Church History, Book 5, preface 3

Eusebius of Caesarea · Church History · ca. 300–325 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: Ordinary historians record wars, victories, and bloodshed for country and property.

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Greek text · Dindorf 4:182–183

ἄλλοι μὲν οὖν ἱστορικὰς ποιούμενοι διηγήσεις πάντως ἂν παρέδωκαν τῇ γραφῇ πολέμων νίκας, καὶ τρόπαια κατʼ ἐχθρῶν, στρατηγῶν τε ἀριστείας, καὶ ὁπλιτῶν ἀνδραγαθίας, αἵματι καὶ μυρίοις φόνοις παίδων καὶ πατρίδος καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἕνεκεν περιου- σίας μιανθέντων.

English · Claude translation

Other writers of historical narratives would certainly have handed down in writing victories in war and trophies over enemies, the exploits of generals and the valour of soldiers, men stained with blood and countless slaughters for the sake of children and country and other possessions.

About this passage

Source: Dindorf 4:182–183 · 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)

Cite this passage

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.0.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/5/0/3/).

Plain text

Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 5.0.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-historia/5/0/3/).

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