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having gained boldness, he hurled insults at Cosmas, then also laid hands on his chest and pushed him; and Cosmas was overturned by the push. 8.10.13 At this the Venetoi, being angry at Alexander, were pushing out popular shouts. What they said is this: for it is good to make mention also of the common speech; "Go, learn the situation; Maurice is not dead." 8.11.1 The tyrant, having heard this, stopped the crowds from barking about inopportune things, and on the next day raged for the murder of the emperor. Therefore Maurice, having philosophically accepted the danger with regret, sent his ring to his son Theodosius who had reached the city of Nicaea and ordered him to return 8.11.2 to him more quickly. So Theodosius, having become obedient to his father, deserted to his misfortunes and having become fond of returning, he arrived for his own slaughter. Then the tyrant, having sent soldiers to the opposite side of the queen of cities, where the city of Chalcedon is also situated, killed Maurice at the so-called harbor of Eutro8.11.3 pius. Therefore, his male children were killed before the eyes of the emperor, the murderers thereby punishing Maurice beforehand with the sword of nature by the murder of his children. Maurice, therefore, bearing his misfortune philosophically, called upon the God over all and uttered more frequently: 8.11.4 "Just are you, Lord, and just is your judgment." He himself then became a victim of the sword, undergoing the cutting off of his head, having received his own death afterwards as a sort of epitaph for his children, having first displayed his virtue in the 8.11.5 greatness of his misfortune. For when the wet-nurse had secretly substituted one of the royal boys and handed over her own infant for slaughter, a true account proclaims that Maurice spoke the secret to the murderers and revealed the hiding of the child, and insisted that it was not right for the murder to be falsified by the substitution of his son. 8.11.6 Thus then the emperor, having become higher even than the laws of nature, exchanged his life. And it is said that emperor Maurice, some time before his murder, in the most venerable churches of the world, had supplicated in writing Christ the Lord, the one of the super-cosmic trinity, to receive the retributions for his deeds in this mortal and transient world. 8.11.7 We shall not omit also to include in our history the things concerning his so-called testament. For at the beginning of the reign of Heraclius the emperor, a document was found enclosed with the seals of Maurice the emperor, in which he happened to have arranged what were his plans to come forth after 8.11.8 his death. For having fallen into a severe illness, Maurice, in the fifteenth year of his imperial 8.11.9 authority, set down the empire in writing. Having established Theodosius, his eldest son, as lord of Constantinople, he assigned to him the cares of the East; and Tiberius he appointed king of old Rome, and assigned to him both Italy and the islands around the Tyrrhenian sea; 8.11.10 and the other parts of the Roman state he divided among his other children, having appointed Domitian as guardian for the immature age of his children, who was related to Maurice by 8.11.11 birth. This man held the high-priestly honor of the illustrious church of the Melitenes, a man skilled in action, more skilled in intention; and so through greatness of mind and understanding he was entrusted by the emperor with the more notable affairs of the Roman 8.11.12 state. Now, to compose a more complete account of the virtue of the man is not for the present occasion; but so that by elaborating the account of him we may not cause an unsuitable delay for the more timely parts of the narrative, let us steer the writing on to the next parts of the story. 8.12.1 The bodies therefore

