Orationes forenses et acta
Each one of you has received benefits from him, that having set this forth here with goodwill toward him you might sway the votes, and by showing favo
Having beset it and stirred herself up to be divinely inspired and worked herself into a bacchic frenzy. now, that the many are deceived by this, i do
Of her, nor anything else of the things forbidden to me, but which are proclaimed and honored by them. for someone might perhaps excuse him for the fi
To be enumerated? for divination is for the time being sufficient. but i think, if this had happened before, he would have nobly recorded these things
Of the difference of theurgies, at the end he adds: one must remove in advance all obstacles to the visitation of the gods and impose a total tranqui
In these matters i would gladly ask of you, whether it is permitted for a priest to be initiated into such mysteries and to be deemed worthy of such r
Immediately, therefore, all blushed, or rather, indeed, they shouted with their voices and condemned the leaders of the impiety and named their writin
Has he discerned? but if indeed the part of the synod has not joined with the senate council nor with the chosen of the nazirites—for this part was no
Aristotle's theology and the psychogony of plato and the new numbers and the remodeling of doctrines and the expense of the divisible, who of all ever
What argument is left to you concerning this, or how is it that you dispute with one another over matters of such importance and postpone the decision
And i gladly admire in you the encomium of the good man in your memorandum. for where he holds on to the whole and bears the burden of common cares, y
All those, with whom we disagree, have advocated for confusions or divisions. for what do matter and ideas have in common with our doctrines? but sinc
And of the one who is lifted up and of the one seated on it. know the cherubic and seraphic wings, the perfection of their number, the symbolic coveri
They have shaken. for if they happened to be uninitiated in our doctrines and completely uninstructed in the mysteries of the spirit, perhaps, having
For he who receives a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, from the contrary and greater, he who receives an impious man will receive the punishme
He has despised all things equally, although the law, standing as it were at his ears, cried out: let no one teach or learn profane things. and agai
He both strung together and vomited up, this twenty-third writing he thinks, or rather he places it between those who were then in every way our own p
Depicting the madness of nestorian rage. i have left it to you to compare it with the dogmas of the massalians. i brought forth to them from the inner
The patriarch has acted impiously, clearly and openly. and it is not permitted for any of you who wish, nor for those zealous on his behalf, to defend
And having brought over certain forces from the west, he stirred them up for war, and they come face to face with each other from both sides. and a fi
Delaying he is persuaded and is moderate and descends with them. and he dares against two emperors, of whom the one the imperial court held, adorned w
Being torn apart. but pilate sat judging my divinely-moved emperor, the lord's anointed, who was being considered, not hesitating, not washing his han
To kill the emperor, unless he came down quickly and bowed his head to him, but he, fearing the tyrannical cruelty and cowering lest he suffer anythin
An innovative rank and would come to be below. there, then, the morning star raged against the first goodness, but here the evening star has attacked
Demonic in his life. but again i have turned to you, the judges, and again i ask: has anything been dared by this man or not? you will surely say the
Then failing to achieve their purpose, they chose to strike and kill. is it not clear to all that, while digging through and breaking into the houses
Ruin, if he should object saying that he neither urged these things nor wished them, but even punished many of those who dared with all punishments, w
In the parts on the right, somewhere near the entrance, but you have immediately ascended into heaven on earth itself, as if considering it a terrible
Disregarding the divine temples, he was destroying them? and he did not cease, piling one on top of another and making them abandoned ruins. for not o
Leaning together walls collapsed together with their icons and statues. and everything was as if in a great earthquake, the air being darkened, the e
And the remains of the apostle luke are burned by fire and reduced to dust. i fear that the bodies of martyrs also lay here. i am afraid that some of
