Εὐσεβία δέ, περὶ ἧς ὁ λόγος, παῖς μὲν ὑπάτου γέγονε, γαμετὴ δέ ἐστι βασιλέως ἐνδρείου, σώφρονος, συνετοῦ, δικαίου, χρηστοῦ καὶ πρᾴου καὶ μεγαλοψύχου, [B] ὃς ἐπειδὴ πατρῴαν οὖσαν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀνεκτήσατο, ἀφελόμενος τοῦ βίᾳ λαβόντος, γάμου τε ἐδεῖτο πρὸς παίδων γένεσιν, οἳ κληρονομήσουσι τῆς τιμῆς καὶ τῆς ἐξουσίας, ταύτην ἀξίαν ἔκρινε τῆς κοινωνίας γεγονὼς ἤδη σχεδόν τι τῆς οἰκουμένης ἁπάσης κύριος. καίτοι πῶς ἄν τις μείζονα μαρτυρίαν ἐπιζητήσειε τῆσδε; οὐ μόνον περὶ τῆς εὐγενείας αὐτῆς, [C] ὑπὲρ δὲ ἁπάντων ἁπλῶς, ὅσα χρῆν οἶμαι τὴν βασιλεῖ τοσούτῳ συνιοῦσαν, καθάπερ φερνὴν οἴκοθεν ἐπιφερομένην, κομίζειν ἀγαθά, παιδείαν ὀρθήν, σύνεσιν ἐμμελῆ, ἀκμὴν καὶ ὥραν σώματος καὶ κάλλος τοσοῦτον, ὥστε ἀποκρύπτεσθαι τᾶς ἄλλας παρθένους, καθάπερ οἶμαι περὶ τῇ σελήνῃ πληθούσῃ οἱ διαφανεῖς ἀστέρες καταυγαζόμενοι κρύπτουσι τὴν μορφὴν. ἓν μὲν γὰρ τούτων οὐδὲν(517) ἐξαρκεῖν δοκεῖ πρὸς κοινωνίαν βασιλέως, πάντα δὲ ἅμα, [D] ὥσπερ θεοῦ τινος ἀγαθῷ βασιλεῖ καλὴν καὶ σώφρονα πλάττοντος τὴν νύμφην, εἰς ταὐτὸ συνεληλυθότα πόρρωθεν καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν ὀμμάτων ἐφελκυσάμενα μάλα ὄλβιον ἦγε τὸν νυμφίον. κάλλος μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ γένους βοηθείας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν οἶμαι στερόμενον οὐδὲ ἰδιώτην ἀκόλαστον ἰσχύει πείθειν τὴν γαμήλιον ἀνάψαι λαμπάδα, ἄμφω δὲ ἅμα συνελθόντα γάμον μὲν ἧρμοσε πολλάκις, ἀπολειπόμενα δὲ [110] τῆς ἐκ τῶν τρόπων ἁρμονίας καὶ χάριτος οὐ λίαν ἐφάνη ζηλωτά. (Now Eusebia, the subject of my speech, was the daughter of a consul, and is the consort of an Emperor who is brave, temperate, wise, just, virtuous, mild and high‐souled, who, when he acquired the throne that had belonged to his ancestors, and had won it back from him who had usurped it by violence, and desired to wed that he might beget sons to inherit his honour and power, deemed this lady worthy of his alliance, when he had already become master of almost the whole world. And indeed why should one search for stronger evidence than this? Evidence, I mean, not only of her native nobility, but of all those combined gifts which she who is united to so great an Emperor ought to bring with her from her home as a dowry, wit and wisdom, a body in the flower of youth, and beauty so conspicuous as to throw into the shade all other maidens beside, even as, I believe, the radiant stars about the moon at the full are outshone and hide their shape.(518) For no single one of these endowments is thought to suffice for an alliance with an Emperor, but all together, as though some god were fashioning for a virtuous Emperor a fair and modest bride, were united in her single person and, attracting not his eyes alone, brought from afar that bridegroom blest of heaven. For beauty alone, if it lacks the support of birth and the other advantages I have mentioned, is not enough to induce even a licentious man, a mere citizen, to kindle the marriage torch, though both combined have brought about many a match, but when they occur without sweetness and charm of character they are seen to be far from desirable.)