Georgius Pachymeres, Chronicle II

thinking it a good thing, if he were to be appointed, immediately ceasing to accuse him of his disagreement with the church, and just as he was of a mind, and again allowing him to be so, took him on, and having supplied him with a few funds and troops, sends him out to the east. And he, having undertaken the command, shows all diligence to settle the regions here, and also to serve the emperor with his own arrangements and administrations in these matters. For since many of the soldiers, often seizing opportunities, had increased their own provisions and were idle as a result of winning over the commanders with gifts and favors, while others, often even more worthy than them, with their own resources having failed, were in want and had an impediment to their choosing to serve in the army, and on both sides there was a loss to the common good, 259 and this inequality needed to be made equal, he himself, daring great things, since for one acting with a faithful and pure mind toward the emperor nothing would stand in the way of all that might be an obstacle, decided to transfer the fullest resources to the common funds and thus to make the men's impulses equal by making the circumstances equal. From this he was assembling a larger army and preparing ships, and turning to two fronts, he was managing things well both on land and on sea, and he was heard to be doing well, and he was acceptable to the emperor, even though for the reigning patriarch John his generalship was a cause of the greatest indignation, and often reporting to the emperor, he reproached him, that a man should be general who not only knew nothing of honoring the church, but even showered its members with many insults. But the emperor, being taken in by the service from him, as the frequent assurances held, and giving more to reason than to anger because of the report from the patriarch, allowed nothing to be accomplished against him by those who spoke against him, but rather he received the reminders unpleasantly, judging steadiness in matters of state to be more kingly than vacillation 260 and instability in what had been decided. However, after a time, as it is fitting to say presently, certain men attack him, those who had been deprived of the greater part of their resources, using as a pretext their loyalty to the emperor; but no less they wished to defend themselves, having been aggrieved by what they had been deprived of. And approaching Theoleptos of Philadelphia, they said that John had broken his pledges of loyalty to the emperor, and that it was clear, from what he was doing, that he had begun to cast the die of rebellion. Saying these things, they persuaded him, and all the more since he had long been moved to enmity against that man, inasmuch as he himself also found much fault with him. and with them they hurried toward him (for he was at the little tower