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or, thirdly, being compared to the benefactions of previous emperors, even if he did not bestow so many benefits, not even thus. For the time being, at any rate, he was forced to conduct his affairs in an imperial manner, lest he seem to practice ruling as if on a stage. For neither is the sun desirable if it does not provide its rays to the earth, on the one hand, and to men and all animals, on the other, nor will a king have the true essence of ruling if he does not benefit his subjects; 255 but whoever, while being a king, is stingy in giving, that man handles a stage-play of kingship, not kingship itself. Proof of this is the Agamemnon on the stage, and Oenomaus, and Oedipus and those from him, and Adrastus king of Argos, and the rest, so that I not speak of each one of the kings on the stage. For when would anyone be well treated by them, when would he be benefited, by those who are acting the parts of kings? But for those men, it is possible both to make a defense and to escape the blame of the many; for since they are representations of persons and not persons, it is necessary that they also benefit only in appearance. But for these men, what defense is even left if they do not give? If, then, they do not, they too are merely playing the part of a king, not being kings in any way at all. Being such, why do they expect to be honored, when they are not truly ruling? For honor belongs to a king who is present and not ruling theatrically. Seeing these things, and especially seeing at close quarters those benefited by the departed emperors, he was reproached by his conscience, and he did confer benefits, but not as much as they did, on the one hand out of necessity and fearing the reproaches as if they were before his eyes, and on the other hand perhaps acting according to his nature, choosing not to hold back the livelihood of wretched men, who had to provide their food for any necessary task, going for their service according to some ancient custom. But these things are perhaps also untimely, except to show that the quality of beneficence is inherent in kingship by nature; in which he participated sufficiently, not being stingy in most things. And he also sent to the notables of Italy, and especially those of the church, acquiring them as friends even from afar.

ιʹ. How the emperor, putting John out of the way, blinded him. Then, finding an opportunity from his other affairs, he decided to put to rest the persistent thought of his heart with the most wicked undertakings. The thought, then, that John should co-rule with him in the future and that one hood, so to speak, should be placed on two heads, was extremely discordant, besides the fact that it was not a secure position to be in; for this man would love one, and that man the other, each in turn unloving the other, and thus the multiple rule would be disorderly; it was necessary, then, to extinguish 257 the confidence of the many in him and indeed to complete what had been begun; for some say that the beginning is half of the whole, and the beginning was to have his memory silenced, as it were, so that he would not even be thought to be a co-ruler; for when the second was crowned, that the other was not also honored and acclaimed with him, when the patriarch was crowning, necessarily it was somehow quietly undermined; and it would be easy to add even more, so that not even a hope would be left. The emperor being outmaneuvered by these thoughts—for the love of monarchy was kindling him, and he valued passing glory more than the fear of God because of his desire for more—he devises a plan that is most shameful and also casts him far from God, and sending men, he ordered them to blind the child, a tender boy who had learned almost nothing yet completely, either to rejoice or to be sad, and who indeed considered it equal to rule and to be ruled, trusting only the patriarch and those who thus managed his affairs, and not even knowing what an oath is, by which not he himself, but those around him, had confidence that he would be safe. And so it happened as was commanded at the beginning, and the boy, little more than an infant, is deprived of sight, with this one act of humanity being shown by those around Exotrochos who were carrying out the foul deed, that they did not destroy his eyes with heated irons, but with some heated basin brought to his eyes, they roasted the youth's

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ἤ, τό γε τρίτον, πρὸς τὰς τῶν προτέρων βασιλέων εὐεργεσίας ἀντιβαλλόμενος, κἂν μὴ τόσας εὐηργέτει, μηδ' οὕτως. Τέως δέ γε κατὰ βασιλεῖς ἠναγκάζετο χρᾶσθαι τοῖς πράγμασι, μὴ καὶ δόξοι σκηνικῶς τὸ ἄρχειν ἐπιτηδεύων. Οὔτε γὰρ ἥλιος ποθεινὸς μὴ τὰς ἀκτῖνας παρίσχων τοῦτο μὲν γῇ, τοῦτο δ' ἀνθρώποις καὶ ζῴοις ἅπασιν, οὔτε βασιλεὺς τὸ ἀληθινὸν πρὸς τὸ ἄρχειν ἕξει μὴ τοὺς ὑπηκόους εὐεργετῶν· 255 ὅστις δὲ βασιλεύων γλίσχρος ἐστὶ πρὸς τὸ διδόναι, ἐκεῖνος σκηνὴν βασι λείας, οὐ βασιλείαν, μεταχειρίζει. Τεκμήριον δὲ ὁ ἐπὶ σκηνῆς Ἀγα μέμνων καὶ ὁ Οἰνόμαος, Οἰδίπους τε καὶ οἱ ἐξ αὐτοῦ καὶ Ἄδραστος βασιλεὺς Ἄργους καὶ οἱ λοιποί, ἵνα μὴ καθ' ἕκαστον λέγω τῶν ἐπὶ σκηνῆς βασιλέων. Πότε γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνων τις εὖ πάθοι, πότε δὲ καὶ εὐεργετηθείη, ὑποκρινομένων τὰ τῶν βασιλέων πρόσωπα; Ἀλλ' ἐκείνοις μὲν ἔστι καὶ ἀπολογεῖσθαι καὶ τὴν μέμψιν διαφεύγειν τὴν τῶν πολλῶν· σχήματα γὰρ προσώπων καὶ οὐ πρόσωπα ὄντας, ἀνάγκη καὶ σχήμασι μόνοις εὐεργετεῖν. Τούτοις δέ γε τίς ἀπολογία καὶ ὑπολέλειπται μὴ διδοῦσιν; Εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλὰ σχηματίζονται καὶ οὗτοι τὸν βασιλέα, βασιλεῖς μὴ ὄντες μηδ' ὁπωσοῦν. Τοιοῦτοι δ' ὄντες, τί ἀξιοῦσι τιμᾶσθαι, μὴ ἀληθινῶς βασιλεύοντες; Ἡ γὰρ τιμὴ βασιλεῖ μετὸν καὶ οὐ σκηνικῶς βασιλεύοντι. Ταῦθ' ὁρῶν ἐκεῖνος, καὶ μᾶλλον ἐξ ὑπογύου βλέπων τοὺς παρὰ τῶν ἀπελθόντων βασιλέων εὐεργετουμένους, συνειδὸς ἔχων ἠλέγχετο, καὶ εὐηργέτει μέν, πλὴν οὐχ ὅσον ἐκεῖνοι, τὸ μὲν διὰ τὴν ἀνάγκην καὶ τοὺς ἐλέγχους δεδιὼς ὡς κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς ὄντας, τὸ δὲ τῇ φύσει χρώμενος ἴσως, μὴ παρακατέχειν αἱρούμενος ζωὴν ταλαιπώρων ἀνθρώπων, τῶν προὔργου παντὸς ἀναγκαίου πορίζειν ἔχοντος τὴν τροφὴν ἐπὶ θεραπείαν ἐκείνων ἰόντων κατά τι ἀρχαῖον νόμιμον. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἴσως καὶ παρα καίρια, ἐφ' ᾧ μόνον δεῖξαι φύσει προσὸν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τὸ εὐεργετικόν· οὗ ἐκεῖνος αὐτάρκως μετεῖχεν, οὐ τὰ πολλά γε μικρολογούμενος. Ἀπέστελλε δὲ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιδόξους τῆς Ἰταλίας, καὶ μᾶλλον τοὺς τῆς ἐκκλησίας, φίλους ἐκείνους καὶ μακρόθεν κτώμενος.

ιʹ. Ὅπως τὸν Ἰωάννην ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκποδὼν ποιῶν ἐξετύφλου. Τότε δ' ἐνευκαιρήσας ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων, τὸν τῆς καρδίας ἔμμονον λογισμὸν ἔγνω καταστέλλειν κακίστοις ἐπιχειρήμασιν. Ὁ μὲν οὖν λογισμὸς τὸ καὶ εἰσέπειτά οἱ συνάρχειν τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ δυοῖν κεφαλαῖν, τὸ τοῦ λόγου, μίαν ἐπικεῖσθαι καλύπτραν καὶ λίαν ἀπᾷδον εἶχε, χωρὶς καὶ τοῦ μὴ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ καθίστασθαι· τὸν μὲν γὰρ οὗτος, τὸν δ' ἐκεῖνος στέρξοι, ἀνὰ μέρος ἀποστέρ γων τὸν ἕτερον, καὶ οὕτως ἄτακτον τὸ πολύαρχον· χρῆναι γοῦν σβεννύειν 257 τὸ εἰς ἐκεῖνον τῶν πολλῶν θάρρος καὶ δὴ καταρξάμενον τελειοῦν· ἥμισυ γὰρ τοῦ παντὸς τὴν ἀρχήν φασί τινες, ἀρχὴν δ' εἶναι τὸ οἷον κατασιγασθῆναι τὴν ἐκείνου μνήμην, ὡς μηδὲ συνάρχειν ὑπολαμβάνεσθαι· τῷ γὰρ καὶ δεύτερον στεφομένου μὴ κἀκεῖνον συντιμᾶσθαι καὶ συνευφημεῖσθαι, τοῦ πατριάρχου στέφοντος, ἠρέμα πως ὑπορρεῖν ἀνάγκῃ· καί γ' εὐχερὲς ἂν εἶναι καὶ τὸ πλέον ἐπιτεθῆναι, ὡς μηδ' ἐλπίδα ὑπολελεῖφθαι. Τούτοις καταστρατηγηθέντος τοῖς λογισμοῖς τοῦ βασιλέωςὑπέκαιε γὰρ αὐτὸν ὁ τῆς μοναρχίας ἔρως, καὶ τὴν παρερχομένην δόξαν περὶ πλείονος ἐτίθει τοῦ θείου φόβου διὰ τὴν τοῦ πλείονος ὄρεξιν, βουλὴν βουλεύεται μάλα μὲν αἰσχίστην, μάλα δὲ καὶ Θεοῦ πόρρω βάλλουσαν, καὶ πέμψας ἐκτυφλοῦν τὸν παῖδα προσέταττε, παιδίον ἁπαλὸν καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι σχεδὸν τελέως ἢ τὸ χαίρειν ἢ τὸ λυπεῖσθαι μαθόν, καί γ' ἐν ἴσῳ τιθέμενον τό τ' ἄρχειν καὶ τὸ ἄρχεσθαι, μόνῳ δὲ τῷ πατριάρχῃ πιστεῦον καὶ τοῖς οὕτω τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν διοικοῦσι, καὶ μηδὲ ὅ τί ἐστιν ὅρκος εἰδός, ἐξ οὗ καὶ θαρρεῖν εἶχε μὲν οὐκ αὐτός, ἀλλ' οἱ περὶ ἐκεῖνον, ἐκεῖνον σῴζεσθαι. Γίνεται γοῦν ὡς τὴν ἀρχὴν προσετάχθη, καὶ τὸ βρέφους μικρὸν ὑπερβεβηκὸς παιδίον στε ρεῖται τοῦ βλέπειν, τοῦτο μόνον φιλανθρωπευσαμένων τῶν περὶ τὸν Ἐξώτρο χον ἐξυπηρετουμένων τῷ μιαρῷ τολμήματι τὸ μὴ σιδήροις ἐκπυρωθεῖσι τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς λυμήνασθαι, ἀλλ' ἠχείῳ τινὶ πυρωθέντι ἐπὶ τῶν ὄψεων φερομένῳ ἐξοπτῆσαι τῷ νεανίσκῳ τοὺς