NPNF2-01 Eusebius 109
1 About this time93 Justin, who was mentioned by us just above,94 after he had addressed a second work in behalf of our doctrines to the rulers already named,95 was crowned with divine martyrdom,96 in consequence of a plot laid against him by Crescens,97 a philosopher who emulated the life and manners of the Cynics, whose name he bore. After Justin had frequently refuted him in public discussions he won by his martyrdom the prize of victory, dying in behalf of the truth which he preached.
2 And he himself, a man most learned in the truth, in his Apology already referred to98 clearly predicts how this was about to happen to him, although it had not yet occurred.
3 His words are as follows:99 “I, too,100 therefore, expect to be plotted against and put in the stocks101 by some one of those whom I have named, or perhaps by Crescens, that unphilosophical and vainglorious man. For the man is not worthy to be called a philosopher who publicly bears witness against those concerning whom he knows nothing, declaring, for the sake of captivating and pleasing the multitude, that the Christians are atheistical and impious.102
4 Doing this he errs greatly. For if he assails us without having read the teachings of Christ, he is thoroughly depraved, and is much worse than the illiterate, who often guard against discussing and bearing false witness about matters which they do not understand. And if he has read them and does not understand the majesty that is in them, or, understanding it, does these things in order that he may not be suspected of being an adherent, he is far more base and totally depraved, being enslaved to vulgar applause and irrational fear.
5 For I would have you know that when I proposed certain questions of the sort and asked him in regard to them, I learned and proved that he indeed knows nothing. And to show that I speak the truth I am ready, if these disputations have not been reported to you, to discuss the questions again in your presence. And this indeed would be an act worthy of an emperor.
110 6 But if my questions and his answers have been made known to you, it is obvious to you that he knows nothing about our affairs; or if he knows, but does not dare to speak because of those who hear him, he shows himself to be, as I have already said,103 not a philosopher, but a vainglorious man, who indeed does not even regard that most admirable saying of Socrates.”104 These are the words of Justin.
7 And that he met his death as he had predicted that he would, in consequence of the machinations of Crescens, is stated by Tatian,105 a man who early in life lectured upon the sciences of the Greeks and won no little fame in them, and who has left a great many monuments of himself in his writings. He records this fact in his work against the Greeks, where he writes as follows:106 “And that most admirable Justin declared with truth that the aforesaid persons were like robbers.”
8 Then, after making some remarks about the philosophers, he continues as follows:107 “Crescens, indeed, who made his nest in the great city, surpassed all in his unnatural lust, and was wholly devoted to the love of money.
9 And he who taught that death should be despised, was himself so greatly in fear of it that he endeavored to inflict death, as if it were a great evil, upon Justin, because the latter, when preaching the truth, had proved that the philosophers were gluttons and impostors.” And such was the cause of Justin’s martyrdom.
1 The same man, before his conflict, mentions in his first Apology108 others that suffered martyrdom before him, and most fittingly records the following events.
2 He writes thus:109 “A certain woman lived with a dissolute husband; she herself, too, having formerly been of the same character. But when she came to the knowledge of the teachings of Christ, she became temperate, and endeavored to persuade her husband likewise to be temperate, repeating the teachings, and declaring the punishment in eternal fire which shall come upon those who do not live temperately and conformably to right reason.
3 But he, continuing in the same excesses, alienated his wife by his conduct. For she finally, thinking it wrong to live as a wife with a man who, contrary to the law of nature and right, sought every possible means of pleasure, desired to be divorced from him.
4 And when she was earnestly entreated by her friends, who counseled her still to remain with him, on the ground that her husband might some time give hope of amendment, she did violence to herself and remained.
5 But when her husband had gone to Alexandria, and was reported to be conducting himself still worse, she—in order that she might not, by continuing in wedlock, and by sharing his board and bed, become a partaker in his lawlessness and impiety—gave him what we110 call a bill of divorce and left him.
6 But her noble and excellent husband,—instead of rejoicing, as he ought to have done, that she had given up those actions which she had formerly recklessly committed with the servants and hirelings, when she delighted in drunkenness and in every vice, and that she desired him likewise to give them up,—when she had gone from him contrary to his wish, brought an accusation concerning her, declaring that she was a Christian.
