Preparation for the Gospel 4.2.1–4.9.7

Eusebius of Caesarea · Preparation for the Gospel · ca. 313–324 · Caesarea · 56 passages

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 4, chapter 2

4.2.1Dindorf 1:157–158

Ὅσα γοῦν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἀμφιβολίαν ἐκπέφευγε τῶν χρησμῶν, οὐ κατὰ πρόγνωσιν τοῦ μέλλοντος, κατὰ δέ τινα στοχασμὸν ἐξενηνεγμένα, τούτων μυρία, μᾶλλον δὲ τὰ πάντα σχεδὸν, ἥλω πολλάκις τῆς προρρήσεως ἀποπεπτωκότα, ἐναντίως ἢ κατὰ τὸ χρησθὲν τοῦ τῶν πραγμάτων τέλους τὴν ἔκβασιν ἀπειληφότος, εἰ μήποτʼ ἄρα σπανίως ἕν ποτε ἐκ μυρίων συμβὰν κατά τινα φορὰν συντυχικὴν, ἢ κατὰ τὴν στοχασθεῖσαν τοῦ μέλλοντος προσδοκίαν, τὸν χρησμὸν ἐπαληθεύειν ἐνομίσθη ποιεῖν.

Hosa goun autois tēn amphibolian ekpepheuge tōn chrēsmōn, ou kata prognōsin tou mellontos, kata de tina stochasmon exenēnegmena, toutōn myria, mallon de ta panta schedon, hēlō pollakis tēs prorrēseōs apopeptōkota, enantiōs ē kata to chrēsthen tou tōn pragmatōn telous tēn ekbasin apeilēphotos, ei mēpotʼ ara spaniōs hen pote ek myriōn symban kata tina phoran syntychikēn, ē kata tēn stochastheisan tou mellontos prosdokian, ton chrēsmon epalētheuein enomisthē poiein.

Of the oracles that have escaped ambiguity, given out not from foreknowledge of the future but by some conjecture, countless ones, or rather almost all, have often been convicted of falling short of the prediction, the outcome of events turning out contrary to what the oracle said; unless perhaps, rarely, one in ten thousand, happening by some chance course or in line with a guessed expectation of the future, was thought to make the oracle come true.

Notes and citation

Summary: Most unambiguous oracles have proved false; the rare successes are chance or guesswork.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen and stray marks in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; words joined in digitization): δὲτὰ → δὲ τὰ; στοχασθεἴ- ’σαν → στοχασθεῖσαν; ἐπαλη- θεύειν → ἐπαληθεύειν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.1 (Dindorf 1:157–158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-1). (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.

4.2.2Dindorf 1:158

ὃ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα θρυλοῦντας ἂν ἴδοις καὶ στήλαις ἐγχαράττοντας καὶ πανταχόσε γῆς βοῶντας, ὅτι μὲν, εἰ τύχοι, τοσοίδε τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἀπεσφάλησαν, μηδαμῆ μηδενὸς ἐθέλοντας μνημονεύειν, ὅτι δὲ τῷδε ἀπὸ μυρίων συνέτυχέ τι τῶν χρησθέντων ἄνω καὶ κάτω περιφέροντας· ὡς εἴ τις καὶ ἐπὶ δύο λαγχάνουσιν ἀπὸ μυρίων, εἰ ἄρα ποτὲ εἰς ἅπαξ αὐτοὺς κατὰ τῶν αὐτῶν συμπεσεῖν ἔτυχε, θαυμάζοι ὡς κατὰ μαντείαν καὶ πρόγνωσιν ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀμφοτέροις συνέβη περιελθεῖν ἀριθμόν.

ho dē kai malista thrylountas an idois kai stēlais encharattontas kai pantachose gēs boōntas, hoti men, ei tychoi, tosoide ton arithmon apesphalēsan, mēdamē mēdenos ethelontas mnēmoneuein, hoti de tǭde apo myriōn synetyche ti tōn chrēsthentōn anō kai katō peripherontas; hōs ei tis kai epi dyo lanchanousin apo myriōn, ei ara pote eis hapax autous kata tōn autōn sympesein etyche, thaumazoi hōs kata manteian kai prognōsin hena kai ton auton amphoterois synebē perielthein arithmon.

This you would see them noising abroad above all, engraving it on pillars and shouting it everywhere on earth; how many times, it may be, they failed they will never mention at all, but that something of what was foretold happened to one man out of ten thousand they carry up and down. It is as if someone, when two people casting lots out of ten thousand happened once to fall on the same number, should marvel as though it came about by divination and foreknowledge that the same number fell to both.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oracle-mongers publicize rare successes and hide failures, like marveling at a coincidence in a lottery.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; digitization slip; line-break hyphen rejoined): χαἲ πρόγνωσιν → καὶ πρόγνωσιν; ἔνα καὶ → ἕνα καὶ; θρυ- λοῦντας → θρυλοῦντας; παν- ταχόσε → πανταχόσε.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.2 (Dindorf 1:158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.3Dindorf 1:158

οὕτω γὰρ ἔχειν τὸ ἀπὸ μυρίων ἐπὶ μυρίοις χρησθέντων ἅπαξ ποτὲ συμβὰν κατὰ τύχην· ὃ καὶ συνιδόντα τὸν μηδὲν στερρὸν ἐν βάθει ψυχῆς κεκτημένον ὑπερεκπλήττεσθαι τὸ χρηστήριον, ᾧ πολὺ κρεῖττον ἦν τὸ μὴ ἀφραίνειν συλλογισαμένῳ ὅσοις ἄλλοις θανάτου γεγόνασιν αἴτιοι στάσεως τε καὶ πολέμων οἱ δεδηλωμένοι, σκέψασθαί τε τῶν παλαιῶν τὰς ἱστορίας, καὶ συνιδεῖν ὡς οὐδὲ τὸ τηνικάδε ἀρετῆς τι θεῖον ἔργον ἐνεδείξαντο, ὁπηνίκα ἤνθει μὲν τὰ Ἑλληνικὰ, συνειστήκει δὲ τὰ πρὶν βοώμενα, νῦν δὲ μηκέτʼ ὄντα χρηστήρια, πάσης προνοίας καὶ σπουδῆς ἠξιωμένα πρὸς τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, τῶν δὴ πατρῴοις νόμοις τε καὶ μυστηρίοις σεβόντων τε αὐτὰ καὶ θεραπευόντων.

houtō gar echein to apo myriōn epi myriois chrēsthentōn hapax pote symban kata tychēn; ho kai synidonta ton mēden sterron en bathei psychēs kektēmenon hyperekplēttesthai to chrēstērion, hǭ poly kreitton ēn to mē aphrainein syllogisamenǭ hosois allois thanatou gegonasin aitioi staseōs te kai polemōn hoi dedēlōmenoi, skepsasthai te tōn palaiōn tas historias, kai synidein hōs oude to tēnikade aretēs ti theion ergon enedeixanto, hopēnika ēnthei men ta Hellēnika, syneistēkei de ta prin boōmena, nyn de mēketʼ onta chrēstēria, pasēs pronoias kai spoudēs ēxiōmena pros tōn epichōriōn, tōn dē patrǭois nomois te kai mystēriois sebontōn te auta kai therapeuontōn.

For such, he would say, is the case of an oracle that once happens to come true by chance out of countless thousands given. A man with nothing solid in the depth of his soul, observing this, is overwhelmed with wonder at the oracle; when it would be far better for him not to be foolish, but to reckon how many others the oracles have caused to die in sedition and war, to examine the histories of the ancients, and to see that even at the time when Greek affairs flourished, and the oracles once so famous, but now no longer existing, stood firm, receiving all care and zeal from the natives who revered and served them with ancestral laws and mysteries, they showed no divine work of virtue.

Notes and citation

Summary: Even in their prime, the oracles showed no divine power, but caused many deaths in strife and war.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): οἶ δεδηλωμένοι → οἱ δεδηλωμένοι; πα- λαιῶν → παλαιῶν; τηνι- κάδε → τηνικάδε; προ- νοίας → προνοίας.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.3 (Dindorf 1:158; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.4Dindorf 1:158–159

καὶ τότε γοῦν μάλιστα τὸ μηδὲν δύνασθαι ἀπηλέγχθησαν ἐν ταῖς τῶν πολέμων συμφοραῖς, ἐν αἷς βοηθεῖν ἀδυνατοῦντες οἱ γενναῖοι θεσπιῳδοὶ διʼ ἀμφιβολίας τῶν χρησμῶν ἥλωσαν σοφισάμενοι τοὺς πρόσφυγας, ὥσπερ οὖν κατὰ τὸν δέοντα καιρὸν ἐπιδείξομεν, παριστῶντες ὅπως καὶ εἰς τὸν κατʼ ἀλλήλων πόλεμον τοὺς χρωμένους παρώξυνον, καὶ ὡς οὐδὲ περὶ σπουδαίων πραγμάτων τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ἐποιοῦντο, καὶ ὡς ἐπλάνων διὰ τῶν χρησμῶν παίζοντες τοὺς ἐρωτῶντας, καὶ ὡς τῷ τῆς ἀσαφείας σκότῳ τὴν σφῶν ἄγνοιαν ἀπεκρύπτοντο.

kai tote goun malista to mēden dynasthai apēlenchthēsan en tais tōn polemōn symphorais, en hais boēthein adynatountes hoi gennaioi thespiǭdoi diʼ amphibolias tōn chrēsmōn hēlōsan sophisamenoi tous prosphygas, hōsper oun kata ton deonta kairon epideixomen, paristōntes hopōs kai eis ton katʼ allēlōn polemon tous chrōmenous parōxynon, kai hōs oude peri spoudaiōn pragmatōn tas apokriseis epoiounto, kai hōs eplanōn dia tōn chrēsmōn paizontes tous erōtōntas, kai hōs tǭ tēs asapheias skotǭ tēn sphōn agnoian apekryptonto.

And then most of all they were proved powerless in the calamities of war, in which the noble givers of oracles, unable to help, were caught deceiving those who fled to them for refuge by the ambiguity of their oracles. This we shall show at the proper time, setting out how they even provoked those who consulted them to war against one another, how they did not give their answers about serious matters, how they misled the inquirers in sport through their oracles, and how they hid their own ignorance in the darkness of obscurity.

Notes and citation

Summary: In wartime the oracles proved powerless, deceiving inquirers with ambiguity and even inciting wars.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; word split and misread in digitization): χρωμέ νοῦς → χρωμένους; πραγ- μάτων → πραγμάτων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.4 (Dindorf 1:158–159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.5Dindorf 1:159

σκέψαι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς πυθόμενος, ὡς καὶ ἀρρώστοις πολλάκις ῥῶσιν καὶ ζωὴν καὶ σωτηρίαν ὑποσχόμενοι, κἄπειτα πιστευθέντες ὡς δὴ θεοὶ, καὶ τῆς ἐνθέου ταύτης ἐμπορίας μεγάλους τοὺς μισθοὺς εἰσπραξάμενοι, οὐ μετὰ πλεῖστον οἵτινες ἦσαν ἐφωράθησαν, γόητες ἄνδρες, ἀλλʼ οὐ θεοὶ διελεγχθέντες, οὐκ αἰσίας καταστροφῆς τοὺς ἠπατημένους διαλαβούσης.

skepsai de kai autos pythomenos, hōs kai arrōstois pollakis rhōsin kai zōēn kai sōtērian hyposchomenoi, kapeita pisteuthentes hōs dē theoi, kai tēs entheou tautēs emporias megalous tous misthous eispraxamenoi, ou meta pleiston hoitines ēsan ephōrathēsan, goētes andres, allʼ ou theoi dielenchthentes, ouk aisias katastrophēs tous ēpatēmenous dialabousēs.

Consider too, on inquiry, how they often promised the sick strength, life, and recovery, and then, having been believed as gods and having exacted great fees for this inspired trade, were not long after detected for what they were, shown to be sorcerers and not gods, when no happy end overtook those they had deceived.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oracles promised cures, took fees, and were exposed as sorcerers when the sick did not recover.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.5 (Dindorf 1:159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.6Dindorf 1:159

τί δεῖ λέγειν, ὡς οὐδὲ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν συνοίκοις, τοῖς δὴ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν πόλιν διατρίβουσιν, οἱ θαυμάσιοι μάντεις τὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν παρέσχον ἐπικουρίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ νοσοῦντας ἂν ἴδοις αὐτόσε καὶ ἀναπήρους καὶ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα λελωβημένους μυρίους; τί δή ποτε οὖν τοῖς μὲν ἔξω καὶ πόρρωθεν ἐξ ἀλλοδαπῆς ἀφικνουμένοις τὰς χρηστὰς ὑπέγραφον ἐλπίδας, οὐκέτι δὲ καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ συνοίκοις, οἷς δὴ πρὸ πάντων ἐχρῆν, ὡς ἂν οἰκείοις φίλοις καὶ συμπολίταις, τὸ ἐκ τῆς τῶν θεῶν παρουσίας ἀγαθὸν παρέχειν, ἀλλʼ ὅτι τοὺς μὲν ξένους ἀγνῶτας ὄντας τῆς ῥᾳδιουργίας ῥᾷον ἂν καὶ ἀπατήσαιεν, οὐκέτι δὲ τοὺς συνήθεις, ὡς ἂν τῆς τέχνης οὐκ ἀπείρους, συνίστορας δὲ ὄντας τῆς ἐπὶ τοῖς τελουμένοις παιδιᾶς;

ti dei legein, hōs oude tois heautōn synoikois, tois dē kata tēn autēn polin diatribousin, hoi thaumasioi manteis tas ex autōn pareschon epikourias, alla kai nosountas an idois autose kai anapērous kai pan to sōma lelōbēmenous myrious? ti dē pote oun tois men exō kai porrōthen ex allodapēs aphiknoumenois tas chrēstas hypegraphon elpidas, ouketi de kai tois kata to auto synoikois, hois dē pro pantōn echrēn, hōs an oikeiois philois kai sympolitais, to ek tēs tōn theōn parousias agathon parechein, allʼ hoti tous men xenous agnōtas ontas tēs rhądiourgias rhąon an kai apatēsaien, ouketi de tous synētheis, hōs an tēs technēs ouk apeirous, synistoras de ontas tēs epi tois teloumenois paidias?

Why need I say that the wonderful prophets did not give their help even to their own fellow residents living in the same city, but you would see countless people there sick, maimed, and disfigured in their whole body? Why, then, did they hold out good hopes to those coming from outside and far off from foreign lands, but not to their fellow residents, to whom above all, as their own friends and fellow citizens, they should have given the benefit of the presence of the gods? Was it not because they could more easily deceive strangers who did not know their trickery, but not their familiar neighbors, who were not unacquainted with the art and were privy to the game played in the rites?

