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would seem to have been left behind, acting insolently toward the emperor that he was seating such and such a scoundrel on his own right hand while seeking peace? And yet despite these things, 479 he was saying that he was seating beside himself the one who, though with those who hated peace, was peaceful, and who was worthy again of both a throne and spiritual leadership. Saying these things, and reproaching them with even more, that he himself had many things to say and to prove how insecure were the grounds on which they prided themselves, nevertheless out of respect for their former state and from his desire for peace, he left everything unsaid, and humbling himself to them he also came to an agreement. He seats them again by command, and strung together encomia for the one acting as patriarch, narrating in detail the things that had happened yesterday and the day before. For a time, wrapping his words in circles and prolonging them until late in the night, it seemed as if he were conversing with the deaf and he was like one gesturing to the blind. Whence he also dismissed them, but with peace, having brought forth a request and rather an imperial exhortation, that they should not disturb the people at all by placing scandals in their path, but remaining by themselves they should keep quiet, and not with vain desire but with spiritual discernment, having examined and carefully watched matters, they should both censure those whom it is right to censure correctly and praise again those things worthy of praise. But if not, he threatened 480 them with the most unbearable things, and that they themselves judge wrongly, and justly. From there, returning to the monastery of Mosele, they lived in peace. But later, when the despot John had for a short time taken back the rule of the city, their affairs were thrown into confusion, at which time they also brought the body of a certain monk Kouboukleisios, which they held among the holy ones as having remained incorrupt for years and to which they paid heed as to a saint, to the monastery of the Peribleptos and those who were ordered to do so buried it. And they set guards over them so that no one might freely visit them or assemble with them, since they were schismatics from the catholic church. But matters concerning them took this turn. 3. The megas doux, however, having toiled greatly around Magnesia and having besieged the city and opposed Attaleiotes and lost many men, since matters there were not accomplishable, nor, as the saying goes, was he hitting the mark, after the great wickedness in the cities, during which he brutally exacted money, turned back and came to Mytilene, leading some on the ships, and ordering others to proceed on foot to Kallion. And the reason was that the emperor wrote and ordered him to desist from the siege of Magnesia, but taking 481 the best men from them, to go toward the