Church History 7.7–7.19
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 7
7.7PG 67:749–751
οὐ πολὺ Θεόφιλος ὁ τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ἐπίσκοπος, ληθαργιχῷ πάθεν περιπεσὼν, ἐτελεύτησεν} ἐν ὑπατείᾳ ᾿Ὀνωρίου τὸ ἔννατον Θεοδοσίου τὸ πέμπτον, τῇ πεντεχαιδεχάτῃ τοῦ Ὀκχτοῦρίου νός. Ἐπιμάχου ὃς γενομένης ἐνταῦθα τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, οἱ μὲν ἐζήτουν ἐνθρονισθῆναι Τιμόθεον ἀρχιδιάκονον, οἱ ὃὲ Κύριλλον, ὃς ἣν ἀδελφιδοὺς Θεοφίλον. Στάσεως δὲ διατοῦτο μεταξὺ τοῦ λαοῦ κινηθείσης, σννελαμύάνετο τῷ μέρει Τιμοθέου ὁ τοῦ στρατιωτικοῦ τάγματος ἡγεμὼν ᾿Αὐουδάτιος, Διὸ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν Θεοφίλον ὁ Κύριλλος ἐνθρονισθεὶς, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν ἀρχ:χώτερον Θεοφίλου παρῆλθε" καὶ γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνου, ἡ ἐπισχοπὴ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας παρὰ τῆς ἱερατικῆς τάξεως καταδυναστεύειν τῶν πραγμάτων ἔλαβε τὴν ἀρχήν. Εὐθέως οὖν Κύριλλος τὰς ἐν ᾿Αλεξανδρείᾳ Ναυατιανῶν ἐκκλησίας ἀποκλείσας, πάντα μὲν αὐτῶν τὰ ἱερὰ κειμήλια ἔλαβεν· τὸν δὲ ἐπίσκοπον αὐτῶν Θεόπεμπτον, πάντων ὧν εἶχεν ἀφείλετο.
ou poly Theophilos ho tēs ᾿Alexandreias episkopos, lēthargichǭ pathen peripesōn, eteleutēsen} en hypateią ᾿Onōriou to ennaton Theodosiou to pempton, tę̄ pentechaidechatę̄ tou Okchtouriou nos. Epimachou hos genomenēs entautha tēs episkopēs, hoi men ezētoun enthronisthēnai Timotheon archidiakonon, hoi hoe Kyrillon, hos hēn adelphidous Theophilon. Staseōs de diatouto metaxy tou laou kinētheisēs, snnelamyaneto tǭ merei Timotheou ho tou stratiōtikou tagmatos hēgemōn ᾿Auoudatios, Dio tritę̄ hēmerą meta tēn teleutēn Theophilon ho Kyrillos enthronistheis, epi tēn episkopēn arch:chōteron Theophilou parēlthe" kai gar ex ekeinou, hē epischopē ᾿Alexandreias para tēs hieratikēs taxeōs katadynasteuein tōn pragmatōn elabe tēn archēn. Eutheōs oun Kyrillos tas en ᾿Alexandreią Nauatianōn ekklēsias apokleisas, panta men autōn ta hiera keimēlia elaben; ton de episkopon autōn Theopempton, pantōn hōn eichen apheileto.
Not long after, Theophilus, the bishop of Alexandria, fell into a lethargic illness and died, in the consulship of Honorius for the ninth time and Theodosius for the fifth, on the fifteenth of October. Since the bishopric became disputed here, some sought to enthrone Timothy the archdeacon, others Cyril, who was Theophilus's nephew. When a riot arose among the people over this, Abundantius, the commander of the military unit, assisted Timothy's side. However, on the third day after Theophilus's death Cyril was enthroned, and came to the bishopric with more domineering power than Theophilus; for from him the bishopric of Alexandria began to dominate affairs beyond the priestly order. At once Cyril closed the Novatian churches in Alexandria, took all their sacred treasures, and stripped their bishop Theopempt of all he had.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cyril succeeds his uncle Theophilus at Alexandria after a contested election, extends the bishop's power, and despoils the Novatians.
- The consulship of Honorius (ninth time) and Theodosius (fifth) is 412.
- Socrates' judgment on Cyril's domineering use of power is his own and is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray characters; stray mark): οὐ πολὺ 03 Θεόφιλος → οὐ πολὺ Θεόφιλος; ἀποκλείσας ", → ἀποκλείσας,.
Topics: Church office, Heresy
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.7 (PG 67:749–751; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-7
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-7-7) · 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.
7.8PG 67:751–753
εἰώθει καιρὸν ὁ βασιλεὺς εὔχεσθαι, παρεσκεύασαν άναὙπὸ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον χρόνον, καὶ τὸν ἐν Περσίδι Χριστιανισμὸν πλατυνθῆναι συνέβη ἐξ αἰτίας τοιᾶσδε· Μεταξὺ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Περσῶν συνεχεῖς ἀεὶ πρεσβεῖαι γίνονται. Διάφοροι δέ εἰσιν αἰτίαιν, δι' ἃς συνεχῶς παρ' ἀλλήλους πρεσβεύονται. Χρεία δὴ οὖν καὶ τότε ἤγαγεν, ὥστε Μαρουθᾶν τὸν Μεσο"ποταμίας ἐπίσκοπον, οὗ μικρὸν ἔμπροσθεν μνήμην πεποιήμεθα, πεμφθῆναι παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως Ῥωμαίων πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Περσῶν. Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς τῶν Περσῶν πολλὴν εὐλάβειαν παρὰ τῷ ἀνδρὶ εὐρηκὼς, διὰ τιμῆς ἦγεν αὐτὸν, καὶ ὡς ὄντως θεοφιλεῖ προσεἶχεν. Τοῦτο γινόμενον ὑπέκνιζε τοὺς μάγους, οἱ πολλοὶ παρὰ τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ ἰσχύουσιν. Έδε δοίκεισαν γάρ, μὴ τὸν βασιλέα Χριστιανίζειν πείσῃ. Καὶ γὰρ κεφαλαλγίαν αὐτοῦ χρονίαν, ἣν οἱ μάγοι θεραπεῦσαι μὴ δεδύνηνται, ταύτην ὁ Μαρουθᾶς εὐχαῖς έθεράπευσε. Βουλεύονται οὖν ἀπάτην οἱ μάγοι. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ οἱ Πέρσαι τὸ πῦρ σέβουσιν, εἰώθει δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐν οἴκῳ τινὶ τὸ διηνεκῶς καιόμενον πῦρ προσκυνεῖν, ὑπὸ γῆν κατακρύψαντες ἄνθρωπον, καθ' ὃν φθέγγεσθαι, ἔξω βάλλεσθαι δεῖν τὸν βασιλέα· ήσεβηκέναι γὰρ, ὅτι τὸν τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἱερέα νομίζη θεοφιλῆ. Ταῦτα ἀκούσας ὁ Ἰσδιγέρδης, τοῦτο γὰρ ὄνομα τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ, αἰδούμενος μὲν, ἀποπέμπεσθαι δ' οὖν ὅμως τὸν Μαρουθᾶν ἐβούλετο. Μαρουθᾶς δὲ ἀληθῶς θεοφιλής ἄνθρωπος, εὐχαῖς προσέκειτο, δι᾽ ὧν εὑρίσκει τὸν παρὰ τῶν μάγων γενόμενον δόλον. Τῷ οὖν βασιλεῖ, Μὴ παίζου, ἔφη, βασιλεῦ. ᾿Αλλ' εἰσελθὼν ὅτε τῆς φωνῆς ἀκούσεις, ὀρύξας τὸν δόλον εὐ - : ρήσεις. Οὐ γὰρ τὸ πῦρ φθέγγεται, ἀλλὰ ἀνθρώπων κατασκευή τοῦτο ποιεῖ. Πείθεται τῷ Μαρουθᾷ ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς, καὶ αὖθις εἰσῄει εἰς τὸν οἰκίσκον, ὅπου ἦν τὸ ἄσβεστον πῦρ. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ αὖθις ἀκούει τῆς αὐτῆς φωνῆς, ὀρύττεσθαι τὸν τόπον ἐκέλευσε. Καὶ ὁ προπέμπων τὴν νομισθεῖσαν θεοῦ φωνὴν, ἐξηλέγχετο. Περιοργὴς οὖν γενόμενος ὁ βασιλεὺς, τὸ τῶν μάγων γένος ἀπεδεκάτωσε. Τούτου γενομένου, εἶπεν τῷ Μαρουθᾷ, ἔνθα ἂν βούλοιτο, κτίζειν ἐκκλησίας. Ἐκ τούτου παρὰ Πέρσαις ὁ Χριστιανισμός ἐπλατύνετο. Τότε μὲν οὖν Μαρουθᾶς ἀποχωρήσας τῶν Περσῶν, αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πόλιν ἐπανέρχεται. Οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν δὲ πάλιν πρεσβείας ἕνεκεν άντεπέμπετο. Αὖθίς τε οἱ μάγοι σκευωρίας ἐπενοοῦντο, ὅπως ἂν μηδαμῶς τὸν ἄνδρα προσδέχοιτο ὁ βασιλεύς. Ἐπενόησάν τε δυσωδίαν τινὰ κατασκευαστὴν, ὅθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰώθει προσέρχεσθαι· διαβολῇ τε ἐχρῶντο, ὡς ἄρα ταύτην οἱ τῷ Χριστιανισμῷ συνόντες εἰργάσαντο. Ὡς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἤδη πρότερον ὑπόπτους ἔχων τοὺς μάγους, σπουδαιότερον ἀνεζήτει τοὺς δράσαντας, αὖθις ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀνηυρίσκοντο οἱ τῆς κακῆς ὀδμῆς ποιηταί. Διὸ καὶ αὖθις πολλοὺς αὐτῶν ἐτιμωρήσατο· Μαρουθᾶν δὲ διὰ πλείονος ἦγε τιμῆς. Καὶ ἠγάπα μὲν Ῥωμαίους, καὶ τὴν πρὸς αὐτοὺς φιλίαν ἡσπάζετο. Μικρὸν δὲ ἐδέησε καὶ χριστιανίσαι αὐτὸν, πεῖραν δεδωκότος ἑτέραν τοῦ Μαρουθᾶ, σὺν ᾿Ανλδᾷ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Περσίδος. "Αμφω γὰρ τὸν ὀχλοῦντα δαίμονα τῷ υἱῷ βασιλέως ἀπήλασαν, νηστείαις καὶ προσευχαῖς σχολάσαντες. Καὶ ὁ Ἰσδιγέρδης μὲν ἔφθασε τελευτῆσαι, πρὶν τελείως Χριστιανίσαι · εἰς δὲ τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Βαραράνην ἧκεν ἡ βασιλεία. Ἐφ' οὗ αἱ μεταξὺ Ῥωμαίων καὶ Περσῶν σπονδαὶ διελύθησαν, ὡς ὀλίγον ὕστερον λέξομεν.
eiōthei kairon ho basileus euchesthai, pareskeuasan anaUpo de ton auton touton chronon, kai ton en Persidi Christianismon platynthēnai synebē ex aitias toiasde; Metaxy Rhōmaiōn kai Persōn synecheis aei presbeiai ginontai. Diaphoroi de eisin aitiain, di' has synechōs par' allēlous presbeuontai. Chreia dē oun kai tote ēgagen, hōste Marouthan ton Meso"potamias episkopon, hou mikron emprosthen mnēmēn pepoiēmetha, pemphthēnai para tou basileōs Rhōmaiōn pros ton basilea Persōn. Ho de basileus tōn Persōn pollēn eulabeian para tǭ andri eurēkōs, dia timēs ēgen auton, kai hōs ontōs theophilei proseichen. Touto ginomenon hypeknize tous magous, hoi polloi para tǭ Persōn basilei ischyousin. Ede doikeisan gar, mē ton basilea Christianizein peisę̄. Kai gar kephalalgian autou chronian, hēn hoi magoi therapeusai mē dedynēntai, tautēn ho Marouthas euchais etherapeuse. Bouleuontai oun apatēn hoi magoi. Kai epeidē hoi Persai to pyr sebousin, eiōthei de ho basileus en oikǭ tini to diēnekōs kaiomenon pyr proskynein, hypo gēn katakrypsantes anthrōpon, kath' hon phthengesthai, exō ballesthai dein ton basilea; ēsebēkenai gar, hoti ton tōn Christianōn hierea nomizē theophilē. Tauta akousas ho Isdigerdēs, touto gar onoma tǭ Persōn basilei, aidoumenos men, apopempesthai d' oun homōs ton Marouthan ebouleto. Marouthas de alēthōs theophilēs anthrōpos, euchais prosekeito, di᾽ hōn heuriskei ton para tōn magōn genomenon dolon. Tǭ oun basilei, Mē paizou, ephē, basileu. ᾿All' eiselthōn hote tēs phōnēs akouseis, oryxas ton dolon eu - : rēseis. Ou gar to pyr phthengetai, alla anthrōpōn kataskeuē touto poiei. Peithetai tǭ Marouthą ho Persōn basileus, kai authis eisę̄ei eis ton oikiskon, hopou ēn to asbeston pyr. Epeidē de authis akouei tēs autēs phōnēs, oryttesthai ton topon ekeleuse. Kai ho propempōn tēn nomistheisan theou phōnēn, exēlencheto. Periorgēs oun genomenos ho basileus, to tōn magōn genos apedekatōse. Toutou genomenou, eipen tǭ Marouthą, entha an bouloito, ktizein ekklēsias. Ek toutou para Persais ho Christianismos eplatyneto. Tote men oun Marouthas apochōrēsas tōn Persōn, authis epi tēn Kōnstantinou polin epanerchetai. Ouk eis makran de palin presbeias heneken antepempeto. Authis te hoi magoi skeuōrias epenoounto, hopōs an mēdamōs ton andra prosdechoito ho basileus. Epenoēsan te dysōdian tina kataskeuastēn, hothen ho basileus eiōthei proserchesthai; diabolę̄ te echrōnto, hōs ara tautēn hoi tǭ Christianismǭ synontes eirgasanto. Hōs de ho basileus ēdē proteron hypoptous echōn tous magous, spoudaioteron anezētei tous drasantas, authis ex autōn anēuriskonto hoi tēs kakēs odmēs poiētai. Dio kai authis pollous autōn etimōrēsato; Marouthan de dia pleionos ēge timēs. Kai ēgapa men Rhōmaious, kai tēn pros autous philian hēspazeto. Mikron de edeēse kai christianisai auton, peiran dedōkotos heteran tou Maroutha, syn ᾿Anldą tǭ episkopǭ Persidos. "Amphō gar ton ochlounta daimona tǭ huiǭ basileōs apēlasan, nēsteiais kai proseuchais scholasantes. Kai ho Isdigerdēs men ephthase teleutēsai, prin teleiōs Christianisai ; eis de ton huion autou Bararanēn hēken hē basileia. Eph' hou hai metaxy Rhōmaiōn kai Persōn spondai dielythēsan, hōs oligon hysteron lexomen.
