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being regarded; and for a time they entrust the case against him to the Sakellarios, who was first in rank; a man terrible to speak of; and terrible at fabricating stories; and in truth, most terrible of all at committing evil deeds. Who, what evil did he leave undone? What wickedness did he not work? showing no respect for his honorable old age (for he was then about eighty years old, (15G_304> give or take), nor the grace blooming on his face, nor the modesty in his character, and his otherwise seemly and most venerable state; and though this most unjust man had these things, he had no just or reasonable charge to bring for what he did, but only, so to speak, displaying his own awkwardness, and the insolent and most wicked nature of his character; who, although he was seen to be so shameless, nevertheless was shown to be stirring up all things in vain; being convicted only as malicious, and most notorious for his wickedness. But indeed the particulars of what was then said and done, and what slanders those who thought they would be covered by falsehood attached to the innocent man, the good disciple of the holy man himself will relate in part, setting it forth in his own memoir; from which anyone who wishes will be able to go through everything word for word, and to learn more precisely. Nevertheless it is not beside the point for 0089 us too to say a few things from that account, and to insert them into the present discourse, so that we may not be completely unmindful of any such things; and intending this, not by way of narrative, but by way of a survey, as one might say, to go through what was done.

XIX. When, therefore, that infamous Sakellarios brought the holy man into his presence,

he immediately began to intimidate him with rather harsh words and threats; calling him unjust and a traitor, and an enemy to the emperors, and the most shameful of all things. And when this man inquired on what account he was enumerating these things against him, and what treason he had committed; then that man fabricates slanders, such as it was likely for him alone to fabricate, presenting witnesses for the acknowledged falsehood. And indeed he babbled against the holy man, that he had betrayed great cities, I mean Alexandria and Egypt and Pentapolis, having snatched them, he says, from our borders, and having already added them to those of the Saracens; to whom he also called him most well-disposed, and most friendly.

XX. And when the holy man with irrefutable argument (15G_306>

had repelled this awkwardness of his, showing it to be a clear slander and nothing else (for what had he to do with the capture of the cities, for which he rather wished what was profitable?); the shameless man turned to another, fabricating certain dreams and shadows and phantoms; in which were echoes of voices both greater and lesser, and the names of emperors, and the echo of the clearer voice being sent forth more to the one of the West than to the one of the East; displaying and putting forward accusers and slanderers here too. At which the holy man groaned even more,

"I thank my God," he said, "that I have been delivered into your hands, and am assailed with such accusations; so that through these involuntary things, the things that have been voluntarily rubbed onto me may be wiped away, and I might cleanse myself from the stains in my life. But that I may also make a brief defense against these things, I am neither a dream-interpreter, nor an expert on dreams; for I have no leisure to fantasize in my mind with such things. But since you have chosen to accuse me in such a way as to present witnesses; and these not those who know, but those who have heard from those who know, since those, you say, have departed this life; why did you not from the beginning, and while the first ones were still living, demand an account concerning the dreams? For thus you yourselves would have been freed from the trouble, and I would have received my due punishment for things that were acknowledged. But, as it seems, neither is the truth so, nor did those who spoke against us set before their eyes Him who tests the heart. For may I not see the appearance of my Master and Lord, nor

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ἀποβλεπομένης· καί τέως μεν τῷ Σακελλαρίῳ, πρώτῳ τήν ἀξίαν τυγχάνοντι, τήν κατ' αὐτοῦ ἐπιτρέπουσι δίκην· ἀνδρί δεινῷ μέν εἰπεῖν· δεινῷ δέ λόγους συμπλάσαι· κακουργῆσαι δι' ἀλήθειαν, πάντων οὐχ ἥκιστα δεινοτέρῳ. Ὅς, τί μέν κακίας ἐνέλιπε; τί δέ πονηρίας οὐκ εἴργαστο; μή γῆρας αὐτοῦ τό τίμιον αἰδεσθείς (περί γάρ τά ὀγδοήκοντά (15Γ_304> που τότε ἐτύγχανεν ἔτη μικροῦ δέοντος), μή τήν ἐπανθοῦσαν τῷ προσώπῳ χάριν, μή τό ἐν ἤθει κόσμιον, καί τήν ἄλλην εὐπρεπῆ, καί σεμνοτάτην κατάστασιν· καί ταῦτ' ἔχων ὁ ἀδικώτατος, δίκαιον μέν οὐδέν οὐδ' εὔλογον ἐφ' οἷς ἔπραττεν ἐγκαλεῖν, μόνην δ' ὡς εἰπεῖν, τήν οἰκείαν ἐμφαίνων σκαιότητα, καί τό ἰταμόν τοῦ τρόπου καί μοχθηρότατον· ὅς, εἰ καί τά τηλικαῦτα ὤφθη ἀναιδευόμενος, ὅμως γοῦν μάτην ἐφάνη πάντα κυκῶν· δύσνους μόνον ἐξελεγχθείς, καί τήν πονηρίαν διασημότατος. Ἀλλά γάρ τά καθ' ἕκαστα τῶν τότε ῥηθέντων καί πραχθέντων, καί οἵας τάς συκοφαντίας τῷ ἀναιτίῳ προσῆψαν οἱ τῷ ψεύδει οἰόμενοι σκεπασθήσεσθαι, αὐτός ὁ καλός τοῦ ὁσίου μαθητής ἐπί μέρους διέξεισιν, ἐν ἰδίῳ ἐκθέμενος ὑπομνήματι· παρ' οὗ καί τῷ βουλομένῳ ἐξέσται πάντα διιέναι πρός ῥῆμα, καί ἀναμαθεῖν ἀκριβέστερον. Πλήν οὐκ ἀπό σκοποῦ καί 0089 ἡμῖν βραχέα ἀπ' ἐκείνων ἐρεῖν, καί τῷ παρόντι ἐνθεῖναι λόγῳ, ὡς ἄν μή ὦμεν παντελῶς τῶν τοιούτων μηδενός μεμνημένοι· καί ταῦτα μέλλοντες, οὐ κατά διήγησιν, ἀλλά κατ' ἐπιδρομήν, ὡς ἄν εἴποι τις, περί τῶν πεπραγμένων διεξελθεῖν.