I shall grant you this also. he had no need, it is true, of the burial robes. i admit it, since they had all already decayed. but he did have need of
Let us not even examine the scene after that, but let these things be considered by him as theaters and hunts. but where the mercy-seat is, and around
Seeing what was happening was exulting and rejoicing, like of old the whelp of the beast, i mean the one from isauria. but you consider for me what a
Fire was burning us and the zeal of the lord was consuming us, long ago the man would have perished, or rather, he would not even have had access to t
To me the macedonian, to the right the spear, at a walk the half-file leader, captain, wheel around. and nothing new nor incredible for one who has
I pray with the high priest, but the mixture and the sheath which has grown with us turns the mind, being raised aloft, back toward itself. therefore
He would trace his genealogy from cronus and rhea and from those even further back, i mean hericapaeus and phanes and that orphic night and he traced
And the same color over all, none of which moved or influenced him? but never to converse even with the more divine words nor to unroll any tablet, th
The emperor's treasury is not supplied only from mines nor from the recesses of the earth, nor do tributes alone fill it, nor contributions from land
And to speak of the audacity, or rather—but how could i speak, intertwining things?—and the diligently pursued plot, through which almost everything w
Granting that you may meet with more benevolent judges above. and then the drink of deposition here will truly appear to you as a purification. and ma
Suspicious to many. but if he has nothing in common with the one he has chosen to accuse, nor has anything come between them, it is somehow still unac
They anticipate my tongue, scattering against me the things they did wrong on account of their own greed, and i confidently awaited the court, as one
To vote against a priest on the spot the penance exceeds all punishment the examination and the penance must proceed canonically. and, as it seems,
Of the whole age, an unbeliever, so that i may speak truly, to believe against a believer? for this would be far from reason and thought. for where we
But i, but what might i say about this? he living the life of a private citizen, but i clothed in the high-priestly vestment. and such a man is agains
With misfortunes and your example, for the sake of argument, let someone come forward as a condemned man to have his neck cut. and let the sword be ha
Do you receive? for the pardon testifies that the deposition did not seem so even to himself. for if, according to you, it is like a cutting off, what
Is the cause the comparison of the matter to a beheading? for from this, one absurdity having been granted, these many nonsensical things were consequ
An evil tale about me for years, leave me to my former wounds, do not card new ones upon me. so may the lord heal you, if indeed there is anything in
This is the law of accusation and defense, and from this the precise examination of matters is found. but he introduced a new kind of writing into the
Of voice, for not even this is unworthy of the art, and with a rhythmic turn of the tongue, you perhaps might only approach him, you who indeed gaped
Has been debarred from studies? but for you in deep old age, what share is there of education? who of all people has known you, as far as i know, afte
Which they say came into being of their own accord. but these things are not acceptable to you, and for this reason we shall laugh at you again, havin
Ever, not in courts, not in counsels, not in public, not in private. for this was not even without accusation, but the speech had some defense. from w
And the nature of fire did not burn, and the steep rock sent forth springs, and the wood here sweetened the bitterness, and there lightened the heavy
Did he transcend this time? and it is likely, o best one, for christ possessed a nature more free even according to human standards. whether, then, th
From himself, having allotted a great portion of reason to his soul this man, therefore, having long ago established for himself a little adopted dau
A contest, but more brilliant was the victory of elpidius, and he went away having overcome the vestarches by all votes and crowning himself with the
Receiving. when the most compassionate soul heard this supplication, since she also knew the circumstances concerning the bestarches, and that for man
I will let my tongue go from forbidden deeds. and first i shame myself relating unspeakable and improper things, since i will also become a stumbling
