Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

a renewal of what was already established, the times of the former peace having been completed, unless these things came to pass. But the emperor still clung firmly to these things, not so much out of necessity as from the opinion of what was just, being wholly contemptuous of them as ones who would again have more need of peace with the Romans.

22. There were many other proofs of the emperor's solicitude for the church, even if its affairs were a certain mythical Hydra and grew many heads of scandal. But it was altogether necessary for Heracles to cut and for Iolaus to cauterize. But while he was the Heracles, a worthy co-worker, an Iolaus, was sought but not found. For this reason it was not at all possible for the cuttings alone to succeed, even if the sword of his concern was not blunted. And I pass over the secret and open machinations of the schismatics, with cold favors being bestowed on it by many, 245 so that it was at peace, yet not firmly disposed toward peace, but wavering and as it happened. But such was the situation then. For a bundle of papers and a volume, which is indeed called a *famosus*, came into the emperor's hands, from where and from whom I do not know, but for the time being it brought many accusations. The emperor, wishing to refute this and to offer arguments in rebuttal (for the accusations touched him too, to be sure), did not approve for the time being, for many reasons, of allowing the refutation to be made in writing, so that the refutation might be word for word; but he himself decided to preside, and when a general assembly had been held, to refute each point as it was read out. And so it happened. And indeed the bishops gathered, the clergy and monks and people gathered, and the emperor, having convened with those in authority, nobly refuted each chapter of the volume, showing by deed that persuasion is better than force, and all the more where the power of authority is naturally suspected of contributing to the strength of one's dominion. And the writer was unknown, perhaps thinking to cover his insignificance and his inability to insist on certain points 246 with the force suspected of coming from authority; but the emperor openly spoke against it, setting forth his arguments publicly to all, putting aside the compulsion of authority, and wishing to win over the hearer by great abundance of persuasion.

23. This he had also done before when Athanasius was patriarch, and he wisely cut off another head of scandal, and with words spoken in public, as with certain incantations, he soothed what was inflamed. For it is the part of a wise physician to apply incisions to a cutting pain, but when the swelling subsides, to try to check it with gentle remedies from words, and to give no passage to its wasting away. It is time to connect with the present matters also that which is less close, because of the proximity of the subject. A question had been raised for the emperor concerning the sultan in Babylon, as he was for the time being scrupulous about how he should write as 'brother' to the enemy of the cross. And the matter seemed rather absurd, even if it had been customary from of old for the pious emperors. Such as he was, therefore, being scrupulous about 247 such things (for to him, who did not deign to write 'father' to the pope because he had supposedly erred, to rank not only an atheist but even an enemy of Christ among brothers, was no small pain), he shared the question with some of the bishops present, and sought a remedy for his conscience. And one said one thing, and another improvised something else as a remedy for his conscience. Theoleptus of Philadelphia, however, wishing to cure the emperor's conscience, tried to show from the scriptures that the matter was tolerable. And what is so terrible about this, he said, if not only all men, but even Christians, fraternize with demons? Let necessity then become a favor; conquer with prudence. And where is this written? "The sons of my mother fought against me," says she who sings the Song. And the Nyssene explains the 248 demons to be sons of the mother, the church of Christ, inasmuch as from the one and same cause (which is, I think, the goodness of God, which became a certain beginning for non-beings to come into being) both these and those were brought forth as from the same father and creator. This perhaps also according to the

ἀνα νέωσιν ἤδη κειμένων, ἐξηνυσμένων τῶν τῆς προτέρας εἰρήνης καιρῶν, εἰ μὴ ταῦτα γένοιτο. βασιλεὺς δὲ καὶ ἔτι ἀπρὶξ εἴχετο τούτων, οὐ κατὰ χρείαν μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν τοῦ δικαίου δόξαν, ὑπερ ηφανῶν ὅλως ὡς ἐκείνων καὶ μᾶλλον αὖθις τῆς πρὸς Ῥωμαίους δεηθησομένων εἰρήνης.

