But alas! It turned out to be completely different. The local scholars did not teach anything else, and indeed could not teach, except grammar and poetry, and even those were taught superficially; As for rhetoric and philosophy, as well as other sciences, which should be primarily studied and known by everyone, they did not even know what these sciences were or whether they existed. All this greatly saddened and troubled him, however, in his own business, because he had abandoned his native land, laughed at the love of his parents, paid no attention to their tears, crossed such a long, dangerous, and stormy sea, measured (with his feet) such a vast expanse of the continent, and put his life on nothing. And why were all these sacrifices offered to them? In order to receive for all this such a brilliant reward as the declensions of nouns and adjectives, the conjugations and inclinations of verbs, and the stories of how the daughter of Tyndare was kidnapped, how the city of Priam perished after a long siege because of a woman, how the children of Oedipus quarreled and killed each other, and about many other things, that the host of poets (ὁ ποιητικός χόρος) took liberties of art, he invented and fabulously, chasing pleasure with all his might, and caring very little for the truth. In addition, the thought of returning to his homeland haunted him, and he would immediately carry it out if he saw any possibility, under the same circumstances in which he was, there was not the slightest possibility of it, for it was necessary to go on foot again to Anea; meanwhile, he had so little means of subsistence that not only would he not have enough for his further journey by land and sea, but he would not have had enough for a full three days with the most scanty and miserable food, without outside support and help, which was not foreseen from anywhere. All these difficulties kept him in Nicaea, as in some casemate.

Not long after this [9] God returned to the Romans (Greeks) the great city of the Byzantines (τό μέγα βυζαντίων ἅστυ), taking it from the Latins. And so, as many felt a strong need for the sciences at that time, and Acropolites,10 who surpassed others in his learning, was greatly concerned about this, grieved in soul, and expressed his readiness to help this matter to the best of his ability; then the king released him from the affairs of state and gave his consent to his desire to help (the cause of education). And so he (the Acropolitan) sat down (καθὶζει διδάσκαλον) as a teacher, ready to serve anyone who would listen, and began to explain the labyrinths of Aristotle, — so I call him (Aristotle) the twists and turns (στροφὰς καὶ πλοκὰς), with which he binds his writings like a net, and thus makes it difficult to understand them, as well as Euclid and Nicomachus, precisely the theorems which they expounded: the first in geometry, and the second in arithmetic. Not a few people flocked to him, carried away by the love of science. Among the others, he (the author) also came to him, the youngest of all in years, but not inferior to any of his elders in zeal for the assimilation of what was taught (μαθήματος). But when the teacher, having sufficiently explained the syllogistic and analytics, before ascending to the second stage of Aristotelian philosophy, decided to introduce his listeners into the field of rhetoric; then with the author, who was so good at those sciences, something quite different happened here: in the writing exercises, in which the writers had to show their ability for works of this kind, everyone turned out to be better than he and he could not surpass anyone. The reason was that, being extremely fond of Peripatetic philosophy, devoting himself to it with all his soul and adoring (ἐκθειάζιον) Aristotle more than all other philosophers, he was less concerned with rhetoric and did not care to express and write eloquently (κεκομησευμένα ἐξαγγελλειν καὶ ρητορεύειν), which is considered necessary for a good writer (λογογράφος). All this, however, he despised only so long as his companions were silent, and did not allow themselves to look down on him and laugh at him as incapable of this kind of occupation: and when they began to speak, and evidently began to mock him, and there was endless talk about it; He could not tolerate such an opinion of himself, or rather such contempt for himself,11 since he was exceedingly ambitious and jealous of his honor (ζηλότυπος), and resolved to devote himself to this occupation, but he did not choose for his teachers those who are they (his companions), these distorters of all that is good in rhetoric, and chiefly of that which is especially worthy of reading, what is in it that is Attic, noble, and truly Hellenic; no, he chose as his teachers the most famous of the ancient rhetoricians, the most so to speak, inventors and fathers of this (rhetorical) art. Soon afterwards he became a completely different man, so that not only did they cease to laugh at him and despise him among his comrades, but, on the contrary, he began to compose such a work that it seemed sufficient for many to imitate him instead of any other model. And whether he really succeeded in his efforts in imitating true models (τατς ἀληθειαις), in producing in the field of writing something worthy of attention (λόγου), let those who wish to solve this question judge by the present book, I mean this collection (πυκτίδα) at hand.

