Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [7] τῶν γὰρ κρατούντων ἀεὶ τοῖς πλείστοις εὔπορος ὑπὸ ἀμαθίας ἡ ἐς τῶν προγεγενημένων τὰ κακὰ μίμησις, καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἡμαρτημένα τοῖς παλαιοτέροις ῥᾷόν τε καὶ ἀπονώτερον ἐς ἀεὶ τρέπονται.

  [7] For in the case of the majority of men in power their very inexperience always causes the imitation of the base actions of their predecessors to be easy, and they ever turn with greater ease and facility to the faults committed by the rulers of an earlier time.

  [8] ἀλλά με ὕστερον ἐς τῶνδε τῶν ἔργων τὴν ἱστορίαν τοῦτο ἤνεγκεν, ὅτι δὴ τοῖς ἐς τὸ ἔπειτα τυραννήσουσιν ἔνδηλον ἔσται ὡς μάλιστα μὲν καὶ τὴν τίσιν αὐτοὺς τῶν ἁμαρτανομένων περιελθεῖν οὐκ ἀπεικὸς εἴη, ὅπερ καὶ τοῖσδε τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ξυνηνέχθη παθεῖν: ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ ἀνάγραπτοι αὐτῶν αἱ πράξεις καὶ οἱ τρόποι ἐς ἀεὶ ἔσονται, ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ τε ἴσως ὀκνηρότερον παρανομήσουσι.

  [8] But after I was brought to write my history of these events by the thought that it will assuredly be clear to those who hereafter shall hold sovereign power that, in the first place, punishment will in all probability overtake them likewise for their misdeeds, just as befell these persons; and, in the second place, that their own actions and characters will likewise be on record for all future time, so that consequently they will perhaps be more reluctant to transgress.

  [9] τίς γὰρ ἂν τὸν Σεμιράμιδος ἀκόλαστον βίον ἢ τὴν Σαρδαναπάλου καὶ Νέρωνος μανίαν τῶν ἐπιγενομένων ἀνθρώπων ἔγνω, εἰ μὴ τοῖς τότε γεγραφόσι τὰ μνημεῖα ταῦτα ἐλέλειπτο; ἄλλως τε καὶ τοῖς τὰ ὅμοια πεισομένοις, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, πρὸς τῶν τυράννων οὐκ ἀκερδὴς αὕτη παντάπασιν ἡ ἀκοὴ ἔσται.

  [9] For what man of later times would have learned of the licentious life of Semiramis or of the madness of Sardanapalus and Nero, if the records of these things had not been left behind by the writers of their times? And apart from these considerations, in case any should chance to suffer like treatment at the hands of their rulers, this record will not be wholly useless to them.

  [10] παραμυθεῖσθαι γὰρ οἱ δυστὺχοῦντες εἰώθασι τῷ μὴ μόνοις σφίσι τὰ δεινὰ ξυμπεσεῖν. διά τοι ταῦτα πρῶτα μὲν ὅσα Βελισαρίῳ μοχθηρὰ εἴργασται ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι: ὕστερον δὲ καὶ ὅσα Ἰουστινιανῷ καὶ Θεοδώρᾳ μοχθηρὰ εἴργασται ἐγὼ δηλώσω.

  [10] For those who have suffered misfortunes are wont to receive consolation from the thought that not upon themselves alone have cruel disasters fallen. For these reasons, then, I shall proceed to relate, first, all the base deeds committed by Belisarius; and afterwards I shall disclose all the base deeds committed by Justinian and Theodora.

  [11] Ἦν τῷ Βελισαρίῳ γυνή, ἧς δὴ ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐμνήσθην, πάππου μὲν καὶ πατρὸς ἡνιόχων, ἔν τε Βυζαντίῳ καὶ Θεσσαλονίκῃ τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο ἐνδειξαμένων, μητρὸς δὲ τῶν τινος ἐν θυμέλῃ πεπορνευμένων.

  [11] Belisarius had a wife, whom I have had occasion to mention in the previous books; her father and grandfather were charioteers who had given exhibition of their skill in both Byzantium and Thessalonica, and her mother was one of the prostitutes attached to the theatre.

  [12] αὕτη τὰ πρότερα μάχλον τινὰ βιώσασα βίον καὶ τὸν τρόπον ἐξερρωγυῖα, φαρμακεῦσί τε πατρῴοις πολλὰ ὡμιληκυῖα, καὶ τὴν μάθησιν τῶν οἱ ἀναγκαίων ποιησαμένη, ἐγγυητὴ ὕστερον Βελισαρίῳ γυνὴ γέγονε,

  [12] This woman, having in her early years lived a lewd sort of a life and having become dissolute in character, not only having consorted much with the cheap sorcerers who surrounded her parents, but also having thus acquired the knowledge of what she needed to know, later became the wedded wife of Belisarius, after having already been the mother of many children.

