Church History 9.7.1–9.9.25
Greek text: Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4 (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).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890).
Church 9, chapter 7
9.7.1Dindorf 4:425
Ἀνὰ μέσας γέ τοι τὰς πόλεις, ὃ μηδὲ ἄλλοτέ ποτε, ψηφίσματα πόλεων καθʼ ἡμῶν καὶ βασιλικῶν πρὸς ταῦτα διατάξεων ἀντιγραφαὶ στήλαις ἐντετυπωμένα χαλκαῖς ἀνωρθοῦντο, οἵ τε παῖδες ἀνὰ τὰ διδασκαλεῖα Ἰησοῦν καὶ Πιλάτον καὶ τὰ ἐφʼ ὕβρει πλασθέντα ὑπομνήματα διὰ στόματος κατὰ πᾶσαν ἔφερον ἡμέραν. ἐνταῦθά μοι ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι φαίνεται αὐτὴν δὴ ταύτην τὴν ἐν στήλαις ἀνατεθεῖσαν τοῦ Μαξιμίνου γραφὴν ἐντάξαι (ἵνʼ ὁμοῦ τῆς τε τοῦ ἀνδρὸς θεομισείας ἡ ἀλαζὼν καὶ ὑπερήφανος αὐθάδεια φανερὰ κατασταίη, καὶ τῆς παρὰ πόδας αὐτʼ ὂν μετελθούσης ἱερᾶς δίκης ἡ ἄυπνος κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν μισοπονηρία, πρὸς ἧς ἐλαθεὶς οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν τἀναντία περὶ ἡμῶν ἐβουλεύσατό τε καὶ διʼ ἐγγράφων νόμων ἐδογμάτισε), τοῦτον ἐπʼ αὐτῶν λέξεων ἔχουσαν τὸν τρόπον· Ἀντίγραφον ἑρμηνείας τῆς Μαξιμίνου πρὸς τὰ καθʼ ἡμῶν ψηφίσματα ἀντιγραφῆς, ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν Τυρῷ στήλης μεταληφθείσης.
Ana mesas ge toi tas poleis, ho mēde allote pote, psēphismata poleōn kathʼ hēmōn kai basilikōn pros tauta diataxeōn antigraphai stēlais entetypōmena chalkais anōrthounto, hoi te paides ana ta didaskaleia Iēsoun kai Pilaton kai ta ephʼ hybrei plasthenta hypomnēmata dia stomatos kata pasan epheron hēmeran. entautha moi anankaion einai phainetai autēn dē tautēn tēn en stēlais anatetheisan tou Maximinou graphēn entaxai (hinʼ homou tēs te tou andros theomiseias hē alazōn kai hyperēphanos authadeia phanera katastaiē, kai tēs para podas autʼ on metelthousēs hieras dikēs hē aupnos kata tōn asebōn misoponēria, pros hēs elatheis ouk eis makron tanantia peri hēmōn ebouleusato te kai diʼ engraphōn nomōn edogmatise), touton epʼ autōn lexeōn echousan ton tropon; Antigraphon hermēneias tēs Maximinou pros ta kathʼ hēmōn psēphismata antigraphēs, apo tēs en Tyrǭ stēlēs metalēphtheisēs.
In the middle of the cities, a thing never done before, petitions of the cities against us and copies of the imperial rescripts in reply were set up engraved on bronze tablets, and the children in the schools had Jesus and Pilate and the Acts forged to insult us on their lips every day. Here it seems necessary to me to insert this very document of Maximin set up on the tablets (so that at once the boastful and arrogant presumption of the man's hatred of God may be made plain, and the sleepless hatred of evil against the ungodly shown by the sacred justice that followed hard on his heels, driven by which not long afterward he both planned the opposite concerning us and decreed it by written laws). It runs in these very words: Copy of a translation of Maximin's rescript in reply to the petitions against us, taken from the tablet at Tyre.
Notes and citation
Summary: Petitions and imperial replies against Christians were engraved on bronze in the cities; Eusebius copies Maximin's rescript from the tablet at Tyre.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.1 (Dindorf 4:425; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.2Dindorf 4:425–426
“Ἤδη ποτὲ ἡ ἀσθενὴς θρασύτης τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης διανοίας ἴσχυσε, πᾶσαν πλάνης ἀμαυρότητα καὶ ὀμίχλην ἀποσεισαμένη καὶ ἀνασκεδάσασα, ἥτις “πρὸ τούτου οὐ τοσοῦτον τῶν ἀσεβῶν ὅσον τῶν “ἀθλίων ἀνθρώπων τὰς αἰσθήσεις ὀλεθρίῳ ἀγνοίας “σκότῳ ἐνειληθείσας ἐπολιόρκει, ἐπιγνῶναι ὡς τῇ “τῶν ἀθανάτων θεῶν φιλαγάθῳ προνοίᾳ διοικεῖται καὶ σταθεροποιεῖται·
“Ēdē pote hē asthenēs thrasytēs tēs anthrōpinēs dianoias ischyse, pasan planēs amaurotēta kai omichlēn aposeisamenē kai anaskedasasa, hētis “pro toutou ou tosouton tōn asebōn hoson tōn “athliōn anthrōpōn tas aisthēseis olethriǭ agnoias “skotǭ eneilētheisas epoliorkei, epignōnai hōs tę̄ “tōn athanatōn theōn philagathǭ pronoią dioikeitai kai statheropoieitai;
[Rescript of Maximin to Tyre:] “At last the feeble boldness of the human mind has prevailed, shaking off and scattering all the darkness and mist of error, which before this besieged the senses of men not so much impious as wretched, wrapped in the deadly darkness of ignorance, so as to recognize that it is governed and made stable by the benevolent providence of the immortal gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maximin's rescript praises Tyre for recognizing, after long error, that the world is governed by the immortal gods.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.2 (Dindorf 4:425–426; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.3Dindorf 4:426
ὅπερ πρᾶγμα ἄπιστόν ἐστιν “εἰπεῖν, ὅπως κεχαρισμένον, ὅπως τε ἥδιστον καὶ “προσφιλὲς ἡμῖν γέγονεν, ὡς μέγιστον δεῖγμα τῆς “θεοφιλοῦς ὑμῶν προαιρέσεως δεδωκέναι·
hoper pragma apiston estin “eipein, hopōs kecharismenon, hopōs te hēdiston kai “prosphiles hēmin gegonen, hōs megiston deigma tēs “theophilous hymōn proaireseōs dedōkenai;
It is incredible to say how grateful, how most pleasing and welcome to us this has been, that you have given the greatest proof of your God-loving disposition.
Notes and citation
Summary: The emperor is delighted by this proof of the city's piety.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.3 (Dindorf 4:426; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.4Dindorf 4:426
ὁπότε καὶ “πρὸ τούτου οὐδενὶ ἄγνωστον ἦν, ὁποίας παρατηρήσεως “καὶ θεοσεβείας πρὸς τοὺς ἀθανάτους θεοὺς “ἐτυγχάνετε ὄντες, οἶς οὐ ψιλῶν καὶ ὑποκένων· ῥημάτων “πίστις, ἀλλὰ συνεχῆ καὶ παράδοξα ἔργων “ἐπισήμων γνωρίζεται.
hopote kai “pro toutou oudeni agnōston ēn, hopoias paratērēseōs “kai theosebeias pros tous athanatous theous “etynchanete ontes, ois ou psilōn kai hypokenōn; rhēmatōn “pistis, alla synechē kai paradoxa ergōn “episēmōn gnōrizetai.
Even before this it was unknown to no one with what observance and reverence you stood toward the immortal gods, whose faith is known not by bare and empty words but by continual and remarkable deeds.
Notes and citation
Summary: Tyre's devotion to the gods was already well known from its deeds.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.4 (Dindorf 4:426; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.5Dindorf 4:426
διόπερ ἐπαξίως ἡ ὑμετέρα “πόλις θεῶν ἀθανάτων ἵδρυμά τε καὶ οἰκητήριον ἂν “ἐπικαλοῖτο· πολλοῖς γοῦν παραδείγμασι καταφαίνεται “τῇ τῶν οὐρανίων θεῶν αὐτὴν ἐπιδημίᾳ ἀνθεῖν.
dioper epaxiōs hē hymetera “polis theōn athanatōn hidryma te kai oikētērion an “epikaloito; pollois goun paradeigmasi kataphainetai “tę̄ tōn ouraniōn theōn autēn epidēmią anthein.
Therefore your city might worthily be called a seat and dwelling place of the immortal gods; at any rate, by many examples it appears that it flourishes through the presence of the heavenly gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Tyre deserves to be called a dwelling of the gods.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.5 (Dindorf 4:426; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.6Dindorf 4:426
ἰδοὺ τοίνυν ἡ ὑμετέρα πόλις, πάντων τῶν ἰδίᾳ “διαφερόντων αὐτῆς ἀμελήσασα, καὶ τὰς πρότερον “τῶν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς πραγμάτων δεήσεις παριδοῦσα, ὅτε “πάλιν ᾔσθετο τοὺς τῆς ἐπαράτου ματαιότητος γεγονότας “ἕρπειν ἄρχεσθαι, καὶ ὥσπερ ἀμεληθεῖσαν “καὶ κεκοιμημένην πυρὰν ἀναζωπυρουμένων τῶν “πυρσῶν μεγίστας πυρκαιὰς ἀναπληροῦσαν, εὐθέως “πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν εὐσέβειαν, ὥσπερ πρὸς μητρόπολιν “πασῶν θεοσεβειῶν, χωρίς τινος μελλήσεως “κατέφυγεν, ἴασίν τινα καὶ βοήθειαν ἀπαιτοῦσα·
idou toinyn hē hymetera polis, pantōn tōn idią “diapherontōn autēs amelēsasa, kai tas proteron “tōn hyper autēs pragmatōn deēseis paridousa, hote “palin ę̄stheto tous tēs eparatou mataiotētos gegonotas “herpein archesthai, kai hōsper amelētheisan “kai kekoimēmenēn pyran anazōpyroumenōn tōn “pyrsōn megistas pyrkaias anaplērousan, eutheōs “pros tēn hēmeteran eusebeian, hōsper pros mētropolin “pasōn theosebeiōn, chōris tinos mellēseōs “katephygen, iasin tina kai boētheian apaitousa;
See, then, your city, neglecting all its own private interests and passing over its former petitions about its own affairs, when it perceived again that the adherents of that accursed vanity were beginning to creep about, and like a neglected and smoldering pyre whose brands are rekindled, were making the greatest conflagrations, at once without any delay took refuge with our piety as with the mother city of all religion, asking for some cure and help.
Notes and citation
Summary: Tyre, seeing the Christians spreading again like a rekindled fire, turned at once to the emperor for help.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.6 (Dindorf 4:426; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.7Dindorf 4:426–427
ἥντινα διάνοιαν σωτηριώδη διὰ τὴν πίστιν τῆς “ὑμετέρας θεοσεβείας τοὺς θεοὺς ὑμῖν ἐμβεβληκέναι “δῆλόν ἐστιν· ἐκεῖνος τοιγαροῦν ἐκεῖνος ὁ ὕψιστος “καὶ μέγιστος Ζεὺς, ὁ προκαθήμενος τῆς λαμπροτάτης “ὑμῶν πόλεως, ὁ τοὺς πατρῴους ὑμῶν θεοὺς “καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ τέκνα καὶ ἑστίαν καὶ οἴκους ἀπὸ πάσης ὀλεθρίου φθορᾶς ῥυόμενος, ταῖς ὑμετέραις “ψυχαῖς τὸ σωτήριον ἐνέπνευσε βούλημα, ἐπιδεικνὺς καὶ ἐμφαίνων ὅπως ἐξαίρετόν ἐστι καὶ λαμπρὸν καὶ σωτηριῶδες μετὰ τοῦ ὀφειλομένου σεβάσματος τῇ θρησκείᾳ καὶ ταῖς ἱεροθρησκείαις τῶν ἀθανάτων θεῶν προσιέναι.
hēntina dianoian sōtēriōdē dia tēn pistin tēs “hymeteras theosebeias tous theous hymin embeblēkenai “dēlon estin; ekeinos toigaroun ekeinos ho hypsistos “kai megistos Zeus, ho prokathēmenos tēs lamprotatēs “hymōn poleōs, ho tous patrǭous hymōn theous “kai gynaikas kai tekna kai hestian kai oikous apo pasēs olethriou phthoras rhyomenos, tais hymeterais “psychais to sōtērion enepneuse boulēma, epideiknys kai emphainōn hopōs exaireton esti kai lampron kai sōtēriōdes meta tou opheilomenou sebasmatos tę̄ thrēskeią kai tais hierothrēskeiais tōn athanatōn theōn prosienai.
It is clear that the gods have put this saving thought into you because of the faith of your reverence. That one, then, that most high and most great Zeus, who presides over your most splendid city, who protects your ancestral gods, your wives and children, hearth and homes from every destructive ruin, breathed into your souls this saving wish, showing and making plain how excellent, splendid, and salutary it is to approach the worship and sacred rites of the immortal gods with due reverence.
Notes and citation
Summary: The emperor says Zeus, Tyre's protector, inspired the city's request and showed the value of worshiping the gods.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἀνθανάτων → ἀθανάτων.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.7 (Dindorf 4:426–427; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.8Dindorf 4:427
τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἀνόητος ἢ νοῦ παντὸς ἀλλότριος εὑρεθῆναι δύναται ὃς οὐκ “αἴσθεται τῇ φιλαγάθῳ τῶν θεῶν σπουδῇ συμβαίνειν μήτε τὴν γῆν τὰ παραδιδόμενα αὐτῇ σπέρματα ἀρνεῖσθαι, τὴν τῶν γεωργῶν ἐλπίδα κενῇ “προσδοκίᾳ σφάλλουσαν, μηδʼ αὖ ἀσεβοῦς πολέμου “πρόσοψιν ἀνεπικωλύτως ἐπὶ γῆς στηρίζεσθαι, καὶ “φθαρείσης τῆς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ εὐκρασίας αὐχμῶντα “τὰ σώματα εἰς θάνατον κατασύρεσθαι, μηδὲ “ἀμέτρων ἀνέμων πνεύμασι τὴν θάλασσαν κυμαίνου- “σαν κορυφοῦσθαι, μηδέ γε καταιγίδας ἀπροσδοκή “τους καταρρηγνυμένας ὀλέθριον χειμῶνα “ ρειν, ‘ρειν, ἔτι τοίνυν μήτε τὴν τροφὸν “μητέρα γῆν, ἀπὸ τῶν κατωτάτω λαγόνων ἑαυτῆς “ἐν φοβερῷ τρόμῳ καταδυομένην, μηδέ γε τὰ ἐπι- “κείμενα ὄρη χασμάτων γινομένων καταδύεσθαι, “ἅπερ πάντα καὶ τούτων ἔτι χαλεπώτερα κακὰ “τούτου πολλάκις γεγονέναι οὐδεὶς ἀγνοεῖ.
tis gar houtōs anoētos ē nou pantos allotrios heurethēnai dynatai hos ouk “aisthetai tę̄ philagathǭ tōn theōn spoudę̄ symbainein mēte tēn gēn ta paradidomena autę̄ spermata arneisthai, tēn tōn geōrgōn elpida kenę̄ “prosdokią sphallousan, mēdʼ au asebous polemou “prosopsin anepikōlytōs epi gēs stērizesthai, kai “phthareisēs tēs tou ouranou eukrasias auchmōnta “ta sōmata eis thanaton katasyresthai, mēde “ametrōn anemōn pneumasi tēn thalassan kymainou- “san koryphousthai, mēde ge kataigidas aprosdokē “tous katarrēgnymenas olethrion cheimōna “ rein, ‘rein, eti toinyn mēte tēn trophon “mētera gēn, apo tōn katōtatō lagonōn heautēs “en phoberǭ tromǭ katadyomenēn, mēde ge ta epi- “keimena orē chasmatōn ginomenōn katadyesthai, “haper panta kai toutōn eti chalepōtera kaka “toutou pollakis gegonenai oudeis agnoei.
For who can be found so foolish or so devoid of all sense as not to perceive that it is by the benevolent care of the gods that the earth does not refuse the seeds entrusted to it, disappointing the farmers' hope with empty expectation; that the sight of impious war is not planted on the earth unhindered, and that bodies are not dragged down to death, parched, when the good balance of the sky is corrupted; that the sea is not swollen and heaved up by the blasts of immoderate winds; that unexpected hurricanes do not burst forth and bring destructive storms; and further that the earth, our nurse and mother, does not sink from her lowest depths in fearful trembling, nor the mountains upon her sink into opening chasms? No one is unaware that all these evils, and others still worse, have often happened before this.
Notes and citation
Summary: The rescript credits the gods with good harvests and protection from war, plague, storm, and earthquake, which it says often struck before.
- The digital text is defective at “bring destructive storms” (“ ρειν, ‘ρειν, probably ἐπιφέρειν); translated from the sense.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.8 (Dindorf 4:427; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.9Dindorf 4:427
καὶ “ταῦτα σύμπαντα διὰ τὴν ὀλέθριον πλάνην τῆς ὑπο- “κένου ματαιότητος τῶν ἀθεμίτων ἐκείνων ἀνθρώ- “ πων ἐγίνετο, ἡνίκα κατὰ τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ἐπεπό- “λαζε καὶ σχεδὸν εἰπεῖν τὰ πανταχοῦ ‘αἰσχύναις ἐπίεζε.”
kai “tauta sympanta dia tēn olethrion planēn tēs hypo- “kenou mataiotētos tōn athemitōn ekeinōn anthrō- “ pōn egineto, hēnika kata tas psychas autōn epepo- “laze kai schedon eipein ta pantachou ‘aischynais epieze.”
And all these things happened because of the destructive error of the empty vanity of those lawless men, when it took possession of their souls and, one might almost say, oppressed the whole world with shame.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The rescript blames these disasters on the Christians' error.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable in the digital text): ἐπεπό- “λαξε “λαζε → ἐπεπό- “λαζε.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.9 (Dindorf 4:427; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.10Dindorf 4:427–428
τούτοις μεθʼ ἕτερα ἐπιλέγει “ ἐφοράτωσαν ἐν τοῖς πλατέσιν ἤδη πεδίοις ἀνθοῦντα “τὰ λήϊα καὶ τοῖς ἀστάχυσιν ἐπικυμαίνοντα, καὶ τοὺς “λειμῶνας διʼ εὐομβρίαν φυτοῖς καὶ ἄνθεσι λαμπο- ‘μένους, καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀέρος κατάστασιν εὔκρατον “καὶ πραοτάτην ἀποδοθεῖσαν·
toutois methʼ hetera epilegei “ ephoratōsan en tois platesin ēdē pediois anthounta “ta lēïa kai tois astachysin epikymainonta, kai tous “leimōnas diʼ euombrian phytois kai anthesi lampo- ‘menous, kai tēn tou aeros katastasin eukraton “kai praotatēn apodotheisan;
After other things he adds: “Let them look at the crops already flourishing in the broad fields and waving with ears of grain, and the meadows gleaming with plants and flowers through abundant rain, and the state of the air restored to temperate and most mild.
Notes and citation
Summary: The rescript points to flourishing crops and mild weather as signs of the gods' favor.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.10 (Dindorf 4:427–428; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.11Dindorf 4:428
χαιρέτωσαν “πὸν ἅπαντες διὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας εὐσεβείας, “γίας τε καὶ τιμῆς τῆς τοῦ δυνατωτάτου καὶ “τατοῦ Ἄρεως δυνάμεως ἐξευμενισθείσης, καὶ διὰ “τοῦτο τῆς εὐδιεινοτάτης εἰρήνης βεβαίως μεθʼ ‘χίας ἀπολαύοντες ἡδυνέσθωσαν· καὶ ὅσοι τῆς τυφλῆς ἐκείνης πλάνης καὶ περιόδου παντάπασιν ἀποστάντες εἰς ὀρθὴν καὶ καλλίστην διάνοιαν ἐπα- “νῆλθον, μειζόνως μὲν οὖν χαιρέτωσαν, ὡσὰν “χειμῶνος ἀπροσδοκήτου ἢ νόσου βαρείας σθέντες, καὶ ἡδεῖαν εἰς τοὐπιὸν ζωῆς ἀπόλαυσιν “καρπωσάμενοι.
chairetōsan “pon hapantes dia tēs hēmeteras eusebeias, “gias te kai timēs tēs tou dynatōtatou kai “tatou Areōs dynameōs exeumenistheisēs, kai dia “touto tēs eudieinotatēs eirēnēs bebaiōs methʼ ‘chias apolauontes hēdynesthōsan; kai hosoi tēs typhlēs ekeinēs planēs kai periodou pantapasin apostantes eis orthēn kai kallistēn dianoian epa- “nēlthon, meizonōs men oun chairetōsan, hōsan “cheimōnos aprosdokētou ē nosou bareias sthentes, kai hēdeian eis toupion zōēs apolausin “karpōsamenoi.
Let all rejoice henceforth that through our piety, sacrifices, and veneration the power of most mighty and most steadfast Ares has been propitiated, and therefore let them enjoy with gladness the most serene peace firmly and in quiet. And let those who have wholly abandoned that blind error and wandering and have returned to a right and most excellent mind rejoice all the more, as men rescued from an unexpected storm or a grievous sickness, who will reap sweet enjoyment of life for the future.
Notes and citation
Summary: All are to rejoice in the peace secured by honoring Ares, and converts from Christianity most of all, as men rescued from a storm.
- Several words are defective in the digital text (λοιπὸν, ἱερουργίας, στερροτάτου, ἡσυχίας, ῥυσθέντες or the like); they are translated from the evident sense.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.11 (Dindorf 4:428; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.12Dindorf 4:428
εἰ δὲ τῇ ἐπαράτῳ αὐτῶν μα- “ταιότητι ἐπιμένοιεν, ἐν πολλῷ πόρρωθεν τῆς ὑμε- “τέρας πόλεως καὶ περιχώρου, καθὼς ἠξιώσατε, “ἀποχωρισθέντες ἐξελαθήτωσαν, ἵνʼ οὕτως, κατʼ ἀκολουθίαν τῆς ἀξιεπαίνου ὑμῶν περὶ τοῦτο σπου- “δῆς, παντὸς μιάσματος καὶ ἀσεβείας ἡ ὑμετέρα πόλις κατὰ τὴν ἔμφυτον αὐτῇ πρόθεσιν ‘μετὰ τοῦ ὀφειλομένου σεβάσματος ταῖς τῶν ἀθανά- “των θεῶν ἱερουργίαις ὑπακούοι.
ei de tę̄ eparatǭ autōn ma- “taiotēti epimenoien, en pollǭ porrōthen tēs hyme- “teras poleōs kai perichōrou, kathōs ēxiōsate, “apochōristhentes exelathētōsan, hinʼ houtōs, katʼ akolouthian tēs axiepainou hymōn peri touto spou- “dēs, pantos miasmatos kai asebeias hē hymetera polis kata tēn emphyton autę̄ prothesin ‘meta tou opheilomenou sebasmatos tais tōn athana- “tōn theōn hierourgiais hypakouoi.
But if they persist in their accursed vanity, let them be separated and driven far away from your city and its territory, as you have asked, so that in this way, in keeping with your praiseworthy zeal in this matter, your city, freed from all pollution and impiety, may, according to its innate disposition, attend with due reverence to the sacred rites of the immortal gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians who persist are to be expelled from Tyre and its territory, as the city asked.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.12 (Dindorf 4:428; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.13Dindorf 4:428
ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε ὅσῳ προσφιλὴς ἡμῖν γέγονεν ἡ περὶ τούτου ἀξίωσις ὑμῶν, καὶ χωρὶς ψηφισμάτων καὶ χωρὶς δεήσεως αὐθαιρέτῳ βουλήσει ἡ ἡμετέρα προθυμοτάτη φιλα- “γαθίαις ψυχὴ, ἐπιτρέπομεν τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ “ὁποίαν δʼ ἂν βουληθῆτε μεγαλοδωρεὰν, ἀντὶ ταύ- της ὑμῶν τῆς φιλοθέου προθέσεως αἰτῆσαι.
hina de eidēte hosǭ prosphilēs hēmin gegonen hē peri toutou axiōsis hymōn, kai chōris psēphismatōn kai chōris deēseōs authairetǭ boulēsei hē hēmetera prothymotatē phila- “gathiais psychē, epitrepomen tę̄ hymeterą “hopoian dʼ an boulēthēte megalodōrean, anti tau- tēs hymōn tēs philotheou protheseōs aitēsai.
And so that you may know how welcome your request about this has been to us, and how most ready of its own free will, without petitions and without entreaty, our soul is for acts of kindness, we permit your devotion to ask whatever great gift you wish in return for this your God-loving purpose.
Notes and citation
Summary: The emperor invites Tyre to ask any gift it wants as a reward.