About this same time Christianity also happened to spread in Persia, for the following reason. Embassies are always going continually between the Romans and the Persians, and there are various reasons for which they continually send embassies to each other. Need then brought it about that Maruthas, the bishop of Mesopotamia, whom we mentioned a little before, was sent by the emperor of the Romans to the king of the Persians. The king of the Persians, finding great piety in the man, held him in honour and attended to him as one truly dear to God. This vexed the magi, who have great power with the king of the Persians; for they feared that he would persuade the king to become a Christian. Indeed Maruthas had healed by prayers the king's chronic headache, which the magi had been unable to cure. So the magi devised a deception. Since the Persians worship fire, and the king was accustomed to worship the perpetually burning fire in a certain house, they hid a man underground and arranged that, at the time when the king was accustomed to pray, he should cry out that the king must be cast out, for he had committed impiety in thinking the priest of the Christians dear to God. When Isdigerdes, for that was the name of the king of the Persians, heard this, though he respected Maruthas, he nevertheless wished to send him away. But Maruthas, being truly a man dear to God, devoted himself to prayers, through which he discovered the trick contrived by the magi. So he said to the king, 'Do not be deceived, king; but go in, and when you hear the voice, dig and you will find the trick. For it is not the fire that speaks; it is the contrivance of men that does this.' The king of the Persians was persuaded by Maruthas, and went again into the little house where the unquenchable fire was. When he heard the same voice again, he ordered the place to be dug up; and the man who sent forth what was taken for the voice of a god was exposed. The king, in great anger, decimated the race of the magi. When this had been done, he told Maruthas to build churches wherever he wished. From this Christianity spread among the Persians. Maruthas then left the Persians and returned to Constantinople. Not long after he was sent again on an embassy. Again the magi devised plots so that the king would by no means receive the man. They contrived an artificial stench where the king was accustomed to go, and used the slander that those who were with the Christian had made it. But since the king already held the magi in suspicion, he searched more diligently for those who had done it, and again the makers of the foul smell were found to be among them. So again he punished many of them, and held Maruthas in greater honour. He loved the Romans and embraced friendship with them. He came close even to becoming a Christian, when Maruthas, together with Abdas, bishop of Persia, gave another proof: both, devoting themselves to fasting and prayers, drove out a demon that troubled the king's son. But Isdigerdes died before becoming fully a Christian, and the kingdom passed to his son Varanes, under whom the treaty between the Romans and the Persians was broken, as we shall tell a little later.
Notes and citation
Summary: Maruthas of Mesopotamia, as Roman envoy, wins the favour of the Persian king Yazdegerd I by exposing the magi's tricks and healing his son, and Christianity spreads in Persia.
- In the scan text the words 'at the time when the king was accustomed to pray, they arranged' stand at the beginning of the chapter; they are translated in the sentence about the magi's trick, where they belong.
- Isdigerdes is Yazdegerd I (399–420); Varanes is Bahram V.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.8 (PG 67:751–753; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-8
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-7-8) · 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.
7.9PG 67:753–755
Περὶ δὲ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους, κατὰ τὴν ᾿Αντιόχειαν Φλαβιανοῦ τελευτήσαντος, Πορφύριος τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν διεδέξατο. Μετὰ δὲ Πορφύριον, αὖθις ᾿Αλέξανδρος τῆς ἐκεῖσε Ἐκκλησίας προέστη. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ῥωμαίων Δάμασον ἐπὶ δεκαοκτὼ ἔτη τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς κρατήσαντα, Σιρίκιος διεδέξατο. Σιρικίου δὲ δεκαπέντε ἔτη κρατήσαντος, ᾿Αναστάσιος ἐπὶ ἔτη τρία τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἐκράτησε. Μετὰ δὲ ᾿Αναστάσιον Ἰνοκέντιος, ὃς πρῶτος τοὺς ἐν 'Ρώμῃ Ναυατιανοὺς ἐλαύνειν ἤρξατο, πολλάς τε αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίας ἀφείλετο.
Peri de tous autous chronous, kata tēn ᾿Antiocheian Phlabianou teleutēsantos, Porphyrios tēn episkopēn diedexato. Meta de Porphyrion, authis ᾿Alexandros tēs ekeise Ekklēsias proestē. Kata de tēn Rhōmaiōn Damason epi dekaoktō etē tēs episkopēs kratēsanta, Sirikios diedexato. Sirikiou de dekapente etē kratēsantos, ᾿Anastasios epi etē tria tēs Ekklēsias ekratēse. Meta de ᾿Anastasion Inokentios, hos prōtos tous en 'Rōmę̄ Nauatianous elaunein ērxato, pollas te autōn ekklēsias apheileto.
About the same time, when Flavian died at Antioch, Porphyrius succeeded to the bishopric; and after Porphyrius, Alexander presided over the church there. In Rome Siricius succeeded Damasus, who had held the bishopric for eighteen years. After Siricius had held it for fifteen years, Anastasius governed the church for three years; and after Anastasius, Innocent, who was the first to begin driving out the Novatians in Rome and took away many of their churches.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates lists the successions at Antioch and Rome, noting that Innocent was the first Roman bishop to persecute the Novatians.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray footnote numeral): τελευτήσαντος 5, → τελευτήσαντος,.
Topics: Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.9 (PG 67:753–755; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-9
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-7-9) · 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.
7.10PG 67:755–757
Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον χρόνον, καὶ Ῥώμην ὑπὸ Βαρβάρων ἁλῶναι συνέβη. ᾿Αλάριχος γάρ τις Βάρβα ρος, ὑπόσπονδος ὢν Ῥωμαίοις, καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ Θεοδοσίῳ εἰς τὸν κατὰ Εὐγενίου τοῦ τυράννου πόλεμον συμμαχήσας, καὶ διατοῦτο Ῥωμαϊκῇ ἀξίᾳ τιμηθεὶς, οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν εὐτυχίαν. Ἀλλὰ βασιλεύειν μὲν οὐ προείλετο · ἀναχωρήσας δὲ τῆς Κωνσταντίνου πόλεως, ἐπὶ τὰ ἑσπέρια μέρη διέβαινε. Γενόμενος δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ Ἰλλυριῶν, εὐθὺς πάντα ἀνέτρεπε. Διαβαίνοντι δὲ αὐτῷ Θεσσαλοὶ ἀντέστησαν περὶ τὰς ἐκβολὰς τοῦ Πηνειοῦ ποταμοῦ, ὅθεν δι᾿ ὄρους Πίνδου ἐπὶ Νικόπολιν τῆς Ἠπείρου διαβῆναι ἔστι. Καὶ συμβαλόντες, περὶ τρισχιλίους ἀνεῖλον οἱ Θεσσαλοί. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πᾶν τὸ παραπεσὸν ἀφανίζοντες οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ, τέλος καὶ τὴν Ῥώμην κατέλαβον · · καὶ πορθήσαντες αὐτὴν, τὰ μὲν πολλὰ τῶν θαυμαστῶν ἐκείνων θεαμάτων κατέκαυσαν · τὰ δὲ χρήματα δι᾽ ἁρπαγῆς ἔλαβον. Καὶ πολλοὺς τῆς συγκλήτου βουλῆς διαφόροις δίκαις ὑποβαλόντες, ἀπώλεσαν. Καταπαίζων τε τῆς βασιλείας, ἀναδείκνυσι βασιλέα, ὀνόματι "Ατταλον. Ὃν μίαν μὲν ἡμέραν, ὡς βασιλέα δορυφορούμενον προϊέναι ἐκέλευε· τὴν δὲ ἄλλην, ἐν δούλου τάξει φαίνεσθαι παρεσκεύαζεν. Καὶ ταῦτα καταπραξάμενος, εἰς φυγὴν ἐτράπη, φήμης αὐτὸν ἐν φόβῳ κατο στησάσης, ὡς εἴη ὁ βασιλεὺς Θεοδόσιος δύναμιν ἀποστείλας τὴν αὐτῷ πολεμήσουσαν. Τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς φήμης οὐκ ἣν πεπλασμένα " ἀληθῶς γὰρ ἡ δύναμις ἐπορεύετο" κἀκεῖνος τὴν φήμην οὐχ ὑπομείνας, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἔφην, ἀποδρὰς ῴχετο. Λέγεται δὲ ὡς ἀπιόντι αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥώμην, εὐλαδής τις ἀνὴρ μοναχὸς τὸν βίον, παρήνει μὴ ἐπιχαίρειν ἐν τηλιχούτοις κακοῖς, μηδὲ χαίρειν φόνοις καὶ αἵμασιν. Ὃ δὲ, Οὐκ ἐγὼ, ἔφη, ἐθελοντὴς ἐπὶ τὰ ἐκεῖ πορεύομαι ἀλλά τις καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ὀχλεῖ μοι βασανίζων, λέγων ἤΛπιθι, τὴν Ῥωμαίων πόρθησον πόλιν. Τοσαῦτα μὲν καὶ περὶ τούτου.
Hypo de ton auton touton chronon, kai Rhōmēn hypo Barbarōn halōnai synebē. ᾿Alarichos gar tis Barba ros, hypospondos ōn Rhōmaiois, kai tǭ basilei Theodosiǭ eis ton kata Eugeniou tou tyrannou polemon symmachēsas, kai diatouto Rhōmaïkę̄ axią timētheis, ouk ēnenke tēn eutychian. Alla basileuein men ou proeileto ; anachōrēsas de tēs Kōnstantinou poleōs, epi ta hesperia merē diebaine. Genomenos de epi ta Illyriōn, euthys panta anetrepe. Diabainonti de autǭ Thessaloi antestēsan peri tas ekbolas tou Pēneiou potamou, hothen di᾿ orous Pindou epi Nikopolin tēs Ēpeirou diabēnai esti. Kai symbalontes, peri trischilious aneilon hoi Thessaloi. Meta de tauta pan to parapeson aphanizontes hoi syn autǭ, telos kai tēn Rhōmēn katelabon ; ; kai porthēsantes autēn, ta men polla tōn thaumastōn ekeinōn theamatōn katekausan ; ta de chrēmata di᾽ harpagēs elabon. Kai pollous tēs synklētou boulēs diaphorois dikais hypobalontes, apōlesan. Katapaizōn te tēs basileias, anadeiknysi basilea, onomati "Attalon. Hon mian men hēmeran, hōs basilea doryphoroumenon proïenai ekeleue; tēn de allēn, en doulou taxei phainesthai pareskeuazen. Kai tauta katapraxamenos, eis phygēn etrapē, phēmēs auton en phobǭ kato stēsasēs, hōs eiē ho basileus Theodosios dynamin aposteilas tēn autǭ polemēsousan. Ta men oun tēs phēmēs ouk hēn peplasmena " alēthōs gar hē dynamis eporeueto" kakeinos tēn phēmēn ouch hypomeinas, all᾽ hōs ephēn, apodras ǭcheto. Legetai de hōs apionti autǭ epi tēn Rhōmēn, euladēs tis anēr monachos ton bion, parēnei mē epichairein en tēlichoutois kakois, mēde chairein phonois kai haimasin. Ho de, Ouk egō, ephē, ethelontēs epi ta ekei poreuomai alla tis kath᾽ hekastēn ochlei moi basanizōn, legōn ēLpithi, tēn Rhōmaiōn porthēson polin. Tosauta men kai peri toutou.
About this same time it also happened that Rome was taken by barbarians. A certain Alaric, a barbarian, an ally of the Romans, who had fought alongside the emperor Theodosius in the war against the usurper Eugenius and for this had been honoured with Roman rank, could not bear his good fortune. He did not choose to make himself emperor, but, withdrawing from Constantinople, he crossed to the western parts. Reaching Illyricum, he at once overturned everything. As he was crossing, the Thessalians opposed him at the mouths of the river Peneus, from which one can cross over Mount Pindus to Nicopolis in Epirus; and in the engagement the Thessalians killed about three thousand. After this, those with him, destroying everything in their way, at last took Rome too; and having plundered it, they burned most of those wonderful sights, took the riches by plunder, and put to death many of the senate under various penalties. Making a mockery of the imperial office, he proclaimed as emperor a man named Attalus, whom on one day he ordered to go out guarded like an emperor, and on the next he made him appear in the rank of a slave. Having done these things, he turned to flight, a rumour having put him in fear that the emperor Theodosius had sent a force to fight him. The rumour was not invented, for a force really was on its way; and he, not awaiting the report, as I said, ran off and went away. It is said that as he was going to Rome, a devout man, a monk by life, urged him not to rejoice in such great evils nor delight in slaughter and blood. He said, 'I am not going there willingly; but someone troubles me every day, tormenting me and saying, "Go, sack the city of the Romans."' So much about this.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alaric the Goth ravages Illyricum and sacks Rome, sets up Attalus as a puppet emperor, and claims to a monk that he is driven to it.
- The sack of Rome took place in 410. Socrates' account compresses events; that Alaric fled from a force sent by Theodosius II is reported by him alone.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.10 (PG 67:755–757; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-10
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-7-10) · 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.
