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He said they were asking for just and fitting things, in begging that he declare his son emperor; but that this was altogether far from his own way of thinking. For neither from the beginning had he chosen war while plotting against the emperor's children, nor up to now, although he had endured such terrible things from those who made war on him, had he cast off his goodwill toward the emperor's children, but at that time, when they had fabricated many slanders and calumnies 2.566 and had moved the empress to war and were seeking to destroy him for no reason, not out of a desire for imperial glory (for while the emperor was still alive, it was possible for him to have it, if he wished), nor out of insatiability and greed of mind, did he come to be emperor; but when they begged him earnestly, not to abandon his leadership in times of danger, nor like a helmsman in a surging sea and swell to step away from the rudders, he came to this undertaking not more for his own safety than for theirs, perceiving that it was not possible to be saved otherwise. But now, since God has granted that we be shown stronger than those who made war, it is necessary to preserve our original intention concerning the emperor's children, so that we do not seem to have been deceiving then, saying that we were not fighting the emperor's children, but that we chose to be emperor rather for their benefit and that of the other Romans in common, when we still had an uncertain hope of surviving, and now, when it is in our power to give clear proof of our intention from the facts, to choose the opposite of what we chose before. Therefore, neither before did I choose to deprive the emperor's son of the empire, nor will I choose to now, but in every way I will attempt to preserve the empire with him. For whether I prevail over Byzantium and the emperor himself by war, or they proceed to peace, making agreements with me on the condition of being content with the emperor, or if I should prevail in some other way, I will not deprive him of his pa 2.567 ternal rule, but again I will establish him to be emperor of the Romans after me, giving my daughter in marriage. But nevertheless, if it should happen before, either that he should marry another while the war is prolonged, or that my daughter should die before the marriage, not even so have I resolved to act otherwise, nor, on account of the lack of gratitude of others, to show myself wicked and ungrateful toward that emperor most dear to me and his children. And since these things have been so decided by me, it will now be possible for you also to perceive that you are asking for impossible things. For we will certainly not appoint a plurality of emperors, as it were, but it implies either that it is necessary for no one else to be emperor, or even to kill the existing one. And that it is impossible for me to do this, I do not think will need proof. For you know clearly, that if all, as many as rule Greeks and barbarians throughout the inhabited world, came and promised by a common vote to be my slaves and to declare me the common emperor of all mankind, on the condition of killing the young emperor John, I would rather have chosen to live with extreme poverty and great obscurity, than to rule all mankind having chosen such base and lawless things, not only on account of the emperor his father, but also on account of him, who has provided no cause for the war moved against me. For on account of his age he has not yet touched any administration of affairs, so as to provide cause. Therefore, as I am of this 2.568 mind, do not you yourselves try to make me depart from what has been decided; but if, then, you have decided otherwise and no longer wish to serve him, but seek some other to rule you, with me it is not easy to find, or rather, impossible. But having departed from me, it will be possible for you to do as you see fit. For I myself will not only not join with you in the undertaking, but I will also prevent it as much as I can.” Such things the emperor said to the officials and the army, who were demanding that he declare his son emperor. But they, since they were not able to persuade him, fell silent, admiring the emperor's forbearance and magnanimity, that after so many labors and dangers he wished to hand over the rule of the Romans not to his own, but rather to the emperor's children. 3. And around the same time the people in Thessaloniki also killed many of the citizens from