The amounts owed will be reckoned against each other, and the fine will be reckoned to elpidios in place of the protospatharios's fee, and the protosp
Having received a seaside property from him, i give back to him in exchange a mainland one as a permanent dwelling by gift. but the kalai property was
Most complete, not measured by time, not defined by partial successions nor by these alienations or those, but eternal, sufficient for all successions
Indicating by the documents, which it is also necessary to go through in order. and so that we may make the summaries concise, and not, by going throu
At that time for the ruler to ratify to her through a gift of a golden bull the property which he had previously granted to the man, not having been i
But the rest testified that they themselves were not present at such a sale, but had heard from the subscribing witnesses in the confirmatory document
He marveled at our western setting sun as a morning sunrise, and with the unspeakable pangs of his soul he discerned the ineffable will of god concern
On both sides the gift is valid for those who received it from there. for the estate was perhaps of the daughters of nicholas’s wife through paternal
Harmony, who of all could dissolve such a great bond, or rather these wonderful and in reality altogether indissoluble connections? for the first and
He has made known by an agreement to whom indeed you also entrusted everything under oath and, whatever they themselves should do, you have promised
Emperor of the romans, doukas. konstantinos, in christ the god faithful emperor of the romans, doukas. ioannes, most humble archbishop of constantinop
did he transcend this time? And it is likely, O best one, for Christ possessed a nature more free even according to human standards. Whether, then, that which is beyond nature be granted to the law-guardian, the conclusion is irrational; for he did not for this reason rise above him who served nature through economy, and if this is not granted, your artless syllogism has fallen apart even more, and has been struck from the right on both sides. And since the account concerning the formation is doubtful, and many learned men and especially those of the spirit have disputed it here, some accepting a gradual formation and shaping, and others an instantaneous and immediate one. For it is likely that the Lord surpassed nature not only in the extremities, but also in the middle, and imitated the constitution of the first Adam. And since for his sake he was named the second, why did you accept what is disputed by the God-bearing fathers as a common and indubitable notion, and think to strengthen your syllogism from it, which has been skillfully overthrown by the opposing argument, and with the foundation remaining unshaken, how did you dare to weave syllogisms? Springing from what sort of utterances, having conversed with what kind of origin or simple arguments or their distinctions, and when did you acquire the method of these? Answer me: what is the definition of a syllogism, and how many are their differences? And which is the true and demonstrative one? Which the dialectical? Which the sophistical? And whether concerning the matter or the form or the figure, one demonstrates infallibly, another makes claims, another will be false, and of what order is it? For will you make your defense now, released from the body, or when you possessed the tongue, which you moved more sluggishly than the beetle its ball of dung. And I fear that the great ox of speechlessness sits upon your soul, or rather, to speak more appropriately, of folly, with the nature of the body being filled up, and you will be changed along with it toward the sluggish and foolish. And the doctrine is not mine, but of Plato and Socrates, if indeed you have conversed with the Phaedo. One ought, someone might say, to spare him who is no more, and not to fight with shadows artlessly, but to the departing, O best one, the farewell. For not the one who retorts would be reviled, but the one who first spoke ill; but it was necessary by all means to defend oneself against the charges brought, so that the accusations might not be confirmed through silence. But if anyone lays claim to his position and wishes to contend for his arguments, let him stand and fight, and especially let the one contending be an argument, so that we may not again be forced to improvise and play. 4 αξτῃμ 1 Memorandum A copy of the memorandum made by the same monk Michael Psellos, who was then a vestarches, at his trial, supposedly in the person