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he was bearing. So, as his language produced contradictory statements, and the tortures urged the barbarian on to what was likely, the murderer becomes his own accuser, and his errors are laid bare 6.10.18 when the crime was confessed. So that bloody barbarian, paying the penalty for his savagery, was sentenced to be delivered to the teeth of wild beasts, and then was given as fuel to the all-consuming fire. 6.11.1 In this very year, in the suburbs of the city, strange prodigies are born: a four-footed child, and another with two heads. Those who have carefully written histories say that the appearance of prodigies in cities is not for good. 6.11.2 So the prodigies, after being shown to Maurice the emperor, were put to death. The emperor dismisses the general, and makes his brother (Peter was his name 6.11.3) leader of the Roman forces. Priscus, however, had not yet learned of these things. And so, taking up his forces, he crosses the river. For the troops were vexed at making a delay in the barbarian land; for he was afraid that the barbarians might suddenly appear and carry off the booty. 6.11.4 But the Chagan, having heard of the Roman landing, was greatly astonished; then he sent messengers to Priscus, eager to learn the reason for his withdrawal. Priscus, therefore, deceived the Chagan as plausibly as he could with his words. 6.11.5 But three days later, it was reported to Priscus that the Chagan intended to try to attack the Roman forces, and was ordering the multitudes of the Sclavenes to cross the Ister; for in fact he was angry and exceedingly resentful that the Roman forces had been successful. 6.11.6 Targitius and the barbarian chiefs therefore advised the Chagan to end the war, for they said 6.11.7 that he was not justly angry with the Romans. Magnanimously, therefore, Priscus sent an envoy to the Chagan (Theodore was his name), a man by nature clever and enterprising, a physician by profession, and of free speech. This man was forceful 6.11.8 toward the Chagan. The barbarian, therefore, puffed up by the things that had befallen him, was exceedingly boastful, and said that he was lord of every nation, and that there was not, as far as the sun casts its gaze, anyone able to oppose him. 6.11. For this reason, the envoy, being master of much history, humbled the barbarian's arrogance with examples. It is not out of place to tell the story also. For he said, "Listen, Chagan, to a certain old and very wise story." And since the beginning made the barbarian attentive to listen, the narration of the story 6.11.10 received no interruption. "They say that Sesostris was once a very fortunate man and the most illustrious of the Egyptian kingdom." An ancient tale will tell that this man was proud of his wealth, and that by his powers 6.11.11 he was exceedingly invincible. And that he indulged in excess, so to speak, to such a degree that he constructed a chariot welded with gold, and set precious stones around it, and the barbarian would sit upon it, and bid farewell to horses and mules, and place the necks of the defeated kings under its yoke, and the unfortunate kings would drag the chariot of Sesostris 6.11.12 through the marketplace. Therefore, as the king of the Egyptians was not moderate in his successes, but openly and often reproached the defeated for their misfortune, they say that one of the kings subjected to the yoke of the chariot, during a certain great and splendid festival, when crowds of Egyptians had gathered, was unwilling to pull the chariot and frequently turned backward and watched the movement of the wheels. 6.11.13 Therefore, since the pulling became discordant because those assigned to this task did not make one common effort, the king of the Egyptians said to the one making the frequent turns: "Man, why do you turn your gaze backward? Why are you examining the wheels?

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ἔφερεν. τῆς τοίνυν γλώττης ἀντιθέτους ποιούσης τοὺς λόγους, τῶν τε κολάσεων κατεπειγουσῶν πρὸς τὰ εἰκότα τὸν βάρβαρον, ὁ φονευτὴς αὐτοκατάθετος γίνεται, καὶ παραγυμνοῦνται τὰ 6.10.18 σφάλματα ἐξαγορευθέντος τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος. ὁ μὲν οὖν παλαμναῖος ἐκεῖνος καὶ βάρβαρος δίκας τῆς ὠμότητος εἰσπραττόμενος ὀδοῦσι θηρίων παρεδίδοτο ψήφοις, εἶτα τῷ παμφάγῳ πυρὶ παρείχετο παρανάλωμα. 6.11.1 ᾿Εν τούτῳ δὴ τῷ ἐνιαυτῷ εἰς τὰ πρὸ τοῦ ἄστεος τίκτονται παράδοξα τέρατα, παιδίον τετράπουν, ἄλλο δὲ δικόρυφον. λέγουσι δὲ οἱ τὰς ἱστορίας μετ' ἐπιμελείας συγγράψαντες μὴ εἶναι εἰς ἀγαθὸν τὴν τῶν τεράτων ταῖς πόλεσιν 6.11.2 ἐπιφάνειαν. τὰ μὲν οὖν τέρατα ἐπιδεδειγμένα Μαυρικίῳ τῷ αὐτοκράτορι παρεδόθη τῷ φόνῳ. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἀποχειροτονεῖ τὸν πολέμαρχον, καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν (Πέτρος δὲ ὄνομα 6.11.3 αὐτῷ) ἡγεμόνα τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων ποιεῖται δυνάμεων. ὁ μὲν οὖν Πρίσκος τούτων οὔπω ἐπέπυστο. καὶ οὖν τὰς δυνάμεις ἀράμενος διαπεραιοῦται τὸν ποταμόν. δυσανασχετεῖ γὰρ τὰ πλήθη τὴν τριβὴν πρὸς βάρβαρον χώραν ποιήσασθαι· ἐδεδίει γὰρ μή πως ἐξαπιναίως ἐφεστηκότες οἱ βάρβαροι τὴν λείαν 6.11.4 ἀποίσονται. ὁ δὲ Χαγάνος ἀκηκοὼς τοῦ ῾Ρωμαϊκοῦ τὴν ἀπόβασιν λίαν ἐθαύμαζεν· εἶτα ἀγγέλους πρὸς τὸν Πρίσκον ἐξέπεμψε τῆς ἀναζεύξεως τὴν αἰτίαν πυθέσθαι γλιχόμενος. ὁ μὲν οὖν Πρίσκος ἀπεβουκόλησεν ὡς οἷόν τε τοῖς λόγοις 6.11.5 πιθανῶς τὸν Χαγάνον. ἡμέραι δὲ τρεῖς, καὶ ἠγγέλθη τῷ Πρίσκῳ μέλλειν διεγχειρεῖν τὸν Χαγάνον ταῖς ῾Ρωμαϊκαῖς δυνάμεσιν ἐπιτίθεσθαι, τὰ δὲ τῶν Σκλαυηνῶν πλήθη προστάττειν διαπεραιοῦσθαι τὸν ῎Ιστρον· τῷ ὄντι γὰρ ἐχαλέπαινεν ἐνεκότει τε λίαν ἐνευδοκιμηθείσαις ταῖς ῾Ρωμαίων 6.11.6 δυνάμεσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ταργίτιος οἵ τε τῶν βαρβάρων λογάδες τῷ Χαγάνῳ παρῄνουν παραλύειν τὸν πόλεμον· ἔφασκον γὰρ 6.11.7 μὴ ἐνδίκως αὐτὸν χαλεπαίνειν ῾Ρωμαίοις. μεγαλοφρόνως τοίνυν ὁ Πρίσκος πρέσβιν ὡς τὸν Χαγάνον ἐξέπεμψε (Θεόδωρος ὄνομα αὐτῷ), τὴν φύσιν ἄνδρα δεξιόν τε καὶ εὐεπίβολον, τὴν τέχνην ἰατρόν, τὴν γλῶτταν ἐλεύθερον. οὗτος δὲ κραταιὸς 6.11.8 πρὸς τὸν Χαγάνον ἐγίνετο. ὁ μὲν οὖν βάρβαρος φρονηματισθεὶς ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτῷ συγκυρήσασι λίαν ὑψαυχενίζετο, καὶ κύριον ἑαυτὸν ἔθνους ἔφασκεν ἅπαντος, μὴ προσεῖναι τε, ὅσον περ ἥλιος ἀνατείνει τὸ βλέμμα, τὸν ἀντιτάξασθαι δυνη6.11. σόμενον. διά τοι τοῦτο ὁ πρέσβις ἱστορίας πολλῆς γενόμενος κάτοχος βαρβαρικὰ παραδείγμασιν ἐταπείνου φρυάγματα. εἰπεῖν δὲ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἱστορίας οὐκ ἀνακόλουθον ὕπεστιν. ἔφησε γάρ "ἄκουε, Χαγάνε, παλαιοῦ τινος καὶ λίαν σοφοῦ διηγήματος." ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ ἔναρξις προσεχῆ πρὸς ἀκρόασιν [ἐν]εποίει τὸν βάρβαρον, οὐκ ἐλάμβανεν ἐγκοπὴν ἡ τῆς 6.11.10 ἱστορίας ἀφήγησις. "Σέσωστρίν φασι γεγενῆσθαί ποτε ἄνδρα λίαν εὐδαίμονα καὶ τῆς Αἰγυπτιακῆς βασιλείας ἐπιφανέστατον." τοῦτον κομᾶν ἐπὶ τῷ πλούτῳ λόγος πρεσβύτης ἐρεῖ, ταῖς δὲ 6.11.11 δυνάμεσι πεφυκέναι λίαν ἀκαταμάχητον. τὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν κραιπαλᾶν, ὥστε ἁρμάμαξαν συμπήξασθαι χρυσοκόλλητον, λίθους τε τιμίους ταύτῃ περιβαλεῖν, ἐφιζάνειν τε ἐπὶ ταύτης τὸν βάρβαρον, καὶ ταῖς μὲν ἵπποις καὶ ταῖς ἡμιόνοις χαίρειν εἰπεῖν, τοὺς δὲ τῶν ἡττημένων βασιλέων τῷ ταύτης ζυγῷ [τοὺς] αὐχένας περιβαλεῖν, ἕλκειν τε ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς τοὺς ἠτυχηκότας τῶν βασιλέων τὸ τοῦ Σεσώ6.11.12 στριδος ὄχημα. τοῦ τοίνυν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλέως μὴ μετριοπαθοῦντος ἐπὶ ταῖς εὐπραγίαις, ἀλλὰ περιφανῶς πολλάκις κατονειδίζοντος τοῖς ἡττημένοις τὴν συμφοράν, ἕνα τινὰ τῶν βασιλέων φασὶ τῶν ὑποβεβλημένων τῷ ζυγῷ τοῦ ὀχήματος ἐν μεγάλῃ τινὶ καὶ περιφανεῖ ἑορτῇ, τῶν Αἰγυπτίων συρρευσάντων ὄχλων, μὴ ἐθέλειν ἕλκειν τὸ ὄχημα πυκνά τε εἰς τοὐπίσω συστρέφεσθαι καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τῶν τροχῶν κίνησιν 6.11.13 διορᾶσθαι. ἀσυμφώνου τοίνυν τῆς ὁλκῆς γινομένης διὰ τὸ μὴ μίαν σύννευσιν τοὺς ἐπὶ τούτῳ συντεταγμένους ποιήσασθαι, ὁ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεὺς ἔφησε πρὸς τὸν τὰς πυκνὰς ποιούμενον συστροφάς· "ἄνθρωπε, τί πρὸς τοὐπίσω τὸ βλέμμα κινεῖς; τί τοὺς τροχοὺς ἱστορεῖς;