Haemus, where Emperor Michael had also encamped near Adrianople and was holding back Eltimir on the one side, and on the other was restraining Osphentisthlabos as best he could from an assault on the borders. So, as the emperor wrote and sent messages many times, the intervening time was wasted (the reason being that they were again demanding pay of many talents, not only for the service they were about to perform for Emperor Michael, having joined him according to his instructions, but also supposedly for what they did before, measuring out their wages not by their deeds but only by the time, whatever they were doing, even if they were in truces and idleness, and summing up their demands to hundreds of thousands), scarcely did they leave Mytilene and put in to the shores near Madytos. At the same time, those going on foot also halted their march near Lampsakos, and there, having gained complete mastery, they cross over in a body and occupy the entire opposite shore. And what they did immediately, although by the emperor's order sufficient provisions for their reception had been prepared by those in charge there, it is not possible to describe in words nor adequately to represent the terrible things. For 482 Plato in the Laws well sketched the character of the mercenary, saying, "most of them become bold and unjust and insolent and the most foolish of almost all men, except for a very few," attesting to the citizen who is capable in times of strife a perfect disposition derived from all the general virtues, but for these only the fourth, which one might say

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ὑπολελεῖφθαι δόξειν, ἀπαυθαδι ζομένοις πρὸς βασιλέα ὡς ἐγκαθίζοι τοῖον καὶ τοῖον λέχριον ἑαυ τοῦ δεξιόφιν ζητῶν εἰρήνην; καὶ ταῦτα πλὴν ἀλλὰ συγκαθίζειν 479 ἐκεῖνος ἔλεγεν ἑαυτῷ τὸν μετὰ τῶν μισούντων τὴν εἰρήνην ὄντα εἰρηνικὸν καὶ τὸν ἄξιον αὖθις καὶ θρόνου καὶ προστασίας πνευ ματικῆς. ταῦτα λέγων, καὶ πλείονα τούτοις ἐξονειδίζων, ὡς πολλὰ λέγειν καὶ αὐτὸς ἔχων καὶ ἀπελέγχειν ὡς οὐκ ἀσφαλῶς ἔχοντα ἐφ' οἷς αὐτοὶ σεμνύνονται, ὅμως αἰδοῖ τῶν προτέρων καὶ τῷ τῆς εἰρήνης ἐφίεσθαι ἄρρητα πάντ' ἀφίησι, καὶ σεμνοποιού μενος αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτὸς συντίθεται. καθίζει καὶ πάλιν τούτους ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος, καὶ τὰ τοῦ πατριαρχοῦντος συνείρει ἐγκώμια, τὰ χθὲς καὶ πρὸς τρίτης συμβάντα κατὰ λεπτὸν διηγούμενος. τέως τοὺς λόγους κύκλῳ περιβαλλόμενος καὶ ἕως ὀψὲ τῶν νυκτῶν παρατείνων, ὡς κωφοῖς τὸ παράπαν ἐδόκει διαλεγόμενος καὶ ἐῴκει τῷ τυφλοῖς διανεύοντι. ὅθεν καὶ ἀπολύει τούτους, πλὴν μετ' εἰρήνης, ἀξίωσιν ἀπενέγκας καὶ δεσποτικὴν παρακέλευσιν μᾶλλον, τὸν μὲν λαὸν οὐδὲν ἐπιταράττειν ἐχόμενα τρίβου τιθέν τας σκάνδαλα, αὐτοὺς δὲ καθ' αὑτοὺς μένοντας ἡσυχάζειν, καὶ μὴ ὀρέξει ματαίᾳ ἀλλὰ πνευματικῇ διακρίσει, ἐπεσκεμμένους καὶ παραπεφυλαχότας τὰ πράγματα, ψέγειν τε οὓς δεῖ ψέγειν ὀρθῶς καὶ ἐπαινεῖν αὖθις τὰ ἐπαίνων