7.11PG 67:757
Μετὰ δὲ Ἰνοχέντιον Ζώσιμος τῆς ἐν Ῥώμῃ Ἐχκχλησίας ἐπὶ δύο ἔτη ἐκράτησε. Καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον δὲ, Βονιφάτιος ἔτη τρία τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προέστη, ὃν Κελεστῖνος διεδέξατο. Καὶ οὗτος ὁ Κελεστῖνος τὰς ἐν Ῥώμῃ Νανατιανῶν ἐκκλησίας ἀφείλετο, καὶ τὸν ἐπίαὐτῶν Ῥουττιχούλαν, οἰκίας ἐν παραΟύστῳ συνάγειν ἠνάγκασεν. γὰρ τούτου, τιανοὶ μεγάλως ἐπὶ τῆς Ῥώμης ἤνθησαν, ἐκκλησίας πλείστας ἔχοντες, καὶ λαὺν πολὺν συναθροίζοντες. ὁ φθόνος τούτων ἥψατο, τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἐπισκοπῆς ὁμοίως τῇ ᾿Αλεξανδρέιυν πέρα τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἐπὶ δυναστείαν ἤδη πάλαι προελθούσης. Καὶ διατοῦτο, οὐδὲ τοὺς ὁμοφρονοῦντας οἱ ἐπίσκοποι ἐπ᾽ ἀδείας συνάγεσθαι συνεχώρησαν" ἀλλὰ πάντα λαθόντες αὐτῶν, μόνον διὰ τὴν ὁμοφροσύνην ἐπαινοῦσιν αὐτούς. Οὐ μὴν οἱ ἐν Κωνσταντίνου πόλει τοῦτο πεπόνθασιν ἀλλὰ μετὰ τοῦ στέργειν αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἔνδον πόλεως συνάγειν εἴασαν, ὡς δὴ πρότερον ἤδη ταῦτα ἱκανῶς ἔφην.
Meta de Inochention Zōsimos tēs en Rhōmę̄ Echkchlēsias epi dyo etē ekratēse. Kai meta touton de, Boniphatios etē tria tēs Ekklēsias proestē, hon Kelestinos diedexato. Kai houtos ho Kelestinos tas en Rhōmę̄ Nanatianōn ekklēsias apheileto, kai ton epiautōn Rhouttichoulan, oikias en paraOustǭ synagein ēnankasen. gar toutou, tianoi megalōs epi tēs Rhōmēs ēnthēsan, ekklēsias pleistas echontes, kai laun polyn synathroizontes. ho phthonos toutōn hēpsato, tēs Rhōmaiōn episkopēs homoiōs tę̄ ᾿Alexandreiyn pera tēs hierōsynēs epi dynasteian ēdē palai proelthousēs. Kai diatouto, oude tous homophronountas hoi episkopoi ep᾽ adeias synagesthai synechōrēsan" alla panta lathontes autōn, monon dia tēn homophrosynēn epainousin autous. Ou mēn hoi en Kōnstantinou polei touto peponthasin alla meta tou stergein autous, kai endon poleōs synagein eiasan, hōs dē proteron ēdē tauta hikanōs ephēn.
After Innocent, Zosimus governed the church in Rome for two years; and after him Boniface presided over the church for three years, and Celestine succeeded him. This Celestine took away the churches of the Novatians in Rome and compelled their bishop Rusticula to hold assemblies secretly in houses. Until then the Novatians had flourished greatly in Rome, having very many churches and gathering a large people. But envy laid hold of them, the episcopate of the Romans, like that of the Alexandrians, having long since advanced beyond the priesthood to domination. For this reason the bishops did not allow even those who shared their faith to assemble freely, but, taking everything from them, they merely praise them for their agreement in faith. Those in Constantinople, however, did not suffer this; but, besides cherishing them, they allowed them to assemble within the city, as I have already said sufficiently before.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates lists the Roman bishops after Innocent and complains that Celestine, out of envy and love of power, suppressed the Novatians in Rome, unlike the bishops of Constantinople.
- Socrates' criticism of the Roman and Alexandrian bishops is his own and is translated as written.
- Several words are lost in the scan text of this chapter (e.g. 'bishop', 'until then', 'the Novatians'); they are translated by sense.
Topics: Church office, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.11 (PG 67:757; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-11
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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.
7.12PG 67:757–759
Σισιννίου δὲ τελευτήσαντος, Χούσανθος χαθειλκύσθη εἰς τὴν ἐπισκοπήν. Ὃς υἱὸς μὲν ἣν Μαρκιανοῦ τοῦ γενομένου Ναυατιανῶν ἐπισκόπου Σισιννίου, ἘΧ γέα: δὲ ἡλικίας κατὰ τὰ βασίλεια στρατευσάμενος, ὕστερον ἐπὶ τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοδοτίου τοῦ βασιλέως, ὑπατιχὺς τῆς Ἰταλίας γενόμενος, μεταταῦτα βικάριος τῶν Βρεττανικῶν νήσων καταστὰς, ἐθαυπρεσβυτέρου τάξιν προχειρίσασθαι. Οὗ γλαφυραὶ μάσθη ἐπὶ ταῖς διοικήσεσι. Προβὰς δὲ τῇ ἡλικίᾳ, καὶ καταλαβὼν τὴν Κωνσταντινούπολιν, σπεύδων δὲ ἔπαρχος γενέσθαι πόλεως, εἰς τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν ἄκων εἰλκύσθη. Σισιννίου γὰρ ἐν καιρῷ τελευτῆς μνεῖαν αὐτοῦ ὡς ἐπιτηδείου πρὸς τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν ποιησαμένου, ὁ Ναυατιανῶν λαὸς ὡς νόμον τὴν ἐκείνου φωνὴν λαβών, καὶ ἄκοντα βιαίως ἕλκειν ἐπεχείρουν. Τοῦ δὴ Χρυ σάνθου φυγόντος, Σαββάτιος, καιρὸν νομίσας εὑρηκέναι εὔκαιρον, ἐν ᾧ τῶν Ἐκκλησιῶν ἐγκρατὴς γένηται, κατασκευάζει χεῖρας ἐπιθεῖναι αὐτῷ τινας ἀσήμους, τὸν ὅρκον ὃν ὀμωμόκει παρ' οὐδὲν θέμενος. Ἐν δὲ τοῖς χειροτονήσασιν αὐτὸν ἦν καὶ Ἑρμογένης, ὃς ἐπὶ βλασφήμοις συγγράμμασιν ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ μετὰ κατάρας ἐκκεκήρυκτο. Οὐ μὴν αὐτῷ ὁ σκοπὸς τέλος ἐδέξατο. Μισήσας γὰρ αὐτοῦ ὁ λαὸς τὸ δύστροπον, ὅτι πάντα σκοπὸν τοῦ παρεισδῦναι εἰς τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν ἔπραττε, παντοῖος ἐγένετο ἀνερευνᾶν τὸν Χρύσανθον • καὶ εὐρόντες περὶ Βιθυνίαν κρυπτόμενον, πρὸς τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν ἑλκύσαντες προεβάλλοντο. Οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ φρόνιμος ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ σώφρων, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, ὑπῆρχε· καὶ σφόδρα τὰς Ναυατιανῶν Ἑκκλησίας ἐν τῇ Κωνσταντίνου πόλει συνεκρότησέν τε καὶ ηὔξησε. Καὶ πρῶτος τοῖς πτωχοῖς οἴκοθεν χρυσίον διένειμεν. ᾿Από τε τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν οὐδὲν ἐδέξατο, πλὴν κατὰ Κυριακὴν δύο ἄρτους τῶν εὐλογιῶν ἐλάμβανεν. Οὕτω δὲ ἦν περὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ Ἐκκλησίαν σπουδαῖος, ὡς καὶ ᾿Αβλάβιον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ γενναιότατον ῥήτορα, τοῦ σοφιστοῦ Τρωΐλου συλλαβεῖν, καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ προσομιλίαι καὶ σύντονοι φέρονται. Αλλ' ᾿Αβλάβιος μὲν ὕστερον τῆς ἐν Νικαίᾳ τῶν Ναυατιανῶν Ἐκκλησίας ἐπίσκοπος κατέστη, ἐν ταὐτῷ καὶ σοφιστεύων ἐν ταύτῃ.
Sisinniou de teleutēsantos, Chousanthos chatheilkysthē eis tēn episkopēn. Hos huios men hēn Markianou tou genomenou Nauatianōn episkopou Sisinniou, ECh gea: de hēlikias kata ta basileia strateusamenos, hysteron epi tou megalou Theodotiou tou basileōs, hypatichys tēs Italias genomenos, metatauta bikarios tōn Brettanikōn nēsōn katastas, ethaupresbyterou taxin procheirisasthai. Hou glaphyrai masthē epi tais dioikēsesi. Probas de tę̄ hēlikią, kai katalabōn tēn Kōnstantinoupolin, speudōn de eparchos genesthai poleōs, eis tēn episkopēn akōn eilkysthē. Sisinniou gar en kairǭ teleutēs mneian autou hōs epitēdeiou pros tēn episkopēn poiēsamenou, ho Nauatianōn laos hōs nomon tēn ekeinou phōnēn labōn, kai akonta biaiōs helkein epecheiroun. Tou dē Chry santhou phygontos, Sabbatios, kairon nomisas heurēkenai eukairon, en hǭ tōn Ekklēsiōn enkratēs genētai, kataskeuazei cheiras epitheinai autǭ tinas asēmous, ton horkon hon omōmokei par' ouden themenos. En de tois cheirotonēsasin auton ēn kai Hermogenēs, hos epi blasphēmois syngrammasin hyp᾿ autou meta kataras ekkekērykto. Ou mēn autǭ ho skopos telos edexato. Misēsas gar autou ho laos to dystropon, hoti panta skopon tou pareisdynai eis tēn episkopēn epratte, pantoios egeneto anereunan ton Chrysanthon • kai eurontes peri Bithynian kryptomenon, pros tēn episkopēn helkysantes proeballonto. Houtos ho anēr phronimos en tautǭ kai sōphrōn, ei kai tis allos, hypērche; kai sphodra tas Nauatianōn Hekklēsias en tę̄ Kōnstantinou polei synekrotēsen te kai ēuxēse. Kai prōtos tois ptōchois oikothen chrysion dieneimen. ᾿Apo te tōn ekklēsiōn ouden edexato, plēn kata Kyriakēn dyo artous tōn eulogiōn elambanen. Houtō de ēn peri tēn heautou Ekklēsian spoudaios, hōs kai ᾿Ablabion ton heautou gennaiotaton rhētora, tou sophistou Trōïlou syllabein, kai pros tēn tou prosomiliai kai syntonoi pherontai. All' ᾿Ablabios men hysteron tēs en Nikaią tōn Nauatianōn Ekklēsias episkopos katestē, en tautǭ kai sophisteuōn en tautę̄.
When Sisinnius died, Chrysanthus was drawn into the bishopric. He was the son of Marcian, who had been bishop of the Novatians before Sisinnius. From his youth he had served in the palace; later, under the great emperor Theodosius, he became consular governor of Italy, and afterwards, appointed vicar of the British islands, he was admired for his administration. Advanced in age, he came to Constantinople, eager to become prefect of the city, but was drawn against his will into the bishopric. For since Sisinnius, at the time of his death, had mentioned him as suitable for the bishopric, the Novatian people took his word as law and tried to drag him by force against his will. When Chrysanthus fled, Sabbatius, thinking he had found a convenient moment to become master of the churches, arranged for some obscure men to lay hands on him, counting as nothing the oath he had sworn. Among those who ordained him was Hermogenes, whom he himself had proscribed with a curse for blasphemous writings. But his aim did not succeed. For the people, hating his perversity, because he did everything with the aim of slipping into the bishopric, did all they could to search for Chrysanthus; and finding him hiding in Bithynia, they dragged him to the bishopric and put him forward. This man was prudent and at the same time self-controlled, if anyone was; and he greatly strengthened and increased the Novatian churches in Constantinople. He was the first to distribute gold to the poor from his own means. He took nothing from the churches except that on Sundays he received two loaves of the blessed bread. He was so zealous for his own church that he took Ablabius, a most excellent orator, a pupil of the sophist Troilus, and advanced him to the order of presbyter; polished and vigorous discourses of his are in circulation. Ablabius later became bishop of the Novatian church in Nicaea, while also teaching rhetoric there.
Notes and citation
Summary: The former official Chrysanthus is forced to become Novatian bishop of Constantinople despite Sabbatius's attempt to seize the see; he gives to the poor from his own means and ordains the orator Ablabius.
- In the scan text the words 'to advance to the order of presbyter; whose polished' have been displaced into the description of Chrysanthus's career; they are translated in the sentence about Ablabius, where they belong.
Topics: Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.12 (PG 67:757–759; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-12
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-7-12) · 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.