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracles helped strangers but not their own neighbors, who knew the trickery.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): συνί- στορας → συνίστορας.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.6 (Dindorf 1:159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.7Dindorf 1:159

οὕτω δὲ τὸ πᾶν οὐ θεῖον, οὐδὲ ἀνθρωπίνης ἐπινοίας κρεῖττον ἦν· ὥστε κἀν ταῖς μεγίσταις συμφοραῖς, ταῖς δὴ ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ κατὰ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐπαιωρουμέναις, αὐτοῖς ἀφιερώμασι καὶ ξοάνοις φθορὰν ἐσχάτην καὶ πτώσεις ἀθρόας τοὺς νεὼς αὐτῶν ὑπομεῖναι.

houtō de to pan ou theion, oude anthrōpinēs epinoias kreitton ēn; hōste kan tais megistais symphorais, tais dē anōthen ek tou pambasileōs theou kata tōn asebōn epaiōroumenais, autois aphierōmasi kai xoanois phthoran eschatēn kai ptōseis athroas tous neōs autōn hypomeinai.

So the whole thing was not divine, nor superior to human contrivance; so that in the greatest calamities, those that hung over the impious from above, from God the universal King, the temples themselves with their offerings and images suffered utter destruction and sudden collapse.

Notes and citation

Summary: Temples and images were destroyed in calamities sent by God.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): συμφοραἳς → συμφοραῖς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.7 (Dindorf 1:159; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.8Dindorf 1:159–160

ποῦ γάρ σοι τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς ἱερὸν παρὰ πᾶσιν Ἕλλησιν ἐξ αἰῶνος βεβοημένον; ποῦ ὁ Πύθιος; ὁ Κλάριος; ποῦ καὶ ὁ Δωδωναῖος; τὸ μέν γε Δελφικὸν χρηστήριον τρίτον ὑπὸ Θρᾳκῶν ἐμπρησθῆναι κατέχει λόγος, οὐδὲν τοῦ μαντείου εἰς τὴν τοῦ μέλλοντος γνῶσιν, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τοῦ Πυθίου τὰ οἰκεῖα προφυλάξασθαι δεδυνημένου. ταυτὸν δὲ παθεῖν καὶ τὸ ἐν Ῥώμῃ Καπιτώλιον ἱστορεῖται κατὰ τοὺς τῶν Πτολεμαίων χρόνους, καθʼ οὓς λέγεται καὶ τὸ τῆς Ἑστίας ἱερὸν ἐπὶ Ῥώμης ἐμπρησμὸν ὑπομεῖναι· ἀμφὶ δὲ Ἰούλιον Καίσαρα τὸ μέγα τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ Ὀλυμπικὸν ἄγαλμα, τὸ ἐν αὐταῖς Ὀλυμπιάσι, κεραυνῷ πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ βληθὲν ἀναγράφουσι· καὶ ἄλλοτέ φασι τὸν νεὼν τοῦ Καπιτωλίου Δῖός ἐμπρησθῆναι· καὶ τό γε Πάνθεον ὑπὸ κεραυνοῦ διαφθαρῆναι, τό τε Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ ὁμοίως καταφλεχθῆναι.

pou gar soi to en Delphois hieron para pasin Hellēsin ex aiōnos beboēmenon? pou ho Pythios? ho Klarios? pou kai ho Dōdōnaios? to men ge Delphikon chrēstērion triton hypo Thrąkōn emprēsthēnai katechei logos, ouden tou manteiou eis tēn tou mellontos gnōsin, allʼ oude tou Pythiou ta oikeia prophylaxasthai dedynēmenou. tauton de pathein kai to en Rhōmę̄ Kapitōlion historeitai kata tous tōn Ptolemaiōn chronous, kathʼ hous legetai kai to tēs Hestias hieron epi Rhōmēs emprēsmon hypomeinai; amphi de Ioulion Kaisara to mega tōn Hellēnōn kai Olympikon agalma, to en autais Olympiasi, keraunǭ pros tou theou blēthen anagraphousi; kai allote phasi ton neōn tou Kapitōliou Dios emprēsthēnai; kai to ge Pantheon hypo keraunou diaphtharēnai, to te Alexandreią homoiōs kataphlechthēnai.

For where is the temple at Delphi, celebrated among all the Greeks from all time? Where is the Pythian? The Clarian? Where the Dodonaean? The Delphic oracle, the story goes, was burned three times by the Thracians, the oracle being of no avail for knowledge of the future, nor able to protect the Pythian's own property. The Capitol at Rome is recorded to have suffered the same in the times of the Ptolemies, when the temple of Vesta at Rome is also said to have been burned. About the time of Julius Caesar they record that the great Olympian statue of the Greeks, at Olympia itself, was struck by the god with a thunderbolt. At another time, they say, the temple of Capitoline Zeus was burned, the Pantheon destroyed by lightning, and the temple at Alexandria likewise burned down.

Notes and citation

Summary: Famous temples and oracles were burned or struck by lightning, unable to protect themselves.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): καταφλεχθῇναι → καταφλεχθῆναι; Δωδω- ναῖος → Δωδωναῖος; μαν- τείου → μαντείου; ἐμπρη- σμὸν → ἐμπρησμὸν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.8 (Dindorf 1:159–160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.9Dindorf 1:160

καὶ τούτων παρʼ αὐτοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἀνάγραπτοι φέρονται μαρτυρίαι. μακρὸς δʼ ἂν εἴη λόγος, εἰ μέλλοι τις τὰ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἐξαριθμεῖσθαι, παριστάναι πειρώμενος ὅτι μηδὲ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἱεροῖς ἐπαμῦναι οἱ θαυμαστοὶ χρησμοδόται δυνατοὶ πεφώρανται· οἱ δὲ μηδὲ σφίσιν αὐτοῖς ἐν συμφοραῖς γενόμενοι χρήσιμοι σχολῇ γʼ ἂν ποτε κἂν ἄλλοις ἐπαρκέσειαν.

kai toutōn parʼ autois Hellēsin anagraptoi pherontai martyriai. makros dʼ an eiē logos, ei melloi tis ta kathʼ hekaston exarithmeisthai, paristanai peirōmenos hoti mēde tois oikeiois hierois epamynai hoi thaumastoi chrēsmodotai dynatoi pephōrantai; hoi de mēde sphisin autois en symphorais genomenoi chrēsimoi scholę̄ gʼ an pote kan allois eparkeseian.

Of these things testimonies are recorded among the Greeks themselves. It would be a long account if one were to number each, trying to show that the wonderful oracle-givers have been caught unable to defend even their own temples. And those who were of no use to themselves in calamities could hardly ever help others.

Notes and citation

Summary: Gods who could not save their own temples cannot help others.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): οἰ- κείοις → οἰκείοις; δυ- νατοὶ → δυνατοὶ; συμ- φοραῖς → συμφοραῖς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.9 (Dindorf 1:160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.10Dindorf 1:160

ἕν δέ τι προσθεὶς τοῖς εἰρημένοις μέγιστον ἂν εἴη καθεωρακὼς κεφάλαιον, ὡς ἤδη καὶ τῶν ἄγαν θεοφόρων, αὐτῶν δὴ τῶν μάλιστα ἱεροφαντῶν θεολόγων τε αὐτοῖς καὶ προφητῶν, πλείους οὐ μόνον πάλαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔναγχος καθʼ ἡμὰς αὐτοὺς, ἐπὶ τῇ θεοσοφίᾳ ταύτῃ βοηθέντες, διὰ βασάνων αἰκίας ἐπὶ τῶν Ῥωμαϊκῶν δικαστηρίων τὴν πᾶσαν ἐξέφηναν πλάνην ἀνδρῶν ἀπάταις γίγνεσθαι, γοητείαν τετεχνασμένην τὸ πὰν εἶναι ὁμολογήσαντες· οἵ γε καὶ τὸν πάντα τρόπον τῆς κατασκευῆς καὶ τὰς μεθόδους τῆς κακοτεχνίας ταῖς πρὸς αὐτῶν ἐν ὑπομνήμασιν ἀφεθείσαις φωναῖς ἐνεγράψαντο.

hen de ti prostheis tois eirēmenois megiston an eiē katheōrakōs kephalaion, hōs ēdē kai tōn agan theophorōn, autōn dē tōn malista hierophantōn theologōn te autois kai prophētōn, pleious ou monon palai, alla kai enanchos kathʼ hēmas autous, epi tę̄ theosophią tautę̄ boēthentes, dia basanōn aikias epi tōn Rhōmaïkōn dikastēriōn tēn pasan exephēnan planēn andrōn apatais gignesthai, goēteian tetechnasmenēn to pan einai homologēsantes; hoi ge kai ton panta tropon tēs kataskeuēs kai tas methodous tēs kakotechnias tais pros autōn en hypomnēmasin aphetheisais phōnais enegrapsanto.

But adding one thing to what has been said, one would have seen the greatest point of all: that already many of the extremely inspired, the very chief hierophants, theologians, and prophets among them, celebrated for this divine wisdom, not only long ago but also lately in our own time, under torture before the Roman tribunals revealed that the whole error was produced by the deceits of men, confessing that the whole thing was a contrived sorcery; and they recorded the whole manner of the contrivance and the methods of the evil art in their words taken down in the court records.

Notes and citation

Summary: Pagan priests themselves, under torture in Roman courts, confessed the oracles were trickery.

Eusebius refers to the trials under Licinius at Antioch (compare Church History 9.11.5–6).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (letters transposed in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; repeated word joined in digitization): εἰρημέμνοις → εἰρημένοις; τὴν τὴνπᾶσαν → τὴν πᾶσαν; βα- σάνων → βασάνων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.10 (Dindorf 1:160; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.11Dindorf 1:160–161

διὸ δὴ καὶ τὴν ἀξίαν τῆς ὀλεθρίου πλάνης δίκην ἐκτίσαντες πάντα λόγον ἀνεκάλυψαν, αὐτοῖς ἔργοις τὴν τῶν δηλουμένων ἀπόδειξιν πιστωσάμενοι. ὁποῖοι δὲ ἦσαν οὗτοι; μὴ δὴ νόμιζε τῶν ἀπερριμμένων καὶ ἀφανῶν τινάς· οἱ μέν γε αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς θαυμαστῆς ταύτης καὶ γενναίας φιλοσοφίας ὡρμῶντο, τῶν ἀμφὶ τὸν τρίβωνα, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ὀφρῦν ἀνεσπακότων, οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τέλει τῆς Ἀντιοχέων ἡλίσκοντο πόλεως, οἱ δὴ μάλιστα καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς καθʼ ἡμῶν ὕβρεσιν ἐν τῷ καθʼ ἡμᾶς διωγμῷ λαμπρυνόμενοι ἴσμεν δὲ καὶ τὸν φιλόσοφον ὁμοῦ καὶ προφήτην τὰ ὅμοια τοῖς εἰρημένοις κατὰ τὴν Μίλητον ὑπομείναντα.

dio dē kai tēn axian tēs olethriou planēs dikēn ektisantes panta logon anekalypsan, autois ergois tēn tōn dēloumenōn apodeixin pistōsamenoi. hopoioi de ēsan houtoi? mē dē nomize tōn aperrimmenōn kai aphanōn tinas; hoi men ge autois apo tēs thaumastēs tautēs kai gennaias philosophias hōrmōnto, tōn amphi ton tribōna, kai tēn allēn ophryn anespakotōn, hoi de apo tōn en telei tēs Antiocheōn hēliskonto poleōs, hoi dē malista kai epi tais kathʼ hēmōn hybresin en tǭ kathʼ hēmas diōgmǭ lamprynomenoi ismen de kai ton philosophon homou kai prophētēn ta homoia tois eirēmenois kata tēn Milēton hypomeinanta.

So, having paid the just penalty for their destructive error, they revealed the whole matter, confirming the proof of what has been said by the deeds themselves. And who were these? Do not think they were outcasts or obscure people. Some of them came from this wonderful and noble philosophy, of those who wear the cloak and have raised their eyebrows high; others were caught from among the magistrates of the city of Antioch, the very men who were especially distinguished for their outrages against us in the persecution of our time. And we know too that the philosopher and prophet at Miletus suffered things like those described.

Notes and citation

Summary: Those convicted included philosophers and magistrates of Antioch who had persecuted Christians, and the prophet at Miletus.

Compare Eusebius, Church History 9.11.5–6 on Theotecnus and the prophets of Antioch.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): οἶ δὲ ἀπὸ → οἱ δὲ ἀπὸ; ἐκτί- σαντες → ἐκτίσαντες.

Topics: Persecution

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.11 (Dindorf 1:160–161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.12Dindorf 1:161

Ταῦτα δή τις καὶ τούτων ἔτι πλείω συνάγων εἴποι ἂν μὴ θεοὺς εἶναι, μηδὲ μὴν δαίμονας, τοὺς τῶν κατὰ πόλεις χρηστηρίων αἰτίους, πλάνην δὲ καὶ ἀπάτην ἀνδρῶν γοήτων.

Tauta dē tis kai toutōn eti pleiō synagōn eipoi an mē theous einai, mēde mēn daimonas, tous tōn kata poleis chrēstēriōn aitious, planēn de kai apatēn andrōn goētōn.

Gathering these and still more things, one might say that the causes of the oracles in the cities are neither gods nor even demons, but the error and deceit of sorcerers.

Notes and citation

Summary: One might conclude that oracles are human fraud, not gods or demons.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.12 (Dindorf 1:161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.13Dindorf 1:161

καὶ ἦσάν γε παρʼ αὐτοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὅλαι διὰ φιλοσοφίας διαπρεπεῖς αἱρέσεις ταύτης προιστάμεναι τῆς δόξης, ὡς οἱ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους καὶ πάντες οἱ καθεξῆς τοῦ Περιπάτου, κυνικοὶ τε καὶ Ἐπικούρειοι, οὓς καὶ μάλιστα ἔγωγε ἐθαύμασα, ὅπως ἐν τοῖς Ἑλλήνων ἤθεσι τραφέντες ἐξέτι τε σπαργάνων, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς θεοὺς εἶναι τοὺς δηλουμένους παρειληφότες, οὐ θατέρᾳ ληπτοὶ γεγόνασιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ κράτος καὶ τὰ βοώμενα χρηστήρια καὶ τὰ παρὰ πᾶσι μεταδιωκόμενα μαντεῖα οὐδὲν φέρειν ἀληθὲς ἀπήλεγξαν, ἀνωφελῆ τε εἶναι ἀπεφήναντο καὶ μᾶλλον ἐπιβλαβῆ τυγχάνειν

kai ēsan ge parʼ autois Hellēsin holai dia philosophias diaprepeis haireseis tautēs proistamenai tēs doxēs, hōs hoi apo tou Aristotelous kai pantes hoi kathexēs tou Peripatou, kynikoi te kai Epikoureioi, hous kai malista egōge ethaumasa, hopōs en tois Hellēnōn ēthesi traphentes exeti te sparganōn, pais para patros theous einai tous dēloumenous pareilēphotes, ou thaterą lēptoi gegonasin, alla kata kratos kai ta boōmena chrēstēria kai ta para pasi metadiōkomena manteia ouden pherein alēthes apēlenxan, anōphelē te einai apephēnanto kai mallon epiblabē tynchanein

And among the Greeks themselves there were whole schools, distinguished in philosophy, that championed this opinion, such as the followers of Aristotle and all the Peripatetics after them, the Cynics, and the Epicureans. These I have admired most of all: how, brought up in Greek ways from their swaddling clothes and having received from father to son the belief that these are gods, they were not caught by either side, but mightily refuted the celebrated oracles and the divinations sought by all as bearing nothing true, and declared them useless and rather harmful.

