“Now when the piers (_pinsoi_) had been finished, and the great columns, both those from Rome and the green ones, had been put in their position, the emperor left his noonday sleep and devoted himself to the work, and inspected, with Troilus, a count of the household, all the polishers (_lithoxooi_), stonecutters (_laotomoi_), carpenters (_tektonikoi_), and labourers (_oikodomoi_), promising them each week a nummus more, or as much as each might ask, above their fixed wages. He used to come to see how the work was proceeding, clad in a white linen garment, his head covered with a kerchief, and holding a stick in his hand. “And when they had raised the vaults (_apsides_) of the upper floor, those on the right and on the left, and had covered over these vaults, the emperor decreed that no miliarisia should be carried from the palace on Sundays. Now it was the third hour of the day, and Strategius ordered the men to go to their dinners. As Ignatius, the first _mechanikos_ of the builders whom I have mentioned above, came down, he left his son on the right-hand side of the upper floor, where he had been working, with strict orders to watch the workmen’s tools. He was a boy of about fourteen. As he was sitting there, a eunuch, clad in shining garments, and fair to look upon, like one sent from the palace, appeared to him and said, ‘What is the reason why the workmen do not quickly finish the work of God, but have left it and gone to eat?’ To him the boy answered, ‘At the earliest hour, my lord, they will be here.’ But he cried, ‘Go quickly and bring them.’ When the boy said that he was not to leave, lest the tools should disappear, the eunuch said, ‘Go quickly and summon them here, for I swear to thee, my son, by the Holy Wisdom, whose temple is now being built, I will not depart, since, by the command of the Word of God, I am to minister and guard here until you return.’ When he heard this, the boy quickly set out, leaving the angel of God as guard. And when he had got down, and gone to his father and the rest, he related everything in order; then the father took his son and led him to the emperor’s table. For the emperor was then dining in the oratory of St. John the Precursor, by the Horologium. When he heard the story, he summoned all his eunuchs, and showed each in turn to the boy. Then the boy calling out that he saw none like the one that had appeared, the emperor knew that it was an angel of the Lord who had addressed the boy, and this was made more clear, as the boy said that he was clothed in a white robe, his eyes glittering like fire; then the emperor praised God, saying, ‘God has accepted my temple.’ And as he had been wondering what name to call it, he named it S. Sophia, according to interpretation ‘Word of God.’ And the emperor took counsel with himself and said, ‘I will not allow the boy to return, so that the angel may guard it for ever, as he promised by his oath. For if the boy return, the angel will depart.’ Having