Preparation for the Gospel 11.6.1–11.10.16
Greek text: Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 1 (Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 1–2 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1867), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: E. H. Gifford, Eusebii Pamphili Evangelicae Praeparationis libri XV (Oxford, 1903), vol. 3 (English).
Preparation 11, chapter 6
11.6.1Dindorf 2:9
Πρώτου Μώσεως μακρῷ πρόσθεν ἢ τὸ φιλοσοφίας ὄνομα εἰς Ἕλληνας ἐλθεῖν διὰ πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς γραφῆς μυρία περὶ τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων θέσεως πεπραγματευμένου, καὶ τοτὲ μὲν φυσικώτατα τῶν παρʼ αὐτῷ πάντων τὰς ἐπωνυμίας διατεταγμένου, τοτὲ δὲ τῷ θεῷ τὴν κρίσιν τῆς τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν μετωνυμίας ἀναθέντος, φύσει τε, ἀλλʼ οὐ θέσει τὰ ὀνόματα κατὰ τῶν πραγμάτων κεῖσθαι πεπαιδευκότος, ἑπόμενος ὁ Πλάτων συμφέρεται τοῖς αὐτοῖς, οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ βαρβάρων μνησθεὶς, καὶ παρὰ τοῖσδε φήσας τόνδε σώζεσθαι τὸν τρόπον, τάχα που τοὺς Ἑβραίους αἰνιττόμενος, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ παρʼ ἑτέροις βαρβάροις ῥᾴδιον τὴν τοιάνδε παραφυλάξαι θεωρίαν.
Prōtou Mōseōs makrǭ prosthen ē to philosophias onoma eis Hellēnas elthein dia pasēs autou tēs graphēs myria peri tēs tōn onomatōn theseōs pepragmateumenou, kai tote men physikōtata tōn parʼ autǭ pantōn tas epōnymias diatetagmenou, tote de tǭ theǭ tēn krisin tēs tōn eusebōn andrōn metōnymias anathentos, physei te, allʼ ou thesei ta onomata kata tōn pragmatōn keisthai pepaideukotos, hepomenos ho Platōn sympheretai tois autois, ouk allōs ē barbarōn mnēstheis, kai para toisde phēsas tonde sōzesthai ton tropon, tacha pou tous Hebraious ainittomenos, epei mēde parʼ heterois barbarois rhądion tēn toiande paraphylaxai theōrian.
Moses, long before the name of philosophy came to the Greeks, dealt in countless ways throughout his writing with the giving of names: sometimes arranging the names of all things in his account in a way most true to nature, sometimes leaving to God the decision to rename pious men, and teaching that names are attached to things by nature, not by convention. Plato follows him and agrees with the same views, mentioning none other than the barbarians and saying that this way is preserved among them, perhaps hinting at the Hebrews, since it is not easy to find such a theory kept among other barbarians.
Gen 17:5 (allusion, medium confidence) · Gen 32:28 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses taught that names belong to things by nature; Plato follows him.
- God’s renaming of pious men: e.g. Abram to Abraham (Gen 17:5), Jacob to Israel (Gen 32:28).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): Πρωτοῦ Μώσεως → Πρώτου Μώσεως; τἀς ἐπωνυμίας → τὰς ἐπωνυμίας; ἑπόμενος ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → ἑπόμενος ὁ Πλάτων; ῥᾀδιον → ῥᾴδιον.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.1 (Dindorf 2:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.2Dindorf 2:9–10
λέγει δʼ οὖν ἐν Κρατύλῳ “Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο εἶναι ὄνομα ὃ ἄν τινες συνθέμενοι καλεῖν καλῶσι, τῆς αὐτῶν φωνῆς μόριον ἐπιφθεγγό- μένοι, ἀλλʼ ὀρθότητά τινα τῶν ὀνομάτων πεφυκέναι καὶ Ἕλλησι καὶ βαρβάροις τὴν αὐτὴν ἅπασι.”
legei dʼ oun en Kratylǭ “Kai ou touto einai onoma ho an tines synthemenoi kalein kalōsi, tēs autōn phōnēs morion epiphthengo- menoi, allʼ orthotēta tina tōn onomatōn pephykenai kai Hellēsi kai barbarois tēn autēn hapasi.”
He says, then, in the Cratylus: “And that a name is not whatever some people agree to call a thing, uttering a piece of their own voice, but that there is by nature a certain correctness of names, the same for all, Greeks and barbarians.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: names have a natural correctness for Greeks and barbarians alike.
- Plato, Cratylus 383a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word repeated in the digital text): “Καὶ Καὶ οὐ → “Καὶ οὐ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 383a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.2 (Dindorf 2:9–10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.3Dindorf 2:10
Καὶ προιὼν ἑξῆς φησιν “Οὐκοῦν οὕτως ἀξιώσεις καὶ τὸν νομοθέτην τόν τε ἐνθάδε καὶ τὸν ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις, ἕως ἂν καὶ τὸ τοῦ ὀνόματος εἶδος ἀποδιδῷ τὸ προσῆκον ἑκάστῳ ἐν ὁποιαισοῦν συλλαβαῖς, οὐδὲν χείρω νομοθέτην εἶναι τὸν ἐνθάδε ἢ τὸν ὁπουοῦν ἄλλοθι.”
Kai proiōn hexēs phēsin “Oukoun houtōs axiōseis kai ton nomothetēn ton te enthade kai ton en tois barbarois, heōs an kai to tou onomatos eidos apodidǭ to prosēkon hekastǭ en hopoiaisoun syllabais, ouden cheirō nomothetēn einai ton enthade ē ton hopououn allothi.”
And going on further he says: “Then will you not consider that the lawgiver, both the one here and the one among the barbarians, so long as he gives the form of the name proper to each thing in whatever syllables, is no worse a lawgiver, the one here than the one anywhere else?”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: the namegiver among barbarians is as good as the Greek one.
- Plato, Cratylus 390a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; word repeated and quotation mark misread in the digital text): Ὅὐκοῦν οὕτως οὕτως → “Οὐκοῦν οὕτως; ἴως ἂν → ἕως ἂν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 390a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.3 (Dindorf 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.4Dindorf 2:10
Εἶθʼ ἑξῆς πάλιν τὸν ἐπιστήμονα τῆς ὀρθότητος τῶν ὀνομάτων διαλεκτικὸν εἶναι φήσας καὶ νομοθέτην οὕτω λέγει “Τέκτονος μὲν ἄρα ἔργον ἐστὶν τὸ ποιῆσαι πηδάλιον ἐπιστατοῦντος κυβερνήτου, εἰ μέλλει καλὸν εἶναι τὸ πηδάλιον. Φαίνεται.
Eithʼ hexēs palin ton epistēmona tēs orthotētos tōn onomatōn dialektikon einai phēsas kai nomothetēn houtō legei “Tektonos men ara ergon estin to poiēsai pēdalion epistatountos kybernētou, ei mellei kalon einai to pēdalion. Phainetai.
Then next, saying again that the one who knows the correctness of names is the dialectician and the lawgiver, he speaks thus: “It is the carpenter’s work, then, to make a rudder, with a helmsman supervising, if the rudder is to be good. — So it seems.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: as the helmsman directs the rudder-maker, the dialectician directs the namegiver.
- Plato, Cratylus 390c–d.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 390c–d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.4 (Dindorf 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.5Dindorf 2:10
Νομοθέτου δέ γε, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὄνομα, ἐπιστάτην ἔχοντος διαλεκτικὸν ἄνδρα, εἰ μέλλοι καλῶς ὄνομα τεθήσεσθαι. Ἔστι ταῦτα. Κινδυνεύει ἄρα, ὦ Ἑρμόγενες, εἶναι οὐ φαῦλον, ὡς σὺ οἴει, ἡ τοῦ ὀνόματος θέσις, οὐδὲ φαύλων ἀνδρῶν, οὐδὲ τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων. καὶ Κρατύλος ἀληθῆ λέγει, λέγων φύσει τὰ ὀνόματα εἶναι τοῖς πράγμασι, καὶ οὐ πάντα δημιουργὸν ὀνομάτων εἶναι, ἀλλὰ μόνον ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἀποβλέποντα εἰς τὸ τῇ φύσει ὄνομα ὂν ἑκάστῳ, καὶ δυνάμενον αὐτοῦ τὸ εἶδος τιθέναι εἰς τά τε γράμματα καὶ τὰς συλλαβάς.”
Nomothetou de ge, hōs eoiken, onoma, epistatēn echontos dialektikon andra, ei melloi kalōs onoma tethēsesthai. Esti tauta. Kindyneuei ara, ō Hermogenes, einai ou phaulon, hōs sy oiei, hē tou onomatos thesis, oude phaulōn andrōn, oude tōn epitychontōn. kai Kratylos alēthē legei, legōn physei ta onomata einai tois pragmasi, kai ou panta dēmiourgon onomatōn einai, alla monon ekeinon ton apobleponta eis to tę̄ physei onoma on hekastǭ, kai dynamenon autou to eidos tithenai eis ta te grammata kai tas syllabas.”
— And the lawgiver’s work, it seems, is a name, with a dialectician as supervisor, if a name is to be well given. — That is so. — It seems, then, Hermogenes, that the giving of names is not a trivial matter, as you think, nor one for trivial men or for anyone who happens along. And Cratylus is right in saying that names belong to things by nature, and that not everyone is a craftsman of names, but only he who looks to the name that belongs by nature to each thing and is able to put its form into letters and syllables.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: names belong to things by nature, and only the wise can give them.
- Plato, Cratylus 390d–e.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (page subdivision letter leaked into the digital text): ἐπιστάτην c ἔχοντος → ἐπιστάτην ἔχοντος.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 390d–e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.5 (Dindorf 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.6Dindorf 2:10
Τοσαῦτα εἰπὼν μετὰ πλεῖστα βαρβάρων αὐθις ἀναφέρει τὴν μνήμην, κἄπειτα εἰς Ἕλληνας παρὰ βαρβάρων ἥκειν τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων διαρρήδην ὁμολογεῖ, φάσκων αὐτοῖς ῥήμασιν
Tosauta eipōn meta pleista barbarōn authis anapherei tēn mnēmēn, kapeita eis Hellēnas para barbarōn hēkein ta polla tōn onomatōn diarrēdēn homologei, phaskōn autois rhēmasin
Having said this much, after a great deal more he again mentions the barbarians, and then plainly admits that many names came to the Greeks from barbarians, saying in these words:
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato admits that many Greek names came from barbarians.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): διαρρήν → διαρρήδην.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.6 (Dindorf 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.7Dindorf 2:10–11
“Ἐννοῶ ὅτι πολλὰ Ἕλληνες ὀνόματα, ἄλλως τε καὶ οἱ ὑπὸ τοῖς βαρβάροις οἰκοῦντες, παρὰ τῶν βαρβάρων εἰλήφασι. Τί οὖν δή; Εἴ τις ζητοίη ταῦτα κατὰ τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν φωνὴν ὡς ἐοικότως κεῖται, ἀλλὰ μὴ κατʼ ἐκείνην ἐξ ἧς τὸ ὄνομα τυγχάνει ὂν, οἶσθα ὅτι ἀποροίη ἄν. Εἰκότως.”
“Ennoō hoti polla Hellēnes onomata, allōs te kai hoi hypo tois barbarois oikountes, para tōn barbarōn eilēphasi. Ti oun dē? Ei tis zētoiē tauta kata tēn Hellēnikēn phōnēn hōs eoikotōs keitai, alla mē katʼ ekeinēn ex hēs to onoma tynchanei on, oistha hoti aporoiē an. Eikotōs.”
“I notice that the Greeks, especially those living under the barbarians, have taken many names from the barbarians. — What then? — If one were to look for how these are fittingly given according to the Greek language, and not according to that from which the name comes, you know that he would be at a loss. — Naturally.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: borrowed names must be explained from their original language.
- Plato, Cratylus 409d–e.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 409d–e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.7 (Dindorf 2:10–11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.8Dindorf 2:11
Ταῦτα ὁ Πλάτωνʼ. φθάνει γε μὴν αὐτὸν Μωυσῆς, ὃς οἶα δὴ σοφὸς νομοθέτης ὢν ὁμοῦ καὶ διαλεκτικὸς ἐπάκουσον τί φησί. “καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ, ἰδεῖν τί καλέσει αὐτά. καὶ πᾶν ὃ ἂν ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ Ἀδὰμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν, τοῦτο ἦν ὄνομα αὐτοῦ.’’
Tauta ho Platōnʼ. phthanei ge mēn auton Mōysēs, hos oia dē sophos nomothetēs ōn homou kai dialektikos epakouson ti phēsi. “kai eplasen ho theos ek tēs gēs panta ta thēria tou agrou kai panta ta peteina tou ouranou, kai ēgagen auta pros ton Adam, idein ti kalesei auta. kai pan ho an ekalesen auto Adam psychēn zōsan, touto ēn onoma autou.’’
So Plato. But Moses anticipated him; hear what he says, as a wise lawgiver and dialectician alike: “And God formed out of the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of heaven, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.”
Gen 2:19 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses anticipated Plato in the naming of the animals by Adam.
- Gen 2:19, following the Septuagint.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Νωυσῆς → Μωυσῆς.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.8 (Dindorf 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.9Dindorf 2:11
διὰ γὰρ τοῦ φάναι τοῦτο ἦν ὄνομα αὐτοῦ” τί ἄλλο ἢ κατὰ φύσιν τεθεῖσθαι τὰς προσηγορίας παρίστησι; τὸ γὰρ ἐπικληθὲν ἄρτι, φησὶ, τοῦτο καὶ πάλαι πρότερον ἐν τῇ φύσει περιέχεσθαι, εἶναί (??) κ. αὶ προυπάρχειν ἑκάστῳ τῶν ἐπωνομασμένων ὢ τοῦτο ὄνομα, ὅπερ ὁ δηλούμενος ἄνθρωπος ἐπιθειάσας δυνάμει κρείττονι τέθειται.
dia gar tou phanai touto ēn onoma autou” ti allo ē kata physin tetheisthai tas prosēgorias paristēsi? to gar epiklēthen arti, phēsi, touto kai palai proteron en tę̄ physei periechesthai, einai (??) k. ai prouparchein hekastǭ tōn epōnomasmenōn ō touto onoma, hoper ho dēloumenos anthrōpos epitheiasas dynamei kreittoni tetheitai.
For by saying “that was its name,” what else does he show but that the names were given according to nature? For what was then called by a name, he says, was also contained long before in nature, and this name, which the man in question, inspired by a higher power, gave, existed and pre-existed for each of the things named.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Gen 2:19 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Adam’s names expressed what was already in the nature of things.
- The digital text is damaged in the middle of the section (“εἶναί (??) κ. αὶ”); translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (comma missing in the digital text): φησὶ τοῦτο → φησὶ, τοῦτο.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.9 (Dindorf 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.10Dindorf 2:11
καὶ αὐτὸ δὲ τὸ Ἀδὰμ, Ἑβραῖον ὑπάρχον ὄνομα, παρὰ τῷ Μωσεῖ τοῦ γηγενοῦς ἀνθρώπου γένοιτʼ ἂν ἐπώνυμον, ὅτι δὴ παρʼ Ἑβραίοις Ἀδὰμ ἡ γῆ καλεῖται, παρʼ ὃ καὶ ὁ πρῶτος γηγενὴς ἐτύμως Ἀδὰμ ὑπὸ Μώσεως ἀνείρηται.
kai auto de to Adam, Hebraion hyparchon onoma, para tǭ Mōsei tou gēgenous anthrōpou genoitʼ an epōnymon, hoti dē parʼ Hebraiois Adam hē gē kaleitai, parʼ ho kai ho prōtos gēgenēs etymōs Adam hypo Mōseōs aneirētai.
