and various other necessary items be brought here by a large fleet.
I shall also see to it that constant commercial traffic in these
items will be established by imperial decree. By land, all of Greece
will send to you horses and whatever other animals and supplies may
be useful. The emperor himself, who has not known of your great need
until now, as soon as he hears of your distress, will provide aid to
you in your great need. And I myself swear to carry out faithfully
what I have promised; and when I have finished these tasks I shall
certainly not be afraid to present myself here again to undertake the
labors of this siege. If you fear that I am leaving your camp
because of hunger, lo, my tents and my men shall remain here with you.
Although I am leaving them for a while, I shall not be able finally
to value them lightly." He spoke, and charmed the ears of the
leaders with his smooth, elaborate speech. Then he left, not at all
fearing what punishment his perjury might incur. Having fabricated a
complete lie, he never afterwards gave thought to what he had
promised.

The presence and strength of the enemy began to constrain us so
greatly that none of our men presumed to leave his tents or the
encampment for any business whatever. In addition, within the camp,
famine, like a madness, plagued them. For if, as they say, "nothing
does more harm than hunger wrung from the unwilling," what suffering
do you think they endured, to what crosses were they constantly
condemned, without a single, even false, consoling hope, as they laid
siege each day to the impenetrable walls? The ordinary people, eaten
away by poverty, wandered through various provinces; driven by the
lack of food, some began to wander towards Cyprus, others to Romania,
while others made their way to the mountains. But the frequent
forays of the Turks had closed off the road to the sea. In short,