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so as to advance towards Thrace or even further. And to think that he was counseling what was best and most advantageous for him. For if, abstaining from what he was not master of, he might procure a great benefit not only for himself and his followers, but also for his children, and in addition, by destroying his greatest enemies, he might be established as master of the remaining cities, it was proper to be content 2.265 and not to be contentious beyond what was opportune and moderate. But the emperor said, "You have reasoned correctly about the profit of the alliance and the labors and the expenses for the war. For no one in his right mind, unless he first foresaw some benefit from his actions, would willingly choose to toil and suffer hardship. But if you wish to grant me no favor, it would be reasonable to demand a wage for the alliance, which if I myself provide, I will owe you no gratitude for the assistance. For one who buys something from someone for money would not feel gratitude to the seller for providing it. But if for the sake of friendship alone and the ambition befitting a ruler you should choose to help for free, first you will have counseled what is proper for yourself, campaigning not for the sake of a wage, which is what the many and base among men undergo, but for friendship and ambition; then you will also be able to have more than you seek, with much to spare. For if you acquire me, the ruler of the Romans, as a genuine friend, you will be able to have dominion not only of the cities from Christoupolis and Thessalonica up to the borders of your own rule, but also of the islands and of Byzantium and of the rest of Thrace; for the wise say that the things of friends are common; and it will come to pass that you, along with the ambition from your deeds, will reap a benefit both greater and more wondrous. If, then, obeying me and looking past all 2.266 pettiness, you will help for free, you will have counseled what is proper for yourself and for us. But if you have so decided, that you will help in no other way, unless we betray to you the cities of the Romans, at least tell us openly, so that we may turn to something else of those things that seem advantageous, with God's help. For know, know clearly, that not many and wondrous ones, as you yourself have said, but not even one, and the most worthless, will we willingly surrender, nor would I gladly exchange for it your safety and that of the children. 44. The Kral, then, was astonished at the boldness of his spirit and his endurance in terrible circumstances; but he was unbearably vexed that he was not able to persuade him. But Helen his wife, being present and perceiving her husband's thought, that he was taking the emperor's refusal concerning the cities badly, had her husband step aside and sent for those in authority and of great power among them, being twenty-four in number, "That it is in our power," she said, "to treat the emperor of the Romans, who has come to us, well or the opposite, no one, I suppose, will dispute. But we must consider, by choosing which course, we shall seem to have chosen for ourselves what is intelligent and advantageous. If, then, we should choose to do ill, we will either kill him outright, or we will send him away with empty hands, as they say, having deemed him worthy of no 2.267 forethought or assistance. Now, as to killing him, I do not know if anyone has reached such a point of inhumanity and cruelty as to both choose this himself and advise it to others. For besides such an audacity being most hateful to God, it also provides among all men a clear proof of an excess of vice and wickedness. For to not only fail to stand by him but also to inflict irreparable harm upon one who is now the emperor of the Romans and who, before he came to this state, was ruling in like manner for many years previously, and was beloved and highly esteemed by all, both Greeks and barbarians, on account of his inherent fairness and intelligence and ambition in all good things, now having come to us because of a change of affairs, would justly fasten upon us a charge not only of cruelty and inhumanity, but also of impiety. For which reason, I have both decided myself and I advise you to abstain from such things. But as for sending him away without success, one who reasons correctly would consider it a mark of poor counsel. For we would not only be justly convicted of ignorance concerning what is noble and of a lack of ambition by those skilled in judging such things, because whom

