Preparation for the Gospel 11.19.1–11.26.8

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).

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Preparation 11, chapter 19

11.19.1Dindorf 2:42–43

“Καὶ οὗτος ἄρα ἦν ὁ λόγος καθʼ ὃν αἰεὶ ὄντα τὰ γινόμενα ἐγίνετο, ὡς ἂν καὶ ὁ Ἡράκλειτος ἀξιώσειε, καὶ νὴ Δίʼ ὃν ὁ βάρβαρος ἀξιοῖ ἐν τῇ τῆς ἀρχῆς τάξει τε καὶ ἀξίᾳ καθεστηκότα πρὸς θεὸν εἶναι καὶ θεὸν εἶναι· διʼ οὗ πάνθʼ ἁπλῶς γεγενῆ- σθαι· ἐν ᾧ τὸ γενόμενον ζῶν καὶ ζωὴν καὶ ὂν πεφυκέναι· καὶ εἰς τὰ σώματα πίπτειν, καὶ σάρκα ἐνδυσάμενον φαντάζεσθαι ἄνθρωπον, μετὰ τοῦ καὶ τηνικαῦτα δεικνύειν τῆς φύσεως τὸ μεγαλεῖον· ἀμέλει καὶ ἀναλυθέντα πάλιν ἀποθεοῦσθαι, καὶ θεὸν εἶναι, οἷος ἦν πρὸ τοῦ εἰς τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν σάρκα καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον καταχθῆναι. ”

“Kai houtos ara ēn ho logos kathʼ hon aiei onta ta ginomena egineto, hōs an kai ho Hērakleitos axiōseie, kai nē Diʼ hon ho barbaros axioi en tę̄ tēs archēs taxei te kai axią kathestēkota pros theon einai kai theon einai; diʼ hou panthʼ haplōs gegenē- sthai; en hǭ to genomenon zōn kai zōēn kai on pephykenai; kai eis ta sōmata piptein, kai sarka endysamenon phantazesthai anthrōpon, meta tou kai tēnikauta deiknyein tēs physeōs to megaleion; amelei kai analythenta palin apotheousthai, kai theon einai, hoios ēn pro tou eis to sōma kai tēn sarka kai ton anthrōpon katachthēnai. ”

“And this, then, was the Word, by whom the things that came to be, being always, came to be, as Heraclitus too would hold; and, by Zeus, the one whom the barbarian holds, established in the rank and dignity of the beginning, to be with God and to be God; through whom all things without exception came to be; in whom what came to be has its nature as living and life and being; and who falls into bodies, and, having put on flesh, appears as a man, while even then showing the greatness of his nature; and indeed, when released again, is deified and is God, such as he was before he was brought down into the body, the flesh, and the man.”

John 1:1 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:4 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:14 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Amelius paraphrases John’s prologue on the Word.

  • Amelius (fragment), paraphrasing John 1:1–4, 14, with an allusion to Heraclitus’s Logos (fragment B 1).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ζῶν καἰ ζωὴν → ζῶν καὶ ζωὴν; οἷος ἢν πρὸ → οἷος ἦν πρὸ.

Extrabiblical texts: Heraclitus, B 1 (Heraclitus (fragments); allusion); Amelius (Amelius; quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.19.1 (Dindorf 2:42–43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.19.2Dindorf 2:43

Ταῦτʼ οὐκέτʼ ἐπεσκιασμένως, ἀλλʼ ἄντικρυς ἤδη γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ μεταπεφρασμένα ἐκ τῆς βαρβάρου θεολογίας δῆλα ἂν εἴη. ὁ δέ γε βάρβαρος τίς ἦν αὐτῷ εἰ μὴ ὁ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐαγγελιστὴς Ἰωάννης, Ἑβραῖος ὢν ἐξ Ἑβραίων;

Tautʼ ouketʼ epeskiasmenōs, allʼ antikrys ēdē gymnę̄ tę̄ kephalę̄ metapephrasmena ek tēs barbarou theologias dēla an eiē. ho de ge barbaros tis ēn autǭ ei mē ho tou sōtēros hēmōn euangelistēs Iōannēs, Hebraios ōn ex Hebraiōn?

These words would be plainly seen to have been paraphrased from the barbarian theology, no longer veiled but now openly, with uncovered head. And who was his barbarian but John, the evangelist of our Saviour, a Hebrew of the Hebrews?

Phil 3:5 (allusion, low confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The barbarian is John the evangelist.

  • “A Hebrew of the Hebrews” echoes Phil 3:5.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): Ἐβραῖος ὢν ἐξ Ἑβραίων → Ἑβραῖος ὢν ἐξ Ἑβραίων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.19.2 (Dindorf 2:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.19.3Dindorf 2:43

ὅς που ἀρχόμενος τῆς οἰκείας γραφῆς ὧδέ πη θεολογεῖ “ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος· καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν. καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος· οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. πάντα διʼ αὐτὸν ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν, ὃ γέγονεν. ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. καὶ ὁ λόγος σὰρξ ἐγένετο, καὶ ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν, καὶ ἐθεασάμεθα τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ, δόξαν ὡς μονογενοῦς παρὰ πατρός.”

hos pou archomenos tēs oikeias graphēs hōde pē theologei “en archę̄ ēn ho logos; kai ho logos ēn pros ton theon. kai theos ēn ho logos; houtos ēn en archę̄ pros ton theon. panta diʼ auton egeneto, kai chōris autou egeneto oude hen, ho gegonen. en autǭ zōē ēn, kai hē zōē ēn to phōs tōn anthrōpōn. kai ho logos sarx egeneto, kai eskēnōsen en hēmin, kai etheasametha tēn doxan autou, doxan hōs monogenous para patros.”

At the beginning of his own writing he speaks of God somewhat thus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be that has come to be. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father.”

John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:2 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:4 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:14 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: John’s prologue on the Word.

  • John 1:1–4, 14. “Through him” renders διʼ αὐτόν as printed (the Gospel reads διʼ αὐτοῦ).

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.19.3 (Dindorf 2:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.19.4Dindorf 2:43

τοῦ δʼ αὐτοῦ πέρι καὶ ἄλλος Ἑβραίων θεολόγος ἐπάκουσον οἷα διέξεισιν ‘ὅς ἐστιν εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου, πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη τὰ πάντα τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, εἴτε ὁρατὰ εἴτε ἀόρατα· καὶ πάντα διʼ αὐτοῦ συνέστηκε, καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ ἐκτίσθη, τά τε ὁρατὰ καὶ τὰ ἀόρατα.”

tou dʼ autou peri kai allos Hebraiōn theologos epakouson hoia diexeisin ‘hos estin eikōn tou theou tou aoratou, prōtotokos pasēs ktiseōs, hoti en autǭ ektisthē ta panta ta en tois ouranois kai ta epi tēs gēs, eite horata eite aorata; kai panta diʼ autou synestēke, kai ta panta en autǭ ektisthē, ta te horata kai ta aorata.”

And hear what another theologian of the Hebrews relates about the same: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him were created all things in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible; and all things hold together through him, and all things were created in him, visible and invisible.”

Col 1:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 1:17 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Paul in Colossians on the Son as image and firstborn.

  • Col 1:15–17 (loosely quoted).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (Latin letter and accent slip in the digital text): ἄλλος ‘Eβραίων θεόλογος → ἄλλος Ἑβραίων θεολόγος.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.19.4 (Dindorf 2:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-19-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.19.5Dindorf 2:43

ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ περὶ τῆς τοῦ δευτέρου αἰτίου συστάσεως τε καὶ οὐσιώσεως ὧδε τοῖς Ἑλλήνων σοφοῖς πρὸς τὰ Ἑβραίων συμπεφώνηται. μετίωμεν δῆτα καὶ ἐφʼ ἕτερα.

alla kai ta peri tēs tou deuterou aitiou systaseōs te kai ousiōseōs hōde tois Hellēnōn sophois pros ta Hebraiōn sympephōnētai. metiōmen dēta kai ephʼ hetera.

So also on the existence and substance of the second cause the wise men of the Greeks agree with the Hebrews. Let us pass on to other matters.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Greeks agree with the Hebrews on the second cause.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.19.5 (Dindorf 2:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-19-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 20

11.20.1Dindorf 2:43–44

Τῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις λογίων μετὰ τὸν περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ λόγον ἐν τρίτῃ τάξει τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα καταλεγόντων, καὶ τήν γε ἁγίαν καὶ μακαρίαν τριάδα τοῦτον ὑποτιθεμένων τὸν τρόπον, ὡς ἂν τῆς τρίτης δυνάμεως πᾶσαν ὑπερβεβηκυίας γενητὴν φύσιν, οὖσάν τε πρώτην μὲν τῶν διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ συστασῶν νοερῶν οὐσιῶν, τρίτην δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου, θέα ὅπως καὶ ὁ Πλάτων τοιαῦτά τινα ᾐνίξατο διὰ τῆς πρὸς Διονύσιον ἐπιστολῆς λέγων

Tōn parʼ Hebraiois logiōn meta ton peri patros kai huiou logon en tritę̄ taxei to hagion pneuma katalegontōn, kai tēn ge hagian kai makarian triada touton hypotithemenōn ton tropon, hōs an tēs tritēs dynameōs pasan hyperbebēkuias genētēn physin, ousan te prōtēn men tōn dia tou huiou systasōn noerōn ousiōn, tritēn de apo tou prōtou aitiou, thea hopōs kai ho Platōn toiauta tina ę̄nixato dia tēs pros Dionysion epistolēs legōn

The oracles of the Hebrews, after the teaching about Father and Son, list the Holy Spirit in the third rank, and set forth the holy and blessed Trinity in this way: the third power transcends all created nature, and is the first of the intelligent substances that came to exist through the Son, and third from the first cause. See how Plato too hinted at some such things in his letter to Dionysius, saying:

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture places the Holy Spirit third; Plato hints at a triad.

  • Eusebius describes the Spirit as “first of the intelligent substances that came to exist through the Son”; the wording reflects his own pre-Nicene theology and is translated as written.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text; stray word in the digital text): τοῦ πρώτου του αἰτίου → τοῦ πρώτου αἰτίου; καὶ ὁ Πλάτωνʼ τοιαῦτά → καὶ ὁ Πλάτων τοιαῦτά.

Topics: Trinity

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.20.1 (Dindorf 2:43–44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.20.2Dindorf 2:44

“ Φραστέον δή σοι διʼ αἰνιγμῶν, ἵνʼ ἄν τι δέλτος ἢ πόντου ἢ γῆς ἐν πτυχαῖς πάθῃ, ὁ ἀναγνοὺς μὴ γνῷ. ὧδε γὰρ ἔχει· περὶ τὸν πάντων βασιλέα πάντʼ ἐστὶ, καὶ ἐκείνου ἕνεκα πάντα, καὶ ἐκεῖνο αἴτιον ἀπάντων καλῶν· δεύτερον δὲ περὶ τὰ δεύτερα καὶ τρίτον περὶ τὰ τρίτα. ἡ οὖν ἀνθρωπίνη ψυχὴ περὶ αὐτὰ ὀρέγεται μαθεῖν ποῖα ἄττα ἐστὶ, βλέπουσα εἰς τὰ αὐτῆς συγγενῆ.”

“ Phrasteon dē soi diʼ ainigmōn, hinʼ an ti deltos ē pontou ē gēs en ptychais pathę̄, ho anagnous mē gnǭ. hōde gar echei; peri ton pantōn basilea pantʼ esti, kai ekeinou heneka panta, kai ekeino aition apantōn kalōn; deuteron de peri ta deutera kai triton peri ta trita. hē oun anthrōpinē psychē peri auta oregetai mathein poia atta esti, blepousa eis ta autēs syngenē.”

“I must tell you in riddles, so that if the tablet should meet with any accident in the folds of sea or land, whoever reads it may not understand. It is thus: all things are about the King of all, and all things are for his sake, and he is the cause of all fine things; and the second is about the second things, and the third about the third. The human soul, then, longs to learn about them what sort they are, looking to the things akin to itself.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato’s Second Letter speaks in riddles of a first, second, and third.

