaths, was not proved false. so, some of them had fled into one of the holy sanctuaries, and drawing their swords they threat
He showed a sun-like and fiery head, but as much as was on his chest and belly down to his feet and the opposite parts, it showed full of whatever mea
6.130 but i, even while writing of this man, am utterly astonished how at that time he endured, though assailed by such great pains for paralysis upo
Was corrupted, and anyone who wishes is made a citizen. indeed, one might find among us more wearers of goatskin who have changed their dress at any
As far as he had advanced, and how the emperor, having been unfortunate, was again fortunate against expectations. the emperor had a spirit cheerful f
Being announced by his finding.” so he went away at once to enjoy the agreed upon pleasures and when his banquets came to an end, he came in the even
For no small portion of flatterers was maintained by him, and one of the leaders with him, having made him entirely his own, happened to be the first
A symposium on these occasions more splendid than usual, and the emperor himself was host and master of the feast, but the chief among the guests was
All of our honorable things and those by which the roman empire was formerly envied. 6.154 and i, both then, was lamenting, seeing everything so consu
Her eyes poured forth with speech. 6.158 and having become the most ambitious of all women, and for this reason corrupting everything along with it, b
To hang from the tongue? 6.162 but i know not how i shall both preserve the truth of the history, and apportion to him the fitting reverence and yet
I will make clear that which lies in the midst of our discussion and is doubtful to both those who praise and those who blame i lift out from the oth
Flew down, some angel or a more divine soul, watching over the good governance of men and visiting the cities. -“but i am he for you,” the emperor had
Stealing the truth. 6.177 i, at any rate, hold to the true story and place these things far from the circle of his good qualities, just as, indeed, th
Makes him an initiator and an initiated, which the discourse as it proceeds will speak of more completely. 6.182 these things, therefore, being disput
Flowing from a center with an abundant stream, it ran over the whole surface without interval and houses around with colonnades on all sides and on b
They might increase, since they are not able to remain still, by the continuity of their movements they slide downhill, this indeed he himself did not
But he was stricken in his soul because he was about to be deprived immediately of such a man. 6.196 at any rate, the event immediately allowed me nei
And having snatched beforehand the better life. but when he had despaired of gentle persuasion, abandoning the fox’s skin he put on the lion’s, and ra
To oppose himself, changing with and revolving with that one, but he is composed truly, not rhetorically, being assimilated to and sympathizing, as it
She entrusted this office, knowing that he would very quickly be overthrown, being set forth as an occasion of envy for his messmates but seeking the
Incorruptible by money but if someone dining with him showed a cheerful face and “stretched forth his hands to the good cheer lying ready,” as the po
If she wanted a secret matter or to do something else of the hidden things, she would share with me the plan and the counsel. 6 τηεοδ.14 and so when i
Ferrying across, but those imitating them in appearance, but acting hypocritically in their opinions i mean the nazirites among us, who, being refash
They take hold of the scepters, and to these they first give both voice and sight who, as soon as they leap upon them and utter buffoonish cries, and
They withdrew. but being men of the east and truly neighbors, they were separated from each other by short distances. for these reasons, after waiting
With nothing new having happened, they neither planned against what had been dared, nor did they move the remaining divisions against their formations
A shout and an attack, but immediately gave way and was scattered, fearing that the victors might turn against them, and strengthening the fugitives t
I submit. -and what is this, he says, that you hold in reverence yourself and yet do not fully trust the embassy? -the man to whom you order me to cro
Us, he dismissed us to the tents, which had been pitched in order very near his own. so as we departed, we marveled at the man, that he did not at onc
