Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [9] And finding that the belief in God was, before his time, straying into errors and being forced to go in many directions, he completely destroyed all the paths leading to such errors, and brought it about that it stood on the firm foundation of a single faith.

  [11] ἀλλὰ καὶ βαρβάροις πανταχόθεν ὑποκειμένην τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν στρατιωτῶν τε πλήθει ἐπέρρωσε καὶ ὀχυρωμάτων οἰκοδομίαις ἁπάσας αὐτῆς τὰς ἐσχατιὰς ἐτειχίσατο.

  [10] Moreover, finding the laws obscure because they had become far more numerous than they should be, and in obvious confusion because they disagreed with each other, he preserved them by cleansing them of the mass of their verbal trickery, and by controlling their discrepancies with the greatest firmness; as for those who plotted against him, he of his own volition dismissed the charges against them, causing those who were in want to have a surfeit of wealth, and crushing the spiteful fortune that oppressed them, he wedded the whole State to a life of prosperity.

  [12] Ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων τὰ πλεῖστα ἐν ἑτέροις μοι συγγέγραπται λόγοις, ὅσα δὲ αὐτῷ ἀγαθὰ οἰκοδομουμένῳ δεδημιούργηται, ἐν τῷ παρόντι γεγράψεται. ἄριστον μὲν δὴ βασιλέα γεγονέναι Κῦρον τὸν Πέρσην φασίν, ὧν ἀκοῇ ἴσμεν, τοῖς τε ὁμογενέσιν αἰτιώτατον τῆς βασιλείας.

  [11] Furthermore, he strengthened the Roman domain, which everywhere lay exposed to the barbarians, by a multitude of soldiers, and by constructing strongholds he built a wall along all its remote frontiers.

  [13] εἰ δὲ τοιοῦτός τις ἦν ὁ Κῦρος ἐκεῖνος οἷος δὴ ὑπὸ Ξενοφῶντι τῷ Ἀθηναίῳ παιδεύεται, οὐκ ἔχω εἰδέναι.

  [12] However, most of the Emperor’s other achievements have been described by me in my other writings, so that the subject of the present work will be the benefits which he wrought as a builder. They do indeed say that the best king of whom we know by tradition was the Persian Cyrus, and that he was chiefly responsible for the founding of the kingdom of Persia for the people of his race.

  [14] τάχα γάρ που καὶ ἡ τοῦ γεγραφότος αὐτὰ δεξιότης κεκομψευμένῃ δυνάμει τοῦ λόγου ἐγκαλλώπισμα τῶν ἔργων γενέσθαι διαρκῶς ἴσχυσε.

  [13] But whether that Cyrus was in fact such a man as he whose education from childhood up is described by Xenophon the Athenian, I have no means of knowing.

  [15] τοῦ δὲ ]καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς βασιλέως Ἰουστινιανοῦ (ὃν δὴ καὶ φύσει βασιλέα καλῶν τις, οἶμαι, ὀρθῶς ἂν εἴποι, ἐπεὶ καὶ πατὴρ ὢς ἤπιός ἐστι, καθ᾽ Ὅμηρον), εἴ τις ἐς τὸ ἀκριβὲς τὴν βασιλείαν διασκοποῖτο, παιδιάν τινα τὴν Κύρου ἀρχὴν οἰήσεται εἶναι.

  [14] For it may well be that the skill of the writer of that description was quite capable, such was his exquisite eloquence, of coming to be a mere embellishment of the facts.a But in the case of the king of our times, Justinian (whom one would rightly, I think, call a king by nature as well as by inheritance, since he is, as Homer says, “as gentle as a father”), if one should examine his reign with care, he will regard the rule of Cyrus as a sort of child’s play.

  [16] τεκμηριώσει δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτο ἡ μὲν πολιτεία πρὸς αὐτοῦ, ᾗπέρ μοι ἔναγχος εἴρηται, τῇ τε χώρᾳ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ δυνάμει πλεῖν ἢ διπλάσια γεγενημένη, οἱ δὲ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν αὐτῷ σκαιωρησάμενοι μέχρι ἐς φόνον μὴ ὅτι βιοτεύοντες ἐς τόδε τοῦ χρόνου καὶ τὰ σφέτερα αὐτῶν ἔχοντες, καίπερ ἐξεληλεγμένοι διαφανῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ στρατηγοῦντες Ῥωμαίων ἔτι καὶ ἐς τὸ τῶν ὑπάτων ἀναγεγραμμένοι τελοῦσιν ἀξίωμα.