And Adam itself, a Hebrew name, would in Moses be the name of the earth-born man, since among the Hebrews the earth is called adam; from which the first earth-born man was fittingly named Adam by Moses.
Gen 2:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Adam is named from the earth.
- Eusebius links ʾādām (“man”) with ʾădāmâ (“ground”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Greek misread as Latin letters in the digital text): Ἀδὰμ ἡ yrj καλεῖται → Ἀδὰμ ἡ γῆ καλεῖται.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.10 (Dindorf 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.11Dindorf 2:11
ἔχοι δʼ ἂν καὶ ἄλλην ἡ προσηγορία διάνοιαν, εἰς τὸ ἐρυθρὸν μεταλαμβανομένη καὶ τὴν τοῦ σώματος παριστῶσα φύσιν. ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν γεώδη καὶ γήινον καὶ γηγενῆ, ἢ τὸν σωματικὸν καὶ σάρκινον ἄνθρωπον, τῷ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐπεσημήνατο προσρήματι.
echoi dʼ an kai allēn hē prosēgoria dianoian, eis to erythron metalambanomenē kai tēn tou sōmatos paristōsa physin. alla ton men geōdē kai gēinon kai gēgenē, ē ton sōmatikon kai sarkinon anthrōpon, tǭ tou Adam epesēmēnato prosrēmati.
The name could also have another sense, translated as “red,” and showing the nature of the body. But by the name Adam he indicated the earthy, terrestrial, and earth-born man, or the bodily and fleshly man.
Notes and citation
Summary: Adam may also mean “red”; it signifies the bodily man.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter in the digital text): σάρκινον ὢ ἄνθρωπον → σάρκινον ἄνθρωπον.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.11 (Dindorf 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.12Dindorf 2:11–12
καλοῦσι δὲ καὶ ἄλλως παῖδες Ἑβραίων τὸν ἄνθρωπον, Ἐνὼς ἐπονομάζοντες, ὃν δή φασιν εἶναι τὸν ἐν ἡμῖν λογικὸν, ἕτερον ὄντα τὴν φύσιν τοῦ γεώδους Ἀδάμ. διάνοιαν δὲ περιέχει καὶ ὁ Ἐνὼς οἰκείαν, ἐπιλήσμων τῇ Ἑλλήνων ἑρμηνευόμενος φωνῇ.
kalousi de kai allōs paides Hebraiōn ton anthrōpon, Enōs eponomazontes, hon dē phasin einai ton en hēmin logikon, heteron onta tēn physin tou geōdous Adam. dianoian de periechei kai ho Enōs oikeian, epilēsmōn tę̄ Hellēnōn hermēneuomenos phōnę̄.
But the sons of the Hebrews also call man by another name, Enos, which they say is the rational part in us, different in nature from the earthy Adam. And Enos too has its own meaning, being translated into Greek as “forgetful.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Enos, another Hebrew word for man, means the rational but forgetful part.
- Hebrew ʾĕnôš (“man”), here linked with a root meaning “to forget”; the etymology is Eusebius’s.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): τὸν ἅνθρωπον → τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.12 (Dindorf 2:11–12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.13Dindorf 2:12
τοιοὐτον δὲ πέφυκεν ὑπάρχειν τὸ ἐν ἡμῖν λογικὸν, τῆς πρὸς τὸ θνητὸν καὶ ἄλογον συμπλοκῆς ἕνεκα. τὸ μὲν γὰρ πάντη καθαρὸν καὶ ἀσώματον καὶ θεῖον καὶ λογικὸν οὐ μόνον τῶν πρόσθεν γενομένων τὴν μνήμην, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι τὴν γνῶσιν, διʼ ἄκραν ἀρετὴν θεωρίας περιείληφε. τὸ δʼ ἐν σαρξὶ πεπιλημένον, ὀστέοις τε καὶ νεύροις καταπεπαρμένον, ὄγκον τε μέγαν καὶ βαρὺν ἐπηχθισμένον τὸ σῶμα, λήθης πολλῆς καὶ ἀμαθίας συνιδὼν ὁ Ἑβραίοις λόγιος εὐθυβόλῳ κέκληκε προσρήματι Ἐνὼς ἐπονομάσας, ὅπερ δηλοῖ τὸν ἐπιλήσμονα.
toiouton de pephyken hyparchein to en hēmin logikon, tēs pros to thnēton kai alogon symplokēs heneka. to men gar pantē katharon kai asōmaton kai theion kai logikon ou monon tōn prosthen genomenōn tēn mnēmēn, alla kai tōn mellontōn esesthai tēn gnōsin, diʼ akran aretēn theōrias perieilēphe. to dʼ en sarxi pepilēmenon, osteois te kai neurois katapeparmenon, onkon te megan kai baryn epēchthismenon to sōma, lēthēs pollēs kai amathias synidōn ho Hebraiois logios euthybolǭ keklēke prosrēmati Enōs eponomasas, hoper dēloi ton epilēsmona.
Such by nature is the rational part in us, because of its union with what is mortal and irrational. For what is wholly pure, incorporeal, divine, and rational embraces, through the height of its virtue in contemplation, not only the memory of what has gone before but also the knowledge of what is to come. But what is packed into flesh, pinned down by bones and sinews, and weighed down by the great heavy mass of the body, the inspired writer of the Hebrews, seeing its great forgetfulness and ignorance, called by an apt name, Enos, which means “forgetful.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The embodied mind is forgetful, hence called Enos.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (doubled comma in the digital text): τὴν μνήμην,, → τὴν μνήμην,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.13 (Dindorf 2:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.14Dindorf 2:12
κεῖται γοῦν παρά τινι προφήτῃ “τί ἐστιν ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι μιμνήσκῃ αὐτοῦ; ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν; ἀνθʼ οὗ τὸ Ἑβραϊκὸν ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς πρώτης τοῦ ἀνθρώπου κλήσεως τὸ Ἐνὼς περιείληφεν, ὡσεὶ ἔλεγε σαφέστερον, τί οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπιλήσμων, ὅτι σὺ, ὦ θεὲ, μιμνήσκῃ αὐτοῦ, καίπερ ὄντος ἐπιλήσμονος;
keitai goun para tini prophētę̄ “ti estin anthrōpos, hoti mimnēskę̄ autou? ē huios anthrōpou, hoti episkeptę̄ auton? anthʼ hou to Hebraïkon epi men tēs prōtēs tou anthrōpou klēseōs to Enōs perieilēphen, hōsei elege saphesteron, ti houtos estin ho epilēsmōn, hoti sy, ō thee, mimnēskę̄ autou, kaiper ontos epilēsmonos?
In a certain prophet, at any rate, it is written: “What is man, that you remember him? Or the son of man, that you visit him?” Here the Hebrew has Enos for the first name of man, as if he were saying more clearly, “What is this forgetful one, that you, O God, remember him, although he is forgetful?”
Ps 8:4 (8:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 8 uses Enos: God remembers the forgetful one.
- Ps 8:4 (8:5 in the Hebrew and Septuagint numbering).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ὠ θεὲ → ὦ θεὲ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.14 (Dindorf 2:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.15Dindorf 2:12
τὸ δὲ ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόνʼ’ “ ἢ υἱὸς Ἀδάμʼ’ κεῖται παρὰ τοῖς δηλουμένοις, ὡς εἶναι τὸν αὐτὸν καὶ Ἀδὰμ καὶ Ἐνὼς, τοῦ μὲν σαρκικοῦ διὰ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ, τοῦ δὲ λογικοῦ διὰ τοῦ Ἐνὼς παρισταμένου.
to de ē huios anthrōpou, hoti episkeptę̄ autonʼ’ “ ē huios Adamʼ’ keitai para tois dēloumenois, hōs einai ton auton kai Adam kai Enōs, tou men sarkikou dia tou Adam, tou de logikou dia tou Enōs paristamenou.
And for “or the son of man, that you visit him,” the Hebrew text has “or the son of Adam”; so that the same being is both Adam and Enos, the fleshly being shown by Adam, the rational by Enos.
Ps 8:4 (8:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Adam and Enos name the fleshly and rational sides of the same man.
- Ps 8:4b (Hebrew ben-ʾādām).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.15 (Dindorf 2:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.16Dindorf 2:12–13
Καὶ τὰ μὲν Ἑβραίων λόγια οὕτω πως διαιρεῖ τὴν ἐτυμολογίαν· ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῇ Ἑλλήνων φωνῇ παρὰ τὸ ἀναθρεῖν φησι κεκλῆσθαι λέγων “Ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἅμα ἑώρακε, τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ὄπωπε, καὶ ἀναθρεῖ καὶ λογίζεται τοῦτο ὃ ὄπωπεν, ἴʼ, ἔνα ᾖ ἀναθρῶν ἃ ὄπωπε.”
Kai ta men Hebraiōn logia houtō pōs diairei tēn etymologian; ho de Platōn ton anthrōpon tę̄ Hellēnōn phōnę̄ para to anathrein phēsi keklēsthai legōn “Ho de anthrōpos hama heōrake, touto de estin opōpe, kai anathrei kai logizetai touto ho opōpen, iʼ, ena ę̄ anathrōn ha opōpe.”
So the oracles of the Hebrews divide the etymology. But Plato says that in Greek man (anthrōpos) is so called from anathrein (“looking up”), saying: “Man, as soon as he has seen, that is, opōpe, also looks up at (anathrei) and reasons about what he has seen; hence he alone of the animals is rightly named anthrōpos, anathrōn ha opōpe (“looking up at what he has seen”).”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato derives anthrōpos from “looking up at what he has seen.”
- Plato, Cratylus 399c. The end of the quotation is damaged in the digital text; translated with the sense of Plato’s text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ὁ δὲ Πλάτωνʼ τὸν ἄνθρωπον → ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τὸν ἄνθρωπον.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 399c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.16 (Dindorf 2:12–13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.17Dindorf 2:13
πάλιν Ἑβραῖοι τὸν ἄνδρα εἶς καλοῦσι. παρῆκται δὲ αὐτοῖς τοὔνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἒς, διʼ οὗ σημαίνουσι τὸ πῦρ, ἵνα ᾖ παρὰ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ διάπυρον τῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς φύσεως ὁ ἀνὴρ ὠνομασμένος.
palin Hebraioi ton andra eis kalousi. parēktai de autois tounoma apo tou es, diʼ hou sēmainousi to pyr, hina ę̄ para to thermon kai diapyron tēs tou andros physeōs ho anēr ōnomasmenos.
Again, the Hebrews call a man (male) eis. The name is derived by them from es, by which they mean fire, so that the man is named from the heat and fiery quality of male nature.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrew word for man is linked with fire.
- Hebrew ʾîš (“man”), linked with ʾēš (“fire”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): διάξπυρξον → διάπυρον.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.17 (Dindorf 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.18Dindorf 2:13
ἡ δὲ γυνὴ, ἐπείπερ εἴρηται ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἰλῆφθαι, καὶ τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐπικοινωνεῖ τῷ ἀνδρί. ἔς σὰ γὰρ ἡ γυνὴ λέγεται παρʼ αὐτοῖς, ὥσπερ εἶς ὁ ἀνήρ. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τὸν ἄνδρα παρὰ τὴν ἄνω ῥοὴν ὀνομάζεσθαι λέγει· καὶ ἐπιλέγει “Ἡ δὲ γυνὴ γονή μοι φαίνεται βούλεσθαι εἶναι.”
hē de gynē, epeiper eirētai ek tou andros eilēphthai, kai tēn prosēgorian epikoinōnei tǭ andri. es sa gar hē gynē legetai parʼ autois, hōsper eis ho anēr. ho de Platōn ton andra para tēn anō rhoēn onomazesthai legei; kai epilegei “Hē de gynē gonē moi phainetai boulesthai einai.”
And the woman, since she is said to have been taken from the man, shares her name with the man; for among them the woman is called essa, as the man is eis. But Plato says that anēr (man) is named from anō rhoē (“upward flow”), and adds: “And gynē (woman) seems to me to mean gonē (birth).”
Gen 2:23 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The woman is named from the man; Plato derives the Greek words differently.
- Gen 2:23 (ʾiššâ from ʾîš); Plato, Cratylus 414a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ὁ δὲ Πλάτωνʼ τὸν ἄνδρα → ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τὸν ἄνδρα.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 414a (Plato (works); quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.18 (Dindorf 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.19Dindorf 2:13
πάλιν Μώσης τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐτύμως τῇ Ἑβραίων γλώσσῃ “ στερέωμα προσαγορεύει, παρὰ τὸ πρῶτον εἶναι μετὰ τὴν ἀσώματον καὶ νοερὰν οὐσίαν τοῦδε τοῦ κόσμου στερεὸν καὶ αἰσθητὸν σῶμα. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τῷ οὐρανῷ φησιν ὀρθῶς ὄνομα κεῖσθαι διὰ τὸ ἄνω ὁρᾶν ποιεῖν.
palin Mōsēs ton ouranon etymōs tę̄ Hebraiōn glōssę̄ “ stereōma prosagoreuei, para to prōton einai meta tēn asōmaton kai noeran ousian toude tou kosmou stereon kai aisthēton sōma. ho de Platōn tǭ ouranǭ phēsin orthōs onoma keisthai dia to anō horan poiein.
Again, Moses fittingly calls heaven in the Hebrew tongue “firmament,” because it is the first solid and sensible body of this world after the incorporeal and intellectual substance. But Plato says that heaven (ouranos) is rightly named because it makes us look upward (ano horan).
Gen 1:8 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses calls heaven the firmament; Plato derives ouranos from looking upward.
- Gen 1:6–8; Plato, Cratylus 396b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ὁ δὲ Πλάτωνʼ τῷ οὐρανῷ → ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τῷ οὐρανῷ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 396b–c (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.19 (Dindorf 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.20Dindorf 2:13
πάλιν Ἑβραῖοι τὸ μὲν ἀνωτάτω τοῦ θεοῦ κύριον ὄνομα ἄρρητον εἶναι καὶ ἄφθεγκτον, οὐδὲ φαντασίᾳ διανοίας ληπτὸν εἶναί φασιν· αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καθʼ ὃ θεὸν ὀνομάζομεν Ἐλωεὶμ καλοῦσι, παρὰ τὸ ἢλ, ὡς ἔοικε· τοῦτο δὲ ἑρμηνεύουσιν ἰσχὺν καὶ δύναμιν· ὥστʼ εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ τοὔνομα παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀμφὶ αὐτὸν δυνάμεως τε καὶ ἰσχύος ἐπιλελογισμένον, διʼ ἧς νοεῖται παντοδύναμος καὶ πάντα ἰσχύων, ὡς ἂν τὰ πάντα συστησάμενος. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων θεὸν καὶ θεοὺς παρὰ τὸ θέειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τρέχειν, τοὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ φωστῆρας ἐπικεκλῆσθαί φησι.
palin Hebraioi to men anōtatō tou theou kyrion onoma arrēton einai kai aphthenkton, oude phantasią dianoias lēpton einai phasin; auto de touto kathʼ ho theon onomazomen Elōeim kalousi, para to ēl, hōs eoike; touto de hermēneuousin ischyn kai dynamin; hōstʼ einai tou theou tounoma parʼ autois apo tēs amphi auton dynameōs te kai ischyos epilelogismenon, diʼ hēs noeitai pantodynamos kai panta ischyōn, hōs an ta panta systēsamenos. ho de Platōn theon kai theous para to theein, hoper esti trechein, tous en ouranǭ phōstēras epikeklēsthai phēsi.
