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and to use such a great push and force, that he almost 2.171 fell over, but nevertheless by the momentum he was forced to bend on the knee of one of his legs and, pressing his left hand to the ground, to hold out against the pushes. But that he, although he struggled much, was able to do nothing more. But you, rising from the fall, used a club and brought it down many times on his head, and he, not withstanding the blows, fell to the ground; and you again with a sword cut the head from the body. The vision, then, he said, was such. But I, examining in myself what such things portend, think that he will start a war against you and would bring on many great dangers; but that God will give the victory to you after the dangers. Therefore one must not be idle, but be on guard against the man.” Such things the emperor related about the high priest. And those present, having also heard the example of the fig tree, were more strengthened toward what they had noted from the oracles and the asymmetry of the garments. For they paid attention to his words as to some oracles, whenever he related anything about the future, not only because he had often foretold many future events without error, but also because he had worked certain wonders, which are possible for God alone and for those made his own through purity and loftiness of life. Among which is also related something of this sort, which I will narrate for the sake of ease. A certain one of the citizens of Didymoteichon, not one of the insignificant, suspected that his marriage was being 2.172 ruined by someone, and he was not mistaken in his thoughts; for it was being ruined. But not bearing to cover up the suspicion in silence because of jealousy, he demanded proofs from his wife which would be able to persuade him that what he suspected was not true, or he threatened to inflict the most terrible things, on her who had so insulted their marriage. And the proofs were that she should receive a red-hot iron in her hands. For otherwise he was unable to be persuaded. But the woman, seeing how terrible it was to confess what she had done, for death was the penalty for her injustice to her husband, and thinking that to touch the iron was a clear proof of her transgression, and being driven from both sides into the utmost perplexity, decided that she must take refuge with that great high priest. And approaching him and reporting everything, she begged him to stand by her and not to overlook her, who had fallen into the worst of evils through bad counsel, but to persuade her husband to abstain from the trial, teaching on her behalf that she had done none of the things suspected. And when he asked if any repentance for her licentiousness had entered her and if she promised to be chaste for the rest of her life, when he saw her shedding many fountains of tears and insisting that she would never dare such things again, but even deeming it right to pay the penalty for her sins, after first discoursing at length about chastity and about not needing to transgress against her husband, he then ordered her to touch the iron, just as her husband demanded, and to brave the fire. And she, returning to her husband, 2.173 begged him to apply the ordeal. And he, for he could not bear not to wipe away the suspicion about his wife by some indubitable means, taking her alone inside a certain shrine and having prepared an iron to be as incandescent with fire as was possible, then taking it with tongs, placed it on the woman's hands. And he ordered her to walk around the sacred couch three times. When she had walked around unharmed holding it, as if it had not touched fire at all, the husband, marveling at the power of the truth and having cast off his suspicion about his wife, ordered her to place the iron on the couch. When it was laid down, from its extreme heat it burned through the couch and fell to the ground. The man was deemed worthy of such grace and he accomplished many more wonderful things, as we will later mention in due course. 28. But the emperor Kantakouzenos, on the next day after the proclamation, having gathered an assembly from both the army and as many of the senators as were present, said, "Men of the Romans, although even before I have many times my good will toward the empress and the emperor her son

