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since, when he came to power by force of arms, he brought harm to no one; but wishes to do good to all, both good and wicked, imitating in this God who makes his sun to rise on the wicked and the good. How then would I not wish well to these Christians? How would I not place in the midst of my heart the race of the Romans, which worships the crucified Christ, for whom it both reads and follows both the Old and 3.19 New Testament? On whose account neither is the sword stained with human blood, nor indeed is evil returned for evil, but rather good for evil. For this reason I beseech your ducal authority, that you place such a king, John, whose name is translated 'grace of God', within the great bonds of friendship, and neither do nor hear anything novel against him. For this John is called grace, and reasonably so, being indeed gracious to all and able to say with the apostle: "By the grace of God I am what I am; and the grace of God in me has not been in vain, but remains in me always." For since the tree is known by its fruit and the fruit receives its praise from the tree, I trust in the power of Christ that the aforesaid king will be known by the fruit of his good works. For he listens patiently to everyone who brings a matter to him, answers fairly, examines wisely, judges justly. These are the four things which rulers ought to maintain for the longest time; these are the virtues sought in the governments of wise rulers; concerning which Plato the philosopher says that public affairs are prosperous whenever their administrators are adorned with wisdom. Of this wisdom the dignity is great, which indeed made the Athenian Socrates equal to the highest god. I for my part, therefore, have hopes that his reign will be for the 3.20 peace of the Christians and the repelling of the Ishmaelites, and it will be for the justice of the people through mercy for every subject, as is written in the one hundred and twentieth chapter of the proverbs: "Mercy and truth preserve the king, and his throne will be established in justice." He wrote such things also to Inimpertus; and these things have not been included by us in the history idly or unseasonably, but so that we might show how, through these praises for the emperor, the marquis was prevented from attacking the Romans with a great fleet. For previously, hearing many terrible things about the emperor, both the pope and likewise the rulers throughout Italy were entrusting the attack to the marquis. But when these letters arrived from a man they deemed worthy of belief, the others forbade the attack, and the marquis himself's impulse was blunted, as he not only revered the virtue of the emperor, but also now despaired of accomplishing anything great, since the emperor now held the entire command of the Romans, a man whom he had learned from everyone was great in strategy. He, therefore, was prevented by these things, and disbanded the army. 3. But the emperor, since the patriarch John was still at leisure at home in the palace, came to him and greeted him kindly, and then reminded him of what he had discussed with him after the 3.21 emperor's death, before the war was stirred up: how some were about to concoct slanders against him, and how he had begged him, for the sake of justice and the common good, to show all zeal and not allow the slanderers to persuade the empress and stir up a civil war, but to drive them away like plagues and a common ruin to the Romans' good fortune; and he blamed him not only because he had shown no fitting disposition against the slanders, but also because he collaborated with the slanderers, and that he himself, more than the others, stirred up the war, knowing most clearly that he was lying and slandering; and, greatest of all, that even after such great disaster that followed from the war, and the shedding of countless blood, the enslavements, the confiscations, the imprisonments, and the common utter destruction, he had no pity for those who were perishing, nor did he abate any of his bitterness toward him until the end, but many times over and over

