# Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) - Author: [Eusebius of Caesarea](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/eusebius-of-caesarea/) - Latin title: *De laudibus Constantini* - Date: 335–336 (probable) - Source: Ivar A. Heikel, ed., Eusebius Werke 1: Über das Leben Constantins; Constantins Rede an die heilige Versammlung; Tricennatsrede an Constantin, GCS 7 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1902) (Greek text: Ivar A. Heikel, Eusebius Werke 1 (GCS 7, 1902), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Editions and translations: Ivar A. Heikel's edition (1902) remains the standard text - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/ - Passages: 197 ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine), inscription - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-0-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius disclaims flattering rhetoric and urges his hearers to leave the common path. ### Greek text Ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐγὼ μύθους, οὐκ ἀκοῆς θήραστρα, λόγων εὐγλωττίαν πλασάμενος πάρειμι κησήσων ὦτα φωνῇ Σειρήνων, οὐδὲ χρυσέοις δεπάεσσιν, ὡραίοις ἄνθεσι ῥημάτων φράσει κεκαλλιεπημένοις, ἡδονῆς φάρμακα τοῖς τῶνδε προπιοῦμαι φίλοις, σοφοῖς δὲ πειθόμενος παραγγέλλω τὰς λεωφόρους φεύγειν καὶ ἐκτρίπεσθαι, μηδὲ τῷ πλήθει συνωθεῖσθαι διακελεύομαι. ### English translation (Claude) But I do not come here having fashioned myths, snares for the ear, or eloquence of words, to charm your ears with the voice of the Sirens; nor shall I drink to the friends of this company drugs of pleasure from golden cups, words adorned with the flowers of beautiful phrasing. Rather, obeying the wise, I bid you flee and turn aside from the highways, and I urge you not to be swept along with the crowd. ### Translation notes - 'Golden cups' (χρυσέοις δεπάεσσιν) is a Homeric phrase. 'The highways' (λεωφόρους) recalls the Pythagorean precept to avoid the common road. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 0.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine), inscription - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-0-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unlike popular orators, Eusebius will praise the emperor's divine virtues rather than his human achievements. ### Greek text ἥκω δὴ βασιλικῶν ὕμνων καινοτέρας ᾠδῆς ἐν ὑμῖν ἀπαρξόμενος. μυρίων δʼ ἀμφὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐμοὶ σπευδόντων πορείαν, πάτον ἀνθρώπων ἀλεείνων αὐτὸς τὴν ἀτριβῆ βαδιοῦμαι, ἧς οὐ θέμις ἀνίπτοις ἐπιβαίνειν ποσίν. οἱ μέν γε δημώδεις μειρακίων τε σοφίσμασι πεπατημένους μετιόντες λόγους μούσάν τε ἡδεῖαν καὶ πάνδημον ἀσπαζόμενοι θνητὰς ἀκοὰς θνητοῖς διηγήμασι θελγόντων, ἡδονῇ τὸ κριτήριον ἀποδόντες· οἱ δʼ αὐτῆς μύσται τῆς καθόλου σοφίας, θείων ἐίων ἐν ἀγαθοῦ μοίρᾳ θέμενοι τὰς αὐτοῦ βασιλέως θεοπρεπεῖς ἀρετὰς φιλοθέους τε πράξεις τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων προὐτίμησάν τε καὶ εἵλοντο, δευτέροις ἀνυμνεῖν τὰ δεύτερα τῶν καλῶν παραχωρήσαντες. ### English translation (Claude) I have come to begin among you a newer song of imperial hymns. While countless others hasten along the same road as I, I, "shunning the path of men," shall walk the untrodden way, on which it is not lawful to set unwashed feet. Some, pursuing popular speeches worn down by the sophistries of youths, and embracing a sweet and vulgar muse, charm mortal ears with mortal tales, giving the judgment to pleasure. But the initiates of wisdom itself, of wisdom as a whole, placing divine things in the portion of the good, have preferred and chosen to praise the godlike virtues of the emperor himself and his God-loving deeds above human ones, leaving it to others of second rank to hymn the second rank of good things. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 6.202 (Homer, Iliad): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Shunning the path of men' is Homer, Il. 6.202. The text reads ἀπριβῆ and ἀνίπροτις, slips for ἀτριβῆ ('untrodden') and ἀνίπτοις ('unwashed'). θείων ἐίων is garbled; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 0.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine), inscription - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-0-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Others may praise the emperor's human deeds, which are noble but lesser than his divine ones. ### Greek text θείων γάρ τοι καὶ ἀνθρωπείων δορίας οὔσης καὶ ἐν Βασιλέως ψυχῇ, καὶ τῶν μὲν εἰς θεὸν τῶν δʼ εἰς ἀνθρώπους τεινόντων, τοῖς μὲν ἐκτὸς περιβόλων ἱερῶν ἑστῶσιν οἵπερ δὴ ἐπιτήδειοι τὰ ἀνθρώπεια διακονείσθων, σεμνὰ μὲν ὅμως καὶ ἡπερξυῆ βιωφελῆ τε καὶ ταῦτα· πάντα γὰρ τὰ βασιλέως καλά, πλὴν ἔτι λειπόμενα τῶν θειοτέρων. ### English translation (Claude) For since there is a guard of both divine and human things in the emperor's soul, some reaching toward God and others toward human beings, let those standing outside the sacred precincts, who are suited for it, serve the human things: venerable, however, and admirable and useful for life these too; for all the emperor's deeds are noble, though still falling short of the more divine. ### Translation notes - δορίας is probably a slip for δορυφορίας ('guard'), and ἡπερξυῆ for ὑπερφυῆ ('admirable'); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 0.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine), inscription - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-0-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those initiated into piety should speak of the emperor's hidden, sacred virtues to fellow initiates. ### Greek text οἱ δʼ ἀνακτόρων ἁγίων εἴσω ἀδύτων τε καὶ ἀβάτων μυχῶν ἐντὸς διαβεβηκότες, θύρας βεβήλοις ἀκοαῖς ἀποκλείσαντες, τὰς ἀπορρήτους βασιλέως μυήσεις τοῖς τούτων μύσταις διηγείσθων μόνοις, οἱ δὲ τὰ ὦτα νάμασιν εὐσεβείας καθηράμενοι ψυχῆς τε αὐτῆς μεταρσίῳ πτερῷ τὸ νοερὸν ἐπερείσαντες ἀμφὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα χορευόντων, σιγῇ τὰ θεῖα τελούμενοι. ### English translation (Claude) But let those who have passed within the holy shrines, into the inner sanctuaries and untrodden recesses, having shut the doors against profane ears, tell the secret mysteries of the emperor to his initiates alone, they who have cleansed their ears with streams of piety and have rested the mind of the soul itself on lofty wing, dancing around the King of all, celebrating divine things in silence. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 0.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine), inscription - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-0-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Guided by Scripture, Eusebius will speak of kingship, the supreme King, the true earthly copy of his rule, and its counterfeit. ### Greek text λογίων δὲ χρησμοί, οὐκ ἐκ μαντείας (μᾶλλον δὲ μανίας παράφρονος) φωτὸς δʼ ἐπιπνοίαις ἐνθέου προσπεφωνημένοι, τῶν τελετῶν ἡμῖν γενέσθωσαν διδάσκαλοι ἀμφὶ βασιλείας αὐτῆς ἀμφί τε βασιλέως τοῦ ἀνωτάτω δορυφορίας τε θείας ἀμφὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα τοῦ τε καθʼ ἡμᾶς βασιλικοῦ παραδείγματος καὶ τοῦ τὸ χάραγμα κεκιβδηλευμένου τῶν θʼ ἑκατέρῳ συνομαρτούντων τάγματι. οἷς δὴ τὰς θεοπρεπεῖς τελετὰς ἱεροφαντούμενοι ὧδέ πη θείων ὀργίων ἐφαψόμεθα. ### English translation (Claude) Let the oracles of the sacred words, spoken not from divination (or rather from senseless madness) but by the inspirations of divine light, be our teachers of the rites: concerning kingship itself, and concerning the supreme King, and the divine guard about the King of all, and the royal pattern among us, and the one who has counterfeited the stamp, and the ranks that attend each of them. Being initiated by them into the godlike rites, we shall thus touch on the divine mysteries. ### Translation notes - 'The one who has counterfeited the stamp' is the false ruler, the tyrant, as opposed to the true image of divine monarchy. The text reads διδάσκλοι, a slip for διδάσκαλοι. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 0.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-1-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The festival belongs to the great King, God, whose throne is heaven and whose light veils his divinity. ### Greek text Πανήγυρις μὲν αὕτη βασιλέως μεγάλου. χαίρωμεν δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ θειάζοντες λόγων ἱερῶν παιδεύμασιν οἱ βασιλικοὶ παῖδες, ἐξάρχει δʼ ἡμῖν τῆς ἑορτῆς ὁ μέγας βασιλεύς. μέγαν δʼ ἐγὼ βασιλέα καλῶ τὸν ἀληθῶς μέγαν· τοῦτον δʼ εἶναί φημι (οὐ νεμεσσήσει δὲ παρὼν βασιλεύς, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνευφημήσει τῇ θεολογίᾳ) τὸν ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὅλων, τὸν πάντων ἀνώτατον, τὸν ὑπέρτατον, τὸν ὑπερμεγέθη, οὗ θρόνοι μὲν τῆς βασιλείας ἁψῖδες οὐράνιοι, γῆ δʼ ὑποπόδιον αὐτοῦ τῶν ποδῶν... εἴ τις ἐπαξίως νοῆσαι τοῦτον δύναιτο, φῶς δʼ ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ἀπαστράπτον ἀρρήτοις ἀκτίνων μαρμαρυγαῖς παντί τῳ τῆς αὐτοῦ θεότητος ἀπείρηει τὴν θέαν. ### English translation (Claude) This is the festival of a great King. Let us, the King's children, rejoice in it, uttering divine things with the teachings of sacred words; and the great King leads our feast. By the great King I mean the one who is truly great; and this, I say (the emperor present will not take offence, but will join in praising the theology), is the one beyond the universe, the highest of all, the supreme, the exceedingly great, whose throne of kingship is the vault of heaven, and the earth the footstool of his feet ... if anyone could worthily conceive him; and light, flashing about him with ineffable gleams of rays, forbids the sight of his divinity to all. ### Scripture references - Isa 66:1: allusion, high confidence - Matt 5:34–35: echo, low confidence - 1 Tim 6:16: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Throne ... footstool' echoes Isa 66:1 (compare Matt 5:34–35). The digital text marks a break ('...') after 'feet'. 'Forbids' renders ἀπείρηει, a slip for ἀπείργει. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 1.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/1-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-1-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Angels and heavenly lights honour God, and the sun, moon and stars serve as torch-bearers at the gate of his palace. ### Greek text τοῦτον στρατιαὶ περιπολοῦσιν οὐράνιοι, δορυφοροῦσι δʼ ὑπερκόσμιοι δυνάμεις, τὸν αὐτῶν δεσπότην καὶ κύριον καὶ βασιλέα γνωρίζουσαι, ἀγγέλων τε ἄπειρα πλήθη θίασοί τε ἀρχαγγέλων καὶ πνευμάτων ἁγίων χοροὶ τῶν ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν μαρμαρυγῶν ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀενάων φωτὸς πηγῶν ἀρυτόμενοι καταυγάζονται. φῶτά τε πάντα καὶ φώτων ἀσωμάτων θεῖα καὶ νοερὰ γένη τὸν ἐπέκεινα χῶρον οὐρανοῦ λαχόντα τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα τοῖς ἀνωτάτω καὶ θεοπρεπέσιν ὕμνοις γεραίρουσιν, μέσος δʼ ἀμφιβέβληται μέγας οὐρανὸς περιπέτασμα κυάνεον τοὺς ἐκτὸς τῶν εἴσω βασιλικῶν οἴκων διεῖργον. ἀμφὶ δὲ τοῦτον ὡς ἐν βασιλείων προθύροις περιπολοῦσι δᾳδουχοῦντες ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη καὶ τὰ κατʼ οὐρανὸν φωσφόρα, τὸν ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὅλων βασιλέα τιμῶντες αὐτοῦ τε νεύματι καὶ λόγῳ τοῖς τὸν σκότιον ἔξω λαχοῦσιν οὐρανοῦ χῶρον φωτὸς ἀσβέστους ἐξάπτοντες λαμπάδας. ### English translation (Claude) Around him range the heavenly hosts; supramundane powers guard him as their master, Lord and King; and countless multitudes of angels, companies of archangels and choirs of holy spirits, drawing from the radiance around him as from ever-flowing springs of light, are illumined. All the lights, and the divine and intellectual kinds of incorporeal lights, which have their place in the region beyond heaven, honour the great King with the highest and most godly hymns. In the middle the great heaven is spread like a dark blue curtain, dividing those outside from those within the royal palace. Around it, as at the entrance of a palace, the sun and moon and the light-bearers of heaven range as torch-bearers, honouring the King beyond the universe, and by his nod and word kindling unquenchable lamps of light for those whose lot is the dark region outside heaven. ### Translation notes - The text reads θερπερπέσιν, a slip for θεοπρεπέσιν ('godly'), and ἀμφιβέβλται for ἀμφιβέβληται. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 1.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/1-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-1-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine, his sons, his armies and peoples praise the great King, and all nations by natural reason confess one God. ### Greek text τοῦτον ἡμῖν τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα Χριστὸν καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ καλλίνικος ἡμῶν βασιλεὺς ἀνυμνεῖ συνῃσθημένος εὖ μάλα τοῦ τῆς βασιλείας αἰτίου· τοῦτον φιλόθεοι καίσαρες πηγὴν ἁπάντων ἀγαθῶν εἶναι γνωρίζουσιν πατρόθεν τὸ μάθημα παρειληφότες· τοῦτον στρατοπέδων δῆμοι, λαοὶ παμπληθεῖς κατὰ χώρας καὶ κατὰ πόλεις, ἐθνῶν τε ἄρχοντες ἐκκλησιάζοντες εὐσεβοῦσιν ὑπὸ μεγάλῳ σωτῆρι διδασκάλῳ παιδευόμενοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶν ἀθρόως γένος ἀνθρώπων, ἔθνη παντοῖα, φυλαὶ καὶ γλὼσσαι, κοινῇ τε πάντες ὁμοῦ καὶ κατὰ μέρος, ταῖς γνώμαις διεστῶντες τὰ ἄλλα, κατὰ μόνην τήνδε συμφωνοῦσι τὴν ὁμολογίαν τὸν ἕνα καὶ μόνον λογισμοῖς ἐμφύτοις αὐτομαθέσι τε καὶ αὐτοδιδάκτοις ἐννοίαις θεοκλυτοῦντες. ### English translation (Claude) This great King, Christ, our victorious emperor himself also hymns, well aware of the cause of his kingship. Him the God-loving Caesars acknowledge as the source of all good things, having received the lesson from their father. Him the armies, the vast peoples in countries and cities, and the rulers of the nations, gathering in church, worship, taught by the great Saviour and teacher. Indeed the whole human race together, nations of every kind, tribes and tongues, all in common and each in part, though divided in their opinions on other things, agree in this one confession alone, calling on the one and only God by innate reasonings and self-taught, self-instructed notions. ### Scripture references - Rev 7:9: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'This great King, Christ' (τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα Χριστόν): the Greek may also mean 'this great King, [whom] the Christ-loving ... '; as printed, Christ is named as the great King. The text reads ἠμῖν for ἡμῖν, διδασκαάλῳ for διδασκάλῳ, παντοῖς for παντοῖα. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 1.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/1-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 1.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-1-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Earth, rivers, sea and weather all show their subjection to God and reveal him to those who cannot see him. ### Greek text τί δʼ; οὐχὶ καὶ τὸ πᾶν τῆς γῆς στοιχεῖον αὐτὸν δεσπότην γνωρίζει τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῆς αναδιδομένοις βλαστήμασί τε καὶ ζώοις τὴν πρὸς τὸ νεῦμα τοῦ κρείττονος ὑποταγὴν ἐνδεικνυμένη; τοῦτον καὶ ποταμῶν ῥοαὶ πλημμυροῦσαι τοῖς νάμασι πηγῶν τε τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος βυθῶν τʼ ἀπείρων ἀενάων πηγάζουσαι ῥύσεις τῆς ἀρρήτου θαυματουργίας ἐπιγράφονται τὸν αἴτιον· αὐτὸν καὶ θαλάττης ἄβυσσοι βένθεσιν ἀπείροις ἐγκεκλεισμέναι κυρτούμενά τε κύματα, μετέωρα εἰς ὕψος αἰρόμενα καὶ φόβον ἀπειλοῦντα τῇ γῇ, μέχρις αὐτῶν αἰγιαλῶν προϊόντα, πτήσσει νεύματι θείου νόμου πεπεδημένα· αὐτὸν καὶ χειμερίων ὄμβρων μεμετρημένα ῥεύματα, κτύποι τε βροντῶν καὶ ἀστραπῶν λαμπηδόνες, παλίνστροφοί τε ἀνέμων ῥιπαί, νεφῶν τε διαέριοι πορεῖαι τοῖς τὴν αὐτοῦ θέαν αὐτοπτεῖν ἀδυνάτοις προφαίνουσιν. ### English translation (Claude) What then? Does not the whole element of the earth acknowledge him as master, showing its subjection to the nod of the higher power by the plants and animals that spring from it? To him the streams of rivers flooding with their waters, and the ever-flowing currents of springs that well up from ages past and from boundless depths, ascribe the cause of their ineffable wonder-working. Before him the abysses of the sea, shut up in boundless depths, and the arching waves, lifted on high and threatening the land with fear, cower when they come up to the very shores, fettered by the nod of divine law. Him the measured streams of winter rains, the crashes of thunder and the flashes of lightning, the shifting gusts of winds and the airborne courses of the clouds reveal to those unable to see him with their own eyes. ### Scripture references - Job 38:8–11: echo, medium confidence - Ps 104:9 (103:9 LXX): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The sea restrained at its shore echoes Job 38:8–11 and Ps 104:9. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 1.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/1-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-1-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Sun, moon, stars, seasons, invisible powers, angels and the ages before creation all praise God as sole Lord. ### Greek text ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ παμφαὴς ἥλιος τὸν μακρὸν αἰῶνα δολιχεύων μόνον αὐτὸν οἴδεν κύριον αὐτοῦ τε νεύματι δουλεύων οὔποτε βαίνειν ἐκτὸς ὅρων τολμᾷ· σελήνη τε ὑποχωροῦσα τὸ φέγγος ἡλίῳ χρόνων τε περιόδοις μειουμένη καὶ πάλιν αὐξομένη θεσμοῖς ὑποτάττεται θείοις· κάλλη τε οὐρανοῦ, χορείαις ἄστρων ἀποστίλβοντα βαίνοντά τε σὺν τάξει καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ καὶ τοὺς αὐτῶν ἀναμετρούμενα κύκλους, τὸν παντοίων δοτῆρα φώτων ἀνακηρύττουσιν· ὁμοῦ τε πάντες οὐράνιοι φωστῆρες, αὐτοῦ νεύματι καὶ λόγῳ μίαν συνταξάμενοι μελῳδίαν, μακρῶν αἰώνων κύκλοις δολιχὸν ἐξανύοντες δρόμον αἰθερίων σταδίων διιππεύουσιν ἀγῶναι· νυκτῶν τε καὶ ἡμερῶν ἀμοιβαῖαι κινδήσεις, ὡρῶν τε καὶ καιρῶν μεταβολαί, ῥυθμοί τε καὶ τάξεις τοῦ παντὸς τῆς ἀπειρομεγέθους δυνάμεως τὴν πολυποίκιλον σοφίαν γεραίρουσιν. αὐτῷ καὶ δυνάμεις ἀφανεῖς ἀμφὶ τὰ δʼ ἀέρος ἀνειμένα πεδία ποτώμεναι τὴν ὀφειλομένην καὶ πρέπουσαν θεολογίαν ἀναπέμπουσιν· τοῦτον δὴ τὸν μέγαν βασιλέα καὶ αὐτὸς ὁμοῦ πᾶς ἀνυμνεῖ κόσμος· τοῦτον ἄνωθεν οὐρανοὶ οὐρανίων τε ἁψίδων ὑπέρτεροι χοροὶ γεραίρουσιν· ὑμνοῦσι δʼ ὕμνοις ἀρρήτοις ἀγγέλων στρατιαί, πνεύματά τε νοεροῦ φωτὸς ἔκγονα τὸν σφῶν γεννήτορα θεολογοῦσιν· τοῦτον αἰῶνες ἄχρονοι πρὸ οὐρανοῦ τοῦδε καὶ πρὸ κόσμου ἄλλοι τε τούτων ἄπειροι αἰῶνες αἰώνων πρὸ πάσης τῆς τῶν ὁρατῶν ὑποστάσεως μόνον καὶ μέγαν δεσπότην καὶ κύριον ἐπιγράφονται. ### English translation (Claude) And the all-shining sun, running its long course through the ages, knows him alone as Lord, and, serving his nod, never dares to go beyond its bounds. The moon, yielding its light to the sun, waning and waxing again in periods of time, is subject to divine laws. The beauties of heaven, glittering with the dances of the stars, moving in order and harmony and measuring out their circles, proclaim the giver of every kind of light. All the heavenly luminaries together, by his nod and word forming one melody, completing their long course in circles of long ages, ride through the contests of the ethereal racecourses. The alternating movements of nights and days, the changes of hours and seasons, the rhythms and orders of the universe, honour the many-sided wisdom of his boundless power. To him the invisible powers that fly about the open plains of the air send up the due and fitting praise. This great King the whole world itself hymns together; him the heavens above, and the choirs higher than the heavenly vaults, honour; the armies of angels hymn him with ineffable hymns; spirits born of intellectual light praise in divine terms their begetter. Him the timeless ages before this heaven and before the world, and other boundless ages of ages besides these, before all the existence of things seen, acknowledge as sole and great Master and Lord. ### Scripture references - Eph 3:10: echo, low confidence - Ps 148:1–6: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'The many-sided wisdom' recalls Eph 3:10. The text has several slips (οὐ ρανοῦ, κὰι, ἀγῶναι, κινδήσεις, τὰ δʼ ἀέρος); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 1.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/1-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 1.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-1-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The only-begotten Word, High Priest and light of the Father, rules the universe, and the emperor governs the earth as his image. ### Greek text τοῦτον καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπὶ πᾶσι καὶ πρὸ πάντων καὶ μετὰ πάντας ὁ προὼν αὐτοῦ μονογενὴς λόγος, ὁ δὴ μέγας ἀρχιερεὺς τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, παντὸς χρόνου καὶ πάντων αἰώνων πρεσβύτατος, τῇ τοῦ πατρὸς καθωσιωμένος τιμῇ πρῶτος καὶ μόνος, τῆς πάντων ὐπεριλάσεκται σωτηρίας, πρωτείοις μὲν τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς δευτερείοις δὲ τῆς πατρικῆς βασιλείας ἐνδοξαζόμενος, ὅτι δὴ τὸ φῶς αὐτὸς ἦν τὸ ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὅλων ἀμφὶ τὸν πατέρα χορεῦον μεσιτεῦον τε καὶ διεῖργον τῆς τῶν γενητῶν οὐσίας τὴν ἄναρχον καὶ ἀγένητον ἰδέαν, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἄνωθεν ἐξ ἀλήκτου καὶ ἀνάρχου θεότητος ἀναβλυστάνον ἔξω πρόεισιν τὸν ὑπερουράνιον χῶρον τά τε εἴσω οὐρανοῦ πάντα κρείττοσιν ἢ καθʼ ἥλιον σοφίας καταλάμπον αὐγαῖς. αὐτὸς δʼ ἂν εἴη ὁ τοῦδε τοῦ σύμπαντος καθηγεμὼν κόσμου, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν ὀρωμένοις τε καὶ ἀφανέσιν ἐπιπορευόμενος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, παρʼ οὗ καὶ διʼ οὗ τῆς ἀνωτάτω βασιλείας τὴν εἰκόνα φέρων ὁ τῷ θεῷ φίλος βασιλεὺς κατὰ μίμησιν τοῦ κρείττονος τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἁπάντων τοὺς οἴακας διακυβερνῶν ἰθύνει. ### English translation (Claude) Him too his pre-existent only-begotten Word, over all and before all and after all, the great High Priest of the great God, older than all time and all ages, consecrated first and alone to the Father's honour, propitiates for the salvation of all. He is glorified with the first rank in the rule of the universe, and with the second in the Father's kingdom, because he himself was the light beyond the universe, dancing around the Father, mediating and separating the unoriginated and unbegotten nature from the substance of things that have come into being. This light, welling up from above out of unending and unoriginated deity, goes forth outward and illumines the region above heaven and all within heaven with rays of wisdom brighter than the sun. He would be the leader of this whole universe, the Word of God who is over all and through all and in all things seen and unseen, moving through them; from him and through him the emperor dear to God, bearing the image of the supreme kingdom, steers and directs all things on earth in imitation of the higher. ### Scripture references - Heb 4:14: allusion, high confidence - Eph 4:6: allusion, high confidence - Col 1:16–17: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Eusebius ranks the Word 'second in the Father's kingdom' and places him between the unbegotten God and created things; translated as written. 'Great High Priest' echoes Heb 4:14; 'over all and through all and in all' Eph 4:6. The text reads ὐπεριλάσεκται (probably ὑπερ... ἱλάσκεται, 'propitiates for'), μεσιτεὐόν, διαδυβερνῶν; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 1.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/1-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 2.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-2-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As the Word reigns eternally with the Father, the emperor, his friend, rules the earth for many years. ### Greek text Ὁ μέν γε τοῦ θεοῦ μονογενὴς λόγος τῷ αὐτοῦ πατρὶ συμβασιλεύων ἐξ ἀνάρχων αἰώνων εἰς ἀπείρους καὶ ἀτελευτήτους αἰῶνας διαρκεῖ· ὁ δὲ τούτῳ φίλος, ταῖς ἄνωθεν βασιλικαῖς ἀπορροίαις χορηγούμενος τῷ τε τῆς θεικῆς ἐπηγορίας ἐπωνύμῳ δυναμούμενος, μακραῖς ἐτῶν περιόδοις τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς κρατεῖ. ### English translation (Claude) The only-begotten Word of God, reigning with his Father from ages without beginning, continues to ages without limit and without end. And the one dear to him, supplied with royal outflows from above and empowered by the name of the divine title, rules over things on earth for long periods of years. ### Translation notes - 'The divine title': perhaps the name 'Augustus' or 'emperor', or the name of Christ; uncertain. The text reads αἰῶανας and διαρεκεῖ (διαρκεῖ). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 2.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/2-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 2.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-2-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As the Saviour prepares the world for the Father, the emperor brings his subjects to the Word. ### Greek text εἶθʼ ὁ μὲν τῶν ὅλων σωτὴρ τὸν σύμπαντα οὐρανόν τε καὶ κόσμον τήν τε ἀνωτάτω βασιλείαν εὐπρεπῆ τῷ αὐτοῦ πατρὶ παρασκευάζει· ὁ δὲ τούτῳ φίλος αὐτῷ τῷ μονογενεῖ καὶ σωτῆρι λόγῳ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς τοὺς ὑποχειρίους προσάγων ἐπιτηδείους πρὸς τὴν αὐτοῦ βασιλείαν καθίστησιν. ### English translation (Claude) Again, the Saviour of all prepares the whole heaven and world and the supreme kingdom fit for his Father; and the one dear to him, bringing his subjects on earth to the only-begotten and saving Word, makes them fit for his kingdom. ### Translation notes - The digital text repeats a clause ('the whole heaven and world and the supreme kingdom'); the repetition is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 2.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/2-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-2-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ drives away the demonic powers; the emperor defeats the visible enemies of truth. ### Greek text καὶ ὁ μὲν κοινὸς τῶν ὅλων σωτὴρ τὰς ἀποστατικὰς δυνάμεις, ὅσαι ποτὲ ἀμφὶ τόνδε τὸν ὑπὲρ γῆς ἀέρα διιπτάμεναι ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐνέχριμπτον ψυχαῖς, ἀοράτῳ καὶ θεικῇ δυνάμει οἷα θῆρας ἀγρίους τῶν αὐτοῦ θρεμμάτων ποιμένος ἀγαθοῦ δίκην πορρωτάτω καθίστησιν· ὁ δὲ τούτῳ φίλος ἄνωθεν παρ᾿αὐτοῦ τοῖς κατʼ ἐχθρῶν κοσμούμενος τροπαίοις τοὺς ἐμφανεῖς τῆς ἀληθείας ἐχθροὺς νόμῳ πολέμου χειρούμενος σωφρονίζει. ### English translation (Claude) The common Saviour of all, by invisible and divine power, like a good shepherd, drives far away from his flock, as wild beasts, the apostate powers that once flew about this air above the earth and attacked human souls. The one dear to him, adorned from above by him with trophies over his enemies, subdues and chastens by the law of war the visible enemies of the truth. ### Scripture references - John 10:11: allusion, medium confidence - Eph 2:2: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The 'good shepherd' recalls John 10:11; the powers of the air, Eph 2:2. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 2.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/2-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-2-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word sows saving reason in his disciples; the emperor, as his interpreter, proclaims true godliness to all. ### Greek text καὶ ὁ μὲν λόγος ὢν προκόσμιος καὶ σωτὴρ τῶν ὅλων λογικὰ καὶ σωτηριώδη σπέρματα τοῖς αὐτοῦ παραδιδοὺς θιασώταις λογικοὺς ἅμα καὶ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς βασιλείας ἐπιστημονικοὺς ἀπεργάζεται· ὁ δὲ τούτῳ φίλος οἷά τις ὑποφήτης τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπινον ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ κρείττονος ἀνακαλεῖται γνῶσιν, ταῖς πάντων ἀκοαῖς ἐμβοῶν μεγάλῃ τε φωνῇ τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἅπασι τοὺς τῆς ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας ἀνακηρύττων νόμους. ### English translation (Claude) The Word, being before the world and Saviour of all, imparting rational and saving seeds to his followers, makes them rational and at the same time knowers of his Father's kingdom. The one dear to him, as an interpreter of the Word of God, calls the whole human race to the knowledge of the higher, crying out in the hearing of all and proclaiming with a loud voice to all on earth the laws of true godliness. ### Translation notes - The text reads γόλου, a slip for λόγου. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 2.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/2-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 2.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-2-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Celebrating thirty years of rule, Constantine offers God not blood sacrifices but his own soul and the souls of his subjects brought to true worship. ### Greek text καὶ ὁ μὲν τῶν ὅλων σωτὴρ τὰς οὐρανίους πύλας τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς βασιλείας τοῖς ἐνθένδε ἐκεῖσε μεθισταμένοις ἀναπεταννύσιν· ὁ δὲ ζήλῳ τοῦ κρείττονος πάντα ῥύπον ἀθέου πλάνης τῆς κατὰ γῆν βασιλείας ἀποκαθηράμενος χοροὺς ὁσίων καὶ εὐσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν εἴσω βασιλικῶν οἴκων εἰσκαλεῖται, αὔτανδρον τὸν σύμπαντα στόλον τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτῷ κυβερνωμένων διασώσασθαι προμηθούμενος. πανήγυρίν τε ταύτην μόνος οὗτος τῶν πώποτε τῆς Ῥωμαίων καθηγησαμένων βασιλείας, τριτταῖς ἤδη περιόδοις δεκάδων πρὸς τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ τιμηθείς, οὐ χθονίοις κατὰ τοὺς παλαιοὺς συντελεῖ πνεύμασιν, οὐδὲ λαοπλάνων φάσμασι δαιμόνων, οὐδʼ ἀπάταις καὶ λήροις ἀθέων ἀνδρῶν, αὐτῷ δὲ τὰ χαριστήρια τῷ τετιμηκότι, συνῃσθημένος τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν κεχορηγημένων ἀγαθῶν, ἀποδίδωσιν, οὐ κατὰ τοὺς παλαιοὺς αἵμασι καὶ λύθροις τοὺς βασιλικοὺς οἴκους μιαίνων, οὐδὲ καπνῷ καὶ πυρὶ ζώων τε ὁλοκαύτων θυσίαις χθονίους δαίμονας ἀπομειλισσόμενος, τὴν δʼ αὐτῷ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων προσφιλῆ καὶ χαρίεσσαν θυσίαν, αὐτὴν δηλαδὴ τὴν αὐτοῦ βασιλικὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ηνὴς αὐτῷ μόνη, ἣν δὴ βασιλεὺς ὁ ἡμεδαπὸς καλλιερεῖν ἀπύροις καὶ ἀναίμοις τοῖς κατὰ διάνοιαν κεκαθαρμένοις λογισμοῖς δεδίδακται, ψυχῆς μὲν ἀδιαψεύστοις δόγμασι τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας κρατύνων, λόγῳ δὲ μεγαλοπρεπεῖ γεραίρων τὴν θεολογίαν, πράξεσί τε βασιλικαῖς τὴν τοῦ κρείττονος ζηλῶν φιλανθρωπίαν, ὅλος τε ἀνακείμενος αὐτῷ καὶ μέγα δῶρον ἀνατιθεὶς αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν οὗ πεπίστευται κόσμου τὸ ἀκροθίνιον· τοῦτο δὴ μέγιστον ἱερεῖον πρὸ τῶν ἁπάντων καλλιερεῖ βασιλεύς, θύει δʼ ἅτε ποιμὴν ἀγαθός οὐκ Ἀρνῶν πρωτογόνων ῥέζων κλειτὰς ἑκατόμβας, τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτῷ ποιμαινομένων λογικῶν θρεμμάτων τὰς ψυχὰς τῇ αὐτοῦ γνώσει καὶ εὐσεβείᾳ προσάγων. ### English translation (Claude) The Saviour of all opens wide the heavenly gates of his Father's kingdom to those who pass from here to there. The other, in zeal for the higher, having cleansed the earthly kingdom of all the filth of godless error, invites choirs of holy and pious men into the royal palace, taking care to save the whole fleet of those whom he steers, crew and all. He alone of all who have ever led the Roman Empire, honoured by God, the King of all, with three periods of ten years, celebrates this festival not, as the ancients did, to the spirits of the underworld, nor to apparitions of demons who lead the people astray, nor to the deceits and nonsense of godless men; but he renders his thanks to the One who honoured him, aware of the good things supplied to him. He does not, like the ancients, defile the royal palace with blood and gore, nor appease the demons of the underworld with smoke and fire and sacrifices of whole burnt animals, but offers to the King of all himself the sacrifice dear and pleasing to him alone, namely his own royal soul and a mind most fit for God. This is what our emperor has been taught to offer in sacrifice, with thoughts cleansed in mind, without fire and without blood: strengthening the doctrines of godliness by the unerring convictions of his soul, honouring theology with magnificent speech, emulating by royal deeds the love for humanity of the higher, wholly devoted to him, and dedicating himself as a great gift, the firstfruits of the world entrusted to him. This greatest sacrifice the emperor offers before all; and he sacrifices like a good shepherd, "not offering glorious hecatombs of firstling lambs," but bringing the souls of the rational flock he shepherds to the knowledge of God and godliness. ### Scripture references - Rom 12:1: echo, medium confidence - John 10:11: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 4.102 (Homer, Iliad): quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The thirty years (tricennalia) date the speech to 335–336. 'Not offering glorious hecatombs of firstling lambs' adapts Homer, Il. 4.102. 'A mind most fit for God' renders the garbled καὶ ηνὴς (probably καὶ θεοπρεπεστάτην νοῦν or similar); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 2.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/2-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 3.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-3-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God rewards Constantine with long rule, and at each decennial festival a son has been raised to share the throne. ### Greek text Ὁ δὲ τῷ τοιῷδε χαίρων ἱερείῳ καὶ τὸ δῶρον ἀσμένως ἀσπαζόμενος τῆς τε σεμνῆς καὶ καλλιπρεποῦς θυσίας τὸν ἱεροφάντην ἀγάμενος προσθήκας αὐτῷ μακρῶν περιόδων τῆς βασιλείας προστίθησιν, ἀμοιβαίως ταῖς εἰς αὐτὸν ὁσίαις αὔξων τὰς εὐεργεσίας, παρέχει τε παντοίας ἑορτὰς ἐκτελεῖν σὺν πολλῇ ῥᾳστώνῃ τῆς μοναρχίας, ἐφʼ ἑκάστῃ περιόδῳ δεκαετοῦς πανηγύρεως ἕνα τινὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ παίδων ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ βασιλικοῦ θρόνου κοινωνίαν προχειριζόμενος καὶ ὥσπερ εὐθαλεῖ καὶ ἀκμαίῳ φυτῷ χρόνων αὐξήσεις δωρούμενος. ### English translation (Claude) And he who rejoices in such a sacrifice, gladly welcoming the gift and admiring the priest of the venerable and beautiful sacrifice, adds to him long periods of reign, increasing his benefits in return for his acts of devotion toward him. He grants him to celebrate festivals of every kind with great ease of his sole rule, at each period of a ten-year festival advancing one of his sons to share the royal throne, and, as to a flourishing and vigorous plant, granting increases of time. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 3.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/3-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 3.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-3-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine's sons were made Caesars at successive decennials, fulfilling Daniel's prophecy that the saints would receive the kingdom. ### Greek text πρῶτόν γε τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν ὁμώνυμον κατὰ τὴν πρώτην τῆς βασιλικῆς περιόδου δεκάδα τοῦ βασιλικοῦ κοινωνὸν ἀπέφηνε κλήρου, δεύτερον δʼ ἐπὶ τῇ δευτέρᾳ δεκάδι τὸν ἐφεξῆς τῷ χρόνῳ, τὸν τρίτον ὡσαύτως ἐπὶ τῇ τρίτῃ τῆς μετὰ χεῖρας ἑορτῆς δεκάδι. ἤδη δὲ καὶ τετάρτης ἀνακυκλουμένης περιόδου, ὡς ἂν τῶν χρόνων εἰς μῆκος ἐκτεινομένων, συναύξων τὴν βασιλείαν ἀφθόνῳ κοινωνίᾳ τοῦ γένους καισάρων τε ἀναδείξεσι θείων προφητῶν ἀποπληροῖ θεσπίσματα, ἃ δὴ πάλαι καὶ πρόπαλαι ὧδέ πη ἐβόα· „καὶ διαλήψονται τὴν βασιλείαν ἅγιοι ὑψίστου.“ ### English translation (Claude) First, at the first decade of his reign, he made the son who bears his father's name a sharer of the royal inheritance; second, at the second decade, the next in age; the third likewise at the third decade of the festival now in hand. And now, as a fourth period comes round, as though time were stretching to length, enlarging the empire by the ungrudging partnership of his family and by the appointment of Caesars, he fulfils the oracles of the divine prophets, which long ago and from of old cried out thus: "And the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom." ### Scripture references - Dan 7:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation is Dan 7:18 (Theodotion's wording, διαλήψονται, 'shall receive'); Eusebius applies it to the Caesars. The fourth Caesar is probably Dalmatius, made Caesar in 335. The text reads ἑρτῆς for ἑορτῆς, καιςάρων for καισάρων. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 3.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/3-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 3.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-3-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God renews Constantine's rule, grants him victory, and makes him a model of piety. ### Greek text οὕτω δῆτα χρόνων ἅμα καὶ παίδων αὐξήσεις βασιλεῖ τῷ θεοφιλεστάτῳ θεὸς αὐτὸς ὁ παμβασιλεὺς δωρούμενος, ἀκμάζουσαν αὐτῷ καὶ νεαρὰν τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἐθνῶν ἡγεμονίαν ὥσπερ ἄρτι φύειν ἀρχομένην καθίστησιν, αὐτός τε αὐτῷ συντελεῖ τὴν πανήγυριν, νικητὴν αὐτὸν καθιστὰς ἐχθρῶν ἁπάντων καὶ πολεμίων εὐσεβείας τε ἀληθοῦς ὑπόδειγμα τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἅπασιν ἀποφαίνων. ### English translation (Claude) Thus God himself, the King of all, granting to the emperor most dear to God increases both of years and of sons, makes his rule over the nations of the earth flourishing and fresh, as though it were just beginning to grow; and he himself celebrates the festival with him, making him victor over all his enemies and foes, and showing him to all on earth as a pattern of true godliness. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 3.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/3-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 3.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-3-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine distributes his Caesars to the regions of the empire and guides them all like a charioteer of four colts. ### Greek text ὁ δʼ, ὡς φῶς ἡλίου μαρμαρυγαῖς, ταῖς τῶν καιςάρων ἐπιλάμψεσι τοὺς πορρωτάτω τοῖς τόποις ἀπῳκισμένους ταῖς εἰς μακρὸν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παραπεμπομέναις ἀκτῖσι καταυγάζει, ὧδε μὲν ἡμῖν τοῖς τὴν ἑῴαν λαχοῦσι τὸν ἐπάξιον αὐτοῦ καρπόν, θάτερον δὲ τῶν παίδων θατέρῳ γένει τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ πάλιν ἄλλον ἀλλαχόθι, λαμπτῆρας οἷα καὶ φωστῆρας τῶν ἐξ αὐτοῦ προχεομένων φώτων διενείματο· εἶθʼ ὑπὸ μίαν ζεύγλην βασιλικοῦ τεθρίππου τέτταρας ὑποζεύξας αὐτὸς αὐτῷ οἷά τινας πώλους τοὺς ἀνδρειοτάτους καίσαρας ἡνίαις τε αὐτοὺς ἐνθέου συμφωνίας τε καὶ ὁμονοίας ἁρμοσάμενος, ἄνωθεν ὑψηλῶς ἡνιοχῶν ἐλαύνει, ὁμοῦ τὴν σύμπασαν ὅσην ἥλιος ἐφορᾷ διϊππεύων, αὐτός τε τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπιπαρὼν καὶ τὰ πάντα διασκοπούμενος. ### English translation (Claude) And he, like the light of the sun with its gleams, illumines by the radiance of the Caesars those living farthest away, with rays sent far from himself. To us who dwell in the East he has assigned an offspring worthy of himself; another of his sons to another race of men; and again another elsewhere, distributing them like lamps and luminaries of the light that pours from him. Then, yoking under one yoke of the royal four-horse chariot the four most valiant Caesars, like colts, and harnessing them with the reins of divine harmony and concord, he drives from on high as charioteer, riding over the whole earth that the sun beholds, himself present to all and watching over all. ### Translation notes - The text has several letter slips (συμφωνίς, ἁρμοςάμενος, ἐπιπᾶρὼν); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 3.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/3-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 3.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-3-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine governs in imitation of the heavenly monarchy, the law of true kingship. ### Greek text κἄπειτα τῆς οὐρανίου βασιλείας εἰκόνι κεκοσμημένος ἄνω βλέπων κατὰ τὴν ἀρχέτυπον ἰδέαν τοὺς κάτω διακυβερνῶν ἰθύνει, μονάρχου δυναστείας μιμήματι κραταιούμενος· τοῦτο γὰρ ἀνθρώπου φύσει τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς μόνῃ ὁ τῶν ἁπάντων δεδώρηται βασιλεύς. νόμος γὰρ οὗτος βασιλικῆς ἐξουσίας ὁ τὴν κατὰ πάντων μίαν ἀρχὴν ὁριζόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) Then, adorned with the image of the heavenly kingdom, looking upward, he steers and directs those below according to the archetypal form, strengthened by the imitation of the monarch's sovereignty. For this the King of all has granted to human nature alone of things on earth. For this is the law of royal authority, which defines one rule over all. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 3.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/3-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 3.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-3-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As there is one God and one Word who governs his kingdom, so monarchy is the best rule; the Word bears many titles and has given humans a share in God's virtues. ### Greek text μοναρχία δὲ τῆς πάντων ὑπέρκειται συστάσεώς τε καὶ διοικήσεως· ἀναρχία γὰρ μᾶλλον καὶ στάσις ἡ ἐξ ἰσοτιμίας ἀντιπαρεξαγομένη πολυαρχία. διὸ δὴ εἷς θεὸς ἀλλʼ οὐ δύο οὐδὲ τρεῖς οὐδὲ ἔτι πλείονες· ἀκριβῶς γὰρ ἄθεον τὸ πολύθεον, εἷς βασιλεύς, καὶ ὁ τούτου λόγος καὶ νόμος βασιλικὸς εἷς, οὐ ῥήμασι καὶ συλλαβαῖς ἐκφωνούμενος οὐδʼ ἐν γραφαῖς καὶ στήλαις χρόνου μήκει δαπανώμενος, ζῶν δὲ καὶ ὑφεστὼς θεὸς λόγος, τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτὸν καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸν ἅπασι τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς διαταττόμενος βασιλείαν. στρατιαὶ δὲ τοῦτον οὐράνιοι περιπολοῦσι, μυριάδες τε ἀγγέλων θεοῦ λειτουργῶν πλήθη τε στρατοπεδείας ὑπερκοσμίου τῶν τε εἴσω οὐρανοῦ πνευμάτων ἀφανῶν τῇ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου τάξει διακονουμένων, ὧν πάντων ὁ βασιλικὸς καθηγεῖται λόγος οἷά τις μεγάλου βασιλέως ὕπαρχος. ἀρχιστράτηγον αὐτὸν καὶ ἀρχιερέα μέγαν προφήτην τε τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελον φωτός τε ἀπαύγασμα πατρικοῦ μονογενῆ τε υἱὸν καὶ τούτων ἕτερα μυρία θεσπίζουσιν ἀναφωνοῦσαι θεολόγων φωναί, ὃν δὴ ζῶντα λόγον καὶ νόμον καὶ σοφίαν ἀγαθοῦ τε πλήρωμα παντὸς ὁ γεννήσας ὑποστησάμενος, μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν δόμα τοῖς ὑπὸ τὴν βασιλείαν πᾶσιν ἐδωρήσατο. ὁ δὲ διήκων τὰ πάντα πάντη τε ἐπιπορευόμενος καὶ τάς τε τοῦ πατρὸς χάριτας ἀφθόνως ἐξαπλῶν εἰς πάντας μέχρι καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς λογικῶν τὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς δυναστείας ἐξέτεινεν μίμημα, θεϊκαῖς δυνάμεσι τὴν κατʼ εἰκόνα τὴν αὐτοῦ πεποιημένην ἀνθρώπου ψυχὴν κατακοσμήσας· ἔνθεν αὐτῇ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀρετῶν ἡ κοινωνία θεϊκῆς ἐξ ἀπορροίας περίεστι. μόνος μὲν γὰρ σοφὸς ὁ καὶ θεὸς μόνος. ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς τὴν οὐσίαν ἀγαθὸς μόνος, ἰσχύι τε δυνατὸς αὐτὸς μόνος, καὶ γεννήτωρ μὲν αὐτῆς δικαιοσύνης, πατὴρ δὲ λόγου καὶ σοφίας, πηγή τε φωτὸς καὶ ζωῆς, ἀληθείας τε καὶ ἀρετῆς ταμίας, καὶ δὴ βασιλείας αὐτῆς ἀρχῆς τε πάσης καὶ ἐξουσίας καθηγεμών. ### English translation (Claude) Monarchy is superior to every constitution and government; for rule by many, set up on the basis of equal honour, is rather anarchy and faction. Therefore there is one God, not two or three or still more; for strictly speaking polytheism is atheism. There is one King, and his Word and royal law is one, not uttered in words and syllables nor wasted by length of time in writings and inscriptions, but the living and subsisting God the Word, who administers the Father's kingdom for all under him and after him. Around him range the heavenly hosts, myriads of angels of God, ministers, multitudes of the supramundane army and of the invisible spirits within heaven who serve the order of the whole world; and the royal Word leads them all, as a kind of prefect of the great King. The voices of the theologians proclaim him Commander-in-chief and great High Priest, Prophet of the Father and Angel of great counsel, radiance of the Father's light and only-begotten Son, and countless other titles besides. The Father, having brought him into being as living Word and Law and Wisdom and fullness of every good, gave him as a gift of the greatest good things to all under his kingdom. And he, pervading all things, moving everywhere, and unfolding the Father's graces ungrudgingly to all, extended an imitation of the royal sovereignty even to the rational beings on earth, adorning with divine powers the human soul made after his image. From this the sharing of the other virtues too belongs to it, by a divine outflow. For he alone is wise, who alone is God; he alone is good in essence, he alone mighty in strength, begetter of righteousness itself, Father of Word and Wisdom, source of light and life, steward of truth and virtue, and leader of kingship itself and of all rule and authority. ### Scripture references - Josh 5:14: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 4:14: allusion, medium confidence - Isa 9:6 (9:5 LXX): allusion, high confidence - Heb 1:3: allusion, high confidence - Gen 1:26–27: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 16:27: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 2.204 (Homer, Iliad): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Titles: 'Commander-in-chief' (Josh 5:14); 'great High Priest' (Heb 4:14); 'Angel of great counsel' (Isa 9:6 LXX); 'radiance' (Heb 1:3). 'Having brought him into being' renders ὑποστησάμενος; Eusebius's language of the Father giving subsistence to the Word is translated as written. 'Made after his image' recalls Gen 1:26–27. 'One ruler' recalls Homer, Il. 2.204. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 3.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/3-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 4.