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
concerning which things, before his high-priesthood, at a time when he did not even have many resources of money, he constructed brilliantly and accomplished magnificently? For the temple which he raised to the martyr Theodore in his own fatherland I do not think is second to any of the famous ones, even those which kings established; for thus he both built this one and contributed everything most brilliant, so that no other could surpass this one, but that he himself was surpassed by himself in the things he did after this. And he did not stop at magnificence, but also purification of souls and purity of body, not outside the temple, but within, he introduced, as it were, a soul into a body. For sacred hymns are there and services worthy of God continually, and choirs of Nazirites not less than the Davidic choirs, were decreed in the most beautiful form at least by the man; where purification of the soul is what is practiced philosophically, and a hymn to God is what is performed. And the stability of the legislation has imitated the firm setting of the temple's foundations. For the written ordinances concerning which he legislated for the ascetics, are sufficient for the matter in place of any other phylactery. Therefore just as there will be a generous hand, so also a rich soul, having God as a treasury that is not emptied, and what treasuries and coffers are to wealthy hands, so are the treasures from above to more magnificent souls. And if a poor philosopher should wish to draw down heavenly water, the floodgates of heaven will be opened for him, no less than for the Tishbite, and if he should ever be in need of money, the wealth of all things will suffice for him as a contribution, and just as for one working on the divine tabernacle, not only the arms of men will be useful for the work, but also the female kind, spinning with their fingers, will contribute dyed wools and woven materials. So indeed also for this new Bezalel and truly an architect of the divine tabernacles, the wealth itself that is brought in from the elements, with God commanding from above, is sufficient for the works of art. But I seem to pass over many of the necessary things to be said; for my speech has not been composed with authority for me, as if in a free contest; but just as, if I were writing a comedy against one of those worthy to be spoken ill of, I would be ashamed of the one being satirized (such is my character), striking from the stage and playing him in many masks. so indeed I blush even while honoring this man, knowing that indeed he would be vexed even by small praises, and that otherwise burdensome to him is even the short address of praise. So much, then, is the speech penalized while the man is alive, that it does not have freedom of encomia, so great is the abundance of virtue in the man, that just as he himself has pursued the standard of what is good, he takes the opposite road towards himself. And while keeping vigil, he would say he sleeps a lot, and while practicing justice, he would accuse himself of injustice, and being first in knowledge and prudence, would claim neither to know any of the things that wisdom oversees, nor to do and say whatever things he might be seen to do in season, but doing and saying the opposite, he would gladly indict himself on the basis of the opposite things. so indeed also those who have chosen to speak about him, if he could not persuade them to dishonor him, he would at least compel them to lessen the encomia. I, therefore, if I did not have this fear and suspect the man's piety, would long ago have also compared the things concerning him to the labors of Paul. but I make my speech in secret to you, so that the one being praised may not find out. For even if he has not traversed the whole inhabited world preaching the gospel, nor has gone up into Arabia, nor has advanced as far as Illyricum, but the city which he received as his lot and the flock which was entrusted to him, thus indeed, the one he fortified, and the other he nourished and shepherded, so that the one, in place of any other protection, has been set forth as a defense also for the nearby cities, and the other lacks neither the sweetest springs, nor nourishing pasture, but has the former to pour out also for other flocks,
