TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS FOR EUSEBIUS
From the letter of Constantine the Great to the Antiochenes, which Eusebius records in his *Life*, page 516.
For I confess that I have read through the Acts in which, from the honorable testimonies and praises of you all for Eusebius, the bishop of Caesarea—whom I also, by reason of his learning and modesty, have long known well—I have discovered that you are favorably disposed toward him and desire to claim him for yourselves. And a little later: For my part, I greatly praise that man whom you judge worthy of honor and benevolence. Yet the matter which should have remained valid and firm among individuals ought not to be so disregarded that the individuals themselves are not content with their own opinions, etc.
From the letter of the same Constantine to Eusebius, in which he praises him for having refused the Antiochene see, page 518.
I have read your letter often and have recognized the rule of ecclesiastical discipline most accurately observed by you. Indeed, to persist in that opinion which appears acceptable to God and in accordance with apostolic tradition is the mark of the highest piety. You yourself, for your part, ought to consider yourself blessed in this very thing, having been judged—with the testimony of almost the whole world—worthy of the episcopate of the universal Church. For since all desire you to be bishop among them, they increase this happiness of yours beyond controversy. But your prudence acted most rightly, which resolved to guard both the commands of God and the apostolic and ecclesiastical rule, rejecting the episcopate of the Church of Antioch and desiring rather to remain in the one which you had received by God's command from the beginning.
From the letter of the same Constantine to the Synod of Antioch, page 519.
I have read the letters written by your holiness, and I have praised the prudent resolve of your colleague, Eusebius. And since I have learned of all that has been done—partly from your letters and partly from the letters of those most perfect men, the counts Acacius and Strategius—and have weighed the matter accurately as was fitting, I have written to the people of Antioch concerning what is acceptable to God and consistent with the Church. I have ordered a copy of that letter to be appended to these present letters, so that you may be able to know what I, moved by the requirements of justice, have written to the people of Antioch: since it was contained in your letters that, in accordance with the suffrage and will of the people and your own prudence, the most holy Eusebius, bishop of the Caesareans, should preside over the Church of Antioch and undertake its care. And indeed, the letters of Eusebius seemed to adhere maximally to the ecclesiastical law, etc.
From the letter of the same Constantine to Eusebius, in which he praises his book *On the Pascha*, page 543.
For my part, I have admired your exceptional learning and the intensity of your study beyond measure, and I have read your book with pleasure: and, as you had hoped, I have ordered it to be made available for the hands and examination of many who sincerely profess the observance of the divine religion. Since, therefore, you understand with what pleasure I receive such gifts offered by your skill, take care that you exhilarate our soul with more frequent discourses in the future, of the kind in which you profess to have been nurtured.
From the letter of the same Constantine to Eusebius concerning the preparation of copies of the holy Scripture, page 543.
For it has seemed to signify your prudence that you should cause to be transcribed, on prepared parchment by skilled calligraphers most expert in the art of beautiful writing, fifty copies of the divine Scriptures, the provision and use of which you understand to be most necessary for the Church, which may be both easy to read and able to be carried about for all use.
From the letter of Eusebius of Nicomedia to Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, which Theodoret records in book one of his *Ecclesiastical History*, cap. 5.
Neither has the zeal of my lord Eusebius for the defense of the truth been consigned to silence, nor has your reticence on the same matter, my lord, been so consigned. For the report of both has reached us; and, as was to be expected, we have received joy for the sake of my lord Eusebius, but for yours, my lord, we have received sorrow.
From the book of Basil to Amphilochius, *On the Holy Spirit*, cap. 29.
But if to anyone the Palestinian Eusebius seems suitable on account of his knowledge of many things, and one to whom faith should be given, we show that he holds the same views in his *Questions on the Polygamy of the Ancients* (a).
(a) Eusebius mentions this book in book VIII of his *Preparation*, cap. 8.
TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS CONCERNING EUSEBIUS
A*From the book on the Questions of the Old and New Testament, which is published among the works of Augustine, cap. 125.* We remember reading in a certain booklet by Eusebius, a man otherwise excellent, that not even the Holy Spirit knows the mystery of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ; and I marvel that a man of such great learning should have inflicted this stain upon the Holy Spirit.
*From Epistle 65 of Jerome, to Pammachius and Oceanus.* Apollinarius writes most valiant books against Porphyry; Eusebius has beautifully woven the Ecclesiastical History. The one introduced half of the economy of Christ; the other is the most open propagator of the impiety of Arius.
*From the Apologetic of the same Jerome against Rufinus.* In six books, as I have said before, Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, once the standard-bearer of the Arian faction, wrote in defense of Origen, a most extensive and elaborate work: he approved with many testimonies that Origen was a Catholic like himself—that is, according to us, an Arian.
*From the same book.* For Eusebius himself, a lover and herald and companion of Pamphilus, wrote three most elegant books containing the Life of Pamphilus. In these, when he was proclaiming the rest with wonderful praises and exalting his humility to the heavens, he also added this in the third book, etc. And a little later in the same book: I have praised Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, in the arrangement of times, and in the description of the Holy Land; and translating these very booklets into Latin, I gave them to the men of my tongue. Am I therefore an Arian because Eusebius, who composed these books, is an Arian?
B*From Jerome’s Book II against Rufinus.* The most learned Eusebius (I said most learned, not Catholic, lest you, according to your habit, contrive a slander against me even in this) does nothing else throughout six volumes but show the origin of his own faith, that is, of the Arian perfidy.
*From the Prologue of Blessed Jerome’s book On Hebrew Places.* Eusebius, who obtained his surname from the blessed martyr Pamphilus, after ten books of Ecclesiastical History, after the Canons of chronology which we have published in the Latin tongue, after the vocabulary of various nations, which he explained as they were spoken once among the Hebrews and as they are spoken now; after a topography of the land of Judea and a description of the distinct lots of the tribes, and also a portrayal of Jerusalem itself and the temple therein with a very brief explanation, he labored at the end of this booklet to collect for us from Holy Scripture the names of almost all cities, mountains, rivers, villages, and diverse places: which either remain the same, or have been changed since, or are in some part corrupted. Hence we also, following the study of this admirable man, etc.
*From Blessed Jerome’s book On Ecclesiastical Writers.* Hippolytus, bishop of a certain Church (for I was not able to know the name of the city), wrote the calculation of the Pasch and canons of the times up to the first year of the Emperor Alexander, and discovered the cycle of sixteen years which the Greeks call *enneakaidekaeterida*; and he gave the occasion to Eusebius, who composed the cycle of nineteen years upon the same Pasch, that is, the *enneakaidekaeterida*.
*From the same book.* Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, most studious in the Divine Scriptures, and a most diligent peruser of the Divine Library with Pamphilus the martyr, published infinite volumes. Among which are these: twenty books of *Evangelical Demonstration*, fifteen books of *Evangelical Preparation*, five books of *Theophany*. Ten books of *Ecclesiastical History*. The history of the chronicles of all kinds, and their *Epitome*. On the *Discrepancy of the Gospels*. Ten books *On Isaiah*, and thirty books *Against Porphyry*, who was writing in Sicily at the same time, as some think; of which only twenty have reached me. One book *On Topics*; six books of *Apology for Origen*; three books *On the Life of Pamphilus*. Other booklets *On the Martyrs*. And most learned *Commentaries on the Psalms*. And many other things. He flourished especially under the Emperor Constantine and Constantius; and on account of his friendship with Pamphilus the martyr, he obtained his surname from him.
C*From the same book.* Eusebius, a Sardinian by nationality, and formerly a lector of the Roman city, bishop of Vercelli; on account of his confession of faith, he was relegated by the Emperor Constantius to Scythopolis and thence to Cappadocia; returning to the Church under the Emperor Julian, he published the *Commentaries on the Psalms* of Eusebius of Caesarea, which he had translated from Greek into Latin.
