betook themselves to their homes, and, as long as it was night, they
remained there quietly.

But on the following day at sunrise it became known to the people that
both men had quit the palace where they had been staying. So the whole
population ran to them, and they declared Hypatius emperor and prepared
to lead him to the market-place to assume the power. But the wife of
Hypatius, Mary, a discreet woman, who had the greatest reputation for
prudence, laid hold of her husband and would not let go, but cried out
with loud lamentation and with entreaties to all her kinsmen that the
people were leading him on the road to death. But since the throng
overpowered her, she unwillingly released her husband, and he by no will
of his own came to the Forum of Constantine, where they summoned him to
the throne; then since they had neither diadem nor anything else with
which it is customary for a king to be clothed, they placed a golden
necklace upon his head and proclaimed him Emperor of the Romans. By this
time the members of the senate were assembling,--as many of them as had
not been left in the emperor's residence,--and many expressed the
opinion that they should go to the palace to fight. But Origenes, a man
of the senate, came forward and spoke as follows: "Fellow Romans, it is
impossible that the situation which is upon us be solved in any way
except by war. Now war and royal power are agreed to be the greatest of
all things in the world. But when action involves great issues, it
refuses to be brought to a successful conclusion by the brief crisis of
a moment, but this is accomplished only by wisdom of thought and energy
of action, which men display for a length of time. Therefore if we
should go out against the enemy, our cause will hang in the balance, and
we shall be taking a risk which will decide everything in a brief space
of time; and, as regards the consequences of such action, we shall
either fall down and worship Fortune or reproach her altogether. For