- A word (probably καθοσιώσει, “devotion”) is missing after τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ in the digital text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text): ἔνα δὲ εἰδῆτε → ἵνα δὲ εἰδῆτε.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.13 (Dindorf 4:428; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.14Dindorf 4:428–429
καὶ “ ἤδη μὲν τοῦτο ποιεῖν καὶ λαβεῖν ἀξιώσατε· τεύξεσθε γὰρ αὐτῆς χωρίς τινος ὑπερθέσεως· ἥτις παρασχεθεῖσα τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ πόλει εἰς ἅπαντα τὸν “αἰῶνα τῆς περὶ τοὺς ἀθανάτους θεοὺς φιλοθέου εὐσεβείας παρέξει μαρτυρίαν, τοῦ δὲ ὑμὰς ἀξίων ἐπάθλων τετυχηκέναι παρὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας φιλαγα- “θίας, ταύτης ὑμῶν ἕνεκεν τῆς τοῦ βίου “ σεως. υἱοῖς τε καὶ ἐκγόνοις ὑμετέροις ἐπιδειχθήσεται.”
kai “ ēdē men touto poiein kai labein axiōsate; teuxesthe gar autēs chōris tinos hypertheseōs; hētis paraschetheisa tę̄ hymeterą polei eis hapanta ton “aiōna tēs peri tous athanatous theous philotheou eusebeias parexei martyrian, tou de hymas axiōn epathlōn tetychēkenai para tēs hēmeteras philaga- “thias, tautēs hymōn heneken tēs tou biou “ seōs. huiois te kai ekgonois hymeterois epideichthēsetai.”
And now resolve to do this and to receive it; for you will obtain it without any delay. Granted to your city, it will for all time bear witness to your God-loving piety toward the immortal gods, and it will show to your sons and descendants that you obtained worthy rewards from our benevolence for this purpose of your life.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The gift, granted at once, will testify forever to Tyre's piety and the emperor's generosity.
- The word before υἱοῖς is defective in the digital text (probably προαιρέσεως, “purpose”).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.14 (Dindorf 4:428–429; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.15Dindorf 4:429
ταῦτα δὴ καθʼ ἡμῶν κατὰ πάσαν ἀνεστηλίτευτο, πάσης ἐλπίδος, τὸ γοῦν ἐπʼ ἀνθρώποις, ἀγαθῆς τὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἀποκλείοντα· ὡς, κατʼ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ θεῖον ἐκεῖνο λόγιον, εἰ δυνατὸν, ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ τοὺς ἐκλεκτοὺς αὐτοὺς σκανδαλίζεσθαι.
tauta dē kathʼ hēmōn kata pasan anestēliteuto, pasēs elpidos, to goun epʼ anthrōpois, agathēs ta kathʼ hēmas apokleionta; hōs, katʼ auto dē to theion ekeino logion, ei dynaton, epi toutois kai tous eklektous autous skandalizesthai.
These things were set up against us in every province, shutting off from us every good hope, at least as far as human beings were concerned; so that, according to that divine saying, even the elect themselves, if possible, might be caused to stumble by these things.
Matt 24:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 13:22 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: These decrees, posted everywhere, cut off all human hope, so that even the elect might have fallen away.
- The saying is Matt 24:24 (compare Mark 13:22).
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.15 (Dindorf 4:429; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.7.16Dindorf 4:429
ἤδη γέ τοι σχεδὸν τῆς παρὰ τοῖς πλείστοις ἀποψυχούσης προσδοκίας, ἀθρόως καθʼ ὁδὸν ἔτι σχεδὸν τὴν πορείαν ἔν τισι χώραις διανυόντων τῶν τὴν προκειμένην γραφὴν καθʼ ἡμῶν διακονουμένων, ὁ τῆς ἰδίας ἐκκλησίας ὑπέρμαχος θεὸς, μονονουχὶ τὴν τοῦ τυράννου καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐπιστομίζων μεγαλαυχίαν, τὴν ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν οὐράνιον αὐτοῦ συμμαχίαν ἐπεδείκνυτο.
ēdē ge toi schedon tēs para tois pleistois apopsychousēs prosdokias, athroōs kathʼ hodon eti schedon tēn poreian en tisi chōrais dianyontōn tōn tēn prokeimenēn graphēn kathʼ hēmōn diakonoumenōn, ho tēs idias ekklēsias hypermachos theos, mononouchi tēn tou tyrannou kathʼ hēmōn epistomizōn megalauchian, tēn hyper hēmōn ouranion autou symmachian epedeiknyto.
But when hope had almost died out among most, suddenly, while those charged with the document against us had scarcely finished their journey in some regions, God, the champion of his own church, as if stopping the tyrant's boasting against us, showed his heavenly alliance on our behalf.
Notes and citation
Summary: Just as hope was failing, God intervened to silence the tyrant's boasts.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.7.16 (Dindorf 4:429; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-7-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
Church 9, chapter 8
9.8.1Dindorf 4:429
Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἐξ ἔθους ὄμβροι τε καὶ ὑετοὶ χειμαδίου τῆς ὥρας ὑπαρχούσης τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνεῖχον συνήθη φορὰν, λιμὸς δʼ ἀδόκητος ἐπισκήπτει, καὶ λοιμὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ, καί τινος ἑτέρου νοσήματος — ἕλκος δὲ ἦν φερωνύμως τοῦ πυρώδους ἕνεκεν· ἄνθραξ προσαγορευόμενον — ἐπιφορὰ, ὃ καθʼ ὅλων μὲν ἕρπον τῶν σωμάτων σφαλεροὺς ἐνεποίει τοῖς πεπονθόσι κινδύνους, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν διαφερόντως ἐπὶ πλεῖστον γινόμενον μυρίους ὅσους ἄνδρας ἅμα γυναιξὶ καὶ παισὶ πηροὺς ἀπειργάζετο.
Hoi men oun ex ethous ombroi te kai hyetoi cheimadiou tēs hōras hyparchousēs tēn epi gēs aneichon synēthē phoran, limos dʼ adokētos episkēptei, kai loimos epi toutǭ, kai tinos heterou nosēmatos — helkos de ēn pherōnymōs tou pyrōdous heneken; anthrax prosagoreuomenon — epiphora, ho kathʼ holōn men herpon tōn sōmatōn sphalerous enepoiei tois peponthosi kindynous, ou mēn alla kai kata tōn ophthalmōn diapherontōs epi pleiston ginomenon myrious hosous andras hama gynaixi kai paisi pērous apeirgazeto.
The customary showers and rains of the winter season withheld their usual fall upon the earth, and an unexpected famine struck, and after it a plague, and an outbreak of another disease, an ulcer called a carbuncle from its fiery nature. This spread over the whole body and brought grave danger to the sufferers, and above all it attacked the eyes, blinding countless men along with women and children.
Notes and citation
Summary: Drought, famine, plague, and a blinding disease called the carbuncle struck Maximin's realm.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.1 (Dindorf 4:429; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.2Dindorf 4:429–430
τούτοις προσεπανίσταται τῷ τυράννῳ ὁ πρὸς Ἀρμενίους πόλεμος, ἄνδρας ἐξ ἀρχαίου φίλους τε καὶ συμμάχους Ῥωμαίων, οὓς καὶ αὐτοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ὄντας τὴν εἰς τὸ θεῖον εὐσέβειαν διὰ σπουδῆς ποιουμένους ὁ θεομισὴς εἰδώλοις θύειν καὶ δαίμοσιν ἐπαναγκάσαι πεπειραμένος ἐχθροὺς ἀντὶ φίλων καὶ πολεμίους ἀντὶ συμμάχων κατεστήσατο.
toutois prosepanistatai tǭ tyrannǭ ho pros Armenious polemos, andras ex archaiou philous te kai symmachous Rhōmaiōn, hous kai autous Christianous ontas tēn eis to theion eusebeian dia spoudēs poioumenous ho theomisēs eidōlois thyein kai daimosin epanankasai pepeiramenos echthrous anti philōn kai polemious anti symmachōn katestēsato.
In addition to these, the war against the Armenians rose up against the tyrant, men who had been friends and allies of the Romans from of old. Since they too were Christians and zealous in their piety toward God, the God-hater tried to compel them to sacrifice to idols and demons, and so made enemies of friends and foes of allies.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maximin also provoked war with the Christian Armenians, old Roman allies, by trying to force them to sacrifice.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen left in the digital text): εὐσέ- βειαν → εὐσέβειαν.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.2 (Dindorf 4:429–430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.3Dindorf 4:430
ἀθρόως δὴ ταῦτα πάντα ὑφʼ ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν συρρεύσαντα καιρὸν τῆς τοῦ τυράννου θρασύτητος τὴν κατὰ τοῦ θείου μεγαλαυχίαν διήλεγξεν, ὅτι δὴ τῆς περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα αὐτοῦ σπουδῆς καὶ τῆς καθʼ ἡμῶν ἕνεκα πολιορκίας μὴ λιμὸν μηδὲ λοιμὸν μηδὲ μὴν πόλεμον ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ συμβῆναι καιρῶν ἐθρασύνετο. ταῦτα δʼ οὖν ὁμοῦ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ ἐπελθόντα καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ καταστροφῆς περιειλήφει τὰ προοίμια.
athroōs dē tauta panta hyphʼ hena kai ton auton syrreusanta kairon tēs tou tyrannou thrasytētos tēn kata tou theiou megalauchian diēlenxen, hoti dē tēs peri ta eidōla autou spoudēs kai tēs kathʼ hēmōn heneka poliorkias mē limon mēde loimon mēde mēn polemon epi tōn autou symbēnai kairōn ethrasyneto. tauta dʼ oun homou kai kata to auto epelthonta kai tēs autou katastrophēs perieilēphei ta prooimia.
All these things flowing together suddenly at one and the same time refuted the tyrant's boldness and his boasting against the divine, for he had boasted that because of his zeal for the idols and his assault on us neither famine nor plague nor war had occurred in his times. These things, coming all together and at once, formed the prelude of his downfall.
Notes and citation
Summary: These disasters exposed Maximin's boast that his idolatry had spared his reign from famine, plague, and war, and foreshadowed his fall.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.3 (Dindorf 4:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.4Dindorf 4:430
αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν περὶ τὸν πρὸς Ἀρμενίους πόλεμον ἅμα τοῖς αὐτοῦ στρατοπέδοις κατεπονεῖτο, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς τῶν τὰς ὑπʼ αὐτὸν πόλεις οἰκούντων δεινῶς ὁ λιμός τε ἅμα καὶ λοιμὸς κατετρυχέτην, ὡς ἑνὸς μέτρου πυρῶν δισχιλίας καὶ πεντακοσίας Ἀττικὰς ἀντικαταλλάττεσθαι.
autos men oun peri ton pros Armenious polemon hama tois autou stratopedois kateponeito, tous de loipous tōn tas hypʼ auton poleis oikountōn deinōs ho limos te hama kai loimos katetrychetēn, hōs henos metrou pyrōn dischilias kai pentakosias Attikas antikatallattesthai.
He himself, then, together with his armies, was worn out by the war against the Armenians, while famine and plague together terribly afflicted the rest of those who lived in the cities under him, so that a single measure of wheat was sold for two thousand five hundred Attic drachmas.
Notes and citation
Summary: While Maximin fought the Armenians, famine and plague drove the price of a measure of wheat to 2,500 drachmas.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.4 (Dindorf 4:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.5Dindorf 4:430
μυρίοι μὲν οὖν ἐτύγχανον οἱ κατὰ πόλεις θνήσκοντες, πλείους δὲ τούτων οἱ κατʼ ἀγρούς τε καὶ κώμας, ὡς ἤδη καὶ τὰς πάλαι τῶν ἀγροίκων πολυάνδρους ἀπογραφὰς μικροῦ δεῖν παντελῆ παθεῖν ἐξάλειψιν, ἀθρόως σχεδὸν ἁπάντων ἐνδείᾳ τροφῆς καὶ λοιμώδει νόσῳ διεφθαρμένων.
myrioi men oun etynchanon hoi kata poleis thnēskontes, pleious de toutōn hoi katʼ agrous te kai kōmas, hōs ēdē kai tas palai tōn agroikōn polyandrous apographas mikrou dein pantelē pathein exaleipsin, athroōs schedon hapantōn endeią trophēs kai loimōdei nosǭ diephtharmenōn.