111 7 And she petitioned you, the emperor, that she might be permitted first to set her affairs in order, and afterwards, after the settlement of her affairs, to make her defense against the accusation. And this you granted.
8 But he who had once been her husband, being no longer able to prosecute her, directed his attacks against a certain Ptolemaeus,111 who had been her teacher in the doctrines of Christianity, and whom Urbicius112 had punished. Against him he proceeded in the following manner:
9 “He persuaded a centurion who was his friend to cast Ptolemaeus into prison, and to take him and ask him this only: whether he were a Christian? And when Ptolemaeus, who was a lover of truth, and not of a deceitful and false disposition, confessed that he was a Christian, the centurion bound him and punished him for a long time in the prison.
10 And finally, when the man was brought before Urbicius he was likewise asked this question only: whether he were a Christian? And again, conscious of the benefits which he enjoyed through the teaching of Christ, he confessed his schooling in divine virtue.
11 For whoever denies that he is a Christian, either denies because he despises Christianity, or he avoids confession because he is conscious that he is unworthy and an alien to it; neither of which is the case with the true Christian.
12 And when Urbicius commanded that he be led away to punishment, a certain Lucius,113 who was also a Christian, seeing judgment so unjustly passed, said to Urbicius, ‘Why have you punished this man who is not an adulterer, nor a fornicator, nor a murderer, nor a thief, nor a robber, nor has been convicted of committing any crime at all, but has confessed that he bears the name of Christian? You do not judge, O Urbicius, in a manner befitting the Emperor Pius, or the philosophical son114 of Caesar, or the sacred senate.’ And without making any other reply, he said to Lucius, ‘Thou also seemest to me to be such an one.’ And when Lucius said, ‘Certainly,’ he again commanded that he too should be led away to punishment. But he professed his thanks, for he was liberated, he added, from such wicked rulers and was going to the good Father and King, God. And still a third having come forward was condemned to be punished.”
14 To this, Justin fittingly and consistently adds the words which we quoted above,115 saying, “I, too, therefore expect to be plotted against by some one of those whom I have named,” &c.116
1 This writer has left us a great many monuments of a mind educated and practiced in divine things, which are replete with profitable matter of every kind. To them we shall refer the studious, noting as we proceed those that have come to our knowledge.117
2 There is a certain discourse118 of his in defense of our doctrine addressed to Antoninus surnamed the Pious, and to his sons, and to the Roman senate. Another work contains his second Apology119 in behalf of our faith, which he offered to him who was the successor of the emperor mentioned and who bore the same name, Antoninus Verus, the one whose times we are now recording.
3 Also another work against the Greeks,120 in which he discourses at length upon most of the questions at issue between us and the Greek philosophers, and discusses the nature of demons. It is not necessary for me to add any of these things here.
112 4 And still another work of his against the Greeks has come down to us, to which he gave the title Refutation. And besides these another, On the Sovereignty of God,121 which he establishes not only from our Scriptures, but also from the books of the Greeks. Still further, a work entitled Psaltes,122 and another disputation On the Soul, in which, after propounding various questions concerning the problem under discussion, he gives the opinions of the Greek philosophers, promising to refute it, and to present his own view in another work.
6 He composed also a dialogue against the Jews,123 which he held in the city of Ephesus with Trypho, a most distinguished man among the Hebrews of that day. In it he shows how the divine grace urged him on to the doctrine of the faith, and with what earnestness he had formerly pursued philosophical studies, and how ardent a search he had made for the truth.124
7 And he records of the Jews in the same work, that they were plotting against the teaching of Christ, asserting the same things against Trypho: “Not only did you not repent of the wickedness which you had committed, but you selected at that time chosen men, and you sent them out from Jerusalem through all the land, to announce that the godless heresy of the Christians had made its appearance, and to accuse them of those things which all that are ignorant of us say against us, so that you become the causes not only of your own injustice, but also of all other men’s.”125
8 He writes also that even down to his time prophetic gifts shone in the Church.126 And he mentions the Apocalypse of John, saying distinctly that it was the apostle’s.127 He also refers to certain prophetic declarations, and accuses Trypho on the ground that the Jews had cut them out of the Scripture.128 A great many other works of his are still in the hands of many of the brethren.129
9 And the discourses of the man were thought so worthy of study even by the ancients, that Irenaeus quotes his words: for instance, in the fourth book of his work Against Heresies, where he writes as follows:130 “And Justin well says in his work against Marcion, that he would not have believed the Lord himself if he had preached another God besides the Creator”; and again in the fifth book of the same work he says:131 “And Justin well said that before the coming of the Lord Satan never dared to blaspheme God,132 because he did not yet know his condemnation.”
