第2巻 第4章

Greek Τότε καὶ ὁ κομήτης ἀστὴρ ἐφάνη, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα ὅσον εὐμήκης ἀνὴρ μάλιστα, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ μείζων. καὶ αὐτοῦ τὸ μὲν πέρας πρὸς δύοντα ἥλιον, ἡ δὲ ἀρχὴ πρὸς ἀνίσχοντα ἦν,

Dewing At that time also the comet appeared, at first about as long as a tall man, but later much larger. And the end of it was toward the west and its beginning toward the east, and it followed behind the sun itself.

Greek αὐτῷ δὲ τῷ ἡλίῳ ὄπισθεν εἵπετο. ὁ μὲν. γὰρ ἐν αἰγοκέρῳ ἦν, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐν τοξότῃ. καὶ αὐτὸν οἱ μέν τινες ἐκάλουν ξιφίαν, ὅτι δὴ ἐπιμήκης τε ἦν καὶ λίαν ὀξεῖαν τὴν ἀρχὴν εἶχεν, οἱ δὲ πωγωνίαν, ἡμέρας τε πλείους ἢ τεσσαράκοντα ἐφάνη.

Dewing For the sun was in Capricorn and it was in Sagittarius. And some called it "the swordfish" because it was of goodly length and very sharp at the point, and others called it "the bearded star"; it was seen for more than forty days.

Greek οἱ μὲν οὖν ταῦτα σοφοὶ ἀλλήλοις ὡς ἥκιστα ὁμολογοῦντες ἄλλος ἄλλα προὔλεγον πρὸς τούτου δὴ τοῦ ἀστέρος σημαίνεσθαι· ἐγὼ δὲ ὅσα γενέσθαι ξυνηνέχθη γράφων δίδωμι ἑκάστῳ τοῖς ἀποβεβηκόσι τεκμηριοῦσθαι ᾗ βούλοιτο.

Dewing Now those who were wise in these matters disagreed utterly with each other, and one announced that one thing, another that another thing was indicated by this star; but I only write what took place and I leave to each one to judge by the outcome as he wishes.

Greek μέγα μὲν εὐθὺς στράτευμα Οὐννικόν, διαβάντες ποταμὸν Ἴστρον, ξυμπάσῃ Εὐρώπῃ ἐπέσκηψαν, γεγονὸς μὲν πολλάκις ἤδη, τοσαῦτα δὲ τὸ πλῆθος κακὰ ἢ τοιαῦτα τὸ μέγεθος οὐκ ἐνεγκὸν πώποτε τοῖς ταύτῃ ἀνθρώποις. ἐκ κόλπου γὰρ τοῦ Ἰονίου οἱ βάρβαροι οὗτοι ἅπαντα ἐφεξῆς ἐληίσαντο μέχρι ἐς τὰ Βυζαντίων προάστεια.

Dewing Straightway a mighty Hunnic army crossing the Danube River fell as a scourge upon all Europe, a thing which had happened many times before, but which had never brought such a multitude of woes nor such dreadful ones to the people of that land. For from the Ionian Gulf these barbarians plundered everything in order as far as the suburbs of Byzantium.

Greek καὶ φρούρια μὲν δύο καὶ τριάκοντα ἐν Ἰλλυριοῖς εἷλον, πόλιν δὲ τὴν Κασσάνδρειαν κατεστρέψαντο βίᾳ ʽἣν οἱ παλαιοὶ Ποτίδαιαν ἐκάλουν, ὅσα γε ἡμᾶς εἰδέναἰ οὐ τειχομαχήσαντες πρότερον.

Dewing And they captured thirty‑two fortresses in Illyricum, and they carried by storm the city of Cassandria (which the ancients called Potidaea, as far as we know), never having fought against walls before.

Greek καὶ τά τε χρήματα ἔχοντες αἰχμαλώτων τε μυριάδας δυοκαίδεκα ἀπαγόμενοι ἐπ’ οἴκου ἅπαντες ἀνεχώρησαν, οὐδενὸς σφίσιν ἐναντιώματος ἀπαντήσαντος.

Dewing And taking with them the money and leading away one hundred and twenty thousand captives, they all retired homeward without encountering any opposition.

Greek χρόνῳ τε τῷ ὑστέρῳ πολλάκις ἐνταῦθα γενόμενοι ἀνήκεστα ἐς Ῥωμαίους δεινὰ ἔδρασαν.

