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That after the oaths and the agreements I neglected none of my duties towards them, but showed every zeal and goodwill, and never on any occasion gave them any pretext for war, I shall now try to offer clear proof from my words. For immediately after the end of the war, when some of your most distinguished men were indignant and refused 3.262 to offer oaths of servitude to the young emperor, considering it grievous and burdensome to again subject and enslave themselves to him, whom they had fought with all their might until then, after he seemed to have prevailed, and begging that this necessity not be imposed, but that they owe their servitude to me alone, I myself was not willing, but for the sake of what is good and just, and of my goodwill towards the emperor my son-in-law, disregarding their many labors and dangers on my behalf and their immense misfortune for so long a time, I openly refused and ordered them to depart from the Roman empire, if they were not willing to also offer the oaths to the young emperor and serve him precisely, just as they thought it was proper to serve me; and to him even more so, inasmuch as it is not my intention to pass on the rule to my sons, but to leave him as heir, whereas for him it will pass on to his sons and sons' sons. And they did what I myself commanded, and offered the oaths under compulsion. And again when some of those attending the empress turned to revolutionary acts and conspired to seize the young emperor by deceit, to cross over to Galata and to raise war against me, gathering a force from wherever they could, those who were caught paid the penalty for their villainy, but those who were resentful of their servitude under the emperor, as if having found a reasonable pretext, 3.263 again demanded not to be bound by the oaths, but to be released from the necessity and to do whatever seemed advantageous to them. But I did not even listen to their argument, but I demanded that the emperor and his mother not be held liable in any indictment, since they had no complicity with the revolutionaries, and I ordered the others to remain quiet and not to seek a pretext by which they would again fill the Roman state with many evils. But when they were not even so persuaded, but had deceived my son Matthew and had persuaded him to establish his own rule, by seizing certain cities and carving out a territory from the whole empire, neither did I give in on account of my affection for my son, nor was I careless and indifferent about such matters, as if they were worthy of little and casual concern, but I took every precaution to lead my son away from these absurdities. And sending his mother the empress, I persuaded him not to engage in such revolutionary acts, but to serve securely both me and the emperor my son-in-law. And one, by examining, would find many such things done by me throughout the entire time. From which, above all, the clearest proof can be drawn that I have neither done nor intended anything from which one might think I wished to deprive him of the Roman empire; but on the contrary, that I was doing everything to ensure that he would hold it securely. But he, on the other hand, was not seen to preserve the same goodwill for me, but having been left by me 3.264 at Thessalonica, to protect the affairs there until I should return after making preparations, he did not protect them, as was necessary. For, persuaded by base and corrupt men who for the sake of a little gain would betray not only the entire Roman empire, but also him, for whose sake they seemed to be doing these things, he openly took up war against me, who was doing everything to make the empire better and greater for him, and he made treaties and an alliance with the Kral, and deserted his own people, so as only to appear grievous to me who loved him very much. But I did not immediately turn to defense, nor did I diminish any of my affection for him at all, but I held mostly to blame those who were inciting him to such things, and I thought it necessary to grant him much forgiveness, not only on account of his age, which is easily led astray by wicked men, but, if the truth must also be told

