Aelia Eudocia Augusta, Homerocentones

Homerocentones fort. conditore operis et auctore Patricio quodam episcopo

Argument of the Homeric Centos.

The book of Patricius, the god-fearing priest, who performed a great work, from the book of Homer crafting a much-prized song from glorious verses, telling the deeds of the unconquered God; how he came into the assembly of men, how he took the form of a man, and within the womb of a blameless maiden he was hidden, being small, he whom the boundless circle did not contain; and how from the breast of the virgin bearing God he drew a gushing stream of virginal milk; how Herod slew the yet innocent children, an infant, seeking the fate of the immortal God; how John bathed him in the streams of the river, and how he chose twelve blameless men as companions; and for how many God fashioned all their limbs whole, driving out hateful diseases and blindness of the eyes; and how he stopped the flowing streams of blood of a much-lamenting woman who touched his robe; and how many, overcome by grievous fates, he led again to the light from the chthonic pit; and how he left to us memorials of his holy passion, and how he was stretched out by the hands of mortals in chilling bonds, of his own will; for no one on earth could make war on the high-ruling God, unless he himself commanded it; how he died, how he broke the iron gates of Hades, and from there led god-fearing souls into heaven by the immaculate commands of his parent, rising on the third light-bringing morn, the primeval offspring of the unoriginate God the Father.

These things Patricius the bishop set forth; but this is the defense of Eudocia Augusta, the Athenian, wife of Theodosius Augustus the Younger, son of king Arcadius: This is the story of a God-pleasing song. And Patricius, who wisely wrote this book, is indeed worthy of everlasting praise throughout, because he was the very first to devise this glorious work. But nevertheless he did not speak all things altogether truly; nor indeed did he preserve all the harmony of the verses, nor in his singing did he make mention only of those verses which the bronze heart of blameless Homer spoke. But when I saw the glorious work of Patricius was half-finished, taking the sacred pages into my hands, whatever verses in the books were not in order, I drew them all out at once from his wise book; and whatever he left out, I again wrote in the pages and gave harmony to the sacred verses. But if anyone should blame me and draw me to censure, because many pairs in the conspicuous book exist, and many Homeric verses are not right, let him know this, that all are servants of necessity. But if anyone, hearing the wise song of the hymnodist Tatian, should delight his own hearing, because that man never jumbled pairs from the Homeric books and put them in his own tablet, it is not strange, because that man from the Homeric song, but that one from his own verses made a song telling of the evil cry of Trojans and Argives, and how the sons of the Achaeans sacked the city of Priam, holding Troy itself, and in grievous turmoil fighting, both the gods themselves and the men themselves, of whom bronze-voiced Homer once sang. But Patricius, who wrote this wise tablet, instead of the army of the Argives spoke of the race of the Hebrews, and instead of the demonic and god-opposing phalanx he sang of the immortals and the Son and the Father. But nevertheless the labor was common to both, to Patricius and to me, though I am a woman; but he alone among men won great glory, he who was the very first to establish the famous foundation of the house, bringing forth the fair report of the mortal race.

Homerocentones fort. conditore operis et auctore Patricio quodam episcopo

̔Υπόθεσις τῶν Ὁμηροκέντρων.

Βίβλος Πατρικίοιο θεουδέος ἀρητῆρος, ὃς μέγα ἔργον ἔρεξεν, Ὁμηρείης ἀπὸ βίβλου κυδαλίμων ἐπέων τεύξας ἐρίτιμον ἀοιδήν, πρήξιας ἀγγέλλουσαν ἀνικήτοιο θεοῖο· ὡς μόλεν ἀνθρώπων ἐς ὁμήγυριν, ὡς λάβε μορφὴν ἀνδρομέην καὶ γαστρὸς ἀμεμφέος ἔνδοθι κούρης κρύπτετο τυτθὸς ἐών, ὃν ἀπείριτος οὐ χάδε κύκλος· ἠδ' ὡς παρθενικῆς θεοκύμονος ἔσπασε μαζὸν παρθενίοιο γάλακτος ἀναβλύζοντα ῥέεθρον· ὡς κτάνεν Ἡρώδης ἀταλάφρονας εἰσέτι παῖδας νήπιος, ἀθανάτοιο θεοῦ διζήμενος οἶτον· ὥς μιν Ἰωάννης λοῦσεν ποταμοῖο ῥεέθροις, ὥς τε δυώδεκα φῶτας ἀμύμονας ἔλλαχ' ἑταίρους· ὅσσων τ' ἄρτια πάντα θεὸς τεκτήνατο γυῖα νούσους τ' ἐξελάσας στυγερὰς βλεφάρων τ' ἀλαωτύν· ἠδ' ὅππως ῥείοντας ἀπέσβεσεν αἵματος ὁλκοὺς ἁψαμένης ἑανοῖο πολυκλαύτοιο γυναικός· ἠδ' ὅσσους μοίρῃσιν ὑπ' ἀργαλέῃσι δαμέντας ἤγαγεν ἐς φάος αὖτις ἀπὸ χθονίοιο βερέθρου· ὥς τε πάθους ἁγίου μνημήια κάλλιπεν ἄμμιν, ὥς τε βροτῶν ὑπὸ χερσὶ τάθη κρυεροῖς ἐνὶ δεσμοῖς αὐτὸς ἑκών· οὐ γάρ τις ἐπιχθονίων πολεμίζοι ὑψιμέδοντι θεῷ, ὅτε μὴ αὐτός γε κελεύοι· ὡς θάνεν, ὡς Ἀίδαο σιδήρεα ῥῆξε θύρετρα, κεῖθεν δὲ ψυχὰς θεοπειθέας οὐρανὸν εἴσω ἤγαγεν ἀχράντοισιν ὑπ' ἐννεσίῃσι τοκῆος ἀνστὰς ἐν τριτάτῃ φαεσιμβρότῳ ἠριγενείῃ ἀρχέγονον βλάστημα θεοῦ γενετῆρος ἀνάρχου.

Τούτους μὲν ἐξέθετο Πατρίκιος ἐπίσκοπος· ἡ δὲ ἀπολογία Εὐδοκίας Αὐγούστης τῆς Ἀθηναίας τῆς γυναικὸς Θεοδοσίου Αὐγούστου τοῦ νέου υἱοῦ Ἀρκαδίου βασιλέως αὕτη· Ἧδε μὲν ἱστορίη θεοτερπέος ἐστὶν ἀοιδῆς. Πατρίκιος δ', ὃς τῆνδε σοφῶς ἀνεγράψατο βίβλον, ἔστι μὲν ἀενάοιο διαμπερὲς ἄξιος αἴνου, οὕνεκα δὴ πάμπρωτος ἐμήσατο κύδιμον ἔργον. ἀλλ' ἔμπης οὐ πάγχυ ἐτήτυμα πάντ' ἀγόρευεν· οὐδὲ μὲν ἁρμονίην ἐπέων ἐφύλαξεν ἅπασαν, οὐδὲ μόνων ἐπέων ἐμνήσατο κεῖνος ἀείδων, ὁππόσα χάλκεον ἦτορ ἀμεμφέος εἶπεν Ὁμήρου. ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ἡμιτέλεστον ἀγακλεὲς ὡς ἴδον ἔργον Πατρικίου, σελίδας ἱερὰς μετὰ χεῖρα λαβοῦσα, ὅσσα μὲν ἐν βίβλοισιν ἔπη πέλεν οὐ κατὰ κόσμον, πάντ' ἄμυδις κείνοιο σοφῆς ἐξείρυσα βίβλου· ὅσσα δ' ἐκεῖνος ἔλειπεν, ἐγὼ πάλιν ἐν σελίδεσσι γράψα καὶ ἁρμονίην ἱεροῖς ἐπέεσσιν ἔδωκα. εἰ δέ τις αἰτιόῳτο καὶ ἡμέας ἐς ψόγον ἕλκοι, δοιάδες οὕνεκα πολλαὶ ἀρίζηλον κατὰ βίβλον εἰσὶν Ὁμηρείων τ' ἐπέων πόλλ' οὐ θέμις ἐστίν, ἴστω τοῦθ', ὅτι πάντες ὑποδρηστῆρες ἀνάγκης. εἰ δέ τις ὑμνοπόλοιο σαόφρονα Τατιανοῖο μολπὴν εἰσαΐων σφετέρην τέρψειεν ἀκουήν, δοιάδας οὕνεκα κεῖνος Ὁμηρείων ἀπὸ βίβλων οὔ ποτε συγχεύας σφετέρῃ ἐνεθήκατο δέλτῳ, οὐ ξένον, οὕνεκα κεῖνος Ὁμηρείης ἀπὸ μολπῆς, κεῖνος δ' ἐξ ἐπέων σφετέρων ποίησεν ἀοιδὴν Τρώων τ' Ἀργείων τε κακὴν ἐνέπουσαν ἀϋτήν, ὥς τε πόλιν Πριάμοιο διέπραθον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν, αὐτὴν Τροίαν ἔχουσαν, ἐν ἀργαλέῳ τε κυδοιμῷ μαρναμένους αὐτούς τε θεούς, αὐτούς τε καὶ ἄνδρας, οὕς ποτε χαλκεόφωνος ἀνὴρ ἀΰτησεν Ὅμηρος. Πατρίκιος δ', ὃς τῆνδε σοφὴν ἀνεγράψατο δέλτον, ἀντὶ μὲν Ἀργείων στρατιῆς γένος εἶπεν Ἑβραίων, ἀντὶ δὲ δαιμονίης τε καὶ ἀντιθέοιο φάλαγγος ἀθανάτους ἤεισε καὶ υἱέα καὶ γενετῆρα. ἀλλ' ἔμπης ξυνὸς μὲν ἔφυ πόνος ἀμφοτέροισι, Πατρικίῳ κἀμοί, καὶ θηλυτέρῃ περ ἐούσῃ· κεῖνος δ' ἤρατο μοῦνος ἐν ἀνθρώποις μέγα κῦδος, ὃς πάμπρωτος ἐπήξατο κλεινὸν ἕδος γε δόμοιο καλὴν ἐξανάγων φήμην βροτέοιο γενέθλης.