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he threatened to do terrible things to Kotys, if he did not confess, and questioning his frequent attendance as much as possible. But he blamed custom for frequently 615 attending and for agreeing on stated terms to the sale of his own property—which was Brysis of Graea, assigned to him from his fathers—but as for knowing about the succession to the empire, he considered it equal to arguing about the antipodes. But saying these things he did not persuade. And he wished to investigate the matters concerning the physician Perdiccas, in order to learn something from him of the suspicious matters concerning John, as he spent his leisure with him. For this reason he indeed gave him over to guards, but Kotys, having handed him over to the Celts, he ordered to be hung up and examined; but he had no sooner been bound than he expired from fear and, lifted up a pitiful burden, in the sight of many, he was given over to the earth. And thus he dishonored John by removing the covering on his head, a distinction belonging to the great men, by which he had honored him before. Then indeed, having handed him over to the *parakoimomenos* Basilikos, with all manner of precaution that he should escape notice, having driven him out to Damatrys, he orders him to be blinded, although before the despot Michael, his own brother, supplicated the despotess, and supplicated the patriarchs and the spiritual men in whom the emperor confided, that the punishment might be suspended. But they did not persuade by supplicating. And when the earth was shaken at midday after daybreak, Perdiccas said he was astonished not only that the earth was shaken, but that the mountain did not fall on them as they were doing such things, he underwent the punishment of the cutting off of his nose. And another, because having seen his own child out of old habit, he embraced him in a friendly way, he suffered the slitting of the child's nostrils. But against George, the son of Pachomius, who was a learned man and a teacher of grammar, since, being with Michael Strategopoulos in Heraclea of Pontus, on account of his daytime preoccupation with other things he conversed mostly at night and they were announced, 617 that one, having removed him from his generalship, he brought and judged as aspiring to the throne, but against the other he kindled a terrible suspicion of speaking about these things, supposedly knowing of reigns from books. And since, having proposed to blind that man, he was checked against his will by the entreaties of the despotess—for she was his first cousin—he still suspended the punishment for him, but attached the whole of his anger to Pachomius. For the name, being dreadful for him just to hear from certain oracles, prepared him to do away with the one who had it, as holding some evil for him according to fate. But in fact the homonymy