7.13PG 67:759–765
Ὑπὸ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον χρόνον, καὶ τὸ Ἰουδαίων ἔθνος τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ἐξελαθῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Κυρέἔλλου συνέδη, δι᾽ αἰτίαν τοιάνδε" Ὃ ᾿Αλεξανδρέων δῆμος, πλέον τῶν ἄλλων δήμων, χαίρει ταῖς στάσεσιν εἰ δέ ποτε καὶ προφάσεως ἐπιλάδηται, εἰς ἀφόρητα χαταστρέφει κακά. Δίχα γὰρ αἵματος, οὐ παύεται τῆς ὁρμῆς. δὲ τότε στασιάζειν αὐτὸ τὸ πλῆθος πρὸς ἑαυτὸ, οὐ δι᾽ ἀναγκαίαν τινὰ πρόφασιν, ἀλλὰ διὸ τὸ ἐπιπολάζον ἁπάσαις πόλεσι κακὸν, φημὶ δὴ τὸ σπουδάζειν περὶ τοὺς στάς. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ Σαδθάτου ὀρχούμενος, πλείονας ὄχλους συνήθροιζε, τῷ Ἰουδαίους ἀργοῦντας ἐν αὐτῇ, μὴ τῇ ἀκροάσει: τοῦ νόμου, ἀλλὰ τοῖς θεατριχοῖς σχολάζειν, ἐπέμαχος τοῖς τοῦ δήμου μέρεσιν ἡ ἡμέρα κατέστη. Καὶ τοῦτο τρόπον τινὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ ὑπάρχου τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ἐν τάξει καταστάντος, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἔμειναν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, τοῖς τοῦ ἑτέρου μέρους ἀντιπαθοῦντες ἀεὶ μὲν πολέμιοι πανταχοῦ τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς: καθεστῶτες, ἔτι δὲ πλέον διὰ τοὺς ὀρχηστὰς ἐχπεπολέμωντο καθ᾽ ἑχυτῶν. δὴ τότε ᾿Ὀρέστου τοῦ τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδροείας ἐπάρχου πολιτείαν ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ ποιοῦντος, οὕτω δὲ μάξειν εἰώθασιν τὰς δημοτιχὰς διατυπώσεις, πα ρήῇσαν τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Κυρίλλου οἱ σπουδασταὶ, τὰς γινομένας παρὰ τοῦ ἐπάρχου διατυπώσεις γνῶναι βουλόμενοι, δὲ ἐν αὐτοῖς τις ἀνὴρ ὀνόματι Ἱέραξ, ὃς γραμμάτων μὲν τῶν πεζῶν διδάσκαλος ἦν" διάπυρος δὲ ἀχρηατὴς τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Κυρίλλου χαῦεστὼς, περὶ τὸ κρότους ἐν ταῖς διδασκαλία:ς αὐτοῦ ἐγείρειν ἣν σπουδαιότατος. Τοῦτον τοίνυν τὸν Ἱέρακα τὸ πλῆθος τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ θεασάμενοι, κατεβόων εὐθὺς, ὡς οὐ δι᾽ οὐδὲν ἄλλο παρα- ἢ βάλλει τῷ θεάτρῳ, ἣ ἵνα στάσιν τῷ δήμῳ ἐμθάλλοι. [συ πολιτείαν ᾿Ορέστης δὲ καὶ πρότερον μὲν ἐμίσει τὴν δυναστείαν τῶν ἐπισκόπων, ὅτι παρῃροῦντο πολὺ τῆς ἐξουσίας τῶν ἐκ βασιλέως ἄρχειν τεταγμένων. Μάλιστα δὲ ὅτι καὶ ἐποπτεύειν αὐτοῦ τὰς διατυπώσεις Κύριλλος ἐβούλετο. ᾿Αρπάσας οὖν τὸν Ἱέρακα δημοσίᾳ ἐν τῷ θεάτρῳ βασάνοις ἐπέβαλλε. Τοῦτο γνοὺς ὁ Κύριλλος, μεταπέμπεται τοὺς Ἰουδαίων πρωτεύοντας, καὶ ὅσα εἰκὸς, εἰ μὴ παύσαιντο κατὰ Χριστιανῶν στασιάζοντες, διηπείλησε. Τὸ δὲ πλῆθος τῶν Ἰουδαίων τῆς ἀπειλῆς αἰσθόμενον, φιλονεικότερον γέγονε · καὶ μηχανὰς ἐπενόουν ἐπὶ βλάβῃ τῶν Χριστιανῶν, ὧν τὴν κορυφαιοτάτην καὶ αἰτίαν τοῦ ἐξελαθῆναι αὐτοὺς τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρείας γενομένην, διηγήσομαι. Σύνθεμα δόντες ἑαυτοῖς ·, δακτυλίου φόρεμα ἐκ φοίνικος γεγονός ο φλοκοῦ θαλλοῦ, νυκτομαχίαν κατὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν γῆναι ὑπὸ τοῦ πλήθους ἀφείς. Οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἰουδαῖοι, ἐπενόησαν. Καὶ ἐν μιᾷ τῶν νυκτῶν, κηρύσσειν κατὰ τὰ κλίματα τῆς πόλεως τινὰς παρεσκεύασαν βοῶντας, ὡς ἡ ἐπώνυμος ᾿Αλεξάνδρου ἐκκλησία πυρὶ καίοιτο. Τοῦτο ἀκούσαντες Χριστιανοὶ, ἄλλος άλλαχόθεν συνέτρεχεν, ὡς τὴν ἐκκλησίαν περισώσοντες. Οἱ τε Ἰουδαῖοι εὐθὺς ἐπετίθεντο, καὶ ἀπέσφαττον, ἀλλήλων μὲν ἀπεχόμενοι, δεικνύντες τοὺς δακτυλίους· τοὺς δὲ προσπίπτοντας τῶν Χριστιανῶν ἀναιροῦντες. Γενομένης δὲ ἡμέρας, οὐκ ἐλάνθανον οἱ τὸ ἄγος ἐργασάμενοι. Ἐφ᾽ ᾧ κινηθεὶς ὁ Κύριλλος, σὺν πολλῷ πλήθει ἐπὶ τὰς συναγωγὰς τῶν Ἰουδαίων παραγενόμενος, οὕτω γὰρ τοὺς εὐκτηρίους αὐτῶν ὀνομάζουσι τόπους, τὰς μὲν ἀφαιρεῖται, τοὺς δὲ ἐξελαύνει τῆς πόλεως, καὶ τὰς οὐσίας αὐτῶν διαρπαἐκ τῶν ᾿Αλεξάνδρου τοῦ Μακεδόνος χρόνων οἰκήσαντες τὴν πόλιν, τότε αὐτῆς γυμνοὶ ἅπαντες ἀπανέστησαν, καὶ ἄλλοι ἀλλαχοῦ διεσπάρησαν. ᾿Αδαμάντιος δὲ, ἰατρικῶν λόγων σοφιστὴς, ἐπὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πόλιν ὁρμήσας, καὶ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ προσφυγὼν ᾿Αττικῷ, ἐπαγγειλάμενός τε χριστιανίζειν, αὖθις ὑστέρῳ χρόνῳ τὴν ᾿Αλεξάνδρειαν ᾤκησεν. Ὁ τοίνυν τῆς ᾿Αλεξανδρέων ἔπαρχος Ορέστης, σφόδρα ἐπὶ τῷ γενομένῳ ἐχαλέπηνε · καὶ πένθος μέγα ἐτίθετο, τηλικαύτην πόλιν οὕτως ἄρδην τοσούτων ἐκκενωθῆναι ἀνθρώπων. Διὸ καὶ τὰ γενόμενα ἀνέφερε βασιλεῖ. Κύριλλος δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τὰς Ἰουδαίων πλημμελείας γνωρίμους καθιστῶν βασιλεῖ, οὐδὲν ἦττον καὶ περὶ φιλίας πρὸς Ὀρέστην ἐπρεσβεύετο. Τοῦτο γὰρ ὁ λαὸς τῶν ᾿Αλεξανδρέων αὐτὸν ποιεῖν κατηνάγκαζεν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τοὺς περὶ φιλίας λόγους Ορέστης οὐ προσεδέχετο, τὴν βίβλον τῶν Εὐαγγελίων ὁ Κύριλλος προΐσχετο, διὰ ταύτης γοῦν καταιδέσειν τὸν Ορέστην ἡγούμενος. Ὡς δὲ οὐδὲ τούτῳ τῷ τρόπῳ ὁ Ὀρέστης ἐμαλάσσετο, ἀλλ᾽ ἔμενε μεταξὺ αὐτῶν ἄσπονδος πόλεμος, τάδε ἐπισυνέβη γενέσθαι.
Hypo de ton auton touton chronon, kai to Ioudaiōn ethnos tēs ᾿Alexandreias exelathēnai hypo tou episkopou Kyreellou synedē, di᾽ aitian toiande" Ho ᾿Alexandreōn dēmos, pleon tōn allōn dēmōn, chairei tais stasesin ei de pote kai prophaseōs epiladētai, eis aphorēta chatastrephei kaka. Dicha gar haimatos, ou pauetai tēs hormēs. de tote stasiazein auto to plēthos pros heauto, ou di᾽ anankaian tina prophasin, alla dio to epipolazon hapasais polesi kakon, phēmi dē to spoudazein peri tous stas. Epeidē gar en hēmerą Sadthatou orchoumenos, pleionas ochlous synēthroize, tǭ Ioudaious argountas en autę̄, mē tę̄ akroasei: tou nomou, alla tois theatrichois scholazein, epemachos tois tou dēmou meresin hē hēmera katestē. Kai touto tropon tina hypo tou hyparchou tēs ᾿Alexandreias en taxei katastantos, ouden hētton emeinan hoi Ioudaioi, tois tou heterou merous antipathountes aei men polemioi pantachou tois Christianois: kathestōtes, eti de pleon dia tous orchēstas echpepolemōnto kath᾽ hechytōn. dē tote ᾿Orestou tou tēs ᾿Alexandroeias eparchou politeian en tǭ theatrǭ poiountos, houtō de maxein eiōthasin tas dēmotichas diatypōseis, pa rēę̄san tou episkopou Kyrillou hoi spoudastai, tas ginomenas para tou eparchou diatypōseis gnōnai boulomenoi, de en autois tis anēr onomati Hierax, hos grammatōn men tōn pezōn didaskalos ēn" diapyros de achrēatēs tou episkopou Kyrillou chauestōs, peri to krotous en tais didaskalia:s autou egeirein hēn spoudaiotatos. Touton toinyn ton Hieraka to plēthos tōn Ioudaiōn en tǭ theatrǭ theasamenoi, kateboōn euthys, hōs ou di᾽ ouden allo para- ē ballei tǭ theatrǭ, hē hina stasin tǭ dēmǭ emthalloi. [sy politeian ᾿Orestēs de kai proteron men emisei tēn dynasteian tōn episkopōn, hoti parę̄rounto poly tēs exousias tōn ek basileōs archein tetagmenōn. Malista de hoti kai epopteuein autou tas diatypōseis Kyrillos ebouleto. ᾿Arpasas oun ton Hieraka dēmosią en tǭ theatrǭ basanois epeballe. Touto gnous ho Kyrillos, metapempetai tous Ioudaiōn prōteuontas, kai hosa eikos, ei mē pausainto kata Christianōn stasiazontes, diēpeilēse. To de plēthos tōn Ioudaiōn tēs apeilēs aisthomenon, philoneikoteron gegone ; kai mēchanas epenooun epi blabę̄ tōn Christianōn, hōn tēn koryphaiotatēn kai aitian tou exelathēnai autous tēs ᾿Alexandreias genomenēn, diēgēsomai. Synthema dontes heautois ;, daktyliou phorema ek phoinikos gegonos o phlokou thallou, nyktomachian kata tōn Christianōn gēnai hypo tou plēthous apheis. Hoi men oun Ioudaioi, epenoēsan. Kai en mią tōn nyktōn, kēryssein kata ta klimata tēs poleōs tinas pareskeuasan boōntas, hōs hē epōnymos ᾿Alexandrou ekklēsia pyri kaioito. Touto akousantes Christianoi, allos allachothen synetrechen, hōs tēn ekklēsian perisōsontes. Hoi te Ioudaioi euthys epetithento, kai apesphatton, allēlōn men apechomenoi, deiknyntes tous daktylious; tous de prospiptontas tōn Christianōn anairountes. Genomenēs de hēmeras, ouk elanthanon hoi to agos ergasamenoi. Eph᾽ hǭ kinētheis ho Kyrillos, syn pollǭ plēthei epi tas synagōgas tōn Ioudaiōn paragenomenos, houtō gar tous euktērious autōn onomazousi topous, tas men aphaireitai, tous de exelaunei tēs poleōs, kai tas ousias autōn diarpaek tōn ᾿Alexandrou tou Makedonos chronōn oikēsantes tēn polin, tote autēs gymnoi hapantes apanestēsan, kai alloi allachou diesparēsan. ᾿Adamantios de, iatrikōn logōn sophistēs, epi tēn Kōnstantinou polin hormēsas, kai tǭ episkopǭ prosphygōn ᾿Attikǭ, epangeilamenos te christianizein, authis hysterǭ chronǭ tēn ᾿Alexandreian ǭkēsen. Ho toinyn tēs ᾿Alexandreōn eparchos Orestēs, sphodra epi tǭ genomenǭ echalepēne ; kai penthos mega etitheto, tēlikautēn polin houtōs ardēn tosoutōn ekkenōthēnai anthrōpōn. Dio kai ta genomena anephere basilei. Kyrillos de kai autos tas Ioudaiōn plēmmeleias gnōrimous kathistōn basilei, ouden ētton kai peri philias pros Orestēn epresbeueto. Touto gar ho laos tōn ᾿Alexandreōn auton poiein katēnankazen. Epei de tous peri philias logous Orestēs ou prosedecheto, tēn biblon tōn Euangeliōn ho Kyrillos proïscheto, dia tautēs goun kataidesein ton Orestēn hēgoumenos. Hōs de oude toutǭ tǭ tropǭ ho Orestēs emalasseto, all᾽ emene metaxy autōn aspondos polemos, tade episynebē genesthai.
About this same time it also happened that the Jewish people were driven out of Alexandria by the bishop Cyril, for the following reason. The populace of the Alexandrians delights in riots more than other populaces; and if ever it gets hold of a pretext, it turns to intolerable evils, for it does not cease from its impulse without bloodshed. It happened then that the populace rioted among themselves, not for any necessary reason, but because of the evil that prevails in all cities, I mean partisanship over the dancers. For since the dance shows on the Sabbath day gathered greater crowds, because the Jews, idle on that day, gave their time not to hearing the law but to theatrical entertainments, the day became a cause of strife for the parties of the populace. Though this was in some measure brought to order by the prefect of Alexandria, the Jews nonetheless remained hostile to those of the other party; always enemies of the Christians everywhere, they were now still more embittered against them because of the dancers. When Orestes, the prefect of Alexandria, was holding a public session in the theatre, for that is how they are accustomed to publish popular regulations, the supporters of the bishop Cyril were present, wishing to learn the regulations being made by the prefect. Among them was a man named Hierax, a teacher of elementary letters, an ardent hearer of the bishop Cyril, and very zealous in raising applause at his sermons. When the crowd of the Jews saw this Hierax in the theatre, they at once cried out that he had come into the theatre for no other reason than to stir up the populace to riot. Orestes had already hated the domination of the bishops, because they took away much of the authority of those appointed by the emperor to govern, and above all because Cyril wished to oversee his regulations. So he seized Hierax and publicly subjected him to torture in the theatre. When Cyril learned this, he sent for the leading men of the Jews and threatened them with what one would expect, if they did not stop rioting against the Christians. The crowd of the Jews, aware of the threat, became more contentious, and devised plots to harm the Christians, of which I shall relate the chief, which became the cause of their being driven out of Alexandria. Giving themselves a signal, the wearing of a ring made of palm bark, they planned a night attack on the Christians. One night they arranged for some to cry out through the quarters of the city that the church named after Alexander was on fire. When the Christians heard this, they ran together from every side to save the church. The Jews at once fell upon them and slaughtered them, sparing one another by showing their rings, but killing the Christians who came their way. When day came, the authors of the crime were not hidden. Moved by this, Cyril came with a great crowd to the synagogues of the Jews, for so they call their places of prayer, took them away, drove the Jews out of the city, and let their property be plundered by the crowd. So the Jews, who had lived in the city since the times of Alexander of Macedon, then all left it stripped of everything, and were scattered, some here, some there. Adamantius, a teacher of medicine, set out for Constantinople, took refuge with the bishop Atticus, and, professing to become a Christian, later lived in Alexandria again. Orestes, the prefect of the Alexandrians, was very angry at what had happened and mourned greatly that so great a city had been so utterly emptied of so many people. So he reported the events to the emperor. Cyril too made the offences of the Jews known to the emperor, but nonetheless sent envoys to Orestes about friendship; for the people of the Alexandrians forced him to do this. When Orestes would not accept the proposals of friendship, Cyril held out the book of the Gospels, thinking to shame Orestes by it at least. When Orestes was not softened even in this way, and truceless war remained between them, the following happened.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rioting over theatre shows leads to Orestes' torture of Cyril's follower Hierax and a Jewish night attack on Christians, after which Cyril seizes the synagogues and drives the Jews out of Alexandria; Orestes and Cyril remain enemies.
