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as you have said, you consider everything secondary to your friendship with me, and I for my part value above all else to think and to do what is dear to you, how could it be possible that I would deliberately consider and do those things which I thought would vex you? As for the way things went concerning Syrgiannes, I myself will tell you. The charges for which he was caught and condemned to dwell in a prison by the emperor, your grandfather, you yourself also know. But I, after we brought Byzantium under 1.333 our control, judged it unsympathetic and terribly heartless not to alleviate his misfortune as much as possible, if by nothing else, then at least by visiting him, and to offer some consolation, so that he would not think he had been completely abandoned by his friends. And when I was in the prison with him, and saw both the other misery from the prison and especially that from the shackles, I was terribly pained on his behalf and was eager to find some consolation for him, if possible. And coming to you, I pleaded for the shackles alone, believing this to be sufficient consolation in such dire circumstances. But when I became familiar and visited him frequently, he still did not mention to me release from his evils, not only because he did not know your magnanimity in pardoning those who have offended, but also because he was conscious of his own most terrible deeds and for this reason despaired of intercession. But I, being even more swayed by his misfortune because of our familiarity, thought it necessary both to move him from the prison to another, more suitable place, and to allow him the company of his mother and wife and dearest friends, thinking that in this way there would be security for us from any plotting on his part, and that he himself, no less than if he were completely released from his bonds, would live pleasantly and at ease. This, then, having requested it from you, I did for him; but his mother, who is my aunt, seeing what had happened which she would never have hoped for, and this not because I had 1.334 been entreated by anyone, becoming hopeful also for the remaining things, came and pleaded for her son's freedom. And I, considering that he is my kinsman, and our old friendship and companionship in campaigns, for under one commander, our uncle Angelos the great stratopedarch, we were taught the arts of war—a man who not only surpassed the current generals by a great measure, but would have contended for the first place even with the long-praised generals in the histories of the Romans—and how on the same day we first came to grips with the enemy, who were Persians; and what persuaded me most of all was that if you yourself should grant pardon to one who knows he has committed so many offenses, acquitting him of every charge, I thought that he too would change, having been taught by the events themselves about the sort of person against whom he had been ungrateful, and for the future would remain well-disposed and a faithful friend; so that from this two very great things might be accomplished: having provided you with an occasion for philanthropy and gentleness and, in addition, having brought you a man useful in many things, who was ruined by his own ingratitude, and having been seen as the greatest cause of good things for him, I was persuaded by their entreaties, and coming to you I spoke about his complete freedom. Since, otherwise, if I suspected that he would remain in the same wickedness for the future, not only would I not have acted myself, but I would have prevented another from doing so for his freedom. For 1.335 from the beginning I have chosen to be a friend to those who are well-disposed to you no more than an enemy to those who plot against you.” Such things they said to each other; but when it was decreed that Syrgiannes be released from prison, the emperor’s mother, the empress Xene, learning that the emperor had decided such things concerning him, was unbearably displeased and held the grand domestic to blame, not only because he had spoken in favor of freedom for one who was an enemy of the emperor and for this reason deserved to be held in inescapable bonds for his entire life, but also because he had neither foretold anything to her beforehand nor taken counsel with her about him. But the grand domestic, acquitting himself of the charges, said that he did not know that what was being done was not according to her mind, and for this reason he had not discussed anything about this with her beforehand.

