Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series • VOLUME 2
Socrates and Sozomen — Ecclesiastical Histories
SECTION 121
Chapter XXVI.--Sisinnius is chosen to succeed Atticus.
Chapter XXVI.--Sisinnius is chosen to succeed Atticus. After the decease of Atticus, there arose a strong contest about the election of a successor, some proposing one person, and some another. One party, they say, was urgent in favor of a presbyter named Philip; another wished to promote Proclus who was also a presbyter; but t…
749 wordsSECTION 122Chapter XXVIII.--Proclus ordained Bishop of Cyzicus by Sisinnius, but rejected by the People.
Chapter XXVIII.--Proclus ordained Bishop of Cyzicus by Sisinnius, but rejected by the People. The bishop of Cyzicus having died, Sisinnius ordained Proclus to the bishopric of that city. But while he was preparing to depart thither, the inhabitants anticipated him, by electing an ascetic named Dalmatius. This they did in disreg…
1,095 wordsSECTION 123Chapter XXX.--The Burgundians embrace Christianity under Theodosius the Younger.
Chapter XXX.--The Burgundians embrace Christianity under Theodosius the Younger. I must now relate an event well worthy of being recorded, which happened about this time. There is a barbarous nation dwelling beyond the Rhine, denominated Burgundians; they lead a peaceful life; for being almost all artisans, they support themsel…
1,659 wordsSECTION 124Chapter XXXIII.--Desecration of the Altar of the Great Church by Runaway Slaves.
Chapter XXXIII.--Desecration of the Altar of the Great Church by Runaway Slaves. While matters were in this state it happened that an outrage was perpetrated in the church. For the domestics of a man of quality who were foreigners, having experienced harsh treatment from their master, fled from him to the church; and thus they …
1,041 wordsSECTION 125Chapter XXXV.--Maximian elected to the Episcopate of Constantinople, though Some wished Proclus to take that Place.
Chapter XXXV.--Maximian elected to the Episcopate of Constantinople, though Some wished Proclus to take that Place. After this there was another debate concerning the election of a bishop of Constantinople. Many were in favor of Philip, of whom we have already made mention; but a still greater number advocated the claims of Pro…
990 wordsSECTION 126Chapter XXXVII.--Miracle performed by Silvanus Bishop of Troas formerly of Philippopolis.
Chapter XXXVII.--Miracle performed by Silvanus Bishop of Troas formerly of Philippopolis. Silvanus was formerly a rhetorician, and had been brought up in the school of Troïlus the sophist; but aiming at perfection in his Christian course, he entered on the ascetic mode of life, and set aside the rhetorician's pallium. Atticus b…
746 wordsSECTION 127Chapter XXXVIII.--Many of the Jews in Crete embrace the Christian Faith.
Chapter XXXVIII.--Many of the Jews in Crete embrace the Christian Faith. About this period a great number of Jews who dwelt in Crete were convened to Christianity, through the following disastrous circumstance. A certain Jewish impostor pretended that he was Moses, and had been [1024] sent from heaven to lead out the Jews inhab…
775 wordsSECTION 128Chapter XL.--Proclus succeeds Maximian Bishop of Constantinople.
Chapter XL.--Proclus succeeds Maximian Bishop of Constantinople. Maximian, having peacefully governed the church during two years and five months, died on the 12th of April, in the consulate of Areobindus and Aspar. [1028] This happened to be on the fifth day of the week of fasts which immediately precedes Easter. The day of th…
1,164 wordsSECTION 129Chapter XLIV.--Marriage of the Emperor Valentinian with Eudoxia the Daughter of Theodosius.
Chapter XLIV.--Marriage of the Emperor Valentinian with Eudoxia the Daughter of Theodosius. He had by the empress Eudocia, his wife, a daughter named Eudoxia. Her his cousin Valentinian, appointed by him emperor of the West, demanded for himself in marriage. When the emperor Theodosius had given his assent to this proposal, and…
1,075 wordsSECTION 130Chapter XLVII.--The Empress Eudocia goes to Jerusalem; sent there by the Emperor Theodosius.
