De contionibus militaribus

An oration of Constantine the emperor to the generals of the east.

1 And to speak with you often without any reasonable cause is desirable and lovely, just as to be deprived of conversation with you is grievous and painful in my opinion and judgment; for I do not so love and cherish my soldiers and deem them worthy of every address and salutation, as not to do this very same thing to you by letter, you whom the only eternal and immortal King, through His infinite compassion, has granted to me as my portion and a people gathered by God and the most excellent inheritance of the Lord. But also to exhort you with my tongue in matters of good will and obedience is most pleasant of all and most earnest to me, and to teach and instruct you in matters of war through writing, and to make those suited to it braver, and to arouse and raise up the more sluggish to courage and steadfastness, is known and established by me as sweeter than all pleasure and all delight. The sacred oracles of the divine gospel, wishing to declare the greatness of the love of God the Father towards men, say: For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son unto death; but I give not my only-begotten son, but myself whole, both body and soul, to you, and attach myself and mingle my flesh with your flesh and my bones with your bones, and I consider each one of my limbs as having grown with you and been born with you, and I divide and distribute my very soul, though it is one, among you all, and I wish my people, gathered by God, to be ensouled and enlivened by me in my own part. Little children, whom I have begotten through the gospel and planted in the inheritance of God, God has both increased and brought to the measure of a most robust age, receive the present exhortation sent up to you from the very depth of the soul and the secret chambers of the heart. For my heart and my flesh, according to David who sings in the prophets, 20rejoiced20 over you. And how should one not rejoice and leap and be glad, when God has gifted His own inheritance with such armies, such a brave and most noble people, such champions and defenders of the Romans. Often have we anointed you for bravery through written instructions, very often have we admonished you, and we have had no satiety of exhortation towards you. What is this? Wishing to represent the burning and fiery and warm desire for you, we do not even consider it a secondary matter for a moment, not to take up the wings of a dove and rest upon you and reveal our affection for you.

2 Now, as if not content with the former things and considering these small compared to the boiling love for you, we have sent out to you those whom we held to be better than our servants, most well-disposed, most faithful, most worthy, excelling in wisdom and experience and honored by us more than the others, so that you might consider this also, that having torn them from our very bowels and heart, we have appointed them as your leaders and governors. First, to select the bravest and noblest from among you and separate them from the others, so that your bravery is not overshadowed and concealed by their cowardice, and the virtues of your excellence remain not unseen and unrecognized, and in their place to bring in those whom they may select, and through such preparation and

De contionibus militaribus

∆ημηγορία Κωνσταντίνου βασιλέως πρὸς τοὺς τῆς ἀνατολῆς στρατηγούς.

1 Καὶ τὸ πολλάκις ὑμῖν ὁμιλεῖν χωρὶς τινὸς εὐλόγου αἰτίας ἐπιθυμητὸν καὶ

ἐπέραστον, ὥσπερ τὸ ἀπολιμπάνεσθαι τῆς μεθ' ὑμῶν προσλαλιᾶς λυπηρὸν καὶ ἐπώδυνον κατ' ἐμὲ καὶ κρίσιν ἐμήν· οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐγὼ τοὺς ἐμοὺς στρατιώτας φιλῶ καὶ ὑπερασπάζομαι καὶ πάσης προσρήσεως καὶ προσφθέγματος ἀξιῶ, ὡς καὶ μὴ διὰ γραφῆς ταὐτὸ τοῦτο πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐνεργεῖν, οὓς κλῆρον ἐμὸν καὶ λαὸν θεοσύλλεκτον καὶ σχοίνισμα κληρονομίας κυρίου τὸ κράτιστον ὁ μόνος αἰώνιος καὶ ἀθάνατος βασιλεὺς δι' οἰκτιρμοὺς ἀπείρους ἐμοὶ ἐχαρίσατο. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ διὰ γλώσσης τὰ τῆς εὐνοίας καὶ ὑπακοῆς ὑμῖν παραινεῖν, ἥδιστον πάντων ἐμοὶ καὶ περισπούδαστον, καὶ τὸ διὰ συλλαβῶν τὰ περὶ πολέμων διδάσκειν καὶ ἐνηχεῖν, καὶ πρὸς ἀνδρείαν τοὺς μὲν πρὸς τοῦτο ἐπιτηδείους ἀνδρειοτέρους ἐργάζεσθαι, τοὺς δὲ νωθροτέρους ἐπεγείρειν καὶ ἐξανιστᾶν πρὸς εὐτολμίαν καὶ στερρότητα πάσης ἐμοὶ ἡδονῆς καὶ πάσης ἡδείω τρυφῆς γνωρίζεται καὶ καθέστηκεν. τὰ μὲν ἱερὰ τοῦ θείου εὐαγγελίου λόγια τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Πατρὸς μέγεθος πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δηλῶσαι βουλόμενά φησιν· οὕτως γὰρ ἠγάπησεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸν κόσμον, ὥστε τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ τὸν μονογενῆ δέδωκεν εἰς θάνατον, ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ τὸν μονογενῆ υἱὸν, ἀλλ' ἐμαυτὸν ὅλον καὶ σώματι καὶ ψυχῇ ὑμῖν ἐπιδίδωμι καὶ προσηλῶ καὶ ἀναμίγνυμι τὰς ἐμὰς σάρκας ταῖς ὑμετέραις σαρξὶ καὶ ὀστᾶ τοῖς ὀστέοις, καὶ ἓν ἕκαστον τῶν μέλων ὡς συμπεφυκὸς καὶ συγγεννηθὲν μεθ' ὑμῶν λογίζομαι, αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν καίπερ μίαν οὖσαν ἐν πᾶσιν ὑμῖν διαμερίζω καὶ διαιρῶ, καὶ τῷγε κατ' ἐμαυτὸν μέρει ὑπ' ἐμοῦ καὶ ψυχοῦσθαι καὶ ζωογονεῖσθαι τὸν ἐμὸν θεοσύλλεκτον βούλομαι λαόν. τεκνία, οὓς ἐγὼ διὰ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου ἐγέννησα καὶ ἐν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ κληρονομίᾳ κατεφύτευσα, ὁ Θεὸς ηὔξησέν τε καὶ εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας ῥωμαλεωτάτης ἤγαγεν, δέξασθε τὴν παροῦσαν παραίνεσιν ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ τῆς ψυχῆς βάθους καὶ τῶν κρυπτῶν τῆς καρδίας ταμείων ἀναπεμπομένην πρὸς ὑμᾶς. ἡ γὰρ καρδία μου καὶ ἡ σάρξ μου κατὰ τὸν ἐν προφήταις ψάλλοντα ∆αυὶδ 20ἠγαλλιάσατο20 ἐφ' ὑμῖν. καὶ πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἀγαλλιᾶν χρὴ καὶ σκιρτᾶν καὶ γεγηθέναι, ὁπότε τοιαῦτα στρατεύματα, τοιοῦτον ἀνδρεῖον καὶ γενναιότατον λαόν, τοιούτους Ῥωμαίων προμάχους καὶ ὑπερασπιστὰς ὁ Θεὸς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ κληρονομίᾳ δεδώρηται. πολλάκις ὑμᾶς δι' ἐγγράφων ὑπαναγνωστικῶν πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἐπηλείψαμεν, πλειστάκις ἐνουθετήσαμεν, καὶ κόρον οὐδένα τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς παραινέσεως ἔσχομεν. τί τοῦτο; τὸ διακαὲς καὶ διάπυρον καὶ θερμὸν τοῦ ἐν ὑμῖν πόθου παραστῆσαι βουλόμενοι καὶ οὐδ' αὐτὸ τὸ ἀκαριαῖον ἐν παρέργῳ τιθέμεθα, μὴ οὐχὶ πτέρυγας περιστερᾶς ἀναλαβέσθαι καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς καταπαῦσαι καὶ τὸ πρὸς ὑμᾶς φιλόστοργον φανερῶσαι.

2 Νῦν δέ, ὥσπερ μὴ ἀρκούμενοι τοῖς προτέροις καὶ μικρὰ ταῦτα πρὸς τὸ ἐν ὑμῖν ζέον τῆς ἀγάπης ἡγούμενοι, αὐτούς, οὓς εἴχομεν κρείττονας τῶν θεραπόντων, εὐνουστάτους, πιστοτάτους, ἀξιολογωτάτους, φρονήσει καὶ πείρᾳ διαπρέποντας καὶ πλείω τῶν ἄλλων παρ' ἡμῶν τιμωμένους πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἐξεπέμψαμεν, ἵνα καὶ τοῦτο σκοπεῖν ἔχοιτε, ὅτι ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν σπλάγχνων ἡμῶν καὶ τῆς καρδίας τούτους ἀποσπάσαντες εἰς ἡγεμόνας καὶ κυβερνήτας ὑμῶν προεστησάμεθα. πρῶτα μὲν τοὺς ἀνδρειοτάτους καὶ γενναιοτάτους ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐκλέξασθαί τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀποχωρίσαι, ἵνα μὴ τῆς ἐκείνων ἀνανδρίας τὸ ὑμῶν ἀνδρεῖον ἐπισκιαζούσης καὶ συγκαλυπτούσης ἀφανῆ καὶ ἀδιάγνωστα τὰ τῆς ὑμῶν ἀρετῆς διαμείνοι, ἀντὶ δὲ τούτων οὓς ἂν ἐκεῖνοι ἐκλέξωνται ἀντεισάξωσιν, καὶ διὰ τοιαύτης παρασκευῆς καὶ