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that they had sinned, by making peace with those who were in error on divine dogmas, taking a different view. But Meletios spoke very boldly, so as to say many things in a single synod and finally to order his attendant to pick up his outer garment and follow, as being ready even for exile, striving for such things. But those around the bishop of Ephesus were prudent on account of the emperor, not wishing to seem to be introducing scandals into established affairs; nevertheless they also took it hard and wished, as it seemed, to get rid of him secretly.

24. How the patriarch departed to the mountain of Saint Auxentios and concerning the emperor’s actions there. Then therefore, on the twelfth of the month of Anthesterion, having crossed the Bosporos, we rode straight to the emperor and, having been received as guests in the monastery of Lychnia, from there we met with the emperor daily. But what was then being done by him was worthier to be written with tears than with ink; for the ruler, driven to a Bacchic frenzy by savage thoughts and being suspicious of all, I know not for what reason, but for the time being because of appearances and seeming to be laboring for himself and his supposed religion, if, being most orthodox, he were to be slandered for things tending to the perversion of the faith, he did terrible things. Whence also, sending men, he brings out of prison those noble men whom we mentioned before, the Raoul brothers, Manuel and Isaakios, and a third, John Kantakouzenos—for the protostrator Andronikos had previously died in prison—and brings them before him as condemned men; whom indeed he interrogated for days with words and with many and terrible insults, finally, since they would not submit to the will of the ruler, he ordered first Manuel, and after him Isaakios, to be deprived of their eyes, both and them alone; for Kantakouzenos, being led away, grew afraid and submitted; for on them alone did the suffering fall. And for this reason it was for him, having submitted, to be saved, but they carried off the glory of having done what no one else 613 dared for the sake of their ancestral customs, having previously rebuked the patriarch himself in the emperor’s presence, that they obey in him those things which he confessed when he was on his own and bound by penances and not those things he now says with his high office. And one day saw deprived of their eyes those whom one womb had borne, and those whom both relation and suffering for one cause had brought together, these were separated from each other, so that one was somewhere else, and Manuel was shut up under guard in some inhospitable fortress in Kenchreai near the Skamandros. After them also John, the son of the despot Michael, whom his mother, bringing him from the west as a hostage for the treaties, had handed over to the emperor, and the ruler made him son-in-law of the sebastokrator Tornikios, even though he, disliking his wife, lived by himself, he sent men to bring him as a prisoner from Nicaea; for there as general he was successful, adorned with trophies from the Persians; for which reason he also fell under suspicion of aiming at the throne, with no other evidence than his success and being glorified by the people. And what also kindled the suspicion was the monk Theodore Kotys, meeting with him alone at leisure often by day and by night. This Kotys was the one who long ago, while in secular life, having learned of the attempt against this very man who was then grand constable, that the emperor wished to blind him, came and reported it out of friendship and deserted with him to Persia. So for him to say such things, as I suppose, to the then emperor—and the words went forward—this it was that also confirmed the suspicion against John, as though he knew even more. So he sent and brought him too. So the charge openly brought was that he had spoken ill of the porphyrogennetos and that, when the emperor ordered him to advance against the Persians, he, being ironic about the orders, had said: 'Let the porphyrogennetos come, being sent to accomplish what is commanded.' So this was the visible charge, but what he sought by night was that other matter, being greatly troubled by his suspicion. And since it could not be shown, the

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ἡμαρτῆσθαι σφίσι, ποιησαμέ νοις εἰρήνην μετὰ σφαλλόντων ἐν θείοις δόγμασιν, ἀνθαιρούμενοι. Ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Μελέτιος καὶ λίαν ἐπαρρησιάζετο, ὡς καὶ μιᾶς πολλὰ ἐν συνόδῳ λαλῆσαι καὶ τέλος τὸν ἐπενδύτην κελεῦσαι τῷ ὀπαδῷ ἀράμενον ἕπεσθαι, ὡς καὶ εἰς ἐξορίαν ἕτοιμος ὤν, ὑπὲρ τοιούτων ἀγωνιζόμενος. Οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Ἐφέσου προνοη τικῶς μὲν εἶχον διὰ βασιλέα, μὴ θέλοντες δοκεῖν παρεισάγειν ἐν καθεστῶσι σκάνδαλα· ὅμως δὲ καὶ βαρέως ἔφερον καὶ ἐκποδὼν ποιεῖν κατὰ τὸ λεληθὸς ἐκεῖνον, ὡς ἐδόκουν, ἠβούλοντο.

