Church History 3.14–3.22
Greek text: PG 67 (OCR text layer from the Bavarian State Library, cleaned for this site).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 2 (1890).
Chapter 3
3.14PG 67:415–417
Ὁ δὲ φεύγει πάλιν, εἰπὼν τοῖς γνωρίμοις, Υποσταλῶμεν μικρὸν, ὦ φίλοι· νεφύδριον γάρ ἐστι, καὶ παρέρχεται. Ταῦτα εἰπὼν, εὐθὺς ὡς εἶχε, πλοίῳ διὰ τοῦ Νείλου εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἔφυγεν. Ἐδίωκον δὲ κατόπιν οἱ συλλαβεῖν αὐτὸν σπεύδοντες. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ πόρρωθεν εἶναι ἐπύθετο τοὺς διώκοντας, οἱ μὲν συνόντες, ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν ἔρημον αὖθις φεύγειν ἐκέλευον · ὁ δὲ, σοφῇ γνώμῃ χρησάμενος, διέφυγε τοὺς διώκοντας. Τοῖς γὰρ διώκουσιν, ἐξυποστρέψαντας, ἀπαντᾶν συνεβούλευε. Καὶ τοῦτο ᾗ τάχος ἐγίνετο. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πλησίον τῶν διωκόντων οἱ πρὸ μικροῦ φεύγοντες ἦσαν, οὐδὲν οἱ ζητοῦντες ἠρώτων τοὺς περὶ ᾿Αθανάσιον, ἡ που ᾿Αθανάσιον τεθέανται. Οἱ δὲ, ἐγγὺς αὐτοῦ που εἶναι ἐμήνυον· καὶ εἰ ἐπισπεύσειεν, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν αὐτὸν καταλήψεσθαι ἔλεγον. Καὶ οὕτως οἱ μὲν παρατραπέντες, συντόνως μάτην ἐδίωκον. Ὁ δὲ διαφυγών, τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν λαθραίως κατέλαβε. Καὶ ἐκεῖ λανθάνων διῆγεν, ἕως οὗ ὁ διωγμὸς ἐπαύσατο. Τοιαῦτα μὲν οὖν μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς Χριστιανικοὺς διωγμοὺς, καὶ τὰ παρ᾿ Ἑλλήνων κακά, τὸν ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπον διεδέξατο. Οἱ μέντοι κατὰ τὰς ἐπαρχίας ἄρχοντες, καιρὸν οἰκείου κέρδους τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως θρησκείαν νομίσαντες, πέρα τῶν βασιλικῶν προσταγμάτων τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς κακῶς διετίθεσαν· χρήματα μὲν πλείονα ἢ ἐχρῆν εἰσπραττόμενοι· ἔστι δὲ ὅτε καὶ σωματικὰς τιμωρίας προςάγοντες. Ταῦτα μανθάνων ὁ βασιλεὺς περιεώρα, καὶ τους Χριστιανοῖς περὶ τούτου προσελθοῦσιν αὐτῷ, Ὑμέτερόν ἐστιν, ἔλεγεν, αὐτοὺς πάσχοντας κακῶς ὑπομένειν· τοῦτο γὰρ τοῦ ὑμετέρου Θεοῦ παράγγελμα.
Ho de pheugei palin, eipōn tois gnōrimois, Ypostalōmen mikron, ō philoi; nephydrion gar esti, kai parerchetai. Tauta eipōn, euthys hōs eiche, ploiǭ dia tou Neilou eis tēn Aigypton ephygen. Ediōkon de katopin hoi syllabein auton speudontes. Epeidē de ou porrōthen einai epytheto tous diōkontas, hoi men synontes, hōs epi tēn erēmon authis pheugein ekeleuon ; ho de, sophę̄ gnōmę̄ chrēsamenos, diephyge tous diōkontas. Tois gar diōkousin, exypostrepsantas, apantan synebouleue. Kai touto hę̄ tachos egineto. Epei de plēsion tōn diōkontōn hoi pro mikrou pheugontes ēsan, ouden hoi zētountes ērōtōn tous peri ᾿Athanasion, hē pou ᾿Athanasion tetheantai. Hoi de, engys autou pou einai emēnyon; kai ei epispeuseien, ouk eis makran auton katalēpsesthai elegon. Kai houtōs hoi men paratrapentes, syntonōs matēn ediōkon. Ho de diaphygōn, tēn ᾿Alexandreian lathraiōs katelabe. Kai ekei lanthanōn diēgen, heōs hou ho diōgmos epausato. Toiauta men oun meta tous pollous Christianikous diōgmous, kai ta par᾿ Hellēnōn kaka, ton ᾿Alexandreias episkopon diedexato. Hoi mentoi kata tas eparchias archontes, kairon oikeiou kerdous tēn tou basileōs thrēskeian nomisantes, pera tōn basilikōn prostagmatōn tous Christianous kakōs dietithesan; chrēmata men pleiona ē echrēn eisprattomenoi; esti de hote kai sōmatikas timōrias prosagontes. Tauta manthanōn ho basileus perieōra, kai tous Christianois peri toutou proselthousin autǭ, Hymeteron estin, elegen, autous paschontas kakōs hypomenein; touto gar tou hymeterou Theou parangelma.
He fled again, saying to his friends, “Let us withdraw a little, friends; it is a little cloud, and it passes.” Saying this, he at once, just as he was, fled by boat up the Nile into Egypt. Those eager to seize him pursued behind. When he learned that the pursuers were not far off, those with him urged him to flee again into the desert; but he, using a wise plan, escaped the pursuers. He advised them to turn back and meet the pursuers, and this was done quickly. When those who had a little before been fleeing were near the pursuers, the searchers asked Athanasius’s companions nothing but whether they had seen Athanasius anywhere. They told them that he was somewhere near, and that if they hurried they would soon catch him. So they were turned aside and pursued hard in vain, while he escaped and secretly reached Alexandria, and lived there in hiding until the persecution ended. Such were the evils, after the many persecutions by Christians, that came upon the bishop of Alexandria from the pagans too. The governors in the provinces, thinking the emperor’s religion an opportunity for their own gain, treated the Christians badly beyond the imperial orders, exacting more money than they should and sometimes applying bodily punishments too. The emperor, learning this, overlooked it; and to the Christians who came to him about it he said, “It is yours to endure it patiently when you suffer wrong; for this is the command of your God.”
Matt 5:39 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Athanasius escapes his pursuers on the Nile by turning back towards them, and hides in Alexandria; provincial governors oppress Christians, and Julian tells them their God commands them to endure.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.14 (PG 67:415–417; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-14
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.15PG 67:417
Ἐν γοῦν τῇ Μηρῷ · πόλει τῆς ἐπαρχίας τῆς Φρυγίας ἄρχων ἦν Ἀμάχιος, τὸ τῇδε ἱερὸν ἀνοιγῆναι προστάξας, ἐκκαθαίρεσθαί τε τὸν ἐκ τοῦ χρόνου συναχθέντα ῥύπον ἐκέλευε, καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ ἀγάλματα ἐπιμελείας ἠξίου. Τοῦτο γινόμενον, σφόδρα τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ἐλύπει. Μακεδόνιος - δέ τις καὶ Θεόδουλος καὶ Τατιανὸς, ζήλῳ τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ, τὴν λύπην οὐκ ἤνεγκαν. Αλλ' ἔνθερμον τὸ φρόνημα πρὸς ἀρετὴν κεκτημένοι, νυκτὸς εἰς τὸν ναὸν εἰσπηδήσαντες, συντρίβουσι τὰ ἀγάλματα. Τοῦ δὲ ἡγεμόνος ἐπὶ τῷ γεγονότι σφόδρα χαλεπήναντος, καὶ πολλοὺς τῶν κατὰ πόλιν ἀναιτίων ἀναιρεῖσθαι σπουδάζοντος, προσφέρουσιν ἑαυτοὺς οἱ αὐθένται τοῦ πράγματος· καὶ μᾶλλον αὐτοὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀποθνήσκειν ἠροῦντο, ἤπερ ἰδεῖν ἑτέρους ἀνθ᾽ ἑαυτῶν ἀποθνήσκοντας. Τούτους λαβὼν ὁ ἡγεμὼν, ὡς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀδικήματος τοῦ παρ' αὐτῶν γενομένου διὰ θυσίας ἀπολογεῖσθαι ἐκέλευε· μὴ ποιοῦντας δὲ τοῦτο, τιμωρεῖσθαι ἠπείλει. Οἱ δὲ, γενναῖοι τὸ φρόνημα ὄντες, μικρὰ τῶν ἀπειλῶν φροντίσαντες, πάνθ' ὑπομένειν ἑτοίμως εἶχον· καὶ μᾶλλον θνήσκειν ἡροῦντο, ἢ ταῖς θυσίαις μολύνεσθαι. Τότε δὴ πάσαις βασάνοις ὑποβαλὼν τοὺς ἄνδρας, τέλος ἐσχάραις ἐπιθεὶς, καὶ πῦρ ταύταις ἐπιτεθῆναι κελεύσας, οὕτως ἀπόλλυσιν. Οἱ δὲ, τὴν κορωνίδα τῆς ἀνδρίας τηνικαῦτα ἐπέδειξαν, πρὸς τὸν ἡγεμόνα τοιαῦτα εἰπόντες· Εἰ ἐπεθύμησας ὀπτῶν, ὦ Ἀμάχιε, κρεῶν ἀπογεύσασθαι, στρέψον ἡμᾶς καὶ εἰς τὰς ἑτέρας πλευρὰς, ἵνα μὴ εἰς τὴν γεῦσιν ἡμίοπτοι φανῶμέν σοι. Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν τὸν τρόπον οὗτοι τὸν βίον ἐτέλεσαν.
En goun tę̄ Mērǭ ; polei tēs eparchias tēs Phrygias archōn ēn Amachios, to tę̄de hieron anoigēnai prostaxas, ekkathairesthai te ton ek tou chronou synachthenta rhypon ekeleue, kai ta en autǭ agalmata epimeleias ēxiou. Touto ginomenon, sphodra tous Christianous elypei. Makedonios - de tis kai Theodoulos kai Tatianos, zēlǭ tou Christianismou, tēn lypēn ouk ēnenkan. All' enthermon to phronēma pros aretēn kektēmenoi, nyktos eis ton naon eispēdēsantes, syntribousi ta agalmata. Tou de hēgemonos epi tǭ gegonoti sphodra chalepēnantos, kai pollous tōn kata polin anaitiōn anaireisthai spoudazontos, prospherousin heautous hoi authentai tou pragmatos; kai mallon autoi hyper tēs alētheias apothnēskein ērounto, ēper idein heterous anth᾽ heautōn apothnēskontas. Toutous labōn ho hēgemōn, hōs hyper tou adikēmatos tou par' autōn genomenou dia thysias apologeisthai ekeleue; mē poiountas de touto, timōreisthai ēpeilei. Hoi de, gennaioi to phronēma ontes, mikra tōn apeilōn phrontisantes, panth' hypomenein hetoimōs eichon; kai mallon thnēskein hērounto, ē tais thysiais molynesthai. Tote dē pasais basanois hypobalōn tous andras, telos escharais epitheis, kai pyr tautais epitethēnai keleusas, houtōs apollysin. Hoi de, tēn korōnida tēs andrias tēnikauta epedeixan, pros ton hēgemona toiauta eipontes; Ei epethymēsas optōn, ō Amachie, kreōn apogeusasthai, strepson hēmas kai eis tas heteras pleuras, hina mē eis tēn geusin hēmioptoi phanōmen soi. Touton men oun ton tropon houtoi ton bion etelesan.