Again, the Hebrews say that the highest proper name of God is unspeakable and unutterable, not to be grasped even by the imagination of the mind. That by which we name him God they call Eloeim, from el, it seems, which they interpret as “strength” and “power”; so that the name of God among them is derived from the power and strength about him, through which he is understood as almighty and all-powerful, since he constituted all things. But Plato says that the heavenly luminaries were called theos and theoi (gods) from thein, that is, “to run.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews name God from his power; Plato derives theos from “running.”
- Plato, Cratylus 397c–d.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray mark in the digital text): ἄθθεγκτον → ἄφθεγκτον; ὁ δὲ Πλάτωνʼ θεὸν → ὁ δὲ Πλάτων θεὸν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 397c–d (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.20 (Dindorf 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.21Dindorf 2:13–14
Τοιαῦτα δή τινα, ὡς ἐν τύπῳ φάναι, τὰ παρʼ Ἑβραίοις καὶ τὰ παρὰ Πλάτωνι περὶ ὀρθότητος ὀνομάτων διηκρίβωται. καὶ τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις δὲ προσηγορίας μετά τινος διανοίας φησὶν ὁ Πλάτων τεθεῖσθαι, καὶ τόν γε λόγον ἀποδιδόναι πειρᾶται, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως τὸν Ἕκτορα κεκλῆσθαι εἰπὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔχειν καὶ κρατεῖν, διὰ τὸ βασιλέα εἶναι τῶν Τρώων, τὸν δὲ Ἀγαμέμνονα διὰ τὸ ἄγαν μένειν, καὶ τοῖς δόξασι περὶ τῶν Τρώων εὐτόνως καὶ καρτερῶς παραμένειν· τὸν δὲ Ὀρέστην διὰ τὸ ὀρεινὸν καὶ ἄγριον καὶ θηριῶδες τοῦ τρόπου· καὶ τὸν μὲν Ἀτρέα διὰ τὸ ἀτηρόν τινα γεγονέναι τὸ ἦθος· τὸν δὲ Πέλοπα οἶόν τινα οὐ τὰ πόρρω, ἀλλὰ μόνα τὰ πέλας καὶ ἐγγὺς ὁρῶντα· τὸν δὲ Τάνταλον ταλάντατον τινά φησι, διὰ τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν δυστυχήματα, σημαίνειν.
Toiauta dē tina, hōs en typǭ phanai, ta parʼ Hebraiois kai ta para Platōni peri orthotētos onomatōn diēkribōtai. kai tas en anthrōpois de prosēgorias meta tinos dianoias phēsin ho Platōn tetheisthai, kai ton ge logon apodidonai peiratai, ouk oidʼ hopōs ton Hektora keklēsthai eipōn apo tou echein kai kratein, dia to basilea einai tōn Trōōn, ton de Agamemnona dia to agan menein, kai tois doxasi peri tōn Trōōn eutonōs kai karterōs paramenein; ton de Orestēn dia to oreinon kai agrion kai thēriōdes tou tropou; kai ton men Atrea dia to atēron tina gegonenai to ēthos; ton de Pelopa oion tina ou ta porrō, alla mona ta pelas kai engys horōnta; ton de Tantalon talantaton tina phēsi, dia ta peri auton dystychēmata, sēmainein.
Such, in outline, are the precise views of the Hebrews and of Plato on the correctness of names. Plato also says that the names of men were given with some meaning, and tries to give the reason, saying, I do not know how, that Hector was so called from holding (echein) and ruling, because he was king of the Trojans; Agamemnon from remaining exceedingly (agan menein), steadfastly and firmly persisting in his decisions about Troy; Orestes from the mountain-like (oreinon), wild and beastly character of his ways; Atreus because he had a baneful (atēros) character; Pelops as one who sees not far things but only things near (pelas); and Tantalus, he says, means one most wretched (talantatos), because of his misfortunes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s etymologies of heroes’ names.
- Plato, Cratylus 393a–395e.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text; word split in the digital text): φησὶν ὁ Πλάτωνʼ τεθεῖσθαι → φησὶν ὁ Πλάτων τεθεῖσθαι; Ἀτρέα δʼ ἰὰ τὸ → Ἀτρέα διὰ τὸ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 393a–395e (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.21 (Dindorf 2:13–14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.22Dindorf 2:14
ταῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα μυρία ἄλλα εὕροις ἂν εἰρημένα τῷ Πλάτωνι, φύσει τεθεῖσθαι, ἀλλʼ οὐ θέσει τοῖς πρώτοις τὰ ὀνόματα διδάσκειν πειρωμένῳ.
tauta kai toiauta myria alla heurois an eirēmena tǭ Platōni, physei tetheisthai, allʼ ou thesei tois prōtois ta onomata didaskein peirōmenǭ.
These and countless other such things you will find said by Plato, as he tries to teach that names were given to the first men by nature and not by convention.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s etymologies aim to show that names are natural.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.22 (Dindorf 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.23Dindorf 2:14
ἀλλʼ οὐ καὶ τὰ παρὰ Μωσεῖ βεβιασμένα ἂν εἴποις, οὐδέ γε κατά τινα σοφιστικὴν εὑρεσιλογίαν πεποιημένα, μαθὼν ὡς ὁ μὲν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις Κάϊν “ζῆλος” παρʼ Ἕλλησι μεταλαμβάνεται, τούτου δʼ ἠξιώθη τοῦ προσρήματος ὁ δηλούμενος διὰ τὸ ζηλῶσαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν Ἄβελ.
allʼ ou kai ta para Mōsei bebiasmena an eipois, oude ge kata tina sophistikēn heuresilogian pepoiēmena, mathōn hōs ho men parʼ Hebraiois Kaïn “zēlos” parʼ Hellēsi metalambanetai, toutou dʼ ēxiōthē tou prosrēmatos ho dēloumenos dia to zēlōsai ton adelphon ton Abel.
But you would not call Moses’ explanations forced, or made up by some sophistical play with words, when you learn that the Hebrew Cain is translated by the Greeks as “jealousy,” and that he was judged worthy of this name because he was jealous of his brother Abel.
Gen 4:1 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Cain means “jealousy.”
- Gen 4:1–8. The meaning given for Cain is Eusebius’s (the text itself links the name with “acquire,” Gen 4:1).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; quotation marks damaged in the digital text): Κάϊν ζῆλοςʼ’ → Κάϊν “ζῆλος”; προσρήματός ὁ → προσρήματος ὁ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.23 (Dindorf 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.24Dindorf 2:14
καὶ ὁ Ἄβελ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται “ πένθος”, τοῦ τοιοῦδε πάθους γεγονὼς καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς γονεῦσιν αἴτιος, οἳ κατά τινα θειοτέραν προμήθειαν γενομένοις τοῖς παισὶ ταύτας τέθεινται τὰς ἐπωνυμίας.
kai ho Abel de hermēneuetai “ penthos”, tou toioude pathous gegonōs kai autos tois goneusin aitios, hoi kata tina theioteran promētheian genomenois tois paisi tautas tetheintai tas epōnymias.
And Abel is translated “mourning,” since he too became the cause of such grief to his parents, who by some more divine foresight gave these names to their children when they were born.
Gen 4:2 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Abel means “mourning.”
- Gen 4:2.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.24 (Dindorf 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.25Dindorf 2:14
τί δʼ εἴ σοι τὸν Ἁβραὰμ παραφέροιμι; μετεωρολόγος τις οὗτος καὶ τῆς τῶν ἄστρων θεωρίας τῶν τε κατʼ οὐρανὸν μαθημάτων εἰδήμων τὸ πρὶν, ὅτε τῆς Χαλδαικῆς μετεποιεῖτο σοφίας, γεγονὼς Ἅβραμ ἐκαλεῖτο· τοῦτο δʼ Ἑλλήνων φωνῇ πατέρα μετέωρον σημαίνει.
ti dʼ ei soi ton Habraam parapheroimi? meteōrologos tis houtos kai tēs tōn astrōn theōrias tōn te katʼ ouranon mathēmatōn eidēmōn to prin, hote tēs Chaldaikēs metepoieito sophias, gegonōs Habram ekaleito; touto dʼ Hellēnōn phōnę̄ patera meteōron sēmainei.
And what if I were to bring before you Abraham? Formerly, when he was pursuing the wisdom of the Chaldeans, he was a student of the heavens, skilled in observing the stars and in the sciences of the sky, and he was called Abram, which in the Greek tongue means “lofty father.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Abram, the Chaldean star-gazer, means “lofty father.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (doubled comma in the digital text): σοφίας,, → σοφίας,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.25 (Dindorf 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.26Dindorf 2:14–15
ἀλλʼ ὁ θεός γε αὐτὸν τῶν τῇδε ἐπὶ τὰ ἀφανῆ καὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐπέκεινα προάγων εὐθυβόλῳ κέχρηται μετωνυμίᾳ, Οὐκέτι, φήσας, κληθήσεται τὸ ὄνομά σου Ἅβραμ, ἀλλὰ Ἄβραὰμ ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὅτι πατέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε.
allʼ ho theos ge auton tōn tę̄de epi ta aphanē kai tōn horōmenōn epekeina proagōn euthybolǭ kechrētai metōnymią, Ouketi, phēsas, klēthēsetai to onoma sou Habram, alla Abraam estai to onoma sou, hoti patera pollōn ethnōn tetheika se.
But God, leading him from things here to things unseen and beyond the visible, used a fitting change of name, saying, “Your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you father of many nations.”
Gen 17:5 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God renamed Abram Abraham.
- Gen 17:5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; page subdivision letter leaked into the digital text): καὶ τόν ὁρωμένων → καὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων; πολλῶν d ἐθνῶν → πολλῶν ἐθνῶν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.26 (Dindorf 2:14–15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-26). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.27Dindorf 2:15
τοῦτο δʼ ὁποίας ἔχεται διανοίας μακρὸς ἂν εἴη λόγος. ἀπαρκεῖ δὲ κἀν τούτῳ τὸν Πλάτωνα μάρτυρα τοῦ λόγου παραθέσθαι, ὑπὸ θειοτέρας δυνάμεως ἔνια τῶν ὀνομάτων τεθεῖσθαι φάμενον. λέγει δʼ οὖν αὐτοῖς ῥήμασιν
touto dʼ hopoias echetai dianoias makros an eiē logos. aparkei de kan toutǭ ton Platōna martyra tou logou parathesthai, hypo theioteras dynameōs enia tōn onomatōn tetheisthai phamenon. legei dʼ oun autois rhēmasin
What sense this has would be a long story. It is enough here to cite Plato as a witness to the point, saying that some names were given by a more divine power. He says, then, in these words:
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato too says some names come from a divine power.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.27 (Dindorf 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-27). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.28Dindorf 2:15
“ Ἐσπουδάσθαι γὰρ ἐνταῦθα μάλιστα πρέπει τὴν θέσιν τῶν ὀνομάτων· ἴσως δὲ ἔνια αὐτῶν καὶ ὑπὸ θειοτέρας δυνάμεως ἢ τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐγενήθη.”
“ Espoudasthai gar entautha malista prepei tēn thesin tōn onomatōn; isōs de enia autōn kai hypo theioteras dynameōs ē tēs tōn anthrōpōn egenēthē.”
“For here especially the giving of names should have been done with care; and perhaps some of them were given by a power more divine than that of men.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: some names were given by a divine power.
- Plato, Cratylus 397b–c.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Crat. 397b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.28 (Dindorf 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-28). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.29Dindorf 2:15
Τοῦτό γέ τοι αὐτὸ διὰ πλειόνων καὶ ἡ παρʼ Ἑβραίοις ἱερὰ πιστοῦται γραφή· πρῶτός τε Μώσης ἁπάντων, ὃς ἐκ θειοτέρας δυνάμεως τὸν Ἁβραὰμ καὶ τὸν τούτου παῖδα τὸν Ἰσαὰκ καὶ ἔτι τὸν Ἰσραὴλ ἐπωνομάσθαι ἐδίδαξε. γέλως δὲ ὁ Ἰσαὰκ ἑρμηνεύεται, τὸ τῆς ἐναρέτου χαρᾶς ἐπαγόμενος σύμβολον, ἣν τοῖς θεοφιλέσι γέρας ἐξαίρετον δώσειν ὁ θεὸς ἐπήγγελται.
Touto ge toi auto dia pleionōn kai hē parʼ Hebraiois hiera pistoutai graphē; prōtos te Mōsēs hapantōn, hos ek theioteras dynameōs ton Habraam kai ton toutou paida ton Isaak kai eti ton Israēl epōnomasthai edidaxe. gelōs de ho Isaak hermēneuetai, to tēs enaretou charas epagomenos symbolon, hēn tois theophilesi geras exaireton dōsein ho theos epēngeltai.
This very point the sacred Scripture of the Hebrews confirms more fully; and Moses first of all taught that Abraham, his son Isaac, and also Israel were named by a more divine power. Isaac is translated “laughter,” bearing the symbol of the joy of virtue, which God has promised to give as a special prize to those dear to him.
Gen 17:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 21:6 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaac means “laughter,” the joy promised to the godly.
- Gen 17:19; 21:6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray mark in the digital text): παρʼ Ἑρβαίοις → παρʼ Ἑβραίοις; γέλως· δὲ → γέλως δὲ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.29 (Dindorf 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-29). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.30Dindorf 2:15
ὁ δὲ τούτου παῖς Ἰσραὴλ ἦν μὲν τὸ πρὶν τὸ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ὄνομα ἐπενηνεγμένος, ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ Ἰακὼβ ὁ θεὸς αὐτῷ τὸ τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ὄνομα δωρεῖται, τὸν ἀσκητὴν καὶ πρακτικὸν ἐπὶ τὸν θεωρητικὸν μεταστησάμενος.
ho de toutou pais Israēl ēn men to prin to tou Iakōb onoma epenēnegmenos, anti de tou Iakōb ho theos autǭ to tou Israēl onoma dōreitai, ton askētēn kai praktikon epi ton theōrētikon metastēsamenos.
And his son Israel had formerly borne the name Jacob; but in place of Jacob God bestows on him the name Israel, moving him from the ascetic and practical life to the contemplative.
Gen 32:28 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jacob was renamed Israel.
- Gen 32:28.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; accent slip in the digital text): Ἰσραὴλ ἢν μὲν → Ἰσραὴλ ἦν μὲν; σωρεῖται → δωρεῖται.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.30 (Dindorf 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-30). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.31Dindorf 2:15
πτερνιστὴς γὰρ ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἑρμηνεύεται ὡς τὸν ἀρετῆς ἐναθλῶν ἀγῶνα· Ἰσραὴλ δὲ ὁρῶν θεὸν, ὁποῖος ἂν εἴη ὁ γνωστικὸς καὶ θεωρητικὸς ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ νοῦς.
pternistēs gar ho Iakōb hermēneuetai hōs ton aretēs enathlōn agōna; Israēl de horōn theon, hopoios an eiē ho gnōstikos kai theōrētikos en anthrōpǭ nous.
