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to speak, being overcome by affection. And having sent the empress, my mother, I was doing everything by which I thought I would turn him away from those dishonorable undertakings and that he would return to his former goodwill towards me. Which she, acting well, did all things and with the spirit befitting her. And when he asked me to give him cities, as many as he wished, so that he might rule on his own and not be held accountable by me for his rule, I thought him to be petty and not acting in a manner befitting himself, 3.265 he who was destined a little later to be lord of all, to ask to rule a few things before the time; nevertheless I readily granted it, thinking it necessary to indulge the young man's desire, and I added Didymoteichon out of generosity, a city being a counterweight to the others which he himself had requested, as indeed you yourselves know clearly. And when he was in Byzantium I was urging and advising all necessary things, seeing as I loved him more than anyone, and to consider openly as an enemy that man who might attempt to persuade him that I was ill-disposed toward him, since he had proof from my actions that was stronger than any word. Then I sent him off, rejoicing, to his domain, and I bade the empress his wife to accompany him; so little did I suspect anything terrible concerning him. But knowing that he did not have good thoughts concerning his wife's brother, but thought that he was lying in wait for him for the throne and was trying in some way to transfer it to himself, I thought it necessary to go to Thrace myself and put an end to this small-mindedness and persuade them to be well-disposed to one another; but being occupied at that time by the war against the Latins and not being able to leave Byzantium, I sent the empress, as one who would do everything that I would, and would reconcile my sons to one another. But the result was the opposite of what I myself thought. For not only did the young emperor do none of the necessary things, but also after sending away the empress, his wife's mother, unsuccessful, he immediately proceeded to 3.266 war and subjugated other cities, which I myself had not granted, and he marched against his wife's brother, who had done him no prior wrong. And having shut him up in the citadel of the city of Adrianople, he besieged him, leading not only Romans, but also barbarians as allies. And I, since it was not possible to delay, as quickly as I could, arriving in Adrianople, delivered my son from danger, but I did not bother the young emperor at all, who had previously departed for Didymoteichon, but even sending ambassadors, I begged him to lay aside the war. But he, persuaded by his leaders and holding my counsel in little esteem, waged war no less than before, and did other things that an enemy would likely do, and he summoned an alliance from the