Panegyric orations
To run against you from an opposing lot, he endured but the pentathlon was accomplished for you and the pancratium was completed with no one having c
The votes, i imagine the divine judgment and i refer to the incorruptible tribunal. when i test you in elections, i admire your intelligence and your
From afar it shines on those landing and extends a hand to those from the sea, escorting them to rome most painlessly. what in addition to these does
Using it and bending and curving it towards the drooping jaw, i remember the indian's eyebrow at this, how he held it more than a cubit above his head
And to a rival. let others, then, measure you against and compare you with whomever they wish, but i, though i seem to make a strange and dissimilar c
In prose, not in meters and poems or perhaps many are present, but they have no account of the matter, as if it were of no account to them. and time
The hegemony of his father, with kingdoms overthrown and not a few changes having occurred in both, those who, having exchanged their fortune for the
He took counsel of opposing nations, but by making everything purchasable with gold and royal splendors, from this he gained the goodwill of all, and
Opened, and flung wide the very gates of the soul, and associated with wicked and corrupt lives. for he did not at once know the whole line of the fam
To work deeds of injustice for he was angry with those who did wrong and would punish them. but when he began to be sick and his body was wasting awa
Not a magnificent spirit, not a musical and graceful speech, nothing else of the sort that knows how to beautify the soul and the nature of the body.
Drives a sphere, and the other the superterrestrial one, so that the one might wind its own zone in a single cycle, and the other in twelve cycles, an
Defining the virtues by its power, and practicing the higher geometry. for this, as proclus also says, has occupied the middle ground between the indi
The power of the kingdom came to him, besides these the life of david among the flocks, the pursuit, those many dangers into which he fell but was not
He locks up the monarchy into a tyranny, having exchanged one evil for another. justice is not quiet, it kindles the coals, it sends the arrow, the wi
I call it his girdle-and he draws away no small cavalry and infantry force from old rome, he adds to these also the best army of the east, and no smal
An angel wrought a more manifest victory. i have something more to say than those wonders there the cross was in types and images, a bronze serpent s
You, o king the more abundantly you pour out benefits upon us, the more you increase by being filled. from this, no one has been left out of such wea
With the eyes, then poured out and dissolved, but better and higher than all that is visible. but, o emperor—for i repeat the title to you and call it
You fill the western beacon, neither grudging us your rays nor altering the color of your disk, but the more time increases the distances, the more be
The rising of the sun, the land upon which it immediately rises, so that, if any of our people wished, having gone there he could, not with geometrica
I am an unskillful chronicler of your deeds and erring in my timing, and i do not have a nature that strikes out in both directions at once. for you a
To wish. for you both comprehend the present and conjecture the future and discover the unseen, discerning character from eyebrows and eyelids, so tha
To speak? -unseemly even in his appearance, made of tin or dipped in bile and altogether counterfeit gold, but since he was in the midst of dangers, t
With stones lying along each side, so that the conjoined may seem continuous and the well-fitted of one nature. behold for me the heights and beauties
But here is a distinct hand divided into five rosy branches. but this is a most unerring testimony of that godlike soul. but do you wish to see some t
Transcending substance and holding the principles of the forms folded together and least of all divided from the one. and you, being such, do you not
The fountains of good deeds flowed, as if from a sheer rock, having received the impetus for their flowing these proclaimed you by reputation even be