Notes and citation

Summary: Peripatetics, Cynics, and Epicureans themselves rejected the oracles as false and harmful.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; repeated punctuation in digitization): οἶ ἀπὸ → οἱ ἀπὸ; Περιπάτου,, → Περιπάτου,.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.13 (Dindorf 1:161; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.2.14Dindorf 1:161–162

μυρίων δὲ ὄντων—καὶ διὰ πλειόνων τὴν τῶν μαντείων ἀνατροπὴν πεποιημένων, ἐξαρκεῖν ἔμοιγε μαρτυρίας χάριν τῶν εἰρημένων ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἡγοῦμαι καὶ μίαν ἑνὸς τούτων παράθεσιν ἀπαντῶσαν πρὸς τὰ Χρυσίππῳ περὶ εἱμαρμένης ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν μαντείων προρρήσεως κατασκευασθέντα. γράφει δʼ οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ συγγραφεὺς, ἀπελέγχων ὅτι κακῶς ἐκ τῶν μαντείων σημειοῦται τὴν εἱμαρμένην, καὶ ὅτι ἐν τοῖς πλείστοις τὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων μαντεῖα διαψεύδονται, καὶ ὅτι σπανίως αὐτοῖς ἐκ συντυχίας ποτέ τινα συμβαίνει, ὅτι τε ἄχρηστος αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπιβλαβὴς ἡ πρόρρησις. ἄκουε δʼ οὖν ἅ φησι κατὰ λέξιν

myriōn de ontōn—kai dia pleionōn tēn tōn manteiōn anatropēn pepoiēmenōn, exarkein emoige martyrias charin tōn eirēmenōn epi tou parontos hēgoumai kai mian henos toutōn parathesin apantōsan pros ta Chrysippǭ peri heimarmenēs apo tēs tōn manteiōn prorrēseōs kataskeuasthenta. graphei dʼ oun pros auton ho syngrapheus, apelenchōn hoti kakōs ek tōn manteiōn sēmeioutai tēn heimarmenēn, kai hoti en tois pleistois ta tōn Hellēnōn manteia diapseudontai, kai hoti spaniōs autois ek syntychias pote tina symbainei, hoti te achrēstos autōn kai epiblabēs hē prorrēsis. akoue dʼ oun ha phēsi kata lexin

Though there are countless writers who have overthrown divination at greater length, I think it enough for the present, to bear witness to what has been said, to set out one passage of one of them, which answers the arguments constructed by Chrysippus about fate from the prediction of oracles. The writer, then, addressing him, refutes him, showing that he wrongly infers fate from the oracles, that the oracles of the Greeks are false in most things, that they rarely come true by chance, and that their prediction is useless and harmful. Listen, then, to what he says word for word:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius introduces a philosopher's refutation of Chrysippus's argument for fate from oracles.

The writer quoted in 4.3.1–13 is the Peripatetic Diogenianus (so also 6.8).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; stray letters in digitization): καὶ ἴʼ μίαν → καὶ μίαν; τοἲς → τοῖς; συμ- βαίνει → συμβαίνει.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.2.14 (Dindorf 1:161–162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-2-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 3

4.3.1Dindorf 1:162

“Φέρει δὲ καὶ ἄλλην ἀπόδειξιν ἐν τῷ προειρημένῳ βιβλίῳ τοιαύτην τινά. μὴ γὰρ ἂν τὰς τῶν μάντεων προρρήσεις ἀληθεῖς εἶναί φησιν, εἰ μὴ πάντα ὑπὸ τῆς εἱμαρμένης περιείχοντο· ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ πολλῆς εὐηθείας μεστόν ἐστιν. ὡς γὰρ ἐναργοῦς ὄντος τοῦ πάσας ἀποβαίνειν τὰς τῶν καλουμένων μάντεων προρρήσεις, ἢ ὡς μᾶλλον ἂν ὑπό τινος τούτου συγχωρηθέντος, τοῦ πάντα γίνεσθαι καθʼ εἱμαρμένην, καὶ οὐχὶ ὁμοίως ἂν ψευδοῦς ῥηθέντος καὶ αὐτοῦ· ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὸ ἐναντίον, λέγω δὲ τὸ μὴ πάντα ἀποβαίνειν τὰ προαγορευθέντα, μᾶλλον δὲ τὰ πλεῖστα αὐτῶν ἡ ἐνάργεια δείκνυσιν.

“Pherei de kai allēn apodeixin en tǭ proeirēmenǭ bibliǭ toiautēn tina. mē gar an tas tōn manteōn prorrēseis alētheis einai phēsin, ei mē panta hypo tēs heimarmenēs perieichonto; ho kai auto pollēs euētheias meston estin. hōs gar enargous ontos tou pasas apobainein tas tōn kaloumenōn manteōn prorrēseis, ē hōs mallon an hypo tinos toutou synchōrēthentos, tou panta ginesthai kathʼ heimarmenēn, kai ouchi homoiōs an pseudous rhēthentos kai autou; epeidē kai to enantion, legō de to mē panta apobainein ta proagoreuthenta, mallon de ta pleista autōn hē enargeia deiknysin.

"He brings another proof too in the book mentioned, of this kind. He says the predictions of the seers could not be true unless all things were encompassed by fate. This too is full of great simplicity. For he argues as if it were evident that all the predictions of the so-called seers come true, or as if this would be granted by anyone more readily than that all things happen by fate, and as if it were not equally false itself; since evidence shows the opposite, I mean that not all the things foretold come true, but rather that most do not.

Notes and citation

Summary: Diogenianus attacks Chrysippus's claim that true prophecy proves fate, noting that most prophecies fail.

Diogenianus, against Chrysippus (sections 4.3.1–13).

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.1 (Dindorf 1:162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.2Dindorf 1:162

οὕτω τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἡμῖν Χρύσιππος κεκόμικε, διʼ ἀλλήλων κατασκευάζων ἑκάτερα. τὸ μὲν γὰρ πάντα γίγνεσθαι καθʼ εἱμαρμένην ἐκ τοῦ μαντικὴν εἶναι δεικνύναι βούλεται, τὸ δὲ εἶναι μαντικὴν οὐκ ἂν ἄλλως ἀποδεῖξαι δύναιτο, εἰ μὴ προλάβοι τὸ πάντα συμβαίνειν καθʼ εἱμαρμένην.

houtō tēn apodeixin hēmin Chrysippos kekomike, diʼ allēlōn kataskeuazōn hekatera. to men gar panta gignesthai kathʼ heimarmenēn ek tou mantikēn einai deiknynai bouletai, to de einai mantikēn ouk an allōs apodeixai dynaito, ei mē prolaboi to panta symbainein kathʼ heimarmenēn.

So Chrysippus has given us his proof, establishing each of the two by the other. He wants to show that all things happen by fate from the existence of divination, but he could not prove that divination exists otherwise than by first assuming that all things happen by fate.

Notes and citation

Summary: Chrysippus argues in a circle, proving fate by divination and divination by fate.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.2 (Dindorf 1:162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.3Dindorf 1:162

ποῖος δʼ ἂν μοχθηρότερος τρόπος ἀποδείξεως τούτου γένοιτο; τὸ γὰρ ἀποβαίνειν τινὰ κατὰ τὴν ἐνάργειαν ὧν προλέγουσιν οἱ μάντεις, οὐ τοῦ μαντικὴν ἐπιστήμην εἶναι σημεῖον ἂν εἴη, ἀλλὰ τοῦ τυχικῶς συμπίπτειν ταῖς προαγορεύσεσι συμφώνους τὰς ἐκβάσεις· ὅπερ οὐδεμίαν ἡμῖν ἐπιστήμην ὑποδείκνυσιν.

poios dʼ an mochthēroteros tropos apodeixeōs toutou genoito? to gar apobainein tina kata tēn enargeian hōn prolegousin hoi manteis, ou tou mantikēn epistēmēn einai sēmeion an eiē, alla tou tychikōs sympiptein tais proagoreusesi symphōnous tas ekbaseis; hoper oudemian hēmin epistēmēn hypodeiknysin.

What method of proof could be worse than this? For that some of what the seers predict evidently comes true would be a sign not that divination is a science, but that outcomes by chance coincide with the predictions; which shows us no science.

Notes and citation

Summary: Occasional fulfillment shows chance, not a science of divination.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): σημεἲον → σημεῖον; ἐκ- βάσεις → ἐκβάσεις.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.3 (Dindorf 1:162; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.4Dindorf 1:162–163

οὐδὲ γὰρ τοξότην ἂν εἴποιμεν ἐπιστήμονα τὸν ἅπαξ ποτὲ τυχόντα τοῦ σκοποῦ, πολλάκις δὲ ἀποτυγχάνοντα, οὐδὲ ἰατρὸν τὸν ἀναιροῦντα τοὺς πλείους τῶν θεραπευομένων ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ, ἕνα δέ ποτε διασῶσαι δυνηθέντα· οὐδὲ ὅλως ἐπιστήμην λέγομεν τὴν μὴ πάντα ἢ τά γε πλεῖστα τῶν οἰκείων ἔργων κατορθοῦσαν.

oude gar toxotēn an eipoimen epistēmona ton hapax pote tychonta tou skopou, pollakis de apotynchanonta, oude iatron ton anairounta tous pleious tōn therapeuomenōn hypʼ autou, hena de pote diasōsai dynēthenta; oude holōs epistēmēn legomen tēn mē panta ē ta ge pleista tōn oikeiōn ergōn katorthousan.

For we would not call an archer skilled who once hit the target but often missed, nor a physician one who kills most of those he treats but was once able to save one; nor do we call anything at all a science which does not succeed in all, or at least most, of its proper works.

Notes and citation

Summary: A science must succeed usually, not occasionally.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): ἔνα δέ → ἕνα δέ; ἀπο- τυγχάνοντα → ἀποτυγχάνοντα.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.4 (Dindorf 1:162–163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.5Dindorf 1:163

ὅτι δὲ ἀποτυγχάνεται αἰ τὰ πολλὰ τοῖς καλουμένοις μάντεσιν ὁ πᾶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίος μάρτυς ἂν εἴη, καὶ οὗτοί γε αὐτοὶ οἱ τὴν μαντικὴν ἐπαγγελλόμενοι τέχνην, οὐχὶ διὰ ταύτης ἑαυτοῖς βοηθοῦντες ἐν ταῖς κατὰ τὸν βίον χρείαις, ἀλλὰ γνώμῃ τε ἰδίᾳ ποτὲ χρώμενοι καὶ συμβουλῇ καὶ συνεργείᾳ τῶν ἐν ἑκάστοις τῶν πραγμάτων ἐμπειρίαν κεκτῆσθαι νενομισμένων.

hoti de apotynchanetai ai ta polla tois kaloumenois mantesin ho pas tōn anthrōpōn bios martys an eiē, kai houtoi ge autoi hoi tēn mantikēn epangellomenoi technēn, ouchi dia tautēs heautois boēthountes en tais kata ton bion chreiais, alla gnōmę̄ te idią pote chrōmenoi kai symboulę̄ kai synergeią tōn en hekastois tōn pragmatōn empeirian kektēsthai nenomismenōn.

That the so-called seers fail for the most part the whole of human life would testify, and these very men who profess the art of divination, who do not help themselves by it in the needs of life, but sometimes use their own judgment and the counsel and help of those thought to have experience in each matter.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: Even diviners rely on judgment and advice, not divination, in their own affairs.

The words αἰ τὰ πολλά are corrupt in the digital text; translated "for the most part."

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): μαν- τικὴν → μαντικὴν; ἐμπει- ρίαν → ἐμπειρίαν.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.5 (Dindorf 1:163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.6Dindorf 1:163

ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τοῦ μὴ συνεστάναι τοῦτο, ὃ προειλήφαμεν καλεῖν μαντικὴν, ἐν ἄλλοις ἀποδώσομεν πληρέστερον, παρατιθέμενοι τὰ Ἐπικούρῳ καὶ περὶ τούτου δοκοῦντα· νυνὶ δὲ τοσοῦτον τοῖς εἰρημένοις προσθήσομεν, ὅτι μάλιστα μὲν τὸ ἀληθεύειν ποτὲ τοὺς καλουμένους μάντεις ἐν ταῖς προαγορεύσεσιν οὐκ ἐπιστήμης, ἀλλὰ τυχικῆς αἰτίας ἔργον ἂν εἴη — οὐ γὰρ τὸ μηδεπώποτε τοῦ προκειμένου τυγχάνειν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὴ πάντοτε, μηδʼ ὡς ἐπὶ τὸ πλεῖστον, μηδʼ ἐξ ἐπιστήμης, ὅταν τις καί ποτε τυγχάνῃ, τύχης ἔργον καλεῖν προειλήφαμεν οἱ διειληφότες τὰς ὑφʼ ἕκαστον ὄνομα τεταγμένας ἐναργεῖς ἐννοίας ἑαυτῶν — ἔπειτα εἰ καὶ καθʼ ὑπόθεσιν ἦν ἀληθὲς τὸ δὴ τὴν μαντικὴν τῶν μελλόντων ἁπάντων εἶναι θεωρητικήν τε καὶ προαγορευτικὴν, τὸ μὲν πάντα καθʼ εἱμαρμένην εἶναι συνήγετο ἂν οὕτως, τὸ μέντοι χρειῶδες αὐτῆς καὶ βιωφελὲς οὐκ ἄν ποτε ἐδείκνυτο· διὸ καὶ μάλιστα δοκεῖ Χρύσιππος ὑμνεῖν τὴν μαντικήν.

alla peri men tou mē synestanai touto, ho proeilēphamen kalein mantikēn, en allois apodōsomen plēresteron, paratithemenoi ta Epikourǭ kai peri toutou dokounta; nyni de tosouton tois eirēmenois prosthēsomen, hoti malista men to alētheuein pote tous kaloumenous manteis en tais proagoreusesin ouk epistēmēs, alla tychikēs aitias ergon an eiē — ou gar to mēdepōpote tou prokeimenou tynchanein, alla to mē pantote, mēdʼ hōs epi to pleiston, mēdʼ ex epistēmēs, hotan tis kai pote tynchanę̄, tychēs ergon kalein proeilēphamen hoi dieilēphotes tas hyphʼ hekaston onoma tetagmenas enargeis ennoias heautōn — epeita ei kai kathʼ hypothesin ēn alēthes to dē tēn mantikēn tōn mellontōn hapantōn einai theōrētikēn te kai proagoreutikēn, to men panta kathʼ heimarmenēn einai synēgeto an houtōs, to mentoi chreiōdes autēs kai biōpheles ouk an pote edeiknyto; dio kai malista dokei Chrysippos hymnein tēn mantikēn.