ἄξια. εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλ' ἠπείλει 480 τούτοις τὰ δυσφορώτατα, καὶ ὡς σφεῖς αὐτοὶ τοῦ κακῶς καὶ δι καίως κρίνουσιν. ἐντεῦθεν εἰς τὴν τοῦ Μωσελὲ μονὴν ἐπανιόν τες ἐν εἰρήνῃ διῆγον. ὕστερον δὲ τοῦ δεσπότου Ἰωάννου τὴν τῆς πόλεως ἀρχὴν ἐπανῃρημένου ἐπ' ὀλίγον τὰ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἐταρά χθησαν, ὅτε καί τινος μοναχοῦ Κουβουκλεισίου τὸν νεκρόν, ὃν αὐτοὶ ὡς ἀδιάφθορον ἐπὶ χρόνοις μείναντα ἐν ὁσίοις εἶχον καὶ ὡς ἁγίῳ προσεῖχον, εἰς τὴν τῆς Περιβλέπτου μονὴν ἐνέγκαντες οἷς ἦν προστεταγμένον ἔθαψαν. αὐτοῖς δὲ φυλακὰς ἐφιστᾶσι τοῦ μηδένα σφίσι παραβάλλειν ἀνέδην καὶ παρασυνάγεσθαι τῆς κα θολικῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀπεσχισμένους. ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν κατὰ τούτους τόνδ' ἔσχε τὸν τρόπον. 3. Ὁ μέντοι γε μέγας δοὺξ τὰ πλεῖστα περὶ Μαγνησίαν πονέσας καὶ περικαθήμενός τε τὴν πόλιν καὶ τῷ Ἀτταλειώτῃ ἀν τιφερόμενος καὶ πολλοὺς ἀποβαλών, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀνυστὰ τἀκεῖ, οὐδ' ἴκταρ, τὸ τοῦ λόγου, βάλλοντι, μετὰ τὴν ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι πλείστην ἀλαστορίαν, καθ' ἣν ἐξηργυρολόγει μετ' ἀπηνείας χρή ματα, ὑποστρέψας αὖθις κατὰ Μιτυλήνην γίνεται, τοὺς μὲν ἐπὶ τῶν νηῶν ἄγων, τοὺς δὲ πεζῇ κελεύσας ἐπὶ τῆς Καλλίου βα δίζειν. καὶ ἡ αἰτία ὅτι βασιλεὺς γράφων ἐκέλευε τῆς κατὰ Μα γνησίαν μὲν πολιορκίας ἀποσχέσθαι, ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ παραλαβόντα 481 τοὺς κρείττους τὴν ἐπὶ τὸν Αἷμον ἰέναι, ὅπου καὶ βασιλεὺς Μι χαὴλ ἐστρατοπεδευμένος κατὰ τὴν Ἀνδριανοῦ ἔνθεν μὲν ἐπεῖχεν Ἐλτιμηρῇ, ἐκεῖθεν δὲ Ὀσφεντίσθλαβον τῆς ὁρμῆς τῶν ὅρων ἀνεῖργεν ὡς εἶχεν. ὡς γοῦν πολλάκις βασιλέως γράφοντός τε καὶ ἀποστέλλοντος ὁ μεταξὺ καιρὸς κατετρίβετο (τὸ δ' αἴτιον ὅτι καὶ πάλιν μισθοφορίας ἐζήτουν πολυταλάντους, οὐ μόνον ὧν ἔμελλον ἐκδουλεύειν βασιλεῖ Μιχαὴλ συγγεγονότες κατὰ τὰ ἐπεσταλμένα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧν πρὶν ἔπραττον δῆθεν, οὐ ταῖς πρά ξεσιν ἀλλὰ μόνῳ δὴ τῷ καιρῷ, κἂν ὁποῖ' ἄττ' ἐποίουν, κἂν ἐν ἀνακωχαῖς καὶ ἀργίαις ἦσαν, παραμετρούμενοι τοὺς μισθοὺς καὶ εἰς ἑκατοστύας χιλιάδων τὰ ζητούμενα συμποσούμενοι), μό λις ἀφέντες Μιτυλήνην τοῖς κατὰ Μάδυτον αἰγιαλοῖς προσίσχου σιν. ἅμα δὲ καὶ οἱ πεζῇ διιόντες τοὺς δρόμους ἱστᾶσι κατὰ τὴν Λάμψακον, κἀκεῖ τὸ σύμπαν ἐνδυναστεύσαντες πασσυδίην δια περαιοῦνται καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀντιπεραίαν ἐπέχουσιν. ἃ δ' εὐθὺς ἐξειργάζοντο, καίτοι γε παρὰ τῶν ἐκεῖ ἐπ' ἐξουσιῶν τεταγμένων βασιλέως κελεύοντος ἱκανῶν πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν ἐξαρτυθέντων, οὐκ ἔστι λόγῳ διεξελθεῖν καὶ ἱκανῶς τὰ δεινὰ παραστῆσαι. εὖ γὰρ 482 καὶ Πλάτων ἐν Νόμοις τὸ μισθοφορικὸν διεσκαριφήσατο, "τού των οἱ πλεῖστοι" λέγων "γίνονται θρασεῖς καὶ ἄδικοι καὶ ὑβρι σταὶ καὶ ἀφρονέστατοι σχεδὸν ἁπάντων, ἐκτὸς δή τινων μάλα ὀλίγων," τελέαν μὲν καὶ ἐξ ἁπασῶν τῶν γενικῶν ἀρετῶν ἕξιν τῷ ἐν στάσεσι δυναμένῳ πολίτῃ προσμαρτυρῶν, μόνην δὲ τὴν τε τάρτην τούτων, ἣν δή τις φαίη