WEBVTT

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Book 4, Part 4, of Eusebius' Church
History by David Leeson.

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CHURCH HISTORY by Eusebius of Caesarea,
translated by Arthur Cushman McGiffert.

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Book 4, Part 4, Chapters 24-30.

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Chapter 24 THEOPHILUS, BISHOP OF ANTIOCH.

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Of Theophilus, whom we have mentioned as
Bishop of the Church of Antioch,

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three elementary works addressed to
Autolycus are extant, also another writing

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entitled Against the Heresy of Hermogenes,
in which he makes use of testimonies from

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the Apocalypse of John, and finally
certain other catechetical books.

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And as the heretics, no less then than at
other times, were like tares, destroying

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the pure harvest of apostolic teaching,
the pastors of the churches everywhere

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hastened to restrain them as wild beasts
from the fold of Christ, at one time by

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admonitions and exhortations to the
brethren, at another time by contending

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more openly against them in oral
discussions and refutations, and again by

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correcting their opinions with most
accurate proofs in written works.

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And that Theophilus also, with the others,
contended against them, is manifest from a

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certain discourse of no common merit
written by him against Marcion.

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This work too, with the others of which we
have spoken, has been preserved to the

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present day.

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Maximinus, the seventh from the Apostles,
succeeded him as bishop of the Church of

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Antioch.

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Chapter 25 Philip and Modestus Philip who,
as we learn from the words of Dionysius,

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was bishop of the parish of Gortyna,
likewise wrote a most elaborate work

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against Marcion, as did also Irenaeus and
Modestus.

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The last named has exposed the error of
the man more clearly than the rest to the

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view of all.

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There are a number of others, also,
whose works are still presented by a great

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many of the brethren.

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Chapter 26 Melito and the Circumstances
Which He Records In those days also

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Melito, bishop of the parish in Sardis,
and Apollinarius, bishop of Hierapolis,

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enjoyed great distinction.

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Each of them on his own part addressed
apologies in behalf of the faith to the

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above-mentioned emperor of the Romans,
who was reigning at that time.

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The following works of these writers have
come to our knowledge.

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Of Melito, the two books on the Passover,
and one on the conduct of life and the

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prophets, the Discourse on the Church,
and one on the Lord's Day, still further

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one on the faith of man, and one on his
creation, another also on the obedience of

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faith, and one on the senses.

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Besides these, the work on the soul and
body, and that on baptism, and the one on

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truth, and on the creation and generation
of Christ, his discourse also on prophecy,

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and that on hospitality.

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Still further, the key, and the books on
the devil and the apocalypse of John,

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and the work on the corporeality of God,
and finally the book addressed to

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Antoninus.

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In the books on the Passover, he indicates
the time at which he wrote, beginning with

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these words.

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While Servilius Paulus was proconsul of
Asia, at the time when Sagaris suffered

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martyrdom, there arose in Laodicea a great
strife concerning the Passover,

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which fell according to rule in those
days, and these were written.

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And Clement of Alexandria refers to this
work in his own discourse on the Passover,

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which he says he wrote on occasion of
Melito's work.

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But in his book addressed to the emperor,
he records that the following events

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happened to us under him.

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For, what never before happened,
the race of the pious is now suffering

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persecution, being driven about in Asia by
new decrees.

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For the shameless informers and coveters
of the property of others, taking occasion

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from the decrees, openly carry on robbery
night and day, despoiling those who are

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guilty of no wrong.

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And a little further on, he says,
if these things are done by thy command,

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well and good, for a just ruler will never
take unjust measures, and we indeed gladly

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accept the honor of such a death.

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But this request alone we present to thee,
that thou wouldst thyself first examine

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the authors of such strife, and justly
judge whether they be worthy of death and

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punishment, or of safety and quiet.

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But if, on the other hand, this counsel
and this new decree, which is not fit to

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be executed even against barbarian
enemies, be not from thee, much more do we

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beseech thee not to leave us exposed to
such lawless plundering by the populace.

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Again he adds the following.

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For our philosophy formerly flourished
among the barbarians, but having sprung up

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among the nations under thy rule,
during the great reign of thy ancestor

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Augustus, it became to thine empire
especially a blessing of auspicious omen.

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For from that time the power of the Romans
has grown in greatness and splendor.

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To this power thou hast succeeded as the
desired possessor, and such shalt thou

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continue with thy son, if thou guardest
the philosophy which grew up with the

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empire, and which came into existence with
Augustus, that philosophy which thy

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ancestors also honored along with the
other religions.

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And a most convincing proof that our
doctrine flourished for the good of an

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empire happily begun is this, that there
has no evil happened since Augustus'

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reign, but that, on the contrary,
all things have been splendid and

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glorious, in accordance with the prayers
of all.

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Nero and Domitian alone, persuaded by
certain columniators, have wished to

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slander our doctrine, and from them it has
come to pass that the falsehood has been

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handed down, in consequence of an
unreasonable practice which prevails of

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bringing slanderous accusations against
the Christians.

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But thy pious fathers corrected their
ignorance, having frequently rebuked in

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writing many who dared to attempt new
measures against them.

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Among them thy grandfather Adrian appears
to have written to many others,

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and also to Fundanus, the proconsul and
governor of Asia.

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And thy father, when thou also wast ruling
with him, wrote to the cities,

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forbidding them to take any new measures
against us.

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Among the rest to the Lauraceans,
to the Thessalonians, to the Athenians,

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and to all the Greeks.