κδʹ. Ὅπως εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Ἁγίου Αὐξεντίου ἀπῆλθεν ὁ πατριάρχης καὶ περὶ τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκεῖ. Τότε τοίνυν, δωδεκάτῃ ἀνθεστηριῶνος μηνός, τὸν Βόσπορον διαπεραιωσά μενοι, εὐθὺ βασιλέως ἠλαύνομεν καί, τῇ τῆς Λυχνίας μονῇ ξεναγηθέντες, ἐκεῖθεν καθ' ἡμέραν τῷ βασιλεῖ συνεμίσγομεν. Τὰ δ' ἐκείνῳ τότε πραττόμενα δακρύοις μᾶλλον ἢ μέλανι γράφειν ἦν ἄξιον· λογισμοῖς γὰρ ἀγρίοις διεκβακχευθεὶς ὁ κρατῶν καὶ πᾶσιν ὑπόπτως ἔχων, οὐκ οἶδα καθότι, τέως δέ γε τοῖς φαινομένοις καὶ τῷ δοκεῖν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ δῆθεν θρησκείας πονῶν, εἰ, ὀρθοδοξῶν ἐς τὰ μάλιστα, τὰ πρὸς παρατροπὴν πίστεως διαβάλλοιτο, δεινὰ ἐποίει. Ὅθεν καὶ πέμψας ἐξάγει τῆς φυλακῆς τοὺς εὐγενεῖς ἄνδρας ἐκείνους ὧν καὶ πρώην ἐμνήσθημεν, τοὺς ἐκ Ῥαοὺλ αὐταδέλφους, τὸν Μανουήλ τε καὶ τὸν Ἰσαάκιον, καὶ τρίτον τὸν ἐκ Καντα κουζηνῶν Ἰωάννηνὁ γὰρ πρωτοστράτωρ Ἀνδρόνικος φθάσας ἐν τῇ φυλακῇ προτετελευτήκει, καὶ σφᾶς πρὸς ἑαυτὸν κατακρίτους φέρει· οὓς δὴ καὶ ἐφ' ἡμέραις ἐτάζων λόγοις καὶ ὕβρεσι πλείσταις τε καὶ δειναῖς, τέλος, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἦν σφᾶς ὑποκλίνεσθαι τῷ τοῦ κρατοῦντος θελήματι, τὸν μὲν Μανουὴλ πρῶτον, ἐπ' ἐκείνῳ δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἰσαάκιον στερεῖ τῶν ὀμμάτων κελεύσας, ἄμφω καὶ μόνους· ὁ γὰρ Καντακουζηνὸς ἀπαγόμενος δειλιάσας ὑπέκλινεν· ἐπ' ἐκείνοις γὰρ μόνοις τὸ παθεῖν μὴ καὶ ἦν. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐκείνῳ μὲν ἦν ὑποκλιθέντι σῴζεσθαι, οἱ δὲ τὴν τοῦ διαπράξασθαι ἃ μηδεὶς ἄλλος 613 ἐτόλμα δόξαν ὑπὲρ πατρίων ἐθῶν ἀπηνέγκαντο, πολλὰ πρότερον καὶ αὐτὸν πατριάρχην ἐπὶ βασιλέως ἐλέγξαντες, ὡς ἐκεῖνα πείθονται τούτῳ ἃ δὴ ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ ὢν ὡμολόγει καὶ ἐπιτιμίοις πεδούμενος καὶ οὐχ ἃ τέως μετ' ἀξιώμα τος. Καὶ εἶδε μία ἡμέρα