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ἐπείπερ ἐν ὅπλων δυνάμει ἐντὸς γένοιτο, οὐδενὶ κακόν τι ἐπαγαγὼν ἐλυμήνατο· πάντας δ' εὐεργετεῖν βούλεται ἀγαθούς τε καὶ πονηροὺς, ζηλῶν ἐπὶ τούτῳ θεὸν τὸν ἀνατέλλειν ποιοῦντα ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ ἀγαθούς. πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἂν ἀγαθὸν βουλοίμην τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς τούτοις; πῶς τὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων γένος τὸ τὸν ἐσταυρωμένον Χριστὸν προσκυνοῦν, ᾧ γε καὶ ἡ παλαιὰ καὶ 3.19 νέα διαθήκη καὶ ἀναγινώσκει καὶ ἕπεται, οὐκ ἂν θείην ἐν μέσῳ τῆς καρδίας μου; δι' ὃν οὔθ' αἵματι ἀνθρωπίνῳ λυθροῦται μάχαιρα, οὔτε μὴν κακὸν ἀντὶ κακοῦ, μᾶλλον δ' ἀγαθὸν ἀντὶ πονηροῦ ἀποδίδοται. διὰ τοῦτο παρακαλῶ τὴν σὴν δουκικὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἵνα τὸν τοιοῦτον βασιλέα Ἰωάννην, τὸν χάριν θεοῦ μεθερμηνευόμενον, ἐν μεγάλοις φιλίας τάττῃς θεσμοῖς, καὶ μηδὲν κατ' αὐτοῦ καινότερον ἢ πράττειν ἢ ἀκούειν. οὗτος γὰρ ὁ Ἰωάννης χάρις λέγεται, καὶ εἰκότως, πᾶσι χαρίεις γε ὢν καὶ μετὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου δυνάμενος λέγειν· «χάριτι θεοῦ εἰμι, ὅ εἰμι· καὶ ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ κενὴ οὐ γέγονεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ παντὸς ἐν ἐμοὶ μένει.» ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ τὸ δένδρον γινώσκεται καὶ ὁ καρπὸς ἐκ τοῦ δένδρου λαμβάνει τὸν ἔπαινον, πέποιθα ἐν τῇ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δυνάμει, ὡς ὁ προῤῥηθεὶς βασιλεὺς ἐκ τοῦ καρποῦ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἔργων γνωσθήσεται. καὶ γὰρ παντὸς τοῦ αὐτῷ γε ἀναφέροντος μακροθύμως ἀκούει, ἐπιεικῶς ἀποκρίνεται, σοφῶς ἐξετάζει, κρίνει δικαίως. ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ τέσσαρα, ἅπερ οἱ βασιλεύοντες κατέχειν ὀφείλουσιν ἐπιμήκιστον· αὗταί εἰσιν αἱ ἀρεταὶ αἱ ζητούμεναι ἐν ταῖς τῶν σοφῶν πρυτανέων ἀρχαῖς· περὶ ὧν Πλάτων ὁ φιλόσοφος λέγει, εὐδαίμονα τὰ τῶν πραγμάτων δημόσια εἶναι, ὁπηνίκα οἱ τούτων διοικηταὶ σοφίᾳ κεκόσμηνται. ἧς δὴ σοφίας μέγα τὸ ἀξίωμα, ἣ δὴ καὶ τὸν Ἀθηναῖον Σωκράτην τῷ ἄκρῳ θεῷ ἴσον πεποίηκεν. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν ἐλπίδας φέρω, ὡς ἡ βασιλεία τούτου ἔσται ὑπὲρ τῆς 3.20 τῶν Χριστιανῶν εἰρήνης, καὶ τῶν Ἰσμαηλιτῶν ἀποσόβησις, ἔσται ὑπὲρ τῆς δικαιοσύνης τοῦ λαοῦ δι' ἔλεον τοῦ ὑπηκόου παντὸς, ὡς γέγραπται ἐν τῷ ἑκατοστῷ εἰκοστῷ κεφαλαίῳ τῶν παροιμιῶν· «ἔλεος καὶ ἀλήθεια τηροῦσι τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ στερεωθήσεται ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ ὁ θρόνος αὐτοῦ.» τοιαῦτα μὲν ἔγραψε καὶ πρὸς Ἰνιμπέρτον· ταῦτα δὲ ἡμῖν οὐκ ἀργῶς, οὐδὲ ἀκαίρως παρείληπται πρὸς τὴν ἱστορίαν, ἀλλ' ἵν' ἐπιδείξωμεν, ὡς διὰ τῶν εἰς βασιλέα τουτωνὶ ἐπαίνων μαρκέσης ἐκωλύθη μὴ Ῥωμαίοις στόλῳ μεγάλῳ ἐπιέναι. πρότερον γὰρ ἀκούοντες περὶ βασιλέως πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ, πάπας τε ὁμοίως καὶ οἱ κατὰ τὴν Ἰταλίαν δυναστεύοντες ἐπέτρεπον τὴν ἔφοδον τῷ μαρκέσῃ. ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ γράμματα ταῦτα ἧκε παρὰ ἀνδρὸς αὐτοῖς ἀξιόχρεω πρὸς πίστιν, οἵ τε ἄλλοι ἀπηγόρευον τὴν ἔφοδον, καὶ αὐτὸς μαρκέσης ἠμβλύνθη τὴν ὁρμὴν, οὐ τὴν ἀρετὴν μόνον βασιλέως αἰδεσθεὶς, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ τὸ μέγα τι κατορθοῦν ἀπαγορεύσας, βασιλέως ἤδη τὴν σύμπασαν Ῥωμαίων ἔχοντος ἡγεμονίαν, ὃν ἐν στρατηγίαις μέγαν παρὰ πάντων ἐπυνθάνετο. ἐκεῖνος μὲν οὖν ἐκ τούτων ἐκωλύθη, καὶ διέλυε τὴν στρατιάν. γʹ. Βασιλεὺς δὲ, ἐπεὶ ὁ πατριάρχης Ἰωάννης ἐν βασιλείοις ἔτι ἦν σχολάζων οἴκοι, πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐλθὼν προσηγόρευέ τε προσηνῶς, ἔπειτα καὶ ἀνεμίμνησκεν ὧν μετὰ τὴν βα 3.21 σιλέως τελευτὴν πρὶν τὸν πόλεμον κινεῖσθαι διειλέχθη πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡς μέλλουσί τινες κατ' αὐτοῦ διαβολὰς συῤῥάπτειν, καὶ ὡς ἐδεῖτο αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τοῦ κοινῇ λυσιτελοῦντος πᾶσαν ἐπιδείκνυσθαι σπουδὴν καὶ μὴ ἐᾷν τοὺς συκοφάντας παραπείθειν βασιλίδα καὶ πόλεμον ἐμφύλιον κινεῖν, ἀλλ' ἀπελαύνειν ὥσπερ κῆρας καὶ κοινὴν τῆς Ῥωμαίων εὐτυχίας λύμην, καὶ ἐμέμφετο οὐ μόνον, ὅτι μηδὲν ἐνδείξαιτο φρόνημα πρὸς τὰς διαβολὰς αὐτῷ προσῆκον, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνέπραττε, τοῖς συκοφαντοῦσι, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων μᾶλλον τὸν πόλεμον αὐτὸς ἐκίνει, σαφέστατα εἰδὼς, ὡς καταψεύδεται καὶ συκοφαντεῖ· τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, ὅτι καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοσαύτην ἐπακολουθήσασαν ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου συμφορὰν καὶ τῶν μυρίων αἱμάτων τὰς ἐκχύσεις καὶ τοὺς ἀνδραποδισμοὺς καὶ τὰς δημεύσεις καὶ τὰ δεσμωτήρια καὶ τὴν κοινὴν πανωλεθρίαν οἶκτον οὐδένα τῶν ἀπολλυμένων ἐποιεῖτο, οὐδὲ ὑφῆκέ τι τῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν πικρίας ἄχρι τέλους, ἀλλὰ πολλὰ πολλάκις