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to be able to resist. For it carried off all equally, both strong and weak bodies, and those who were most cared for died just like the most destitute. For that year was completely free from other sicknesses. But if anyone did suffer from some prior illness, everything ended in that disease, and no skill of physicians was sufficient, nor was it similar for all, but some, not resisting even for a short time, died immediately on the same day, and some even on the spot; but as many as held out for two or three days, first were seized by a most violent fever, and with the disease attacking the head, they were seized with speechlessness and insensibility to everything that was happening, and were carried off as if into a deep sleep. If they should recover consciousness at all, they wanted to speak, but the tongue was difficult to move and they uttered many things inarticulately, with the nerves around the occiput having been mortified, and they died very quickly. But for others the disease attacked not the head, but the lung, and there was an immediate inflammation in their inner parts, and it produced sharp pains around the chest; and they brought up bloody sputum and a strange and foul-smelling breath from within; and both the pharynx and the tongue, being dried up by the burning heat, were black and bloody; and drinking, both more and less, had the same effect; and sleeplessness 3.51 pressed upon them constantly and there was despair from every quarter. Both on the upper and lower arms, and for not a few also on the jaws, and for others in other parts of the body, abscesses formed, for some larger, for others smaller, and black pustules grew. For others, as it were black marks erupted over the whole body, for some sparse and more distinct, for others fainter and continuous; and all died alike from all of these. For on some all of these things occurred, on others more or fewer, and for not a few even one of all these was enough for death; and the few out of many who were able to escape were no longer seized by the same evil, but were now in a state of confidence. For it did not attack twice, so as to kill; but large abscesses formed on the thighs or on the arms; and when these were lanced, a foul-smelling and copious gangrene flowed out, and the disease was dispersed into that, casting off the disturbing matter. And many, having been seized by all the symptoms, were saved contrary to expectation. But there was no help from any quarter. For what helped one person became poison for another suffering the same things; and one from another's care was filled with the disease, and this produced the greatest destruction, and many houses were emptied of their inhabitants, with the animals also dying along with their masters. But the most terrible thing was the despair. For whenever someone perceived 3.52 himself to be ill, no hope of recovery was left, but turning to hopelessness, they gave themselves up and died immediately, adding the great weight of despair to the disease. The nature of the disease, then, was such as to be beyond description; whence also it was especially clear that it was not one of the ailments familiar and natural to men, but something different inflicted by God upon men for their correction; and many, having been corrected, became better in soul because of this, not only those who died, but also as many as survived the disease. For they abstained from all evil at that time and took care for virtue; and many distributed their possessions to the poor even before the disease fell upon them; and if ever they perceived that they were seized by it, there was no one so unfeeling as not to show repentance for his sins and not to furnish some pretext to the tribunals there for being saved by God, unless he was utterly incurable and unhealable in his soul. By such a disease very many died in Byzantium at that time, and the emperor's son Andronikos was seized and died on the third day. And the empress, his mother, when she learned of her child's death, being struck in her heart by a most violent grief, for her whole life had an inextinguishable memory of her child. For he was not only good to look upon, but also