Dewing In later times too they often came there and brought upon the Romans irreparable calamity.

Greek οἳ δὴ καὶ ἐν Χερρονήσῳ τειχομαχήσαντες, βιασάμενοί τε τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ τείχους ἀμυνομένους καὶ διὰ τοῦ τῆς θαλάσσης ῥοθίου τὸν περίβολον ὑπερβάντες ὃς πρὸς κόλπῳ τῷ μέλανι καλουμένῳ ἐστίν, οὕτω τε ἐντὸς τῶν μακρῶν τειχῶν γεγενημένοι καὶ τοῖς ἐν Χερρονήσῳ Ῥωμαίοις ἀπροσδόκητοι ἐπιπεσόντες, ἔκτεινάν τε πολλοὺς καὶ ἠνδραπόδισαν σχεδὸν ἅπαντας.

Dewing This same people also assailed the wall of the Chersonesus, where they over­powered those who were defending themselves from the wall, and approaching through the surf of the sea, scaled the fortifications on the so‑called Black Gulf; thus they got within the long wall, and falling unexpectedly upon the Romans in the Chersonesus they slew many of them and made prisoners of almost all the survivors.

Greek ὀλίγοι δέ τινες καὶ διαβάντες τὸν μεταξὺ Σηστοῦ τε καὶ Ἀβύδου πορθμόν, ληισάμενοί τε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀσίας χωρία καὶ αὖθις ἐς Χερρόνησον ἀναστρέψαντες, ξὺν τῷ ἄλλῳ στρατῷ καὶ πάσῃ τῇ λείᾳ ἐπ’ οἴκου ἀπεκομίσθησαν.

Dewing Some few of them also crossed the strait between Sestus and Abydus, and after plundering the Asiatic country, they returned again to the Chersonesus, and with the rest of the army and all the booty betook themselves to their homes.

Greek ἐν ἑτέρᾳ τε εἰσβολῇ τούς τε Ἰλλυριοὺς καὶ Θεσσαλοὺς ληισάμενοι, τειχομαχεῖν μὲν ἐνεχείρησαν ἐν Θερμοπύλαις, τῶν δὲ ἐν τοῖς τείχεσι φρουρῶν καρτερώτατα ἀμυνομένων διερευνώμενοι τὰς περιόδους παρὰ δόξαν τὴν ἀτραπὸν εὗρον ἣ φέρει εἰς τὸ ὄρος ὃ ταύτῃ ἀνέχει.

Dewing In another invasion they plundered Illyricum and Thessaly and attempted to storm the wall at Thermopylae; and since the guards on the walls defended them most valiantly, they sought out the ways around and unexpectedly found the path which leads up the mountain which rises there.⁠

Greek οὕτω τε σχεδὸν ἅπαντας Ἕλληνας πλὴν Πελοποννησίων διεργασάμενοι ἀπεχώρησαν.

Dewing In this way they destroyed almost all the Greeks except the Peloponnesians, and then withdrew.

Greek Πέρσαι δὲ οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον τὰς σπονδὰς λύσαντες ἔργα Ῥωμαίους τοὺς ἑῴους εἰργάσαντο ἅπερ ἐγὼ αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα δηλώσω.

Dewing And the Persians not long afterwards broke off the treaty and wrought such harm to the Romans of the East as I shall set forth immediately

Greek Βελισάριος ἐπεὶ τῶν Γότθων τε καὶ Ἰταλιωτῶν βασιλέα Οὐίττιγιν καθελὼν ζῶντα ἐς Βυζάντιον ἤνεγκεν. ὅπως δὲ ὁ Περσῶν στρατὸς ἐς γῆν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐσέβαλεν ἐρῶν ἔρχομαι.

Dewing Belisarius, after humbling Vittigis, the king of the Goths and Italians, brought him alive to Byzantium. And I shall now proceed to tell how the army of the Persians invaded the land of the Romans.

Greek ἡνίκα Χοσρόου πολεμησείοντος Ἰουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ᾔσθετο, παραίνεσίν τε ποιεῖσθαί τινα καὶ τῆς ἐγχειρήσεως αὐτὸν ἀπαγαγεῖν ἤθελεν.

Dewing When the Emperor Justinian perceived that Chosroes was eager for war, he wished to offer him some counsel and to dissuade him from the undertaking.

Greek ἐτύγχανε δέ τις ἐς Βυζάντιον ἥκων ἐκ Δάρας πόλεως, Ἀναστάσιος ὄνομα, δόξαν ἐπὶ ξυνέσει ἔχων, ὃς καὶ τὴν ἐν Δάρας ἔναγχος γενομένην τυραννίδα καταλελύκει.

Dewing Now it happened that a certain man had come to Byzantium from the city of Daras, Anastasius by name, well known for his sagacity; he it was who had broken the tyranny which had been established recently in Daras.

Greek τοῦτον οὖν τὸν Ἀναστάσιον παρὰ Χοσρόην Ἰουστινιανὸς ἔπεμψε γράμματα γράψας·

Dewing Justinian therefore wrote a letter and sent it by this Anastasius to Chosroes;

Greek ἐδήλου δὲ ἡ γραφὴ τάδε “Ξυνετῶν μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐστὶ καὶ οἷς τὰ ἐς τὸ θεῖον ἱκανῶς ἤσκηται πολέμου φυομένας αἰτίας, ἄλλως τε καὶ πρὸς ἄνδρας τὰ μάλιστα φίλους, σθένει παντὶ ἀποτέμνεσθαι· ἀξυνέτων δὲ καὶ τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ῥᾷστα ποιουμένων πολέμια μάχης τε καὶ ταραχῆς ἀφορμὰς οὐδαμῆ οὔσας ἐπιτεχνᾶσθαι.

Dewing and the message of the letter was as follows: "It is the part of men of discretion and those by whom divine things are treated with due respect, when causes of war arise, and in particular against men who are in the truest sense friends, to exert all their power to put an end to them; but it belongs to foolish men and those who most lightly bring on themselves the enmity of Heaven to devise occasions for war and insurrection which have no real existence.

Greek εἰρήνην μὲν γὰρ καταλύσασιν ἐς πόλεμον ἰέναι οὐδὲν πρᾶγμά ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων τὰ πονηρότατα καὶ τοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀτιμοτάτοις εὔκολα τίθεσθαι ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων νενόμικε φύσις.

Dewing Now to destroy peace and enter upon war is such as to make the basest activities easy for the most dishonourable men.

Greek πόλεμον δὲ κατὰ γνώμην διαθεμένοις αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν εἰρήνην χωρεῖν ἀνθρώποις οἶμαι οὐ ῥᾴδιον εἶναι.

Dewing But when they have brought about war according to their intention, to return again to peace is for men, I think, not easy.

Greek καίτοι σὺ μὲν ἡμῖν γράμματα οὐκ ἐπίτηδες γεγραμμένα ἐπικαλεῖς, ταῦτά τε γνώμῃ αὐτονόμῳ τανῦν ἑρμηνεύειν ἐσπούδακας, οὐχ ᾗπερ ἡμεῖς διανοηθέντες γεγράφαμεν, ἀλλ’ ᾗ σοι τὰ βεβουλευμένα ἐπιτελεῖν οὐκ ἄνευ τινὸς παραπετάσματος ἐφιεμένῳ ξυνοίσειν δοκεῖ.

Dewing And yet thou chargest me with writing letters which were not written with any dark purpose, and thou has now made haste to interpret these with arbitrary judgment, not in the sense in which we conceived them when we wrote them, but in a way which will be of advantage to thee in thy eagerness to carry out thy plans not without some pretext.

Greek ἡμῖν δὲ πάρεστιν Ἀλαμούνδαρον δεικνύναι τὸν σὸν γῆν ἔναγχος καταδραμόντα τὴν ἡμετέραν ἔργα ἐν σπονδαῖς διαπεπρᾶχθαι ἀνήκεστα, χωρίων ἁλώσεις, χρημάτων ἁρπαγάς, ἀνθρώπων φόνους τε καὶ ἀνδραποδισμοὺς τοσούτων τὸ πλῆθος, ὑπὲρ ὧν σε οὐκ αἰτιᾶσθαι ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ’ ἀπολογεῖσθαι δεήσει.

Dewing But for us it is possible to point out that thy Alamoundaras recently overran our land and performed outrageous adjust in time of peace, to wit, the capture of towns, the seizure of property, the massacre and enslavement of such a multitude of men, concerning which it will be thy duty not to blame us, but to defend thyself.

