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after considering many things and subjecting the matter to a careful examination, while he is away in the west, immediately upon his return to summon him to trial, and having provided time for a defense, either to condemn him, if he appears to be a perjurer, or to acquit him of the charges, if he has done none of the things suspected. Such things the empress answered, thinking them both just and advantageous at the same time. 21. But the patriarch, hearing of refutations and a trial, and being conscious of much false accusation against himself and the others, and perceiving the danger, how great it would be for them along with the shame befitting false accusers, was in no small agony and for the most part was dead with fear. Yet not having entirely given up his villainy, as if pitying the despair of the empress, "In those matters," he said, "in which God from above also assists, all things run well and smoothly and are accomplished without effort; but in those which he willingly allows to be corrupted, the very opposite is true, full of difficulties and confusion. And I, although I have exposed myself to the utmost dangers because of my goodwill toward you, do not consider my own misfortune so terrible, which will extend to deposition from the throne and imprisonment, as I do yours, since you are about to suffer not only the loss of the Roman empire, but also to be deprived of life itself ingloriously and unlawfully. 2.132 And I am greatly amazed at you, if now, while he is absent from Byzantium and very easy to attack because he knows nothing of what is being done, you so dread the war against him; but after so much time, during which it will be impossible for him to be ignorant of anything that has been said, since not a few are living here who would gladly give up their lives for him, and when he has prepared for everything as seems best to him, you have easily hoped to prevail. For he will not return to Byzantium as you yourself think and as he, deceiving us, solemnly promised, leaving behind his friends and the large retinue about him, so that you may have him to do with as you wish. But knowing that he is suspected, he will not only persuade many of the nobler sort with promises and gifts of great benefits, but also by corrupting the whole army with money, he will cause it to support him. And having a great force about him, he will not only easily destroy us who have chosen to fight against him for the sake of our goodwill toward you, but he will also deal with you and your children, since there is no one to help, in whatever way he thinks will be advantageous to him, having bidden a long farewell to all those solemn pronouncements and deceptions and dissimulations. How you yourself do not see these things I do not know, nor do you wish to provide for the safety of yourself and your children from the means at hand, but you dream of trials and slanders 2.133 and refutations, not even wishing to consider this very thing, that you would be destroyed before you come to these. I, therefore, as I have already said before, mindful not only of the emperor's goodwill, from whom I have enjoyed many and great benefits, but also of yours, and especially because, being a champion of the laws themselves and of justice, and having a duty to support in every way possible all who are wronged in any way, I have both abstained from his friendship, since he has conceived unjust and unlawful things, although I had many reasons for goodwill towards him, and I have advised you on what is advantageous, having cast the die, as they say, and having chosen with you either to live if we conquer, or to die, if it should happen that we experience the opposite fortune. But by some more divine fortune, this man also being present, who would never choose to lie against him whose daughter he lives with, and who would advise you on what is needful not only because of his experience in affairs and the understanding which his great length of years has gathered for him, but also because of his goodwill and sincere and pure faith toward the emperor and his children, it is worthwhile to inquire and to be persuaded by his advice, since he will not wish to advise anything unjust or perilous." But Asanes, just as those who wait in reserve in the athletic contests, so as to grapple themselves with the victors, to those