of the protoasekretis, the epi ton kriseon, the nomophylax, and the scriba, concerning the dissolution of the betrothal of his son-in-law Elpidios Kengkres. It is wise, then, to foresee and to use the future as if it were present, and to arrange well one's actions, and this stands somewhere near the divine nature. But we humans err, not having knowledge of future things, and we fall into many unwanted circumstances, and often what we think we have considered well, the uncertainty concerning the future has confronted it in a way we would not have thought, and the obscurity of what will be has overturned the safety and precision of the deliberation. But the circumstances of the case will explain this preliminary thought. The most reverend monk Michael, who obtained from the emperor the rank of vestarches, and to be consul of the philosophers from there and
χρόνον τοῦτον ὑπερανέβη; καὶ εἰκός γε, ὦ βέλτιστε, ἐλευθεριωτέραν γὰρ τὴν φύσιν καὶ κατὰ ἀνθρώπινον ὁ Χριστὸς ἔσχηκεν. Εἴτε
οὖν τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν συγχωρηθείη τῷ νομοφύλακι, ἄλογον τὸ συμπέρασμα· οὐ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο τοῦ τῇ φύσει δουλεύσαντος δι' οἰκονομίαν
ὑπερανέστηκεν, εἴτε μὴ τοῦτο δοθείη, ἔτι γε μᾶλλον ὁ ἄτεχνός σοι συλλογισμὸς διαπέπτωκε, καὶ ἐξ ὑπερδεξίων ἑκατέρωθεν βέβληται.
ἀμφιβόλου δὲ καὶ τοῦ περὶ τῆς πλάσεως ὄντος λόγου, καὶ πλείστων λογίων καὶ μάλιστα τῶν τοῦ πνεύματος ἐνταῦθα διαμφισβητησάντων,
καὶ τῶν μὲν τοῖς κατὰ μικρὸν δεξαμένων πλάσιν καί διαμόρφωσιν, τῶν δὲ τὴν ἀθρόαν καὶ ἄμεσον. εἰκὸς γὰρ μὴ τοῖς πέρασι μόνον,
ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ μεσότητι τὴν φύσιν ὑπεραναβῆναι τὸν κύριον καὶ τὴν τοῦ πρώτου Ἀδὰμ μιμήσασθαι σύστασιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ δι' ἐκεῖνον
ἐχρημάτισε δεύτερος, διατί σὺ τὸ τοῖς θεοφόροις πατράσιν ἀμφιβαλλόμενον ὡς κοινὴν ἔννοιαν παρεδέξω καὶ ἀναμφίβολον, καὶ τὸν
σὸν ἐντεῦθεν συλλογισμὸν κρατύνειν ᾠήθης, ὃς τῷ ἀντιπίπτοντι λόγῳ εὐφυῶς καταβέβληται, καὶ ἀδιασείστου μεμενηκότος τοῦ ἐρείσματος,
πῶς καὶ σὺ συλλογισμοὺς πλέκειν ἐτόλμησας; ἐξ οἵων ὡρμημένος φωνῶν, ποίοις ὁμιλήσας γένεσιν ἢγ λόγοις ἁπλοῖς ἢ ταῖς τούτων
διαφοραῖς, πότε δὲ τὴν μέθοδον τούτων κτησάμενος; ἀπόκριναί μοι· τίς ὅρος συλλογισμοῦ, καὶ πόσαι τούτων διαφοραί; καὶ τίς
μὲν ὁ ἀληθής τε καὶ ἀποδεικτικός; τίς δὲ ὁ διαλεκτικός; τίς δὲ ὁ σοφιστικός; καὶ πότερον περὶ τὴν ὕλην ἢ τὸ εἶδος ἢ τὸ σχῆμα,
ὁ μὲν ἀναμαρτήτως ἀποδεικνύει, ὁ δὲ ἀξιοῖ, ὁ δὲ ψεύσεται, ὁ δὲ πρὸς τῆς ποίας ἐστὶ τάξεως; Νῦν γὰρ ἂν ἀπολογήσῃ ἀπολελυμένος
τοῦ σώματος, ἢ ὅτε τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκέκτησο, ἣν ἀργότερον ἐκίνεις ἢ τὸν ἐκ κόπρου πόλον ὁ κάνθαρος. δέδοικα δὲ μὴ καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ
σου ὁ μέγας τῆς ἀφωνίας βοῦς ἐπικάθηται, ἢ τῆς ἀνοίας εἰπεῖν οἰκειότερον ἀναπεπλησμένης τῆς τοῦ σώματος φύσεως, καὶ συμμεταβληθήσῃ
τούτῳ πρὸς τὸ ἀργὸν καὶ ἀνόητον. καὶ οὐκ ἐμὸν τὸ δόγμα, Πλάτωνος δὲ καὶ Σωκράτους, εἴ γε τῷ Φαίδωνι καθωμίλησας. ἔδει μέν,
εἴποι τις ἄν, τοῦ μηκέτ' ὄντος φείσασθαι, καὶ μὴ σκιαμαχεῖν ἀτεχνῶς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν ἐξιτήριον, ὦ λῷστε, ὁ προπερμπτήριος. οὐ
γὰρ ὁ ἀνθυπενεγκὼν κακίζοιτ' ἄν, ἀλλ' ὁ πρώτως εἰπὼν κακῶς· ἔδει δὲ πάντως πρὸς τὰς ἐπενεχθείσας αἰτίας ἀπολογήσασθαι, ἵνα
μὴ διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς κυρωθείη τὰ κατηγορήματα. εἰ δέ τις ἐκείνου ἀντιποιοῖτο καὶ τῶν ἐκείνου λόγων ὑπερμαχεῖν ἐθέλοι, συνιστάσθω
καὶ ὑπεραγωνιζέσθω, καὶ μάλιστα λόγος εἴη ὁ ὑπερμαχόμενος, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν σχεδιάζειν καὶ παίζειν ἀναγκασθείημεν. 4 αξτῃμ 1 Ὑπόμνημα
Τὸ ἴσον τοῦ γεγονότος ὑπομνήματος παρὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ μοναχοῦ Μιχαὴλ τοῦ Ψελλοῦ, βεστάρχου τηνικαῦτα ὄντος, ᾿πὶ τῇ δίκῃ αὐτοῦ,
προσώπῳ δῆθεν τοῦ πρωτοασεκρέτου, τοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν κρίσεων, τοῦ νομοφύλακος, καὶ τοῦ σκρίβα, ἐπὶ διάλυσιν τῆς μνηστείας τοῦ γάμβρου
αὐτοῦ Ἐλπιδίου τοῦ Κεγχρῆς. Σοφὸν ἄρα τὸ προορᾶν καὶ ὡς ἐνεστῶτι χρῆσθαι τῷ μέλλοντι, καὶ τίθεσθαι εὖ τὰ πραττόμενα, τοῦτο
δὲ καὶ τῆς θείας ἐγγύς που καθέστηκε φύσεως. ἄνθρωποι δὲ σφαλλόμεθα, τῶν ἐσομένων τὴν γνῶσιν οὐκ ἔχοντες, καὶ πολλοῖς ἀβουλήτοις
περιπίπτομεν πράγμασι, καὶ πολλάκις οἷς δοκοῦμεν ἐσκέφθαι καλῶς, ἀντέκρυσεν ὡς οὐκ ἂν ᾠήθημεν τὸ περὶ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἄδηλον,
καὶ τὸ τοῦ προβουλεύματος ἀσφαλὲς καὶ ἀκριβὲς ἀνέτρεψε τοῦ γενησομένου τὸ ἀφανές. τὴν δὲ προιμιακὴν ταύτην ἔννοιαν ἡ τῆς ὑποθέσεως
ἑρμηνεύσει περίστασις. Ὁ εὐλαβέστατος μοναχὸς Μιχαήλ, ὃς τὸ μὲν βεστάρχης γεγονέναι παρὰ βασιλέως εὕρατο, τὸ δὲ φιλοσοφίαν
ὑπατεύειν ἐκεῖθέν τε καὶ
