Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [27] But when, after the death of Theodora which I have mentioned, he shewed no consideration either for Photius or for any of his other kinsmen, but his wife was seen to be mistress over him and Calligonus, the go-between, his master, then finally all men repudiated him, mocked him with busy tongues, and reviled him as one who had shewn himself guilty of sheer folly. Such, then, in a general way, to state the facts without concealment, were the sins committed by Belisarius.

  [28] Τὰ δὲ Σεργίῳ τῷ Βάκχου παιδὶ ἐπὶ Λιβύης ἡμαρτημένα διαρκῶς μὲν ἐν λόγοις μοι τοῖς ἐπιτηδείοις δεδήλωται, ὃς δὴ αἰτιώτατος γέγονε Ῥωμαίοις ἐνταῦθα διαφθαρῆναι τὰ πράγματα, τά τε πρὸς Λευάθας αὐτῷ πρὸς τῶν εὐαγγελίων ὀμωμοσμένα ἐν ἀλογίᾳ πεποιημένος καὶ τοὺς ὀγδοήκοντα πρέσβεις οὐδενὶ λόγῳ διαχρησάμενος, τοσοῦτον δέ μοι τανῦν ἐντιθέναι τῷ λόγῳ δεήσει, ὡς οὔτε νῷ δολερῷ οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι παρὰ Σέργιον ἦλθον οὔτε τινὰ σκῆψιν ὁ Σέργιος ὑποψίας περὶ αὐτοὺς εἶχεν, ἀλλὰ διώμοτος ἐπὶ θοίνην καλέσας τοὺς ἄνδρας διεχρήσατο οὐδενὶ κόσμῳ.

  [28] Now the wrongs committed in Libya by Sergius, son of Bacchus, have been sufficiently described by me at the proper point in the narrative. This man, indeed, made himself chiefly responsible for the collapse of the Roman rule in that district, not only by disregarding the oaths which he had sworn on the Gospels to the Leuathae, but also by putting to death the eighty ambassadors without any justification; but at this point it will be necessary to add to my account only that neither did these men come to Sergius with evil intent nor did Sergius have any pretext for suspicion concerning them, but he had bound himself by oath when he invited the men to a banquet and there did them to death in a shameful manner.

  [29] ἀφ̓ οὗ δὴ Σολόμωνι καὶ τῷ Ῥωμαίων στρατῷ καὶ Λίβυσι πᾶσι διεφθάρθαι ξυνέβη.

  [29] As a result of this act it came about that Solomon and the Roman army and all the Libyans were destroyed.

  [30] δἰ αὐτὸν γὰρ, ἄλλως τε καὶ Σολόμωνος τετελευτηκότος, ὥσπερ μοι εἴρηται, οὔτε τις ἄρχων οὔτε τις στρατιώτης ἐς πολέμου κίνδυνον ἰέναι ἠξίου.

  [30] For on account of him, especially after Solomon had died in the manner related by me, no one, either commander or soldier, cared to face the perils of war.

  [31] μάλιστα δὲ πάντων Ἰωάννης ὁ Σισιννιόλου τῷ ἐς αὐτὸν ἔχθει ἀπόμαχος ἦν, ἕως Ἀρεόβινδος ἐς Λιβύην ἀφίκετο.

  [31] And, most serious of all, John, the son of Sisinniolus, because of the hostility which he felt towards Sergius, refused to fight until Areobindus came to Libya.

  [32] ἦν γὰρ ὁ Σέργιος μαλθακὸς μὲν καὶ ἀπόλεμος, τὸ δὲ ἦθος καὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν κομιδῆ νέος, φθόνῳ τε καὶ ἀλαζονείᾳ ἐς ὑπερβολὴν ἐχόμενος ἐς πάντας ἀνθρώπους, τεθρυμμένος τε τὴν δίαιταν καὶ τὰς γνάθους φυσῶν.