At Merus, a city of the province of Phrygia, the governor was Amachius. He ordered the temple there to be opened, the filth gathered over time to be cleared out, and the statues in it to be cared for. This greatly grieved the Christians. Macedonius, Theodulus, and Tatian, out of zeal for Christianity, could not bear the grief; having a mind fervent for virtue, they burst into the temple by night and smashed the statues. When the governor was very angry at what had happened and was eager to put to death many innocent people of the city, the authors of the deed gave themselves up, choosing rather to die themselves for the truth than to see others die in their place. The governor seized them and ordered them to clear themselves of the offence they had committed by sacrificing; if they did not, he threatened punishment. But they, being noble of mind, cared little for the threats and were ready to endure anything, choosing rather to die than to be defiled by sacrifices. Then, having subjected the men to every torture, he finally placed them on gridirons and ordered fire to be put under them, and so put them to death. They then showed the crown of their courage, saying to the governor: “If you want to taste roast meat, Amachius, turn us over on the other side too, so that we may not seem half-cooked to your taste.” In this way they ended their lives.
Notes and citation
Summary: Three Christians of Merus in Phrygia who smashed temple statues give themselves up to save others and are roasted to death by the governor Amachius.
- The account of their martyrdom is translated exactly as Socrates gives it; Socrates presents their breaking of the statues as zeal.
Topics: Martyrdom, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.15 (PG 67:417; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-15
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-3-15) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.16PG 67:417–423
Ὁ μέντοι τοῦ βασιλέως νόμος, ὃς τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς Ἑλληνικῆς παιδείας μετέχειν ἐκώλυε, τοὺς Ἀπολιναρίους, ὧν καὶ πρότερον ἐμνημονεύσαμεν, φανερωτέρους ἀπέδειξεν. Ὡς γὰρ ἄμφω ἤστην ἐπιστήμονες λόγων, ὁ μὲν πατήρ γραμματικῶν, σοφιστικῶν δὲ ὁ υἱὸς, χρειώδεις ἑαυτοὺς πρὸς τὸν παρόντα καιρὸν τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἀπεδείκνυον. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς γραμματικὸς ἄτε, τὴν τέχνην γραμματικὴν Χριστιανικῷ τύπῳ συνέταττε· τά τε Μωϋσέως Β:βλία ο, διὰ τοῦ ἡρωϊκοῦ λεγομένου μέτρου μετέβαλε· καὶ ὅσα κατὰ τὴν Παλαιὰν Διαθήκην ἐν ἱστορίας τύπῳ συγγέγραπται, καὶ τοῦτο μὲν τῷ δακτυλικῷ μέτρῳ συνέταττε, τοῦτο δὲ, καὶ τῷ τῆς τραγῳδίας τύπῳ δραματικῶς ἐξειργάζετο. Καὶ παντὶ μέτρῳ ῥυθμικῷ ἐχρῆτο, ὅπως ἂν μηδεὶς τρόπος τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς γλώττης τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἀνήκοος ᾖ. Ὁ δὲ νεώτερος Ἀπολινάριος εὖ πρὸς τὸ λέγειν παρεσκευασμένος, τὰ Εὐαγγέλια, καὶ τὰ ἀποστολικὰ δόγματα, ἐν τύπῳ διαλόγων ἐξέθετο, καθὰ καὶ Πλάτων παρ' Ἕλλησιν. Οὕτω μὲν οὖν τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ χρειώδεις φανέντες, τοῦ βασιλέως τὸ σόφισμα διὰ τῶν οἰκείων πόνων ἐνίκησαν. ᾿Αλλ᾿ ἡ πρόνοια τοῦ Θεοῦ κρείσσων ἐγένετο, καὶ τῆς τούτων σπουδῆς, καὶ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως ὁρμῆς. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ νόμος, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ἀπέσβη τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὡς προϊόντες δηλώσομεν· τῶν δὲ οἱ πόνοι, ἐν ἴσῳ τοῦ μὴ γραφῆναι λογίζονται Β. 'Αλλ' ἐρεῖ τις γοργῶς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀπαντῶν • Πῶς φὴς προνοίᾳ Θεοῦ ταῦτα γενέσθαι; Τὴν μὲν γὰρ τοῦ βασιλέως ταχεῖαν τελευτὴν, λυσιτελῆσαι τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ δῆλόν ἐστι. Τὸ δὲ παρεῤῥίφθαι τὰ τῶν Ἀπολιναρίων χριστιανικά ποιήματα, καὶ πάλιν τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς τὴν Ἑλλήνων μανθάνειν παιδείαν, οὐκέτι τοῦτο λυσιτελεῖν τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ. Πρὸς βλάβης γὰρ εἶναι τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν παιδείαν, πολυθεΐαν διδάσκουσαν. Πρὸς ταῦτα οὖν, τὰ ὑποπίπτοντα ἡμῖν ὡς οἷόν τε λέξομεν. Ἡ Ἑλληνικὴ παίδευσις, οὔτε παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, οὔτε παρὰ τῶν αὐτοῦ μαθητῶν, ἢ ὡς θεόπνευστος ἐδέχθη, ἢ ὡς ἐπιβλαβὴς ἐξεβλήθη. Καὶ Ο τοῦτο, ὡς ἡγοῦμαι, οὐκ ἀπρονοήτως ἐποίησαν. Πολλοί γὰρ τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι φιλοσοφησάντων, οὐ μακρὰν τοῦ γνῶναι τὸν Θεὸν ἐγένοντο. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἀπρονοησίαν εἰσάγοντας, οἷον Ἑπικουρίους, ἢ ἄλλως ἐριστικοὺς, μετὰ τῆς λογικῆς ἐπιστήμης γενναίως ἀπήντησαν, τὴν ἁμαθίαν αὐτῶν ἀνατρέποντες· καὶ διὰ τούτων τῶν λόγων, χρειώδεις μὲν τοῖς τὴν εὐσέβειαν ἀγαπῶσι κατέστησαν· οὐ μὴν τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ λόγου ἐκράτησαν, τοῦ μὴ γνῶναι τὸ ἀποκρυπτόμενον ἀπὸ τῶν γενεῶν καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων κατὰ Χριστὸν μυστήριον. Καὶ τοῦθ᾽ οὕτως ἔχειν, ἐν τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους Ἐπιστολῇ ὁ ᾿Απόστολος δείκνυσι, δι' ὧν φησιν· Ἀποκαλύπτεται γὰρ ὀργὴ Θεοῦ ἀπ᾿ οὐρανῶν, ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ἀσέβειαν καὶ ἀδικίαν ἀνθεώπων, τῶν τὴ» ἀήθειαν ἐν ἀδικίᾳ. των, διότι τὸ γνωστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ “αγερόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ὁ Θεὸς γὰρ αὐτοῖς Τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ, ἀπὸ κτίσεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι γοούμενα καθορᾶται, ἢ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύγειμις καὶ θειότης, εἰς τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπο.Ἰογήτους διότι γγόγτες τὸν Θεὺν', οὐχ ὡς Θεὸν ἐδόξασαν. Διὰ τούτων φαίνονται γνῶσιν μὲν ἀληθείας ἔχοντες, ἣν ὁ Θεὸς αὐτοῖς ἐφανέρωσεν. δὲ γίνονται, διότι γνόντες τὸν Θεὸν, οὐχ ὡς Θεὸν ἐδόξασαν. Οὐκοῦν τὸ μὴ χωλύσαι τὰ Ἑλλήνων μανθάνειν, τῇ γνώμῃ τῶν βουλομένων κατέλιπον. Εἷς μὲν οὖν οὗτος λόγος εἰρήσθω ἡμῖν πρὸς τὸ προχείμενον. Ἕτερος δὲ τοιοῦτος Αἱ θεόπνευστοι Γραφαὶ, δόγματα μὲν θαυμαστὰ καὶ ὄντως θεῖα διδάσκουσι. Καὶ πολλὴν μὲν εὐλάδειαν βίον ὀρθὸν τοῖς ἐντιθέασι, πίστιν τε θεοφιλῆ τοῖς σπουδαίοις παρέχουσιν. Οὐ μὴν τέχνην διδάσκουσι λογιχὴν, πρὸς τὸ δύνασθαι ἀπαντᾷν τοῖς βουλομένοις τῇ ἀληθείᾳ προσπολεμεῖν. Σφόδρα δὲ χαταπολεμοῦνται οἱ πολέμιοι, ὅταν τοῖς αὐτῶν ὅπλοις χρώμεθα αὐτῶν. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐχ ἐνῆν ὑπάρξειν τοῖς Χριστιανί-ζουσι, ὧν οἱ ᾿Απολινάριοι ἔγραψαν. Τοῦτο ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἰουλιανὸς σχοπήσας, νόμῳ τοὺς Χριστιαγνοὺς ἀπέτρεπε τὰ Ἑλλήνων παιδεύεσθαι. Εὖ γὰρ ἠπίστατο, ὡς οἱ μῦθοι εὐδιάδολον αὐτοῦ τὴν δόξαν ποιήσουσιν. Ὧν καὶ καταγνοὺς Σωχράτης ὁ παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς χορυφαιότατος φιλόσοφος, ὡς παραχαράσσων τὰ παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς: δαιμόνια κατεκρίθη. "Αλλως τε παρεγγυῶσιν ἡμῖν ὅ τε Χριστὸς καὶ ὁ τούτου ᾿Απόστολος, γίνεσθαι τραπεζίται δόχιμοι, ὥστε τὰ πάντα δοχιμάζειν, τὸ καλὸν χατέχοντας. Προστέχειν δὲ μή τις ὑμᾶς ἔσται συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐχ ἂν πεισόμεθα, εἰ μὴ ὅπλα τῶν πολεμίων χτησαίμεθα,, καὶ ἐν τῷ χτᾶσθαι, μὴ τὰ τῶν πολεμίων φρονῶμεν " ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν χαχὺν ἐχτρεπόμεθα τὸ καλὸν τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἔχοντε:, πάντα προσλαμθάνομεν δοχιμάζοντες. Τὸ γὰρ καλὸν ἔνθα ἧ, ἴδιον τῆς ἀληθείας ἐστίν. Εἰ δέ τις ἡμᾶς βιαίως ταῦτα λέγειν νομίζει, σχοπησάτω ὅτι ὁ Ἀπόστολος, οὐ μόνον οὐ κωλύει μανθάνειν ᾿Ελληνιχὴν παίδευσιν ἀλλὰ γὰρ φαίνετα! αὐτὸς μὴ ἀμελήσας αὐτῆς, ἕνεκεν τοῦ “γνῶναι πολλὰ τῶν εἰρημένων τοῖς. "Ἕλλησιν. Ἐπεὶ πόθεν το. ὁρμώμενος ἔλεγε Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ , γαστέρες ἀργαὶ, εἰ μὴ τοὺς Ἐπιμενίδου τοῦ Κρητὸς, ἀνδρὸς τελεστοῦ, ἀνεγνώκει χρησμούς; Ἢ πόθεν ἐγνώκει τὸ, Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμὲν, εἰ μὴ τὰ Φαινόμενα τοῦ ἀστρονόμου Αράτου ἠπίστατο; ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ τὸ, Φθείρουσιν ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαι κακαὶ, δείκνυσι μὴ ἀνήκοον τῶν Εὐριπίδου δραμάτων τυγχάνοντα. Καὶ τί δεῖ περὶ τούτων μηκύνειν τὸν λόγον ; Καὶ ἀνέκαθεν ὡς ἔκ τινος μὴ κεκωλυμένης συνηθείας, οἱ κατὰ τὰς Ἐκκλησίας διδάσκαλοι, δείκνυνται ἄχρι γήρως τὰ Ἑλλήνων ἀσκούμενοι· τοῦτο μὲν εὐγλωττίας χάριν καὶ γυμνασίας τοῦ νοῦ · τοῦτο δὲ, καὶ πρὸς τὴν αὐτῶν ἐκείνων κατάγνωσιν, περὶ ὧν ἀπεσφάλησαν. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἕνεκεν τῶν Ἀπολιναρίων οἷόν τε εἰρήσθω.