*The same Jerome in the Preface to his Commentaries on Daniel.* Against the prophet Daniel, Porphyry writes a twelfth book, not wishing it to have been composed by the one under whose name it is inscribed, etc.; to whom Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, answered most skillfully.
in three volumes, that is, the 18th, 19th, and 20th. Apollinarius also, in one large book, that is, the 26th, and before them, in part, Methodius.
*The same Jerome on chapter 24 of Matthew.* Regarding this passage, that is, the abomination of desolation which was spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, Porphyry blasphemed against us in the thirteenth volume of his work. To whom Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, responded in three volumes: the 18th, 19th, and 20th.
*The same in epistle 84, to Magnus.* Celsus and Porphyry wrote against us: to the former, Origen; to the latter, Methodius, Eusebius, and Apollinarius responded most forcefully. Of these, Origen wrote eight books: Methodius proceeded to ten thousand lines: Eusebius and Apollinarius composed twenty-five and thirty volumes respectively.
*The same in epistle 65, to Pammachius and Oceanus.* Who can be found more prudent, more learned, or more eloquent than Eusebius and Didymus, the defenders of Origen? The former of whom, in six volumes of his *Apology*, confirms that he held the same views as he did.
*The same Jerome in the Preface to his Commentaries on Isaiah.* Eusebius Pamphili also published fifteen volumes according to historical interpretation.
*The same in the Preface to the fifth book of his Commentaries on Isaiah.* Shall I undertake a work on which men of the greatest learning have labored? I speak of Origen and Eusebius Pamphili. The one wanders in the free spaces of allegory; and, by interpreting the names of individuals, he makes their genius the sacraments of the Church. The other, promising historical exposition in his title, sometimes forgets his purpose, and concedes to the views of Origen.
*The same in the fifth book of his Commentaries on Isaiah.* Eusebius of Caesarea, promising historical interpretation in his title, wanders into diverse meanings: when I read his books, I found something far different than what his index promised. For wherever history fails, he crosses over into allegory; and he joins things so separate that I marvel at his joining together iron and clay into one body by a new fabric of discourse.
*Item, Jerome on chapter 1 of Matthew.* On this matter, Africanus, the writer of chronography, and Eusebius of Caesarea in his books on the *Harmony of the Gospels*, have argued more fully.
*Rufinus in his epistle to Chromatius the bishop.* You enjoin me to translate into Latin the Ecclesiastical History which the most learned man, Eusebius of Caesarea, had written in the Greek language.
*Augustine in his book On Heresies, chap. 83.* When I had searched through the History of Eusebius, to which Rufinus added two books of subsequent times, which he himself translated into the Latin language, I did not find any heresy that I had not read among them; except for that which Eusebius places in the sixth book, recounting that it originated in Arabia. Therefore, these heretics, since he names no author for them, we may call Arabici, who said that souls die and perish with the bodies, and at the end of the world both rise again. But he says that these, through a debate with Origen who was present and addressing them, were most quickly corrected.
*Antipater, Bishop of Bostra, in the first book against the Apologetic of Eusebius of Caesarea in defense of Origen.*
For since that man (Eusebius, to wit) A was instructed in the knowledge of B many things, inasmuch as he investigated C and tracked down the books and lucubrations D of all the ancient writers, and expounded the opinions and sentiments of almost all the ancients: and furthermore left behind for posterity many monuments of his own genius, some of which are justly and deservedly commended by all: those who abuse this estimation of that man attempt to lead some into error; affirming, to wit, that Eusebius would never have undertaken to write these things unless he had most accurately known that all the ancients thought the same way. But as for me, that the man was a polymath, and that nothing at all of the more ancient writings escaped his knowledge, I concur and confess: for the royal A For since the man has become a polymath, having searched out and tracked down the books and writings of the ancients, and having set forth the opinions of all, or nearly all, and having left behind in his life most numerous writings, some of which are even worthy of all acceptance; using such an estimation of the man, they attempt to snatch away some, saying: Eusebius would not have chosen to look into this, had he not accurately known the opinions of the ancients which desired this. But I, that the man was a polymath, and that nothing of the earlier writings escaped his knowledge, I concur and confess; for the royal
aid and support being utilized, he was able to gather together with the greatest ease everything that existed anywhere.
