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to choose a longer stay in Thessalonica, and this while intending to accomplish nothing great. So the third option remains, to prepare and come against me, as one who will risk everything. This would be an answer to prayer for me and most pleasing, if only you will wait near Berrhoia for three days, until I too have prepared and can meet you for battle. For if after these days I do not come to your camp and fight, I would be worthy of shame, which to me is a heavier penalty than any other. I only ask of you to lead the war yourself and not, having pushed others into danger, to sit outside the contest as a spectator, like those who organize the athletic 2.367 games. For you, therefore, your situation is constrained from all sides, and what is in the fable has happened to you. For they say that to a certain fowler who had caught a sparrow, the sparrow, using a human voice, said that it was fated for him, if he bound and kept it, for his son to die, but if he released it, his wife, and if, acting with the greatest folly, he killed it, for he himself to die immediately. And the fowler, seeing the difficulty on every side, groaned aloud and cursed that day on which he caught the sparrow, as having been the cause of great misfortunes for him. And I think that the composer of the fable wished to show by this that many men, by undertaking matters greater than they can handle, fall into involuntary and great straits; which have especially happened to you from such a cause. But for me, on the contrary, everything has become easy. For if you return to Byzantium, I myself will also march there after you; and if you remain in Thessalonica, the difficulty will be no harm to me at all, since the army with me is quartered in houses and fed from the annual revenues they have. And if it is your wish to come to blows with me, nothing will be more welcome or preferable to me, only if you yourself lead the war. You, then, asked about myself, what I intend to do; but I have added for you also what it is right, or rather, necessary, for you to do. 2.368 For apart from these options, it will be possible to do nothing else.” Such things the emperor answered to his question. ξʹ. But the grand duke, when he learned from Synadenos what had been said, was greatly vexed, seeing now for himself the difficulty on every side; nevertheless, having gathered the most notable men around him and made public everything the emperor had said, he permitted each to say whatever he thought would be expedient. So the others said that even before Kantakouzenos had said such things, they themselves, while deliberating with one another about what must be done now, were being led from all sides to the same impasse. For great expenditures are needed for such a large and expensive army, if we are to hold out here; for which we think our public funds will not suffice. But Monomachos the grand constable, surpassing the others in intelligence and inferior to none of those then living in generalship, and for these reasons enjoying much favor from Emperor Andronikos and always being entrusted with the administration of cities and the leadership of armies, said, "To use flattery and deceit, and to think one thing about matters but say another to gratify rulers, I have considered not only to be the mark of ignoble and servile men, but also to damage matters in the extreme. Indeed, many of the Romans, both emperors and gen- 2.369 erals, have been beset by many and great calamities on account of this 2.369 disease, and have destroyed their subjects along with themselves. Since, therefore, the harm from flattery is so terrible, it is necessary for us too, having put it aside, to say without any concealment what we think is advantageous for ourselves and for all other Romans. But if any distress follows from these words, one must not attribute it to the words, nor to the opinion of the speaker, but to the very nature of the situation. For things are not by nature such as the

