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reckless, for the most part ill-advised, a lover of building, generous. His wife was Sophia. And he was crowned by John the patriarch, who was from the scholastics. And being pious, he adorned the churches that were built by Justinian, both the great church, the Holy Apostles, and the rest, bestowing upon them treasures and furnishings and all revenue. And he sent abba Photeinos, the stepson of Belisarius, giving him all authority to pacify the churches of Egypt and Alexandria. This Justin was continually ill and suffering from vertigo and unable to go out; since some had no recourse against the powerful, the powerful, sparing no one, plundered the 1.681 possessions of all. If ever he was strong enough to go forth into the church, the wronged would cry out to him to obtain mercy. Therefore, having summoned everyone to the senate, he said, "I for my part thought all of you were pious and content with your own possessions and wronged none of the poor, but you do things contrary to God and to my reign. But I exhort you, willingly give back the possessions of the poor, lest you also lose your own." But they, having heard this, acted even worse than before, being drawn by habit; for habit is a terrible thing, so that it has even been called a second nature. And again when the emperor was going forth to the procession, more people cried out. And again, having summoned the senate during the procession, he said, "If you think that I hold my reign from God and in God, do the things that are justly spoken by me and cease from wronging the poor; for only among fish is this the custom, for the stronger and greater to devour the lesser. But if you do not submit to my commands, but, being caught up in your own desires, are greedy, appoint for yourselves another emperor whom you wish; for I cannot reign over the disobedient and the unjust and the greedy." And a certain one of those in authority, speaking boldly, says to the emperor, "Let Your Majesty appoint me prefect before all, and decree that I spare no one for the sake of justice, and permit me to come in to you without hindrance to remind Your Highness of what is fitting. And I guarantee that within thirty days neither one who does wrong nor one who is wronged will be found. 1.682 But if anyone makes a report about some case which I heard and did not pass judgment on, I will be punished by death." When the emperor gladly accepted this, he was appointed prefect. And in the morning, when he had taken his seat upon the prefect's tribunal, and a certain widow woman approached him and said that a certain magister had seized all her property, he sent her with a seal to tell the magister to appear to give an account. But when she went away and was beaten even more, the prefect sent one of his couriers to the magister; and having deceived him too, he sent him away. And as the prefect was waiting for the magister in the Hippodrome, and the magister himself was summoned to the imperial banquet, the prefect also came to the emperor, and says to him, "If you are keeping, O emperor, what you commanded me, namely not to spare those who wrong the poor, know that I am fulfilling my promise. But if, having changed your mind, you are rather making friends for yourself and banqueting with them, know that I too am resigning." And the emperor said, "If I am the one doing wrong, remove me from the throne." And he immediately seized the magister by force and came to the place called Chalke, and having carefully examined what was said by both parties, and realizing that the woman had been wronged by him in no small way, he beat him, shaved his head, set him naked on a donkey, and paraded him in triumph through the middle of the city, giving all that man's property to the woman. And from this, all were brought 1.683 to their senses and in many ways they made peace with one another, so that for 30 days no accuser or accused was to be found. And the prefect said to the emperor, "Now, master, I have accomplished what I promised." And when the emperor went forth, as there was no one who

