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sacrifices in the seaside meadow of the Golden Gate, he asked the emperor to fix his spear against the Golden Gate itself. But when the emperor did not consent to this, he returned to his own tent. And having marveled at the city's walls and the emperor's well-ordered battle line, and despairing of the siege he had hoped for, he turns to agreements and made tentative proposals concerning peace. But the emperor, seizing the opportunity, attempted to ambush him; but by the multitude of our sins he was prevented from bringing this to completion by the incompetence of those who were serving such a trophy, having wounded him, but not inflicting a fatal blow. At this, the enraged fiend, having sent a raiding party to Saint Mamas, both burned down the palace there and, having loaded the bronze lion of the hippodrome along with the she-bear and the dragon of the water-jar and choice marbles onto wagons, returned, laying siege to Adrianople and taking it.

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θυσίας ἐν τῷ πρὸς θάλασσαν λιβαδίῳ τῆς Χρυσῆς πόρτης, ᾐτήσατο τῷ βασιλεῖ πῆξαι τὸ δόρυ αὐτοῦ κατ' αὐτῆς τῆς Χρυσῆς πόρτης. τοῦ δὲ τοῦτο μὴ καταδεξαμένου, ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὴν ἰδίαν σκηνήν. θαυμάσας δὲ τὰ τῆς πόλεως τείχη καὶ τὴν εὔτακτον τοῦ βασιλέως παράταξιν, καὶ τῆς ἐλπιζομένης αὐτῷ πολιορκίας ἀπογνοὺς ἐπὶ συμβάσεις τρέπεται καὶ περὶ εἰρήνης πειραστικοὺς λόγους ἐποιεῖτο. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ἀφορμῆς δραξάμενος ἐπειράθη τοῦτον λοχῆσαι· ἀλλ' ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν ἡμετέρων ἁμαρτιῶν τοῦτο εἰς πέρας ἀγαγεῖν ἐκωλύθη τῇ τῶν καθυπουργησάντων τῷ τοιούτῳ τροπαίῳ ἀφυΐᾳ, πληγωσάντων μὲν τοῦτον, καιρίαν δὲ μὴ ἐπαγαγόντων πληγήν. ἐπὶ τούτῳ μανεὶς ὁ ἀλάστωρ, ἀποστείλας κοῦρσον ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ Μάμαντι τό τε ἐκεῖσε παλάτιον ἐνέπρησε καὶ τὸν χαλκοῦν λέοντα τοῦ ἱππικοῦ σὺν τῇ ἄρκῳ καὶ τῷ δράκοντι τοῦ ὑδρίου καὶ μαρμάροις ἐπιλέκτοις ἐν ἁμάξαις φορτώσας ὑπέστρεψεν, παρακαθίσας τῇ Ἀδριανουπόλει καὶ ταύτην ἑλών.