Chapter XLVII.--The Empress Eudocia goes to Jerusalem; sent there by the Emperor Theodosius. Moreover the Emperor Theodosius offered up thanksgivings to God for the blessings which had been conferred upon him; at the same time reverencing Christ with the most special honors. He also sent his wife Eudocia to Jerusalem, [1039] sh…
2,632 wordsSECTION 131It is difficult to judge from a solitary work what the degree of an author's general culture is. Clemens Alexandrinus has multitudinous quot
It is difficult to judge from a solitary work what the degree of an author's general culture is. Clemens Alexandrinus has multitudinous quotations; it would be easy to conclude that he was a scholar of universal reading, and a genuine polyhistor; but their inaccuracy and frequent infelicity make them rather appear as the excerpt…
2,489 wordsSECTION 132The influential circles of the Eastern and Western capital were divided into parties on a variety of themes. One such, on the lines of cultu
The influential circles of the Eastern and Western capital were divided into parties on a variety of themes. One such, on the lines of culture, we have already considered. A second and very decisive one, was the question whether the foreigners, especially the Goths and the Persians, should be admitted into the service of the sta…
2,265 wordsSECTION 133The attempt of Hieronymus, Wolf, Lambec, and Fenzel to ascribe Hermias' Diasurmos ton exo philosophon (Irrisio gentilium philosophorum) to S
The attempt of Hieronymus, Wolf, Lambec, and Fenzel to ascribe Hermias' Diasurmos ton exo philosophon (Irrisio gentilium philosophorum) to Sozomen, because of identity of name, is now held by none. [1048] The work by which we know him, is the Ecclesiastical History in nine Books. When did he write it? In trying to determine the …
2,735 wordsSECTION 1343. Another aim of his history is to prove that Providence or the divine government is promoting the Christian faith directly. The universal
3. Another aim of his history is to prove that Providence or the divine government is promoting the Christian faith directly. The universal order must be interpreting itself distinctly through the Church. The Father must be vindicating the good and punishing the wicked, according to the orthodox category. Sozomen's history is as…
2,275 wordsSECTION 135On the one hand, we find him insisting on the right of private judgment, as when he discusses the overruling Providence in Julian's life, an
On the one hand, we find him insisting on the right of private judgment, as when he discusses the overruling Providence in Julian's life, and especially on the infatuation which led the emperor to Persia in spite of Sallust (vi. 1): "This observation, however, is only inserted lest I should be blamed for omitting it. I leave eve…
2,208 wordsSECTION 136The Church's servility toward the orthodox rulers is fairly expressed, and yet with comparative moderation, by Sozomen. He is an apologist f
The Church's servility toward the orthodox rulers is fairly expressed, and yet with comparative moderation, by Sozomen. He is an apologist for Constantine, and reflects, as do all the historians, and especially Evagrius in his criticism of Zosimus, the adulations and subterfuges of Eusebius. The religious fluctuation of that emp…
2,747 wordsSECTION 1377. A more subordinate aim is to present selected secular matters so-called; he does not consider these to be wholly foreign to the scope of
7. A more subordinate aim is to present selected secular matters so-called; he does not consider these to be wholly foreign to the scope of his work. He handles such with considerable largeness in Constantine's life, and keeps up a thread under Constantius and Julian. He is more sparing until he reaches Arcadius and Honorius, an…
2,335 wordsSECTION 1388. Statistics. There is of course no method in the presentation of statistics; there are general proportions, as in ii. 6, iv. 27, v. 15, vi
8. Statistics. There is of course no method in the presentation of statistics; there are general proportions, as in ii. 6, iv. 27, v. 15, vi. 20; and special detail, as in the enumeration of monks, iii. 14, vi. 29-34. The best illustration one finds in the account of the Persian martyrs, where there was a distinct effort at regi…
1,798 wordsSECTION 139Epistle of the Synod of Jerusalem in behalf of Athanasius (iii. 22).
Epistle of the Synod of Jerusalem in behalf of Athanasius (iii. 22). Ursacius and Valens to Julius (iii. 23). Ursacius and Valens to Athanasius (iii. 24). George of Laodicea to Macedonius, Basilius, Cecropius, and Eugenius (iv. 13); new. Epistle of Constantius to the church at Antioch (iv. 14); new. Epistle of the Synod of …
2,352 wordsSECTION 140(a) That some of the sources obviously consulted by both were doubtless known to Sozomen without Socrates to point them out. Rufinus and Eus
(a) That some of the sources obviously consulted by both were doubtless known to Sozomen without Socrates to point them out. Rufinus and Eusebius and Sabinus were known to everybody. In all such cases we may concede an independent reading of those authors, and yet the order in which the subject-matter is arranged is at times mor…
2,307 wordsSECTION 141II. Editions of Text.--1. The first printed text without translation was by Robert Stephen: Eusebii Pamphili, Ecclesiasticæ historiæ, libri
II. Editions of Text.--1. The first printed text without translation was by Robert Stephen: Eusebii Pamphili, Ecclesiasticæ historiæ, libri x.; ejusdem de vita Constantini, libri v.; Socratis, libri vii.; Theodoreti episc. Cyrenensis, libri v.; Collectaneorum ex historia ecclesiastica Theodori lectoris, libri ii.; Hermiæ Sozomen…
2,202 wordsSECTION 142Sievers, G.R.: Studien z. Gesch. d. röm Kaiser. Berlin, 1870.
Sievers, G.R.: Studien z. Gesch. d. röm Kaiser. Berlin, 1870. Finlay: History of Greece. Vol. i. Oxford, 1877. (b) Holder, Alf.: Inventio sanctæ crucis: Actorum Cyriacus, pars i. lat. et gr. &c. Leipzig, 1889. Nestle, Eberh.: De Sancta Cruce, ein Beitrag z. christl. Legendengeschichte. Berin, 1889. Dräseke, J.: zu Apollinari…
2,669 wordsSECTION 143In the composure of his History, Sozomen has made use of a style neither too low nor too high, but one between both, as is most agreeable to
In the composure of his History, Sozomen has made use of a style neither too low nor too high, but one between both, as is most agreeable to a writer of ecclesiastical affairs. Photius prefers Sozomen's style to that of Socrates, and we agree with him in his criticism. But though Sozomen is superior in the elegance of his expres…
2,986 wordsSECTION 144Book I.
[1058] This marks the proposed limits, a.d. 323 to a.d. 439, but he did not carry the narrative further than a.d. 425. The ECCLESIASTICAL HistorY, of salaminius hermias sozomenus. ------------------------ Book I. Chapter I.--The Preface of the Book, in which he investigates the History of the Jewish Nation; Mention of tho…
2,222 wordsSECTION 145Chapter III.--By the Vision of the Cross, and by the Appearance of Christ, Constantine is led to embrace Christianity.--He receives Religious Instruction from our Brethren.
[1068] Who this Romanus was is uncertain, as his name does not occur in the catalogue of bishops of Antioch, according to Hieronymus' edition of the Chronicon, nor in Nicephorus. In one index at the end of a codex of Eusebius' History, in Florence, his name occurs as the twenty-second, in order, and between Philagonius and Eusta…
1,043 wordsSECTION 146Chapter V.--Refutation of the Assertion that Constantine became a Christian in consequence of the Murder of his son Crispus.
Chapter V.--Refutation of the Assertion that Constantine became a Christian in consequence of the Murder of his son Crispus. I am aware that it is reported by the pagans that Constantine, after slaying some of his nearest relations, and particularly after assenting to the murder of his own son Crispus, repented of his evil deed…
1,054 wordsSECTION 147Chapter VII.--Concerning the Dispute between Constantine and Licinius his Brother-In-Law about the Christians, and how Licinius was conquered by Force and put to Death.
Chapter VII.--Concerning the Dispute between Constantine and Licinius his Brother-In-Law about the Christians, and how Licinius was conquered by Force and put to Death. After this reverse, Licinius, [1080] who had previously respected the Christians, changed his opinion, and ill-treated many of the priests who lived under his g…
1,736 wordsSECTION 148Chapter IX.--Constantine enacts a Law in favor of Celibates and of the Clergy.
Chapter IX.--Constantine enacts a Law in favor of Celibates and of the Clergy. There was an ancient Roman law, by which those who were unmarried at the age of twenty-five were not admitted to the same privileges as the married; [1086] amongst other clauses in this law, it was specified that those who were not the very nearest k…
790 wordsSECTION 149Chapter XI.--Account of St. Spyridon: His Modesty and Steadfastness.
Chapter XI.--Account of St. Spyridon: His Modesty and Steadfastness. Spyridon, [1092] bishop of Trimythun in Cyprus, flourished at this period. To show his virtues, I think the fame which still prevails about him suffices. The wonderful works which he wrought by Divine assistance are, it appears, generally known by those who dw…
1,222 wordsSECTION 150Chapter XII.--On the Organization of the Monks: its Origin and Founders.