  [13] μήτηρ ἤδη παίδων γενομένη πολλῶν. εὐθὺς μὲν οὖν ἠξίου μοιχεύτρια τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἶναι, ξυγκαλύπτειν μέντοι τοὔργον τοῦτο ἐν σπουδῇ εἶχεν, οὐ καταδυομένη τοῖς οἰκείοις ἐπιτηδεύμασιν, οὐδέ τι πρὸς τοῦ ξυνοικοῦντος δειμαίνουσα δέος ῾οὔτε γὰρ αἰδῶ τινα ἔργου ὁτουοῦν ἔλαβε πώποτε καὶ τὸν ἄνδρα μαγγανείαις πολλαῖς κατείληφεν̓, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς βασιλίδος ὑποπτεύουσα τίσιν. λίαν γὰρ ἐς αὐτὴν ἡ Θεοδώρα ἠγριαίνετό τε καὶ ἐσεσήρει.

  [13] Straightway, therefore, she decided upon being an adulteress from the very start, but she was very careful to conceal this business, not because she was ashamed of her own practices, nor because she entertained any fear so far as her husband was concerned (for she never experienced the slightest feeling of shame for any action whatsoever and she had gained complete control of her husband by means of many tricks of magic), but because she dreaded the punishment the Empress might inflict. For Theodora was all too prone both to storm at her and to shew her teeth in anger.

  [14] ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτὴν ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις ὑπουργήσασα χειροήθη πεποίηται, πρῶτα μὲν Σιλβέριον διαχρησαμένη τρόπῳ ᾧπερ ἐν τοῖς ὄπισθεν λόγοις εἰρήσεται, ὕστερον δὲ Ἰωάννην κατεργασαμένη τὸν Καππαδόκην, ὥσπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐρρήθη, ἐνταῦθα δὴ ἀδεέστερόν τε καὶ οὐκέτι ἀποκρυπτομένη ἅπαντα ἐξαμαρτάνειν οὐδαμῆ ἀπηξίου.

  [14] But after she had made her tame and manageable, by rendering services to her in matters of the greatest urgency — having, in the first place, disposed of Silverius in the manner which will be described in the following narrative, and later having brought about the ruin of John the Cappadocian, as related by me in my earlier books — then at last she felt no hesitation in carrying out all manner of wickedness more fearlessly and with no further concealment.

  [15] Ἦν δέ τις νεανίας ἐκ Θρᾴκης ἐν τῇ Βελισαρίου οἰκίᾳ, Θεοδόσιος τοὔνομα, δόξης γεγονὼς ἐκ πατέρων Εὐνομιανῶν καλουμένων.

  [15] There was a certain youth from Thrace in the household of Belisarius, Theodosius by name, who had been born of ancestors who professed the faith of those called Eunomians.

  [16] τοῦτον, ἡνίκα ἐς Λιβύην ἀποπλεῖν ἔμελλεν, ἔλουσε μὲν ὁ Βελισάριος τὸ θεῖον λουτρὸν καὶ χερσὶν ἀνελόμενος ἐνθένδε οἰκείαις εἰσποιητὸν ἐποιήσατο ξὺν τῇ γυναικὶ παῖδα, ᾗπερ εἰσποιεῖσθαι Χριστιανοῖς νόμος, καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ ἡ Ἀντωνίνα τὸν Θεοδόσιον ἅτε παῖδα ὄντα ἱερῷ λόγῳ ἠγάπα τε ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς κἀν τοῖς μάλιστα ἐπιμελομένη ἀμφ̓ αὑτὴν εἶχεν.

  [16] Now when Belisarius was about to embark on
the voyage to Libya, he bathed this youth in the sacred bath, from which he lifted him with his own hands, thus making him the adopted child of himself and his wife, as is customary for Christians to make adoptions, and consequently Antonina loved Theodosius, as she naturally would, as being her son through the sacred word, and with very particular solicitude she kept him near herself.

  [17] εὐθύς τε ἐρασθεῖσα αὐτοῦ ἐκτόπως ἐν τῷ διάπλῳ τούτῳ καὶ κατακορὴς γεγονυῖα τῷ πάθει ἀπεσείσατο μὲν θείων τε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων δέος τε καὶ αἰδῶ ξύμπασαν, ἐμίγνυτο δὲ αὐτῷ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ἐν παραβύστῳ, τελευτῶσα δὲ καὶ οἰκετῶν καὶ θεραπαινίδων παρόντων.

  [17] And straightway she fell extraordinarily in love with him in the course of this voyage, and having become insatiate in her passion, she shook off both fear and respect for everything both divine and human and had intercourse with him, at first in secret, but finally even in the presence of servants of both sexes.

