, , . H .
fathers of the; Church*
66-01^20
Au ..
APR 24 1972i' ; '
CT 26 1977
R!'i -W a 1980
THE FATHERS
OF THE CHURCH
A NEW TRANSLATION
VOLUME 19
THE FATHERS
JL JLJL JL~A JL JL JL JL JLJL JL_j JLILJLJr
A NEW TRANSLATION
Founded by
LUDWIG SCHOPP
EDITORIAL BOARD
ROY JOSEPH DEFERRARI
The Catholic University of America
Editorial Director
RUDOLPH ARBESMANN, O.S.A. BERNARD M. PEEBLES
Fordham University The Catholic University of America
STEPHAN KUTTNER ROBERT P. RUSSELL, O.S.A.
The Catholic University of America Villanova College
MARTIN R. P. McGumE ANSELM STRI rr MATTER, O.S.B.
The Catholic University of America St. Ansdm's Priory
WILFRID PARSONS, SJ. JAMES EDWARD TOWN
The Catholic University of America Queens College
GERALD G. WALSH, SJ.
Fordham University
ECCLESIASTICAL
HISTORY
BOOKS 1-5
Translated by
ROY J. DEFERRARI
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS
Washington, D, C. 20017
NIHIL OBSTAT:
JOHN M. A. FEARNS, ST.D.
Censor Librorum
IMPRIMATUR:
FRANCIS CARDINAL SPELLMAN
Archbishop of New York
April 20, 1953
The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a booh or
pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained
therein that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur
agree with the contents, opinions or statements expressed.
Library of Congress Catalog Card No,; 65-27501
Copyright 195) by
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS, INC.
All rights reserved
Reprinted, 1965
To MY SON
AUSTIN JOHN
CONTENTS
BOOK ONE
Chapter Page
1 What the foundation of the Promise is .... 35
2 A brief summary of the pre-exlstence and divine
nature of our Saviour and Lord, the Christ of God . 37
3 How both the Name of Jesus and that Itself of Christ
had been known from the first and had been honored
by the Inspired Prophets 46
4 How there was nothing new or strange In the manner
of the religion He proclaimed to all the nations . . 51
5 Concerning the time of His appearance among men 54
6 How in His time, in accordance with prophecy,
those rulers who had formerly governed the nation
of the Jews In regular succession died out, and Herod
was the first foreigner to reign over them .... 56
7 Concerning the discrepancy which Is thought to exist
regarding the genealogy of Christ 59
8 Concerning Herod's plot against the children and the
nature of the catastrophe that overcame him in life 65
9 Concerning the times of Pilate 69
10 Concerning the high priests of the Jews in whose
time Christ performed His teaching 70
11 The testimonies regarding John the Baptist and
Christ 72
Chapter
12 Concerning the disciples oi our Saviour 75
13 A story concerning the ruler of the Eclessenes ... 76
BOOK TWO
1 On the activity oi the Apostles after the Ascension
of Christ 83
2 How Tiberius was moved on being informed by
Pilate of the story of Christ 88
3 How the message about Christ ran in a short time
into all parts of the world 91
4 How, after Tiberius, Caius appointed Agrippa King
of the Jews, after punishing Herod with perpetual
banishment 92
5 How Philo was sent on an embassy to Caius in behalf
of the Jews 93
6 The evils that overwhelmed the Jews after their
presumption against Christ 96
7 How Pilate committed suicide 98
8 On the famine in the time of Claudius 99
9 The martyrdom of James the Apostle ...... 99
10 How Agrippa, who was also called Herod, persecuted
the Apostles and immediately experienced the divine
judgment 100
11 On Theudas the magician 10B
12 On Helena, Queen of the Adiabeni 104
13 On Simon Magus 105
14 On the preaching of Peter the Apostle at Rome . . 10B
15 On the Gospel according to Mark 109
Chapter Page
16 How Mark was the first to preach the knowledge of
Christ to those in Egypt 110
17 What Philo narrates about the ascetics In Egypt . . Ill
18 The writings of Philo that have come down to us . . 117
19 The calamity that befell the Jews in Jerusalem on the
day of the Passover 119
20 The events that took place in Jerusalem in the time
of Nero 120
21 On the Egyptian whom the Acts of the Apostles also
have mentioned 121
22 How Paul was sent a prisoner from Judaea to Rome
and on making his defense was acquitted of all guilt 122
23 How James who was called the brother of the Lord
suffered martyrdom 124
24 How, after Mark, Annianus was the first to be
established bishop of the Church at Alexandria . . 131
25 On the persecution under Nero in which, at Rome,
Paul and Peter were adorned with martyrdom in the
cause of religion 131
26 How the Jews were assailed by countless evils and
how they began the last war against the Romans . . 134
BOOK THREE
1 The parts of the world In which the Apostles
preached Christ 137
2 Who the ruler of the Church at Rome was .... 139
3 On the Epistles of the Apostles 139
4 On the first successors of the Apostles 141
Ix
Chapter Page
5 On the last siege of the Jews after Christ .... 144
6 On the famine that oppressed them 146
7 On the prophecies of Christ 152
8 On the signs before the war 155
9 On Josephus and the writings which he left behind 157
10 How he quotes the sacred books 159
11 How, after James, Symeon was the leader of the
Church in Jerusalem 161
12 How Vespasian commanded the descendants of David
to be sought out 162
13 How Abilius was the second leader o the
Alexandrians 162
14 How Anencletus was the second Bishop of Rome . 163
15 How, after him, the third was Clement 163
16 On the Epistle of Clement 164
17 On the persecution under Domitian 164
18 On John the Apostle and the Apocalypse .... 165
19 How Domitian commanded the descendants of David
to be destroyed 166
20 On the relatives of our Saviour 167
21 How Cerdo was the third leader of the Church at
Alexandria 168
22 How Ignatius was the second of the Church at
Antioch 169
23 A narrative about John the Apostle 169
24 On the order of the Gospels 173
25 On the sacred writings that are accepted and those
that are not 17$
Chapter Page
26 On Menander the sorcerer 180
27 On the heresy of the Ebionltes 182
28 On Cerinthus the heresiarch 184
29 On Nicholas and those named after him 186
30 On the Apostles who were tested in marriage . . . 187
31 On the death of John and Philip 188
32 How Symeon, Bishop of Jerusalem, suffered
martyrdom 190
33 How Trajan forbade the Christians to be sought out 193
34 How Evarestus was the fourth leader of the Church
at Rome , . 194
35 How Justus was the third of the Church in Jerusalem 194
36 On Ignatius and his Epistles 195
37 On the evangelists who were still flourishing at
that time 200
38 On the Epistle of Clement and the writings falsely
ascribed to him 201
39 On the writings of Papias . 202
BOOK FOUR
1 Who the bishops at Rome and at Alexandria during
the reign of Trajan were * 207
2 The sufferings of the Jews in his time 208
3 The apologists for the faith in the time of Hadrian 209
4 The bishops at Rome and Alexandria in his time 210
5 The bishops at Jerusalem from the beginning, from
the Saviour to the time mentioned 211
6 The last siege of the Jews under Hadrian . . . . 213
xi
Chapter Page
7 Who the leaders of knowledge, falsely so called, were
at that time 214
8 Who the writers of the Church were 219
9 A letter of Hadrian declaring that we are not to be
persecuted without a trial 221
10 Who the bishops at Rome and Alexandria in the
reign of Antoninus were 222
11 On the leaders of heresy in their times 223
1 1 On the apology of Justin addressed to Antoninus . . 228
13 A letter of Antoninus addressed to the common
council of Asia on our doctrine 228
14 Recollections of Polycarp who was acquainted with
the Apostles 230
15 How, in the time of Verus, Polycarp with others
suffered martyrdom in the city of Smyrna . . , . 233
16 How Justin the philosopher, while preaching the
word of Christ in the city of Rome, suffered
martyrdom 243
17 On the martyrs whom Justin mentions in his own
work 246
18 What writings of Justin have come down to us . . 248
19 Who the leaders of the Church at Rome and at Alex-
andria were during the reign of Verus 25 1
20 Who the leaders of the Church at Antioch were * , 251
21 On the writers of the Church who were pre-eminent
in these times - 252
22 On Hegesippus and what he himself mentions . . . 253
23 On Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, and the letters
which he wrote 256
xn
Chapter Page
24 On Theophiius, Bishop of Antioch 260
25 On Philip and Modestus 261
26 On Melito and what he himself related 262
27 On Apolinarius 266
28 On Musanus 267
29 On the heresy of Tatlan 267
30 On Bardesanes the Syrian and his extant works . . 269
BOOK FIVE
Introduction 271
1 The number of those who in the time of Verus
underwent the struggle for religion In Gaul, and the
nature of this conflict 272
2 How the martyrs, beloved of God, received and
ministered to those who had fallen In the persecution 287
3 The nature of the vision that appeared in a dream
to the martyr Attalus 289
4 How the martyrs commended Irenaeus In a letter . . 291
5 How God, giving heed to the prayers of our people,
sent rain from heaven to Marcus Aurellus Caesar . . 292
6 A list of those who were bishops In Rome .... 295
7 How even down to those times amazing miracles were
performed by the faithful 296
8 How Irenaeus quotes the divine Scriptures .... 297
9 Those who were bishops in the time of Commodus 301
10 On Pantaenus the philosopher 302
1 1 On Clement of Alexandria .... 304
12 On the bishops In Jerusalem 306
X1H
Chapter Page
13 On Rhodo and the dissension against the teaching
of Marcion which he described 307
14 On the false prophets of Phrygia 311
15 On the schism that took place at Rome under
Blastus 311
16 What is related about Montanus and the false
prophets with him 311
17 On Miltiades and the treatises which he composed 320
18 How Apollonius also refuted those in Phrygia and
what quotations he made ,322
19 Serapion's letter on the heresy of the Phrygians . . 326
20 The discussions with the schismatics at Rome which
Irenaeus has left in writing 327
21 How Apollonius suffered martyrdom in Rome . . . 330
22 What bishops were celebrated in these times . . . 332
23 On the controversy which was stirred up at that time
over the Passover
24 On the disagreement in Asia 334
25 How all came to an unanimous agreement over the
Passover 339
26 How much of the polished work of Irenaeus has
come down to us 340
27 How much, also, of the others who flourished with
him at that time . . . . . 340
28 On those who first put forth, the heresy of Arteraon,
what was their manner of life, and how they had the
audacity to corrupt the holy Scriptures . . . 342
XIV
EUSEBIUS
PAMPHILI
ECCLESIASTICAL
HISTORY
BOOKS 1-5
Translated by
ROY J. DEFERRARI, Ph.D., LL.D., L.H.D., LittD.
The Catholic University of America
INTRODUCTION
[USEBIUS WAS COMMONLY KNOWN among the ancients
as Euseblus of Caesarea or Eusebius Pamphili. The
first designation arose from the fact that he was bish-
op of Caesarea for many years; the second from the fact that
he was a close friend and admirer of Pamphilus, a proslyte of
Caesarea and a martyr. At least forty contemporaries bore
the same name, among which the most famous were Eusebius
of NIcomedia, called by Arius the brother of Eusebius of
Caesarea; Eusebius of Emesa; and Eusebius of Samosata
and so arose the necessity of distinguishing him from these
others by specific designation.
The year of the Edict of Milan, which divides the first
from the second epoch of Church history, does like service
for the life and for the literary medium of the Church's first
historian. According to the growing assent of scholars, 313
marks off chronologically the Alexandrian from the Byzantine
period of Greek literature, and it is 313 that cleaves into
uneven but appropriate parts the career of Eusebius Pamphili.
In training and In literary taste Eusebius belongs to the earlier
time. Officially and in literary productivity he belongs to the
later. It was shortly after 313 that Eusebius became a bishop,
as it was for the most part after 313 that his works were
actually composed. Of events contemporary with these later
years Eusebius recorded much that is valued, but it is for what
he tells of the earlier period of the days before the Peace
4 EUSEBIUS
of the Church that he looms so large In the history of history
and of literature. Through him- through him almost alone
are preserved to us the feeble memories of an age that died
with himself.
Of the facts of his life we know little. Neither the place nor
the year of his birth is known. The best conjecture makes
Palestine his native land and assigns to the period 260-264 the
date of his birth. Caesarea in Palestine may have been his
native city. All the known associations of his youth, at any
rate, and the chief activities of his maturity are linked with
her. He was certainly not born a Jew, but that he was born
a Christian we do not know. His parents, whether pagan or
Christian, were not of high rank. The fact that Arius, when
writing to Eusebius of Nicomedia, refers to his namesake of
Caesarea as 'your brother who is in Caesarea 1 cannot with
confidence be taken literally. Arius might well call them
brothers because they were associated in theological sym-
pathies as well as in episcopal office. Of his parentage and
relationship, then, essentially nothing is known.
At Caesarea in Eusebius' youth lived the learned priest
Pamphilus. A native of Phoenicia and at one time a student
of Alexandria, he had been ordained to the priesthood by
Bishop Agapius of Caesarea, and had there established a
school and library where the Bible was studied, and the
scholarly tradition of Origen preserved. To this school came
Eusebius as pupil, and in this library, which seems to have
been unrivaled in Christian circles, he laid the foundation of
his future work. A common enthusiasm drew master and
pupil together. They became most intimate friends, co-
workers in the acquisition of books and in the acquisition of
the knowledge that these books contained, united and inspired
in both these enterprises by the deepest reverence for Origen,
These were the formative years and these the master influences
of Eusebius as we know him, and the memory of both Origen
INTRODUCTION 3
and Pamphilus stands out large in his works Origen in the
encyclopaedic sweep of Eusebius 5 scholarly interests and
Pamphilus in the very name which his grateful pupil assumed
Eusebius of Pamphilus (Eusebius Pamphili). 'In the midst
of all this glorious company,' writes Eusebius, 'shone forth
the excellency of my lord Pamphilus; for it is not meet that I
should mention the name of that holy and blessed Pamphilus
without styling him "my. lord." n
This time of peaceful industry was at length affected by
the conflict of the world outside. Paganism was making its last
stand against the Church, and, in the violence of the struggle,
the most unwarlike of Christian scholars could not remain
undisturbed. It has been said that had Diocletian died before
303 he would have taken his place among the rulers whose
general tolerance helped Christianity to obtain its victory. As
it is, his name is identified with the world's most terrible
persecution of the Church. This persecution stretched from
303 to 310, and in this time of the Church's transition from
the old order to the new, the earliest of her historians was
frequently absent from Caesarea. Details of his movements
have not come down to us. Stories creditable and discreditable
to him and equally without foundation flourished in the
poverty of real evidence. We do know of his presence in Tyre
and in the Thebais during this time, for he describes as an
eye witness and with deep emotion the martyrdoms that the
persecution visited on these unhappy districts. We also know
that Pamphilus was in prison from November 307 until
February 310, and that Eusebius, despite the peril to himself,
visited his master and co-worker in prison. It is to this period
that the first five books of the Apology for Origen were written
by both in common. After Pamphilus had suffered martyrdom
in 310, Eusebius added the sixth book to the Apology, and
wrote the biography of Pamphilus.
1 Mart Pal., ed. Guretcm, p. 37.
6 EUSEBIUS
There is no conclusive evidence that Eusebius himself shared
in this imprisonment or that he escaped martyrdom by some
unworthy concession such as offering sacrifice to pagan
divinities. In contemporary literature many innuendos are
directed at Eusebius to the latter effect, but no direct charge
is ever made. Sometime during this period Eusebius visited
Egypt, apparently after the martyrdom of Pamphilus in the
latest and fiercest days of the persecution. If Eusebius suffered
imprisonment at any time, it was after his visit to Egypt, and
in that event the general amnesty in the spring of 3 1 would
have effected his own release.
Shortly after the end of the persecution and the restoration
of peace, sometime between 313 and 315, Eusebius was
elected by unanimous consent to the vacant sec of Cacsarca.
Eusebius himself mentions Agapius as the last bishop, and
there is no reason to doubt that Eusebius was his immediate
successor.
Among the earliest results of the peace was the erection of
a magnificent church at Tyre under the direction of Eusebius'
friend, Bishop Paulinus. Eusebius, on being invited, agreed to
give the inaugural address. 2 Although he does not actually
name himself as the author, his identity as such is quite clear.
This oration, which is of considerable length, is a paean of
thanksgiving over the restitution of the Church, of which the
beautiful basilica at Tyre was both the first fruit and the type..
Eusebius was bishop of the church of Cacsarca for more
than a quarter of a century, and during this period he appar-
ently won the respect and admiration of all One attempt, was
made to tranfer him to a more important center,, but Eusebius
himself foiled the attempt. He died still Bishop of Caesarea.
In the early part of Eusebius' episcopacy, the Church was
threatened with still another persecution. When Eusebius
spoke at the dedication of the new church at Tyre, the two
2 Cf. H.E. 10.4
INTRODUCTION 7
emperors, Constantine and Licinius, were apparently at peace
with each other. In 314, however, they went to war with each
other, and continued until Licinius was defeated in 323. The
persecution of the Church appears to have been launched by
Licinius soon after the dedication at Tyre, and continued
until he was overcome by Constantine. This persecution is
not to be compared with the recent attack by Diocletian. It
was only local and seems never to have been very severe,
although a few bishops met their death on one ground or
another. Palestine and Egypt appear to have suffered but
little.
As Bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius became inevitably involved
in another struggle this time a theological one. About the
318, while Alexander was Bishop of Alexandria, the so-called
Arian controversy broke out in that city, and soon involved
the entire Eastern Church. Arius was himself not the real
author of the heresy that bore his name, but rather his
instructor Lucian, from whom he learned its essentials. Lucian
was a very spiritual as well as a very learned man. He founded
an exegetico-theological school at Antioch, which for several
years was outside the communion of the orthodox Church in
that city, but made its peace with the Church and was
recognized by it shortly before Lucian suffered martyrdom.
Those who in the early days of the heresy were known as
staunch Arianists had all been disciples of Lucian, and were
carrying on their master's principles. Besides Arius they
included Eusebius of Nicomedia, Asterius, and others. All
the ancient Church historians, although differing as to the
immediate occasion of the controversy, agree that Arius was
excommunicated by a council which met at Alexandria, and
that both he and Bishop Alexander sent letters to the other
churches, the one complaining of his harsh treatment and
striving to secure followers of his teachings, and the latter
defending his own course. It is clear that at an early stage
8 EUSEBIUS
the sympathies of Eusebius of Caesarea were enlisted on the
side of Arins. According to his namesake of Nicomedia, he was
especially zealous in support of the Arian doctrine at this time,
but this testimony of a strong partisan may well be suspect.
The attitude of Eusebius of Caesarea suggests repeatedly that
he was influenced rather by personal feeling and an earnest
desire to procure liberal treatment for Arius than by any
agreement with his views. In any case, he wrote to Alexander,
protesting the deposition of Arius, and insisting that Alex-
ander had misrepresented the opinions of Arius. Two neigh-
boring bishops of important sees, Theodotus of Laodicea and
Paulinus of Tyre, also took up the cause of Arius. In a letter
addressed to Alexander of Constantinople, Alexander of
Alexandria complains of three Syrian bishops clearly mean-
ing Eusebius of Caesarea and his two allies for having
fanned the flame of sedition. On the other hand, Arius
claimed that all the bishops of the East, mentioning Eusebius
of Caesarea and others by name, were on his side. 3 Thus,
when a synod convened at Alexandria by Alexander deposed
Arius, he appealed to Eusebius and others to interfere in his
behalf. The Syrian bishops convened and decided in favor
of the restoration of Arius. However, they worded their
decision very cautiously. They thought that Arius should be
permitted to gather his congregation about him as formerly,
but they insisted that he render obedience to Alexander and
they urged that he be admitted to communion with him. 4
Such, then, was Eusebius 5 position in the controversy. He
strove to keep to the middle of the road. To maintain with
some of the Fathers and certain modem scholars that Euscbius
was always throughout his whole life a pronounced Arian is
not consistent with certain facts : both contemporary and later
3 Theodoret, H.E. 1.4.
4 Sozomen, H.. 1.15,
INTRODUCTION 9
Fathers were divided as to his orthodoxy; except for certain
periods, he was honored highly by the Church in the following
centuries; he was even canonized; he solemnly signed the
Nicene Creed with its expressed condemnation of the distinc-
tive doctrines of Arius; finally, in none of his works is there
any statement which may be stamped as definitely heretical;
moreover, in all his later works he is thoroughly orthodox in
his expressions, and he explicitly rejects the two main theses
of the Arians that there 'was a time when the Son of God
was not, 3 and that He was 'produced out of nothing. 3
The Council of Nicaea, at the request of the emperor, met
in 325. At this council Eusebius took a leading part. There is
some speculation among scholars as to why Eusebius should
have been singled out for such an important role. It could not
have been due to his bishopric, because, although Caesarea
was important, it did not rank with the great sees, 'the
apostolic thrones' of Christendom Rome, Antioch, and
Alexandria. 5 It probably was due to any one or all of the
following reasons: Eusebius was beyond question the most
learned man and the most famous living writer in the Church
at this time; he was a very close friend of the great emperor,
whose entire confidence he enjoyed (how this intimacy first
developed is not known) ; finally, he was not a pronounced
partisan of either side, as represented by Alexander of Alexan-
dria and Eusebius of Nicomedia. At any rate, Eusebius
occupied the first seat to the emperor's right and delivered
the opening address to Constantine.
A description of the opening scene of the council is given
by Eusebius in his Vita Constantini 3.1 Off. The emperor
entered in all pomp and ceremony and took his seat. A bishop,
who sail next to him on his right, arose and delivered the
opening oration in his honor. The emperor replied with a
5 Ibid. 1.17.
10 EUSEBIUS
brief address in Latin. There can be little or no doubt but
that this bishop was Eusebius, although Theodoret 6 says that
the opening address was delivered by Eustathius, Bishop of
Antioch, and Theodore of Mopsuestia and Philostorgius
assign it to Alexander of Alexandria. But Sozomen 7 says
explicitly that it was Eusebius of Caesarea, and Eusebius him-
self, while not naming the speaker, refers to him as he did
to the orator at the dedication of Paulinus' church at Tyre,
and makes it clear that it was himself. Furthermore, in his
Vita Constantini,* he tells the reader that he had in the
midst of an assembly of the servants of God directed an
oration to the emperor on the occasion of the ruler's vicennalia
(325). It has been suggested that the discrepancies in the
reports may be due to the possibility that the two great
patriarchs, Eustathius and Alexander, addressed a few words
to the emperor first, and then Eusebius followed with the
oration of the occasion. Unfortunately, this oration is no
longer extant, but a good idea of its nature may be gathered
from the oration delivered by Eusebius at the emperor's
tricennalia, which still exists under the title De laudibus
Constantini, and from the general tone of his Vita Constantini.
On this basis we would say that it undoubtedly was a
panegyric, extremely florid and fulsome.
When the main subject for which the council had met
came up, Eusebius again took a prominent part. He himself
has left to posterity an account of his actions at this stage in
a letter of explanation that he afterwards wrote to his own
church in Gaesarea. He placed before the council the Greed
in use in the Caesarean church, which had been handed down
from his predecessors in the episcopacy, and which he himself
had been taught at his baptism, and in which he, both as a
6 H.E. 1.7.
7 H.E. 1.19.
8 1.1.
INTRODUCTION 1 1
presbyter and a bishop, had instructed others. The emperor
was satisfied with the orthodoxy of this Creed, but he inserted
the single word homoousion (of the same substance), and
gave explanations of its meaning which quieted the scruples
of Eusebius. The Fathers gathered in council took this as their
starting point and made other important insertions and
alterations. Most important of all, they appended an
anathema directly condemning Arian doctrines. Eusebius
finally subscribed, but before doing so he demanded more
clarification of three expressions: c of the substance of the
Father,' 'begotten, not made, 5 and of the same substance. 5 He
had little scruple in assenting to the final anathema, because
the Arian expressions which it condemned were not Scriptural
and he considered that almost all the confusion and
disturbance of the churches had arisen from the use of non-
Scriptural phrases. In writing this letter, Eusebius was trying
to explain to the Gaesareans that he would resist to the
last any vital change in the traditional Creed of his church,
but that he had subscribed to the alterations, on being assured
of their innocence, so as not to appear to be contentious.
The healing of the Meletian schism and the settlement of
dispute regarding the time for observing Easter were also
important reasons for assembling this council. Many assume
that Eusebius was very prominent in these controversies
also, but there are no records of the part which Eusebius took
in these transactions.
The Council of Nicaea did not bring the Arian controversy
to an end. In fact, the final peace of the Church seemed as
far away as ever. In three controversies with three distin-
guished antagonists and anti-Arians Eusebius took a more or
less prominent part, and his reputation, whether justly or not,
has suffered greatly as a result.
Eustathius, Bishop of Antioch, was a strong supporter of
the Nicene Creed and a vigorous foe of Arianism. He had
12 EUSEBIUS
attacked the teachings of Origen, of whom Eusebius was a
loyal defender, and had charged Eusebius himself with faith-
lessness to the doctrines of Nicaea. Eustathius, in turn, was
accused by Eusebius of Sabellianism. To the historian Socrates
the doctrines of the two antagonists seemed to be practically
identical, but Christendom in general regarded them as the
two principals in the quarrel. A synod, composed chiefly of
bishops with Arian or semi-Arian tendencies, was assembled
at Antioch in 330 to consider the charge of Sabellianism
which had been raised against Eustathius. He was deposed
and the see of Antioch accordingly became vacant. The
assembled bishops proposed Eusebius of Caesarea as his
successor, and wrote to the emperor in support of the
appointment. But Eusebius declined the honor, citing the
rule of the Church, as an apostolic tradition, forbidding trans-
lations from one see to another. Euphronius was later elected.
The next stage of the Arian controversy finds Eusebius in
conflict with Athanasius, a far worthier foe than Eustathius.
We will not discuss in detail the disgraceful intrigues of the
Arians and Meletians against Athanasius. Suffice it to say
that the emperor summoned Athanasius to appear before an
assemblage of bishops at Caesarea to meet the charges brought
against him. Theodoret 9 states that Constantine was induced
to name Caesarea by the Arian party, which selected it
because the enemies of Athanasius were in a majority there.
The emperor, however, may well have given the preference
to Caesarea because he placed the greatest confidence in the
moderation of Eusebius, its bishop. Athanasius excused him-
self from attending, for he believed that there was a conspiracy
against him and that he would not receive justice there. This
was in 334. It is interesting to note that Athanaidus does
not mention this synod in his Apology.
The next year, 335, Athanasius received a final and angry
9 H.E. 1.26.
INTRODUCTION 13
summons from Constantine to appear before an assembly of
bishops at Tyre. Theodoret conjectures that the emperor
changed the place of meeting out of regard for the fears of
Athanasius, who looked with suspicion on Caesarea because of
its bishop. The scenes at the synod of Tyre form the most
striking and the most shameful chapter in the Arian contro-
versy. In spite of the probable exaggerations of the Athanasian
party from which our knowledge is chiefly derived, the
proceedings will always remain a terrible shame to Eusebius
of Nicomedia and his fellow intriguers. But there is no basis
whatsoever to suppose that Eusebius of Caesarea took an
active part in this chicanery. Athanasius mentions him rarely
and never with any special bitterness. Whenever the
'Eusebians' are mentioned, the adherents of his Nicornedian
namesake are meant. Yet, although in all probability not
engaging in and possibly ignorant of their plots, our Eusebius
was certainly used as a tool by the more unscrupulous and
violent followers of Arius, and he must bear the blame of
complying too easily with their actions. The proceedings were
suddenly brought to an end by the disappearance of
Athanasius, who sailed away to Constantinople to appeal in
person to the emperor. The synod condemned him by default.
While the bishops were in the midst of their session at Tyre,
the emperor sent an urgent summons calling upon them to
take part in the approaching festival at Jerusalem. 10 This was
the tricennalia of Constantine. No one after the Emperor
Augustus, the founder of the Empire, had reigned for thirty
years. As Eusebius says, Constantine had a fondness for
magnificent ceremonial, and here was a noble occasion. 11
Constantine marked the occasion by dedicating a new and
splendid basilica on the site of Calvary. The principal persons
present graced the festival by a series of orations. Among these
10 Cf. v.c. 4.4 iff.
11 Cf. V.C. 4,40.
14 EUSEBIUS
Eusebius played a conspicuous part, being much more at ease
In the congenial atmosphere of this dedication festival than in
the midst of the intrigues of the synod of Tyre. He speaks of
the assemblage at Tyre as a mere episode of the festival at
Jerusalem. Eusebius says that the emperor was very anxious
to put an end to the quarrels that were tearing the Church
apart and hoped to bring the discordant elements together
through this festival. This interpretation of the emperor's
motives is confirmed by Constantine's own letter to the synod
at Tyre. Eusebius was very much impressed by the celebration,
and speaks 12 of it as the greatest synod assembled by
Constantine 'after that first council 3 (Nicaea).
Arius and Euzoius had presented a confession of faith to
the emperor, seeking readmission to the Church. When the
emperor was satisfied that this document was in harmony with
the faith of Nicaea, he sent them to Jerusalem, requesting the
synod to consider their confession of faith and restore them to
communion. Thus, Arius and his followers were taken back
into the Church at Jerusalem.
Athanasius had not fled to Jersusalem in vain. Although
Constantine desired peace in his empire and in the Church, he
was not insensible to justice, and he became convinced, on
giving ear to Athanasius, that a grave miscarriage of justice
had occurred. Scarcely had the bishops at the dedication
festival carried out the emperor's command as expressed in
his first letter, when they received another of a very different
temper. The emperor addressed himself *to the bishops that
had assembled at Tyre'; described their proceedings as
'tumultuous and stormy' ; and summoned them without delay
to Constantinople. Only the leaders of the Eusebian party,
including Eusebius himself, obeyed. The others retired to
their homes. Of the principal events which occurred at
Constantinople, namely, the banishment of Athanasius and
12 v.c. 4.47.
INTRODUCTION 15
death of Arius, we need speak briefly only of the former. The
accusers of Athanasius said nothing on this occasion about his
alleged immoralities for which he had been condemned at
Tyre, but made a new trivial charge against him, and he was
banished to Gaul. There has been much speculation as to why
Constantine acted as he did. The most probable explanation
is that Athanasius 5 absence would calm the trouble in the
Alexandrian church. In any case, Athanasius was not recalled
from banishment until after Constantine' s death. The chief
work of the synod was the condemnation of Marcellus, Bishop
of Ancyra, an uncompromising opponent of the Arians, who
had written a book in reply to the Arian Asterius 'the sophist*/
in which his zeal against Arian doctrines forced him into
expressions that had a strong savor of Sabellianism. Proceed-
ings against him were inaugurated at Jerusalem and were
continued at Constantinople, where he was condemned of
Sabellianism and deposed from his bishopric. Eusebius
apparently took a prominent part in this affair. Moreover,
Eusebius was persuaded to undertake a refutation of the
heretic, and produced two works against Marcellus.
It is important to note that, although Eusebius during these
years was so continuously struggling against one or another
of the members of the anti-Arian party, there is no evidence
to show that he ever deviated from the doctrinal stand which
he took at the Council of Nicaea. From that time on he never
consciously supported Arianism, and never opposed Nicene
orthodoxy. But anti-Sabellianism influenced him all the time,
and his rather firm type of orthodoxy was colored only by its
decidedly anti-Sabellian emphasis.
Eusebius did find some very congenial employment while
he was in Constantinople. The celebration of the emperor's
tricennalia had not yet ended. Eusebius delivered a panegyric
which he afterwards appended to his Life of Constantine. It
was probably at this same time, although on an earlier day,
16 EUSEBIUS
that he delivered before the emperor his discourse on the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, perhaps even spoken pre-
viously at the dedication itself.
In all probability, Eusebius had never met Constantine
personally before the Council of Nicaea. Here, however,
Eusebius stood high in the emperor's favor, as the prominent
position assigned to him shows, and henceforth there appears
to have been no interruption in their friendly relations.
The great Constantine died on May 22, 337, in Nicomedia,
his former capital, less than two years after the celebration of
his tricennalia. Soon after, Eusebius followed his imperial
friend at the advanced age of nearly eighty years. Various
evidence points to late in 339, or early in 340. None of the
details of his last moments is known.
His literary activity continued at its fast pace even to the
end. Four years at most elapsed between his last visit to
Constantinople and his death. Within this short period and at
his advanced age, he composed the Panegyric, the Life of
Constantine, the treatise Against Marcellus, and the compan-
ion piece On the Theology of the Church. He may have had
in hand at the same time other unfinished works such as the
Theophania. There are no signs of failing mental vigor in
these works.
The works of Eusebius may be divided conveniently as
follows: A, Historical; B. Exegetical; C. Apologetic; D.
Doctrinal; E. Letters; F. Homilies. For precise grouping, the
foregoing or any assembly of subdivisions, for that matter, is
not a satisfactory scheme, since some of Eusebius' works have
an equally clear title to inclusion under several heads; but it
serves to suggest something of that astounding range of labors
that beyond historiography touch every corner of theology
cultivated up to his time.
INTRODU GTION 1 7
A. Historical.
(1) Life of Pamphilus (lost).
(2) A collection of Ancient Martyrdoms (lost).
(3) On the Martyrs of Palestine.
(4) Chronicle.
(5 ) Church History.
(6) Life of Constantine.
B. Exegetical.
(7) Commissioned by the emperor to prepare fifty
copies of the Bible for use in the churches of
Constantinople.
(8) Sections and Canons.
(9) Labors of Pamphilus and Eusebius in editing
the Septuagint.
(10-13) Of (a) The Interpretation of the Ethnological
Terms in the Hebrew Scriptures, (b) Choro-
graphy of Ancient Judea with the Inher-
itances of the Ten Tribes, (c) A Plan of
Jerusalem and the Temple, (d) On the
Names of Places in the Holy Scriptures, only
the last is extant.
(14) On the Nomenclature of the Book of Prophets.
(15) Commentary on the Psalms (missing in part).
(16) Commentary on Isaias.
(17-22) Commentaries on other books of Holy Scrip-
ture, of some of which we may have extracts.
(23) Commentary on St. Luke (extracts alone pre-
served).
(24) Commentary on 1 Corinthians (not extant).
(25) Commentary on Hebrews (a possible single
fragment alone preserved).
18 EUSEBIUS
(26) On the Discrepancies of the Gospel (an epitome
and some extracts from the original are
preserved).
( 27 ) General Elementary Introduction.
C. Apologetic.
(28) Against Hier odes.
(29) Against Porphyry (not extant).
(30) Praeparatio evangelica.
(31) Demonstratio evangelica (Of the twenty books,
the last ten, with the exception of a fragment
of Book 15, are lost).
(32) Praeparatio ecclesiastic a (lost).
(33) Demonstrate ecclesiastica (lost).
(34) Two Books of Objection and Defense (lost).
(35) Theophania, or Divine Manifestation (except
for a few fragments of the original, extant
only in a Syriac version) .
(36) On the Numerous Progeny of the Ancients (not
extant).
D. Dogmatic.
(37) The Apology for Origen (only first book extant) .
(38) Against Marcellus 3 Bishop of Ancyra (authen-
ticity doubted ) .
(39) On the Theology of the Church (authenticity
doubted).
(40) On the Paschal Festival (a long fragment sur-
vives).
(41) A treatise against the Manichaeans (existence
implied by Epiphanius, Haer. 61.21).
E. Letters.
(42) To Alexander of Alexandria.
INTRODU CTION 1 9
(43) To Euphrasion, or Euphration.
(44) To the Empress Constantia.
(45) To the Church of Caesar ea (after the Council
of Nicaea).
F. Homilies.
(46) At the Dedication of the Church in Tyre.
(47) At the Vicennalia of Constantine (not extant).
(48) On the Sepulchre of the Saviour (not extant).
(49) At the Tncennalia of Constantine.
(50) In Praise of the Martyrs.
(51) On the Failure of Rain (lost).
The mere recital of the works listed above is an impressive
index to the industry of their author. That so much has
perished occasions no surprise, of course, to anyone familiar
with the posthumous fortunes of other ancient authors. That
so much of Eusebius' work remains is a tribute to the good
sense of the centuries that followed his death.
At present we are chiefly concerned with the historical
writings of Eusebius. Eusebius probably wrote his Chronicle
before the persecution of 303. Its full title is Chronological
Tables, to Which Is Prefixed an Epitome of Universal History
Drawn from Various Sources as he himself tells us in the
beginning of his Eclogae Propheticae. An introduction, now
designated as the first book, contains short summaries of the
history of the Chaldaeans, based on Alexander Polyhistor,
AbydenuSj and Josephus; of the Assyrians, drawn from
Abydenus, Castor, Diodorus, and Cepdalaion; of the Hebrews,
taken from the Old Testament, Josephus, and Clement of
Alexandria; of the Egyptians, based on Diodorus, Manethus,
and Porphyrius ; of the Greeks, taken from Castor, Porphyrius,
and Diodorus; and of the Romans, drawn from Dionysius of
Halicarnassus, Diodorus, and Castor. The more important
20 EUSEBIUS
part of the work is the second book, with its chronological
tables and its epitome of universal history.
In his Praeparatio evangelic a, 13 Eusebius accounts for the
interest that Christians felt in the study of comparative
chronology. In substance he says that, if heathen opponents
contrasted the antiquity of their rites with the newness of the
Christian religion, the Christian apologists could reply by
proving that the most celebrated legislators and philosophers,
whom they thought the font of their religious ideas, flourished
later than the Hebrew legislator and the other Prophets who
had foretold the coming of Christ, and who had taught a
religion of which the Christian was the legitimate continuance.
And so Eusebius argues in this section of the Praeparatio
evangelica, quoting largely from preceding writers who had
proved the greater antiquity of the Jews, namely, Josephus,
Tatian, Clement of Alexandria, and especially Africanus.
Africanus had already discovered synchronisms between
sacred and profane history, and had published the chronolog-
ical work which Eusebius used as a model and to a great
extent for the materials of his own Chronicle.
How Eusebius arranged the details of the strictly chronolog-
ical part of his work cannot be ascertained, since the trans-
lations, which are alone preserved, are not made from the
original but from a revision which appeared shortly after
the death of Eusebius. In the chronological tables, the years
of Abraham are numbered with years of the reigns of kings,
and sometimes those of other periods are combined with them
synchronously in parallel columns. With these columns,
varying in number through the centuries until we have only
the years of the emperors parallel with the Olympians and the
years of Abraham, are incorporated important dates taken
from Jewish and profane history.
As we have said above, Eusebius is dependent here largely
13 10.9.
INTRODUCTION 21
upon Africanus. We are not justified, however, in assuming
as Scaliger did that Eusebius copied Africanus slavishly in
every place where he did not express himself as in utter
disagreement with him. There are convincing indications to
show that Eusebius views his material much more critically.
He avoids that division into world eras which is connected
with the millennium theory, and he does not begin with the
creation of the world but with the first year of Abraham
(2016/5 B.C.). That Eusebius is fully aware of the difficulties
of his task we see at the very beginning of his work. He tells us
that we must not expect minute accuracy from such an
investigation as he is about to enter upon. He says that our
Lord's words, 'It is not for you to know the times and the
seasons/ are applicable not only to the end of the world, but
also to the knowledge of all times and seasons. In the case of
the Greeks, he presents the difficulties that arise from the
comparatively recent beginning of their civilizations and
quotes the well-known story in Plato's Timaeus, that the
Greeks were but children. As for the Egyptians and the
Chaldaeans, difficulties arise from the fables of which their
early history is full. And even Hebrew chronology is not free
from difficulties of its own. The solutions for these problems
represent what he considers as sound judgment on the part of
his forerunners and sometimes his own independent consid-
eration. It was much easier for Eusebius to maintain historical
accuracy in the early periods of his Chronicle, where he could
follow trustworthy historians, than in the later periods after
these reliable sources had come to an end, and he had to
make a way for himself as best he could. In the latter case,
Eusebius only excerpted later authors, and, regardless of the
efficiency of this procedure for the establishment of a
chronology, by his care and good judgment rescued much
valuable historical material from destruction.
Eusebius 5 second great historical work is the ten books of
22 EUSEBIUS
the Ecclesiastical History (Ekklesiastike historia}, an expan-
sion of the last part of the Chronicle. As in the case of the
Chronicle, the Ecclesiastical History possesses no continuous
historical narrative, but its whole subject matter is Inserted,
as it were, into a chronological framework.
The popular translation of the title (Ekklesiastike historia)
as Church History must not lead us to believe that it was
Eusebius' purpose to relate the fortunes of the Christian
Church from the time of our Saviour to his own times. To
emulate profane historiography in the grand style could not
enter the mind of a Christian at this period, for such a
procedure would savor too much of the spirit of the profane,
and would not befit a record of the Church of God. Historia
is used here by Eusebius in its most general sense, to be
compared in a way with the titles Pantodape or Poikile
historia, and Porphyry's Philosophos historia. It signifies the
collection of material handed down, as Eusebius also calls
the collected subject matter of the most varied character in
the Praeparatio evangelica and Demonstratio evangelica
historia.^ The fact that Eusebius in his Church History quotes
so many excerpts directly, as he does also in the Praeparatio
evangelica, suits this kind of historia, but not the strict forms
of historiography which Sozomen strives to follow. It is also
in keeping with the author's undefined and free interpretation
of historia, when in his proemium he describes the framework
into which he intends to place his material.
The work gives no indication that it was written at the
suggestion of anyone else. If Constantine had prompted
Eusebius to the task, Eusebius would hardly have passed
over this fact in silence, for elsewhere in his writings he seems
only too glad to parade the flatteries of his imperial patron. IB
the preface his own words suggest simply what we have stated
above, that it grew out of his previous work, the Chronicle*
14 Cf. Praep. ev. 1.6.7.
INTRODUCTION 23
He speaks of It as an expansion of the narrative which he had
given in epitome in that work. Thus, in the opening words,
he sums up its contents as follows, placing the chronological
element in the forefront : 'The successions of the holy Apostles
together with the times which have been accomplished from
the days of our Saviour to our own age.'
After his introduction, Eusebius proposes to take up the
following topics : ( 1 ) The succession of bishops in the most
important sees; (2) Christian teachers and writers; (3)
Heretics; (4) The punishments which came upon the Jewish
people because of their execution of Jesus; (5) The persecu-
tions of the Christians; (6) The martyrs and the deliverance
wrought by the Saviour in the author's own day.
Eusebius is dependent upon ancient models for the plan of
Ms work. The diadochai of the bishops correspond to the
diadochai of the schools of philosophy. Christian teachers and
heretics are treated from a literary historical viewpoint, their
chronology being fixed, together with a list of their works,
according to the manner of Alexandrian scholarship. In a
similar spirit are added long verbatim citations by way of
documentary evidence. As for events over and above such as
have been mentioned above, only the judgment on the Jews,
the Christian persecutions, and the final victory of Christianity
are treated. All the material is approached from the point of
view that the history of the Church is at the same time its
vindication, and proves it to be a divine institution.
The Ecclesiastical History, as we know it today, is not in
its original form. Many events of importance occurred in such
rapid succession after the year 311 that Eusebius was obliged
several times to alter and amplify the end of his work. E.
Schwartz, partly from indications in the text, and partly
from manuscript evidence, has concluded that there were
four editions, portions of which he has attempted to recon-
struct. In his last edition, Eusebius brought the narrative
24 EUSEBIUS
down to 323, the year in which Constantine became sole
emperor.
The Ecclesiastical History Is chiefly responsible for
perpetuating the name of Eusebius. It was received with
enthusiasm on its first appearance. The six or seven ancient
manuscripts (ninth to eleventh centuries) show an inter-
crossing of variants which could hardly have taken place
except in a rich and ramified tradition of an early date.
The work must have been copied frequently even in the
first centuries after its publication. The history of the ancient
Church, of which we would know very little indeed without
this work, lived on in the memory of men as pictured by
Eusebius, and almost all later descriptions are closely allied
to his, or are even direct imitations. This holds true alike for
the Greek East and the West where the translation by Rufinus
had a wide circulation.
Eusebius' less important works of historiography may be
passed over more briefly. A collection of the ancient acts
of the martyrs (Synagoge ton archaion martyrion] was a
preliminary exercise to the writing of the Ecclesiastical History.
Although this work is now lost, most of its material, at least
in an abridged form, was included in the Ecclesiastical
History.
A work on the martyrs of Palestine (Perl ton en Palaistine
martyr esdnton), which describes the martyrdoms in Palestine
during the persecution of Diocletian, has survived in two
recensions. The shorter recension is always edited with the
Ecclesiastical History and is found in several manuscripts of
that work, placed after the eighth or tenth books. The longer
recension is preserved in its entirety only in a Syriac trans-
lation. Certain portions, however, are extant also in Greek.
Eusebius in his Martyrs of Palestine speaks as follows
about the lost biography of Pamphilus (Pen tou biou Pam-
philou) : 'The rest of the triumphs of his virtue, requiring
INTRODUCTION 25
a longer narration, we have already before this given to the
world in a separate work in three books, of which his life is
the subject. 5 He refers to it again three times in his
Ecclesiastical History.^ St. Jerome likewise refers to it several
times, 16 in one case (the last) describing it as containing
f tres libros elegantissimos? and giving a short extract from
the third book, the only surviving fragment. From the stand-
point of literary history, the loss of this biography is especially
serious. We could scarcely apply the term 'elegantissimos* to
the surviving works of Eusebius, and we have enough respect
for St. Jerome's literary taste to believe that he could not have
used the superlative without some reason. In this work,
Eusebius's main and probably only source was his personal
knowledge of Pamphilus. This circumstance, together with
Eusebius' intense admiration for his friend, must have co-
operated in causing Eusebius to employ his very best style.
Any consideration of outside sources could not have interfered
with his development of the theme.
The Life of Constantine (Eis ton bion ton makariou
Konstantinou basileos) in four books should not strictly be
placed among the historical works. It is rather an encomium
in panegyrical style, restricted in particular to the pious deeds
of the emperor. The literary character of the work would
stand out more clearly if its original draft were still
preserved. But, as G. Pasquali has shown, the original form
of the work was considerably enlarged by additions, above all
through the incorporation of documents. Only with such
modifications has the work been handed down to us. Regard-
ing the authenticity of the documents contained in this eulogy
(e.g., edicts and letters of the emperor), which were
questioned by Crivelucci and others, there can be no doubt.
Their genuine character has been ably defended, especially
15 6.32; 7.32; 8.13.
16 Ep. 34; Op. I, p. 154ff; Vir ill. 81; Rufin. 1.9.
26 EUSEBIUS
by I. A. Heikel. Eusebius saw In the Emperor Constantine
a new Moses, destined by God to lead the people of God
from oppression into freedom. He heralds the emperor as the
powerful promoter and protector of the Church. In the spirit
of the rhetorical panegyric, Eusebius describes Constantine's
acts, giving them a one-sided coloring, and omitting whatever
does not fit in with the account as planned. However, we must
not forget that Eusebius in this work did not intend to write
history, and, moreover, truly believed the historical signif-
icance of the emperor to be exactly as he described it.
Accordingly, we cannot accept in this panegyric that complete
condemnation of Eusebius which J. Burckhardt gives us when
he calls him 'the most contrary of all writers of the panegyric,*
'the first thoroughly untruthful historian of antiquity.'
As supplements to the encomium on Constantine, Eusebius
wrote three works: A speech of the emperor to the assembly
of the saints (logos hon egrepae to ton hagion syllocho) ; the
speech delivered by Eusebius on the occasion of the thirtieth
anniversary of the Emperor's reign (triakontaeterikos] ; and a
discourse (basihkos] delivered to the emperor regarding the
dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.
Eusebius himself speaks of these works in his Vita Con-
stantini. 17
The authenticity of the emperor's speech to the assembly
of the saints is seriously questioned. Heikel seems to have
proved that in its present form it cannot be a direct translation
from the Latin. On the other hand, an evident dependence
on Lactantius and the employment of verses from Vergil's
fourth eclogue make a Latin source quite probable, and this
source may be the actual, authentic speech of the emperor
himself.
Two other works, the Triakontaeterikos and Basilik6s,
which up to the present have always appeared in the editions
17 4.32,46.
INTRODUCTION 27
as one work, are often cited as the Laus Constantini. P.
Wendland was the first to discover that Chapters 1-10 of the
Laus Constantini from the speech of Tricennalia, and Chap-
ters 11-18 compose ihe discourse delivered on the occasion
of the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The oration of the Tricennalia was delivered before the
emperor in the palace at Constantinople. It celebrates in
powerful though somewhat bombastic language Constantine's
reign of thirty years and especially his services to the Church.
The Basihkos, on the other hand, is not an oration at all, but
a treatise which aims to defend the emperor for erecting the
magnificent church buildings in Jerusalem by setting forth the
divinity of the Logos. An apologetic air prevails throughout.
In fact, the work consists almost entirely of extracts from his
Theophany, whose elaborate scientific arguments appear here
in concise popular form.
Eusebius was primarily a scholar, a philologian in the
broad sense of the term. His industry and care in the
collection and employment of documentary material, and his
eminent skill in the disposition of great quantities of subject
matter, make him one of the greatest Christian scholars and
make his works the most valuable and far-reaching in their
influence upon early Christian literature. Few writers have
ever shown as keen an insight in the selection of subjects
which would have a lasting interest for later generations. As
noted earlier, Eusebius lived in the period of transition
between two great epochs which were separated from each
other by such marked differences as appear only at intervals
of many centuries. It remained for Eusebius to appreciate
the greatness of the crisis. He alone seized the opportunity
and preserved the past in all its phases -history, doctrine,
criticism, and even topography for the instruction of later
generations. In this lies his chief claim to greatness.
In the presentation of his facts, as a stylist, or as a deep
28 EUSEBIUS
and original thinker, it would be absurd to compare Eusebius
with the great masters of classical antiquity. Eusebius probably
did not strive to obtain stylistic excellence, although he
always shows himself under the influence of rhetoric. His
style is often monotonous and tires the reader with its endless
periods, and when it attempts to rise to rhetorical pathos, it
passes proper bounds and becomes overburdened and
bombastic. He was rather the slave than the master of his vast
learning. His ideas were lofty and great, but he was unequal
to the task of adequately executing them. His isolated thoughts
were valuable, but he could not place them together in a
proper synthesis. He accumulated materials with great
diligence, but he was careless and perfunctory in the use of
them when accumulated. Thus, in aftertime, many succeeded
him who surpassed him in their style of writing, but stood far
below him in scientific sense and learning. In the growing
and sensitive orthodoxy of the ages that followed Nicaea and
Constantinople, suggestions of Origen and Arius were not
titles to literary immortality. Yet Eusebius was tolerated, and
his remains have thus come down to us almost, as it were,
despite themselves, largely because of their altogether unique
service to history as the witness to the ante-Nicene Church.
Although his writings are of a wide and varied character,
they all have the mark of apologetic literature. In other
words, his role as an apologist is not confined to his strictly
apologetic works. Whatever subjects he may be treating, his
thoughts seem to turn instinctively into the same mold. In
dealing with the subjects of chronology, one of his main
objects is to show the superior antiquity of the Hebrew
oracles to the wisdom of the Greeks. When he writes eccle-
siastical history, the course of events presents to him a
vindication of the divine Word, in whom the faith of
Christians centers. If his theme is as worldly as the encomium
of a sovereign, he sees in the subject of his panegyric an
INTRODUCTION 29
instrument used by a higher power to fulfill a divine economy.
Again, if he enters on so technical a task as dividing the
Gospels into sections, his real motive is to supply materials
for a harmony, and thus to vindicate the essential unity of
the evangelical narratives against those who denied it. His
character as an apologist may be traced to two sources: the
period and circumstances in which he lived and his own
natural disposition. Living in the great crisis of transition,
between the Hellenism ot the past and the Christianity of
the future, he was forced to witness their contact, both hostile
and friendly. His knowledge of the wisdom of the Greeks and
the teaching of the Scriptures, together with his natural
breadth of sympathy and moderation of temper, fitted him,,
far better than anyone else of the time, for the task of treating
their conflicts and associations.
In a similar way, Eusebius brings the literary-historical
point of view to all his works, even the apologetic. The
literary-historical point of view is wholly foreign to all other
opponents of paganism and heresy. They wish only to enter
upon polemical discussion, and, if they bring forward
chronological facts occasionally, these facts only serve the
purpose of showing their chronological inferiority. The work
of Eusebius emanated from the treasures of such Christian
libraries as that at Caesarea, just as profane literary-his-
torical research also stood in closest connection with the works
of librarians. Eusebius was the first to grasp clearly the concept
of a Christian literature, and to employ with it the ancient
methods, fixing the dates of writers and cataloguing their
works. He transplanted the tradition of Alexandrian philology
to Christian soil.
Eusebius* reputation after his death was varied. In the
Greek Church, as long as the Arian controversy was still
fresh, the tendency was to depreciate him as an orthodox
father. But in proportion as the theological disputes died out,
30 EUSEBIUS
a disposition grew up to clear him of any taint of Arian
doctrine. Socrates 18 goes to great length to prove Eusebius
orthodox, quoting passages to substantiate his orthodoxy.
Gelasius of Cyzicus is quite enthusiastic in his defense of
Eusebius. He calls him 'most noble tiller of ecclesiastical
husbandry/ and 'strict lover of truth/ and says that, if there
is the faintest suggestion of Arianism in Eusebius' writings,
it is due to his simplicity, as Eusebius himself pleaded in his
self-defense. The Second Council of Nicaea, or, more exactly,
the Iconoclastic controversy, marked a decided change in
this attitude. Since the Iconclasts quoted Eusebius in support
of their views, the opposite party did their best to disparage
him, for, if they could prove conclusively that Eusebius was
an Arian, the claims of the Iconoclasts would have little
foundation. This attitude toward Eusebius found expression
in Photius. In fact, Eusebius' reputation never fully recovered
from the injury it suffered by being involved in the Iconoclastic
controversy.
In the West, Eusebius had a better fate, St. Jerome being
the only person of prominence to hold a marked antipathy
for him. 'The chief of the Arians/ 'the standard-bearer of
the Arian faction/ 'the most flagrant champion of the impiety
of Arians/ are some of the choice phrases hurled at him by the
fiery Jerome. However, the great service which Eusebius had
done for Christian literature prevailed with the Westerners
over the attacks of St. Jerome. The two Popes, Gelasius and
Pelagius II, successively shielded the reputation of Eusebius,
the one by refusing to place the Ecclesiastical History and the
Chronicle on the Index, and the other by expressing several
noble sentiments in his defense. The offense of Eusebius,
however, which in the minds of these two Popes did require
an apology, was his defense of the heretic Origen, Neither
Gelasius nor Pelagius once refers directly to the charge of
18 H.. 2.21.
INTRODUCTION 31
Arlanism. Another Latin writer, anonymous, of a later period,
calls Eusebius 'the key of the Scriptures and the guardian of
the New Testament.' Finally, the remarkable fact of the
appearance of Eusebius' name in martyrologies of both the
East and West, in spite of the suspicions of heresy which
hovered about his name, has always been regarded of prime
importance.
A biography of Eusebius was written by Acacius, his pupil
and successor in the bishopric of Caesarea, as we learn from
Socrates. 19 Sozomen 20 tells us also that Acacius was a very
close friend of Eusebius and had inherited all his books and
papers, and thus was in a position to give us a most complete
and accurate account of his life and activity. Unfortunately,
this biography has disappeared.
The only ancient evidence on the career of Eusebius comes
to us as scattered notices in the works of the early Church
historians (Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret), and in the
writings of contemporaries and near-contemporaries such as
Athanasius and Jerome. These have been collected and
translated into English, and may be found in McGiffert's
translation and commentary on Eusebius 3 Church History,
Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of
Constantine, in A Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers of the Christian Church I 57ff.
The best text by far and the one used as the basis for
this translation is that of E. Schwartz in Volumes I-II
(Leipzig 1903, 1908) of Part II of the edition of Eusebius in
Die griechischen christlichen Schrifsteller der erstern drei
Iahrhunderte 3 published by the then-existing Berlin Academy.
This text has rendered all others obsolete, with the exception
of that of Valesius (Paris 1659). Valesius added many
valuable notes to his text, most of which are still indispensable;
19 H.E. 2A.
20 H.E. 3.2; 5.23.
32 EUSEBIUS
It has been reprinted many times and appears In Migne's
Patrologia Graeca (Paris 1857).
There are various theories as to how the works of Eusebius,
and the text of the Ecclesiastical History in particular, have
come to us as they are. An excellent summary of these theories,
with a full bibliography, may be found in Volume I of the
Kersopp Lake text and translation in the Loeb Classical
Library, pp. xix jEL
Three important translations of the Ecclesiastical History
have been made in English: (1) by Arthur Cushman
McGiffert in A Select Library on Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers of the Christian Churchy A New Series, Vol. I
(1904) ; (2) by Lawlor and Oulton (London 1932) ; and (3)
by Kirsopp Lake (Vol. I, Books 1-5, 1926) and J.E.L.
Oulton (Vol. II, Books 6-10, 1932), in the Loeb Classical
Library. The first of these is accompanied by an extensive
and erudite commentary. No one of these translations, how-
ever, has been done from a Catholic point of view, which
in the case of a writer such as Eusebius creates serious
difficulties.
In the present translation, the Challoner revision of the
Rheims-Douay translation of the Bible is used throughout
wherever it corresponds to the Greek text of Eusebius; other-
wise, the quotations are adapted with as few changes as
possible to the Greek text.
SELECT CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
O. Bardenhewer, Eusebius von Caesarea, in Geschichte der Altchristlichen
Litteratur III 240-262 (Munchen 1912) .
E. Cave, Lives of the Father II 95-144 (Oxford 1840) .
F. J. Foakes-Jackson, Eusebius Pamphili, A Study of the Man and His
Writings (Cambridge 1933) .
H. M. Gwatkin, Eusebius of Caesarea, in Lectures on Ecclesiastical
History Delivered in Norwich Cathedral (London 1896) .
V. Hely, Eusebe de Cesar ee, premier historien de I'Eglise (Paris 1877) .
J. Kaye, The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius (London 1888) .
H. J. Lawler, Eusebiana. Essays on the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius
(London 1888).
J. B. Lightfoot, Eusebius of Caesare,a f in Dictionary of Christian Biography
II 308-318. (This article, although old, still represents the best and
most exhaustive of the life and works of Eusebius.)
E. Preuschen, Eusebius, in Prot. Realencyc. VI 1370-1439.
C. H. Turner, 'The Early Episcopal Lists/ in Journal of Theological
Studies (1900) .
Van Den Gheyn, Eusebe, in Vigouroux, Dictionnaire de la Bible II
2051-2056.
33
BOOK ONE
Chapter 1
SINCE IT is MY PURPOSE to hand down a written
account of the successions of the holy Apostles as
well as of the times extending from our Saviour to
ourselves; the number and nature of the events which are
said to have been treated in ecclesiastical history; the number
of those who were her illustrious guides and leaders in
especially prominent dioceses; the number of those who in
each generation by word of mouth or by writings served
as ambassadors of the word of God; the names, the number,
and the times of those who out of a desire for innovation
launched into an extremity of error and proclaimed them-
selves the introducers of knowledge falsely so called, 1
mercilessly ravaging the flock of Christ like ravening wolves; 2
and besides this what straightway befell the entire Jewish
race as the result of its plot against our Saviour; furthermore,
the number, and times of the war waged by the Gentiles
against the divine Word; and the character of those who on
1 Ct. I Tim. 6.20.
2 Cf. Acts 20.29.
35
36 EUSEBIUS
various occasions have passed through the contest of blood
and tortures in His behalf; and, in addition to this, the
martyrdoms of our own times and with them all the gracious
and kindly succor of our Saviour; [in view of all this] I shall
begin with the first dispensation 3 of God in our Saviour and
Lord, Jesus Christ
But at this point my account asks for the indulgence of the
reasonable, for I confess that it is beyond my power to fulfill
the promise completely and perfectly, since we are the first to
enter upon the undertaking, attempting, as it were, to travel
a deserted and untrodden road, 4 praying that we may have
God as our guide and the power of the Lord as our co-worker,
being unable to discover anywhere even the bare tracks of
those who traveled the same path before us, except only for
the brief remarks through which in one way or another they
have left us partial accounts of the times in which they lived,
raising their voices like torches from afar and crying out from
on high as from a distant and lofty watch tower, bidding us
how we must walk and keep straight the course of our story
without error and danger. So, having gathered from what they
have mentioned here and there such matters as we think will
be useful for the subject that lies before us, and having culled
appropriate passages from the ancient writers, 5 as if, as it
3 The Greek word is oikonomia, which has at least four different uses
among ecclesiastical writers. It is used here in its wide sense to denote
the whole economy or dispensation of Christ upon earth, including
the act of Incarnation.
4 Eusebius is very appropriately called the 'Father of Church History/
since he was the first to write with a comprehensive historical plan.
However, as Eusebius himself says, much had been written which
he could use in his history. Of his predecessors, Hegcsippus and Julius
Africanus approach closest to the proper conception of historical
research, but they are essentially writeis of memoirs.
5 Eusebius quotes freely from earlier ecclesiastical writers, but strictly
according to a carefully devised plan. Furthermore, he brings in
these quotations as documentary evidence. Incidentally, most of the
writers quoted would otherwise be unknown, and the history of
Eusebius is of inestimable value for this reason alone.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 37
were, from intellectual meadows, we shall endeavor to
consolidate them in an historical narrative, happy if we
succeed in rescuing the successions, if not of all, then at least
of the most renowned of the Apostles of our Saviour in those
Churches which even today are accounted pre-eminent. I
am of the opinion that it is most necessary for me to labor on
this subject, because I am unaware that any one of the
ecclesiastical 6 writers has up to now given serious attention
to this kind of writing, and I hope that it will appear very
useful to those who are interested in historical research. Now,
I have already composed a summary of this material in the
Chronological Canons which I have drawn up; nevertheless,
in the present work I have undertaken to make the narrative
as full as possible.
My work, as I have said, will begin with the dispensation 7
conceived in relation to Christ and the divinity ascribed to
Him, loftier and greater than human conception. For, he
who intends to hand down in writing the story of the Church's
leadership would have to begin with the very origin of
Christ's dispensation itself, more divine than it seems to
most, since we have laid claim to our name from Him.
Chapter 2
Since His nature is twofold on the one hand like the head
of the body whereby He is recognized as God; 1 on the
other, comparable to the feet whereby He put on man of
like passions with ourselves for the sake of our own salvation
our account of subsequent events therefore would be complete
6 I.e., Christian.
7 On oikonomia, see n. 3, above. The theologia was the ascribing ol
divinity to Christ. Both words are semi-technical terms.
I C. I Cor. 11.3.
38 EUSEBIUS
[only] If we should begin with the story of the most capital
and lordly events of His entire history. In this way, further-
more, will both the genuine antiquity and the divine majesty
of the Christian religion be shown to those who assume that
it is recent and foreign, having put in its appearance no
earlier than yesterday. 2 Now, no language would be sufficient
for a description of the origin and the dignity and the very
substance and nature of Christ, just as, Indeed, the Holy
Spirit says in the prophecies: 'Who shall declare his
generation? 53 for no one knows the Father except the Son,
nor in turn does anyone ever know the Son worthily except
the Father alone who begot Him. And who except the Father
could clearly conceive the Light that existed before the world
and the wisdom that was intellectual and essential before the
ages, the living Word who was In the beginning God by the
side of the Father/ the first and only offspring of God before
all creation and making both visible and invisible/ the
commander-in-chief of the rational and immortal host of
heaven, 6 the angel of great counsel, the promoter of the
ineffable plan, together with the Father the maker of all
things, 7 the second cause of the universe after the Father, the
true and only-begotten Son of God, the Lord and God and
King of all things begotten, who has received at once lordship
and power with divinity Itself and might and honor from the
Father, for, according to the mystical passages of the Scrip-
tures which deal with His divinity: c ln the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God;
2 Antiquity was one of the prime requisites among the people of this
age for any religion that claimed to be true. Hence, the early Christian
apologists laid great stress upon the antiquity of Christianity, especially
through the books of the Old Testament.
3 Isa. 53.8; Matt. 11.27.
4 Cf. John 1.9,10; Prov. 8.23.
5 Cf. John 1.2,4; Col. 1.15,16.
6 Cf. Jos. 5J4.
7 Cf. Isa. 9.6.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 39
all things were made through him, and without him was
made nothing'? 8 This, indeed, the great Moses also teaches,
as the most ancient of all Prophets, when, under the influence
of the Holy Spirit, he describes the creation and arrangement
of the universe, that the Creator and Maker of all things
yielded to Christ Himself, and to no other than to His own
clearly divine and first-born Word the making of subordinate
things, and communed with Him regarding the creation of
man. Tor, 5 he says, 'God said, "Let us make man to our image
and likeness." J& And another of the Prophets confirms this
statement, speaking of His divine nature somewhat like this:
'He spoke, and they were made: he commanded and they
were created,' 10 introducing the Father and Maker as Ruler of
all, commanding with a royal nod, and second to Him the
divine Word, no other than He who is proclaimed by us as
carrying out His Father's commands. Him, too, all who from
the origin of man are said to have excelled in righteousness
and in the virtue of piety, the great servant Moses and his
followers and before him the first Abraham and his children
and as many righteous men and Prophets as appeared there-
after, contemplated with the pure eyes of the mind and
recognized, and they gave Him the worship befitting the Son
of God; and He Himself, never becoming indifferent to the
worship of the Father, was established as teacher of the
knowledge of the Father to all men. Thus the Lord God is
said to have appeared as a common man to Abraham while
8 John 1. 1,3.
9 Gen. 1.26.
10 Ps. 32.9; 148.5. The purpose of this quotation is obscure because it
is so brief. Eusebius is probably influenced by Ps. 32.6: 'By the word
of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the power of them
by the spirit of his mouth.' He takes the 'word' of this passage as
Logos, and then connects the *he' of the verse which he quotes with
the Logos and not the Father. This traditional Christian interpretation
undoubtedly was very familiar to Eusebius and was probably assumed
by him without any consciousness of an omission of the connecting
link in the argument.
40 EUSEBIUS
seated by the oak of Mambre, 11 but he straightway falling
down, although he saw a man with his eyes, worshiped Him
as God, besought Him as Lord, and confessed that he was
not ignorant who He was, using these very words: O Lord
who judgest all the earth, wilt thou not make judgment? 312
For, if it should be unreasonable to suppose that the unbegot-
ten and immutable substance of God the Almighty was
changed into the form of man and, in turn, that the eyes of
the beholders were deceived by the phantasm of something
created and that such things were falsely invented by the
Scripture, who else could be proclaimed God and the Lord
who judges all the earth and makes judgment, appearing In
the shape of a man if it be not proper to call Him the first
cause of all things than His pre-existent word alone? 13 And
concerning Him It was also said in the Psalms: 'He sent
his word, and healed them: and delivered them from their
destructions. 314 Of Him Moses very clearly speaks, calling
Him a second Lord after the Father, when he says: e The
Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire
from the Lord.' 15 Him, too, the divine Scripture calls God,
when He again appeared to Jacob in the form of a man,
saying to Jacob: Thy name shall not be called Jacob, but
Israel shall be thy name, because thou hast been strong with
God,' when also he called the name of the place "the Vision
11 Cf. Gen. 18.1-3.
12 Cf. Gen. 18.25.
13 Eusebius believes that the theophanies of the Old Testament were
all Christophanies or appearances of Christ, the second Person of the
Blessed Trinity. This was the common belief of the Christian leaders
of his time. Augustine seems to have been the first of the Fathers to
differ with this view. He maintained that such Christophanies were
consistent with the belief in the like essence of Father and Son;
furthermore, that it was not the Logos but an angel (hat appeared
to the people of the Old Testament (Cf. De Trinitate 8.11).
Augustine's view was widely adopted, but It has by no means
supplanted the older one.
14 Ps. 106.20.
15 Gen. 19.24.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 41
of God," 5 saying: Tor I have seen God face to face, and
my soul has been saved.' 16 Nor is it at all proper to suppose
that the theophanies described above were of subordinate
angels and ministers of God, since whenever one of these
appears to men the Scripture does not conceal the fact,
calling them precisely by name not God nor indeed Lord, but
angels, as it is easy to prove by countless references. Him, too,
Josue, the successor of Moses, calls the leader of the heavenly
angels and archangels and of the supernal powers and as if he
were the power and wisdom of the Father, 17 entrusted with
the second rank of sovereignty and rule over all, 'prince of the
host of the Lord, 5 although he saw Him only in the form and
shape of a man. At any rate, it is written: 'And it came to
pass, when Josue was in the field of the city of Jericho, he
lifted up his eyes, and saw a man standing over against him,
holding a drawn sword, and he went to him and said: "Art
thou one of ours, or of our adversaries?" ' 'And he said to him,
"I am prince of the host of the Lord and now I am come." '
'And Josue fell on his face to the ground and said to him,
"What commandeth my Lord to his servant?" ' 'And the
prince of the Lord said to Josue, "Loose thy shoe from off thy
feet, for the place whereon thou standest is a holy place." n8
Here, too, you will perceive from the identity of words that
this is no other than he who also spoke to Moses, 19 for Scrip-
ture says with the very words and with reference to this very
person: 'And when the Lord saw that he went forward to
see, the Lord called to him out of the midst of the bush, and
16 Cf. Gen. 32.28,30. The allusion here in verse 30 is to the text of the
Septuagint.
17 Cf. 1 Cor. 1.24.
18 Cf. Jos. 5.13-15.
19 Eusebius, as did Justin Martyr, Origen, Cyprian, and other early
Fathers, identifies the one who appeared to Josue with him who had
appeared to Moses, since the same words were used in both instances.
Many of the later Fathers, such as Theodoret, regarded him who
appeared to Josue as the Archangel Michael, described in Daniel
10.21 and 21.1 as fighting for God's people.
42 EUSEBIUS
said, Moses, Moses. And he said, What is it? And he said,
Come not nigh thither, put off the shoe from thy feet : for the
place whereon thou standest is holy ground. And he said to
him, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' 20
And that there really is a certain substance living and
subsisting before the world, who ministered to the Father and
God of the universe for the making of all created things
called the Word and Wisdom of God, can be learned not
only by the preceding proofs but from the very person of
Wisdom herself, who through Solomon somewhat thus reveals
the mysteries concerning herself: 'I wisdom dwell in counsel,
and am present in learned thoughts. By me kings reign, and the
mighty decree justice; by me great men are magnified, and
princes rule the earth by me.' 21 And to this she adds: 'The
Lord created me in the beginning of his ways for his works;
before the world he set me up; in the beginning before
making the earth, before the fountain of waters sprang out,
before the mountains had been established, and before all the
hills he brought me forth. When he prepared the heavens, I
was present with him, and when he made safe the fountains
under the heavens, I was with him disposing them. I was
she in whom he was delighted every day, and I was delighted
before him at all times, when he rejoiced that he had
completed the world. 522 So, let this be our proof in brief
that the divine Word pre-existed and appeared to some, if
not to all, men.
Now, why this announcement was not made long before to
all men and to all nations, as it is now, would appear
evident from the following. 23 The life of men in the past was
20 Cf. Exod. 3.4-6. See also Justin's Dial. 63.
21 Cf. Prov. 8.12,15,16
22 Cf. Prov. 8.22-25,27,28,30,31.
23 Eusebius undertakes to answer an objection here which was old
and very general. See the beginning of Gregory of Nyssa's Third
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 43
not yet able to receive the all-wise and all-virtuous teaching
of Christ. Immediately in the beginning, after the first life in
blessedness, the first man, despising God's command, fell into
this mortal and perishable life and exchanged his former life
of luxury with God for this curse-laden earth; and those who
populated this entire world of ours after him were manifestly
much worse, with the exception of one here and there, and
chose a brutish manner of living and an intolerable life.
They gave no thought to city or state, to the arts or sciences,
and, besides, were unacquainted even with the name of laws
and ordinances, virtue and philosophy; like nomads in a
desert, they lived like savage and cruel creatures, destroying
natural reason and the germs of thought and civilization in
man's soul by the excess of their self-chosen wickedness,
giving themselves over entirely to all manner of iniquity, so
as at one time to corrupt one another, at another to kill one
another, and again to eat human flesh, to venture on
battles with God and on battles with giants celebrated among
all men, even to plan to fortify the earth against heaven, and
by the madness of a perverted mind to prepare war against
the supreme God Himself. 24 While they were leading this
manner of life, God, the Guardian of all, pursued them with
floods and conflagrations, as if they had been a wild forest
spread over the whole earth, and with successive famines and
plagues and wars in turn and with thunderbolts from on high
He cut them down, as if checking some terrible and quite
obstinate disease of their souls with more severe punishments.
Then, when the stupor of wickedness, as of a terrible intox-
ication, was spread widely over almost everyone, over-
Oration on the Birth of the Lord, also Justin Martyr and Origen in
his work against Celsus, as examples. Eusebius himself follows the
same argument in his Dem. evang., Proem. VIII.
24 The reference here seems to be to Gen. 11.1-9, the building of the
tower of Babel. However, he brings in instances familiar to his readers
whether drawn from Christian or pagan sources. Cf. Praep. evang.
9.14.
44 EUSEBIUS
shadowing and beclouding the souls of nearly all, the first-
born 25 and first-created wisdom of God, namely, the pre-
existent Word himself, because of His exceeding love of man,
appeared to His subjects now in visions of angels, now also
to one or two of the ancients beloved of God in person, as a
saving power of God, 26 in no other than human form, for in
no other way was it possible for them [to perceive Him].
When the seeds of true religion now had been cast by them
upon a multitude of men, and a whole nation of Hebraic
origin existed on earth persevering in true religion, He
handed down to them through the Prophet Moses, as to
multitudes still corrupted by their ancient ways, images and
symbols of a certain mystical sabbath and of circumcision
and instructions in other spiritual principles, but not unveiled
initiations into the mysteries themselves. But when their law
became celebrated and like a fragrant breeze was spread
among all men, then, indeed, under their influence the
minds of most of the Gentiles were softened by the law-givers
and philosophers everywhere, and their wild and savage
brutality was so changed to mildness that they possessed deep
peace, friendships, and social intercourse. 27 Even at that time,
at the beginning of the Roman Empire, there appeared
again to all men and to the Gentiles throughout the world, as
if previously assisted and now actually ready for the reception
of the knowledge of the Father, that same teacher of the
virtues, the assistant of the Father in all good things, the
25 Cf. Col. 1.25; Prov. 8.22; John I.I.
26 Cf. 1 Cor. 1.24.
27 Eusebius and most of the Fathers believed that the Greek philosophers,
law-givers, and poets had drawn upon the ancient Hebrews for their
wisdom. This they believed especially with reference to Plato and
Pythagoras, who were believed to have become acquainted with the
literature of the Hebrews on their journey to Egypt. The Christian
apologists regularly made a great deal of this in their efforts to
prove the antiquity of Christianity. For example, compare Justin's
Apot. 1.59f.; Clement of Alexandria's Cohort, ad Gentcs 6; and
Tertullian's Apol. 47; also Eusebius' Praep. evang. Books 9-10,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 45
divine and heavenly Word of God, in a human body in no way
differing in substance from our own nature. And He per-
formed and suffered such things as were in accord with the
prophecies which foretold that One who was both man and
God would come to dwell in the world, as the performer of
miraculous deeds, and that He would be made manifest to
all the Gentiles as the teacher of the worship of the Father,
and that the marvel of His birth and His new teaching and
the wonder of His deeds, and, in addition to these, the manner
of His death and resurrection from the dead, and, above all,
His divine ascension into heaven would also be made manifest.
Thus Daniel the Prophet, under the influence of the divine
Spirit, saw His kingdom in the end and was inspired thus to
describe the vision of God in human fashion: Tor I beheld, 5
he says, 'till thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days
sat : his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head
like clean wool: his throne like flames of fire: the wheels
of it like a burning fire. A swift stream of fire issued forth
from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him,
and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before
Mm: the judgment sat, and the books were opened. 328 And
next he says : C I beheld, and lo, one like the son of man came
with the clouds of heaven, and he came even to the Ancient
of days: and he was presented before him. And to him was
given power, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples,
tribes, and tongues shall serve him. His power is an everlasting
power that shall not pass away : and his kingdom shall not be
destroyed.' 29 These words clearly could apply to none other
than to our Saviour, the God- Word, who in the beginning
was with God, 30 called c son of man' because of His final
Incarnation. But, since we have collected in special com-
28 Dan. 7.9,10.
29 Cf. Dan. 7.13M.
30 Cf. John 1.1.
46 EUSEBIUS
mentaries 31 the prophetic utterances regarding our Saviour
Jesus Christ, and in others have given a fuller demonstration
of what is revealed concerning Him, we shall be satisfied for
the present with what has been said [thus far].
Chapter 3
It is now time to show that the very name of Jesus, and
especially that of Christ had already been honored by the
ancient God-loving Prophets. 1 Moses himself, having been the
first to make known the name of Christ as being especially
revered and glorious, having handed down the types and
symbols of heavenly things and the mysterious images
according to the oracle which said to him: 'See that thou
make all things according to the pattern which was shown
thee on the mount/ 2 and having consecrated a man High
Priest of God, in so far as it was at all possible, calls this
man Christ; 3 that is, to this dignity of the High Priesthood
which with him surpassed all pre-eminence among men, for
additional honor and glory he attaches the name of Christ.
Thus, then, he indeed knew Christ as a Being divine. And
the same [Moses] by divine inspiration foresaw the name
Jesus very clearly, and again also endowed this with special
privilege. The name of Jesus, which had never been uttered
among men before it was made known to Moses, Moses
applied first to this One alone, 4 who, he knew, again as a
type and a symbol, would receive the rule over all after his
31 Eusebius may be referring here to either or both of the following
works: Prophetical Extracts and Dem. evang.
1 Cf. Dem. evang. 4.17.
2 Heb. 8.5; cf. Exod. 25.40.
3 Cf. Lev. 4.5,16; 6.22.
4 Cf. Num. 13.17.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 47
death. His successor, at any rate, who had never before used
the title 'Jesus,' but had been called by another name,
'Auses,' which his parents had bestowed upon him, he him-
self proclaims Jesus, as a privilege of honor far greater than
a royal crown, giving him the name because Jesus, the son of
Nave, 5 himself bore a resemblance to our Saviour, who
alone, after Moses and the completion of the symbolic 6 work-
ship traasmitted by him, received the rule of the true and pure
religion. And in this way Moses bestowed the name of our
Saviour Jesus Christ, as a mark of the greatest honor, upon
the two men who in his time surpassed all the rest of the
people in virtue and glory the high priest and him who
would rule after him. And the Prophets of succeeding times
also clearly foretold Christ by name, giving testimony before-
hand both to the intrigue of the people of the Jews which
was destined to arise against Him and to the calling of the
Gentiles through Him. At one time, Jeremias bears testimony
in words somewhat as follows: 'The breath of our mouth,
Christ the Lord, is taken in their sins, to whom we said:
Under his shadow we shall live among the Gentiles.' 7 At
another time, David speaks in perplexity thus: 'Why have the
Gentiles raged, and the people devised vain things? The
kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together,
against the Lord, and against his Christ, 38 to which he later
adds in the person of Christ Himself : 'The Lord hath said to
me: Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of
me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and
the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession.' 9 Now, the
5 In Num. 13.17 (Sept.) , the changing of Hoshea, son of Nun, to Josue,
is related; the name Hoshea is spelled Auses; Josue is Jesus, and Nun
is spelled Nave,
6 The implication is that the Jewish worship symbolized the future
Christianity.
7 Cf. Lam. 4.20.
8 Ps. 2.1,2.
9 Ps. 2.7,8.
48 EUSEBIUS
name of Christ adorned not only those among the Hebrews
who were honored with the prepared oil as a symbol, but
also the kings whom the Prophets at the bidding of God
anointed and, as it were, constituted typical Christs, since
they also bore in themselves the types of the royal and
sovereign power of the only and true Christ, the divine Word
who ruleth over all. We have also learned through tradition
that some of the Prophets themselves had already through
anointing become Christs in type, so that all these have
reference to the true Christ, the divine and heavenly Word,
who really is the only High Priest of all, the only King of all
creation, and the Father's only Archprophet of the Prophets.
And the proof of this is that no one of those symbolically
anointed of old, either of priests or of kings or indeed of
Prophets, possessed so great a power of divine virtue as was
displayed by our Saviour and Lord Jesus, the only true Christ.
No one of them, indeed, although they were renowned for
dignity and honor among their own peoples for very many
generations, ever called their subjects Christians from the
symbolical application of the name of Christ to themselves.
Moreover, no one of them received the honor of veneration
from their subjects, nor after death was there any such
disposition among their subjects as to be ready to die In
behalf of him who was honored. And never throughout the
world of nations did so great a commotion arise over any
person of that day, since the power of the symbol was unable
to create such an effect among them as the presence of reality
which was exhibited by our Saviour. For He received the
symbol and types of the High Priesthood from no one, and
He did not derive His earthly origin from a race of priests,
and He was not elevated to a kingdom by armed forces of
men, and He was not a prophet like those of old, and He
obtained no honor nor any pre-eminence among the Jews,
yet with all, even if without symbols but with the truth itself,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 49
He was adorned. Though He did not then obtain honors like
those which we have mentioned above, yet He was called
Christ more than any of them, and as the only true Christ
of God Himself He filled the whole world with Christians,
His truly reverend and holy name, handing down to them no
longer types or images but the uncovered virtues themselves
and the heavenly life in the very doctrines of truth, and He
has received the chrism, not that prepared with material
substances but the very divine anointing itself with the spirit of
God, by sharing in the unbegotten divinity of the Father. And
Isaias again teaches this very truth, exclaiming in one place
as if from Christ Himself: 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
Wherefore he hath anointed me; to preach the gospel to the
poor, he hath sent me, to announce deliverance to captives
and sight to the blind. 310 And not only Isaias, but also David,
proclaims to His Person, saying: 'Thy throne, O God, is
forever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a sceptre of
uprightness. Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity:
therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of
gladness above thy fellows.' 11 In these passages the text calls
Him God in the first verse, and in the second honors Him
with a royal sceptre; then, in turn, going on, after royal and
divine power, represents Him in the third place as having
become Christ, anointed not with oil of material substances
but with the divine 'oil of gladness/ In this way, moreover, it
points out His special distinction and great superiority over
and difference from those of old who as types 12 were anointed
more materially. Elsewhere, the same David makes his state-
ments about Him, speaking clearly somewhat as follows : 'The
Lord said to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand: Until I
10 Cf. Luke 4.18,19; also, Isa, 61.1 (Sept.) .
11 Fs. 44.73-
12 According to Eusebius, this is the meaning of 'above thy fellows'
quoted above.
50 EUSEBIUS
make thy enemies the footstool of thy feet/ 13 and 'From the
wornb before the day star I begot thee. The Lord hath sworn,
and he will not repent : Thou art a priest forever according to
the order of Melchisedek.' 14 Melchisedek is introduced in the
Holy Scriptures of the most high God, 15 not consecrated by
any materially prepared oil, and not even as belonging by
racial descent to the priesthood of the Hebrews. Thus, accord-
ing to His order and not that of others who received symbols
and types, our Saviour has been called Christ and priest with
an appeal to an oath. Thus, also, the narrative does not tell us
that He was anointed corporeally by the Jews or that He was
of a tribe that held the priesthood, but that He came into
being from God himself before the day star, that is, before
the establishment of the world, and that He possesses an
immortal and ageless priesthood to boundless eternity. A great
and clear proof of the immaterial 16 and divine anointing that
took place upon Him is that He alone of all those who have
ever existed up to this time is called Christ by all men through-
out the whole world, and is confessed and borne witness to
under this name by all, and is so commemorated by Greeks
and barbarians and up to this day is honored as a king by
His worshipers throughout the world, and is admired as
more than a Prophet, and is glorified as the only and true
High Priest of God, and, above all this, as the pre-existent
Word of God, 17 who came into being before all ages and
received the honor of worship from the Father, is worshiped
as God. Yet, most wonderful of all, we who have consecrated
ourselves to Him honor Him not only with our voices and
13 Cf. Ps. 109.1.
14 Ps. 109.3,4; cf. Heb. 7.11-25.
15 Cf. Ps. 45.6,7; Heb. 5.6,10; 6.20,8.
16 The Greek as6mato$ is a technical term meaning 'immaterial.' As
such, it has a long history. It was popularized in Christian metaphysics
especially by Origen.
17 Cf. Dem. evang. 4.15. Eusebius is the first of the Fathers to speak of
the three offices of Christ.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 51
with the sound of words but also with the entire disposition
of our soul, so as to prefer giving testimony to Him rather
than saving our own lives.
Chapter 4
Let these remarks suffice at this point as a necessary preface
to my history, that no one may regard our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ, as one recently come into being because of the
time of His ministry in the flesh. But, that no one may suppose
His teaching to be new and strange as if composed by a
youth and one differing in no respect from the rest of men,
corne, let us also discuss this point briefly. For, when the
presence of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, recently shone forth
upon all men, an admittedly new nation appeared in such
numbers in accord with the inscrutable prophecies of the time,
not small and not weak and not dwelling somewhere in a
corner of the earth, but the most populous of all the nations
and the most pious, 1 indestructible and unconquerable in
that it always obtains help from God, the nation that has
been honored by all with the name of Christ, When one of
the Prophets foresaw with the eye of the Divine Spirit what
this nation was destined to be he was so amazed as to
exclaim : c Who hath ever heard such a thing? and who hath
spoken thus? hath the earth brought forth in one day? and
hath a nation been brought forth at once?' 2 And the same
Prophet also indicates in a manner its future name, when
he says: 'And a new name shall be applied to those who
serve me, which shall be blessed on the earth.' 3 But, even
If we are clearly new and this truly recent name of Christians
1 Cf. Apol. 37.
2 Isa. 66.8.
3 Cf. Isa. 65.15,16.
52 EUSEBIUS
has lately been known among all nations, our life and manner
of conduct In accordance with the very teachings of our
religion have not been recently fashioned by us, but, as it
were, from the first creation of man have been established by
the natural concepts of the God-favored men of old, as we
shall somehow show as follows. The nation of Hebrews is
really not new, but a nation held in high esteem for its
antiquity by all men, and is itself known to all. Now, stories
and writings among this nation include ancient men, to be
sure rare and few in number, yet distinguished for piety and
righteousness and every other virtue, some remarkable before
the flood, others after it; of the children and descendants of
Noe, for example, Abraham, whom the children of the
Hebrews proudly proclaim as their own founder and progen-
itor. If anyone should tell us, going back from Abraham to the
first man, that all those who have had the testimony of
righteousness were Christians In fact if not in name, he would
strike not far from the truth. 4 For, as the name professes to
show, that the Christian man through the knowledge of Christ
and His teachings excels in sobriety and righteousness and
patience of life and manliness of virtue and in the pious
confession of the one and only God over all, all this was
zealously practiced by them no less than by us. They did
not care about bodily circumcision, as we do not; nor about
the observance of Sabbaths, as we do not; nor about the
avoidness of certain foods nor about making a distinction in
the others, such as Moses, first of all, In the beginning
handed down to his successors to be observed as symbols,
just as such things are of no concern to Christians today. But
they clearly knew Him, the Christ of God, since it has already
been shown that He was seen by Abraham, deliberated with
Isaac, spoke to Israel, and conversed with Moses and the
Prophets thereafter. Hence you would find that those God-
4 Cf. Justin Martyr, ApoL 1.146.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK ONE 53
favored men were deemed worthy even of the name of Christ
according to the words which say regarding them: 'Touch
ye not my anointed [Christs] : and do no evil to my prophets.' 5
Hence it is clear that the religion which was recently
proclaimed to all the Gentiles through the teaching of Christ
must be considered the first and most ancient of all and the
oldest discovery of religion by those God-favored men of the
age of Abraham. If now it is said that Abraham received
the command of circumcision much later, nevertheless he is
said to have received before this command the testimony of
justice through faith, as the divine Scripture so says some-
where: 'Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him
unto justice.' 6 And to Abraham, as he was before circumcision,
a prophecy was given by God, who revealed Himself to him
(and this was Christ Himself, the Word of God) regarding
those who in later times were to be justified in a manner
similar to himself, in these very words : 'And in thee shall all
the kindred of the earth be blessed,' 7 and 'He shall become
a great and mighty nation, and in him all the nations of the
earth shall be blessed.' 8 We may also believe this as having
been fulfilled in us. For he was justified by faith in the Word
of God, the Christ, who was revealed to him, after he had
renounced the superstitions of his fathers 9 and the former
errors of his life, and had confessed the God, who is over all,
as one and had served this God by deeds of virtue and
not by worship of the law of Moses which was later, and to
him, as he was then, it was said that all the tribes and all the
nations of the earth will be blessed in him; and by deeds
more manifest than words is that manner of religion of Abra-
ham shown to be practiced at present among Christians alone
5 Cf. Ps. 104.15; also, Chron. 16.22 and Ps. 105.15.
6 Gen. 15.6; cf. also, Rom. 4.3.
7 Gen. 12.3.
8 Gen 18.18.
9 Cf. Gen. 12.1.
54 EUSEBIUS
througout the whole earth. What, then, would prevent us,
who are of Christ, from confessing that our manner of life
and religion and that of the God-beloved men of old is one
and the same? So we demonstrate that the correct practice of
religion which was handed down to us by the teaching of
Christ is not new and strange, but, if we must speak truthfully,
is the very first and the only true religion. Let this discussion
suffice for the subject.
Chapter 5
Now, then, after the necessary introduction to our proposed
history of the Church, it remains for us to continue on our
course as if upon a journey, from the appearance of our
Saviour in the flesh, after invoking God, the Father of the
Word, and Jesus Christ Himself, our revealed Saviour and
Lord, the heavenly Word of God to assist us and to co-operate
in the attaining of truth in our narrative. It was the forty-
second year of the reign of Augustus, 1 and the twenty-eighth
after the subjection of Egypt and the death of Antony and
Cleopatra, with the latter of whom the dynasty of the
Ptolemies in Egypt came to an end, when our Saviour and
Lord, Jesus Christ, 2 at the time of the first census, while
Cyrenius 3 was Governor of Syria, in accord with the
1 Eusebius makes the reign of Augustus begin with the death of Julius
Caesar, i.e., 1 B.C., and thus the next year becomes the annus Domini.
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1, who gives the twenty-eighth year after
the conquest of Egypt as the year of Christ's biith, agrees with this, as
does also Epiphamus, Haer. 51.22, and Oro&ius, Hist, 1.1. But Irenaeus
3.25, and Tertullian, Adv. Jud. 8, give as the year of the nativity the
forty-first year of Augustus, 751 u.c., i.e., 3 B.C. Neither of these dates
agrees with Matt. 2.1: 'When Jesus therefore was born in Bethlehem of
Juda, in the days of king Herod/ since Herod died in 4 B.C. The exact
year has always been a matter of dispute.
2 Cf. Luke 2.2.
3 The original Latin form of the name is Guirinius. Luke uses the
Greek form, Cyrenius, which Eusebius also uses.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 55
prophecies^ concerning Him, was born in Bethlehem of
Judaea. Flavius Josephus, the most famous of the historians
among the Hebrews, also makes mention of this census in the
time of Cyrenius/ adding another account about the sect of
Galileans which arose at about the same time, of which Luke,
among our writers, has made mention in the Acts, sa)ing:
'After him rose up Judas the Galilean in the days of the
census and drew some people after him; he too perished, and
all Ms followers were scattered abroad.' 6 The writer men-
tioned above in agreement with this provides the following
by way of explanation in Book 18 of his Antiquities: 'And
Cyrenius, one of those summoned to the Senate, a man who
had held other offices and had passed through all to become
consul, and a person of great dignity in other respects, came
to Syria with a small force, having been sent by Caesar with
judicial power over the people and to make an evaluation of
their property.' 7 And a little later he says: 'But Judas, a
Gaulonite, of a city by the name of Gamala, taking
Sadduchus, a Pharisee, with him, instigated a revolt, saying
that the valuation led to nothing else than downright slavery,
and calling upon the people to defend their liberty.' 8 And in
Book 2 of the History of the Jewish War he writes as fol-
lows about the same man: ( At this time a certain Galilean,
Judas by name, incited the inhabitants to revolt, calling them
cowards, if they submitted to the payment of tribute to the
4 Cf. Mich. 5.2.
5 Eusebius assumes that the census mentioned by Josephus in Ant. 18. 1 1
and referred to in Acts 5.27 is identical with that mentioned in Luke
2.2. This is an obvious error, as a period of ten years separated the
two. Any attempt to reconcile the two is of no avail, and to charge
Eusebius with willful deception and perversion of the facts, as some
have clone, is quite unjustified. The worst that can be said here of
Eusebius is that he is guilty of an inexcusable piece of carelessness. See
Eusebius, Ed. proph. 158ff.
6 Acts 5.37.
7 Josephus A.L 18.1.
8 Ibid. 18.4.
56 EUSEBIUS
Romans, and If they endured, besides God, mortal masters.' 9
So much for Josephus.
Chapter 6
Now, at that time, when Herod 1 was the first person of
foreign origin to hold rule over the Jewish nation, the
prophecy made through Moses that 'A ruler shall not fail
from Juda, nor a leader from his thigh till he come for whom
it is reserved,' 2 began to be fulfilled, and this one Moses also
shows was to be the 'expectation of nations. 53 The terms of
the prediction were indeed unfulfilled so long as it was possible
for them to live under the native rulers of the nation,
beginning with Moses himself and continuing to the reign of
Augustus, in whose time Herod, the first foreigner, was
entrusted by the Romans with the government of the Jews,
he being, as Josephus hands down, 4 an Idumaean 5 on his
father's side and an Arabian on his mother's; but according to
Africanus, 6 and he, too, was no ordinary writer those who
9 Josephus, J5.7. 2.118.
1 Herod the Great, Son of Antipater, an Idumean. He had been
appointed procurator of Judaea by Caesar in 47 B.C., and at the same
time was made Governor of Galilea. He was declared King of Judaea
by the Roman Senate in 40 B.C.
2 Cf. Gen. 49.10.
3 Ibid.
4 CL Josephus, A.L 14.8,121; S.L 1.123,181. According to Josephus,
Herod's father was Antipater, and his mother Cypros, an Arabian
woman of noble birth,
5 Also called Edomites, descendants of Esau and inhabitants of the
Sinaitic peninsula south of the Dead Sea. The principal city of these
people was Petra, the famous rock city. Always the enemies of the
Jews, they refused them free passage through their land (Cf. Num.
20.20) . They were conquered by Saul and David, regained their
independence and were finally subjugated by John Hyrcanus.
Although he permitted them to retain the possession of their land, he
forced them to tihdergo circumcision and adopt the Jewish law CL
Josephus, AJ. 14.8,121; B.L 1.123.181,
6 On Africanus, cf. Book 6, Ch. 31.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 57
are accurately informed about his history say that Antipater,
who was his father, was the son of a certain Herod of
Ascalon, 7 one of the so-called temple servants 8 at the Temple
of Apollo. This Antipater, after being captured as a child by
Idumaean robbers, remained with them, because his father,
who was a poor man, was unable to pay ransom for him;
after being brought up in their customs, he was later on
befriended by Hyrcanus, 9 the high priest of the Jews. His
child was the Herod 10 of the time of our Saviour. When, then,
the kingdom of the Jews came upon such a man, the
expectation of the Gentiles in accordance with the prophecy
was now at the door, since those who had ruled and
governed among them in succession after Moses ceased with
him. 11 Before their captivity and removal to Babylon they
were ruled by kings, beginning first with Saul and David;
and before the kings, rulers called judges, who came after
Moses and his successor Josue administered them. After the
return from Babylon they continued without interruption to
employ an aristocratic form of government with an oligarchy
(for the priests had the direction of affairs), until Pompey, a
general of the Romans, attacked and took Jerusalem by force,
and defiled the holy places by entering the innermost
sanctuary of the Temple. 12 And him who was both king and
7 Ascalon, one of the five cities of the Philistines, frequently mentioned
in the Old Testament, on the Mediterranean Sea between Gaza and
Joppa. Nothing is known of this Herod of Ascalon; he may never have
existed,
8 Hierodouloi; literally, temple -slaves, whose duties were numerous.
9 Hyrcanus II, eldest son of the King Alexander Jannaeus of the
Maccalaean family. He become high priest on the death of his father
in 78 B.C., and on the death of his mother in 69 B.C. ascended the
throne. At the command of Herod the Great he was murdered. He
was always a weak man, and during his reign was entirely under
the influence of his minister, Antipater.
10 Herod the Great.
11 Josephus, A.L 11.112,111.
12 Pompey, in 63 B.C., could not resist the temptation of entering the
Holy of Holies. He was very much impressed by its simplicity, and
failed to disturb its treasures, wondering at a religion without a
visible God.
58 EUSEBIUS
high priest, by name Aristobulus, 13 and who had continued
the succession of his ancestors until that time, he sent as a
prisoner together with his children to Rome ; and to Hyrcanus
his brother he handed over the high-priesthood, and the
entire nation of the Jews he made tributary to the Romans
from that time. 14 Immediately after Hyrcanus, who was the
last in line of the priestly succession, was made prisoner by
the Parthians, 15 Herod the first foreigner, as I have said, was
entrusted with the nation of the Jews by the Roman Senate
and the Emperor Augustus, and in his time clearly, when the
advent of Christ was close at hand, the expected salvation
and calling of the Gentiles also followed according to the
prophecy. 16 Now, from this time, when the rulers and
governors from Juda, I mean those of the nation of the
Jews, had ceased, naturally the affairs of the priesthood which
had passed on steadily from generation to generation in
closest succession became straightway confused. Of this, too,
you have as a trustworthy witness, Josephus, 17 who points out
that Herod, on being entrusted with the kingdom by the
Romans, no longer appointed as high priest those from the
ancient line, but assigned the honor to obscure persons, and
that a course similar to that of Herod's in the appointment
13 Aristobulus II, younger brother of Hyrcanus, and much more able
and energetic. He took over the kingdom by arrangement with his
brother in 66 B.C. Pompey deposed him in 63 and took him to Rome.
He died in 48 B.C. He had assumed the power by reason of his superior
ability, not by regular succession as Eusebius says.
14 The Jews were independent for three years, from 40 to 37 B.C., when
Antigonus, son of Aristobulus and nephew of Hyrcanus, was in power,
Otherwise, the independence of the Jews ceased from then until
modern times.
15 In 40 B.C. Antigonus, with the help of the Parthians, seized Jerusalem
and set himself up there as king. But Herod conquered him in 37 B.C.
Hyrcanus returned to Rome in 36, but not as high priest.
16. Cf, Isa. 9.2; 42.6; 49.6; etc.
17 Cf. AJ. 20.247,249.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 59
of the priests was followed by Archelaus, 18 his son, and after
him by the Romans 19 when they took over the government of
the Jews. The same writer points out that Herod was the
first to lock up the sacred robe of the high priest and to keep
it under his own seal, for he no longer permitted the high
priests to keep it at their disposal, and that Archelaus after
him and after the latter the Romans did likewise. Let so much
be said, also, as a proof of the fulfillment of another prophecy
on the manifestation of our Saviour Jesus Christ. The text in
Daniel, 20 after describing very clearly a number of certain
weeks precisely 'unto Christ the prince,' which we have
described elsewhere, 21 prophesies that after the conclusion of
these weeks the anointing among the Jews would be utterly
destroyed; and this is clearly proved to have been fulfilled at
the time of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. Let so much
be by way of a necessary premise on our part to establish the
truth of the date.
Chapter 7
Since Matthew and Luke in their Gospels have handed
down to us the genealogy of Christ differently and are thought
by many to disagree, and since each one of the faithful in his
ignorance of the truth has been eager to make guesses about
the passages, come, let us set forth the story that has come
18 A son of Herod the Great by Malthace, a Samaritan woman; younger
brother of Herod Antipas. On the death of Herod in 4 B.C., he
succeeded to the government of Idumea, Samaria, and Judaea, under
the title of ethnarch,
19 Archelaus died in A.D. 7. Judaea was then made a Roman province, and
was ruled by procurators until Herod Agrippa I came into power
in 37.
20 Dan. 9.24-27.
21 Cf. Dem. evang. 8.2-3; also Eclogae proph, 3.45.
60 EUSEBIUS
down to us about them, which the Africanus indicated by us
a little above told when writing a letter to Aristides 1 on the
harmony in the genealogies in the Gospels, completely
refuting the opinions of others as forced and falsified, and
setting forth the story which he himself had received 2 in
these very words: 'Since the names of the families in Israel
were numbered either by nature or by law ; by nature, through
the succession of legitimate birth; by law, when another
begat children in the name of a brother who had died child-
less; 3 for because clear hope of resurrection had as yet not
been given, they portrayed the future promise by a mortal
resurrection, in order that the name of him who had departed
might continue without end. Since, then, by being inserted
into this kind of genealogy some succeeded legitimately in
the order of father and son, but others, though born to one
father, were ascribed to another by name, mention was made
of both, of the actual forebears and of those only so by name.
Thus, neither of the Gospels makes a false statement,
reckoning both nature and law. For the two families were so
intermingled, the one descended from Solomon and the other
from Nathan, 4 by the raising up of children by the childless
and by second marriages and by the raising up of seed, that
the same persons might be justly regarded as belonging to
certain parents at one time and to others at another, namely,
to their reputed and to their real fathers. Thus, both accounts
are strictly true and come down to Joseph complicatedly but
accurately. That my words may be clear, I shall explain the
1 Nothing is known about this Aristides, but the epistle itself exists
in numerous fragments and is translated in the series of Ante-Nicene
Father. Africanus appears to have been the first to attempt to
harmonize the two genealogies of Christ systematically.
2 Eusebius errs in saying that Africanus received the following explan-
ation from tradition, for Africanus himself states expressly that his
interpretation is not supported by tradition.
3 For the law, see Deut. 25.5ff.
4 Son of David and Bathsheba, and thus own brother of Solomon,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 61
intermingling of the families. 5 By counting the generations
from David through Solomon, the third from the end is
found to be Matthan, 6 who begat Jacob the father of Joseph,
but from Nathan the son of David, according to Luke, 7 in
similar fashion the third from the end is Melchi, for Joseph
was the son of Eli, the son of Melchi. Therefore, since Joseph
is our subject, we must show how each is recorded as his
father, Jacob deriving his descent from Solomon and Eli from
Nathan, and how first these, that is, Jacob and Eli, were two
brothers, and how before them their fathers, Matthan and
Melchi, who were of different families, are declared to be
Joseph's grandfathers. Now, Matthan and Melchi, having
married the same woman successively, became fathers of step-
brothers, for the law did not prevent a woman who had lost
her husband by divorce or by death from marrying another.
By Estha, then, for the woman was so called according to
tradition, first Matthan, who traced his family from Solomon,
begat Jacob, and, on the death of Matthan, Melchi, who by
descent goes back to Nathan, being of the same tribe but of
another family, as I have said above, married the widow and
had a son, Eli. So, we shall find Jacob and Eli, step-brothers,
of two different families, of whom one, Jacob, when Eli his
brother died childless, took over the wife and by her begat
5 This involved argument seems to say that among the Jews, when a
man died childless, his brother was bound by the duty of begetting
children by the widow, who continued to be regarded as the wife of
the deceased. These children then were regarded as the offspring of
the dead brother, although actually those "of the living brother. So it
was with Joseph. Legally, he was the son of Eli; physically, the son
of Jacob. In this case, an additional complication arose from the fact
that Eli and Jacob were only half-brothers; they were both the sons
of Estha, but Eh was by her second husband, Melchi, descended from
Nathan the son of David, and Jacob by her first husband, Matthan,
descended from Solomon the Son of David. So, when Matthew gives the
physical descent of Jesus, he traces it through Jacob to Solomon, while
Luke, avoiding the word 'begat/ gives the legal descent by tracing it
through Eli to Nathan.
6 Cf. Matt. 1.15,16.
7 Cf. Luke 3.23,24.
62 EUSEBIUS
a third (from Estha), Joseph, according to nature for him-
self ( and according to reason ) , because of which it is written,
"And Jacob begot Joseph/ 58 but according to law he was
the son of Eli, for Jacob, being his brother, raised up seed to
him. Wherefore, the genealogy traced also according to him
will not be rendered void, which Matthew the Evangelist
enumerates in these words: "And Jacob begot Joseph," but
Luke, on the other hand, says: "Who was, as was supposed
[for he also adds this], the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
the son of Melchi," 9 for he could not express the legal descent
more distinctly, and up to the end he suppressed the expres-
sion "he begot" with reference to such raising of children,
when he referred back to "Adam, who was the son of God," 10
analytically. This, Indeed, is neither without proof nor is it
a conjecture. In any case, the relatives of the Saviour
according to the flesh, either from a desire to boast or
simply giving information, but at all events telling the truth,
have handed down the following account. When Idumaean
robbers attacked Ascalon, a city of Palestine, they carried
away captive from a temple of Apollo, which had been built
near the walls, Antipater son of a certain temple slave,
Herod in addition to other booty, and because the priest
was unable to pay ransom for his son, Antipater was reared
in the customs of the Idumaeans and later won the favor of
Hyrcanus the high priest of Judaea. When he went on a
mission to Pompey in behalf of Hyrcanus and freed his
kingdom for him, which was stolen away by his brother
Aristobulus, he himself had the good fortune to obtain the
title of overseer of Palestine. 11 When Antipater was treach-
erously murdered out of envy for his great good fortune, 12 he
8 Matt. 1.16.
9 Cf. Luke 3.23,24.
10 Luke 3.28.
11 Appointed by Julius Ceasar in 47 B.C.
12 Poisoned by Malichus in 42 B.C.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK ONE 63
was succeeded by a son Herod, 13 who later was appointed by
Antony and with a decree of the august Senate to be King
of the Jews. 14 His sons were Herod 15 and other tetrarchs.
These statements, moreover, agree also with the histories of
the Greeks. 16 But, since until then the genealogies of the
Hebrews and those traceable to proselytes, such as Achior 17
the Ammonite and Ruth the Moabite, 18 and those mixed
genealogies that had come out of Egypt, had been inscribed
in the archives, 19 Herod, because the genealogy of the Israel-
ites contributed nothing to his advantage, and because he was
goaded by the consciousness of his low birth, burned all the
records of their genealogies, 20 thinking that he would appear
of noble origin by reason of the fact that no one could from
public documents trace back his genealogy to the patriarchs
or proselytes and those mingled with them, the so-called
ff gers." 21 Now, a few of those who were careful, having
private records of their own, either by remembering the names
or possessing them otherwise from copies, prided themselves
on preserving the memory of their high birth, and among
13 Herod the Great.
14 Appointed king in 40 B.C.
15 The tetrarchs Herod Antipas and Herod Philip II, and the ethnarch
Archelaus.
16 Cf. Cassius Dio 37.15ff. and Stroba 16.2.46.
17 A general of the Ammonites in the array of Holofernes. According to
the Book of Judith, he was a general of the army of Nebuchadnezzar,
King of the Assyrians, and was slain by Judith. Achior is said to have
become a Jewish proselyte later.
18 Cf. Judith 14.10; Exod. 12.38; Deut. 23,8.
19 The Jews, who made so much of tribal and family descent, were
accustomed to keep copies of the genealogical records of the people
in the public archives. Cf. Contra Apion. 1.7.
20 There is reason to doubt the truth of Africanus' statement of the
burning of the records. Thus we learn from Josephus, De vita 1, that
he himself withdrew his own lineage from the public records, which
must have taken place at least a half-century later than the time
Herod is said to have destroyed them utterly. Furthermore, there is
no other witness to the statement besides Africanus.
21 A Hellenized form of the Hebrew word which is translated 'stranger.'
Cf. Exod. 12.19: 'whether he be a stranger or born in the land.'
Africanus is referring here to all who came out of Egypt with the
Israelites, both native Egyptians and foreigners resident in Egypt.
64 EUSEBIUS
these were those already mentioned, called "deposyni" 22
because of their relationship to the family of the Saviour,
who traveled from the Jewish villages of Nazareth and
Cochaba 23 over the rest of the land and explained the
aforesaid genealogy from the book of daily records as far as
they extended. 24 Now, whether this be so or otherwise, no
one could find a clear explanation in my opinion and in that
of any one who is really well disposed, and let this satisfy us,
even if it does lack proof, since we are unable to give a
better or more truthful explanation. In any case, the Gospel
tells the whole truth.' And at the end of the same letter he
adds the foEowing : 'Matthan descended from Solomon begot
Jacob. 25 When Matthan died, Melchi descended from Nathan
begot Eli from the same woman. Therefore, Eli and Jacob
were brothers by the same mother. When Eli died without
children, Jacob raised up seed to him, having begotten
Joseph as his natural son but as the legal son of Eli. Thus,
Joseph was the son of both.'
So much for Africanus. Now, since the genealogy of
Joseph is so traced, Mary also appears virtually to have been
of the same tribe as he, since, according to the law of Moses,
intermarriages between different tribes were not permitted, 26
22 The Greek word means 'belonging to a master/ the master here being
the Lord. It refers to those called above relatives of the Saviour
according to the flesh.
23 According to Epiphanius, Haer. 30.2,16, a village in Basantide near
Decapolis, the seat of Ebionism.
24 Literally, 'the book of days/ taken from the Hebrew, probably an
incomplete genealogical source requiring completion from memory,
but not any one of the several official sets of records.
25 Cf. Eusebius, Quaest. ad Steph. f pp. 232,224.
26 The law referred to here is recorded in Num. 36.6-10: 'Let them marry
to whom they will, only so that it be to men of their own tribe, lest
the possession of the children of Israel be mingled from tribe to tribe.
For all men shall marry wives of their own tribe and kindred; and
all women shall take husbands of the same tribe; that the inheritance
may remain in the families, and that the tribes be not mingled one
with another, but remain so, as they were separated by the Lord/ Cf,
also, Ps. 132.11; Acts 11.30 and 13.23; Rom. 1.3.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK ONE 65
for it was commanded to join in marriage with one of the
same family and of the same people, so that the inheritance
of the race might not be changed from tribe to tribe. So, let
this also suffice on the present point.
Chapter 8
Now, when Christ was born, according to the prophecies, in
Bethlehem of Judaea, at the time indicated, Herod, on being
asked by the Magi from the East who were questioning where
he might be who was born king of the Jews (for they said that
they had seen His star and that this had been the reason for
their taking so long a journey, having been caused to worship
the infant as God by their zeal), was not a little disturbed
at the situation, inasmuch as his sovereignly was in danger,
as he thought. On inquiring of the Doctors of the Law
among the people where they expected that Christ would
be born, and when he learned that the prophecy of Micheas 1
foretold that it would take place in Bethlehem, with a single
edict he commanded that infants at their mother's breast, of
two years of age and less, both in Bethlehem and its outskirts,
be put to death according to the time precisely indicated to
him by the Magi, thinking, as was natural, that Jesus would
share the same fate as those of His own age. However, the
Child anticipated the plot by being taken to Egypt, since
His parents had learned through the appearance of an angel
what was about to take place. Now, the sacred scripture 2 of
the Gospel also teaches this, but it is worth noting in this
connection the result of Herod's crime against Christ and
those of like age with Him; for immediately, after not even
a short delay, divine justice overtook him while he was still in
1 Mich. 5.2.
2 Matt. 2.1-7 ff.
66 EUSEBIUS
this life, exhibiting a prelude of what was to be his lot after his
departure hence. How, then, he beclouded the so-considered
glories of his reign by the successive calamities within his
household, by the foul murders of wife and children and of
the rest who were especially close in family relationship and
most dear to him, 3 it is not possible to recount in detail now,
for the account of these events, which Josephus has detailed
at length 4 in the history of Herod, overshadow any tragic
drama. But it is better to hear from the words of the writer
how, as soon as Herod plotted against our Saviour and the
other infants, a scourge sent by God seized him and drove
him to his death, according to words of him who wrote in
Book 17 of the Jewish Antiquities as follows: 'But in Herod
disease continually grew worse as God exacted punishment
for his lawless deeds. For there was a slow fire which did not
indicate burning to those who touched him so much as it
added distress to his inward parts, and an awful desire to
eat, which could not be satisfied, and ulceration of the
intestines, and especially extreme pains in the colon, and a
moist and transparent dropsy about his feet; similar, too, was
an inflammation of the bladder, and even a putrefaction of
the genitals breeding worms, and an excessive difficulty in
breathing which was very disagreeable because of the
offensiveness of the odor and the rapidity of his respiration.
Furthermore, he was convulsed in every limb with intolerable
severity. So it was said by those who practiced divination
and possessed the wisdom to pronounce on these things that
God was exacting this punishment from the king for his
great impiety. 35
Such is the account given by the aforementioned writer
3 Although Herod's reign was very successful and prosperous, his
domestic life was constantly disturbed by a series of tragedies resulting
from the mutual jealousies of his ten wives and of their children.
4 Cf. the later books of A. I. and the first book of the Jewish Wars.
5 Josephus, A.L 17.168-170.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK ONE 67
in the work quoted, and in Book 2 of the Jewish Wars he
hands down a similar account about the same king in the
following words: 6 'Then the disease seized his whole body
and tore it asunder with sufferings of all kinds. For he had
a slow fever, and an unbearable itching of the whole
surface, incessant pains in the colon, and swellings about his
feet as if sick with dropsy, and inflammation of the bladder
and putrefaction of the genitals breeding worms; besides
this, difficulty in breathing and ability to breath only in an
upright position, and spasms in every limb, so that those who
practiced divination said that his diseases were a punishment.
Although he struggled with such sufferings, he clung to life
and hoped for deliverance and devised means of cure. So he
crossed the Jordan and took the warm baths at Callirhoe. 57
These flow into Lake Asphaltites, but because of their
sweetness are also drinkable. When the physicians here
decided to warm his whole body with hot oil by letting it
down into a tub full of oil, he collapsed and lifted up his
eyes as if dying. And when an uproar arose among his
servants, he recovered at the shock, but despairing of any
future deliverance he gave orders for the distribution of fifty
drachmas to each of his soldiers and much money to his
governors and friends. And he himself turned about and
returned to Jericho, now quite melancholy and with difficulty
refraining from the threat of suicide, but he proceeded with
the planning of a nefarious deed. For he brought together
the illustrious men of each village from all Judaea and gave
orders to shut them up in the so-called Hippodrome. He then
summoned Salome 8 his sister and her husband Alexas, 9 and
6 B.L 1.656-660
7 A town just east of the Dead Sea.
8 Full sister of Herod the Great; wife, in succession, of Joseph,
Costabarus, and Alexas. She was quite as cruel as Herod himself, and
by her jealousy and envy was responsible for most of the terrible
tragedies in his life.
9 Usually known as Alexander.
68 EUSEBIUS
said: *I know that the Jews will celebrate my death with a
festival, but I can be mourned by others and have a splendid
funeral, if you be willing to give heed to my commands.
Place soldiers around these men who are now under guard,
and, as soon as I expire, kill them with all speed, that all
Judaea and every house may weep over me even against its
will.* 10 And a little later Josephus says: 'And since again he
was racked by lack of sustenance and spasmodic cough,
because of his pains he gladly felt compelled to anticipate
fate. He took an apple and asked also for a knife, for he was
accustomed to cut and eat them. Then, looking about lest
there might be someone who would prevent him, he raised
his right hand as if to stab himself.' 11 In addition to all this,
the same historian relates 12 that before the end of Ms life he
ordered the murder of another of his legitimate sons, a third
in addition to the two previously put to death, and that
immediately he ended his life in great agony. Such was the
achievement of Herod's death, who paid a just penalty for the
murder of the children 13 in the Bethlehem region which he
caused through his plot against our Saviour. After this, an
angel, 14 appearing to Joseph who was staying in Egypt,
commanded him to return to Judaea with the chUd and his
mother, pointing out that those who sought the life of the
10 BJ. 1.662. This horrible story comes from Josephus alone, but it is
so in keeping with Herod's character that we have no reason to doubt
it. But Herod's commands were not carried out; the men were released
by Salome after -Herod's death.
11 Josephus, A. I. 17.187.191. But Herod did not commit suicide. His
cousin, Achiabus, prevented it, as Josephus himself informs us in
this connection.
12 B.L 1.664,665. Herod had intended that Antipater, his son by his first
wife Doris, be his successor in the kingdom, but he was beheaded five
days before his father's death for plotting against him.
13 This is the traditional explanation of the cause of Herod's sufferings.
Josephus, however, never mentions the slaughter of the innocents,
either through ignorance or because of the unimportance of the
tragedy as compared with other atrocities of the time.
14 Cf. Matt. 2.19,20.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK ONE 69
little Child were dead. The Evangelist continues this account
by saying: 'And when he heard that Archelaus was king in
place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go back there,
and, being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the districts
of Galilee. 515
Chapter 9
The historian mentioned above confirms the establishment
in power of Archelaus 1 after Herod, describing the manner
in which he succeeded to the kingdom of the Jews by the
will of his father Herod and by the decree of Caesar Augustus,
and how, when he fell from the throne after a reign of ten
years, his brothers Philip 2 and the young Herod, 3 together
with Lysanias, 4 administered their own tetrarchies.
The same historian in Book 18 of the Antiquities 5 shows
how Pontius Pilate in the twelth year of the reign of Tiberius 6
was entrusted with the government of Judaea (for he had
succeeded to the rule of the entire empire after Augustus had
15 Matt. 2.22.
1 The son of Herod the Great, and own brother of the tetrarch Herod
Antipas. On the death of Antipater, Herod named him as his successor
in the kingdom, and Augustus confirmed the choice, although he
gave him only the title of ethnarch. He is spoken of as king in Matt.
2.22, but only in a general sense. His territory was composed of
Idumea, Judea, Samaria, and the cities on the coast, just about half
of his father's kingdom, Herod Antipas and Philip divided the other
half between them.
2 A son of Herod the Great by his wife Cleopatra; tetrarch of Batanea,
Trachontis, Aurinitis, etc., from 4 B.C. to A.D. 34. He was noted for his
justice and moderation,
3 Son of Herod the Great by his wife Malthace; tetrarch of Galilee and
Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39. It was this Herod who beheaded John
the Baptist, and to him that Pilate sent Jesus. The New Testament
account clearly describes his character.
4 Mentioned in Luke 3,1 as tetrarch of Abilene. Eusebius here follows
the account of Luke.
5 Cf. Josephus, A.L 18.32,3335,89.
6 I.e., reckoning from A.D. 14, the year in which Augustus died, when
Tiberius became sole emperor. Pilate was appointed procurator in A.D.
26, and was recalled in 36.
70 EUSEBIUS
held the reigns of govenment for fifty-seven years 7 ), and for
ten entire years he remained in power, almost until the death
of Tiberius. Thus, the forgery of those who recently and
formerly distributed acts against our Saviour 8 has been
clearly proved; for in them the very first mention of a date
convicts the forgers of falsehood. What they dared to say
about the Saviour's passion took place in the fourth consul-
ship of Tiberius, which was the seventh year of his reign, at
which time Pilate is shown not yet to have been in charge
of Judaea, if one should use Josephus as a witness, who points
out so clearly in his work quoted above that Pilate was
appointed procurator of Judaea by Tiberius actually in the
twelfth year of the reign of Tiberius.
Chapter 10
In the period of these rulers, then, according to the
Evangelist, 1 while Tiberius Augustus was passing through
the fifteenth year 2 of his reign and Pontius Pilate the fourth
of his governorship, and Herod, Lysanias, and Philip were
tetrarchs of the rest of Judaea, our Saviour and Lord, Jesus
the,, Christ of God, entering upon about His thirtieth year, 3
was on hand for the baptism of John, and straightway began
the promulgation of the Gospel.
The divine Scripture 4 says that He completed the entire
7 I.e., reckoning from the time of the death of Julius Caesar, and
considering Augustus as the second emperor. Augustus did not actually
become emperor until 31 B.C., after the battle of Actium.
8 Many acts of Pilate were written by Christians and many of these are
still extant. Eusebius is not referring to these here, but rather to those
forged by the enemies of the Christians with the approval of Emperor
Maximmus.
1 Cf. Luke 3.1.
2 I.e., reckoning from A.TX 14, when Tiberius became sole emperor.
3 Cf. Luke 3.23.
4 Cf. Luke 3.2; also, John 11.4931, and 18.13.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 71
time of His teaching while Annas and Caiaphas were high
priest,* showing that the entire time of His teaching was
included within the years of their administration. Since He
began in the high priesthood of Annas and continued until
the reign of Caiaphas, the entire intervening time does not
amount to four years. For, since the regulations of the law
of that time were already being destroyed somehow, there
was a relaxation of the rule by which the duties of the
service of God were for life and by hereditary descent, and
different men at different times were entrusted with the high
priesthood by the Roman governors and continued in this
office for no more than one year. 6 Josephus relates that four
high priests intervened in succession from Annas to Caiaphas,
speaking as follows in the same text of the Antiquities: 7
'Valerius Gratus 8 put an end to the priesthood of Annas 9 and
appointed Ishmael 10 the son of Phabi as high priest, and after
a short time he removed this one, and named as high priest
Eliezer, the son of Annas the high priest. And after a year had
passed he removed this one also and passed over the high
priesthood to Simon, 11 the son of Kamithus. But no more than
5 The singular 'high priest' is harsh both in English and Greek, but
it is correctly used, since no more than one high priest could serve at
one time, Eusebius tries to get over the difficulty by interpreting the
phrase to mean the period between the high priesthoods of Annas
and Caiaphas.
6 The high priests were frequently changed by the Roman governors,
and there was no regularly prescribed interval. Some continued in
office for many years. Thus, Caiaphas was high priest for more than
ten years, having been appointed by Pilate and also by his predecessor,
Valerius Gratus, and his successor, the Proconsul Vitellius.
7 Josephus, A.L 1834,35.
8 Made procurator by Tiberius early in his reign. He ruled about eleven
years, when he was succeeded by Pilate in A.D. 26.
9 Also known as Annas; was appointed high priest by Quirinius, Gover-
nor of Syria, in A.D. 6 or 7. He remained in office until 14 or 15,
when he was removed by Valerius Gratus.
10 Either Ishmael or Caiaphas must have held the office of high priest
for eight or ten years, or Gratus' period would not be filled up.
Eusebius seems to be wrong in limiting his period of office to one year.
11 Otherwise unknown.
72 EUSEBIUS
a year passed with him in office when Josephus, known also
as Caiaphas, 12 became his successor.' So, the entire period of
our Saviour's teaching is shown to be not even a complete
period of four years, since four high priests from Annas to the
appointment of Caiaphas fulfilled an annual service over a
period of four years. Hence, the scripture of the Gospel
naturally has indicated Caiaphas as the high priest of the
year in which the events of the Saviour's passion were fulfilled,
and from this also the time of Christ's teaching is shown not
to be discordant with the foregoing observation itself. But our
Lord and Saviour, not very long after the beginning of His
preaching, called the twelve Apostles and to them alone of
all His disciples He gave the name of Apostles as a special
honor. 13 Later, He proclaimed seventy others, and them also
He sent out two by two in advance of himself into every place
and city where He Himself was to come. 14
Chapter 11
The divine scripture of the Gospels 1 recalls that not long*
afterwards John the Baptist was beheaded by the younger
Herod, 2 and Josephus 3 confirms the story, making mention of
Herodias 4 by name, and telling how, although she was the
wife of his brother, Herod took her in marriage, after
divorcing her who was formerly legally married to him (and
12 Joseph Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas, well known for his prominence
in Gospel history.
13 Cf. Matt. 10.1-4; Mark 3.14.19; Luke 6.13-16; 9.1.
14 Cf. Luke 10.1.
1 Cf. Matt. 14.1-12; Mark 6.14-29; Luke 3.19,20; 9.7-9.
2 Herod Antipas.
3 A.L 18.109414.
4 Well known from the accounts of the New Testament; a daughter of
Aristobulus and granddaughter of Herod the Great. She first married
Herod Philip, a son of Herod the Great and so her uncle, who seems
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK ONE 73
she was the daughter of Aretas 5 the king of the Petraeans),
and separating Herodias from her husband who was still alive.
Because of her, he also slew John and waged war against
Aretas over the dishonor inflicted upon his daughter. Josephus
says that in this war, when they had come to battle, Herod's
entire army was destroyed, 6 and that he suffered this because
of the plot which he had carried out against John. The same
Josephus, 7 in confessing that John was among the most
righteous of men and a baptist, confirms what has been
written about him in the text of the Gospels. He relates 3 also,
that Herod fell from his throne because of the same Herodias,
with whom he was driven into exile and condemned to live
in Vienne, 8 a city in Gaul. All this has been related by him in
Book 18 of the Antiquities, where he writes about John in
these very words: 9 To some of the Jews it seemed that the
army of Herod had been destroyed by God, who was exacting
a very just penalty for John who was called the Baptist. For
Herod killed him, a good man who exhorted the Jews,
practicing virtue and exercising righteousness toward one
another and piety toward God, to come together for baptism;
for thus would baptism appear acceptable to Him, only in
those who used it not for the renunciation of certain sins but
to have been a person of no great prominence. She deserted him and
married another uncle, Herod Antipas the Tetrarch. She was faithful
to her second husband, following him into exile and dying there.
5 Aretas Aeneas, King of Arabia Nabataea, whose capital was the
famous rock city of Petra. He is the Aretas mentioned in 2 Cor. 11.32
in connection with the flight of St. Paul from Jerusalem.
6 After this disaster Herod appealed to the Emperor Tiberius, who
commanded Vitellius, the governor of Syria, to march against Aretas.
But the death of Tiberius intervened, and under his successor,
Caligula, friendly relations were established between Aretas and the
Romans.
7 A.L 18.117; 18.240-255.
8 Josephus gives Lyons rather than Vienne as the place of exile. Eusebius
appears to confuse the fate of Herod with that of Archelaus, who was
exiled to Vienne.
9 Josephus, A.L 18.116-119, This passage is found also in Origen's
Contra Celsum,
74 EUSEBIUS
for the purification of the body, on condition that the soul
also had been previously completely cleaned by righteousness.
And when the rest were gathered together, for they were
exceedingly excited at hearing his words, Herod, fearing his
great persuasiveness with men, lest it should lead to some
sedition, for they seemed ready to do everything that he
advised, thought it much better, before any revolution arose
because of John, to seize and destroy him first, rather than to
repent afterwards when a revolution had taken place and he
had fallen into difficulties. 10 And John, because of Herod's
suspicion, was sent in bonds to Macheras, 11 the aforementioned
prison, and there slain.'
After narrating this about John, he also makes mention of
our Saviour in the same historical work, as follows : 'And there
lived at this time Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it be fitting
to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, a
teacher of men who receive the truth with pleasure, and He
attracted many of the Jews and many also of the Greek
population. This was the Christ; and, when Pilate had
condemned Him to the cross on the accusation of the leading
men among us, those who had first loved Him did not cease
to do so, for He appeared to them on the third day restored
to life, the divine Prophets having told these and countless
other wonders about Him. And even to the present day the
race of Christians who have derived their name from Him
has not died out.' 12
When a writer sprung from the Hebrews themselves has
passed on these details in his own work regarding John the
Baptist and our Saviour, what escape could there still be
10 Josephus and the Evangelists differ as to the cause of John's imprison-
ment. The Evangelists, however, everywhere appear to have more
direct and accurate knowledge than does Josephus. Thus, Mark on this
matter is far more exact and instructive.
11 An important fortress east of the northern end of the Dead Sea;
mentioned above in connection with Herodias.
12 A. I. 18.65,64.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 75
from convicting those who have forged the Reports against
them of being devoid of shame? But let this suffice on this
subject.
Chapter 12
Now, the names of the Apostles of the Saviour are clear to
everyone from the Gospels, 1 but of the seventy disciples 2 no
list is in circulation anywhere. It is said, to be sure, that
Barnabas was one of them, and of him the Acts of the
Apostles have also made special mention, 3 and not the least of
these Paul when writing to the Galatians. 4 And of these, too,
they say, was Sosthenes, 5 who together with Paul wrote to the
Corinthians. 6 And there is the story in Clement, 7 in Book 5
of the Hypotyposes, where he says that Cephas, about whom
Paul says : 8 'But when Cephas came to Antioch, I withstood
him to his face,' was one of the seventy disciples 9 who bore the
same name as the Apostle Peter. Tradition also holds 10 that
Matthias, 11 who was listed among the Apostles in place of
Judas, and he 12 who was honored with him at the same
1 Cf. Matt. 10.2-4; Luke 6.13-16; Mark 3.14-19.
2 Cf. Luke 10.1-20.
3 Cf. Acts 4.36; 13.1; et passim. Clement of Alexandria in Strom. 2.20
speaks of Barnabas as one of the Seventy. This tradition appears prob-
able, but it cannot be traced further back than Clement.
4 Cf. Gal. 2.1,9.
5 Mentioned also in 1 Cor. 1.1. A Sosthanes, ruler of the Jewish
synagogue in Corinth, is also mentioned in Acts 18.17, but the two
cannot be identified. There is no other ancient evidence for Eusebius*
statement here.
6 Cf. I Cor. 1.1.
7 On Clement, cf. 5.11,6.13.
8 Gal. 2.11.
9 Clement appears to have been the first to make the distinction
between Peter the Apostle and Cephas, one of the Seventy.
10 Cf. Acts 1.23-26.
11 Eusebius seems to have been the first 'to record this tradition, which
is in agreement with Acts 1.21 if.
12 Joseph Barsabas, surnamed Justus, who also had been with Christ
from the beginning and so may well have been one of the Seventy.
76 EUSEBIUS
casting of lots, were deemed worthy of the same calling among
the Seventy. And they say that Thaddaeus 13 also was one of
them, about whom I shall presently relate a story which has
come down to us. On observation, you would find that
the disciples of the Saviour appear to have been more than
the Seventy, if you make use of Paul as your source, who
says 14 that after the resurrection from the dead He was
seen first by Cephas, then by the twelve, and after these by
more than five hundred brethren all at once, some of whom
he says had fallen asleep, though the majority were still
alive at the time that this account was being composed by
him. Then he says that He was seen by James; he also
belonged to the so-called brethren of the Saviour; 15 then,
as if in addition to these there had been a great many apostles
in imitation of the twelve, as Paul himself was, he adds
these words: 'Then He was seen by all the apostles.' 16 So
much, then, about these.
Chapter 13
The sense of the story about Thaddeus is as follows. The
divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, being noised
among all men because of His wonder-working power,
attracted countless, even of those who were very remote from
Judaea in foreign lands, in hope of being cured of diseases
13 He appears on the lists of Apostles as given by Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, and is identical with Jude and Lebbaeus. Cf. Jerome, In Matt.
10. Eusebius separates him from the Apostles and places him among
the Seventy, but this is an error similar to that which he made In the
case of Peter and Cephas.
14 Cf. I Cor. 15.5-7.
15 The relationship of James and Jesus has ever been a matter of great
dispute. A number of ingenious theories have been advanced and
anything like a unanimity of opinion is far distant.
16 1 Cor. 15.7.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 77
and sufferings of all kinds. Thus, King Abgar, 1 who ruled
most gloriously over the nations beyond the Euphrates,
suffered from a terrible bodily ailment beyond any cure by
a human power. On hearing much of the name of Jesus and
of the miracles attested unanimously by all, he became His
suppliant, communicating with Him through a letter-bearer
and begging to receive relief from his disease. Jesus did not
give heed to his request at the time, but deemed him
worthy of a personal letter in which He promised to send one
of His disciples for the cure of his disease and for the
salvation alike of himself and all his relatives. Not long
afterwards, the terms of the promise were fulfilled by Him.
After His resurrection from the dead and ascent into heaven,
Thomas, 2 one of the twelve Apostles, by divine inspiration
sent Xhaddeus to Edessa, 3 himself also listed among the
Seventy disciples of Christ, as a herald and evanglist of the
teaching about Christ, and through him all the terms of our
Saviour's promise received fulfilment. You have, furthermore,
written evidence of these events taken from the archives at
Edessa, 4 which at that time was a capital city. At any rate,
1 Several kings of this name ruled at Edessa from 99 B.C. to A.D. 217. The
present Abgar, called Abgar Ucomo, or 'the Black/ was the fifteenth
king and ruled from A.D. 13 to 50. A great many stories have grown up
around his name. There is no doubt about the forgery of this
correspondence.
2 On tradition pertaining to Thomas, cf. 3.1.
3 The capital of Abgar's kingdom, a city in Northern Mesopotamia,
near the river Euphrates. Tradition places its origin in deep antiquity,
and it has even been identified with Abraham's original home, Ur of
the Chaldees. In the history of the Church it has played an important
role as a center of Syrian learning. A seminary was established there
by Ephraem, the Syrian, in the fourth century. After Ephraem's death
it fell into the hands of the Arians.
4 In all probability, Eusebius actually found these apocryphal epistles in
the public archives at Edessa. We have no good reason to doubt him.
Moses Chorenensis, an Armenian historian of the fifth century, is a
witness to their existence in the Edessene archives. Furthermore, the
original Syriac has been discovered and 'published; cf. Contemp. Rev.
(May 1877) 1137. Thus, it is foolish to accuse Eusebius of having
forged the correspondence himself, as some have done. However, the
apocryphal character of the letters cannot well be doubted.
78 EUSEBIUS
in the public documents there which contain the things done
in the past and in the time of Abgar, these events also are
found preserved from that time to the present. But there is
nothing like hearing the letters themselves, which we took
from the archives and translated literally from the Syriac
language as follows:
A copy of a letter written by Abgar the ruler to Jesus and
sent to Him through the courier Ananias to Jerusalem.
'Abgar Uchama, to Jesus the good Saviour who has
appeared in the region of Jerusalem, greeting. The reports
about you and your cures have reached me, how they are
effected by you without drugs and herbs. For, as the story
goes, 5 you make the blind to see, the lame to walk, and you
cleanse lepers, and you cast out unclean spirits and demons,
and you cure those who are tortured in lingering disease, and
you raise the dead. When I heard all this about you, I
decided that either one of two things is true, either that you
are God, and having come down from heaven are doing
these things, or you are a Son of God, 6 who does these things.
On this account, then, I have written to beg you to hasten
to me and to cure me of the suffering which I have. For
I have heard 7 also that the Jews murmur against you and
wish to harm you. But I have a very small and venerable city
which is enough for us both.' 8
The reply written by Jesus to Abgar, the ruler y through
the courier Ananias.
5 Matt. 115; Luke 7.22.
6 As used here, this expression would not be used by a heathen prince.
7 Cf. Eccle. 9.14.
8 Some manuscripts add the following: 'And he wrote in this way when
the divine illumination had but a little shone on him. But it is also
worth while to hear the letter sent to him by Jesus by the same
bearer of the letter. It has only a few lines but great power, and
goes as follows/
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 79
'Blessed are you who have believed although you have not
seen me. 9 For it is written concerning me that those who have
seen me will not believe in me, and that those who have not
seen me will themselves believe and shall be saved. But
regarding what you wrote me, to come to you, I must fulfill
all things for which I was sent, and, after thus fulfilling them,
be taken up to Him who sent me. And when I have been
taken up, I shall send you one of my disciples to heal your
suffering and to give life to you and those with you.'
The following, in the Syriac tongue, is also joined with
these letters:
'Now after He was taken up, Judas, 10 who is also Thomas,
sent to him Thaddeus, an Apostle, 11 one of the Seventy,
who went and stayed with Tobias, 12 the son of Tobias. And
when the news of him was received, 13 it was reported to
Abgar that an Apostle of Jesus has come here as He wrote
you. So Thaddeus 14 began in the power of God to heal every
ill and weakness, so that all marveled. And when Abgar
heard the great deeds and miracles which he was doing, and
how he was performing cures, he began to suspect that he
was the one of whom. Jesus wrote, saying: "When I have
been taken up, I shall send you one of my disciples, who will
heal your suffering." So he summoned Tobias, with whom
Thaddeus was staying, and said: "I have heard that a certain
man of power has come and is staying in your house. Bring
9 Cf. John 20.29; Isa. 6.9ff,; Matt. 13.14ff,; John 12.39ff,
10 Thomas is called Judas Thomas in the Apocryhal Acts of Thomas, and
in the Syriac Doctrina Apostolorum.
11 The word 'apostle' was used very commonly in a wide sense and was
not confined to the twelve Apostles of Christ.
12 Probably a Jew; the name is very common among the Hebrews.
13 Some manuscripts have here: 'And he had become manifest by the
wonders wrought by him/
14 Cf. Matt. 4.23; 9.35; 10.1.
80 EUSEBIUS
him to me." 15 And Tobias came to Thaddeus and said to him :
"The ruler Abgar summoned me and told me to bring you
to him, that you may heal him." And Thaddeus said: "I will
go up, since I have been sent to him miraculously." So Tobias
arose early on the next day and, taking Thaddeus, went to
Abgar. And when he went up, while the king's nobles were
standing about, immediately on his entrance there appeared
to Abgar a great vision on the face of the Apostle Thaddeus.
When Abgar saw this, he did reverence to Thaddeus, and
wonder seized all who stood about, for they themselves did
not see the vision which appeared to Abgar alone. And he
asked Thaddeus: "Are you in truth a disciple of Jesus, the
Son of God, who said to me, C I will send you one of my
disciples who will heal you and give you life'?" And Thaddeus
said: "Since you have had a great faith in Him who sent
me, on this account have I been sent to you. And again, if
you believe in Him, in so far as you believe, the requests of
your heart shall be yours." And Abgar said to him: "I have
so believed in Him that I was ready to take force and cut
down the Jews who crucified Him, had I not been cut off
from this by the Roman Empire." And Thaddeus said:
"Our Lord has fulfilled the will of His Father, and having
fulfilled it was taken up to the Father." And Abgar said to
him: "I, too, have believed in him and in His Father." And
Thaddeus said: "For this reason I place my hand upon you in
His name." And when he had done this, he was immediately
healed from the disease and the suffering which he had. And
Abgar marveled that just as he had heard about Jesus, so he
had received in fact through His disciple Thaddeus, who had
healed him without drugs and herbs, and not him alone, but
15 Some manuscripts add here: ' "And he is working many cures in the
name of Jesus." And he said, "Yes, Lord. A certain stranger came and
is living with me, and is working many wonders." And Abgar said,
"Bring him to me." '
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK ONE 81
also Abdus, the son of Abdus, who had the gout; for he, too,
came and threw himself at his feet, and after receiving
prayers at his hands was healed. The same Thaddeus cured
many others of their fellow citizens, performing great and
marvelous deeds and preaching the word of God. And after
this Abgar said: "You, Thaddeus, do these things by the
power of God and we in turn have marveled. But, besides
this, I beg, you, tell me about the coming of Jesus, how it hap-
pened, and about His power, and by what power He did those
things of which I have heard." And Thaddeus said: "Now,
indeed,, shall I be silent, but, since I was sent to preach the
word, tomorrow call together for me all your citizens, and I
shall preach among them, and shall sow in them the word of
life, both about the coming of Jesus, how it happened, and
about His mission, and why He was sent by the Father, and
about His power and His works and the mysteries which
He spoke in the world, and by what power He did these
things, and about His new preaching, and about His low-
liness and humiliation, and how He humbled Himself 16 and
put aside and made His divinity lowly, and descended into
Hades, 17 and broke asunder the barrier which had not been
broken from the beginning of the world, and raised the dead
and descended alone, and with a great multitude ascended to
His Father." 18 Abgar, therefore, gave orders to assemble his
citizens in the morning and to hear the preaching of
Thaddeus, and after this he commanded' that gold and plate
be given him, but he did not accept it, saying: "If we have
16 Cf. Phil. 2.8.
17 Probably the earliest distinct and formal statement of the descent
into Hades, but it is made very casual and was probably commonly
accepted at Edessa at the time of the writing of these records.
18 Some manuscripts continue: 'And how he is seated on the right hand
of God and the Father with glory in the Heavens, and how he will
come again with power to judge the living and the dead/
82 EUSEBIUS
abandoned our own possessions, how shall we take those of
others?" These things were done In the 340th year.' 19
Let this translation from the Syriac language, made literally
and not without profit, suffice me for the present.
19 The 340th year of the Edessene era, which according to the Chronicon
of Eusebius began with the year of Abraham 1706 or 310 B.C., would be
A.D. 30. This agrees with the date of the crucifixion as given by
Tertullian, Lactantius, Augustine, and others. It is, however, one year
earlier than the date which appears in Jerome's version of the
Chronicon of Eusebius and two years earlier than the date which is
given in the Armenian version of the same book.
BOOK TWO
| LL THAT THE HISTORY of the Church needed to have
stated by way of an introduction the proofs of the
divinity of the saving Logos, the ancient history of the
doctrines which we teach, the antiquity of the evangelical life
which Christians lead, especially everything connected with
His recent appearance, the events preceding His passion, and
the story of His choice of Apostles, we have discussed briefly
in the preceding Book. Let us now, in the present Book,
examine the events after His Ascension, noting some from the
divine writings, relating others in addition from other sources,
from such documents as we shall mention from time to time.
Chapter 1
Matthias, 1 then, was the first to be chosen to the apostolate
in place of the traitor Judas, he too, as has been shown, 2
having been one of the Lord's disciples. There were appointed
1 Cl. Acts 1.23-26.
2 CL above, 1.2.
83
84 EUSEBIUS
to the diaconate 3 for the service of the group, by prayer and
by the laying on of the Apostles' hands, tried men to the
number of seven, led by Stephen. 4 And he was the first after
the Lord, at the time of his ordination, as if promoted for this
very purpose, 5 to be stoned to death and thus the first to bear
away the crown, implied by his name, 6 of the martyrs of
Christ deemed worthy of victory.
At that very time, also, James, said to be brother of the
Lord, 7 because he, too, was called the child of Joseph, 8 and
Joseph was called the father of Christ, for the Virgin was
betrothed to him when, before they came together, she was
found to be with child by the Holy Spirit, as the holy
scripture of the Gospels teaches 9 this very James, whom the
ancients also called by the surname of Just 10 for excellence of
virtue, is recorded to have been the first to be entrusted with
the throne of the bishopric of the Church of Jerusalem.
Clement, writing in Book 6 of the Hypotyposes, 11 gives the
following account. He says Peter and James and John, after
the Ascension of the Saviour, as if preferred by the Saviour,
3 Irenaeus (Adv. haer. 1.26.3; 3.12.10; 4.15.1.) appears to be the first to
call the '-Seven' deacons, as does Cyprian (Ep. 64.3) . This was the
commonly accepted opinion of the Church in the West during the
third century, and has been almost universally accepted ever since. The
ancient Church, however, was not unanimous in this opinion. St.
John Chrysostom (Horn. 14 on Acts) denies it, as do some worthy
modern scholars.
4 Cf. Acts 6.1-6.
5 Cf. Acts 7.58,59.
6 In Greek Stephanos means 'crown/
7 Cf. above, 1.12.
8 Eusebius by these words appears to favor the half-brother theory.
If he had regarded James as the son of Mary, he would not have
spoken in this manner.
9 Cf. Matt. 1.18.
10 James was known as the Just throughout history, although he is not
so called in the New Testament. Hegesippus, as quoted by Eusebius
in Ch. 23, says that James was called the Just by all from the time of
Christ, because of his great piety.
11 Regarding Clement's Hypotyposes, cf. below, 6.13. On Clement's
life and writings, cf. below, 5.11.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 85
did not struggle for glory, but chose James the Just as Bishop
of Jerusalem. 12 The same author, in Book 7 of the same work,
says this also about him: 'To James the Just and to John
and to Peter the Lord after the Resurrection gave the tradition
of knowledge; these passed it on to the other Apostles, and
the other Apostles to the Seventy, of whom Barnabas 13 also
was one. But there were two Jameses, 14 one the Just he was
cast down from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to
death with a fuller's club 15 and the other who was be-
headed. 516
Paul also makes mention of the Just himself, writing: 'But
I saw none of the other apostles, except James, the brother of
the Lord.' 17
While these things were taking place, the terms of our
Saviour's promise to the king of the Osrhoenes were receiving
fulfilment. For Thomas, under divine inspiration, sent Thad-
daeus to Edessa as a preacher and an evangelist of the teach-
ing of Christ, as we have shown a little above from the
writing discovered there. 18 On reaching the place, Thaddaeus
healed Abgar, and astonished all the people there by the
12 James the Just probably became very prominent in the Church of
Jerusalem soon after Christ's ascension. Paul, some time between 37
and 40, sees him as well as Peter on visiting Rome. At the Jerusalem
Council of 51 (Cf. Acts 15 and Gal, 2) , he is one of the three pillars
on an equal footing with Peter and John. However, he was not a
bishop in the modern sense, since the episcopacy as we know it did
not develop until the second century, although writers of this
century and later regularly threw back their own church organization
into the apostolic age.
13 Cf. above, 1.2.
14 Clement identifies James, the brother of the Lord, with James, the son
of Alphaeus. There were, however, many of this name,
15 Josephus (Ant, 20.9.1) says that he was stoned to death. This account
by Clement agrees with that of Hegesippus as quoted by Eusebius
16 James* the son of Zebedee, beheaded by Herod Agrippa I in 44. C.
Acts 12.2; also, below, 2.9.
17 Gal. 1.19.
18 Cf. above, 1.13.
86 EUSEBIUS
strangeness of his miracles ; and after properly disposing them
by his deeds and bringing them to a reverence of the power
of Christ, he established disciples of the saving teaching, and
from that time to the present the entire city of the Edessenes
has been devoted to the name of Christ, 19 displaying no
casual proof of our Saviour's beneficence even toward them.
Let this suffice from the history of the ancients, and let us
turn again to the sacred Scripture.
When, upon the martyrdom of Stephen, 2 " the first and
greatest persecution of the Church in Jerusalem took place at
the hands of the Jews themselves, and all the disciples with
the exception of the Twelve alone were scattered throughout
Judaea and Samaria, 21 some, as the sacred Scripture says,
although dispersed as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch,
were not yet able to dare to impart the word of the faith to
Gentiles, and were announcing it to the Jews alone. At that
time, also, 22 Paul was still inflicting outrage upon the Church,
entering into the houses of the faithful, dragging out men and
women and committing them to prison. Philip, however, one
of those who with Stephen had already been ordained to the
diaconate, 23 being among those who were scattered abroad, 24
went down to Samaria, and, being filled with divine power,
was the first to preach the Word to those there, and so great
was the divine grace that worked with him that Simon
Magus, with countless others, was attracted by his words. 25
Simon at that time had obtained such fame and by his
trickery wielded such power over his victims that he was held
19 In the third century, Edessa was the seat of a bishop; in Eusebius'
time it was filled with beautiful churches and monasteries.
20 Cf. Acts 8.1.
21 Cf. Acts 11.19.
22 Cf. Acts 8.3.
23 Cf. Acts 6.5.
24 Cf. Acts 8.5-13.
25 Cf. Acts 8.9ff. Regarding Simon, cf. below, 2.13.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 87
to be the Great Power of God. 26 But he, too, at that time,
being astounded at the marvels wrought by Philip with divine
power, yielded and feigned faith in Christ even to the point
of baptism. 27 And it is worthy of wonder that this is still done
by those who even to the present day continue his most
impure heresy, 28 for, following the method of their forefather
they slip into the Church like a pestilential and scabby disease
and ravage exceedingly those into whom they are able to
infuse the deadly and terrible poison concealed in them. Most
of these, indeed, have already been driven out, as many as
have been caught in their wickedness, just as Simon himself,
when his real character was detected by Peter, paid the proper
punishment. 29 While the saving preaching was increasing and
advancing day by day, a certain providence brought from the
land of the Ethiopians an officer of the queen of that country, 30
for according to an ancestral custom the nation is even to this
day ruled by a woman. Tradition holds that he was the first
26 Cf. Acts 8.10: 'This man is the power of God, which is called great/
According to Irenaeus (1.23.1) , he was called 'the loftiest power, that
is, he who is father over all things'; according to Justin Martyr
(Apol. 1.26) , 'the first God'; according to Clement (Horn. 2.22) , he
wished to be called 'a supreme power of God/ and (Recog. 2.7) 'the
standing one/
27 Here we have the universal belief of the early Church which
judged Simon to be the founder of all heresies, the arch-heretic him-
self, and the great hypocrite.
28 A heretical sect, called the Simonians, is mentioned by Justin,
Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and others. Although they originated
at a later date, they looked upon Simon as their founder and leader,
and even as God. They were very licentious and immoral. Their
teaching gradually became of a Gnostic character, and Simon came
to be regarded as the father of all the Gnostics. Cf. Irenaeus 1.27.4.
Eusebius may be referring here to the Gnostics or to heretics in
general.
29 Cf. Acts 8.18-23.
30 Cf. Acts 8.26-38. According to the Biblg, the queen was Candace,
although this was the name of a dynasty of queens and not of an
individual. They ruled over Meroe, an island formed by two branches
of the Nile, south of Egypt. Cf. Pliny (H. N. 6.35.), Cassius Dio
(54.5), and Strabo (17.1.54).
88 EUSEBIUS
of the Gentiles to receive the mysteries of the divine word from
Philip through revelation, and was the first to return to his
native land and preach the Gospel of the knowledge of the
God of the universe and the life-giving sojourn of our
Saviour among men, 31 and thus in fact was the prophecy
fulfilled by him which says, 'Ethiopia shall stretch out her
hand to God.' 32 In addition to these, Paul, the chosen vessel 33
not from men nor by men, 34 but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ Himself and of God the Father who raised Him from
the dead, was appointed an Apostle, being made worthy of
the call by a vision and by a voice which was uttered in a
revelation from heaven. 35
Chapter 2
Now, when the marvelous resurrection of our Saviour and
His ascension into heaven were already generally noised
about, since an ancient custom prevailed among those who
ruled the nations of reporting to him who held the imperial
office any novel occurrences that took place among them, In
order that nothing that happened might escape him, Pilate
communicated to the Emperor Tiberius 1 the account of the
resurrection from the dead of our Saviour Jesus which had
31 Although Eusebius and Irenaeus (Adv. haer. 3.12.8) seern to agree on
this account of the origin of Chiistianity in Ethiopia, there is much
uncertainty about it. Cf. the article on the 'Ethiopian Church' by
H. R. Reynolds, in Smith and Wace, Dictionary of Christian Biography.
32 Ps. 67.32.
33 Cf. Acts 9.15.
34 Cf. Gal. 1.1.
35 Cf. Acts 9.3-6; 22.6ff.; 26.12ff.; Gal. 1.16; 1 Cor. 15.8-10.
1 Tertullian (Apol. 21) also states that Pilate made an official report to
Tiberius, and this seems quite probable. Justin Martyr (Apol. 1.35,38)
speaks of certain Acts of Pilate as well known in his day. However, the
various so-called Acts of Pilate, which are extant today, are obviously
fictitious and belong to a much later period. The most important of
these Acts is the one commonly known as the Gospel of Nicodemus.
We also possess today numerous fictitious epistles of Pilate to Herod,,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 89
already been spread among all throughout the whole of
Palestine, and other wonders which he had learned about
Him, including how, on having arisen from the dead after
death, He was already believed by many to be a God. They
say that Tiberius referred the report to the Senate and that
the Senate rejected it, ostensibly because it had not tested the
matter previously, since an ancient law prevailed that no one
be held a god by the Romans except by a vote and decree of
the Senate, but in reality because the saving teaching of the
divine Gospel did not need confirmation and recommendation
from men. So, when the council of the Romans thus rejected
the report of our Saviour which had been announced, it was
said that Tiberius clung to the opinion which he had held
formerly and contrived nothing unusual against the teaching
of Christ. 2 Tertullian, 3 who had an accurate knowledge of the
laws 4 of the Romans, of high repute in other respects and one
of the most brilliant men at Rome, 5 gives the following
account in his Apology* for the Christians which he wrote in
to Tiberius, to Claudius, and to others. See Tischendorf, Evangelia
apocrypha, and the article of Lipsius on 'Apocryphal Gospels' in the
Dictionary of Christian Biography 2 707ff.
2 It is true that Tiberius did not persecute the Christians, but this is
probably due to the fact that they attracted no notice during his
reign, not that he had any respect for them or their beliefs.
3 Born in Carthage about the middle of the second century. He was
converted to Christianity between 180 and 190, and according to
Jerome and a few others was a presbyter, although this last is seriously
doubted.
4 Tertullian's deep knowledge of the law is seriously doubted. He
probably was noted rather for his eloquence and resourcefulness.
5 In all probability, a very successful practitioner of the law and
rhetoric in Rome up to the time of his conversion.
6 Tertullian's Apology is the most important of all his extant works.
It is the highest example of this norm of literature as developed by
the early Christians. The date of its composition is quite uncertain,
but the work is regarded by some literary critics as the earliest extant
example of Latin Christian literature.
90 EUSEBIUS
Latin and which was translated into Greek, 7 recounting thus
by way of explanation : 8 'But, in order that we may discuss
such laws from their origin, there was an ancient decree that
no one should be consecrated a god by an emperor before
it had been approved by the Senate. Marcus Aemilius so
acted with regard to a certain idol Alburnus. 9 And this act
supports our argument that among you godship is granted by
man's approval. If a god does not please a man, he does not
become god; so, according to this man must be gracious to
God. Tiberius, then, in whose rule the name of Christian came
into the world, when this doctrine was reported to him from
Palestine, where it first began, communicated with the Senate,
making it clear to them that he was pleased with the
doctrine. 10 But the Senate, because it itself had not tested it,
rejected it, but Tiberius remained firm in his own opinion and
threatened death to the accusers of the Christians.' 11 Heavenly
Providence designedly injected this into his mind in order that
the word of the Gospel with unhampered beginnings might
traverse the earth in every direction.
7 Eusebius' knowledge of Latin was very limited. This is confirmed by
the fact that he shows little acquaintance with the works of Latin
writers in general. He actually does not show any personal acquaint-
ance with any of the important Latin works produced before his
time, except such as existed in Greek translations. The only work
of Tertulhan which he quotes is the Apology, and this from a very
poor Greek translation.
8 Tert., Apol. 5.
9 This eidolos or Deus Alburnus is mentioned by no one other than
Tertullian. He is otherwise unknown.
10 This entire account cannot be thought genuine; it bears all the marks
of untruthful ness.
11 Eusebius implies that the following sentence is Tertullian's, whereas
this is not so indicated in the Latin manuscripts. If this conduct of
Tiberius were true, Trajan's rescript and all succeeding action upon
the subject would be impossible of explanation.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 91
Chapter 3
Thus, then, by heavenly power and co-operation, like a sun
ray, the saving Word quickly illumined the whole earth. 1
Straightway, in accordance with the divine Scripture, 2 the
voice of its inspired evangelists and Apostles 'went forth to
the whole earth and their words to the end of the world.'
And then in all the cities and villages churches were quickly
established, filled with multitudes of people, like a teeming
threshing floor, 3 and all those souls, bound through hereditary
succession and original error by the ancient disease of
idolatrous superstition, on being set free as it were from
terrible masters and finding release from most difficult bond-
age by the power of Christ through both the teaching of His
disciples and their wonderful works, rejected all demoniacal
polytheism and confessed that there was one God alone, the
Creator of all things, and this One Himself they honored
with the rites of true piety through inspired and rational wor-
ship which was implanted by our Saviour in the life of men.
But, when the divine grace was already being poured out
upon the rest of the nations, and when Cornelius 4 with his
whole house was the first in Caesarea of Palestine to receive
faith in Christ through divine revelation and the ministration
of Peter, and when a great many other Greeks also received it
at Antioch, 5 to whom those who had been scattered in the
persecution against Stephen preached, and when the Church
at Antioch was already flourishing and abounding, and when
so many of the prophets from Jerusalem were also on hand in
the same place, 6 and with them Barnabas and Paul, and a
great multitude of the brethren besides these, the name of
1 Cf. Col. 1.6. A slight exaggeration.
2 Cf. Ps. 18.5.
3 Cf. Matt. 3.12; Luke 3.17.
4 Cf. Acts 10.
5 Cf. Acts 11.20-30.
6 Cf. Acts 11.22ff.
92 EUSEBIUS
Christian first sprang up here, 7 as from a fresh and life-giving
fountain. Agabus, 8 also, one of the prophets who were with
them, prophesied about the future occurrence of a famine, 9
and Paul and Barnabas were sent to give aid to the ministry
of the brethren. 10
Chapter 4
Tiberius, 1 after reigning for about twenty-two years, 2 now
died ; after him, Caius took over the sovereignty 3 and straight-
way bestowed the crown of the rule of the Jews upon
Agrippa, 4 making him King of Philip and Lysaneas; and
besides these, not long after, he gave in addition the tetrarchy
of Herod, punishing Herod (this was he of the Saviour's
passion 5 ), as well as his wife Herodias, for a great many
offences by perpetual exile. 6 Of these events, too, Josephus
is witness. 7
7 Cf. Acts 11.26. The name 'Christian' was first given to the disciples
by the pagans of Antioch and not by the Jews, to whom the word
'Christ" meant much. Nor did the disciples give it to themselves, since
the term rarely appears in the New Testament and never with a
disciple. The word itself is a Latinism, but Latinisms in Greek weie
common at that time. The word was originally used out of contempt,
but was accepted by the disciples as of highest honor.
8 Cf. Acts 11.28. Agabus is known only from this passage and Acts
21.10, where he foretells the imprisonment of Paul.
9 This famine took place during the reign of Claudius. When Eusebius
again speaks of this famine in Ch. 8, he so places it.
10 Cf. Acts 11.29,30.
1 Josephus, A.L 18.224; BJ. 2.180.
2 From August 29, 14, to March 16, 37.
3 Caius was in power from the death of Tiberius to Jan. 24, 41.
4 Herod Agrippa I, son of Aristobulus and grandson of Herod the
Great. The Herod of the next sentence is Herod Antipas, Agrippa's
uncle.
5 Cf. Luke 23.7-11.
6 He was banished in 39, either to Lugdunum in Gaul or to Spain,
according respectively to Josephus' A.L 17.7.2 or to his BJ. 2-9.6,
According to BJ. 2.9.6, he died in Spain.
7 Cf. Josephus, A.I. 18.237, 252, 255; and BJ. 2.9.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 93
In this reign, Philo 8 became known to a great many, not
only among our own but also among those who came from
abroad, as a man most distinguished for his erudition. By
race, he was of Jewish origin; of those of distinguished
authority in Alexandria, inferior to none. How much and
how well he expended his labors on theological and national
learning is clear to all from his work, and of his position in
the philosophical and liberal studies of the pagan world it is
not necessary to speak, since he is reported to have surpassed
all the men of his time, especially in his zeal 9 in the study
of Plato and Pythagoras.
Chapter 5
Now, this writer has in five books handed down an
account of what happened to the Jews under Caius, 1 de-
8 An Alexandrian Jew, born about 20-10 B.C. The only fixed date that
that we have in his career is the embassy to Caligula in A.D. 40, and he
lived some time after this. St. Jerome (De vir. ill. 11) speaks of him
as born of a priestly family, but there is no further evidence for this.
He was a philosopher thoroughly imbred with Greek spirit, and tried to
unite Jewish belief with Jewish culture. He was of great influence
upon the thinking of later ages, especially upon Christian theology.
His works (Biblical, historical, practical, philosophical, and others)
were very numerous and are almost all extant. Cf. below, 2.18.
9 Philo was a very learned man, especially In all branches of Greek
literature. He honored and studied all the Greek philosophers, but
was chiefly attracted to Plato, as is evident from the Platonic influence
in his thought and language. His system of philosophy was eclectic,
and contains in addition to its Platonic features Pythagorean and even
Stoic elements.
1 Apparently, this work was entitled On the Virtues. Of the five books,
only the third and fourth are extant. Book 1 probably contained an
introduction. Book 2 contained an account of the oppression of the
Jews under Tiberius by Sejanus in Rome, and by Pilate in Judaea;
Book 3, of the persecution of the Jews of Alexandria at the beginning
of Cains' reign. Book 4 relates the sufferings which befell the Jews by
Cains' command that divine honors be shown him throughout the
Empire. Book 5 discusses the change for the better in the condition of
the Jews through the death of Caius, and the Edict of Toleration
published by Claudius. See also Ch. 18 for the other works of Philo.
94 EUSEBIUS
scribing completely the insanity of Caius : how he announced
himself as a god and performed innumerable acts of in-
solence during his reign; the miseries of the Jews in his time
and the mission which he himself made when he set out for
Rome in behalf of fellow countrymen in Alexandria; 2 and
how, when he stood in the presence of Caius in behalf of
his ancestral laws, he received nothing but laughter and
ridicule, almost incurring risk to his life.
Josephus 3 also mentions these things, writing as follows in
Book 18 of the Antiquities: 'Now, when discord arose in
Alexandria between the Jews and the Greeks who dwelt there,
three representatives were chosen from each faction and
appeared before Caius. One of the Alexandrian representa-
tives was Apion, 4 who uttered many blasphemies against the
Jews, saying among other things that they neglected the
honors due to Caesar, and that, while all, as many as were
subject to the rule of the Romans, erected altars and temples
to Caius and in other respects received him as they did the
gods, those alone considered it improper to honor him with
2 A terrible disturbance between the Jews and Greeks of Alexandria had
continued with only occasional brief interruptions for more than a
year. Affairs were becoming constantly worse, with increasing bloodshed.
With all hope for peace abandoned, the Greeks sent an embassy tp
Caius in A.D. 40, thinking to secure an edict for the extermination of
the Jews. The Jews; in turn, sent an embassy in their own defense, with
Philo at its head. The account of the result as given here by Eusebius
is apparently correct. The Jews, however, were soon relieved of their
suffering by the death of Caius, Caius' successor, Claudius, restored their
religious freedom and earlier privileges, at least for a time.
3 Cf. A.L 18.257-260.
4 Chief of the Greek deputies, a grammarian of Alexandria, and a
writer and Greek scholar of high reputation. He apparently was most
unscrupulous and profligate, and a persistent enemy of the Jews, He
attacked the Jews very severely in his Egyptian History and in a special
work Against the Jews, both now lost, spreading much malicious false-
hood and doing them great harm. Josephus replied with his work
Against Apian, still extant, in which he exposed Apion's absurd and
malicious lies.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 95
statues and to swear by his name. But, although Apion had
made many serious charges, by which he had hope to rouse
Caius as was natural, Philo, who stood at the head of the
Jewish embassy, a man famous in every respect, being the
brother of Alexander the Alabarch 3 and a philosopher of no
little skill, was able in a defense to deal with these accusations,
but Caius cut him short, ordering him to get out of the way,
and was clearly very angry and on the point of doing some-
thing terrible to them. And Philo went out greatly insulted,
and told the Jews who were with him that they must be of
good courage, since Caius, although angry against them,
was already in fact fighting against God. 3
Thus far Josephus. And Philo himself, in the Embassy
which he composed, presents in accurate detail what he did
at that time. Most of these I shall pass over. I shall set forth
only those by which it will be clearly evident to the reader that
misfortunes happened to the Jews at the same time as and
not long after their crimes against Christ, and on account of
them. He first relates that in the city of the Romans, in the
time of Tiberius, Sejanus, a man among the emperor's
followers who enjoyed great influence, eagerly strove to
destroy the entire race utterly, and that in Judaea, Pilate,
under whom the crimes against the Saviour were committed,
made an attempt against the Temple which was still standing
5 The chief magistrate of the Jews at Alexandria. Alexander, a very rich
and influential Jew, was widely known and highly regarded. His son,
Tiberius Alexander, succeeded Cuspius Fodus as procurator of Judaea
in A.D. 46. This has been questioned, but without sufficient ground.
6 Legatio ad Gaiurn 24.38.
7 Under the first emperor, Augustus, the Jews enjoyed great favor and
influence and increased greatly in numbers. Tiberius, the next emperor,
however, was very hostile, probably under the influence of Sejanus, a
deadly enemy of the Jews, who had great influence with him. The
Jews suffered much at this time and were eventually driven out of
Rome. On the death of Sejanus, however, in A.D. 31, they were allowed
to return and to enjoy all their former rights.
96 EUSEBIUS
at that time in Jerusalem, contrary to a privilege granted the
Jews, and harassed them extremely. 8
Chapter 6
And Philo relates that, after the death of Tiberius, Caius
succeeded to the rule and committed numerous other crimes
against many, but most of all he did no small injury to the
entire nation of the Jews. 1 These matters can be learned
briefly through his words, 2 in which he writes exactly as
follows: 'Now Caius' character had a kind of extreme
capriciousness toward all, but especially toward the race of
the Jews, which he hated bitterly. In other 3 cities, beginning
with those in Alexandria, he appropriated their places of
worship, filling them with images and statues of his own form
(for by permitting others to set them up he did in fact install
them himself), and the Temple in Jerusalem, which had
been left untouched and had been regarded as worthy of
preservation from all violation, he changed and transformed
into a temple of his own, to be called the temple of "Caius,
the new Zeus manifest." '
The same author relates in a second work which he wrote
8 Pilate was very tyrannical and obnoxious to the Jews, and offended
them constantly during his administration by disregarding their
religious scruples. Thus, on one occasion, he seized a part of the treasure
of the Temple to construct an aqueduct. This caused a great tumult
which was checked only after much bloodshed. Cf. Josephus B.L 2.9.4.
1 Caius' hostility against the Jews was the result chiefly of their
refusal to pay him divine honors, as all his subjects were required to
do. He even demanded that the Temple in Jerusalem be devoted to
his worship. Such demands created great tumults in Alexandria and
Jerusalem, which were quieted only by the emperor's yielding at the
request of Agrippa. The latter was in Rome at the time and in high
favor with the emperor.
2 Philo, Legatio ad Gaium 43.
3 Philo probably means all cities except Jerusalem, to which he refers
below.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 97
On the Virtues* innumerable other misfortunes, terrible and
beyond all description, that befell the Jews during the reign of
the emperor just mentioned, and Josephus also agrees with
him, also pointing out that the misfortunes of the whole
nation began with the time of Pilate and of the crimes against
the Saviour. 5 Hear, then, what this author points out in
Book 2 of the Jewish War, as he speaks with these very words :
'Now, Pilate, being sent as procurator into Judaea by
Tiberius, conveyed the concealed images of Caesar by night
into Jerusalem. These images are called ensigns. On the
following day this caused a very great commotion among
the Jews. Those nearby were shocked at the sight, since their
laws had been trampled under foot; for they do not permit
any image to be set up in the city.' 6
Comparing all this with the writing of the Gospels, you
will see that not long afterwards there came upon them the
cry that they sent forth in the presence of Pilate himself, when
they shouted that they had no king but Caesar alone. 7 Then
the same writer goes on to relate that another misfortune
came upon them, in these words : 8 'And after this he stirred
up another commotion by expending the sacred treasury,
called Corban, 9 for an aqueduct which extended for three
hundred stadia. 10 There was great displeasure on the part of
4 Probably an alternative title for the work mentioned in the beginning
of Ch. 5 as the Embassy.
5 Eusebius' assumption is not justified. Josephus does not even hint
that the calamities of the Jews were the penalty for their crime
against the Saviour.
6 B.l. 2-169,170.
7 John 19.15.
8 Bl. 2.175-177.
9 Originally, any offering to God, especially an offering in fulfilment of
a vow. As used here it denotes the sacred treasure or the treasury
itself. It is used in this sense in Matt. 27.6, the only place where
it occurs in the New Testament.
10 The location of this aqueduct is not known with certainty. However,
the remains of an ancient aqueduct have been found south of
Jerusalem, which may well be the one in question.
98 EUSEBIUS
the multitude at this, and when Pilate was present In
Jerusalem they stood about and shouted against him. But he
had foreseen their disturbance, and he had intermingled
among the multitude armed soldiers disguised in citizen's
clothing. He had forbidden them to use the sword, but had
ordered them to use clubs on those who had made an outcry,
and he gave a signal for this from his tribunal. Many Jews
perished by being struck with blows, and many by being
trampled upon by their own fellows in flight, but the
multitude,, overawed at the misfortune of those who were
slain, was silent.'
The same author shows that, besides these, countless other
revolutions were stirred up in Jerusalem itself, indicating that
revolts and wars and mutual machinations of evil never
departed the city and all Judaea from that time until the time
when, as the last episode of all, the siege under Vespasian
came upon them. In this way, then, did the events of divine
justice pursue the Jews for the crimes which they committed
against Christ.
Chapter 7
We should not overlook that tradition holds that that Pilate
himself, of our Saviour's time, fell into such misfortunes
during the reign of Caius, whose times we are describing, that
of necessity he became his own slayer and self-punishing
avenger, 1 for, as it seems, divine vengeance overtook Mm in
I Pilate met his doom as follows. A certain leader of the Samaritans
agreed to disclose the sacred treasures which Moses was said to have
concealed on Mt. Gerizim, When the Samaritans gathered there in
large numbers, Pilate thought that a rebellion was in the making, and
sent troops against them, who slew the Samaritans in great numbers.
The Samaritans entered a complaint with the governor of Syria,
Vitellius, who sent Pilate to Rome in A.D. 36 to answer the charges
which had been brought against him. When Pilate reached Rome, he
discovered that Tiberius had died and that Caius was on the throne.
When Pilate was unable to defend himself, one tradition holds that he
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 99
no long while. Those of the Greeks who have written of the
Olympiads, together with the events of each period, so
relate. 2
Chapter 8
Caius had held power for almost four complete years 1 when
Claudius succeeded him as emperor. 2 When in his time
famine 3 oppressed the world (and this, also, writers with a
purpose different from ours have handed down in their
histories), the prediction of the prophet Agabus according
to the Acts of the Apostles that a famine was to be upon the
whole world received fulfillment. Luke, in the Acts, after
calling attention to the famine under Claudius and relating
how the brethren in Antioch, each according to his own
ability, had dispatched to those in Judaea through Paul and
Barnabas, 4 goes on to say the following:
Chapter 9
'At this time,' obviously the time of Claudius, 'Herod
the king set hands on certain members of the Church to
persecute them. He killed James the brother of John with
was banished to Vienne in Gaul, where a monument is still pointed out
as his tomb. Another tradition declares that he committed suicide on
the mountain near Lake Lucerne which still bears his name.
2 Eusebius does not mention his authority here, and no extant records
confirm this statement.
1 From March 16, 37, to January 24, 41; he was succeeded by his uncle
Claudius.
2 Josephus, AJ. 19.201; J8J. 2.204. January 24, 41.
3 Eusebius seems to exaggerate the universal character of the famine,
probably under the influence of Acts 11.28. But, see Tacitus, Annal.
12.13, and Cassius Dio 60.11.
4 Cf. Acts 11.29 and 30.
100 EUSEBIUS
the sword.' 1 Regarding this James, Clement, in Book 7 of his
Hypotyposes* relates a story worthy of mention, speaking
according to a tradition of his predecessors, that he who
brought him into court was so moved, on seeing him testify,
that he confessed that he also was himself a Christian. 'So they
were both led away together,' he says, 'and on the way he
begged that he be forgiven by James. And James, having
looked at him for a little while, said: "Peace be to you" and
kissed him. And thus both were beheaded at the same time.'
Then, as the divine Scripture says, 3 when Herod saw that what
had been done in the destruction of James was a source of
pleasure to the Jews, he attacked Peter also, and, after putting
Mm in prison, would have accomplished his death, had Peter
not through divine intervention, when an angel stood over
him in the night, unexpectedly been released from his bonds
and set free for the ministry of preaching. Such a divine
dispensation did the affairs of Peter enjoy.
Chapter 10
As for the king's attempt against the Apostles, there was no
longer any delay, but at once the avenging minister of divine
justice overtook him, immediately after his plot against the
Apostles, as the Book of Acts relates. 1 When he had journeyed
to Caesarea, there on a famous feast day, 2 clothed in brilliant
1 Acts 12,1,2.
2 On Clement's Hypotyposes, cf. below, 6.13. Eusebius is the sole authority
for this fragment. This story is not entirely improbable, but we are
inclined to believe that it arose through a confusion of this James with
James the Just.
3 Cf. Acts 12,3-17.
1 Cf. Acts 12.19,21-23.
2 Probably the Pro salute Gaesaris, celebrated every four years, and
due in A.D. 44 when Herod probably died.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 101
and royal garments and high before the tribunal, he addressed
the people. And when all the people applauded over his
address as over the voice of God and not of man, Scripture
relates that straightway an angel of the Lord struck him
and, becoming worm-eaten, he expired. 3 The story of
Josephus 4 is worthy of wonder for its agreement in this marvel
with the divine Scriptures, by which he clearly bears witness
to the truth in Book 19 of his Antiquities, where the wonder
is described in these very words:
'He had fulfilled the third year of his reign over all
Judaea, 5 and he had come to the city of Caesarea, which was
formerly called Strato's Tower. 6 There he was celebrating
games in honor of Caesar, realizing that this was a kind of a
feast for his safety, 7 and for it there had gathered a multitude
of those who had advanced to high offices and rank in the
province. On the second day of the games he put on a robe
made entirely of silver, so as to be a marvelous fabric, and
went into the theatre at the beginning of day. Then, when
the silver was struck by the first glint of the sun's rays, it shone
marvelously, shedding a frightening and unusual gleam on
those who gazed upon it. At once, from every side, his
flatterers raised their voices for no good to him, calling him a
god and saying further: "Be thou propitious; if up to now
we have feared thee as a man, nevertheless, from now on we
3 Acts 12.23.
4 A.L 19.343-351.
5 A.D. 44. Agrippa's rule over all the kingdom began in 41.
6 On the Mediterranean Sea, northwest of Jerusalem; a small town in
Strabo's time, known as Strato's Tower. About 10 B.C., Herod the
Great built the city of Caesarea here, which became the principal
Roman city of Palestine, noted for its magnificence. An important
Christian school was established in this Caesarea, and Eusebius him-
self became the city's bishop. Even during the Crusades it was an
important city, but soon thereafter it became a scene of desolation.
7 Probably the Quinquennalia, established by Herod the Great in 12
B.C. in honor of Augustus and celebrated every live years. The occasion
of this festival, however, is uncertain.
102 EUSEBIUS
confess thee as of more than mortal nature." He did not
rebuke them, nor did the king reject their impious flattery.
But, after a little, he looked up and saw an angel sitting
above his head. 8 He immediately realized that it was a
harbinger of evil, even as it had once been of good, and he
felt a pain in his heart, and all at once pain beginning
violently seized his stomach. So, looking up at his friends, he
said, "I, the god to you, am now ordered to give up myself,
for fate has at once rebuked the words which you recently
falsely uttered about myself. I whom you called immortal am
now being led away to die. I must accept the fate which God
has willed. For we have lived by no means ingloriously, but
in a happiness which men call happy. 31 As he said this, he was
being overwhelmed by the intensity of his pain. Thus he was
speedily carried into the palace, and rumor spread among all
that he would surely die in a little while. But the multitude,
with their wives and children, seated upon sack cloth
according to their ancestral custom, immediately began to
beseech God for the king, and the whole place was filled with
groans and lamentations. 9 The king himself, as he lay in a
high chamber and looked down upon them lying prostrate,
did not remain tearless. After being racked by pain in the
stomach for five successive days, he departed this life in the
8 Josephus, AJ. 18..195. Eusebius is usually very accurate in his quota-
tions. Here, however, he departs from the text o Josephus, which
says: 'He saw an owl sitting on a certain rope over his head, and
immediately believed that it was a messenger (ingelos) of evil, as it
before had been of good/ The reference is to the story as told by
Josephus (Ant. 18.6,7) that when Agrippa was in chains, having been
imprisoned by Tiberius, he saw an owl penched on a tree near him. A
fellow prisoner interpreted this as a good omen, and so it turned out
to be. Tiberius died in the next year, and the events as foretold carne
to pass. Some critics would excoriate Eusebius as wilfully misquoting
here, but the passage may well have been badly handled in the
manuscript by scribes.
9 Apparently, Agrippa had succeeded in winning the favor of the
Jews. On the death of his grandfather, Herod the Great, a much
different feeling was shown.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 103
fifty-fourth year of his age and the seventh of his reign. 10
For four years, then, he had reigned under Caius Caesar, three
while ruling the tetrarchy of Philip, and in the fourth taking
over that of Herod 11 as well, and for three years more he
continued in the reign of Claudius Caesar.'
I marvel how Josephus confirms the truth of holy Scrip-
tures in this and other matters. If there should seem to some
to be a discrepancy as regards the name of the king, never-
theless the time at least and the events indicate that the person
is the same, and either that the name was changed by a
clerical error or even that there were two names 12 for the same
man, as has happened with many.
Chapter 11
And again, since, Luke in the Acts 1 introduces Gamaliel
as saying at the inquiry about the Apostles that at the time
indicated Theudas rose up, claiming himself to be some-
body who was slain and all who obeyed him scattered
come, let us also compare the writing of Josephus regarding
this man. Again in his work just mentioned he gives the
following story: 2 'When Fadus was procurator of Judaea, 3 a
10 Born in 101 B.C., he began to reign as the successor of Philip and
Lysanias in A.D. 37. As calculated here, the year is A.D. 44, which fits
in well with other information, except that coins of Agrippa exist
which refer to his eighth and ninth years. These coins, however, may
well be spurious.
11 Herod Antipas.
12 It seems strange that Eusebius shows uncertainty here. In the heading
of this Chapter he shows none. Luke calls the king by his family
name, Herod; Josephus by his given name, Agrippa. He is known to
us as Herod Agrippa I.
1 Acts 5.34-36.
2 Josephus, A& 0.97,98.
3 About A.D. 44.
104 EUSEBIUS
certain imposter, Theudas 4 by name, persuaded a very large
multitude to take up their possessions and follow him to the
River Jordan, for he said that he was a prophet and by his
command would divide the river and furnish them an easy
crossing, and in saying this he deceived many. Fadus, how-
ever, did not allow them to enjoy their folly, but sent a troop
of horsemen against them, which, falling upon them
unexpectedly, killed many and took many alive, and, captur-
ing Theudas himself, cut off his head and brought it to
Jerusalem. 5 After this, in turn, he recalls the famine that took
place In the time of Claudius, as follows: 5
Chapter 12
'And at this time 1 it happened that the great famine 2 took
place In Judaea, during which Queen Helen 3 bought grain at
a great price from Egypt and distributed it among the needy.'
You would find that this account also agrees with the writing
of the Acts of the Apostles, 4 which records that of the
disciples in Antioch, c each according to his means, determined
4 The Theudas mentioned by Josephus was of the time of Claudius. The
Theudas mentioned by Gamaliel in the Acts must have lived many
years before. The two cannot be identified. Again, in spite of some
critics, Eusebius is probably guilty here of nothing more than care-
lessness.
5 Josephus, A.I. 20.101.
1 In the times of the procurators Cuspius Fodus and Tiberius Alexander.
2 Already mentioned by Josephus in Ant. 20.2.
3 This Helen was the wife of King Monahazus of Adiabene, and the
mother of Izates, his successor. Both mother and son were converted
to the Jewish religion and, when they came to Jerusalem by chance
at the time of the famine, did much to relieve the distress occasioned by
it. When mother and son died, their remains were brought to Jerusalem
and buried just outside the walls, where Helen had erected three
pyramids. C. Josephus, Ant. 20,2; 20.4.3.
4 Cf. Acts 11.29,30, where we find Saul rather than Paul, a natural slip
on the part of Eusebius.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 105
to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judaea. And this
they did, sending it to the presbyters by the hands of
Barnabas and Saul.' Splendid monuments 1 of the Helen of
whom the historian has made mention are to this day shown in
the suburbs of the city now called Aelia, 6 and she was said to
have been queen of the nation of the Adiabeni. 7
Chapter 13
As the faith in our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ was now
being spread among all men, 1 the Enemy of man's salvation
contrived to seize the imperial city in advance and conducted
there Simon 2 who has been mentioned before, and presently,
5 Both Pausanias (In Arcadicis) and Jerome testify to the existence of
these great monuments.
6 Hadrian so named Jerusalem; cf. below, 4.6.
7 The land of the Adiabeni, Adiabene, was a small territory lying
between the Tigris, Lycus, and the Gordiaean Mountains. This is not
to be confused with the wider sense of name as applied to Assyria in
general by some ancient writers.
1 See Ch. 3 n 1. It might be well to remark here that the most unsatis-
factory portion of Eusebius's History is that treating of heresies.
Eusebius himself has been blamed severely for this by some critics. It
seems, however, to be due rather to the age in which he lived. All
Christians at this time regarded heretics as tools of the Devil.
Consequently, their works were excluded from all Christian libraries.
Christians received their information about heretics not from the
writings of the heretics themselves but from those who took it upon
themselves to refute them; in other words, from their avowed enemies.
Eusebius was no different from the other Christians of his time, and
perhaps not greatly so from the Christians of our own time.
2 Simon Magus, first mentioned in Acts 8.9; cf. also, 2.1, above. He
played a very important part in early Church history, but it is
difficult to unravel fiction from fact in any account of his activities.
One thing seems certain he is not to be identified with St. Paul. The
stories of the third century are based upon a real historical person,
whose existence accounts for the early notices of him in the Acts and
in Justin Martyr; also in the tradition of all parties in the Church.
Some would disassociate the Simon of the Acts and the Simon of
later writings.
106 EUSEBIUS
by aiding his treacherous sorcery, won over to error for him-
self many of the inhabitants of Rome. This was made clear
by Justin, who was pre-eminent in our teachings not long after
the Apostles, and about whom I shall present what is fitting in
due course. 3 In his first Apology to Antoninus for our doctrine
he writes in these words: 4 'And after the Ascension of the
Lord into heaven the demons pushed forward certain men
who said that they were gods, and these not only were not
persecuted by you but were even deemed worthy of honors;
for example, a certain Simon, a Samaritan, from a village
called Gittho, 5 who in the time of Claudius Caesar, 6 having
performed mighty deeds of magic by the art of the demons
working in him, was considered a god in your capital city,
Rome, and was honored by you with a statue as a god on
the River Tiber between the two bridges, 7 with this inscrip-
tion in Latin, Simoni Deo Sancto? that is, to Simon a holy
god. 'And almost all the Samaritans, and a few among other
nations also, confess and worship that man as their first god.
And they call a certain Helena, who traveled about with him
at that time and who had formerly lived in a brothel' in Tyre
of Phoenicia, 'the first Idea from him. 59
3 Cf. below, 4.8,11,16-18.
4 Justin, Apology 1.26,56.
5 A village of Samaria, near Flavia Neapolis, modern Nablus, identified
with the present village of Kuryet Jit.
6 Justin places Simon's visit to Rome in the reign of Claudius, A.D. 41-54.
Irenaeus also does this. Others, however, assign it to the reign of
Nero. All differ as to how he met his death. The one agreement is
on his having visited Rome at one time or another.
7 I.e., on the island in the middle of the Tiber, just below the Vatican.
It now bears the name of Isola Tiberiana or Isola. di S. Sebastiano.
8 A statue was found in 1574 on the Island of St. Sebastian. It bears
the inscription Semoni Banco Deo, to the god Semo Sancus. But Semo
Sancus was an old Sabine divinity, and not to be identified with
Simon, the Samaritan sorcerer.
9 Cf. Irenaeus 1.23,2; Hippolytus 6.15; Tertullian, De anima 34;
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 107
All this does Justin say, and Irenaeus 10 also agrees with
him in the first of his books against heresies as he describes at
once the man's activities and his profane and foul teaching. It
would be superfluous to describe this in the present work,
since those who wish can study in detail the beginnings and
the lives and the bases of the false doctrines of the
heresiarchs who followed him, as well as the customs intro-
duced by all of them, as they have been carefully handed
down in the above-mentioned book of Irenaeus. So we have
accepted by tradition that Simon was the first author of all
heresy. From him and down to the present those who enter
upon his heresy, feigning the philosophy of Christians, sober
and famous among all for its purity of life, they nonetheless
take up again the idolatrous superstition from which they
thought to be freed, falling down before pictures and images
of Simon himself and of Helena mentioned above with him,
venturing to worship them with incense and sacrifices and
libations. And their more secret rites, of which it is said that
he who first hears them will be astonished and according to
a written expression current among them will be made to
marvel, are truly full of marvel and frenzy and madness, for
they are such that not only can they not be committed to
writing but, because of their excessive obscenity and unspeak-
able conduct, cannot be mentioned by the lips of decent men.
For, whatever might be conceived as more foul than all
baseness, all this the utter abomination of the heresy of these
Epiphanius, Haer. 21; Theodoret, Haer. Fab. I; and Origen, Contra
Celsum, 5.62. All give similar accounts of Helen. Moreover, as recorded
by these ancient writers, Simons doctrines and practices show a crude
and undeveloped form of Gnosticism. This conception of the 'Idea
plays an important part in all Gnostic systems. Most of the systems
had two original elements, 'Potentiality' and 'Idea/ from a union of
which all beings came.
10 Adv. haer, 1,23,1-4.
108 EUSEBIUS
men has outdone, who make sport of wretched women truly
weighed down with every kind of evil. 11
Chapter 14
As the father and contriver of such evils, the evil Power
that hates good and plots against men's salvation raised up
Simon at that time, as it were a great antagonist of the great
and inspired Apostles of our Saviour. Nevertheless, that
divine and heavenly grace that co-operates with its dispensers,
by their appearance and presence, quickly extinguished the
enkindled flame of evil, through them humbling and casting
down 'every lofty thing that exalts itself against the knowl-
edge of God.' 1 Wherefore, no conspiracy, either of Simon or
of anyone else who arose at that time, succeeded in these
apostolic days. For the light of truth and the divine Word
itself, which recently had shone upon men from God and
was flourishing upon earth and dwelling within in His own
Apostles, was conquering and subduing all things. Straight-
way, the above-named sorcerer, 2 as if struck in the eyes of
his mind by a divine and marvelous flesh when formerly in
Judaea 3 he had been detected for his evil deeds by the
11 Cf. 2 Tim. 3.6, The Simonians were truly very immoral and
licentious, as were other Gnostic sects such as the Ophites and the
Carpocratians, but many, such as Marcion, Saturninus, and Tatian
went to the other extreme, teaching a very strict asceticism. They
both arose from a dualism of matter and spirit, body and soul, the
former a work of the Devil and so to be despised and abused, the
latter to be honored abovfe all. The two extremes resulted according
to the character and instincts of the persons concerned. The Fathers
hated all heretics and so accused them all indiscriminately of the
worst immorality.
1 2 Cor. 10.5.
2 Acts 8.18-23.
3 Judaea is here being used in a wide sense, meaning the province of
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 109
Apostle Peter, set out on a very long journey overseas from
east to west and went off in flight, thinking that only in this
way could he live according to his wish. And when he came to
the city of the Romans, 4 the power that obsessed him co-
operated with him greatly and in short time he was so
successful in his undertakings that he was honored as a god
by the erection of a statue 5 by those in this city. However,
his affairs did not prosper for long. Close upon him in the
same reign of Claudius, the all-good and kindly Providence
of the universe guided Peter, the great and mighty one of the
Apostles, because of his virtue the spokesman for all the
others, to Rome, as if against a great corrupter of life. And
he, 6 like a noble general of God, clad in divine armor,
conveys the costly merchandise of the light 7 from the east to
those in the west, preaching the light itself and the Word
which saves souls, the proclamation of the Kingdom of
Heaven. 8
Chapter 15
Thus, then, when the divine Word had made its home
among them, 1 the power of Simon was extinguished and
straightway perished with the man also. And so great a light
of religion shone upon the minds of the hearers of Peter
Judaea, including Samaria.
4 Rome with its opportunities for propagandizing was a great gathering
place for heretics and schismatics. Eusebius naturally considers it the
special city of the Devil.
5 Cf. above, 2.13.
6 Cf. Eph. 6.14-11; 1 Thess. 5.8.
7 Cf. John 1.9.
8 We have here an excellent illustration of Eusebius' rhetorical style.
1 Eusebius gives the story of the origin of the Church in Rome as it is
accepted by the Catholic Church. Certain modern historians, however,
strongly oppose this account, although offering nothing at all tangible
in its place.
110 EUSEBIUS
that they were not satisfied with merely a single hearing or
with the unwritten teaching of the divine Gospel, but with
all sorts of entreaties they besought Mark, 2 who was a follower
of Peter and whose Gospel is extant, to leave behind with
them in writing a record of the teaching passed on to them
orally; and they did not cease until they had prevailed upon
the man and so became responsible for the Scripture which
is called the Gospel according to Mark. 3 And they say that
the Apostle, knowing what had been done, since the Spirit
had revealed it to him, rejoiced at the zeal of the men and
authorized the Scripture for reading in the churches. Clement
has quoted the story in Book 6 of the Hypotyposes, and the
Bishop of Hierapolis, Papias 4 by name, confirms him, saying
that Peter mentions Mark in his first Epistle, which they say
he composed in Rome itself; and they say that he himself
indicates this by referring to the city metaphorically as
Babylon in these words: 'the church which is at Babylon,
chosen together with you, greets you; and so does my son
Mark. 35
Chapter 16
They say that this Mark, having set forth, was the first to
preach in Egypt the Gospel which he had also composed and
2 John Mark, son of Mary, a sister of Barnabas; cf. Acts 12.12; Col, 4.10.
He went with Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journeys; cf. Acts
15.39; Col, 4.10; and Phil. 24. He was with Peter when he wrote his
first epistle; cf. 1 Peter 5.13.
3 The universal tradition of antiquity is that Mark wrote the second
Gospel as a record of what he had heard from Peter, and so directly
under his influence,
4 On Papias, cf. below, 3.39.
5 1 Peter 5.13. This interpretation as given by Eusebius is that of the
Fathers and the Catholic Church. Some Protestant scholars insist on
the literal use of the word 'Babylon/
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 111
was the first to establish churches in Alexandria 1 itself. Indeed,
so great was the multitude of both men and women who
received the faith there at the first attempt by means of a most
philosophic and vehement asceticism that Philo thought it
fitting to describe their ways of life and assemblies and meals
and all the rest of their manner of living. 2
Chapter 17
Tradition also holds that this Philo came in the time of
Claudius to a meeting with Peter in Rome, who was then
preaching to people there. 1 This, indeed, would not be
improbable, since the very work which we mention, composed
by him some time later, clearly includes those canons of the
Church which have been observed even to the present day
among us. Moreover, since he records in the greatest possible
detail the life of the ascetics of our time, it should be clear that
he not only knew but also accepted and revered and extolled
the apostolic men of his day, who^ as it appears, were of the
Hebrew race and so still observed in a strictly Jewish manner
most of the ancient customs. First of all, 2 after promising in
1 Several ancient writers attest to Mark's labors in Egypt, e.g., Epiphanius
(Haer. 51.6) . Jerome (De vir. ill. 8) , Necephorus (H.E. 2.43) , and the
Ada Barnabae. From Eusebius' use of 'they say,' he appears to be
following oral tradition here. In 2.24 Eusebius says that Annianus
succeeded Mark as a leader of the Alexandrian Church in the eighth
year of Nero, i.e., 62. This implies that Mark died in that year which
is the date of his death as given by Jerome. But this involves us in
difficulties of chronology. Except for the information given us in the
New Testament, Mark's entire career is quite obscure.
2 See Ch. 17,
1 This tradition that Philo became acquainted with Peter in Rome is
repeated by Jerome (De vir. ill. II), and Photius (Cod. 105)
even adds that the great Jewish philosopher became a Christian. It
appears certain, however, that Philo never became a Christian, and
there is no dependable evidence that Peter and Philo ever met.
2 Philo 471.6.7,
112 EUSEBIUS
the work which he had entitled On a Contemplative Life, or
on Suppliants* that he would add nothing at all beyond the
truth and of his own invention to what he was about to
relate, he says that they are called Therapeutae 4 and the
women with them Therapeutrides, giving in addition the
reasons for such a name, either in accord with the fact that
by relieving the souls of those who came to them of their
evil passions they cured and healed them like physicians, or
because of their pure and genuine worship and service of
God. Now, whether he gave them this name of his own
accord, naturally adapting the name to the manner of living
of the men, or the first of them really called themselves this
in the beginning, since the name of Christian had not yet
come into use everywhere, 5 we need not yet discuss at length.
At any rate, then, he bears witness first of all to their
abandonment of property, stating 6 that when they begin to
follow philosophy they give up their property to their
relatives, and then, after bidding farewell to all the cares
of life, go outside the walls and dwell in lonely fields and
gardens, knowing well that intermingling with people of
another way of life is unprofitable and harmful, since those
who did this at that time, as it seems, practiced the emulation
of the life of the Prophets with a zealous and very ardent
faith. For, even in the canonical Acts of the Apostles 7 it is
recorded that all the companions of the Apostles sold all their
property and possessions and distributed them among all, 8
3 Philo 471.15-472.3. Eusebius was quite right in identifying the
Therapeutae with the Christian monks of his own day. He was
wrong in accepting Philo as the author of this work, which was
probably written in the latter part of the third century, and in
assuming that monasticisra as he knew it existed in the apostolic age.
4 Therapeutae and Therapeutrides, 'worshipers' or 'physicians', from
the verb therapeuo, 'to do service to the gods' or 'to tend the sick/
5 Philo 473.18-22.
6 Philo 474.17-34. Cf. below, 6.3.
7 Acts 2.45, Cf. below, 3.4.
8 Acts 4.34-35.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 113
according as anyone had need, so that no one among them
was in want; thus, as many as were possessors of lands and
houses, as the account says, sold them and brought the price
of what they sold and laid it at the feet of the Apostles so as
to distribute it to each, according as anyone had need.
Philo bears witness to practices very much like these which
are being described and then continues, using these very
words : 9 'Now, the race 10 is in many places in the world, for
it was proper that both Greece and barbarism share in perfect
good, but it abounds in Egypt in each of the so-called names, 11
especially around Alexandria. The noblest from everywhere,
as if to the fatherland of the Therapeutae, send a colony to a
very fitting place which is above Lake Marsia, 12 located on a
rather low hill, very convenient for its safety and the mildness
of climate. 5 Then, in turn, after describing the nature of the
houses that they have, he speaks as follows about the churches
throughout the land : In each house there is a sacred chamber
which is called "a sanctuary and monastery," in which in
isolation they perform the mysteries of the holy life, bringing
nothing into it, either drink or food or anything else that is
necessary for the needs of the body, but laws and inspired
oracles of the Prophets and hymns by which knowledge and
piety are increased and made perfect.' 13 *
And after other matters, he says: 'The entire period
intervening between dawn and evening is for them a religious
exercise. They read the sacred Scriptures and explain the
philosophy of their fathers by allegory, for they regard the
words of the literal interpretation as symbolic of a concealed
9 Philo 474.35-44.
10 I.e., the Therapeutae.
11 Land districts. Egypt, exclusive of the cities Alexandria and Ptolemais,
was divided into thirty-six such districts or nomoi. The number
varied later.
12 More commonly called Lake Mareotis, in the northern part of the
Delta, a little south of Alexandria.
13 Philo 475.14-22.
114 EUSEBIUS
nature made clear in what is beneath the surface. They also
have writings of ancient men, who were the founders of their
sect and left many memorials of the meaning in allegorical
terms, by using which as models they imitate the manner of
their way of life.' 14
These things seem to have been said by a man who listened
to them as they expounded the sacred Scriptures, and it is
perhaps probable that the writings of the ancients which
he says were in their possession were the Gospels and the
writings of the Apostles and certain interpretive narrations in
the manner of the ancient Prophets, such as the Epistle
to the Hebrews and many others of St. Paul included. Then,
again, in turn he writes thus about their composing new
psalms : 'So that they not only contemplate but also compose
songs and hymns to God in all kinds of metres and melodies,
although of necessity arranging them in the more sacred
measures,' 15
He discusses many other matters, also, with which our
study deals, but it seemed that of necessity I should enumerate
those by which the characteristics of the Church's way of life
are set forth. But, if it seems to anyone that what has been
said is not characteristic of life according to the Gospel, but
can be applied to others besides those indicated, let him be
persuaded by Philo's words further on, in which he will
obtain, if he be fair, undisputed testimony on this point. He
writes as follows : 'They lay down for the soul continence as a
foundation and build the other virtues upon it. No one of
them would take food or drink before the setting of the sun,
for they think that philosophizing belongs to daylight and the
necessities of the body to darkness; and so they allot day to
the one, and a small part of the night to the others. Some,
also, in whom dwells a great love of knowledge, overlook
14 Philo 475.34-476.2.
15 Philo 476.2-5.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 115
bodily nourishment for three days, and some so delight and
fare so sumptuously at the banquet of doctrines, provided so
richly and without stint by wisdom, that they abstain for
twice the time, having become accustomed scarcely to taste
necessary nourishment every six days.' 16
We believe that these statements of Philo, clear and irrefu-
table, have reference to those of our communion. If, after
this, anyone should still stubbornly deny it, let this person
cease from his incredulity, giving way to clearer proofs which
cannot be discovered among any except only among the
religion of Christians according to the Gospel. For he says 17
that women also are among those about whom we speak, most
of whom are aged virgins 18 who preserved their chastity not
by compulsion as some of the priestesses among the Greeks,
but rather by a voluntary purpose; through a zeal and a
desire for wisdom by reason of their longing to live with this
wisdom they disregarded the pleasures of the body, longing
not for mortal but immortal offspring, which only the soul in
love with God can bear of itself. Then, a little farther on in
the text, he sets forth the following more emphatically: 'The
interpretations of the sacred Scriptures are made among them
figuratively in allegories. For the whole law seems to these
men to be like a living thing and to have as a body the spoken
precepts and as a soul the unseen sense lying within the words,
which this sect has begun especially to contemplate, for as
through a mirror of words it beheld the surpassing beauties of
thoughts.' 19
Why besides this should we mention their gatherings to-
16 Philo 476.36-39.
17 Philo 482.3-11.
18 Philo, of course, lived and wrote during the reign of Claudius.
Christianity at that time was scarcely well enough established to
admit of virgins growing old in the Church. But this is just another
example of Eusebius' carelessness in matters of chronology.
19 Philo 483.42484,1.
116 EUSEBIUS
gether, 20 how the men live separately and the woman sepa-
rately in the same place, and their customary religious practices
which are observed by us even today, 21 especially those which
we are accustomed to observe at the feast of the Saviour's
Passion with fasting and vigils and attention to the divine
Word? The author mentioned has handed down all this in
his own writing, 22 indicating in detail the very mode of life
which has been observed by us alone even to the present
time, describing the all-night vigils of the great feast, and the
exercises in connection with them, and the hymns customarily
recited by us, 23 and how, while one sings regularly with
cadence, the others listen in silence and join in singing only
the refrain of the hymns, 24 and how on the days mentioned
they sleep on straw on the ground, and, as he expressly wrote,
refrain entirely from wine and any kind of flesh, but water
is their only drink, and the relish with their bread is salt and
hyssop. In addition to this he describes 25 the manner of
precedence of those who have been entrusted with the serv-
ices of the Church, and with the deaconships, and with the
high places of the episcopate at the head of all. 26 Whoever has
a desire for a detailed description of these things could acquire
it from the account of the man already quoted. It is clear to
everyone that Philo wrote all this having in mind the first
heralds of the teaching according to the Gospel and the
customs handed down from the beginning by the Apostles.
20 Philo 476.23-24.
21 Philo 481.22-24.
22 Philo 484.33-34.
23 Philo 484.10-21.
24 Philo 482.18-21; 483.4-10.
25 Philo 481.32-34.42; 482.3.24.25; 483.17; 484.6.
26 Eusebius is probably right in finding in the young men who serve
at table (diakonountes) , and in a president (prdedros) who directs
the study of Scripture, deacons and bishops respectively. The author
of the De vita conternplativa makes mention of them, also.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 117
Chapter 18
Being copious in language and comprehensive in his think-
ing, and having become sublime in his views upon divine
Scripture, Philo has made his exposition of the sacred word
various and diverse. 1 On the one hand, he described in
regular succession the material of the events in Genesis, to
which he gave the title The Allegories of the Sacred Laws. On
the other hand, he has made detailed divisions of the chapters
under investigation in the Scriptures with observations and
solutions in the books to which he appropriately gives the
title of The Questions and Solutions in Genesis and in Exodus.
Besides, these treatises have been elaborately worked out by
him on certain problems, such as the two books On Agricul-
ture and the same number On Drunkenness, and some others
deemed worthy of different and appropriate titles, such as
Concerning the Things Which the Sober Mind Desires and
Execrates, On the Confusion of Tongues, On Flight and
Discovery, On Assembly for Instruction, On the Question:
Who Is Heir to the Divine Things, or On the Distinction
between Odd and Even, and again On the Three Virtues
Which Moses Described with Others, in addition to these,
On Those Whose Names Have Been Changed and Why
They Were, in which he says that he also composed Books 1
and 2 On Covenants. 2 His is also a work On Emigration and
the Wise Life of the Man Initiated into Righteousness, or On
Unwritten Laws, and also On Giants or the Immutability of
God, and Books 1-5 of On the Proposition that according to
1 On Philo's life, cf. above, 2.4-6. Eusebius makes extensive use of
Philo's works in his Pwep. eucmg., and in so doing preserves many
fragments that would otherwise have been lost.
2 Philo, De mut. nom, 53.
118 EUSEBIUS
Moses Dreams Are Sent by God. These are the books which
have come down to us of those dealing with Genesis. But on
Exodus we know Books 1-5 of his Questions and Solutions,
the books On the Tabernacle, and that On the Ten Command-
ments, and Books 1-4 of On the Laws Which Refer Especially
to the Principal Divisions of the Ten Commandments, and
the book On Animals for Sacrifice and What the Kinds of
Sacrifice Are, and the book On the Rewards Fixed in the Law
for the Good and the Penalties and Curses for the Wicked.
Besides all these, some single volumes also are extant; for
example, that On Providence, and the treatise he composed
On the Jews, and The Statesman; also, Alexander or On the
Proposition that Irrational Animals Have Reason. Besides
these there is On the Proposition that Every Wicked Man Is
a Slave, to which is appended On the Proposition that Every
Good Man Is Free; after which he composed the work On
the Contemplative Life or Suppliants^ from which we have
quoted the passages on the life of the apostolic men ; and The
Interpretations of the Hebrew Names in the Law and Prophets
is said to be a work of the same author. This man came
to Rome in the time of Gaius, and in the time of Claudius 3
he is said to have read before the whole Senate of the
Romans a work written by him on the impiety of Caius,
which with characteristic irony he entitled On Virtues, and
his words were so much admired that they were deemed
worthy of a place in libraries.
In these times, while Paul was finishing his journey 'from
Jerusalem round about as far as unto Illyricum,' 4 Claudius
3 It is quite unlikely that Philo was in Rome during the reign of
Claudius. In any event, it is difficult to believe that anyone, and
especially a Jew, would have been permitted to read before the Roman
Senate a work full of hatred against the Romans and containing
derogatory allusions to the Emperor Caligula.
4 Cf. Rom. 15,19.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 119
drove the Jews out of Rome; and Aquila and Priscilla, with
the other Jews, on being banished from Rome came into
Asia, and there they lived with Paul the Apostle, who was
strengthening the foundations of the churches recently laid
there by him. The sacred writing of the Acts also teaches
this. 5
Chapter 19
While Claudius 1 was still managing the affairs of the
Empire, it happened at the feast of the Passover that so great
a riot and confusion took place in Jerusalem that of those
Jews alone who were forcibly crowded together about the
exits of the Temple 30,000 perished by being trampled by one
another, and the feast became an occasion of mourning for
the whole nation and of lamentation in every house. This, too,
is the account of Josephus 2 word for word. Claudius appoint-
ed Agrippa, 3 son of Agrippa, as King of the Jews, and sent
5 Cf. Acts 18.2,18,19,23.
1 Cf. B.L 2.227; Antiq. 20.5.3. This disturbance took place in A.D. 48,
during the procuratorship of Cumanus. Although the ancient authorities
differ as to this date, the weight of the evidence favors Eusebius.
2 B.L 2.247,248.
3 Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa I. When his father died in
A.D. 44, he was only seventeen years old. Because of his youth, Claudius
refused to give him his father's kingdom, but converted it into a
Roman province and appointed Fadus its procurator. In 49, however,
Agrippa was granted the kingdom of Chalcis which had belonged to
his uncle Herod, brother of Herod Agrippa I. In 53, he was assigned to
the tetrarchies of Philip and Lysanias with the title of 'God.' Since
Judaea always remained a Roman province throughout his reign, he
never became its king as his father had been. His territory consisted
only of the northeastern part of Palestine. However, he did have the
right of appointing and removing the high priests. Furthermore, under
Nero his domain was increased by the addition of several cities in
Galilee and Peraea. Since he co-operated with the Romans in the
Jewish War, he afterwards went to Rome, where he died in 100. He
was the last prince of the Herodian family. St. Paul made his defense,
as recorded in Acts 26, under this Agrippa.
120 EUSEBIUS
out Felix 4 as Procurator of the whole country of Samaria
and Galilee and so-called Peraea, besides. 5 After Claudius
himself had administered the government thirteen years and
eight months 6 he died, leaving Nero as his successor to the
throne.
Chapter 20
In the reign of Nero, while Felix was Procurator of
Judaea, Josephus again describes in Book 20 of the Antiquities
the quarrel of the priests with one another as follows, in
these very words: 1 'Now a quarrel arose between the high
priests and the priests and the leaders of the people of
Jerusalem, 2 and each of them, having formed for himself a
body of the boldest and most revolutionary, became their
leader, and whenever they met they used to abuse and throw
stones at each other. There was no one at all to rebuke them,
but as in a city without government these things were done
with arrogance. So great a shamelessness and audacity
seized the high priests that they dared to send forth their slaves
to the threshing floors to seize the tithes that were due the
priests. And it was a common occurrence to see those priests
who were destitute perish of want. Thus the force of the
members of the factions overcame all justice/
And again the same author relates that at the same time
4 A freedman of Claudius who succeeded Cumanus as procurator of
Judaea in A.D, 52. Josephus (B.L 2.13.2.) declares that the territory
over which he ruled included Samaria, most of Galilee, and Peraea. To
this Nero added Judaea.
5 Cf. Joseph. Ant. 20.8,11,9; also 9.1,4,6,7. Although Eusebius believed
the Roman province to include only Samaria, Galilee, and Peraea, it
included Judaea also.
6 Claudius' rule extended from January 24, 41, to October 13, 54.
1 A.L 20.180,181. Felix was persistently mean and cruel, and thus
created disturbances throughout his procuratorship.
2 No cause is given for this quarrel which arose toward the end of
Felix's term, under the high priest Ishmael,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 121
there arose in Jerusalem a certain kind of bandits 3 who by
day, as he says, and in the middle of the city murdered whom-
ever they met. Especially at feasts they mingled with the
throng and, concealing short daggers in their clothes, they
used to stab the distinguished persons with them ; then when
they fell, the very ones who committed the murders joined
those who were expressing indignation. Thus, because of the
confidence generally placed in them, they remained undis-
covered. The first to be slain by them was Jonathan 4 the
high priest, and after him many were destroyed daily, and
the fear became worse than the disasters, as each one, as if
in battle, hourly expected death.
Chapter 21
After other matters in addition to these, he continues as
follows : l 'The Egyptian false prophet 2 afflicted the Jews with
a greater plague than these. For, the man coming to the
3 Josephus, B.I. 2.254-256. Open robberies and murders, common in
Jerusalem at this time, were for the most part due to the conduct of
Felix himself. Felix arranged for the murder of Jonathan the high
priest (see next note) , and this set the example for the conduct of the
many ruffians then in Jerusalem.
4 Jonathan had been on very intimate terms with Felix. In fact he had
used his influence to effect the appointment of Felix as procurator. But
he took the liberty of advising and rebuking Felix as he wished, and
thus became such a burden that Felix arranged his death. Felix bribed
a trusted friend of Jonathan to undertake the job of introducing a
band of ruffians Into the city. These, being unknown in Jerusalem,
mingled freely with the people and murdered Jonathan and many
others. The wholesale slaughter was planned in order to divert
attention from the real purpose of the plan. Cf. Josephus, Antiq. 20.8.5.
1 Josephus, B.I. 2.261-263.
2 One of the many magicians and false prophets of the age, an Egyptian
Jew, who prophesied that God would destroy Jerusalem because of
its paganism by throwing down its walls as He had those of Jericho.
He and his followers, as the true Israel and army of God, would await
on the Mount of Olives, and attack as the walls fell.
122 EUSEBIUS
land as a sorcerer and securing for himself the faith due a
prophet, he gathered about 30,000 of those whom he had
deceived, and leading them about from the desert to the so-
called Mount of Olives he could from there have made his
way into Jerusalem by force, overpowering the Roman
garrison and the people by making tyrannical use of the
soldiers who had fallen in with him. But Felix anticipated
his attack, going out to meet him with the Roman soldiers,
and all the people joined in the defense, so that when. the
meeting took place the Egyptian fled with a few followers, but
most of those with him were either destroyed or captured
alive.'
Josephus describes these events in Book 2 of the Wars?
But it is worth checking what has been pointed out here about
the Egyptian with the account in the Acts of the Apostles,
where, 4 in the time of Felix, the centurion in Jerusalem said
to Paul, when the multitude of the Jews rose up against him :
'Art not thou that Egyptian who before these days didst raise
a tumult, and didst lead forth into the desert four thousand
men that were murderers?' 5 Such are the events that took
place in the time of Felix.
Chapter 22
Festus 1 was sent by Nero as the successor of this man.
3 Josephus gives another account of this episode in Antiq. 20.8.6. These
two accounts are in virtual agreement, differing only in details.
4 Acts 21.38.
5 These murderers were called Sicarii from the short dagger or sica
which they very conveniently concealed in the sleeve. They were a
special group of revolutionaries in Jerusalem ever ready to assassinate
their opponents.
1 In great contrast to his predecessor, Festus seems to have been a just
and capable governor. He died while in office, but must have ruled
for at least a year. The exact year of his accession is unknown but it is
certain that he died before the summer of 62. Cf. Josephus, BJ.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 123
Under him, Paul was tried and was taken a prisoner to
Rome. 2 Aristarchus was with him 3 whom he quite naturally
calls his fellow prisoner somewhere in the Epistles. And Luke,
who has handed down the Acts of the Apostles in writing, 4
brought his story to a close at this point, pointing out that
Paul spent two whole years in Rome in freedom, and
preached the word of God without hindrance. 5 Story has it
that the Apostle, after defending himself, was again sent
upon the ministry of preaching, and coming a second time 6
to the same city met death by martyrdom under Nero. While
he was being held in prison, he composed the second Epistle
to Timothy, at the same time indicating that his first defense
had taken place and that his martyrdom was at hand. Accept,
now, his testimony on these matters. He says, c At my first
answer, no one was with me, but all forsook me : may it not
be laid to their charge. But the Lord stood by me, and
strengthened me, that by me the preaching may be accom-
plished, and that all the Gentiles may hear: and I was
delivered out of the mouth of the lion.' 7 He plainly proves
by these words that on the first occasion, in order that the
preaching that was done through him might be fulfilled, he
was delivered out of the mouth of the lion, referring, as it
2 Cf. Acts 25.8-12; 27.1. If Festus became procurator in 61, this must
have been the year when Paul was sent as a prisoner to Rome. He
probably was sent there in the autumn and arrived there in the spring
of that same year.
3 Cf. Col. 4,10.
4 Cf. below, 3.4.
5 Cf. Acts 28.30,31.
6 Eusebius is the first to record the tradition of a second imprisonment
for Paul in Rome. Jerome (De vir. ill. 5) and later writers follow
him. Some modern critics scoff at the idea of a second imprisonment,
although there is no evidence of any kind against it. As to what Paul
did in the interim, some of those who believe in the second imprison-
ment assume simply a journey to the Orient; others assume also a
journey to Spain. The visit to Spain seems very unlikely, especially
since there is a complete absence of all evidence, through tradition or
otherwise, for such a journey.
7 2 Tim. 4.16,17.
124 EUSEBIUS
seems, to Nero by this, because of his savage cruelty. He
did not add next something like 'He will deliver me out of
the mouth of the lion,' for he saw in the spirit that his death
was all but at hand ; wherefore, adding to the words 'And I
was delivered out of the mouth of the lion,' he says: The
Lord will deliver me from every evil work: and will preserve
me unto his heavenly kingdom,' 8 indicating his speedy
martyrdom, which he foretells even more clearly in the same
writing, when he says, Tor I am even now ready to be
sacrificed: and the time of my dissolution is at hand.' 9 Now,
in the second Epistle of those to Timothy, he shows 10 that
Luke alone was with him as he wrote, but at his first answer
not even this one; wherefore, Luke probably wrote the Acts
of the Apostles at that time, bringing the narrative up to the
time when he was with Paul. We have related these matters
to show that Paul's martyrdom was not accomplished by
him during the sojourn in Rome which Luke records. Prob-
ably in the beginning, when Nero was more kindly disposed,
Paul's answer for his doctrine was more easily received, but
as he went on to lawless deeds of crime the Apostles along with
the rest were objects of his attacks. 11
Chapter 23
When Paul appealed to Caesar 1 and was sent over to the
city of the Romans by Festus, 2 the Jews, being disappointed in
8 Cf. 2 Tim. 4.18.
9 2 Tim. 4.6.
10 Cf. 2 Tim. 4.11,16.
11 It is true that Nero became extremely cruel and tyrannical in the
latter part of his reign. The famous 'first five years" of clemency and
justice were past before Paul came to Rome, Eusebius' explanation of
Nero's change of character may or may not be true.
1 Cf. Acts 25.11,12; 27.1.
2 Cf. Acts 23.13-15; 25.3.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 125
the hope with which they prepared their plot for him, turned
against James, the brother of the Lord, 3 to whom the throne
of the episcopacy in Jerusalem had been entrusted by the
Apostles. 4 The following daring measures against him were
undertaken by them. Bringing him into their midst, they
demanded of him a denial of the faith in Christ in the
presence of all the people, but when, contrary to the opinion
of all, he spoke up with a clear voice and with greater courage
than they had expected and confessed before all the people
that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Son of God,
they were no longer able to endure the testimony of the man
because he was believed by all on account of the height which
he had attained in his life of philosophy and religion to be
most righteous, and they killed him, seizing upon anarchy as
an opportunity for power, since at that very moment Festus
had died in Judaea and the affairs of government there were
without a head or procurator. The manner of James' death
had already been shown by the words of Clement already
quoted, who has related that he was thrown from the turret
and beaten to death with a club. 5 Hegesippus, 6 however, who
belonged to the first generation after the Apostles, gives the
most accurate account of him in Book 5 of his Memoirs,
speaking in this manner: 'The government of the Church
passed to James, the brother of the Lord, together with the
Apostles. 7 He was called the "Just" by all from the time of the
Lord even to our own, since many were called James, but
this man was holy from his mother's womb. 8 He drank no
3 Cf. above, 1.12.
4 Cf. above, 2.1.
5 Ibid.
6 Cf. below, 4.22.
7 This statement by Hegesippus is probably correct. James was with
Peter and John as a leader in the Church of Jerusalem. This is quite
different from saying, as Eusebius does, that he was appointed
Bishop of Jerusalem by the Apostles.
8 Cf. Lev. 10.9; Num. 6.3; Luke 1.15.
126 EUSEBIUS
wine nor strong drink, nor did he eat flesh; no razor passed
over his head; 9 he did not anoint himself with oil, and he did
not use the bath. To this man alone was it permitted to enter
the sanctuary, for he did not wear wool, but linen. He used
to enter the Temple alone, and be found resting on his knees
and praying for forgiveness for the people, 10 so that his knees
became as hard as those of a camel because of his constant
bending forward on his knees in worshiping God and begging
for forgiveness for the people. Because of his excessive right-
eousness he was called the Just and Oblias, which in Greek is
"Bulwark of the people" and "Righteousness," as the prophets
disclose about him. 11 So, some of the seven sects among the
people, which I have already described in the Memoirs, 1 *
asked of him what is the "door of Jesus," 13 and he said that
this was the Saviour. Because of these words some believed
that Jesus was the Christ. But the sects mentioned previously
did not believe in a resurrection or in one coming to mete out
to each according to his works, but as many as did believe did
so because of James. So, since many even of the rulers believed
there was a commotion among the Jews and the Scribes and
the Pharisees, who said that the whole people was in danger
of looking for Jesus as the Christ, they therefore came
together and said to James: "We beg you, restrain the people,
for they have strayed to Jesus, as though He were the Christ.
We beg you to persuade concerning Jesus all who have come
for the day of the Passover, for we all obey you. For we and
all the people testify to you 14 that you are righteous and that
you do not respect persons. 15 Therefore, persuade the mul-
9 Cf. Num. 6.5.
10 This dramatic account of James by Hegesippus is greatly overdrawn.
This is quite a different James from the one that we find in the Bible.
11 The reference here is very vague. It may possibly be to Isa. 3.10.
12 Cf. below, 4.22.7.
13 Cf. John 10.9.
14 Cf. Luke 20.21.
15 Cf. Matt. 22.16.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 127
titude not to be led astray regarding Jesus, for all the people
and all of us obey you. So, stand upon the turret of the
Temple that you may be visible on high and your words may
be easily heard by all the people, for because of the Passover
all the tribes, with the Gentiles also, have come together."
Thus, the afore-mentioned Scribes and Pharisees made James
stand on the turret of the Temple, and they cried out to
him and said, u Oh, just one, to whom we all owe obedience,
since the people go astray after Jesus who was crucified, tell
what is the door of Jesus?" 16 And he answered with a loud
voice: "Why do you ask me about the son of man? He is
sitting in heaven on the right hand of the great power, and
he shall come upon the clouds of heaven." 17 And when many
were fully satisfied and glorified in the testimony of James and
said: "Hosanna to the Son of David," then again the same
Scribes and Pharisees said to one another: "We have done
badly in furnishing Jesus with such testimony, but let us go
up and cast him down that through fear they may not believe
him." And they cried out, saying: "Oh, Oh, even the just one
has erred," and they fulfilled the Scripture written in Isaias:
"Let us take away the just man, because he is troublesome
to us. 18 Yet they shall eat the fruit of their doings." 19 So they
went up and cast down the Just, and they said to one another:
"Let us stone James the Just," and they began to stone him,
16 This entire problem of 'the way' o^ 'the door' is very difficult; the
tradition seems quite confused. According to some, the Jews wished
to learn James' opinion of Christ, whether he thought Him to be
a true guide or an imposter, and so they asked: 'What, i.e., of what
sort, is the door (or the way) of Christ? It it a door which opens into
life (or a way which leads to life) ; or is it a door which opens upon
death (or a way which leads to death) ?' The two ways and the two
doors are compared in Matt. 7.13,14. The reference above to the
Prophets, however, is still unexplained.
17 Cf. Matt. 26.64; Mark 14.62.
18 Cf, Wisd. 2.12.
19 Cf. Isa. 3.10. The first part of the quotation is from the Wisdom
of Solomon.
128 EUSEBIUS
since, though he had been cast down, he did not die, but he
turned and with his knees on the ground said: "I beseech
thee, Lord, God and Father, forgive them, for they know not
what they do." 20 And while they were stoning him thus, one
of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, 21
who are mentioned by Jeremias the Prophet, cried out
saying: "Stop! What are you doing? The Just is praying for
you." And someone among them, one of the laundrymen,
took the club with which he beat out the clothes, and struck
the Just upon the head, and thus he suffered martyrdom. 22
And they buried him on the spot near the temple, and his
gravestone still remains near the temple. 23 This man became
a true witness to Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ. And
immediately Vespasian besieged them.'
This account, quite in agreement with Clement, 24 is also
given at length by Hegesippus. So wonderful a person,
then, was James and so famous among all for righteousness
that the wise even among the Jews believed that this was the
20 Cf. Luke 23.34.
21 A confused and improbable story. The text of Hegesippus appears to
be corrupt, for Rechabim is simply the reproduction in Greek letters
of the Hebrew plural and is equivalent to 'the Rechabites'; yet the
text omits the article as if it were the name of an individual and
thus merely repeats the previous phrase. Furthermore*, the Rechabites
were a branch of Kenites who were adopted into Israel. Cf. 1 Chron.
2.55 and Jer. 35.19. It appears that a Rechabite could never be a
Levite, and that the name was that of a sect to which a priest or
Levite could not belong. In Epiphanius (Haer. 78.14) , Simeon, the
son of Clopas, replaces the Rechabite. This appears to be an effort
on the part of a later tradition to clarify the vagueness of the earlier
story. Cf. Jer. 35.19; also 42.
22 Clement, quoted above (5.4) , follows Hegesippus, but omits the
stoning which preceded. Josephus, however, mentions only the
stoning. There is no reason to question either,
23 This cannot be identified. A monument, now commonly known as
the tomb of St. James, is shown at a long distance from the Temple,
on the east side of the Valley of Jehosaphat.
24 This agreement is not surprising, since Clement probably obtained
hifc information from the account of Hegesippus.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 129
cause of the siege of Jerusalem immediately after his mar-
tyrdom, which in their opinion happened to them for no other
reason than the crime which had been committed against him.
Of course, Josephus did not hesitate to bear witness to this
also in writing, using the following words: 'And these things
happened to the Jews to avenge James the Just, who was a
brother of Jesus the so-called Christ, since the Jews killed him
who was most righteous. 525
The same writer also describes his [James 3 ] death in Book
20 of the Antiquities as follows: 26 'Now Caesar, when he
learned of the death of Festus, sent Albums 27 as governor to
Judaea. But the younger Ananus, 28 whom we have mentioned
as having received the high priesthood, was bold of character
and exceedingly daring, and he followed the sect of the
Sadducees, who in their judgments are cruel beyond all the
Jews, as we have already shown. 29 Now, Ananus, inasmuch
as he was of such a character, thinking that he had a
suitable opportunity because Festus had died and Albinus was
still on his way, held a session of the council of judges, and
bringing before it the brother of Jesus, the so-called Christ,
whose name was James, and certain others, he handed them
25 This passage is not found in the existing manuscripts of Josephus.
It is, however, given by Origen in Contra Celsum 1,47, which at least
shows that Eusebius did not invent the words.
26 Josephus, AJ. 20.197,199-203; B.L 2.166.
27 Albinus, a very corrupt governor, succeeded Festus in 61 or 62, and he
in turn was succeeded by Gessius Florus in 61 or 62.
28 The fifth son of the high priest Annas mentioned in the New
Testament. In this same passage, which Eusebius abridges, Josephus
tells us that his father and four brothers had been high priests before
him. He was appointed high priest by Agrippa II in 61 or 62, and
was in office for only three months.
29 There is no previous mention in Josephus of the cruelty of the
Sadducees. Perhaps a part of the account of the Sadducees and the
Pharisees is lost.
130 EUSEBIUS
over to be stoned, 30 making the charge that they had broken
the Law. But all those in the city who seemed most reasonable
and strict in matters of the Law were deeply disturbed about
this and sent secretly to the emperor, 31 urging him to order
Ananus to cease doing such things, for he had not acted
rightly from the very first. And some of them also went out
to meet Albinus as he made his way from Alexandria, and
informed him that Ananus could not hold a session of the
council without his knowledge. And Albinus, being convinced
by what was said, wrote angrily to Ananus, threatening to
exact penalties of him, and for this reason the king, Agrippa,
deprived him of the high priesthood, 32 after he had held it for
three months, and appointed Jesus, 33 the son of Dammaeus. 5
Such were the actions against James, whose Epistle is said
to be the first of the so-called Catholic epistles. But, we must
realize that it is considered spurious ; at least not many of the
ancients quote it, as is true also of the so-called Epistle of
Jude, which itself is one of the seven called Catholic ; yet we
know that these Epistles 34 have been used publicly together
with the rest in most churches.
30 The date of the martyrdom of James, as indicated here by Josephus,
is 61 or 62, at the time of the Passover as Hegesippus says. This date
is confirmed by Eusebius in his Chron., when he puts the
martyrdom in the seventh year of Nero's reign, i.e., 61. Jerome places
it in the eighth year of Nero.
31 Or, possibly, to King Agrippa II.
32 Agrippa had power over the Temple, and could appoint and remove
the high priests. Cf. above, 2.19.
33 Nothing further is known of this Jesus. He was succeeded by Jesus,
the son of Gamaliel. Cf. Ant. 20.9.4.
34 On the Epistles of Peter, cf, below, 3.3; on the Epistles of John, cf.
below, 3.44.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK TWO 131
Chapter 24
While Nero was in the eighth year of his reign, 1 Annianus 2
was the first after Mark the Evangelist to succeed to the
administration of the diocese 3 of Alexandria.
Chapter 25
While the rule was now being strengthened by Nero, he
directed his course into unholy pursuits and began to arm
himself against the religion dedicated to the God of the
universe. It would not be part of the present study to describe
the depravity of such a man as this one became. Since many,
to be sure, have handed down his story in most accurate
descriptions, 1 it is possible for anyone at his pleasure to
examine from them the crudeness of the man's degenerate
madness. Under this influence he accomplished the death of
so many thousands, quite without reason, and reached such
a state of bloodguiltiness that he spared neither his nearest
nor dearest and in various ways alike brought to death his
mother, brothers, and wife, 2 as well as thousands of other
1 I.e., A.D. 62, with which Jerome in his Chron. agrees.
2 According to 3.14, below, Annianus held this office for twenty-two
years. According to Apost. Const. 7.46, he ordained Mark as the first
Bishop of Alexandria. He is commemorated in the Roman martyrology
on April 25 together with St. Mark.
3 The Greek word (paroikia) is, literally: colony or province or parish.
1 Cf. Tacitus, Ann. 13-16; Suetonius, Nero, and Cassius Dio 61-63
2 According to 3.14, below, Annianus held this office for twenty-two
assassinated in 60 at her villa on Lake Lucrine at the command of
Nero; his younger brother Britannius was poisoned by his order at a
banquet in 55; and his first wife, Octavia, who had been divorced that
he might marry Poppaea, the wife of his friend, was afterward
put to death. Poppaea herself died from the effects of a kick given
her by Nero while she was pregnant.
132 EUSEBIUS
family relatives, as if they were enemies and foes. Yet, with
all these crimes, there still remained this to be written about
him that he should be the first of the emperors to be pointed
out as a foe of divine religion. This, again, the Roman
Tertullian 3 mentions, speaking as follows: 'Look at your
records; there you will find that Nero was the first to, persecute
this teaching, when, after subduing the entire East, he was
especially cruel to all in Rome. 4 We boast over such an
author of our punishment. For he who knows that man can
understand that, unless something were very good, it would
not have been condemned by Nero.'
Thus, then, was this man heralded as above all the first
fighter against God, and was raised up to slaughter the
Apostles. It is recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome
itself 5 and that Peter also was crucified in Nero's time, 6 and
the title of Teter and Paul* over the cemeteries there, which
has prevailed to the present day, confirms the story, and no
less also does a man of the Church, named Caius, 7 who lived
3 Cf. Apol. 5.
4 Eusebius' Greek here appears to be a very poor translation of
Tertullian's Latin, which reads: 'Consulite commentaries vestros,
illic reperietis pnmum Neronem in hanc sectam cum maxime Romae
orientem Caesariano gladio ferocisse.' It may be translated thus:
'Consult your records. There you will find that Nero was the first
to rage with the imperial sword against this sect, just as it was arising
in Rome.'
5 The tradition that Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome appears quite
certain. There are no conflicting accounts in antiquity that contradict
it. Clement (Ad. Cor. 5) , Cams (quoted in Ch. 7) , Dionysius of
Corinth (quoted in Ch. 8) , Origen (quoted in 3.1) , and Tertullian in
De praescriptione haer. 36, all bear witness to this report.
6 The tradition that Peter suffered martyrdom in Rome is as old
and widespread as that pertaining to Paul. But the original
tradition regarding Peter has been beclouded by some evident false-
hood in details. In fact, some modern non-Catholic critics go so far
as to reject it entirely. Modern archaeological discoveries, however,
definitely back up the old tradition in its chief and important
features.
7 A very learned ecclesiastical writer. At the beginning of the third
century he held a disputation with Proclus in Rome. Cf. below, 6.20.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK TWO 133
in the time of Zefyrinus, 8 Bishop of Rome. This Caius, in a
written disputation with Proclus, 9 leader of the Phrygian
heresy, 10 has the following to say about the places where the
sacred corpus of the afore-mentioned Apostles were deposited :
'But I can point out the trophies of the Apostles. For, if you
are willing to go to the Vatican 11 or to the Ostian Way, 12 you
will find the trophies of those who founded this Church.' 13
And that they both suffered martyrdom at the same time,
Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, 14 affirms as follows, when
communicating with the Romans in writing: 15 Thus, by so
All ancient evidence concerning this Caius stems from Eusebius.
Photius (Bibl. .48), who lived 600 years after Caius, gives a detailed
account of his life and activity, calling him a presbyter of the
Roman Church and 'Bishop of the Gentiles.' The absence of any of
this information in writers before Photius and other evidence cast
serious doubt on this account of Caius by Photius.
8 Cf. Book 5, ch. 28, sect. 7.
9 Probably introduced the heresy of Montanism into Rome at the
beginning of the third century.
10 I.e., the heresy of the Montanists, Montanism; called the 'Phrygian
heresy' because of its origin in Phrygia. Regarding Montanism, cf.
below, 4.27; 5.16ff.