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σκεψαμένους πολλὰ καὶ βασάνῳ τὸ πρᾶγμα δόντας ἀκριβεῖ, ἕως ἂν ἐκεῖνος ἀπῇ πρὸς τὴν ἑσπέραν, μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον εὐθὺς καλεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν δίκην, καὶ καιρὸν παρασχομένους πρὸς ἀπολογίαν, ἢ καταψηφίζεσθαι, ἂν φαίνηται ἐπιορκῶν, ἢ τῶν ἐγκλημάτων ἀπολύειν, ἂν μηδὲν τῶν ὑποπτευομένων εἰργασμένος ᾖ. τοιαῦτα μὲν ἡ βασιλὶς δίκαιά τε ὁμοῦ καὶ συμφέροντα οἰομένη, ἀπεκρίνατο. καʹ. Ὁ πατριάρχης δὲ ἐλέγχους πυθόμενος καὶ δίκην, πολλήν τε ἑαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις συνειδὼς συκοφαντίαν, καὶ τὸν κίνδυνον συνορῶν, ὅσος αὐτοῖς μετὰ τῆς συκοφάνταις προσηκούσης αἰσχύνης περιέσται, ἠγωνία τε οὐ μετρίως καὶ τῷ πλείστῳ μέρει ἦν ὑπὸ δέους ἀποτεθνηκώς. ἔτι δὲ οὐ παντάπασι πρὸς τὸ κακουργεῖν ἀπειρηκὼς, ὥσπερ τὴν ἀπόνοιαν βασιλίδος οἰκτιζόμενος, «ἐν οἷς» ἔφασκε «πράγμασι καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἄνωθεν συνεφάπτεται, εὔδρομα πάντα καὶ λεῖα καὶ κατορθούμενα ἀπονητί· ὧν δ' αὐτὸς ἑκὼν μεθίεται πρὸς τὸ διαφθαρῆναι, τοὐναντίον ἅπαν, δυσκολίας γέμοντα καὶ ταραχῆς. ἐγὼ δὲ καίτοι κινδύνοις τοῖς ἐσχάτοις διὰ τὴν εἰς ὑμᾶς εὔνοιαν ἐμαυτὸν περιβαλὼν, οὐ τοσοῦτον ἐν δεινῷ τὴν κακοπραγίαν τίθεμαι τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ, ἄχρι καθαιρέσεως τῶν θρόνων καὶ δεσμωτηρίου ἐσομένην, ὅσῳ τὴν ὑμετέραν, οὐκ ἀφαίρεσιν μόνον μέλλουσιν ὑφίστασθαι τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς ζωῆς ἀκλεῶς ἅμα καὶ παρανόμως ἀπο 2.132 στερεῖσθαι. θαυμάζειν δέ μοι καὶ σοῦ παρίσταται πολλὰ, εἰ νῦν, ἀπόντος ἐκείνου Βυζαντίου καὶ λίαν ὄντος εὐεπιχειρήτου διὰ τὸ μηδὲν εἰδέναι τῶν πραττομένων, οὕτω πέφρικας τὸν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον πόλεμον· μετὰ δὲ χρόνον τοσοῦτον, ἐν ᾧ τῶν τε εἰρημένων μηδὲν ἐκείνῳ ἐξέσται ἀγνοεῖν, οὐκ ὀλίγων ἐνταυθοῖ διατριβόντων τῶν ἡδέως ἂν ὑπὲρ ἐκείνου καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς προησομένων καὶ παρασκευάσασθαι πρὸς ἕκαστα, ὡς ἂν ἄριστα αὐτῷ δοκῇ, ῥᾳδίως ἤλπισας περιγενήσεσθαι. οὐ γὰρ ὡς αὐτή τε οἴει κἀκεῖνος φενακίζων ἡμᾶς ἀπεσεμνύνετο, οὕτω πρὸς Βυζάντιον ἐπανήξει, τοὺς φίλους καταλιπὼν καὶ τὴν πολλὴν θεραπείαν τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν, ὥστε σε ἔχειν ὅ,τι βούλει χρήσασθαι αὐτῷ. ἀλλ' εἰδὼς, ὡς ὑποπτεύεται, οὐ τῶν εὐγενεστέρων μόνον πείσει πολλοὺς ὑποσχέσεσι καὶ δωρεαῖς μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ στρατιὰν ἅπασαν αὐτῷ προσέχειν παρασκευάσει χρήμασι διαφθείρας. ἔχων δὲ μεγάλην δύναμιν περὶ αὐτὸν, οὐ μόνον ἡμᾶς τοὺς ᾑρημένους ἐκείνῳ πολεμεῖν τῆς εἰς ὑμᾶς εὐνοίας ἕνεκα διαφθερεῖ ῥᾳδίως, ἀλλὰ καὶ σοὶ καὶ τέκνοις, μηδενὸς τοῦ βοηθοῦντος ὄντος, ὃν αὐτῷ τρόπον λυσιτελήσειν χρήσεται οἰήσεται, πᾶσιν ἐκείνοις τοῖς σεμνολογήμασι καὶ ταῖς ἀπάταις καὶ ταῖς εἰρωνείαις χαίρειν εἰπὼν μακρά. ἃ οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως οὐ συνορᾷς αὐτὴ, οὐδὲ σωτηρίαν ἑαυτῇ τε καὶ τέκνοις ἐκ τῶν ἐνόντων ἐκπορίζειν βούλει, ἀλλὰ δίκας ὀνειροπολεῖς καὶ συκοφαντίας 2.133 καὶ ἐλέγχους, οὐδ' αὐτὸ τοῦτο βουλομένη ἐννοεῖν, ὅτι φθάσαις ἂν διαφθαρεῖσα πρὶν εἰς ταῦτα ἥκειν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν, ἃ καὶ πρότερον ἔφθην εἰπὼν, οὐ τῆς βασιλέως μόνον εὐμενείας μεμνημένος, ὑφ' οὗ πολλῶν ἀπήλαυσα καὶ μεγάλων εὐεργετημάτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς σῆς, ἄλλως θ' ὅτι καὶ νόμων αὐτῶν καὶ δικαίων προβεβλημένος, πᾶσιν ἀνάγκην ἔχων τοῖς ὁπωσοῦν ἀδικουμένοις συναίρεσθαι τὰ δυνατὰ, ἐκείνου τε ἀπεσχόμην τῆς φιλίας, ἄδικα καὶ παράνομα διανοηθέντος, καίτοι πολλὰς ἀφορμὰς τῆς εἰς ἐκεῖνον εὐνοίας ἐσχηκὼς, καὶ σοὶ τὰ λυσιτελοῦντα συμβεβούλευκα, κύβον, ὅ φασι, ῥίψας, καὶ σὺν ὑμῖν ἑλόμενος ἢ ζῇν νικώντων, ἢ ἀποθνήσκειν, ἂν τῆς ἐναντίας πειρᾶσθαι συμβαίνῃ τύχης. θειοτέρᾳ δέ τινι καὶ τοῦδε παρόντος τύχῃ, ὃς ἐκείνου τε οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἕλοιτο καταψεύδεσθαι συνοικοῦντος θυγατρὶ, καὶ σοὶ βουλεύσαιτο τὰ δέοντα οὐ μόνον διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων τὴν ἐμπειρίαν καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν, ἣν ὁ πολὺς αὐτῷ τῆς ἡλικίας χρόνος ἐστὶ συνειλοχὼς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν εἰς βασιλέα καὶ τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς ἐκείνου εὔνοιαν καὶ πίστιν ἄδολον καὶ καθαρὰν, ἄξιον πυνθάνεσθαι καὶ πείθεσθαι παραινοῦντι, οὐδὲν ἄδικον, οὐδ' ἐπισφαλὲς βουλησομένῳ συμβουλεύειν.» Ἀσάνης δ' ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἀγῶσιν ἐφεδρεύοντες, ὥστε τοῖς νικῶσιν αὐτοὶ συμπλέκεσθαι, πρὸς τοὺς