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to keep them indissoluble, unless he wished otherwise. Then for the time being, except for the red ones, after allowing him to wear whatever kind of new 3.358 boots it seemed good to him to fashion, having taken leave, he returned to Byzantium and deemed John and Demetrios, the sons of Matthew, his wife's brother, worthy of the most illustrious honors among the Romans, appointing John as despotes, and Demetrios as sebastokrator, and sharing a table with them. Then he sent them out to their father, acknowledging many thanks for his beneficence. Matthew, however, chose not to innovate at all regarding his attire, but chose to use white boots, just as when he was in prison. And the emperor Kantakouzenos, taking his son with his entire household, sailed away to the Peloponnese in long triremes to the despotes Manuel, the other of his sons. Indeed, not even there did the evil and wicked in their ways neglect to devise some scheme, by which they would cause the greatest grief, but before he arrived in the Peloponnese, they slandered his son in letters to the despotes, saying that he wished to deprive him of his rule, and to install his brother Matthew as ruler of the Peloponnese in his place; and not one or two, but even more, and many times, had written this. This was not least able to shake the despotes's reasonings. For when he looked to the fairness and understanding and good counsel of his father and his affection for his children, he considered it all fictions and slanders, but when he looked to the multitude and the plausibility of what was written, he did not know how to disbelieve it all at once. Whence also after the arrival of the emperor his father, he hinted at his inner 3.359 turmoil in his manners. And the emperor his father, not unaware of the disturbance, inquired about the causes, whence they were; and he immediately revealed the whole secret. And the emperor his father condemned the great foolishness and wickedness of the ways of the slanderers, and he advised his son not to be ready to heed slanders, especially those concocted against his dearest ones, his father and brother, and that he himself had brought his brother there not in order to take away his rule from him, but so that he might make it as much better and more secure as possible. For what could be better for the sake of pleasure and security, than for brothers to be together, their souls blended in the same way as their natural connection? And that there was no other reason for bringing him to the Peloponnese than the base and most wicked souls of men, many of whom have now sprung up in life, who have taken no account of truth and justice, but for the sake of a small profit dare even the most terrible things, and at times not even having this shameful and ignoble pretext, but as if they came into this life for this purpose, to corrupt the good, having chosen wickedness for its own sake, fearing their absurdity and wickedness, lest having fabricated slanders and calumnies, they set the emperor and your brother at war with each other, I brought him here, thinking, as is true, that you would inhabit not the whole Peloponnese, vast as it is, but the same house together 3.360 without grief for life, and there would be no strong pretext for a quarrel which could separate you from each other. And you should not be surprised if, being persuaded of such things about the slanderers, I brought your brother here. For where they hoped by their slanders to set you at war with both me and him, they would hardly have refrained from attacking the emperor, being well-supplied with great pretexts from past quarrels. “Let those men, then,” he said, “perish miserably, evil men that they are, with their very slanders; but you, putting aside all small-mindedness, receive your brother gladly, who will live with you with all fairness and good judgment.” Such things the emperor Kantakouzenos said to the despotes his son. And he, immediately obeying his father, received his brother gladly, blaming the slanderers greatly, and insisted to the emperor his father that, if it seemed better and more expedient to him, he, having withdrawn completely from the Peloponnese, to have all the

