Sophia Scriptura

Church History 4.26.5

Eusebius of Caesarea · Church History · ca. 300–325 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: Melito (quoted): new decrees in Asia let informers plunder innocent Christians day and night.

Greek text · Dindorf 4:176–177

ἐν δὲ τῷ πρὸς τὸν αὐτοκράτορα βιβλίῳ τοιαῦτά τινα καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ γεγονέναι ἱστορεῖ “τὸ γὰρ οὐδεπώποτε γενόμενον, νῦν διώκεται τὸ τῶν θεοσεβῶν γένος, καινοῖς ἐλαυνόμενον δόγμασι κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν. οἱ γὰρ ἀναιδεῖς συκοφάνται καὶ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐρασταὶ, τὴν ἐκ τῶν διαταγμάτων ἔχοντες ἀφορμὴν, φανερῶς λῃστεύουσι, νύκτωρ καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν διαρπάζοντες τοὺς μηδὲν ἀδικοῦντας.”

English · Claude translation

In the book to the emperor he relates that such things as these happened to us in his time: “For what has never before happened, the race of the godly is now persecuted, driven by new decrees throughout Asia. For shameless informers and lovers of others' property, taking occasion from the ordinances, openly plunder, robbing night and day those who do no wrong.”

About this passage

Source
Dindorf 4:176–177 · Wilhelm Dindorf, ed., Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, vol. 4: Historiae ecclesiasticae libri I–X (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871) · Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Extrabiblical texts
  • Melito of Sardis, Melito Apology (Melito of Sardis (fragments)) · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Persecution

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotation (4.26.5–11) is from Melito's Apology to Marcus Aurelius.

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 4.26.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/4/26/5/).

Plain text
Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 4.26.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/4/26/5/).

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