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with due honor and hymnody; and on the fifteenth of the month of August he entered the city with it, while the emperor was in Blachernae and had venerated it there. and on the next day there came out at the Golden Gate the emperor's two sons, Stephen and Constan- tine, and his son-in-law Constantine, with the patriarch Theo- phylact; and having taken this up with due honor, with the entire senate preceding and a great procession of lights lead- ing the way, they carried it on foot as far as the church of Hagia Sophia, and when it had been venerated there, they brought it up to the palace. 433 49 Indeed, in these days a certain Armenian monster had come to the city, conjoined male children having come forth from one womb, perfect indeed in all the limbs of the body, but joined together from the opening of the stomach down to the parts below the stomach, and being face to face with each other; who after staying in the city for a very long time, and being seen by all as an extraordinary monster, were driven out of the city as a kind of evil omen. But during the sole reign of the emperor Constantine they entered again. And when one of them had died, certain skilled physicians cleverly cut the conjoined part, in the hope that the other would live; who, having survived for three days, died. 50 And in all monks, as has been said above, the emperor had immeasurable faith, but he especially honored and revered Sergius, who shone among the monks, who was the brother of the magister Cosmas, the first of the tribunals. He also restored the monastery of Manuel, and likewise built from its foundations the church and monastery of Saint Pantelee- mon, which is called Oprhou Limen. And he tonsured eight hundred monks there, having established also annual allowances for them to receive for their sustenance, giving these to the monk Sergius, his spiritual father. And having compassion on all those in exile, and 434 giving them much money, so that when he came down from the palace not even one exile was found. This Sergius happened to be the nephew of the patriarch Photius; whom the nobility of his soul honored more than his kinship of the flesh. For he had reached the summit of virtue and knowledge, so that it was difficult to discern in which he excelled more; thus he had practiced each to the highest degree. And in addition to his other qualities, he was graced with the blush of discretion, the charm of his character, and the modesty of his mind; for he did not raise his eyebrows like the wise men of today, nor did he seem boastful or arrogant, but he had speech dripping sweeter than honey, a character firm and steadfast, and a humble mind. The emperor therefore had this celebrated man unceasingly with him, truly a rule and standard regulating his life; who advised the emperor many times to take care of his sons and not to leave them uneducated, turning to wickedness, lest he too should suffer the fate of Eli, paying the penalty for the lawlessness of his children. which also happened. 51 But when the sons brought him down from the palace and exiled him to the island of Prote, he again had this man as a consolation for his misfortunes and a soothing remedy for his afflictions. With whom at that time was also Polyeuctus, a most pious monk, no less in the manner of the aforementioned man, and he himself offering fitting consolation; who after this, because of his sincere life, when the patriarch Theo435phylact died, was appointed patriarch by the emperor Con- stantine. 52 But the emperor Romanus, worn out by long old age and sickness, specifies the affairs of the empire by will and designates as ruler first, according to the will, the porphyrogenitus Constantine, in the year six thousand four hundred and fifty-three, and in sequence, in second and third place, his sons, having expressly secured matters regarding them, that if they should offend the first emperor in any way, they should be deposed from the empire immediately. 53 But since in many ways God