From the first book of the excerpts of the Ecclesiastical History of Philostorgius.
Philostorgius indeed lauds Eusebius of Pamphilus, both for many other things and for his Ecclesiastical History. Nevertheless, he says that he slipped in those matters which pertain to religion: inasmuch as he supposed that God could not be known or comprehended. For this impious man commemorates this error of his. But he also affirms that other errors of this kind were committed by him. Moreover, he himself joins others in testifying that Eusebius extended his History up to the times of the children of Constantine the Great. A
Socrates in the first book of his Ecclesiastical History.
Eusebius of Pamphilus, having set forth the things done in the Church in ten books in all, brought his History to an end at the times of the Emperor Constantine, at which time the war waged by Diocletian against the Christians ceased. But the same man, writing the Life of Constantine, has made mention of the matters concerning Arius only in part, as he was more concerned, as is wont to be done in encomia, to weave together the praises of the emperor and a panegyrical oration than to commemorate the events accurately. B
The same Socrates in the same book, chapter 7, speaking of Sabinus, the bishop of the Macedonians, who had written a History of the Synods, speaks thus:
"And he indeed lauds Eusebius of Pamphilus as a witness most worthy of faith; he lauds also the emperor, as being able to decree the dogmas of the Christians; but he blames the faith set forth at Nicaea, as having been published by ignorant men who knew nothing; and him whom he calls a wise and truthful witness, his words he wittingly and willfully disregards." C
The same Socrates in book II, chapter 21.
"But since some have attempted to malign him too—I mean Eusebius of Pamphilus—as if he were an Arianizer in the writings he has published, I think it not inopportune to say a few things about him. For first of all, at the Nicene council, where it was decreed that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, he was both present and gave his consent. And in the third book which he wrote concerning the Life of Constantine, he speaks thus: 'The emperor incited all to concord, until he had rendered all concordant and unanimous in those matters about which they had previously dissented.' So that the faith of all prevailed in harmony at Nicaea. Since, therefore, Eusebius, in making mention of that council, says that all dissensions of minds had been lulled to sleep, and that all had conspired into one and the same opinion, what reason is there why some should imagine him to consent to the Arian dogma? D Even the Arians are deceived, who imagine that he supports their opinion. But perhaps someone will say that he appears to be an asserter of the Arian dogma, because in his books he is accustomed to say frequently, THROUGH CHRIST. To whom we answer this, that both in this manner of speaking and in others of like kind which designate the dispensation of the humanity of Jesus Christ, ecclesiastical writers have been accustomed to use (a), and before all these the Apostle Paul used these same expressions, who nevertheless was never considered a teacher of a perverse dogma. But since Arius dared to say that the Son of God is a creature just like the other things which were created by God, hear, if it please you, what was the opinion of Eusebius on this matter in the first book of his Ecclesiastical Theology (cap. 9, 10). 'The only-begotten,' he says, 'Son of God is himself alone and no other both preached and exists.' Whence deservedly might one find fault with
A those who did not hesitate to call him a creature, created from nothing just as the other creatures are. For how could he be the Son, how could he be the Only-begotten, if he has obtained the same nature as the rest of the creatures and is one from the number of created things, inasmuch as he came into being along with them from nothing? But the divine oracles do not speak of him in this way. Then, after a few words, he adds: 'Whoever, therefore, asserts that the Son of God was begotten from nothing and is a creature produced from non-existence, he does not notice that, while he indeed grants him the name of Son, in reality he denies that he is the Son. For he who is begotten from nothing cannot truly be the Son of God, just as neither can anything else that is begotten. But the true Son of God, inasmuch as he is begotten from Him as from a Father, is deservedly called the only-begotten and beloved of the Father. For the same reason, he is also God. For who else could be the offspring of God, than he who is in all things most like unto Him? An emperor indeed builds a city, but he does not beget it: but he is said to beget a son, not to build him. An artisan, however, is called the maker of that which has been fabricated, not the father. But of his own son, he is by no means called the maker. So also the supreme God of this universe is deservedly called the Father of His own Son, but the maker and creator of the world. But if it should happen to be found said in the Scriptures, "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works," we must look at the meaning itself of the words, which I shall explain a little later: and not, as Marcellus does, because of a single testimony, seek to overthrow the chief dogma of the Church.'
