Sophia Scriptura

Preparation for the Gospel 5.24.1–5.33.17

Eusebius of Caesarea · Preparation for the Gospel · ca. 313–324 · Caesarea · 75 passages

Greek text: Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 1 (Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 1–2 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1867), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: E. H. Gifford, Eusebii Pamphili Evangelicae Praeparationis libri XV (Oxford, 1903), vol. 3 (English).

Preparation 5, chapter 24

5.24.1Dindorf 1:249

“ Ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα ἴσως ἐθελοκάκου τινός ἐστιν, ἐκεῖνα δὲ δεῖ μᾶλλον εἰς τὴν κρίσιν προάγειν τὰ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους. καὶ δὴ λεγέσθω τὰ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους ὢ μέλεοι, τί κάθησθε; πόλιν φύγετʼ ἔσχατα γαίης· οὔτε γὰρ ἡ κεφαλὴ μένει ἔμπεδος οὔτε τὸ σῶμα, οὐ χέρες, οὐδὲ πόδες νέατοι· κατὰ γάρ μιν ἐρείψει πῦρ τε καὶ ὀξὺς Ἄρης, συριηγενὲς ἅρμα διώκων· πολλὰ δὲ τῇδʼ ἀπολεῖ πυργώματα καὶ κατερείψει· πολλοὺς δʼ ἀθανάτων νηοὺς μαλερῷ πυρὶ δώσει· οἴ που νῦν ἱδρῶτι ῥεούμενοι ἑστήκασιν, δείματι παλλόμενοι.

“ Alla ta men toiauta isōs ethelokakou tinos estin, ekeina de dei mallon eis tēn krisin proagein ta pros Athēnaious. kai dē legesthō ta pros Athēnaious ō meleoi, ti kathēsthe? polin phygetʼ eschata gaiēs; oute gar hē kephalē menei empedos oute to sōma, ou cheres, oude podes neatoi; kata gar min ereipsei pyr te kai oxys Arēs, syriēgenes harma diōkōn; polla de tę̄dʼ apolei pyrgōmata kai katereipsei; pollous dʼ athanatōn nēous malerǭ pyri dōsei; oi pou nyn hidrōti rheoumenoi hestēkasin, deimati pallomenoi.

"But such things perhaps belong to someone willfully malicious; rather, we must bring to judgment the oracles to the Athenians. Let what was said to the Athenians be told: 'Wretches, why do you sit? Flee to the ends of the earth from the city; for neither the head remains firm nor the body, nor the hands nor the feet below; for fire and swift Ares, driving a Syrian-born chariot, will bring it down. Many towers will he destroy and bring down; and many temples of the immortals will he give to the raging fire, which now stand streaming with sweat, quivering with fear.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus quotes the first Delphic oracle to Athens before Salamis.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.24.7 and beyond. The oracle: Herodotus, Histories 7.140.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (punctuation misread in digitization): κατερείψει ’ πολλοὺς → κατερείψει· πολλοὺς.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 7.140 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.1 (Dindorf 1:249; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-1). (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.

5.24.2Dindorf 1:249–250

ἰδοὺ δή σοι τὸ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους λόγιον· ἦπού τι μαντικὸν ἔνεστι; σὺ γὰρ οὕτως ἐθάρρεις αὐτῷ νὴ Δία, φαίη τις ἄν. εἰ δὲ προσθείης ἃ δεομένων βοηθεῖν αὐτοῖς ἐπιλέγεται, γνωσθήσεται. ἰδοὺ δὴ προσκείσθω, οὐ δύναται Πάλλας Δίʼ Ὀλύμπιον ἐξιλάσασθαι, λισσομένη πολλοῖσι λόγοις...... σοὶ δὲ τόδʼ αὖτις ἔπος ἐρέω, ἀδάμαντι πελάσσας· τῶν ἄλλων γὰρ ἁλισκομένων..... τεῖχος Τριτογενεῖ ξύλινον διδιοῖ εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς μοῦνον ἀπόρθητον τελέθειν, τὸ σὲ τέκνα τʼ ὀνήσει· μηδὲ σύ γʼ ἱπποσύνην τε μένειν καὶ πεξὸν ἰόντα, νῶτον ἐπιστρέψας· ἔτι τοί ποτε κἀντίος ἔσται. ὦ θείη Σαλαμὶς, ἀπολεῖς δὲ σὺ τέκνα γυναικῶν, ἤ που σκιδναμένης Δημήτερος, ἢ συνιούσης.

idou dē soi to pros Athēnaious logion; ēpou ti mantikon enesti? sy gar houtōs etharreis autǭ nē Dia, phaiē tis an. ei de prostheiēs ha deomenōn boēthein autois epilegetai, gnōsthēsetai. idou dē proskeisthō, ou dynatai Pallas Diʼ Olympion exilasasthai, lissomenē polloisi logois...... soi de todʼ autis epos ereō, adamanti pelassas; tōn allōn gar haliskomenōn..... teichos Tritogenei xylinon didioi euryopa Zeus mounon aporthēton telethein, to se tekna tʼ onēsei; mēde sy gʼ hipposynēn te menein kai pexon ionta, nōton epistrepsas; eti toi pote kantios estai. ō theiē Salamis, apoleis de sy tekna gynaikōn, ē pou skidnamenēs Dēmēteros, ē syniousēs.

Here, then, is your oracle to the Athenians: is there anything prophetic in it? 'For you were so confident in it, by Zeus,' someone might say. If you add what is said in reply to their asking for help, it will be known. Look, let it be added: 'Pallas cannot appease Olympian Zeus, though entreating him with many words ... But to you I will speak this word again, making it like adamant: when the others are taken ... far-seeing Zeus grants to Tritogeneia a wooden wall alone to remain unsacked, which will help you and your children. Nor do you wait for the horsemen and the foot coming on, but turn your back; you will yet face them some day. O divine Salamis, you will destroy the children of women, either when Demeter is scattered or when she is gathered.'

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus quotes the second oracle, of the wooden wall and Salamis.

  • The oracle: Herodotus, Histories 7.141. The gaps (...) are in the printed text.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; punctuation misread in digitization): λόγιον ’ ἦπού → λόγιον· ἦπού; ὠ θείη → ὦ θείη; βοη- θεῖν → βοηθεῖν; προσ- κείσθω → προσκείσθω.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 7.141 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.2 (Dindorf 1:249–250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-2). (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.

5.24.3Dindorf 1:250

ἄξιός τέ σοι ὁ Ζεὺς τοῦ Δῖός, ὦ υἱὲ τοῦ Δῖός ’ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ Ἀθηνᾶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, ὦ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς ἀδελφέ· ἥ τε σπουδὴ αὕτη καὶ ἡ ἀντισπουδία ἐπιπρέπει τῷ πατρὶ καὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῖς θεοῖς ’ ὅ τε Ὀλύμπιος οὗτος ὁ τὴν μίαν ταύτην ἐξελεῖν πόλιν ἀσθενῶν, εἰ μὴ ἀπὸ Σούσων ἐπάγοι αὐτῇ τὸν ἄπειρον ἐκεῖνον στρατὸν, μέγας τις ἄρα ἦν καὶ τὴν τοῦ παντὸς κυρίαν ἔχων, καὶ πιθανὸς ἅμα, ἐκ μὲν τῆς Ἀσίας εἰς τὴν Εὐρώπην κινῶν ἔθνη τοσαῦτα, ἐν δὲ τῇ Εὐρώπῃ μίαν πόλιν ἀνατρέψαι ἀδύνατος ὤν.

axios te soi ho Zeus tou Dios, ō huie tou Dios ’ alla kai hē Athēna tēs Athēnas, ō tēs Athēnas adelphe; hē te spoudē hautē kai hē antispoudia epiprepei tǭ patri kai tę̄ thygatri, mallon de tois theois ’ ho te Olympios houtos ho tēn mian tautēn exelein polin asthenōn, ei mē apo Sousōn epagoi autę̄ ton apeiron ekeinon straton, megas tis ara ēn kai tēn tou pantos kyrian echōn, kai pithanos hama, ek men tēs Asias eis tēn Eurōpēn kinōn ethnē tosauta, en de tę̄ Eurōpę̄ mian polin anatrepsai adynatos ōn.

Worthy of Zeus is your Zeus, O son of Zeus! And Athena of Athena, O brother of Athena! This zeal and counter-zeal befit the father and the daughter, or rather the gods. And this Olympian, who was too weak to destroy this one city unless he brought upon it that boundless army from Susa, was a great one indeed, and had lordship over the universe, and was persuasive too, moving so many nations from Asia into Europe, yet unable to overturn one city in Europe.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus ridicules a Zeus who needs a Persian army to destroy one city.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (digitization slip): Κυρείαν → κυρίαν.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.3 (Dindorf 1:250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-3). (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.

5.24.4Dindorf 1:250

καὶ σὺ δὲ, ὁ τολμηρὸς ἅμα καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ μηδενὶ ῥιψοκίνδυνος, οὐκ οἰμώζεις; εἶπον ἂν ἄνθρωποι, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἡ Πάλλας οὐ δύναται Δίʼ Ὀλύμπιον ἐξιλάσασθαι·) ἢ οὐ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐμήνιεν ὁ Ζεὺς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς λίθοις καὶ τοῖς ξύλοις ’ κἄπειτα σὺ μὲν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἔσωζες, ὁ δὲ τὰ οἰκοδομήματα ἐνεπίμπρα ἐπακτῷ πυρί; οὐ γὰρ ἦν αὐτῷ κεραυνὸς τηνικαῦτα.

kai sy de, ho tolmēros hama kai epi tǭ mēdeni rhipsokindynos, ouk oimōzeis? eipon an anthrōpoi, hyper hōn hē Pallas ou dynatai Diʼ Olympion exilasasthai;) ē ou tois anthrōpois emēnien ho Zeus, alla tois lithois kai tois xylois ’ kapeita sy men tous anthrōpous esōzes, ho de ta oikodomēmata enepimpra epaktǭ pyri? ou gar ēn autǭ keraunos tēnikauta.

And you, the daring one, who run risks over nothing, will you not suffer for it? So men would have said, on whose behalf Pallas cannot appease Olympian Zeus. Or was Zeus angry not with men but with stones and timbers, and then you saved the men while he burned the buildings with imported fire? For he had no thunderbolt at that time.

Notes and citation

Summary: Was Zeus angry with stones and needed Persian fire?

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.4 (Dindorf 1:250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-4). (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.

5.24.5Dindorf 1:250

ἢ μή τι μᾶλλον ἡμεῖς τολμηροί τε ἐσμὲν καὶ ῥιψοκίνδυνοι, οὐκ ἐπιτρέποντες ὑμῖν οὕτω φληναφεῖν. πῶς δὲ, ὦ μάντι, ὅτι μὲν ἡ θείη Σαλαμὶς ἀπολεῖ τέκνα γυναικῶν ᾔδεις, πότερα δὲ σκιδναμένης Δημήτερος ἢ συνιούσης οὐκέτʼ ᾔδεις; πῶς δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ᾔδεις, ὅτι τὰ τέκνα τῶν γυναικῶν εἴποι μὲν ἄν τις εἶναι καὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα, εἴποι δʼ ἂν καὶ τὰ πολέμια, αἰσθόμενος τοῦ κακοτεχνήματος;

ē mē ti mallon hēmeis tolmēroi te esmen kai rhipsokindynoi, ouk epitrepontes hymin houtō phlēnaphein. pōs de, ō manti, hoti men hē theiē Salamis apolei tekna gynaikōn ę̄deis, potera de skidnamenēs Dēmēteros ē syniousēs ouketʼ ę̄deis? pōs de oude touto ę̄deis, hoti ta tekna tōn gynaikōn eipoi men an tis einai kai ta oikeia, eipoi dʼ an kai ta polemia, aisthomenos tou kakotechnēmatos?

Or are we rather the daring and reckless ones, for not allowing you to talk such nonsense? How, O seer, did you know that divine Salamis would destroy the children of women, but no longer know whether it would be when Demeter is scattered or gathered? And how did you not know this either, that one perceiving your trickery might say that 'the children of women' are one's own people, and might also say the enemy?

Notes and citation

Summary: The Salamis oracle was deliberately ambiguous.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): ῥιψο- κίνδυνοι → ῥιψοκίνδυνοι.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.5 (Dindorf 1:250; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-5). (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.

5.24.6Dindorf 1:250–251

περιμένειν δὲ δεῖ τὸ ἀποβησόμενον ’ ἒν γὰρ δεῖ τι τούτων ἀποβήσεσθαι. ἡ γάρ τοι Σαλαμὶς ἡ θείη οὐδὲ ἡττωμένων ἀφήρμοσεν ἂν, ὡς εἰς οἶκτον οὕτως ἐπιφωνουμένη· ἥ τε μέλλουσα τῶν νηῶν μάχη, ἤτοι που σκιδναμένης Δημήτερος ἢ συνιούσης, καταπέπλασται τῇ ποιητικῇ σεμνολογίᾳ, ἵνα γένηται μάντευμα ἀφώρατον τῷ σοφισμῷ καὶ μὴ εὐθὺς καταφανὲς ᾖ, ὅτι ἐν χειμῶνι μάχη ναυτικὴ οὐ συνίσταται.

perimenein de dei to apobēsomenon ’ en gar dei ti toutōn apobēsesthai. hē gar toi Salamis hē theiē oude hēttōmenōn aphērmosen an, hōs eis oikton houtōs epiphōnoumenē; hē te mellousa tōn nēōn machē, ētoi pou skidnamenēs Dēmēteros ē syniousēs, katapeplastai tę̄ poiētikę̄ semnologią, hina genētai manteuma aphōraton tǭ sophismǭ kai mē euthys kataphanes ę̄, hoti en cheimōni machē nautikē ou synistatai.

But one must wait for the outcome; for one of these things must come about. For 'divine Salamis' would not be unsuitable even if they were defeated, as being addressed so for pity's sake; and the coming sea battle, 'either when Demeter is scattered or when she is gathered,' has been plastered over with poetic grandiloquence so that the prophecy might go undetected through the trick and it might not at once be plain that a sea battle is not fought in winter.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracle's phrasing concealed its emptiness.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.6 (Dindorf 1:250–251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-6). (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.