But that what we have agreed to call divination does not exist, we shall show more fully elsewhere, setting out Epicurus's views on this. For now we shall add this much to what has been said: first, that the so-called seers' sometimes speaking the truth in their predictions would be the work not of science but of a chance cause (for we who have distinguished the clear notions assigned to each name have agreed to call the work of chance not what never hits the mark, but what does not hit it always, nor for the most part, nor by science, when someone does sometimes hit it); and then, even if it were true by hypothesis that divination observes and foretells all future things, it would follow that all things are by fate, but its usefulness and benefit to life would never be shown; which is the chief reason Chrysippus seems to praise divination.

Notes and citation

Summary: Even if divination foretold everything, it would prove fate but not usefulness.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): οἶ διειληφότες → οἱ διειληφότες; μάν- τεις → μάντεις; τε- ταγμένας → τεταγμένας; προα- γορευτικὴν → προαγορευτικὴν.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.6 (Dindorf 1:163; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.7Dindorf 1:163–164

τί γὰρ ὄφελος ἡμῖν ἦν προμανθάνειν τὰ πάντως ἐσόμενα δυσχερῆ, ἃ οὐδὲ προφυλάξασθαι δυνατὸν ἂν εἴη; τὰ γὰρ καθʼ εἱμαρμένην γινόμενα πῶς ἄν τις φυλάξασθαι δύναιτο; ὥστʼ οὐδὲν ὄφελος ἡμῖν τῆς μαντικῆς, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὸς κακοῦ τινος ἐγίνετο ἂν αὕτη, τὸ προλυπεῖσθαι μάτην παρέχουσα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπὶ ταῖς προδηλουμέναις δυσχερείαις κατʼ ἀνάγκην ἐσομέναις.

ti gar ophelos hēmin ēn promanthanein ta pantōs esomena dyscherē, ha oude prophylaxasthai dynaton an eiē? ta gar kathʼ heimarmenēn ginomena pōs an tis phylaxasthai dynaito? hōstʼ ouden ophelos hēmin tēs mantikēs, mallon de kai pros kakou tinos egineto an hautē, to prolypeisthai matēn parechousa tois anthrōpois epi tais prodēloumenais dyschereiais katʼ anankēn esomenais.

For what use would it be to us to learn beforehand misfortunes that will certainly come, which we could not even guard against? For how could anyone guard against what happens by fate? So divination would be of no use to us, but rather it would turn to some harm, causing men to grieve in vain beforehand over the misfortunes foretold, which must of necessity come.

Notes and citation

Summary: Foreknowing unavoidable misfortune only brings needless grief.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): δυσ- χερῆ → δυσχερῆ; φυλάξα- σθαι → φυλάξασθαι.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.7 (Dindorf 1:163–164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.8Dindorf 1:164

οὐ γὰρ τὴν ἴσην πάλιν εὐφροσύνην τις φήσει παρέχειν τὴν τῶν ἐσομένων ἀγαθῶν προαγόρευσιν, ἐπειδήπερ οὐχ οὕτως πέφυκεν ἄνθρωπος χαίρειν ἐπὶ τοῖς προσδοκωμένοις ἀγαθοῖς ὡς ἐπὶ τοῖς κακοῖς ἀνιᾶσθαι. ἄλλως τε καὶ ταῦτα μὲν οὐ πάνυ τι περὶ ἑαυτοὺς ἔσεσθαι πρὶν ἀκοῦσαι κατελπίζομεν· τὰ δʼ ἀγαθὰ μᾶλλον ἅπαντες, ὡς εἰπεῖν, προσδοκῶμεν, διὰ τὴν φυσικὴν οἰκείωσιν πρὸς αὐτά· οἱ μὲν γὰρ πολλοὶ καὶ μείζω τῶν δυνατῶν γενέσθαι κατηλπίκασιν.

ou gar tēn isēn palin euphrosynēn tis phēsei parechein tēn tōn esomenōn agathōn proagoreusin, epeidēper ouch houtōs pephyken anthrōpos chairein epi tois prosdokōmenois agathois hōs epi tois kakois aniasthai. allōs te kai tauta men ou pany ti peri heautous esesthai prin akousai katelpizomen; ta dʼ agatha mallon hapantes, hōs eipein, prosdokōmen, dia tēn physikēn oikeiōsin pros auta; hoi men gar polloi kai meizō tōn dynatōn genesthai katēlpikasin.

No one will say that the prediction of future good things gives equal joy in return, since man is not so made as to rejoice over expected goods as much as he is pained by evils. Besides, we do not much expect misfortunes to befall ourselves before we hear of them, but we all, so to speak, rather expect good things, because of our natural affinity to them; for most people even hope for more than is possible.

Notes and citation

Summary: People already expect good things, so foretelling them adds little joy.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; digitization slip; line-break hyphen rejoined): τροαγόρευσιν → προαγόρευσιν; οἶ μὲν γὰρ → οἱ μὲν γὰρ; κατηλ- πίκασιν → κατηλπίκασιν.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.8 (Dindorf 1:164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.9Dindorf 1:164

ἐξ οὗ συμβαίνει τὸ τὴν μὲν τῶν ἀγαθῶν προαγόρευσιν μὴ ἐπιτείνειν πάνυ τι τὴν χαρὰν, διὰ τὸ καὶ χωρὶς τῆς προαγορεύσεως ἕκαστον ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ τὰ κρείττω προσδοκᾶν, ἢ ἐπʼ ὀλίγον ἐπιτείνειν τῇ δοκούσῃ βεβαιότητι, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ μειοῦν τὴν χαρὰν, ὅταν ἐλάττω τῶν ἐλπισθέντων ἀκουσθῇ· τὴν δὲ τῶν κακῶν προαγόρευσιν, καὶ διὰ τὸ ἀπόστρεπτον αὐτῶν φύσει, καὶ διὰ τὸ παρʼ ἐλπίδας ἐνίοτε προλέγεσθαι, μεγάλως συνταράττειν.

ex hou symbainei to tēn men tōn agathōn proagoreusin mē epiteinein pany ti tēn charan, dia to kai chōris tēs proagoreuseōs hekaston ex heautou ta kreittō prosdokan, ē epʼ oligon epiteinein tę̄ dokousę̄ bebaiotēti, pollakis de kai meioun tēn charan, hotan elattō tōn elpisthentōn akousthę̄; tēn de tōn kakōn proagoreusin, kai dia to apostrepton autōn physei, kai dia to parʼ elpidas eniote prolegesthai, megalōs syntarattein.

So it happens that the prediction of good things does not much increase joy, because each person even without prediction expects better things of himself, or increases it only a little by the apparent certainty, and often even diminishes the joy, when less than was hoped is heard; but the prediction of evils greatly disturbs, both because they are by nature to be shunned and because they are sometimes foretold contrary to expectation.

Notes and citation

Summary: Predictions of good add little joy, while predictions of evil cause great distress.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; stray punctuation in digitization): ἔκαστον → ἕκαστον; μει. οῦν → μειοῦν; προλέ- γεσθαι → προλέγεσθαι.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.9 (Dindorf 1:164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.10Dindorf 1:164

ἀλλʼ ὅμως εἰ καὶ μὴ τοῦτο συνέβαινε, τό γε ἀχρεῖον ἔσεσθαι τὴν προαγόρευσιν παντί που δῆλον ἂν εἴη. εἰ γὰρ φήσει τις σωθήσεσθαι τὸ χρήσιμον τῆς μαντικῆς διὰ τὸ προλέγεσθαι τὸ πάντως ἐσόμενον δυσχερὲς εἰ μὴ φυλαξαίμεθα, οὐκέτι πάντα δείξει συμβησόμενα καθʼ εἱμαρμένην, ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ὄντος τοῦ φυλάξασθαί τε καὶ μὴ φυλάξασθαι.

allʼ homōs ei kai mē touto synebaine, to ge achreion esesthai tēn proagoreusin panti pou dēlon an eiē. ei gar phēsei tis sōthēsesthai to chrēsimon tēs mantikēs dia to prolegesthai to pantōs esomenon dyscheres ei mē phylaxaimetha, ouketi panta deixei symbēsomena kathʼ heimarmenēn, ephʼ hēmin ontos tou phylaxasthai te kai mē phylaxasthai.

But even if this did not happen, it would be plain to everyone that prediction would be useless. For if anyone says that the usefulness of divination will be preserved because a misfortune certain to come is foretold unless we guard against it, he will no longer show that all things will happen by fate, since it will be in our power to guard or not to guard against it.

Notes and citation

Summary: If foreknowledge lets us avoid misfortune, not everything is fated.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): φυ- λαξαίμεθα → φυλαξαίμεθα.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.10 (Dindorf 1:164; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.11Dindorf 1:164–165

εἰ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο κατηναγκάσθαι φήσει τις, ὡς εἰς πάντα τὰ ὄντα διατείνειν τὴν εἱμαρμένην, πάλιν τὸ τῆς μαντικῆς χρήσιμον ἀναιρεῖται· φυλαξόμεθα γὰρ εἰ καθείμαρται, καὶ οὐ φυλαξόμεθα δῆλον ὡς εἰ μὴ καθείμαρται φυλάξασθαι, κἂν πάντες οἱ μάντεις τὸ ἐσόμενον προαγορεύωσιν ἡμῖν.

ei gar kai touto katēnankasthai phēsei tis, hōs eis panta ta onta diateinein tēn heimarmenēn, palin to tēs mantikēs chrēsimon anaireitai; phylaxometha gar ei katheimartai, kai ou phylaxometha dēlon hōs ei mē katheimartai phylaxasthai, kan pantes hoi manteis to esomenon proagoreuōsin hēmin.

And if anyone says that this too has been necessitated, so that fate extends to everything that exists, the usefulness of divination is again destroyed; for we shall guard against it if it is fated, and evidently we shall not guard against it if it is not fated, even if all the seers foretell the future to us.

Notes and citation

Summary: If our guarding is also fated, divination is useless.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): ἀναι- ρεῖται → ἀναιρεῖται.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.11 (Dindorf 1:164–165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.12Dindorf 1:165

τὸν γοῦν Οἰδίποδα καὶ τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν τοῦ Πριάμου καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ Χρύσιππός φησι πολλὰ μηχανησαμένων τῶν γονέων ὥστε ἀποκτεῖναι, ἵνα τὸ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν προρρηθὲν αὐτοῖς κακὸν φυλάξωνται, μὴ δυνηθῆναι.

ton goun Oidipoda kai ton Alexandron ton tou Priamou kai autos ho Chrysippos phēsi polla mēchanēsamenōn tōn goneōn hōste apokteinai, hina to apʼ autōn prorrēthen autois kakon phylaxōntai, mē dynēthēnai.

At any rate Chrysippus himself says that the parents of Oedipus and of Alexander son of Priam devised many ways of killing them, in order to guard against the evil foretold from them, and could not.

Notes and citation

Summary: Chrysippus himself admits that the parents of Oedipus and Paris could not avert the prophecies.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.12 (Dindorf 1:165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.13Dindorf 1:165

οὕτως οὐδὲν ὄφελος οὐδὲ αὐτοῖς τῆς τῶν κακῶν προαγορεύσεως φησιν εἶναι διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς εἱμαρμένης αἰτίαν. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν ἐκ περιουσίας εἰρήσθω, πρὸς τὸ μὴ μόνον ἀνυπόστατον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀχρεῖον τῆς μαντικῆς.”

houtōs ouden ophelos oude autois tēs tōn kakōn proagoreuseōs phēsin einai dia tēn ek tēs heimarmenēs aitian. touto men oun ek periousias eirēsthō, pros to mē monon anypostaton, alla kai achreion tēs mantikēs.”

So, he says, there was no benefit even to them from the prediction of evils, because of the causation of fate. Let this be said over and above, to show that divination is not only unreal but also useless."

Notes and citation

Summary: Diogenianus concludes that divination is both unreal and useless.

Extrabiblical texts: Diogenianus (Diogenianus, Against Chrysippus; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.13 (Dindorf 1:165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.14Dindorf 1:165

Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ φιλόσοφος. σύ γε μὴν παρὰ σαυτῷ σκέψαι πῶς Ἕλληνες ὄντες, καὶ τὴν Ἑλλήνων σύντροφον παιδείαν ἐκ νέας ἡλικίας κτησάμενοι, τά τε πάτρια περὶ θεῶν πάντων μᾶλλον διεγνωκότες, Ἀριστοτελικοὶ πάντες, Κυνικοί τε καὶ Ἐπικούρειοι, καὶ ὅσοι τούτοις ἐφρόνησαν τὰ παραπλήσια, τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῖς Ἕλλησι βοωμένων μαντείων κατεγέλασαν.

Tauta men ho philosophos. sy ge mēn para sautǭ skepsai pōs Hellēnes ontes, kai tēn Hellēnōn syntrophon paideian ek neas hēlikias ktēsamenoi, ta te patria peri theōn pantōn mallon diegnōkotes, Aristotelikoi pantes, Kynikoi te kai Epikoureioi, kai hosoi toutois ephronēsan ta paraplēsia, tōn parʼ autois Hellēsi boōmenōn manteiōn kategelasan.

So says the philosopher. But consider for yourself how, being Greeks and having acquired from youth the Greek education with which they were raised, and knowing their ancestral beliefs about the gods better than anyone, all the Aristotelians, the Cynics and Epicureans, and all who thought like them, laughed at the oracles celebrated among the Greeks themselves.

Notes and citation

Summary: Greek philosophers raised in the ancestral religion laughed at the oracles.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.14 (Dindorf 1:165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.15Dindorf 1:165

καὶ μὴν, εἴπερ ἦν ἀληθῆ τὰ θρυλούμενα περὶ τῆς τῶν χρηστηρίων παραδοξοποιίας, εἰκὸς ἦν καὶ τούσδε καταπλαγῆναι Ἓλληνας ὄντας, καὶ τὰ πάτρια ἀκριβῶς ἐξεπισταμένους, μηδέν τε τῶν γνωσθῆναι ἀξίων ἐν δευτέρῳ τιθεμένους.

kai mēn, eiper ēn alēthē ta thryloumena peri tēs tōn chrēstēriōn paradoxopoiias, eikos ēn kai tousde kataplagēnai Hellēnas ontas, kai ta patria akribōs exepistamenous, mēden te tōn gnōsthēnai axiōn en deuterǭ tithemenous.

And yet, if the reports about the marvels of the oracles were true, it is likely that these men too would have been astonished, being Greeks, knowing their ancestral customs exactly, and putting nothing worth knowing in second place.

Notes and citation

Summary: If the oracles were genuine, these well-informed Greeks would have been impressed.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.15 (Dindorf 1:165; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.3.16Dindorf 1:165–166

ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα συνάγειν εἰς ἀνασκευὴν τῆς περὶ τῶν χρηστηρίων ὑποθέσεως πλείστη τις ἦν περιουσία· ἀλλʼ οὐ ταύτῃ μοι δοκεῖ τὸν παρόντα μεθοδεῦσαι λόγον, ἀλλʼ ᾗπερ ὡρμήθημεν ἀρξάμενοι, ἀληθῆ λέγειν δόντες τοὺς ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν προϊσταμένους, ὡς ἂν ἐκ τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὁμολογουμένων, μαντεῖά τε εἶναι ἀληθῆ καὶ πυθόχρηστα θεοπρόπια τὰ δηλούμενα φασκόντων, τὴν ἀκριβῆ τῶν δηλουμένων ἔκφάνσιν καταμάθωμεν.

tauta men oun kai hosa toiauta synagein eis anaskeuēn tēs peri tōn chrēstēriōn hypotheseōs pleistē tis ēn periousia; allʼ ou tautę̄ moi dokei ton paronta methodeusai logon, allʼ hę̄per hōrmēthēmen arxamenoi, alēthē legein dontes tous hyper autōn proïstamenous, hōs an ek tōn parʼ autois homologoumenōn, manteia te einai alēthē kai pythochrēsta theopropia ta dēloumena phaskontōn, tēn akribē tōn dēloumenōn ekphansin katamathōmen.

There would be a great abundance of these and similar things to collect for the overthrow of the case for the oracles. But I do not think the present argument should proceed this way, but as we began: granting that those who stand up for them speak the truth, let us learn, from what they themselves admit, when they say that the oracles are true and the responses given at Pytho divine, the exact disclosure of what they reveal.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius will grant, for argument's sake, that the oracles are genuine and examine what they reveal.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): περιου- σία → περιουσία; δηλού- μενα → δηλούμενα; ἔκ- φάνσιν → ἔκφάνσιν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.3.16 (Dindorf 1:165–166; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-3-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 4

4.4.1Dindorf 1:166–167

Οἶμαι δὲ παντί τῳ εἶναι σαφὲς ὡς ὁ τῶν προκειμένων ἔλεγχος οὐ μικρὸν, ἀλλὰ καὶ μέγιστον ὁμοῦ καὶ ἀναγκαιότατον περιέξει μέρος τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς ὑποθέσεως. εἰ γὰρ οἱ πρὸ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας πανταχῆ πάντες, Ἕλληνες καὶ βάρβαροι, δειχθεῖεν μὴ τὸν ἀληθῆ θεὸν ἐπεγνωκότες, ἀλλʼ ἤτοι τὰ μὴ ὄντα ὡς ὄντα δοξάζοντες, ἢ ὑπό τινων μοχθηρῶν καὶ θεομάχων πνευμάτων δαιμόνων τε πονηρῶν καὶ ἀκαθάρτων τυφλῶν δίκην ὧδε κἀκεῖσε περιηγμένοι, καὶ βυθῷ κακίας πρὸς αὐτῶν καθειλκυσμένοι· καὶ τί γὰρ ἄλλʼ ἢ δαιμονῶντες;) πῶς οὐ μειζόνως ἂν ὀφθείη τὸ μέγα τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς οἰκονομίας μυστήριον, πάντας πανταχόθεν ἐκ τῆς πατροπαραδότου πλάνης τῆς τῶν δαιμόνων καταδυναστείας διὰ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν φωνῆς ἀνακεκλημένους, καὶ τοὺς μέχρις ἐσχατιῶν γῆς οἰκοῦντας ἀνθρώπους τῆς ἐξ αἰῶνος κατασχούσης τὸν πάντα βίον ἀπάτης λελυτρωμένους, ὥστε ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ εἰς δεῦρο λελύσθαι μὲν καὶ καθῃρῆσθαι αὐτοῖς ναοῖς καὶ ξοάνοις τὰ πεπαλαιωμένα τῆς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἁπάντων πλάνης ἱδρύματα, ἱερὰ δὲ ὄντως σεμνὰ καὶ εὐσεβείας διδασκαλεῖα τῷ παμβασιλεῖ καὶ δημιουργῷ τῶν ὅλων ἐν μέσαις πόλεσί τε καὶ κώμαις δυνάμει καὶ ἀρετῇ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀνὰ τὸν σύμπαντα κόσμον ἀνεγηγέρθαι, θυσίας τε τὰς θεοπρεπεῖς εὐχαῖς ὁσίων διαθέσει κεκαθαρμένῃ κακίας ἁπάσης, ἔν τε ἀπαθείᾳ ψυχῆς καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς ἀναλήψει, κατὰ τὰ θεῖα καὶ σωτηριώδη παιδεύματα, ἐξ ἁπάντων ὁσημέραι διηνεκῶς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐπιτελεῖσθαι, τὰς δὴ καὶ μόνας ἀρεστὰς οὔσας καὶ προσηνεῖς θυσίας τῷ ἐπὶ πάντων θεῷ.

Oimai de panti tǭ einai saphes hōs ho tōn prokeimenōn elenchos ou mikron, alla kai megiston homou kai anankaiotaton periexei meros tēs euangelikēs hypotheseōs. ei gar hoi pro tēs tou sōtēros hēmōn Iēsou Christou parousias pantachē pantes, Hellēnes kai barbaroi, deichtheien mē ton alēthē theon epegnōkotes, allʼ ētoi ta mē onta hōs onta doxazontes, ē hypo tinōn mochthērōn kai theomachōn pneumatōn daimonōn te ponērōn kai akathartōn typhlōn dikēn hōde kakeise periēgmenoi, kai bythǭ kakias pros autōn katheilkysmenoi; kai ti gar allʼ ē daimonōntes?) pōs ou meizonōs an ophtheiē to mega tēs euangelikēs oikonomias mystērion, pantas pantachothen ek tēs patroparadotou planēs tēs tōn daimonōn katadynasteias dia tēs tou sōtēros hēmōn phōnēs anakeklēmenous, kai tous mechris eschatiōn gēs oikountas anthrōpous tēs ex aiōnos kataschousēs ton panta bion apatēs lelytrōmenous, hōste ex ekeinou kai eis deuro lelysthai men kai kathę̄rēsthai autois naois kai xoanois ta pepalaiōmena tēs tōn ethnōn hapantōn planēs hidrymata, hiera de ontōs semna kai eusebeias didaskaleia tǭ pambasilei kai dēmiourgǭ tōn holōn en mesais polesi te kai kōmais dynamei kai aretę̄ tou sōtēros hēmōn ana ton sympanta kosmon anegēgerthai, thysias te tas theoprepeis euchais hosiōn diathesei kekatharmenę̄ kakias hapasēs, en te apatheią psychēs kai pasēs aretēs analēpsei, kata ta theia kai sōtēriōdē paideumata, ex hapantōn hosēmerai diēnekōs tōn ethnōn epiteleisthai, tas dē kai monas arestas ousas kai prosēneis thysias tǭ epi pantōn theǭ.

I think it plain to everyone that the refutation of these matters will contain no small part, but the greatest and most necessary, of the gospel subject. For if all those everywhere before the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ, Greeks and barbarians, should be shown not to have known the true God, but either to have held as existing things that do not exist, or to have been led about here and there like the blind by certain wicked spirits fighting against God and evil and unclean demons, and dragged down by them into a depth of wickedness (for what else is this than to be possessed by demons?), how would not the great mystery of the gospel dispensation be seen to be all the greater? For all people everywhere have been called back by the voice of our Savior from the inherited error of the tyranny of demons, and those living to the ends of the earth have been redeemed from the deceit that held all life from of old; so that from then until now the ancient foundations of the error of all nations, with their temples and images, have been dissolved and pulled down, and truly holy temples and schools of piety to the universal King and creator of all things have been raised up in the midst of cities and villages throughout the whole world by the power and virtue of our Savior; and sacrifices worthy of God, the prayers of the holy, with a disposition purified from all vice, in tranquility of soul and the taking up of every virtue according to the divine and saving teachings, are offered day by day continually from all the nations, the only sacrifices pleasing and acceptable to the God over all.

Notes and citation

Summary: Exposing the demons behind the oracles shows the greatness of the gospel, which freed all nations and replaced pagan sacrifice with prayer and virtue.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (letter lost in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): πνεμάτων → πνευμάτων; δοξά- ζοντες → δοξάζοντες; δαι- μονῶντες → δαιμονῶντες; φω- νῆς → φωνῆς; κό- σμον → κόσμον.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.4.1 (Dindorf 1:166–167; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.4.2Dindorf 1:167

τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων, πῶς οὐκ ἂν εἴημεν ἐν ταὐτῷ δεδειχότες καὶ ὅτι μετὰ σώφρονος λογισμοῦ, οὐχὶ δὲ ἀλογίᾳ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδόντες, ἀποστάται τῆς πατροπαραδότου γεγόναμεν δεισιδαιμονίας, κρίσει δικαίᾳ καὶ ἀληθεῖ τὸ κρεῖττον ἀγαπήσαντες, καὶ τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ ἀληθοῦς εὐσεβείας ἐρασταὶ γεγενημένοι. ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν ἅλις, ἁπτέον δὲ λοιπὸν τῶν προκειμένων.

toutōn de houtōs echontōn, pōs ouk an eiēmen en tautǭ dedeichotes kai hoti meta sōphronos logismou, ouchi de alogią heautous epidontes, apostatai tēs patroparadotou gegonamen deisidaimonias, krisei dikaią kai alēthei to kreitton agapēsantes, kai tēs entheou kai alēthous eusebeias erastai gegenēmenoi. alla toutōn men halis, hapteon de loipon tōn prokeimenōn.

This being so, would we not have shown at the same time that we became apostates from our inherited superstition with sober reasoning and not by giving ourselves up to unreason, loving the better by a just and true judgment and becoming lovers of the inspired and true piety? But enough of this; we must now take up the matters before us.

Notes and citation

Summary: This shows that Christians left their ancestral religion by sound judgment.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.4.2 (Dindorf 1:167; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 5

4.5.1Dindorf 1:167

Οἱ μὲν δὴ τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν θεολογίαν ἐξηκριβωκότες, καθʼ ἕτερον παρὰ τοὺς προειρημένους ἡμῖν τρόπους, εἰς γένη τέτταρα πάντα τὸν λόγον διαιροῦντες, πρώτιστα πάντων τὸν πρῶτον ἀφορίσαντες θεὸν, εἰδέναι φασὶ τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι πρῶτόν τε ὄντα καὶ πάντων θεῶν πατέρα τε καὶ βασιλέα, μεθʼ ὃν γένος τὸ θεῶν ὑπάρχειν δεύτερον, ἑπόμενον δὲ τὸ δαιμόνων, τὸ δὲ ἡρώων τέταρτον· ἃ πάντα τῆς τοῦ κρείττονος ἰδέας μετασχόντα πῆ μὲν ἄγειν, πῆ δὲ ἄγεσθαι, καὶ φῶς ἅπαν προσαγορεύεσθαι τὸ τοιόνδε φωτὸς μετοχῇ· ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τοῦ χείρονος οὐσίας τὸ κακὸν ἡγεῖσθαί φασι· τοῦτο δὲ εἶναι μοχθηρῶν δαιμόνων γένος, φίλῳ μὲν οὐδαμῶς χρώμενον τἀγαθῷ, δύναμίν γε μὴν ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐναντίων φύσει κεκτημένον πρώτην, καθάπερ ἐν τοῖς κρείττοσιν ὁ θεός· πᾶν δὲ τὸ τοιόνδε σκότος προσαγορεύεσθαι.

Hoi men dē tēn Hellēnikēn theologian exēkribōkotes, kathʼ heteron para tous proeirēmenous hēmin tropous, eis genē tettara panta ton logon diairountes, prōtista pantōn ton prōton aphorisantes theon, eidenai phasi touton einai ton epi pasi prōton te onta kai pantōn theōn patera te kai basilea, methʼ hon genos to theōn hyparchein deuteron, hepomenon de to daimonōn, to de hērōōn tetarton; ha panta tēs tou kreittonos ideas metaschonta pē men agein, pē de agesthai, kai phōs hapan prosagoreuesthai to toionde phōtos metochę̄; alla kai tēs tou cheironos ousias to kakon hēgeisthai phasi; touto de einai mochthērōn daimonōn genos, philǭ men oudamōs chrōmenon tagathǭ, dynamin ge mēn en tę̄ tōn enantiōn physei kektēmenon prōtēn, kathaper en tois kreittosin ho theos; pan de to toionde skotos prosagoreuesthai.

Those who have studied Greek theology exactly divide the whole account, in another way than the methods we have mentioned, into four classes. First of all they distinguish the first God, saying they know that he is the first over all and the father and king of all the gods; after him the race of gods is second; next that of demons; and fourth that of heroes. All these, sharing in the form of the better, in one way lead and in another are led, and everything of this kind is called light by participation in light. But of the worse substance, they say, evil is the leader; this is the race of wicked demons, which has no friendship with the good but holds the first power in the nature of the opposites, as God does among the better; and everything of this kind is called darkness.

Notes and citation

Summary: Greek theologians divide the divine into the first God, gods, demons, and heroes, with evil demons as the opposing class of darkness.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): διαιροῦν- τες → διαιροῦντες; δαι- μόνων → δαιμόνων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.5.1 (Dindorf 1:167; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.5.2Dindorf 1:167–168

ταῦτα τοῦτον διαστειλάμενοι τὸν τρόπον θεοῖς μὲν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸν ἄχρι σελήνης αἰθέρα φασὶν ὑποτετάχθαι· δαίμοσι δὲ τὰ περὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀέρα, ψυχαῖς δὲ τὰ περὶ γῆν καὶ ὑπόγεια. τοιούτῳ δʼ ἀφορισμῷ κεχρημένοι πρῶτον ἁπάντων φασὶ τοὺς οὐρανίους δεῖν καὶ αἰθερίους θεοὺς θεραπεύειν· δεύτερον τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς δαίμονας· τρίτον τὰς τῶν ἡρώων ψυχὰς, τέταρτον τοὺς φαύλους καὶ πονηροὺς ἀπομειλίσσεσθαι δαίμονας.

tauta touton diasteilamenoi ton tropon theois men ouranon kai ton achri selēnēs aithera phasin hypotetachthai; daimosi de ta peri selēnēn kai aera, psychais de ta peri gēn kai hypogeia. toioutǭ dʼ aphorismǭ kechrēmenoi prōton hapantōn phasi tous ouranious dein kai aitherious theous therapeuein; deuteron tous agathous daimonas; triton tas tōn hērōōn psychas, tetarton tous phaulous kai ponērous apomeilissesthai daimonas.

Having made these distinctions in this way, they say that heaven and the ether as far as the moon are assigned to the gods, the regions about the moon and the air to demons, and the regions about the earth and under the earth to souls. Using this division, they say that first of all one must worship the heavenly and ethereal gods; second the good demons; third the souls of heroes; and fourth one must propitiate the bad and wicked demons.

