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and for him, having reached Thrace, to meet with the Tochars and to rouse them with speeches and receptions, but not to campaign with them, but proceeding with them as far as was possible, to hand them over to their own people and to order what was to be done, and for him to return. He gave proof of this by setting out with his sons and sons-in-law, along with John himself, who had recently become his son-in-law. But nevertheless, under much annoyance and disturbance from the Augusta, so that what was happening was not unknown even to outsiders, as she was dreading the future or rather as that soul of hers was divining what was about to happen, the emperor, agitated and as if unstrung, judging the empress's terror not a good omen, took leave of his intimates and went out. And indeed, he and his sons went as far as Selymbria on horseback; but since the effects of the disease worsened and it was not possible for him to travel on land, from there he decided to use the sea and a ship as far as Rhaedestus. And as soon as they embarked—for the Tochars were reported to be near, and it was not possible to put it off, nor indeed to be negligent and postpone on account of the disease; for he had a bad spleen and was sick in his bowels—so when he and his sons embarked together, someone who was a good guesser then and naturally inclined by his shrewdness to a knowledge of future things, would have readily conjectured from this very thing what was to come. 30. How the emperor, after being in peril at sea, later came ashore and died. For suddenly, although it was calm, the weather changed to become more wintry, and the sea, which until then was placid, grew wild, as a strong north wind fell upon it; and it was not possible for the ship carrying the emperors to hold a steady course, but as if troubled by 663 wild waves, it was carried hither and thither out to sea, not at all obeying commands, about to be sunk with all hands, so that it was often submerged, as if it would not surface again, and just as often, when all hope was lost, it would surface again, with both the sailors and the helmsman at a loss as to how to handle the sea. Then the emperor, seeing the manifest danger and fearing for himself and for all his sons, is said to have told the helmsman that he must struggle even beyond his strength; for if not the whole world, at least he was carrying almost the entire Roman empire on a plank of wood, since he had the emperors. And he hesitated to give up, lest he should openly announce the danger, but he urged that his words should suit the facts, that it was necessary, unless God should help, for all to be swallowed by the sea; so was all nautical skill overcome by the dangers which lay close at hand for them. At any rate, with difficulty, fighting against both wave and raging sea and having many times come close to sinking, they put in to Rhaedestus half-dead from