These and many other things were stated by Eusebius Pamphili in his book against Marcellus. And in the third book of the same work, teaching how this term *ktisma* is to be understood, he speaks as follows: 'These things being thus established, it follows that, just as those things which preceded it, so also these words: "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways for his works," were spoken concerning the same person. And if he says that he was created, it is not to be accepted as if he were saying that he had come into existence from non-existence to what he is, and was created from nothing like the other creatures, as some have wrongly supposed. But he says this, as one who subsists and pre-exists before the constitution of the whole world; and who has been appointed by his Father and Lord as Prince and Ruler of this universe: so much so that this word "created" is set in this place for "appointed." Certainly the apostle Peter clearly calls the princes and rulers who preside over men a "creature," with these words: "Be subject to every human creature for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as pre-eminent, or to governors as sent by him." Also the prophet when he says: "Prepare thyself, O Israel, to call upon thy God, for behold he that strengtheneth the thunder, and createth the Spirit, and declareth his Christ unto men," he did not receive this word "creating" in the sense of that which is made when it did not exist before. For God did not then create the Spirit, when he announced his Christ through it to all men. Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun. But the Spirit was indeed before and did subsist: but it was sent then when the apostles were gathered together, when a sound like thunder was made from heaven like a rushing mighty Spirit: and they were filled with the Holy Spirit. And thus they preached the Christ of God to men, according to the prophecy which says: "Behold he that strengtheneth the thunder and that createth the Spirit, and that declareth his Christ unto men." Where that word "creating" is used for "sending," or for "disposition" and "constituting." And thunder likewise signifies the preaching of the Gospel. David also when he says: "Create in me a clean heart, O God," did not say this as if he did not have a heart before: but he was praying that a pure mind might be perfected in himself. For the same reason it was said that "he might create the two into one new man," that is, that he might join them. But see if that of the same kind is not also: "Put on the new man which is created according to God." Also that: "If therefore any be in Christ a new creature"; and whatever others of this kind can be found by those who curiously examine the divinely inspired Scriptures. Do not wonder, therefore, if in this place, "The Lord created me the beginning of his ways," the word "created" is used figuratively for "appointed" and "ordained as ruler."'
These things Eusebius writes in his books against Marcellus. Which we have brought forward here because of those who try to accuse and traduced him in vain. For they cannot prove that Eusebius attributed a beginning of essence to the Son, even if he uses the vocabulary of the dispensation here and there in his books: especially since he was an imitator and admirer of the writings of Origen, in which they will find the Son always preached as begotten from the Father, whoever can attain with intelligence to the hidden doctrine of Origen. And let these things be said in passing, that I may answer the detractors of Eusebius.
Sozomenus in Book 1 of his Ecclesiastical History.
And it was indeed my intention A to trace this work from the very beginning of the Christian religion. But when I observed that other writers, I mean Clement and Hegesippus, most wise men, who followed close upon the times of the apostles, and in addition Africanus the historian, and Eusebius, surnamed Pamphili (a man most learned both in sacred letters and in the poets and other gentile writers), had themselves undertaken to write up to their own times, etc.
Ὡρμήθην δὲ τὸ ἀπαρχῆς ταύτην συγγράψαι τὴν πραγματείαν· λογισάμενος δὲ ὡς καὶ ἄλλοι ταύτης ἐπειράθησαν μέχρι τῶν κατ' αὐτοὺς χρόνων, Κλήμης τε καὶ Ἡγήσιππος, ἄνδρες σοφώτατοι, τῇ τῶν ἀποστόλων διαδοχῇ παρακολουθήσαντες, καὶ Ἀφρικανὸς ὁ συγγραφεύς, καὶ Εὐσέβιος ὁ ἐπίκλην Παμφίλου, ἀνὴρ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν καὶ τῶν παρ' Ἕλλησι ποιητῶν καὶ συγγραφέων πολυμαθέστατος ἵστωρ.
ἵστωρ.
TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS CONCERNING EUSEBIUS
*Victorius in the Paschal Canon.* Having therefore reviewed the histories of the ancients, namely those of the blessed Eusebius, bishop of the city of Caesarea in Palestine, a man most learned and erudite, his Chronicles and their prologue, and furthermore those things which were added to these same Chronicles by Jerome of holy memory.
*Jerome in his Epistle to Chromatius and Heliodorus, which is prefixed to the Martyrology inscribed with the name of B. Jerome.* It is certain that our Lord Jesus Christ receives every day the triumphs of His martyrs, whose passions we find recorded by the holy Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea. For it is read that when Constantine Augustus had entered Caesarea and told the aforementioned bishop that he should seek some favors that would benefit the Church of Caesarea, Eusebius replied that the Church, being enriched by its own resources, was under no necessity of seeking favors: yet that he had an immovable desire that whatever might have been done in the Roman republic against the holy ones of God by judges succeeding judges throughout the entire Roman world, should be sought out by diligent examination of public records; and that those who were the martyrs, from which judge and in which province or city, on what day or by what perseverance they obtained the palm of their passion, should be taken from those very archives and sent to Eusebius himself by royal command. Whence it happened that, becoming a suitable reporter, he both wove his Ecclesiastical History, and as a diligent historiographer declared the trophies of almost all the martyrs of all the Roman provinces. A
*Pope Gelasius in his Decree concerning Apocryphal Books.* Likewise the Chronicles of Eusebius of Caesarea, and the books of his same Ecclesiastical History, although he was lukewarm in the first book of his narrative, and later wrote a single book in praise and defense of the schismatic Origen, yet on account of the singular knowledge of matters which pertains to instruction, they are in no way to be rejected. B
*The same in his book On the Two Natures.* So that saying the same thing with one heart and one mouth, we may both believe what we have received from our forefathers, and by the Lord's gift deliver it to those who come after to be confessed, with whom the testimonies of the teachers of the Catholics reviewed below testify that the united faith remains, God being propitious. And a little later: Of Eusebius, bishop of Palestine, of the surname Pamphili, from the exposition of the seventh psalm, etc. Likewise from the same, from his Evangelical Preparation, book VII. C
*Pope Pelagius II in his third Epistle, to Elias of Aquileia and other bishops of Istria.* For what is worse among the heresiarchs than Origen, and among the historiographers what can be found more honorable than Eusebius? And who among us does not know with what great praises Eusebius extols Origen in his books? But because the holy Church weighs the hearts of her faithful followers more kindly than she sifts their words, and because the testimony of Eusebius could not absolve his personal opinion in matters of the heretics, neither, in turn, did it condemn Eusebius for the fault of the praised Origen. D
*Evagrius, book 1 of the History, ch. 1.* Eusebius Pamphili, a man as eloquent in other respects, so also in writing so powerful, that he can, if not perfectly make his readers Christians, yet so impel them that they might willingly embrace our faith.
*Gregory the Great in his epistle to Eulogius, bishop of Alexandria.* I have now become one of the number of those auditors whom your most holy beatitude studied to write to, that we ought to transmit the deeds of all the martyrs which were collected in the times of Constantine of pious memory by Eusebius of Caesarea. But I have known of these neither if they are collected, nor, if they are, before the writings of your beatitude. I give thanks, therefore, that, instructed by the writings of your most holy doctrine, I have begun to know what I did not know. For beyond those things which are contained in the same Eusebius's books *On the Deeds of the Holy Martyrs*, I have known nothing to exist in the archive of this our Church, nor in the libraries of the Roman city, except for a few things collected in the volume of a single codex.