Fearsome both in their looks and in their bearing, both groups with grey-blue eyes, but some adulterating the color, and emptying the edges of their e
I praised the reasonable course of advancing to imperial rule, and that such is the order: action, then indeed contemplation, and the practical man fi
You have, instead of these good tidings i shall be torn to pieces by your hands, are you not confirming the tyranny and becoming your own accusers? bu
After many days have passed, i will make this man a partner in the imperial power, having made necessary pretexts for his elevation to this but if i
And shouting aloud, they cursed the emperor and uttered every ill-omened word against him, but they acclaimed isaac as the only one most worthy of the
To their supporters. and so they stand towards one another, the luminary returns, and immediately everything was made manifest. 7.40 at any rate the w
Comnenus, a man vigorous in all things, immediately takes charge of the whole and begins the business of the empire from the very starting line for h
He was known by his words. 7.48 for indeed he was, if anyone else, most concise in speech, neither letting his tongue run on at length, nor inadequate
To remove the superfluities, but to introduce equalities, and to tear down some things, but build up others, to heal the inner parts, and to breathe i
Having brought it into its entrails, he took away what was natural, and deprived it of a civilized and political life, and almost drove it mad and mad
Building up, but the other, so that those who were by nature idle and useless for the order of the state might live in luxury and dishonor the reality
He ran through the whole world, and was crowned with every victory, and none of the emperors of old would have challenged him but his lack of restrai
Daring, and resisting all winds, some of them sank, snatched by the waves, while others were driven more violently away but for him the mixture of hi
Having slightly warmed the cut limbs of the horse, they devour them with the gore, and thus having refreshed themselves, they rush to the nearest huts
For the crane fell, dancing its death-dance, and now showing its front, now its back. 7.73 the emperor, then, delighting in both kinds of hunting, so
To lay a hand on the wrist, the first of the physicians, and there is no need to say his name: but do not even diagnose the artery, he says for th
Then indeed do you not pity us for our desolation? and what sort of soul do you have, that you withdraw yourself from the palace, but leave to me a mo
Saying and preserving what was fitting for him for this man feared not those who hated him, but those who were attached to him, and he blocked every
I might boast so much, but the emperor himself would know, how as a counterweight i was a counterweight, and i was assisting matters as they were carr
7 xonst.5 thus then having sketched him in outline, i shall at once write more broadly and articulate, just as indeed i promised to do for this wonder
As the account has detailed the whole matter in the histories concerning comnenus. 7 xonst.8 the entire multitude, then, had assented to and inclined
Around midnight he rouses himself a little, and realizing in what circumstances he <is>, and despairing of everything, and having seen the reigning em
This brought down the empire of the romans and changed matters for the worse, and yet i myself often tried to remove this malady from this emperor bu
Having gathered them, he sent them against those men, and god works a wonder, not less than the mosaic prodigies for as if seeing a stronger phalanx,
When they conspired against him, that he should not deprive these men of honour and money, but should treat them as purchased slaves instead of free m
She kept her judgment in all respects and i would make this defense for her, that even if she had changed at all, she was not overcome by pleasures n
The mother was sitting by the child's bed arise, she said, my most beautiful of sons and emperor, and receive your stepfather, not as a ruler in p
Guessing reasonably. 7 ευδ,ρομ.13 he had set out, at any rate, against the barbarians with his whole army, knowing neither where he was going nor what
These, as spring was dawning, were plundering the land of the romans and overrunning it in great numbers he therefore went out again, bringing with h
Some wanted the mother to be completely inactive, while others assigned the whole of the rule once again to her. but neither of these pleased me, for
7 eud,rom.29 so they indeed were thus but we with the empress, among whom i also happened to be, being ignorant of the affair, had become all but pet