Ho mentoi tou basileōs nomos, hos tous Christianous Hellēnikēs paideias metechein ekōlye, tous Apolinarious, hōn kai proteron emnēmoneusamen, phanerōterous apedeixen. Hōs gar amphō ēstēn epistēmones logōn, ho men patēr grammatikōn, sophistikōn de ho huios, chreiōdeis heautous pros ton paronta kairon tois Christianois apedeiknyon. Ho men gar euthys grammatikos ate, tēn technēn grammatikēn Christianikǭ typǭ synetatte; ta te Mōÿseōs B:blia o, dia tou hērōïkou legomenou metrou metebale; kai hosa kata tēn Palaian Diathēkēn en historias typǭ syngegraptai, kai touto men tǭ daktylikǭ metrǭ synetatte, touto de, kai tǭ tēs tragǭdias typǭ dramatikōs exeirgazeto. Kai panti metrǭ rhythmikǭ echrēto, hopōs an mēdeis tropos tēs Hellēnikēs glōttēs tois Christianois anēkoos ę̄. Ho de neōteros Apolinarios eu pros to legein pareskeuasmenos, ta Euangelia, kai ta apostolika dogmata, en typǭ dialogōn exetheto, katha kai Platōn par' Hellēsin. Houtō men oun tǭ Christianismǭ chreiōdeis phanentes, tou basileōs to sophisma dia tōn oikeiōn ponōn enikēsan. ᾿All᾿ hē pronoia tou Theou kreissōn egeneto, kai tēs toutōn spoudēs, kai tēs tou basileōs hormēs. Ho men gar nomos, ouk eis makran apesbē tǭ basilei, hōs proïontes dēlōsomen; tōn de hoi ponoi, en isǭ tou mē graphēnai logizontai B. 'All' erei tis gorgōs pros hēmas apantōn • Pōs phēs pronoią Theou tauta genesthai? Tēn men gar tou basileōs tacheian teleutēn, lysitelēsai tǭ Christianismǭ dēlon esti. To de parerrhiphthai ta tōn Apolinariōn christianika poiēmata, kai palin tous Christianous tēn Hellēnōn manthanein paideian, ouketi touto lysitelein tǭ Christianismǭ. Pros blabēs gar einai tēn Hellēnikēn paideian, polytheïan didaskousan. Pros tauta oun, ta hypopiptonta hēmin hōs hoion te lexomen. Hē Hellēnikē paideusis, oute para tou Christou, oute para tōn autou mathētōn, ē hōs theopneustos edechthē, ē hōs epiblabēs exeblēthē. Kai O touto, hōs hēgoumai, ouk apronoētōs epoiēsan. Polloi gar tōn par' Hellēsi philosophēsantōn, ou makran tou gnōnai ton Theon egenonto. Kai gar kai pros tous apronoēsian eisagontas, hoion Hepikourious, ē allōs eristikous, meta tēs logikēs epistēmēs gennaiōs apēntēsan, tēn hamathian autōn anatrepontes; kai dia toutōn tōn logōn, chreiōdeis men tois tēn eusebeian agapōsi katestēsan; ou mēn tēs kephalēs tou logou ekratēsan, tou mē gnōnai to apokryptomenon apo tōn geneōn kai apo tōn aiōnōn kata Christon mystērion. Kai touth᾽ houtōs echein, en tę̄ pros Rhōmaious Epistolę̄ ho ᾿Apostolos deiknysi, di' hōn phēsin; Apokalyptetai gar orgē Theou ap᾿ ouranōn, epi pasan asebeian kai adikian antheōpōn, tōn tē» aētheian en adikią. tōn, dioti to gnōston tou Theou “ageron estin en autois. Ho Theos gar autois Ta gar aorata autou, apo ktiseōs kosmou tois poiēmasi gooumena kathoratai, ē te aïdios autou dygeimis kai theiotēs, eis to einai autous anapo.Iogētous dioti ngogtes ton Theun', ouch hōs Theon edoxasan. Dia toutōn phainontai gnōsin men alētheias echontes, hēn ho Theos autois ephanerōsen. de ginontai, dioti gnontes ton Theon, ouch hōs Theon edoxasan. Oukoun to mē chōlysai ta Hellēnōn manthanein, tę̄ gnōmę̄ tōn boulomenōn katelipon. Heis men oun houtos logos eirēsthō hēmin pros to procheimenon. Heteros de toioutos Hai theopneustoi Graphai, dogmata men thaumasta kai ontōs theia didaskousi. Kai pollēn men euladeian bion orthon tois entitheasi, pistin te theophilē tois spoudaiois parechousin. Ou mēn technēn didaskousi logichēn, pros to dynasthai apantąn tois boulomenois tę̄ alētheią prospolemein. Sphodra de chatapolemountai hoi polemioi, hotan tois autōn hoplois chrōmetha autōn. Touto de ouch enēn hyparxein tois Christiani-zousi, hōn hoi ᾿Apolinarioi egrapsan. Touto ho basileus Ioulianos schopēsas, nomǭ tous Christiagnous apetrepe ta Hellēnōn paideuesthai. Eu gar ēpistato, hōs hoi mythoi eudiadolon autou tēn doxan poiēsousin. Hōn kai katagnous Sōchratēs ho par᾽ autois choryphaiotatos philosophos, hōs paracharassōn ta par᾽ autois: daimonia katekrithē. "Allōs te parengyōsin hēmin ho te Christos kai ho toutou ᾿Apostolos, ginesthai trapezitai dochimoi, hōste ta panta dochimazein, to kalon chatechontas. Prostechein de mē tis hymas estai sylagōgōn dia tēs philosophias kai kenēs apatēs. Touto de ouch an peisometha, ei mē hopla tōn polemiōn chtēsaimetha,, kai en tǭ chtasthai, mē ta tōn polemiōn phronōmen " alla to men chachyn echtrepometha to kalon tēn alētheian echonte:, panta proslamthanomen dochimazontes. To gar kalon entha hē, idion tēs alētheias estin. Ei de tis hēmas biaiōs tauta legein nomizei, schopēsatō hoti ho Apostolos, ou monon ou kōlyei manthanein ᾿Ellēnichēn paideusin alla gar phaineta! autos mē amelēsas autēs, heneken tou “gnōnai polla tōn eirēmenōn tois. "Hellēsin. Epei pothen to. hormōmenos elege Krētes aei pseustai, kaka , gasteres argai, ei mē tous Epimenidou tou Krētos, andros telestou, anegnōkei chrēsmous? Ē pothen egnōkei to, Tou gar kai genos esmen, ei mē ta Phainomena tou astronomou Aratou ēpistato? ᾿Alla kai to, Phtheirousin ēthē chrēsta homiliai kakai, deiknysi mē anēkoon tōn Euripidou dramatōn tynchanonta. Kai ti dei peri toutōn mēkynein ton logon ? Kai anekathen hōs ek tinos mē kekōlymenēs synētheias, hoi kata tas Ekklēsias didaskaloi, deiknyntai achri gērōs ta Hellēnōn askoumenoi; touto men euglōttias charin kai gymnasias tou nou ; touto de, kai pros tēn autōn ekeinōn katagnōsin, peri hōn apesphalēsan. Tauta men oun heneken tōn Apolinariōn hoion te eirēsthō.
The emperor’s law forbidding Christians to share in Greek education made the Apollinarii, whom we mentioned before, more prominent. For since both were skilled in letters, the father in grammar and the son in rhetoric, they showed themselves useful to the Christians at the present time. The father, being a grammarian, at once composed a grammar in Christian form; he turned the books of Moses into what is called heroic metre, and all that is written in the form of history in the Old Testament he put partly into dactylic metre and partly worked up dramatically in the form of tragedy. He used every kind of rhythmic metre, so that no form of the Greek language might be unheard by Christians. The younger Apollinaris, well equipped for speaking, set out the Gospels and the doctrines of the apostles in the form of dialogues, as Plato did among the Greeks. Showing themselves so useful to Christianity, they overcame the emperor’s sophistry by their own labours. But the providence of God proved stronger than both their zeal and the emperor’s onset. For the law was soon extinguished with the emperor, as we shall show as we go on; and their labours are reckoned as if they had not been written.
But someone will meet us sharply and say: “How do you say that these things happened by the providence of God? That the emperor’s speedy death benefited Christianity is plain; but that the Christian poems of the Apollinarii were cast aside, and that Christians again learn the education of the Greeks, does not benefit Christianity; for Greek education is harmful, since it teaches polytheism.” To this we will say what occurs to us, as far as we can. Greek education was neither received as divinely inspired nor rejected as harmful by Christ or his disciples; and they did this, I think, not without forethought. For many of those who practised philosophy among the Greeks came not far from knowing God. Against those who introduced the denial of providence, such as the Epicureans or other contentious men, they made noble answer with logical science, overturning their ignorance; and by these arguments they became useful to those who love piety. Yet they did not grasp the head of the matter, since they did not know the mystery in Christ that was hidden from the generations and from the ages. The apostle shows that this is so in the letter to the Romans, where he says: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what can be known of God is plain to them, for God has shown it to them. For his invisible things, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood through the things made, both his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse; because, knowing God, they did not glorify him as God.” From this they appear to have had knowledge of the truth, which God revealed to them; but they became liable to judgment, because knowing God they did not glorify him as God. So by not forbidding the learning of Greek things, they left it to the judgment of those who wished. Let this be one argument from us on the matter in hand. Another is this. The divinely inspired Scriptures teach wonderful and truly divine doctrines, implant much reverence and a right life in those who hear them, and furnish a faith pleasing to God to the earnest. But they do not teach the art of reasoning by which one can answer those who wish to make war on the truth. Enemies are most effectively defeated when we use their own weapons against them. This the Christians could not have from what the Apollinarii wrote. The emperor Julian, seeing this, by law turned Christians away from being educated in Greek learning; for he knew well that the myths would make his opinion easy to discredit. Socrates, the most eminent of their philosophers, condemning these myths, was condemned as one who corrupted their divinities. Besides, Christ and his apostle urge us to become approved money-changers, testing all things and holding fast what is good; and to take heed lest anyone carry us off as spoil through philosophy and empty deceit. This we could not do unless we acquired the weapons of the enemy, and, in acquiring them, did not think as the enemy thinks, but, rejecting the evil and holding the good and the truth, received everything after testing it. For the good, wherever it is, is the property of the truth. If anyone thinks we say this forcibly, let him consider that the apostle not only does not forbid learning Greek education, but appears himself not to have neglected it, for he knew many things said by the Greeks. For from what did he say, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies,” unless he had read the oracles of Epimenides the Cretan, a man skilled in rites? Or how did he know “For we are also his offspring,” unless he was acquainted with the Phaenomena of Aratus the astronomer? And “Bad company corrupts good morals” shows that he was not unacquainted with the dramas of Euripides. What need is there to lengthen the discourse about these things? From of old, as by a custom not forbidden, the teachers of the churches are seen to have practised Greek learning to old age, partly for the sake of eloquence and the training of the mind, and partly for the refutation of those very writers in what they erred. Let this much be said, as far as possible, on account of the Apollinarii.
Col 1:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 1:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 1:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Thess 5:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Titus 1:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 17:28 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:33 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Apollinarii rewrite Scripture in classical forms when Julian bans Christian education; Socrates argues that Christians may rightly study Greek learning, as Paul did, testing all things.
- “Approved money-changers” is a saying ascribed to Christ in early writers but not in the Gospels (an agraphon).
- Titus 1:12 quotes Epimenides; Acts 17:28, Aratus, Phaenomena 5; 1 Cor 15:33, a line usually attributed to Menander’s Thais (Socrates says Euripides).
- The scan has some lost and garbled words in the quotation of Rom 1:18–21; it is translated as Paul’s text.
Extrabiblical texts: Agraphon (Sayings of Jesus outside the Gospels (agrapha); allusion); Epimenides (Epimenides (fragments); allusion); Aratus, Phaen. 5 (Aratus, Phaenomena; allusion); Euripides (Euripides (plays and fragments); allusion); Menander, Thais (Menander, Thais; allusion); Plato (Plato (works); allusion)
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.16 (PG 67:417–423; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-16
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.17PG 67:423–425
( βασιλικοῦ προστάγματος ζημίαν, τῆς ἐμπορίας τότε Ὁ μέντοι βασιλεὺς πλεῖστα ἐκ τῶν Χριστιανῶν κομισάμενος χρήματα, ἐπὶ Πέρσας τε τὴν σπουδὴν ποιούμενος, τὴν ἐν Συρίᾳ καταλαμβάνει ᾿Αντιόχειαν. Ἐνᾗ γενόμενος, τὸ προσόν τε αὐτῷ φιλότιμον καὶ ᾿Αντιοχεῦσιν ἐπιδεῖξαι βουλόμενος, τὰς τιμὰς τῶν ὠνίων · πλέον ἢ ἔδει, εἰς ἔλαττον κατεβίβασε, μὴ στοχασάμενος τοῦ καιροῦ · μηδὲ λογισάμενος, ὡς παρουσία πολυπληθίας στρατοπέδου, τοῖς τε ἐπαρχιώταις ἐξανάγκης ζημία γίνεται, καὶ τὴν ἀφθονίαν ἐκκόπτει τῶν πόλεων. Διόπερ οἱ μεταβολεῖς καὶ οἱ τῶν ὠνίων κάπηλοι, μὴ ἐνεγκόντες τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀπέσχοντο. Ἐκ δὲ τούτου, τὰ ὧνια ἀπελείπετο. Καὶ τὴν προσβολὴν μὴ ἐνεγκόντες οἱ Ἀντιοχεῖς· εὐρίπιστοι γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἰς ὕβρεις · μὴ μελλήσαντες, κατὰ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐχώρησαν· κατεβόων τε αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀπέσκωπτον εἰς τὸν πώγωνα · βαθυγένειος γὰρ ἦν· κείρειν τε ἔλεγον τοῦτον ὰ καὶ σχοινία πλέκειν ἐξ αὐτοῦ· τὸ νόμισμά τε αὐτοῦ ταῦρον ἔχειν «, τὸν κόσμον ἀνατετράφθαι. Ὢν γὰρ δὴ ὁ βασιλεὺς πολὺ δεισιδαίμων, ταύρους τε συνεχῶς θύων πρὸς τοῖς βωμοῖς τῶν εἰδώλων, βωμὸν καὶ ταῦρον ἐντυπωθῆναι κεκελεύκει τῷ ἑαυτοῦ νομίσματι. Ἐκ τούτων δὴ τῶν σκωμμάτων εἰς ὀργὴν ἐκπεσὼν ὁ βασιλεὺς, διηπείλει πᾶν ποιῆσαι κακὸν τῇ ᾿Αντιοχέων πόλει· καὶ ἐπὶ Ταρσὸν τῆς Κιλικίας ἐξυποστρέφει · ἐκεῖ τε τὰ ἐπιτήδεια κελεύσας εὐτρεπισθῆναι, ἀπαίρειν ἐσπούδαζεν. Ὅθεν ὑπόθεσιν ἔσχεν ὁ σοφιστής Λιβάνιος, γράψαι τόν τε πρεσβευτικὸν ὑπὲρ ᾿Αντιοχέων, καὶ τὸν πρὸς ᾿Αντιοχεῖς περὶ τῆς τοῦ βασιλέως ὀργῆς. Ἀλλὰ τούτους μὲν τοὺς λόγους φασὶ γράψαντα τὸν σοφιστὴν, μηκέτι εἰς πολλοὺς εἰρηκέναι. Ὁ βασιλεὺς δὲ ἀφέμενος ἔργοις τοὺς ὑβρικότας ἀμύνασθαι, τῷ ἀντισκῶψαι τὴν ὀργὴν διελύσατο· τὸν γὰρ πεπονημένον αὐτῷ Β' Ἀντιοχικὸν, ἤτοι μισοπώγωνα λόγον διεξελθών, στίγματα διηνεκῆ τῇ Ἀντιοχέων πόλει κατέλιπεν. Περὶ μὲν δὴ τούτων τοσαῦτα εἰρήσθω. Λεκτέον δὲ καὶ οἷα τοῖς ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ Χριστιανοῖς ὁ βασιλεὺς τότε πεποιήκει.
( basilikou prostagmatos zēmian, tēs emporias tote Ho mentoi basileus pleista ek tōn Christianōn komisamenos chrēmata, epi Persas te tēn spoudēn poioumenos, tēn en Syrią katalambanei ᾿Antiocheian. Enę̄ genomenos, to proson te autǭ philotimon kai ᾿Antiocheusin epideixai boulomenos, tas timas tōn ōniōn ; pleon ē edei, eis elatton katebibase, mē stochasamenos tou kairou ; mēde logisamenos, hōs parousia polyplēthias stratopedou, tois te eparchiōtais exanankēs zēmia ginetai, kai tēn aphthonian ekkoptei tōn poleōn. Dioper hoi metaboleis kai hoi tōn ōniōn kapēloi, mē enenkontes tēn ek tou apeschonto. Ek de toutou, ta hōnia apeleipeto. Kai tēn prosbolēn mē enenkontes hoi Antiocheis; euripistoi gar hoi anthrōpoi eis hybreis ; mē mellēsantes, kata tou basileōs echōrēsan; kateboōn te autou, kai apeskōpton eis ton pōgōna ; bathygeneios gar ēn; keirein te elegon touton a kai schoinia plekein ex autou; to nomisma te autou tauron echein «, ton kosmon anatetraphthai. Ōn gar dē ho basileus poly deisidaimōn, taurous te synechōs thyōn pros tois bōmois tōn eidōlōn, bōmon kai tauron entypōthēnai kekeleukei tǭ heautou nomismati. Ek toutōn dē tōn skōmmatōn eis orgēn ekpesōn ho basileus, diēpeilei pan poiēsai kakon tę̄ ᾿Antiocheōn polei; kai epi Tarson tēs Kilikias exypostrephei ; ekei te ta epitēdeia keleusas eutrepisthēnai, apairein espoudazen. Hothen hypothesin eschen ho sophistēs Libanios, grapsai ton te presbeutikon hyper ᾿Antiocheōn, kai ton pros ᾿Antiocheis peri tēs tou basileōs orgēs. Alla toutous men tous logous phasi grapsanta ton sophistēn, mēketi eis pollous eirēkenai. Ho basileus de aphemenos ergois tous hybrikotas amynasthai, tǭ antiskōpsai tēn orgēn dielysato; ton gar peponēmenon autǭ B' Antiochikon, ētoi misopōgōna logon diexelthōn, stigmata diēnekē tę̄ Antiocheōn polei katelipen. Peri men dē toutōn tosauta eirēsthō. Lekteon de kai hoia tois en Antiocheią Christianois ho basileus tote pepoiēkei.
The emperor, having collected very much money from the Christians and pressing on against the Persians, reached Antioch in Syria. Arriving there and wishing to show the Antiochenes the love of honour that was in him, he lowered the prices of goods more than he should, not considering the circumstances nor reckoning that the presence of a numerous army necessarily brings loss to the provincials and cuts off the plenty of the cities. So the merchants and retail dealers, not bearing the loss caused by the imperial order, gave up trading then; and from this goods ran short. The Antiochenes, not bearing the affront (for the people are easily stirred to insolence), without delay turned against the emperor. They cried out against him and mocked his beard, for he wore a long one, saying that he should shave it and make ropes from it; and that his coin had a bull, and the world was turned upside down. For the emperor, being very superstitious and continually sacrificing bulls on the altars of the idols, had ordered an altar and a bull to be stamped on his coinage. Falling into anger at these jibes, the emperor threatened to do every evil to the city of Antioch, and turned back to Tarsus in Cilicia, ordering supplies to be prepared there, and was eager to depart. This gave the sophist Libanius occasion to write both the speech of embassy on behalf of the Antiochenes and the one addressed to the Antiochenes on the emperor’s anger. But they say that the sophist, having written these speeches, never delivered them before many. The emperor, giving up taking vengeance on those who had insulted him by deeds, discharged his anger by mocking them in return: by reading the Antiochicus or Misopogon (“Beard-hater”), which he had composed, he left lasting marks of disgrace on the city of Antioch. Let this much be said about these things. We must also tell what the emperor then did to the Christians at Antioch.
Notes and citation
Summary: Julian’s price controls at Antioch cause shortages; mocked by the Antiochenes for his beard and bull-coinage, he replies with the Misopogon.
- In the scan the words “imperial order, gave up trading then” stand at the beginning of the chapter; they are translated in their proper place.