- This chapter reports violence by and against the Jewish community of Alexandria (414–415). Socrates' statements about the Alexandrian Jews ('always enemies of the Christians') are his own and are translated as written; the expulsion of the whole community is reported by him alone, and its extent is doubted by historians.
- In the scan text the words 'to be plundered by the crowd, letting it. So the Jews' have been displaced into the sentence about the signal ring; they are translated where they belong.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray page numbers): Κύριλλος (1-2) προΐσχετο → Κύριλλος προΐσχετο.
Topics: Persecution, Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.13 (PG 67:759–765; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-13
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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.
7.14PG 67:765–767
Τῶν ἐν τοῖς ὅρεσι τῆς Νιτρίας μοναχῶν τινες, ἔνθερμον ἔχοντες φρόνημα ἀπὸ Θεοφίλου ἀρξάμενοι, ὅτε αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖνος κατὰ τῶν περὶ Διόσκορον ἀδίκως ἐξώπλισε, ζῆλόν τε τότε κτησάμενοι, προθύμως καὶ ὑπὲρ Κυρίλλου μάχεσθαι προῃροῦντο. Αφέμενοι οὖν τῶν μοναστηρίων ἄνδρες περὶ τοὺς πεντακοσίους, καὶ καταλαβόντες τὴν πόλιν, ἐπιτηροῦσιν ἐπὶ τοῦ ὀχήματος προϊόντα τὸν ἔπαρχον. Καὶ προσελθόντες ἀπεκάλουν θύτην καὶ Ἕλληνα, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ περιὑβριζον. Ὁ δὲ, ὑποτοπήσας σκευωρίαν αὐτῷ παρὰ Κυρίλλου γίνεσθαι, ἐβόα Χριστιανός τε εἶναι, καὶ ὑπὸ ᾿Αττικοῦ ἐπισκόπου ἐν τῇ Κωνσταντίνου πόλει βεβαπτίσθαι. Ὡς δὲ οὐ προσεῖχον τοῖς λεγομένοις οἱ μοναχοὶ, εἷς τις ἐξ αὐτῶν Ἀμμώνιος ὄνομα, λίθῳ βάλλει τὸν Ὀρέστην κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς · καὶ πληροῦται μὲν αἵματι ὅλος ἐκ τοῦ τραύματος· ὑποχωροῦσι δὲ οἱ ταξεῶται πλὴν ὀλίγων, ἄλλος ἀλλαχοῦ ἐν : τῷ πλήθει διαδύναντες, τὸν ἐκ τῆς βολῆς τῶν λίθων θάνατον φυλαττόμενοι. Ἐν τοσούτῳ δὲ συνέῤῥεον οἱ τῶν ᾿Αλεξανδρέων δῆμοι, ἀμύνασθαι τοὺς μοναχούς ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἐπάρχου προθυμούμενοι. Καὶ τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους πάντας εἰς φυγὴν ἔτρεψαν· τὸν ᾿Αμμώνιον δὲ συλλαβόντες, παρὰ τὸν ἔπαρχον ἄγουσιν. ὡς δημοσίᾳ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους ἐξετάσει αὐτὸν ὑπολαβὼν, ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἐβασάνισεν, ὡς ἀποκτεῖναι. Οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν δὲ καὶ τὰ γενόμενα γνώριμα τοῖς κρατοῦσι κατέστησεν. Οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ Κύριλλος τὰ ἐναντία ἐγνώριζε βασιλεῖ. Τοῦ δὲ Ἀμμωνίου τὸ σῶμα ἀναλαβὼν, καὶ ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἀποθέμενος, ὄνομα ἕτερον αὐτῷ ἐπιθεὶς, Θαυμάσιον ἐπεκάλεσε, καὶ μάρτυρα χρηματίζειν ἐκέλευσεν, ἐγκωμιάζων αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾿ ἐκκλησίας τὸ φρόνημα, ὡς ἀγῶνα ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἀνελομένου. Αλλ' οἱ σωφρονοῦντες, καίπερ Χριστια νοὶ ὄντες, οὐκ ἀπεδέχοντο τὴν περὶ τούτου Κυρίλλου σπουδήν. Ἠπίσταντο γὰρ, προπετείας δίκην δεδωκέναι τὸν ᾿Αμμώνιον, οὐ μὴν ἀνάγκῃ ἀρνήσεως Χριστοῦ ἐναποθανεῖν ταῖς βασάνοις. Διὸ καὶ Κύριλλος καταβραχὺ τῷ ἡσυχάζειν λήθην τοῦ γινομένου εἰργάσατο. ᾿Αλλ' οὐχ ἕως τούτου ἔστη τὸ δεινὸν τῆς μεταξύ Κυρίλλου καὶ Ὀρέστου φιλονεικίας. ᾿Απέσβεσε γὰρ αὐτὴν ἕτερόν τι ἐπισυμβάν, τοῖς φθάσασι παρα πλήσιον.
Tōn en tois horesi tēs Nitrias monachōn tines, enthermon echontes phronēma apo Theophilou arxamenoi, hote autous ekeinos kata tōn peri Dioskoron adikōs exōplise, zēlon te tote ktēsamenoi, prothymōs kai hyper Kyrillou machesthai proę̄rounto. Aphemenoi oun tōn monastēriōn andres peri tous pentakosious, kai katalabontes tēn polin, epitērousin epi tou ochēmatos proïonta ton eparchon. Kai proselthontes apekaloun thytēn kai Hellēna, kai alla polla periybrizon. Ho de, hypotopēsas skeuōrian autǭ para Kyrillou ginesthai, eboa Christianos te einai, kai hypo ᾿Attikou episkopou en tę̄ Kōnstantinou polei bebaptisthai. Hōs de ou proseichon tois legomenois hoi monachoi, heis tis ex autōn Ammōnios onoma, lithǭ ballei ton Orestēn kata tēs kephalēs ; kai plēroutai men haimati holos ek tou traumatos; hypochōrousi de hoi taxeōtai plēn oligōn, allos allachou en : tǭ plēthei diadynantes, ton ek tēs bolēs tōn lithōn thanaton phylattomenoi. En tosoutǭ de synerrheon hoi tōn ᾿Alexandreōn dēmoi, amynasthai tous monachous hyper tou eparchou prothymoumenoi. Kai tous men allous pantas eis phygēn etrepsan; ton ᾿Ammōnion de syllabontes, para ton eparchon agousin. hōs dēmosią kata tous nomous exetasei auton hypolabōn, epi tosouton ebasanisen, hōs apokteinai. Ouk eis makran de kai ta genomena gnōrima tois kratousi katestēsen. Ou mēn alla kai Kyrillos ta enantia egnōrize basilei. Tou de Ammōniou to sōma analabōn, kai en mią tōn ekklēsiōn apothemenos, onoma heteron autǭ epitheis, Thaumasion epekalese, kai martyra chrēmatizein ekeleusen, enkōmiazōn autou ep᾿ ekklēsias to phronēma, hōs agōna hyper eusebeias anelomenou. All' hoi sōphronountes, kaiper Christia noi ontes, ouk apedechonto tēn peri toutou Kyrillou spoudēn. Ēpistanto gar, propeteias dikēn dedōkenai ton ᾿Ammōnion, ou mēn anankę̄ arnēseōs Christou enapothanein tais basanois. Dio kai Kyrillos katabrachy tǭ hēsychazein lēthēn tou ginomenou eirgasato. ᾿All' ouch heōs toutou estē to deinon tēs metaxy Kyrillou kai Orestou philoneikias. ᾿Apesbese gar autēn heteron ti episymban, tois phthasasi para plēsion.
Some of the monks of the mountains of Nitria, who had had a hot temper since the time of Theophilus, when he unjustly armed them against Dioscorus and his brothers, and had then acquired zeal, were eager to fight for Cyril too. So about five hundred men left their monasteries, came into the city, and watched for the prefect as he went out in his carriage. Approaching him, they called him a sacrificer and a pagan and heaped many other insults on him. He, suspecting a plot from Cyril, cried out that he was a Christian and had been baptized by the bishop Atticus in Constantinople. But when the monks paid no heed to what he said, one of them, named Ammonius, struck Orestes on the head with a stone; and he was covered all over with blood from the wound. His officers, except a few, withdrew, slipping away into the crowd, some here, some there, guarding against death from the stoning. Meanwhile the populace of the Alexandrians ran together, eager to defend the prefect against the monks. They put all the others to flight; but seizing Ammonius they brought him to the prefect. He, taking him in hand publicly according to the laws, examined him under torture so severely that he killed him. Not long after he made known what had happened to the authorities; but Cyril too reported the contrary to the emperor. Taking up the body of Ammonius and laying it in one of the churches, Cyril gave him another name, called him Thaumasius, and ordered him to be styled a martyr, praising his spirit in church as one who had taken up a contest for piety. But the sober-minded, though they were Christians, did not approve Cyril's zeal in this; for they knew that Ammonius had paid the penalty for rashness and had not died under torture through being compelled to deny Christ. So Cyril, by keeping quiet, gradually brought about forgetfulness of what had happened. But the trouble of the rivalry between Cyril and Orestes did not stop there; it was quenched by another event, similar to those before.
Notes and citation
Summary: Nitrian monks attack the prefect Orestes, and one of them, Ammonius, who wounded him with a stone, dies under torture; Cyril's attempt to honour him as a martyr is rejected by sober Christians.
- Socrates' judgment on Cyril's conduct is his own and is translated as written.
Topics: Martyrdom, Church office
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.14 (PG 67:765–767; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-14
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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.
7.15PG 67:767–769
Ἦν τις γυνὴ ἐν τῇ ᾿Αλεξανδρείᾳ τοὔνομα Ὑπατία· αὕτη Θέωνος μὲν τοῦ φιλοσόφου θυγάτηρ ἦν. Ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δὲ προὔβη παιδείας, ὡς ὑπερακοντίσαι τοὺς κατ' αὐτὴν φιλοσόφους, τὴν δὲ Πλατωνικὴν ἀπὸ Πλωτίνου καταγομένην διατρι6ὴν διαδέξασθαι, καὶ πάντα τὰ φιλόσοφα μαθήματα τοῖς βουλομένοις ἐκτίθεσθαι. Διὸ καὶ οἱ πανταχόθεν φιλοσοφεῖν βουλόμενοι, κατέτρεχον παρ᾿ αὐτὴν. Διὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν αὐτῇ ἐκ τῆς παιδεύσεως σεμνὴν παῤῥησίαν, καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσι σωφρόνως εἰς πρόσωπον ἤρχετο· καὶ οὐκ ἦν τις αἰσχύνη, ἐν μέσῳ ἀνδρῶν παρεῖναι αὐτήν. Πάντες γὰρ, δι᾽ ὑπερβάλλουσαν σωφροσύνην, πλέον αὐτὴν ἠδοῦντο, καὶ κατεπλήττοντο. Κατὰ δὴ ταύτης τότε ὁ φθόνος ὡπλίσατο. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ συνετύγχανε συχνότερον τῷ Ὀρέστῃ, τοῦτ᾽ ἐκίνησε κατ' αὐτῆς παρὰ τῷ τῆς Ἐκ–κλησίας λαῷ, ὡς ἄρα εἴη αὕτη ἡ μὴ συγχωροῦσα τὸν Ὀρέστην εἰς φιλίαν τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ συμβῆναι. Καὶ δὴ συμφωνήσαντες ἄνδρες τὸ φρόνημα ἔνθερμοι, ὧν ἡγεῖτο Πέτρος τις ἀναγνώστης, ἐπιτηροῦσι τὴν ἄνθρωπον ἐπανιοῦσαν ἐπὶ οἰκίαν ποθέν· καὶ ἐκ τοῦ δίφρου ἐκβαλόντες, ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ᾗ ἐπώνυμον Καισάριον συνέλκουσιν· ἀποδύσαντές τε τὴν ἐσθῆτα, ὀστράκοις ἀνεῖλον. Καὶ μεληδὸν διασπάσαντες, ἐπὶ τὸν καλούμενον Κιναρῶνα τὰ μέλη συνάραντες, πυρὶ κατηνάλωσαν. Τοῦτο οὐ μικρὸν μῶμον Κυρίλλῳ καὶ τῇ ᾿Αλεξανδρέων Ἐκκλησίᾳ εἰργάσατο. ᾿Αλλότριον γὰρ παντελῶς τῶν φρονούντων τὰ Χριστοῦ, φόνοι καὶ μάχαι, καὶ τὰ τούτοις παραπλήσια. Καὶ ταῦτα πέπρακται τῷ τετάρτῳ ἔτει τῆς Κυρίλλου ἐπισκοπῆς, ἐν ὑπατείᾳ Ὁνωρίου τὸ δέκατον, καὶ Θεοδοσίου τὸ ἕκτον, ἐν μηνὶ Μαρτίῳ, νηστειῶν οὐσῶν.
Ēn tis gynē en tę̄ ᾿Alexandreią tounoma Hypatia; hautē Theōnos men tou philosophou thygatēr ēn. Epi tosouton de proubē paideias, hōs hyperakontisai tous kat' autēn philosophous, tēn de Platōnikēn apo Plōtinou katagomenēn diatri6ēn diadexasthai, kai panta ta philosopha mathēmata tois boulomenois ektithesthai. Dio kai hoi pantachothen philosophein boulomenoi, katetrechon par᾿ autēn. Dia tēn prosousan autę̄ ek tēs paideuseōs semnēn parrhēsian, kai tois archousi sōphronōs eis prosōpon ērcheto; kai ouk ēn tis aischynē, en mesǭ andrōn pareinai autēn. Pantes gar, di᾽ hyperballousan sōphrosynēn, pleon autēn ēdounto, kai kateplēttonto. Kata dē tautēs tote ho phthonos hōplisato. Epei gar synetynchane sychnoteron tǭ Orestę̄, tout᾽ ekinēse kat' autēs para tǭ tēs Ek–klēsias laǭ, hōs ara eiē hautē hē mē synchōrousa ton Orestēn eis philian tǭ episkopǭ symbēnai. Kai dē symphōnēsantes andres to phronēma enthermoi, hōn hēgeito Petros tis anagnōstēs, epitērousi tēn anthrōpon epaniousan epi oikian pothen; kai ek tou diphrou ekbalontes, epi tēn ekklēsian hę̄ epōnymon Kaisarion synelkousin; apodysantes te tēn esthēta, ostrakois aneilon. Kai melēdon diaspasantes, epi ton kaloumenon Kinarōna ta melē synarantes, pyri katēnalōsan. Touto ou mikron mōmon Kyrillǭ kai tę̄ ᾿Alexandreōn Ekklēsią eirgasato. ᾿Allotrion gar pantelōs tōn phronountōn ta Christou, phonoi kai machai, kai ta toutois paraplēsia. Kai tauta pepraktai tǭ tetartǭ etei tēs Kyrillou episkopēs, en hypateią Honōriou to dekaton, kai Theodosiou to hekton, en mēni Martiǭ, nēsteiōn ousōn.