And that the number of his works is very limited, different persons give different reasons to explain this, each explaining it in his own way; Those who are briefly acquainted with the author know that this was due to the fact that he had very little free time: he began his studies (in the sciences) in the 26th year [12] and finished in the 33rd year, and on the one hand he was prevented from continuing his work further by fears for his life, aroused in him, as in many others, innovations in dogmas, and church troubles [13], on the other hand, care for souls, to which, after the cessation of the above-mentioned fears, he was attracted and obliged, while he intended to lead a carefree life, which is characteristic of a philosopher or a free man. Having ascended the highest of the patriarchal thrones,[14] or rather, having been drawn into this throne, all this was done to him against his will, and moreover in a time of troubles, thanks to the madness (μανιας) of the schismatics,[15] and a miserable time as ever, in which many were subjected to great calamities, thanks to the freedom from all constraints granted to all: each at that time sought his own pleasure, honor and gain, and not of one's neighbor, and not of that which was pleasing to God; The Church, on the other hand, was full of all kinds of turmoil and disorder — everyone wanted to rule and prescribe laws in it, but no one wanted to be subordinate and obey the divine laws, so that the well-known saying of Plato was fully applicable to its situation at that time, and turned out to be absolutely true, that "freedom is not useful for everyone, but slavery and life in fear until old age and death are useful for some" [16].  — in the midst of such confusion in affairs — (συγχύσει πραγμάτων), placed in the very center of it, having fallen from a calm and happy life into the sphere of power, as if on some attack, bound by irresistible necessity and having a soul constantly depressed (by all this) — he could not produce the noble offspring of the word: and how from the most fleet-footed man all agility is suddenly taken away, if iron fetters were put on his legs, for the sake of safety, so the author, against his will, had to stop his literary pursuits. This is the reason why he does not have many literary works. To this must be added a variety of bodily ailments, especially headaches, which tormented him and drove him to extremes, the exclusive use of water alone, as a result of his abhorrence of wine from the day of his birth, and the work of copying the works of ancient scholars (σοφῶν). He was a poor man, but he loved books like the zenitz of his eye; In addition, he had a fairly good handwriting (περὶ τὸ γράφειν μετρίως ἀγαθάς ἔχων τὰς χείρας), and since he had no money to acquire these precious treasures, he acquired them later and became such a copyist of books as hardly anyone else was, I mean of those engaged in written work.

And that not all of his works are finished with the same care, this, I think, goes without saying. What we notice in artisans, the same happens here: how their subsequent works are better than the previous ones, due to the skill acquired by the exercise; so it is with writers and rhetoricians that the works of mature years (γήρα) are more perfect than the original ones (ἐξ ἀρχῆς). For this reason, of the works that are more carefully finished, they should be attributed to mature age, and not to young years and inexperience.

As for the verbal forms (εἴδη τοῦ λόγου), he did not pursue the refined, nor did he go to the other extreme, nor did he write, as they write everywhere and everywhere, no, he was very picky and took care of the choice of expressions (σχημάτων); Most of all he was anxious about clarity, sublimity, nobility, austerity (style) and good rules of morality (τῶν τοῦ ἤθους καλῶν), in conjunction with a certain euphony and combination (of words) that is not quite ordinary (vulgar) [17], But I will not speak further, so as not to stretch my word on the one hand, and on the other, so as not to seem partial to this person, and this is the same as to himself; for I consider him to be myself, and I call him so, because of the very close unity between us, which gives me the right to speak and think in this way with complete certainty (ἀσφαλῶχς). And if anyone says anything good about him, or on the contrary, then I refer to myself, both praise and blame, so that with such an attitude towards him, it would be most appropriate for me to remain silent: the collection itself, as I have already said above, will point out to the readers its creator, so that the rest will be left to him. Whatever data he gives for judgment, let such a sentence be pronounced.

Letter to the Great Logothete Theodore Musalon

155. THE SAME.

When you hear what I am doing, you will call it, I think, ambition, and call it so: for it is not only my feeling, but that of all men, and in general of every one of those who belong to the common race; and this is the feeling only of the ageless, as Thucydides said. What am I doing? My letters, which I have received from everywhere, which I have collected as far as possible, I give to be copied in elegant handwriting, desiring to have them gathered together in the pictia, without neglecting, however, any of the works that will be for the benefit of posterity, for I myself anticipate when I tell my truth about them before anyone else speaks, ahead of him; you know the custom that it is natural to love children, even if by coincidence they are the most miserable of all, and according to custom it is necessary to yield all who follow their natural qualities; I still intend to collect all the others now and give them to the copyist; whether I should not join those lonely ones to my sisters,[18] with the help of whom I have been able to enrich myself with your most skilful mind; send them, like the rest of the special letters (a prosperous family delivers to itself), send them to us, at the same time cleansing each of them of frivolity and making it pleasant for us to deliver their own letters; in any case, if you do not send them, you will not keep them at all at home, but you will either drop them into water, or throw them into fire, or cut them into small pieces; but if they do not stand out in any way, but you see in them for reasons of frugality something worthy of salvation, how much more then send them away; and if you send them, you will not lose them, but the best of them will be returned to you in one way or another, when I approach and examine and promote the value of the letters that are in the midst of errors.

Translated by V.A. Smetanin, based on: Eustratiades S., metropolites Leontopoleos. Gregoriou tou Cyprou oicoumenicou patriarchou epistolai cai mythoi. En Alexandreia: Ec tou patriarchicou typograph., 1910. 149, № 155. 1—27.

Letter to Emperor Andronicus Palaiologos the Elder. [19]

It was the twentieth day of December, when we arrived in the royal city, where we met with an honorable reception. Up to this time things had gone well; but then how many misfortunes, horrors, and troubles suddenly befell us! And all because many were stunned by the gramata compiled by Weccus and called by him the encyclical, the gramata, which he sent in a huge number of lists to distribute to everyone, if possible. The city was divided into two camps: some were ready to defend it; in the opinion of others, he himself must defend himself in his audacity. These latter find that while everything is enjoying deep silence, the man who has done so much harm to both souls and bodies does not want to live quietly, but on the contrary ventures new audacity, summons courts and judges, and cries out for vengeance: when it would be time for him to hide under the ground, and not dare to look into the face of people. Moreover, it is not in fact that he is bothering about the trial, nor appealing to it, but under its cover he is obviously trying to stir up trouble in the church—it is not enough for him to grieve that it has already suffered much because of him, as everyone knows—he is trying to prolong the storm in it (which he himself has raised). And that he really thinks about this, this can be seen from the gramata itself, which he sent here. How, then, can he not do him justice, place him nearer to the capital, give him freedom of action, and furnish him with the best material means [20] that he has hitherto enjoyed! Surely he will make of all this the same use for the common good as he did before.

How all this affects me, anyone who knows me will easily understand. As for the disturbances caused by the impious hosts of the enemies of the Church, who rise up against it from the other side (ἐτέρωθεν) [21] to the city, and through it to me, who am deeply contrite, as it should be, for their followers (most of them from the common people), I have no strength to write and report about this to Your Royal piety, partly out of sorrow, partly because of the impossibility of enumerating everything, the tricks they commit (πονηρευμάτων). These people, who have received a freedom of action far beyond all measure, both in the squares and in the dark corners, and, in a word, everywhere without a scruple of conscience, talk to all those they meet and those who cross them, evaluating both the leaders and the subordinates, and, in short, all those who do not want to be on the same side with them. If someone happens to fall ill, they forcibly break into the house, besiege the sick person and force him against his will to take them for spiritual fathers; In the event of death, they are priests, singers, and burials (ἐνταφιαστὰς), so that the dying, according to them, at least at the end of life, may become pious and Orthodox, and will not die in wickedness (κακοπιστία). Seeing all this, many of the priests who were formerly on the same side with us have fallen into competition (since it brings them great advantage, for they both ask and receive a great deal) and pass over to them, adding that they have already enjoyed their communion with us (πολλὰ χαίρειν εἰπόντες τῆ μεθ' ἡμῶν κοινωνία). In consequence of this, it seems to me that it would be good to convene the proposed council as soon as possible, even at the appointed time, so that the evil does not have time to spread through the crowd and so that the salvation of the deceived does not become too difficult.

Hitherto we have spoken of ecclesiastical misfortunes (δυστυχήματα), which greatly disturb my soul; but there are also adversities external (ἐξωτερικὰ, i.e., in relation to the church) and political; but of them, I will say before God, I find it difficult to speak, lest it should seem that I am using them as a convenient material for tragedy, and wish to disturb and grieve my hearers: however, I cannot be completely silent about this in the assumption that perhaps (ἴσως) some kind of medicine will be found in him who has the opportunity to heal, and perhaps the statement will be imputed to the truth of those who have declared.

There are many employees at court; but of others I prefer to keep silent, since I cannot say anything certain: but I will only speak of the stewards of the beasts of burden and the beasts of burden, and of those who are in charge of the flocks in general, of Cimpus, Zira, Nicetas, Parechotes, and Melia, who seized the region from Kallioupolis to Gana for the nourishment of these flocks. These persons, taking from everyone and everyone who was more due, built for themselves whole warehouses of wheat and wheat. And how they take care of the flocks, the flocks themselves testify to this by their appearance. For this, if anyone needs to buy grain, he can always get from them a hundred and two hundred measures, so that in the essence of the matter they are not at all bailiffs for horses and mules, but grain merchants, who buy cheaply and sell (this commodity) to others. They are also jealous of those who are in charge of the meal for the royal table. And they collect not as much as is necessary for this meal, but much more, in order to resell to the side what will be superfluous for the kitchen. Where is the evidence for all this? Among many others, here is one that has recently become known to me. When the camp of Your God-loving Imperial Majesty was near Lampsacus, these persons (in charge of the royal meal) penetrated as far as Kios, Triglena, Elegma, and still more remote regions, extorting and seizing birds, piglets, and other edible animals from the villagers. Justice would demand that orders be sent out everywhere which would put an end to this shameless extortion once and for all, or, if this could not be done, at least to determine exactly how much the demanders had a right to demand for the king, and how much the givers were obliged to give.