*Gelasius Cyzicenus in the second book On the Council of Nicaea, ch. 1.* Let us hear what is said here by that most excellent plowman of the ecclesiastical field, that most studious lover of truth, Eusebius, distinguished by the surname of the most celebrated Pamphilus. Licinius indeed, he says, pursuing the same path of impiety as those former tyrants, deservedly fell into the same whirlpool of destruction as they, etc. A Thus far the writers of ecclesiastical history.
ANCIENT TESTIMONIES CONCERNING EUSEBIUS
Eusebius Pamphili, a most trustworthy man among the ancient ecclesiastical writers, having gathered and investigated the struggles of very many martyrs, and choosing and excerpting from those which had been written in a simple and rough style, left us an Ecclesiastical History accurately compiled in ten books in total, beginning from the advent of the Lord and proceeding to the times I mentioned, not without immense labor. For how could it have been otherwise for him, who undertook such great care so as to preserve for us the harmony of a collection of this kind? Nay, he brought to it, as I said, the greatest diligence and an incredible amount of labor. Furthermore, let no one think, from those things which are circulated about him, that this man ever conceded to the impiety of Arius; but let him be persuaded that if he ever uttered or wrote anything that even slightly smacked of the dogma of Arius, he did not utter or write it from that man's impious sense, but out of an uncurious and not very solicitous simplicity, as he himself more fully confirmed in the Apologetic book which he sent to all the orthodox bishops. A
Author of the Alexandrian Chronicle, pg. 582
Eusebius Pamphili, he too a most prudent writer, narrates in this manner: Since the Jews crucified Christ on the feast day, in turn they themselves perished on the same day. B
Nicephorus, in Book VI of his History, ch. 37
At that same time, we know that the divine Pamphilus flourished, a Christian philosopher by education and manner of life, and endowed with the dignity of the priesthood. His life and all his deeds, as well as the school of secular and divine philosophy which he established there, and moreover his constant confession in various persecutions, and his struggles and his glorious martyrdom for the name of Christ, Eusebius, his sister's son—who was so dear to him that he received from him his surname—has treated copiously in a special work; to whom we refer those who wish to know these things more accurately. That Eusebius, having mastered all disciplines, shone especially in the knowledge of the sacred letters, and he lived even unto the times of Constantius. And since he was most studious of the Christian profession and breathed an outstanding zeal for the honor of Christ, he embraced in fifteen books the Evangelical Preparation, and in ten others the Evangelical Demonstration. C And he was the first who set his hand to the present subject, and was the first to call these books Ecclesiastical History, and he completed it in ten books. There is also another volume of his, in which he digested a certain and accurate account of the times, and which he called the Canon. He also wrote five books on the Life of Constantine. He published also another [address] to the same, which he inscribed Triacontaetericus. To Stephen likewise [he addressed] another, concerning things in the holy Gospels which are called into doubt or dispute. But he also left other various writings which contribute much utility to the Church. D Yet, although he was such a man, in many things he nevertheless appears to have approved the sentiment of Arius, etc.
A Eusebius of Pamphilus, in writing the Ecclesiastical History, left out regarding each person those things which he spoke of in other compilations; for he brought into eleven books the sufferings of the martyrs and bishops and confessors who struggled in all the provinces, and not only that, but he also wrote down the accounts of the women and virgins who fought with masculine spirit for the sake of the Lord Christ. And he alone of the bishops, starting from the apostle Peter and continuing thereafter, expounded the sufferings in order. He also drew upon the high priesthood of those cities and apostolic sees, that is to say, of the great cities of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, for the sake of common benefit. Therefore, from the number of these, up to the present time, the aforementioned person wrote in the Greek tongue—the life of the blessed Sylvester, B however, he did not have the means to translate, etc.
TESTIMONIES OF THE ANCIENTS FOR EUSEBIUS. From the manuscript Acts of Pope Saint Sylvester.
Our historiographer Eusebius, bishop of the city of Caesarea in Palestine, when he was writing his Ecclesiastical History, omitted those things which are in other booklets, or which he remembers having related. For he caused twenty books, that is, two decades, to be compiled, containing the passions of almost all the martyrs, bishops, and confessors of the provinces, and of holy women and virgins. Then, following from the apostle Peter, he wrote down the names and deeds of all the bishops: and of those cities which are known to hold the citadel of the pontificate through the apostolic sees—the city of Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem, Ephesus, Alexandria—he wrote down in the Greek language the histories of all the bishops of these cities from the beginning up to his own time. From this number, you commanded me to translate from Greek into Latin one of the bishops of the city of Rome, Saint Sylvester.
A certain old author in the Passion of Saint Valerian, which is on the tenth day before the Kalends of January, as found in an old Mosciacan codex:
The glorious contests of the most blessed martyrs are celebrated with constant services and annual solemnity in honor of Christ our Lord and our God, so that while the devout people acknowledge the faith of the martyrs and rejoice that they have triumphed, they may trust themselves to be protected by their patronage. For it is held in high regard that Eusebius the historian, bishop of the city of Caesarea, a most blessed priest of distinguished life, most learned also in ecclesiastical instruction, and to be venerated with special solicitude, declared—throughout the whole world, insofar as the truth of the matter could be found by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, as it was done—just as the cities, localities, or towns of the individual provinces merited to be illustrated by the heavenly triumphs of the martyrs, and in the time of which princes the successive mass of duties had been ordered and innumerable persecutions had taken place. Although he did not explain the complete passions of each of the martyrs, he nevertheless truly informed devout Christians and the faithful whence they ought to be described or celebrated. Therefore, the faithful cultivator nurtured the grace of God diffused throughout the whole world, just as copious harvests are generated from a small seed of wheat by the fertility of the field, and increase with multiplied abundance. Thus, through the relation of the aforementioned man, diffused from the fountain of a single book, the passions of the martyrs, to be celebrated by the faithful, have irrigated the whole world with their flowing writings.
Usuard in the Martyrology: The 21st day of the month of June. In Palestine, Saint Eusebius, bishop and confessor, a man of most excellent talent and a historiographer.
Notker in the Martyrology: The 21st day of the month of June. In Caesarea, the deposition of Saint Eusebius, bishop.
Manecharius in his letter to Ceraunius, bishop of Paris, which he prefixed to the Passion of the holy martyrs Speusippus, Elasippus, and Meleusippus:
Not ceasing to be assiduously equated to the merits of the principal persons of the most blessed bishops, hastening to be adorned daily in all the conduct of your priesthood by holy religion, you travel through all the dogmas from your zeal for reading the divine Scriptures. Now you intend, as a devoted man, to gather in the city of Paris the deeds of the holy martyrs for the accumulation of your praise for the sake of religion. Whence you are to be equated in the arena of emulation to Saint Eusebius of Caesarea, and to be remembered perpetually by an equal gift of glory.
From an old manuscript Breviary of the Church of Limoges: Of Saint Eusebius, bishop and confessor.
LESSON 1. Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, received the name of Pamphilus on account of his friendship with the martyr Pamphilus, because he had been a most diligent investigator of the divine Library with that same Pamphilus. He was indeed a man most worthy of mention for these times, both for his expertise in many things and for his wonderful talent; among both Gentiles and Christians, he was considered the most distinguished and noble among philosophers. Having at one time labored under the Arian heresy, he approached the Nicene synod, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, followed the opinion of the Fathers, and from then on, until his death, he lived most holily with the orthodox faith.
LESSON 2. He was a most studious man in the divine Scriptures, and a most diligent investigator of the divine Library with the martyr Pamphilus. He wrote many things in those same times, but especially the books of the Evangelical Preparation.