Church History 4.15.9

Summary: Polycarp, calm, was persuaded to withdraw to a farm, where he prayed night and day for the churches.

Greek text · Dindorf 4:155

τόν γε μὴν θαυμασιώτατον Πολύκαρπον τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τούτων ἀκούσαντα ἀτάραχον διαμεῖναι, εὐσταθὲς τὸ ἦθος καὶ ἀκίνητον φυλάξαντα, βούλεσθαί τε αὐτοῦ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν περιμένειν· πεισθέντα γε μὴν ἀντιβολοῦσι τοῖς ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν, καὶ ὡς ἂν ὑπεξέλθοι παρακαλοῦσι, προελθεῖν εἰς οὐ πόρρω διεστῶτα τῆς πόλεως ἀγρὸν, διατρίβειν τε σὺν ὀλιγοις ἐνταῦθα, νύκτωρ καὶ μεθʼ ἡμέραν οὔτε ἕτερον πράττοντα ἢ ταῖς πρὸς τὸν κύριον διακαρτεροῦντα εὐχαῖς, διʼ ὧν δεῖσθαι καὶ ἱκετεύειν, εἰρήνην ἐξαιτούμενον ταῖς ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκκλησίαις· τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ εἶναι ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς αὐτῷ σύνηθες.

English · Claude translation

But the most wonderful Polycarp, when he first heard of these things, remained undisturbed, keeping his character steady and unmoved, and wished to stay there in the city. Yet, persuaded by those around him who entreated him and urged him to slip away, he went out to a farm not far from the city and stayed there with a few, doing nothing else night and day but persevering in prayers to the Lord, in which he begged and entreated, asking peace for the churches throughout the whole world; for this was his custom at all times.

About this passage

Source

Dindorf 4:155 · Wilhelm Dindorf, ed., Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, vol. 4: Historiae ecclesiasticae libri I–X (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871) · Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1871), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 4. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 4 (Teubner, 1871); made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1 (1890) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Extrabiblical texts

Mart. Pol. 5.1 (Martyrdom of Polycarp) · allusion, high confidence

Topics

Prayer, Martyrdom

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 4.15.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/4/15/9/).

Plain text

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 4.15.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/4/15/9/).

Greek text · Dindorf 4:155

English · Claude translation

About this passage

Notes

Translation notes

Cite this passage