Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 9.12-9.13
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/127
Text
ἐφ’ οἷς πλείσταις ἡμέραις ἐπιτελουμένοις τοιοῦτόν τι παράδοξον συμβαίνει. αἰθρία ἦν καὶ λαμπρὸς ἀὴρ καὶ τοῦ περιέχοντος κατάστασις εὐδιεινοτάτη. εἶτα ἀθρόως τῶν ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν κιόνων, οἱ τὰς δημοσίας ὑπήρειδον στοὰς, δακρύων τινὰ τρόπον οἱ πλείους σταλαγμοὺς ἀπέσταζον, ἀγοραί τε καὶ πλατεῖαι, μηδεμιᾶς ψεκάδος ἐξ ἀέρος γεγενημένης, οὐκ οἶδ’ ὁπόθεν ὕδατι ῥανθεῖσαι καθυγραίνοντο, ὡς αὐτίκα διαθρυληθῆναι εἰς πάντας δακρῦσαι τὴν γῆν ἀρρήτῳ λόγῳ, τὴν τῶν τότε πραχθέντων ἀνοσιουργίαν μὴ φέρουσαν, εἰς ἔλεγχόν τε φύσεως ἀτέγκτου καὶ ἀσυμπαθοῦς ἀνθρώπων λίθους καὶ τὴν ἄψυχον ὕλην ἐπικλαῦσαι τοῖς γεγενημένοις. λῆρος ἴσως καὶ μῦθος εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι δόξειεν εἶναι τὸ ῥῆμα τοῖς μεθ’ἡμᾶς, ἀλλ’οὐχ οἷσπερ ὁ καιρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐπιστώσατο.1
Translation
After these things had continued for many days, a wonderful event occurred. The air was clear and bright and the appearance of the sky most serene. When suddenly throughout the city from the pillars which supported the public porches many drops fell like tears; and the market places and streets, though there was no mist in the air, were moistened with sprinkled water, whence I know not. Then immediately it was reported everywhere that the earth, unable to endure the abomination of these things, had shed tears in a mysterious manner; and that as a rebuke to the relentless and unfeeling nature of men, stones and lifeless wood had wept for what had happened. I know well that this account may perhaps appear idle and fabulous to those who come after us, but not to those to whom the truth was confirmed at the time.2
Works Cited
- 1 Eusebius of Caesarea, De martyribus Palaestinae (Recensio Brevior): Machine Readable Text, ed. Wilhelm Dindorf (Leipzig: University of Leipzig, 2014), section: 9.12-9.13.
- 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: 9.12-9.13.
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: 9.12-9.13.
- 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: 9.12-9.13.
How to Cite This Entry
Eliana Yonan et al., “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 9.12-9.13,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 10, 2020, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/127.
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Bibliography:
Eliana Yonan et al., “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 9.12-9.13.” 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/127.About this Entry
Entry Title: Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 9.12-9.13
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 9.12-9.13”
- Eliana Yonan and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Eusebius of Caesarea, Martyrs of Palestine 9.12-9.13”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Eliana Yonan
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife