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his eyes, withered by the burning and their sight slowly extinguished. And after these things were dared on the very day of the Savior's feast, on which, it seems, He was also born, by a lawless hand, but by a more lawless command, carrying from Chele a pitiful and as if lifeless burden, they shut him up securely in the fortress of Dakibyza towards the sea, and guards were installed, a sufficient ration of food having been assigned to the one locked up. But those oaths and agreements and dreadful ratifications were devoured like vegetables by an emperor who seemed to have a love of God, for which he was also preferred 259 by the church for the rule. But the saying was indeed true, that rule will show the man; for rule showed him too, how much he cared for justice and piety towards God. Yet he, blinding his own soul with the vanity of glory, ordered the innocent one to be physically blinded.

11. Concerning Manuel Holobolos and the suspicion of the rest on account of John. Then also fabricating charges against Manuel Holobolos, who was a boy and then serving among his household grammarians, but who was nevertheless exceedingly sympathetic to John for suffering such things unjustly, O Justice, and contrary to what was likely, he had his nose cut off along with his lips; and he, immediately putting on rags, entered the monastery of the Prodromos. And indeed, being suspicious of many others on account of these things, he held some in no esteem, and he also punished others. For such is the nature of not ruling lawfully, but tyrannically; for in those things in which the ruler happens to sin, suspecting that the conscientious among men are vexed by them, since it is not possible for him to repent of what was done and to ask for pardon, it is necessary, justly believing that he is hated, from that point to hate those who are suspected and to punish them. There was, therefore, at that time in the palace a turmoil of thoughts mixed with fear, the thoughts not allowing even the naturally unfeeling to be at ease, and fear, lest someone finding out might report it and the punishments become for him inescapable, immediately causing restraint; for the suspicion of someone seeming to be attached to the boy John and to sympathize with him was especially terrible in denunciations.

12. Concerning the Zygenoi, how they revolted from the emperor on account of John. For which reason also a little later the villagers of the highlands of Nicaea, being countrymen and occupied with farming, but otherwise daring, trusting 261 in their bows, and at the same time having confidence in their own difficult terrain, that they would not easily be overcome, even if they should do something, having found a young man who came from somewhere afflicted with a disease in his eyes, a rumor preceding him from those who had concocted the plot that he himself was the boy John, gathering together they held fast to him, at the same time as their supposed lord, for which reason also, being bound by oaths to his father, they were convulsed with eagerness on his behalf, and at the same time as defending one who had been wronged. And they began to revolt, being evident from what they did that they intended to make war on those who would attack them; and indeed, having adorned him as was fitting and behaving like servants, they set him up as emperor and rushed to face danger on his behalf. The emperor, however, learning of this, both boiled with anger and was not to be restrained, if such highlands were in danger of being carried away on account of a running rumor, from which it was likely that many others would also be incited to revolt. Wherefore he also gave in to every impulse against them and gathering all his soldiery together in the same place he sent them off to wage civil wars. And indeed many, stronger than their own power, rushed on with a show of goodwill towards the emperor, and there was a rivalry, if anyone by risking himself first might win favor. But they, learning that many were rushing against them as against open rebels, needed to conceal their rebellion with something great, so that they both acknowledged it and seemed to be doing a great thing as a sign of their own piety, if indeed they should face danger for an emperor who had also been wronged; and their watchword was

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ὀφθαλμούς, ἀπομαρανθέντας τῇ ἐκπυρώσει καὶ ἠρέμα σβεσθέντας τὸ ὀπτικόν. Μεθὸ δὲ ταῦτ' ἐτολμήθη κατ' αὐτὴν ἡμέραν τῆς ἑορτῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος καθ' ἣν ἄρα καὶ ἐγεννήθη, χειρὶ μὲν παρανόμῳ, προστάξει δὲ παρανομωτέρᾳ, φέροντες ἐκ Χηλῆς φόρτον ἐλεεινὸν καὶ οἷον ἄψυχον, τῷ πρὸς θάλασσαν τῆς ∆ακιβύζης φρουρίῳ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ κατακλείουσι καί οἱ φρουροὶ ἐγκαθίστανται, ἀποταχθέντος αὐτάρκους σιτηρεσίου τῷ ἐγκεκλεισμένῳ. Ὅρκοι δ' ἐκεῖνοι καὶ συνθεσίαι καὶ ἐμπεδώσεις φρικταὶ ὡς λάχανα κατεδήδοτο βασιλεῖ δοκοῦντι θεοφίλειαν ἔχειν, δι' ἣν καὶ προὐτιμᾶτο 259 παρὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας εἰς τὴν ἀρχήν. Ἀλλ' ἦν ἄρα τὸ λεγόμενον ἀληθές, ὡς ἀρχὰ δείξοι ἄνδρα· ἔδειξε γὰρ ἡ ἀρχὴ κἀκεῖνον, ὅπως ἔμελέ οἱ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τῆς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν εὐλαβείας. Πλὴν τυφλώττων κἀκεῖνος τῇ τῆς δόξης ματαιότητι τὴν ψυχήν, ἐκτυφλοῦν ἐκέλευε σωματικῶς τὸν ἀναίτιον.