A guide, so also there an arbiter of the administrations, that i may suit you for both, both speaking your deeds and doing the words of your administr
P]ortions are deprived of praise, but no one of all men has been suited to all words of praise. but to you so much is granted [against] all in all thi
To bring to the highest point of keenness, or your soul which was not [shattered by] trials, but also most nobly endured through the magnitude of the
And they were torn away, and their manner altered their nature [....], and they have remained, and after the separation, being both nourished and fatt
But the love of art and the care concerning the divine sanctuaries, what demostheneses or the best of the writers could describe and praise? how beau
Having surpassed in his heroic deeds him and the kings up to you, but in his plans he is recorded as being less than his accomplishments, winning in [
Less, you have given the first place to reason over passion, and you have established the one like some foundation upon the acropolis, but the other y
Having considered what is seen, but when i also behold the tomb of the queen, and i behold it often whenever i wish to console some hardship of fortun
To comprehend in a speech. for to whom could the unattainable be attainable, even if he were rich in the homeric power for speeches, or the herodotan
Admiring and in return is eager to make an image and someone already having constructed a stele for you inscribed the gentle one. therefore solomon
Much praise and measured against all of time. how then could i summarize the whole in a few words? i will speak, therefore, a little of your virtues,
Everyone rejoices and exults with the one who has taken up your encomiums and because i did not weave the words of praise sooner, he is rather vexed
Gracefulness, the maturity of your thought, the symmetry of your greatness, the quick-wittedness, the stability of your mind, the unmarried life, the
At once for us the lord and most skilled in command and pleasing to all, o most excellent foresight, o wise consideration, o most noble counsel, o div
Of virtues? you, beyond any kings who ever were, honored justice and preferred philanthropy, and having attained the height of prudence, you appeared
Accomplishments? o the arrows from heaven against the barbarians, o the unseen bowshots, o the angelic powers in the air, o the divine armies against
The greatest part of character. for as many as have become of a civic disposition, if they have descended to this willingly, they seemed both prudent
Of civil administration and of divine hearing. if therefore, being engaged in one, he also holds to the other, let this for now be a secret to many. b
Of wise men going to ammon's shrine or being within the delphic tripod suddenly transferred their apparent wisdom to the more divine and greater, how
We have taken starting points, and yet more absurd, if we render praises to the good and noble men who have died, for what they have said concerning w
And not many months after the sowing, but immediately reaping the harvest and so that i might say what is from the gospel, the two were running toget
If we should set about to build him up, this marvelous man, both in nature and in diligence, has received much contribution toward his eloquence from
For having embraced one of these, they might neglect the rest, or putting ears before mind, they have an unintelligible tongue, or having drawn up spr
Pleases the petty and the overly artful. therefore, of these enumerated wise men, the one now honored in this discourse wishes to imitate gregory, and
I knew not only what the greeks knew, nor what the chaldeans or egyptians knew, but i had also condemned them, though not all of them, nor has my refu
With magnanimity, he who was both namesake and like-minded with the great constantine, and who alone nobly contended against all, and taking his name-
Regulates the state of the church, no less than moses who constructed the tabernacle below according to the pattern shown to him for whether melodies
Concerning which things, before his high-priesthood, at a time when he did not even have many resources of money, he constructed brilliantly and accom
And to impart to others. and perhaps he did not endure the waves of the sea, but in his toils on land he might in some way be compared to paul. and co