There was a woman in Alexandria named Hypatia. She was the daughter of Theon the philosopher. She advanced so far in learning that she surpassed the philosophers of her time, succeeded to the Platonic school derived from Plotinus, and expounded all the philosophical sciences to those who wished. So those who wished to study philosophy ran to her from every quarter. Because of the dignified freedom of speech that her learning gave her, she came modestly into the presence of the rulers too; and it was no shame for her to be present among men, for all, because of her exceeding modesty, respected her the more and were awed by her. Against her, then, envy armed itself. Since she met rather often with Orestes, this stirred up talk against her among the people of the church, that it was she who would not allow Orestes to be reconciled with the bishop. So some men of hot temper, agreeing together, led by a certain Peter, a reader, watched for the woman as she was returning home from somewhere; they threw her out of her carriage and dragged her to the church called the Caesareum; they stripped off her clothing and killed her with potsherds. Having torn her limb from limb, they carried the limbs to the place called Cinaron and burned them with fire. This brought no small reproach on Cyril and on the church of the Alexandrians; for murders and fights and things like these are utterly alien to those who think the things of Christ. This was done in the fourth year of Cyril's episcopate, in the consulship of Honorius for the tenth time and Theodosius for the sixth, in the month of March, during the fast.
Notes and citation
Summary: The philosopher Hypatia, suspected of hindering reconciliation between Orestes and Cyril, is murdered by a mob led by the reader Peter; Socrates condemns the deed as alien to Christ.
- Hypatia was killed in March 415 (the consulship of Honorius for the tenth time and Theodosius for the sixth), during Lent. Socrates' account is the earliest; he condemns the killing and says it brought reproach on Cyril and the Alexandrian church, but does not say that Cyril ordered it.
- 'Potsherds' (ostraka) may also mean roof tiles or shells.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter): Ὑπατία ἱ· → Ὑπατία·; ἔτει ὅ τῆς → ἔτει τῆς.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.15 (PG 67:767–769; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-15
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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.
7.16PG 67:769–771
Ὀλίγον δὲ μετὰ τόνδε τὸν χρόνον, Ἰουδαῖοι πάλιν ἄτοπα κατὰ Χριστιανῶν πράξαντες, δίκην δεδώκασιν. Ἐν Ἰνμεστάρ, οὕτω καλουμένῳ τόπῳ, ἐς κεῖται μεταξύ Χαλκίδος καὶ ᾿Αντιοχείας τῆς ἐν Συρίᾳ, δαῖοι συνήθως ἑαυτοῖς παίγνια ἐπετέλουν τινὰ· καὶ πολλὰ ἐν τῷ παίζειν ἄλογα ποιοῦντες, ὑπὸ μέθης ἐξαχθέντες, Χριστιανούς τε καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν Χριστὸν ἐν τοῖς παιγνίοις διέσυρον· γελῶντές τε τὸν σταυρὸν, καὶ τοὺς ἐπηλπικότας ἐπὶ τῷ ἐσταυρωμένῳ, καὶ τοιοῦτόν τι ἐπενόησαν. Παιδίον χριστιανὸν συλλαβόμενοι, σταυρῷ προσδήσαντες ἀπεκρέμασαν. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν καταγελῶντες καὶ χλευάζοντες διετέλουν · μετ' οὐ πολὺ δὲ καὶ τῶν φρενῶν ἐκστάντες, τὸ παιδίον ἠκίσαντο, ὥστε καὶ ἀνελεῖν. Ἐπὶ τούτῳ χαλεπή μὲν συμπληγὰς μεταξὺ αὐτῶν τε καὶ Χριστιανῶν ἐγίνετο. Γνώριμον δὲ τοῦτο τοῖς κρατοῦσι καταστὰν, ἐπεστάλη τοῖς κατὰ τὴν ἐπαρχίαν ἄρχουσιν, ἀναζητῆσαι τοὺς αἰτίους καὶ τιμωρήσασθαι. Καὶ οὕτως οἱ ἐκεῖ Ἰουδαῖοι δίκην ἔδοσαν, ὧν παίζοντες ἐκακούργησαν.
Oligon de meta tonde ton chronon, Ioudaioi palin atopa kata Christianōn praxantes, dikēn dedōkasin. En Inmestar, houtō kaloumenǭ topǭ, es keitai metaxy Chalkidos kai ᾿Antiocheias tēs en Syrią, daioi synēthōs heautois paignia epeteloun tina; kai polla en tǭ paizein aloga poiountes, hypo methēs exachthentes, Christianous te kai auton ton Christon en tois paigniois diesyron; gelōntes te ton stauron, kai tous epēlpikotas epi tǭ estaurōmenǭ, kai toiouton ti epenoēsan. Paidion christianon syllabomenoi, staurǭ prosdēsantes apekremasan. Kai prōton men katagelōntes kai chleuazontes dieteloun ; met' ou poly de kai tōn phrenōn ekstantes, to paidion ēkisanto, hōste kai anelein. Epi toutǭ chalepē men symplēgas metaxy autōn te kai Christianōn egineto. Gnōrimon de touto tois kratousi katastan, epestalē tois kata tēn eparchian archousin, anazētēsai tous aitious kai timōrēsasthai. Kai houtōs hoi ekei Ioudaioi dikēn edosan, hōn paizontes ekakourgēsan.
A little after this time, Jews again did outrageous things against Christians and paid the penalty. At a place called Inmestar, which lies between Chalcis and Antioch in Syria, the Jews were holding certain games among themselves, as was their custom; and doing many senseless things in their play, carried away by drunkenness, they ridiculed Christians and Christ himself in their games, mocking the cross and those who have set their hope on the Crucified, and they devised something of this kind. They seized a Christian boy, tied him to a cross and hung him up. At first they kept laughing and jeering; but soon, out of their minds, they so mistreated the boy that they killed him. Over this a fierce clash took place between them and the Christians. When this became known to the authorities, orders were sent to the governors of the province to search out those responsible and punish them. So the Jews there paid the penalty for the crime they committed in play.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates reports that Jews at Inmestar in Syria, in a drunken game mocking Christ, crucified and killed a Christian boy and were punished by the authorities.
- Socrates is the only source for this incident; its circumstances cannot be checked, and modern historians treat the report with caution. It may be connected with the Purim custom of hanging an effigy of Haman, which a law of 408 (Theodosian Code 16.8.18) forbade Jews to burn in the form of a cross. The account is translated as written.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.16 (PG 67:769–771; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-16
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-socrates-historia-7-16) · 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.
7.17PG 67:771–773
Κατὰ δὲ τὸν χρόνον τόνδε, καὶ ὁ τῶν Ναυατιανῶν ἐπίσκοπος Χρύσανθος, ἐπὶ ἑπτὰ ἔτη τῶν ὑφ᾽ αὑτὸν Ἐκκλησιῶν προστὰς, ἐτελεύτησεν ἐν ὑπατείᾳ Μοναξίου καὶ Πλίνθα, ἕκτῃ καὶ εἰκάδι Αὐγούστου μηνός. Διεδέξατο δὲ τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν Παῦλος · ὃς πρότερον μὲν λόγων Ῥωμαϊκῶν διδάσκαλος ἦν· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα, πολλὰ χαίρειν τῇ Ῥωμαϊκῇ φράσας φωνῇ, ἐπὶ τὸν ἀσκητικὸν ἐτράπη βίον · καὶ συστησάμενος ἀνδρῶν σπουδαίων μοναστήριον, οὐκ ἀλλοιότερον τῶν ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ μοναχῶν διετέλει. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐγὼ κατέλαβον ὄντα, οἷους ὁ Εὐάγριος φησὶ δεῖν εἶναι τοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἐρήμοις διατρίβοντας μοναχούς. Πάντα γὰρ ἐκείνους μιμούμενος διετέλει, τὴν συνεχῆ νηστείαν, τὸ ὀλίγα φθέγγεσθαι, τὴν ἀποχὴν τῶν ἐμψύχων· ταπολλὰ δὲ καὶ οἶνου καὶ ἐλαίου ἀπείχετο. Ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ περὶ τοὺς πτωχοὺς σπου δαῖος, εἰ καί τις ἄλλος, ἐγένετο· τοὺς ἐν φυλακαῖς ἀόκνως ἐπεσκέπτετο. Ὑπὲρ πολλῶν δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄρχοντας παρεκάλει, οἳ καὶ ἑτοίμως ὑπήκουον, διὰ τὴν προσοῦσαν εὐλάβειαν τῷ ἀνδρί. Καὶ τί με δεῖ μηκύνειν τὰ κατ᾿ αὐτόν; Ἔρχομαι γὰρ λέξων πρᾶγμα ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ γενόμενον, ἄξιον τοῦ ἐν γραφῆς παραδοθῆναι μνήμῃ. Ἰουδαῖός τις ἀπατεών χριστιανίζειν ὑποκρινόμενος, πολλάκις ἐβαπτίζετο, καὶ διὰ ταύτης τῆς τέχνης, χρήματα συνελέγετο. Ὡς δὲ πολλὰς αἱρέσεις τῇ τέχνῃ ἡπάτησε · καὶ γὰρ ᾿Αρειανῶν καὶ Μακεδονιανῶν ἐδέξατο βάπτισμα · μηκέτι ἔχων οὓς ἀπατήσειεν, τέλος ἥκει καὶ πρὸς τὸν Ναυατιανῶν ἐπίσκοπον Παῦλον· καὶ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἐπιθυμεῖν εἰπὼν, διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ χειρὸς παρεκάλει τούτου τυχεῖν. Ὁ δὲ ἀποδέχεται μὲν αὐτοῦ τὴν προαίρεσιν · οὐ πρότερον δὲ ἔφη δώσειν τὸ βάπτισμα, εἰ μὴ κατηχηθείη τὸν περὶ τῆς πίστεως λόγον, μετὰ τοῦ νηστείαις σχολάται ἡμέρας πολλάς. Ὁ οὖν Ἰου δαῖος παρὰ γνώμην νηστεύειν ἀναγκαζόμενος, σπουδαιότερον ἐνέκειτο, βαπτισθῆναι παρακαλῶν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ Παῦλος ἐπικείμενον λυπεῖν οὐκ ἔτι ἐβούλετο τῇ παρολκῇ, εὐτρεπίζει τὰ πρὸς τὸ βάπτισμα. Ἐσθῆτά τε αὐτῷ λαμπρὰν ὠνησάμενος, καὶ τὴν κολυμβήθραν τοῦ βαπτιστηρίου πληρωθῆναι κελεύσας, ἦγεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν τὸν Ἰουδαῖον, ὡς βαπτίσων αὐτόν. Θεοῦ δέ τις ἀόρατος δύναμις ἀφανὲς τὸ ὕδωρ κατέστησεν. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὅ τε ἐπίσκοπος καὶ οἱ παρόντες οὐδὲν ὑπολογησάμενοι οἷον ἐγένετο, ὑπέλαβον ἐκρεῦσαι τὸ ὕδωρ διὰ τοῦ ὑποκειμένου πόρου, ὅθεν καὶ εἰώθασιν αὐτὸ ἐκπέμπειν, πάλιν ἐπλήρουν τὴν κολυμβήθραν ἀκριβῶς, πανταχόθεν τὰς ἐκροίας αὐτῆς ἀσφαλισάμενοι. Αὖθις δὲ προσαγομένου αὐτῇ τοῦ Ἰουδαίου, αὖθις ἀφανὲ; τὸ ὕδωρ ἐγένετο. Τότε δὴ ὁ Παῦλος, Ἢ κακουργεῖς, ἔφη, ὦ ἄνθρωπε, ἢ ἀγνοῶν ἤδη τοῦ βαπτίσματος ἔτυχες. Συνδρομῆς οὖν ἐπὶ τῷ τεραστίῳ γενομένης, ἐπέγνω τις τὸν Ἰουδαῖον, ὃς ᾔδει αὐτὸν ὑπὸ Ἀττικοῦ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου βεβαπτισμένον. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν τὸ τεράστιον ἐν ταῖς χερσὶ τοῦ ἐπισκόπου τῶν Ναυατιανῶν Παύλου ἐγένετο.