ιαʹ. Τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ὁλοβώλου Μανουὴλ καὶ τῆς τῶν λοιπῶν ὑποβλέψεως διὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην. Τότε καὶ αἰτίας πλασάμενος τῷ Ὁλοβώλῳ Μανουήλ, παιδίῳ ὄντι καὶ εἰς τοὺς οἰκείους τότε τελοῦντι γραμματικούς, ὑπερπαθοῦντι δ' ὅμως τοῦ Ἰωάννου, τοιαῦτα παθόντος ἀδίκως, ὦ ∆ίκη, καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰκός, ἀφαιρεῖται ῥινὸς αὐτῆς μετὰ τῶν χειλέων· ἐκεῖνος δέ, παραυτίκα ῥακενδυτήσας, τὴν μονὴν τοῦ Προδρόμου εἰσέρχεται. Καὶ δὴ ἄλλους πλείστους διὰ ταῦτα ὑπο βλεπόμενος, τοὺς μὲν ἐν οὐδεμιᾷ ἔταττε μοίρᾳ, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἐκόλαζε. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ τὸ μὴ ἐννόμως ἄρχειν, ἀλλὰ τυραννικῶς· οἷς γὰρ ἁμαρτάνειν συμβαίνοι τὸν ἄρχοντα, τούτοις ὑπειδόμενον τοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐσυνειδήτους ἄχθεσθαι, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκεῖνον μετανοεῖν ἐφ' οἷς ἐπράχθη καὶ συγγνώμην ζητεῖν παραιτούμενον, ἀνάγκη, δικαίως πιστεύοντα ἀπεχθάνεσθαι, μισεῖν ἐντεῦθεν τοὺς ὑπονοουμένους καὶ τιμωρεῖν. Ἦν οὖν τότε κατὰ τὸ ἀρχεῖον ταραχὴ λογισμῶν φόβῳ σύμμικτος, τῶν μὲν λογισμῶν μηδὲ τὸν ἀνάλγητον φύσει ἠρεμεῖν ἐώντων, τοῦ δὲ φόβου, ὡς μή τις μαθὼν προσαγγείλοι καὶ οὐ φυκτά οἱ τὰ τῆς κολάσεως γένοιτο, παρευθὺς συστέλλοντος· δεινὴ γὰρ ἐν προσαγγελίαις διαφερόντως ἦν ἡ τοῦ τινα δοκεῖν προσκεῖσθαι τῷ παιδὶ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ συμπαθεῖν.

ιβʹ. Τὰ κατὰ τοὺς Ζυγηνούς, ὅπως ἀπεστάτησαν βασιλέως διὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην. Παρ' ἣν αἰτίαν καὶ ὀλίγον ὕστερον οἱ κατὰ τῆς Νικαίας ἄκρας χωρῖται, ἀγρόται μὲν ὄντες καὶ γεωργίᾳ προσέχοντες, θαρραλέοι δ' ἄλλως, πίσυνοι 261 τόξοις, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ταῖς κατὰ σφᾶς δυσχωρίαις τὸ πιστὸν ἔχοντες, ὡς οὐ ῥᾳδίως πεισόμενοι, κἄν τι πράττοιεν, εὑρόντες ἥκοντά ποθεν νεανίσκον νόσῳ λελυμασμένον τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, φήμης προοδευούσης ἐκείνου παρὰ τῶν συσκευασαμένων τὸ δρᾶμα ὡς αὐτὸς εἴη τὸ παιδίον ὁ Ἰωάννης, ἀπρὶξ συναχθέντες ἔχονται τούτου, ἅμα μὲν ὡς δεσπότου ὑπονοουμένου σφίσιν, ἐφ' ᾧπερ καί, ὅρκοις τοῖς πρὸς τὸν πατέρα πεδούμενοι, ταῖς ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου προθυμίαις ἐσφάδαζον, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ὡς ἠδικημένῳ προσαμύνοντες. Καὶ ἀποστατεῖν ἤρξαντο, δῆλοι ὄντες ἐξ ὧν ἐποίουν τοῖς ἐπιθησομένοις πολε μησείοντες· καὶ δὴ περιστείλαντες τοῖς εἰκόσιν ἐκεῖνον καὶ δουλικῶς προσφερόμενοι, προΐστων εἰς βασιλέα καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ κινδυνεύειν ὥρμων. Ὁ μέντοι γε βασιλεύς, μαθὼν τὰ περὶ τούτου, ἀνέζει τε τῷ θυμῷ καὶ καθεκτὸς οὐκ ἦν, εἰ ἄκραι τοιαῦται παρασπᾶσθαι τῆς ἐντρεχούσης φήμης ἕνεκα κινδυνεύουσιν, ἐξ ὧν εἰκὸς εἶναι καὶ ἄλλους παρακινεῖσθαι πλείστους ἀποστατεῖν. Ὅθεν καὶ πάσαις ταῖς κατ' ἐκείνων προθυμίαις ἐνεδίδου καὶ ἅπαν τὸ στρατιωτικὸν ἐν ταὐτῷ συλλέξας ἀπέστελλε πολέμους πολεμήσοντας ἐμφυλίους. Καί γε πολλοί, τῆς κατὰ σφᾶς ἰσχύος κρείττονες, ὥρμων δοκήσει τῆς πρὸς βασιλέα εὐνοίας, καὶ ἔρις ἦν, ἤν τις προκινδυνεύσας χαρίσαιτο. Οἱ δέ, μαθόντες πολλοὺς καθ' αὑτῶν ὁρμῶντας ὡς ἀποστατῶν ἄντικρυς, τὴν μὲν ἀποστασίαν πολλοῦ τινος συγκαλύπτειν ἐδέησαν, ὥστε καὶ ὡμολό γουν καὶ μέγα τι ἐδόκουν πράττειν εἰς δεῖγμα τῆς κατὰ σφᾶς εὐσεβείας, εἴ γε καὶ ὑπὲρ βασιλέως καὶ ἠδικημένου κινδυνεύοιεν· καὶ σύνθημα ἦν