22. Τῆς μὲν τοῦ βασιλέως περὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν κηδεμο νίας πολλὰ καὶ ἄλλα τὰ δείγματα, εἰ καὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτὴν πρά γματα ὕδρα τις ἦν ἡ μυθευομένη καὶ πολλὰς σκανδάλων ἀνέφυε κεφαλάς. ἔδει δὲ πάντως τῷ Ἡρακλεῖ τέμνοντι καὶ ἐπικάοντος Ἰολάου. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Ἡρακλῆς ἦν οὗτος, Ἰόλαος δὲ ὁ καὶ ἄξιοςσυνεργὸς ἐζητεῖτο μέν, οὐχ εὑρίσκετο δέ. διὰ τοῦτο καὶ οὐκ ἦν ὅλως μόνον τὰς τομὰς εὐοδεῖν, εἰ καὶ μὴ τὸ ξίφος τῆς φροντίδος ἠμβλύνετο. καὶ ἀφίημι τὰς παρὰ τῶν σχιζομένων ἀφανεῖς τε καὶ φανερὰς ἐπιτεχνιτεύσεις, ψυχρῶν χαρίτων παρὰ πολλῶν κα 245 τατιθεμένων αὐτῇ, ὡς εἰρηνεύειν μέν, οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ παγίως ἔχειν πρὸς τὴν εἰρήνην, ἀλλ' ἀμφικλινῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν. ἀλλ' οἷον τὸ τότε. φάκελος γὰρ γραμμάτων καὶ τόμος, ὃ δὴ λέγεται φάμουσος, εἰς χεῖρας τῷ βασιλεῖ γίνεται, τὸ μὲν ὅθεν καὶ παρὰ τίνων οὐκ οἶδα, τέως δὲ πόλλ' ἄττα φέρων αἰτιάματα. τοῦτον βουληθεὶς ἀνατρέπειν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ λόγους φέρειν παλαίοντας (ἥπτοντο γὰρ ἐπιεικῶς κἀκείνου τὰ αἰτιάματα) τὸ μὲν γραφαῖς τὴν ἀντιλογίαν ἐπιτρέπειν γίνεσθαι, ὡς ἄν γε κατὰ ῥῆμα τὰ τῆς ἀνασκευῆς γίγνοιτο, οὐκ ἐδοκίμαζε τέως πολλῶν αἰτιῶν ἕνεκα· αὐτὸς δ' ἔγνω προκαθίσας, συναγωγῆς κοινῆς γεγονυίας, καθ' ἓν ἀναγινωσκόμενον ἀνατρέπειν. καὶ γέγονεν οὕτω. καὶ δὴ συνά γονται μὲν ἀρχιερεῖς συνάγονται δ' οἱ τοῦ κλήρου καὶ μοναχοὶ καὶ λαός, καὶ βασιλεὺς ἅμα τοῖς ἐν τέλει συνεδριάσας ἕκαστον κεφάλαιον τῶν τοῦ τόμου οὐκ ἀγενῶς διέλυεν, ἔργῳ δεικνὺς ὡς πειθὼ κρείττων βίας, καὶ μᾶλλον ὅπου καὶ τὸ τῆς ἐξουσίας ὑφο ρᾶσθαι πέφυκε πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κρατεῖν ἰσχὺν συμβαλλόμενον. καὶ ὁ γράψας ἀφανὴς ἦν, τὴν οὐδενίαν τάχα καὶ τὸ μὴ ἐπί τισιν 246 ἰσχυρίζεσθαι τῇ ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσίας ὑπωπτευμένῃ βίᾳ καλύπτειν οἰό μενος· βασιλεὺς δ' ἐμφανῶς ἀντέλεγε προτιθεὶς τοῖς πᾶσιν εἰς κοινὸν τοὺς λόγους, τὴν μὲν ἀνάγκην τῆς ἐξουσίας ἐν μέρει τι θείς, τῇ δὲ πειθοῖ προσάγεσθαι θέλων ἐκ περιουσίας πολλῆς τὸν ἀκούοντα.

