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to say "another, and I said to him: Arise, eat much flesh." After this the emperor gave another, a green seal, to his son and ordered him to seal the wax with this; and when he had sealed it, a living stork came forth, holding a glass cup in its foot; and the cup seemed to contain vinegar. And he who held the book said, "They gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink; they will look on him whom they have pierced." Again the emperor's son sealed it as commanded; and a hippocentaur came forth, holding a spear in its right hand. And he who was speaking the prophecies said, "Behold, another beast, dreadful and exceedingly strong." After this the emperor said, "Blessed is our God, always, now and ever and unto the ages of ages, amen. Glory to you, O God, that we have 2.501 seen the prophecies fulfilled in our lifetime." And he seemed to order his son to hide the animals. And immediately they seemed to have become seals of wax, which, hiding them as best he could with his hands, he went out with the emperor his father, who had taken off the priestly stole; and with these things the sleep departed. Such things the vision revealed to the emperor's son; but about what it was, has not yet until now become clear. So the emperor's son wrote to his father that he had seen these things in his sleep. And the emperor, having stayed for a little while in Didymoteichon, gathering together the entire army of the Romans who were under him and bringing along a small Persian force, campaigned again against Byzantium, and coming to the gate called Gyrolimne, he spent no small part of the day. But from Byzantium no one came out of the gates, but they were drawn up on the walls, as if to defend themselves, should they attack. But the megas doux alone with a few came out and stood before the gates. And the emperor, recognizing that it was he, sent men to speak with him. But he went into the city, perceiving that he had been recognized, and those coming to him turned back. And the emperor, since it was already about late afternoon, came and encamped beside the bridge called of the Camel; and on the next day, few remained in the camp with the emperor, but the greater part of the army, both Romans and Persians, turned to plundering. And the Romans drove off cattle and other booty, but the Persians enslaved the people. 2.502 And the evil was inconsolable not only for those who suffered it, but also a terrible pity entered the emperor and all the Romans with him, as their kinsmen were suffering such misfortunes; but they necessarily held to the war. For it was not possible to do otherwise, since those in Byzantium would not accept peace. 82. The Latins in the fortress of Galata, seeing the untold destruction caused to the Romans by the civil war, but being ignorant whether those in Byzantium or the emperor Kantakouzenos was more responsible for the causes of the war, and associating daily with those in Byzantium and hearing them make many accusations against the emperor Kantakouzenos, that having desired to be emperor he had plotted against the emperor's children, but the patriarch with the rest was opposing and preventing him, lest by making war he destroy the child, or else nothing would have long ago prevented him from being destroyed, but considering not only the harmony of the emperor Kantakouzenos with the emperor Andronikos, but also his inherent fairness and gentleness, and that he presented himself to all as pleasant in conversation and generous in benefactions and mindful of the goodwill of his friends towards him, and believing that he would not so easily have acted ungratefully towards the emperor his friend, they could not believe those who accused him of such things, nor yet could they entirely disbelieve what was so rumored by many; for 2.503 these reasons, therefore, considering it of the greatest importance to learn something definite about the war that had been stirred up among the Romans, they decided that it was necessary, since he was encamped nearby, to send some men to him, who, by conversing with him, would learn clearly the causes from which the war had been stirred up. And they send two men, monks of the order of Minors, who were intelligent in other respects, but also of the wisdom which is among