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κεκτημένος τόλμην ὕβρεσιν ἔβαλλε τὸν Κοσμᾶν, εἶτα καὶ χεῖρας ἐπὶ τὸ στέρνον ἐπιβαλὼν τοῦτον ἐξώθησεν· ὁ δὲ Κοσμᾶς ὑπὸ τῆς ὠθήσεως ἀνατρέπεται. 8.10.13 ἐπὶ τούτοις οἱ Βένετοι χαλεπαίνοντες κατὰ τοῦ ᾿Αλεξάνδρου ἐξώθουν δημώδεις βοάς. ἃ δ' εἶπον ἐκεῖνα ταῦτά ἐστιν· καλὸν γὰρ καὶ τῆς ἰδιώτιδος φωνῆς μνήμην ποιήσασθαι· "ὕπαγε, μάθε τὴν κατάστασιν· ὁ Μαυρίκιος οὐκ ἀπέθανεν." 8.11.1 ὁ δὲ τύραννος τούτων ἀκηκοὼς ἀποπαύει τὰ πλήθη καθυλακτοῦντα περὶ τῶν μὴ καιρίων, τῇ δ' ἐπαύριον πρὸς τὸν φόνον τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἐκβακχεύεται. τοιγαροῦν ὁ Μαυρίκιος τῷ μεταμέλῳ φιλοσοφήσας τὸν κίνδυνον τὸν δακτύλιον πέμπει Θεοδοσίῳ τῷ παιδὶ ἐπιβεβηκότι Νικαίας τῆς πόλεως ἀναζεῦξαί 8.11.2 τε πρὸς αὐτὸν θᾶττον προσέταξεν. οὕτω μὲν οὖν Θεοδόσιος γεγονὼς πειθήνιος τῷ πατρὶ πρὸς τὰς συμφορὰς ηὐτομόλησε καὶ φιλυπόστροφος γεγονὼς πρὸς ἀποσφαγὴν παραγίνεται. τοίνυν ὁ τύραννος στρατιώτας ἐκπέμψας ἐς τὸ ἀντιπέραν τῆς βασιλίδος τῶν πόλεων, ἐν ᾗ καὶ ἡ Χαλκηδόνος πόλις καθίδρυται, ἀναιρεῖ τὸν Μαυρίκιον εἰς τὸν λεγόμενον Εὐτρο8.11.3 πίου λιμένα. προαναιροῦνται τοιγαροῦν ἐπ' ὄψεσι τοῦ βασιλέως οἱ παῖδες οἱ ἄρρενες, ἐντεῦθεν τῷ τῆς φύσεως ξίφει τῷ φόνῳ τῶν παίδων προκολάζοντες οἱ φονευταὶ τὸν Μαυρίκιον. ὁ μὲν οὖν Μαυρίκιος φιλοσοφῶν τὸ δυστύχημα τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων ἀνεκαλεῖτο θεὸν καὶ πυκνότερον ἐπεφθέγγετο· 8.11.4 "δίκαιος εἶ, κύριε, καὶ δικαία ἡ κρίσις σου." γίνεται γοῦν καὐτὸς παρανάλωμα ξίφους ἀποτομὴν τῆς κεφαλῆς ὑποστάς, ἐπιτάφιον ὥσπερ τῶν τέκνων τὴν ἐς ὕστερον ἑαυτοῦ ἀναίρεσιν κληρωσάμενος, προεπιδειξάμενος τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐν τῷ 8.11.5 μεγέθει τῆς συμφορᾶς. τῆς γὰρ τιθήνης ὑποκλεψάσης ἕν τι τῶν βασιλικῶν μειρακίων καὶ πρὸς ἀποσφαγὴν τὸ ἑαυτῆς ὑπομάζιον παραδούσης, κηρύττει λόγος ἀληθὴς Μαυρίκιον τὸ ἀπόρρητον ἐξειπεῖν τοῖς φονεύουσι καταμηνῦσαί τε τὴν ἀποκρυβὴν τοῦ παιδός, καὶ μὴ δίκαιον εἶναι κατισχυρίζεσθαι τὸν φόνον παρανοθεύεσθαι τῇ ὑποκλοπῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ. 8.11.6 οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ νόμων φύσεως ὑψηλότερος γεγονὼς ὑπαλλάττει τὸν βίον. λέγεται δὲ τὸν βασιλέα Μαυρίκιον πρό τινων τῆς ἀναιρέσεως χρόνων ἐν τοῖς σεβασμιωτέροις τῆς οἰκουμένης ναοῖς ἐν γράμμασι καθικετεῦσαι τὸν ἕνα τῆς ὑπερκοσμίου τριάδος Χριστὸν κύριον τὰς ἀντιδόσεις τῶν βεβιωμένων κατὰ τοῦτον δῆτα τὸν θνητὸν καὶ ἐπίκηρον κόσμον ἀπολαβεῖν. 8.11.7 Οὐ παρήσομεν δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς λεγομένης αὐτοῦ διαθήκης ταῖς ἱστορίαις συντάξασθαι. κατὰ γὰρ τὴν ἔναρξιν τῆς βασιλείας ῾Ηρακλείου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος χάρτης σφραγῖσιν ἐνειλημένος εὑρέθη Μαυρικίου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος, ἐν ᾧ ἐτύγχανεν ὢν διαθέμενος ἅπερ ἦν αὐτῷ μελετήματα μετὰ 8.11.8 τὴν ἀποβίωσιν προελθεῖν. νόσῳ γὰρ χαλεπῇ περιπεπτωκὼς ὁ Μαυρίκιος τῷ πεντεκαιδεκάτῳ ἐνιαυτῷ τῆς αὐτοκρατορικῆς 8.11. ἐξουσίας ἐν γράμμασι διετύπου τὸ κράτος. τὸν μὲν Θεοδόσιον τὸν πρεσβύτερον παῖδα τῆς Κωνσταντινουπόλεως κύριον καταστήσας τὰς ἑῴας φροντίδας αὐτῷ περιτίθησιν· τὸν δὲ Τιβέριον τῆς πρεσβύτιδος ῾Ρώμης βασιλέα διέθετο τήν τε ᾿Ιταλίαν καὶ τὰς περὶ τὸ Τυρρηνικὸν πέλαγος νήσους τούτῳ 8.11.10 ἀπέδοτο· τὰ δ' ἄλλα τῆς ῾Ρωμαίων πολιτείας τοῖς ἑτέροις παισὶ κατετεμαχίσατο, κηδεμόνα τῆς ἀώρου τῶν παίδων ἡλικίας ∆ομετιανὸν προστησάμενος, ὃς πρὸς γένος τῷ Μαυ8.11.11 ρικίῳ συνήπτετο. οὗτος τῆς ἐπιφανοῦς τῶν Μελιτηνῶν ἐκκλησίας τὴν ἀρχιερατικὴν τιμὴν ἐπεφέρετο, ἀνὴρ δεξιὸς τὴν πρᾶξιν, δεξιώτερος τὴν προαίρεσιν· καὶ οὖν μεγαλονοίᾳ συνέσεως τῆς ῾Ρωμαίων πολιτείας τὰς ἐπισημοτέρας τῶν πρά8.11.12 ξεων ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος ἐπεπίστευτο. περὶ μὲν οὖν τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς οὐ τοῦ παρόντος καιροῦ τελεώτερον τὸν λόγον τεκταίνεσθαι· ἵνα δὲ μὴ τὸν περὶ τούτου λόγον παχύνοντες τοῖς καιριωτέροις τῶν ἀφηγημάτων ἀπρόσφορον τὴν ἀναβολὴν περιβάλωμεν, ἐπὶ τὰ προσεχῆ τῆς διηγήσεως φέρε τὴν συγγραφὴν οἰακίσωμεν. 8.12.1 Τὰ μὲν οὖν σώματα