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De administrando imperio

OF CONSTANTINE, IN CHRIST THE ETERNAL EMPEROR, EMPEROR OF THE ROMANS, TO HIS OWN SON ROMANUS, THE EMPEROR CROWNED OF GOD AND

BORN IN THE PURPLE

Proem. A wise son makes a father glad, and a loving father rejoices in a prudent son. For the Lord gives understanding, when it is needful to speak, and adds an ear for hearing; with him is a treasure of wisdom, and from him is given every perfect gift; he sets emperors upon a throne and gives them dominion over all. Now therefore, my son, listen to me, and when you have learned this teaching you will be wise among the prudent, and will be reckoned prudent among the wise; the peoples will bless you, and the multitudes of the nations will call you blessed. Be taught what you must know above all things, and with understanding take hold of the rudders of empire. Reflect on present circumstances, and be taught about the future, that you may gather experience with good counsel, and be of lofty purpose in your actions. Behold, I set before you a lesson, so that being made wise by the experience and knowledge derived from it, you may not fail in your excellent counsels and {in} the common interest: first, what nation can in what way benefit the Romans, and in what way harm them, {and what} and how each of these may be both warred against and subdued by what other nation, next, concerning their greedy and insatiate temper, and the unreasonable claims they make, and so next also concerning the differences of other nations, both their genealogies and customs and way of life, and the position and climate of the land they inhabit, and a description of it and its measurement in stades, in addition to this, also concerning events that have at some time occurred between the Romans and various nations, and after that, what innovations have been made at certain times in our state, and also throughout the whole Roman dominion. These things I have devised for myself, and I have decided to make them known to you, my beloved son, that you may know the difference between each of these, and how to either handle and conciliate them, or to fight and oppose them. For they will be terrified of you as one of great genius, and will flee from you as from a fire; their lips will be muzzled, and they will be wounded by your words as by arrows. You will appear terrible to them, and at the sight of your face trembling will seize them. And the Almighty will be your shield, and he who formed you will give you understanding; he will direct your steps, and he will set you upon an unshakeable foundation. Your throne shall be as the sun before him, and his eyes will be watching over you, and none of the grievous things shall touch you, because he himself has chosen you and set you apart from the womb, and has given you his kingdom as to a good man above all others, and has placed you as a shelter upon a hill and as a golden statue on a high place, and has raised you up as a city on a mountain, so that you may receive gifts from the nations and be venerated by the inhabitants of the earth. But you, Lord my God, whose kingdom is eternal and indestructible, may you prosper him who through you was born of me, and may the watchfulness of your countenance be upon him, and may your ear be inclined to his prayers. May your hand shelter him, and may he reign for the sake of truth, and may your right hand guide him; may his ways be directed before you to keep your ordinances. Before his face his enemies will fall, and his foes will lick the dust. May the stock of his family be shaded with the leaves of many children, and may the shadow of its fruit cover the royal mountains, for through you do emperors reign

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De administrando imperio

ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΕΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΩΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙ ΑΙΩΝΙΩΙ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΡΩΜΑΙΩΝ ΠΡΟΣ ΤΟΝ Ι∆ΙΟΝ ΥΙΟΝ ΡΩΜΑΝΟΝ ΤΟΝ ΘΕΟΣΤΕΦΗ ΚΑΙ