Notes and citation

Summary: They assign regions to gods, demons, and souls, and order worship accordingly, including propitiation of evil demons.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; accent corrected): δαίμο- νᾶς → δαίμονας.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.5.2 (Dindorf 1:167–168; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-5-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.5.3Dindorf 1:168

ταῦτα δὲ λόγῳ διαιροῦντες ἔργῳ συγχέουσι τὰ πάντα, μόνας ἀντὶ τῶν εἰρημένων πάντων τὰς πονηρὰς δυνάμεις θεραπεύοντες, καὶ ὅλοι ταύταις καταδουλούμενοι, ὡς ὁ λόγος προιὼν ἀπελέγξει. πάρεστι γοῦν σοι τὰς διὰ τῶν ξοάνων ἐνεργούσας δυνάμεις ὁποίας χρῆν ἀποφαίνεσθαι σκοπεῖν, πότερα θεοὺς ἢ δαίμονας, καὶ εἴτε φαύλους εἴτε ἀγαθοὺς, ἐκ τῶν παρατεθησομένων.

tauta de logǭ diairountes ergǭ syncheousi ta panta, monas anti tōn eirēmenōn pantōn tas ponēras dynameis therapeuontes, kai holoi tautais katadouloumenoi, hōs ho logos proiōn apelenxei. paresti goun soi tas dia tōn xoanōn energousas dynameis hopoias chrēn apophainesthai skopein, potera theous ē daimonas, kai eite phaulous eite agathous, ek tōn paratethēsomenōn.

But while dividing these things in word, in deed they confound everything, worshipping instead of all those mentioned only the wicked powers and being wholly enslaved to them, as the argument will prove as it proceeds. You may, then, consider from what is to be set out what kind of powers working through the images one must declare them to be, whether gods or demons, and whether evil or good.

Notes and citation

Summary: In practice they worship only evil powers; the quotations will show what the powers in the images are.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.5.3 (Dindorf 1:168; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-5-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.5.4Dindorf 1:168

τὰ μὲν γὰρ παρʼ ἡμῖν θεῖα λόγια οὐδʼ ὅλως ἀγαθὸν οὐδένʼ ὀνομάζει δαίμονα, πάντας δὲ πονηροὺς εἷναι τοὺς τῆς λήξεως ταύτης καὶ δὴ καὶ τῆς προσηγορίας μετειληφότας, ὡς οὐδʼ ἕτερον θεὸν ἀληθῶς καὶ κυρίως πλὴν ἕνα τὸν πάντων αἴτιον· τὰς δὲ ἀστείας καὶ ἀγαθὰς δυνάμεις, ἅτε τὴν φύσιν γεννητὰς οὔσας καὶ πολλῷ τὸν ἀγέννητον καὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν ποιητὴν θεὸν ἀφυστερούσας, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ τῶν δαιμόνων μοχθηροῦ γένους ἀφωρισμένας, οὔτε θεοὺς οὔτε δαίμονας ἀποκαλεῖν ἀξιοῖ, μέσας δὲ οὔσας θεοῦ καὶ δαιμόνων εὐθυβόλῳ καὶ μέσῃ προσηγορίᾳ ἀγγέλους θεοῦ καὶ πνεύματα λειτουργικὰ, δυνάμεις τε θείας καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους, καί τισιν ἄλλαις ἐπωνυμίαις φερωνύμως τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν αὐτῶν ὀνομάζειν εἴωθε, τοὺς δὲ δαίμονας, εἰ δὴ καὶ τούτων ἡμᾶς προσήκει τὴν ἐτυμολογίαν ἐξειπεῖν, οὐχ ᾗπερ Ἕλλησι δοκεῖ παρὰ τὸ δαήμονας εἷναι καὶ ἐπιστήμονας, ἀλλʼ ἢ παρὰ τὸ δειμαίνειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ φοβεῖσθαι καὶ ἐκφοβεῖν, δαίμονάς τινας προσφυῶς ὀνομάζεσθαι.

ta men gar parʼ hēmin theia logia oudʼ holōs agathon oudenʼ onomazei daimona, pantas de ponērous heinai tous tēs lēxeōs tautēs kai dē kai tēs prosēgorias meteilēphotas, hōs oudʼ heteron theon alēthōs kai kyriōs plēn hena ton pantōn aition; tas de asteias kai agathas dynameis, hate tēn physin gennētas ousas kai pollǭ ton agennēton kai sphōn autōn poiētēn theon aphysterousas, ou mēn alla kai tou tōn daimonōn mochthērou genous aphōrismenas, oute theous oute daimonas apokalein axioi, mesas de ousas theou kai daimonōn euthybolǭ kai mesę̄ prosēgorią angelous theou kai pneumata leitourgika, dynameis te theias kai archangelous, kai tisin allais epōnymiais pherōnymōs tois epitēdeumasin autōn onomazein eiōthe, tous de daimonas, ei dē kai toutōn hēmas prosēkei tēn etymologian exeipein, ouch hę̄per Hellēsi dokei para to daēmonas heinai kai epistēmonas, allʼ ē para to deimainein, hoper esti phobeisthai kai ekphobein, daimonas tinas prosphyōs onomazesthai.

Our divine oracles call no demon at all good, but say that all who have received this lot and this name are wicked, just as they call no other truly and properly God but the one cause of all things. The refined and good powers, since they are begotten by nature and fall far short of the unbegotten God who made them, and are moreover separated from the wicked race of demons, the Scriptures do not see fit to call either gods or demons; but, as being between God and demons, they are accustomed to name them by an apt and middle title: angels of God and ministering spirits, divine powers and archangels, and by some other names suited to their functions. And the demons, if we should give their etymology too, are aptly so named not, as the Greeks think, from being knowing (daemones) and skilled, but from fearing (deimainein), that is, being afraid and terrifying.

Heb 1:14 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture calls all demons evil, and the good powers angels and ministering spirits; 'demon' derives from fear.

Allusion to Heb 1:14 ("ministering spirits").

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip; line-break hyphen rejoined; word split in digitization): πλὴν ἴνα → πλὴν ἕνα; ἀγέν νῆτον → ἀγέννητον; ἐπιτηδεύ- μασιν → ἐπιτηδεύμασιν; ἐξει- πεῖν → ἐξειπεῖν; προσ- φυῶς → προσφυῶς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.5.4 (Dindorf 1:168; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-5-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.5.5Dindorf 1:168–169

τάς γέ τοι θείας καὶ ἀγαθὰς δυνάμεις, ὥσπερ οὖν τοῦ τρόπου, οὑτωσὶ δὲ καὶ τῆς προσηγορίας τῆς δαιμονικῆς ἀλλοτρίας τυγχάνειν· ἐπεὶ καὶ πάντων ἂν εἴη παραλογώτατον τὰς μήτε τὴν προαίρεσιν μήτε τὴν ἐκ τοῦ τρόπου φύσιν ὁμοίας μιᾶς καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπωνυμίας ἀξιοῦν.

tas ge toi theias kai agathas dynameis, hōsper oun tou tropou, houtōsi de kai tēs prosēgorias tēs daimonikēs allotrias tynchanein; epei kai pantōn an eiē paralogōtaton tas mēte tēn proairesin mēte tēn ek tou tropou physin homoias mias kai tēs autēs epōnymias axioun.

The divine and good powers, they say, are foreign to the demonic name as they are to the demonic character; since it would be the most unreasonable thing of all to count worthy of one and the same name beings unlike both in choice and in the nature of their character.

Notes and citation

Summary: Good powers should not share the name of demons, being unlike them in character.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent lost in digitization): τυγχανειν → τυγχάνειν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.5.5 (Dindorf 1:168–169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-5-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 6

4.6.1Dindorf 1:169

Φέρε οὖν ἐπισκεψώμεθα τίς ὁ κατʼ αὐτοὺς τῶν χρηστηρίων τρόπος, ὡς ἂν μάθωμεν ποίας χρὴ δυνάμεως αὐτοὺς ἀποφήνασθαι, καὶ εἴτε ὀρθῶς αὐτῶν ἀνεχωρήσαμεν εἴτε καὶ μή. εἰ δὲ μέλλοιμι παρʼ ἐμαυτοῦ τοὺς ἐλέγχους τῶν δηλουμένων προφέρειν, εὖ οἶδʼ ὅτι μηδʼ ἀνεπίληπτον παρέξω τοῖς φιλεγκλήμοσι τὸν λόγον. διόπερ αὐτὸς οὐδὲν οἴκοθεν εἰπὼν αὖθις ταῖς τῶν ἔξωθεν ἀποχρήσομαι μαρτυρίαις.

Phere oun episkepsōmetha tis ho katʼ autous tōn chrēstēriōn tropos, hōs an mathōmen poias chrē dynameōs autous apophēnasthai, kai eite orthōs autōn anechōrēsamen eite kai mē. ei de melloimi parʼ emautou tous elenchous tōn dēloumenōn propherein, eu oidʼ hoti mēdʼ anepilēpton parexō tois philenklēmosi ton logon. dioper autos ouden oikothen eipōn authis tais tōn exōthen apochrēsomai martyriais.

Come, then, let us examine what the nature of their oracles is, so that we may learn to what kind of power one must assign them, and whether we were right to depart from them or not. If I were to bring forward the refutations of these things from myself, I know well that I should not offer an argument beyond reproach to the fault-finders. Therefore, saying nothing of my own, I shall again use the testimonies of outsiders.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius will examine the oracles using pagan testimony only.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): οἷδʼ → οἶδʼ; αὐ- τῶν → αὐτῶν; φιλεγκλή- μοσι → φιλεγκλήμοσι.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.6.1 (Dindorf 1:169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.6.2Dindorf 1:169

μυρίων δὲ ὄντων παρʼ Ἕλλησι λογογράφων τε καὶ φιλοσόφων, πρὸ πάντων ἐπιτήδειον εἰς τὰ προκείμενα ἐγκρίνω τὸν δαιμόνων φίλον αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον, ὃς δὴ καθʼ ἡμᾶς γεγονὼς ταῖς καθʼ ἡμῶν ἐλλαμπρύνεται ψευδηγορίαις. μάλιστα γὰρ φιλοσόφων οὗτος τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς δοκεῖ καὶ δαίμοσι καὶ οἷς φησι θεοῖς ὡμιληκέναι, ὑπέρ τε τούτων πρεσβεῦσαι, καὶ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ περὶ αὐτῶν ἀκριβέστερον διηρευνηκέναι.

myriōn de ontōn parʼ Hellēsi logographōn te kai philosophōn, pro pantōn epitēdeion eis ta prokeimena enkrinō ton daimonōn philon auton ekeinon, hos dē kathʼ hēmas gegonōs tais kathʼ hēmōn ellamprynetai pseudēgoriais. malista gar philosophōn houtos tōn kathʼ hēmas dokei kai daimosi kai hois phēsi theois hōmilēkenai, hyper te toutōn presbeusai, kai pollǭ mallon ta peri autōn akribesteron diēreunēkenai.

Of the countless prose writers and philosophers among the Greeks, I choose before all as suited to the matters at hand that very friend of demons who in our own time has won renown by his falsehoods against us. For he, more than any philosopher of our time, seems to have consorted with demons and with those he calls gods, to have championed them, and much more to have investigated what concerns them more exactly.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius chooses Porphyry, the friend of demons and critic of Christians, as his witness.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip): ἐλλαμπρύωεται → ἐλλαμπρύνεται.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.6.2 (Dindorf 1:169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.6.3Dindorf 1:169

οὗτος τοιγαροῦν ἐν οἷς ἐπέγραψε “Περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας " συναγωγὴν ἐποιήσατο χρησμῶν τοῦ τε Ἀπόλλωνος καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν θεῶν τε καὶ ἀγαθῶν δαιμόνων, οὓς μάλιστα ἐκλεξάμενος αὑτῶ ἡγήσατο ἱκανοὺς εἷναι εἴς τε ἀπόδειξιν τῆς τῶν θεολογουμένων ἀρετῆς εἴς τε προτροπὴν ἧς αὐτῷ φίλον ὀνομάζειν θεοσοφίας.

houtos toigaroun en hois epegrapse “Peri tēs ek logiōn philosophias " synagōgēn epoiēsato chrēsmōn tou te Apollōnos kai tōn loipōn theōn te kai agathōn daimonōn, hous malista eklexamenos hautō hēgēsato hikanous heinai eis te apodeixin tēs tōn theologoumenōn aretēs eis te protropēn hēs autǭ philon onomazein theosophias.

In the work he entitled On the Philosophy from Oracles he made a collection of oracles of Apollo and of the other gods and good demons, choosing those he thought most sufficient both to prove the excellence of those proclaimed as gods and to exhort to what he likes to call divine wisdom.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry collected oracles to prove the gods' excellence.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.6.3 (Dindorf 1:169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-6-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.6.4Dindorf 1:169

ἐκ δὴ τούτων τοιγαροῦν τῶν ἐγκριθέντων καὶ μνήμης ἀξιωθέντων λογίων διακρῖναι καλὸν τοὺς χρησμολόγους, καὶ σκέψασθαι ποίας ποτὲ ὄντες τυγχάνουσι δυνάμεως. πρῶτον δὲ θεασώμεθα ὅπως τῆς γραφῆς ὁ δηλωθεὶς ἀνὴρ ἀρχόμενος ἡμῖν ἀληθεύειν ἐπόμνυται λέγων οὕτως

ek dē toutōn toigaroun tōn enkrithentōn kai mnēmēs axiōthentōn logiōn diakrinai kalon tous chrēsmologous, kai skepsasthai poias pote ontes tynchanousi dynameōs. prōton de theasōmetha hopōs tēs graphēs ho dēlōtheis anēr archomenos hēmin alētheuein epomnytai legōn houtōs

From these very oracles, then, that he selected and thought worth recording, it is good to judge the oracle-givers and consider of what power they are. First let us see how the man mentioned, at the beginning of his writing, swears to us that he tells the truth, speaking thus:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius will judge the oracle-givers by Porphyry's own selection, beginning with his oath.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): ἀρ- χόμενος → ἀρχόμενος.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.6.4 (Dindorf 1:169; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-6-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 7

4.7.1Dindorf 1:169–170

" Βέβαιος δὲ καὶ μόνιμος ὁ ἐντεῦθεν ὡς ἂν ἐκ μόνου βεβαίου τὰς ἐλπίδας τοῦ σωθῆναι ἀρυτόμενος, οἷς δὴ καὶ μεταδώσεις μηδὲν ὑφαιρούμενος. ἐπεὶ κἀγὼ τοὺς θεοὺς μαρτύρομαι ὡς οὐδὲν οὔτε προστέθεικα οὔτε ἀφεῖλον τῶν χρησθέντων νοημάτων, εἰ μή που λέξιν ἡμαρτημένην διώρθωσα, ἢ πρὸς τὸ σαφέστερον μεταβέβληκα, ἢ τὸ μέτρον ἐλλεῖπον ἀνεπλήρωσα, ἤ τι τῶν μὴ πρὸς τὴν πρόθεσιν συντεινόντων διέγραψα, τὸν δὲ νοῦν ἀκραιφνῆ τῶν ῥηθέντων διετήρησα, εὐλαβούμενος τὴν ἐκ τούτων ἀσέβειαν μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἱεροσυλίας τιμωρὸν ἑπομένην δίκην.

" Bebaios de kai monimos ho enteuthen hōs an ek monou bebaiou tas elpidas tou sōthēnai arytomenos, hois dē kai metadōseis mēden hyphairoumenos. epei kagō tous theous martyromai hōs ouden oute prostetheika oute apheilon tōn chrēsthentōn noēmatōn, ei mē pou lexin hēmartēmenēn diōrthōsa, ē pros to saphesteron metabeblēka, ē to metron elleipon aneplērōsa, ē ti tōn mē pros tēn prothesin synteinontōn diegrapsa, ton de noun akraiphnē tōn rhēthentōn dietērēsa, eulaboumenos tēn ek toutōn asebeian mallon ē tēn ek tēs hierosylias timōron hepomenēn dikēn.

