151

of his subjects, giving a ransom. 408 So he was the first to arrive at the aforementioned pier and awaited Symeon. When hostages had been taken from both sides, and the Bulgarians had searched the pier carefully, lest some trick or ambush should happen to be there, Symeon dismounted from his horse and went to the emperor. So, having greeted each other, they began to speak of peace. And the emperor is said to have said to Symeon, "I have heard that you are a God-fearing man and a true Christian, but I see that your deeds do not accord with your words. For it is the mark of a God-fearing man and a Christian to embrace peace and love, since God both is and is called love. But it is the mark of an impious and faithless man to rejoice in slaughters and in blood unjustly shed. If, then, you are a true Christian, as we have been informed, put a stop at last to the unjust slaughters and the shedding of unholy blood, and make peace with us Christians, being and being called a Christian yourself, and do not wish the hands of Christians to be stained with the blood of fellow-believing Christians. You are a man yourself, expecting death and resurrection and judgment and retribution. You exist today, and tomorrow you will be dissolved into dust. A single fever will extinguish your arrogance. What account, then, will you give to God when you have gone from here, for the unjust slaughters? With what face will you gaze upon the fearsome and just judge? If you do these things out of a desire for wealth, I will fill you to satiety with what you desire; 409 only stay your hand. Embrace peace, love concord, so that you yourself may live a peaceful, bloodless, and untroubled life, and Christians may at last cease from their misfortunes and stop destroying Christians; for it is not lawful for them to take up arms against fellow-believers." Having said so much, the emperor fell silent. So Symeon, respecting his humility and his words, consented to make peace. So having greeted one another they parted, after the emperor had received Symeon with magnificent gifts. 16 I shall relate a monstrous and strange thing that happened then, for those who know how to compare such things. They say that as the rulers were speaking, two eagles flew over them from above, screeched and engaged with one another, and were immediately parted from each other, and one went toward the city, and the other flew toward Thrace. Those who accurately observe such things did not judge this a good omen; for they said that both would be parted irreconcilable regarding the peace. But Symeon, having reached his own camp, reported to his own magnates the emperor's intelligence and humility, and he extravagantly praised his appearance, his strength, and the dauntlessness of his spirit. 17 In the month of December, on the 25th, Romanos crowned his sons in the great church, Stephen and Constantine. Moreover, Patriarch Nicholas tonsured 410 his son Theophylact a cleric, having ordained him a subdeacon and appointed him syncellus, after he had previously passed through the order of the subdeacons into the holy of holies. 18 In the month of April, on the 19th of the month, Romanos honored John the mystikos and paradynasteuon with the rank of patrician and anthypatos, so that because of this very thing, envy was aroused against him and he was accused by certain people. 19 In the month of May, on the 15th, in the 13th indiction, Patriarch Nicholas died, having held the patriarchate for thirteen years in his second accession. And his body was laid to rest in the monastery of Galakrenai, which had been built by him. In the month of August, Stephen, the metropolitan of Amaseia, who was a eunuch, was appointed patriarch. In the month of October, John the mystikos and paradynasteuon was accused of aspiring to the throne on the advice of the patrician and logothete Kosmas, who offered his daughter to him as a wife. For this reason he was removed from the palace, but was permitted to approach and serve the emperor and to administer with him what was fitting;