Countless were those who died in the cities, and still more those in the fields and villages, so that the census lists of the country people, once full of names, suffered almost complete erasure, nearly all of them being destroyed at once by lack of food and by the pestilence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Countless died in cities and even more in the countryside, nearly emptying the rural census rolls.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.5 (Dindorf 4:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.6Dindorf 4:430
τινὲς μὲν οὖν τὰ ἑαυτῶν φίλτατα βραχυτάτης τροφῆς τοῖς εὐπορωτέροις ἀπεμπολᾶν ἠξίουν, ἄλλοι δὲ τὰς κτήσεις κατὰ βραχὺ διαπιπράσκοντες εἰς ἐσχάτην ἐνδείας ἀπορίαν ἤλαυνον· ἤδη δέ τινες σμικρὰ χόρτου διαμασώμενοι σπαράγματα, καί τινας ἀνέδην φθοροποιοὺς ἐσθίοντες πόας, τὴν τῶν σωμάτων ἔξιν λυμαινόμενοι διώλλυντο.
tines men oun ta heautōn philtata brachytatēs trophēs tois euporōterois apempolan ēxioun, alloi de tas ktēseis kata brachy diapipraskontes eis eschatēn endeias aporian ēlaunon; ēdē de tines smikra chortou diamasōmenoi sparagmata, kai tinas anedēn phthoropoious esthiontes poas, tēn tōn sōmatōn exin lymainomenoi diōllynto.
Some thought fit to sell their dearest ones to the wealthier for the smallest scrap of food; others, selling off their possessions little by little, were driven to the extreme of want; and some, chewing small wisps of hay and recklessly eating certain harmful plants, ruined their bodily health and perished.
Notes and citation
Summary: People sold their children for food, sold all they had, or ate grass and poisonous plants and died.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen left in the digital text): λυ- μαινόμενοι → λυμαινόμενοι.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.6 (Dindorf 4:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.7Dindorf 4:430–431
καὶ γυναίων δὲ τῶν κατὰ πόλεις εὐγενίδων τινὲς, εἰς ἀναίσχυντον ἀνάγκην πρὸς τῆς ἀπορίας ἐλαθεῖσαι, μεταιτεῖν ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγορῶν προεληλύθεσαν, τῆς πάλαι ἐλευθερίου ὑπόδειγμα διὰ τῆς περὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αἰδοῦς καὶ τῆς ἀμφὶ τὴν περιβολὴν κοσμιότητος ὑποφαίνουσαι.
kai gynaiōn de tōn kata poleis eugenidōn tines, eis anaischynton anankēn pros tēs aporias elatheisai, metaitein epi tōn agorōn proelēlythesan, tēs palai eleutheriou hypodeigma dia tēs peri to prosōpon aidous kai tēs amphi tēn peribolēn kosmiotētos hypophainousai.
And some well-born women of the cities, driven by want to shameless necessity, came out to beg in the marketplaces, showing a trace of their former liberal upbringing by the modesty of their faces and the decency of their dress.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even noblewomen were forced to beg in the marketplaces, still showing their breeding.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen left in the digital text): ἀγο- ρῶν → ἀγορῶν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.7 (Dindorf 4:430–431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.8Dindorf 4:431
καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀπεσκληκότες ὥσπερ εἴδωλα νεκρὰ ὧδε κἀκεῖσε ψυχορραγοῦντες, ἐνσειόμενοί τε καὶ περιολισθαίνοντες ὑπʼ ἀδυναμίας τοῦ στῆναι, κατέπιπτον ἐν μέσαις ταῖς πλατείαις, πρηνεῖς δʼ ἡπλωμένοι ὀρέξαι σφίσι μικρὸν τρύφος ἄρτου κατηντιβόλουν, καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν πρὸς ἐσχάταις ἔχοντες ἀναπνοαῖς πεινῆν ἐπεβόων, πρὸς μόνην ταύτην τὴν ὀδυνηροτάτην φωνὴν εὐσθενεῖς καθιστάμενοι·
kai hoi men apesklēkotes hōsper eidōla nekra hōde kakeise psychorragountes, enseiomenoi te kai periolisthainontes hypʼ adynamias tou stēnai, katepipton en mesais tais plateiais, prēneis dʼ hēplōmenoi orexai sphisi mikron tryphos artou katēntiboloun, kai tēn psychēn pros eschatais echontes anapnoais peinēn epeboōn, pros monēn tautēn tēn odynērotatēn phōnēn eustheneis kathistamenoi;
Some, withered like corpses and gasping out their lives here and there, stumbling and slipping about from inability to stand, fell down in the middle of the streets; stretched out on their faces they begged to be given a little morsel of bread, and with their souls at their last breath they cried out that they were hungry, having strength only for this most painful cry.
Notes and citation
Summary: The starving collapsed in the streets, begging for a crumb of bread with their last breath.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.8 (Dindorf 4:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.9Dindorf 4:431
οἱ δὲ τὴν πληθὺν τῶν αἰτούντων καταπληττόμενοι, ὅσοι τῶν εὐπορωτέρων ἐδόκουν εἶναι, μετὰ τὸ μυρία παρασχεῖν εἰς ἀπηνῆ λοιπὸν καὶ ἄτεγκτον ἐχώρουν διάθεσιν, τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς αἰτοῦσιν ὅσον οὔπω καὶ αὐτοὶ πείσεσθαι προσδοκῶντες, ὥστʼ ἤδη κατὰ μέσας ἀγορὰς καὶ στενωποὺς νεκρὰ καὶ γυμνὰ σώματα ἐφʼ ἡμέραις πλείοσιν ἄταφα διερριμμένα θέαν τοῖς ὁρῶσιν οἰκτροτάτην παρέχεσθαι.
hoi de tēn plēthyn tōn aitountōn kataplēttomenoi, hosoi tōn euporōterōn edokoun einai, meta to myria paraschein eis apēnē loipon kai atenkton echōroun diathesin, ta auta tois aitousin hoson oupō kai autoi peisesthai prosdokōntes, hōstʼ ēdē kata mesas agoras kai stenōpous nekra kai gymna sōmata ephʼ hēmerais pleiosin atapha dierrimmena thean tois horōsin oiktrotatēn parechesthai.
Others, those who seemed to be among the wealthier, astonished at the multitude of beggars, after giving a great deal turned at last to a hard and unrelenting attitude, expecting that they themselves would soon suffer the same as the beggars; so that now in the middle of the marketplaces and lanes dead and naked bodies lay scattered unburied for many days, presenting a most pitiable sight to those who saw them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The rich, fearing the same fate, stopped giving, and naked corpses lay unburied in the streets for days.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray raised dot in the digital text): καταπληττ·όμενοι → καταπληττόμενοι.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.9 (Dindorf 4:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.10Dindorf 4:431
ἤδη γέ τοι καὶ κυνῶν τινὲς ἐγίνοντο βορὰ, διʼ ἣν μάλιστα αἰτίαν οἶ ζῶντες ἐπὶ τὴν κυνοκτονίαν ἐτράποντο, δέει τοῦ μὴ λυσσήσαντας ἀνθρωποφαγίαν ἐργάσασθαι.
ēdē ge toi kai kynōn tines eginonto bora, diʼ hēn malista aitian oi zōntes epi tēn kynoktonian etraponto, deei tou mē lyssēsantas anthrōpophagian ergasasthai.
Some even became food for dogs, for which reason above all the living turned to killing dogs, for fear that the dogs would go mad and begin to devour people.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dogs ate the dead, so people killed the dogs for fear they would attack the living.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.10 (Dindorf 4:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.11Dindorf 4:431
οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ ὁ λοιμὸς πάντας οἴκους καὶ γενεὰς ἐπεβόσκετο, μάλιστα δʼ οὓς ὁ λιμὸς διὰ τὸ εὐπορεῖν τροφῶν οὐχ οἷός τε ἦν ἐκτρῖψαι. οἱ γοῦν ἐν περιουσίαις, ἄρχοντες καὶ ἡγεμόνες καὶ μυρίοι τῶν ἐν τέλει, ὥσπερ ἐπίτηδες τῇ λοιμώδει νόσῳ πρὸς τοῦ λιμοῦ καταλελειμμένοι, ὀξεῖαν καὶ ὠκυτάτην ὑπέμενον τελευτήν· πάντα δʼ οὖν οἰμωγῶν ἦν ἀνάπλεα, κατὰ πάντας τε στενωποὺς, ἀγοράς τε καὶ πλατείας οὐδʼ ἦν ἄλλο τι θεωρεῖν ἢ θρήνους μετὰ τῶν συνήθων αὐτοῖς αὐλῶν τε καὶ κτύπων.
ouch hēkista de kai ho loimos pantas oikous kai geneas epebosketo, malista dʼ hous ho limos dia to euporein trophōn ouch hoios te ēn ektripsai. hoi goun en periousiais, archontes kai hēgemones kai myrioi tōn en telei, hōsper epitēdes tę̄ loimōdei nosǭ pros tou limou kataleleimmenoi, oxeian kai ōkytatēn hypemenon teleutēn; panta dʼ oun oimōgōn ēn anaplea, kata pantas te stenōpous, agoras te kai plateias oudʼ ēn allo ti theōrein ē thrēnous meta tōn synēthōn autois aulōn te kai ktypōn.
Not least, the plague too devoured whole houses and families, especially those whom the famine could not wipe out because they had plenty of food. The wealthy, rulers, governors, and countless officials, as if deliberately left by the famine for the pestilence, suffered a swift and most sudden death. Everything was full of wailing, and in all the lanes, marketplaces, and streets nothing else was to be seen but lamentations with their customary flutes and beating of breasts.
Notes and citation
Summary: The plague killed the wealthy whom famine had spared, and the whole city was filled with mourning.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.11 (Dindorf 4:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.12Dindorf 4:431–432
τοῦτον δὴ τὸν τρόπον δυσὶν ὅπλοις τοῖς προδεδηλωμένοις λοιμοῦ τε ὁμοῦ καὶ λιμοῦ στρατεύσας ὁ θάνατος ὅλας ἐν ὀλίγῳ γενεὰς ἐνεμήθη, ὡς ὁρᾶν ἤδη δυεῖν καὶ τριῶν σώματα νεκρῶν ὑπὸ μίαν ἐκφορὰν προκομιζόμενα.
touton dē ton tropon dysin hoplois tois prodedēlōmenois loimou te homou kai limou strateusas ho thanatos holas en oligǭ geneas enemēthē, hōs horan ēdē dyein kai triōn sōmata nekrōn hypo mian ekphoran prokomizomena.
In this way death, campaigning with the two weapons already mentioned, pestilence and famine together, devoured whole families in a short time, so that one could see the bodies of two or three dead carried out in a single funeral procession.
Notes and citation
Summary: Famine and plague wiped out whole families, and two or three bodies were carried out together.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.12 (Dindorf 4:431–432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.13Dindorf 4:432
τοιαῦτα τῆς Μαξιμίνου μεγαλαυχίας καὶ τῶν κατὰ πόλεις καθʼ ἡμῶν ψηφισμάτων τἀπίχειρα ἦν, ὅτε καὶ τῆς Χριστιανῶν περὶ πάντα σπουδῆς τε καὶ εὐσεβείας πᾶσιν ἔθνεσιν διάδηλα κατέστη τὰ τεκμήρια.
toiauta tēs Maximinou megalauchias kai tōn kata poleis kathʼ hēmōn psēphismatōn tapicheira ēn, hote kai tēs Christianōn peri panta spoudēs te kai eusebeias pasin ethnesin diadēla katestē ta tekmēria.
Such were the rewards of Maximin's boasting and of the cities' resolutions against us, when the proofs of the Christians' zeal and piety in all things became plain to all the Gentiles.
Notes and citation
Summary: These disasters repaid Maximin's boasts, and the Christians' goodness became evident to all.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.13 (Dindorf 4:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.14Dindorf 4:432
μόνοι γοῦν ἐν τηλικαύτῃ κακῶν περιστάσει τὸ συμπαθὲς καὶ φιλάνθρωπον ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, διὰ πάσης ἡμέρας οἱ μὲν τῇ τῶν θνησκόντων μυριάδες δʼ ἦσαν οἷς οὔτις ἦν ὁ ἐπιμελησόμενος) κηδείᾳ τε καὶ ταφῇ προσεκαρτέρουν, οἶ δὲ τῶν ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν πρὸς τοῦ λιμοῦ κατατρυχομένων τὴν πληθὺν ὑπὸ μίαν σύνοψιν ἀθροίζοντες ἄρτους διένεμον τοῖς πᾶσιν, ὡς περιβόητον εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους καταστῆναι τὸ πρᾶγμα, θεόν τε τῶν Χριστιανῶν δοξάζειν, εὐσεβεῖς τε καὶ μόνους θεοσεβεῖς τούτους ἀληθῶς, πρὸς αὐτῶν ἐλεγχθέντας τῶν πραγμάτων, ὁμολογεῖν.
monoi goun en tēlikautę̄ kakōn peristasei to sympathes kai philanthrōpon ergois autois epideiknymenoi, dia pasēs hēmeras hoi men tę̄ tōn thnēskontōn myriades dʼ ēsan hois outis ēn ho epimelēsomenos) kēdeią te kai taphę̄ prosekarteroun, oi de tōn ana pasan tēn polin pros tou limou katatrychomenōn tēn plēthyn hypo mian synopsin athroizontes artous dienemon tois pasin, hōs periboēton eis pantas anthrōpous katastēnai to pragma, theon te tōn Christianōn doxazein, eusebeis te kai monous theosebeis toutous alēthōs, pros autōn elenchthentas tōn pragmatōn, homologein.