"Firm and steadfast is he who draws his hopes of salvation from here, as from the only firm source; to whom you shall impart these things, withholding nothing. For I call the gods themselves to witness that I have neither added nor taken away anything of the thoughts of the oracles, except where I have corrected an erroneous expression, or changed it for greater clearness, or filled out a defective meter, or struck out something not bearing on the purpose; but I have kept the sense of what was said pure, guarding against the impiety of such a thing more than against the avenging justice that follows sacrilege.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry swears that he has faithfully preserved the sense of the oracles.

Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles, preface (sections 4.7.1–4.8.2).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (letters lost and words joined in digitization): κἀγατοὺς → κἀγὼ τοὺς.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.7.1 (Dindorf 1:169–170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-7-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.7.2Dindorf 1:170

ἕξει δὲ ἡ παροῦσα συναγωγὴ πολλῶν μὲν τῶν κατὰ φιλοσοφίαν δογμάτων ἀναγραφὴν, ὡς οἱ θεοὶ τἀληθὲς ἔχειν ἐθέσπισαν· ἐπʼ ὀλίγον δὲ καὶ τῆς χρηστικῆς ἁψόμεθα πραγματείας, ἥτις πρός τε τὴν θεωρίαν ὀνήσει καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὅλην κάθαρσιν τοῦ βίου. ἣν δʼ ἔχει ὠφέλειαν ἡ συναγωγὴ μάλιστα εἴσονται ὅσοιπερ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὠδίναντες ηὔξαντό ποτε τῆς ἐκ θεῶν ἐπιφανείας τυχόντες ἀνάπαυσιν λαβεῖν τῆς ἀπορίας διὰ τὴν τῶν λεγόντων ἀξιόπιστον διδασκαλίαν." Τοιούτοις χρησάμενος προοιμίοις μαρτύρεται καὶ προκαταγγέλλει μὴ εἰς πολλοὺς ἐκφῆναι τὰ λεχθησόμενα, λέγων οὕτως

hexei de hē parousa synagōgē pollōn men tōn kata philosophian dogmatōn anagraphēn, hōs hoi theoi talēthes echein ethespisan; epʼ oligon de kai tēs chrēstikēs hapsometha pragmateias, hētis pros te tēn theōrian onēsei kai pros tēn holēn katharsin tou biou. hēn dʼ echei ōpheleian hē synagōgē malista eisontai hosoiper tēn alētheian ōdinantes ēuxanto pote tēs ek theōn epiphaneias tychontes anapausin labein tēs aporias dia tēn tōn legontōn axiopiston didaskalian." Toioutois chrēsamenos prooimiois martyretai kai prokatangellei mē eis pollous ekphēnai ta lechthēsomena, legōn houtōs

The present collection will contain a record of many philosophical doctrines, as the gods declared the truth to be; and we shall touch briefly also on the practice of oracles, which will help both contemplation and the whole purification of life. What benefit the collection has will be known best by those who, in travail for the truth, have prayed that they might obtain a manifestation from the gods and find rest from their perplexity through the trustworthy teaching of the speakers." Having used such a preface, he solemnly charges and announces beforehand that what is to be said must not be disclosed to the many, speaking thus:

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry says his collection teaches the gods' doctrines and purification, and forbids publishing it.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent lost in digitization; accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): ἀληθειαν → ἀλήθειαν; ἢν δʼ ἔχει → ἣν δʼ ἔχει; φιλοσο- φίαν → φιλοσοφίαν; ἐπιφα- νείας → ἐπιφανείας.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.7.2 (Dindorf 1:170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-7-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 8

4.8.1Dindorf 1:170

Σὺ δʼ εἴπερ τι καὶ ταῦτα πειρῶ μὴ δημοσιεύειν, μηδʼ ἄχρι καὶ τῶν βεβήλων ῥίπτειν αὐτὰ δόξης ἕνεκα ἢ κέρδους ἤ τινος ἄλλης οὐκ εὐαγοῦς κολακείας. κίνδυνος γὰρ οὐ σοὶ μόνον τὰς ἐντολὰς παραβαίνοντι ταύτας, ἀλλὰ κἀμοὶ ῥᾳδίως πιστεύσαντι τῷ στέγειν παρʼ ἑαυτῷ μὴ δυναμένῳ τὰς εὐποιίας. δοτέον δὴ τοῖς τὸν βίον ἐνστησαμένοις πρὸς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς σωτηρίαν.’’

Sy dʼ eiper ti kai tauta peirō mē dēmosieuein, mēdʼ achri kai tōn bebēlōn rhiptein auta doxēs heneka ē kerdous ē tinos allēs ouk euagous kolakeias. kindynos gar ou soi monon tas entolas parabainonti tautas, alla kamoi rhądiōs pisteusanti tǭ stegein parʼ heautǭ mē dynamenǭ tas eupoiias. doteon dē tois ton bion enstēsamenois pros tēn tēs psychēs sōtērian.’’

"Do you, if anything, try not to publish these things, nor to throw them even to the profane, for the sake of glory or gain or some other impure flattery. For there is danger not only to you if you transgress these commands, but also to me, who too easily trusted one unable to keep benefits to himself. They must be given to those who have ordered their life for the salvation of the soul."

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry warns his reader not to publish the oracles to the profane.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (repeated syllables in digitization): εὐποιίας. ποιίας. → εὐποιίας..

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.8.1 (Dindorf 1:170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-8-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.8.2Dindorf 1:170

Καὶ μεθʼ ἕτερα ἐπιλέγει " Ταῦτά μοι ὡς ἀρρήτων ἀρρητότερα κρύπτειν· οὐδὲ γὰρ οἱ θεοὶ φανερῶς περὶ αὑτῶν ἐθέσπισαν, ἀλλὰ διʼ αἰνιγμάτων."

Kai methʼ hetera epilegei " Tauta moi hōs arrētōn arrētotera kryptein; oude gar hoi theoi phanerōs peri hautōn ethespisan, alla diʼ ainigmatōn."

And after other matters he adds: "Hide these things as more secret than secrets; for not even the gods declared the things about themselves openly, but through riddles."

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry says the oracles must be kept secret, as the gods speak in riddles.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.8.2 (Dindorf 1:170; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-8-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.8.3Dindorf 1:170–171

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοιαῦτα ὁ λόγος ἀνετείνατο, φέρε λοιπὸν διὰ τῶν ἐνθέων καὶ πυθοχρήστων λογίων σκεψώμεθα ποδαπὰς εἶναι τὰς θεολογουμένας ἀφανεῖς δυνάμεις προσήκει λογίζεσθαι· γένοιτο γὰρ ἂν καὶ ἀνδρὸς ἔλεγχος ἐκ τῶν οἰκείων λόγων τε καὶ ἐπιτηδευμάτων.

Epeidē toinyn toiauta ho logos aneteinato, phere loipon dia tōn entheōn kai pythochrēstōn logiōn skepsōmetha podapas einai tas theologoumenas aphaneis dynameis prosēkei logizesthai; genoito gar an kai andros elenchos ek tōn oikeiōn logōn te kai epitēdeumatōn.

Since, then, the account has raised such expectations, come, let us consider through the inspired and Pythian oracles of what kind we should reckon the invisible powers proclaimed as gods; for a man too may be refuted by his own words and practices.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius will judge these powers by their own oracles.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): λο- γίων → λογίων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.8.3 (Dindorf 1:170–171; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-8-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.8.4Dindorf 1:171

ὁ δὴ οὖν προδηλωθεὶς ἀνὴρ ἐν αὐτοῖς οἷς ἐπέγραψε ‘Περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίαςʼ’ χρησμοὺς τίθησι τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος, τὰς διὰ ζώων θυσίας ἐργάζεσθαι παρακελευομένου, καὶ μὴ μόνοις δαίμοσι, μηδὲ μόναις ταῖς περιγείοις δυνάμεσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς αἰθερίοις καὶ οὐρανίοις ζῳοθυτεῖν.

ho dē oun prodēlōtheis anēr en autois hois epegrapse ‘Peri tēs ek logiōn philosophiasʼ’ chrēsmous tithēsi tou Apollōnos, tas dia zōōn thysias ergazesthai parakeleuomenou, kai mē monois daimosi, mēde monais tais perigeiois dynamesin, alla kai tais aitheriois kai ouraniois zǭothytein.

The man mentioned, in the very work he entitled On the Philosophy from Oracles, sets down oracles of Apollo commanding animal sacrifices to be performed, and to sacrifice animals not only to demons, nor only to the earthly powers, but also to the ethereal and heavenly ones.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry records oracles of Apollo commanding animal sacrifice even to heavenly gods.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): δαί- μοσι → δαίμοσι.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.8.4 (Dindorf 1:171; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-8-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.8.5Dindorf 1:171

ἐν ἑτέροις δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς δαίμονας, ἀλλʼ οὐ θεοὺς εἶναι ὁμολογῶν ἅπαντας, οἷς Ἕλληνες τὰς διʼ αἱμάτων καὶ ζῴων ἀλόγων σφαγῆς ἐπετέλουν θυσίας, μὴ χρῆναι μηδʼ ὅσιον εἶναι θεοῖς ζῳοθυτεῖν φησίν.

en heterois de ho autos daimonas, allʼ ou theous einai homologōn hapantas, hois Hellēnes tas diʼ haimatōn kai zǭōn alogōn sphagēs epeteloun thysias, mē chrēnai mēdʼ hosion einai theois zǭothytein phēsin.

But elsewhere the same writer, admitting that all those to whom the Greeks performed sacrifices with blood and the slaughter of irrational animals are demons and not gods, says that it is neither necessary nor holy to sacrifice animals to gods.

Notes and citation

Summary: Elsewhere Porphyry says that those who receive blood sacrifices are demons, not gods.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): οἶς Ἕλληνες → οἷς Ἕλληνες.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.8.5 (Dindorf 1:171; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-8-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.8.6Dindorf 1:171

ἄκουε τοιγαροῦν τῶν πρώτων αὐτοῦ φωνῶν, διʼ ὧν τὰ περὶ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας συνάγων, πῶς ὁ Ἀπόλλων χρῆναι θεραπεύειν τοὺς θεοὺς διδάσκει. ὃ καὶ παρατίθεται γράφων ὧδε

akoue toigaroun tōn prōtōn autou phōnōn, diʼ hōn ta peri tēs ek logiōn philosophias synagōn, pōs ho Apollōn chrēnai therapeuein tous theous didaskei. ho kai paratithetai graphōn hōde

Listen, then, to his first words, in which, collecting the material on the philosophy from oracles, he shows how Apollo teaches that the gods must be served. He sets it out, writing thus:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius introduces Apollo's oracle on how to worship the gods.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): πα- ρατίθεται → παρατίθεται.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.8.6 (Dindorf 1:171; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-8-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 4, chapter 9

4.9.1Dindorf 1:171

" Ἀκολούθως μετὰ τὰ ῥηθέντα περὶ εὐσεβείας ἃ περὶ τῆς θεραπείας αὐτῶν ἔχρησαν ἀναγράφοιμεν ἂν, ὧν ἐκ μέρους κἀν τοῖς περὶ εὐσεβείας φθάσαντες παρατεθείκαμεν. ἔστι δὲ ὁ χρησμὸς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἅμα καὶ διαίρεσιν τῆς τῶν θεῶν περιέχων τάξεως,

" Akolouthōs meta ta rhēthenta peri eusebeias ha peri tēs therapeias autōn echrēsan anagraphoimen an, hōn ek merous kan tois peri eusebeias phthasantes paratetheikamen. esti de ho chrēsmos tou Apollōnos hama kai diairesin tēs tōn theōn periechōn taxeōs,

"Next, after what has been said about piety, we may record what they declared in oracles about their worship, part of which we have already set out in the books On Piety. The oracle of Apollo, which also contains a division of the order of the gods, is this:

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry introduces Apollo's oracle on the ranks of the gods and their sacrifices.

Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (sections 4.9.1–7).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): ἄ περὶ → ἃ περὶ.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.1 (Dindorf 1:171; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.9.2Dindorf 1:171–172

ἐργάζευ, φίλε, τήνδε θεόσδοτον ἐς τρίβον ἐλθὼν, μηδʼ ἐπιλήθεο τῶν μακάρων, θυσίας ἐναρίζων πῇ μὲν ἐπιχθονίοις, πῇ δʼ οὐρανίοις, ποτὲ δʼ αἴθρης αὐτοῖσιν βασιλεῦσι καὶ ἠέρος ὑγροπόροιο, ἠδὲ θαλασσαίοις καὶ ὑποχθονίοισιν ἅπασι· πάντα γὰρ ἐνδέδεται φύσεως μεστώμασι τῶνδε. ζῴων δʼ ὡς θέμις ἐστὶ τελευτῆσαι καθαγισμοὺς ἀείσω, δέλτοις δὲ χαράσσετε χρησμὸν ἐμεῖο, τοὺς μὲν ἐπιχθονίοις, τοὺς δʼ οὐρανίοισι θεοῖσι· φαιδρὰ μὲν οὐρανίοις, χθονίοις δʼ ἐναλίγκια χροιῇ. τῶν χθονίων διάειρε τριχῇ θυσίας ἐναρίζων, νερτερίων κατάθαπτε, καὶ εἰς βόθρον αἷμα ἴαλλε, χεῦε δὲ μέλι νύμφας τε Διωνύσοιό τε δῶρα. ὅσσοι δʼ ἀμφὶ γέην πωτώμενοι αἰὲν ἔασι, τοῖσδε φόνου πλήσας πάντη πυριπληθέα βωμὸν ἐν πυρὶ βάλλε δέμας θύσας ζῴοιο ποτανοῦ, καὶ μέλι φυράσας Δηωΐῳ ἀλφίτῳ ἔνθευ, ἀτμούς τε λιβάνοιο καὶ οὐλοχύτας ἐπίβαλλε. εὖτε δὲ πὰρ ψαμάθοισιν ἴῃς, γλαυκὴν ἅλα χεύας κὰκ κεφαλῆς θυσίαζε, καὶ εἰς βαθὺ κῦμα θαλάσσης ζῷον ὅλον προίαλλε. τελευτήσας τάδε πάντα ἐς πλατὺν ἠερίων χορὸν ἔρχεο Οὐρανιώνων. ἀστραίοις δʼ ἔπειτα καὶ αἰθερίοις ἐπὶ πᾶσιν αἷμα μὲν ἐκ λαιμῶν κρουνώμασιν ἀμφὶ θυηλὰς λιμνάζειν, τὰ δὲ γυῖα θεοῖς ἐν δαιτὶ πονεῖσθαι. ἄκρα Ἡφαίστῳ δόμεναι, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ πάσασθαι, ἀτμοῖσιν λαροῖσιν ἐνιπλήσαντες ἅπαντα ἠέρα ῥευσταλέον· ἐπὶ δʼ εὐχὰς πέμπε θεοῖσιν.·’

ergazeu, phile, tēnde theosdoton es tribon elthōn, mēdʼ epilētheo tōn makarōn, thysias enarizōn pę̄ men epichthoniois, pę̄ dʼ ouraniois, pote dʼ aithrēs autoisin basileusi kai ēeros hygroporoio, ēde thalassaiois kai hypochthonioisin hapasi; panta gar endedetai physeōs mestōmasi tōnde. zǭōn dʼ hōs themis esti teleutēsai kathagismous aeisō, deltois de charassete chrēsmon emeio, tous men epichthoniois, tous dʼ ouranioisi theoisi; phaidra men ouraniois, chthoniois dʼ enalinkia chroię̄. tōn chthoniōn diaeire trichę̄ thysias enarizōn, nerteriōn katathapte, kai eis bothron haima ialle, cheue de meli nymphas te Diōnysoio te dōra. hossoi dʼ amphi geēn pōtōmenoi aien easi, toisde phonou plēsas pantē pyriplēthea bōmon en pyri balle demas thysas zǭoio potanou, kai meli phyrasas Dēōïǭ alphitǭ entheu, atmous te libanoio kai oulochytas epiballe. eute de par psamathoisin ię̄s, glaukēn hala cheuas kak kephalēs thysiaze, kai eis bathy kyma thalassēs zǭon holon proialle. teleutēsas tade panta es platyn ēeriōn choron ercheo Ouraniōnōn. astraiois dʼ epeita kai aitheriois epi pasin haima men ek laimōn krounōmasin amphi thyēlas limnazein, ta de guia theois en daiti poneisthai. akra Hēphaistǭ domenai, ta de loipa pasasthai, atmoisin laroisin eniplēsantes hapanta ēera rheustaleon; epi dʼ euchas pempe theoisin.;’

