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having moored at the harbor of Cenchreae, and learning that the western parts of the Peloponnese, Methone and Patras and the neighboring regions of Corinth, were being ravaged by the barbarians, he conceived a prudent and wise plan. For he did not judge it best to traverse the Peloponnese by sea and, rounding Malea, to measure out the length of a thousand miles and miss the opportune moment, but as he was, immediately at night, across the Isthmus at Corinth, by means of much manpower 301 and skill, he transported the ships overland to the other side and set to work. And before the enemy had heard anything about this, he appeared suddenly, and confounding their thoughts with fear, both on account of the dread from the previous battle and the unexpectedness of his attack, he did not allow them to rally at all or to think of resistance, but setting some of the enemy ships on fire and sinking others, and of the barbarians, killing some with the sword and making others sink beneath the depths, and killing their leader, he forced the rest to be scattered throughout the island; whom he later rounded up and, taking them alive, subjected to various punishments. For of some he flayed the skin from their flesh, especially those who had denied the baptism of Christ, saying that he was taking this away from them, and nothing of their own; and from others he pulled out strips of skin from the nape of the neck down to the ankles with sharp pain; and others he hung on some sort of swing-beam, then from on high he would throw and push them into cauldrons full of pitch, saying that he was giving them his own painful and gloomy baptism. Having thus mocked them and exacted penalties analogous to what they had done, he instilled no small fear of campaigning again against the Roman empire. But in this way the southern winds were scattered, and thenceforth the vessel of the Roman state was steered untroubled by waves; 302 (62) but from the west a terrible surge rose up again. For the Amerimnes of Africa, having prepared sixty ships of enormous size, set out against the Roman empire, and plundering the lands in between and taking many people captive, he arrived as far as the islands of Cephalonia and Zacynthus. When the emperor heard this, he swiftly arose to offer help, and he sends out the commander of the naval forces (this was Nasar) with a strong force, having fitted out a multitude of triremes and biremes and other swift-sailing ships. Nasar, having made a swift departure and benefiting from favorable winds, in a short time reached Methone, but he was prevented from making a swift attack against the enemy for the following reason: for not a few of the rowers, growing cowardly in the face of danger, fled secretly in small groups, and by their desertion the proper speed was taken from the ships, which did not have the rush with swiftness against the enemy with a roar of oars, he did not judge it right to go against the foe thus unprepared. And he reported what had happened to the emperor by a swift messenger. And he, by a swift dispatch of men suitable for this, captured all the deserters and put them under guard. But considering how he might both keep his hands clean from the murder of his own people and instill the proper fear in the remaining rowers, so that their wickedness might not be an example for others to imitate and so that the majority might not act cowardly on purpose and be idle, he devises 303 a prudent plan. For he commanded the drungarius of the watch to take from the prisoners and criminals in the praetorium, those who had been condemned to death by the laws, thirty in number, and lead them out while it was still night, and having smeared their faces with soot, and having singed off the hair of their beards and heads with a flame, to remove the recognizable feature of their appearance, and to ensure that no one at all dared to address them

