entered into the firmest friendship. Pamphilus was, as Photius relates, a Phœnician, born at Berytus, and scholar of Pierius, a presbyter of the Alexandrian church. Who, since he was animated with the most singular attachment to sacred literature, and was with the utmost zeal collecting all the books, especially Origen's, of the ecclesiastic writers, founded a very celebrated school and library at Cæsarea, of which school Eusebius seems to have been the first master. Indeed, it is affirmed by Eusebius, that Apphianus, who suffered martyrdom in the third year of the persecution, had been instructed by him in the sacred Scriptures, in the city of Cæsarea. From that time Eusebius's intimacy with Pamphilus was so great, and his attention to him, as his inseparable companion till his death such, that from this attachment he acquired the name of Pamphilus. Neither did that attachment terminate with the death of the latter, but survived with the former, who ever mentioned his deceased friend in the most respectful and affectionate manner; this, indeed, is exemplified by the three books, eulogized by St. Jerome, and written by Eusebius, concerning the life of Pamphilus, and by many passages in his Ecclesiastic History, and in his account of the martyrs of Palestine. In his Second Book, also, against Sabellius, written by Eusebius, after the Nicene Council, he frequently commends Pamphilus, though he suppresses his name. In the commencement of that discourse, Eusebius observes, "I think that my ears are as yet affected by the memory of that blessed man; for I seem to be yet hearing him utter that devout word, the only begotten Son of God,' a phrase he constantly employed; for it was the remembrance of the only begotten to the glory of the unborn Father. Now we have heard the apostle commanding that presbyters ought to be honoured with a double honour, those especially who have laboured in the word and doctrine." And at page 29, he thus again speaks of his friend: "With these things from the memory of that blessed man, I am not elated, but wish I could so speak, as if, together with you, I were always hearing from him. And the words now cited may be pleasing to him, for it is the glory of good servants to speak truth concerning the Lord, and it is the honour of those fathers, who have taught well, if their doctrines be repeated." Some, it is true, "may insinuate, that these were • In his book concerning the martyrs of Palestine. † Again, in the same book, p. 37: "These words we always heard from that blessed man, for they were often thus spoken by him." phrases, the creatures of his lips, and no proof of the feelings of his heart. I remember, however, in what a satisfactory manner, I have heard with you, his solemn asseveration, that there was not one thing on his tongue and another in his heart." Shortly after, he says: "But now on account of the memory and honour of this our father. so good, so laborious, and so vigilant for the church, let these facts be briefly stated by us. For we have not mentioned yet his family, his education or learning, nor narrated the other incidents of his life, and its leading or principal object." These passages in Eusebius were pointed out to us by the most learned Franciscus Ogerius. Hence it may be satisfactorily inferred, that it was not any family alliance, but the bond of amity that connected Eusebius with Pamphius. Eusebius, though he mentions Pamphilus so frequently, and boasts so highly of his friendship, yet never speaks of him as a relative. The testimony of Eusebius alone is sufficient to decide that Pamphilus, though his friend, was not his kinsman. Since in the close of his Seventh Book of Ecclesiastic History, where he is making mention of Agapius, bishop of Cæsarea, he says: "In his time, we became acquainted with Pamphilus, a most eloquent man, and in his life and practices truly a philosopher,† and in the same church, ennobled with the honour of the presbytery." Since "Propositum" is the word employed by Valesius, doubtless in that acceptation in which its precise sense is so easily appreciated by the classic reader in Horace, Car. lib. ii. ode iii. line i "Justum et tenacem propositi virum, non civium ardor prava jubentium, non vultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solidâ," &c. Should not Christians have, universally, a far more vivid perception of this beautiful picture of mind than heathens? St. Paul had; see Philip. chap. iii. ver 13 & 14. The term philosopher, in the modern sense in which it is commonly understood, by no means expresses the precise meaning of the word opos, here used by Eusebius. By Isocrates, it is frequently employed to express an eloquent per son, or teacher of eloquence. Its generic sense is a lover of wisdom. Wisdom by the Sophists, was of course confined to their own doctrines. But according to the sense in which Josephus and other Grecian writers employed the word coços, the lover of wisdom, seems not to be searching for wisdom, either in the doctrines of the Sophists, or in the Cartesian vortices, but in the volumes of inspired truth. This character, then, is equivalent to what in modern language is called a theologian, in which sense, I have no doubt, Eusebius is here to be understood. Hence Pamphilus was a character not only devoted to the attainment of that wisdom, which is developed in the sacred code, but his life and practices were such as to recommend it to others; consequently, a true theologian.-Translator. then, Eusebius attests that Pamphilus was then first known to him, it is sufficiently evident, that family alliance was not the tie that connected them. In these times occurred that most severe persecution of the Christians, which was begun by Diocletian, and by his successors continued unto the tenth year. During this persecution, Eusebius, at that time being a presbyter of the church of Cæsarea, abode almost constantly in that city, and by continual exhortations, instructed many persons in order to martyrdom. Amongst whom was Apphianus, a noble youth, whose illustrious fortitude in martyrdom is related in Eusebius's book concerning the martyrs of Palestine. In the same year Pamphilus was cast into prison, where he spent two whole years in bonds. During which time, Eusebius by no means deserted his friend and companion, but visited him continually, and in the prison wrote, together with him, five books in defence of Origen; but the sixth and last book of that work, he finished after the death of