Triballians and Mysians. But when those whom I myself had summoned from Asia were destroyed by the barbarians, he himself also sending an embassy to Souliman, the leader of the Persian army—for it seemed advantageous to him to persuade that man not to be his enemy—he also sent letters in which, mentioning me, he did not address me as emperor, but simply as Kantakouzenos; which grieved me greatly, as I thought it the clearest proof that he had been persuaded to maintain the war against me implacably as long as he could. And now these last things, since he was not able to remain in the cities of Thrace, being no longer able to hold out in the war, he crossed over to Tenedos, and 3.267 having gathered some small naval force, he plotted at the most critical moments. For it is not the same to perhaps enslave the cities and islands subject to me, and to attack the very hearth. But this being so terrible, another thing much more terrible and a greater cause for hatred was dared by him. For he freely allowed the sailors who followed him, and especially those from the trireme which he himself was aboard, to insult me; which he would not have dared, I thought, unless he had thoroughly persuaded himself to maintain the war irreconcilably to the very end. That I, therefore, have kept myself consistent and the same in all things from beginning to end and have given him no pretext for war, I think all are persuaded from these things

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εἰπεῖν, νικώμενος ὑπὸ τοῦ φίλτρου. καὶ βασιλίδα τὴν μητέρα πέμψας, πάντα ἔπραττον, ἐξ ὧν ἐνόμιζον ἀποστήσειν τῶν οὐ καλῶν ἐκείνων ἐπιχειρήσεων καὶ πρὸς τὴν προτέραν ἐπανήξειν εὔνοιαν ἐμοί. ἃ καλῶς ποιοῦσα πάντα ἔπραττεν ἐκείνη καὶ μετὰ τοῦ προσήκοντος αὐτῇ φρονήματος. δεηθέντος δὲ πόλεις αὐτῷ παρασχέσθαι, ὅσας ἤθελεν, ὥστε ἄρχειν αὐτὸν ἰδίᾳ καὶ μηδὲν εὐθύνεσθαι παρ' ἐμοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν, μικρολογεῖν μὲν αὐτὸν ᾠόμην καὶ μὴ ἑαυτῷ προσήκον 3.265 τα ποιεῖν, μέλλοντα ὀλίγῳ ὕστερον συμπάντων εἶναι κύριον, ὀλίγων ἄρχειν δεῖσθαι πρὸ καιροῦ· προθύμως δὲ ὅμως παρεσχόμην, δεῖν χαρίζεσθαι νομίζων τοῦ νέου τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ, καὶ ∆ιδυμότειχον προσετίθουν εἰς φιλοτιμίαν, ἀντίῤῥοπον οὖσαν πόλιν τῶν ἄλλων, ὧν αὐτὸς ᾐτεῖτο, ὥσπερ δήπου καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπίστασθε σαφῶς. γενομένῳ δὲ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ πάντα τὰ δέοντα παρῄνουν καὶ συνεβούλευον ἐξέχεσθαι ἐμοῦ παντὸς μᾶλλον φιλοῦντος, καὶ πολέμιον ἡγεῖσθαι φανερῶς ἐκεῖνον, ὃς ἂν ἐπιχειροίη πείθειν, ὡς κακὸς ἐγὼ περὶ αὐτὸν, τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἔχοντι ἀπόδειξιν λόγου παντὸς ἰσχυροτέραν. ἔπειτα ἐξέπεμπον χαίροντα χαίρων ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν, καὶ βασιλίδα τὴν γυναῖκα συνέπεσθαι κελεύσας· οὕτως οὐδὲν ὑπώπτευον δεινὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ. εἰδὼς