[43] πρῶτον μέν γε τὰ τῷ στρατηγῷ τούτῳ ἐν τοῖς ξυμπίπτουσιν ἐπί τε Θευδάτον καὶ Οὐίττιγιν βουλευόμενα, καίπερ οὐκ ἐπιτηδείως τοῖς πρασσομένοις δοκοῦντα ἔχειν, ἐς ξύμφορον ἐκ τοῦ ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἐτελεύτα τέλος: ἐν δὲ τῷ ὑστέρῳ δόξαν μὲν ἀπήνεγκεν ὅτι δὴ τὰ βελτίω βεβούλευται ἅτε καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον τόνδε πραγμάτων γεγονὼς ἔμπειρος, ἀλλ̓ ἐν τοῖς ἀποβαίνουσι κακοτυχοῦντι τὰ πολλὰ ἐς ἀβουλίας δόκησιν αὐτῷ ἀπεκρίθη.
[43] At first, to be sure, the plans of this General against Theodatus and Vittigis, in the existing circumstances, though they seemed ill adapted to what was going on, resulted for the most part in a favourable outcome; but in the latter period, though he did gain the reputation of having made his plans for the best because of the experience he had acquired in managing the affairs of this war, yet failing as he did in the sequel, most of his misfortunes were credited to what was accounted folly.
[44] οὕτως ἄρα οὐκ ἀνθρώπων βουλαῖς, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἐκ θεοῦ ῥοπῇ πρυτανεύεται τὰ ἀνθρώπεια, ὃ δὴ τύχην εἰώθασι καλεῖν ἄνθρωποι, οὐκ εἰδότες ὅτου δὴ ἕνεκα ταύτῃ πρόεισι τὰ ξυμβαίνοντα,
[44] Thus it is clear that it is not by the wisdom of men but by the power of God that human fortunes are regulated, though men are wont to call this “Fortune,” since they do not know the reason why events turn out in the manner in which they become manifest to them.
[45] ᾗπερ αὐτοῖς ἔνδηλα γίνεται. τῷ γὰρ ἀλόγῳ δοκοῦντι εἶναι φιλεῖ τὸ τῆς τύχης ὄνομα προσχωρεῖν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ὥς πη ἑκάστῳ φίλον, ταύτῃ δοκείτω.
[45] For that which appears unaccountable is wont to have the name of Fortune applied to it. But let each man form such an opinion about these matters as he likes.
V
Βελισάριος δὲ τὸ δεύτερον ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ γενόμενος αἴσχιστα ἐνθένδε ἀπήλλαξε: τῆς μὲν γὰρ γῆς ἐς πεντάετες ἀποβῆναι οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσεν, ὥσπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐρρήθη, ὅτι μὴ ἔνθα τι ὀχύρωμα ἦν. ναυτιλλόμενος δὲ πάντα τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον τὰ ἐπιθαλάσσια
Belisarius, coming to Italy for the second time, departed from there most ignominiously. For during a space of five years he did not succeed once in setting foot on any part of the land, as stated by me in the previous narrative, except where some fortress was, but during this whole period he kept sailing about visiting one port after another.
[2] περιῄει. Τουτίλας δὲ λυσσῶν ἦν αὐτὸν ἔξω τείχους λαβεῖν, οὐ μέντοι εὗρεν, ἐπεὶ ὀρρωδίᾳ πολλῇ αὐτός τε καὶ ξύμπας ὁ Ῥωμαίων στρατὸς εἴχετο.
[2] And Totila was frantic to catch him outside a walled town, but he did not succeed because both Belisarius himself and the entire Roman army were possessed by great fear.
[3] διὸ δὴ οὔτε τῶν ἀπολωλότων τι ἀνεσώσατο, ἀλλὰ καὶ Ῥώμην προσαπώλεσε καὶ τἄλλα ὡς εἰπεῖν ἅπαντα.
[3] Consequently he not only recovered nothing of what had been lost, but he even lost Rome in addition and practically everything else.
[4] ἐγένετο δὲ φιλοχρήματος ἐν τούτῳ τῷ χρόνῳ πάντων μάλιστα καὶ κέρδους αἰσχροῦ ἐπιμελητὴς ἀκριβέστατος ἅτε οὐδὲν ἐκ βασιλέως κεκομισμένος, Ἰταλοὺς ἀμέλει σχεδὸν πάντας, οἵπερ ᾤκηντο ἐπί τε Ῥαβέννης καὶ Σικελίας, καὶ εἴ του ἄλλου κατατυχεῖν ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ ἔσχεν, ἐληΐσατο οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ, λογισμοὺς δῆθεν τῶν βεβιωμένων καταπραττόμενος.
[4] And he became greedy for money during this period above all other men and a most assiduous schemer for shameful gain, seeing that he had brought nothing with him from the Emperor, and he recklessly plundered almost all the Italians who lived in Ravenna and in Sicily and anyone else whom he had the power to reach, alleging that he was making them pay a reckoning for the acts of their past lives.
[5] οὕτω γοῦν καὶ Ἡρωδιανὸν μετιὼν χρήματα ᾔτει, ἅπαντα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπανασείων.
[5] Thus he, for instance, even pursued Herodian with demands for money, holding every sort of threat over the man.
[6] οἷς δὴ ἐκεῖνος ἀχθόμενος ἀπετάξατο μὲν τῷ Ῥωμαίων στρατῷ, αὑτὸν δὲ εὐθὺς ξύν τε τοῖς ἑπομένοις καὶ τῷ Σπολιτίῳ Τουτίλᾳ καὶ Γότθοις ἐνέδωκεν.
[6] This treatment made Herodian so indignant that he detached himself from the Roman army and straightway put himself and all his followers and Spoletiuma into the hands of Totila and the Goths.
[7] ὅπως δὲ αὐτῷ τε καὶ Ἰωάννῃ τῷ Βιταλιανοῦ ἀδελφιδῷ διχοστατῆσαι συνέβη, ὅπερ τὰ Ῥωμαίων πράγματα μάλιστα ἔσφηλεν, αὐτίκα δηλώσω.
[7] And how it came about that he and John, the nephew of Vitalian, quarrelled, an event which did the greatest harm to the Roman cause, I shall disclose forthwith.
[8] Ἐς τοῦτο ἀπεχθείας Γερμανῷ ἡ βασιλὶς ἦλθεν ἐπιδηλότατόν τε ἅπασι τὸ ἔχθος ἐποίει, ὥστε αὐτῷ κηδεύειν, καίπερ βασιλέως ἀνεψιῷ ὄντι, ἐτόλμα οὐδεὶς, ἄνυμφοί τε αὐτῷ οἱ παῖδες διαγεγόνασι, μέχρις αὐτὴ ἀπελύθη τοῦ βίου. ἥ τε θυγάτηρ αὐτῷ Ἰουστίνα ἐπὶ ὀκτωκαίδεκα ἔτη ἡβήσασα ἔτι ἀνυμέναιος ἦν.
[8] The Empress had come to such a point of hostility towards Germanus (and was making her hostility perfectly obvious to all) that no one dared to make a marriage alliance with him, even though he was nephew to the Emperor, and his sons remained unmarried until they had reached middle age.
[9] διά τοι τοῦτο ἡνίκα Ἰωάννης πρὸς Βελισαρίου σταλεὶς ἀφίκετο ἐς Βυζάντιον, ἐς λόγους αὐτῷ καταστῆναι ὁ Γερμανὸς ἀμφὶ τῇ κηδείᾳ ἠνάγκαστο, καὶ ταῦτα λίαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀξίας τῆς αὐτοῦ ὄντι.
[9] And his daughter Justina, though she had reached the maturity of eighteen years, was still unwed. For this reason, when John came to Byzantium on a mission from Belisarius, Germanus was forced to open negotiations with him concerning marriage, though John was much below his rank.
[10] ἐπεί τε τὸ πρᾶγμα ἤρεσκεν ἄμφω, ὅρκοις ἀλλήλους ἔγνωσαν δεινοτάτοις καταλαβεῖν ἦ μὴν τὸ κῆδος ἐπιτελέσειν δυνάμει τῇ πάσῃ, ἐπεὶ αὐτοῖν ἑκάτερος τὸ θαρσεῖν ἐπὶ θατέρῳ ὡς ἥκιστα εἶχεν, ὁ μὲν τῷ ξυνειδέναι ὅτι δὴ τῶν ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀξίαν ὀρέγοιτο, ὁ δὲ κηδεστοῦ ἀπορούμενος.
[10] And since the project pleased both of them, they decided to bind one another by the most terrible oaths that they would put forth every effort to bring about the alliance, inasmuch as neither one of them had any confi
dence at all in the other, the one because he realized that he was reaching above his rank, the other because he was in sore need of a son-in-law.
[11] ἡ δὲ οὐκ ἔχουσα τίς γένηται διὰ πάσης ὁδοῦ ἰοῦσα ἑκάτερον μετιέναι μηχανῇ πάσῃ οὐκ ἀπηξίου, ὅπως ἂν τὰ πραττόμενα διακωλύοι.
[11] The Empress, however, was beside herself, and resorting to every course she did not hesitate to bring every possible pressure to bear upon each of them to the end that she might put a stop to the negotiations.
[12] ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτοῖν καίπερ πολλὰ δεδιξαμένη ἀναπείθειν οὐδέτερον ἔσχε, διαρρήδην ἀπολεῖν τὸν Ἰωάννην ἠπείλησε.
[12] But since she was unable to convince either one of them, though she tried hard to intimidate them, she threatened explicitly that she was going to destroy John.
[13] καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννης αὖθις ἐς Ἰταλίαν σταλεὶς οὐδαμῆ ξυμμῖξαι Βελισαρίῳ ἐτόλμησε, τὴν ἐξ Ἀντωνίνης ἐπιβουλὴν δείσας, ἕως Ἀντωνίνα ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθε.
[13] Consequently, when John was sent back to Italy, he did not dare to meet Belisarius, fearing the hostility of Antonina, until after she had gone back to Byzantium.
[14] τήν τε γὰρ βασιλίδα ταύτῃ ἐπιστεῖλαι τὸν αὐτοῦ φόνον οὐκ ἄπο τοῦ εἰκότος ἄν τις ὑπώπτευσε, καὶ τὸν Ἀντωνίνης σταθμωμένῳ τρόπον ἅπαντά τε Βελισάριον ἐνδιδόναι τῇ γυναικὶ ἐπισταμένῳ δέος ἐγίνετο μέγα καὶ τὸν ἐσῄει.
[14] For that the Empress had commissioned her to murder him was a thing which anyone might quite reasonably have suspected and as he weighed the character of Antonina, knowing well, as he did, that Belisarius gave in to the woman in every matter, he came to feel a great fear which disturbed him much.
[15] τοῦτο γοῦν Ῥωμαίοις τὰ πράγματα καὶ πρότερον ἐπὶ θατέρου σκέλους ἑστῶτα προσουδίζει χαμαί.
[15] This situation did, in any event, shatter the fortunes of the Romans, which even before that time had been standing on a single leg, and dashed them to the ground.
[16] Βελισαρίῳ μὲν οὖν ὁ Γοτθικὸς πόλεμος τῇδε ἐχώρησεν. ἀπογνοὺς δὲ βασιλέως ἐδεῖτο ὅπως οἱ ἐξῇ ἐνθένδε ὅτι τάχιστα ἀπαλλαγῆναι.
[16] Thus, then, the Gothic War proceeded for Belisarius. Finally, in despair, he begged the Emperor that he be permitted to depart from Italy with all speed.
