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in this way, with the disturbance removed, the discussion may proceed in an orderly fashion." When the emperor had said these things, the leaders of the others, and especially the blind men, said, "We, O emperor, seek one thing, the proper establishment of the church. For that it is in a bad state, both you yourselves bear witness and it is known to all. And that the affairs concerning the patriarch Arsenios have been transgressed, who was unjustly, O justice, deposed, and that the affairs concerning its order and nearly the precision of its doctrines have been transgressed, by those who are in communion with whom it is not right to be in communion, these things, even if we do not say them, are acknowledged by you. That the affairs of the church have been perverted is therefore very clear and manifest from this, but the matter of the correction of what has gone wrong, if nothing is to be overlooked but we must seek how and on what terms it has been done, this is what we must investigate, if you command; for in this way, whenever the foundation has appeared, the superstructure will also be recognized." And indeed when they began to speak of the more recent matters, namely those concerning Gregory and what followed, the emperor held them back and transferred them to more ancient matters, and he proved the rumor of the excommunication to be false, not only the one against Joseph, which they 476 were constantly talking about, but also the one against the emperor himself. For how could it be safe to be under an excommunication, of whom that man made mention while celebrating the liturgy? And how could it be unresolved and in need of one to loose it, whom that man who bound had in practice loosed? So that even if what had happened had not happened, he was speaking of the matter concerning the pope, the reverent commemoration in the church would not in any way have been prevented. Saying these things, he also pointed out some of them who were in communion with Joseph, and who had not gone into schism otherwise, except after the matters concerning the pope were transacted. The arguments were therefore prolonged until late in the night. But the monks' purpose was, and the impulse was irritating many from here and there and they were murmuring, to despise those around the patriarch, using their own assumptions, that both the matters concerning the patriarch Arsenios have been transgressed by them, and that the church has partaken of the pollution of heresy. With such manifest assumptions, to bring upon them the necessary and fitting consequence. And this was that since they had not been completely deposed by those by whom it was right—such untouched matters 477 remaining to the end—they were not even worthy to serve as priests, and this, since they themselves had transgressed in many things, as having done many things contrary to what was fitting, having overstepped canonical regulations, and having acted more out of wickedness and ignorance than out of love and security. And they said that they had no