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And as for thee, since thy opinions
respecting the Christians are the same as

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theirs, and indeed much more benevolent
and philosophic, we are the more persuaded

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that thou wilt do all that we ask of thee.

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These words are found in the
above-mentioned work.

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But in the extracts made by him,
the same writer gives at the beginning of

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the introduction a catalogue of the
acknowledged books of the Old Testament,

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which it is necessary to quote at this
point.

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He writes as follows.

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Melito to his brother Onesimus,
greeting.

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Since thou hast often, in thy zeal for the
word, expressed a wish to have extracts

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made from the Law and the Prophets
concerning the Saviour and concerning our

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entire faith, and hast also desired to
have an accurate statement of the ancient

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book, as regards their number and their
order, I have endeavored to perform the

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task, knowing thy zeal for the faith,
and thy desire to gain information in

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regard to the word, and knowing that thou,
in thy yearning after God, esteemest these

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things above all else, struggling to
attain eternal salvation.

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Accordingly, when I went east and came to
the place where these things were preached

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and done, I learned accurately the books
of the Old Testament, and sent them to

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thee as written below.

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Their names are as follows.

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Of Moses five books, Genesis, Exodus,
Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy,

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Jesus' nave, Judges, Ruth, of Kings four
books, of Chronicles two, the Psalms of

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David, the Proverbs of Solomon,
Wisdom also, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs,

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Job, of Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah,
of the twelve prophets, one book,

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Daniel, Ezekiel, Esdras, from which also I
have made the extracts, dividing them into

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six books.

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Such are the words of Melito.

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Chapter 27.

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Apollinarius, Bishop of the Church of
Hierapolis.

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A number of works of Apollinarius have
been preserved by many, and the following

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have reached us.

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The discourse addressed to the
above-mentioned emperor, five books

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against the Greeks, On Truth, a first and
second book, and those which he

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subsequently wrote against the heresy of
the which not long afterwards came out

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with its innovations, but at that time
was, as it were, in its incipiency,

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since Montanus, with his false
prophetesses, was then laying the

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foundations of his error.

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Chapter 28.

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Musanus and his writings.

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And as for Musanus, whom we have mentioned
among the foregoing writers, a certain

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very elegant discourse is extant,
which was written by him against some

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brethren that had gone over to the heresy
of the so-called Incritites, which had

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recently sprung up, and which introduced a
strange and pernicious error.

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It is said that Tatian was the author of
this false doctrine.

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Chapter 29.

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The Heresy of Tatian.

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He is the one whose words we quoted a
little above in regard to that admirable

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man, Justin, and whom we stated to have
been a disciple of the martyr.

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Irenaeus declares this in the first book
of his work Against Heresies, where he

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writes as follows concerning both him and
his heresy.

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Those who are called Incritites,
and who sprung from Saturninus and

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Marcian, preached celibacy, setting aside
the original arrangement of God,

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and tacitly censuring him who made male
and female for the propagation of the

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human race.

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They introduced also abstinence from the
things called by them animate,

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thus showing ingratitude to the God who
made all things, and they deny the

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salvation of the first man.

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But this has been only recently discovered
by them, a certain Tatian being the first

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to introduce this blasphemy.

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He was a hearer of Justin, and expressed
no such opinion while he was with him,

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but after the martyrdom of the latter he
left the church, and becoming exalted with

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the thought of being a teacher,
and puffed up with the idea that he was

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superior to others, he established a
peculiar type of doctrine of his own,

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inventing certain invisible eons like the
followers of Valentinus, while,

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like Marcian and Saturninus, he pronounced
marriage to be corruption and fornication.

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His argument against the salvation of
Adam, however, he devised for himself.

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Irenaeus at that time wrote thus.

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But a little later a certain man named
Severus put new strength into the

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aforesaid heresy, and thus brought it
about that those who took their origin

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from it were called after him Severians.

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They indeed use the law and prophets and
gospels, but interpret in their own way

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the utterances of the sacred scriptures.

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And they abuse Paul the Apostle and reject
his epistles, and do not accept even the

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acts of the apostles.

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But their original founder, Tatian,
formed a certain combination and

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collection of the gospels, I know not how,
to which he gave the title Diatessaron,

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and which is still in the hands of some.

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But they say that he ventured to
paraphrase certain words of the Apostle in

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order to improve their style.

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He has left a great many writings.

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Of these the one most in use among many
persons is his celebrated Address to the

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Greeks, which also appears to be the best
and most useful of all his works.

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In it he deals with the most ancient
times, and shows that Moses and the Hebrew

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prophets were older than all the
celebrated men among the Greeks.

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So much in regard to these men.

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Chapter 30.

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BARDESSINES THE SYRIAN AND HIS EXTANT
WORKS In the same reign, as heresies were

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abounding in the region between the
rivers, a certain Bardessines,

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a most able man and a most skillful
disputant in the Syriac tongue,

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having composed dialogues against
Marcian's followers and against certain

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others who were authors of various
opinions, committed them to writing in his

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own language, together with many other
works.

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His pupils, of whom he had very many,
for he was a powerful defender of the

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faith, translated these productions from
the Syriac into Greek.

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Among them there is also his most able
Dialogue on Fate, addressed to Antoninus,

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and other works which they say he wrote on
occasion of the persecution which arose at

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that time.

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He, indeed, was at first a follower of
Valentinus, but afterward, having rejected

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his teaching and having refuted most of
his fictions, he fancied that he had come

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over to the more correct opinion.

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Nevertheless, he did not entirely wash off
the filth of the old heresy.

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About this time also Soter, Bishop of the
Church of Rome, departed this life.

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End of Book 4, Part 4