第7巻 第31章

Greek Ἐν τούτῳ δέ τινες ἐπίθεσιν ἐπὶ βασιλέα Ἰουστινιανὸν ἐβουλεύσαντο. οἵπερ ὅπως τε ἐς τὸ βούλευμα τοῦτο κατέστησαν καὶ τρόπῳ δὴ ὅτῳ ἀποκρουσθέντες οὐδαμῆ ἐς τὸ ἔργον ἀφίκοντο,

Dewing At this time certain men formed a plot to assail the Emperor Justinian. And I shall now set forth how these men came to undertake this plot and the manner in which they were frustrated and never came to the accomplishment of their purpose.

Greek αὐτίκα δηλώσω. Ἀρταβάνῃ Γόνθαριν καθελόντι τὸν τύραννον, ὥσπερ μοι ἐν τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν λόγοις ἐρρήθη, ἐξαισία τις ἐπιθυμία ἐγένετο Πρεϊέκταν τὴν βασιλέως ἀδελφιδῆν, ἣν εἶχεν ἐγγυητήν,

Dewing Artabanes, after slaying the tyrant Gontharis, as told in the preceding narrative,⁠ conceived an immoderate desire to take to wife the emperor's niece Preïecta, who was betrothed to him.

Greek γυναῖκα ποιήσασθαι. ὅπερ καὶ αὐτῇ βουλομένῃ ὡς μάλιστα ἦν, οὐκ ἔρωτι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐνταῦθα ἠγμένῃ, ἀλλ’ ὅτι οἱ χάριτας ὡμολόγει πολλὰς ἅτε τισαμένῳ μὲν τὸν Ἀρεοβίνδου τοῦ ἀνδρὸς φόνον, αὐτὴν δὲ ἀνασωσαμένῳ καὶ ἀναρπάσαντι, αἰχμάλωτόν τε οὖσαν καὶ οὐκ ἐς μακρὰν τῷ τυράννῳ Γονθάριδι μέλλουσαν οὔτι έκουσίαν ἐς εὐνὴν ξυνελθεῖν.

Dewing Now she, too, desired this very ardently, not that she was led to this by love for the man, but because she acknowledged a heavy debt of gratitude to him, seeing that he had not only avenged the murder of her husband Areobindus, but had also rescued and snatched her from peril when she was a captive and destined after no long time to become the unwilling consort of the tyrant Gontharis.

Greek ἐπεί τε ἄμφω ταῦτα ἤρεσκε, Πρεϊέκταν μὲν Ἀρταβάνης βασιλεῖ ἔπεμψεν, αὐτὸς δέ, καίπερ Λιβύης ὅλης στρατηγὸς καταστάς, ἔχρῃζε βασιλέως, ἀναπλάσας τινὰς οὐχ ὑγιεῖς σκήψεις,

Dewing Since, then, both wanted this, Artabanes sent Preïecta to the emperor, while he himself, though appointed to the post of General of all Libya, invented sundry untruthful pretexts to induce the emperor to summon him to Byzantium.

Greek ὅπως αὐτὸν ἐς Βυζάντιον μεταπέμποιτο. ἐνῆγε γὰρ ἐς τοῦτο αὐτὸν ἡ τοῦ γάμου ἐλπίς, ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἐνθένδε ἀγαθὰ ὑποφαίνουσα καὶ τῆς βασιλείας οὐ πόρρω αὐτὸν τὸ λοιπὸν ἔσεσθαι.

Dewing For he was led on to do this by the hope of this marriage, which suggested to him many blessings that would flow from the union and, in particular, that he would thereafter not be far from the throne.

Greek οἱ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι εὐημερίας ἐκ τοῦ παραλόγου ἐπιλαβόμενοι οὐ δύνανται τὴν διάνοιαν ἐνταῦθα ἑστάναι, ἀλλὰ καραδοκοῦσι τὰ πρόσω, καὶ ταῖς ἐλπίσιν ἐπίπροσθεν ἀεὶ χωροῦσιν, ἕως καὶ τῆς οὐ δέον ὑπαρξάσης αὐτοῖς εὐδαιμονίας στερήσονται. Βασιλεὺς μέντοι τὴν δέησιν ἐπιτελῆ ἐποίει καὶ τὸν Ἀρταβάνην ἐς Βυζάντιον μετεπέμπετο,

Dewing For when men lay hold upon prosperity unexpectedly, their minds cannot remain stable, but in their hopes they ever keep going forward, until they are deprived even of the felicity that has been undeservedly theirs. However, the emperor fulfilled his request

Greek ἕτερον ἀντικαταστήσας Λιβύης στρατηγόν, ᾗπέρ μοι δεδιήγηται.

Dewing and summoned Artabanes to Byzantium, while he appointed in his place another General of Libya, as has been related above.⁠

Greek γενόμενον δὲ τὸν Ἀρταβάνην ἐν Βυζαντίῳ ὁ μὲν δῆμος τῶν πεπραγμένων ἐθαύμαζε καὶ ἄλλως ἠγάπα.

Dewing Now when Artabanes reached Byzantium, the common people admired him for his achievements and loved him for his other qualities.

Greek ἦν γὰρ εὐμήκης τε το σῶμα καὶ καλός, τό τε ἦθος ἐλευθέριος καὶ ὀλίγα ἄττα φθεγγόμενος. βασιλεὺς δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα ἐτετιμήκει.

Dewing For he was both tall of stature and handsome, of a noble character and little given to speech. And the emperor had honoured him in a very unusual manner.

Greek στρατηγόν τε γὰρ τῶν ἐν Βυζαντίῳ στρατιωτῶν καὶ ἄρχοντα φοιδεράτων καταστησάμενος ἐς τῶν ὑπάτων ἀνεγράψατο τὸ ἀξίωμα.