  • Plato, Second Letter 312d–e (a letter whose authenticity is doubted).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (elision mark missing in the digital text): ἵν ἄν τι δέλτος → ἵνʼ ἄν τι δέλτος.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Ep. 2.312d–e (Plato (works); quotation)

Topics: Trinity

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.20.2 (Dindorf 2:44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.20.3Dindorf 2:44

Ταῦτα οἱ τὸν Πλάτωνα διασαφεῖν πειρώμενοι ἐπὶ τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν ἀνάγουσιν, ἐπί τε τὸ δεύτερον αἴτιον καὶ τρίτον τὴν τοῦ κόσμου ψυχὴν, θεὸν τρίτον καὶ αὐτὴν ὁριζόμενοι εἶναι· οἱ δέ γε θεῖοι λόγοι τὴν ἁγίαν καὶ μακαρίαν τριάδα, πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἐν ἀρχῆς λόγῳ τάττουσι κατὰ τὰ ἀποδεδομένα. Ἕπεται τούτοις τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐξετάσαι οὐσίαν.

Tauta hoi ton Platōna diasaphein peirōmenoi epi ton prōton theon anagousin, epi te to deuteron aition kai triton tēn tou kosmou psychēn, theon triton kai autēn horizomenoi einai; hoi de ge theioi logoi tēn hagian kai makarian triada, patros kai huiou kai hagiou pneumatos, en archēs logǭ tattousi kata ta apodedomena. Hepetai toutois tēn tou agathou exetasai ousian.

Those who try to explain Plato refer these words to the first God, to the second cause, and third to the soul of the world, defining it too as a third God. But the divine oracles place the holy and blessed Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the rank of the first principle, in the way that has been set out. Next it follows to examine the nature of the Good.

Notes and citation

Summary: Platonists read Plato’s triad as God, Mind, and World-Soul; Scripture teaches the Trinity.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): Ταῦτα οἶ τὸν Πλάτωνα → Ταῦτα οἱ τὸν Πλάτωνα; οἶ δέ γε θεῖοι λόγοι → οἱ δέ γε θεῖοι λόγοι.

Topics: Trinity

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.20.3 (Dindorf 2:44; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-20-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 21

11.21.1Dindorf 2:44–45

Τῆς παρʼ Ἑβραίοις θείας γραφῆς διαφόρως τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ οὐσίαν καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ἀγαθὸν οὐδὲν ἄλλο εἷναι ἢ θεὸν διδασκούσης, διʼ ὧν τέ φησιν “ἀγαθὸς κύριος πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν αὐτόν· ψυχῇ, ἣ ἐκζητήσει αὐτόν·” καὶ “ ἐξομολογεῖσθε τῷ κυρίῳ ὅτι ἀγαθὸς, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ ” διʼ ὧν τε ὁ σωτήριος λόγος πρὸς τὸν περὶ τοῦδε ἐρό- μενον ἀπεφήνατο εἰπὼν “τί με ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός·”

Tēs parʼ Hebraiois theias graphēs diaphorōs tēn tou agathou ousian kai auto to agathon ouden allo heinai ē theon didaskousēs, diʼ hōn te phēsin “agathos kyrios pasi tois hypomenousin auton; psychę̄, hē ekzētēsei auton;” kai “ exomologeisthe tǭ kyriǭ hoti agathos, hoti eis ton aiōna to eleos autou ” diʼ hōn te ho sōtērios logos pros ton peri toude ero- menon apephēnato eipōn “ti me erōtąs peri tou agathou? oudeis agathos ei mē heis ho theos;”

The divine Scripture of the Hebrews teaches in various ways that the nature of the Good, and the Good itself, is nothing other than God, where it says: “The Lord is good to all who wait for him, to the soul that will seek him”; and “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever”; and where the saving Word declared to one who asked him about this: “Why do you ask me about the good? No one is good but one, God.”

Lam 3:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 106:1 (105:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 19:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 10:18 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture teaches that God alone is the Good.

  • Lam 3:25; Ps 106:1 (105:1 LXX) and elsewhere; Matt 19:17 (combined with Mark 10:18).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; opening quotation mark missing in the digital text): διʼ ὧν τέ φησιν ἀγαθὸς → διʼ ὧν τέ φησιν “ἀγαθὸς; πάσι τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν → πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπομένουσιν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.1 (Dindorf 2:44–45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.21.2Dindorf 2:45

ἐπάκουσον τοῦ Πλάτωνος, ἅ φησιν ἐν Τιμαίῳ “ Λέγωμεν δὴ διʼ ἥντινα αἰτίαν γένεσιν καὶ τὸ πᾶν τόδε ὁ ξυνιστὰς ξυνέστησεν. ἀγαθὸς ἦν· ἀγαθῷ δʼ οὐδεὶς περὶ οὐδενὸς οὐδέποτʼ ἐγγίνεται φθόνος. τούτου δὲ ἐκτὸς ὢν πάντα ὅτι μάλιστα ἐβουλήθη γενέσθαι παραπλήσια ἑαυτῷ.”

epakouson tou Platōnos, ha phēsin en Timaiǭ “ Legōmen dē diʼ hēntina aitian genesin kai to pan tode ho xynistas xynestēsen. agathos ēn; agathǭ dʼ oudeis peri oudenos oudepotʼ enginetai phthonos. toutou de ektos ōn panta hoti malista eboulēthē genesthai paraplēsia heautǭ.”

Hear what Plato says in the Timaeus: “Let us say, then, for what cause the framer framed becoming and this universe. He was good; and in the good no envy ever arises about anything. Being free of this, he wished all things to become as like himself as possible.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato: the good Maker made the world like himself.

  • Plato, Timaeus 29d–e.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 29d–e (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.2 (Dindorf 2:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.21.3Dindorf 2:45

Καὶ ἐν τῇ Πολιτεία δὲ ταῦτά φησιν “ Ἆρʼ οὖν οὐ καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ὄψις μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν, αἴτιος δʼ ὢν αὐτῆς ὁρᾶται ὑπʼ αὐτῆς ταύτης; οὕτως, ἦ δʼ ὅς. τοῦτον τοίνυν, ἦν δʼ ἐγὼ, φάναι με λέγειν τὸν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔκγονον, ὃν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐγέννησεν ἀνάλογον ἑαυτῷ, ὅ τι περ αὐτὸ ἐν τῷ νοητῷ τόπῳ πρός τε νοῦν καὶ τὰ νοούμενα, τοῦτον ἐν τῷ ὁρατῷ πρός τε ὄψιν καὶ τὰ ὁρώμενα.”

Kai en tę̄ Politeia de tauta phēsin “ Arʼ oun ou kai ho hēlios opsis men ouk estin, aitios dʼ ōn autēs horatai hypʼ autēs tautēs? houtōs, ē dʼ hos. touton toinyn, ēn dʼ egō, phanai me legein ton tou agathou ekgonon, hon to agathon egennēsen analogon heautǭ, ho ti per auto en tǭ noētǭ topǭ pros te noun kai ta nooumena, touton en tǭ horatǭ pros te opsin kai ta horōmena.”

And in the Republic he says this: “Is not the sun, then, not sight, but, being its cause, seen by sight itself? — So it is, he said. — This, then, I said, you may say I mean by the offspring of the Good, which the Good begot in proportion to itself: as the Good is in the intelligible realm to mind and its objects, so is this in the visible realm to sight and its objects.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato: the sun is the offspring of the Good.

  • Plato, Republic 6.508b–c.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 508b–c (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.3 (Dindorf 2:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.21.4Dindorf 2:45

Καὶ ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει “Τοῦτο τοίνυν τὸ τὴν ἀλήθειαν παρέχον τοῖς γιγνωσκομένοις καὶ τὸ γιγνώσκοντι τὴν δύναμιν ἀποδιδοῦν τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέαν φάθι εἶναι.” Καὶ πάλιν φησὶ

Kai hexēs epilegei “Touto toinyn to tēn alētheian parechon tois gignōskomenois kai to gignōskonti tēn dynamin apodidoun tēn tou agathou idean phathi einai.” Kai palin phēsi

And next he adds: “This, then, which gives truth to the things known and gives the knower the power of knowing, you may say is the Idea of the Good.” And again he says:

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato: the Idea of the Good gives truth and knowledge.

  • Plato, Republic 6.508e.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 508e (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.4 (Dindorf 2:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.21.5Dindorf 2:45–46

“ Τὸν ἥλιον τοῖς ὁρωμένοις οὐ μόνον, οἶμαι, τὴν τοῦ ὁρᾶσθαι δύναμιν παρέχειν φήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν γένεσιν καὶ αὔξην καὶ τροφὴν, οὐ γένεσιν αὐτὸν ὄντα. πῶς γάρ; καὶ τοῖς γινωσκομένοις τοίνυν μὴ μόνον τὸ γινώσκεσθαι φάναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ παρεῖναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ εἶναί τε καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν ὑπʼ ἐκείνου αὐτοῖς προσεῖναι, οὐκ οὐσίας ὄντος τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, ἀλλʼ ἐπέκεινα οὐσίας πρεσβείᾳ καὶ δυνάμει ὑπερ- έχοντος.”

“ Ton hēlion tois horōmenois ou monon, oimai, tēn tou horasthai dynamin parechein phēseis, alla kai tēn genesin kai auxēn kai trophēn, ou genesin auton onta. pōs gar? kai tois ginōskomenois toinyn mē monon to ginōskesthai phanai hypo tou agathou pareinai, alla kai to einai te kai tēn ousian hypʼ ekeinou autois proseinai, ouk ousias ontos tou agathou, allʼ epekeina ousias presbeią kai dynamei hyper- echontos.”

“You will say, I think, that the sun gives to visible things not only the power of being seen, but also their coming into being, growth, and nourishment, though it is not itself coming-into-being. — How could it be? — Say, then, that to things known not only their being known is present from the Good, but also their being and their substance come to them from it, though the Good is not substance, but beyond substance, surpassing it in dignity and power.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato: the Good gives being and substance, and is itself beyond substance.

  • Plato, Republic 6.509b.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ὑπʼ ἐκείνοῦ → ὑπʼ ἐκείνου.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 509b (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.5 (Dindorf 2:45–46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.21.6Dindorf 2:46

Σαφέστατα διὰ τούτων οὐ μόνον τὸ γινώσκεσθαι ταῖς νοηταῖς οὐσίαις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ εἶναί τε καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν ἔχειν παρὰ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, δηλαδὴ τοῦ θεοῦ, φησὶν ὁ Πλάτων· τό τε ἀγαθὸν “ μὴ εἶναι οὐσίαν, ἀλλʼ ἐπέκεινα τῆς οὐσίας, πρεσβείᾳ καὶ δυνάμει ὑπερέχον·” ὥστε μὴ ὁμοούσια αὐτὰ τίθεσθαι, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ ἀγέννητα νομίζειν, ὅτι δὴ καὶ τὸ εἶναι καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν εἴληφε παρὰ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος οὐσίας, ἀλλʼ ἐπέκεινα οὐσίας πρεσβείᾳ καὶ δυνάμει ὑπερέχοντος· ὃν δὴ καὶ μόνον εἰκότως θεὸν τὰ Ἑβραίων ἀναγορεύει λόγια, ὡς ἂν τοῖς πᾶσιν αἴτιον ὄντα.

Saphestata dia toutōn ou monon to ginōskesthai tais noētais ousiais, alla kai to einai te kai tēn ousian echein para tou agathou, dēladē tou theou, phēsin ho Platōn; to te agathon “ mē einai ousian, allʼ epekeina tēs ousias, presbeią kai dynamei hyperechon;” hōste mē homoousia auta tithesthai, alla mēde agennēta nomizein, hoti dē kai to einai kai tēn ousian eilēphe para tou mē ontos ousias, allʼ epekeina ousias presbeią kai dynamei hyperechontos; hon dē kai monon eikotōs theon ta Hebraiōn anagoreuei logia, hōs an tois pasin aition onta.

In these words Plato says most clearly that the intelligible substances have from the Good, that is, from God, not only their being known but also their being and substance; and that the Good “is not substance, but beyond substance, surpassing it in dignity and power.” So he does not make them of the same substance with it, nor think them unbegotten, since they received their being and substance from him who is not substance but beyond substance, surpassing it in dignity and power; whom alone the oracles of the Hebrews rightly proclaim as God, since he is the cause of all things.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Ideas receive their being from God and are neither consubstantial with him nor unbegotten.

