Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 4.8
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/124
Text
δευτέρας γάρ τοι καθ’ ἡμῶν γενομένης ἐπαναστάσεως ὑπὸ Μαξιμίνου, τρίτῳ τοῦ καθ’ ἡμᾶς ἔτει διωγμοῦ, γραμμάτων τε τοῦ τυράννου τοῦτο πρῶτον διαπεφοιτηκότων, ὡς ἂν πανδημεὶ πάντες ἁπαξαπλῶς μετ’ ἐπιμελείας καὶ σπουδῆς τῶν κατὰ πόλεις ἀρχόντων θύοιεν, κηρύκων τε καθ’ ὅλης τῆς Καισαρέων πόλεως ἄνδρας ἅμα γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις ἐπὶ τοὺς τῶν εἰδώλων οἴκους ἐξ ἡγεμονικοῦ κελεύσματος ἀναβοωμένων, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις ὀνομαστὶ χιλιάρχων ἀπὸ γραφῆς ἕκαστον ἀνακαλουμένων, ἀφάτῳ τε κλύδωνι κακῶν τῶν πανταχόσε συγκεχυμένων, ἀφόβως ὁ δεδηλωμένος, μηδενὸς ἐπὶ τῷ πραχθησομένῳ συνειδότος αὐτῷ, ἡμᾶς τε, οἱ κατ’ οἶκον αὐτῷ συνῆμεν, καὶ ἔτι πᾶν τὸ περὶ τὸν ἡγεμόνα στρατιωτικὸν στῖφος ὑποκλέψας, σπένδοντι τῷ Οὐρβανῷ πρόσεισι, καὶ τῆς δεξιᾶς ἀκαταπλήκτως αὐτὸν λαβόμενος κατέπαυσε μὲν παραχρῆμα τοῦ θύειν, εὖ μάλα δὲ συμβουλευτικῶς μετά τινος θείου παραστήματος παρῄνει] παύσασθαι τῆς πλάνης· μὴ γὰρ ἔχειν καταλιπόντας τὸν ἕνα καὶ μόνον ἀληθῆ θεὸν εἰδώλοις καὶ δαίμοσι θύειν1
Translation
For in the second attack upon us under Maximinus, in the third year of the persecution, edicts of the tyrant were issued for the first time, commanding that the rulers of the cities should diligently and speedily see to it that all the people offered sacrifices. Throughout the city of Caesarea, by command of the governor, the heralds were summoning men, women, and children to the temples of the idols, and besides this, the chiliarchs were calling out each one by name from a roll, and an immense crowd of the wicked were rushing together from all quarters. Then this youth fearlessly, while no one was aware of his intentions, eluded both us who lived in the house with him and the whole band of soldiers that surrounded the governor, and rushed up to Urbanus as he was offering libations, and fearlessly seizing him by the right hand, straightway put a stop to his sacrificing, and skillfully and persuasively, with a certain divine inspiration, exhorted him to abandon his delusion, because it was not well to forsake the one and only true God, and sacrifice to idols and demons.2
Works Cited
- 1 Eusebius of Caesarea, De martyribus Palaestinae (Recensio Brevior): Machine Readable Text, ed. Wilhelm Dindorf (Leipzig: University of Leipzig, 2014), section: 4.8.
- 2 Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine: Machine Readable Text, ed. Philip Schaff, trans. Arthur Cushman McGiffert (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, 1993), section: 4.8.
Additional Bibliography
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Liber de martyribus Palestinae, in Eusebii Caesariensis Opera, ed. Wilhelm Dindorf, vol. 4, Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana (Leipzig: Teubner, 1867), 383–418, section: 4.8.
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine, in Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine the Great, and Oration in Praise of Constantine., ed. Arthur Cushman McGiffert et al., repr. of American ed., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. 2nd Series 1 (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890), 342–56, section: 4.8.
How to Cite This Entry
Eliana Yonan et al., “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 4.8,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 10, 2020, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/124.
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Bibliography:
Eliana Yonan et al., “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 4.8.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2020. Entry published June 10, 2020. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/124.About this Entry
Entry Title: Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 4.8
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editors, “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 4.8”
- Eliana Yonan and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 4.8”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Eliana Yonan
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife