225

it happens for those who wish it. 13.8.4 For knowing the perversity of those who followed him, he did not wish to cross over the mountain passes, although he was very eager to take on the battle with Bohemond himself publicly, as indeed he had often recounted to us in the past. For he was sharper than any sword in battle, intrepid in spirit and altogether undaunted; but the circumstances prevented him from the attempt, terribly vexing his soul. 13.8.5 Bohemond, therefore, being hard-pressed both from land and sea (for the emperor was sitting like a spectator of the things being done on the plain of Illyricum, even though with all his soul and mind he was present with the combatants and shared in the same sweat and labors as they, if not more, one might say, inciting to battle and war the commanders stationed along the ridges of the mountain passes and suggesting how they should attack the Celts; while Marianus, watching the routes of the strait between Lombardy and Illyricum, completely prevented those from there from crossing over to Illyricum, not allowing a trireme or a cargo ship of ten thousand measures or even a two-oared muscle-boat to cross over to Bohemond at all) and with the food supplies brought by sea having failed him and those from the land being attacked, he saw the war proceeding with much experience (for whenever someone went out of the camp for the sake of foraging or for some other harvests, or when they drove the horses out to drink, the Romans would attack them and kill the greater part, so that his army was being worn down little by little) he sent to Alexius, the duke of Dyrrachium, to ask about peace. 13.8.6 And since one of Bohemond’s noble counts, William Clareles, saw the entire army of the Celts being destroyed by both famine and disease (for a terrible one had descended upon them from above), securing his own safety, he deserted to the emperor with fifty horsemen. The emperor, receiving such a man and learning the situation concerning Bohemond, and being assured of the army's collapse from famine and that their situation had been driven into extreme straits, he honored him at that time with the rank of nobelissimos, rewarding him with many gifts and favors. And having learned through the letters of Alexius that Bohemond was sending an embassy to him concerning peace, and understanding also those around him who were always plotting some evil against him and seeing them rising up at every hour and being struck more by those in his bosom than by foreign enemies, since it did not seem good to him to fight against both with both hands any longer, making a virtue of necessity, as someone has said, he judged it better to embrace peace with the Celts and not to push away Bohemond’s requests, but he was afraid to proceed further for the reason the account mentioned above. 13.8.7 For these reasons, he himself remained where he was, standing against both sides, but he instructed the duke of Dyrrachium by letter to say such things to Bohemond: "You know for certain how many times I have been deceived by trusting your oaths and words. And if the divine law of the gospel did not exhort Christians to forgive all things to one another, I would not have opened my ears to your words. But it is better nonetheless to be deceived than to have offended God and to transgress divine laws. For this reason, therefore, I do not send away your request. If, therefore, you yourself also truly wish for peace, having abhorred the wickedness and fruitlessness of the deed you attempted, and you no longer wish to rejoice in the shedding of Christian blood, neither for your own country nor for the Christians, but for the sake of your will and yours alone, since the distance between us is short, come yourself with as many men as you wish. And whether the

225

ἐθέλουσι γίνεται. 13.8.4 Γινώσκων γὰρ τὸ διάστροφον τῶν συνεφεπομένων αὐτῷ οὐκ ἤθελε τὰς κλεισούρας ὑπερ βῆναι, καίτοι πολλὰ σφαδάζων δημοσίαν τὴν τοῦ Βαϊ μούντου μάχην αὐτὸς ἀναδέξασθαι, καθά γε καὶ πάλαι πολλάκις ἡμῖν δεδιήγητο. Ἦν γὰρ πρὸς τὰς μάχας παντὸς ξίφους τομώτερος, ἄτρεστος τὴν γνώμην καὶ παντάπασιν ἀκατάπληκτος· ἀλλὰ τὰ συμπεσόντα οἱ ἀπεῖργε τοῦ ἐγχειρή ματος δεινῶς αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκπιέζοντα. 13.8.5 Στενοχω ρούμενος οὖν ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος ἀπό τε ἠπείρου καὶ θαλάσσης (καὶ γὰρ ὁ μὲν αὐτοκράτωρ οἷον θεατὴς τῶν κατὰ τὴν πεδιάδα τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ πραττομένων καθῆστο, κἂν ὅλῃ ψυχῇ καὶ γνώμῃ καὶ συμπαρῆν τοῖς μαχομένοις καὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐκείνοις ἱδρώτων καὶ πόνων μετεῖχεν, εἰ μή που καὶ πλείω τις φαίη, ἐρεθίζων πρὸς μάχας καὶ πολέμους τοὺς κατὰ τὰς ἀκρολοφίας τῶν κλεισουρῶν κατατεθέντας ἡγεμόνας καὶ ὑποτιθέμενος, ὅπως χρὴ προσβάλλειν τοῖς Κελτοῖς· ὁ δέ γε Μαριανός, τοῦ ἀναμεταξὺ Λογγιβαρδίας καὶ Ἰλλυρικοῦ πορθμοῦ τὰς κελεύθους ἐπιτηρῶν, ἀπεῖργε παντάπασι τοὺς ἐκεῖθεν πρὸς τὸ Ἰλλυρικὸν διαπερῶντας, οὐ τριάρμενον οὐδὲ μυριοφόρον ὁλκάδα οὐδὲ μυοπάρωνα δίκωπον τὸ παράπαν ξυγχωρῶν πρὸς τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον διαπερᾶν) καὶ αὐτῶν γοῦν τῶν διὰ θαλάττης κομιζομένων τροφίμων ἐκλιπόντων αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν διὰ ξηρᾶς ἐπιτιθεμένων, σὺν ἐμπειρίᾳ πολλῇ τὸν πόλεμον ἑώρα προβαίνοντα (ὁπηνίκα γὰρ τοῦ χάρακος χορ ταγωγίας χάριν ἐξῄει τις ἢ καί τινων συγκομιδῶν ἄλλων ἢ καὶ τοὺς ἵππους εἰς ποτὸν ἐξήλαυνον, ἐπετίθεντο τούτοις οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι καὶ τοὺς πλείονας ἀνῄρουν, ὡς κατὰ μικρὸν τὸ αὐτοῦ δαπανᾶσθαι στράτευμα) ἀποστείλας πρὸς τὸν δοῦκα ∆υρραχίου Ἀλέξιον τὰ περὶ εἰρήνης ἐπερωτᾷ. 13.8.6 Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ εἷς τις εὐγενὴς τῶν τοῦ Βαϊμούντου κομήτων, Γελίελμος ὁ Κλαρέλης, ἑώρα τὸ ἅπαν στράτευμα τῶν Κελ τῶν ὑπό τε λιμοῦ καὶ νόσου (δεινὴ γάρ τις τούτοις ἐπέσκη ψεν ἄνωθεν) διαφθειρόμενον, τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίαν πραγμα τευόμενος μεθ' ἵππων πεντήκοντα αὐτομολεῖ πρὸς τὸν αὐτο κράτορα. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὸν τοιοῦτον ἀποδεξάμενος πυθόμε νός τε τὰ κατὰ τὸν Βαϊμοῦντον, καὶ τήν τε ὑπὸ λιμοῦ τοῦ στρατεύματος πτῶσιν βεβαιωθεὶς καὶ ὡς ἐν στενῷ κομιδῆ τὰ κατ' αὐτοὺς ἐληλάκει, αὐτὸν μὲν τῷ τοῦ νωβελλισίμου τηνι καῦτα τιμᾷ ἀξιώματι πολλαῖς δωρεαῖς καὶ χάρισιν ἀμειψά μενος. Μεμαθηκὼς δὲ διὰ τῶν τοῦ Ἀλεξίου γραμμάτων ὅτι ὁ Βαϊμοῦντος τὰ περὶ εἰρήνης πρὸς αὐτὸν διαπρεσβεύεται, κατανοῶν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν ἀεί τι κακὸν κατ' αὐτοῦ διανοουμένους καὶ ὅσαι ὧραι ἐπανισταμένους ὁρῶν καὶ βαλ λόμενος μᾶλλον ὑπὸ τῶν ἐγκολπίων ἢ τῶν ὀθνείων ἐχθρῶν, ἐπεὶ ἐδόκει αὐτῷ μὴ ἐπὶ πλέον πρὸς ἑκατέρους ἀμφοτέραις χερσὶ μάχεσθαι, τὴν ἀνάγκην φιλοτιμίαν ποιησάμενος, ὥς πού τις ἔφη, βέλτιον ἔγνωκεν εἶναι τὴν μετὰ τῶν Κελτῶν εἰρήνην ἀσπάσασθαι καὶ μὴ τὰς τοῦ Βαϊμούντου ἀπώσασθαι αἰτήσεις, ἐπτοεῖτο δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ προσωτέρω χωρῆσαι δι' ἣν ἄνωθεν ὁ λόγος ἐνέφηνεν αἰτίαν. 13.8.7 ∆ιὰ ταῦτα αὐτὸς μὲν αὐτοῦ που προσέμενεν ἀντικαθιστάμενος πρὸς ἄμφω τὰ μέρη, τῷ δὲ δουκὶ ∆υρραχίου τοιαῦτα πρὸς τὸν Βαϊ μοῦντον εἰπεῖν διὰ γραμμάτων ἐπέσκηψεν· «Οἶσθα πάντως ὁσάκις ἠπάτημαι πιστεύων τοῖς σοῖς ὅρκοις καὶ ῥήμασιν. Καὶ εἰ μὴ ὁ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου θεῖος νόμος Χριστιανοῖς ἅπαντα συγχωρεῖν ἀλλήλοις παρεκελεύετο, οὐκ ἂν πρὸς τοὺς σοὺς λόγους τὰ ὦτα ἀνέῳξα. Βέλτιον δὲ ὅμως ἀπατᾶσθαι ἢ προσκεκρουκέναι Θεῷ καὶ θείους παραβαίνειν νόμους. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο οὐκ ἀποπέμπομαί σου τὴν αἴτησιν. Εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐν ἀληθείᾳ τὴν εἰρήνην καὶ αὐτὸς βούλει, μυσαχθεὶς τὸ ἄτοπον οὗπερ ἐπεχείρησας ἔργου καὶ ἀτέλεστον, καὶ οὐκέτι αἵμασι Χριστιανῶν ἐκχεομένοις χαίρειν ἐθέλεις οὔθ' ὑπὲρ τῆς σφῶν πατρίδος οὔθ' ὑπὲρ τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ἀλλὰ σοῦ γε καὶ μόνου χάριν θελήματος, ἐπεὶ βραχὺ τὸ ἀναμεταξὺ ἡμῶν διάστημά ἐστιν, αὐτὸς παραγενοῦ μεθ' ὅσων ἂν βούλῃ. Καὶ εἴτε τὰ