For Jacob is translated “supplanter,” as one who strives in the contest of virtue; and Israel “seeing God,” such as the knowing and contemplative mind in man would be.
Gen 27:36 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jacob means “supplanter,” Israel “seeing God.”
- Gen 25:26; 27:36. The interpretation of Israel as “seeing God” is traditional (e.g. Philo).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.31 (Dindorf 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-31). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.32Dindorf 2:15–16
τί με δεῖ νῦν τοῦ πανσόφου Μώσεως ἢ τῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις ἱερῶν λογίων διὰ μυρίων ἄλλων τὴν ὀρθότητα τῆς τῶν οἰκείων ὀνομάτων θέσεως ἐξαπλοῦν, μακροτέρας σχολῆς δεο- μένων τῶν κατὰ τὸν τόπον;
ti me dei nyn tou pansophou Mōseōs ē tōn parʼ Hebraiois hierōn logiōn dia myriōn allōn tēn orthotēta tēs tōn oikeiōn onomatōn theseōs exaploun, makroteras scholēs deo- menōn tōn kata ton topon?
Why need I now unfold, through countless other examples, the correctness of the all-wise Moses, or of the sacred oracles of the Hebrews, in giving their own names, when the subject needs a longer study?
Notes and citation
Summary: Many more examples could be given.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.32 (Dindorf 2:15–16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-32). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.33Dindorf 2:16
αὐτίκα δὴ καὶ τῶν πρώτων τῆς γραμματικῆς στοιχείων Ἕλληνες μὲν οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν τὰς ἐτυμολογίας εἰπεῖν, οὐδʼ αὐτός γʼ ἂν φαίη Πλάτων τὸν λόγον ἢ τὸν λογισμὸν τῶν φωνηέντων ἢ τῶν συμφώνων.
autika dē kai tōn prōtōn tēs grammatikēs stoicheiōn Hellēnes men ouk an echoien tas etymologias eipein, oudʼ autos gʼ an phaiē Platōn ton logon ē ton logismon tōn phōnēentōn ē tōn symphōnōn.
Thus, for instance, the Greeks could not give the etymologies even of the first letters of grammar, nor would Plato himself state the meaning or reason of the vowels or the consonants.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Greeks cannot explain their letter names.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): Ἓλληνες μὲν → Ἕλληνες μὲν; φαίη Πλάτωνʼ τὸν → φαίη Πλάτων τὸν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.33 (Dindorf 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-33). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.34Dindorf 2:16
Ἑβραίων δʼ ἂν εἴποιεν παῖδες τοῦ τε Ἄλφα τὴν αἰτίαν, ὁ παρʼ αὐτοῖς καλεῖται Ἄλφʼ, τοῦτο δὲ σημαίνει μάθησιν· καὶ τοῦ Βῆτα, ὅπερ Βὴθ φίλον αὐτοῖς προσαγορεύειν, οὕτω δὲ τὸν οἶκον ὀνομάζουσιν· ὥστε δηλοῦν τὴν διάνοιαν, μάθησις οἴκου· ὡσεὶ σαφέστερον ἐλέγετο, διδαχή τις καὶ μάθησις οἰκονομίας.
Hebraiōn dʼ an eipoien paides tou te Alpha tēn aitian, ho parʼ autois kaleitai Alphʼ, touto de sēmainei mathēsin; kai tou Bēta, hoper Bēth philon autois prosagoreuein, houtō de ton oikon onomazousin; hōste dēloun tēn dianoian, mathēsis oikou; hōsei saphesteron elegeto, didachē tis kai mathēsis oikonomias.
But the sons of the Hebrews could tell the reason for Alpha, which among them is called Alph, meaning “learning”; and for Beta, which they like to call Beth, their name for a house; so that the meaning is “learning of a house,” as if it were said more clearly, a teaching and learning of household management.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrew letters Aleph and Beth mean “learning of a house.”
- Compare 10.5.4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): Ἐβραίων δʼ ἂν → Ἑβραίων δʼ ἂν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.34 (Dindorf 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-34). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.35Dindorf 2:16
καὶ τὸ Γάμμα δὲ παρʼ αὐτοῖς τρίτον κέκληται Γῖμελ· οὕτω δὲ τὴν πλήρωσιν ὀνομάζουσιν. εἶτʼ ἐπειδὴ τὰς δέλτους Δὲλθ καλοῦσι, τὸ τέταρτον στοιχεῖον οὕτω προσεῖπον, ὁμοῦ διὰ τῶν δύο στοιχείων σημαίνοντες ὡς ὅτι ἡ ἔγγραφος μάθησις πλήρωσίς ἐστι δέλτων.
kai to Gamma de parʼ autois triton keklētai Gimel; houtō de tēn plērōsin onomazousin. eitʼ epeidē tas deltous Delth kalousi, to tetarton stoicheion houtō proseipon, homou dia tōn dyo stoicheiōn sēmainontes hōs hoti hē engraphos mathēsis plērōsis esti deltōn.
Gamma too, the third letter, is called among them Gimel, their name for fullness. Then, since they call tablets Delth, they named the fourth letter so, signifying by the two letters together that written learning is the fullness of tablets.
Notes and citation
Summary: Gimel and Daleth mean “fullness of tablets.”
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.35 (Dindorf 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-35). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.36Dindorf 2:16
ἐπιὼν δέ τις καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς γραμματικῆς στοιχεῖα, μετά τινος αἰτίας καὶ λογισμοῦ εὕροι ἂν ἕκαστα παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὠνομασμένα, ἐπεὶ καὶ τῶν ἑπτὰ φωνηέντων τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτὸ σύνθεσιν μιᾶς τινος ἀπορρήτου προσηγορίας περιέχειν φασὶν ἐκφώνησιν, ἣν διὰ τεσσάρων στοιχείων παῖδες Ἑβραίων σημειούμενοι ἐπὶ τῆς ἀνωτάτω τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμεως κατατάττουσιν, ἄλεκτόν τι τοῖς πολλοῖς καὶ ἀπόρρητον τοῦτʼ εἶναι παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς εἰληφότες.
epiōn de tis kai ta loipa tēs grammatikēs stoicheia, meta tinos aitias kai logismou heuroi an hekasta parʼ autois ōnomasmena, epei kai tōn hepta phōnēentōn tēn epi to auto synthesin mias tinos aporrētou prosēgorias periechein phasin ekphōnēsin, hēn dia tessarōn stoicheiōn paides Hebraiōn sēmeioumenoi epi tēs anōtatō tou theou dynameōs katatattousin, alekton ti tois pollois kai aporrēton toutʼ einai pais para patros eilēphotes.
And going through the rest of the letters, one would find each named among them with some reason and meaning; for they say that the combination of the seven vowels contains the utterance of a single unspeakable name, which the sons of the Hebrews, marking it with four letters, apply to the supreme power of God, having received it, son from father, as something unutterable and secret to the many.
Notes and citation
Summary: The seven vowels together express the unspeakable four-letter name of God.
- The four letters are the Tetragrammaton (YHWH).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.36 (Dindorf 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-36). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.37Dindorf 2:16–17
καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἕλλησι δὲ σοφῶν, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὁπόθεν, τις τοῦτο μαθὼν ᾐνίξατο, ὧδέ πη διʼ ἐπῶν φήσας ἑπτά με φωνήεντα θεὸν μέγαν ἄφθιτον αἰνεῖ γράμματα, τὸν πάντων ἀκάματον πατέρα. εἰμὶ δʼ ἐγὼ πάντων χέλυς ἄφθιτος, ἣ τὰ λυρώδη ἡρμοσάμην δίνης οὐρανίοιο μέλη.
kai tōn parʼ Hellēsi de sophōn, ouk oidʼ hopothen, tis touto mathōn ę̄nixato, hōde pē diʼ epōn phēsas hepta me phōnēenta theon megan aphthiton ainei grammata, ton pantōn akamaton patera. eimi dʼ egō pantōn chelys aphthitos, hē ta lyrōdē hērmosamēn dinēs ouranioio melē.
And one of the Greek sages, having learned this from I know not where, hinted at it, saying in verse somewhere: “Seven vowel letters praise me, the great imperishable God, the tireless Father of all. I am the imperishable lyre of all things, who tuned the lyre-like songs of the heavenly whirl.”
Notes and citation
Summary: A Greek verse makes the seven vowels praise the one God.
- Unidentified hexameter verses (an oracle or hymn).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.37 (Dindorf 2:16–17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-37). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.38Dindorf 2:17
εὕροις δʼ ἂν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις στοιχείων, ἐπιστήσας ἑκάστῳ, τὰ σημαινόμενα· τοῦτο δὲ ἤδη καὶ διὰ τῶν πρόσθεν ἡμῖν συνέστη, ὁπηνίκα παρὰ βαρβάρων τὰ πάντα ὠφελῆσθαι τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἀπεδείκνυμεν.
heurois dʼ an kai tōn loipōn parʼ Hebraiois stoicheiōn, epistēsas hekastǭ, ta sēmainomena; touto de ēdē kai dia tōn prosthen hēmin synestē, hopēnika para barbarōn ta panta ōphelēsthai tous Hellēnas apedeiknymen.
You would find the meanings of the other Hebrew letters too, if you attended to each; this has already been shown by us earlier, when we were proving that the Greeks profited from barbarians in everything.
Notes and citation
Summary: The other letter meanings were given earlier.
- Compare 10.5.4–12.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.38 (Dindorf 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-38). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.39Dindorf 2:17
πολλὴν δʼ ἄν τις καταμάθοι, τὴν Ἑβραίων γλῶσσαν πολυπραγμονῶν, ὀνομάτων ὀρθότητα παρὰ τοῖς ἀνδράσι φερομένην, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους τὸ προσηγορικὸν ὄνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἔβερ τὸ παρωνύμιον εἴληφε. σημαίνει δὲ τοῦτο τὸν “ διαπερῶντα, ’’ ἐπεὶ καὶ διάβασις καὶ διαπερῶν τῇ Ἑβραίων φωνῇ “Ἕβερ” ὀνομάζεται.
pollēn dʼ an tis katamathoi, tēn Hebraiōn glōssan polypragmonōn, onomatōn orthotēta para tois andrasi pheromenēn, epei kai auto tou pantos ethnous to prosēgorikon onoma apo tou Eber to parōnymion eilēphe. sēmainei de touto ton “ diaperōnta, ’’ epei kai diabasis kai diaperōn tę̄ Hebraiōn phōnę̄ “Heber” onomazetai.
And anyone who studies the Hebrew language would learn the great correctness of names current among these men; for the very name of the whole nation took its derivation from Heber. It means “one who crosses over,” since a crossing and one who crosses over are called heber in the Hebrew tongue.
Gen 11:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews are named from Heber, “one who crosses over.”
- Gen 10:21; 11:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): “ Ἕρερ” → “Ἕβερ”.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.39 (Dindorf 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-39). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.40Dindorf 2:17
διδάσκει δὲ ὁ λόγος διαπερᾶν καὶ διαβαίνειν ἀπὸ τῶν τῇδε ἐπὶ τὰ θεῖα, μηδαμῶς τε ἐναπομένειν καὶ ἵστασθαι ἐπὶ τῇ θέᾳ τῶν ὁρωμένων, ἀπὸ δὲ τούτων ἐπὶ τὰ ἀφανῆ καὶ ἀόρατα τῆς περὶ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων ποιητοῦ τε καὶ δημιουργοῦ θεολογίας διαβαίνειν. ταύτῃ τοι τοὺς πρώτους μόνῳ τῷ πανηγεμόνι καὶ αἰτίῳ τῶν ὅλων ἀνακειμένους, εὐσεβείᾳ τε καθαρᾷ καὶ ἀληθεῖ προσανέχοντας, Ἑβραίους ἐφώνουν, περατικούς τινας καὶ διαβεβηκότας τῇ διανοίᾳ τοὺς τοιούσδε ἀποκαλοῦντες.
didaskei de ho logos diaperan kai diabainein apo tōn tę̄de epi ta theia, mēdamōs te enapomenein kai histasthai epi tę̄ theą tōn horōmenōn, apo de toutōn epi ta aphanē kai aorata tēs peri tou tōn holōn poiētou te kai dēmiourgou theologias diabainein. tautę̄ toi tous prōtous monǭ tǭ panēgemoni kai aitiǭ tōn holōn anakeimenous, eusebeią te katharą kai alēthei prosanechontas, Hebraious ephōnoun, peratikous tinas kai diabebēkotas tę̄ dianoią tous toiousde apokalountes.
The word teaches us to cross over and pass from things here to things divine, and never to remain and stop at the sight of visible things, but from these to pass over to the unseen and invisible things of the theology concerning the Maker and Creator of the universe. For this reason they called the first men devoted solely to the supreme Ruler and Cause of all, holding fast to pure and true piety, Hebrews, calling such men crossers, as it were, who had passed over in mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: The name Hebrew signifies crossing over from the visible to God.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.40 (Dindorf 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-40). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.6.41Dindorf 2:17–18
καὶ τί με δεῖ ἐπὶ πλέον μηκύνειν τὰ πάντα συνάγοντα τῆς τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν ὀνομάτων ὀρθότητός τε καὶ ἀκριβείας, τοῦ προβλήματος οἰκείας δεομένου πραγματείας; πλὴν ὡς ἐν τύπῳ φάναι, ἡγοῦμαι καὶ διὰ τῶν λεχθέντων τῆς παρʼ Ἑβραίοις λογικῆς διδασκαλίας τὴν ἀπόδειξιν παρεσχηκέναι, εἰ δὴ κατὰ τὸν Πλάτωνα οὐ φαύλων ἦν ἀνδρῶν οὐδὲ τῶν τυχόντων, ἀλλὰ σοφοῦ καὶ διαλεκτικοῦ τινος νομοθέτου, φύσιν ὀνομάτων οἰκείαν τοῖς πράγμασιν εὑρέσθαι, οἷος ἡμῖν ὁ Μώσης καὶ τὰ Ἑβραίων ἀποδέδεικται λόγια. τί δὴ οὖν μετὰ τὰ λογικὰ ἕπεται ἢ τὰ φυσικὰ ἐπισκέψασθαι, ὅπως ποτὲ καὶ περὶ ταῦτα εἶχον Ἑβραίων παῖδες;
kai ti me dei epi pleon mēkynein ta panta synagonta tēs tōn Hebraïkōn onomatōn orthotētos te kai akribeias, tou problēmatos oikeias deomenou pragmateias? plēn hōs en typǭ phanai, hēgoumai kai dia tōn lechthentōn tēs parʼ Hebraiois logikēs didaskalias tēn apodeixin pareschēkenai, ei dē kata ton Platōna ou phaulōn ēn andrōn oude tōn tychontōn, alla sophou kai dialektikou tinos nomothetou, physin onomatōn oikeian tois pragmasin heuresthai, hoios hēmin ho Mōsēs kai ta Hebraiōn apodedeiktai logia. ti dē oun meta ta logika hepetai ē ta physika episkepsasthai, hopōs pote kai peri tauta eichon Hebraiōn paides?
And why should I go on longer, collecting everything about the correctness and precision of Hebrew names, when the question needs a treatment of its own? But, to speak in outline, I think that by what has been said I have given proof of the logical teaching among the Hebrews, if indeed, according to Plato, it belongs not to trivial men or to chance comers, but to a wise and dialectical lawgiver, to find the nature of names proper to things; and such Moses and the oracles of the Hebrews have been shown to be. What, then, follows after logic but to consider physics, and how the sons of the Hebrews stood on this too?
