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the emperor's letters declared. And it was sent by a certain monk who laid claim to virtue and who voluntarily undertook the danger out of zeal for what is good. But when the patriarch read the letters, he answered nothing to what was written, but ordered the monk to be shut up in prison, as if he were one of those caught in the most terrible crimes, as if making his defense by his actions, that he would rather choose war than peace. But the empress, seeing from what was happening both the war, how it would be the cause of many evils for the Romans, and that the emperor Kantakouzenos had done nothing during the time of the war from which one might suppose the things said against him to be true, was terribly struck in her soul and she repented of her rush to war. Wherefore once, when only the women of her court were present, "It seems to me," she said, "that I have been deceived by no small deception, having been persuaded of things that are not true about Kantakouzenos. For in examining all that he had done throughout the time of the war, I find nothing by which I might be persuaded that he was plotting against her children. And that she, 2.203 overlooking the clearest proof from the facts, had paid attention to words having no soundness, from which she would harm not only herself, but also the affairs of the Romans in no small measure. And when the women asked what remedy might be devised for the evils, since he had already become emperor; "Easy," said the empress. "For Kantakouzenos, even while the emperor was still alive, did not wear the imperial robe, but he had the power of an emperor. What wonder is it then, if what he did under a private man's garment, he should now do the same things wearing the imperial one? And for the sake of goodwill towards me and the emperor my son, even before the war was stirred up, we agreed that he should give his daughter Helen to my son the emperor in marriage. If this were done now, the war would easily be ended, and affairs would be administered by him, just as before. But if not, there will be nothing to prevent the Roman empire from being destroyed by itself." Some of the women, therefore, approved what was said as having been rightly and advantageously decided. But to others it seemed not advantageous; at daybreak the next day, what had been said was reported to Apokaukos the parakoimomenos. But he, thinking that what had been said brought them to the ultimate danger, went to the patriarch and those who had participated in the plot against the emperor, and said, "We are lost, and from great good fortune our affairs have suddenly turned to the extremity of 2.204 danger. For the empress, prompted I know not from where, has decided to come to terms with Kantakouzenos, on the condition that they accept him as emperor and that his daughter Helen be joined in marriage to her son the emperor. If