For they alone, in such a calamity, showed sympathy and humanity by their very deeds. All day long some of them persevered in caring for and burying the dying (for there were tens of thousands who had no one to care for them), while others gathered in one place the multitude of those throughout the whole city who were wasting away from hunger and distributed bread to them all. So the deed became famous among all people, and they glorified the God of the Christians and confessed that these alone were truly pious and God-fearing, convinced by the facts themselves.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only the Christians cared for the sick, buried the dead, and fed the hungry, so that pagans praised their God.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.14 (Dindorf 4:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.8.15Dindorf 4:432–433
ἐφʼ οἷς τοῦτον ἐπιτελουμένοις τὸν τρόπον ὁ μέγας καὶ οὐράνιος Χριστιανῶν ὑπέρμαχος θεὸς τὴν κατὰ πάντων ἀνθρώπων διὰ τῶν δεδηλωμένων ἐπιδειξάμενος ἀπειλὴν καὶ ἀγανάκτησιν ἀνθʼ ὧν εἰς ἡμὰς ὑπερβαλλόντως ἐνεδείξαντο, τὴν εὐμενῆ καὶ φαιδρὰν τῆς αὐτοῦ περὶ ἡμᾶς προνοίας αὖθις ἡμῖν αὐγὴν ἀπεδίδου, ὡς ἐν βαθεῖ σκότῳ παραδοξότατα φῶς ἡμῖν ἐξ αὐτοῦ καταλάμπων εἰρήνης, ἐκφανές τε τοῖς πᾶσι καθιστὰς, θεὸν αὐτὸν τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἐπίσκοπον διὰ παντὸς γεγονέναι πραγμάτων, μαστίζοντα μὲν καὶ διὰ τῶν περιστάσεων κατὰ καιρὸν ἐπιστρέφοντα τὸν αὐτοῦ λαὸν, πάλιν δʼ αὖ μετὰ τὴν αὐτάρκη παιδείαν ἵλεων καὶ εὐμενῆ τοῖς εἰς αὐτὸν τὰς ἐλπίδας ἔχουσιν ἀναφαινομενον.
ephʼ hois touton epiteloumenois ton tropon ho megas kai ouranios Christianōn hypermachos theos tēn kata pantōn anthrōpōn dia tōn dedēlōmenōn epideixamenos apeilēn kai aganaktēsin anthʼ hōn eis hēmas hyperballontōs enedeixanto, tēn eumenē kai phaidran tēs autou peri hēmas pronoias authis hēmin augēn apedidou, hōs en bathei skotǭ paradoxotata phōs hēmin ex autou katalampōn eirēnēs, ekphanes te tois pasi kathistas, theon auton tōn kathʼ hēmas episkopon dia pantos gegonenai pragmatōn, mastizonta men kai dia tōn peristaseōn kata kairon epistrephonta ton autou laon, palin dʼ au meta tēn autarkē paideian hileōn kai eumenē tois eis auton tas elpidas echousin anaphainomenon.
When these things had been done in this way, God, the great and heavenly champion of the Christians, having shown through what has been described his threat and indignation against all people for what they had done to us beyond measure, restored to us again the kind and bright radiance of his providence toward us. Most unexpectedly he shone on us the light of peace from himself, as in deep darkness, and made it plain to all that God himself had been the overseer of our affairs throughout, scourging his people and turning them back by afflictions from time to time, but again, after sufficient discipline, showing himself merciful and kind to those who put their hope in him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Having shown his anger at the persecutors, God again gave the Christians peace, showing that he disciplines his people and then shows mercy.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.8.15 (Dindorf 4:432–433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-8-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
Church 9, chapter 9
9.9.1Dindorf 4:433
. Οὕτω δὴ ὃν βασιλέα ἐκ βασιλέως, εὐσεβῆ τε ἐξ εὐσεβεστάτου καὶ πάντα σωφρονεστάτου γεγονέναι προειρήκαμεν, Λικιννίου ἴου τε τοῦ μετʼ αὐτὸν, συνέσει καὶ εὐσεβείᾳ τετιμημένων, πρὸς τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ τε τῶν ὅλων καὶ σωτῆρος δύο θεοφιλῶν κατὰ τῶν δύο δυσσεβεστάτων τυράννων ἀνεγηγερμένων, πολέμου τε νόμῳ παραταξαμένων, θεοῦ συμμαχοῦντος αὐτοῖς, παραδοξότατα πίπτει μὲν ἐπὶ Ῥώμης ὑπὸ Κωνσταντίνου Μαξέντιος, ὁ δʼ ἐπʼ ἀνατολῆς οὐ πολὺν ἐπιζήσας ἐκείνῳ χρόνον αἰσχίστῳ καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπὸ Λικιννίου, οὔπω μανέντος τότε, καταστρέφει θανάτῳ.
. Houtō dē hon basilea ek basileōs, eusebē te ex eusebestatou kai panta sōphronestatou gegonenai proeirēkamen, Likinniou iou te tou metʼ auton, synesei kai eusebeią tetimēmenōn, pros tou pambasileōs theou te tōn holōn kai sōtēros dyo theophilōn kata tōn dyo dyssebestatōn tyrannōn anegēgermenōn, polemou te nomǭ parataxamenōn, theou symmachountos autois, paradoxotata piptei men epi Rhōmēs hypo Kōnstantinou Maxentios, ho dʼ epʼ anatolēs ou polyn epizēsas ekeinǭ chronon aischistǭ kai autos hypo Likinniou, oupō manentos tote, katastrephei thanatǭ.
Thus, when Constantine, whom we have already described as an emperor born of an emperor, a pious son of a most pious and in all things most prudent father, and Licinius after him, both honored for understanding and piety, two men dear to God, had been raised up by God, the King of all and Savior of the universe, against the two most impious tyrants, and had drawn up for war according to the law of war with God as their ally, Maxentius fell at Rome at the hands of Constantine in a most extraordinary way, and the tyrant of the East, surviving him not long, himself also perished by a most shameful death at the hands of Licinius, who had not yet gone mad.
Notes and citation
Summary: God raised up Constantine and Licinius against the two tyrants: Maxentius fell to Constantine at Rome, and Maximin soon after to Licinius.
- The digital text lacks Constantine's name here and has a stray ἴου after Λικιννίου; the sense is clear from the context.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.1 (Dindorf 4:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.2Dindorf 4:433
πρότερός γε μὴν ὁ καὶ τιμῇ καὶ τάξει τῆς βασιλείας πρῶτος Κωνσταντῖνος, τῶν ἐπὶ Ῥώμης κατατυραννουμένων φειδὼ λαβὼν, θεὸν τὸν οὐράνιον, τόν τε τούτου λόγον, αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν πάντων σωτῆρα Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν σύμμαχον διʼ εὐχῶν ἐπικαλεσάμενος, πρόεισι πανστρατιᾷ, Ῥωμαίοις τὰ τῆς ἐκ προγόνων ἐλευθερίας προμνώμενος.
proteros ge mēn ho kai timę̄ kai taxei tēs basileias prōtos Kōnstantinos, tōn epi Rhōmēs katatyrannoumenōn pheidō labōn, theon ton ouranion, ton te toutou logon, auton dē ton pantōn sōtēra Iēsoun Christon symmachon diʼ euchōn epikalesamenos, proeisi panstratią, Rhōmaiois ta tēs ek progonōn eleutherias promnōmenos.
First, Constantine, who was first in both honor and rank of empire, taking pity on those oppressed by the tyrant at Rome, and calling upon God in heaven and his Word, Jesus Christ himself, the Savior of all, as his ally in prayer, advanced with his whole army, seeking to restore to the Romans their ancestral freedom.
Notes and citation
Summary: Constantine, praying to God and Christ for help, marched on Rome to free it.
Topics: Prayer, Christology
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.2 (Dindorf 4:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.3Dindorf 4:433–434
Μαξεντίου δῆτα μᾶλλον ταῖς κατὰ γοητείαν μηχαναῖς ἢ τῇ τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐπιθαρσοῦντος εὐνοίᾳ, προελθεῖν γε μὴν οὐδʼ ὅσον πυλῶν τοῦ ἄστεος ἐπιτολμῶντος, ὁπλιτῶν δʼ ἀνηρίθμῳ πλήθει καὶ στρατοπέδων λόχοις μυρίοις πάντα τόπον καὶ χώραν καὶ πόλιν, ὅση τις ἐν κύκλῳ τῆς Ῥωμαίων καὶ Ἰταλίας ἀπάσης ὑπʼ αὐτῷ δεδούλωτο, φραξαμένου, ὁ τῆς ἐκ θεοῦ συμμαχίας ἀνημμένος βασιλεὺς ἐπιὼν πρώτῃ καὶ δευτέρᾳ καὶ τρίτῃ τοῦ τυράννου παρατάξει, εὖ μάλα τε πάσας ἑλὼν, πρόεισιν ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ὅσον τῆς Ἰταλίας, ἤδη τε αὐτῆς Ῥώμης ἄγχιστα ἦν·
Maxentiou dēta mallon tais kata goēteian mēchanais ē tę̄ tōn hypēkoōn epitharsountos eunoią, proelthein ge mēn oudʼ hoson pylōn tou asteos epitolmōntos, hoplitōn dʼ anērithmǭ plēthei kai stratopedōn lochois myriois panta topon kai chōran kai polin, hosē tis en kyklǭ tēs Rhōmaiōn kai Italias apasēs hypʼ autǭ dedoulōto, phraxamenou, ho tēs ek theou symmachias anēmmenos basileus epiōn prōtę̄ kai deuterą kai tritę̄ tou tyrannou parataxei, eu mala te pasas helōn, proeisin epi pleiston hoson tēs Italias, ēdē te autēs Rhōmēs anchista ēn;
Maxentius trusted rather in the devices of sorcery than in the loyalty of his subjects, and did not dare to go even a little way beyond the gates of the city, but fortified every place, region, and city around Rome and all Italy that he had enslaved with a countless multitude of soldiers and innumerable companies of troops. The emperor, relying on the alliance of God, attacked the tyrant's first, second, and third battle lines, took them all with ease, advanced over the greater part of Italy, and was already very close to Rome itself.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maxentius hid in Rome relying on sorcery, while Constantine defeated his armies and approached the city.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen left in the digital text): λό- χοις → λόχοις.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.3 (Dindorf 4:433–434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.4Dindorf 4:434
εἷθʼ ὡς μὴ τοῦ τυράννου χάριν Ῥωμαίοις πολεμεῖν ἀναγκάζοιτο, θεὸς αὐτὸς δεσμοῖς τισιν ὥσπερ τὸν τύραννον πορρωτάτω πυλῶν ἐξέλκει, καὶ τὰ πάλαι δὴ κατὰ ἀσεβῶν ὡς ἐν μύθου λόγῳ παρὰ τοῖς πλείστοις ἀπιστούμενα, πιστά γε μὴν πιστοῖς ἐν ἱεραῖς βίβλοις ἐστηλιτευμένα, αὐτῇ ἐναργείᾳ πᾶσιν ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πιστοῖς καὶ ἀπίστοις, ὀφθαλμοῖς τὰ παράδοξα παρειληφόσιν ἐπιστώσατο.
heithʼ hōs mē tou tyrannou charin Rhōmaiois polemein anankazoito, theos autos desmois tisin hōsper ton tyrannon porrōtatō pylōn exelkei, kai ta palai dē kata asebōn hōs en mythou logǭ para tois pleistois apistoumena, pista ge mēn pistois en hierais biblois estēliteumena, autę̄ enargeią pasin haplōs eipein pistois kai apistois, ophthalmois ta paradoxa pareilēphosin epistōsato.
Then, so that he might not be forced to make war on the Romans because of the tyrant, God himself drew the tyrant, as if by chains, very far out from the gates, and confirmed by clear sight to all, believers and unbelievers alike, whose eyes witnessed the marvels, what had been recorded long ago against the ungodly in the sacred books, which most people disbelieved as a myth but which the faithful believed.
