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as was to be expected, since they reasoned that no one would reward them for their valor if the emperor were to abstain from ruling, he attempted to persuade them with words and to blunt their impulse. 3.287 “For if our war were against foreigners,” he said, “whom one might kill and have the pleasure from the victory pure and without grief, I myself would not have advised you to delay, nor to shrink from the battle, but to attack at once. For by conquering we would have won renown for courage and daring, and for those who died a memorial of all glory would have been left, as was fitting for good men who had fought. But now the fact that those who stand against us are especially kinsmen and of our own nation has stripped us of all ambition. For whether we are defeated or victorious, we will in either case attach great disgrace to ourselves for the future. But if you must be persuaded by me, a man experienced in many wars and affairs throughout my whole life and one who knows well how to deal with reversals of fortune and difficulties, it is fitting to leave these men, toiling rashly and in vain and laboring to no effect, knowing clearly that they will be able to gain nothing more from their wickedness; and for you yourselves, holding to sober considerations and ones befitting good men, to await the army from the other cities. For my son will arrive most quickly with the army, having learned what has happened, and Nikephoros the despotes my son-in-law, and Asanes the sebastokrator and the other leaders, whom I myself will summon by letters. 3.288 And when all of them have arrived here, the enemy will not even dare to come to blows, but they will depart, terrified by the sight alone, and will hand over the victory to us without bloodshed.” He said these things, and immediately, in the sight of all, he sent letters to his son and to the others to come to Byzantium with all speed. He also wrote to the leaders of the barbarians in Thrace, for them to come quickly as allies. But all these things were feigned for the sake of his companions. For he himself was already prepared to withdraw from affairs and to leave his rule. And yet, even if he had been very eager to lay claim to the rule and to oppose his attackers in battle, not even so would he have used the force of the barbarians. For Philotheos the patriarch, after ascending the sacred throne, had approached him and spoken about the matter, how it would not be pleasing to God to bring a barbarian force against those who are called by Christ's name and to destroy some farmers who have done no wrong or even soldiers led by their own master and under every necessity to do what was commanded, while the actual wrongdoers were mostly in safety. For indeed, during the time of the civil war, while none or few of the persecutors and slanderers paid the penalty for their wickedness, countless multitudes of those who had contributed nothing to the war perished; and later, when Kralis was committing injustice and perjury and taking away no small part 3.289 of the empire, by bringing in a barbarian army, he had harmed the wrongdoer little or not at all, but for countless others he had been the cause of great misfortunes, as they were enslaved and killed by the barbarians. On these matters, he knew that he himself condemned himself, that on account of the wrongdoers he thought he was acting very justly by defending himself against foreign aggressors through barbarian power, since the Roman force was not sufficient for defense because it had been destroyed by the civil wars, and by bringing it against his countrymen when they were at war, so that they, by using it, would not destroy both him and his companions. but toward those who were perishing he had no reasonable defense, if they themselves paid the penalty for the folly of others. And having begged him no longer to use barbarians against those called by Christ's name, even if they were foreigners and had committed the greatest injustices, but to entrust the punishment against them to God, for whom it is easy to restrain wrongdoers, even if they are puffed up with the greatest pride, and to grant this favor first to God and then to him, not to stain his soul with such defilements, the emperor was persuaded and promised no longer against anyone