then). But he, foreknowing the attack of those coming, and how they were now coming to meet him on the basis of a pre-existing evil report, even if it was false, his impulse is broken, and having entered the monastery there of the greatest among martyrs, George, formerly the temple of Zeus, he provided for his own safety. And they, having arrived outside, with the gates of the monastery having been barred, eagerly wove together the strands of that mute accusation, and they were saying that John would not have gone beyond the commands 261 from the emperor (which was to alter their military service), unless indeed he had decided to begin to show contempt for the emperor. And this was outright demagoguery, so that from this their attack against him might have force, and it was a strong defense for their railings against him, as ones who were justly prosecuting. But he from within, seen from the height of the wall, stood safely against the accusation, and he reproached the high priest, judging it to be folly, if, having been persuaded by such men, he decided to do similar things, having come against one who knew not even a shadow of disloyalty. For to the emperor he rather keeps faith and bears steadfast goodwill, but to him from this point and even more he would not pay heed, not even as a high priest, if he should wish to weave together his enmity toward him on account of the cause of the schism, which indeed the emperor himself both knows and allows, with accusations against the emperor that no longer exist, and to cooperate with those who were attacking 262 murder nothing

σπουδαῖον, εἰ προσληφθείη, διανοούμενος, αὐτίκα ἀφεὶς ἐγκαλεῖν ἐκείνῳ τὴν πρὸς ἐκκλησίαν διαφοράν, ὡς εἶχε δὲ τῆς γνώμης καὶ πάλιν ἐάσας ἔχειν, προσ λαβών, ὀλίγοις τισὶν ἐφοδιάσας καὶ χρήμασι καὶ στρατεύμασιν ἐπ' ἀνατολῆς ἐκπέμπει. ὁ δὲ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἀναδεξάμενος πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ἐνδείκνυται καθιστᾶν μὲν τὰ τῇδε μέρη, θεραπεύειν δὲ καὶ βασιλέα ταῖς καθ' αὑτὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν οἰκονομίαις καὶ διοικήσεσιν. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν καιρῶν πολλάκις λαβόμενοι καὶ προσηῦξον τὰς οἰκείας προνοίας καὶ ἀρ γῶς εἶχον ἐκ τοῦ δώροις καὶ δεξιώσεσιν ὑπέρχεσθαι τοὺς ἡγεμο νεύοντας, ἄλλοι δὲ πολλάκις καὶ σφῶν ἀξιώτεροι ἐκλελοιπυιῶν τῶν κατὰ σφᾶς οἰκονομιῶν τὴν ἀπορίαν εἶχον καὶ προαιρούμενοι τοῦ στρατεύεσθαι κώλυμα, καὶ ἦν ἀμφοτέρωθεν τῷ κοινῷ ζημία, 259 καὶ ἡ ἀνισότης αὕτη ἐδέετο ἐξισώσεως, αὐτὸς τὰ μεγάλα θαρρῶν, ὡς πιστῇ γνώμῃ καὶ καθαρᾷ πρὸς βασιλέα πράττοντι οὐδὲν ἂν προσσταίη τῶν ὅσα καὶ εἰς ἐμπόδιον εἴη, μεταγγίζειν ἔγνω πρὸς τὰ κοινὰ τὰ πληρέστατα καὶ οὕτως ἐξισοῦν τοῖς ἀνδράσι καὶ τὰς ὁρμάς, ἐξισῶν τοῖς πράγμασιν. ἐντεῦθεν καὶ στρατὸν μὲν συνί στα πλέον, νῆας δ' ἐξητοιμάζετο, καὶ διττὰ στρέφων ἔνθεν μὲν κατὰ γῆν ἐκεῖθεν δὲ κατὰ θάλατταν διηυμάριζε, καὶ καλῶς ἠκού ετο