Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [31] Τοῦ ἐν Θερμοπύλαις φυλακτηρίου οἱ τὰ ἐκείνῃ γεωργοῦντες χωρία ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἐπεμελοῦντο, ἐκ περιτροπῆς τε τὸ ἐνταῦθα τεῖχος ἐφύλασσον, ἡνίκα δὴ ἔφοδος βαρβάρων τινῶν ὡς ἐπισκήψει ἐς τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἐπίδοξος ἦν.

  [31] The outpost at Thermopylae had from early times been under the care of the farmers of that region, and they used to take turns in guarding the wall there, whenever it was expected that some barbarians or other would make a descent upon the Peloponnesus.

  [32] ἀλλ̓ ἐνταῦθα γενόμενος τότε Ἀλέξανδρος οὗτος προνοεῖν Πελοποννησίων σκηπτόμενος οὐκ ἔφη γεωργοῖς τὸ ταύτῃ φυλακτήριον ἐπιτρέψειν.

  [32] But when Alexander visited the place on the occasion in question, he, pretending that he was acting in the interests of the Peloponnesians, refused to entrust the outpost there to the farmers.

  [33] στρατιώτας οὖν ἐνταῦθα εἰς δισχιλίους καταστησάμενος οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου χορηγεῖσθαι σφίσι τὰς συντάξεις διώρισεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι πασῶν πόλεων τά τε πολιτικὰ καὶ θεωρητικὰ ξύμπαντα χρήματα ἐς τὸ δημόσιον ἐπὶ τῷ προσχήματι τούτῳ μετήνεγκεν, ἐφ̓ ᾧ ἐνθένδε οἱ στρατιῶται οὗτοι σιτίζοιντο, καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ ἔν τε τῇ ἄλλῃ πάσῃ Ἑλλάδι καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα ἐν Ἀθήναις αὐταῖς οὔτε τις ἐν δημοσίῳ οἰκοδομία ἀνενεώθη οὔτε ἄλλο ἀγαθὸν οἷόν τε ἦν γίνεσθαι.

  [33] So he stationed troops there to the number of two thousand and ordained that their pay should not be provided from the imperial Treasury, but instead he transferred to the Treasury the entire civic funds and the funds for the spectacles of all the cities of Greece, on the pretext that these soldiers were to be maintained therefrom, and consequently in all Greece, and not least in Athens itself, no public building was restored nor could any other needful thing be done.

  [34] Ἰουστινιανὸς μέντοι τὰ τῇδε διῳκημένα τῷ Ψαλιδίῳ οὐδεμιᾷ μελλήσει ἐπέρρωσε.

  [34] Justinian, however, without any hesitation confirmed these measures of “Snips.”

  [35] Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τῇδε κεχώρηκεν. ἰτέον δὲ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἐν Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ πτωχούς. Ἥφαιστός τις ἐν τοῖς ἐνταῦθα ῥήτορσιν ἐγεγόνει, ὅσπερ παραλαβὼν τὴν Ἀλεξανδρέων ἀρχὴν τὸν μὲν δῆμον τοῦ στασιάζειν κατέπαυσε, φοβερὸς τοῖς στασιώταις φανεὶς, ἔσχατα δὲ ἐσχάτων κακὰ τοῖς τῇδε ᾠκημένοις ἐνδέδεικται πᾶσι.

  [35] So then these matters were moving on in the manner described. But we must now proceed to the subject of the poor in Alexandria. There had been a certain Hephaestus among the rhetors there, who took over the government of Alexandria, and while he did put an end to the factional strife of the populace, shewing himself an object of terror to the factious, he had brought upon all the inhabitants of the city the utter extreme of extreme misfortune.

  [36] πάντα γὰρ εὐθὺς τὰ τῆς πόλεως πωλητήρια ἐς τὸ καλούμενον μονοπώλιον καταστησάμενος ἄλλον μὲν ἐμπόρων οὐδένα ταύτην δὴ τὴν ἐργασίαν ἐργάζεσθαι εἴα, μόνος δὲ ἁπάντων αὐτὸς γεγονὼς κάπηλος παρεδίδοτο τὰ ὤνια πάντα, δηλονότι τὰς τούτων τιμὰς τῇ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἐξουσίᾳ σταθμώμενος, ἀπεπνίγετό τε τῇ τῶν ἀναγκαίων σπάνει ἡ τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων πόλις, οὗ δὴ καὶ τοῖς τὰ ἔσχατα πενομένοις τὰ πρότερα εὔωνα διαρκῶς ἐγεγόνει πάντα, μάλιστα δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀμφὶ τῷ ἄρτῳ ἐπίεζε.