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ἀπονενοημένος, ἀσύμβουλος τὰ πλείω φιλοκτίστης, μεγαλόδωρος. τούτου γυνὴ Σοφία. ἐστέφθη δὲ ὑπὸ Ἰωάννου πατριάρχου τοῦ ἀπὸ σχολαστικῶν. εὐσεβὴς δὲ ὢν ἐπεκόσμησε τὰς ἐκκλησίας τὰς κτισθείσας ὑπὸ Ἰουστινιανοῦ, τήν τε μεγάλην ἐκκλησίαν, τοὺς ἁγίους ἀποστόλους, καὶ τὰς λοιπάς, χαρισάμε νος αὐταῖς κειμήλια καὶ ἔπιπλα καὶ πᾶσαν πρόσοδον. ἀπέστειλε δὲ τὸν ἀββᾶν Φωτεινὸν τὸν προγονὸν Βελισαρίου, δοὺς αὐτῷ πᾶ σαν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ εἰρηνεῦσαι τὰς ἐκκλησίας Αἰγύπτου καὶ Ἀλε ξανδρείας. οὗτος ὁ Ἰουστῖνος συνεχῶς νοσηλευόμενος καὶ σκοτο δινιῶν καὶ μὴ δυνάμενος προέρχεσθαι, ἐπεί τινες κατὰ τῶν δυνα στῶν ἐγκαλεῖν οὐκ εἶχον, οἱ δυνάσται τινὸς μὴ φειδόμενοι τὰ 1.681 πάντων διήρπαζον. εἴ ποτε ἴσχυσε προελθεῖν εἰς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, τούτῳ ἐπεβόων οἱ ἀδικούμενοι ἐλέους τυχεῖν. πάντας τοίνυν ἐπὶ συγκλήτου προσκαλεσάμενος ἔφη "ἐγὼ μὲν ᾤμην ἅπαντας ὑμᾶς εὐσεβεῖς εἶναι καὶ ἀρκεῖσθαι τοῖς ἰδίοις καὶ μηδένα τῶν πτωχῶν ἀδικεῖν, ὑμεῖς δὲ τἀναντία τοῦ θεοῦ πράττετε καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς βασι λείας. ἀλλὰ παρακαλῶ ὑμᾶς, τὰ τῶν πτωχῶν ἀπόδοτε ἑκόντες, μήπως καὶ τὰ ὑμῶν ἀπολέσητε." οἱ δὲ τοῦτο ἀκούσαντες χείρονα μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον ἔπραττον, ὑπὸ συνηθείας ἑλκόμενοι· δεινὸν γὰρ ἡ συνήθεια, ὥστε καὶ δευτέρα φύσις λελόγισται. αὖθις δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπὶ πρόκενσον προϊόντος πλείονες ἐπεβόων. ὁ δὲ πάλιν ἐν τῇ προελεύσει τὴν σύγκλητον προσκαλεσάμενος ἔφη "εἰ μὲν ἐκ θεοῦ με καὶ ἐν θεῷ βασιλείαν ἔχειν οἴεσθε, τὰ παρ' ἐμοῦ δικαίως λεγόμενα πράττετε καὶ τοῦ ἀδικεῖν τοὺς πτωχοὺς παύσα σθε· μόνοις γὰρ ἰχθύσι τοῦτο νενόμισται, τὸ τὸν δυνατώτερον καὶ μείζονα κατεσθίειν τὸν ἐλάσσονα. εἰ δὲ τοῖς ἐμοῖς προστάγμα σιν οὐχ ὑπείκετε, ἀλλὰ ταῖς ἰδίαις ἐπιθυμίαις ἁλισκόμενοι πλεονε κτεῖτε, προχειρίσασθε ἕτερον ὃν ἂν βούλησθε ὑμῖν βασιλέα· ἐγὼ γὰρ ἀπειθῶν καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ πλεονεκτῶν βασιλεύειν οὐ δύναμαι." εἷς δέ τις τῶν ἐν τέλει παρρησιασάμενός φησι τῷ βασιλεῖ "προχει ρισάτω με ἡ βασιλεία σου ἐνώπιον πάντων ἔπαρχον, καὶ διορισάτω μηδενὸς φείδεσθαι τοῦ δικαίου ἕνεκα, συγχωρείτω δέ με εἰσέρχε σθαι πρός σε ἀκωλύτως τοῦ τὰ ἀνήκοντα ὑπομιμνήσκειν τὸ κράτος σου. καὶ βεβαιῶ μέχρι τριάκοντα ἡμερῶν μὴ εὑρίσκεσθαι τὸν 1.682 ἀδικοῦντα ἢ ἀδικούμενον. εἰ δέ τις ὑπομνήσει περί τινος ὑποθέ σεως ἧς ἤκουσα ἐγὼ καὶ οὐκ ἐξεδίκησα, κεφαλικῶς τιμωρηθήσο μαι." τοῦτο τοῦ βασιλέως ἀσμένως ἀποδεξαμένου προεχειρίσθη ἔπαρχος. ἕωθεν δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ ἐπαρχικῷ βήματι προκαθίσαντος, καί τινος αὐτῷ γυναικὸς χήρας προσελθούσης καὶ φησάσης ὡς μάγι στρός τις καθήρπασεν αὐτῆς τὴν οὐσίαν ἅπασαν, ἀπέστειλεν αὐ τὴν μετὰ σφραγῖδος εἰπεῖν τῷ μαγίστρῳ παραγενέσθαι δικαιολο γηθησόμενον. τῆς δὲ ἀπελθούσης καὶ μᾶλλον τυφθείσης, ἕνα τῶν αὐτοῦ κουρσώρων ὁ ἔπαρχος πρὸς τὸν μάγιστρον ἔπεμψε· κἀκεῖνον παραλογισάμενος ἀπεπέμψατο. τοῦ δὲ ἐπάρχου ἐν τῷ ἱππικῷ τὸν μάγιστρον ἐκδεχομένου, αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ μαγίστρου κλη θέντος εἰς τὴν βασιλικὴν ἑστίασιν, ἦλθε καὶ ὁ ἔπαρχος πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ φησὶ πρὸς αὐτόν "εἰ μὲν ἃ προσέταξάς μοι, ὦ βα σιλεῦ, φυλάττεις, τοῦ μὴ φείδεσθαι τῶν τοὺς πτωχοὺς ἀδικούν των, γνῶθί με τελειοῦντα τὴν ἐμὴν ὑπόσχεσιν. εἰ δὲ μεταμελό μενος φίλους μᾶλλον σεαυτῷ ποιεῖς καὶ συνεστιᾷς, γνῶθι κἀμὲ παραιτούμενον." καὶ ὁ βασιλεύς "εἰ ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἀδικῶν, ἐξανά στησόν με τοῦ θρόνου." ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα τὸν μάγιστρον βιαίως ἄρας ἐν τῇ λεγομένῃ χαλκῇ παρεγένετο, καὶ ἀκριβολογησάμενος τὰ παρ' ἀμφοτέρων λεγόμενα, καὶ γνοὺς ὡς οὐ μικρῶς ἠδικήθη παρ' αὐτοῦ ἡ γυνή, τύψας αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν κείρας καὶ γυμνὸν ὄνῳ ἐπικαθίσας διὰ μέσης τῆς πόλεως ἐθριάμβευσε, δοὺς τῇ γυ ναικὶ πᾶσαν τὴν περιουσίαν ἐκείνου. καὶ ἐκ τούτου πάντες ἐσω 1.683 φρονίσθησαν καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους πολυτρόπως εἰρήνευσαν, ὡς μέ χρι λʹ ἡμερῶν μὴ εὑρίσκεσθαι ἐγκαλοῦντα ἢ ἐγκαλούμενον. καὶ ὁ ἔπαρχος ἔφη τῷ βασιλεῖ "νῦν, δέσποτα, ὅπερ ὑπεσχόμην ἐτε λείωσα." τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως προελθόντος, ὡς οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