Notes and citation
Summary: Hebrew logic is proved by their correct names; Eusebius turns to physics.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἀποδέρεικται → ἀποδέδεικται.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.6.41 (Dindorf 2:17–18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-6-41). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 11, chapter 7
11.7.1Dindorf 2:18
Καὶ τὸ τρίτον δὲ μέρος τῆς καθʼ Ἑβραίους φιλοσοφίας, — τοῦτο δʼ ἦν τὸ φυσικὸν, διαιρούμενον καὶ παρʼ αὐτοῖς εἴς τε τὴν τῶν νοητῶν καὶ ἀσωμάτων ἐποπτείαν καὶ εἰς τὴν τῶν αἰσθητῶν φυσιολογίαν, — οἱ κατὰ πάντα τέλειοι προφήται ᾔδεσάν τε καὶ τοῖς οἰκείοις, ὅτε δὴ καιρὸς ἐκάλει, κατεμίγνυον λόγοις, οὐ στοχασμοῖς καὶ θνητῆς διανοίας ἐπιτηδεύσει μαθόντες, οὐδʼ ἐπὶ διδασκάλοις ἀνδράσι σεμνυνόμενοι, θεοφορήσει δὲ κρείττονος δυνάμεως καὶ θείου πνεύματος ἐπιπνοίᾳ τὴν γνῶσιν ἀνατιθέντες.
Kai to triton de meros tēs kathʼ Hebraious philosophias, — touto dʼ ēn to physikon, diairoumenon kai parʼ autois eis te tēn tōn noētōn kai asōmatōn epopteian kai eis tēn tōn aisthētōn physiologian, — hoi kata panta teleioi prophētai ę̄desan te kai tois oikeiois, hote dē kairos ekalei, katemignyon logois, ou stochasmois kai thnētēs dianoias epitēdeusei mathontes, oudʼ epi didaskalois andrasi semnynomenoi, theophorēsei de kreittonos dynameōs kai theiou pneumatos epipnoią tēn gnōsin anatithentes.
And the third part of the philosophy of the Hebrews, the natural part, divided among them too into the contemplation of intelligible and incorporeal things and the natural study of sensible things, the prophets, perfect in all things, both knew and mingled into their own discourses when occasion called, not having learned it by guesses or the efforts of mortal understanding, nor priding themselves on human teachers, but ascribing their knowledge to inspiration by a higher power and the breathing of the divine Spirit.
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets knew natural philosophy by divine inspiration.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): μαθόντʼ ἐς → μαθόντες.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.1 (Dindorf 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.2Dindorf 2:18
ἔνθεν μυρία μὲν αὐτοῖς περὶ τῶν μελλόντων τεθέσπιστο, μυρία δὲ περὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς συστάσεως πεφυσιολόγητο, καὶ αὖ πάλιν μυρία περὶ ζῴων φύσεως διείληπτο, πλεῖστα δὲ ὅσα καὶ περὶ φυτῶν ταῖς οἰκείαις ἕκαστος προφητείαις κατεβέβλητο.
enthen myria men autois peri tōn mellontōn tethespisto, myria de peri tēs tou pantos systaseōs pephysiologēto, kai au palin myria peri zǭōn physeōs dieilēpto, pleista de hosa kai peri phytōn tais oikeiais hekastos prophēteiais katebeblēto.
Hence they foretold countless things about the future, discussed countless things about the constitution of the universe, treated again countless things about the nature of animals, and each set down in his own prophecies a great many things about plants as well.
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets spoke of the future, the cosmos, animals, and plants.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.2 (Dindorf 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.3Dindorf 2:18
Μώσης δὲ καὶ λίθων δυνάμεις εὖ μάλα ἐξεπιστάμενος οὐ παρέργως ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ ἀρχιερέως στολῆς τῇ τούτων κέχρητο θεωρίᾳ. καὶ αὖ πάλιν Σολομῶν, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, ἐν τῇ περὶ τούτων διαπρέψαι φυσιολογίᾳ πρὸς τῆς θείας μαρτυρεῖται γραφῆς, ὧδε περιεχούσης
Mōsēs de kai lithōn dynameis eu mala exepistamenos ou parergōs epi tēs tou archiereōs stolēs tę̄ toutōn kechrēto theōrią. kai au palin Solomōn, ei kai tis allos, en tę̄ peri toutōn diaprepsai physiologią pros tēs theias martyreitai graphēs, hōde periechousēs
Moses, knowing well the powers of stones too, made no incidental use of this knowledge in the vestment of the high priest. And again Solomon, if anyone, is testified by divine Scripture to have excelled in the natural study of these things, as it says:
Exod 28:17 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses knew the stones of the high priest’s breastplate; Solomon knew nature.
- The stones of the breastpiece, Exod 28:17–21.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.3 (Dindorf 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.4Dindorf 2:18
“ καὶ ἐλάλησε Σολομῶν τρισχιλίας παραβολὰς, καὶ ἦσαν ᾠδαὶ αὐτοῦ πεντακισχίλιαι, καὶ ἐλάλησε περὶ τῶν ξύλων, ἀπὸ τῆς κέδρου τῆς ἐν τῷ Λιβάνῳ καὶ ἕως τῆς ὑσσώπου τῆς ἐκπορευομένης διὰ τοῦ τοίχου. καὶ ἐλάλησε περὶ τῶν κτηνῶν καὶ περὶ τῶν πετεινῶν καὶ περὶ τῶν ἰχθύων. καὶ παρεγένοντο πάντες οἱ λαοὶ ἀκοῦσαι τῆς σοφίας Σολομῶντος, καὶ [ἐλάμβανε δῶρα] παρὰ πάντων τῶν βασιλέων τῆς γῆς, ὅσοι ἤκουσαν τῆς σοφίας αὐτοῦ.’’
“ kai elalēse Solomōn trischilias parabolas, kai ēsan ǭdai autou pentakischiliai, kai elalēse peri tōn xylōn, apo tēs kedrou tēs en tǭ Libanǭ kai heōs tēs hyssōpou tēs ekporeuomenēs dia tou toichou. kai elalēse peri tōn ktēnōn kai peri tōn peteinōn kai peri tōn ichthyōn. kai paregenonto pantes hoi laoi akousai tēs sophias Solomōntos, kai [elambane dōra] para pantōn tōn basileōn tēs gēs, hosoi ēkousan tēs sophias autou.’’
“And Solomon spoke three thousand parables, and his songs were five thousand; and he spoke of the trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that comes out through the wall; and he spoke of the cattle, and of the birds, and of the fishes. And all the peoples came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.”
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
1 Kgs 4:32 (3 Kgdms 5:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Solomon spoke of trees, beasts, birds, and fish.
- 1 Kgs 4:32–34 (3 Kgdms 5:12–14 LXX). The editor brackets “he received gifts,” marking it for deletion; it is left out.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.4 (Dindorf 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.5Dindorf 2:18–19
ἐντεῦθεν ὁρμώμενος καὶ ὁ τὴν πανάρετον σοφίαν εἰς αὐτοῦ πρόσωπον ἀναθεὶς ἔφη “αὐτὸς γάρ μοι ἔδωκε τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν ἀψευδῆ, εἰδέναι σύστασιν κόσμου, καὶ ἐνέργειαν στοιχείων, ἀρχὴν καὶ τέλος καὶ μεσότητα χρόνων, τροπῶν ἀλλαγὰς καὶ μεταβολὰς καιρῶν, ἐνιαυτοῦ κύκλους, καὶ ἀστέρων θέσεις, φύσεις ζῴων καὶ θυμοὺς θηρίων, πνευμάτων βίας, καὶ διαλογισμοὺς ἀνθρώπων, καὶ διαφορὰς φυτῶν, καὶ δυνάμεις ῥιζῶν, ὅσα τέ ἐστι κρυπτὰ καὶ ἀφανῆ ἔγνων. ἡ γὰρ πάντων τεχνῖτις ἐδίδαξέ με σοφία.’’
enteuthen hormōmenos kai ho tēn panareton sophian eis autou prosōpon anatheis ephē “autos gar moi edōke tōn ontōn gnōsin apseudē, eidenai systasin kosmou, kai energeian stoicheiōn, archēn kai telos kai mesotēta chronōn, tropōn allagas kai metabolas kairōn, eniautou kyklous, kai asterōn theseis, physeis zǭōn kai thymous thēriōn, pneumatōn bias, kai dialogismous anthrōpōn, kai diaphoras phytōn, kai dynameis rhizōn, hosa te esti krypta kai aphanē egnōn. hē gar pantōn technitis edidaxe me sophia.’’
Starting from this, the one who put all-virtuous Wisdom in his person said: “For he gave me unerring knowledge of what exists: to know the constitution of the world and the working of the elements, the beginning and end and middle of times, the alternations of the solstices and the changes of seasons, the cycles of the year and the positions of the stars, the natures of living things and the tempers of wild beasts, the violence of winds and the reasonings of men, the varieties of plants and the powers of roots; all things hidden and manifest I learned; for Wisdom, the artificer of all, taught me.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The Wisdom of Solomon credits Solomon with knowledge of all nature.
- Wisdom of Solomon 7:17–21.
Extrabiblical texts: Wis 7:17–21 (Wisdom of Solomon [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.5 (Dindorf 2:18–19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.6Dindorf 2:19
πάλιν τε ὁ αὐτὸς Σολομῶν τὴν ῥευστὴν τῶν σωμάτων οὐσίαν φυσιολογῶν ἐν Ἐκκλησιαστῇ φησι ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιότης. τίς περισσεία τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν παντὶ μόχθῳ αὐτοῦ, ᾧ μοχθεῖ ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον; καὶ ἐπιλέγει “τί τὸ γεγονός; αὐτὸ τὸ γενησόμενον· καὶ τί τὸ πεποιημένον; αὐτὸ τὸ ποιηθησόμενον. καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον. ”
palin te ho autos Solomōn tēn rheustēn tōn sōmatōn ousian physiologōn en Ekklēsiastę̄ phēsi mataiotēs mataiotētōn, ta panta mataiotēs. tis perisseia tǭ anthrōpǭ en panti mochthǭ autou, hǭ mochthei hypo ton hēlion? kai epilegei “ti to gegonos? auto to genēsomenon; kai ti to pepoiēmenon? auto to poiēthēsomenon. kai ouk esti pan prosphaton hypo ton hēlion. ”
Again the same Solomon, studying the fluid substance of bodies, says in Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity. What advantage has a man in all his toil at which he toils under the sun?” And he adds: “What is it that has been? The same that will be. And what is it that has been done? The same that will be done. And there is nothing at all new under the sun.”
Eccl 1:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Eccl 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Eccl 1:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ecclesiastes teaches the transience of the bodily world.
- Eccl 1:2–3, 9.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.6 (Dindorf 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.7Dindorf 2:19
ταῦτα γὰρ αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα πεφυσιολόγητο περὶ τῆς σωματικῆς οὐσίας. εὕροις δʼ ἂν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἑβραίους ἐπιὼν σοφοὺς τῆς ὁμοίας οὐκ ἀμοίρους ἐπιστήμης. φυτῶν γοῦν, ὡς ἔφην ἤδη πρότερον, μυρία καὶ ζῴων πέρι, χερσαίων τε καὶ ἐνύδρων, καὶ προσέτι πτηνῶν φύσεως εἴρηται αὐτοῖς.
tauta gar autǭ kai ta toiauta pephysiologēto peri tēs sōmatikēs ousias. heurois dʼ an kai tous allous Hebraious epiōn sophous tēs homoias ouk amoirous epistēmēs. phytōn goun, hōs ephēn ēdē proteron, myria kai zǭōn peri, chersaiōn te kai enydrōn, kai proseti ptēnōn physeōs eirētai autois.
These and such things he taught about bodily substance. And going through the other wise men of the Hebrews, you would find them not without a share in the same knowledge. They have said countless things, as I said before, about plants, and about the nature of animals, land and water creatures, and birds too.
Notes and citation
Summary: Other Hebrew sages also wrote about nature.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.7 (Dindorf 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.8Dindorf 2:19
ναὶ μὴν καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐν οὐρανῷ ἄστρων, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἄρκτου καὶ Πλειάδος, Ὠρίωνός τε καὶ ἀρκτούρου, ὃν ἀρκτοφύλακα καὶ Βοώτην Ἕλλησι φίλον ὀνομάζειν, μνήμη τις οὐχ ἡ τυχοῦσα τοῖς τῶν δηλουμένων ἐμφέρεται γράμμασιν.
nai mēn kai peri tōn en ouranǭ astrōn, epei kai arktou kai Pleiados, Ōriōnos te kai arktourou, hon arktophylaka kai Boōtēn Hellēsi philon onomazein, mnēmē tis ouch hē tychousa tois tōn dēloumenōn empheretai grammasin.
Moreover, about the stars in heaven too: for no small mention of the Bear and the Pleiades, of Orion and Arcturus, which the Greeks like to call Arctophylax and Boötes, is found in the writings of these men.
Job 9:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Job 38:31 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrew writings mention the constellations.
- Job 9:9; 38:31–32; Amos 5:8.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ὅν ἀρκτοφύλακα → ὃν ἀρκτοφύλακα.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.8 (Dindorf 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.9Dindorf 2:19–20
ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ συστάσεως κόσμου, τά τε περὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς τροπῆς τε καὶ ἀλλοιώσεως, ψυχῆς τε περὶ οὐσίας, καὶ λογικῶν ἁπάντων φύσεως ὁρωμένης τε καὶ ἀφανοῦς δημιουργίας, τῆς τε καθόλου προνοίας, καὶ τούτων ἔτι πρότερον τὰ περὶ τοῦ πρώτου τῶν ὅλων αἰτίου, τῆς τε τοῦ δευτέρου θεολογίας, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν διανοίᾳ μόνῃ ληπτῶν τοὺς λόγους καὶ τὰς θεωρίας εὖ μάλα καὶ ἀκριβῶς περιειλήφασιν, ὡς μὴ ἂν ἁμαρτεῖν τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα παρʼ Ἕλλησι τὴν τούτων φύσιν ἀνηρευνηκότας πρεσβύταις οἶα νεωτέρους κατηκολουθηκέναι φάναι.
alla kai peri systaseōs kosmou, ta te peri tēs tou pantos tropēs te kai alloiōseōs, psychēs te peri ousias, kai logikōn hapantōn physeōs horōmenēs te kai aphanous dēmiourgias, tēs te katholou pronoias, kai toutōn eti proteron ta peri tou prōtou tōn holōn aitiou, tēs te tou deuterou theologias, kai tōn allōn tōn dianoią monę̄ lēptōn tous logous kai tas theōrias eu mala kai akribōs perieilēphasin, hōs mē an hamartein tous meta tauta parʼ Hellēsi tēn toutōn physin anēreunēkotas presbytais oia neōterous katēkolouthēkenai phanai.
But they also comprehended very well and accurately the doctrines and contemplations about the constitution of the world, the turning and change of the universe, the substance of the soul, the nature of all rational beings, the visible and invisible creation, universal providence, and before these, about the first Cause of all things, the theology of the second, and the other things grasped by the mind alone; so that one would not be wrong to say that the later Greeks who investigated the nature of these things followed them as juniors follow elders.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews treated cosmology, the soul, providence, the first Cause, and the second.