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ὥσπερ εἴρηκας, πάντα δεύτερα τῆς πρὸς ἐμὲ ἡγῇ φιλίας, ἐγώ τε τοῦ παντὸς τιμῶμαι τὰ σοὶ φίλα καὶ λογίζεσθαι καὶ πράττειν, πῶς ἂν ἔχοι χώραν, ἃ ἐνόμιζον ἀνιᾷν, ταῦτ' ἐξεπίτηδες λογίζεσθαι ποιεῖν; ὃν δὲ τρόπον ἔσχε τὰ περὶ Συργιάννην, αὐτὸς ἐρῶ. τὰς μὲν αἰτίας ἐφ' αἷς ἁλοὺς κατεκρίθη δεσμωτήριον οἰκεῖν ὑπὸ βασιλέως τοῦ πάππου τοῦ σοῦ, οἶσθα καὶ αὐτός. ἐγὼ δὲ μετὰ τὸ Βυζάντιον ἡμᾶς ποιήσασθαι ὑφ' 1.333 ἑαυτοῖς, ἀσυμπαθὲς ἔκρινα καὶ δεινῶς ἄγνωμον, εἰ μή τινι ἄλλῳ, τῇ πρὸς αὐτὸν γοῦν ἐπιδημίᾳ τὴν συμφορὰν εἰς ὅσον οἷόν τε ἐπικουφίσαι καὶ παραμυθίαν παρασχεῖν τινα, μὴ παντελῶς ἀπεῤῥίφθαι ἐλπίσαντα παρὰ τῶν φίλων. γενόμενος δὲ ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ πρὸς αὐτὸν, καὶ τήν τε ἄλλην κάκωσιν τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου καὶ μάλιστα τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν κλοιῶν ἑωρακὼς, δεινῶς τε ἤλγησα ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ καὶ παραμυθίαν τινὰ εἰ οἷόν τε αὐτῷ προὐθυμήθην ἐξευρεῖν. καί σοι προσελθὼν, περὶ τῶν κλοιῶν ἐδεόμην μόνων, ἀρκοῦσαν ἡγούμενος εἶναι ὡς ἐν δεινοῖς παραμυθίαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐγενόμην ἐν συνηθείᾳ καὶ συχνῶς ἐφοίτων πρὸς αὐτὸν, ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὐδ' οὕτω πρὸς ἐμὲ ἐμνήσθη τῶν κακῶν ἀπαλλαγῆς, οὐ μόνον τὴν σὴν περὶ τὸ συγγινώσκειν τοῖς προσκεκρουκόσι φιλοτιμίαν οὐκ εἰδὼς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑαυτῷ τὰ δεινότατα συνειδὼς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν παραίτησιν ἀπαγορεύων. ἐγὼ δ' ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐκ τῆς συνηθείας ἐπικαμπτόμενος πρὸς τὴν αὐτοῦ κακοπραγίαν, ᾠήθην δεῖν ἀπό τε τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου εἰς ἕτερον ἐπιεικέστερον μεταγαγεῖν καὶ τὴν τῆς μητρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν φιλτάτων συνδιαγωγὴν αὐτῷ ἐφεῖναι, νομίζων οὕτως ἂν ἡμῖν τε εἶναι ἀσφάλειαν τοῦ μή τι ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸν οὐδὲν ἧττον ἢ εἰ παντάπασι τοῦ δεσμεῖσθαι ἀπολέλυτο, ἡδέως βιώσεσθαι καὶ ἀνειμένως. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν αἰτήσας παρὰ σοῦ, ἔπραξα αὐτῷ· ἡ δὲ μήτηρ μὲν αὐτοῦ, θεία δὲ ἐμὴ, ὅπερ οὐδ' ἄν ποτε ἤλπισεν ὁρῶσα γεγενημένον, καὶ ταῦτα ὑπ' οὐ 1.334 δενὸς ἐμοῦ παρακεκλημένου, εὔελπις καὶ πρὸς τὰ λείποντα γεγενημένη, προσῆλθέ τε καὶ ἐδεήθη περὶ τῆς τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐλευθερίας. ἐγὼ δὲ ὅτι τε συγγενής ἐστιν ἐμὸς ἐνθυμηθεὶς καὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν φιλίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν ταῖς στρατείαις συνδιατριβὴν, ὑφ' ἑνὶ γὰρ καθηγεμόνι τῷ ἡμετέρῳ θείῳ Ἀγγέλῳ τῷ μεγάλῳ στρατοπεδάρχῃ τὰ πολέμια ἐδιδασκόμεθα, ὃς οὐ μόνον τοὺς νῦν ἐν ταῖς στρατηγίαις παρήλασε πολλῷ τῷ μέτρῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πάλαι ὑμνουμένοις ἐν ταῖς συγγραφαῖς Ῥωμαίων στρατηγοῖς ἤρισεν ἂν περὶ πρωτείων, καὶ ὡς ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ πολεμίοις πρώτοις Πέρσαι δὲ ἦσαν συνήλθομεν εἰς χεῖρας· τὸ δέ με πάντων μάλιστα πεῖσαν, ὅτι εἰ τοσαῦτα ὅσα σύνοιδεν αὐτῷ προσκεκρουκότι συγγνώμην παράσχοις αὐτὸς, πάσης αἰτίας ἀπολύσας, μεταβαλεῖν ἂν ἐνόμισα καὶ αὐτὸν, ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῶν διδαχθέντα περὶ οἷον ἠγνωμόνει, καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ μενεῖν εὔνουν καὶ φίλον πιστόν· ὡς ἐντεῦθεν δύο τὰ μέγιστα ἐξειργάσθαι, σοί τε φιλανθρωπίας καὶ ἡμερότητος παρασχόντα ἀφορμὴν καὶ προσέτι χρήσιμον ἐν πολλοῖς ἄνδρα προσαγαγόντα, ὃς δι' οἰκείαν ἀγνωμοσύνην ἀπολώλει, καὶ αὐτῷ μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν αἰτιώτατον ὀφθέντα, ἐπειθόμην τε αὐτοῖς δεομένοις, καὶ σοὶ προσελθὼν περὶ τῆς παντελοῦς αὐτοῦ ἐλευθερίας διειλέχθην. ἐπεὶ ἄλλως γε εἰ ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς μοχθηρίας καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ αὐτὸν ὑπενόουν μενεῖν, οὐχ ὅτι γε αὐτὸς, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρου πράττοντος ἐκώλυσα ἂν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν. τοῖς 1.335 γὰρ εὐνοοῦσί σοι φίλος εἶναι οὐ μᾶλλον προῄρημαι ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἢ πολέμιος τοῖς ἐπιβουλεύουσι.» Τοιαῦτα μὲν πρὸς ἀλλήλους διειλέχθησαν αὐτοί· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεκύρωτο τὸν Συργιάννην τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου ἀφεθῆναι, ἡ τοῦ βασιλέως μήτηρ βασιλὶς ἡ Ξένη πυθομένη, ὅτι βασιλεῖ τοιαῦτα ἔδοξε περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἐδυσχέραινέ τε οὐκέτι ἀνεκτῶς καὶ τὸν μέγαν δομέστικον εἶχεν ἐν αἰτίαις, οὐ μόνον ὅτι πολεμίῳ ὄντι βασιλέως καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δικαίῳ ὄντι δεσμοῖς ἀφύκτοις διὰ βίου ἔχεσθαι παντὸς αὐτὸς συνεῖπε πρὸς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, ἀλλ' ὅτι μήτε πρότερον αὐτῇ μηδὲν μήτε προεῖπε, μήτε ἐβουλεύσατο περὶ αὐτοῦ. ὁ μέγας δὲ δομέστικος αἰτίας ἀπολύων ἑαυτὸν, ἀγνοεῖν τε ἔφασκεν ὅτι μὴ εἴη κατὰ γνώμην τὰ πραττόμενα αὐτῇ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μηδὲν περὶ τούτου πρότερον αὐτῇ διαλεχθῆναι.