  • “Of the same substance” renders ὁμοούσια; here it concerns Plato’s Ideas, not the Trinity.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip and stray mark in the digital text; accent slip in the digital text): δηλαδὴ τοὐ θεοῦ, φησὶν ὁ Πλάτωνʼ· → δηλαδὴ τοῦ θεοῦ, φησὶν ὁ Πλάτων·; πρεσβείᾳ καὶ δυνάμει ὑπερἐχον·” → πρεσβείᾳ καὶ δυνάμει ὑπερέχον·”.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 509b (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.6 (Dindorf 2:46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.21.7Dindorf 2:46

τὰ δὴ οὖν μήτε τὸ εἶναι μήτε τὴν οὐσίαν παρʼ ἑαυτῶν ἔχοντα, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τῆς τἀγαθοῦ φύσεως ὄντα, οὐ δὴ εὔλογον θεοὺς ἡγεῖσθαι, οἶς μὴ φύσει τὸ ἀγαθὸν πρόσεστιν· ἐνὶ γὰρ τοῦτο μόνῳ καὶ οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ ἀναθετέον, τῷ μόνῳ ἀγαθῷ, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἐπέκεινα πάσης οὐσίας πρεσβείᾳ τε καὶ δυνάμει ὑπερέχον” θαυμασίως ὁ Πλάτων ἀνεφώνησε. πάλιν δὲ καὶ ὁ Νουμήνιος ἐν τοῖς Περὶ τἀγαθοῦ, τὴν τοῦ Πλάτωνος διάνοιαν ἑρμηνεύων, τοῦτον διέξεισι τὸν τρόπον

ta dē oun mēte to einai mēte tēn ousian parʼ heautōn echonta, alla mēde tēs tagathou physeōs onta, ou dē eulogon theous hēgeisthai, ois mē physei to agathon prosestin; eni gar touto monǭ kai oudeni allǭ anatheteon, tǭ monǭ agathǭ, ho dē kai epekeina pasēs ousias presbeią te kai dynamei hyperechon” thaumasiōs ho Platōn anephōnēse. palin de kai ho Noumēnios en tois Peri tagathou, tēn tou Platōnos dianoian hermēneuōn, touton diexeisi ton tropon

Things, then, that have neither their being nor their substance from themselves, and are not of the nature of the Good, it is not reasonable to regard as gods, since the good is not theirs by nature; for this must be ascribed to one alone and to no other, to the only Good, which Plato admirably proclaimed “beyond all substance, surpassing it in dignity and power.” Again Numenius too, in his books On the Good, interpreting Plato’s meaning, sets it out in this way:

Notes and citation

Summary: Only the Good, beyond substance, is God; Numenius is introduced.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.21.7 (Dindorf 2:46; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-21-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 22

11.22.1Dindorf 2:46–47

“Τὰ μὲν οὖν σώματα λαβεῖν ἡμῖν ἔξεστι, σημαινομένοις ἔκ τε ὁμοίων ἀπό τε τῶν ἐν τοῖς παρακειμένοις γνωρισμάτων ἐνόντων· τἀγαθὸν δὲ οὐδενὸς ἐκ παρακειμένου οὐδʼ αὖ ἀπὸ ὁμοίου αἰσθητοῦ ἐστι λαβεῖν μηχανή τις οὐδεμία· ἀλλὰ δεήσει, οἷον εἴ τις ἐπὶ σκοπῇ καθήμενος, ναῦν ἁλιάδα βραχεῖάν τινα τούτων τῶν ἐπακτρίδων τῶν μόνων, μίαν, μόνην, ἔρημον, μετακυμίοις ἐχομένην ὀξὺ δεδορκὼς, μιᾷ βολῇ κατεῖδε τὴν ναῦν, οὕτω δή τινα ἀπελθόντα πόρρω ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ὁμιλῆσαι τῷ ἀγαθῷ μόνῳ μόνον, ἔνθα μήτε τις ἄνθρωπος μήτε τι ζῷον ἕτερον, μηδὲ σῶμα μέγα μηδὲ σμικρὸν, ἀλλά τις ἄφατος καὶ ἀδιήγητος ἀτεχνῶς ἐρημία θεσπέσιος, ἔνθα τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἤθη διατριβαί τε καὶ ἀγλαίαι, αὐτὸ δὲ ἐν εἰρήνῃ, ἐν εὐμενείᾳ, τὸ ἤρεμον, τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν, ἵλεων, ἐποχούμενον ἐπὶ τῇ οὐσίᾳ.

“Ta men oun sōmata labein hēmin exesti, sēmainomenois ek te homoiōn apo te tōn en tois parakeimenois gnōrismatōn enontōn; tagathon de oudenos ek parakeimenou oudʼ au apo homoiou aisthētou esti labein mēchanē tis oudemia; alla deēsei, hoion ei tis epi skopę̄ kathēmenos, naun haliada bracheian tina toutōn tōn epaktridōn tōn monōn, mian, monēn, erēmon, metakymiois echomenēn oxy dedorkōs, mią bolę̄ kateide tēn naun, houtō dē tina apelthonta porrō apo tōn aisthētōn homilēsai tǭ agathǭ monǭ monon, entha mēte tis anthrōpos mēte ti zǭon heteron, mēde sōma mega mēde smikron, alla tis aphatos kai adiēgētos atechnōs erēmia thespesios, entha tou agathou ēthē diatribai te kai aglaiai, auto de en eirēnę̄, en eumeneią, to ēremon, to hēgemonikon, hileōn, epochoumenon epi tę̄ ousią.

“Bodies we can grasp, by signs taken from like things and from the marks present in things nearby; but there is no means whatever to grasp the Good from anything nearby or from any like sensible thing. Rather, it will be as if someone sitting on a look-out, peering sharply, caught sight with one glance of a small fishing boat, one of those skiffs, alone, solitary, deserted, caught between the waves: so someone must go far away from sensible things and commune with the Good alone, one with one, where there is neither man nor any other living thing, nor body great or small, but a certain unspeakable and indescribable, truly divine solitude, where are the haunts, pastimes, and splendours of the Good; and it itself in peace, in kindness, the tranquil, the ruling, gracious, riding upon substance.

Notes and citation

Summary: Numenius: the Good is seen only in solitude, far from the senses, like a lone boat at sea.

  • Numenius, On the Good 1 (fragment 2 des Places).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray full stop in the digital text): τῶν ἐπακτρίδων. τῶν μόνων, → τῶν ἐπακτρίδων τῶν μόνων,.

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 1 (frag. 2) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.1 (Dindorf 2:46–47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.2Dindorf 2:47

εἰ δέ τις πρὸς τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς λιπαρῶν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐφιπτάμενον φαντάζεται, κἄπειτα τρυφῶν οἴοιτο τῷ ἀγαθῷ ἐντετυχηκέναι, τοῦ παντὸς ἁμαρτάνει. τῷ γὰρ ὄντι οὐ ῥᾳδίας, θείας δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸ δεῖ μεθόδου· καί ἐστι κράτιστον, τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀμελήσαντι, νεανιευσαμένῳ πρὸς τὰ μαθήματα, τοὺς ἀριθμοὺς θεασαμένῳ, οὕτως ἐκμελετῆσαι μάθημα, τί ἐστι τὸ ὄν.”

ei de tis pros tois aisthētois liparōn to agathon ephiptamenon phantazetai, kapeita tryphōn oioito tǭ agathǭ entetychēkenai, tou pantos hamartanei. tǭ gar onti ou rhądias, theias de pros auto dei methodou; kai esti kratiston, tōn aisthētōn amelēsanti, neanieusamenǭ pros ta mathēmata, tous arithmous theasamenǭ, houtōs ekmeletēsai mathēma, ti esti to on.”

But if anyone, clinging to sensible things, imagines the Good flitting upon them, and then in his luxury thinks he has met with the Good, he is entirely wrong. For in truth no easy but a divine method is needed toward it; and it is best, having neglected sensible things and applied oneself vigorously to the mathematical sciences and contemplated numbers, so to study the lesson: what is Being.”

Notes and citation

Summary: The Good is reached by a divine method, through mathematics to Being.

  • Numenius, On the Good 1 (frag. 2).

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 1 (frag. 2) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.2 (Dindorf 2:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.3Dindorf 2:47

Ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ ’ ἐν δὲ τῷ πέμπτῳ ταῦτά φησιν “ Εἰ δʼ ἐστὶ μὲν νοητὸν ἡ οὐσία καὶ ἡ ἰδέα, ταύτης δʼ ὡμολογήθη πρεσβύτερον καὶ αἴτιον εἶναι ὁ νοῦς, αὐτὸς οὗτος μόνος εὕρηται ὢν τὸ ἀγαθόν. καὶ γὰρ εἰ ὁ μὲν δημιουργὸς θεός ἐστι γενέσεως, ἀρκεῖ τὸ ἀγαθὸν οὐσίας εἶναι ἀρχή. ἀνάλογον δὲ τούτῳ μὲν ὁ δημιουργὸς θεὸς, ὢν αὐτοῦ μιμητὴς, τῇ δὲ οὐσίᾳ ἡ γένεσις· εἰκὼν γὰρ αὐτῆς ἐστι καὶ μίμημα.

Tauta men en tǭ prōtǭ ’ en de tǭ pemptǭ tauta phēsin “ Ei dʼ esti men noēton hē ousia kai hē idea, tautēs dʼ hōmologēthē presbyteron kai aition einai ho nous, autos houtos monos heurētai ōn to agathon. kai gar ei ho men dēmiourgos theos esti geneseōs, arkei to agathon ousias einai archē. analogon de toutǭ men ho dēmiourgos theos, ōn autou mimētēs, tę̄ de ousią hē genesis; eikōn gar autēs esti kai mimēma.

This in the first book; and in the fifth he says this: “If substance and the Idea are intelligible, and Mind was agreed to be older than this and its cause, this alone is found to be the Good. For if the Creator God is the principle of becoming, the Good suffices to be the principle of substance. As the Creator God is to the Good, being its imitator, so is becoming to substance; for it is its image and imitation.

Notes and citation

Summary: Numenius: the Good is the principle of substance, the Creator of becoming.

  • Numenius, On the Good 5 (fragment 16).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text; words run together and stray letter in the digital text): ἐν δὲ τῷ πέμπτῳταῦτά ᾦ φησιν → ἐν δὲ τῷ πέμπτῳ ταῦτά φησιν; καὶ ἡ ἰδʼ ἔα, → καὶ ἡ ἰδέα,.

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 5 (frag. 16) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.3 (Dindorf 2:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.4Dindorf 2:47

εἴπερ δὲ ὁ δημιουργὸς ὁ τῆς γενέσεως ἐστιν ἀγαθὸς, ἦ που ἔσται καὶ ὁ τῆς οὐσίας δημιουργὸς αὐτοάγαθον, σύμφυτον τῇ οὐσίᾳ. ὁ γὰρ δεύτερος διττὸς ὢν αὐτοποιεῖ τήν τε ἰδέαν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τὸν κόσμον, δημιουργὸς ὤν· ἔπειτα θεωρητικὸς ὅλως.

eiper de ho dēmiourgos ho tēs geneseōs estin agathos, ē pou estai kai ho tēs ousias dēmiourgos autoagathon, symphyton tę̄ ousią. ho gar deuteros dittos ōn autopoiei tēn te idean heautou kai ton kosmon, dēmiourgos ōn; epeita theōrētikos holōs.

And if the Creator of becoming is good, surely the Creator of substance will be the Good itself, inherent in substance. For the second, being double, himself makes his own Idea and the cosmos, being Creator; and then he is wholly contemplative.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Creator of substance is the Good itself; the second God is twofold.

  • Numenius, On the Good 5 (frag. 16).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ἠ που ἔσται → ἦ που ἔσται.

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 5 (frag. 16) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.4 (Dindorf 2:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.5Dindorf 2:47

συλλελογισμένων δʼ ἡμῶν ὀνόματα τεσσάρων πραγμάτων τέσσαρα ἔστω ταῦτα· ὁ μὲν πρῶτος θεὸς αὐτοάγαθον· ὁ δὲ τούτου μιμητὴς δημιουργὸς ἀγαθός· ἡ δʼ οὐσία μία μὲν ἡ τοῦ πρώτου, ἑτέρα δὲ ἡ τοῦ δευτέρου· ἧς μίμημα ὁ καλὸς κόσμος, κεκαλλωπισμένος μετουσίᾳ τοῦ καλοῦ. ”

syllelogismenōn dʼ hēmōn onomata tessarōn pragmatōn tessara estō tauta; ho men prōtos theos autoagathon; ho de toutou mimētēs dēmiourgos agathos; hē dʼ ousia mia men hē tou prōtou, hetera de hē tou deuterou; hēs mimēma ho kalos kosmos, kekallōpismenos metousią tou kalou. ”

Having reckoned up the names of four things, let these be the four: the first God, the Good itself; his imitator, the good Creator; and substance, one that of the first, another that of the second; whose imitation is the beautiful cosmos, adorned by participation in the beautiful.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Numenius’s four: the Good, the Creator, and their two substances.

  • Numenius, On the Good 5 (frag. 16).

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 5 (frag. 16) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.5 (Dindorf 2:47; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.6Dindorf 2:47–48

Καὶ ἐν τῷ ἕκτῳ δὲ ἐπιλέγει “ Μετέχει δὲ αὐτοῦ τὰ μετίσχοντα ἐν ἄλλῳ μὲν οὐδενὶ, ἐν δὲ μόνῳ τῷ φρονεῖν· ταύτῃ ἄρα καὶ τῆς ἀγαθοῦ συμβάσεως ὀνίναιτʼ ἂν, ἄλλως δʼ οὔ. καὶ μὲν δὴ τὸ φρονεῖν, τοῦτο δὴ συντετύχηκε μόνῳ τῷ πρώτῳ. ὑφʼ οὗ οὖν τὰ ἄλλα ἀποχραίνεται καὶ ἀγαθοῦται, ἐὰν τοῦτο ἐκείνῳ μόνον μόνῳ προσῇ, ἀβελτέρας ἂν εἴη ψυχῆς ἔτι ἀμφιλογεῖν.

Kai en tǭ hektǭ de epilegei “ Metechei de autou ta metischonta en allǭ men oudeni, en de monǭ tǭ phronein; tautę̄ ara kai tēs agathou symbaseōs oninaitʼ an, allōs dʼ ou. kai men dē to phronein, touto dē syntetychēke monǭ tǭ prōtǭ. hyphʼ hou oun ta alla apochrainetai kai agathoutai, ean touto ekeinǭ monon monǭ prosę̄, abelteras an eiē psychēs eti amphilogein.

And in the sixth he adds: “Those that partake of it partake in nothing else but in thinking alone; in this way, then, they would benefit from the meeting with the Good, and not otherwise. And indeed thinking has fallen to the first alone. Since, then, it is by it that the others are coloured and made good, if this belongs to it alone, one alone, it would be the mark of a foolish soul still to dispute.

Notes and citation

Summary: Others become good only by thinking, which belongs first to the first God.

  • Numenius, On the Good 6 (fragment 19).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR slip; accent slips in the digital text): ὑφʼ οὑ οὑν τὰ ἄλλα → ὑφʼ οὗ οὖν τὰ ἄλλα; ἀγαθοπῦται → ἀγαθοῦται.

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 19) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.6 (Dindorf 2:47–48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.7Dindorf 2:48

εἰ γὰρ ἀγαθός ἐστιν ὁ δεύτερος οὐ παρʼ ἑαυτοῦ, παρὰ δὲ τοῦ πρώτου, πῶς οἷόν τε ὑφʼ οὗ μετουσίας ἐστὶν οὗτος ἀγαθὸς μὴ ἀγαθὸν εἶναι, ἄλλως τε κἂν τύχῃ αὐτοῦ ὡς ἀγαθοῦ μεταλαχὼν ὁ δεύτερος;

ei gar agathos estin ho deuteros ou parʼ heautou, para de tou prōtou, pōs hoion te hyphʼ hou metousias estin houtos agathos mē agathon einai, allōs te kan tychę̄ autou hōs agathou metalachōn ho deuteros?

For if the second is good not of himself but from the first, how is it possible that the one by participation in whom he is good is not good, especially if the second has received a share of him as good?

Notes and citation

Summary: The source of the second’s goodness must itself be good.

  • Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 19).

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 19) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.7 (Dindorf 2:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.8Dindorf 2:48

οὕτω τοι ὁ Πλάτων ἐκ συλλογισμοῦ τῷ ὀξὺ βλέποντι ἀπέδωκε τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὅτι ἐστὶν ἓν.” Καὶ πάλιν ἐξῆς φησι

houtō toi ho Platōn ek syllogismou tǭ oxy bleponti apedōke to agathon hoti estin hen.” Kai palin exēs phēsi

So it is that Plato, by reasoning, rendered to the sharp-sighted that the Good is one.” And again next he says:

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato showed that the Good is one.

  • Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 19).

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 19) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.8 (Dindorf 2:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.9Dindorf 2:48

“ Ταῦτα δὲ οὕτως ἔχοντα ἔθηκεν ὁ Πλάτων ἄλλῃ καὶ ἄλλῃ χωρίσας· ἰδίᾳ μὲν γὰρ τὸν κυκλικὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ἐγράψατο ἐν Τιμαίῳ εἰπὼν “ἀγαθὸς ἦν·” ἐν δὲ τῇ Πολιτείᾳ τὸ ἀγαθὸν εἶπεν ἀγαθοῦ ἰδέαν· ὡς δὴ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ἰδέαν οὖσαν τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ὅτι πέφανται ἡμῖν ἀγαθὸς μετουσίᾳ τοῦ πρώτου τε καὶ μόνου.

“ Tauta de houtōs echonta ethēken ho Platōn allę̄ kai allę̄ chōrisas; idią men gar ton kyklikon epi tou dēmiourgou egrapsato en Timaiǭ eipōn “agathos ēn;” en de tę̄ Politeią to agathon eipen agathou idean; hōs dē tou dēmiourgou idean ousan to agathon, hoti pephantai hēmin agathos metousią tou prōtou te kai monou.

“These things being so, Plato set them down separately here and there. For apart he wrote of the Creator, the cyclic one, in the Timaeus, saying “He was good”; while in the Republic he called the Good the Idea of the Good, as though the Good were the Idea of the Creator, since he appears to us good by participation in the first and only one.

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato distinguishes the good Creator from the Idea of the Good.

  • Numenius, On the Good 6 (fragment 20); Plato, Timaeus 29e and Republic 508e. The phrase rendered “the cyclic one” (τὸν κυκλικόν) is obscure.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ἔθηκεν ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → ἔθηκεν ὁ Πλάτων.

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 20) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.9 (Dindorf 2:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.22.10Dindorf 2:48

ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄνθρωποι μὲν λέγονται τυπωθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνθρώπου ἰδέας, βόες δʼ ὑπὸ τῆς βοὸς, ἵπποι δʼ ὑπὸ τῆς ἵππου ἰδέας· οὕτω καὶ εἰκότως ὁ δημιουργὸς, εἴπερ ἐστὶ μετουσίᾳ τοῦ πρώτου ἀγαθοῦ ἀγαθὸς, ἰδέα ἂν εἴη ὁ πρῶτος νοῦς, ὢν αὐτοάγαθον.”

hōsper gar anthrōpoi men legontai typōthentes hypo tēs anthrōpou ideas, boes dʼ hypo tēs boos, hippoi dʼ hypo tēs hippou ideas; houtō kai eikotōs ho dēmiourgos, eiper esti metousią tou prōtou agathou agathos, idea an eiē ho prōtos nous, ōn autoagathon.”

For as men are said to be shaped by the Idea of Man, oxen by that of Ox, and horses by the Idea of Horse, so also, fittingly, if the Creator is good by participation in the first Good, the first Mind would be the Idea, being the Good itself.”

Notes and citation

Summary: The first Mind is the Idea of the Good in which the Creator participates.

  • Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 20).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): λέγονται τυπωθέντες· ὑπὸ → λέγονται τυπωθέντες ὑπὸ.

Extrabiblical texts: Numenius, On the Good 6 (frag. 20) (Numenius of Apamea; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.22.10 (Dindorf 2:48; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-22-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 23

11.23.1Dindorf 2:48–49

“ Οὕτω δὲ γεγενημένος (δῆλον δʼ ὅτι ὁ κόσμος) πρὸς τὸ λόγῳ καὶ φρονήσει περιληπτὸν, καὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἔχον δεδημιούργηται. τούτων δὲ ὑπαρχόντων αὖ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη τόνδε τὸν κόσμον εἰκόνα τινὸς εἶναι. — τὰ γὰρ δὴ νοητὰ ζῷα πάντα ἐκεῖνο περιλαβὸν ἔχει ἐν ἑαυτῷ, καθάπερ ὅδʼ ὁ κόσμος ἡμᾶς.”

“ Houtō de gegenēmenos (dēlon dʼ hoti ho kosmos) pros to logǭ kai phronēsei perilēpton, kai kata ta auta echon dedēmiourgētai. toutōn de hyparchontōn au pasa anankē tonde ton kosmon eikona tinos einai. — ta gar dē noēta zǭa panta ekeino perilabon echei en heautǭ, kathaper hodʼ ho kosmos hēmas.”

“Having come to be in this way (clearly, the cosmos), it has been fashioned after what is grasped by reason and understanding and is always the same. And these things being so, it is wholly necessary that this cosmos be an image of something. … For that contains within itself all intelligible living things, just as this cosmos contains us.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato: the cosmos is an image of an intelligible pattern.

  • Plato, Timaeus 29a–b and 30c–d (combined).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text; opening parenthesis missing in the digital text): Οὕτω δὲ γεγενημένος δῆλον δʼ ὅτι ὁ κόσμος) → Οὕτω δὲ γεγενημένος (δῆλον δʼ ὅτι ὁ κόσμος); τούτων δὲ ὐπαρχόντων → τούτων δὲ ὑπαρχόντων.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 29a–b (Plato (works); quotation); Plato, Tim. 30c–d (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.1 (Dindorf 2:48–49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.2Dindorf 2:49

Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Πλάτων ἐν Τιμαίῳ. τὴν δὲ τῶν εἰρημένων διάνοιαν ἐκ τῶν Διδύμῳ Περὶ τῶν ἀρεσκόντων Πλάτωνι συντεταγμένων ἐκθήσομαι. γράφει δὲ οὕτως

Tauta men ho Platōn en Timaiǭ. tēn de tōn eirēmenōn dianoian ek tōn Didymǭ Peri tōn areskontōn Platōni syntetagmenōn ekthēsomai. graphei de houtōs

So Plato in the Timaeus. The meaning of what has been said I shall set out from the work composed by Didymus On the Doctrines of Plato. He writes thus:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius introduces Didymus on Plato’s doctrines.

  • Arius Didymus, Epitome of Plato’s Doctrines (fragment).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ Πλάτων.

Extrabiblical texts: Arius Didymus (Arius Didymus, Epitome of Plato’s Doctrines; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.2 (Dindorf 2:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.3Dindorf 2:49

“ Τῶν κατὰ φύσιν αἰσθητῶν κατὰ γένος ὡρισμένα τινὰ παραδείγματα φάμενος εἶναι τὰς ἰδέας, ὧν τὰς ἐπιστήμας γίνεσθαι καὶ τοὺς ὅρους· παρὰ πάντας γὰρ ἀνθρώπους ἄνθρωπόν τινα νοεῖσθαι, καὶ παρὰ πάντας ἵππους ἵππον, καὶ κοινῶς παρὰ τὰ ζῷα ζῷον ἀγένητον καὶ ἄφθαρτον.

“ Tōn kata physin aisthētōn kata genos hōrismena tina paradeigmata phamenos einai tas ideas, hōn tas epistēmas ginesthai kai tous horous; para pantas gar anthrōpous anthrōpon tina noeisthai, kai para pantas hippous hippon, kai koinōs para ta zǭa zǭon agenēton kai aphtharton.

“He says that the Ideas are certain defined patterns, by kinds, of sensible things according to nature, of which knowledge and definitions arise; for beside all men a certain Man is conceived, beside all horses a Horse, and in general beside living things a Living Thing unbegotten and incorruptible.

Notes and citation

Summary: Didymus: the Ideas are eternal patterns of natural kinds.

  • Arius Didymus (fragment).

Extrabiblical texts: Arius Didymus (Arius Didymus, Epitome of Plato’s Doctrines; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.3 (Dindorf 2:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.4Dindorf 2:49

ὃν τρόπον δὲ σφραγῖδος μιᾶς ἐκμαγεῖα γίνεσθαι πολλὰ καὶ συχνὰς εἰκόνας ἑνὸς ἀνδρὸς, οὕτως ἐκ μιᾶς ἑκάστης ἰδέας αἰσθητῶν σωμάτων φύσεις παμπληθεῖς, τῆς μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἀνθρώπους ἅπαντας, καὶ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ φύσιν.

hon tropon de sphragidos mias ekmageia ginesthai polla kai sychnas eikonas henos andros, houtōs ek mias hekastēs ideas aisthētōn sōmatōn physeis pamplētheis, tēs men anthrōpōn anthrōpous hapantas, kai kata ton auton logon epi tōn allōn tōn kata physin.

And as many impressions come from one seal and many likenesses of one man, so from each single Idea come a multitude of natures of sensible bodies: from that of Man all men, and on the same principle with the other natural things.

Notes and citation

Summary: Many things come from one Idea, like impressions from a seal.

  • Arius Didymus (fragment).

Extrabiblical texts: Arius Didymus (Arius Didymus, Epitome of Plato’s Doctrines; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.4 (Dindorf 2:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.5Dindorf 2:49

εἶναι δὲ τὴν ἰδέαν ἀίδιον οὐσίαν, αἰτίαν καὶ ἀρχὴν τοῦ ἕκαστον εἶναι τοιοῦτον οἷα ἐστὶν αὐτή.

einai de tēn idean aidion ousian, aitian kai archēn tou hekaston einai toiouton hoia estin autē.

And the Idea is an eternal substance, the cause and principle of each thing’s being such as it itself is.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Idea is an eternal substance and cause.

  • Arius Didymus (fragment).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing and accent slips in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): ἀί· διον οὐσίαν → ἀίδιον οὐσίαν; τοῦ ἓκαστον εἶναι τοιοῦτον οἳα → τοῦ ἕκαστον εἶναι τοιοῦτον οἷα.

Extrabiblical texts: Arius Didymus (Arius Didymus, Epitome of Plato’s Doctrines; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.5 (Dindorf 2:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.6Dindorf 2:49

καθάπερ οὖν τὰ κατὰ μέρος ὥσπερ ἀρχέτυπα τῶν αἰσθητῶν προηγεῖσθαι σωμάτων, οὕτως τὴν πάσας ἐν ἑαυτῇ περιέχουσαν καλλίστην καὶ τελειοτάτην οὐσίαν ὑπάρχειν τοῦδε παράδειγμα τοῦ κόσμου· πρὸς γὰρ ταύτην ἀφομοιωθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ δημιουργήσαντος αὐτὸν ἀπειργάσθαι θεοῦ κατὰ πρόνοιαν ἐκ τῆς πάσης οὐσίας.”

kathaper oun ta kata meros hōsper archetypa tōn aisthētōn proēgeisthai sōmatōn, houtōs tēn pasas en heautę̄ periechousan kallistēn kai teleiotatēn ousian hyparchein toude paradeigma tou kosmou; pros gar tautēn aphomoiōthenta hypo tou dēmiourgēsantos auton apeirgasthai theou kata pronoian ek tēs pasēs ousias.”

As, then, the particular Ideas precede sensible bodies as archetypes, so the most beautiful and most perfect substance, containing all of them in itself, is the pattern of this cosmos; for it was made like this by God who created it, by providence, out of all substance.”

Notes and citation

Summary: The all-embracing Idea is the pattern of the cosmos.

  • Arius Didymus (fragment).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): οὕτʼ ὡς τὴν πάσας → οὕτως τὴν πάσας.

Extrabiblical texts: Arius Didymus (Arius Didymus, Epitome of Plato’s Doctrines; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.6 (Dindorf 2:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.7Dindorf 2:49–50

Ταῦτα καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ δεδηλωμένου ἀνδρός. φθάνει γε μὴν καὶ ταῦτα Μώσης ὁ πάνσοφος, πρὸ τοῦ φαινομένου ἡλίου καὶ ἄστρων καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ὁρωμένου οὐρανοῦ, ὃ δὴ στερέωμα καλεῖ, πρό τε τῆς καθʼ ἡμᾶς ξηρᾶς γῆς καὶ πρὸ τῆς παρʼ ἡμῖν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς φῶς ἕτερον παρὰ τὸ τοῦ ἡλίου ἡμέραν τε καὶ νύκτα καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πρὸς τοῦ πανηγεμόνος καὶ αἰτίου τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ πεποιῆσθαι διδάσκων.

Tauta kai apo tou dedēlōmenou andros. phthanei ge mēn kai tauta Mōsēs ho pansophos, pro tou phainomenou hēliou kai astrōn kai pro tou horōmenou ouranou, ho dē stereōma kalei, pro te tēs kathʼ hēmas xēras gēs kai pro tēs parʼ hēmin hēmeras kai nyktos phōs heteron para to tou hēliou hēmeran te kai nykta kai ta loipa pros tou panēgemonos kai aitiou tōn holōn theou pepoiēsthai didaskōn.

So too from the man just mentioned. But the all-wise Moses anticipated these things too, teaching that before the visible sun and stars, before the seen heaven, which he calls the firmament, before our dry land, and before our day and night, another light different from the sun’s, a day and night and the rest were made by God, the ruler and cause of all.

Gen 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 1:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 1:8 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Moses taught a light, day, and night made before the visible sun.

  • Gen 1:3–8.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.7 (Dindorf 2:49–50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.8Dindorf 2:50

ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ μετὰ Μωσέα παῖδες Ἑβραίων ἥλιόν τινα εἶναι ἀσώματον οὐ πᾶσιν ὁρατὸν οὐδὲ θνητοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑπαγόμενον ὁρίζονται, ὡς ὁ προφήτης ἐκ προσώπου θεοῦ λέγων “ τοῖς δὲ φοβουμένοις με ἀνατελεῖ ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης.”

alla kai hoi meta Mōsea paides Hebraiōn hēlion tina einai asōmaton ou pasin horaton oude thnētois ophthalmois hypagomenon horizontai, hōs ho prophētēs ek prosōpou theou legōn “ tois de phoboumenois me anatelei hēlios dikaiosynēs.”

And the sons of the Hebrews after Moses also define a certain incorporeal sun, not visible to all nor subject to mortal eyes, as the prophet says in the person of God: “But to those who fear me the sun of righteousness shall rise.”

Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Malachi speaks of an incorporeal “sun of righteousness.”

  • Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): οἱ μετὰ Μωσἐα → οἱ μετὰ Μωσέα.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.8 (Dindorf 2:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.9Dindorf 2:50

καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ δικαιοσύνην, οὐχὶ τὴν ποιὰν ἐν ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ τὴν ταύτης ἰδέαν οἶδεν ἄλλος Ἑβραίων προφήτης, ὁ φήσας περὶ θεοῦ “ τίς ἐξήγειρεν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν δικαιοσύνην; ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὴν κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ, καὶ πορεύσεται δʼ ὡσεὶ ἐνώπιον ἐθνῶν.”

kai autēn de dikaiosynēn, ouchi tēn poian en anthrōpois, alla tēn tautēs idean oiden allos Hebraiōn prophētēs, ho phēsas peri theou “ tis exēgeiren apo anatolōn dikaiosynēn? ekalesen autēn kata prosōpon autou, kai poreusetai dʼ hōsei enōpion ethnōn.”

And righteousness itself, not the kind that is in men but its Idea, another prophet of the Hebrews knows, who says of God: “Who raised up righteousness from the east? He called it before his face, and it shall go before the nations.”

Isa 41:2 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Isaiah speaks of righteousness itself.

  • Isa 41:2, following the Septuagint.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.9 (Dindorf 2:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.10Dindorf 2:50

καὶ λόγον δὲ θεῖον ἀσώματον καὶ οὐσιώδη ἀρτίως ἡμῖν ὁ κοινὸς ἡμῶν λόγος ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑβραίων παρίστη γραφῆς. οὗ περὶ λόγου καὶ τάδε παρὰ τοῖς αὐτοῖς εἴρηται “ ὃς ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν σοφία ἀπὸ θεοῦ, δικαιοσύνη τε καὶ ἁγιασμὸς καὶ ἀπολύτρωσις.

kai logon de theion asōmaton kai ousiōdē artiōs hēmin ho koinos hēmōn logos en tois prosthen apo tēs Hebraiōn paristē graphēs. hou peri logou kai tade para tois autois eirētai “ hos egennēthē hēmin sophia apo theou, dikaiosynē te kai hagiasmos kai apolytrōsis.

And our common discourse a little earlier showed from the Scripture of the Hebrews the divine Word, incorporeal and substantial. Of this Word it is also said among them: “who was made for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

1 Cor 1:30 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The incorporeal Word is called wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption.

  • 1 Cor 1:30.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.10 (Dindorf 2:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.11Dindorf 2:50

λέγεται καὶ ζωὴ, λέγεται καὶ σοφία, λέγεται καὶ ἀλήθεια. καὶ πάντα τὰ κατʼ οὐσίαν ὄντα τε καὶ ὑφεστῶτα οἱ Ἑβραίων λόγοι διδάσκουσιν, (εἰ δὴ Ἑβραῖοι καὶ οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀπόστολοί τε καὶ μαθηταὶ) ναὶ μὴν καὶ μυρίας ἄλλας ἀσωμάτους δυνάμεις, οὐρανοῦ τε ἐπέκεινα καὶ πάσης τῆς ὑλικῆς καὶ ῥοώδους οὐσίας· ὧν τὰς εἰκόνας ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς φασι κατατυπῶσαι· ἐφʼ ὧν ἤδη καὶ τοὔνομα τῆς εἰκόνος παρειλήφασι.

legetai kai zōē, legetai kai sophia, legetai kai alētheia. kai panta ta katʼ ousian onta te kai hyphestōta hoi Hebraiōn logoi didaskousin, (ei dē Hebraioi kai hoi tou sōtēros hēmōn apostoloi te kai mathētai) nai mēn kai myrias allas asōmatous dynameis, ouranou te epekeina kai pasēs tēs hylikēs kai rhoōdous ousias; hōn tas eikonas en tois aisthētois phasi katatypōsai; ephʼ hōn ēdē kai tounoma tēs eikonos pareilēphasi.

He is also called life, also wisdom, also truth. And the writings of the Hebrews teach that all things that exist and subsist in substance (if indeed the apostles and disciples of our Saviour too are Hebrews), and indeed countless other incorporeal powers, beyond heaven and all material and flowing substance; whose images, they say, are stamped in sensible things; and in these cases they have adopted the very name “image.”

John 14:6 (allusion, high confidence) · John 11:25 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture teaches incorporeal powers whose images are in sensible things.

  • John 14:6; 11:25.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): καὶ οἶ τοῦ σωτῆρος → καὶ οἱ τοῦ σωτῆρος.

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.11 (Dindorf 2:50; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.23.12Dindorf 2:50–51

τὸν γοῦν ἄνθρωπον εἰκόνα διαρρήδην νοητοῦ παραδείγματος εἶναι, καὶ πάντα τὸν ἀνθρώπων βίον ἐν εἰκόνι διαπορεύεσθαι εἰρήκασι. λέγει δʼ οὖν ὁ Μώσης “ καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν.” καὶ πάλιν ἄλλος Ἑβραῖος τὰ πάτρια φιλοσοφῶν “ μέντοιγε (φησὶν) ἐν εἰκόνι διαπορεύεται ἄνθρωπος.” ἤδη δὲ καὶ οἱ τῶν ἱερῶν νόμων ἐξηγηταὶ ἐπάκουσον ὅπως τὴν ἐν τοῖς Μώσεως γράμμασι διάνοιαν σαφηνίζουσι. λέγει δʼ οὖν ὁ Ἑβραῖος Φίλων τὰ πάτρια διερμηνεύων αὐτοῖς ῥήμασιν

ton goun anthrōpon eikona diarrēdēn noētou paradeigmatos einai, kai panta ton anthrōpōn bion en eikoni diaporeuesthai eirēkasi. legei dʼ oun ho Mōsēs “ kai epoiēsen ho theos ton anthrōpon, katʼ eikona theou epoiēsen auton.” kai palin allos Hebraios ta patria philosophōn “ mentoige (phēsin) en eikoni diaporeuetai anthrōpos.” ēdē de kai hoi tōn hierōn nomōn exēgētai epakouson hopōs tēn en tois Mōseōs grammasi dianoian saphēnizousi. legei dʼ oun ho Hebraios Philōn ta patria diermēneuōn autois rhēmasin

At any rate they have said expressly that man is an image of an intelligible pattern, and that the whole life of men passes in an image. Moses says: “And God made man; in the image of God he made him.” And again another Hebrew, philosophizing on the teachings of his fathers, says: “Surely man walks about in an image.” And now hear how the interpreters of the sacred laws make clear the meaning in the writings of Moses. Philo the Hebrew, interpreting the teachings of his fathers, says in these words:

Gen 1:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 39:6 (38:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture calls man an image; Philo is introduced.

  • Gen 1:27; Ps 39:6 (38:7 LXX).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR slip; breathing missing in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): ἄλλος Εβραῖος → ἄλλος Ἑβραῖος; ἂνθρμπος → ἄνθρωπος; ὁ ‘Εβραῖος Φίλων → ὁ Ἑβραῖος Φίλων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.23.12 (Dindorf 2:50–51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-23-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 24

11.24.1Dindorf 2:51

“ Εἰ δέ τις ἐθελήσειε γυμνότερον χρήσασθαι τοῖς ὀνόμασιν, οὐδὲν ἂν ἕτερον εἴποι τὸν νοητὸν κόσμον ἢ θεοῦ λόγον ἤδη κοσμοποιοῦντος. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ νοητὴ πόλις ἕτερόν τί ἐστιν ἢ ὁ τοῦ ἀρχιτέκτονος λογισμὸς, ἤδη τὴν νοητὴν πόλιν κτίζειν διανοουμένου.

“ Ei de tis ethelēseie gymnoteron chrēsasthai tois onomasin, ouden an heteron eipoi ton noēton kosmon ē theou logon ēdē kosmopoiountos. oude gar hē noētē polis heteron ti estin ē ho tou architektonos logismos, ēdē tēn noētēn polin ktizein dianooumenou.

“If one wished to use plainer terms, he would say that the intelligible cosmos is nothing other than the Word of God already engaged in making the cosmos. For the intelligible city too is nothing other than the reasoning of the architect, already planning to found the city.

Notes and citation

Summary: Philo: the intelligible world is the Word of God creating.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 24.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): ἓτερόν τί ἐστιν → ἕτερόν τί ἐστιν.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 24 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.1 (Dindorf 2:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.2Dindorf 2:51

τὸ δὲ δόγμα τοῦτο Μώσεως ἐστὶν, οὐκ ἐμόν. τὴν γοῦν ἀνθρώπου γένεσιν ἀναγράφων ἐν τοῖς ἔπειτα διαρρήδην ὁμολογεῖ, ὡς ἄρα κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ διετυπώθη.

to de dogma touto Mōseōs estin, ouk emon. tēn goun anthrōpou genesin anagraphōn en tois epeita diarrēdēn homologei, hōs ara katʼ eikona theou dietypōthē.

This doctrine is Moses’, not mine. For in recording the creation of man afterward he expressly admits that he was fashioned after the image of God.

Gen 1:27 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Philo grounds this in Gen 1:27.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 25; Gen 1:27.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 25 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.2 (Dindorf 2:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.3Dindorf 2:51

εἰ δὲ τὸ μέρος εἰκὼν εἰκόνος, δηλονότι καὶ τὸ ὅλον εἶδος σύμπας οὗτος ὁ αἰσθητὸς κόσμος, εἰ μείζων τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ἐστὶ, μίμημα θείας εἰκόνος δηλονότι· καὶ ἡ ἀρχέτυπος σφραγὶς, ὅν φαμεν νοητὸν εἷναι κόσμον, αὐτὸς ἂν εἴη τὸ παράδειγμα, ἀρχέτυπος ἰδέα τῶν ἰδεῶν, ὁ θεοῦ λόγος. ”

ei de to meros eikōn eikonos, dēlonoti kai to holon eidos sympas houtos ho aisthētos kosmos, ei meizōn tēs anthrōpinēs esti, mimēma theias eikonos dēlonoti; kai hē archetypos sphragis, hon phamen noēton heinai kosmon, autos an eiē to paradeigma, archetypos idea tōn ideōn, ho theou logos. ”

And if the part is an image of an image, then clearly the whole form too, this whole sensible cosmos, if it is greater than the human, is an imitation of the divine image; and the archetypal seal, which we say is the intelligible cosmos, would itself be the pattern, the archetypal Idea of Ideas, the Word of God.”

Notes and citation

Summary: The Word of God is the archetypal Idea of Ideas.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 25.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 25 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.3 (Dindorf 2:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.4Dindorf 2:51

“Φησὶ δʼ ὡς ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλαμβάνων οὐχ, ὡς οἴονταί τινες, τὴν κατὰ χρόνον· (χρόνος γὰρ οὐκ ἦν πρὸ κόσμου·) ἀλλʼ ἢ σὺν αὐτῷ γέγονεν, ἢ μετʼ αὐτόν.

“Phēsi dʼ hōs en archę̄ epoiēsen ho theos ton ouranon kai tēn gēn, tēn archēn paralambanōn ouch, hōs oiontai tines, tēn kata chronon; (chronos gar ouk ēn pro kosmou;) allʼ ē syn autǭ gegonen, ē metʼ auton.

“He says that in the beginning God made the heaven and the earth, taking ‘beginning’ not, as some think, as a beginning in time (for there was no time before the cosmos), but either it came to be with it or after it.

Gen 1:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Philo: “beginning” in Genesis is not temporal.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 26; Gen 1:1.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 26 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.4 (Dindorf 2:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.5Dindorf 2:51

ἐπεὶ γὰρ διάστημα τῆς τοῦ κόσμου κινήσεως ἐστιν ὁ χρόνος, πρότερον δὲ τοῦ κινουμένου κίνησις οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο, ἀλλʼ ἢ ἀναγκαῖον αὐτὴν ὕστερον ἢ ἅμα συνίστασθαι, ἀναγκαῖον ἄρα καὶ τὸν χρόνον ἢ ἰσήλικα κόσμου γεγονέναι, ἢ νεώτερον ἐκείνου, πρεσβύτερον δὲ ἀποφαίνεσθαι τολμᾶν ἀφιλόσοφον.

epei gar diastēma tēs tou kosmou kinēseōs estin ho chronos, proteron de tou kinoumenou kinēsis ouk an genoito, allʼ ē anankaion autēn hysteron ē hama synistasthai, anankaion ara kai ton chronon ē isēlika kosmou gegonenai, ē neōteron ekeinou, presbyteron de apophainesthai tolman aphilosophon.

For since time is the interval of the motion of the cosmos, and there could be no motion before the thing moved, but motion must arise either after it or with it, it is necessary that time too came to be either of the same age as the cosmos or younger than it; and to dare to declare it older is unphilosophical.

Notes and citation

Summary: Time cannot be older than the cosmos.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 26.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 26 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.5 (Dindorf 2:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.6Dindorf 2:51–52

εἰ δʼ ἀρχὴ μὴ παραλαμβάνεται τανῦν ἡ κατὰ χρόνον, εἰκὸς ἂν εἴη μηνύεσθαι τὴν κατʼ ἀριθμὸν, ὡς τὸ ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ἴσον εἶναι τῷ πρῶτον ἐποίησε τὸν οὐρανόν.”

ei dʼ archē mē paralambanetai tanyn hē kata chronon, eikos an eiē mēnyesthai tēn katʼ arithmon, hōs to en archę̄ epoiēsen ison einai tǭ prōton epoiēse ton ouranon.”

And if ‘beginning’ is not now taken in the temporal sense, it would be likely that the numerical sense is indicated, so that ‘in the beginning he made’ is equal to ‘first he made the heaven.’”

Gen 1:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: “In the beginning” means “first.”

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 26–27.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (marginal speaker note leaked into the digital text): κατʼ ἀριΦίλων] θμὸν → κατʼ ἀριθμὸν.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 26–27 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.6 (Dindorf 2:51–52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.7Dindorf 2:52

Εἶθʼ ἐξῆς λέγει “ Πρῶτον οὖν ὁ ποιῶν ἐποίει οὐρανὸν ἀσώματον καὶ γῆν ἀόρατον καὶ ἀέρος ἰδέαν καὶ κενοῦ· ὧν τὸ μὲν ἐπεφήμισε σκότος, ἐπειδὴ μέλας ὁ ἀὴρ τῇ φύσει, τὴν δὲ ἄβυσσον· πολύβυθον γὰρ τό γε κενὸν καὶ ἀχανές.

Eithʼ exēs legei “ Prōton oun ho poiōn epoiei ouranon asōmaton kai gēn aoraton kai aeros idean kai kenou; hōn to men epephēmise skotos, epeidē melas ho aēr tę̄ physei, tēn de abysson; polybython gar to ge kenon kai achanes.

Then next he says: “First, then, the Maker made an incorporeal heaven and an invisible earth, and the Idea of air and of the void; the one he named darkness, since air is by nature black, the other the abyss, for the void is very deep and yawning.

Gen 1:2 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Philo: first came the incorporeal heaven, earth, air, and void.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 29.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): τῇ φύσει,· → τῇ φύσει,.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 29 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.7 (Dindorf 2:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.8Dindorf 2:52

εἶθʼ ὕδατος ἀσώματον οὐσίαν καὶ πνεύματος, καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἑβδόμου φωτὸς, ὃ πάλιν ἀσώματον ἦν, καὶ νοητὸν ἡλίου παράδειγμα, καὶ πάντα ὅσα φωσφόρα ἄστρα κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἔμελλε συνίστασθαι.

eithʼ hydatos asōmaton ousian kai pneumatos, kai epi pasin hebdomou phōtos, ho palin asōmaton ēn, kai noēton hēliou paradeigma, kai panta hosa phōsphora astra kata ton ouranon emelle synistasthai.

Then the incorporeal substance of water and of spirit, and above all, seventh, of light, which again was incorporeal, the intelligible pattern of the sun and of all the light-bearing stars that were to be established in the heaven.

Notes and citation

Summary: Then incorporeal water, spirit, and light.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 29.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 29 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.8 (Dindorf 2:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.9Dindorf 2:52

προνομίας δὲ τό τε πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ φῶς ἠξιοῦτο· τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὠνόμασε θεοῦ, διότι ζωτικώτατον τὸ πνεῦμα, ζωῆς δὲ θεὸς αἴτιος· τὸ δὲ φῶς, ὅτι ὑπερβάλλον καλόν· τοσούτῳ γὰρ τὸ νοητὸν τοῦ ὁρατοῦ λαμπρότερόν τε καὶ αὐγοειδέστερον, ὅσῳπερ ἥλιος, οἶμαι, σκότους καὶ ἡμέρα νυκτὸς, καὶ τὰ κριτήρια νοῦς ὁ τῆς ὅλης ψυχῆς ἡγεμὼν, ὀφθαλμῶν σώματος.

pronomias de to te pneuma kai to phōs ēxiouto; to men gar ōnomase theou, dioti zōtikōtaton to pneuma, zōēs de theos aitios; to de phōs, hoti hyperballon kalon; tosoutǭ gar to noēton tou horatou lamproteron te kai augoeidesteron, hosǭper hēlios, oimai, skotous kai hēmera nyktos, kai ta kritēria nous ho tēs holēs psychēs hēgemōn, ophthalmōn sōmatos.

Spirit and light were granted precedence. The one he named ‘of God,’ because spirit is most life-giving and God is the cause of life; the light, because it is surpassingly beautiful. For the intelligible is as much brighter and more radiant than the visible, I think, as the sun than darkness, day than night, and mind, the ruler of the whole soul, than the criteria of sense, the eyes of the body.

Gen 1:2 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Spirit and light are given honour for life and beauty.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 30–31.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 30–31 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.9 (Dindorf 2:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.10Dindorf 2:52

τὸ δὲ ἀόρατον καὶ νοητὸν φῶς ἐκεῖνο θείου λόγου γέγονεν εἰκὼν τοῦ διερμηνεύσαντος τὴν γένεσιν αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἔστιν ὑπερουράνιος ἀστὴρ, πηγὴ τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀστέρων, ἣν οὐκ ἂν ἀπὸ σκοποῦ καλέσειεν ἄν τις παναύγειαν, ἀφʼ ἧς ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι πλανῆται καὶ ἀπλανεῖς ἀρύονται, καθʼ ὅσον ἑκάστῳ δύναμις, τὰ πρέποντα φέγγη, τῆς ἀμιγοῦς καὶ καθαρᾶς αὐγῆς ἐκείνης ἀμαυρουμένης, οὗ ἂν ἄρξηται τρέπεσθαι κατὰ τὴν ἐκ νοητοῦ πρὸς αἰσθητὸν μεταβολήν. εἰλικρινὲς γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν ἐν αἰσθήσει.

to de aoraton kai noēton phōs ekeino theiou logou gegonen eikōn tou diermēneusantos tēn genesin autou; kai estin hyperouranios astēr, pēgē tōn aisthētōn asterōn, hēn ouk an apo skopou kaleseien an tis panaugeian, aphʼ hēs hēlios kai selēnē kai hoi alloi planētai kai aplaneis aryontai, kathʼ hoson hekastǭ dynamis, ta preponta phengē, tēs amigous kai katharas augēs ekeinēs amauroumenēs, hou an arxētai trepesthai kata tēn ek noētou pros aisthēton metabolēn. eilikrines gar ouden tōn en aisthēsei.

That invisible and intelligible light has become an image of the divine Word who interpreted its creation; and it is a super-celestial star, a source of the sensible stars, which one would not be off the mark to call ‘all-brightness,’ from which the sun, moon, and the other planets and fixed stars draw, each according to its power, the gleams that befit them, that unmixed and pure radiance being dimmed when it begins to turn in the change from intelligible to sensible; for nothing in the realm of sense is pure.”

Notes and citation

Summary: The intelligible light is an image of the Word, source of the stars’ light.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 31.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR slip; accent slip in the digital text): καλἐσειειν ἄν τις → καλέσειεν ἄν τις; οὑ ἂν ἄρξηται → οὗ ἂν ἄρξηται.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 31 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.10 (Dindorf 2:52; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.11Dindorf 2:52–53

Καὶ μετὰ βραχέα ἐπιλέγει “Ἐπεὶ δὲ φῶς μὲν ἐγένετο, σκότος δʼ ὑπεξέστη καὶ ἀνεχώρησεν, ὅροι δʼ ἐν τοῖς μεταξὺ διαστήμασιν ἐπάγησαν ἑσπέρα τε καὶ πρωία, κατʼ ἀναγκαῖον τοῦ χρόνου μέτρον ἀπετελεῖτο εὐθὺς ὃ καὶ ἡμέραν καλῶς ποιῶν ἐκάλεσεν· καὶ ἡμέραν οὐχὶ πρώτην, ἀλλὰ μίαν, ἣ λέλεκται διὰ τὴν τοῦ νοητοῦ κόσμου μόνωσιν, μοναδικὴν ἔχοντος φύσιν.

Kai meta brachea epilegei “Epei de phōs men egeneto, skotos dʼ hypexestē kai anechōrēsen, horoi dʼ en tois metaxy diastēmasin epagēsan hespera te kai prōia, katʼ anankaion tou chronou metron apeteleito euthys ho kai hēmeran kalōs poiōn ekalesen; kai hēmeran ouchi prōtēn, alla mian, hē lelektai dia tēn tou noētou kosmou monōsin, monadikēn echontos physin.

And after a little he adds: “When light had come to be, and darkness had withdrawn, and boundaries were fixed in the intervals between, evening and morning, at once the measure of time was necessarily completed, which the Maker rightly called day; and not ‘first’ day but ‘one’ day, which is so said because of the singleness of the intelligible world, which has the nature of a unit.

Gen 1:5 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: “One day,” not “first day,” reflects the unity of the intelligible world.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 33–35; Gen 1:5.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (word omitted in the digital text (so Philo)): σκότος δʼ καὶ ἀνεχώρησεν → σκότος δʼ ὑπεξέστη καὶ ἀνεχώρησεν.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 33–35 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.11 (Dindorf 2:52–53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.24.12Dindorf 2:53

ὁ μὲν οὖν ἀσώματος κόσμος ἤδη πέρας εἶχεν, ἱδρυθεὶς ἐν τῷ θείῳ λόγῳ· ὁ δʼ αἰσθητὸς πρὸς παράδειγμα τούτου ἐτελειογονεῖτο· καὶ πρῶτον αὐτοῦ τῶν μερῶν, ὃ καὶ πάντων ἄριστον, ἐποίει τὸν οὐρανὸν ὁ δημιουργὸς, ὃν ἐτύμως στερέωμα προσηγόρευσεν, ἅτε σωματικὸν ὄντα. τὸ γὰρ σῶμα φύσει στερεὸν, ὅ τι περ καὶ τριχῆ διαστατόν. στερεοῦ δὲ καὶ σώματος ἔννοια τίς ἑτέρα πλὴν τὸ πάντη διεστηκός; εἰκότως οὖν ἀντιθεὶς τῷ νοητῷ καὶ ἀσωμάτῳ τὸν αἰσθητὸν καὶ σωματοειδῆ, τοῦτον στερεὸν ἐκάλεσε. ” Ταῦτα ὁ Φίλων. συνᾴδει δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ Κλήμης ἐν τῷ ἕκτῳ Στρωματεῖ λέγων ὧδε

ho men oun asōmatos kosmos ēdē peras eichen, hidrytheis en tǭ theiǭ logǭ; ho dʼ aisthētos pros paradeigma toutou eteleiogoneito; kai prōton autou tōn merōn, ho kai pantōn ariston, epoiei ton ouranon ho dēmiourgos, hon etymōs stereōma prosēgoreusen, hate sōmatikon onta. to gar sōma physei stereon, ho ti per kai trichē diastaton. stereou de kai sōmatos ennoia tis hetera plēn to pantē diestēkos? eikotōs oun antitheis tǭ noētǭ kai asōmatǭ ton aisthēton kai sōmatoeidē, touton stereon ekalese. ” Tauta ho Philōn. synądei de autǭ kai ho Klēmēs en tǭ hektǭ Strōmatei legōn hōde

The incorporeal world, then, was now complete, established in the divine Word; and the sensible world was being brought to completion after its pattern. And first of its parts, the best of all, the Creator made heaven, which he fittingly called firmament, since it is bodily. For body is by nature solid, being extended in three dimensions; and what other notion of solid and body is there but what is extended in every direction? With good reason, then, setting the sensible and bodily over against the intelligible and incorporeal, he called this firm.” So Philo. And Clement agrees with him in his sixth Miscellany, saying thus:

Gen 1:8 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Philo: the sensible heaven is called firmament because it is solid; Clement is introduced.

  • Philo, On the Creation of the World 36; Gen 1:6–8. The passage of Clement quoted next is from Book 5 of the Miscellanies, not Book 6 as Eusebius says.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): τοῦτον στερεὸν ἒκάλεσε → τοῦτον στερεὸν ἐκάλεσε; ἐν τῷ ἓκτῳ Στρωματεῖ → ἐν τῷ ἕκτῳ Στρωματεῖ.

Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Opif. 36 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.24.12 (Dindorf 2:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-24-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 25

11.25.1Dindorf 2:53

Κόσμον τε αὖθις τὸν μὲν νοητὸν οἶδεν ἡ βάρβαρος φιλοσοφία, τὸν δὲ αἰσθητόν· τὸν μὲν ἀρχέτυπον, τὸν δὲ εἰκόνα τοῦ καλοῦ παραδείγματος. καὶ τὸν μὲν ἀνατίθησι μονάδι, ὡς ἂν νοητὸν, τὸν δὲ αἰσθητὸν ἑξάδι· γάμος γὰρ παρὰ τοῖς Πυθαγορείοις, ὡς ἂν γόνιμος ἀριθμὸς, ἡ ἑξὰς καλεῖται.

Kosmon te authis ton men noēton oiden hē barbaros philosophia, ton de aisthēton; ton men archetypon, ton de eikona tou kalou paradeigmatos. kai ton men anatithēsi monadi, hōs an noēton, ton de aisthēton hexadi; gamos gar para tois Pythagoreiois, hōs an gonimos arithmos, hē hexas kaleitai.

“Again, the barbarian philosophy knows one world as intelligible and another as sensible, the one archetypal and the other an image of the beautiful pattern. And it assigns the intelligible to the monad and the sensible to the number six; for among the Pythagoreans six is called marriage, as a generative number.

Notes and citation

Summary: Clement: Scripture distinguishes intelligible and sensible worlds.

  • Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 5.14.93; the quotation runs through 11.25.5.

Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.93 (Miscellanies; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.25.1 (Dindorf 2:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-25-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.25.2Dindorf 2:53–54

καὶ ἐν μὲν τῇ μονάδι συνίστησιν οὐρανὸν ἀόρατον καὶ γῆν ἁγίαν καὶ φῶς νοητόν. ‘ἐν ἀρχῇ γὰρ (φησὶν) ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν· ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος. εἶτʼ ἐπιφέρει καὶ εἷπεν ὁ θεὸς, γενέσθω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς.’ ἐν δὲ τῇ κοσμογονίᾳ τῇ αἰσθητῇ στερεὸν οὐρανὸν δημιουργεῖ· τὸ δὲ στερεὸν αἰσθητόν· γῆν τε ὁρατὴν καὶ φῶς βλεπόμενον.

kai en men tę̄ monadi synistēsin ouranon aoraton kai gēn hagian kai phōs noēton. ‘en archę̄ gar (phēsin) epoiēsen ho theos ton ouranon kai tēn gēn; hē de gē ēn aoratos. eitʼ epipherei kai heipen ho theos, genesthō phōs, kai egeneto phōs.’ en de tę̄ kosmogonią tę̄ aisthētę̄ stereon ouranon dēmiourgei; to de stereon aisthēton; gēn te horatēn kai phōs blepomenon.

And in the monad it establishes an invisible heaven, a holy earth, and intelligible light. ‘For in the beginning,’ it says, ‘God made the heaven and the earth; and the earth was invisible.’ Then it adds, ‘And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.’ But in the sensible creation it makes a solid heaven (and what is solid is sensible), a visible earth, and light that is seen.

Gen 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:3 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Genesis 1 describes first an invisible and then a visible creation.

  • Clement, Miscellanies 5.14.93–94; Gen 1:1–3.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; opening parenthesis missing in the digital text): ‘ ἐν ἀρχῇ γὰρ φησὶν) → ‘ἐν ἀρχῇ γὰρ (φησὶν); τῇ αἰσθητῆ̣ → τῇ αἰσθητῇ.

Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.93–94 (Miscellanies; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.25.2 (Dindorf 2:53–54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-25-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.25.3Dindorf 2:54

ἆρʼ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι ἐντεῦθεν ὁ Πλάτων ζῴων ἰδέας ἐν τῷ νοητῷ ἀπολείπειν κόσμῳ καὶ τὰ εἴδη τὰ αἰ- σθητὰ κατὰ τὰ γένη δημιουργεῖν τὰ νοητά;

arʼ ou dokei soi enteuthen ho Platōn zǭōn ideas en tǭ noētǭ apoleipein kosmǭ kai ta eidē ta ai- sthēta kata ta genē dēmiourgein ta noēta?

Does not Plato seem to you to have left the Ideas of living things in the intelligible world from this source, and to create the sensible forms according to the intelligible kinds?

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato took his doctrine of Ideas from Genesis.

  • Clement, Miscellanies 5.14.94.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ὁ Πλάτωνʼ ζῴων → ὁ Πλάτων ζῴων.

Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.94 (Miscellanies; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.25.3 (Dindorf 2:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-25-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.25.4Dindorf 2:54

εἰκότως ἄρα ἐκ γῆς μὲν τὸ σῶμα διαπλάττεσθαι λέγει Μώσης, ὃ γήινόν φησιν ὁ Πλάτων σκῆνος, ψυχὴν δὲ τὴν λογικὴν ἄνωθεν ἐμπνευσθῆναι ὑπὸ θεοῦ εἰς πρόσωπον.

eikotōs ara ek gēs men to sōma diaplattesthai legei Mōsēs, ho gēinon phēsin ho Platōn skēnos, psychēn de tēn logikēn anōthen empneusthēnai hypo theou eis prosōpon.

With good reason, then, Moses says that the body was moulded from earth, which Plato calls the earthly tent, but that the rational soul was breathed from above by God into the face.

Gen 2:7 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Moses: body from earth, soul breathed by God.

  • Clement, Miscellanies 5.14.94; Gen 2:7; Plato’s phrase, compare Phaedo 81c and pseudo-Plato, Axiochus 366a.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent slip and stray mark in the digital text): ὅ γήινόν φησιν ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → ὃ γήινόν φησιν ὁ Πλάτων.

Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.94 (Miscellanies; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.25.4 (Dindorf 2:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-25-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.25.5Dindorf 2:54

ἐνταῦθα γὰρ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν ἱδρῦσθαι λέγουσι, τὴν διὰ τῶν αἰσθητηρίων ἐπεισόδιον τῆς ψυχῆς ἐπὶ τοῦ πρωτοπλάστου εἴσοδον ἑρμηνεύοντες, διὸ καὶ κατʼ εἰκόνα καὶ καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν τὸν ἄνθρωπον γεγονέναι. εἰκὼν μὲν γὰρ θεοῦ λόγος ὁ θεῖος καὶ βασιλικὸς, ἄνθρωπος ἀπαθὴς, εἰκὼν δὲ εἰκόνος ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς.” Ἀκούσωμεν δὲ καὶ τῶν ῥηθησομένων.

entautha gar to hēgemonikon hidrysthai legousi, tēn dia tōn aisthētēriōn epeisodion tēs psychēs epi tou prōtoplastou eisodon hermēneuontes, dio kai katʼ eikona kai kathʼ homoiōsin ton anthrōpon gegonenai. eikōn men gar theou logos ho theios kai basilikos, anthrōpos apathēs, eikōn de eikonos anthrōpinos nous.” Akousōmen de kai tōn rhēthēsomenōn.

For there, they say, the ruling part is seated, interpreting the entrance of the soul through the senses as an addition in the first-formed man; and for this reason man came to be after the image and after the likeness. For the image of God is the divine and royal Word, the impassible Man, and the image of the image is the human mind.” Let us also hear what is to be said next.

Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Clement: the Word is God’s image; the human mind is the image of the image.

  • Clement, Miscellanies 5.14.94; Gen 1:26.

Extrabiblical texts: Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.94 (Miscellanies; quotation)

Topics: Christology

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.25.5 (Dindorf 2:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-25-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

Preparation 11, chapter 26

11.26.1Dindorf 2:54

Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ὁ Πλάτων τοῖς Ἑβραίων ἐπακολουθήσας λόγοις οὐ μόνον ἀσωμάτους καὶ ἀγα- θὰς δυνάμεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐναντίας φησὶν εἶναι, ὧδέ πη γράφων ἐν τῷ δεκάτῳ τῶν Νόμων

Eti pros toutois ho Platōn tois Hebraiōn epakolouthēsas logois ou monon asōmatous kai aga- thas dynameis, alla kai enantias phēsin einai, hōde pē graphōn en tǭ dekatǭ tōn Nomōn

Further, Plato, following the teachings of the Hebrews, says that there are not only incorporeal and good powers but also opposite ones, writing somewhat as follows in the tenth book of the Laws:

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato speaks of good and evil powers.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → Ἔτι πρὸς τούτοις ὁ Πλάτων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.1 (Dindorf 2:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.2Dindorf 2:54

“ Ψυχὴν διοικοῦσαν καὶ ἐνοικοῦσαν τοῖς πάντη κινουμένοις πῶς οὐ καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνάγκη διοικεῖν φάναι; Τί μήν; Μίαν, ἢ πλείους; πλείους, ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ σφῶν ἀπο- κρινοῦμαι. δυοῖν μέν που ἔλαττον μηδὲν τιθῶμεν, τῆς τε εὐεργέτιδος καὶ τῆς τἀναντία δυναμένης ἐξεργάζεσθαι.”

“ Psychēn dioikousan kai enoikousan tois pantē kinoumenois pōs ou kai ton ouranon anankē dioikein phanai? Ti mēn? Mian, ē pleious? pleious, egō hyper sphōn apo- krinoumai. dyoin men pou elatton mēden tithōmen, tēs te euergetidos kai tēs tanantia dynamenēs exergazesthai.”

“If soul manages and dwells in all things that move everywhere, must we not say that it manages the heaven too? — Certainly. — One soul, or more? — More, I will answer for you both. Let us set down no fewer than two: one that does good, and one able to work the opposite.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato’s Laws: at least two souls, one good and one evil.

  • Plato, Laws 10.896d–e.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 896d–e (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.2 (Dindorf 2:54; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.3Dindorf 2:54–55

Εἶθʼ ὑποβάς φησιν “ ’ Επειδὴ γὰρ συνεχωρήσαμεν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς εἶναι μὲν τὸν οὐρανὸν πολλῶν μεστὸν ἀγαθῶν, εἶναι δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων, πλειόνων δὲ τῶν μὴ, μάχη δὴ, φαμὲν, ἀθάνατός ἐσθʼ ἡ τοιαύτη καὶ φυλακῆς θαυμαστῆς δεομένη. ξύμμαχοι δὲ ἡμῖν θεοί τε καὶ δαίμονες, ἡμεῖς δʼ αὖ κτήματα θεῶν καὶ δαιμόνων. ”

Eithʼ hypobas phēsin “ ’ Epeidē gar synechōrēsamen hēmin autois einai men ton ouranon pollōn meston agathōn, einai de kai tōn enantiōn, pleionōn de tōn mē, machē dē, phamen, athanatos esthʼ hē toiautē kai phylakēs thaumastēs deomenē. xymmachoi de hēmin theoi te kai daimones, hēmeis dʼ au ktēmata theōn kai daimonōn. ”

Then further on he says: “For since we have agreed among ourselves that the heaven is full of many good things, but also of the opposite, and more of those that are not good, such a battle, we say, is undying and needs wonderful watchfulness. And gods and daemons are our allies, and we in turn are the possessions of gods and daemons.”

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato: an undying battle; we are possessions of gods and daemons.

  • Plato, Laws 10.906a.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR slip): συνεχωρήααμεν → συνεχωρήσαμεν; δαίμνες → δαίμονες.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 906a (Plato (works); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.3 (Dindorf 2:54–55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.4Dindorf 2:55

Πόθεν καὶ ταῦτα τῷ Πλάτωνι ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιμι φράζειν· ὃ δʼ ἔχω φάναι ἀληθὲς, μυρίοις πρόσθεν ἢ Πλάτωνα γενέσθαι χρόνοις καὶ τοῦθʼ Ἑβραίοις ἀνωμολογῆσθαι τὸ δόγμα.

Pothen kai tauta tǭ Platōni egō men ouk an echoimi phrazein; ho dʼ echō phanai alēthes, myriois prosthen ē Platōna genesthai chronois kai touthʼ Hebraiois anōmologēsthai to dogma.

Where Plato got these things I could not say; but what I can say truly is that this doctrine too had been agreed among the Hebrews countless ages before Plato was born.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Hebrews held this doctrine long before Plato.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): καὶ τοῦθʼ ‘ Εβραίοις → καὶ τοῦθʼ Ἑβραίοις.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.4 (Dindorf 2:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.5Dindorf 2:55

λέγει δʼ οὖν ἡ παρʼ αὐτοῖς γραφὴ ‘καὶ ἦν ὡς ἡ ἡμέρα αὕτη, καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ θεοῦ παραστῆναι ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ· καὶ ὁ διάβολος ἦλθεν ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν, περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας αὐτήν, ” διάβολον μὲν τὴν ἐναντίαν δύναμιν, ἀγγέλους δὲ θεοῦ τὰς ἀγαθὰς προσειποῦσα.

legei dʼ oun hē parʼ autois graphē ‘kai ēn hōs hē hēmera hautē, kai ēlthon hoi angeloi tou theou parastēnai enōpion tou theou; kai ho diabolos ēlthen en mesǭ autōn, perielthōn tēn gēn kai emperipatēsas autēn, ” diabolon men tēn enantian dynamin, angelous de theou tas agathas proseipousa.

Their Scripture says: “And it was as this day, and the angels of God came to stand before God; and the devil came in the midst of them, having gone round the earth and walked about in it”; calling the opposite power the devil, and the good ones angels of God.

Job 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 1:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 2:1 (allusion, medium confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Job speaks of angels of God and the devil.

  • Job 1:6–7; 2:1–2 (Septuagint).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): καὶ ἦλθον οἶ ἄγγελοι → καὶ ἦλθον οἱ ἄγγελοι.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.5 (Dindorf 2:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.6Dindorf 2:55

ταύτας δὲ τὰς ἀγαθὰς δυνάμεις καὶ πνεύματα θεῖα καὶ λειτουργοὺς θεοῦ προσαγορεύει ἐν οἷς φησιν “ ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα, καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα.

tautas de tas agathas dynameis kai pneumata theia kai leitourgous theou prosagoreuei en hois phēsin “ ho poiōn tous angelous autou pneumata, kai tous leitourgous autou pyros phloga.

These good powers it calls divine spirits and ministers of God, where it says: “Who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.”

Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The good powers are God’s spirits and ministers.

  • Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX).

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.6 (Dindorf 2:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.7Dindorf 2:55

ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν διαμάχην τῶν ἐναντίων ὧδε παρίστησιν ὁ φήσας “ οὐκ ἔστιν ἡμῖν ἡ πάλη πρὸς αἷμα καὶ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς, πρὸς τὰς ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας ἐν τοῖς ἐπουρανίοις. ”

alla kai tēn diamachēn tōn enantiōn hōde paristēsin ho phēsas “ ouk estin hēmin hē palē pros haima kai sarka, alla pros tas archas, pros tas exousias, pros tous kosmokratoras tou skotous tou aiōnos toutou, pros ta pneumatika tēs ponērias en tois epouraniois. ”

And the struggle against the opposing ones is set forth thus by the one who says: “Our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Eph 6:12 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Paul speaks of the struggle against evil spiritual powers.

  • Eph 6:12.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.7 (Dindorf 2:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.

11.26.8Dindorf 2:55

ἄντικρυς δʼ ἔοικεν ὁ Πλάτων τὸ Μώσεως λόγιον μεταφράζειν τὸ φῆσαν ‘ὅτε διεμέριζεν ὁ ὕψιστος ἔθνη, ὡς διέσπειρεν υἱοὺς Ἀδὰμ, ἔστησεν ὅρια ἐθνῶν κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεοῦ”, διʼ ὧν κτήματα θεῶν καὶ δαιμόνων τὸ πᾶν γένος ἀνθρώπων εἶναι ὡρίσατο.

antikrys dʼ eoiken ho Platōn to Mōseōs logion metaphrazein to phēsan ‘hote diemerizen ho hypsistos ethnē, hōs diespeiren huious Adam, estēsen horia ethnōn kata arithmon angelōn theou”, diʼ hōn ktēmata theōn kai daimonōn to pan genos anthrōpōn einai hōrisato.

And Plato seems plainly to paraphrase the oracle of Moses that says: “When the Most High divided the nations, when he scattered the sons of Adam, he set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God”; by which he determined that the whole human race is the possession of gods and daemons.

Deut 32:8 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Plato’s “possessions of the gods” paraphrases Deut 32:8.

  • Deut 32:8, following the Septuagint (“angels of God”).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (letters lost in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): ἄντικρυς δʼ ἔοικεν ὁ Πλάτωνʼ → ἄντικρυς δʼ ἔοικεν ὁ Πλάτων; κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεο” → κατὰ ἀριθμὸν ἀγγέλων θεοῦ”.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 11.26.8 (Dindorf 2:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/11-19-1/#p-11-26-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.