5.24.7Dindorf 1:251

ἤδη δὲ οὐδὲ ἡ τραγῳδία ἀφανὴς, οὐδὲ οἱ θεοὶ ἐπεισκυκλούμενοι, ὁ μὲν ἱκετεύων, ὁ δὲ οὐ κατακαμπτόμενος ’ χρήσιμοι τῷ μέλλοντι καὶ τῇ τοῦ πολέμου παραδόξῳ ῥοπῇ, ὁ μὲν σωζομένοις, ὁ δʼ ἀπολλυμένοις. εἴτε γὰρ σώζοιντο, ἰδοὺ αἱ τῆς Παλλάδος λιταὶ προμεμήνυνται, ἱκαναὶ οὖσαι κάμψαι τὴν τοῦ Δῖός ὀργήν· εἴτε καὶ μὴ, οὐδὲ τοῦτο τῷ μάντει ἀκατασκεύαστον· οὐ γὰρ δύναται Πάλλας τὸν Δία ἐξιλάσασθαι· πρός τε τὰς ἡμικάκους τύχας ὁ τεχνίτης ἐκέρασε τὸ λόγιον, ὡς δὴ τοῦ Δῖός τῇ μὲν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πρόθεσιν ἐκτελέσαντος, τῇ δὲ τὴν δέησιν τῆς θυγατρὸς οὐ περιφρονήσαντος.

ēdē de oude hē tragǭdia aphanēs, oude hoi theoi epeiskykloumenoi, ho men hiketeuōn, ho de ou katakamptomenos ’ chrēsimoi tǭ mellonti kai tę̄ tou polemou paradoxǭ rhopę̄, ho men sōzomenois, ho dʼ apollymenois. eite gar sōzointo, idou hai tēs Pallados litai promemēnyntai, hikanai ousai kampsai tēn tou Dios orgēn; eite kai mē, oude touto tǭ mantei akataskeuaston; ou gar dynatai Pallas ton Dia exilasasthai; pros te tas hēmikakous tychas ho technitēs ekerase to logion, hōs dē tou Dios tę̄ men tēn heautou prothesin ektelesantos, tę̄ de tēn deēsin tēs thygatros ou periphronēsantos.

And now the tragedy is not hidden either, nor the gods wheeled on stage, the one entreating and the other unbending, useful for the future and for the unexpected turn of the war, the one for those saved and the other for those destroyed. For if they were saved, look, the prayers of Pallas have been announced beforehand, able to bend the anger of Zeus; and if not, not even this was left unprepared by the seer: for Pallas cannot appease Zeus. And for half-bad fortunes the craftsman mixed the oracle, as though Zeus had in part carried out his own purpose, and in part had not despised his daughter's request.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracle was constructed to fit any outcome.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing lost in digitization): ημικάκους → ἡμικάκους.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.7 (Dindorf 1:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-7). (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.

5.24.8Dindorf 1:251

τά τε πυργώματα ὅτι πολλὰ ἀπολεῖται, εἰ μετὰ ναρθήκων, ἀλλὰ μὴ μετὰ σιδήρου καὶ πυρὸς ἐπῄεσαν, τάχα ἂν ψεῦδος ἦν, ὁπότε καὶ μετὰ ναρθήκων ἔπραξαν ἄν τι πάντως οἱ τοσοῦτοι. ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ, φησὶν, ἐξεῦρον τὸ ξύλινον τεῖχος, τὸ μόνον ἀπόρθητον. συμβούλευμα σύ γε, ἀλλʼ οὐ μάντευμα, οὐκ ἀπεοικὸς τῷ φεύγειν, μηδὲ μένειν, μηδʼ αἰδεῖσθαι κακὸς εἶναι.

ta te pyrgōmata hoti polla apoleitai, ei meta narthēkōn, alla mē meta sidērou kai pyros epę̄esan, tacha an pseudos ēn, hopote kai meta narthēkōn epraxan an ti pantōs hoi tosoutoi. allʼ egō, phēsin, exeuron to xylinon teichos, to monon aporthēton. symbouleuma sy ge, allʼ ou manteuma, ouk apeoikos tǭ pheugein, mēde menein, mēdʼ aideisthai kakos einai.

And as for the towers, that many would be destroyed: if they had come with fennel stalks and not with iron and fire, perhaps it would have been false, though even with fennel stalks so great a host would surely have accomplished something. 'But I,' he says, 'found the wooden wall, the only thing unsacked.' Advice, yes, but not prophecy; not unlike the line: 'flee, and do not stay, nor be ashamed to be a coward.'

Notes and citation

Summary: The wooden-wall oracle was advice, not prophecy.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.24.10. The quoted line is from the oracle to Croesus (Herodotus, Histories 1.55).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; stray mark in digitization): οἶ τοσοῦτοι → οἱ τοσοῦτοι; τῷ. φεύγειν → τῷ φεύγειν; ἔπρα- ξαν → ἔπραξαν.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 1.55 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.8 (Dindorf 1:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-8). (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.

5.24.9Dindorf 1:251

ὁ γοῦν ἐπιλυσάμενος ἐκεῖνο τὸ αἴνιγμα οὐ χείρων ἦν σου κατιδεῖν, ὅτι ἡ τῶν Ἀθηναίων πόλις πρόφασις ἦν τῷ Πέρσῃ τῆς ὁδοῦ, καὶ ἡ πᾶσα ἔλασις ἐπὶ ταύτην πρώτην τε καὶ ἐξοχωτάτην ἐγένετο, ἐπεὶ καὶ ὁ ἄμαντις αὐτὸς ἐγὼ τοῦτʼ αἰσθόμενος καὶ τὸν Ἀθηναῖον ἂν, οὐ μόνον τὸν Λυδὸν, ἐκέλευον φεύγειν νῶτα ἐπιστρέψαντα. ἔτι γάρ ποτε κἀντίος ἔσται· πολλὴ γὰρ ἱπποσύνη καὶ πεζὸς ἐπέρχεται.

ho goun epilysamenos ekeino to ainigma ou cheirōn ēn sou katidein, hoti hē tōn Athēnaiōn polis prophasis ēn tǭ Persę̄ tēs hodou, kai hē pasa elasis epi tautēn prōtēn te kai exochōtatēn egeneto, epei kai ho amantis autos egō toutʼ aisthomenos kai ton Athēnaion an, ou monon ton Lydon, ekeleuon pheugein nōta epistrepsanta. eti gar pote kantios estai; pollē gar hipposynē kai pezos eperchetai.

He, at any rate, who solved that riddle was no worse than you at seeing that the city of the Athenians was the Persian's pretext for the march, and that the whole expedition was directed against it first and foremost; since even I myself, who am no prophet, perceiving this, would have bidden the Athenian too, not only the Lydian, to flee, turning his back. 'For you will yet face him some day'; for many horsemen and foot are coming on.

Notes and citation

Summary: Anyone could see that Athens was the Persians' target and advise flight.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): ἂμαντις → ἄμαντις.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.9 (Dindorf 1:251; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-9). (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.

5.24.10Dindorf 1:251–252

ὅτι δὲ ναυσὶν, ἀλλʼ οὐ κατʼ ἤπειρον· καὶ γὰρ ἦν γελοῖον ἔχοντας ναυτικὸν καὶ ἐπὶ θαλάσσης κατοικοῦντας μὴ οὐ πασσυδὶ σκευωρησαμένους καὶ τροφὰς ὅσας εἶχον συνεμβαλλομένους σώζεσθαι, παραδόντας τοῖς βουλομένοις τὴν γῆν. ”

hoti de nausin, allʼ ou katʼ ēpeiron; kai gar ēn geloion echontas nautikon kai epi thalassēs katoikountas mē ou passydi skeuōrēsamenous kai trophas hosas eichon synemballomenous sōzesthai, paradontas tois boulomenois tēn gēn. ”

And that it should be by ships and not on the mainland: for it would have been ridiculous for people who had a fleet and lived by the sea not to pack up in all haste, put aboard what food they had, and save themselves, handing over the land to whoever wanted it."

Notes and citation

Summary: Flight by sea was the obvious course for Athens.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.10 (Dindorf 1:251–252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-10). (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.

5.24.11Dindorf 1:252

Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους· ἀσθενῆ δὲ σφόδρα καὶ καταγέλαστα τὰ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους. ἤτοι γὰρ πᾶσα, φησὶν, ἡ πόλις πολιορκηθήσεται, ἢ ἀπολωλότα τὸν βασιλέα πενθήσει. τοῦτο δʼ ἐξ ἅπαντος εἰκὸς ἦν παντί τῳ στοχάζεσθαι, τὸ ἤτοι τόδε ἢ τόδε συμβήσεσθαι.

Tauta men oun ta pros Athēnaious; asthenē de sphodra kai katagelasta ta pros Lakedaimonious. ētoi gar pasa, phēsin, hē polis poliorkēthēsetai, ē apolōlota ton basilea penthēsei. touto dʼ ex hapantos eikos ēn panti tǭ stochazesthai, to ētoi tode ē tode symbēsesthai.

These, then, were the oracles to the Athenians; but those to the Lacedaemonians were very weak and ridiculous. For either, he says, the whole city will be besieged, or it will mourn its king, perished. But anyone at all could reasonably guess that either this or that would happen.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracle to Sparta offered an obvious either-or.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): ἐξ ἃπαντος → ἐξ ἅπαντος.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.11 (Dindorf 1:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-11). (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.

5.24.12Dindorf 1:252

ἀλλʼ οὐ δήπου θεοῦ ἦν μάντευμα ὧδέ πως ἀμφιβάλλειν ἀγνοίᾳ τοῦ μέλλοντος, βοηθεῖν δέον καὶ σωτῆρα τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐν καιρῷ παραφαίνεσθαι, καὶ μᾶλλον τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ βαρβάρων νίκην τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὡς ἂν οἰκείοις φίλοις προξενεῖν· εἰ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο δυνατὸς ἦν, κἂν τὸ μὴ παθεῖν αὐτοὺς, μηδʼ ἁλῶναι παρέχειν. ὁ δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὅπως αὐτοῖς τὰ τῆς ἥττης περιστήσεται γινώσκει. διὸ καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα οἷά φησιν ὁ ἔλεγχος ἄκουε

allʼ ou dēpou theou ēn manteuma hōde pōs amphiballein agnoią tou mellontos, boēthein deon kai sōtēra tōn Hellēnōn en kairǭ paraphainesthai, kai mallon tēn kata tōn echthrōn kai barbarōn nikēn tois Hellēsin hōs an oikeiois philois proxenein; ei de mē touto dynatos ēn, kan to mē pathein autous, mēdʼ halōnai parechein. ho de oude touto, allʼ oudʼ hopōs autois ta tēs hēttēs peristēsetai ginōskei. dio kai pros tauta hoia phēsin ho elenchos akoue

But surely it was not the prophecy of a god to equivocate in this way through ignorance of the future, when he ought to have helped and appeared at the right time as savior of the Greeks, and rather to have procured for the Greeks, as his own friends, victory over their enemies and the barbarians; and if he was not able to do this, at least to grant that they should not suffer or be captured. But he did not do even this; he does not even know how their defeat will turn out for them. Hear, therefore, what the refutation says on this too:

Notes and citation

Summary: A god should have helped the Greeks, not equivocated.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; doubled letter in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): Ἑλλἠνων → Ἑλλήνων; Ἓλλησιν → Ἕλλησιν; περισττήσεται → περιστήσεται; μάν- τευμα → μάντευμα; φί- λοις → φίλοις.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.24.12 (Dindorf 1:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-24-12). (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 5, chapter 25

5.25.1Dindorf 1:252

“ ‘Αλλʼ οὐ δεῖ Λακεδαιμονίοις, φήσεις, ταὐτὸν παραινεῖν. ἀληθῆ λέγεις. οὐ γὰρ ἠπίστασο, ὦ σοφιστὰ, οἷ χωρήσει τὰ τῆς Σπάρτης ὥσπερ τὰ τῆς Ἀττικῆς. ἐδεδοίκεις οὖν μὴ σὺ μὲν κελεύσῃς αὐτοὺς φεύγειν, κἄπειτα οἱ μὲν φεύγοιεν, οἱ δὲ μὴ ἐπέλθοιεν.

“ ‘Allʼ ou dei Lakedaimoniois, phēseis, tauton parainein. alēthē legeis. ou gar ēpistaso, ō sophista, hoi chōrēsei ta tēs Spartēs hōsper ta tēs Attikēs. ededoikeis oun mē sy men keleusę̄s autous pheugein, kapeita hoi men pheugoien, hoi de mē epelthoien.

"'But one must not give the Lacedaemonians the same advice,' you will say. You speak the truth. For you did not know, O sophist, how the affairs of Sparta would turn out, as you did those of Attica. So you were afraid that if you bade them flee, they might flee and the enemy might not come.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo did not know how Sparta's affairs would turn out.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.25.8.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): οἶ δὲ μὴ → οἱ δὲ μὴ; αὐ- τοὺς → αὐτοὺς.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.1 (Dindorf 1:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-1). (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.

5.25.2Dindorf 1:252

ἐπεὶ οὖν ἔδει τι λέγειν, οὕτως εἶπας τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις ὑμῖν, ὢ Σπάρτης οἰκήτορες εὐρυχόροιο, ἢ μέγα ἄστυ ἐρικυδὲς ὑπʼ ἀνδράσι Περσείδῃσι πέρσεται, ἢ τὸ μὲν οὐχὶ, ἀφʼ Ἡρακλέος δὲ γενέθλης πενθήσει βασιλῆ φθίμενον Λακεδαίμονος οὖρος.

epei oun edei ti legein, houtōs eipas tois Lakedaimoniois hymin, ō Spartēs oikētores eurychoroio, ē mega asty erikydes hypʼ andrasi Perseidę̄si persetai, ē to men ouchi, aphʼ Hērakleos de genethlēs penthēsei basilē phthimenon Lakedaimonos ouros.

Since, then, you had to say something, you spoke thus to the Lacedaemonians: 'For you, dwellers in spacious Sparta, either your great and glorious city is sacked by men of Perseus's line, or, if not that, the land of Lacedaemon will mourn a king of Heracles's race, perished.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle to Sparta: the city falls or a king dies.

  • The oracle: Herodotus, Histories 7.220.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): ἐπεὶ οὑν → ἐπεὶ οὖν; ὑμὶν → ὑμῖν; ἤ μέγα → ἢ μέγα; ἡ τὸ μὲν οὐχὶ → ἢ τὸ μὲν οὐχὶ.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 7.220 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.2 (Dindorf 1:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-2). (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.

5.25.3Dindorf 1:252

πάλιν ὁ ἀμαντευτότατος σύνδεσμος. ἀλλʼ ἐῶμεν αὐτὸν, ὡς μὴ δὶς περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ σοι ἐπιπηδῶντες ἐπαχθεῖς ἅμα καὶ ἄποροι δοκῶμεν εἶναι, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ ἐπισκοπῶμεν.

palin ho amanteutotatos syndesmos. allʼ eōmen auton, hōs mē dis peri tou autou soi epipēdōntes epachtheis hama kai aporoi dokōmen einai, ta de loipa episkopōmen.

Again the most unprophetic of conjunctions! But let it go, so that we may not seem both tiresome and at a loss by leaping on you twice for the same thing; let us examine the rest.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus passes over the 'either-or' again.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.3 (Dindorf 1:252; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-3). (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.

5.25.4Dindorf 1:252–253

εἰς σὲ μὲν ἀπέβλεπον ἅπαντες ἐν τηλικούτῳ κινδύνῳ, σὺ δʼ αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν μελλόντων μηνυτὴς καὶ τῶν ποιητέων ἦσθα σύμβουλος. καὶ σὲ μὲν ἐκεῖνοι πιστὸν, σὺ δʼ αὐτοὺς ἐπέπεισο ἠλιθίους εἶναι, καὶ ὁ καθεστὼς καιρὸς ὅτι ἱκανὸς ἦν ἄγειν καὶ τραχηλίζειν τοὺς ἀβελτέρους οὐ μόνον εἰς Δέλφικά καὶ Δωδωναῖα σοφιστήρια, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ὀρνιθομαντεῖα καὶ ἀλευρομαντεῖα καὶ τοὺς ἐγγαστριμύθους.

eis se men apeblepon hapantes en tēlikoutǭ kindynǭ, sy dʼ autois kai tōn mellontōn mēnytēs kai tōn poiēteōn ēstha symboulos. kai se men ekeinoi piston, sy dʼ autous epepeiso ēlithious einai, kai ho kathestōs kairos hoti hikanos ēn agein kai trachēlizein tous abelterous ou monon eis Delphika kai Dōdōnaia sophistēria, allʼ ēdē kai epi ta ornithomanteia kai aleuromanteia kai tous engastrimythous.

All were looking to you in so great a danger, and you were for them both informer of the future and counsellor of what must be done. And they were persuaded that you were trustworthy, and you that they were fools, and that the present crisis was enough to lead and drive the simpletons headlong not only to the schools of sophistry at Delphi and Dodona, but even to bird-oracles and flour-oracles and ventriloquists.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo exploited the Greeks' fear and credulity.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): τόν μελλόντων → τῶν μελλόντων; ἐγγαστρι- μύθους → ἐγγαστριμύθους.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.4 (Dindorf 1:252–253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-4). (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.

5.25.5Dindorf 1:253

πιστοὶ δὲ οὐ μόνον οἱ θεοὶ τηνικαῦτα, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ αἱ γαλαῖ καὶ αἱ κορῶναι καὶ τὰ καθύπνια παραπταίσματα οὔκουν ἄδηλον ὅτι οὔτʼ ἂν ἀμφότερα μᾶλλον ἐδέξαντο ἢ τὸ ἕτερον οὔτʼ ἂν τὸ μεῖζον ἀντὶ τοῦ μείονος, μεῖον δὲ εἶναι ἕνα ἀντὶ πάντων πεσεῖν τὸν βασιλέα.

pistoi de ou monon hoi theoi tēnikauta, allʼ ēdē kai hai galai kai hai korōnai kai ta kathypnia paraptaismata oukoun adēlon hoti outʼ an amphotera mallon edexanto ē to heteron outʼ an to meizon anti tou meionos, meion de einai hena anti pantōn pesein ton basilea.

And at that time not only the gods were trusted, but even weasels and crows and stumbles in dreams. It was not unclear, then, that they would neither have preferred both misfortunes to one, nor the greater instead of the lesser; and the lesser was that one, the king, should fall instead of all.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Spartans would naturally prefer losing the king to losing the city.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing and doubled letters misread in digitization; breathing misread in digitization): οἶ θεοὶ → οἱ θεοὶ; ἔνα ἀντὶ πάντττων → ἕνα ἀντὶ πάντων.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.5 (Dindorf 1:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-5). (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.

5.25.6Dindorf 1:253

μετὰ μὲν δὴ τῆς πόλεως πιπτούσης οὐδεμία οὐδʼ αὐτῷ ἀποφυγή· εἰ δʼ αὐτὸς ἄλλῃ πη τάττοιτο, τάχα ἄν τι καὶ παράδοξον γένοιτο. λείπεται δὴ τοὺς ταῦτα λογιζομένους τὸν μὲν βασιλέα πέμψαι προσπολεμήσοντα, αὐτοὺς δὲ οἴκοι μένοντας ἔξω κινδύνων καραδοκεῖν.

meta men dē tēs poleōs piptousēs oudemia oudʼ autǭ apophygē; ei dʼ autos allę̄ pē tattoito, tacha an ti kai paradoxon genoito. leipetai dē tous tauta logizomenous ton men basilea pempsai prospolemēsonta, autous de oikoi menontas exō kindynōn karadokein.

If the city fell, there would be no escape for him either; but if he were posted somewhere else, perhaps something unexpected might happen. It remained, then, for those reasoning thus to send the king to fight and to stay at home themselves out of danger, waiting for the outcome.

Notes and citation

Summary: So the Spartans sent the king to fight while they stayed home.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (Latin letter misread in digitization; iota subscript lost in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): αὐτῶ ἀποφυγή → αὐτῷ ἀποφυγή; oἴκοι → οἴκοι; πό- λεως → πόλεως.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.6 (Dindorf 1:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-6). (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.

5.25.7Dindorf 1:253

τῷ μὲν οὖν μετʼ ὀλίγων ἐναντίῳ ἱσταμένῳ πρὸς τὸν ἄπειρον ὄχλον ὄλεθρος προφανὴς, ἡ δὲ Σπάρτη ἀνοχὰς εἶχε τοῦ φόβου καὶ παραδόξους ἐλπίδας. μηδὲν δὲ ἧττον ἀφώρατον εἶναι τὸ σόφισμα καὶ διαφυγούσης καὶ ἁλούσης.

tǭ men oun metʼ oligōn enantiǭ histamenǭ pros ton apeiron ochlon olethros prophanēs, hē de Spartē anochas eiche tou phobou kai paradoxous elpidas. mēden de hētton aphōraton einai to sophisma kai diaphygousēs kai halousēs.

For him, then, standing with a few against the boundless crowd, destruction was manifest; but Sparta had respite from fear and unexpected hopes. And the trick was no less undetectable whether the city escaped or was taken.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracle could not be refuted whatever happened.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.7 (Dindorf 1:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-7). (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.

5.25.8Dindorf 1:253

τί δή ποτε; ὅτι οὐκ εἴρητο μὰ Δία εἰ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀποθάνοι, ἡ πόλις σωθήσεται, ἀλλʼ ὅτι ἢ μόνος ἀπολεῖται ἢ ἡ σύμπασα πόλις· τοῦτο δὲ ἐν ἑκατέρῳ ἀνεύθυνον, καὶ μόνου αὐτοῦ ἀπολουμένου καὶ μὴ μόνου. οὗτος δὲ τύφου καὶ ἀφροσύνης καρπός. ” Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ταύτῃ. οὐκ ἄξιον δὲ παρελθεῖν καὶ ἅπερ Κνιδίοις ἔχρησε πάλιν εὐχομένοις καὶ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ συμμαχίαν αἰτοῦσιν. ”

ti dē pote? hoti ouk eirēto ma Dia ei ho basileus apothanoi, hē polis sōthēsetai, allʼ hoti ē monos apoleitai ē hē sympasa polis; touto de en hekaterǭ aneuthynon, kai monou autou apoloumenou kai mē monou. houtos de typhou kai aphrosynēs karpos. ” Alla tauta men tautę̄. ouk axion de parelthein kai haper Knidiois echrēse palin euchomenois kai tēn para tou theou symmachian aitousin. ”

Why so? Because it had not been said, by Zeus, that if the king died the city would be saved, but that either he alone would perish or the whole city; and this could not be called to account either way, whether he perished alone or not alone. This is the fruit of conceit and folly." So much for this. But it is not right to pass over what he gave as oracle to the Cnidians, when they in turn prayed and asked for the god's alliance.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracle was safe either way; Eusebius turns to the Cnidians.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray mark in digitization): θεοῦ. συμμαχίαν → θεοῦ συμμαχίαν.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.25.8 (Dindorf 1:253; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-25-8). (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.

Preparation 5, chapter 26

5.26.1Dindorf 1:253–254

“ Ἔπαθον δὲ καὶ οἱ Κνίδιοι τούτῳ προσεοικὸς Ἁρπάγου ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς στρατεύσαντος. τὸν γὰρ ἰσθμὸν τὸν αὐτόθι διακόπτειν ἐπιχειροῦντες καὶ τὴν πόλιν νησοποιεῖν, τὰ μὲν πρῶτα τοῦ ἔργου εἴχοντο, ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀπήντα ἡ ἐργασία, ἀπαγορεύοντες ἤδη ἐχρῶντο.

“ Epathon de kai hoi Knidioi toutǭ proseoikos Harpagou epʼ autous strateusantos. ton gar isthmon ton autothi diakoptein epicheirountes kai tēn polin nēsopoiein, ta men prōta tou ergou eichonto, epei de autois apēnta hē ergasia, apagoreuontes ēdē echrōnto.

"The Cnidians too suffered something like this when Harpagus marched against them. For, attempting to cut through the isthmus there and make their city an island, at first they kept at the work, but when the labor went against them, they gave up and consulted the oracle.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Cnidians tried to cut through their isthmus against Harpagus.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.26.3. Compare Herodotus, Histories 1.174.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathings misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): Ἒπαθον δὲ καὶ οἶ Κνίδιοι → Ἔπαθον δὲ καὶ οἱ Κνίδιοι; προσ- εοικὸς → προσεοικὸς.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.26.1 (Dindorf 1:253–254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-26-1). (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.

5.26.2Dindorf 1:254

σὺ δὲ αὐτοῖς εἶπας Ἰσθμὸν δὲ μὴ πυργοῦτε μηδʼ ὀρύσσετε· Ζεὺς γάρ κʼ ἔθηκε νῆσον, εἴ κʼ ἐβούλετο, καὶ οἱ βλᾶκες ἐπείσθησαν καὶ ἀποτραπόμενοι παρέδωκαν ἑαυτοὺς τῷ Ἁρπάγῳ. τὸ δὲ ῥᾳδιούργημα. ἐπεὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἦν βέβαιος ἀποφυγὴ ὀρύξασι, τούτου μὲν ἔπαυσας· ὡς δὲ μὴ κελεύων ἔργου ἔχεσθαι ἐπαγγέλλῃ τὴν ἀποφυγήν.

sy de autois eipas Isthmon de mē pyrgoute mēdʼ oryssete; Zeus gar kʼ ethēke nēson, ei kʼ ebouleto, kai hoi blakes epeisthēsan kai apotrapomenoi paredōkan heautous tǭ Harpagǭ. to de rhądiourgēma. epei gar ouk ēn bebaios apophygē oryxasi, toutou men epausas; hōs de mē keleuōn ergou echesthai epangellę̄ tēn apophygēn.

And you said to them: 'Do not fortify the isthmus nor dig it; for Zeus would have made it an island if he had wished.' And the dullards were persuaded, turned back, and surrendered themselves to Harpagus. But note the knavery: since there was no sure escape if they dug, you stopped them from that; and by not bidding them keep at the work, you seem to promise them escape.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo told the Cnidians not to dig, and they surrendered.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 1.174 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.26.2 (Dindorf 1:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-26-2). (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.

5.26.3Dindorf 1:254

τούτῳ δὲ οὐ τὸ λῷον εἶναι μὴ ὀρύξασι προσετίθεις, ἀλλʼ ὅτι οὐ δοκεῖ τῷ Διὶ αὐτὴν νῆσον εἶναι. ἐν μὲν οὖν τῇ ἀποτροπῇ ἀμφότερα ἰσόρροπα, ἐν δὲ τῇ προτροπῇ τὸ διαφεύξεσθαι προεῖχεν· οὗ δὴ ἀσφαλὲς ἦν τῷ σοφιστῇ τὸ ἀνατρέπειν. οὕτως τε οὐδὲν εἰπὼν ὧν ἕνεκα ἦσαν ἀφιγμένοι ἀπέπεμψας οἰομένους ἀκηκοέναι τι.”

toutǭ de ou to lǭon einai mē oryxasi prosetitheis, allʼ hoti ou dokei tǭ Dii autēn nēson einai. en men oun tę̄ apotropę̄ amphotera isorropa, en de tę̄ protropę̄ to diapheuxesthai proeichen; hou dē asphales ēn tǭ sophistę̄ to anatrepein. houtōs te ouden eipōn hōn heneka ēsan aphigmenoi apepempsas oiomenous akēkoenai ti.”

To this you added, not that it was better for them not to dig, but that it did not please Zeus that it should be an island. In dissuading them, then, both outcomes were evenly balanced; but in encouraging them, escape would have been expected; so it was safe for the sophist to turn them back. And so, saying nothing of what they had come for, you sent them away thinking they had heard something."

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's advice committed him to nothing.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): ἀμφό- τερα → ἀμφότερα.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.26.3 (Dindorf 1:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-26-3). (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.

5.26.4Dindorf 1:254

Ταῦτα δὲ ἡγοῦμαι τὸ ἀδρανὲς τῶν τε χρώντων καὶ τῶν χρωμένων ἀπελέγχειν αὐταρκῶς, καὶ ὅτι μηδὲν ἀληθὲς ἢ ἔνθεον ἔστιν εὑρεῖν ἐν τοῖς δηλουμένοις.

Tauta de hēgoumai to adranes tōn te chrōntōn kai tōn chrōmenōn apelenchein autarkōs, kai hoti mēden alēthes ē entheon estin heurein en tois dēloumenois.

These things, I think, sufficiently refute the impotence both of those who give the oracles and of those who consult them, and show that nothing true or divine can be found in what they declare.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracles contain nothing true or divine.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.26.4 (Dindorf 1:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-26-4). (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.

5.26.5Dindorf 1:254

τὸ δὲ κακότροπον τοῦ ἤθους εἴτε τῶν πονηρῶν δαιμόνων εἴτε τῶν τὰ μαντεῖα καθυποκρινομένων ἀνδρῶν ἴδοις ἂν, εἰ μάθοις ὡς καὶ εἰς τὸν κατʼ ἀλλήλων πόλεμον τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτοῖς ἠρέθιζον, εἰρήνης καὶ φιλίας δέον αὐτοὺς εἶναι βραβευτάς.

to de kakotropon tou ēthous eite tōn ponērōn daimonōn eite tōn ta manteia kathypokrinomenōn andrōn idois an, ei mathois hōs kai eis ton katʼ allēlōn polemon tous chrōmenous autois ērethizon, eirēnēs kai philias deon autous einai brabeutas.

And you would see the malice of their character, whether of the wicked demons or of the men who played the part of the oracles, if you learned how they stirred up those who consulted them to war against one another, when they ought to have been arbiters of peace and friendship.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracles stirred Greeks to war against each other.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.26.5 (Dindorf 1:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-26-5). (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.

5.26.6Dindorf 1:254

τοτὲ μὲν οὖν Λακεδαιμονίους ὡς ἂν οἰκείους καὶ φίλους ὁ ἐν Δελφοῖς πάλιν κατὰ Μεσσηνίων παροξύνει, τοτὲ δʼ αὖ Μεσσηνίοις κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων χρᾷ, εἰ πάλιν οὗτοι διʼ ἀνθρωποθυσίας ἱλάσοιντο τοὺς δαίμονας. ἄκουε δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ τούτων

tote men oun Lakedaimonious hōs an oikeious kai philous ho en Delphois palin kata Messēniōn paroxynei, tote dʼ au Messēniois kata Lakedaimoniōn chrą, ei palin houtoi diʼ anthrōpothysias hilasointo tous daimonas. akoue de kai ta peri toutōn

At one time, then, the god at Delphi again incites the Lacedaemonians, as his own people and friends, against the Messenians; at another he gives oracles to the Messenians against the Lacedaemonians, if they in turn would appease the demons by human sacrifice. Hear about these things too:

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo encouraged both Spartans and Messenians against each other.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.26.6 (Dindorf 1:254; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-26-6). (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.

Preparation 5, chapter 27

5.27.1Dindorf 1:254–255

“Ἐπικρινεῖ δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἡ σοφία παροὖσα τῇ μαντικῇ, καὶ οὐκ ἐπιτρέψει αὐτῇ ὡς ἔτυχε διαλέγεσθαι, ἅτε δὴ τῶν πάντων ἀναψαμένη τὰ πείσματα καὶ ἐπιθεμένη τὰ πρεσβεῖα, οὐδʼ ἐφήσει ματαίῳ ὄντι τῷ Πυθίῳ χρᾶν οὔτε τούτοις οὔτε Λακεδαιμονίοις περὶ Μεσσηνίων καὶ τῆς γῆς, ἧς εἶχον Μεσσήνιοι ἀπάτῃ νικήσαντες Λακεδαιμονίους οὔ σε μάχης μόνον ἔργʼ ἐφέπειν χερὶ Φοῖβος ἄνωγεν, ἀλλʼ ἀπάτῃ μὲν ἔχει γαῖαν Μεσσηνίδα λαός· ταῖς δʼ αὐταῖς τέχναις τις ἁλώσεται αἷσπερ ὑπῆρξεν.

“Epikrinei de ta toiauta hē sophia parousa tę̄ mantikę̄, kai ouk epitrepsei autę̄ hōs etyche dialegesthai, hate dē tōn pantōn anapsamenē ta peismata kai epithemenē ta presbeia, oudʼ ephēsei mataiǭ onti tǭ Pythiǭ chran oute toutois oute Lakedaimoniois peri Messēniōn kai tēs gēs, hēs eichon Messēnioi apatę̄ nikēsantes Lakedaimonious ou se machēs monon ergʼ ephepein cheri Phoibos anōgen, allʼ apatę̄ men echei gaian Messēnida laos; tais dʼ autais technais tis halōsetai haisper hypērxen.

"Wisdom, when present with prophecy, will judge such things, and will not permit it to speak at random, since she has fastened the cables of all things to herself and holds the place of honor; nor will she let the Pythian, being vain, give oracles either to these or to the Lacedaemonians about the Messenians and the land which the Messenians held, having conquered the Lacedaemonians by deceit: 'Phoebus bids you not to pursue only the works of battle with your hand; but by deceit the people holds the Messenian land, and by the same arts by which it began it will be taken.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle to Sparta encouraged deceit against Messene.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.27.5. Compare Pausanias, Description of Greece 4.12.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; punctuation misread in digitization): λαός ’ ταῖς → λαός· ταῖς; παρ- οὖσα → παροὖσα.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation); Pausanias (Pausanias, Description of Greece; echo)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.1 (Dindorf 1:254–255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-1). (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.

5.27.2Dindorf 1:255

εἰρήνης μᾶλλον μεμνῆσθαι κελεύει καὶ ὀλιγοδείας καὶ αὐταρκείας. οἱ δέ που τοῖς Λυκούργου νόμοις κατακοσμούμενοι ἧκον ὑπὸ ἀπληστίας καὶ δόξης κενῆς ἐρησόμενοι, ὡς μὴ δοκοῖεν Μεσσηνίων μάχῃ λείπεσθαι, ἐν νόμοις καρτερικοῖς τεθράφθαι δοκοῦντες.

eirēnēs mallon memnēsthai keleuei kai oligodeias kai autarkeias. hoi de pou tois Lykourgou nomois katakosmoumenoi hēkon hypo aplēstias kai doxēs kenēs erēsomenoi, hōs mē dokoien Messēniōn machę̄ leipesthai, en nomois karterikois tethraphthai dokountes.

Wisdom bids them rather to remember peace, and frugality, and self-sufficiency. But they, adorned with the laws of Lycurgus, came to ask out of greed and vainglory, so as not to seem inferior to the Messenians in battle, though they were thought to have been reared under laws of endurance.

Notes and citation

Summary: Spartan greed contradicted Lycurgus's laws.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.2 (Dindorf 1:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-2). (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.

5.27.3Dindorf 1:255

εἰ δέ γε οἱ ἐν καρτερικοῖς ἦσαν νόμοις οὕτω τεθραμμένοι, ἐκαρτέρουν ἂν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀλίγοις, καὶ οὐδὲν ἂν μάχης αὐτοῖς ἔδει, οὐδὲ ὅπλων καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς ἀποπληξίας.

ei de ge hoi en karterikois ēsan nomois houtō tethrammenoi, ekarteroun an epi tois oligois, kai ouden an machēs autois edei, oude hoplōn kai tēs loipēs apoplēxias.

But if they had really been reared so under laws of endurance, they would have endured with little, and would have had no need of battle, or arms, or the rest of such folly.

Notes and citation

Summary: True endurance would have made war unnecessary.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing and accent misread in digitization): οἶ ἐν καρτερικοῖς ἤσαν → οἱ ἐν καρτερικοῖς ἦσαν.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.3 (Dindorf 1:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-3). (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.

5.27.4Dindorf 1:255

ταῦτα Λακεδαιμονίοις κατὰ Μεσσηνίων, πάλιν δʼ αὖ Μεσσηνίοις κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων ταῦτα· σὺ γὰρ καὶ Μεσσηνίοις κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων, οὐ μόνον Λακεδαιμονίοις κατὰ Μεσσηνίων χρησμῳδεῖς παρθένον Αἰπυτίδα κλῆρος καλεῖ, ἥντινα δοίης δαίμοσι νερτερίοις, καί κεν σώσειας Ἰθώμην.

tauta Lakedaimoniois kata Messēniōn, palin dʼ au Messēniois kata Lakedaimoniōn tauta; sy gar kai Messēniois kata Lakedaimoniōn, ou monon Lakedaimoniois kata Messēniōn chrēsmǭdeis parthenon Aipytida klēros kalei, hēntina doiēs daimosi nerteriois, kai ken sōseias Ithōmēn.

This was to the Lacedaemonians against the Messenians; and again, to the Messenians against the Lacedaemonians, this. For you prophesy to the Messenians against the Lacedaemonians too, not only to the Lacedaemonians against the Messenians: 'The lot calls a maiden of the line of Aepytus; give her to the demons below, and you would save Ithome.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo demanded human sacrifice from the Messenians.

  • Compare Pausanias, Description of Greece 4.9.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; punctuation misread in digitization): ταῦτα ’ σὺ → ταῦτα· σὺ; χρη- σμῳδεῖς → χρησμῳδεῖς.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation); Pausanias (Pausanias, Description of Greece; echo)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.4 (Dindorf 1:255; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-4). (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.

5.27.5Dindorf 1:255–256

τὰ γὰρ παρευρήματα οὐ δέχομαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν καθαρὸν ἐκ γένους Αἰπύτου τὸ ἱερεῖον, ὅθεν ἀτέλεστα Μεσσηνίοις εἶναι. τοιοῦτος γὰρ εἶ οἷος ταράττειν. ” Τὰ μὲν δὴ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἱστορίας τοιαῦτα. μυρία δʼ ἐστὶ καὶ καθʼ ἡμᾶς τούτοις συνιδεῖν ὅμοια, ἐκ παλαιοῦ χρόνου καὶ εἰς ἡμὰς αὐτοὺς τῶν κατὰ χρόνους ἀρχόντων τοτὲ μὲν εἰς ἀπράκτους πολέμους διὰ τῆς τῶν χρησμῶν συμβουλίας ὁρμώντων, τοτὲ δὲ σφαλλομένων ἐκ τῆς τῶν χρησθέντων ἀδηλίας, ἄλλοτε δὲ ἀποπλανωμένων ἐκ τῆς αὐτόθεν τῶν λογίων ἀπάτης.

ta gar pareurēmata ou dechomai, hoti ouk ēn katharon ek genous Aipytou to hiereion, hothen atelesta Messēniois einai. toioutos gar ei hoios tarattein. ” Ta men dē tēs palaias historias toiauta. myria dʼ esti kai kathʼ hēmas toutois synidein homoia, ek palaiou chronou kai eis hēmas autous tōn kata chronous archontōn tote men eis apraktous polemous dia tēs tōn chrēsmōn symboulias hormōntōn, tote de sphallomenōn ek tēs tōn chrēsthentōn adēlias, allote de apoplanōmenōn ek tēs autothen tōn logiōn apatēs.

For I do not accept the excuses, that the victim was not pure, of the line of Aepytus, and therefore the sacrifice was ineffective for the Messenians. For you are the sort to make confusion." Such are the things of ancient history. And countless things like these can be seen in our own times too, from ancient times down to ourselves, when the rulers of each age at one time rushed into fruitless wars on the counsel of the oracles, at another were tripped up by the obscurity of the responses, and at another were led astray by the outright deceit of the oracles.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oracles have misled rulers from ancient times to Eusebius's own.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): εἰ οἷος → εἶ οἷος; ἂλλοτε → ἄλλοτε; κα- θαρὸν → καθαρὸν.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.5 (Dindorf 1:255–256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-5). (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.

5.27.6Dindorf 1:256

τί δεῖ δὲ λέγειν, ὥς ποτε ἐν ταῖς μεγίσταις συμφοραῖς, ἤτοι τῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἐχθροὺς παρατάξεων, ἢ τῶν ἐν ταῖς σωματικαῖς ἀρρωστίαις κινδύνων, τῆς τῶν νενομισμένων θεῶν ἐπικουρίας ἢ θεραπείας οὐδὲν ὤναντο.

ti dei de legein, hōs pote en tais megistais symphorais, ētoi tōn pros tous echthrous parataxeōn, ē tōn en tais sōmatikais arrōstiais kindynōn, tēs tōn nenomismenōn theōn epikourias ē therapeias ouden ōnanto.

What need is there to say how at times, in the greatest calamities, whether in battles against enemies or in the dangers of bodily illness, they gained nothing from the help or service of the reputed gods?

Notes and citation

Summary: The gods gave no help in war or sickness.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.6 (Dindorf 1:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-6). (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.

5.27.7Dindorf 1:256

τοιαῦτα δὲ ἀεὶ καὶ διὰ παντὸς αὐτοῖς τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν χρησμῶν ἐκπίπτει, οἷα καὶ τὰ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἱστορίας συνίστησιν.

toiauta de aei kai dia pantos autois ta apo tōn chrēsmōn ekpiptei, hoia kai ta tēs palaias historias synistēsin.

And always and throughout, the results of the oracles turn out for them such as the ancient history also establishes.

Notes and citation

Summary: The oracles always fail as in ancient history.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accents misread in digitization): οἶα καὶ τὰ τῆς παλαιὰς → οἷα καὶ τὰ τῆς παλαιᾶς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.7 (Dindorf 1:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-7). (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.

5.27.8Dindorf 1:256

ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ τῶν μάλιστα παρὰ Ἕλλησι θρυλουμένων τοῦ Πυθίου χρησμῶν εἶς τις ἦν καὶ ὁ πρὸς Λυκοῦργον, ᾧ προσιόντι ἡ Πυθία ἐπεφώνησε τὸ βοώμενον ἐκεῖνο, ἥκεις, ὦ Λυκόεργε, ἐμόν ποτὶ πίονα νηὸν, Ζηνὶ φίλος καὶ πᾶσιν Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσι· δίζω ἤ σε θεὸν μαντεύσομαι, ἢ ἄνθρωπον· ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ μᾶλλον θεὸν ἔλπομαι· ὦ Λυκόεργε, ἥκεις εὐνομίην διζήμενος· αὐτὰρ ἐγώ τοι δώσω, καὶ τὰ τούτοις συνεπιλεγόμενα· φέρε καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίνα ποτὲ συνεῖδεν ὁ προδηλωθεὶς ἔλεγχος ἐποπτεύσωμεν. γράφει δὲ ὧδε

allʼ epei tōn malista para Hellēsi thryloumenōn tou Pythiou chrēsmōn eis tis ēn kai ho pros Lykourgon, hǭ prosionti hē Pythia epephōnēse to boōmenon ekeino, hēkeis, ō Lykoerge, emon poti piona nēon, Zēni philos kai pasin Olympia dōmatʼ echousi; dizō ē se theon manteusomai, ē anthrōpon; allʼ eti kai mallon theon elpomai; ō Lykoerge, hēkeis eunomiēn dizēmenos; autar egō toi dōsō, kai ta toutois synepilegomena; phere kai pros tauta tina pote syneiden ho prodēlōtheis elenchos epopteusōmen. graphei de hōde

But since among the Pythian's oracles most talked of among the Greeks one was that to Lycurgus, to whom, as he approached, the Pythia uttered that famous saying: 'You have come, Lycurgus, to my rich temple, dear to Zeus and to all who have Olympian homes. I doubt whether I shall declare you god or man; but still more I hope you are a god, Lycurgus. You have come seeking good order; and I will give it to you,' with what is said along with these, come, let us observe what the refutation already cited perceived in reply. He writes thus:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius introduces the oracle to Lycurgus and Oenomaus's critique.

  • The oracle: Herodotus, Histories 1.65.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; breathing and stray mark in digitization): Ἓλλησι → Ἕλλησι; Όλύμπια δώματʼ· ἔχουσι· → Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσι·; ὢ Λυκόεργε → ὦ Λυκόεργε; ὠ Λυκόεργε → ὦ Λυκόεργε.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 1.65 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.27.8 (Dindorf 1:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-27-8). (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.

Preparation 5, chapter 28

5.28.1Dindorf 1:256

“ Ἀλλὰ σὺ τὸν Τυρταῖον προκαθηγεμόνα καὶ σκοπὸν ἐλθόντα ποτὲ ὡς σὲ ἥκειν ἔφης ἔκ κοίλης Λακεδαίμονος Ζηνὶ φίλον καὶ πᾶσιν Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσι, δίζεσθαί τε εἰ θεὸν αὐτὸν μαντεύσῃ, ἢ ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλʼ ἔτι καὶ μᾶλλον θεὸν, ὅτι ἦλθεν εὐνομίην αἰτήσων.

“ Alla sy ton Tyrtaion prokathēgemona kai skopon elthonta pote hōs se hēkein ephēs ek koilēs Lakedaimonos Zēni philon kai pasin Olympia dōmatʼ echousi, dizesthai te ei theon auton manteusę̄, ē anthrōpon, allʼ eti kai mallon theon, hoti ēlthen eunomiēn aitēsōn.

"But you said that the forerunner and model of Tyrtaeus, when he once came to you, had come from hollow Lacedaemon, 'dear to Zeus and to all who have Olympian homes,' and that you doubted whether you would declare him god or man, 'but still more a god,' because he came to ask for good order.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus quotes Apollo's greeting to Lycurgus.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.32.x. Lycurgus is called the forerunner of Tyrtaeus, the Spartan poet.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.1 (Dindorf 1:256; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-1). (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.

5.28.2Dindorf 1:256–257

καὶ πῶς, εἰ θεὸς, οὐκ ἠπίστατο νόμον πολιτικὸν ὁ φίλος τοῦ Δῖός καὶ πάντων τῶν Ὀλυμπίων; ἀλλʼ ἐπεί τοι καὶ οὐ δίχα θεοῦ ἴσως τὰ τοιαῦτα εὑρίσκεται, ἃ δέδεικται τῷ θειοτάτῳ ἀνθρώπων ὑπὸ τῆς θεοῦ φωνῆς, φέρε ἴδωμεν τὴν θείαν φωνὴν, καὶ ἃ ἐδίδαξας τὸν Λυκοῦργον ἥκεις εὐνομίην διζήμενος, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ τοι δώσω.

kai pōs, ei theos, ouk ēpistato nomon politikon ho philos tou Dios kai pantōn tōn Olympiōn? allʼ epei toi kai ou dicha theou isōs ta toiauta heurisketai, ha dedeiktai tǭ theiotatǭ anthrōpōn hypo tēs theou phōnēs, phere idōmen tēn theian phōnēn, kai ha edidaxas ton Lykourgon hēkeis eunomiēn dizēmenos, autar egō toi dōsō.

And how, if he was a god, did the friend of Zeus and of all the Olympians not know civic law? But since perhaps such things are not found without a god, things shown to the most godlike of men by the voice of the god, come, let us look at the divine voice and what you taught Lycurgus: 'You have come seeking good order; and I will give it to you.'

Notes and citation

Summary: If Lycurgus was a god, why did he need laws from Apollo?

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.2 (Dindorf 1:256–257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-2). (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.

5.28.3Dindorf 1:257

δὸς, εἴποιμι ἂν ἐγώ· οὐδεμίαν γάρ πω δόσιν οὐδενὶ ἐπηγγείλω τοιαύτην. ὡς ἂν μαντείῃσιν ὑποσχέσιάς τε καὶ ὅρκους, καὶ δίκας ἀλλήλοισι καὶ ἀλλοδαποῖσι διδῶτε, ἁγνῶς καὶ καθαρῶς πρεσβηγενέας τιμῶντες, Τυνδαρίδας δʼ ἐποπιζόμενοι, Μενέλαν τε καὶ ἄλλους ἀθανάτους ἥρωας, οἳ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι δίῃ, οὕτω δή χʼ ὑμῶν περιφείδοιτʼ εὐρύοπα Ζεύς.

dos, eipoimi an egō; oudemian gar pō dosin oudeni epēngeilō toiautēn. hōs an manteię̄sin hyposchesias te kai horkous, kai dikas allēloisi kai allodapoisi didōte, hagnōs kai katharōs presbēgeneas timōntes, Tyndaridas dʼ epopizomenoi, Menelan te kai allous athanatous hērōas, hoi en Lakedaimoni dię̄, houtō dē chʼ hymōn peripheidoitʼ euryopa Zeus.

Give it, I would say; for you never yet promised such a gift to anyone. 'If you give to the oracles promises and oaths, and justice to one another and to strangers, honoring the elders purely and cleanly, and revering the Tyndaridae, and Menelaus, and the other immortal heroes who are in divine Lacedaemon, so will far-seeing Zeus spare you.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's 'gift' of law was commonplace advice.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.3 (Dindorf 1:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-3). (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.

5.28.4Dindorf 1:257

Ἄπολλον, διδασκαλίας καὶ παρεγγυήσεως θείας· καὶ οὐ μακρὸς ἕνεκα τούτων ὁ στόλος, οὐδὲ ὅπως εἰς Δελφοὺς ἐκ Πελοποννήσου, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ εἰς Ὑπερβορέους αὐτοὺς, ὅθεν ἀφῖχθαι λέγουσι κατὰ χρησμὸν Ἁστερίας ἄλλης μάντεως οἰκητὰς Δήλοιο θυώδεος ἠδʼ ἱερῆας.

Apollon, didaskalias kai parengyēseōs theias; kai ou makros heneka toutōn ho stolos, oude hopōs eis Delphous ek Peloponnēsou, allʼ oudʼ eis Hyperboreous autous, hothen aphichthai legousi kata chrēsmon Hasterias allēs manteōs oikētas Dēloio thyōdeos ēdʼ hierēas.

Apollo, what divine teaching and exhortation! And for this no long voyage is needed, not even from the Peloponnese to Delphi, let alone to the Hyperboreans themselves, whence, they say, according to the oracle of Asteria, another prophetess, there came 'the settlers and priests of fragrant Delos.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Such advice needed no journey to an oracle.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.4 (Dindorf 1:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-4). (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.

5.28.5Dindorf 1:257

δοκεῖ δέ μοι ὁ Λυκοῦργος οὗτος οὐκ ἐσχηκέναι τιτθὴν, οὐδὲ σύνθωκος πρεσβυτέρων οὐδέποτε κεκαθικέναι, παρʼ ὧν καὶ παρʼ ἧς εἶχε καλλίω τούτων ἀκοῦσαι καὶ σοφώτερα.

dokei de moi ho Lykourgos houtos ouk eschēkenai titthēn, oude synthōkos presbyterōn oudepote kekathikenai, parʼ hōn kai parʼ hēs eiche kalliō toutōn akousai kai sophōtera.

This Lycurgus, it seems to me, never had a nurse, nor ever sat among a council of elders, from whom, and from her, he could have heard better and wiser things than these.

Notes and citation

Summary: A nurse or elders could have taught Lycurgus as much.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.5 (Dindorf 1:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-5). (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.

5.28.6Dindorf 1:257

τάχα δέ πού τι προσθήσεις, ἐάν σε λιπαρῇ ὁ Λυκοῦργος εἰπεῖν τι σαφές. εἰ οἱ μὲν εὖ ἡγοῖντο, οἱ δʼ ἕποιντο, οὐκέτι φήσω τοῦ αὐτοῦ εἶναι συνθώκου τοῦτο, καὶ ἀξιώσω τὸν Λυκοῦργον μὴ ἀποκαμεῖν εἴ τι δύναιτο πολιτικὸν παρὰ σοῦ δίδαγμα ἀναλαβὼν ἀπιέναι εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην.

tacha de pou ti prosthēseis, ean se liparę̄ ho Lykourgos eipein ti saphes. ei hoi men eu hēgointo, hoi dʼ hepointo, ouketi phēsō tou autou einai synthōkou touto, kai axiōsō ton Lykourgon mē apokamein ei ti dynaito politikon para sou didagma analabōn apienai eis tēn Spartēn.

Perhaps you will add something, if Lycurgus begs you to say something clear: 'if some lead well and others follow.' I shall no longer say that this belongs to the same council, and I shall ask Lycurgus not to grow weary, in case he could go away to Sparta having received from you some political lesson.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's further advice is still trivial.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (digitization slip): Λυκοπυργον → Λυκοῦργον.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.6 (Dindorf 1:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-6). (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.

5.28.7Dindorf 1:257

εἰσὶν ὁδοὶ δύο πλεῖστον ἀπʼ ἀλλήλων ἀπέχουσαι, ἡ μὲν ἐλευθερίας εἰς τίμιον οἶκον ἄγουσα, ἡ δʼ ἐπὶ δουλείας φυκτὸν δόμον ἡμερίοισι ’ καὶ τὴν μὲν διά τʼ ἀνδροσύνης ἱερῆς θʼ ὁμονοίας ἔστι περᾶν, ἣν δὴ λαοῖς ἡγεῖσθε κέλευθον, τὴν δὲ διὰ στυγερῆς ἴριδος καὶ ἀνάλκιδος ἄτης εἰσαφικάνουσι..., τὴν δὲ πεφυλάχθαι.

eisin hodoi dyo pleiston apʼ allēlōn apechousai, hē men eleutherias eis timion oikon agousa, hē dʼ epi douleias phykton domon hēmerioisi ’ kai tēn men dia tʼ androsynēs hierēs thʼ homonoias esti peran, hēn dē laois hēgeisthe keleuthon, tēn de dia stygerēs iridos kai analkidos atēs eisaphikanousi..., tēn de pephylachthai.

'There are two roads, very far apart from each other, the one leading to the honored house of freedom, the other to the house of slavery, to be shunned by mortals. The one may be traveled through manliness and holy concord; and this is the path you must lead the peoples on. The other they reach through hateful strife and feeble ruin ... and that one you must guard against.'

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle of the two roads.

  • The gap (...) is in the printed text.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.7 (Dindorf 1:257; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-7). (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.

5.28.8Dindorf 1:257–258

μάλιστα ἀνδρείους εἶναι κελεύεις· τοῦτο μὲν καὶ παρὰ τῶν δειλῶν πολλάκις ἠκούσαμεν ’ ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁμόφρονας ’ τοῦτο οὐ παρὰ τῶν σοφῶν μόνων, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ παρʼ αὐτῶν τῶν στασιαζόντων. ὥστε τούτου μὲν τοῦ παρεγγυήματος ἀφίεμέν σε.

malista andreious einai keleueis; touto men kai para tōn deilōn pollakis ēkousamen ’ alla kai homophronas ’ touto ou para tōn sophōn monōn, allʼ ēdē kai parʼ autōn tōn stasiazontōn. hōste toutou men tou parengyēmatos aphiemen se.

You bid them above all to be brave: this we have often heard even from cowards. And of one mind: this not from the wise only, but even from the very men who stir up faction. So we excuse you from this exhortation.

Notes and citation

Summary: Exhortations to courage and concord are commonplace.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (letter misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): ιούτου → τούτου; στασιαξόντων → στασιαζόντων; κε- λεύεις → κελεύεις.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.8 (Dindorf 1:257–258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-8). (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.

5.28.9Dindorf 1:258

καίτοι μάντις ὢν οὐκ ἔγνως ἡμᾶς πολλάκις καὶ παρὰ πολλῶν εἰληφότας αὐτὸ, οὔτε τῆς δάφνης ἐμφαγόντων οὔτε τὸ Κασταλίας ὕδωρ πιόντων, οὐδʼ ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ τὴν ὀφρύν ποτε ἀνασπασάντων;

kaitoi mantis ōn ouk egnōs hēmas pollakis kai para pollōn eilēphotas auto, oute tēs daphnēs emphagontōn oute to Kastalias hydōr piontōn, oudʼ epi sophią tēn ophryn pote anaspasantōn?

And yet, being a prophet, did you not know that we have often received this, and from many people, who neither chewed the laurel nor drank the water of Castalia nor ever raised their brows over wisdom?

Notes and citation

Summary: Such advice is had from ordinary people.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.9 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-9). (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.

5.28.10Dindorf 1:258

λέγʼ οὖν περὶ ἀνδρείας, λέγε περὶ ἐλευθερίας, λέγε περὶ ὁμοφροσύνης, τίνα τρόπον ἐγγίνεται ταῦτα πόλει, καὶ μὴ ἡμᾶς τοὺς οὐκ εἰδότας κέλευε ἡγεῖσθαι τοῖς λαοῖς τῆς κελεύθου ταύτης, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς ἡγοῦ. καλὴ μὲν γὰρ, ἀλλʼ ἄπορος ἡμῖν καὶ φοβερά. ” Τούτοις προστίθησι λέγων

legʼ oun peri andreias, lege peri eleutherias, lege peri homophrosynēs, tina tropon enginetai tauta polei, kai mē hēmas tous ouk eidotas keleue hēgeisthai tois laois tēs keleuthou tautēs, allʼ autos hēgou. kalē men gar, allʼ aporos hēmin kai phobera. ” Toutois prostithēsi legōn

Speak, then, about courage; speak about freedom; speak about concord, how these arise in a city; and do not bid us, who do not know, to lead the peoples on this path, but lead it yourself. For it is noble, but impassable and fearful for us." To these he adds, saying:

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus asks Apollo to teach how virtues arise in a city.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.28.10 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-28-10). (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 5, chapter 29

5.29.1Dindorf 1:258

Σὺ δὲ καὶ περὶ γάμου ἕτοιμος λέγειν Ἄργεος ἱπποβότου πῶλον λάβε κυανοχαίτου.

Sy de kai peri gamou hetoimos legein Argeos hippobotou pōlon labe kyanochaitou.

"And you are ready to speak about marriage too: 'Take a foal of horse-pasturing Argos, of a dark-maned sire.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's riddling oracle about marriage.

  • Oenomaus, continued.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Topics: Marriage

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.1 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-1). (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.

5.29.2Dindorf 1:258

περὶ δὲ παίδων Ἠετίων, οὔ τίς σε τίει πολύτιτον ἐόντα· λάβδα κύει, τέξει δʼ ὀλοοίτροχον.

peri de paidōn Ēetiōn, ou tis se tiei polytiton eonta; labda kyei, texei dʼ olooitrochon.

And about children: 'Eetion, no one honors you, though you are worthy of much honor; Labda is with child, and will bear a rolling stone.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle about Eetion's son.

  • The oracle: Herodotus, Histories 5.92.

Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 5.92 (Herodotus, Histories; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.2 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-2). (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.

5.29.3Dindorf 1:258

περὶ δὲ ἀποικίας στέλλʼ ἐπὶ χρυσείους ἄνδρας πολυεθνέα λαὸν, ὤμοις μὲν χαλκὸν προφέρων, χερσὶν δὲ σίδηρον.

peri de apoikias stellʼ epi chryseious andras polyethnea laon, ōmois men chalkon propherōn, chersin de sidēron.

And about a colony: 'Send against men of gold a people of many nations, bearing bronze on the shoulders and iron in the hands.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle about a colony.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.3 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-3). (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.

5.29.4Dindorf 1:258

περὶ δὲ κενῆς δόξης γαίης μὲν πάσης τὸ Πελασγικὸν οὖδας ἄμεινον· ἵπποι Θρηίκιαι, Λακεδαιμόνιαι δὲ γυναῖκες, ἄνδρες θʼ οἳ πίνουσιν ὕδωρ καλῆς Ἀρεθούσης.

peri de kenēs doxēs gaiēs men pasēs to Pelasgikon oudas ameinon; hippoi Thrēikiai, Lakedaimoniai de gynaikes, andres thʼ hoi pinousin hydōr kalēs Arethousēs.

And about vainglory: 'Of all the earth the Pelasgian ground is best; Thracian mares, Lacedaemonian women, and men who drink the water of fair Arethusa.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle flattering vanity.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.4 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-4). (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.

5.29.5Dindorf 1:258

καί μοι δοκεῖς οὐδὲν τῶν τερατοσκόπων καλουμένων κρείττων εἶναι, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγυρτῶν καὶ σοφιστῶν. ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν οὐδὲν ἔγωγε ἐθαύμασα, εἰ μισθοῦ τραχηλίζουσι, σοῦ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, εἰ μισθοῦ τραχηλίζονται.

kai moi dokeis ouden tōn teratoskopōn kaloumenōn kreittōn einai, allʼ oude tōn allōn agyrtōn kai sophistōn. alla tōn men ouden egōge ethaumasa, ei misthou trachēlizousi, sou de tou theou kai tōn anthrōpōn, ei misthou trachēlizontai.

And you seem to me no better than the so-called portent-watchers, nor than the other mendicants and sophists. But at them I have never wondered, if they throw men headlong for pay; but at you, the god, and at men, if they are thrown headlong for pay.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo is no better than paid charlatans.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; letter lost in digitization): τόν τερατοσκόπων → τῶν τερατοσκόπων; ἐθαύμασ, → ἐθαύμασα,.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.5 (Dindorf 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-5). (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.

5.29.6Dindorf 1:258–259

εἶθʼ ὁ μὲν Σωκράτης ἐκεῖνος οὐδέτερον ἀπεκρίνατο πρὸς τὸν ἐρωτήσαντα πότερον γαμήσει ἢ μὴ, ἀλλʼ ὅτι μετανοήσει ἀμφότερα· πρὸς δὲ τὸν ἐπιθυμοῦντα παίδων οὐκ εὖ ἔφη αὐτὸν ποιήσειν, ὃς ἐάσας ἐπιχειρεῖν ὅπως, εἴ οἱ παῖδες γένοιντο, ἄριστα αὐτοῖς χρῷτο, τούτου μὲν οὐδένα λόγον ἐποιήσατο, αὐτὸ δὲ μόνον ἐσκοπεῖτο, πῶς ἂν αὐτῷ γένοιντο.

eithʼ ho men Sōkratēs ekeinos oudeteron apekrinato pros ton erōtēsanta poteron gamēsei ē mē, allʼ hoti metanoēsei amphotera; pros de ton epithymounta paidōn ouk eu ephē auton poiēsein, hos easas epicheirein hopōs, ei hoi paides genointo, arista autois chrǭto, toutou men oudena logon epoiēsato, auto de monon eskopeito, pōs an autǭ genointo.

Then that Socrates answered neither way to the man who asked whether he should marry or not, but said that he would regret both; and to the man who desired children he said that he would not do well if, neglecting to try how, should he have children, he might best treat them, he gave no thought to this, but considered only how he might get them.

Notes and citation

Summary: Socrates gave wiser answers on marriage and children.

  • The saying on marriage is also in Diogenes Laertius, Lives 2.33.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): με- τανοήσει → μετανοήσει.

Topics: Marriage

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.6 (Dindorf 1:258–259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-6). (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.

5.29.7Dindorf 1:259

ἑτέρου δὲ ἀποδημεῖν ἐγνωκότος διὰ τὸ κακῶς ἔχειν αὐτὸν οἴκοι οὐκ ἔφη ὀρθῶς αὐτὸν βουλεύεσθαι· τὴν μὲν γὰρ πατρίδα αὐτόθι ἀπολιπὼν ἄπεισι, τὴν δὲ ἀμαθίαν μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ ἄγων, ἥτις αὐτὸν καὶ τοῖς ἐκεῖ δυσαρεστεῖν ποιήσει καθάπερ καὶ τοῖς ἐνθάδε. καὶ οὐχ ὁπότε ἠρωτᾶτο μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτόκλητος ἐπὶ τὰς τοιάσδε συνουσίας ἰών·

heterou de apodēmein egnōkotos dia to kakōs echein auton oikoi ouk ephē orthōs auton bouleuesthai; tēn men gar patrida autothi apolipōn apeisi, tēn de amathian methʼ heautou agōn, hētis auton kai tois ekei dysarestein poiēsei kathaper kai tois enthade. kai ouch hopote ērōtato monon, alla kai autoklētos epi tas toiasde synousias iōn;

And when another had decided to go abroad because things were bad for him at home, he said that he was not deciding rightly; for he would go away leaving his country there, but taking with him his ignorance, which would make him displeasing to people there as to people here. And he went to such conversations not only when he was asked, but also uninvited.

Notes and citation

Summary: Socrates' advice to a man wanting to emigrate.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; punctuation misread in digitization): βουλεύεσθαι ’ τὴν → βουλεύεσθαι· τὴν; ἀπο- δημεῖν → ἀποδημεῖν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.29.7 (Dindorf 1:259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-29-7). (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 5, chapter 30

5.30.1Dindorf 1:259

εἴκοσι τὰς πρὸ κυνὸς καὶ εἴκοσι τὰς μετέπειτα οἴκῳ ἐνὶ σκιερῷ Διονύσῳ χρῆσθαι ἰητρῷ. Ἀθηναίοις ὑπὸ καύματος ἐνοχλουμένοις ἰατρικὸν, ἀλλʼ οὐ μαντικὸν.

eikosi tas pro kynos kai eikosi tas metepeita oikǭ eni skierǭ Dionysǭ chrēsthai iētrǭ. Athēnaiois hypo kaumatos enochloumenois iatrikon, allʼ ou mantikon.

'For twenty days before the Dog-star and twenty after, use Dionysus as physician in a shady house.' To the Athenians troubled by the heat: medical advice, not prophecy.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle on the heat was mere medical advice.

  • Oenomaus, continued.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.30.1 (Dindorf 1:259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-30-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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5.30.2Dindorf 1:259

Ἐργῖνε Κλυμένοιο πάι Πρεσβωνιάδας, ὄψʼ ἦλθες γενεὴν διζήμενος· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἔμπης ἱστοβοῆι γέροντι νέαν ποτίβαλλε κορώνην. γέροντι νέαν συνοικεῖν, εἰ παίδων ἐπιθυμεῖ, οὐ μάντεως οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ φύσιν ἐπισταμένου. ἀλλʼ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τοὺς βλᾶκας ἐξίστησι. ”

Ergine Klymenoio pai Presbōniadas, opsʼ ēlthes geneēn dizēmenos; alla kai empēs histoboēi geronti nean potiballe korōnēn. geronti nean synoikein, ei paidōn epithymei, ou manteōs oude touto, alla physin epistamenou. allʼ hē epithymia tous blakas existēsi. ”

'Erginus, son of Clymenus, of Presbon's line, you have come late seeking offspring; but even so, fit a new tip to the old plough-pole.' That a young woman should live with an old man if he wants children: this too is not of a prophet, but of one who knows nature. But desire drives the dullards out of their wits."

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle to Erginus was common sense.

  • Compare Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.37. "New tip": the Greek κορώνη is the curved tip of the plough-pole; the image is of a young wife.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): μάν- τεως → μάντεως.

Extrabiblical texts: Pausanias (Pausanias, Description of Greece; echo)

Topics: Marriage

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.30.2 (Dindorf 1:259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-30-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 5, chapter 31

5.31.1Dindorf 1:259–260

Διόπερ σοι καὶ νάρθηκα παραινῶ ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς λαμβάνειν, εἰ μὴ πείθοις μανθάνειν ἀντὶ τῶν καταπτύστων ἐρωτημάτων ἄξιόν τι τοῦ θείου φοιτητηρίου· ἢ Ἀντιόχῳ τῷ Παρίῳ ἀποβαλόντι τὴν οὐσίαν ἐν πολιτικῇ φλυαρίᾳ καὶ ὑπὸ λύπης ἥκοντι πρὸς σὲ λέγειν Ἀντίοχʼ, εἰς Θάσον ἐλθὲ, καὶ οἴκει εὐκλέα νῆσον· ὃς ἐκείνως ἂν μᾶλλον ὤνατο ἀκούσας, Ἀντίοχʼ, εἰς νοῦν ἐλθὲ, καὶ ἐν πενίᾳ μὴ ὀδύρου.

Dioper soi kai narthēka parainō epʼ autous lambanein, ei mē peithois manthanein anti tōn kataptystōn erōtēmatōn axion ti tou theiou phoitētēriou; ē Antiochǭ tǭ Pariǭ apobalonti tēn ousian en politikę̄ phlyarią kai hypo lypēs hēkonti pros se legein Antiochʼ, eis Thason elthe, kai oikei euklea nēson; hos ekeinōs an mallon ōnato akousas, Antiochʼ, eis noun elthe, kai en penią mē odyrou.

"Therefore I advise you to take a rod to them, if you cannot persuade them to learn, instead of their contemptible questions, something worthy of a god's school; rather than to say to Antiochus of Paros, when he had lost his property in political nonsense and came to you in grief: 'Antiochus, go to Thasos and dwell in the famous island.' He would have profited more by hearing: 'Antiochus, come to your senses, and do not lament in poverty.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo should have given moral counsel instead of trivial oracles.

  • Oenomaus, continued. The printed text names Antiochus of Paros; the oracle is elsewhere told of Archilochus of Paros, whose father Telesicles led the colony to Thasos.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; iota subscript lost in digitization): εἴ μὴ → εἰ μὴ; Παρίω → Παρίῳ.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.31.1 (Dindorf 1:259–260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-31-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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5.31.2Dindorf 1:260

ἢ τοῖς ἥκουσι Κρητῶν Φαιστοῦ καὶ Τάρρας ναέται, Δίου τε πολύρρου, Πυθῷον κέλομαι τελέειν Φοίβοιο καθαρμὸν εὐαγέοντας, ὅπως Κρήτην καταναιετάητε, ὄλβον μὴ πατρίοισι νόμοις, καὶ Ζῆνα σέβοντες.

ē tois hēkousi Krētōn Phaistou kai Tarras naetai, Diou te polyrrou, Pythǭon kelomai teleein Phoiboio katharmon euageontas, hopōs Krētēn katanaietaēte, olbon mē patrioisi nomois, kai Zēna sebontes.

Or to the Cretans who came: 'Dwellers of Phaestus and Tarrha and of Dium rich in streams, I bid you perform the Pythian purification of Phoebus, being pure, so that you may dwell in Crete, revering prosperity and Zeus by laws not those of your fathers.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle on purification to the Cretans.

  • The last line of the oracle is obscure in the printed text.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent lost in digitization): Πυθωον → Πυθῷον.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.31.2 (Dindorf 1:260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-31-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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5.31.3Dindorf 1:260

οἷς ἀκοῦσαι ἐκεῖνο κρεῖττον ἦν λήρου καὶ μανίας ναέται, πολλοῦ θʼ ἅμα τύφου οἰκεῖον τελέειν κέλομαι λήροιο καθαρμὸν εὐαγέοντας, ὅπως σοφίαν καταναιετάητε, ὄλβον μὴ πατρίοισι νόμοις, θείοις δὲ σέβοντες. ὡς μὴ μᾶλλον τῆς Κρήτης σὺ καθαρμοῦ προσδέῃ, Ὀρφικούς τινας ἢ Ἐπιμενιδείους καθαρμοὺς φανταζόμενος.

hois akousai ekeino kreitton ēn lērou kai manias naetai, pollou thʼ hama typhou oikeion teleein kelomai lēroio katharmon euageontas, hopōs sophian katanaietaēte, olbon mē patrioisi nomois, theiois de sebontes. hōs mē mallon tēs Krētēs sy katharmou prosdeę̄, Orphikous tinas ē Epimenideious katharmous phantazomenos.

For them it would have been better to hear this: 'Dwellers of nonsense and madness, and much conceit as well, I bid you perform your own purification from nonsense, being pure, so that you may dwell in wisdom, revering prosperity by laws not those of your fathers but divine'; so that you yourself may not need purification more than Crete does, imagining some Orphic or Epimenidean purifications.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus rewrites the oracle into moral advice.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): οἶς ἀκοῦσαι → οἷς ἀκοῦσαι; φαντα- ζόμενος → φανταζόμενος.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.31.3 (Dindorf 1:260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-31-3). (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 5, chapter 32

5.32.1Dindorf 1:260

Διὰ τί δὲ, ὦ σοφώτατε, Χαρίλαος καὶ Ἀρχέλαος οἱ Λακεδαιμονίων βασιλεῖς, εἴ κεν ἐπικτήτου μοίρης λάχος Ἀπόλλωνι ἥμισυ δάσσωνται, πολὺ λώιον ἔσσεται αὐτοῖς, ποίῳ δὲ καὶ ἄλλῳ λέγεις Ἀπόλλωνι; οὐ γὰρ δὴ αὐτῷ σοι, ὦ ἀναίσχυντε μάντι, ὡς μή τίς σοι αὐτῷ ἐπιπλήξειεν, ἅτε κακῶς οὕτω συνδιαιρουμένῳ τοῖς λῃσταῖς.”

Dia ti de, ō sophōtate, Charilaos kai Archelaos hoi Lakedaimoniōn basileis, ei ken epiktētou moirēs lachos Apollōni hēmisy dassōntai, poly lōion essetai autois, poiǭ de kai allǭ legeis Apollōni? ou gar dē autǭ soi, ō anaischynte manti, hōs mē tis soi autǭ epiplēxeien, hate kakōs houtō syndiairoumenǭ tois lę̄stais.”

"And why, most wise one, did you say: 'Charilaus and Archelaus, kings of the Lacedaemonians, if they share half the portion of what they acquire with Apollo, it will be much better for them'? And to what other Apollo do you mean? For surely not to yourself, shameless seer, so that no one might rebuke you yourself for sharing so wickedly with robbers."

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo demanded a share of the Spartan kings' plunder.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; digitization slip for ὦ; line-break hyphen rejoined): (6 σοφώτατε → ὦ σοφώτατε; οἶ Λακεδαιμονίων → οἱ Λακεδαιμονίων; λῃ- σταῖς → λῃσταῖς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.32.1 (Dindorf 1:260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-32-1). (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.

5.32.2Dindorf 1:260–261

Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὧδε ἐχέτω. φέρε δὲ τούτοις προσθῶμεν καὶ διʼ ὧν αὖθις ὁ Ἀπόλλων θαυμάζει τὸν Ἀρχίλοχον, ἄνδρα παντοίαις κατὰ γυναικῶν αἰσχρορρημοσύναις καὶ ἀρρητολογίαις, ἃς οὐδʼ ἀκοῦσαί τις σώφρων ἀνὴρ ὑπομείνειεν ἂν, ἐν τοῖς οἰκείοις ποιήμασι κεχρημένον· καὶ τὸν Εὐριπίδην τῆς μὲν Σωκράτους διατριβῆς καὶ φιλοσοφίας ἐκπεσόντα, εἰσέτι δὲ καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ τῆς θυμέλης τραγῳδούμενον· καὶ Ὅμηρον ἐπὶ τούτοις, ὃν ὁ γενναῖος Πλάτων ἐξωθεῖ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πολιτείας ὡς κατʼ οὐδὲν ὠφέλιμον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τοὺς νέους λυμαινομένων λόγων ποιητὴν γεγενημένον. ἐφʼ οἷς πάλιν ὁ προδηλωθεὶς τὸν χρησμῳδὸν θεὸν ὧδέ πως σκώπτει

Tauta men oun hōde echetō. phere de toutois prosthōmen kai diʼ hōn authis ho Apollōn thaumazei ton Archilochon, andra pantoiais kata gynaikōn aischrorrēmosynais kai arrētologiais, has oudʼ akousai tis sōphrōn anēr hypomeineien an, en tois oikeiois poiēmasi kechrēmenon; kai ton Euripidēn tēs men Sōkratous diatribēs kai philosophias ekpesonta, eiseti de kai nyn epi tēs thymelēs tragǭdoumenon; kai Homēron epi toutois, hon ho gennaios Platōn exōthei tēs heautou politeias hōs katʼ ouden ōphelimon, alla kai ta eschata tous neous lymainomenōn logōn poiētēn gegenēmenon. ephʼ hois palin ho prodēlōtheis ton chrēsmǭdon theon hōde pōs skōptei

So let these things stand thus. But come, let us add to them the oracles in which Apollo in turn admires Archilochus, a man who in his own poems used every kind of obscenity and unspeakable language against women, which no self-controlled man would endure even to hear; and Euripides, who fell away from the school and philosophy of Socrates and is even now still played in tragedy on the stage; and Homer besides, whom the noble Plato expels from his own republic as in no way useful, but as the author of words that corrupt the young in the extreme. On these the writer already cited again mocks the oracle-giving god somewhat as follows:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius introduces Oenomaus on Apollo's praise of the poets.

  • Plato expels Homer and the poets from his republic: Republic 398a, 607a.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; breathing misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined; punctuation misread in digitization; stray mark in digitization): οὑν ὧδε → οὖν ὧδε; κεχρημένον ’ καὶ → κεχρημένον· καὶ; καὶ Ὃμηρον → καὶ Ὅμηρον; Πλάτωνʼ ἐξωθεῖ → Πλάτων ἐξωθεῖ; αἰ- σχρορρημοσύναις → αἰσχρορρημοσύναις.

Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 398a (Plato (works); allusion)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.32.2 (Dindorf 1:260–261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-32-2). (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.

Preparation 5, chapter 33

5.33.1Dindorf 1:261

“ Ἀθάνατός σοι παῖς καὶ ἀοίδιμος, ὦ Τελεσίκλεις, ἔσσετʼ ἐν ἀνθρώποις. ὁ δὲ παῖς ἦν Ἀρχίλοχος.

“ Athanatos soi pais kai aoidimos, ō Telesikleis, essetʼ en anthrōpois. ho de pais ēn Archilochos.

"'Immortal and famed in song will your son be among men, O Telesicles.' And the son was Archilochus.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle promising fame to Archilochus.

  • Oenomaus, quoted through 5.36.4.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing and accent misread in digitization): “ ’Αθάνατός σοι παῖς καὶ ἀοίδιμος, ὢ Τελεσίκλεις → “ Ἀθάνατός σοι παῖς καὶ ἀοίδιμος, ὦ Τελεσίκλεις.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.1 (Dindorf 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-1). (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.

5.33.2Dindorf 1:261

ἔσται σοι κοῦρος, Μνησαρχίδῃ, ὅντινα πάντες ἄνθρωποι τίσουσι, καὶ ἐς κλέος ἐσθλὸν ὀρούσει, καὶ στεφέων ἱερῶν γλυκερὴν χάριν ἀμφιβαλεῖται.

estai soi kouros, Mnēsarchidę̄, hontina pantes anthrōpoi tisousi, kai es kleos esthlon orousei, kai stepheōn hierōn glykerēn charin amphibaleitai.

'You will have a boy, son of Mnesarchus, whom all men will honor, and he will rush to noble fame, and will put on the sweet grace of sacred crowns.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle promising fame to Euripides.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.2 (Dindorf 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-2). (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.

5.33.3Dindorf 1:261

ὁ δὲ κοῦρος ἦν Εὐριπίδης. Ὅμηρος δὲ σοὶ ζωὴ δοιὰς μοίρας λάχεν, ἡ μὲν ἀμαυρῶν ἠελίων δισσῶν, ἡ δʼ ἀθανάτοις ἰσόμοιρος, ζῶν καὶ ἀποφθίμενος. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἤκουεν ὄλβιε καὶ δύσδαιμον, ἔφυς γὰρ ἐπʼ ἀμφοτέροισι.

ho de kouros ēn Euripidēs. Homēros de soi zōē doias moiras lachen, hē men amaurōn ēeliōn dissōn, hē dʼ athanatois isomoiros, zōn kai apophthimenos. kai dia tauta ēkouen olbie kai dysdaimon, ephys gar epʼ amphoteroisi.

And the boy was Euripides. And to Homer: 'Your life has received two portions, the one of two darkened suns, the other equal to the immortals, living and dead.' And for this he heard: 'Blessed and ill-starred, for you were born to both.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle about Homer's double fate.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.3 (Dindorf 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-3). (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.

5.33.4Dindorf 1:261

λέγει δὲ οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλά τις διατεινάμενός ποτε, ὅτι αὐτὸν οὐ χρὴ ἀνθρώπων θεὸν ὄντα δυηπαθέων ἀλεγίζειν. ἄγε οὖν, ὦ θεὲ, μὴ περιίδῃς μηδʼ ἡμᾶς. ἐπιθυμοῦμεν γὰρ, εἰ μή τι ἀδικοῦμεν, οἱ μὲν κλέους ἐσθλοῦ, οἱ δὲ στεφάνων ἱερῶν, οἱ δὲ πρὸς θεοὺς ἰσομοιρίας, οἱ δὲ αὐτῆς ἀθανασίας.

legei de ouk anthrōpos, alla tis diateinamenos pote, hoti auton ou chrē anthrōpōn theon onta dyēpatheōn alegizein. age oun, ō thee, mē periidę̄s mēdʼ hēmas. epithymoumen gar, ei mē ti adikoumen, hoi men kleous esthlou, hoi de stephanōn hierōn, hoi de pros theous isomoirias, hoi de autēs athanasias.

And it is not a man who says, but one who once insisted, that he, being a god, ought not to care for wretched men. Come then, O god, do not neglect us either. For we desire, if we do no wrong, some of us noble fame, some sacred crowns, some an equal portion with the gods, and some immortality itself.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus asks the god to grant others what he promised the poets.

  • The allusion is to Apollo's words in Homer that a god should not fight for wretched mortals (Iliad 21.462–466).

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; breathing and accent misread in digitization; breathing misread in digitization): οἶ μὲν Κλεοῦς → οἱ μὲν κλέους; οἷ δὲ στεφάνων → οἱ δὲ στεφάνων; οἶ δὲ αὐτῆς → οἱ δὲ αὐτῆς.

Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 21.462–466 (Homer, Iliad; allusion); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.4 (Dindorf 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-4). (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.

5.33.5Dindorf 1:261

τί ποτʼ οὖν ἦν τοῦτο διʼ ὅ σοι Ἀρχίλοχος ἔδοξεν ἄξιος εἶναι τοῦ οὐρανοῦ; μὴ φθονήσῃς, ὦ φιλανθρωπότατε θεῶν, μηδʼ ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις τῆς ἄνω ὁδοῦ. τί πράττειν κελεύεις ἡμᾶς; ἢ δηλαδὴ τὰ Ἀρχιλόχου, εἰ μέλλοιμεν ἄξιοι φανεῖσθαι τῆς ὑμετέρας ἑστίας,

ti potʼ oun ēn touto diʼ ho soi Archilochos edoxen axios einai tou ouranou? mē phthonēsę̄s, ō philanthrōpotate theōn, mēdʼ allois anthrōpois tēs anō hodou. ti prattein keleueis hēmas? ē dēladē ta Archilochou, ei melloimen axioi phaneisthai tēs hymeteras hestias,

What, then, was it for which Archilochus seemed to you worthy of heaven? Do not begrudge, most kind of the gods, the upward road to other men too. What do you bid us do? Or, plainly, the deeds of Archilochus, if we are to appear worthy of your hearth:

Notes and citation

Summary: What did Archilochus do to deserve heaven?

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.5 (Dindorf 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-5). (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.

5.33.6Dindorf 1:261

λοιδορῆσαι μὲν πικρῶς τὰς οὐκ ἐθελούσας ἡμῖν γαμεῖσθαι, ἅψασθαι δὲ καὶ τῶν κιναίδων, ἐπειδὴ τῶν ἄλλων πονηρῶν πολὺ πονηρότεροί εἰσιν· οὐχὶ δίχα μέτρου, αὕτη γὰρ διάλεκτος καὶ θεῶν, ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ θείων ἀνδρῶν, ὥσπερ Ἀρχιλόχου.

loidorēsai men pikrōs tas ouk ethelousas hēmin gameisthai, hapsasthai de kai tōn kinaidōn, epeidē tōn allōn ponērōn poly ponēroteroi eisin; ouchi dicha metrou, hautē gar dialektos kai theōn, hōsper oun kai theiōn andrōn, hōsper Archilochou.

to revile bitterly the women who will not marry us, and to attack the effeminates too, since they are much worse than other wicked men; and not without meter, for this is the language of the gods, as also of divine men, such as Archilochus.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus ironically lists Archilochus's 'merits': abusive verse.

  • Archilochus attacked Lycambes and his daughters in verse after a broken betrothal.

Extrabiblical texts: Archilochus (Archilochus; allusion); Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.6 (Dindorf 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-6). (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.

5.33.7Dindorf 1:261–262

καὶ οὐδὲν ἴσως θαυμαστόν. διὰ γὰρ τὴν ἐν τούτοις ὑπεροχὴν εὖ μὲν οἶκος οἰκεῖται, εὖ δὲ ἰδιώτης βίος, πόλεις δὲ ὁμοφρόνως καὶ ἔθνη εὐνόμως συνεστᾶσιν.

kai ouden isōs thaumaston. dia gar tēn en toutois hyperochēn eu men oikos oikeitai, eu de idiōtēs bios, poleis de homophronōs kai ethnē eunomōs synestasin.

And perhaps there is nothing surprising in that. For through excellence in these things a house is well managed, and a private life well led, and cities and nations stand together in concord and good order.

Notes and citation

Summary: Ironical praise of Archilochus's verse.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.7 (Dindorf 1:261–262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-7). (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.

5.33.8Dindorf 1:262

οὐκ ἀπεικότως ἄρα σοι καὶ Μουσῶν θεράπων ἔδοξεν εἶναι, καὶ ὁ φονεὺς αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἄξιος εἶναι τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς τοὺς θεοὺς εἰσόδου, οὐδὲ τῆς παρʼ ὑμῶν φωνῆς, ἄνδρα φωνάεντα ἀποκτείνας.

ouk apeikotōs ara soi kai Mousōn therapōn edoxen einai, kai ho phoneus autou ouk axios einai tēs pros hymas tous theous eisodou, oude tēs parʼ hymōn phōnēs, andra phōnaenta apokteinas.

Not unreasonably, then, he seemed to you a servant of the Muses, and his killer unworthy of entering in to you gods, or of hearing your voice, since he had killed a man of song.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo barred Archilochus's killer from the temple.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (letter misread in digitization): φουεὺς → φονεὺς.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.8 (Dindorf 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-8). (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.

5.33.9Dindorf 1:262

οὔκουν ἄδικος ἡ πρὸς τὸν Ἀρχίαν ἀπειλὴ, οὐδʼ ἄκαιρος ἡ Πυθία τιμωροῦσα Ἀρχιλόχῳ τῷ πάλαι νεκρῷ καὶ κελεύουσα ἐξιέναι τοῦ ναοῦ τὸν ἐναγῆ· Μουσάων γὰρ ἀπέκτεινε θεράποντα.

oukoun adikos hē pros ton Archian apeilē, oudʼ akairos hē Pythia timōrousa Archilochǭ tǭ palai nekrǭ kai keleuousa exienai tou naou ton enagē; Mousaōn gar apekteine theraponta.

Not unjust, then, was the threat against Archias, nor untimely the Pythia, avenging Archilochus long dead and ordering the polluted man to leave the temple: 'for he killed the servant of the Muses.'

Notes and citation

Summary: The Pythia expelled Archias, killer of Archilochus.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (punctuation misread in digitization): ἐναγῆ ’ Μουσάων → ἐναγῆ· Μουσάων.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.9 (Dindorf 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-9). (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.

5.33.10Dindorf 1:262

οὔκουν ἔμοιγʼ ἐφάνης ἐπαμύνων τῷ ποιητῇ ἀπρεπὴς εἶναι· ἐμεμνήμην γὰρ καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου ποιητοῦ καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν τοῦ Εὐριπίδου στεφάνων, καίτοι ἀπορῶν καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἐπιθυμῶν οὐχ ὅτι ἐστεφανοῦτο, ἀλλὰ πῶς ἦν τὰ στέφη ταῦτα ἱερά· οὐδʼ ὅτι αὐτοῦ κλέος ὄρουσεν, ἀλλὰ πῶς ἐσθλὸν ἦν τοῦτο.

oukoun emoigʼ ephanēs epamynōn tǭ poiētę̄ aprepēs einai; ememnēmēn gar kai tou heterou poiētou kai tōn hierōn tou Euripidou stephanōn, kaitoi aporōn kai akousai epithymōn ouch hoti estephanouto, alla pōs ēn ta stephē tauta hiera; oudʼ hoti autou kleos orousen, alla pōs esthlon ēn touto.

So to me you did not appear unseemly in defending the poet; for I remembered also the other poet, and the sacred crowns of Euripides, though I was at a loss and wished to hear, not that he was crowned, but how these crowns were sacred; nor that his fame rushed forth, but how it was noble.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus asks how Euripides' crowns were 'sacred'.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.10 (Dindorf 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-10). (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.

5.33.11Dindorf 1:262

ἐκροταλίζετο μὲν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ὄχλοις, οἶδα, καὶ τυράννοις ἤρεσκε, καὶ τοῦτο οἶδα· καὶ ἔργον ἐπετήδευεν, ἐφʼ ᾧ οὐχ ὅπως αὐτὸς ἐθαυμάζετο ὁ ἐραστὴς, ἀλλʼ ἤδη καὶ ἡ τῶν Ἀθηναίων πόλις, ὅτι μόνη τραγῳδοὺς ἤνεγκεν.

ekrotalizeto men gar en tois ochlois, oida, kai tyrannois ēreske, kai touto oida; kai ergon epetēdeuen, ephʼ hǭ ouch hopōs autos ethaumazeto ho erastēs, allʼ ēdē kai hē tōn Athēnaiōn polis, hoti monē tragǭdous ēnenken.

For he was applauded by the crowds, I know, and pleased tyrants, this too I know; and he practiced a craft for which not only he himself, the lover of it, was admired, but even the city of the Athenians, because it alone produced tragedians.

Notes and citation

Summary: Euripides was admired by crowds and tyrants.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.11 (Dindorf 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-11). (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.

5.33.12Dindorf 1:262

εἰ μὲν οὖν ὁ κρότος ἱκανὸς κριτὴς καὶ ἡ ἐν ἀκροπόλει τράπεζα, οὐδὲν ἔτι λέγω, βλέπων ἐν ἀκροπόλει δειπνοῦντα τὸν Εὐριπίδην καὶ τὸν Ἀθηναίων ἅμα καὶ τὸν Μακεδόνων δῆμον ἐπιψοφοῦντα· εἰ δὲ καὶ δίχα τούτων ἐστί τις καὶ θεῶν ψῆφος, καὶ αὕτη πιστὴ, καὶ οὐχ ἥττων τῆς τῶν τυράννων, οὐδὲ τῆς τῶν ὄχλων, φέρε, φράσον σὸν ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τίνι τῶν καλῶν ἠνέγκατε ὑμεῖς οἱ θεοὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Εὐριπίδου ψῆφον, ἵνα σπεύσωμεν καὶ διώξωμεν τὸν οὐρανὸν κατὰ πόδας τῶν ὑμετέρων ἐπαίνων.

ei men oun ho krotos hikanos kritēs kai hē en akropolei trapeza, ouden eti legō, blepōn en akropolei deipnounta ton Euripidēn kai ton Athēnaiōn hama kai ton Makedonōn dēmon epipsophounta; ei de kai dicha toutōn esti tis kai theōn psēphos, kai hautē pistē, kai ouch hēttōn tēs tōn tyrannōn, oude tēs tōn ochlōn, phere, phrason son hēmin epi tini tōn kalōn ēnenkate hymeis hoi theoi tēn hyper tou Euripidou psēphon, hina speusōmen kai diōxōmen ton ouranon kata podas tōn hymeterōn epainōn.

If, then, applause is a sufficient judge, and the table in the acropolis, I say no more, seeing Euripides dining in the acropolis and the people of the Athenians and of the Macedonians applauding together. But if apart from these there is also a vote of the gods, and that a trustworthy one, and no less than that of tyrants or crowds, come, tell us yourself for which of his fine deeds you gods cast your vote for Euripides, so that we may hasten and pursue heaven in the footsteps of your praises.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus asks what merit the gods saw in Euripides.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (breathing and accent misread in digitization; punctuation misread in digitization): ἐπιψοφοῦντα ’ εἰ → ἐπιψοφοῦντα· εἰ; ἔνα σπεύσωμεν → ἵνα σπεύσωμεν.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.12 (Dindorf 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-12). (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.

5.33.13Dindorf 1:262–263

οὐ γὰρ δὴ οὐκ εἰσὶ καὶ νῦν ἕτοιμοι κωμῳδεῖσθαι καὶ Σαβαῖοι καὶ Λυκάμβαι, πρὸς δέ γε τὸ τραγῳδεῖσθαι οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ νῦν ἐνσταίη οὔτε ὁ Θυέστης οὔτε ὁ Οἰδίπους οὔτε ὁ Φινεὺς ἐκεῖνος, οὐδʼ ἂν, οἶμαι, φθονήσαιεν οὐδενὶ ἐπιθυμοῦντι φιλίας τῆς τῶν θεῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἄν μοι δοκοῦσιν ἐκεῖνοι, εἰ ᾔσθοντο ὅτι ἔσοιτό τις Εὐριπίδης ἀνὴρ ἐπὶ τῷ διασκευάσαι αὐτοὺς γενόμενος θεοφιλὴς, ἐμελῆσαι ἂν τῶν κακῶν ἐκείνων, καὶ οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸ κρείττονα φρονεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ τὸ μετροποιεῖν τραπέσθαι·

ou gar dē ouk eisi kai nyn hetoimoi kōmǭdeisthai kai Sabaioi kai Lykambai, pros de ge to tragǭdeisthai ouk an oude nyn enstaiē oute ho Thyestēs oute ho Oidipous oute ho Phineus ekeinos, oudʼ an, oimai, phthonēsaien oudeni epithymounti philias tēs tōn theōn, alla kai autoi an moi dokousin ekeinoi, ei ę̄sthonto hoti esoito tis Euripidēs anēr epi tǭ diaskeuasai autous genomenos theophilēs, emelēsai an tōn kakōn ekeinōn, kai ouk epi to kreittona phronein, allʼ epi to metropoiein trapesthai;

For surely there are even now Sabaei and Lycambae ready to be mocked in comedy, and as for being made tragedies of, neither Thyestes nor Oedipus nor that Phineus would object even now; nor, I think, would they begrudge anyone who desires the friendship of the gods. Rather, it seems to me, they themselves, had they perceived that there would be a Euripides, a man who would become dear to the gods by working them up, would have cared about those evils, and turned not to wiser thinking but to making verses;

Notes and citation

Summary: Euripides won the gods' favor by dramatizing others' crimes.

  • "Sabaei and Lycambae": the typical targets of comic and iambic abuse, Lycambes being Archilochus's victim; "Sabaei" may refer to devotees of Sabazius.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (stray digit in digitization): Εὐριπίδης 5 ἀνὴρ → Εὐριπίδης ἀνὴρ.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.13 (Dindorf 1:262–263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-13). (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.

5.33.14Dindorf 1:263

καὶ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν ἀνθρώπων εἰ τὰ ὀνόματα ὄγκου πλήρη ἤκουον, χρῆσθαι τούτοις εἰς τὴν πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ὁδοιπορίαν, ἵν ἐλθόντες καθίζοιντο ἐν τῷ Ὀλύμπῳ μετὰ τῶν πυκτῶν ἐν τῇ τοῦ Δῖός αὐλῇ· ταῦτα γὰρ λέγει ὁ ἐν Δελφοῖς ποιητής.

kai tōn emprosthen anthrōpōn ei ta onomata onkou plērē ēkouon, chrēsthai toutois eis tēn pros ton ouranon hodoiporian, hin elthontes kathizointo en tǭ Olympǭ meta tōn pyktōn en tę̄ tou Dios aulę̄; tauta gar legei ho en Delphois poiētēs.

and, if they heard the names of earlier men full of pomp, they would have used them for the journey to heaven, so as to go and sit on Olympus with the boxers in the court of Zeus; for this is what the poet at Delphi says.

Notes and citation

Summary: Such deeds would seat men on Olympus with the boxers.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): ὂγκου → ὄγκου.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.14 (Dindorf 1:263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-14). (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.

5.33.15Dindorf 1:263

φέρε καὶ τὴν Ὁμήρου τοῦ ὀλβίου ἴδωμεν ἐρώτησιν, ἣν τὸν θεὸν ἐρωτᾷ· ἦπου γάρ τις οὐρανία ἦν καὶ ἱκανὴ τὸν θεὸν ἐκκαλέσασθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἂν οὕτω ῥᾳδίως ὁ θεὸς ὄλβιον μὲν ἐπεφώνησεν, ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ὀλβίῳ ῥῆσιν ἀπένειμε πατρίδα δίζηαι· μητρὶς δέ τοι, οὐ πατρίς ἐστι· Μίνωος δʼ ἀπὸ γῆς, οὔτε σχεδὸν οὔτʼ ἀπὸ τηλοῦ, ἐν τῇ σοι μοῖρʼ ἐστὶ τελευτῆσαι βιότοιο, εὖτʼ ἂν ἀπὸ γλώσσης παίδων μὴ γνῷς ἐπακούσας ἀξύνετον πολλοῖσι λόγοις εἰρημένον ὕμνον.

phere kai tēn Homērou tou olbiou idōmen erōtēsin, hēn ton theon erōtą; ēpou gar tis ourania ēn kai hikanē ton theon ekkalesasthai; ou gar an houtō rhądiōs ho theos olbion men epephōnēsen, epi de tǭ olbiǭ rhēsin apeneime patrida dizēai; mētris de toi, ou patris esti; Minōos dʼ apo gēs, oute schedon outʼ apo tēlou, en tę̄ soi moirʼ esti teleutēsai biotoio, eutʼ an apo glōssēs paidōn mē gnǭs epakousas axyneton polloisi logois eirēmenon hymnon.

Come, let us see also the question of the blessed Homer which he asks the god. Surely it was some heavenly question, able to call the god forth; for otherwise the god would not so readily have called him blessed, and after 'blessed' assigned him this speech: 'You seek your fatherland; but you have a motherland, not a fatherland. In the land of Minos, neither near nor far, it is your lot to end your life, when from the tongue of children you hear and do not understand a song spoken in riddling words.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo's oracle to Homer about his homeland and death.

  • This oracle is also in the ancient Lives of Homer and the Contest of Homer and Hesiod.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.15 (Dindorf 1:263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-15). (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.

5.33.16Dindorf 1:263

δεινὸν γὰρ, ὦ σοφώτατε ἀνδρῶν, μᾶλλον δὲ θεῶν, εἰ μήτε ὅπου τῆς γῆς ἐξέθορε τῆς μητρὸς εἰδείη ὄλβιος μήτε ὅπου καταμύσας κείσεται. ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ᾤμην ἴσον Ὅμηρόν τε ὄντα περὶ τούτων προσιέναι τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἕνα τῶν κανθάρων, καὶ τὸν θεὸν μὴ μᾶλλον ἂν Ὁμήρῳ ἀφηγήσασθαι περὶ τοιούτων ἀγνοημάτων ἢ κανθάρῳ.

deinon gar, ō sophōtate andrōn, mallon de theōn, ei mēte hopou tēs gēs exethore tēs mētros eideiē olbios mēte hopou katamysas keisetai. egō de kai ǭmēn ison Homēron te onta peri toutōn prosienai tǭ theǭ kai hena tōn kantharōn, kai ton theon mē mallon an Homērǭ aphēgēsasthai peri toioutōn agnoēmatōn ē kantharǭ.

For it would be terrible, most wise of men, or rather of gods, if a blessed man knew neither where on earth he sprang from his mother nor where he will lie when he has closed his eyes. But I thought it was the same thing for Homer to approach the god about such matters as for one of the beetles, and that the god would no more explain such things unknown to Homer than to a beetle.

Notes and citation

Summary: Homer's question was as trivial as a beetle's would be.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread and repeated syllables in digitization; accent misread in digitization; breathing and accent misread in digitization; breathing misread in digitization): ὡ σοφώτατε → ὦ σοφώτατε; ὂλβιος βιος → ὄλβιος; ἴσον Ὃμηρόν → ἴσον Ὅμηρόν; καὶ ἴνα τῶν κανθάρων → καὶ ἕνα τῶν κανθάρων.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.16 (Dindorf 1:263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-16). (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.

5.33.17Dindorf 1:263–264

οἷον εἰ καὶ κάνθαρός τις γεννηθεὶς οὐκ ἐνεβίωσε οὐδʼ ἐνεγήρασεν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ κοπρίᾳ, ἀλλʼ ἐχθρῷ ἀνέμῳ περιέτυχε, καὶ κανθαρίῳ δαίμονι σκληρῷ, ὃς αὐτὸν μετέωρον ἄρας βίᾳ ἀπήνεγκεν ἐπί τινα ἄλλην γῆν καὶ ἄλλην κοπρίαν, κἄπειτα ἐλθὼν εἰς Δελφοὺς ἀνηρώτα ἥτις ἄρα ποτὲ αὐτῷ ἦν ἡ πατρῴα κοπρία, καὶ ἥτις αὐτὸν γῆ δέξεται ἀποθανόντα. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν περὶ τῶν ποιητῶν.

hoion ei kai kantharos tis gennētheis ouk enebiōse oudʼ enegērasen en ekeinę̄ tę̄ koprią, allʼ echthrǭ anemǭ perietyche, kai kanthariǭ daimoni sklērǭ, hos auton meteōron aras bią apēnenken epi tina allēn gēn kai allēn koprian, kapeita elthōn eis Delphous anērōta hētis ara pote autǭ ēn hē patrǭa kopria, kai hētis auton gē dexetai apothanonta. Tauta men oun peri tōn poiētōn.

It is as if a beetle, once born, had not lived and grown old in that dung, but met a hostile wind and a harsh beetle-demon, which lifted it up by force and carried it off to some other land and other dung, and then it came to Delphi and asked which was its ancestral dung, and what land would receive it when dead." So much about the poets.

Notes and citation

Summary: Oenomaus's beetle parody of Homer's question.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): οἶον εἰ → οἷον εἰ.

Extrabiblical texts: Oenomaus (Oenomaus of Gadara, Detection of Impostors; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 5.33.17 (Dindorf 1:263–264; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/5-24-1/#p-5-33-17). (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.