146

Pharas, having heard, being greatly grieved and bewailing the human condition, acted according to what was written and sent everything that Gelimer needed from him. However, relaxing nothing of the siege, he kept watch more than before. 4.7.1 And now a period of three months had been spent in this siege, and the winter was ending. And Gelimer was afraid, suspecting that the besiegers would not long hence come up against him, and the bodies of most of his kinsmen's children were breeding worms in this 4.7.2 misery. And he was in great pain in all things, and discontented with everything, except indeed dying, yet he held out against his suffering contrary to expectation, until it chanced that he saw 4.7.3 a sight of the following sort. A certain Moorish woman, having somehow ground a little grain, and having made a very small loaf from it, threw it into the hot ashes on the hearth. For thus it is the custom 4.7.4 among the Moors for their loaves to be baked. Beside this hearth two children were sitting and being exceedingly pressed by hunger, one the son of the woman herself, who happened to have put in the loaf, and the other being Gelimer's nephew, they wished to snatch this loaf, as soon as it seemed to them to be baked. 4.7.5 Of these two children, the Vandal, being quicker, snatched the loaf first, and though it was still very hot and full of ashes, since hunger was overpowering him, putting it into his mouth he began to eat. But the other, grabbing him by the hair of his head, struck him on the temple and slapping him again forced him with much violence to cast out the loaf, which was already in his 4.7.6 throat. Gelimer, unable to bear this suffering (for he had been following everything from the beginning), was unmanned in his spirit and wrote to Pharas as quickly as possible the following: 4.7.7 "If it has ever happened to any other man who has endured terrible things to go contrary to his former resolutions, consider me also to be such a one, O 4.7.8 most excellent Pharas. For your counsel has entered my mind, which I am least of all willing to disregard. For I would not struggle further against fortune nor fight against fate, but I shall follow straightway, wherever it seems good to her to lead; see to it, however, that I receive assurances, that Belisarius undertakes that the emperor will do all things, 4.7.9 which you lately promised me. For I, as soon as you give the pledge, will entrust myself to you and these kinsmen and the Vandals, as many as are here with us." 4.7.10 So much had been written by Gelimer in this letter. And Pharas, having indicated this to Belisarius, as well as what had previously been written between them, begged him to declare as quickly as possible what his 4.7.11 will might be. But Belisarius (for it was a great desire for him to bring Gelimer alive to the emperor), as soon as he read the letters, was overjoyed and ordered Cyprian, the commander of the foederati, to go to Papoua with some others, and instructed them to give oaths concerning the safety of Gelimer and those with him, and that he would be held in honor by the emperor and lack for nothing. 