One of two things happening, either god descending into the mind, or the mind ascending to god. but what is the place of god's rest, or by which of al
Of a voice, nor were you instructed by any of the higher powers, to lay aside the symbols of the priesthood, and to transfer yourself to another life,
Nothing unpleasant would happen to those handling these things but for you, who happen to be a philosopher, what harm will come from these affairs? j
Of words but you, o king, will both speak publicly among the armies and bring an impulse with your speech and will rouse them together for the deed.
May you be crowned on the head with glorious trophies. may you be adorned with deeds of valor against the barbarians, and be escorted by many victorie
May you rend the sea and stop the river and vanquish amalek. may a cloud, giving shade over your head, take away your burning heat, and a pillar of li
Panegyric Orations
Oration to the emperor lord Constantine Monomachos. O emperor sun! And who could blame me for aptly fitting this title to you? For do you not yourself, with the circle of your virtues and the swift-turning movement of your mind, with the greatness of your nature and the flashing of your beauty, illuminate the whole earth? But send forth moderate rays upon me today, and be for me as one standing at midday and appearing in a smaller circle, but not of the dawn and unapproachable in your gleams, so that you may not overwhelm me with the excess of your light. but rather you will implant and stir up a certain divine power to gaze more boldly upon your ineffable light. For unless you yourself fill me for the words concerning you with a divinely-inspired impulse, and, having stirred up the secret pangs of my soul, should make me as one possessed by a god, how could I become inspired by your excellences, weighing great things with small, and measuring your infinitely-formed greatness with a short speech? You, then, standing on high among your excellences and flashing brightly beyond, have become unattainable both in beauty and in greatness. But Philosophy and the legislative and the sophistic arts, the one from heaven, the others from more terrestrial spheres, have now come to you together as if by a signal, not to judge or test your qualities—for who is straighter than the rule?—but to see and to marvel, and to bring their speeches as gifts to the one who exalted them. And they stand, as you see, exceedingly anxious and panting, and sprinkled with sweat, having given up before the contest and showing their defeat. However, they have not changed their character, but Philosophy looks to the inner beauty, and puts forward the mind of reason; and the figure of the legislative art is on high, and it itself holds its head up and boasts of the tablets of Zeus; while the sophistic art is a certain chatterbox, and charming, and delicately adorned, displaying much that is persuasive and wily in its speeches. This art, therefore, will compose most cheerful and graceful speeches, and having traced your genealogy from each side will marvel at you from both. It will also contribute for you the encomium from your fatherland; it will praise your coming into being; it will be amazed at the wonders connected with this; it will say something also about your beauty and the splendor upon it; it will touch upon the springs of your mind and the streams of your tongue; it will delight in your character and the harmony of your body; it will call divine for you wealth and the greatness of fortune and an abundance of power. Then what? It will deliver oracles to you on secret things, auspicious omens, unspoken utterances, clear prophecies, secret commands of powers, and it will add to these the crowning point, this divine rising of your power. These things, then, and perhaps more than these, the art will utter, if indeed it does not belie its power. But Philosophy, with its approaches, will not grasp some things, as being unprofitable for a living statue of virtue; and as for other things, since it has often said them, it would not appear to be repeating itself, nor will it endure to behold you now in any other guise than that of royalty. For you, most divine emperor, have at once mounted the chariot of rule, like some luminary, and immediately all the stars that were visible were hidden; and before showing the strength of your charioteering, like some Olympic victor, you have been crowned with victories over all from all. For just as when the sun seems to drive its chariot from the east, one might reasonably imagine that the other luminaries have dismounted from their vehicles, so indeed for you who have girt yourself with the reins of rule, no one either runs alongside or
