Eusebius Book 2, Section 25

2.25.1

XXV. Κραταιουμένης δ’ ἤδη τῷ Νέρωνι τῆς ἀρχῆς, εἰς ἀνοσίους ὀκείλας ἐπιτηδεύσεις, κατ’ αὐ- τῆς ὡπλίζετο τῆς εἰς τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν εὐσεβείας. γράφειν μὲν οὖν οἷός τις οὗτος γεγένηται τὴν μοχθηρίαν, οὐ τῆς παρούσης γένοιτ’ ἂν σχολῆς · πολλῶν γε μὴν τὰ κατ’ αὐτὸν ἀκριβεστάταις παραδεδωκότων διηγήσεαιν, πάρεστιν ὅτῳ φί- λον, ἐξ αὐτῶν τὴν σκαιότητα τῆς τἀνδρὸς ἐκτόπου καταθεωμααι μανίας, καθ’ ἢν οὐ μετὰ λογισμοῦ μυρίων ὅαων ἀπωλείας διεξελθών, ἐπὶ τοααύτην ἤλασε μιαιφονίαν, ὡς μηδὲ τῶν οἰκειοτάτων τε καὶ φιλτάτων ἐπισχεῖν, μητέρα δὲ ὁμοίως καὶ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ γυναῖκα αὺν καὶ ἄλλοις μυρίοις τῷ γένει προσήκουσιν τρόπον ἐχθρῶν καὶ πολε- μίων ποικίλαις θανάτων ἰδέαις διαχρήαααθαι. ἐνέδει δ’ ἄρα τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ τοῦτ' ἐπιγραφῆναι αὐτῷ, ὡς ἀν’ πρῶτος αὐτοκρατόρων τῆς εἰς τὸ θεῖον εὐαεβείας πολέμιος ἀναδειχθείη. τούτου πάλιν ὁ Ῥωμαῖος Τερτυλλιανὸς ὧδέ πως λέγων μνημονεύει ἐντύχετε τοῖς ὑπομνήμααιν ὑμῶν, ἐκεῖ εὑρήαετε πρῶτον Νέρωνα τοῦτο τὸ δόγμα, ἡνίκα μάλιατα ἐν Ῥώμῃ, τὴν ἀνατολὴν πᾶσαν ὑποτάξας, ὠμὸς ἦν εἰς πάντας, διώξαντα. τοιού- τῳ τῆς κολάαεως ἡμῶν ἀρχηγῷ καυχώμεθα. ὁ γὰρ εἰδὼς ἐκεῖνον νοῆσαι δύναται ὡς οὐκ ἄν, εἰ μὴ μέγα τι ἀγαθὸν ἦν, ὑπὸ Νέρωνος κατακριθῆναι.”

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XXV. When the rule of Nero was now gathering strength for unholy objects, he began to take up arms against the worship of the God of the universe. It is not part of the present work to describe his depravity; many indeed have related his story in accurate narrative, and from them he who wishes can study the perversity of his degenerate madness, which made him compass the unreasonable destruction of so many thousands, until he reached that final guilt of sparing neither his nearest nor dearest, so that in various ways he did to death alike his mother, brothers, and wife, with thousands of others attached to his family, as though they were enemies and foes. But with all this there was still lacking to him this, that it should be attributed to him that he was the first of the emperors to be pointed out as a foe of divine religion. This again the Latin writer Tertullian mentions in one place as follows: “Look at your records: there you will find that Nero was the first to persecute this belief when, having overcome the whole East, he was especially cruel in Rome against all. We boast that such a man was the author of our chastisement; for he who knows him can understand that nothing would have been condemned by Nero had it not been great and good.”

2.25.2

ταύτῃ γοῦν οὗτος, θεομάχος ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα πρῶτος ἀνακηρυχθείς, ἐπὶ τὰς κατὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐπήρθη σφαγάς. Παῦλος δὴ οὖν ἐπ’ αὐτῆς ‘Ρώμης τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμηθῆναι καὶ Πέτρος ὡσαύτως ἀναακολοπιαθῆναι κατ’ αὐτὸν ἱστοροῦνται, καὶ πιστοῦταί γε τὴν ἱστορίαν ἡ Πέτρου καὶ Παύλου εἰς δεῦρο κρατήσασα ἐπὶ τῶν αὐτόθι κοιμητηρίων πρόαρηαις, οὐδὲν δὲ ἦττον καὶ ἐκκλησιαστικὸς ἀνήρ, Γάϊος ὄνομα, κατὰ Ζεφυρῖνον ‘ Ρωμαίων γεγονὼς ἐπίσκοπον· ὃς δὴ Πρόκλῳ τῆς κατὰ Φρύγας προἰ·αταμένῳ γνώμης ἐγγράφως διαλεχθείς, αὐτὰ δὴ ταῦτα περὶ τῶν τόπων, ἔνθα τῶν εἰρημένων ἀποστόλων τὰ ἱερὰ ακηνώματα κατατέθειται, φηαίν· “ ἐγὼ ’ς δὲ τὰ τρόπαια τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔχω δεῖξαι. ἐὰν γὰρ θελήσῃς ἀπελθεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν Βασικανὸν ἢ ἐπὶ τὴν ὁδὸν τὴν Ὠστίαν, εὑρήσεις τὰ τρόπαια τῶν ταύτην ἱδρυσαμένων τὴν ἐκκληλσίαν.”

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In this way then was he the first to be heralded as above all a fighter against God, and raised up to slaughter against the Apostles. It is related that in his time Paul was beheaded in Rome itself, and that Peter likewise was crucified, and the title of “Peter and Paul,” which is still given to the cemeteries there, confirms the story, no less than does a writer of the Church named Caius, who lived when Zephyrinus was bishop of Rome. Caius in a written discussion with Proclus, the leader of the Montanists, speaks as follows of the places where the sacred relics of the Apostles in question are deposited: “But I can point out the trophies of the Apostles, for if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way you will find the trophies of those who founded this church.” And that they both were martyred at the same time Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, affirms in this passage of his correspondence with the Romans: “By so great an admonition you bound together the foundations of the Romans and Corinthians by Peter and Paul, for both of them taught together in our Corinth and were our founders, and together also taught in Italy in the same place and were martyred at the same time.” And this may serve to confirm still further the facts narrated.

2.25.3

Ὡς δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν ἄμφω καιρὸν ἐμαρτύρησαν, Κορινθίων ἐπίσκοπος Διονύσιος ἐγγράφως Ῥωμαίοις ὁμιλῶν, ὧδε παρίατηαιν “ ταῦτα καὶ ὑμεῖς διὰ τῆς τοσαύτης νουθεαίας τὴν ἀπὸ Πέτρου καὶ Παύλου φυτείαν γενηθεῖσαν Ῥωμαίων τε καὶ Κορινθίων αυνεκεράαατε. καὶ γὰρ ἄμφω καὶ εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν Κόρινθον φυτεύααντες ἡμᾶς ὁμοίως ἐδίδαξαν, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἰταλίαν ὁμόσε διδάξαντες ἐμαρτύρησαν κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν καιρόν.’’ 1 καὶ ταῦτα δέ, ὡς ἂν ἔτι μᾶλλον πιστωθείη τὰ τῆς ἰατορίας.

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