  [18] κάτοχος γὰρ ἤδη τῷ πόθῳ τούτῳ γεγενημένη καὶ διαφανῶς ἐρωτόληπτος οὖσα οὐδὲν ἔτι τοῦ ἔργου κώλυμα ἔβλεπε. καί ποτε ὁ Βελισάριος ἐπ̓ αὐτοφώρῳ τὴν πρᾶξιν λαβὼν ἐν Καρχηδόνι ἐξηπάτητο πρὸς τῆς γυναικὸς ἑκών γε εἶναι.

  [18] For being by now possessed by this passion and manifestly smitten with love, she could see no longer any obstacle to the deed. And one occasion Belisarius caught them in the very act in Carthage, yet he willingly allowed himself to be deceived by his wife.

  [19] ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἄμφω ἐν δωματίῳ καταγείῳ εὑρὼν ἐμεμήνει, ἡ δὲ οὔτε ἀποδειλιάσασα οὔτε καταδυσαμένη τῷ ἔργῳ τούτῳ, ‘Ἐνταῦθα’, ἔφη, ‘τῶν λαφύρων τὰ τιμιώτατα σὺν τῷ νεανίᾳ κρύψουσα ἦλθον, ὡς μὴ ἐς βασιλέα ἔκπυστα γένηται’.

  [19] For though he found them both in an underground chamber and was transported with rage, without either playing the coward or attempting to conceal the deed, remarked “I came down here in order to hide with the aid of the boy the most valuable of our booty, so that it may not get to the knowledge of the Emperor.”

  [20] ἡ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα σκηπτομένη εἶπεν, ὁ δὲ ἀναπεισθῆναι δόξας ἀφῆκε, καίπερ τῷ Θεοδοσίῳ ἐκλελυμένον τὸν ἱμάντα ὁρῶν τὸν ἀμφὶ τὰ αἰδοῖα τὰς ἀναξυρίδας ξυνδέοντα, ἔρωτι γὰρ τῆς ἀνθρώπου ἀναγκασθεὶς ἐβούλετό οἱ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων ὀφθαλμῶν θέαν ὡς ἥκιστα ἀληθίζεσθαι.

  [20] Now she said this as a mere pretext, but he, appearing to be satisfied, dropped the matter, though he could see that the belt which supported the drawers of Theodosius, covering his private parts, had been loosened. For under compulsion of love for the woman, he would have it that the testimony of his own eyes was absolutely untrustworthy.

  [21] τῆς δὲ μαχλοσύνης ἀεὶ προϊούσης ἐς κακὸν ἄφατον οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι θεώμενοι τὰ πραττόμενα ἐν σιωπῇ εἶχον, δούλη δέ τις Μακεδονία ὄνομα ἐν Συρακούσαις, ἡνίκα Σικελίας ἐκράτησε Βελισάριος, ὅρκοις δεινοτάτοις τὸν δεσπότην καταλαβοῦσα, μή ποτε αὐτὴν τῇ κεκτημένῃ καταπροήσεσθαι, τὸν πάντα αὐτῷ λόγον ἐξήνεγκε, δύο παιδάρια πρὸς μαρτυρίαν παρασχομένη, οἷς δὴ τὰ ἀμφὶ τὸν κοιτῶνα ὑπηρετεῖν ἐπιμελὲς ἦν.

  [21] Now this wantonness kept growing worse and worse until it had become an unspeakable scandal, and though people in general, observing what was going on, kept silence about it, yet a certain slave-girl named Macedonia, approaching Belisarius in Syracuse, when he had conquered Sicily, and binding her master by the most dread oaths that he would never betray her to her mistress, told him the whole story, adducing as witnesses two lads who were charged with the service of the bedchamber.

  [22] ταῦτα μαθὼν Βελισάριος τῶν οἱ ἑπομένων τινὰς τὸν Θεοδόσιον ἐκέλευσε διαχειρίσασθαι.

  [22] Upon learning these things, Belisarius ordered certain of his attendants to destroy Theodosius. He, however, learned this in advance and fled to Ephesus.

  [23] ὁ δὲ προμαθὼν εἰς Ἔφεσον φεύγει. τῶν γὰρ ἑπομένων οἱ πλεῖστοι τῷ ἀβεβαίῳ τῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου γνώμης ἠγμένοι ἀρέσκειν τὴν γυναῖκα μᾶλλον ἐν σπουδῇ εἶχον ἢ τῷ ἀνδρὶ δοκεῖν εὐνοϊκῶς ἔχειν, οἵ γε καὶ τὰ σφίσιν ἐπικείμενα τότε ἀμφ̓ αὐτῷ προὔδοσαν.