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τηρεῖν ἀλύτους, εἰ μὴ βούλοιτο. ἔπειτα τὸ νῦν ἔχον πλὴν τῶν ἐρυθρῶν, ὁποίας ἂν αὐτῷ δοκοίη και 3.358 νουργήσαντι κρηπῖδας ἐπιτρέψας ὑποδύεσθαι, συνταξάμενος εἰς Βυζάντιον ἐπανῆκε καὶ Ἰωάννην καὶ ∆ημήτριον τοὺς υἱοὺς Ματθαίου τοῦ τῆς γυναικὸς ἀδελφοῦ τιμῶν ἠξίωκε τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις, δεσπότην μὲν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἀποδείξας, τὸν δὲ ∆ημήτριον σεβαστοκράτορα, καὶ κοινωνήσας αὐτοῖς τραπέζης. ἔπειτα ἐξέπεμπε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, πολλὰς ὁμολογοῦντας τῆς εὐεργεσίας χάριτας. Ματθαῖος δὲ οὐδὲν εἵλετο περὶ τὴν σκευὴν καινοτομεῖν, ἀλλὰ λευκαῖς κρηπῖσιν, ὥσπερ ἡνίκα ἦν ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ, χρῆσθαι εἵλετο. Καντακουζηνὸς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς πανοικεσίᾳ τὸν υἱὸν παραλαβὼν, ἀπέπλευσεν εἰς Πελοπόννησον τριήρεσι μακραῖς πρὸς Μανουὴλ δεσπότην, τῶν υἱῶν τὸν ἕτερον. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ ἐκεῖ ἠμέλουν οἱ πονηροὶ καὶ μοχθηροὶ τοὺς τρόπους μηχανήν τινα ἐξευρίσκειν, ἐξ ἧς λυπήσουσιν ὡς μάλιστα, ἀλλὰ πρὶν γενέσθαι ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ γράμμασι πρὸς δεσπότην διαβάλλουσι τὸν υἱὸν, ὡς βούλοιτο τῆς μὲν ἀρχῆς αὐτὸν ἀποστερεῖν, ἄρχοντα δὲ Πελοποννήσου Ματθαῖον ἀντικαθιστᾷν τὸν ἀδελφόν· καὶ τοῦτο οὐχ εἷς καὶ δύο, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλείους καὶ πολλάκις ἐπεστάλκασιν. ὃ οὐχ ἥκιστα τοὺς λογισμοὺς δεσπότου κατασεῖσαι ἠδυνήθη. ὅτε μὲν γὰρ πρὸς τὴν ἐπιείκειαν καὶ σύνεσιν καὶ εὐβουλίαν ἀπίδοι τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τὴν εἰς τοὺς παῖδας φιλοστοργίαν, πάντα πλάσματα ἡγεῖτο καὶ διαβολὰς, ὅτε δὲ εἰς τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὴν πιθανότητα τῶν γεγραμμένων, οὐκ εἶχεν, ὅπως ἅπασι καθάπαξ ἀπιστεῖν. ὅθεν καὶ μετὰ τὴν βασιλέως τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιδημίαν, τὴν ἔν 3.359 δον ταραχὴν ἐν τοῖς ἤθεσιν ὑπέφαινε. βασιλεύς τε ὁ πατὴρ τὸν θόρυβον οὐκ ἀγνοήσας, ἐπυνθάνετο τὰς αἰτίας, ὅθεν εἶεν· ὁ δὲ πᾶν ἐξεκάλυπτεν αὐτίκα τὸ ἀπόῤῥητον. βασιλεὺς δὲ ὁ πατὴρ τῶν μὲν συκοφαντῶν πολλὴν κατεγίνωσκε σκαιότητα καὶ πονηρίαν τρόπων, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν παρῄνει μὴ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι προσέχειν ταῖς διαβολαῖς, καὶ μάλιστα κατὰ φιλτάτων συνεσκευασμέναις, πατρὸς καὶ ἀδελφοῦ, αὐτὸν δὲ οὐχ ὅπως αὐτὸν ἀφέλοιτο τὴν ἀρχὴν, τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἐκεῖσε ἀγαγεῖν, ἀλλ' ἵν' ὡς μάλιστα βελτίω καὶ ἀσφαλεστέραν ἀπεργάσηται. τιʹ γὰρ ἂν καὶ εἴη βέλτιον εἰς λόγον ἡδονῆς καὶ ἀσφαλείας, ἢ τὸ συνεῖναι ἀδελφοὺς ἀλλήλοις, ὁμοίως τῇ κατὰ φύσιν συναφείᾳ καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς συγκεκραμένους; τοῦ δὲ εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἐκεῖνον ἀγαγεῖν αἰτίαν οὐδεμίαν ἄλλην εἶναι, ἢ τὰς τῶν φαύλων καὶ πονηροτάτων ψυχὰς ἀνθρώπων, οἳ μάλιστα πολλοὶ νυνὶ τῷ βίῳ ἀνεφύησαν, ἀληθείας μὲν οὐδένα καὶ δικαιοσύνης λόγον πεποιημένοι, μικροῦ δὲ κέρδους ἕνεκα καὶ τὰ δεινότατα τολμῶντες, ἔστι δ' ὅτε μηδὲ ταύτης εὐποροῦντες τῆς αἰσχρᾶς καὶ ἀγεννοῦς προφάσεως, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ εἰς τοῦτο παρελθόντες εἰς τὸν βίον ἐπὶ τῷ διαφθείρειν τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς καὶ προῖκα τὴν μοχθηρίαν προῃρημένοι, ὧν τὴν ἀτοπίαν δείσας καὶ τὴν πονηρίαν, μὴ συκοφαντίας καὶ διαβολὰς πλασάμενοι, βασιλέα τε καὶ ἀδελφὸν τὸν σὸν ἐκπολεμώσουσιν ἀλλήλοις, ἐνθάδε ἀγαγεῖν, νομίσας ὅπερ ἐστὶν, ὡς ἀληθὲς, οὐ Πελοπόννησον τοσαύτην οὖσαν, ἀλλὰ τὴν αὐτὴν οἰκίαν ὑμᾶς συν 3.360 οικήσειν ἀλύπως διὰ βίου, καὶ μηδεμίαν ἔσεσθαι πρόφασιν ἰσχυρὰν διαφορᾶς, ἣ διαστῆσαι δυνήσεται ὑμᾶς ἀλλήλων. οὐ χρὴ δὲ θαυμάζειν, εἰ τοιαῦτα πεπεισμένος περὶ τῶν συκοφαντῶν, ἐνθάδε ἤγαγον τὸν ἀδελφόν. ὅπου γὰρ καὶ σοὶ ἐμέ τε κἀκεῖνον ἤλπισαν ταῖς διαβολαῖς ἐκπολεμώσειν, σχολῇ γ' ἂν ἀπέσχοντο βασιλέως προφάσεων μεγάλων εὐποροῦντες ἐκ τῶν πρὶν διαφορῶν. «ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν» εἶπεν «ἀπολέσθωσαν κακοὶ κακῶς αὐταῖς συκοφαντίαις· σὺ δὲ πᾶσαν ἀποθέμενος μικροψυχίαν, ἡδέως δέχου τὸν ἀδελφὸν, μετ' ἐπιεικείας ἁπάσης καὶ εὐγνωμοσύνης συνδιάξοντα.» τοιαῦτα μὲν Καντακουζηνὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς δεσπότην εἶπε τὸν υἱόν. ἐκεῖνός τε αὐτίκα τῷ πατρὶ πειθόμενος ἐδέχετο τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἡδέως, πολλὰ καταμεμφόμενος τοὺς συκοφάντας, καὶ πρὸς βασιλέα τὸν πατέρα ἰσχυρίζετο, ὡς, εἰ βέλτιον αὐτῷ δοκοίη καὶ λυσιτελέστερον, ἀποστάντα παντάπασιν αὐτὸν Πελοποννήσου πᾶσαν ἔχειν τὴν