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εἰπεῖν «ἕτερον, καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ· ἀνάβηθι, φάγε σάρκας πολλάς.» μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς σφραγῖδα πράσινον ἑτέραν παρεῖχε τῷ υἱῷ καὶ ἐκέλευε ταύτῃ σφραγίζειν τὸν κηρόν· καὶ σφραγίσαντος, ἐξῆλθε πελαργὸς ζῶν, σκύφον ἔχων ὑέλινον τῷ ποδί· ἐδόκει δὲ ὁ σκύφος ὄξος ἔχειν. ὁ τὸ βιβλίον δὲ κατέχων εἶπεν «ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ βρῶμά μου χολὴν καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισάν με ὄξος· ὄψονται εἰς ὃν ἐξεκέντησαν.» αὖθις δὲ ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως υἱὸς ἐσφράγισε κελευσθείς· καὶ ἱπποκένταυρος ἐξῆλθε, τῇ δεξιᾷ χειρὶ δόρυ κατέχων. ὁ δὲ τὰς προφητείας λέγων «ἰδοὺ καὶ ἕτερον θηρίον» εἶπεν «ἔκθαμβον καὶ περισσῶς ἰσχυρόν.» μετὰ τοῦτο δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς «εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν» εἶπε «πάντοτε, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων, ἀμήν. δόξα σοι, ὁ θεὸς, ὅτι ζῶντες εἴ 2.501 δομεν τὰς προφητείας ἀποβάσας.» ἐδόκει δὲ κελεύειν τῷ υἱῷ συγκρύπτειν τὰ ζῶα. τὰ δὲ εὐθὺς ἐδόκουν σφραγῖδες γεγενῆσθαι ἐκ κηροῦ, ἃς ὡς ἐνῆν συγκρύπτων ταῖς χερσὶ, μετὰ βασιλέως ἐξῄει τοῦ πατρὸς, τὸ ἱερατικὸν ἐπιτραχήλιον ἀποθεμένου· ἐν τούτοις δὲ τοῦ ὕπνου ἀποστῆναι. τοιαῦτα μὲν ἡ ὄψις τῷ βασιλέως υἱῷ ἐδήλου· περὶ οὗ δὲ ἦν, οὐδέπω μέχρι νῦν ἐγένετο φανερόν. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ βασιλέως υἱὸς πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἔγραφεν ἑωρακέναι κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους. βασιλεὺς δὲ ὀλίγον ∆ιδυμοτείχῳ ἐνδιατρίψας, σύμπασαν Ῥωμαίων, ὅσοι ὑπ' αὐτῷ ἦσαν, στρατιὰν συναγαγὼν καὶ Περσικὴν ὀλίγην ἐπαγόμενος, ἐπεστράτευσεν αὖθις Βυζαντίῳ, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Γυρολίμνης λεγομένην πύλην ἐλθὼν, οὐκ ὀλίγον μέρος τῆς ἡμέρας διετέλεσεν. ἐκ Βυζαντίου δὲ οὐδεὶς ἐξῆλθε τῶν πυλῶν, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τῶν τειχῶν ἦσαν παρατεταγμένοι, ὡς ἀμυνούμενοι, ἂν ἐπίωσι. δοὺξ δὲ ὁ μέγας μόνος ἅμα ὀλίγοις πρὸ τῶν πυλῶν ἔστη ἐξελθών. γνωρίσας δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς, ὡς ἐκεῖνος εἴη, ἔπεμπε τοὺς διαλεξομένους. ὁ δ' εἰσῄει πρὸς τὴν πόλιν, αἰσθόμενος ὡς ἐγνωρίσθη, καὶ οἱ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐρχόμενοι ἀνέστρεφον. βασιλεὺς δὲ, ἐπεὶ περὶ δείλην ἡ ἡμέρα ἤδη ἦν, παρὰ τὴν τῆς Καμήλου καλουμένην γέφυραν ἐστρατοπεδεύσατο ἐλθών· καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑστεραίαν ὀλίγοι μὲν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον μετὰ βασιλέως ὑπελείποντο, τὸ πολὺ δὲ τῆς στρατιᾶς καὶ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Περσῶν ἐτράποντο ἐπὶ λεηλασίας. καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι μὲν βοσκήματα καὶ ἄλλην λείαν ἤλαυνον, τὸ Περσικὸν δὲ ἠνδραπόδιζον καὶ τοὺς ἀνδρώπους. 2.502 καὶ ἦν οὐ τοῖς πάσχουσι μόνον τὸ κακὸν ἀπαραμύθητον, ἀλλὰ καὶ βασιλεῖ καὶ τοῖς συνοῦσιν ἅπασι Ῥωμαίοις ἔλεος δεινὸς εἰσῄει, τοιαῦτα τῶν ὁμοφύλων δυστυχούντων· ἀναγκαίως δὲ τοῦ πολέμου εἴχοντο. πράττειν γὰρ ἑτέρως οὐκ ἐνῆν, τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ τὴν εἰρήνην οὐ παραδεχομένων. πβʹ. Οἱ ἐν Γαλατᾷ δὲ τῷ φρουρίῳ ὄντες Λατῖνοι, ὁρῶντες μὲν τὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐμφυλίου πολέμου τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις ἐγγινομένην ἀμύθητον φθορὰν, ἀγνοοῦντες δὲ, εἰ μᾶλλον οἱ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ, ἢ Καντακουζηνὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς παρέχεται τὰς αἰτίας τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ συνόντες ὁσημέραι καὶ πολλὰ Καντακουζηνοῦ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀκούοντες κατηγορούντων, ὅτι βασιλεύειν ἐπιθυμήσας τοῖς βασιλέως ἐπιβουλεύσειε παισὶ, πατριάρχης δὲ μετὰ τῶν ἐπιλοίπων ἀντισταίη καὶ κωλύσειε, μὴ τὸν παῖδα διαφθείρειν πολεμήσας, ἢ οὐδὲν ἂν ἐκεῖνον ἐκώλυε πάλαι διεφθάρθαι, Καντακουζηνοῦ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως οὐ μόνον τὴν πρὸς βασιλέα τὸν Ἀνδρόνικον ἐννοοῦντες σύμπνοιαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν προσοῦσαν ἐπιείκειαν καὶ ἡμερότητα, καὶ τὸ πᾶσιν ἑαυτὸν παρέχεσθαι ἡδύν τε ἐν ὁμιλίαις καὶ φιλότιμον πρὸς τὰς εὐεργεσίας καὶ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν εὐνοίας τῶν φίλων μνημονευτικὸν, καὶ νομίζοντες, οὐκ ἂν οὕτω ῥᾳδίως περὶ βασιλέα τὸν φίλον ἠγνωμονηκέναι, πιστεύειν μὲν οὐκ εἶχον τοῖς αὐτοῦ κατηγοροῦσι τὰ τοιαῦτα, οὔτε μὴν παντάπασιν ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς θρυλλουμένοις οὕτως ὑπὸ πολλῶν· διὰ 2.503 δὴ ταῦτα περὶ πλείστου τιθέμενοι σαφές τι περὶ τοῦ παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις κεκινημένου πολέμου γνῶναι, δεῖν ἔγνωσαν, ἐπεὶ ἐγγὺς ἦν ἐστρατοπεδευμένος, πέμπειν πρὸς αὐτόν τινας, οἳ διαλεξόμενοι τὰς αἰτίας εἴσονται σαφῶς, ἐξ ὧν ὁ πόλεμος κεκίνητο. καὶ πέμπουσι δύο τινὰς, τῆς τῶν μενουρίων τάξεως μοναχοὺς, συνετοὺς μὲν καὶ ἄλλως, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ σοφίας τῆς παρὰ