  [32] For Sergius was soft and unwarlike and he was very immature both in character and in years, yet he was dominated to an excessive degree by jealousy and a spirit of braggadocio towards all men, effeminate in his way of living and puffing out his cheeks with pride.

  [33] ἀλλ̓ ἐπεὶ τῆς Ἀντωνίνης τῆς Βελισαρίου γυναικὸς ἐγγόνης ἐτύγχανε μνηστὴρ γεγονὼς, τίσιν τινὰ ἐς αὐτὸν ἡ βασιλὶς ἐξενεγκεῖν ἢ παραλύειν τῆς ἀρχῆς οὐδαμῆ ἤθελε, καίπερ ἐνδελεχέστατα διαφθειρομένην Λιβύην ὁρῶσα, ἐπεὶ καὶ Σολόμωνα τὸν Σεργίου ἀδελφὸν τοῦ Πηγασίου φόνου αὐτή τε καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀθῷον ἀφῆκεν. ὅ τι δὲ τοῦτό ἐστιν αὐτίκα δηλώσω.

  [33] But since he happened to have become a suitor of the daughter of Antonina, wife of Belisarius, the Empress was quite unwilling to inflict any punishment upon him or to discharge him from his office, though she saw that Libya was being most systematically ruined; indeed both she and the Emperor left Solomon, the brother of Sergius, unpunished for the murder of Pegasius. Now what this incident was I shall straightway explain.

  [34] Ἐπειδὴ ὁ Πηγάσιος τὸν Σολόμωνα πρὸς τῶν Λευαθῶν ὠνήσατο καὶ οἱ βάρβαροι ἐπ̓ οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθησαν, ὁ μὲν Σολόμων ξύν τε Πηγασίῳ τῷ ἐωνημένῳ καὶ στρατιώταις ὀλίγοις τισὶν εἰς Καρχηδόνα ἐστέλλετο, ἐν δὲ τῇ ὁδῷ ταύτῃ λαβὼν ὁ Πηγάσιος ὅ τι δὴ ἀδικοῦντα Σολόμωνα χρῆναί οἱ ἔφασκεν ἐν μνήμῃ εἶναι ὡς αὐτὸν ἔναγχος ἐκ τῶν πολεμίων ὁ θεὸς ῥύσαιτο.

  [34] When Pegasius had ransomed Solomon from the Leuathae and the barbarians had gone off home, Solomon, in company with Pegasius, who had ransomed him, and some few soldiers set out for Carthage; and on this trip Pegasius, catching Solomon committing some wrong or any other, made the remark that he ought to bear in mind that God had recently rescued him from the enemy.

  [35] ὁ δὲ χαλεπήνας, ὅτι δή οἱ ἅτε δορυαλώτῳ ὠνείδισε, τὸν Πηγάσιον εὐθὺς ἔκτεινε, ταῦτά τε σῶστρα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἀπέδωκεν.

  [35] But he flew into a rage since he felt that Pegasius was reproaching him because he had been taken prisoner in battle and killed him out of hand and thus repaid the man for his rescue.

  [36] ἐπειδή τε ὁ Σολόμων ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθε, καθαρὸν αὐτὸν βασιλεὺς τοῦ φόνου ἐποίει ἄτε προδότην ἀνελόντα τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς.

  [36] And when Solomon came to Byzantium, the Emperor cleared him of the murder on the ground that he had slain a traitor to the Roman rule.

  [37] γράμματά τε αὐτῷ ἐδίδου τὴν ὑπὲρ τούτων ἀσφάλειαν παρεχόμενος. καὶ ὁ μὲν Σολόμων οὕτω τὴν τίσιν διαφυγὼν ἐπὶ τὴν ἑῴαν ἄσμενος ᾔει, τήν τε πατρίδα καὶ γένος τὸ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν ὀψόμενος.

  [37] And he provided him with a letter which guaranteed him immunity on that score. So Solomon, having escaped punishment in this way, gladly went to the East in order to see his native land and his relatives at home.