Pamphilus. That whole work was by Eusebius and Pamphilus dedicated* to Christian confessors,† living in the mines of Palestine. In the time of this persecution, on account, probably, of some urgent affairs of the church, Eusebius went to Tyre. During his residence there, he witnessed the glorious martyrdom of five Egyptian Christians; and afterwards, on his arrival in Egypt and Thebais, the persecution then prevailing there, he § beheld the admirable constancy of many martyrs of both sexes. Some have insinuated that Eusebius, to exempt himself in this persecution, from the troubles of a prison, sacrificed to idols; and that this was objected against him, as will be hereafter related, by the Egyptian bishops and confessors, in the synod at Tyre. But we doubt not that this is false, and that it was a calumny forged by the ene This is affirmed by Photius in his Bibliotheca, chap. 118. † Though the word here employed by Valesius, is confessores, yet there cannot be the least doubt, that the characters to whom he alludes were very different from those which a more recent application of the term might intimate. Confessores were simply persons that had confessed and acknowledged openly, during the time of the persecution, that they were Christians, and would not, to save either their lives or property, deny their Master or his sacred cause. They were decided characters, tenaces propositi. This term was employed by Valesius, who lived in an age of the church when its use was popular. + Eusebius informs us of this in his Eighth Book, chap. 7. This he relates in the ninth chapter of the same Book. mies of Eusebius. For had a crime so great been really committed by him, how could he have been afterwards appointed bishop of Cæsarea? How is it likely that he should, in this case, have been invited by the Antiochians to undertake the episcopate of their city? And yet Cardinal Baronius has seized on that as certain and undoubted, which by his enemies, for litigious purposes, was objected against Eusebius, but never confirmed by the testimony of any one. At the same time, a book was written by Eusebius against Hierocles. For Hierocles of Nicomedia, about the beginning of the persecution, when the Christian churches were everywhere harassed, in the city of Nicomedia, published, as an insult to a religion then assailed by all its enemies, two books against the Christian faith. In which books he asserted, that Apollonius Tyaneus performed more and greater thingst than Christ. These impious assertions, Eusebius answered in a very short book, as if he regarded the man and his cause of little consequence. rea. Agapius, bishop of Caesarea during this interval, being dead, the persecution subsiding, and peace being restored to the church, Eusebius, by common consent, succeeds to the episcopal dignity at CæsaOthers represent Agricola, who subscribed to the synod of Ancyra, at which he was present in the 314th year of the Christian era, to be the successor of Agapius. This is affirmed by Baronius in his Annals and Blondellus. The latter writes, that Eusebius undertook the administration of the church of Cæsarea, after the death of Agricola, about the year 315. But these subscriptions of the bishops extant only in the Latin collections of the canons, seem in our judgment to be entitled to little credit. For they occur not either in the Greek copies, or in the Latin versions of Dionysius Exiguus, Berides, Eusebius,|| enumerating the bishops of the principal diocesses, where the persecution began and raged, ends with the mention of Agapius bishop of Cæsarea; who, he observes, laboured much, during that persecution, for the good of his own church. The necessary inference, therefore, is, that Agapius must have been bishop until the end of the persecution. But Eusebius was elevated to the • Which he termed φιλαληθεις. No word for "miracles" occurs in the text of Valesius. § In his Apology pro Sententiâ Hieronymi. c. 19. Val. In the 7th Book of his Ecclesiactic Hist. chap. 32. episcopal function immediately after that persecution. For after peace was restored to the church, Eusebius* and other prelates being invited by Paulinus bishop of Tyre, to the dedication of a cathedral. Eusebius made there a very eloquent oration. Now this happened before the rebellion of Licinius against Constantine, in the 315th year of the Christian era, about which period Eusebius wrote those celebrated books concerning Evangelic Demonstration and Preparation. And these books were certainly written before the Nicenc Synod, since they are expressly mentioned in his Ecclesiastic History, which was written, as proved in our Annotations, before that council. Meanwhile, Licinius, who managed the government in the eastern parts, excited by sudden rage, began to persecute the Christians, especially the prelates, whom he suspected of showing more favour, and of offering up more prayers for Constantine than for himself. Constantine, however, having defeated him in two battles by land and sea, compelled him to surrender, and restored peace to the Christians of the eastern countries. A disturbance, however, far more grievous, arose at that time, amongst the Christians themselves. For since Arius, a presbyter of the city of Alexandria, would in the church, publicly advance some new and impious tenet relative to the Son of God, and notwithstanding repeated admonition by Alexander the bishop, persisted, he and his associates in this heresy, were at length expelled. Highly resenting this, Arius sent letters with a sketch of his own faith to all the bishops of the neighbouring cities, in which he complained, that since he asserted the same doctrines that the rest of the eastern prelates maintained, he had been unjustly deposed by Alexander. Many bishops imposed on by these artifices, and powerfully excited by Eusebius of Nicomedia, who openly favoured the Arian party, wrote letters in defence of Arius to Alexander bishop of Alexandria, entreating him to restore Arius to his former rank in the church. Our Eusebius was one of their number, whose letter written to Alexander is extant in the acts of the seventh Oecumenical Synod, which we have inserted amongst the testimoniest of the ancients. The • As we are informed in the tenth book of his Ecclesiastic Hist. Val. See chap. 4, where Eusebius has inserted this oration. † Of these, Valesius, after his account of Eusebius's life and writings, presents a collection made by himself, both for and against Eusebius. q. v. b |