quarrel at all with the emperor, since he was their lord, taking care otherwise not to offend the sovereign power, for which reason it would happen that they would be defeated, even if they said the most lawful things. But again, a judge is needed for what is being said, a judge. To say what is most just, then, no other judge would be more worthy for these matters than the emperor, before whom both parties must speak as witness and the disputes must be resolved according to the established laws, with God himself watching over and his laws arbitrating. As the monks said these things, their purpose was to undermine, if anyone would hear them saying it, the foundations of the much-talked-of establishment from the beginning. But they were plucking a hollow string, as the saying goes, and accomplished nothing. For 478 these reasons a clamor was also raised from those sitting behind. who indeed, being disorderly carried away by the rumor, echoed with shouts, and they were openly bursting out with certain blasphemies against the patriarch (so that it was unclear in so great a crowd and disturbance who was saying the daring things), calling him an Euchite and things even more terrible than these. But the emperor, upon hearing this, and being, as was likely, disturbed at so great an audacity, immediately ordered them to be driven out, and he pressed hard upon the main proponents and was enraged, considering it a terrible thing that he himself, yielding from imperial authority and greater pomp, was treating them with peace, and had received them all when they first entered, not having ordered everyone to be present, and for the time being had provided places for those who were not forbidden to be present, on the grounds that there would supposedly be someone in the crowd who would cause disorder, while they themselves, holding back what concerned them, gave way for others to say the most shameful things amid such disorderly impulses and cries. for whom what excess of audacity

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οὕτω περιαι ρεθείσεις τῆς ταραχῆς κατὰ τρόπον γίνεσθαι τὴν διάλεξιν." Ταῦτα τοῦ βασιλέως εἰπόντος οἱ τῶν λοιπῶν προηγούμε νοι, καὶ μάλιστα οἱ τυφλοί, "ἡμεῖς" εἶπον, "ὦ βασιλεῦ, ἓν ζητοῦμεν, τὴν κατὰ τρόπον τῆς ἐκκλησίας κατάστασιν. τὸ μὲν γὰρ κακῶς ἔχειν αὐτὴν καὶ αὐτοὶ μαρτυρεῖτε καὶ πᾶσιν ἔγνωσται. καὶ ὅτι παραβέβασται μὲν τὰ κατὰ τὸν πατριάρχην Ἀρσένιον, ἀδίκως, ὢ δίκη, καθαιρεθέντα, παραβέβασται δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐς τάξιν αὐτὴν καὶ σχεδὸν δογμάτων ἀκρίβειαν, κοινωνούντων οἷς οὐ κοινωνεῖν ἄξιον, ταῦτα κἂν ἡμεῖς μὴ λέγομεν, ὑμῖν ὡμολόγη ται. τὸ μὲν οὖν τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν παρατραπῆναι εὔδηλον ἐντεῦθεν καὶ φανερόν, τὸ δὲ τῆς τῶν σφαλέντων διορθώσεως, εἰ μηδὲν παρορᾶν ἔστιν, ἀλλὰ ζητεῖν ὅπως καὶ ἐπὶ τίσι πέπρα κται, τοῦθ' ἡμῖν, εἰ κελεύεις, ζητητέον· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ὁπουδή ποτε τοῦ θεμέθλου φανέντος καὶ τὸ ἐποικοδόμημα γνωρισθήσε ται." καὶ δὴ ἀρξαμένων λέγειν τὰ προσεχέστερα, ταῦτα δὴ τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ Γρηγορίου καὶ καθεξῆς, ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνεῖχε τούτους καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἀρχαιότερα μετεβίβαζε, καὶ τὸν τοῦ ἀφορισμοῦ θρύλ λον ἀπήλεγχε μάταιον, μὴ ὅτι γε τὸν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰωσήφ, ὃν ἐς 476 ἅπαν ἐθρύλλουν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ βασιλέως. πῶς γὰρ ἀσφαλὲς εἶναι ἔχειν ἂν ὑπ' ἀφορισμόν, οὗ λειτουργῶν ἐκεῖνος ἐμέμνητο; πῶς δὲ καὶ ἄλυτον εἶναι καὶ χρῄζειν τοῦ λύσοντος, ὃν ὁ δεσμῶν ἐκεῖνος ἐμπράκτως ἔλυεν; ὥστε καὶ εἰ μὴ ἦν τὸ ἐπιγε γονός, ἔλεγε τὸ κατὰ τὸν πάπαν, οὐκ ἂν πάντως οἱ τὴν ἐπ' ἐκ κλησίας εὔφημον μνήμην κεκώλυτο. ταῦτα λέγων ἐδείκνυ καί τινας ἐξ αὐτῶν κοινωνοῦντας τῷ Ἰωσήφ, καὶ οὐ σχισθέντας ἄλ λως εἰ μὴ μεθὸ τὰ κατὰ τὸν πάπαν πέπρακται. ἐτρίβοντο τοί νυν οἱ λόγοι ἕως ὀψὲ τῶν νυκτῶν. ἦν δὲ τοῖς μοναχοῖς ὁ σκο πός, καὶ πολλοὺς ἔνθεν κἀκεῖθεν ἡ ὁρμὴ ὑπέκνιζε καὶ ἐθρύλ λουν, τοὺς περὶ τὸν πατριαρχοῦντα ἐξουθενεῖν, χρωμένους τοῖς αὐτῶν λήμμασιν ὅτι τε τὰ κατὰ τὸν πατριάρχην Ἀρσένιον σφίσιν αὐτοῖς παραβέβασται, καὶ ὅτι ἡ ἐκκλησία ἄγους αἱρέσεως κεκοι νώκηκε. τοιούτων ὄντων τῶν φανερῶν λημμάτων, αὐτοὺς ἐπά γειν τὸ ἀναγκαῖον σύμμετρον. τὸ δ' ἦν μὴ καθῃρημένους ἐκεί νων τελέως παρ' ὧν ἦν ἄξιον, τῶν ἀθίκτων τέως τοιούτων μει 477 νάντων εἰς τέλος, μηδ' ἱερᾶσθαι ἀξίους εἶναι, καὶ ταῦτ' ἐπὶ πολλοῖς καὶ αὐτοὺς παραβάντας, ὡς καὶ πολλὰ καὶ παρὰ τὸ εἰ κὸς πράξαντας, κανονικοὺς θεσμοὺς ὑπερβάντας, καὶ κακίᾳ μᾶλλον καὶ ἀμαθίᾳ ἢ ἀγάπῃ καὶ ἀσφαλείᾳ ἐνειργασμένους. ἔλε γον δὲ ὡς οὐδ' ἐριστὰ σφίσι πρὸς βασιλέα τὸ σύμπαν, δεσπότην γε ὄντα, φυλαττομένοις καὶ ἄλλως προσκρούειν τῷ κράτει, παρ' ἣν αἰτίαν καὶ τὸ ἡττᾶσθαι ξυμβαίνοι, κἂν τὰ ἐννομώτατα λέ γοιεν. ἀλλὰ κριτοῦ αὖ δεῖ τοῖς λεγομένοις, κριτοῦ. ὡς γοῦν τὸ δικαιότατον λέγειν, οὐδεὶς ἄλλος πρὸς ταῦτα βασιλέως ἂν εἴη κριτὴς ἀξιώτερος, ἐφ' οὗ καὶ ἀμφοῖν μάρτυρος λαλητέον καὶ κατὰ τοὺς κειμένους νόμους τὰς ἀμφισβητήσεις διαλυτέον, αὐ τοῦ γε θεοῦ ἐφορῶντος καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ βραβευόντων νόμων. ταῦτα τοῖς μοναχοῖς λέγουσιν ὑποσπᾶν σκοπὸς ἦν, ἤν τις ἀκούοι λεγόντων, τὰ τῆς θρυλλουμένης ἀρχῆθεν καταστάσεως θέμεθλα. ἀλλὰ κενὴν ἐψάλαττον, τὸ τοῦ λόγου, καὶ οὐδὲν ἤνυτον. διὰ 478 ταῦτα καὶ θροῦς ἐκ τῶν κατόπιν καθημένων ἠγείρετο. οἳ δὴ καὶ ἀτάκτως συνεπαρθέντες τῷ θρύλλῳ βοαῖς ἀντήχουν, καὶ βλά σφημ' ἄττα κατὰ τοῦ πατριαρχοῦντος (ὥς γε ἄδηλον εἶναι ἐν τό σῳ πλήθει καὶ ταράχῳ τὸν τὰ τολμηρὰ λέγοντα) ἀνέδην ἐξέρρητ τον, εὐχίτην ἀποκαλοῦντες καὶ τούτων ἔτι δεινότερα. βασιλεὺς δ' ἀκούσας, καὶ ὡς εἰκὸς ἐπὶ τῇ τόσῃ θρασύτητι διαταραχθείς, ἐκείνους μὲν ἐξελᾶν αὐτίκα προστάττει, τοῖς δὲ πρωταγωνιστοῦσι καὶ λίαν ἐπεῖχε καὶ ἐξωργίζετο, ἐν δεινῷ ποιούμενος εἰ αὐτὸς μὲν καὶ βασιλικῆς ὑφεικὼς ἐξουσίας καὶ ὄγκου μείζονος μετ' εἰρήνης σφίσι προσφέρεται, καὶ πάντας ἐδέξατο τὴν ἀρχὴν εἰσελθόντας, μὴ προστάξας ἀπαντᾶν πάντας, καὶ τόπους τέως παρέσχεν οἷς μὴ ἀπαντᾶν ἀπείρητο ὡς ὄντος δῆθεν ἐν πλήθει καὶ τοῦ ἀτακτή σοντος, αὐτοὶ δὲ τὸ καθ' αὑτοὺς ὑποστελλόμενοι πρὸς τοιαύτας ἀτάκτους ὁρμὰς καὶ φωνὰς ὑφῆκαν ἄλλοις λέγειν τὰ αἴσχιστα. οἷς καὶ ποία τόλμης ὑπερβολὴ