11 According to the best evidence, and especially that of modern
archaeology, Peter was crucified on Vatican Hill, where Nero's circus
was, and where the persecution took place. His remains were said to
have been buried in the Catacombs of San Sebastiano in 285, but to
have been transferred in the fourth century to the Basilica of St.
Peter, which stood on the site of the present basilica on the Vatican.
12 According to tradition, Paul was beheaded on the Ostian Way, near
the present site of the Abbey of the Three Fountains. In the fourth
century, when Peter's remains were transferred to the Vatican, Paul's
body is said to have been buried in the Basilica of St. Paul, the site
now occupied by the Church of San Paolo fuori le mura. The
traditions as the spot where Peter and Paul met their death are" in all
probability true. They are as old as the second century, and the
Church in Rome could hardly have forgotten these facts in a
century and a half.
13 Of course, there were a few Christians in Rome when Paul and Peter
got there. Moreover, Peter came to Rome some time after Paul. How-
ever, we see no difficulty in accepting the very old tradition that Paul
and Peter founded the Church in Rome, in that they both contributed
most in establishing the Church there on a firm footing.
14 On Dionysius of Corinth, cf. below, 4.23.
15 This Epistle to the Romans is quoted again in 4.23, below. It is
extant only in these fragments.
134 EUSEBIUS
great an admonition, you have brought together the planting
that was made by Peter and Paul at Rome and at Corinth, 16
for both of them alike planted in our Corinth and taught us,
and both alike also taught in Italy in the same place and
suffered martyrdom at the same time.' 17 I have quoted this,
also, that the facts narrated may be confirmed still further.
Chapter 26
Josephus again, 1 who has told in detail most of the incidents
pertaining to the disaster that took hold of the entire nation of
the Jews, points out, in addition to a great many other things,
how many thousands of those held in high honor by the Jews
were tortured with whips in Jerusalem itself and were cruci-
fied by Florus; 2 and that he was Procurator of Judaea when it
happened that the beginning of the war blazed up in the
twelfth year of the reign of Nero. 3 Then he also says that
16 It is very difficult to accept this tradition that both Paul and Peter
established the Church in Corinth. Whatever the facts may be
regarding their establishing the Church in Rome, all the evidence
points to the work in Corinth as Paul's alone.
17 The Church celebrates the death of Peter on the 29th and that of
Paul on the 30th of June, but has no definite year for the death of
either. One tradition, that of Augustine and Prudentius, places their
deaths on the same day, but one year apart. Jerome (De vir. ill. 1) is
the earliest writer to state that they both died on the same day.
Eusebius places the martyrdom of both in 67; Jerome, in 68.
1 Cf, B.L 2.306-308.
2 Cf. Josephus, J8J. 2.284; A. I. 20.257. He succeeded Albinus in 64, and
earned for himself the reputation of being the most corrupt and
unprincipled governor that Judaea ever had. He obtained his appoint-
ment through his wife, Cleopatra, and her friendship with the Empress
Poppaea.
3 Cf. Josephus, BJ. 2.462,465. Josephus places the beginning of the war
in the month of Artemision, which corresponds to the second month
of the Jewish year, in 66, the second year of Gessius Florus. The Jews
were driven to desperation by the wanton conduct of Florus. Vespasian
began his operations in Galilee in the spring of 67. He had not appeared
in Palestine before that.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY! BOOK TWO 135
throughout all Syria a terrible commotion arose because of the
revolt of the Jews, for Gentiles everywhere were mercilessly
attacked by the Jews dwelling in the cities as if they were
foes, so that the cities could be seen full of unburied bodies,
and old men together with children thrown out dead, and
women lacking a covering even for their nakedness, and the
whole province full of indescribable calamities, and the strain
of what was threatened greater than what was actually being
endured. This Josephus relates in detail, and the affairs of the
Jews were in this state.
BOOK THREE
Chapter 1
|N SUCH A CONDITION were the affairs of the Jews, but
of the holy Apostles and disciples of our Saviour who
_______ _ were scattered over the whole world, 1 Thomas, as
tradition holds, received Parthia; 2 Andrew, Scythia; 3 John,
1 There are varying traditions concerning the labors of the Apostles in
different countries after their separation at Jerusalem. The date of
this separation itself varies from immediately after the Ascension to
twenty-four years later. It is practically impossible to derive any
trustworthy particulars regarding the Apostles themselves. According to
the oldest tradition, there were three groups: (1) Peter and Andrew,
Matthew and Bartholomew, who labored in the region of the Black
Sea; (2) Thomas, Thaddeus, and Simeon the Canaanite, who preached
in Parthia; (3) John and Philip, who journeyed into Asia Minor.
2 At this time independent and extending from the Indus to the
Tigris, and from the Caspian Sea "to the Persian Gulf. Of the
various traditions regarding Thomas, this is the oldest. A later
tradition has him traveling as far east as India and suffering
martyrdom there. His remains were exhibited there as late as the
sixteenth century; the Martyrium Romanum, however, states that his
remains were brought from India to Edessa, and from here to Ortona
in Italy during the Crusades. Cf. the Clementine Recognitiones 9.29;
Socrates H.E. 1.14 and 4.18; and RuHnus H.E. 2.5.
3 In a very general sense as used in antiquity, Scythia meant all the
137
138 EUSEBIUS
Asia 4 (and with the people there he lived and he died in
Ephesus) ; but Peter 5 seems to have preached in Pontus and
Galatia and Bithynia and Cappodocia and Asia 6 to the Jews
of the Dispersion, and at last, having come to Rome, was
crucified head-downwards, 7 for he himself had asked to
suffer so. What need we say about Paul, 8 who fulfilled the
gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum and later suffered
martyrdom in Rome under Nero? 9 These facts have been
stated exactly by Origen in the third volume of his Com-
mentary on Genesis. 10
territory north of the Caspian and Black Seas. According to a more
accurate use of the term, there were two Scythias: a European Scythia
to the north of the Black Sea, between the Danube and the Tanais,
as is meant here; and an Asiatic Scythia, extending toward the east
from the Ural. The oldest tradition regarding Andrew gave him the
region around the Black Sea, as indicated here. Because of this he has
been made the patron saint of Russia. He also is a patron saint of
Greece, and according to an ancient tradition was crucified there.
According to Philostorgius, H.E. 3.2, his body was brought to
Constantinople in 357 and was transferred to Amalpae in Italy
during the Crusades. His remains are exhibited in the cathedral there
today. There are many other traditions about St. Andrew, including
one of the eighth century that took him to Scotland.
4 Proconsular Asia, including Mysia, Lydia, and Caria, a narrow strip
along the coast of the Mediterranean. Ancient testimony agrees in
assigning John's later life to Ephesus. Cf. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3. LI
and 3.4., and quotations of ancient testimony by Eusebius. He lived
until the reign of Trajan (98417), CL Irenaeus, 2.22.5 and 3.3.4.
5 1 Peter 1.1; also, below, 5,25,
6 The five provinces mentioned in I Peter 1.1,
7 This tradition is very doubtful. It first appears in Origen and becomes
very common thereafter. The earlier Fathers, including Tertullian who
speaks of the crucifixion of Peter, do not mention his having been
crucified head-downwards. Of course, it is not impossible.
8 Cf. Rom. 15.19.
9 Cf. above, 2.25.
10 The greater part of this chapter seems to represent a fragment of
Origen as indicated. It has not been preserved elsewhere.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 139
Chapter 2
After the martyrdom of Paul and of Peter, Linus 1 was the
first to succeed to the episcopacy of the Church at Rome.
Paul, when writing from Rome to Timothy, makes mention of
him in the salutation at the end of the Epistle. 2
Chapter 3
Now, one letter of Peter, his so-called first Epistle, is
admitted to be genuine, 1 and the ancient presbyters made use
of this Epistle as undisputed in their own writings. The
reputed second Epistle we have ascertained to be not canon-
ical; 2 nevertheless, since it appeared useful to many, it has
been studied together with the other Scriptures. However, the
writing of the Acts 3 imputed to him, and the Gospel 4 that
bears his name, and the Preaching 5 spoken of as his, and the
so-called Revelation 6 we know have not been handed down
1 The order of the first three Bishops of Rome is greatly disputed. The
order given here by Eusebius, namely, Linus, Anencletus, and Clement,
is that given by Irenaeus in Adv. Haer. 3.3.3, and is the oldest.
Hippolytus gives four names in this order Linus, Clement, Cletus, and
Anacletus which is followed by the Church.
2 Tim. 4.21.
1 Eusebius seems certainly to be correct in acknowledging the authen-
ticity of the first Epistle of Peter. He has the unanimous backing of
patristic tradition. Certain critics, however, have attempted to deny
this.
2 This Epistle was admitted into the canon at the Council of Hippo
in 393. All questions and discussions as to its authorship then ceased
until the Protestant Revolt, when doubt was raised again by some
and has continued ever since.
3 For an English translation of these Acts, cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers
(American ed.) VIII 477.
4 No longer extant, and in any case apparently heretical.
5 No longer extant, although mentioned frequently by the early Fathers.
Origen (De princ. Praef. 8) definitely classifies it as spurious.
6 Only a few fragments are extant. After the time of Eusebius the
work appears to have been regarded everywhere as spurious. In the
140 EUSEBIUS
at all among Catholics, because no orthodox writer among
the ancients or in our own time has made use of their
testimonies. 7 As my history proceeds, I shall make it a point to
indicate in succession which of the orthodox writers in each
period made use of any of the disputed works and what they
said about the canonical and accepted writings and what
about those which are not so. But, such are the works which
are called Peter's, among which I recognize only one Epistle
as genuine and so acknowledged by the presbyters of old. And
the fourteen 8 Epistles of Paul are manifest and clear, yet it is
not right to ignore that some have rejected the Epistle to the
Hebrews 9 as spurious, saying that it was disputed by the
Church of Rome, on the ground that it was not by Paul. I
shall set forth at the proper time 10 what was said about this
Epistle by our predecessors. Indeed, not even have I received
his so-called Acts 11 among the undisputed writings. But since
the same Apostle in the salutations at the end of the Epistle
to the Romans 12 has made mention among others of Hernias,
early Church it enjoyed some favor and was accepted as genuine by
some of the Fathers. Because of this recognition in orthodox circles
it in all probability contained nothing offensive to the Church. CL
below, 4.14.
7 This statement is entirely too sweeping. The work was in general
use in the second century, and Clement, as we learn from Eusebius
himself (6.14) , wrote a commentary on it.
8 The thirteen Epistles of St. Paul as they appear in our present canon,
and the Epistle to the Hebrews. These were for Eusebius of undisputed
authorship, and were so accepted until the nineteenth century. The
Epistles to the Romans, Corinthians, and Galatians have never been
seriously disputed as to canonicity or authorship. The others have
been more or less questioned since 1824, when Testeri questioned the
genuineness of Ephesians.
9 The canonicity of this Epistle has never been questioned, but its
authorship has been disputed from the early Fathers to our own day.
10 Cf. below, 6.14, 20, 25.
11 These Acts are also mentioned in Ch. 25. Eusebius seems to imply
that they were originally regarded as canonical, but were not
generally regarded as such in his own time. These Acts of Paul are
not to be confused with the Gnostic version which from the end o
the fourth century made up a part of the Manichaean canon of the
New Testament,
12 Cf. Rom. 16.14.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 141
whose, they say, Is the Book of the Shepherd, 13 we must
realize that this also was rejected by some, and because of
these it should not be placed among approved works, but by
others it has been judged as most indispensable for those
especially who need elementary instruction. We know that
for this purpose it has been used publicly in the churches in
recent times, and I have found that some of the most ancient
authors have drawn on it. Let these words suffice to establish
the divine writings that are undisputed and those which are
not acknowledged by all.
Chapter 4
It should be clear from Paul's own words, 1 and from what
Luke has related in the Acts, 2 that Paul, when preaching to
the Gentiles, laid the foundation of the churches 'from
Jerusalem round about as far as unto Illyricum.' And from
the very words of Peter, 3 from the Epistle which we have
mentioned as indisputably his, in which he writes to the
Hebrews who were in the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia,
Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, it should be clear in how
many provinces he, too, handed down the word of the New
Testament by preaching the Gospel of Christ to those of the
circumcision. But it is not easy to say how many and who of
these became genuinely zealous and were judged able to be
pastors of the churches founded by them, except such as one
13 The Book of the Shepherd by Herraas was in circulation as early as
the latter half of the second century. It was regularly quoted as an
inspired work but was not placed in the canon. It seems to have passed
out of use in the fourth century. St. Jerome (De vir. ill. 10) says that
it was practically unknown in his time. Cf. notes to translation in
The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1 of the present series.
1 Cf. Rom. 15.19.
2 Cf. Acts 9ff.
3 Cf. Peter 1.1.
142 EUSEBIUS
might list from the words of Paul. His fellow workers and
fellow soldiers, as he himself called them, numbered many
thousands, the majority of whom he considered worthy of an
everlasting memorial, for he has made his testimony to them
unceasing in his own letters. 4 Moreover, Luke also, as he
lists those known to him, makes mention of them by name. 5
So Timothy 6 is recorded as the first to receive the bishopric of
the diocese of Ephesus, as also was Titus 7 of the churches in
Crete. Luke, 8 who was by race an Antiochian and by profes-
sion a physician, had long been a companion of Paul, and had
more than a casual acquaintance with the rest of the Apostles.
He has left us in two inspired books examples of the art of
healing for souls which be obtained from them: namely,
4 Cf. Phil. 2.25; Philem. 2.
5 These are as follows, all mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles:
Barnabas (9.27 and passim); John Mark (12.25; 13.13; 15.37,39);
Silas (15.40) ; Timothy (16.11! and passim) ; Aquila and Pnscilla (1H) ;
Erastus (19.22); Gains of Macedonia (19.29); Anstarchus (19.29, 20.4\
27.2) ; Sopater, Secundus, Gains of Dei be (possibly to be identified
with Gains of Macedonia) , and Tychichus (20.4) ; and Trophimus
(20.4; 21.29).
6 Cf. 1 Tim. 1.3. St. Timothy is commemorated on January 24. The
tradition that Timothy was the first Bishop of Ephcsus, as given here
by Eusebius, is repeated by the Apost. Const. (7.46) , and by
Nicephorus (H.E. 3.11). The latte'r also states that he suffered
mart)rdom under Domitian. There appears to be no good reason to
doubt this tradition.
7 Titus 1.5 St. Titus is commemorated on January 4. He is said to have
been of ro\al Cretan birth and to have been Bishop of Gortyna,
where the ruins of the church which bears his name still stand. Ac-
cording to 2 Tim, 4.10, he traveled to Dalmatia, but Candia, the
modern capital of Crete, claims his final resting place.
8 St. Luke is commemorated on October 18, All that we know about
him comes from St. Paul (Col. 4.14; Philem. 24; 2 Tim. 4.11) : namely,
he was a physician, was a very dear fellow worker of St. Paul, and
was with St. Paul during his last imprisonment. Although Irenaeus is
the first to ascribe the third Gospel and the Acts to St. Luke, he
gives us no additional personal information, Eusebius gives us what
appears to be the universally accepted tradition of his day, that he
was born at Antioch. According to Gregory Nazian?cn (Orat. 25) , he
labored in Achaia, and was a martyr (Orat, 4) , St. Jerome (De vir. ill.
7) states that he was buried at Constantinople.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 143
the Gospel, which he testifies that he planned according to
what those who were eye-witnesses from the beginning and
ministers of the word had handed down to him, all of whom
he says he had followed from the first, 9 and the Acts of the
Apostles, 10 which he composed on the evidence not of
hearsay but of his own eyes. And they say that Paul was
actually accustomed to quote the Gospel according to St.
Luke, since when writing about some Gospel as his own he
used to say, 'According to my Gospel.' 11 Of the rest of Paul's
followers, there is evidence from Paul himself that Crescens
was sent to Gaul, 12 and Linus, whom he mentioned in the
second Epistle to Timothy 13 as being with him in Rome, has
already been shown to have been the first after Peter to have
been appointed to the episcopacy of the Church in Rome.
And of Clement, also, who was himself appointed the third
Bishop of the Church at Rome, there is evidence from Paul
that he was his co-worker and fellow soldier. 14 Besides these,
that member of the Areopagus, Dionysius by name, whom
Luke records in the Acts 15 as having received the faith for the
9 Cf. Luke 1.2,3.
10 The Apostolic Fathers, Justin, and Tatian exhibit some knowledge
of the Acts. Except for heretics, this work held an undisputed place
in the canon from the beginning. Tradition, beginning with the
Muratorian fragment and Irenaeus, has been essentially unanimous
in ascribing it to Luke. Irenaeus (3.1.1) seems to state that it was
written after the deaths of Peter and Paul. A tradition arose later,
followed by St. Jerome (De vir. ill. 7) , that it was Composed during
the lifetime of Paul, and this has been accepted by conservative
scholars.
11 Cf. Rom. 2.16; 16.25; 2 Tim. 2.8.
12 Cf. 2 Tim. 4.10.
13 Cf. 2 Tim. 4.21.
14 Cf. Phil. 4.3.
15 Cf. Acts 17 34. The works of Dionysius the Areopagite or, better,
Pseudo-Areopagite, have had a tremendous influence on the theology
of the Middle Ages. The evidence of his own writings indicates that,
although he pretends to be a contemporary of the Apostles, he
belongs, at the very earliest, to the latter half of the fifth century,
and is not to be identified with the real Areopagite mentioned here,
and whose name he assumes.
144 EUSEBIUS
first time after Paul's public address to the Athenians in the
Areopagus, is described by one of the ancients, another
Dionysius, shepherd of the diocese of Corinth, 16 as having
been the first Bishop of the Church at Athens. As we proceed
on our way, we will relate at the proper time the chronological
details of the succession of the Apostles; meanwhile, let us go
on with the succeeding events of our history.
Chapter 5
After Nero was master of the sovereignty for thirteen years, 1
and the affairs of Galba and Otho had occupied a year and
six months, 2 Vespasian, who was famous for his campaigns
against the Jews, was declared ruler over Judaea itself, having
been proclaimed emperor by the armies there. 3 So he set out
at once on the road to Rome, and entrusted the war against
the Jews to his son Titus. 4 The Jews, after the ascension of
our Saviour, in addition to their crime against Him, now
devised innumerable plots against His Apostles, also. First,
16 On Dionysius of Corinth, cf. below, 4,23.
1 Cf. Josephus, B.I. 4.491, Nero's reign extended from October 16, 54,
to June 9, 68.
2 Eusebius is careless here. He omits Vitellius. The combined reigns of
Galba (June 9, 68, to January 15, 69) , Otho (January 15 to April 20,
69) , and Vitellius (January 2 to December 22, 9) amounted to about
eighteen months,
3 Cf. Josephus, B.L 4.658. Eusebius is essentially correct, although not
exact in details. While Vitellius was the recognized .emperor in Italy,
Vespasian was proclaimed emperor at Alexandria, July 1, 69, by the
prefect of Egypt. Vespasian's armies in Judaea and, a little later, all
the legions in the East confirmed this. His generals conquered Vitellius
and slew him in Italy on December 20, 69. Vespasian was then
recognized by the Roman Senate, and he himself arrived in Italy in
the summer of 70.
4 Titus carried on the siege of Jerusalem after his father's departure,
and brought it to a close on September 8, 70.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 145
Stephen was stoned to death by them; then, after him, James,
who was the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was
beheaded; 5 and above all, James, who was the first to obtain
the episcopal seat in Jerusalem after the ascension of our
Saviour, met death in the manner described above. 6 The
death of the rest of the Apostles was plotted in numerous
ways and they were driven from the land of Judaea, and
they went their way to teach the Gospel among all the
nations, supported by the power of Christ, who said to them :
'Going teach ye all nations in my name. 37 But the people of
the Church at Jerusalem were commanded by an oracle
given out by revelation before the war to esteemed men there
to depart from the city and to inhabit a city of Peraea which
they called Pella. 8 Those who believed in Christ migrated to
this city from Jerusalem, that, when holy men had entirely
abandoned the royal capital of the Jews and the entire land
of Judaea, the judgment of God might soon overtake them
for their many crimes against Christ and His Apostles and
utterly destroy that generation of the wicked from among
men. Whoever wishes can gather accurately from the history
written by Josephus 9 how many evils everywhere overwhelmed
the entire nation at that time; and how especially the
inhabitants of Judaea were driven to an extremity of misfor-
tunes; and how many thousands of youths, together with
women and children, perished by the sword and by hunger
5 Cf. Acts 6.8ff. and 12.2.
6 Cf. above, 2.23.
7 Cf. Matt. 28.19. Eusebius usually omits the reference to baptism when
quoting this passage. Some think that he is following a text in an
earlier form; others, that he wished to keep the formula of baptism
secret. ,
8 In northern Perea, beyond the Jordan, within the territory of Herod
Agrippa II. Epiphanius (De Pond, et Mens. 15) also mentions this
flight of the Christians to Pella. The people in the vicinity of Pella
were for the greater part Gentiles.
9 Josephus, B.I. Bks. 5 and 6.
146 EUSEBIUS
and countless other forms of death; and how many and what
famous cities of the Jews were besieged ; and also what terrors
and worse than terrors those saw who fled to Jerusalem itself
as to a most mighty capital ; the nature of the whole war and
every detail of what happened in it; and how, finally, the
abomination of desolation proclaimed by the Prophets 10 was
established in the very Temple of God, celebrated of old,
which suffered complete destruction and total disappearance
in flames. But it must be pointed out that this same writer
relates that the multitude of those assembled from all Judaea
in the days of the Feast of the Passover to the number of three
million 11 were shut off in Jerusalem, to use his very words,
'as in a prison.' Now, it was right that in those very days in
which they had arranged for the Passion of the Saviour and
Benefactor of all men they, shut off 'as in a prison,' should
receive the destruction which pursued them at the hands of
divine justice.
Passing over, then, the details of the calamities that befell
them through attempts on their lives by the sword and other
means, I think that I must present those misfortunes only that
were the result of hunger, in order that those who read this
work may be able to know in part how the vengeance of
God followed after them not long afterwards for their law-
lessness against the Christ of God.
Chapter 6
Come, then, take in hand Book 5 of the History of
Josephus, and go over the tragedy of what was done at that
10 Cf. Dan. 9.27; 12,13; Matt. 24.15; Mark 13.14.
11 Josephus BJ. 6.425-428. Emebius is giving round numbers. Evidence
from other authors indicates that this figure is grossly exaggerated.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 147
time. 'Surely, 5 he says, 'for the rich to remain was tantamount
to destruction; under pretext of intended desertion they were
murdered for their wealth. The madness of the rebels grew
with the famine, and both terrors blazed forth the more day
by day. Food was nowhere visible, but rushing into houses
they searched them. Then, if they found any, they tortured
the owners for having denied that they had it, and if they did
not find any they tormented them on the ground that they had
concealed it too carefully. The proof of their having or not
having food was the bodies of the poor wretches. Those of
them who were still in good condition they judged to be well
provided with nourishment; those who were already wasting
away were passed by, and it appeared foolish to kill them,
since they would soon die because of want. Many secretly
exchanged their possessions for one measure of wheat, if
they were really richer; barley, if they were really poorer.
Then, shutting themselves off in the intermost recesses of their
homes, some because of extreme want ate the grain uncooked;
others baked it as necessity and fear dictated. Nowhere was a
table set, but, snatching the food still uncooked from the fire,
they tore it to pieces. Pitiable was their fare, and worthy of
tears was the sight, as the stronger plundered and the weak
wailed. Famine indeed surpasses all suffering, but it destroys
nothing so much as a sense of decency; for what is under other
circumstances worthy of respect is despised in the midst of
famine. Thus, wives snatched food from the very mouths
of husbands, children from fathers, and, most pitiable of all,
mothers from children, and while their dearest were wasting
away in their arms, there was no reluctance about snatching
$way the last drops that sustained life. Yet they did not escape
notice as they ate in this way, but everywhere robbers came
upon them and deprived them even of this. For, wherever
they saw a house shut up, this was a sign that those within
148 EUSEBIUS
were bringing in food; at once they shattered the doors,
rushed in, and carried off the morsels, all but forcing them out
of their throats. Old men were beaten because they clung to
their food, and women were pulled by the hair for concealing
it in their hands; nor was there any pity for grey old age or for
little children, but picking up the babes that clung to their
morsels they dashed them upon the ground. To those who
anticipated their entrance and gulped down what was to
be seized, they were more cruel, as if they had been wronged
by them, and they devised terrible ways of torture for the
discovery of food, blocking up the passageways of the privy
parts of the poor wretches with bitter herbs and piercing their
seats with sharp rods. One suffered things horrible even to
hear, to force the confession of a single loaf, and to disclose a
single pint of hidden barley. The torturers did not suffer
hunger (indeed, they would have been less cruel if they had
so acted of necessity), but they were performing their tortures
to practice their madness and to provide sustenance for days
to come. And when some crawled forth in the night to the
outposts of the Roman lines to gather wild herbs and grass,
they went to meet them, just as they thought that they had at
last eluded the enemy, and they plundered what they were
carrying, and although they repeatedly begged them and
called upon the most awful name of God to share with them
a part of what they were carrying at great risk, they shared
nothing at all, and it was fortunate that he who was robbed
was not also slain.' 1
Josephus, after other details, continues with the following
words : 2 All hope of escape for the Jews was cut off with the
closing of the exits, 3 and, when the famine deepened, house
1 Josephus, BJ. 5.424-438.
2 Ibid. 5.512-519.
3 In the paragraph immediately preceding the present quotation,
Josephus describes how Titus had built a wall around Jerusalem, thus
cutting off every possible means of escape.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 149
by house and family by family it kept feeding upon the people,
and the rooms were filled with dead women and children, and
the alley-ways with corpses of old men, and children and
youths swollen from famine wandered through the market
places like ghosts and fell down wherever the last agony seized
one. Those who were sick did not have the strength to bury
their relatives and those who retained their strength hesitated
to do so because of the great number of the dead and the
the uncertainty of their own fate. Thus, many fell dead over
those they were burying, and many went to their graves before
the necessity arose. There was neither lamentation nor wailing
in the midst of the misfortunes, but famine conquered
emotions, and those who were dying a lingering death looked
with dry eyes upon those who had gone to their rest before
them. A deep silence and night teeming with death encircled
the city. Worse even than these were the robbers. Breaking
into houses as if they were tombs, they plundered the dead,
and stripping the coverings from around the bodies they
departed with laughter. They tried the tips of their swords in
the corpses, and to prove the steel ran through some of the
fallen who were still alive, and those who begged that a right
hand and a sword be used upon them they disdainfully left
behind to famine. Each one of those who expired looked
steadfastly upon the Temple, having left the rebellious above.
There were those who urged that the bodies be buried at the
public expense, since the stench was unbearable. Then, when
they were unequal to this, they threw them from the walls
into the trenches. And when Titus was walking about the
trenches and saw them filled with corpses and thick gore
oozing out of the rotting bodies, he groaned, and raising his
hands he called God to witness that this was no deed of his.'
A little later he adds something to this in the following
words: 4 *I could not refrain from expressing what my feelings
4 Josephus, BJ. 5.566.
150 EUSEBIUS
bade me. I think that, if the Romans had delayed their attack
against these sinners, the city would either have been swal-
lowed up by a chasm or overwhelmed with a flood or have
shared the thunderbolts of Sodom, for it had borne a race
much more godless than those who had suffered thus. In any
case, the entire people were destroyed by the madness of
these.'
In Book 6 he writes thus: 5 'Of those who perished from
hunger through the city, countless was the number that fell,
and indescribable were the sufferings that befell them. For, if
in each house there appeared a shadow of sustenance any-
where, fighting took place, and the dearest friends engaged in
hand-to-hand conflict with one another, snatching away the
wretched sustenance of life. And there was no trusting the
deprivation of the dying, but robbers searched them while
they were still breathing, lest some one, while concealing
food in his bosom, feign death. Others, with mouths gaping
from lack of food, stumbled and darted here and there like
mad dogs, and beating upon doors in the manner of drunken
men they rushed into the same houses twice and three times
within a single hour from utter helplessness. Necessity brought
all things to men's teeth, and they collected and brought them-
selves to eat things unfit even for the filthiest of irrational
beasts. Finally, they did not refrain even from girdles and
shoes, and they stripped the hides from their shields and
chewed them. Wisps of old hay were sustenance for some,
since they gathered stubble and sold small portions for four
Attic drachmae. 6
'And why should I speak of the shamelessness of the famine
toward inanimate things? I shall proceed to describe a result
of it such as is recorded neither among Greeks nor barbarians,
5 Ibid. 6.193-213.
6 About sixty cents.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 151
frightful to tell, incredible to hear. Indeed, lest I should
appear to future generations to be indulging in fantasy, I
gladly would have omitted the calamity did I not have count-
less witnesses from those of my own generation. Especially
would I render my country cold comfort, did I compromise
the story of the sufferings which she endured. A woman
among those who live beyond the Jordan, Mary by name,
whose father was Eliezer of the village of Bathezor (which
means "House of Hyssop") and who was famous for her
family and wealth, fled to Jerusalem with the rest of the
multitude and was caught in the siege with them. The tyrants
had plundered the rest of her property, such as she had
gathered together and brought into the city from Peraea, and
the guards rushed in daily and seized the remnants of her
property and whatever food they laid their eyes on. A terrible
vexation came upon the woman, and by continually insulting
and cursing the robbers she tried to provoke them against
herself. But, when no one killed her either through anger or
through pity and she grew weary of finding food for others
(it was now quite impossible to find any anywhere), famine
penetrated her vitals and marrow, and rage began, to burn
more fiercely than famine. She took anger and necessity as
her councilors, and turned against nature. She seized her
child (she had a boy at the breast) and said: "Wretched
child, for what 7 do I protect you in war, famine, and
rebellion? Even if we live among them as slaves to the
Romans, famine anticipates slavery, and the rioters are worse
than both. Come, be my nourishment, an avenging fury 8 to
the rioters and a byword to the world, the only account still
lacking to the calamities of the Jews." As she said this, she
7 This may be translated 'for whom/
8 According to the popular belief that the souls of the murdered, like
furies, tormented those chiefly responsible tor their death.
152 EUSEBIUS
killed her son, then roasted him and ate half; the remainder
she covered up and kept. Immediately the rioters were at
hand and, smelling the nefarious savor, they threatened to
slay her at once if she did not show them what she had
prepared. She said that she had kept a good helping for them
and uncovered the remains of the child. Horror and amaze-
ment at once seized them, and they stood transfixed at the
sight. But she said: "This is my own child, and the deed is
mine. Eat, for I, too, have eaten. Do not be more gentle than
a woman or more compassionate than a mother. But, if you
are pious and turn aside my sacrifice, I have already eaten for
you; let the rest remain for me." Thereupon, they went out
trembling, cowardly before this alone, and with difficulty did
they yield the food to the mother. But the whole city was
immediately filled with horror, and each one as he held the
tragedy before his eyes trembled as if he himself had
committed the crime. There was an eagerness for death on
the part of those suffering from hunger, and blessed were
those who met death before they heard or saw evils such as
these.'
Chapter 7
Such were the rewards of the lawlessness and the impiety
of the Jews against the Christ of God, but it is worth while
to append to these the infallible prediction of our Saviour in
which He pointed out these very things as He spoke thus in
prophecy: 'And woe to them that are with child, and that
give suck in those days. But pray that your flight be not in the
winter or on the sabbath. For there shall be then great
tribulation such as hath not been from the beginning of the
world until now, neither shall be.* 1 And the historian,
1 Matt. 24.19-21.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 153
reckoning the entire number of those who had been destroyed,
says 2 that 1,100,000 perished by famine and the sword, and
that the other rioters and robbers after the capture of the
city were pointed out by one another and slain. But the
tallest of the youths and those distinguished for beauty of
body were kept for a triumph, and of the rest of the multitude
those over seventeen years of age were sent as prisoners to
labor in Egypt, 3 but more were scattered throughout the
provinces to perish in the theatres by the sword and by wild
beasts. Those under seventeen years were lead away to be
sold into slavery, and of these alone the number was reckoned
to be about 90,000 men. 4
These things took place in this manner in the second year
of the reign of Vespasian 5 in accordance with the prophetic
pronouncements of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who
by divine power foresaw these events as if already present and
wept over them and mourned according to the writings of the
holy Evangelists, who append His very words, when on one
occasion He spoke as if to Jerusalem herself: 'If thou also
hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to
thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the
days shall come upon thee: and thy enemies shall cast a
trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee
on every side. And beat thee flat to the ground, and thy
2 Cf. Josephus, BJ. 6.420, 417, 418, 420, 485. Josephus gives only the
number, but says nothing of the manner in which they were slain.
3 In the great stone quarries (commonly called the mines) of Egypt.
These quarries were for the most part conducted by the Roman
government, which used captives of war for labor. They furnished
much of the fine marble for building purposes in Rome and elsewhere.
4 Josephus says simply that the total number of prisoners taken in
the entire war was 97,000. Eusebius apparently misread the number,
and applied it to only one class of prisoners.
5 Josephus dates the completion of the siege on September 8, 70.
154 EUSEBIUS
children who are in thee.' 6 And then on another occasion, as
if with regard to the people. He said : Tor there shall be great
distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they
shall fall by the edge of the sword; and shall be led away
captives into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down
by the Gentiles; till the times of the nations be fulfilled.' 7
And again: 'And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed
about with an army; then know that the desolation thereof
is at hand. 58 If one should compare the words of our Saviour
with the other narratives of the historian, how could he help
but marvel and confess the truly divine and supernaturally
wonderful foreknowledge and prophecy of our Saviour? Now,
it should not be necessary to add to the histories from what
happened to the whole nation after the Passion of the Saviour
and those words in which the multitude of the Jews begged
off from death the robber and the murderer, yet begged that
the Prince of Life be taken from them. 9 But it would be just
to add those events which might be confirmations of the
kindliness of the all-good Providence, which for forty full
years after their crime against Christ held off their destruction,
during which many of the Apostles and disciples and James
himself, called the brother of the Lord, 10 the first bishop of
this city, were still in this life and made sojourns in the city
of Jerusalem itself, offering, as it were, a very strong protection
to the place. Divine Providence continued to be long-suffering,
if indeed they might at last repent of their deeds and obtain
forgiveness and salvation; in addition to such long-suffering,
Providence furnished wonderful signs from God of what-
would happen to them if they did not repent. Since those
6 Luke 19,4244.
7 Luke 21.23-24.
8 Luke 21.20.
9 Cf. Luke 23.18, 19; John 18.40; Acts 3.14.
10 Cf. above, 1.12.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 155
things have been thought worthy of mention by the historian
quoted above, we can do nothing better than append them
for the reader of this work.
Chapter 8
Take, then, and read what has been recorded by the author
in Book 6 of his History regarding these matters: 1 4 At that
time, deceivers and liars against God won over the wretched
people, and to the clear marvels which foretold the future
desolation they gave neither heed nor credence, but as if
thunder-struck and without eyes or soul they failed to hear
the proclamations of God. At one time a star stood over the
city like a sword, and a comet which lasted for a year. At
another time, before the revolt and the disturbance that led
to war, when the people were being assembled for the Feast
of Unleavened Bread, on the eighth of the month of April, 2
at the ninth hour of the night, so strong a light shone on the
altar and on the Temple that it seemed to be bright day,
and this continued for half an hour. This seemed to the
inexperienced to be a good sign, but it was immediately
interpreted by the sacred scribes before the actual events that
followed. And at the same feast a cow led by the high priest to
the sacrifice gave birth to a lamb in the middle of the temple.
And the eastern gate of the inner temple, which was of bronze
and very massive and which twenty men had difficulty in
closing at night, for it rested upon iron-bound beams and
had bars sunk deep, was seen at night at the sixth hour to have
opened by itself. And after the feast, not many days later, on
1 Cf. Tosephus, JBJ. 6.288-304.
2 The Feast of the Passover; Josephus uses the Greek name of the
month, Xanthikus.
156 EUSEBIUS
the twenty-first day of the month of May, 3 a kind of demoniac
vision beyond belief was seen, and what will be related
would have seemed to be a fable had it not been told by those
who saw it and were the sufferings that followed not worthy
of the portents. For, before the setting of the sun there was
seen over the whole country in mid air chariots and armed
troops darting through the clouds and encircling the cities.
And at the Feast called Pentecost the priests came to the
Temple for the services, as was their custom, and said that
they first perceived movement and noise, and after this a cry
as from a multitude: "We go hence." 4 But the following is
more terrible than this, for a man of the common people,
Jesus by name, son of Ananias, a rustic, four years before the
war, 5 when the city was especially peaceful and prosperous,
came to the feast when it was the custom for all to make
booths for God, 6 and suddenly at the Temple he began to
cry out: "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a
voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the
temple, a voice against bridegrooms and brides, a voice
against all the people." Shouting this by day and by night,
he went about through all the narrow streets. But some of
the distinguished members of the citizenry, becoming irritated
at the bad omen, seized the man and crushed him with many
blows. He, however, said nothing in his own behalf, nor did
he privately to those present, but continued shouting the
words that he had before. And the rulers thought, as was the
case, that the man's excitement was rather inspired and they
brought him to the Roman governor. 7 There, on being flayed
3 Josephus uses the Greek name Artemisium.
4 Cf. Eusebius, Dorn. Evangel. 8.2.121, and Eccl. Prophet, 164.2-6.
5 In 62, since, according to Josephus, the war began in 66.
6 The Feast of the Tabernacles, beginning on the 15th day of the
seventh month of the Jewish year, and continuing for seven days.
7 Albinus, procurator from 61 to 64; cL above, 2.22,23.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 157
to the bone with scourges, he uttered no plea nor shed a tear,
but with all his power raising his voice pitifully, he answered
to every stroke : "Woe, woe to Jerusalem." '
The same writer gives a still more remarkable account
than this, when he says 8 that an oracle was found in 'sacred
script 9 to the effect that, at this time, some one from their
country would rule the world and he himself understood that
this had been fulfilled by Vespasian. However, he did not
rule over the whole world, but only that part subject to the
Romans; more justly would this be a reference to Christ, to
whom it was said by the Father: 'Ask of me, and I will give
thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, and the utmost parts
of the earth for thy possession,' 9 and it was at that very time
that c the sound' of His holy Apostles 'hath gone forth into
all the earth: and their words unto the ends of the world.' 10
Chapter 9
Besides all this, it is right not to ignore Josephus himself,
whence and from what family he came, who has contributed
so much to the history at hand. He himself also makes this
clear, when he speaks thus: 'Josephus, the son of Matthias, a
priest of Jerusalem, who himself at first fought against the
Romans and of necessity took part in later events.' 1 He was
8 Cf. Josephus, B.L 6.312,313.
9 Ps. 2.8.
10 C. Ps. 18.5.
1 Cf. B.I. 1.3. Flavius Josephus was born in Jerusalem in 37. He was
descended from the Asmonaean princes on his mother's side, and
inherited the priestly office from his father, Matthias. When 26 years
of age, he went to Rome to defend some Jewish priests whom Felix,
Procurator of Judaea, had sent there as prisoners. He was successful
in obtaining their release and also won great favor with the Empress
Poppaea. When he returned to Jerusalem he found his fellow country-
158 EUSEBIUS
by far the most celebrated Jew of that time, not only among
those of his own race but also among the Romans, so that
he was honored by the erection of a statue 2 in the city of
Rome and by the inclusion in its library 3 of the works he
composed. He compiled the entire ancient history of the Jews
in twenty volumes, and the history of the war with Romans is
his own witness to having committed these not only to the
Greek tongue 4 but also to that of his fatherland. Since he
is worthy of trust in other matters, he is so here. Two other
works of his which are worthy of notice are extant: that
entitled On the Antiquity of the Jews, and that in which he
made reply to Apion the Scribe, who had at that time
men determined to revolt against Rome, and he attempted in vain
to dissuade them from this foolhardy purpose. He finally gave way to
popular feeling and permitted himself to be chosen one of the
generals of the Jews. He defended Jotapata against Vespasian, and on
the fall of the city was captured. Vespasian spared his life because he
had prophesied that Vespasian would become emperor and would be
succeeded by his son Titus. When Vespasian became emperor three
years later, in 70, he released Josephus from prison. Josephus
accompanied Titus at the siege of Jerusalem, and later returned to
Rome with him. There he dwelt in a house given him by Vespasian,
from whom he took the name Flavius, and died there about 98. He
seems to have spent mpst of his time at Rome to the writing, in
Greek, of: (1) the History of the Jewish War, in seven books, beginning
with the capture of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes in 170 B.C. and
continuing to Josephus' own time and the capture of Jerusalem by the
Romans (it is quoted as BJ. from its Latin title, Bellum ludaioum) ;
(2) the Antiquities, completed in twenty books about 93, and
addressed to Epaphroditus, which presents Jewish history from the
creation of the world to A.D. 66; (3) his Autobiography, in one book,
really an appendage to the Antiquities f and addressed to the same
Epaphroditus, probably written no earlier than 97, since Agrippa II is
mentioned as no longer among the living; (4) Against Apion (from the
Latin title, Contra Apionem) , in two books and also addressed to
Epaphroditus.
2 Eusebius is the only source who mentions this statue in Rome; the
reliability of the statement is doubtful.
3 Undoubtedly the imperial library, originally established by Augustus,
according to Suetonius, in the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine Hill.
It contained two sections, one for Greek and the other for Latin works,
and was greatly enlarged by Tiberius and Domitian.
4 Cf. Josephus, B.L 1.3.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 159
composed a treatise against the Jews, and to others who had
themselves tried to vilify the ancestral institutions of the
Jewish people. In the first of these he gives the number of the
canonical scriptures of the so-called Old Testament, showing
in the following words which are the undisputed among the
Hebrews, as probably according to ancient tradition, 5
Chapter 10
'Now there are no myriads of books among us which are
discordant and conflicting, but only two and twenty, contain-
ing the record of all time and justly believed to be divine.
And of these, five belong to Moses, and contain the Law and
the tradition of human history down to the time of his death.
This period falls a little short of 3,000 years. From the death
of Moses to that of Artaxerxes who came after Xerxes, King
of the Persians, the prophets after Moses described what took
place in their own. times in thirteen books. 1 The remaining
four books 2 contain hymns to God and precepts of life for
men. From the time of Artaxerxes 3 to our own the details have
been written, 4 but they are not considered worthy of the same
credence as those before them, because there has not been an
accurate succession of prophets. It is clear, in fact, how we
5 Josephus, C. Ap ion. 1.38-42.
1 Josephus does not name these, but they probably are: Josue, Judges,
Ruth, 1 and 2 Kings (otherwise called the first and second Books of
Samuel) , 3 and 4 Kings, 1 and 2 Paralipomenon (otherwise called the
first and second Books of Chronicles) , I Esdras (or Ezra) , 2 Esdras
(also called the bdok of Nehemias) , Esther, Isaias, Jeremias and
Lamentations, Ezechiel, Daniel, the lesser Prophets, Job.
2 Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Canticle of Canticles.
3 Artaxerxes Longimanus, who reigned from 464 to 425 B.C., and under
whom Esdras and Nehemias labored and the later Prophets flourished.
4 He refers to 1 Machabees and probably 2 Machabees.
160 EUSEBIUS
approach our own works of literature, for, although so much
time has already passed, no one has had the temerity to make
additions, omissions, or changes in them, but it is innate in
all of us from our very birth to regard them as the decrees of
God, and to abide by them, and to die for them gladly, if
there be need.' Let these words of the author be so added
for a useful purpose.
Another work not without merit was produced by the man
on The Supremacy of Reason, which some have entitled
Machabees, 5 because it includes the struggles of those Hebrews
mentioned in the so-called Book of the Machabees who
contended valiantly for the worship of God. And at the end
of Book 20 of the Antiquities,* the same writer indicates that
he had intended to write in four books on the ancestral
opinions of the Jews regarding God and His nature, and
concerning the laws why they permit some things but
forbid others. The same author also mentions in his own
treatises that he had produced other works. 7 Furthermore, it is
right to quote also the words which he appended at the very
end of the Antiquities in confirmation of the testimony of
the passages we have taken from him. In fact, while he was
attacking Justus 8 of Tiberias, who like himself had attempted
to write a work on the events of the same period, on the
ground that he had not written truthfully, and after he had
brought many other charges against the man, he went on with
these very words: 9 'I certainly had no fear, like yourself,
5 4 Machabees,
6 Josephus, A J. 20.268.
7 Ibid. 25 and 29; 3.94 and 143; 4.198; BJ. 5.23.1 and 247; A J. 20.267.
8 A leader of one of the factions of that city just before the outbreak of
the war, while Josephus was Governor of Galilee. He opposed Josephus
constantly and caused him much trouble, attacking him severely in a
treatise, no longer extant, on the Jewish war. It was because of this
work that Josephus felt compelled to write his autobiography, which is
really only his defense of himself against the attack of Justus.
9 Josephus, De vita sua 361-364.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY I BOOK THREE 161
about my own writing, 10 but submitted the books to the
emperors themselves,, when the events were all but before
their very eyes. For I was conscious of having maintained
respect for truth, in confirmation of which I did not fail in
my expectation of obtaining their testimony. I also submitted
the history to many others, some of whom had actually taken
part in the war, such as King Agrippa 11 and some of his
relatives. And the Emperor Titus so earnestly desired to pass
the knowledge of his deeds down to mankind from my books
alone that he inscribed them with his own hand, and ordered
them to be published, and King Agrippa wrote sixty-two
letters testifying to their respect for truth.' Of these letters he
appends two. 12 But let this suffice on Josephus; let us go on to
subsequent matters.
Chapter 11
After the martyrdom of James 1 and the capture of Jerusalem
which took place immediately, 2 a story maintains that those of
the Apostles and of the disciples of the Lord who still
remained in this life came together from all sides, along with
10 Justus did not publish his History of the Jews until after the deaths
of Vespasian, Titus, and Agrippa, although he had completed it
twenty years earlier. Josephus accuses him of postponing publication
while the chief actors were still alive to challenge his remarks,
11 King Agrippa II (cf. above, 2. 19) , wjio co-operated with the Romans
and was with Vespasian and Titus during most of the war. He made
repeated attempts to cause the peoplfe to give up their rebellion in
order to avoid the war.
12 Josephus gives these two letters in his autobiography, immediately
after the passage quoted here by Eusebius.
1 In 61 or 62; cf. above, 2.23.
2 Symeon succeeded James as Bishop o Jerusalem, probably after the
destruction of the city. Eusebius (4.5) gives a list of the bishops of
Jerusalem, but no information on the time of their accession or on the
period of their incumbency.
162 EUSEBIUS
those of the family of the Lord according to the flesh, for the
majority of these still survived in this life at that time, all to
take counsel together on whom they ought to judge worthy
to succeed James; and all unanimously decided that Symeon 3
the son of Clopas, whom the writings of the Gospel men-
tioned, 4 was worthy of the throne of the diocese there. He
was as they say, the cousin of the Saviour, for Hegesippus
relates that Clopas was the brother of Joseph. 5
Chapter 12
In addition, he also relates that after the capture of
Jerusalem Vespasian ordered all those of the family of David
to be sought out, in order that no one of the royal family
might be left among the Jews, and for this reason a very
great persecution was again inflicted upon the Jews. 1
Chapter 13
After Vespasian had reigned for ten years, 1 his son Titus
3 To be distinguished from the Apostle Simon the Canaanite, and from
the Simon who is mentioned in Matt. 13.55 and Mark 6,3, On the
martyrdom of Symeon, cf. Ch. 32.
4 Luke 24.18; John 19.25.
5 Hegesippus (as quoted below, 4.22) calls Clopas the uncle of the Lord.
Apparently, Eusebius assumes from this that Clopas and Joseph were
brothers.
1 No other source mentions a persecution of the Jews by Vespasian, It
could not have been very serious to have escaped other historical notice.
1 From July 1 (when he was proclaimed emperor in Egypt) or December
20 (when Viteliius died) , 69, to June 24, 79.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 163
succeeded him as emperor. In the second year of his reign,
Linus, Bishop of the Church at Rome, after holding his
office for twelve years, 2 passed it on to Anencletus. And Titus,
after reigning for two years and a like number of months,
was succeeded by his brother, Domitian. 3
Chapter 14
In the fourth year of Domitian, Annianus, 1 first Bishop of
the diocese of Alexandria, after fulfilling twenty-two years,
died and was succeeded by Abilius 2 as the second.
Chapter 15
In the twelfth year of the same reign, Clement succeeded
Anencletus, who had been Bishop of the Church at Rome for
twelve years. The Apostle, in his Epistle to the Philippians, 1
declares that he was his fellow worker, saying: 'With Clement
and the rest of my fellow laborers, whose names are in the
book of life.'
2 Linus' incumbency is given by Eusebius (Chron.) as fourteen years,
and by Jerome as eleven years.
3 December 13, 81. Accordingly, he ruled two years and six months, and
not two years and two months as stated here,
1 In 85; cf, above, 2.24.
2 One tradition (described in Smith and Wace) holds that Abilius and
his successor Cerdon were ordained presbyters by Mark. Another
tradition, according to Ap, Const. 7,46, states that Luke appointed
Abilius bishop. Eusebius states (Ch. 21) that he held office for thirteen
years.
1 Cf. Phil. 4.3. On Clement, cf. above, Chs. 2 and 4.
164 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 16
Now, there is in circulation a recognized letter of this
Clement, 1 long and wonderful/ which he composed in the
name of the Church at Rome to the Church at Corinth, when
a dissension 3 had arisen at Corinth. We have learned that this
letter has been used in public assembly in many churches both
in olden days and in our own time. 4 And that the affairs of
Corinth were disturbed by dissension at the time mentioned
is attested by a trustworthy witness, Hegesippus.
Chapter 17
When Domitian had displayed great cruelty toward many
and had killed without fair trial no small number of well-born
and famous men at Rome and had punished countless other
notable men without cause by banishment to foreign lands
and by confiscation of their property, he finally established
himself as Nero's successor in hatred and hostility toward
1 This letter was probably written in the late first century, and is
probably the very earliest of post-biblical works. It is ostensibly
addressed to the Church at Corinth by the Church at Rome, and it
bears the name of no author. Tradition, beginning with Dionysius of
Corinth, as quoted by Eusebius (4.23) , ascribes it to Clement, Bishop of
Rome, and this tradition has essentially never been questioned. This
letter has come down to us through two Greek Mss. and a Syriac
version. We have possessed the epistle complete only since 1875.
Previously, a portion of the fifty-nine chapters was missing. It is
translated in The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. I of this series.
2 It enjoyed a very high reputation in the early Church, being regarded
as canonical and a part of the New Testament on rare occasions.
3 This dissension occasioned the letter; cf, Chs. 1 and 3 of the letter
itself.
4 Cf. Dionysius of Corinth, as quoted below, 4.23.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 165
God. In fact, he was the second to promote a persecution
against us, 1 although his father Vespasian contrived nothing
unusual against us. 2
Chapter 18
At this time, report has it that the Apostle and Evangelist
John, who was still alive, was condemned to dwell on the
Island of Patmos because of his testimony to the divine
Word. 1 At any rate, Irenaeus, when writing about the
number of the name of anti-Christ given in the so-called
Apocalypse of John, 2 says the following about John in so
many words in Book 5 of his Against Heresies: 'But if it had
been necessary to proclaim his name openly, it would have
been spoken by him who saw the apocalypse. For it was seen
not long ago, but almost in our own generation, toward the
end of the reign of Domitian.' 3
To such an extent did the teaching of our faith flourish in
the days just mentioned that even those authors who were
far from our belief did not hesitate to hand down in their
1 The persecutions during the reigns of Nero and Domitian were not
official acts of the state but personal affairs of these emperors them-
selves. The first systematic persecution of the Christians throughout the
Roman Empire was under Decius (249-251). Domitian's cruelty,
however, was intense; his persecution, because of his jealousy and for
political reasons, was aimed at various groups and not Christians alone.
According to Tertullian (Apol. 5) , it was of short duration.
2 At least there is no tradition that Vespasian persecuted the Christians.
1 Tradition, beginning with Irenaeus, as quoted by Eusebius (5.8,30),
unanimously places the banishment of John and the apocalyptic
visions in the reign of Domitian. This has never been questioned until
recent years, and not convincingly.
2 Cf. Apoc. 13.18.
3 Iren. 5.30.3.
166 EUSEBIUS
writings the persecution and the martyrdoms in It, 4 and they
also indicated the time accurately, relating that Flavia
Domitilla, who was the daughter of a sister of Flavius
Clemens, one of the consuls at Rome at that time, was
banished with many others in the fifteenth year of Domitian 5
to the Island of Pontia for the sake of testimony to Christ.
Chapter 19
When the same Domitian ordered that those of the race of
David be slain, an ancient story holds that some of the heretics
accused the descendants of Jude (it was said that he was a
brother of the Saviour, according to the flesh) / on the ground
that they really were of the race of David and were related to
Christ Himself. Hegesippus makes this clear when he speaks
exactly as follows. 2
4 Jerome (Chronicon of Eusebius for the year of Abraham 2112) speaks
of the historian Bruttius as recording the martyrdom of many Christians
under Domitian. But the works of Bruttius are not extant and so this
cannot be verified. Cassius Dio (67.14) records certain banishments
under Domitian, among them that of Flavia Domitilla who, we know,
was a Christian. He himself mentions none of the victims as being
Christian.
5 A.D. 96. Cf, Suetonius, Dom, 15, and Cassius Dio 67.14. There seems
no doubt but that Flavia Domitilla was a Christian. In all probability
Flavius Clemens was not. They both were in high favor with Domitian,
the one being his niece and the other his cousin. Their two sons were
even named heirs to the Empire, and Flavius Clemens was made the
colleague to the emperor in the consulship. Soon after, however*
Clemens was put to death and Domitilla was exiled.
1 This Jude was the brother of James, 'the brother of the Lord*
mentioned in Jude 1. He is to be distinguished from Jude, one of the
Twelve, mentioned in Luke 6.16 and Acts 1.13 as the son (although
translated 'brother') of James.
2 Cf. Matt. 13.55; Mark 6.3.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 167
Chapter 20
'There still survived of the race of the Lord grandsons of
Judas who was said to have been His brother according to the
flesh. Information was given against them that they were of
the race of David, These the evocatus 1 brought before
Domitian Caesar, for> like Herod, he feared the coming of
Christ. He asked them if they were of the race of David, and
they admitted it. Then he asked them how much property
they owned, or how much money they possessed. And they
said that between the two of them they had only 9,000
denarii, 2 half belonging to each of them, and they said
repeatedly that they had this not in money but in a piece of
land of only thirty-nine plethra, 3 on which they paid taxes, 4
and from which by working the ground themselves they
obtained their livelihood. 3 Then they showed him their hands,
exhibiting as evidence of their own labor the hardness of their
bodies and the calluses produced on their hands from
incessant work. And when they were asked about Christ and
His kingdom, of what nature it was, and where, and when
it would appear, they gave answer that it was neither of the
world nor earthly, but heavenly and angelic, and would
appear at the end of the world, 5 when He would come in
glory to judge the living and the dead and to give unto every
one according to his works. Domitian did not condemn them
for this, but looked down upon them as simple folk, let them
go free, and by a decree put an end to the persecution against
1 A soldier who had served his time out and was later called upon to do
duty as a volunteer, probably with an officer's rank.
2 A denarius was worth from sixteen to nineteen cents.
3 The Greek plethron equaled about a quarter of an acre, but it is used
for the Latin iugerum which is more than half an acre.
4 Taxes were ordinarily paid in the products of the land.
5 Cf. Matt. 16.27; Acts 10.42; Rom. 2.6; 2 Tim, 4.1.
168 EUSEBIUS
the Church. But when they were released they guided the
churches, since they were witnesses and relatives of the Lord,
and after peace was established they remained alive until the
time of Trajan. So much for Hegesippus. Tertullian, more-
over, has also made similar mention of Domitian : 'Domitian
also once tried to do the same as Nero, being possessed of a
part of Nero's cruelty. But, in my opinion, since he had
some sense, he stopped immediately, even recalling those
whom he had banished.' 6
After Domitian had reigned for fifteen years and Nerva
succeeded to the rule, 7 the Roman Senate decreed 8 that the
sentences of Domitian be annulled and that those who had
been banished unjustly return to their homes and receive
back their property. Those who have committed the events of
those times to writing relate this. The story of our ancient
writers relates that at that time the Apostle John, after his
exile to the island, took up his abode at Ephesus.
Chapter 21
Trajan 1 succeeded Nerva, who had reigned for a little more
than a year. In the first year of Trajan, Cerdo 2 succeeded
Abilius, who had headed the diocese of Alexandria for
thirteen years. He was the third to preside over this diocese
after the first, Annianus. At this time, Clement was still the
6 Cf. Tertullian, ApoL 5.
7 September 18, 96.
8 Cf. Cassius Dio 68.1 ff. and Suetonius, Domitian 23.
1 January 27, 98.
2 The legendary Acts of St. Mark name Cerdo as one of the presbyters
ordained by Mark. Eusebius (HM. 4.1 and Chron.) says that rue
reigned until the twelfth year of Trajan.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 169
head of the Church at Rome, he, too, holding third place
among those who had been bishop there after Peter and Paul.
Linus was the first and after him Anencletus.
Chapter 22
Moreover, in the time mentioned, Ignatius became famous
as the second Bishop at Antioch where Evodius 1 had first
established the Church. Simeon likewise was the second, after
our Saviour's brother, to hold the direction of the Church
in Jerusalem.
Chapter 23
At this time, in Asia, that very disciple whom Jesus loved, at
once both Apostle and Evangelist, was still alive and admin-
istered the churches there, having returned from his exile on
the island after the death of Domitian. 1 It is enough to
confirm the report that he still survived at this time 2 through
two witnesses, and these should be trustworthy, for they
represented the orthodoxy of the Church; such, indeed, were
Irenaeus and Clement 3 of Alexandria. The former of these, in
Book 2 of his work Against Heresies, writes word for word
as follows: c And all the presbyters who had associated in
Asia with John, the disciple of the Lord, attest to John's
1 Earliest tradition makes Evodius the first Bishop of Antioch (cf.
Eusebius, Chronicon, for the year of Abraham 2058) , and this tradition
appears historical.
1 Cf. John 13.23; 19.26; 21.7,20.
2 At the beginning of the reign of Trajan.
3 Yet Clement VIII omits his name from the Martyrology on the
ground that his orthodoxy was questionable.
170 EUSEBIUS
tradition, for he remained with them until the times of
Trajan.' 4 And in Book 3 of the same work he discloses
this same fact in these words: 'Moreover, the Church at
Ephesus, which was established by Paul and where John
remained with them until the times of Trajan, is a true
witness of the tradition of the Apostles.' 5
Clement likewise has indicated the time, and adds in his
treatise entitled Who Is the Rich Man Who Is Saved?* a most
attractive story for those who enjoy hearing what is beautiful
and profitable. Take up and read his account, which is some-
what as follows : 7 'Hear a story which is not a mere story but
a narrative about John the Apostle which has been handed
down and preserved in memory. When, after the death of the
tyrant, he returned from the Island of Patmos to Ephesus,
he used to go, on being invited, to the neighboring districts of
the heathen, 8 in some places to appoint bishops, in others to
set whole churches in order, in others to ordain as priest some
one of those indicated by the Spirit. Now, when he had come
to one of the cities not far away, whose name even some
people give, 9 and had in general consoled the brethren, in the
presence of all looking at the bishop who had been appointed
and seeing a ypung man strong of body, beautiful in appear-
ance, and warm of heart, he said: "This one I commit to thee
with all diligence in the face of the Church and with Christ as
4 Iren. 2.22,5.
5 Iren. 3.3,5.
6 An excellent essay, full of common sense, still extant. An English
version can be found in Ante-Nicene Fathers 2.591-604.
7 Clement, De divite serv. 42.
8 The Greek word ethnon may here possibly mean 'country folk* as
opposed to 'city folk/
9 According to the Chronicon Paschale (470.9) , the city in question here
is Smyrna. Perhaps Clement withholds the name here out of deference
for Polycarp, who, according to tradition, was appointed Bishop of
Smyrna by John.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 171
my witness." As the bishop received him and promised all,
again he repeated the same words and called upon the same
witnesses. Then John returned to Ephesus, and the presbyter 10
took the young man who had been entrusted to him to his
home, brought him up, kept him, looked after him, and finally
baptized 11 him. After this, he relaxed his great care and
watchfulness, inasmuch as he had placed upon him as the
perfect safeguard the seal of the Lord. 12 But some youths, idle
and dissolute and accustomed to evil, corrupted him as he
enjoyed his premature freedom. First, they enticed him with
costly feasts; then, when they set out at night for robbery,
they took him with them; then they urged him to join them
in a greater crime. Gradually, he become accustomed to this,
and because of his great natural vigor, 13 like a hard-mouthed
and powerful horse setting out from the straight way and
tearing at the bit, he rushed the more violently down the
depths. Finally, despairing of salvation in God, he no longer
planned something small, but having committed a great
crime, since he was ruined once and for all, he expected to
suffer the same fate as the others. Now, gathering them to-
gether and forming a band of brigands, he became a bold
bandit chief, pre-eminent in violence, in murder, and in
10 The same man is called bishop just above. There undoubtedly was
some distinction in the early period of the Church between presbyters
and bishops. Several theories on the distinction have been set forth.
Many passages, however, may be adduced to demonstrate an identity
of meanings for the two terms. At the moment, this problem has not
been entirely solved. Cf. Hatch, Organization of the Early Christian
Churches; also, Catholic Encyclopaedia 2.582; 7.327; 9.594; 12,406a.
11 The Greek word ephotise means 'to enlighten.' It was commonly
used by the Greek Fathers in the sense of 'to baptize/
12 The Greek expression, ten sphragida kuriou, 'the seal of the Lord/
was regularly used in the early Church to denote baptism.
13 The Greek expression, megethos physeos, is, literally, 'greatness of
rfature.'
172 EUSEBIUS
cruelty. Time passed on, and, when necessity arose, they
summoned John. When he had set in order the other matters
for which he had come, John said: "Come now, bishop, pay
us back the deposit which I and Christ committed to you
with the church over which you preside as witness." The
bishop at first was amazed, thinking that he was being
blackmailed for money which he had never received, and he
was able neither to show his faithfulness in what he did not
possess nor to distrust John. But when John said: "I demand
back the young man and the soul of the brother, 3 ' the old man
groaned deeply and, bursting into tears, said: "He has died."
"How and by what death?" "He has died to God," he said,
"for he turned out wicked and abandoned and, in short, a
robber. Now, instead of to the church, he has taken to the
mountains with a band of men like himself." The Apostle
rent his clothes and with great lamentation beat his head. "A
fine guard," he said, "did I leave for the soul of our brother.
But, now, let a horse be furnished me, and let someone show
me the way." So he rode, just as he was, straight from the
church. And when he came to the place he was captured by
the outpost of the robbers, and neither fled nor made
entreaties, but shouted: "For this I have come, take me to
your leader." The leader^ meanwhile, armed as he was,
awaited him, and when he recognized John as he approached
he turned to flight in shame. But John pursued with all his
might, forgetting his own age and crying out: "Why, child,
do you flee me, your own father, unarmed and old? Pity
me, child; have no fear. You still have hope of life. I shall
give an account for you to Christ. If need be, I shall willingly
endure your death, just as the Lord did for us. I shall give
up my life for you. Stop, believe. Christ has sent me." And he,
on hearing this, at first stood still looking down; then he tore
off his weapons; then, trembling, he wept bitterly. He
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 173
embraced the old man as he approached, apologizing for
himself with tears as he was able, and with his tears baptizing
himself a second time, concealing only his right hand. But
John pledged and swore that he had found forgiveness for
him with the Saviour. Beseeching him, he knelt and kissed his
right hand as if it had been cleansed by repentance, and he
brought him back to the church. Interceding for him with
copious prayers, he joined with him in the struggle of
continuous fasting, and subdued his mind by various binding
arguments, and he did not depart, as it was said, until he
had, restored him to the church, giving a great example of true
repentance and a great testimony of regeneration, a trophy of
a visible resurrection.' 14 I have made this quotation from
Clement here both for the sake of the narrative and for its
benefit to my readers.
Chapter 24
But, come, let us point out the irrefutable writings of this
Apostle. 1 Let the Gospel according to him, which is read in all
the churches under heaven, be first recognized. 2 That it has
with good reason been listed by the ancients in the fourth
place after the other three may be made evident as follows.
Those inspired and truly divine men, I mean the Apostles of
Christ, had completely purified their life, and had adorned
their souls with every virtue, but they were .unskilled in
14 Cf. George Syncellus 653.12-654.16.
1 John.
2 The authenticity of the Gospel of St. John was never seriously
questioned until the rise of the so-called Tuebingen school in the
nineteenth century. All ancient testimony, orthodox and heretical,
supports it. Cf. Cath. Encycl. 8.439a.
174 EUSEBIUS
speech. 3 Although they indeed had confidence in the divine
and wonder-working power granted them by the Saviour,
they neither knew how nor desired to proclaim the doctrines
of their teacher in persuasive and artistic language, 4 but they
used only the proof of the divine Spirit that worked with
them, and the wonder-working power of Christ which was
brought to fulfillment through them. Thus they proclaimed
the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven to the whole world,
and gave little consideration to care in composing written
words. And they did this because they were serving a greater
and superhuman ministry. At any rate, Paul, the most able of
all in the handling of language and the most vigorous in
thought, put in writing no more than the briefest Epistles, 5
although he was able to express countless ineffable things, 6
for he had touched the vision of the third heaven and had
been caught up to the divine paradise itself and had been
thought worthy of hearing ineffable words there. Now, the
other pupils of our Saviour were not without experience in
the same things the twelve Apostles, the seventy disciples,
and countless others in addition to these. Yet, of all these,
only Matthew and John have left us recollections of the
conversations of the Lord, and tradition has it that they took
to writing by force. For Matthew, who had first preached
to the Hebrews, when he was about to go among others, by
committing the Gospel according to himself to writings in his
3 Cf. Acts 4.13; 2 Cor. 11.
4 Cf. 1 Cor. 2.4.
5 Origen, as quoted by Eusebius (6.25) . Eusebius here seems to imply
that St. Paul wrote only the Epistles now extant under his name. It
is difficult to say whether or not this is true, but it does indicate the
thought of the early Church on the question.
6 Cf. 2 Cor. 12.24.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 175
native language, 7 compensated by his writing for the lack of
his presence those from whom he was being sent. And Mark
and Luke had already given out the Gospels 8 according to
themselves, but it is said that John all the same made use of
an unwritten message, and finally resorted to writing for the
following reason. When the three Gospels which had been
written before had been distributed among all including
himself, it is said that he accepted them and bore witness to
their truth, but said that there was only lacking in the
writing the description of what was done by Christ in the
first days and at the beginning of His preaching. 9 And the
statement is indeed true. It is at least possible to see that the
three Evangelists described only what the Saviour had accom-
plished in the one year after John the Baptist was confined
to prison 10 and that they made this very point at the beginning
of their narrative. Anyhow, after the fast of forty days and
the temptation following upon this, Matthew shows the
7 The prevailing opinion among scholars today is that Matthew wrote
a Gospel in Hebrew. This is probable and is supported by patristic
tradition; cf. Papias (quoted by Eusebius, Cb. 39) ; Irenaeus (3.1.1;
cf. also Eusebius 5.8.2) ; Origen (cf. Eusebius 6.25) ; Pantaenus (cf.
Eusebius 5.10) ; Jerome (J)e vir. ill. 3) ; and Epiphanius (Haer. 29.9) .
The relation of the Hebrew to the Greek is still a question, but
conservative opinion holds that the two are distinct works.
8 On Luke, cf. above, Ch. 4; on Mark, above, 2.15,
9 Eusebius is the first to give this reason for the writing of the Gospel
of St. John. Jerome (De vir. ill. 9) repeats this view, adding an
antiheretical purpose. While it is true that the Gospel of St. John
supplements and completes the accounts of the Synoptists, its real
purpose is much higher, that his children may believe in Jesus Christ,
the Son of God, and that believing may have life eternal in His Name
(1 John 5.13; John 20.31). Cf. Cath. Encycl. 8.437b.
10 The Synoptic Gospels give the impression that Christ's ministry on
earth lasted for but a year, and many of the early Fathers (Clement
of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius, and others) so believed.
But St. John mentions three and possibly four Passovers, and so it
must have continued for two or three years.
176 EUSEBIUS
time of his own writing by saying: 'Having heard John had
been betrayed, he retired from Judaea into Galilee,' 11 and
Mark likewise says: 'After John was delivered up, Jesus. came
into Galilee.' 12 And Luke also, before beginning the acts of
Jesus, similarly observes, saying that Herod added to the evil
deeds which he had done, and 'shut up John in prison.' 13
Thus they say that the Apostle John was asked for this reason
to hand down in his own Gospel an account of the period
passed over in silence by the former Evangelists and of the
things done at this time by the Saviour (and those were what
He did before the imprisonment of the Baptist), and that he
pointed this out when he said on one occasion, 'this beginning
of miracles did Jesus, 514 and on another occasion, by men-
tioning the Baptist in the midst of the acts of Jesus as then
still baptizing in Enon near Salim, and that he makes this
clear by saying, 'for John was not yet cast into prison. 515 Thus
John hands down by the writing of his own Gospel the things
which were done by Christ when the Baptist had not yet
been thrown under guard, and the other three Evangelists
relate the events after the casting of the Baptist into prison.
To one who has grasped this, the Gospels no longer appear
to be at variance with one another, because that according
to John includes the first of the acts of Christ, and the others
the story of what He did at the end of the period, and
because John then probably passed over the genealogy of our
Saviour inasmuch as it had already been described by
Matthew and Luke, and he began with His divinity since
it had been reserved for him by the Divine Spirit as for one
greater than they.
11 Cf. Matt. 4.12.
12 Mark 1.14.
13 Luke 3.19,20.
14 John 2.11.
15 John 3.23,24.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 177
Let so much suffice for us regarding the writing of the
Gospel according to John, and the reason for that according
to Mark has been made clear above. 16 Luke himself has also
set forth, as he began his account, the reason why he made
his composition, pointing out that, since many others had
attempted rather rashly to form a narrative of the matters
of which he himself had full knowledge, 17 to relieve us of the
doubtful opinions of others he of necessity through his own
Gospel handed down the accurate account of those events
of which he himself had well grasped the truth, aided by his
association and life with Paul and by his intercourse with the
other Apostles. 18 So much do we present on these matters at
this time, but on a more fitting occasion we will try to show
by quotations from the ancients what has been said by others
concerning them,
Of the writings of John besides the Gospel, the first of the
Epistles is acknowledged without controversy by men of today
as well as by the ancients, 19 but the other two are disputed, 20
and opinion on the Apocalypse 21 with most persons even
16 Cf. 2.15.
17 The Greek word (peplerophoreto) here has always puzzled translators.
Eusebius seems to think that Luke was calling attention to his 'full'
knowledge in contrast to the imperfect knowledge of his predecessors.
18 Cf. Luke 1.1-4. Eusebius does not follow Luke carefully here. He
may be said to interpret the meaning of Luke's words and not to
falsify them, as some critics have accused him of doing.
19 The authenticity of the Gospel and Epistles of St. John were never
questioned until in the early nineteenth century. They all stand or
fall together. The evidence is overwhelmingly in favor of their
authenticity.
20 Eusebius is careful not to state his own opinion here. He gives merely
the thought of the men of his time.
21 Probably the best authenticated book of the New Testament. From
tradition we know that the Seer in the Apocalypse was John the
Apostle, the son of Zebedee, the Beloved Disciple of Jesus. As early
as the end of the second century the Apocalypse was recognized by the
historical representatives of the principal churches as the genuine work
of John the Apostle. Cf. Cath. Encycl. 1.594.
178 EUSEBIUS
today tends in either direction* However, at the proper time,
this also will receive consideration from the testimony of the
ancients. 22
Chapter 25
It seems reasonable, having arrived at this point, to
summarize 1 the writings of the New Testament which have
been mentioned. First, we must put the holy quaternion of
the Gospels, 2 and the writing of the Acts of the Apostles 3
follows these. After this we must reckon the Epistles of Paul. 4
Next to these in order we must recognize the Epistle of John
called the first and similarly the Epistle of Peter. 5 After these,
if it seern well, we must place the Apocalypse of John, 6 the
arguments concerning which we will set forth at the proper
time. These are among the recognized books. Among the
disputed works, but yet known to most, are extant the so-
called Epistle of James, that of Jude, the second Epistle of
Peter, and the so-called second and third Epistle of John, 7
whether they really belong to the Evangelist or even to
another of the same name. Among the spurious works must be
22 Cf. below, 6.25, where Eusebius quotes Dionysius of Alexandria at
length; also opinions in support of the authenticity of the Apocalypse
by Justin (4.18), Theophilus (4.24), Irenaeus (5.8), and Origen
1 It must be remembered, especially here, that Eusebius speaks as an
historian, giving the opinion of the Church of his time. He is not a
critic and does not attempt to solve literary problems.
2 On Matthew, cf. 3.24; on Mark, 2.15; on Luke 3.4; on John, 3.24.
3 Cf. 3.4.
4 Cf. 3.3.
5 On }ohn, cf. 3.24; on Peter, 3.3.
6 Cf. 3.24.
7 On James and Jude, cf. 2.23; on Peter, 3.3; on John, 3,24.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 179
placed the work of the Acts of Paul and the so-called
Shepherd, and the Apocalypse of Peter, 8 and in addition to
these the extant letter of Barnabas 9 and the so-called Teach-
ings of the Apostles, 10 and again, as I have said, the Apoc-
alypse of John, if it should so appear. Some, as I have said,
reject it, but others classify it among the accepted books.
Now, among these some have also placed the Gospel according
to the Hebrews, 11 in which the Hebrews who have accepted
Christ especially delight. All these might be among the
disputed books, but we have nevertheless, of necessity, made
a list of them, distinguishing those writings which according
to the tradition of the Church are true, genuine, and recog-
nized from those which are different from these in that they
are not canonical but disputed, although known by most
of the writers of the Church, in order that we might be able
to know these works themselves and the writings which are
published by the heretics under the name of the Apostles,
8 On these three works, cf. 3.3.
9 The author is unknown, but a rather weak patristic tradition
ascribes it to Barnabas, the companion of St. Paul. Tertullian also
ascribes (probably falsely) the Epistle to the Hebrews to this same
Barnabas. Cf. Cath, Encycl. 2.300, For an English version of this
work, cf. The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1 of this series.
10 A brief document in sixteen chapters, discovered by Philotheos
Bryennios, Metropolitan of Nicomedia in Constantinople, in 1873,
and later published by him. It throws much new light on the
earliest history of the Church, and also raises many new questions. It
was clearly in circulation before the end of the first century. Some
would name Egypt as its place of origin. For an English version of
this work, cf. The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. I of this series.
11 Probably composed in Hebrew, and except for a few fragments, no
longer extant. Mentioned also by Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and
St. Epiphanius; often associated with St. Matthew's Gospel, but not our
Greek canonical Matthew. Twenty-four fragments have been preserved
by ecclesiastical writers. Although this material is outside the canon,
it had its beginning in primitive tradition but it has been contam-
inated in the interests of a Judaizing Church. Cf. Cath. EncycL 1.608.
180 EUSEBIUS
including Gospels such as those of Peter 12 and Thomas 13 and
Matthias, 14 and some others besides these, or Acts such as
those of Andrew 15 and John 16 and the other Apostles. To none
of these has anyone belonging to the succession of the writers
of the Church considered it right to refer in his writings.
Furthermore, the character of the phraseology is at variance
with apostolic style, and both the thought and the purpose of
what is related in them is especially in discord with true
orthodoxy and clearly proves that they really are forgeries
by heretics. They ought, therefore, to be placed not even
among spurious works, but should be shunned as altogether
absurd and impious.
Chapter 26
Let us now go with the succeeding narrative. Menan-
der, 1 who succeeded Simon Magus, 2 displayed a character,
12 Cf. above, 3.3.
13 Mentioned frequently by the Fathers, beginning with Origen, but
always as an heretical work. It was written in the second century and is
of Gnostic origin. For an English version, cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers
8.395-405.
14 No longer extant except for fragments, quoted by Clement of
Alexandria, which reveal that it stressed asceticism. It is mentioned
earliest by Origen (Horn, in Lucam 1) , and by Jerome (Praef. in
Matt.) , and is probably of Gnostic origin.
15 Eusebius appears to be the first author to refer to those Acts. They
are, however, mentioned later by Epiphanius, Philaster, and Augustine,
and are of Gnostic origin. For an English version, cf. Ante-Nicene
Fathers 8.517-525.
16 Likewise apparently mentioned first by Eusebius. They are Gnostic
in origin and had a wide circulation in antiquity. For an English
version, cf. Ante-Nicene Fathers 8560-564.
1 A Samaritan false teacher and a disciple of Simon Magus, who
deceived many by his magic arts. All our knowledge of him is derived
directly or indirectly from Justin Martyr (Apol. 1.26,56) ; cf. also,
iren. i,,j.y,
2 Cf. above, 2.13.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 181
no worse than his predecessor, as an instrument of the Devil's
power. 3 He, too, was a Samaritan, who had advanced to a
high knowledge of sorcery no less than his teacher, and he
abounded in greater wonders. He said that he himself was
the saviour sent from above from invisible aeons 4 for the
salvation of men, 5 and he taught that no one, not even of the
angels themselves who made the world, 6 could survive unless
first led through the discipline of magic imparted by him and
through the baptism dispensed by him, and that those who
were thought worthy of this would share in eternal immortal-
ity in this life itself, no longer subject to death, but that
abiding here forever they would be ageless and immortal, 7
It is easy to learn all this from the works of Irenaeus. 8
Justin, too, after making mention of Simon, in the same place
adds also the story of this man by saying: 9 'And we know that
a certain Menander, himself also a Samaritan from the village
3 'An instrument of the devil's power' is a contribution of Eusebius, and
characteristic of his treatment of heretics.
4 The Greek (ainon) literally means 'age/ In ecclesiastical Greek,
however, it sometimes, as here, means the supernatural beings who
are a part of Gnostic theology.
5 According to Irenaeus (1.23.1,5), Simon professed himself to be the
Supreme Power, but Menander taught that the Supreme Power is still
unknown to all, but, as Eusebius says, he himself was sent as the
saviour and deliverer of mankind.
6 Both Menander and Simon taught that the world was made by angels,
who had their origin from the ennoea of the Supreme Power, and
that by their magical powers they were able to overcome these
creative angels.
7 This baptism and the resultant immortality were a contribution
from Menander. This exemption from death, as taught by Menander,
was taken in its physical and literal sense by Irenaeus, Tertullian
(De anima 50) , but Menander almost certainly placed a spiritual
meaning upon it. The sect did not continue very long, but flourished
in the time of Justin.
8 Cf. Adv. haer. 1.23.5. Eusebius (3.4.3) calls Menander the father of
all the Gnostics.
9 Apol. 1.26.
182 EUSEBIUS
of Caparattaea, 10 was a disciple of Simon, and he, too, being
stimulated by the demons, came to Antioch and deceived
many by his art of magic. And he persuaded his followers
that they would not die and there are some of his followers
today who assert this.'
Surely it was of the work of the Devil to attempt, through
such sorcerers who assumed the name of Christians, to defame
the great mystery of religion by magic and through them to
destroy the teachings of the Church on the immortality of
the soul and the resurrection of the dead. 11 But those who
have endorsed these men as saviours have fallen from the
true hope.
Chapter 27
The wicked demon, however, when he was unable to
shake certain others from God's plan in Christ, made them
his own when he found them susceptible otherwise. The early
Christians appropriately called these people Ebionites 1 because
10 Its location is not known with certainty.
11 Eusebuis apparently regarded the Meandrianists as ridiculing the
Christian doctrine of a resurrection by teaching a physical immortality.
According to Cyril of Jerusalem (Cat. 18.1) , however, they denied a
physical resurrection and taught, rather, a spiritual immortality.
1 One or more early Christian sects afflicted with Judaistic error. The
word itself is a transliteration of the Hebrew, meaning 'poor man.'
The name appears first in Irenaeus (Adv. haer. 1.26.2) , then in Origen
(Contra Celsum 2.1; De princ. 4.1.22), and here in Eusebius. These
writers refer the name to the poverty of their understanding, or to the
poor opinions which they held regarding Christ. Obviously, this is not
a true explanation. Other writers, e.g., Tertullian (De Praescr. 33; De
came Chr. 14.18) and Epiphanius (Haer. 23) , derive the name from
their supposed founder, Ebion. All evidence to support this assumption
is very weak. The name may have been assumed by those who wished
to claim the beatitude of being poor in spirit or who professed to live
according to the example of the first Christians in Jerusalem, who
laid their goods at the feet of the Apostles. Others may have applied
the name because of the notorious poverty of the Christians in
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 183
they held poor and mean opinions concerning Christ. They
considered Him to be a plain and ordinary man who was
justified only by the superiority of His character and who was
born from intercourse between a man and Mary. According
to them, there was absolute need of the ceremonial law on
the ground that they would not be saved by faith in Christ
alone and a life according to it. But others besides these,
who had the same name, 2 avoided the outlandish folly of
those just mentioned in that they did not deny that the Lord
was born of a Virgin and the Holy Spirit; yet, by agreeing
with them in not confessing that He pre-existed 3 as God,
Palestine; cf. Gal. 2.10. It has been maintained rather reasonably by
some that originally the term was not applied to any heretical sect but
only to the orthodox Jewish Christians of Palestine who continued to
observe the Mosaic Law. Since these were not in close touch with the
rest of the Christian world, they gradually drifted away from the
standard of orthodoxy and became formal heretics. For a stage in this
evolution, cf. Justin's Dialogue with Trypho 47, where two groups of
Jewish Christians estianged from the Church are mentioned. One group
observed the Mosaic Law for themselves but did not require others to
do so; the other considered it obligatory for all. These last were
regarded as heretical by everyone, but Justin would hold communion
with the former, although not all Christians of the time were so
inclined. The term Ebionites, however, is not used by St. Justin; it
first occurs in 175, and then designates a definitely heretical sect.
The chief teachings of the Ebionites may be summed up as follows.
They denied the divinity and the virginal birth of Christ. They clung
to the observance of the Jewish Law. They looked upon St. Paul as
an apostate, and used only a Gospel according to Matthew. Cf. Irenaeus
(Adv. haer. 1.26.2; 3.21.2; 4.32.4: 5.1.3); Hippol>tus (Philos. 8.22;
10.18) ; and Tertullian (De came Chr. 14.18) . Origen (Contra Cels.
5.61) is the first to distinguish the two classes of Ebionites, as Eusebius
does here. While some Ebionites accept and others reject the virginal
birth of Christ, all reject His pre-existence and His divinity. In addition
to these Judaistic Ebionites, there was a later Gnostic development of
the same heresy. On the general subject of the Ebionites, cf. Cath.
EncycL 5.242.
2 While Eusebius recognizes the two classes of Ebionites, he does not
admit any distinction in name, such as Nazarines and Ebionites, the
former being applied to the milder and more conservative Ebionites.
Origen, whom Eusebius follows, knows of no such difference in name.
3 All Ebionites were of one mind in denying Christ's pre-existence and
essential divinity. To the Fathers, from Irenaeus on, this constituted the
essence of their heresy.
184 EUSEBIUS
being the Word and Wisdom, they were involved in the
impiety of the former, especially when, like them, they
endeavored to observe strictly the bodily worship of the Law. 4
These thought that the Epistles of the Apostle ought to be
rejected entirely, calling him an apostate from the Law, 5 and,
while making use alone of the Gospel according to the
Hebrews, 6 they made small account of the rest. They observed
the sabbath and the rest of the discipline of the Jews just like
them, but on Sundays they performed ceremonies like ours in
commemoration of the Lord's Resurrection. Therefore,
because of such practices they received their name, since the
name of Ebionites signifies the poverty of their understanding,
for the poor man is called by this name among the Hebrews.
Chapter 28
In the aforesaid period we have learned that Cerinthus 1
4 The distinction in the Ebionites, according to their observance of the
Laws, as made by Justin, does not seem to be known to Eusebius.
5 Cf. Irenaeus 1.26.2, and Origen Con*. Cels. 5.65 and Horn, in Jer. 18.12.
The attitude of the Ebionites toward St. Paul and their observance of
the Jewish law fell into the background as their Christological heresy be-
came more prominent.
6 Cf. above, 3.25 n. 11.
1 Cerinthus was an Egyptian and probably a Jew, the exact dates of
whose birth and death are unknown. His teachings were a mixture
of Gnosticism, Judaism, Chiliasm, and Ebionitism. He professed one
Supreme Being, but declared that the world was produced by a
distinct and far inferior power, not to be identified with the Jehovah
of the Old Testament, Not Jehovah but the angels both made the
world and gave the Law, and these angels were unaware of the existence
of the Supreme God. Salvation was to be obtained by obedience to the
precepts of the Jewish Law. Furthermore, Cerinthus distinguished
between Jesus and Christ. Jesus, although pre-eminent for holiness,
was only a man. He suffered, died, and was raised from the dead. Some
say that Cerinthus taught He will be raised from the dead on the
Last Day together with all men. At the moment of baptism, Christ
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 185
became the founder of another heresy. Gaius, 2 whose words
we have already quoted above, in the inquiry which is
attributed to him, writes as follows about him: 3 'Moreover,
Cerinthus also through revelations, as if described by a great
apostle, lyingly introduced portents to us, supposedly shown
him by angels, saying that after the resurrection the kingdom
of Christ will be on earth and that again the flesh dwelling
in Jerusalem will be subject to desires and pleasures. And
being an enemy of the Scriptures of God and wishing to
deceive, he says the period of the marriage feast 4 will be a
thousand years. 35
And Dionysius, 6 he who in our time held the bishopric of
the diocese of Alexandria, in Book 2 of his Promises where he
is making some remarks about the Apocalypse of John as
though from ancient tradition, recalls the same man with
these words: 'Cerinthus, who founded a heresy named after
him, wished to attack a name worthy of credit to his own
invention; for the doctrine of his teaching was this, that the
kingdom of Christ would be upon earth, and, being fond of
the body and very indulgent of the flesh, he dreamed that
or the Holy Spirit was sent by the Highest God to dwell in Jesus
and to teach Him the Unknown God, which not even the angels knew.
This union between Jesus and Christ continued until the Passion,
when Jesus alone suffered and Christ returned to heaven. As a Chiliast,
Cerinthus also believed in a happy millenium to be realized here on
earth before the resurrection and the spiritual kingdom of God in
heaven. Little is known about the disciples of Cerinthus. They seem
to have disappeared early by fusion with the Ebionites and to have
exerted little influence on the main body of Christendom. They
flourished chiefly in Asia and Galatia.
2 Cf. above, 2.25.
3 Cf. Apoc. 20.4-6.
4 It is generally believed from this passage that Gaius rejected the
apostolic authorship of the Apocalypse and considered it a work of
Cerinthus. Gaius probably means simply that Cerinthus deliberately
misinterpreted the vision of the Apocalypse for his own sensual
purpose.
5 Cf. Apoc. 20.4; also, 3.39, below.
6 On Dionysius and his writings, cf. below, 6.40.
186 EUSEBIUS
the kingdom would consist of those things which he desired,
namely, the surfeiting of the belly and of the things of the
belly, that is, eating and drinking and marrying and those
things by which he thought these things would be provided
more auspiciously, feasts and sacrifices and the slaughter of
victims.'
So much from Dionysius. And Irenaeus has set forth in
Book 1 of his work Against Heresies some of the more
unspeakable errors of the man, 7 and in Book 3 he has
committed a story to writing which deserves to be remem-
bered, telling how, according to a tradition of Polycarp,
John the Apostle once entered a bathhouse to wash, and when
he learned that Cerinthus was within leapt out of the place
and fled out of the door, for he could not endure to be even
under the same roof with him, and he urged those with him
to do the same, saying: 'Let us flee, lest the bathhouse cave
in, for Cerinthus, the enemy of the truth, is within/ 8
Chapter 29
At this time, also, there existed for a very short time the
so-called heresy of the Nicolaitans of which the Apocalypse
of John makes mention. 1 These boasted of Nicolaus, one of
the deacons with Stephen chosen by the Apostles for the
7 Ci Adv. haer. 1.26.1.
8 Cf. Adv. haer. 3.3.4. This story is very common among the early
Fathers, and is repeated for several different persons. While there is
nothing improbable about it, it is based on no reliable evidence.
1 Cf. Apoc. 2.6,15; Acts 6.5. There seems to be no trustworthy evidence
of the continuance of this sect after the death of John. In fact, all
accounts of the Nicolaitans seem to stem ultimately from the material
of the Apocalypse. The story of their licentiousness assumes great
proportions as the account of the Apocalypse is retold.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 187
service to the poor. Clement of Alexandria in Book 3 of the
Stromata relates the following about him word for word: 2
'They say that this man had a beautiful wife, and when,
after the ascension of the Saviour, he was accused of jealousy
by the Apostles, he brought her forth and gave permission to
any who wished to mate with her. They say that this action
was in accord with the injunction "it is necessary to abuse
the flesh," and following up what was done and what was
said simply and without question those who follow this
heresy commit fornication without restraint. But I learn that
Nicolaus had nothing to do with any other woman besides
her whom he married, and that of his children the daughters
lived until an advanced age as virgins, and that the son
remain uncorrupted. Since this is so, the exposure of his wife
of whom he was jealous in the midst of the Apostles was an
abandonment of passion, and teaching the abuse of the flesh
was continence from pleasures that are eagerly sought. For
he did not wish, I think, according to the command of the
Saviour to serve two masters: pleasure and the Lord. Now,
they say that Matthew 3 also taught this, to fight the flesh and
abuse it, in no wise giving way to it for pleasure, but to make
the soul grow through faith and knowledge. 3 Let this suffice
about those who in the aforesaid times attempted to pervert
the truth, yet completely disappeared more quickly than it
takes time to tell.
Chapter 30
Now, Clement, whose words we have just quoted, after
what has already been mentioned, with respect to those who
2 Cf. Clement, Strom. 3.25,26.
3 Cf. Matt. 6.24; Luke 16.13.
188 EUSEBIUS
reject marriage gives a list of the Apostles who were known
to have been married, saying: 1 'Or will they disapprove even
the Apostles? For Peter and Philip begot children, and Philip,
too, gave his daughters to husbands, and Paul 2 does not
hesitate in an Epistle to address his wife, whom he did not
take about with him that he might facilitate his ministry.'
Since we have mentioned these matters, there is no harm in
my presenting another narrative of the same author, which he
wrote down in Book 7 of the Stromata, relating it in the
following way: 'They say, indeed, that the blessed Peter,
when he beheld his wife being led away to death, rejoiced be-
cause of her calling and return home, and called out to her
very encouragingly and comfortingly, addressing her by name,
U O thou, remember the Lord/ 5 Such was the marriage of the
blessed and the perfect disposition of those dearest to them.' 3
Let these matters germane to the subject at hand suffice on
my part for the moment at this point.
Chapter 31
Now, the time and the manner of the death of Paul and
of Peter, and in addition the place of the disposition of their
corpses after their departure from this life, we have already
shown. 1 The date of the death of John has also already been
mentioned, 2 and the disposition of his body is indicated by a
1 Clement, Strom. 3.52,53.
2 Cf. Phil. 4.3; 1 Cor. 9.5,13.
3 Clement, Strom. 7.63,64.
1 Cf. above, 2.25.
2 Cf. above, 3.23. Irenaeus, Haer. 2.22.5, is quoted here to show that
John lived until the reign of Trajan.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 189
letter of Poly crates 3 (he was Bishop of the diocese of
Ephesus), on writing which to Victor, Bishop of Rome, he
makes mention both of John and Philip the Apostle, and the
latter's daughters as follows : Tor in Asia also great luminaries
have fallen asleep, who will rise again on the last day of the
advent of the Lord, when He shall come with glory from
heaven and shall search out all the saints including Philip 4
of the twelve Apostles, who sleeps at Hierapolis 5 with his two
daughters who grew old as virgins and another daughter who
lived in the Holy Spirit and rests at Ephesus. And there is
also John, 6 who leaned upon the bosom of the Lord, who was
a priest wearing the mitre, 7 and a martyr and a teacher, and
he sleeps at Ephesus. 58 So much concerning their deaths. And
in the dialogue of Gaius, which we mentioned a little before, 9
Proclus, 10 against whom he composed the disputation, thus
speaks about the death of Philip and his daughters, agreeing 11
3 On Polycrates and Victor, cf. below, 5.22. This Epistle is the only
extant work of Polycrates. This passage, but with much more of the
context, is quoted below, 5.24.
4 Polycrates probably confuses Philip the Apostle and Philip the
Deacon here, and Eusebius does not seem to notice it. They
were clearly two different men, as is evident from Acts 6.2-5; 8.14-17;
and 29.8. It seems fairly certain that the deacon and not the Apostle
was buried at Hierapolis.
5 In Proconsular Asia, five miles north of Laodicea; cf. Col. 4.13. We
can see extensive ruins of the city today, whose site is occupied by
the modern village of Pambouk Kelessi.
6 John 13.25; 21.20.
7 The Greek word is petalon, used in the Septaguint technically for the
'plate' or 'diadem' of the High Priest; cf. Exod. 28. Its meaning here
is uncertain.
8 Cf. Exod. 28.32-34; Lev. 8.9; Matt. 18.18. On John's activity at
Ephesus and his death there, cf. above, 3.1.
9 Cf. above, 2.25 and 3.28.
10 A Montanist leader; cf. above, 2.25 .
11 The t\vo accounts, as a matter of fact, differ in details, and it is
difficult to understand why Eusebius passes over them. Perhaps he
considered it his duty as a historian to give the two accounts accurately
side by side and thus to permit the reader to draw his own conclusion.
He certainly was not trying to deceive.
190 EUSEBIUS
with what has already been set forth: 'After him the four
daughters of Philip, prophetesses, were at Hierapolis in Asia.
Their grave is there, and likewise that of their father.' So
much does he say. And Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles,
mentions the daughters of Philip as then living in Caesarea
of Judaea together with their father and as having been
deemed worthy of the gift of prophecy, using exactly the
following words: 'We came into Caesarea, and having
entered the house of Philip who was one of the seven, we
remained with him. He had four virgin daughters who were
prophetesses. 312
Thus, after having described the matters that have come to
our knowledge about the Apostles and apostolic times and
concerning the sacred writings which they have left us,
including those which are disputed, yet are read publicly by
many in a great many churches, and those entirely spurious
works at variance with apostolic orthodoxy, let us now
proceed with the narrative in order.
Chapter 32
Report holds that after Nero and Domitian, under that
emperor whose times we are now reviewing, 1 persecution was
raised against us sporadically among the cities as a result of
insurrection among the people. In this persecution we have
learned that Symeon, the son of Clopas, whom we have
shown to have been the second Bishop of the Church at
Jerusalem, 2 gave up his life by martyrdom. Witness of this is
12 Cf. Acts 21 8,9. Eusebius evidently considers Philip the Apostle and
Philip the Deacon identical.
1 Trajan, who reigned from 98 to 117.
2 Cf. above, 3.11.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 191
that very Hegislppus of whom we have already quoted
various passages. 3 When relating about certain heretics, he
goes on to show that Syrneon was accused by them at this
time, and was tortured in many ways for a great many days
because he was clearly a Christian, and he astonished to the
highest degree both the judge himself and those with him, and
won for himself an end similar to the Passion of the Lord. 4
But there is nothing like listening to the historian who relates
these facts exactly as follows: 'Some of these, clearly the
heretics, accused Simon, the son of Clopas, on the ground
that he was a descendant of David- 5 and a Christian, 6 and so
he suffered martyrdom when he was a hundred and twenty
years of age, 7 while Trajan was emperor and Atticus 8 gov-
ernor.' The same author says that it happened that, when the
Jews who were of the royal house were sought out, 'his very
accusers were arrested for being of that family. 5 And one
might say with reason that Symeon was one of those who saw
and heard the Lord, taking as evidence the length of his life
and the fact that the writings of the Gospels make mention of
Mary, the wife of Clopas, from whom the narrative has
already shown him to have been born.
The same historian says that other descendants of one of
the so-called brothers of the Saviour, Jude by name, lived
until the same reign after giving testimony of their faith in
3 On his life and writings, cf. below, 4.8. He is quoted by Eusebius in
2-23 and 3.20 and is mentioned in 3.11.
4 I.e., crucifixion.
5 The members of the Jewish royal family were looked upon with
great suspicion as possible leaders of revolution.
6 In the eyes of the Roman state, Christianity itself was a crime.
7 The actual date of the martyrdom is quite uncertain, although it is
commonly placed in the year 106 or 107, on the basis Eusebius'
Chron. Eusebius, however, is here bringing together events which
took place in the reign of Trajan but whose exact dates he does not
know.
8 The dates of his governorship are unknown.
192 EUSEBIUS
Christ, as has already been related, 9 in the time of Domitian.
He writes thus: They came, therefore, and presided over
every church as witnesses 10 and as descendants of the family
of the Lord, and when there was solid peace in every church,
they remained until the Emperor Trajan, 11 until the time
when the son of Lord's uncle, 12 the aforementioned Simon,
the son of Clopas, himself was maligned and similarly accused
by the heretical sects on the very same charge before the
governor Atticus. He was tortured for many days and suffered
martyrdom, so that all, including the governor, marveled
how at the age of one hundred and twenty years he had
endured, and he was ordered to be crucified.'
Besides this, the same man, when relating the events of
these times, adds that until then the Church had remained
a pure and undefiled virgin, since those who attempted to
corrupt the sound rule of the Saviour's preaching, if any
did exist, until then lurked somewhere in obscure darkness.
But when the sacred band of the Apostles had received an
end of life in various ways, and that generation of those who
were deemed worthy to hear the divine wisdom with their
own ears had passed away, then the league of godless error
took its beginnings because of the deceit of heretical teachers 13
who, since none of the Apostles still remained, attempted
henceforth barefacedly to proclaim in opposition to the
preaching of truth the knowledge falsely so-called.' 14
9 Cf. John 19.25; also, above, 3.11.
10 The Greek word martyres is here used in its early meaning of
'witnesses,' not in its later sense of 'martyrs'; those who testified to
Christ, although not necessarily sealing their testimony with death.
11 CL above, 3.20, where Eusebius has already given this part of the
quotation in his own words.
12 The brother of Joseph; cf. above, 3.11.
13 For the heretics mentioned by Hegesippus, cf. below, 4.22.
14 1 Tim. 6.20.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 193
Chapter 33
So great a persecution was extended against us at that
time in many places that Plinius Secundus, 1 one of the most
eminent of governors, being disturbed by the great number of
martyrs, reported to the emperor on the multitude of those
who were being put to death for their faith; likewise, in the
same communication, he indicated that he understood that
they did nothing wicked or contrary to the laws except that,
rising at dawn, they sang to Christ as though a God, but that
they renounced adultery and murder and criminal offenses
akin to these and did all things in accord with the laws. In
reply, Trajan issued the following decree: that the tribe of
Christians be not sought out, but, when met, be punished.
Thus, the threat of persecution 2 which pressed terribly upon
us was to some extent extinguished; nevertheless, opportun-
ities remained for those who wished to do us harm, for some-
times the people, sometimes, too, the local authorities prepared
plots against us, so that without open persecutions partial
ones broke out in the provinces and many of the faithful
encountered martyrdom in various ways. Our narrative has
been taken from Tertullian's Latin Apology,, from which we
quoted above, and its translation runs as follows: 3 'Yet we
have found that search for us has also been prevented. 4 For
1 Commonly known as Pliny the Younger to distinguish him from his
uncle, Plinius Secundus the Elder; a man of literary accomplishments
and a close friend of the Emperor Trajan. The letter referred to here
and Trajan's reply are Nos. 96 (97) .7 and 97 (98) .2 of Book 10 of the
Epistles of Pliny.
2 No S)stematic persecution of the Christians simultaneously in all parts
of the Empire was carried on until the time of Decius.
3 Tertullian, Apol. 2; cf. Fathers of the Church 10.
4 Tertullian and the early Fathers generally regarded Trajan's answer to
Pliny as a triumph for Christians, assuming that as a result of it they
were better off than ever before in relation to the law. Actually, this
letter for the first time officially declared Christianity to be a religio
illidta. Henceforth, to be a Christian was a crime before the law.
Hitheito, this question had not been decided; each ruler was left to
act as he saw fit.
194 EUSEBIUS
when Plinius Secundus, who governed the province, con-
demned certain Christians and deprived them of their ranks,
being troubled by their great number, as a result of which he
knew not what should be done in the future, he communicated
with the Emperor Trajan, saying that except for their unwil-
lingness to sacrifice to idols he had discovered nothing wicked
among them. And he also mentioned this, that the Christians
rose at dawn and sang hymns to Christ as to a God and in
order to preserve their teaching 5 forbade murder, adultery,
avarice, robbery, things like these. In reply to this, Trajan
wrote that the tribe of Christians be not sought out, but, when
met, be punished.' Such things took place at that time.
Chapter 34
In the third year of the reign of the emperor 1 mentioned
above, Clement gave over the ministry of the bishops at Rome
to Evarestos 2 and departed this life, after he had been in
charge of the teaching of the divine Word for nine years
altogether.
Chapter 35
Moreover, when Symeon also died in the manner described
above, 1 a certain Jew named Justus, 2 himself one of the many
5 The Greek word used by Eusebius is epistemen, which means 'know-
ledge' and makes no sense here, in an unsuccessful attempt to translate
Tertullian's disciplinam.
\ Trajan.
2 Eusebius (4.1) says that Evarestos was bishop for eight years; in his
Chron. he states seven. The exact duration of his episcopate is unknown-.
1 Cf. above, 3.32.
2 Cf. Epiphanius, Haer. 66, 20, where he is called Judas. All that we
know is contained here.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 195
thousands of the circumcision who at that time believed in
Christ, succeeded to the episcopal throne in Jerusalem.
Chapter 36
At this time, Polycarp, 1 a companion of the Apostles, was
pre-eminent in Asia, having been entrusted with the bishopric
of the Church at Smyrna by eye-witnesses and servants of the
Lord. At this time, Papias 2 became well known, himself being
Bishop of the diocese of Herapolis, and Ignatius to this day
heralded by many, 3 who obtained the bishopric of the church
1 On Polycarp, cf. below, 4.14.
2 According to Irenaeus (Adv. haer. 5.33.3,4) , Papias, Bishop of
Hierapolis, was companion of Polycarp and a hearer of the Apostle
John. The latter part of this statement is seriously doubted. In all
probability, he was born about 70, and died before the middle of the
second century. According to Eusebius (3.39) , he was a decided
Chihast and a person of limited understanding. That he was an
Ebionite, as has been asserted, cannot be substantiated. Little more
is known about Papias.
3 Eusebius, following the oldest tradition, makes Evodius the first
Bishop of Antioch and Ignatius the second. Three different recensions
of epistles assigned to Ignatius are: (1) a longer Greek recension,
consisting of fifteen epistles, first published in the fifteenth and six-
teenth centuries; (2) a shorter Greek recension, containing seven of the
fifteen epistles of the longer recension but in a much shorter version,
with the same titles as those given by Eusebius here, first discovered
and published in the seventeenth century; and (3) a Syriac version,
containing three of these latter seven, namely to Polycarp, to the
Ephesians, and to the Romans, but in a still briefer version, dis-
covered in the nineteenth century. Scholars today are in general
agreed on the authenticity of the shorter Greek recension. The only
mention of Ignatius before Eusebius occurs in Polycarp, Ep. ad, Phil.
9.13; Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 5.28.3; and Origen, Pro/, in Cant, and Horn.
6 in Luc. Even granting the genuineness of the letters, we have little
information on the life of Ignatius. We know with certainty only
that he was Bishop of the Church at Antioch in Syria; that he had
been condemned to martyrdom; and that when he wrote the epistles
he was on his way to Rome to suffer martyrdom. In his epistles, how-
ever, about the character and opinions of the man, Ignatius made a
very deep impression upon his age. Of him it has been said: 'He is
the incarnation, as it were, of the three closely connected ideas: the
196 EUSEBIUS
at Antioch second in succession to Peter. Report has it that he
was sent from Syria to the city of Rome and became food
for wild beasts because of his testimony to Christ. 4 While he
was making the journey through Asia under the strictest
military guard, he strengthened the diocese in each city where
he stayed by spoken sermons and exhortations, and he
especially exhorted them above all to be on their guard
against the heresies which then for the first time were
prevalent and he urged them to hold fast to the tradition of
the Apostles to which he thought it necessary, for security's
sake, to give form by written testimony. So, when he came
glory of martyrdom, the omnipotence of the episcopacy, and the hatred
of heresy and schism. Hierarchical pride and humility, Christian
charity, and churchly exclusiveness are typically represented in
Ignatius/
Ignatius constitutes a most important link between the Apostles and
the Fathers of the early Chuich. The importance of his letters for the
dogmatic character of apostolic Christianity can scarcely be exag-
gerated. Cardinal Newman rightly says ('The Theology of the Seven
Epistles of St. Ignatius' in Historical Sketches 1, London 1890) that
'the whole system of Catholic doctrine may be discovered, at least in
outline, not to say in parts filled up, in the course of his seven epistles.*
The Catholic Encyclopedia lists the following among the Catholic
doctrines to be found in the epistles: the Church was divinely
established as a visible society, the salvation of souls is its end, and
those who separate themselves from it cut themselves off from God; the
hierarchy of the Church was instituted by Christ; the threefold
character of the hierarchy; the order of the episcopacy superior by
divine authority to that of the priesthood; the unity, holiness,
catholicity, and infallibility of the Church; the doctrine of the
Eucharist, which word we find for the first time applied to the
Blessed Sacrament, just as in Smyrn. 8, we meet for the first time the
phrase "Catholic Church,* used to designate all Christians; the Incar-
nation; the supernatural virtue of virginity, already much esteemed
and made the subject of a vow; the religious character of matrimony;
the value of united prayer; the primacy of the See of Rome. Further-
more, he denounces in principle the doctrine of private judgment in
matters of religion. The heresy against which he inveighs most is
Bocetism. He also vigorously condemns all Judaizing heresies.
4 Except for a late statement by John Malalas, which names Antioch, the
letters and tradition definitely indicate Rome as the place of his
martyrdom.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 197
to Smyrna 5 where Polycarp was, he wrote one letter to the
church at Ephesus, mentioning its pastor Onesimus, 6 and
another to the church at Magnesia on the Meander, where
in turn he made mention of Bishop Damas, and another to
the church at Tralles, of which he relates that Polybius was
then ruler. Besides these, he also wrote to the Church at
Rome, to which he extended a request that they should not
deprive him of the hope for which he longed by begging
him off from martyrdom. It is worth while making a very
brief extract from this in support of what has been said. Now
he writes as follows: 7 Trom Syria to Rome I fight with wild
beasts by land and sea, by night and by day, bound to ten
leopards, that is, a company of soldiers, who become worse
even as they are being treated kindly. In the midst of their
evil deeds, however, 1 become the more a disciple, "y et I am
not hereby justified." 8 May I enjoy the beasts that are
ready for me, which I pray be found prompt for me, which
I shall even coax to devour me promptly, and not treat me
as they have some, refusing to touch them out of fear; even
if of themselves they are unwilling and do not wish to do
so, I shall force them to it. Forgive me; I know what is
expedient for me; now I am beginning to be a disciple. May
I envy nothing of things seen or unseen, that I may attain to
5 Cf. Ignatius Eph. 21; 1.2.6; Magn. 2-15; Troll 1.12; Rom. 5. Of the
seven letters of Ignatius recognized as genuine, the first four to the
Ephesians, Magnesians, Trallians, and Romans were written from
Smyrna, while he was on his way to Rome. The cities of Ephesus,
Magnesia, and Trallia were south of Smyrna, but Ignatius was taken
by a road farther north, which passed through Philadelphia and
Sardis. Accordingly, he did not visit these three cities to which he
sent letters from Smyrna. For an English version of the letters of St.
Ignatius, cf. The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1 of this series.
6 We know nothing more of this Onesimus, or of Damas and Polybius
mentioned below.
7 Ignatius, Rom. 5.
8 1 Cor. 4.4.
198 EUSEBIUS
Jesus Christ. Let there come upon me fire and cross and
struggle with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of
limbs, crushing of the whole body, tortures of the Devil,
provided only I may attain to Jesus Christ. 5
These matters he wrote from the city mentioned to the
churches cited. When he was already beyond Smyrna, he
again communicated in writing from Troas 9 with the people
in Philadelphia and with the church of the Smyrnaeans and
especially with Polycarp who was at the head of this church.
And since he knew him very well as an apostolic man, like
a true and good shepherd he places the church at Antioch
in his hands, begging him to have zealous care for it. 10 This
same man, writing to the Smyrnaeans, 11 quotes words from
I do not know where, relating the following about Christ:
'But I know and believe that He was in the flesh even after
the Resurrection. And when He came to Peter and His
companions, He said to them: "Take, touch me and see that
I am not an incorporeal phantom." And straightway they
touched Him and believed. 512
Irenaeus also knew of his martyrdom, and quoted from his
letters in these words: 13 'As one of our people said, when he
was condemned to beasts for his testimony unto God, 14 "I
am God's wheat and I am ground by the teeth of beasts that
I may be found pure bread. 53 '
9 Cf. Phtlad. 11; Smyrn. 12; Polycarp 8; Polycarp 7. From the evidences
of the epistles themselves, it seems clear that Troas was the city from
which Ignatius wrote to the Philadelphians, to the Smyrnaeans, and
to Polycarp. He had visited both churches on his way to Troas, and
had seen Polycarp in Smyrna.
10 Ci Polycarp 3.
II Cf. Smyrn. 3.
12 Cf. Luke 24.39.
13 Iren., Adv. haer. 5.28.4.
14 Cf. Ignatius, Rom. 4.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK THREE 199
Polycarp, too, mentions these very things in the letter to the
Philippians that bears his name, 1 *"' using these very words:
'I urge you all, therefore, to obey authority and to practise
all patience such as you saw with your own eyes not only in
the blessed Ignatius and Rufus and Zosimus, 16 but also in
others among you, and in Paul himself, and in the other
Apostles, being persuaded that all these "have not run in
vain," 17 but in faith and righteousness, and that they are
with the Lord, with whom they also suffered, in the place
that is their due. 18 For they did not love this world, 19 but
Him who died for our sakes and was raised by God on
account of us.' And later he adds: 'Both you and Ignatius
wrote to me that, if anyone was going to Syria, he should also
take letters from you. And this very thing I shall do, if I have
a suitable opportunity, either I or he whom I am sending to
represent you and me. As you requested, we have sent you
the letters of Ignatius which were sent to us by him and such
other letters as we have in our possession. These have been
appended to this letter and from them you will be able to
derive great profit. For they contain faith and patience and
all edification that pertains to our Lord.' 20 Such is the story
about Ignatius, and Heros 21 succeeded him in the bishopric
of Antioch.
15 Polycarp, Philipp, 9.
16 Nothing is known of Rufus and Zosimus.
17 Phil. 12.16.
18 1 Clem. 5.
19 Cf. 2 Tim. 4.10.
20 Polycarp, Philipp. 13. This gives strong support to the authenticity of
the epistles of St. Ignatius. For this very reason its genuineness has
been questioned by some, but without valid grounds.
21 We have no reliable information about Heros. Eusebius in his
Chronicle says that Heros became Bishop of Antioch in the tenth year
of Trajan (107) and was succeeded by Cornelius in the twelfth
year of Hadrian (128) .
200 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 37
Among those who were celebrated in these times was also
Quadratus, 1 who, report holds, was distinguished along with
the daughters of Philip by a gift of prophecy, and many more
others besides were known at this time, who take first rank
in the apostolic succession. And these, being pious disciples of
such great men, built in every place upon the foundations
of the churches already established everywhere by the
Apostles, 2 spreading the Gospel more and more, and scat-
tering the saving seeds of the kingdom of heaven far and wide
throughout the whole world. Indeed, most of the disciples of
that time, struck in soul by the divine Logos with an ardent
love of philosophy, 3 first fulfilled the Saviour's command 4
and distributed their goods among the needy, 5 and then,
entering upon long journeys, performed the work of evan-
gelists, 6 being eager to preach everywhere to those who had
not yet the word of faith and to pass on the writing of the
divine Gospds. 7 j As soon as they had only laid the foundations
of the faith in some foreign lands, they appointed others as
pastors and entrusted to them the nurture of those who had
recently been brought in, but they themselves went on to
other lands and peoples with the grace and co-operation of
God, for a great many marvelous miracles of the divine spirit
were still being worked by them at that time, so that whole
1 All that is known of this Quadratus is contained here and below, 5.16.
The Identification of this Quadratus with Quadratus the apologist
(cf. 4.3) is by no means certain.
2 Cf. 1 Cor. 3.10.
3 I.e., the ascetic way of living; cf. below, 6.3.
4 Cf. Matt. 10.9; Mark 6.8; Luke 9.3.
5 Cf. Matt. 19.21.
6 Cf. Rom. 15.20,21.
7 Cf. Eph. 9.19,20.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 201
multitudes of men at the first hearing eagerly received within
their souls the religion of the Creator of the universe.
Since it is impossible for us to enumerate all by name who
at some time in the early succession of the Apostles became
pastors or evangelists in the churches throughout the world,
we have naturally made mention by name of those only
through whose writings the tradition of the teachings of the
Apostles has been brought down to us in our time.
Chapter 38
Such writings were the epistles of Ignatius, of which we
have given a list, 1 and that of Clement which is accepted by
all, which he wrote in the name of the Church at Rome to
the Church of the Corinthians. 2 In this he has presented many
ideas from the Epistle to the Hebrews, 3 and he has even made
use of some verbal quotations from it, thus making it very
clear that it was not a recent work, and for this reason, also,
it has seemed natural to include it among the other writings
of the Apostle. For, since Paul had communicated in writing
with the Hebrews in their native tongue, some say that
the Evangelist Luke, others that this Clement himself, trans-
lated the writing. The latter would be more probable because
the epistle of Clement and that to the Hebrews preserve a
similarity of style and, furthermore, because the ideas in the
two writings are not very different. 4
But we must realize that there is said to be a second
1 Cf. above, 3.36.
2 Cf. 3.16.
3 Cf. 3.3.
4 1 Clem. 17=Heb. 11.37; 1 Clem. 21=Heb. 4.12; 1 Clem. 27=Heb.
10.23; 1 Clem. 36=Heb. 2.17,18; 4.14,15; 8.3; 1.3; 4.7; 5.13.
202 EUSEBIUS
epistle of Clement; 5 however, we are not certain that this was
known as well as the former, since we learn that the ancients
never made any use of it. Now, some have brought forward
quite recently other wordy and lengthy compositions also as
supposedly his, including dialogues with Peter and Apion, 6
but no mention of these at all is made by the ancients, for they
do not preserve the pure mark of apostolic orthodoxy.
Chapter 39
Now, the acknowledged writing of Clement is well known
and the works of Ignatius and Polycarp 1 have been men-
tioned; and of Papias five treatises are in circulation which
bear the title, "Interpretation of the Oracles of the Lord.' 2 And
Irenaeus makes mention of these as the only ones written by
him, speaking as follows: 'These things, too, Papias, an
5 Eusebius is the first to mention a second letter of Clement. Such a
letter, however, was in general circulation as genuine after the fifth
century. It is now clear that this epistle is not an epistle but a homily;
it was not written in the first century by Clement, but in the middle of
the second century by some unknown author. It is of great interest,
however, as the oldest homily extant. It still appears in all editions of
the Apostolic Fathers as the "Second Epistle of Clement"; cf. Vol. 1 of
this series.
6 A number of Pseudo-Clementine writings from the third and following
centuries are still extant. Chief among there is what professes to be a
record by Clement of the discourses of the Apostle Peter and an account
of Clement's family history and of his travels with Peter.
1 Cf. above, 3.36.
2 No longer extant except in a number of fragments which have been
preserved by Irenaeus, Eusebius, and others. These fragments are
usually published in editions of the Apostolic Fathers. For an English
version, cf. Vol. I of this series. A common belief is that it was a
record of oral traditions about the Lord which Papias had gathered
with a commentary of these traditions; others contend that it was a
complete Gospel; still others that it was a commentary on an existing
Gospel or Gospels. Eusebius seems to be in accord with the last.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 203
ancient man, who was a hearer of John and a companion
of Polycarp, attests in writing in the fourth of his books, for
five books w r ere composed by him.' 3 Such are the words of
Irenaeus. Papias himself, however, according to the preface
of his treatises, makes it clear that he was never a hearer or
eye-witness of the holy Apostles, but he shows that he
received the doctrines of the faith from those who knew
them, and he does so in these words: 'I shall not hesitate to
set down for you together with my interpretations all that I
have ever learned well from the presbyters and recall well,
being confident of their truth. For, unlike most, I did not
take pleasure in those who say much, but in those who teach
the truth, and not in those who relate the commandments
of others, but in those who relate the commandments given
to the faith 4 by the Lord and derived from the truth itself;
but if ever anyone came who had carefully followed the
presbyters, 5 I inquired as to the words of the presbyters, what
Andrew or what Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas
or James or what John or Matthew or any other of the
disciples of the Lord, and what Aristion 6 and the presbyter
John, the Lord's disciples, were saying. For 1 did not suppose
that information from books helped me so much as that from
a living and abiding voice. 5
His mentioning the name of John twice is worth noting
here. The first of these he reckons along with Peter and
James and Matthew and the other Apostles, meaning clearly
the Evangelist, but the other John, after expanding his state-
ment, he places outside the number of the Apostles, placing
Aristion before him, and he distinctly calls him a presbyter.
3 Iren. 5.33.4.
4 I.e., to those that believe and have faith.
5 Cf. Luke 1.3. The meaning of the Greek is uncertain.
6 Of this Aristion nothing further is known.
204 EUSEBIUS
Thus, by these words is proved the truth of the story of those
who have said that two persons in Asia bore the same name,
and that there were two tombs in Ephesus and each of these
even today is said to be John's. 7 We must give attention to
this, for it is probable that the second (unless you would prefer
the first) saw the Revelation which passes under the name of
John. 8 And Papias, who is now being explained by us,
confesses that he had received the words of the Apostles from
their followers, but says that he himself was a hearer of
Aristion and the presbyter John. At any rate, he mentions
them many times and presents their traditions in his writings.
Let us at least say this much to good purpose. But it is worth
while to add to the words of Papias already quoted other
expressions of his by which he describes certain marvels and
other matters which probably reached him through tradition.
Now, it has already been pointed out above 9 that Philip the
Apostle lived at Hierapolis with his daughters, but it must
now be noted that Papias, who was a contemporary of theirs,
reveals that he received a marvelous story from the daughters
of Philip, for he relates that a resurrection of a corpse took
place in his time, 10 and again that another miracle took
place in connection with Justus surnamed Barsabas, who
drank a deadly poison and through the grace of the Lord
suffered no harm. The book of Acts 11 relates in these words
7 Cf. below, 7.25, where Eusebius quotes Dionysius of Alexandria to
attest to the existence of two tombs in Ephesus with the name of
John. Cf. also, Jerome (De vir. ill. 9) , who says that some regard the
two as memorials of the one John, the Apostle.
8 Eusebius' suggestion here that the Apocalypse was written by a
presbyter John, some one other than the Apostle John, was made by
Dionysius (cf. below, 7.25) . Although this suggestion is revived
periodically, the evidence to support it has never been able to dislodge
the traditional belief in the authorship of John the Apostle.
9 Cf. above, 3.31.
10 I.e., in the time of Philip.
11 Acts 1.23,24.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK THREE 205
that the holy Apostles, after the ascension of the Saviour,
appointed this Justus together with Matthias and prayed over
them for the choice of one in the place of Judas to fill up then-
number. 'And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas,
who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias; and praying, they
said.' And the same author presents other accounts as having
come to him from unwritten tradition, and some strange
parables of the Saviour and teachings of His and other more
mythical accounts. Among these he says that there will be a
period of about a thousand years after the resurrection of the
dead, when the kingdom of Christ will be established on
this earth in material form. 13 I suppose that he got these ideas
through a perverse reading of the accounts of the Apostles,
not realizing that these were expressed by them mystically
in figures. For he appears to be a man of very little intel-
ligence, 13 to speak judging from his books, but he was
responsible for the great number of Church writers after him
holding the same opinion as himself, who proposed in their
12 Chiliasm or Millenarianism: the belief on the part of Christians that
at end of time Christ will return in all His splendor to gather
together the just, to annihilate hostile powers, and to establish a
glorious kingdom on earth for the enjoyment of the highest spiritual
and material blessings. He Himself will rule as its king, and all the
just, including the saints recalled to life, will take part in it. At the
end of this kingdom the saints will enter heaven with Christ, while the
wicked, who have also been raised from the dead, will be condemned
to eternal damnation. This glorious rule of Christ and His saints on
earth was generally believed to last a thousand years. The chief
Biblical support for this doctrine is found in Apoc. 20.1-6. The leading
supporters of this doctrine in the ante-Nicene period were the author
of the epistle of Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Ter-
tullian. The chief opponents of Chiliasm in this same period were
Gaius, Origen, Dionysius of Alexandria, and Eusebius. After Con-
stan tine, this belief was regarded more and more as a heresy. St.
Augustine formulated the doctrine in general believed from his time
on, that the millenium is the present reign of Christ, which began
with His resurrection. Cf. Cath. EncycL, s.v. Millenarianism.
resurrection. Cf. Cath. Encycl. s.v. Millenarianism.
13 The extant fragments of Papias bear out this statement.
206 EUSEBIUS
support the antiquity of the man, as, for instance, Irenaeus
and whoever else appeared to hold similar views.
In his own writing he also passes on interpretations of the
Lord's words from Aristion, who has been mentioned before,
and traditions from John the presbyter. After referring the
studious to these, we shall now of necessity add to his words
already quoted a tradition about Mark who wrote the Gospel,
which he gives in these words : 'This also the Presbyter 14 used
to say, "When Mark became Peter's interpreter, he wrote
down accurately, although not in order, all that he remem-
bered of what was said or done by the Lord. For he had not
heard the Lord nor followed Him, but later, as I have said,
he did Peter, who made his teaching fit his needs without,
as it were, making any arrangement of the Lord's oracles, 15
so that Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things
down as he remembered them. For to one thing he gave
careful attention, to omit nothing of what he heard and to
falsify nothing in this." * Now, this has been related by Papias
regarding Mark, and regarding Matthew he has spoken as
follows: 'Now Matthew collected the oracles in the Hebrew
language, and each one interpreted them as he was able.' 16
The same writer has used testimonies from the first
Epistle of John 17 and likewise from that of Peter, 18 and he
has set forth another story about a woman who was accused
before the Lord of many sins, which is contained in the
Gospel according to the Hebrews. Let us observe this much,
out of a feeling of necessity, in addition to what has already
been quoted.
14 Cf. above, 2.15.
15 Reading logion rather than logon, 'discourses/
16 Cf. above, 3.24.
17 Cf. 3.24.
18 Cf. 3,3.
BOOK FOUR
Chapter 1
^\ BOUT THE TWELFTH YEAR of the reign of Trajan 1 the
bishop 2 of the diocese of Alexandria, whom we men-
tioned a little above, departed this life, and Primus, 3
the fourth from the Apostles, received the administration of
affairs there. At this time, too, at Rome, after Evarestus 4
had fulfilled his eighth year, Alexander, 5 who was the fifth in
succession from Peter and Paul, took up the bishopric.
1 In 109.
2 Cerdo; cf. above, 3.21.
3 Nothing reliable is known about Primus himself, although he has a
part in later tradition. Until the latter part of the second century
our knowledge of the Alexandrian Church is very vague and uncertain.
4 Cf. above, 3.34.
5 We know nothing of the life and character of Alexander. Lists of
bishops dating from the end of the second century are extant. The
oldest list of Roman bishops is given by Irenaeus (Adv. haer. 3.3.3) .
The list given here by Eusebius is the same as that of Irenaeus, but
with the addition of dates. In his Chronicle, Eusebius gives different
dates. We may assume that when he wrote the Chronicle he had
discovered another source which he regarded as more reliable. We
should also remember that the transmission of dates in manuscript
traditions is very precarious.
207
208 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 2
While the affairs of our Saviour's teaching and of the
Church were flourishing daily and were proceeding to even
greater progress, the misfortune of the Jews in a succession of
evils was attaining a climax. When the emperor was now
advancing into the eighteenth year 1 of his reign, a rebellion
of the Jews again broke out and destroyed a great multitude
of them. 2 For in Alexandria and in the rest of Egypt and also
in Gyrene, 3 as if incited by some terrible spirit of rebellion,
they rushed into revolt against their Greek fellow citizens, and,
having increased the scope of the rebellion, in the following
year they entered upon a war of no small magnitude while
Lupus 4 was governor of all Egypt. In the first encounter it
happened that they overpowered the Greeks, who fled to
Alexandria and captured and killed the Jews in the city, but,
although the Jews of Gyrene lost the alliance of these Jews,
they continued to plunder the country of Egypt and to
devastate the districts 5 in it under the leadership of Lucuas. 6
Against these the emperor sent Marcius Turbo 7 with a land
and sea force, in addition to cavalry. He carried on war
against them vigorously in many battles and for a considerable
time, and killed many thousands of Jews, not only those of
Gyrene but also those of Egypt who had come to the aid of
1 In 111.
2 Cf. Cassius Dio 68.32; 69.12f. The Jews and Greeks lived together in
many cities, and because of their intense hatred of each other were
constantly getting Into difficulties.
3 According to Acts 6.9, the Jews of Gyrene, just west of Egypt, had a
synagogue in Jerusalem. They were very numerous in both Egypt
and C)rene.
4 Otherwise unknown.
5 The Greek word is nomoi; cf. above, 2.17.
6 Cassius Dio (68.32) calls him Andreas. It has been suggested that he
probably bore both a Jewish and a Roman name, as did many Jews
of that period.
7 One of the most distinguished generals under Emperors Trajan and
Hadrian; a praetorian prefect under Hadrian. Cf. Cassius Dio 69.18, and
Spnrtian. Hadr. 4-9,15.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 209
Lucuas, their king. And the emperor, suspecting that the Jews
in Mesopotamia also would attack the inhabitants, ordered
Lusius Quietus 8 to clear the province of them. He drew up
his force and killed a great multitude of the Jews there, and
for this success he was appointed Governor of Judaea by the
emperor. These events have been chronicled in these very
words by the Greek historians 9 who have described the
events of the same period.
Chapter 3
After Trajan had ruled for nineteen and a half years, 1
Aelius Hadrian succeeded to the sovereignty. To him Quad-
ratus 2 addressed and delivered a treatise which he had com-
posed as a defense for religion because certain wicked men 3
were trying to trouble our people. To this day it is in cir-
culation among a great many of the brethren; we even have a
8 An independent Moorish chief. He served voluntarily in the Roman
army and was a great favorite with Trajan, who made him Governor
of Judaea and later raised him to the consulship. Themistius (Oral.
16) says that Trajan planned to make him his successor. Cf. Cassius
Dio (68.8,22,30,32; 69.2) and Spartian (Hadr. 5.7) .
9 The only extant Greek accounts of these affairs are those of Cassius
Dio and Orosius. Apparently there were others in the time of Eusebius.
1 From January 27, 98, to August 7 or 8, 117.
2 Quadratus and Aristides, mentioned below, are the most ancient
apologists known. No mention is made of them before Eusebius, and
the few lines quoted here are all that we have of the Apology of
Quadratus. That the writings of these two men were responsible for
favorable treatment of the Christians by the emperors is erroneous.
This Quadratus is not to be confused with Quadratus (cf. below, 4.23) ,
Bishop of Athens in the reign of Marcus Aurelius. There are insur-
mountable chronological difficulties here. Furthermore, there is no
good reason for identifying this Quadratus with the prophet men-
tioned in 3.37 and 5.7. These two seem to have belonged to different
countries.
3 Eusebius seems to believe that the persecutions did not come directly
from the emperors, but through the plottings of the enemies of
Christianity.
210 EUSEBIUS
copy ourselves. From this one can see clear evidence of his
intellect and apostolic orthodoxy. The same author reveals
his early date when he relates the following in his own
words: 'But the works of our Saviour were always at hand,
for they were true, those who were cured, those who rose
from the dead, who were seen not only when being cured and
when rising, but also, being always at hand, not only when
the Saviour was on earth, but even after he had departed,
survived for a considerable time, so that some of them have
even come down to our own time.' Such was this Quadratus.
Aristides, 4 also, a man of faith and inspired of our religion,
has very much like Quadratus left behind a defense of faith
addressed to Hadrian. This man's writing also has been
preserved to this day among a great many.
Chapter 4
In the third year of the same reign, 1 Alexander, 2 Bishop of
Rome, died after completing the tenth year of his admin-
4 Aristides of Athens, a contemporary of Quadratus, called by Eusebius
in his Chronicle 'a philosopher.' He Is not mentioned again and his
Apology is apparently not quoted by any of the Fathers. The Aristides
mentioned above, 1.7, and below, 6.31, lived about a hundred years
later. St. Jerome (De vir. ill. 20) calls our Quadratus, *philosophus
eloquentissimus/ and in a letter (70) to Magnus says that the Apology
was 'contextum philosophorum sententiis/ and was imitated later by
Justin Martyr. It was, according to Eusebius, in wide circulation
among the Christians of the fourth century. There are traces of it in
the ninth century, and then it disappears for about a thousand years,
when (1878) the Mechitarite monks of San Lazzaro, at Venice, pub-
lished a Latin translation of an Armenian fragment together with an
Armenian homily under the title, Two Sermons of St. Aristides, a
Philosopher of Athens. In 1889, Harris of Cambridge discovered a
Syriac version of the entire Apology in the Convent of St. Catherine on
Mt. Sinai, and translated it into English. Cf. Texts and Studies 1.1
(Cambridge 1891) .
1 Of Hadrian, 120.
2 Cf. 4.1.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 211
istratlon; Xystus 3 was his successor. And at the same time
Justus 4 succeeded Primus, 5 who departed from the diocese of
the Alexandrians in the twelfth year of his episcopacy.
Chapter 5
Although I have found the chronology of the bishops in
Jerusalem now here preserved in writing, 1 for tradition holds
that they were very short-lived, I have learned this much from
documents, 2 that until the siege of the Jews by Hadrian 3 the
successions of bishops here were fifteen in number, all of
whom, it is said, were Hebrews in origin and had received the
knowledge of Christ truly, so that they were judged worthy
of the episcopal administration by those who had the power to
judge such matters; for at that time their entire Church
consisted of Hebrews who had persevered as faithful from the
Apostles down to the siege of that time, when the Jews again
revolted from the Romans and were conquered in great
3 Xystus I. His dates can be established only with difficulty and with
some uncertainty. The date of his becoming Bishop of Rome, as given
here by Eusebius, cannot be correct. Trustworthy evidence shows
that he must have died as early as 126, possibly in 124. Thus, he must
have become bishop no later than 116, before the death of Trajan. The
evidence for his martyrdom is late and unreliable.
4 Nothing more than is related here is known about Justus. If the present
statement be correct, he became bishop about 120, in the third or
fourth year of the reign of Hadrian.
5 Cf. above, 4.1, where Eusebius says that Alexander of Rome and Primus
of Alexandria became bishops at the same time. In this chapter he
says that Alexander died after reigning as bishop for ten years, and
Primus after twelve years. No reliance can be placed on these figures.
1 Eusebius gives these same names of Bishops of Jerusalem in his
Chronicle, but with dates for only two or three. Dates are given
by the late writer Nicephor,us Callisti, but they are untrustworthy.
2 It has been conjectured that these documents were in the church of
Jerusalem itself.
3 In 135; cf. below, 4.7.
212 EUSEBIUS
battles. Since the bishops of the circumcision ceased at this
time 5 it might be necessary now to list these from the first.
The first, then, was James 4 who was called the brother of
the Lord; and after him was the second, Symeon; 5 the third,
Justus, 6 the fourth, Zacchaeus; 7 the fifth, Tobias; the sixth,
Benjamin; the seventh, John; the eighth, Matthias; the ninth,
Philip; the tenth, Seneca; 8 the eleventh, Justus; the twelfth,
Leir; the thirteenth, Ephres; 9 the fourteenth, Joseph; and last
of all, the fifteenth, Judas. This many were the bishops in the
city of Jerusalem from the Apostles to the time indicated, all
of them belonging to the circumcision. Now, when the reign of
Hadrian was in its twelfth year, Telesphoms, 10 the seventh
from the Apostles, succeeded Xystus who had completed the
tenth year of his episcopacy at Rome; after a lapse of a year
and some months, Eumenes 11 succeeded, as the sixth bishop
in order, to the government of the diocese of Alexandria, after
his predecessor 12 had continued in office for eleven years.
4 Cf. above, 2.1.
5 Cf. above, 3.11.
6 We know nothing about Justus and the other bishops mentioned
here. Epiphanius (Haer. 66.20) calls Justus, Judas.
7 Epiphanius calls Zacchaeus, Zacharias.
8 This is a Latin name, but it does not disprove a Hebrew origin.
It was common for even native Jews to bear two names, a Greek or
Roman name or one of Hebrew origin. They sometimes used the
former exclusively.
9 Epiphanius calls him Vaphris; the Armenian version of the Chronicle
calls him Ephrem; Jerome's version, Ephres, and Syncellus, Ephraim,
the Hebrew form of the name.
10 Circa 125-136; Eusebius and other sources differ on these dates.
Irenaeus (Haer. 3.3.3) says that he suffered a glorious martyrdom. Cf.
below, 4.10 and 5.6. He was the seventh Roman bishop in succession
from the Apostles. According to other evidence, he probably died be-
tween 135 and 137, and not in the first year of Antoninus Pius (138) as
Eusebius declares in Ch. 10.
11 Nothing is known about Eumenes. Eusebius is consistent (below, Ch.
11, and Chron.) in saying that he held office for thirteen years. Jerome
differs by two years.
12 Justus; cf. above, 4.4.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY! BOOK FOUR 213
Chapter 6
And so, as the rebellion of the Jews 1 again progressed in
seriousness and extent, Rufus, Governor of Judaea, when an
auxiliary military force had been sent him by the emperor,
set out against them, treating their madness without mercy,
killing in masses thousands of men, children, and women alike,
and by the law enslaving their lands. At that time a certain
Bar Chochebas by name, which means c star,' was the general
of the Jews, who among other characteristics was a cut-throat
and a bandit, but who relied on his name, as if dealing with
slaves, and boasted that he was a star that had come down
from heaven to shed light upon them in their misery. When
the war had reached its height during the eighteenth year of
the reign of Hadrian 2 in Beththera 3 (this was a very nigged
citadel, located at not a very long distance from Jerusalem),
and when the siege had become long drawn out and the
rebels had been driven to the last extremity of destruction by
famine and thirst and he who was responsible for their
madness had paid his deserved penalty, Hadrian by a legal
decree and ordinances absolutely prevented the entire nation
from henceforth entering the region around Jerusalem, giving
orders that it should never see its ancestral home even from a
1 Because of constant rebellions in Gyrene and elsewhere, the position of
the Jews grew constantly worse. Bitter persecution plagued them in
Palestine during the reign of Trajan, and Hadrian regarded them as
an extremely troublesome people. At this time, while the Jews were
anxiously awaiting the Messias, a man, probably Simon, appeared,
claiming to be the Messias and promsing to free the Jews from Roman
oppression. This man took the name Bar Chochebas, literally, 'son of
a star* (cf. Num. 24.17) . After his defeat by the Romans, the Jews
called him Bar Choziba, 'son of a lie.' Under Bar Chochebas, the
Christians, since they refused to join him, were very cruelly treated.
Cf. Justin Martyr (Apol. LSI) . On this last war of the Jews, see
Cassius Dio 69.1244.
2 August 134 to August 135.
3 Somewhere in Judaea; otherwise, nothing is known about it.
214 EUSEBIUS
distance. Ariston of Pella 4 gives the story. Thus, when the
city had come to be free of the nation of the Jews, and its
ancient inhabitants had been entirely destroyed, it was
colonized by a foreign race and the Roman city that thereafter
arose changed its name and was called Aelia in honor of the
reigning emperor, Aelius Hadrian. And as the church in it was
now composed of Gentiles, the first after the bishops of the
circumcision to be entrusted with the administration of those
there was Marcus. 5
Chapter 7
When the churches throughout the world were shining
like the most brilliant luminaries, and faith in our Saviour
and Lord Jesus Christ waxed strong midst every race of man, 1
the Devil, that hater of the good, like an enemy of the truth
and one who has ever been most hostile to man's salvation,
turned all his machinations against the Church. Of old, he
armed himself against her by persecutions from without; but
then, shut off from this, employing wicked men and sorcerers
as instruments for the ruin of souls and servants of destruction,
he conducted his campaign by other methods, devising every
means that sorcerers and deceivers, by assuming the same
name as our religion, might both lead those of the faithful
4 The work is not extant, and very little is known about Ariston himself.
The only reliable information that we have comes from Eusebius and
Maximus Confessor (De mystica theol. 1) . He was the author of a
Dialogue of Papiscus and Jason, a work quoted frequently by the
Fathers but never assigned to Ariston. This was a dialogue between a
Hebrew Christian and an Alexandrian Jew. It is not certain, but very
probable, that Eusebius is quoting from that work here. He obviously
did not like the work, as is natural from its character, and is silent about
it. The town of Pella was in Peraea, east of the Jordan; cf. above, 3. 5.
5 Nothing more is known of him. On the Gentile Bishops of Jerusalem,
cf. below, 5.12.
I An exaggeration, of course.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 215
they trapped into the depth of destruction and, by the deeds
which they practiced, turn aside those ignorant of the faith
from the path to the saving Word. Now, from Menander 3
whom we have alreday mentioned above as the successor of
Simon, 2 a kind of serpentine power with two mouths and
two heads came forth and established the leaders of two
different heresies, Saturninus, 3 an Antiochian by race, and
Basilides 4 of Alexandria. Of these, the one established schools
of God-hating heresy in Syria; the other, in Egypt. Irenaeus 5
points out that Saturninus for the most part taught false
doctrine like that of Menander, but that Basilides, under the
pretext of secret mysteries, extended his inventions beyond
limit, fashioning monstrous fables for his impious heresy. Now,
while a great many of the men of the Church at this time
were struggling for the truth and were fighting eloquently for
the glory of the Apostles and of the Church, some, too,
through their writings were providing for posterity the means
of defense against these very heresies that have been men-
tioned. Of these a most able refutation of Basilides has come
down to us from a very famous author of the time, Agrippa
Castor, 6 who reveals the cleverness of the man's deception.
2 Cf. above, 3.26.
3 Called Saturnilius by Hippolytus, Epiphanius, and Theodoret. His
followers are termed Saturnilians by Hegesippus, as quoted below, 4.22.
Little more than is indicated here is known about him.
4 The earliest of the Alexandrian Gnostics. He was a native of
Alexandria and flourished under Emperors Hadrian and Antoninus
Pius, about 120-140. Basilides' own work, Exegetica, is lost, but al! the
treatises of the Fathers against heresies mention him. Apparently, his
system made a great impression in the beginning, but it soon died
out or was hopelessly corrupted. He had no followers of any account
except his own son Isidore. The only refutation of his system seems
to have been written by Agrippa Castor, mentioned here by Eusebiu-y.
Cf. Cath. Encycl., s.v.
5 Cf. Iren. 1.24.1,3.
6 The work is not extant. Nothing more is known of Agrippa Castor
than what is mentioned here. Jerome (De vir. ill. 21) and Theodoret
(Fa b. 1.4) add essentially nothing.
216 E0SEB1US
While exposing his mysteries, he says that he composed
twenty-four books on the Gospel, 7 and named his own
prophets Bar Cabbas and Bar Coph, 8 and that, after setting
some others up for himself that never existed, he applied
barbarous names to them to astonish those who marvel at
such things; that he taught that the eating of meat offered to
idols and the unguarded renunciation of the faith in times of
persecution were matters of indifference; 9 and that, like
Pythagoras, he enjoined upon his followers a silence of five
years. 10 The above-mentioned author spoke of other things
similar to these about BasiHdes and very nobly brought out
into the open the error of the aforementioned heresy.
Irenaeus 11 also writes that Carpocrates was a contemporary
of these men, the father of another heresy called that of the
Gnostics. 12 These did not desire any longer, like BasiHdes, to
7 All that is known about the writings of BasiHdes is the following:
Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 4.12) quotes Book 23 of the
Exegetica of Basilides; Origen (Horn, in Luc. I) accuses BasiHdes of
having the effrontery to write a Gospel according to Basilides , for
which there is no other testimony; Ambrose repeats this remark in
Exp. in Luc. 1.1; and Jerome seems on the same authority to number
the Gospel of Basilides among the Apocryphal Gospels in his
Comment, in Matt.
S These persons are unknown. Cf. Hort (article Barcabbas in Dictionary
of Christian Biography) for a possible connection between the pro-
phecies current among Gnostic groups and Zoroastrian writings.
9 This probably represents a decline in the teachings of Basilides as
proclaimed by his later followers, and not the actual teaching of
Basilides himself.
10 Agrippa Castor, as quoted here by Eusebius, is the only authority for
this law of silence by Basilides. Here again we probably are dealing
with a teaching of a later follower rather than of Basilides himself.
11 Cf. Iren. 1.25; 1.6,3,4.
12 Just as it is impossible ;o give a satisfactory definition of Gnosticism,
so it is impossible to set a date for its rise. The definition based on
the etymology of the word is 'the doctrine of salvation by knowledge.*
A more complete and an historical definition of Gnosticism is as
follows: 'A collective name for a large number of greatly varying
pantheistic-idealistic sects, which flourished from some time before
the Christian Era down to the fifth century, and which, while
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 217
transmit the magic arts of Simon secretly but openly, 13
boasting, as of something great, of love potions they carefully
prepared and of certain spirits that brought them dreams and
protection, and of certain other similar performances. In
accordance with this they taught that those who intended to
enter upon initiation in their mysteries or, rather, abomi-
nations must perform al the most shameful deeds, since in
no other way might they escape the cosmic powers, as they
might say, except by having fulfilled their obligations to them
all through their mysteries. So it happened that the demon
who rejoices in evil, by making use of these servants, piteously
enslaved to perdition those who were thus deceived by them,
and he supplied the unbelieving Gentiles with a great abun-
dance of blasphemy against the Word of God, since the
report which started with them poured forth to the calumny
of the entire race of Christians. Thus, especially, did it then
happen that a blasphemous and most absurd suspicion about
us was circulated, namely, that we practiced unlawful
commerce with mothers and sisters and enjoyed impious
borrowing the phraseology and some of the tenets of the chief religions
of the day, and especially of Christianity, held matter to be a dete-
rioration of spirit, and the whole universe a depravation of the
Deity, and taught the ultimate end of being to be the overcoming of
the grossness of matter and the return to the Parent-Spirit, which
return they held to be inaugurated and facilitated by the appearance
of some God-sent Saviour/ Cf, Cath. EncycL, s.v,
The Carpocratians are the first specifically named by Irenaeus
(1.25.6) as calling themselves Gnostics. They are mentioned again by
Eusebius (4.22) in a quotation from Hegesippus. They are more
specifically Greek in their nature than any other Gnostic sect, and
their immorality was proverbial (cf. Tertullian, De anima 23.35)
Other sources on the Carpocratians are: Irenaeus (1.25;2.31-33) ,
Clement of Alexandria (Strom. 3.2), Hippolytus (PhiL 7.20), Ter-
tullian (De anima 23,35) , Pseudo-Tertullian (Adv. omnes haer. 3) ,
Epiphanius (Haer. 27) , and Philaster (35) . Of these, Irenaeus,
Clement of Alexandria, and Hippolytus are alone independent.
IS Eusebius's source for this information is unknown.
218 EUSEBIUS
feasts. 14 However, he did not have success in this for long, for
the truth established itself and as time went on shone with
great brilliancy. For the machinations of its enemies were
refuted and speedily extinguished by its power, as heresies
were invented one upon another, the earlier ones flowing
into strange and multifarious forms and perishing now in
one way and now in another. But the brilliance of the
Catholic and only true Church advanced in growth and
greatness, for she ever holds to the same truths and in the
same way, radiating the piety and the simplicity and the
freedom and the sobriety of her inspired life and philosophy
to every race of Greeks and of barbarians. So, with the lapse
of time, the calumny against all her teaching was extin-
guished, 15 and there remained only our doctrine, which was
strong among all and was confessed to excel especially in
piety and sobriety and in divine and philosophical doctrines,
so that no one today dares bring any disgraceful calumny
against our faith or any such slander as it was the pleasure of
those who were arrayed against us long ago to employ.
Nevertheless, in the times just mentioned, truth again
brought forth for itself more champions who campaigned
against the godless heresies not alone with unwritten proofs
but also with written demonstrations.
14 A reference to the charges usually made against the early Christians
by their enemies: atheism, cannibalism, and incest. Cf. Justin Martyr
(Apol. 1.26), Pliny's epistle to Trajan, Tertullian (Apol. 7.8 and Ad
nationes 7) . Eusebius essentially follows Irenaeus (1.25.3) in this
passage.
15 Eusebius is correct here. It is noteworthy that Celsus, in his
elaborate work against the Christians, makes none of these charges.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 219
Chapter 8
Among these, Hegeslppus 1 was well known, whose words
we have already employed in abundance, 2 for we set forth
some of the events of the time of the Apostles according to Ms
tradition. This author recorded in five books the unerring
tradition of the apostolic preaching in the simplest style, and
he indicates the time in which he flourished by writing thus
about those who from of old set up idols: To whom they
erected cenotaphs 3 and temples as to the present day, and
among them is also Antinous, 4 a slave of the Emperor
Hadrian, in whose honor the Antinoian games are held, which
came into being in our day. For he even built a city 5 named
after Antinous, and appointed prophets.' And at this time,
too, Justin, a genuine lover of the true philosophy, still
continued to busy himself with Greek literature. And he him-
self also indicates this time in his Apology to Antoninus by
writing thus: 'We do not think it out of place to mention at
this point Antinous, also, who lived in our day and whom all
through fear were driven to worship as a god, although they
knew who he was and whence he came. 56
1 Eusebius places his literary activity too early. Jerome follows Eusebius,
discussing Hegesippus between Agrippa Castor and Justin Martyr.
Cf. below, 4.22-23.
2 Cf. above, 2.23 and 3.32.
3 A monument in the form of a tomb, but with no body in it.
4 A native of Bithynia, a beautiful page of Hadrian and the object of
his excessive affections. According to story, he was drowned in the
Nile in 130. Thereupon he was placed among the gods, and temples
were built for his worship, especially in Egypt. Games were instituted
in his honor at Athens, and were celebrated every fifth year in
Mantinea, in Arcadia.
5 The city of Besa in the Thebais, near which Antinous was drowned,
was rebuilt by Hadrian and called Antinoopolis.
6 Justin, ApoL 1.29.
220 EUSEBIUS
The same author, mentioning the war of that time against
the Jews, adds the following : 7 Tor in the Jewish war which
has just taken place, Bar Chocheba, the leader of the Jewish
rebellion, ordered Christians 8 only to be brought to terrible
punishments, if they did not deny Jesus as the Christ and
blaspheme him.*
In the same book, calling attention to his conversion 9 from
Greek philosophy to the true religion, that it had taken place
not irrationally but with deliberation on his part, he writes
this: Tor while rejoicing in the teachings of Plato, I heard
the Christians being abused, but seeing them fearless in the
face of death and of all things thought frightful, I concluded
that it was impossible for them to exist in wickedness and
libertinism. For what libertine or incontinent person, who
thinks feeding on human flesh a good, could welcome death
that he might be deprived of Ms lusts, and would not try
by every means to live his present life always and to escape
the notice of his rulers, because he would not give himself up
to be murdered?' 10
Again, the same writer relates that Hadrian, on receiving
a letter in favor of the Christians from Serennius Granianus, 11
a most distinguished governor, which among other things
stated that it was not just to kill them without any accusation
or trial in an attempt to appease the clamors of the people,
7 Ibid. 1. 31.
8 He treated the Christians so cruelly also because they were hesitant
about taking part in the rebellion.
9 The date of Justin's conversion is unknown, but it probably was in his
mature years. He probably was a pagan during the greater part of
Hadrian's reign.
10 Justin, ApoL 2.12. Eusebius quotes here from what is 'known today
as the 'Second Apology' of Justin, but he evidently knows the two
works as one.
11 Nothing more is known of this man except that he was the
predecessor of Minucius Fundanus as proconsul of Asia, which we
learn from the beginning of the next chapter.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY! BOOK FOUR 221
wrote in reply to Minucius Fundanus, 12 proconsul of Asia,
ordering Mm to try no one without an indictment and a
reasonable accusation; and he appends a copy of the epistle,
preserving the Latin 13 language in which it was written, and
prefacing it with these remarks; 'Although we are able,
according to a letter of the greatest and most illustrious
Emperor Hadrian, your father, to demand that you order the
trials to take place, as we have desired, we have demanded
this not as having been ordered by Hadrian, but rather from
a knowledge that we demand a request that is just. And we
have also appended a copy of Hadrian's letter that you may
know that in this also we are speaking the truth, and here
it is/ 14
After these words, the author quoted the Latin rescript
itself, but we to the best of our ability have translated it into
Greek in the following words; 15
Chapter 9
To Minucius Fundanus. I have received a letter written to
me by Serennius Granianus, a most distinguished man, whom
12 The person of the same name addressed by Pliny the Younger (Ep.
1.9) . Melito is quoted by Eusebius (4.26) as calling him proconsul
of Asia and as stating that he had received a letter from Hadrian
concerning the Christians. The authenticity of this document has
been strongly disputed and there is no general agreement on this
point among critics.
13 The two existing manuscripts of Justin appear to have substituted
the Greek translation of Eusebius for the Latin original. Rufinus, in
his version of Eusebius' History, gives a Latin version, which may well
be the original.
14 Justin, Apol. 1.68.
15 Justin, Apol 1.68. It is impossible to judge the faithfulness of this
Greek translation, since it is not entirely certain that the Latin of
Rufinus is the original.
222 EUSEBIUS
you succeeded. Now it does not seem well to me to let the
matter go without investigation, that men may not be thrown
into confusion and no opportunity for villainy be given to
informers. If, then, the provincials can clearly back up this
petition against the Christians, so as to plead it in a court
of law, let them be influenced with a view to this alone and
not by opinions or mere outcries. For it was far more fitting,
if anyone wished to make an accusation, for you to look
into it. If, then, anyone makes an accusation and shows that
they are acting contrary to the laws in any respect, decide the
case according to the nature of the offence; 1 but, by Hercules,
if anyone should bring the matter forward because of black-
mail, investigate with regard to his criminality and see to it
that you exact punishment.' Such are the words of Hadrian's
rescript.
Chapter 10
When, after twenty-one years, 1 Hadrian paid the debt of
nature, Antoninus, called Pius, succeeded to the sovereignty
of Rome. And when, in the first year of his reign, Telesphorus 2
departed this life in the eleventh year of his episcopate,
Hyginus 3 received the lot of the episcopacy over the Romans.
Irenaeus relates that Telesphorus was pre-eminent in death
through martyrdom, pointing out in the same place that in
I This attribution of a spirit of fairness toward the Christians on the
part of Hadrian, in the light of what we definitely know of his attitude,
seems incredible and throws a strong suspicion of doubt on the
authenticity of this epistle.
1 From August 8, 117, to July 10, 138.
2 Cf. above, 4.5. The date which Eusebius gives here (138-139) is prob-
ably a year late at least.
3 Very little is known about Hyginus, As Eusebius states (4.11) his
episcopate lasted for four years, probably from 137 to 141.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 223
the time of the afore-mentioned Bishop of the Romans,
Hyginus, Valentinus, the founder of a special heresy, and
Cerdo, the author of Marcion's error, were both well known
in Rome. And he writes as follows: 4
Chapter 11
'Valentinus 1 came to Rome in the time of Hyginus, but he
flourished under Pius, and he remained until Anicetus; and
Cerdo, 2 before the time of Marcion 3 and in the time of
4 Iren. 3.4.3.
1 Valentinus was the best known and most influential of the Gnostic
heretics. He was born, according to Epiphanius (Haer. 31) , on the
coast of Egypt, and was trained in Greek literature and science at
Alexandria. He taught in Cyprus before he went to Rome. He was in
Rome at least during the reigns of Hyginus (137-141) and Anicetus
(154-166) , a period of thirteen years. For his errors he was excom-
municated, after which he returned to Cyprus, where he continued
teaching until he died in 160 or 161. Valentinus declared that he
derived his ideas from St. Paul through his disciple Theodas or
Theudas, but he was obviously trying to amalgamate the most fan-
tastic notions of Greek and Oriental philosophy with Christian ideas.
He drew heavily on Plato. Valentinus holds a very high place in all
works on Gnosticism. For excellent accounts on Valentinus and Valen-
tinianism, cf. Diet, of Christ. Biog. and the Cath. Encycl., s.v.
2 Known principally as the predecessor of Marcion. Epiphanius (Haer.
41) and Philaster (Haer. 44) say that he was a native of Syria, and
Jrenaeus (1.27;3.4) declares that he came to Rome in the episcopate of
Hyginus, probably as early as 135. Epiphanius refers to a sect of
Cerdonians, but such a sect probably never existed. His followers prob-
ably joined those of Marcion, who worked with Cerdo soon after
reaching Rome. It is impossible to distinguish the teachings of Cerdo
from those of Marcion. Hippolytus (10) considers them together
without distinction. Where Cerdo is treated separately (Pseudo-
Tertullian's Adv. haer. and Epiphanius), he is treated very briefly
and his teachings are identical with, those of Marcion.
3 Marcion was born about 110 in the Pontus, a province in northeastern
Asia Minor, on the Black Sea, the son of the Bishop of Sinope. and
went to Rome about 135. He tried to carry out his reforms there,
but, being unsuccessful, broke with the Church. He was not strictly a
224 EUSEBIUS
Hyginus, who was the ninth bishop, having corne into the
Church and confessed, continued in this way, sometimes
teaching his doctrines secretly, sometimes confessing again,
sometimes being convicted for his false teaching, and with-
drawing 4 from the assembly of the brethren. 5 This he says
in the third of his books against the heresies. Moreover, in
the third book again he relates the following about Cerdo: 5
'And a certain Cerdo who had gotten his start from the circle
of Simon and had settled in Rome in the time of Hyginus, 6
who held the ninth place in the episcopal succession from the
Apostles, taught that the God preached by the Law and the
Prophets was not the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the
one was known, the other unknown; the one was righteous, the
other good. 7 Marcion of Pontus succeeded him and increased
the school, blaspheming without shame. 3
Gnostic but, rather, an anti -Jewish reformer. Although he had much
in common with the Gnostics, he placed emphasis upon belief rather
than upon knowledge. He desired a Christianity imdefiled by
association with Judaism. Christianity, for him, was the New
Covenant pure and simple. He repudiated the Old Testament and all
of the New except the Epistles of St. Paul and a mutilated Gospel of
St. Luke. For a complete description of Marcion's doctrine and
discipline, cf. Cath. Encycl., s.v. The Marcionites existed until well
into the Middle Ages, and some of their opinions have never been
eradicated. The form of dualism which they derived from the
Gnostics resulted eventually in their being absorbed by the Mani-
chaeans.
4 This may well indicate excommunication.
5 Iren. 12,1,12.
6 The statement here that Hyginus was the ninth Bishop of Rome is
confirmed by Cyprian's epistle to Pompey (Ep . 73) and by Epiphanius
(Haer. 61.1) . Other ancient writers call him the eighth, which would
probably depend on whether Peter was called the first or whether
Cletus and Anacletus were reckoned as distinct.
7 Marcion thus distinguished the God of the Old Testament and the
good or merciful God of the New. According to Pseudo-Tertullian
(Adv. omnes haer. 6) he taught two Gods, one good, the superior
God, and the other cruel, the creator of the world.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 225
The same Irenaeus, most vigorously exposed 8 the bottom-
less pit of Valentinus' theory regarding matter with its many
errors, and laid bare the wickedness of the man, which was
concealed and hidden, as he lurked like a snake in its hole.
Besides these men, he says 9 that there was also another in
their time (Marcus 10 was his name), most skilled in the
magic arts, and he describes their initiations that did not
initiate and their foul mysteries, exposing them in these very
words: Tor some of them prepare a nuptial chamber and
perform an initiation ceremony with certain invocations over
those being initiated, and they say that what is taking place
at their hands is a spiritual marriage, according to the likeness
of the unions above; others bring them to water, and while
baptizing them speak these words, "Into the name of the
unknown Father of the universe, into Truth, the mother of
all things, into him who descended upon Jesus." Others say
Hebrew words in addition, the more to confound those being
initiated.' 11
But when Hyginus died in the fourth year of his episcopate,
Pius 12 took over the government of the Church at Rome. In
8 Iren. 1.1-9.
9 Iren. 1.13.1.
10 On Marcus and the Marcosians, see Irenaeus 1.13-21. Marcus was a
Gnostic of the sect of Valentinus. Jerome wrongly calls him a
Basil idian (Ep. 75.3) . Hippolytus and Epiphanius (Haer. 34) seem
to take their accounts from Irenaeus. Clement of Alexandria knew and
used the writings of Marcus. In all probability, Marcus labored in
Asia Minor. He lowered the tone of Valentinianism by introducing
superstitious magic rites.
11 Iren. 1.21.3=Epiphan. 34.30.
12 The episcopate of Pius has been set as from 139 to 154 as the earliest
possible dates, and from 141 to 156 as the latest, the former termini
being the more probable. Great activity marked the Christian com-
munity in Rome during the reign of Pius I, during which this com-
munity stands out clearly as the center of the Church. According to
two sources (the Muratorian Fragment and the Liberian Catalogue) ,
this Pius was the brother of Hermas, the author of the Shepherd. The
evidence, however, is inconclusive.
226 EUSEBIUS
Alexandria, Marcus 13 was appointed pastor, after Eumenes 14
had completed thirteen full years, and, when Marcus after ten
years rested from his administration, Celadion 15 took over the
administration of the church of the Alexandrians. And in the
city of the Romans, when Pius passed away in the fifteenth
year of his administration, Anicetus 16 presided over the
Christians there. In his time Hegesippus relates that he him-
self visited Rome and remained there until the episcopate of
Eleutherus. 17 In their times Justin 18 was especially prominent,
in the guise of a philosopher 19 preaching the word of God and
contending for the faith in his writings. And he wrote a work
against Marcion 20 and mentions that at the time he was
writing the man was alive and well known. He speaks thus : 21
'And there was a certain Marcion of Pontus, who even today
exists teaching his followers to believe that there is another
13 Nothing more Is known of this Marcus than is stated here.
14 Cf. above, 4.5.
15 Nothing more is known of Celadion than is stated here and in 4.19.
Here Eusebius says that his episcopate lasted for fourteen years.
16 Scholars place his accession between 154 and 156. According to
Eusebius, Anicetus reigned for eleven years, until 165 to 167. He was
succeeded by Soter.
17 The tradition that Hegesippus came to Rome during the reign of
Anicetus has no sound basis. He was already there, as he himself
attests; cf. below, 4.22.
18 Eusebius here properly places Justin in the period of Antoninus
Pius. He was born about 100 in Flavia Neapolis, and was converted to
Christianity about 130. As Eusebius indicates here, he was a great
teacher and defender of the Christian religion in Asia Minor and in
Rome, where he became a martyr about the year 165. Cf. Introduction
to Fathers of the Church 5.
19 The reference here is to the characteristic cloak or mantle of the
Greek philosophers, which Justin continued to wear even after he
became a Christian. We learn from 6.19 that Heradas, a friend of
Origen, did likewise.
20 This work is lost. We know it only from a brief fragment quoted by
Irenaeus (Adv. haer. 4.16.2) .
21 Justin, Apol. 1.26.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 227
God greater than the Creator; throughout the whole race of
men by the aid of demons 22 he has made many 23 blaspheme
and deny that the Maker of this universe is the Father of
Christ and confess that there is another God greater than He.
And all who have their origin from these, as we have said, 24
are called Christians, just as the common name of philosophy
is applied to philosophers although they have no doctrines in
common.' As he goes on, he says: 25 'And we have a book
against all the heresies 26 that have existed, and we shall give it
you, if you care to read it/
This same Justin labored most skillfully also against the
Greeks and addressed other discourses containing an apology
for our faith to the Emperor Antoninus, called Pius, and to
the Senate of the Romans, for he was spending his life at
Rome. In his Apology he makes himself clear, who and
whence he was, in the following words: 27
22 The general belief throughout the early Church was that heresy was
an infliction from without through the agency of demons, not a
development from within.
23 Strict Gnosticism appealed to philosophers and speculative thinkers
and not to the masses. Marcion and his teachings, however, were very
popular with all classes, and so were regarded as very dangerous by the
early Church.
24 Justin here refers to his own work (Apol. 1.7) . He tries to make the
point that not all who profess to be Christians are really so. The Chris-
tians of his time were accused of gross immoralities. He is inclined
to lay these at the door of heretics.
25 Justin, Apol. 1.26.
26 Eusebius does not mention this work in 4.18, where he lists Justin's
works. He undoubtedly never saw it, and it is not now extant.
27 Justin, Apol. 1.1.
228 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 12
To the Emperor Titus Aelius Hadrian Antoninus Pius,
Caesar Augustus, and to Verissimus 1 his son, the philosopher,
and to Lucius, 2 the philosopher, son by nature of the emperor
and by adoption of Pius, and to the holy Senate and to the
whole people of the Romans, in behalf of the people of every
race who are unjustly hated and abused, I, Justin, son of
Priscus, the son of Bacchius, 3 of Flavia Neapolis in Syrian
Palestine, myself being one of them, have composed this
address and entreaty. 5
And the same emperor, when entreated by other brethren
in Asia who were suffering from all manner of insults at the
hands of the local population, thought it fit to address the
following decree to the Common Council of Asia: 4
Chapter 13
'The Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus,
1 Marcus Aurelius, originally called Marcus Annius Verus. After he was
adopted by the Emperor Antoninus Pius, he was called Marcus Aelius
Verus Caesar, and because of his sincerity and truthfulness instead of
Verus, Verissimus.
2 Lucius Ceionius Commodus. of a father of the same name. Along with
Marcus, he was adopted as Caesar by Antoninus Pius. Later he became
Marcus* colleague in the Empire, and he then to his own name added
Verus which Marcus had formerly used. Thus he is generally known in
history as Lucius Verus.
3 We know nothing more about the father and grandfather of Justin.
4 One of the regular provincial councils established by Augustus. It
consisted of the civic deputies of the province, and was especially charged
with bringing the wishes of the people to the governor and through
him to the emperor. The emperors often addressed decrees to it, and
received it in audience whenever occasion required. Among other duties
il was responsible for the religious life of the province. Cf. Guirand,
Assemblies provinciates dans 1'Empire romain.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 229
Armenicus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribune for the fifteenth time,
Consul for the third time, to the Common Council of Asia,
greeting. 1 I know that the gods also take care that such men
do not escape notice, for they would be much more likely to
punish those who are unwilling to worship them than you.
These you throw into confusion, having confirmed them in the
opinion which they hold by accusing them of being atheists.
They might indeed, when accused, prefer apparent death
rather than life for the sake of their own god. Therefore,
they even come off victorious when they give up their lives
rather than obediently perform what you demand. With
regard to the earthquakes 2 that have taken place and are still
occurring, it is not improper to remind you that you despair
when they take place, and set up a comparison between our
situation and theirs. Now they become the more confident in
God, but you during the whole of time in apparent ignorance
neglect the other gods and the worship of the immortal, and
when the Christians worship him 3 you oppress and persecute
them unto death. But, regarding such men, many of the
provincial governors formerly wrote to our most divine
father, and he replied that they should not interfere with
them, unless they were clearly attempting some plot against
1 This edict, issued between March 7 and December 9, 16! A.D., is
usually regarded as spurious, although Harnack, Texte und Unter-
suchungen 13.4, tries to defend it as a genuine document with Christian
interpolations. It is to be found in cod. Paris. 450 after Justin's
Apology, and is there assigned to Antoninus Pius, while tribune for
the twenty -fourth time, namely, between Dec. 10, 160, and March 7,
161.
2 During the reign of Antoninus Pius many earthquakes occurred in
Asia Minor and in Rhodes. These, as well as other misfortunes, such
as famines, were the signal for renewing attacks on the Christians who
by the common people, were held responsible for these afflictions.
3 Antoninus Pius was an orthodox worshiper of the Roman gods. It is
difficult to think of him as calling the God of the Christians 'The
Immortal' as opposed to the gods of the Romans,
230 EUSEBIUS
the government 4 of the Romans. And many have com-
municated with me about such men, and I, too, have replied
to them in accord with my father's opinion. But, if anyone
should persist in taking action against any of such persons,
on the ground that he is so, let him who is being accused
be freed of the charge, even if it is apparent that he is such,
but the accuser will be liable to penalty. 5 Published at
Ephesus in the Common Council of Asia.'
To these events that so happened Melito, 6 the well-known
bishop of the Church at Sardis, gives additional testimony, 7 as
is clear from what he says in the Apology which he composed
to the Emperor Verus in behalf of our doctrine.
Chapter 14
In the time of the emperors mentioned above, while
Anicetus 1 was directing the Church of the Romans, Irenaeus
relates that Polycarp, 2 who was still alive, came to Rome and
4 The reference here is to the rescript apparently addressed by Hadrian
to Minucius Fundanus; cf. above, 4.9.
5 This even goes further than Constantine. Not only will the accused be
free, but the accuser will be punished; cf. 4.9.
6 On Melito and his works, cf. below, 4.26.
7 This conclusion is drawn apparently from the passage of Melito's
Apology quoted in 4.26, in which he mentions edicts of Antoninus Pius.
These edicts, according to Melito, were intended to continue the
policies of Trajan in dealing with Christians and to prevent the
introduction of any new procedures of a violent kind. They were
not edicts of toleration. It seems that if Melito had really known of
any favorable edict such as this by Antoninus, he would have mentioned
it.
1 Cf. above, 4.11. The period of his bishopric was probably from 154 to
165.
2 St. Polycarp (69-155) is known to us chiefly from the following sources:
the Epistles of St. Ignatius; St Polycarp's own Epistle to the Philip-
pians; several passages in St. Irenaeus; and the Letter of the
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 231
entered upon a conference with Anicetus on some problem
regarding the day of the Passover. 3 And the same writer
presents another account of Polycarp which I must add to
what has been said about him. It reads as follows: 4
From the Third Book of Irenaeus against Heresies
'And Polycarp also was not only instructed by Apostles and
lived with many of those who had seen the Lord, but was
also appointed by Apostles in Asia bishop in the Church at
Smyrna. And him also did we see in our early youth, for he
lived a long time and in advanced old age he departed this
life gloriously and most illustriously by suffering martyrdom. 5
He always taught those things which he had learned from the
Apostles, and which the Church handed down, and which
Smyrnaeans describing the martyrdom of St. Polycarp. Eusebius takes
his account entirely from Irenaeus and from the epistle of the Church
of Smyrna, which he quotes in 4.15. Polycarp was the teacher of
Irenaeus. He was celebrated not because of his ability and scholarship,
but because he lived to a very old age and for many years was among
the very few who knew the first generation of Christians. He was a
personal disciple of John the Aposde, and was acquainted with others
who knew the Lord. There is no doubt about his being Bishop of
Smyrna. The only known writing of Polycarp is his letter to the
Philippians, which is still extant and in which his character is
clearly revealed. He was a very pious and simple Christian with an
intense personal love for the Lord, but not at all fanatical. He had
an intense horror of heretics, who, he thought, were corrupting the
teachings of Christ, yet he seems to have had neither the taste nor the
liking to write in refutation of these critics. Although he does not
compare with St. Ignatius and others for industry and originality, he
was deeply venerated for his deep piety, his connection with John and
other disciples of the Lord. His glorious martyrdom also contributed to
his fame. Cf. Cath. Encycl. and Smith and Wace's Diet, of Christ. Biog.
3 Regarding the Paschal controversies, cf. below, 5.1. According to 5.24,
Polycarp and Anicetus did not reach an agreement on the question but
remained good friends. Polycarp celebrated Mass in Rome at the
request of Anicetus.
4 Iren. 3.3.4.
5 For the details of his martyrdom, cf. below, 4.15.
232 EUSEBIUS
alone are true. 6 To this all the churches in Asia testify, as
well as the successors 7 of Polycarp down to our own times,
he being far more trustworthy and a more reliable witness
of the truth than Valentinus and Marcion and the others who
have erroneous views. And when he dwelt in Rome in the
time of Anicetus, he turned many away from the above-
mentioned heretics into the Church of God, proclaiming that
this one and only truth which has been passed on by the
Church he had received from the Apostles. And there are
those who heard from him that John the disciple of the
Lord went in Ephesus to bathe and, when he saw Cerinthus
within, rushed out of the bath house without having bathed,
saying: "Let us flee lest even the bath house cave in, for
Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is within. 358 And Polycarp him-
self, when Marcion once met him 9 and said: "Recognize us,"
replied: "I do recognize you; I recognize the first-bora of
Satan." Such care did the Apostles and their disciples take
so as not to enter any conversation with any one of those who
would mutilate the truth, as Paul also said: "A man that is
a heretic, after the first and second admonition, avoid:
knowing that he, that is such an one, is subverted, and
sinneth, being condemned by his own judgment." 10 There
6 Note the emphasis that Irenaeus places on good tradition for deter-
mining sound doctrine. Cf. below, 4.21.
7 Nothing is known of these.
8 Cf. above, 3.28, where the same story is told.
9 Marcion went to Rome some time in 135, but it is not known how
long he stayed there. He was regarded by the ancient Fathers as the
most dangerous of all the heretics, without doubt because of his
success in winning followers from all classes. The bitterness of Poly-
carp's words indicates the abhorrence held for him. Marcion differs
sharply from the real Gnostics in his attitude toward the Church.
Whereas the Gnostics held aloof from the Church out of a feeling
of superiority and pride, Marcion tried his best to become friendly
with her that he might introduce his 'reforms' among her followers.
10 Titus 3.10,11.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY! BOOK FOUR 233
is also a very powerful epistle 11 of Poly carp's written to the
Philippians, from which those who wish and care for their
own salvation can learn both the character of his faith and
the preaching of the truth.'
So much says Irenaeus. Furthermore, Polycarp in the
above-mentioned writing of his to the Philippians, which is still
in circulation, has made use of some testimonies from the first
Epistle to Peter. 12
Antoninus, called Pius, after completing the twenty-second
year of his reign/ 3 was succeeded by Marcus Aurelius Verus,
also called Antoninus, his son, together with his brother
Lucius.
Chapter 15
At this time, 1 when the greatest persecutions were again
disturbing Asia, Polycarp attained perfection by martyrdom,
and I think it most necessary to place within the record of
this history the account of his death which is still being
circulated in writing. The document professes to be from the
church over which he himself presided to the parishes of the
11 Polycarp's Epistle to the Philippians is the only work of his which
is still extant. For an English version, cf. The Apostolic Fathers, Vol.
1 of this series. The date of composition is difficult to determine. It
could be as late as 135 A.D. Its authenticity has been disputed
strongly, but there seems to be no good ground for doubting it,
especially since the genuineness of the epistles of Ignatius with which
it is closely connected is no longer seriously questioned.
12 Polycarp makes abundant use of the First Epistle of Peter, although
he never mentions Peter as its author. The references are: 1.3=1 Pet.
1.8; 2.1 = 1 Pet. 1.13, 21; 2.2.= 1 Pet. 3.9; 5.3=] Pet. 2.11; 7.2=1 Pet.
4.7; 8.1 = lPet. 2.24.22; 10.2=1 Pet. 2.12.
13 Antoninus Pius reigned from July 2, 138, to March 7, 161. Marcus
Aurelius and Lucius were two adopted sons.
1 This is undoubtedly a mistake. Polycarp suffered martyrdom in Smyrna
during the reign of Antoninus Pius, in 156, Cf. Studio. Biblia, 2.105ff.
234 EUSEBIUS
region, describing what befell him in the following words: 2
The Church of God which resides in Smyrna to the Church of
God which resides in Philomelium, 3 and to all the parishes o
the Holy Catholic Church 4 in every place; mercy and peace
and love of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ be
multiplied. We have written to you, brethren, of what hap-
pened to those who suffered martyrdom and of the blessed
Polycarp,, who put an end to the persecution by sealing it,
as it were, by his martyrdom. 3
Before the narrative about Polycarp, they continue the
story in these words, 5 about what happened to the other
martyrs,, describing the great firmness which they showed in
the face of pains. For they say that those who were standing
around were amazed when they saw them at one time being
lacerated by scourges even to the innermost veins and arteries,
so that the parts hidden within the recesses of their bodies,
their entrails and organs, were exposed to view; at another
time being laid upon seashells and some sharp points, and
going through every form of punishment and torture and
finally being given over to wild beasts for food. And they
relate that the most noble Germanicus 6 especially distin-
guished himself, overcoming with the grace of God the
2 Martyrdom of Polycarp I.
3 An important city in Phrygia Paroreios, not far from Pisidian
Antioch.
4 The word 'catholic,' i.e., universal, occurs in the Greek classics, as in
Aristotle and Polybms, and was freely used by trie earlier Christian
writers in what may be called its primitive and non-ecclesiastical sense.
The combination, 'the Catholic Church/ appears for the first time in
the letter of St. Ignatius to the Smynaeans (c, 110) . From this time on,
the technical and ecclesiastical meaning of the word appears with in-
creasing frequency both in the East and the West. By the beginning of
the fourth century it has essentially supplanted the primitive and more
general meaning.
5 Mart. Polyc. 2-7.
6 Nothing further is known of him.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 235
naturally Implanted cowardice of the body in the face of
death. And when, indeed, the proconsul 7 wished to dissuade
him and urged his youth and supplicated him, because he
was very young and in the flower of youth, to have pity on
himself, he did not hesitate but eagerly dragged the beast to
himself, all but forcing and provoking him that he might
the sooner be freed of their unjust and wicked life. At this
man's glorious death the entire multitude, admiring the God-
loving martyr for his bravery and the courage of the whole
race of Christians, began to shout together, 'Kill the atheists! 8
Look for Polycarp. 5 And when a very great commotion now
arose over the shouting, a certain native of Phrygia, Quintus 9
by name, lately arrived from Phrygia, becoming weakened
in face of the wild beasts and the threats besides, was over-
come in mind and finally abandoned his salvation. The words
of the above-mentioned document showed that he too hastily,
but not with a religious spirit, had rushed to the tribunal
with others, and so, when convicted, gave clear proof to all
that such men should not become daring recklessly and with-
out a religious spirit. Thus did the affairs of these men turn
out. But the most admirable Polycarp, when he first heard
of these things, remained firm, keeping his mind steadfast and
unmoved, and he wished to stay there in the city. But, when
persuaded by those about him who begged and entreated him
to withdraw, he went forth to a farm not very far from the
city and stayed there with a few friends, by night and by day
doing nothing but importuning the Lord with prayers, and
through them begging and beseeching peace for the churches
throughout the world, for this was his unfailing custom. And
7 Statius Quadratus, as appears from the latter part of this epistle, a
passage which Eusebius does not quote.
8 Cf. Justin Martyr, ApoL 1.6; Tertullian, Apol 10; and others. Cf. also
above, 4.7.
9 Nothing further is known of him.
236 EUSEBIUS
now as he prayed, in a vision three days before his capture,
he saw at night the pillow under his head suddenly seized by
flame and so destroyed, and thereupon, when awakened, all
but predicted the future and clearly announced that it was
necessary for him to depart this life in fire for Christ's sake.
So, when those who were seeking him were pressing on with
all zeal, they say that, again being constrained by his affection
and love of the brethren, he went over to another farm. Then,
not very much later, his pursuers came up and seized two of
the slaves there, and one of these they tortured and by him
were led to Polycarp's abode, and coming up late in the
evening they discovered him lying in an upper chamber,
whence he could have gone over to another house but would
not, saying: The will of the Lord be done. 510 And when he
learned that they were at hand, as the story goes, he went
down and conversed with them easily with a very bright and
gentle countenance, so that those who did not know him
before seemed to behold even a miracle, as they looked upon
his advanced age and his gravity and steadfastness of manner,
and they marveled that there should be so much effort for the
capture of an old man of such character. He did not delay,
but immediately ordered that a table be set for them; then
he invited them to partake of a bountiful meal, and asked
them for an hour that he might pray undisturbed. When they
had given permission, he arose and prayed, being full of the
grace of the Lord, so that those who were present were
amazed as they heard him pray, and many of them already
repented that such a venerable and godlike man was about to
be killed.
Besides this, the document regarding him goes on with the
rest of the account literally as follows: 11 'And when at last
10 Acts 21.14.
11 Mart. Polyc. 8-19, but Eusebius has abbreviated the passage.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 237
he finished his prayer, after remembering all who had ever
met up with him, both small and great, famous and obscure,
and the whole Catholic Church throughout the world, since
the time had come for departure, they set him upon an ass and
brought him into the city, it being a great Sabbath. 12 And the
captain of the police, Herod, and his father Nicetes, 13 met him,
and, after removing him into their carriage, they sat by his
side and tried to persuade him, saying: "For what harm is it
to say, 'Lord Caesar,' and to offer sacrifice, and to be saved? 55
At first he did not answer, but, when they persisted, he said:
"I do not intend to do what you advise me." And having
failed to persuade him, they uttered terrible words and turned
him out in such a hurry that as he got down from the carriage
he scraped his skin. But without turning around, as if he had
suffered nothing, he proceeded promptly and rapidly, and
was led to the stadium. And while the uproar in the stadium
was so great that this was not heard by many, a voice from
heaven did come to Polycarp as he entered the stadium: 14
"Be strong, Polycarp, and play the man." And no one saw
him who spoke, but many of our people heard the voice. So
when he was brought forward, there was a great uproar from
those who heard that Polycarp had been arrested. Then,
finally, when he approached, the proconsul asked if he was
Polycarp, and when he admitted it, he tried to persuade him
to deny, saying: "Have regard for your age," and other things
after these, which they are accustomed to say: "Swear by the
genius of Caesar, repent, say: 'Away with the atheists.' " And
when the governor pressed him and said: "Swear, and I shall
release you: revile Christ/' Polycarp said: "For eighty-six
12 The traditional date of the martyrdom of Polycarp was February 23.
According to this, 'a great* Sabbath could be the feast of Purim or the
Sabbath after the Passover.
13 Nothing further is known of these men.
14 Cf. Jos. 1.9; Acts 9.7.
238 EUSEBIUS
years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong, and
how can I blaspheme my King who saved me?" And when
he again persisted and said: "Swear by the genius 15 of
Caesar," he said, "If you vainly suppose that I shall swear by
the genius of Caesar, as you say, pretending not to know who
I am, hear openly: I am a Christian. And if you wish to learn
the doctrine of Christianity, name the day and listen. 35 The
proconsul said: "Persuade the people." And Polycarp said: 16
"You I had thought worthy of discussion, for we have been
taught to render honor, as is proper, to princes and authorities
appointed by God, if it harms us not; but as for those, I do
not think it worthy that defense be made to them." 17 And
the proconsul said: "I have wild beasts; I shall throw you to
them unless you repent." And he said: "Call them, for
repentance from better to worse must not be made by us, but
it is noble to turn from wickedness to righteousness." And he
again said to him : "I shall cause you to be consumed by fire,
if you look down upon wild beasts, unless you repent."
Polycarp said: "You threaten a fire that burns for a time and
after a little is extinguished, for you do not know the fire
of the judgment to come and of eternal punishment that is
reserved for the wicked. But, why do you delay? Carry out
what you wish." And saying these and many other things, he
was filled with courage and joy, and his face was suffused
with grace, so that he did not fall, although disturbed by
15 This form of oath was devised under Julius Caesar, and was
continued under his successors. The Christians regarded the 'genius*
of the emperor as a false god and so repudiated the oath as a form
of idolatry. Thus, pagan magistrates used this oath very commonly as
a test during periods of persecution. Cf. Tertullian, Apol. 32; Origen,
Contra Cels. 8.65; and many others.
16 Cf. Rom. 13-lff.; 1 Pet. 2.13ff.
17 The proconsul made a concession and would have been glad to have
Polycarp quiet the multitude, but did not wish to take the chance of
possible failure and preferred to maintain his dignity and not to
appear to ask for mercy.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 239
what was being said to him ; on the other hand, the proconsul
was amazed and sent the herald to announce in the midst of
the stadium "Polycarp has confessed three times that he is a
Christian." When this was said by the herald, the entire
multitude of heathens and Jews 18 who inhabited Smyrna
cried out with unrestrained wrath and with a great shout:
"This man is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians,
the overthrower of our gods, the one who teaches many not
to sacrifice and not to worship." While saying this, they
shouted and asked Philip the Asiarch 19 to let the lion loose on
Polycarp. But he said that it was not lawful for him to do so,
since he had closed the games. Then they decided with one
accord to cry out that Polycarp should be burned alive. For the
vision which appeared to him when praying, on seeing his pil-
low burn, must be fulfilled, and he turned to the faithful with
him and said prophetically: "I must be burned alive." Now,
these things happened with such great speed, quicker than it
takes to tell, and the crowds suddenly brought together from
the shops and the baths wood and faggots, the Jews being
especially zealous, as is their wont, in lending a hand at this.
When the fire was made ready, he took off all his outer
garments and loosened his girdle and he tried also to take off
his shoes, although he had never done this before, because
each one of the faithful was always eager which of them might
touch his skin first; in every circumstance, because of his good
life, even before his grey hairs came, he had been treated with
great respect. The material made ready for the fire now was
quickly placed about him, and when they were about to nail
18 The Jews seem very often to have been the leading spirits in the per-
secution of Christians. Cf. 2.25; 5.16; also, Tertullian, Scorp. 10.
19 An Asiarch was the head of the confederation of the leading cities of
the province ot Asia. By virtue of this office he was the 'chief priest"
of Asia, and 'president of the games.' Philip the Asiarch was a Trallian,
according to a statement toward the end of the epistle, not quoted by
Eusebius,
240 EUSEBIUS
him to the stake as well, he said: "Leave me thus, for He
who grants me to endure the fire will also grant that I remain
in it unmoved, without the security that will result from
your nails." They did not nail him, but they bound him. He
put his hands behind him and he was bound like a noble ram
being offered out of a great flock as a burnt offering accept-
able to God Almightly, 20 and he said: "O Father, of thy
beloved and blessed Child, Jesus Christ, through whom we
have received knowledge about Thee, the God of angels
and powers and of all creation and of the entire race of the
righteous who live in Thy presence, I bless Thee because
Thou has deemed me worthy of this day and hour, to receive
a portion in the number of the martyrs, in the cup of Thy
Christ, unto resurrection of eternal life, 21 both of soul and of
body, in the immortality of the Holy Spirit. Among these may
I be received in Thy presence today in a rich and acceptable
sacrifice, just as Thou, the God who does not lie and is truth,
has made ready and made clear and has fulfilled. Therefore
do I also praise Thee for all things, I bless Thee, I glorify
Thee through the everlasting high priest, Jesus Christ, Thy
beloved Child, through whom be glory to Thee with Him in
the Holy Spirit, both now and for the ages to come, Amen."
And after he had offered up his Amen and had finished his
prayer, the men in charge of the fire lit the fire, and when a
great flame blazed forth we saw a marvel, to whom it was
granted to see, who also have been preserved to relate the
events to the others. The fire gave the appearance of a room,
like the sail of a vessel being filled with wine, and it made a
wall about the body of the martyr, and it was in the middle of
it not like burning flesh but like gold and silver being refined
20 Cf. Wisd. 3.6.
21 Cf. John 5.29.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 241
in a furnace, 22 for we perceived such a fragrant odor as of
the fumes of frankincense or of some other of the precious
spices. Then, at last, when the lawless men saw that the body
could not be consumed by the fire, they ordered an execu-
tioner 23 to approach and plunge a sword in him, and when he
had done this a flood of blood came forth so that the fire was
extinguished and the entire throng wondered if there was
any such difference between the unbelievers and the elect. And
of the elect this man was indeed one, the most wonderful
teacher of our time, apostolic and prophetic, who was bishop
of the Catholic Church in Smyrna. For every word which he
uttered from his mouth both was fulfilled and will be fulfilled.
'But the jealous and envious evil one who opposes the race of
the righteous, on seeing the greatness of his martyrdom, and his
blameless life from the beginning, and his being crowned by
the crown of immortality, and his carrying off the unspeakable
price, took care that not even his poor would be received by
us, although many desired to do so, and to have fellowship
with his holy flesh. So some secretly suggested to Nicetes, the
father of Herod, and the brother of Alee, that he ask the
governor not to give up his body, "lest," he said, "giving up
the crucified one, they begin worship of this man." 24 And they
said this at the secret suggestion and insistence of the Jews,
who also watched as we were about to take him from the fire,
not knowing that we shall never be able either to abandon
Christ, who suffered for the salvation of those who are saved
in the whole world, or to worship any other. For we worship
this one who is the Son of God, but the martyrs we love rightly
as disciples and imitators of the Lord because of their unsur-
22 Cf. Wisd. 3.6.
23 It was the regular duty of the executioner (confector) to deal the
death blow to such beasts as had not succumbed in the arena.
24 Note how highly the early Christians venerated the martyrs.
242 EUSEBIUS
passable affection for their own King and Teacher, and may
it be that we become their companions and fellow disciples.
So, when the centurion saw the contentiousness that had
arisen from the Jews, he placed him in the midst, as was their
custom, and burned him, and so we later gathered up his
bones that were more valuable than precious stones and more
to be esteemed than gold, and we placed them where it was
suitable. There, as it is possible, the Lord will permit us to
come together in gladness and in joy to celebrate the birthday
of his martyrdom 25 for the memory of those who have already
contested and for the training and preparation of those who
shall do likewise. Such are the experiences that befell the
blessed Polycarp, who suffered martyrdom with those from
Philadelphia, the twelfth martyr in Smyrna, who alone is
especially remembered by all, so that he is spoken of repeatedly
in every place, even by the heathen.*
Of such an end was the life of the marvelous and apostolic
Polycarp deemed worthy, as the brethren of- the church at
Smyrna have recorded the story in their epistle which we have
quoted. In the same document about him, other martyrdoms
which took place in Smyrna at the same time as the mar-
tyrdom of Polycarp are appended, and among these Met-
rodorus, who seems to have been a presbyter of the error of
Marcion, was destroyed by being given over to fire. Moreover,
a famous martyr of those at that time was Pionius. The
document concerning him includes his successive confessions
and his boldness of speech and his apologies for the faith in
the presence of the people and the rulers and his instructive
addresses and also his greetings to those who succumbed to
temptation during the persecution and the consolations which
25 Probably the earliest reference to the annual celebration of the day
of a martyr's death, a practice which became common very early
in the history of the Church. Cf. also, Tertullian, De corona 3
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 243
he applied to the brethren who visited him during his impris-
onment, and, in addition to these, the tortures which he
endured, and also the pains and nailings and his firmness in
the fire and, after all his marvelous deeds, his death. We
shall refer those who are interested to this document which is
included among the martyrdoms of the ancients we have
collected. And, next, there are in circulation memoirs of
others who were martyred in the city of Pergamon in Asia:
Carpus and Papylas and a woman, Agathonice, who after
very many and illustrious confessions gloriously met death.
Chapter 16
In the time 1 of these martyrs also, Justin, whom we men-
tioned a little above, 2 addressed a second book in behalf of
our doctrines to the rulers already named and was adorned
with divine martyrdom 3 when a philosopher, Crescens 4 (this
1 During the reign of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, 161-169.
2 In 4.11.
3 Tradition is unanimous in saying that Justin died a martyr. Irenaeus
in Adv. haer. 1.28.1 is the first to mention it, which he does as if it
were something well known. It occurred about the year 165. We
have an account of his martyrdom (Acta SS., April, II, 104-19; Otto,
Corpus Apologetarum [Jena 1879] III 266-78; PG 6.1565-72), which,
though two or more centuries later, seems to be authentic. The end of
the examination is as follows: 'The Prefect Rusticus says: Approach and
sacrifice, all of you, to the gods. Justin says: No one in his right mind
gives up piety for impiety. The Prefect Rusticus says: If you do not
obey, you will be tortured without mercy. Justin replies: That is our
desire, to be tortured for our Lord, Jesus Christ, and so to be saved, for
that will give us salvation and firm confidence at the more terrible
universal tribunal of our Lord and Saviour, And all the martyrs said:
Do as you wish, for we are Christians, and we do not sacrifice to idols.
The Prefect Rusticus read the sentence: Those who do not wish to
sacrifice to the gods and to obey the emperor will be scourged and
beheaded according to the laws. The holy martyrs glorifying God
betook themselves to the customary place, where they were beheaded
and consumated their martyrdom confessing the Saviour/
244 EUSEBIUS
man emulated the life and manners characterized by the
name of cynic), concocted the plot against him, for Justin
often defeated him in debate in the presence of listeners, and
finally by his martyrdom he won the crown of victory for the
truth which he preached.
This, too, he himself, the supreme philosopher of truth, in
the above-mentioned Apology sets forth in advance, just as
clearly as if, indeed, it were just about to happen to him, in
the following words: 5 'So I, too, expect to be plotted against
by someone of those named and to be shaken upon the rack,
or even by Crescens who loves not wisdom but boasting, for it
is not right to call the man a philosopher, who bears public
testimony about what he does not know, testifying that the
Christians are atheistic and impious, 6 and doing this for the
favor and pleasure of the many who have been deceived. For,
if without reading the teachings of Christ he controverts us^
he is completely depraved and much worse than the uned-
ucated, who often avoid discussing and bearing false testimony
about matters of which they are ignorant; and if he has read
them and does not grasp the greatness in them or, under-
standing them, he does this to avoid suspicion of being in
agreement, he is far more ignoble and entirely depraved, for
he is subject to ignorant and unreasonable opinion and fear.
I would have you know that, when I proposed and asked him
some such questions, I discovered and proved that he truly
knows nothing, 7 and to show that I speak the truth, if the
disputations have not been brought to your attention', I am
ready even in your presence to share the questions again, and
this indeed would be a task for an emperor. But, if my
4 A cynic philosopher. All that we know about him comes from
Justm and Tatian, who paint him in the blackest colors. Eusebius
seems here to be drawing on Tatian. J^coius
5 Justin, Apol. 2.3; Chron. Pasch. 484.10-483.7
7 ccrcrs^S 1151 the christians f * sec nd
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 245
questions and his answers are known to you, it is clear to you
that he knows nothing of our affairs; or, if he knows, but
dares not speak because of his listeners, as I said before, the
man is proved not a lover of wisdom but a lover of reputation,
who does not even respect the saying of Socrates, 8 although it
is worthy of affection.'
These things, then, does Justin say. And that, according
to his prophecy, he was caught by Crescens and met his death,
Tatian, 9 a man who early in his life became wise in the
learning of the Greeks and acquired no small reputation in
them and left a great many monuments of himself in his
writings, narrates in the following words in his work against
the Greeks : 'And the most wonderful Justin rightly exclaimed
that the aforesaid persons were like robbers.' 10 Then, saying
something about the philosophers, he continues as follows:
'Now Crescens, who lurked in the great city, surpassed all in
his unnatural lust, and was completely devoted to the love of
money. He who counseled to despise death so feared death
himself that he intrigued to overcome even Justin by death,
8 The saying of Socrates which Justin quotes at this point and Eusebius
omits is from Plato's Republic Book 10. 595C and reads: "a man must
be honored before the truth/ Perhaps Eusebius thought that it was
too well known to need quoting.
9 Cf. Tatian, p. 36, 26. Tatian was a second-century apologist about
whom nothing Is known with certainty except that he was born in
Assyria and was trained in Greek philosophy. Repelled by the im-
morality of paganism and attracted by the holiness of the Christian
religion and the sublime and simple nature of the Scriptures, he
became a Christian about 150. He joined the Christian community in
Rome and became a 'hearer' of Justin. As long as Justin lived, Tatian
remained orthodox. In about 172, however, he became a Gnostic of
the Encratite sect, and returned to the Orient. Only two of his works
are extant. His Oratio ad Graecos is an apology for Christianity, very
bitter and denunciatory, expressing the greatest contempt for Greek
philosophy and manners. The other extant work, the Diatasseron, is a
harmony of the four Gospels containing a continuous narrative of the
principal events in the life of the Lord. Several other works written
by Tatian are lost.
10 Tatian, p. 20, 15-17.
246 EUSEBIUS
as if It were a great evil, because Justin by preaching the
truth proved the philosophers to be gluttons and imposters.' 11
Such was the cause of the martyrdom of Justin.
Chapter 17
The same man recalls in his first 1 Apology others who suf-
fered martyrdom before his own contest, relating these events
in a manner profitable to our subject, and he writes as
follows: 2 'A certain woman lived with a dissolute husband,
she herself also at first being dissolute. But when she became
acquainted with the teachings of Christ, she was chastened,
and she tried likewise to chasten her husband, repeating the
teachings and announcing the punishment in eternal fire that
will come to those who do not live soberly and with right
reason. But he continued in the same dissoluteness and by his
actions estranged his wife; for his wife thought it wicked to
consort with a husband who tried means of pleasure in every
way contrary to the law of nature and to righteousness, and
she wished to be separated from the marriage. And when she
was importuned by her relatives to continue to remain with
him, counseling that her husband would some day come upon
hope of change, she forced herself to remain. But when this
woman's husband went to Alexandria, he was reported as
acting worse, and, in order not to become a party to his
injustices and impieties while remaining in wedlock and
sharing in his board and bed, she gave him what among you
is called a bill of divorce and was separated. But although her
II Tatian, p. 21, 1-6.
1 Eusebius knew the two Apologies of Justin as one. What he refers to
here as the first is really the second Apology.
2 Justin, Apol. 2,2.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 247
gentlemanly husband should have rejoiced that she had given
up those acts which she had recklessly committed with
servants and hirelings, rejoicing in drunkenness and every evil,
and wished him to cease doing the same things, since she had
separated from him against his wish, he brought a charge
against her, declaring her to be a Christian. She filed a
petition with you, the emperor, requesting that she be per-
mitted to settle her affairs first and then, after the settlement
of her affairs, to make her defense against the accusation s
and this you granted. But he who had once been her husband,
being no longer able to prosecute her, in the following way
turned against a certain Ptolemy, 3 who had been her teacher
in Christian doctrines and whom Urbicius had punished. He
persuaded a centurion, who was a friend of his, to cast Ptolemy
into prison, and to seize and ask Mm this one thing alone,
whether he was a Christian. And when Ptolemy, who was
truth-loving and not of deceitful or false disposition, confessed
that he was a Christian, the centurion had him put in chains
and punished him for a long time in jail. Finally, when the
man was led before Urbicius, he was asked this very question
alone, whether he was a Christian ; and again, being conscious
of his blessings through Christ's teaching, he confessed his
schooling in divine virtue. For, he who denies at all either is
a denier because he despises the fact or avoids confession
because he knows that he is unworthy and alien to the fact,
neither of which is characteristic of a true Christian. When
Urbicius ordered him to be led off to punishment, a certain
Lucius, 4 himself also being a Christian, on seeing the verdict
which had been made so unreasonably, said to Urbicius:
"What is the reason for your having punished this man, who
-3 All that is known of this Ptolemy is contained in this passage. His
martyrdom in all probability took place as early as 152.
4 Nothing further is known of him.
248 EUSEBIUS
has not been convicted of being either an adulterer, or a
fomicator, or a murderer, or a thief, or a robber, or of
having committed any wrong at all, but of having confessed
that he bears the name of Christian? You do not judge,
Urbicius, in a manner befitting the Emperor Pius or the
philosopher-son 5 of Caesar or the sacred Senate." And without
making any other reply, he said to Lucius: "You, too, seem to
me to be such a one," and, when Lucius said: "Certainly,"
he ordered him also to be led away to punishment. Lucius
granted that he was grateful, for he added that he was being
removed from such wicked rulers and was going to the good
Father and King, God. And when a third man came for-
ward, he, too, was condemned to be punished.' To this Justin
naturally and fittingly adds those words of his which have
been quoted above, 8 saying: % too, then expect to be plotted
against by someone of those names,' etc. 7
Chapter 18
This Justin has left us a great many records from an
intellect trained and practiced in theology, which are filled
with every kind of helpful information, to which we shall refer
the studious, pointing out those which have advantageously
come to our knowledge. 1 He has a certain treatise 2 addressed
5 Marcus Aurelius,
6 Cf. above, 4.16.
7 Justin, Apol. 2.3. These words directly follow the long passage quoted
just above.
1 Eusebius goes on to mention only such works of Justin which he
himself has seen, which may account for his omission of the work
against Marcion, mentioned above, 4.11.
2 This is the genuine Apology of Justin, now extant as two, although
originally one and so known to Eusebius. Eusebius in his Chronicle
says that it was written in 141, but most critics would place it ten
or more years later, before the death of Antoninus Pius (161) .
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 249
to Antoninus, sumamed Pius, and to his sons and to the
Senate of the Romans in behalf of our doctrines; another,
including a second Apology* for our faith, which he composed
to the successor and namesake of the above-mentioned
emperor, Antoninus Veras, the affairs of whose time we are
at the present moment discussing; and another Against the
Greeks* in which, after a long-drawn-out discussion about
most of the questions at issue between us and the philosophers
of the Greeks, he treats of the nature of demons, which there
is no urgency to quote for the present. And still another work
of his against the Greeks has come to us, which he entitled
A Refutation, and besides these another On the Sovereignty
of God* which he compiled not only from our own Scriptures
but also from the books of the Greek. Besides these, there is a
work entitled Psaltes* and another disputation On the Soul,
in which, after propounding various questions on the problem
under discussion, he quotes the opinions of the Greek philos-
ophers, against which he promises to make a refutation and to
quote his own opinion in another work. He also composed a
dialogue against the Jews 7 which he held in the city of
3 As in 4.16, Eusebius here ascribes to Justin a second Apology, from
which he never quotes. Tradition has always spoken of two Apologies
as having been written by Justin. The existing two, however, were
known to Eusebius as one, and the genuine second has disappeared
This seems to have taken place after the eleventh century, when his
one genuine Apology was divided into two by later copyists. Thus we
still apparently have two Apologies by Justin.
4 The two works Against the Greeks mentioned probably were truly
those of Justin. The two existing works of this name are the
productions of later writers and not to be identified with those
indicated by Eusebius.
5 No longer extant. The existing work of the same name ascribed to
Justin is a writing by a later author.
6 This and the following works were genuine works of Justin, but they
have entirely disappeared.
7 Genuine and extant today, written during the reign of Antoninus Pius
(137-161) . Of Trypho we know only what we gather from the
dialogue itself.
250 EUSEBIUS
Epliesus with Trypho, a most distinguished Jew of the time. 8
In this he shows how divine grace stimulated him to the word
of the faith, what zeal he formerly applied to philosophical
studies, and how deep and ardent an investigation he had
made of the truth. In the same work he records about the
Jews how they organized a plot against the teaching of Christ,
pressing these very points against Trypho : 'Not only have you
not repented of the evil which he did, but you selected picked
men at that time and sent them out from Jerusalem into the
whole world, saying that an atheistic sect of Christians had
appeared and making the same charges against us that all
those who are ignorant of us make, so that from the first you
are responsible for the unrighteousness not only to yourselves
but also to absolutely all other men.' 9
And he writes also 10 that even down to his time prophetic
gifts shone in the Church, and he mentions (Justin, Dial. 81 )
the Apocalypse of John, saying clearly that it belongs to the
Apostle; 11 and he mentions certain words of the prophets
making a charge to Trypho that Jews had cut them out of
Scripture, A great many other works of his are still circu-
lation among many brethren, 12 and the discourses of the man
were thought to be so worthy of study even to the ancients
that Irenaeus quotes his words, for example, in the fourth
book Against Heresies, using these very words: 'And well
does Justin say in his work against Marcion that he would
not have believed the Lord himself had he preached another
8 Justin, Dial. 2-8.
9 Ibid. 17.
10 Ibid. 82.
11 Ibid. 71-73.
12 Except for the seven works mentioned by Eusebius, the work Against
Marcion quoted by Irenaeus just below, and the Syntagma contra
omnes haer., all the extant and non-extant works attributed to Justin
are probably spurious.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 251
God than the Creator. 513 And In Book 5 of the same work he
says this in the following words: 14 'And well did Justin say
that before the coming of the Lord Satan did not dare to
blaspheme God, 15 for he did not yet know his condemnation.'
These words I have felt obliged to say to stimulate the
studious to investigate the arguments of this man zealously.
So much, then, about this man.
Chapter 19
Now, in the eighth year 1 of the above-mentioned reign,
Soter 2 succeeded Anicetus as Bishop of Rome, who had com-
pleted eleven years in all. But when Celadion had presided
over the diocese of Alexandria for fourteen years, Agrippinus 3
took up the succession.
Chapter 20
In the church of the Antiochians, Theophilus 1 was known
as the sixth from the Apostles, for Cornelius 2 was the fourth
13 Iren. 5.6.2.
14 Iren. 5.26.2. Irenaeus does not mention the name of the work of Justin
which he is quoting here. The sense of the quotation, however, seems
to point to the same work, Against Marcion.
15 The same thought is expressed by Epiphanius in Haer. 39.9.
1 In 168.
2 Cf. 4.11 for these names.
3 All that is known of him is told here and in 5.9, where Eusebius states
that he held office for twelve years. St. Jerome (Chron.) agrees with
this, but places his accession in the sixth year of Marcus Aurelius.
1 Cf. below, 4.24 n.
2 We know nothing about the careers of Cornelius and Eros. Eusebius
(Chron.) places the accession of Cornelius in the twelfth year of
Trajan (128) , and the accession of Eros, his successor, in the fifth year
of Antoninus Pius (142) .
252 EUSEBIUS
of these, having been established after Hero, 3 and after him,
in fifth place, Eros succeeded to the episcopacy.
Chapter 21
There flourished in these times in the Church,, Hegesippus, 1
whom we know from what has preceded, and Dionysius,
Bishop of the Corinthians, and Pinytus, another bishop in
Crete, and besides these, Philip and Apolinarius and Melito
and Musanus and Modestus and above all Irenaeus, 2 from
3 Cf. above, 3.36.
1 Hegesippus has already been mentioned in 2.23; 3.11, 16,20,32; 4.8. On
his writings, cf. 4.22. On the other names given here, cf. 4.23-28.
2 Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, was born in Proconsular Asia or in some
province bordering on it, some time in the first half of the second
century, probably between 120 and 130. While still very young, he had
seen and heard Polycarp (d. 158) at Smyrna. During the persecution
of Marcus Aurelius, he was a priest of the Church at Lyons. The
clergy of that city, many of whom were in prison for the faith, sent
him to Rome (177 or 178) with a letter concerning Montanism for
Pope Eleutherius (cf. below, 5.13) . On returning to Gaul, Irenaeus
succeeded the martyr, St. Pothinus, as Bishop of Lyons (cf. 5 praef. and
I) . During the religious peace that followed the persecution of Marcus
Aurelius, Irenaeus divided his energy between being a pastor and being
a missionary. In 190 or 191 he interceded with Pope Victor to lift the
sentence of excommunication laid by that pontiff on those Christian
communities of Asia Minor that persisted in the practice o
Quartodecimene regarding the celebration of Easter (cf. 5.23) . He
died at the end of the second or the beginning of the third century;
some would place it rather definitely in 202 or 203. In all probability
he did not die a martyr, in spite of considerable evidence, all of which
is rather late. His feast is celebrated on July 28th in the Latin Church,
and on August 23rd in the Greek.
Irenaeus wrote in Greek many works which have given him an
exceptionally high place in Christian literature. He was the most
important polemical writer in antiquity, his works forming a source
from which all subsequent writers on heresies drew. Eusebius quotes
him very frequently as a source of prime importance for events of the
second century, and treats him with profound respect as one of the
greatest writers of the early Church. St. Jerome, in his De vir. ill.,
devotes an unusually long chapter (35) to him, but says nothing that
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 253
whom the sound and orthodox faith of the apostolic tradition
has come to us in writing.
Chapter 22
Now, Hegesippus, 1 in the five treatises that have come
we cannot learn from Eusebius' History. None of the writings of
Irenaeus has come to us in the original Greek text. Two of his works,
however, have come down to us complete in other languages. The first
is commonly known as Adversus haereses in five books, and is devoted,
according to its true title, to The Detection and Overthrow of the
False Knowledge. The scrupulous fidelity of this Latin version is
beyond doubt. This work is of the highest importance because it
contains a profound exposition not only of Gnosticism in its various
forms, but also of the chief heresies sprung up in the different Christian
communities. When refuting the heresies, Irenaeus often opposes to
them the true doctrines of the Church, and thus gives positive and
very early evidence of high importance. The second work is entitled
Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, and aims not to refute heretics but
to strengthen the faithful by expounding the Christian teaching to
them, and especially by demonstrating the truth of the Gospel by
means of the prophecies of the Old Testament. This was written after
the Adversus haereses and has reached us in an Armenian version. Of
the other works of Irenaeus, many of which are mentioned by Eusebius,
only a few fragments or mere titles have been preserved. Eusebius men-
tions a special work against Marcion (4.25; 5.20) . Irenaeus* epistle On
Schism, addressed to Blastus, one On Sovereignty, addressed to Florinus,
and a treatise On Ogdoad, cf. 5.20. For his epistle to Victor regarding
the paschal dispute, and other epistles on the same subject, cf. 5.24.
Eusebius mentions four other works of Irenaeus in 5.26. Besides these
works of Irenaeus mentioned by Eusebius, a number of fragments have
come down to us supposedly from others of his writings. Some of these
are undoubtedly genuine, others not. Cf. Cath Encycl., s.v. Irenaeus.
I The five books of St. Hegesippus (Roman Martyrology, April 7) are
lost. A few fragments have been preserved by Eusebius, and one by
Photius. His work appears to have been a collection of reminiscences
of the apostolic and post-apostolic ages. They were drawn from written
and oral sources, and in part also from personal observation. They
were put together unsystematically and in no way represent historical
composition. The date of Hegesippus is established by his statement
that the death and deification of Antinous took place in his own day
(130) , that he came to Rome under Anicetus (154-7 to 165-8) , and
wrote in the time of Eleutherus (174-6 to 189-91) .
254 EUSEBIUS
down to us, has left us a very complete record of his own
opinion. In these he shows that he traveled as far as Rome
and mingled with a great many bishops, and that he received
the same doctrine from all. It is well to listen to what he
said after some remarks about the epistle of Clement to the
Corinthians: 'And the church of the Corinthians remained in
the true word until Primus 2 was Bishop of Corinth. I
associated with them on my voyage to Rome and I spent
some days with them in Corinth, during which we were
mutually stimulated by the true Word. And while I was
in Rome I made a list of succession up to Anicetus, 2 whose
deacon was Eleutheras, 4 and Soter succeeded Anicetus, and
after him Eleutherus. 5 In each list and each city all is as the
Law, the Prophets, and the Lord preach. 3
The same author also describes the beginnings of the
heresies of his time in these words: 'And after James the Just
suffered martyrdom, just as the Lord and for the same reason,
Symeon, his cousin, the son of Clopas 6 was appointed bishop,
whom they all proposed because he was another cousin of the
Lord. For this reason they called the Church virgin, for she
had not yet been corrupted by vain discourses. But The-
bouthis, 7 because he was not made bishop, begins to corrupt it
by seven heresies, 8 to which he belonged, among the people. 9
Of these heresies were Simon, 10 whence the Simonians; and
2 Nothing further is known of him.
3 Gf. above, 4.11.
4 Cf. 4.19.
5 CL 5 Pfaef.
6 CL 3.32.
7 We know Thebouthis only from the information given here. The
reason given here for his apostacy has little credence, since the same
reason is given frequently to explain the origin of heresies.
8 As given below.
9 'The people' (laos) usually means the Jews, but here it apparently
refers to the Christians of Palestine.
10 Simon Magus; cf. above, 2.13.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 255
Cleoblus, 11 whence the Cleobians; and Dositheus, 12 whence
the Dosithians; and Gorthaeus, 13 whence the Goratheni and
the MasbotheL From these came the Menandrianists 14 and
the Marcionists and the Carpocratians and the Valentinians
and the Basilldians and the Saturailians; each one in his own
peculiar and different way introduced a peculiar opinion; and
from these came false Christs, false prophets, false apostles
who divided the unity of the Church by their destructive
doctrines against God and against His Christ/
The same author also describes the heresies that once arose
among the Jews, saying: 'And there were different opinions
among the circumcision, among the children of the Israelites,
against the tribe of Judas and the Christ. These were:
Essenes, Galileans, Hemerobaptists, Masbothei, Samaritans,
Sadducees, and Pharisees. 315
He also wrote a great deal more, which in part we have
already quoted, introducing the narratives in an appropriate
chronological order, and he draws on the Gospel according to
the Hebrews and the Syriac and particularly from the Hebrew
language, showing that he himself had been converted from
11 Cleobius is sometimes mentioned by ancient writers as a heretic, but
nothing more is said of him than is said here.
12 Little is known of Dositheus. He was one of the numerous Samaritan
false messiases, who lived about the time of Christ or even before.
13 Although Epiphanius and Theodoret mention the Goratheni, they tell
us nothing more than Hegesippus does here. Epiphanius places them
among the Samaritans, and Theodoret says that they evolved from
Simon Magus. Nothing more is known of the MasbotheL
H On Menander and the Menandrianists, cf. 2.26; on the Carpocratians,
2.7; on the Valetinians, 2.11; on the Basilidians and the Saturnilians,
2.7.
15 Hegesippus referred to these seven Jewish heresies above. Justin (Dial.
80) gives seven different ones: Sadducees, Genistae, Meristae, Galileans,
Hellenianians, Pharisees, Baptists. Epiphanius mentions four Samaritan
sects: Gorothenes, Sebouaioi, Essenes, Dositheans, and seven Jewish
sects: Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Hemerobaptists, Ossaioi, Nazarenes,
Herodians.
256 EUSEBIUS
the Hebrews/ 6 and he mentions other matters as being from
the unwritten tradition of the Jews. And not only this author,
but also Irenaeus, 17 and the whole company of the ancients,
called the Proverbs of Solomon the all-virtuous Wisdom. And
when discussing the so-called Apocrypha, he records that some
of these were tampered with by certain heretics in his own
time. But now we must pass on to another writer.
Chapter 23
We must say first about Dionysius 1 that he was given the
throne of the episcopate of the diocese of Corinth, and that he
shared his inspired industry ungrudgingly not only with those
under him but also with those of foreign lands, making him-
self most useful to all in the Catholic epistles which he
arranged for the churches, among which the one to the
Lacedaemonians 2 is an instruction on orthodoxy and an
16 There is no reason to doubt this statement. It is to be noted, in
support of Eusebius here, that Hegesippus evolves the Christian
heresies from Jewish, and not, as other writers do, from pagan sources.
There is no reason, however, as some do, to believe that Hegesippus
was a Judaizer.
17 Iren. 4.20.3.
1 He is without foundation called a martyr by the Greek Church, and
a Confessor by the Latin Church. All that is known about this
Dionysius is related by Eusebius. He was Bishop of Corinth about 170.
Eusebius speaks here of seven Catholic epistles and of one addressed
to an individual. None of these is extant, although Eusebius gives us
four interesting fragments from the Epistle to the Romans. Dionysius
had a very high reputation in his time as a writer of letters. We do
not know when Dionysius died, but he was not living in 199, since
Bacchylus was Bishop of Corinth at the time; cf. below, 5.22.
2 This is probably the earliest reference to a church in Lacedaemon or
Sparta.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 257
admonition to peace and unity; the epistle to the Athenians
is a stimulus to faith and life according to the Gospel, for
belittling which he all but rebukes them for apostatizing
from the Word, ever since it happened that he who was over
them, Publius, 3 suffered martyrdom during the persecutions
of that time. He recalls that after the martyrdom of Publius
Quadratus 4 was established as their bishop, and he testifies
that by his zeal they were brought together and took on a
revival of faith* And he indicates, besides, that Dionysius 5
the Areopagite, after being converted to the faith by the
Apostle Paul, according to what is indicated in the Acts, 6 was
the first to be entrusted with the episcopacy of the diocese at
Athens. And another letter of his to the Nicomedians 7 is in
circulation, in which he combats the heresy of Marcion and
compares it with the canon of the truth. He wrote also to the
church that sojourns in Gortyna 8 together with the other
Cretan dioceses, and he welcomes their bishop, Philip, 9 inas-
much as the church under him was approved for a great
many acts of virtue, and he warned them to be on guard
against the errors of" the heretics. And he also wrote to the
3 Nothing more is known than is stated here. He probably suffered
martyrdom in the reign of Antoninus Pius or Marcus Aurelius.
4 This Quadratus is to be distinguished from the apologist mentioned
above, 4.3. It would appear from Eusebius' words that he was bishop
when Dionysius was writing.
5 On Dionysius the Areopagite, cf. above, 3.4.
6 Acts 17.34.
7 Note that Dionysius in this epistle to the Nicomedians deems it
necessary to attack Marcionism, another of many indications in the
literature of the period of the rapid spread of this sect. Dionysius'
widespread influence is indicated by his writing an epistle to a church
so far away as Nicomedia.
8 The most famous city of Crete, where important inscriptions giving
complete knowledge of the Cretan dialect of the Greek language
have been found. According to tradition, Titus was its first bishop.
9 Our knowledge of this Philip, Bishop of Gortyna, and a contemporary
of Dionysius, is limited to what Eusebius tells us here and in Ch. 25.
258 EUSEBIUS
church sojourning at Amastris, 10 together with those in
Pontus, and he recalls Bacchylides 11 and Elpistus 12 as having
urged him to write, and he has added explanations of the
divine Scriptures, indicating their bishop, Palmas 13 by name;
and he gives many exhortations to the same regarding mar-
riage and chastity, and he commands them to receive those
who turn back from a fall or from a failure or from heretical
error. 14 Among these has been included another letter to the
Cnossians/ 5 in which he exhorts Pinytus, 16 bishop of the
diocese, not to place upon the brethren a heavy and com-
pulsory burden with regard to chastity, 17 but to have consid-
eration for the weakness of the multitude. On replying to this
letter, Pinytus admires and welcomes Dionysius, but exhorts 18
him in turn to provide at some time more solid food, again
nourishing the people under him with another more advanced
letter, so that they might not be fed continually on milky
words and unwittingly arrive at old age under the treatment of
children. Through this letter the orthodoxy of Pinytus in the
faith and his concern for the welfare of those under him and
his learning and his knowledge of theology are revealed as
by a most accurate image.
Another letter of Dionysius, one to the Romans, is extant,
10 This is the first mention of a church at Amestris, a city in Pontus.
11 Possibly to be identified with the later Bishop of Corinth, Bacchylus;
cf. below, 5.22,
12 Otherwise unknown.
13 Cf. below, 5.23. He presided, as senior bishop, at a council of bishops
of Pontus, toward the dose of the century, on the Paschal question.
14 This policy of mildness toward excommunicated offenders anticipates a
later practice of the Church, although an innovation at this time. It
is also in accord with Dionysius' recommendation to Pinytus.
15 Cnossus was the capital city of Crete. The epistle is no longer extant.
16 The knowledge of Pinytus is confined to this chapter and in 4.20.
17 Cf. Matt. 11.30.
18 Cf. 1 Cor. 3.1,2; Heb. 5.12-14.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 259
addressed to a bishop of that time, Soter. 19 There Is nothing
better than to quote passages from it, by which he welcomes
the custom of the Romans which has been preserved down
to the persecution of our times, and he writes as follows : Tor
from the beginning it has been your practice to do good in
various ways to all the brethren and to send contributions
to many churches in every city, thus relieving the poverty of
the needy and ministering to the Christians in the mines, 20
by the contributions which you have made from the be-
ginning, preserving as true Romans the ancestral custom of
the Romans. Your blessed Bishop Soter has not only main-
tained this custom but has even increased it, ministering the
abundance distributed to the saints, and with blessed words
urging his brethren who come to Rome, as a loving father
his children.'
In this same letter he also mentions Clement's letter to the
Corinthians, 21 showing that from the beginning according
to an old custom it was read in the church. He says : 'Today
we have observed the holy Lord's day, in which we have
read your letter. Whenever we read it, we shall always be able
to gain profit, just as we also do when we read the earlier
letter written to us by Clement/
Again, the same author says the following 22 about his own
letters which have apparently been falsified : 'When the breth-
ren asked me to write letters, I wrote them. And these the
apostles of the Devil have filled full of tares, 23 cutting some
things out and putting others in. Woe is in store for these.
Surely it is not surprising that some have eagerly desired to
19 Cf. above, 4.19.
20 The Romans consistently used the mines as convict centers. They
regarded work in them unfit even for slaves.
21 Cf. above, 3.16.
22 Cf. Matt. 13.25.
23 Cf. Apoc. 22.18,19.
260 EUSEBIUS
falsify even the Lord's writings, 24 when they have plotted
against such inferior writings as mine.'
Besides these, still another letter of Dionysius is in circul-
ation, addressed by him to Chiysophora, 25 a most faithful
sister. In this he writes on one thing after another, and imparts
to her proper spiritual nourishment. So much we take from
Dionysius.
Chapter 24
Of Theophilus, 1 whom we have mentioned as Bishop of
the Church of the Antiochians, 2 three elementary works
addressed to Autolycus are in circulation, and another with
the title, Against the Heresy of Hermogenes* in which he
has made use of passages from the Apocalypse of John, and
24 A reference to Marcion and others who in this period interpolated and
mutilated the works of the Apostles to fit their own teachings.
25 Otherwise unknown.
1 Of the early Eastern writers, Eusebius alone mentions Theophilus and
his writings. Of the Latin Fathers, Lactantius and Gennadius refer to
the Ad Autolycum of Theophilus, which is still extant; Jerome devotes
De vir. ill. 25 entirely to him. We have no other reliable ancient
testimony on him. Eusebius in the present passage and Jerome make
Theophilus the sixth Bishop of Antioch; Jerome in his letter Ad Algas
calls him the seventh bishop, counting the Apostle Peter as the first. He
probably became bishop about 181 and died between 189 and 192.
Besides the works mentioned by Eusebius here, Jerome speaks of
Commentaries on the Gospel and the Book of Proverbs. In his letter
Ad Algas, Jerome speaks also of a harmony of the four Gospels by
Theophilus. These works mentioned by Jerome are not extant. The
existing Latin Commentary on the Gospels in four books, bearing the
name of Theophilus, is not genuine. The apology, in three books, ad-
dressed to Autolycus, demonstrates the falsehood of idolatry and the
truth of Christianity. The writer shows himself to be well-versed in
Greek philosophy and skillful in the use of literary style of a high
order. In Ad. Autol. 2.30 Theophilus speaks of a work of his On
History, but this work is lost.
2 Cf. above, 4.20.
3 This work has disappeared.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 261
certain other books of his on instruction 4 are also in circu-
lation. But, since even then the heretics were no less defiling
the pure harvest of apostolic teaching like tares, 5 and the
shepherds of the churches everywhere were driving them off,
as if a kind of wild beast, from the sheep of Christ, they kept
them away at one time by admonitions and exhortations to
the brethren, at another by contending more openly against
them with unwritten personal investigations and inquiries,
and again by correcting their opinions with most accurate
proofs through written treatises. It is clear, indeed, that
Theophilus with the rest contended against these with a
work of no mean merit which he composed against Marcion, 6
which has been preserved to our day, together with the
others which we have mentioned. Maximus, 7 the seventh
from the Apostles, succeeded this one as bishop of the Church
of the Antiochians.
Chapter 25
Philip, whom from the words of Dionysius 1 we know as
Bishop of the diocese in Gortyna, himself also made a very
elaborate treatise against Marcion. 2 Irenaeus 3 and Modestus, 4
4 These catechetical works are now lost.
5 Cf. Matt. 13.25.
6 St. Jerome places this work first in his list of Theophilus' writings. It
is not extant today, although St. Jerome says that it was in his day. No
other Father mentions it.
7 This name appears in the Chronicle as Maximus. He was bishop from
c. 181 to c. 192. Nothing else is known of his life.
1 Cf. above, 4.23.
2 Not extant. It is not mentioned by any other Father. Jerome (De vir. ill.
30) merely quotes Eusebius here.
3 Cf. above, 4.21.
4 Our information on Modestus comes from the passage in 4.21 and from
Jerome (De vir. ilL 32) . Jerome states that the work was extant in his
day but says nothing about it. He mentions other works by Modestus,
all of which have been lost.
262 EUSEBIUS
who excelled more than the others in bringing the error of
the man out in the open for all to see, did likewise, and there
are many more whose labors are preserved even today among
a great many of the brethren.
Chapter 26
Besides these, Melito, 1 Bishop of the diocese of Sardis,
and Apolinarius, 2 Bishop of Hierapolis, also flourished ex-
ceedingly, and each of these addressed treatises in behalf of the
faith in his own way to the above-mentioned emperor 3 of the
Romans of that time. The following works of these have
come to our knowledge. Of Melito/ two books On the
Passover, the work On Christian Life and the Prophets, and
the treatise On the Church and the one On the Lord's Day,
and one besides that On the Faith of Man, and the one On
1 Melito, Bishop of Sardis, first comes to our attention in the letter ad-
dressed by Polycrates to Bishop Victor of Rome, supporting the
Quartodeciman practice of the churches of Asia Minor (c. 190-202) .
This letter, quoted in part below (5.24) , states that 'Melito the
eunuch (interpreted as 'the virgin* by Rufinus in his translation of
Eusebius) whose whole walk was in the Holy Spirit/ was buried at
Sardis. He himself also favored the Quartodeciman practice. We
learn from this chapter and from 6.13 that he was a very prolific
writer. Very few of the Fathers quote Melito's works, and Eusebius
does little more than mention their titles. He wrote his Apology
during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but after his brother Lucius had
died (after 169) . It probably was his last work; it happens also to be
the last on Eusebius's list. We know nothing about the dates of his
episcopacy or about his predecessors and successors in the see of
Sardis, A number of spurious writings are extant under his name. On
Melito and his writings, cf. Smith and Wace, Dictionary of Christian
Biography; also, Cath. EncycL
2 Cf. below, 4.27.
5 Marcus Aurelius (161-180) .
4 The following list is very uncertain, due to the various readings of the
manuscripts and versions.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 263
Creation, 5 and that On the Obedience of Faith, and that On
the Senses, 6 and besides these that On the Soul and the
Body* and On Baptism and Truth and Faith and Christ's
Birth, 7 and a treatise on His prophecy 8 and On the Soul and
the Body and the one On Hospitality and the Key, and the
books On the Devil and the Apocalypse of John, and the
treatise On God Incarnate, and, above all, the little book
To Antoninus*
Now, in the book On the Passover, he indicates the time
when he was composing it by beginning with these words: 'In
the time of Servillius Paulus, 10 proconsul of Asia, at the time
when Sagaris 11 suffered martyrdom, there was a great discus-
sion in Laodicea concerning the Passover, which feU according
to season in those days, and this work was written. 5 Clement
of Alexandria recalls this treatise in this own treatise On the
Passover, 12 which he says he composed because of the writing
of Melito. And in the book to the emperor he relates that some
such things as the following happened to us under his rule:
Tor that which never before happened, the race of the
religious is now being persecuted and driven throughout Asia
by strange decrees. For the shameless informers and lovers of
5 This title arises from a radical revision of the text. The Greek words
corresponding to 'and that On' are added without manuscript support.
6 Some manuscripts add 'or mind/ probably a gloss upon the word
'soul,' as has been suggested.
7 Probably the chapters of a single work.
8 This appears to be the meaning of a very corrupt text.
9 I.e., Antoninus Verus, otherwise known as Marcus Aurelius. This
Apology is assigned to the tenth year of Marcus Aurelius (120) .
10 Not known. Rufinus emended the name to Sergius Paulus, consul
for the second time in 168, and probably proconsul of Asia about
164-166.
11 Cf. below, 5.24, where a Sagaris, bishop and martyr, is mentioned by
Polycrates in his epistle to Victor, as buried in Laodicea. This is
probably the same person. No more is known about him.
12 The work of Clement was written against the work of Melito, and is
no longer extant. For some brief fragments of it, cf. below, 6.13.
264 EUSEBIUS
other people's property take advantage of the decrees and
openly pillage us, despoiling those who have done no wrong
by night and by day.' After making other points, he says: 'If
this is done at your command, let it pass as well done, for a
righteous king would never make unrighteous plans, and we
gladly endure the honor of such a death. But we bring to you
this request alone, that you yourself examine the authors of
such strife, and judge righteously whether they are worthy of
death and punishment or of safety and immunity. But, if
this counsel and new decree, which is not proper even against
barbarian enemies, be not from you, we beg you much more
not to overlook us in the midst of such lawless plundering by
the mob. 5 And he adds to this by saying: 13 'Our philosophy
first flourished among the barbarians, but it came to flower
among your peoples under the great rule of your ancestor
Augustus, and it became an omen of good especially for your
Empire, for from that time the power of the Romans increased
extensively and brilliantly. You are now his happy successor
and you will continue to be together with your son, 14 as long
as you protect the philosophy that grew up with the Empire
and came into existence with Augustus, which, too, your
ancestors respected along with the other religions, and this
is the greatest proof that our doctrine flourished for good
along with the Empire happily begun, the fact that it met no
evil since the reign of Augustus, but, on the contrary, every-
thing splendid and glorious in accord with the prayers of
all. 15 Alone of all the emperors, Nero and Domitian, being
13 The same thought underlies this quotation from Melito's Apology
and Tertullian's Apology 5, namely, the emperors in general protected
Christianity; Nero and Domitian, the most wicked of them, alone
persecuted it; Christianity has been a boon to the reigns of all the
better emperors. Without doubt, Tertullian had known the Apology
and other works of Melito.
14 I.e., Marcus Aurelius and his son, Emperor Commodus.
15 But Augustus was dead a considerable time before the establishment
of the Christian Church.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 265
won over by certain malicious men, have wished to slander
our doctrine, and from these have arisen the lie and the unrea-
sonable practice of falsely accusing Christians. 16 But your
pious fathers corrected their ignorance, often rebuking many
in writing, whenever they dared to take new measures re-
garding Christians. Among these, your grandfather Hadrian
evidently wrote to many, and especially to the proconsul
Fundanus, 17 who was governor of Asia, and your father, even
when you were administering the world with him, wrote to
the cities about taking no new measures against us. Among
these writings are those to the Larisians and to the Thes-
salonians and Athenians and to all the Greeks. 18 Since you
have the same opinion as they about Christians and, indeed,
much more benevolent and philosophic, we are persuaded
that you will do all that we ask of you.'
Now, these passages are found in the above-mentioned
treatise, but in the Extracts 19 written by him the same author,
as he begins his introduction, makes a list of the recognized
scriptures of the Old Testament, and I feel obliged to give
this list here. His words are as follows: 'Melito to his brother
Onesimus, 20 greetings. Since you have often asked, in your
zeal for the true word, that selections be made for you from
the Law and the Prophets regarding the Saviour and all our
faith, and, furthermore, since you wished to learn with
accuracy about the ancient books, how many they are in
number and how they are arranged, I have endeavored to
do just this, knowing your zeal for the faith and your
eagerness for knowledge about the Word, and that, as you
16 It was a common belief among pagans that the Christians were
responsible for all the misfortunes of the Roman people, even earth-
quakes, floods, famines, and others.
17 Cf. above, 4.9.
18 Cf. above, 4.13. They are no longer extant.
19 A collection of testimonies to Christ and Christianity, taken from the
Old Testament. The only part extant is this portion taken by
Eusebius from the preface.
20 Otherwise unknown.
266 EUSEBIUS
struggle for your eternal salvation, you judge these matters
most important of all in your yearning for God. Accordingly,
when 1 went East and was in the place where these things
were preached and practiced., and after I had learned the
books of the Old Testament accurately and had set down the
facts, I sent them to you. Their names are these: five Books
of Moses, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy,
Josue the son of Nun, Judges, Ruth, four Books of Kingdoms,
two Books of Chronicles, the Psalms of David, the Proverbs of
Solomon and his Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs,
Job, the Prophets Isaias, Jeremias, the Twelve in a single
Book, Daniel, Ezechiel, Ezra. I have made extracts from
these, and I have arranged them in six books. 3 Such is the
statement of Melito.
Chapter 27
Of the many writings of Apolinarius 1 which are preserved
by many, the following are those which have come down to
us: a treatise to the emperor 2 mentioned above and five
books Against the Greeks* and Books 1 and 2 On Truth*
1 and 2 Against the Jews, and the books that he wrote after
these against the heresy of the Phrygians, which had begun
its innovations long before but at that time was, as it were,
beginning to sprout, while Montanus with his false pro-
phetesses 5 was making the beginnings of their error.
1 St. Apolinarius Claudius, Bishop of HIerapolis in Phrygia, some time in
the second century. He undoubtedly wrote other works than those men-
tioned here, but none is extant. He published his Apology for the
Christians in 177, and in it he appealed to the emperor's personal
experience with the 'Thundering Legion,' by whose prayers he won his
victory over the Quadi. The date of his death is unknown. His feast is
observed on January 8th.
2 Marcus Aurelius.
3 Nicephorus (H. 4.11) , who probably speaks from personal experience,
says that it was written in the form of a dialogue.
4 Entirely unknown to us.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY I BOOK FOUR 267
Chapter 28
And of Musanus, 1 whom we have listed among the fore-
going writers, a very eloquent discourse is in circulation which
he addressed to certain brethren who had fallen away to the
heresy of the so-called Encratites, 2 which at that time had just
begun to spring up and was introducing into life a strange
and pernicious false doctrine.
Chapter 29
Report has it that Tatian was the originator of this error,
whose words regarding the marvelous Justin we introduced
a little above, 1 relating that he was a disciple of the martyr.
Irenaeus makes this clear in the first of his books Against the
Heresies, at the same time writing about him and his heresy
as follows: 2 'Those who are called Encratites and spring from
Saturninus 3 and Marcion preached against marriage, re-
jecting the original creation of God and tacitly condemning
Him who made male and female for the creation of man-
kind, and they introduced abstinence from what were called
by them "animate" things, thereby showing ingratitude to the
1 Nothing further is known of him; subsequent historians only copy
Eusebius on Musanus. Here and in Ch. 21, Musanus' activity is assigned
to the reign of Marcus Aurelius. Thus, he would be a contemporary of
Melito, Apolinarius, and Irenaeus, among others.
2 Regarding Tatian and the Encratites, cf. above, 4.16 n. 9. This sect
seems to have taught a doctrine of asceticism much like that of the
later Manichaeans. The name is derived from the Greek enkrateta,
'continence/
1 Cf. above, 4.16.
2 Iren. 1.28.1.
3 Regarding Saturninus and Marcion, cf. above, 4.7; on asceticism, cf.
Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 154.
268 EUSEBIUS
God who made all things, and they denied the salvation of the
first created man. This innovation they discovered recently
when a certain Tatian introduced this blasphemy. He was a
hearer of Justin, and as long as I was with him expressed
nothing like this, but, after the martyrdom of Justin, he left
the Church and became exalted with the thought of becoming
a teacher and puffed up by the conviction that he was
superior to others. He composed his own peculiar type of
doctrine, inventing certain invisible aeons as the followers of
Valentinus did, and like Marcion and Saturninus rejected
marriage as corruption and fornication, but the denial of the
salvation of Adam he devised by himself.' Thus did Irenaeus
write at that time, but a little later a certain Severus by
name strengthened the above-mentioned heresy and became
responsible for those who get their start from him, receiving
the name of Severiani 4 which was derived from him. Now,
they make use of the Law and the Prophets and the Gospels,
although they interpret the ideas of the sacred Scriptures in
their own way. But they blaspheme Paul the Apostle, and
reject his Epistles, and do not even accept the Acts of the
Apostles. But their former leader, Tatian, composed a kind
of combination and collection of the gospels, I know not
how, to which he gave the name Diatessaron* and this is in
4 The Severians were strict abstainers from flesh, wine, and marriage.
That they were connected with Tatian and his Encratites seems quite
erroneous. There probably was no such person as Severus. He appears
to have been a fictitious character invented to explain Severiani, as
Ebion was to explain Ebionites. The Severians were definitely anti-
Pauline, which at once distinguishes them from Tatian and his group.
These heretics are not mentioned in earlier works against heresies, and
the source of Eusebius's knowledge of them is unknown.
5 From the manner in which Eusebius speaks of the Diatessaron we judge
that he never saw it. At any rate, he is the first to mention the work,
and we do not hear of it again until the time of Epiphanius (Haer.
46.1) , who identifies it with the Gospel according to the Hebrews, but
appears to know it only by hearsay.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FOUR 269
circulation even today among some. And it is said that he
had the effrontery to paraphrase some words of the Apostle, 6
as if he were correcting the grammatical structure of the
expression. This has left a great number of writings, of
which his celebrated treatise Against the Greeks 7 is especially
quoted by many. In this he treated the earliest times and
showed that Moses and the Prophets of the Hebrews were
older than all the celebrated men among the Greeks. 8 This
work seems to be the most polished and most helpful of all
his works. Such are the facts regarding this man.
Chapter 30
In the same reign, as heresies multiplied in Mesopotamia,
Bardesanes, 1 a very able man and very eloquent in the Syriac
6 St. Paul. This passage implies that Tatian wrote a work on the Epistles
of St. Paul.
7 Still extant and one of the most interesting of the early apologies. It
was probably written after Tatian left Rome for the first time, about
152 or 153. As mentioned above, it is rabidly anti-Greek.
8 Tatian treats this subject in Oratio 31,35-41. Largely because of these
chapters was Tatian's Oratio held in such repute, and his other works
slighted and lost.
I Bardesanes or Bardaisan, a Syrian poet, astrologist, and Gnostic
philosopher. He was born on July 11, 155, and died in 223. Although
bom and reared a pagan, at the age of twenty-five he happened to hear
the homilies of Hystaspes, Bishop of Edessa, and, after receiving
instruction, was baptized, and even admitted to the diaconate or the
priesthood. One critic, Hort, well says: 'There is no reason to suppose
that Bardesanes rejected the ordinary faith of the Christians as founded
on the Gospels and the writings of the Apostles, except on isolated
points. The more startling peculiarities of which we hear belong for the
most part to an outer region of speculation, which it may easily have
seemed possible to combine with Christianity, more especially with the
undeveloped Christianity of Syria in the third century. The local color
is everywhere prominent. In passing over to the new faith Bardaisan
could not shake off the ancient glamour of the stars, or abjure the
Semitic love of clothing thoughts in mythological forms/ He was a
270 EUSEBIUS
tongue, composed dialogues against the Marcionites and
certain others who were responsible for differing opinions, and
he has handed them down in his own tongue and script,
along with many others of his writings. Those who knew him
(and they were very many, for he was very strong at arguing) 5
have translated these works from the Syriac language into
Greek. Among these is his very powerful dialogue addressed
to Antoninus, On Fate, and such others as they say that he
wrote on the occasion of the persecution of that time. 2 This
man was formerly of the school of Valentinus, but, having
condemned this school and having refuted most of his
fictions, he himself thought that somehow he had changed
to the more correct opinion; however, he had not entirely
washed off the filth of the old heresy. 3
At this time, moreover, Soter, Bishop of the Church at
Rome, died.
voluminous writer. The following of his writings are worthy of mention:
Dialogues against Marcion, against Valentinus, and Against Fate (ad-
dressed to Antoninus) ; Book of Psalms, 150 in number, in imitation of
David's Psalter; astrological treatises; a History of Armenia; and an
account of India. The work known as Book of the Laws of the
Countries is not by Bardesanes himself, but by a certain Philip, his
disciple. Cf. Cath. Encyd.
2 Caracalla spent the winter of 216 in Edessa, and put Prince Bar Manu
in prison. The emperor may have allied himself with a party
discontented with the rule of that prince, and thereby started a pagan
reaction. This may have been the occasion of the persecution referred
to here, in which Bardesanes proved himself firm in the faith.
3 Eusebius seems to speak here from personal knowledge. It may well
have been that Bardesanes, after abandoning Valentinianism, still kept
some of the views acquired under its influence, and thus affected all
of his subsequent thinking.
BOOK FIVE
Introduction
| ow, SOTER/ BISHOP of the Church at Rome, died in
the eighth year of his rule. Eleutherus, 2 as twelfth
after the Apostles, succeeded him, and it was the
seventeenth year 3 of the Emperor Antoninus Verus. In this
time, as the persecution against us was rekindled more
violently in certain parts of the world, as a result of the
attack of the populace in the cities it is possible to ascertain
that myriads were distinguished by martyrdom, judging from
what happened in one nation. These events have by chance
been handed down to posterity, being truly worthy of unceas-
ing remembrance. The entire account, with its very complete
description of these events, has been placed in our collection
of the martyrs, 4 and it includes not only an historical but
1 Cf. above, 4,19.
2 St. Eleutherus, or Eleutherius, (Pope, c. 174-189, although the dates of
his reign are open to question) , is mentioned in connection with
Hegesippus, above, 4.11,22, and is of great interest in connection with
Irenaeus and the Gallican martyrs (5.4) and his stand with reference
to the Montanist controversy (5.3) . Bede (Hist, eccles. 4) , wholely with-
out foundation, connects Eleutherus with Christianity in Great Britain.
3 In 177.
4 The Acts of the Martyrs which Eusebius collected; cf. Introduction.
271
272 EUSEBIUS
also an instructive narrative. I shall for the present select and
quote such material as may have some connection with the
present treatise. Now, other authors, when composing his-
torical narratives, have handed down in writing exclusively
victories of wars, and trophies won from enemies, and the
exploits of generals, and valor of soldiers, stained with blood
and with countless murders for the sake of children and of
fatherland and other possessions. But our historical narrative
of those who order their lives according to God will inscribe
those who have been valiant in most peaceful wars for the
true peace of the soul, and in these more for truth than for
fatherland, more for piety than for their dear ones, upon
everlasting monuments, proclaiming for everlasting memory
the struggles of the athletes of piety and their valor that
tried so much and the trophies won from demons and
victories over unseen opponents and crowns placed upon all
their heads.
Chapter 1
Now, Gaul was the country in which the arena for what
is being described was prepared. Its capital cities, famous
and surpassing the others of the land, were heralded as Lyons
and Vienne, 1 through both of which the Rhone River passes,
flowing in an ample stream about the entire country- The
most renowned churches of this country sent the account of
the martyrs 2 to the churches in Asia and Phrygia, in this way
recording what took place among them, and I shall present
their own words: c The servants of Christ sojourning in
1 Ancient Lugdunum and Vienna, the modern Lyons and Vienne in
southeastern France.
2 This word is used here and in following chapters for all those who
suffered in persecution, whether they lost their lives or not. It might
well be translated 'witnesses.'
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 273
Vienne and Lyons in Gaul to the brethren in Asia and
Phrygia who have the same faith and hope of redemption as
we. Peace and grace and glory from God the Father and
Jesus Christ, our Lord.' 3
Then, after other remarks by way of preface, they make the
beginning of their communication in these words: 'Now,
the greatness of the affliction here and the extent of rage of the
heathen against the saints and the many sufferings endured
by the blessed martyrs we are unable to describe accurately
nor, indeed, can they be put down in writing. For with all
his might the Adversary has fallen upon us, already giving
us a foretaste of his coming which is to take place without
restraint, and he has tried in every way to practice and train
his own against the servants of God, so that we are not only
excluded from houses and baths and market place but the
passing appearance of anyone of us is forbidden in any place
whatsoever. But the grace of God led us and strengthened the
weak and arrayed in opposition steadfast pillars of men able
through patience to draw all the attack of the wicked one
upon themselves, 4 and they closed with the wicked one,
enduring every kind of abuse and punishment, 6 and, counting
much little, they were zealous for Christ, showing truly that
3 The remains of this epistle are preserved for us by Eusebius in this
and the next chapter. It bears all the marks of authenticity and its
genuineness has never been questioned. We may assume with con-
fidence that all of the epistle that touches on the martyrdoms has
been preserved. The persecution depicted was undoubtedly the severest
suffered by the Christians up to that time, but was quite insignificant
when compared with the persecutions under Decius and Diocletian.
It is of great interest to note that the epistle is addressed to the
Christians of Asia Phrygia. Many of the people of Asia Minor migrated
to Southern Gaul and many prominent Christians of Gaul had
pursued their higher studies in Asia Minor. The relationship between
the Christians of these two regions seems to have been very close,
especially at the time of this epistle. Quite without foundation,
Irenaeus has been suggested as its possible author.
4 Cf. 1 Tim. 3.15.
5 Cf. Heb. 10.33.
274 EUSEBIUS
the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with
the glory that shall be revealed to us. 6
'First, they endured nobly what was heaped upon them
everywhere by the mob, howls and blows and draggings
around and plunderings and stone-throwings and imprison-
ments and all things that usually take place at the hands of
an infuriated multitude against its supposed enemies and
foes; and then they were dragged into the market place by
the tribune, 7 and they were examined in the presence of the
entire multitude by the tribune and by the chief authorities of
the city, and they confessed and were locked up in prison
until the coming of the governor. Afterwards, when they
were brought before the governor and he employed all
cruelty against us, Vettius Epagathus, 8 one of the brethren,
intervened, as one filled with love for God and for neighbor,
whose life was passed so strictly that, although he was
young, his reputation equaled that of the elder Zacharias. 9
He had indeed walked in all the commandments and jus-
tifications of the Lord without blame, and was unwearied in
all his ministration to his neighbor, having much zeal for God
and being fervent in spirit. Being of such a character, he did
not endure the judgment which was made so unreasonably
against us, but he became exceedingly angry and demanded
that he, too, be heard as he presented a defense for his
brethren, pointing out that there was nothing atheistic or
impious in us. When those about the judgment seat cried out
6 Cf. Rom. 8.18.
7 The Greek word is chiliarch, which was regularly used by the Greeks
to translate the Latin tribunus militum.
8 The following are mentioned in this chapter as martyrs or witnesses:
Vettius Epagathus, Sanctus, Attalus, Blandina, Biblias, Pothinus,
Maturus, Alexander, Ponticus. All that is known about them is
contained in this epistle. It is highly probable that Vettius was of
a noble family and actually did suffer martyrdom.
9 The father of John the Baptist, as is indicated by the reference to
Luke 1.6. in the next line.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY I BOOK FIVE 275
against him, for he was a man of distinction, 10 and the
governor refused to tolerate his request which was so just, but
merely asked this, if he himself also was a Christian, when
the man confessed in a very clear voice, he, too, was taken
away into the ranks of the martyrs, being called "advocate of
Christians," although he had the Advocate within himself, the
spirit of Zacharias 11 which he exhibited by the fullness of his
love, when he consented to lay down even his own life 12 for
the defence of the brethren, for he was and is 13 a true disciple
of Christ, following the Lamb wheresoever He goes. 14
'The rest were then divided, and the first martyrs were
manifestly ready, and they finished the confession of mar-
tyrdom with all eagerness; but others appeared not to be ready
and to lack training and to be still weak and unable to
endure the strain of a great struggle, and of these about ten
in number proved to have been bora out of time. These
caused us great grief and immeasurable pain, and damaged
the zeal of the others who had not been arrested. Although
they suffered all the terrors, they continued to remain with
the martyrs and did not desert them. But then, we were all
greatly terrified because of the uncertainty of their confession,
not because we feared the punishments that were being
applied, but because we looked to the end and feared that
someone would fall away. But day by day those who were
worthy were being arrested, filling up their number, so that
from the two churches all the zealous and those by whom
our affairs were especially held together were gathered up.
And certain heathen servants of ours were also arrested, for
10 The inference is that because of his social position his advocacy of
Christians was the more irritating.
11 Cf. Luke 1.67; 1 John 3.16.
12 Cf. John 15.13; 1 Thess. 2.8.
13 Some, quite incredibly, have taken this 'is' to indicate that Vettius was
not actually put to death.
14 Cf. Apoc. 14.4.
276 EUSEBIUS
the governor had publicly ordered all of us to be examined.
These, by a snare of Satan, since they feared the tortures
which they saw the saints suffer, when the soldiers urged
them on to this, falsely accused 15 us of Thyestean feasts and
Oedipodean intercourse 16 and such acts as it is not right for
us either to repeat or to think about or even to believe that
any such thing had ever happened among men. When these
accusations were uttered, all became like wild beasts toward us,
so that, even if formerly through friendship some were lenient,
they then became greatly enraged and gnashed their teeth
against us, 17 but that which was spoken by our Lord was being
fulfilled, "the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you, wiU
think that he doth a service to God." 18 Then, finally, the holy
martyrs endured punishments beyond all description, as Satan
strove to wring some blasphemy even from them. And all the
wrath of the mob and of the governor and of the soldiers
beyond all measure fell upon Sanctus, 19 the deacon from
Vienne, and against Maturus, very much of a novice but a
noble contender, and on Attalus, a Pergamene 20 by race, who
had always been a pillar and a bulwark 21 for the Christians
there, and against Blandina, through whom Christ pointed
out that the things among men which appear mean and
15 According to Roman law, a slave could not be compelled to testify
against his master. A slave could, however, if he so desired, thus
testify as here either through fear or any other cause.
16 According to classical mythology, Thyestes had unwittingly eaten his
own children, served to him by an enemy at a banquet, and Oedipus
had unknowingly married his own mother. Terrible accusations of
this kind were commonly made against the Christians in antiquity. Cf.
above, 4.7.
17 Cf. Acts 7.54.
18 John 16.2.
19 Although a deacon of the church at Vienne, he suffered martyrdom
at Lyons. Clearly, the church at Vienne, as well as that at Lyons,
was directly involved in the persecution.
20 Further evidence that the Christians of Gaul and Asia Minor were
very dose.
21 Cf. 1 Tim. 3.15.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 277
obscure and contemptible with God are deemed worthy of
great glory 22 because of the love for Him shown in power
and not boasted of in appearance. For, while we all feared,
and her mistress in the world, who was herself also one of
the contenders among the martyrs, was in distress lest she be
not able even to make her confession boldly because of
weakness of body, Blandina was filled with so much strength
that she was released and those who tortured her in relays in
every manner from morning until evening became exhausted,
even confessing of their own accord that they were beaten,
since they had nothing further to do to her, and that they
marveled at the fact that she was still alive, for her whole
body was broken and opened, and that they testified that one
form of torture was enough to drive out life, to say nothing
of the different nature and number of the tortures. But the
blessed woman, like a noble athlete, renewed her strength in
the confession, and her comfort and rest and release from the
pain of what was happening to her was in saying: "I am a
Christian woman and nothing wicked happens among us."
'Sanctus himself also nobly endured beyond all measure and
human endurance all the ill-treatment of men. When the
wicked hoped through persistence and the severity of the
tortures that they would hear something from him which
should not be said, he resisted them with such firmness that
he did not even tell his own name nor of what race or city he
was, nor whether he was a slave or free, but to all their inter-
rogations he answered in the Latin language: "I am a Chris-
tian." This he confessed for name and for city and for race
and for everything in succession, and the heathen heard no
other word from him. Accordingly, there was great eagerness
on the part of the governor and the torturers to subdue him,
so that, finally, when they had nothing more to do to him,
22 Cf. I COT. 1.27, 28.
278 EUSEBIUS
they fastened plates of heated brass to the tenderest parts of
his body. And these were burning, but he himself remained
unbending and unyielding, strong in his confession, refreshed
and strengthened by the heavenly spring of the water of life
which comes forth from the belly of Christ. 23 And his body
was a witness of what happened to him, being all one wound
and bruise, wrenched and torn out of human shape, 24 and
Christ suffering in him manifested great glory, routing his
Adversary and for the example of the rest showing that there
is nothing to be feared where there is love of the Father and
nothing painful where there is Christ's glory. 25 For, when the
wicked after some days again tortured the martyr and thought
that, while the body was swollen and inflamed, if they should
supply the same tortures, they would overcome him, since he
could not bear the touch of the hand, and that if he should
die because of his tortures, he would instill fear in the others,
not only did no such thing happen to him, but, contrary to
men's expectation, he arose and his body during subsequent
tortures was straightened up and regained its former appear-
ance and the use of its limbs, so that by the grace of Christ the
second torture became for him not a torture but a cure.
'Now, the Devil, thinking that he had already consumed
Bibbas, also, one of those who had denied, and wishing to
condemn her by blasphemy 26 likewise, brought her to torture,
trying to force her to say impious things about us, as if she
were already beaten and weak. But she recovered during the
torture, recalling through the temporal punishment the eternal
torment of hell, and she contradicted the blasphemers, saying:
"How would such men eat children, when it is not even per-
23 Cf. John 7.38.
24 Cf. Isa. 53.25.
25 Cf. Tim. 1.16.
26 I.e., against Christians, as is indicated by what follows.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 279
mitted them to eat blood even of irrational animals?" And
after this she confessed herself a Christian and was added to
the list of martyrs.
'But, when the tyrant's torments had been brought to
naught by Christ through the endurance of the blessed, the
Devil invented other schemes: imprisonments in cells of
darkness and in the most loathsome places, stretching the feet
in the stocks, separated to the fifth hole, 27 and the other out-
rages such as raving attendants, and others also filled with
the Devil, are accustomed to inflict upon their prisoners. Thus,
the majority were strangled in prison, such as the Lord had
wished to pass out of this life in this way, manifesting His
glory. For, although some were tortured so cruelly that it
seemed impossible for them to live even when they had
received every care, they survived in the prison, destitute of
human attention, being strengthened by the Lord and given
power both in body and soul, and exhorting and comforting
the rest. But the youths and those recently arrested whose
bodies had not become accustomed to torture did not endure
the burden of confinement, but died in prison.
'The blessed Pothinus, who had been entrusted with the
service of the bishopric at Lyons, was over ninety years of age
and very weak physically, breathing with difficulty because of
the physical weakness which was already upon him. But,
being strengthened by zeal of spirit through his urgent desire
for martyrdom, he, too, was dragged to the judgment seat.
Although his body was weakened by old age and by disease,
his soul was kept in him that through it Christ might
triumph. 28 When he was conducted by the soldiers to the
judgment seat, as the local authorities and the whole multitude
accompanied him, uttering all kinds of cries, as if he were
27 Cf. above, 4.16.
28 Cf. 2 Cor. 2.14.
280 EUSEBIUS
Christ Himself, he gave noble testimony. On being questioned
by the governor as to who was the God of the Christians, he
said: "If you are worthy, you will know. 9 ' Thereupon he was
dragged about mercilessly and suffered manifold blows; while
some nearby insulted him in every way with hands and feet,
not even having respect for his old age, others at a distance
threw whatever each had in his hands at him, and all thought
it a great transgression and impiety to overlook any abuse
against him, for they thought that in this way they would
vindicate their gods. And, breathing with difficulty, he was
cast into prison, and after two days he gave up the ghost.
Then, indeed, a great dispensation of God took place, and
the immeasurable mercy 29 of Jesus was made manifest, which
has rarely happened among the brethren, although it is not
beyond the skill of Christ Those who at the first arrest had
been deniers were themselves also imprisoned and shared in
the terrors, for their denial was of no help to them, at this
time. Those who confessed what they were were imprisoned as
Christians, with no other charge being brought against them;
the others, however, were held as murderers and defiled,
being punished twice as much as the rest. The joy of mar-
tyrdom and the hope of what was promised and the love
toward Christ and the Spirit of the Father lightened the
burden of the former, but conscience greatly punished the
latter, so that their faces were conspicuous among all the rest
when they were led out. The former came forth gladly, with
glory and much grace mingled on their faces, 30 so that even
30 Cf. Ps. 44.11
29 The difference between the misery of those who denied Christ and
the joy of those who bore witness to Him, even in their tortures,
became a source of strength and encouragement to the other Christians.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY I BOOK FIVE 281
their fetters rested about them as a becoming ornament, like
a bride adorned with gold lace of many patterns, perfumed
with the good odor of Christ, 31 so that some thought they
had been anointed with worldly ointment; but the others
were downcast and depressed and ugly and filled with every
unseemliness; moreover, they were insulted by the heathen as
ignoble and unmanly, receiving the accusation of murderers
but having lost the name that is full of honor and of high
repute and that gives life. Now, when the others beheld this,
they were made firm, and those who were arrested confessed
without hesitation, giving no thought to the arguments of
the Devil.'
After saying a little more in addition to this, they go on
again: 'After this, the testimonies of their death finally
separated into every form. For they wove one wreath out of
various colors and all kinds of flowers and offered it to the
Father. It was necessary, therefore, that the noble athletes
who had endured a manifold strife and had won a great
victory carry off the great crown of immortality. Now,
Maturus and Sanctus and Blandina and Attalus were led to
the wild beasts, for a public and general exhibition of the
inhumanity of the heathen, for the days for fighting wild
beasts were specially appointed because of our people.
Maturus and Sanctus again passed through every torture in
the amphitheatre, as if they had suffered nothing at all before,
but rather as if they had already overpowered their opponent
in several bouts 32 and were now holding the contest for the
crown. They endured again the customary running of. the
31 Cf. 2 Cor. 2.15; also, above, 4.15.
32 Literally, 'lots/ but used here technically. The gladiators used to
draw lots to determine who would fight.
282 EUSEBIUS
gauntlet 33 and the violence of the wild beasts and all such
things as the maddened people, some here and others there,
shouted for and commanded above all the iron chair on
which their bodies were roasted, covering them with reek. Not
even there did the persecutors cease, but again they raved
even more, seeking to overcome their endurance. But not
even thus did they hear anything else from Sanctus than the
sound of the confession which he had been accustomed to say
from the beginning.
These, then, while their life lingered long through a great
contest, at last were sacrificed, they themselves having been
a spectacle for the world throughout that day in place of the
usual variety of gladiatorial combats; but Blandina was hung
on a stake and was offered as food for the wild beasts that
were let in. 34 Since she seemed to be hanging in the form of
a cross, and by her firmly intoned prayer, she inspired the
combatants with great zeal, as they looked on during the
contest and with their outward eyes saw through their sister
Him who was crucified for them, that He might persuade
those who believe in Him that everyone who suffers for the
glory of Christ always has fellowship with the living God.
And when none of the wild beasts then touched her, she was
taken down from the stake and again cast into the prison,
being saved for another contest, that by conquering through
more trials she might make the condemnation of the crooked
Serpent irrevocable, 35 and might encourage the brethren.
Although small and weak and greatly despised, she had put
on the great and invincible athlete Christ, 36 and in many
33 The bestiarii were compelled to run the gauntlet before they fought
with wild beasts. Cf. Tertullian, Ad nationes 18 and Ad martyras 5.
34 Crucifixion was the punishment regularly reserved for slaves and the
worst criminals, and never inflicted on Roman citizens.
35 Cf. Isa. 27.1.
36 Cf. Rom. 13.14; Gal. 3.27.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 283
contests had overcome the Adversary and through the conflict
had gained the crown of immortality.
'But Attalus, who himself was called for loudly by the
crowd, for he was a person of note, came in, a ready
combatant because of a clear conscience, for he was nobly
trained in Christian discipline and had always been a witness
for truth among us. And he was led around the amphitheatre,
a tablet being carried before him, on which was written in
Latin: "This is Attalus, the Christian." The people were
bursting with indignation at him, and when the governor
learned that he was a Roman he commanded that he be taken
with the rest of those who were in prison, concerning whom he
had written to the emperor and was awaiting his answer.
'But the intervening time was not idle or fruitless for
them, 37 for by their patience the immeasurable mercy of
Christ was made manifest. Through the living the dead were
being made alive, and martyrs gave grace to those who
failed to be martyrs, 38 and there was great joy in the Virgin
Mother, as she receive back alive those who had been
brought forth as dead. For, through them, most of those who
had denied were restored again and were conceived again
and were made alive again and learned to confess; now alive
and strong, as God made them happy, who desires not the
death of the sinner but is kind toward repentance, 39 they
approached the judgment seat in order that they might again
be interrogated by the governor. For Caesar had written that
they be beaten to death, but, if any should deny, that those be
set free. As the local festival 40 began to be celebrated, for this
37 Cf. 2 Peter 1.8.
38 Cf. 2 Cor. 2.7; Col. 3.13.
39 Cf. Ezech. 12.23; 33.11.
40 It has been suggested with some probability that this was the meeting
of the general assembly of the Gallic nations, which w.as held
annually in August to celebrate the worship of Augustus and consisted
of games, contests, and imposing ceremonies.
284 EUSEBIUS
is well attended by all the heathen who come together for It,
he led the blessed to the judgment seat, making a show and a
spectacle for the mob. Accordingly, he examined them again,
and as many as seemed to possess Roman citizenship, he cut off
their heads, and the rest he sent to the wild beasts. And Christ
was greatly glorified in those who, though they had formerly
denied, now, contrary to the expectation of the heathen,
confessed. For they were examined privately as if, indeed,
they were to be set free, but on confessing they were added to
the list of the martyrs. Indeed, only those were untouched
who never had a trace of faith or perception of the bridal
garment or thought of fear of God, 41 but through their very
mode of life blasphemed the way, that is, the sons of
perdition, 42 but all the rest were added to the Church. And
when these were being examined, a certain Alexander, a
Phrygian by race and a physician by profession, who had
lived many years in Gaul and was known to nearly everyone
for his love for God and boldness of speech (for he was not
without a share of apostolic grace), 43 stood by the judgment
seat and by signs encouraged them to confess, and he seemed
to those standing about the judgment seat like one in travail.
But the crowd became angry that those who formerly had
denied now confessed and cried out against Alexander as
if he were the cause of this. And when the governor made
him draw near and asked who he was, and when he said
"a Christian," the governor, becoming angry, condemned
him to the beasts. They suffered under all the instruments for
torture prepared in the amphitheatre and endured them to
the utmost, and finally they, too, were sacrificed. Alexander
41 Cf. Matt. 22.11-13; Rom. 2.24.
42 Cf. John 17.12.
43 Cf. Acts 4.29-31.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 285
neither groaned nor murmured at all, but in his heart
conversed with God, and Attains, when he was placed upon
the iron chair and was being burned, as the reek arose from
his body, said to the mob in Latin : "Behold, this which you
do, is to eat men, but we neither eat men nor do anything else
wicked." And when he was asked what name God had, he
replied: "God has no name as a man has."
'Finally, after all this, on the last day of the gladiatorial
combats, Blandina was again brought in, together with Pon-
ticus, a boy of about fifteen, and they had been brought in
daily to witness the torture of the others, and attempts were
made to force them to swear by the very idols, and because
they remained steadfast and regarded them as nothing, the
mob was roused to fury so that they had neither pity for the
youth of the boy nor respect for the feminine sex, and they
exposed them to all the horrors and led them in turn through
every torture, repeatedly trying to force them to swear but
being unable to do this. For Ponticus was encouraged by his
sister, so that even the heathen saw that she was urging him
on and encouraging him, and after he had nobly endured
every torture he gave up the ghost. But the blessed Blandina,
last of all, like a noble mother who has encouraged her chil-
dren and sent them forth triumphant to the king, 44 herself
also enduring all the conflicts of the children, hastened to
them, rejoicing and glad at her departure, as if called to a
marriage feast and not being thrown to the beasts. And
after the scourging, after the wild beasts, after the roasting
seat, she finally was placed in a net and thrown to a bull. She
was tossed about for some time by the animal, but was
insensitive to what was happening to her because of her hope
and hold upon what had been entrusted to her and her com-
44 Cf. 2 Mace. 7.21-23, 27-29,41.
286 EUSEBIUS
munion with Christ. And she also was sacrificed, and the
heathen themselves confessed that never had a woman among
them suffered so many and such horrible tortures.
'But not even thus did their madness and cruelty to the
saints attain satiety, for, incited by a wild beast/ 5 wild and
barbarous tribes are difficult to check, and their insolence
found another peculiar opportunity in the dead bodies. 46
That they had been conquered 47 did not put them to shame,
because they did not possess human reason; rather, this en-
kindled their wrath, as with a wild beast, both the governor
and the people showing the same unrighteous hatred for us
that the Scripture might be fulfilled, "Let him that is unlawful
be unlawful still and he that is righteous be righteous still." 48
For they threw those who had been strangled in the prison to
the dogs, guarding carefully night and day that none should
be buried by us. And then they threw out what was left by
the wild animals and the fire, partly torn and partly charred,
and, of the rest, the heads together with their trunks they
also guarded with a military watch for many successive days.
And some raged and "gnashed with their teeth" at them, 49
seeking to take some more extravagant vengeance from them;
others laughed and jeered, at the same time magnifying their
idols and ascribing to them the punishment of these Chris-
tians; the more reasonable and those who seemed to some
extent to have sympathy reproached much, saying: "Where
is their god and what did their religion profit them, which
they preferred even to their own lives?" Their conduct had
such variation, but our lot was marked by great grief because
45 I.e., by the Devil.
46 The ancient Christians were always very anxious to give the bodies of
martyrs a decent burial, and to preserve the memory of their graves.
_ They at times even bribed officials to give them the dead bodies.
47 I.e., since they had been quite unable to crush the courage of the
martyrs.
48 Cf. Apoc. 22.11.
49 Cf. Acts 7.54.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 287
we were unable to bury the bodies in the earth. For neither
did night avail us for this purpose, nor did money persuade,
nor did entreaty put to shame, but in every way they watched,
as if they would make some great gain if the bodies should not
obtain burial.'
Further on they say, in addition to this: c So the bodies of
the martyrs, after being exhibited and exposed in every way
for six days, and then burned and turned to ashes, were
swept by the wicked into the Rhone River which flowed
near by, in order that not even a trace of them might still
appear upon the earth. And this they did as if able to conquer
God and to deprive them of the rebirth, in order, as they
said, "that they might not even have hope of resurrection, 50 by
trusting in which they introduced among us a strange and
new religion and, despite terrors, going readily and joyfully
to death; now let us see if they will rise again, and if their
God is able to help them and snatch them out of our hands." '
Chapter 2
Such things happened to the Churches of Christ under the
above-mentioned emperor, 1 and from this it is possible to
conjecture also with a reasonable conclusion what was accom-
plished in the other provinces- It is worth while to add to this
other quotations from the same work, in which the moderation
and the kindness of the martyrs already mentioned have been
recorded with these very words: 'To such an extent were
they emulators and imitators of Christ, "who being in the
50 All sources of this period show that the Christians of the day laid
great emphasis upon the resurrection of the body. In fact, to such an
extent did they emphasize it that they were in lar^e measure
responsible .for the pagans' misunderstanding of it as exhibited here.
I Marcus Aurelius.
288 EUSEBIUS
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God/' 2
that, although they had attained such glory and not once or
twice but many times had given testimony, and had been
taken back from the beasts with burns and scars and wounds
all over them, they neither proclaimed themselves as martyrs
nor did they permit us to address them with the name, but if
ever anyone of us by letter or by word addressed them as
martyrs, they rebuked sharply. For they gladly conceded the
name of martyrdom to Christ, the faithful and true witness 3
and first-begotten of the dead and author of the life of God, 4
and they recalled the martyrs who already passed on and said :
"They are already witnesses, whom Christ has deemed worthy
to be taken up at their confession, having sealed their mar-
tyrdom by their departure, but we are lowly and humble
confessors," 5 and with tears they besought the brethren,
begging that earnest prayers be offered that they might be
made perfect. They displayed in deed the power of mar-
tyrdom, practicing great boldness toward the heathen, and
they made plain their nobleness through their patience and
fearlessness and courage, but before their brethren they
renounced the title of martyr, being filled with fear of God/
And again, after a little, they say: They humbled them-
selves under the mighty hand, by which they have now been
greatly exalted. 6 At that time they made defence for all, and
they accused none; they released all and bound none; and
they prayed for those who inflicted their tortures, just as
Stephen, the perfect martyr, who said, "Lord, lay not this sin
2 Phil. 2.6.
3 A martyr in the sense of one who bore witness to the faith but did
not have to die for it.
4 Cf. Apoc. 1.5; 3.14; Acts 3.15.
5 The Greek word is homologoi, which later came into general use as
homologetai.
6 Cf. 1 Peter 5.6.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 289
to their charge." 7 And if he prayed for those who were
stoning him, how much more for the brethren.'
And again, after other matters, they say: Tor this was
their greatest struggle with him, because of the genuineness
of their love, that -the beast, 8 on being choked, threw up alive
those whom he at first thought to have swallowed down. For
they did not take to boasting over the fallen, 9 but that in
which they abounded they supplied to those in need, having
the compassion of a mother; and shedding many tears in
their behalf to the Father, they asked for life, and He gave
it to them; and they divided it among their neighbors, having
departed to God in every respect victorious. Always loving
peace, and commending peace to us, they went to God with
peace, leaving behind no sorrow for their mother, 10 and for
the brethren no strife and war, but joy and peace and
harmony and love.'
Let this profitable account of the love of those blessed ones
for their brethren who had fallen suffice for the sake of the
inhuman and pitiless disposition of those who after this
unsparingly attacked the members of Christ. 11
Chapter 3
The same writing of the above-mentioned martyrs includes
7 Acts 7.59.
8 I.e., the Devil. Those whom he had swallowed are the ones who had
at first recanted. The confessors hoped to recover the backsliders, and
so save them from the Devil's maw.
9 Cf. Gal. 6.4.
10 I.e., the Church.
11 Eusebius's own contemporaries, especially the Donatists and Novatians,
were very severe in their treatment of the lapsed, in great contrast to
the charity of these martyrs.
290 EUSEBIUS
still another story worth remembering, and no one would
begrudge our bringing this to the knowledge of our future
readers. It runs as follows. A certain Alcibiades among them
was leading a very austere life 1 and in the beginning partook
of nothing at all, but used only bread and water, and he
tried to live this way even in jail. It was revealed to Attalus
after the first contest which he accomplished in the amphi-
theatre that Alcibiades was doing well in not using the
creations of God and leaving behind a form of scandal 2 for
others. But Alcibiades was persuaded to partake of all things
without restraint and he returned thanks to God; for they
were not overlooked by the grace of God but the Holy Spirit
was their counselor. Let this be enough on this point.
At just about that time, the followers of Montanus 3 and
Alcibiades 4 and Theodotus 5 in Phrygia were first promul-
gating among many their assumption regarding prophecy,
(for a great many other wonderful works of the grace of
God which were still being accomplished up to that time
furnished a belief among many that they also were prophets) ,
and, when dissension arose regarding the aforesaid persons,
the brethren in Gaul organized their own decision, pious and
very orthodox, concerning them, setting forth also various
epistles of the martyrs among them who had reached per-
fection, which they had composed, while still in prison, for
1 This interesting passage throws much light on the state of Christianity
in Lyons at this time. The Christians were very definitely worthy
practitioners of the principles of their faith. They did not permit
those imprisoned for the faith to suffer from lack of food and other
necessities, if they could possibly reach them. Nothing more is known
of the Alcibiades mentioned here.
2 A form of scandal in that it might appear to support the heretical
doctrine that matter is evil, as was declared by certain Gnostics.
3 Cf. below, 5.16 n. I.
4 This Montanist Alcibiades is to be distinguished from the confessor of
the same name above. Nothing more is known of him.
5 All our information of this Montanist Thepdotus is confined to this
section and Ch. 16.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 291
the brethren in Asia and Phrygia and also for Eleutherus,
Bishop of the Romans at the time, acting as ambassadors
for the peace of the churches. 6
Chapter 4
The same martyrs recommended Irenaeus, 1 also, who was
already at that time a presbyter of the diocese at Lyons, to
the above-mentioned bishop at Rome, as the words concerned
show as follows: 'We pray once more and always that you
rejoice in the God, Father Eleutherus. We have persuaded
our brother and comrade Irenaeus to convey this letter to you,
and we beg you to hold him in high esteem, since he is
zealous for the covenant of Christ. For if we had known that
office acquired righteousness for anyone, we would have
6 Many assume that the Gallic martyrs favored the Montanists and urged
Pope Eleutherus to be mild in dealing with them so that they would
remain within the Church, and peace thus be preserved. But it seems
to be clear that the Gallic martyrs, on the contrary, urged Eleutherus to
support the Church in the East by condemning the Montanists,
indicating that by failing to do so he would be setting himself up
against the Eastern Church. Salmon (Diet, of Christian Biog. 3.937) well
says: 'It is monstrous to imagine that Eusebius, thinking thus of
Montanism, could praise as pious or orthodox the opinion of men
who, ignorant of Satan's devices, should tike the devil's work for God's.
The way in which we ourselves read the history is that the Montanists
had appealed to Rome; that the Church party solicited the good offices
of their countrymen settled in Gaul, who wrote to Eleutherus repre-
senting the disturbance to the peace of the churches (a phrase probably
preserved by Eusebius from the letter itself) which would ensue if the
Roman Church should approve what the Church on the spot had
condemned. ... To avert, then, the possibility of the calamity of a
breach between the Eastern and Western churches, the Gallic
churches, it would appear, not only wrote, but sent Irenaeus to
Rome at the end of 177 or the beginning of 178. The hypothesis
here made relieves us from the necessity of supposing this presbela to
have been unsuccessful, while it fully accounts for the necessity of
sending it.* Cf., also, Cath. EncycL, under Eleutheros.
I Cf. above, 4.21.
292 EUSEBIUS
recommended him to you first of all as a presbyter of the
Church, which is his position.'
Why need we transcribe the list of martyrs in the aforesaid
writing, some of whom attained perfection by being beheaded,
others of whom were thrown to the beasts for food, and still
others of whom fell asleep in prison, and the number of the
confessors who survived up to that time? For, whoever
pleases can easily read a very full account of these matters
by taking into his hands the work which, as I have said, has
been included in our collection of the martyrs. But so much
for what took place under Antoninus. 2
Chapter 5
Report has it that the brother of Antoninus, Marcus
Aurelius Caesar, when he was arraying himself for battle
with the Germans and the Sarmatians, found himself in
trouble, because his army was oppressed by thirst; 1 but the
soldiers of the so-called legion of Melitene, 2 by a faith which
has sustained from that time to the present in battles with
the enemy, knelt on the ground according to our own custom
of prayer and turned to supplications to God. Although
such a spectacle indeed seemed strange to the enemy, report
has it that something else still more strange overtook them im-
mediately, for lightning drove the enemy into flight and
2 I.e., Antoninus Verus, explicitly distinguished by Eusebius from
Marcus Aurelius in the next chapter.
1 In 174, the Roman army in Hungary achieved victory by the sudden
occurrence of a thunder storm, which relieved the Romans of thirst
and frightened the barbarians. There were, of course, some Christians
in the Roman army and they considered this deliverance as an answer
to their prayers.
2 So called from the place where it was regularly stationed; Melitene
is a city in eastern Cappadocia, or Armenia.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 293
destruction, and a shower upon the army of soldiers who had
prayed to God refreshed it entirely as it was on the very point
of perishing from thirst.
The story is related by writers 3 far from our doctrine, who
have undertaken to describe the times of the emperors men-
tioned above, and it has also been recorded by our own.
While the miracle has been presented by writers outside the
faith, yet, inasmuch as they were strangers to the faith, it was
not confessed that this happened by the prayers of our
people. But, by our own authors, as friends of truth, what
took place has been handed down in a simple and guileless
manner. Among these would be also Apolinarius, 4 who has
said that from thenceforward the legion which had per-
formed the miracle through prayer received from the emperor
a name appropriate to what had taken place, being called in
the language of the Romans the Thundering Legion.' 5 And
of these matters Tertullian would be a trustworthy witness,
who, when he addressed in Latin an apology for our faith to
the Senate, which we have quoted before, 6 confirmed the
story with greater and clearer proof. Now he, too, writes,
saying that letters of Marcus, 7 the most wise emperor, were
even in that day still in circulation, in which he himself bears
3 Cassius Dio (71.8) ascribes the miracle to the Egyptian magician,
Arnuphes; Capitolinus, in his life of Marcus Aurelius, ascribes it to
the prayer of the emperor; the emperor himself, on his coins, depicts
Jupiter as hurling thunderbolts at the Germans. Many writers before
and after Eusebius refer to this event.
4 Claudius Apolinarius, Bishop of Hierapolis; ,cf. above, 4.27. The
reference here is in all probability to the Apology.
5 But according to Cassius Dio (35.23) , and as we gather from
inscriptions (CJ.L. 3.30) , the legion certainly had this name in the
time of Nero, and probably in the time of Augustus.
6 Cf. 2.2; 3.20; 3.33.
7 Tertullian, Apol. 5. An epistle, ascribed to Marcus Aurelius, describing
the miraculous deliverance of his army, is still extant and stands at the
end of Justin Martyr's first Apology. It is obviously the work of a
Christian and was probably forged at the end of the second century.
294 EUSEBIUS
witness that, when his army was about to be destroyed in
Germany because of lack of water, it was saved by the prayers
of the Christians, and Tertullian says that this emperor even
threatened death 8 to those who attempted to accuse us. And
to this the aforesaid author adds the following: 9 'What
manner of laws are these which impious, unrighteous, and
cruel men enforce against us alone? Vespasian did not observe
them, 10 although he conquered the Jews. Trajan set them aside
in part by forbidding that Christians be sought out. 11 Neither
Hadrian, 12 although he busied himself about all superfluous
matters, nor Pius, 13 so called, confirmed them.' But let these
matters be set down as anyone wills; let us go on to the
succession of events that follows.
When Pothinus reached perfection with those who had
suffered martyrdom in Gaul at the full age of ninety years, 14
Irenaeus succeeded to the episcopacy of the diocese in Lyons, 15
of which Pothinus was the ruler, and we have learned that he
was a listener to Polycarp 16 as a very young man. In the
third of his books against the heresies he set forth the succes-
sion of bishops at Rome down to Eleutherus, the events of
whose days we are now examining, as if the work had been
composed at the time, and he gives the list, writing as
follows: 17
8 The epistle itself declares that such accusers are to be burned alive.
Tertullian speaks of a 'condemnation of greater severity/
9 Tertullian, Apol, 5.
10 Cf. above, 3.12.
11 Cf. 3.33.
12 Cf. 4.9.
13 Cf. 4.13.
14 Cf. 5.1.
15 I.e., in 177; cf. above, 5.1.
16 Cf. Adv. haer. 2.3.4; also below, 5.20.
17 Iren. 3.3.3.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 295
Chapter 6
So, when the blessed Apostles founded and built the
Church, they entrusted the service of the episcopacy to Linus.
Paul has made mention of this Linus in his letters to Timothy. 1
Anencletus 2 succeeded him, and after him, in the third place
from the Apostles, Clement. 3 He had seen the blessed Apostles 4
and conversed with them, and still had the teaching of the
Apostles ringing in his ears and their tradition before his eyes.
He was not alone in this, for many were still alive at the time
who had been taught by the Apostles. Now, in the time of
Clement, when no little dissension arose among the Christians
in Corinth, 5 the Church in Rome sent a very appropriate
letter to the Corinthians, 6 confirming them in peace and
renewing their faith and the tradition which they had
recently received from the Apostles.' 7
And after brief remarks, he says: 8 'Evarestus 9 succeeded
this Clement, and Alexander, Evarestus; then Xystus was ap-
pointed as the sixth from the Apostles; after him, Telesphorus,
who also gloriously became a martyr; then Hyginus; then
Pius; after him, Anicetus. After Soter succeeded Anicetus, now
in the twelfth place from the Apostles, Eleutherus holds the
1 2 Tim. 4.21.
2 Cf. above 3.13.
3 Cf. above, 3.4.
4 The identification, of this Clement with the Clement of Phil. 4.3 is
very doubtful. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that he knew at
least the Apostles Peter and Paul.
5 Cf. The Epistle of Clement, especially 1,3.
6 Cf. above, 3.16.
7 This letter is generally known as 'the First Epistle of Clement/ Its
true title is 'the Epistle of the Church in Rome to the Church in
Corinth/
8 Iren. 3.3.3.
9 On Evarestus, cf. above, 3.34; on Alexander, 4.1; on Xystus, 44; on
Telesphorus, 4.5; oh Hyginus, 4.10; on Pius and Anicetus, 4.11; on
Soter, 4.19.
296 EUSEBIUS
office of bishop. The tradition from the Apostles in the
Church and the preaching of truth have come down to us
in the same order and in the same teaching.' 10
Chapter 7
These things Irenaeus described in accord with the extracts
we made from the books, five in number, which he entitled
Refutation and Overthrow of Knowledge Falsely So Called,
and in Book 2 of the same work he points out in the following
words that even to his own time have examples of the
divine and glorious power been left behind in certain churches,
saying: 'So far do they fall short of raising the dead, as the
Lord and his Apostles did through prayer; and often among
the brethren through necessity or at the request of the entire
local church with fasting and much supplication the spirit of
the dead returned and the man was blessed by the prayers
of the saints-' 1 And he says, again, after other remarks: 2 'But
if they will say that the Lord did such things in appearance,
we will take them back to the writings of the Prophets and
from them we will show that all had been so predicted about
Him, and certainly came to pass, and that He alone is the Son
of God. Therefore, too, His true disciples in His name receive
10 The word 'teaching* (didache) , which all the manuscripts of
Eusebius have and most editions print, makes no sense here. The
word is probably a mistake for 'succession* (diadoche) , which is
definitely implied by the Latin version of Irenaeus.
1 Iren. 2.32.2. Eusebius seems to err in making this quotation from
Irenaeus. As it stands in Eusebius, the sentence is incomplete. The
original sentence runs: "They [i.e., the Simonians and Carpocratians, two
early heresies] fall so far short of raising the "dfcad, as did the Lord . . .
that they do not even believe that it can be done/ On post-apostolic
miracles, see Cardinal Newman's Two Essays 6n Biblical ana Eccle-
siastical Miracles.
2 Iren. 2.32.4.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 297
graces from Him and use it for the benefit of the rest of men,
according as each one has received the gift from Him. Some
drive away demons certainly and truly, so* that those who
themselves have been cleansed from the wicked spirits often
receive the faith and enter the Church; others, too, have fore-
knowledge of future events, and visions, and prophetic
speech; and others cure the sick by the laying on of hands and
restore them cured, and, as we have said, the dead have been
raised and remained with us for many years; and, but wHy
say more? It is not possible to name the number of the graces
which the Church received from God in the name of Jesus
Christ who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and exercises
every day throughout the whole world for the benefit of the
heathen, neither deceiving any nor making profit; for, as
she has received freely, she also ministers freely.' 3 And in
another place the same author writes: *Just as we also hear
of many brethren in the Church who have the graces of
prophecy and speak in all manner of tongues through the
Spirit, and who bring the hidden things of men into the
open for their benefit and declare in detail the mysteries of
God.' 4 So much also on the fact that different graces con-
tinued among the worthy until the times mentioned.
Chapter 8
Since, as we began this work, 1 we made a promise, de-
claring that we would quote at the proper time the words
of the ancient presbyters and writers of the Church in which
3 Cf. Matt. 10.8.
4 Iren. 5.6.1.
1 Eusebius, in the beginning of this work, makes no such promise,
but in general terms proposes to mention those men who, either orally
or in writing, preached the word of God. In 3.3, however, he
definitely promises to do what he speaks of doing here.
298 EUSEBIUS
they have handed down in writing those traditions which
had come down to them about the canonical Scriptures, now
one of these was Irenaeus, and so let us quote his words, and
first of all those about the holy Gospels, which are as follows: 2
'Now Matthew published among the Hebrews iiTtheir own
language 3 a written Gospel, also, 4 while Peter and Paul were
preaching in Rome and establishing the Church. 5 And after
the departure of these, Mark, the disciple and interpreter of
Peter, himself also handed down to us in writing what was
preached by Peter; 6 and Luke, too, the follower of Paul, put
in a book the Gospel as preached by him. 7 Then, John, the
disciple of the Lord, he who had even leaned upon His
breast, 8 himself also gave out his Gospel, while living at
Ephesus in Asia,' 9
These things he said in Book 3 of the above-mentioned
work which has been quoted before, and in Book 5 he speaks
about the Apocalypse of John, 10 and the number of the name
of the Antichrist as follows: 11 'Since this is so, and since this
number is found in all the good and ancient copies, and since
those very ones who saw John face to face give testimony,
and since reason teaches us that the number of the name of
the beast according to the calculation of the Greeks appears
by the letters in it, . . , 512 And after he has gone on, he speaks
2 Iren. 3.1.1.
3 Cf. above, 3.28.
4 That is, a written as well as a spoken gospel.
5 Cf. above, 2.25.
6 Cf. 2.15.
7 Cf, 3.4.
8 Cf. John 13.25; 21.20.
9 Cf. above, 3.24.
10 Cf. Apoc. 13.18.
11 Iren. 5.30.L
12 According to Apoc. 13.18, the number of the beast is 666. The point
is that the Greek letters were used as numerals, and, if the letters in
in the name of the beast be so taken, they will add up to 666.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 299
about the same subject : 'Now we are not running the risk of
appearing absolutely certain about the name of the Antichrist.
For, if it were necessary that his name be proclaimed clearly at
the present time, it would have been spoken by him who saw
the Apocalypse; for it was not even seen a long time ago, but
almost in our own generation at the end of the reign of
Domitian.' 13
These things are related by the aforesaid about the
Apocalypse, and he also recalls the first Epistle of John, 14
introducing very many proofs from it, and also the first
Epistle of Peter. 15 And not only does he know, but he also
accepts, 16 the writing of the Shepherd, 17 saying: 18 'Well then
does the Scripture 19 speak which says: "first of all believe that
God is one who created all things and put them in order" 20
and so on.' And he has used some phrases from the Wisdom of
Solomon almost word for word: 'The vision of God is pro-
ductive of incorruption,' and 'incormption bringeth near to
God.' 21 He also mentions the memoirs 22 * of a certain apostolic
presbyter 23 whose name he passes over in silence, and has
presented his interpretation of divine Scriptures. Further^ he
13 Iren. 5.30.3. The subject is the Beast of Antichrist; cf. above 3.18.
14 Iren. 3.16.5.8; 1 John 2.18-22; 4.1-3; 5.1. On the Epistles of St. John,
cf. above, 3.24.
15 Iren. 4.9.2; 5.7.2; 4.16.5; 1 Peter 1.8; 2.16; cf. above, 3.3.
16 I.e., as Scripture.
17 I.e., the Shepherd of Hermas; cf. above, 3.3.
18 Iren. 4.20.2.
19 Many Fathers of the second and third centuries referred to Clement,
Hermas, Barnabas, and other post-Apostolic writers as Scripture.
20 Hermas 2.1.
21 Iren. 4.38.3. In this passage Irenaeus quotes freely from the Wisd.
6.19, without indicating that he is even quoting.
22 Not necessarily written memoirs, but oral comments and explanations
of the Apostles and other Christians of the first generation.
23 Iren. 4.27.1; 2.28.1; 30.1; 31.1; 32.1. In this first passage, Irenaeus speaks
of 'a certain presbyter who had heard it from those who had seen the
Apostles.' This presbyter cannot be identified.
300 EUSEBIUS
has made mention of Justin Martyr 24 and of Ignatius, 25 again
making use of proofs from the writings of these, and he
promised to give a refutation of Marcion in a special work 26
out of Marcion's own writings.
And regarding the translation of the inspired Scriptures by
the Seventy, hear what he writes word for word : 27 'So God
became man and the Lord himself saved us, giving us the
sign of the virgin, but not as some say of those who today
venture to translate the Scripture "behold a young woman
shall conceive and bear a son," 28 as Theodotian the Ephesian
and Aquila from Pontus translated it, both of them Jewish
proselytes, following whom the Ebionites 29 say that He was
begotten by Joseph.' After a little, he adds to this, saying: 30
Tor before the Romans had established their empire, while
the Macedonians still held Asia, Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, 31
being eager to adorn the library which he had established in
Alexandria with such good writings of all men as were in
existence, asked the people of Jerusalem to have their Scrip-
tures translated into the Greek language. They, for they were
still subject to the Macedonians, sent to Ptolemy seventy
elders, the most experienced among them in the Scriptures
and in both languages, and God accomplished what He
24 Iren. 4.6.2; 5.26.2; 28.4. Cf. above, 4.18.
25 Irenaeus nowhere mentions Ignatius, but he quotes him (Epistle to
Romans 4) in 5.28, beginning with these words: 'A certain one of our
people said, when he was condemned to the wild beasts.' On Ignatius,
cf. above, 3,36.
26 Iren. 1.27.4; 3.12.12. This promise appears never to have been kept
Eusebius (4.25) does mention Irenaeus as one of those who had written
against Marcion, but he may have been referring to the Adv. haer.
27 Iren. 3.21.1.
28 Cf. Isa. 7.14; also, Justin, Dial. 71.
29 Cf. above, 3.27.
30 Iren. 3.21.2.
31 Ptolemy, son of Tagus, or Ptolemy Soter (the Preserver) , King of
Egypt from 323 to 285 B.C.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 301
wished. He, wishing to make trial of them in his own way,
and being suspicious lest they had made some agreement
together and would conceal by their translation the truth in
the Scriptures, separated them from one another and ordered
all to write the same translation, and he did this for all the
books. And when they had come together in the presence of
Ptolemy and they had compared each his own translation,
God was glorified and the Scriptures were recognized as truly
divine, for they had all rendered the same material from
beginning to end with the same phrases and with the same
words, so that even the heathen present knew that the
Scriptures had been translated by the inspiration of God. And
it is not surprising that God accomplished this, who, after
the Scriptures had been destroyed during the captivity in the
time of Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews after seventy years had
gone back to their country, then in the times of Artaxerxes,
King of the Persians, inspired Esdra, priest of the tribe of
Levi, 32 to restore all the words of the prophets who had gone
before and to restore to the people the legislation of Moses.' 33
So much for Irenaeus.
Chapter 9
When Antoninus 1 had continued as emperor for nineteen
years, Commodus 2 took over the sovereignty. In his first year,
32 Ezdra 9.38-41.
33 This tradition appears to come from the Letter of Aristeas, supposedly
a work of a Persian noble of the time of Ptolemy Philadelphus
(285-247 B.C.).
1 I.e., Marcus Aurelius.
2 On March 17, 180.
302 EUSEBIUS
Julian 3 received the episcopacy of the churches in Alexandria,
after Agripplnus 4 had fulfilled his service for twelve years.
Chapter 10
At that time, a man very famous for his learning, by the
name of Pantaenus, 1 had charge of the life of the faithful
here, for according to an ancient custom a school of sacred
learning was established among them. 2 This school has con-
tinued even into our time, and we have learned that it is
managed by men of great ability in learning and zeal for
divine things, but report has it that at this time the above-
3 What Eusebius tells us here and what he says In Ch. 22, that he held
office for ten years, is all that we know about this Julian.
4 Cf. above, 4.19.
1 Pantaenus was the head of the Catechetical School of Alexandria about
180, and was still living in 193. He was succeeded by Clement, who left
Alexandria about 203. Thus, the probable date of his death was about
200. The most important fact known about Pantaenus is that he
anticipated Clement and Origen in the study of Greek philosophy, as
an aid to theology. Origen defended his use of the Greek philosophers
by appealing to the example of Pantaenus, 'who benefited many before
our time by his thorough preparation in such things.' A tradition,
recorded by Photius (cod. 118) , that Pantaenus had been a hearer even
of the Apostles themselves, cannot be accepted, since it is impossible.
Except for some brief reminiscences of his teaching, which may have
been drawn from his works and not only from his lectures and con-
versations, we have no traces of his works. According to Jerome, many
commentaries of Pantaenus were in circulation in his time; Eusebius,
however, does not name and probably never saw them.
2 The origin of the Catechetical School in Alexandria is uncertain.
Jerome probably rightly says (De vir. ill. 36) that there had always
been ecclesiastical teachers in Alexandria from the time of St. Mark,
and he is essentially echoing what Eusebius says. But such a group of
teachers as might be called a school first comes to light at this time
with Pantaenus as its head. Under Clement, Origen, Heraclas, Dionysius,
and others it played an important part in the history of the Church
until the end of the fourth century. It then disappears in the midst of
the troubles of the Church in Alexandria, and its end is as obscure as its
beginning.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY I BOOK FIVE 303
mentioned Pantaenus was especially eminent, inasmuch as
he had been influenced by the philosophical system of the
so-called Stoics. They say, then, that in his very earnest dis-
position he displayed such zeal for the divine Word that he
was appointed as a herald of the Gospel according to Christ
for the heathen in the East, being sent as far as the land of
the Indians. 3 For there were, until then, many evangelists 4 of
the Word who took heed to apply inspired zeal in imitation of
the Apostles for the increase and the establishment of the
divine Word. Of these, one was Pantaenus, and he is said
to have gone among the Indians, where a report is that he
discovered the Gospel according to Matthew among some
there who knew Christ, which had anticipated his arrival;
Bartholomew, one of the Apostles, had preached to them and
had left them the writing of Matthew in Hebrew letters, 5
which writing they preserved until the aforesaid time. Pan-
taenus, after many good deeds, was head of the school in
Alexandria 6 until he died, by the living voice and through
his writings interpreting the treasures of the divine doctrines.
3 Jerome (De vir. ill.) declares that Pantaenus was dispatched to India
by Bishop Demetrius and at the request of the Indians themselves. A
little later, Eusebius says that Pantaenus preached in the same land as
that in which St. Bartholomew taught. Bartholomew taught in the
region of the Bosphorus, but was wrongly supposed in the period of the
Fathers to have taught in India. Eusebius probably and Jerome
certainly had India proper in mind, and both may have been mistaken.
4 It is interesting to note that Eusebius speaks of preaching evangelists
as if they were uncommon in his day. In the earliest days of Christianity
they were called 'apostles/ Cf. the Didache.
5 If this statement be true, Pantaenus gives testimony to the existence
of a Hebrew 'Matthew.' There is no evidence, however, to justify any
conclusion as to the nature of this Hebrew 'Matthew' or its relation to
our Greek 'Matthew.' Cf. above, 3.24,25.
6 Eusebius' language is very vague here, but, like Jerome, he appears
to put the journey of Pantaenus in the middle of his activity at
Alexandria, and has him return there to continue teaching until his
death.
304 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 11
At this time. Clement, 1 of the same name as he who of old
ruled the Church at Rome and was a pupil of the Apostles, 2
was known for being trained in the holy Scriptures with
Pantaenus. In the Hypotyposes* which he composed, he has
mentioned Pantaenus by name as his teacher, and he seems
to allude to this very one in the first book of the Stromateis,
when, on referring to the more conspicuous of the successors
1 Titus Flavius Clement, according to tradition, was born in Athens,
though Alexandria was the scene of his labors. The time of his birth is
unknown, but it is usually set between 150 and 160. He himself, in
recounting his wanderings (Strom. 1.11), makes Greece the starting
point and Alexandria the goal of his search. Nothing is recorded about
his parents, but he implies (Paed. 1.1) that he embraced Christianity
as a convert, and this is stated directly by Eusebius (Praep. ev. 2.2) , al-
though he may be interpreting Clement. Eusebius and Jerome (De vir.
ill. 36,38) are irreconcilable in details and chronology, but it is clear
that, on the death or retirement of Pantaenus, Clement succeeded to
his office and probably had acted as his colleague before. He was head
of the school from about 190 to 203, when the persecution of Severus
broke out. He then left Alexandria and there is no evidence that he
ever returned there. There is likewise no evidence as to where he
retired. Eusebius here gives some indications of a visit to Syria, and
later he is in the company of an old pupil, Alexander, afterwards
Bishop of Jerusalem, and at that time Bishop of Cappadocia, in prison
for the faith. This is evidence that he did not leave Alexandria
dishonorably, through fear (cf. 6.6,11,14) . Alexander regarded his
presence as due to 'a special providence/ and gave him a letter of
congratulation to the church at Antioch on the appointment of
Asclepiades to the bishopric of that city (211). This is the last notice
that we have of him. The time and place of his death are both
unknown. He was commemorated as a saint in the early Western mar-
tyrologies on December 4, but his name was omitted in the mar-
tyrology published by Clement VIII after corrections by Baronius.
Benedict XIV defended the omission in a letter to John V of Portugal,
dated 1748, on the ground that since the teaching of Clement was open
to suspicion he was not entitled to a place in the calendar. Eusebius
gives a list of his works in 6.13*
2 Cf. above, 3.4.
3 Cf. below, 6.13. The passage in which the name of Pantaenus is
mentioned is not preserved.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 305
of the Apostles whom he had met, he speaks as follows: 4
This work, 5 indeed, is not a writing composed for display,
but my notes stored up for old age, a remedy against forget-
fulness, an image without art, and a sketch of those clear and
inspiring words and of those men blessed and truly noteworthy
(which I was privileged to hear). Of these men, one, the
Ionian, 6 was in Greece; another, in Magna Graecia; the
third of them was from Coele-Syria; 7 another, from Egypt;
and others were in the East, and of these one was from among
the Assyrians and another in Palestine of Hebrew origin. And
when I met the last/ but in power he was certainly first,
having hunted him out of concealment in Egypt, I found
rest. But these men preserved the true tradition of the blessed
faith direct from Peter and James and John and Paul, the
holy Apostles, some having received it from a father (but
few were like their fathers), and they have by the grace of
God come down even to us to deposit those ancestral and
apostolic seeds.' 9
4 Clement, Strom. 1.11.
5 I.e., his Stromateis,
6 Perhaps Athenagoras.
7 I.e., the district of the Lebanon.
8 Various attempts have been made to identify these teachers, but with
no success. There can be no doubt, however, about the identity of 'the
last/ namely Pantaenus.
9 This passage is important for the following reasons: it shows Clement's
extensive acquaintance with Christians, and the close relationship
maintained by all Christians, both in the East and in the West; it
indicates that Clement got much of his knowledge of the faith from
some teachers who had known the Apostles; it shows the remarkable
uniformity of doctrine in the different parts of Christendom, in spite
of the difficulties of communication; it shows how completely Clement
depended on tradition for the truth.
306 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 12
In the time of these men. Narcissus, 1 who is still celebrated
among many, was well known as Bishop of the Church in
Jerusalem, holding the fifteenth successive place since the
siege of the Jews under Hadrian. And we have already
pointed out that then for the first time the Church in
Jerusalem was composed of Gentiles, following those of the
circumcision, and that the first bishop from the Gentiles to
guide them was Marcus. 2 After him the successions of bishops
1 According to Eusebius here, Narcissus was the fifteenth of the Gentile
bishops of Jerusalem, counting from Marcus (136) , and the thirtieth
in succession from the Apostles. The beginning of the episcopacy is
usually given as 190. According to the Synodicon, he presided over a
council of fourteen bishops of Palestine held in Jersualem (198) to
consider the Paschal question, and he participated in another on the
same subject in Caesarea under the presidency of Theophilus, bishop o!
the city. Eusebius (5.23) speaks of this synodical letter as still extant in
in his day, and also (6.9) records a miracle ascribed to Narcissus, by
which water was changed to oil one Easter Eve, when the oil required
for the great illumination failed. The sanctity of his life caused him
to be slandered, and as a result he abdicated his bishopric and retired
in secrecy to a remote part of the desert to live the ascetic life. The
neighboring bishops, having searched for him in vain, declared the
see vacant, and consecrated Dius as his successor, who in turn was
succeeded by Germanicus, and he by Gordius. During the episcopacy of
Gordius, the charges against Narcissus were shown to be false, and so
he returned to resume the supervision of his see at the earnest request
of all (cf. 6.10,11). Alexander, a Cappadocian bishop, was selected by
the aged Narcissus as his coadjutor and eventual successor. Nicephorus
(H. E. 4.19) makes Narcissus a martyr, but there is nothing to support
this claim.
2 On the so-called bishops of Jerusalem down to the destruction of
the city under Hadrian, cf. above, 4.5. On the destruction of Jerusalem
under Hadrian, and the founding of the Gentile Church in Aelia
Capitolina, and on Marcus the first Gentile bishop, cf. 4.6. The list
given here by Eusebius professes to present fifteen names, but gives only
thirteen from Marcus to Narcissus. Moreover, Eusebius says that
Narcissus is the fifteenth. By comparing the Chronicon, we find that
after Capito the names of Maximus II and Antoninus should be in-
serted. Scholars are quite unable to determine the dates of these
various bishops, with the exception of Narcissus. With this same
exception, nothing is known about any of them beyond the fact of their
being bishops.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 307
here record that Cassian was bishop, and after him Publlus,
then Maximus, 3 and, besides these, Julian, then Gains, 4 and
after him Symmachus and another Gains, and again another
Julian, and, besides these, Capito 5 and VaJens and Doll-
chianus, and, in addition to all these, Narcissus who was the
thirtieth from the Apostles in regular succession.
Chapter 13
At this time, also, Rhodo, 1 by race of the people of Asia,
who had been taught at Rome, as he himself relates, by
Tatian, with whom we became acquainted above, 2 wrote
various books, and among others directed one especially
against the heresy of Marcion. 3 And he relates that in his
time this heresy was divided into various opinions, 4 listing
those who caused the division and accurately refuting the
false teaching devised by each one of these. But give heed
to him, then, as he writes the following: Therefore they were
at variance even among themselves, maintaining inconsistent
3 Called Maximinus by the Armenian Chron.
4 For this first Gaius, some give the name Gaianus.
5 The Armenian Chron. has Apion.
1 Nothing further is known of him. Jerome (De vir. ill. 37) makes the
additional statement that Rhodo wrote a work Against the Phrygians,
but in all probability he deduced this from what Eusebius tells us here.
The works of Rhodo are no longer extant, and the only fragments in
existence are, those given by Eusebius here.
2 Cf. above, 4.29.
3 Cf. 4.11.
4 It is to be noted that Eusebius says 'opinions/ not 'sects' or 'parties.'
Although the various Marcionites held different theoretical beliefs, they
always remained unified, and the Fathers always referred to them by
one general name, Marcionites. This was because they placed chief
emphasis not on doctrine but on religious spirit. In this they differed
fundamentally with the Gnostics.
308 EUSEBIUS
opinions. 5 Apelles, 6 one of their herd, who prided himself on
his life 7 and old age, confesses one Principle 8 but says that the
prophecies 9 are from an opposing spirit, being won over to
this view by the response of a possessed maiden by the name
of Philoumene. 10 And others, just as the mariner himself
[Marcion], introduce two Principles. Among these are Potitus
5 The Fathers in general entirely misunderstood Marcion and the signif-
icance of his movement. They regarded the heresy as akin to
Gnosticism. Although Marcion did not stress the speculative and
theological, his opponents were concerned only with this. Marcion
wanted a Christianity undefiled by association with Judaism. Christian-
ity was the New Covenant pure and simple. Abstract questions
on the origin of evil or on the essence of the Godhead interested him
little. The Old Testament, however, was a scandal to the faithful and
a stumbling-block to the refined and intellectual Gentiles because of
its crudity and cruetly, and so it had to be set aside. But a distinction
has to be made between the doctrine of Marcion himself and that
of his followers. Some fell away completely from Marcion's practical
religious spirit, being led astray by the attractions of the speculative
theological, on which, as we have indicated, Marcion laid little
emphasis and often spoke loosely and inconsistently. Cf. Cath. EncycL,
art. Marcionites.
6 Apelles, the greatest and the most famous of the disciples of Marcion,
died at an advanced age late in the second century. All our infor-
mation about him is obtained from Rhode as quoted by Eusebius here
and from Tertullian's Prescription against Heretics 30. Tertullian also
wrote a special work against him, but this is lost. He separated
from Marcion in Rome, and went to Alexandria. There he met
Philoumene, whose utterances he regarded as inspired. He collected
her oracles in a book entitled Manifestations, and also wrote an
extensive work, Syllogismoi, which was an attack on Mosaic theology.
The personality and moral character of Apelles are portrayed quite
differently by Rhodo and Tertullian. Knowing Tertullian's attitude
toward heresiarchs in general, we are inclined to believe Rhodo. There
seems no justification for questioning the high moral character o
Apelles or of his master, Marcion.
7 Rhodo insinuates that Apelles was not sincere, but does not question
the purity of his life.
8 'Source of being/ 'Beginning/ or, almost, 'God.*
9 Of the Old Testament.
10 All the reports which we have about Apelles mention the virgin
Philoumene. She is said to have been regarded by Apelles as a
prophetess who worked miracles and received revelations from an
angel.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 309
and Basilicas. 11 These followed the wolf of Pontus 12 and on
not perceiving the division of things, as that one failed to do,
turned reckless and announced two Principles baldly and
without proof. Others, again, after them ran into worse
error and supposed not only two but even three Natures. Of
these the chief and leader is Syneros, 13 as those who put forth
his teaching say, 5
The same writer [Rhodo] declares that he entered a con-
versation with Apelles, describing it thus: Tor the old man
Apelles, when he associated with us, 14 was convicted of
making many false statements. Therefore he used to say that
it was not necessary to examine opinion fully, but that each
one should abide by what he believed. For he declared that
those who place their hope on the Crucified would be saved,
if only they be discovered in good works, 15 but the most
obscure matter of all that he taught was, as we have said
before, about God. For he kept saying that there is one
Principle just as our doctrine states/ Then, after setting forth
his own opinion fully, he adds these words: 'And when I
said to him: "What is the source of this proof of yours, or
how can you say that there is one Principle? Tell us," he said
that the prophecies refuted themselves because they said
nothing at all true, for they are at variance and false and
11 Potitus and Basilicus are not mentioned elsewhere.
12 I.e., Marcion, said to have been the son of a Bishop in Pontus.
13 Syneros is not mentioned elsewhere. As a matter of fact, the Marcionites
did not split into various sects. They all remained Marcionites, in
spite of their different opinions.
14 Like Marcion, Apelles wished to keep within the Chruch, and to
associate with her people. He had no esoteric teaching which he
wished to keep concealed from the multitude, and in this he differs
greatly from the Gnostics. Marcion left the Church only under com-
pulsion, and founded his own church only after he was out of the
Catholic community.
15 This dearly reveals the religious character of Marcionism as
contrasted with the speculative and theological character of the
Gnostics, and even of some of the Fathers.
310 EUSEBIUS
self-contradictory. As to how there is one Principle, he said
that he did not know, but that he was only inclined to be-
lieve this. Then, when I adjured him to speak the truth, he
swore that he spoke the truth when he said that he did not
know how thr unbegotten God is one, but that he believed
it. And I laughed and looked down upon him because, when
he professed to be a teacher, he did not know how to confirm
what he taught.' 16
In the same work, when addressing Kallistio, 17 the same
writer acknowledges that he received instruction in Rome
from Tatian, and he says that a book of Problems was pre-
pared by Tatian, in which Tatian promised to set forth what
was unclear and hidden in the divine Scriptures, and Rhodo
himself in his own work announces that he will set out the
solutions to Tatian's Problems. 18 There is also in circulation
by the same author [Rhodo] a treatise on the Hexaemeron. 19
This Apelles indeed uttered countless impieties against the
Law of Moses, and by many writings blasphemed the divine
words, having exercised no little zeal, as it seemed, for their
refutation and overthrow. 20 So much, then, about these
matters.
16 Note a true Gnostic sentiment in contrast to the pious 'agnosticism'
of Apelles.
17 Nothing more is known of him.
18 It is not known whether Rhodo ever fulfilled his promise; the work
is mentioned nowhere else.
19 The Narrative of Creation in six days. Nothing at all is preserved of
this work. For other works on the same subject, cf. below, 6.22.
20 Hippolytus (10.16) refers to works of Apelles against the Law and
the Prophets. Actually, only one work of Apelles is known. This is the
Syllogismus, a work devoted to the criticism of the Old Testament,
and containing the antitheses of Marcion in syllogistic form, Origen
(In Gen. 2.2) and Ambrose (De parad. 5.28) through quotation
preserve a few fragments, Ambrose from Book 38, so it apparently
was a very extensive work. Since Eusebius says, 'as it seemed,' he
himself probably never saw the work.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 311
Chapter 14
The Enemy of the Church of God, who is especially a hater
of good and a lover of evil, and has overlooked no means of
any kind for plotting against men, was again active in pro-
ducing strange heresies against the Church. 1 Some of these,
like poisonous reptiles, crawled over Asia and Phrygia,
boasting that Montanus was the Paraclete and that the
women among his followers, Priscilla and Maximilla, were
prophetesses of Montanus. 2
Chapter 15
Others flourished in Rome, and their leader was Florinus, 1
who had fallen from the presbyterate of the Church, and
Blastus with him, who had been caught in a similar fall.
These drew many away from the Church and brought them
over to their own opinion, each in his own way striving to
introduce innovations about the truth.
Chapter 16
Now, against the so-called Cataphrygian 1 heresy, the power
which is the defender of the truth raised up a powerful and
1 Cf. above, 4.7.
2 Cf. 5.16.
1 Cf. 5.20.
1 I.e., Montanist. Montanism is not a heresy in the usual sense of the
term, since the movement had reference to life and discipline rather
than to theology. The Montanists arose in the second century and
were first known as Phrygians or 'those among the Phrygians* (hoi
kata. Phrygos), them as Montanists, Pepuzians, and, in the West,
Cataphrygians. Their founders were the prophet, Montanus, and the
two prophetesses, Maximilla and Prisca, also called Priscilla.
312 EUSEBIUS
invincible weapon at Hierapolis, namely, Apolinarius, of
whom our work has made mention before/ and many others
with him of the learned men of that day, by whom a great
groundwork for history has been left behind to us. Now 5 one
Montanus was born a pagan and an idol priest (Didymus, De triv.
S.41) . There is no evidence to support the belief that after his
conversion he became a priest or a bishop. His fundamental doctrine
was that God's supernatural revelations did not end with the
Apostles, but that even more wonderful manifestations of the divine
energy could be expected under the dispensation of the Paraclete.
Montanus is said by some to have claimed to be himself the Paraclete.
He claimed rather to be an inspired organ by whom the Paraclete
spoke. Consequently, his words were uttered and accepted as those
of that Divine Being. It does not necessarily follow that he claimed to
be the Paraclete.
The prophesying of Montanus was soon surpassed by two female
disciples, Prisca or Priscilla and Maximilla. These women fell into
strange ecstasies, delivering while in this condition what Montanus and
his followers regarded as divine prophecies. They had been married,
left their husbands, and were given by Montanus the rank of virgins
in his church. Some of the neighboring bishops, however, found a
strong similarity between their frenzied utterances and those heathen
orgiasms which the Church was accustomed to ascribe to the operation
of demons. Apparently, no offence was taken at the substance of the
Montanistic prophesyings. The Paraclete ordered a few fasts and
abstinences; the latter were strict xerophogiae, but only for two weeks
in the year, and even then the Saturdays and Sundays did not count.
Cf. Tertullian, De ;>/. 15. 'Virginity was strongly recommended as
always by the Church and, in addition, second marriages were dis-
approved. Priscilla declared chastity to be a preparation for ecstasy.
They believed, too, in the speedy coming of Christ to establish His
kingdom on earth, which was also prophesied. Accordingly, they were
pre-Millenarians or Chiliasts. What condemned these prophesyings
in the minds of the authorities of the Church was the frenzied
ecstasy in which they were delivered. It is difficult to determine how
soon their excommunication took place in Asia. Some bishop probably
excluded the followers of Montanus from the beginning, and this
action was becoming common before the death of Montanus. It was
not a general rule, however, much before the death of Maximilla in
179. The sect gained much popularity in Asia Minor and in North
Africa, and for a time in Rome itself, and it appears that some
Churches were entirely Montanist. The extravagances of the sect arose
after the deaths of the three first prophets.
The greatest convert was Tertullian. He attached himself to
Montanism in 201 or 202, attracted by the asceticism and disciplinary
rigor of the sect, and until his death he remained its most powerful
supporter. The following of Tertullian cannot have been very large,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 313
of the aforesaid, when he began his work 3 against them, first
indicates that he had also entered an oral controversy against
them. He makes his introduction in the following manner:
Tor a very long and sufficient time, my dear Abercius
Marcellus, 4 I have been urged by you to compose a treatise
against the heresy of those called after Miltiades, 5 but some-
how I have continued in a state of reluctance until now, not
because of any lack of ability to refute the falsehood and to
bear testimony to the truth, but because of my fear and
scruples lest in some way I appear to some to be adding to or
extending the word of the new covenant of the Gospel, 6 to
which one who has chosen to live according to the Gospel
cannot add and from which he cannot take away. But, when
I was at Ancyra 7 in Galatia recently, and perceived that the
local church was disturbed by this new, not prophecy, as they
say, but much rather, as will be shown, false prophecy, in so
but a Tertullianist sect survived him and its remains were reconciled
to the Church by St. Augustine. Cf. Haer. 86.
The entire sect was excommunicated in Asia Minor before the end
of the second century. Later, the condemnation was approved in
Rome as well as in North Africa. Gradually, Montanism degenerated,
and finally, after two or three centuries, disappeared entirely.
The chief sources for our knowledge of Montanism are: the
writings of Tertullian, Epiphanius, Haer. 48, 49, Jerome's Epistle to
Marcella (Migne, Ep. 41) , the fragments of the anonymous anti-
Montanistic writer quoted by Eusebius in this and the following
chapter, and fragments of Apollonius' work, quoted in Ch, 18. The
works of the Montanists themselves, except for Tertullian, have
entirely disappeared. However, a few 'Oracles' or prophetic utterances
of Montanus, Priscilla, and Maximilla have been preserved by Ter-
tullian and others. Cf. Cath. EncycL, s.v.
2 Cf. 4.21,26,27; 5.5. .
3 Jerome (De vir. ill. 37) ascribes this work to Rhodo, but its author-
ship is quite unknown.
4 Bishop in the time of Marcus Aurelius, and probably held office, tor
twelve or fifteen years.
5 Apparently a leader of the Montanists.
6 Cf. Apoc. 22.18,19.
7 One of the three principal cities of Galatia; modern Angora occupies
its site.
314 EUSEBIUS
far as it was possible and opportunity permitted, we disputed
for many days in the church about these people themselves
and matters brought up individually by them, so that the
Church rejoiced and was strengthened in the truth, and
those of the opposition were crushed for the moment, and
our adversaries grieved. Therefore, the local presbyters asked
us to leave behind some record of what had been said against
the opponents of the Word of the truth, when Zoticus 8 of
Otrous, our fellow presbyter, was also present. We did not do
this, but we promised to write from home, when the Lord
granted, and to send it to them speedily.*
After having said these and then other similar things in the
beginning of his treatise, he proceeds with the narration of
the cause of the above-mentioned heresy in the following
manner: 'So their opposition and renowned heretical schism
from the Church had the following cause. There is said to be
in Mysia near Phrygia a certain village called Ardabav. 9
There, they say, first, that a certain one of the recent converts,
Montanus by name, when Gratus was proconsul 10 of Asia, in
an unrestrained desire of soul for primacy 11 gave to the
8 Nothing more is known of this Zoticus. Otrous (Otrys) was a small
town in Phrygia, about two miles from Hierapolis. The Bishop of
Otrous was present at the Council of Chalcedon and at the second
Council of Nicaea.
9 Not in Phrygia as is often said, but in Mysia, although the boundary
between the two districts were very indefinite. Nothing is known about
Ardabav. It should be noted that the explicit statement that Montanus
was born in Ardabav is not made, although this may with some
confidence be assumed.
10 It is impossible to fix the exact date of the rise of Montanism. The
date of the proconsulship of Gratus cannot be fixed, and so this rather
definite statement is of little help. Epiphanius (Haer. 48) says that it
arose in the nineteenth year of Antoninus Pius (156-157) , but
Epiphanius' figures are confused and contradictory. In all probability,
Montanism began some time before the date given by Eusebius.
Montanus may even have begun his work before the end of the reign
of Antoninus Pius.
11 Ambition on the part of some individual person was regularly re-
garded by the Fathers of the Church as the occasion of the various
heresies and schisms.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 315
Adversary access to himself, and became obsessed, and, falling
suddenly into a kind of frenzy and distraction, raved and
began to babble and utter strange things, prophesying con-
trary to the custom of the Church according to the tradition
and the succession of the Church from the beginning. 12 Some
of those who at that time were within hearing of the bastard
utterances were angry at him as being possessed and being
controlled by a devil and in a spirit of error and as disturbing
the populace; they censured him, and forbade him to talk,
remembering the distinction 13 made by the Lord and his
warning to be on guard against the coming of false prophets;
and others, elevated by a holy spirit and a prophetic grace
and not a little puffed up, forgot the Lord's distinction and
encouraged the maddening and seducing and people-mis-
leading spirit, being cheated and deceived by it until it no
longer was kept in check so as to keep silence. And by some
device, rather, by a scheme of evil planning, the Devil
devised destruction for the disobedient and, being honored by
them unworthily, excited and inflamed their understanding
which had been lulled to sleep away from the faith according
to truth, so that he even roused two more women 14 and filled
12 As indicated above, the Church found no fault with the substance of
Montanus' prophecy, but with the form. The form of prophecy
employed by Montanus was only a revival of the form employed in
earlier years, but a great change in this respect had come over the
Church since the apostolic age. While the Christians were quite
familiar with prophecy in their own time, they were no longer willing
to accept it through an ecstatic and frenzied utterance. Clement
(Strom. 1.17) calls the speaking in ecstasy a mark of a false prophet,
and Origen (Contra Cels. 7.11), several decades later, denied that
prophets existed even in the time of Celsus.
13 Between true and false prophets. Cf. Matt. 7.15.
14 Maximilla and Priscilla or Prisca, mentioned 5.14. They were greatly
reverenced by the Montanists, who in many localities were called, after
the latter, Priscillianists. The Montanists insisted on the complete
religious equality of men and women. Human beings were but
instruments of the Spirit, who might choose anyone, man or woman,
ignorant or learned, as his mouthpiece. Tertullian (De anima 9) refers
to a woman of his church, who, he believed, regularly received
316 EUSEBIUS
them with the bastard spirit, with the result that they babbled
insanely and improperly and strangely, like the aforesaid
Montanus. And the spirit 15 pronounced them blessed as they
rejoiced and were conceited over him, and puffed them up
by the magnitude of its promises. Sometimes it condemned
them openly, wisely, and faithfully, that it might appear
also to be critical, but few were those of the Phrygians who
were deceived. But, when the arrogant spirit taught to
blaspheme the entire Catholic Church in the whole world,
because the spirit of false prophecy received neither honor
from it nor entrance into it, and when the faithful in Asia had
gathered together for this purpose 16 and had examined the
recent utterances and pronounced them profane and rejected
the heresy, then at last they [the Montanists] were expelled
from the Church and were excommunicated/
These things he related in the beginning, and throughout
the whole work he brings in proof of the error among them,
and in Book 2 he speaks as follows about the end of the
aforesaid: 'Since, then, they even called us slayers 17 of the
prophets, because we did not accept their unrestrained
prophets (for they say that these are the ones whom the
Lord announced that He would send to the people), 18 let
them give answer to us before God. Is there anyone, finest of
men, who began to babble after Montanus and the women,
15 The false spirit speaking through Montanus. It should be noted that
Abercius believed in the supernatural power of Montanus, but ascribed
it to the Devil rather than to the Holy Spirit.
16 It is not surprising to hear that synods were held to consider the
menace of Montanism. Just where and when they were held is not
known. There is late and weak authority (Libellus synodicus) for one
having been held at Hierapolis under Apolinarius, twenty-six bishops
attending, and another at Anchialus under Sotas, twelve bishops
attending.
11 Probably used in a figurative sense, to point out the hostility of the
Church against the Montanists. The Church had no power to put
heretics to death, even had it so desired.
18 Cf. John 14.26.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 317
who was persecuted by Jews or killed by the wicked? 19 No
one. Was there not at least someone who was overpowered
and crucified for the name? No, there was not. 20 But, was
not some one of the women ever flogged in the synagogues of
the Jews or stoned? No, never anywhere. But Montanus and
Maximilla are said to have died by a different death. For
there is a report that they each at the instigation of a mad-
dening spirit hung themselves 21 at different times, and at the
time of the death of each there was much gossip that they
had died thus and that they had destroyed their lives like the
traitor Judas. Thus, too, a widespread report holds that that
remarkable man, the first steward, as it were, of their so-called
prophecy, a certain Theodotus, 22 was sometimes taken up and
received into heaven, and fell into trances, and entrusted
himself to the spirit of deceit, and was hurled down and died
miserably. 23 At least they say that this happened so. But let
us not think that we know any of these things when we did
not see them, my friend. Perhaps Montanus and Theodotus
and the above-mentioned women died in this manner, and
perhaps they did not.'
Again, in the same treatise, he says that the holy bishops of
that time tried to refute the spirit that was in MaximUla, but
were prevented by others who evidently co-operated with
the spirit, and he writes as follows: 'And let not the spirit that
19 Cf. Matt. 23.34.
20 A direct contradiction to statements by the same author in 5.21. The
Montanists had many martyrs. In fact, their principles led them to
martyrdom very readily. Cf. Tertullian, De fuga in persecutione.
21 Undoubtedly a falsification.
22 A prominent Montanist, to be distinguished from the two Theodoti
mentioned in 5.28. All that is known of the present Theodotus is
limited to this reference and that in 5.3.
23 Little credence is to be placed in this report. It is reminiscent of the
death traditionally ascribed to Simon Magus, who with the aid ol
demons attempted to fly up to heaven, and when in mid air fell and
was killed.
318 EUSEBIUS
speaks through Maximilla say in the same book according to
Asterius Orbanus, 24 "I am driven away from the sheep, like a
wolf. I am not a wolf. I am word and spirit and power." But
let him show clearly and prove the power in the spirit, and
let him through the spirit force those to confess who were then
present for the purpose of testing and conversing with the
spirit as it spoke eminent men and bishops, Zoticus 25 from
the village of Cumane, 26 and Julian 27 from Apamea, whose
mouths the followers of Themiso 28 muzzled, and did not
permit the false and people-seducing spirit to be refuted by
them/
Again, in the same work, meanwhile having said other
things to refute the false prophecies of Maximilla, he both
indicates the time when he wrote this and quotes her pre-
dictions, in which she prophesied that there would be wars and
revolutions. He corrects the falsehood of these in the following
words: 'How has this falsehood also not already been made
evident? For to this day it is more than thirteen years since
the woman died, and neither partial nor complete war has
broken out in the world; rather, even for Christians, a con-
tinuous peace 29 by the mercy of God. 9
24 Asterius Orbanus or Urbanus, a Montanist who wrote a work In
defense of that sect. Nothing further is known of him.
25 All that is known of this Bishop Zoticus is to be found here and In
5.18.
26 A small village in Pamphylia.
27 Nothing more is known of him. His city was Apamea Cibotus or
Ciboti, probably a small village on Mount Signia in Pisidia.
28 A prominent Montanist, after the death of Montanus, probably the
head of the sect. He is mentioned again in 5.28 as a confessor and as an
author of a catholic epistle.
29 Probably the period before the wars of Septimus Severus, no later
than 192, the close of the reign of Commodus. There were no
important wars in the reign of Commodus, and the persecutions that
occurred then were less violent than those of earlier reigns.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 319
This is from Book 2. And from Book 3 I shall present
short passages in which he says the following against those
who boast that more of them had been martyrs : 'When, then,
they are at a loss because refuted in all the discussion, they
try to take refuge with the martyrs, saying that they have
many martyrs and that this is a trustworthy proof of the power
of the so-called prophetic spirit among them. But this, indeed,
as it appears, is more untrue than anything. 30 For, some of
the other heresies have a very large number of martyrs, and
surely we shall not agree with them on this account, nor admit
that they possess the truth. First of all, the so-called Mar-
cionists of the heresy of Marcion say that they have a very
large number of martyrs, yet they do not confess Christ him-
self according to truth.'
And after a few remarks, he adds to this, saying : 'Wherefore
whenever those of the Church who have been called to
martyrdom for the faith according to truth meet with some
of the so-called martyrs of the Phrygian heresy, they separate
from them and achieve perfection without associating with
them, because of their unwillingness to agree with the spirit
in Montanus and the women. And that this is true and really
happened in our time in Apamea 31 on the Meander is clear
from the case of those followers of Gaius and Alexander 32 of
Eumeneia who suffered martyrdom.'
30 A direct contradiction to a statement in Sect. 12 by the same author.
31 Apamea Cibotus, a commercial center in Eastern Phrygia.
32 We know only what is told us here about the two martyrs, Gains and
Alexander. They were both apparently from Eumenia, a town in
Phrygia, a short distance north of Apamea. Thraseas, Bishop of
Eumenia, is mentioned by Polycrates (Ch. 24) as a martyr.
320 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 17
In this work he also quotes Miltiades 1 as a writer, inas-
much as he himself wrote a treatise against the above-men-
tioned heresy. After quoting some of their phrases, he con-
tinues, saying: 4 I discovered this in a work of theirs written
in opposition to a work of Alcibiades 2 the brother, in which
he gives proof on the fact that a prophet need not speak in
ecstasy, 3 and I made a summary of it. 9 Going on in the same
work, he makes a list of those who have prophesied in the
New Testament, and among these he numbers a certain
Ammia 4 and Quadratus, 5 speaking thus: 'But the false
prophet speaks in ecstasy, which is accompanied by ease and
freedom from fear, beginning with voluntary ignorance, but
1 Information on this Miltiades comes from the following sources: the
present chapter, the Roman work quoted by Eusebius in 5.28, and
Tertullian (Adv. VaL 5) . Jerome mentions him in De vir. ill. 39 and
in Ep. ad Magnum, but he clearly is drawing solely on Eusebius, and
contributes nothing. He was evidently an active writer of the second
century. Eusebius (5.28) quotes the author of the Xittle Labyrinth* as
naming Miltiades in company with Justin, Tatian, Irenaeus, Melito,
and Clement among the writers who defended truth, and who before
Victor's episcopate proclaimed the divinity of Christ. Tertullian
(Adv. Valentin. 5) names him with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus as
as writer against heresy, proclaiming him in an honorable sense,
'sophista ecclesiarum,'
2 All editors except McGiffert change this to Miltiades. This change
certainly is in accord with historical fact, but the evidence of all the
manuscripts is definitely for Alcibiades. Thus, we seem to have here
a mistake by Eusebius himself, and as such it should appear in the
text.
3 This was probably the first work to denounce prophesying in ecstasy.
The practice had fallen almost into disuse until revived by the
Montanists and brought into disrepute by their excesses. Alcibiades'
position on the problem soon became that of the Church.
4 Ammia of Philadelphia is known only from this chapter. She apparently
lived in the latter part of the first or early in the second century,
and was a prophetess of considerable prominence.
5 Evidently a man of prominence in the East, and to be identified with
the Quadratus of 3.37. He is to be distinguished from the Bishop of
Athens mentioned in 4.23 and probably also from the apologist of 4.3.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 321
turning into involuntary madness of soul, as has already been
said. But they will not be able to show that any prophet of
those in the Old Testament or of these in the New was in-
spired in this manner; they will boast neither of Agabus, nor
of Judas, nor of Silas, nor of the daughters of Philip, nor of
Ammia in Philadelphia, nor of Quadratus, nor of any others
who do not belong to them.' 6 And again, after brief remarks,
he speaks as follows: Tor, if the Montanist woman received
the prophetic gift after Quadratus and Ammia in Philadelphia,
let them show who among them succeeded the followers of
Montanus and the women; for the Apostle 7 held that the gift
of prophecy must exist in all the Church until the final
coming. But they would not be able to show this anywhere
today, the fourteenth year after the death of Maximilla/ 8
So much, then, does he write. The Miltiades he mentioned
has left us other records also of his own zeal for the oracles of
God in the treatises which he composed against the Greeks
and against the Jews, 9 replying separately to each charge in
two books; besides, he composed an Apology against the
secular rulers 10 in defense of the philosophy which he held.
6 Cf. Acts 11.28; 21.10; 15.22; 21.9.
7 Cf. Eph. 4.1 Iff.; 1 Cor. 1.7.
8 The argument appears to be that the Montanists are not a part of
the true Church, because they no longer possess the gift of prophecy, a
mark of the Church. This can be understood only if it is assumed
that the existing Montanistic prophets were not true prophets.
9 These works are mentioned by no one else, and, although Eusebius
seems to have seen them, he does not quote from them. No fragments
have been preserved.
10 Some commentators would have these words refer to the provincial
governors. In all likelihood, however, they refer to the reigning
emperors. The form of the phrase itself and the prevailing practice
*vith all apologists of addressing the emperors themselves point to
this. The Apology was evidently a learned plea for toleration of
Christianity, whose pure doctrines were contrasted with the pagan
teachings of pagan philosophy. It is not extant, but was held in high
repute at the time.
322 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 18
When the so-called Phrygian heresy was still flourishing in
Phrygia, ApoUonius, 1 an ecclesiastical writer, also undertook
its refutation and composed a special work against them,
proving word for word that their prophecies which were in
circulation were false, and reproving the character of the life
of the leaders of the heresy. Listen to him as he says the fol-
lowing, in these very words, about Montanus: 'But who this
recent teacher is, is revealed by his works and his teaching.
This is he who taught dissolution of marriages, 2 who made
laws for fasting, 3 who gave the name of Jerusalem to Pepuza
and Tymion, 4 (these are small towns in Phrygia), desiring
1 Called by the author of Praedestinatus (written in the fifth century
and not reliable) , Bishop of Ephesus. He wrote a work in five books
against the Montanists. Fragments of the first three are preserved here.
St. Jerome devotes an article (Vir. illust. 50) to ApoUonius, and quotes
him as saying that Montanus and his prophetesses hanged themselves.
The work professes to have been written forty years after the be-
ginning of Montanus' pretensions to prophesy. The year 210 is the
most probable date for this work. It was considered sufficiently im-
portant by Tertullian to require an answer. Accordingly, he devoted
Book 7 of his lost work, De ecstasi, to a refutation of Apollonius"
claims.
2 The chief sources for the Montanistic stan(J on marriage are the
following works of Tertullian: Ad uxorem, De pudicitia, De
monogamia, De exhortatione ad castitatem. They were, of course,
quite ascetic in their tendencies; they taught the unlawfulness of
second marriages; they exalted the blessedness of the single state; but
beyond this they did not go.
3 This was one of the chief points of dispute between Montanists and
Catholics. In fact, Hippolytus (8.2; 10.21) has essentially no other
complaint against them. Catholics objected strenuously to the in-
crease in the number and the severity of fasts which the Montanists
tried to impose* The chief sources of information on this dispute
are: Tertullian, De jejuniis; Epiphanius, Haer. 48.8; Jerome, Ep. ad
Marcellam and Comment, in Matt. 9.15; and Theodoret, Haer. Fab. 3.2.
4 Pepuza, the chief center of Montanism, was an obscure town in the
western part of Phrygia. It even gave its name to .the sect in many
places. Montanus seems to have intended originally to gather the
chosen people from all over the world into one place, there, free
from all the political and social relations, to await the coming of the
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 323
to bring people together there from everywhere, who estab-
lished collectors of money, 5 who contrived the receiving of
gifts under the name of offerings, who provided salaries for
those who preached his doctrines, that its teaching might
prevail through gluttony.'
This, then, he says about Montanus. After proceeding a
little further, he writes this about his prophetesses: 'Now we
show that these first prophetesses themselves, from the
moment they were filled with the spirit, deserted their hus-
bands. How, then, they did lie when they called Priscilla a
virgin.' 6 Then he continues, saying: 7 'Does all Scripture seem
to you to prohibit a prophet from receiving gifts and money?
When, therefore, I see that a prophetess has received gold and
silver and expensive clothes, how shall I not reprove her?'
And again, after going on further, he says this about one
of the confessors of their time : 'Moreover, Themiso, 8 who was
clothed with plausible covetousness, who did not endure the
sign of confession but cast off prison bonds for much wealth,
when he should have been humble on this account, boasting
that he was a martyr, in imitation of the Apostle he had the
temerity to compose a kind of catholic letter to instruct
those who had more faith than he, and to contend with
babbling words and to blaspheme against the Lord and the
Lord. When this was found to be impracticable, Montanism proceeded
to set itself up in the midst of society as it. existed in the outside
world. Montanus built especially upon the Gospel of John (10 and
17) . Cf., also, with this passage from Apollonius, Epiphanius, Haer.
48.14 and 49.1, and Jerome Ep. ad Marcellam.
5 Cf. above, 5.16. This seems to have become a part of the original plan.
6 Cf. 5.16.
7 Cf. Didache 11,12.
8 Cf. 5.16.
9 This letter is no longer extant. The 'blasphemy' against our Lord and
His Apostles was probably the enunciation of the fundamental
doctrine of the Montanists, that the age of revelation was not passed,
that revelations were still given through the promised Paraclete, and
that these revelations supplemented or even superseded those given
the Apostles by Christ.
324 EUSEBIUS
Apostles and the holy Church.' And again, about another of
those who were honored in their time as martyrs, he writes
thus: 'But not to speak about more of them let the pro-
phetess 10 tell us the story of Alexander, 11 who calls himself a
martyr, with whom she feasts, to whom himself even many
pay reverence. 12 Of his robberies and the other crimes for
which he has been punished we should not speak, but the
record house 13 contains them. Who, then, forgives the sins of
whom? Does the prophet the robberies of the martyr, or the
martyr the avarice of the prophet? For, although the Lord
said: "Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor two coats," 14 these
in complete opposition have offended as regards the possession
of these forbidden things. For, we will show that those among
them who are called prophets and martyrs make gain not
only from the rich but also from the poor and from orphans
and from widows. And if they have confidence, let them halt
at this point and discuss these matters, in order that, if they
are convicted, they may cease in the future to give offence.
For it is necessary to test the fruits of the prophet, 'for by the
fruit the tree is known. 315 But, that the story of Alexander
may be known to those who wish, he was convicted by
Aemilius Frontinus, 16 proconsul in Ephesus, not because of
the Name/ 7 but because of his daring robberies, since he was
10 The reference is to Themiso. Themiso and Alexander seemed to have
lived together.
11 Nothing further is known of him. There probably is little truth in
what is said here.
12 A common charge brought against various sects in the early centuries.
13 opisthodornos, literally 'back room'; originally, the back room in the
Temple of Athena on the Acropolis at Athens where the public
treasure was kept. It was afterwards applied to any room used for this
or similar public purposes. Here it is applied to a room containing
the public records or archives.
14 Cf. Matt. 10.9,10.
15 Matt. 12.33.
16 Nothing is known about this proconsul; hence, the date of this
occurrence cannot be fixed.
17 Of Christ.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 325
already an offender. Then, by laying false claim to the Name
of the Lord, he was released, having deceived the faithful
there, 18 and his own diocese, from which he came, did not
accept him because of his being a robber, and those who wish
to learn all about him have the public records of Asia at
hand, 19 and the prophet does not know him, although he
lived with him for many years. By exposing this man we
expose also the argument of the prophet. We can reveal the
same in the case of many; if they have the courage, let them
stand the test.'
And again, in another part of his work, he adds this about
the prophets of whom they boast: 'If they deny that their
prophets have accepted gifts, let them confess this, that, if
they are convicted of having accepted them, they are not
prophets, and we will present countless proofs of this. But all
the fruits of a prophet must be tested. Tell me, does a prophet
dye his hair? Does a prophet pencil his eyelids? Does a prophet
like adornment? Does a prophet play with tables and dice?
Does a prophet lend money at usury? Let them admit whether
these things are possible or not, and I will show that they have
taken place among them/ 20
This same Apollonius, in the same book, relates that at the
time when he wrote his book it was actually forty years after
the time when Montanus attempted his fictitious prophecy.
And, again, he says that Zoticus, whom the former writer 21
also mentioned, when Maximilla pretended to prophecy in
Pepuza, resisted her and tried to refute the spirit that was
18 While in prison he pretended to be a Christian, thereby obtaining
the favor of certain Christians who obtained his release through their
influence with the judge.
19 This story is a striking parallel to Lucian's account of Peregrmus.
20 What is known of the asceticism and strict morality of the Montamsts
does not permit us to put much credence in these statements.
21 Cf. Ch. 16.
326 EUSEBIUS
working in her, but was prevented by those who agreed with
her. And he also mentions a certain Thraseas 22 among the
martyrs of that time. Furthermore, he says, as if from tradition,
that the Saviour ordered His Apostles not to be separated
from Jerusalem for twelve years, 23 and he made use also of
quotations from the Apocalypse of John, 24 and he relates
that by divine power a dead man was raised by John himself
in Ephesus. And he says certain other things by which he
adequately and very fully discloses the error of the above-men-
tioned heresy. So much for Apollonius.
Chapter 19
Serapion, 1 who, report holds, was Bishop of the Church
at Antioch after Maximinus 2 at the time mentioned, has
made reference to the works of Apolinarius 3 against the above-
mentioned heresy. He mentions him in his own letter to
Caricus and Pontius, 4 in which, while he, too, refutes the
22 The bishop and martyr of Eumenia, mentioned by Polycrates in Ch.
24. Nothing more is known about him than is told here.
23 Cf. Clement (Strom. 6.5) , where the same tradition is given; also,
above, 3.3.
24 Cf. the promise of Eusebius in 3.24.
1 Serapion, reckoned eighth in succession, was Bishop of Antioch from
190 to 203. Eusebius reports (6.12) that he has seen (in addition to the
epistle quoted here) the following works: (I) a letter to Caricus and
Pontius against the Montanists, containing a copy of a letter of
Apollinaris of Hierapolis, and substantiated as to the facts by the
signatures of several other bishops, including some of Thrace; (2) a
treatise addressed to Domninus, who during the persecution of Severus
had fallen away to the Jewish 'will -worship'; and (3) , the most im-
portant work, directed against the Docetic gospel falsely attributed to
St. Peter, addressed to some members of the Church at Rhossus, being
led away by it from the true faith. Jerome (De vir. ill. 41) and Socrates
(HjE. 3.7) also treat of Serapion.
2 Cf. above, 4.24.
3 Cf. 4.27.
4 These personages are otherwise unknown.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 327
same heresy, he continues as follows: In order that you may
know this also, that the activity of the so-called new prophecy
of this false order is loathed by all the brethren in the world,
I have sent you the writings 5 of Claudius Apolinarius who was
the most blessed Bishop of Hieropolis in Asia/ And in this
letter of Serapion signatures of various bishops are preserved,
one of whom has subscribed himself in this manner: 'I,
Aurelius Cyrenius, 6 a martyr, pray for your good health 5 ; and
another in the following way: *I, Aelius Publius Julius, 7
Bishop of Debeltum, a colony of Thrace. As God in heaven
lives, the blessed Sotas 8 in Anchialus wished to cast out the
demon in Priscilla, and the hypocrites did not permit it.*
The autograph signatures of many more other bishops, who
agreed with these, are preserved in the above-mentioned work.
So much for matters concerning these.
Chapter 20
In opposition to those in Rome who were disturbing the
sound ordinance of the Church, Irenaeus 1 composed various
letters, writing one to Blastus 2 On Schism, another to Florinus 3
5 Cf. 4.27.
6 Nothing is known of him.
7 Otherwise unknown. Debeltum and Anchialus were Thracian towns,
on the western shore of the Black Sea.
8 Otherwise unknown.
1 Cf. above, 4.21.
2 Eusebius states (5.15) that both Blastus and Florinus enticed many
away from the Church by their novel heresies. He says nothing, how-
ever, about the nature of the beliefs of Blastus. We know from another
source (Pseudo-Tertullian, Adv. omnes haer. 8) that he was a
Quartodeciman, that is, that he believed that the Passover was to be
observed according to the Law of Moses, on the fourteenth of the
month. From Pacianus (Epistola ad Sympronian de catholico nomine
2) we are informed that he was a Montanist. It was not unusual for
a person to be at the same time a Montanist and a Quartodeciman.
The epistle of Irenaeus to Blastus, On Schism, is not extant.
328 EUSEBIUS
On Monarchy* or That God Is Not the Author of Evil. For,
indeed, this Florinus seemed to be defending this opinion.
Because of him, too, when he was being drawn away by the
error of Valentimis, the work On the Agdoad? also was com-
posed by Irenaeus, in which he points out that he himself
had received the first succession of the Apostles. In it, near
the end of his work, having found a very pleasing note of his,
we will of necessity include it in this writing. It goes as fol-
lows: 'I adjure you who will copy this book, by our Lord
Jesus Christ and by His glorious advent, when He comes to
judge the living and the dead, that you compare what you
have transcribed and correct it carefully with this copy from
which you have transcribed. And you will likewise transcribe
this oath and place it in the copy. Let this be said by him with
profit and let it be related by us in order that we may have
3 For some time in the second half of the second century a presbyter at
Rome, who lost his office because of heresy. He is known to us from
Eusebius' two notices (5.15,20) , both taken from the writings of
Irenaeus, One of these is an interesting fragment of a letter to Florinus,
in which Irenaeus describes his youthful remembrances of Polycarp,
indicating that Polycarp, whose respect Florinus once endeavored to
win, would have been grieved at his present opinions. Later writers
follow the material presented by Eusebius, and contribute nothing new.
Some critics find it difficult to explain the fact that Florinus is not
mentioned in Irenaeus' comprehensive work against heresies, nor by
Tertullian, Hippolytus, or Epiphanius. In all probability this is to
be explained, as far as Irenaeus is concerned, by the likelihood that
Florinus' fall into heresy occurred after Irenaeus composed his lectures
against heresies and his great work. The silence of the other writers is
probably due to their following Irenaeus. Whatever influence Florinus
may have had during his lifetime, his name attracted no great attention
after his death. What effect Irenaeus' epistles and book may have had
on Florinus we do not know.
4 Monarchia, the technical term for the assertion of the Unity of the
Godhead, without proper regard for the reality of the individual
Persons of the Trinity. Person (hypostasis) , however, was not used in
this sense.
5 The Ogdoad (Greek, ogdoas) signified a thing in eight patts, and had
a prominent place in the speculations of the Gnostics. Some of them
regarded God as eightfold.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 329
those ancient and truly holy men as the best examples of
very zealous care.'
In the letter to Florinus which we have mentioned above, 6
Irenaeus again speaks of his association with Polycarp, saying:
These doctrines, Florinus, to speak with restraint, are not
of sound judgment; these doctrines are not in harmony with
the Church, and invest those who believe in them with the
greatest impiety; these doctrines not even the heretics outside
the Church ever dared to proclaim; these doctrines the
presbyters before us, those who even associated with the
Apostles, did not hand on to us. For, while I was still a boy,
I saw you in lower Asia with Polycarp, moving in splendor
in the royal court and trying to win favor with him. I recall
the events of that time better than what has happened
recently (for what we learn as children grows with the soul
and becomes one with it), so that I can tell even the place
where the blessed Polycarp sat and talked, his goings and
comings, and manner of his life, and the appearance of his
body, and the discourses which he gave to the multitude, and
how he reported his living with John and with the rest of
the Apostles who had seen the Lord, and how he remembered
their words, and what the things were which he heard from
them about the Lord, and about His miracles and about His
teaching, 7 how Polycarp received them from eyewitnesses of
"the word of life," 8 and proclaimed them all in harmony
with the Scriptures. These things even then I listened to
through the mercy of God that was granted me, making
notes of them not on paper but in my heart; and ever by the
grace of God I ruminate on them, and I am able to bear
witness before God that, if that blessed and apostolic presbyter
6 On Monarchy.
7 Cf. John 1.1,2.
8 1 John I.I.
330 EUSEBIUS
had heard any such thing, he would have cried out and stuffed
his ears, and according to his custom would have said: "O
good God, to what times have you preserved me, that I
should endure these things?" He would have fled even from
the place in which he was seated or standing when he heard
such words. 9 And this can be made clear from his epistles 10
which he sent either to the neighboring churches, to strengthen
them, or to some of the brethren, to exhort them and warn
them. 3 So speaks Irenaeus.
Chapter 21
At the same time, in the reign of Commodus, 1 our lot
changed to a milder one, as peace by the grace of God came
upon the churches throughout the whole world; when, too,
the word of salvation was guiding every soul of every race of
mankind to the pious worship of the God of the universe, so
that now many of those highly noted for riches and family,
with all their household and with all their relatives, turned
toward their own salvation. Now this, of course, was un-
endurable to the demon who hates God and who is envious
by nature, and so he again stripped for battle, devising various
schemes against us. In the city of Rome he brought Apol-
9 Polycarp's horror of heretics is well attested, and, according to Irenaeus,
was inherited from John the Apostle, Cf. Polycarp's words to Marcion,
quoted above, 4.14; also Irenaeus, Adv. haer. 3.3,4, quoted by Eusebius
(3.28; 4.14) ,
10 Only one epistle (to the Philippians) by Polycarp is known; cf. 4,14.
1 180-193. This degenerate son of Marcus Aurelius brought with him as
emperor at least one counterbalancing advantage. The persecutions
of his father's reign ceased at least for a time in his. Popular feeling
against the Christians continued, but it was no longer intensified and
directed by the imperial government. As a result, the Christians in-
creased greatly in number. Marcia, the favorite mistress of the emperor,
is said by Cassius Dio (72.4) to have used her influence with Commodus
and to have brought the Christians comparative peace during his reign.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY! BOOK FIVE 331
lonius, 2 a man celebrated at that time among the faithful for
his education and philosophy, to the judgment seat, stirring
up one of his servants, suited for this purpose, to accuse the
man. 3 But the wretch entered the case inopportunely, since,
according to imperial decree, it was not permitted for in-
formers in such matters to live, and straightway his legs were
broken, since the judge Perennius had decreed such a sen-
tence against him. 4 But the martyr, most beloved by God,
when the judge very earnestly besought and begged him to
make a defence of himself before the Senate, presented before
all a most eloquent defence of the faith for which he was being
a martyr, and he was put to death by being beheaded, as if
by decree of the Senate, since an ancient law among them
prevailed that those who once appeared before the judgment
seat and did not change their statement should on no condition
be released. 5 The words of this Apollonius in the presence of
the judge, and the answers which he gave to the questions of
Perennius, and his entire defence before the Senate, anyone
who pleases to read all this will find it in the collection of
the ancient martyrs we compiled. 6
2 Eusebius states that Apollonius delivered a very eloquent defense of
the faith before the Senate, but does not indicate that he wrote an
apology. Eusebius' words at the end of this chapter imply that the
defense made by Apollonius was recorded after it was delivered, and
that this version may be read in his Collection of Martyrdom. When
St. Jerome (De vir. ill. 42 and Epist. ad Magnum 4) calls Apollonius a
Roman Senator and declares him to be the author of a 'distinguished
work/ he is probably misinterpreting Eusebius.
3 Jerome, as well as Sophronius, states that Apollonius was accused by a
slave named Severus. This information, however, is open to grave doubt.
4 The ground for execution would be not that he accused a Christian, as
Eusebius thinks, but rather that, as a slave, he had betrayed his master.
5 Some believe that the reference here is to Pliny's rescript to Trajan; cf.
above, 3.33. Eusebius seems rather to imply here a more general ref-
erence, that is, to all kinds of cases, not simply to those involving
Christians.
6 Cf. Ada Martyr, set., ed. Gebhardt, p. vi; also, Introduction, above.
332 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 22
In the tenth year of the reign of Commodus, 1 Victor suc-
ceeded Eleutherus, who had administered the episcopacy for
thirteen years. In this year, also, when Julian 2 had completed
his tenth year, Demetrius 3 was entrusted with the admin-
istration of the dioceses at Alexandria, and again at this time
Serapion, whom we have already mentioned above 4 and the
eighth from the Apostles, was still biown at that time as
Bishop of the Church at Antioch. Theophilus 5 was in charge
of Caesarea in Palestine, and Narcissus likewise, of whom
our work has made mention before, 6 still at that time had the
administration of the Church in Jerusalem, and at the same
time Bacchyllus 7 was Bishop of Corinth in Greece and Poly-
crates 8 of the diocese at Ephesus. And there were in these
1 In 189, but the dates given to Victor's episcopate vary greatly. Further-
more, in the testimony of most sources, Eleutherus was bishop for fifteen
years. Eusebius' statement here of 'thirteen years' is an error.
2 Cf. above, 5.9.
3 He became the eleventh Bishop of Alexandria in 189 and held office
for forty-three years; cf. Chron.; also, below, 6.26. He was a man of
great energy and a successful administrator. While greatly interested in
the catechetical school of Alexandria, he does not seem to have written
anything himself. His relations with Origen were very friendly at first,
but hostile in later years.
4 Cf. above, 5.19.
5 The dates of the accession of Theophilus to office and of his death are
unknown. He was famous chiefly for his part in the Paschal controversy.
Togethe^ with Narcissus, he presided over the council (5.23) called to
consider the Paschal question.
6 Cf. above, 5.12.
7 When Bacchyllus became Bishop of Corinth and when he died are
unknown. He may possibly be identical with the Bacchylides of 4J23,
above. He also is famous chiefly for his part in the Paschal controversy.
8 While no dates are available for his accession to the episcopacy and his
death, he may be said to have been Bishop of Ephesus in the last
decade of the second century. Victor of Rome tried to unify the
practice of the whole Christian world in the matter of celebrating
Easter, and so he called for meetings of bishops in different places to
report on the practice of their localities. The answer from every other
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 333
times, of course, countless other prominent men, but we have
naturally given a list of those whose orthodoxy of faith has
come down to us in writing.
Chapter 23
Now, at this time, no small controversy was stirred up be-
cause the dioceses of all Asia, as according to an older tradi-
tion, thought that they should observe the fourteenth day of
the moon, on which the Jews had been ordered to sacrifice the
lamb, as the feast of the Saviour's Passover, so that it became
absolutely necessary to bring the days of fasting to an end on
whatever day of the week this fell. But it was not the custom
for the churches throughout all the rest of the world to end
it in this way, since they preserved a custom which from
apostolic tradition has prevailed to our own day, according
to which it is not right to end the fasting on any other day
than that of the Resurrection of our Saviour. Then, synods
and conferences of bishops on the same question took place, 1
and they unanimously formulated in their letters a doctrine
of the Church for people everywhere, that the mystery of the
Lord's Resurrection from the dead be celebrated on no other
place except that of Polycrates was that the feast of our Lord's Resur-
rection was celebrated only on Sunday. Polycrates, however, speaking
for the bishops of Asia, stated that they had preserved unchanged the
tradition of celebrating only on the fourteenth day of the month of
Nisan, the day when the Jewish people put away their leaven, whatevei
day of the week that might be. Thus, they were often called Quar-
todecimans. This letter is the only writing of Polycrates of which we
know; cf. the portion quoted above, 3.31, and a still longer quotation
in 5.24. Both Eusebius and Jerome praise Polycrates highly, especially
for his orthodoxy, all of which shows to what an extent the Quar-
todeciman practice had become a dead issue in their time.
1 Although the Libellus synodicus (ninth century) mentions other synods,
we are probably safe in accepting only those mentioned by Eusebius in
this and the next chapters.
334 EUSEBIUS
day than the Lord's Day 5 2 and that on this day alone we
should observe the close of the Paschal fast. There is still in
circulation today a writing of those who then assembled in
Palestine, over whom Theophilus, Bishop of the diocese of
Caesarea, presided and Narcissus, Bishop of the diocese of
Jerusalem; 3 and, similarly, another of those assembled at
Rome on the same problem, which indicates Victor 4 as bishop;
and of the bishops in the Pontus over whom Palmag 5 presided
as the oldest; and of the dioceses of Gaul of which Irenaeus
was bishop; and still others of those in Osrhoene 6 and the
cities there; and particularly a writing of Bacchyllus, 7 Bishop
of the Church at Corinth; and of numerous others who ex-
pressed one and the same opinion and judgment, and cast
the same vote. 8
Chapter 24
To these belonged the one definition which has just been
indicated, but Polycrates led the bishops of Asia in confidently
proclaiming that they must preserve the custom handed down
to them from of old. Polycrates himself, in a writing which
he composed to Victor and the Church of Rome, describes the
tradition which had come down to him, in these words: 1
2 Thus, the celebration of the Crucifixion must come on Friday.
3 Cf. above, 5.22.
4 Of this and the following epistles we do not even possess fragments.
Jerome (De vir. ill. 43,44) also speaks of them as mere memories.
5 Bishop of Amastris, in Pontus. He is mentioned by Dionysius: cf.
above, 4.23.
6 In northwestern Mesopotamia.
7 The words of Eusebius seem to indicate that, unlike the preceding
epistles, this was the independent production of one man and not a
synodical or collective epistle. Perhaps those mentioned immediately
following were of this same nature.
8 Against the observance of the fourteenth day.
1 A portion of this quotation from Polycrates' epistle is given above, 3.31.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 335
'We, therefore, keep the precise day, neither adding nor taking
away, for even in Asia great luminaries 2 have fallen asleep,
which shall rise on the day of the cpmtng of the Lord, when
he comes with glory from heaven and shall seek out 3 all the
saints, Philip of the twelve Apostles, who have been sleeping
in Hieropolis, and two of his daughters who had grown icld
as virgins, and another daughter of his who lived in the Holy
Spirit and rests at Ephesus. Furthermore, there is also John,
who leaned on the breast of the Lord, 4 and was a priest
wearing the breastplate, and a martyr, and teacher. 5 This one
rests at Ephesus. Then there is also Polycarp 6 in Smyrna,
both bishop and martyr; and there is Thraseas, 7 both bishop
and martyr, from Eumenaea, who rests at Smyrna. And why
need I mention Sagaris, 8 bishop and martyr, who rests in
Smyrna, and also Papirius 9 the blessed and Melito 10 the
eunuch, who lived entirely in the Holy Spirit and lies in
Sardis awaiting the visitation from heaven when he will rise
from the dead? All these observed the fourteenth day of the
Passover according to the Gospel, never deviating, but fol-
lowing according to the rule of the faith. And I also, Poly-
crates, do so, the least of you all, according to the tradition
o my kinsmen, some of whom I have followed. Seven of
my kinsmen were bishops, and I am the eighth. And my
2 stoicheia, in late Greek, often means 'the planets/
3 Some important manuscripts read anastesei (shall raise up) which may
be the right meaning.
4 Cf. John 21.20; 13.23.
5 Cf. Exod. 28.32ff.; 36.38E
6 Cf. above, 4.14.
7 All evidence points to the reliability of the statement that he was
Bishop of Eumenaea (in the southern part of Phrygia) and a martyr
in the full sense. Nothing more is known about him*
8 Cf. above, 4.26.
9 Nothing is known about him. Polycrates calls him neither a bishop nor
a martyr, but Simeon Metaphrastes, an unreliable authority, says that
Papirius was a successor of Polycarp as Bishop of Smyrna.
10 Cf. above, 4.26.
336 EUSEBIUS
kinsmen always observed the day when the people 11 put away
the leaven. So, my brethren, having lived sixty-five years in
the Lord and having associated with the brethren from the
entire world and having read all holy Scripture/ 2 I am not
frightened at what is threatened us, for those greater than I
have said, "We ought to obey God rather than men." ' 13
To this he adds about the bishops who were with him as he
wrote and were of one opinion with him, speaking as follows:
I could mention the bishops who were present with me, whom
you requested 14 to be summoned by me and I summoned
them, and their names, if I record them, are most numerous.
They, having seen my feeble humanity, gave their consent to
the letter, knowing that I did not bear my grey hairs in vain,
but have always lived in Christ Jesus.'
Thereupon, Victor, who was in charge of the Church at
Rome, immediately tried to cut off the dioceses of all Asia,
together with the adjacent churches, as being heterodox, from
the common unity, and he inveighed against them by letters
and proclaimed all the brethren there as absolutely excom-
municated, 15 but this did not please all the bishops. Then they
issued counter requests to him to consider the matters of
peace and of unity and of love toward one's neighbors, and
the words of these as they sharply rebuked Victor are in
circulation. Among these, Irenaeus, too, writing in the name
of the brethren whom he guided in Gaul, defends the necessity
of celebrating the mystery of the Lord's Resurrection on the
11 I.e., the Jews.
12 Cf. Phil. 1.28.
13 Acts 5.29.
14 Apparently, the Asiatic Council was called at the request of Victor o
Rome. This, in all probability, was true of all the councils mentioned
in the last chapter.
15 The Greek text here seems to be clear. Eusebius actually says that
Victor excommunicated the Asiatic churches. Some, however, hesitate
to give this decisive interpretation of the passage.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 337
Lord's Day only, but he properly and at length exhorts Victor
not to cut off entire churches of God because they kept a
tradition of ancient custom, and he continues with the fol-
lowing words: 16 Tor the controversy is not only concerning
the day, but also about the very manner of the fast. Some
think that they ought to fast one day; others, two; others,
even more; some measure their day as forty hours day and
night. 17 And such a variation on the part of those observing
the feast did not originate now in our time, 18 but much
earlier in the days of our predecessors, who, as is likely, with-
out maintaining it strictly, established a practice for the future
which is simple and permits personal preference, and all these
nevertheless lived in peace, and we also lived in peace with
one another, and the disagreement respecting the fast confirms
our unanimity in the faith.'
To this he also adds a story which I shall with propriety
present, and it goes like this: 'Among those, too, were the
16 Although this epistle is not extant, a number of fragments are at hand
from various sources. Apparently, Irenaeus agreed with Victor as to the
proper time for keeping the feast, but did not approve his deter-
mination to excommunicate those who followed the other practice.
17 The present passage is of primary importance in any discussion of the
origin of Lent. Some of the Fathers, as early as the fifth century,
believed that the forty-day fast was of apostolic institution. Cf. St. Leo.
(d. 461) , PL 44.633; the historian Socrates (d. 433) , PG 67.633, and
St. Jerome (d. 420) , PL 22.475. The best modern scholars are essentially
unanimous in believing that the present practice of the forty-day fast
was of gradual development and does not appear well established until
the fifth century as indicated above. Irenaeus, about the year 190 as is
indicated by this passage, knew nothing of any Easter fast of forty days.
Tertuilian, writing only a few years later, gives the same inference.
Writing as a Montanist, he contrasts the very brief term of fasting as
observed by Catholics with the longer but still restricted period of two
weeks as kept by the Montanists. Cf. Tertuilian, De jejun. 2, 14, De
orat. 18, and other passages. For the entire question see the excellent
article by Herbert Thurston in Cath. Encycl., s.v.
18 The fast preceding the Paschal supper, which gradually became our
Lent of forty days preceding Easter, can be carried back at least close
to apostolic times. It was observed just about as early as the celebration
of the Paschal .supper was established.
338 EUSEBIUS
presbyters before Soter, who presided over the Church which
you now rule: we mean Anicetus and Plus and Telesphorus
and Xystus. Neither did they themselves observe/ 9 nor did
they enjoin it upon their followers; nevertheless, although not
observing it themselves, they were at peace with those who
came to them from dioceses in which it was observed, although
to observe it was more objectionable to those who did not do
so. 20 Yet, never were any cast out because of this form, and
the presbyters themselves before you sent the Eucharist to
those from other dioceses who did; and when the blessed
Polycarp sojourned in Rome in the time of Anicetus, although
they had small difficulties about certain other matters, they
immediately made peace, having no desire for strife among
themselves on this outstanding question. Neither was Anicetus
able to persuade Polycarp not to observe it, inasmuch as
Polycarp had always observed it, together with John the
disciple of our Lord and the other Apostles with whom he
had lived; nor, on the other hand, did Polycarp persuade
Anicetus to observe it, for Anicetus said that he was obliged
to cling to the practice of those who were presbyters before
him. And under these conditions they communicated with
each other, and in the church Anicetus conceded the cele-
bration of the Eucharist to Polycarp, obviously out of respect
for him, 21 and they departed from each other peacefully, for
19 I.e., the fourteenth day.
20 The Romans before Victor's time did not make an issue out of the
Quartodeciman practice and even permitted Asiatics visiting Rome to
observe it; why, then, should not Victor permit Asiatics to follow the
practice in their own land. It should be recalled that the Quar-
todeciman practice sometimes resulted in the Asiatics treating as
Easter Day what the Romans regarded as Good Friday.
21 This passage has been the subject of some dispute, which has turned on
the interpretation of the Greek word, parechoresen. The meaning,
however, seems to be clear. Anicetus permitted Polycarp, in spite of
difference of opinion on the Quartodeciman practice, not merely to
partake of the Holy Eucharist, which was no special honor, but to
administer or celebrate the sacrament.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY : BOOK FIVE 339
they maintained the peace of the entire Church, both those
who observed and those who did not/
And Irenaeus, being a person well named, 22 a peacemaker
both by name and by very character, made exhortations of
this kind for the peace of the churches and acted as the
Church's ambassador; and the same Irenaeus discussed by
letter, not only with Victor but also with a great many others
who governed churches, the various aspects of the problem
which had been raised. 23
Chapter 25
Those in Palestine, whom we have recently mentioned,
Narcissus and Theophilus, and with them Cassius, Bishop of
the Church at Tyre, and Claras, 1 Bishop of the Church at
Ptolernais, and those who had come together with them, 2
discussed at great length the tradition concerning the Passover
which had come down to them from the succession of the
Apostles, and at the end of the writing they added the fol-
lowing in these very words : 'Try to send copies of our letter
into every diocese, that we may not be culpable before those
who easily deceive their own souls. And we point out to you
that in Alexandria, also, they keep the feast on the same day
as do we, for letters are conveyed from us to them and from
them to us, so that we keep the holy day harmoniously and
at the same time. 53
22 The Greek form of his name is Eirenaios, from eirene, 'peace/
23 The bishops to whom these letters were sent are unknown. In fact
these letters are not extant, although portions of the epistle of
Irenaeus to Victor may contain parts of them. Jerome does not
mention them.
1 Cassius and Clarus are otherwise unknown.
2 I.e., in the Council at Palestine as mentioned above, 5.23.
3 These letters andhall the letters written at this time on the Paschal
question are now lost; cf. 5.23.
340 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 26
In addition to the published 1 treatises and letters of
Irenaeus, there is in circulation a certain treatise of his against
the Greeks, very concise and extremely forceful, entitled Con-
cerning Knowledge, and another which he dedicated to a
brother named Marcion on the Demonstration of the Apostolic
Preaching, 2 and a book of various discourses 3 in which he
makes mention of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the so-
called Wisdom of Solomon, quoting certain passages from
them. Such is our knowledge of the writings of Irenaeus
which have come down to us.
When Commodus had completed his rule after thirteen
years, Severus took over the power as emperor not quite six
month after the death of Commodus. Pertinax reigned in the
interval. 4
Chapter 27
Now, a great many works of virtuous zeal on the part of
the ancient churchmen of that time have been preserved by
many to our day, and we ourselves have read them. These
would be the writings of Heraclitus on the Apostle; 1 and
1 Cf. above, 4.21.
2 Nothing reliable is presence! from these two treatises, and the 'brother
named Marcion' is otherwise unknown.
3 No longer extant, but probably correctly described as *a collection of
sermons and expositions of various texts and passages of Scripture.'
4 Commodus was murdered by strangulation on December 31, 192.
Pertinax, who succeeded him, was killed by the Praetorian Guard on
March 28, 193, which then sold the Empire to Didius Julianus. Bui
the Pannonian legions proclaimed Septimius Severus emperor, and
marched on Rome. At the approach of these legions, Didius Julianus
was declared a public enemy by the Senate, and was beheaded after
a reign of only sixty-six days.
1
This Heraclitus is also mentioned by St. Jerome (De vir. ill.) , who
follows Eusebius slavishly in his account. 'On the Apostle* is the
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 341
those of Maximus on the problem, so much discussed among
heretics, of the origin of evil, and on whether matter has an
origin; 2 the works of Candidas 3 on the Hexaemeron, and of
Apion 4 on the same subject; likewise, of Sextus 5 on the
Resurrection; and another treatise of Arabianus, 6 and the
works of countless others, of which, because of lack of evidence,
it is impossible for us to hand down a date in writing or to
make a record of their history. Writings of a great many
others have come down to us, whose names we cannot even
give, although they were orthodox and ecclesiastical, as the
interpretation of divine Scripture as given by each shows, yet
they are unknown to us because their names are not included
in what they wrote. 7
literal translation of the Greek text. This expression in ecclesiastical
Greek consistently means the Epistles of St. Paul and not the Acts of
the Apostles. Nothing is known of the nature of these commentaries;
they are no longer extant.
2 Eusebius in his Praep. evang. (7.22) seems to quote a long extract from
this work, which indicates that it was written in the form of a dialogue
between three persons: two inquirers and one orthodox Christian. The
same fragment is quoted by Origen (Philocalia 24) . It has been sug-
gested that this Maximus is identical with Maximus, twenty-sixth
Bishop of Jerusalem (cf. above, 5.12) , who probably lived about this
time. In any case, neither here nor in his Praep. evang. does Eusebius
call him a bishop.
3 Nothing further is known of him.
4 Jerome (De vir. ill. 4) mentions Apion 's work, but adds nothing to
our knowledge; nothing further is known of him.
5 Jerome (De vir. ill. 50) also speaks of Sextus, but all our knowledge of
him and his work is what we find in this passage.
6 Nothing more is known of this Arabianus, whose 'treatise* is not
identified by name. Jerome (De vir. ill.) speaks also of certain other
works 'peita'ining to Christian teaching/ but says nothing more, which
does not give confidence in his statement.
7 That is, thus far works have been mentioned fhe names of whose
authors are known to Eusebius. He knows many other works, whose
contents disclose the orthodoxy of the authors but which do not bear
the writers' names.
342 EUSEBIUS
Chapter 28
In a literary effort of one of these worked out against the
heresy of Artemon, 1 which Paul of Samosata in turn has
tried to revive in our time, an account is being circulated
which has a bearing on the history under investigation by us.
For he criticizes the above-mentioned heresy which declares
that the Saviour was a mere man and which was invented
not long before, because those who introduced it wished to
exalt it by calling it ancient. 2 The account brings in many
other matters, also, in proof of their blasphemous falsehood
and reads as follows, word for word: Tor they say that all the
earlier teachers and the Apostles themselves received and
taught that which they now say, and that the truth of the
teaching was preserved until the times of Victor, 3 who was
the thirteenth Bishop in Rome after Peter, but that the truth
1 The fragments in this chapter are the only remains of this anonymous
work. Theodoret (Haer. Fab. 2.5) speaks of the work as directed
against the heresies of Theodotus and Artemon, and says that it bore
the title, Little Labyrinth. It was probably written in Rome between
230 and 240. Some have ascribed the work to Hippolytus, and it does
bear some internal resemblance to the Philosophumena. Artemon and
the Artemonites belonged to the ante-Nicene Monarchians or Anti-
trinitarians who declared Christ to be a mere man filled with divine
power. He taught in Rome at the end of the second and the beginning
of the third century, and was excommunicated by Zephyrinus (202-
217) . He declared the doctrine of the divinity of Christ to be an
innovation and a relapse into heathen polytheism. He asserted that
Christ was a mere man, but born of a virgin, and superior in virtue
to the Prophets. The Artemonites were accused of holding Euclid
above Christ, and of abandoning the Scriptures for dialectics and
mathematics. The ideas of Artemon were later more fully developed by
Paul* of Samosata (cf. below, 7.27.) who is sometimes placed with the
Artemonites.
2 As a matter of fact, the Christology in question is that which Hermas
represents, and which was a popular belief early in the second
century. It did not, however, take, as it were, definite and scientific
form until Artemon and his followers.
3 Cf. above, 5.22,
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 343
was corrupted from the time of his successor, Zephyrinus. 4
And what they say might actually be plausible, were not,
first of all, the sacred Scriptures in opposition to them, and
there are writings by some of the brethren, older than the
times of Victor, which these authors wrote to the Gentiles in
behalf of truth and against the heresies of that time. I refer
to the works of Justin 5 and Miltiades and Tatian 6 and
Clement 7 and many others in all of which Christ is treated as
God. For who is ignorant of the books of Irenaeus and Melito
and the rest, which proclaim Christ as God and man? 8 And
all the psalms and hymns written by faithful brethren from
the beginning sing of Christ as the Word of God and treat him
as God. How, then, if the mind of the Church has been
preached for so many years, is it possible for those just before
Victor to have proclaimed it as they say? And how are they
not ashamed so to calumniate Victor, when they know full
well that Victor excommunicated Theodotus the cobbler, the
4 Bishop of Rome after Victor, under Emperors Septimius Severus and
Caracalla. His episcopate extended from 198 or 199 to 217, and was
marked by serious disturbance at Rome due to doctrinal controversies
and consequent schism. Hippolytus, in Philosophumena 9, paints de-
tailed pictures of Zephyrinus and Callistus. Among other things, he
calls the former ignorant and illiterate and says that he was under the
guidance of Callistus, who was a man of more practical ability.
Callistus and his learned opponent Hippolytus appear to have been
the leading spirits of the time at Rome. The two important heresies
of the time were Montanism and Monarchism. The see of Rome under
Zephyrinus declared against Montanism, as we have seen. But neither
he nor Callistus is free from the imputation at least of having
tolerated that school of Monarchism which Praxeas introduced to
Rome,
5 On Justin, cf. above, 4.11; on Miltiades, 5.17.
6 On Tatian, cf. 3.29. The fact that this work speaks of Tatian with
respect here is an argument against an authorship by Hippolytus, who
devotes two chapters of his Philosophumena (8.9;10.14) to the heresy
7 On Clenfent of Alexandria, cf. 5.11; on Irenaeus, 4.21; on Melito, 4.26.
8 Irenaeus was the first to bring out clearly and emphatically tne
God-manhood of Christ.
344 EUSEBIUS
originator and father of this God-denying apostasy, when he
first said that Christ was a mere man? For, if Victor was so
minded toward them as their blasphemy teaches, how would
he have thrown out Theodotus, the inventor of this heresy? 5
So much for the events of Victor's time. After he had
been in charge of the service of his church for ten years,
Zephyrinus was appointed as his successor in about the ninth
year of the reign of Severus. 9 And he who composed the
above-mentioned book about him who founded the heresy
referred to adds another incident that happened in the time
of Zephyrinus, writing as follows, in these very words: 'I will
at least remind many of the brethren of a matter that occurred
in our time, which I think, had it happened in Sodom,
would probably have been a warning even to those men. 10
There was a certain confessor, Natalius, 11 who lived not long
ago, but in our own time. This man on a certain occasion was
deceived by Asclepiodotus 12 and by a second Theodotus, 13 a
banker. These were both disciples of Theodotus the cobbler,
who was first excommunicated by Victor, as I have said,
bishop at the time, for this way of thinking or, rather, lack of
thinking. They persuaded Natalius to be called bishop of this
heresy, with a salary, so that he received from them one
hundred and fifty denarii a month. 14 Now, when he was
with them, he was often warned by the Lord through visions,
9 In 201, but this date may be too late.
10 Cf. Matt. 11.23.
11 Nothing further is known of him.
12 Otherwise unknown.
13 This second Theodotus, the banker or money-changer, is to be
distinguished from Theodotus the cobbler mentioned above.
14 This is the first clear instance of the payment of a bishop. But this
practice was followed by the Montanists (cf. above, 5.18) , and brought
great reproach upon them. Natalias' monthly salary was slightly more
than twenty-five dollars.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 345
for our compassionate God and Lord, Jesus Christ, did not
wish that one who had been a witness to His own sufferings 15
should perish outside the Church. And when he paid rather
indifferent attention to the visions, being ensnared by the first
position among them and by the shameful covetousness that
destroys most men, he at last was scourged by holy angels an
entire night and was tormented no little, so that he arose in the
morning, put on sackcloth, covered himself with ashes, and
with great haste and tears fell down before Zephyrinus, the
bishop, rolling at the feet not only of the clergy but also of the
laity, and by his tears he moved the compassionate Church of
the merciful Christ, and, although he employed much sup-
plication and showed the welts of the stripes which he had
received, he was admitted into communion with difficulty.'
To this we will add other words of the same author on the
same persons, and they go as follows: They have tampered
with the divine Scriptures without fear; they have set aside the
rule of ancient faith; they have not known Christ, seeking not
what the divine Scriptures say, but laboriously striving after
the discovery of some sort of syllogistic figure for the support
of their atheism. If any one place before them a passage of
divine Scripture, they inquire whether a conjunctive or dis-
junctive syllogism can be made of it. They have abandoned
the holy Scriptures of God and are interested in geometry, 16
for they are of the earth and talk of the earth and Him who
comes from above they do not know. Among some of them the
geometry of Euclid is laboriously studied, and Aristotle and
Theophrastus are admired. Galen is, perhaps, even worshiped
15 I.e., 'had been a confessor/ a witness in court to the 'sufferings of
16 The Greek geometria etymologically means 'earth measurement.' Thus,
the play on words is achieved.
346 EUSEBIUS
by some, 17 As for those who make use of the arts of the faith-
less for their own opinion of their heresy and by the cunning of
the godless corrupt the simple faith of the divine Scriptures,
why need I even say that they are not even near faith? For
this reason have they fearlessly laid their hands on divine
Scriptures, saying that they have corrected them. That I say
this without calumniating them he who wishes can learn. For,
if anyone wishes to gather together the copies of each of them
and to compare them one with another, he would find them
in great disagreement. For example, those 18 of Asclepiades are
not in agreement with those of Theodotus, and it is possible
to provide the copies of many because their disciples have
diligently written out the corrections, as they call them, that
is, the corruption of each of them. Further, the copies of
Hermophilus 19 do not agree with these. Those of Apolloniades
do not even agree with themselves. For it is possible to
compare those which they first prepared with those which were
again corrupted later and to find them in great disagreement.
In all probability they are by no means unaware of the great
imprudence of this sin, for either they do not believe that the
divine Scriptures were spoken by the Holy Spirit, and are
without faith, or they think that they are wiser than the Holy
Spirit, and in this case what else are they than demoniacs?
For they cannot even deny that the crime is theirs, since the
copies are written in their own hand, and they did not receive
the Scriptures in this condition from those by whom they
were taught, and they cannot show the originals from
17 The Greek verb is geometreitai, and the literal translation is: 'Euclid
is geometriied' Apparently, the aim of this passage is to emphasize
that these persons tried to introduce Greek learning generally into
the interpretation of Scripture.
18 I.c., the copies of Scripture used by Asclepiades. The Roman heretics
were, apparently, adept in the field of textual criticism. At least, they
were unable to resist the temptations of conjectural emendation.
19 Otherwise unknown.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY: BOOK FIVE 347
which they transcribed their copies. Some of them have not
even seen fit to corrupt the Scriptures, but have simply denied
the Law and Prophets, and because of their lawless and
atheistic teaching with a pretense of grace have sunk to the
lowest depth of perdition.'
Let so much suffice on this subject.
(A series of approximately 100 volumes when completed)
VOL. 1: THE APOSTOLIC FATHERS (1947)
LETTER OF ST. CLEMENT OF ROME TO THE CORIN-
THIANS (trans, by Glimra)
THE SO-CALLED SECOND LETTER (trans, by Glimm)
LETTERS OF ST. IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH (trans, by
Walsh)
LETTER OF ST. POLYCARP TO THE PHILIPPIANS
(trans, by Glimm)
MARTYRDOM OF ST. POLYCARP (trans, by Glimm)
DIDACHE (trans, by Glimm)
LETTER OF BARNABAS (trans, by Glimm)
SHEPHERD OF HERMAS (1st printing only; trans, by
Marique)
LETTER TO DioGNETUs (trans, by Walsh)
FRAGMENTS OF PAPIAS (1st printing only; trans.
by Marique)
VOL. 2: ST. AUGUSTINE (1947)
CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION (trans, by Gavigan)
ADMONITION AND GRACE (trans, by Murray)
THE CHRISTIAN COMBAT (trans, by Russell)
FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY (trans, by Peebles)
VOL. 3: SALVIAN, THE PRESBYTER (1947)
GOVERNANCE OF GOD (trans, by O'Sullivan)
LETTERS (trans, by O'Sullivan)
FOUR BOOKS OF TIMOTHY TO THE CHURCH (trans.
by O'Sullivan)
VOL. 4: ST. AUGUSTINE (1947)
IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL (trans, by Schopp)
MAGNITUDE OF THE SOUL (trans, by McMahon)
ON MUSIC (trans, by Taliaferro)
ADVANTAGE OF BELIEVING (trans, by Sr. Luanne
Meagher)
ON FAITH IN THINGS UNSEEN (trans, by Deferrari
and Sr. Mary Francis McDonald)
VOL. 5: ST. AUGUSTINE (1948)
THE HAPPY LIFE (trans, by Schopp)
ANSWER TO SKEPTICS (trans, by Kavanagh)
DIVINE PROVIDENCE AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
(trans, by Russell)
SOLILOQUES (trans, by Gilligan)
VOL. 6: ST. JUSTIN MARTYR (1948)
FIRST AND SECOND APOLOGY (trans, by Falls)
DIALOGUE WITH TRYPHO (trans, by Falls)
EXHORTATION AND DISCOURSE TO THE GREEKS
(trans, by Falls)
THE MONARCHY (trans, by Falls)
VOL. 7: NICETA OF REMESIANA (1949)
WRITINGS (trans, by Walsh and Monohan)
SULPICIUS SEVERUS
WRITINGS (trans, by Peebles)
VINCENT OF LERINS
COMMONITORIES (trans, by Morris)
PROSPER OF AQUITANE
GRACE AND FREE WILL (trans, by O'Donnell)
VOL. 8: ST. AUGUSTINE (1950)
CITY OF GOD, Bks. I- VII (trans, by Walsh, Zema;
introduction by Gilson)
VOL. 9: ST. BASIL (1950)
ASCETICAL WORKS (trans, by Sr. M. Monica
Wagner)
VOL. 10: TERTULLIAN (1950)
APOLOGETICAL WORKS (vol. I) , (trans, by Arbes-
mann, Sr. Emily Joseph Daly, Quain)
MINUCIUS FELIX
OCTAVIUS (trans, by Arbesmann)
VOL. 11: ST. AUGUSTINE (1951)
COMMENTARY ON THE LORD'S SERMON ON THE
MOUNT WITH SEVENTEEN RELATED SERMONS
(trans, by Kavanagh)
VOL. 12: ST. AUGUSTINE (1951)
LETTERS 1-82 (vol. 1), (trans, by Sr. Wilfrid Par-
sons)
VOL. 13: ST. BASIL (1951) .
LETTERS 1-185 (vol. 1) , (trans, by Deferran and
Sr. Agnes Clare Way)
VOL. 14: ST. AUGUSTINE (1952)
CITY OF GOD, Bks. VIII-XVI (trans, by Walsh and
Mtr. Grace Monahan)
VOL. 15: EARLY CHRISTIAN BIOGRAPHIES (1952)
LIFE OF ST. CYPRIAN BY PONTIUS (trans, by Defer-
rari and Sr. Mary Magdeleine Mueller)
LIFE OF ST AMBROSE, BISHOP OF MILAN, BY PAUL-
INUS (trans, by Lacy)
LIFE OF ST. AUGUSTINE BY possioius (trans, by
Deferran and Sr. Mary Magdeleine Mueller)
LIFE OF ST. ANTHONY BY ST. ATHANASIUS (trans, by
Sr. Mary Emily Keenan)
LIFE OF ST. PAUL, THE FIRST HERMIT; LIFE OF ST.
HILARION; LIFE OF MALCHUS, THE CAPTIVE MONK
(trans, by Sr. Marie Liguori Ewald)
LIFE OF EPJPHANIUS BY ENNODIUS (trans, by Sr.
Genevieve Marie Cook)
A SERMON ON THE LIFE OF ST. HONORATUS BY ST.
HILARY (trans, by Deferrari)
VOL. 16: ST. AUGUSTINE (1952) Treatises on Various
Subjects:
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, LYING, THE WORK OF MONKS,
THE USEFULNESS OF FASTING (trans, by Sr. M.
Sarah Muldowney)
AGAINST LYING (trans, by Jaffee)
CONTINENCE (trans, by Sr. Mary Francis McDon-
ald)
PATIENCE (trans, by Sr. Luanne Meagher)
THE EXCELLENCE OF WIDOWHOOD (trans, by Sr. M.
Clement Eagan)
THE EIGHT QUESTIONS OF DULCITIUS (trans, by
Mary DeFerrari)
VOL. 17: ST. PETER CHRYSOLOGUS (1953)
SEIJSCTED SERMONS (trans, by Ganss)
ST. VALERIAN
HOMILIES (trans, by Ganss)
VOL. 18: ST. AUGUSTINE (1953)
LETTERS 83-130 (vol. 2), (trans, by Sr. Wilfrid
Parsons)
VOL. 19: EUSEBIUS PAMPHILI (1953)
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, Bks. 1-5 (trans, by
Deferrari)
VOL. 20: ST. AUGUSTINE (1953)
LETTERS 131-164 (vol. 3), (trans, by Sr. Wilfrid
Parsons)
VOL. 21: ST. AUGUSTINE (1953)
CONFESSIONS (trans, by Bourke)
VOL 22: ST. GREGORY OF NAZIANZEN and
ST. AMBROSE (1953)
FUNERAL ORATIONS (trans, by McCauley, Sullivan,
McGuire, Deferrari)
VOL. 23: CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA (1954)
CHRIST, THE EDUCATOR (trans, by Wood)
VOL. 24: ST. AUGUSTINE (1954)
CITY OF GOD, Bks. XVII-XXII (trans, by Walsh
and Honan)
VOL. 25: ST. HILARY OF POITIERS (1954)
THE TRINITY (trans, by McKenna)
VOL. 26: ST. AMBROSE (1954)
LETTERS 1-91 (trans, by Sr. M. Melchior Beyenka)
VOL. 27: ST. AUGUSTINE (1955) Treatises on Marriage
and Other Subjects:
THE GOOD OF MARRIAGE (trans, by Wilcox)
ADULTEROUS MARRIAGES (trans, by Huegelmeyer)
HOLY VIRGINITY (trans, by McQuade)
FAITH AND WORKS, THE CREED, IN ANSWER TO THE
JEWS (trans, by Sr. Marie Liguori Ewald)
FAITH AND THE CREED (trans, by Russell)
THE CARE TO BE TAKEN FOR THE DEAD (trans, by
Lacy)
THE DIVINATION OF DEMONS (trans, by Brown)
VOL. 28: ST. BASIL (1955)
LETTERS 186-368 (vol. 2), (trans, by Sr. Agnes
Clare Way)
VOL. 29: EUSEBIUS PAMPHILI (1955)
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, Bks. 6-10 (trans, by
Deferrari)
VOL. SO: ST. AUGUSTINE (1955)
LETTERS 165-203 (vol. 4), (trans, by Sr. Wilfrid
Parsons)
VOL. 31: ST. GAESARIUS OF ARLES (1956)
SERMONS 1-80 (vol. 1), (trans, by Sr. Mary Magde-
leine Mueller)
VOL. 32: ST. AUGUSTINE (1956)
LETTERS 204-270 (vol. 5), (trans, by Sr. Wilfrid
Parsons)
VOL. 33: ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (1957)
HOMILIES 1-47 (vol. 1), (trans, by Sr. Thomas
Aquinas Goggin)
VOL. 34: ST. LEO THE GREAT (1957)
LETTERS (trans, by Hunt)
VOL. 35: ST. AUGUSTINE (1957)
AGAINST JULIAN (trans, by Schumacher)
VOL. 36: ST. CYPRIAN (1958)
TREATISES (trans, by Deferrari, Sr. Angela Eliza-
beth Keenan, Mahoney, Sr. George Edward
Conway)
VOL. 37: ST. JOHN OF DAMASCUS (1958)
FOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE, ON HERESIES, THE ORTHO-
DOX FAITH (trans, by Chase)
VOL. 38: ST. AUGUSTINE (1959)
SERMONS ON THE LITURGICAL SEASONS (trans, by St.
M. Sarah Muldowney)
VOL. 39: ST. GREGORY THE GREAT (1959)
DIALOGUES (trans, by Zimmerman)
VOL. 40: TERTULLIAN (1959)
DISCIPLINARY, MORAL, AND ASCETICAL WORKS (trans.
by Arbesmann, Quain, Sr. Emily Joseph Daly)
VOL. 41: ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (1960)
HOMILIES 48-88 (vol. 2), (trans, by Sr. Thomas
Aquinas Goggin)
VOL. 42: ST. AMBROSE (1961)
HEXAMERON, PARADISE, AND CAIN AND ABEL (trans.
by Savage)
VOL. 43: PRUDENTIUS (1962)
POEMS (vol. 1) , (trans, by Sr. M. Clement Eagan)
VOL. 44: ST. AMBROSE (1963)
THEOLOGICAL AND DOGMATIC WORKS (trans, by
Deferrari)
VOL. 45: ST. AUGUSTINE (1963)
THE TRINITY (trans, by McKenna)
VOL. 46: ST. BASIL (1963)
EXEGETIC HOMILIES (trans, by Sr. Agnes Clare
Way)
VOL. 47: ST. CAESARIUS OF ARLES (1964)
SERMONS 81-186 (vol. 2), (trans, by Sr. Mary
Magdeleine Mueller)
VOL. 48: ST. JEROME (1964)
HOMILIES 1-59 (vol. 1), (trans, by Sr. Marie
Liguori Ewald)
VOL. 49: LACTANTIUS (1964)
THE DIVINE INSTITUTES, Bks. I-VII (trans, by Sr.
Mary Francis McDonald)
VOL. 50: OROSIUS (1964)
SEVEN BOOKS AGAINST THE PAGANS (trans, by
Deferrari)
VOL. 51: ST. CYPRIAN (1965)
LETTERS (trans, by Sr. Rose Bernard Donna)
VOL. 52: PRUDENTIUS (1965)
POEMS (vol. 2) , (trans, by Sr. M. Clement Eagan)
VOL. 53: ST. JEROME (1965)
DOGMATIC AND POLEMICAL WORKS (trans, by John
N. Hritzu)
VOL. 54: LACTANTIUS (1965)
THE MINOR WORKS (trans, by Sr. Mary Francis
McDonald)
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