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his own remarkable escape from the barbarians. For these things the whole multitude acclaimed him and the sound of the acclamation had risen up to the heavens.

14.7.1 These things were thus accomplished and the city of Constantine was filled with the emperor's successes. For in truth, as far as fortune was concerned, he had dealt with difficult and contrary affairs, both for himself and for the Roman state, and he was altogether beset by a multitude of misfortunes, but his virtue and his vigilance and his energy resisted and strove contentiously against every misfortune. For to no emperor from of old until the present day has such a complication of affairs and wickedness of all kinds of men, both at home and abroad, approached, as we have found in the case of this emperor. For whether it was necessary for Roman affairs to be in a bad state by God's permission (for I would never attach our affairs to the revolution of the stars) or whether the Roman dominion had come to this state of affairs from the ill-counsel of previous emperors, a great mass of troubles and a tumultuous sea of turmoil came together in the time of my father's reign. 14.7.2 For at the same time the Scythian from the north, and the Celt from the west, and Ishmael from the east were in turmoil, apart from the dangers from the sea, without the sea-ruling barbarians, without the countless pirate ships which the wrath of the Saracens had built, which the greed and malevolence of the Vetones had joined together against the Roman empire. For they all cast envious eyes upon it. For the Roman empire, being by nature the mistress of the other nations, has a slavish element disposed hostilely towards it, and whenever it seizes an opportunity, each one attacks from a different place, from land and from sea. But the things before and the affairs of the reigns before us were very light and easier; but in the time of my father, as soon as he had mounted the imperial chariot, immediately all the terrible things flowed in together from all sides; and the Celt was set in motion and showed the point of his spear, and Ishmael drew his bow, and the whole Nomad nation and all the Scythian people in countless wagons acted insolently. 14.7.3 But perhaps someone, coming to this point in the narrative and reading the book, might say that my tongue has been bribed by nature. But I, no, by the emperor's dangers for the sake of the Romans' well-being, no, by my father's struggles and misfortunes which he suffered on behalf of the Christians, I am not saying and writing such things to gratify my father. And wherever I might see my father making a mistake, I openly transgress the natural law and cling to the truth, considering him a friend, but holding truth dearer. For both being friends, as some philosopher once said, it is best to honor the truth. But following the facts themselves, neither adding anything from myself nor taking away from what happened, I both speak and write. 14.7.4 And the proof is close at hand. For I do not carry back my writing to the ten-thousandth year, but there are some who are still alive today who knew my father and relate the events concerning him, from whom not a few things of the history have been collected here, with different people relating different things and remembering what each happened upon, and all agreeing. For most things we also understood, being with our father, and we accompanied our mother. For our life was not of the kind that is spent at home and turns to shade and luxury. But as for me, from my very swaddling clothes, I swear by my God and His mother, labors and afflictions took hold of me, and continuous misfortunes, some from without, some from within. For as for the things concerning my body, how they were, I would not say; let those in the women's quarters speak of these things and recount them. But the things from without, and all that had befallen me before I had passed my eighth year, and how many enemies the

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παράδοξον ἑαυτοῦ ἀπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων φυγήν. Οἷς ἐπευφήμησεν ὅλον τὸ πλῆθος καὶ μέχρις αἰθέρος ὁ κρότος τῆς εὐφημίας ἀνεληλύθει.