4.7.12 And when they arrived at Pharas's camp, they went with him to a certain place at the foot of the mountain, where Gelimer, being summoned, came to them, and having received the assurances 4.7.13 as he wished, he came with them to Carthage. Now Belisarius happened to be spending some time in a 4.7.14 suburb of the city, which they call Aclas. There indeed Gelimer came before him, laughing a laugh that was neither slight nor possible to conceal, and some of those who watched him suspected that from the excess of his suffering he had lost all his natural faculties and that, being already crazed, he was laughing for no reason. 4.7.15 his friends, however, wished the man to be of sound mind and since he was born of a royal house, and had ascended to the kingship, and had possessed strong power and great wealth from boyhood even to old age, then had fallen into flight and great fear and had endured the suffering in Papoua, and now had come in the guise of a captive, and thus of all the good things from fortune and also

146

ἀκούσας Φάρας περιαλγήσας τε καὶ τύχην τὴν ἀνθρωπείαν ἀπολοφυράμενος κατὰ τὰ γεγραμμένα ἐποίει καὶ πάντα ἔπεμπεν ὅσων αὐτοῦ ἔχρῃζε Γελίμερ. τῆς μέντοι προσεδρείας οὐδὲν μεθιεὶς ἐφύλασσε μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον. 4.7.1 Ἤδη δὲ τριῶν μηνῶν χρόνος ἐν ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ προσεδρείᾳ ἐτρίβη καὶ ὁ χειμὼν ἐτελεύτα. καὶ ὁ Γελίμερ ἐδεδίει, τοὺς πολιορκοῦντας ἐπ' αὐτὸν οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἀναβήσεσθαι ὑποτοπάζων, καὶ τῶν οἱ συγγενῶν παιδίων τὰ πλεῖστα σώματα σκώληκας ἐν ταύτῃ δὴ τῇ 4.7.2 ταλαιπωρίᾳ ἠφίει. καὶ ἐν ἅπασι μὲν περιώδυνος ἦν, ἐς ἅπαντα δὲ, πλήν γε δὴ τοῦ θνήσκειν, δυσάρεστος, τῇ μέντοι κακοπαθείᾳ παρὰ δόξαν ἀντεῖχεν, ἕως οἱ 4.7.3 θέαμα ἰδεῖν ξυνηνέχθη τοιόνδε. γυνή τις Μαυρουσία σῖτον ὀλίγον ἀμωσγέπως ξυγκοψαμένη, μᾶζαν δὲ ἐνθένδε βραχεῖαν κομιδῆ ποιησαμένη ἐς ζέουσαν τὴν σποδιὰν τὴν ἐν τῇ ἐσχάρᾳ ἐνέβαλεν. οὕτω γὰρ νόμος 4.7.4 ἐν Μαυρουσίοις τοὺς ἄρτους ὀπτᾶσθαι. παρὰ ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἐσχάραν δύο παῖδε καθημένω καὶ τῷ λιμῷ ὑπεράγαν βιαζομένω, ἅτερος μὲν αὐτῆς τῆς ἀνθρώπου υἱὸς, ἣ τὴν μᾶζαν ἐμβεβλημένη ἐτύγχανεν, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος Γελίμερος ἀδελφιδοῦς ὢν, ἐβουλέσθην ταύτην δὴ τὴν μᾶζαν ἁρπάσασθαι, ἐπειδὰν αὐτοῖς τάχιστα ὠπτῆσθαι 4.7.5 δοκῇ. τούτοιν τοῖν παίδοιν ὁ μὲν Βανδίλος προτερήσας ἔφθασέ τε τὴν μᾶζαν ἁρπάσας καὶ ζέουσαν ἔτι ὡς μάλιστα σποδιᾶς τε ἀνάπλεων οὖσαν, ὑπερβιαζομένου αὐτὸν τοῦ λιμοῦ, ἐς τὸ στόμα ἐμβαλόμενος ἤσθιεν, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος λαβόμενος αὐτοῦ τῶν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ τριχῶν ἐπάταξέ τε κατὰ κόρρης καὶ αὖθις ῥαπίσας ἠνάγκασε τὴν μᾶζαν ξὺν βίᾳ πολλῇ ἀποβαλεῖν ἤδη ἐν τῇ 4.7.6 φάρυγγι οὖσαν. τοῦτο τὸ πάθος οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν Γελίμερ (παρηκολούθει γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἅπασιν) ἐθηλύνθη τε τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ πρὸς Φάραν ὡς τάχιστα ἔγραψε τάδε 4.7.7 «Εἴ τινι καὶ ἄλλῳ τετύχηκε πώποτε τὰ δεινὰ καρτερή»σαντι ἀπ' ἐναντίας ἰέναι τῶν πρόσθεν αὐτῷ βεβου»λευμένων, τοιοῦτον δή τινα καὶ ἐμὲ νόμιζε εἶναι, ὦ 4.7.8 «βέλτιστε Φάρα. εἰσῆλθε γάρ με ἡ σὴ ξυμβουλὴ, ἣν «δὴ ἀλογῆσαι ἥκιστα βούλομαι. οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἀντιτεί»νοιμι περαιτέρω τῇ τύχῃ οὐδὲ πρὸς τὴν πεπρωμένην «ζυγομαχοίην, ἀλλ' ἕψομαι αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα, ὅπη ἂν «αὐτῇ ἐξηγεῖσθαι δοκῇ· ὅπως μέντοι τὰ πιστὰ λάβοιμι, «ἀναδέχεσθαι Βελισάριον βασιλέα ποιήσειν ἅπαντα, 4.7.9 «ὅσα μοι ἔναγχος ὑπεδέξω. ἐγὼ γὰρ, ἐπειδὰν τάχιστα «τὴν πίστιν δοίητε, ἐμαυτόν τε ὑμῖν ἐγχειριῶ καὶ «συγγενεῖς τούσδε καὶ Βανδίλους, ὅσοι ξὺν ἡμῖν ἐν»ταῦθά εἰσι.» 4.7.10 Τοσαῦτα μὲν τῷ Γελίμερι ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ τῇδε ἐγέγραπτο. Φάρας δὲ ταῦτά τε Βελισαρίῳ καὶ τὰ πρότερον γεγραμμένα σφίσι πρὸς ἀλλήλους σημήνας ἐδεῖτο ὡς τάχιστά οἱ δηλῶσαι ὅ τι ἂν αὐτῷ βουλο4.7.11 μένῳ εἴη. Βελισάριος δὲ (καὶ γάρ οἱ ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ μεγάλῃ ἦν ζῶντα Γελίμερα βασιλεῖ ἀγαγεῖν) ἐπεὶ τάχιστα τὰ γράμματα ἀνελέξατο, περιχαρής τε ἐγεγόνει καὶ Κυπριανὸν φοιδεράτων ἄρχοντα ἐς Παπούαν ἐκέλευεν ἰέναι ξὺν ἄλλοις τισὶν, ὅρκους τε αὐτοῖς ἐπέστελλε περὶ σωτηρίας Γελίμερός τε καὶ τῶν ξὺν αὐτῷ διδόναι, καὶ ὡς ἐπίτιμός τε παρὰ βασιλεῖ καὶ οὐδενὸς ἐνδεὴς 4.7.12 εἴη. οἵπερ ἐπεὶ παρὰ τὸν Φάραν ἀφίκοντο, ἦλθον ξὺν αὐτῷ ἔς τι χωρίον παρὰ τὸν τοῦ ὄρους πρόποδα, ἔνθα σφίσι Γελίμερ μετάπεμπτος ἦλθε καὶ τὰ πιστὰ λαβὼν 4.7.13 ᾗπερ ἐβούλετο ἐς Καρχηδόνα σὺν αὐτοῖς ἧκεν. ἐτύγχανε δὲ Βελισάριος διατριβήν τινα ἐν τῷ τῆς πόλεως 4.7.14 προαστείῳ ποιούμενος, ὅπερ Ἄκλας καλοῦσιν. ἔνθα δὴ ὁ Γελίμερ παρ' αὐτὸν εἰσῆλθε, γελῶν γέλωτα οὔτε φαῦλον οὔτε κρύπτεσθαι ἱκανὸν ὄντα, τῶν τε αὐτὸν θεωμένων ἔνιοι μὲν τῇ τοῦ πάθους ὑπερβολῇ ἁπάντων τε αὐτὸν ἐκστῆναι τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ὑπώπτευον καὶ παραπαίοντα ἤδη λόγῳ οὐδενὶ τὸν γέλωτα ἔχειν. 4.7.15 οἱ μέντοι φίλοι ἀγχίνουν τε τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐβούλοντο εἶναι καὶ ἅτε οἰκίας μὲν βασιλικῆς γεγονότα, εἰς βασιλείαν δὲ ἀναβεβηκότα, καὶ δύναμίν τε ἰσχυρὰν χρήματά τε μεγάλα ἐκ παιδὸς ἄχρι καὶ ἐς γῆρας περιβαλόμενον, εἶτα εἰς φυγήν τε καὶ δέος πολὺ ἐμπεσόντα καὶ κακοπάθειαν τὴν ἐν Παπούᾳ ὑποστάντα, καὶ νῦν ἐν αἰχμαλώτων λόγῳ ἥκοντα, πάντων τε ταύτῃ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης ἀγαθῶν τε καὶ