  [36] For straightway bringing all the shops of the city into what is called the monopoly, he would permit none of the merchants to engage in this business, but having, alone of them all, become himself a retailer, he would sell every kind of merchandise, obviously gauging their price by the arbitrary power of his office, and the city of Alexandria was like to burst with anger because of the scarcity of the necessities of life — a city where, in former times, all things had been exceedingly cheap even for those in extreme poverty; and he pinched them particularly in the matter of the bread.

  [37] τὸν γὰρ σῖτον αὐτὸς ἐξ Αἰγυπτίων ὠνεῖτο μόνος, οὐδὲ ὅσον ἐς μέδιμνον ἕνα ἑτέρῳ ἐνδιδοὺς πρίασθαι, ταύτῃ τε τοὺς ἄρτους καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄρτων τιμήματα διετίθετο ᾗπερ ἐβούλετο.

  [37] For he did all the buying of grain from the Egyptians himself, permitting no one else to purchase so much as a single peck, and thus he determined the size of the loaves and the price of bread just as he wished.

  [38] πλοῦτον τοίνυν καὶ ἀμύθητον αὐτός τε δἰ ὀλίγου περιεβάλετο καὶ βασιλεῖ τὴν ἀμφὶ τούτῳ ἐπιθυμίαν ἐνεπλήσατο.

  [38] Thus in a short time he acquired for himself fabulous wealth and fulfilled the Emperor’s desire in this matter.

  [39] καὶ τῶν μὲν Ἀλεξανδρέων ὁ δῆμος δέει τοῦ Ἡφαίστου τὰ παρόντα σφίσιν ἡσυχῇ ἔφερον, ὁ δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ αἰδοῖ τῶν οἱ ἐς ἀεὶ ἐσκομιζομένων χρημάτων ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα ὑπερηγάπα τὸν ἄνθρωπον.

  [39] And while the populace of Alexandria, through fear of Hephaestus, endured their plight in silence, the Emperor, out of respect for the money that kept coming in to him constantly, loved the man exceedingly.

  [40] Βουλεύσας δὲ Ἥφαιστος οὗτος ὅπως τὴν βασιλέως διάνοιαν πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐξελεῖν δύνηται, προσεπετεχνήσατο τάδε.

  [40] And this Hephaestus, in order that he might be able still more to captivate the Emperor’s mind, contrived this further scheme.

  [41] Διοκλητιανὸς Ῥωμαίων γεγονὼς αὐτοκράτωρ σίτου μέγα τι χρῆμα δίδοσθαι παρὰ τοῦ δημοσίου τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων τοῖς δεομένοις ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος διώρισε.

  [41] Diocletian, a former Emperor of the Romans, had decreed that a huge amount of grain be given by the Treasury every year to the needy among the Alexandrians.

  [42] ταῦτα ὁ δῆμος τηνικάδε διαδασάμενοι ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐς ἀπογόνους τοὺς ἄχρι δεῦρο παρέπεμψαν.

  [42] And the populace, having distributed this grain among themselves in the first instance, have transmitted this custom to their descendants even down to the present day.

  [43] ἀλλ̓ Ἥφαιστος ἐνθένδε μυριάδας ἐς διακοσίας ἐπετείους μεδίμνων τοὺς τῶν ἀναγκαίων ὑποσπανίζοντας ἀφελόμενος τῷ δημοσίῳ ἐντέθεικε, βασιλεῖ γράψας ὡς οὐ δικαίως οὐδὲ ᾗ ξυμφέρει τοῖς πράγμασι μέχρι νῦν ταῦτα οἱ ἄνδρες οὗτοι κομίζοιντο.

  [43] But Hephaestus, from the time in question, wrested from those destitute of the necessities of life as much as two million measures annually and placed it i
n the warehouses of the State, writing to the Emperor that these people had until now been receiving the grain wrongfully, and not to the advantage of the public interest.

  [44] καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ βασιλεὺς μὲν ἐμπεδώσας τὴν πρᾶξιν διὰ σπουδῆς αὐτὸν μείζονος ἔσχεν, Ἀλεξανδρέων δὲ ὅσοι ταύτην εἶχον τοῦ βίου ἐλπίδα, ταύτης δὴ ἐν τοῖς ἀναγκαιοτάτοις τῆς ἀπανθρωπίας ἀπώναντο.

  [44] And consequently the Emperor confirmed the action and held him in still greater favour, and those of the Alexandrians who had this one hope of a livelihood suffered most cruelly as a result of this inhumanity.

  XXVII

  Τὰ μὲν οὖν Ἰουστινιανῷ εἰργασμένα τοσαῦτά ἐστιν, ὥστε μηδὲ τὸν πάντα αἰῶνα τῷ περὶ αὐτῶν λόγῳ ἐπαρκεῖν δύνασθαι.

  Now the deeds done by Justinian were so many in number that all eternity would not be able to suffice for the account of them.