- “The second” is the second cause, the divine Word, whom Eusebius treats in 11.14–19.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.9 (Dindorf 2:19–20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.10Dindorf 2:20
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ καὶ περὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς φυσιολογίας. διχῆ δὲ καὶ τὸν περὶ τούτων διαστειλάμενοι λόγον, τὸν μὲν περὶ τῶν αἰσθητῶν οὐκ εἰς ἄκρον ᾤοντο δεῖν εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐκφέρειν, οὐδέ γε τὰς αἰτίας τῆς τῶν ὄντων φύσεως τὸ δημῶδες πλῆθος ἐκδιδάσκειν, πλὴν ὅσον ἦν ἀναγκαῖον εἰδέναι, ὅτι τε μὴ ἀπηυτομάτισται τὸ πᾶν, μηδʼ εἰκῆ καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐξ ἀλόγου φορᾶς ὑφέστηκεν, ἄγεται δʼ ὑφʼ ἡνιόχου θεοῦ λόγῳ, καὶ δυνάμει σοφίας ἀρρήτου διακυβερνᾶται.
tauta men dē kai peri tēs tou pantos physiologias. dichē de kai ton peri toutōn diasteilamenoi logon, ton men peri tōn aisthētōn ouk eis akron ǭonto dein eis tous pollous ekpherein, oude ge tas aitias tēs tōn ontōn physeōs to dēmōdes plēthos ekdidaskein, plēn hoson ēn anankaion eidenai, hoti te mē apēutomatistai to pan, mēdʼ eikē kai hōs etychen ex alogou phoras hyphestēken, agetai dʼ hyphʼ hēniochou theou logǭ, kai dynamei sophias arrētou diakybernatai.
So much on their study of the nature of the universe. They also divided their teaching about these things in two. The teaching about sensible things they thought should not be carried to its height before the many, nor should the common crowd be taught the causes of the nature of things, except as much as was necessary to know: that the universe has not come about by itself, nor stands at random and by chance from an irrational motion, but is driven by the Word of God as charioteer and steered by the power of an unspeakable wisdom.
Notes and citation
Summary: The many were taught only that the universe is guided by God’s Word.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray letter in the digital text): τὰς αἰτίας τῆς τʼ τῶν ὄντων → τὰς αἰτίας τῆς τῶν ὄντων; ὑφʼ ἡνιόχῳ → ὑφʼ ἡνιόχου.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.10 (Dindorf 2:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.11Dindorf 2:20
περὶ δὲ τῶν νοητῶν, ὅτι μέν ἐστι καὶ τίνα, ὅπη τε διατάξεως ἔχει δυνάμεως τε καὶ διαφορᾶς, εἴρηται μὲν καὶ ταῖς ἱεραῖς βίβλοις ἐγκαταβέβληται, εἰς ἐξάκουστόν τε τοῖς πᾶσι παραδέδοται, καθʼ ὅσον εἰδέναι χρῆν τοὺς εὐσεβείας μεταποιουμένους εἰς ἀνάληψιν εὐλαβοῦς καὶ σώφρονος βίου.
peri de tōn noētōn, hoti men esti kai tina, hopē te diataxeōs echei dynameōs te kai diaphoras, eirētai men kai tais hierais biblois enkatabeblētai, eis exakouston te tois pasi paradedotai, kathʼ hoson eidenai chrēn tous eusebeias metapoioumenous eis analēpsin eulabous kai sōphronos biou.
About intelligible things, that they exist and what they are, and how they stand in order, power, and difference, this has been said and laid down in the sacred books and handed on for all to hear, as much as those who claim piety needed to know for taking up a reverent and sober life.
Notes and citation
Summary: The essentials about intelligible things were taught to all.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.11 (Dindorf 2:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.7.12Dindorf 2:20
τὸν δὲ δὴ βαθὺν καὶ λεληθότα περὶ τούτων λόγον ἐν ἀπορρήτοις ζητεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκεσθαι κατελίμπανον τοῖς οἵοις τε τὰ τοιάδε μυεῖσθαι. βραχέα δὲ καὶ ὡς ἐν τύπῳ φάναι εὖ ἂν ἔχοι καὶ τῆς τούτων διελθεῖν ἐποπτείας, τόν τε Πλάτωνα κἀν τούτω τὰ φίλα πεφρονηκότα τοῖς δηλουμένοις παραστῆσαι.
ton de dē bathyn kai lelēthota peri toutōn logon en aporrētois zētein te kai didaskesthai katelimpanon tois hoiois te ta toiade myeisthai. brachea de kai hōs en typǭ phanai eu an echoi kai tēs toutōn dielthein epopteias, ton te Platōna kan toutō ta phila pephronēkota tois dēloumenois parastēsai.
But the deep and hidden teaching about these they left to be sought and taught in secret by those able to be initiated into such things. It would be well to go through their contemplation of these briefly and in outline, and to show that Plato here too thought the same as they.
Notes and citation
Summary: The deeper teaching was reserved; Eusebius will compare it with Plato.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line number leaked into the digital text; word split in the digital text): περὶ τούτʼ ὢν λόγον → περὶ τούτων λόγον; ἐν τύπῳ φάναι 5 εὖ → ἐν τύπῳ φάναι εὖ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.7.12 (Dindorf 2:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-7-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 11, chapter 8
11.8.1Dindorf 2:20–21
Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν νοητῶν καὶ ἀσωμάτων παιδεύσεως τε καὶ θεωρίας τῷ πανσόφῳ Μωσεῖ καὶ τοῖς Ἑβραίων προφήταις Πλάτων ὁ θαυμάσιος ἐπηκολουθηκέναι διὰ τῶν οἰκείων φωνῶν ἐστι δῆλος, εἴτʼ ἐξ ἀκοῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἡκούσης μαθὼν, (ἐπεὶ καὶ συνίσταται παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις τηνικάδε τὰς διατριβὰς πεποιημένος, καθʼ ὃν Ἑβραῖοι τῆς οἰκείας δεύτερον ἀποπεσόντες γῆς Αἰγυπτίοις ἐπεχωρίαζον, Περσῶν ἐπικρατούντων, ) εἴτε καὶ παρʼ ἑαυτοῦ τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιβαλὼν φύσει, εἴτε ὁπωσοῦν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καταξιωθεὶς τῆς γνώσεως. “ ὁ θεὸς γὰρ (φησὶν) αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσε. τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους.” μάθοις δʼ ἂν τὸ εἰρημένον ὧδέ πη διασκοπούμενος.
Ou mēn alla kai peri tēs tōn noētōn kai asōmatōn paideuseōs te kai theōrias tǭ pansophǭ Mōsei kai tois Hebraiōn prophētais Platōn ho thaumasios epēkolouthēkenai dia tōn oikeiōn phōnōn esti dēlos, eitʼ ex akoēs eis auton hēkousēs mathōn, (epei kai synistatai parʼ Aigyptiois tēnikade tas diatribas pepoiēmenos, kathʼ hon Hebraioi tēs oikeias deuteron apopesontes gēs Aigyptiois epechōriazon, Persōn epikratountōn, ) eite kai parʼ heautou tę̄ tōn pragmatōn epibalōn physei, eite hopōsoun hypo tou theou kataxiōtheis tēs gnōseōs. “ ho theos gar (phēsin) autois ephanerōse. ta gar aorata autou apo ktiseōs kosmou tois poiēmasi nooumena kathoratai, hē te aïdios autou dynamis kai theiotēs, eis to einai autous anapologētous.” mathois dʼ an to eirēmenon hōde pē diaskopoumenos.
Moreover, in the teaching and contemplation of intelligible and incorporeal things too, the admirable Plato is shown by his own words to have followed the all-wise Moses and the prophets of the Hebrews: whether he learned by hearsay that reached him (since he is shown to have studied among the Egyptians at the very time when the Hebrews, driven from their land a second time, were living in Egypt under Persian rule), or whether he hit on the nature of things by himself, or whether in some way he was deemed worthy of the knowledge by God. “For God,” it says, “has shown it to them. For his invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse.” You may learn what has been said by examining it in some such way as this.
Rom 1:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato followed Moses on intelligible things, whether by hearsay, by reason, or by God’s gift.
- Rom 1:19–20.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text; word broken across a line in the digital text): Πλάτωνʼ ὁ θαυμάσιος → Πλάτων ὁ θαυμάσιος; καθο— ρᾶται → καθορᾶται.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.8.1 (Dindorf 2:20–21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 11, chapter 9
11.9.1Dindorf 2:21
Μώσεως ἐν ταῖς ἱεροφαντίαις χρησμὸν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ φήσαντος “ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν. οὕτως ἐρεῖς τοῖς υἱοῖς Ἰσραὴλ, ὁ ὢν ἀπέσταλκέ με πρὸς ὑμᾶς”, παραθεμένου δὲ καὶ τὸν θεὸν ἄντικρυς μόνον ὄντα, καὶ τῆσδε κυρίως καὶ ἁρμοδίως ἠξιωμένον τῆς κλήσεως ἀποφηναμένου·
Mōseōs en tais hierophantiais chrēsmon ek prosōpou tou theou phēsantos “egō eimi ho ōn. houtōs ereis tois huiois Israēl, ho ōn apestalke me pros hymas”, parathemenou de kai ton theon antikrys monon onta, kai tēsde kyriōs kai harmodiōs ēxiōmenon tēs klēseōs apophēnamenou;
Moses, in his sacred revelations, gave an oracle in the person of God: “I am He who is. Thus shall you say to the sons of Israel: He who is has sent me to you,” setting forth God as the only one who truly is, and declaring that he alone properly and fittingly deserves this name.
Exod 3:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses: God is “He who is.”
- Exod 3:14, following the Septuagint.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.1 (Dindorf 2:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.2Dindorf 2:21
πάλιν τε αὖ Σολομῶνος περὶ τῆς τῶν αἰσθητῶν καὶ σωματικῶν γενέσεως τε καὶ φθορᾶς ἀνειπόντος “τί τὸ γεγονός; αὐτὸ τὸ γενησόμενον. καὶ τί τὸ πεποιημένον; αὐτὸ τὸ ποιηθησόμενον. καὶ οὐκ ἔστι πᾶν πρόσφατον ὑπὸ τὸν ἥλιον, ὃ λαλήσει καὶ ἐρεῖ, ἴδε τοῦτο καινόν ἐστιν· ἤδη γέγονεν ἐν τοῖς αἰῶσι τοῖς γενομένοις ἀπὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἡμῶν·”
palin te au Solomōnos peri tēs tōn aisthētōn kai sōmatikōn geneseōs te kai phthoras aneipontos “ti to gegonos? auto to genēsomenon. kai ti to pepoiēmenon? auto to poiēthēsomenon. kai ouk esti pan prosphaton hypo ton hēlion, ho lalēsei kai erei, ide touto kainon estin; ēdē gegonen en tois aiōsi tois genomenois apo emprosthen hēmōn;”
And again, Solomon spoke about the coming into being and passing away of sensible and bodily things: “What is it that has been? The same that will be. And what is it that has been done? The same that will be done. And there is nothing at all new under the sun, of which one will speak and say, ‘See, this is new’; it has already been in the ages that were before us.”
Eccl 1:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Eccl 1:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Solomon on the transience of the sensible world.
- Eccl 1:9–10.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.2 (Dindorf 2:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.3Dindorf 2:21–22
τούτοις δὲ καὶ ἡμῶν ἀκολούθως εἰς δύο τὸ πᾶν διαιρούντων, εἴς τε νοητὸν καὶ αἰσθητὸν, καὶ τὸ μὲν νοητὸν ἀσώματον καὶ λογικὸν τὴν φύσιν, ἄφθαρτόν τε καὶ ἀθάνατον εἶναι ὁριζομένων, τὸ δʼ αἰσθητὸν ἐν ῥύσει καὶ φθορᾷ, μεταβολῇ τε καὶ τροπῇ τῆς οὐσίας ὑπάρχειν· πάν- των δʼ ἐπὶ μίαν ἀρχὴν ἀνακεφαλαιουμένων, ἕν τε εἶναι τὸ ἀγένητον καὶ τὸ κυρίως καὶ ἀληθῶς ὂν δογματιζόντων, τὸ πάντων ἀσωμάτων τε καὶ σωμά- τῶν αἴτιον·
toutois de kai hēmōn akolouthōs eis dyo to pan diairountōn, eis te noēton kai aisthēton, kai to men noēton asōmaton kai logikon tēn physin, aphtharton te kai athanaton einai horizomenōn, to dʼ aisthēton en rhysei kai phthorą, metabolę̄ te kai tropę̄ tēs ousias hyparchein; pan- tōn dʼ epi mian archēn anakephalaioumenōn, hen te einai to agenēton kai to kyriōs kai alēthōs on dogmatizontōn, to pantōn asōmatōn te kai sōma- tōn aition;
Following these, we too divide the universe in two, into the intelligible and the sensible, defining the intelligible as incorporeal and rational in nature, incorruptible and immortal, and the sensible as being in flux and corruption, change and alteration of substance; and summing up all things under one principle, we teach that this one is the unbegotten, that which properly and truly is, the cause of all things incorporeal and bodily.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians divide reality into intelligible and sensible, under one uncreated cause.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; accent slip in the digital text): τὸ πὰν διαιρούντων → τὸ πᾶν διαιρούντων; ἴν τε εἶναι → ἕν τε εἶναι.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.3 (Dindorf 2:21–22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.4Dindorf 2:22
θέα τίνα τρόπον οὐ μόνον τὴν διάνοιαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς λέξεις αὐτὰς καὶ τὰ ῥήματα τῆς Ἑβραίων γραφῆς παραξέσας ὁ Πλάτων ἐξοικειοῦται τὸ δόγμα, πλατύτερον ὧδέ πη διασαφῶν “Τί τὸ ὂν ἀεὶ, γένεσιν δὲ οὐκ ἔχον; καὶ τί τὸ γινόμενον μὲν ἀεὶ, ὂν δὲ οὐδέποτε; τὸ μὲν δὴ νοήσει μετὰ λόγου περιληπτὸν ἀεὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ὂν, τὸ δὲ αἰσθήσει ἀλόγῳ δοξαστὸν γινόμενον καὶ ἀπολλύμενον, ὄντως δὲ οὐδέποτε ὄν.”
thea tina tropon ou monon tēn dianoian, alla kai tas lexeis autas kai ta rhēmata tēs Hebraiōn graphēs paraxesas ho Platōn exoikeioutai to dogma, platyteron hōde pē diasaphōn “Ti to on aei, genesin de ouk echon? kai ti to ginomenon men aei, on de oudepote? to men dē noēsei meta logou perilēpton aei kata ta auta on, to de aisthēsei alogǭ doxaston ginomenon kai apollymenon, ontōs de oudepote on.”
See how Plato, paraphrasing not only the thought but the very words and phrases of the Hebrew Scripture, makes the doctrine his own, explaining it more broadly somewhat as follows: “What is that which always is and has no becoming? And what is that which is always becoming but never is? The one is grasped by thought with reason, being always the same; the other is the object of opinion with irrational sensation, coming to be and perishing, but never really being.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s Timaeus distinguishes eternal being from becoming.
