Eusebius Book 4, Section 8

4.8.1

VIII. ἐν τούτοις ἐγνωρίζετο Ἡγήσιππος, οὗ πλείσταις ἤδη πρό. τερον κεχρήμεθα φωναῖς, ὡς ἂν ἐκ τῆς αὐτοῦ παραδόσεως τινὰ τὼν κατὰ τοὺς ἀποστόλους παραθέμενοι. ἐν πέντε δ’ οὖν συγγράμμασιν οὗτος τὴν ἀπλανῆ παράδοσιν τοῦ ἀποστολικοῦ κηρύγματος ἁπλοῦ· συντάξει γραφῆς ὑπομνηματισάμενος, καθ’ ὃν ἐγνωρίζετο σημαίνει χρόνον, περὶ τῶν ἀρχῆθεν ἰδρυσάντων τὰ εἴδωλα οὕτω πως γράφων· “οἷς κενοτάφια καὶ ναοὺς ἐποίησαν ὡς μέχρι νῦν· ὧν ἐστιν καὶ Ἀντίνοος, δοῦλος Ἀδριανοῦ Καίσαρος, οὗ καὶ ἀγὼν ἄγεται Ἀντινόειος, ὁ ἐφ’ ἡμῶν γενόμενος. καὶ γὰρ πόλιν ἔκτισεν ἐπώνυμον Ἀντινόου καὶ προφήτας.” κατ’ αὐτὸν δὲ καὶ Ἰου- στῖνος, γνήσιος τῆς ἀληθοῦς φιλοσοφίας ἐραστής, ἔτι τοῖς παρ’ Ἕλλησιν ἀσκούμενος ἐνδιέτριβεν λόγοις· σημαίνει δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τουτονὶ τὸν χρόνον ἐν τῆ πρὸς Ἀντωνῖνον ἀπολογίᾳ ὧδε γράφων· “οὐκ ἄτοπον δὲ ἐπιμνησθῆναι ἐν τούτοις ἡγούμεθα καὶ Ἀντινόου τοῦ νῦν γενομένου, ὃν καὶ ἅπαντες ὡς θεὸν διὰ φόβον σέβειν ὥρμηντο, ἐπιστάμενοι τίς τε ἢν καὶ πόθεν ὑπῆρχεν.”

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VIII. Among these Hegesippus was famous, and of his words we have already made much use, for from his tradition we have quoted details as to the apostolic age. He collected his material in five books, giving in the simplest style of writing the unerring tradition of the apostolic preaching. He indicates the time in which he flourished by writing thus about those who had made idols: “To them they made cenotaphs and shrines until now, and among them is Antinous, a slave of the Emperor Hadrian, in whose honour the Antinoian games are held, though he was our contemporary. For he also built a city called after Antinous, and instituted prophets.” At the same time too, Justin, a genuine lover of true philosophy, was still continuing to practise the learning of the Greeks. And he also himself indicates this period in his Apology to Antoninus by writing thus: “And we thought it not out of place to mention at this point Antinous of the present day, whom all were intimidated to worship as a god, though they knew his nature and origin.”

4.8.2

Ὁ δ᾿ αὐτὸς καὶ τοῦ τότε κατὰ Ἰουδαίων πολέμου μνημονεύων ταῦτα παρατίθεται·” καὶ γὰρ ἐν τῷ νῦν γενομένῳ Ἰουδαικῷ πολέμῳ Βαρχωχεβας, ὁ τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀποστάσεως ἀρχηγέτης, Χριστιανοὺς εἰς τιμωρίας δεινάς, εἰ μὴ ἀρνοῖντο Ἰησοῦν τὸν Χριστὸν καὶ βλασφημοῖεν, ἐκέλευεν ἄγσεθαι.”

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The same writer, too, when mentioning the war at that time against the Jews, sets down these words: “For in the present Jewish war Bar Chochebas, the leader of the revolt of the Jews, ordered Christians to be subjected to severe punishments, if they did not deny Jesus the Christ and blaspheme him.”