  [2] ὀλίγα δέ μοι ἄττα ἐκ πάντων ἀπολεξαμένῳ εἰπεῖν ἀποχρήσει, δἰ ὧν αὐτοῦ ἔνδηλον καὶ τοῖς ὄπισθεν γενησομένοις τὸ ἦθος ἅπαν διαφανῶς ἔσται, καὶ ὡς εἴρων τε ἦν καὶ οὔτε θεοῦ οὔτε ἱερέων οὔτε νόμων αὐτῷ ἔμελεν, οὔτε δήμου κατεσπουδασμένου αὐτῷ δοκοῦντος εἶναι, οὐ μὴν οὔτε τινὸς τὸ παράπαν αἰδοῦς ἢ τοῦ τῆς πολιτείας ξυμφόρου ἢ ὅτου τι προὔργου ἐς αὐτὴν γένοιτο, ἢ ὅπως σκήψεώς τινος τὰ πρασσόμενα τυχεῖν δύναιτο, οὔτε ἄλλο τι αὐτὸν ἐσῄει, ὅτι μὴ μόνη ἀφαίρεσις τῶν ἐν πάσῃ γῇ κειμένων χρημάτων. ἄρξομαι δὲ ἐνθένδε.

  [2] But it will suffice for me to collect and mention some few examples from the whole number by which his whole character will be clearly revealed to men of future generations also: that he was a dissembler and cared not either for God or for priests or for laws, nor for the populace, though in seeming it was favoured by him, nor, further, for any decency whatsoever nor for the advantage of the State or for any benefit that might accrue to it, or that his actions might be able to find some excuse, nor did any consideration weigh with him other than simply and solely the snatching of all the money there was in the world. And I shall begin with this last.

  [3] Ἀρχιερέα κατεστήσατο Ἀλεξανδρεῦσιν αὐτὸς Παῦλον ὄνομα. ἐτύγχανε δὲ Ῥόδων τις, Φοῖνιξ γένος, ἔχων τηνικάδε τὴν Ἀλεξανδρείας ἀρχήν.

  [3] The Emperor designated a chief priest over the Alexandrians, Paulus by name. And it chanced that a certain Rhodon, a Phoenician by birth, at that time held sway in Alexandria.

  [4] ᾧ δὴ ἐπέστελλεν ἐς ἅπαντα Παύλῳ ὑπηρετεῖν προθυμίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ, ὅπως δὴ ἀτελεύτητον μένοι τῶν πρὸς αὐτοῦ ἐπαγγελλομένων μηδέν.

  [4] This man he instructed to support Paulus with all zeal in everything, so that not one of his orders might remain unfulfilled.

  [5] ταύτῃ γὰρ τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς ἑταιρίζεσθαι αὐτὸν ἐς τὴν ἐν Καλχηδόνι σύνοδον ᾤετο δυνατὸν ἔσεσθαι.

  [5] For in this way he thought he should be able to win the adherence of the heretics among the Alexandrians to the Council of Chalcedon.

  [6] ἦν δέ τις Ἀρσένιος, Παλαιστῖνος γένος, ὅσπερ Θεοδώρᾳ τῇ βασιλίδι ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα ἀναγκαιοτάτοις ἐπιτήδειος γεγονὼς, καὶ ἀπ̓ αὐτοῦ δύναμίν τε πολλὴν μεγάλα τε περιβαλλόμενος χρήματα ἐς βουλῆς ἀξίωμα ἦλθε, καίπερ μιαρώτατος ὤν.

  [6] There was a certain Arsenius, a native of Palestine, who had been serviceable to the Empress Theodora in a very important matter, and from this circumstance he had acquired great power and a vast amount of money and had achieved the dignity of the Senate, although he was an utter scoundrel.

  [7] οὗτος Σαμαρείτης μὲν ἦν, τοῦ δὲ μὴ τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν προέσθαι δύναμιν ὀνόματος ἀντιλαβέσθαι τοῦ Χριστιανῶν ἔγνω.

  [7] This man was, in fact, a Samaritan, but in order not to lose the power he held, he had seen fit to adopt the name of a Christian.

  [8] ὁ μέντοι πατήρ τε καὶ ἀδελφὸς τῇ τούτου δυνάμει θαρσοῦντες διαγεγόνασι μὲν ἐν Σκυθοπόλει, περιστέλλοντες τὴν πάτριον δόξαν, γνώμῃ δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀνήκεστα τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς εἰργάζοντο πάντας.

  [8] His father and brother, however, relying upon this man’s power, had continued on in Scythopolis, preserving their ancestral faith, and, under instructions from him, they were working outrageous wrongs upon all the Christians.

  [9] διὸ δὴ οἱ πολῖται σφίσιν ἐπαναστάντες ἄμφω ἔκτειναν θανάτῳ οἰκτίστῳ, κακά τε πολλὰ ξυνηνέχθη Παλαιστίνοις ἐνθένδε γενέσθαι.