was misleading the oracle; for he, fleeing his fate, blinded the man, but the place of Pachomius in Macedonia, already awaiting him, so to speak, was preparing the wails for his death. And that man wandered blind, not avoiding the path of men, but filling them with wonder, if suspicions about the empire had room even for such men; but the other, with his blind hopes, thought he was escaping, but was not in truth escaping. From this came anger against monks, not because they were apostatizing from the church, but because they were counting his days and defining his times, as if stirring up evils from this. And terrible were the threats against them kindled from anger, yet they were suspended with the foresight of not seeming to punish irrationally, even if for a small while he deprives Galaktion of his eyes, and removes the tongue of Meletius; but exiles were even more moderated for the men, avoiding the punishments. Therefore Lazarus the Gorianite, a venerable man, he sent those who would blind him, and subjected him to punishments. And in addition Macarius, also nicknamed Peristeres on account of his simplicity and guilelessness, having subjected him to a trial for treason, as one who had stirred up the western rulers against the emperor, while sitting somewhere outside our borders, he promised Ikarios, who was girded with the honor of grand duke, to get him into his hands and, offering the charge of treason, he let him off the accusation, if he would accept peace; but if not, he threatened to subject him to trial. But he, persevering 619 in his opposition, undergoes the punishment. But Kokkos

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Κότυν, εἰ μὴ ὁμολογοίη, δεινὰ ἠπείλει ποιεῖν, καὶ τὴν συχνὴν προσεδρείαν ἐς ὅτι μάλιστα ἀνακρίνων. Ὁ δὲ τοῦ μὲν συχνῶς 615 προσεδρεύειν συνήθειαν ᾐτιᾶτο καὶ τοῦ ἐπὶ ῥητοῖς συμφωνεῖν τὴν τοῦ σφετέρου κτήματος πρᾶσιντὸ δ' ἦν ἡ Βρύσις τῆς Γραίας, ἐκ πατέρων ἐκείνῳ προσκληρωθέν, τὸ δὲ περὶ διαδοχῆς βασιλείας εἰδέναι ἶσον ἐτίθει καὶ τῷ περὶ τῶν ἀντιπόδων διισχυρίζεσθαι. Τὰ δὲ λέγων οὐκ ἔπειθεν. Ἠβούλετο δ' ἐρευνᾶν καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν ἰατρὸν Περδίκκαν, ἐφ' ᾧ τι μαθεῖν παρ' ἐκείνου τῶν καθ' ὑποψίαν κατὰ Ἰωάννου, ὡς παρ' ἐκεῖνον σχολάζοντος. Τῷ τοι καὶ αὐτὸν μὲν φυλακαῖς ἐδίδου, τὸν δὲ Κότυν, τοῖς Κελτοῖς παραδούς, κρεμαννύειν καὶ ἐτάζειν ἐκέλευεν· ὁ δ' οὐκ ἔφθη δεθεὶς καὶ τῷ φόβῳ διαπεφώνηκε καί, φόρτος ἐλεεινὸς ἀρθείς, πολλῶν βλεπόντων, τῇ γῇ παρεδίδοτο. Ἰωάννην δὲ καὶ οὕτως ἠτίμου τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀφαιρῶν καλύπτραν, μεγιστᾶσιν οὖσαν ἀξίαν, καθ' ἣν ἐτίμα τὸ πρότερον. Εἶτα δέ γε καὶ τῷ παρακοιμωμένῳ Βασιλικῷ ἐγχειρίσας, προνοίᾳ τοῦ λαθεῖν ἐκεῖνον παντοίᾳ, εἰς ∆αματρύα ἐξεληλακότα, ἐκτυφλοῦν κελεύει, πολλὰ πρότερον τοῦ Μιχαὴλ δεσπότου καὶ αὐταδέλφου λιτανεύοντος μὲν δέσποιναν, λιτα νεύοντος δὲ πατριάρχας τε καὶ οἷς ὁ κρατῶν ἐπληροφορεῖτο πνευματικοῖς ἀνδράσιν, ἐφ' ᾧ τὴν ποινὴν ἀργῆσαι. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔπειθον λιτανεύοντες. Ὡς δ' ἡ γῆ μεσημβρίας ἐσείετο μεθ' ἡμέραν, ὁ Περδίκκας, ὅτι μόνον οὐ τὸ τὴν γῆν σείεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ καταπίπτειν ἐκείνοις τὸ ὄρος, τοιαῦτα πράττουσιν, ἔλεγε τεθηπέναι, ποινὴν ὑπέσχε τὴν ἐκτομὴν τῆς ῥινός. Καὶ ἄλλος, ὅτι μόνον οἰκεῖον ἐκείνῳ παῖδα ἐκ παλαιᾶς συνηθείας ἰδὼν τὰ φιλικὰ προσεπτύσσετο, σχισμὰς τῶν ῥωθώνων τῶν παιδικῶν ἀπώνατο. Τῷ δὲ τοῦ Παχωμίου Γεωργίῳ, γραμματιστῇ γε ὄντι καὶ ἐλλογίμῳ, ἐπειδή, τῷ Στρατηγοπούλῳ Μιχαὴλ συνὼν κατὰ τὴν Πόντου Ἡράκλειαν, ὡμίλει διὰ τὴν ἡμερινὴν πρὸς τἆλλ' ἀσχολίαν νυκτὸς τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ προσηγ 617 γέλλοντο, ἐκεῖνον μέν, τῆς στρατηγίας παραλύσας, ἀγαγὼν ἔκρινεν ὡς βασιλειῶντα, τῷ δὲ τὴν τοῦ λέγειν περὶ τούτων, ἐκ βίβλων δῆθεν εἰδότα βασιλειῶν, δεινὴν ὑποψίαν ἀνῆπτε. Κἀπειδή, προθέμενος ἐκτυφλοῦν ἐκεῖνον, ταῖς τῆς δεσποίνης δυσωπίαιςἦν γὰρ αὐτανεψία ἐκείνουκαὶ παρὰ γνώμην ἀνεχαιτίζετο, ἐκείνῳ μὲν καὶ ἔτι τὴν ποινὴν ἀνήρτα, Παχωμίῳ δὲ τὸ πᾶν τῆς ὀργῆς προσῆπτε. Τὸ γὰρ ὄνομα φρικτὸν ὂν ἀκούειν ἐκείνῳ καὶ μόνον ἔκ τινων φοιβασμάτων, ἐκποδὼν ποιεῖν τὸν ἔχοντα παρεσκεύαζεν, ὥς τί οἱ κακὸν κατὰ μοῖραν περιέχον. Ἐξέκρουε δ' ἄρα ἡ ὁμωνυμία τὸ μάντευμα· ἐκεῖνος μὲν γάρ, τὸ μόρσιμον φεύγων, ἐξετύφλου τὸν ἄνδρα, τὸ δέ γε κατὰ Μακεδονίαν τοῦ Παχωμίου χωρίον, ὅσον ἤδη ἐκεῖνον ἀναμένον, τὰς ἐπὶ τῷ θανάτῳ ηὐτρέπιζεν οἰμωγάς. Κἀκεῖνος μὲν τυφλὸς ἀλᾶτο, πάτον ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἀλεείνων, ἀλλὰ πληρῶν θαυμασμοῦ, εἰ μέχρι καὶ ἐς τοιούτους ἄνδρας χώραν ἔσχον αἱ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας ὑποψίαι· ὁ δέ, τὰς τυφλὰς ἐλπίδας, ᾤετο μὲν δραπετεύειν, οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐδραπέτευεν. Ἐντεῦθεν ὀργὴ κατὰ μοναχῶν, οὐχ ὅτι τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἀποστατοῦσιν, ἀλλ' ὅτι ἡμέρας τὰς αὐτοῦ ἀριθμοῦσι καὶ χρόνους περιορίζουσιν, ὡς ἀνεσείοντες τῶν κακῶν ἐντεῦθεν. Καὶ δειναὶ μὲν ἦσαν αἱ κατ' ἐκείνων ἀπειλαὶ ἐξ ὀργῆς ἀνημμέναι, ὅμως δ' ἀνηρτῶντο προνοίᾳ τοῦ μὴ δοκεῖν κολάζειν ἀλόγως, εἰ καὶ μικρὸν ὅσον καὶ Γαλακτίωνα μὲν τῶν ὀμμάτων στερεῖ, Μελέτιον δὲ ἀφαιρεῖται τῆς γλώσσης· αἱ δ' ἐξορίαι καὶ μᾶλλον τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐμετριά ζοντο, ἐκκλίνουσι τὰς ποινάς. Λάζαρον μὲν οὖν τὸν Γοριανίτην, ἄνδρα σεβάσμιον, ἀποστείλας τοὺς ἐκτυφλώσοντας, ταῖς ποιναῖς ὑπῆγε. Πρὸς δὲ καὶ Μακάριον, τὸν καὶ Περιστέρην παρονομασθέντα τοῦ ἁπλοῦ καὶ ἀκάκου χάριν, ὑπαγαγὼν δίκῃ καθοσιώσεως, ὡς τοὺς δυτικοὺς ἄρχοντας κατὰ βασιλέως διεγείραντα, ἔξω που τῶν ἡμετέρων ὁρίων καθήμενον, ἐπαγγείλας τῷ Ἰκαρίῳ, τὴν τοῦ μεγάλου δουκὸς περιεζωσμένῳ τιμήν, εἰς χεῖρας ποιεῖται καί, προτείνων τὴν καθοσίωσιν, τοῦ ἐγκλήματος ἀνίει, εἰ τὴν εἰρήνην δέχοιτο· εἰ δ' οὖν, ἀλλὰ τῇ δίκῃ καθυπάγειν ἠπείλει. Ὁ δέ, τῇ ἐνστάσει 619 διακαρτερῶν, τὴν τιμωρίαν ὑπέχει. Κόκκους δὲ