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ὥσπερ ἦν εἰκὸς, λογισαμένους, ὡς οὐδεὶς ἀμεί 3.287 ψεται αὐτοὺς τῆς ἀνδραγαθίας χάριν, ἂν βασιλεὺς τοῦ ἄρχειν ἀποστῇ, λόγοις παράγειν ἐπειρᾶτο καὶ ἀμβλύνειν τὴν ὁρμήν. «εἰ μὲν γὰρ πρὸς ἀλλοφύλους» ἔφασκεν «ἦν ὁ πόλεμος ἡμῖν, οὓς ἄν τις ἀποκτείνας καθαρὰν σχοίη καὶ λύπης ἀμέτοχον τὴν ἐκ τῆς νίκης ἡδονὴν, οὐκ ἂν οὐδ' αὐτὸς μέλλειν ὑμῖν, οὐδ' ἀναδύεσθαι τὴν μάχην συνεβούλευσα, ἀλλ' αὐτίκα ἐπιέναι. νικῶντές τε γὰρ ἂν ἀνδρίας καὶ τόλμης εὔκλειαν ἠράμεθα, καὶ ἀποθνήσκουσι πάσης εὐδοξίας κατελείπετο μνημεῖον, ὥσπερ ἦν προσῆκον ἀνδράσιν ἀγαθοῖς ἠγωνισμένοις. νυνὶ δὲ τὸ συγγενεῖς τε μάλιστα καὶ ὁμοφύλους εἶναι τοὺς ἀντικαθισταμένους, πᾶσαν περιῄρηκεν ἡμῶν φιλοτιμίαν. ὁμοίως γὰρ καὶ ἡττώμενοι καὶ νικῶντες πολλὴν ἐν τοῖς εἰσέπειτα προστριψόμεθα τὴν ἀδοξίαν ἑαυτοῖς. ἀλλ' εἴ τι πείθεσθαί μοι δεῖ, πολλῶν πολέμων ἐμπείρῳ καὶ πραγμάτων διὰ βίου παντὸς γεγενημένῳ καὶ καλῶς εἰδότι πραγμάτων χρῆσθαι μεταβολαῖς καὶ δυσχερείαις, τούτους μὲν ἐᾷν προσῆκον εἰκῆ καὶ μάτην κοπτομένους καὶ ἀνήνυτα πονοῦντας, σαφῶς εἰδότας, ὡς οὐδὲν δυνήσονται πλέον ἀπώνασθαι τῆς μοχθηρίας· αὐτοὺς δὲ σωφρόνων ἐχομένους λογισμῶν καὶ προσηκόντων ἀνδράσι ἀγαθοῖς, τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων πόλεων περιμένειν στρατιάν. ὅ,τε γὰρ υἱὸς ἀφίξεται τάχιστα μετὰ τῆς στρατιᾶς πεπυσμένος τὸ συμβὰν, καὶ Νικηφόρος δεσπότης ὁ γαμβρὸς, Ἀσάνης τε ὁ σεβαστοκράτωρ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι ἡγεμόνες, οὓς αὐτὸς διὰ γραμμάτων μεταπέμψομαι. ἐκεί 3.288 νων δὲ ἁπάντων γενομένων ἐνταυθοῖ, οὐδὲ εἰς χεῖρας τολμήσουσιν ἰέναι οἱ πολέμιοι, ἀλλ' οἰχήσονται, τῇ ὄψει μόνῃ καταπλαγέντες, καὶ ἀναιμωτὶ τὴν νίκην παραδώσουσιν ἡμῖν.» ταῦτα εἶπε, καὶ αὐτίκα πρός τε τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους εἰς Βυζάντιον ἰέναι τὴν ταχίστην γράμματα ἔπεμπεν ὑπὸ ταῖς ὄψεσιν ἁπάντων. ἔγραφε δὲ καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Θρᾴκην ἡγεμόσι τῶν βαρβάρων, κατὰ τάχος καὶ αὐτοὺς ἥκειν συμμαχήσοντας. πάντα δὲ ταῦτα τῶν συνόντων ἕνεκα ἐπλάττετο. αὐτὸς γὰρ ἤδη παρεσκεύαστο τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποχωρεῖν καὶ καταλείπειν τὴν ἀρχήν. καίτοι γε εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα ὥρμητο ἀντιποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἀρχῆς καὶ τοῖς ἐπιοῦσιν ἀντικαθίστασθαι πρὸς μάχην, οὐδ' οὕτως ἂν ἐχρήσατο τῇ δυνάμει τῶν βαρβάρων. Φιλόθεος γὰρ ὁ πατριάρχης μετὰ τὸ τῶν ἱερῶν ἐπιβῆναι θρόνων προσελθὼν καὶ διαλεχθεὶς περὶ τοῦ πράγματος, ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἀρέσκοι θεῷ τοῖς ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ καλουμένοις τὴν βαρβαρικὴν ἐπάγειν δύναμιν καὶ διαφθείρειν τοὺς οὐδὲν ἠδικηκότας γεωργούς τινας ἢ καὶ στρατιώτας ἀγομένους ὑπὸ τῷ σφῶν δεσπότῃ καὶ πᾶσαν ἀνάγκην ἔχοντας τὰ κελευόμενα ποιεῖν, τῶν ἀδικούντων μάλιστα ἐν ἀσφαλείᾳ ὄντων. καὶ γὰρ καὶ κατὰ τὸν τοῦ ἐμφυλίου πολέμου χρόνον τῶν ἐλαυνόντων καὶ συκοφαντούντων οὐδενὸς ἢ ὀλίγων τῆς μοχθηρίας δίκας δόντων, τὰ μυρία πλήθη τῶν οὐδὲν εἰσενηνεγμένων εἰς τὸν πόλεμον ἀπώλετο· καὶ ὕστερον Κράλη ἀδικοῦντος καὶ ἐπιορκοῦντος καὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς οὐκ ὀλίγον μέ 3.289 ρος παραιρουμένου, στρατιὰν βαρβαρικὴν ἐπαγαγὼν, τὸν μὲν ἀδικοῦντα ἐλύπησεν ὀλίγα ἢ οὐδὲν, μυρίοις δὲ ἄλλοις αἴτιος ἐγένετο μεγάλων συμφορῶν ἐξανδραποδισθεῖσι καὶ ἀπολομένοις ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων. ἐφ' οἷς καὶ αὐτὸν καταψηφιζόμενον εἰδέναι ἑαυτοῦ, ὡς τῶν μὲν ἀδικούντων ἕνεκα καὶ σφόδρα οἴεσθαι δίκαια ποιεῖν τοῖς τε ἀλλοφύλοις ἀμυνόμενον ἀδικοῦσι διὰ τῆς βαρβαρικῆς δυνάμεως, τῆς Ῥωμαίων πρὸς ἄμυναν οὐκ ἐξαρκούσης διὰ τὸ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐμφυλίων πολέμων διεφθάρθαι, καὶ τοῖς ὁμοφύλοις ἐπάγοντα, ὅτε ἐπολέμουν, ἵνα μὴ αὐτοὶ χρησάμενοι αὐτόν τε καὶ τοὺς συνόντας διαφθείρωσι. πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἀπολλυμένους οὐδεμίαν ἔχειν εὔλογον ἀπολογίαν, εἰ τῆς ἑτέρων ἕνεκα ἀγνωμοσύνης δίκας ἔδοσαν αὐτοί. καὶ δεηθεὶς, μηκέτι χρήσασθαι βαρβάροις κατὰ τῶν ἀπὸ Χριστοῦ καλουμένων, κἂν ἀλλόφυλοι ὦσι καὶ τὰ μέγιστα ἠδικηκότες, ἀλλ' ἐπιτρέπειν θεῷ τὴν κατ' ἐκείνων δίκην, ᾧ ῥᾴδιον τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας καταστέλλειν, κἂν τὰ μέγιστα φυσῶσι, καὶ ταύτην τὴν χάριν θεῷ καταθεῖναι πρῶτον καὶ αὐτῷ τὸ μὴ τοιαύταις κηλῖσι καταχραίνειν τὴν ψυχὴν, ἐπείθετό τε ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ὑπέσχετο μηκέτι κατὰ μηδενὸς