Orationes panegyricae
Λόγος εἰς τὸν βασιλέα κῦρ Κωνσταντῖνον τὸν Μονομάχον. Ὦ βασιλεῦ ἥλιε· καὶ τίς ἄν με καταιτιάσαιτο ταύτην σοι προσφυῶς τὴν
κλῆσιν ἁρμόζοντα; ἢ γὰρ οὐχὶ καὶ αὐτὸς τῷ κύκλῳ τῶν ἀρετῶν καὶ τῇ ἀγχιστρόφῳ κινήσει τοῦ νοῦ, τῷ τε μεγαλείῳ τῆς φύσεως καὶ
τοῦ κάλλους τῷ ἀπαστράπτοντι πᾶσαν καταυγάζεις τὴν γῆν; ἀλλὰ συμμέτρους μοι τὰς ἀκτῖνας ἐπάφες τὴν τήμερον, καὶ γενοῦ μοι
κατὰ μεσημβρίαν ἱστάμενος καὶ βραχυτέρῳ τῷ κύκλῳ φαινόμενος, ἀλλὰ μὴ ἑῷος καὶ ἀπρόσιτος ταῖς μαρμαρυγαῖς, ἵνα μὴ ἐκπλήξῃς
τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς αὐγῆς. δύναμιν δέ τινα μᾶλλον θείαν ἐνθήσεις καὶ ἀνακινήσεις θαρραλεώτερον ἀντωπῆσαί σου τῷ ἀρρήτῳ φωτί.
εἰ μὴ γὰρ αὐτός με πρὸς τοὺς περὶ σοῦ λόγους ὁρμῆς θεοφορήτου πληρώσειας, καὶ τὰς κρυφίους τῆς ψυχῆς ὠδῖνας ἀνερεθίσας, θεόληπτον
οἷον ποιήσειας, πῶς ἂν ἐπίπνους τῶν σῶν πλεονεκτημάτων γενοίμην, τοῖς μικροῖς τὰ μεγάλα σταθμώμενος, καὶ λόγῳ βραχεῖ τῷ σῷ
ἀπειροπλάστῳ μεγέθει παραμετρούμενος; Σὺ μὲν οὖν ἐν μετεώρῳ τῶν σῶν πλεονεκτημάτων ἱστάμενος καὶ ὑπεραστράπτων λαμπρῶς, ἀνέφικτος
καὶ τὸ κάλλος καθέστηκας καὶ τὸ μέγεθος. φιλοσοφία δὲ καὶ νομοθετικὴ καὶ ἡ σοφιστικὴ τέχνη, ἡ μὲν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, αἳ δ' ἐκ περιπεζίων
σφαιρῶν, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ συνθήματος εἰς ταὐτόν σοι ἥκασι νῦν, οὐχ ὥστε κρίνειν ἢ δοκιμάζειν τὰ σά-τίς γὰρ τοῦ κανόνος εὐθύτερος;
-ἀλλ' ἰδεῖν καὶ θαυμᾶσαι, καὶ τοὺς λόγους δωροφορῆσαι τῷ τούτους ὑψώσαντι. ἑστήκασι δὲ ὡς ὁρᾷς λίαν ἀγωνιῶσαι καὶ πνευστιῶσαι,
καὶ ἱδρῶτι ῥαινόμεναι, καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἀγώνων ἀπαγορεύσασαι καὶ τὴν ἧτταν ἐπιδεικνύμεναι. τὸ μέντοι ἦθος οὐ μετηλλάχασιν, ἀλλ'
ἡ μὲν φιλοσοφία πρὸς τὸ εἴσω κάλλος ὁρᾷ, καὶ νοῦν τοῦ λόγου προβάλλεται· τὸ δὲ τῆς νομοθετικῆς σχῆμα ὑψοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸ ἀνέχει
τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰς τοῦ ∆ιὸς δέλτους αὐχεῖ· ἡ δὲ τέχνη στωμύλη τίς ἐστι καὶ ἐπίχαρις καὶ κεκοσμημένη ἁβρῶς, καὶ πολὺ τὸ ἐπαγωγὸν
καὶ αἱμῦλον τοῖς λόγοις ἐπιδεικνύουσα. αὕτη τοιγαροῦν λόγους ἱλαροτάτους συνθήσεται καὶ χαρίεντας, καὶ γενεαλογήσασα ἑκατέρωθεν
ἀμφοτέρωθέν σε θαυμάσεται. συνερανίσεταί σοι καὶ τὸ ἀπὸ τῆς πατρίδος ἐγκώμιον· ἐπαινέσεταί σου τὴν εἰς τὸ εἶναι πρόοδον· τὰ
ἐπὶ ταύτῃ ἐκπλαγήσεται θαύματα· ἐρεῖ τι καὶ περὶ τοῦ κάλλους καὶ τῆς ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἀγλαΐας· ἐφάψεταί σου καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ νοῦ πηγῶν
καὶ τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς γλώττης ῥευμάτων· ἐπεντρυφήσει σου καὶ τῷ ἤθει καὶ τῷ εὐαρμόστῳ τοῦ σώματος· ἐπιθειάσει σοι καὶ πλοῦτον καὶ
τύχης ὄγκον καὶ περιουσίαν δυνάμεως. εἶτα τί; χρηστηριάσει σοι τὰ ἀπόρρητα, οἰωνοὺς αἰσίους, ὀμφὰς ἀρρήτους, προρρήσεις ἐναργεῖς,
ἀπορρήτους ἐπιστασίας δυνάμεων, καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐπαγάγῃ κεφάλαιον, τὴν θείαν ταύτην τοῦ κράτους ἀνατολήν. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν
ἴσως καὶ πλείω τούτων ἡ τέχνη, εἴ γε μὴ τὴν δύναμιν ψεύδεται, φθέγξεται. φιλοσοφία δὲ τὰ μέν, ὡς ἀλυσιτελῆ πρὸς ἔμψυχον ἀρετῆς
ἄγαλμα, ταῖς ἐφόδοις αὐτῆς οὐ συλλήψεται· τὰ δ', ὡς πολλάκις εἰποῦσα οὐκ ἂν φανείη παλιλλογοῦσα, οὐδὲ ἀνέξεται ἐν ἄλλῳ νῦν
ἢ τῷ τῆς βασιλείας σε σχήματι καθορᾶν. σὺ γάρ, ὦ θειότατε βασιλεῦ, ὁμοῦ τε τοῦ τῆς ἀρχῆς οἷα δή τις φωστὴρ ἐπιβέβηκας ἅρματος,
καὶ πάντες εὐθὺς οἱ δοκοῦντες ἀστέρες ἐκρύβησαν· καὶ πρὶν ἢ τὴν τῆς διφρείας ἰσχὺν ἐπιδείξασθαι ὥσπερ τις Ὀλυμπιονίκης ταῖς
κατὰ πάντων ἐξ ἁπάντων νίκαις κατέστεψαι. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡλίου διφρηλατεῖν ἐξ ἀνατολῆς ἐοικότος ἀποβεβηκέναι τῶν ὀχημάτων τοὺς
λοιποὺς φωστῆρας εἰκότως ἄν τις εἰκάσειεν, οὕτω δή σοι τὰς τῆς ἀρχῆς περιζωσαμένῳ ἡνίας οὐδεὶς οὔτε συνθέειν οὔτ'