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λιμένι προσορμισάμενος Κεγχρεῶν, καὶ μαθὼν οτι τὰ δυτικώτερα Πε- λοποννήσου μέρη, Μεθώνην καὶ Πάτρας καὶ τὰ προσεχῆ Κορίν- θου χωρία, λυμαίνεται τὸ βαρβαρικόν, βουλὴν βουλεύεται συνε- τὴν καὶ σοφήν. οὐ γὰρ εκρινε διὰ θαλάσσης τὴν Πελοπόννησον διελθεῖν καὶ διὰ τοῦ Μαλέου κάμψας τὸ τῶν χιλίων μιλίων μῆ- κος ἀναμετρήσασθαι καὶ τοῦ προσήκοντος ὑστερῆσαι καιροῦ, ἀλλ' ὡς ειχεν, εὐθὺς ἐν νυκτὶ διὰ τοῦ κατὰ Κόρινθον ἰσθμοῦ πολυχει- 301 ρίᾳ καὶ ἐμπειρίᾳ πρὸς τὸ ἐκεῖθεν μέρος κατὰ τὸ ξηρὸν διαβιβάσας τὰς ναῦς εργου ειχετο. καὶ ουπω πεπυσμένοις τι περὶ τούτου τοῖς πολεμίοις αἰφνίδιον ἐπιφαίνεται, καὶ συγχέας αὐτῶν τῷ δέει τοὺς λογισμοὺς διά τε τὸ ἐκ τῆς προτέρας μάχης δέος καὶ διὰ τὸ τῆς ἐφόδου ἀπρόοπτον οὐδὲ συστῆναι καὶ ἀλκῆς μεμνῆσθαι παν- τελῶς συνεχώρησεν, ἀλλὰ τὰς μὲν πυρπολήσας τὰς δὲ καταπον- τώσας τῶν πολεμίων νεῶν, καὶ τῶν βαρβάρων τοὺς μὲν ἀνελὼν τῷ ξίφει τοὺς δὲ ὑποβρυχίους τῷ βυθῷ ποιησάμενος, καὶ τὸν τούτων ἀρχηγὸν ἀνελών, τοὺς λοιποὺς διασκεδασθῆναι κατὰ τὴν νῆσον ἠνάγκασεν· ους σαγηνεύσας υστερον καὶ ζωγρῶν διαφόροις τιμωρίαις ὑπέβαλε. τῶν μὲν γὰρ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς ἀπέωσε δοράν, μάλιστα τῶν ἀρνησαμένων τὸ βάπτισμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, τοῦτο παρ' αὐτῶν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι λέγων, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτῶν ιδιον· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἱμάντας ἀπὸ τοῦ ἰνίου αχρι τῶν σφυρῶν μετ' ὀδύνης δριμείας ἐξείλκυεν· αλλους δὲ κηλωνείοις τισὶν αἰωρῶν, ειτα ἀπὸ τοῦ μετ- εώρου πρὸς λέβητας πίσσης μεστοὺς ἐμβάλλων τε καὶ ὠθῶν, τοῦ ἰδίου αὐτοῖς μεταδιδόναι βαπτίσματος ελεγε τοῦ ἐπωδύνου καὶ ζο- φεροῦ. ουτως ουν κατακερτομήσας, καὶ ἀναλόγους τῶν ἐργα- σθέντων αὐτοῖς ποινὰς εἰσπραξάμενος, τοῦ καὶ αυθις κατὰ τῆς ̔Ρωμαϊκῆς ἐπικρατείας ἐκστρατεύειν οὐκ ὀλίγον δέος ἐνέβαλεν. ̓Αλλ' ουτως μὲν τὰ μεσημβρινὰ διεσκέδαστο πνεύματα, καὶ ἀκλύστως ἐντεῦθεν τὸ τοῦ ̔Ρωμαϊκοῦ κράτους σκάφος ηὐθύνετο· 302 (62) ἐκ δὲ τῆς ἑσπέρας αυθις κλύδων δεινὸς ἐπηγείρετο. ὁ γὰρ τῆς ̓Αφρικῆς ἀμερμουμνῆς παμμεγέθεις ναῦς ἑξήκοντα τὸν ἀριθμὸν κατασκευασάμενος κατὰ τῆς ̔Ρωμαϊκῆς ἐπικρατείας ἐξώρμησε, καὶ τὰ μεταξὺ ληϊζόμενος καὶ πολλὰ σώματα λαμβάνων αἰχμάλωτα αχρι Κεφαληνίας καὶ Ζακύνθου τῶν νήσων ἀφίκετο. απερ ἀκη- κοὼς ὁ βασιλεὺς συντόμως πρὸς τὴν βοήθειαν διανίσταται, καὶ τὸν τῶν ναυτικῶν ἡγεμόνα δυνάμεων (Νάσαρ δὲ ουτος ην) μετὰ δυνάμεως ἐκπέμπει ἁδρᾶς, τριήρων τε καὶ διήρων καὶ αλλων νεῶν ταχυναυτουσῶν πλῆθος ἐξαρτυσάμενος. σύντομον δὲ τὸν εκπλουν ὁ Νάσαρ πεποιηκὼς καὶ αἰσίοις χρησάμενος πνεύμασι δι' ὀλίγου μὲν χρόνου τὴν Μεθώνην κατέλαβε, θᾶττον δὲ τὴν κατὰ τῶν πο- λεμίων ἐπίθεσιν ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αἰτίας διεκωλύθη ποιήσασθαι· τῶν γὰρ ἐρετῶν οὐκ ὀλίγοι πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον ἀποδειλιάσαντες κατ' ὀλί- γους λαθραίως ἀπέφυγον, ων τῇ λειποταξίᾳ τὸ προσῆκον τάχος ἀφαιρεθεισῶν τῶν νεῶν, μὴ ἐχουσῶν τὴν μετὰ ῥοθίου σὺν ὀξύ- τητι κατὰ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπέλασιν, οὐκ εκρινε δεῖν παρωπλισμένοις ουτως κατὰ τῶν δυσμενῶν ἀπελθεῖν. μηνύει δὲ τὸ συμβὰν διὰ ταχυδρόμου τῷ βασιλεῖ. ὁ δὲ διὰ ταχείας ἀποστολῆς τῶν πρὸς τοῦτο ἐπιτηδείων πάντας τοὺς λειποτάκτας ἐζώγρησε καὶ ἐμφρού- ρους ἐποίησε. σκοπῶν δὲ οπως καὶ ὁμοφύλων φόνου τὰς χεῖρας τηρήσῃ καθαρὰς καὶ τὸ προσῆκον ἐμποιήσῃ δέος τοῖς ὑπολοίποις τῶν ἐρετῶν, ὡς αν μὴ καὶ αλλοις ειη πρὸς μίμησιν ἡ τούτων κα- κία καὶ ἐθελοκακῶσιν οἱ πλεῖστοι καὶ ῥαστωνεύωνται, βουλὴν 303 βουλεύεται συνετήν. τῷ γὰρ τῆς βίγλης δρουγγαρίῳ διακελεύεται ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῷ πραιτωρίῳ δεσμίων τε καὶ κακούργων, ων ἐκ τῶν νόμων κατεψήφιστο θάνατος, τριάκοντα τὸν ἀριθμὸν ετι νυκτὸς ουσης ἐξαγαγεῖν, καὶ τούτων ἀσβόλῃ τὰ πρόσωπα χρίσαντα, καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ γενείου καὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τρίχας ψιλώσαντα διὰ φλο- γός, περιελεῖν αὐτῶν τὸ γνώρισμα τῆς μορφῆς, ἐξασφαλίσα- σθαι δὲ τοῦ μηδένα τῶν ἁπάντων τολμῆσαι προσειπεῖν αὐτοὺς