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ὅτι δὲ μετὰ τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ τὰς συμβάσεις οὐδενὸς ἠμέλησα τῶν καθηκόντων πρὸς αὐτοὺς, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν ἐπεδειξάμην καὶ σπουδὴν καὶ εὔνοιαν, καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἐν οὐδενί ποτε πρόφασιν αὐτοῖς πολέμου παρεσχόμην, νῦν ἐναργῆ πειράσομαι τὴν ἀπόδειξιν τὴν ἐκ τῶν λόγων παρασχέσθαι. εὐθύς τε γὰρ μετὰ τοῦ πολέμου τὴν κατάλυσίν τινων τῶν παρ' ὑμῖν μάλιστα ἐπιφανῶν δυσανασχετούντων καὶ ἀναινομένων 3.262 ὅρκους ἐπὶ δουλείᾳ παρέχεσθαι τῷ νέῳ βασιλεῖ, καὶ βαρὺ καὶ ἐπαχθὲς λογιζομένων, ᾧ πάσῃ δυνάμει πεπολεμήκασιν ἄχρι τότε, τούτῳ μετὰ τὸ δοκεῖν κεκρατηκέναι αὖθις ἑαυτοὺς ὑπάγειν καὶ καταδουλοῦν, καὶ μὴ ταύτην ἐπιτιθέναι τὴν ἀνάγκην, ἀλλ' ἐμοὶ μόνῳ τὴν δουλείαν ὀφείλειν δεομένων, οὐκ ἠθέλησα αὐτὸς, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ τε ἕνεκα τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ τῆς εἰς βασιλέα τὸν γαμβρὸν εὐνοίας τοὺς πολλοὺς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ πόνους καὶ κινδύνους ἐκείνων ὑπεριδὼν καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον χρόνον ἀμυθήτου κακοπραγίας, ἀπειπάμην φανερῶς καὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς ἐκέλευον ἀναχωρεῖν, εἰ μὴ βούλοιντο καὶ βασιλεῖ τῷ νέῳ παρέχεσθαι τοὺς ὅρκους καὶ δουλεύειν ἀκριβῶς, ὥσπερ οἴονται κἀμοὶ προσήκειν· ἐκείνῳ δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον, ὅσον ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐκ εἰς τοὺς παῖδας ἔγνωσται διαβιβάζειν τὴν ἀρχὴν, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνον καταλείπειν κληρονόμον, ἐκείνῳ δὲ εἰς παῖδας καὶ παῖδας παίδων διαβήσεται. ἃ καὶ ἔπραττον, ᾗ ἐκέλευον αὐτὸς, καὶ παρείχοντο τοὺς ὅρκους ὑπ' ἀνάγκης. αὖθις δὲ τῶν βασιλίδι προσεχόντων τραπομένων τινῶν εἰς νεωτερισμοὺς καὶ συνθεμένων, ἀπάτῃ συναρπάσαντας τὸν νέον βασιλέα, διαβαίνειν ἐπὶ Γαλατᾶν καὶ πόλεμον ἐγείρειν ἐπ' ἐμὲ, δύναμιν συμποριζομένους, ὅθεν ἂν ἐξῇ, οἱ μὲν φωραθέντες ἔδοσαν τῆς κακουργίας δίκην, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οἱ βαρέως φέροντες τὴν ὑπὸ βασιλεῖ δουλείαν, ὥσπερ εὐλόγου προφά 3.263 σεως εὐπορήσαντες, αὖθις ἠξίουν μὴ ἐνέχεσθαι τοῖς ὅρκοις, ἀλλ' ἀπολελύσθαι τῆς ἀνάγκης καὶ πράττειν, ὅ,τι ἂν δοκῇ συμφέρειν σφίσιν. ἐγὼ δὲ οὐδ' ἄκροις ὠσὶ τὸν λόγον ἠνεσχόμην, ἀλλὰ βασιλέα μὲν καὶ τὴν μητέρα ἠξίουν ἐνέχεσθαι μηδεμιᾷ γραφῇ, ἅτε συνειδότας τοῖς νεωτερίσασι μηδὲν, ἐκείνους δὲ ἐκέλευον ἠρεμεῖν καὶ μὴ πρόφασιν ζητεῖν, ἐξ ἧς αὖθις τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐμπλήσουσι πολλῶν κακῶν. ἐκείνων δὲ οὐδ' οὕτω πεπεισμένων, ἀλλὰ Ματθαῖον ἐξηπατηκότων τὸν ἐμὸν υἱὸν καὶ πεπεικότων ἰδίαν συστήσασθαι ἀρχὴν, πόλεις κατασχόντα τινὰς καὶ χώραν ἀποτεμόμενον τῆς ὅλης ἡγεμονίας, οὔτ' ἐνέδωκα διὰ τὸ πρὸς τὸν παῖδα φίλτρον, οὔτ' ἀμελῶς καὶ ῥᾳθύμως εἶχον περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα, ὡς μικρᾶς καὶ τῆς τυχούσης ἄξια φροντίδος, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν πρόνοιαν ἐποιούμην ἀπάγειν τῶν ἀτόπων τὸν υἱόν. καὶ πέμψας βασιλίδα τὴν αὐτοῦ μητέρα, μὴ τοιαῦτα ἔπειθον νεωτερίζειν, ἀλλ' ἀσφαλῶς ἐμοί τε καὶ βασιλεῖ δουλεύειν τῷ γαμβρῷ. καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτα ἄν τις ἐξετάζων εὕροι διὰ παντὸς ἐμοὶ τοῦ χρόνου πεπραγμένα. ἐξ ὧν ἐστι μάλιστα ἐναργεστάτην ἀπόδειξιν λαβεῖν τοῦ μηδὲν ἐμὲ μήτε πεπραχέναι, μήτε διανενοῆσθαι, ἐξ ὧν ἄν τις οἰηθείη τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν ἐκεῖνον βούλεσθαι ἀποστερεῖν· τοὐναντίον μὲν οὖν ἅπαν πάντα πράττειν, ἐξ ὧν βεβαίως ἔχειν περιέσται. ἀλλ' οὐχ ὁμοίως ὤφθη κἀκεῖνος ἐμοὶ τὴν ἴσην εὔνοιαν διασώζων, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ Θεσσαλονίκην ὑπ' ἐμοῦ 3.264 καταλειφθεὶς, ὡς τὰ ἐκεῖσε πράγματα διαφυλάξων ἄχρις ἐπανήξω παρασκευασάμενος, οὐκ ἐφύλαξεν, ὥσπερ ἔδει. πειθόμενος γὰρ ἀνθρώποις φαύλοις καὶ διεθφθορόσι καὶ κέρδους ἕνεκα μικροῦ οὐ σύμπασαν μόνον τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἡγεμονίαν. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν, ὑπὲρ οὗ ταῦτα πράττειν ἐδόκουν, προϊεμένων, ἐμοὶ μὲν πόλεμον ἤρατο φανερῶς, ὃς πάντα ἔπραττον, ὅπως αὐτῷ βελτίω καὶ μείζω ποιήσω τὴν ἀρχὴν, πρὸς Κράλην δὲ ἐτίθετο σπονδὰς καὶ συμμαχίαν, καὶ τῶν ὄντων ἀφιστάμενος, ὥστε μόνον λυπηρὸς ἐμοὶ τῷ πάνυ μάλιστα φιλοῦντι φαίνεσθαι. ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ εὐθὺς πρὸς ἄμυναν ἐτρεπόμην, οὐδὲ τοῦ περὶ αὐτὸν φίλτρου τὸ παράπαν οὐδὲν ὑφῄρουν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς μὲν ἐνάγοντας πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα μάλιστα εἶχον ἐν αἰτίαις, ἐκείνῳ δὲ πολλὴν ᾠόμην δεῖν παρέχεσθαι συγγνώμην, οὐ διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν μόνον, ῥᾳδίαν οὖσαν ὑπὸ πονηρῶν παράγεσθαι ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ', εἰ δεῖ τι καὶ τἀληθὲς