23. Τοῦτο καὶ πρότερον ἐπὶ Ἀθανασίου πατριαρχοῦντος ἐποίει, καὶ κεφαλὴν ἄλλην σκανδάλου σοφῶς ἀπέκοπτε, καὶ λό γοις ἐπὶ κοινοῦ λεχθεῖσιν ὥς τισιν ἐπῳδαῖς τὸ ἀνοιδοῦν κατεμά λαττε· σοφοῦ γὰρ ἰατροῦ πρὸς τομῶντι πήματι τομὰς ἐπάγειν, πρὸς δ' αὖ ὑφιέντι τῆς ἀνοιδήσεως προσηνέσι φαρμάκοις ἐκ τῶν λόγων καταστέλλειν πειρᾶσθαι, καὶ μηδὲν διδόναι τῇ ἐκτήξει πάροδον. καιρὸς δὲ συνάπτειν τοῖς παροῦσι καὶ τὸ ἧττον ἐγγίζον διὰ τὴν τῆς ὑποθέσεως γειτνιότητα. κεκίνητο λόγος τῷ βα σιλεῖ περὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν Βαβυλῶνα σουλτάν, διευλαβουμένῳ τέως ὅπως εἰς ἀδελφότητα γράφοι τὸν ἐχθρὸν τοῦ σταυροῦ. καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐπιεικῶς τῶν ἀτόπων ἐδόκει, εἰ καὶ σύνηθες ἦν ἐξ ἀρ χαίου τοῖς εὐσεβῶς βασιλεύουσιν. οἷος οὖν ἦν ἐκεῖνος, πρὸς 247 τοιαῦτα διευλαβούμενος (τὸ γὰρ πατέρα γράφειν οὐκ ἀξιοῦντα τὸν πάπαν διὰ τὸ δῆθεν ἐσφάλθαι, εἰς ἀδελφοὺς τάττειν μὴ ὅτι γε ἄθεον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐχθρὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, πόνος ἦν οὐ μικρὸς ἐκείνῳ) κοινοῦταί τισι τῶν ἀρχιερέων παροῦσι τὸ σκέμμα, καὶ τὴν θεραπείαν τοῦ συνειδότος ζητεῖ. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἔλεγεν, ὁ δὲ ἄλλος ἄλλο τι τὰ εἰς θεραπείαν τοῦ συνειδότος ἀπεσχεδίαζεν. ὁ μέντοι γε Φιλαδελφείας Θεόληπτος θέλων θεραπεύειν βασιλεῖ τὴν συνείδησιν, ἀνεκτὸν ἀπὸ γραφῶν ἐπειρᾶτο τὸ πρᾶγμα δεικνύειν. καὶ τί γε, φησί, τοῦτο δεινόν, εἰ καὶ τοῖς δαίμοσιν, οὐχ ὅπως ἄνθρωποι πάντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ Χριστιανοὶ ἀδελφίζουσιν; τὴν γοῦν ἀνάγκην γίνεσθαι χάριν νίκα τῇ συνέσει. ὅπου δὲ τοῦτο καὶ γέ γραπται; υἱοὶ μητρός μου ἐμαχέσαντό μοι, λέγει ἡ ᾀσματίζουσα. υἱοὺς δὲ μητρὸς τῆς ἐκκλησίας Χριστοῦ ὁ Νύσσης ἐξηγεῖται τοὺς 248 δαίμονας, ὡς ἂν ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς καὶ μιᾶς αἰτίας (ἡ δ' ἔστιν, οἶ μαι, ἡ τοῦ θεοῦ ἀγαθότης, ἀρχή τις γενομένη τοῖς μὴ οὖσιν εἰς ὄντωσιν) τούτους τε κἀκείνους ὡς ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ πατρὸς προῆχθαι καὶ ποιητοῦ. τοῦτο ἴσως καὶ κατὰ τὸ