Preparation for the Gospel 8.9.1–8.12.22
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 8, chapter 9
8.9.1Dindorf 1:430
Ἄξιον δὲ ἐπιμνησθῆναι διὰ βραχέων τῶν ὑποδειχθέντων ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὰ διʼ ἡμῶν ἐπιζητηθέντα· νομίζειν γὰρ τοῖς πολλοῖς περιεργίαν ἔχειν τινὰ τῶν ἐν τῇ νομοθεσίᾳ, λέγω δὲ περί τε βρωτῶν καὶ ποτῶν καὶ τῶν νομιζομένων ἀκαθάρτων εἶναι κνωδάλων.
Axion de epimnēsthēnai dia bracheōn tōn hypodeichthentōn hypʼ autou pros ta diʼ hēmōn epizētēthenta; nomizein gar tois pollois periergian echein tina tōn en tę̄ nomothesią, legō de peri te brōtōn kai potōn kai tōn nomizomenōn akathartōn einai knōdalōn.
"It is worth mentioning briefly what he showed us in answer to our questions. For most people think there is a certain overscrupulousness in some parts of the legislation, I mean concerning foods and drinks and the creatures considered unclean.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristeas: Eleazar answers questions about the food laws.
- Letter of Aristeas 128.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing iota subscript in the digital text; word split and wrong breathing in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): βραχ· έων τῶν ὺποδειχθέντων → βραχέων τῶν ὑποδειχθέντων; ἐν τῆ νομοθεσίᾳ → ἐν τῇ νομοθεσίᾳ; ἀκαθάρτων εἷναι → ἀκαθάρτων εἶναι.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 128 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.1 (Dindorf 1:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-1). (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.
8.9.2Dindorf 1:430
πυνθανομένων γὰρ ἡμῶν διὰ τί, μιᾶς καταβολῆς οὔσης ‚ τὰ μὲν ἀκάθαρτα νομίζεται πρὸς βρῶσιν, τὰ δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἁφήν· (δεισιδαιμόνως γὰρ τὰ πλεῖστα τὴν νομοθεσίαν ἔχειν ‚ ἐν δὲ τούτοις πάλιν δεισιδαιμόνως·) πρὸς ταῦτα οὕτως ἐνήρξατο·
pynthanomenōn gar hēmōn dia ti, mias katabolēs ousēs ‚ ta men akatharta nomizetai pros brōsin, ta de kai pros tēn haphēn; (deisidaimonōs gar ta pleista tēn nomothesian echein ‚ en de toutois palin deisidaimonōs;) pros tauta houtōs enērxato;
For when we asked why, there being one creation, some things are considered unclean for eating and some even for touching (for the legislation, we said, is superstitious in most things, and in these again superstitious), he began thus in reply:
Notes and citation
Summary: The visitors ask why some creatures are unclean to eat or touch.
- Letter of Aristeas 129.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 129 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.2 (Dindorf 1:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-2). (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.
8.9.3Dindorf 1:430
Θεωρεῖς ‚ ἔφη, τὰς ἀναστροφὰς καὶ τὰς ὁμιλίας, οἷον ἐνεργάζονται πρᾶγμα, διότι κακοῖς ὁμιλήσαντες διαστροφὰς ἐπιλαμβάνουσιν ἄνθρωποι, καὶ ταλαίπωροι διʼ ὅλου τοῦ ζῆν εἰσίν· ἐὰν δὲ σοφοῖς καὶ φρονίμοις συζῶσιν, ἐξ ἀγνοίας ἐπανορθώσεως εἰς τὸν βίον ἔτυχον.
Theōreis ‚ ephē, tas anastrophas kai tas homilias, hoion energazontai pragma, dioti kakois homilēsantes diastrophas epilambanousin anthrōpoi, kai talaipōroi diʼ holou tou zēn eisin; ean de sophois kai phronimois syzōsin, ex agnoias epanorthōseōs eis ton bion etychon.
"You see," he said, "what effect ways of life and associations have: people who associate with the bad acquire perversions and are wretched all their lives; but if they live with the wise and prudent, they gain correction from ignorance for their life.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eleazar: companionship shapes character for good or ill.
- Letter of Aristeas 130.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶον ἐνεργάζονται → οἷον ἐνεργάζονται.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 130 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.3 (Dindorf 1:430; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-3). (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.
8.9.4Dindorf 1:430–431
διαστειλάμενος οὑν τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας καὶ δικαιοσύνης πρῶτον ὁ νομοθέτης ἡμῶν καὶ διδάξας ἕκαστα περὶ τούτων, οὐκ ἀπαγορευτικῶς μόνον, ἀλλʼ ἐνδεικτικῶς ‚ καὶ τὰς βλάβας προδήλους καὶ τὰς ὑπὸ θεοῦ γενομένας ἐπιπομπὰς τοῖς αἰτίοις.
diasteilamenos houn ta tēs eusebeias kai dikaiosynēs prōton ho nomothetēs hēmōn kai didaxas hekasta peri toutōn, ouk apagoreutikōs monon, allʼ endeiktikōs ‚ kai tas blabas prodēlous kai tas hypo theou genomenas epipompas tois aitiois.
Our lawgiver, then, first set out the matters of piety and justice and taught each point about them, not only by prohibition but by demonstration, showing plainly both the harms and the visitations sent by God on the guilty.
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses first taught piety and justice by explanation, not mere prohibition.
- Letter of Aristeas 131.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 131 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.4 (Dindorf 1:430–431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-4). (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.
8.9.5Dindorf 1:431
προυπέδειξε γὰρ πρῶτον πάντων ὅτι μόνος ὁ θεός ἐστι καὶ διὰ πάντων ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ φανερὰ γίνεται, πεπληρωμένου παντὸς τόπου τῆς δυναστείας, καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτὸν λανθάνει τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς γινομένων ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπων κρυφίως ‚ ἀλλʼ ὅσα ποιεῖ τις αὐτῷ φανερὰ καθέστηκε καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα γίνεσθαι.
proupedeixe gar prōton pantōn hoti monos ho theos esti kai dia pantōn hē dynamis autou phanera ginetai, peplērōmenou pantos topou tēs dynasteias, kai ouden auton lanthanei tōn epi gēs ginomenōn hypʼ anthrōpōn kryphiōs ‚ allʼ hosa poiei tis autǭ phanera kathestēke kai ta mellonta ginesthai.
For he showed first of all that God is one, and that his power is made manifest through all things, every place being filled with his sovereignty, and nothing done secretly by people on earth escapes him, but whatever anyone does is manifest to him, as also what is to come.
Deut 6:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses taught that God is one and sees all, even the future.
- Letter of Aristeas 132–133.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing iota subscript in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): ὐπʼ ἀνθρώπων → ὑπʼ ἀνθρώπων; αὐτῶ φανερὰ → αὐτῷ φανερὰ.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 132–133 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.5 (Dindorf 1:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-5). (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.
8.9.6Dindorf 1:431
ταῦτʼ οὖν ἐξεργαζόμενος ἀκριβῶς καὶ πρόδηλα θεὶς ἔδειξεν ὅτι καὶ ἐὰν ἐννοηθῇ τις κακίαν ἐπιτελεῖν οὐκ ἂν λάθοι, μὴ ὅτι καὶ πράξας ‚ διʼ ὅλης τῆς νομοθεσίας τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δυνατὸν ἐνδεικνύμενος.
tautʼ oun exergazomenos akribōs kai prodēla theis edeixen hoti kai ean ennoēthę̄ tis kakian epitelein ouk an lathoi, mē hoti kai praxas ‚ diʼ holēs tēs nomothesias to tou theou dynaton endeiknymenos.
Working this out exactly and making it plain, he showed that even if one thinks of doing wrong, he would not escape notice, let alone if he does it, showing God's power throughout the whole legislation.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even an evil thought does not escape God.
- Letter of Aristeas 133.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 133 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.6 (Dindorf 1:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-6). (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.
8.9.7Dindorf 1:431
ποιησάμενος οὖν τὴν καταρχὴν ταύτην, καὶ δείξας ὅτι πάντες οἱ λοιποὶ παρʼ ἡμὰς ἄνθρωποι πολλοὺς θεοὺς εἶναι νομίζουσιν, αὐτοὶ δυναμικώτεροι πολλῷ καθεστῶτες ὧν σέβονται ματαίως. ἀγάλματα γὰρ ποιήσαντες ἐκ λίθων ἢ ξύλων εἰκόνας φασὶν εἶναι τῶν ἐξευρόντων τι πρὸς τὸ ζῆν αὐτοῖς χρήσιμον, οἷς προσκυνοῦσι, παρὰ πόδας ἔχοντες τὴν ἀναισθησίαν.
poiēsamenos oun tēn katarchēn tautēn, kai deixas hoti pantes hoi loipoi parʼ hēmas anthrōpoi pollous theous einai nomizousin, autoi dynamikōteroi pollǭ kathestōtes hōn sebontai mataiōs. agalmata gar poiēsantes ek lithōn ē xylōn eikonas phasin einai tōn exeurontōn ti pros to zēn autois chrēsimon, hois proskynousi, para podas echontes tēn anaisthēsian.
Having made this beginning, he showed that all other people besides us think there are many gods, though they themselves are much more powerful than the things they vainly worship. For they make statues of stones or wood and say they are images of those who discovered something useful to them for life, and they worship them, though their insensibility is before their feet.
Notes and citation
Summary: Other peoples worship lifeless statues of human inventors.
- Letter of Aristeas 134–135.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text; missing iota subscript in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): ωομίζουσιν → νομίζουσιν; δυναμικώτεροι πολλῶ → δυναμικώτεροι πολλῷ; οἶς προσκυνοῦσι → οἷς προσκυνοῦσι.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 134–135 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.7 (Dindorf 1:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-7). (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.
8.9.8Dindorf 1:431
εἴτε γὰρ κατʼ ἐκεῖνό τις θείη, κατὰ τὴν ἐξεύρεσιν, παντελῶς ἀνόητον. τῶν γὰρ ἐν τῇ κτίσει λαβόντες τινὰ συνέθηκαν καὶ προσυπέδειξαν εὐχρηστοτάτην τὴν κατασκευὴν αὐτῶν, οὐ ποιήσαντες αὐτοί· διὸ κενὸν καὶ μάταιον τοὺς ὁμοίους ἀποθεοῦν.
eite gar katʼ ekeino tis theiē, kata tēn exeuresin, pantelōs anoēton. tōn gar en tę̄ ktisei labontes tina synethēkan kai prosypedeixan euchrēstotatēn tēn kataskeuēn autōn, ou poiēsantes autoi; dio kenon kai mataion tous homoious apotheoun.
For if one were to reckon by that, by invention, it is utterly foolish. For they took some of the things in creation and put them together and showed their construction to be most useful, but did not make them themselves; therefore it is empty and vain to deify those like themselves.
Notes and citation
Summary: Inventors only rearranged creation, so deifying them is foolish.
- Letter of Aristeas 136.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllables in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): συνἐθηκαν → συνέθηκαν; κατασκευὴν σκευὴν → κατασκευὴν.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 136 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.8 (Dindorf 1:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-8). (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.
8.9.9Dindorf 1:431
καὶ γὰρ ἔτι καὶ νῦν εὑρετικώτεροι καὶ πολυμαθέστεροι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τῶν πρίν εἰσι πολλοὶ ‚ καὶ οὐκ ἂν φθάνοιεν αὐτοὺς προσκυνοῦντες.
kai gar eti kai nyn heuretikōteroi kai polymathesteroi tōn anthrōpōn tōn prin eisi polloi ‚ kai ouk an phthanoien autous proskynountes.
For even now there are many more inventive and learned than people of old, and they would be quick to worship them too.
Notes and citation
Summary: Modern inventors would then deserve worship too.
- Letter of Aristeas 136–137.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 136–137 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.9 (Dindorf 1:431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-9). (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.
8.9.10Dindorf 1:431–432
καὶ νομίζουσιν οἱ ταῦτα διαπλάσαντες καὶ μυθοποιήσαντες τῶν Ἑλλήνων οἱ σοφώτατοι καθεστάναι. τῶν μὲν γὰρ ἄλλων πολυματαίων τί δεῖ λέγειν, Αἰγυπτίων τε καὶ τῶν παραπλησίων, οἵτινες ἐπὶ θηρία καὶ τῶν ἑρπετῶν τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ κνωδάλων τὴν ἀπέρεισιν πεποίηνται, καὶ ταῦτα προσκυνοῦσι, καὶ θύουσι τούτοις καὶ ζῶσι καὶ τελευτήσασι;
kai nomizousin hoi tauta diaplasantes kai mythopoiēsantes tōn Hellēnōn hoi sophōtatoi kathestanai. tōn men gar allōn polymataiōn ti dei legein, Aigyptiōn te kai tōn paraplēsiōn, hoitines epi thēria kai tōn herpetōn ta pleista kai knōdalōn tēn apereisin pepoiēntai, kai tauta proskynousi, kai thyousi toutois kai zōsi kai teleutēsasi?
And those who have fashioned and invented these myths think they are the wisest of the Greeks. As for the other utterly vain people, the Egyptians and the like, what need is there to speak of them, who have placed their reliance on beasts and most of the reptiles and creatures, and worship them, and sacrifice to them both living and dead?
Notes and citation
Summary: Greek mythmakers and Egyptian animal worshipers are alike foolish.
- Letter of Aristeas 137–138.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 137–138 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.10 (Dindorf 1:431–432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-10). (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.
8.9.11Dindorf 1:432
συνθεωρήσας τοιγαροῦν ἕκαστα σοφὸς ὢν ὁ νομοθέτης, καὶ ὑπὸ θεοῦ κατεσκευασμένος εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν τῶν ἁπάντων, περιέφραξεν ἡμᾶς ἀδιακόποις χάραξι καὶ σιδηροῖς τείχεσιν, ὅπως μηδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν ἐπιμισγώμεθα κατὰ μηδὲν, ἁγνοὶ καθεστῶτες κατὰ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ ψυχὴν, ἀπολελυμένοι ματαίων δοξῶν, τὸν μόνον θεὸν καὶ δυνατὸν σεβόμενοι παρʼ ὅλην τὴν πᾶσαν κτίσιν.
syntheōrēsas toigaroun hekasta sophos ōn ho nomothetēs, kai hypo theou kateskeuasmenos eis epignōsin tōn hapantōn, periephraxen hēmas adiakopois charaxi kai sidērois teichesin, hopōs mēdeni tōn allōn ethnōn epimisgōmetha kata mēden, hagnoi kathestōtes kata sōma kai kata psychēn, apolelymenoi mataiōn doxōn, ton monon theon kai dynaton sebomenoi parʼ holēn tēn pasan ktisin.
Having considered each of these things, then, being wise and equipped by God for the knowledge of all things, the lawgiver fenced us around with unbroken palisades and iron walls, so that we should not mingle in any way with any of the other nations, being pure in body and soul, freed from vain opinions, worshiping the only and mighty God above the whole creation.
Notes and citation
Summary: The law fenced Israel off from other nations to keep it pure.
- Letter of Aristeas 139.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 139 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.11 (Dindorf 1:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-11). (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.
8.9.12Dindorf 1:432
ὅθεν Αἰγυπτίων οἱ καθηγεμόνες ἱερεῖς ἐγκεκυφότες εἰς πολλὰ καὶ μετεσχηκότες πραγμάτων ἀνθρώπους θεοῦ προσονομάζουσιν ἡμᾶς· ὃ τοῖς λοιποῖς οὐ πρόσεστιν, εἰ μή τις σέβεται τὸν κατʼ ἀλήθειαν θεόν· ἀλλʼ εἰσὶν ἄνθρωποι βρωτῶν καὶ ποτῶν καὶ σκέπης· ἡ γὰρ πᾶσα διάθεσις αὐτῶν ἐπὶ ταῦτα καταφεύγει.
hothen Aigyptiōn hoi kathēgemones hiereis enkekyphotes eis polla kai meteschēkotes pragmatōn anthrōpous theou prosonomazousin hēmas; ho tois loipois ou prosestin, ei mē tis sebetai ton katʼ alētheian theon; allʼ eisin anthrōpoi brōtōn kai potōn kai skepēs; hē gar pasa diathesis autōn epi tauta katapheugei.
Hence the leading priests of the Egyptians, who have looked closely into many things and have experience of affairs, call us 'men of God,' a title that belongs to no others, unless one worships the true God; but they are men of food and drink and clothing, for their whole disposition takes refuge in these.
Notes and citation
Summary: Egyptian priests call the Jews 'men of God'; others live for food and clothing.
- Letter of Aristeas 140.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 140 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.12 (Dindorf 1:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-12). (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.