151

ὑπηκόων διδοὺς ἀντίλυ- 408 τρον. πρῶτος ουν ἐν τῇ ἀποβάθρᾳ τῇ ῥηθείσῃ καταλαβὼν τὸν Συμεὼν ἐξεδέχετο. ἐπεὶ δὲ ομηροι ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ἐλήφθησαν τῶν μερῶν, καὶ τὴν ἀποβάθραν οἱ Βούλγαροι διηρευνήσαντο ἀκριβῶς, μή πού τις δόλος η ἐνέδρα τυγχάνει, κατῆλθε Συμεὼν τοῦ ιππου καὶ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰσῆλθεν. ἀσπασάμενοι ουν ἀλλήλους εἰ- ρήνης λόγους ἐκίνησαν. εἰπεῖν δὲ λέγεται τὸν βασιλέα πρὸς Συ- μεὼν "ἀκήκοά σε θεοσεβῆ ανθρωπον καὶ Χριστιανὸν ὑπάρχοντα ἀληθινόν, βλέπω δὲ τὰ εργα τοῖς λόγοις μὴ συμβαίνοντα. ιδιον μὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώπου θεοσεβοῦς καὶ Χριστιανοῦ τὸ τὴν εἰρήνην καὶ τὴν ἀγάπην ἀσπάζεσθαι, ειπερ ὁ θεὸς ἀγάπη εστι τε καὶ λέγεται· ἀσεβοῦς δὲ καὶ ἀπίστου τὸ χαίρειν σφαγαῖς καὶ αιμασιν ἀδίκως ἐκχεομένων. εἰ μὲν ουν ἀληθὴς Χριστιανὸς ὑπάρχεις, καθὼς πεπληροφορήμεθα, στῆσόν ποτε τὰς ἀδίκους σφαγὰς καὶ τὰς τῶν ἀνοσίων αἱμάτων ἐκχύσεις, καὶ σπεῖσαι μεθ' ἡμῶν τῶν Χριστια- νῶν εἰρήνην Χριστιανὸς καὶ αὐτὸς ων καὶ ὀνομαζόμενος, καὶ μὴ θέλε μολύνεσθαι Χριστιανῶν δεξιὰς αιμασιν ὁμοπίστων Χριστια- νῶν. ανθρωπος ει καὶ αὐτός, θάνατον προσδοκῶν καὶ ἀνάστα- σιν καὶ κρίσιν καὶ ἀνταπόδοσιν· καὶ σήμερον ὑπάρχεις, καὶ αυ- ριον εἰς κόνιν διαλυθήσῃ. εις πυρετὸς κατασβέσει τὸ φρύαγμα. τίνα ουν λόγον δώσεις τῷ θεῷ ἐκεῖ ἀπελθὼν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδίκων σφαγῶν; ποίῳ προσώπῳ τῷ φοβερῷ καὶ δικαίῳ ἐνατενίσεις κριτῇ; εἰ πλούτου ἐρῶν ταῦτα ποιεῖς, ἐγώ σε κατακόρως τοῦ ἐπιθυμου- 409 μένου ἐμπλήσῳ· μόνον ἐπίσχες τὴν δεξιάν. ασπασαι τὴν εἰρή- νην, ἀγάπησον τὴν ὁμόνοιαν, ινα καὶ αὐτὸς βίον ζήσῃς εἰρηνικὸν καὶ ἀναίμακτον καὶ ἀπράγμονα, καὶ οἱ Χριστιανοὶ παύσωνταί ποτε τῶν συμφορῶν καὶ στήσωνται τοῦ Χριστιανοὺς ἀναιρεῖν· οὐ θέμις γὰρ αὐτοὺς αιρειν οπλα καθ' ὁμοπίστων." τοσαῦτα ουν εἰπὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐσίγησεν. αἰδεσθεὶς ουν Συμεὼν τὴν τούτου ταπείνωσιν καὶ τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ κατένευσεν τὴν εἰρήνην ποιήσα- σθαι. ἀσπασάμενοι ουν ἀλλήλους διεχωρίσθησαν, δώροις μεγα- λοπρεπέσι τοῦ βασιλέως δεξιωσαμένου τὸν Συμεών. 16 Ο δὲ τότε συμβέβηκεν διηγήσομαι τεράστιόν τι καὶ τοῖς ταῦτα εἰδόσι συγκρίνειν παράδοξον. δύο φασὶν ἀετοὺς τῶν βασιλέων ὁμιλούντων ανωθεν αὐτῶν ὑπερπτῆναι, κλάγξαι τε καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους συμμῖξαι καὶ παραυτίκα διαζευχθῆναι ἀλλήλοις, καὶ τὸν μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐλθεῖν, τὸν δὲ πρὸς Θρᾴκην διαπτῆναι. τοῦτο οἱ ἀκριβῶς τοιαῦτα σκοποῦντες οὐ καλὸν εκριναν οἰωνόν· ἀσυμβάτους γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ εἰρήνῃ ἀμφοτέρους διαλυθήσεσθαι εφη- σαν. Συμεὼν δὲ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ στρατόπεδον καταλαβὼν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μεγιστᾶσι τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπήγγειλε σύνεσιν καὶ ταπείνωσιν, ἐξεθείαζεν δὲ αὐτοῦ τό τε ειδος τήν τε ῥώμην καὶ τὸ ἀκατάπλη- κτον τοῦ φρονήματος. 17 ∆εκεμβρίῳ δὲ μηνὶ κέ εστεψε ̔Ρωμανὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ ἐκκλησίᾳ, Στέφανόν τε καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον· ἀλλὰ καὶ Θεοφύλακτον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ὁ πατριάρχης Νικόλαος ἀπέκει410 ρεν κληρικόν, χειροτονήσας ὑποδιάκονον σύγκελλόν τε προχειρι- σάμενος, διελθόντα πρότερον ἐν τῷ τῶν ὑποδιακόνων τάγματι εἰς τὰ αγια. 18 ̓Απριλλίῳ δὲ μηνί, ιθʹ τοῦ μηνός, ἐτίμησεν ̔Ρωμα-νὸς ̓Ιωάννην μυστικὸν καὶ παραδυναστεύοντα πατρίκιον καὶ ἀνθύ- πατον, ωστε καὶ δι' αὐτὸ τοῦτο φθόνον κινηθῆναι αὐτῷ καὶ κατηγορηθῆναι ἀπό τινων. 19 Μαΐῳ δὲ μηνὶ ιεʹ, ἰνδικτιῶνος ιγʹ, τελευτᾷ ὁ πα- τριάρχης Νικόλαος, κρατήσας ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ ἀναβάσει τοῦ πα- τριαρχείου ετη τριακαίδεκα· καὶ ἀπετέθη τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ ὑπ' αὐτοῦ κτισθείσῃ μονῇ τῶν Γαλακρηνῶν. Αὐγούστῳ δὲ μηνὶ πατριάρχης καθίσταται Στέφανος ὁ ̓Αμασείας μητροπολίτης, εὐ- νοῦχος ὑπάρχων. ̓Οκτωβρίῳ μηνὶ κατηγορήθη ὁ μυστικὸς ̓Ιωάν-νης καὶ παραδυναστεύων ὡς τῆς βασιλείας ἐφιέμενος ὑποθήκῃ τοῦ πατρικίου Κοσμᾶ καὶ λογοθέτου, διδόντος εἰς γυναῖκα τὴν θυγα- τέρα αὐτῷ. τούτου ενεκεν καταβιβάζεται μὲν τοῦ παλατίου, συγ- χωρεῖται δὲ τὸ προσέρχεσθαι καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ ὑπηρετεῖν καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ τὰ ἀνήκοντα διοικεῖν·