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they strongly urged that it was right and proper for him, being a patriarch, to state his opinion forcefully; otherwise, he would seem to be liable to unfavorable suspicions. Doing this for days, since they accomplished nothing, they finally deemed it right to do one of two things, either to receive from him a confession concerning them, as was their wish, or to burn him and those with him for sinning against their church. Therefore a day was appointed, and the people were gathered, and they questioned him again insistently. But he said nothing different from before; for he was a traveler, and had no obligation to speak when no synod was in session. And they attempted to burn him. And what was being planned would have proceeded to action, 595 if one of them had not stood up and dissolved the plan; for the act would not be beneficial to their race, but it would be necessary for this man's murder to be sought out by someone important from Alexandria and with sufficient kinship, from those of their own tribe who were arriving there, who indeed might be about to visit the regions of Egypt for the purpose of trade. Having said these things he seemed persuasive, and that most evil plot was dissolved like a spider's web. Therefore they gave the patriarch a period of days to leave the country, after which, if he remained, they judged that he should accept the danger. But as he did not submit nor give the pledge, they limited it to ten days in all and let him go. But as they were thus wandering, when they were near Thebes, the ruler of the place, the so-called great lord, learning of them, became a bad encounter; for having seized them he handed them over to the most secure prisons, and wished to sell them for the price of two thousand nomismata. But later, after some time, when the patriarch proved useful to his captor who was being nursed, freedom was given to the prisoners. And having been received near Halmyros, they encamped there somewhere, as the lords of the place received them kindly. But we must proceed with the history in order. 596

17. A certain monk Hilarion, who was young and practicing in the monastery of the Peribleptos, since he had been at Elegmoi, sent on the business of the monastery (for the property belonged to their dependencies), saw daily the raids of the Persians from there, how they plundered everything there and even attacked the people of Elegmoi, and being a daring man otherwise and not unversed in military experience, gathering the people there and attacking the approaching Persians he treated them badly and did not cease to care for the place. But his way of life straightaway and the required gravity and the solitary life which for him was directed towards virtue persuaded first his own abbot, and then the patriarch, having learned of it, to sternly and with strong rebukes restrain the monk from the attempt. But since it had been decided to punish him with the most severe penalties for his audacity, he, knowing this, ran to the emperor. And he received him and managed his affairs, but he was not able to appease the patriarch towards him. While time was being wasted in this way and the affairs there were being neglected, the Persians gathered together and attacking suddenly committed a great slaughter, only those being saved who had been hidden in the fort. When the emperor learned this, and was pained by the disaster, he was able to 597 lay the blame on those on whom it was right to lay it; but nevertheless, his abundant piety, and the fact that the preservation of the order of monks seemed to be at stake, made him neglect it, and he considered the means of remedy as far as was possible, even if all things seemed ineffectual against what had been done. With difficulty, as the survivors were earnestly beseeching the emperor about Hilarion, the force of necessity prevailed, and being sent to the patriarch he was with difficulty released. And returning again, he secured the things there, as much as was possible; for all the surrounding area had been seized by the Persians, and Prousa, paying terrible things to them in the name of tribute, received in return a shadow of peace not in peace from the Persians.

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ἐκεῖνοι δίκαιον εἶναι καὶ πρέπον πατριάρχην γε ὄντα λέγειν αὐτὸν τὰ τῆς γνώμης σφοδρῶς κατήπειγον· εἰ δ' οὖν, ταῖς οὐ καλαῖς ὑποψίαις δο κεῖν ἐνέχεσθαι. τοῦτο ἐφ' ἡμέραις ποιοῦντες, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν ἤνυ τον, τέλος θάτερον δυοῖν ποιεῖν ἐδικαίουν, ἢ λαμβάνειν τὴν ἐξ ἐκείνου περὶ αὐτῶν ὁμολογίαν, καθὼς ἦν βουλητὸν σφίσιν, ἢ κατακαίειν αὐτόν τε καὶ τοὺς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν ὡς περὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν αὐτῶν ἁμαρτάνοντας. ὥριστο τοίνυν ἡμέρα, καὶ λαὸς ἤθροιστο, καὶ λιπαρῶς ἀνέκρινον πάλιν. ὁ δ' οὐδὲν παρὰ τὰ πρότερα ἔλε γεν· εἶναι γὰρ ὁδίτην, καὶ μὴ ἀνάγκην ἔχειν μή τινος συνεστώσης συνόδου λέγειν. καὶ ἐπεχείρουν κατακαίειν. κἂν καὶ εἰς ἔργον 595 προύβη τὸ μελετώμενον, εἰ μή γέ τις ἐξ ἐκείνων σταθεὶς τὴν βου λὴν ἔλυε· μηδὲ γὰρ εἰς συνοῖσον τῷ γένει τούτων γενέσθαι τὴν πρᾶξιν, ἀλλ' ἀνάγκην εἶναι μεγάλου τινὸς τῶν κατ' Ἀλεξάνδρειαν καὶ ἱκανὴν συγγένειαν ἔχοντος ζητηθῆναι τὸν φόνον τούτου ἀπὸ τῶν ἐκεῖ καταιρόντων τῆς αὐτῶν φύτλης, οἳ δὴ κατὰ χρείαν ἐμ πορείας τοῖς κατ' Αἴγυπτον τόποις ἐφίστασθαι μέλλοιεν. ταῦτ' εἰπὼν ἔδοξε πιθανός, καὶ τὸ χείριστον ἐκεῖνο σκέμμα ὡς ἀράχνης ἱστὸς διελύετο. διωρίαν οὖν ἡμερῶν τῷ πατριάρχῃ διδοῦσι τῆς χώρας ἐξελθεῖν, μεθ' ἃς εἰ ἐπιμείνοι, δέχεσθαι τὸν κίνδυνον ἐδικαίουν. ὡς δ' οὐδὲν ὑφίστατο οὐδὲ τὴν ἐγγύην ἐδίδου, εἰς δέκα πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας περιιστῶσι καὶ ἀπολύουσιν. ἀλλ' οὕτως ἀλύουσι τούτοις, ἐπεὶ πρὸς ταῖς Θήβαις ἦσαν, μαθὼν ὁ τοῦ τό που ἄρχων καὶ μέγας οὕτως φημιζόμενος κύριος κακὸν ἀπάντημα γίνεται· κατασχὼν γὰρ εἱρκταῖς παραδίδωσι ταῖς ἀφαλεστάταις, καὶ τιμῆς δισχιλίων νομισμάτων ἠβούλετο ἀποδόσθαι. ὕστερον δὲ μετὰ καιρὸν χρησίμου φανέντος τοῦ πατριάρχου τῷ κατέχοντι νοσηλευομένῳ, ἐλευθερία τοῖς κατακλείστοις δίδοται. καὶ περὶ τὸν Ἁλμυρὸν δεχθέντες ἐκεῖ που καὶ κατεσκήνουν, εὐμενῶς τῶν τοῦ τόπου κυρίων αὐτοὺς ὑποδεξαμένων. ἡμῖν δ' ἐφεξῆς ἑκτέον τῆς ἱστορίας. 596