'Work, friend, having come upon this god-given path, and do not forget the blessed ones, slaying sacrifices, now to the gods of the earth, now to the heavenly, now to the kings of the ether themselves and of the watery air, and to those of the sea and to all those beneath the earth; for all things are bound in the fullness of the nature of these. I will sing how it is lawful to perform the offerings of animals (and engrave my oracle on tablets): some to the earthly, some to the heavenly gods; bright ones to the heavenly, and to those of the earth like them in color. Divide the sacrifices of the earthly gods in three as you slay them; bury those for the gods below, and pour the blood into a pit, and pour honey, the nymphs, and the gifts of Dionysus. For those who ever fly about the earth, fill the altar everywhere full of fire with blood, cast into the fire the body of a winged creature you have sacrificed, and knead honey with Deo's barley meal and put it in, and throw on fumes of frankincense and sacred grains. When you go by the sands, pour grey brine on the head and sacrifice, and cast the whole animal into the deep wave of the sea. Having finished all these, go to the broad chorus of the airy gods of heaven. Then for the starry and ethereal gods over all, let the blood from the throats pool around the offerings in streams, and the limbs be prepared for the gods in a feast; give the extremities to Hephaestus, and eat the rest, filling all the flowing air with sweet fumes; and send up prayers to the gods.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle prescribes different animal sacrifices for gods of the underworld, earth, air, sea, and heaven.

"The nymphs" here means water; "the gifts of Dionysus" wine.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; breathing misread in digitization; elision misread in digitization; iota subscript lost in digitization; letter lost in digitization; stray parenthesis in digitization): πή μὲν → πῇ μὲν; πῆ δʼ οὐρανίοις → πῇ δʼ οὐρανίοις; ἐμεῖο), → ἐμεῖο,; χεῦʼ δὲ → χεῦε δὲ; δἤπειτα → δʼ ἔπειτα; Ἠφαίστῳ → Ἡφαίστῳ.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.2 (Dindorf 1:171–172; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.9.3Dindorf 1:172

Καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγα ἐπεξηγεῖται τὸν χρησμὸν ἑρμηνεύων ὧδε “Αἱ δὲ θυσίαι ἔχουσι τὸν τρόπον τοῦτον κατὰ τὴν προρρηθεῖσαν διαίρεσιν τῶν θεῶν ἐκδεδομέναι. ὄντων γὰρ ὑποχθονίων καὶ ἐπιχθονίων θεῶν, καὶ τῶν μὲν ὑποχθονίων καὶ νερτερίων καλουμένων, τῶν δʼ ἐπιχθονίων καὶ χθονίων κληθέντων θεῶν, κοινῶς μὲν τούτοις ἱερεῖα τετράποδα μέλανα θύειν παρακελεύεται, περὶ δὲ τὸν τρόπον τῆς θυσίας ἐξαλλάττει· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ ἐπιχθονίοις σφάζειν ἐπὶ βωμῶν, τοῖς δʼ ὑποχθονίοις ἐπὶ βόθρων παρακελεύεται, καὶ μέντοι καὶ θάπτειν τούτοις θύσαντας τὰ σώματα.

Kai metʼ oliga epexēgeitai ton chrēsmon hermēneuōn hōde “Hai de thysiai echousi ton tropon touton kata tēn prorrētheisan diairesin tōn theōn ekdedomenai. ontōn gar hypochthoniōn kai epichthoniōn theōn, kai tōn men hypochthoniōn kai nerteriōn kaloumenōn, tōn dʼ epichthoniōn kai chthoniōn klēthentōn theōn, koinōs men toutois hiereia tetrapoda melana thyein parakeleuetai, peri de ton tropon tēs thysias exallattei; tois men gar epichthoniois sphazein epi bōmōn, tois dʼ hypochthoniois epi bothrōn parakeleuetai, kai mentoi kai thaptein toutois thysantas ta sōmata.

And a little later he explains the oracle, interpreting it thus: "The sacrifices are of this kind, assigned according to the division of the gods mentioned before. For since there are gods under the earth and on the earth, the former called subterranean and infernal, the latter terrestrial and earthly, he commands in common to sacrifice black four-footed victims to these; but he varies the manner of the sacrifice. For he commands to slaughter them on altars for the gods on the earth, and over pits for those under the earth, and moreover, having sacrificed, to bury the bodies for these.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry explains that underworld and earthly gods receive black four-footed victims, slaughtered over pits or on altars.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; repeated syllables in digitization; stray punctuation in digitization): τοῖς. δʼ → τοῖς δʼ; μέντοι τοι → μέντοι; ἑρ- μηνεύων → ἑρμηνεύων; παρακε- λεύεται → παρακελεύεται.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.3 (Dindorf 1:172; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.9.4Dindorf 1:172–173

ὅτι γὰρ κοινὰ τούτων καὶ τὰ τετράποδα αὐτὸς ἐρωτηθεὶς ἐπήγαγε ξυνὰ πέλει χθονίων καὶ ὑποχθονίων τάδε μούνων, τετράποδα χθονίοις ἀρνῶν νεοπηγέα γυῖα. τοῖς δὲ ἀερίοις πτηνὰ θύειν παρακελεύεται ὁλοκαυτοῦντας καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐπὶ τῶν βωμῶν περιάγοντας· τοῖς δὲ θαλασσίοις πτηνὰ μὲν, ζῶντα δὲ ἀφιέναι εἰς τὰ κύματα, μέλανα τὴν χρόαν ὄντα. φησὶ γὰρ τοῖς δὲ θεοῖς τὰ πετεινὰ, θαλασσαίοις δὲ κελαινά,

hoti gar koina toutōn kai ta tetrapoda autos erōtētheis epēgage xyna pelei chthoniōn kai hypochthoniōn tade mounōn, tetrapoda chthoniois arnōn neopēgea guia. tois de aeriois ptēna thyein parakeleuetai holokautountas kai to haima epi tōn bōmōn periagontas; tois de thalassiois ptēna men, zōnta de aphienai eis ta kymata, melana tēn chroan onta. phēsi gar tois de theois ta peteina, thalassaiois de kelaina,

For that four-footed victims are common to these he himself added when asked: 'These are common to the earthly and the subterranean alone: four-footed creatures for the earthly, the fresh-formed limbs of lambs.' To the gods of the air he commands to sacrifice birds, burning them whole and carrying the blood round the altars; to those of the sea, birds too, but to release them alive into the waves, being black in color. For he says: 'To the gods the winged creatures, and to those of the sea the black ones,'

Notes and citation

Summary: Birds are prescribed for gods of the air and sea, black ones for the sea.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (illegible letter marked in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): τ(?)ν βωμῶν → τῶν βωμῶν; ὁλοκαυ- τοῦντας → ὁλοκαυτοῦντας.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.4 (Dindorf 1:172–173; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.9.5Dindorf 1:173

πᾶσι μὲν λέγων τοῖς θεοῖς πλὴν τῶν χθονίων τὰ πετεινὰ, μόνοις δὲ τοῖς θαλασσίοις τὰ κελαινὰ, οὐκοῦν τοῖς ἄλλοις λευκά. τοῖς δʼ οὐρανίοις καὶ αἰθερίοις τὰ ἄκρα τῶν ἱερείων λευκῶν ὄντων ἀφιεροῦν, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ μέρη ἐσθίειν· ἐκ μόνων γὰρ τούτων βρωτέον σοι, ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων μή. οὓς δὲ εἴρηκεν ἐν τῇ διαιρέσει οὐρανίους, τούτους οὑς ἐνταῦθα ἀστραίους.

pasi men legōn tois theois plēn tōn chthoniōn ta peteina, monois de tois thalassiois ta kelaina, oukoun tois allois leuka. tois dʼ ouraniois kai aitheriois ta akra tōn hiereiōn leukōn ontōn aphieroun, ta de loipa merē esthiein; ek monōn gar toutōn brōteon soi, ek de tōn allōn mē. hous de eirēken en tę̄ diairesei ouranious, toutous hous entautha astraious.

meaning winged creatures for all the gods except the earthly, and black ones only for those of the sea, so white for the others. To the heavenly and ethereal gods one must dedicate the extremities of the victims, which are white, and eat the other parts; for of these alone you may eat, but not of the others. Those he called heavenly in the division he here calls starry.

Notes and citation

Summary: White victims go to the heavenly gods, whose sacrifices alone may be eaten.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; repeated syllables in digitization; stray digit in digitization): πετεινὰ 5 μόνοις → πετεινὰ, μόνοις; βρωτέον τέον → βρωτέον; αἰθε- ρίοις → αἰθερίοις.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.5 (Dindorf 1:173; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.9.6Dindorf 1:173

ἆρʼ οὖν δεήσει ἐξηγήσασθαι τῶν θυσιῶν τὰ σύμβολα τῷ εὐσυνέτῳ δῆλα; τετράποδα μὲν γὰρ τοῖς χθονίοις καὶ χερσαῖα· τῷ γὰρ ὁμοίῳ χαίρει τὸ ὅμοιον. χθόνιον δὲ τὸ πρόβατον καὶ διὰ τοῦτο Δήμητρι φίλον, καὶ ἐν οὐρανῷ τὴν ἔκφανσιν ἐκ τῆς γῆς τῶν καρπῶν μεθʼ ἡλίου λοχεύει. μέλανα δέ· τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ γῆ φύσει σκοτεινή. τρία δέ· τοῦ γὰρ σωματικοῦ καὶ γεώδους τὰ τρία σύμβολον.

arʼ oun deēsei exēgēsasthai tōn thysiōn ta symbola tǭ eusynetǭ dēla? tetrapoda men gar tois chthoniois kai chersaia; tǭ gar homoiǭ chairei to homoion. chthonion de to probaton kai dia touto Dēmētri philon, kai en ouranǭ tēn ekphansin ek tēs gēs tōn karpōn methʼ hēliou locheuei. melana de; toiautē gar hē gē physei skoteinē. tria de; tou gar sōmatikou kai geōdous ta tria symbolon.

Will it be necessary, then, to explain the symbols of the sacrifices, which are plain to the intelligent? Four-footed and land animals to the earthly gods, for like rejoices in like. The sheep is earthly and therefore dear to Demeter, and with the sun in heaven it brings to birth the appearing of the fruits out of the earth. They are black, for such is the earth, dark by nature. And three, for three is the symbol of the bodily and earthy.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry explains the symbolism of the victims' kind, color, and number.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): σύμ- βολα → σύμβολα.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.6 (Dindorf 1:173; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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4.9.7Dindorf 1:173–174

τοῖς μὲν οὖν ἐπιχθονίοις ἄνω ἐπὶ βωμῶν δεῖ θῦσαι· ἐπὶ γὰρ τῆς γῆς ἀναστρέφονται· τοῖς δʼ ὑποχθονίοις ἐν βόθρῳ καὶ ἐν ταφῇ, ἔνθα διατρίβουσι. τὰ πτηνὰ δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις, ὅτι πάντα θεῖ. καὶ γὰρ τὸ ὕδωρ ἀεικίνητον τῆς θαλάσσης, μέλαν δέ· διὸ καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἱερεία πρόσφορα. τοῖς δὲ ἀερίοις λευκά· πεφώτισται γὰρ καὶ ὁ ἀὴρ φύσεως ὢν διαφανοῦς. οὐρανίοις δὲ καὶ αἰθερίοις τὰ ἐπὶ τῶν ζῴων κουφότερα, ἅπερ ἐστὶν ἄκρα, οἷς κοινωνεῖν τῆς θυσίας δεῖ. δοτῆρες γὰρ οὗτοι ἀγαθῶν, οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι τῶν κακῶν κωλυτῆρες.’ Τοιαῦτα μὲν τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκ λογίων φιλοσοφίας τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ θεοσόφου.

tois men oun epichthoniois anō epi bōmōn dei thysai; epi gar tēs gēs anastrephontai; tois dʼ hypochthoniois en bothrǭ kai en taphę̄, entha diatribousi. ta ptēna de tois allois, hoti panta thei. kai gar to hydōr aeikinēton tēs thalassēs, melan de; dio kai ta toiauta hiereia prosphora. tois de aeriois leuka; pephōtistai gar kai ho aēr physeōs ōn diaphanous. ouraniois de kai aitheriois ta epi tōn zǭōn kouphotera, haper estin akra, hois koinōnein tēs thysias dei. dotēres gar houtoi agathōn, hoi de alloi tōn kakōn kōlytēres.’ Toiauta men ta apo tēs ek logiōn philosophias tou thaumastou theosophou.

To the gods on the earth one must sacrifice above, on altars, for they dwell on the earth; to those under the earth in a pit and with burial, where they spend their time. Winged creatures to the others, because all things move. For the water of the sea too is ever-moving, but black; therefore such victims are suitable. To the gods of the air white ones, for the air too is lit up, being of transparent nature. To the heavenly and ethereal gods the lighter parts of the animals, that is, the extremities, of which one must share in the sacrifice. For these are givers of good things, while the others are averters of evils." Such are the extracts from the Philosophy from Oracles of the wonderful divine sage.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry completes his explanation; Eusebius ends the extract.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): ἐπι- χθονίοις → ἐπιχθονίοις.

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Porphyry, Phil. orac. (Porphyry, Philosophy from Oracles (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 4.9.7 (Dindorf 1:173–174; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/4-2-1/#p-4-9-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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