ἐστερημένους ὀμμάτων οὓς μία γαστὴρ ὤδινε, καὶ οὓς ἥ τε σχέσις συνῆγε καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς παθεῖν, τούτους ἀπ' ἀλλήλων διῃρημένους, ὡς τὸν μὲν ἀλλαχοῦ που, τὸν δὲ Μανουὴλ ἐν ταῖς κατὰ Σκάμανδρον Κεγχρεαῖς ἀπανθρώπῳ τινὶ φρουρίῳ ἐγκατακλεισθῆναι φρου ρούμενον. Ἐπ' ἐκείνοις καὶ τὸν τοῦ δεσπότου Μιχαὴλ υἱὸν Ἰωάννην, ὃν ὡς ὅμηρον ἡ μήτηρ τῶν συνθηκῶν ἀναγαγοῦσα ἐκ δύσεως τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐνεχείριζε καὶ γαμβρὸν ὁ κρατῶν ἐτίθει τοῦ Τορνικίου σεβαστοκράτορος, κἂν ἐκεῖνος, τὴν σύζυγον ἀποστέργων, καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἐμονοῦτο, πέμψας ἄγει δέσμιον ἐκ Νικαίας· ἐκεῖσε γὰρ στρατηγῶν κατώρθου, τροπαίοις Περσῶν ἐναγλαϊζό μενος· ἐφ' ᾧ καὶ ὑποψίαν ἔσχε βασιλειῶντος, οὐκ ἄλλῳ τῳ μαρτυρίῳ ἢ τῷ κατορθοῦν καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ δοξάζεσθαι. Ἦν δὲ καὶ τὸ τὴν ὑποψίαν ἐκκαῖον ὁ Κότυς Θεόδωρος μοναχός, μόνος μόνῳ κατὰ σχολὴν ἡμέρας πολλάκις καὶ νυκτὸς συγγινόμενος. Οὗτος δ' ὁ Κότυς ἦν ὃς δὴ καὶ πάλαι, τελῶν ἐν τοῖς κο σμικοῖς, τὴν κατὰ τούτου δὴ τοῦ τότε μεγάλου κονοσταύλου πεῖραν πυθόμενος, ὡς βασιλεὺς ἐκτυφλοῦν ἐκεῖνον ἠβούλετο, ἐλθὼν προσαγγέλλει κατὰ φιλίαν καὶ σὺν ἐκείνῳ ἐπὶ Περσίδος αὐτομολεῖ. Τὸ γοῦν κἀκείνῳ τότε βασιλειῶντι τοιαῦτα, ὡς οἶμαι, λέγεινκαὶ οἱ λόγοι προὔβαινον, τοῦτ' ἦν τὸ καὶ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ Ἰωάννου ὑποψίαν βεβαιοῦν, ὡς εἰδότος ἐκείνου καὶ ἔτι πλέον. Πέμψας γοῦν ἄγει κἀκεῖνον. Τὸ γοῦν κινούμενον προφανῶς ἔγκλημα ἦν ὡς κακηγορήσειε τὸν πορφυ ρογέννητον καὶ ὡς, ἐπειδὴ βασιλεὺς προστάσσων ἐκεῖνον ἐπὶ Πέρσας ἐφώρμα, ὁ δέ, κατειρωνευόμενος τῶν ἐπεσταλμένων, λέξειεν ὡς· «Ἐλθέτω πορφυρο γέννητος ἀποσταλεὶς ἐφ' ᾧ κατορθώσει τὸ προσταττόμενον.» Τὸ γοῦν προὖπτον τοῦτ' ἦν, ὃ δὲ νυκτὸς ἐζήτει ἐκεῖνο, τῇ ὑποψίᾳ συνταραττόμενος. Κἀπειδὴ οὐκ ἦν δείκνυσθαι, τὸν