10 These things I have deemed it necessary to say for the sake of stimulating the studious to peruse his works with diligence. So much concerning him.
1 In the eighth year of the above-mentioned reign133 Soter134 succeeded Anicetus135 as bishop of the church of Rome, after the latter had held office eleven years in all. But when Celadion136 had presided over the church of Alexandria for fourteen years he was succeeded by Agrippinus.137
1 At that time also in the church of Antioch, Theophilus138 was well known as the sixth from the apostles. For Cornelius,139 who succeeded Hero,140 was the fourth, and after him Eros,141 the fifth in order, had held the office of bishop.
113 1 At that time there flourished in the Church Hegesippus, whom we know from what has gone before,142 and Dionysius,143 bishop of Corinth, and another bishop, Pinytus of Crete,144 and besides these, Philip,145 and Apolinarius,146 and Melito,147 and Musanus,148 and Modestus,149 and finally, Irenaeus.150 From them has come down to us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from apostolic tradition.151
1 Hegesippus in the five books of Memoirs152 which have come down to us has left a most complete record of his own views. In them he states that on a journey to Rome he met a great many bishops, and that he received the same doctrine from all. It is fitting to hear what he says after making some remarks about the epistle of Clement to the Corinthians.
2 His words are as follows: “And the church of Corinth continued in the true faith until Primus153 was bishop in Corinth. I conversed with them on my way to Rome, and abode with the Corinthians many days, during which we were mutually refreshed in the true doctrine.
3 And when I had come to Rome I remained a there until Anicetus,154 whose deacon was Eleutherus. And Anicetus was succeeded by Soter, and he by Eleutherus. In every succession, and in every city that is held which is preached by the law and the prophets and the Lord.”
4 The same author also describes the beginnings of the heresies which arose in his time, in the following words: “And after James the Just had suffered martyrdom, as the Lord had also on the same account, Symeon, the son of the Lord’s uncle, Clopas,155 was appointed the next bishop. All proposed him as second bishop because he was a cousin of the Lord. “Therefore,156 they called the Church a virgin, for it was not yet corrupted by vain discourses.
5 But Thebuthis,157 because he was not made bishop, began to corrupt it. He also was sprung from the seven sects158 among the people, like Simon,159 from whom came the Simonians, and Cleobius,160 from whom came the Cleobians, and Dositheus,161 from whom came the Dositheans, and Gorthaeus,162 from whom came the Goratheni, and Masbotheus,163 from whom came the Masbothaeans. From them sprang the Menandrianists,164 and Marcionists,165 and Carpocratians, and Valentinians, and Basilidians, and Saturnilians. Each introduced privately and separately his own peculiar opinion. From them came false Christs, false prophets, false apostles, who divided the unity of the Church by corrupt doctrines uttered against God and against his Christ.”
6 The same writer also records the ancient heresies which arose among the Jews, in the following words: “There were, moreover, various opinions in the circumcision, among the children of Israel. The following were those that were opposed to the tribe of Judah and the Christ: Essenes, Galileans, Hemerobaptists, Masbothaeans, Samaritans, Sadducees, Pharisees.”166
7 And he wrote of many other matters, which we have in part already mentioned, introducing the accounts in their appropriate places. And from the Syriac Gospel according to the Hebrews he quotes some passages in the Hebrew tongue,167 showing that he was a convert from the Hebrews,168 and he mentions other matters as taken from the unwritten tradition of the Jews.