  [38] ἡ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τίσις ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ ὁδῷ καταλαβοῦσα ἐξ ἀνθρώπων αὐτὸν ἀφανίζει. τὰ μὲν οὖν ἀμφὶ Σολόμωνί τε καὶ Πηγασίῳ τῇδε ἐχώρησεν.

  [38] But the punishment of God overtook him on this journey and removed him from the world. Such was the course of events touching Solomon and Pegasius.

  VI

  Οἵτινες δὲ ἀνθρώπω Ἰουστινιανός τε καὶ Θεοδώρα ἤστην τρόπῳ τε ὅτῳ διεσπάσαντο τὰ Ῥωμαίων

  Now what manner of persons Justinian and Theodora were and the method by which they ruined the Roman Empire I shall proceed to tell forthwith.

  [2] πράγματα ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι. Λέοντος ἐν Βυζαντίῳ τὴν αὐτοκράτορα ἀρχὴν ἔχοντος, γεωργοὶ νεανίαι τρεῖς, Ἰλλυριοὶ γένος, Ζ
ίμαρχός τε καὶ Διτύβιστος καὶ Ἰουστῖνος ὁ ἐκ Βεδεριάνης, πράγμασιν ἐνδελεχέστατα τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς πενίας οἴκοι μαχόμενοι τούτων τε ἀπαλλαξείοντες ἐπὶ τὸ στρατεύεσθαι ὥρμησαν.

  [2] When Leon was holding the imperial power in Byzantium, three young farmers, Illyrians by race, Zimarchus, Dityvistus and Justinus from Vederiana, men who at home had to struggle incessantly against conditions of poverty and all its attendant ills, in an effort to better their condition set out to join the army.

  [3] καὶ πεζῆ βαδίζοντες ἐς Βυζάντιον ᾔεσαν, σισύρας ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων αὐτοὶ φέροντες, ἐν αἷς δὴ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ὅτι μὴ διπύρους ἄρτους οἴκοθεν ἐμβεβλημένοι ἀφίκοντο, ταχθέντας τε ἐν τοῖς στρατιωτικοῖς καταλόγοις βασιλεὺς αὐτοὺς ἐς τοῦ Παλατίου τὴν φυλακὴν ἐπελέξατο. κάλλιστοι γὰρ ἅπαντες τὰ σώματα ἦσαν.

  [3] And they came to Byzantium, walking on foot and themselves carrying cloaks slung over their shoulders, and when they arrived they had in these cloaks nothing more than toasted bread which they had put in at home; and the Emperor enrolled them in the ranks of the soldiers and designated them for the Palace Guard. For they were all men of very fine figure.

  [4] χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἀναστασίῳ τὴν βασιλείαν παραλαβόντι πόλεμος πρὸς τὸ Ἰσαύρων ἔθνος ὅπλα ἐπ̓ αὐτὸν ἀραμένους κατέστη.

  [4] But at a later time Anastasius, who had succeeded to the royal power, became involved in a war against the Isaurian nation, who had taken up arms against him.

  [5] στρατιάν τε λόγου ἀξίαν ἐπ̓ αὐτοὺς ἔπεμψεν, ἧσπερ Ἰωάννης ἡγεῖτο, ἐπίκλησιν Κυρτός. οὗτος Ἰωάννης τὸν Ἰουστῖνον ἁμαρτάδος τινὸς ἕνεκα ἐν δεσμωτηρίῳ καθεῖρξεν, ἡμέρᾳ τε τῇ ἐπιούσῃ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων αὐτὸν ἀφανιεῖν ἔμελλεν, εἰ μή τις μεταξὺ ἐπιγενομένη ὄψις ὀνείρου ἐκώλυσεν.

  [5] And he sent a considerable army against them, commanded by John who is known as the Hunchback. This John had confined Justinus in a prison because of some offence and was on the point of removing him from the world on the following day, and would have done so had not a vivid dream come to him in the meantime and prevented him.

  [6] ἔφη γάρ οἱ ἐν ὀνείρῳ ὁ στρατηγὸς ἐντυχεῖν τινα παμμεγέθη τε τὸ σῶμα καὶ τἄλλα κρείσσω ἢ ἀνθρώπῳ εἰκάζεσθαι.

  [6] For the General declared that in a dream a certain person came to him, a creature of enormous size and in other respects too mighty to resemble a man.

  [7] καὶ τὸν μέν οἱ ἐπισκῆψαι μεθεῖναι τὸν ἄνδρα, ὅνπερ καθείρξας ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐτύγχανεν: αὐτὸν δὲ τοῦ ὕπνου ἐξαναστάντα ἐν ἀλογίᾳ τὴν τοῦ ὀνείρου ὄψιν ποιήσασθαι.

  [7] And this vision enjoined upon him to release the man whom he had chanced to imprison on that day; and John said that upon arising from sleep he paid no heed to the vision of his dream.

  [8] ἐπιλαβούσης δὲ καὶ ἑτέρας νυκτὸς ἐδόκει μέν οἱ ἐν τῷ ὀνείρῳ καὶ αὖθις τῶν λόγων ἀκούειν ὧνπερ ἠκηκόει τὸ πρότερον, ἐπιτελέσαι δὲ τὰ ἐπιτεταγμένα οὐδ̓ ὣς

  [8] But when the next night came on, he seemed once more in sleep to hear the words which he had heard before; yet even so he was unwilling to carry out the order.

  [9] βεβουλῆσθαι. τρίτον τέ οἱ ἐπιστᾶσαν τὴν τοῦ ὀνείρου ὄψιν ἀπειλῆσαι μὲν τὰ ἀνήκεστα, ἢν μὴ τὰ ἐπηγγελμένα ποιοίη, ἐπειπεῖν τε ὡς αὐτοῦ τε τοῦ ἀνθρώπου καὶ τῆς ξυγγενείας χρέος οἱ μέγα ὀργισθησομένῳ ἐς χρόνον τὸν ὄπισθεν εἴη.

  [9] And a third time the vision stood over him and threatened him with a terrible fate if he should fail to carry out the instructions, and added that when he in later times should become exceedingly angry, he would have need of this man and of his family.

  [10] Τότε μὲν οὖν οὕτως Ἰουστίνῳ περιεῖναι ξυνέβη, προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου ἐς μέγα δυνάμεως οὗτος Ἰουστῖνος ἐχώρησεν.

  [10] So at the same time it came about that Justinus was saved in this way, and as time went on this Justinus advanced to great power.

  [11] ἄρχοντα γὰρ αὐτὸν Ἀναστάσιος βασιλεὺς κατεστήσατο τῶν ἐν Παλατίῳ φυλάκων. ἐπειδή τε ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφάνιστο, αὐτὸς τῇ τῆς ἀρχῆς δυνάμει τὴν βασιλείαν παρέλαβε, τυμβογέρων μὲν γεγονὼς ἤδη, ἀμάθητος δὲ γραμμάτων ἁπάντων καὶ τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον ἀναλφάβητος ὢν, οὐ γεγονὸς ἔν γε Ῥωμαίοις πρότερον τοῦτό γε.

  [11] For the Emperor Anastasius appointed him Commander of the Palace Guards. And when the Emperor departed this life, he himself, because of the power of his office, succeeded to the throne, being already an old man tottering to his grave, who had never learned to tell one letter from another, and was, as the familiar phrase has it, “without the alphabet,” a thing which had never happened before among the Romans.

  [12] εἰθισμένον δὲ γράμματα οἰκεῖα τοῖς βιβλίοις ἐντιθέναι τὸν βασιλέα, ὅσα ἂν ἐπαγγέλλοντος αὐτοῦ γίνοιτο, αὐτὸς μέντοι οὔτε ἐπήγγειλεν οὔτε τοῖς πρασσομένοις ξυνεπίστασθαι οἷός τε ἦν.