[17] καὶ ἐπεὶ ἐνδεχόμενον βασιλέα τὴν δέησιν ἔγνω, ἄσμενος εὐθὺς ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο, χαίρειν πολλὰ τῷ τε Ῥωμαίων στρατῷ καὶ τοῖς Ἰταλοῖς φράσας, καὶ τὰ μὲν πλεῖστα ὑποχείρια τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπολιπὼν, Περυσίαν δὲ πικρότατα πολιορκίᾳ πιεζομένην, ἥπερ ἔτι αὐτοῦ ὁδῷ ἰόντος κατ̓ ἄκρας ἁλοῦσα ἐς πᾶσαν κακοῦ ἰδέαν ἦλθεν, ᾗπέρ μοι πρότερον δεδιήγηται. ξυνηνέχθη δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν τύχης ἐναντίωμα ξυμπεσεῖν τοιόνδε.
[17] And when he found that the Emperor accepted his plea, he returned home immediately, well pleased to bid faewell to the Roman army and to the Italians; and he left most of the strongholds in the hands of the enemy and Perusia in the grip of a very close siege; indeed this city, while he was still on this journey, was captured by storm and experienced every form of misery, as has been narrated by me previously. And it happened that misfortune fell upon his own house also, as will now be related.
[18] Θεοδώρα ἡ βασιλὶς τῆς Βελισαρίου παιδὸς ἐξεργάζεσθαι τὴν ἐγγύην ἐπειγομένη τῷ θυγατριδῷ, συχνὰ γράφουσα τοὺς γειναμένους τὴν κόρην ἠνώχλει.
[18] The Empress Theodora, pressing to bring about the betrothal of the daughter of Belisarius to her grandson, kept writing constantly and harassing the parents of the girl.
[19] οἱ δὲ τὸ κῆδος ἀναδυόμενοι ἀπετίθεντο μὲν ἐς παρουσίαν τὴν σφετέραν τὸν γάμον, μεταπεμπομένης δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐς Βυζάντιον τῆς βασιλίδος, ἀδύνατοι εἶναι ἀπαλλάσσεσθαι τανῦν ἐξ Ἰταλίας ἐσκήπτοντο.
[19] But they, seeking to avoid the proposed alliance, tried to put off the marriage until they should be present, and when the Empress summoned them to Byzantium, they pretended that at the moment they were unable to leave Italy.
[20] ἡ δὲ γλιχομένη μὲν κύριον τὸν θυγατριδοῦν τοῦ Βελισαρίου καταστήσεσθαι πλούτου, ᾔδει γὰρ ἐπίκληρον ἐσομένην τὴν παῖδα, οὐκ ὄντος Βελισαρίῳ ἑτέρου του γόνου, ἐπὶ μέντοι τῇ Ἀντωνίνης γνώμῃ θαρσεῖν οὐδαμῆ ἔχουσα, δειμαίνουσά τε μὴ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν οὐ φανεῖσα πιστὴ ἐς τὸν αὐτῆς οἶκον, καίπερ αὐτῆς οὕτω φιλανθρώπου ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις τυχοῦσα, διασπάσηται τὰ ξυγκείμενα, ἐργάζεται ἀνόσιον ἔργον.
[20] But she was itching to make her grandson master of the wealth of Belisarius, for she realized that the girl would be the heiress, since Belisarius had no other offspring; yet she had not the slightest confidence in the purpose of Antonina, and fearing that after she was gone Antonina would not shew herself faithful to her house, though she had found the Empress so generous at times of the greatest necessity, and would tear up the agreement, she performed an unholy deed. For she caused the young girl to live with the youth without any sanction of law.
[21] τῷ γὰρ μειρακίῳ τὴν παιδίσκην ξυνοικίζει οὐδενὶ νόμῳ. φασὶ δὲ ὡς καὶ πλησιάσαι οὔτι ἑκουσίαν ἠνάγκασε κρύβδην, οὕτω τε διαπεπαρθενευμένῃ τὸν ὑμέναιον τῇ κόρῃ ξυστῆναι, τοῦ μὴ βασιλέα τὰ πρασσόμενα διακωλῦσαι.
[21] And they say that secretly she actually forced her to offer herself, much against her will, and thus, after the girl had been compromised, she arranged the wedding for her, to the end that the Emperor might not put a stop to her machinations.