- Plato, Timaeus 27d–28a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing missing in the digital text; opening quotation mark missing in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): τῆς Εβραίων γραφῆς → τῆς Ἑβραίων γραφῆς; παραξέσας ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → παραξέσας ὁ Πλάτων; ὧδέ πη διασαφῶν Τί → ὧδέ πη διασαφῶν “Τί.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 27d–28a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.4 (Dindorf 2:22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.5Dindorf 2:22
Ἀρʼ οὐ σαφῶς πέφηνεν ὁ θαυμάσιος τὸ μὲν παρὰ Μωσεῖ φῆσαν λόγιον “ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν” μεταποιήσας διὰ τοῦ τί τὸ ὂν ἀεὶ, γένεσιν δὲ οὐκ ἔχον; καὶ τοῦτό γε λευκότερον διασαφήσας ἐν τῷ φάναι, μηδʼ ἄλλο εἶναι τὸ ὂν ἢ τὸ οὐ σαρκὸς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὁρώμενον, νῷ δὲ καταλαμβανόμενον. ἐρωτήσας γοῦν τί τὸ ὂν, αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ἀποκρίνεται, λέγων “ τὸ δὴ νοήσει μετὰ λόγου περιληπτὸν ὄν. ”
Arʼ ou saphōs pephēnen ho thaumasios to men para Mōsei phēsan logion “egō eimi ho ōn” metapoiēsas dia tou ti to on aei, genesin de ouk echon? kai touto ge leukoteron diasaphēsas en tǭ phanai, mēdʼ allo einai to on ē to ou sarkos ophthalmois horōmenon, nǭ de katalambanomenon. erōtēsas goun ti to on, autos heautǭ apokrinetai, legōn “ to dē noēsei meta logou perilēpton on. ”
Has not the admirable man clearly reworked the oracle in Moses that says “I am He who is” by his “What is that which always is and has no becoming?”; and made it plainer by saying that being is nothing other than what is not seen by the eyes of flesh but grasped by mind? At any rate, having asked what being is, he answers himself, saying, “that which is grasped by thought with reason.”
Exod 3:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato reworks Moses’ “I am He who is.”
- Plato, Timaeus 28a; Exod 3:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (opening quotation mark missing in the digital text): φῆσαν λόγιον ἐγώ → φῆσαν λόγιον “ἐγώ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 28a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.5 (Dindorf 2:22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.6Dindorf 2:22
τὸ δὲ Σολομώντειον φῆσαν “τί τὸ γεγονός; αὐτὸ τὸ γενησόμενον· καὶ τί τὸ πεποιημένον; αὐτὸ τὸ ποιηθησόμενον·” αὐτοῖς σχεδὸν ῥήμασι διερμηνεύσας δῆλος ἂν εἴη λέγων “τὸ δʼ αἰσθήσει ἀλόγῳ δοξαστὸν, γινόμενον καὶ ἀπολλύμενον, ὄντως δὲ οὐδέποτε ὄν. ” οἷς καὶ ἐπιφέρει
to de Solomōnteion phēsan “ti to gegonos? auto to genēsomenon; kai ti to pepoiēmenon? auto to poiēthēsomenon;” autois schedon rhēmasi diermēneusas dēlos an eiē legōn “to dʼ aisthēsei alogǭ doxaston, ginomenon kai apollymenon, ontōs de oudepote on. ” hois kai epipherei
And Solomon’s saying, “What is it that has been? The same that will be. And what is it that has been done? The same that will be done,” he would plainly have interpreted almost in the very words, saying, “but the other is the object of opinion with irrational sensation, coming to be and perishing, but never really being.” To which he adds:
Eccl 1:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s account of becoming echoes Ecclesiastes.
- Eccl 1:9; Plato, Timaeus 28a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (article omitted in the digital text): “ τί γεγονός; → “τί τὸ γεγονός;.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 28a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.6 (Dindorf 2:22; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.7Dindorf 2:22–23
“ Ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα μέρη χρόνου, τὸ ἦν καὶ ἔσται· ἃ δὴ φέροντες λανθάνομεν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀίδιον οὐσίαν, οὐκ ὀρθῶς. λέγομεν γὰρ δὴ ὡς ἦν, ἐστί τε καὶ ἔσται. τῇ δὲ τὸ ἔστι μόνον κατὰ τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον προσήκει· τὸ δὲ ἦν καὶ τὸ ἔσται περὶ τὴν ἐν χρόνῳ γένεσιν οὖσαν πρέπει λέγεσθαι· κινήσεις γάρ ἐστον. τὸ δὲ ἀεὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἔχον ἀκινήτως οὔτε πρεσβύτερον οὔτε νεώτερον προσήκει γίνεσθαι διὰ χρόνον, οὐδὲ γενέσθαι ποτὲ, οὐδὲ γεγονέναι νῦν, οὐδʼ εἰσαῦθις ἔσεσθαι τὸ παράπαν, οὐδʼ ὅσα γένεσις τοῖς ἐν αἰσθήσει φερομένοις προσῆψεν, ἀλλὰ χρόνου ταῦτα, αἰῶνα μιμουμένου καὶ κατʼ ἀριθμὸν κυκλουμένου, γέγονεν εἴδη. καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ἔτι τὰ τοιάδε· τὸ γεγονὸς εἷναι γεγονὸς, καὶ τὸ γιγνόμενον εἶναι γιγνόμενον· ἔτι τε τὸ γενησόμενον εἶναι γενησόμενον.”
“ Tauta gar panta merē chronou, to ēn kai estai; ha dē pherontes lanthanomen epi tēn aidion ousian, ouk orthōs. legomen gar dē hōs ēn, esti te kai estai. tę̄ de to esti monon kata ton alēthē logon prosēkei; to de ēn kai to estai peri tēn en chronǭ genesin ousan prepei legesthai; kinēseis gar eston. to de aei kata ta auta echon akinētōs oute presbyteron oute neōteron prosēkei ginesthai dia chronon, oude genesthai pote, oude gegonenai nyn, oudʼ eisauthis esesthai to parapan, oudʼ hosa genesis tois en aisthēsei pheromenois prosēpsen, alla chronou tauta, aiōna mimoumenou kai katʼ arithmon kykloumenou, gegonen eidē. kai pros toutois eti ta toiade; to gegonos heinai gegonos, kai to gignomenon einai gignomenon; eti te to genēsomenon einai genēsomenon.”
“For all these are parts of time, the ‘was’ and the ‘will be’; and we wrongly, without noticing, apply them to eternal being. For we say that it was, is, and will be; but in truth only ‘is’ belongs to it, while ‘was’ and ‘will be’ are fit to be said of becoming in time, for they are motions. But what is always the same and unmoved cannot become older or younger through time, nor ever have come to be, nor have come to be now, nor be hereafter at all, nor have any of the things that becoming attached to things borne about in sensation; these have come about as forms of time, which imitates eternity and circles according to number. And besides these, such expressions as: what has become is become, what is becoming is becoming, and what will become is going to become.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: only “is” belongs to eternal being; “was” and “will be” belong to time.
- Plato, Timaeus 37e–38b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; words run together in the digital text): γίνεσθαι διάχρόνον → γίνεσθαι διὰ χρόνον; γενησόνενον → γενησόμενον.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 37e–38b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.7 (Dindorf 2:22–23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.9.8Dindorf 2:23
Καὶ ἵνα γε μή τις ἡμᾶς παρερμηνεύειν ἡγήσηται τὰς τοῦ φιλοσόφου φωνὰς, ὑπομνήμασι χρήσομαι τῶνδε τῶν λόγων τὴν διάνοιαν ἐκφαίνουσι. πλείους μὲν οὖν εἰς τὴν τούτων ἐπιβεβλήκασι θεωρίαν, ἐμοὶ δʼ ἐξαρκεῖ τανῦν ἀνδρὸς ἐπιφανοῦς Νουμηνίου τοῦ Πυθαγορείου παραθέσθαι λέξεις, ἃς ἐν τῷ Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ δευτέρῳ συγγράμματι ὧδέ πη διέξεισιν
Kai hina ge mē tis hēmas parermēneuein hēgēsētai tas tou philosophou phōnas, hypomnēmasi chrēsomai tōnde tōn logōn tēn dianoian ekphainousi. pleious men oun eis tēn toutōn epibeblēkasi theōrian, emoi dʼ exarkei tanyn andros epiphanous Noumēniou tou Pythagoreiou parathesthai lexeis, has en tǭ Peri tagathou deuterǭ syngrammati hōde pē diexeisin
And so that no one may think we misinterpret the philosopher’s words, I shall use commentaries that bring out the meaning of these passages. Many have turned to their study, but for now it is enough for me to set out the words of a distinguished man, Numenius the Pythagorean, which he sets out in the second book of his work On the Good somewhat as follows:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Numenius, On the Good.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.9.8 (Dindorf 2:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-9-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 11, chapter 10
11.10.1Dindorf 2:23
‘‘Φέρε οὖν ὅση δύναμις ἐγγύτατα πρὸς τὸ ὂν ἀναγόμεθα, καὶ λέγωμεν, τὸ ὂν οὔτε ποτὲ ἦν οὔτε ποτὲ μὴ γένηται, ἀλλʼ ἔστιν ἀεὶ ἐν χρόνῳ ὡρισμένῳ, τῷ ἐνεστῶτι μόνῳ.
‘‘Phere oun hosē dynamis engytata pros to on anagometha, kai legōmen, to on oute pote ēn oute pote mē genētai, allʼ estin aei en chronǭ hōrismenǭ, tǭ enestōti monǭ.
“Come then, let us bring ourselves as near as we can to Being, and say: Being never was, nor will it ever come to be; but it always is, in a defined time, the present only.
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius: Being exists only in the present.
- Numenius, On the Good 2 (fragment 5 des Places); the quotations run through 11.10.13.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 5) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.1 (Dindorf 2:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.2Dindorf 2:23
τοῦτον μὲν οὖν τὸν ἐνεστῶτα εἴ τις ἐθέλει ἀνακαλεῖν αἰῶνα, κἀγὼ συμβούλομαι· τὸν δὲ παρελθόντα χρόνον οἴεσθαι χρὴ ἡμᾶς διαπεφευγέναι ἀποδεδρακέναι τε εἰς τὸ εἶναι μηκέτι· ὅ τε αὖ μέλλων ἐστὶ μὲν οὐδέπω, ἐπαγγέλλεται δὲ οἷός τε ἔσεσθαι ἥξειν εἰς τὸ εἷναι.
touton men oun ton enestōta ei tis ethelei anakalein aiōna, kagō symboulomai; ton de parelthonta chronon oiesthai chrē hēmas diapepheugenai apodedrakenai te eis to einai mēketi; ho te au mellōn esti men oudepō, epangelletai de hoios te esesthai hēxein eis to heinai.
If anyone wishes to call this present eternity, I agree. But the past time we must think has already slipped away and fled into being no longer; and the future is not yet, but promises that it will be able to come into being.
Notes and citation
Summary: Past and future are not, only the present.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word repeated in variant form in the digital text): διαπεφευγότα ἤδη διαπεφευγέναι → διαπεφευγέναι.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 5) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.2 (Dindorf 2:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.3Dindorf 2:23
οὐκ οὖν εἰκός ἐστιν ἐνί γε τρόπῳ νομίζειν τὸ ὂν ἤτοι μὴ εἷναι, ἢ μηκέτι, ἢ μηδέπω. ὡς τούτου γε οὕτως λεγομένου, γίνεταί τι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ μέγα ἀδύνατον, εἶναί τε ὁμοῦ ταὐτὸν καὶ μὴ εἶναι.
ouk oun eikos estin eni ge tropǭ nomizein to on ētoi mē heinai, ē mēketi, ē mēdepō. hōs toutou ge houtōs legomenou, ginetai ti en tǭ logǭ mega adynaton, einai te homou tauton kai mē einai.
So it is not reasonable to think in any way that Being either is not, or no longer is, or is not yet. For if it is so spoken of, a great impossibility arises in the argument: that the same thing both is and is not at once.
Notes and citation
Summary: Being cannot be said not to be.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray word in the digital text): ἐν γίνεταί τι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ → γίνεταί τι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 5) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.3 (Dindorf 2:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.4Dindorf 2:23–24
εἰ δὲ οὕτως ἔχει σχολῇ γʼ ἂν ἄλλο τι εἷναι δύναιτο, τοῦ ὄντος αὐτοῦ μὴ ὄντος κατὰ αὐτὸ τὸ ὄν. τὸ γὰρ ὂν ἀίδιόν τε βέβαιόν τε ἐστὶν, ἀεὶ κατὰ ταὐτὸν, οὐδὲ γέγονε μὲν, ἐφθάρη δὲ, οὐδʼ ἐμεγεθύνετο μὲν, ἐμειώθη δέ· οὐδὲ μὴ ἐγένετό πω πλέον, ἢ ἔλασσον· καὶ μὲν δὴ τά τε ἄλλα καὶ οὐδὲ τοπικῶς κινηθήσεται.
ei de houtōs echei scholę̄ gʼ an allo ti heinai dynaito, tou ontos autou mē ontos kata auto to on. to gar on aidion te bebaion te estin, aei kata tauton, oude gegone men, ephtharē de, oudʼ emegethyneto men, emeiōthē de; oude mē egeneto pō pleon, ē elasson; kai men dē ta te alla kai oude topikōs kinēthēsetai.
And if this is so, hardly could anything else be, if Being itself is not, with respect to being itself. For Being is eternal and firm, always the same; it neither came to be and then perished, nor grew and then diminished; nor did it ever become more or less; and indeed, among other things, it will not move in place.
Notes and citation
Summary: Being is eternal, unchanging, and unmoved.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): οὐδὲ τοπικός κινηθήσεται → οὐδὲ τοπικῶς κινηθήσεται.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 5) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.4 (Dindorf 2:23–24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.5Dindorf 2:24
οὐδὲ γὰρ θέμις αὐτῷ κινηθῆναι, οὐδὲ μὲν ὀπίσω, οὐδὲ πρόσω· οὔτε ἄνω ποτὲ οὔτε κάτω· οὐδʼ εἰς δεξιὰ, οὐδʼ εἰς ἀριστερὰ μεταβήσεταί ποτε τὸ ὄν· οὔτε περὶ τὸ μέσον ποτε ἑαυτοῦ κινηθήσεται, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἐστήξεται καὶ ἀραρός τε καὶ ἑστηκὸς ἔσται κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἔχον ἀεὶ καὶ ὡσαύτως.”
oude gar themis autǭ kinēthēnai, oude men opisō, oude prosō; oute anō pote oute katō; oudʼ eis dexia, oudʼ eis aristera metabēsetai pote to on; oute peri to meson pote heautou kinēthēsetai, alla mallon kai estēxetai kai araros te kai hestēkos estai kata tauta echon aei kai hōsautōs.”
For it is not lawful for it to move, either backward or forward; Being will never pass up or down, to right or to left; nor will it ever move about its own centre; but rather it will stand fixed, firm and standing, always holding the same way and in the same manner.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Being is entirely motionless.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ἑστήκὸς → ἑστηκὸς.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 5) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.5 (Dindorf 2:24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.6Dindorf 2:24
Καὶ ἐξῆς μεθʼ ἕτερα ἐπιλέγει “ Τοσαῦτα μὲν οὖν μοι πρὸ ὁδοῦ. αὐτὸς δʼ οὐκέτι σχηματισθήσομαι, οὐδʼ ἀγνοεῖν φήσω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ ἀσωμάτου· καὶ γὰρ κινδυνεύει νῦν ἤδη ἥδιον εἶναι εἰπεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ μὴ εἰπεῖν. καὶ δῆτα λέγω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῷ εἶναι τοῦτο τὸ πάλαι ζητούμενον.