When he was emperor, confessing thanks to him for his misfortune, bringing many soldiers he approaches this man, and urging him to be of good courage
He was seen with goodwill the second time, as much as the first time with hostility and he stood with andronikos, partly encouraging him, and partly
Was cast down and lamented but not even when the capture of diogenes was announced to the emperor, did he show any leap of joy, or display any other
A change of ideas, innovation, the poetic construction of his speech, and before all these things his love for philosophy, the height of his spiritual
7 μιξη.8 these things, then, are common for him towards all, but his feelings toward the author have no rivalry or comparison with others for he has
7 mixe.13 so they say that heracles saw ajax, son of telamon, while he was still being nursed and wrapped him in the lionskin, but i have often embrac
Becomes for us a source of much reverence, but being moderate everywhere and mixing seriousness with play, in this alone he is not to be restrained, n
And the creators of the whispered rumors, the wicked men who sow tares and who, out of sheer malice, fabricate things that are not, whose irrational o
having passed over for reasons I shall state the things done by some, or changing it otherwise, not making a history, but fabricating events as if on a stage, I thought I would be caught, or, hunting for the truth in every way, I would become an occasion of mockery for the censorious, and be considered not a lover of history, but a lover of slander. 6.23 For this reason, then, I have not been very eager about the subjects of our own time, and especially because I knew I would have to criticize the emperor Constantine on many points, on whose account I would be ashamed if I did not contribute every eulogy to him; for I would be ungrateful and altogether irrational, if, for what I have received from him—some things in actual deeds, others as a starting point for better things—I did not give back even a small part, the gratitude expressed through words. For the sake of this man, at any rate, I was always putting off the history, least of all wishing to attach any blame to him, and to uncover in my account some of the things not well done by him and which it is good to conceal, and to entrust to the ears of the multitude a corrupted narrative, and for him whom I have had as a subject for better discourses, to acquire him as a starting point for worse ones, and the tongue which I have purified by the means he urged me to, to sharpen it against him. 6.24 For even if to a philosopher every superfluous and elaborate thing here is despised, and the limit of his life is the comprehension of the necessities of nature, and other things are attached externally to such a life, yet for these reasons I must not be ungrateful to the one who has honored me exceedingly and exalted me above others. So then my wish is either to remember him in my better discourses, or to keep silent about his affairs if they have not proceeded from a better cause. But if, having set out to eulogize his life, I then appeared to have gathered together the worse subjects, having abandoned the occasions for better ones, I would be most malevolent, just like the son of Lyxus who includes the worst deeds of the Greeks in his histories. 6.25 But if I am not doing that now, but have undertaken to write the history of the emperors' lives, how, passing over what belongs to history, shall I compose what belongs to encomia, as if having forgotten my undertaking, or misrepresenting the art, not distinguishing the subjects, but driving to the same end things whose purposes are different? For besides this treatise, I have composed many fine discourses for him, and the multitude marveled at the extravagances of my eulogies, and I did not falsify the praise, but I escaped the notice of others in so doing. For while others, since the affairs of emperors are a mixture and worse and better deeds are interwoven for them, know neither how to blame purely, nor to praise sincerely, but the proximity of opposites deceives them; I for my part have forsworn blame, except insofar as it is in fictions, and in composing praises, I am not accustomed to gather all things from all sources, but leaving aside the worse things, and selecting the better, I arrange these in their proper order and join them together and through a single, most excellent quality, I weave the eulogy. 