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ἂν ἑλέσθαι τὴν ἐπιπλεῖον ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ διατριβὴν, καὶ ταῦτα μηδὲν μέγα μέλλοντα κατορθοῦν. λείπεται δὴ τὸ τρίτον, παρασκευασάμενον ἥκειν ἐπ' ἐμὲ, ὡς περὶ τῶν ὅλων διακινδυνεύσοντα. τοῦτο δ' εὐχῆς ἔργον εἴη ἂν ἐμοὶ καὶ μάλιστα καθ' ἡδονὴν, εἰ μόνον περὶ Βέῤῥοιαν τρεῖς ἡμέρας διατρίψεις, ἄχρις ἂν παρασκευασάμενος καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπαντήσω πρὸς τὴν μάχην. εἰ γὰρ μετὰ ταύτας τὰς ἡμέρας οὐ μαχέσομαι ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον τὸ σὸν, αἰσχύνης ἄξιος ἂν εἴην, ὃ πάσης ἄλλης ἐμοὶ βαρύτερον ζημίας. μόνον δέομαί σου στρατηγεῖν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν πόλεμον καὶ μὴ ἄλλους ὠθήσαντα πρὸς τοὺς κινδύνους, αὐτὸν ἔξω καθῆσθαι τῶν ἀγώνων θεατὴν, ὥσπερ οἱ τοὺς γυμνικοὺς 2.367 ἀγῶνας διατιθέντες. σοὶ μὲν οὖν οὕτω πανταχόθεν περιέστηκε τὰ πράγματα στενὰ καὶ συμβέβηκέ σοι τὸ τοῦ μύθου. ἰξευτῇ γάρ φασί τινι στρουθίου κεκρατηκότι, φωνῇ χρησάμενον τὸ στρουθίον ἀνθρωπίνῃ, προσειπεῖν, ὡς ἄρα πέπρωται αὐτῷ, δήσαντι μὲν καὶ κατέχοντι, τὸν παῖδα ἀποθνήσκειν, ἀπολελυκότι δὲ, τὴν γυναῖκα, ἀβουλίᾳ δὲ τῇ μεγίστῃ χρησαμένῳ καὶ κτείναντι, αὐτὸν αὐτίκα ἀποθνήσκειν. τὸν ἰξευτὴν δὲ τὴν πανταχόθεν ἀπορίαν συνιδόντα, μέγα ἀνοιμῶξαι καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην ἐπαράσασθαι, ἐν ᾗ τὸ στρουθίον εἷλεν, ὡς μεγάλων αἴτιον αὐτῷ συμφορῶν γεγενημένην. τοῦτο δ' οἶμαι τὸν συντεθεικότα τὸν μῦθον διὰ τούτου βούλεσθαι δηλοῦν, ὡς πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐκ τοῦ μείζοσιν ἢ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς πράγμασιν ἐπιχειρεῖν, ἀκουσίοις καὶ μεγάλαις περιπίπτουσιν ἀνάγκαις· αἳ καὶ σοὶ μάλιστα συνέβησαν ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου. ἐμοὶ δὲ τοὐναντίον ἅπαν πάντα εὔπορα καθέστηκεν. ἄν τε γὰρ πρὸς Βυζάντιον ἐπανίῃς, σοῦ κατόπιν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπ' ἐκεῖνο βαδιοῦμαι· ἄν τε μένῃς ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ, οὐδεμία τις ἔμοιγε ἔσεται βλάβη ἡ ἀπορία, τῆς ἐμοὶ συνούσης στρατιᾶς ἐν οἰκίαις διαγούσης καὶ τρεφομένης ἐκ τῶν προσόδων, ἃς ἐτησίους ἔχουσιν. εἰ δὲ καὶ εἰς χεῖρας ἐμοὶ ἰέναι σοὶ φίλον, κἀμοὶ φίλτερον οὐδὲν ἔσται, οὐδὲ μᾶλλον αἱρετὸν, μόνον εἰ αὐτὸς στρατηγοίης πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον. σὺ μὲν οὖν ὅ,τι διανοοῦμαι πράττειν ἤρου περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ· ἐγὼ δέ σοι καὶ ἃ σὲ δίκαιον ποιεῖν προσέθηκα, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀναγκαῖον. 2.368 τούτων γὰρ χωρὶς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἐξέσται πράττειν.» τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν ἐκείνου ἀπεκρίνατο. ξʹ. ∆οὺξ δὲ ὁ μέγας ἐπεὶ πύθοιτο παρὰ Συναδηνοῦ τὰ εἰρημένα, ἐδυσχέρανε μὲν ἐπιπολὺ, τὴν ἀπορίαν ἤδη καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν πανταχόθεν συνορῶν· ὅμως τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν τοὺς μάλιστα ἐν λόγῳ συναγαγὼν καὶ πάντα ἔκφορα θέμενος, ὅσα ὁ βασιλεὺς διαλεχθείη, ἐπέτρεπεν ἕκαστον ὅ,τι ἂν δοκῇ συνοίσειν λέγειν. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι, καὶ πρὶν Καντακουζηνὸν, ἔφασαν, τοιαῦτα εἰρηκέναι, αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἀλλήλους περὶ ὧν πράττειν δέον νυνὶ βουλευομένους, πρὸς τὴν ἴσην ἀπορίαν πανταχόθεν ἄγεσθαι. πολλῶν γὰρ ἀναλωμάτων χρεία πρὸς τοσαύτην στρατιὰν καὶ οὕτω πολυδάπανον, εἰ μέλλοιμεν ἐνταῦθα διακαρτερεῖν· πρὸς ἃ οὐκ ἐξαρκέσειν τὰ κοινὰ ἡμῖν χρήματα οἰόμεθα. Μονομάχος δὲ ὁ μέγας κονοσταῦλος, συνέσει τε τῶν ἄλλων ὑπερέχων καὶ πρὸς στρατηγίας οὐδενὸς λειπόμενος τῶν τότε, καὶ διὰ ταῦτα καὶ παρὰ βασιλέως Ἀνδρονίκου πολλῆς ἀπολαύων εὐμενείας καὶ πόλεων διοικήσεις καὶ στρατοπέδων ἡγεμονίας πιστευόμενος ἀεὶ, «τὸ κολακείαις» εἶπε «καὶ ἀπάταις χρῆσθαι καὶ ἕτερα μὲν φρονεῖν περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων, ἄλλα δὲ λέγειν, χαριζόμενον τοῖς ἄρχουσιν, οὐ μόνον ἀγεννῶν καὶ ἀνελευθέρων εἶναι νενόμικα ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πράγμασι τὰ ἔσχατα λυμαίνεσθαι. πολλοὶ γοῦν Ῥωμαίων καὶ βασιλεῖς καὶ στρα 2.369 τηγοὶ πολλοῖς καὶ μεγάλοις συνεσχέθησαν δεινοῖς διὰ τὴν 2.369 νόσον ταύτην καὶ τῷ ὑπηκόῳ προσδιέφθειραν καὶ ἑαυτούς. ὅτε τοίνυν οὕτω δεινὴ ἡ ἐκ τῆς κολακείας βλάβη, δέον αὐτὴν καὶ ἡμᾶς ἀποθεμένους, ἄνευ τινὸς περικαλύμματος, ἃ σφίσι τε αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι Ῥωμαίοις οἰόμεθα συμφέρειν λέγειν. εἰ δέ τις ἐκ τῶν λόγων ἕψεται ἀνία, οὐ χρὴ τοῖς λόγοις προσλογίζεσθαι, οὐδὲ τῇ γνώμῃ τοῦ εἰπόντος, ἀλλ' αὐτῇ τῇ φύσει τῶν πραγμάτων. οὐ γὰρ τὰ πράγματα πέφυκε γίνεσθαι οἷοίπερ οἱ