Chapter XII.--On the Organization of the Monks: its Origin and Founders. Those who at this period had embraced monasticism [1098] were not the least in manifesting the church as most illustrious, and evidencing the truth of their doctrines by their virtuous line of conduct. Indeed, the most useful thing that has been received b…
1,029 wordsSECTION 151Chapter XIII.--About Antony the Great and St. Paul the Simple.
Chapter XIII.--About Antony the Great and St. Paul the Simple. Whether the Egyptians or others are to be regarded as the founders of this philosophy, it is universally admitted that Antony, [1102] the great monk, developed this course of life, by morals and befitting exercises, to the summit of exactness and perfection. His fam…
1,165 wordsSECTION 152Chapter XIV.--Account of St. Ammon and Eutychius of Olympus.
Chapter XIV.--Account of St. Ammon and Eutychius of Olympus. It was about this period that Ammon, [1105] the Egyptian, embraced philosophy. It is said that he was compelled to marry by his family, but that his wife never knew him carnally; for on the day of their marriage, when they were alone, and when he as the bridegroom was…
1,026 wordsSECTION 153Chapter XV.--The Arian Heresy, its Origin, its Progress, and the Contention which it occasioned among the Bishops.
Chapter XV.--The Arian Heresy, its Origin, its Progress, and the Contention which it occasioned among the Bishops. Although, as we have shown, religion was in a flourishing condition at this period, yet the churches were disturbed by sore contentions; for under the pretext of piety and of seeking the more perfect discovery of G…
1,585 wordsSECTION 154Chapter XVII.--Of the Council convened at Nicæa on Account of Arius.
Chapter XVII.--Of the Council convened at Nicæa on Account of Arius. When it was found that the event did not answer the expectations of the emperor, but that on the contrary, the contention was too great for reconciliation, so that he who had been sent to make peace returned without having accomplished his mission, Constantine…
722 wordsSECTION 155Chapter XVIII.--Two Philosophers are converted to the Faith by the Simplicity of Two Old Men with whom they hold a Disputation.
Chapter XVIII.--Two Philosophers are converted to the Faith by the Simplicity of Two Old Men with whom they hold a Disputation. While these disputations were being carried on, certain of the pagan philosophers became desirous of taking part in them; some, because they wished for information as to the doctrine that was inculcate…
775 wordsSECTION 156Chapter XIX.--When the Council was assembled, the Emperor delivered a Public Address.
Chapter XIX.--When the Council was assembled, the Emperor delivered a Public Address. The bishops held long consultations; and after summoning Arius before them, they made an accurate test of his propositions; they were intently on their guard, not to come to a vote on either side. When at length the appointed day arrived on wh…
1,377 wordsSECTION 157Chapter XXII.--Acesius, Bishop of the Novatians, is summoned by the Emperor to be present at the First Council.
Chapter XXII.--Acesius, Bishop of the Novatians, is summoned by the Emperor to be present at the First Council. It is related, that the emperor, under the impulse of an ardent desire to see harmony re-established among Christians, summoned Acesius, bishop of the church of the Novatians, [1129] to the council, placed before him …
1,193 wordsSECTION 158Book II.
Book II. Chapter I.--The Discovery of the Life-Bringing Cross and of the Holy Nails. When the business at Nicæa had been transacted as above related, the priests returned home. The emperor rejoiced exceedingly at the restoration of unity of opinion in the Catholic Church, and desirous of expressing in behalf of himself, his ch…
1,116 wordsSECTION 159Chapter II.--Concerning Helena, the Mother of the Emperor; she visited Jerusalem, built Temples in that City, and performed other Godly Works: Her Death.
Chapter II.--Concerning Helena, the Mother of the Emperor; she visited Jerusalem, built Temples in that City, and performed other Godly Works: Her Death. About this period, the emperor, having determined upon erecting a temple in honor of God, charged the governors to see that the work was executed in the most magnificent and c…
1,695 wordsSECTION 160Chapter IV.--What Constantine the Great effected about the Oak in Mamre; he also built a Temple.
Chapter IV.--What Constantine the Great effected about the Oak in Mamre; he also built a Temple. I consider it necessary to detail the proceedings of Constantine in relation to what is called the oak of Mamre. [1147] This place is now called Terebinthus, and is about fifteen stadia distant from Hebron, which lies to the south, …
1,466 wordsSource & rights
Historical text source: Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The downloaded text itself records Public Domain.