πράττων, καὶ βασιλεῖ ἀπόδεκτος ἦν, εἰ καὶ τῷ πατριαρχοῦντι Ἰωάννῃ ἡ ἐκείνου στρατηγία διὰ μεγίστης ἀγανακτήσεως ἦν, καὶ πολλάκις προσαναφέρων βασιλεῖ προσωνειδίζετο, εἴ γε ἀνὴρ στρα τηγοίη οὐχ ὅπως μηδὲν εἰδὼς τιμᾶν ἐκκλησίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλαῖς τοὺς αὐτῆς πλύνων ὕβρεσι. βασιλεὺς δὲ τῇ παρ' ἐκείνου θερα πείᾳ ἐνειλημμένος, ὡς αἱ συχναὶ πίστεις εἶχον, λογισμῷ διδοὺς πλέον ἢ ὀργῇ διὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ πατριάρχου ἀναφοράν, οὐδὲν πε ραίνειν κατ' ἐκείνου παρεῖχε τοὺς κατ' ἐκείνου λέγοντας, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσάντως μᾶλλον ἐδέχετο τὰς ὑπομνήσεις, τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς πραττομένοις σταθηρότητα βασιλικωτέραν κρίνων παλιμβολίας 260 καὶ ἀστασίας ἐπὶ τοῖς δόξασι. πλὴν μετὰ καιρόν, ὡς ἁρμόζειν αὐτίκα λέγειν, ἐπιτίθενταί οἱ τινὲς τῶν ὅσοι καὶ τῶν οἰκονομιῶν τὸ πλεῖστον προσαφῃρέθησαν, προφάσει μὲν τῇ εἰς βασιλέα πί στει χρησάμενοι· οὐδὲν δὲ ἧττον ἑαυτοῖς ἀμύνειν ἤθελον, παρα λελυπημένοι οἷς προσαφῄρηντο. καὶ τῷ Θεολήπτῳ Φιλαδελφείας προσελθόντες τὰς πρὸς βασιλέα πίστεις ἠθετηκέναι τὸν Ἰωάννην ἔλεγον, καὶ δῆλον εἶναι, ἐξ ὧν γε καὶ πράττοι, τὸν τῆς ἀποστα τήσεως κύβον ἀναρρίπτειν ἀρξάμενον. ταῦτα λέγοντες ἔπειθον, καὶ μᾶλλον εἰς τὴν κατ' ἐκείνου ἀπέχθειαν ὡρμημένον πάλαι ἅτε καὶ αὐτὸν κατ' ἐκείνου τὰ πολλὰ μωμούμενον. καὶ σὺν σφίσι τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον (ἦν δ' ἐπὶ τοῦ πυργίου τότε) ἠπείγοντο. ὁ δὲ προγνοὺς τὴν τῶν ἐπιόντων ἔφοδον, καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ κακῇ προϋπηρ γμένῃ φήμῃ, εἰ καὶ ψευδὴς ἦν, ἀπαντῶσιν ἤδη, θραύεται τὴν ὁρμήν, καὶ εἰσελθὼν τὴν ἐκεῖσε μονὴν τοῦ ἐν μάρτυσι μεγίστου Γεωργίου, τὴν τοῦ ∆ιὸς ἱεροῦ πάλαι, τοῦ ἀσφαλοῦς ἑαυτῷ προυνόει. καὶ οἱ μὲν ἐπιστάντες ἔξωθεν ἐπιζυγωθεισῶν τῶν πυ λῶν τῆς μονῆς ἐσπουδασμένως τὰ τῆς κωφῆς ἐκείνης κατηγορίας συνέπλεκον, καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἔλεγον Ἰωάννην περαιτέρω τῶν ἐντολῶν 261 τῶν παρὰ βασιλέως προεληλυθέναι (τὸ δ' ἦν τὸ τὴν αὐτῶν ὑπαλ λάττειν στρατείαν), εἰ μή γε καὶ τῆς εἰς βασιλέα καταφρονήσεως ἄρχειν ἐγνώκει. τὸ δ' ἦν ἄντικρυς καταδημαγωγία, ὡς ἐντεῦθεν τὴν κατ' αὐτοῦ σφῶν ἰσχύειν ἐπίθεσιν, καὶ πρόβλημα ἦν αὐτοῖς ἰσχυρὸν τῶν κατ' ἐκείνου λοιδοριῶν ὡς δικαίως ἐπεξιοῦσιν. ὁ δ' ἔνδοθεν ἀφ' ὕψους τοῦ τείχους ἑωραμένος πρὸς τὴν κατηγο ρίαν ἀσφαλῶς ἵστατο, καὶ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ προσωνείδιζεν, ἀνοίας κρίνων, εἰ συμπεπεισμένος τοιούτοις ἀνδράσι ποιεῖν τὰ ὅμοια ἔγνω παραγεγονὼς τὸν μηδὲ σκιὰν ἀπιστίας εἰδότα. βασιλεῖ γὰρ καὶ μᾶλλον φυλάττειν πίστιν καὶ βεβαίαν φέρειν τὴν εὔνοιαν, αὐτῷ δὲ τοὐντεῦθεν καὶ μᾶλλον μηδ' ὡς ἀρχιερεῖ προσέχειν, εἰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν διὰ τὴν τοῦ σχίσματος αἰτίαν ἀπέχθειαν, ὃ δὴ καὶ βασιλεὺς οἶδε καὶ συγχωρεῖ αὐτός, τοῖς οὐκέτ' οὖσι κατὰ βα σιλέως αἰτιάμασι συμπλέκειν ἐθέλοι καὶ τοῖς ἐπιοῦσι συμπράττειν 262 φόνον μηδὲν