ΠΟΡΦΥΡΟΓΕΝΝΗΤΟΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΑ

Προοίμιον. Υἱὸς σοφὸς εὐφραίνει πατέρα, καὶ πατὴρ φιλόστοργος ἐπὶ υἱῷ τέρπεται φρονίμῳ. Κύριος γὰρ δίδωσι νοῦν, ἡνίκα δεῖ εἰπεῖν, καὶ προστίθησιν οὖς τοῦ ἀκούειν· παρ' αὐτῷ θησαυρὸς σοφίας, καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ δίδοται πᾶν δώρημα τέλειον· καθιστᾷ βασιλεῖς ἐπὶ θρόνου καὶ κυρίαν τοῦ παντὸς δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς. Νῦν οὖν ἄκουσόν μου, υἱέ, καὶ τήνδε μεμαθηκὼς τὴν διδαχὴν ἔσῃ σοφὸς παρὰ φρονίμοις, καὶ φρόνιμος παρὰ σοφοῖς λογισθήσῃ· εὐλογήσουσί σε οἱ λαοί, καὶ μακαριοῦσί σε πλήθη ἐθνῶν. ∆ιδάχθητι, ἃ χρή σε πρὸ πάντων εἰδέναι, καὶ νουνεχῶς τῶν τῆς βασιλείας οἰάκων ἀντιλαβοῦ. Περὶ τῶν ἐνεστώτων μελέτησον, καὶ περὶ τῶν μελλόντων διδάχθητι, ἵνα πεῖραν μετ' εὐβουλίας ἀθροίσῃς, καὶ μεγαλεπήβολος ἔσῃ περὶ τὰ πράγματα. Ἰδοὺ ἐκτίθημί σοι διδασκαλίαν, ὥστε τῇ ἐκ ταύτης πείρᾳ καὶ γνώσει συνετισθέντα περὶ τὰς βελτίστας βουλὰς καὶ {τῷ} τὸ κοινῇ συμφέρον μὴ διαμαρτάνειν· πρῶτα μὲν ποῖον ἔθνος κατὰ τί μὲν ὠφελῆσαι δύναται Ῥωμαίους, κατὰ τί δὲ βλάψαι, {καὶ ποῖον} καὶ πῶς ἕκαστον τούτων καὶ παρὰ ποίου δύναται ἔθνους καὶ πολεμεῖσθαι καὶ ὑποτάσσεσθαι, ἔπειτα περὶ τῆς ἀπλήστου καὶ ἀκορέστου αὐτῶν γνώμης, καὶ ὧν παραλόγως ἐξαιτοῦνται λαμβάνειν, εἶθ' οὕτως καὶ περὶ διαφορᾶς ἑτέρων ἐθνῶν, γενεαλογίας τε αὐτῶν καὶ ἐθῶν καὶ βίου διαγωγῆς καὶ θέσεως καὶ κράσεως τῆς κατοικουμένης παρ' αὐτῶν γῆς καὶ περιηγήσεως αὐτῆς καὶ σταδιασμοῦ, πρὸς τούτοις καὶ περὶ τῶν ἔν τινι καιρῷ μεταξὺ Ῥωμαίων καὶ διαφόρων ἐθνῶν συμβεβηκότων, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτα, ὅσα ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμᾶς πολιτείᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῇ κατά τινας χρόνους ἐκαινοτομήθη. Ταῦτα ἐσοφισάμην κατ' ἐμαυτόν, καὶ εἶπα γνωστά σοι ποιῆσαι, τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ μου υἱῷ, ἵν' ἔχῃς εἰδέναι τὴν ἑκάστου τούτων διαφοράν, καὶ πῶς ἢ μεταχειρίζεσθαι ταῦτα καὶ οἰκειοῦσθαι ἢ πολεμεῖν καὶ ἀντιτάσσεσθαι. Πτοηθήσονται γάρ σε ὡς μεγαλοφυῆ, καὶ ὡς ἀπὸ πυρὸς φεύξονται ἀπὸ σοῦ· φιμωθήσονται τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν, καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ βελῶν τοῖς σοῖς κατατρωθήσονται ῥήμασιν. Ὀφθήσῃ αὐτοῖς φοβερός, καὶ ἀπὸ προσώπου σου τρόμος λήψεται αὐτούς. Καί σου ὁ Παντοκράτωρ ὑπερασπιεῖ, καὶ συνετιεῖ σε ὁ πλάσας σε· κατευθυνεῖ σου τὰ διαβήματα, καὶ ἑδράσει σε ἐπὶ βάσιν ἀσάλευτον. Ὁ θρόνος σου ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ ἔσονται βλέποντες ἐπί σε, καὶ οὐδὲν οὐ μὴ ἅψηταί σου τῶν χαλεπῶν, καθότι αὐτός σε ἐξελέξατο καὶ ἀπὸ μήτρας ἀφώρισεν, καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν ὡς ἀγαθῷ ὑπὲρ πάντας σοι ἔδωκεν, καὶ τέθεικεν ὡς σκέπην ἐπὶ βουνοῦ καὶ ὡς χρυσοῦν ἀνδριάντα ἐφ' ὑψηλοῦ, καὶ ὡς πόλιν ἐπ' ὄρους ἀνύψωσεν, ὥστε δωροφορεῖσθαι ὑπὸ ἐθνῶν καὶ προσκυνεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν κατοικούντων τὴν γῆν. Ἀλλὰ σύ, Κύριε ὁ Θεός μου, οὗ ἡ βασιλεία αἰώνιος καὶ ἀνώλεθρος, εἴης κατευοδῶν τὸν διὰ σοῦ ἐξ ἐμοῦ γεννηθέντα, καὶ ἔστω ἡ ἐπισκοπὴ τοῦ προσώπου σου ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ τὸ οὖς σου ἐπικλινέσθω ταῖς τούτου δεήσεσιν. Σκεπασάτω αὐτὸν ἡ χείρ σου, καὶ βασιλευέτω ἕνεκεν ἀληθείας, καὶ ὁδηγήσει αὐτὸν ἡ δεξία σου· κατευθυνθείησαν αἱ ὁδοὶ αὐτοῦ ἐνώπιόν σου τοῦ φυλάξασθαι τὰ δικαιώματά σου. Πρὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πεσοῦνται πολέμιοι, καὶ λείξουσι χοῦν οἱ ἐχθροὶ αὐτοῦ. Κατασκιασθείη τὸ στέλεχος τοῦ γένους αὐτοῦ πολυγονίας φύλλοις, καὶ ἡ σκιὰ τοῦ καρποῦ αὐτοῦ ἐπικαλύψαι ὄρη βασίλεια, ὅτι διὰ σοῦ βασιλεύουσι