περὶ ὧν πρὸ τῆς ἀρχιερωσύνης, ὁπηνίκα οὐδὲ πολλαὶ τῶν χρημάτων ἦσαν αὐτῷ ἀφορμαί, λαμπρῶς κατεσκεύασε καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἀπειργάσατο;
ὃν γὰρ ἤγειρε τῷ μάρτυρι Θεοδώρῳ ναὸν ἐπ' αὐτῆς τῆς πατρίδος οὐκ οἶμαι δεύτερον εἶναι τῶν περιβοήτων τινὸς καὶ οὓς βασιλεῖς
ἀφιδρύσαντο· οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τοῦτον ἐδείματο καὶ πᾶν ὅσον λαμπρότατον συνεισήνεγκεν, ὡς μηδένα τῶν ἄλλων τοῦτον νικᾷν δύνασθαι,
ἀλλ' αὐτὸν ἑαυτοῦ ἡττᾶσθαι ἐφ' οἷς μετὰ ταῦτα πεποίηκε. καὶ οὐ μέχρι τοῦ μεγαλοπρεποῦς ἔστη, ἀλλὰ καὶ ψυχῶν κάθαρσιν καὶ σώματος
ἁγνείαν, οὐκ ἔξωθεν τοῦ νεώ, ἀλλ' ἔσωθεν οἱονεί τινα ψυχὴν σώματι ἐπεισήνεγκεν. ἱεροὶ γὰρ ὕμνοι κἀκεῖσε καὶ θεοπρεπεῖς λειτουργίαι
διηνεκεῖς, καὶ Ναζιραίων χοροστασίαι οὐκ ἐλάττους τῶν ∆αυϊτικῶν χορῶν, τῷ γε καλλίστῳ τοῦ σχήματος παρὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐνομοθετήθησαν·
ἔνθα ψυχῆς μὲν κάθαρσις τὸ φιλοσοφούμενον, ὕμνος δὲ εἰς θεὸν τὸ τελούμενον. Καὶ μεμίμηται τὴν τῶν κρηπίδων τοῦ νεὼ πῆξιν τῆς
νομοθεσίας τὸ πάγιον. αἱ γὰρ ἔγγραφοι περὶ ὧν τοῖς ἀσκηταῖς ἐνομοθέτησε διατάξεις, ἀντ' ἄλλου τινὸς φυλακτηρίου αὐτάρκεις
τῷ πράγματι. ἔσται τοιγαροῦν ὥσπερ φιλότιμος χείρ, οὕτω καὶ πλουσία ψυχή, ταμεῖον ἔχουσα μὴ κενούμενον τὸν θεόν, καὶ ὅπερ
ταῖς εὐπόροις χερσὶ τὰ ταμεῖα καὶ τὰ κιβώτια, οὕτω ταῖς μεγαλοπρεπεστέραις ψυχαῖς οἱ ἄνωθεν θησαυροί. κἂν βουληθείη πένης
φιλόσοφος ὕδωρ οὐράνιον ἐπισπάσασθαι, ἀνοιγήσονται τούτῳ οἱ καταρράκται τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, οὐχ ἧττον ἢ τῷ Θεσβίτῃ, κἂν χρημάτων
ἐπιδεηθείη ποτέ, ὁ τῶν πάντων πλοῦτος εἰς ἔρανον τούτῳ ἀρκέσει, καὶ ὥσπερ τὴν θείαν ἐργαζομένῳ σκηνήν, οὐκ ἀρρένων μόνον βραχίονες
εἰς τὴν ἐργασίαν λυσιτελήσουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ θῆλυ νήθουσαι τοῖς δακτύλοις ἔρια βεβαμμένα καὶ ὑφάσματα συνεισάξουσιν. οὕτω
γοῦν καὶ τῷ νέῳ τούτῳ Βεσελεὴλ καὶ ὄντως τῶν θείων σκηνῶν ἀρχιτέκτονι, αὐτὸς ὁ παρὰ τῶν στοιχείων εἰσαγόμενος πλοῦτος, θεοῦ
προστάττοντος ἄνωθεν εἰς τὰ φιλοτεχνήματα ἐξαρκεῖ. Ἔοικα δὲ πολλὰ ὑπερβαίνειν τῶν ἀναγκαίων εἰρῆσθαι· οὐ γάρ μοι κατ' ἐξουσίαν
ὁ λόγος συντέθειται ὥσπερ ἐπ' ἐλευθέρου ἀγῶνος· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ εἰ κωμῳδίαν ἐποιούμην τινὶ τῶν ἀξίων ἀκούειν κακῶς, ᾐσχύνθην ἂν
τὸν κωμῳδούμενον, οἷος ὁ ἐμὸς τρόπος, βάλλων ἀπὸ τῆς σκηνῆς καὶ πολλοῖς προσώποις τοῦτον ὑποκρινόμενος. οὕτω δὴ ἐρυθριῶ καὶ
τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον τιμῶν, εἰδὼς ὅτι περ καὶ τοῖς ὀλίγοις ἐπαίνοις ἀπέχθοιτο, καὶ φορτικὸν ἄλλως αὐτῷ καὶ τὸ βραχὺ τῆς εὐφημίας
πρόσρημα. τοσοῦτον γοῦν ὁ λόγος ζῶντι τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἐζημίωται, ὅτι μὴ ἔχει τῶν ἐγκωμίων ἐλευθερίαν, τοσοῦτον τὸ περιὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς
τῷ ἀνδρί, ὅτι ὥσπερ αὐτὸς τὴν καλοῦ διώξας ἰσότητα, τὴν ἐναντίαν ὁδὸν πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἔρχεται. καὶ ἀγρυπνῶν μὲν εἴποι ἂν ὑπνώττειν
πολλά, καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἐπιμελόμενος ἀδικίαν ἑαυτοῦ καταγνοίη, καὶ τὰ πρῶτα ὢν γνώσεως καὶ φρονήσεως, μήτ' εἰδέναι τι τῶν ὅσοις
σοφία ἐπιστατεῖ, μήτε πράττειν τε καὶ λέγειν ὁπόσα δὴ ἐν καιρῷ ποιεῖν προσποιοῖτο, ἀλλὰ τἀναντία πράττων τε καὶ λέγων, ἐκ
τῶν ἐναντίων ἡδέως ἂν αὑτὸν γράψειεν. οὕτω δὴ καὶ τοὺς περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγειν προῃρημένους, εἰ μὴ ἀτιμάζειν πείσειεν, ἀλλ' ἐλαττοῦν
ἀναγκάσειε τὰ ἐγκώμια. Ἔγωγ' οὖν, εἰ μὴ τοῦτον ἐφοβούμην τὸν φόβον καὶ ὑπώπτευον τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὴν εὐλάβειαν, πάλαι ἂν καὶ τοῖς
Παύλου πόνοις τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἀπείκασα πράγματα. ποιοῦμαι δὲ ἐν τῷ λεληθότι πρὸς ὑμᾶς τὸν λόγον, ἵνα μὴ ὁ ἐγκωμιαζόμενος πύθοιτο.
εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ σύμπασαν διελήλυθε τὴν οἰκουμένην κηρύττων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, μηδ' εἰς Ἀραβίαν ἀνελήλυθε, μηδὲ μέχρι τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ
προελήλυθεν, ἀλλ' ἥν γε ἐκληρώσατο πόλιν καὶ ὅπερ ἐπιστεύθη ποίμνιον, οὕτω δή, τὴν μὲν ἐτείχισε, τὸ δὲ ἔθρεψε καὶ ἐποίμανεν,
ὡς ἐκείνην μὲν ἀντ' ἄλλου τινὸς φυλακτηρίου καὶ τῶν ἐγγὺς προβεβλῆσθαι πόλεων, τοῦτο δὲ μήτε πηγῶν ἀπορεῖν τῶν ἡδίστων, μήτε
νομῆς τῶν τροφίμων, ἀλλ' ἔχειν τὰς μὲν καὶ ἑτέροις ποιμνίοις ἐκχεῖν,