8.9.13Dindorf 1:432
τοῖς δὲ παρʼ ἡμῖν ἐν οὐδενὶ ταῦτα λελόγισται, περὶ δὲ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δυναστείας διʼ ὅλου τοῦ ζῆν ἡ σκέψις αὐτοῖς ἐστί. ὅπως οὖν μηδενὶ συναλισγόμενοι μηδὲ ὁμιλοῦντες φαύλῳ διαστροφὰς λαμβάνοιμεν, πάντοθεν ἡμᾶς περιέφραξαν ἁγνείαις, καὶ διὰ βρωτῶν καὶ ποτῶν καὶ ἁφῆς καὶ ἀκοῆς καὶ ὁράσεως νομικῆς.
tois de parʼ hēmin en oudeni tauta lelogistai, peri de tēs tou theou dynasteias diʼ holou tou zēn hē skepsis autois esti. hopōs oun mēdeni synalisgomenoi mēde homilountes phaulǭ diastrophas lambanoimen, pantothen hēmas periephraxan hagneiais, kai dia brōtōn kai potōn kai haphēs kai akoēs kai horaseōs nomikēs.
But among our people these things are reckoned as nothing; their contemplation throughout their whole life concerns the sovereignty of God. So that we might not be defiled by mixing or associating with anything base and so be perverted, he fenced us around on all sides with purifications, in foods and drinks and touch and hearing and sight, by law.
Notes and citation
Summary: Purity laws guard against defilement in every sense.
- Letter of Aristeas 141–142.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): πάντο- θεν → πάντοθεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 141–142 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.13 (Dindorf 1:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-13). (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.
8.9.14Dindorf 1:432
τὸ γὰρ καθόλου πάντα πρὸς τὸν φυσικὸν λόγον ὅμοια καθέστηκεν, ὑπὸ μιᾶς δυνάμεως οἰκονομούμενα, καὶ καθʼ ἓν ἕκαστα ἔχει λόγον βαθὺν, ἀφʼ ὧν ἀπεχόμεθα κατὰ τὴν χρῆσιν καὶ οἷς συγχρώμεθα.
to gar katholou panta pros ton physikon logon homoia kathestēken, hypo mias dynameōs oikonomoumena, kai kathʼ hen hekasta echei logon bathyn, aphʼ hōn apechometha kata tēn chrēsin kai hois synchrōmetha.
For in general all things are alike as regards natural reason, being governed by one power; and each particular thing from which we abstain in use, and which we use, has a deep reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: All creatures are alike in nature, but each food law has a deep reason.
- Letter of Aristeas 143.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 143 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.14 (Dindorf 1:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-14). (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.
8.9.15Dindorf 1:432
χάριν δὲ ὑποδείγματος ἓν ἢ δεύτερον ἐπιδραμών σοι σημανῶ. μὴ γὰρ εἰς τὸν καταπεπτωκότα λόγον εἰσέλθῃς, ὅτι μυιῶν καὶ γαλῆς ἢ τῶν τοιούτων χάριν περιεργίας ποιούμενος ἐνομοθέτει ταῦτα Μωσῆς, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἁγνὴν ἐπίσκεψιν καὶ τρόπων ἐξαρτισμὸν, δικαιοσύνης ἕνεκεν σεμνῶς πάντα ἀνατέτακται.
charin de hypodeigmatos hen ē deuteron epidramōn soi sēmanō. mē gar eis ton katapeptōkota logon eiselthę̄s, hoti muiōn kai galēs ē tōn toioutōn charin periergias poioumenos enomothetei tauta Mōsēs, alla pros hagnēn episkepsin kai tropōn exartismon, dikaiosynēs heneken semnōs panta anatetaktai.
For an example I shall run through one or two and explain them to you. Do not fall into the discredited view that Moses made these laws out of fussiness about mice and weasels or such things; rather, everything has been solemnly ordained for pure contemplation and the perfecting of character, for the sake of justice.
Notes and citation
Summary: The food laws are not trivial but aim at justice and character.
- Letter of Aristeas 144.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 144 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.15 (Dindorf 1:432; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-15). (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.
8.9.16Dindorf 1:432–433
τῶν γὰρ πετεινῶν οἷς χρώμεθα πάντα ἥμερα καθέστηκε, καὶ διαφέρει καθαριότητι, πυροῖς καὶ ὀσπρίοις χρώμενα πρὸς τροφὴν, οἷον περιστεραὶ ‚ τρυγόνες, ἄττακοί, πέρδικες, ἔτι δὲ χῆνες καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα τοιαῦτα· περὶ ὧν δὲ ἀπηγόρευται πετεινῶν, εὑρήσεις ἄγριά τε καὶ σαρκοφάγα, καὶ καταδυναστεύοντα τῇ περὶ αὐτὰ δυνάμει τὰ λοιπὰ, καὶ τὴν τροφὴν ἔχοντα τὴν δαπάνησιν τῶν προειρημένων ἡμέρων μετὰ ἀδικίας. οὐ μόνον δὲ ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἄρνας καὶ ἐρίφους ἁρπάζουσι, καὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δὲ ἀδικοῦσι, νεκρούς τε καὶ ζῶντας.
tōn gar peteinōn hois chrōmetha panta hēmera kathestēke, kai diapherei kathariotēti, pyrois kai ospriois chrōmena pros trophēn, hoion peristerai ‚ trygones, attakoi, perdikes, eti de chēnes kai ta alla hosa toiauta; peri hōn de apēgoreutai peteinōn, heurēseis agria te kai sarkophaga, kai katadynasteuonta tę̄ peri auta dynamei ta loipa, kai tēn trophēn echonta tēn dapanēsin tōn proeirēmenōn hēmerōn meta adikias. ou monon de tauta, alla kai tous arnas kai eriphous harpazousi, kai tous anthrōpous de adikousi, nekrous te kai zōntas.
For all the birds we use are tame and distinguished by cleanliness, feeding on grain and pulse, such as pigeons, turtledoves, francolins, partridges, and also geese and others of that sort. But of the birds that are forbidden, you will find that they are wild and carnivorous, and with the strength they have oppress the rest, and get their food by unjustly devouring the tame birds just mentioned. And not only these, but they also seize lambs and kids, and injure people, both dead and living.
Lev 11:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Clean birds are gentle; unclean birds are predators.
- Letter of Aristeas 145–146.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen and stray accent in the digital text): καθέ- στῆκε → καθέστηκε.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 145–146 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.16 (Dindorf 1:432–433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-16). (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.
8.9.17Dindorf 1:433
παράσημον οὖν ἔθετο διὰ τούτων, ἀκάθαρτα προσονομάσας ‚ ὅτι δέον ἐστὶ κατὰ ψυχὴν ‚ οἷς ἡ νομοθεσία διατέτακται, δικαιοσύνῃ συγχρῆσθαι καὶ μηδένα καταδυναστεύειν πεποιθότας ἰσχύι τῇ ἑαυτῶν, μηδʼ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι μηδὲν, ἀλλʼ ἐκ δικαιοτάτου βίου διακυβερνᾶν, ὡς τὰ τῶν προειρημένων πετεινῶν ἥμερα ζῷα τὰ φυόμενα τῶν ὀσπρίων ἐπὶ γῆς δαπανᾷ καὶ οὐ καταδυναστεύει πρὸς τὴν ἐπαναίρεσιν οὔτε τῶν ὑποβεβηκότων οὔτε τῶν συγγενικῶν.
parasēmon oun etheto dia toutōn, akatharta prosonomasas ‚ hoti deon esti kata psychēn ‚ hois hē nomothesia diatetaktai, dikaiosynę̄ synchrēsthai kai mēdena katadynasteuein pepoithotas ischui tę̄ heautōn, mēdʼ aphaireisthai mēden, allʼ ek dikaiotatou biou diakybernan, hōs ta tōn proeirēmenōn peteinōn hēmera zǭa ta phyomena tōn ospriōn epi gēs dapaną kai ou katadynasteuei pros tēn epanairesin oute tōn hypobebēkotōn oute tōn syngenikōn.
By these, then, calling them unclean, he gave a sign that those for whom the legislation has been ordained must practice justice in their souls, and oppress no one, trusting in their own strength, nor take away anything, but guide their life by the most just conduct, as the tame creatures among the birds just mentioned eat the pulses that grow on the earth and do not oppress others to destroy them, either those beneath them or their own kind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Unclean birds signify that people must not oppress others by force.
- Letter of Aristeas 147.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ἰσχύι· τῇ ἑαυτῶν → ἰσχύι τῇ ἑαυτῶν.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 147 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.17 (Dindorf 1:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-17). (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.
8.9.18Dindorf 1:433
διὰ τούτων οὖν παρέδωκεν ὁ νομοθέτης σημειοῦσθαι τοῖς συνετοῖς εἶναι δικαίους τε καὶ μηδὲν ἐπιτελεῖν βίᾳ, μηδὲ τῇ περὶ αὐτοὺς ἰσχύι πεποιθότας ἑτέρους καταδυναστεύειν.
dia toutōn oun paredōken ho nomothetēs sēmeiousthai tois synetois einai dikaious te kai mēden epitelein bią, mēde tę̄ peri autous ischui pepoithotas heterous katadynasteuein.
Through these, then, the lawgiver handed down to the wise the sign that they should be just and do nothing by force, nor oppress others trusting in their own strength.
Notes and citation
Summary: The lesson is justice and non-violence.
- Letter of Aristeas 148.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text; word split by a stray full stop in the digital text): εἶ. ναι → εἶναι; ἰσχύι· πεποιθότας → ἰσχύι πεποιθότας.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 148 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.18 (Dindorf 1:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-18). (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.
8.9.19Dindorf 1:433
ὅπου γὰρ οὐδʼ ἅψασθαι καθῆκε τῶν προειρημένων διὰ τὴν περὶ ἕκαστα διάθεσιν, πῶς οὐ φυλακτέον παντάπασι τοὺς τρόπους εἰς τοῦτο κατακλασθῆναι;
hopou gar oudʼ hapsasthai kathēke tōn proeirēmenōn dia tēn peri hekasta diathesin, pōs ou phylakteon pantapasi tous tropous eis touto kataklasthēnai?
For where it is not even proper to touch the creatures mentioned because of the disposition of each, how must one not guard altogether against one's character being bent toward this?
Notes and citation
Summary: If touching such creatures is forbidden, much more imitating them.
- Letter of Aristeas 149.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 149 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.19 (Dindorf 1:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-19). (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.
8.9.20Dindorf 1:433
πάντα οὖν τὰ συγχωρηθέντα ἐπὶ τούτων καὶ τῶν κτηνῶν τροπολογῶν ἐκτέθεικε. τὸ γὰρ διχηλεύειν καὶ διαστέλλειν ὁπλῆς ὄνυχας σημεῖόν ἐστι τοῦ διαστέλλειν ἕκαστα τῶν πράξεων ἐπὶ τὸ καλῶς ἔχον.
panta oun ta synchōrēthenta epi toutōn kai tōn ktēnōn tropologōn ektetheike. to gar dichēleuein kai diastellein hoplēs onychas sēmeion esti tou diastellein hekasta tōn praxeōn epi to kalōs echon.
He has set out, then, all that is permitted regarding these and the cattle in a figurative sense. For dividing the hoof and parting the claws of the hoof is a sign of distinguishing each of our actions with a view to what is right.
Lev 11:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The divided hoof signifies discerning right action.
- Letter of Aristeas 150.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): ἐκτἐθεικε → ἐκτέθεικε.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 150 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.20 (Dindorf 1:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-20). (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.
8.9.21Dindorf 1:433–434
ἡ γὰρ ἰσχὺς τῶν ὅλων σωμάτων μετὰ ἐνεργείας ἀπέρεισιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους ἔχει καὶ τὰ σκέλη. μετὰ διαστολῆς οὖν ἅπαντα ἐπιτελεῖν πρὸς δικαιοσύνην ἀναγκάζει τῷ σημειοῦσθαι διὰ τούτων, ἔτι δὲ καὶ διότι παρὰ πάντας ἀνθρώπους διεστάλμεθα.
hē gar ischys tōn holōn sōmatōn meta energeias apereisin epi tous ōmous echei kai ta skelē. meta diastolēs oun hapanta epitelein pros dikaiosynēn anankazei tǭ sēmeiousthai dia toutōn, eti de kai dioti para pantas anthrōpous diestalmetha.
For the strength of the whole body in action rests on the shoulders and the legs. By signifying this through these things, then, he compels us to do everything with discernment toward justice, and further because we have been set apart from all people.
Notes and citation
Summary: The cloven hoof signifies discernment and Israel's separation.
- Letter of Aristeas 151.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 151 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.21 (Dindorf 1:433–434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-21). (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.
8.9.22Dindorf 1:434
οἱ γὰρ πλείονες τῶν λοιπῶν ἑαυτοὺς μολύνουσιν ἐπιμισγόμενοι, συντελοῦντες μεγάλην ἀδικίαν, καὶ χῶραι καὶ πόλεις ὅλαι ἐπὶ τούτοις σεμνύνονται. οὐ μόνον γὰρ πρὸς ἄρρενας προσάγουσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τεκούσας, ἔτι δὲ καὶ θυγατέρας μολύνουσιν. ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀπὸ τούτων διεστάλμεθα.
hoi gar pleiones tōn loipōn heautous molynousin epimisgomenoi, syntelountes megalēn adikian, kai chōrai kai poleis holai epi toutois semnynontai. ou monon gar pros arrenas prosagousin, alla kai tekousas, eti de kai thygateras molynousin. hēmeis de apo toutōn diestalmetha.
For most other people defile themselves by their unions, committing great injustice, and whole countries and cities pride themselves on these things. For they not only have intercourse with males, but even defile mothers who have given birth, and daughters too. But we have been set apart from these things.
Lev 18:6 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Other nations practice male intercourse and incest; Israel is set apart.
- Letter of Aristeas 152.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 152 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.22 (Dindorf 1:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-22). (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.
8.9.23Dindorf 1:434
περὶ ὃν δέ ἐστιν ὁ προειρημένος τῆς διαστολῆς τρόπος, περὶ τοῦτον καὶ τὸν τῆς μνήμης εἶναι κεχαρακτήρικε. πάντα γὰρ ὅσα διχηλεῖ καὶ μηρυκισμὸν ἀνάγει, σαφῶς τοῖς νοοῦσιν ἐκτίθεται τὸ τῆς μνήμης. ἡ γὰρ ἀναμηρύκισις οὐδὲν ἕτερον ἀλλʼ ἢ τῆς ζωῆς καὶ συστάσεως ὑπόμνησίς ἐστι.
peri hon de estin ho proeirēmenos tēs diastolēs tropos, peri touton kai ton tēs mnēmēs einai kecharaktērike. panta gar hosa dichēlei kai mērykismon anagei, saphōs tois noousin ektithetai to tēs mnēmēs. hē gar anamērykisis ouden heteron allʼ ē tēs zōēs kai systaseōs hypomnēsis esti.
And concerning the one to whom the manner of separation just mentioned refers, he has marked out that the manner of memory too refers to him. For all creatures that part the hoof and chew the cud plainly set forth to the thoughtful the meaning of memory. For chewing the cud is nothing else than a reminder of life and sustenance.
Lev 11:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Chewing the cud signifies memory.
- Letter of Aristeas 153–154.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 153–154 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.23 (Dindorf 1:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-23). (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.
8.9.24Dindorf 1:434
τὸ γὰρ ζῆν διὰ τῆς τροφῆς συνεστάναι νομίζει. διὸ παρακελεύεται διὰ τῆς γραφῆς λέγων οὕτως μνείᾳ μνησθήσῃ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ‚ τοῦ ποιήσαντος ἐν σοὶ τὰ μεγάλα καὶ θαυμαστά.”
to gar zēn dia tēs trophēs synestanai nomizei. dio parakeleuetai dia tēs graphēs legōn houtōs mneią mnēsthēsę̄ kyriou tou theou ‚ tou poiēsantos en soi ta megala kai thaumasta.”
For he considers that life is sustained through food. Therefore he exhorts through Scripture, saying thus: "You shall surely remember the Lord God, who did in you great and wonderful things."
Deut 7:18 (quotation, medium confidence) · Deut 10:21 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture commands remembrance of God's great works.
- Letter of Aristeas 155, citing Deut 7:18; 10:21.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 155 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.24 (Dindorf 1:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-24). (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.
8.9.25Dindorf 1:434
κατανοούμενα γὰρ ἔνδοξα φαίνεται, πρῶτα μὲν ἡ τοῦ σώματος σύμπηξις καὶ ἡ τῆς τροφῆς διοίκησις καὶ ἡ περὶ ἕκαστον μέρος διαστολὴ, πολλῷ δὲ μᾶλλον ἡ τῶν αἰσθήσεων διακόσμησις, διανοίας ἐνέργημα, καὶ κίνησις ἀόρατος, ἥ τε ὀξύτης τοῦ πρὸς ἕκαστόν τι πράσσειν, καὶ τεχνῶν εὕρεσις, ἀπέρατον περιέχει τρόπον.
katanooumena gar endoxa phainetai, prōta men hē tou sōmatos sympēxis kai hē tēs trophēs dioikēsis kai hē peri hekaston meros diastolē, pollǭ de mallon hē tōn aisthēseōn diakosmēsis, dianoias energēma, kai kinēsis aoratos, hē te oxytēs tou pros hekaston ti prassein, kai technōn heuresis, aperaton periechei tropon.