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δεούσης τιμῆς τε καὶ ὑμνῳδίας· καὶ τῇ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ τοῦ Αὐγούστου μηνὸς σὺν αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ πόλει εἰσῆλθεν, τοῦ βασιλέως ἐν Βλαχέρναις οντος κἀκεῖ αὐτὸ προσκυνήσαντος. καὶ τῇ ἐπαύριον ἐξῆλθον ἐν τῇ Χρυσῇ πόρτῃ οι τε βασιλέως δύο υἱοὶ Στέφανός τε καὶ Κωνσταν- τῖνος καὶ ὁ γαμβρὸς αὐτοῦ Κωνσταντῖνος σὺν τῷ πατριάρχῃ Θεο- φυλάκτῳ· καὶ μετὰ τῆς δεούσης τοῦτο ἀναλαβόντες τιμῆς, τῆς συγκλήτου πάσης προπορευομένης καὶ φωταγωγίας μεγίστης προα- γούσης, μέχρι τοῦ ναοῦ τῆς ἁγίας Σοφίας πεζῇ διεκόμισαν, καὶ προσκυνηθὲν ἐκεῖσε ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ ἀνήγαγον. 433 49 ̓Εν ταύταις δὴ ταῖς ἡμέραις ̓Αρμένιόν τι τέρας τῇ πόλει ἐπεφοιτήκει, παῖδες συμφυεῖς αρρενες ἐκ μιᾶς προελθόν- τες γαστρός, αρτιοι μὲν πάντα τὰ μέλη τοῦ σώματος, ἀπὸ δὲ στόματος τῆς γαστρὸς καὶ μέχρι τῶν ὑπὸ γαστέρα συμπεφυκότες, καὶ ἀλλήλοις ὑπάρχοντες ἀντιπρόσωποι· οι ἐπὶ πλεῖστον τῇ πόλει ἐνδιατρίψαντες, καὶ ὑπὸ πάντων ὡς ἐξαίσιόν τι τέρας ὁρώμενοι, τῆς πόλεως ὡς πονηρός τις οἰωνὸς ἐξηλάσατο. ἐπὶ δὲ μονοκρα- τορίας βασιλείας Κωνσταντίνου πάλιν εἰσήλθοσαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ ετε- ρος αὐτῶν ἐτεθνήκει, ἰατροί τινες εμπειροι τὸ συγκεκολλημένον μέρος διέτεμον εὐφυῶς ἐλπίδι τοῦ τὸν ετερον ζήσεσθαι· ος τρεῖς ἡμέρας ἐπιβιοὺς ἐτελεύτησεν. 50 Καὶ ἐν πᾶσι μὲν μοναχοῖς, ὡς ἀνωτέρω ειρηται, πί- στιν ἐκέκτητο αμετρον ὁ βασιλεύς, διαφερόντως δὲ ἐτίμα καὶ ὑπερέσεβε Σέργιον τὸν ἐν μονασταῖς διαλάμποντα, ος ἀδελφὸς ἐπεφύκει τοῦ μαγίστρου Κοσμᾶ τοῦ πρώτου τῶν κριτηρίων. ἀνε- καίνισε καὶ τὴν μονὴν τοῦ Μανουῆλος, ὡσαύτως καὶ τὴν ἐκκλη- σίαν καὶ τὸ μοναστήριον ἐκ βάθρου κτίσας τοῦ ἁγίου Παντελεή- μονος, ῳ ἐπώνυμον ̓Οφροῦ λιμήν. ἀπέκειρε δὲ καὶ ἐκεῖσε μονα- χοὺς ὀκτακοσίους, τυπώσας καὶ σελέμνια τοῦ λαμβάνειν αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ διατροφῆς αὐτῶν, δοὺς ταῦτα τῷ μοναχῷ Σεργίῳ τῷ πνευματικῷ αὐτοῦ πατρί. πάντας δὲ τοὺς ἐν ἐξορίᾳ συμπαθήσας, καὶ 434 δοὺς αὐτοῖς χρήματα πολλά, ωστε ἐν τῷ κατέρχεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ παλατίου εις καὶ μόνος ἐξόριστος οὐχ εὑρέθη. ουτος δὲ ὁ Σέργιος ἀνεψιὸς τοῦ πατριάρχου Φωτίου ἐτύγχανεν· ον πλέον τῆς σαρκιχῆς συγγενείας ἡ κατὰ ψυχὴν ἐτίμα εὐγένεια. ἀρετῆς γὰρ εἰς ακρον καὶ γνώσεως ηλασεν, ὡς δυσχερὲς ειναι διακρίνειν ποτέ- ρῳ μᾶλλον πλεονεκτεῖ· ουτως εἰς ακρον ἑκατέραν ἐξήσκησεν. ἐπήνθει δὲ αὐτῷ πρὸς τοῖς αλλοις καὶ τὸ τῆς διακρίσεως ερευθος καὶ τὸ χαρίεν τοῦ ηθους καὶ τὸ μέτριον τοῦ φρονήματος· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἀνέσπα τὰς ὀφρῦς κατὰ τοὺς νῦν σοφούς, οὐδὲ ἀλαζών τις ἐδόκει καὶ ὑπερήφανος, ἀλλὰ τὸν λόγον μὲν ειχεν γλυκύτερον μέ- λιτος ἀποστάζοντα, τὸ ηθος δὲ πάγιον καὶ σταθερόν, ταπεινὸν δὲ τὸ φρόνημα. τοῦτον ουν ἀοίδιμον ἀδιαλείπτως μετ' αὐτοῦ ειχεν ὁ βασιλεύς, κανόνα οντως καὶ σταθμὴν τὸν αὐτοῦ βίον ῥυθμί- ζοντα· ος πολλὰ παρῄνει τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν παίδων ἐπιμελεῖσθαι καὶ μὴ ἀπαιδεύτους ἐᾶν εἰς πονηρίαν ἐκκλίνοντας, μήποτε καὶ αὐτὸς πάθῃ τὸ τοῦ ̓Ηλί, τιμωρίαν ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν παίδων παρανομίας ἐκτίσας. ο καὶ γέγονεν. 51 ̓Επεὶ δὲ τοῦ παλατίου τοῦτον οἱ παῖδες κατήγαγον καὶ ἐν τῇ Πρώτῃ νήσῳ ἐξώρισαν, πάλιν τοῦτον ειχεν τῶν συμφο- ρῶν παραμυθίαν καὶ τῶν θλίψεων ἀκεσώδυνον φάρμακον. ῳ συνῆν τότε καὶ Πολύευκτος μοναχὸς εὐλαβέστατος, οὐκ ελαττον τὸν τοῦ εἰρημένου τρόπον καὶ αὐτὸς τὰ εἰκότα παραμυθούμενος· ος μετὰ ταῦτα διὰ τὸν εἰλικρινῆ αὐτοῦ βίον, τοῦ πατριάρχου Θεο435 φυλάκτου τελευτήσαντος, πατριάρχης ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως Κων- σταντίνου προχειρίζεται. 52 ̔Ο δὲ βασιλεὺς ̔Ρωμανὸς μακρῷ γήρει καὶ νόσῳ τρυ-χόμενος τὰ τῆς βασιλείας κατὰ διαθήκας ἀπακριβάζεται καὶ ανα- κτα πρῶτον κατὰ διαθήκας τὸν πορφυρογέννητον Κωνσταντῖνον προσδιορίζεται, ἐν ετει ἑξάκις χιλιοστῷ τετρακοσιοστῷ πεντηκο- στῷ τρίτῳ, καὶ καθεξῆς ἐν δευτέρῳ καὶ τρίτῳ τοὺς τούτου υἱούς, τὰ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ῥητῶς διασφαλισάμενος, ὡς ειπερ τῷ πρώτῳ βασιλεῖ κατά τι προσπταίσειαν, καθαιρεῖσθαι παραυτίκα τῆς βασιλείας. 53 ̓Επεὶ δὲ πολλοῖς τρόποις ὁ θεὸς