8 And not only he, but also Irenaeus and the whole company of the ancients, called the Proverbs of Solomon All-virtuous Wisdom.169 And when speaking of the books called Apocrypha, he records that some of them were composed in his day by certain heretics. But let us now pass on to another.
114 1 And first we must speak of Dionysius, who was appointed bishop of the church in Corinth, and communicated freely of his inspired labors not only to his own people, but also to those in foreign lands, and rendered the greatest service to all in the catholic epistles which he wrote to the churches.
2 Among these is the one addressed to the Lacedaemonians,171 containing instruction in the orthodox faith and an admonition to peace and unity; the one also addressed to the Athenians, exciting them to faith and to the life prescribed by the Gospel, which he accuses them of esteeming lightly, as if they had almost apostatized from the faith since the martyrdom of their ruler Publius,172 which had taken place during the persecutions of those days.
3 He mentions Quadratus173 also, stating that he was appointed their bishop after the martyrdom of Publius, and testifying that through his zeal they were brought together again and their faith revived. He records, moreover, that Dionysius the Areopagite,174 who was converted to the faith by the apostle Paul, according to the statement in the Ac of the Apostles,175 first obtained the episcopate of the church at Athens.
4 And there is extant another epistle of his addressed to the Nicomedians,176 in which he attacks the heresy of Marcion, and stands fast by the canon of the truth.
5 Writing also to the church that is in Gortyna,177 together with the other parishes in Crete, he commends their bishop Philip,178 because of the many acts of fortitude which are testified to as performed by the church under him, and he warns them to be on their guard against the aberrations of the heretics.
6 And writing to the church that is in Amastris,179 together with those in Pontus, he refers to Bacchylides180 and Elpistus, as having urged him to write, and he adds explanations of passages of the divine Scriptures, and mentions their bishop Palmas181 by name. He gives them much advice also in regard to marriage and chastity, and commands them to receive those who come back again after any fall, whether it be delinquency or heresy.182
7 Among these is inserted also another epistle addressed to the Cnosians,183 in which he exhorts Pinytus, bishop of the parish, not to lay upon the brethren a grievous and compulsory burden in regard to chastity, but to have regard to the weakness of the multitude.
8 Pinytus, replying to this epistle, admires and commends Dionysius, but exhorts him in turn to impart some time more solid food, and to feed the people under him, when he wrote again, with more advanced teaching, that they might not be fed continually on these milky doctrines and imperceptibly grow old under a training calculated for children. In this epistle also Pinytus’ orthodoxy in the faith and his care for the welfare of those placed under him, his learning and his comprehension of divine things, are revealed as in a most perfect image.
9 There is extant also another epistle written by Dionysius to the Romans, and addressed to Soter,184 who was bishop at that time. We cannot do better than to subjoin some passages from this epistle, in which he commends the practice of the Romans which has been retained down to the persecution in our own days. His words are as follows:
10 “For from the beginning it has been your practice to do good to all the brethren in various ways, and to send contributions to many churches in every city. Thus relieving the want of the needy, and making provision for the brethren in the mines by the gifts which you have sent from the beginning, you Romans keep up the hereditary customs of the Romans, which your blessed bishop Soter has not only maintained, but also added to, furnishing an abundance of supplies to the saints, and encouraging the brethren from abroad with blessed words, as a loving father his children.”
11 In this same epistle he makes mention also of Clement’s epistle to the Corinthians,185 showing that it had been the custom from the beginning to read it in the church. His words are as follows: “To-day we have passed the Lord’s holy day, in which we have read your epistle. From it, whenever we read it, we shall always be able to draw advice, as also from the former epistle, which was written to us through Clement.”
115 12 The same writer also speaks as follows concerning his own epistles, alleging that they had been mutilated: “As the brethren desired me to write epistles, I wrote. And these epistles the apostles of the devil have filled with tares, cutting out some things and adding others.186 For them a woe is reserved.187 It is, therefore, not to be wondered at if some have attempted to adulterate the Lord’s writings also,188 since they have formed designs even against writings which are of less accounts.”189
There is extant, in addition to these, another epistle of Dionysius, written to Chrysophora,190 a most faithful sister. In it he writes what is suitable, and imparts to her also the proper spiritual food. So much concerning Dionysius.
