111

to learn in more detail we refer to the great Caesar. 7.2.6 For this Caesar had become the son-in-law of Alexius, who was already wielding the sceptre of the Romans, and a descendant of that Bryennius. But having come to this point, I am confounded in my soul and filled with emotion. For this man was wise in judgment and most wise in speech. For strength and speed and beauty of body, and simply all the goods of soul and body coming together in the same person, adorned that man. For nature caused him to blossom as one preeminent among all men, and God created him so. And just as Homer praised Achilles among the Achaeans, so might one say that my Caesar was revealed among all under the sun. This Caesar, then, having become most excellent in military matters, was not unpracticed in letters, but by unrolling every book and poring over every science, he drew from them much wisdom, both our own and that of the ancients. Later he also gave himself to writing and indeed, at the command of my lady and mother, the empress Irene, I mean, he composed a work worthy of mention and reading, having put together a history of the deeds of my father before he took up the reins of the empire. In which he goes through the affairs of Bryennius more accurately and at the same time recounted the misfortunes of his ancestor truthfully and wrote down the heroic deeds of his father-in-law, and he would not have falsified concerning either, being related to the one by marriage and to the other by blood. And we have mentioned these things in the earlier books of this history. 7.2.7 When the Scythians saw George Euphorbenus coming against them with a considerable army and fleet by way of the Ister (This river flows from the western mountains, and issues forth through the cataracts and after that through some five mouths into the Euxine Pontus, being great and wide as it comes through a vast plain and navigable, so that even the largest and heaviest cargo ships sail upon this river; it does not have a single name, but in its upper reaches and near its sources its name is Danube, while in its lower parts and near its mouths it is called Ister), when, therefore, the Scythian contingent saw George Euphorbenus on this river, and had learned that the emperor was also already overtaking them from the mainland with a very large army, finding a battle with both impossible, they sought a way by which they might escape the sharp edge of the danger. They sent, therefore, one hundred and fifty Scythians as envoys to inquire, perhaps, about peace, while also weaving some threat in between their words, and in some places even promising, if he should be willing to assent to their requests, to be allies to the emperor with thirty thousand horsemen, whenever he wished. 7.2.8 But the emperor, discerning the deceit of the Scythians and that they were making such overtures fleeing an imminent danger, and that if they should obtain any security at all, they would fan the hidden spark of their wickedness into a great flame, did not receive the embassy. While these words were being exchanged, a certain Nicholas, one of the emperor's secretaries, approached and whispering in his ear said: 'At this very hour, O Emperor, expect an eclipse of the sun's light to occur.' When he expressed disbelief, the man swore an oath that he was not mistaken. Such was the emperor in his swiftness of thought, turning he says to the Scythians: 'I entrust the judgment to God; and if some sign from heaven becomes manifest at this very hour, you will know for certain that I, for my part, reasonably do not accept your embassy as it is suspect, because your phalanx-leaders are not negotiating for peace in truth; but if not, I myself will be convicted of having missed the mark in my conjecture.'