- Libanius’s Orations 15 and 16 (to Julian on behalf of Antioch, and to the Antiochenes on the emperor’s anger) and Julian’s Misopogon survive.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.17 (PG 67:423–425; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-17
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.18PG 67:425
Τὰ γὰρ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν ἱερὰ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀνοιγῆναι κελεύσας, χρησμὸν λαβεῖν παρὰ τοῦ ἐν Δάφνῃ ᾿Απόλλωνος ὁ ἔσπευδεν. Ὡς δὲ ὁ ἐνοικῶν τῷ ἱερῷ δαίμων τὸν γείτονα δεδοικὼς, λέγω δὴ Βαβυλᾶν τὸν μάρτυρα, οὐκ ἀπεκρίνατο· πλησίον γὰρ ἦν ἡ σορὸς ἡ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ μάρτυρος κρύπτουσα· γνοὺς τὴν αἰτίαν σοφὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς, τὴν σορὸν τάχος κελεύει μετοικίζεσθαι. Τοῦτο μαθόντες οἱ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν Χριστιανοὶ, ἅμα γυναιξὶ καὶ νέᾳ ἡλικίᾳ, χαίροντες καὶ ψαλμῳδοῦντες, ἀπὸ τῆς Δάφνης ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν μετέφερον τὴν σορόν· αἱ δὲ ψαλμῳδίαι ἤπτοντο τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν θεῶν, καὶ τῶν πεπιστευκότων αὐτοῖς τε καὶ τοῖς εἰδώλοις αὐτῶν.
Ta gar kata tēn ᾿Antiocheian hiera tōn Hellēnōn anoigēnai keleusas, chrēsmon labein para tou en Daphnę̄ ᾿Apollōnos ho espeuden. Hōs de ho enoikōn tǭ hierǭ daimōn ton geitona dedoikōs, legō dē Babylan ton martyra, ouk apekrinato; plēsion gar ēn hē soros hē to sōma tou martyros kryptousa; gnous tēn aitian sophos ho basileus, tēn soron tachos keleuei metoikizesthai. Touto mathontes hoi kata tēn ᾿Antiocheian Christianoi, hama gynaixi kai neą hēlikią, chairontes kai psalmǭdountes, apo tēs Daphnēs epi tēn polin metepheron tēn soron; hai de psalmǭdiai ēptonto tōn Hellēnikōn theōn, kai tōn pepisteukotōn autois te kai tois eidōlois autōn.
He ordered the temples of the pagans at Antioch to be opened and was eager to receive an oracle from Apollo at Daphne. But the demon dwelling in the temple, fearing his neighbour, I mean the martyr Babylas, gave no answer; for the coffin containing the martyr’s body was nearby. The emperor, perceiving the cause, ordered the coffin to be removed at once. When the Christians at Antioch learned this, together with women and children they carried the coffin from Daphne to the city, rejoicing and singing psalms; and the psalms they sang attacked the gods of the pagans and those who trusted in them and in their idols.
Notes and citation
Summary: Apollo’s oracle at Daphne falls silent because of the martyr Babylas’s tomb; Julian has the relics removed, and Christians carry them to Antioch singing psalms against the idols.
- The psalms sung are not named; Theodoret and Sozomen mention Ps 97:7 (96:7 LXX), “Let all who worship carved images be put to shame.”
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.18 (PG 67:425; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-18
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.19PG 67:427
δεσμωτήριον οἰκεῖν προσέταξεν. Ἕνα δὲ νεανίσκον, Τότε δὴ καὶ τὸ κρυπτόμενον ἦθος τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξηλέγχετο. Οὐ γὰρ ἔτι κατεῖχεν ἑαυτοῦ, ὁ πρώην φιλοσοφεῖν ἐπαγγελλόμενος. ᾿Αλλ' ἐκ τῶν ὀνειδιστικῶν ὕμνων, εὐέμπτωτος ἦν εἰς ὀργὴν, ἕτοιμός τε ἦν ταῦτα ποιεῖν τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς, οἷα οἱ περὶ Διοκλητιανὸν πρότερον πεποιήκεισαν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ κατὰ Περσῶν σπουδὴ οὐ παρεῖχε τῇ προθέσει καιρὸν, κελεύει Σαλουστίῳ τῷ ἐπάρχῳ, συλλαβεῖν ἐπὶ τὸ κολάσαι τοὺς μάλιστα σπουδαίους ἡ τῶν ψαλμῳδῶν. Ὁ δὲ ἔπαρχος, καίτοι Ἕλλην ὢν τὴν θρησκείαν, τὸ μὲν ἐπίταγμα ἡδέως οὐκ ἐδέξατο. Αντιλέγειν δὲ οὐκ ἔχων, συλλαμβάνει μὲν πολλοὺς τῶν Χριστιανῶν, καὶ τινας ὀνόματι Θεόδωρον, αὐτῷ παρὰ τῶν Ἑλληνιζόντων προσαχθέντα, βασάνοις καὶ διαφόροις κολαστηρίοις ὑπέβαλλε, καταξανθῆναι κατὰ παντὸς κελεύσας τοῦ σώματος· καὶ αὐτὸν τότε ἠφίει τῶν βασάνων, ὅτε μηκέτι ζήσεσθαι ᾤετο. ᾿Αλλὰ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ σώζων τὸν ἄνδρα. Ἐπεβίω γὰρ χρόνον μετ' ἐκείνην τὴν ὁμολο γίαν πολύν. Τούτῳ τῷ Θεοδώρῳ, Ῥουφῖνος ὁ τῇ Ῥωμαίων γλώσσῃ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν ἱστορίαν συγγράψας, φησὶ μεταταῦτα χρόνῳ ὕστερον πολλῷ συντετυχηκέναι, καὶ ἡρωτηκέναι, εἰ τυπτόμενος καὶ στρεβλούμενος μεγίστης τῆς ὀδύνης ᾐσθάνετο. Τὸν δὲ εἰρηκέναι, βραχεῖαν μὲν αὐτῷ σφόδρα γενέσθαι τὴν ἐκ τῶν βασάνων ὀδύνην· παραστῆναι δέ τινα νεαΟ νίσκον, καὶ ἀπομάττειν αὐτοῦ τὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἀγῶνος ἰδρῶτα ἐπιγινόμενον, ἐπιῤῥωννύειν τε αὐτοῦ τὴν ψυ χὴν, καὶ τέρψιν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον ἢ ἀγῶνα τὸν χρόνον τῆς βασάνου ποιεῖν. Καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ θαυμαστοῦ Θεοδώρου τοσαῦτα εἰρήσθῳ. Τότε δὲ παρῆσαν πρέσβεις Περσῶν, αἰτοῦντες ἐπὶ φανεροῖς καταθέσθαι τὸν πόλεμον 16. Ὁ δὲ αὐτοὺς ἀπέπεμψεν, εἰπών Αὐτόν με ὄψεσθε μετ'οὐ πολὺ, καὶ οὐδέν μοι δεήσει πρεσβείας.
desmōtērion oikein prosetaxen. Hena de neaniskon, Tote dē kai to kryptomenon ēthos tou basileōs exēlencheto. Ou gar eti kateichen heautou, ho prōēn philosophein epangellomenos. ᾿All' ek tōn oneidistikōn hymnōn, euemptōtos ēn eis orgēn, hetoimos te ēn tauta poiein tois Christianois, hoia hoi peri Dioklētianon proteron pepoiēkeisan. Epei de hē kata Persōn spoudē ou pareiche tę̄ prothesei kairon, keleuei Saloustiǭ tǭ eparchǭ, syllabein epi to kolasai tous malista spoudaious hē tōn psalmǭdōn. Ho de eparchos, kaitoi Hellēn ōn tēn thrēskeian, to men epitagma hēdeōs ouk edexato. Antilegein de ouk echōn, syllambanei men pollous tōn Christianōn, kai tinas onomati Theodōron, autǭ para tōn Hellēnizontōn prosachthenta, basanois kai diaphorois kolastēriois hypeballe, kataxanthēnai kata pantos keleusas tou sōmatos; kai auton tote ēphiei tōn basanōn, hote mēketi zēsesthai ǭeto. ᾿Alla Theos ēn ho sōzōn ton andra. Epebiō gar chronon met' ekeinēn tēn homolo gian polyn. Toutǭ tǭ Theodōrǭ, Rhouphinos ho tę̄ Rhōmaiōn glōssę̄ tēn ekklēsiastikēn historian syngrapsas, phēsi metatauta chronǭ hysteron pollǭ syntetychēkenai, kai hērōtēkenai, ei typtomenos kai strebloumenos megistēs tēs odynēs ę̄sthaneto. Ton de eirēkenai, bracheian men autǭ sphodra genesthai tēn ek tōn basanōn odynēn; parastēnai de tina neaO niskon, kai apomattein autou ton ek tou agōnos idrōta epiginomenon, epirrhōnnyein te autou tēn psy chēn, kai terpsin autǭ mallon ē agōna ton chronon tēs basanou poiein. Kai peri men tou thaumastou Theodōrou tosauta eirēsthǭ. Tote de parēsan presbeis Persōn, aitountes epi phanerois katathesthai ton polemon 16. Ho de autous apepempsen, eipōn Auton me opsesthe met'ou poly, kai ouden moi deēsei presbeias.
Then the emperor’s hidden character was exposed. For he who had formerly professed to be a philosopher no longer restrained himself, but, provoked by the reproachful hymns, he was easily roused to anger and ready to do to the Christians what Diocletian and his colleagues had done before. But since his zeal against the Persians gave his purpose no opportunity, he ordered Sallustius the prefect to seize those who had been most zealous in the psalm-singing, to punish them. The prefect, though a pagan in religion, did not receive the order gladly; but having no means of refusing, he arrested many of the Christians and ordered them to be kept in prison. One young man named Theodore, brought to him by the pagans, he subjected to tortures and various punishments, ordering him to be torn all over his body, and released him from the tortures only when he thought he would not live. But God preserved the man; for he survived that confession by a long time. Rufinus, who wrote the Church History in Latin, says that he met this Theodore long afterwards and asked him whether, when he was beaten and racked, he felt very great pain. He said that the pain of the tortures was very brief for him; that a young man stood by him, wiping away the sweat that came from the struggle and strengthening his soul, and made the time of torture a delight to him rather than a struggle. Let this much be said about the wonderful Theodore. At that time envoys of the Persians came, asking to end the war on clear terms. But he sent them away, saying, “You will see me myself before long, and I will need no embassy.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Julian has Christians who sang against the idols arrested; the young Theodore, tortured, later tells Rufinus that an angelic youth comforted him; Julian rejects a Persian embassy.
- In the scan the words “ordered them to be kept in prison. One young man” stand at the beginning of the chapter; they are translated in their proper place.
- Rufinus, Church History 10.37.
Extrabiblical texts: Rufinus of Aquileia, Hist. (Rufinus of Aquileia, Rufinus, Church History; allusion)
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.19 (PG 67:427; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-19
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.20PG 67:427–431
Καὶ κατ᾿ ἄλλον δὲ τρόπον ὁ βασιλεὺς τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς βλάπτειν σπουδάζων, τὴν οἰκείαν δεισιδαιμονίαν ἔξήλεγχε, Φιλοθύτης γὰρ ὧν, οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς τῷ αἴματι ἔχαιρεν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰ μὴ ἄλλοι τοῦτο ζημίσν ἐνόμιζεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὀλίγους τοὺς τοιούτους ἐφεύρισκεν, ᾿Ἰουδαΐους μεταπέμπεται " παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐπυνθάνετο, τοῦ χάριν τοῦ Μωσαϊκοῦ νόμου κελεύσαντος θύειν, ἀπέχονται. Τῶν δὲ μὴ ἀλλαχοῦ φησάντων δύνασθαι τοῦτο ποιεῖν, εἰ μὴ μόνον ἐν τοῖς Ἱεροσολύμοις, χελεύξι τάχος χτίζεσθαι τὸν Σολομῶναῦν. Καὶ αὐτὸ; ἐπὶ Πέρσας ἤλαυνε. Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ δράξασθαι πάλαι ἐπιθυμοῦντες, ἐν ᾧ τὸ ἑερὸν αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὸ θύειν ἀνοιχοδομηθήσεται, τότε σπουδαῖοι μὲν πρὴς τὸ ἔργον ἐγίνοντο" φοβεροὺς δὲ τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς ἐ πεδείχνυσαν ἑαυτοὺς, ἢλαζονεύοντό τε αὐτῶν, ἐπαπειλοῦντες τοσαῦτα ποιήσειν, ὅσα αὐτὸ παρὰ Ῥωμαίων πάλαι πεπόνθασι. Τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως ἐκ δημοσίων τὴν δαπάνην παρατχεθῆναι κελεύσαντος, εὐτρέπιστο πάντα, ξύλα καὶ λίθοι, πλίνθος ὀπτὴ, καὶ πηλὸς ἄσδεστος, τὰ ἄλλα ὅσα πρὸς οἰχοδομὴν ἐπιτήδεια γίνεται. Τότε δὴ Κύριλλος ὁ τῶν Ἱεροσολύμων ἐπίσκοπος, τὸ τοῦ προφή - του Δανιὴλ κατὰ νοῦν ἐλάμβανεν, ὅπερ ὁ Χριστὸς ἐν τοῖς ἀγίοις Εὐαγγελίοι: ἐπεσφραγίσατο, πολλοῖς τε πρηέλεγεν, ὡς ἄρα νῦν ἤχει ὁ χαιρὺς, ὅτε λίθος ἔπι λίθον οὐχ ἂν μένοι εἰς τὸν ναῦν, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῦ Σωτῆρος λόγιον πληρωθήσεται. Ταῦτα ἔλεγεν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος. Καὶ διὰ τῆς νυκτὸς σεισμὸς μέγας ἐπιγενόμενος, ἀνέθδρασε τοὺς λίθους τῶν πάλαι θεμελίων τοῦ ναοῦ, πάντας διέσπειρε, σὺν τοῖς παραχειμένοις οἰκήμασι. Δέος δὲ ἐκ τοῦ γενομένου Ἰονδαίους κατέλαβε - καὶ φήμη ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον ἦγε τοὺς πόῤῥω διάγοντα. Παρόντων οὖν σφόδρα πολλῶν, ἕτερον τεράστιον ἐπιγίνεται. γὰρ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ χατασκηψαν), πάντα τὰ τῶν οἰχοδόμων ἐργαλεῖα διέφθειρεν. Ἦν γοὺν ἰδεῖν, ὑπὸ τῆς φλογὸς ἀπολλυμένας τὰς σφύρας, τὰς γλαρίδας, τοὺς πρίονας, τοὺς πελέχει-:, τὰ σχέπαρνα, πάντα ἀπλῶς ὅσα πρὸς τὸ ἔργον ἐπιτέδεια εἶχον οἱ ἐργαζόμενωι. Ἐπενέμετο μὲν οὖν ταῦτα τὸ πῦρ, 50 τῆς ἡμέρας. Ἰουδαῖοι δὲ ἐν μεγίστῳ φόθδῳ γενόμενοι, ἄκοντες ὡμολόγουν τὸν Χριστὸν Θεὸν λέγοντες. Οὐχ ἐποίουν ὃὲ αὐτοῦ τὸ θέλημα, ἀλλ᾽ ἔμενον τῇ τοῦ Ἰουδαϊσμοῦ προλήψει χρατούμενο!. Οὐδὲ γὰρ τὸ τρίτον θαῦμα τὸ ὕστερον ἐπιγενόμενον, εἰς πίστιν τῆς ἀληθείας ἦγεν αὐτοὺς · καὶ γὰρ τῇ ἐρχομένῃ νυκτὶ, σφραγίδες σταυροῦ ἀκτινοειδεῖς, τοῖς ἱματίοις αὐτῶν ἐντετυπωμέναι ἐφάνησαν Κ. "Ας ἡμέρας ἐπιγενομένης ἰδόντες, ἀποπλύνειν καὶ ἀποσμήχειν θέλοντες, οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ ἡδύναντο. Πεπώρωντο οὖν κατὰ τὸν ᾿Απόστολον, καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐν χερσὶν ἔχοντες ἔρῥιπτον. Οὕτω μὲν οὖν ὁ ναὸς τότε ἀντὶ τοῦ οἰκοδομηθῆναι, εἰς τέλεον ἀνατέτραπτο.
Kai kat᾿ allon de tropon ho basileus tous Christianous blaptein spoudazōn, tēn oikeian deisidaimonian exēlenche, Philothytēs gar hōn, ou monon autos tǭ aimati echairen, all᾽ ei mē alloi touto zēmisn enomizen. Epeidē de oligous tous toioutous epheurisken, ᾿Ioudaïous metapempetai " par᾽ autōn epynthaneto, tou charin tou Mōsaïkou nomou keleusantos thyein, apechontai. Tōn de mē allachou phēsantōn dynasthai touto poiein, ei mē monon en tois Hierosolymois, cheleuxi tachos chtizesthai ton Solomōnaun. Kai auto? epi Persas ēlaune. Ioudaioi de draxasthai palai epithymountes, en hǭ to heeron autois pros to thyein anoichodomēthēsetai, tote spoudaioi men prēs to ergon eginonto" phoberous de tois Christianois e pedeichnysan heautous, ēlazoneuonto te autōn, epapeilountes tosauta poiēsein, hosa auto para Rhōmaiōn palai peponthasi. Tou de basileōs ek dēmosiōn tēn dapanēn paratchethēnai keleusantos, eutrepisto panta, xyla kai lithoi, plinthos optē, kai pēlos asdestos, ta alla hosa pros oichodomēn epitēdeia ginetai. Tote dē Kyrillos ho tōn Hierosolymōn episkopos, to tou prophē - tou Daniēl kata noun elambanen, hoper ho Christos en tois agiois Euangelioi: epesphragisato, pollois te prēelegen, hōs ara nyn ēchei ho chairys, hote lithos epi lithon ouch an menoi eis ton naun, alla to tou Sōtēros logion plērōthēsetai. Tauta elegen ho episkopos. Kai dia tēs nyktos seismos megas epigenomenos, anethdrase tous lithous tōn palai themeliōn tou naou, pantas diespeire, syn tois paracheimenois oikēmasi. Deos de ek tou genomenou Iondaious katelabe - kai phēmē epi ton topon ēge tous porrhō diagonta. Parontōn oun sphodra pollōn, heteron terastion epiginetai. gar ex ouranou chataskēpsan), panta ta tōn oichodomōn ergaleia diephtheiren. Ēn goun idein, hypo tēs phlogos apollymenas tas sphyras, tas glaridas, tous prionas, tous pelechei-:, ta scheparna, panta aplōs hosa pros to ergon epitedeia eichon hoi ergazomenōi. Epenemeto men oun tauta to pyr, 50 tēs hēmeras. Ioudaioi de en megistǭ phothdǭ genomenoi, akontes hōmologoun ton Christon Theon legontes. Ouch epoioun hoe autou to thelēma, all᾽ emenon tę̄ tou Ioudaïsmou prolēpsei chratoumeno!. Oude gar to triton thauma to hysteron epigenomenon, eis pistin tēs alētheias ēgen autous ; kai gar tę̄ erchomenę̄ nykti, sphragides staurou aktinoeideis, tois himatiois autōn entetypōmenai ephanēsan K. "As hēmeras epigenomenēs idontes, apoplynein kai aposmēchein thelontes, oudeni tropǭ hēdynanto. Pepōrōnto oun kata ton ᾿Apostolon, kai to agathon en chersin echontes errhipton. Houtō men oun ho naos tote anti tou oikodomēthēnai, eis teleon anatetrapto.
Eager to harm the Christians in another way as well, the emperor exposed his own superstition. Being fond of sacrifices, he not only delighted in blood himself, but counted it a loss if others did not do the same. Since he found few such, he sent for the Jews and asked them why they abstained from sacrifice, since the law of Moses commanded it. When they said that they could not do this anywhere except in Jerusalem alone, he ordered the temple of Solomon to be built quickly, and himself marched against the Persians. The Jews, who had long desired to seize an opportunity in which the temple would be rebuilt for them to sacrifice, were then zealous for the work. They showed themselves menacing to the Christians and boasted over them, threatening to do to them as much as they had suffered long ago from the Romans. The emperor having ordered the expense to be supplied from public funds, everything was made ready: timber and stones, baked brick, clay, lime, and everything else useful for building. Then Cyril, bishop of Jerusalem, called to mind the word of the prophet Daniel, which Christ sealed in the holy Gospels, and foretold to many that now the time had come when not one stone would remain upon another in the temple, but the Saviour’s saying would be fulfilled. So said the bishop. And in the night a great earthquake came, threw up the stones of the old foundations of the temple, and scattered them all, together with the neighbouring buildings. Fear seized the Jews at what had happened, and the report brought those who lived far off to the place. When very many were present, another wonder followed: fire falling from heaven destroyed all the builders’ tools. One could see the hammers, the chisels, the saws, the axes, the adzes, simply everything the workmen had suitable for the work, being consumed by the flame. The fire fed on these throughout the day. The Jews, in very great fear, unwillingly confessed Christ, calling him God; yet they did not do his will, but remained held by the prejudice of Judaism. Not even the third wonder, which came afterwards, led them to faith in the truth. For on the following night luminous marks of the cross appeared imprinted on their garments; and when day came and they saw them, they wished to wash and rub them off, but could in no way do so. So they were hardened, according to the apostle, and having the good in their hands, they threw it away. Thus the temple, instead of being rebuilt, was then utterly overthrown.
Dan 9:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 11:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 3:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Julian orders the Jews to rebuild the Jerusalem temple; Cyril foretells failure, and an earthquake, fire from heaven, and marks of the cross on garments stop the work.
- The account of Julian’s attempt to rebuild the temple (363) is translated exactly as Socrates gives it, including his judgements on the Jews; the earthquake and fire are also reported by the pagan historian Ammianus Marcellinus (23.1.2–3).
- “The word of the prophet Daniel” is Dan 9:26–27; “not one stone upon another” is Matt 24:2.
- “Hardened, according to the apostle”: Rom 11:7; 2 Cor 3:14.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.20 (PG 67:427–431; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-20
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.21PG 67:431–433
Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς εἰς τὴν τῶν Περσῶν 1 ἐνέβαλλε μικρὸν πρὸ τοῦ ἔαρος, πυθόμενος ἀσθενέστατα καὶ δὲ, ἐπίφθονον · πεπιστευκὼς δὲ μαντίαις οι τισὶν, ἀνανδρότατα εἶναι χειμῶνος τὰ ἔθνη Περσῶν. Κρυμόν γὰρ μὴ φέροντες, ἀπόμαχοι μένουσι κατὰ τόνδε τὸν χρόνον. ᾿Αλλ' οὐδὲ χεῖρα, τὸ τοῦ λόγου, βάλλοι ἂν τότε ἔξω τοῦ φάρους Μήδος ἀνήρ. Ῥωμαίους δ' εἰδὼς καὶ χειμῶνος ἀγωνίζεσθαι δυναμένους, ἐπαφῆκε τῇ χώρᾳ τὸν στρατόν. Πολλὰς οὖν χώρας καὶ κώμας καὶ φρούρια πορθήσαντες, ἤδη καὶ τὰς πόλεις ἐλάμβανον. Περιστοιχίσας δὲ Κτησιφῶντα τὴν μεγάλην πόλιν, τοσοῦτον ἐπολιόρκει τὸν βασιλέα, ὥστε ἐκεῖνον πρεσβείαις χρήσασθαι συχναῖς, ἱκετεύειν τε ζημιωθῆναι μέρος τι τῆς αὐτοῦ πατρίδος, εἰ καταλύσας τὸν πόλεμον ἀποχωρήσῃ Ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἔπαθε τὴν ψυχὴν, οὐδὲ τοὺς ἱκετεύοντας ἠλέησεν· ἀλλ᾽ οὐδὲ τὸ τοῦ λόγου κατὰ νοῦν ἔλαβεν, ὡς ἄρα νικᾶν μὲν, καλόν · ὑπερνικᾷν ἃς αὐτῷ συμπαρὼν ὁ φιλόσοφος Μάξιμος ὑπετίθετο, καὶ ὀνειροπολήσας τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρου τοῦ Μακεδόνος δόξαν λαβεῖν, ἢ καὶ μᾶλλον ὑπερβαίνειν, τὰς ἱκεσίας Περσῶν ἀπεκρούσατο· καὶ ἐνόμιζε κατὰ τὴν Πυθαγόρου καὶ Πλάτωνος δόξαν, ἐκ μετενσωματώσεως τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρου ἔχειν ψυχήν· μᾶλλον δὲ αὐτὸς εἶναι ᾿Αλέξανδρος ἐν ἑτέρῳ σώματι. Αὕτη ἡ οἴησις αὐτὸν ἐξηπάτησε, καὶ παρεσκεύασε τότε τὴν ἱκεσίαν τοῦ Πέρσου μὴ παραδέξασθαι. Διόπερ ἐκεῖνος γνοὺς ἀνήνυτα αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς πρεσβείας γενόμενα, εἰς ἀνάγκην καθἱσταται τῇ ἐχομένῃ μετὰ τὴν πρεσδείαν ἡμέρᾳ, πᾶσαν ἣν εἶχε δύναμιν ἀντιτάττει Ῥωμαίῳ 6556 4110 στρατῷ. Διεμέμφοντο μὲν οὖν τὸν βασιλέα Ῥωμαῖοι, διότι μὴ ἐπιχερδῶς ὑφῆχε τῆς μάχης " ὅμως δὲ τοῖς παροῦσιν ἀντεπράττοντο " καὶ αὖθις τοὺς πολεμίους , τρέπουσιν εἰς φυγήν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς παρῆν ἱππότης — μὲν, ἐπεῤῥώννυε τὸν στρατόν" ἄοπλος δὲ α τῇ τῆς εὐτυχίας ἐλπίδι μόνῃ θαῤῥῶν. Ἐξ ἀφανοῦς δὲ ἀχόντιον φέρεται χατ᾽ αὐτοῦ, διὰ βραχίονος δια- — , δραμὸν, εἰς τὴν πλευρὰν εἰσέδυ. ταύτης δὲ τὴς — πληγῆς τὸν βίον κατέστρεψεν, ἀδήλου γενομένου τοῦ : ἀνελόντος αὐτόν“. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ, ὑπό τινος Πέρτον αὐτο. — μόλου βληθῆναΐ φασιν οἱ δὲ, ὑπὸ οἰκείου στρατιώτου, ὡς ὁ πολὺς λόγος κρατεῖ. Κάλλιστος δὲ ὁ ἐν τοῖς κείοις τοῦ βασιλέως: στρατευόμενος, ἱστορήσας ^ τὰ αὐτὸν ἐν ἡρωϊκῷ μέτρῳ, τὸν τότε πόλεμον διηγούμενος, ὑπὸ δαίμονος βληθέντα τελευτῆσαί φησιν. ορτίο ἃ Ὅπερ τυχὸν μὲν ὡς ποιητὴς ἔπλασε, τυχὸν δὲ | οὕτως ἔχει. Πολλοὺς γὰρ ἐριννύες μετῆλθον, Ἢ — δ' ἂν τὰ χατ᾽ αὑτὸν, ἀλλ᾽ οὖν ἐχεῖνά γε οὐχ — ἐλάνθανεν, ὡς ἦν ὁ ἀνὴρ διὰ προθυμίαν οὐκ ἀσφαλὴς, — δι εὐπαιδευσίαν χενόδοξος, δι᾽ ἐπιείκειαν πεπλασμέ- — νην εὐκαταφρόνητος. Ἰουλιανὸς μὲν οὖν τῇ τες ἃ - τάρτῃ ἑαυτοῦ ὑπατείᾳ, ἣν ἅμα Σαλουστίῳ ἐδεδώχει, — περὶ τὴν ἔχτην εἰκάδα τοῦ Ἰουνίου μηνὸς ἐν τῇ Περτῶν χώρᾳ, ὡς ἔφην, τὸν βίον κατέλυσεν. Τοῦτοξὲ — ἔτος ἣν τρίτον τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ" δὲ, οὗ Καῖσαρ ἀπὸ Κωνσταντίου προεδλήθη' τριαχοστὸν δὲ πρῶτον 4 ἣν τῆς αὐτοῦ. : ; νῷ
Ho de basileus eis tēn tōn Persōn 1 eneballe mikron pro tou earos, pythomenos asthenestata kai de, epiphthonon ; pepisteukōs de mantiais oi tisin, anandrotata einai cheimōnos ta ethnē Persōn. Krymon gar mē pherontes, apomachoi menousi kata tonde ton chronon. ᾿All' oude cheira, to tou logou, balloi an tote exō tou pharous Mēdos anēr. Rhōmaious d' eidōs kai cheimōnos agōnizesthai dynamenous, epaphēke tę̄ chōrą ton straton. Pollas oun chōras kai kōmas kai phrouria porthēsantes, ēdē kai tas poleis elambanon. Peristoichisas de Ktēsiphōnta tēn megalēn polin, tosouton epoliorkei ton basilea, hōste ekeinon presbeiais chrēsasthai sychnais, hiketeuein te zēmiōthēnai meros ti tēs autou patridos, ei katalysas ton polemon apochōrēsę̄ Ho de ouk epathe tēn psychēn, oude tous hiketeuontas ēleēsen; all᾽ oude to tou logou kata noun elaben, hōs ara nikan men, kalon ; hypernikąn has autǭ symparōn ho philosophos Maximos hypetitheto, kai oneiropolēsas tēn ᾿Alexandrou tou Makedonos doxan labein, ē kai mallon hyperbainein, tas hikesias Persōn apekrousato; kai enomize kata tēn Pythagorou kai Platōnos doxan, ek metensōmatōseōs tēn ᾿Alexandrou echein psychēn; mallon de autos einai ᾿Alexandros en heterǭ sōmati. Hautē hē oiēsis auton exēpatēse, kai pareskeuase tote tēn hikesian tou Persou mē paradexasthai. Dioper ekeinos gnous anēnyta autǭ ta tēs presbeias genomena, eis anankēn kathistatai tę̄ echomenę̄ meta tēn presdeian hēmerą, pasan hēn eiche dynamin antitattei Rhōmaiǭ 6556 4110 stratǭ. Diememphonto men oun ton basilea Rhōmaioi, dioti mē epicherdōs hyphēche tēs machēs " homōs de tois parousin anteprattonto " kai authis tous polemious , trepousin eis phygēn. Ho de basileus parēn hippotēs — men, eperrhōnnye ton straton" aoplos de a tę̄ tēs eutychias elpidi monę̄ tharrhōn. Ex aphanous de achontion pheretai chat᾽ autou, dia brachionos dia- — , dramon, eis tēn pleuran eisedy. tautēs de tēs — plēgēs ton bion katestrepsen, adēlou genomenou tou : anelontos auton“. Hoi men gar, hypo tinos Perton auto. — molou blēthēnaï phasin hoi de, hypo oikeiou stratiōtou, hōs ho polys logos kratei. Kallistos de ho en tois keiois tou basileōs: strateuomenos, historēsas ^ ta auton en hērōïkǭ metrǭ, ton tote polemon diēgoumenos, hypo daimonos blēthenta teleutēsai phēsin. ortio ha Hoper tychon men hōs poiētēs eplase, tychon de | houtōs echei. Pollous gar erinnyes metēlthon, Ē — d' an ta chat᾽ hauton, all᾽ oun echeina ge ouch — elanthanen, hōs ēn ho anēr dia prothymian ouk asphalēs, — di eupaideusian chenodoxos, di᾽ epieikeian peplasme- — nēn eukataphronētos. Ioulianos men oun tę̄ tes ha - tartę̄ heautou hypateią, hēn hama Saloustiǭ ededōchei, — peri tēn echtēn eikada tou Iouniou mēnos en tę̄ Pertōn chōrą, hōs ephēn, ton bion katelysen. Toutoxe — etos hēn triton tēs basileias autou" de, hou Kaisar apo Kōnstantiou proedlēthē' triachoston de prōton 4 hēn tēs autou. : ? nǭ
The emperor invaded the land of the Persians a little before spring, having learned that the nations of the Persians are very weak and unwarlike in winter. For not bearing the cold, they remain out of action at this season; and, as the saying goes, a Mede will not then put his hand out of his cloak. Knowing that the Romans could fight even in winter, he let his army loose on the country. After ravaging many districts, villages, and forts, they were already taking cities. Surrounding the great city of Ctesiphon, he besieged the king so closely that he sent many embassies and begged to give up some part of his country if the emperor would end the war and withdraw. But he was not moved in soul and did not pity the suppliants; nor did he call to mind the saying that to conquer is noble, but to over-conquer invites envy. Trusting in certain oracles which the philosopher Maximus, who was with him, suggested to him, and dreaming of gaining the glory of Alexander of Macedon or even surpassing it, he rejected the supplications of the Persians. He thought, according to the opinion of Pythagoras and Plato, that he had the soul of Alexander by transmigration, or rather that he was Alexander himself in another body. This conceit deceived him and led him then not to accept the Persian king’s supplication. So the king, recognizing that his embassies had achieved nothing, was compelled on the day after the embassy to set all the force he had against the Roman army. The Romans blamed the emperor for not having withdrawn from battle with advantage; nevertheless they fought against those present and again put the enemy to flight. The emperor was present on horseback and encouraged the army …, without armour, trusting only in the hope of good fortune. From an unseen hand a javelin was hurled at him, passed through his arm, and entered his side. From this wound he ended his life, it being unknown who had killed him. Some say he was struck by a Persian deserter, others by one of his own soldiers, as the general report holds. Callistus, who served in the emperor’s household guard and wrote a history of him in heroic verse narrating that war, says that he died struck by a demon. Perhaps he invented this as a poet, perhaps it is so; for avenging furies have pursued many. However that may be, this did not escape notice: that the man was imprudent through his eagerness, vain through his learning, and contemptible through his affected mildness. Julian, then, ended his life in the land of the Persians, as I said, in his fourth consulship, which he held together with Sallustius, about the twenty-sixth of June. This was the third year of his reign, the … since he was made Caesar by Constantius, and the thirty-first of his age.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Julian invades Persia, refuses the king’s offers, believing himself Alexander reborn, and is killed by a javelin of unknown origin (26 June 363).
- Several words are lost in the scan in the account of the battle and in the final dating (marked “…”); in the dating the lost word is presumably “seventh”.
- The proverb “to conquer is noble, but to over-conquer invites envy” is partly displaced in the scan and translated in its place.
- Callistus’s poem on Julian is lost. Socrates reports the conflicting accounts of Julian’s death without deciding.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.21 (PG 67:431–433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-21
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.
3.22PG 67:435–437
Οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται ἐν μεγίστῃ περιστάσει γενόμε νοι Γ, μηδὲν ὑπερθέμενοι, τῇ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ ἀναδεικνύουσι βασιλέα Ἰοβιανὸν, ἄνδρα γενναῖον καὶ εὐγενῆ. Ὅστις χιλίαρχος ὢν ἡνίκα Ἰουλιανὸς αἴρεσιν τοῖς στρατευομένοις νόμῳ προὐτίθει, ἢ θύειν ἢ ἀποστρατεύεσθαι, μᾶλλον τὴν ζώνην ἀποθέσθαι προῃρεῖτο, ἢ ἐκτελεῖν ἀσεβοῦς βασιλέως ἐπίταγμα. Ἀλλὰ Ἰουλιανὸς μὲν τῇ ἀνάγκῃ τοῦ ἐπικειμένου πολέμου, ἐν τοῖς στρατηγοῦσιν εἶχε · τὸν ἄνδρα. Τότε δὲ αἱρεθεὶς εἰς τὸ βασιλεῦσαι, παρῃτεῖτο· βίᾳ τε ἑλκόμενος ὑπὸ τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ἐβόα, μὴ βούλεσθαι λέγων βασιλεύειν ἀνθρώπων Ἑλληνίζειν προαιρουμένων, αὐτὸς ὢν Χριστιανός. Ὡς οὖν φωνὴ κοινῇ πάντων ἐγίνετο, ὁμολογοῦσα καὶ αὐτοὺς εἶναι Χριστιανοὺς, δέχεται μὲν τὴν βασιλείαν, ἐν στενῷ δὲ ἐξαίφνης ἀποληφθεὶς ἐν τῇ Περσῶν, καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν λιμῷ φθειρομένων, κατέλυσεν ἐπὶ συνθήκαις τὸν πόλεμον. Αἱ συνθῆκαι δὲ, πρὸς μὲν τὴν δόξαν Ῥωμαίων ἦσαν ἀπρεπεῖς· πρὸς δὲ τὸν καιρὸν ἀναγκαῖαι. Ζημιωθεὶς γὰρ τοὺς Σύρους τῆς ἀρχῆς, καὶ παραδοὺς τοῖς Πέρσαις τὴν ἐν Μεσοποταμίᾳ Νίσιβιν πόλιν, ἐξήλαυνεν ἐκεῖθεν. Τούτων διαγγελθέντων, Χριστιανοὶ μὲν ἀνεῤῥώννυντο · οἱ δὲ τὴν θρησκείαν Ἕλληνες, πένθος ἐποιοῦντο τὴν Ἰουλιανοῦ τελευτήν. Τὸ στρατιωτικὸν δὲ σύμπαν, τὴν ἀφύλακτον αὐτοῦ θερμότητα διεμέμφοντο, καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς ζημίας τῶν ὅρων εἰς αὐτὸν ἀνέφερον, ὅτι ὑπὸ αὐτομόλου Πέρσου ἀπατη( θεὶς, τὰ σιτηγοῦντα διὰ τῶν ποταμῶν πλοῖα κατέκαυσε, διὸ καὶ λιμῷ περιέπεσεν ὁ στρατός. Τότε δὴ ὁ σοφιστὴς Λιδάνιος θρῆνον ἐπὶ Ἰουλιανῷ : ταττεν, ὃν Ἰουλιανὸν ἤτοι ἐπιτάφιον ἔγραψεν. ᾧ λόγῳ, πάντα σχεδὸν τὰ χατ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐγχωμιαστιχῶς διεξῆλθε μνημονεύσα; τῶν βιδλίων, ὧν κατὰ Χριστιανῶν Ἰουλιανὸς συνέθηκε, καὶ ὡς εἴη ἐν αὖτοῖς γέλωτα φλήναφον ἀποδείξας τὰ; Χριστιανῶν βίβλους. Εἰ μὲν οὖν τὰ ἄλλα τοῦ βασιλέως ὁ σοφιστὴς ἐνεγχωμίαζεν, ἡσύχως ἂν ἐπὶ τὰ ἐχόμενα τῆς ἰστορίας ἐθάδιζον. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὡς δεινὸς ῥήτωρ, τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν Ἰουλιανοῦ βιβλίων τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ χαθάπεεται, διατοῦτο εἰπεῖν ἡμεῖς ὀλίγα περὶ τούτων προαιρούμεθα, πρότερον θέντες αὐτοῦ τὰ ῥήματα.
Hoi de stratiōtai en megistę̄ peristasei genome noi G, mēden hyperthemenoi, tę̄ hexēs hēmerą anadeiknyousi basilea Iobianon, andra gennaion kai eugenē. Hostis chiliarchos ōn hēnika Ioulianos airesin tois strateuomenois nomǭ proutithei, ē thyein ē apostrateuesthai, mallon tēn zōnēn apothesthai proę̄reito, ē ektelein asebous basileōs epitagma. Alla Ioulianos men tę̄ anankę̄ tou epikeimenou polemou, en tois stratēgousin eiche ; ton andra. Tote de hairetheis eis to basileusai, parę̄teito; bią te helkomenos hypo tōn stratiōtōn, eboa, mē boulesthai legōn basileuein anthrōpōn Hellēnizein proairoumenōn, autos ōn Christianos. Hōs oun phōnē koinę̄ pantōn egineto, homologousa kai autous einai Christianous, dechetai men tēn basileian, en stenǭ de exaiphnēs apolēphtheis en tę̄ Persōn, kai tōn stratiōtōn limǭ phtheiromenōn, katelysen epi synthēkais ton polemon. Hai synthēkai de, pros men tēn doxan Rhōmaiōn ēsan aprepeis; pros de ton kairon anankaiai. Zēmiōtheis gar tous Syrous tēs archēs, kai paradous tois Persais tēn en Mesopotamią Nisibin polin, exēlaunen ekeithen. Toutōn diangelthentōn, Christianoi men anerrhōnnynto ; hoi de tēn thrēskeian Hellēnes, penthos epoiounto tēn Ioulianou teleutēn. To stratiōtikon de sympan, tēn aphylakton autou thermotēta diememphonto, kai tēn aitian tēs zēmias tōn horōn eis auton anepheron, hoti hypo automolou Persou apatē( theis, ta sitēgounta dia tōn potamōn ploia katekause, dio kai limǭ periepesen ho stratos. Tote dē ho sophistēs Lidanios thrēnon epi Ioulianǭ : tatten, hon Ioulianon ētoi epitaphion egrapsen. hǭ logǭ, panta schedon ta chat᾽ auton enchōmiastichōs diexēlthe mnēmoneusa? tōn bidliōn, hōn kata Christianōn Ioulianos synethēke, kai hōs eiē en autois gelōta phlēnaphon apodeixas ta? Christianōn biblous. Ei men oun ta alla tou basileōs ho sophistēs enenchōmiazen, hēsychōs an epi ta echomena tēs istorias ethadizon. Epeidē de hōs deinos rhētōr, tę̄ mnēmę̄ tōn Ioulianou bibliōn tou Christianismou chathapeetai, diatouto eipein hēmeis oliga peri toutōn proairoumetha, proteron thentes autou ta rhēmata.
The soldiers, being in the greatest straits, without delay proclaimed Jovian emperor on the next day, a brave and noble man. When he was a tribune and Julian by law offered the soldiers the choice of sacrificing or leaving the service, he chose rather to lay aside his belt than to carry out the command of an impious emperor. But Julian, through the necessity of the pressing war, kept the man among his commanders. When chosen to reign, he declined; dragged by force by the soldiers, he cried out that he did not wish to reign over men who chose to be pagans, being himself a Christian. When the voice of all together confessed that they too were Christians, he accepted the empire. Suddenly caught in a strait in the land of the Persians, with the soldiers perishing from hunger, he ended the war on terms. The terms were unbecoming to the glory of the Romans but necessary for the occasion: for losing the Syrians from the empire and handing over to the Persians the city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia, he marched out from there. When this was announced, the Christians took heart, while those of the pagan religion mourned Julian’s death. The whole army found fault with his unguarded rashness and laid on him the blame for the loss of the frontiers, because, deceived by a Persian deserter, he had burned the ships bringing grain by the rivers, so that the army fell into famine. Then the sophist Libanius composed a lament for Julian, which he wrote under the title Julian or Funeral Oration. In this speech he went through almost everything about him in the manner of an encomium, mentioning the books Julian composed against the Christians, and how in them he showed the books of the Christians to be ridiculous nonsense. If the sophist had praised the emperor’s other qualities, I would have gone on quietly to what follows in the history. But since, as a clever orator, he attacks Christianity by mentioning Julian’s books, we choose to say a little about these, first setting down his words.
Notes and citation
Summary: Jovian, a Christian who had resigned rather than sacrifice, is proclaimed emperor, makes a costly peace ceding Nisibis, and Libanius writes Julian’s funeral oration praising his books against the Christians.
- “Losing the Syrians” is as printed; the territory actually ceded lay beyond the Tigris.
- Libanius, Oration 18 (Funeral Oration for Julian).
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 3.22 (PG 67:435–437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/3-22
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-3-22) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Valesius's Greek text as printed in Migne PG 67 (Bavarian State Library OCR and Tesseract re-OCR); every chapter compared afterwards with Zenos's English in NPNF² 2.