A new history of ecclesiastical writers containing an account of the authors of the several books of the Old and New Testament, of the lives and writings of the primitive fathers, an abridgement and catalogue of their works ... also a compendious history of the councils, with chronological tables of the whole / written in French by Lewis Ellies du Pin.

EUDOCIA the Empress, and PROBA FAL∣CONIA.

WHO would expect to see the Names of Women among the Number of Ecclesiastical Authors? In all times indeed there have been Learned Women, but yet very few * 1.1 durst meddle with Divinity. It is more strange to see an Empress so employ'd, and nothing is more wonderful, (as the Learned Photius observes upon this occasion) than to see a Prin∣cess, amidst the soft and charming delights of a Court, to compose Books. This Woman of whom we are now speaking, was the Daughter of Leontius an Athenian Philosopher, and Wife of Theodosius the Younger. She composed a Paraphrase upon the Eight first Books of the Bible in Greek Heroicks. Photius assures us in the 183 Codex of his Bibliotheca, that it was an Excellent Work, and not inferior to any other of that Nature in the Elegancy of the Verse. But by confining herself too strictly to the Rules of Translation, she hath transgres∣sed

the Rules of Art. Nevertheless many approve of it, and affirm, that Translation ought to be so managed. She is not studious to please the Ears of the Younger sort, as Poets usually do, by allowing themselves the Liberty of changing Truths into Fables. She doth not divert her Readers by tedious digressions from the subject treated on▪ but follows her Text with so much Exactness and Fidelity, that they that read her Work, will be well satisfied with it. She preserves the same sence entirely in the same manner as it is written, without adding to it, or taking from it, and uses as much as possible such words as come nearest the Original. At the end of every Book she shews in Two Verses, that she was the Author of it.

The same Photius adds in the following Volume, That she had composed in the same Stile a Paraphrase upon the Prophecies of Daniel and Zachary, and Three Books in commendation of * 1.2 S. Cyprian the Martyr. The First contains the Life of S. Justina, the Artifices which Cy∣prian made use of to defile her, his Conversion and Ordination. The Life of Cyprian is re∣lated in the Second; and in the Third, the Martyrdom of S. Cyprian, which happened un∣der Dioclesian. There are many things in this History which seem not to be certain. It sup∣poses that Cyprian was Bishop of Antioch, whereas there was none of that Name there in the time of Dioclesian. I pass over many other things in silence, that are related by Photius, but are very improbable, and unlikely to be true.

We have none of these Works of Eudocia, but there is Printed under her Name, An Histo∣ry of the Life of Jesus Christ, written in Heroick Verses taken out of Homer, that is to say, there is not one Verse, which is not a piece of Homer's Poems. Upon which account it is, that they are called Centones Homerici, Verses made up of Fragments of Homer.

Zonaras, and Cedrenus say, That Pelagius Patricius, whom the Emperor Zeno put to Death, had composed a Work which bore the same Title, and indeed in the Catalogue of the Library of Heidelberg, this Book is attributed to one Patricius, who is there thro' mistake called a Priest. There is also in the same place an Epigram of Eudocia's upon the same Poem. The first Greek Editions of Aldus and Stephanus in the Year 1554, and 1578, have no Author's Name. Photius, who speaks of Eudocia's other works, makes no mention of this. All which would make me believe, that 'tis not hers, but Pelagius's, and that 'tis imputed to her for no other Reason, but because she had commended it in an Epigram, which was in the beginning of it.

There is a Latin Work of the same Nature, attributed to Proba Falconia, the Wife of Ani∣cius Probus, who also hath made an History of the Life of Jesus Christ, framed out of pieces of Virgil's Poems. It was Printed at Collen in 1601, at Lyons in 1516, at Franckfort in 1541, and at Paris in 1578. These Two Works are also put in the Bibliath. Patr. [Tom. V.] S. Je∣r••m in his Letter to Paulinus says, that he had seen these Poems made up of * 1.3 pieces of Ho∣mer, and Virgil, but he shews no great liking to them, and indeed, these sort of Works can∣not be very excellent, but are rather an Indication of the Author's Memory and Labour, than the fineness of their Wit, or the strength of their Fancy.

Proba Falconia flourished about the Year * 1.4 430. Eudocia was Married to the Emperor about the Year 421, and Died in 460, Zonaras tells us, That she fell into disgrace about a ••••vial matter. The Emperor having sent her an Apple of an extraordinary bigness, she gave it to Paulinus, who was highly in favour with her upon the account of his Learning; he not knowing where she had it, presented it to the Emperor, who seeing the Empress a little while after, asked her, What she had done with the Apple? She fearing, least her Husband should grow suspicious of her, if she should say she had given it Paulinus, affirmed, with an Oath, that she had Eaten it. This made the Emperor believe, that she had not an Innocent Famili∣arity with Paulinus, especially seeing her so much Abashed, when he shewed it to her. Where∣upon he forced her to depart from him. She went to Jerusalem, where she spent her time in Building of Churches, and did not return till after her Husband's Death. This is the Histo∣ry, or rather, the Fable reported by Zonaras.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Eudocia, & Proba Fal∣conia.
• * 1.2

  [Not S. Cyprian of Carthage, but another C••prian, a Roman.]
• * 1.3

  [Centone Homerici 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Virgiliani.]
• * 1.4

  [371. Dr▪ Cave.]