  [16] The proof of this will be that the Roman Empire, as I have just said, has become more than doubled both in area and in power generally, while, on the other hand, those who treacherously formed the plot against him, going so far even as to plan his assassination, are not only living up to the present moment, and in possession of their own property, even though their guilt was proved with absolute certainty, but are actually still serving as generals of the Romans, and are holding the consular rank to which they had been appointed.

  [17] Τανῦν δέ, ὅπερ εἶπον, ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκοδομίας τούτου δὴ τοῦ βασιλέως ἡμῖν ἰτέον, ὡς μὴ ἀπιστεῖν τῷ τε πλήθει καὶ τῷ μεγέθει ἐς τὸν ὄπισθεν χρόνον τοῖς αὐτὰς θεωμένοις ξυμβαίη ὅτι δὴ ἀνδρὸς ἑνὸς ἔργα τυγχάνει ὄντα.

  [17] But now we must proceed, as I have said, to the subject of the buildings of this Emperor, so that it may not come to pass in the future that those who see them refuse, by reason of their great number and magnitude, to believe that they are in truth the works of one man.

  [18] πολλὰ γὰρ ἤδη τῶν προγεγενημένων οὐκ ἐμπεδωθέντα τῷ λόγῳ τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς ἀρετῆς ἄπιστα γέγονεν. εἴη δ᾽ ἂν εἰκότως τὰ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ παρὰ πάντα τῷ λόγῳ κρηπίς.

  [18] For already many works of men of former times which are not vouched for by a written record have aroused incredulity because of their surpassing merit. And with good reason the buildings in Byzantium, beyond all the rest, will serve as a foundation for my narrative.

  [19] ἀρχομένου γὰρ ἔργου, κατὰ δὴ τὸν παλαιὸν λόγον, πρόσωπον χρὴ θέμεναι τηλαυγές.

  [19] For “o’er a work’s beginnings,” as the old saying has it, “we needs must set a front that shines afar.”

  [20] Ἄνδρες ἀγελαῖοί ποτε καὶ ὁ συρφετὸς ὅλος ]Ἰουστινιανῷ βασιλεῖ ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ἐπαναστάντες τὴν Νίκα καλουμένην στάσιν εἰργάσαντο, ᾗπέρ μοι ἀπαρακαλύπτως ἀκριβολογουμένῳ ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν πολέμων δεδιήγηται λόγοις.

  [20] Some men of the common herd, all the rubbish of the city, once rose up against the Emperor Justinian in Byzantium, when they brought about the rising called the Nika Insurrection, which has been described by me in detail and without any concealment in Books on the Wars.

  [21] ἐνδεικνύμενοι δὲ ὡς οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸν βασιλέα μόνον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐδέν τι ἧσσον ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν ἅτε ἀποφράδες τὰ ὅπλα ἀντῆραν, ἐμπρῆσαι τῶν Χριστιανῶν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ἐτόλμησαν (Σοφίαν καλοῦσιν οἱ Βυζάντιοι τὸν νεὼν ἐπικαιριώτατα τῷ θεῷ τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν ἀπεργασάμενοι), ἐπεχώρει δὲ αὐτοῖς ὁ θεὸς διαπράξασθαι τὸ ἀσέβημα, προειδὼς εἰς ὅσον τι κάλλος τοῦτο τὸ ἱερὸν μεταστήσεσθαι ἔμελλεν.

  [21] And by way of shewing that it was not against the Emperor alone that they had taken up arms, but no less against God himself, unholy wretches that they were, they had the hardihood to fire the Church of the Christians, which the people of Byzantium call “Sophia,” an epithet which they have most appropriately invented for God, by which they call His temple; and God permitted them to accomplish this impiety, foreseeingº into what an object of beauty this shrine was des
tined to be transformed.

  [22] ἡ μὲν οὖν ἐκκλησία ἐξηνθρακωμένη τότε ξύμπασα ἔκειτο. βασιλεὺς δὲ Ἰουστινιανὸς τοιαύτην ἀποτετόρνευται οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ὥστε, εἰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν τις ἐπύθετο πρότερον εἰ βουλομένοις αὐτοῖς διολωλέναι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν εἴη καὶ τοιάνδε γενέσθαι, δείξας τι αὐτοῖς τῶν νῦν φαινομένων ἐκτύπωμα, δοκοῦσιν ἄν μοι ὡς συντομώτατα εὔξασθαι πεπονθυῖαν σφίσι τὴν ἐκκλησίαν θεάσασθαι, ὅπως δὴ αὐτοῖς ἐς τὸ παρὸν μεταβάλοιτο σχῆμα.