δὲ αὐτὸν οὐ καλὰς περὶ τὸν γυναικὸς ἀδελφὸν ἔχοντα ἐννοίας, ἀλλ' οἰόμενον ἐφεδρεύειν αὐτῷ πρὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τρόπῳ δή τινι μετάγειν ἐφ' ἑαυτὸν πειρᾶσθαι, ἀναγκαῖον μὲν ἐνόμιζον πρὸς Θρᾴκην καὶ αὐτὸς ἐλθὼν διαλύειν τὴν μικροψυχίαν καὶ πείθειν ἀλλήλοις εὐνοεῖν· κατεχόμενος δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ πρὸς Λατίνους πολέμου τότε καὶ Βυζαντίου μὴ δυνάμενος ἀφίστασθαι, ἔπεμπον τὴν βασιλίδα, ὡς πάντα πράξουσαν, ὅσα περ ἂν ἐγὼ, καὶ διαλλάξουσαν ἀλλήλοις τοὺς υἱούς. τὸ δ' ἐναντίως ἀπέβαινεν, ἢ αὐτὸς ᾠόμην. οὐ μόνον γὰρ οὐδὲν ἔπραττε τῶν δεόντων ὁ νέος βασιλεὺς, ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ τὸ βασιλίδα τὴν γυναικὸς μητέρα ἄπρακτον ἀποπέμψαι πρὸς 3.266 πόλεμον ἐχώρησεν εὐθὺς καὶ ἄλλας τε πόλεις ὑπηγάγετο, ἃς αὐτὸς οὐ παρεσχόμην, καὶ τῷ γυναικὸς ἐπεστράτευσεν ἀδελφῷ, οὐδὲν ἠδικηκότι πρότερον. καὶ κατακλείσας πρὸς τὴν ἄκραν Ἀδριανοῦ τῆς πόλεως ἐπολιόρκει, οὐ Ῥωμαίους μόνον ἄγων, ἀλλὰ καὶ βαρβάρους κατὰ συμμαχίαν. ἐγὼ δ' ἐπεὶ μέλλειν οὐκ ἐνῆν, ᾗ τάχιστα εἶχον, ἐν Ἀδριανοῦ γενόμενος, τὸν μὲν υἱὸν ἀπήλλαττον τοῦ κινδύνου, βασιλέα δὲ τὸν νέον οὐδὲν ἠνώχλουν πρότερον εἰς ∆ιδυμότειχον ἀπηρκότα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρέσβεις πέμψας, ἐδεόμην κατατίθεσθαι τὸν πόλεμον. ὁ δ' ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγόντων πεπεισμένος καὶ τὴν ἐμὴν παραίνεσιν ἐν ὀλίγῳ θέμενος, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἢ πρότερον ἐπολέμει, καὶ ἄλλα τε ἔπραττεν, ὅσα πολέμιον εἰκὸς, καὶ συμμαχίαν ἐκ Τριβαλῶν καὶ Μυσῶν μετεκαλεῖτο. ἐπεὶ δ' ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐκεῖνοι διεφθάρησαν, οὓς αὐτὸς μετεπεμψάμην ἐξ Ἀσίας, πρεσβείαν καὶ αὐτὸς πρὸς Σουλιμὰν τὸν τῆς Περσικῆς ἡγούμενον ποιούμενος στρατιᾶς, ἐδόκει γὰρ αὐτῷ λυσιτελεῖν πείθειν ἐκεῖνον εἶναι μὴ πολέμιον αὐτῷ, ἔπεμπε καὶ γράμματα, ἐν οἷς ἐπιμνησθεὶς ἐμοῦ, οὐ βασιλέα προσηγόρευεν, ἀλλὰ Καντακουζηνὸν ἁπλῶς· ὃ μέγιστα ἐλύπησεν, ἀπόδειξιν ἐναργεστάτην οἰηθέντα τοῦ μέχρι καὶ τοῦ δυνατοῦ τὸν πόλεμον τὸν πρὸς ἐμὲ τηρεῖν ἀκατάλυτον πεπεῖσθαι. ἤδη δὲ τὰ τελευταῖα ταῦτα νῦν, ἐπεὶ μὴ μένειν πρὸς τὰς τῆς Θρᾴκης πόλεις ἠδυνήθη, οὐχ οἷός τε ὢν ἀντέχειν ἔτι πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, πρὸς Τένεδον ἐπεραιώθη, καὶ 3.267 συμπορισάμενος δύναμίν τινα ὀλίγην ναυτικὴν, ἐν τοῖς καιριωτάτοις ἐπεβούλευσεν. οὐ γὰρ ἴσον, πόλεις καὶ νήσους τὰς ὑπ' ἐμοὶ τελούσας ἴσως καταδουλοῦσθαι, καὶ αὐτῇ ἑστίᾳ ἐπελθεῖν. τούτου δὲ ὄντος οὕτω δεινοῦ, ἕτερον αὐτῷ πολλῷ δεινότερον καὶ μεῖζον εἰς ἀπεχθείας λόγον ἐτολμήθη. τοῖς γὰρ ἑπομένοις ναύταις καὶ μάλιστα τοῖς ἐκ τῆς τριήρεως, ἧς ἐπέβαινεν αὐτὸς, ἀδεῶς ἐφῆκεν ὑβρίζειν εἰς ἐμέ· ὃ οὐκ ἂν ἐτόλμησεν, ἐδόκουν, εἰ μὴ πεπεικὼς ἦν μάλιστα ἑαυτὸν ἀσύμβατον μέχρι παντὸς τὸν πόλεμον τηρήσειν. ὡς μὲν οὖν ἄχρι τέλους ἀπ' ἀρχῆς ἴσον ἑαυτῷ καὶ ὅμοιον ἐν πᾶσιν ἐμαυτὸν τετήρηκα ἐγὼ καὶ πρόφασιν οὐδεμίαν ἐκείνῳ πολέμου παρεσχόμην, πάντας οἴομαι πεπεῖσθαι ἐκ τῶν