14.7.1 Ταῦτα μὲν οὕτως ἐτετέλεστο καὶ ἡ Κωνσταντίνου ἐνεπέπληστο τῶν τοῦ βασιλέως κατορθωμάτων. Καὶ γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς ὅσον μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης δυσχερέσι πράγμασιν ὡμι λήκει καὶ ἀντίξως ἔχουσι πρός τε αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων πράγματα καὶ ὅλως δυστυχημάτων πλήθει περιερ ρεῖτο, ἀλλ' ἥ γε ἀρετὴ τούτου καὶ τὸ ἐγρηγορὸς καὶ δρασ τήριον ἀντέβαινέ τε καὶ φιλονείκως εἶχε πρὸς ἅπαν δυστύχημα. Οὐδενὶ γὰρ τῶν ἀνέκαθεν βασιλέων καὶ εἰς τὴν τήμερον ὄντων πραγμάτων ἐπιπλοκὴ καὶ μοχθηρία παντο δαπῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ οἴκοι καὶ θύραθεν, προσεπέλασεν, ὡς ἐπὶ τούτου τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος εὕρομεν. Εἴτε γὰρ ἔδει πονη ρῶς διατεθῆναι τὰ τῶν Ῥωμαίων Θεοῦ παραχωροῦντος (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἂν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀστρῴας περιφορᾶς ἐξαπτοίμην ποτὲ τὰ ἡμέτερα) εἴτε ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν προβεβασιλευκότων ἀβουλίας εἰς τόδε καταστάσεως τὰ τῆς ῥωμαϊκῆς δυνασ τείας ἔστη, ὄχλος πολὺς πραγμάτων καὶ πολυκύμαντος τάραχος ἐπὶ τῶν καιρῶν τῆς βασιλείας τοὐμοῦ πατρὸς συνελήλυθεν. 14.7.2 Ἅμα γὰρ κατὰ ταὐτὸν καὶ Σκύθης ἀπὸ βορρᾶ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἑσπέρας Κελτὸς καὶ ἐξ ἀνατολῶν Ἰσμαὴλ ἐτετάρακτο, χωρὶς τῶν ἀπὸ θαλάσσης κινδύνων, ἄνευ τῶν θαλασσοκρατούντων βαρβάρων, ἄνευ τῶν πειρα τικῶν ἀναρίθμων νηῶν ἃς ἡ τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἐτεκτόνευσε μῆνις, ἃς ἡ τῶν Οὐετόνων συνεπλέξατο πλεονεξία καὶ κατὰ τῆς ῥωμαϊκῆς βασιλείας δύσνοια. Καὶ γὰρ ἐποφθαλ μιῶσι πάντες αὐτῇ. Φύσει γὰρ οὖσα δεσπότις τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν ἡ βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων ἐχθρωδῶς διακείμενον ἔχει τὸ δοῦλον, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἐπιδράξαιτο καιροῦ, φέρεται ἄλλος ἄλλοθεν ἐκ γῆς καὶ θαλάττης ἕκαστος. Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν πρό τερον καὶ τὰ τῆς πρὸ ἡμῶν βασιλείας ἐλαφρότατα ἦν καὶ κουφότερα· ἐπὶ δὲ τοὐμοῦ πατρός, ἅμα τε ἐπιβεβήκει τοῦ βασιλικοῦ ἅρματος, καὶ εὐθὺς ἐπισυνέρρευσεν ἁπανταχόθεν ἅπαντα τὰ δεινά· καὶ ὁ Κελτὸς ἐκεκίνητο καὶ ἐδείκνυ τοῦ δόρατος τὴν ἀκμὴν καὶ ὁ Ἰσμαὴλ τόξον ἐνέτεινε καὶ τὸ Νομαδικὸν ἅπαν ἔθνος καὶ Σκυθικὸν ὅλον ἁμάξαις παμ μυρίαις ἐπέβρισεν. 14.7.3 Ἀλλ' ἴσως τις ἐνταῦθα τοῦ λόγου γενόμενος καὶ ἐντυγχάνων τῷ συγγράμματι δεδεκασμένην εἴποι τῇ φύσει τὴν γλῶτταν. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ μὰ τοὺς τοῦ βασι λέως ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν Ῥωμαίων εὐδαιμονίας κινδύνους, οὐ μὰ τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀθλήματα καὶ τὰς συμφοράς, ἃς ὑπὲρ τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἐπεπόνθει, οὐκ ἔγωγε χαριζομένη τὠμῷ πατρὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ λέγω καὶ γράφω. Ἥ γε καὶ ὅπη τὸν πατέρα σφαλλόμενον ἴδοιμι, ἄντικρυς καὶ παραβαίνω τὸν νόμον τὸν φυσικὸν καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐξέχομαι, φίλον μὲν καὶ τοῦτον ἡγουμένη, φιλτέραν δὲ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔχουσα. Ἀμφοῖν γὰρ ὄντοιν φίλοιν, ὥς πού τις ἔφη φιλόσοφος, κρά τιστον προτιμᾶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν. Ἀλλὰ τοῖς πράγμασιν αὐτοῖς ἐπακολουθοῦσα, καὶ μήτε προστιθεμένη παρ' ἐμαυτῇ μήτε ὑφαιροῦσα τὰ ξυμπεσόντα, καὶ λέγω καὶ γράφω. 14.7.4 Καὶ ἐγγύθεν ὁ ἔλεγχος. Οὐ γὰρ εἰς μυριοστὸν ἔτος ἀνάγω τὸ σύγγραμμα, ἀλλ' εἰσὶν οἵτινες εἰς τὴν τήμερον περιόντες καὶ τὸν πατέρα τὸν ἐμὸν ἐγνωκότες καὶ τὰ κατ' αὐτὸν ἀφηγούμενοι, ἀφ' ὧν καὶ οὐκ ὀλίγα τῆς ἱστορίας ἐνταυθοῖ συνηράνιστο, ἄλλων ἄλλο τι διηγουμένων καὶ μεμνημένων ὧν ἕκαστος ἔτυχε καὶ πάντων ὁμοφωνούντων. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ πλείω καὶ ἡμεῖς συνῆμεν τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῇ μητρὶ συνειπό μεθα. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν τὸ ἡμέτερον τοιοῦτον οἷον οἰκουρικὸν καὶ ὑπὸ σκιὰν καὶ τρυφὴν στρεφόμενον. Ἀλλ' ἐμὲ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῶν σπαργάνων, ὄμνυμι τὸν ἐμαυτῆς Θεὸν καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου μητέρα, πόνοι καὶ θλίψεις παρέλαβον καὶ συμφοραὶ συνε χεῖς, αἱ μὲν ἔξωθεν, αἱ δὲ οἴκοθεν. Τὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ σώμα τος ὁποδαπῶς εἶχον, οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμι, λεγέτωσαν δὲ ταῦτα οἱ περὶ τὴν γυναικωνῖτιν καὶ καταλεγέτωσαν. Τὰ δὲ ἔξωθεν καὶ ὅσα μοι συνεπεπτώκει οὔπω τὸν ὄγδοον ὑπερελασάσῃ χρόνον, καὶ ὅσους ἐχθροὺς ἡ