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καὶ ὠθισμῷ τοσούτῳ χρήσασθαι καὶ βίᾳ, ὥστε μικροῦ μὲν δεῆσαι ἀνα 2.171 τρέψαι, ὅμως ὑπὸ ῥύμης καταναγκάσαι ἐπὶ γόνυ τε κλιθῆναι θατέρου τῶν ποδῶν καὶ τὴν λαιὰν χεῖρα προσερείσαντα τῇ γῇ, ἀντέχειν πρὸς τοὺς ὠθισμούς. ἐκεῖνον δὲ, καίτοι πολλὰ μογήσαντα, μηδὲν πλέον δυνηθῆναι. σὲ δὲ τοῦ πτώματος ἐξαναστάντα, χρήσασθαι ῥοπάλῳ καὶ πολλάκις αὐτοῦ τῆς κεφαλῆς κατενεγκεῖν, μὴ ἀντισχόντα δὲ πρὸς τὰς πληγὰς εἰς τὴν γῆν καταῤῥυῆναι· σὲ δὲ αὖθις ξυρῷ τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ σώματος ἀποτεμεῖν. ἡ μὲν οὖν ὅρασις, ἔφη, τοιαύτη ἦν. ἐγὼ δ' ἐξετάζων ἐπ' ἐμαυτοῦ πρὸς ὅ,τι τὰ τοιαῦτα φέρει, πόλεμόν τινα ἐκεῖνον οἴομαι ἐνστήσεσθαι πρὸς σὲ καὶ κινδύνους μεγάλους καὶ πολλοὺς ἂν ἐπενεγκεῖν· τὴν δὲ νίκην μετὰ τοὺς κινδύνους σοὶ παρέξεσθαι τὸν θεόν. διὸ χρὴ μὴ ῥᾳθυμεῖν, ἀλλὰ φυλάττεσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα.» τοιαῦτα μὲν περὶ τοῦ ἀρχιερέως διεξῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεύς. οἱ παρόντες δὲ καὶ τοῦ περὶ τοῦ σύκου παραδείγματος ἀκούσαντες μᾶλλον ἐπεῤῥώσθησαν πρὸς ἃ ἐπεσημήναντο ἐκ τῶν λογίων καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐνδυμάτων ἀσυμμετρίας. ὥσπερ γάρ τισι χρησμοῖς τοῖς ἐκείνου προσεῖχον λόγοις, ἡνίκα περὶ τῶν μελλόντων διεξῄει τι, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὸ πολλὰ πολλάκις τῶν ἐσομένων ἀπταίστως προειπεῖν, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τεράστιά τινα εἰργασμένος ἦν, ἃ θεῷ μόνῳ δυνατὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνῳ διὰ τὴν κάθαρσιν καὶ πολιτείας ὕψος ᾠκειωμένοις. ἐν οἷς τι φέρεται καὶ τοιοῦτον, ὃ ῥᾳστώνης χάριν διηγήσομαι. τῶν παρὰ ∆ιδυμοτείχῳ πολιτευομένων τις οὐ τῶν ἀσήμων ὑπώπτευε παρά του τὸν γάμον διε 2.172 φθάρθαι καὶ οὐχ ἡμάρτανε τῶν λογισμῶν· διέφθαρτο γάρ. τὴν ὑποψίαν δὲ μὴ φέρων ὑπὸ ζηλοτυπίας στέγειν σιγῇ, πίστεις ᾔτει τὴν γυναῖκα, αἳ δυνήσονται πείθειν, ὡς μὴ εἴη ἅπερ ὑπενόει ἀληθῆ, ἢ τὰ δεινότατα ἠπείλει διαθήσειν, οὕτως ἐξυβρικυῖαν εἰς τοὺς γάμους. αἱ πίστεις δὲ ἦσαν, σίδηρον αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τὼ χεῖρε δέξασθαι ἐκφλογωθέντα. ἄλλως γὰρ πείθεσθαι μὴ δύνασθαι. ἡ γυνὴ δὲ τό,τε τὰ εἰργασμένα ἐξαγγέλλειν συνορῶσα ὡς δεινὸν, θάνατος γὰρ ἦν ἡ ζημία τῆς εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα ἀδικίας, τό,τε τοῦ σιδήρου ἅπτεσθαι ἔλεγχον τῆς ἀτοπίας οἰομένη φανερὸν καὶ ἀμφοτέρωθεν εἰς ἀπορίαν ἐσχάτην συνελαυνομένη, ἐπὶ τὸν μέγαν ἐκεῖνον ἀρχιερέα καταφεύγειν ἔγνωκε δεῖν. προσελθοῦσα δὲ καὶ πάντα ἀπαγγείλασα, ἐδεῖτο προστῆναί οἱ καὶ μὴ περιιδεῖν, ὑπὸ κακοβουλίας ἐσχάτοις κακοῖς περιπεσοῦσαν, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄνδρα πείθειν τῆς πείρας ἀποσχέσθαι, διδάσκοντα ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς, ὡς οὐδὲν εἴη τῶν ὑποπτευομένων εἰργασμένη. τοῦ δὲ, εἰ μετάνοιά τις αὐτὴν εἰσίοι πρὸς τὴν ἀκολασίαν καὶ εἰ σωφρονεῖν τὸν ἐπίλοιπον βίον ἐπαγγέλλοιτο, πυνθανομένου, ὡς εἶδε πολλὰς δακρύων καταχέουσαν πηγὰς καὶ μηδέποτε τοιαῦτα τολμήσειν αὖθις ἰσχυριζομένην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἡμαρτημένων διδόναι δίκας ἀξιοῦσαν, πολλὰ περὶ σωφροσύνης πρότερον διαλεχθεὶς καὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα παρανομεῖν, ἔπειτα ἐκέλευεν ἅπτεσθαι τοῦ σιδήρου, ὥσπερ ὁ ἀνὴρ ἠξίου καὶ τοῦ πυρὸς κατατολμᾷν. ἡ δὲ ἐπανελθοῦσα πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα, 2.173 ἐδεῖτο τὴν βάσανον προσάγειν. ἐκεῖνος δὲ, καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἠνείχετο μὴ ἔκ τινος ἀναμφιβόλου τὴν περὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ὑποψίαν ἀποτρίβεσθαι, μόνην ἔνδον ἱεροῦ τινος παραλαβὼν καὶ σίδηρον, ὡς μάλιστα ἐνῆν, ἀπηνθρακῶσθαι πυρὶ παρασκευάσας, ἔπειτα λαβόμενος διὰ πυράγρας, ἐπέθηκε ταῖς χερσὶ τῆς γυναικός. καὶ τὸν ἱερὸν ἐκέλευε σκίμποδα περιιέναι τρίς. ἐπεὶ δὲ περιῆλθεν ἀπαθῶς κατέχουσα, ὡς μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν προσομιλήσαντα πυρὶ, τὴν δύναμιν τῆς ἀληθείας θαυμάσας ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ τὴν περὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ὑποψίαν ἀποσκευασάμενος, ἐκέλευε τὸν σίδηρον ἐπὶ τοῦ σκίμποδος τιθέναι. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔκειτο, ὑπὸ τῆς ἄγαν πυρακτώσεως τὸν σκίμποδα διατρήσας, κατέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν. τοιαύτης ἦν χάριτος ἠξιωμένος ὁ ἀνὴρ καὶ πολλὰ θαυμασιώτερα κατεπράξατο, ὡς ὕστερον ἐπιμνησόμεθα κατὰ καιρόν. κηʹ. Βασιλεὺς δὲ ὁ Καντακουζηνὸς εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν μετὰ τὴν ἀνάῤῥησιν ἐκκλησίαν συναθροίσας ἔκ τε τῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ τῶν συγκλητικῶν ὅσοι παρῆσαν, «ἄνδρες» εἶπε «Ῥωμαῖοι, καίτοι καὶ πρότερον πολλάκις τὴν περὶ βασιλίδα καὶ βασιλέα τὸν υἱὸν ἐμὴν εὔνοιαν