  [12] And while it was customary for the Emperor to affix letters in his own hand to all documents containing the orders that issued from him, he was unable either to issue orders himself or intelligently to share in the knowledge of what was being done.

  [13] ὃς δὲ παρεδρεύειν αὐτῷ ἔλαχεν, ἀρχὴν ἔχων τὴν τοῦ καλουμένου κοιαίστωρος Πρόκλος ὄνομα,

  [13] But the man who drew the lot to sit as his Counsellor, Proclus by name, who held the office of Quaestor, as it is called, himself used to attend to all matters with independent judgment.

  [14] αὐτὸς δὴ αὐτονόμῳ γνώμῃ ἅπαντα ἔπρασσεν. ὅπως δὲ μαρτυρίαν τῆς βασιλέως χειρὸς ἔχοιεν, οἷς δὴ ἐπίκειται τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο, ἐπενοήθη τάδε.

  [14] But in order that they might have evidence of the Emperor’s hand, those who had this matter in charge devised the following plan.

  [15] ξύλῳ εἰργασμένῳ βραχεῖ ἐγκολάψαντες μορφήν τινα γραμμάτων τεττάρων, ἅπερ ἀναγνῶναι τῇ Λατίνων φωνῇ δύναται, γραφίδα τε βαφῇ βάψαντες, ᾗ βασιλεῖς γράφειν εἰώθασιν,

  [15] Taking a small strip of prepared wood, they cut into it a sort of pattern of the four letters which mean in the Latin tongue “I have read,” and dipping the pen into ink of the colour which Emperors are wont to use in writing, they would put it into the hand of this Emperor.

  [16] ἐνεχειρίζοντο τῷ βασιλεῖ τούτῳ. καὶ τὸ ξύλον, οὗπερ ἐμνήσθην, τῷ βιβλίῳ ἐνθέμενοι, λαβόμενο
ί τε τῆς βασιλέως χειρὸς, περιῆγον μὲν ξὺν τῇ γραφίδι ἐς τῶν τεττάρων γραμμάτων τὸν τύπον, ἐς πάσας τε τὰς τοῦ ξύλου αὐτὴν περιελίξαντες ἐντομὰς οὕτω δὴ ἀπηλλάσσοντο, τοιαῦτα βασιλέως γράμματα φέροντες.

  [16] And placing on the document the strip of wood which I have mentioned and grasping the Emperor’s hand, they moved it and the pen along the pattern of the four letters, causing it to follow all the winding lines cut in the wood, and then went their way, carrying that kind of writing of the Emperor.

  [17] Τὰ μὲν ἀμφὶ τῷ Ἰουστίνῳ ταύτῃ Ῥωμαίοις εἶχε. γυναικὶ δὲ ὄνομα Λουππικίνῃ ξυνῴκει. αὕτη δὲ δούλη τε καὶ βάρβαρος οὖσα τοῦ πρόσθεν αὐτὴν ἐωνημένου παλλακὴ γέγονε. καὶ αὐτὴ μὲν ξὺν Ἰουστίνῳ ἐπὶ βίου δυσμαῖς τὴν βασιλείαν ἔσχεν.

  [17] Such an Emperor had the Romans in Justinus. And he had a wife named Lupicina who, as being a slave and a barbarian, had been concubine of the man who had previously bought her. And she as well as Justinus attained the throne in the closing years of life.

  [18] Ἰουστῖνος μὲν οὖν οὔτε τι πονηρὸν τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἐργάζεσθαι οὔτε ἀγαθὸν ἴσχυεν. εὐηθείᾳ γὰρ πολλῇ εἴχετο, ἄγλωττός τε παντάπασιν ὢν καὶ ἀγροικιζόμενος μάλιστα.