fear. There, at any rate, resting for some days from the turmoil, they used horses once again and, riding forth, arrived as far as the region of Allage. And that was Allage, where it was fated for the ruler to exchange his life; and Pachomius had already been blinded, so that his suspicions might not be complete, but the emperor fulfilled the fatal prophecy for the place of Pachomius. For as the emperors and the army were encamped thereabouts and the disease pressed more heavily, the Tochars also arrived, having hastened to meet the emperor; but it was not possible for the emperor either to be seen on horseback, or indeed to speak, as he lay sick, at which time also, as he was signing the month of November, it happened that he joined the strokes of the letter nu, and it is said that it occurred to him to say, "Behold, November has closed." And this was interpreted to mean that the emperor's actions had come to a close, his soul indicating the future. He was therefore, in the expectation of recovering from the disease, putting off the meeting with the Tochars who had arrived; but since the disease was growing stronger, and to the fear from it was also joined the terror of that nation—for it was not possible to expect otherwise than that they, being stirred up, would destroy what was at hand, being a people accustomed to live by plunder, if the 665 emperor should die—forced then by these things, the emperor decided to speak with them even from his very sickbed of pain, and to do favors for the masses in other ways, but to bring in their leaders and

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κἀκείνῳ, τὴν Θρᾴκην καταλαβόντα, συμμῖξαι μὲν τοῖς Τοχάροις καί γε λόγοις καὶ δεξιώσεσι διεγεῖραι, οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ συνεκστρατεῦ σαι, ἀλλ' ὅσον ἐγχωροῦν προϊόντα σὺν σφίσιν, ἐκείνους μὲν τοῖς οἰκείοις παραδοῦναι καὶ τάξαι τὸ ποιητέον, αὐτὸν δ' ὑποστρέψαι. Ἐτεκμηρίου δὲ ταῦτα καὶ τὸ συνεξελθεῖν υἱέσι τε καὶ γαμβροῖς, ἅμα καὶ αὐτῷ δὴ τῷ πρότριτα γαμβρευσαμένῳ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ὑπὸ πολλῇ τῇ παρὰ τῆς αὐγούστης ὀχλήσει καὶ ταραχῇ, ὡς μηδὲ τοῖς ἐκτὸς ἀγνοεῖσθαι τὰ δρώμενα, διορρωδού σης τὸ μέλλον ἢ μᾶλλον προφοιβαζούσης τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκείνης τὸ συμβησό μενον, ἐπιτεταραγμένως οἷον καὶ ἀνειμένως ὁ βασιλεύς, τὴν τῆς δεσποίνης ὀρρωδίαν οὐκ ἀγαθὸν οἰωνὸν κρίνων, τοῖς γνωρίμοις συνταξάμενος, ἔξεισι. Καὶ δὴ μέχρι Σηλυβρίας αὐτός τε καὶ παῖδες, ἵπποις χρώμενοι, ᾔεσαν· ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ τῆς νόσου ἐπεδίδου καὶ οὐκ ἦν βαδίζειν ἐκεῖνον πεζῇ, ἐκεῖθεν θαλάσσῃ καὶ νηῒ διεγνώκει μέχρι Ῥαιδεστοῦ χρᾶσθαι. Καὶ ἅμ' ἐμβάντων ἠγγέλλοντο γὰρ ἐγγὺς ὄντες καὶ Τόχαροι, καὶ οὐκ ἦν ἀναβάλλεσθαι ἢ μὴν ἀμελεῖν καὶ διὰ τὴν νόσον ὑπερτίθεσθαι· ἐκακοσπλάγχνει γὰρ καὶ τῶν ἐγκάτων ἀρρώστως εἶχεν, ἅμα τοίνυν ἐμβάντων αὐτοῦ τε καὶ παίδων, στοχαστής τις ὢν τότε καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῶν μελλόντων γνῶσιν ἐξ ἀγχινοίας οἰκείως ἔχων, εὐσκόπως ἅμ' ἐξ αὐτῆς τὸ μέλλον ἂν κατετόπασεν. λʹ. Ὅπως, κινδυνεύων κατὰ θάλασσαν, ὁ βασιλεὺς ὕστερον ἐξελθὼν ἐτελεύτησεν. Αἴφνης γάρ, εὐδίας οὔσης, πρὸς τὸ χειμεριώτερον μετέβαλλεν ὁ καιρός, θάλασσά τε ἡ τέως ἥμερος ἐξηγρίαινε, λαμπροῦ πεσόντος τοῦ ἀπαρκτίου· καὶ οὐκ ἦν τὴν τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἄγουσαν ναῦν εὐσταθεῖν, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ὑπὸ 663 κυμάτων ἀγρίων ἀνοχλουμένην, τῇδε κἀκεῖσε φερομένην ἀνάγωγον, μηδὲν ὑπείκουσαν τοῖς κελεύσμασιν, αὔτανδρον ὡς εἶχε καταποντίζεσθαι, ὥστε καὶ πολλάκις μὲν καταδύεσθαι, ὡς οὐκ ἐσαῦθις ἀναδυσομένην, τοσαυτάκις δὲ ἀπελπιζομένην ἀναδύεσθαι πάλιν, καὶ ναυτῶν ἀπορούντων καὶ κυβερνήτου ὅπως χρήσονται τῇ θαλάσσῃ. Τότε καὶ τὸν βασιλέα, προφανῆ τὸν κίνδυνον βλέποντα καὶ περὶ ἑαυτῷ τε καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς παισὶν ὀρρωδοῦντα, εἰπεῖν πρὸς τὸν κυβερνήτην ὡς ἀγωνιστέα καὶ ὑπὲρ δύναμιν· εἰ γὰρ μὴ κόσμον πάντα, ἀλλ' οὖν Ῥωμαΐδα πᾶσαν ἐπὶ ξύλου ἄγειν ὀλίγου, τοὺς βασιλέας ἔχοντα. Καὶ τὸν ἀπειπεῖν μὲν ὀκνεῖν, μὴ καὶ κίνδυνον ἄντικρυς ἐξαγγέλλοι, προτρέ πειν δὲ τὸν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ λόγον τοῖς πράγμασιν, ὡς ἀναγκαῖον ὄν, εἰ μὴ Θεὸς ἀρήγοι, χανεῖν πρὸς θάλασσαν πάντας· οὕτω καὶ τέχνη ναυτικὴ πᾶσα τῶν κινδύνων ἡττᾶτο σφίσιν ἐν χρῷ κειμένων. Μόλις γοῦν, διαμαχόμενοι πρός τε κῦμα καὶ θάλασσαν ἀγριαίνουσαν καὶ πολλάκις ἐγγὺς ἐλθόντες τοῦ καταδῦναι, τῇ Ῥαιδεστῷ ἡμιθνῆτες ἐκ φόβου προσίσχουσιν. Ἐκεῖσε γοῦν ἐφ' ἡμέραις τῆς ταραχῆς ἀνέσαντες, ἵπποις καὶ αὖθις χρησάμενοι, ἐξεληλακότες μέχρι καὶ τῆς Ἀλλαγῆς χώρας κατήντησαν. Ἀλλαγὴ δ' ἦν ἐκείνη καθ' ἣν καὶ τὸ ζῆν μεταλλάττειν εἵμαρτο τῷ κρα τοῦντι· καὶ ὁ μὲν Παχώμιος φθάσας τετύφλωτο, ὡς μὴ ἐντελεῖς τὰς ὑποψίας ποιοῖτο, τὸ δέ γε τοῦ Παχωμίου χωρίον τὸ μόρσιμον ἐξεπλήρου. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖσέ που κατεσκήνουν ἅμα βασιλεῖς καὶ στρατὸς καὶ ἡ νόσος ἐπέκειτο πλέον, ἔφθασαν δὲ καὶ οἱ Τόχαροι, σπεύσαντες συμβαλεῖν βασιλεῖ, βασιλεῖ μὲν οὐκ ἦν οὔθ' ἱππαζομένῳ ὁρᾶσθαι, οὔτε μὴν ὁμιλεῖν εἰς νόσον κειμένῳ, ὅτε καί, τὸν νοέμβριον ὑπογράφοντι συμβὰν τὰς τοῦ ν κεραίας συμμῖξαι, ἐπελθεῖν εἰπεῖν λέγεται ὡς ἰδοὺ συνέκλεισεν ὁ νοέμβριος. Τὸ δ' ἦν ὑπονοηθὲν ὡς συνέκλεισαν αἱ πράξεις τῷ βασιλεῖ, τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ μέλλον ὑποδηλούσης. Ἦν οὖν τῇ τοῦ ῥαΐσαι τῆς νόσου προσδοκίᾳ εἰς ἀναβολὰς τιθεὶς τὸ ἐντυχεῖν ἐπιστᾶσι τοῖς Τοχάροις· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ νόσος ἐκραταιοῦτο καὶ τῷ ἀπὸ ταύτης δέει καὶ ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔθνους ὀρρωδία συνῆπταιοὐ γὰρ ἦν ἄλλως ἐλπίζειν ἢ κινηθέντας ἀφανίζειν τὸ πρὸς ποσίν, εἰωθὸς ἄλλως λῃστείαις ἀποζῆν, τοῦ 665 βασιλέως μεταλλάξαντος, ἀναγκασθεὶς δὴ διὰ ταῦτα, ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ σκίμποδος τῆς ὀδύνης ὁμιλεῖν σφίσιν ἔγνω, καὶ τοῖς μὲν πλήθεσιν ἄλλως ἐς χάριν ποιεῖν, τοὺς δέ γ' ἄρχοντας σφῶν εἰσαγαγεῖν τε