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-4-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius asks how humans, bound to the senses, could know of God's invisible kingdom and of true kingship. ### Greek text Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα πόθεν ἀνθρώποις εἰδέναι; τίς δʼ ἀκοῇ θνητῶν ταῦτα διηκονήσατο; πόθεν δὲ γλώττῃ σαρκὸς τὰ σαρκῶν ἀλλότρια καὶ σωμάτων ἀποφθέγγεσθαι; τίς τὸν ἀφανῆ βασιλέα διοπτεύσας ταύτας ἐν αὐτῷ κατεῖδεν δυνάμεις; αἰσθήσει μὲν γὰρ σωμάτων ἀδελφὰ στοιχεῖα τά τʼ ἐκ τούτων συγκρίματα καταλαμβάνεται, ἀλλʼ οὐδείς πω σωμάτων ὀφθαλμοῖς τὴν κατὰ πάντων ἀφανῆ βασιλείαν ὄψει παραλαβὼν ἐσεμνύνατο, οὐδὲ θνητὴ φύσις τὸ σοφίας κατενόησε κάλλος. τίς δὲ σαρκῶν αἰσθήσει τὸ δικαιοςύνης ἐνεῖδε πρόσωπον; ἐννόμου δʼ ἀρχῆς καὶ βασιλικῆς ἐξουςίας πόθεν ἀνθρώποις ὑπεισῆλθον ἔννοιαι; πόθεν αὐτοκρατορικὴ δύναμις τῷ σαρκὶ καὶ αἵματι πεπιλημένῳ; τίς δὲ τὰς ἀφανεῖς καὶ ἀσχηματίστους ἰδέας καὶ τὴν ἀσώματον καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον οὐσίαν τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ἐξηγόρευσεν; ### English translation (Claude) But how can human beings know these things? Who has conveyed them to mortal hearing? How can a tongue of flesh utter things foreign to flesh and bodies? Who has seen the invisible King and beheld these powers in him? By sense are grasped the elements akin to bodies and the compounds made of them; but no one has ever boasted of having taken in with bodily eyes the invisible kingdom over all, nor has mortal nature perceived the beauty of wisdom. Who by the senses of the flesh has seen the face of righteousness? From where did notions of lawful rule and royal authority enter into human beings? From where came sovereign power to what is compacted of flesh and blood? Who declared to those on earth the invisible and formless ideas and the incorporeal and formless substance? ### Scripture references - John 1:18: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The text reads ἐὶ γῆς, a slip for ἐπὶ γῆς. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 4.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/4-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 4.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-4-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word of God is the source of all human reason, virtue and kingship; he made humans in God's image and came among them to call all to the heavenly kingdom. ### Greek text ἀλλʼ ἦν ἄρα τούτων εἷς ἑρμηνεὺς ὁ διὰ πάντων ἥκων τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, ὁ τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις λογικῆς καὶ νοερᾶς πατὴρ οὐσίας, μόνος μὲν τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς θεότητος ἐξημμένος, τοῖς δὲ σφετέροις ἐκγόνοις τὰς πατρικὰς ἀπορροίας ἐπάρδων. ἔνθεν ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις Ἕλλησιν ὁμοῦ καὶ βαρβάροις οἱ κατὰ φύσιν αὐτομαθεῖς λογισμοί, ἔνθεν λόγου καὶ σοφίας ἔννοιαι, ἔνθεν φρονήσεως καὶ δικαιοσύνης σπέρματα, ἔνθεν αἱ τῶν τεχνῶν καταλήψεις, ἔνθεν ἀρετῆς ἐπιστήμη σοφίας τε φίλον ὄνομα καὶ σεμνὸς φιλοσόφου παιδείας ἔρως, ἔνθεν ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς καὶ καλοῦ γνῶσις, ἔνθεν αὐτοῦ φαντασία θεοῦ καὶ βίος θεοσεβείας ἐπάξιος, ἔνθεν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλείας ἰσχὺς καὶ κράτος ἄμαχον τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἁπάντων. ὡς δὲ τὸν κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ καὶ καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν ἐν ἀνθρώπου ψυχῇ χαρακτῆρα λόγος ὁ τῶν λογικῶν ὑφίστη πατὴρ βασιλικόν τε τουτοὶ τὸ ζῶον ἀπειργάζετο, μόνον τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς βασιλεύειν καὶ βασιλεύεσθαι τοῦτʼ εἰδέναι ἀναδείξας προμελετᾶν τε καὶ προδιδάσκεσθαι ἐνθένδε τῆς οὐρανίου βασιλείας τὴν ἐπηγγελμένην ἐλπίδα, διʼ ἣν καὶ ἀφῖκται, θνητοῖς τε εἰς ὁμιλίαν ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν παίδων οὐκ ἀπώκνει πατήρ, τὰ δʼ αὐτοῦ γεωργῶν σπέρματα καὶ τὰς ἄνωθεν ἀνανεούμενος χορηγίας οὐρανίου μεθέξειν βασιλείας τοῖς πᾶσιν εὐηγγελίζετο, ἐκάλει τε καὶ παρεκάλει πρὸς τὴν ἄνω πορείαν εὐτρεπεῖς εἶναι τὴν ἐπάξιον τῆς κλήσεως στολὴν παρασκευασαμένους, ἐπλήρου τε ἀρρήτῳ δυνάμει τὴν σύμπασαν ὅσην ἥλιος ἐφορᾷ τοῦ κηρύγματος, τῷ τῆς κατὰ γῆς βασιλείας μιμήματι τὴν οὐράνιον ἐκτυπούμενος, ἐφʼ ἣν καὶ σπεύδειν τὸ πᾶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων παρορμᾷ γένος, ἀγαθὴν ἐλπίδα ταύτην προβεβλημένος. ### English translation (Claude) There was, then, one interpreter of these things: the Word of God who reaches through all things, the father of the rational and intellectual substance in human beings, who alone depends on the Father's deity and pours the Father's outflows upon his own offspring. From him come to all people, Greeks and barbarians alike, the naturally self-taught reasonings; from him the notions of reason and wisdom; from him the seeds of prudence and justice; from him the grasp of the arts; from him the knowledge of virtue, the dear name of wisdom and the venerable love of philosophical learning; from him the knowledge of every good and noble thing; from him the very conception of God and a life worthy of godliness; from him comes to man the strength of kingship and invincible power over all things on earth. When the Word, the father of rational beings, had established in the human soul the stamp after the image and likeness of God, and made this creature royal, he showed it to be the only one on earth fit to rule and be ruled, and to practise and learn beforehand from here the promised hope of the heavenly kingdom, for the sake of which he also came. And the father of the children himself did not shrink from coming into fellowship with mortals; cultivating his own seeds and renewing the supplies from above, he proclaimed the good news to all that they would share in a heavenly kingdom, and called and urged them to be ready for the journey above, having prepared the garment worthy of the calling. With ineffable power he filled the whole earth that the sun beholds with his preaching, shaping the heavenly kingdom by the copy of the kingdom on earth, and he urges the whole human race to hasten toward it, holding out this good hope. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:26: allusion, high confidence - Matt 22:11–12: echo, low confidence - Eph 4:1: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'After the image and likeness' is Gen 1:26. 'The garment worthy of the calling' recalls Matt 22:11–12 and Eph 4:1. 'Depends on the Father's deity' renders ἐξημμένος; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 4.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/4-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The God-beloved emperor already shares in God's kingdom through the virtues he receives from above. ### Greek text Ἧς ὁ μὲν τῷ θεῷ φίλος ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη μέθεξει, ταῖς ἐμφύτοις τῷ θεῷ κοσμηθεὶς ἀρεταῖς καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖθεν ἀπορροίας τῇ ψυχῇ καταδεδεγμένος, καὶ λογικὸς μὲν ἐκ τοῦ καθόλου γεγονὼς λόγου, σοφίας δὲ μετουσίᾳ σοφός, ἀγαθὸς δʼ ἀγαθοῦ κοινωνίᾳ, καὶ δίκαιος μετοχῇ δικαιοσύνης, σώφρων τε σωφροσύνης ἰδέᾳ, καὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω μετασχὼν δυνάμεως ἀνδρεῖος. ### English translation (Claude) In this kingdom the one dear to God already shares from here, adorned with the virtues natural to God and having received in his soul the outflows from there: rational, as having come from the universal Word; wise by participation in wisdom; good by fellowship with the good; just by sharing in justice; self-controlled by the form of self-control; and brave, having shared in the supreme power. ### Translation notes - The text reads μέθεξει for μεθέξει, δικαιοςύνης, σωφροςύνης. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Only a ruler shaped by royal virtues is a true emperor; a vicious tyrant, however powerful, is not. ### Greek text ἀτὰρ δὴ καὶ βασιλεὺς ἀληθεῖ λόγῳ χρηματίσειεν ἂν οὗτος ὁ τῆς ἐπέκεινα βασιλείας τὸ μίμημα βασιλικαῖς ἀρεταῖς τῇ ψυχῇ μεμορφωμένος. ὁ δὲ τούτων ἀπεξενωμένος καὶ τὸν βασιλέα τῶν ὅλων ἀπαρνηθείς, μηδὲ τὸν ἐπουράνιον ψυχῶν ἐπιγραψάμενος πατέρα, μηδὲ τὸν πρέποντα βασιλεῖ κόσμον περιθέμενος, ἀμορφίαν δὲ καὶ αἶσχος ἀναλαβὼν τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ θηρὸς μὲν ἀγρίου θυμὸν βασιλικῆς ἡμερότητος ἀντικαταλλαξάμενος, ἰὸν δὲ δυσαλθῆ κακίας ἀντʼ ἐλευθερίου διαθέσεως, μωρίαν δʼ ἀντὶ φρονήσεως, καὶ ἀντὶ λόγου καὶ σοφίας τὴν παντὸς δυσειδεστάτην ἀλογίαν, ἐξ ἧς ὥσπερ ἀπὸ πικροῦ πόματος τὰ λυμαντικὰ συνομαρτεῖ βλαστήματα, βίος ἄσωτος, πλεονεξίαι, μιαιφονίαι, θεομαχίαι, δυσσέβειαι· τούτοις ἐκδοθείς, κἂν νομίζηταί ποτε τυραννικῇ βίᾳ κρατεῖν, ἀλλʼ οὔποτʼ ἀληθεῖ λόγῳ χρηματίσει βασιλεὺς οὗτος. ### English translation (Claude) Indeed he alone could truly be called an emperor who has shaped his soul with royal virtues into a copy of the kingdom beyond. But he who is estranged from these, who has denied the King of all, who has not acknowledged the heavenly Father of souls, nor put on the adornment fitting a king, but has taken on deformity and shame in his soul, exchanging royal gentleness for the rage of a wild beast, a liberal disposition for the incurable poison of wickedness, prudence for folly, and reason and wisdom for the most hideous unreason of all, from which, as from a bitter drink, the destructive shoots follow (a dissolute life, greed, bloodshed, war against God, impiety): such a man, given over to these, even if he is sometimes thought to rule by tyrannical force, will never truly be called an emperor. ### Scripture references - Heb 12:15: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The 'bitter' root recalls Heb 12:15 and Deut 29:18. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A ruler enslaved to passions and demons cannot bear the image of divine monarchy. ### Greek text πῶς δʼ ἂν τὸ μίμημα τῆς μοναρχικῆς ἐξουσίας οἷός τε ἂν εἴη φέρειν ὁ μυρίας ἐψευδογραφημένας δαιμόνων εἰκόνας τῇ αὐτοῦ ψυχῇ τετυπωμένος; πῶς δʼ ἄρχων καὶ τῶν ὅλων κύριος ὁ μυρίους καθʼ ἑαυτοῦ πικροὺς δεσπότας ἐφειλκυσμένος, καὶ δοῦλος μὲν αἰσχρᾶς ἡδονῆς, δοῦλος δʼ ἀκολάστου γυναικομανίας, δοῦλος χρημάτων ἐξ ἀδίκου ποριζομένων, δοῦλος θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς, δοῦλος φόβου καὶ δειμάτων, δοῦλος μιαιφόνων δαιμόνων, δοῦλος ψυχοφθόρων πνευμάτων; ### English translation (Claude) How could he bear the copy of monarchical authority who has stamped on his soul countless falsely drawn images of demons? How could he be ruler and lord of all who has drawn upon himself countless bitter masters: a slave of shameful pleasure, a slave of licentious madness for women, a slave of money got by injustice, a slave of rage and anger, a slave of fear and terrors, a slave of bloodthirsty demons, a slave of soul-destroying spirits? ### Scripture references - John 8:34: echo, low confidence ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The true emperor masters his passions, mirrors God's virtues, and alone is a philosopher-king. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ μόνος ἡμῖν βασιλεὺς σὺν ἀληθείᾳ μάρτυρι κεκηρύχθω ὁ τῷ παμβασιλεῖ θεῷ φίλος, ὁ δὴ μόνος ἐλεύθερος μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ κύριος ἀληθῶς, καὶ χρημάτων μὲν ἀνώτερος, γυναικῶν δʼ ἐπιθυμίας κρείττων, νικητὴς δὲ ἡδονῶν καὶ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν, κρατῶν δὲ θυμοῦ καὶ ὀργῆς, ἀλλʼ οὐ κρατούμενος, αὐτοκράτωρ ἀληθῶς οὗτος, φερώνυμον τῇ πράξει φέρων τὴν ἐπηγορίαν· νικητὴς ἐτύμως ὁ τὴν νίκην τῶν καταπαλαιόντων θνητὸν γένος παθῶν ἀράμενος, ὁ πρὸς τὴν ἀρχέτυπον τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως ἀπεικονισμένος ἰδέαν καὶ ταῖς ἐξ αὐτῆς τῶν ἀρετῶν αὐγαῖς ὥσπερ ἐν κατόπτρῳ τῇ διανοίᾳ μορφωθείς, ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ ἀποτελεσθεὶς σώφρων, ἀγαθός, δίκαιος, ἀνδρεῖος, εὐσεβής, φιλόθεος. ἀληθῶς δὴ καὶ μόνος φιλόσοφος βασιλεὺς οὗτος ὁ ἑαυτὸν εἰδὼς καὶ τὰς ἔξωθεν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον δʼ οὐρανόθεν ἐπαρδομένας παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ χορηγίας ἐξεπιστάμενος, ὁ τῆς μονάρχου δυναστείας τὸ σεβάσμιον πρόσρημα τῷ τῆς ἀμπεχόνης ἐξαιρέτῳ περιβλήματι διαφαίνων καὶ τὴν ἐμπρέπουσαν αὐτῷ βασιλικὴν ἁλουργίδα μόνος ἐπαξίως ἐμπεριειλημμένος. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore let him alone be proclaimed by us emperor, with truth as witness, who is dear to God the King of all: he who alone is free, or rather truly lord; above money, stronger than desire for women, conqueror of pleasures and of natural impulses, master of rage and anger and not mastered by them. He is truly autocrat, bearing by his conduct a title true to its name; truly victor, who has won the victory over the passions that overthrow the mortal race; he who has been fashioned after the archetypal form of the great King, and, shaped in mind as in a mirror by the rays of the virtues that come from it, has been made by them self-controlled, good, just, brave, pious, God-loving. Truly this emperor alone is a philosopher, who knows himself and understands the supplies of every good poured upon him from outside, or rather from heaven; who makes plain the venerable title of monarchical rule by the distinctive garment of his robe, and who alone worthily wears the royal purple that befits him. ### Translation notes - 'Victor' (νικητής) plays on Constantine's title Victor. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine prays for God's kingdom, values earthly rule little, is unmoved by armies and acclaim, and laughs at the trappings of power, wearing virtues instead. ### Greek text βασιλεὺς οὗτος ὁ νύκτωρ καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν τὸν ἐπουράνιον ἀνακαλούμενος πατέρα, ὁ τοῦτον ἐν ταῖς εὐχαῖς ἐπιβοώμενος, ὁ τῆς ἀνωτάτω βασιλείας ὀριγνώμενος. μὴ γὰρ τὰ παρόντα ἄξια τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ συνειδώς, τὰ θνητὰ καὶ ἐπίκηρα ποταμοῦ δίκην ῥέοντα καὶ ἀπολλύμενα, τὴν ἄφθαρτον καὶ ἀσώματον τοῦ θεοῦ βασιλείαν πουεῖ, κἀκείνης τυχεῖν εὔχεται, διὰ μεγαλόφρονα λογισμὸν ὑπὲρ τὴν οὐράνιον ἁφῖδα τὴν διάνοιαν μετεωρίσας καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ φώτων ἄλεκτον πόθον ἐνεστερνισμένος, ὧν τῇ παραθέσει σκότους οὐδὲν διαφέρειν ἡγεῖται τὰ τοῦ παρόντος βίου τίμια· τήν τε γὰρ ἀνθρώπων άρχὴν θνητοῦ καὶ προσκαίρου βίου μικρὰν καὶ ὀλιγοχρόνιον ἐπισταςίαν οὖσαν ὁρᾷ, οὐ μακρῷ κρείττονα τῆς αἰπόλων ἢ ποιμένων ἢ βουκόλων ἀρχῆς (μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἐργωδεστέραν καὶ δυσκολωτέρων θρεμμάτων ἡγεῖται), τάς τε τῶν δήμων ἐκβοήσεις καὶ τὰς τῶν κολάκων φωνὰς πρὸς ὄχλου τίθεται μᾶλλον ἢ πρὸς ἡδονῆς, διὰ στερρὸν ἦθος καὶ γνηςίαν ψυχῆς παίδευσιν. 6 ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν τῶν ὑπηκόων δορυφορίαν, μυριάδας στρατοπέδων, ὁπλιτῶν πεζῶν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἱππικῶν δοῦλα καὶ ὑπήκοα πλήθη οὐδαμῶς ὁρῶν καταπλήττεται, οὐδʼ ἐπὶ τῇ τούτων ἀρχῇ τυφοῦται, στρέφων εἰς αὐτὸν τὴν διάνοιαν τήν τε κοινὴν ἁπάντων φύσιν καὶ παρʼ ἑαυτῷ βλέπων. ἐσθῆτά γε μὴν χρυσοϋφῆ ποικίλοις ἄνθεσιν ἐξυφασμένην ἁλουργίδα τε βασιλικὴν σὺν αὐτῷ διαδήματι γελᾷ τοὺς πολλοὺς θεώμενος ἐκπεπληγμένους καὶ τὸ φάντασμα κομιδῇ νηπίων δίκην οἷόν τι μορμολύκειον θειάζοντας· οὐδαμῶς δʼ αὐτὸς τὰ ὅμοια πεπονθὼς τῇ ψυχῇ διʼ ἐπιστήμην τοῦ θείου περίβλημα σωφροσύνῃ καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ εὐσεβείᾳ τε καὶ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἀρεταῖς πεποικιλμένον τὸν ἐπʼ ἀληθείας πρέποντα βασιλεῖ κόσμον περιτίθησιν. ### English translation (Claude) He is emperor who night and day calls on the heavenly Father, who cries to him in his prayers, who yearns for the supreme kingdom. For, knowing that present things are unworthy of God the King of all, mortal and perishable, flowing and vanishing like a river, he longs for the incorruptible and incorporeal kingdom of God and prays to obtain it, having raised his mind by lofty reasoning above the vault of heaven and cherishing an ineffable longing for the lights there, compared with which he thinks the honours of the present life no different from darkness. For he sees rule over men as a small and short-lived oversight of a mortal and temporary life, not much better than the rule of goatherds or shepherds or cowherds (indeed he thinks it more laborious and over more troublesome flocks); and he regards the acclamations of the people and the voices of flatterers as more of a nuisance than a pleasure, because of his firm character and the genuine training of his soul. [6] Moreover, when he sees the guard of his subjects, the myriads of the armies, the slavish and obedient multitudes of heavy infantry and cavalry, he is not at all overawed, nor puffed up by his rule over them, but turns his thought to himself and sees in himself the common nature of all. He laughs at the gold-woven robe embroidered with varied flowers, the royal purple and the diadem itself, when he sees the many awestruck and treating the show as divine like little children with a bogey; he himself, feeling nothing of the sort in his soul through his knowledge of the divine, puts on the adornment that truly befits an emperor, a robe embroidered with self-control and justice and piety and the other virtues. ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 6 marks section 5.6, which the staging did not separate; it is kept here as [6]. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine regards gold and jewels as worthless though he uses them for state, and abstains from drunkenness and luxury. ### Greek text ἔτι μὴν πρὸς τούτοις τὰ τριπόθητα τοῖς πολλοῖς χρήματα, χρυσὸν λέγω καὶ ἄργυρον καὶ ὅσα λίθων θαυμάζεται γένη, λίθους ἀληθῶς ὑπάρχειν ἀνωφελεῖς καὶ ἄχρηστον ὕλην, οἷα τῇ φύσει ὄντα τυγχάνει τοιαῦτα καὶ ὄντα βλέπει, οὐδὲν πρὸς κακῶν ἀλέξημα οἷά τε ὄντα βοηθεῖν· τί γὰρ ταῦτα πρὸς νόσων ἀπαλλαγὴν ἢ θανάτου ἀποφυγὴν ἰσχύει; ὅμως δʼ οὖν, καίπερ ταῦτα εἰδώς, ἐπιστημόνως αὐτῶν τὴν χρῆσιν πρὸς εὐπρεπῆ τῶν ἀρχομένων κόσμον ἀπαθεῖ λογισμῷ διατίθεται, γελῶν τοὺς ταῦτα διὰ νηπιότητα φρενῶν ἐπτοημένους· κραιπάλης γε μὴν καὶ μέθης τῆς τε περιττῆς καρυκείας οἷα γαστριμάργοις οἰκείας ἀπέχεται, προςήκειν ἑτέροις ταῦτα ἀλλʼ οὐχ ἑαυτῷ ὑπολαμβάνων· ζημιοῦν γὰρ τὰ μεγάλα καὶ τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς νοερὸν ἀμαυροῦν τὰ τοιαῦτα πέπεισται. ### English translation (Claude) Besides this, he sees that the riches most desired by the many, gold, I mean, and silver and the kinds of stones that are admired, are truly stones, useless and unprofitable matter, as they are by nature, and of no help as a remedy against evils; for what power have they to free from disease or to escape death? Nevertheless, though he knows this, he arranges their use with understanding and dispassionate reasoning for the fitting adornment of his subjects, laughing at those excited by them through childishness of mind. From carousing and drunkenness and excessive delicacies, such as suit gluttons, he abstains, supposing that these befit others but not himself; for he is convinced that such things harm what is great and darken the mind of the soul. ### Translation notes - The text reads αὐτῦν for αὐτῶν, προςήκειν, νοςρόν (νοερόν). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 5.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/0-1/#p-5-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Taught by God, Constantine seeks the heavenly kingdom and teaches his subjects the knowledge of God. ### Greek text τούτων δὴ ἁπάντων ὁ τὰ θεῖα πεπαιδευμένος βασιλεὺς καὶ τὰ μεγάλα φρονῶν τοῦ παρόντος βίου τῶν κρειττόνων ἐφίεται, τὸν πατέρα καλῶν τὸν ἐπουράνιον καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου βασιλείαν ποθῶν, πάντα τε σὺν εὐσεβείᾳ πράττων καὶ τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτὸν ἀρχομένοις ὡς ὑπὸ διδασκάλῳ παιδευομένοις ἀγαθῷ τὴν τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως θεογνωσίαν προβαλλόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) Above all these things, the emperor taught in divine things and high-minded strives for what is better than the present life, calling on the heavenly Father and longing for his kingdom, doing everything with piety, and setting before his subjects, as pupils of a good teacher, the knowledge of the great King. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 5.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/5-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God crowns Constantine's thirty years and grants universal festivals. ### Greek text Ὁ δὲ τῶν ἀμοιβαίων τὰ ἐχέγγυα προμνώμενος τριακονταετηρικοὺς αὐτῷ διανέμει στεφάνους χρόνων ἀγαθαῖς περιόδοις ἀποτελεσθέντας, τριττούς τε ἤδη δεκάδων περιελθὼν κύκλους πανδήμους μᾶλλον δὲ κοσμικὰς ἑορτὰς πᾶσιν ἐφίησιν ἀνθρώποις ἐκτελεῖν. ### English translation (Claude) And he, providing pledges of reward, distributes to him the thirty-year crowns, completed in good periods of time; and, having now gone round three circles of decades, he allows all people to celebrate public, or rather universal, festivals. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Heaven rejoices with Constantine's thirtieth year; but the 'age' (time) as a whole cannot be grasped by human thought. ### Greek text τῶν δʼ ἐπὶ γῆς θεογνωσίας ἄνθεσι φαιδρυνομένων, οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ ἂν εἴη καὶ τὰς ἐν οὐρανῷ χορείας φύσεως νόμοις ἑλκομένας τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς συγχαίρειν, αὐτόν τε τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων βασιλέα πατρὸς ἀγαθοῦ δίκην ἐφʼ υἱοῖς ἀγαθοῖς θεοσεβοῦσιν εὐφραίνεσθαι, καὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα τὸν καθηγεμόνα καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον πολυχρονίοις γεραίρειν τιμαῖς, ὡς μὴ ἀπαρκεῖν τρεῖς ἐν δεκάσι περιόδους τῇ βασιλείᾳ, νέμειν δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπὶ μήκιστον κὰι εἰς μακρὸν παραπέμπειν αἰῶνα. 3 αἰὼν δʼ ὁ σύμπας ἀγήρως καὶ ἀτελεύτητος οὔτʼ ἀρχὴν οὔτε περιγραφὴν θνητῶν λογισμοῖς πεφυκὼς ὁρᾶσθαι, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἐκ μέσου κέντρου λαμβάνεσθαι οὐδὲ τὸ νῦν αὐτοῦ λεγόμενον ἐφιεὶς τοῖς ἐθέλουσι περιδράττεσθαι, μήτι γε τὸ μέλλον ἢ τὸ παρῳχηκὸς τοῦ χρόνου· τὸ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ δὴ παρῆλθεν, τὸ δὲ μέλλον οὔπω πάρεστιν, διὸ οὐδʼ ἔστιν, τὸ δέ γε νῦν αὐτοῦ λεγόμενον ἅμα νοήματι καὶ φωνῇ λόγου θᾶττον διαδιδράσκει. οὐκ ἔστιν δʼ ὅλως αὐτοῦ ἐπιλαβέσθαι ὡς ἑστῶτος. ἢ γὰρ μέλλοντα προσδοκᾶν ἢ παρελθόντα συνορᾶν ἀνάγκη· ἅμα γὰρ ἐννοίᾳ διολισθάνων φεύγει. οὕτως ὁ σύμπας αἰὼν οὐ φέρει θνητῶν λογισμοῖς καθυποτάττεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἀναίνεται τὴν παρὰ τούτοις δουλείαν. ### English translation (Claude) As things on earth are brightened with the flowers of the knowledge of God, it would not be off the mark to suppose that the choirs in heaven, drawn by the laws of nature, rejoice with those on earth, and that the King over all himself, like a good father over good and godly sons, is glad, and in this way above all honours the leader and cause of good things with long-lasting honours, so that three periods of decades are not enough for his reign, but he extends it to the greatest length and sends it on into a long age. [3] But the age as a whole, ageless and endless, is by nature not to be seen by mortal reasonings, either in its beginning or its limit; nor can it be grasped from the middle point; it does not even allow what is called its 'now' to be grasped by those who wish to seize it, still less the future or the past of time. For the past is not, since it has gone by; the future is not yet present, and so it too is not; and what is called its 'now' escapes faster than thought and the sound of a word. It is not possible at all to lay hold of it as standing still; one must either await it as future or look back on it as past, for it slips away and flees as soon as it is conceived. So the age as a whole does not allow itself to be subjected to mortal reasonings, but refuses to be their slave. ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 3 marks section 6.3, which the staging did not separate; it is kept here as [3]. 'Age' renders αἰών, which here means time as a whole. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God, who rules time, has divided endless time into months, seasons and years, giving form to what was formless. ### Greek text τὸν δʼ αὐτοῦ βασιλέα καὶ δεσπότην ὁμολογεῖν οὐ παραιτεῖται, φέρει δʼ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ νώτων ὀχούμενον, ἐναβρυνόμενος τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ καλλωπίσμασιν. ὁ δὲ ἄνωθεν αὐτὸν ἡνιοχῶν, οὐ σειρῇ χρυσῇ κατὰ τὸ ποιητικὸν ἐνδησάμενος, σοφίας δʼ ἀρρήτου δεσμοῖς ὥσπερ τισὶν ἡνίαις χαλινώσας, μῆνας ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ χρόνους, καιρούς τε καὶ ἐνιαυτούς, νυκτῶν τε καὶ ἡμερῶν ἀμοιβαῖα διαστήματα σὺν ἁρμονίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ κατεβάλετο, ποικίλοις αὐτὸν ὅροις καὶ μέτροις περιδήσας. ὁ μὲν γὰρ εὐθυτενὴς ὢν καὶ εἰς ἄπειρον ἐκτεινόμενος, τήν τε τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐπηγορίαν ὥσπερ ἀεὶ ὤν εἰληφώς, αὐτός τε αὐτοῦ ὢν τοῖς μέρεσιν ἐμφερής, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀμερὴς ὤν καὶ ἀδιάστος, εἰς μόνην εὐθεῖαν μηκυνόμενος αὔξει· ὁ δὲ μέσοις αὐτὸν διαλαβὼν τμήμασι καὶ ὥσπερ εὐθεῖαν γραμμὴν εἰς μῆκος τεταμένην διελὼν κέντροις πολὺ πλῆθος ἐν αὐτῷ κατεβάλετο, ἕνα τε ὄντα καὶ μονάδι παρεικασμένον παντοίοις κατεδήσατο ἀριθμοῖς, πολύμορφον ἐξ ἀμόρφου τὴν ἐν αὐτῷ ποικιλίαν ὑποστησάμενος. ### English translation (Claude) Yet it does not refuse to acknowledge its own King and Master, but carries him riding on its back, priding itself on the ornaments from him. He drives it from above, not binding it 'with a golden chain,' as the poet says, but bridling it with bonds of ineffable wisdom as with reins; and he laid down in it months and times, seasons and years, and the alternating intervals of nights and days, with all harmony, binding it with various limits and measures. For it, being straight and stretched out to infinity, having taken the name of 'age' as being 'ever,' and alike to itself in its parts, or rather without parts and without intervals, grows lengthening only in a straight line. But he, dividing it by intermediate sections and, as it were, dividing by points a straight line stretched in length, laid down in it a great multitude; and though it is one and like the unit, he bound it with numbers of every kind, establishing in it a manifold variety out of the formless. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:14: echo, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Il. 8.19 (Homer, Iliad): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'With a golden chain' alludes to Homer, Il. 8.19. 'Age' (αἰών) is derived from ἀεὶ ὤν ('ever being'), a common etymology. The text reads ἀδιάστος for ἀδιάστατος. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius describes creation in numerical terms: matter, quality, body, the four elements, the decad, the month and the year. ### Greek text μίαν μὲν γὰρ πρώτιστα πάντων ἐν αὐτῷ τὴν ἄμορφον ὕλην ὥσπερ τινὰ πάνδοχον οὐσίαν ὑφίστη, δεύτερον δʼ ἐν ὕλῃ ποιότητα δυνάμει δυάδος εἶδος ἐξ ἀειδοῦς ἀπεργαζόμενος ἐποίει, τριάδος δʼ ἀριθμῷ τριχῆ διαστατόν, εἴς τε πλάτος καὶ μῆκος καὶ βάθος, σύνθετον ἐξ ὕλης καὶ εἴδους σῶμα κατειργάζετο. διττῆς δʼ ἐκ δυάδος τὴν τῶν στοιχείων τετρακτὺν ἐπινοήσας, γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ, πηγὰς ἀενάους εἰς τὴν τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς προὐβάλετο χορηγίαν. τετρακτὺς δὲ γεννᾷ δεκάδα· ἕν γὰρ δύο τρία τέσσαρα τὸν δέκα συντελοῦσιν ἀριθμόν. τριὰς δὲ συμπλακεῖσα δεκάτῃ μηνὸς ἀνεῦρε φύσιν, μὴν δὲ τροπαῖς δώδεκα ἡλίου περίοδον ἐπλήρου, ἔνθεν ἐνιαυτῶν κύκλοι καιρῶν τε μεταβολαὶ τὸν ἄμορφον καὶ ἀνείδεον αἰῶνα, ὥσπερ ἐν ποικιλίᾳ γραφῆς πολυανθοῦς, ἐμόρφουν εἰς ἀνάπαυλαν καὶ θυμηδίαν τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ τὸν τῆς ζωῆς διϊππευόντων δρόμον. ### English translation (Claude) For first of all he established in it formless matter, as a substance that receives all things. Second, he made in matter quality, by the power of the dyad, producing form out of the formless. By the number of the triad he produced body, extended in three directions, in breadth, length and depth, composed of matter and form. From the double dyad he devised the tetrad of the elements, earth, water, air, fire, and put them forth as ever-flowing springs for the supply of this universe. The tetrad generates the decad, for one, two, three and four make up the number ten. The triad, combined with the decad, found the nature of the month; and the month in twelve turns completed the sun's circuit. From this the cycles of years and the changes of seasons gave form to the formless and shapeless age, as in a varied painting full of flowers, for the rest and delight of those who run the race of life in it. ### Translation notes - Pythagorean number symbolism (monad, dyad, triad, tetrad, decad), used by Eusebius to celebrate the thirtieth year. The digital text repeats αἰῶνα; the repetition is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God gives time measured intervals, adorns day and night with sun, moon and stars, and sets earth in the midst surrounded by the sea. ### Greek text ὡς γὰρ καὶ τοῖς ἐπʼ ἐλπίδι βραβείων ἐν ἀγῶνι τοὺς δρόμους διεφανύουσι σταδίοις ὥρισται τὰ διαστήματα, τοῖς τε μακρὰς πορείας ὁδοιποροῦσι σταθμοῖς τισι καὶ σημείοις περιγράφεται ἡ λεωφόρος, ὡς ἂν μὴ εἰς ἄπειρόν τις τὴν προσδοκίαν ἐκτείνων ἀποκάμοι τὴν προθυμίαν, τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ τρόπον καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα αἰῶνα σοφίας θεσμοῖς ὁ τῶν ὅλων βασιλεὺς περιβαλὼν ἄγει καὶ φέρει, ποικίλως ἡνιοχῶν ᾗ καλῶς ἔχειν αὐτῷ καταφαίνεται. ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς χρώμασιν ὡραίοις καὶ νεαροῖς ἄνθεσι τὸν πρὶν ἀσχημάτιστον ἀμφιεννὺς αἰῶνα, λευκὴν μὲν ἐφαίδρυνεν ἡμέραν ἡλίῳ, νύκτα δʼ ὑποστρώσας μελαντέρῳ χρώματι ὥσπερ τινὰ χρυσοϋφῆ ψήγματα στίλβειν ἐν αὐτῇ τὰς τῶν ἀστέρων λαμπηδόνας ἐποίησε, φωσφόρου δʼ ἐξάψας λαμπρὰς ἀκτῖνας σελήνης τε ποικίλα φέγγη ἄστρων τε συνόδους πολυαυγεῖς τὸν σύμπαντα οὐρανὸν οἷον μέγαν πέπλον παντοίοις γραφῆς κάλλεσιν ἐστεφάνου. ἀέρα δʼ ἐκτείνας εἰς βάθος ἄνωθεν ἐξ ὕφους, πλάτη τε καὶ μήκη τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου τῇ τούτου ψυχώσας δυνάμει, πτηνοῖς ἅπασιν ἀνῆκε μορφοῦσθαι, τοῖς διʼ ἀέρος φερομένοις ἀφανέσι τε καὶ ὁρωμένοις μέγα πέλαγος ἐξαπλώσας διανήχεσθαι. γῆν δʼ ἐν μέσῳ κέντρου δίκην σταθμηςάμενος, ὠκεανῷ ταύτην περιέβαλε σμαραγεῖ τε πόντος ἐπʼ αὐτῇ, τῷ τῆς περιβολῆς κυανῷ χρώματι καλλωπιζομένην. ### English translation (Claude) For as for those who run races in a contest in hope of prizes the distances are marked off by stades, and for those who travel long journeys the highway is marked off by stations and milestones, so that no one, stretching his expectation to infinity, may grow weary in his eagerness, in the same way the King of all, enclosing the whole age by laws of wisdom, leads and carries it, driving it in varied ways as seems good to him. He himself, clothing the age, formerly shapeless, with beautiful colours and fresh flowers, brightened the white day with the sun; and spreading night beneath in a darker colour, he made the gleams of the stars glitter in it like gold-woven spangles. Kindling the bright rays of the morning star and the varied lights of the moon and the brilliant conjunctions of the stars, he crowned the whole heaven like a great robe with every beauty of painting. Stretching the air in depth from on high, and animating by its power the breadth and length of the whole world, he let it be shaped by all winged creatures, spreading a great sea for the invisible and visible beings borne through the air to swim through. Setting the earth in the middle like a centre, he surrounded it with ocean, and the sea roars upon it, adorned with the dark blue colour of its surrounding. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:14–18: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The text reads διεφανύουσι (διανύουσι), φέρρει, σταθμηςάμενος, σμαραγεῖ τε πόντος (probably σμαραγεῖν τε πόντον); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God made the earth fruitful and created man in his image, giving him rule over creatures, knowledge, and the knowledge of God. ### Greek text ταύτην δʼ ἑστίαν καὶ μητέρα καὶ τιθήνην ζώων ἁπάντων τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ καταδείξας ὀμβρίοις τε καὶ πηγαίοις νάμασιν ἀρδεύσας, χλοάζειν παντοίοις καὶ φυτοῖς καὶ ὡραίοις ἄνθεσιν εἰς εὔθυμον ζωῆς ἀπόλαυσιν ἐδωρήσατο. ζώων δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ τὸ τιμιώτατον καὶ αὐτῷ φίλον κατʼ εἰκόνα τὴν αὐτοῦ πλασάμενος, νοῦ καὶ ἐπιστήμης ἐπήβολον, λόγου τε καὶ σοφίας ἔκγονον, λογικὸν ἄνθρωπον, τῶν λοιπῶν ὅσα κατὰ γῆν ἕρπει καὶ νέμεται ἀρχικῇ δυνάμει κρατεῖν τούτῳ ἔδωκεν. ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ ζώων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς τὸ θεοφιλέστατον, ᾧ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀλόγων γένη δουλεύειν οἷα πατὴρ παραδέδωκεν, ἄνθρωπος, ᾧ καὶ θάλατταν πλωτὴν ἀνῆκε καὶ γῆν παντοίοις φυτοῖς ἐστεφάνωσεν, ᾧ καὶ τὰ ἐν βυθοῖς ἕρποντα πτηνῶν τε τὰ μετάρσια ὑποχείρια πεποίηται, ᾧ καὶ δυνάμεις ἐπιστημονικὰς εἰς παντοίων μαθημάτων ὑποδοχὴν ἐδωρήσατο, ᾧ καὶ τὰς οὐρανίους ἐξεκάλυψε θεωρίας, δρόμους ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης τροπὰς περιόδους τε πλανήτων καὶ ἀπλανῶν ἀστέρων ἐκφήνας, ἄνθρωπος, ᾧ μόνῳ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς τὸν πατέρα γινώσκειν τὸν ἐπουράνιον καὶ τὸν μέγαν τοῦ σύμπαντος αἰῶνος βασιλέα γεραίρειν ὕμνοις διετάξατο. ### English translation (Claude) Showing it to be the hearth and mother and nurse of all living things on it, and watering it with rain and spring water, he granted it to grow green with plants of every kind and lovely flowers for the cheerful enjoyment of life. Of living things on it he fashioned the most honoured and dear to himself after his own image, capable of mind and knowledge, offspring of reason and wisdom, rational man, and gave him power to rule over the rest that creep and graze on earth. For man was to him the most God-loving of the living things on earth: man, to whom as a father he has handed over the races of irrational animals to serve; man, for whom he opened the sea to sailing and crowned the earth with plants of every kind; to whom he made subject the creatures that creep in the depths and the birds on high; to whom he granted powers of knowledge for receiving every kind of learning; to whom he revealed the contemplation of heaven, showing the courses of the sun, the phases of the moon, the periods of the planets and the fixed stars; man, to whom alone of things on earth he appointed to know the heavenly Father and to honour with hymns the great King of the whole age. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:26–28: allusion, high confidence - Ps 8:6–8 (8:7-Ps LXX): echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 1:26–28 and Ps 8:6–8 underlie the passage. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God orders time by the four seasons. ### Greek text ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἅπασιν ὁ κοσμοποιὸς τέτταρσιν ἐνιαυτοῦ τροπαῖς τὸν ἄτρετον αἰῶνα περιεζώννυ, χειμερίους μὲν ὥρας ἔαρι περιγράψας, ἔαρ δέ, ἐνιαυσίων ὡρῶν ἀρχήν, ἰσορρόποις ταλαντεύσας ζυγοῖς, κἄπειτα ἔαρος πολυκαρπίᾳ τὸν σύμπαντα στεφανώσας αἰῶνα, θέρους ἀκμῇ τοῦτον μεταπαραδέδωκεν, εἶθʼ οἷα καμάτου διαναπαύσας ἀνεκτήσατο μετοπωρινῷ διαστήματι, ὑγραῖς τʼ αὐτὸν ὄμβρων χειμερίων φοραῖς ὥσπερ τινὰ βασιλικὸν ἀποσμήχων ἵππον καὶ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ νάμασι λαμπρὸν ἀπεργαζόμενος, τοῖς τʼ ἐξ ὑετῶν αὐτάρκως πιάνας ἀρδεύμασιν, αὖθις αὐτὸν ἔαρος ἐν προθύροις ἵστησι πύλαις. ### English translation (Claude) Besides all this, the maker of the world girded the unchanging age with the four turns of the year: bounding the wintry season by spring, and weighing spring, the beginning of the yearly seasons, in balanced scales; then, crowning the whole age with the abundant fruit of spring, he handed it over to the height of summer; then, as though resting it from its toil, he restored it in the autumnal interval; and with the wet showers of winter rains, washing it down like a royal horse and making it bright with their streams, and fattening it sufficiently with the waterings of the rains, he stands it again at the threshold of spring. ### Translation notes - The text reads ἄτρετον (ἄτρεπτον), ἐνιαυςίων, τὰον. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God handed the governance of the universe to his only-begotten Word, who teaches a blessed life beyond this age and a judgment according to deeds. ### Greek text ἐνθένδε δὴ ἐν τῷ τοῦ παντὸς ἐνιαυτοῦ κύκλῳ τοιαῖσδε σοφίας ἡνίαις ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς ὧδε περιδηςάμενος τὸν αὐτοῦ αἰῶνα, ὑπὸ μείονι φέρεσθαι διετάξατο κυβερνήτῃ, τῷ αὐτοῦ μονογενεῖ λόγῳ, τῷ δὴ κοινῷ τῶν ὅλων σωτῆρι, τὰς τοῦ παντὸς παραδοὺς ἡνίας. ὁ δʼ οἷα παρὰ πατρὸς ἀγαθοῦ τὸν κλῆρον ὑποδεδεγμένος, ὁμοῦ τε πάντα ὅσα κύτος οὐρανοῦ εἴσω τε καὶ ἐκτὸς αὐτοῦ περιλαβὼν ἔχει μιᾷ συνδηςάμενος ἁρμονίᾳ, εὐθείᾳ περαίνει, σὺν δίκῃ τὰ πρόσφορα τοῖς κατὰ γῆν αὐτοῦ λογικοῖς θρέμμασιν ἐπισκοπούμενος. μέτρα τε ζωῆς τοῖς τὸν θνητὸν διανύουσι βίον διαθεσμοθετήσας, προμελετᾶν ἐν τῷδε τὰ προοίμια τῆς ὑπὲρ τὸν νῦν αἰῶνα ζωῆς ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις συγκεχώρηκεν· εἶναι γάρ, εἶναι καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸν παρόντα αἰῶνα θείαν καὶ μακαρίαν ζωήν, ἥν τοῖς εὖ διηγωνισμένοις ἐν ἀγαθῶν ἐλπίσι τεταμιεῦσθαι ἐδίδαξεν, καὶ ἐν.. τοῖς μὲν σωφρόνως καὶ εὐσεβῶς βεβιωκόσιν τὴν ἐνθένδε ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττω μετάβαςίν τε καὶ μετοικίαν γενήσεσθαι, τοῖς δὲ ἐληλεγμένοις ἐν τῷδε χῶρον ἀπονεῖμαι τὸν προςήκοντα. ### English translation (Claude) So, having bound his age in the circle of the whole year with such reins of wisdom, the great King appointed it to be carried under a lesser helmsman, his only-begotten Word, the common Saviour of all, handing over to him the reins of the universe. And he, as having received the inheritance from a good Father, holding together all that the vault of heaven encloses within and without, binding them in one harmony, brings them to completion in a straight course, overseeing with justice what is fitting for his rational flocks on earth. Having appointed measures of life for those who pass through mortal life, he has granted all people to practise beforehand here the preludes of the life beyond the present age. For he taught that there is, there is indeed, beyond the present age a divine and blessed life, stored up in good hopes for those who have contended well; and that for those who have lived soberly and piously the passage and removal from here to better things will come, while for those convicted here he will assign the place they deserve. ### Scripture references - Titus 2:12: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'A lesser helmsman' renders the printed μείονι κυβερνήτῃ (a reading μείζονι, 'greater', would also fit the context); translated as printed. The digital text repeats 'the great King'; the repetition is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God rewards the virtuous; for the pious emperor greater rewards are prepared, foreshadowed by this festival of perfect numbers. ### Greek text εἶθʼ ὡς ἐν ἀγῶνος ἄθλοις παντοίους τοῖς νενικηκόσιν ἀναγορεύσας στεφάνους, ἄλλους ἐφʼ ἑτέροις.. ἀρετῶν βραβείοις στεφανοῖ, βασιλεῖ δʼ ἀγαθῷ θεοσεβείᾳ κοσμησαμένῳ μείζονα προητοιμάσθαι κηρύττει τῶν ἐπάθλων τὰ γέρα, ὧν τοῖς προοιμίοις ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη πανηγυρίζειν δίδωσιν, ἑορτῇ τελείων ἐξ ἀριθμῶν συγκειμένῃ, δεκάδων τριάδων μονάδων τε τριπλασιόνων, ### English translation (Claude) Then, as in the prizes of a contest, he proclaims crowns of every kind for the victors, and crowns some with one prize of virtue, others with another; and for a good emperor adorned with godliness he proclaims that greater honours of reward have been prepared, whose preludes he grants him to celebrate already here, in a festival composed of perfect numbers, of decades, triads, and threefold units, ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 4:8: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 6.11. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The monad, mother of numbers and unchanging, images the indivisible divine substance. ### Greek text ὧν ἡ μὲν πρώτη τριὰς μονάδος ἂν γένοιτο ἔκγονος, μονὰς δὲ μήτηρ ἀριθμῶν, μηνῶν ἁπάντων καὶ ὡρῶν καὶ ἐνιαυτῶν πάσης τε χρόνων περιόδου πρεσβεύουσα, ἤδη καὶ παντὸς πλήθους ἀρχὴ καταβολὴ τε καὶ στοιχεῖον εἰκότως ἄν ῥηθείη, μονὰς παρὰ τὸ μένειν ὠνομασμένη, ὅτι δή, μειουμένου καὶ αὐξομένου παντὸς πλήθους κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἀριθμῶν ὑφαίρεςίν τε καὶ προσθήκην, μόνη μονὰς στάσιν καὶ μονὴν εἴληφε, μεμονωμένη πληθύος ἁπάσης καὶ τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς γεννωμένων ἀριθμῶν, φέρουςά τε εἰκόνα τῆς ἀμερίστου καὶ διακεκριμένης τῶν ἄλλων οὐσίας, ἧς δυνάμει καὶ μετοχῇ ἡ τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων συνέστηκε φύσις. ### English translation (Claude) of which the first, the triad, would be the offspring of the monad; and the monad is the mother of numbers, the eldest of all months, seasons and years and of every period of time; it might fittingly be called also the beginning, foundation and element of every multitude. The monad is named from 'remaining' (menein), because, while every multitude decreases and increases by subtraction and addition of numbers, the monad alone has received stability and permanence, isolated from all multitude and from the numbers generated from it, and bearing the image of the indivisible substance, distinct from all others, by whose power and participation the nature of all things exists. ### Translation notes - The text reads ἀριθ μῶν, ὑφαίρεςιν, φέρουςα. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The monad produces all numbers yet stands above them. ### Greek text μονὰς γὰρ παντὸς δημιουργὸς ἀριθμοῦ, ἐπείπερ κατὰ σύνθεσιν καὶ προσθήκην μονάδων πᾶν πλῆθος κρατύνεται, οὐδʼ ἔστιν ἄλλως δίχα μονάδος οὐσίαν ἀριθμῶν ἐπινοῆσαι· αὕτη δʼ ἐκτὸς ἂν εἴη πλήθους πορρωτάτω τε καὶ κρείττων ἀριθμοῦ παντός, πάντα ποιοῦσα καὶ ὑφισταμένη, τεινομένη δὲ ὑπʼ οὐδενὸς πώποτε. ### English translation (Claude) For the monad is the creator of every number, since every multitude is established by composition and addition of units, and it is not possible otherwise to conceive the being of numbers without the monad. But it would itself be outside multitude, very far removed and superior to every number, making and establishing all, but itself never extended by any. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The number three, image of equality and justice, mirrors the holy and royal Trinity, which holds the causes of all created things. ### Greek text τριὰς δὲ ταύτῃ συγγενής, ἄσχιστος ὡσαύτως καὶ ἀδιαίρετος, καὶ πρώτη τῶν ἐξ ἀρτίων καὶ περιττῶν ἀριθμῶν συνεσταμένων· ἄρτιος γὰρ ὁ δύο μονάδα προσλαβὼν τριάδος πρώτην περιττὴν ἐγέννησε φύσιν. πρώτη δὲ τριὰς δικαιοσύνην ἀνέδειξεν ἰσότητος καθηγησαμένη, ὡς ἂν ἀρχὴν καὶ μεσότητα καὶ τελευτὴν ἴσην ἀπολαβοῦσα. εἰκὼν δὲ ταῦτα μυστικῆς καὶ παναγίας καὶ βασιλικῆς τριάδος, ἥ τῆς ἀνάρχου καὶ ἀγεννήτου φύσεως ἠρτημένη τῆς τῶν γεννητῶν ἁπάντων οὐσίας τὰ σπέρματα καὶ τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰς αἰτίας ἀπείληφεν. ### English translation (Claude) The triad is akin to it, likewise unsplit and indivisible, and the first of the numbers made up of even and odd; for the even number two, taking in a unit, produced the triad, the first odd nature. The triad first showed justice, leading the way in equality, as having received an equal beginning, middle and end. These things are an image of the mystical, all-holy and royal Triad, which, dependent on the unoriginated and unbegotten nature, has received the seeds and reasons and causes of the substance of all begotten things. ### Translation notes - Eusebius's description of the Triad as 'dependent on the unoriginated and unbegotten nature' is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-14 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The decad, limit of numbers, is full and perfect. ### Greek text καὶ τριάδος μὲν δύναμις ἄρα παντὸς εἰκότως ἂν ἀρχὴ νομισθείη. δεκὰς δὲ τὸ πάντων ἀριθμῶν πέρας ἀπολαβοῦσα μέχρις αὐτῆς τὸ πᾶν ἵστησιν, πλήρης καὶ παντέλειος ὠνομασμένη εἰκότως, ἅτε δὴ πάσας ἰδέας καὶ πάντα μέτρα πάντων ἀριθμῶν λόγων τε καὶ συμφωνιῶν καὶ ἁρμονιῶν περιέχουσα. μονάδες γοῦν αὐξηθεῖσαι κατὰ σύνθεσιν τοῖς δέκα περιορίζονται· μητέρα ταύτην καὶ πηξαι ὅρον τε καὶ περιγραφὴν κτηςάμεναι ὥσπερ ἐν περιδρόμῳ καμπτῆρα περιθέουσιν. ### English translation (Claude) So the power of the triad might fittingly be thought the beginning of all. And the decad, having received the limit of all numbers, sets the whole within itself, fittingly called full and all-perfect, since it contains all forms and all measures of all numbers, ratios, concords and harmonies. Units, then, increased by composition, are bounded by ten; having it as mother and source, limit and boundary, they run around it as around the turning-post in a race. ### Translation notes - The text reads πηξαι (πηγήν, 'source') and κτηςάμεναι; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.14 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-14). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-15 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Numbers advance through tens and hundreds and return in cycles. ### Greek text εἶτα κύκλον ἐργασάμεναι δεύτερον καὶ πάλιν τρίτον καὶ τέταρτον καὶ μέχρι τῶν δέκα τὸν ἑκατὸν ἐκ δεκάδων δέκα πληροῦσι, κἄπειτα ἐπὶ τὴν πρώτην ἀνατρέχουσιν ἀφετηρίαν, κἀντεῦθεν πάλιν ἀρξάμεναι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν δέκα προελθοῦσαι δεκάκις τε τὸν ἑκατὸν ἀμφιδραμοῦσαι, παλίσσυτοι διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν καμπτήρων μακροὺς δολιχεύουσι διαύλους ἐξ αὐτῶν εἰς ἑαυτὰς ἀνακυκλούμεναι. ### English translation (Claude) Then, completing a second circuit, and again a third and fourth, up to ten, they make up a hundred from ten tens; then they run back to the first starting line, and beginning again from there and advancing to ten, and running round the hundred ten times, they turn back through the same turning-posts and run long double courses, circling back from themselves into themselves. ### Translation notes - The digital text repeats διαύουσι; the repetition is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.15 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-15). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-16 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Three combined with ten makes thirty, the most natural number. ### Greek text τῶν γοῦν δέκα τὸ δέκατον μονάς· δέκα δὲ μονάδες μίαν ἀποφαίνουσι δεκάδα· δεκὰς δὲ πέρας μονάδων, ὅρος καὶ καμπτὴρ ἁποκαταστατικός, καμπτὴρ μὲν τῆς ἀπειρίας τῶν ἀριθμῶν ὅρος δὲ καὶ τέλος μονάδων, ὁμοῦ δὲ τριὰς δεκάδι συμπλακεῖσα τρίτον τε περιελθοῦσα τὴν τῶν δέκα κύκλων περίοδον φυσικώτατον ἀριθμὸν γεννᾷ τὸν τριάκοντα· ὅ γὰρ ἐν μονάσι τριάς, τοῦτο ἐν δεκάσι τριακοντάς. ### English translation (Claude) Of the ten, the tenth part is the unit; ten units make one decad; the decad is the limit of units, a boundary and turning-post that brings back: a turning-post for the infinity of numbers, a boundary and end of units. Together, the triad combined with the decad, and going round the circuit of ten cycles three times, produces the most natural number, thirty: for what the triad is among units, the thirty is among tens. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.16 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-16). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-17 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Thirty is the length of the lunar month. ### Greek text ὅρος τε πάγιος οὗτος τοῦ δευτέρου μεθʼ ἥλιον μεγάλου φωστῆρος· σελήνης γοῦν περίοδος ἀπὸ συνόδου ἐπὶ σύνοδον μηνὸς κύκλον ἀπειργάζετο, μεθʼ ὅν αὖθις ἀρχὴν γενέσεως ἀπολαβοῦσα νέου φωτὸς καὶ νέων ἡμερῶν ἀπάρχεται, τριάκοντα μὲν κοσμηθεῖσα μονάσι, τρισὶ δὲ τιμηθεῖσα δεκάσι, δέκα δὲ τριάσι φαιδρυνθεῖσα. ### English translation (Claude) This is also the fixed limit of the second great luminary after the sun; for the moon's period from conjunction to conjunction completes the cycle of a month, after which, receiving again the beginning of its birth, it begins new light and new days, adorned with thirty units, honoured with three decads, and brightened by ten triads. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.17 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-17). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-18 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine's thirtieth year foreshadows the good things of the heavenly kingdom, full of lights brighter than the sun. ### Greek text τούτοις αὐτοῖς τὰ τῆς κοσμοκρατορικῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ νικητοῦ βασιλέως πρὸς τοῦ πάντων ἀγαθῶν δοτῆρος τετιμημένα νέων ἀρχῆς ἀγαθῶν ἐπιλαμβάνεται, τέως μὲν τριακονταετηρικὰς ἑορτὰς ἀποπληροῦντα, ἤδη δʼ ἐντεῦθεν μακροτέρων ἐφαπτόμενα διαστημάτων προμνώμενά τε μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν ἐλπίδας ἐν οὐρανίῳ βασιλείᾳ ἔνθα στρατιαὶ φώτων ἀπείρων ἀμφὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα χορεύουσιν, οὐχ ἑνὸς ἡλίου, πάντων δʼ αὐτόθι τὰ φῶτα ἡλίου κρείττονα ἐπαγομένων φαιδρυνομένων τε καὶ ἀποστιλβόντων τῇ αἴγλῃ τῶν τῆς ἀιδίου πηγῆς μαρμαρυγῶν, ### English translation (Claude) In these same numbers the reign of the victorious emperor over the world, honoured by the giver of all good things, takes up a beginning of new good things: until now completing thirty-year festivals, but from now on reaching to longer intervals, and foreshadowing hopes of future good things in the heavenly kingdom, where armies of countless lights dance around the King of all; not of one sun, but all the lights there bringing a light better than the sun, brightened and glittering with the splendour of the gleams from the eternal source, ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 6.19. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.18 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-18). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-19 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In heaven life is endless and free of grief, lit not by sun or moon but by the Word himself. ### Greek text ἔνθα ζωὴ ψυχῆς ἐν ἀγαθῶν ἀκηράτοις κάλλεσιν, ἔνθα βίος πάσης ἐκτὸς ἀχθηδόνος, ἔνθα σώφρονος καὶ παναγίας ἡδονῆς ἀπόλαυσις, καὶ χρόνος ἄχρονος ὁ μακραίων καὶ ἀτελεύτητος, εἰς ἀπερίγραφον τέλος μηκυνόμενος, οὐκέθʼ ἡμερῶν καὶ μηνῶν διαστήμασιν οὐδʼ ἐνιαυτῶν κύκλοις καιρῶν τε καὶ χρόνων περιόδοις ἀναμετρούμενος, μιᾷ δʼ εἰς ἄπειρον ἐκτεινομένῃ ζωῇ διαρκῶν, οὐχ ὑφʼ ἡλίου φωτιζομένῃ οὐδʼ ἀστέρων πλήθει καὶ σελήνης αὐγαῖς καταλαμπομένῃ, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν ἐχούσῃ φωστῆρα τὸν θεὸν λόγον, τὸν μονογενῆ παῖδα τοῦ παμβασιλέως. ### English translation (Claude) where the life of the soul is in the pure beauties of good things; where life is free of all grief; where there is enjoyment of chaste and all-holy pleasure; and time without time, of long ages and endless, stretched to an unbounded end, no longer measured by intervals of days and months, nor by cycles of years and periods of seasons and times, but continuing in one life extended to infinity, not lit by the sun nor illumined by the multitude of stars and the rays of the moon, but having as its luminary God the Word himself, the only-begotten Son of the King of all. ### Scripture references - Rev 21:23: allusion, high confidence - Rev 22:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The light of the Word in place of sun and moon echoes Rev 21:23 and 22:5. 'Son' renders παῖδα. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.19 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-19). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-20 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture calls the Word the Sun of righteousness, who will receive pious souls into himself. ### Greek text παρὸ καὶ ἥλιον αὐτὸν δικαιοσύνης καὶ φῶς ἐπέκεινα φώτων ἁπάντων λόγων ἀπόρρητοι μυοῦσι θεολογίαι, τοῦτον δʼ αὐτὸν δικαιοςύνης ἀκτῖσι σοφίας τε αὐγαῖς τὰς παμμακαρίας καταλάμπειν δυνάμεις, τάς τε εὐσεβείᾳ παρεσκευασμένας ψυχὰς ἀντὶ τῆς οὐρανίου περιφερείας τοῖς αὐτοῦ κόλποις ἀπολαβόντα τῶν οἰκείων ἐπαγγελιῶν ἔργοις πιστοῦσθαι τὰς ὑποσχέσεις. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore the secret theologies of the sacred words initiate us into calling him the Sun of righteousness and a light beyond all lights; and teach that he illumines the all-blessed powers with rays of righteousness and gleams of wisdom, and that, receiving into his own bosom, instead of the heavenly sphere, the souls prepared by godliness, he confirms by deeds the promises of his own pledges. ### Scripture references - Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Sun of righteousness' is Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.20 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-20). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 6.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-6-21 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: What God has prepared for the pious is beyond knowing; Constantine, shown Christ's saving sign, has used it to conquer enemies and demons. ### Greek text θνητῶν δʼ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν, οὐδὲ ἀκοή τις διέγνω, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νοῦς σάρκα ἠμφιεσμένος οἷός τε ἂν εἴη διαθρῆσαι ἅ τοῖς εὐσεβείᾳ διακοσμησαμένοις προητοίμασται, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ σοί, βασιλεῦ θεοσεβέστατε, ᾧ μόνῳ τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος ἐντεῦθεν ἤδη τὸν ἀνθρώπειον ἀποκαθᾶραι βίον αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων παμβασιλεὺς θεὸς ἐδωρήσατο, ᾧ καὶ τὸ αὐτοῦ σωτήριον ἀνέδειξε σημεῖον, διʼ οὗ τὸν θάνατον καταγωνισάμενος τὸν κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἤγειρε θρίαμβον· ὅ δὴ νικητικὸν τρόπαιον, δαιμόνων ἀποτρόπαιον, τοῖς τῆς πλάνης ἰνδάλμασιν ἀντιπαρατάξας τὰς κατὰ πάντων ἀθέων πολεμίων τε καὶ βαρβάρων ἤδη δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν δαιμόνων, ἄλλων τουτωνὶ βαρβάρων, ἤρατο νίκας. ### English translation (Claude) "The eye of mortals has not seen, nor has any ear perceived," nor could a mind clothed in flesh discern "what has been prepared" for those adorned with godliness, as also for you, most godly emperor, to whom alone of all from the beginning God himself, the King of all, has granted to purify human life already here; to whom he also showed his own saving sign, through which he overcame death and raised the triumph over his enemies. Setting this victorious trophy, which averts the demons, against the idols of error, you have won victories over all godless enemies and barbarians, and now over the demons themselves, those other barbarians. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 2:9: quotation, high confidence - Isa 64:4: echo, low confidence - Col 2:15: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 1.28-31 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Adapted from 1 Cor 2:9 (compare Isa 64:4). 'His own saving sign' is the cross, which Constantine saw in his vision (Eusebius, Life of Constantine 1.28–31). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 6.21 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-21). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Humans, made of body and soul, faced two enemies: visible barbarians and invisible demons. ### Greek text Δυεῖν γάρ τοι φύσεων ἐν ἡμῖν συμπελεγμένων, ψυχῆς λέγω καὶ σώματος, καὶ τοῦ μὲν ὁρωμένου τοῖς πᾶσι τοῦ δʼ ἀφανοῦς καθεστῶτος, δύο τούτοις ἐναντία βάρβαρα καὶ πολέμια γένη, τὸ μὲν ἀφανῶς τὸ δʼ ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς παρετάττετο. καὶ τὸ μὲν σώματα σώμασι προβεβλημένον, τὸ δʼ ἀσωμάτοις παντευχίαις γυμνὴν αὐτὴν ἐπολιόρκει τὴν ἀνθρώπου ψυχήν. ### English translation (Claude) For since two natures are woven together in us, soul, I mean, and body, the one visible to all and the other invisible, two barbarous and hostile races were drawn up against these, the one invisibly, the other openly. The one set bodies against bodies; the other, with incorporeal weapons, besieged the naked human soul itself. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Barbarians ravaged the empire while demons enslaved humanity to polytheism, pushing aside the true God. ### Greek text εἶθʼ οἱ μὲν ὁρατοὶ βάρβαροι, νομάδες τινὲς ἄγριοι θηρῶν οὐδὲν διαφέροντες, ἐπὶ τὰς ἡμέρους τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφοίτων ἀγέλας, χώρας δῃοῦντες, πόλεις ἐξανδραποδιζόμενοι, λύκων ἀπηνῶν δίκην ἐκ τῆς ἐρήμης τοῖς κατὰ πόλιν ἐπιόντες, κἄπειτα λυμαινόμενοι ὅσοις ἄν δύναιντο οἱ δʼ ἀφανεῖς ἐχθροί, ψυχοφθόροι δαίμονες, οἳ δὴ βαρβάρων ἁπάντων ἀπηνέστεροι, ἀμφὶ τὸν ἀέρα τόνδε ποτώμενοι πᾶν τὸ θνητὸν γένος μηχαναῖς πολυθέου κακίας ἐξηνδραποδίζοντο, ὡς μηκέτʼ αὐτοῖς εἶναι θεὸν τὸν ἀληθῆ θεὸν ἀλλά τινα πολὺν καὶ ἄθεον πλάνον· τοὺς γὰρ μηδαμῆ μηδαμῶς ὄντας οὐκ οἶδʼ ὁπόθεν παραγαγόντες, τὸν ὄντα καὶ μόνον ἀληθῶς ὄντα ὡς οὐκ ὄντα πάρεργον ἐποιήσαντο. ### English translation (Claude) Then the visible barbarians, savage nomads no different from wild beasts, attacked the tame flocks of humanity, ravaging lands and enslaving cities, falling like cruel wolves from the desert on those in the cities and destroying whomever they could. And the invisible enemies, soul-destroying demons, more cruel than all barbarians, flying about this air, enslaved the whole mortal race by the devices of polytheistic wickedness, so that for them the true God was no longer God, but a manifold and godless error. For, bringing in from I know not where beings that in no way at all exist, they made the One who is, and alone truly is, into a side issue, as though he were not. ### Scripture references - Eph 2:2: echo, low confidence ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagans deified generation (Aphrodite) and death (Pluto) and, expecting no judgment, lived wickedly. ### Greek text ἔνθεν αὐτοῖς ἡ τῶν σωμάτων γένεσις ἐνομίσθη θεός, καὶ πάλιν ἄλλος ἐναντίος τούτῳ θεός, ἡ τῶν αὐτῶν διαφθορὰ τε καὶ λύσις. ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν πρῶτος αὐτοῖς ὡς ἄν γενέσεως ἀρχηγὸς Ἀφροδίτης ὀργίοις ἐτιμᾶτο, ὁ δὲ δεύτερος ὡς ἄν πολὺς καὶ τοῦ θνητοῦ κατισχύων γένους Πλούτων καὶ Θάνατος ὠνομάζετο. ὡς γὰρ μὴ ἑτέραν ἤ τὴν διὰ γενέσεως ζωὴν εἰδότες οἱ τότʼ ἄνθρωποι τὴν ταύτης αἰτίαν γένεσιν θεὸν εἶναι ἀπέφαινον· καὶ ὡς μηκέτʼ ὄντες μετὰ θάνατον νικητὴν ἁπάντων καὶ μέγαν θεὸν τὸν Θάνατον ἀνηγόρευον· εἶθʼ ὡς εὐθύναις οὐθαμῶς ὑποκείμενοι διὰ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θανάτου λύσιν τὰ μυρίων θανάτων ἄξια δρῶντες διῆγον, βίον τε ἔζων ἀβίωτον, οὐ θεὸν ἐν νῷ λαμβάνοντες, οὐ θείας κρίσεως δικαιωτήρια προσδοκῶντες, οὐ τῆς σφῶν κατὰ ψυχὴν οὐσίας τὴν μνήμην ἀναζωπυροῦντες, ἑνὶ δὲ δεινῷ προστάτῃ τῷ Θανάτῳ χρώμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτου τῶν σωμάτων φθορὰν λύσιν τοῦ παντὸς ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι πείσαντες, μέγαν θεὸν καὶ πλούσιον, παρὸ καὶ Πλούτωνα, τὸν Θάνατον ἀνηγόρευον. καὶ Θάνατος ἦν αὐτοῖς θεὸς οὐ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πρὸ τούτου τίμια, τὰ δὴ πρὸς ἡδυπαθῆ ζωὴν αὐτοῖς συμβαλλόμενα. ### English translation (Claude) From this they took the generation of bodies for a god, and again another god opposed to it, their corruption and dissolution. The first, as the author of generation, they honoured with the rites of Aphrodite; the second, as manifold and prevailing over the mortal race, they named Pluto and Death. For the people of that time, knowing no other life than that which comes through generation, declared its cause, generation, to be a god; and, as though they would no longer exist after death, they proclaimed Death the victor over all and a great god. Then, as though in no way subject to account because of the dissolution brought by death, they went on doing things worthy of countless deaths, and lived a life that was no life, not taking God into their minds, not expecting the courts of divine judgment, not rekindling the memory of their own substance as souls, but having one terrible patron, Death; and persuading themselves that the corruption of bodies that comes from him was the dissolution of everything, they proclaimed Death a great and rich god, hence also Pluto. And Death was not their only god; so also were the things they valued before it, those that contributed to a life of pleasure. ### Translation notes - Pluto (Πλούτων) is derived from πλοῦτος ('wealth'), hence 'rich god'. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagans deified pleasures, which gave rise to the mysteries of Demeter and Kore, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and the immoral myths of Zeus. ### Greek text θεὸς γοῦν αὐτοῖς ἦν ἡ τῶν σαρκῶν ἡδονή, θεὸς ἡ τροφή, θεὸς ἡ τούτων βλάστη, θεὸς ἡ τῶν ἀκροδρύων φυή, θεὸς ἡ διὰ μέθης τρυφή, θεὸς ὁ τῶν σωμάτων πόθος, θεὸς ἡ τούτων ἡδονή. ἔνθεν τὰ Δήμητρος καὶ Φερεφάττης μυστήρια καὶ Κόρης ἁρπαγὴ ὑπὸ Ἀϊδωνέως καὶ πάλιν ἡ ταύτης ἀνάδοσις. ἔνθεν Διονύσου τελεταὶ καὶ νικώμενος Ἡρακλῆς ὡς ὑπὸ κρείττονος θεοῦ τῆς μέθης, ἔνθεν Ἔρωτος καὶ Ἀφροδίτης ὄργια μοιχικά. ἔνθεν Ζεὺς αὐτὸς γυναικομανῶν καὶ Γανυμήδους ἐρῶν, φιληδόνων τε θεῶν καὶ φιλοπαθῶν ἀσελγῆ μύθων ἀναπλάσματα. ### English translation (Claude) So for them the pleasure of the flesh was a god; food was a god; its growth was a god; the growth of fruits was a god; luxury through drunkenness was a god; bodily desire was a god; its pleasure was a god. From this came the mysteries of Demeter and Pherephatta, the rape of Kore by Aidoneus and her return again; from this the rites of Dionysus and Heracles overcome by drunkenness as by a stronger god; from this the adulterous orgies of Eros and Aphrodite; from this Zeus himself mad for women and in love with Ganymede, and the licentious fictions of myths about pleasure-loving and passionate gods. ### Translation notes - 'Adulterous' renders μοιχικά. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Through such error the demons subdued humanity and filled the earth with temples. ### Greek text τοσούτοις δῆτα βέλεσι θεομάχου πλάνης οἱ δεινοὶ βάρβαροι καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων ἐχθροὶ τοὺς ἐπὶ γῆς κατεπόνουν, καὶ εἷλόν γε τὸ πᾶν γένος ὑποχείριον, ὡς ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς ἀθεότητος ἀνεγεῖραι στήλας νεώς τε καὶ ἱερὰ ψευδωνύμου θεολογίας καθʼ ἑκάστην γωνίαν συνίστασθαι. ### English translation (Claude) With so many arrows of God-fighting error those terrible barbarians, enemies of the King of all, wore down the people on earth, and made the whole race subject to them, so that pillars of godlessness were raised everywhere on earth, and temples and shrines of a falsely named theology were set up in every corner. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The former rulers persecuted their own people, the Christians, as sacrifices to their gods. ### Greek text οἱ γοῦν τότε κρατεῖν νομιζόμενοι τοσοῦτον καταδεδούλωντο τῇ πλάνῃ, ὡς ὁμοφύλων καὶ συγγενῶν φόνους τοῖς αὐτῶν καλλιερεῖν θεοῖς καὶ τὰ ξίφη θήγειν κατὰ τῶν προμάχων τῆς ἀληθείας, πόλεμόν τε ἄσπονδον καὶ ἀθέους αἴρεσθαι χεῖρας, οὐ κατʼ ἐχθρῶν ἀλλοφύλων καὶ ἀπεξενωμένων, κατὰ δὲ τῶν συνεστίων καὶ φίλων, κατά τε ἀδελφῶν καὶ συγγενῶν καὶ φιλτάτων, οἵ δὴ σεμνότητι βίου σωφροσύνῃ τε καὶ θεοσεβείας ἀληθοῦς ἐγχειρήμασι τιμᾶν τὸ θεῖον καὶ σέβειν διεγνώκεσαν. ### English translation (Claude) Those who were then thought to rule were so enslaved to error that they offered the murders of their own people and kin in sacrifice to their gods, sharpened their swords against the champions of the truth, and raised implacable war and godless hands, not against foreign and alien enemies, but against those of their own hearth and their friends, against brothers and kin and dearest ones, who had resolved to honour and worship the divine by dignity of life, self-control and the undertakings of true godliness. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The martyrs, men and women alike, endured every torture and death rather than deny God; many women chose death rather than violation. ### Greek text ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν ὧδέ πη μανίᾳ φρενῶν τοὺς τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων καθωσιωμένους τοῖς αὐτῶν δαίμοσι κατέσφαττον, οἱ δὲ τῆς ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας γενναῖοι μάρτυρες καὶ ζωῆς αὐτῆς τὸν ὑπὲρ ἀληθείας εὐκλεῆ θάνατον προτιμᾶν μεμελετηκότες παρʼ οὐδὲν τὴν τοσαύτην ἐτίθεντο τυραννίδα, οἷα δὲ θεοῦ στρατιῶται καρτερίας ἀρετῇ φραξάμενοι, πάντα τρόπον θανάτου γέλωτα ἔθεντο, πῦρ καὶ σίδηρον καὶ προσηλώσεις, θῆράς τε ἀγρίους καὶ θαλάττης βυθούς, ἀποτομὰς μελῶν καὶ καυτῆρας, ὀφθαλμῶν ἐξορύξεις, τοῦ παντὸς σώματος ἀκρωτηριασμούς, λιμὸν ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ μέταλλα καὶ δεσμὰ παντὸς καλοῦ καὶ ἡδονῆς ἁπάσης γλυκίονα ἡγησάμενοι διʼ ἔρωτα καὶ πόθον τὸν πρὸς τὸν αὐτῶν βασιλέα. θηλειῶν τε ὡσαύτως νεανικαὶ ψυχαὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν οὐχ ἧττον ἠρρενωμέναι, αἱ μὲν τοὺς αὐτοὺς τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἀγῶνας ὑποστᾶσαι ἴσα τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀπηνέγκαντο βραβεῖα, αἱ δʼ ἐπὶ φθορᾷ τῶν σωμάτων ἑλκόμεναι θᾶττον τὴν ψυχὴν θανάτῳ ἢ τὸ σῶμα τῇ φθορᾷ παραδεδώκασιν, μυρίαι τε ἄλλαι πρὸς τῶν κατʼ ἔθνος ἀρχόντων, πορνείας ἀπειλὴν μηδʼ ἄκροις ὠσὶν ἐπακοῦσαι δεδυνημέναι, πᾶν εἶδος στρεβλωτηρίων πᾶσάν τε ψῆφον θανατηφόρον εὐθαρσῶς ὑπέστησαν. ### English translation (Claude) So they, in madness of mind, slaughtered for their own demons those consecrated to the King of all. But the noble martyrs of true godliness, trained to prefer a glorious death for the truth even to life itself, set at nought so great a tyranny; as soldiers of God, fortified with the virtue of endurance, they laughed at every manner of death, fire and sword and nailing, wild beasts and the depths of the sea, the cutting off of limbs and branding irons, the gouging out of eyes, the mutilation of the whole body, and besides these hunger and mines and bonds, counting them sweeter than every good and every pleasure, through love and longing for their King. Likewise the youthful souls of women, made no less manly than men, some underwent the same contests as men and carried off equal prizes of virtue; others, dragged away for the violation of their bodies, gave up their soul to death sooner than their body to violation; and countless others, unable to endure hearing even with the edge of their ears the threats of the provincial rulers to give them over to sexual immorality, bravely underwent every kind of torture and every death-bringing sentence. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 2:3: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'To give them over to sexual immorality' renders πορνείας ἀπειλήν, the threat of forced prostitution. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Demons delighted in the martyrs' blood; God could not abandon his own, any more than a good shepherd abandons a straying sheep. ### Greek text ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν τοῦ μεγάλου βασιλέως πρόμαχοι τῆς πολυθέου στρατιᾶς ὧδέ πη τοὺς ἄθλους ψυχῆς ἐρρωμένῳ λογισμῷ κατηγωνίζοντο· οἱ δʼ ἐχθροὶ τῷ θεῷ καὶ τῆς ἀνθρώπων πολέμιοι σωτηρίας, πάντων ἀνημέρων βαρβάρων χείρους, τοιαύταις ἔχαιρον ἀνθρωπίνων αἱμάτων σπονδαῖς· οἵ τʼ αὖ τούτων ὑπηρέται τοιαύτας αὐτοῖς προπόσεις ἐξ ἀδίκου μιαιφονίας προὔπινον, πικρὰν ταύτην καὶ δυσσεβῆ πανδαισίαν ἐπʼ ὀλέθρῳ τοῦ κοινοῦ γένους αὐτοῖς παρασκευάζοντες. 9 τούτων δʼ ὧδε ἐχόντων τί ἐχρῆν τὸν τῶν καταπονουμένων βασιλέα θεὸν διαπράξασθαι; ἆρά γε τὴν τῶν φιλτάτων ἀντιπαρελθεῖν σωτηρίαν καὶ παριδεῖν οὕτω τοὺς οἰκείους πολιορκουμένους; ἀλλʼ οὔτε κυβερνήτης οὕτω ποτʼ ἄν λεχθείη σοφός, εἰ κατὰ βυθῶν αὔτανδρον τὸ σκάφος ἐκδώσει, μηδὲν παρʼ ἑαυτοῦ πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐμπλεόντων σωτηρίαν πορισάμενος, οὔτε στρατηγὸς οὕτω ποτʼ ἄν γένοιτο ἀφειδής, ὡς τοὺς αὐτοῦ γνωρίμους ἀτιμωρητὶ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς παραχωρῆσαι· ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ποιμὴν ἀγαθὸς τῆς αὐτοῦ ποίμνης τὸ πεπλανημένον ἀπαθῶς παρίδοι ἄν θρέμμα, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν εὖ ἔχοντα αὐτῷ ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ κείμενα καταλείψει, τῆς δὲ τοῦ πεπλανημένου χάριν σωτηρίας πᾶν ὁτιοῦν ἄν πάθοι, εἰ καὶ πρὸς θῆρας ἀγρίους συμπλακῆναι δέοι. ### English translation (Claude) So the champions of the great King fought out the contests against the army of many gods with the strong reason of the soul. But the enemies of God and foes of human salvation, worse than all savage barbarians, rejoiced in such libations of human blood; and their servants in turn drank such toasts to them from unjust bloodshed, preparing for them this bitter and impious feast for the destruction of the common race. [9] Such being the case, what ought God, the King of those afflicted, to have done? Should he have passed by the salvation of his dearest ones, and so overlooked his own people besieged? But no helmsman would ever be called wise if he gave up the ship with all aboard to the depths, providing nothing from himself for the safety of those sailing; nor would any general be so careless as to surrender his own people to the enemy unavenged. Nor would a good shepherd look on unmoved at the straying sheep of his flock; he will leave those that are well in safety and suffer anything whatever for the sake of the safety of the one that strayed, even if he must grapple with wild beasts. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:4–6: allusion, high confidence - Matt 18:12–13: allusion, medium confidence - John 10:11–12: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 9 marks section 7.9, which the staging did not separate; it is kept as [9]. The shepherd recalls the parable of the lost sheep, Luke 15:4–6; Matt 18:12–13; and John 10:11–12. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God received the martyrs into heaven and preserved others on earth as witnesses of his judgment on the persecutors. ### Greek text ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἦν ἀλόγου θρέμματος ἡ σπουδὴ τῷ μεγάλῳ βασιλεῖ, τὸ δὲ πᾶν αὐτῷ τῆς οἰκείας στρατιᾶς καὶ τῶν διʼ αὐτὸν πολεμουμένων χάριν ἐσπουδάζετο. ὧς τοὺς ἀγῶνας καὶ τοὺς ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἄθλους ἀποδεξάμενος, τοὺς μὲν τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν στειλαμένους πορείαν τοῖς παρʼ αὐτῷ νικητηρίοις τιμήσας ταῖς κατʼ οὐρανὸν ἀγγελικαῖς ἐνέγραφεν χορείαις, τοὺς δʼ ἐπὶ γῆν ἐφύλαττεν, εὐσεβείας ζώπυρα σπέρματα τοῖς ὀψιγόνοις, θεατὰς ἅμα τῆς κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν δίκης καὶ τῆς τῶν πεπραγμένων ἱστορίας ἐξηγητὰς γενησομένους. ### English translation (Claude) But the great King's concern was not for an irrational sheep; his whole concern was for his own army and those warred against for his sake. Accepting their contests and their struggles for godliness, he honoured those who had set out on the journey to him with the prizes of victory beside him and enrolled them in the angelic choirs of heaven; others he kept on earth, as living seeds of godliness for those born later, to be both spectators of the judgment on the impious and interpreters of the history of what was done. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God struck down the persecutors, forced them to recant, and raised up the humbled Christians. ### Greek text εἶτʼ ἐπὶ τὴν ἄμυναν τῶν πολεμίων τὴν αὐτοῦ δεξιὰν ἐκτείνας, ἑνὶ νεύματι τοὺς μὲν ἀθρόως ἀφανεῖς κατεστήσατο θεηλάτοις πληγαῖς προτιμωρησάμενος, αὐτούς τε οἰκείοις χείλεσι τὴν παλινῳδίαν τῆς τῶν πεπλημμελημένων σφίσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ μὴ βουλομένους ᾆσαι καταναγκάσας, τοὺς δʼ ἀπὸ χθονὸς ἤγειρεν ὑψώσας τοὺς πάλαι ταπεινοὺς καὶ πρὸς ἁπάντων ἀπεγνωσμένους. ### English translation (Claude) Then, stretching out his right hand to repel the enemies, by a single nod he made some suddenly disappear, punishing them first with God-sent blows, and compelling them, even against their will, to sing with their own lips the recantation of the wrongs they had committed; while the others he raised from the ground, exalting those long humbled and despaired of by all. ### Scripture references - Luke 1:52: echo, medium confidence - 1 Sam 2:8: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 8.17 (Church History): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Exalting those humbled' echoes Luke 1:52 and 1 Sam 2:8. The recantation is Galerius's edict of toleration (Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 8.17). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God raised Constantine, his servant, as one emperor against many persecutors; imitating Christ, he saved even the godless by teaching them piety. ### Greek text καὶ τοῦθʼ ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς οὐρανόθεν ἐνήργει, ὁπλίτην ἄμαχον τὸν αὐτοῦ θεράποντα προστησάμενος (χαίρει γὰρ ὧδε προσφωνούμενος εὐσεβείας ὑπερβολῇ βασιλεύς)· ὅν δὴ νικητὴν παντὸς τοῦ τῶν πολεμίων ἀπέφηνε γένους, ἕνα κατὰ πολλῶν ἐγείρας. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἦσαν μυρίοι πολλοί τε, πολλῶν ἅτε φίλοι δαιμόνων, μᾶλλον δʼ οὐδένες ἦσαν, ὅθεν οὐδʼ εἰσίν, ὁ δʼ ἐξ ἑνὸς εἷς βασιλεύς, εἰκὼν ἑνὸς τοῦ παμβασιλέως, καὶ οἱ μὲν ἀθέῳ ψυχῇ τοὺς εὐσεβεῖς ἄνδρας μιαιφόνοις ἀνῄρουν σφαγαῖς, ὁ δὲ τὸν αὐτοῦ σωτῆρα μιμούμενος καὶ μόνον σώζειν εἰδὼς καὶ τοὺς ἀθέους ἔσωζεν εὐσεβεῖν διδάσκων. ### English translation (Claude) And this the great King worked from heaven, setting forth as an invincible soldier his own servant (for the emperor rejoices to be so addressed, in the excess of his piety), whom he showed victor over the whole race of enemies, raising up one against many. For they were countless and many, as friends of many demons, or rather they were nothing, and so they are no longer; but he, one emperor from One, the image of the one King of all. They with godless souls killed godly men with bloody slaughter; but he, imitating his own Saviour and knowing only how to save, saved even the godless by teaching them to be godly. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 7.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-7-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine subdued both barbarian peoples and the demons, whom Christ had already conquered, distributing their spoils. ### Greek text εἶθʼ οἷα νικητὴς ἀληθῶς τὸ διττὸν ἐκεῖνο βάρβαρον ἐνίκα γένος, ἀνδρῶν μὲν τὰ ἀνήμερα φῦλα λογικαῖς ἐξημερῶν πρεσβείαις καὶ τοὺς κρείττονας εἰδέναι καὶ μὴ ἀγνοεῖν ἐπαναγκάζων, ἐξ ἀνόμου τε καὶ θηριώδους βίου ἐπὶ τὸ λογικὸν καὶ νομιμὸν μεθαρμοζόμενος, τὸ δ΄ ἀπηνὲς καὶ ἀπηγριωμένον τῆς ἀφανοῦς δαιμόνων φύσεως ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ἀπελέγχων ὑπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος πάλαι νενικημένον. ὁ μὲν γὰρ κοινὸς τῶν ὅλων σωτὴρ τοὺς ἀφανεῖς ἀφανῶς ἠμύνατο, ὁ δʼ οἷα μεγάλου βασιλέως ὕπαρχος τοῖς νενικημένοις ἐπεξῄει, τοὺς πάλαι νεκροὺς καὶ ἀπολωλότας σκυλεύων καὶ τὰ λάφυρα διανέμων ἀφθόνως τοῖς τοῦ νικητοῦ στρατιώταις. ### English translation (Claude) Then, as a true victor, he conquered that twofold barbarous race: taming the savage tribes of men by reasonable embassies, compelling them to know and not be ignorant of their betters, and transforming them from a lawless and beastlike life to a rational and lawful one; and exposing by the deeds themselves the cruel and savage nature of the invisible demons, long since conquered by the higher power. For the common Saviour of all invisibly repelled the invisible ones; while he, as the prefect of the great King, pursued the conquered, stripping those long dead and lost and distributing the spoils ungrudgingly to the soldiers of the victor. ### Scripture references - Col 2:15: echo, low confidence ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 7.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/7-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine resolved to remove the idols, which were like stumbling stones. ### Greek text Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ συνεῖδεν μάτην δειμαίνοντα νηπίων δίκην ἀφρόνων τὰ πλήθη τῆς πλάνης τὰ μορμολύκεια ὕλῃ χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου πεπλασμένα, καὶ ταῦτα ἐκποδῶν ᾤετο δεῖν ἄρασθαι ὥσπερ τινὰ λίθων ἐγκόμματα τοῖς ἐν σκότῳ βαδίζουσι πρὸ τῶν ποδῶν ἐρριμμένα, λείαν τε καὶ ὁμαλὴν τοῦ λοιποῦ τὴν βασιλικὴν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀναπετάσας πορείαν. ### English translation (Claude) For when he saw the crowds foolishly fearing, like senseless children, the bogeys of error fashioned from gold and silver, he thought he must remove these out of the way like stumbling stones thrown before the feet of those walking in darkness, and he opened to all from then on a smooth and level royal road. ### Scripture references - Isa 57:14: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The sentence appears incomplete in the Greek; translated as a statement. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: He sent one or two trusted friends through the provinces to expose the idols. ### Greek text ταῦτʼ οὖν διανοηθεὶς οὐχ ὁπλιτῶν αὐτῷ καὶ πλήθους στρατοπεδίας ἡγήσατο δεῖν πρὸς τὸν τούτων ἔλεγχον, εἷς δὲ μόνος αὐτῷ καὶ δεύτερος τῶν αὐτοῦ γνωρίμων πρὸς τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν ἀπήρκουν, οὕς ἑνὶ νεύματι κατὰ πᾶν ἔθνος διεπέμπετο. ### English translation (Claude) Having considered this, he thought he needed no soldiers or army for the exposure of these things; one or two of his friends sufficed him for the service, and he sent them through every province with a single nod. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine's envoys made the priests bring out their idols, exposed them, and melted down their precious metals. ### Greek text οἱ δʼ εὐσεβείᾳ πίσυνοι μυριάνδρων δήμων τε καὶ λαῶν μέσον παριόντες ἀνὰ πάσας πόλεις τε καὶ χώρας πολυχρονίου πλάνης ἐποιοῦντο φωράν, αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἱερωμένους σὺν πολλῷ γέλωτι καὶ σὺν αἰσχύνῃ παράγειν εἰς φῶς ἐκ σκοτίων μυχῶν τοὺς αὐτῶν θεοὺς παρακελευόμενοι, κἄπειτα ἀπογυμνοῦντες τοῦ φάσματος καὶ τὴν εἴσω τῆς ἐπικεχρωσμένης μορφῆς ἀμορφίαν τοῖς πάντων ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐνδεικνύμενοι. εἶτʼ ἀποξέοντες τὸ δοκοῦν χρήσιμον τῆς ὕλης, χωνείᾳ τε καὶ πυρὶ δοκιμάζοντες, τὸ μὲν λυσιτελὲς ὅσον αὐτοῖς ἀναγκαῖον ἐνομίζετο ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ τιθέμενοι συνεῖχον, τὸ δʼ ἄλλως περιττὸν καὶ ἄχρηστον εἰς μνήμην αἰσχύνης παρεχώρουν τοῖς δεισιδαίμοσιν. ### English translation (Claude) And they, trusting in godliness, passed through the midst of populous peoples and nations, through all cities and lands, and exposed the long-standing error, ordering the priests themselves, amid much laughter and shame, to bring their gods out of their dark recesses into the light; then stripping them of their pretence and showing to the eyes of all the ugliness within the painted form. Then scraping off what seemed useful of the material and testing it by melting and fire, they kept in safety whatever they thought profitable and necessary, and left the rest, superfluous and useless, to the superstitious as a memorial of their shame. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Bronze statues of the gods were carried off bound, and Constantine searched for every remnant of idolatry. ### Greek text οἷον δὲ καὶ τόδ΄ ἔρεξε βασιλεὺς ὁ θαυμάσιος· ὡς γὰρ καὶ τῶν νεκρῶν εἰδώλων τὰ τῆς πολυτελοῦς ὕλης τὸν ἀποδοθέντα τρόπον ἐσκυλεύετο, τὰ λοιπὰ μετῄει ἀνδρείκελα χαλκοῦ πεποιημένα. δέσμιοι δῆτα καὶ οἵδε μύθων θεοὶ γεγηρακότων τριχῶν ὑφάσμασιν ἤγοντο περιβληθέντες, κἀπὶ τούτοις ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς ὥσπερ τινὰ πολυφεγγῆ πυρσὸν ἐξάψας, μή πη λανθάνοι κρύφιόν τι πλάνης λείχανον, ὄμματι βασιλικῷ περιεσκόπει· ### English translation (Claude) And this too the wonderful emperor did: when the costly material of the dead idols had been stripped in the way described, he went after the rest, the statues made of bronze. These gods of old myths too were led away captive, bound with ropes of hair. Besides this, the great emperor, kindling as it were a far-shining torch, looked around with royal eye lest any hidden remnant of error escape notice. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Od. 4.242 (Homer, Odyssey): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'This too the wonderful emperor did' adapts a Homeric phrase (Od. 4.242). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: From Constantinople Constantine noticed a hidden shrine in Phoenicia, a snare for souls. ### Greek text οἷα δέ τις οὐρανοπετὴς ἀετὸς ὀξυωπέστατος ἄνωθεν ἀφʼ ὑψηλοῦ τὰ πορρωτάτω διεστῶτα κατὰ γῆς ἴδοι, ὧδε καὶ αὐτὸς τῆς αὐτοῦ καλλιπόλεως τὴν βασιλικὴν ἀμφιπολεύων ἑστίαν, δεινόν τι ψυχῶν θήρατρον ἐπὶ τοῦ Φοινίκων λανθάνον ἔθνους ἐξ ἀπόπτου συνεῖδεν. ἄλσος δὲ τοῦτʼ ἦν καὶ τέμενος, οὐκ ἐν μέσαις πόλεσιν οὐδʼ ἐν ἀγοραῖς καὶ πλατείαις, ὁποῖα τὰ πολλὰ κόσμου χάριν ταῖς πόλεσι φιλοτιμεῖται, ### English translation (Claude) And as a heaven-soaring eagle, most keen-sighted, would see from on high things far off on the earth, so he too, going about the royal hearth of his own beautiful city, saw from afar a terrible snare of souls hidden in the province of Phoenicia. This was a grove and precinct, not in the middle of cities nor in market-places and streets, such as are mostly built for the adornment of cities with lavish expense, ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 3.55 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'His own beautiful city' is Constantinople. The shrine is Aphrodite's at Aphaca on Lebanon (Eusebius, Life of Constantine 3.55). The sentence continues in 8.6. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Aphrodite's shrine on Lebanon was a place of sexual licence, ritual effeminacy, and adultery. ### Greek text τὸ δὲ ἦν ἔξω πάτου τριόδων τε καὶ λεωφόρων αἰσχρῷ δαίμονι Ἀφροδίτης ἐπʼ ἀκρωρείας μέρει τοῦ Λιβάνου καθιδρυμένον. σχολή τις ἦν αὕτη κακοεργίας ἅπασιν ἀκολάστοις πολλῇ τε ῥᾳστώνῃ διεφθορόσι τὰ σώματα· γύννιδες γοῦν τινες ἄνδρες οὐκ ἄνδρες τὸ σεμνὸν τῆς φύσεως ἀπαρνησάμενοι θηλείᾳ νόσῳ τὴν δαίμονα ἱλεοῦντο, γυναικῶν τε αὖ παράνομοι ὁμιλίαι, κλεψίγαμοί τε φθοραί, ἄρρητοί τε καὶ ἐπίρρητοι πράξεις ὡς ἐν ἀνόμῳ καὶ ἀπροστατῃ χώρῳ κατὰ τόνδε τὸν νεὼν ἐπεχειροῦτο. φώρ τε οὐδεὶς ἦν τῶν πραττομένων, τῷ μηδένα σεμνῶν αὐτόθι τολμᾶν παριέναι. ### English translation (Claude) but it was off the beaten track, away from crossroads and highways, set up to the shameful demon of Aphrodite on a part of the ridge of Lebanon. It was a school of wickedness for all the licentious and for those who had corrupted their bodies with much indulgence. Effeminate men, men who were not men, having denied the dignity of their nature, propitiated the goddess with a womanish disease; unlawful intercourse with women, adulterous seductions, and unspeakable and infamous deeds were practised at this temple, as in a lawless and unguarded place. And there was no one to detect what was done, since no decent person dared to go there. ### Translation notes - 'Adulterous seductions' renders κλεψίγαμοι φθοραί. Eusebius's description of the cult is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine had the shrine destroyed by soldiers, and its devotees learned restraint. ### Greek text ἀλλʼ οὐχὶ καὶ βασιλέα τὸν μέγαν οἷα τε ἦν τὰ τῇδε δρώμενα λανθάνειν, αὐτοπτήσας δὲ ταῦτα βασιλικῇ προμηθείᾳ οὐκ ἄξιον εἶναι ἡλίου αὐγῶν τὸν τοιόνδε νεὼν ἔκρινεν, αὐτοῖς δὲ ἀφιερώμασιν ἐκ βάθρων τὸ πᾶν ἀφανισθῆναι κελεύει. ἐλύετο δῆτα αὐτίκα βασιλικῷ νεύματι τὰ τῆς ἀκολάστου πλάνης μηχανήματα, χείρ τε στρατιωτικὴ τῇ τοῦ τόπου καθάρσει διηκονεῖτο, σωφρονεῖν δʼ ἐμάνθανον ἀπειλῇ βασιλέως οἱ μέχρι τοῦδε ἀκόλαστοι, ### English translation (Claude) But what was done there could not escape the great emperor. Having seen it for himself with royal forethought, he judged that such a temple was not worthy of the sun's rays, and ordered the whole to be destroyed from its foundations, offerings and all. At once, by the emperor's nod, the devices of licentious error were dismantled, a military force served the cleansing of the place, and those who until then had been licentious learned self-control under the emperor's threat, ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 8.8. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No god defended the idols; people, enlightened, pitied their ancestors' blindness and rejoiced in their freedom. ### Greek text ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὧδε καὶ τὰ τῆς λαοπλάνου φάσματα κακίας ἐμφανῆ τοῖς πᾶσι καταστησάμενος βασιλεύς, τὸν αὐτοῦ σωτῆρα τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνεκήρυττεν, οὐκ ἦν τε ἀρωγὸς οὐδεὶς οὐδʼ ἐπαμύνων τοῖς ἑαλωκόσιν, οὐ δαίμων, οὐ θεός, οὐ χρησμῳδός, οὐ μάντις. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔτι σκοτίῳ ζόφῳ αἱ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐκαλινδοῦντο ψυχαί, θεοσεβείας δὲ ἀπλανοῦς ἀκτῖσι πεφωτισμέναι τοῖς μὲν αὐτῶν προπάτορσι κατεμέμφοντο ἀγνωσίαν ἠλέουν τε αὐτοὺς τῆς ἀβλεψίας, σφᾶς δὲ αὐτὰς μακαρίας ἀπέφαινον ὡς ἄν δεινῆς ἠλευθερωμέναι πλάνης. ### English translation (Claude) and so the emperor, having made the illusions of people-deceiving wickedness manifest to all, proclaimed his own Saviour to all. And there was no helper or defender for those taken, neither demon nor god nor oracle-singer nor prophet. For human souls were no longer rolling in dark gloom, but, illumined by the rays of unerring godliness, they blamed their forefathers' ignorance and pitied their blindness, and counted themselves blessed as set free from terrible error. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 8.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/6-1/#p-8-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: With idolatry overthrown, peace came to the world, and the wars and bloodshed of polytheism ceased. ### Greek text οὕτω δῆτα ἐν βραχεῖ θεοῦ μεγάλου βουλῇ βασιλέως τε ὑπουργίᾳ πᾶν τὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολεμίων ὁρωμένων τε καὶ ἀφανῶν ἀνῄρητο γένος, εἰρήνη τε λοιπὸν ἀγαθὴ καὶ κουροτρόφος τὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων διελάμβανεν οἰκητήριον, καὶ οὐκέτʼ ἦσαν πόλεμοι, ὅτε μηδὲ θεοί, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ μάχαι κατʼ ἀγροὺς καὶ κατὰ πόλεις, οἷαι τὸ πρὶν ὅτε τὰ δαιμόνων ἐπήνθει, καὶ οὐκέθʼ αἱμάτων παρʼ ἀνθρώποις ἐκχύσεις, ὡς ὅτε τὰ τῆς πολυθέου μανίας ἤκμαζεν. ### English translation (Claude) Thus in a short time, by the counsel of the great God and the service of the emperor, the whole race of enemies and foes, visible and invisible, was destroyed; and good peace, the nurse of children, at last embraced the dwelling of all people. There were no more wars, since there were no more gods; nor battles in the country and in the cities, as before when the cult of demons flourished; nor any more shedding of blood among men, as when the madness of polytheism was at its height. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 8.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/8-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius turns to compare the old pagan order with the new. ### Greek text Ὥρα δʼ οὖν τὰ νέα τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἀντιπαραβάλλειν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ κρείττω ῥοπὴν ἐκ τῆς τῶν χειρόνων ἀντιπαραθέσεως ἐπισκοπεῖν, διακρίνειν τε καὶ συνορᾶν ὡς πάλαι μὲν πρόπυλα καὶ τεμένη ἄλση τε καὶ ἱερὰ κατὰ πᾶσαν πόλιν αὐτοῖς φιλοπόνων ἐξησκεῖτο ἀναθήμασί τε πάνυ πολλοῖς ἐστεφανοῦντο οἱ ναοί. ### English translation (Claude) It is time, then, to compare the new with the old, to see the turn to better things by contrast with the worse, and to discern and observe how formerly gateways and precincts, groves and shrines were elaborately built for them in every city, and the temples were crowned with very many offerings. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Under the old gods the empire knew not peace but constant war and civil bloodshed. ### Greek text καὶ θεῶν μὲν πολὺς ἦν ὁ παρὰ τοῖς τότε τυράννοις λόγος, ἔθνη τε καὶ δῆμοι κατʼ ἀγροὺς καὶ κατὰ πάντα τόπον ἤδη τε κατʼ οἴκους ἐν αὐτοῖς αὐτῶν ταμείοις τε καὶ θαλάμοις βωμοῖς καὶ ἀγάλμασιν ἐτίμων τὰ πάτρια, τῆς δʼ εὐσεβείας αὐτοῖς ὁ καρπὸς οὐ τὰ νῦν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρώμενα τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλους ὑπῆρχεν εἰρήνης, πάντα δὲ τἀναντία τούτοις, πόλεμοι καὶ μάχαι καὶ στάσεις· αἷς διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου κατατριβόμενοι αἵμασι καὶ φόνοις ἐμφυλίοις τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἐπλήρουν χώρας. ### English translation (Claude) And the tyrants of that time made much of the gods; nations and peoples in the country and in every place, and even in their houses, in their storerooms and bedchambers, honoured the ancestral gods with altars and statues. Yet the fruit of their piety was not what is now seen with our eyes, peace with one another, but everything opposite to it: wars, battles and factions; worn out by these through their whole lives, they filled their own lands with blood and civil slaughter. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The oracles flattered rulers with predictions but could not foresee their own ruin. ### Greek text οἱ τʼ αὖ πρὸς αὐτῶν τιμώμενοι μαντείας μὲν καὶ χρησμοὺς καὶ μελλόντων προγνώσεις σὺν κολακείᾳ πολλῇ τοῖς τότε κρατοῦσιν ἐπηγγέλλοντο, τὸν δὲ σφῶν ὄλεθρον οὐκ ἔγνωσαν προγνῶναι οὐδὲ προφῆσαι σφίσιν αὐτοῖς, ὅ δὴ καὶ μέγιστον γένοιτʼ ἄν δεῖγμα τοῦ τῆς ἀπάτης ἐλέγχου. ### English translation (Claude) And those honoured by them promised the rulers of the time, with much flattery, divinations and oracles and foreknowledge of the future, but they could not foreknow or foretell their own destruction; which would be the greatest proof of the exposure of the deceit. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No oracle, not even Apollo's, foretold Christ's coming or their own overthrow. ### Greek text οὐδεὶς γοῦν πώποτε τῶν ἐπὶ χρησμοῖς πάλαι θαυμαζομένων τὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἔκλαμψιν τοῦ κοινοῦ σωτῆρος προηγόρευσεν οὐδὲ τὸ νέον κήρυγμα τῆς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ προβληθείσης θεογνωσίας· ἀλλʼ οὐδ΄ αὐτὸς ὁ Πύθιος συνῆκεν οὐδʼ ἕτερος τῶν μεγαλοδαιμόνων τὴν οἰκείαν ἐρημίαν οὐδὲ τὸν πολιορκητὴν ἐθέσπισεν οὐδὲ τὸν αὐτῶν καθαιρέτην ἐμαντεύσατο. ### English translation (Claude) Not one of those formerly admired for oracles ever foretold the shining forth of the common Saviour among men, nor the new preaching of the knowledge of God put forth by him. Not even the Pythian himself understood, nor did any other of the great demons prophesy their own desolation, or foretell their besieger, or divine their destroyer. ### Translation notes - 'The Pythian' is Apollo of Delphi. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No pagan prophet foresaw Constantine's Christian reign or the destruction of the shrines. ### Greek text τίς δὲ χρησμῳδὸς ἤ μάντις τὰ μὲν αὐτῶν σεμνὰ νέου τινὸς ἐπιφανέντος τῷ βίῳ σβεσθήσεσθαι, τὴν δ΄ εἰς τὸν πάντων βασιλέα γνῶσίν τε καὶ εὐσέβειαν πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις παραδοθήσεσθαι προηγόρευσεν; τίς τὸ σεμνὸν τοῦτὶ καὶ θεοσεβὲς βασίλειον αὐτόν τε τὸν καλλίνικον ἡμῶν τά τε κατὰ δαιμόνων αὐτῷ πανταχοῦ γῆς ἀνεγηγερμένα τρόπαια καὶ τῶν ὑψηλῶν τὸν ἀφανισμὸν προέγνω; ### English translation (Claude) What oracle-singer or prophet foretold that their sacred things would be extinguished when someone new appeared in life, and that the knowledge and worship of the King of all would be handed on to all people? Who foreknew this venerable and godly reign, and our victorious emperor himself, and the trophies raised by him everywhere on earth against the demons, and the destruction of the high places? ### Translation notes - 'High places' (ὑψηλά) is the Septuagint term for idolatrous shrines. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No god foresaw or prevented the melting and chopping up of their images. ### Greek text τὴν δὲ διὰ πυρὸς χωνείαν καὶ τὴν ἐξ ἀχρήστου ἰδέας εἰς ἀναγκαίας χρήσεις τῶν ἀψύχων μεταβολὴν τίς πώποτε ἡρώων διεστείλατο; χωνευομένων δʼ αὐτοῖς τῶν ξοάνων εἰς λεπτόν τε γελοίως κατακοπτομένων τίς πώποτε θεῶν ἐμνημόνευσεν; ### English translation (Claude) Who of the heroes ever announced the melting down by fire and the change of lifeless objects from a useless form to necessary uses? When their wooden images were being melted down and ridiculously chopped into small pieces, which of the gods ever made mention of it? ### Translation notes - The digital text repeats a clause ('when their wooden images ... which of the gods'); the repetition is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The idols' defenders, who had persecuted the Christians, were nowhere to be found. ### Greek text ποῖ δʼ ἦσαν οἱ τούτων ἀρωγοὶ μὴ οὐχὶ ἐπαμύνειν τοῖς αὐτῶν ἀφιερώμασιν ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπων ἀφανιζομένοις; σφῶν πολιορκητὰς ἐν βαθυτάτῃ διατελοῦντας εἰρήνῃ θεώμενοι; ποὶ δὲ οἱ τούτοις ὡς θεοῖς ἐπιθαρσοῦντες καὶ πεποιθήσει ματαίᾳ τοὺς λογισμοὺς ἐπαιρόμενοι, οἱ τὴν μὲν πλάνην εἰς ὕψος ἐγείραντες πόλεμον δʼ ἀκήρυκτον κατὰ τῶν προμάχων τῆς ἀληθείας ἀράμενοι; ### English translation (Claude) Where were their helpers, that they did not defend their own offerings being destroyed by men? when they saw their besiegers living in the deepest peace? Where were those who trusted in these as gods and lifted up their thoughts in vain confidence, who raised error on high and waged undeclared war against the champions of the truth? ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Against persecutors who trusted in many gods Constantine set the saving sign of the cross, won the victory, and raised it as a trophy in Rome. ### Greek text ποῖ τὸ τῶν θεομάχων γιγάντων στῖφος καὶ τῶν δρακόντων τὰ συρίγματα, οἵ τὰς γλώττας ἀκονήσαντες φωνὰς ἀθέους κατὰ τοῦ παμβασιλέως ἠφίεσαν; ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων πεπολεμωμένοι πολυπληθείᾳ θεῶν θαρροῦντες, σὺν πολλῇ δυνάμει χειρὸς στρατιωτικῆς ἐπῄεσαν, νεκρῶν εἴδωλα καμόντων ἐν ἀψύχοις ἀγάλμασι προβεβλημένοι, ὁ δʼ εὐσεβείας θώρακι πεφραγμένος τὸ σωτήριον καὶ ζωοποιὸν σημεῖον ὥσπερ τι φόβητρον καὶ κακῶν ἀμυντήριον τῷ πλήθει τῶν ἐναντίων ἀντιπαρατάξας, ὁμοῦ τὴν κατʼ ἐχθρῶν καὶ κατὰ δαιμόνων νίκην ἀπηνέγκατο, εἶτʼ εὐγνώμονι λογισμῷ χαριστήριον ἀποδιδοὺς εὐχὴν τῷ τῆς νίκης αἰτίῳ φωνῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ στήλαις ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις τὸ νικοποιὸν ἀνεκήρυττεν σημεῖον, μέσῃ τῇ βασιλευούσῃ πόλει μέγα τρόπαιον τοῦτὶ κατὰ πάντων πολεμίων ἐγείρας, διαρρήδην τε ἀνεξάλειπτον σωτήριον τουτὶ σημεῖον τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς καὶ τῆς καθόλου βασιλείας φυλακτήριον. ### English translation (Claude) Where is the band of God-fighting giants, and the hissing of dragons, who sharpened their tongues and let loose godless words against the King of all? They, at war with the King of all, trusting in a multitude of gods, advanced with a great power of military force, holding before them images of the dead in lifeless statues. But he, fortified with the breastplate of godliness, set against the multitude of his opponents the saving and life-giving sign as a terror and a defence against evils, and won the victory over enemies and demons together. Then, rendering with grateful mind the thanksgiving prayer to the cause of the victory, he proclaimed the victorious sign to all people with a loud voice and with monuments, raising this great trophy against all enemies in the middle of the ruling city, and expressly decreeing that this saving sign is the indelible safeguard of the Roman Empire and of the whole kingdom. ### Scripture references - Eph 6:14: echo, medium confidence - Ps 140:3 (139:4 LXX): echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 9.9.10-11 (Church History): allusion, medium confidence - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 1.40 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Breastplate' echoes Eph 6:14. The trophy in the ruling city is the statue in Rome holding the cross (Hist. eccl. 9.9.10–11; Life of Constantine 1.40). 'Sharpened their tongues' echoes Ps 140:3. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine taught his soldiers to trust not in arms but in God, the giver of victory. ### Greek text τοῦτο μὲν δὴ γνωρίζειν ἅπαντας ἐδίδασκεν ἀνθρώπους, πρό γε πάντων τὰ στρατιωτικά, οὕς δὴ μάλιστα χρῆναι μὴ δόρασι καὶ παντευχίαις μηδʼ ἀλκῇ σωμάτων τὰς ἐλπίδας ἐξάπτειν, τὸν δʼ ἐπὶ πάντων εἰδέναι θεόν, τὸν παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ καὶ αὐτῆς νίκης δοτῆρα. ### English translation (Claude) He taught all people to recognize this, above all the soldiers, who most of all ought not to hang their hopes on spears and armour or on bodily strength, but to know the God over all, the giver of every good and of victory itself. ### Scripture references - Ps 33:16–17 (32:16-Ps LXX): echo, low confidence ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine taught his soldiers to pray with raised hands and to keep Sunday as the day of prayer. ### Greek text οὕτω δὴ βασιλεὺς αὐτός, ὤ τῆς παραδόξου ἀκοῆς, τε εὐσεβεῖς θεσμοῖς ἀκολούθως παρεδίδου θείοις, ἄνω μὲν αἴροντας εἰς οὐρανὸν μετεώρους τὰς χεῖρας, ἀνωτάτω δʼ ἐπὶ τὸν ἐπουράνιον βασιλέα τοὺς τῆς διανοίας παραπέμποντας ὀφθαλμούς, κἀκεῖνον ταῖς εὐχαῖς νίκης δοτῆρα σωτῆρα φύλακά τε καὶ βοηθὸν ἐπιβοωμένους· ναὶ μὴν καὶ ἡμέραν εὐχῶν ἡγεῖσθαι κατάλληλον τὴν κυρίαν ἀληθῶς καὶ πρώτην ὄντως κυριακήν τε καὶ σωτήριον, τὴν δὴ καὶ φωτός καὶ ζωῆς, ἀθανασίας τε καὶ ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς ἐπώνυμον. ### English translation (Claude) So the emperor himself (O marvellous report!) handed on pious ordinances in keeping with the divine laws: that they should lift up their hands on high to heaven, send the eyes of the mind higher still to the heavenly King, and in their prayers call on him as giver of victory, Saviour, guardian and helper; and also that they should regard as the fitting day for prayers the one that is truly the lord and first day, the Lord's and saving day, named indeed after light and life, immortality and every good. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 2:8: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 4.18-20 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - On Constantine's soldiers' prayer and Sunday, see Life of Constantine 4.18–20. The text reads τε εὐσεβεῖς, probably for τοῖς στρατιώταις or similar; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the palace Constantine prayed and heard Scripture, and his household was staffed by devout men. ### Greek text αὐτὸς τε αὐτοῦ διδάσκαλος ἀγαθῶν ὑποστάς, ἐν αὐτοῖς βασιλικοῖς ταμείοις τὸν αὐτοῦ σωτῆρα γεραίρων, ὧδε μὲν εὐχαῖς θεσμοὺς ἐξετέλει θείους, ὡδε δὲ λόγων ἱερῶν ἀκοαῖς τὸν νοῦν ἐξεπαιδεύετο, διάκονοι δʼ αὐτῷ καὶ ὑπηρέται θεῷ καθιερωμένοι, βίου τε σεμνότητι καὶ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένοι ἄνδρες, φύλακες τοῦ παντὸς οἴκου καθίσταντο, καὶ δορυφόροι δὲ πιστοί, σωματοφύλακες τρόποις εὐνοίας ἀγαθῆς καθωπλισμένοι, βασιλέα διδάσκαλον θεοσεβοῦς ἐπεγράφοντο βίου. ### English translation (Claude) And he himself, becoming his own teacher of good things, honoured his Saviour in the very royal chambers: here he carried out divine ordinances with prayers, there he trained his mind by hearing the sacred words. His ministers and attendants, men consecrated to God and adorned with dignity of life and virtue, were appointed guardians of the whole household; and faithful guards, bodyguards armed with the ways of good loyalty, acknowledged the emperor as the teacher of a godly life. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The cross brought Constantine victory over enemies and demons, and in thanks he ordered churches built everywhere. ### Greek text ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τὸ νικοποιὸν ἐτίμα σημεῖον, ἔργῳ τὴν πεῖραν τῆς ἐν αὐτῷ θεότητος μαθών· καὶ γὰρ δὴ τούτῳ πλήθη πολεμίου στρατιᾶς ὑπεχώρει, τούτῳ θεομάχων μεγαλαυχίαι καθῃροῦντο, τούτῳ δυσφήμων καὶ δυσσεβῶν γλῶτται κατεσιγάζοντο, τούτῳ βάρβαρα φῦλα καθυπετάττετο, τούτῳ δυνάμεις ἀφανῶν δαιμόνων ἠλαύνοντο, τούτῳ παιδιαὶ δεισιδαίμονος ἀπάτης ἠλέγχοντο, τούτῳ τὸ πάντων ἀγαθῶν τέλος οἷόν τι χρέος βασιλεὺς ἀποδιδοὺς ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς στήλας ἐπινικίους ἱδρύετο, πλουσίᾳ καὶ βασιλικῇ χειρὶ νεὼς καὶ τεμένη ἱερά τε προσευκτήρια συνίστασθαι τοῖς πᾶσι διακελευόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) The emperor honoured the victorious sign, having learned by deed the proof of the divinity in it. For by it the multitudes of the enemy army gave way, by it the boasts of the God-fighters were cast down, by it the tongues of blasphemers and impious men were silenced, by it barbarian tribes were subdued, by it the powers of invisible demons were driven off, by it the childish games of superstitious deceit were exposed. By it the emperor, rendering as a debt the end of all good things, set up monuments of victory everywhere on earth, commanding all with rich and royal hand to build temples, sacred precincts and houses of prayer. ### Translation notes - 'The end of all good things' is a literal rendering of τὸ πάντων ἀγαθῶν τέλος; the sense may be 'the fulfilment of every good' owed to God. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The persecutors who destroyed the churches were swiftly destroyed by God, while Constantine built new churches far finer, in Constantinople, Nicomedia and other chief cities. ### Greek text ὑψοῦτο δὲ παραχρῆμα μέσαις αὐταῖς ἐπαρχίαις τε καὶ πόλεσι βασιλικῆς μεγαλονοίας μεγαλουργήματα, ἐν ὀλίγῳ τε ταῦτα κατὰ πᾶν ἔθνος διέλαμπεν, ἀθέου τυραννίδος τὸν ἔλαχον ἐφελκόμενα· οἱ μὲν γὰρ ψυχῆς ἀπονοίᾳ πρὸ μικροῦ θεομαχεῖν ὡρμημένοι κυνῶν δίκην λυττῶντες κατὰ τῶν ἀψύχων οἰκοδομημάτων, ὅτι μὴ κατʼ αὐτοῦ θεοῦ δυνατὸν ἠν αὐτοῖς, τοὺς θυμοὺς ἠφίεσαν, εἶτʼ ἐξ ὕψους εἰς ἔδαφος καταρρίπτοντες ἐξ αὐτῶν τε βάθρων ἀνασκάπτοντες τὰ προσευκτήρια ἑαλωκυίας ὑπὸ πολεμίων πόλεως παρεῖχον θέαν. καὶ τοῦτ΄ ἠν αὐτοῖς τῶν κακῶν τὸ δρᾶμα, διʼ οὗ τὸ θεῖον ὥσπερ ἀμυνόμενοι τῆς φρενοβλαβείας αὐτίκα τὴν πεῖραν ἐλάμβανον. οὔπω δʼ οὖν αὐτοῖς βραχὺς διῄει χρόνος, καὶ μιᾷ ῥιπῇ θεηλάτου καταιγίδος ἀφανεῖς ἐποίει, ὡς μὴ γένος, μὴ σπέρμα, μηδέ τι λείψανον τῆς αὐτῶν μνήμης ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἀπολειφθῆναι ἄρδην δʼ ἐν βραχεῖ τοὺς πάντας καίπερ εἰς πλῆθος ἀφωρισμένους θεηλάτοις μάστιξι τιμωρουμένους ἀποσβῆναι. 14 ἀλλʼ οἵδε μὲν θεομάχου λύττης τοιοῦτον εὕραντο τέλος, ὁ δὲ τὸ σωτήριον τρόπαιον προβεβλημένος μόνος αὐτός, οὐ μὴν μόνος συνόντος δὲ καὶ συμπράττοντος αὐτῷ τοῦ μόνου, τῶν μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἑαλωκότων τὰ νέα πολὺ κρείττονα τὰ δεύτερα μακρῷ τῶν πρώτων ἀπέφαινε τιμιώτερα, ὡδε μὲν τὴν ἐπώνυμον αὐτῷ πόλιν διαφόροις ἐκκλησίαις θεοῦ φαιδρύνων, ὡδε δὲ τὴν Βιθυνῶν ἄρχουσαν μεγίστῃ τιμῶν καὶ περικαλλεστάτῃ, καὶ τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ἐθνῶν τὰς μάλιστα κρατιστευούσας τοῖς ὁμοίοις ἐκόσμει. ### English translation (Claude) At once the great works of imperial magnanimity rose in the middle of provinces and cities, and in a short time they shone through every nation, bringing with them the refutation of the godless tyranny. For those who a little before, in madness of soul, had rushed to fight against God, raging like dogs, let loose their fury against lifeless buildings, since they could not against God himself; then, throwing down the houses of prayer from on high to the ground and digging them up from their foundations, they presented the sight of a city captured by enemies. This was the drama of their wickedness, for which they at once experienced the divine power, as though avenging itself on their madness. Not even a short time passed, and with one blast of a God-sent storm it made them disappear, so that neither race nor seed nor any remnant of their memory was left among men, but all, though counted in great numbers, were punished by God-sent scourges and utterly extinguished in a short time. [14] Such was the end they found for their God-fighting madness. But he who had set forth the saving trophy alone (yet not alone, since the Only One was with him and working with him) made the new buildings far better than those so recently captured, the second far more honourable than the first: here brightening the city named after him with various churches of God, there honouring the chief city of the Bithynians with one very large and most beautiful, and adorning with similar ones the most powerful cities of the other provinces. ### Scripture references - Hag 2:9: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 14 marks section 9.14, which the staging did not separate; it is kept as [14]. The text reads τὸν ἔλαχον, a slip for τὸν ἔλεγχον ('the refutation'). The chief city of Bithynia is Nicomedia. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-15 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In Antioch Constantine built a great octagonal church. ### Greek text πάντων δʼ ἐξαίρετα δύο τμήματα τῆς ἑῴας ἀπολαβών, τὸ μὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ Παλαιστινῶν ἔθνους ὡς ἂν ἐνθένδε τοῦ ζωοποιοῦ νάματος πηγῆς δίκην ἀνομβρήσαντος εἰς πάντας, τὸ δʼ ἐπὶ τῆς ἀνατολικῆς μητροπόλεως ἣ τὴν ἐπώνυμον Ἀντιόχου κοσμεῖ προσηγορίαν. τῇδε μὲν ὥσπερ ἐν κεφαλῇ τῶν τῇδε ἐθνῶν ἀπάντων θεῖόν τι καὶ μονογενὲς χρῆμα μεγέθους ἕνεκα καὶ καλλονῆς ἀφιέρου· μακροῖς ἔξωθεν περιβόλοις τὸν πάντα νεὼν περιλαμβάνων, εἴσω δὲ τὸ ἀνάκτορον εἰς ἀμήχανον ἐπαίρων ὕψος, ἐν ὀκταέδρου μὲν σχήματι κατεποίκιλλεν, οἴκοις δὲ τοῦτο πλείοσιν ἐξέδραις τε ἐν κύκλῳ περιστοιχισάμενος, παντοίοις ἐστεφάνου κάλλεσιν. ### English translation (Claude) Choosing out two parts of the East above all, one in the province of Palestine, since from there the life-giving stream gushed forth to all like a spring, and the other in the eastern metropolis that bears the name of Antiochus, in the latter, as at the head of all the provinces there, he dedicated a divine and unique work for its size and beauty. Surrounding the whole temple outside with long enclosures, and raising the sanctuary within to an immense height, he built it in the form of an octagon, and, surrounding it all round with many chambers and exedras, crowned it with every kind of beauty. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.15 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-15). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-16 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In Jerusalem Constantine built a great church at the place of the cross and adorned Christ's tomb. ### Greek text τάδε μὲν οὖν ὡδε συνετελεῖτο, τὰ δʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ Παλαιστινῶν ἔθνους τῆς Ἑβραίων βασιλικῆς ἑστίας ἐν μέσῳ κατʼ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ σωτήριον μαρτύριον οἶκον εὐκτήριον παμμεγέθη νεών τε ἅγιον τῷ σωτηρίῳ σημείῳ πλουσίαις καὶ δαψιλέσι κατεκόσμει φιλοτιμίαις, μνῆμά τε μνήμης αἰωνίου γέμον αὐτό τε τοῦ μεγάλου σωτῆρος τὰ κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου τρόπαια λόγου παντὸς κρείττοσιν ἐτίμα καλλωπίσμασιν. ### English translation (Claude) These were completed in this way. In the province of Palestine, in the middle of the royal seat of the Hebrews, at the very saving witness itself, he adorned with rich and lavish munificence a vast house of prayer and holy temple to the saving sign; and he honoured with adornments beyond all description the tomb full of everlasting memory and the very trophies of the great Saviour over death. ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 3.25-40 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The 'saving witness' (μαρτύριον) is the place of the crucifixion and resurrection; the church is the Martyrium of the Holy Sepulchre (Life of Constantine 3.25–40). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.16 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-16). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-17 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine built churches at three caves: of the birth, of the ascension, and of the tomb. ### Greek text τρεῖς δʼ ἀπολαβὼν ἐν τῇδε χώρας τρισὶν ἄντροις μυστικοῖς τετιμημένας, πλουσίαις ταύτας οἰκοδομαῖς ἐκόσμει, τῷ μὲν τῆς πρώτης ἄντρῳ τὰ τῆς καταλλήλου νέμων τιμῆς, τῷ δὲ τῆς ὑστάτης ἀναλήψεως τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀκρωρείας μνήμην σεμνύνων, τῷ δὲ μέσῳ τοῦ παντὸς ἀγῶνος τὰς σωτηρίους ἀνυψῶν νίκας. ταῦτα δὴ πάντα βασιλεὺς ἐκόσμει τὸ σωτήριον εἰς ἅπαντας ἀνακηρύττων σημεῖον· ### English translation (Claude) Taking three places in that land honoured by three mystic caves, he adorned them with rich buildings: to the cave of the first manifestation he gave fitting honour; at the cave of the final ascension he exalted the memorial on the mountain ridge; and at the middle one he raised high the saving victories of the whole contest. All these the emperor adorned, proclaiming to all the saving sign. ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 3.41-43 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The three caves are Bethlehem (Christ's birth), the Mount of Olives (the ascension), and the tomb in Jerusalem; compare Life of Constantine 3.41–43. 'First manifestation' renders τῆς πρώτης, the noun being understood. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.17 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-17). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-18 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In return God blesses Constantine's house and dynasty. ### Greek text τὸ δὲ τῆς εὐσεβείας αὐτῷ τὰ ἀμοιβαῖα δωρούμενον οἶκον ἅπαντα καὶ γένος αὔξει, θρόνον τε βασιλείας μακραῖς ἐτῶν περιόδοις κρατύνει, παισὶν ἀγαθοῖς καὶ αὐτοῦ γένει διαδοχαῖς τε τούτων τοὺς τῆς ἀρετῆς καρποὺς ταμιευόμενον. ### English translation (Claude) And the sign, giving him the rewards of his piety, increases his whole house and family, strengthens the throne of his kingdom for long periods of years, storing up the fruits of virtue for his good sons, his family and their successors. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.18 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-18). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 9.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-9-19 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God rewarded each justly: the destroyers of churches perished, and Constantine, who honoured God, was protected with his house. ### Greek text καὶ δὴ τοῦτʼ ἦν τὸ φέριστον τῆς τοῦ τιμωμένου δυνάμεως δεῖγμα, ὅτι δὴ δικαιοσύνης ἐξ ἴσου νέμων τὰ τάλαντα τὴν κατʼ ἀξίαν ἀμοιβὴν ἑκατέρῳ τάγματι προσῆγεν. διὸ τοῖς μὲν τοὺς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους πολιορκήσασι παρὰ πόδας εἵπετο τἀπίχειρα τῆς δυσσεβείας, ἄρριζοί τε καὶ ἄοικοι ἀνέστιοί τε καὶ ἀφανεῖς καθίσταντο παραχρῆμα· ὁ δὲ τὸν αὐτοῦ δεσπότην παντοίοις τρόποις εὐσεβείας τιμῶν, καὶ τοτὲ μὲν οἴκους αὐτῷ βασιλικοὺς ἀνυψῶν, τοτὲ δὲ τοῖς ἁπανταχοῦ γῆς ἀφιερώμασι τοῖς ἀρχομένοις ἀναφαίνων, εἰκότως αὐτὸν οἴκου, βασιλείας καὶ γένους σωτῆρα καὶ φρουρὸν εὕρατο. ὡδε θεοῦ κατεφαίνοντο πράξεις διʼ ἐνθέου ἀρετῆς τοῦ σωτηρίου σημείου, ### English translation (Claude) And this was the best proof of the power of the one honoured: that, weighing equally the scales of justice, he gave to each rank the reward it deserved. Therefore those who besieged the houses of prayer were followed at once by the wages of their impiety, and were made rootless and homeless, without hearth and vanished; while he, who honoured his Master with every kind of piety, now raising royal houses to him, now displaying him to his subjects by offerings everywhere on earth, fittingly found in him the saviour and guard of his house, his kingdom and his family. Thus the acts of God were made manifest through the divine virtue of the saving sign, ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 10.1. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 9.19 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-19). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The cross alone abolished the lies about the gods and revealed the true God to all. ### Greek text οὑ δὴ πέρι μακρὸς ἂν εἴη λόγος μύσταις θεολόγων ἀνδρῶν παραδεδομένος· καὶ γὰρ ἠν τουτὶ σωτήριον ἀληθῶς, θαῦμα μὲν εἰπεῖν πολὺ δὲ θαυμάσιον ἐννοῆσαι, ὡς πάντα μὲν τὰ ἐξ αἰῶνος περὶ θεῶν ἐψευσμένα μόνον ἐπὶ γῆς ἐκάλυψεν ὀφθὲν καὶ σκότῳ μὲν καὶ λήθῃ παραδέδωκεν τὴν πλάνην, φῶς δὲ νοερὸν ψυχαῖς ἀνθρώπων ἐκλάμψαν τὸν μόνον ἀληθῆ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνεκάλυψε θεόν. ### English translation (Claude) about which a long account would be handed down to initiates by men versed in theology. For this was truly saving, a wonder to say and far more wonderful to conceive: that, appearing alone on earth, it covered all the falsehoods about gods from all ages and gave error over to darkness and oblivion, and shining an intellectual light into human souls, revealed to all the only true God. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Converts despise the idols, learn Scripture, and worship not the heavenly bodies but their invisible Creator. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ πᾶς ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον μεταβαλὼν νεκρῶν μὲν εἰδώλων καταπτύει προσώποις, πατεῖ δʼ ἄθεσμα δαιμόνων θέσμια, καὶ παλαιᾶς ἀπάτης πατροπαραδότου καταγελᾶ. λόγων δʼ ἱερῶν ἁπανταχοῦ διατριβὰς ἄνθρωποι συστησάμενοι ᾠ σωτηρίοις μαθήμασιν ἐκπαιδεύονται, ὡς μηκέτι τὴν ὁρωμένην σαρκὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἐπτοῆσθαι κτίσιν μηδʼ ἄνω βλέποντας ἥλιον καὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας μέχρι τούτων ἱστάναι τὸ θαῦμα, τὸν δὲ τούτων ἐπέκεινα, τὸν ἀφανῆ καὶ ἀόρατον κτίστην τῶν ὅλων ὁμολογεῖν, μόνον αὐτὸν σέβειν δεδιδαγμένους. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore everyone who has turned to the better spits on the faces of dead idols, tramples on the lawless laws of demons, and laughs at the old deceit handed down from the fathers. People everywhere have established schools of sacred words and are trained in saving teachings, so that they are no longer excited by the creation seen with the eyes of the flesh, and, looking up at the sun and moon and stars, do not stop their wonder at these, but confess the One beyond them, the unseen and invisible Creator of all, having been taught to worship him alone. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:20: echo, medium confidence - Rom 1:25: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Compare Rom 1:20, 25. The text has ᾠ for καὶ or a similar word; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The cross has been the cause of countless benefits to humanity. ### Greek text τοσούτων δῆτα παραίτιον ἀγαθῶν ἀνθρώποις τὸ μέγα τουτὶ καὶ παράδοξον ἀναπέφανται σημεῖον, διʼ οὗ τὰ μὲν οὐκέτʼ ἔστιν ὅσα φαῦλα, τὰ πρὶν οὐκ ὄντα νῦν παρὰ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀκτῖσιν εὐσεβείας ἐκλάμπει. ### English translation (Claude) Of so many good things for mankind this great and marvellous sign has been shown to be the cause, through which all that was bad no longer exists, and what formerly did not exist now shines among all with the rays of godliness. ### Translation notes - ἀβαθῶν is a slip for ἀγαθῶν ('good things'); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The emperor himself preaches godliness to the world, calling all to know God. ### Greek text λόγοι δʼ οὖν καὶ μαθήματα καὶ προτροπαὶ σώφρονος καὶ θεοσεβοῦς βίου εἰς ἐξάκουστον πᾶσιν ἔθνεσι κηρύττονται, κηρύττει τε βασιλεὺς αὐτός· τὸ δὲ μέγιστον θαῦμα ὅτι δὴ τοσοῦτος βασιλεὺς μεγίστῃ φωνῇ τῷ παντὶ κόσμῳ οἷά τις ὑποφήτης τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ κέκραγεν, πάντας ὁμοῦ τοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτῷ ποιμαινομένους ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ὄντος γνῶσιν ἀνακαλούμενος. ### English translation (Claude) Words and teachings and exhortations to a sober and godly life are proclaimed in the hearing of all nations, and the emperor himself proclaims them. And the greatest marvel is that so great an emperor has cried out with the loudest voice to the whole world, like an interpreter of God the King of all, calling all those shepherded under him to the knowledge of the One who is. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: In the palace priests now sing hymns, and the gospel joins humanity to God. ### Greek text καὶ δὴ μέσοις βασιλείων οἵκοις οὐκ ἔθʼ ὡς τὸ πρὶν ἀνδρῶν ἀθέων φλήναφοι, ἱερεῖς δὲ καὶ θιασῶται θεοῦ βασιλικῆς ὕμνοις εὐσεβείας σεμνυνόμενοι πανηγυρίσουσιν, θεός τε εἷς αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν ὅλων βασιλεὺς εἰς ἅπαντας καταγγέλλεται, ἀγαθῶν τε λόγος εὐαγγελικὸς τῷ τοῦ παντὸς βασιλεῖ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων συνάπτει γένος, ἵλεων καὶ φίλον τὸν ἐπουράνιον πατέρα τοῖς κατὰ γῆν υἱοῖς εὐαγγελιζόμενος, χοροί τε παντοῖοι ᾠδαῖς ἐπινικίοις γεραίρουσι, καὶ πᾶν τὸ θνητὸν συνηχεῖ τοῖς κατʼ οὐρανὸν ἀγγελικοῖς θιάσοις. ### English translation (Claude) And in the middle of the imperial palace, no longer, as before, the babblers of godless men, but priests and worshippers of God celebrate, honouring with hymns the royal piety; and one God himself, the King of all, is proclaimed to all; and the good news of good things joins the human race to the King of the universe, announcing the heavenly Father as gracious and friendly to his sons on earth; choirs of every kind honour him with songs of victory, and all that is mortal sounds in harmony with the angelic companies of heaven. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: East and West, North and South now praise one God and one Saviour, and acknowledge one emperor and his sons. ### Greek text ψυχαί τε λογικαὶ διʼ ὧν περιβέβληνται σωμάτων ὥσπερ διὰ μουσικῶν ὀργάνων τοὺς πρέποντας ὕμνους αὐτῷ καὶ τὰς ὀφειλομένας ἀναπέμπουσι θεολογίας· ὁμοῦ τε τοῖς κατʼ ἀνατολὰς οἰκοῦσιν οἱ τὰ πρὸς δυσμὰς λαχόντες ὑπὸ μίαν καιροῦ ῥοπὴν τοῖς αὐτοῦ μαθήμασιν ἐκπαιδεύονται, τοῖς τε κατὰ μεσημβρίαν οἱ τὴν ἀρκτῴαν διειληφότες λῆξιν σύμφωνα κελαδοῦσι μέλη, τοῖς αὐτοῖς τρόποις τε καὶ λόγοις τὸν θεοσεβῆ μεταδιώκοντες βίον, καὶ ἕνα μὲν τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν ἀνευφημοῦντες, ἕνα δὲ τὸν μονογενῆ σωτῆρα πάντων αἴτιον ἀγαθῶν ἐπιγραφόμενοι, ἕνα δὲ καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ γῆς διορθωτὴν βασιλέα παῖδάς τε τούτου θεοφιλεῖς γνωρίζοντες. ### English translation (Claude) Rational souls, through the bodies in which they are clothed, as through musical instruments, send up to him the fitting hymns and due praises. Those who dwell in the West are taught his lessons at one moment together with those in the East, and those whose lot is in the North sing in harmony with those in the South, pursuing the godly life by the same ways and words, praising one God over all, acknowledging one only-begotten Saviour, the cause of all good things, and recognizing one emperor on earth as corrector, and his sons dear to God. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 10.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-10-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine steers the empire like a helmsman under God, who will give him still greater blessings beyond human telling. ### Greek text ὁ δʼ οἷα σοφὸς κυβερνήτης ὑψίζυγος ὑπὲρ πηδαλίων ὀχούμενος εὐδίᾳ περαίνων οἰακίζει, οὐρίῳ πνεύματι τοὺς ὑπ αὐτῳ πάντας ἐπὶ τὸν ἀσφαλῆ καὶ γαληνὸν ναυστολῶν ὅρμον, θεὸς δὲ αὐτὸς ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς ἄνωθεν αὐτῷ δεξιὰν χεῖρα προτείνων τέως μὲν ἁπάντων ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολεμίων νικητὴν αὐτὸν καθίστησιν, μακραῖς ἐτῶν περιόδοις τὸ τῆς βασιλείας ἐπαύξων κράτος, μέλλει δὲ καὶ κρειττόνων ἀποφαίνειν κοινωνὸν ἀγαθῶν, ἔργοις εἰς αὐτὸν τὰς οἰκείας πιστούμενος ἐπαγγελίας, ἃς οὐκέθʼ ὁ παρὼν καιρὸς οἷός τε ἐπιτρέπει λέγειν, μένειν δὲ χρὴ τὴν ἐκεῖσε ὅτι δὴ θνητοῖς ὄμμασι καὶ σαρκὸς ἀκοαῖς οὐκ ἔχει φύσιν τὰ θεῖα καταλαμβάνεσθαι. ### English translation (Claude) And he, like a wise helmsman seated high above the rudders, steers in fair weather, sailing all under him with a favourable wind into the safe and calm harbour; and God himself, the great King, stretching out his right hand to him from above, makes him meanwhile victor over all enemies and foes, increasing the power of his reign for long periods of years, and he will also show him a sharer in better good things, confirming his own promises to him by deeds. These the present time does not allow to be told; we must wait for that place, since by nature divine things cannot be grasped by mortal eyes and the hearing of the flesh. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 2:9: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The text reads τὴν ἐκεῖσε (perhaps τὴν ἐκεῖσε μετάστασιν, 'the passage there'); translated by sense. Compare 1 Cor 2:9. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 10.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/10-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Addressing Constantine directly, Eusebius will explain to the ignorant the reasons for the emperor's pious works, which God himself revealed to him. ### Greek text Φέρε δή σοι, Νικητὰ Μέγιστε Κωνσταντῖνε, λόγων ἀπορρήτων μυήσεις ἐν τῷ βασιλικῷ τῷδε ἀμφὶ τοῦ παμβασιλέως τῶν ὅλων συγγράμματι παραθώμεθα, οὐ σὲ μυοῦντες τὸν ἐκ θεοῦ σεσοφισμένον οὐδὲ σοὶ τὰ ἀπόρρητα γυμνοῦντες, ᾧ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἡμετέρων λόγων θεὸς αὐτὸς οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ διʼ ἀνθρώπου διʼ αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ κοινοῦ σωτῆρος καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ σοι πολλαχῶς ἐπιλαμψάσης θεϊκῆς ὄψεως τὰ κρύφια τῶν ἱερῶν ἐξέφηνέν τε καὶ ἀπεκάλυψεν, τοὺς δʼ ἀμαθεῖς ἀνθρώπους εἰς φῶς ἄγοντες καὶ τῶν σῶν τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁσίων ἔργων τὰς ὑποθέσεις καὶ τὰς αἰτίας τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσιν ὑποτιθέμενοι. ### English translation (Claude) Come then, Victor, Greatest Constantine, let us set before you initiations into secret words in this royal treatise concerning the King of all, not initiating you, who have been made wise by God, nor laying bare the secrets to you, to whom, even before our words, God himself, not from men nor through man, but through the common Saviour himself and the divine vision that has often shone upon you, has shown and revealed the hidden things of the sacred mysteries; but bringing ignorant people into the light, and setting before those who do not know them the reasons and causes of your holy works of piety. ### Scripture references - Gal 1:1: echo, medium confidence - Gal 1:12: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 4.33 (Life of Constantine): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Chapters 11–18 are generally taken to be a separate speech, probably that 'on Christ's tomb' mentioned in Life of Constantine 4.33 and 4.46, joined to the Tricennial Oration in the manuscripts. 'Not from men nor through man' echoes Gal 1:1. The text reads ὄφεως for ὄψεως ('vision') and αἐτίας for αἰτίας. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The world praises Constantine's works, but the churches he built in Palestine around Christ's tomb are not understood by all. ### Greek text τὰ μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὴν τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ θεραπείαν τε καὶ τιμὴν ὁσημέραι καθʼ ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης πρὸς τῆς σῆς ἀρετῆς κατορθούμενα πᾶν στόμα θνητῶν ἀνυμνεῖ, τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς ἡμεδαπῆς ἑστίας, φημὶ δὴ τοῦ Παλαιστινῶν ἔθνους, πόλεώς τε τῆσδε, ἔνθεν ὁ σωτήριος λόγος ὥσπερ ἀπὸ πηγῆς εἰς πάντας ἀνώμβρησεν ἀνθρώπους, ἀνατεθέντα τῷ σῷ φύλακί τε καὶ σωτῆρι χαριστήρια, τρόπαιά τε τῆς κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου νίκης ἐν προσευκτηρίων οἴκοις καὶ ναῶν ἀφιερώσασιν ἀνεγηγερμένα, ὑψηλά τε καὶ περικαλλῆ βασιλικῆς διανοίας βασιλικὰ μεγαλυργήματα ἀμφὶ τὸ σωτήριον μαρτύριον τῆς ἀθανάτου μνήμης ἐπεσκευασμένα ### English translation (Claude) For what your virtue accomplishes daily throughout the whole inhabited world for the service and honour of God, the King of all, every mortal mouth hymns. But the things in our own land, I mean the province of Palestine, and in this city, from which the saving Word gushed forth as from a spring to all people, dedicated as thank-offerings to your guardian and Saviour, the trophies of the victory over death raised in houses of prayer and in dedications of temples, the lofty and most beautiful royal works of a royal mind built around the saving witness of immortal memory, ### Translation notes - 'This city' is Jerusalem; the 'saving witness' (μαρτύριον) is the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The sentence continues in 11.3. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The spiritually enlightened admire Constantine's churches, but the ignorant mock him for honouring a tomb. ### Greek text οὐ τοῖς πρόδηλον ἔχει τὴν αἰτίαν, ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν τὰ θεῖα δυνάμει πνεύματος ἐνθέου πεφωτισμένοι ἴσασί τε καὶ γνωρίζουσι, καὶ σὲ τῆς ἐπὶ ταῦτα διανοίας τε καὶ ὁρμῆς οὐκ ἀθεεὶ κεκινημένης ἐνδίκως θαυμάζουσί τε καὶ μακαρίζουσιν, οἱ δὲ τῶν θείων ἀγνώμονες ψυχῆς ἀβλεψίᾳ χλεύην καὶ γέλωτα πλατὺν τίθενται τὸ πρᾶγμα, νεκρῶν σωμάτων μνημεῖα καὶ τάφους τοσούτῳ βασιλεῖ σπουδάζεσθαι ἀπρεπὲς εἶναι καὶ ἀνοίκειον ὑπειληφότες. ### English translation (Claude) do not have their cause plain to everyone. Those enlightened in divine things by the power of the divine Spirit know and recognize it, and rightly admire and call you blessed for a purpose and impulse toward these things not moved without God. But those ignorant of divine things, through blindness of soul, make the matter an object of mockery and broad laughter, supposing it unbecoming and unfitting for so great an emperor to take trouble over memorials and tombs of dead bodies. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A pagan objector argues that if Christ is worshipped despite his sufferings, the pagan heroes should be too, or neither. ### Greek text εἶτʼ οὐχὶ βέλτιον, φαίη ἄν τις αὐτῶν, τὰ πάτρια φυλάττειν καὶ τοὺς καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔθνος τιμωμένους ἥρωάς τε καὶ θεοὺς εὐμενίζειν μηδὲ ἀποπτύειν αὐτοὺς καὶ φεύγειν τῶν τοιῶνδε συμφορῶν ἕνεκα; ἀλλʼ ἢ κἀκείνους ὁμοίως τῷδε τῆς ὁμοπαθείας χάριν θειάζειν, ἤ εἰ ἀπόβλητοι διὰ τὰς ἀνθρωποπαθείας ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ τούτῳ δίκαιον εἶναι τὴν αὐτὴν ἀπονέμειν ψῆφον. ταῦτα γοῦν αὐτῶν εἴποι τις ἂν εὖ μάλα τὰς ὀφρῦς συνάγων οἰήματί τε δοκησισόφῳ τὸν αὐτοῦ σεμνολογῶν τῦφον. ### English translation (Claude) "Would it not be better," one of them might say, "to keep the ancestral customs and appease the heroes and gods honoured in each nation, and not to spit on them and flee from them because of such misfortunes? Either they too should be deified like this one, for their likeness of sufferings, or, if they are to be rejected because of their human sufferings, it is just to give the same verdict on this one." So one of them might say, drawing his brows close together and solemnly displaying his conceit with self-satisfied opinion. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word mercifully calls all people, even the impious and ignorant, to his teaching, as the physician of souls who came for sinners. ### Greek text ὅν δὴ συγγνώμης ἀξιῶν τῆς ἀμαθίας οὐ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντα πεπλανημένον ὁ τοῦ παναγάθου πατρὸς φιλάνθρωπος λόγος, διατριβὰς καὶ διδασκαλεῖα καθʼ ὅλης τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν οἰκουμένης πηξάμενος ἒν τε χώραις καὶ κώμαις ἀγροῖς τε καὶ ἐρημίαις ταῖς θʼ ἀπανταχοῦ πόλεσιν εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐνθέων μαθημάτων παίδευσιν ἀφθόνως ἐπικαλεῖται, Ἕλληνας ὁμοῦ καὶ βαρβάρους, σοφοὺς καὶ ἰδιώτας, πένητας καὶ πλουσίους, οἰκέτας ἅμα δεσπόταις, ἄρχοντας καὶ ἀρχομένους, ἀσεβεῖς ἀδίκους ἀμαθεῖς αἰσχροποιοὺς βλασφήμους ἥκειν καὶ σπεύδειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἔνθεον θεραπείαν οἷα φιλάνθρωπος σωτὴρ καὶ ψυχῶν ἰατρὸς παρακελευόμενος. λαμπραῖς γοῦν φωναῖς προτέρων κακῶν ἀμνηστίαν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνακηρύττων ἐβόα· δεῦτε, πρός με", λέγων, „πάντες οἱ κοπιῶντες καὶ πεφορτισμένοι, κἀγὼ ἀναπαύσω ὑμᾶς·" αὐθις· „οὐκ ἠλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς μετάνοιαν·" καὶ προστίθησί γε τὸ αἵτιον φάσκων· „οὐ γὰρ χρείαν ἔχουσιν ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλʼ οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες." καὶ· οὐ βούλομαι τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς τὴν μετάνοιαν αὐτοῦ.“ ### English translation (Claude) But the loving Word of the all-good Father, judging him worthy of pardon for his ignorance, and not him only but everyone in error, having founded schools and places of teaching throughout the whole world of the nations, in countries and villages, in fields and deserts and in cities everywhere, generously calls them to the training of the divine teachings: Greeks and barbarians alike, wise and simple, poor and rich, slaves with masters, rulers and ruled, the impious, the unjust, the ignorant, the doers of shameful things, the blasphemers, urging them to come and hasten to the divine service, as a loving Saviour and physician of souls. With clear voice, proclaiming to all an amnesty for former evils, he cried: "Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"; again: "I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance"; and he adds the reason, saying: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick"; and: "I do not desire the death of the sinner, so much as his repentance." ### Scripture references - Matt 11:28: quotation, high confidence - Luke 5:32: quotation, high confidence - Matt 9:13: quotation, medium confidence - Matt 9:12: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 33:11: quotation, medium confidence - Ezek 18:23: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Matt 11:28; Luke 5:32 (Matt 9:13); Matt 9:12; Ezek 33:11 (compare 18:23), the last loosely. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Only those taught by God see that Constantine's zeal for Christ's tomb came from divine inspiration. ### Greek text ἐνθένδε μόνῳ τῷ τὰ θεῖα πεπαιδευμένῳ, τὰς αἰτίας ἐκμαθόντι τῆς τῶν προκειμένων σπουδῆς, κρείττονα ἢ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἐπίπνοιαν τῷ ἡμετέρῳ βασιλεῖ συνομολογεῖν ἔπεισι καὶ τοῦ τρόπου τὸ θεοσεβὲς ἀποθαυμάζειν τήν τε περὶ τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς σωτηρίου ἀθανασίας σπουδὴν οὐκ ἀθεεὶ γεγονέναι πιστεύειν ἐξ ἐπιπνοίας δὲ ἀληθῶς τοῦ κρείττονος, οὗ θεράπων ἀγαθὸς ἀγαθῶν ὑπηρέτης εἶναι σεμνύνεται. ### English translation (Claude) From this it follows that only one taught in divine things, who has learned the causes of zeal for what lies before us, will acknowledge in our emperor an inspiration greater than human, will admire the godliness of his character, and will believe that his zeal for the witness of saving immortality came about not without God, but truly by the inspiration of the higher power, whose good servant he is proud to be as a minister of good things. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius will explain why the pre-existent Word came from heaven, became man, died, and rose again. ### Greek text ταῦτά σοι, βασιλεῦ μέγιστε, φίλτατα καὶ προσήγορα εἶναι ἀληθῶς πεπεισμένος, τῶν σῶν φιλοθέων ἔργων τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰς αἰτίας ὁ παρών μοι λόγος εἰς τοὺς πάντας ἐκφῆναι βούλεται, τις εἶναι τῆς σῆς διανοίας καὶ τῆς φιλοθέου ψυχῆς ἄγγελος ὑπάρχειν εὐχόμενος, διδάσκων πάντα ἅ δεῖ καὶ προσήκει παιδεύεσθαι πάντα, ᾧ πόθος ἐστὶ μανθάνειν τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ δυνάμεως τοὺς λόγους, διʼ οὕς καὶ πάλαι προὼν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς ἐπιμελόμενος ὀψέ ποτε οὐρανόθεν εἰς ἡμᾶς κατῄει, καὶ διʼ οὕς φύσιν ὑπεδύετο, καὶ διʼ οὓς ἐπὶ τὸν θάνατον παρῄει, τῆς τε μετὰ ταῦτα ζωῆς ἀθανάτου καὶ τῆς ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναβιώσεως τὰς αἰτίας οὐ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ λογικὰς ἀποδείξεις ἐναργῆ τε διδάγματα τοῖς εἰσέτι τούτων δεομένοις ἀναγκαῖα. ### English translation (Claude) Being truly convinced that these things are dearest and most pleasing to you, greatest emperor, my present speech wishes to make known to all the reasons and causes of your God-loving works, praying to be a kind of messenger of your mind and God-loving soul, teaching everything that one who longs to learn the reasons of the power of our Saviour God ought and should be taught: why, though he existed of old and cared for the universe, he at last came down to us from heaven; why he put on a nature; why he went to death; and not only the causes of the immortal life after these things and of the return to life from the dead, but also reasoned demonstrations and clear teachings, necessary for those who still need them. ### Translation notes - 'Our Saviour God' (τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν θεοῦ) refers to Christ. The text reads τις εἶναι, probably for ὥς τις, and ᾠ for ᾧ; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Worshipping the heavenly bodies and elements is like praising a palace's decorations instead of its architect. ### Greek text ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τούτων αὐτῶν ἐνθένδε ποθὲν ἄρξασθαι ὥρα. οἱ τὸ σέβας τοῦ κοσμοποιοῦ καὶ πανηγεμόνος θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων τοῖς πρὸς αὐτοῦ γεννηθεῖσιν ἀντικαταλλαξάμενοι ἥλιόν τε καὶ σελήνην καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη τά τε πρῶτα στοιχεῖα γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ, τῇ ἴσῃ προσηγορίᾳ τῷ τούτων ποιητῇ καὶ δημιουργῷ τιμήσαντες καὶ θεοὺς ταῦτα προσειπόντες, ἅ οὐδαμῆ οὐδαμῶς ἦν, ὑπῆρχεν ἂν οὐδʼ ὠνόμαστο, εἰ μὴ τῷ κοσμοποιῷ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγῳ παρέστη οὔ μοι δοκοῦσι τούτων διαφέρειν, ὅσοι τὸν ἀρχιτέκτονα τῶν ἐν τοῖς βασιλικοῖς οἴκοις μεγαλουργημάτων παριόντες ὀρόφους καὶ τοίχους καὶ τὰς ἐν τούτοις πολυχρώμους καὶ πολυανθεῖς γραφὰς χρυσόφορα τε δαιδάλματα καὶ λίθων γλυφὰς ὑπερεκπλήττονται, τούτοις τε αὐτοῖς τῆς τοῦ τεχνίτου σοφίας ἀνατίθενται τὴν ἐπηγορίαν, δέον μὴ τοῖς ὁρωμένοις μόνῳ δὲ τῷ τούτων ἀρχιτέκτονι τὴν τοῦ θαύματος ἐπιγράφειν αἰτίαν, καὶ σοφίας ἔργα τὰ πολλὰ εἶναι ὁμολογεῖν σοφὸν δʼ ἐκεῖνον μόνον τὸν δὴ τοῖς πολλοῖς τοῦ τοιαδὶ εἶναι παρασχόντα αἰτίαν. ### English translation (Claude) But it is time to begin from here. Those who exchanged the worship of God, the maker and ruler of the universe, for the things he had brought into being, honouring the sun and moon and the other parts of the world and the first elements, earth, water, air, fire, with the same name as their maker and creator, and calling them gods (things that would in no way at all have existed, nor been named, had they not been brought forth by the world-making Word of God), seem to me no different from those who pass by the architect of the great works in the royal palace and are utterly amazed at the ceilings and walls and the many-coloured and flowery paintings in them, the gilded carvings and the sculptures of stone, and attribute to these the title of the craftsman's wisdom. They ought to ascribe the cause of the wonder not to the things seen but to their architect alone, and to confess that the many things are works of wisdom, but that he alone is wise who has given the many the cause of being such as they are. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:25: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Compare Rom 1:25 ('exchanged ... worshipped the creature'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like admiring the lyre instead of the musician, or the shield instead of the hero, pagans admire creation instead of its Maker. ### Greek text νηπίων γοῦν κομιδῆ παίδων διαφέροιεν ἂν οὐδὲν καὶ οἱ τῆς ἑπταχόρδου λύρας αὐτὸ αὐτὸ τὸ μουσικὸν ὄργανον ἀλλʼ οὐ τὸν τῆς συντάξεως εὑρέτην τε καὶ ἐπιστήμονα τῆς σοφίας ἀποθαυμάζοντες, ἢ οἱ τὸν ἐν πολέμοις ἀριστέα παριόντες τὸ δὲ δόρυ καὶ τὴν ἀσπίδα ἐπινικίοις κοσμοῦντες στεφάνοις, ἢ οἱ τῷ μεγάλῳ βασιλεῖ τῷ τῆς μεγάλης καὶ βασιλικῆς παραιτίῳ πόλεως ἐξ ἴσου τιμῶντες ἀγορὰς καὶ πλατείας καὶ οἰκοδομήματα τεμένη τε ἄψυχα καὶ γυμνάσια, δέον μὴ κίονας μηδὲ λίθους τὸν δὲ τῶν σοφῶν μεγαλουργὸν καὶ νομοθέτην ὑπερεκπλήττεσθαι. ### English translation (Claude) They would be no different from quite young children, those who admire the seven-stringed lyre, the musical instrument itself, but not the inventor of its arrangement who has the knowledge of the skill; or those who pass by the champion in war and adorn the spear and the shield with victory crowns; or those who honour equally with the great King, the founder of the great royal city, the market-places and streets and buildings, lifeless precincts and gymnasia. One should be amazed not at columns or stones, but at the master-builder and lawgiver of the wise. ### Translation notes - The text repeats αὐτὸ; translated once. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The universe should lead us to worship the invisible Word, as we admire a sage's unseen mind rather than his body or cloak. ### Greek text κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ δὴ καὶ τὸ σύμπαν τόδε σαρκὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς θεωμένους οὔτε ἡλίῳ οὔτε σελήνῃ οὔτʼ ἄλλῳ τῶν κατʼ οὐρανὸν ἀναθετέον τὴν αἰτίαν, σοφίας δʼ ἔργα τὰ πάντα προσῆκον ὁμολογεῖν, μηδὲ μὴν ὁμοίως τῷ τούτων ποιητῇ τε καὶ δημιουργῷ τιμᾶν τε καὶ σέβειν, ἐκ δὲ τούτων αὐτῶν τῆς ὄψεως τὸν μηκέτι σώματος ὀφθαλμοῖς μόνῳ δὲ νῷ διαυγεῖ καὶ καθαρῷ νοούμενον τὸν παμβασιλέα θεοῦ λόγον πάσῃ διαθέσει ψυχῆς θεολογεῖν τε καὶ προσκυνεῖν· ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐπὶ ἀνθρώπου σώματι πώποτε τοῦ σοφοῦ καὶ ἐπιστήμονος ὀφθαλμοὺς ἢ κεφαλὴν ἢ χεῖρας ἢ πόδας ἢ τὰς λοιπὰς σάρκας, πολλοῦ δεῖ τὴν ἔξωθεν τοῦ τρίβωνος περιβολὴν σοφὴν ἀνηγόρευσεν, οὐδὲ σοφὰ τῆς οἰκίας τὰ ἔπιπλα οὐδὲ τοῦ φιλοσόφου τὰ ὑπηρετικὰ σκεύη, τὸν δʼ ἀφανῆ καὶ ἀόρατον ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ νοῦν πᾶς τις ἔμφρων θαυμάζει. ### English translation (Claude) In the same way, those who view this whole universe with the eyes of the flesh must not ascribe the cause to the sun or moon or any other of the heavenly bodies, but must confess that all things are works of wisdom, and must not honour and worship them like their maker and creator; but from the very sight of these they must, with every disposition of soul, praise and worship the Word of God, King of all, who is no longer perceived by the eyes of the body but only by a clear and pure mind. For who ever proclaimed wise, in the body of a wise and learned man, his eyes or head or hands or feet or the rest of his flesh, still less the outer cloak he wears? Nor is the furniture of the house wise, nor the philosopher's utensils; but every sensible person admires the unseen and invisible mind in the man. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:20: echo, medium confidence ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Above creation we should marvel at the invisible Word, the only-begotten whom the Father begot from himself and set over the universe. ### Greek text ταύτῃ τοι καὶ μᾶλλον πρὸ τῶν ὁρωμένων δαιδαλμάτων τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου, σωμάτων ὄντων καὶ ἐκ μιᾶς ὕλης πεποιημένων, τὸν ἀφανῆ καὶ ἀόρατον λόγον τὸν δὴ τοῦ παντὸς εἰδοποιόν τε καὶ κοσμήτορα ὑπερεκπληκτέον, ὄντα τοῦ θεοῦ μονογενῆ, ὅν ὁ τῶν ὅλων ποιητὴς ὁ πάσης ἐπέκεινα καὶ ἀνωτάτω οὐσίας αὐτὸς ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεννήσας ἡγεμόνα καὶ κυβερνήτην τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς κατεστήσατο. ### English translation (Claude) In this way, all the more, beyond the visible works of art of the whole world, which are bodies and made from one matter, one should be amazed at the unseen and invisible Word, the giver of form and orderer of the universe, who is the only-begotten of God, whom the maker of all, who is beyond all and above all substance, begot from himself and appointed leader and helmsman of this universe. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Because created things could not approach the unbegotten God, God set his only-begotten Word as mediator, who governs the universe. ### Greek text ἐπεὶ γὰρ μὴ οἷον τε ἦν τὴν ῥευστὴν τῶν σωμάτων οὐσίαν τὴν τε τῶν ἄρτι γενομένων λογικῶν φύσιν τῷ πανηγεμόνι θεῷ πελάζειν διʼ ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ κρείττονος ἐλλείψεως· ὁ μὲν γὰρ ἦν ἀγέννητος, ἀνωτάτω τε καὶ ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὅλων, ἄρρητος ἀνέφικτος ἀπροσπέλαστος φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον, ᾗ φασὶν οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι· ἡ δʼ ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων προβεβλημένη πορρωτάτω τε διεστῶσα καὶ μακρὰν τῆς ἀγεννήτου φύσεως ἀπεσχοινισμένη· εἰκότως ὁ πανάγαθος καὶ θεὸς τῶν ὅλων μέσην τινὰ προεμβάλλει τὴν τοῦ μονογενοῦς αὐτοῦ λόγου θείαν καὶ παναλκῆ δύναμιν, ἀκριβέστατα μὲν ὡς ὅτι μάλιστα καὶ ἐγγύτατα τῷ πατρὶ προσομιλοῦσαν εἴσω τε αὐτοῦ τῶν ἀπορρήτων ἀπολαύουσαν, πραότατα δὲ συγκατιοῦσαν καὶ ἁμωσγέπως συσχηματιζομένην τοῖς τῆς ἄχρας ἀπολιμπανομένοις· ἄλλως γὰρ οὔτʼ εὐαγὲς οὔθʼ ὅσιον τὸν τῶν ὅλων ἐπέκεινα καὶ ἀνωτάτω ὕλῃ φθαρτῇ καὶ σώματι συμπλέκειν. διὸ δὴ λόγος θεῖος ἀναμὶξ τόδε τὸ πᾶν ὑπελθὼν καὶ τὰς ἡνίας τοῦ παντὸς ἐνδησάμενος ἀσωμάτῳ καὶ θεϊκῇ δυνάμει ἄγει καὶ φέρει, πανσόφως ἡνιοχῶν ᾗ καλῶς ἔχειν αὐτῷ καταφαίνεται. ### English translation (Claude) For since it was not possible for the fluid substance of bodies and the nature of the newly made rational beings to approach God the ruler of all, because of the excess of their falling short of the higher (for he was unbegotten, above and beyond all things, ineffable, unattainable, unapproachable, "dwelling in unapproachable light," as the divine words say; while the other, brought forth from what was not, stood very far off and far removed from the unbegotten nature), it was fitting that the all-good God of the universe should put forth in the middle the divine and all-powerful power of his only-begotten Word, associating most exactly and as closely as possible with the Father and enjoying his secrets within him, yet most gently coming down and in some way conforming itself to those who fall short of the height. For otherwise it would be neither pious nor holy to bind the one beyond all and above all to corruptible matter and body. Therefore the divine Word, entering this universe in mingling and binding on the reins of the whole, leads and carries it with incorporeal and divine power, driving it all-wisely as seems good to him. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:16: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Dwelling in unapproachable light' is 1 Tim 6:16. Eusebius's picture of the Word as a mediating power between the unbegotten God and creation is translated as written. The text reads οἱ Μοι λόγοι, a slip for οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι ('the divine words'), and ἄχρας for ἄκρας ('the height'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The order of the elements, the water cycle, fire, the reconciling of opposites, and human generation show a governing power beyond matter. ### Greek text τοῦ δὲ λόγου σαφὴς ἡ ἀπόδειξις. εἰ γὰρ δὴ αὐτὰ καθʼ ἑαυτὰ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη, ἃ δὴ καὶ πρῶτα στοιχεῖα καλεῖν εἰώθαμεν, γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα, πῦρ, ἅπερ ἐξ ἀλόγου συνέστηκε φύσεως, ὅ δὴ καὶ αὐτοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρῶμεν, ἢ εἰ μία τοῖς ὑπόκειται οὐσία, δὴ δὴ καὶ πάνδοχον καὶ μητέρα καὶ τιθήνην τοῖς περὶ ταῦτα δεινοῖς ὀνομάζειν φίλον, ἄμορφός τε καὶ ἀνείδεος αὕτη πάντη τε ἄψυχος καὶ ἄλογος, πόθεν ἂν εἴποι τις τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ κόσμον ἐνυπάρχειν αὐτῇ; πόθεν ἡ τῶν στοιχείων διάκρισις; πόθεν ἡ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐπὶ ταὐτὸ συνδρομή; τίς τὸ βαρὺ τῆς γῆς στοιχεῖον ἐφʼ ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας ὀχεῖσθαι παρεκελεύσατο; τίς τὴν τῶν ὑδάτων φύσιν κάτω ῥέουσαν ἀναστρέψας εἰς τοὐπίσω μετέωρον διὰ νεφῶν ἤγαγεν; τίς τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς δύναμιν πεδήσας ξύλοις φωλεύειν καὶ τοῖς ἐναντίοις τῇ φύσει συνεκεράσατο; τίς τὸν ψυχρὸν ἀέρα θερμῇ δυνάμει καταμίξας, τῆς πρὸς ἄλληλα μάχης αὐτὰ διαλύσας εἰς φιλίαν κατήλλαξεν; τίς τὸ θνητὸν γένος τῷ τῆς διαδοχῆς τρόπῳ μηχανησάμενος εἰς μακρὸν αἰῶνα ζωῆς ἀθανάτου βίον διήγαγεν; τίς ὧδε τὸ μὲν μορφώσας τὸ δὲ θῆλυ σχηματίσας ἄμφω τε εἰς ἁρμονίαν μίαν, γενέσεως ἀρχὴν ἅπασι ζώοις ἐξεύρατο; τὴν τὴν ῥοώδη καὶ σπερματικὴν γένεσιν τῆς φθαρτῆς καὶ ἀναισθήτου μεταβαλὼν ῥοῆς ζωογόνον ἀπέδειξεν; τίς ταῦτα πάντα καὶ μυρία τούτων ἐπέκεινα θαύματος καὶ ἐκπλήξεως κρείττονα εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν ἐνεργεῖ; τίς ἐφ ἑκάστης ἡμέρας καὶ ὥρας τὰς τούτων γενέσεις καὶ φθορὰς ἀφανεῖ καὶ ἀοράτῳ δυνάμει κατεργάζεται; ### English translation (Claude) The proof of the argument is clear. For if the parts of the world taken by themselves, which we are accustomed to call the first elements, earth, water, air, fire, are composed of an irrational nature, as we see with our very eyes; or if one substance underlies them, which those skilled in these matters like to call receptacle and mother and nurse, and this is shapeless and formless, wholly lifeless and irrational, from where could one say the order in it exists in it? From where the separation of the elements? From where the coming together of opposites into the same? Who commanded the heavy element of earth to ride on the liquid substance? Who turned back the nature of the waters, which flows downward, and brought it up aloft through the clouds? Who fettered the power of fire to lurk in wood and mixed it with things opposite in nature? Who, mixing the cold air with warm power, released them from their battle with one another and reconciled them into friendship? Who devised the mortal race by the way of succession and led it on into a long age, a life of immortal life? Who, shaping the one male and fashioning the other female, and joining both into one harmony, found the beginning of generation for all living things? Who changed the fluid and seminal generation from a corruptible and senseless flow and showed it life-giving? Who still works all these things, and countless others beyond them more worthy of wonder and amazement? Who every day and hour accomplishes their generation and corruption by an unseen and invisible power? ### Extrabiblical texts - Plato, Tim. 49a-51a (Plato (works)): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Receptacle and mother and nurse' are Plato's terms for matter (Tim. 49a, 51a); the text reads Μήνην, a slip for τιθήνην ('nurse'). 'The one male' supplies ἄρρεν, apparently lost before μορφώσας. The text repeats λαξεν; the repetition is removed. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-14 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The almighty Word spreads through all things and holds the universe together like a well-tuned instrument. ### Greek text ἀλλὰ γὰρ τούτων ἁπάντων ὁ παραδοξοποιὸς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος αἴτιός ἄν ἐνδίκως ἀποφανθείη· λόγος γὰρ ὡς ἀληθῶς θεοῦ παντοδύναμος διὰ πάντων ἑαυτὸν ἁπλώσας, καὶ ἄνω τε πρὸς ὕψος καὶ κάτω πρὸς βάθος ἑαυτὸν ἀσωμάτως ἐκτείνας, πλάτη τε καὶ μήκη τοῦ παντὸς πλατείαις ὥσπερ ταῖς χερσὶ περιλαβών, συνήγαγεν τόδε τὸ πᾶν καὶ συνέσφιγξεν, ὄργανον τε τοῦτο παναρμόνιον αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ συμπηξάμενος τὴν ἄλογον καὶ ἄμορφον καὶ ἀνείδεον τῶν σωμάτων οὐσίαν πανσόφῳ καὶ λογικῇ δυνάμει, εὖ μάλα τοῖς διατόνοις τὰ διεζευγμένα συνάπτων, ἀνακρούεται, ἥλιόν τε αὐτὸν καὶ σελήνην καὶ τὰ κατʼ οὐρανὸν φωσφόρα λόγοις διακυβερνῶν ἀρρήτοις ἐς τὸ χρήσιμον τῶν ὅλων ὁδηγεῖ. ### English translation (Claude) But of all these the wonder-working Word of God would rightly be shown to be the cause. For the truly almighty Word of God, spreading himself through all things, stretching himself incorporeally up to the height and down to the depth, and embracing the breadth and length of the universe as with broad hands, gathered and bound this universe together; and, fitting together for himself this all-harmonious instrument, the irrational, shapeless and formless substance of bodies, by all-wise and rational power, skilfully joining the separated parts by the intervals of the scale, he plays upon it; and, steering by ineffable reasons the sun and moon and the light-bearers of heaven, he guides them to the benefit of the whole. ### Scripture references - Eph 3:18: echo, medium confidence - Col 1:17: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Height ... depth ... breadth and length' recalls Eph 3:18; 'bound together' recalls Col 1:17. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.14 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-14). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-15 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word formed animals, plants and sea creatures, shapes life in the womb, and gives the rain. ### Greek text ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος καὶ κατὰ γῆς ἑαυτὸν βαθύνας παντοδαπῶν γένη ζώων φυτῶν τε πολύμορφα κάλλη συνεστήσατο· οὗτος αὐτὸς ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος καὶ βυθῶν ἄχρι θαλάττης καταδὺς νηκτῶν ἐπενόησε φύσιν, πάλιν κἀνταῦθα μυρίας καὶ ἀναρίθμους ἰδέας καὶ παντοίων ζώων διαφορὰς ἐργασάμενος. ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς αὐτὸς καὶ τὰ γαστρὸς κυούμενα ἔνδον ἐν τῷ τῆς φύσεως ἐργαστηρίῳ τελεσιουργῶν ζωοπλαστεῖ· οὑτος καὶ τῆς ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας τὴν ῥευστὴν καὶ βαρεῖαν φύσιν ἄνω μετέωρον ἀνακουφίσας κἄπειτα γλυκάνας τῇ μεταβολῇ, μέτρῳ μὲν εἰσάγει τῇ γῇ, χρόνοις δὲ ὡρισμένοις τὴν ἐπιχορηγίαν ἐκτελεῖ. ### English translation (Claude) The same Word of God, reaching down into the earth, formed the races of animals of every kind and the many-formed beauties of plants. This same Word of God, sinking down to the depths of the sea, devised the nature of swimming creatures, there again making countless and innumerable forms and differences of living things of every kind. He himself, the same, shapes the life of what is conceived in the womb, completing it within the workshop of nature. He too, lifting aloft the fluid and heavy nature of the liquid substance and then sweetening it by its change, brings it to the earth in measure and completes the supply at fixed times. ### Scripture references - Ps 139:13 (138:13 LXX): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The text repeats αὐτὸς; translated once. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.15 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-15). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-16 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like a farmer, the Word waters and adorns the earth with flowers and fruits. ### Greek text εἶθʼ τις γεωργὸς ἄριστος ἐποχετεύσας εὖ μάλα τὴν χώραν τῇ τε ξηρᾷ τὴν ὑγρὰν συγκεράσαμενος, μεταρρυθμίζει παντοίως τοτὲ μὲν ὡραίοις ἄνθεσιν, τοτὲ δὲ σχήμασι παντοίοις, τοτὲ δὲ ὀδμαῖς ἡδείαις, τοτὲ δὲ καρπῶν ἐναλλαττούσαις διαφοραῖς, τοτὲ δὲ τῇ γεύσει παντοδαπὰς ἀπολαύσεις παρέχων. ### English translation (Claude) Then, like a most excellent farmer, having irrigated the land well and mixed the moist with the dry, he transforms it in every way: now with beautiful flowers, now with shapes of every kind, now with sweet scents, now with changing varieties of fruits, now offering every kind of enjoyment to the taste. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.16 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-16). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 11.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/9-1/#p-11-17 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Philosophers have called the Word nature, world-soul or fate; others wrongly identified him with the supreme God himself bound up in matter. ### Greek text τί με δεῖ τοῦ θείου λόγου τὰς δυνάμεις ἐπεξιέναι τολμᾶν καὶ ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρεῖν, πᾶσαν θνητὴν διάνοιαν ὑπερνικώσης τῆς ἐνεργείας; ἄλλοι μὲν οὖν τοῦτον φύσιν τοῦ παντὸς ὠνομάκασιν, ἄλλοι δὲ τὴν καθʼ ὄλου ψυχήν, ἄλλοι δὲ εἱμαρμένην· οἱ δʼ αὐτὸν εἶναι τὸν ἐπέκεινα τῶν ὅλων θεὸν οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως τὰ πορρωτάτω διεστῶτα μιγνύντες ἀπεφήναντο, αὐτὸν τὸν πανηγεμόνα καὶ τὴν ἀγέννητον καὶ τἀνωτάτω δύναμιν κάτω βάλλοντες ἐπὶ γῆν, καὶ σώματι ὕλῃ τε φθαρτῇ συμπλέξαντες, ζώων τε ἀλόγων καὶ λογικῶν θνητῶν τε καὶ ἀθανάτων μέσον εἰλεῖσθαι φήσαντες. ἀλλʼ οἱ μὲν ταῦτα. ### English translation (Claude) Why should I dare to go through the powers of the divine Word and attempt the impossible, when its working surpasses every mortal mind? Some have named him the nature of the universe, others the universal soul, others fate. Others, mixing things that stand farthest apart, I know not how, have declared him to be the God beyond the universe himself, casting down to earth the ruler of all, the unbegotten and supreme power, binding him with body and corruptible matter, and saying that he is rolled about in the midst of irrational and rational, mortal and immortal living things. But so much for these. ### Translation notes - The views are those of philosophical schools (the Stoics among them). Eusebius rejects identifying the supreme God with a power immanent in matter; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 11.17 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/11-17). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture teaches that the supreme God is beyond all thought and place; all things are from him, but not made through him. ### Greek text Ἡ δʼ ἔνθεος διδασκαλία τὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνώτατον αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ πάντων αἵτιον ἐπέκεινα πάσης καταλήψεως εἶναί φησιν· διὸ δὴ ἄρρητον καὶ ἄλεκτον καὶ ἀνωνόμαστον καὶ φωνῆς οὐ μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐννοίας ἁπάσης ὑπέρτερον εἶναι, οὐκ ἐν τόπῳ περιληπτόν οὐκ ἐν σώμασιν ὅν, οὐκ ἐν οὐρανῷ οὐκ ἐν αἰθέρι οὐδʼ ἒν τινι μέρει τοῦ παντός, ἀλλὰ πάντη καὶ πάντων ἐκτὸς ἐν ἀπορρήτῳ γνώσεως τεταμιευμένον. τοῦτον μόνον ἀληθῆ θεὸν εἰδέναι τὰ θεῖα λόγια παιδεύει, πάσης κεχωρισμένον σωματικῆς οὐσίας, πάσης ἀλλότριον ὑπηρετικῆς οἰκονομίας· διὸ δὴ ἐξ αὐτοῦ τὸ πᾶν, οὐ μὴν διʼ αὐτοῦ φῦναι παραδέδοται. ### English translation (Claude) But the divine teaching says that the highest of goods, the very cause of all things, is beyond all comprehension; therefore it is ineffable, unspeakable, unnameable, superior not only to speech but also to all thought, not contained in a place, not in bodies, not in heaven, not in the ether nor in any part of the universe, but stored up wholly outside all things in the secrecy of knowledge. The divine oracles teach us to know him alone as true God, separate from all bodily substance and foreign to every serving dispensation. Therefore it has been handed down that the universe is from him, but did not come into being through him. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 8:6: echo, medium confidence - John 17:3: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'From him ... not through him' contrasts the Father, from whom all things are, with the Word, through whom they came to be (compare 1 Cor 8:6). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Father rules by his will alone; the Word, through whom all things are, flows from him like a river for the salvation of all. ### Greek text ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς μὲν οἶα βασιλεὺς εἴσω που ἐν ἀρρήτοις καὶ ἀδύτοις καὶ ἀβάτοις φῶς οἰκῶν ἀπρόσιτον διὰ παντὸς μόνῃ τῇ θελητικῇ δυνάμει νομοθετεῖ καὶ διατάττεται· θέλοντος γὰρ ἐστιν ὅ τι καὶ ἔστιν, καὶ μὴ θέλοντος οὐκ ἔστιν, θέλει δὲ ἀγαθὰ πάντα, ὅτι δὴ καὶ αὐτοαγαθὸν τὴν οὐσίαν τυγχάνει. ὁ δέ, διʼ οὗ τὰ πάντα, θεοῦ λόγος ἄνωθεν ἐξ ἀγαθοῦ πατρὸς ὡς ἐξ ἀενάου καὶ ἀπείρου πηγῆς ἀνομβρῶν λόγοις ἀρρήτοις ποταμοῦ δίκην πρόεισιν, ὅλος πλημμυρῶν ἐς τὸ κοινὸν τῆς τοῦ παντὸς σωτηρίας. ### English translation (Claude) He himself, like a king somewhere within, in ineffable, secret and untrodden places, "dwelling in unapproachable light," legislates and ordains continually by his power of will alone. For whatever exists, exists because he wills it, and if he does not will it, it does not exist; and he wills all good things, since he is in essence the good itself. But the Word of God, through whom are all things, gushing forth from above from the good Father as from an ever-flowing and boundless spring with ineffable words, goes forth like a river, overflowing wholly for the common salvation of the universe. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 6:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 8:6: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Dwelling in unapproachable light' is 1 Tim 6:16; 'through whom are all things', 1 Cor 8:6. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As a human mind remains hidden while its word goes out and makes its thoughts known, so with God and his Word. ### Greek text ὡς δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ καθʼ ἡμᾶς παραδείγματος ὁ μὲν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀφανὴς ἐν ἡμῖν νοῦς, ὃν ὅστις ποτὲ καὶ ὁποῖος ὤν τὴν οὐσίαν ὑπάρχει οὐδεὶς πώποτε ἀνθρώπων ἔγνω, βασιλεὺς δʼ οἷα ἐν ἀπορρήτοις εἴσω τοῖς αὐτοῦ ταμείοις ὑπάρχων μόνος τὰ πρακτέα βουλεύεται, λόγος δʼ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρόεισι μονογενής, οἷα πατρὸς ἐξ ἀδύτου μυχοῦ γεγεννημένος, ἀρρήτῳ λόγῳ καὶ δυνάμει ἀκατονομάστῳ ὃς δὴ καὶ πρῶτος τῶν πατρικῶν τοῖς πᾶσι καθίσταται νοημάτων ἄγγελος εἰς φανερόν τε κηρύττει τὰ ἐν ἀπορρήτοις τῷ πατρὶ βεβουλευμένα, ἔργοις τε ἀποτελεῖ τὰ βουλεύματα προϊὼν εἰς τὰς πάντων ἀκοάς, ### English translation (Claude) As in the example close to us: the invisible and unseen mind in us, whose identity and nature no one has ever known, like a king remaining within in its secret chambers, alone deliberates what is to be done; and from it goes forth the word, only-begotten, as born from the secret recess of the father, by an ineffable reason and an unnameable power; it becomes the first messenger to all of the father's thoughts, proclaims openly what was resolved in secret by the father, and accomplishes the resolutions in deeds, going forth into the hearing of all; ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 12.4. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unlike a human word, the Word of God is a living, subsisting Son, the power and wisdom of God, who pours out life and every good from his fullness. ### Greek text εἶθʼ οἱ μὲν τῆς ἐκ τοῦ λόγου μεταλαμβάνουσιν ὠφελείας, τὸν δʼ ἀφανῆ καὶ ἀόρατον νοῦν τὸν δὴ τοῦ λόγου πατέρα οὐδεὶς πώποτε εἶδεν ὀφθαλμοῖς· κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ δή μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπέκεινα πάσης εἰκόνος τε καὶ παραδείγματος ὁ τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ τέλειος λόγος, οἷα μονογενὴς πατρὸς υἱός, οὐ προφορικῇ δυνάμει συνεστώς, οὐδʼ ἐκ συλλαβῶν ὀνομάτων τε καὶ ῥημάτων τὴν φύσιν κατεσκευασμένος, οὐδʼ ἐν φωνῇ διʼ ἀέρος πληττομένῃ σημαινόμενος, θεοῦ δὲ τοῦ ἐπὶ πάντων ζῶν καὶ ἐνεργὴς ὑπάρχων λόγος, κατʼ οὐσίαν τε ὑφεστὼς οἷα θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία, πρόεισι μὲν τῆς πατρικῆς θεότητός τε καὶ βασιλείας, ἀγαθοῦ δὲ πατρὸς ἀγαθὸν τυγχάνων γέννημα κοινός τε ἁπάντων σωτὴρ ἐποχετεύει τὰ σύμπαντα, ζωῆς καὶ λόγου καὶ σοφίας καὶ φωτὸς καὶ πάντων ἀγαθῶν ἐκ τοῦ οἰκείου πληρώματος τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπιλιμνάζων. ἄρδει τε οὐ τὰ προσεχῆ μόνον καὶ ἐγγυτάτω, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ πόρρω διεστῶτα κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν, καὶ εἴ τις ἑτέρα τούτων ἐν τοῖς οὖσιν τυγχάνει λῆξις· ### English translation (Claude) then some share in the benefit from the word, but no one has ever seen with eyes the unseen and invisible mind, the father of the word. In the same way, or rather beyond every image and example, the perfect Word of God the King of all, as the only-begotten Son of the Father, not consisting in the power of utterance, nor made up in nature of syllables of names and verbs, nor signified by a voice striking the air, but being the living and active Word of the God over all, subsisting in substance as the power of God and the wisdom of God, goes forth from the Father's deity and kingship; being the good offspring of a good Father and the common Saviour of all, he waters all things, flooding all with life and reason and wisdom and light and all good things from his own fullness. And he waters not only what is near and closest, but also what stands far off on land and sea, and any other region there may be among the things that exist. ### Scripture references - Heb 4:12: echo, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: allusion, high confidence - John 1:16: allusion, medium confidence - John 1:18: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'Living and active' recalls Heb 4:12; 'power of God and wisdom of God', 1 Cor 1:24; 'from his fullness', John 1:16. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word assigns every creature its place and lot, judges each life, and provides for rational and irrational creatures alike. ### Greek text οἷς ὁμοῦ πᾶσιν ὅρους καὶ χώρας καὶ νόμους καὶ κλήρους διατάττεται κατὰ τὸ δικαιότατον, ἐξουσία βασιλικῇ τὰ πρόσφορα νέμων ἑκάστῳ καὶ χορηγῶν, καὶ τοῖς μὲν ὑπερκοσμίους ἁψῖδας τοῖς δʼ αὐτὸν οὐρανὸν οἰκεῖν, τοῖς δʼ αἰθερίους διατριβὰς, τοῖς δʼ ἀέρα, τοῖς δὲ γῆν ἀφορίζων. κἄπειτα μεθιστῶν ἐνθένδε πάλιν ἀλλαχόσε, διακρίνων τε εὖ μάλα τοὺς ἑκάστων βίους ἤθη τε καὶ τρόπων διαφορὰν ἀμειβόμενος, ζωῆς τε καὶ τροφῆς οὐ λογικῶν μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ ζώων ἀλόγων ἐπὶ χρήσει τῶν λογικῶν ἐπιμελόμενος, ### English translation (Claude) To all of them together he appoints boundaries and regions, laws and lots, most justly, distributing and supplying what is fitting to each with royal authority: assigning to some to dwell in the vaults above the world, to others heaven itself, to others the regions of the ether, to others the air, to others the earth. And then he transfers them from here to elsewhere, judging well the lives of each and repaying the difference of their characters and ways, caring for the life and food not only of rational beings but also of irrational animals for the use of the rational, ### Scripture references - Acts 17:26: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 12.6. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word works all things, looking to the Father and mediating between him and creation. ### Greek text καὶ τοῖς μὲν θνητῆς καὶ προσκαίρου ζωῆς ἀπόλαυσιν, τοῖς δʼ ἀθανάτου μετουσίαν παρέχων· πάντα τε αὐτὸς οἷα θεοῦ λόγος ἐνεργεῖ, τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπιπαρὼν καὶ τὰ πάντα λογικῇ δυνάμει ἐπιπορευόμενος, ἄνω τε πρὸς τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα βλέπων τοῖς ἐκείνου νεύμασι τὰ κάτω καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸν ἀκολούθως οἷα κοινὸς ἁπάντων σωτὴρ διακυβερνᾷ, μεσεύων ἁμηγέπη καὶ συνάγων πρὸς τὸν ἀγέννητον τὴν γεννητὴν οὐσίαν. ### English translation (Claude) and granting to some the enjoyment of a mortal and temporary life, to others a share in immortal life. He works all things as the Word of God, present to all and passing through all with rational power; and looking up to his own Father, he steers by his nods the things below and after him in due order, as the common Saviour of all, in some way mediating and bringing the begotten substance to the unbegotten. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 2:5: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Eusebius's language of the Word mediating between the 'begotten substance' and the 'unbegotten' is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word is the bond, providence and guardian of the universe, the only-begotten God through whom all things were made. ### Greek text δεσμός τις οὗτος ἀρραγὴς θεοῦ λόγος μέσος τυγχάνει συνδέων τὰ διεστῶτα καὶ μὴ μακρὰν ἀποπίπτειν αὐτὰ συγχωρῶν. οὗτος ἡ καθόλου πρόνοια, κηδεμὼν οὑτος καὶ διορθωτὴς τοῦ παντός, οὑτος θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία, οὑτος μονογενὴς θεός, ἐκ θεοῦ γεγεννημένος λόγος· ἐν ἀρχῇ γὰρ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος· πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἓν ὃ γέγονε" θεολόγων ἀνδρῶν ἱεραὶ διδάσκουσι φωναί· οὗτος ὁ κοινὸς ἁπάντων φυτουργός, διʼ ὃν ἡ τῶν ὅλων οὐσία φύει καὶ θάλλει, ὀμβρήμασι τοῖς ἐξ αὐτοῦ διὰ παντὸς ἀρδομένη, νεαράν τε εἰς ἀεὶ τὴν ἀκμὴν καὶ τὴν ὥραν περικαλλῆ τοῦ παντὸς παρεχομένη. ### English translation (Claude) This Word of God is a kind of unbreakable bond in the middle, binding together things far apart and not allowing them to fall far away. He is the universal providence, he the guardian and corrector of the universe, he the power of God and wisdom of God, he the only-begotten God, the Word begotten from God. For "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being that has come into being," as the sacred voices of the theologians teach. He is the common planter of all, through whom the substance of the universe grows and flourishes, watered continually by the showers from him, and supplying the universe with a bloom ever fresh and a most beautiful season. ### Scripture references - John 1:1–3: quotation, high confidence - John 1:18: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation: John 1:1–3. 'Only-begotten God' recalls John 1:18; 'power of God and wisdom of God', 1 Cor 1:24. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God gave the world his only-begotten Son as its soul; the Word, present in matter yet light from light, is one though he has many powers. ### Greek text ὁ δὲ τῶν ἡνίων ἐπειλημμένος εὐθείᾳ περαίνει πατρικῷ νεύματι τὸ μέγα τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου πηδαλιουχῶν σκάφος. τοιοῦτον καλλιτέχνην τέχνην υἱὸν μονογενῆ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ἐπέκεινα θεός, οἷα πατὴρ ἀγαθὸς ἀγαθὸν ἀπογεννήσας καρπόν, τῷδε τῷ κόσμω̣ μέγιστον ἀγαθὸν ἐδωρήσατο, ἅτε ψυχὴν ἀψύχῳ σώματι, τῇ τῶν σωμάτων ἀλόγῳ φύσει τὸν αὐτοῦ λόγον ἐμβαλών, καὶ τὴν ἄμορφον καὶ ἀνείδεον ἄψυχόν τε καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον οὐσίαν θείᾳ δυνάμει λόγου φωτίσας τε καὶ ψυχώσας. ὃν δὴ ἡμῖν καὶ γνωριστέον τε καὶ σεπτέον, ἐν ὕλῃ μὲν καὶ σωμάτων στοιχείοις διὰ παντὸς ἐπιχωριάζοντα καὶ τὰ πάντα ζωογονοῦντα, τὸν αὐτὸν δὲ φῶς καὶ γέννημα νοερὸν φωτὸς ἀλέκτου, καὶ ἕνα μὲν τὴν οὐσίαν, ὡς ἂν ἐξ ἑνὸς ὄντα πατρός, πολλὰς δὲ τὰς ἐν αὐτῷ κεκτημένον δυνάμεις. ### English translation (Claude) And holding the reins, he goes on in a straight course by the Father's nod, steering the great ship of the whole world. The God beyond all, like a good father begetting a good fruit, gave to this world as its greatest good such a son, only-begotten, a craftsman of beautiful art, putting his own Word, like a soul into a lifeless body, into the irrational nature of bodies, and illuminating and animating the shapeless, formless, lifeless and unfigured substance by the divine power of the Word. Him we must recognize and revere, dwelling continually in matter and in the elements of bodies and giving life to all things, yet the same being light and the intellectual offspring of ineffable light; one in substance, as being from one Father, yet possessing many powers in himself. ### Translation notes - The digital text repeats ρήσατο and has καλλιτέχνην τέχνην; translated once. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The many parts of the world do not imply many gods; polytheists err by deifying its parts. ### Greek text οὐ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ πολλὰ μέρη κόσμου, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ πολλὰς δυνάμεις ἡγητέον, οὐδʼ ἐπεὶ πολλὰ τὰ πεποιημένα, ταύτῃ καὶ θεοὺς ὑφίστασθαι προμήκει πλείους. δεινὴν δὲ οἶα νήπιοι τὰς ψυχὰς πολυθέων ἀνδρῶν παῖδες πλάνην ἐπλανήθησαν τὰ μέρη τοῦ παντὸς θεοποιήσαντες καὶ τὸν ἕνα κόσμον εἰς πολλὰ διελόντες, ### English translation (Claude) For one should not think that, because the parts of the world are many, the powers are therefore many, nor, because the things made are many, that gods are therefore established, still more of them. The children of polytheistic men, like infants in their souls, have strayed into a terrible error, deifying the parts of the universe and dividing the one world into many, ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 12.10. προμήκει is garbled; translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: To divide the world into many gods, or to call the world God, is as absurd as calling each limb of one man a man; the divine nature is simple and without parts. ### Greek text ὡς εἰ καὶ ἀνθρώπου συνεστῶτος ἑνὸς ἀπολαβών τις ἰδίως ὀφθαλμούς, ἄνθρωπον εἶναι λέγοι τούτους, καὶ ὠτα πάλιν ἄλλον ἄνθρωπον καὶ κεφαλὴν ὁμοίως, αὐχένα τε καὶ στέρνα καὶ ὤμους πόδας τε καὶ χεῖρας καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ κατακερματίσας μέλη, τάς τε τῶν αἰσθητηρίων δυνάμεις καταδιελὼν τῷ λόγῳ παμπόλλους λέγοι εἶναι ἀνθρώπους τὸν ἕνα, πλεῖον οὐδὲν ἢ μωρίας γέλωτα παρὰ τοῖς ἔμφροσιν ὀφλισκάνων. τοιοῦτος ἂν εἴη καὶ ὁ μυρίους ἑαυτῷ θεοὺς ἐξ ἑνὸς κόσμου μερῶν ὑφιστάμενος, ἢ καὶ αὐτὸν εἶναι θεὸν τὸν γενν κόσμον πολλῶν ἐκ μερῶν ὑφεστῶτα νομίζων καὶ οὐκ εἰδὼς ὅτι θεία φύσις οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἐκ μερῶν συσταίη· εἰ δὲ σύνθετος γένοιτο, καὶ ἑτέρου δέοιτο ἂν τοῦ συνθήσοντος αὐτὴν· οὐδʼ αὖ πολυμερὴς οὖσα ὑπάρχοι ἂν θεία· πῶς γάρ; ἐξ ἀνομοίων διαφορῶν, χειρόνων τε καὶ ἀμεινόνων ὑφεστῶσα. ἁπλῆ δὲ καὶ ἀμερὴς καὶ ἀσύνθετος οὖσα, πάσης ἐπέκεινα τυγχάνει τῆς ὁρωμένης τοῦ κόσμου διατάξεως. ### English translation (Claude) as if someone, taking separately the eyes of one constituted man, should say that these are a man, and the ears again another man, and the head likewise, and, cutting up the neck and chest and shoulders, the feet and hands and the other limbs, and dividing in his reasoning the powers of the senses, should say that the one man is very many men, earning nothing but the laughter of the sensible for his folly. Such would be the man who constructs for himself countless gods out of the parts of one world, or who thinks the world itself, constituted of many parts, to be God, not knowing that the divine nature could never be composed of parts; for if it were composite, it would also need another to compose it. Nor again could it be divine if it were of many parts. How could it be, composed of unlike differences, of worse and better? Being simple, without parts and uncompounded, it is beyond all the visible order of the world. ### Translation notes - τὸν γενν κόσμον is garbled (perhaps τὸν γεννητὸν κόσμον, 'the begotten world'); translated as 'the world itself'. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Father alone is the uncaused God; the one Word, his only-begotten, plays the many-stringed world like a lyre and pervades it like a soul. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ κήρυξ ὧδέ πη λέγων διαρρήδην κέκραγεν· θεοῦ μὲν λόγος ὁ πρὸ πάντων μόνος ἂν εἴη λογικῶν πάντων σωτήρ, θεὸς δὲ ὁ ἐπέκεινα, λόγου γενεσιάρχης, μόνος ἁπάντων αἴτιος ὤν, αὐτοῦ μὲν οἷα μονογενοῦς κυρίως ἂν λεχθείη τοῦ λόγου πατήρ, αὐτὸς δʼ ἀνώτερον αἴτιον οὐκ ἐπιγράψεται· διὸ δὴ καὶ μόνος θεὸς αὐτός, μονογενὴς δʼ ἐξ αὐτοῦ πρόεισιν ὁ τῶν ὅλων σωτήρ, θεοῦ λόγος εἷς, ὁ διὰ πάντων. ὁ μὲν οὖν αἰσθητὸς κόσμος, οἷά τις πολύχορδος λύρα ἐξ ἀνομοίων συνεστῶσα χορδῶν, ὀξειῶν τε καὶ βαρειῶν, τῶν τε ἀνειμένων καὶ ἐπιτεταμένων καὶ μέσων, εὖ δʼ ἡρμοσμένων ἁπασῶν τέχνῃ τῇ μουσικῇ, κατὰ ταῦτα δὴ καὶ ὅδε πολυμερὴς ὤν καὶ πολυσύνθετος ψυχρᾶς ὁμοῦ καὶ τῆς ἐναντίας ταύτης θερμῆς, ὑγρᾶς τε καὶ αὖ πάλιν τῆς ἐναντίας ταύτης ξηρᾶς οὐσίας, εἰς μίαν συνελθὼν ἁρμονίαν ὄργανον ἂν εἴη μέγα, μεγάλου θεοῦ δημιούργημα, λόγος δʼ ὁ θεῖος, οὐκέτʼ ἐκ μερῶν συνεστὼς οὐδʼ ἐξ ἐναντίων συγκείμενος, ἀμερὴς αὐτὸς ὢν καὶ ἀσύνθετος εὐ καὶ σοφῶς τὸ πᾶν ἀνακρούεται, τῷ αὐτοῦ πατρὶ καὶ βασιλεῖ τῶν ὅλων τὴν ὀφειλομένην καὶ αὐτῷ πρέπουσαν ἀποδιδοὺς μελῳδίαν. ὡς δʼ ὑφʼ ἑνὶ σώματι μέλη μὲν καὶ μέρη τε καὶ ἔγκατα συνῆκται μυρία, ψυχὴ δʼ ἀφανὴς ἥπλωται διʼ ὅλων μία καὶ νοῦς ἀμερὴς καὶ ἀσώματος εἷς, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦδε, ἐκ μὲν πολλῶν μερῶν κόσμος συνέστηκεν εἷς, λόγος δὲ ὡσαύτως θεοῦ πολυδύναμος καὶ παντοδύναμος εἷς διὰ πάντων ἥκων καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀφανῶς ἐφηπλωμένος πάντων ἂν εἴη τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς αἴτιος. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore the herald of the truth has cried out plainly, saying something like this: the Word of God, who is before all, alone would be the Saviour of all rational beings; and the God beyond, the originator of the Word, being alone the cause of all, would properly be called Father of the Word as his only-begotten, while he himself will acknowledge no higher cause. Therefore he alone is God, and from him goes forth the only-begotten Saviour of all, the one Word of God, who is through all. The perceptible world, like a many-stringed lyre made of unlike strings, high and low, slack, taut and middle, all well tuned by the art of music, is likewise of many parts and many compounds, of cold and its opposite hot, of moist and again its opposite dry substance, and, brought together into one harmony, it would be a great instrument, the work of the great God; while the divine Word, no longer made of parts nor composed of opposites, being himself without parts and uncompounded, plays on the whole well and wisely, rendering to his Father and the King of all the melody due and fitting to him. And as under one body countless limbs and parts and organs are brought together, while one invisible soul is spread through the whole, and one mind, without parts and incorporeal, so here too, the world is one, made of many parts, and likewise the one Word of God, of many powers and almighty, reaching through all and spread invisibly over all, would be the cause of all things in them. ### Scripture references - John 1:3: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Eusebius's statement that the Father alone is God because he has no higher cause, while the Word goes forth from him, is translated as written. The digital text repeats εἷς; translated once. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As one heaven and one sun suffice, so the one Father has one Word, who illumines all intelligible things. ### Greek text οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὀφθαλμοῖς τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον, ὡς οὐρανὸς εἷς μυρίας περιλαμβάνει ἀμφὶ τοῦτον χορείας ἄστρων περιπολούσας; πάλιν εἷς ἥλιος, ἀλλʼ οὐ πλείους, τὰς ἁπάντων ὑπερβολῇ φωτὸς καλύπτει μαρμαρυγάς· οὕτω δῆτα ἑνὸς ὄντος πατρός, καὶ τὸν τούτου λόγον ἕνα χρὴ ἀγαθὸν ἀγαθοῦ πατρὸς εἶναι. εἰ δʼ ὅτι μὴ καὶ πλείους ἐπιμέμψαιτό τις, ὥρα τὸν τοιοῦτον ὅτι μὴ καὶ ἡλίους συνίστη πλείους καὶ σελήνας καὶ κόσμους καὶ μυρία ἄλλα αἰτιᾶσθαι, μαινομένου τρόπον τὰ ὀρθὰ καὶ εὖ ἔχοντα τῆς φύσεως διαστρέφειν ἐπιχειροῦντα. ἀλλʼ ὡς ἐν ὁρατοῖς ἥλιος εἷς τὸν αἰσθητὸν ἅπαντα καταλάμπει κόσμον, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐν νοητοῖς ἀφανῶς ἡμῖν καὶ ἀοράτως εἷς ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος παντοδύναμος τὰ σύμπαντα καταυγάζει· ### English translation (Claude) Do you not see with your eyes the whole world, how one heaven embraces the countless choirs of stars moving round it? Again, one sun, not more, hides the gleams of all by the excess of its light. So, since the Father is one, his Word too must be one, a good Word of a good Father. And if anyone should complain that there are not more, it is time for such a one to blame the fact that more suns and moons and worlds and countless other things have not been established, trying like a madman to pervert what is right and well in nature. But as among visible things one sun lights up the whole perceptible world, so among intelligible things, invisibly and unseen by us, the one almighty Word of God illumines all things. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: One human soul can master many arts without being many souls. ### Greek text ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ μία ψυχὴ καὶ μία λογικὴ δύναμις πλείστων ὁμοῦ γένοιτʼ ἂν δημιουργός, εἰ καὶ γεωργεῖν ἡ αὐτὴ καὶ ναυπηγεῖν καὶ κυβερνᾶν καὶ οἰκοδομεῖν πολλὰ μαθοῦσα ἐπιβάλλοιτο, καὶ εἷς νοῦς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ καὶ λογισμὸς δέξαιτʼ ἄν ποτε μυρίων ἐπιστήμας, γεωμετρήσει τε ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ ἀστρονομήσει καὶ λόγους γραμματικῆς καὶ ῥητορικῆς παραδώσει καὶ ἰατρικῆς, ἒν τε μαθήμασι καὶ τοῖς κατὰ χεῖρα προστήσεται, καὶ οὔπω γε οὐδεὶς πώποτε πλείους ἐν ἑνὶ σώματι ψυχὰς ἡγήσατο εἶναι, οὐδὲ πολλὰς ἐθαύμασεν τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ οὐσίας διὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν μαθημάτων ὑποδοχήν. ### English translation (Claude) For in a man too one soul and one rational power would be the maker of very many things at once, if the same soul, having learned many things, should undertake farming, shipbuilding, steering and housebuilding; and one mind and reason in a man may receive the knowledge of countless things: the same man will do geometry and astronomy, and hand on the principles of grammar and rhetoric and medicine, and will be master both of sciences and of handicrafts. Yet no one has ever thought that there are several souls in one body, or wondered that there are many substances in a man because he takes in many kinds of learning. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-14 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As one potter shapes all the parts of a figure, so one creative power, the Word, made and sustains the whole world. ### Greek text εἰ δὲ καὶ ἄμορφον ὕλην πηλοῦ τις εὑρὼν κἄπειτα χερσὶν ἁπαλύνας ἐπιθείη ζώου μορφήν, ἄλλῳ μὲν σχήματι κεφαλήν, χεῖρας δὲ καὶ πόδας ἑτέρῳ, καὶ ὀφθαλμοὺς πάλιν ἄλλῳ καὶ παρειὰς ὡσαύτως, ὦτά τε καὶ στόμα καὶ ῥῖνας στέρνα τε καὶ ὤμους ὑποτυπωσάμενος τέχνῃ τῇ πλαστικῇ· ἀλλʼ οὐκ, ἐπεὶ πολλὰ σχήματα καὶ μέρη καὶ μέλη ὑφʼ ἑνὶ σώματι δεδημιούργηται, τοσούτους χρὴ καὶ τοὺς ποιητὰς ἡγεῖσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἕνα μόνον τὸν τοῦ παντὸς ἀθρόως τεχνίτην ἐπαινεῖν τὸν ἑνὶ λογισμῷ καὶ μιᾷ δυνάμει τὸ πᾶν τεκτηνάμενον· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦδε τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου, ἑνὸς μὲν ὄντος ἐκ μερῶν δὲ πλείστων ὑφεστῶτος, οὐ πολλὰς χρὴ ὑποτίθεσθαι δημιουργικὰς δυνάμεις, οὐδὲ πολλοὺς ὀνομάζειν θεούς, μίαν δὲ θεολογεῖν τὴν πάνσοφον καὶ παναρμόνιον τὴν ὡς ἀληθῶς θεοῦ δύναμιν καὶ θεοῦ σοφίαν, μιᾷ δυνάμει καὶ ἀρετῇ μιᾷ διὰ πάντων ἥκουσαν καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου χωροῦσαν καὶ τὰ πάντα ὑφισταμένην τε καὶ ζωοῦσαν, καθόλου τε τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ τοῖς κατὰ μέρος σώμασί τε καὶ στοιχείοις ποικίλην τὴν ἐξ αὐτῆς χορηγίαν ποιουμένην. ### English translation (Claude) And if someone, finding shapeless matter of clay and then softening it with his hands, should give it the form of a living creature, shaping the head in one form, the hands and feet in another, the eyes again in another and the cheeks likewise, and outlining the ears and mouth and nostrils, the chest and shoulders by the art of modelling; yet one should not, because many shapes and parts and limbs have been made in one body, think that there are as many makers, but praise only the one craftsman of the whole together, who fashioned the whole with one reasoning and one power. So too in this whole world, which is one but constituted of very many parts, one should not suppose many creative powers, nor name many gods, but confess one: the all-wise and all-harmonious, truly the power of God and the wisdom of God, reaching through all things with one power and one virtue, passing through the whole world, establishing and giving life to all things, and making its varied supply to all in general and to bodies and elements in particular. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 1:24: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Power of God and wisdom of God' is 1 Cor 1:24. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.14 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-14). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-15 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As one ray of sunlight or one fire produces many effects, so one Word works all things. ### Greek text οὕτως καὶ φωτὸς ἡλίου μία καὶ ἡ αὐτὴ προσβολὴ ὁμοῦ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ καταυγάζει μὲν ἀέρα, φωτίζει δὲ ὀφθαλμούς, ἁφὴν δὲ θερμαίνει, πιαίνει δὲ καὶ γῆν, καὶ αὔξει φυτά, χρόνον ὑφίστησιν, ἡγεῖται, περιπολεῖ, κόσμον φαιδρύνει, θεοῦ δύναμιν ἐναργῆ τῷ παντὶ συνίστησιν, ταῦτά τε πάντα μιᾷ ῥοπῇ φύσεως συντελεῖ, καὶ πυρὸς φύσις ὡσαύτως χρυσὸν μὲν καθαίρει, μόλιβδον δὲ τήκει, καὶ κηρὸν μὲν λύει, πηλὸν δὲ ξηραίνει, ὕλην δὲ φρύγει. μιᾷ τῇ καυστικῇ δυνάμει τοσαῦτα κατεργαζομένη. ### English translation (Claude) So too one and the same stroke of the sun's light at once and in the same way lights the air, illumines the eyes, warms the touch, enriches the earth and makes plants grow, establishes time, leads, circles round, brightens the world, sets forth to the universe a clear power of God, and accomplishes all these by one impulse of nature. Likewise the nature of fire purifies gold, melts lead, dissolves wax, dries clay and burns wood, accomplishing so many things by one burning power. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.15 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-15). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 12.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-12-16 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The one Word steers the universe, gives light to the heavenly bodies and life to angels and all creatures, making one harmonious world. ### Greek text ταύτῃ τοι καὶ ὁ παμβασιλεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, ὁ διὰ πάντων ἥκων, ἐν πᾶσί τε ὥν καὶ πάντα ἐπιπορευόμενος, οὐράνιά τε καὶ ἐπίγεια, τὰ ἀφανῆ καὶ τὰ διακυβερνῶν, ἥλιόν τε αὐτὸν οὐρανὸν τε καὶ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ἀρρήτοις δυνάμεσιν ἡνιοχεῖ, δραστικῇ δυνάμει τοῖς πᾶσιν ἐπιπαρὼν καὶ διὰ πάντων χωρῶν, ἔτι αὐτῷ μὲν ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ ἄστροις ἐξ οἰκείας πηγῆς ἀέναον φῶς ἐπομβρεῖ, οὐρανὸν δὲ οἰκείου μεγέθους προσφυεστάτην εἰκόνα ὑποστησάμενος εἰς αἰῶνα διακρατεῖ, τὰς δʼ ἐπέκεινα οὐρανοῦ καὶ κόσμου δυνάμεις ἀγγέλων καὶ πνευμάτων νοερῶν τε καὶ λογικῶν οὐσιῶν ζωῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ φωτὸς καὶ σοφίας καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς καλοῦ τε καὶ ἀγαθοῦ παντὸς ἔκ τῶν παρʼ αὐτῷ θησαυρῶν ἐμπίπλησιν, μιᾷ δὲ καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ δημιουργῷ τέχνῃ καὶ στοιχείοις οὐσίας οὔποτε διαλιμπάνει παρέχων καὶ τοῖς σώμασι μίξεις καὶ κράσεις καὶ εἴδη καὶ μορφὰς καὶ σχήματα, ποιότητάς τε μυρίας ἒν τε ζώοις καὶ φυτοῖς καὶ ψυχαῖς λογικαῖς τε καὶ ἀλόγοις ἄλλοτε ἄλλως καταποικίλλων καὶ πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ πάντα μιᾷ δυνάμει ἐπιχορηγῶν, διαρρήδην τε ἐπιδεικνὺς οὐχ ἑπτάχορδον οὔτε πολύχορδον λύραν, ἕνα δὲ κόσμον πολυαρμόνιον ἑνὸς λόγου κοσμοποιοῦ ἔργον. ### English translation (Claude) In this way too the Word of God, King of all, who reaches through all things, is in all and passes through all things, heavenly and earthly, steering the invisible and the [visible], drives the sun itself and heaven and the whole world with ineffable powers, present to all with active power and passing through all. He pours ever-flowing light from his own spring on the sun and moon and stars; he holds heaven together for ever, having established it as a most natural image of his own greatness; the powers beyond heaven and the world, of angels, of intellectual spirits and rational substances, he fills with life and light and wisdom and every virtue, with everything noble and good, from the treasuries with him; and with one and the same creative art he never ceases to supply to the elements substance, and to bodies mixtures and blendings, forms and shapes and figures, embroidering countless qualities now one way, now another, in animals and plants and in rational and irrational souls, and supplying all things to all with one power; showing plainly not a seven-stringed nor a many-stringed lyre, but one world of many harmonies, the work of one world-making Word. ### Scripture references - Col 1:16–17: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - '[Visible]' is supplied: a word (probably ὁρώμενα) seems lost after τὰ. ἀπέλων is a slip for ἀγγέλων ('angels'), οὐοίας for οὐσίας. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 12.16 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-16). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius will explain why the Word came among men: humanity ignored him and worshipped the heavenly bodies. ### Greek text Λέγωμεν δὴ τὰ ἑξῆς καὶ διασαφῶμεν τὴν αἰτίαν, διʼ ἣν ὁ τοσοῦτος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος τὴν εἰς ἀνθρώπους κάθοδον ἐποιεῖτο. τοῦτον δὴ τὸν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ἐπιστατοῦντα τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον, τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς οἷα πηγῆς τῆς ἀπωτάτω πατρικῆς θεότητος γεγεννημένον, καὶ τῷδε μὲν ἀεὶ τῷ κόσμῳ παρόντα καὶ συνόντα, τῆς δʼ αὐτοῦ προνοίας καὶ τῆς εἰς ἀνθρώπους κηδεμονίας ἐναργῆ παρεχόμενον τὰ γνωρίσματα, ἀνθρώπων ἀφρόνων γένος μὴ συλλογισάμενόν, ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ καὶ οὐρανῷ ἄστροις καὶ ἄστροις τὴν σεβάσμιον ἀνέθεντο προσηγορίαν. ### English translation (Claude) Let us then say what follows and make clear the cause for which so great a Word of God made his descent to men. This Word of God, who presides over heaven and earth, begotten from the Father's most remote deity as from a spring, ever present and with the world here, giving clear tokens of his providence and of his care for men, the race of foolish men did not take into account, and they gave the venerable title to the sun and moon and heaven and stars. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:21–23: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The text repeats ἄστροις; translated once. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagans deified the earth's fruits, the human mind and speech, and even their own passions and lusts. ### Greek text καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν γεώδη φύσιν καὶ τοὺς ἀπὸ γῆς καρποὺς τροφάς τε σωμάτων παντοίας ἐθέωσαν, Δήμητραν καὶ Κόρην καὶ Διόνυσον καὶ ἀδελφά γε τούτων ἕτερα ἀνειδωλοποιήσαντες. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς σφῶν αὐτῶν διανοίας τοὺς λογισμοὺς καὶ αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν τούτων ἑρμηνέα λόγον θεοὺς ἀνειπεῖν οὐκ ἀπώκνησαν, Ἁθηνᾶν μὲν τὴν διάνοιαν τὸν δὲ λόγον Ἑρμῆν ἐπονομάσαντες καὶ τάς γε τῶν μαθημάτων ἐπηβόλους δυνάμεις Μνημοσύνην καὶ Μούσας ἀνειπόντες. καὶ μέχρι μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἐπὶ μεῖζον δʼ αὔξοντες ἀτοπίας ὑπερβολῇ δυσσεβείας τὰ οἰκεῖα πάθη, ἃ δὴ ἐχρῆν ἀποτρέπεσθαι καὶ λόγῳ σώφρονι θεραπεύειν, οἵδε ἐθέωσαν, αὐτήν τε τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν καὶ τὴν ἐμπαθῆ καὶ ἀκόλαστον τῶν ψυχῶν νόσον τά τε ὁλκὰ πρὸς αἰσχρουργίαν μέρη τε καὶ μέλη τοῦ σώματος καὶ ἔτι τὴν τῶν αἰσχρῶν ἡδονῶν ἀκράτειαν Ἔρωτα καὶ Πρίηπον καὶ Ἀφροδίτην καὶ ἄλλʼ ἄττα συγγενῆ τούτοις ἀνειπόντες. ### English translation (Claude) Nor did they stop there, but they also deified the earthy nature and the fruits of the earth and every kind of bodily food, making idols of Demeter and Kore and Dionysus and others akin to them. Nor did they stop there, but they did not shrink from calling gods even the reasonings of their own minds and the very word that interprets them, naming the mind Athena and the word Hermes, and calling the powers that attain learning Mnemosyne and the Muses. Nor did they stop there, but, increasing their absurdity with an excess of impiety, they deified their own passions, which they ought to have turned from and cured by sober reason: desire itself, the passionate and licentious disease of souls, the parts and members of the body that draw to shamefulness, and the incontinence of shameful pleasures, calling them Eros and Priapus and Aphrodite and other things akin to these. ### Translation notes - The digital text has παντοίας τοίας and μέχρι μέχρι (with οὐδὲ apparently lost); translated by sense, 'Nor did they stop there'. ἐνέωσαν is a slip for ἐθέωσαν ('deified'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They deified dead men, animals and reptiles, and then images carved and cast from wood, stone and metal. ### Greek text καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀμφὶ τὰς σωμάτων γενέσεις καὶ τὸν κάτω θνητὸν βίον καταπεσόντες, ἀνθρώπους θνητοὺς ἐξεθείασαν καὶ μετὰ τὸν κοινὸν θάνατον ἥρωας καὶ θεοὺς ἐπεφήμισαν, ἀμφὶ μνήματα καὶ τάφους τὴν ἀθάνατον καὶ θείαν οὐσίαν ὑποτοπήσαντες εἰλεῖσθαι. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ζώων ἀλόγων παντοία γένη ἑρπετῶν τε τὰ βλαπτικώτατα τῇ σεβασμίῳ προσηγορίᾳ τετιμήκασιν· καὶ μέχρι μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δρῦς κατακόψαντες καὶ πέτρας ἐκτεμόντες γῆς τε μέταλλα, καὶ χαλκοῦ καὶ σιδήρου καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ὕλης, διερευνησάμενοι, θηλειῶν τύπους καὶ ἀρρένων ἀνδρῶν σχήματα θηρίων τε μορφὰς καὶ ἑρπετῶν ἀνεπλάσαντο, κἄπειτα τούτοις τιμὰς περιτεθείκασιν. ### English translation (Claude) Nor did they stop there, but, falling down to the generation of bodies and the mortal life below, they deified mortal men and after their common death proclaimed them heroes and gods, supposing that the immortal and divine substance lingers about memorials and tombs. Nor did they stop there, but they honoured with the venerable title all kinds of irrational animals and the most harmful of reptiles. Nor did they stop there, but, cutting down oaks and quarrying rocks and searching out the metals of the earth, bronze and iron and other material, they modelled figures of women and shapes of males, and forms of beasts and reptiles, and then surrounded these with honours. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:23: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The digital text has μέχρι μέχρι (with οὐδὲ apparently lost); translated 'Nor did they stop there'. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They called demons gods, used sorcery to summon spirits, and deified men such as Heracles and Osiris; even learned Egyptians could not distinguish God from mortal nature. ### Greek text καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ἐμφωλεύουσι τοῖς ξοάνοις σκοτίοις τε μυχοῖς ἐγκαταδεδυκόσι δαίμοσι πονηροῖς ἀμφὶ τὰς τῶν θυσιῶν λοιβάς τε καὶ κνίσας λιχνεύουσιν τὴν αὐτὴν τῶν θεῶν ἀνέθηκαν ἐπηγορίαν. καὶ οὐδὲ μέχρι τούτων ἔστησαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῖς καταδέσμοις τισὶν ἀπειρημένης γοητείας, ἐκθέσμοις τε καὶ ἐπανάγκοις ᾡδαῖς καὶ ἐπῳδαῖς, δυνάμεις ἀφανεῖς ἀμφὶ τὸν ἀέρα ποτωμένας παρέδρους ἑαυτοῖς ἐφειλκύσαντο. θνητούς γε μὴν ἄνδρας ἐθέωσαν ἑτέρους ἕτεροι· παῖδες μὲν γὰρ Ἑλλήνων Διόνυσον καὶ Ἡρακλέα καὶ Ἀσκληπιὸν καὶ Ἀπόλλωνα ἄλλους τέ τινας ἀνθρώπους τῇ τῶν ἡρώων καὶ θεῶν τετιμήκασι προσηγορίᾳ, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ Ὧρον καὶ Ἶσιν καὶ Ὄσιριν καὶ τούτοις παραπλησίους πόλιν ἀνθρώπους θεοὺς νενομίκασιν· οὐδὲ μὴν καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν σοφίας γεωμετρίας τὴν εὕρεσιν ἀστρονομίας τε καὶ ἀριθμητικῆς αὐχοῦντες οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οὐδὲ συνῆκαν οἱ σοφοὶ σταθμήσασθαι παρʼ ἑαυτοῖς καὶ λογίσασθαι μέτρα θεοῦ δυνάμεως θνητῆς τε καὶ ἀλόγου διαφορὰν φύσεως. ### English translation (Claude) Nor did they stop there, but they gave the same title of gods to the wicked demons that lurk in the wooden images and have sunk into dark recesses and greedily hover around the libations and smoke of sacrifices. Nor did they stop there, but by certain bindings of forbidden sorcery, by lawless and compelling songs and incantations, they drew to themselves as familiars invisible powers flying about the air. Different peoples deified different mortal men: the children of the Greeks honoured Dionysus, Heracles, Asclepius, Apollo and some other men with the title of heroes and gods; the Egyptians held Horus, Isis, Osiris and men like them to be gods. Nor did those wise men, boasting of their surpassing wisdom in the discovery of geometry, astronomy and arithmetic, know or understand how to weigh among themselves and reckon the measures of God's power and the difference of a mortal and irrational nature. ### Translation notes - πόλιν is garbled (perhaps πάλιν, 'again'); translated by sense. The sentence on the wise is negated twice in the Greek (οὐδὲ ... οὐκ); translated as a single negative. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Every nation deified local men, monsters and passions, men who taught no virtue but were given to vice; and by imitating their gods' adulteries and crimes they destroyed their own souls. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ πᾶν εἶδος εἰδεχθῶν κνωδάλων καὶ παντοίων ζώων γένη ἑρπετά τε ἰοβόλα καὶ θῆρας ἀγρίους θεοὺς προσειπεῖν οὐκ ἀπώκνησαν, Φοίνικες δὲ Μελκάθαρον καὶ Οὕσωρον καί τινας ἄλλους ἀτιμοτέρους θνητοὺς πάλιν ἄνδρας θεοὺς ἀνηγόρευσαν, ὡς καὶ παῖδες Ἀράβων Δούσαρίν τινα καὶ Ὄβοδον, καὶ οἱ Γέται τὸν Ζάμολξιν καὶ τὸν Μόψον Κίλικες, καὶ τὸν Ἀμφιάρεων Θηβαῖοι, καὶ παρʼ ἑτέροις ἄλλοι πάλιν ἑτέρους, τὴν φύσιν οὐδὲν τῶν θνητῶν διαλλάττοντας αὐτὸ δὲ μόνον ἀληθῶς ἀνθρώπους. ὁμοῦ δὴ οὖν πάντες Αἰγύπτιοι, Φοίνικες, Ἕλληνες, καὶ πᾶν τὸ θνητὸν γένος, ὅσον ἡλίου βολαὶ φωτίζουσι, τὰ μέρη τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τά γε στοιχεῖα τούς τε ἀπὸ γῆς βλαστοῦντας καρπούς, καὶ τὰ σφῶν αὐτῶν πάθη ναὶ μὴν καὶ τὰς δαιμονικὰς μανίας τε καὶ φαντασίας, καὶ πρό γε τούτων ἄνδρας θνητοὺς ἀνθρωπείαις χρησαμένους συμφοραῖς, καὶ οὐτʼ ἀρετῆς διδασκαλεῖα καθʼ ὂν ἔζων χρόνον συστησαμένους, οὔτε σώφρονος βίου μαθήματα ἀνθρώποις ἐπιπονήσαντας. οὐ φιλόσοφα δόγματα καταδείξαντας, οὐκ ὀνησιφόρον ἔργον ἐπιδεδειγμένους. οὐ μαθητὰς τῆς ἀρετῆς καταλείψαντας, οὐ λόγους, οὐ συγγράμματα πρὸς εὐζωίαν συντείνοντα παραδόντας, ἠσχολημένους δὲ περὶ γύναια καὶ αἰσχρὰς ἡδονάς, εἰκῆ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν οὐκ οἶδʼ ὁποίας δαιμονικῆς ἐνεργείας πλάνῃ θεοὺς καὶ ἥρωας ἀνηγόρευσαν θυσίαις τε καὶ τελεταῖς σὺν γοητικαῖς ἀπάταις ἐτίμησαν, νεὼς μὲν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἱερὰ κατὰ πόλεις καὶ κατὰ χώρας δειμάμενοι, τὸν δʼ ἐπέκεινα τοῦ κόσμου μόνον ἀληθῆ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον παμβασιλέα καὶ ποιητὴν τῶν ὅλων ἐν οὐδενὶ τέθεινται. οἱ δʼ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἤλαυνον μανίας τε καὶ φρενοβλαβείας ὡς ἐν ταὐτῷ τούσδε τινὰς τοὺς τυχόντας ἄνδρας θεοὺς ἀναχορεύειν, καὶ παραχρῆμα τοῖς αὐτοῖς θνητῶν συνάπτειν πάθη, ἔρωτάς τε παρανόμους καὶ πράξεις αἰσχρὰς ζωῆς τε καταστροφὰς καὶ θανάτους τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀνατιθέναι. εἶτα τοιαῦτα οὐχ ὑφʼ ἑτέρων διαβαλλόμενα φάσκοντες, αὐτοὶ δὲ μάρτυρες τούτων ὄντες, πλάνας τε καὶ πένθη καὶ θανάτους καὶ πρό γε τούτων μοιχείας αὐτῶν καὶ ἀρρένων φθορὰς γυναικῶν τε ἁρπαγὰς ὁμολογοῦντες, οὐδὲν ἡττον πόλεις πάσας καὶ κώμας καὶ χώρας ναοῖς καὶ ἀγάλμασι καὶ ἱεροῖς ἐπλήρουν, τῇ τῶν θεῶν ὁμοιοτροπίᾳ τὰς ἑαυτῶν προσαπολλύντες ψυχάς. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore they did not shrink from calling gods every kind of hideous monster and all races of animals, venomous reptiles and wild beasts. The Phoenicians proclaimed as gods Melkathar and Usor and certain other more ignoble mortal men; so the children of the Arabs a certain Dusaris and Obodus, the Getae Zamolxis, the Cilicians Mopsus, the Thebans Amphiaraus, and others among other peoples others again, differing in nature not at all from mortals, but simply and truly men. So all together, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and the whole mortal race, as far as the rays of the sun give light, proclaimed as gods and heroes, at random and as it happened, through the error of I know not what demonic working, the parts of the world and the elements, the fruits that spring from the earth, their own passions, yes, and demonic frenzies and fantasies, and before these mortal men who had met with human misfortunes, men who in their lifetime founded no schools of virtue, toiled at no teaching of a sober life for men, set forth no philosophical doctrines, displayed no beneficial work, left behind no disciples of virtue, handed down no words or writings tending to a good life, but were busy with women and shameful pleasures; and they honoured them with sacrifices and rites with sorcerous deceits, building temples and shrines for them in cities and in the country, while the only true Word of God beyond the world, King and maker of all, they counted as nothing. And they went so far in madness and derangement that at the same time they danced in honour of these chance men as gods, and at once attached to the same men the passions of mortals, ascribing to them lawless loves and shameful deeds, overthrows of life and deaths. Then, saying that these things were not slanders by others, but being themselves witnesses of them, confessing their wanderings and griefs and deaths and, above these, their adulteries, corruptions of males and abductions of women, they nonetheless filled all cities and villages and lands with temples and statues and shrines, destroying their own souls besides by imitating the ways of their gods. ### Translation notes - Melkathar is Melqart of Tyre; Usor (Usoos) a Phoenician hero; Dusaris and Obodas Nabataean deities. 'Adulteries' renders μοιχείας; 'corruptions of males' ἀρρένων φθοράς. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagans sought the divine in mortal bodies like a man looking for the sun in the mud, and even sacrificed their own children. ### Greek text θεοὺς δὴ τοίνυν καὶ θεῶν παῖδας ἥρωάς τε κἀγαθοὺς δαίμονας λόγῳ μὲν ἦν παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἀκούειν, ἔργῳ δὲ πᾶν τοὐναντίον· τἀναντία γοῦν τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἐσέμνυνον, ὡς εἰ καὶ ἥλιόν τις καὶ φῶτα τὰ κατʼ οὐρανὸν δεῖξαί τῳ βουληθεὶς ἄνω μὲν εἰς ὕψος μὴ ἐπαίροι τὰς ὄψεις, κάτω δὲ εἰς γῆν τὰς χεῖρας βαλὼν καὶ χαμαὶ εἰς ἔδαφος ῥίψας ἐν πηλῷ καὶ βορβόρῳ τὰς οὐρανίους δυνάμεις ἐπιζητοίη. οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος φρενοβλαβείᾳ καὶ δαιμόνων ἀπάτῃ πονηρῶν τὴν ἐπέκεινα οὐρανοῦ τε καὶ κόσμου θείαν καὶ νοητὴν οὐσίαν κάτω που ἐν σωμάτων γενέσει καὶ θνητῶν πάθεσί τε καὶ θανάτοις ἐπέπειστο εἰναι. οἱ δʼ εἰς τοσοῦτον ἤλαυνον ἀνοίας, ὡς καὶ τὰ φίλτατα θύειν αὐτοῖς μηδὲ φειδὼ ποιεῖσθαι τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ τὰ μονογενῆ καὶ ἀγαπητὰ τῶν τέκνων μανίᾳ καὶ διανοίας ἐκστάσει κατασφάττειν. ### English translation (Claude) So one could hear among them in word of gods and sons of gods, of heroes and good demons, but in deed everything was the opposite; for they revered the opposite things by opposite means, as if someone wishing to show another the sun and the lights of heaven did not lift his eyes up on high, but, casting his hands down to the earth and throwing himself to the ground, sought the heavenly powers in mud and mire. So too the human race, through derangement and the deceit of wicked demons, was persuaded that the divine and intelligible substance beyond heaven and the world was somewhere below, in the generation of bodies and the passions and deaths of mortals. And they went so far in folly that they even sacrificed their dearest ones to them, sparing not even nature, but already slaughtering their only and beloved children in madness and frenzy of mind. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius lists human sacrifices among Phoenicians, Greeks, Egyptians, Libyans, Arabs and even at Rome, to show the madness of idolatry. ### Greek text καὶ τί γὰρ ἂν γένοιτο τούτου μανικώτερον θύειν ἀνθρώπους καὶ τὰς πόλεις ἁπάσας καὶ τοὺς αὐτῶν οἵκους ἐμφυλίοις μολύνειν φόνοις; ἢ οὐ ταῦτα Ἑλλήνων παῖδες μαρτυροῦσι καὶ πᾶσά γε ἡ ἱστορία τῆς τούτων μνήμης πεπλήρωται; Κρόνῳ μὲν γὰρ Φοίνικες καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔτος ἔθυον τὰ ἀγαπητὰ καὶ μονογενῆ τῶν τέκνων, τῷ δʼ αὐτῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἐν Ῥόδῳ μηνὶ Μεταγειτνιῶνι ἕκτῃ ἱσταμένου ἀνθρώπους ἔσφαττον. ἐν δὲ Σαλαμῖνι ὑφʼ ἔνα περίβολον Ἀθηνᾶς Ἀγραύλιδος καὶ Διομήδους ἐλαυνόμενός τις ἀνὴρ τρὶς περιέθει τὸν βωμόν, ἔπειτα ὁ ἱερεὺς αὐτὸν λόγχῃ ἔπαιεν κατὰ τοῦ στομάχου, καὶ οὕτως αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν νηθεῖσαν πυρὰν ὡλοκαύτιζεν. ἐγίγνοντο δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Αἰγύπτου πλεῖσται ὅσαι ἀνθρωποκτονίαι, ἐθύοντό τε τῇ Ἥρᾳ ἐν Ἡλίου πόλει τῆς ἡμέρας τρεῖς, ἀνθʼ ὧν Ἀμόσης ὁ βασιλεὺς τὸ δεινὸν συνιδὼν κηρίνους τοὺς ἴσους ἐκέλευσεν ἐπιτίθεσθαι. καὶ ἐν Χίῳ δὲ τῷ Ὠμαδίῳ Διονύσῳ ἄνθρωπον διασπῶντες ἔθυον, καὶ ἐν Τενέδῳ δὲ ὡσαύτως, ἐν δὲ Λακεδαίμονι τῷ Ἄρει τὴν διʼ ἀνθρώπων ἐτέλουν θυσίαν. καὶ ἐν Κρήτῃ δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτʼ ἔπραττον, ἀνθρωποθυτοῦντες τῷ Κρόνῳ. Ἀθηνᾷ δὲ παρθένος κατʼ ἔτος ἐθύετο ἐν Λαοδαμείᾳ τῆς Συρίας, νῦν δὲ ἔλαφος. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ Λίβυες καὶ Καρχηδόνιοι ταῖς ἀνθρωποθυσίαις τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἱλεοῦντο θεούς. καὶ Δουματηνοὶ δὲ τῆς Ἀραβίας καθʼ ἕκαστον ἔτος ἔθυον παῖδα, ὃν ὑπὸ τὸν βωμὸν ἔθαπτον, κοινῶς δὲ πάντας Ἕλληνας, πρὶν ἐπὶ πολέμους ἐξιέναι, ἀνθρωποκτονεῖν ἡ ἱστορία διδάσκει, Θρᾷκας τε καὶ Σκύθας ὁμοίως. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τὰς Λεὼ κόρας καὶ τὴν Ἐρεχθέως θυγατέρα σφαγιασθεῖσαν μνημονεύουσιν. ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν τίς ἀγνοεῖ κατὰ τὴν μεγάλην πόλιν τῇ τοῦ Λατριαρίου Διὸς ἑορτῇ σφαγιαζόμενον ἄνθρωπον; ### English translation (Claude) And what could be more mad than this, to sacrifice human beings and to defile whole cities and their own houses with the murder of kin? Or do not the children of the Greeks bear witness to these things, and is not all history full of their memory? The Phoenicians every year sacrificed their beloved and only children to Kronos; to the same god in Rhodes, on the sixth of the month Metageitnion, they slaughtered men. In Salamis, a man driven within one precinct of Athena Agraulis and Diomedes ran three times around the altar, then the priest struck him with a spear in the stomach and so burned him whole on the heaped-up pyre. In Egypt too very many human killings took place: three men a day were sacrificed to Hera at Heliopolis, in whose place King Amosis, seeing how terrible it was, ordered the same number of wax figures to be offered. In Chios they sacrificed a man to Dionysus Omadios by tearing him apart, and likewise in Tenedos; in Lacedaemon they performed the sacrifice by men to Ares. In Crete they did this very thing, sacrificing men to Kronos. A virgin was sacrificed yearly to Athena in Laodicea of Syria, but now a deer. Moreover the Libyans and Carthaginians propitiated their gods with human sacrifices. The Dumatenes of Arabia sacrificed a boy every year and buried him under the altar. History teaches that all the Greeks in common killed men before going out to war, and the Thracians and Scythians likewise. The Athenians remember the daughters of Leos and the daughter of Erechtheus who were slain. And even now, who does not know that at the great city a man is slaughtered at the festival of Jupiter Latiaris? ### Extrabiblical texts - Porphyry, Abst. 2.54-56 (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals): quotation, high confidence - Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.16 (Preparation for the Gospel): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The list follows Porphyry, De abstinentia 2.54–56, which Eusebius also quotes in Praep. ev. 4.16. 'The great city' is Rome; 'Jupiter Latiaris' (Λατιαρίου, printed Λατριαρίου). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Diodorus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus record mass child sacrifice at Carthage and human tithes demanded by the gods in Italy. ### Greek text ταῦτα μὲν φιλοσόφων οἱ καὶ δοκιμώτατοι μεμαρτυρήκασιν οὕτως ἔχειν, Διόδωρος δὲ ὁ τὰς βιβλιοθήκας ἐπιτεμὼν φησὶ τῷ Κρόνῳ διακοσίους τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων παίδων δημοσίᾳ θῦσαι τοὺς Λίβυας, οὐκ ἐλάττους δὲ ἐπιδοῦναι τῇ θυσίᾳ τριακοσίους ἑτέρους, ὁ δὲ τῆς Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἱστορίας συγγραφεὺς Διονύσιος αὐτὸν τὸν Δία καὶ τὸν Ἀπόλλωνα αἰτῆσαι ἀνθρωποθυσίας ἐν Ἰταλίᾳ παρὸ τῶν καλουμένων Ἀβοριγινῶν. τοὺς αἰτηθέντας οὐν φησι καρπῶν μὲν ἁπάντων τὸ λάχος ἀποθῦσαι τις θεοῖς· ὅτι δὲ μὴ καὶ ἀνθρώπους ἔθυσαν, παντοίαις περιπεσεῖν συμφοραῖς, μὴ πρότερόν τε κακῶν παῦλαν σχεῖν ἢ δεκατεῦσαι ἑαυτούς· οὕτω δʼ οὖν ἀνθρώπων δεκάτας ἀφαιρουμενους τε καὶ θύοντας ἐρημίας αἰτίους γενέσθαι τῇ χώρᾳ. τοσούτοις κακοῖς τὸ πᾶν τῶν ’ν γένος πάλαι πρότερον κατετρύχετο. ### English translation (Claude) That these things are so, even the most esteemed of the philosophers have testified. Diodorus, who abridged the libraries, says that the Libyans publicly sacrificed to Kronos two hundred of the most distinguished children, and gave to the sacrifice no fewer than three hundred others besides. And Dionysius, the writer of Roman history, says that Zeus himself and Apollo demanded human sacrifices in Italy from those called Aborigines. He says that those of whom they were demanded offered to the gods a tithe of all their crops; but because they did not also sacrifice men, they fell into misfortunes of every kind, and had no rest from evils until they tithed themselves; and so, taking away tithes of men and sacrificing them, they became the cause of desolation for the land. With so many evils was the whole human race formerly worn down. ### Extrabiblical texts - Diodorus Siculus, 20.14 (Diodorus Siculus, Library of History): quotation, high confidence - Dionysius of Halicarnassus, 1.23-24 (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities): quotation, high confidence - Porphyry, Abst. 2.56 (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Diodorus Siculus 20.14; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Ant. rom. 1.23–24; both via Porphyry, Abst. 2.56. 'Most esteemed of the philosophers' refers to Porphyry. τὸ πᾶν τῶν ’ν γένος is garbled for 'the whole race of men'. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Humanity was also divided against itself, every people at war with others under its own laws. ### Greek text οὐκ ἤρκει δ ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸ κακῶς πράττειν, μυρίαις δὲ καὶ ἄλλαις ἀνηκέστοις καταδεδούλωτο συμφοραῖς. ὁμοῦ γὰρ τὰ καθ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνη, Ἕλληνά τε καὶ βαρβάρα, ὡς ὑπὸ δαιμονικῆς ἐνεργείας οἰστρούμενα δεινῇ καὶ χαλεπωτάτῃ νόσῳ διεστασίαζεν, τῷ ἄμικτον εἶναι καὶ ἀκατάλλακτον αὐτὸ πρὸς ἑαυτὸ τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος, ὡδε κἀκεῖσε τοῦ μεγάλου σώματος τῆς κοινῆς φύσεως διεσπασμένου, ἐφʼ ἑκάστῃ γωνίᾳ γῆς ἀποστατούντων ἀνθρώπων νόμοις τε καὶ πολιτείαις διαμαχομένων ἀλλήλοις, ### English translation (Claude) Nor was this enough of evil for them; they were also enslaved by countless other incurable misfortunes. For the nations throughout the whole world, Greek and barbarian, as though goaded by demonic working, were torn apart by a terrible and most grievous disease, because the human race was unsociable and irreconcilable with itself, the great body of our common nature being torn here and there, as men in every corner of the earth revolted and fought one another with their laws and constitutions, ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 13.10. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constant war meant that travellers went armed, farmers carried swords, and raiding neighbours was thought a virtue. ### Greek text καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξαγριουμένων πυκναῖς ταῖς κατʼ ἀλλήλων ἐπαναστάσεσιν, ὥστʼ ἀεὶ καὶ διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου μάχαις ταῖς κατʼ ἀλλήλων καὶ πολέμοις σχολάζειν, μὴ ἐξεῖναί τέ ποι τῷ βουλομένῳ στέλλεσθαι μὴ πολεμίου τρόπον καθωπλισμένῳ, κατʼ ἀγρούς τε καὶ κατὰ κώμας ξιφηφορεῖν τοὺς γεωπόνους καὶ μᾶλλον τῶν πρὸς γεωργίαν ὀργάνων τὰς ἐνόπλους κεκτῆσθαι παρασκευάς, τό τε ληΐζεσθαι ἀνδραποδίζεσθαι τοὺς ἐκ γειτόνων ἐπʼ ἀρετῆς τίθεσθαι μέρει. ### English translation (Claude) and not only this, but also growing savage in frequent uprisings against one another, so that always, throughout life, they were occupied with battles and wars against one another; no one who wished could travel anywhere without being armed like an enemy; farmers carried swords in the fields and villages and owned weapons of war rather than tools for farming; and plundering and enslaving their neighbours they counted as a part of virtue. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Following the myths of their gods, pagans fell into every licentiousness, including homosexual acts condemned by Paul. ### Greek text καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν, ὡν ἐλογοποίησαν περὶ τῶν οἰκείων θεῶν, αἰσχρᾶς καὶ παρανόμου ζωῆς ἐφόδια προσλαβόντες, παντοίοις τρόποις ἀκολασίας ὁμοῦ τοῖς σώμασι καὶ τὰς αὐτῶν ψυχὰς προσδιέφθειραν. καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ὅρους ὑπερβάντες τῆς φύσεως ἐπέκεινα ἐχώρουν ἀρρητοποιΐας καὶ τὰ ἄπιστα κατʼ ἀλλήλων ἐμπαροινοῦντες· „ἄρρενές τε ἐπʼ ἄρσεσι ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες, “ ᾗ φασὶν ἱεροὶ λόγοι. ### English translation (Claude) And not only this, but, taking from the very stories they had made up about their own gods provisions for a shameful and lawless life, they corrupted their souls together with their bodies by every kind of licentiousness. And not only this, but, overstepping the bounds of nature, they went beyond into unspeakable deeds and did unbelievable outrages to one another, "men committing shameless acts with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error," as the sacred words say. ### Scripture references - Rom 1:27: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation is Rom 1:27. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: They denied providence and attributed the world to chance or fate. ### Greek text καὶ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς περὶ θεοῦ φυσικὰς ἐννοίας παρατρέψαντες ἀπρονόητα μὲν καὶ ἀνεπιτρόπευτα τὰ τῇδε πάντα ἡγοῦντο, ἀλόγῳ δὲ καὶ αὐτομάτῳ φύσει εἱμαρμένης τε ἀνάγκῃ τὴν τοῦ παντὸς οὐσίωσίν τε καὶ σύστασιν ἀνετίθεσαν. ### English translation (Claude) And [not] only this, but, perverting the natural notions of God, they thought all things here without providence and without guardian, and ascribed the being and constitution of the universe to an irrational and spontaneous nature and to the necessity of fate. ### Translation notes - The digital text lacks οὐ before τοῦτο; supplied in brackets. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Believing the soul perished with the body, they lived like beasts with no thought of judgment. ### Greek text καὶ οὐ τοῦτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς σφῶν ψυχὰς αὐτοῖς συνδιαφθείρεσθαι τοῖς σώμασιν ὑπολαμβάνοντες θηριώδη ζωὴν καὶ βίον ἀβίωτον διῆγον, οὐ ψυχῆς οὐσίαν διερευνώμενοι, οὐ θείας κρίσεως δικαιωτήρια προσδοκῶντες, οὐκ ἀρετῆς ἔπαθλα, οὐκ ἀδίκου βίου τιμωρίας ἐν νῷ βαλλόμενοι, ### English translation (Claude) And not only this, but, supposing that their souls perished together with their bodies, they lived a beastlike life and a life not worth living, not inquiring into the substance of the soul, not expecting the courts of divine judgment, not taking to mind the prizes of virtue or the punishments of an unjust life, ### Translation notes - The sentence continues in 13.14. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-14 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Whole nations practised incest, murder of strangers, cannibalism, and the killing of the old. ### Greek text ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὅλα ἔθνη πολυτρόποις κακίας εἴδεσι θηριώδει κατετήκοντο βίῳ, οἱ μὲν μητράσι μιγνύμενοι μίξιν ἔκθεσμον καὶ παρανομωτάτην, οἱ δὲ τὰς ἀδελφὰς αὐτῶν γαμοῦντες, οἱ δὲ τὰς αὐτῶν θυγατέρας διαφθείροντες, καὶ οἱ μὲν τοὺς ἐπιδημοῦντας ξένους κατασφάττοντες, οἱ δὲ καὶ κρεῶν ἀνθρωπείων ἀπογευόμενοι, οἱ δʼ ἀγχόνῃ τοὺς γεγηρακότας ἀποπνίγοντες κἄπειτα τούτοις ἑστιώμενοι, οἱ δὲ κυσὶν ἔτι ζῶντας παραβάλλοντες. ἐπιλείψει με ὁ χρόνος τὰ πάντα τῆς παλαιᾶς νόσου τῆς δὴ τὸ πᾶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος κεκρατηκυίας διηγούμενον, ### English translation (Claude) and already whole nations were wasting away in a beastlike life by many kinds of wickedness: some having lawless and most unlawful intercourse with their mothers, others marrying their sisters, others corrupting their own daughters; some slaughtering the strangers who visited them, others tasting human flesh, others strangling the aged with a noose and then feasting on them, others throwing them still alive to dogs. Time will fail me in telling all the ancient disease that had mastered the whole human race, ### Scripture references - Heb 11:32: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Time will fail me' echoes Heb 11:32. The sentence continues in 13.15. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.14 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-14). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-15 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Taking pity on humanity, the Word first taught through patriarchs, prophets and laws; and when only a superhuman helper would serve, he came himself, sent by the Father. ### Greek text ταῦτα καὶ ἀδελφὰ τούτοις μυρία, ὡν δὴ χάριν ὁ φιλάνθρωπος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις λογικῆς ἀγέλης οἶκτον λαβών, πάλαι μὲν διά τινων αὐτοῦ προφητῶν καὶ ἔτι πάλαι πρότερον διʼ ἑτέρων θεοφιλῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ μετὰ τούτους διὰ τῶν μετέπειτα γνωρίμων ἐπὶ τὴν σφῶν θεραπείαν ἀνεκαλεῖτο τοὺς ἀπεγνωσμένους, νόμοις καὶ παραινέσεσι ποικίλαις διδασκαλίαις τε παντοίαις προοίμί ὄττα καὶ στοιχεῖα θεοσεβείας εἰς ἀνθρώπους καταβαλλόμενος. ὡς οὖν οὐκέτʼ ἀνθρωπείας δυνάμεως κρείττονος δὲ ἥ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἐδεῖτο βοηθοῦ τὸ θνητὸν γένος, ὡδε κἀκεῖσε πλανώμενον ἀφειδῶς τε σπαραττόμενον οὐχ ὑπὸ λύκων καὶ θηρίων ἀτιθάσων, δεινῶν δὲ καὶ ἀγρίων ὑπὸ δαιμόνων καὶ πνευμάτων ἀπηνῶν καὶ ψυχοφθόρων, ἧκεν λοιπὸν ἡμῖν αὐτὸς μάλα προθύμως καὶ παρῆν ἐφʼ ἡμετέρας παρεμβολὰς ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, πατρὸς παναγάθου πειθαρχῶν νεύματι. ### English translation (Claude) these things and countless others akin to them. For their sake the loving Word of God, taking pity on the rational flock among men, called the despairing to their healing, of old through some of his prophets, and still earlier through other God-loving men, and after them through those who were known later, laying down among men, through laws and exhortations and teachings of every kind, preludes and elements of godliness. When, then, the mortal race no longer needed human power but a helper stronger than human, wandering here and there and mercilessly torn, not by wolves and untamed beasts, but by terrible and savage demons and cruel, soul-destroying spirits, at last the Word of God himself came to us most willingly and was present in our camp, obeying the nod of the all-good Father. ### Scripture references - Heb 1:1–2: echo, medium confidence - John 1:14: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Present in our camp' (ἐφʼ ἡμετέρας παρεμβολάς) recalls the Word 'tabernacling' among us, John 1:14; 'of old through prophets', Heb 1:1. προοίμί ὄττα is garbled for προοίμιά ττα ('certain preludes'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.15 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-15). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 13.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/12-1/#p-13-16 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: For these reasons the Word came among mortals in a new way, through a mortal instrument, to save the mortal by what is like it. ### Greek text αἰτία δʼ ἦν αὐτῷ τῆς ἐνταυθοῖ παρουσίας τὰ δεδηλωμένα, ὧν δὴ ἕνεκα πάντων εἰς θνητῶν ὁμιλίας παριὼν οὐχ ὅπερ αὐτῷ σύνηθες ἦν τοῦτʼ ἔπραττεν, ἀσωμάτῳ μὲν ὄντι καὶ τὸν ἅπαντα κόσμον ἀφανῶς ἐπιπορευομένῳ ἔργοις δʼ αὐτοῖς οὐρανίοις τε καὶ τοῖς κατὰ γῆν τὰς αὐτοῦ μεγαλουργίας ἐκφαίνοντι, καινοτέρῳ δὲ καὶ τὸν συνήθη παραλλάττοντι τρόπῳ. διʼ ὀργάνου γάρ τοι θνητοῦ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς θνητοὺς ὁμιλίας τε καὶ διατριβὰς ὑπῄει, τὸ θνητὸν διὰ τοῦ ὁμοίου σῶσαι προμηθούμενος. ### English translation (Claude) The cause of his presence here was what has been described. For the sake of all these he came into the company of mortals, and did not do what was customary for him, being incorporeal and passing invisibly through the whole world and displaying his great works by deeds in heaven and on earth, but did it in a newer way, changing his customary manner. For through a mortal instrument he undertook his converse and dwelling with mortals, taking care to save the mortal through what is like it. ### Translation notes - 'Through a mortal instrument' (διʼ ὀργάνου θνητοῦ) is Eusebius's term for the Word's human body; translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 13.16 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/13-16). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The incorporeal Word took a body because people who sought God in visible things could see him only in human form. ### Greek text Φέρε δὴ μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ διʼ ἣν αἰτίαν ὀργάνῳ σώματι χρησάμενος εἰς ἀνθρώπων διατριβὰς παρῄει ὁ ἀσώματος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος εμεν. καὶ πῶς ἂν ἄλλως θεία καὶ ἀναφὴς ἄυλός τε καὶ ἀόρατος οὐσία τοῖς ἐν γενέσει τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς κάτω ζητοῦσιν, ἄλλως τε οὐ δυναμένοις ἢ μὴ βουλομένοις τὸν τῶν ἀπάντων γενεσιουργόν τε καὶ ποιητὴν ἐποπτεύειν, ἢ δέ ἀνθρωπείου σχήματός τε καὶ εἴδους ἑαυτὴν ἔφηνεν; ### English translation (Claude) Come then, after this let us say for what reason the incorporeal Word of God, using a body as an instrument, came to dwell among men. How else could the divine, intangible, immaterial and invisible substance show itself to those who seek God in things that come into being and down on earth, and who cannot, or will not, behold the creator and maker of all, than through a human shape and form? ### Translation notes - The text reads εμεν (for εἴπωμεν, 'let us say') and ἢ δέ (for ἢ διʼ, 'than through'); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since like loves like, the Word showed himself in a human body to those who looked for the divine in images and men. ### Greek text ὅθεν διʼ ὀργάνου θνητοῦ, καταλλήλου βοηθήματος, τοῖς θνητοῖς εἰς ὁμιλίαν κατῄει, ὅτι δὴ τοῦτʼ αὐτοῖς φίλον ἦν· τὰ ὅμοια γοῦν, φασί, τοῖς ὁμοίοις φίλα. τοῖς δῆτα χαίρουσι τῇ τῶν ὁρωμένων αἰσθήσει, ἐν ἀγάλμασί τε καὶ ξοάνων ἀψύχων γλυφαῖς θεοὺς ἀναζητοῦσιν, ἐν ὕλῃ τε καὶ σώμασιν τὸ θεῖον εἶναι φανταζομένοις, θνητούς τε ἄνδρας τὴν φύσιν θεοὺς ἀναγορεύουσιν, καὶ ταύτῃ πη ἑαυτὸν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ἐδείκνυ. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore he came down to converse with mortals through a mortal instrument, a fitting aid, because this was dear to them; for like, they say, is dear to like. To those who delight in the perception of things seen, who seek gods in statues and carvings of lifeless wooden images, who imagine the divine to be in matter and bodies, and who proclaim as gods men mortal by nature, in this way the Word of God showed himself. ### Extrabiblical texts - Homer, Od. 17.218 (Homer, Odyssey): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'Like is dear to like' is a proverb (Homer, Od. 17.218; Plato, Symp. 195b). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word's human body was a living, holy temple and statue, unlike the lifeless idols that house demons. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ νεὼν πανάγιον αὐτὸς αὐτῷ σωματικὸν ὄργανον κατεσκευάσατο, λογικῆς δυνάμεως αἰσθητικὸν οἰκητήριον, ἄγαλμα σεμνὸν καὶ πανίερον, ξοάνου παντὸς ἀψύχου προτιμότερον. τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐξ ὕλης ἀψύχου δείκηλον, χερσὶ βαναύσων ἀνδρῶν ἐν εἰκόνι χαλκοῦ καὶ σιδήρου χρυσοῦ τε καὶ ἐλέφαντος λίθων τε καὶ ξύλων ἐν ὕλῃ τετεχνασμένον, προσφυὲς ἂν εἴη δαιμόνων οἰκητήριον· τὸ δʼ ἔνθεον ἄγαλμα σοφίας ἐνθέου δυνάμει πεποικιλμένον ζωῆς μετεῖχεν καὶ νοερᾶς οὐσίας, ἄγαλμα πάσης ἀρετῆς ἔμπλεων, ἄγαλμα θεοῦ λόγου οἰκητήριον νεώς τε ἅγιος θεοῦ. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore he prepared for himself an all-holy temple, a bodily instrument, a perceptible dwelling of rational power, a venerable and all-holy statue, more honourable than any lifeless wooden image. For the image made of lifeless matter, crafted by the hands of base workmen into a likeness of bronze and iron, gold and ivory, stone and wood, would be a fitting dwelling for demons; but the divine statue, embroidered by the power of divine wisdom, shared in life and intellectual substance, a statue full of every virtue, a statue that is the dwelling of the Word of God and a holy temple of God. ### Scripture references - John 2:21: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Temple' recalls John 2:21. The text reads Μου λόγου (for θεοῦ λόγου) and ἅηιος (for ἅγιος). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The indwelling Word was not affected by the body, as sunlight is not defiled by what it touches. ### Greek text οὑ δὴ ὁ ἔνοικος λόγος θνητοῖς μὲν διὰ τοῦ συγγενοῦς συνῆν τε καὶ ἐγνωρίζετο, οὐ μὴν ὑπέπιπτε ταῖς ὁμοιοπαθείαις, οὐδʼ ἀνθρώπου ψυχῆς τρόπον τῷ σώματι κατεδεσμεῖτο, οὐδέ γε χείρων αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ γενόμενος τῆς οἰκείας θεότητος μετεβάλλετο. ὡς γὰρ οὐδʼ ἡλίου φωτὸς πάθοιεν ἄν τι ἀκτῖνες, τὰ πάντα πληροῦσαι καὶ σωμάτων νεκρῶν καὶ οὐ καθαρῶν ἐφαπτόμεναι, ταύτῃ πολὺ πλέον ἡ ἀσώματος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου δύναμις οὔτʼ ἂν πάθοι τι τὴν οὐσίαν ἂν βλαβείη οὐδʼ ἂν χείρων ποτὲ ἑαυτῆς γένοιτο, σώματος ἀσωμάτως ἐπαφωμένη. ### English translation (Claude) The Word dwelling in it was with mortals through what is akin to them and was known by them; yet he did not fall under like passions, nor was he bound to the body in the manner of a human soul, nor, becoming worse than himself, was he changed from his own deity. For as the rays of the sun's light would suffer nothing, though they fill all things and touch dead and impure bodies, so much more the incorporeal power of the Word of God would suffer nothing, nor be harmed in substance, nor ever become worse than itself, touching a body incorporeally. ### Translation notes - Eusebius's account of the Word's relation to the body is translated as written. The text reads μάτων (for σωμάτων) and lacks οὐδʼ before τὴν οὐσίαν. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Like Orpheus taming beasts with his lyre, the Word used a human being as his instrument to tame and heal human souls, showing them God in a man. ### Greek text οὕτω δῆτα ὁ κοινὸς ἀπάντων σωτὴρ εὐεργετικὸν ἑαυτὸν τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ σωτήριον παρέσχε διʼ ὀργάνου οὗ προβέβλητο ἀνθρωπίνου, οἷά τις μουσικὸς ἀνὴρ διὰ τῆς λύρας τὴν σοφίαν δεικνύμενος. Ὀρφέα μὲν δὴ μῦθος Ἑλληνικὸς παντοῖα γένη θηρίων θέλγειν τῇ ᾠδῇ ἐξημεροῦν τε τῶν ἀγρίων τοὺς θυμούς, ἐν ὀργάνῳ πλήκτρῳ κρουομένων χορδῶν, παραδίδωσιν, καὶ τοῦθʼ Ἑλλήνων ᾄδεται χορῷ, καὶ πιστεύεται ἄψυχος λύρα τιθασεύειν τοὺς θῆρας καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ δένδρα τὰς φηγοὺς μεταβάλλειν μουσικῇ εἴκοντα. τοιγαροῦν ὁ πάνσοφος καὶ παναρμόνιος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος ψυχαῖς ἀνθρώπων πολυτρόποις κακίαις ὑποβεβλημέναις παντοίας θεραπείας προβαλλόμενος, μουσικὸν ὄργανον χερσὶ λαβών, αὐτοῦ ποίημα σοφίας, τὸν ἄνθρωπον, ᾠδὰς καὶ ἐπῳδὰς διὰ τούτου λογικοῖς ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἀλόγοις θηρσὶν ἀνεκρούετο. πάντα τρόπον ἀνήμερον Ἑλλήνων τε καὶ βαρβάρων πάθη τε ἄγρια καὶ θηριώδη ψυχῶν τοῖς τῆς ἐνθέου διδασκαλίας φαρμάκοις ἐξιώμενος, καὶ νοσούσαις γε ψυχαῖς ταῖς τὸ θεῖον ἐν γενέσει καὶ σώμασιν ἀναζητούσαις οἷά τις ἰατρῶν ἄριστος συγγενεῖ καὶ καταλλήλῳ βοηθήματι θεὸν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ παρίστη. ### English translation (Claude) So the common Saviour of all made himself beneficent and saving to all through the human instrument he had put forth, like a musician showing his skill through the lyre. A Greek myth hands down that Orpheus charmed every kind of beast with his song and tamed the fury of the wild ones by striking the strings of his instrument with a plectrum; this is sung by the chorus of the Greeks, and it is believed that a lifeless lyre tamed the beasts and even moved the trees, the oaks, yielding to music. So the all-wise and all-harmonious Word of God, applying every kind of cure to human souls subject to many kinds of wickedness, took in his hands a musical instrument, the work of his own wisdom, man, and through it played songs and charms to rational, not irrational, beasts, healing every savage manner of Greeks and barbarians and the wild and beastlike passions of souls with the remedies of divine teaching; and to sick souls that seek the divine in things that come into being and in bodies, like the best of physicians, with a kindred and fitting aid, he presented God in a man. ### Extrabiblical texts - Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 1 (Exhortation to the Greeks): echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The Orpheus comparison echoes Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus 1. The text has several slips (κρουρμένων, θηρσὶω, παρίοτη). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Through the man he assumed the Word worked visible miracles and taught, while remaining unchanged and present everywhere. ### Greek text κἄπειτα σωμάτων οὐχ ἧττον ἢ ψυχῶν ἐπιμελόμενος, σαρκὸς μὲν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρᾶν θαύματά τινα παράδοξα καὶ θεϊκὰς τερατείας τε καὶ δυνάμεις, ἀκοαῖς δὲ πάλιν σαρκὸς τὰς διὰ γλώττης καὶ σαρκὸς ὑπήχει διδασκαλίας, πάντα δʼ ἐπετέλει διʼ οὗ ἀνείληφεν ἀνθρώπου τοῖς οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ μόνως οὕτως τῆς τοιαύτης θεότητος συναισθέσθαι δυναμένοις. 7 καὶ ταῦτα ταῖς πατρικαῖς βουλαῖς διηκονεῖτο, μένων πάλιν αὐτὸς ἄυλος, οἷος καὶ πρὸ τούτου παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ ἦν, οὔτι μεταβαλὼν τὴν οὐσίαν, οὐδʼ ἀφανισθείσης τῆς αὐτοῦ φύσεως, οὐδέ γε τοῖς τῆς σαρκὸς δεσμοῖς πεδηθείς, οὐδʼ ὧδε μὲν ἔνθα ἦν αὐτῷ τὸ ἀνθρώπειον σκεῦος τὰς διατριβὰς ποιούμενος, ἐν ἑτέροις δὲ εἶναι τοῦ παντὸς κεκωλυμένος. ### English translation (Claude) And then, caring no less for bodies than for souls, he showed to the eyes of the flesh marvellous wonders and divine portents and powers, and sounded in the ears of the flesh teachings through tongue and flesh; and he accomplished all things through the man he had taken up, for those who could perceive such a deity in no other way but this. [7] And he ministered these things to the Father's counsels, remaining himself again immaterial, as he was before this with the Father, not changing his substance, not losing his own nature, not fettered by the bonds of the flesh, nor, while his human vessel spent its time here where it was, being prevented from being in the other parts of the universe. ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 7 marks section 14.7, which the staging did not separate; it is kept as [7]. The first sentence lacks a verb ('he showed'), supplied. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Even during his earthly life the Word filled all things and was with the Father, giving to the human nature without receiving from it. ### Greek text ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ ἐν τῷ τότε, καθʼ ὅ ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐπολιτεύετο, τὰ πάντα ἐπλήρου, καὶ τῷ πατρὶ συνῆν, καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ γε ἠν, καὶ τῶν πάντων ἁθρόως καὶ ἐν τῷ τότε τῶν τε κατʼ οὐρανὸν καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς ἐπεμέλετο, οὐδαμῶς τῆς πανταχόσε παρουσίας ὁμοίως ἡμῖν ἀποκλειόμενος οὐδὲ τὰ θεῖα πρότεινε συνήθως παραποδιζόμενος, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἐξ αὐτοῦ παραδιδοὺς τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ τὰ δʼ ἐκ τοῦ θνητοῦ μὴ ἀντιλαμβάνων, καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐνθέου δυνάμεως τῷ θνητῷ χορηγῶν τῆς δʼ ἐκ τοῦ θνητοῦ μετουσίας μὴ ἀντεπαρυόμενος. ### English translation (Claude) But even at that time, when he lived among men, he filled all things, was with the Father and in him, and at that very time cared for all things together, in heaven and on earth, in no way shut out, as we are, from presence everywhere, nor hindered from putting forth the divine as usual; but giving from himself to the man, and not receiving from the mortal in turn; supplying the mortal from the divine power, and not drawing in turn a share from the mortal. ### Scripture references - John 10:38: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Eusebius's view that the Word gave to the human nature but received nothing from it is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word was not defiled by birth nor harmed by death, as a lyre-player is not hurt when his lyre is broken. ### Greek text οὔκουν ἐμολύνετο τικτομένου τοῦ σώματος, οὐδὲ τὴν οὐσίαν ἔπασχεν ὁ ἀπαθὴς τοῦ θνητοῦ πάλιν αὐτῶ̣ διαιρουμένου· ἐπεὶ μηδὲ τῆς λύρας εἰ οὕτω τύχοι κοπτομένης ἢ τῶν χορδῶν διασπωμένων πάσχειν εἰκὸς τὸν ἀνακρουόμενον, οὐδέ γε σοφοῦ τινος ἀνδρὸς τιμωρουμένου σώματος τὴν ἐν τῷ σοφῷ σοφίαν ἢ τὴν ἐν τῷ σώματι ψυχὴν κόπτεσθαι ἢ κάεσθαι φαίημεν ἂν εἰκότως. ### English translation (Claude) So he was not defiled when the body was born, nor did the impassible suffer in his substance when the mortal was separated from him again; since, if the lyre should happen to be struck or its strings broken, it is not likely that the player suffers; nor, when the body of a wise man is punished, would we rightly say that the wisdom in the wise man, or the soul in the body, is beaten or burned. ### Translation notes - Eusebius's argument that the Word did not suffer in the passion is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As sunlight is not defiled by mud, the Word was not harmed by the body's sufferings. ### Greek text ταύτῃ τοι πολὺ πλέον οὐδὲ τὴν τοῦ λόγου δύναμιν βλάβος τι ἐκ τῶν τοῦ σώματος παθῶν ἀποφέρεσθαι φάναι εὔλογον, ὅτι μηδὲ τὸ τοῦ φωτὸς ἡμῖν ὑπόδειγμα χραίνεσθαι τὰς ἡλιακὰς ἀκτῖνας ἐπὶ γῆς οὐρανόθεν ἐκπεμπομένας πηλοῦ τε καὶ βορβόρου καὶ μιασμοῦ παντὸς ἐφαπτομένας συνεχώρει· φωτίζεσθαι μὲν γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα ἐκ τῶν τοῦ φωτὸς αὐγῶν οὐδὲν ἂν κωλύοι λέγειν, τὸ δέ γε μὴν φῶς οὐκέτι πηλοῦσθαι οὐδὲ τὸν ἥλιον μολύνεσθαι ἐκ τῆς τῶν σωμάτων ἐπιμιξίας. ### English translation (Claude) In this way, much more, it is reasonable to say that the power of the Word took no harm from the sufferings of the body, since the example of light does not allow that the sun's rays, sent to earth from heaven, are stained when they touch mud and mire and every pollution. Nothing would prevent us from saying that these are lit by the rays of light, but not that the light is muddied or the sun defiled by mixing with bodies. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word, being life and light itself, sanctifies and heals whatever he touches. ### Greek text καὶ μὴν ταῦτά γε τῆς φύσεως οὐκ ἂν εἴη ἀλλότρια. ὁ δέ γε σωτὴρ καὶ ἀσώματος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, αὐτοζωὴ τυγχάνων καὶ αὐτοφῶς νοερόν, παντὸς οὗ δʼ ἂν ἐφάψηται ἐνθέῳ καὶ ἀσωμάτῳ δυνάμει, ζῆν τοῦτο ἀνάγκη καὶ ἐν λογικῷ διάγειν φωτί· ταύτῃ τοι καὶ σώματος οὗ δʼ ἂν ἐφάψηται, ἡγίασται τοῦτο καὶ πεφώτισται αὐτίκα, πᾶσά τε νόσος αὐτῷ καὶ ἀρρωστία καὶ πάθος ὑπεξίσταται, ἀντιλαμβάνει δὲ τῆς ἐξ αὐτοῦ πληρώσεως τὰ ἐν στερήσει. ### English translation (Claude) And these things would not be foreign to nature. But the Saviour and incorporeal Word of God, being life itself and intellectual light itself, whatever he touches with divine and incorporeal power must live and continue in rational light. So whatever body he touches is at once sanctified and enlightened; every disease and weakness and suffering gives way before him, and what is in want receives from his fullness. ### Scripture references - Luke 6:19: echo, medium confidence - John 1:16: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - Compare Mark 5:27–30; Luke 6:19; John 1:16. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 14.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-14-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Throughout his life Christ showed now his shared human weakness, now his divinity in miracles, prophecy and teaching. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ τὸν πάντα βίον ταύτῃ πη διετέλει, τότε μὲν τοῦ σωματικοῦ ὀργάνου τὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμοιοπάθειαν ὑποδεικνύς, τότε δὲ τὸν θεὸν λόγον ὑποφαίνων, μεγαλουργῶν καὶ παραδοξοποιῶν ὡς θεός, καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι προαναφωνῶν τὰς προρρήσεις, καὶ τὸν μὴ τοῖς πολλοῖς ὁρώμενον θεοῦ λόγον τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῖς ἐπιδεικνύμενος ἐν τεραστίαις πράξεσι, θαύμασί τε καὶ σημείοις καὶ παραδόξοις δυνάμεσι, ναὶ μὴν καὶ διδασκαλίαις ἐνθέοις ἄνω πρὸς τὸν ὑπερουράνιον τόπον τὰς ψυχὰς παρασκευάζεσθαι προαγούσαις. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore he spent his whole life in this way: now showing in his bodily instrument the likeness of passions he shared with us, now revealing the God Word, doing great works and wonders as God, uttering beforehand predictions of things to come, and displaying by his very deeds the Word of God not seen by the many, in marvellous acts, wonders, signs and extraordinary powers, and indeed in divine teachings leading souls to prepare themselves above for the place beyond heaven. ### Scripture references - Acts 2:22: echo, medium confidence - Heb 4:15: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'Wonders and signs' recalls Acts 2:22. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 14.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius turns to explain Christ's death and resurrection, and then to prove them. ### Greek text Τί δὴ λείπεται ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀλλʼ ἢ αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ τὸς κεφάλαιον ὁποίαν ἔσχε τὴν αἰτίαν ἐξειπεῖν, λέγω δὴ τὸ πολυθρύλητον τοῦ βίου τέλος καὶ τοῦ πάθους τὸν τρόπον καὶ τῆς τὸν θάνατον ἀναβιώσεως αὐτοῦ τὸ μέγα θαῦμα. μετὰ δὲ τὴν τούτων θεωρίαν τὰς πάντων πόντων διʼ πιστωσόμεθα μαρτυριῶν. ### English translation (Claude) What remains, then, but to state the cause of the very chief point of the whole, I mean the much-talked-of end of his life, the manner of his passion, and the great wonder of his return to life after death? After considering these, we shall confirm all of them by testimonies. ### Translation notes - The text reads τοῦ τοῦ τὸς (for τοῦ παντὸς, 'of the whole') and τὰς πάντων πόντων διʼ (garbled); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Had the Word simply vanished and let his body perish, he would have seemed a phantom and acted unworthily of himself. ### Greek text ὀργάνῳ μὲν οὖν θνητῷ διʼ ὃς προείπομεν αἰτίας δἷα δὴ ἀγάλματι θεοπρεπεῖ κεχρημένος τούτῳ τε αὐτῷ οἷα μέγας βασιλεὺς διʼ ἑρμηνέως τὸν ἀνθρώπειον διεξελθὼν βίον, πάντʼ ἐπαξίως θεϊκῆς δυνάμεως διεπράξατο. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλως πως μετὰ τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις διατριβὰς ἀφανὴς γεγονὼς ἐξαίφνης ἀπέπτη, ὑποκλέψας γάθρα τὸν ἑρμηνέα καὶ τὸ οἰκεῖον ἄγαλμα φυγῇ τὸν θάνατον διαδρᾶναι σπουδάσας, κἄπειτά που τὸ θνητὸν αὐτὸς διʼ ἑαυτοῦ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ συμψήσας, φάσματι ἂν ἐῴκει τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ οὔτʼ ἂν αὐτὸς αὐτῷ τὰ πρέποντα διεπράξατο. ζωὴ μὲν τυγχάνων καὶ θεοῦ λόγος καὶ θεοῦ δύναμις· φθορᾷ δὲ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ τὸν αὐτὸς αὐτοῦ παραδοὺς ἑρμηνέα, ### English translation (Claude) He used a mortal instrument, then, for the reasons we have given, as a statue worthy of God, and through it, like a great king through an interpreter, he passed through human life and did everything in a manner worthy of divine power. If, then, after his time among men, he had in some other way become invisible and suddenly flown away, stealing away his interpreter secretly and trying to escape death by flight with his own statue, and then had himself, by his own act, consumed the mortal in corruption and destruction, he would have seemed a phantom to all, and would not have done what was fitting to himself, being life and the Word of God and the power of God, by handing his own interpreter over to corruption and destruction, ### Translation notes - The text has several slips (διʼ ὃς, δἷα, ola, γάθρα, συμψήσας); translated by sense. The sentence continues in 15.3. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Only by meeting and conquering death could the Word complete his victory and fulfil his promises; letting his body simply perish would have contradicted his nature as life. ### Greek text οὔτʼ ἂν τὰ κατὰ δαιμόνων αὐτῷ πεπραγμένα διὰ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου συμπλοκῆς τέλους ἠξιοῦτο, οὔτʼ ἂν ἐγνώσθη ὅπη ποτὲ ὑπῆρεν χωρήσας, οὔτʼ ἂν ἐπιστεύθη τοῖς μὴ παρειληφόσιν, οὔτʼ ἂν θανάτου τὴν φύσιν ἐφάνη κρείττων, οὔτʼ ἂν τὸ θνητὸν τῆς οἰκείας ἠλευθέρου φύσεως, οὔτʼ ἂν καθʼ ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης ἠκούσθη, οὔτʼ ἂν θανάτου καταφρονεῖν τοὺς αὐτοῦ μαθητὰς ἔπεισεν, οὔτ ἂν τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον παρὰ θεῷ ζωῆς τὴν ἐλπίδα τις τὴν αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίαν μετιοῦσι παρεστήσατο, οὔτʼ ἂν τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων τὰς ἐπαγγελίας ἐπλήρου, οὔτʼ ἂν ταῖς προφητικαῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ προρρήσεσι σύμφωνα παρεῖχε τὰ ἀποτελέσματα, οὔτʼ ἂν τὸν ὕστατον ἀπάντων ἀγῶνα διῆλθεν· οὗτος δʼ ἦν ὁ κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου. 4 διὸ δὴ τούτων ἕνεκα πάντων, ἐπειδὴ ἐχρῆν ἐξ ἅπαντος τὸ τὸν ὄργανον μετὰ τὴν αὐτάρκη διακονίαν, ἣν τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ διηκονήσατο, τέλους θεοπρεποῦς τυχεῖν, ταύτῃ πη καὶ αὐτῷ ὁ θάνατος οἰκονομεῖται. δυεῖν γὰρ λειπομένων τῷ τέλει, ἢ φθορᾷ καὶ ἀπωλείᾳ παραδοῦναι τὸ πᾶν καὶ τοῦ παντὸς δράματος αἰσχίστην ποιήσασθαι τὴν τοῦ βίου καταστροφήν, ἢ θανάτου ἑαυτὸν κρείττονα ἀποφῆναι θεϊκῇ δυνάμει τὸ θνητὸν ἀθάνατον παραστησάμενον, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀνοίκειον ἦν τῆς ἐπαγγελίας. οὐ γὰρ πυρὸς οἰκεῖον τὸ ψύχειν, οὐδὲ φωτὸς τὸ σκοτίζειν· οὕτως οὐδὲ ζωῆς τὸ θανατοῦν, οὐδὲ θεοῦ λόγου τὸ παραλόγως ἐνεργεῖν. ποῖον οὖν λόγον τὸν ἑτέροις ζωὴν ἐπαγγελλόμενον τὸ οἰκεῖον ὄργανον φθειρόμενον παριδεῖν ἀπωλείᾳ τε παραδοῦναι τὸ αὐτοῦ ἄγαλμα, καὶ τὸν τῆς θεότητος αὐτοῦ ἑρμηνέα θανάτῳ λυμήνασθαι τὸν τοῖς πρόσφυξιν ἀθανασίαν προμνώμενον; ### English translation (Claude) nor would his deeds against the demons have received their completion through the struggle with death; nor would it have been known where he had gone; nor would he have been believed by those who had not received him; nor would he have appeared stronger than the nature of death; nor would he have freed the mortal from its own nature; nor would he have been heard of throughout the whole inhabited world; nor would he have persuaded his disciples to despise death; nor would he have given those who follow his teaching the hope of life with God after death; nor would he have fulfilled the promises of his words; nor would he have provided outcomes in harmony with the prophetic predictions about him; nor would he have gone through the last contest of all, which was the one against death. [4] Therefore, for the sake of all these, since in any case the instrument, after the sufficient service it had rendered to the divine Word, had to meet an end worthy of God, in this way death too was ordered for it. For two ways of ending remained: either to give the whole over to corruption and destruction, and make the overthrow of life the most shameful end of the whole drama; or to show himself stronger than death, making the mortal immortal by divine power. The first was foreign to his promise. For it is not proper to fire to cool, nor to light to darken; so neither is it proper to life to kill, nor to the Word of God to act contrary to reason. What reason, then, would it be for the one who promises life to others to overlook his own instrument perishing, to hand over his own statue to destruction, and to let death destroy the interpreter of his deity, he who provides immortality to those who flee to him? ### Scripture references - Heb 2:14–15: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 4 marks section 15.4, which the staging did not separate; it is kept as [4]. The text reads Μου λόγου (for θεοῦ λόγου) and repeats οὐ and οὖν. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The victory over death had to be public, so Christ did not flee death but engaged it openly and made the mortal immortal for the salvation of all. ### Greek text οὐκοῦν τὸ δεύτερον ἀναγκαῖον ἦν, λέγω δὴ τὸ θανάτου κρείττονα ἑαυτὸν φῆναι; πῶς οὖν ἐχρῆν τοῦτο ποιήσασθαι; λαθραίως ἄρα καὶ κλοπιμαίως ἢ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀριπρεπῶς καὶ ἀριδήλως; ἀλλὰ σκότιον μὲν καὶ κρυφαῖον αὐτῷ πραχθὲν τὸ κατόρθωμα μηδενί τε γνωσθὲν οὐδένα ἂν ὤνησεν· βοηθὲν δὲ καὶ ἀκουσθὲν εἰς ἅπαντας τοῖς πᾶσι τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θαύματος παρεῖχεν ὠφέλειαν. εἰκότως ἄρα, ἐπειδὴ ἐχρῆν τὸ αὐτοῦ ὄργανον κρεῖττον θανάτου φῆναι καὶ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι μὴ εἰς τὸ λεληθὸς ἀλλʼ ἐπʼ ὄψεσιν ἀνθρώπων, οὐ φεύγει μὲν τὸν θάνατον· ἦν γὰρ ἂν δειλὸς καὶ θανάτου χείρων ἐνομίσθη· διὰ δὲ τῆς πρὸς τὸν θάνατον συμπλοκῆς οἷα πρὸς ἀνταγωνιστὴν τὸ θνητὸν ἀθάνατον παρίστη, τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀπάντων σωτηρίας ζωῆς τε καὶ ἀθανασίας ἀναδεδεγμένος. ### English translation (Claude) So the second was necessary, I mean to show himself stronger than death? How then should this have been done? Secretly and stealthily, or in a manner conspicuous and evident to all? A success achieved in darkness and in secret, known to no one, would have benefited no one; but seen and heard by all, it gave to all the benefit of the wonder. Fittingly, therefore, since his instrument had to be shown stronger than death, and this done not in secret but before the eyes of men, he does not flee death (for then he would have been thought cowardly and weaker than death), but through the struggle with death, as with an opponent, he made the mortal immortal, having undertaken this contest for the salvation, life and immortality of all. ### Scripture references - 2 Tim 1:10: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - βοηθὲν is a slip for ὀφθὲν ('seen'); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As one proves a vessel fireproof by putting it in the fire, the Word let his body die for a short time and then raised it, proving eternal life stronger than death. ### Greek text ὥσπερ δὲ εἴ τις ἄκαυστον ἡμῖν καὶ πυρὸς κρεῖττον σκεῦός τι δεῖξαι ἠθέλησεν, οὐκ ἂν ἄλλως τὸ θαῦμα παρεστήσατο ἢ τῷ πυρὶ παραδοὺς τὸ μετὰ χεῖρας κἄπειτα αὐτὸ σῶον καὶ ἀδιάφθορον τοῦ πυρὸς ἐξελών, κατὰ ταῦτα δὴ καὶ ὁ τῶν ὅλων ζωοποιὸς τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος τὸ θνητὸν ὄργανον, ᾧ πρὸς ἀνθρώπων κέχρητο σωτηρίαν, κρεῖττον θανάτου δεῖξαι βουληθεὶς κοινωνόν τε ἀποφῆναι τῆς οἰκείας ζωῆς τε καὶ ἀθανασίας, εὖ μάλα χρησίμην ὑπῄει τὴν οἰκονομίαν, τὸ μὲν σῶμα πρὸς βραχὺ καταλιπὼν καὶ τὸ θνητὸν τῷ θανάτῳ παραδίδους εἰς ἔλεγχον τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως, εἶτʼ οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν αὐτὸ τοῦ θανάτου πάλιν ὑφαιρούμενος, εἰς παράστασιν τῆς ἐνθέου δυνάμεως, διʼ ἧς παντὸς θανάτου κρείττονα τὴν πρὸς αὐτοῦ καταγγελθεῖσαν ζωὴν ἀίδιον ἔφαινεν. ### English translation (Claude) Just as, if someone wished to show us a vessel that cannot be burned and is stronger than fire, he could not present the wonder otherwise than by giving the thing in his hands to the fire and then taking it out of the fire safe and undamaged, so too the Word of God, life-giver of all, wishing to show the mortal instrument which he had used for the salvation of men to be stronger than death, and to make it a sharer in his own life and immortality, undertook a most useful dispensation. He left the body for a short time and gave the mortal over to death, to prove its own nature; then, not long after, he took it back from death again, to display the divine power by which he showed the eternal life proclaimed by him to be stronger than every death. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The disciples had to see the resurrection with their own eyes, especially those who would preach it to all nations. ### Greek text ἡ δʼ αἰτία πρόδηλος καὶ σαφής. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τοῖς αὐτοῦ φοιτηταῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἰδεῖν ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ζωῆς τῆς μετὰ θάνατον ἐναργῆ τὴν παλιγγενεσίαν, ἐφʼ ἣν τὰς αὐτῶν ἐλπίδας ἀναρτᾶν αὐτοὺς ἐδίδασκεν, κρείττονας εἶναι θανάτου παρασκευάζων, εἰκότως τοῦτʼ αὐτοῖς ὁρᾶν ὀφθαλμοῖς παρεῖχεν· ἐχρῆν γὰρ τοὺς μέλλοντας εὐσεβῆ μετιέναι βίον τοῦτο πρῶτον πάντων ἀναγκαιότατον μάθημα διʼ ἐναργοῦς ὄψεως παραλαβεῖν, καὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἐκείνους τοὺς εἰς ἅπασαν τὴν οἰκουμένην μέλλοντας αὐτὸν ὅσον οὕπω κηρύττειν καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι προβληθεῖσαν θεογνωσίαν εἰς πάντας καταγγέλλειν ἀνθρώπους. ### English translation (Claude) The cause is plain and clear. Since it was necessary for his disciples to see with their eyes the evident rebirth of life after death, on which he taught them to hang their hopes, preparing them to be stronger than death, he fittingly let them see this with their eyes. For those who were going to pursue a godly life had to receive this first and most necessary lesson of all through clear sight; and much more those who were very soon to preach him to the whole world and to announce to all people the knowledge of God put forth by him to all the nations. ### Scripture references - Acts 1:3: echo, medium confidence - 1 John 1:1: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The text reads ὄφεως for ὄψεως ('sight') and repeats τήν. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: To arm the apostles against fear of death, Christ taught them not by argument but by the deed of his resurrection. ### Greek text οὕς δὴ πεῖσμα μέγιστον ἀναλαβεῖν ἐχρῆν τῆς μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ζωῆς, ὡς ἄν ἀδεεῖς καὶ ἄφοβοι θανάτου τὸν κατὰ τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν πολυθέου πλάνης ἀγῶνα προθύμως ἀναδέξοιντο· μὴ γὰρ θανάτου καταφρονεῖν μελετήσαντες, οὐκ ἂν πώποτε πρὸς τὰ δεινὰ παρεσκευάζοντο. διὸ δὴ ἀναγκαίως ὁπλίζων αὐτοὺς κατὰ τῆς τοῦ θανάτου δυναστείας, οὐ ῥηματίοις καὶ φωναῖς παρεδίδου τὸ μάθημα, οὐδὲ λόγοις ὁμοίως ἀνθρωπίνοις τὸν περὶ ψυχῆς ἀθανασίας πιθανῶς καὶ ἐξ εἰκότων συντάττων, αὐτῷ δὲ ἔργῳ τὰ κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου ἐπεδείκνυ αὐτοῖς τρόπαια. ### English translation (Claude) These had to receive the greatest conviction of life after death, so that, unafraid and fearless of death, they might eagerly undertake the contest against the polytheistic error of the nations; for if they had not practised despising death, they would never have prepared themselves for terrors. Therefore, of necessity arming them against the dominion of death, he did not hand on the lesson in mere words and phrases, nor composing an argument about the immortality of the soul persuasively and from probabilities like human words, but showed them by the deed itself his trophies over death. ### Translation notes - The text reads τῶν Μνῶν, a slip for τῶν ἐθνῶν ('of the nations'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The first reason for the resurrection was to show death powerless; the second, to prove that Christ, unlike deified mortals, is the true God who conquered death. ### Greek text πρώτη μὲν οὖν αὕτη καὶ μεγίστη αἰτία τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου παρατάξεως· τὸν γοῦν φοβερὸν τοῖς πᾶσι θάνατον τοῖς αὐτοῦ φοιτηταῖς τὸ μηδὲν ὄντα ἐδείκνυ, καὶ τὴν ἐπηγγελμένην πρὸς αὐτοῦ ζωὴν τοῖς αὐτῶν ὀφθαλμοῖς διʼ ἐναργοῦς ὄψεως παρίστη, ἀπαρχὴν τῆς κοινῆς ἡμῶν ἐλπίδος ζωῆς τε τῆς παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀθανασίας αὐτὴν ἐκείνην πεποιημένος. 10 δευτέρα δʼ ἂν εἴη αἰτία τῆς ἀναβιώσεως τῆς ἐν σώματι κατοικησάσης ἐνθέου δυνάμεως ἔνδειξις. ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸ πρότερον τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου νενικημένους ἄνδρας θνητοὺς ἐθείαζον ἄνθρωποι, ἥρωάς τε καὶ θεοὺς ὠνόμαζον τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ θανάτου κεκρατημένους, κἀκεῖ εἰκότως ἑαυτὸν ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς αἰτίας ἔφηνεν ὁ φιλάνθρωπος τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, κρείττονα θανάτου φύσιν ἀνθρώποις δεικνύς, καὶ τὸ μὲν θνητὸν μετὰ τὴν λύσιν ἐπὶ τὴν δευτέραν ζωὴν ἄγων, τρόπαιον δὲ ἀθανασίας κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου τοῖς πᾶσι παρέχων ὁρᾶν. καὶ μόνον τοῦτον ἐν θανάτῳ θεὸν ἀληθῆ εἶναι διδάσκων ὁμολογεῖν τὸν τὰ βραβεῖα τῆς κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου νίκης ἀναδησάμενον. ἔχοιμʼ ἄν σοι καὶ τρίτην ὑπογράφειν αἰτίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου θανάτου. ### English translation (Claude) This, then, is the first and greatest cause of our Saviour's battle against death: he showed his disciples that death, terrible to all, is nothing, and presented to their eyes by clear sight the life he had promised, making it the firstfruits of our common hope of life with God and immortality. [10] A second cause of the return to life would be the demonstration of the divine power that dwelt in the body. For since formerly men deified mortal men conquered by death, and named as heroes and gods those overcome by death, there too, fittingly, for this reason the loving Word of God showed himself, displaying to men a nature stronger than death, leading the mortal after its dissolution to a second life, granting all to see a trophy of immortality over death, and teaching them to confess that he alone, in death, is true God, who has bound on the prizes of victory over death. I could also describe for you a third cause of the saving death. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:20: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 10 marks section 15.10, which the staging did not separate; it is kept as [10]. 'Firstfruits' recalls 1 Cor 15:20. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The third reason: Christ's body was a sacrifice offered to God for all humanity as a ransom, which broke the power of the demons. ### Greek text ἱερεῖον ἦν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινοῦ γένους ἀναπεμπόμενον τῷ παμβασιλεῖ θεῷ τῶν ὅλων, ἱερεῖον ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἀγέλης καθιερούμενον, ἱερεῖον δαιμονικῆς πλάνης ἀποτρόπαιον. ἱερείου δῆτα ἑνὸς καὶ μεγάλου θύματος, τοῦ πανιέρου σώματος τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένους σφαγιασθέντος καὶ πάντων ἐθνῶν τῶν πρὶν ἀσεβείᾳ δαιμονικῆς πλάνης ἐνεσχημένων ἀντίψυχον ἀνενεχθέντος, πᾶσα λοιπὸν ἡ τῶν ἀνάγνων καὶ ἀνιέρων δαιμόνων δύναμις καθῄρητο, ἐλέλυτό τε καὶ παρεῖτο αὐτίκα δυνάμει κρείττονι πᾶσα γεώδης καὶ ἀπατηλὸς πλάνη. ### English translation (Claude) It was a victim offered up for the common race to God, the King of all; a victim consecrated for the flock of men; a victim to avert demonic error. When the one victim and great sacrifice, the all-holy body of our Saviour, had been slain for the human race and offered as a ransom for all the nations formerly held in the impiety of demonic error, at last the whole power of the impure and unholy demons was cast down, and all earthly and deceitful error was at once loosed and relaxed by a higher power. ### Scripture references - Mark 10:45: echo, medium confidence - 1 Tim 2:6: echo, medium confidence - Heb 10:10: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'Ransom' renders ἀντίψυχον (a life given in exchange); compare Mark 10:45; 1 Tim 2:6. The text reads Μνῶν, a slip for ἐθνῶν ('nations'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ's body was the sacrificial lamb foretold in Scripture, who bore our sins, as John the Baptist and Isaiah declared. ### Greek text τὸ μὲν οὖν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων σωτήριον θῦμα, αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ λόγου σωματικὸν ὄργανον, ὑπὲρ τῆς κοινῆς ἀνθρώπων ἀγέλης καθιεροῦτο, καὶ τοῦτʼ ἄρα ἦν τὸ τῷ θανάτῳ παραβεβλημένον σφάγιον, περὶ οὗ λόγων ἱερῶν βοῶσι φωναί, τοτὲ μὲν ὧδέ πη λέγουσαι· „ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου, “ τοτὲ δὲ ὧδε προαναφωνοῦσαι· „ὡς πρόβατον ἐπὶ σφαγὴν ἤχθη, καὶ ὡς ἀμνὸς ἐναντίον τοῦ κείροντος αὐτὸν ἄφωνος,“ καὶ τό γε αἴτιον διδάσκουσιν ἐπιλέγουσαί· „οὗτος τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν φέρει, καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν ὀδυνᾶται. καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐλογισάμεθα αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐν πόνῳ καὶ ἐν πληγῇ καὶ ἐν κακώσει, αὐτὸς δὲ ἐτραυματίσθη διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ ἐμαλακίσθη διὰ τὰς ἀνομίας ἡμῶν· παιδεία εἰρήνης ἡμῶν ἐπʼ αὐτόν. τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἰάθημεν· παιδεία εἰρήνης ἡμῶν ἐπʼ αὐτόν. τῷ μώλωπι αὐτοῦ ἡμεῖς ἐπλανήθη. καὶ κύριος παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν.“ ### English translation (Claude) The saving victim from among men, then, the very bodily instrument of the Word, was consecrated for the common flock of men; and this was the sacrifice given over to death, of which the voices of the sacred words cry out, at one time saying something like this: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world"; at another foretelling thus: "As a sheep he was led to slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb"; and they teach the cause too, adding: "He bears our sins and suffers pain for us; and we counted him to be in toil and in blows and in affliction; but he was wounded for our sins and made weak for our transgressions. The chastisement of our peace was upon him; by his bruise we were healed. ... went astray. And the Lord gave him up for our sins." ### Scripture references - John 1:29: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:7: quotation, high confidence - Isa 53:4–6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: John 1:29; Isa 53:7; Isa 53:4–6 (Septuagint). The digital text repeats a clause of Isa 53:5 and garbles 53:6 ('all we like sheep went astray'); the lost words are marked '...'. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 15.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-15-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Word, the High Priest distinct from the victim, raised his body and presented it to the Father as the firstfruits of salvation. ### Greek text τὸ μὲν οὖν ὄργανον τὸ ἀνθρώπειον τοῦ θείου λόγου διὰ ταύτας καθιεροῦτο τὰς αἰτίας, οὗτος δὲ ὁ μέγας ἀρχιερεὺς ὁ τῷ πανηγεμόνι καὶ παμβασιλεῖ θεῷ ἱερωμένος, ἕτερος ὢν παρὰ τὸ ἱερεῖον, θεοῦ λόγος, θεοῦ δύναμις καὶ θεοῦ σοφία, τὸ θνητὸν οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν ἀνεκαλεῖτο τοῦ θανάτου, καὶ τοῦτο τῷ πατρὶ τῆς κοινῆς ἡμῶν σωτηρίας τὴν ἀπαρχὴν παρίστη, τρόπαιον ἐπινίκιον κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τῆς δαιμονικῆς παρατάξεως τῶν τε πάλαι συντελουμένων ἀνθρωποθυσιῶν ἀποτρόπαιον τοῦτο ὑπὲρ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἀνεγείρας. ### English translation (Claude) The human instrument of the divine Word, then, was consecrated for these reasons. But this great High Priest, consecrated to God the ruler and King of all, being other than the victim, the Word of God, the power of God and wisdom of God, not long after called the mortal back from death and presented it to the Father as the firstfruits of our common salvation, raising it for all men as a victorious trophy over death and the demonic array, and a means to avert the human sacrifices formerly carried out. ### Scripture references - Heb 9:11–14: echo, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:24: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:20: echo, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Eusebius distinguishes the Word as priest from his body as victim; translated as written. Compare Heb 9:11–14; 1 Cor 1:24; 1 Cor 15:20. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 15.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/15-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius turns to the proofs of what he has said. ### Greek text Ἀλλὰ γὰρ τούτων ὧδε ἐχόντων, ὥρα καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀποδείξεις ἐλθεῖν, εἰ δὴ ἀποδείξεως δεῖ τῆς τούτων ἀληθείας, καὶ εἰ δὴ ἐναργῶν πραγμάτων ἀναγκαῖον πιστώσασθαι τὰς μαρτυρίας· δέχου δὲ ταύτας εὐγνώμονα τῷ λόγῳ τὴν ἀκοὴν παρασκευάσας. ### English translation (Claude) These things being so, it is time to come to the proofs, if indeed proof of their truth is needed, and if it is necessary to confirm the testimonies of plain facts. Receive them, preparing a well-disposed ear for the argument. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Formerly humanity was divided into many states, which bred endless wars, adulteries and abductions such as the Trojan war. ### Greek text διῄρητο μὲν πάντα τὰ πάλαι ἐπὶ γῆς ἔθνη, καὶ τὸ πᾶν τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος εἰς ἐπαρχίας καὶ ἐθναρχίας καὶ τοπαρχίας τυραννίδας τε καὶ πολυαρχίας κατετέτμητο, ἐξ ὧν μάχαι συνεχεῖς καὶ πόλεμοι δῃώσεις τε καὶ ἀνδραποδισμοὶ κατʼ ἀγροὺς καὶ κατὰ πόλεις οὔποτʼ αὐτοὺς διελίμπανον, ἱστοριῶν τε ὑποθέσεις μυρίαι, μοιχεῖαί τε καὶ γυναικῶν ἁρπαγαί, ἔνθεν τὰ Ἰλίου κακὰ καὶ αἱ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις μνημονευόμεναι τῶν παλαιῶν τραγῳδίαι. ### English translation (Claude) In former times all the nations on earth were divided, and the whole human race was cut up into provinces, ethnarchies, toparchies, tyrannies and governments of many, from which continual battles and wars, ravagings and enslavements in fields and cities never left them, and countless subjects for histories, adulteries and abductions of women: from this the evils of Ilium and the tragedies of the ancients remembered among all people. ### Translation notes - 'Adulteries' renders μοιχεῖαι. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: When Christ's body was raised as a trophy over the demons, the divided governments and their wars came to an end and one God was proclaimed. ### Greek text τούτων δʼ οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοις τὰς αἰτίας τῇ πολυθέῳ πλάνῃ προσγράφων. ὡς δὲ τὸ σωτήριον ὄργανον, αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ πανάγιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ σῶμα, τὸ κρεῖττον ἁπάσης δαιμονικῆς πλάνης καὶ ἐνεργείας ὀφθὲν κακίας τε τῆς διʼ ἔργων καὶ λόγων ἀλλότριον, νικητήριον τρόπαιον κατὰ δαιμόνων παλαιῶν τε κακῶν ἀποτρόπαιον ἀνυψοῦτο, ἐλύετό τε αὐτίκα πάντα δαιμόνων ἔργα καὶ οὐκέτʼ ἦσαν τοπαρχίαι καὶ πολυαρχίαι τυραννίδες τε καὶ δημοκρατίαι, αἱ τε διὰ ταῦτα συνιστάμεναι κατὰ πόλεις καὶ κατὰ χώρας δῃώσεις καὶ πολιορκίαι, ἀλλὰ θεὸς μὲν x003E; εἰς πάντας ἐκηρύττετο· ### English translation (Claude) You would not be wrong to ascribe the causes of these things to polytheistic error. But when the saving instrument, the all-holy body of Christ itself, which was seen to be stronger than all demonic error and working and foreign to wickedness in deed and word, was raised up as a victorious trophy against the demons and a defence against ancient evils, at once all the works of demons were undone; and there were no longer toparchies and governments of many, tyrannies and democracies, and the ravagings and sieges arising from them in cities and countries; but one God was proclaimed to all, ### Scripture references - 1 John 3:8: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The text has a stray code (x003E;) after θεὸς μέν; the sense is 'one God'. The sentence continues in 16.4. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: At the same time one God was preached and one empire arose; the Roman Empire and the Christian teaching sprang up together as God's two gifts. ### Greek text ἐν ταὐτῷ δὲ καὶ βασιλεία μία τοῖς πᾶσιν ἡ Ῥωμαίων ἐπήνθει, ἀνῄρητό τε ἀθρόως ἡ ἐξ αἰῶνος ἄσπειστος καὶ ἀκατάλλακτος τῶν ἐθνῶν ἔχθρα. ὡς δὲ ἑνὸς θεοῦ γνῶσις πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις παρεδίδοτο καὶ τρόπος εἶς εὐσεβείας σωτήριός τε ἡ Χριστοῦ διδασκαλία, κατὰ ταῦτα καὶ βασιλέως ἑνὸς ὑφʼ ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον καθʼ ὅλης τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀρχῆς ὑποστάντος εἰρήνη βαθεῖα τὰ σύμπαντα διελάμβανεν· ὁμοῦ τε καὶ ὑφʼ ἑνὶ καιρῷ ὥσπερ ἐξ ἑνὸς θεοῦ νεύματος ἀνεφύοντο εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἀγαθῶν δύο βλαστοί, ἥ τε Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴ καὶ ἡ εὐσεβὴς διδασκαλία. ### English translation (Claude) and at the same time one kingdom flourished for all, that of the Romans, and the enmity of the nations, from of old implacable and irreconcilable, was suddenly removed. And as the knowledge of one God was handed on to all people, and one way of godliness, the saving teaching of Christ, so in the same way, one emperor having arisen at one and the same time over the whole Roman Empire, deep peace embraced all things. At the same time and in one season, as though from one nod of God, two shoots of good things sprang up for men: the Roman Empire and the teaching of godliness. ### Translation notes - The 'one emperor' is Augustus, under whom Christ was born. The text reads Μου νεύματος (for θεοῦ νεύματος). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Where many warring kingdoms had been, Roman monarchy and Christ's teaching together brought peace. ### Greek text πρό γε μὴν ταύτης οἱ μὲν ἀφωρισμένως Συρίας ἐκράτουν, οἱ δὲ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐβασίλευον, ἄλλοι δὲ Μακεδονίας, τὴν δὲ Αἴγυπτον ἀποτεμόντες ἕτεροι κατεῖχον, καὶ χώραν τὴν Ἀράβων ὡσαύτως ναὶ μὴν καὶ Παλαιστινῶν τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἐκράτει γένος, καὶ κατὰ κώμας τε καὶ πόλεις καὶ κατὰ πάντα τόπον ὥσπερ ὑπό τινος παραπληθίας κατʼ ἀλλήλων φονῶντες καὶ δαιμονῶντες ἀληθῶς πολέμοις καὶ μάχαις ἐσχόλαζον. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἀθρόως ἅπαντα ὥσπερ ἀπὸ νύσσης μιᾶς δύο μεγάλαι προελθοῦσαι δυνάμεις ἡμέρωσάν τε καὶ εἰς φιλίαν συνήγαγον. ἥ τε Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴ μόναρχος ἐξ ἐκείνου φανθεῖσα καὶ ἡ τοῦ Χριστοῦ διδασκαλία, ὁμοῦ καὶ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ συνακμάσασαι ἀλλήλαις. ### English translation (Claude) Before this, some ruled Syria separately, others reigned over Asia, others over Macedonia; others had cut off Egypt and held it, and the land of the Arabs likewise; and the race of the Jews ruled over Palestine; and in villages and cities and every place, as though from some madness, they were murderous toward one another and truly demon-possessed, occupied with wars and battles. But suddenly two great powers, coming forth as from one starting line, tamed all and brought them into friendship: the Roman Empire, shown from then on as a monarchy, and the teaching of Christ, flourishing together at the same time with each other. ### Translation notes - The digital text repeats ὡσαύτως; translated once. παραπληθίας is probably a slip for παραπληξίας ('madness'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ's power overthrew the demons' rule while Rome united the nations, the gospel preparing the way for the empire. ### Greek text ἡ μέν γε τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν δύναμις τὰς τῶν δαιμόνων πολυαρχίας τε καὶ πολυθείας καθεῖλε, μίαν βασιλείαν θεοῦ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις Ἑλλησί τε καὶ βαρβάροις καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἐσχατιῶν τῆς γῆς κηρύττουσα· ἡ δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἀρχή, ὡς ἂν προκαθῃρημένων τῶν τῆς αἰτιῶν, τὰς ὁρωμένας ἐχειροῦτο, εἰς μίαν ἕνωσιν καὶ συμφωνίαν τὸ πᾶν γένος συνάπτειν σπεύδουσα, καὶ τὰ πολλὰ μὲν παντοίων ἐθνῶν συναγαγοῦσα, μέλλουσα δὲ ὅσον οὔπω καὶ αὐτῶν ἄχρι τῶν ἄκρων τῆς οἰκουμένης ἐφάπτεσθαι, τῆς σωτηρίου διδασκαλίας σὺν θεϊκῇ δυνάμει προεξευμαριζούσης αὐτῇ τὰ πάντα καὶ ὁμαλὰ καθιστώσης. ### English translation (Claude) The power of our Saviour overthrew the many rules and many gods of the demons, proclaiming one kingdom of God to all people, Greeks and barbarians, even to the ends of the earth; and the Roman Empire, as though the causes had been removed beforehand, subdued the visible powers, hastening to join the whole race into one unity and concord. It had already brought together most of the various nations, and was about very soon to reach even to the ends of the inhabited world, the saving teaching with divine power smoothing all things beforehand and making them level for it. ### Scripture references - Acts 1:8: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - τῆς αἰτιῶν is garbled (perhaps τῶν ἀφανῶν αἰτιῶν, 'the invisible causes'); translated by sense. The text repeats μέχρι. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The simultaneous end of idolatry and of national wars fulfilled the prophecies of universal peace; and no one but Christ, after his death, ever made his name known in every tongue, as he foretold. ### Greek text τοῦτό γέ τοι ἂν εἴη τὸ μέγα θαῦμα τοῖς φιλαλήθως τὸν νοῦν ἐφιστῶσι καὶ μὴ τοῖς καλοῖς βασκαίνειν ἐθέλουσιν· ὁμοῦ τε γὰρ ἡ τῶν δαιμόνων ἀπηλέγχετο πλάνη, ὁμοῦ καὶ ἡ ἐξ αἰῶνος ἔχθρα καὶ μάχη τῶν ἐθνῶν διελύετο, καὶ πάλιν ὁμοῦ θεὸς εἶς καὶ μία τούτου γνῶσις εἰς πάντας ἐκηρύττετο, ὁμοῦ καὶ βασιλεία μία ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐκρατύνετο, καὶ τὸ πᾶν ὁμοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων γένος εἰς εἰρήνην καὶ φιλίαν μεθηρμόζετο, ἀδελφούς τε ὡμολόγουν ἀλλήλους οἱ πάντες καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν ἐγνώριζον. αὐτίκα γοῦν ὥσπερ ἐξ ἑνὸς φύντες πατρὸς ἑνός τε θεοῦ οἷα παῖδες καὶ μητρὸς μιᾶς, τῆς ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας, εἰρηνικῶς ἀλλήλους ἠσπάζοντό τε καὶ ἀπελάμβανον, ὡς μηδὲν ἀποδεῖν ἐξ ἐκείνου τὴν σύμπασαν οἰκουμένην μιᾶς εὐνομουμένης οἰκετείας τε καὶ συγγενείας, ἐξεῖναί τε πορείας ὅτῳ φίλον στέλλεσθαι ἀποδημεῖν τε ὅπη τις θέλοι σὺν πάσῃ ῥᾳστώνῃ, καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἀπὸ δυσμῶν ἀκινδύνως ἐπὶ τὰ ἑῷα παριέναι, τοὺς δὲ ἐνθένδε πάλιν ἐκεῖσε ὡς ἐπὶ πατρίδας οἰκείας στέλλεσθαι, πληροῦσθαί τε παλαιῶν χρησμῶν λόγια καὶ προφητῶν ἀναφωνήσεις, μυρίας μὲν καὶ ἄλλας ἅς οὐ νῦν παρατίθεσθαι σχολή, ἀτὰρ δὲ καὶ τὰς ἀμφὶ τοῦ σωτηρίου λόγου ὡδέ πη βοώσας· κατακυριεύσει ἀπὸ θαλάσσης ἕως θαλάσσης, καὶ ἀπὸ ποταμῶν ἕως περάτων τῆς οἰκουμένης.“ καὶ αὖθις· „ἀνατελεῖ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις αὐτοῦ δικαιοσύνη καὶ πλῆθος εἰρήνης.“ „ καὶ συγκόψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας εἰς δρέπανα. καὶ οὐ μὴ λήψεται ἔθνος ἐπʼ ἔθνος μάχαιραν, καὶ οὐ μὴ μάθωσιν ἔτι πολεμεῖν." 8 ταῦτα προὐλέγετο καὶ φωναῖς Ἑβραίων ἐξ αἰῶνος μακροῦ προεκηρύττετο· ταῦτα τοῖς ἔργοις καθʼ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὁρώμενα τῶν παλαιῶν φωνῶν πιστοῦται τὰς μαρτυρίας. σὺ δὲ δὴ εἰ ποθεῖς ἑτέρων ἀποδείξεων περιουσίας, μὴ λόγοις ἀλλʼ ἔργοις ταύτας λάμβανε. διάνοιξον τῆς σαυτοῦ διανοίας τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, καὶ τοῦ λογισμοῦ τὰς πύλας ἀναπέτασον, πολύ τε ἐπισχὼν παρὰ σαυτῷ λόγισαι, αὐτός τε σαυτὸν ἐρώτα, καὶ ὡς παρʼ ἑτέρου πυνθάνου, ὧδέ πη τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων φύσιν διερευνώμενος· τίς πώποτε τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος βασιλεὺς ἢ ἄρχων ἢ φιλόσοφος ἢ νομοθέτης ἢ προφήτης Ἑλληνικὸς ἢ βάρβαρος τοσοῦτον ἀρετῆς ἀπηνέγκατο, οὔτι γε μετὰ θάνατον ἀλλʼ ἔτι ζῶν καὶ ἐμπνέων καὶ πολλὰ δυνάμενος, ὡς πάντων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀνθρώπων ἀκοὴν καὶ γλῶτταν ἐμπλῆσαι τῆς αὐτοῦ προσηγορίας; ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε οὐδεὶς ἢ μόνος εἷς ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτὴρ μετὰ τὴν κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου νίκην διεπράξατο, τοῖς αὐτοῦ γνωρίμοις λόγον εἰπὼν καὶ ἔργῳ τελέσας, „πορευθέντες γοῦν μαθητεύσατε πάντα τὰ ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί μου“ φήσας αὐτοῖς. προειπών τε καὶ μενος, ὡς ἄρα δεῖ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον αὐτοῦ κηρυχθῆναι ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ εἰς μαρτύριον πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, ἅμα λόγῳ τοὔργον ἐπήγαγεν. αὐτίκα δʼ οὖν καὶ οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν ἡ σύμπασα οἰκουμένη τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων ἐπληροῦτο. ### English translation (Claude) This would indeed be the great wonder to those who attend with a truth-loving mind and do not wish to begrudge good things. At the same time the error of the demons was refuted, and at the same time the age-old enmity and fighting of the nations was ended; and again at the same time one God and one knowledge of him was proclaimed to all, and at the same time one kingdom was established among men, and the whole human race was at the same time brought into peace and friendship; all acknowledged one another as brothers and recognized their kindred nature. At once, as though sprung from one father and as children of one God and one mother, true godliness, they greeted and received one another peaceably, so that from then on the whole inhabited world differed in nothing from one well-ordered household and family, and anyone who wished could travel and go abroad wherever he liked with all ease; those from the West could go safely to the East, and those from here go there as to their own homelands; and the oracles of ancient prophecies and the utterances of prophets were fulfilled, countless others which there is no leisure to set out now, and also those which cry out concerning the saving Word: "He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the ends of the inhabited world"; and again: "In his days righteousness shall arise, and abundance of peace"; "And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into sickles, and nation shall not take up sword against nation, and they shall no more learn to make war." [8] These things were foretold and proclaimed beforehand in Hebrew voices from a long age; these things, seen in deeds in our own time, confirm the testimonies of the ancient voices. But if you long for an abundance of other proofs, take them not from words but from deeds. Open the eyes of your mind, throw wide the gates of reason, and, pausing long, reckon with yourself; ask yourself, and inquire as of another, examining the nature of the facts in this way: who of all kings or rulers or philosophers or lawgivers or prophets, Greek or barbarian, from the beginning ever won such virtue, not after death but while still living and breathing and having much power, as to fill the hearing and tongue of all people on earth with his name? No one but our Saviour alone accomplished this after his victory over death, speaking the word to his disciples and fulfilling it in deed, saying to them, "Go and make disciples of all the nations in my name." And having foretold ... that his gospel must be preached in the whole inhabited world as a testimony to all the nations, he joined the deed to the word; and at once, not long after, the whole inhabited world was filled with his words. ### Scripture references - Ps 72:8 (71:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 72:7 (71:7 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Isa 2:4: quotation, high confidence - Mic 4:3: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 28:19: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:14: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The printed numeral 8 marks section 16.8, which the staging did not separate; it is kept as [8]. Quotations: Ps 72:8 (71:8 LXX); Ps 72:7 (71:7 LXX); Isa 2:4 (compare Mic 4:3); Matt 28:19, loosely ('in my name' as Eusebius often cites it); Matt 24:14. A word after προειπών τε καὶ is garbled (μενος); marked '...'. ἔθνη ('nations') after πάντα τὰ is missing in the digital text and is translated. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ alone spread his teaching worldwide, abolished barbarous customs, endured constant persecution and flourished, founded a new nation, turned Egypt from animal worship, gave power over demons, and established bloodless sacrifices. ### Greek text τί οὖν ἔχοι ἂν πρὸς τοῦτο εἰπεῖν ἡ κατʼ ἀρχὰς τοῦ λόγου ἡμῖν ἐπιμεμψάμενος, ὁπότε παντὸς λόγου κρείττων ἡ διὰ τῆς ὄψεως τυγχάνει μαρτυρία; ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ προτέρου μεταβάς, ἐλθὲ καὶ ἐφʼ ἕτερον καὶ σκέψαι παρὰ σαυτῷ· τίς πώποτε ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος νόμους εὐσεβεῖς καὶ σώφρονας λόγῳ μόνῳ δίχα πάσης γραφῆς διαταξάμενος, τούτους διὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ φοιτητῶν ἀπὸ περάτων γῆς καὶ εἰς ἄκρα τῆς ὅλης οἰκουμένης, διδασκαλεῖα πανταχοῦ γῆς ἀνοίξας, εἰς ἐπήκοον ἀνθρώποις πᾶσι βαρβάροις ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἕλλησιν ἀναγινώσκεσθαι ῥᾳδίως ἐκράτυνεν; ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἂν εὕροις ἐπιζητήσας ἄλλον. καὶ τοῦτο δὴ μόνου τοῦ ἡμετέρου σωτῆρος ἔργον ἠν. ὅ δὴ μετὰ τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ πεπραγμένον τῆς ἐνθέου ζωῆς τε καὶ δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ παραστατικὸν ἂν εἴη. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τοῦτο πείθει τὸν ἀπειθῆ. οὐκοῦν ἡμῖν αὐτὸς λεγέτω ποθοῦσι μαθεῖν, ἤ τίς ποτε ἄλλος τῶν ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ βοηθέντων ἔθη βάρβαρα καὶ ἀνήμερα βαρβάρων ἐθνῶν τοῖς φιλανθρωποτάτοις αὐτοῦ παρέλυσε νόμοις, ὡς μηκέτι τοὺς αὑτῷ μαθητευομένους ἐν Σκύθαις ἀνθρωποβορεῖν, μηδʼ ἐν Πέρσαις μητρογαμεῖν, μηδʼ ἄλλους κυσὶ παραβάλλειν τοὺς ἑαυτῶν νεκρούς, μηδʼ ἑτέρους ἀγχόνῃ παραδιδόναι τοὺς γεγηρακότας, μηδʼ ἕτερα τούτων ἀδελφὰ ὠμὰ καὶ θηριώδη παρʼ ἐτέροις ἐπιτελεῖσθαι. ἀλλὰ μικρὰ ταῦτα τυγχάνει δείγματα τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ἐνθέου ζωῆς. θέα δὴ καὶ ἕτερα τούτων μείζω, σκεψάμενος τίς πώποτε ἐν ἀνθρώποις τοσούτοις δὴ χρόνοις ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων, ἀρχόντων τε καὶ βασιλέων, πολιτῶν τε καὶ στρατοπέδων, δήμων τε καὶ ἐθνῶν, πολεμηθεὶς καὶ εἰς ἀεὶ πολεμούμενος τὴν ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείξατο. ὡς ἀνθεῖν ὁσημέραι καὶ νεάζειν διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου. τίς δὲ καὶ ἄλλος τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος ὁμοίως τῷ ἡμετέρῳ σωτῆρι ἔθνος τὸ μηδʼ ἀκουσθὲν ἄλλοτέ ποτε ἐπʼ ὀνόματι τῷ αὐτοῦ συστήσασθαι βουληθείς, τοῦτο οὐκ ἐν γωνίᾳ ποι γῆς λεληθὼς ἀλλὰ καθʼ ὅλης τῆς ὑφʼ ἥλιον ἱδρύσατο, δυνάμει θεϊκῆς ἐξουσίας πέρας ἐπιθεὶς τῷ αὐτοῦ βουλήματι; θεὸν δὲ μόνον τὸν ἐπέκεινα οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῦ παντὸς κόσμου γνωρίζειν τε καὶ σέβειν πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τίς πωποτε διδάξαι προὔθετο; κἄπειτα τοιοῦτον προθέμενος σκοπὸν εἰς ἔργον ἤγαγε τὸ κατόρθωμα, μόνον οὐχὶ διʼ αὐτῆς ἐνεργείας φιλόθεον ἀποφήνας τὸ πεπραγμένον· ὅ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα πᾶν ἄθυρον ἀπέφραξε στόμα, ὅτι δὴ τὸν ἀνωτάτω κηρύξας θεὸν καὶ τοῦτον μόνον ἀληθῆ γνωρίζειν τοῖς πᾶσιν ἔθνεσιν ἐγκελευσάμενος, ὡς ἂν τὰ φίλα τῷ θεῷ βουληθείς, τῆς πρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ πρεσβευομένου συνεργίας τε καὶ βοηθείας ἠξιώθη. τὰ δʼ ἐπὶ τῷ τοιούτῳ κηρύγματι συμπαραληφθέντα μαθήματα καὶ πᾶσιν εἰς ἐπήκοον παραδοθέντα ἔργῳ τε κρατυνθέντα ὁποῖα τυγχάνει; θέα καὶ σκέψαι. ἥ τίς καὶ ἄλλος τῶν πώποτε, τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχὰς λογικῷ φωτὶ καταλάμψας, καταγελάσαι τῆς πατρίου πλάνης αὐτοὺς παρεσκεύασεν, ὡς μηκέτι λίθοις καὶ ξύλοις μήδʼ ἀψύχῳ ὕλῃ τὴν θείαν περιάπτειν προσηγορίαν. Αἰγυπτίους δὲ τοὺς πάντων δεισιδαιμονεστάτους, ἀφʼ ὧν καὶ εἰς Ἕλληνας τὰ τῆς πολυθέου πλάνης προῆλθεν, τίς ἄλλος πλὴν τοῦ ἡμετέρου σωτῆρος μηκέτʼ ἀφρονεῖν ἔπεισεν, μηδέ γε θηρσὶ καὶ ἑρπετοῖς καὶ ζώων ἀλόγων τοῖς ἀτιμοτάτοις τὴν σεβάσμιον ἀπονέμειν τιμήν, μόνον δὲ τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων γνωρίζειν θεόν, καὶ διὰ παντοίων θανάτων ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀγωνίζεσθαι. τίς δὲ ἐξ αἰῶνος τὸ βλαπτικὸν καὶ ὀλέθριον δαιμόνων φῦλον, τὸ πάλαι πᾶσαν ἀνθρώπων φύσιν ἐπινεμόμενον καὶ διὰ τῆς τῶν ξοάνων κινήσεως πολλὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις γοητείας ἐπιδεικνύμενον, ἀοράτῳ καὶ κραταιᾷ χειρὶ οἷα θῆρας δεινοὺς τῆς ἀνθρώπων ἀπεδίωξεν ἀγέλης; τίς δʼ ἕτερος ὡς ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτὴρ διὰ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπικλήσεως καθαρωτάταις εὐχαῖς ταῖς διʼ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἀναπεμπομέναις τὰ λείψανα τῶν πονηρῶν πνευμάτων ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀπελαύνειν ἐπʼ ἐξουσίας ἔδωκεν τοῖς καθαρῶς καὶ ἀπλάστως μετερχομένοις τὸν βίον τῆς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ παραδοθείσης φιλοσοφίας; ἀναίμους δὲ καὶ λογικὰς θυσίας τὰς διʼ εὐχῶν καὶ ἀπορρήτου θεολογίας τοῖς αὐτοῦ θιασώταις τίς ἐπιτελεῖν παρέδωκεν ἄλλος ἢ μόνος ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτήρ; ### English translation (Claude) What then could the one who at the beginning of our speech found fault with us say to this, when the testimony of sight is stronger than every word? But passing from the first point, come to another and consider with yourself: who in all the ages, having laid down pious and sober laws by word alone without any writing, ever caused them to be read easily, through his disciples, from the ends of the earth to the farthest parts of the whole world, opening schools everywhere on earth, in the hearing of all people, barbarians and Greeks alike? You would not find another if you searched. This was the work of our Saviour alone; and this, done after his death, would be a proof of his divine life and power. But even this does not persuade the disobedient. Then let him tell us, who long to learn, what other of those esteemed among men for wisdom ever abolished the barbarous and savage customs of barbarian nations by his most humane laws, so that those who are his disciples no longer eat men among the Scythians, nor marry their mothers among the Persians, nor throw their dead to dogs among others, nor hand over the aged to the noose among others, nor do other things akin to these, cruel and beastlike, among others. But these are small proofs of our Saviour's divine life after death. Behold others greater than these, considering who ever among men, warred against for so long by all men, rulers and kings, citizens and armies, peoples and nations, and always warred against, displayed a superhuman virtue, so as to flourish daily and be young throughout all his life. Who else of all the ages, like our Saviour, wishing to establish a nation never heard of before under his name, founded it not hidden in some corner of the earth but over all the earth under the sun, bringing his will to completion by the power of divine authority? Who ever undertook to teach all the nations to know and worship God alone, who is beyond heaven and the whole world? And then, having set such a goal, brought the achievement to effect, showing by its very working that what was done was dear to God? This above all stopped every unbridled mouth: that, having proclaimed the supreme God and commanded all the nations to know him alone as true, as one who willed what was dear to God, he was counted worthy of the co-operation and help of the One he preached. And what are the teachings received along with such preaching, handed on to the hearing of all and confirmed in deed? Behold and consider. Who else ever, enlightening the souls of men with rational light, prepared them to laugh at their ancestral error, so that they no longer attach the divine name to stones and wood and lifeless matter? Who else but our Saviour persuaded the Egyptians, the most superstitious of all, from whom the polytheistic error passed even to the Greeks, no longer to be foolish, nor to give the venerable honour to beasts and reptiles and the most dishonourable of irrational animals, but to know only the God over all, and to contend for [him] through deaths of every kind? Who from the beginning drove away from the flock of men with invisible and mighty hand, like terrible beasts, the harmful and destructive race of demons, which formerly grazed upon all human nature and displayed many sorceries among men through the movement of images? Who else, like our Saviour, gave authority, through calling on him and through the purest prayers sent up through him to the God of all, to drive the remnants of the wicked spirits out of men, to those who pursue purely and without pretence the life of the philosophy handed down by him? And who else but our Saviour alone handed down to his worshippers bloodless and rational sacrifices to be offered through prayers and secret theology? ### Scripture references - Rom 12:1: echo, medium confidence - Luke 10:17: echo, low confidence - Mark 16:17: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The digital text has the stray numeral 7 inside a word (τοὺς 7 ρακότας for τοὺς γεγηρακότας, 'the aged') and omits a word after ὑπὲρ τῆς (supplied as '[him]'). 'Bloodless and rational sacrifices' refers to Christian worship, including the eucharist; compare Rom 12:1. The disciples' authority over demons recalls Mark 16:17; Luke 10:17. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Churches and spiritual sacrifices now fill the world, and human sacrifice ended only after Christ's teaching, under Hadrian. ### Greek text διὸ καθʼ ὅλης τῆς ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης θυσιαστήρια συνέστη ἐκκλησιῶν τε ἀφιερώματα, νοερῶν τε καὶ λογικῶν θυσιῶν ἱεροπρεπεῖς λειτουργίαι μόνῳ τῷ παμβασιλεῖ θεῷ πρὸς ἁπάντων τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀναπεμπόμεναι. τὰς δὲ διʼ αἱμάτων καὶ λύθρων καπνοῦ τε καὶ πυρὸς ἐπιτελουμένας θυσίας τάς τε ὠμὰς ἐκείνας καὶ μανιώδεις ἀνδροκτασίας τε καὶ ἀνθρωποθυσίας τίς ἀφανεῖ τε καὶ ἀοράτῳ δυνάμει σβεσθῆναι καὶ μηκέτι ὑπάρχειν παρεσκεύασεν, ὡς μαρτυρεῖσθαι πρὸς αὐτῆς γε τῆς Ἑλλήνων ἱστορίας; ἐπειδὴ οὐ πρότερον ἀλλʼ ἢ μετὰ τὴν ἔνθεον τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν διδασκαλίαν κατὰ τοὺς Ἀδριανοῦ χρόνους πᾶσαι αἱ πανταχοῦ γῆς κατελύθησαν ἀνθρωποθυσίαι. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore throughout the whole inhabited world altars have been set up and dedications of churches, and sacred liturgies of intellectual and rational sacrifices are offered up by all the nations to God alone, the King of all. And who by an unseen and invisible power caused the sacrifices performed with blood and gore, smoke and fire, and those cruel and mad slaughters of men and human sacrifices, to be quenched and to exist no longer, as the history of the Greeks itself testifies? For not before, but only after the divine teaching of our Saviour, in the times of Hadrian, were all human sacrifices everywhere on earth abolished. ### Scripture references - Mal 1:11: echo, low confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Porphyry, Abst. 2.56 (Porphyry, On Abstinence from Killing Animals): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The end of human sacrifice under Hadrian is reported by Porphyry, Abst. 2.56 (cited by Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.17). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ's continuing works after death prove him alive, while the dead persecutors are forgotten; invisible realities are known from their effects. ### Greek text τοσούτων ἐναργῶν ἀποδείξεων τὴν μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ἀρετήν τε καὶ δύναμιν τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν πιστουμένων, τίς οὕτω σιδήρεος τὴν ψυχήν, ὡς μὴ συμμαρτυρεῖν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ τὴν ἔνθεον αὐτοῦ ζωὴν ὁμολογεῖν; ζώντων γὰρ ἄλλʼ οὐ νεκρῶν τὰ κατορθώματα, ὄψις τε ἀδήλων φασὶν εἶναι τὰ φαινόμενα. αὐτίκα δʼ οὖν χθὲς καὶ πρώην θεομάχων γένος τὸν τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίον ἐκύκα, ἦγέν τε καὶ ἀπῆγεν καὶ πολλὰ ἴσχυεν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀπηλλάγη, ἦν δὴ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπὶ γῆς σκυβάλων ἐκβλητότερον, ἄπνουν ἀκίνητον ἄναυδον, καὶ οὐκέτʼ αὐτῶν λόγος οὐδείς, οὐ μνήμη· φύσις γὰρ αὕτη νεκρῶν, καὶ ὁ μηκέτʼ ὢν οὐδεὶς ἐστιν. ὁ δὲ μηδεὶς ὤν x003E; πράξειέν τι; ὁ δʼ ἐνεργῶν καὶ πράττων καὶ πλείονα τῶν ζώντων δυνάμενος πῶς ἂν ὑποληφθείη μὴ ὤν; εἰ δʼ ἀφανὴς εἴη σαρκὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐν αἰσθήσει τὸ κριτήριον, οὐδὲ τεχνικοὺς λόγους οὐδʼ ἐπιστημονικὰς θεωρίας αἰσθήσει σωμάτων καταμανθάνομεν, οὐδὲ νοῦν τὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποις μήτι γε θεοῦ δύναμιν εἶδεν τις πώποτε ὀφθαλμοῖς, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τῶν ἔργων τὰ τοιάδε πέφυκεν ἐπινοεῖσθαι. ### English translation (Claude) When so many clear proofs establish the virtue and power of our Saviour after death, who is so iron-hearted as not to bear witness with the truth and confess his divine life? For achievements belong to the living, not the dead; and, they say, things visible are the sight of things unseen. Only yesterday and the day before, the race of God-fighters was stirring up human life, leading and driving it, and was very powerful; but when it was removed from among men, it became thereafter more cast out than refuse on the earth, breathless, motionless, voiceless, and there is no longer any word or memory of them; for such is the nature of the dead, and he who no longer exists is no one. And how could one who is no one do anything? But he who works and acts and is more powerful than the living, how could he be supposed not to exist? If he is invisible to the eyes of the flesh, the judgment does not lie in sense-perception: we do not learn the principles of the arts or the theories of the sciences by bodily sense, nor has anyone ever seen with eyes the mind in men, still less the power of God; such things are naturally conceived from their works. ### Extrabiblical texts - Anaxagoras, B21a (Anaxagoras): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 'Things visible are the sight of things unseen' is a saying of Anaxagoras (DK 59 B21a). 'Refuse' (σκύβαλα) echoes Phil 3:8. ὁ δὲ μηδεὶς ὤν is followed by a stray code (x003E;); the sense is 'how could one who is no one do anything?' ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 16.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/14-1/#p-16-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ's present works show that he lives, since the non-existent can do nothing. ### Greek text διὸ δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡμετέρου σωτῆρος τὴν ἀφανῆ δύναμιν αὐτοῦ προσήκοι ἂν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἐπισκοπεῖν καὶ διακρίνειν, εἴτε χρὴ ζῶντος ὁμολογεῖν τὰ εἰσέτι δεῦρο πρὸς αὐτοῦ κατορθούμενα, εἴτε καὶ μὴ ὄντος εἶναι λέγειν· ἢ μωρὸν καὶ ἀσύστατον τὸ ἐρώτημα· τὸν γὰρ μὴ ὄντα πῶς ἄν τις εὐλόγως εἴποι ἂν εἶναι; τὸ γὰρ μὴ ὃν πάσαις ψήφοις οὐκ εἶναι ἀποπέφανται οὐδέ τι δύνασθαι οὔτʼ ἐνεργεῖν οὔτε πράττειν. αὕτη γὰρ φύσις νεκρῶν ζώντων δὲ ἡ ἐναντία. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore in the case of our Saviour too it would be fitting to examine and judge his invisible power from his works, whether we must confess that the things still accomplished by him up to now belong to one who is living, or say that they belong to one who does not exist. Or rather the question is foolish and incoherent: for how could anyone reasonably say that one who does not exist exists? For what does not exist has been declared by every vote not to exist, nor to have any power to work or act. Such is the nature of the dead; the opposite is that of the living. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 16.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/16-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius turns to the evidence of Christ's living power in their own day. ### Greek text Ἕνθα δὴ καιρὸς ἐπιθεωρῆσαι τοῦ ἡμετέρου σωτῆρος τὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἀποτελέσματα καὶ ζῶντος θεοῦ ζῶντα ἔργα συνιδεῖν· ἦ γὰρ οὐ ζῶντος καὶ θεοῦ ζωὴν ὡς ἀληθῶς ζῶντος ἔργα ζῶντα τυγχάνει τὰ τοιαδὶ κατορθώματα; τίνα δὴ ταῦτα, ἐρωτᾶς; μάνθανε. ### English translation (Claude) Here, then, it is time to look at the results of our Saviour's work in our own time and to see the living works of a living God. For are not such achievements truly living works of one who lives, and lives the life of God? What are these, you ask? Learn. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The persecutors destroyed the churches and attacked Christ with words, but he defended himself invisibly. ### Greek text θεομάχοι τινὲς πρώην τῶν αὐτοῦ προσευκτηρίων τὰς οἰκοδομὰς σὺν πλείονι φιλονεικίᾳ καὶ σὺν μείζονι δυνάμει τε καὶ χειρὶ ἐκ βάθρων ἀνορύττοντες καθῄρουν ἀφανεῖς τε αὐτοῦ καθίστων τὰς ἐκκλησίας, πάσαις τε μηχαναῖς τὸν μὴ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρώμενον ἐπολέμουν βάλλοντες καὶ ἀκοντίζοντες μυρίαις λόγων βολαῖς, ὁ δʼ ἀφανὴς ἀφανῶς ἠμύνατο. ### English translation (Claude) Some God-fighters, lately, with great contentiousness and with greater power and force, dug up from their foundations and pulled down the buildings of his houses of prayer and made his churches disappear; and with every device they made war on the one not seen with the eyes, hurling and shooting at him countless volleys of words. But the invisible one invisibly defended himself. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The persecuting emperors, once prosperous, were suddenly struck down when they fought against God and were forced to acknowledge Christ and reverse their edicts. ### Greek text εἶθʼ οἱ μὲν οὐκέτʼ ἦσαν ἑνὶ θεοῦ νεύματι πρὸ μικροῦ τρυφηλοὶ καὶ τρισευδαίμονες, οἱ ἰσόθεοι παρὰ τοῖς πᾶσιν ἀνυμνούμενοι, οἱ μακραῖς ἐτῶν περιόδοις διαπρεπῶς τὴν ἀρχὴν εὐθύναντες, ὅτε δὴ τὰ πρὸς τὸν ὕστερον πολεμηθέντα φίλα τε ἦν αὑτοῖς καὶ εἰρηναῖα· ὡς δὲ καταβαλλόμενοι θεομαχεῖν ἐτόλμων, τοὺς αὐτῶν θεοὺς προμάχους καὶ προασπιστὰς ἀντιπαρατάττοντες τῷ ἡμετέρῳ, αὐτίκα μιᾷ ῥοπῇ καὶ θεοῦ νεύματι καὶ δυνάμει τοῦ πολεμουμένου δίκας ὑπεῖχον οἱ ἅπαντες τῶν τετολμημένων, ὡς παραχωρεῖν τῷ πολεμουμένῳ καὶ νῶτα δόντες αὐτῷ τῇ θεότητι συνομολογεῖν συγχωρεῖν τε καὶ ἐπιτρέπειν τἀναντία τοῖς πρὶν τετολμημένοις. ### English translation (Claude) Then, by a single nod of God, they no longer existed, those who a little before were luxurious and thrice-happy, hymned by all as equal to gods, who had governed their realm conspicuously for long periods of years, while things were friendly and peaceful between them and the one later warred against. But when they ventured to begin fighting against God, setting their own gods as champions and defenders against ours, at once, with one turn of the scale, by the nod of God and the power of the one warred against, they all paid the penalty of their daring, so that they yielded to the one they fought and, turning their backs, confessed his deity, and granted and permitted the opposite of what they had formerly dared. ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 8.17 (Church History): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The reversal is Galerius's edict of toleration (311). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-3). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-4 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ then filled the world with new churches, called 'the Lord's' houses after their Master. ### Greek text ὁ δὲ τρόπαια νικητήρια παραχρῆμα πανταχοῦ γῆς ἀνίστη, ναοῖς τε ἁγίοις καὶ προσευκτηρίων σεμνοῖς ἀφιερώμασι τὴν σύμπασαν οἰκουμένην αὖθις ἐξ ὑπαρχῆς κοσμήσας, κατὰ πόλεις τε καὶ κώμας χώρας τε πάσας καὶ τὰς τῶν βαρβάρων ἐρήμους ἱερὰ καὶ τεμένη ἑνὶ τῷ πάντων βασιλεῖ θεῷ, τῷ δὴ καὶ τῶν ὅλων δεσπότῃ, καθιερώσας, ἔνθεν καὶ τῆς τοῦ δεσπότου προσηγορίας ἠξίωται τὰ καθιερωμένα, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων τυχόντα τῆς ἐπικλήσεως, ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων κυρίου, παρὸ καὶ κυριακῶν ἠξίωνται τῶν ἐπωνυμιῶν. ### English translation (Claude) And he at once set up victorious trophies everywhere on earth, again adorning the whole world anew with holy temples and venerable dedications of houses of prayer, consecrating in cities and villages and in all lands and in the deserts of the barbarians sacred buildings and precincts to the one God, the King of all, the Master of the universe; from which the consecrated buildings have been counted worthy of the Master's name, receiving their title not from men but from the Lord of all himself, and so they have been counted worthy of the name 'the Lord's'. ### Translation notes - 'The Lord's' (κυριακά) is the source of the word 'church' in Germanic languages. ἐΜεν is a slip for ἔνθεν ('from which'). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.4 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-4). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-5 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ rebuilt the churches more splendidly while their destroyers still lived, forcing them under divine punishment to recant in writing. ### Greek text παρελθὼν οὖν εἰς μέσον ὁ βουλόμενος διδασκέτω, τίς τὴν τοσαύτην καθαίρεσίν τε καὶ ἐρημίαν ἱδρύματα ἐξ ἐδάφους εἰς ὕψος ἀνήγειρεν, τίς τὰ πόσης ἐλπίδος ἀφῃρημένα δευτέρας ἠξίωσεν πολὺ κρείττονος τῆς ἔμπροσθεν ἀνανεώσεως, καὶ ἀνενεώσατο, αὐτὸ δὴ τὸ τοῦ λόγου μέγιστον θαῦμα, οὐ μετὰ τὴν τῶν θεομάχων ἐκείνων τελευτήν, ἀλλʼ ἔτι τῷ βίῳ περιόντων αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν καθῃρηκότων, ὡς διʼ αὐτῶν στόματος καὶ διʼ αὐτῶν γραφῆς τὴν παλινῳδίαν τῶν τετολμημένων αὐτοῖς ᾀσθῆναι, καὶ τοῦτο πρᾶξαι αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἐν θυμηδίαις ὄντας φιλανθρωπίας λογισμῷ τάχα ἄν τις νομίσειεν), θεηλάτοις δὲ μάστιξιν ἐλαυνομένους. ### English translation (Claude) Let anyone who wishes come forward into the midst and teach: who raised up buildings from the ground to a height after such destruction and desolation? Who counted worthy of a second renewal, far better than the former, things deprived of all hope, and renewed them; and, the greatest wonder of the account, not after the death of those God-fighters, but while those very destroyers were still in life, so that the recantation of their deeds was sung by their own mouth and their own writing; and that they did this not in a time of good cheer (as one might perhaps suppose, from a reckoning of humanity), but driven by God-sent scourges? ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 8.16-17 (Church History): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The recantation is Galerius's edict, issued during his fatal illness (Hist. eccl. 8.16–17). The digital text lacks the opening parenthesis before 'as one might'. xm is a slip for τῷ. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.5 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-5). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-6 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Even amid persecution Christ raised up ascetics and lifelong virgins everywhere, persuaded multitudes to feed on Scripture, and taught even slaves and barbarians to despise death and expect judgment. ### Greek text τίς μετὰ τοσούσδε τοῦ διωγμοῦ χειμῶνας καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ γε τῇ τῶν δεινῶν ἀκμῇ φιλοσόφου βίου ζηλωτὰς καὶ θεραπευτὰς τοῦ θεοῦ μυρίους ἄνδρας γυναικῶν τε ἱερείας καὶ χοροὺς ἀειπαρθένων ἁγνείᾳ παντελεῖ τὸν πάντα τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῶν χρόνον ἀναθείσας τοῖς τῆς ἐνθέου διδασκαλίας αὐτοῦ μαθήμασι καθʼ ὅλης συνίστη τῆς οἰκουμένης τροφῶν δʼ ἀποχαῖς ἀσιτίαις τε ἀνοινίαις πολυημέροις προθυμότατα διακαρτερεῖν ἐγκρατείᾳ τε καὶ ῥώμῃ βίου στερροῦ χρῆσθαι μετὰ σωφροσύνης; τίς γύναια καὶ μυρία πλήθη ἀνδρῶν ἀναπέπεικεν λογικὰς τροφὰς ψυχαῖς λογικαῖς καταλλήλους διʼ ἐνθέων ἀναγνωρισμάτων ἀντικαταλλάξασθαι τῶν τοῦ σώματος τροφῶν; τίς βαρβάρους καὶ ἀγροίκους ἄνδρας γύναιά τε καὶ παῖδας καὶ οἰκετῶν γένη πλήθη τε μυρία μυρίων ἐθνῶν θανάτου μὲν καταφρονεῖν ἐδίδαξεν ἀθάνατον δὲ πεπεῖσθαι εἶναι τὴν αὐτῶν ψυχήν, καὶ δίκης ὀφθαλμὸν ὑπάρχειν ἔφορον τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων εὐσεβῶν τε καὶ ἀσεβῶν, δικαιωτήρια τε θεοῦ προσδοκῶν, τούτων ἕνεκα δικαίου καὶ σώφρονος δεῖν ἐπιμελεῖσθαι βίου; μὴ γὰρ οὕτω διατεθέντας ἀδύνατον ἄλλως εἶναι τὸν τῆς θεοσεβείας ὑποδῦναι ζυγόν· ὁ δὴ μόνῳ τῷ ἡμετέρῳ σωτῆρι εἰσέτι καὶ νῦν κατορθοῦται. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν παρῶμεν, ### English translation (Claude) Who, after so many storms of persecution, and at the very height of the terrors, established throughout the whole world countless men as zealots of the philosophic life and servants of God, and priestesses among women and choirs of perpetual virgins who have dedicated the whole time of their life in complete purity to the lessons of his divine teaching; who made them endure most eagerly abstinence from food, fasts and many days without wine, and practise self-control and the strength of a firm life with sobriety? Who persuaded women and countless multitudes of men to exchange the foods of the body for rational foods suited to rational souls through divine readings? Who taught barbarians and country folk, women and children and households of slaves, and countless multitudes of countless nations to despise death and to be convinced that their soul is immortal, that there is an eye of justice watching over human affairs, of the pious and the impious, and to expect God's courts of judgment, and for this reason to care for a just and sober life? For unless they were so disposed, it would be impossible otherwise to take on the yoke of godliness. This is still accomplished even now by our Saviour alone. But let us pass these things by, ### Scripture references - Matt 11:29–30: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'Priestesses among women' (γυναικῶν τε ἱερείας) is Eusebius's term for consecrated women. The sentence continues in 17.7. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.6 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-6). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-7 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No other sage was foretold, as Christ was, by Hebrew prophets who described his birthplace, time, life and works. ### Greek text φέρε δὲ ἄλλως τὸν τὴν διάνοιαν λελιθωμένον καὶ ἐκ τῶν τοιωνδὶ προσαγάγωμεν ἐρωτήσεων, ὧδέ πη αὐτοῦ πυνθανόμενοι. ἄγε δή, οὗτος, φωνὴν λογικὴν ἀφείς, μὴ ἐξ ἠλιθίου καρδίας ψυχῆς δὲ νοερᾶς καὶ λογικῆς καρπὸν λέγε δή, παρὰ σαυτῷ πολλάκις ἐπισκεψάμενος, τίς ἄλλος πώποτε τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος βοηθέντων σοφῶν ὁμοίως τῷ ἡμετέρῳ σωτῆρι προφητικαῖς ἄνωθεν πρὸ μυρίων χρόνων φωναῖς ἐγνώσθη τε καὶ προεκηρύχθη παρὰ τοῖς πρόπαλαι θεοφιλέσιν Ἑβραίων παισίν; οἳ καὶ τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ τῆς γενέσεως καὶ χρόνους τῆς ἀφίξεως καὶ τρόπον τοῦ βίου καὶ δυνάμεις καὶ λόγους καὶ κατορθώματα αὐτοῦ προλαβόντες βίβλοις ἱεραῖς καταβεβλήκασιν. ### English translation (Claude) and come, let us bring forward otherwise the one who has turned his mind to stone with questions of this sort, inquiring of him thus: Come, sir, utter a rational voice, not from a foolish heart but the fruit of an intellectual and rational soul, and say, having often considered it with yourself: what other of those esteemed as wise in all the ages was, like our Saviour, known and proclaimed beforehand by prophetic voices from on high, countless ages before, among the ancient God-loving children of the Hebrews? They anticipated the place of his birth, the times of his coming, the manner of his life, his powers and words and achievements, and laid them down in sacred books. ### Scripture references - Mic 5:2 (5:1 LXX): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The digital text lacks the opening parenthesis implied by its closing one in χρόνο)ν. The birthplace foretold is Mic 5:2. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.7 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-7). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-8 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ foretold both the destruction of Jerusalem's temple, which followed swiftly, and the indestructibility of his church. ### Greek text ἥ τίς οὕτω ταχὺς ἔκδιχος τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν τετολμημένων ἀποδέδεικται, ὡς ἅμα τῇ κατʼ αὐτοῦ δυσσεβείᾳ τὸ πᾶν Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος ἀοράτῳ δυνάμει μετελθεῖν, ἄρδην τε τὸν βασιλικὸν αὐτῶν τόπον ἐκ βάθρων ἀρθῆναι, αὐτό τε τὸ ἱερὸν ἅμα τοῖς ἐν αὐτῷ σεμνοῖς εἰς ἔδαφος κατενεχθῆναι; τίς δὲ προρρήσεις αὐτῶν τε τούτων πέρι τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀμφί τε τῆς πρὸς αὐτοῦ καθʼ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ὑποστάσης ἐκκλησίας καταλλήλους τοῖς πράγμασιν ἀποφθεγξάμενος, πιστὰς ἔδειξε ταύτας τοῖς ἔργοις, ὡς ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτήρ; περὶ μὲν τοῦ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἱεροῦ φήσας· ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος·„ καί· οὐ μὴ μείνῃ λίθος λίθον ἐν τῷ τόπῳ τούτῳ, ὃς οὐ μὴ καταλυθῇ·“ περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐκκλησίας· ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν οἰκοδομήσω μου τὴν ἐκκλησίαν, καὶ πύλαι ᾅδου οὐ κατισχύουσιν αὐτῆς.“ ### English translation (Claude) Or who has been shown so swift an avenger of the outrages against him, so that together with the impiety against him he pursued the whole Jewish nation with invisible power, and their royal city was utterly removed from its foundations, and the temple itself, with the sacred things in it, brought down to the ground? And who, like our Saviour, uttered predictions corresponding to the facts about these impious men themselves and about the church founded by him throughout the whole world, and showed them trustworthy by deeds? About the temple of the impious he said: "Your house is left to you desolate," and: "Not one stone shall remain upon another in this place that shall not be thrown down"; and about the church: "On the rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." ### Scripture references - Matt 23:38: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:2: quotation, high confidence - Matt 16:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations: Matt 23:38; Matt 24:2 (loosely); Matt 16:18. Eusebius's interpretation of the fall of Jerusalem as punishment of the Jewish nation is his own and is translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.8 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-8). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-9 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ made simple fishermen into teachers of the world, whose writings, translated into every language, are believed as divine oracles. ### Greek text τὸ δὲ ἄνδρας εὐτελεῖς καὶ ἀγροίκους ἐξ ἁλείας μεταγαγεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τούτους νομοθέτας καὶ νομοδιδασκάλους ἀποφῆναι τῆς ἀνθρώπων οἰκουμένης, οἷόν σοι εἶναι δοκεῖ; τὸ δὲ ἐπαγγείλασθαι καὶ λόγῳ μὲν εἰπεῖν ἔργῳ δὲ ποιῆσαι αὐτοὺς ἁλιέας ἀνθρώπων, καὶ τοιαύτην αὐτοῖς ἀρετὴν τε καὶ δύναμιν παρασχεῖν, ὡς καὶ γραφὰς συντάξαι καὶ βίβλους παραδοῦναι, καὶ ταύτας εἰς τοσοῦτον κρατῦναι, ὡς καθʼ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης παντοίᾳ γλώσσῃ βαρβάρων τε καὶ Ἑλλήνων μεταβαλλομένας παρὰ πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι μελετᾶσθαι, καὶ πιστεύεσθαι θεῖα εἶναι λόγια τὰ ἐν αὑταῖς καταβεβλημένα. ### English translation (Claude) And what do you think of his bringing over from fishing poor and rustic men at the beginning, and making them lawgivers and teachers of the law for the inhabited world? Of his promising, and saying in word and doing in deed, that he would make them fishers of men, and giving them such virtue and power that they composed writings and handed down books, and so strengthened these that throughout the whole world, translated into every tongue of barbarians and Greeks, they are studied among all the nations, and what is laid down in them is believed to be divine oracles? ### Scripture references - Matt 4:19: allusion, high confidence - Mark 1:17: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - 'Fishers of men' is Matt 4:19 (Mark 1:17). ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.9 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-9). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-10 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ foretold his disciples' persecution and so strengthened them that they endured it with adamantine courage. ### Greek text οἷον δὲ καὶ τὸ αὐτὸν προφητεῦσαι τὸ μέλλον καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς προμαρτύρασθαι, ὡς ἄρα ἐπὶ βασιλέων καὶ ἡγεμόνων μέλλοιεν ἄγεσθαι τιμωρεῖσθαί τε καὶ τὰς ἐσχάτας ὑπομένειν κολάσεις, οὐ διά τινα πρᾶξιν ἄτοπον διὰ μόνην δὲ τὴν εἰς τοῦτον ὁμολογίαν; τὸ δὲ καὶ προθύμως αὐτοὺς ταῦθʼ ὑπομεῖναι παρασκευάσαι εὐσεβείας τε ὅπλοις οὕτω φράξαι, ὡς ἀδάμαντος τὰς ψυχὰς κραταιοτέρους ἐν τοῖς πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιπάλους ἀμῶσι διαφαίνεσθαι, ποῖον οὐκ ἂν ὑπερβάλοιτο λόγον; ### English translation (Claude) And what of his prophesying the future and testifying beforehand to his disciples that they would be led before kings and governors, punished and made to endure the extreme penalties, not for any wrongdoing but only for their confession of him? And his preparing them to endure this eagerly, and so fortifying them with the weapons of godliness that they appeared stronger in soul than adamant in their struggles with their adversaries: what words would this not surpass? ### Scripture references - Matt 10:17–18: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 10:17–18. ἀμῶσι is garbled (perhaps ἀγῶσι, 'struggles'); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.10 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-10). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-11 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ has strengthened martyrs in every generation; no king ever ruled so long or conquered after death as he does. ### Greek text τὸ δὲ μὴ μόνον ἐκείνους τοὺς αὐτῷ παρηκολουθηκότας, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνων διαδόχους καὶ αὖθις τοὺς μετέπειτα γενομένους καὶ τοὺς εἰσέτι δεῦρο καθʼ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς οὕτω τῆς ψυχῆς νευρῶσαι τὰς δυνάμεις, ὡς μηδὲν ἄξιον θανάτου πράξαντας παντοίας κολάσεις καὶ πᾶν εἶδος στρεβλωτηρίων μεθʼ ἡδονῆς ὑπομένειν εὐσεβείας χάριν τῆς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεόν, ποῖον οὐκ ἂν ὑπερβάλοιτο ἀλλὰ βασιλέων εἰς τοσοῦτον αἰῶνα τίς πώποτε κρατῶν διετέλεσεν; τίς δʼ οὕτω στρατηγεῖ μετὰ θάνατον καὶ τρόπαια κατʼ ἐχθρῶν ἵστησι, καὶ πάντα τόπον καὶ χώραν καὶ πόλιν, Ἑλλάδα τε καὶ βάρβαρον, ὑποτάττει, ἀοράτῳ καὶ ἀφανεῖ δεξιᾷ τοὺς ἀντιπάλους χειρούμενος; ### English translation (Claude) And what of his so strengthening the powers of the soul, not only of those who followed him, but also of their successors, and again of those who came after, and of those still down to our own time, that, having done nothing worthy of death, they endured every kind of punishment and every form of torture with pleasure for the sake of godliness toward the God of all: what words would this not surpass? Who of kings ever continued ruling for so long an age? Who commands armies in this way after death, sets up trophies against enemies, and subjects every place and land and city, Greek and barbarian, subduing his adversaries with an invisible and unseen right hand? ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.11 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-11). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-12 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The universal peace that came with Christ's preaching, foretold by the prophets, silences all objection; no one else has shown such divine power. ### Greek text τό γε μὴν κεφάλαιον τῶν εἰρημένων, ἡ πανταχοῦ γῆς διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως πρυτανευθεῖσα εἰρήνη, περὶ ἧς τὰ εἰκότα προλαβόντες εἰρήκαμεν, ποῖον οὐκ ἂν συκοφαντῶν ἀποφράξειε στόμα, οὕτω μὲν ἔργῳ συνδραμούσης τῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν διδασκαλίᾳ καὶ τῷ καταβληθέντι ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τῷ παντὶ κόσμῳ κηρύγματι τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν πάντων ὁμονοίας τε καὶ συμφωνίας, οὕτω δὲ πρόπαλαι ὑπὸ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ προφητῶν προαναπεφωνημένης τῆς κοσμικῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν εἰρήνης τοῦ τε πρὸς αὐτοῦ καταβληθέντος τοῖς ἔθνεσι λόγου; ἐπιλείψει με, βασιλεῦ, τὸ πᾶν τῆς ἡμέρας μῆκος τὰς ἐναργεῖς ἀποδείξεις τῆς ἐνθέου δυνάμεως τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν τὰς ἐκ τῶν εἰσέτι νῦν ὁρωμένων ὑφʼ ἕν πειρώμενον συνάγειν καὶ συνιστᾶν, ὅτι μηδεὶς πώποτε τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος μήτε παρʼ Ἕλλησι μήτε παρὰ βαρβάροις τοσαύτην ἀρετῆς ἐνθέου δύναμιν ἐπιδέδεικται, ὅλην ὁ σωτὴρ ὁ ἡμέτερος. ### English translation (Claude) And the sum of what has been said, the peace established everywhere on earth by his power, of which we spoke fittingly before: what mouth of a slanderer would it not stop, since in deed the concord and harmony of all the nations ran together with our Saviour's teaching and the preaching laid down by him for the whole world, and since the worldwide peace of the nations, and the word laid down by him for the nations, had been foretold long ago by the prophets of God? The whole length of the day will fail me, O emperor, if I try to gather together and set out at once the clear proofs of our Saviour's divine power from what is still seen even now; for no one of all the ages, among Greeks or barbarians, has shown such power of divine virtue as our Saviour. ### Translation notes - ὅλην is a slip for ὅσην ('as much as'); translated by sense. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.12 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-12). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-13 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No god or hero of the nations ever taught eternal life, enlightened the whole earth, abolished all other gods, and was acknowledged by all nations as God alone, as Christ has. ### Greek text τί δὲ λέγω ἀνδρῶν ὁπότε μηδʼ αὐτῶν τῶν παρὰ πᾶσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσι θεολογουμένων τοιαύτη τις πέφηνεν ἐπὶ γῆς φύσις ἢ δεικνύτω ὁ βουλόμενος, παρίτω δὲ πᾶς φιλόσοφος καὶ ἡμῖν λεγέτω, τίς ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αἰῶνος ἤκουσέν ποτε θεὸς καὶ ἥρως αἰωνίου ζωῆς οὐρανίου τε βασιλείας μαθήματα πρόξενα παραδεδωκὼς ἀνθρώποις, οἷα ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτήρ, φιλοσόφοις δόγμασιν μυρία πλήθη καθʼ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης συνασκεῖσθαι ποιήσας, οὐρανόν τε πείσας μεταδιώκειν καὶ τὰς ἐν οὐρανῷ διατριβὰς θεοφιλέσι ψυχαῖς ἀποκειμένας ἐλπίζειν; τίς πώποτε θεὸς ἢ καὶ ἥρως ἄνθρωπος τὴν ἀφʼ ἀνίσχοντος μέχρι δυομένου, μόνον οὐχὶ τὸν ἴσον ἡλίῳ διϊππεύσας δρόμον, ταῖς λαμπροτάταις τῆς αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας αὐγαῖς κατηύγασέν τε καὶ ἐφώτισεν, ὡς πανταχοῦ γῆς ἑνὶ θεῷ πᾶν ἔθνος μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπιτελεῖν λατρείαν; τίς πώποτε θεὸς ἢ καὶ ἥρως πάντας θεούς τε καὶ ἥρωας Ἑλληνικούς καὶ βαρβάρους παραγκωνισάμενος, μηδένα μὲν ἐκείνων θεὸν εἶναι νομίζειν ἐνομοθέτησεν καὶ νομοθετήσας ἔπεισεν· ἔπειτα πολεμηθεὶς ὑπὸ πάντων, εἷς ὤν αὐτὸς τὸ πᾶν τῶν ἐναντίων στρατόπεδον καθεῖλεν, τῶν ἐξ αἰῶνος ἁπάντων θεῶν τε καὶ ἡρώων κρατῶν, ἀπὸ περάτων ὡς καθʼ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης θεοῦ μόνον αὐτὸν πρὸς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων ἀναγορεύεσθαι; ### English translation (Claude) But why do I speak of men, when not even among those deified by all the nations has any such nature appeared on earth? Or let anyone who wishes show it; let every philosopher come forward and tell us: what god or hero in all the ages was ever heard of as having handed down to men teachings that procure eternal life and a heavenly kingdom, as our Saviour did; making countless multitudes throughout the whole world practise philosophical doctrines, persuading them to pursue heaven and to hope for the dwellings in heaven stored up for God-loving souls? What god or hero ever, running almost the same course as the sun from its rising to its setting, lit up and illumined the earth with the most brilliant rays of his teaching, so that everywhere on earth every nation performs one and the same worship to one God? What god or hero ever, thrusting aside all the gods and heroes of Greeks and barbarians, legislated that none of them should be thought a god, and having legislated, persuaded them; then, warred against by all, being one himself, overthrew the whole camp of his opponents, prevailing over all the gods and heroes of all ages, so that from the ends of the earth throughout the whole inhabited world he alone is proclaimed God by all the nations? ### Scripture references - Mal 1:11: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - The digital text repeats μόνον; translated once. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.13 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-13). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-14 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ established the weekly Lord's day assembly for the nourishment of souls, and though constantly attacked, has led his people to glory. ### Greek text τίς τοῖς τὸ μέγα στοιχεῖον τῆς γῆς οἰκοῦσι τοῖς τε κατὰ γῆν καὶ τοῖς κατὰ θάλατταν ἐφʼ ἑκάστης ἑβδομάδος τὴν κυριακὴν χρηματίζουσαν ἡμέραν ἑορτὴν ἄγειν ἐπὶ ταὐτὸν συνιόντας παραδέδωκεν, καὶ οὐ τὰ σώματα πιαίνειν τὰς δὲ ψυχὰς ἐνθέοις παιδεύμασιν ἀναζωπυρεῖν παρεσκεύασεν; τίς θεὸς ἢ καὶ ἥρως οὕτω πολεμηθεὶς ὡς ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτὴρ τρόπαια νικητήρια κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἤγειρεν; οἱ μὲν γὰρ οὐ διέλιπον ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ εἰς τέλος αὐτοῦ τὰ μαθήματά τε καὶ τὸν λαὸν πολιορκοῦντες, ὁ δʼ ἀφανὴς ἀφανῶς τοὺς οἰκείους αὐτοῖς ἱεροῖς οἴκοις ἐπὶ μέγα δόξης προῆγεν. ### English translation (Claude) Who has handed down to those who inhabit the great element of the earth, on land and on sea, to come together every week and keep as a festival the day called the Lord's, and has prepared them not to fatten their bodies but to rekindle their souls with divine teachings? What god or hero, warred against as our Saviour was, raised victorious trophies over his enemies? For they did not cease from the beginning to the end besieging his teachings and his people; but he, invisible, invisibly led his own, with their very houses of worship, to great glory. ### Scripture references - Rev 1:10: echo, low confidence ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.14 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-14). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 17.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-17-15 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The facts themselves proclaim that the one true Son of God has appeared among men. ### Greek text καὶ τί δεῖ λόγοις τὰς παντὸς λόγου κρείττονας ἐνθέους δυνάμεις τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν φιλοτιμεῖσθαι συνάγειν, ὅτε καὶ σιωπώντων ἡμῶν αὐτὰ βοῶσι τοῖς ὦτα ψυχῆς κεκτημένοις τὰ πράγματα, τοῦτο ξένον ἀληθῶς καὶ παράδοξον καὶ ἕν μόνον ἐξ αἰῶνος τὸν κόσμον ἀνθρώπων ἐνηνοχέναι, καὶ τὸ ἀληθῶς παῖδα θεοῦ μόνον ἐξ αἰῶνος τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς ὦφθαι. ### English translation (Claude) And why should we strive to gather in words the divine powers of our Saviour that surpass every word, when, even if we are silent, the facts themselves cry out to those who have ears of the soul: that this truly strange and marvellous thing, unique in all the ages, has been borne by the world of men, and that the true Son of God alone in all the ages has been seen by those on earth? ### Scripture references - Luke 19:40: echo, low confidence ### Translation notes - 'Son' renders παῖδα. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 17.15 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-15). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 18.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-18-1 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eusebius turns to Constantine, who knows Christ's power by experience, through many visions and dreams. ### Greek text Περιττὰ δʼ ἂν καὶ ἄλλως <σοὶ> εἴη τὰ παρʼ ἡμῶν ὃς αὐτῇ τῇ πείρᾳ τῆς σωτηρίου θεότητος συναίσθησιν πολλάκις εἰληφώς, οὐ λόγοις ἀλλʼ ἔργοις αὐτοῖς κήρυξ ἅπασι τῆς ἀληθείας καθέστηκας· σὺ γὰρ ἡμῖν αὐτός, βασιλεῦ, σχολῆς δοθείσης εἴποις ἄν βουληθεὶς μυρίας τοῦ σοῦ σωτῆρος θεοφανείας, μυρίας καθʼ ὕπνους παρουσίας, ### English translation (Claude) But what we say would in any case be superfluous , who, having often received perception of the Saviour's deity by experience itself, have become a herald of the truth to all, not by words but by deeds themselves. For you yourself, O emperor, if leisure were given, could tell us, if you wished, of countless manifestations of your Saviour, countless presences in sleep, ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 1.28-32 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - '' is the editor's supplement, printed in angle brackets. On Constantine's visions see Life of Constantine 1.28–32. The sentence continues in 18.2. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 18.1 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/18-1). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 18.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-18-2 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ has guided Constantine's own reasoning for the common good. ### Greek text οὐ τὰς ἀπορρήτους ἡμῖν ὑποβολὰς αὐτοῦ φημι, τὰς δʼ ἐν αὐτῷ σοι λογισμῷ καταβαλλομένας καὶ περὶ τῶν ὅλων προνοίας τὰ κοινωφελῆ καὶ τὰ πάντη χρήσιμα παρατιθεμένας· ### English translation (Claude) I do not mean his secret suggestions to us, but those laid down in your very reasoning, setting before you, concerning the providence of the whole, what is of common benefit and useful in every way. ### Translation notes - The sentence is elliptical; translated by sense. The text reads λυγισμῷ for λογισμῷ and repeats περί. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 18.2 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/18-2). ## Tricennial Oration (In Praise of Constantine) 18.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-laus-constantini/17-1/#p-18-3 - Source: Heikel - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Constantine, knowing God's help in war and government, built the church at Christ's tomb as a trophy of the victory over death, proclaiming his faith to all. ### Greek text δʼ ἂν ἡμῖν τοῦ σοῦ προασπιστοῦ γε καὶ φύλακος θεοῦ διελεύσῃ τὰς ἐναργεῖς ἐν πολέμοις ἐπικουρίας, τὰς ἐχθρῶν καὶ ἐπιβούλων φθοράς, τὰς ἐν κινδύνοις δεξιώσεις, τὰς ἐν ἀπόροις εὐπορίας, τὰς ἐν ἐρημίαις ἀντιλήψεις, τὰς ἐν ἀμηχάνοις εὑρέσεις, τὰς τῶν μελλόντων προγνώσεις, τὰς περὶ τῶν καθόλου προμηθείας, τὰς περὶ τῶν ἀδήλων σκέψεις, τὰς περὶ τῶν μεγάλων ἐπιχειρήσεις, τὰς πολιτικὰς οἰκονομίας, τὰς τῶν στρατοπέδων διοικήσεις, τὰς καθʼ ἕκαστον διορθώσεις, τὰς περὶ τῶν κοινῶν διατάξεις, τὰς βιωφελεῖς νομοθεσίας. καταριθμήσεις δʼ ἂν ἀπαραλείπτως ἕκαστα τῶν ἡμᾶς μὲν λανθανόντων, σοὶ δʼ αὐτῷ μόνῳ γνωριζομένων καὶ ταῖς σαῖς βασιλικαῖς μνήμαις οἷα θησαυροῖς ἐν ἀπορρήτοις τεταμιευμένων. ὧν δὴ χάριν ἁπάντων εἰκότως, αὐτοῖς δὴ τούτοις λαμπροῖς τεκμηρίοις τῆς σωτηρίου δυνάμεως χρησάμενος, οἶκον εὐκτήριον τρόπαιον τῆς κατὰ τοῦ θανάτου νίκης αὐτοῦ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις πιστοῖς ἅμα καὶ ἀπίστοις ἀνέδειξας, νεών τε ἅγιον ἁγίου θεοῦ, ζωῆς τε ἀθανάτου καὶ βασιλείας ἐνθέου λαμπρὰ καὶ μεγάλα περικαλλῆ ἀφιερώματα, τὰ] πρέποντά γε εὖ μάλα καὶ οἰκεῖα βασιλεῖ νικητῇ, τοῦ παμβασιλέως σωτῆρος ἀναθήματα· ἅ δὴ τῷ τῆς ἀθανάτου ζωῆς μαρτυρίῳ τε καὶ μνήματι περιβέβληκας. τὸν οὐράνιον τοῦ θεοῦ λόγον νικητὴν καὶ τροπαιοῦχον βασιλικοῖς χαρακτῆρσιν ἐκτυπούμενος, πᾶσι τοῖς ἔθνεσι λαμπραῖς καὶ ἀνεπισκιάστοις φωναῖς ἔ τε καὶ λόφῳ, τὴν εὐσεβῆ καὶ φιλόθεον ὁμολογίαν προκηρύττων. ### English translation (Claude) [Who] could tell us, as you could go through, the clear aids in wars of God your champion and guardian, the destruction of enemies and plotters, the rescues in dangers, the provision in want, the help in desolation, the solutions in perplexity, the foreknowledge of things to come, the forethought for the whole, the examination of things unclear, the undertaking of great things, the civil administration, the ordering of the armies, the correction of each, the arrangements for the common good, the laws beneficial to life? You could count up without omission each of the things hidden from us but known to you alone, stored up in your royal memory as in secret treasuries. For all these reasons, fittingly, using these very brilliant proofs of the saving power, you have displayed to all people, believers and unbelievers alike, a house of prayer as a trophy of his victory over death, a holy temple of the holy God, splendid and great and most beautiful dedications of immortal life and divine kingdom, offerings most fitting and proper for a victorious emperor to the Saviour, King of all; and these you have placed around the witness and the tomb of immortal life. Engraving with royal characters the heavenly Word of God as victor and bearer of trophies, you proclaim to all the nations with brilliant and unclouded voices, in word and in deed, the pious and God-loving confession. ### Extrabiblical texts - Eusebius, Vit. Const. 3.25-40 (Life of Constantine): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The opening words are lost in the digital text ('[Who]' is supplied by sense). The digital text has a closing square bracket after τά with no opening bracket; if the editor bracketed τά as a deletion, it does not affect the sense. ἔ τε καὶ λόφῳ is garbled (probably ἔργῳ τε καὶ λόγῳ, 'in deed and word'); translated by sense. The church is that of the Holy Sepulchre. ### Citation (SBL) Eusebius, Laud. Const. 18.3 (Heikel; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/eusebius-laus-constantini/18-3).