ΙΘ´. Ὡς οὖν ὁ δυσώνυμος ἐκεῖνος Σακελλάριος εἰς ὄψιν τόν ἅγιον παρεστήσατο,

λόγοις αὐτόν τραχυτέροις καί ἀπειλαῖς εὐθύς προκατασείειν ἤρχετο· ἄδικον καί προδότην, καί τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἐχθρόν, καί τά πάτων ἀποκαλῶν αἴσχιστα.Ὡς δ' ἐπύθετο οὗτος, ὅτου χάριν εἴη ταῦτα καταλέγων αὐτοῦ, καί τίς ἥν εἴργαστο προδοσίαν· τότ' ἐκεῖνος συμπλάττει διαβολάς, ἅς ἐκεῖνον μόνον συμπλάσσειν εἰκός, παριστῶν ἐφ' ὁμολογουμένῳ τῷ ψεύδει καί μάρτυρας. Καί δή κατεφλυάρει τοῦ ὁσίου, ὡς εἴη πόλεις μεγάλας προσεδωκώς, Ἀλεξάνδρειαν φημί καί Αἴγυπτον καί Πεντάπολιν, τῶν ἡμετέρων μέν, φησίν, ἀποσπάσας ὁρίων, τοῖς δέ Τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἤδη προσθέμενος· ὧν καί τά μάλιστα εὔνουν αὐτόν ἐκάλει, καί οἰκειότατον.

Κ´. Ὡς δέ ταύτην αὐτοῦ τήν σκαιωρίαν λόγῳ ἀναντιῤῥήτῳ (15Γ_306> ὁ ἅγιος

ἀπεκρούσατο, συκοφαντίαν σαφῆ καί οὐδέν ἄλλο οὖσαν δείξας (τί γάρ αὐτῷ καί τῇ ἁλώσει τῶν πόλεων, αἷς μᾶλλον τά λυσιτελῆ ἐβούλετο;)· ἑτέραν ὁ ἀναιδής ἐτράπετο, ὀνείρους τινάς πλάττων καί σκιάς καί φαντάσματα· ἐν οἷς καί φωνῶν ἀπηχήσεις μειζόνων τε καί ἐλαττόνων, καί βασιλέων προσηγορίας, καί τῷ τῆς Ἑσπέρας μᾶλλον, ἤ τῷ τῆς Ἑῴας, τήν τρανοτέραν φωνήν ἐπαφιεμένην ἀπήχησιν· κατηγόρους κἀνταῦθα, καί συκοφάντας ἐμφανίζων καί προβαλλόμενος. Ἐφ' ᾧ καί μᾶλλον ὁ ὅσιος ἐπιστενάξας,

"Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ Θεῷ μου, εἶπεν, ὅτι εἰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν παραδέδομαι, καί τοιούτοις αἰτιάμασι βάλλομαι· ὡς ἄν διά τῶν ἀκουσίων τουτωνί, τά ἑκουσίως μοι προστριβέντα ἀπαλιφῇ, καί κηλίδων τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ἐμαυτόν ἀποσμήξαιμι. Πλήν ἵνα μικρόν καί πρός ταῦτα ἀπολογήσωμαι, οὔτε ὀνειροσκόπος ἐγώ, οὔτε ἐπιίστωρ ὀνείρων· ὅτι μηδέ σχολή ἐμοί τοῖς τοιούτοις καταφαντάζειν τόν νοῦν. Ἐπεί δ' οὕτω μου κατηγορεῖν εἴλεσθε, ὡς καί μάρτυρας παριστᾷν· καί τούτους οὐ τούς εἰδότας, ἀλλά τούς παρά τῶν εἰδότων ἀκηκοότας, ὡς ἐκείνων, φατέ, ἀπολελοιπότων τόν βίον· διά τί μή ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, καί ἔτι περιόντων τῶν πρώτων, τάς περί τῶν ὀνείρων ἀπῃτεῖτε εὐθύνας; Οὕτω γάρ ἄν αὐτοί τε ἦτε πραγμάτων ἀπηλλαγμένοι, κἀγώ ἄν εἰσεπραξάμην τήν δίκην ἐφ' ὁμολογουμένοις τοῖς πράγμασιν. Ἀλλ', ὡς ἔοικεν, οὔτε ἡ ἀλήθεια οὕτως ἔχει, οὔθ' οἱ κατειπόντες ἡμῶν, τόν ἐτάζοντα καρδίαν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔθεντο. Μή γάρ ἴδοιμι τοῦ ἐμοῦ ∆εσπότου καί Κυρίου ἐπιφάνειαν, μηδέ