4.8.3

Ἐν ταὐτῷ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς φιλοσοφίας ἐπὶ τὴν θεοσέβειαν μεταβολὴν αὐτοῦ, ὅτι μὴ ἀλόγως, μετὰ κρίσεως δὲ αὐτῷ γεγόνει, δηλῶν, ταῦτα γράφει· “καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐγώ, τοῖς Πλάτωνος χαίρων διδάγμασι, διαβαλλομένους ἀκούων Χριστιανούς, ὁρῶν δὲ καὶ ἀφόβους πρὸς θάνατον καὶ πάντα τὰ νομιζόμενα φοβερά, ἐνενόουν ἀδύνατον εἶναι ἐν κακίᾳ καὶ φιληδονίᾳ ὑπάρχειν αὐτούς· τίς γὰρ φιλήδονος ἢ ἀκρατὴς καὶ ἀνθρωπείων σαρκῶν βορὰν ἡγούμενος ἀγαθόν, δύναιτ᾿ ἂν θάνατον ἀσπάζεσθαι, ὅπως τῶν ἑαυτοῦ στερηθείη ἐπιθυμιῶν, ἀλλ᾿ οὐκ ἐκ παντὸς ξῆν ἀεὶ τὴν ἐνθάδε βιοτὴν καὶ λανθάνειν τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἐπειρᾶτο, οὐχ ὅτι ἑαυτὸν κατήγγελλεν φονευθησόμενον;”

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In the same book he shows that his conversion from Greek philosophy to true religion did not take place irrationally, but as an act of deliberate judgment; for he writes thus: “For I myself, while I was rejoicing in the teaching of Plato, heard the Christians abused. But I saw that they were afraid neither of death, nor of anything usually thought fearful, and I considered it was impossible that they were living in wickedness and love of pleasure. For what libertine or incontinent person, or one who considers the eating of human flesh a good, could greet death, that it might take away all his lusts, and would not try to prolong by all means his present life and to avoid the notice of the rulers, and not give himself up to be murdered?”

4.8.4

Ἔτι δ᾿ ὁ αὐτὸς ἱστορεῖ δεξάμενον τὸν Ἁδριανὸν παρὰ Σερεννίου Γρανιανοῦ, λαμπροτάτου ἡγουμένου, ὑπὲρ Χριστιανῶν περιέχοντα ὡς οὐ δίκαιον εἴη ἐπὶ μηδενὶ ἐγκλήματι βοαῖς δήμου χαριζομένους ἀκρίτως κτείνειν αὐτούς, ἀντιγραφαὶ Μινουκίῳ Φουνδανῷ, ἀνθυπάτῳ τῆς Ἀσίας, προστάττοντα μηδένα κρίνειν ἄνευ ἐγκλήματος καὶ εὐλόγου κατηγορίας· καὶ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς δὲ ἀντίγραφον παρατέθειται, τὴν ῾Ρωμαϊκήν φωνήν, ὡς εἶχεν, διαφυλάξας, προλέγει δ᾿ αὐτῆς ταῦτα· “καὶ ἐξ ἐπιστολῆς δὲ τοῦ μεγίστου καὶ ἐπιφανεστάτου Ἀδριανοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν ἔχοντες ἀπαιτεῖν ὑμᾶς, καθὰ ἠξιώσαμεν, κελεῦσαι τὰς κρίσεις γίνεσθαι, τοῦτο οὐχ ὡς ὑπὸ Ἀδριανοῦ κελευσθὲν μᾶλλον ἐξιώσαμεν, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τοῦ ἐπίστασθαι δικαίαν ἀξιοῦν τὴν προσφώνησιν. ὑπετάξαμεν δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς Ἀδριανοῦ τὸ ἀντίγραφον, ἵνα καὶ τοῦτο ἀληθεύειν ἡμᾶς γνωρίζητε, καὶ ἔστιν τόδε.

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Moreover, the same writer relates that Hadrian received a dispatch in favour of the Christians from Serennius Granianus, a most distinguished governor, to the effect that it was not just to put them to death, without accusation or trial, to appease popular clamour, and that he wrote an answer to Minucius Fundanus, proconsul of Asia, ordering him to try no one without indictment and reasonable accusation; and Justin appends a copy of the letter, preserving the original Latin as he had it, and prefixing these remarks: “Though we might have begged you to order trials to be held, as we desired, on the strength of a letter from the great and glorious Emperor Hadrian, we preferred to rest our request not on the command of Hadrian but on our knowledge that we are making a righteous request. However, we also append a copy of the letter of Hadrian, that you may know that we are speaking the truth on this point, and here it is.”

4.8.5

Τούτοις ὁ μὲν δηλωθεὶς ἀνὴρ αὐτὴν παρατέθειται τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν ἀντιγραφήν, ἡμεῖς δ’ ἐπὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν κατὰ δύναμιν αὐτὴν μετειλήφαμεν, ἔχουσαν ὧδε·

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The author quoted then appends the Latin rescript itself, but we have translated it to the best of our power into Greek as follows: