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And why should I speak of each of the things then said? which, even having taken up the whole subject, I could scarcely be able to go through them all to the end; so long and varied and well-conceived is their explanation. Therefore it is possible, for those going through that very (15G_300> work composed by the saint, to learn from it more accurately, both the saint's questioning and response in all things, with intelligence and most timely reasoning, and Pyrrhus's incoherence and contradiction in his propositions, or rather, to speak of his illogicality and foolishness; who, having utterly failed, places an ox on his tongue, as they say, and condemns the weakness of his own argument; which, although he shaped it into many and varied forms, and twisted it from all sides, he nevertheless had nothing that agreed with what he wished. And so he begs forgiveness for what he had done, immediately renouncing in writing his own monothelite doctrine, and giving libelli to the one of Rome; and was received by him, how could one say, most gladly. But the senseless and exceedingly foolish man, as if nothing new had happened to him, in Ravenna returned like a dog to his own vomit. This having come to the ears of the divine Maximus, and to the aforementioned president himself, in a common assembly they issue the vote against him, as some putrefied and altogether incurable member, completely cutting off and casting out the wretched man. But he, having suffered thus, did not even so cease from his shamelessness, nor from being more arrogant; but with a more insolent impulse, he leaps again upon the throne in Constantinople, and receives the high priesthood a second time as a prize for his impiety.

17. Since he did not fail to know who the cause was (and how indeed could he, when so

shining to all and brandishing his word in the open?), he orders with haste the holy man to be brought to the palace; thinking that if he could get the better of this one, he would also be master of all the others. And with him also his disciple Anastasius, along with the one of the same name and like-minded, who was also called apocrisiarius of the Church of Rome; but also Martin the most divine, with several bishops of the West, he quickly brings to Byzantium; being embittered toward these, as was likely, 0088 because (15G_302> of the opposition of their opinion. But as for the things concerning the hierarch Martin, and all the outrages the impious one had committed against him, drenching him with countless insults and tortures, O unholy hands! having punished the innocent one, and finally condemning him to a very long exile (and Cherson was the place of his exile), having done the same things, of course, also to his bishops; but for these things I have no leisure for the moment to recount as they happened, since I am hurrying to the matters concerning the divine Maximus; but many, perhaps, some will speak of those things, and others have already spoken, I think, honoring the man, and extolling his way of life; but for us, as the account proceeds, let the things concerning our subject continue.

18. When, then, this holy man was seized by the hands of murderers, and

all were looking at him; let us see with what sort of receptions they first greet him, and with what kind of judgment these good lawmakers conduct the proceedings against him. For as soon as he had been brought by ship and landed at Byzantium, those sent by the emperor came to him, men who from their very appearance showed much bitterness in their soul; who, shamelessly seizing the holy man, while he was without shoes and without a cloak, dragged him by force along the road and led him away, with his disciple following and groaning at what was being done; and having led him away, they imprisoned him in a certain gloomy little room, not even granting him the cohabitation of his disciple. And indeed after some days had passed, they bring the just man into the palace with the whole senate sitting in session, and something murderous and manic towards him

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Καί τί ἄν τά καθ' ἕκαστα λέγοιμι τῶν τότε ῥηθέντων; ἅ καί ὑπόθεσιν ὅλην ἐνστησάμενος, μόλις ἄν δυνηθείην πᾶσιν εἰς τέλος ἐπεξελθεῖν· οὕτω μακρᾶς οὔσης καί ποικίλης καί περινενοημένης, τῆς τούτων ἐπεξηγήσεως. Οὐκοῦν ἔξεστιν, ἐκεῖνο (15Γ_300> αὐτό τό πονηθέν σύνταγμα τῷ ἁγίῳ διεξελθοῦσιν, ἐκ τοῦδε καταμαθεῖν ἀκριβέστερον, καί τοῦ ἁγίου τήν μετά συνέσεως καί λογισμῶν ἐπικαιροτάτων πεῦσιν ἐν ἅπασι καί ἀπόκρισιν, καί τοῦ Πύῤῥου τόν ἐν προτάσεσιν ἀσυνάρτητον καί μαχόμενον, ἤ μᾶλλον ἀσυλλόγιστον εἰπεῖν καί ἀνότητον· ὅς καί τοῖς ὅλοις ἀπειρηκώς, βοῦν ἐπί γλώσσης, ὅ φασι, τίθεται, καί τοῦ οἰκείου λόγου καταγινώσκει ἀσθένειαν· ὅν καίτοι εἰς πολλά μορφώσας καί ποικίλας, καί πανταχόθεν ἑλίξας, οὐκ ἔσχεν ὅμως πρός τι τῶν κατά βούλησιν αὐτῷ συναιρόμενον. Ἀμέλει καί συγγνώμην ἐφ' οἶς ἔδρασεν ἐξαιτεῖται, δόγμα παρευθύς τό οἰκεῖον καί μονοθέλητον, ἐγγράφως ἐξομοσάμενος, δούς καί τῷῬώμης λιβέλλους· καί ὑπ' αὐτοῦ πῶς ἄν εἴποις δεχθείς ἀσμενέστατα. Ἀλλ' ὁ ἄφρων καί ἰσχυρῶς ἀνόητος, ὥσπερ οὐδενός ἐπ' αὐτόν καινοῦ γεγονότος, ἐνῬαβέννῃ κύων ἐπί τόν ἴδιον ἀνέτρεχεν ἔμετον. Ὅσπερ καί εἰς ὦτα τῷ θείῳ Μαξίμῳ πεσόν, καί αὐτῷ τῷ εἰρημένῳ προέδρῳ, κοινῇ συνελεύσει τήν κατ' αὐτοῦ ψῆφον ἐκφέρουσιν, ὥς τι μέλος σεσηπός καί συνόλως ἀνίατον, τέλεον ἐκκόψαντες τόν ἄθλιον καί ἀποβαλ(λ)όμενοι. Ὁ δέ, καί οὕτω παθών, οὐδ' οὕτως ἔληγεν ἀναιδείας, οὐδέ τοῦ μεῖζον κατωφρυῶσθαι· ἀλλ' ὁρμῇ αὐθαδεστέρᾳ, τῷ ἐν Κωνσταντινουπόλει καί αὖθις θρόνῳ ἐπιπηδᾷ, καί ἆθλον ἀσεβείας, τήν ἀρχιερωσύνην λαμβάνει δεύτερον.

ΙΖ´. Ἐπεί δέ καί τόν αἴτιον, ὅστις ἐστίν, οὐκ ἠγνόει(καί πῶς γάρ ἄν οὕτω

λάμποντα πᾶσι καί ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τόν λόγον πυρσεύοντα;), σπουδῇ τόν ὅσιον εἰσαχθῆναι προστάττει πρός τά βασίλεια· οἰόμενος ὡς εἰ τούτου κρατήσοι, καί πάντων τῶν ἄλλων ἔσται κρατῶν. Σύν αὐτῷ δέ καί τόν τούτου μαθητήν Ἀναστάσιον, μεθ' ἅμα τοῦ ὁμωνύμου τούτου καί ὁμότροπου, ὅς καί ἀποκρισιάριος τῆς κατάῬώμην Ἐκκλησίας ἐλέγετο· οὐ μήν ἀλλά καί Μαρτῖνον τόν θειότατον σύν ἐπισκόποις τῶν ἑσπερίων πλείοσι, θᾶττον ἐν Βυζαντίδι παρίστησι· τούτοις, οἷα εἰκός, 0088 διά (15Γ_302> τό τῆς γνώμης ἀντίξοον ἐμπικραινόμενος. Ἀλλά τά μέν κατά τόν ἱεράρχην Μαρτῖνον, καί ὅσα πρός τοῦτον πεπαρῳνήκει ὁ δυσσεβής, μυρίαις αὐτόν πλύνας ταῖς ὕβρεσι καί αἰκίαις, ὤ χειρῶν ἀνοσίων! τόν ἀθῶον τιμωρησάμενος, καί τό τελευταῖον ὑπερορίᾳ μακροτάτῃ καταδικάσας (Χερσών δ' ἦν αὐτῷ ὁ τῆς ὑπερορίας τόπος), τά ἴσα δηλαδή καί τοῖς αὐτοῦ δράσας ἐπισκόποις· ἀλλά ταῦτα μέν οὐ σχολή τέως ἐμοί καθά ἐπράχθη διεξελθεῖν, πρός τά τοῦ θείου Μαξίμου ἐπειγομένῳ· πολλοί δέ ἴσως ἐκεῖνα, οἱ μέν ἤδη ἐροῦσιν, οἱ δέ καί εἰρήκασιν, οἶμαι, τόν ἄνδρα τιμῶντες, καί τούτου τήν πολιτείαν σεμνύνοντες· ἡμῖν δ' ὡς ὁ λόγος ἔχει, τά τοῦ σκοποῦ διίτω.

ΙΗ´. Ὡς οὖν λοιπόν ὁ ἱερός οὗτος ἀνήρ χερσίν ἦν φονώντων συνειλημμένος, καί

πρός αὐτόν ἦσαν ἅπαντες ἐνορῶντες· ἴδωμεν ποίοις πρῶτον αὐτόν δεξιοῦνται τοῖς ἀπαντήμασι, καί ποταπῇ κρίσει τά κατ' αὐτόν οἱ καλοί οὗτοι διεξάγουσι θεσμοθέται. Ἅμα γάρ τῷ προσοκεῖλαι τῇ Βυζαντίδι διά πλοίου ἤδη ἀναχθέντα, ἤκουσι πρός αὐτόν οἱ παρά βασιλέως ἀποσταλέντες, ἄνδρες ἀπό μόνης τῆς ὄψεως πολλήν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ τήν πικρίαν ἐμφαίνοντες· οἵ καί ἀναίδην τοῦ ὁσίου λαβόμενοι, ἀνυποδήτου καί δίχα ὄντος περικαλύμματος, εἷλκον βίᾳ τήν ὁδόν καί ἀπῆγον, συνεπομένου καί τοῦ μαθητοῦ, καί τοῖς δρωμένοις ἐπιστενάζοντος· ὅν δή καί ἀπαγαγόντες, πρός τι καθεῖρξαν ζοφῶδες δωμάτιον, μηδ' αὐτό μόνον, τῆς τοῦ μαθητοῦ μεταδόντες αὐτῷ συνοικήσεως. Καί δή καί ἡμερῶν διαγενομένων, ἄγουσι τόν δίκαιον ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ τῆς συγκλήτου ἁπάσης προκαθημένης, καί φόνιόν τι καί μανικόν πρός αὐτόν