A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

EUSEBlUS. ETSEBIUS. 1:15
stantine himself was favourable, and a majority-of like others, should be willing to' overlook his
-the council decreed its insertion. Eusebius at first faults, and regard him as an especial favourite of
hesitated to sign it, but afterwards did so; because, Heaven. As to the charge of dishonesty, though.
as he told the people of Caesareia in a pastoral letter we could neither expect nor wish a Christian to
explanatory of the proceedings at the council (So- be impartial in Gibbon's sense, yet Eusebius has
crat. i. 5), the emperor had assured him that by certainly avowed (H. E. viii. 2), that he omits
the phrase need only be understood an assertion almost all account of the wickedness and dissensions
that the Son of God is wholly different from every of the Christians, from thinking such stories less
created being; and that as His nature is entirely edifying than those which display the excellence of
spiritual, He was not born from the Father by religion, by reflecting honour upon the martyrs.
any division, or separation, or other corporeal pro- The fact that he avows this principle, at once dicess. Eusebius, however, always retained his mild minishes our confidence in him as an historian and
feelings on this subject; for he wished to reinstate acquits him of the charge of intentional deceit,
Arius in his church, in opposition to Athanasius, to which he would otherwise have been exposed.
and he was intimate with his namesake, the But besides this, Eusebius has written a chapter
bishop of Nicomedeia, a decided Arian. Eusebius (Praep. Evang. xii. 31) bearing the monstrous
had a very strong feeling against pictures of our title,-" How far it may be lawful and fitting to
Lord, and other novelties, which were then creep- use falsehood as a medicine for the advantage of
ing into the Church. When Constantia, the those who require such a method." Now at first
widow of Licinius and sister of Constantine, re- sight this naturally raises in our minds a strong
quested him to send her such a picture, he re- prejudice against a person who, being a Christian
fused, and pronounced all such representations in profession, could suppose that the use of falseworthy only of heathenism. (Vit. Const. 1. 3. p. hood can ever be justified; and no doubt the
1069.) These pictures he destroyed when they thought was suggested by the pious frauds which
came in his way, considering them inconsistent are the shame of -the -early Church. But when
with 2 Cor. v. 10 (" Though we have known we read the chapter itself, we find that the inChrist after the flesh, yet now henceforth know stances which Eusebius takes of the extent to
we Him no more"); and he greatly objected (Hist. which the principle may be carried are the cases
-Eccl. vii. 18) to a practice prevalent at Caesareia in which God is described in the Old Testament:of offering up figures of Christ as an act of thanks- as liable to human affections, as jealousy or anger,
giving for recovery from sickness. It cannot be " which is done for the advantage of those who
denied that in some of his objections to pictures-of require such a method." From this explanation
our Lord, he appears to overlook- the practical- in- it would appear that Eusebius may have meant
portance of His Incarnation to our Christian life. nothing more than the' principle of accommodating.Eusebilus remained in favour with the imperial fa- the degree of enlightenment granted from time to
mily till his death. He was offered the see of time to the knowledge and moral state of manAntioch on the death of Eustathius, but declined kind; and his only error consists in giving the
it, considering the practice of translations objec- odious name of falsehood to what is practically the
tionable, and, indeed, contrary to one of the canons most real truth. (See Arnold, Essay appended to
agreed upon at the recent council of Nicaea. For Sermons, vol. ii.)
-this moderation he was exceedingly praised by The principal works of Eusebius are as follows:Constantine, who declared that he was universally 1. The Chronicon (XpovrKd u ravToeacrrs iuropias), a
-considered worthy to be the bishop not of one city work of great value to us in the study-of ancient
only, but almost of the whole world. (Socrat. history. -For some time it was only known in a
H. E. i. 18.) He died about A. D. 340; so that fragmentary state, but was discovered entire in an
his birth, his' elevation to high office, and his Armenian MS. version at Constantinople, and pubdeath, nearly'coincide in time with those of his lished by Mai and Zohrab at Milan, in 1818. - It
imperial patron. is in two books. The first, entitled Xpovoypapfa,
The character of Eusebius, and his honesty as contains a sketch of the history of several ancient
a writer, have been made the subject of a fierce nations, as the Chaldaeans, Assyrians, Medes, Perattack by Gibbon, who (Decline and Fall, c. xvi.) sians, Lydians, Hebrews, and Egyptians. It is
accuses him of relating whatever might redound to chiefly taken from the 7revra34L8osov XpovoXoylKBco
the credit, and suppressing whatever would tend of Africanus [AFRICANUS, SEX. JULIUS], and gives
to cast reproach on Christianity, and represents lists of kings and other magistrates, with short achim as little better than a dishonest sycophant, counts of remarkable events from the creation to
anxious for nothing- higher than the favour of the time of Eusebius. The second book -consists
Constantine;:and resumes the subject in his of synchronological tables, with similar catalogues' Vindication" of the fifteenth and sixteenth chap- of rulers and striking occurrences, from the time
ters of the history. For the charge of sycophancy of Abraham to the celebration- of Constantine's:there is but little foundation. The joy of the Vivcennalia at Nicomedeia, A. D.-327, and at Rome,
Christians at Constantine's patronage of the true A. D. 328. Eusebius's object in writing it was to
religion was so great, that he was -all but.deified give an account of ancient history, previous to the
by them both before and after his death; and al- time of Christ, in order to establish belief in the
though no doubt Niebuhr (Lectures on Roman truth of the Old Testament History, and to point
History, Lect. lxxix. ed. Schmitz) - has sufficiently out the superior antiquity of the Mosaic to any
sbewn that Constantine, at least up to the time of other writings. For he says that whereas different
his last illness, can only be considered as a pagan; accounts had been given of the age of Moses, it
yet, considering that his accession not only termi- would be found from his work — that he was connated the persecution which had raged for ten temporary with Cecrops, and therefore not only
years, but -even established Christianity as. the prior -to Homer, Hesiod, and the Trojan war, but
state religion, it is not surprising that Eusebius, also to Hercules, Musaeus, Castor, Pollux, Hermes.
x2