[22] τοῦ μέντοι ἔργου ἐξειργασμένου ἔρωτι ἀλλήλοιν διαπύρῳ τινὶ ὅ τε Ἀναστάσιος καὶ ἡ παῖς εἴχοντο, καὶ χρόνος σφίσιν οὐχ ἥσσων ἢ ὀκτὼ μηνῶν ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ διαίτῃ ἐτρίβη.
[22] Still, when the deed had been accomplished, Anastasius and the girl found themselves held by an ardent love for one another, and a space of no less than eight months was passed in this way.
[23] ἡνίκα δὲ Ἀντωνίνα τῆς βασιλίδος ἀπογενομένης ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθεν, ἐπελάθετο μὲν ἐθελουσία ὧν ἐκείνη ἔναγχος εἰς αὐτὴν εἴργαστο, ὡς ἥκιστα δὲ ὑπολογισαμένη ὡς, ἤν τῳ ἑτέρῳ ἡ παῖς αὐτῇ ξυνοικίζοιτο, πεπορνευμένη τὰ πρότερα ἔσται, τὸν Θεοδώρας ἔκγονον κηδεστὴν ἀτιμάζει, τήν τε παῖδα ὡς μάλιστα ἀκουσίαν βιασαμένη ἀνδρὸς τοῦ ἐρωμένου ἀπέστησ
ε.
[23] But when Antonina, after the Empress’ death, came to Byzantium, she purposely forgot the benefits which the Empress recently had conferred upon her, and paying no attention whatever to the fact that if the girl should marry anyone else, her previous record would be that of a prostitute, she spurned the alliance with the offspring of Theodora and forced the child, entirely against her will, to abandon her beloved.
[24] μεγάλην τε ἀγνωμοσύνης ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ἀπηνέγκατο δόξαν εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, ἥκοντά τε οὐδενὶ πόνῳ ἀναπείθει τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦ ἄγους αὐτῇ μεταλαχεῖν τοῦδε. ὥστε διαρρήδην τηνικάδε ὁ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τρόπος ἐλήλεγκται.
[24] And from this act she won a great reputation for ingratitude among all mankind, yet when her husband arrived, she had no difficulty in persuading him to share with her in this unholy business. Consequently the man’s character was openly revealed at that time.
[25] καίτοι διομοσάμενος Φωτίῳ τε καὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τισὶ πρότερον καὶ τὰ ὀμωμοσμένα οὐδαμῆ ἐμπεδώσας συγγνώμης ἐτύγχανε πρὸς πάντων ἀνθρώπων.
[25] And yet, though he previously had given his oath to Photius and certain of his kinsmen, and though he utterly repudiated this oath, he received pardon from all the world.
[26] αἴτιον γὰρ τοῦ ἀπίστου τἀνδρὸς οὐ τὴν γυναικοκράτειαν, ἀλλὰ δέος τὸ ἐκ τῆς βασιλίδος ὑπώπτευον εἶναι.
[26] For they suspected that the cause of his faithlessness was not the domination of his wife, but his fear of the Empress.
[27] ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ Θεοδώρας ἀπογενομένης, ὥσπερ μοι εἴρηται, οὔτε Φωτίου οὔτε ἄλλου του τῶν οἱ ἀναγκαίων λόγος γεγένητο, ἀλλ̓ αὐτῷ δέσποινα μὲν ἡ γυνὴ ἐφαίνετο οὖσα, κύριος δὲ Καλλίγονος ὁ προαγωγὸς ἦν, τότε δὴ ἀπογνόντες αὐτοῦ ἅπαντες ἐχλεύαζόν τε διαθρυλλοῦντες καὶ ἅτε ἄνοιαν ὀφλισκάνοντι ἐλοιδοροῦντο. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἡμαρτημένα Βελισαρίῳ ἀπαρακαλύπτως εἰπεῖν ταύτῃ πη ἔχει.
Delphi Complete Works of Procopius Page 547