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δίκαιά τε ἔφασκε καὶ προσήκοντα αἰτεῖν, δεομένους τὸν υἱὸν ἀποδεικνύναι βασιλέα· πόῤῥω δὲ παντάπασιν εἶναι τῆς ἐκείνου διανοίας. οὔτε γὰρ ἐξαρχῆς τοῖς βασιλέως παισὶν ἐπιβουλεύων εἵλετο τὸν πόλεμον, οὔτε μέχρι νῦν, καίτοι τοσαῦτα παρὰ τῶν πεπολεμηκότων ὑπομείνας τὰ δεινὰ, τὴν πρὸς τοὺς παῖδας βασιλέως εὔνοιαν ἀπέβαλεν, ἀλλὰ τότε μὲν, ἐκείνων πολλὰς συκοφαντίας πλασαμένων καὶ διαβολὰς 2.566 καὶ βασιλίδα πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον κεκινηκότων καὶ ζητούντων ἀναιρεῖν ἐξ οὐδεμιᾶς αἰτίας, οὔτ' ἐπιθυμίᾳ δόξης βασιλικῆς, καὶ βασιλέως γὰρ ἔτι περιόντος, ἔχειν, εἰ ἐβούλετο, ἐξῆν, οὔτ' ἀπληστίᾳ καὶ πλεονεξίᾳ γνώμης, ἐπὶ τὸ βασιλεύειν ἧκεν· ἀλλ' αὐτῶν πολλὰ δεηθέντων, μὴ καταλιπεῖν ἐν καιροῖς κινδύνων τὴν προστασίαν, μηδ' ὥσπερ κυβερνήτην ἐν κλύδωνι καὶ σάλῳ τῶν οἰάκων ἀποστῆναι, οὐ μᾶλλον τῆς αὐτοῦ σωτηρίας ἕνεκα ἢ ἐκείνων πρὸς ταύτην ἐλθεῖν τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν, συνορῶντα, ὡς ἑτέρως οὐκ ἔστι διασώζεσθαι. νυνὶ δ' ἐπεὶ θεὸς παρέσχετο τῶν πεπολεμηκότων ὀφθῆναι κρείττους, δέον τὴν ἀρχαίαν γνώμην περὶ τοὺς βασιλέως παῖδας διασώζειν, ἵνα μὴ δοκῶμεν τότε μὲν ἐξαπατᾷν, μὴ πολεμεῖν τοῖς βασιλέως λέγοντες παισὶν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἐκείνων μᾶλλον καὶ κοινῇ τῶν ἄλλων Ῥωμαίων ὠφελείας ἕνεκα ἑλέσθαι τὸ βασιλεύειν, ἡνίκα ἔτι τὴν τοῦ περιέσεσθαι ἄδηλον ἐλπίδα εἴχομεν, νυνὶ δὲ ὅθ' ἡμῖν περίεστιν ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων ἔλεγχον διδόναι τῆς γνώμης ἐναργῆ, τἀναντία τοῖς πρότερον ἑλέσθαι. τοιγαροῦν οὔτε πρότερον τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀποστερεῖν τὸν βασιλέως εἱλόμην παῖδα, οὔτε νῦν αἱρήσομαι, ἀλλὰ πάντα τρόπον ἐπιχειρήσω συνδιασώζειν ἐκείνῳ τὴν ἀρχήν. εἴτε γὰρ πολέμῳ Βυζαντίου τε κρατήσω καὶ αὐτοῦ βασιλέως, εἴτε πρὸς εἰρήνην χωρήσωσιν ἐμοὶ συμβάσεις θέμενοι ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλέα στέργειν. εἴθ' ἑτέρῳ τρόπῳ δή τινι περιγένωμαι, τῆς πα 2.567 τρῴας ἀρχῆς οὐκ ἀποστερήσω, ἀλλ' αὖθις μετ' ἐμὲ Ῥωμαίων εἶναι βασιλέα καταστήσω, θυγατέρα τὴν ἐμὴν ἐκδοὺς πρὸς γάμον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλ' εἰ καὶ πρότερον συμβαίη, ἢ ἑτέραν ἐκεῖνον ἀγαγέσθαι τοῦ πολέμου παρατεινομένου, ἢ παῖδα τὴν ἐμὴν πρὸ τοῦ γάμου τελευτᾷν, οὐδ' οὕτω πράττειν ἑτέρως ἔγνωκα, οὐδὲ διὰ τὴν ἑτέρων ἀγνωμοσύνην κακὸς αὐτὸς καὶ ἀχάριστος περὶ τὸν ἐμοὶ φίλτατον ἐκεῖνον βασιλέα καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ἀποδείκνυσθαι. οὕτω δὲ τούτων κεκριμένων παρ' ἐμοὶ, ὡς ἀδύνατα αἰτεῖτε, συνορᾷν ἤδη καὶ ὑμῖν ἐξέσται. οὐ γὰρ δὴ λήϊον ὥσπερ βασιλέων ἀποδείξομεν, ἀλλ' ἢ μηδένα ἕτερον εἶναι βασιλέα δέον, ἢ καὶ τὸν ὄντα ἀποκτιννύναι. τοῦτο δὲ ὡς ἀδύνατον ἐμὲ ποιεῖν, οὐδ' ἀποδείξεως οἴομαι δεήσεσθαι. ἴστε γὰρ σαφῶς, ὡς εἰ πάντες, ὅσοι καὶ Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων ἄρχουσι κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην, κοινῇ ψήφῳ δουλεύσειν ἐπηγγέλλοντο ἐλθόντες καὶ κοινὸν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀποδείξειν βασιλέα, ἐπὶ τῷ βασιλέα τὸν νέον Ἰωάννην ἀποκτείνειν, μᾶλλον ἂν εἱλόμην ἐσχάτῃ συζῆν πενίᾳ καὶ ἀφανείᾳ πολλῇ, ἢ οὕτω φαῦλα καὶ παράνομα προελόμενος συμπάντων ἀνθρώπων ἄρχειν, οὐ μόνον διὰ βασιλέα τὸν πατέρα, ἀλλὰ καὶ δι' αὐτὸν, οὐδεμίαν αἰτίαν πρὸς τὸν πρὸς ἐμὲ κεκινημένον πόλεμον παρεσχημένον. διὰ γὰρ τὴν ἡλικίαν οὐδεμιᾶς οὐδέπω διοικήσεως πραγμάτων ἧπται, ὥστε καὶ αἰτίαν παρασχεῖν. ὡς οὖν οὕτω 2.568 γνώμης ἔχοντα, μηδ' αὐτοὶ πειρᾶσθε τῶν δεδογμένων ἀφιστᾷν· εἰ δ' ἄρα ἄλλως ἐγνώκατε ὑμεῖς καὶ μηκέτι δουλεύειν ἐκείνῳ βούλεσθε, ἀλλ' ἕτερόν τινα τὸν ἄρξοντα ὑμῶν ἐπιζητεῖτε, παρ' ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ ῥᾴδιον εὑρεῖν, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀδύνατον· ἀποστᾶσι δὲ ἐμοῦ, τὰ κατὰ γνώμην ἐξέσται πράττειν· αὐτὸς γὰρ οὐ μόνον οὐ συνέψομαι πρὸς τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ κωλύσω καὶ τὰ δυνατά.» τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τέλει διειλέχθη καὶ τὴν στρατιὰν, ἀξιοῦντας τὸν υἱὸν ἀποδεικνύναι βασιλέα. ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐπεὶ μὴ πείθειν εἶχον, ἡσύχασαν, θαυμάσαντες τὴν βασιλέως ἐπιείκειαν καὶ μεγαλοψυχίαν, ὅτι μετὰ τοσούτους πόνους καὶ κινδύνους οὐ τοῖς οἰκείοις μᾶλλον, ἀλλὰ τοῖς βασιλέως βούλοιτο παισὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν παραδιδόναι. γʹ. Ὑπὸ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους καὶ ὁ ἐν Θεσσαλονίκῃ δῆμος ἀνεῖλε πολλοὺς τῶν πολιτῶν ἐξ