Kata de ton chronon tonde, kai ho tōn Nauatianōn episkopos Chrysanthos, epi hepta etē tōn hyph᾽ hauton Ekklēsiōn prostas, eteleutēsen en hypateią Monaxiou kai Plintha, hektę̄ kai eikadi Augoustou mēnos. Diedexato de tēn episkopēn Paulos ; hos proteron men logōn Rhōmaïkōn didaskalos ēn; meta de tauta, polla chairein tę̄ Rhōmaïkę̄ phrasas phōnę̄, epi ton askētikon etrapē bion ; kai systēsamenos andrōn spoudaiōn monastērion, ouk alloioteron tōn en tę̄ erēmǭ monachōn dietelei. Toiouton gar auton egō katelabon onta, hoious ho Euagrios phēsi dein einai tous en tais erēmois diatribontas monachous. Panta gar ekeinous mimoumenos dietelei, tēn synechē nēsteian, to oliga phthengesthai, tēn apochēn tōn empsychōn; tapolla de kai oinou kai elaiou apeicheto. Alla mēn kai peri tous ptōchous spou daios, ei kai tis allos, egeneto; tous en phylakais aoknōs epeskepteto. Hyper pollōn de kai tous archontas parekalei, hoi kai hetoimōs hypēkouon, dia tēn prosousan eulabeian tǭ andri. Kai ti me dei mēkynein ta kat᾿ auton? Erchomai gar lexōn pragma en tais chersin autou genomenon, axion tou en graphēs paradothēnai mnēmę̄. Ioudaios tis apateōn christianizein hypokrinomenos, pollakis ebaptizeto, kai dia tautēs tēs technēs, chrēmata synelegeto. Hōs de pollas haireseis tę̄ technę̄ hēpatēse ; kai gar ᾿Areianōn kai Makedonianōn edexato baptisma ; mēketi echōn hous apatēseien, telos hēkei kai pros ton Nauatianōn episkopon Paulon; kai tou baptismatos epithymein eipōn, dia tēs autou cheiros parekalei toutou tychein. Ho de apodechetai men autou tēn proairesin ; ou proteron de ephē dōsein to baptisma, ei mē katēchētheiē ton peri tēs pisteōs logon, meta tou nēsteiais scholatai hēmeras pollas. Ho oun Iou daios para gnōmēn nēsteuein anankazomenos, spoudaioteron enekeito, baptisthēnai parakalōn. Epei de ho Paulos epikeimenon lypein ouk eti ebouleto tę̄ parolkę̄, eutrepizei ta pros to baptisma. Esthēta te autǭ lampran ōnēsamenos, kai tēn kolymbēthran tou baptistēriou plērōthēnai keleusas, ēgen ep᾿ autēn ton Ioudaion, hōs baptisōn auton. Theou de tis aoratos dynamis aphanes to hydōr katestēsen. Epei de ho te episkopos kai hoi parontes ouden hypologēsamenoi hoion egeneto, hypelabon ekreusai to hydōr dia tou hypokeimenou porou, hothen kai eiōthasin auto ekpempein, palin eplēroun tēn kolymbēthran akribōs, pantachothen tas ekroias autēs asphalisamenoi. Authis de prosagomenou autę̄ tou Ioudaiou, authis aphane? to hydōr egeneto. Tote dē ho Paulos, Ē kakourgeis, ephē, ō anthrōpe, ē agnoōn ēdē tou baptismatos etyches. Syndromēs oun epi tǭ terastiǭ genomenēs, epegnō tis ton Ioudaion, hos ę̄dei auton hypo Attikou tou episkopou bebaptismenon. Touto men oun to terastion en tais chersi tou episkopou tōn Nauatianōn Paulou egeneto.
At this time Chrysanthus too, the bishop of the Novatians, having presided over the churches under him for seven years, died in the consulship of Monaxius and Plintha, on the twenty-sixth of August. Paul succeeded to the bishopric. He had formerly been a teacher of Latin letters; afterwards, bidding a long farewell to the Latin language, he turned to the ascetic life, and founding a monastery of earnest men, he lived no differently from the monks in the desert. For I found him to be such as Evagrius says the monks living in the deserts ought to be: he imitated them in everything, continual fasting, speaking little, abstaining from living creatures, and for the most part abstaining also from wine and oil. He was also zealous for the poor if anyone was, and tirelessly visited those in prison. He interceded with the governors on behalf of many, and they readily listened because of the man's piety. But why should I lengthen the account of him? I come to relate a thing done by his hands that deserves to be handed down to memory in writing. A certain Jewish impostor, pretending to become a Christian, was often baptized, and by this trick he collected money. When he had deceived many sects by this trick, for he had received baptism from the Arians and the Macedonians, having no one left to deceive, he came at last to Paul, the bishop of the Novatians, and saying that he desired baptism, he begged to receive it by his hand. Paul approved his purpose, but said he would not give him baptism until he had been instructed in the teaching of the faith and had given himself to fasting for many days. The Jew, forced against his will to fast, pressed the more earnestly, begging to be baptized. Since Paul no longer wished to grieve him by delay when he was so insistent, he prepared what was needed for baptism. Buying him a splendid garment and ordering the font of the baptistery to be filled, he led the Jew to it to baptize him. But an invisible power of God made the water vanish. Since the bishop and those present, not reckoning what had happened, supposed that the water had run out through the drain beneath, through which they usually let it out, they filled the font again carefully, stopping its outlets on every side. When the Jew was brought to it again, again the water vanished. Then Paul said, 'Either you are a villain, man, or you have unknowingly been baptized already.' When a crowd gathered at the wonder, someone recognized the Jew and knew that he had been baptized by Atticus the bishop. This wonder, then, happened at the hands of Paul, the bishop of the Novatians.
Notes and citation
Summary: The ascetic Novatian bishop Paul tries to baptize a Jewish impostor who had been baptized many times for money, and the water of the font twice vanishes.
- The consulship of Monaxius and Plintha is 419.
- Socrates' account of the impostor is a miracle story about the Novatian bishop Paul; it is translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.17 (PG 67:771–773; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-17
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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.
7.18PG 67:773–777
Τοῦ δὴ βασιλέως Περσῶν Ἰσδιγέρδου, ὃς τοὺς ἐκεῖ Χριστιανοὺς οὐδαμῶς ἐδίωκεί, τελευτήσαντος, ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ Βαραράνης ὄνομα, τὴν βασιλείαν διαδεξάμενος, καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν μάγων ἀναπεισθεὶς, χαλεπῶς τοὺς Χριστιανοὺς ἤλαυνε, τιμωρίας καὶ στρέβλας περσικὰς διαφόρους ἐπάγων αὐτοῖς. Πιεζόμενοι οὖν ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης οἱ ἐν Πέρσαις Χριστιανοὶ, προσφεύγουσι Ῥωμαίοις, δεόμενοι μὴ παρορᾶν αὐτοὺς φθειρομένους. ᾿Αττικὸς μὲν ὁ ἐπίσκοπος, ἀσμένως τοὺς ἱκετεύοντας προσδέχεται. Παντοῖος δὲ ἦν, ὅσον δυνατὸν ἐπαμύνειν αὐτοῖς, γνώριμά τε τῷ βασιλεῖ Θεοδοσίῳ καθιστᾷ τὰ γενόμενα. Ἔτυχε δὲ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν, καὶ ἄλλης ἕνεκα αἰτίας λυπεῖσθαι Ῥωμαίους πρὸς Πέρσας· ἐπειδὴ Πέρσαι, οὓς παρὰ Ῥωμαίων χρυσορύκτας ἐπὶ μισθῷ λαβόντες ἔσχον, ἀποδοῦναι οὐκ ἤθελον· καὶ ὅτι τὰ φορτία τῶν ἐμπόρων Ῥωμαίων ἀφείλοντο. Συλλαμβάνεται οὖν ἐκείνῃ τῇ λύπῃ καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐκεῖ Χριστιανῶν πρὸς Ῥωμαίους καταφυγή. Εὐθὺς γὰρ ὁ Πέρσης πρεσβείας ἔπεμπε, τοὺς φυγάδας ἐξαιτούμενος. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ οὐδαμῶς προεξέδοσαν τοὺς προσφεύγοντας αὐτοῖς, οὐ μόνον ὡς ἱκέτας σώζειν ἐθέλοντες, ἀλλὰ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοῦ Χριστιανισμοῦ πάντα ποιεῖν προθυμούμενοι. Διὸ καὶ πολεμεῖν μᾶλλον Πέρσαις ἡροῦντο, ἢ περιορᾶν ἀπολλυμένους Χριστιανούς. Λυθεισῶν οὖν διατοῦτο τῶγ σπονδῶν, πόλεμος συνεκροτήθη δεινὸς, περὶ οὗ μικρὰ ἐπιδραμεῖν, οὐκ ἄκαιρον εἶναι ἡγοῦμαι. Φθάσας ὁ Ῥωμαίων βασιλεὺς ἀποστέλλει μερικὴν δύναμιν, ἧς ἦρχεν ὁ στρατηγός ᾿Αρδαβούριος· ὅε διὰ τῆς ᾿Αρμενίων χώρας ἐμβαλὼν τῇ Περσίδι, μίαν αὐτῆς τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν ᾿Αζαζηνὴν καλουμένην ἐπόρθει. ᾿Απήντα δὲ αὐτῷ Ναρσαῖος στρατηγὸς τοῦ Περσῶν βασιλέως, σὺν δυνάμει Περσικῇ. Συμβαλὼν δὲ καὶ ἡττηθεὶς, φυγῇ ἀνεχώρησεν· ἔγνω τε λυσιτελεῖν, διὰ Μεσοποταμίας εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων χώραν ἀφύλακτον οὖσαν, ἀπροόπτως ἐμβαλεῖν, καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον ἀμύνασθαι Ῥωμαίους. Οὐ μὴν τὸν Ῥωμαίων στρατη γὸν ἡ βουλὴ Ναρσαίου διέλαθε. Λαφυραγωγήσας οὖν ᾗ τάχος τὴν ᾿Αζαζηνὴν, ἐπὶ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπορεύθη. Διόπερ ὁ Ναρσαῖος καὶ αὐτὸς πολλὴν παρασκευάσας δύναμιν, ὅμως οὐκ ἴσχυσεν εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐμβαλεῖν. Καταλαβὼν δὲ τὴν Νίσιβιν, πόλις δὲ αὕτη μεθόριος, Πέρσαις ἀνήκουσα, ἐκ ταύτης τῷ ᾿Αρδαβουρίῳ ἐδήλου, κατὰ συνθήκας ποιεἴσθαι τὸν πόλεμον, ὁρίσαι τε τόπον καὶ ἡμέραν τῇ συμβολῇ. Ὁ δὲ τοῖς ἐλθοῦσιν, ᾿Απαγγείλατε, ἔφη, Ναρσαίῳ· Οὐχ ὅτε σὺ θέλεις, πολεμήσουσι Ῥωμαίων βασιλεῖς. Πάσῃ δὲ δυνάμει παρασκευάσασθαι τὸν Πέρσην ἐννοῶν ὁ βασιλεὺς, Θεῷ τὴν ὅλην τοῦ πολέμου ἀναθεὶς ἐλπίδα, μεγίστην προσεξαπέστειλε δύνα( μιν. Ὅτι δὲ πιστεύσας ὁ βασιλεὺς εὐθὺς εὔρετο τὴν παρ' αὐτοῦ εὐεργεσίαν, ἐκεῖθεν γέγονε δῆλον. Τῶν ἐν Κωνσταντίνου πόλει ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ ὄντων, καὶ ἐν ἀμφιβολίᾳ τῆς ἐκ τοῦ πολέμου τύχης καθεστώτων, ἄγγελοι Θεοῦ περὶ τὴν Βιθυνίαν τοῖς ἐπὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πόλιν κατ' οἰκείαν χρείαν πορευομένοις ὀφθέντες, ἀπαγγέλλειν ἐκέλευον, θαῤῥεῖν τε καὶ εὔχεσθαι, καὶ πιστεύειν Θεῷ ὡς Ῥωμαῖοι νικήσουσιν. Αὐτοὶ γὰρ βραβευταὶ τοῦ πολέμου πεπέμφθαι παρὰ Θεοῦ ἔφασκον. Τοῦτο ἀκουσθὲν, οὐ μόνον τὴν πόλιν ἐπέρῥωσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας θαρσαλεωτέρους εἰργάσατο. Ἐπεὶ οὖν, ὡς ἔφην, ἐπὶ τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν ἐκ τῆς ᾿Αρμενίων χώρας ὁ πόλεμος μετήνεκτο, οἱ 'Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς ἐν τῇ Νισιβηνῶν πόλει κατάκλεισθέντας Πέρσας ἐπολιόρκουν· πύργους τε ξυλίνους συμπήξαντες, ἐκ μηχανῆς τινος βαδίζοντας προσῆγον τείχεσι, καὶ πολλοὺς τειχομαχοῦντας τῶν ἀμύνασθαι σπευδόντων ἀνήρουν. Βαραράνης δὲ ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς, πυθόμενος καὶ τὴν ὑπ᾿ αὐτῷ ᾿Αζαζηνῶν χώραν πεπορθῆσθαι, καὶ πολιορκεῖσθαι τοὺς συγκλεισθέντας ἐν τῇ Νισιβηνῶν πόλει, πάσῃ μὲν δυνάμει δι᾽ ἑαυτοῦ ἀπαντᾶν παρεσκευάζετο. Καταπλαγεὶς δὲ τὴν Ῥωμαίων δύναμιν, Σαρακηνοὺς ἐκάλεσε πρὸς βοήθειαν, ὧν ἦρχεν ᾿Αλαμούνδαρος, ἀνὴρ γενναῖος καὶ πολεμικός · ὅστις πολλὰς μυριάδας τῶν Σαρακηνῶν ἐπαγόμενος, θαῤῥεῖν ἔλεγε τῷ Περσῶν βασιλεῖ. Οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν δὲ αὐτῷ Ῥωμαίους τε παραστήσασθαι ἐπηγγέλλετο, καὶ τὴν ἐν Συρίᾳ παραδώσειν ᾿Αντιόχειαν. Οὐ μὴν τέλος αὐτῷ τὰ τῆς ἐπαγγελίας διεδέξατο. Θεὸς γὰρ τοῖς Σαρακηνοῖς ἄλογον φόβον ἐνέβαλε. Καὶ νομίσαντες ἐπιέναι αὐτοῖς Ῥωμαίων δύναμιν, ἐν θορύβῳ γενόμενοι, οὐκ ἔχοντες ὅποι φύγωσιν, εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν Εὐφράτην ἔνοπλοι ἔῤῥιπτον ἑαυτοὺς, εἰς ὃν περὶ τὰς δέκα μυριάδας ἀνδρῶν πνιγόμενοι διεφθάρησαν. Τοῦτο μὲν οὖν, τοιοῦτο. Οἱ δὲ τὴν Νίσιβιν πολιορκοῦντες Ῥωμαῖοι, πυθόμενοι ὡς ὁ βασιλεὺς Περσῶν πλῆθος ἐλεφάντων ἐπάγοιτο, περιδεεῖς γενόμενοι, πάσας τὰς τῆς πολιορκίας μηχανὰς ἐμπρήσαντες, εἰς τοὺς οἰκείους ἐπεχώρησαν τόπους. Ὅσαι μὲν οὖν συμβολαὶ μεταταῦτα γεγόνασι, καὶ ὅπως Ἁρεόβινδος ἕτερος τῶν Ῥωμαίων στρατηγός, τὸν γενναιότατον τῶν Περσῶν μονομαχήσας ἀπέκτεινεν, ἢ ὅπως ᾿Αρδαβούριος τοὺς ἑπτὰ γενναίους στρατηγοὺς τῶν Περσῶν ἐνεδρεύσας ἀνεῖλεν, ἢ τίνα τρόπον Βιτιανὸς ἄλλος Ῥωμαίων στρατηγός, τοὺς ὑπολειφθέντας τῶν Σαρακηνῶν κατηγωνίσατο, παραλιπεῖν μοι δοκῶ, ἵνα μὴ πολὺ τοῦ προκειμένου παρεκβαίνειν δοκῶ.