1 Of Theophilus,191 whom we have mentioned as bishop of the church of Antioch,192 three elementary works addressed to Autolycus are extant; also another writing entitled Against the Heresy of Hermogenes,193 in which he makes use of testimonies from the Apocalypse of John, and finally certain other catechetical books.194
2 And as the heretics, no less then than at other times, were like tares, destroying the pure harvest of apostolic teaching, the pastors of the churches everywhere hastened to restrain them as wild beasts from the fold of Christ, at one time by admonitions and exhortations to the brethren, at another time by contending more openly against them in oral discussions and refutations, and again by correcting their opinions with most accurate proofs in written works.
3 And that Theophilus also, with the others, contended against them, is manifest from a certain discourse of no common merit written by him against Marcion.195 This work too, with the others of which we have spoken, has been preserved to the present day.
Maximinus,196 the seventh from the apostles, succeeded him as bishop of the church of Antioch).
1 Philip who, as we learn from the words of Dionysius,197 was bishop of the parish of Gortyna, likewise wrote a most elaborate work against Marcion,198 as did also Irenaeus199 and Modestus.200 The last named has exposed the error of the man more clearly than the rest to the view of all. There are a number of others also whose works are still presented by a great many of the brethren.
1 In those days also Melito,201 bishop of the parish in Sardis, and Apolinarius,202 bishop of Hierapolis, enjoyed great distinction. Each of them on his own part addressed apologies in behalf of the faith to the above-mentioned emperor203 of the Romans who was reigning at that time.
116 2 The following works of these writers have come to our knowledge. Of Melito,204 the two books On the Passover,205 and one On the Conduct of Life and the Prophets,206 the discourse On the Church,207 and one On the Lord’s Day,208 still further one On the Faith of Man,209 and one On his Creation,210 another also On the Obedience of Faith, and one On the Senses;211 besides these the work On the Soul and Body,212 and that On Baptism,213 and the one On Truth,214 and On the Creation and Generation of Christ;215 his discourse also On Prophecy,216 and that On Hospitality;217 still further, The Key,218 and the books On the Devil and the Apocalypse of John,219 and the work On the Corporeality of God,220 and finally the book addressed to Antoninus.221
3 In the books On the Passover he indicates the time at which he wrote, beginning with these words: “While Servilius Paulus was proconsul of Asia, at the time when Sagaris suffered martyrdom, there arose in Laodicea a great strife concerning the Passover, which fell according to rule in those days; and these were written.”222
4 And Clement of Alexandria refers to this work in his own discourse On the Passover,223 which, he says, he wrote on occasion of Melito’s work.
5 But in his book addressed to the emperor he records that the following events happened to us under him: “For, what never before happened,224 the race of the pious is now suffering persecution, being driven about in Asia by new decrees. For the shameless informers and coveters of the property of others, taking occasion from the decrees, openly carry on robbery night and day, despoiling those who are guilty of no wrong.” And a little further on he says: “If these things are done by thy command, well and good. For a just ruler will never take unjust measures; and we indeed gladly accept the honor of such a death.
6 But this request alone we present to thee, that thou wouldst thyself first examine the authors of such strife, and justly judge whether they be worthy of death and punishment, or of safety and quiet. But if, on the other hand, this counsel and this new decree, which is not fit to be executed even against barbarian enemies, be not from thee, much more do we beseech thee not to leave us exposed to such lawless plundering by the populace.”
7 Again he adds the following:225 “For our philosophy formerly flourished among the Barbarians; but having sprung up among the nations under thy rule, during the great reign of thy ancestor Augustus, it became to thine empire especially a blessing of auspicious omen. For from that time the power of the Romans has grown in greatness and splendor. To this power thou hast succeeded, as the desired possessor,226 and such shalt thou continue with thy son, if thou guardest the philosophy which grew up with the empire and which came into existence with Augustus; that philosophy which thy ancestors also honored along with the other religions.
8 And a most convincing proof that our doctrine flourished for the good of an empire happily begun, is this—that there has no evil happened since Augustus’ reign, but that, on the contrary, all things have been splendid and glorious, in accordance with the prayers of all.
9 Nero and Domitian, alone, persuaded by certain calumniators, have wished to slander our doctrine, and from them it has come to pass that the falsehood227 has been handed down, in consequence of an unreasonable practice which prevails of bringing slanderous accusations against the Christians.228
10 But thy pious fathers corrected their ignorance, having frequently rebuked in writing229 many who dared to attempt new measures against them. Among them thy grandfather Adrian appears to have written to many others, and also to Fundanus,230 the proconsul and governor of Asia. And thy father, when thou also wast ruling with him, wrote to the cities, forbidding them to take any new measures against us; among the rest to the Larissaeans, to the Thessalonians, to the Athenians, and to all the Greeks.231
11 And as for thee,—since thy opinions respecting the Christians232 are the same as theirs, and indeed much more benevolent and philosophic,—we are the more persuaded that thou wilt do all that we ask of thee.” These words are found in the above-mentioned work.
12 But in the Extracts233 made by him the same writer gives at the beginning of the introduction a catalogue of the acknowledged books of the Old Testament, which it is necessary to quote at this point. He writes as follows:
117 13 “Melito to his brother Onesimus,234 greeting: Since thou hast often, in thy zeal for the word, expressed a wish to have extracts made from the Law and the Prophets concerning the Saviour and concerning our entire faith, and hast also desired to have an accurate statement of the ancient book, as regards their number and theirorder, I have endeavored to perform the task, knowing thy zeal for the faith, and thy desire to gain information in regard to the word, and knowing that thou, in thy yearning after God, esteemest these things above all else, struggling to attain eternal salvation.
14 Accordingly when I went East and came to the place where these things were preached and done, I learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, and send them to thee as written below. Their names are as follows: Of Moses, five books: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus,235 Deuteronomy; Jesus Nave, Judges, Ruth; of Kings, four books; of Chronicles, two; the Psalms of David,236 the Proverbs of Solomon, Wisdom also,237 Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job; of Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah; of the twelve prophets, one book238 ; Daniel, Ezekiel, Esdras.239 From which also I have made the extracts, dividing them into six books.” Such are the words of Melito.
1 A Number of works of Apolinarius240 have been preserved by many, and the following have reached us: the Discourse addressed to the above-mentioned emperor,241 five books Against the Greeks,242 On Truth, a first and second book,243 and those which he subsequently wrote against the heresy of the Phrygians,244 which not long afterwards came out with its innovations,245 but at that time was, as it were, in its incipiency, since Montanus, with his false prophetesses, was then laying the foundations of his error.
1 And as for Musanus,246 whom we have mentione among the foregoing writers, a certain very elegant discourse is extant, which was written by him against some brethren that had gone over to the heresy of the so-called Encratites,247 which had recently sprung up, and which introduced a strange and pernicious error. It is said that Tatian was the author of this false doctrine.
1 He is the one whose words we quoted a little above249 in regard to that admirable man, Justin, and whom we stated to have been a disciple of the martyr. Irenaeus declares this in the first book of his work Against Heresies, where he writes as follows concerning both him and his heresy:250
2 “Those who are called Encratites,251 and who sprung from Saturninus252 and Marcion, preached celibacy, setting aside the original arrangement of God and tacitly censuring him who made male and female for the propagation of the human race. They introduced also abstinence from the things called by them animate,253 thus showing ingratitude to the God who made all things. And they deny the salvation of the first man.254
3 But this has been only recently discovered by them, a certain Tatian being the first to introduce this blasphemy. He was a hearer of Justin, and expressed no such opinion while he was with him, but after the martyrdom of the latter he left the Church, and becoming exalted with the thought of being a teacher, and puffed up with the idea that he was superior to others, he established a peculiar type of doctrine of his own, inventing certain invisible aeons like the followers of Valentinus,255 while, like Marcion and Saturninus, he pronounced marriage to be corruption and fornication. His argument against the salvation of Adam, however, he devised for himself.” Irenaeus at that time wrote thus.
4 But a little later a certain man named Severus256 put new strength into the aforesaid heresy, and thus brought it about that those who took their origin from it were called, after him, Severians.
NPNF2-01 Eusebius 109