The history of the church from our Lords incarnation, to the twelth year of the Emperour Maricius Tiberius, or the Year of Christ 594 / as it was written in Greek, by Eusebius Pamphilius ..., Socrates Scholasticus, and Evagrius Scholasticus ... ; made English from that edition of these historians, which Valesius published at Paris in the years 1659, 1668, and 1673 ; also, The life of Constantine in four books, written by Eusibius Pamphilus, with Constantine's Oration to the convention of the saints, and Eusebius's Speech in praise of Constantine, spoken at his tricennalia ; Valesius's annotations on these authors, are done into English, and set at their proper places in the margin, as likewise a translation of his account of their lives and writings ; with two index's, the one, of the principal matters that occur in the text, the other, of those contained in the notes.

CHAP. XXXVIII. Concerning the Heresie of the Helcesaïts.

AT that time also sprang up another perverse Errour, call'd the Heresie of the Helcesaïts, which was stifled in its birth. Origen mentions it in a 1.1 his Homily to the people upon the eighty second Psalm, in these words,

Lately there came one, highly conceited of himself for his ability, to defend that Atheistical and most wicked Opinion, call'd the Opinion of the b 1.2 Helce∣saïts, which lately was raised in opposition to the Church. I will explain to you what evil things that Opinion asserts, that ye be not drawn away by it. It reject's somethings of every part of the Scripture, but makes use of some Texts both out of the Old, and also out of the Evangelical Scripture: it rejects the A∣postle [Paul] wholly. It says 'tis an indif∣ferrent thing to deny [the Faith.] It ••olds also that upon necessity c 1.3 a wise man would deny [Christianity] with his mouth, but not with his heart also at the same time. They also carry about with them a book, which they say, fell down from heaven; and every one that hears it, and believes it, shall obtain Remission of sins: a Remission different from that which Jesus Christ bestowed.

But let thus much suf∣fice concerning these things.

Notes

• a 1.1

  Origen wrote three sorts of books up∣on the Scri∣pture, Com∣mentaries, Scholia, and Homilies. His Comments he wrote for the sake of the Learned, and his Scholia also: but upon those books which did not require long and tedious Comments he made Homilies, adapted to the Peoples capa∣city. And this is that which Sedulius aims at in his preface to his Opus Paschale. See Hieronymus in his Prefaces to Isaiah, and Mat∣thew, and also in his Preface to his Comments upon The Epistle to the Galatians: where he mentions this threefold work of Origen's; onely instead of the word Homilia he uses Tractatus, i. e. discourses, which is all one: for Tractatus in Latine is the same as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Greek. Concerning this threefold work of Origen, Rufinus speaks in his Epistle to Ursacius, which he prefixes before his translation of Origen's book upon Numbers. Vales.
• b 1.2

  Theodoret in his second book Fabularum Hareticarum, Chap. 7. calls these men 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and says they were so call'd from one Elcesa••. Epiphanius names him Elxaeus, a false Prophet, who joyn'd himself to the Ebionites, and was Authour of a strange, uncertain, and an unfix'd Opinion concerning Christ: which he relates, and which little differs from Theodoret's story in the place quoted. Hence it appears that this Elxaeus, and Elcesai are one and the same man. Epiphanius, in his Haresi Ossenorum, calls him Elxai, and says he lived in Trajan's time. At first, he says, he put forth a book full of Divine wisdom, and a Pro∣phesying spirit: But afterwards he affirmed 'twas no sin for a man to sacrifice to Idols, in the time of Persecution, if so be he do it not with his whole heart. The same also Origen here relates of these Elcesaits: but Epiphanius more plainly demonstrates this in his Haresi Samps••orum, where he says that these Elcesaei (which we prov'd were the same as Elcesaits.) had one Elxaeus, or Elxai Authour of their sect. Wherefore Scaliger in his Ele••chus Chap. 27. err's, where he says that this 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 is the same person with Essaeus; and that these Elcesaei or Elcesaits are the same as Essaei: then which nothing is more absurd Vales.
• c 1.3

  The Transla∣tours, Ru∣finus, Lan∣gus, and Christo∣phorson knew not the use and propriety of this Phrase [〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉,] and so misinterpreted it: the word signifies no more then, qui sapit, or sapiens, a wise man: See that old verse of He••iod. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, and to wise men. Vales.