Tou dē basileōs Persōn Isdigerdou, hos tous ekei Christianous oudamōs ediōkei, teleutēsantos, ho huios autou Bararanēs onoma, tēn basileian diadexamenos, kai hypo tōn magōn anapeistheis, chalepōs tous Christianous ēlaune, timōrias kai streblas persikas diaphorous epagōn autois. Piezomenoi oun hypo tēs anankēs hoi en Persais Christianoi, prospheugousi Rhōmaiois, deomenoi mē paroran autous phtheiromenous. ᾿Attikos men ho episkopos, asmenōs tous hiketeuontas prosdechetai. Pantoios de ēn, hoson dynaton epamynein autois, gnōrima te tǭ basilei Theodosiǭ kathistą ta genomena. Etyche de kata touton ton kairon, kai allēs heneka aitias lypeisthai Rhōmaious pros Persas; epeidē Persai, hous para Rhōmaiōn chrysoryktas epi misthǭ labontes eschon, apodounai ouk ēthelon; kai hoti ta phortia tōn emporōn Rhōmaiōn apheilonto. Syllambanetai oun ekeinę̄ tę̄ lypę̄ kai hē tōn ekei Christianōn pros Rhōmaious kataphygē. Euthys gar ho Persēs presbeias epempe, tous phygadas exaitoumenos. Rhōmaioi de oudamōs proexedosan tous prospheugontas autois, ou monon hōs hiketas sōzein ethelontes, alla gar hyper tou Christianismou panta poiein prothymoumenoi. Dio kai polemein mallon Persais hērounto, ē perioran apollymenous Christianous. Lytheisōn oun diatouto tōg spondōn, polemos synekrotēthē deinos, peri hou mikra epidramein, ouk akairon einai hēgoumai. Phthasas ho Rhōmaiōn basileus apostellei merikēn dynamin, hēs ērchen ho stratēgos ᾿Ardabourios; hoe dia tēs ᾿Armeniōn chōras embalōn tę̄ Persidi, mian autēs tōn eparchiōn ᾿Azazēnēn kaloumenēn eporthei. ᾿Apēnta de autǭ Narsaios stratēgos tou Persōn basileōs, syn dynamei Persikę̄. Symbalōn de kai hēttētheis, phygę̄ anechōrēsen; egnō te lysitelein, dia Mesopotamias eis tēn Rhōmaiōn chōran aphylakton ousan, aprooptōs embalein, kai touton ton tropon amynasthai Rhōmaious. Ou mēn ton Rhōmaiōn stratē gon hē boulē Narsaiou dielathe. Laphyragōgēsas oun hę̄ tachos tēn ᾿Azazēnēn, epi tēn Mesopotamian kai autos eporeuthē. Dioper ho Narsaios kai autos pollēn paraskeuasas dynamin, homōs ouk ischysen eis tēn Rhōmaiōn embalein. Katalabōn de tēn Nisibin, polis de hautē methorios, Persais anēkousa, ek tautēs tǭ ᾿Ardabouriǭ edēlou, kata synthēkas poieisthai ton polemon, horisai te topon kai hēmeran tę̄ symbolę̄. Ho de tois elthousin, ᾿Apangeilate, ephē, Narsaiǭ; Ouch hote sy theleis, polemēsousi Rhōmaiōn basileis. Pasę̄ de dynamei paraskeuasasthai ton Persēn ennoōn ho basileus, Theǭ tēn holēn tou polemou anatheis elpida, megistēn prosexapesteile dyna( min. Hoti de pisteusas ho basileus euthys eureto tēn par' autou euergesian, ekeithen gegone dēlon. Tōn en Kōnstantinou polei en agōnią ontōn, kai en amphibolią tēs ek tou polemou tychēs kathestōtōn, angeloi Theou peri tēn Bithynian tois epi tēn Kōnstantinou polin kat' oikeian chreian poreuomenois ophthentes, apangellein ekeleuon, tharrhein te kai euchesthai, kai pisteuein Theǭ hōs Rhōmaioi nikēsousin. Autoi gar brabeutai tou polemou pepemphthai para Theou ephaskon. Touto akousthen, ou monon tēn polin eperrhōsen, alla kai tous stratiōtas tharsaleōterous eirgasato. Epei oun, hōs ephēn, epi tēn Mesopotamian ek tēs ᾿Armeniōn chōras ho polemos metēnekto, hoi 'Rhōmaioi tous en tę̄ Nisibēnōn polei katakleisthentas Persas epoliorkoun; pyrgous te xylinous sympēxantes, ek mēchanēs tinos badizontas prosēgon teichesi, kai pollous teichomachountas tōn amynasthai speudontōn anēroun. Bararanēs de ho Persōn basileus, pythomenos kai tēn hyp᾿ autǭ ᾿Azazēnōn chōran peporthēsthai, kai poliorkeisthai tous synkleisthentas en tę̄ Nisibēnōn polei, pasę̄ men dynamei di᾽ heautou apantan pareskeuazeto. Kataplageis de tēn Rhōmaiōn dynamin, Sarakēnous ekalese pros boētheian, hōn ērchen ᾿Alamoundaros, anēr gennaios kai polemikos ; hostis pollas myriadas tōn Sarakēnōn epagomenos, tharrhein elege tǭ Persōn basilei. Ouk eis makran de autǭ Rhōmaious te parastēsasthai epēngelleto, kai tēn en Syrią paradōsein ᾿Antiocheian. Ou mēn telos autǭ ta tēs epangelias diedexato. Theos gar tois Sarakēnois alogon phobon enebale. Kai nomisantes epienai autois Rhōmaiōn dynamin, en thorybǭ genomenoi, ouk echontes hopoi phygōsin, eis ton potamon Euphratēn enoploi errhipton heautous, eis hon peri tas deka myriadas andrōn pnigomenoi diephtharēsan. Touto men oun, toiouto. Hoi de tēn Nisibin poliorkountes Rhōmaioi, pythomenoi hōs ho basileus Persōn plēthos elephantōn epagoito, perideeis genomenoi, pasas tas tēs poliorkias mēchanas emprēsantes, eis tous oikeious epechōrēsan topous. Hosai men oun symbolai metatauta gegonasi, kai hopōs Hareobindos heteros tōn Rhōmaiōn stratēgos, ton gennaiotaton tōn Persōn monomachēsas apekteinen, ē hopōs ᾿Ardabourios tous hepta gennaious stratēgous tōn Persōn enedreusas aneilen, ē tina tropon Bitianos allos Rhōmaiōn stratēgos, tous hypoleiphthentas tōn Sarakēnōn katēgōnisato, paralipein moi dokō, hina mē poly tou prokeimenou parekbainein dokō.
When Isdigerdes, the king of the Persians, who did not persecute the Christians there at all, died, his son, named Varanes, succeeded to the kingdom; and persuaded by the magi, he harshly persecuted the Christians, inflicting various Persian punishments and tortures on them. So the Christians in Persia, pressed by necessity, fled for refuge to the Romans, begging them not to overlook their destruction. Atticus the bishop gladly received the suppliants; he did everything possible to help them and made the events known to the emperor Theodosius. It happened at this time that the Romans were aggrieved with the Persians for another reason too: the Persians would not give back the gold-miners whom they had taken on hire from the Romans, and they had seized the cargoes of Roman merchants. To that grievance was added the flight of the Christians there to the Romans. For the Persian king at once sent embassies demanding the fugitives. But the Romans would by no means give up those who fled to them, not only wishing to save them as suppliants, but being eager to do everything for Christianity. So they chose rather to make war on the Persians than to look on while Christians perished. The treaty was therefore broken and a terrible war was joined, about which I think it not out of place to say a little. The emperor of the Romans first sent a partial force under the general Ardaburius, who invaded Persia through Armenia and ravaged one of its provinces called Azazene. Narsaeus, general of the king of the Persians, met him with a Persian force; he engaged, was defeated and withdrew in flight; and he judged it advantageous to invade unexpectedly through Mesopotamia into Roman territory, which was unguarded, and so take revenge on the Romans. But Narsaeus's plan did not escape the Roman general. Having plundered Azazene with all speed, he too marched into Mesopotamia. So Narsaeus, though he had prepared a great force, was unable to invade Roman territory. Reaching Nisibis, a frontier city belonging to the Persians, he sent word from there to Ardaburius to conduct the war by agreement and to fix a place and day for battle. He said to those who came, 'Tell Narsaeus: the emperors of the Romans will not fight when you wish.' The emperor, perceiving that the Persian was preparing with his whole force, and placing his whole hope of the war in God, sent a very great force besides. That the emperor, having believed, at once found God's kindness was made plain by this. While those in Constantinople were in anxiety and uncertain about the outcome of the war, angels of God appeared in Bithynia to some travelling to Constantinople on their own business and told them to announce that they should take courage and pray and trust God that the Romans would conquer; for they said they had been sent by God as umpires of the war. When this was heard, it not only strengthened the city but also made the soldiers bolder. So, since the war, as I said, had moved from Armenia into Mesopotamia, the Romans besieged the Persians shut up in the city of Nisibis; constructing wooden towers, they brought them up to the walls on rollers by some contrivance, and killed many of those who tried to defend the walls. Varanes, the king of the Persians, learning that the country of Azazene under him had been ravaged and that those shut up in Nisibis were being besieged, prepared to meet them himself with his whole force. But, terrified of the Roman power, he called the Saracens to his help, led by Alamundarus, a brave and warlike man, who, bringing many tens of thousands of Saracens, told the Persian king to take courage, and promised that before long he would subdue the Romans for him and hand over Antioch in Syria. But his promise had no fulfilment. For God threw a senseless fear into the Saracens; thinking that a Roman force was attacking them, and thrown into confusion, having nowhere to flee, they threw themselves in their armour into the river Euphrates, in which about a hundred thousand men were drowned and perished. So much for that. The Romans besieging Nisibis, learning that the king of the Persians was bringing a multitude of elephants, were terrified, burned all their siege engines and withdrew to their own territory. What engagements took place after this, and how Areobindus, another Roman general, killed the bravest of the Persians in single combat, or how Ardaburius ambushed and killed the seven brave generals of the Persians, or in what way Vitianus, another Roman general, overcame the remaining Saracens, I think best to pass over, so as not to seem to stray far from my subject.
Notes and citation
Summary: When Bahram V persecutes the Persian Christians and they flee to Roman territory, Theodosius II goes to war; angels encourage the Romans and a panic drowns Persia's Saracen allies in the Euphrates.
- The war with Persia was fought in 421–422.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray footnote numeral; stray letter): δεινὸς κ, → δεινὸς,; βασιλεὺς 1 ἀποστέλλει → βασιλεὺς ἀποστέλλει.
Topics: Persecution, Prayer
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.18 (PG 67:773–777; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-18
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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.
7.19PG 67:777–779
Τὰ μέντοι γενόμενα, ταχέως τῷ βασιλεῖ Θεοδοσίῳ ἐγνωρίζετο. Ὅπως δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς τὰ πόῤῥω γινόμενα ταχέως ἐμάνθανε, διηγήσομαι. Ηὐτύχησεν ἀνδρὸς γενναίου ψυχήν τε καὶ σῶμα· ὄνομα ἦν αὐτῷ Παλλάδιος. Οὗτος τοσοῦτον ἱππεύων ἤλαυνεν, ὡς ἐν τρισὶν ἡμέραις καταλαμβάνειν τοὺς τόπους τοὺς ὀρίζοντας τὴν χώραν Ῥωμαίων τε καὶ Περσῶν, καὶ αὖθις ἐν τοσαύταις ἐπὶ τὴν Κωνσταντίνου πόλιν παραγίνεσθαι. Διέβαινε δὲ οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ ταχύτατα καὶ κατὰ πάντα τὰ τῆς οἰκουμένης μέρη, ἔνθα αὐτὸν ὁ αὐτοκράτωρ ἀπέστελλε. Καί ποτε τῶν ἑλλογίμων τις περὶ αὐτοῦ τοιοῦτον λόγον ἐφθέγξατο • Οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ : μεγίστην οὖσαν τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἀρχὴν, μικρὰν ἔδειξε τῇ ταχυτῆτι. Κατεπλήττετο δὲ καὶ ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς, ταῦτα περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς πυνθανόμενος. Ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν δὴ Παλλαδίου τοσαῦτα εἰρήσθω.
Ta mentoi genomena, tacheōs tǭ basilei Theodosiǭ egnōrizeto. Hopōs de ho basileus ta porrhō ginomena tacheōs emanthane, diēgēsomai. Ēutychēsen andros gennaiou psychēn te kai sōma; onoma ēn autǭ Palladios. Houtos tosouton hippeuōn ēlaunen, hōs en trisin hēmerais katalambanein tous topous tous orizontas tēn chōran Rhōmaiōn te kai Persōn, kai authis en tosautais epi tēn Kōnstantinou polin paraginesthai. Diebaine de houtos ho anēr tachytata kai kata panta ta tēs oikoumenēs merē, entha auton ho autokratōr apestelle. Kai pote tōn hellogimōn tis peri autou toiouton logon ephthenxato • Houtos ho anēr : megistēn ousan tēn Rhōmaiōn archēn, mikran edeixe tę̄ tachytēti. Kateplētteto de kai ho Persōn basileus, tauta peri tou andros pynthanomenos. Alla peri men dē Palladiou tosauta eirēsthō.
What happened was quickly made known to the emperor Theodosius. How the emperor quickly learned of distant events I shall relate. He was fortunate in having a man strong in soul and body, named Palladius. He rode so fast that he reached the places on the frontier of the Romans and the Persians in three days, and came back to Constantinople in as many again. This man travelled very quickly to every part of the world wherever the emperor sent him. Once one of the learned said of him, 'This man has made the Roman empire, very great as it is, small by his speed.' The king of the Persians too was astonished when he learned these things about the man. But let this much be said about Palladius.
Notes and citation
Summary: The courier Palladius rides from Constantinople to the Persian frontier in three days.
Cite (SBL): Socrates, Hist. eccl. 7.19 (PG 67:777–779; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/socrates-historia/7-19
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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.