6.26 Therefore, in the encomia for him, I have composed the discourses on his behalf in this way, but having undertaken to write his history, I would not be able to do so. For I would not falsify the history, whose greatest virtue is the truth, for the sake of the ill repute of the many, being cautious lest a slanderous tongue accuse me, that when I ought to praise, I condemn. But this is not an accusation, nor an indictment, but truly a history. Then, if I saw that the other emperors had done everything from the best disposition and had been esteemed in all things, and that for this man alone the reign was characterized by the opposite, I would have passed over the account of him; but since there is no one of all
ὑπερβὰς δι' ἃς αἰτίας ἐρῶ τὰ πεπραγ μένα τισὶν, ἢ μεταβάλλων ἑτέρως, οὐχ ἱστορίαν ποιῶν, ἀλλὰ πλάττων ὥσπερ ἐπὶ σκηνῆς πράγματα
ᾤμην ἁλώσεσθαι, ἢ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου θηρώμενος ἀφορμὴ σκώμματος τοῖς φιλαιτίοις γενήσεσθαι, καὶ οὐ φιλίστωρ, ἀλλὰ
φιλολοί δορος νομισθήσεσθαι. 6.23 Ἔνθεν τοι οὐ πάνυ τι περὶ τὰς καθ' ἡμᾶς ὑποθέσεις ἐσπούδασα, καὶ μάλισθ' ὅτι περ ἐν πολλοῖς
τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος Κωνσταντίνου καθάψεσθαι ᾔδειν, ὑπὲρ οὗ αἰσχυνοίμην ἂν, εἰ μὴ πᾶσαν εὐφημίαν τούτῳ συνεισενέγ καιμι· ἀγνώμων
γὰρ ἂν εἴην καὶ πάντη ἀλόγιστος, εἰ μὴ ὧν ἐκεῖθεν τὰ μὲν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἔργοις, τὰ δὲ εἰς ἀφορμὴν κρειτ τόνων ἔσχηκα, πολλοστὸν
ἀντιδοίην μέρος, τὴν διὰ τῶν λόγων εὐγνωμοσύνην· διὰ τοῦτον γοῦν ἐγὼ τὸν ἄνδρα τὴν ἱστορίαν ἀπεπεμπόμην ἀεὶ, ἥκιστα βουλόμενος
προστρί ψασθαί τινα μῶμον αὐτῷ, καί τινα τῶν οὐ καλῶς αὐτῷ πεπραγμένων καὶ ἃ λανθάνειν καλὸν ἀνακαλύψαι τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ ταῖς
τῶν πολλῶν ἀκοαῖς διεφθορυῖαν πιστεῦσαι διήγη σιν, καὶ ὃν ὑπόθεσιν εἰς λόγους ἔσχηκα κρείττονας, τοῦτον εἰς χείρονας κτήσασθαι
ἀφορμὴν, καὶ ἣν ἐκάθηρα γλῶτταν ἀφ' ὧν ἐκεῖνός με πρὸς τοῦτο παρώρμησε, ταύτην ἐπ' αὐτῷ θήξασθαι. 6.24 Εἰ γὰρ καὶ φιλοσόφῳ
ἀνδρὶ καταπεφρόνηται πᾶν τὸ ἐνταῦθα περιττὸν καὶ περίεργον, καὶ ὅρος αὐτῷ τῆς ζωῆς ἡ τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ φύσει περίληψις, τὰ
δ' ἄλλα προσήρτηται ἔξωθεν τῇ τοιαύτῃ ζωῇ, ἀλλ' ἐμοὶ οὐ διὰ ταῦτα ἀγνωμονητέον τῷ ὑπερβαλλόντως τετιμηκότι καὶ ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους
ὑψώσαντι· τὸ μὲν οὖν βουλόμενόν μοι ἢ ἐν τοῖς κρείττοσι λόγοις ἐκείνου μεμνῆσθαι, ἢ σεσιγῆσθαι τὰ ἐκείνου εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ τῆς κρείττονος
ὥρμηνται ὑποθέσεως· ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν προθέμενος τὸν ἐκείνου βίον ἐγκωμιάζειν, εἶτα τὰς τῶν κρειττόνων ἀφεὶς ἀφορμὰς, τὰς τῶν χειρόνων
ὑποθέσεις ἐφαινόμην συνειλοχὼς, κακοηθέστατος ἂν εἴην, ὥσπερ δὴ ὁ τοῦ Λύξου τὰ χείριστα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις παραλαμβάνων.
6.25 Εἰ δὲ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἐργάζομαι νῦν, ἱστορεῖν δὲ τοὺς τῶν αὐτοκρατόρων ἐπιβέβλημαι βίους, πῶς ἃ τῶν ἱστο ριῶν ἐστιν ὑπερβαίνων,
ἃ τῶν ἐγκωμίων ἐστὶν ἐργάσωμαι, ὥσπερ ἐπιλαθόμενος τῆς ἐπιχειρήσεως, ἢ διαγράφων τὴν τέχνην, μὴ διακρίνων τὰς ὑποθέσεις, ἀλλ'
εἰς ταὐτὸ τέλος συνελαύνων, ὧν διάφοροι οἱ σκοποί; ἐπεὶ τοί γε πρὸς τῆσδε τῆς πραγματείας πολλοὺς ἐκείνῳ καὶ καλοὺς λόγους
πεποί ημαι, καὶ τάς γε ὑπερβολὰς τῶν ἐγκωμίων ἐθαύμασαν οἱ πολλοὶ, καὶ οὐκ ἐψευσάμην τὸν ἔπαινον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἄλλους ἔλαθον
οὕτω ποιῶν. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ, ἀναμὶξ ἐχόντων τῶν πραγμά των τοῖς βασιλεῦσι καὶ διαπεπλεγμένων αὐτοῖς χειρόνων τε καὶ κρειττόνων
πράξεων, οὔτε ψέγειν καθαρῶς ἴσασιν, οὔτε εἰλικρινῶς ἐπαινεῖν, ἀλλ' ἐξαπατᾷ τούτους ἡ τῶν ἐναντίων γειτνίασις· ἐγὼ δὲ ψέγειν
μὲν ἀφωσιωσάμην, εἰ μὴ ὅσον ἐν πλάσμασιν, ἐπαίνους <δὲ> ξυντιθεὶς, οὐκ ἐξ ἁπάντων ἅπαντα συλλαμβάνειν εἴωθα, ἀλλ' ἀφεὶς μὲν
τὰ χείρονα, ἀφαιρού μενος δὲ τὰ κρείττονα, ξυναρμόζω ταῦτα κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν τάξιν καὶ ξυγκολλῶ καὶ διὰ μιᾶς τῆς ἀρίστης ποιότητος
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μένος ἐκεῖνον, οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην οὕτω ποιεῖν· οὐ γὰρ ἂν ψευσαίμην τὴν ἱστορίαν, ἧς τὸ κράτιστον ἡ ἀλήθεια, τῆς τῶν πολλῶν ἕνεκα
δυσφημίας, εὐλαβούμενος μή με λοίδορος γλῶσσα αἰτιάσαιτο, ὅτι εὐφημεῖν δέον κατηγορῶ· ἀλλ' οὐ κατηγορία τοῦτο, οὐδὲ γραφὴ,
ἀλλ' ἀληθῶς ἱστορία. Ἔπειτα εἰ μὲν ἑώρων ὅτι τῶν ἄλλων αὐτοκρατόρων ἀπὸ τῆς κρατί στης ἕξεως πάντα διαπεπραχότων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν
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ἐστι τῶν πάντων