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ὥστε πρὸς Θρᾴκην ἢ καὶ περαιτέρω προελθεῖν. οἴεσθαι δὲ ἄριστά τε καὶ λυσιτελέστατα αὐτῷ βουλεύεσθαι. εἰ γὰρ ὧν οὐκ ἔστι κύριος ἀποσχόμενος, οὐχ ἑαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς συνοῦσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ παισὶ μεγάλην ὠφέλειαν πορίσαιτο, καὶ προσέτι τοὺς πολεμιωτάτους διαφθείρας, τῶν ἐπιλοίπων πόλεων κύριος κατασταίη, ἀγαπᾷν προσ 2.265 ῆκον καὶ μὴ πέρα τοῦ καιροῦ καὶ τοῦ μετρίου φιλονεικεῖν. ὁ βασιλεὺς δὲ «ὀρθῶς» εἶπε «περὶ τοῦ κέρδους τῆς συμμαχίας καὶ τῶν πόνων καὶ τῶν πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ἀναλωμάτων ἐλογίσω. οὐδεὶς γὰρ εὖ φρονῶν, εἰ μή τινα πρότερον ἐκ τῶν πραττομένων ὠφέλειαν συνορῴη, κόπτεσθαι καὶ ταλαιπωρεῖν ἕλοιτ' ἂν ἑκών. σὺ δ' εἰ μὲν οὐδεμίαν ἐμοὶ βούλει χάριν καταθεῖναι, λόγον ἂν ἔχοι μισθὸν τῆς συμμαχίας ἀπαιτεῖν, ὃν εἰ παράσχωμαι αὐτὸς, οὐδεμίαν εἴσομαί σοι τῆς ἐπικουρίας χάριν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ ἀργυρίῳ τι παρά του ἐξωνούμενος χάριν ἂν εἰδείη τῷ πιπράσκοντι τοῦ παρασχέσθαι. εἰ δὲ φιλίας μόνης ἕνεκα καὶ τῆς πρεπούσης δυνάστῃ φιλοτιμίας ἕλοιο προῖκα βοηθεῖν, πρῶτον μὲν τὰ προσήκοντα βουλεύσῃ περὶ σεαυτοῦ, οὐ μισθοῦ ἕνεκα, ὅπερ πάσχουσιν οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ φαῦλοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ φιλίας καὶ φιλοτιμίας στρατευόμενος· ἔπειτα καὶ ὧν ζητεῖς ἐξέσται πλείω ἔχειν μετὰ πολλοῦ τοῦ περιόντος. εἰ γὰρ ἐμὲ, τὸν ἄρξοντα Ῥωμαίων, γνήσιον κτήσῃ φίλον, οὐ τῶν ἐκ Χριστουπόλεως μόνον καὶ Θεσσαλονίκης ἄχρι τῆς σῆς ἡγεμονίας ὅρων πόλεων, ἀλλὰ καὶ νήσων καὶ Βυζαντίου καὶ τῆς ἄλλης Θρᾴκης ἔχειν ἐξέσται τὴν ἀρχήν· κοινὰ γὰρ οἱ σοφοί φασι τὰ φίλων· καὶ συμβήσεταί σοι μετὰ τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν ἔργων φιλοτιμίας καὶ μείζω καὶ θαυμασιωτέραν τὴν ὠφέλειαν καρποῦσθαι. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἐμοὶ πειθόμενος καὶ πᾶσαν ὑπερ 2.266 ιδὼν μικρολογίαν, προῖκα βοηθήσεις, σαυτῷ τε καὶ ἡμῖν προσήκοντα βουλεύσῃ. εἰ δ' ἄρα οὕτως ἔγνωκας, ὡς οὐδενί τῳ τρόπῳ ἑτέρῳ βοηθήσων, εἰ μή σοι καταπροδοίημεν τὰς Ῥωμαίων πόλεις, ἀλλ' ἡμῖν γε φράσον φανερῶς, ὡς ἂν πρὸς ἕτερόν τι τῶν λυσιτελεῖν τρεπώμεθα δοκούντων, θεοῦ συναιρομένου. ἴσθι γὰρ, ἴσθι σαφῶς, ὡς οὐ πολλὰς καὶ θαυμασίας, ἅσπερ εἴρηκας αὐτὸς, ἀλλ' οὐδεμίαν καὶ τὴν φαυλοτάτην ἑκόντες ὄντες προησόμεθα, οὐδ' ἀλλαξαίμην ἂν ἡδέως αὐτῆς τὴν σφετέραν καὶ τῶν παίδων σωτηρίαν. μδʹ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Κράλης ἐξεπέπληκτο μὲν τὴν τόλμαν τοῦ φρονήματος καὶ τὴν καρτερίαν τὴν ἐν τοῖς δεινοῖς· ἤχθετο δὲ οὐκ ἀνεκτῶς, ὅτι μὴ πείθειν εἶχεν. Ἑλένη δὲ ἡ γαμετὴ παροῦσα καὶ τῆς διανοίας τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καταστοχαζομένη, ὡς βαρέως φέροι τὴν περὶ τῶν πόλεων ἀπαγόρευσιν τοῦ βασιλέως, μεταστήσασα τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ τοὺς ἐν τέλει καὶ μεγάλα δυναμένους παρ' αὐτοῖς προσπεμψαμένη τέσσαρας ὄντας πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσιν, «ὡς μὲν ἐφ' ἡμῖν ἐστιν,» εἶπεν «ἀφιγμένον πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὸν Ῥωμαίων βασιλέα εὖ ποιεῖν ἢ τὸ ἐναντίον, οὐδεὶς δήπουθεν ἀντερεῖ. σκεπτέον δὲ, ὁποτέρῳ προσθεμένους, νοῦν ἔχοντα καὶ λυσιτελοῦντα δόξομεν ἑλέσθαι ἑαυτοῖς. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἑλοίμεθα κακῶς ποιεῖν, ἢ ἀποκτενοῦμεν πάντως, ἢ κεναῖς ἀποπέμψομεν, ὅ φασι, χερσὶ, μηδεμιᾶς 2.267 προνοίας ἢ ἐπικουρίας ἀξιώσαντες. τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀποκτείνειν, οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τις εἰς τοσοῦτον ἀπανθρωπίας ἥκει καὶ ὠμότητος, ὡς αὐτός τε ἑλέσθαι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις συμβουλεῦσαι. πρὸς γὰρ τῷ θεῷ ἐχθίστην εἶναι τὴν τοιαύτην τόλμαν, καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις σαφῆ παρέχεται κακίας καὶ μοχθηρίας ἀπόδειξιν ὑπερβολῆς. τὸ γὰρ νῦν τε ὄντα Ῥωμαίων βασιλέα καὶ πρὶν εἰς τοῦτο ἥκειν σχήματος πολλοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις ὁμοίως ἄρχοντα, καὶ παρὰ πάντων καὶ Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων ἀγαπώμενον καὶ περισπούδαστον ὄντα διὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν ἐπιείκειαν καὶ σύνεσιν καὶ φιλοτιμίαν ἐν πᾶσιν ἀγαθοῖς, νῦν ἥκοντα παρ' ἡμᾶς διὰ πραγμάτων μεταβολὴν, πρὸς τῷ μὴ προστῆναι καὶ ἀνήκεστα διαθεῖναι οὐκ ὠμότητος καὶ ἀπανθρωπίας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσεβείας ἔγκλημα ἡμῖν δικαίως περιάψαι. οὗ δὴ ἕνεκα τῶν τοιούτων αὐτή τε ἔγνωκα καὶ ὑμῖν ἀποσχέσθαι παραινῶ. τὸ δ' ἀποπέμπειν ἄπρακτον ἀβουλίας ἄν τις τιθείη λογιζόμενος ὀρθῶς. οὐ γὰρ μόνον ἀγνοίας περὶ τὰ καλὰ καὶ ἀφιλοτιμίας δικαίως ἂν ἁλοίημεν παρὰ τοῖς κρίνειν τὰ τοιαῦτα δεινοῖς, ὅτι ὃν