136

with many people visiting, not only Romans, but also from Genoa and Venice for trade, and Nicholas Sanuto the ruler of the Cyclades, who came in friendship to pay you homage, and also of a Latin archbishop, who had been entrusted with the bishopric of Chios by the Pope, and of some Friars on a mission, order an assembly to be gathered from all of them; and with everyone present, let the discussions with Beneto take place. And if he is persuaded and accepts the benefaction, it would be well from every standpoint; but if, indulging in his former madness, he refrains from the goods at hand and desires things that neither exist nor will exist, even if we are not able to persuade him, since he demands impossible things, we will at least have those present not only as witnesses, but also as heralds both of your nobility and generosity concerning the benefactions, O emperor, and of his 1.386 madness, and we will gain two very great things from this, both freeing ourselves from an unbecoming ill repute and liberating others from the harm that would arise from the falsehood.” Such things the Grand Domestic said; and the emperor was immediately persuaded by what was said, as it was sound, and he entrusted the matter to him, adding that if Beneto did not wish to rule Chios according to the previous arrangements, to propose to him a second choice of benefaction, in no way lesser than the former one. And on an appointed day the Grand Domestic, having gathered an assembly of Romans and of the Latins dwelling there, with Beneto himself also being present and not a few of those who were formerly with his brother Martino, they entered into discussions, and he narrated from the very beginning, how Beneto had come to Byzantium to the emperor, accusing his brother of the wrongs he had suffered from him, and what was said to him by the emperor, and the good will that he had shown toward him when he came to Chios, and how on account of his good will toward him the emperor was reciprocating with such benefactions. But Beneto again rejected the emperor's gift, judging it unworthy of himself, and [said] that unless he should concede Chios to him completely, taking it away from the dominion of the Romans, saying that he needed no other benefaction from him, and that they should not waste their time idly and in vain trying to persuade him of impossible things. So those present, and especially those from the Latins, condemned Beneto's 1.387 great lack of judgment and blamed him openly, admiring the emperor's generosity and his own ill counsel, and they advised him to obey the emperor, since, if he were not persuaded now, he would often have much to regret later. But he was not at all persuaded by them, but held to his former reasonings. And the Grand Domestic, seeing him unrepentantly holding to what he demanded, said, “Therefore, if these things do not seem pleasing to you, but if you do not get what you yourself demand, and you have decided that you must completely give up Chios, I shall propose to you a second choice of benefaction, which the emperor himself has commanded. For he grants you splendid and magnificent houses in Byzantium, and commands you to be one of the Roman senators, and he will honor you with a fitting dignity and will entrust you with one of the customary offices among the Romans, and other things as are fitting for the noblest of the Romans and for him; and apart from all these things, for the sake of annual revenues, to receive twenty thousand gold pieces from the taxes of Chios. Hearing these things, Beneto no longer seemed even restrainable, but as if being wronged in the greatest things, he was vexed and impatient, and he bound himself with oaths and the most abominable curses, if he should accept any of the things being said, unless the emperor should grant what he had asked for from the beginning. And he asked for three triremes from the imperial fleet, as he was going to sail with his whole household to Galata. So he uttered such words, full of madness; but those who heard 1.388 what was said admired and praised the emperor for his magnanimity and generosity, and they condemned Beneto's great ingratitude. And the assembly was dissolved on these terms. And when the emperor learned what Beneto had said and what he had heard, since he saw that nothing was left of the

