14 - Book IV, Part 4

CHURCH HISTORY by Eusebius of Caesarea, translated by Arthur Cushman McGuiffert. Of Theophilus, whom we have mentioned as Bishop of the Church of Antioch, three elementary works addressed to Autolycus are extant, also another writing entitled Against the Heresy of Hermogenes, in which he makes use of testimonies from the Apocalypse of John, and finally certain other catechetical books. 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. 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. This work too, with the others of which we have spoken, has been preserved to the present day. Maximinus, the seventh from the Apostles, succeeded him as Bishop of the Church of Antioch. Chapter 25 Philip and Modestus Philip who, as we learn from the words of Dionysius, was Bishop of the parish of Gortyna, likewise wrote a most elaborate work against Marcion, as did also Irenaeus and Modestus. 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. Chapter 26 Melito and the Circumstances Which He Records In those days also Melito, Bishop of the parish in Sardis, and Apollinarius, Bishop of Hierapolis, enjoyed great distinction. Each of them on his own part addressed apologies in behalf of the faith to the above-mentioned emperor of the Romans who was reigning at that time. The following works of these writers have come to our knowledge. Of Melito, the two books on the Passover, and one on the conduct of life and the prophets, the Discourse on the Church, and one on the Lord's Day, still further one on the faith of man, and one on his creation, another also on the obedience of faith, and one on the senses. Besides these, the work on the soul and body, and that on baptism, and the one on truth, and on the creation and generation of Christ, his discourse also on prophecy, and that on hospitality. Still further, the key, and the books on the devil and the apocalypse of John, and the work on the corporeality of God, and finally the book addressed to Antoninus. 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. And Clement of Alexandria refers to this work in his own discourse on the Passover, which he says he wrote on occasion of Melito's work. But in his book addressed to the emperor, he records that the following events happened to us under him. For, what never before happened, 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. 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. Again he adds the following. 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, 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. 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's reign, but that, on the contrary, all things have been splendid and glorious, in accordance with the prayers of all. Nero and Domitian alone, persuaded by certain columniators, have wished to slander our doctrine, and from them it has come to pass that the falsehood has been handed down, and that in consequence of an unreasonable practice which prevails of bringing slanderous accusations against the Christians. But thy pious fathers corrected their ignorance, having frequently rebuked in writing 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, 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 Lauraceans, to the Thessalonians, to the Athenians, and to all the Greeks. And as for thee, since thy opinions respecting the Christians 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. But in the extracts 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. Melito to his brother Onesimus, 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 their order, I have endeavoured 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. 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 sent them to thee as written below. Their names are as follows. Of Moses, five books, Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, Jesus' nave, Judges, Ruth. Of Kings, four books. Of Chronicles, two. The Psalms of David, the Proverbs of Solomon, Wisdom also, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Job. Of Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Of the twelve prophets, one book, Daniel, Ezekiel, Esdras. From which also I have made the extracts, dividing them into six books. Such are the words of Melito. Chapter 27 APOLLINARIUS, BISHOP OF THE CHURCH OF HYEROPOLIS A number of works of Apollinarius have been preserved by many, and the following have reached us. The discourse addressed to the above-mentioned emperor, five books against the Greeks, On Truth, a first and second book, and those which he subsequently wrote against the heresy of the Phrygians, which not long afterwards came out with its innovations, 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. Chapter 28 MUSANUS AND HIS WRITINGS And as for Musanus, whom we have mentioned 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 Incretites, 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. Chapter 29 THE HERESY OF TATIAN He is the one whose words we quoted a little above 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. Those who are called Incretites, and who sprung from Saturninus and Marcian, 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, thus showing ingratitude to the God who made all things, and they deny the salvation of the first man. 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 eons like the followers of Valentinus, while, like Marcian 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. But a little later a certain man named Severus 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. They indeed used the law and prophets and gospels, but interpret in their own way the utterances of the sacred scriptures. And they abuse Paul the Apostle and reject his epistles, and do not accept even the acts of the apostles. But their original founder, Tatian, formed a certain combination and collection of the gospels, I know not how, to which he gave the title Diatessaron, and which is still in the hands of some. But they say that he ventured to paraphrase certain words of the Apostle in order to improve their style. He has left a great many writings. Of these the one most in use among many persons is his celebrated Address to the Greeks, which also appears to be the best and most useful of all his works. In it he deals with the most ancient times, and shows that Moses and the Hebrew prophets were older than all the celebrated men among the Greeks. So much in regard to these men. Chapter 30 BARDESSINES THE SYRIAN AND HIS EXTANT WORKS In the same reign, as heresies were abounding in the region between the rivers, a certain Bardessines, a most able man and a most skillful disputant in the Syriac tongue, having composed dialogues against Marcian's followers and against certain others who were authors of various opinions, committed them to writing in his own language, together with many other works. His pupils, of whom he had very many, for he was a powerful defender of the faith, translated these productions from the Syriac into Greek. Among them there is also his most able dialogue On Fate, addressed to Antoninus, and other works which they say he wrote on occasion of the persecution which arose at that time. He indeed was at first a follower of Valentinus, but afterward, having rejected his teaching and having refuted most of his fictions, he fancied that he had come over to the more correct opinion. Nevertheless, he did not entirely wash off the filth of the old heresy. About this time also Soter, Bishop of the Church of Rome, departed this life.