Kai exēs methʼ hetera epilegei “ Tosauta men oun moi pro hodou. autos dʼ ouketi schēmatisthēsomai, oudʼ agnoein phēsō to onoma tou asōmatou; kai gar kindyneuei nyn ēdē hēdion einai eipein mallon ē mē eipein. kai dēta legō to onoma autǭ einai touto to palai zētoumenon.
And next, after other things, he adds: “So much, then, by way of introduction. I shall no longer pretend, nor say that I do not know the name of the incorporeal; for it now seems more pleasant to say it than not. And indeed I say that its name is this which has long been sought.
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius will name the incorporeal.
- Numenius, On the Good 2 (fragment 6).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): οὐκίτι → οὐκέτι.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 6) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.6 (Dindorf 2:24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.7Dindorf 2:24
ἀλλὰ μὴ γελασάτω τις, ἐὰν φῶ τοῦ ἀσωμάτου εἶναι ὄνομα οὐσίαν καὶ ὄν. ἡ δὲ αἰτία τοῦ ὄντος ὀνόματός ἐστι τὸ μὴ γεγονέναι, μηδὲ φθαρήσεσθαι, μηδʼ ἄλλην μήτε κίνησιν μηδεμίαν δέχεσθαι μήτε μεταβολὴν κρείττω ἢ φαύλην· εἶναι δὲ ἁπλοῦν καὶ ἀναλλοίωτον, καὶ ἐν ἰδέᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ, καὶ μήτε ἐθελούσιον ἐξίστασθαι τῆς ταὐτότητος μήθʼ ὑφʼ ἑτέρου προσαναγκάζεσθαι.
alla mē gelasatō tis, ean phō tou asōmatou einai onoma ousian kai on. hē de aitia tou ontos onomatos esti to mē gegonenai, mēde phtharēsesthai, mēdʼ allēn mēte kinēsin mēdemian dechesthai mēte metabolēn kreittō ē phaulēn; einai de haploun kai analloiōton, kai en ideą tę̄ autę̄, kai mēte ethelousion existasthai tēs tautotētos mēthʼ hyphʼ heterou prosanankazesthai.
But let no one laugh if I say that the name of the incorporeal is substance and being. The reason for the name ‘being’ is that it did not come to be and will not perish, and admits no other motion at all, nor change for better or worse, but is simple and unalterable, in the same form, neither departing from its sameness willingly nor compelled by another.
Notes and citation
Summary: The incorporeal is named being because it does not change.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἐὰν γῶ τοῦ → ἐὰν φῶ τοῦ; προσαναγκάξεσθαι → προσαναγκάζεσθαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 6) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.7 (Dindorf 2:24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.8Dindorf 2:24
ἔφη δὲ καὶ ὁ Πλάτων ἐν Κρατύλῳ τὰ ὀνόματα ὁμοιώσει τῶν πραγμάτων εἶναι αὐτὰ ἐπίθετα. ἔστω οὖν καὶ δεδόχθω εἶναι τὸ ὂν ἀσώματον.”
ephē de kai ho Platōn en Kratylǭ ta onomata homoiōsei tōn pragmatōn einai auta epitheta. estō oun kai dedochthō einai to on asōmaton.”
And Plato too said in the Cratylus that names are themselves applied by likeness to the things. Let it be granted, then, and agreed that Being is incorporeal.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Being is incorporeal.
- Numenius, On the Good 2; alluding to Plato’s Cratylus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): καὶ ὁ Πλάτωνʼ ἐν Κρατύλῳ → καὶ ὁ Πλάτων ἐν Κρατύλῳ.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 6) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.8 (Dindorf 2:24; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.9Dindorf 2:24–25
Εἶθʼ ὑποκαταβὰς ἐπιλέγει “ Τὸ ὂν εἶπον ἀσώματον, τοῦτο δὲ εἶναι τὸ νοητόν. τὰ μὲν οὖν λεχθέντα, ὅσα μνημονεύειν ἐστί μοι, τοιαῦτα γοῦν ἦν. τὸν δʼ ἐπιζητοῦντα λόγον ἐθέλω παραμυθήσασθαι, τοσόνδε ὑπειπὼν, ὅτι ταῦτα τοῖς δόγμασι τοῖς Πλάτωνος εἰ μὴ συμβαίνει, ἀλλʼ ἑτέρου γʼ ἐχρῆν οἴεσθαί τινος ἀνδρὸς μεγάλου, μέγα δυναμένου, οἵου Πυθαγόρου.
Eithʼ hypokatabas epilegei “ To on eipon asōmaton, touto de einai to noēton. ta men oun lechthenta, hosa mnēmoneuein esti moi, toiauta goun ēn. ton dʼ epizētounta logon ethelō paramythēsasthai, tosonde hypeipōn, hoti tauta tois dogmasi tois Platōnos ei mē symbainei, allʼ heterou gʼ echrēn oiesthai tinos andros megalou, mega dynamenou, hoiou Pythagorou.
Then going on a little he adds: “I said that Being is incorporeal, and that this is the intelligible. What was said, as far as I can remember, was something like this. But I wish to encourage the one who seeks the argument, adding this much: that if these things do not agree with Plato’s doctrines, one must think they are those of some other great man of great power, such as Pythagoras.
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius: these views are Platonic or Pythagorean.
- Numenius, On the Good 2 (fragment 7).
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 7) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.9 (Dindorf 2:24–25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.10Dindorf 2:25
λέγει γοῦν Πλάτων, φέρʼ ἀναμνησθῶ πῶς λέγει· τί τὸ ὂν ἀεὶ, γένεσιν δὲ οὐκ ἔχον; καὶ τί τὸ γινόμενον μὲν, ὂν δὲ οὐδέποτε; τὸ μὲν δὴ νοήσει μετὰ λόγου περιληπτὸν, τὸ δʼ αὖ δόξῃ μετὰ αἰσθήσεως ἀλόγου δοξαστὸν, γινόμενον καὶ ἀπολλύμενον, ὄντως δὲ οὐδέποτε ὅν.”
legei goun Platōn, pherʼ anamnēsthō pōs legei; ti to on aei, genesin de ouk echon? kai ti to ginomenon men, on de oudepote? to men dē noēsei meta logou perilēpton, to dʼ au doxę̄ meta aisthēseōs alogou doxaston, ginomenon kai apollymenon, ontōs de oudepote hon.”
Plato says, at any rate (let me recall how he says it): ‘What is that which always is and has no becoming? And what is that which comes to be but never is? The one is grasped by thought with reason, the other is the object of opinion with irrational sensation, coming to be and perishing, but never really being.’
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius quotes the Timaeus.
- Numenius, On the Good 2, quoting Plato, Timaeus 27d–28a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (doubled punctuation in the digital text): πῶς λέγει·· → πῶς λέγει·.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 7) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation); Plato, Tim. 27d–28a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.10 (Dindorf 2:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.11Dindorf 2:25
ἤρετο γὰρ, τί ἐστι τὸ ὂν, φὰς αὐτὸ ἀγένητον ἀναμφιλέκτως. γένεσιν γὰρ οὐκ ἔφη εἶναι τῷ ὄντι· ἐτρέπετο γὰρ ἄν· τρεπόμενον δὲ οὐκ ἦν ἀίδιον.”
ēreto gar, ti esti to on, phas auto agenēton anamphilektōs. genesin gar ouk ephē einai tǭ onti; etrepeto gar an; trepomenon de ouk ēn aidion.”
For he asked what Being is, saying unambiguously that it is unbegotten. For he said that Being has no becoming; for it would have been changed; and what is changed is not eternal.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Being is unbegotten and unchanging.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 7) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.11 (Dindorf 2:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.12Dindorf 2:25
Εἶτα ὑποβάς φησιν “Εἰ μὲν δὴ τὸ ὂν πάντως πάντη ἀίδιόν τέ ἐστι καὶ ἄτρεπτον καὶ οὐδαμῶς οὐδαμῆ ἐξιστάμενον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ, μένει δὲ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἕστηκε, τοῦτο δήπου ἂν εἴη τὸ τῇ νοήσει μετὰ λόγου περιληπτόν.
Eita hypobas phēsin “Ei men dē to on pantōs pantē aidion te esti kai atrepton kai oudamōs oudamē existamenon ex heautou, menei de kata ta auta kai hōsautōs hestēke, touto dēpou an eiē to tę̄ noēsei meta logou perilēpton.
Then going on he says: “If, then, Being is altogether and in every way eternal and unchangeable and never in any way departing from itself, but remains the same and stands in the same manner, this surely would be what is grasped by thought with reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: The eternal is what thought grasps.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (opening quotation mark missing in the digital text): ὑποβάς φησιν Εἰ μὲν → ὑποβάς φησιν “Εἰ μὲν.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 7) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.12 (Dindorf 2:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.13Dindorf 2:25
εἰ δὲ τὸ σῶμα ῥεῖ καὶ φέρεται ὑπὸ τῆς εὐθὺ μεταβολῆς, ἀποδιδράσκει καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν. ὅθεν οὐ πολλὴ μανία μὴ οὐ τοῦτο εἶναι ἀόριστον, δόξῃ δὲ μόνῃ δοξαστὸν, καὶ ὥς φησι Πλάτων, γινόμενον καὶ ἀπολλύμενον, ὄντως δὲ οὐδέποτε ὄν.”
ei de to sōma rhei kai pheretai hypo tēs euthy metabolēs, apodidraskei kai ouk estin. hothen ou pollē mania mē ou touto einai aoriston, doxę̄ de monę̄ doxaston, kai hōs phēsi Platōn, ginomenon kai apollymenon, ontōs de oudepote on.”
But if body flows and is carried along by immediate change, it runs away and is not. Hence would it not be great madness to deny that it is indefinite, an object of opinion only, and, as Plato says, ‘coming to be and perishing, but never really being.’”
Notes and citation
Summary: Body, always changing, never truly is.
- Numenius, On the Good 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ὥς φησι Πλάτωνʼ, → ὥς φησι Πλάτων,.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 2 (frag. 7) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.13 (Dindorf 2:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.14Dindorf 2:25
Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ Νουμήνιος, ὁμοῦ τὰ Πλάτωνος καὶ πολὺ πρότερον τὰ Μώσεως ἐπὶ τὸ σαφέστερον διερμηνεύων. εἰκότως δῆτα εἰς αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνο τὸ λόγιον περιφέρεται, διʼ οὗ φάναι μνημονεύεται, τί γάρ ἐστι Πλάτων, ἢ Μώσης ἀττικίζων;
Tauta men oun ho Noumēnios, homou ta Platōnos kai poly proteron ta Mōseōs epi to saphesteron diermēneuōn. eikotōs dēta eis auton ekeino to logion peripheretai, diʼ hou phanai mnēmoneuetai, ti gar esti Platōn, ē Mōsēs attikizōn?
So Numenius, interpreting more clearly both Plato’s teaching and, much earlier, that of Moses. With good reason, then, the saying is attributed to him in which he is remembered to have said, “For what is Plato but Moses speaking Attic?”
Notes and citation
Summary: Numenius: “What is Plato but Moses speaking Attic?”
- Numenius, fragment 8 (des Places); the saying is also reported by Clement, Miscellanies 1.22.150.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): τί γάρ ἐστι Πλάτωνʼ, → τί γάρ ἐστι Πλάτων,.
Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, frag. 8 (Numenius of Apamea; quotation); Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.22.150 (Miscellanies; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.14 (Dindorf 2:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.15Dindorf 2:25
Θέα δὲ πρὸς τούτοις εἰ μὴ τὸν παρόντα νοῦν ἐπὶ πλέον καὶ ὁ Πλούταρχος ἐξαπλῶν συντρέχοι ἂν ταῖς τε προκειμέναις φωναῖς τῶν φιλοσόφων καὶ ταῖς αὖθις Ἑβραίων κειμέναις ἐν ἑτέραις θεολογίαις, διʼ ὧν τοτὲ μὲν εἰσάγεται λέγων ὁ χρηματίζων θεὸς “διότι ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἠλλοίωμαι·
Thea de pros toutois ei mē ton paronta noun epi pleon kai ho Ploutarchos exaplōn syntrechoi an tais te prokeimenais phōnais tōn philosophōn kai tais authis Hebraiōn keimenais en heterais theologiais, diʼ hōn tote men eisagetai legōn ho chrēmatizōn theos “dioti egō kyrios ho theos hymōn, kai ouk ēlloiōmai;
See besides whether Plutarch too, unfolding the present meaning further, would not agree both with the philosophers’ words just set out and with those of the Hebrews found in other passages about God, in which God who gives the oracle is brought in saying, “For I am the Lord your God, and I do not change”;
Mal 3:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Plutarch agrees with Scripture that God does not change.
- Mal 3:6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (page subdivision letter leaked into the digital text): τὸν παρόντα νοῦν b ἐπὶ → τὸν παρόντα νοῦν ἐπὶ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.15 (Dindorf 2:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
11.10.16Dindorf 2:25–26
τοτὲ δʼ εἰς αὐτὸν ἀφορῶν ὁ προφήτης ἀποτείνεται “ ὅτι δὴ τὰ μὲν ὁρατὰ πάντα τραπείη ἄν ποτε καὶ μεταβληθείη, σὺ δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς εἶ, καὶ τὰ ἔτη σου οὐκ ἐκλείψουσι. σκόπει γοῦν εἰ μὴ ὡς ἐν προτάσει τοῦ τε παρὰ Μωσεῖ φήσαντος “ ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν·” καὶ τοῦ ” ἐγὼ κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἠλλοίωμαι·” καὶ τοῦ “ σὺ δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς εἶ”, δόξαι ἂν ὁ Πλούταρχος ἐν τῷ Περὶ τοῦ Εἶ τοῦ ἐν Δελφοῖς τὴν διάνοιαν ἐφερμηνεύειν, τάδε λέγων πρὸς λέξιν
tote dʼ eis auton aphorōn ho prophētēs apoteinetai “ hoti dē ta men horata panta trapeiē an pote kai metablētheiē, sy de ho autos ei, kai ta etē sou ouk ekleipsousi. skopei goun ei mē hōs en protasei tou te para Mōsei phēsantos “ egō eimi ho ōn;” kai tou ” egō kyrios ho theos hymōn, kai ouk ēlloiōmai;” kai tou “ sy de ho autos ei”, doxai an ho Ploutarchos en tǭ Peri tou Ei tou en Delphois tēn dianoian ephermēneuein, tade legōn pros lexin
and in which the prophet, looking to him, declares that all visible things may at some time be changed and altered, “but you are the same, and your years shall not fail.” Consider, then, whether, with these set out as propositions, Moses’ “I am He who is,” and “I am the Lord your God and I do not change,” and “but you are the same,” Plutarch would not seem to be interpreting the meaning in his work On the E at Delphi, where he says word for word:
Ps 102:27 (101:28 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 3:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Mal 3:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Plutarch’s On the E at Delphi seems to interpret these sayings.
- Ps 102:26–27 (101:27–28 LXX); Exod 3:14; Mal 3:6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip and page subdivision letter in the digital text; breathing slip in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): τὰ ἔτη σοῦ c οὐκ → τὰ ἔτη σου οὐκ; ὡς ἐν προτάσει· → ὡς ἐν προτάσει; ὁ αὐτὸς ἑἶ” → ὁ αὐτὸς εἶ”.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.10.16 (Dindorf 2:25–26; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-6-1/#p-11-10-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-eusebius-praeparatio-11-10-16) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.