Dewing For he had appointed him general of the troops in Byzantium and commander of the foederati,⁠ as well as clothing him with the dignity of consul.

Greek τῇ μέντοι Πρεϊέκτᾳ ξυνοικίζεσθαι οὐδαμῆ ἴσχυσεν. ἦν γὰρ αὐτῷ γυνὴ πρότερον ξυγγενής τε οὖσα καὶ ἐκ παιδὸς αὐτῷ ἐς γάμον ἐλθοῦσα.

Dewing But as for Preïecta, Artabanes was quite unable to marry her. For he had already a wife who was a relative of his and had been married to him from childhood.

Greek ἣν δὴ πολλῷ ἔμπροσθεν ἀποσεισάμενος αὐτὸς ἔτυχε τῶν τινος ἴσως παραπεπτωκυίας αἰτίας, ὧν δὴ ἕνεκα γυναῖκας ἀνδράσι προσκρούειν ξυμβαίνει.

Dewing This wife he had, for his part, repudiated long before, doubtless because one of those causes had developed such as lead to the estrangement of man and wife.

Greek αὕτη, τέως μὲν τῷ Ἀρταβάνῃ οὐκ εὖ καθεστήκει τὰ πράγματα, οἴκοι καθῆστο ἐν πάσῃ ἀπραγμοσύνῃ, τὰ παρόντα σιωπῇ φέρουσα. ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἀρταβάνης ἤδη λαμπρός τε τοῖς ἔργοις καὶ μέγας ἐγεγόνει ταῖς τύχαις, οὐκ ἐνεγκοῦσα ἡ γυνὴ ἔτι τὴν ἀτιμίαν ἐς Βυζάντιον ἦλθεν. ἱκέτις τε γενομένη τῆς βασιλίδος ἀπολαβεῖν τὸν ἄνδρα ἠξίου.

Dewing She, for her part, as long as the affairs of Artabanes were not prosperous, had remained at home without causing any trouble, bearing her lot in silence. But when Artabanes had now become illustrious by his deeds and great by his good fortune, the woman could no longer bear her dishonour and came to Byzantium. There, making herself a suppliant of the empress, she demanded the right to take back her husband.

Greek ἡ δὲ βασιλὶς ʽἐπεφύκει γὰρ ἀεὶ δυστυχούσαις γυναιξὶ προσχωρεῖν’ ἀκουσίῳ αὐτὴν τῷ Ἀρταβάνῃ ὡς μάλιστα ξυνοικεῖν ἔγνω, τήν τε Πρεϊέκταν Ἰωάννης ὁ Πομπηίου τοῦ Ὑπατίου γυναῖκα γαμετὴν ἐποιήσατο.

Dewing Whereupon the empress, whose nature always led her to assist unfortunate women, decided to force Artabanes to accept her as his wife, although he rebelled violently, while John the son of Pompeius and nephew of Hypatia made Preïecta his wedded wife.

Greek ταύτην Ἀρταβάνης τὴν ξυμφορὰν οὐκ ἤνεγκε πρᾴως, ἀλλ’ ἠγριαίνετό τε καὶ ἀγαθὰ εἰργασμένον Ῥωμαίους ἔλεγε τόσα... γυναῖκα μὲν τήν οἱ αὐτῷ κατηγγυημένην ἑκόντα ἑκοῦσαν ἀγαγέσθαι οὐδεὶς ἐῴη, τῇ δὲ πάντων αὐτῷ δυσμενεστάτῃ οὔσῃ πλησιάζειν ἀναγκάζηται τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον· ὃ δὴ μάλιστα ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴν ἀνιᾶν πέφυκεν.

Dewing This calamity Artabanes did not bear lightly, but he became furious and said that one who had served the Romans so well . . . was now refused permission to lead in marriage the woman to whom he was betrothed and who shared with him a common desire to consummate the marriage, but he was, on the contrary, compelled for ever to share the couch of the one woman in the world most hateful to him — a situation which is bound inevitably to harass a man's soul.

Greek ὥστε ἀμέλει οὐ πολλῷ ὕστερον ἐπειδὴ τάχιστα ἡ βασιλὶς ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἠφάνιστο, ταύτην ἀσμένως ἀπεπέμψατο τὴν γυναῖκα εὐθύς.

Dewing Consequently, a little later, as soon as the empress had passed from this world, he, without further ado, promptly and joyfully sent this wife away.

Greek Ἐτύγχανε δὲ βασιλεῖ τὸν Γερμανὸν ἀνεψιὸν ὄντα Βοραΐδην ἀδελφὸν ἔχειν. οὗτος οὖν Βοραΐδης ὁ Γερμανοῦ ἀδελφὸς ἔναγχος ἐτετελευτήκει, τῶν χρημάτων τὰ πλεῖστα τῷ τε ἀδελφῷ καὶ παισὶ τοῖς ἐκείνου ἀπολιπών.

Dewing Now it happened that Germanus, who was nephew to the emperor, had a brother named Boraïdes. This Boraïdes, then, brother of Germanus, had recently died, leaving the most of his property to his brother and nephews.

Greek οὔσης δὲ αὐτῷ γυναικός τε καὶ παιδὸς μιᾶς, τοσαῦτα τὴν παῖδα ἐκέλευεν ἔχειν ὅσα ὁ νόμος ἠνάγκαζε. διὸ δὴ βασιλεὺς τῇ παιδὶ μᾶλλον ἀμύνειν ἠξίου· ὅπερ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα Γερμανὸν ἔδακνε.

Dewing And though he had a wife and one daughter, he directed that the daughter should have only as much as the law required. Because of this, the emperor chose to champion the daughter's cause, an act which irritated Germanus exceedingly.