Notes and citation
Summary: God drew Maxentius out of the city, confirming before all eyes the biblical stories of God's judgment on the wicked.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.4 (Dindorf 4:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.5Dindorf 4:434
ὥσπερ οὑν ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ Μωυσέως καὶ τοῦ πάλαι θεοσεβοῦς Ἑβραίων γένους “ἅρματα Φαραὼ καὶ τὴν δύναμιν αὐτοῦ ἔρριψεν θάλασσαν, ἐπιλέκτους ἀναβάτας τριστάτας κατεπόντισεν ἐν θαλάσσῃ ἐρυθρᾷ, πόντῳ ἐκάλυψεν αὐτούς”, κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ δὴ καὶ Μαξέντιος οἵ τε ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ὁπλῖται καὶ δορυφόροι “ἔδυσαν εἰς βυθὸν ὡσεὶ λίθος”, ὁπηνίκα νῶτα δοὺς τῇ ἐκ θεοῦ μετὰ Κωνσταντίνου δυνάμει τὸν πρὸ τῆς πορείας διῄει ποταμὸν, ὃν αὐτὸς σκάφεσι ζεύξας καὶ εὖ μάλα γεφυρώσας μηχανὴν ὀλέθρου καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ συνεστήσατο.
hōsper houn epʼ autou Mōyseōs kai tou palai theosebous Hebraiōn genous “harmata Pharaō kai tēn dynamin autou erripsen thalassan, epilektous anabatas tristatas katepontisen en thalassę̄ erythrą, pontǭ ekalypsen autous”, kata ta auta dē kai Maxentios hoi te amphʼ auton hoplitai kai doryphoroi “edysan eis bython hōsei lithos”, hopēnika nōta dous tę̄ ek theou meta Kōnstantinou dynamei ton pro tēs poreias dię̄ei potamon, hon autos skaphesi zeuxas kai eu mala gephyrōsas mēchanēn olethrou kathʼ heautou synestēsato.
For as in the time of Moses himself and the ancient godly race of the Hebrews, “Pharaoh's chariots and his army he cast into the sea; his chosen horsemen, his captains, he drowned in the Red Sea; he covered them with the deep,” in the same way Maxentius and the soldiers and guards around him “sank into the depth like a stone,” when, turning his back before the power that came from God with Constantine, he crossed the river in his way, which he himself had bridged with boats, and so had built an engine of destruction against himself.
Exod 15:4–5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like Pharaoh's army in the Red Sea, Maxentius and his troops sank in the river on the bridge of boats he had made.
- The quotations are Exod 15:4–5. The river is the Tiber at the Milvian Bridge (312).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.5 (Dindorf 4:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.6Dindorf 4:434
ἐφʼ ᾧ ἦν ἂν εἰπεῖν “λάκκον ὤρυξε καὶ ἀνέσκαψεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ἐμπεσεῖται εἰς βόθρον ὃν εἰργάσατο. ἐπιστρέψει ὁ πόνος αὐτοῦ εἰς κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπὶ κορυφὴν αὐτοῦ ἡ ἀδικία αὐτοῦ καταβήσεται.”
ephʼ hǭ ēn an eipein “lakkon ōryxe kai aneskapsen auton, kai empeseitai eis bothron hon eirgasato. epistrepsei ho ponos autou eis kephalēn autou, kai epi koryphēn autou hē adikia autou katabēsetai.”
Of him one could say: “He dug a pit and hollowed it out, and he will fall into the hole that he made. His labor will return on his own head, and his injustice will come down on his own crown.”
Ps 7:15–16 (7:16-Ps LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The psalm about the wicked falling into their own pit fits Maxentius.
- The quotation is Ps 7:15–16 (7:16–17 LXX).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.6 (Dindorf 4:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.7Dindorf 4:434
ταύτῃ δῆτα τοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ζεύγματος διαλυθέντος ὑφιζάνει μὲν ἡ διάβασις, χωρεῖ δʼ ἀθρόως αὔτανδρα κατὰ τοῦ βυθοῦ τὰ σκάφη, καὶ αὐτός γε πρῶτος ὁ δυσσεβέστατος, εἶτα δὲ καὶ οἶ ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ὑπασπισταὶ, ᾗ τὰ θεῖα προαναφωνεῖ λόγια ‘ἔδυσαν ὡσεὶ μόλυβδος ἐν ὕδατι σφοδρῷ· ”
tautę̄ dēta tou epi tou potamou zeugmatos dialythentos hyphizanei men hē diabasis, chōrei dʼ athroōs autandra kata tou bythou ta skaphē, kai autos ge prōtos ho dyssebestatos, eita de kai oi amphʼ auton hypaspistai, hę̄ ta theia proanaphōnei logia ‘edysan hōsei molybdos en hydati sphodrǭ; ”
So when the bridge over the river broke apart, the crossing gave way, and the boats with their men went down all at once into the depth: first that most impious man himself, then the shield-bearers around him, as the divine oracles foretell, “sank like lead in the mighty water.”
Exod 15:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The bridge collapsed, and Maxentius and his guards sank like lead.
- The quotation is Exod 15:10.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.7 (Dindorf 4:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.8Dindorf 4:434–435
ὥστε εἰκότως εἰ μὴ λόγοις, ἔργοις δʼ οὖν ὁμοίως τοῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν μέγαν θεράποντα Μωυσέα, τοὺς παρὰ θεοῦ τὴν νίκην ἀραμένους αὐτὰ δὴ τὰ κατὰ τοῦ πάλαι δυσσεβοῦς τυράννου ὧδέ πως ἀνυμνεῖν καὶ λέγειν “ᾄσωμεν τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐνδόξως γὰρ δεδόξασται. ἵππον καὶ ἀναβάτην ἔρριψεν εἰς θάλασσαν· βοηθὸς καὶ σκεπαστής μου κύριος ἐγένετό μοι εἰς σωτηρίαν·’ καὶ “τίς ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, κύριε, τίς ὅμοιός σοι; ἐν ἁγίοις, θαυμαστὸς ἐν δόξαις, ποιῶν τέρατα.”
hōste eikotōs ei mē logois, ergois dʼ oun homoiōs tois amphi ton megan theraponta Mōysea, tous para theou tēn nikēn aramenous auta dē ta kata tou palai dyssebous tyrannou hōde pōs anymnein kai legein “ąsōmen tǭ kyriǭ, endoxōs gar dedoxastai. hippon kai anabatēn erripsen eis thalassan; boēthos kai skepastēs mou kyrios egeneto moi eis sōtērian;’ kai “tis homoios soi en theois, kyrie, tis homoios soi? en hagiois, thaumastos en doxais, poiōn terata.”
So that those who had won the victory from God might fittingly, if not in words then in deeds, like those with Moses the great servant, sing in some such way the very words spoken against the ungodly tyrant of old: “Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified; horse and rider he has cast into the sea. The Lord has become my helper and protector, for salvation”; and “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord, who is like you? Glorious among the holy ones, wonderful in glories, doing wonders.”
Exod 15:1–2 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 15:11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The victors could rightly sing the Song of Moses over the drowned tyrant.
- The quotations are Exod 15:1–2 and 15:11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ᾄσωνεν → ᾄσωμεν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.8 (Dindorf 4:434–435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.9Dindorf 4:435
ταῦτά τε καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ἀδελφά τε καὶ ἐμφερῆ Κωνσταντῖνος τῷ πανηγεμόνι καὶ τῆς νίκης αἰτίῳ θεῷ αὐτοῖς ἔργοις ἀνυμνήσας, ἐπὶ Ῥώμης μετʼ ἐπινικίων εἰσήλαυνε, πάντων ἀθρόως αὐτὸν ἅμα κομιδῆ νηπίοις καὶ γυναιξὶ, τῶν τε ἀπὸ τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων διασημοτάτων σὺν παντὶ δήμῳ Ῥωμαίων φαιδροῖς ὄμμασιν, αὐταῖς ψυχαῖς, οἶα λυτρωτὴν, σωτῆρά τε καὶ εὐεργέτην μετʼ εὐφημιῶν καὶ ἀπλήστου χαρᾶς ὑποδεχομένων.
tauta te kai hosa toutois adelpha te kai empherē Kōnstantinos tǭ panēgemoni kai tēs nikēs aitiǭ theǭ autois ergois anymnēsas, epi Rhōmēs metʼ epinikiōn eisēlaune, pantōn athroōs auton hama komidē nēpiois kai gynaixi, tōn te apo tēs synklētou boulēs kai tōn allōn diasēmotatōn syn panti dēmǭ Rhōmaiōn phaidrois ommasin, autais psychais, oia lytrōtēn, sōtēra te kai euergetēn metʼ euphēmiōn kai aplēstou charas hypodechomenōn.
Having praised in his very deeds God, the ruler of all and author of the victory, with these and similar hymns, Constantine rode into Rome in triumph. All together, with infants and women, members of the senate and other most distinguished men, with the whole Roman people, received him with shining eyes and with their whole souls as a redeemer, savior, and benefactor, with acclamations and unbounded joy.
Notes and citation
Summary: Constantine entered Rome in triumph and was welcomed by all as savior and benefactor.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.9 (Dindorf 4:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.10Dindorf 4:435
ὁ δʼ ὥσπερ ἔμφυτον τὴν εἰς θεὸν εὐσέβειαν κεκτημένος, μηδʼ ὅλως ἐπὶ ταῖς βοαῖς ὑποσαλευόμενος, μηδʼ ἐπαιρόμενος τοῖς ἐπαίνοις, εὖ μάλα τῆς ἐκ θεοῦ συναισθόμενος βοηθείας, αὐτίκα τοῦ σωτηρίου τρόπαιον πάθους ὑπὸ χεῖρα ἰδίας εἰκόνος ἀνατεθῆναι προστάττει· καὶ δὴ τὸ σωτήριον τοῦ σταυροῦ σημεῖον ἐπὶ τῇ δεξιᾷ κατέχοντα αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ μάλιστα τῶν ἐπὶ Ῥώμης δεδημοσιευμένῳ τόπῳ στήσαντες, αὐτὴν δὴ ταύτην ὑπογραφὴν ἐντάξαι ῥήμασιν αὐτοῖς τῇ Ῥωμαίων ἐγκελεύεται φωνῇ·
ho dʼ hōsper emphyton tēn eis theon eusebeian kektēmenos, mēdʼ holōs epi tais boais hyposaleuomenos, mēdʼ epairomenos tois epainois, eu mala tēs ek theou synaisthomenos boētheias, autika tou sōtēriou tropaion pathous hypo cheira idias eikonos anatethēnai prostattei; kai dē to sōtērion tou staurou sēmeion epi tę̄ dexią katechonta auton en tǭ malista tōn epi Rhōmēs dedēmosieumenǭ topǭ stēsantes, autēn dē tautēn hypographēn entaxai rhēmasin autois tę̄ Rhōmaiōn enkeleuetai phōnę̄;
But he, having piety toward God as if inborn, was not at all shaken by the shouts nor lifted up by the praises, but was well aware of the help that had come from God, and at once ordered a trophy of the saving passion to be set up in the hand of his own statue. And when they set him up holding the saving sign of the cross in his right hand in the most public place in Rome, he commanded that this very inscription be engraved in these words in the language of the Romans:
Notes and citation
Summary: Unmoved by praise, Constantine had his statue in Rome hold the cross and ordered an inscription.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.10 (Dindorf 4:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.11Dindorf 4:435–436
“τούτῳ τῷ σωτηριώδει σημείῳ, τῷ ἀληθινῷ ἐλέγχῳ τῆς ἀνδρείας, τὴν πόλιν ὑμῶν ἀπὸ ζυγοῦ τοῦ τυράννου διασωθεῖσαν ἠλευθέρωσα· ἔτι μὴν καὶ τὴν σύγκλητον καὶ τὸν δῆμον Ῥωμαίων τῇ ἀρχαίᾳ ἐπιφανείᾳ καὶ τῇ λαμπρότητι ἐλευθερώσας ἀποκατέστησα.”
“toutǭ tǭ sōtēriōdei sēmeiǭ, tǭ alēthinǭ elenchǭ tēs andreias, tēn polin hymōn apo zygou tou tyrannou diasōtheisan ēleutherōsa; eti mēn kai tēn synklēton kai ton dēmon Rhōmaiōn tę̄ archaią epiphaneią kai tę̄ lamprotēti eleutherōsas apokatestēsa.”