Greek τὰ γὰρ τῶν ἠδικηκότων ἐγκλήματα αἱ πράξεις, οὐχ αἱ διάνοιαι, δηλοῦσι τοῖς πέλας. ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων τοιούτων ὄντων ἡμεῖς μὲν ἔχεσθαι καὶ ὣς τῆς εἰρήνης ἐγνώκαμεν, σὲ δὲ πολεμησείοντα ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους ἀκούομεν ἀναπλάττειν αἰτίας οὐδαμόθεν ἡμῖν προσηκούσας.

Dewing For the crimes of those who have done wrong are made after to their neighbours by their acts, not by their thoughts. But even with these things as they are, we have still decided to hold to peace, but we hear that thou in thy eagerness to make war upon the Romans art fabricating accusations which do not belong to us at all.

Greek εἰκότως· οἱ μὲν γὰρ τὰ παρόντα περιστέλλειν ἐν σπουδῇ ἔχοντες καὶ σφόδρα ἐγκειμένας ἀποσείονται τὰς ἐπὶ τοὺς φίλους αἰτίας, οὓς δὲ ὁ τῆς φιλίας οὐκ ἀρέσκει θεσμός, καὶ τὰς οὐκ. οὔσας ἐφίενται πορίζεσθαι σκήψεις.

Dewing Natural enough, this; for while those who are eager to preserve the present order of things repel even those charges against their friends which are most pressing, those who are not satisfied with established friendships exert themselves to provide even pretexts which do not exist.

Greek ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν οὐδὲ τοῖς τυχοῦσιν ἀνθρώποις, μή τί γε δὴ βασιλεῦσι, πρέπειν ἂν δόξειε.

Dewing But this would not seem to be becoming even to ordinary men, much less to kings.

Greek σὺ δὲ τούτων ἀφέμενος σκόπει μὲν τὸ μέτρον τῶν ἑκατέρωθεν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον ἀπολουμένων καὶ τίς ἂν εἴη τῶν ξυμπεσουμένων τὴν αἰτίαν φέρεσθαι δίκαιος, λογίζου δὲ τοὺς ὅρκους, οὓς δὴ ὀμοσάμενός τε καὶ τὰ χρήματα κομισάμενος, εἶτα ἀτιμάσας οὐ δέον τέχναις τισὶν ἢ σοφίσμασι παραγαγεῖν οὐκ ἂν δύναιο· τὸ γὰρ θεῖον κρεῖσσον ἢ ἐξαπατᾶσθαι πέφυκε πρὸς

Dewing But leaving aside these things do thou consider the number of those who will be destroyed on both sides in the course of the war, and consider well who will justly bear the blame for those things which will come to pass, and plane de upon the oaths which thou didst take when thou didst carry away the money, and consider that if, after that, thou wrongly dishonour them by some tricks or sophistries, thou wouldst not be able to pervert them; for Heaven is too mighty to be deceived by any man."

Greek πάντων ἀνθρώπων.” ταῦτα ἐπεὶ ὁ Χοσρόης ἀπενεχθέντα εἶδεν, ἐν μὲν τῷ αὐτίκα οὔτε τι ἀπεκρίνατο οὔτε τὸν Ἀναστάσιον ἀπεπέμψατο, ἀλλ’ αὐτοῦ μένειν ἠνάγκαζεν.

Dewing When Chosroes saw this message, he neither made any immediate answer nor did he dismiss Anastasius, but he compelled him to remain there. The Loeb Editor's Notes: 1 That is, the Saracens subject to the Romans and those subject to the Persians. ❦ 2 Cf. Book I.xxii.4. ❦ 3 The Huns placed a part of their force in the rear of the defenders of the pass, which lies between the sea and the mountains, sending them around by the same path, probably, as that used by Xerxes when he destroyed Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans; see Herod. VII.216‑218. ◂ previous next ▸ Images with borders lead to more information. The thicker the border, the more information. (Details here.) UP TO: Persian Wars Ancient Military History Military History Home Procopius Greek & Latin Texts LacusCurtius A page or image on this site is in the public domain ONLY if its URL has a total of one *asterisk. If the URL has two **asterisks, the item is copyright someone else, and used by permission or fair use. If the URL has none the item is © Bill Thayer. See my copyright page for details and contact information. Page updated: 14 Sep 20 Accessibility