  [23] For most of the persons in attendance upon Belisarius, moved by the instability of the man’s temper, were more eager to please the wife than to seem to the husband well-disposed towards him, and for this reason they betrayed the command laid upon them at that time touching Theodosius.

  [24] Κωνσταντῖνος δὲ Βελισάριον ὁρῶν περιώδυνον γεγονότα τοῖς ξυμπεσοῦσι, τά τε ἄλλα ξυνήλγει καὶ τοῦτο ἐπεῖπεν ὡς ‘Ἔγωγε θᾶσσον ἂν τὴν γυναῖκα ἢ τὸν νεανίαν κατειργασάμην’.

  [24] And Constantinus, observing that Belisarius had become very sorrowful at what had happened, sympathized with him in general and added the remark, “If it were I, I should have destroyed the woman rather than the youth.”

  [25] ὅπερ Ἀντωνίνα μαθοῦσα, κεκρυμμένως αὐτῷ ἐχαλέπαινεν, ὅπως ἔγκοτα ἐνδείξηται

  [25] And when Antonina heard of this, she nourished her anger against him secretly, in order that she might, when occasion offered, display the hatred she bore him.

  [26] τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν ἔχθος. ἦν γὰρ σκορπιώδης τε καὶ ὀργὴν σκοτεινή. οὐ πολλῷ δὲ ὕστερον ἢ μαγγανεύσασα ἢ θωπεύσασα πείθει τὸν ἄνδρα ὡς οὐχ ὑγιὲς τὸ κατηγόρημα τὸ ταύτης γένοιτο: καὶ ὃς Θεοδόσιον μὲν μελλήσει οὐδεμιᾷ μετεπέμψατο, Μακεδονίαν δὲ καὶ τὰ παιδία τῇ γυναικὶ ἐκδοῦναι ὑπέστη.

  [26] For she had the ways of a scorpion and concealed her wrath in darkness. So not long afterwards, using either magic or beguilement, she persuaded her husband that the accusation of this girl was unsound, and he without delay recalled Theodosius and agreed to hand over Macedonia and the boys to the woman.

  [27] οὓς δὴ ἅπαντας πρῶτα τὰς γλώττας, ὥσπερ λέγουσιν, ἀποτεμοῦσα, εἶτα κατὰ βραχὺ κρεουργήσασα καὶ θυλακίοις ἐμβεβλημένη ἐς τὴν θάλατταν ὀκνήσει οὐδεμιᾷ ἔρριψε, τῶν τινος οἰκετῶν Εὐγενίου ὄνομα ὑπουργήσαντός οἱ ἐς ἅπαν τὸ ἄγος, ᾧ δὴ καὶ τὸ ἐς Σιλβέριον εἴργασται μίασμα.

  [27] And they say that she first cut out all their tongues, and then cut them up bit by bit, threw the pieces into sacks, and then without ado cast them into the sea, being assisted throughout in this impious business by one of the servants named Eugenius, the same one who performed the unholy deed upon Silverius.

  [28] καὶ Κωνσταντῖνον δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον Βελισάριο
ς τῇ γυναικὶ ἀναπεισθεὶς κτείνει. τὰ γὰρ ἀμφὶ τῷ Πραισιδίῳ καὶ τοῖς ξιφιδίοις τηνικάδε ξυνηνέχθη γενέσθαι ἅπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις δεδήλωται.

  [28] And not long afterwards Belisarius, persuaded by his wife, killed Constantinus also. For at that time fell the affair of Presidius and the daggers, as has been set forth by me in the preceding narrative.

  [29] μέλλοντος γὰρ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἀφίεσθαι, οὐ πρότερον ἀνῆκεν ἡ Ἀντωνίνα, ἕως αὐτὸν τοῦ λόγου

  [29] For though the man was about to be acquitted, Antonina would not relent until she had punished him for the remark which I have just mentioned.

  [30] ἐτίσατο, οὗπερ ἐγὼ ἀρτίως ἐμνήσθην. καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ ἔχθος μέγα περιεβάλλετο ὁ Βελισάριος ἔκ τε βασιλέως καὶ τῶν ἐν Ῥωμαίοις λογίμων ἁπάντων.

  [30] As a result of this act Belisarius became the object of great hostility on the part of both the Emperor and all the Roman notables.

  [31] Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῇδε κεχώρηκε. Θεοδόσιος δὲ οὐκ ἔφη ἐς Ἰταλίαν ἀφίξεσθαι οἷός τε εἶναι, ἵνα δὴ τότε διατριβὴν εἶχον Βελισάριός τε καὶ Ἀντωνίνα, ἢν μὴ Φώτιος ἐκποδὼν γένηται.

  [31] Such was the course of these events. But Theodosius declared that he was not able to come to Italy, where Belisarius and Antonina were then tarrying, unless Photius should be got out of the way.