“By this saving sign, the true proof of courage, I have saved your city and freed it from the yoke of the tyrant; and moreover I have set free the senate and the Roman people and restored them to their ancient distinction and splendor.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The inscription credits the saving sign with freeing Rome, the senate, and the people.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.11 (Dindorf 4:435–436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.12Dindorf 4:436
καὶ δὴ ἐπὶ τούτοις αὐτός τε Κωνσταντῖνος καὶ σὺν αὐτῷ βασιλεὺς Λικίννιος (οὔπω τότε ἐφʼ ἣν ὕστερον ἐκπέπτωκε μανίαν τὴν διάνοιαν ἐκτραπεὶς) θεὸν τὸν τῶν ἀγαθῶν αὐτοῖς αἴτιον εὐμενίσαντες ἄμφω μιᾷ βουλῇ καὶ γνώμῃ νόμον ὑπὲρ Χριστιανῶν τελεώτατον πληρέστατα διατυποῦνται, καὶ τῶν πεπραγμένων εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐκ θεοῦ τὰ παράδοξα, τά τε τῆς κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου νίκης, καὶ τὸν νόμον αὐτὸν Μαξιμίνῳ τῶν ἐπʼ ἀνατολῆς ἐθνῶν ἔτι δυναστεύοντι, φιλίαν τε πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὑποκοριζομένῳ, διαπέμπονται.
kai dē epi toutois autos te Kōnstantinos kai syn autǭ basileus Likinnios (oupō tote ephʼ hēn hysteron ekpeptōke manian tēn dianoian ektrapeis) theon ton tōn agathōn autois aition eumenisantes amphō mią boulę̄ kai gnōmę̄ nomon hyper Christianōn teleōtaton plērestata diatypountai, kai tōn pepragmenōn eis autous ek theou ta paradoxa, ta te tēs kata tou tyrannou nikēs, kai ton nomon auton Maximinǭ tōn epʼ anatolēs ethnōn eti dynasteuonti, philian te pros autous hypokorizomenǭ, diapempontai.
After this Constantine himself, and with him the emperor Licinius (whose mind had not yet turned to the madness into which he later fell), having propitiated God, the author of all their blessings, both with one will and purpose drew up a most perfect and complete law on behalf of the Christians, and sent an account of the wonderful things done for them by God and of the victory over the tyrant, together with the law itself, to Maximin, who still ruled the nations of the East and pretended friendship toward them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Constantine and Licinius issued a full law for the Christians and sent it, with news of the victory, to Maximin.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.12 (Dindorf 4:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.13Dindorf 4:436
ὁ δʼ οἶα τύραννος περιαλγὴς ἐφʼ οἶς ἔγνω γεγενημένος, εἶτα μὴ δοκεῖν ἑτέροις εἶξαι βουλόμενος, μηδʼ αὖ παρεκθέσθαι τὸ κελευσθὲν δέει τῶν προστεταχότων, ὡσὰν ἐξ ἰδίας αὐθεντίας τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτὸν ἡγεμόσι τοῦτο πρῶτον ὑπὲρ Χριστιανῶν ἐπάναγκες διαχαράττει τὸ γράμμα, τὰ μηδέπω ποτὲ πρὸς αὐτοῦ πεπραγμένα ἐπιπλάστως αὐτὸς καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ ψευδόμενος. Ἀντίγραφον ἑρμηνείας ἐπιστολῆς τοῦ τυράννου Μαξιμίνου. “
ho dʼ oia tyrannos perialgēs ephʼ ois egnō gegenēmenos, eita mē dokein heterois eixai boulomenos, mēdʼ au parekthesthai to keleusthen deei tōn prostetachotōn, hōsan ex idias authentias tois hypʼ auton hēgemosi touto prōton hyper Christianōn epanankes diacharattei to gramma, ta mēdepō pote pros autou pepragmena epiplastōs autos kathʼ heautou pseudomenos. Antigraphon hermēneias epistolēs tou tyrannou Maximinou. “
He, being a tyrant, was deeply pained at what he learned; then, not wishing to seem to yield to others, nor again to suppress what had been ordered, for fear of those who had commanded it, as though on his own authority he wrote, under compulsion, this first letter on behalf of the Christians to the governors under him, falsely inventing against himself things he had never done. Copy of a translation of the letter of the tyrant Maximin.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maximin, unwilling to appear to yield, issued a letter for the Christians as if on his own authority, full of falsehoods.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.13 (Dindorf 4:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.14Dindorf 4:436–437
Ἰόβιος Μαξιμῖνος σεβαστὸς Σαβίνῳ. καὶ “παρὰ τῇ σῇ στιβαρότητι καὶ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώ- “ποις φανερὸν εἶναι πέποιθα τοὺς δεσπότας ἡμῶν ‘Διοκλητιανὸν καὶ Μαξιμιανὸν, τοὺς ἡμετέρους “πατέρας, ἡνίκα συνεῖδον σχεδὸν ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους, “καταλειφθείσης τῆς τῶν θεῶν θρησκείας, τῷ ἔθνει “τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἑαυτοὺς συμμεμιχότας, “διατεταχέναι, πάντας ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἀπὸ “τῶν αὐτῶν θεῶν τῶν ἀθανάτων θρησκείας “χωρήσαντας προδήλῳ κολάσει καὶ τιμωρίᾳ εἰς τὴν “θρησκείαν τῶν θεῶν ἀνακληθῆναι.
Iobios Maximinos sebastos Sabinǭ. kai “para tę̄ sę̄ stibarotēti kai para pasin anthrō- “pois phaneron einai pepoitha tous despotas hēmōn ‘Dioklētianon kai Maximianon, tous hēmeterous “pateras, hēnika syneidon schedon hapantas anthrōpous, “kataleiphtheisēs tēs tōn theōn thrēskeias, tǭ ethnei “tōn Christianōn heautous symmemichotas, “diatetachenai, pantas anthrōpous tous apo “tōn autōn theōn tōn athanatōn thrēskeias “chōrēsantas prodēlǭ kolasei kai timōrią eis tēn “thrēskeian tōn theōn anaklēthēnai.
[Letter of Maximin to Sabinus:] “Jovius Maximinus Augustus to Sabinus. I am confident that it is evident both to your firmness and to all people that our masters Diocletian and Maximian, our fathers, when they saw that almost all people had abandoned the worship of the gods and joined themselves to the nation of the Christians, rightly ordered that all people who had departed from the worship of their immortal gods should be recalled to the worship of the gods by open chastisement and punishment.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maximin's letter recalls that Diocletian and Maximian had ordered those who had left the gods for Christianity to be forced back by punishment.
- The letter dates from late 312. The digital text is defective in several words; a word such as “rightly” seems to be lost before διατεταχέναι.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-division fragment and stray number in the digital text): “τέρας 5 ἡνίκα → “πατέρας, ἡνίκα.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.14 (Dindorf 4:436–437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.15Dindorf 4:437
ἀλλʼ ὅτε “ἐγὼ εὐτυχῶς τὸ πρῶτον εἰς τὴν ἀνατολὴν παρεγε- ‘νόμην, καὶ ἔγνων εἴς τινας τόπους πλείστους ἀνθρώπων τὰ δημόσια ὠφελεῖν δυναμένους ὑπὸ τῶν δικαστῶν διὰ τὴν προειρημένην αἰτίαν ἐξορίζεσθαι, ἑκάστῳ τῶν δικαστῶν ἐντολὰς δέδωκα, ὥστε μηδένα τούτων τοῦ λοιποῦ προσφέρεσθαι τοῖς “ἐπαρχιώταις ἀπηνῶς, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κολακείᾳ καὶ “προτροπαῖς πρὸς τὴν τῶν θεῶν θρησκείαν αὐτοὺς ἀνακαλεῖν.
allʼ hote “egō eutychōs to prōton eis tēn anatolēn parege- ‘nomēn, kai egnōn eis tinas topous pleistous anthrōpōn ta dēmosia ōphelein dynamenous hypo tōn dikastōn dia tēn proeirēmenēn aitian exorizesthai, hekastǭ tōn dikastōn entolas dedōka, hōste mēdena toutōn tou loipou prospheresthai tois “eparchiōtais apēnōs, alla mallon kolakeią kai “protropais pros tēn tōn theōn thrēskeian autous anakalein.
But when I first came happily to the East and learned that in some places very many people who were able to serve the public good were being banished by the judges for the reason stated, I gave orders to each of the judges that henceforth none of them should treat the provincials harshly, but should rather recall them to the worship of the gods by flattery and exhortation.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maximin claims that on arriving in the East he ordered judges to stop banishing people and to win them back to the gods by persuasion.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.15 (Dindorf 4:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.16Dindorf 4:437
τηνικαῦτα οὖν ὅτε ἀκολούθως τῇ κελεύσει τῇ ἐμῇ ὑπὸ τῶν δικαστῶν ἐφυλάττετο τὰ “προστεταγμένα, συνέβαινε μηδένα ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἀνα- “τολῆς μερῶν μήτε ἐξόριστον μήτε ἐνύβριστον “σθαι, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἐκ τοῦ μὴ βαρέως κατʼ “τι γίνεσθαι εἰς τὴν τῶν θεῶν θρησκείαν ἀνακεκλῆ- ‘σκθαι.
tēnikauta oun hote akolouthōs tę̄ keleusei tę̄ emę̄ hypo tōn dikastōn ephylatteto ta “prostetagmena, synebaine mēdena ek tōn tēs ana- “tolēs merōn mēte exoriston mēte enybriston “sthai, alla mallon ek tou mē bareōs katʼ “ti ginesthai eis tēn tōn theōn thrēskeian anakeklē- ‘skthai.
Then, while what I had commanded was observed by the judges in accordance with my order, it came about that no one in the regions of the East was banished or insulted, but rather, since nothing harsh was done against them, they were recalled to the worship of the gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: He claims that under his orders no one was banished or abused, and many returned to the gods.
- Several words are defective in the digital text here; the sense is clear.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.16 (Dindorf 4:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.17Dindorf 4:437
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, ὅτε τῷ παρελθόντι “ἐνιαυτῷ εὐτυχῶς ἐπέβην εἰς τὴν Νικομήδειαν κἀκεῖ ‘διετέλουν, παρεγένοντο πολῖται τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως “πρός με ἅμα μετὰ τῶν ξοάνων τῶν θεῶν, μειζόνως “δεόμενοι, ἵνα παντὶ τρόπῳ τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔθνος μη- “δαμῶς ἐπιτρέποιτο ἐν τῇ αὐτῶν πατρίδι οἰκεῖν. ‘
meta de tauta, hote tǭ parelthonti “eniautǭ eutychōs epebēn eis tēn Nikomēdeian kakei ‘dieteloun, paregenonto politai tēs autēs poleōs “pros me hama meta tōn xoanōn tōn theōn, meizonōs “deomenoi, hina panti tropǭ to toiouton ethnos mē- “damōs epitrepoito en tę̄ autōn patridi oikein. ‘
After this, when last year I happily went up to Nicomedia and was staying there, citizens of that city came to me together with the images of the gods, earnestly asking that such a nation should by no means be permitted to live in their city.
Notes and citation
Summary: At Nicomedia citizens came with their gods' images asking that Christians not be allowed to live in their city.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): ἐπιτρέποιτο ἐπιτρέποιτο → ἐπιτρέποιτο.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.17 (Dindorf 4:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.18Dindorf 4:437
ἀλλʼ ὅτε ἔγνων πλείστους τῆς αὐτῆς ἄνδρας ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς μέρεσιν οἰκεῖν, οὕτως αὐτοῖς τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ἀπένεμον, ὅτι τῇ μὲν αἰτήσει αὐτῶν ἀσμένως χάριν ἔσχηκα, ἀλλʼ οὐ παρὰ πάντων ‘τοῦτο αἰτηθὲν κατεῖδον· εἰ μὲν οὖν τινὲς εἶεν τῇ “αὐτῇ δεισιδαιμονίᾳ διαμένοντες, οὕτως ἔνα ἕκαστον ‘ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ προαιρέσει τὴν βούλησιν ἔχειν, καὶ εἰ βούλοιντο τὴν τῶν θεῶν θρησκείαν ἐπιγινώσκειν. “
allʼ hote egnōn pleistous tēs autēs andras en autois tois meresin oikein, houtōs autois tas apokriseis apenemon, hoti tę̄ men aitēsei autōn asmenōs charin eschēka, allʼ ou para pantōn ‘touto aitēthen kateidon; ei men oun tines eien tę̄ “autę̄ deisidaimonią diamenontes, houtōs ena hekaston ‘en tę̄ idią proairesei tēn boulēsin echein, kai ei boulointo tēn tōn theōn thrēskeian epiginōskein. “
But when I learned that very many men of that religion lived in those very parts, I gave them this answer: that I gladly thanked them for their request, but saw that it was not asked by all; if, therefore, there were some who persisted in the same superstition, each should have the choice in his own free will, even if they wished to acknowledge the worship of the gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maximin says he thanked Nicomedia but left each person free, since not all had asked it.