these things should happen, no hope is left to us of not disappearing from among men and being destroyed with our entire households in some new way. For you yourselves know how many accusations have been made by us against him, all of which you must keep in mind and show all diligence, so as not only to prevent a truce from being made, but also to kindle the war as much as possible. For nothing is more advantageous for us than this." It therefore seemed to them also that what had been decided by the empress was most terrible; and considering how they must escape the danger, it seemed necessary to go to the empress and, by using either deceit or fear with threats, to persuade her to confirm by oaths that, unless they themselves first voted in favor, she would neither do nor plan anything concerning peace with Kantakouzenos. 34. Having thus agreed, they came to the empress. And having greeted her, they said, "All of us, and especially the patriarch, were ranked among the first of Kantakouzenos's friends, and we enjoyed many and great benefits from him. So long as he was well-disposed to you, the emperors, and intended to do what was just, not one of us dared not only to fight, but even to speak against him. 2.205 But from the time that he planned unjust and unlawful things and rushed to kill the children of the emperor who had loved him much and to secure the Roman empire for himself, hating his purpose as inhuman and wicked,

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βασιλέως γράμματα ἐδήλου. ἐπέμπετο δὲ διὰ μοναχοῦ τινος ἀρετῆς ἀντιποιουμένου καὶ ζήλῳ τῷ πρὸς τὰ καλὰ ἑκοντὶ τὸν κίνδυνον ὑπελθόντος. πατριάρχης δὲ ἐπεὶ τὰ γράμματα ἀνέγνω, οὐδὲν μὲν πρὸς τὰ γεγραμμένα ἀπεκρίνατο, τὸν μοναχὸν δὲ ἐκέλευε δεσμωτηρίῳ κατακλείειν, ὥσπερ τινὰ τῶν ἐπὶ δεινοτάτοις ἑαλωκότων, ὥσπερ ἔργοις τὴν ἀπολογίαν πεποιημένος, ὅτι μᾶλλον τὸν πόλεμον αἱροῖτο τῆς εἰρήνης. ἡ βασιλὶς δὲ ἐκ τῶν πραττομένων συνορῶσα τόν τε πόλεμον, ὡς πολλῶν ἔσται κακῶν αἴτιος Ῥωμαίοις, τόν τε βασιλέα Καντακουζηνὸν οὐδὲν παρὰ τὸν τοῦ πολέμου χρόνον εἰργασμένον, ἐξ ὧν ἄν τις οἰήσαιτο ἀληθῆ τὰ εἰρημένα εἶναι κατ' αὐτοῦ, ἐπλήττετό τε τὴν ψυχὴν δεινῶς καὶ μετέμελεν αὐτῇ τῆς πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὁρμῆς. ὅθεν καί ποτε, τῆς γυναικωνίτιδος συνούσης μόνης, «δοκεῖ μοι,» ἔφασκεν «ἀπάτην ἠπατῆσθαι οὐ μετρίαν, τὰ οὐκ ὄντα πεισθεῖσαν περὶ Καντακουζηνοῦ. ἐξετάζουσαν γὰρ, ὅσα ἐκεῖνος παρὰ πάντα εἴργαστο τὸν τοῦ πολέμου χρόνον, μηδὲν εὑρίσκειν, ᾧ πεισθείη, ὡς ἐπεβούλευε παισὶ τοῖς αὐτῆς ἐκεῖνος. αὐτὴν δὲ 2.203 τὴν ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπόδειξιν ἐναργεστάτην οὖσαν παριδοῦσαν, λόγοις μηδὲν ἔχουσιν ὑγιὲς προσχεῖν, ἐξ ὧν οὐχ ἑαυτὴν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ Ῥωμαίων βλάψειε πράγματα οὐ μέτριά τινα. ἐρομένων δὲ τῶν γυναικῶν, καὶ ποία ἄν τις ἐπινοηθείη θεραπεία τῶν κακῶν, βασιλέως ἐκείνου ἤδη γεγονότος· ῥᾳδία, ἔφασκεν ἡ βασιλίς. Καντακουζηνὸν γὰρ, καὶ βασιλέως ἔτι περιόντος, ἐσθῆτα μὲν οὐ περιβεβλῆσθαι βασιλικὴν, δύναμιν δὲ ἔχειν βασιλέως. τί οὖν θαυμαστὸν, εἰ ἃ ὑπὸ τὴν ἰδιωτικὴν ἐσθῆτα ἔπραττε, τὰ ἴσα νῦν καὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν ἔχων πράττοι; εὐνοίας δὲ ἕνεκα τῆς πρὸς ἐμὲ καὶ βασιλέα τὸν υἱὸν, καὶ μήπω τοῦ πολέμου κεκινημένου, τὴν θυγατέρα Ἑλένην βασιλεῖ τῷ ἐμῷ υἱῷ συνεθέμεθα πρὸς γάμον ἀγαγεῖν. οὗ δὴ γεγενημένου νῦν, ὅ,τε πόλεμος καταλυθήσεται ῥᾳδίως, καὶ τὰ πράγματα ὑπ' ἐκείνῳ, ὥσπερ καὶ πρότερον, διοικηθήσεται. εἰ δὲ μὴ, οὐδὲν ἔσται τὸ κωλῦσον τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν αὐτὴν ὑφ' ἑαυτῆς διαφθαρῆναι.» αἱ μὲν οὖν τῶν γυναικῶν ἐπεψηφίσαντο τὰ εἰρημένα ὡς ὀρθῶς καὶ λυσιτελῶς βεβουλευμένα. ταῖς δὲ ἐδόκει μὴ λυσιτελεῖν· ἅμα δὲ ἡμέρᾳ εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν Ἀποκαύκῳ ἐμηνύετο τῷ παρακοιμωμένῳ τὰ εἰρημένα. ἐκεῖνος δὲ νομίσας, περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων αὐτοῖς τὸν κίνδυνον τὰ εἰρημένα ἄγειν, πρὸς πατριάρχην καὶ τοὺς τῆς κατὰ βασιλέως συμμετασχόντας ἐπιβουλῆς ἐλθὼν, «ἀπολώλαμεν» εἶπε «καὶ εἰς ἔσχατον κιν 2.204 δύνου ἐκ πολλῆς εὐτυχίας τὰ πράγματα ἡμῖν ἀθρόον περιέστη. ἡ βασιλὶς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδ' ὅθεν ὁρμηθεῖσα, διαλύεσθαι πρὸς Καντακουζηνὸν διενοήθη ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλέα τε αὐτὸν στέργειν καὶ Ἑλένην τὴν θυγατέρα βασιλεῖ πρὸς γάμον ἁρμόζειν τῷ υἱῷ. ἃ εἰ γένοιτο, οὐδεμία τις ὑπολέλειπται ἡμῖν ἐλπὶς τοῦ μὴ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανισθέντας καινῷ τινι τρόπῳ πανοικεσίᾳ ἀπολέσθαι. ἴστε γὰρ αὐτοὶ, ὅσα ἡμῖν κατ' ἐκείνου κατηγόρηνται, ἃ πάντα χρὴ ἐνθυμουμένους, πᾶσαν ἐπιδείξασθαι σπουδὴν, ὥστε μὴ μόνον γίνεσθαι σπονδὰς ἐᾷν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν πόλεμον, ὡς οἷόντε, ἀνάπτειν. οὐδὲν γὰρ ἢ τοῦτο λυσιτελέστερον ἡμῖν. ἐδόκει μὲν οὖν κἀκείνοις δεινότατα τὰ βασιλίδι βεβουλευμένα· σκεπτομένοις δὲ, ᾗ χρὴ τὸν κίνδυνον διαφυγεῖν, ἐδόκει δεῖν πρὸς βασιλίδα ἀπελθόντας καὶ ἢ ἀπάταις χρησαμένους ἢ φοβήσαντας ἀπειλαῖς, πείθειν αὐτὴν δι' ὅρκων ἐμπεδοῦν, ὡς, εἰ μὴ πρότερον συνεπιψηφίζοιντο καὶ αὐτοὶ, μήτε πράττειν, μήτε βουλεύεσθαί τι περὶ τῆς πρὸς Καντακουζηνὸν εἰρήνης. λδʹ. Οὕτω δὲ συνθέμενοι πρὸς βασιλίδα ἧκον. προσαγορεύσαντες δὲ, «ἡμεῖς» εἶπον «πάντες, καὶ μάλιστα πατριάρχης, ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις ἦμεν τῶν Καντακουζηνοῦ τεταγμένοι φίλων, καὶ πολλῶν ἐκείνου καὶ μεγάλων ἀπηλαύσαμεν τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν. μέχρι μὲν οὖν κἀκεῖνος εὔνους τε ὑμῖν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἦν καὶ τὰ δίκαια διενοεῖτο πράττειν, οὐδ' ἡμῶν οὐδεὶς οὐχ ὅτι πολεμεῖν, ἀλλ' οὐδ' ἀντιφθέγγεσθαι ἐτόλμα. 2.205 ἐξ ὅτου δὲ ἄδικα καὶ παράνομα διενοήθη καὶ τοῦ πολλὰ πεφιληκότος βασιλέως κτείνειν ὥρμητο τοὺς παῖδας καὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων βασιλείαν ἑαυτῷ περιποιεῖν, μισήσαντες τὴν γνώμην ὡς ἀπάνθρωπον καὶ πονηρὰν,