136

πολλῶν ἐπιδημούντων, οὐ Ῥωμαίων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ Γεννούας καὶ Βενετίας κατ' ἐμπορίαν, καὶ Νικολάου Σανούτου τοῦ τῶν Κυκλάδων ἄρχοντος, ὃς ἧκε κατὰ φιλίαν σὲ προσκυνήσων, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ἐκ Λατίνων ἀρχιερέως, ὃς τὴν τῆς Χίου παρὰ τοῦ πάπα ἐπιτέτραπτο ἐπισκοπὴν, καὶ Φρερίων τινῶν καθ' ἱστορίαν, κέλευσον ἐκ πάντων ἐκκλησίαν ἀθροισθῆναι· πάντων δὲ παρόντων γενέσθαι τοὺς λόγους πρὸς Μπενέτον. κἂν δέξηται πεισθεὶς τὴν εὐεργεσίαν, πανταχόθεν ἂν ἔχοι καλῶς· ἐὰν δὲ τῇ προτέρᾳ παρανοίᾳ χρώμενος, τῶν μὲν ἐν χερσὶν ἀπόσχηται ἀγαθῶν, τῶν δὲ μήτε ὄντων μήτε ἐσομένων ἐπιθυμοίη, εἰ μὴ αὐτὸν ὡς ἀδύνατα ἀξιοίη πεῖσαι δυνησόμεθα, ἀλλὰ τούς γε παρόντας οὐ μάρτυρας μόνον ἕξομεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κήρυκας καὶ τῆς σῆς καλοκαγαθίας καὶ φιλοτιμίας περὶ τὰς εὐεργεσίας, βασιλεῦ, καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου 1.386 παραπληξίας, καὶ δύο τὰ μέγιστα ἐντεῦθεν κερδανοῦμεν, ἡμᾶς τε αὐτοὺς ἀπαλλάττοντες ἀδοξίας οὐ προσηκούσης καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τῆς ἐκ τοῦ ψεύδους ἐλευθεροῦντες προσγενησομένης βλάβης.» Τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ μέγας δομέστικος εἶπε· βασιλεὺς δὲ ἐπείθετό τε εὐθὺς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ὡς καλῶς ἔχουσι, καὶ αὐτῷ ἐπέτρεπε τὴν πρᾶξιν, προσθεὶς, ὡς εἰ μὴ βούλοιτο κατὰ τὰ διατεταγμένα πρότερον ἄρχειν ὁ Μπενέτος Χίου, καὶ δευτέραν αἵρεσιν εὐεργεσίας αὐτῷ προθεῖναι, ἐλάττονος ἢ κατὰ τὴν προτέραν οὐδαμῶς. τακτῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκκλησίαν ὁ μέγας δομέστικος ἔκ τε Ῥωμαίων καὶ τῶν ἐπιχωριαζόντων Λατίνων συναγαγὼν, παρόντος καὶ αὐτοῦ Μπενέτου καὶ τῶν Μαρτίνῳ τῷ ἀδελφῷ πρότερον συνόντων οὐκ ὀλίγων, εἰς λόγους τε καθίσταντο καὶ διηγεῖτο ἄνωθεν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ὅπως τε εἰς Βυζάντιον ἀφίκοιτο πρὸς βασιλέα ὁ Μπενέτος κατηγορῶν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἐφ' οἷς ἠδικεῖτο παρ' αὐτοῦ, ὅσα τε αὐτῷ λεχθείη πρὸς βασιλέως, καὶ τὴν εὔνοιαν, ἣν ἐνεδείξατο πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφικόμενον πρὸς Χίον, καὶ ὡς τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας ἕνεκα ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀμείβεται τοιαύταις εὐεργεσίαις. Μπενέτος δὲ αὖθις τήν τε δωρεὰν ἀπεωθεῖτο τὴν βασιλέως, ἀναξίαν κρίνων ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ εἰ μὴ παντάπασιν αὐτῷ· παραχωρήσει Χίου, τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀφελόμενος ἡγεμονίας, μηδεμιᾶς ἑτέρας εὐεργεσίας φάσκων δεῖσθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ μηδὲ τρίβεσθαι εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην ἀδύνατα ἐπιχειροῦντας πείθειν. οἱ μὲν οὖν παρόντες καὶ μάλιστα οἱ ἐκ Λατίνων, πολλὴν ἀκρισίαν κατεγίνωσκον 1.387 Μπενέτου καὶ ᾐτιῶντο φανερῶς, καὶ τὴν βασιλέως θαυμάζοντες φιλοτιμίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ κακοβουλίαν, καὶ συνεβούλευον πείθεσθαι βασιλεῖ, ὡς, εἰ μὴ πεισθείη νῦν, πολλὰ πολλάκις ὕστερον μεταμελήσοντος αὐτῷ. ὁ δ' οὐδὲν μᾶλλον ἐπείθετο αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς προτέροις ἐνέμενε λογισμοῖς. ὁρῶν δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ μέγας δομέστικος οὕτως ἔχοντα ἐφ' οἷς ἠξίου ἀμεταμελήτως «οὐκοῦν» εἶπεν «εἰ μή σοι ταῦτα ἀρεστὰ δοκοίη, ἀλλ' εἰ μὴ τύχοις ὧν αὐτὸς ἀξιοῖς, καὶ τῆς Χίου παντάπασι κέκρικας ἀποστῆναι δεῖν, καὶ δευτέραν αἵρεσίν σοι προθήσομαι εὐεργεσίας, ἣν αὐτὸς ἐκέλευσε βασιλεύς. οἰκίας γάρ σοι λαμπρὰς καὶ πολυτελεῖς χαρίζεται ἐν Βυζαντίῳ, καὶ τῶν συγκλητικῶν Ῥωμαίων ἕνα κελεύει εἶναι, καὶ ἀξιώματι τῷ προσήκοντι τιμήσει καὶ ἀρχὴν ἐγχειρίσει τῶν παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις νενομισμένων, καὶ τἄλλα ὅσα τοῖς εὐγενεστέροις Ῥωμαίων καὶ αὐτῷ προσήκοντα ἔσται· καὶ τούτων πάντων χωρὶς προσόδων ἐτησίων ἕνεκα ἐκ τῶν τῆς Χίου φόρων μυριάδας χρυσίου λαμβάνειν δύο. Τούτων ἀκούσας ὁ Μπενέτος, οὐκέτι οὐδὲ καθεκτὸς ἐδόκει εἶναι, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ τὰ μέγιστα ἀδικούμενος, ἀχθόμενος καὶ δυσανασχετῶν, καὶ ὅρκοις ἑαυτὸν κατελάμβανε καὶ ἀραῖς ταῖς παλαμναιοτάταις, εἴτι παραδέξαιτο τῶν λεγομένων, εἰ μὴ ἅπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ᾐτήσατο παράσχοι βασιλεύς. τρεῖς δὲ ᾐτεῖτο τριήρεις ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν ὡς πανοικεσίᾳ πλευσούμενος ἐς Γαλατᾶν. ὁ μὲν οὖν τοιούτους παραπληξίας γέμοντας προῄει λόγους· οἱ δ' ἀκροώ 1.388 μενοι τῶν εἰρημένων βασιλέα μὲν ἐθαύμαζον καὶ ἐπῄνουν καὶ τῆς μεγαλοψυχίας καὶ τῆς φιλοτιμίας, Μπενέτου δὲ πολλὴν κατεγίνωσκον ἀγνωμοσύνην. καὶ ὁ σύλλογος διελέλυτο ἐπὶ τούτοις. πυθόμενος δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ὅσα τε εἴποι καὶ ὧν ἀκούσειε Μπενέτος, ἐπεὶ μηδὲν ἔτι συνεώρα λειπόμενον τῶν