For when considered they appear glorious: first the framing of the body, the management of food, and the distinction of each part; and much more the ordering of the senses, the working of the mind and its invisible motion, its quickness in doing each thing, and the invention of arts, which contains a boundless manner.
Notes and citation
Summary: The wonders of the human body and mind call for remembrance of God.
- Letter of Aristeas 156.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 156 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.25 (Dindorf 1:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-25). (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.
8.9.26Dindorf 1:434
διὸ παρακελεύεται μνείαν ἔχειν, ὡς συντηρεῖται τὰ προειρημένα συνεχόμενα θείᾳ δυνάμει. πάντα γὰρ τόπον καὶ χρόνον ὥρικε, πρὸς τὸ διὰ παντὸς μνημονεύειν τοῦ κρατοῦντος θεοῦ ‚ συντηροῦντας καὶ τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ μεσότητας καὶ τελευτάς.
dio parakeleuetai mneian echein, hōs syntēreitai ta proeirēmena synechomena theią dynamei. panta gar topon kai chronon hōrike, pros to dia pantos mnēmoneuein tou kratountos theou ‚ syntērountas kai tas archas kai mesotētas kai teleutas.
Therefore he exhorts us to remember how the things mentioned are preserved, held together by divine power. For he has appointed every place and time for us to remember continually God who rules, who preserves beginnings, middles, and ends.
Notes and citation
Summary: Every time and place calls for remembering God.
- Letter of Aristeas 157.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 157 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.26 (Dindorf 1:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-26). (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.
8.9.27Dindorf 1:434–435
καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν βρωτῶν καὶ ποτῶν ἀπαρξαμένους εὐθέως τότε συγχρῆσθαι κελεύει. καὶ μὴν καὶ ἐκ τῶν περιβολαίων παράσημον ἡμῖν μνείας δέδωκεν· ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πόλεων καὶ οἰκήσεων διὰ τὸ σκεπάζεσθαι καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πυλῶν καὶ θυρῶν προστέταχεν ἡμῖν τιθέναι τὰ λόγια, πρὸς τὸ μνείαν εἶναι θεοῦ· καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν δὲ διαρρήδην τὸ σημεῖον κελεύει περιῆφθαι, σαφῶς ἀποδεικνὺς ὅτι πᾶσαν ἐνέργειαν μετὰ δικαιοσύνης ἐπιτελεῖν δεῖ, μνήμην ἔχοντας τῆς ἑαυτῶν κατασκευῆς, ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τὸν περὶ θεοῦ φόβον.
kai gar epi tōn brōtōn kai potōn aparxamenous eutheōs tote synchrēsthai keleuei. kai mēn kai ek tōn peribolaiōn parasēmon hēmin mneias dedōken; hōsautōs de kai epi tōn poleōn kai oikēseōn dia to skepazesthai kai epi tōn pylōn kai thyrōn prostetachen hēmin tithenai ta logia, pros to mneian einai theou; kai epi tōn cheirōn de diarrēdēn to sēmeion keleuei periēphthai, saphōs apodeiknys hoti pasan energeian meta dikaiosynēs epitelein dei, mnēmēn echontas tēs heautōn kataskeuēs, epi pasi de ton peri theou phobon.
For in the case of foods and drinks he commands us to offer first-fruits and only then to make use of them. And from our garments too he has given us a token of remembrance; likewise on cities and dwellings, because they shelter us, and on gates and doors he has commanded us to place the oracles, so that there may be remembrance of God; and on the hands he expressly commands the sign to be bound, clearly showing that every action must be done with justice, remembering our own constitution, and above all the fear of God.
Num 15:38 (allusion, medium confidence) · Deut 6:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Deut 6:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Fringes, doorposts, and phylacteries remind Israel of God.
- Letter of Aristeas 158–159. Compare Num 15:38–39; Deut 6:8–9; 11:20.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray bracket in the digital text): σκεπάζεσθαι] → σκεπάζεσθαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 158–159 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.27 (Dindorf 1:434–435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-27). (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.
8.9.28Dindorf 1:435
κελεύει δὲ καὶ κοιταζομένους καὶ διανισταμένους καὶ πορευομένους μελετᾶν τὰς τοῦ θεοῦ κατασκευὰς, οὐ λόγῳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διαλήψει θεωροῦντας τὴν κίνησιν καὶ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἑαυτῶν, ὅταν εἰς ὕπνον ἔρχωνται, καὶ τὴν ἔγερσιν ὡς θεία τίς ἐστι καὶ ἀκατάληπτος ἡ τούτων μετάθεσις.
keleuei de kai koitazomenous kai dianistamenous kai poreuomenous meletan tas tou theou kataskeuas, ou logǭ monon, alla kai dialēpsei theōrountas tēn kinēsin kai tēn hypolēpsin heautōn, hotan eis hypnon erchōntai, kai tēn egersin hōs theia tis esti kai akatalēptos hē toutōn metathesis.
He commands us also, when lying down and rising up and walking, to meditate on God's works, not in word only but contemplating with understanding the movement and the impression of ourselves when we go to sleep, and the waking, how divine and incomprehensible is the change between them.
Deut 6:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Israel is to meditate on God's works when lying down and rising.
- Letter of Aristeas 160. Compare Deut 6:7.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 160 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.28 (Dindorf 1:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-28). (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.
8.9.29Dindorf 1:435
Δέδεικται δέ σοι καὶ τὸ περισσὸν τῆς λογίας τῆς κατὰ τὴν διαστολὴν καὶ μνείαν, ὡς ἐξεθέμεθα τὴν διχηλίαν καὶ τὸν μηρυκισμόν. οὐ γὰρ εἰκῆ καὶ κατὰ τὸ ἐμπεσὸν εἰς ψυχὴν νενομοθέτηται ‚ πρὸς δʼ ἀλήθειαν καὶ σημείωσιν ὀρθοῦ λόγου.
Dedeiktai de soi kai to perisson tēs logias tēs kata tēn diastolēn kai mneian, hōs exethemetha tēn dichēlian kai ton mērykismon. ou gar eikē kai kata to empeson eis psychēn nenomothetētai ‚ pros dʼ alētheian kai sēmeiōsin orthou logou.
The excellence of the reasoning concerning separation and memory has been shown to you, as we explained the parting of the hoof and the chewing of the cud. For it has not been legislated at random or as it occurred to the mind, but for truth and as a sign of right reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: The laws are signs of right reason, not arbitrary.
- Letter of Aristeas 161.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 161 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.29 (Dindorf 1:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-29). (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.
8.9.30Dindorf 1:435
διατάξας γὰρ ἐπὶ βρωτῶν καὶ ποτῶν καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὰς ἁφὰς ἕκαστα κελεύει μηδὲν εἰκῆ μήτε πράσσειν μήτε ἀκούειν μήτε τῇ τοῦ λόγου δυναστείᾳ συγχρωμένος ἐπὶ τὴν ἀδικίαν τρέπεσθαι.
diataxas gar epi brōtōn kai potōn kai tōn kata tas haphas hekasta keleuei mēden eikē mēte prassein mēte akouein mēte tę̄ tou logou dynasteią synchrōmenos epi tēn adikian trepesthai.
For having given orders about foods and drinks and touch, he commands us in each case neither to do nor to hear anything at random, nor, using the power of speech, to turn to injustice.
Notes and citation
Summary: The law forbids careless action and unjust speech.
- Letter of Aristeas 162.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 162 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.30 (Dindorf 1:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-30). (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.
8.9.31Dindorf 1:435
καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν κνωδάλων δὲ ταὐτὸν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν. κακοποιητικὸς γὰρ ὁ τρόπος ἐστὶ καὶ γαλῆς καὶ μυῶν καὶ τῶν τούτοις ὁμοίων, ὅσα διηγόρευται. πάντα γὰρ λυμαίνονται καὶ κακοποιοῦσι μύες ‚ οὐ μόνον πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτῶν τροφὴν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τὸ παντελῶς ἄχρηστον γίνεσθαι ἀνθρώπῳ ὅ τι ἂν δή ποτʼ οὖν ἐπιβάλληται κακοποιεῖν.
kai epi tōn knōdalōn de tauton estin heurein. kakopoiētikos gar ho tropos esti kai galēs kai myōn kai tōn toutois homoiōn, hosa diēgoreutai. panta gar lymainontai kai kakopoiousi myes ‚ ou monon pros tēn heautōn trophēn, alla kai eis to pantelōs achrēston ginesthai anthrōpǭ ho ti an dē potʼ oun epiballētai kakopoiein.
And the same can be found with the creatures. For the character of the weasel and of mice and things like them, which are expressly named, is harmful. For mice spoil and damage everything, not only for their own food, but so that whatever they set about to harm becomes altogether useless to man.
Lev 11:29 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Mice are unclean because they destroy.
- Letter of Aristeas 163–164. Compare Lev 11:29.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 163–164 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.31 (Dindorf 1:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-31). (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.
8.9.32Dindorf 1:435–436
τό τε τῆς γαλῆς γένος ἰδιάζον ἐστί· χωρὶς γὰρ τοῦ προειρημένου ἔχει λυμαντικὸν κατάστημα. διὰ γὰρ τῶν ὤτων συλλαμβάνει, τεκνοποιεῖ δὲ τῷ στόματι. καὶ διὰ τοῦτʼ οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος τρόπος τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀκάθαρτός ἐστιν. ὅσα γὰρ διʼ ἀκοῆς λαβόντες, ταῦτα τῷ λόγῳ σωματοποιήσαντες κακοῖς ἑτέρους ἐνεκύλισαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν τε οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν ἀπετέλεσαν, μιανθέντες αὐτοὶ παντάπασι τῷ τῆς ἀσεβείας μολυσμῷ.
to te tēs galēs genos idiazon esti; chōris gar tou proeirēmenou echei lymantikon katastēma. dia gar tōn ōtōn syllambanei, teknopoiei de tǭ stomati. kai dia toutʼ oun ho toioutos tropos tois anthrōpois akathartos estin. hosa gar diʼ akoēs labontes, tauta tǭ logǭ sōmatopoiēsantes kakois heterous enekylisan, akatharsian te ou tēn tychousan apetelesan, mianthentes autoi pantapasi tǭ tēs asebeias molysmǭ.
And the weasel's kind is peculiar; for besides what has been said, it has a destructive nature. For it conceives through the ears and gives birth through the mouth. For this reason such a character is unclean for humans. For those who take in things by hearing and give them body by speech, involving others in evils, have produced no ordinary uncleanness, being themselves wholly defiled by the pollution of impiety.
Notes and citation
Summary: The weasel signifies informers who spread what they hear.
- Letter of Aristeas 165–166. The belief about the weasel's reproduction is ancient folklore, reported as given.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 165–166 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.32 (Dindorf 1:435–436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-32). (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.
8.9.33Dindorf 1:436
καλῶς δὲ ποιῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς ὑμῶν τοὺς τοιούτους ἀναιρεῖ, καθὼς μεταλαμβάνομεν. ἐγὼ δὲ εἶπα, τοὺς ἐμφανιστὰς οἴομαί σε λέγειν· καὶ γὰρ αἰκίαις καὶ θανάτοις ἐπαλγέσιν αὐτοὺς παραβάλλει συνεχῶς. τούτους γὰρ καὶ λέγω· ἐπαγρύπνησις γὰρ εἰς ἀνθρώπων ἀπώλειαν ἀνόσιος. ὁ δὲ νόμος ἡμῶν κελεύει μήτε λόγῳ μήτε ἔργῳ κακοποιεῖν μηδένα.
kalōs de poiōn ho basileus hymōn tous toioutous anairei, kathōs metalambanomen. egō de eipa, tous emphanistas oiomai se legein; kai gar aikiais kai thanatois epalgesin autous paraballei synechōs. toutous gar kai legō; epagrypnēsis gar eis anthrōpōn apōleian anosios. ho de nomos hēmōn keleuei mēte logǭ mēte ergǭ kakopoiein mēdena.
And your king does well to put such people to death, as we learn." I said, "I think you mean informers; for he continually subjects them to tortures and painful deaths." "Yes, I mean these; for watchfulness for people's destruction is unholy. Our law commands us to harm no one in word or deed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eleazar praises the king for punishing informers; the law forbids harming anyone.
- Letter of Aristeas 167.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): παρα- βάλλει → παραβάλλει; ἐπαγρύ- πνησις → ἐπαγρύπνησις.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 167 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.33 (Dindorf 1:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-33). (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.
8.9.34Dindorf 1:436
καὶ περὶ τούτων οὖν ὅσον ἐπὶ βραχὺ διεξελθεῖν, προσυποδείξαντά σοι διότι πάντα κεκανόνισται πρὸς δικαιοσύνην καὶ οὐδὲν εἰκῆ κατατέτακται διὰ τῆς γραφῆς οὐδὲ μυθωδῶς, ἀλλʼ ἵνα διʼ ὅλου τοῦ ζῆν καὶ ἐν ταῖς πράξεσιν ἀσκῶμεν δικαιοσύνην πρὸς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ‚ μεμνημένοι τοῦ δυναστεύοντος θεοῦ.
kai peri toutōn oun hoson epi brachy diexelthein, prosypodeixanta soi dioti panta kekanonistai pros dikaiosynēn kai ouden eikē katatetaktai dia tēs graphēs oude mythōdōs, allʼ hina diʼ holou tou zēn kai en tais praxesin askōmen dikaiosynēn pros pantas anthrōpous ‚ memnēmenoi tou dynasteuontos theou.
So much, then, to go through briefly about these things, showing you besides that everything has been regulated for justice, and nothing has been ordained at random through Scripture or in a fabulous way, but so that throughout our whole life and in our actions we may practice justice toward all people, remembering God who rules.
Notes and citation
Summary: All the laws aim at justice toward all and remembrance of God.
- Letter of Aristeas 168.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; misread word in the digital text): ἀλλʼ ἔνα διʼ ὅλου → ἀλλʼ ἵνα διʼ ὅλου; κεκα- νόνισται → κεκανόνισται; δυ- ναστεύοντος → δυναστεύοντος.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 168 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.34 (Dindorf 1:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-34). (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.
8.9.35Dindorf 1:436
περὶ βρωτῶν οὖν καὶ τῶν ἀκαθάρτων, ἑρπετῶν καὶ κνωδάλων, ὁ πᾶς λόγος ἀνατείνει πρὸς δικαιοσύνην καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων συναναστροφὴν δικαίαν.
peri brōtōn oun kai tōn akathartōn, herpetōn kai knōdalōn, ho pas logos anateinei pros dikaiosynēn kai tēn tōn anthrōpōn synanastrophēn dikaian.
Concerning foods, then, and unclean things, reptiles and creatures, the whole account points to justice and just dealings among people."
Notes and citation
Summary: The food laws all point to justice.
- Letter of Aristeas 169.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 169 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.35 (Dindorf 1:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-35). (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.
8.9.36Dindorf 1:436
ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν καλῶς ἐνόμιζε περὶ ἑκάστων ἀπολελογῆσθαι· καὶ γὰρ περὶ τῶν προσφερομένων ἔλεγε μόσχων καὶ κριῶν καὶ χιμάρων ὅτι δεῖ ταῦτʼ ἐκ βουκολίων καὶ ποιμνίων λαμβάνοντας ἥμερα κατασκευάζειν καὶ μηδὲν ἄγριον, ὅπως οἱ προσφέροντες τὰς θυσίας μηδὲν ὑπερήφανον ἑαυτοῖς συνιστορῶσι, σημειώσει κεχρημένοι τοῦ διατάξαντος.
emoi men oun kalōs enomize peri hekastōn apolelogēsthai; kai gar peri tōn prospheromenōn elege moschōn kai kriōn kai chimarōn hoti dei tautʼ ek boukoliōn kai poimniōn lambanontas hēmera kataskeuazein kai mēden agrion, hopōs hoi prospherontes tas thysias mēden hyperēphanon heautois synistorōsi, sēmeiōsei kechrēmenoi tou diataxantos.
"He seemed to me to have made a good defense on each point. For about the calves, rams, and goats that are offered he said that these must be taken from herds and flocks and be tame, nothing wild, so that those who offer the sacrifices may be conscious of no arrogance in themselves, using the sign given by the one who ordained them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sacrificial animals must be tame, signifying humility.
- Letter of Aristeas 170.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): ἐμοὶ μὲν οὑν → ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν; ὅπως οἶ προσφέροντες → ὅπως οἱ προσφέροντες.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 170 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.36 (Dindorf 1:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-36). (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.
8.9.37Dindorf 1:436–437
τῆς γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς τοῦ παντὸς τρόπου τὴν προσφορὰν ποιεῖται ὁ τὴν θυσίαν προσάγων. καὶ περὶ τούτων οὖν νομίζω τὰ τῆς ὁμιλίας ἄξια λόγου καθεστάναι ‚ διὰ τὴν σεμνότητα τοῦ νόμου ‚ ἣν προὴμαι διασαφῆσαί σοι, Φιλόκρατες ‚ διʼ ἣν ἔχεις φιλομάθειαν.”
tēs gar heautou psychēs tou pantos tropou tēn prosphoran poieitai ho tēn thysian prosagōn. kai peri toutōn oun nomizō ta tēs homilias axia logou kathestanai ‚ dia tēn semnotēta tou nomou ‚ hēn proēmai diasaphēsai soi, Philokrates ‚ diʼ hēn echeis philomatheian.”
For the one who brings the sacrifice makes an offering of his own soul in its whole character. And about these things, then, I think what was said in the conversation is worth recording, because of the solemnity of the law, which I have chosen to make clear to you, Philocrates, because of your love of learning."
Notes and citation
Summary: The sacrifice offers the whole soul; Aristeas records this for Philocrates.
- Letter of Aristeas 170–171.
Extrabiblical texts: Let. Aris. 170–171 (Letter of Aristeas; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.37 (Dindorf 1:436–437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-37). (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.
8.9.38Dindorf 1:437
Ταῦτα μὲν ὁ ἀρχιερεὺς τοῖς ἥκουσιν ὡς αὐτὸν Ἕλλησι περὶ τῆς ἀλληγορουμένης ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς νόμοις ἰδέας διεστείλατο, ὡς ἂν μέλλουσι ταῖς ἐκδοθησομέναις περιτεύξεσθαι τῶν γραφῶν ἑρμηνείαις. ὁ δὲ Ἀριστόβουλος καὶ τῆς κατʼ Ἀριστοτέλην φιλοσοφίας πρὸς τῇ πατρίῳ μετειληχὼς, (ὁποῖα περὶ τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς βίβλοις φερομένων ὡς περὶ θεοῦ μελῶν διῆλθεν ἐπακοῦσαι καιρός· οὗτος δʼ αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος, οὗ καὶ ἡ δευτέρα τῶν Μακκαβαίων ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς βίβλου μνημονεύει·) ἐν τῷ πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον τὸν βασιλέα συγγράμματι τοῦτον καὶ αὐτὸς διασαφεῖ τὸν τρόπον
Tauta men ho archiereus tois hēkousin hōs auton Hellēsi peri tēs allēgoroumenēs en tois hierois nomois ideas diesteilato, hōs an mellousi tais ekdothēsomenais periteuxesthai tōn graphōn hermēneiais. ho de Aristoboulos kai tēs katʼ Aristotelēn philosophias pros tę̄ patriǭ meteilēchōs, (hopoia peri tōn en tais hierais biblois pheromenōn hōs peri theou melōn diēlthen epakousai kairos; houtos dʼ autos ekeinos, hou kai hē deutera tōn Makkabaiōn en archę̄ tēs biblou mnēmoneuei;) en tǭ pros Ptolemaion ton basilea syngrammati touton kai autos diasaphei ton tropon
These things the high priest explained to the Greeks who came to him about the allegorical meaning in the sacred laws, as to men who were going to meet the translations of the Scriptures that would be published. Aristobulus too, who had a share in the philosophy of Aristotle besides his ancestral one (it is time to hear what he set out about the things said in the sacred books as if about God's limbs; he is the very man mentioned at the beginning of the book of Second Maccabees), in his treatise to King Ptolemy himself also explains it in this way:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Aristobulus on the anthropomorphisms of Scripture.
- Aristobulus is named in 2 Macc 1:10.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἐκδο- θησομέναις → ἐκδοθησομέναις.
Extrabiblical texts: 2 Macc 1:10 (2 Maccabees [in RC, EO canons]; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.9.38 (Dindorf 1:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-9-38). (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 8, chapter 10
8.10.1Dindorf 1:437
“Πλὴν ἱκανῶς εἰρημένων πρὸς τὰ προκείμενα ζητήματα ἐπεφώνησας καὶ σὺ, βασιλεῦ, διότι σημαίνεται διὰ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ παρʼ ἡμῖν καὶ χεῖρες καὶ βραχίων καὶ πρόσωπον καὶ πόδες καὶ περίπατος ἐπὶ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως· ἃ τεύξεται λόγου καθήκοντος καὶ οὐκ ἀντιδοξήσει τοῖς προειρημένοις ὑφʼ ἡμῶν οὐδέν.
“Plēn hikanōs eirēmenōn pros ta prokeimena zētēmata epephōnēsas kai sy, basileu, dioti sēmainetai dia tou nomou tou parʼ hēmin kai cheires kai brachiōn kai prosōpon kai podes kai peripatos epi tēs theias dynameōs; ha teuxetai logou kathēkontos kai ouk antidoxēsei tois proeirēmenois hyphʼ hēmōn ouden.
"But when enough had been said in answer to the questions set before us, you too, O king, asked why through our law hands, arm, face, feet, and walking are signified in the case of the divine power. These will receive a fitting explanation and will in no way contradict what we have said before.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristobulus addresses the king's question about God's 'hands' and 'feet' in Scripture.
- Aristobulus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): κα- θήκοντος → καθήκοντος.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.1 (Dindorf 1:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-1). (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.
8.10.2Dindorf 1:437
παρακαλέσαι δέ σε βούλομαι πρὸς τὸ φυσικῶς λαμβάνειν τὰς ἐκδοχὰς καὶ τὴν ἁρμόζουσαν ἔννοιαν περὶ θεοῦ κρατεῖν, καὶ μὴ ἐκπίπτειν εἰς τὸ μυθῶδες καὶ ἀνθρώπινον κατάστημα.
parakalesai de se boulomai pros to physikōs lambanein tas ekdochas kai tēn harmozousan ennoian peri theou kratein, kai mē ekpiptein eis to mythōdes kai anthrōpinon katastēma.
I want to urge you to take the interpretations in a natural sense and to hold the fitting conception of God, and not to fall into a mythical and human view.
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture's descriptions of God must be understood fittingly, not mythically.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.2 (Dindorf 1:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-2). (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.
8.10.3Dindorf 1:437
πολλαχῶς γὰρ ὃ βούλεται λέγειν ὁ νομοθέτης ἡμῶν Μωσῆς, ἐφʼ ἑτέρων πραγμάτων λόγους ποιούμενος, λέγω δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν, φυσικὰς διαθέσεις ἀπαγγέλλει καὶ μεγάλων πραγμάτων κατασκευάς.
pollachōs gar ho bouletai legein ho nomothetēs hēmōn Mōsēs, ephʼ heterōn pragmatōn logous poioumenos, legō de tōn kata tēn epiphaneian, physikas diatheseis apangellei kai megalōn pragmatōn kataskeuas.
For often what our lawgiver Moses wishes to say, he expresses by speaking of other things, I mean things in appearance, while he declares natural dispositions and the constitutions of great matters.
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses often expresses deep truths through visible images.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.3 (Dindorf 1:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-3). (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.
8.10.4Dindorf 1:437
οἷς μὲν οὖν πάρεστι τὸ καλῶς νοεῖν θαυμάζουσι τὴν περὶ αὐτὸν σοφίαν καὶ τὸ θεῖον πνεῦμα, καθʼ ὃ καὶ προφήτης ἀνακεκήρυκται· ὧν εἰσιν οἱ προειρημένοι φιλόσοφοι καὶ πλείονες ἕτεροι καὶ ποιηταὶ παρʼ αὐτοῦ μεγάλας ἀφορμὰς εἰληφότες, καθὸ καὶ θαυμάζονται.
hois men oun paresti to kalōs noein thaumazousi tēn peri auton sophian kai to theion pneuma, kathʼ ho kai prophētēs anakekēryktai; hōn eisin hoi proeirēmenoi philosophoi kai pleiones heteroi kai poiētai parʼ autou megalas aphormas eilēphotes, katho kai thaumazontai.
Those, then, who are able to understand rightly admire his wisdom and the divine spirit by which he has been proclaimed a prophet; among them are the philosophers mentioned before and many others, and poets, who have taken great starting points from him, for which they too are admired.
Deut 18:15 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The wise admire Moses' wisdom, from which philosophers and poets have borrowed.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.4 (Dindorf 1:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-4). (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.
8.10.5Dindorf 1:437–438
τοῖς δὲ μὴ μετέχουσι δυνάμεως καὶ συνέσεως, ἀλλὰ τῷ γραπτῷ μόνον προσκειμένοις, οὐ φαίνεται μεγαλεῖόν τι διασαφῶν.
tois de mē metechousi dynameōs kai syneseōs, alla tǭ graptǭ monon proskeimenois, ou phainetai megaleion ti diasaphōn.
But to those who have no share of power and understanding, but cling only to the letter, he does not appear to be explaining anything grand.
Notes and citation
Summary: Literalists miss Moses' greatness.
- Aristobulus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): δυ- νάμεως → δυνάμεως; προσ- κειμένοις → προσκειμένοις.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.5 (Dindorf 1:437–438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-5). (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.
8.10.6Dindorf 1:438
ἄρξομαι δὲ λαμβάνειν καθʼ ἕκαστον σημαινόμενον καθʼ ὅσον ἂν ὦ δυνατός. εἰ δὲ μὴ τεύξομαι τἀληθοῦς, μηδὲ πείσω, μὴ τῷ νομοθέτῃ προσάψῃς τὴν ἀλογίαν ‚ ἀλλʼ ἐμοὶ τῷ μὴ δυναμένῳ διαιρεῖσθαι τὰ ἐκείνῳ νενοημένα.
arxomai de lambanein kathʼ hekaston sēmainomenon kathʼ hoson an ō dynatos. ei de mē teuxomai talēthous, mēde peisō, mē tǭ nomothetę̄ prosapsę̄s tēn alogian ‚ allʼ emoi tǭ mē dynamenǭ diaireisthai ta ekeinǭ nenoēmena.
I shall begin to take each thing signified as far as I am able. And if I do not attain the truth or persuade, do not attach the absurdity to the lawgiver, but to me, who am unable to distinguish what he understood.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristobulus will explain each image, blaming himself for any failure.
- Aristobulus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): ὠ δυνατός → ὦ δυνατός.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.6 (Dindorf 1:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-6). (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.
8.10.7Dindorf 1:438
χεῖρες μὲν οὖν νοοῦνται προδήλως καὶ ἐφʼ ἡμῶν κοινότερον. ὅταν γὰρ δυνάμεις ἐξαποστέλλῃς σὺ βασιλεὺς ὢν, βουλόμενός τι κατεργάσασθαι, λέγομεν, μεγάλην χεῖρα ἔχει ὁ βασιλεὺς, φερομένων τῶν ἀκουόντων ἐπὶ τὴν δύναμιν ἣν ἔχεις.
cheires men oun noountai prodēlōs kai ephʼ hēmōn koinoteron. hotan gar dynameis exapostellę̄s sy basileus ōn, boulomenos ti katergasasthai, legomen, megalēn cheira echei ho basileus, pheromenōn tōn akouontōn epi tēn dynamin hēn echeis.
Hands, then, are clearly understood in a more common way even with us. For when you, being king, send out forces, wishing to accomplish something, we say, 'The king has a mighty hand,' the hearers being carried to the power you have.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's 'hand' means his power, as with a king's.
- Aristobulus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled word in the digital text; wrong accent in the digital text): χεῖρες μὲν οὑν → χεῖρες μὲν οὖν; δυνάμενις → δυνάμεις.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.7 (Dindorf 1:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-7). (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.
8.10.8Dindorf 1:438
ἐπισημαίνεται δὲ τοῦτο καὶ διὰ τῆς νομοθεσίας ἡμῶν λέγων ὁ Μώσης οὕτως “ἐν χειρὶ κραταιᾷ ἐξήγαγεν ὁ θεός σε ἐξ Αἰγύπτου.’’ καὶ πάλιν ‘‘ἀποστελῶ, φησὶν ὁ θεὸς, τὴν χεῖρά μου, καὶ πατάξω τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους.’’ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ τῶν κτηνῶν θανάτου φησὶ τῷ Φαραῷ ὁ Μώσης “ ἰδοὺ χεὶρ κυρίου ἔσται ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσί σου καὶ ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις θάνατος μέγας.’’ ὥστε αἱ χεῖρες ἐπὶ δυνάμεως νοοῦνται θεοῦ. καὶ γὰρ ἔστι νοῆσαι τὴν πᾶσαν ἰσχὺν τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ τὰς ἐνεργείας ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν εἶναι.
episēmainetai de touto kai dia tēs nomothesias hēmōn legōn ho Mōsēs houtōs “en cheiri krataią exēgagen ho theos se ex Aigyptou.’’ kai palin ‘‘apostelō, phēsin ho theos, tēn cheira mou, kai pataxō tous Aigyptious.’’ kai epi tou tōn ktēnōn thanatou phēsi tǭ Pharaǭ ho Mōsēs “ idou cheir kyriou estai en tois ktēnesi sou kai en pasi tois en tois pediois thanatos megas.’’ hōste hai cheires epi dynameōs noountai theou. kai gar esti noēsai tēn pasan ischyn tōn anthrōpōn kai tas energeias en tais chersin einai.
Moses indicates this through our legislation too, saying thus: "With a mighty hand God brought you out of Egypt." And again: "I will stretch out my hand," says God, "and strike the Egyptians." And about the death of the cattle Moses says to Pharaoh: "Behold, the hand of the Lord will be on your cattle, and on all that are in the fields, a great death." So the hands are understood of the power of God. For one may understand that all human strength and activities are in the hands.
Exod 13:9 (quotation, medium confidence) · Exod 3:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 9:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture's 'hand of God' signifies his power.
- Aristobulus, citing Exod 13:9 (compare Deut 6:21); Exod 3:20; 9:3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): καἰ πάλιν → καὶ πάλιν; ὥστε αἶ χεῖρες → ὥστε αἱ χεῖρες.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.8 (Dindorf 1:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-8). (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.
8.10.9Dindorf 1:438
διόπερ καλῶς ὁ νομοθέτης ἐπὶ τὸ μεγαλεῖον μετενήνοχε, λέγων τὰς συντελείας χεῖρας εἶναι θεοῦ. στάσις δὲ θεία καλῶς ἂν λέγοιτο κατὰ τὸ μεγαλεῖον ἡ τοῦ κόσμου κατασκευή.
dioper kalōs ho nomothetēs epi to megaleion metenēnoche, legōn tas synteleias cheiras einai theou. stasis de theia kalōs an legoito kata to megaleion hē tou kosmou kataskeuē.
Therefore the lawgiver has well transferred it to the grand sense, saying that the accomplishments of God are his hands. And the constitution of the world might well be called, in the grand sense, the standing of God.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's works are his 'hands'; the world's stability is his 'standing.'
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.9 (Dindorf 1:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-9). (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.
8.10.10Dindorf 1:438
καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ πάντων ὁ θεὸς, καὶ πάνθʼ ὑποτέτακται, καὶ στάσιν εἴληφεν· ὥστε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καταλαμβάνειν ἀκίνητα εἶναι ταῦτα. λέγω δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον, ὡς οὐδέποτε γέγονεν οὐρανὸς γῆ, γῆ δʼ οὐρανὸς, οὐδʼ ἥλιος σελήνη λάμπουσα, οὐδὲ σελήνη πάλιν ἥλιος, οὐδὲ ποταμοὶ θάλασσα, οὐδὲ θάλασσα ποταμοί.
kai gar epi pantōn ho theos, kai panthʼ hypotetaktai, kai stasin eilēphen; hōste tous anthrōpous katalambanein akinēta einai tauta. legō de to toiouton, hōs oudepote gegonen ouranos gē, gē dʼ ouranos, oudʼ hēlios selēnē lampousa, oude selēnē palin hēlios, oude potamoi thalassa, oude thalassa potamoi.
For God is over all, and all things have been subjected and have received standing; so that people perceive these things to be unmoved. I mean this: that heaven never became earth, nor earth heaven, nor the sun the shining moon, nor again the moon the sun, nor rivers the sea, nor the sea rivers.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's 'standing' is the fixed order of nature.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.10 (Dindorf 1:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-10). (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.
8.10.11Dindorf 1:438–439
καὶ πάλιν ἐπὶ τῶν ζῴων ὁ αὐτός ἐστι λόγος. οὐ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἔσται θηρίον ‚ οὐδὲ θηρίον ἄνθρωπος. καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν δὲ ταὐτὸν ὑπάρχει φυτῶν τε καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἄλλων· ἀμετάβλητα μέν ἐστι, τὰς αὐτὰς δʼ ἐν αὐτοῖς τροπὰς λαμβάνει καὶ φθοράς.
kai palin epi tōn zǭōn ho autos esti logos. ou gar anthrōpos estai thērion ‚ oude thērion anthrōpos. kai epi tōn loipōn de tauton hyparchei phytōn te kai epi tōn allōn; ametablēta men esti, tas autas dʼ en autois tropas lambanei kai phthoras.
And again the same account holds for living creatures. A man will not become a beast, nor a beast a man. And the same holds for the rest, plants and the others: they are unchangeable, though they undergo the same changes and perishings within themselves.
Notes and citation
Summary: Kinds of living things remain fixed.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.11 (Dindorf 1:438–439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-11). (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.
8.10.12Dindorf 1:439
ἡ στάσις οὖν ἡ θεία κατὰ ταῦτα ἂν λέγοιτο ‚ πάντων ὑποκειμένων τῷ θεῷ. λέγεται δὲ κατάβασις ἐπὶ τὸ ὅρος θεία γεγονέναι διὰ τῆς γραφῆς τοῦ νόμου, καθʼ ὃν ἐνομοθέτει καιρὸν, ἵνα πάντες θεωρήσωσι τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ θεοῦ. κατάβασις γὰρ αὕτη σαφής ἐστι· καὶ περὶ τούτων οὖν οὕτως ἄν τις ἐξηγήσαιτο ‚ βουλόμενος συντηρεῖν τὸν περὶ θεοῦ λόγον.
hē stasis oun hē theia kata tauta an legoito ‚ pantōn hypokeimenōn tǭ theǭ. legetai de katabasis epi to horos theia gegonenai dia tēs graphēs tou nomou, kathʼ hon enomothetei kairon, hina pantes theōrēsōsi tēn energeian tou theou. katabasis gar hautē saphēs esti; kai peri toutōn oun houtōs an tis exēgēsaito ‚ boulomenos syntērein ton peri theou logon.
The divine standing, then, might be spoken of in this sense, all things being subject to God. And through the writing of the law a divine descent upon the mountain is said to have taken place at the time when he gave the law, so that all might see the working of God. For this descent is plain; and about these things one might explain thus, wishing to preserve the right account of God.
Exod 19:20 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's 'descent' on Sinai is explained as a visible display of his working.
- Aristobulus, on Exod 19:18–20.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread word in the digital text): ἔνα πάντες → ἵνα πάντες.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.12 (Dindorf 1:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-12). (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.
8.10.13Dindorf 1:439
δηλοῦται γὰρ ὡς τὸ ὄρος ἐκαίετο πυρὶ, καθώς φησιν ἡ νομοθεσία, διὰ τὸ τὸν θεὸν καταβεβηκέναι σαλπίγγων τε φωνὰς καὶ τὸ πῦρ φλεγόμενον ἀνυποστάτως εἶναι.
dēloutai gar hōs to oros ekaieto pyri, kathōs phēsin hē nomothesia, dia to ton theon katabebēkenai salpingōn te phōnas kai to pyr phlegomenon anypostatōs einai.
For it is shown that the mountain was burning with fire, as the legislation says, because God had descended; and that the sounds of trumpets and the blazing fire were irresistible.
Exod 19:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 19:16 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The mountain burned and trumpets sounded at God's descent.
- Aristobulus. Exod 19:16–18.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.13 (Dindorf 1:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-13). (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.
8.10.14Dindorf 1:439
τοῦ γὰρ παντὸς πλήθους μυριάδων οὐκ ἔλαττον ἑκατὸν, χωρὶς τῶν ἀφηλίκων ‚ ἐκκλησιαζομένων κυκλόθεν τοῦ ὄρους, οὐκ ἔλασσον ἡμερῶν πέντε οὔσης τῆς περιόδου περὶ αὐτὸ, κατὰ πάντα τόπον τῆς ὁράσεως πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς κυκλόθεν ‚ ὡς ἦσαν παρεμβεβληκότες ‚ τὸ πῦρ φλεγόμενον ἐθεωρεῖτο·
tou gar pantos plēthous myriadōn ouk elatton hekaton, chōris tōn aphēlikōn ‚ ekklēsiazomenōn kyklothen tou orous, ouk elasson hēmerōn pente ousēs tēs periodou peri auto, kata panta topon tēs horaseōs pasin autois kyklothen ‚ hōs ēsan parembeblēkotes ‚ to pyr phlegomenon etheōreito;
For the whole multitude, not less than a million, apart from those under age, being assembled round about the mountain, the circuit of it being not less than five days' journey, from every place of sight to all of them round about, as they were encamped, the blazing fire was seen;
Notes and citation
Summary: The fire was seen by the whole people encamped around the mountain.
- Aristobulus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἐκκλησιαξομένων → ἐκκλησιαζομένων.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.14 (Dindorf 1:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-14). (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.
8.10.15Dindorf 1:439
ὥστε τὴν κατάβασιν μὴ τοπικὴν εἶναι· πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὁ θεός ἐστιν. ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς δύναμιν παρὰ πάντα θαυμάσιον ὑπάρχουσαν ‚ διὰ τὸ πάντα ἀναλίσκειν, οὐκ ἂν ἔδειξε φλεγομένην ἀνυποστάτως, μηδὲν ἐξαναλίσκουσαν ‚ εἰ μὴ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δυναμικὸν αὐτῇ προσείη.
hōste tēn katabasin mē topikēn einai; pantachou gar ho theos estin. alla tēn tou pyros dynamin para panta thaumasion hyparchousan ‚ dia to panta analiskein, ouk an edeixe phlegomenēn anypostatōs, mēden exanaliskousan ‚ ei mē to para tou theou dynamikon autę̄ proseiē.
so that the descent was not local; for God is everywhere. But the power of the fire, being wonderful beyond all things because it consumes all, he would not have shown blazing irresistibly yet consuming nothing, unless the power from God were present with it.
Notes and citation
Summary: The descent was not spatial; the unconsuming fire showed God's power.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.15 (Dindorf 1:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-15). (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.
8.10.16Dindorf 1:439–440
τῶν γὰρ φυομένων ἐν τῷ ὄρει ἐκείνῳ ἀναλισκομένων σφοδρῶς οὐδὲν ἐξανάλωσεν, ἀλλʼ ἔμεινε τῶν ἁπάντων ἡ χλόη πυρὸς ἄθικτος, σαλπίγγων τε φωναὶ σφοδρότερον συνηκούοντο σὺν τῇ τοῦ πυρὸς ἀστραπηδὸν ἐκφάνσει, μὴ προκειμένων ὀργάνων τοιούτων, μηδὲ τοῦ φωνήσαντος, ἀλλὰ θείᾳ κατασκευῇ γινομένων πάντων.
tōn gar phyomenōn en tǭ orei ekeinǭ analiskomenōn sphodrōs ouden exanalōsen, allʼ emeine tōn hapantōn hē chloē pyros athiktos, salpingōn te phōnai sphodroteron synēkouonto syn tę̄ tou pyros astrapēdon ekphansei, mē prokeimenōn organōn toioutōn, mēde tou phōnēsantos, alla theią kataskeuę̄ ginomenōn pantōn.
For though the things growing on that mountain are very readily consumed, it consumed none of them, but the green of all remained untouched by the fire; and the sounds of trumpets were heard more vehemently together with the lightning-like flashing of the fire, though no such instruments were present, nor anyone to sound them, but all things came about by divine arrangement.
Notes and citation
Summary: The fire burned nothing and the trumpets sounded without instruments.
- Aristobulus.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.16 (Dindorf 1:439–440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-16). (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.
8.10.17Dindorf 1:440
ὥστε σαφὲς εἶναι διὰ ταῦτα τὴν κατάβασιν τὴν θείαν γεγονέναι, διὰ τὸ τοὺς συνορῶντας ἐκφαντικῶς ἕκαστα καταλαμβάνειν, μήτε τὸ πῦρ κεκαυκὸς, ὡς προείρηται, μηδὲν μήτε τὰς τῶν σαλπίγγων φωνὰς διʼ ἀνθρωπίνης ἐνεργείας ἢ κατασκευῆς ὀργάνων γίνεσθαι, τὸν δὲ θεὸν ἄνευ τινὸς δεικνύναι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ διὰ πάντων μεγαλειότητα.’
hōste saphes einai dia tauta tēn katabasin tēn theian gegonenai, dia to tous synorōntas ekphantikōs hekasta katalambanein, mēte to pyr kekaukos, hōs proeirētai, mēden mēte tas tōn salpingōn phōnas diʼ anthrōpinēs energeias ē kataskeuēs organōn ginesthai, ton de theon aneu tinos deiknynai tēn heautou dia pantōn megaleiotēta.’
So it is clear from these things that the divine descent took place, because those who beheld it clearly perceived each thing: that the fire burned nothing, as has been said, and that the sounds of the trumpets came about through no human working or construction of instruments, but that God, without anything, displayed his own majesty through all things."
Notes and citation
Summary: The 'descent' was the manifestation of God's majesty.
- Aristobulus.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): μήτε τἀς τῶν → μήτε τὰς τῶν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristobulus, Aristob. fr. 2 (Aristobulus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.17 (Dindorf 1:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-17). (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.
8.10.18Dindorf 1:440
Ταῦτα ὁ Ἀριστόβουλος. ἐπεὶ δὲ διεληλύθαμεν τά τε τῶν ἱερῶν νόμων παραγγέλματα τόν τε τρόπον τῆς ἀλληγορουμένης παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἰδέας, ἑξῆς ἂν εἴη καὶ τόδε ἐπισημήνασθαι, ὡς τὸ πᾶν Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος εἰς δύο τμήματα διῄρηται, καὶ τὴν μὲν πληθὺν ταῖς τῶν νόμων κατὰ τὴν ῥητὴν διάνοιαν παρηγγελμέναις ὑποθήκαις ὑπῆγε ‚ τὸ δʼ ἕτερον τῶν ἐν ἕξει τάγμα ταύτης μὲν ἠφίει, θειοτέρᾳ δέ τινι καὶ τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπαναβεβηκυίᾳ φιλοσοφίᾳ προσέχειν ἠξίου, θεωρίᾳ τε τῶν ἐν τοῖς νόμοις κατὰ διάνοιαν σημαινομένων.
Tauta ho Aristoboulos. epei de dielēlythamen ta te tōn hierōn nomōn parangelmata ton te tropon tēs allēgoroumenēs parʼ autois ideas, hexēs an eiē kai tode episēmēnasthai, hōs to pan Ioudaiōn ethnos eis dyo tmēmata dię̄rētai, kai tēn men plēthyn tais tōn nomōn kata tēn rhētēn dianoian parēngelmenais hypothēkais hypēge ‚ to dʼ heteron tōn en hexei tagma tautēs men ēphiei, theioterą de tini kai tous pollous epanabebēkuią philosophią prosechein ēxiou, theōrią te tōn en tois nomois kata dianoian sēmainomenōn.
So Aristobulus. Since we have gone through the precepts of the sacred laws and the manner of the allegorical meaning among them, it would follow next to point out also that the whole Jewish nation is divided into two parts. The lawgiver led the multitude by the precepts of the laws enjoined in their literal sense, but the other order, of those with trained understanding, he released from this and thought them worthy to attend to a diviner philosophy, raised above the many, and to the contemplation of what is signified by the laws in their meaning.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Jews are divided into the many, who keep the letter, and philosophers, who contemplate its meaning.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): διεληλήθαμεν → διεληλύθαμεν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.18 (Dindorf 1:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-18). (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.
8.10.19Dindorf 1:440
ἦν δὲ τοῦτο φιλοσόφων Ἰουδαίων γένος, ὧν τὴν τοῦ βίου ἄσκησιν καὶ τῶν ἔξωθεν κατεπλάγησαν μυρίοι, τῶν δʼ οἰκείων οἱ περιφανέστατοι καὶ μνήμης ἀλήστου τούτους ἠξίωσαν, Ἰώσηπός τε καὶ Φίλων καὶ ἕτεροι πλείους· ὧν τὰ πολλὰ παρεὶς, δείγματος αὐτὸ μόνον ἕνεκα, τῇ τοῦ Φίλωνος ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἀρκεσθήσομαι μαρτυρίᾳ, ἣν περὶ τῶν δηλουμένων κατὰ πολλὰ τῶν οἰκείων ὑπομνημάτων τέθειται. τούτων δʼ ἀπὸ τῆς Ὑπὲρ Ἰουδαίων ἀπολογίας λαβὼν σύ γε ἀνάγνωθι ταῦτα
ēn de touto philosophōn Ioudaiōn genos, hōn tēn tou biou askēsin kai tōn exōthen kateplagēsan myrioi, tōn dʼ oikeiōn hoi periphanestatoi kai mnēmēs alēstou toutous ēxiōsan, Iōsēpos te kai Philōn kai heteroi pleious; hōn ta polla pareis, deigmatos auto monon heneka, tę̄ tou Philōnos epi tou parontos arkesthēsomai martyrią, hēn peri tōn dēloumenōn kata polla tōn oikeiōn hypomnēmatōn tetheitai. toutōn dʼ apo tēs Hyper Ioudaiōn apologias labōn sy ge anagnōthi tauta
This was a class of Jewish philosophers, whose discipline of life countless outsiders admired, and the most distinguished of their own people thought them worthy of unforgettable memory: Josephus, Philo, and many others. Passing over most of them, I shall be content for now, merely as a sample, with the testimony of Philo, which he has set down about them in many of his own works. Take and read these words from his Apology for the Jews:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Philo's account of the Essenes from his Apology for the Jews.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ περιφανέστατοι → οἱ περιφανέστατοι; Ἰου- δαίων → Ἰουδαίων.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.10.19 (Dindorf 1:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-10-19). (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 8, chapter 11
8.11.1Dindorf 1:440–441
Μυρίους δὲ τῶν γνωρίμων ὁ ἡμέτερος νομοθέτης ἤλειψεν ἐπὶ κοινωνίαν, οἳ καλοῦνται μὲν Ἐσσαῖοι, παρὰ τὴν ὁσιότητά μοι δοκῶ τῆς προσηγορίας ἀξιωθέντες. οἰκοῦσι δὲ πολλὰς μὲν πόλεις τῆς Ἰουδαίας ‚ πολλὰς δὲ κώμας καὶ μεγάλους καὶ πολυανθρώπους ὁμίλους.
Myrious de tōn gnōrimōn ho hēmeteros nomothetēs ēleipsen epi koinōnian, hoi kalountai men Essaioi, para tēn hosiotēta moi dokō tēs prosēgorias axiōthentes. oikousi de pollas men poleis tēs Ioudaias ‚ pollas de kōmas kai megalous kai polyanthrōpous homilous.
"Our lawgiver trained countless of his disciples for a life in common; they are called Essenes, having been thought worthy of the name, I think, because of their holiness. They live in many cities of Judea, and in many villages, and in large and populous groups.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: the Essenes, named for holiness, live in community throughout Judea.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray numeral and margin word leaked into the digital text): Ἐσσαῖοι, 5 παρὰ τὴν ὁσιότητά μοι δοκῶ τῆς προσηγοΜθρίους ρίας → Ἐσσαῖοι, παρὰ τὴν ὁσιότητά μοι δοκῶ τῆς προσηγορίας.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.1 (Dindorf 1:440–441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-1). (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.
8.11.2Dindorf 1:441
ἔστι δʼ αὐτοῖς ἡ προαίρεσις οὐ γένει, γένος γὰρ ἐφʼ ἑκουσίοις οὐ γράφεται, διὰ δὲ ζῆλον ἀρετῆς καὶ φιλανθρωπίας ἵμερον.
esti dʼ autois hē proairesis ou genei, genos gar ephʼ hekousiois ou graphetai, dia de zēlon aretēs kai philanthrōpias himeron.
Their choice is not by birth (for birth is not reckoned in matters of free will), but by zeal for virtue and longing for humanity.
Notes and citation
Summary: One becomes an Essene by choice, not birth.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): γράφεται) → γράφεται,.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.2 (Dindorf 1:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-2). (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.
8.11.3Dindorf 1:441
Ἐσσαίων γοῦν κομιδῇ νήπιος οὐδεὶς ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ πρωτογένειος, ἢ μειράκιον, ἐπεὶ τά γε τούτων ἀβέβαια ἤθη τῷ τῆς ἡλικίας ἀτελεῖ συννεωτερίζονται· τέλειοι δʼ ἄνδρες καὶ πρὸς γῆρας ἀποκλίναντες ἤδη, μηκέθʼ ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἐπιρροῆς ἐπικλυζόμενοι, μηδʼ ὑπὸ τῶν παθῶν ἀγόμενοι, τὴν ἀψευδῆ δὲ καὶ μόνην ὄντως ἐλευθερίαν καρπούμενοι.
