Ecclesiastical History, Books 1–5

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION IIUSEBIUS WAS COMMONLY KNOWN among the ancients as Eusebius of Caesarea or Eusebius Pamphili. The first designation arose from the fact that he was bishop of Caesarea for many years; the second from the fact that he was a close friend and admirer of Pamphilus, a proslyte of Caesarea and a martyr. At least forty contemporaries bore the same name, among which the most famous were Eusebius of Nicomedia, called by Arius the brother of Eusebius of Caesarea; Eusebius of Emesa; and Eusebius of Samosataand so arose the necessity of distinguishing him from these others by specific designation. The year of the Edict of Milan, which divides the first from the second epoch of Church history, does like service for the life and for the literary medium of the Church's first historian. According to the growing assent of scholars, 313 marks off chronologically the Alexandrian from the Byzantine period of Greek literature, and it is 313 that cleaves into uneven but appropriate parts the career of Eusebius Pamphili. In training and in literary taste Eusebius belongs to the earlier time. Officially and in literary productivity he belongs to the later. It was shortly after 313 that Eusebius became a bishop, as it was for the most part after 313 that his works were actually composed. Of events contemporary with these later years Eusebius recorded much that is valued, but it is for what he tells of the earlier period-of the days before the Peace 3 4 EUSEBIUS of the Church~that he looms so large in the history of history and of literature. Through him~through him almost aloneare preserved to us the feeble memories of an age that died with himself. Of the facts of his life we know little. Neither the place nor the year of his birth is known. The best conjecture makes Palestine his native land and assigns to the period 260-264 the date of his birth. Caesarea in Palestine may have been his native city. All the known associations of his youth, at any rate, and the chief activities of his maturity are linked with her. He was certainly not born a Jew, but that he was born a Christian we do not know. His parents, whether pagan or Christian, were not of high rank. The fact that Arius, when writing to Eusebius of Nicomedia, refers to his namesake of Caesarea as 'your brother who is in Caesarea' cannot with confidence be taken literally. Arius might well call them brothers because they were associated in theological sympathies as well as in episcopal office. Of his parentage and relationship, then, essentially nothing is known. At Caesarea in Eusebius' youth lived the learned priest Pamphilus. A native of Phoenicia and at one time a student of Alexandria, he had been ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Agapius of Caesarea, and had there established a school and library where the Bible was studied, and the scholarly tradition of Origen preserved. To this school came Eusebius as pupil, and in this library, which seems to have been unrivaled in Christian circles, he laid the foundation of his future work. A common enthusiasm drew master and pupil together. They became most intimate friends, coworkers in the acquisition of books and in the acquisition of the knowledge that these books contained, united and inspired in both these enterprises by the deepest reverence for Origen. These were the formative years and these the master influences of Eusebius as we know him, and the memory of both Origen INTRODUCTION 5 and Pamphilus stands out large in his works-Origen in the encyclopaedic sweep of Eusebius' scholarly interests and Pamphilus in the very name which his grateful pupil assumed -Eusebius of Pamphilus (Eusebius Pamphili). 'In the midst of all this glorious company,' writes Eusebius, 'shone forth the excellency of my lord Pamphilus; for it is not meet that I should mention the name of that holy and blessed Pamphilus without styling him "my. lord." '1 This time of peaceful industry was at length affected by the conflict of the world outside. Paganism was making its last stand against the Church, and, in the violence of the struggle, the most unwarlike of Christian scholars could not remain undisturbed. It has been said that had Diocletian died before 303 he would have taken his place among the rulers whose general tolerance helped Christianity to obtain its victory. As it is...