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δυνηθῆναι ἀντισχεῖν. πάντα γὰρ ὁμοίως καθῄρει καὶ ἰσχυρὰ καὶ ἀσθενῆ σώματα, καὶ οἱ μάλιστα θεραπευόμενοι ὁμοίως ἀπέθνησκον τοῖς ἀπορωτάτοις. ἄνοσον μὲν γὰρ ἦν ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἔτος παντάπασιν εἰς τὰς ἄλλας ἀσθενείας. εἰ δέ τις καὶ προέκαμνέ τι, πάντα εἰς ἐκεῖνο κατέληγε τὸ νόσημα, καὶ οὔτε ἰατρῶν ἐξήρκει τέχνη οὐδεμία, οὔτε παρόμοιον πᾶσιν ἦν, ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν αὐτίκα οὐδὲ πρὸς βραχὺ ἀντέχοντες αὐθημερὸν ἀπέθνησκον, ἔνιοι δὲ καὶ αὐθωρόν· ὅσοι δὲ ἐπὶ δυσὶν ἀντεῖχον ἢ τρισὶν ἡμέραις, πρῶτα μὲν πυρετῷ κατείχοντο λαβροτάτῳ, καὶ ἐς τὴν κεφαλὴν τοῦ νοσήματος ἐμπίπτοντος, ἀφωνίᾳ κατείχοντο καὶ ἀναισθησίᾳ πρὸς πάντα τὰ γινόμενα, καὶ ὥσπερ πρὸς ὕπνον κατεφέροντο βαθύν. ἢν δέ που ἀνανήψειαν, φθέγγεσθαι μὲν ἐβούλοντο, δυσκίνητος δὲ ἡ γλῶσσα ἦν καὶ ἀδιάρθρωτα τὰ πολλὰ ἐφθέγγοντο, τῶν περὶ τὸ ἰνίον νεύρων νεκρωθέντων, καὶ τάχιστα ἀπέθνησκον. ἑτέροις δὲ οὐκ εἰς τὴν κεφαλὴν, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν πνεύμονα ἐμπίπτον τὸ κακὸν, φλόγωσίς τε ἦν αὐτίκα πρὸς τὰ ἔνδον, καὶ δριμείας ἐνεποίει ἀλγηδόνας περὶ τὰ στήθη· ὕφαιμόν τε πτύελον ἀνέπεμπον καὶ πνεῦμα ἄτοπον ἀπὸ τῶν ἔνδον καὶ δυσῶδες· ἥ τε φάρυγξ καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα καταξηραινόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ καύσονος, μέλανα καὶ αἱματώδη ἦσαν· καὶ ποτὸν τό τε πλέον καὶ τὸ ἔλασσον ἐν ὁμοίῳ καθειστήκει· καὶ ἡ ἀγρυπνία 3.51 ἐπέκειτο διὰ παντὸς καὶ ἀπορία πανταχόθεν ἦν ἐπί τε ταῖς ὠλέναις ταῖς ἄνω καὶ κάτω, οὐκ ὀλίγοις δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὰς σιαγόνας, καὶ ἕτεροις ἐν ἑτέροις μέρεσι τοῦ σώματος ἀποστάσεις ἐγίνοντο, τοῖς μὲν μείζους, τοῖς δὲ ἐλάσσους, καὶ μέλαιναι φλυκτίδες ἀνεφύοντο. ἑτέροις δὲ ὥσπερ στίγματα μέλανα κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ σώματος ἐξήνθει, τοῖς μὲν ἀραιά τε καὶ διαφανέστερα, τοῖς δ' ἀμυδρότερα καὶ συνεχῆ· καὶ πάντες ὁμοίως ὑπὸ πάντων ἔθνησκον. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ τὰ πάντα ἐπεγίνετο, τοῖς δὲ πλείω ἢ ἐλάσσω, οὐκ ὀλίγοις δὲ καὶ ἓν τῶν πάντων ἤρκεσε πρὸς θάνατον· ὅσοι δὲ ἐκ πολλῶν ὀλίγοι ἠδυνήθησαν διαφυγεῖν, οὐκέτι ὑπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ κατείχοντο κακοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ θαρσαλέῳ ἦσαν ἤδη. δὶς γὰρ οὐκ ἐπελάμβανεν, ὥστε καὶ κτείνειν· ἀποστάσεις δὲ ἐγίνοντο μεγάλαι πρὸς τοῖς μηροῖς ἢ ἐν ταῖς ὠλέναις· ὧν τεμνομένων, σφάκελλος ἐξέῤῥει δυσώδης καὶ πολὺς, καὶ τὸ νόσημα διεφορεῖτο εἰς ἐκεῖνο, τὴν διενοχλοῦσαν ὕλην ἀποῤῥίπτον. πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ὑπὸ πάντων κατασχεθέντες, παρὰ δόξαν διεσώζοντο. ἦν δὲ ἐπικουρία οὐδεμία οὐδαμόθεν. ὃ γὰρ ἑτέρῳ συνήνεγκε, τοῦθ' ἑτέρῳ τὰ ἴσα πάσχοντι δηλητήριον ἐγίνετο· καὶ ἕτερος ἀφ' ἑτέρου θεραπείας ἀνεπίμπλαντο τῆς νόσου, καὶ τὴν πλείστην φθορὰν τοῦτο ἐνεποίει, καὶ πολλαὶ οἰκίαι ἐκενώθησαν τῶν οἰκητόρων, καὶ τῶν ἀλόγων τοῖς κυρίοις συναποθανόντων. δεινότατον δὲ ἦν ἡ ἀθυμία. ὁπότε γάρ τις αἴσθοιτο κάμνον 3.52 τος ἑαυτοῦ, ἐλπὶς οὐδεμία σωτηρίας ὑπελείπετο, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸ ἀνέλπιστον τραπόμενοι, προΐεντο σφᾶς αὐτοὺς καὶ ἀπέθνησκον ἐν τῷ αὐτίκα, μεγάλην ῥοπὴν τῷ νοσήματι τὴν ἀθυμίαν προστιθέντες. τὸ μὲν οὖν τῆς νόσου εἶδος τοιοῦτον κρεῖσσον λόγου ἦν· ὅθεν καὶ μάλιστα ἐδεδήλωτο, οὐ τῶν συντρόφων καὶ τῇ φύσει προσηκόντων τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἕτερόν τι ὂν ὑπὸ θεοῦ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπενηνεγμένον πρὸς σωφρονισμόν· καὶ πολλοὶ ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου βελτίους τὴν ψυχὴν ἐγένοντο σωφρονισθέντες, οὐ μόνον οἱ τελευτήσαντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσοι περιεγένοντο τῆς νόσου. πάσης γὰρ ἀπέσχοντο κακίας ἐν τῷ τότε χρόνῳ καὶ ἀρετῆς ἐπεμελοῦντο· καὶ πολλοὶ τὰ ὄντα πένησι διένειμον καὶ πρὶν τὴν νόσον εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐγκατασκῆψαι· εἰ δέ ποτε καὶ αἴσθοιντο αὐτοὺς κατεχομένους, οὐδεὶς ἦν οὕτως ἀναλγήτως ἔχων, ὥστε μὴ μετάνοιαν ἐνδείξασθαι τῶν πεπλημμελημένων καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἐκεῖ δικαιωτήρια μὴ πρόφασίν τινα παρασχεῖν τοῦ σωθήσεσθαι ὑπὸ θεοῦ, εἰ μὴ πάνυ ἀνιάτως εἶχε καὶ ἀθεραπεύτως τὴν ψυχήν. ὑπὸ τῆς τοιαύτης νόσου πλεῖστοί τε ἀπέθανον ἐν Βυζαντίῳ τότε, καὶ ὁ βασιλέως παῖς Ἀνδρόνικος κατασχεθεὶς ἐτελεύτησε τριταῖος. βασιλὶς δὲ ἡ μήτηρ, ἐπεὶ ἐπύθετο τοῦ παιδὸς τὴν τελευτὴν, ὑπὸ σφοδροτάτης ἀλγηδόνος πληγεῖσα τὴν καρδίαν, διὰ βίου ἀνεξάλειπτον ἔσχε τὴν μνήμην τοῦ παιδός. ἦν γὰρ οὐ μόνον ἀγαθὸς ἰδεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