,

they will become prey for their opponents. And so, with the Roman formation drawn up, the barbarians drew up their line along the bank of the river. 7.5.3 The Romans, then, from their ferry-boats, hurled javelins at the barbarians, and the barbarians, unable to bear the multitude of missiles sent forth, abandoned the banks. 7.5.4 And so their commander was killed, whom the preceding narrative has identified as Peiragastos; for an arrow struck him in the flank, and since the wound was mortal, death was wrought for him. And so with Peiragastos fallen, the enemy turned to flight. 7.5.5 And so the Romans became masters of the river bank. Then, surrounding the multitudes of barbarians with great slaughter, they forced them to flee. But being unable to make the pursuit a long one, because of their lack of cavalry, they returned to their camp. 7.5.6 And so on the next day a great error occurred on the part of those guiding the army, from which a water-shortage also befell the camp, and the misfortunes were intensified. Since the infantry, therefore, could not bear the lack of water, they assuaged their thirst with wine. It was the third day, and the evil was prolonged. And the whole army would have perished, if a certain captured barbarian had not pointed out to them the Helibakias river, which was four parasangs away. 7.5.7 Thus, then, the Romans came upon water at dawn. Then some, bending their knees in a way, lapped up the water with their lips, while others, stooping over, drew up water with their hands, and others bailed out the stream with their water-jars. 7.5.8 But since there was a wooded vale on the opposite side of the river, and barbarians were hiding there, a very great injury occurred to the Romans; for the barbarians were striking those drawing water with javelins. Therefore, much slaughter was happening from an unseen place. 7.5. It was therefore necessary to choose one of two things: to give up the water and lose one's life from thirst, or along with the water to draw up death as well. But the Romans, having constructed ferries, swam across the river, 7.5.10 so that the enemy might be discovered. But when the infantry arrived at the opposite bank, the barbarians suddenly attacked and prevailed over the Romans. The Romans, therefore, being defeated, turned to flight. Therefore, when Peter had been defeated by the barbarians, Priscus became general, and so Peter, having been removed from the command, came to Byzantium. 7.6.1 Four years before this, then (for we return again to the earlier parts of the history), John, who was directing the church in Byzantium, departed this life, who, because he greatly practiced the philosophy of conquering pleasures, mastering the passions, and becoming ruler of his stomach, was named "the Faster" by the Byzantines. 7.6.2 It is also said that, having borrowed a considerable number of talents from the emperor Maurice, he issued a bond and mortgaged his own property in the agreements of the loan. 7.6.3 But when the priest departed from here, the emperor Maurice, having investigated the hierarch's property, found that the man had practiced the philosophy of poverty, and, greatly admiring the extreme righteousness of the priest, he freely tore up the bond written <πρὸ> a short while ago. 7.6.4 For they say the emperor found nothing else belonging to the priest than a wooden cot, a cloak of the coarsest wool, and an unadorned chasuble; for the man was poorly dressed, being resplendent in the simplicity of his life. These things, indeed, these things the emperor Maurice valued in place of much money and Indian stones and transferred them to the palace. 7.6.5 Therefore, delighting in the spring fasts of the Christians, and bidding farewell to golden and jewel-studded couches and to the threads of the Seres, the emperor would spend the whole night on the priest's wooden pallet, as if thinking that he would thereby partake of some divine grace. 7.6.6 During these times the Maurusii around Libya an oath against the Romans