17. Μοναχός τις Ἱλαρίων, νέος ὢν καὶ κατὰ τὴν τῆς Περιβλέπτου μονὴν ἐνασκῶν, ἐπεὶ κατ' Ἐλεγμοὺς ἐγεγόνει πεμφθεὶς ἐπὶ ταῖς τῆς μονῆς χρείαις (ἦν γὰρ τὸ κτῆμα τοῖς ἐκείνων μετοχίοις ἁρμόζον) ὁσημέραι τε τὰς ἐκεῖθεν ἐκστρατείας ἑώρα Περσῶν, ὡς πάντα μὲν τὰ ἐκεῖ ληΐζεσθαι, ἐπιχρᾶν δὲ καὶ τοῖς κατ' Ἐλεγμούς, καὶ τολμητίας ὢν ἄλλως καὶ ἐμπειρίαις πολεμι καῖς οὐκ ἀπᾴδων, τὸν ἐκεῖσε συλλέγων λαὸν καὶ προσβάλλων τοῖς ἐπιοῦσι Πέρσας κακῶς διετίθει καὶ τὸν τόπον πολυωρῶν οὐκ ἀνίει. ἀλλ' ἡ πολιτεία εὐθὺς καὶ ἡ ὀφειλομένη σεμνότης καὶ ἡ κατ' ἀρετήν οἱ κυρία καὶ μόνωσις πρῶτον μὲν τὸν αὐτοῦ καθη γούμενον, μετέπειτα δὲ καὶ πατριάρχην πείθει μαθόντα ἐμβρι θῶς καὶ δι' ἐπιτιμημάτων σφοδρῶν ἀπείργειν τῆς πείρας τὸν μο ναχόν. ἀλλ' ἐπεὶ καὶ προστιμᾶν ἐδέδοκτο τοῖς μεγίστοις διὰ τὸ τόλμημα, γνοὺς ἐκεῖνος βασιλεῖ προστρέχει. ὁ δὲ καὶ δέχεται καὶ τὰ καθ' ἑαυτὸν διακυβερνᾷ, οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ τὸν πατριάρχην ἐκείνῳ εἶχεν ἐξευμενίζεσθαι. ἐν τοσούτῳ τοῦ καιροῦ τριβομένου καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ πραγμάτων ἀμελουμένων, ἐπισυνίστανται Πέρσαι καὶ ἐπιθέμενοι αἰφνηδὸν πλεῖστον φόνον ἐργάζονται, ἐκείνων φυ λαχθέντων καὶ μόνων ὁπόσοι καὶ παρεβύθησαν τῷ φρουρίῳ. ταῦτα γνοὺς βασιλεύς, καὶ ἐπαλγήσας τῇ συμφορᾷ, εἶχε μὲν 597 ἀνενέγκαι τὴν αἰτίαν ἐφ' οὓς καὶ δίκαιον ἦν ἀνενέγκαι· ἀλλ' ὅμως τὸ περιὸν τῆς εὐλαβείας, καὶ ὅτι ἐδόκει ζητεῖσθαι συντήρησις τάξεως μοναχῶν, ἀμελεῖν ἐποίει, καὶ τὰ τῆς θεραπείας ὡς ἐνῆν διεσκόπει, εἰ [γὰρ] καὶ ἄπρακτα πάντα κατὰ πεπραγμένων ἐφαί νετο. μόλις λιπαρῶς τῶν περιλειφθέντων ἀξιούντων βασιλέα περὶ τοῦ Ἱλαρίωνος, ἐνδυναστεύει τὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης, καὶ πεμφθεὶς ἐπὶ πατριάρχην μόλις ἀνίεται. καὶ αὖθις ἐπιστάς, ὅσον ἦν, τὰ ἐκεῖσε διησφαλίζετο· τὸ γὰρ πέριξ ἅπαν τοῖς Πέρσαις κατείληπτο, καὶ Προῦσα τὰ δεινὰ τὰ πρὸς ἐκείνους διδοῦσα τέλους ὀνόματι, σκιὰν εἰρήνης οὐκ ἐν εἰρήνῃ παρὰ τῶν Περσῶν ἀντελάμβανεν.