  [22] So the whole church at that time lay a charred mass of ruins. But the Emperor Justinian built not long afterwards a church so finely shaped, that if anyone had enquired of the Christians before the burning if it would be their wish that the church should be destroyed and one like this should take its place, shewing them some sort of model of the building we now see, it seems to me that they would have prayed that they might see their church destroyed forthwith, in order that the building might be converted into its present form.

  [23] ὁ μὲν οὖν βασιλεὺς ἀφροντιστήσας χρημάτων ἁπάντων ἐς τὴν οἰκοδομῆν σπουδῇ ἵετο, καὶ τοὺς τεχνίτας ἐκ πάσης γῆς ἤγειρεν ἅπαντας.

  [23] At any rate the Emperor, disregarding all questions of expense, eagerly pressed on to begin the work of construction, and began to gather all the artisans from the whole world.

  [24] Ἀνθέμιος δὲ Τραλλιανός, ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ τῇ καλουμένῃ μηχανικῇ λογιώτατος, οὐ τῶν κατ᾽ αὐτὸν μόνον ἁπάντων, ]ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ προγεγενημένων πολλῷ, τῇ βασιλέως ὑπούργει σπουδῇ, τοῖς τεκταινομένοις τὰ ἔργα ῥυθμίζων, τῶν τε γενησομένων προδιασκευάζων ἰνδάλματα, καὶ μηχανοποιὸς σὺν αὐτῷ ἕτερος, Ἰσίδωρος ὄνομα, Μιλήσιος γένος, ἔμφρων τε ἄλλως καὶ πρέπων Ἰουστινιανῷ ὑπουργεῖν βασιλεῖ.

  [24] And Anthemius of Tralles, the most learned man in the skilled craft which is known as the art of building, not only of all his contemporaries, but also when compared with those who had lived long before him, ministered to the Emperor’s enthusiasm, duly regulating the tasks of the various artisans, and preparing in advance designs of the future construction; and associated with him with another master-builder, Isidorus by name, a Milesian by birth, a man who was intelligent and worthy to assist the Emperor Justinian.

  [25] ἦν δὲ ἄρα καὶ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ τὸν βασιλέα τιμῆς, προκαταστησαμένου τοὺς ἐς τὰ πραχθησόμενα χρησιμωτάτους αὐτῷ ἐσομένους.

  [25] Indeed this also was an indication of the honour in which God held the Emperor, that He had already provided the men who would be most serviceable to him in the tasks which were waiting to be carried out.

  [26] καὶ αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως τὸν νοῦν εἰκότως ἄν τις ἀγασθείη τούτου δὴ ἕνεκα, ὅτι δὴ ἐκ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐς τῶν πραγμάτων τὰ σπουδαιότατα τοὺς καιριωτάτους ἀπολέξασθαι ἔσχε.

  [26] And one might with good reason marvel at the discernment of the Emperor himself, in that out of the whole world he was able to select the men who were most suitable for the most important of his enterprises.

  [27] Θέαμα τοίνυν ἡ ἐκκλησία κεκαλλιστευμένον γεγένηται, τοῖς μὲν ὁρῶσιν ὑπερφυές, τοῖς δὲ ἀκούουσι παντελῶς ἄπιστον· ἐπῆρται μὲν γὰρ ἐς ὕψος οὐράνιον ὅσον, καὶ ὥσπερ τῶν ἄλλων οἰκοδομημάτων ἀποσαλεύουσα ἐπινένευκεν ὑπερκειμένη τῇ ἄλλη πόλει, κοσμοῦσα μὲν αὐτήν, ὅτι αὐτῆς ἐστιν, ὡραϊζομένη δέ, ὅτι αὐτῆς οὖσα καὶ ἐπεμβαίνουσα τοσοῦτον ἀνέχει ὥστε δὴ ἐνθένδε ἡ πόλις ἐκ περιωπῆς ἀποσκοπεῖται.

  [27] So the church has become a spectacle of marvellous beauty, overwhelming to those who see it, but to those who know it by hearsay altogether incredible. For it soars to a height to match the sky, and as if surging up from amongst the other buildings it stands on high and looks down upon the remainder of the city, adorning it, because it is a part of it, but glorying in its own beauty, because, though a part of the city and dominating it, it at the same time towers above it to such a height that the whole city is viewed from there as from a watch-tower.

  [28] εὖρος δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ μῆκος οὕτως ἐν ἐπιτηδείῳ ἀποτετόρνευται, ὥστε καὶ περιμήκης καὶ ὅλως εὐρεῖα οὐκ ἀπὸ τρόπου εἰρήσεται. κάλλει δὲ ἀμυθήτῳ ]ἀποσεμνύνεται.