παρανάλωμα τοῖς ἀντιπάλοις γενήσονται. οὕτω τοίνυν τῆς ῾Ρωμαϊκῆς κοσμηθείσης συντάξεως, περὶ τὴν ὄχθην τοῦ ποταμοῦ οἱ βάρβαροι παρατάττονται. 7.5.3 οἱ μὲν οὖν ῾Ρωμαῖοι ἀπὸ τῶν πορθμιδίων τοὺς βαρβάρους κατακοντίζονται, οἱ δὲ βάρβαροι τὰ πλήθη τῆς ἐκπομπῆς τῶν βελῶν φέρειν ἀδυνατήσαντες ὀρφανὰς τὰς ὄχθας καταλιμ7.5.4 πάνουσιν. ἀναιρεῖται τοίνυν ὁ τούτων ταξίαρχος, ὃν Πειράγαστον ὁ λόγος φθάσας ἐδίδαξεν· βέλους γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς λαγόνος καταβληθέντος αὐτῷ, ἐν καιρίῳ τε τῆς πληγῆς γεγονυίας, θάνατος αὐτῷ πραγματεύεται. καὶ οὖν πεπτωκότος τοῦ 7.5.5 Πειραγάστου τρέπεται πρὸς ἀποφυγὴν τὸ πολέμιον. γίνονται τοίνυν οἱ ῾Ρωμαῖοι κύριοι τῆς ὄχθης τοῦ ποταμοῦ. εἶτα τὰ πλήθη τῶν βαρβάρων περιβαλόντες φόνῳ πολλῷ πρὸς ἀπόδρασιν χωρεῖν αὐτοὺς κατηνάγκαζον. τὴν δὲ δίωξιν ἐς μακρὰν μὴ οἷοί τε ὄντες ποιήσασθαι διὰ τὸ τῆς ἵππου 7.5.6 χηρεύειν, πρὸς τὸν χάρακα ἐπανέζευξαν. γίνεται τοίνυν τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ μεγάλη πλάνη τοῖς ποδηγοῦσι τὸ στράτευμα, ὅθεν καὶ ἀνυδρία τῷ στρατοπέδῳ ἐνέσκηψεν, καὶ τὰ τῆς συμφορᾶς ἐπετείνετο. οὐ φέροντος τοίνυν τοῦ ὁπλιτικοῦ τὴν σπάνιν τοῦ ὕδατος οἴνῳ παρεμυθοῦντο τὸ δίψος. ἡμέρα δὲ τρίτη, καὶ τὸ κακὸν ἐμηκύνετο. καὶ ἂν ἡ στρατιὰ διόλωλεν ἅπασα, εἰ μὴ βάρβαρός τις ἁλοὺς τὸν ῾Ηλιβακίαν αὐτοῖς ἐξέλεξε 7.5.7 ποταμόν, τέτταρας παρασάγγας ἀπέχοντα. οὕτω μὲν οὖν οἱ ῾Ρωμαῖοι ἐξ ἑωθινοῦ περιτυγχάνουσιν ὕδατι. τοίνυν οἱ μὲν προκλίναντές πως τὰ γόνατα τοῖς χείλεσι τὸ ὕδωρ λαφύττουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἐπικεκυφότες ταῖς χερσὶν ἠρύοντο ὕδατα, ἄλλοι 7.5.8 ἀπήντλουν ταῖς ὑδρίαις τὸ νᾶμα. δασέος δὲ τέμπους ὑπόντος εἰς τὸ ἀντιπέρας τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ βαρβάρων ἐγκρυπτομένων αὐτόθι, γίνεται μεγίστη τοῖς ῾Ρωμαίοις ἐπήρεια· ἀκοντίοις γὰρ ἔβαλλον τοὺς ὑδρευομένους οἱ βάρβαροι. οὐκοῦν ἐξ ἀπόπτου 7.5. φόνος πολὺς ἐπεγίνετο. δυοῖν τοίνυν θάτερον ἦν ἑλέσθαι ἀνάγκη, τοῦ ὕδατος ἀπειπεῖν καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ δίψους τὸν βίον ἀπολιπεῖν, ἢ μετὰ τοῦ ὕδατος ὑπαντλεῖν καὶ τὸν θάνατον. ἀτὰρ πορθμία οἱ ῾Ρωμαῖοι ναυπηγησάμενοι τὸν ποταμὸν διενήξαντο, 7.5.10 ὅπως κατάφωρον τὸ πολέμιον γένοιτο. ἐπεὶ δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀντιπέρας τὸ ὁπλιτικὸν παρεγένετο, ἀθρόον οἱ βάρβαροι ἐπιθέμενοι τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων κρατοῦσιν. οἱ μὲν οὖν ῾Ρωμαῖοι νενικημένοι πρὸς φυγὴν ἀποκλίνουσιν. καταπολεμηθέντος τοίνυν ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων τοῦ Πέτρου, Πρίσκος γίνεται στρατηγός, καὶ οὖν ἀποχειροτονηθεὶς τῆς ἡγεμονίας ὁ Πέτρος ἐς Βυζάντιον ἧκεν. 7.6.1 Πρὸ τεττάρων τοίνυν τούτων ἐνιαυτῶν (πρὸς γὰρ τὰ πρεσβύτερα τῆς ἱστορίας αὖθις γινόμεθα) ᾿Ιωάννης ὁ τὴν ἐς Βυζάντιον ἐκκλησίαν ἰθύνων τὸν τῇδε βίον ἀπέλιπεν, ὃς διὰ τὸ καταφιλοσοφῆσαι λίαν τῶν ἡδονῶν τυραννῆσαί τε τῶν παθῶν αὐτοκράτορά τε τῆς κοιλίας γενέσθαι Νηστευτὴς 7.6.2 ὑπὸ τῶν Βυζαντίων κατωνομάζετο. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ Μαυρικίου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἱκανὰ δανεισάμενον τάλαντα γραμματεῖον ἐκθέσθαι τήν τε οἰκείαν περιουσίαν ἐν ταῖς ὁμολογίαις 7.6.3 τοῦ δανείσματος ὑποθέσθαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ μετῆρεν ὁ ἱερεὺς τῶν τῇδε, ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ Μαυρίκιος τὴν τοῦ ἱεράρχου οὐσίαν διερευνησάμενος εὑρίσκει τὸν ἄνδρα ἀχρηματίαν φιλοσοφήσαντα, καὶ λίαν ἀγασθεὶς τὴν ἐς ἄκρον τοῦ ἱερέως δικαιοσύνην διέρρηξε προῖκα τὸ <πρὸ> μικροῦ συνταγὲν γραμματεῖον. 7.6.4 μηδὲν γὰρ τῷ ἱερεῖ ἕτερόν φασι τὸν βασιλέα εὑρεῖν ἢ σκίμποδα ξύλινον καὶ σισύραν ἐξ ἐρίου ἐς τὰ μάλιστα εὐτελῆ φαινόλην τε ἀκαλλῆ· δυσείμων γὰρ ἦν ὁ ἀνὴρ λιτότητι βίου καταλαμπόμενος. ταῦτα δήπου, ταῦτα ἀντὶ πολλῶν ἂν χρημάτων καὶ λίθων ᾿Ινδικῶν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ Μαυρίκιος τιμησάμενος 7.6.5 εἰς τὰ βασίλεια μετηγάγετο. ταῖς ἐαριναῖς τοιγαροῦν τῶν Χριστιανῶν νηστείαις ἐναβρυνόμενος, χαίρειν φράσας ταῖς χρυσαῖς καὶ λιθοκολλήτοις κλίναις τοῖς τε νήμασι τῶν Σηρώων, ἐπὶ τοῦ ἱερέως ξυλίνην στιβάδα ὁ βασιλεὺς κατεπαννυχίζετο, θείας τινὸς ἐντεῦθεν ὥσπερ οἰόμενος μεταλήψεσθαι χάριτος. 7.6.6 Κατὰ τούτους τοὺς χρόνους οἱ περὶ τὴν Λιβύην Μαυρούσιοι διωμοσίαν κατὰ τῶν ῾Ρωμαίων