Essaiōn goun komidę̄ nēpios oudeis allʼ oude prōtogeneios, ē meirakion, epei ta ge toutōn abebaia ēthē tǭ tēs hēlikias atelei synneōterizontai; teleioi dʼ andres kai pros gēras apoklinantes ēdē, mēkethʼ hypo tēs tou sōmatos epirroēs epiklyzomenoi, mēdʼ hypo tōn pathōn agomenoi, tēn apseudē de kai monēn ontōs eleutherian karpoumenoi.
No Essene, at any rate, is a mere child, nor even a youth with a first beard, or a young man, since their characters are unstable and change with the immaturity of their age; but they are full-grown men already declining toward old age, no longer flooded by the flow of the body nor led by the passions, but enjoying the true and only real freedom.
Notes and citation
Summary: Essenes are mature men free from the passions.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split and misread in the digital text): ἆτʼ ἑλεῖ → ἀτελεῖ.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.3 (Dindorf 1:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-3). (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.
8.11.4Dindorf 1:441
μάρτυς δὲ τῆς ἐλευθερίας αὐτῶν ὁ βίος. ἴδιον οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν ὑπομένει κτήσασθαι τὸ παράπαν ‚ οὐκ οἰκίαν, οὐκ ἀνδράποδον‚ οὐ χωρίον, οὐ βοσκήματα, οὐχ ὅσα ἄλλα παρασκευαὶ καὶ χορηγίαι πλούτου· πάντα δʼ εἰς μέσον ἀθρόα καταθέντες κοινὴν καρποῦνται τὴν ἁπάντων ὠφέλειαν.
martys de tēs eleutherias autōn ho bios. idion oudeis ouden hypomenei ktēsasthai to parapan ‚ ouk oikian, ouk andrapodon‚ ou chōrion, ou boskēmata, ouch hosa alla paraskeuai kai chorēgiai ploutou; panta dʼ eis meson athroa katathentes koinēn karpountai tēn hapantōn ōpheleian.
Their life bears witness to their freedom. No one is willing to acquire any private property at all, not a house, not a slave, not a field, not flocks, nor any of the other supplies and resources of wealth; but placing everything together in common, they enjoy the common benefit of all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Essenes own nothing privately and share all things.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): οὐκ άνδράποδον → οὐκ ἀνδράποδον.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.4 (Dindorf 1:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-4). (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.
8.11.5Dindorf 1:441
οἰκοῦσι δʼ ἐν ταὐτῷ, κατὰ θιάσους ἑταιρίας καὶ συσσίτια πεποιημένοι, καὶ πάνθʼ ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινωφελοῦς πραγματευόμενοι διατελοῦσιν.
oikousi dʼ en tautǭ, kata thiasous hetairias kai syssitia pepoiēmenoi, kai panthʼ hyper tou koinōphelous pragmateuomenoi diatelousin.
They live together, formed into fellowships, companies, and common meals, and continue doing everything for the common good.
Notes and citation
Summary: They live in fellowships with common meals.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.5 (Dindorf 1:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-5). (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.
8.11.6Dindorf 1:441
ἀλλʼ ἑτέρων ἕτεραι πραγματεῖαι, αἷς ἐπαποδύντες ἀόκνως διαθλοῦσιν, οὐ κρυμὸν ‚ οὐ θάλπος, οὐχ ὅσα ἀέρος νεωτερίσματα προφασιζόμενοι· πρὶν δʼ ἥλιον ἀνασχεῖν ἐπὶ τὰ συνήθη τρεπόμενοι, δυομένου μόλις ἐπανίασι χαίροντες, οὐχ ἧττον τῶν ἐν τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἐξεταζομένων ἀγῶσιν.
allʼ heterōn heterai pragmateiai, hais epapodyntes aoknōs diathlousin, ou krymon ‚ ou thalpos, ouch hosa aeros neōterismata prophasizomenoi; prin dʼ hēlion anaschein epi ta synēthē trepomenoi, dyomenou molis epaniasi chairontes, ouch hētton tōn en tois gymnikois exetazomenōn agōsin.
But different people have different occupations, to which they strip and labor without hesitation, making no excuse of cold, or heat, or any changes of weather; turning to their usual tasks before sunrise, they return when it has scarcely set, rejoicing no less than those tested in athletic contests.
Notes and citation
Summary: Each works diligently from dawn to dusk.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.6 (Dindorf 1:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-6). (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.
8.11.7Dindorf 1:441
ὑπολαμβάνουσι γὰρ ἄττʼ ἂν ἐπιτηδεύσωσιν εἶναι βιωφελέστερα καὶ ἡδίω ψυχῇ καὶ σώματι τὰ γυμνάσματα, καὶ πολυχρονιώτερα τῶν ἐν ἀθλήσεσι, μὴ συναφηβῶντα τῇ τοῦ σώματος ἀκμῇ.
hypolambanousi gar attʼ an epitēdeusōsin einai biōphelestera kai hēdiō psychę̄ kai sōmati ta gymnasmata, kai polychroniōtera tōn en athlēsesi, mē synaphēbōnta tę̄ tou sōmatos akmę̄.
For they suppose that whatever they practice are exercises more useful for life and more pleasant to soul and body, and more lasting than those of athletes, since they do not fade with the body's prime.
Notes and citation
Summary: They consider their work better exercise than athletics.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.7 (Dindorf 1:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-7). (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.
8.11.8Dindorf 1:441–442
εἰσὶ γὰρ αὐτῶν οἱ μὲν γεηπόνοι, τῶν περὶ σπορὰν καὶ γεωργίαν ἐπιστήμονες ‚ οἱ δʼ ἀγελάρχαι, παντοδαπῶν θρεμμάτων ἡγεμόνες, ἔνιοι δὲ σμήνη μελιττῶν ἐπιτροπεύουσιν.
eisi gar autōn hoi men geēponoi, tōn peri sporan kai geōrgian epistēmones ‚ hoi dʼ agelarchai, pantodapōn thremmatōn hēgemones, enioi de smēnē melittōn epitropeuousin.
For some of them are farmers, skilled in sowing and cultivation; others are herdsmen, leaders of all kinds of flocks; some tend swarms of bees.
Notes and citation
Summary: Some farm, some herd, some keep bees.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.8 (Dindorf 1:441–442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-8). (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.
8.11.9Dindorf 1:442
ἄλλοι δὲ δημιουργοὶ τῶν κατὰ τέχνας εἰσὶν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μηδὲν ὧν αἱ ἀναγκαῖαι χρεῖαι βιάζονται παθεῖν ‚ οὐδὲν ἀναβαλλόμενοι τῶν εἰς πορισμὸν ἀνυπαίτιον.
alloi de dēmiourgoi tōn kata technas eisin, hyper tou mēden hōn hai anankaiai chreiai biazontai pathein ‚ ouden anaballomenoi tōn eis porismon anypaition.
Others are craftsmen in the various arts, so as to suffer none of the things that necessary needs compel, putting off nothing that leads to blameless provision.
Notes and citation
Summary: Others are craftsmen.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.9 (Dindorf 1:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-9). (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.
8.11.10Dindorf 1:442
ἐκ δὴ τῶν οὕτως διαφερόντων ἕκαστοι τὸν μισθὸν λαβόντες ἑνὶ διδόασι τῷ χειροτονηθέντι ταμίᾳ· λαβὼν δʼ ἐκεῖνος αὐτίκα τἀπιτήδεια ὠνεῖται, καὶ παρέχει τροφὰς ἀφθόνους καὶ τἄλλα ὧν ὁ ἀνθρώπινος βίος χρειώδης.
ek dē tōn houtōs diapherontōn hekastoi ton misthon labontes heni didoasi tǭ cheirotonēthenti tamią; labōn dʼ ekeinos autika tapitēdeia ōneitai, kai parechei trophas aphthonous kai talla hōn ho anthrōpinos bios chreiōdēs.
From those so differing, each receives his wages and gives them to the one elected treasurer; and he, on receiving them, at once buys what is needed and provides abundant food and the other things of which human life has need.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wages go to a common treasurer who provides for all.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread ending in the digital text): τἀπιτήδεις → τἀπιτήδεια.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.10 (Dindorf 1:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-10). (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.
8.11.11Dindorf 1:442
οἱ δʼ ὁμοδίαιτοι καὶ ὁμοτράπεζοι καθʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν εἰσὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀσμενίζοντες ‚ ὀλιγοδεείας ἐρασταὶ, πολυτέλειαν ὡς ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος νόσον ἐκτρεπόμενοι.
hoi dʼ homodiaitoi kai homotrapezoi kathʼ hekastēn hēmeran eisi tois autois asmenizontes ‚ oligodeeias erastai, polyteleian hōs psychēs kai sōmatos noson ektrepomenoi.
They live and eat together every day, content with the same things, lovers of frugality, avoiding extravagance as a disease of soul and body.
Notes and citation
Summary: They eat together and live frugally.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ δʼ ὁμοδίαιτοι → οἱ δʼ ὁμοδίαιτοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.11 (Dindorf 1:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-11). (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.
8.11.12Dindorf 1:442
κοινὴ δʼ οὐ τράπεζα μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐσθὴς αὐτοῖς ἐστί. πρόκεινται γὰρ χειμῶνι μὲν στιφραὶ χλαῖναι, θέρει δʼ ἐξωμίδες εὐτελεῖς, ὡς εὐμαρῶς ἐξεῖναι τῷ βουλομένῳ ἣν ἂν ἐθελήσῃ λαβεῖν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὰ ἑνὸς ἀπάντων καὶ τὰ πάντων ἔμπαλιν ἑνὸς ὑπείληπται.
koinē dʼ ou trapeza monon, alla kai esthēs autois esti. prokeintai gar cheimōni men stiphrai chlainai, therei dʼ exōmides euteleis, hōs eumarōs exeinai tǭ boulomenǭ hēn an ethelēsę̄ labein, epeidē kai ta henos apantōn kai ta pantōn empalin henos hypeilēptai.
Not only the table but also clothing is common to them. For thick cloaks are laid out for winter and cheap tunics for summer, so that anyone who wishes may easily take whichever he likes, since what belongs to one is considered to belong to all, and conversely what belongs to all to each.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even clothing is held in common.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.12 (Dindorf 1:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-12). (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.
8.11.13Dindorf 1:442
καὶ μὴν εἴ τις αὐτῶν ἀσθενήσειεν, ἐκ τῶν κοινῶν νοσηλεύεται, θεραπευόμενος ταῖς ἁπάντων ἐπιμελείαις καὶ φροντίσιν. οἶ δὲ δὴ πρεσβῦται κἂν εἰ τύχοιεν ἄτεκνοι, καθάπερ οὐ πολύπαιδες μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα εὔπαιδες, ἐν εὐτυχεστάτῳ καὶ λιπαρωτάτῳ γήρᾳ τὸν βίον εἰώθασι καταλύειν, ὑπὸ τοσούτων προνομίας ἀξιούμενοι καὶ τιμῆς, ἑκουσίῳ γνώμῃ μᾶλλον ἢ φύσεως ἀνάγκῃ θεραπεύειν ἀξιούντων.
kai mēn ei tis autōn asthenēseien, ek tōn koinōn nosēleuetai, therapeuomenos tais hapantōn epimeleiais kai phrontisin. oi de dē presbytai kan ei tychoien ateknoi, kathaper ou polypaides monon, alla kai sphodra eupaides, en eutychestatǭ kai liparōtatǭ gērą ton bion eiōthasi katalyein, hypo tosoutōn pronomias axioumenoi kai timēs, hekousiǭ gnōmę̄ mallon ē physeōs anankę̄ therapeuein axiountōn.
Moreover, if any of them falls ill, he is nursed from the common resources, cared for with the attention and concern of all. And the old men, even if they happen to be childless, are accustomed to end their lives in a most fortunate and comfortable old age, as though they had not only many children but very good ones, being thought worthy of privilege and honor by so many who think it right to care for them by free choice rather than by the necessity of nature.
Notes and citation
Summary: The sick and the old are cared for by all.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.13 (Dindorf 1:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-13). (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.
8.11.14Dindorf 1:442
ἔτι τοίνυν ὅπερ ἢ μόνον ἢ μάλιστα τὴν κοινωνίαν ἔμελλε διαλύειν ὀξυδερκέστερον ἰδόντες γάμον παρῃτήσαντο μετὰ καὶ τοῦ διαφερόντως ἀσκεῖν ἐγκράτειαν. Ἐσσαίων γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἄγεται γυναῖκα, διότι φίλαυτον ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ζηλότυπον οὐ μετρίως καὶ δεινὸν ἀνδρὸς ἤθη παλεῦσαι καὶ συνεχέσι γοητείαις ὑπάγεσθαι.
eti toinyn hoper ē monon ē malista tēn koinōnian emelle dialyein oxyderkesteron idontes gamon parę̄tēsanto meta kai tou diapherontōs askein enkrateian. Essaiōn gar oudeis agetai gynaika, dioti philauton hē gynē kai zēlotypon ou metriōs kai deinon andros ēthē paleusai kai synechesi goēteiais hypagesthai.
Further, perceiving with keener sight what alone or most of all would dissolve their community, they renounced marriage, together with practicing self-control in a special degree. For no Essene takes a wife, because a wife is selfish, excessively jealous, and clever at ensnaring a man's character and leading him on by continual enchantments.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: the Essenes renounce marriage, which he says would dissolve their community, and disparage women.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11. Philo's negative portrayal of women is translated as written; it is his view of the Essenes' reasons.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.14 (Dindorf 1:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-14). (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.
8.11.15Dindorf 1:442–443
μελετήσασά γὰρ θῶπας λόγους καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ὑπόκρισιν ‚ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ σκηνῆς, ὄψεις καὶ ἀκοὰς ὅταν δελεάσῃ, διηπατημένων οἷα ὑπηκόων, τὸν ἡγεμόνα νοῦν φενακίζει.
meletēsasa gar thōpas logous kai tēn allēn hypokrisin ‚ hōsper epi skēnēs, opseis kai akoas hotan deleasę̄, diēpatēmenōn hoia hypēkoōn, ton hēgemona noun phenakizei.
For having practiced flattering words and the other forms of play-acting, as on a stage, when she has ensnared the eyes and ears, deceiving them like subjects, she cheats the ruling mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo describes the wife as beguiling the husband's mind.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing accent in the digital text): οἱα ὑπηκόων → οἷα ὑπηκόων.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.15 (Dindorf 1:442–443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-15). (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.
8.11.16Dindorf 1:443
παῖδες δʼ εἰ γένοιντο, φρονήματος ὑποπλησθεῖσα καὶ παρρησίας, ὅσα κατʼ εἰρωνείαν πρότερον ὑπούλως ὑπῃνίττετο, ταῦτα ἀπʼ εὐτολμοτέρου θράσους ἐκλαλεῖ καὶ ἀναισχυντοῦσα βιάζεται πράττειν, ὧν ἕκαστον κοινωνίας ἐχθρόν.
paides dʼ ei genointo, phronēmatos hypoplēstheisa kai parrēsias, hosa katʼ eirōneian proteron hypoulōs hypę̄nitteto, tauta apʼ eutolmoterou thrasous eklalei kai anaischyntousa biazetai prattein, hōn hekaston koinōnias echthron.
And if children are born, filled with pride and boldness of speech, she blurts out with more daring audacity what she previously hinted at slyly in irony, and shamelessly forces him to do things each of which is hostile to community.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: with children, the wife becomes bolder and demands what harms the community.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.16 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-16). (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.
8.11.17Dindorf 1:443
ὁ γὰρ ἢ γυναικὸς φίλτροις ἐνδεθεὶς ἢ τέκνων ἀνάγκῃ φύσεως προκηδόμενος οὐκέτι πρὸς ἄλλους ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν ‚ ἀλλʼ ἕτερος γέγονε λεληθὼς ἀντʼ ἐλευθέρου δοῦλος.
ho gar ē gynaikos philtrois endetheis ē teknōn anankę̄ physeōs prokēdomenos ouketi pros allous ho autos estin ‚ allʼ heteros gegone lelēthōs antʼ eleutherou doulos.
For one who is bound by a wife's love-charms, or anxious for his children by the necessity of nature, is no longer the same toward others, but has become another without noticing it, a slave instead of a free man.
Notes and citation
Summary: Family ties make a man unable to give himself to the community.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.17 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-17). (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.
8.11.18Dindorf 1:443
οὕτως γοῦν ὁ βίος ἐστὶν αὐτῶν περιμάχητος, ὥστʼ οὐκ ἰδιῶται μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεγάλοι βασιλεῖς ἀγάμενοι τοὺς ἄνδρας τεθήπασι, καὶ τὸ σεμνὸν αὐτῶν ἀποδοχαῖς καὶ τιμαῖς ἔτι μᾶλλον σεμνοποιοῦσι.
houtōs goun ho bios estin autōn perimachētos, hōstʼ ouk idiōtai monon, alla kai megaloi basileis agamenoi tous andras tethēpasi, kai to semnon autōn apodochais kai timais eti mallon semnopoiousi.
So enviable, at any rate, is their life that not only private persons but even great kings, admiring the men, are amazed, and further dignify their dignity with approval and honors.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even kings admire the Essenes.
- Philo, Hypothetica 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Hypoth. 11 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.18 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-18). (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.
8.11.19Dindorf 1:443
Ταῦτα μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ εἰρημένου κείσθω συγγράμματος· ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ Περὶ τοῦ πάντα σπουδαῖον ἐλεύθερον εἶναι τὰ οὕτως ἔχοντα παραθήσομαι
Tauta men apo tou eirēmenou keisthō syngrammatos; apo de tou Peri tou panta spoudaion eleutheron einai ta houtōs echonta parathēsomai
Let these be set down from the treatise mentioned; and from the work That Every Good Man Is Free I shall quote the following:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Philo's second account of the Essenes.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.11.19 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-11-19). (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 8, chapter 12
8.12.1Dindorf 1:443
“ Ἔστι δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐν Παλαιστίνῃ Συρία καλοκαγαθίας οὐκ ἄγονος, ἣν πολυανθρωποτάτου ἔθνους τῶν Ἰουδαίων οὐκ ὀλίγη μοῖρα νέμεται.
“ Esti de kai hē en Palaistinę̄ Syria kalokagathias ouk agonos, hēn polyanthrōpotatou ethnous tōn Ioudaiōn ouk oligē moira nemetai.
"Palestinian Syria too is not barren of nobility of character; it is inhabited by no small part of the very populous nation of the Jews.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philo: Palestine too has its men of virtue.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing capital, breathing and accent in the digital text; word split by a stray mark in the digital text): “ εστι δὲ → “ Ἔστι δὲ; οὐ· κ ἄγονος → οὐκ ἄγονος.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.1 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-1). (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.
8.12.2Dindorf 1:443
λέγονται δέ τινες παρʼ αὐτοῖς ὄνομα Ἐσσαῖοι, πλῆθος ὑπὲρ τετρακισχιλίους ‚ κατʼ ἐμὴν δόξαν οὐκ ἀκριβεῖ τύπῳ διαλέκτου Ἑλληνικῆς, παρώνυμοι ὁσιότητος ‚ ἐπειδὴ κἀν τοῖς μάλιστα θεραπευταὶ θεοῦ γεγόνασιν ‚ οὐ ζῷα καταθύοντες, ἀλλʼ ἱεροπρεπεῖς τὰς ἑαυτῶν διανοίας κατασκευάζειν ἀξιοῦντες.
legontai de tines parʼ autois onoma Essaioi, plēthos hyper tetrakischilious ‚ katʼ emēn doxan ouk akribei typǭ dialektou Hellēnikēs, parōnymoi hosiotētos ‚ epeidē kan tois malista therapeutai theou gegonasin ‚ ou zǭa katathyontes, allʼ hieroprepeis tas heautōn dianoias kataskeuazein axiountes.
Some among them are called Essenes, more than four thousand in number; in my opinion, by an inexact form of the Greek language, derived from holiness, since they have become servants of God in the highest degree, not by sacrificing animals, but by resolving to make their own minds fit for holiness.
Notes and citation
Summary: The four thousand Essenes serve God by holiness of mind, not animal sacrifice.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Latin letter and stray mark in the digital text): ‘Eλληνικῆς → Ἑλληνικῆς.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.2 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-2). (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.
8.12.3Dindorf 1:443
οὗτοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον κωμηδὸν οἰκοῦσι τὰς πόλεις ἐκτρεπόμενοι, διὰ τὰς τῶν πολιτευομένων χειροήθεις ἀνομίας, εἰδότες ἐκ τῶν συνόντων, ὡς ἀπὸ ἀέρος φθοροποιοῦ νόσον, ἐγγινομένην προσβολὴν ψυχαῖς ἀνίατον.
houtoi to men prōton kōmēdon oikousi tas poleis ektrepomenoi, dia tas tōn politeuomenōn cheiroētheis anomias, eidotes ek tōn synontōn, hōs apo aeros phthoropoiou noson, enginomenēn prosbolēn psychais aniaton.
These, first of all, live in villages, avoiding the cities because of the habitual lawlessness of their inhabitants, knowing that from companions, as disease from a pestilential air, an incurable attack arises in souls.
Notes and citation
Summary: Essenes live in villages to avoid the corruption of cities.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.3 (Dindorf 1:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-3). (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.
8.12.4Dindorf 1:443–444
ὧν οἱ μὲν γεωπονοῦντες, οἱ δὲ τέχνας μετιόντες, ὅσαι συνεργάτιδες εἰρήνης, ἑαυτούς τε καὶ τοὺς πλησιάζοντας ὠφελοῦσιν, οὐκ ἄργυρον καὶ χρυσὸν θησαυροφυλακοῦντες, οὐδʼ ἀποτομὰς γῆς μεγάλας κτώμενοι διʼ ἐπιθυμίαν προσόδων, ἀλλʼ ὅσα πρὸς τὰς ἀναγκαίας τοῦ βίου χρείας ἐκπορίζοντες.
hōn hoi men geōponountes, hoi de technas metiontes, hosai synergatides eirēnēs, heautous te kai tous plēsiazontas ōphelousin, ouk argyron kai chryson thēsaurophylakountes, oudʼ apotomas gēs megalas ktōmenoi diʼ epithymian prosodōn, allʼ hosa pros tas anankaias tou biou chreias ekporizontes.
Of them, some till the soil, others pursue the crafts that cooperate with peace, benefiting themselves and their neighbors; they do not hoard silver and gold, nor acquire large tracts of land from desire for revenue, but provide only what is needed for the necessary uses of life.
Notes and citation
Summary: They farm and practice peaceful crafts, without hoarding.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.4 (Dindorf 1:443–444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-4). (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.
8.12.5Dindorf 1:444
μόνοι γὰρ ἐξ ἁπάντων σχεδὸν ἀνθρώπων ἀχρήματοι καὶ ἀκτήμονες αὐτοὶ γεγονότες, ἐπιτηδεύσει τὸ πλέον ἢ ἐνδείᾳ εὐτυχίας, πλουσιώτατοι νομίζονται, τὴν ὀλιγοδεΐαν καὶ εὐκολίαν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν, κρίνοντες περιουσίαν.
monoi gar ex hapantōn schedon anthrōpōn achrēmatoi kai aktēmones autoi gegonotes, epitēdeusei to pleon ē endeią eutychias, plousiōtatoi nomizontai, tēn oligodeïan kai eukolian, hoper estin, krinontes periousian.
For they alone of almost all people, having become without money and without possessions by deliberate practice rather than by lack of good fortune, are considered very rich, judging frugality and contentment, as indeed they are, to be abundance.
Notes and citation
Summary: Voluntarily poor, they count contentment as wealth.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled accent in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): εὐτυχίας) → εὐτυχίας,; ὀλιγοδἐειαν → ὀλιγοδεΐαν.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.5 (Dindorf 1:444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-5). (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.
8.12.6Dindorf 1:444
βελῶν ‚ ἢ ἀκόντων, ἢ ξιφιδίων, ἢ κράνους, ἢ θώρακος, ἢ ἀσπίδος, οὐδένα παρʼ αὐτοῖς ἂν εὕροις δημιουργὸν, οὐδὲ συνόλως ὁπλοποιὸν, ἢ μηχανοποιὸν, ἤ τι τῶν κατὰ πόλεμον ἐπιτηδεύοντα, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὅσα κατʼ εἰρήνην εὐόλισθα εἰς κακίαν· ἐμπορίας γὰρ ἢ καπηλείας ἢ ναυκληρίας οὐδʼ ὄναρ ἴσασι, τὰς εἰς πλεονεξίαν ἀφορμὰς ἀποδιοπομπούμενοι.
belōn ‚ ē akontōn, ē xiphidiōn, ē kranous, ē thōrakos, ē aspidos, oudena parʼ autois an heurois dēmiourgon, oude synolōs hoplopoion, ē mēchanopoion, ē ti tōn kata polemon epitēdeuonta, allʼ oudʼ hosa katʼ eirēnēn euolistha eis kakian; emporias gar ē kapēleias ē nauklērias oudʼ onar isasi, tas eis pleonexian aphormas apodiopompoumenoi.
You would find among them no maker of arrows, javelins, daggers, helmet, breastplate, or shield, nor in general any armorer, engine-maker, or anyone engaged in the business of war, nor even in the things of peace that easily slip into wickedness; for they do not even dream of trade, retail, or shipping, banishing the occasions of greed.
Notes and citation
Summary: They make no weapons and engage in no trade.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.6 (Dindorf 1:444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-6). (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.
8.12.7Dindorf 1:444
δοῦλός τε παρʼ αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ εἷς ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ ἐλεύθεροι πάντες, ἀνθυπουργοῦντες ἀλλήλοις· καταγινώσκουσί τε τῶν δεσποτῶν οὐ μόνον ὡς ἀδίκων ἰσότητα λυμαινομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἀσεβῶν, θεσμὸν φύσεως ἀναιρούντων ‚ ἢ πάντας ὁμοίως γεννήσασα καὶ θρέψασα μητρὸς τρόπον ἀδελφοὺς γνησίους, οὐ λεγομένους, ἀλλʼ ὄντας ὄντως ἀπειργάσατο.
doulos te parʼ autois oude heis estin, allʼ eleutheroi pantes, anthypourgountes allēlois; kataginōskousi te tōn despotōn ou monon hōs adikōn isotēta lymainomenōn, alla kai hōs asebōn, thesmon physeōs anairountōn ‚ ē pantas homoiōs gennēsasa kai threpsasa mētros tropon adelphous gnēsious, ou legomenous, allʼ ontas ontōs apeirgasato.
There is not a single slave among them, but all are free, serving one another in turn. They condemn masters, not only as unjust, corrupting equality, but also as impious, destroying the ordinance of nature, which, having begotten and nourished all alike as a mother, made them genuine brothers, not in name but in truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: They have no slaves, holding slavery unjust and contrary to nature.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): δοὐλός → δοῦλός.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.7 (Dindorf 1:444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-7). (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.
8.12.8Dindorf 1:444
ὧν τὴν συγγένειαν ἡ ἐπίβουλος πλεονεξία παρευημερήσασα διέσεισεν, ἀντʼ οἰκειότητος ἀλλοτριότητα καὶ ἀντὶ φιλίας ἔχθραν ἐργασαμένη.
hōn tēn syngeneian hē epiboulos pleonexia pareuēmerēsasa dieseisen, antʼ oikeiotētos allotriotēta kai anti philias echthran ergasamenē.
This kinship, scheming greed has overthrown by prevailing, producing estrangement instead of intimacy and enmity instead of friendship.
Notes and citation
Summary: Greed has destroyed natural human brotherhood.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.8 (Dindorf 1:444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-8). (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.
8.12.9Dindorf 1:444–445
φιλοσοφίας τε τὸ μὲν λογικὸν, ὡς οὐκ ἀναγκαῖον εἰς κτῆσιν ἀρετῆς, λογοθήραις, τὸ δὲ φυσικὸν, ὡς μεῖζον ἢ κατὰ ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν, μετεωρολέσχαις ἀπολιπόντες, πλὴν ὅσον αὐτοῦ περὶ ὑπάρξεως θεοῦ καὶ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς γενέσεως φιλοσοφεῖται ‚ τὸ ἠθικὸν εὖ μάλα διαπονοῦσιν, ἀλείπταις χρώμενοι τοῖς πατρῴοις νόμοις, οὓς ἀμήχανον ἀνθρωπίνην ἐπινοῆσαι ψυχὴν ἄνευ κατακωχῆς ἐνθέου.
philosophias te to men logikon, hōs ouk anankaion eis ktēsin aretēs, logothērais, to de physikon, hōs meizon ē kata anthrōpinēn physin, meteōroleschais apolipontes, plēn hoson autou peri hyparxeōs theou kai tēs tou pantos geneseōs philosopheitai ‚ to ēthikon eu mala diaponousin, aleiptais chrōmenoi tois patrǭois nomois, hous amēchanon anthrōpinēn epinoēsai psychēn aneu katakōchēs entheou.
Of philosophy, they leave the logical part, as not necessary for the acquisition of virtue, to word-hunters, and the natural part, as too great for human nature, to talkers about the heavens, except so much of it as concerns the existence of God and the origin of the universe; but the ethical part they work at very thoroughly, using as trainers their ancestral laws, which a human soul could not possibly have conceived without divine inspiration.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Essenes study ethics above logic and physics, trained by their divinely inspired laws.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.9 (Dindorf 1:444–445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-9). (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.
8.12.10Dindorf 1:445
τούτους ἀναδιδάσκονται μὲν καὶ παρὰ τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον, ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἑβδόμαις διαφερόντως. ἱερὰ γὰρ ἡ ἑβδόμη νενόμισται, καθʼ ἣν τῶν ἄλλων ἀνέχοντες ἔργων, εἰς ἱεροὺς ἀφικνούμενοι τόπους, οἳ καλοῦνται συναγωγαὶ, καθʼ ἡλικίας ἐν τάξεσιν ὑπὸ πρεσβυτέροις νέοι καθέζονται, μετὰ κόσμου τοῦ προσήκοντος ἔχοντες ἀκροατικῶς. εἷς μέν τις τὰς βίβλους ἀναγινώσκει λαβὼν, ἕτερος δὲ τῶν ἐμπειροτάτων ὅσα μὴ γνώριμα παρελθὼν ἀναδιδάσκει· τὰ γὰρ πλεῖστα διὰ συμβόλων ἀρχαιοτρόπῳ ζηλώσει παρʼ αὐτοῖς φιλοσοφεῖται.
toutous anadidaskontai men kai para ton allon chronon, en de tais hebdomais diapherontōs. hiera gar hē hebdomē nenomistai, kathʼ hēn tōn allōn anechontes ergōn, eis hierous aphiknoumenoi topous, hoi kalountai synagōgai, kathʼ hēlikias en taxesin hypo presbyterois neoi kathezontai, meta kosmou tou prosēkontos echontes akroatikōs. heis men tis tas biblous anaginōskei labōn, heteros de tōn empeirotatōn hosa mē gnōrima parelthōn anadidaskei; ta gar pleista dia symbolōn archaiotropǭ zēlōsei parʼ autois philosopheitai.
They are taught these at other times too, but especially on the seventh days. For the seventh day is held sacred; on it they abstain from other work and come to sacred places called synagogues, where they sit in rows by age, the young below the elders, listening with fitting decorum. Then one takes the books and reads, and another of the most experienced comes forward and explains what is not understood; for most things are treated philosophically among them through symbols, with an ancient zeal.
Notes and citation
Summary: On the Sabbath they gather in synagogues to hear the Scriptures read and explained.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.10 (Dindorf 1:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-10). (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.
8.12.11Dindorf 1:445
παιδεύονται δὲ εὐσέβειαν, ὁσιότητα, δικαιοσύνην, οἰκονομίαν, πολιτείαν, καὶ ἐπιστήμην τῶν πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ἀγαθῶν καὶ κακῶν καὶ ἀδιαφόρων, αἱρέσεις ὧν χρὴ καὶ φυγὰς τῶν ἐναντίων, νόμοις καὶ κανόσι τριττοῖς χρώμενοι, τῷ τε φιλοθέῳ καὶ φιλαρέτῳ καὶ φιλανθρώπῳ.
paideuontai de eusebeian, hosiotēta, dikaiosynēn, oikonomian, politeian, kai epistēmēn tōn pros alētheian agathōn kai kakōn kai adiaphorōn, haireseis hōn chrē kai phygas tōn enantiōn, nomois kai kanosi trittois chrōmenoi, tǭ te philotheǭ kai philaretǭ kai philanthrōpǭ.
They are taught piety, holiness, justice, household management, citizenship, and knowledge of what is truly good, bad, and indifferent, what to choose and what opposites to flee, using a threefold set of rules and standards: love of God, love of virtue, and love of humanity.
Notes and citation
Summary: They learn piety, justice, and ethics under the rules of love of God, virtue, and humanity.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.11 (Dindorf 1:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-11). (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.
8.12.12Dindorf 1:445
τοῦ μὲν οὖν φιλοθέου δείγματα μυρία παρέχει ἡ παρʼ ὅλον τὸν βίον συνεχὴς καὶ ἐπάλληλος ἁγνεία, τὸ ἀνώμοτον, τὸ ἀψευδὲς, τὸ πάντων μὲν ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον, κακοῦ δὲ μηδενὸς νομίζειν εἶναι τὸ θεῖον· τοῦ δὲ φιλαρέτου τὸ ἀφιλοχρήματον, τὸ ἀφιλόδοξον, τὸ ἀφιλήδονον, τὸ ἐγκρατὲς, τὸ καρτερικὸν, ἔτι δὲ ὀλιγοδέειαν, ἀφέλειαν, εὐκολίαν, τὸ ἄτυφον, τὸ νόμιμον, τὸ εὐσταθὲς, καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ὁμοιότροπα· τοῦ δὲ φιλανθρώπου δείγματα εὔνοια, ἰσότης, ἡ παντὸς λόγου κρείττων κοινωνία, περὶ ἧς οὐκ ἄκαιρον βραχέα εἰπεῖν.
tou men oun philotheou deigmata myria parechei hē parʼ holon ton bion synechēs kai epallēlos hagneia, to anōmoton, to apseudes, to pantōn men agathōn aition, kakou de mēdenos nomizein einai to theion; tou de philaretou to aphilochrēmaton, to aphilodoxon, to aphilēdonon, to enkrates, to karterikon, eti de oligodeeian, apheleian, eukolian, to atyphon, to nomimon, to eustathes, kai hosa toutois homoiotropa; tou de philanthrōpou deigmata eunoia, isotēs, hē pantos logou kreittōn koinōnia, peri hēs ouk akairon brachea eipein.
Of love of God they give countless proofs: continual and unbroken purity throughout their whole life, abstention from oaths, truthfulness, and the belief that the divine is the cause of all good and of no evil. Of love of virtue: freedom from love of money, of fame, and of pleasure, self-control, endurance, and further frugality, simplicity, contentment, modesty, respect for law, steadiness, and all such things. Of love of humanity: goodwill, equality, and a fellowship beyond all description, about which it is not out of place to say a little.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their love of God, of virtue, and of humanity are shown in their way of life.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.12 (Dindorf 1:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-12). (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.
8.12.13Dindorf 1:445–446
πρῶτον τοίνυν οὐδενὸς οἰκία τίς ἐστιν ἰδία, ἣν οὐχὶ πάντων εἶναι κοινὴν συμβέβηκε. πρὸς γὰρ τῷ κατὰ θιάσους συνοικεῖν ἀναπέπταται καὶ τοῖς ἑτέρωθεν ἀφικνουμένοις τῶν ὁμοζήλων.
prōton toinyn oudenos oikia tis estin idia, hēn ouchi pantōn einai koinēn symbebēke. pros gar tǭ kata thiasous synoikein anapeptatai kai tois heterōthen aphiknoumenois tōn homozēlōn.
First, then, no one's house is his own, but it is common to all. For besides their living together in fellowships, it is open to those of like zeal who come from elsewhere.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their houses are open to all members.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀνα- πέπταται → ἀναπέπταται; ὁμο- ζήλων → ὁμοζήλων.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.13 (Dindorf 1:445–446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-13). (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.
8.12.14Dindorf 1:446
εἶτʼ ἐστὶ ταμεῖον ἓν πάντων καὶ δαπάναι· καὶ κοιναὶ μὲν ἐσθῆτες, κοιναὶ δὲ τροφαὶ συσσίτια πεποιημένων. τὸ γὰρ ὁμωρόφιον ‚ ἢ ὁμοδίαιτον ‚ ἢ ὁμοτράπεζον ‚ οὐκ ἄν τις εὕροι παρʼ ἑτέροις μᾶλλον ἔργῳ βεβαιούμενον, καὶ μήποτʼ εἰκότως·
eitʼ esti tameion hen pantōn kai dapanai; kai koinai men esthētes, koinai de trophai syssitia pepoiēmenōn. to gar homōrophion ‚ ē homodiaiton ‚ ē homotrapezon ‚ ouk an tis heuroi parʼ heterois mallon ergǭ bebaioumenon, kai mēpotʼ eikotōs;
Then there is one treasury for all and common expenses; common are the garments, common the food, for they hold common meals. For living under one roof, one way of life, and one table would not be found more firmly established in practice among others; and perhaps reasonably so.
Notes and citation
Summary: Treasury, clothing, and meals are shared.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.14 (Dindorf 1:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-14). (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.
8.12.15Dindorf 1:446
ὅσα γὰρ ἂν μεθʼ ἡμέραν ἐργασάμενοι λάβωσιν ἐπὶ μισθῷ, ταῦτʼ οὐκ ἴδια φυλάττουσιν ‚ ἀλλʼ εἰς μέσον προτιθέντες κοινὴν τοῖς ἐθέλουσι χρῆσθαι τὴν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν παρασκευάζουσιν ὠφέλειαν· οἵ τε νοσοῦντες οὐχ ὅτι πορίζειν ἀδυνατοῦσιν ἀμελοῦνται, πρὸς τὰς νοσηλείας ἐκ τῶν κοινῶν ἔχοντες ἐν ἑτοίμῳ, ὡς μετὰ πάσης ἀδείας ἐξ ἀφθονωτέρων ἀναλίσκειν.
hosa gar an methʼ hēmeran ergasamenoi labōsin epi misthǭ, tautʼ ouk idia phylattousin ‚ allʼ eis meson protithentes koinēn tois ethelousi chrēsthai tēn apʼ autōn paraskeuazousin ōpheleian; hoi te nosountes ouch hoti porizein adynatousin amelountai, pros tas nosēleias ek tōn koinōn echontes en hetoimǭ, hōs meta pasēs adeias ex aphthonōterōn analiskein.
For whatever they receive as wages for their day's work they do not keep as their own, but put it out in common and make its benefit available to those who wish to use it. And the sick are not neglected because they cannot earn, having ready from the common funds what they need for nursing, so that they may spend with all freedom from a plentiful supply.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wages are pooled; the sick are cared for from the common fund.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.15 (Dindorf 1:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-15). (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.
8.12.16Dindorf 1:446
αἰδὼς δʼ ἐστὶ πρεσβυτέρων καὶ φροντὶς, οἵα γονέων ὑπὸ γνησίων παίδων, χερσὶ καὶ διανοίαις μυρίαις ἐν ἀφθονίᾳ τῇ πάσῃ γηροτροφουμένων. τοιούτους ἡ δίχα περιεργίας Ἑλληνικῶν ὀνομάτων ἀθλητὰς ἀρετῆς ἀπεργάζεται φιλοσοφία, γυμνάσματα προτιθεῖσα τὰς ἐπαινετὰς πράξεις, ἐξ ὧν ἡ ἀδούλωτος ἐλευθερία βεβαιοῦται.
aidōs dʼ esti presbyterōn kai phrontis, hoia goneōn hypo gnēsiōn paidōn, chersi kai dianoiais myriais en aphthonią tę̄ pasę̄ gērotrophoumenōn. toioutous hē dicha periergias Hellēnikōn onomatōn athlētas aretēs apergazetai philosophia, gymnasmata protitheisa tas epainetas praxeis, ex hōn hē adoulōtos eleutheria bebaioutai.
They show respect and care for the elders, such as genuine children give their parents, nursing them in old age in all abundance with countless hands and thoughts. Such athletes of virtue does philosophy produce, free of the fussiness of Greek terms, setting before them praiseworthy actions as exercises, by which unenslaved freedom is made secure.
Notes and citation
Summary: They honor the elderly; their philosophy is practiced, not verbal.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἀπεργίζεται → ἀπεργάζεται.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.16 (Dindorf 1:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-16). (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.
8.12.17Dindorf 1:446
σημεῖον δὲ, πολλῶν κατὰ καιροὺς ἐπαναστάντων τῇ χώρᾳ δυναστῶν ‚ καὶ φύσεσι καὶ προαιρέσεσι χρησαμένων διαφερούσαις ‚ οἱ μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὸ ἀτίθασον ἀγριότητα θηρίων ἐκνικῆσαι σπουδάσαντες, οὐδὲν παραλιπόντες τῶν εἰς ὠμότητα, τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἀγεληδὸν ἱερεύοντες ‚ ἢ καὶ ζῶντας ἔτι μαγείρων τρόπον κατὰ μέρη καὶ μέλη κρεουργοῦντες, ἄχρι τοῦ τὰς αὐτὰς ὑπομεῖναι συμφορὰς ὑπὸ τῆς τὰ ἀνθρώπεια ἐφορώσης δίκης, οὐκ ἐπαύσαντο· ’
sēmeion de, pollōn kata kairous epanastantōn tę̄ chōrą dynastōn ‚ kai physesi kai proairesesi chrēsamenōn diapherousais ‚ hoi men gar eis to atithason agriotēta thēriōn eknikēsai spoudasantes, ouden paralipontes tōn eis ōmotēta, tous hypēkoous agelēdon hiereuontes ‚ ē kai zōntas eti mageirōn tropon kata merē kai melē kreourgountes, achri tou tas autas hypomeinai symphoras hypo tēs ta anthrōpeia ephorōsēs dikēs, ouk epausanto; ’
A proof of this: many rulers at various times have risen up against the country, differing in nature and policy. Some, striving to outdo the savagery of wild beasts in untamability, leaving nothing undone in cruelty, slaughtering their subjects in herds, or even cutting them up alive, like cooks, part by part and limb by limb, did not stop until they themselves suffered the same calamities from the justice that oversees human affairs;
Notes and citation
Summary: Cruel rulers who butchered the people were themselves punished by justice.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letters in the digital text): καεουργοῦντες → κρεουργοῦντες.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.17 (Dindorf 1:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-17). (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.
8.12.18Dindorf 1:446–447
οἱ δὲ τὸ παρακεκινημένον καὶ λελυττηκὸς εἰς ἑτέρας εἶδος κακίας μεθαρμοσάμενοι, πικρίαν ἄλεκτον ἐπιτηδεύσαντες, ἡσυχῆ διαλαλοῦντες, ἠρεμαιοτέρας φωνῆς ὑποκρίσει βαρύμηνι ἦθος ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, κυνῶν ἰοβόλων τρόπον προσσαίνοντες, ἀνιάτων γενόμενοι κακῶν αἴτιοι, κατὰ πόλεις μνημεῖα τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀσεβείας καὶ μισανθρωπίας ἀπέλιπον τὰς τῶν πεπονθότων ἀλήστους συμφοράς.
hoi de to parakekinēmenon kai lelyttēkos eis heteras eidos kakias metharmosamenoi, pikrian alekton epitēdeusantes, hēsychē dialalountes, ēremaioteras phōnēs hypokrisei barymēni ēthos epideiknymenoi, kynōn iobolōn tropon prossainontes, aniatōn genomenoi kakōn aitioi, kata poleis mnēmeia tēs heautōn asebeias kai misanthrōpias apelipon tas tōn peponthotōn alēstous symphoras.
others, changing their frenzy and madness into another form of wickedness, practicing unspeakable bitterness, talking quietly, displaying a wrathful character under the pretense of a gentler voice, fawning like venomous dogs, became the causes of incurable evils, and left behind in the cities, as monuments of their impiety and hatred of humanity, the unforgettable calamities of those who suffered.
Notes and citation
Summary: Other rulers were treacherous and left lasting misery.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): οἶ δὲ τὸ παρακεκινημένον → οἱ δὲ τὸ παρακεκινημένον.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.18 (Dindorf 1:446–447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-18). (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.
8.12.19Dindorf 1:447
ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐδεὶς οὔτε τῶν σφόδρα ὠμοθύμων οὔτε τῶν πάνυ δολερῶν καὶ ὑπούλων ἴσχυσε τὸν λεχθέντα τῶν Ἐσσαίων ἢ Ὁσίων ὅμιλον αἰτιάσασθαι· πάντες δʼ ἀσθενέστεροι τῆς τῶν ἀνδρῶν καλοκαγαθίας γενόμενοι καθάπερ αὐτονόμοις καὶ ἐλευθέροις οὖσιν ἐκ φύσεως προσηνέχθησαν ‚ ᾄδοντες αὐτῶν τὰ συσσίτια καὶ τὴν παντὸς λόγου κρείττονα κοινωνίαν, ἣ βίου τελείου καὶ σφόδρα εὐδαίμονός ἐστι σαφέστατον δεῖγμα.”
alla gar oudeis oute tōn sphodra ōmothymōn oute tōn pany dolerōn kai hypoulōn ischyse ton lechthenta tōn Essaiōn ē Hosiōn homilon aitiasasthai; pantes dʼ asthenesteroi tēs tōn andrōn kalokagathias genomenoi kathaper autonomois kai eleutherois ousin ek physeōs prosēnechthēsan ‚ ądontes autōn ta syssitia kai tēn pantos logou kreittona koinōnian, hē biou teleiou kai sphodra eudaimonos esti saphestaton deigma.”
But none, either of the very savage or of the very deceitful and treacherous, was able to bring a charge against the company of the Essenes or Holy Ones; but all, overcome by the men's nobility of character, treated them as independent and free by nature, praising their common meals and their fellowship beyond all description, which is the clearest proof of a perfect and very happy life."
Notes and citation
Summary: No tyrant could accuse the Essenes; all respected them.
- Philo, That Every Good Man Is Free 75–91.
Extrabiblical texts: Philo, Prob. 75–91 (Philo of Alexandria (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.19 (Dindorf 1:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-19). (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.
8.12.20Dindorf 1:447
Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς φιλοσόφου παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις ἀσκήσεως τε καὶ πολιτείας διὰ τῶνδε προκείσθω· τὰ δὲ τοῦ λοιποῦ βίου, ὃν δὴ τῷ πλήθει τοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους οἱ θεῖοι διηγόρευον νόμοι, τέθειται προλαβὼν ὁ λόγος.
Ta men oun tēs philosophou para Ioudaiois askēseōs te kai politeias dia tōnde prokeisthō; ta de tou loipou biou, hon dē tǭ plēthei tou pantos ethnous hoi theioi diēgoreuon nomoi, tetheitai prolabōn ho logos.
Let these, then, set forth the philosophical discipline and way of life among the Jews; the rest of the life, which the divine laws prescribed for the multitude of the whole nation, the discussion has already set out.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius closes the account of the Jewish philosophers.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.20 (Dindorf 1:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-20). (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.
8.12.21Dindorf 1:447
τί δῆτα λείπεται ἐπὶ τούτοις ἢ καὶ τὰ τῆς τῶν νέων θεολογίας σύμφωνα ταῖς τῶν προπατόρων εὐσεβείαις παραστήσασθαι, ὡς ἂν καὶ τῆσδε τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἐντελὴς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος ἀποδεδομένος εἴη;
ti dēta leipetai epi toutois ē kai ta tēs tōn neōn theologias symphōna tais tōn propatorōn eusebeiais parastēsasthai, hōs an kai tēsde tēs hypotheseōs entelēs hēmin ho logos apodedomenos eiē?
What, then, remains after this but to show also that the theology of the later Jews agrees with the piety of their forefathers, so that our account of this subject too may be complete?
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius will show later Jewish theology agrees with the patriarchs'.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.21 (Dindorf 1:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-21). (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.
8.12.22Dindorf 1:447
ἐπεὶ τοίνυν τὰ τῆς ἐνθέου γραφῆς λόγια πρόκειται διὰ τοῦ πρὸ τούτου συγγράμματος, φέρʼ οὖν ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τὰ τῆς διανοίας τῶν παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις σοφῶν ἐπαθρήσωμεν, ὡς ἂν μάθοιμεν ὁποῖοί τινες καὶ ἐν τῇ θεολογίᾳ κἀν τῇ περὶ λόγους ἀρετῇ παῖδες Ἑβραίων γεγόνασι. πάλιν οὖν τὸν Φίλωνα παριτέον ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου τῶν Εἰς τὸν Νόμον
epei toinyn ta tēs entheou graphēs logia prokeitai dia tou pro toutou syngrammatos, pherʼ oun epi tou parontos ta tēs dianoias tōn para Ioudaiois sophōn epathrēsōmen, hōs an mathoimen hopoioi tines kai en tę̄ theologią kan tę̄ peri logous aretę̄ paides Hebraiōn gegonasi. palin oun ton Philōna pariteon apo tou prōtou tōn Eis ton Nomon
Since the oracles of the inspired Scripture have been set out in the previous book, come, let us now look at the thought of the wise men among the Jews, so that we may learn what sort of men the sons of the Hebrews have been both in theology and in excellence of speech. We must again bring in Philo, from the first of his books On the Law:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Philo's On the Creation.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing in the digital text): καὶ έν τῇ θεολογίᾳ → καὶ ἐν τῇ θεολογίᾳ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 8.12.22 (Dindorf 1:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/8-9-1/#p-8-12-22). (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.