  [28] Both its breadth and its length have been so carefully proportioned, that it may not improperly be said to be exceedingly long and at the same time unusually broad. And it exults in an indescribable beauty.

  [29] τῷ τε γὰρ ὄγκῳ κεκόμψευται καὶ τῇ ἁρμονίᾳ τοῦ μέτρου, οὔτε τι ὑπεράγαν οὔτε τι ἐνδεῶς ἔχουσα, ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῦ ξυνειθισμένου κομπωδεστέρα καὶ τοῦ ἀμέτρου κοσμιωτέρα ἐπιεικῶς ἐστι, φωτὶ δὲ καὶ ἡλίου μαρμαρυγαῖς ὑπερφυῶς πλήθει.

  [29] For it proudly reveals its mass and the harmony of its proportions, having neither excess nor deficiency, since it is both more pretentious than the buildings to which we are accustomed, and considerably more noble than those which are merely huge, and it abounds exceedingly in sunlight and in the reflection of the sun’s rays from the marble.

  [30] φαίης ἂν οὐκ ἔξωθεν καταλάμπεσθαι ἡλίῳ τὸν χῶρον, ἀλλὰ τὴν αἴγλην ἐν αὐτῷ φύεσθαι, τοσαύτη τις φωτὸς περιουσία ἐς τοῦτο δὴ τὸ ἱερὸν περικέχυται.

  [30] Indeed one might say that its interior is not illuminated from without by the sun, but that the radiance comes into being within it, such an abundance of light bathes this shrine.

  [31] καὶ τὸ μὲν τοῦ νεὼ πρόσωπον (εἴη δ᾽ ἂν αὐτοῦ τὰ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἥλιον, ἵνα δὴ τῶν θεῷ ἱερουργοῦσι τὰ ἄρρητα) τρόπῳ τοιῷδέ δεδημιούργηται.

  [31] And the face itself of the church (which would be the part which faces the rising sun, that portion of the building in which they perform the mysteries in worship of God) was constructed in the following manner.

  [32] οἰκοδομία τις ἐκ γῆς ἀνέχει, οὐκ ἐπ᾽ εὐθείας πεποιημένη, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκ τῶν πλαγίων ὑπεσταλμένη κατὰ βραχύ, καὶ κατὰ τὰ μέσα ὑποχωροῦσα, ἐπὶ σχῆμά τε κατὰ ἥμισυ τὸ στρογγύλον ἰοῦσα, ὅπερ οἱ περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα σοφοὶ ἡμικύλινδρον ὀνομάζουσιν, ἐς ὕψος ἀπότομον ἐπανέστηκεν.

  [32] A structure of masonry (oikodomia) is built up from the ground, not made in a straight line, but gradually curving inward on its flanks and receding at the middle, so that it forms the shape of half a circle, which those who are skilled in such matters call a half-cylinder (hêmikylindron); and so it rises precipitously to a heigh
t.

  [33] ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἔργου τούτου ὑπερβολὴ ἐς σφαίρας τεταρτημόριον ἀποκέκριται, ὕπερθέν τε μηνοειδές τι αὐτῇ ἕτερον τοῖς προσεχέσι τῆς οἰκοδομίας ἐπῆρται, τῇ μὲν εὐπρεπείᾳ θαυμάσιον, τῷ δὲ σφαλερῷ τῆς συνθέσεως δοκοῦντι εἶναι φοβερὸν ὅλως.

  [33] The upper part of this structure ends in the fourth part of a sphere (sphaira), and above it another crescent-shaped (mênoeides) structure rises, fitted to the adjoining parts of the building, marvellous in its grace, but by reason of the seeming insecurity of its composition altogether terrifying.

  [34] δοκεῖ γάρ πη οὐκ ἐν βεβαίῳ ἐπῃωρῆσθαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπικινδύνως τοῖς ἐνθάδε οὖσι μετεωρίζεσθαι. καίτοι διαφέροντως ἐν τῷ βεβαίῳ τῆς ἀσφαλείας ἐστήρικται.

  [34] For it seems somehow to float in the air on no firm basis, but to be poised aloft to the peril of those inside it. Yet actually it is braced with exceptional firmness and security.

  [35] τούτων δὲ δὴ ἐφ᾽ ἑκάτερα κίονες ἐπ᾽ ἐδάφους εἰσίν, οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ ]κατ᾽ εὐθὺ ἑστῶτες, ἀλλ᾽ εἴσω κατὰ σχῆμα τὸ ἡμίκυκλον ὥσπερ ἐν χορῷ ἀλλήλοις ὑπεξιστάμενοι, καὶ αὐτῶν ὑπεράνωθεν οἰκοδόμημα μηνοειδὲς ἀποκρέμαται.