- The last clause is obscure in the digital text; translated literally.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.18 (Dindorf 4:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.19Dindorf 4:437–438
ὅμως καὶ τοῖς τῆς αὐτῆς πόλεως “καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς πόλεσιν, αἱ καὶ αὐταὶ εἰς τοσοῦτον τὴν ὁμοίαν αἴτησιν περισπουδάστως πρός με “πεποιήκασιν, δηλονότι ἵνα μηδὲ εἷς τῶν Χριστια- “νῶν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐνοικοίη, ἀνάγκην ἔσχον ἀποκρίνασθαι, ὅτι δὴ αὐτὸ τοῦτο καὶ οἶ ἀρ- “χαῖοι αὐτοκράτορες πάντες διεφύλαξαν, καὶ “τοῖς θεοῖς, διʼ οὓς πάντες ἄνθρωποι καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ “τῶν δημοσίων διοίκησις συνίσταται, ἤρεσεν ‘ὥστε τὴν τοσαύτην αἴτησιν, ἣν ὑπὲρ τῆς θρησκείας “τοῦ θείου αὐτῶν ἀναφέρουσι, βεβαιώσαιμι.
homōs kai tois tēs autēs poleōs “kai tais loipais polesin, hai kai autai eis tosouton tēn homoian aitēsin perispoudastōs pros me “pepoiēkasin, dēlonoti hina mēde heis tōn Christia- “nōn tais polesin enoikoiē, anankēn eschon apokrinasthai, hoti dē auto touto kai oi ar- “chaioi autokratores pantes diephylaxan, kai “tois theois, diʼ hous pantes anthrōpoi kai autē hē “tōn dēmosiōn dioikēsis synistatai, ēresen ‘hōste tēn tosautēn aitēsin, hēn hyper tēs thrēskeias “tou theiou autōn anapherousi, bebaiōsaimi.
Nevertheless, to the people of that city and to the other cities, which also made the same request to me with such great earnestness, namely that no Christian should live in their cities, I was obliged to reply favorably, because all the emperors of old had observed this very practice, and it pleased the gods, through whom all people and the administration of the state itself subsist, that I should confirm such a request, which they were making on behalf of the worship of their deity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Still, he says, he had to grant the cities' requests to expel Christians, as the gods and former emperors approved.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words repeated from the previous section in the digital text): πόλεως ἐπιγινώσκειν. “καὶ → πόλεως “καὶ.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.19 (Dindorf 4:437–438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.20Dindorf 4:438
“γαροῦν εἰ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα καὶ τῇ σῇ “πρὸ τούτου τοῦ χρόνου διὰ γραμμάτων ἐπέσταλται, “καὶ διʼ ἐντολῶν ὁμοίως κεκέλευσται, ἵνα μὴ “τῶν ἐπαρχιωτῶν τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔθνος ἐπιμεληθέντων μηδὲν τραχέως, ἀλλὰ ἀνεξικάκως “καὶ συμμέτρως συμπεριφέροιντο αὐτοῖς, ὅμως “μήτε ὑπὸ τῶν βενεφικιαλίων μήτε ὑπʼ ἄλλων “τυχόντων ὕβρεις μηδὲ σεισμοὺς ὑπομένοιεν, ἀκό- “λουθον ἐνόμισα καὶ τούτοις τοῖς γράμμασι τὴν σὴν “στιβαρότητα ὑπομνῆσαι, ὅπως ταῖς κολακείαις ‘ταῖς προτροπαῖς μᾶλλον τὴν τῶν θεῶν τοὺς ἡμετέρους ἐπαρχιώτας ποιήσειας ἐπιγινώσκειν. “
“garoun ei kai ta malista kai tę̄ sę̄ “pro toutou tou chronou dia grammatōn epestaltai, “kai diʼ entolōn homoiōs kekeleustai, hina mē “tōn eparchiōtōn to toiouton ethnos epimelēthentōn mēden tracheōs, alla anexikakōs “kai symmetrōs symperipherointo autois, homōs “mēte hypo tōn benephikialiōn mēte hypʼ allōn “tychontōn hybreis mēde seismous hypomenoien, ako- “louthon enomisa kai toutois tois grammasi tēn sēn “stibarotēta hypomnēsai, hopōs tais kolakeiais ‘tais protropais mallon tēn tōn theōn tous hēmeterous eparchiōtas poiēseias epiginōskein. “
Therefore, although before this time it has been written to your devotion by letters and likewise commanded by instructions that no harsh measures be taken against those of the provincials who wish to follow such a way of life, but that they be dealt with patiently and moderately, nevertheless, so that they may suffer no insults or extortions from the beneficiarii or from anyone else, I thought it fitting to remind your firmness by this letter also that you should rather make our provincials acknowledge the worship of the gods by flattery and exhortations.
Notes and citation
Summary: He reminds Sabinus that Christians are to be treated gently and protected from abuse by officials, and won over by persuasion.
- The digital text is defective in several words here (e.g. τοιγαροῦν, “worship” after τὴν τῶν θεῶν); translated from the evident sense. Beneficiarii were soldiers on special duty used as police.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.20 (Dindorf 4:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.21Dindorf 4:438
ὅθεν εἴ τις τῇ αὑτοῦ προαιρέσει τὴν “τῶν θεῶν ἐπιγνωστέον προσλάβοι, τούτους “δέξασθαι προσήκει, εἰ δέ τινες τῇ ἰδίᾳ θρησκείᾳ “ἀκολουθεῖν βούλοιντο, ἐν τῇ αὐτῶν ἐξουσίᾳ κατα- “λίποις.
hothen ei tis tę̄ hautou proairesei tēn “tōn theōn epignōsteon proslaboi, toutous “dexasthai prosēkei, ei de tines tę̄ idią thrēskeią “akolouthein boulointo, en tę̄ autōn exousią kata- “lipois.
Hence, if anyone by his own choice should decide to adopt the worship of the gods, it is proper to welcome them; but if some wish to follow their own religion, you should leave them in their own power.
Notes and citation
Summary: Converts to paganism should be welcomed, but those who keep their religion should be left free.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.21 (Dindorf 4:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.22Dindorf 4:438–439
διόπερ ἡ σὴ καθοσίωσις τὸ ἐπιτραπέν ‘σοι διαφυλάττειν ὀφείλει, καὶ μηδενὶ ἐξουσία δοθῇ “ὥστε τοὺς ἡμετέρους ἐπαρχιώτας ὕβρεσι καὶ σει- “σμοῖς ἐπιτρῖψαι, ὁπότε, ὥσπερ προγέγραπται, προτροπαῖς μᾶλλον καὶ ταῖς κολακείαις πρὸς τὴν “τῶν θεῶν θρησκείαν τοὺς ἡμετέρους προσήκει ἀνακαλεῖν. ἵνα δὲ αὕτη ἡμῶν ἡ κέλευσις “εἰς γνῶσιν πάντων τῶν ἐπαρχιωτῶν τῶν “ἔλθη, διατάγματι ὑπὸ σοῦ προτεθέντι τὸ κεκε- “λευσμένον ὀφείλεις δηλῶσαι.”
dioper hē sē kathosiōsis to epitrapen ‘soi diaphylattein opheilei, kai mēdeni exousia dothę̄ “hōste tous hēmeterous eparchiōtas hybresi kai sei- “smois epitripsai, hopote, hōsper progegraptai, protropais mallon kai tais kolakeiais pros tēn “tōn theōn thrēskeian tous hēmeterous prosēkei anakalein. hina de hautē hēmōn hē keleusis “eis gnōsin pantōn tōn eparchiōtōn tōn “elthē, diatagmati hypo sou protethenti to keke- “leusmenon opheileis dēlōsai.”
Wherefore your devotion ought to observe what has been entrusted to you, and no one is to be given power to oppress our provincials with insults and extortions, since, as has been written above, it is proper rather to recall our people to the worship of the gods by exhortations and flatteries. And so that this our command may come to the knowledge of all our provincials, you ought to make known what has been commanded by an edict published by you.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Sabinus is to prevent abuses and publish the order by edict.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text): ἔνα δὲ αὕτη → ἵνα δὲ αὕτη.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.22 (Dindorf 4:438–439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-22).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.23Dindorf 4:439
ταῦθʼ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἐκβεβιασμένος, ἀλλʼ οὐ κατὰ γνώμην τὴν αὑτοῦ διακελευσαμένος, οὐκέτʼ ἀληθὴς οὐδʼ ἀξιόπιστος παρὰ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἦν, τῆς πρόσθεν ἤδη μετὰ τὴν ὁμοίαν συγχώρησιν παλιμβόλου καὶ διεψευσμένης αὐτοῦ γνώμης ἕνεκα.
tauthʼ hypo tēs anankēs ekbebiasmenos, allʼ ou kata gnōmēn tēn hautou diakeleusamenos, ouketʼ alēthēs oudʼ axiopistos para tois pasin ēn, tēs prosthen ēdē meta tēn homoian synchōrēsin palimbolou kai diepseusmenēs autou gnōmēs heneka.
Since he issued these orders forced by necessity and not according to his own will, he was no longer considered truthful or trustworthy by anyone, because his mind had already proved changeable and false after the similar concession before.
Notes and citation
Summary: Because Maximin acted under compulsion and had broken faith before, no one trusted him.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.23 (Dindorf 4:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-23).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.24Dindorf 4:439
οὔκουν ἐτόλμα τις τῶν ἡμετέρων σύνοδον συγκροτεῖν, οὐδʼ ἑαυτὸν ἐν φανερῷ καταστήσασθαι, ὅτι μηδὲ τοῦτʼ ἤθελεν αὐτῷ τὸ γράμμα, αὐτὸ μόνον τὸ ἀνεπηρέαστον ἡμῖν ἐπιτρέπον φυλάττεσθαι, οὐ μὴν συνόδους ἐπικελεῦον ποιεῖσθαι, οὐδʼ οἴκους ἐκκλησιῶν οἰκοδομεῖν, οὐδʼ ἄλλο τι τῶν συνήθων ἡμῖν διαπράττεσθαι.
oukoun etolma tis tōn hēmeterōn synodon synkrotein, oudʼ heauton en phanerǭ katastēsasthai, hoti mēde toutʼ ēthelen autǭ to gramma, auto monon to anepēreaston hēmin epitrepon phylattesthai, ou mēn synodous epikeleuon poieisthai, oudʼ oikous ekklēsiōn oikodomein, oudʼ allo ti tōn synēthōn hēmin diaprattesthai.
So none of our people dared to hold an assembly or even to show himself in public, because the letter did not intend even this, permitting only that we be kept from molestation, but not ordering that we hold assemblies, or build church buildings, or do any other of our customary things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians still did not dare to assemble, since the letter gave only freedom from harassment, not freedom to meet or build churches.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.24 (Dindorf 4:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-24).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.
9.9.25Dindorf 4:439
καίτοι γε ταῦθʼ οἱ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ εὐσεβείας προήγοροι ἐπεστάλκεσαν καὶ Λικίννιος αὐτῷ τε ἐπιτρέπειν ἐπεστάλκεσαν καὶ τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτοὺς ἅπασι διὰ προγραμμάτων καὶ νόμων συγκεχωρήκεσαν. οὐ μὴν ὁ δυσσεβέστατος ταύτῃ ἐνδοῦναι προῄρητο, εἰ μὴ ὅτε πρὸς τῆς θείας συνελαθεὶς δίκης ὕστατόν γε ἄκων ἐπὶ τοῦτʼ ἤχθη.
kaitoi ge tauthʼ hoi tēs eirēnēs kai eusebeias proēgoroi epestalkesan kai Likinnios autǭ te epitrepein epestalkesan kai tois hypʼ autous hapasi dia programmatōn kai nomōn synkechōrēkesan. ou mēn ho dyssebestatos tautę̄ endounai proę̄rēto, ei mē hote pros tēs theias synelatheis dikēs hystaton ge akōn epi toutʼ ēchthē.
And yet the champions of peace and piety had written to him to permit these things, and had granted them to all their own subjects by proclamations and laws. But the most impious man did not choose to yield in this way, until, driven by divine justice, he was at last brought to it against his will.
Notes and citation
Summary: Though Constantine and Licinius had granted full freedom, Maximin yielded only when forced by divine justice.
- The digital text repeats ἐπεστάλκεσαν and has καὶ Λικίννιος oddly placed; translated from the sense.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.25 (Dindorf 4:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/9-7-1/#p-9-9-25).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.