  [9] Consequently the citizens rose against them and killed them both with a most cruel death, and many evils came to pass for the people of Palestine from that cause.

  [10] τότε μὲν οὖν αὐτὸν οὔτε Ἰουστινιανὸς οὔτε βασιλὶς κακόν τι ἔδρασαν, καίπερ αἰτιώτατον γεγονότα δυσκόλων ἁπάντων, ἀπεῖπον δὲ αὐτῷ ἐς Παλάτιον μηκέτι ἰέναι: ἐνδελεχέστατα γὰρ τούτου δὴ ἕνεκα πρὸς τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἠνωχλοῦντο.

  [10] And at that time neither Justinian nor the Empress did Arsenius any harm, though he had been the chief cause of all the difficulties, but they did forbid him to come to the Palace any longer; for they were being harassed most persistently by the Christians on account of this matter.

  [11] οὗτος Ἀρσένιος βασιλεῖ χαριεῖσθαι οἰόμενος οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ξὺν τῷ Παύλῳ ἐς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν στέλλεται, ὡς δὴ τά τε ἄλλα ὑπηρετήσων καὶ τὴν ἐς τοὺς Ἀλεξανδρεῖς πειθὼ ξυγκατεργασόμενος αὐτῷ δυνάμει τῇ πάσῃ.

  [11] This Arsenius, thinking to gratify the Emperor, not long afterwards set out in company with Paulus for Alexandria, in order to assist him in other matters and in particular to help him with all his might to bring about obedience on the part of the Alexandrians.

  [12] ἰσχυρίζετο γὰρ ὑπὸ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον, ἡνίκα οἱ τοῦ Παλατίου ἀποκεκλεῖσθαι ξυνέπεσε, τῶν ἐν Χριστιανοῖς οὐκ ἀμελέτητος γεγονέναι δογμάτων ἁπάντων.

  [12] For he declared that at the time when he had the ill-fortune to be excluded from the Palace, he had not neglected the study of all the doctrines of the Christians.

  [13] ὅπερ τὴν Θεοδώραν ἠνίασε: τὴν ἐναντίαν γὰρ ἐσκήπτετο τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐς τοῦτο ἰέναι, ὥς μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις εἴρηται.

  [13] But this annoyed Theodora; for she pretended to go against the Emperor in this, as I have stated previously.

  [14] ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐν Ἀλεξανδρεῦσιν ἐγένοντο, διάκονόν τινα Ψόην ὄνομα Ῥόδωνι Π
αῦλος παρέδωκε τεθνηξόμενον, φάσκων δὴ αὐτὸν μόνον οἱ αὐτῷ ἐμποδὼν ἵστασθαι τοῦ μὴ τὰ βασιλεῖ δεδογμένα ὑποτελέσαι.

  [14] So when Paulus and Arsenius had arrived at Alexandria, Paulus delivered to Rhodon a certain deacon named Psoes to be put to death, claiming that he alone was the obstacle which prevented him from executing the Emperor’s decisions.

  [15] τοῖς δὲ βασιλέως γράμμασι Ῥόδων ἠγμένος, συχνοῖς τε οὖσι καὶ λίαν σπουδαίοις, αἰκίζεσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἔγνω. καὶ ὃς ὑπὸ τῆς βασάνου κατατεινόμενος αὐτίκα θνήσκει.

  [15] And Rhodon, acting under the guidance of the Emperor’s messages, which were both frequent and exceedingly urgent, decided to torture the man. And he died at once when racked by the torture.

  [16] ἅπερ ἐπεὶ ἐς βασι λέα ἦλθεν, ἐγκειμένης ἰσχυρότατα τῆς βασιλίδος, ἅπαντα βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ Παύλῳ τε καὶ Ῥόδωνι καὶ Ἀρσενίῳ εὐθὺς ἐκίνει, ὥσπερ τῶν πρὸς αὐτοῦ τούτοις δὴ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπηγγελμένων ἐπιλελησμένος ἁπάντων.

  [16] Now when word of this came to the Emperor, he immediately, at the very vehement insistence of the Empress, set everything in motion against Paulus and Rhodon and Arsenius, as if he had forgotten utterly the instructions which he had given to these very men.

  [17] Λιβέριον οὖν τῶν ἐκ Ῥώμης ἄνδρα πατρίκιον καταστησάμενος ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων ἀρχῆς καὶ τῶν δοκίμων ἱερέων τινὰς ἐς τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν ἔστειλε τὴν τοῦ πράγματος ποιησομένους διάγνωσιν, ἐν οἷς καὶ ὁ Ῥώμης ἀρχιδιάκονος Πελάγιος ἦν, τὸ Βιγιλίου τοῦ ἀρχιερέως ὑποδὺς πρόσωπον, ἐπιτεταγμένον οἱ τοῦτό γε πρὸς τοῦ Βιγιλίου: