Preparation for the Gospel 7.15.1–7.21.5
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 7, chapter 15
7.15.1Dindorf 1:375
Μετὰ τὴν ἄναρχον καὶ ἀγέννητον τοῦ θεοῦ παμβασιλέως οὐσίαν, τὴν οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἢ ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς γεγεννημένην ἀρχὴν, πρωτότοκόν τε οὖσαν καὶ συνεργὸν τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς βουλῆς, πρὸς αὐτόν τε ἀπεικονισμένην διδάσκουσι.
Meta tēn anarchon kai agennēton tou theou pambasileōs ousian, tēn ouk allothen ē ek tou patros gegennēmenēn archēn, prōtotokon te ousan kai synergon tēs tou patros boulēs, pros auton te apeikonismenēn didaskousi.
After the beginningless and unbegotten being of God the King of all, they teach a beginning begotten from no other source than the Father, being firstborn and co-worker of the Father's will, and made in his likeness.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews teach a firstborn beginning begotten of the Father and like him.
Topics: Christology, Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.1 (Dindorf 1:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-1). (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.
7.15.2Dindorf 1:375
ταύτην δὲ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα γενητῶν ἀπάντων πρωτεύειν, παρʼ ὃ καὶ εἰκόνα θεοῦ αὐτὴν, καὶ θεοῦ δύναμιν, καὶ θεοῦ σοφίαν, καὶ θεοῦ λόγον, ναὶ μὴν καὶ ἀρχιστράτηγον δυνάμεως κυρίου, μεγάλης τε βουλῆς ἄγγελον ἀποκαλεῖν εἰώθασι.
tautēn de tōn meta tauta genētōn apantōn prōteuein, parʼ ho kai eikona theou autēn, kai theou dynamin, kai theou sophian, kai theou logon, nai mēn kai archistratēgon dynameōs kyriou, megalēs te boulēs angelon apokalein eiōthasi.
This, they teach, holds the first place among all things that came into being after it; which is why they are accustomed to call it the image of God, the power of God, the wisdom of God, the Word of God, and indeed the commander-in-chief of the host of the Lord and the angel of great counsel.
Col 1:15 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:24 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Josh 5:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 9:6 (9:5 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: This firstborn is called Image, Power, Wisdom, and Word of God, captain of the Lord's host, angel of great counsel.
- The titles echo Col 1:15; 1 Cor 1:24; John 1:1; Josh 5:14; Isa 9:6 (LXX 9:5).
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.2 (Dindorf 1:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-2). (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.
7.15.3Dindorf 1:375
τὰς δὲ μετὰ τήνδε τὴν ἀρχὴν νοερὰς καὶ λογικὰς δυνάμεις οὐ λεκτὰς εἶναι ἀνθρώπου φύσει, τοῦ τε πλήθους ἕνεκα τῆς τε κατʼ εἶδος διαφορὰς, πλὴν ὅσον ἐπιβάλλειν δυνατὸν τοῖς παραδείγμασιν ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὁρωμένων ἀναλογίας, ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἄστρων καὶ αὐτοῦ δὴ οὐρανοῦ ἔνδον ὑφʼ ἑαυτῷ τὰ σύμπαντα περιειληφότος.
tas de meta tēnde tēn archēn noeras kai logikas dynameis ou lektas einai anthrōpou physei, tou te plēthous heneka tēs te katʼ eidos diaphoras, plēn hoson epiballein dynaton tois paradeigmasin ek tēs tōn horōmenōn analogias, hēliou kai selēnēs kai astrōn kai autou dē ouranou endon hyphʼ heautǭ ta sympanta perieilēphotos.
The intelligent and rational powers that come after this beginning cannot be expressed by human nature, because of their number and their differences of kind, except so far as one can approach them by examples from the analogy of visible things: the sun, the moon, the stars, and heaven itself, which embraces all things within itself.
Notes and citation
Summary: The spiritual powers below the Word are known only by analogy with the heavenly bodies.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.3 (Dindorf 1:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-3). (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.
7.15.4Dindorf 1:375
“ἄλλη γὰρ δόξα ἡλίου καὶ ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης καὶ ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων” φησὶν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· ἀστέρα γὰρ ἀστέρος διαφέρειν ἐν δόξῃ.
“allē gar doxa hēliou kai allē doxa selēnēs kai allē doxa asterōn” phēsin ho theios apostolos; astera gar asteros diapherein en doxę̄.
"For there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars," says the divine apostle; for star differs from star in glory.
1 Cor 15:41 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul's words on the differing glories of sun, moon, and stars.
- 1 Cor 15:41.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀπό- στολος → ἀπόστολος.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.4 (Dindorf 1:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-4). (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.
7.15.5Dindorf 1:375
ταύτῃ πη τοιγαροῦν καὶ τὸν ἐν ἀσωμάτοις καὶ νοεραῖς οὐσίαις κόσμον χρὴ νοεῖν, τὰ πάντα μὲν ἀθρόως ἀπολαβούσης τῆς ἀνεκφράστου καὶ ἀπειρομεγέθους δυνάμεως τοῦ θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων, δευτερευούσης δὲ μετὰ τὸν πατέρα τῆς δημιουργικῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ φωτιστικῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ θείου λόγου. διὸ καὶ φῶς ἀληθινὸν καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἥλιον Ἑβραίοις φίλον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζειν.
tautę̄ pē toigaroun kai ton en asōmatois kai noerais ousiais kosmon chrē noein, ta panta men athroōs apolabousēs tēs anekphrastou kai apeiromegethous dynameōs tou theou tōn holōn, deutereuousēs de meta ton patera tēs dēmiourgikēs homou kai phōtistikēs dynameōs tou theiou logou. dio kai phōs alēthinon kai dikaiosynēs hēlion Hebraiois philon auton onomazein.
In this way, then, we must conceive of the world among bodiless and intelligent beings: the inexpressible and infinitely great power of the God of the universe embraces all things at once, and second after the Father is the creative and illuminating power of the divine Word. That is why the Hebrews like to call him true light and sun of righteousness.
John 1:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In the spiritual world the Word stands second after the Father, like the sun.
- The titles echo John 1:9 and Mal 4:2 (LXX 3:20).
Topics: Christology, Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.5 (Dindorf 1:375; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-5). (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.
7.15.6Dindorf 1:375–376
τρίτης δὲ ἤδη μετὰ τὴν δευτέραν οὐσίαν ἐν χώρᾳ σελήνης καθισταμένης τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ καὶ βασιλικῇ τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς ἀξίᾳ καὶ τιμῇ καταλέγουσιν, εἰς ἀρχὴν τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα γενητῶν, λέγω δὲ τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων καὶ τῆς παρʼ αὐτοῦ χορηγίας ἐπιδεομένων, καὶ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοῦ τῶν ὅλων ποιητοῦ κατατεταγμένου.
tritēs de ēdē meta tēn deuteran ousian en chōrą selēnēs kathistamenēs tou hagiou pneumatos, ho kai auto en tę̄ prōtę̄ kai basilikę̄ tēs tōn holōn archēs axią kai timę̄ katalegousin, eis archēn tōn meta tauta genētōn, legō de tōn hypobebēkotōn kai tēs parʼ autou chorēgias epideomenōn, kai autou pros tou tōn holōn poiētou katatetagmenou.
And third, after the second being, in the place of the moon, is set the Holy Spirit, which they also number in the first and royal dignity and honor of the principle of the universe, he too having been appointed by the maker of the universe as principle of the things that came into being after these, I mean those that are lower and need his supply.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Holy Spirit is third, like the moon, and supplies the beings below.
- Eusebius ranks the Holy Spirit third after the Father and the Word; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ὑπο- βεβηκότων → ὑποβεβηκότων; ἐπιδεομέ- νων → ἐπιδεομένων.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.6 (Dindorf 1:375–376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-6). (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.
7.15.7Dindorf 1:376
ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν, τρίτην ἐπέχον τὴν τάξιν, τοῖς ὑποβεβηκόσι τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ κρειττόνων δυνάμεων ἐπιχορηγεῖ, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀντιλαμβάνει παρʼ ἑτέρου [του ἢ παρὰ θεοῦ λόγου, ] τοῦ δὴ καὶ ἀνωτέρω καὶ κρείττονος, ὃν δὴ δευτερεύειν ἔφαμεν τῆς ἀνωτάτω καὶ ἀγεννήτου φύσεως θεοῦ τοῦ παμβασιλέως· παρʼ οὗ δὴ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπιχορηγούμενος ὁ θεὸς λόγος, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀενάου πηγῆς θεότητα ἀναβλυστανούσης ἀρυτόμενος, τοῖς πᾶσιν ὁμοῦ καὶ δὴ καὶ αὐτῷ τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, μᾶλλον ἁπάντων αὐτῷ προσεχεῖ καὶ ἐγγυτάτω ὄντι, ταῖς τε μετὰ τοῦτο νοεραῖς καὶ θείαις δυνάμεσιν ἀθρόως καὶ ἀνεπιφθόνως τῶν τοῦ οἰκείου φωτὸς μαρμαρυγῶν μεταδίδωσι.
alla touto men, tritēn epechon tēn taxin, tois hypobebēkosi tōn en autǭ kreittonōn dynameōn epichorēgei, ou mēn alla kai antilambanei parʼ heterou [tou ē para theou logou, ] tou dē kai anōterō kai kreittonos, hon dē deutereuein ephamen tēs anōtatō kai agennētou physeōs theou tou pambasileōs; parʼ hou dē kai autos epichorēgoumenos ho theos logos, kai hōsper ex aenaou pēgēs theotēta anablystanousēs arytomenos, tois pasin homou kai dē kai autǭ tǭ hagiǭ pneumati, mallon hapantōn autǭ prosechei kai engytatō onti, tais te meta touto noerais kai theiais dynamesin athroōs kai anepiphthonōs tōn tou oikeiou phōtos marmarygōn metadidōsi.
But this Spirit, holding the third rank, supplies to those below the better powers within it, and receives in turn from another, higher and better, whom we said is second to the supreme and unbegotten nature of God the King of all; from whom the God the Word himself is also supplied, and drawing, as from an ever-flowing spring that wells up divinity, he gives a share of the radiance of his own light, ungrudgingly and to all at once, to the Holy Spirit himself, who is nearest and closest to him of all, and to the intelligent and divine powers after him.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Spirit receives from the Word, who receives from the Father and gives light to all below.
- Dindorf prints the words "than the God the Word" (του ἢ παρὰ θεοῦ λόγου) in square brackets as a deletion; they are left out of the translation.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.7 (Dindorf 1:376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-7). (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.
7.15.8Dindorf 1:376
τὴν δὲ τῶν ὅλων ἀγένητον ἀρχὴν, ἀγαθῶν ἁπάντων οὖσαν πηγὴν, θεότητός τε καὶ ζωῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ φωτὸς καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς αἰτίαν, καὶ πρώτην γε οὖσαν τῶν πρώτων καὶ ἀρχῶν ἀρχὴν, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ ἀρχῆς καὶ πρώτου καὶ πάσης ῥητῆς τε καὶ καταληπτῆς ἐπινοίας ἐπέκεινα, τὰ μὲν πάντα ὅσα περ ἐν ἀρρήτοις δυνάμεσι περιείληφε τῷ πρώτῳ γεννήματι κοινωνεῖν μόνῳ, ὡς ἂν μόνως οἵῳ τε χωρεῖν καὶ ἀποδέχεσθαι τὴν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐκ ἐφικτὴν οὐδὲ χωρητὴν τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀφθονίαν.
tēn de tōn holōn agenēton archēn, agathōn hapantōn ousan pēgēn, theotētos te kai zōēs homou kai phōtos kai pasēs aretēs aitian, kai prōtēn ge ousan tōn prōtōn kai archōn archēn, mallon de kai archēs kai prōtou kai pasēs rhētēs te kai katalēptēs epinoias epekeina, ta men panta hosa per en arrētois dynamesi perieilēphe tǭ prōtǭ gennēmati koinōnein monǭ, hōs an monōs hoiǭ te chōrein kai apodechesthai tēn tois allois ouk ephiktēn oude chōrētēn tou patros tōn agathōn aphthonian.
And the unbegotten principle of the universe, being the source of all goods and the cause of divinity, life, light, and all virtue, and being first of the first and principle of principles, or rather beyond principle and first and every expressible and comprehensible thought, shares everything that it embraces in its ineffable powers with its first offspring alone, as alone able to contain and receive the abundance of the Father's goods, which is unattainable and uncontainable by the others.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Father shares all his goods with his first offspring alone.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.8 (Dindorf 1:376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-8). (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.
7.15.9Dindorf 1:376
τὰ δʼ ἐν μέρει τοῖς κατὰ μέρος ἀξίοις διὰ τῆς τοῦ δευτέρου διακονίας τε καὶ μεσιτείας κατὰ τὸ ἑκάστῳ ἐφικτὸν ἐμπαρέχειν· ὧν τὰ τέλεια καὶ ἄκρως ἅγια τῷ τρίτῳ μὲν ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, ἄρχοντι δὲ καὶ ἡγουμένῳ τῶν μετέπειτα, διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ τὰ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπικομιζομένῳ, δεδωρῆσθαι.
ta dʼ en merei tois kata meros axiois dia tēs tou deuterou diakonias te kai mesiteias kata to hekastǭ ephikton emparechein; hōn ta teleia kai akrōs hagia tǭ tritǭ men aphʼ heautou, archonti de kai hēgoumenǭ tōn metepeita, dia tou huiou ta para tou patros epikomizomenǭ, dedōrēsthai.
But partial goods he grants to those worthy of them part by part, through the ministry and mediation of the second, as each can attain; and of these, the perfect and supremely holy have been given to the one who is third from him, but is ruler and leader of those that follow, and who conveys through the Son what comes from the Father.
Notes and citation
Summary: Through the Son the Father gives to the Spirit and to lower beings according to their capacity.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray full stop in the digital text): ὧν. τὰ τέλεια → ὧν τὰ τέλεια.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.9 (Dindorf 1:376; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-9). (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.
7.15.10Dindorf 1:376–377
ἔνθεν οἱ πάντες Ἑβραίων θεόλογοι, μετὰ τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν καὶ μετὰ τὴν πρωτότοκον αὐτοῦ σοφίαν τὴν τρίτην καὶ ἁγίαν δύναμιν, ἅγιον πνεῦμα προσειπόντες ἀποθειάζουσιν, ὑφʼ οὗ καὶ ἐφωτίζοντο θεοφορούμενοι.
enthen hoi pantes Hebraiōn theologoi, meta ton epi pantōn theon kai meta tēn prōtotokon autou sophian tēn tritēn kai hagian dynamin, hagion pneuma proseipontes apotheiazousin, hyphʼ hou kai ephōtizonto theophoroumenoi.
Hence all the theologians of the Hebrews, after the God over all and after his firstborn Wisdom, ascribe divinity to the third and holy power, calling it Holy Spirit, by whom they too were enlightened when inspired.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrew theologians honor the Holy Spirit as divine, who inspired them.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray numeral in the digital text): σοφίαν 5 τὴν → σοφίαν τὴν.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.10 (Dindorf 1:376–377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-10). (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.
7.15.11Dindorf 1:377
ἑξῆς δὲ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἡλίῳ καὶ σελήνῃ ἀστέρα φασὶν ἀστέρος διαφέρειν ἐν δόξῃ. θνητῇ μὲν οὑν φύσει οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμὸν ἄστρων δυνατὸν εὑρεῖν, πλὴν ἀλλὰ τὸν παμβασιλέα θεὸν τὰ Ἑβραίων φασὶ λόγια καὶ τῆς κατʼ οὐρανὸν στρατιᾶς τὰ πλήθη καὶ τὰς προσηγορίας μὴ ἀγνοεῖν. διὸ παρʼ αὐτοῖς λέγεσθαι “ὁ ἀριθμῶν πλήθη ἄστρων καὶ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς ὀνόματα καλῶν.’
hexēs de ouranǭ kai hēliǭ kai selēnę̄ astera phasin asteros diapherein en doxę̄. thnētę̄ men houn physei ouk estin arithmon astrōn dynaton heurein, plēn alla ton pambasilea theon ta Hebraiōn phasi logia kai tēs katʼ ouranon stratias ta plēthē kai tas prosēgorias mē agnoein. dio parʼ autois legesthai “ho arithmōn plēthē astrōn kai pasin autois onomata kalōn.’
Next after heaven, sun, and moon, they say, star differs from star in glory. For mortal nature it is not possible to find the number of the stars; but the oracles of the Hebrews say that God the King of all is not ignorant of the multitudes of the host of heaven and their names. Therefore it is said among them: "He who numbers the multitudes of stars and calls them all by names."
1 Cor 15:41 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 147:4 (146:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God alone knows the number and names of the stars.
- 1 Cor 15:41; Ps 147:4 (LXX 146:4).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; stray letters in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): στρατιὰς τὰ πλήθη → στρατιᾶς τὰ πλήθη; μὴ ἴʼ ἀγνοεῖν → μὴ ἀγνοεῖν; “ὁ ὁ ἀριθμῶν → “ὁ ἀριθμῶν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.11 (Dindorf 1:377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-11). (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.
7.15.12Dindorf 1:377
οὕτω δὴ μετὰ τὰ πρῶτα τῶν ἐν ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσιν ἐπινοουμένων ἄστρων, φωτὸς νοεροῦ δυνάμει τε καὶ οὐσίᾳ διαπρεπόντων, πολλή τις καὶ ἡμῖν ἀπερινόητος διαφορὰ τυγχάνει, ἀναρίθμητά τε φῦλα καὶ γένη, ἀλλʼ οὐ καὶ τῷ τῶν ὅλων ποιητῇ.
houtō dē meta ta prōta tōn en asōmatois dynamesin epinooumenōn astrōn, phōtos noerou dynamei te kai ousią diaprepontōn, pollē tis kai hēmin aperinoētos diaphora tynchanei, anarithmēta te phyla kai genē, allʼ ou kai tǭ tōn holōn poiētę̄.
So too, after the first of the stars conceived among bodiless powers, distinguished in power and substance of intelligent light, there is a great difference, inconceivable to us, and countless tribes and kinds, though not to the maker of the universe.
Notes and citation
Summary: The spiritual powers are countless to us but known to God.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.12 (Dindorf 1:377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-12). (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.
7.15.13Dindorf 1:377
διὸ καὶ τὸ καταληπτὸν αὐτῶν μόνῳ τῷ θεῷ παριστάς τις θεολόγων φησὶ “μύριαι μυριάδες ἐλειτούργουν αὐτῷ καὶ χίλιαι χιλιάδες παρειστήκεισαν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ” διὰ μὲν τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ δηλῶν τὸ τῷ θεῷ καταληπτὸν αὐτῶν, διὰ δὲ τοῦ ποσοῦ τὸ ἡμῖν ἄπειρον· παρʼ ὃ καὶ εἰώθαμεν ὀνομάζειν καθʼ ὑπερβολῆς ἔμφασιν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ ἄπειρα μυρία.
dio kai to katalēpton autōn monǭ tǭ theǭ paristas tis theologōn phēsi “myriai myriades eleitourgoun autǭ kai chiliai chiliades pareistēkeisan emprosthen autou” dia men tou arithmou dēlōn to tǭ theǭ katalēpton autōn, dia de tou posou to hēmin apeiron; parʼ ho kai eiōthamen onomazein kathʼ hyperbolēs emphasin ta polla kai apeira myria.
So one of the theologians, presenting their number as comprehensible to God alone, says: "Ten thousand times ten thousand ministered to him, and thousands of thousands stood before him," showing by the number that they are comprehensible to God, and by the quantity that they are infinite to us; which is why we are accustomed to call things many and infinite "myriads," by way of hyperbole.
Dan 7:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Daniel's myriads of angels show they are numbered by God but countless to us.
- Dan 7:10.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.13 (Dindorf 1:377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-13). (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.
7.15.14Dindorf 1:377
ἄλλος δέ τις προφήτης περὶ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν διεξιὼν ὧδέ πως τὸν ποιητὴν τῶν ἀπάντων θεολογεῖ, φάσκων κύριε ὁ θεός μου, ὡς ἐμεγαλύνθης σφόδρα, ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ μεγαλοπρέπειαν ἐνεδύσω, ἀναβαλλόμενος φῶς ὡς ἱμάτιον, ἐκτείνων τὸν οὐρανὸν ὡσεὶ δέρριν· ὁ ποιῶν τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ πνεύματα καὶ τοὺς λειτουργοὺς αὐτοῦ πυρὸς φλόγα.”
allos de tis prophētēs peri tēs ousias autōn diexiōn hōde pōs ton poiētēn tōn apantōn theologei, phaskōn kyrie ho theos mou, hōs emegalynthēs sphodra, exomologēsin kai megaloprepeian enedysō, anaballomenos phōs hōs himation, ekteinōn ton ouranon hōsei derrin; ho poiōn tous angelous autou pneumata kai tous leitourgous autou pyros phloga.”
Another prophet, describing their substance, speaks of the maker of all things thus: "O Lord my God, how greatly you are magnified! You have clothed yourself with praise and majesty, putting on light as a garment, stretching out the heaven like a skin; who makes his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."
Ps 104:1 (103:1 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 104:2 (103:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 104:4 (103:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 104 describes God making his angels spirits and flame.
- Ps 104:1–2, 4 (LXX 103:1–2, 4).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): θεός μου μου, → θεός μου,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.14 (Dindorf 1:377; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-14). (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.
7.15.15Dindorf 1:377–378
μή τοι νομίσῃς τοῦ παρʼ ἡμῖν θνητοῦ καὶ γεώδους πυρὸς οὐσίας μετέχειν τὰ δηλούμενα, μηδέ γε τῶν ἐξ ἀλόγου φύσεως ἀέρος πνευμάτων· ἀλλʼ οἷόν περ καὶ αὐτὸν ὀνομάζουσι τὸν θεὸν, ἀσώματον μὲν καὶ ἄϋλον καὶ αὐτόνουν, μᾶλλον δὲ ὑπὲρ νοῦν καὶ ὑπὲρ πάντα λόγον ὄντα τὴν φύσιν, τροπικώτερον δὲ καὶ πνεῦμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ φῶς, καὶ ἄλλαις τισὶ προσηγορίαις θνηταῖς ἀκοαῖς καταλλήλοις ὀνομαζόμενον, ἀγγέλους δῆτα καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους, καὶ πνεύματα καὶ θείας δυνάμεις καὶ στρατιὰς οὐρανίους, ἀρχάς τε καὶ ἐξουσίας καὶ θρόνους καὶ κυριότητας, ὡς ἂν μυρίους ἐπὶ μυρίοις ἀστέρας τε καὶ φωστῆρας, τὰς νοερὰς καὶ λογικὰς οὐσίας οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι προσειπόντες, ἄρχειν ἁπάντων καὶ ἐπιστατεῖν τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης φασὶν ἥλιον, καὶ τὸ τούτου σύζυγον ἅγιον πνεῦμα.
mē toi nomisę̄s tou parʼ hēmin thnētou kai geōdous pyros ousias metechein ta dēloumena, mēde ge tōn ex alogou physeōs aeros pneumatōn; allʼ hoion per kai auton onomazousi ton theon, asōmaton men kai aÿlon kai autonoun, mallon de hyper noun kai hyper panta logon onta tēn physin, tropikōteron de kai pneuma kai pyr kai phōs, kai allais tisi prosēgoriais thnētais akoais katallēlois onomazomenon, angelous dēta kai archangelous, kai pneumata kai theias dynameis kai stratias ouranious, archas te kai exousias kai thronous kai kyriotētas, hōs an myrious epi myriois asteras te kai phōstēras, tas noeras kai logikas ousias hoi theioi logoi proseipontes, archein hapantōn kai epistatein ton tēs dikaiosynēs phasin hēlion, kai to toutou syzygon hagion pneuma.
Do not think that the beings described share in the substance of our mortal and earthy fire, or of the winds that come from the irrational nature of air. Rather, just as they name God himself, who is bodiless, immaterial, and pure mind, or rather beyond mind and beyond all reason in nature, more figuratively spirit and fire and light, and by other names suited to mortal ears, so the divine words call the intelligent and rational beings angels and archangels, spirits and divine powers and heavenly hosts, principalities and authorities, thrones and dominions, as if tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of stars and lights; and they say that the sun of righteousness rules and presides over them all, and the Holy Spirit, his yoke-fellow.
Col 1:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 1:21 (allusion, medium confidence) · Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Angels are spiritual beings, called fire and spirit figuratively, ruled by the Sun of righteousness and the Holy Spirit.
- The ranks echo Col 1:16 and Eph 1:21; "sun of righteousness" is Mal 4:2 (LXX 3:20).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): ἀλλʼ οἶόν περ → ἀλλʼ οἷόν περ.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.15 (Dindorf 1:377–378; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-15). (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.
7.15.16Dindorf 1:378
τὰ δὲ πάντα ἀθρόως αὐτῷ υἱῷ καὶ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι, νοερά τε ζῷα καὶ λογικὰ, σὺν καὶ τοῖς κατʼ οὐρανὸν φαινομένοις, οὐρανόν τε αὐτὸν, καὶ ὅσα ἔνδον οὗτος ἐν αὐτῷ περιλαβὼν ἔχει, μόνῳ τῷ ἐπὶ πάντων θεῷ, τῷ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσι παμβασιλεῖ καὶ πανηγεμόνι καὶ αἰτίῳ τῶν ὅλων, ὡς ἂν δημιουργῷ πάντων ποιητῇ τε καὶ φροντιστῇ καὶ σωτῆρι, τὸν πρέποντα ὕμνον καὶ τὴν προσήκουσαν θεολογίαν ἡ θεία καὶ προφητικὴ γραφὴ νέμειν παρακελεύεται, φάσκουσα
ta de panta athroōs autǭ huiǭ kai hagiǭ pneumati, noera te zǭa kai logika, syn kai tois katʼ ouranon phainomenois, ouranon te auton, kai hosa endon houtos en autǭ perilabōn echei, monǭ tǭ epi pantōn theǭ, tǭ dia pantōn kai en pasi pambasilei kai panēgemoni kai aitiǭ tōn holōn, hōs an dēmiourgǭ pantōn poiētę̄ te kai phrontistę̄ kai sōtēri, ton preponta hymnon kai tēn prosēkousan theologian hē theia kai prophētikē graphē nemein parakeleuetai, phaskousa
But all things together, with the Son himself and the Holy Spirit, intelligent and rational living beings, together with those that appear in heaven, heaven itself and all that it holds embraced within it, the divine and prophetic Scripture bids give the fitting hymn and proper acknowledgment of deity to the God over all alone, who through all and in all is King of all and ruler of all and cause of the universe, as creator, maker, guardian, and savior of all, saying:
Eph 4:6 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: All creation, with the Son and Spirit, is bidden to praise the one God over all.
- Compare Eph 4:6.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.16 (Dindorf 1:378; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-16). (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.
7.15.17Dindorf 1:378
“αἰνεῖτε τὸν θεὸν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς ὑψίστοις, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι αὐτοῦ, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πᾶσαι αἱ δυνάμεις αὐτοῦ, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν πάντα τὰ ἄστρα καὶ τὸ φῶς, αἰνεῖτε αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ τὰ ὕδατα τὰ ὑπεράνω τῶν οὐρανῶν αἰνεσάτωσαν τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου, ὅτι αὐτὸς εἶπε, καὶ ἐγεννήθησαν, αὐτὸς ἐνετείλατο, καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν. ἔστησεν αὐτὰ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ αἰῶνος, προστάγματα ἔθετο, καὶ οὐ παρελεύσεται.”
“aineite ton theon ek tōn ouranōn, aineite auton en tois hypsistois, aineite auton pantes hoi angeloi autou, aineite auton pasai hai dynameis autou, aineite auton hēlios kai selēnē, aineite auton panta ta astra kai to phōs, aineite auton hoi ouranoi tōn ouranōn, kai ta hydata ta hyperanō tōn ouranōn ainesatōsan to onoma kyriou, hoti autos eipe, kai egennēthēsan, autos eneteilato, kai ektisthēsan. estēsen auta eis ton aiōna kai eis ton aiōna tou aiōnos, prostagmata etheto, kai ou pareleusetai.”
"Praise God from the heavens, praise him in the highest; praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his powers; praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you stars and light; praise him, you heavens of heavens, and the waters above the heavens; let them praise the name of the Lord. For he spoke, and they were begotten; he commanded, and they were created. He established them forever and to the age of ages; he set a decree, and it shall not pass away."
Ps 148:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 148:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 148 calls all heavenly beings to praise God.
- Ps 148:1–6 (LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): αὐ- τὸς → αὐτὸς.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.17 (Dindorf 1:378; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-17). (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.
7.15.18Dindorf 1:378–379
Τοιαῦτα καὶ τὰ παρὰ Ἑβραίων δόγματα, ἃ τῆς Ἑλλήνων πολυθέου καὶ δαιμονικῆς πλάνης προτετιμήκαμεν, θείας μὲν δυνάμεις ὑπηρετικὰς τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ καὶ λειτουργικὰς εἰδότες, καὶ κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον τιμῶντες, μόνον δὲ θεὸν ὁμολογοῦντες, καὶ μόνον ἐκεῖνον σέβοντες, ὃν καὶ αὐτὸς οὐρανὸς, καὶ τὰ κατʼ οὐρανὸν ἅπαντα, τά τε ἐπέκεινα οὐρανοῦ σέβειν καὶ ὑμνεῖν καὶ θεολογεῖν ἐδιδάχθη· ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ μονογενὴς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πρωτότοκος τῶν ὅλων ἡ πάντων ἀρχὴ τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα μόνον ἡγεῖσθαι θεὸν ἀληθῆ καὶ μόνον σέβειν ἡμῖν παρακελεύεται.
Toiauta kai ta para Hebraiōn dogmata, ha tēs Hellēnōn polytheou kai daimonikēs planēs protetimēkamen, theias men dynameis hypēretikas tou pambasileōs theou kai leitourgikas eidotes, kai kata to prosēkon timōntes, monon de theon homologountes, kai monon ekeinon sebontes, hon kai autos ouranos, kai ta katʼ ouranon hapanta, ta te epekeina ouranou sebein kai hymnein kai theologein edidachthē; hoti kai autos ho monogenēs tou theou kai prōtotokos tōn holōn hē pantōn archē ton autou patera monon hēgeisthai theon alēthē kai monon sebein hēmin parakeleuetai.
Such are the doctrines of the Hebrews too, which we have preferred to the polytheistic and demonic error of the Greeks. We know the divine powers to be servants and ministers of God the King of all and honor them as is fitting, but we confess one God alone and worship him alone, whom heaven itself and all things in heaven and beyond heaven have been taught to worship, hymn, and acknowledge as God. For the only-begotten of God himself, the firstborn of the universe, the principle of all things, bids us regard his Father alone as true God and worship him alone.
John 17:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:15 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians honor the angels but worship the one God, as the Son himself commands.
- The last sentence echoes John 17:3 and Col 1:15.
Topics: Trinity, Christology
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.15.18 (Dindorf 1:378–379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-15-18). (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 7, chapter 16
7.16.1Dindorf 1:379
Ἕπεται καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐναντίας δυνάμεως τίνα ποτὲ τὰ Ἑβραίων λόγια παραδίδωσιν ἐπισκέψασθαι. τὰς μὲν οὖν θείας δυνάμεις, νεύματι τοῦ πατρὸς τῷ σύμπαντι ἐφεστώσας κόσμῳ, τά τε λειτουργικὰ πνεύματα εἰς διακονίαν ἀποστελλόμενα, διὰ τοὺς μέλλοντας κληρονομεῖν βασιλείαν, τούς τε ἱεροὺς ἀγγέλους τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἀρχαγγέλους, πᾶσάν τε τὴν διάκονον τῶν ἀγαθῶν νοερὰν οὐσίαν, φωτεινὴν οὖσαν, καὶ πάντων ὑπηρέτιν τῶν εἰς ἀνθρώπους ἐκ θεοῦ δωρουμένων ἀγαθῶν, τὸν παμβασιλέα πάντων δορυφορεῖν θεὸν, κἄπειτα τῶν κατʼ οὐρανὸν δίκην ἄστρων, τὸν ἥλιον τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καὶ τὸ σύζυγον αὐτῷ ἅγιον πνεῦμα περιπολεῖν, τῆς τε τούτων χορηγίας τοῦ φωτὸς ἀπολαύειν· διὸ καὶ φωστῆρσι τοῖς κατʼ οὐρανὸν εἰκότως παραβάλλεσθαι·
Hepetai kai peri tēs enantias dynameōs tina pote ta Hebraiōn logia paradidōsin episkepsasthai. tas men oun theias dynameis, neumati tou patros tǭ sympanti ephestōsas kosmǭ, ta te leitourgika pneumata eis diakonian apostellomena, dia tous mellontas klēronomein basileian, tous te hierous angelous tou theou kai archangelous, pasan te tēn diakonon tōn agathōn noeran ousian, phōteinēn ousan, kai pantōn hypēretin tōn eis anthrōpous ek theou dōroumenōn agathōn, ton pambasilea pantōn doryphorein theon, kapeita tōn katʼ ouranon dikēn astrōn, ton hēlion tēs dikaiosynēs, kai to syzygon autǭ hagion pneuma peripolein, tēs te toutōn chorēgias tou phōtos apolauein; dio kai phōstērsi tois katʼ ouranon eikotōs paraballesthai;
It follows to examine what the oracles of the Hebrews hand down about the opposing power. The divine powers set over the whole world at the Father's nod, the ministering spirits sent out for service for the sake of those who are to inherit the kingdom, the holy angels and archangels of God, and the whole intelligent being that ministers good things, being full of light and the servant of all the goods given by God to humans: these, they say, form the bodyguard of God the King of all; and then, like the stars in heaven, they circle around the sun of righteousness and the Holy Spirit his yoke-fellow, and enjoy the supply of light from them; which is why they are fittingly compared to the lights in heaven.
Heb 1:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Mal 4:2 (3:20 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The good angels serve God and receive light from the Son and Spirit.
- Heb 1:14; Mal 4:2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀγ- γέλους → ἀγγέλους.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.1 (Dindorf 1:379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-1). (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.
7.16.2Dindorf 1:379
τὴν δὲ ἐκ τούτων παρατετραμμένην, καὶ τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων χορείας διʼ οἰκείαν φαυλότητα στερομένην, σκότος τε ἀντὶ φωτὸς ἀλλαξαμένην, ἔμπαλιν ἢ τὰ πρῶτα, ταῖς ἁρμοττούσαις τῇ τοῦ τρόπου μοχθηρίᾳ προσηγορίαις ὀνομάζει.
tēn de ek toutōn paratetrammenēn, kai tēs tōn kreittonōn choreias diʼ oikeian phaulotēta steromenēn, skotos te anti phōtos allaxamenēn, empalin ē ta prōta, tais harmottousais tę̄ tou tropou mochthērią prosēgoriais onomazei.
But the being that turned aside from these, deprived through its own wickedness of the chorus of the better ones, and taking darkness instead of light, Scripture names, in contrast to the first, with names suited to the depravity of its character.
Notes and citation
Summary: The fallen power is named for its wickedness.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): οἰ- κείαν → οἰκείαν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.2 (Dindorf 1:379; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-2). (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.
7.16.3Dindorf 1:379–380
τὸν γοῦν κατάρξαντα τῆς πτώσεως, αὑτῷ τε καὶ ἑτέροις τῆς τῶν κρειττόνων ἀποστασίας γενόμενον αἴτιον, ὡς ἂν διόλου χαμαὶ τῆς τῶν θειοτέρων εὐσεβείας ἐκπεπτωκότα, καὶ κακίας μὲν ἰοῦ καὶ δυσσεβείας αὐτὸν αὐτῷ δημιουργὸν ὑποστάντα, σκότους δὲ καὶ ἀλογίας ποιητὴν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ φωτὸς αὐθεκουσίου ἀναχωρήσεως γεγονότα, δράκοντα καὶ ὄφιν, μέλανά τε καὶ ἑρπυστικὸν, ἰοῦ θανατηφόρου γεννητικὸν, θῆρά τε ἄγριον, καὶ ἀνθρωποβόρον λέοντα, καὶ πάλιν τὸν ἐν ἑρπετοῖς βασιλίσκον ἀποκαλεῖν εἴωθεν.
ton goun katarxanta tēs ptōseōs, hautǭ te kai heterois tēs tōn kreittonōn apostasias genomenon aition, hōs an diolou chamai tēs tōn theioterōn eusebeias ekpeptōkota, kai kakias men iou kai dyssebeias auton autǭ dēmiourgon hypostanta, skotous de kai alogias poiētēn ek tēs tou phōtos authekousiou anachōrēseōs gegonota, drakonta kai ophin, melana te kai herpystikon, iou thanatēphorou gennētikon, thēra te agrion, kai anthrōpoboron leonta, kai palin ton en herpetois basiliskon apokalein eiōthen.
The one, at any rate, who began the fall and became for himself and others the cause of apostasy from the better ones, having fallen wholly to the ground from the piety of diviner things, and become for himself the maker of wickedness, venom, and impiety, and having become the creator of darkness and irrationality by his voluntary withdrawal from the light, Scripture is accustomed to call dragon and serpent, black and creeping, begetter of deadly venom, a wild beast, a man-eating lion, and again the basilisk among reptiles.
Rev 12:9 (echo, medium confidence) · 1 Pet 5:8 (echo, medium confidence) · Ps 91:13 (90:13 LXX) (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The leader of the fall is called dragon, serpent, lion, and basilisk.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled repeated word in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; repeated word in the digital text): ὄφιν ὄθιν, → ὄφιν,; ἑρπυστικὸν ἑρπυστικὸν, → ἑρπυστικὸν,; εὐσε- βείας → εὐσεβείας.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.3 (Dindorf 1:379–380; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-3). (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.
7.16.4Dindorf 1:380
ὑπόθεσιν δʼ αὐτῷ φασιν οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι γεγονέναι τῆς ἀποπτώσεως μανίαν φρενῶν καὶ διανοίας ἔκστασιν, ὧδέ πως ὁμοῦ τὴν πτῶσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν φρενοβλάβειαν διηγούμενοι “πῶς ἐξέπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος, ὁ πρωὶ ἀνατέλλων; συνετρίβη ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὁ ἀποστέλλων πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἔθνη. σὺ δὲ εἶπας ἐν τῇ διανοίᾳ σου, εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀναβήσομαι, ἐπάνω τῶν ἄστρων τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θήσω τὸν θρόνον μου, ἔσομαι ὅμοιος τῷ ὑψίστῳ.”
hypothesin dʼ autǭ phasin hoi theioi logoi gegonenai tēs apoptōseōs manian phrenōn kai dianoias ekstasin, hōde pōs homou tēn ptōsin autou kai tēn phrenoblabeian diēgoumenoi “pōs exepesen ek tou ouranou ho heōsphoros, ho prōi anatellōn? synetribē epi tēn gēn ho apostellōn pros panta ta ethnē. sy de eipas en tę̄ dianoią sou, eis ton ouranon anabēsomai, epanō tōn astrōn tou ouranou thēsō ton thronon mou, esomai homoios tǭ hypsistǭ.”
The divine words say that the occasion of his falling away was madness of mind and derangement of understanding, describing his fall and his insanity together thus: "How has the morning star fallen from heaven, he who rose at dawn! He who sent out to all the nations has been crushed to the earth. But you said in your mind, I will ascend into heaven, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven, I will be like the Most High."
Isa 14:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 14:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 14:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah 14 describes the morning star's proud fall.
- Isa 14:12–14 (LXX), read by Eusebius of the devil.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ θεῖοι λόγοι γεγονέναι → οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι γεγονέναι; “πῶς πῶς → “πῶς.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.4 (Dindorf 1:380; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-4). (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.
7.16.5Dindorf 1:380
καὶ πάλιν ‘τάδε λέγει κύριος, ἀνθʼ ὧν ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία σου, καὶ εἶπας, θεός εἰμι ἐγὼ, κατοικίαν θεοῦ κατῴκηκα.” καὶ αὖθις “σὺ ἀποσφράγισμα ὁμοιώσεως, καὶ στέφανος κάλλους, ἐν τῇ τρυφῇ τοῦ παραδείσου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐγενήθης, πάντα λίθον χρηστὸν ἐνδέδεσαι” καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς.
kai palin ‘tade legei kyrios, anthʼ hōn hypsōthē hē kardia sou, kai eipas, theos eimi egō, katoikian theou katǭkēka.” kai authis “sy aposphragisma homoiōseōs, kai stephanos kallous, en tę̄ tryphę̄ tou paradeisou tou theou egenēthēs, panta lithon chrēston endedesai” kai ta hexēs.
And again: "Thus says the Lord: Because your heart was lifted up, and you said, I am a god, I have dwelt in the dwelling of God." And again: "You were a seal of likeness and a crown of beauty; you were in the delight of the paradise of God; you were bound about with every precious stone," and so on.
Ezek 28:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 28:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 28:13 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ezekiel 28 describes a proud being once in God's paradise.
- Ezek 28:2, 12–13 (LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (doubled comma in the digital text): εἶπας,, → εἶπας,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.5 (Dindorf 1:380; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-5). (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.
7.16.6Dindorf 1:380
οἷς ἐπιλέγει ἐν ὄρει ἁγίῳ θεοῦ ἐγενήθης, ἐν μέσῳ λίθων πυρίνων ἐγεννήθης, ἄμωμος σὺ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις σου, ἀφʼ ἧς ἡμέρας σὺ ἐκτίσθης, ἕως εὑρέθη τὰ ἀδικήματα ἐν σοί. ὑψώθη ἡ καρδία σου ἐπὶ τῷ κάλλει σου, διεφθάρη ἡ ἐπιστήμη σου μετὰ τοῦ κάλλους σου, διὰ πλῆθος ἁμαρτιῶν σου ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἔρριψά σε.”
hois epilegei en orei hagiǭ theou egenēthēs, en mesǭ lithōn pyrinōn egennēthēs, amōmos sy en tais hēmerais sou, aphʼ hēs hēmeras sy ektisthēs, heōs heurethē ta adikēmata en soi. hypsōthē hē kardia sou epi tǭ kallei sou, diephtharē hē epistēmē sou meta tou kallous sou, dia plēthos hamartiōn sou epi tēn gēn erripsa se.”
To which he adds: "You were on the holy mountain of God; you were born in the midst of fiery stones; you were blameless in your days from the day you were created, until iniquities were found in you. Your heart was lifted up at your beauty; your understanding was corrupted with your beauty; for the multitude of your sins I cast you to the earth."
Ezek 28:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 28:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 28:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ezekiel 28 describes his blameless creation and fall through pride.
- Ezek 28:14–15, 17 (LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): μετὰ τοὺ κάλλους → μετὰ τοῦ κάλλους; ἔρ- ριψά → ἔρριψά.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.6 (Dindorf 1:380; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-6). (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.
7.16.7Dindorf 1:380–381
Διὰ δὴ τούτων ἄντικρυς τὴν μετὰ τῶν θειοτέρων δυνάμεων προτέραν τοῦ δηλουμένου διατριβὴν καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν κρειττόνων διʼ οἰκείαν μεγαλαυχίαν καὶ θεομαχίαν ἀπόπτωσιν μεμαθήκαμεν. μυρίον δέ ἐστιν ἄλλο γένος ὑπὸ τούτῳ τοῖς παραπλησίοις ἔνοχον πλημμελήμασιν, ὃ τῆς δυσσεβείας χάριν τῆς τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἀποπεσὸν λήξεως, ἀντὶ τῆς πάλαι φωτοειδοῦς καὶ θειοτέρας περιβολῆς τῆς τε ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις τιμῆς καὶ τῆς ἐν μακαρίοις καὶ ἀγγελικοῖς χοροῖς διατριβῆς τὸν ἐφαρμόζοντα τοῖς δυσσεβέσι χῶρον, κρίσει δικαίᾳ καὶ ἀποφάσει τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, Τάρταρον οἰκεῖν, ὃν ἄβυσσον οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι προσαγορεύουσι, καὶ σκότος οὐ τὸ παρʼ ἡμῖν, τὸ δʼ ὑπὸ τῶν θείων λογίων δηλούμενον, ἀντικατηλλάξατο
Dia dē toutōn antikrys tēn meta tōn theioterōn dynameōn proteran tou dēloumenou diatribēn kai tēn apo tōn kreittonōn diʼ oikeian megalauchian kai theomachian apoptōsin memathēkamen. myrion de estin allo genos hypo toutǭ tois paraplēsiois enochon plēmmelēmasin, ho tēs dyssebeias charin tēs tōn eusebōn apopeson lēxeōs, anti tēs palai phōtoeidous kai theioteras peribolēs tēs te en tois basileiois timēs kai tēs en makariois kai angelikois chorois diatribēs ton epharmozonta tois dyssebesi chōron, krisei dikaią kai apophasei tou megalou theou, Tartaron oikein, hon abysson hoi theioi logoi prosagoreuousi, kai skotos ou to parʼ hēmin, to dʼ hypo tōn theiōn logiōn dēloumenon, antikatēllaxato
Through these words we have plainly learned of the former dwelling of the one described with the diviner powers, and of his falling away from the better ones through his own boastfulness and fighting against God. And there is a countless other race under him, guilty of similar offenses, which, having fallen from the lot of the pious because of its impiety, exchanged its former luminous and diviner raiment, its honor in the royal courts, and its dwelling among blessed and angelic choirs, for the place fitting for the impious, by the just judgment and sentence of the great God: to dwell in Tartarus, which the divine words call the abyss, and in darkness, not the darkness we know, but that indicated by the divine oracles.
2 Pet 2:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Jude 1:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 8:31 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A multitude of fallen spirits followed him and were consigned to the abyss.
- Compare 2 Pet 2:4; Jude 6; Luke 8:31.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing full stop in the digital text): μεμαθήκαμεν μυρίον → μεμαθήκαμεν. μυρίον.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.7 (Dindorf 1:380–381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-7). (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.
7.16.8Dindorf 1:381
ὧν βραχύ τι καὶ μικρὸν ἀπόσπασμα, γυμνασίου χάριν τῶν εὐσεβείας ἀθλητῶν, ἀμφὶ γῆν καὶ τὸν ὑπὸ σελήνην ἀέρα καταλειφθὲν, τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις πολυθέου πλάνης κατʼ οὐδὲν ἀθεότητος διαφερούσης συναίτιον γέγονε.
hōn brachy ti kai mikron apospasma, gymnasiou charin tōn eusebeias athlētōn, amphi gēn kai ton hypo selēnēn aera kataleiphthen, tēs en anthrōpois polytheou planēs katʼ ouden atheotētos diapherousēs synaition gegone.
A small and slight remnant of these, left about the earth and the air below the moon for the training of the athletes of piety, has become a joint cause of polytheistic error among humans, which differs in no way from atheism.
Notes and citation
Summary: Some demons remain near the earth to test the pious and to promote idolatry.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.8 (Dindorf 1:381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-8). (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.
7.16.9Dindorf 1:381
τέθειται δὲ καὶ τούτοις ἡ θεία γραφὴ προσφυεῖς τὰς προσηγορίας, γυμνότερον μὲν, ὅτε πνεύματα πονηρὰ καὶ δαίμονας, ἀρχάς τε καὶ ἐξουσίας, καὶ κοσμοκράτορας, καὶ πνευματικὰ πονηρίας ἐπονομάζει· συμβολικῶς δὲ, ὅτε τὸν θεοφιλῆ παρορμῇ μηδὲν δεδίττεσθαι τὸ τῶν πολεμίων δαιμόνων στῖφος, διʼ ὧν φησιν “ἐπʼ ἀσπίδα καὶ βασιλίσκον ἐπιβήσῃ, καὶ καταπατήσεις λέοντα καὶ δράκοντα.”
tetheitai de kai toutois hē theia graphē prosphyeis tas prosēgorias, gymnoteron men, hote pneumata ponēra kai daimonas, archas te kai exousias, kai kosmokratoras, kai pneumatika ponērias eponomazei; symbolikōs de, hote ton theophilē parormę̄ mēden dedittesthai to tōn polemiōn daimonōn stiphos, diʼ hōn phēsin “epʼ aspida kai basiliskon epibēsę̄, kai katapatēseis leonta kai drakonta.”
The divine Scripture has given these too fitting names: more plainly, when it calls them evil spirits and demons, principalities and authorities, world-rulers, and spiritual forces of wickedness; symbolically, when it urges the God-loving man not to fear the mass of hostile demons, saying, "You shall tread on the asp and the basilisk, and you shall trample the lion and the dragon."
Eph 6:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 91:13 (90:13 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture names the demons plainly and symbolically.
- Eph 6:12; Ps 91:13 (LXX 90:13).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark for closing quotation mark in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): προσφυεῖς τἀς → προσφυεῖς τὰς; δράκοντα.· → δράκοντα.”.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.9 (Dindorf 1:381; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-9). (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.
7.16.10Dindorf 1:381–382
δεῖγμα δὲ τούτων τῆς θεοεχθρίας τὸ θέλειν σφὰς αὐτοὺς θεοὺς ἀναγορεύεσθαι, καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ θεῷ τιμὰς εἰς ἑαυτοὺς ὑφαρπάζειν, μαντείαις τε πειρᾶσθαι καὶ χρησμοῖς, ὥσπερ τισὶ θελγήτροις καὶ προβολίοις, τοὺς εὐχερεῖς δελεάζειν, καὶ τῆς μὲν ἐπὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἀνανεύσεως ἀποσπᾶν, κατασύρειν ἐπὶ τὸν πανώλεθρον τῆς δυσσεβοῦς καὶ ἀθέου δεισιδαιμονίας βυθόν· διὸ προτροπάδην φεύγειν αὐτῶν τὰς ἀπάτας μόνοις Ἑβραίοις ἄνωθεν ἐξ αἰῶνος ἐσπουδάζετο. διαρρήδην παιδεύουσιν ὅτι πάντες οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια.
deigma de toutōn tēs theoechthrias to thelein sphas autous theous anagoreuesthai, kai tas epi theǭ timas eis heautous hypharpazein, manteiais te peirasthai kai chrēsmois, hōsper tisi thelgētrois kai proboliois, tous euchereis deleazein, kai tēs men epi ton tōn holōn theon ananeuseōs apospan, katasyrein epi ton panōlethron tēs dyssebous kai atheou deisidaimonias bython; dio protropadēn pheugein autōn tas apatas monois Hebraiois anōthen ex aiōnos espoudazeto. diarrēdēn paideuousin hoti pantes hoi theoi tōn ethnōn daimonia.
A sign of their enmity to God is their wish to be proclaimed gods themselves, to snatch for themselves the honors due to God, and to try by divinations and oracles, as by charms and bait, to lure the easily led, drawing them away from looking up to the God of the universe and dragging them down into the all-destroying abyss of impious and godless superstition. That is why the Hebrews alone, from the beginning of the ages, took pains to flee headlong from their deceits. They teach expressly that all the gods of the nations are demons.
Ps 96:5 (95:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Demons seek worship through oracles; the Hebrews fled them, teaching that the gods of the nations are demons.
- Ps 96:5 (LXX 95:5).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): τἀς ἐπὶ θεῷ → τὰς ἐπὶ θεῷ; ἀποσπᾶν ἀποσπᾶν, → ἀποσπᾶν,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.10 (Dindorf 1:381–382; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-10). (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.
7.16.11Dindorf 1:382
νυνὶ δὲ, σὺν θεῷ φάναι, διὰ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν εὐαγγελικῆς διδασκαλίας πάντα τὰ πανταχόθεν τῆς οἰκουμένης ἔθνη, δεσμῶν δαιμονικῶν ἀπηλλαγμένα, τὸν θεὸν ἀνυμνεῖ, ὃν δὴ καὶ μόνον ὑπάρχειν σωτῆρα καὶ βασιλέα καὶ θεὸν τῶν ὅλων μεμαθήκαμεν.
nyni de, syn theǭ phanai, dia tēs tou sōtēros hēmōn euangelikēs didaskalias panta ta pantachothen tēs oikoumenēs ethnē, desmōn daimonikōn apēllagmena, ton theon anymnei, hon dē kai monon hyparchein sōtēra kai basilea kai theon tōn holōn memathēkamen.
But now, God willing, through the gospel teaching of our Savior all the nations from every part of the world, freed from demonic bonds, hymn God, whom we have learned to be alone Savior and King and God of the universe.
Notes and citation
Summary: Through the gospel all nations, freed from demons, praise the one God.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.16.11 (Dindorf 1:382; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-16-11). (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.
Preparation 7, chapter 17
7.17.1Dindorf 1:382
Κἀνταῦθα πάλιν ἡ μὲν τῶν Φοινίκων καὶ Αἰγυπτίων ζωογονία αὐτόματον εἰσῆγε τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἁπάντων ζῴων τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων τὴν γένεσιν, μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁμοίως φύσιν συντυχικῶς ἀπὸ γῆς προελθεῖν διαγράφουσα, κατʼ οὐδέν τε τὴν ἄλογον διαφέρειν τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς τε καὶ οὐσίας ὑποτιθεμένη.
Kantautha palin hē men tōn Phoinikōn kai Aigyptiōn zōogonia automaton eisēge tōn epi gēs hapantōn zǭōn te kai anthrōpōn tēn genesin, mian kai tēn autēn homoiōs physin syntychikōs apo gēs proelthein diagraphousa, katʼ ouden te tēn alogon diapherein tēs logikēs psychēs te kai ousias hypotithemenē.
Here again the Phoenicians' and Egyptians' account of the origin of living things introduced a spontaneous generation of all creatures on earth, both animals and humans, describing one and the same nature as having come forth from the earth by chance, and supposing that the irrational soul and being differ in no way from the rational.
Notes and citation
Summary: Phoenician and Egyptian accounts made all life, human included, arise by chance from the earth.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.17.1 (Dindorf 1:382; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-17-1). (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.
7.17.2Dindorf 1:382
ταῦτα γοῦν ἐδήλουν αἱ προπαρατεθεῖσαι τῶν παρʼ αὐτοῖς συγγραφέων λέξεις. παῖδες δὲ πάλιν Ἑβραίων εἰκότως ἡμῖν προτετίμηνται, τὰ περὶ τῆς πρώτης ἀνθρώπων συστάσεως παγκάλως καὶ σοφῶς καὶ ἀληθῶς διειληφότες,
tauta goun edēloun hai proparatetheisai tōn parʼ autois syngrapheōn lexeis. paides de palin Hebraiōn eikotōs hēmin protetimēntai, ta peri tēs prōtēs anthrōpōn systaseōs pankalōs kai sophōs kai alēthōs dieilēphotes,
The passages of their writers quoted earlier showed this. But again the sons of the Hebrews have rightly been preferred by us, having understood the first constitution of humans most finely, wisely, and truly,
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews' account of human origins is preferable.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.17.2 (Dindorf 1:382; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-17-2). (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.
7.17.3Dindorf 1:382
ὅτι δὴ τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν τὸ μέν τι φασὶ θεῖον εἶναι καὶ ἀθάνατον, ἄσαρκόν τε τὴν φύσιν καὶ ἀσώματον, τοῦτο δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ τυγχάνειν ἄνθρωπον κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ καὶ ὁμοίωσιν γεγενημένον, εἶναι δὲ αὐτὸν ἔργον θεοῦ, ἀλλʼ οὐ τύχης οὐδʼ αὐτομάτου φύσεως, αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ τῶν ὅλων αἰτίου, κρίσει θείᾳ βεβουλημένου μηδὲ τὰ κατὰ γῆν νοερᾶς καὶ λογικῆς οὐσίας ἀμοιρεῖν, ὅπως διὰ πάντων αὐτῷ οὐρανίων τε καὶ αἰθερίων τῶν τε ἐπὶ γῆς λογικῶν καὶ τῆς αὐτοῦ θειότητος ἀντιληπτικῶν ὁ προσήκων ὕμνος ἀναπέμποιτο.
hoti dē tōn en hēmin to men ti phasi theion einai kai athanaton, asarkon te tēn physin kai asōmaton, touto de kai ton alēthē tynchanein anthrōpon katʼ eikona theou kai homoiōsin gegenēmenon, einai de auton ergon theou, allʼ ou tychēs oudʼ automatou physeōs, autou de tou tōn holōn aitiou, krisei theią beboulēmenou mēde ta kata gēn noeras kai logikēs ousias amoirein, hopōs dia pantōn autǭ ouraniōn te kai aitheriōn tōn te epi gēs logikōn kai tēs autou theiotētos antilēptikōn ho prosēkōn hymnos anapempoito.
since they say that of what is in us one part is divine and immortal, fleshless and bodiless in nature, and this is the true man, made according to the image and likeness of God; and that he is the work of God, not of chance nor of spontaneous nature, but of the cause of the universe himself, who willed by divine judgment that things on earth too should not be without a share of intelligent and rational being, so that the fitting hymn might be sent up to him through all, heavenly and ethereal beings and the rational beings on earth capable of perceiving his divinity.
Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews teach that the soul is divine, made in God's image by God's will, so that earth too might praise him.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.17.3 (Dindorf 1:382; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-17-3). (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.
7.17.4Dindorf 1:382–383
οὕτω δʼ οὖν περιέχει τὰ Ἑβραίων λόγια “καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς, ποιήσωμεν ἄνθρωπον κατʼ εἰκόνα ἡμετέραν καὶ καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν· καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ ἐποίησεν αὐτόν.” καὶ πάλιν “καὶ ἔλαβεν ὁ θεὸς χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς, καὶ ἔπλασε τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν.” καὶ ταῦτα δὲ πάλιν ὁ Ἑβραῖος ἑρμηνεύει Φίλων, ταῖς ἐκτεθείσαις αὐτοῦ φωναῖς ἔτι καὶ τάδε ἐπιλέγων
houtō dʼ oun periechei ta Hebraiōn logia “kai eipen ho theos, poiēsōmen anthrōpon katʼ eikona hēmeteran kai kathʼ homoiōsin; kai epoiēsen ho theos ton anthrōpon, katʼ eikona theou epoiēsen auton.” kai palin “kai elaben ho theos choun apo tēs gēs, kai eplase ton anthrōpon, kai enephysēsen eis to prosōpon autou pnoēn zōēs, kai egeneto ho anthrōpos eis psychēn zōsan.” kai tauta de palin ho Hebraios hermēneuei Philōn, tais ektetheisais autou phōnais eti kai tade epilegōn
The oracles of the Hebrews, then, contain this: "And God said, Let us make man according to our image and according to likeness; and God made man, according to the image of God he made him." And again: "And God took dust from the earth and formed man, and breathed into his face a breath of life, and man became a living soul." And the Hebrew Philo interprets these too, adding the following to the words of his already set out:
Gen 1:26 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 1:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 2:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Genesis on man's creation in God's image and from dust, with Philo's interpretation to follow.
- Gen 1:26–27; 2:7 (LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἐνεφύ- σησεν → ἐνεφύσησεν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.17.4 (Dindorf 1:382–383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-17-4). (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.
Preparation 7, chapter 18
7.18.1Dindorf 1:383
“Αλλʼ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι, τῆς αἰθερίου φύσεως τὸν ἡμέτερον νοῦν μοῖραν εἰπόντες εἶναι, συγγένειαν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου πρὸς αἰθέρα συνῆψαν. ὁ δὲ μέγας Μώσης οὐδενὶ τῶν γεγονότων τῆς λογικῆς ψυχῆς τὸ εἶδος ὡμοίωσεν, ἀλλʼ εἶπεν αὐτὴν τοῦ θείου καὶ ἀοράτου πνεύματος ἐκείνου δόκιμον εἶναι νόμισμα, σημειωθὲν καὶ τυπωθὲν σφραγῖδι θεοῦ, ἧς ὁ χαρακτήρ ἐστιν ὁ ἀίδιος “ἐνέπνευσε γὰρ” φησὶν ὁ θεὸς “εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ πνοὴν ζωῆς, καὶ ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχὴν ζῶσαν”, ὥστε ἀνάγκη πρὸς τὸν ἐκπέμποντα τὸν δεχόμενον ἀπεικονίζεσθαι.
“Allʼ hoi men alloi, tēs aitheriou physeōs ton hēmeteron noun moiran eipontes einai, syngeneian tou anthrōpou pros aithera synēpsan. ho de megas Mōsēs oudeni tōn gegonotōn tēs logikēs psychēs to eidos hōmoiōsen, allʼ eipen autēn tou theiou kai aoratou pneumatos ekeinou dokimon einai nomisma, sēmeiōthen kai typōthen sphragidi theou, hēs ho charaktēr estin ho aidios “enepneuse gar” phēsin ho theos “eis to prosōpon autou pnoēn zōēs, kai egeneto anthrōpos eis psychēn zōsan”, hōste anankē pros ton ekpemponta ton dechomenon apeikonizesthai.
"But the others, saying that our mind is a portion of the ethereal nature, connected man by kinship with the ether. The great Moses, however, likened the form of the rational soul to none of the things that have come into being, but said that it is a genuine coin of that divine and invisible Spirit, marked and stamped with the seal of God, whose imprint is the eternal [Word]. 'For God breathed,' he says, 'into his face a breath of life, and man became a living soul'; so that the one who receives must be made in the likeness of the one who sends.
Gen 2:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: Moses says the soul is stamped with God's seal, the eternal Word, by God's breath.
- Philo, On Planting 18–19. Philo's text reads "the eternal Word" (ὁ ἀίδιος λόγος); the noun is missing in the digital text and is supplied in brackets.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; stray quotation marks in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ μὲν ἄλλοι → οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι; “ἐνέπνευσε ἐνέπνευσε γὰρ” → “ἐνέπνευσε γὰρ”; θεὸς‘‘ εἰς → θεὸς “εἰς; ζῶσαν ζῶσαν” → ζῶσαν”.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Plant. 18–19 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.1 (Dindorf 1:383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-1). (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.
7.18.2Dindorf 1:383
διὸ καὶ λέγεται κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ τὸν ἄνθρωπον γενέσθαι, οὐ μὴν κατʼ εἰκόνα τινὸς τῶν γεγονότων. ἀκόλουθον οὖν ἦν τῆς ἀνθρώπου ψυχῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀρχέτυπον τοῦ αἰτίου λόγον ἀπεικονισθείσης, καὶ τὸ σῶμα ἀνεγερθὲν πρὸς τὴν καθαρωτάτην τοῦ παντὸς μοῖραν, οὐρανὸν, τὰς ὄψεις ἀνατεῖναι.”
dio kai legetai katʼ eikona theou ton anthrōpon genesthai, ou mēn katʼ eikona tinos tōn gegonotōn. akolouthon oun ēn tēs anthrōpou psychēs kata ton archetypon tou aitiou logon apeikonistheisēs, kai to sōma anegerthen pros tēn katharōtatēn tou pantos moiran, ouranon, tas opseis anateinai.”
That is why man is said to have been made according to the image of God, not according to the image of any created thing. It followed, then, that since the human soul was made in the likeness of the archetypal Word of the cause, the body too, raised upright, lifted its eyes toward the purest part of the universe, heaven."
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: man is made in God's image, and his upright body looks to heaven.
- Philo, On Planting 20.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): ἀπεικονισθείσης ἀπεικονισθείσης → ἀπεικονισθείσης.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Plant. 20 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.2 (Dindorf 1:383; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-2). (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.
7.18.3Dindorf 1:383–384
Ταῦτα μὲν οὗτος. εἰκότως δῆτα καὶ ἡ θεία γραφὴ οὐχ ὡς τὰ λοιπὰ ζῷα γεγονέναι τὸν ἄνθρωπόν φησι· τὰ μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ γῆς προελθεῖν ἑνὶ κελεύσματι τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ, τὰ δʼ ἐκ τῆς ὑγρᾶς οὐσίας ἀναπτῆναι πάλιν αὐτοῦ νεύματι· μόνον δὲ τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ζῴων τὸ θεοφιλέστατον, ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς, κατʼ εἰκόνα θεοῦ καὶ καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν τὴν ψυχὴν γεγονέναι· πρὸς ὃ καὶ ὁρᾶσθαι ἀρχικὸν καὶ βασιλικὸν τὴν φύσιν, μόνον τε τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς εἶναι λογικὸν καὶ δημιουργικὸν καὶ κριτικὸν καὶ νομοθετικὸν, τεχνῶν τε καὶ ἐπιστημῶν καταληπτικόν· εἶναι γὰρ μόνην τὴν ἐν ἀνθρώπῳ ψυχὴν νοερὰν καὶ λογικὴν οὐσίαν, ἧς μὴ μετεῖναι τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐπὶ γῆς ζῴοις.
Tauta men houtos. eikotōs dēta kai hē theia graphē ouch hōs ta loipa zǭa gegonenai ton anthrōpon phēsi; ta men gar apo gēs proelthein heni keleusmati tou pambasileōs theou, ta dʼ ek tēs hygras ousias anaptēnai palin autou neumati; monon de tōn epi gēs zǭōn to theophilestaton, hēmas autous, katʼ eikona theou kai kathʼ homoiōsin tēn psychēn gegonenai; pros ho kai horasthai archikon kai basilikon tēn physin, monon te tōn epi gēs einai logikon kai dēmiourgikon kai kritikon kai nomothetikon, technōn te kai epistēmōn katalēptikon; einai gar monēn tēn en anthrōpǭ psychēn noeran kai logikēn ousian, hēs mē meteinai tois allois epi gēs zǭois.
So he says. Rightly, then, the divine Scripture says that man did not come into being like the other living creatures. Some came forth from the earth at a single command of God the King of all, and others flew up from the watery substance again at his nod; but only the most God-beloved of the living creatures on earth, we ourselves, were made according to the image and likeness of God as to the soul. In view of this, man is seen to be by nature ruling and royal, alone of creatures on earth rational, creative, capable of judgment and of legislation, and able to grasp arts and sciences; for the soul in man alone is an intelligent and rational being, in which the other creatures on earth have no share.
Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Man alone, made in God's image, is rational and royal among earthly creatures.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; repeated word in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): Ταῦτα μὲν οὕτος → Ταῦτα μὲν οὗτος; οὐχ ὧς τὰ λοιπὰ → οὐχ ὡς τὰ λοιπὰ; ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς αὐτοὺς, → ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς,; δημι- ουργικὸν → δημιουργικὸν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.3 (Dindorf 1:383–384; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-3). (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.
7.18.4Dindorf 1:384
διὸ τὰ μὲν θητεύειν καὶ χώραν οἰκετῶν παρέχειν ἀνθρώπῳ, τὸν δὲ, οἶα δεσπότην καὶ ἡγεμόνα δουλοῦσθαι καὶ ὑποτάττειν τὰ ῥώμῃ μὲν σώματος πολὺ κρείττονα, μείονα δὲ τῇ κατὰ τὴν νοερὰν οὐσίαν στερήσει.
dio ta men thēteuein kai chōran oiketōn parechein anthrōpǭ, ton de, oia despotēn kai hēgemona doulousthai kai hypotattein ta rhōmę̄ men sōmatos poly kreittona, meiona de tę̄ kata tēn noeran ousian sterēsei.
That is why the others serve and hold the place of servants to man, while he, as master and leader, enslaves and subjects creatures much stronger in bodily might, but lesser through their lack of intelligent being.
Gen 1:28 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Animals serve man, who rules them by reason though they are stronger.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.4 (Dindorf 1:384; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-4). (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.
7.18.5Dindorf 1:384
τοῦτον μὲν οὖν κατʼ εἰκόνα φασὶ θεοῦ καὶ καθʼ ὁμοίωσιν πρὸς αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ μετά τινος διαφερούσης ὑπεροχῆς ὑποστῆναι. διὸ καὶ θεοῦ ἐννοίας εἰς φαντασίαν ἰέναι, σοφίας τε καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ πάσης ἀρετῆς ἀντιλήψεις ποιεῖσθαι, δρόμους τε ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἄστρων ἡμερῶν τε καὶ ὡρῶν κύκλους ἀπαριθμεῖσθαι δυνατῶς ἔχειν, τῆς πρὸς τὰ ἄνω συγγενείας χάριν, ἣν θνητῶν μόνος ἄνθρωπος ἐπιδείκνυται.
touton men oun katʼ eikona phasi theou kai kathʼ homoiōsin pros autou tou theou meta tinos diapherousēs hyperochēs hypostēnai. dio kai theou ennoias eis phantasian ienai, sophias te kai dikaiosynēs kai pasēs aretēs antilēpseis poieisthai, dromous te hēliou kai selēnēs kai astrōn hēmerōn te kai hōrōn kyklous aparithmeisthai dynatōs echein, tēs pros ta anō syngeneias charin, hēn thnētōn monos anthrōpos epideiknytai.
This one, then, they say, was constituted by God himself according to the image and likeness of God, with a certain distinguishing excellence. That is why he is able to form conceptions of God, to grasp wisdom, justice, and every virtue, and to count the courses of sun, moon, and stars and the cycles of days and hours, because of his kinship with things above, which man alone of mortals displays.
Notes and citation
Summary: Made in God's image, man can know God, virtue, and the heavens.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.5 (Dindorf 1:384; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-5). (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.
7.18.6Dindorf 1:384
τὸ δὲ τούτῳ περιπεπλασμένον ἔξωθεν ἑτερογενὲς μὲν ὑπάρχειν τὴν οὐσίαν καὶ γηγενὲς, εἶναι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸ θεοῦ ἔργον ἀπὸ γῆς ληφθὲν καὶ εἰς αὐτὴν ὑποστρέφον. διὸ καὶ χρῆναι τούτου μὲν ὅσα καὶ ἀλόγου θρέμματος τὸν δεσπότην ἠχθισμένου φροντίζειν, ἄγειν τε πράως αὐτὸ, καὶ τρέφειν οἷα δοῦλον, πρὸς ἀνθρωπείου βίου διακονίαν εὖ προσηνωμένον, τὸν δʼ εἴσω δεσπότην, ὡς ἂν εὐγενῆ καὶ θεοῦ συγγενῆ τὴν φύσιν, ἐλευθερίοις τρόποις τιμᾶν, ἅτε καὶ πρὸς τοῦ πάντων αἰτίου τετιμημένον.
to de toutǭ peripeplasmenon exōthen heterogenes men hyparchein tēn ousian kai gēgenes, einai de kai auto theou ergon apo gēs lēphthen kai eis autēn hypostrephon. dio kai chrēnai toutou men hosa kai alogou thremmatos ton despotēn ēchthismenou phrontizein, agein te praōs auto, kai trephein hoia doulon, pros anthrōpeiou biou diakonian eu prosēnōmenon, ton dʼ eisō despotēn, hōs an eugenē kai theou syngenē tēn physin, eleutheriois tropois timan, hate kai pros tou pantōn aitiou tetimēmenon.
But what has been molded around this from outside is of a different kind of substance and earth-born; yet it too is the work of God, taken from the earth and returning to it. Therefore one should care for it as much as a master burdened with an irrational animal would, leading it gently and feeding it like a servant well fitted for the service of human life; but the master within, being noble and akin to God by nature, should be honored in a manner befitting the free, since he has been honored by the cause of all.
Gen 3:19 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The body, from earth, should be cared for like a servant, the soul honored as master.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): φροντίζειν φροντίζειν → φροντίζειν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.6 (Dindorf 1:384; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-6). (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.
7.18.7Dindorf 1:384
λέγει δʼ οὖν τὰ λόγια ὡς ἄρα τὴν πρώτην ἀνθρώπου φύσιν δυνάμεσι θείαις καὶ ὁμοιώσει θεοῦ κοσμήσας ὁ παμβασιλεὺς ἁρμόδιον οἷς ἐδωρήσατο τὴν πρώτην ἀπεκλήρωσε διατριβὴν τοῦ βίου ἐν ἀγαθῶν παραδείσῳ, χορείαις συγκαταλέξας θείαις.
legei dʼ oun ta logia hōs ara tēn prōtēn anthrōpou physin dynamesi theiais kai homoiōsei theou kosmēsas ho pambasileus harmodion hois edōrēsato tēn prōtēn apeklērōse diatribēn tou biou en agathōn paradeisǭ, choreiais synkatalexas theiais.
The oracles say, then, that the King of all, having adorned the first human nature with divine powers and likeness to God, allotted to him, as fitting to his gifts, his first dwelling place of life in a paradise of good things, enrolling him among divine choirs.
Gen 2:8 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God placed the first man in paradise among divine choirs.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllables in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): ἁρμόδιον οἶς ἐδωρήσατο → ἁρμόδιον οἷς ἐδωρήσατο; παραδείσῳ, δείσω, → παραδείσῳ,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.7 (Dindorf 1:384; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-7). (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.
7.18.8Dindorf 1:384–385
καὶ τὸν μὲν τάδε ἐν ἀρχαῖς οἷα πανάγαθον αὐτῷ δεδωρῆσθαι πατέρα, τὸν δʼ αὐθεκουσίῳ αἱρέσει τῶν κρειττόνων ἀποπεσεῖν, καὶ τὸν θνητὸν χῶρον ἀντικαταλλάξασθαι θείας ἐντολῆς ὀλιγωρίᾳ.
kai ton men tade en archais hoia panagathon autǭ dedōrēsthai patera, ton dʼ authekousiǭ hairesei tōn kreittonōn apopesein, kai ton thnēton chōron antikatallaxasthai theias entolēs oligōrią.
And the Father, being all-good, gave him these things at the beginning; but man by his own free choice fell from the better things and exchanged them for the mortal place through neglect of the divine command.
Gen 3:23 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Man freely fell from paradise by neglecting God's command.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.8 (Dindorf 1:384–385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-8). (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.
7.18.9Dindorf 1:385
διὸ καὶ μάλιστα προσήκειν εὐσεβείας ἐν πρώτοις ἀντιποιεῖσθαι, καὶ τὸ πρώτως πλημμεληθὲν δευτέροις αἰσίοις ἐπιδιορθοῦσθαι, σπεύδειν τε ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν οἰκείων ἀναδρομήν τε καὶ ἀποκατάστασιν. εἶναι γὰρ τέλος ἀνθρώπου φύσεως οὐχ ὧδε ἐπὶ γῆς εἰς φθορὰν καταστρέφον καὶ ἀπώλειαν, ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖθεν ὅθεν καὶ ὁ πρῶτος ἀπέσφηλε.
dio kai malista prosēkein eusebeias en prōtois antipoieisthai, kai to prōtōs plēmmelēthen deuterois aisiois epidiorthousthai, speudein te epi tēn tōn oikeiōn anadromēn te kai apokatastasin. einai gar telos anthrōpou physeōs ouch hōde epi gēs eis phthoran katastrephon kai apōleian, allʼ ekeithen hothen kai ho prōtos apesphēle.
That is why it is most fitting to lay hold of piety first of all, to correct the first wrong by a second, better course, and to hasten toward the return to and restoration of what is our own. For the end of human nature is not here on earth, turning to corruption and destruction, but there, from where the first man fell.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man's goal is to return by piety to the paradise from which he fell.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.9 (Dindorf 1:385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-9). (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.
7.18.10Dindorf 1:385
διὸ χρῆναι τὸ καθαρὸν αὖθις καὶ τὸ θεοείκελον ἀνακτήσασθαι τῆς ἐν ἡμῖν νοερᾶς οὐσίας, ἐφʼ ἣν προθυμητέον ἀνιέναι παντὶ σθένει πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις εὐσεβείας καὶ ἀρετῆς ἐπιμελομένοις.
dio chrēnai to katharon authis kai to theoeikelon anaktēsasthai tēs en hēmin noeras ousias, ephʼ hēn prothymēteon anienai panti sthenei pasin anthrōpois eusebeias kai aretēs epimelomenois.
Therefore we must recover again the purity and godlikeness of the intelligent being within us, to which all people who care for piety and virtue must eagerly strive to ascend with all their strength.
Notes and citation
Summary: We must recover the soul's godlike purity.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.10 (Dindorf 1:385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-10). (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.
7.18.11Dindorf 1:385
Τοιαῦτα καὶ τὰ περὶ ἀνθρώπου φύσεως Ἑβραίοις πεφιλοσοφημένα ἄνωθεν, πρὶν ἢ καὶ εἰς ἀνθρώπους παρελθεῖν Ἕλληνας· οἱ χθιζοί τινες καὶ κομιδῇ νέοι ἀπὸ γῆς ἀνακύψαντες, τά τε βαρβάρων ὑποσυλᾶν διανοηθέντες, καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις οὐκ ἀπέσχοντο, ὡς προϊὼν ὁ λόγος αὐτίκα μάλα ἐπιδείξει.
Toiauta kai ta peri anthrōpou physeōs Hebraiois pephilosophēmena anōthen, prin ē kai eis anthrōpous parelthein Hellēnas; hoi chthizoi tines kai komidę̄ neoi apo gēs anakypsantes, ta te barbarōn hyposylan dianoēthentes, kai tōn parʼ Hebraiois ouk apeschonto, hōs proïōn ho logos autika mala epideixei.
Such are the philosophical teachings about human nature among the Hebrews from of old, before the Greeks even came into human existence. These, as people of yesterday and quite young, sprung up from the earth, set out to filch the barbarians' teachings and did not keep their hands off those of the Hebrews, as the discussion will show very soon as it proceeds.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Hebrews taught this long before the Greeks, who later borrowed from them.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; word split by a stray mark in the digital text): διανοηθέντες διανοηθέντες → διανοηθέντες; προι· ὼν → προϊὼν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.11 (Dindorf 1:385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-11). (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.
7.18.12Dindorf 1:385
ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ τῶν Ἑβραϊκῶν δογμάτων ἴδιον ἦν τὸ ἕνα τῶν ἀπάντων ποιητὴν νομίζεσθαι τὸν ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸν, αὐτῆς τε τῆς ὑποκειμένης τοῖς σώμασιν οὐσίας, ἣν ὕλην προσαγορεύουσιν Ἕλληνες· τούτῳ δὲ μυρίοι βαρβάρων ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἑλλήνων ἐξ ἐναντίας ἔστησαν, οἱ μὲν κακίας πηγὴν τὴν ὕλην εἶναι ἀποφηνάμενοι ἀγέννητόν τε ὑπάρχειν, οἱ δὲ τῇ μὲν οἰκείᾳ φύσει ἄποιον καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον, τῇ δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνάμει τὸν κόσμον αὐταῖς ποιότησι προσειληφέναι, δεικτέον ὡς πολὺ κρεῖττον ἡ Ἑβραίων ἐπέχει δόξα, μετʼ ἀποδείξεως λογικῆς παρισταμένη τῷ προβλήματι, καὶ τὸν ἐναντίον λογισμοῖς ὀρθοῖς ἀποσκευαζομένη λόγον.
allʼ epei tōn Hebraïkōn dogmatōn idion ēn to hena tōn apantōn poiētēn nomizesthai ton epi pantōn theon, autēs te tēs hypokeimenēs tois sōmasin ousias, hēn hylēn prosagoreuousin Hellēnes; toutǭ de myrioi barbarōn homou kai Hellēnōn ex enantias estēsan, hoi men kakias pēgēn tēn hylēn einai apophēnamenoi agennēton te hyparchein, hoi de tę̄ men oikeią physei apoion kai aschēmatiston, tę̄ de tou theou dynamei ton kosmon autais poiotēsi proseilēphenai, deikteon hōs poly kreitton hē Hebraiōn epechei doxa, metʼ apodeixeōs logikēs paristamenē tǭ problēmati, kai ton enantion logismois orthois aposkeuazomenē logon.
But since it was a distinctive Hebrew doctrine that the God over all is to be considered the one maker of all things, including the very substance underlying bodies, which the Greeks call matter; and since countless barbarians and Greeks alike have opposed this, some declaring that matter is the source of evil and unbegotten, others that it is in its own nature without quality and without shape, but that by the power of God it has received the world with its qualities: we must show that the opinion of the Hebrews holds far the better position, standing by the problem with rational demonstration and refuting the opposite account by right reasoning.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius will defend the Hebrew doctrine that God made matter itself.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread word in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): Ἑβραἱκῶν → Ἑβραϊκῶν; τὸ ἴνα τῶν → τὸ ἕνα τῶν; οἶ μὲν κακίας → οἱ μὲν κακίας; οἶ δὲ τῇ μὲν → οἱ δὲ τῇ μὲν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.12 (Dindorf 1:385; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-12). (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.
7.18.13Dindorf 1:385–386
θήσω δὲ φωνὰς τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν τὸ δόγμα διηκριβωκότων, καὶ πρώτου γε Διονυσίου, ὃς ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ τῶν Πρὸς Σαβέλλιον αὐτῷ γεγυμνασμένων τάδε περὶ τοῦ προκειμένου γράφει
thēsō de phōnas tōn pro hēmōn to dogma diēkribōkotōn, kai prōtou ge Dionysiou, hos en tǭ prōtǭ tōn Pros Sabellion autǭ gegymnasmenōn tade peri tou prokeimenou graphei
I shall set out the words of those before us who have examined the doctrine closely, and first of Dionysius, who in the first of his exercises Against Sabellius writes this on the subject:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Dionysius of Alexandria against Sabellius.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.18.13 (Dindorf 1:385–386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-18-13). (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.
Preparation 7, chapter 19
7.19.1Dindorf 1:386
“Οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γὰρ ὅσιοι οἱ τὴν ὕλην ὡς ἀγέννητον ὑποχείριον εἰς διακόσμησιν διδόντες τῷ θεῷ ’ παθητὴν γὰρ αὐτὴν καὶ τρεπτὴν ὑπάρχουσαν εἴκειν ταῖς θεοποιήτοις ἀλλοιώσεσι.
“Oudʼ ekeinoi men gar hosioi hoi tēn hylēn hōs agennēton hypocheirion eis diakosmēsin didontes tǭ theǭ ’ pathētēn gar autēn kai treptēn hyparchousan eikein tais theopoiētois alloiōsesi.
"Nor are they pious who make matter, as unbegotten, subject to God for the ordering of the world, saying that, being passive and changeable, it yields to the alterations made by God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: it is impious to make matter unbegotten.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, Against Sabellius (fragment).
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.1 (Dindorf 1:386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.19.2Dindorf 1:386
καὶ πόθεν γὰρ ὑπάρχει καὶ τῷ θεῷ καὶ τῇ ὕλῃ τό τε ὅμοιον καὶ τὸ ἀνόμοιον διασαφείτωσαν. ἑκατέρου γὰρ δεῖ τινα ἐπινοῆσαι κρείττονα, ὃ μηδὲ θεμιτὸν ἐννοῆσαι περὶ τοῦ θεοῦ. τό τε γὰρ ἀγέννητον, ὅμοιον ἐν ἀμφοτέροις λεγόμενον, καὶ ἕτερον νοούμενον παρʼ ἑκάτερον, πόθεν ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐγένετο;
kai pothen gar hyparchei kai tǭ theǭ kai tę̄ hylę̄ to te homoion kai to anomoion diasapheitōsan. hekaterou gar dei tina epinoēsai kreittona, ho mēde themiton ennoēsai peri tou theou. to te gar agennēton, homoion en amphoterois legomenon, kai heteron nooumenon parʼ hekateron, pothen en autois egeneto?
For let them explain how both likeness and unlikeness belong to God and to matter. For one must conceive something superior to both, which it is not lawful even to think of concerning God. For unbegottenness, said alike of both and yet conceived as other besides each, where did it come from in them?
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: if both God and matter are unbegotten, something superior would be implied.
- Dionysius of Alexandria.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing accent in the digital text; word split and misread in the digital text): ὅ μηδὲ θεμιτὸν ἐννοῇς αἰ περὶ → ὃ μηδὲ θεμιτὸν ἐννοῆσαι περὶ; παρʼ ἑκατερον → παρʼ ἑκάτερον.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.2 (Dindorf 1:386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.19.3Dindorf 1:386
εἰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸ ἀγέννητόν ἐστιν ὁ θεὸς, καὶ οὐσία ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ, ὡς ἂν εἴποι τις, ἡ ἀγεννησία, οὐκ ἂν ἀγέννητον εἴη ἡ ὕλη· οὐ γὰρ ταὐτόν ἐστιν ἡ ὕλη καὶ ὁ θεός· εἰ δὲ ἑκάτερον μέν ἐστιν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἡ ὕλη καὶ ὁ θεὸς, πρόσεστι δὲ ἀμφοτέροις τὸ ἀγέννητον, δῆλον ὡς ἕτερόν ἐστιν ἑκατέρου, καὶ ἀμφοτέρων πρεσβύτερόν τε καὶ ἀνωτέρω.
ei men gar auto agennēton estin ho theos, kai ousia estin autou, hōs an eipoi tis, hē agennēsia, ouk an agennēton eiē hē hylē; ou gar tauton estin hē hylē kai ho theos; ei de hekateron men estin, hoper estin hē hylē kai ho theos, prosesti de amphoterois to agennēton, dēlon hōs heteron estin hekaterou, kai amphoterōn presbyteron te kai anōterō.
For if God is the unbegotten itself, and unbegottenness is, so to speak, his being, matter could not be unbegotten; for matter and God are not the same. But if each is what it is, matter and God, and unbegottenness belongs to both, clearly it is something other than each, and older and higher than both.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: unbegottenness cannot be shared by God and matter.
- Dionysius of Alexandria.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ὁ θεός·) → ὁ θεός·.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.3 (Dindorf 1:386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.19.4Dindorf 1:386
ἀνατρεπτικὴ δὲ παντελῶς καὶ τοῦ ταῦτα συνυπάρχειν, μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦτο ἕτερον αὐτῶν τὴν ὕλην ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς ὑπάρχειν, καὶ ἡ τῆς ἐναντίας ἕξεως διαφορά.
anatreptikē de pantelōs kai tou tauta synyparchein, mallon de touto heteron autōn tēn hylēn ephʼ heautēs hyparchein, kai hē tēs enantias hexeōs diaphora.
And the difference of their opposite states utterly overturns their coexisting, or rather the matter's existing by itself as something other than them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: their opposite natures rule out coexistence.
- Dionysius of Alexandria.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): συνυπάρχειν συνυπάρχειν → συνυπάρχειν.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.4 (Dindorf 1:386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.19.5Dindorf 1:386
εἰπάτωσαν γὰρ τὴν αἰτίαν, διʼ ἣν, ἀμφοτέρων ὄντων ἀγεννήτων, ὁ μὲν θεὸς ἀπαθὴς, ἄτρεπτος, ἀκίνητος, ἐργαστικὸς, ἡ δὲ τὰ ἐναντία παθητὴ, τρεπτὴ, ἄστατος, μεταποιουμένη.
eipatōsan gar tēn aitian, diʼ hēn, amphoterōn ontōn agennētōn, ho men theos apathēs, atreptos, akinētos, ergastikos, hē de ta enantia pathētē, treptē, astatos, metapoioumenē.
For let them say the reason why, when both are unbegotten, God is impassible, unchangeable, unmoved, active, while matter is the opposite, passive, changeable, unstable, transformed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: why would two unbegotten things have opposite natures?
- Dionysius of Alexandria.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.5 (Dindorf 1:386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.19.6Dindorf 1:386
καὶ πῶς ἥρμοσαν καὶ συνέδραμον; πότερον κατὰ τὴν τῆς ὕλης φύσιν ἐξοικειώσας ἑαυτὸν ἐτεχνίτευσεν αὐτὴν ὁ θεός; ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γε ἄτοπον ὁμοίως ἀνθρώποις χρυσοχοεῖν καὶ λιθουργεῖν καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας, ὅσας αἱ ὗλαι μορφοῦσθαι καὶ τυποῦσθαι δύνανται, χειροκμητεῖν τὸν θεόν.
kai pōs hērmosan kai synedramon? poteron kata tēn tēs hylēs physin exoikeiōsas heauton etechniteusen autēn ho theos? alla touto ge atopon homoiōs anthrōpois chrysochoein kai lithourgein kai kata tas allas technas, hosas hai hylai morphousthai kai typousthai dynantai, cheirokmētein ton theon.
And how did they fit and come together? Did God, adapting himself to the nature of matter, work it as a craftsman? But it is absurd that God, like humans, should work gold and stone and labor with his hands at all the other crafts by which materials can be shaped and molded.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: God is not a human craftsman working given material.
- Dionysius of Alexandria.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; wrong breathing and misread word in the digital text): συνέδραμον συνέδραμον; → συνέδραμον;; αἶ ὗλαι μορφοῦσθαι Λαὶ → αἱ ὗλαι μορφοῦσθαι καὶ.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.6 (Dindorf 1:386; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-6). (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.
7.19.7Dindorf 1:386–387
εἰ δὲ οἴαν αὐτὸς ἐβούλετο κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ σοφίαν ἐποίωσε τὴν ὕλην, τὸ πολύμορφον καὶ παμποίκιλον τῆς δημιουργίας ἑαυτοῦ σχῆμα καὶ τύπον ἐνσφραγιζόμενος αὐτῇ, καὶ εὔφημος καὶ ἀληθὴς οὗτος ὁ λόγος, καὶ προσέτι καὶ τὴν ὑπόστασιν τῶν ὅλων τὸν θεὸν ἀγέννητον εἶναι κρατύνει.
ei de oian autos ebouleto kata tēn heautou sophian epoiōse tēn hylēn, to polymorphon kai pampoikilon tēs dēmiourgias heautou schēma kai typon ensphragizomenos autę̄, kai euphēmos kai alēthēs houtos ho logos, kai proseti kai tēn hypostasin tōn holōn ton theon agennēton einai kratynei.
But if he gave matter such quality as he himself wished according to his own wisdom, stamping on it the many-formed and all-various shape and imprint of his own creation, this account is both reverent and true, and moreover it confirms that God is the unbegotten foundation of all things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: God gave matter its form by his wisdom and is the sole unbegotten source.
- Dionysius of Alexandria.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter in the digital text): αὐτῇμ, → αὐτῇ,.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.7 (Dindorf 1:386–387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-7). (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.
7.19.8Dindorf 1:387
τῷ γὰρ εἶναι ἀγέννητον ἅμα καὶ τό πως εἶναι προσῆψε. πολὺς μὲν οὑν καὶ πρὸς τούτους ὁ λόγος, ἀλλʼ οὐ νῦν ἡμῖν πρόκειται· συγκρίσει δὲ τῇ πρὸς τοὺς ἀθεωτάτους πολυθέους εὐφημότεροι οὗτοι.” Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν Διονυσίου καὶ τῶν Ὠριγένους δὲ ἄκουε
tǭ gar einai agennēton hama kai to pōs einai prosēpse. polys men houn kai pros toutous ho logos, allʼ ou nyn hēmin prokeitai; synkrisei de tę̄ pros tous atheōtatous polytheous euphēmoteroi houtoi.” Tauta men oun kai apo tōn Dionysiou kai tōn Ōrigenous de akoue
For to being unbegotten he attached also the manner of being. There is much to say against these people too, but it is not our present purpose; compared with the most godless polytheists, these are more reverent." So much from Dionysius. Hear also from Origen:
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius closes; Eusebius introduces Origen on matter.
- Dionysius of Alexandria. The passage that follows is from Origen's Commentary on Genesis (fragment).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): εὐφημότεροι οὑτοι → εὐφημότεροι οὗτοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.19.8 (Dindorf 1:387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-19-8). (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 7, chapter 20
7.20.1Dindorf 1:387
“Εἰ δέ τινι προσκόπτει διὰ τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους τεχνίτας μὴ δύνασθαι παραδέξασθαι τὸν θεὸν χωρὶς ὕλης ἀγεννήτου ὑποκειμένης κατασκευάζειν τὰ ὄντα, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ ἀνδριαντοποιὸς χωρὶς χαλκοῦ τὸ ἴδιον ἔργον ποιῆσαι δύναται, μηδὲ τέκτων χωρὶς ξύλων, μηδὲ οἰκοδόμος χωρὶς λίθων, ζητητέον πρὸς αὐτοῦ περὶ δυνάμεως θεοῦ, εἰ θελήσας ὑποστῆσαι ὅ τι βούλεται ὁ θεὸς, τῆς θελήσεως αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἀπορουμένης οὐδὲ ἀτονούσης, οὐ δύναται ὑποστῆσαι ὃ βούλεται.
“Ei de tini proskoptei dia tous anthrōpinous technitas mē dynasthai paradexasthai ton theon chōris hylēs agennētou hypokeimenēs kataskeuazein ta onta, epei mēde andriantopoios chōris chalkou to idion ergon poiēsai dynatai, mēde tektōn chōris xylōn, mēde oikodomos chōris lithōn, zētēteon pros autou peri dynameōs theou, ei thelēsas hypostēsai ho ti bouletai ho theos, tēs thelēseōs autou ouk aporoumenēs oude atonousēs, ou dynatai hypostēsai ho bouletai.
"If anyone is troubled because of human craftsmen and cannot accept that God makes the things that exist without unbegotten matter lying ready, since a sculptor cannot make his work without bronze, nor a carpenter without wood, nor a builder without stones, we must ask him about the power of God: whether, when God wills to bring into being whatever he wishes, his will being neither at a loss nor weak, he cannot bring into being what he wishes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: the analogy of human craftsmen does not limit God's power.
- Origen, Commentary on Genesis (fragment).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.1 (Dindorf 1:387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.20.2Dindorf 1:387
ᾧ γὰρ λόγῳ τὰς ποιότητας, (κατὰ πάντας πρόνοιαν εἰσάγοντας τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ, ) οὐκ οὔσας ὡς βούλεται εἰς διακόσμησιν τοῦ παντὸς ὑφίστησι τῇ ἀφάτῳ αὐτοῦ δυνάμει καὶ σοφίᾳ, τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν ὅσης χρῄζει ἱκανή ἐστιν αὐτοῦ ἡ βούλησις ποιῆσαι γενέσθαι.
hǭ gar logǭ tas poiotētas, (kata pantas pronoian eisagontas tǭ idiǭ logǭ, ) ouk ousas hōs bouletai eis diakosmēsin tou pantos hyphistēsi tę̄ aphatǭ autou dynamei kai sophią, toutǭ tǭ logǭ kai tēn ousian hosēs chrę̄zei hikanē estin autou hē boulēsis poiēsai genesthai.
For by the same reasoning by which he brings into being, by his ineffable power and wisdom, the qualities that did not exist, as he wills, for the ordering of the universe (as all who acknowledge providence agree in their own reasoning), by this reasoning his will is able to make come into being also the substance, as much as he needs.
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: as God creates qualities, so he can create the substance itself.
- Origen, Commentary on Genesis (fragment). The parenthesis (κατὰ πάντας πρόνοιαν εἰσάγοντας τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ) is awkward in the Greek; translated by sense.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.2 (Dindorf 1:387; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.20.3Dindorf 1:387–388
ἀπορήσομεν γὰρ πρὸς τοὺς οὐ βουλομένους ταῦθʼ οὕτως ἔχειν, εἰ μὴ ἀκολουθεῖ αὐτοῖς εὐτυχηκέναι τὸν θεὸν, ἀγέννητον εὑρόντα τὴν οὐσίαν, ἣν εἰ μὴ τὸ ἀγέννητον αὐτῷ ὑποβεβληκὸς ἦν, οὐδὲν ἔργον δυνατὸς ἦν ποιῆσαι, ἀλλʼ ἔμενεν οὐ δημιουργὸς, οὐ πατὴρ, οὐκ εὐεργέτης, οὐκ ἀγαθός, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν εὐλόγως λεγομένων περὶ θεοῦ.
aporēsomen gar pros tous ou boulomenous tauthʼ houtōs echein, ei mē akolouthei autois eutychēkenai ton theon, agennēton heuronta tēn ousian, hēn ei mē to agennēton autǭ hypobeblēkos ēn, ouden ergon dynatos ēn poiēsai, allʼ emenen ou dēmiourgos, ou patēr, ouk euergetēs, ouk agathos, ouk allo ti tōn eulogōs legomenōn peri theou.
For we shall raise this difficulty against those who will not have it so: does it not follow for them that God was fortunate in finding the substance unbegotten, and that if the unbegotten had not lain ready for him, he would have been able to make no work at all, but would have remained no creator, no father, no benefactor, not good, nor anything else reasonably said of God?
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: on their view God would depend on luckily finding uncreated matter.
- Origen.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; truncated word in the digital text; word split by a stray full stop in the digital text): οὐδ. ὲν ἔργον → οὐδὲν ἔργον; πατὴρ πατὴρ, → πατὴρ,; οὐκ ἀγαθʼ, → οὐκ ἀγαθός,.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.3 (Dindorf 1:387–388; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.20.4Dindorf 1:388
πόθεν δὲ καὶ τὸ μετρεῖν τῆς ὑποκειμένης οὐσίας τὸ τοσόνδε, ὡς διαρκέσαι τῇ τηλικούτου κόσμου ὑποστάσει; οἱονεὶ γὰρ πρόνοιά τις πρεσβυτέρα θεοῦ ἀναγκαίως τὴν ὕλην ἔσται ὑποβεβληκυῖα τῷ θεῷ, προνοουμένη τοῦ τὴν τέχνην τὴν ἐνυπάρχουσαν αὐτῷ μὴ κενοπαθῆσαι, οὐκ οὔσης οὐσίας, ᾗ ὁμιλῆσαι δυνάμενος κατεκόσμησε τὸ τηλικοῦτον κόσμου κάλλος.
pothen de kai to metrein tēs hypokeimenēs ousias to tosonde, hōs diarkesai tę̄ tēlikoutou kosmou hypostasei? hoionei gar pronoia tis presbytera theou anankaiōs tēn hylēn estai hypobeblēkuia tǭ theǭ, pronooumenē tou tēn technēn tēn enyparchousan autǭ mē kenopathēsai, ouk ousēs ousias, hę̄ homilēsai dynamenos katekosmēse to tēlikouton kosmou kallos.
And where did the measuring of the underlying substance to such an amount come from, so as to suffice for the existence of so great a world? For a kind of providence older than God will necessarily have supplied the matter to God, taking care that the art within him should not be idle for want of a substance with which he could work and adorn the world's great beauty.
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: who measured matter for God? It would imply a providence older than God.
- Origen.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.4 (Dindorf 1:388; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-4). (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.
7.20.5Dindorf 1:388
πόθεν δὲ καὶ δεκτικὴ γεγένηται πάσης ἧς βούλεται ὁ θεὸς ποιότητος, μὴ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ἑαυτῷ τοσαύτην καὶ τοιαύτην ποιήσαντος ὁποίαν ἔχειν ἐβούλετο;
pothen de kai dektikē gegenētai pasēs hēs bouletai ho theos poiotētos, mē autou tou theou heautǭ tosautēn kai toiautēn poiēsantos hopoian echein ebouleto?
And where did it get its capacity to receive every quality God wishes, unless God himself made it for himself of such amount and kind as he wished to have?
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: matter's receptivity implies God made it.
- Origen.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.5 (Dindorf 1:388; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-5). (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.
7.20.6Dindorf 1:388
καθʼ ὑπόθεσιν γοῦν ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸ ἀγέννητον εἶναι τὴν ὕλην ταῦτα ἐροῦμεν πρὸς τοὺς τοῦτο βουλομένους, ὅτι εἰ προνοίας οὐχ ὑποβαλλούσης τὴν οὐσίαν τῷ θεῷ τοιαύτη γεγένηται, εἰ πρόνοια ἦν ὑφεστῶσα, τί ἂν πλέον πεποιήκει τοῦ αὐτομάτου;
kathʼ hypothesin goun apodexamenoi to agennēton einai tēn hylēn tauta eroumen pros tous touto boulomenous, hoti ei pronoias ouch hypoballousēs tēn ousian tǭ theǭ toiautē gegenētai, ei pronoia ēn hyphestōsa, ti an pleon pepoiēkei tou automatou?
Accepting by hypothesis, then, that matter is unbegotten, we shall say this to those who hold it: if, without providence supplying the substance to God, it came to be such, then had providence been in existence, what more would it have done than chance?
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: if matter came to fit God by chance, providence would add nothing.
- Origen.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.6 (Dindorf 1:388; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-6). (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.
7.20.7Dindorf 1:388
καὶ εἰ αὐτὸς, μὴ οὔσης ὕλης, ἐβούλετο κατασκευάσαι αὐτὴν, τί ἂν πλέον ἡ σοφία καὶ ἡ θειότης αὐτοῦ πεποιήκει τοῦ ἐξ ἀγεννήτου ὑποστάντος; εἰ γὰρ εὑρίσκεται ταὐτὸν γενόμενον ἂν ὑπὸ τῆς προνοίας, ὅπερ καὶ χωρὶς προνοίας ὑπέστη, διὰ τί οὐχὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ κόσμου ἀθετήσομεν τὸν δημιουργὸν καὶ τὸν τεχνίτην;
kai ei autos, mē ousēs hylēs, ebouleto kataskeuasai autēn, ti an pleon hē sophia kai hē theiotēs autou pepoiēkei tou ex agennētou hypostantos? ei gar heurisketai tauton genomenon an hypo tēs pronoias, hoper kai chōris pronoias hypestē, dia ti ouchi kai epi tou kosmou athetēsomen ton dēmiourgon kai ton technitēn?
And if he himself, matter not existing, had wished to construct it, what more would his wisdom and divinity have done than what existed from the unbegotten? For if the same thing is found that would have been made by providence and that came about without providence, why should we not also set aside the creator and craftsman of the world?
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: by the same logic one could deny the world's Maker.
- Origen.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): ὑποστάντος ὑποστάντος; → ὑποστάντος;.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.7 (Dindorf 1:388; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-7). (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.
7.20.8Dindorf 1:388
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄτοπον ἐπὶ τοῦ κόσμου εἰπεῖν οὕτω τεχνικῶς κατεσκευασμένου τὸ χωρὶς τεχνίτου σοφοῦ αὐτὸν τοιοῦτον γεγονέναι, οὕτω καὶ τὸ τὴν ὕλην τοσαύτην καὶ τοιαύτην καὶ οὕτως εἰκτικὴν τῷ τεχνίτῃ λόγῳ θεοῦ ὑφεστηκέναι ἀγεννήτως ἐπʼ ἴσης ἐστὶν ἄλογον.
hōsper gar atopon epi tou kosmou eipein houtō technikōs kateskeuasmenou to chōris technitou sophou auton toiouton gegonenai, houtō kai to tēn hylēn tosautēn kai toiautēn kai houtōs eiktikēn tǭ technitę̄ logǭ theou hyphestēkenai agennētōs epʼ isēs estin alogon.
For just as it is absurd to say of the world, so skillfully constructed, that it became such without a wise craftsman, so it is equally irrational to say that matter, of such amount and kind and so yielding to God's craftsmanlike Word, existed unbegotten.
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: matter so fitted to God's Word cannot be unbegotten.
- Origen.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.8 (Dindorf 1:388; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-8). (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.
7.20.9Dindorf 1:388–389
πρὸς μέντοι γε τοὺς παραβάλλοντας ὅτι οὐδεὶς δημιουργὸς χωρὶς ὕλης ποιεῖ λεκτέον ὅτι ἀνομοίως παραβάλλουσι. πρόνοια γὰρ παντὶ τεχνίτῃ ὑποβάλλει τὴν ὕλην ἀπὸ προτέρας τέχνης, ἢ θείας ἢ ἀνθρωπίνης, ἐρχομένην. ταῦτα μὲν οὑν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀρκέσει πρὸς τοὺς διὰ τὸ λέγεσθαι “ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος” οἰομένους ἀγέννητον εἶναι τὴν σωματικὴν φύσιν.” Τοσαῦτα καὶ οὗτος. καὶ ὁ Ἑβραῖος δὲ Φίλων ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς προνοίας ταῦτα περὶ τῆς ὕλης διέξεισι
pros mentoi ge tous paraballontas hoti oudeis dēmiourgos chōris hylēs poiei lekteon hoti anomoiōs paraballousi. pronoia gar panti technitę̄ hypoballei tēn hylēn apo proteras technēs, ē theias ē anthrōpinēs, erchomenēn. tauta men houn epi tou parontos arkesei pros tous dia to legesthai “hē de gē ēn aoratos kai akataskeuastos” oiomenous agennēton einai tēn sōmatikēn physin.” Tosauta kai houtos. kai ho Hebraios de Philōn en tǭ peri tēs pronoias tauta peri tēs hylēs diexeisi
To those who compare that no craftsman makes anything without matter, it must be said that they compare unlike things. For providence supplies every craftsman with matter coming from a prior art, either divine or human. This will suffice for the present against those who, because it is said, 'And the earth was invisible and unformed,' think that bodily nature is unbegotten." So much from him too. And the Hebrew Philo too, in his work on providence, sets out this about matter:
Gen 1:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen: human craftsmen use matter provided by prior art; Gen 1:2 does not prove matter uncreated. Philo follows.
- Origen, quoting Gen 1:2 (LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letters in the digital text): ἡ δὲ yij ἦν → ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.20.9 (Dindorf 1:388–389; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-20-9). (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.
Preparation 7, chapter 21
7.21.1Dindorf 1:389
’ Περὶ δὲ τοῦ ποσοῦ τῆς οὐσίας, εἰ δὴ γέγονεν ὄντως, ἐκεῖνο λεκτέον. ἐστοχάσατο πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου γένεσιν ὁ θεὸς αὐταρκεστάτης ὕλης, ὡς μήτʼ ἐνδέοι μήθʼ ὑπερβάλλοι. καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον ἦν τοῖς μὲν κατὰ μέρος τεχνίταις, ὁπότε τι δημιουργοῖεν, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν πολυτελῶν, τὸ ἐν ὕλαις αὔταρκες σταθμήσασθαι, τὸν δʼ ἀριθμοὺς καὶ μέτρα καὶ τὰς ἐν τούτοις ἰσότητας ἀνευρηκότα μὴ φροντίσαι τοῦ ἱκανοῦ.
’ Peri de tou posou tēs ousias, ei dē gegonen ontōs, ekeino lekteon. estochasato pros tēn tou kosmou genesin ho theos autarkestatēs hylēs, hōs mētʼ endeoi mēthʼ hyperballoi. kai gar atopon ēn tois men kata meros technitais, hopote ti dēmiourgoien, kai malista tōn polytelōn, to en hylais autarkes stathmēsasthai, ton dʼ arithmous kai metra kai tas en toutois isotētas aneurēkota mē phrontisai tou hikanou.
"About the quantity of the substance, if indeed it really came into being, this must be said. God aimed, for the creation of the world, at a most sufficient amount of matter, so that there should be neither lack nor excess. For it would be absurd that particular craftsmen, whenever they make something, especially costly things, should weigh out the sufficient amount of materials, while the one who discovered numbers and measures and the equalities in them should take no thought for what was enough.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: God measured exactly enough matter for the world.
- Philo, On Providence (Greek fragment).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letters in the digital text): ἦν ttotg μὲν → ἦν τοῖς μὲν.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.21.1 (Dindorf 1:389; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-21-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.21.2Dindorf 1:389
λέξω δὴ μετὰ παρρησίας ὅτι οὔτʼ ἐλάττονος οὔτε πλείονος οὐσίας ἔδει τῷ κόσμῳ πρὸς κατασκευὴν, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἂν ἐγένετο τέλειος, οὐδʼ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς μέρεσιν ὁλόκληρος, εὖ δὲ δεδημιουργημένος ἐκ τελείας οὐσίας ἀπετελέσθη. πανσόφου γὰρ τὴν τέχνην ἴδιον, πρὶν ἄρξασθαί τινος κατασκευῆς, τὴν ἱκανὴν ἰδεῖν ὕλην.
lexō dē meta parrēsias hoti outʼ elattonos oute pleionos ousias edei tǭ kosmǭ pros kataskeuēn, epei ouk an egeneto teleios, oudʼ en pasi tois meresin holoklēros, eu de dedēmiourgēmenos ek teleias ousias apetelesthē. pansophou gar tēn technēn idion, prin arxasthai tinos kataskeuēs, tēn hikanēn idein hylēn.
I shall say boldly, then, that the world needed neither less nor more substance for its construction, since otherwise it would not have become perfect, nor complete in all its parts; but, well made, it was completed from a perfect substance. For it is proper to one all-wise in art, before beginning any construction, to see the sufficient matter.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: the world was made perfect from exactly the right amount of matter.
- Philo, On Providence
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): ἐν πάσι τοῖς → ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς; εὑ δὲ δεδημιουργημένος → εὖ δὲ δεδημιουργημένος.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.21.2 (Dindorf 1:389; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-21-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.21.3Dindorf 1:389
ἄνθρωπος μὲν οὖν κἂν εἰ τῶν ἄλλων τὴν ἐπιστήμην διαφέροι, μὴ δυνάμενος κατὰ τὸ παντελὲς ἐκφυγεῖν τὴν συγγενῆ τῶν θνητῶν πλάνην, ἀπατῷτο ἂν ἴσως περὶ τὴν ποσότητα τῆς ὕλης, ὁπότε τεχνιτεύοι, τοτὲ μὲν ὡς ἐλάττονι προστιθέναι, τοτὲ δὲ ὡς περιττῆς ἀφαιρεῖν· ὁ δὲ πηγή τις ὢν ἐπιστημῶν ἐνδέον ἢ περιττεῦον οὐδὲν ἔμελλεν ὑποβάλλεσθαι, μέτροις ἅτε χρώμενος εἰς ἀκρίβειαν ὑπερφυῶς πεπονημένοις ἅπασιν ἐπαινετοῖς.
anthrōpos men oun kan ei tōn allōn tēn epistēmēn diapheroi, mē dynamenos kata to panteles ekphygein tēn syngenē tōn thnētōn planēn, apatǭto an isōs peri tēn posotēta tēs hylēs, hopote techniteuoi, tote men hōs elattoni prostithenai, tote de hōs perittēs aphairein; ho de pēgē tis ōn epistēmōn endeon ē peritteuon ouden emellen hypoballesthai, metrois hate chrōmenos eis akribeian hyperphyōs peponēmenois hapasin epainetois.
A man, even if he surpasses others in knowledge, being unable entirely to escape the error native to mortals, might perhaps be deceived about the quantity of matter when he practiced his craft, at one time adding as to something too little, at another taking away as from something too much; but he who is a fountain of sciences was not going to supply anything lacking or excessive, using measures all worked out to marvelous exactness and praiseworthy.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: humans misjudge materials, but God, the source of knowledge, does not.
- Philo, On Providence
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): ἄνθρωπος μὲν οὐν κἂν → ἄνθρωπος μὲν οὖν κἂν.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.21.3 (Dindorf 1:389; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-21-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.21.4Dindorf 1:389–390
ὁ δὲ βουλόμενος ἄλλως ὑθλεῖν οὐκ ἂν φθάνοι καὶ τὰ πάντων ἔργα τῶν τεχνιτῶν αἴτια τιθέμενος, ὡς ἄμεινον τῆς κατασκευῆς ἐπιλαχόντα προσθέσει τινὸς ἢ μειώσει τῶν ἐν ὕλαις. ἀλλὰ γὰρ σοφιστείας μὲν ἔργον εὑρεσιλογεῖν, σοφίας δὲ ἕκαστα διερευνᾶν τῶν ἐν τῇ φύσει.
ho de boulomenos allōs hythlein ouk an phthanoi kai ta pantōn erga tōn technitōn aitia tithemenos, hōs ameinon tēs kataskeuēs epilachonta prosthesei tinos ē meiōsei tōn en hylais. alla gar sophisteias men ergon heuresilogein, sophias de hekasta diereunan tōn en tę̄ physei.
And one who wishes to talk nonsense otherwise might as well blame the works of all craftsmen too, as though they would have attained a better construction by some addition to or subtraction from their materials. But it is the work of sophistry to invent arguments, and of wisdom to search out each thing in nature."
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: such objections are sophistry, not wisdom.
- Philo, On Providence
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prov. (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.21.4 (Dindorf 1:389–390; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-21-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
7.21.5Dindorf 1:390
Καὶ τὰ μὲν τοῦ Φίλωνος τοῦτον ἐχέτω τὸν τρόπον. Μαξίμῳ δὲ τῆς Χριστοῦ διατριβῆς οὐκ ἀσήμῳ ἀνδρὶ καὶ λόγος οἰκεῖος συγγέγραπται ὁ Περὶ τῆς ὕλης. ἐξ οὗ μοι δοκῶ μέτρια χρησίμως παραθήσεσθαι εἰς ἀκριβῆ τοῦ προβλήματος ἔλεγχον.
Kai ta men tou Philōnos touton echetō ton tropon. Maximǭ de tēs Christou diatribēs ouk asēmǭ andri kai logos oikeios syngegraptai ho Peri tēs hylēs. ex hou moi dokō metria chrēsimōs parathēsesthai eis akribē tou problēmatos elenchon.
Let Philo's words stand thus. And Maximus, a man not undistinguished in the school of Christ, has also written a treatise of his own, On Matter. From it I think I shall usefully quote a moderate amount for an exact examination of the problem.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Maximus's treatise On Matter.
- The passage quoted in chapter 22 is found in Methodius of Olympus, On Providence–12; Eusebius attributes it to a "Maximus."
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 7.21.5 (Dindorf 1:390; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/7-15-1/#p-7-21-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.