111

λεπτομερέστε ρον μαθεῖν παραπέμπομεν εἰς τὸν μέγιστον Καίσαρα. 7.2.6 Ὁ γὰρ Καῖσαρ οὗτος τοῦ μὲν Ἀλεξίου ἤδη τὰ Ῥωμαίωνδιέποντος σκῆπτρα γαμβρὸς ἐγεγόνει, τοῦ δὲ Βρυεννίου ἐκείνου ἀπόγονος. Ἀλλ' ἐνταυθοῖ γενομένη συγχέομαι τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ πάθους ἐμπίπλαμαι. Σοφὸς μὲν γὰρ τὴν γνώμην ἧν οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ τὸν λόγον σοφώτατος. Πάντα γὰρ καὶ ῥώμη καὶ τάχος καὶ κάλλος σώματος καὶ ἁπλῶς ἐς ταὐτὸ συνελθόντα ὅσα ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος ἀγαθά, τὸν ἄνδρα ἐκεῖνον ἐκόσμησεν. Ἕνα γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ἅπασιν ἐξοχώτατον καὶ ἡ φύσις ἀνεβλάστησε καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ἐδημιούρ γησε. Καὶ οἷον τὸν Ἀχιλλέα ὕμνησεν Ὅμηρος ἐν τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς, τοιοῦτον ἄν τις εἶπε τὸν ἐμὸν Καίσαρα ἐν τοῖς ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον ἅπασιν ἀναπεφηνότα. Οὗτος τοίνυν ὁ Καῖ σαρ καὶ τὰ στρατιωτικὰ γεγονὼς ἄριστος οὐκ ἀμελετήτως ἔσχε πρὸς λόγους, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν βίβλον ἀναπτυξάμενος καὶ εἰς πᾶσαν ἐπιστήμην ἐγκεκυφὼς πολλὴν σοφίαν ἐκεῖθεν ἠρύσατο, ὅση τε ἡμετέρα καὶ ὅση ποτὲ ἡμετέρα. Ὕστερον δὲ καὶ πρὸς συγγραφὰς ἐξέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν καὶ δὴ καὶ σύγ γραμμα ἐξ ἐπιταγῆς τῆς ἐμῆς δεσπότιδος καὶ μητρός, τῆς βασιλίδος φημὶ Εἰρήνης, ἐσχεδίασεν ἄξιον λόγου καὶ ἀναγνώσεως ἱστορίαν συντεταχὼς τῶν πρὸ τοῦ ἀναδήσασ θαι τὰς τῆς βασιλείας ἡνίας πράξεων τοὐμοῦ πατρός. Ἐν ᾖ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Βρυέννιον ἀκριβέστερον ἐπεξέρχεται καὶ ὁμοῦ τάς τε τοῦ προγόνου συμφορὰς ὡς ἀληθῶς ἀφηγή σατο καὶ τὰς τοῦ πενθεροῦ ἀριστείας συνέγραψε καὶ οὐκ ἂν ἐψεύσατο καὶ περὶ ἀμφοῖν ὡς τοῦ μὲν ἀγχιστεύς, τῷ δὲ καθ' αἷμα προσήκων. Καὶ μεμνήμεθα τούτων κἀν τοῖς προ τέροις λόγοις τῆσδε τῆς ἱστορίας. 7.2.7 Ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸν Εὐφορβηνὸν Γεώργιον μεθ' ἱκανῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ στόλου διὰ τοῦ Ἴστρου ἐρχόμενον κατ' αὐτῶν οἱ Σκύθαι ἐθεάσαντο (ὁ δὲ ποταμὸς οὗτος ῥεῖ μὲν ἄνωθεν ἀπὸ τῶν δυτικῶν ὀρῶν, ἐκδίδοται δὲ διὰ τῶν καταρρακτῶν καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα διὰ πέντε τινῶν στομάτων εἰς τὸν Πόντον τὸν Εὔξεινον, μέγας τε καὶ πολὺς διὰ πολλῆς πεδιάδος ἐρχόμενος καὶ ναυσίπορος ὤν, ὡς καὶ τῶν πλοίων τὰ μέγιστά τε καὶ φορτηγότατα τούτῳ τῷ ποταμῷ ἐπινήχεσθαι· οὐ μίαν δὲ προσηγορίαν λαμβάνει, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἀνωτέρω μὲν καὶ πρὸς τὰς πηγὰς ∆άνουβις τούτῳ τὸ ὄνομα, τὰ κάτω δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἐκβολὰς Ἴστρος ἐπονομάζεται), ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν διὰ τούτου τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸν Εὐφορβηνὸν Γεώργιον ἡ τῶν Σκυθῶν μερὶς ἐθεάσατο, ἐξ ἠπείρου δὲ καὶ τὸν αὐτοκράτορα μετὰ στρα τεύματος πλείστου αὐτοὺς ἤδη καταλαμβάνοντα μεμαθή κεσαν, ὡς ἀμήχανον τὴν μεθ' ἑκατέρων μάχην εὑρίσκοντες τρόπον ἐπεζήτουν δι' οὗ γένοιτ' ἂν αὐτοῖς τὸ ὀξὺ τοῦ κινδύνου διεκφυγεῖν. Πέμπουσι τοίνυν πρέσβεις ἑκατὸν πρὸς τοῖς πεντήκοντα Σκύθας ἐπερωτῶντας τάχα τὰ περὶ εἰρήνης, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ἀπειλήν τινα μεταξὺ τῶν λόγων παρε νείροντας, ἔστιν οὗ καὶ ὑπισχνουμένους, εἰ ταῖς τούτων αἰτήσεσι κατανεῦσαι θελήσειε, μεθ' ἱππέων χιλιάδων τριά κοντα συμμαχεῖν τῷ αὐτοκράτορι, ὁπηνίκα βούλοιτο. 7.2.8 Ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ τὴν ἀπάτην διαγνοὺς τῶν Σκυθῶν καὶ ὅτι τὸν ὑπόγυον κίνδυνον φεύγοντες τοιαῦτα διαπρεσβεύον ται, καὶ εἰ ἀδείας ὅλως τύχοιεν, τὸν ὑποκρυπτόμενον τῆς αὐτῶν κακίας σπινθῆρα εἰς πυρσὸν ἀνάψουσι μέγαν, τὴν πρεσβείαν οὐκ ἐδέχετο. Τούτων δὲ τῶν λόγων συνειρο μένων Νικόλαός τις τῶν ὑπογραμματευόντων τῷ αὐτοκρά τορι προσελθὼν πρὸς τὸ οὖς καὶ ὑποψιθυρίσας φησί· «Κατὰ ταυτηνὶ τὴν ὥραν, βασιλεῦ, ἔκλειψιν τοῦ ἡλιακοῦ φωτὸς προσδόκει γενήσεσθαι». Τοῦ δὲ διαπιστοῦντος ἐκεῖνος ἐπώμνυτο μὴ διαψεύσασθαι. Ὁποῖος δὲ ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ γοργὸς περὶ τὰς ἐνθυμήσεις, ἐπιστραφείς φησι τοῖς Σκύθαις· «Θεῷ τὴν κρίσιν ἀνατίθημι· καὶ εἰ μέν τι σημεῖον ἐξ οὐρα νοῦ κατὰ ταυτηνὶ τὴν ὥραν ἔκδηλον γένηται, εἴσεσθε πάν τως ὡς ἐγὼ μὲν ὕποπτον οὖσαν τὴν ὑμῶν πρεσβείαν εὐλό γως οὐ δέχομαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπ' ἀληθείας οἱ φαλαγγάρχαι ὑμῶν τὰ περὶ εἰρήνης διαπρεσβεύονται· εἰ δ' οὐ, διαμαρ τὼν αὐτὸς τοῦ στοχασμοῦ ἐλεγχθήσομαι».