Church History 7.32.9 · Sophia Scriptura

Summary: Eusebius obtained safe conduct for deserters; Anatolius persuaded the council to release the old, the young, and the infirm.

Greek text · Dindorf 4:341–342

ὁ δὲ μαθὼν σωτηρίαν τοῖς ἀπὸ τῶν πολεμίων αὐτομόλοις παρασχεῖν ὡς ἐν μεγίστῃ χάριτι δωρεὰς τὸν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγὸν αἰτεῖται, καὶ τῆς ἀξιώσεως γε τυχὼν ἐμφανὲς τῷ Ἀνατολίῳ καθίστησιν. ὁ δὲ αὐτίκα τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν δεξάμενος, βουλὴν τῶν Ἀλεξανδρέων συναγαγὼν, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα πάντας ἠξίου φιλικὴν δοῦναι Ῥωμαίοις δεξιὰν, ὡς δʼ ἀγριαίνοντας ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ συνεῖδεν, ἀλλʼ οὐ τούτῳ γε, φησὶν, ἀντιλέξειν ποθʼ ὑμὰς οἴομαι, εἰ τοὺς περιττοὺς καὶ ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς οὐδαμῆ χρησίμους, γραΐδας καὶ νήπια καὶ πρεσβύτας, ἐκδοῦναι πυλῶν ἔξω βαδίζειν ὅποι καὶ βούλοιντο συμβουλεύσαιμι. τί γὰρ δὴ τούτους εἰς μάτην ὅσον οὔπω τεθνηξομένους παρʼ ἑαυτοῖς ἔχοιμεν; τί δὲ τοὺς ἀναπήρους καὶ τὰ σώματα λελωβημένους τῷ λιμῷ κατατρύχομεν, τρέφειν δέον μόνους ἄνδρας καὶ νεανίας, καὶ τὸν ἀναγκαῖον πυρὸν τοῖς ἐπὶ φυλακῇ τῆς πόλεως ἐπιτηδείοις ταμιεύεσθαι;

English · Claude translation

He, on learning this, asked the Roman general, as the greatest favour, to grant safety to those who deserted from the enemy, and having obtained the request, made it known to Anatolius. He at once accepted the promise, assembled the council of the Alexandrians, and first asked all to give the right hand of friendship to the Romans; but when he saw them enraged at the proposal, he said, “But I do not think you will object to this, if I advise that we let the superfluous and those of no use to us, old women, infants, and old men, go outside the gates wherever they wish. For why should we keep with us to no purpose those who are about to die? Why do we wear down the crippled and maimed with famine, when we ought to feed only men and youths, and husband the necessary grain for those fit to guard the city?”

About this passage

Source

Dindorf 4:341–342 · 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)

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 7.32.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/7/32/9/).

Plain text

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 7.32.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/7/32/9/).