Werke Eusebius von Caesarea (260-339) Historia Ecclesiastica

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The Church History of Eusebius

Chapter XVIII.--The Works of Justin which have come down to us.

1. This writer has left us a great many monuments of a mind educated and practiced in divine things, which are replete with profitable matter of every kind. To them we shall refer the studious, noting as we proceed those that have come to our knowledge. 1

2. There is a certain discourse 2 of his in defense of our doctrine addressed to Antoninus surnamed the Pious, and to his sons, and to the Roman senate. Another work contains his second Apology 3 in behalf of our faith, which he offered to him who was the successor of the emperor mentioned and who bore the same name, Antoninus Verus, the one whose times we are now recording.

3. Also another work against the Greeks, 4 in which he discourses at length upon most of the questions at issue between us and the Greek philosophers, and discusses the nature of demons. It is not necessary for me to add any of these things here.

4. And still another work of his against the Greeks has come down to us, to which he gave the title Refutation. And besides these another, On the Sovereignty of God, 5 which he establishes not only from our Scriptures, but also from the books of the Greeks.

5. Still further, a work entitled Psaltes, 6 and another disputation On the Soul, in which, after propounding various questions concerning the problem under discussion, he gives the opinions of the Greek philosophers, promising to refute it, and to present his own view in another work.

6. He composed also a dialogue against the Jews, 7 which he held in the city of Ephesus with Trypho, a most distinguished man among the Hebrews of that day. In it he shows how the divine grace urged him on to the doctrine of the faith, and with what earnestness he had formerly pursued philosophical studies, and how ardent a search he had made for the truth. 8

7. And he records of the Jews in the same work, that they were plotting against the teaching of Christ, asserting the same things against Trypho: "Not only did you not repent of the wickedness which you had committed, but you selected at that time chosen men, and you sent them out from Jerusalem through all the land, to announce that the godless heresy of the Christians had made its appearance, and to accuse them of those things which all that are ignorant of us say against us, so that you become the causes not only of your own injustice, but also of all other men's." 9

8. He writes also that even down to his time prophetic gifts shone in the Church. 10 And he mentions the Apocalypse of John, saying distinctly that it was the apostle's. 11 He also refers to certain prophetic declarations, and accuses Trypho on the ground that the Jews had cut them out of the Scripture. 12 A great many other works of his are still in the hands of many of the brethren. 13

9. And the discourses of the man were thought so worthy of study even by the ancients, that Irenaeus quotes his words: for instance, in the fourth book of his work Against Heresies, where he writes as follows: 14 "And Justin well says in his work against Marcion, that he would not have believed the Lord himself if he had preached another God besides the Creator"; and again in the fifth book of the same work he says: 15 "And Justin well said that before the coming of the Lord Satan never dared to blaspheme God, 16 because he did not yet know his condemnation."

10. These things I have deemed it necessary to say for the sake of stimulating the studious to peruse his works with diligence. So much concerning him.

  1. Eusebius apparently cites here only the works which he had himself seen, which accounts for his omission of the work against Marcion mentioned above, in chap. 11. ↩

  2. This Apology is the genuine work of Justin, and is still extant in two late and very faulty mss., in which it is divided into two, and the parts are commonly known as Justin's First and Second Apologies, though they were originally one. The best edition of the original is that of Otto in his Corpus Apologetarum Christianorum; English translation in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. I. p. 163 ff. Eusebius, in his Chronicle, places the date of its composition as 141, but most critics are now agreed in putting it ten or more years later; it must, however, have been written before the death of Antoninus Pius (161). See Schaff, Ch. Hist. II. p. 716. ↩

  3. Eusebius here, as in chap. 16 above, ascribes to Justin a second Apology, from which, however, he nowhere quotes. From Eusebius the tradition has come down through history that Justin wrote two apologies, and the tradition seems to be confirmed by the existing mss. of Justin, which give two. But Eusebius' two cannot have corresponded to the present two; for, from chap. 8, §§16 and 17, it is plain that to Eusebius our two formed one complete work. And it is plain, too, from internal evidence (as is now very generally admitted; Wieseler's arguments against this, in his Christenverfolgungen, p. 104 ff., are not sound), that the two were originally one, our second forming simply a supplement to the first. What, then, has become of the second Apology mentioned by Eusebius? There is much difference of opinion upon this point. But the explanation given by Harnack (p. 171 ff.) seems the most probable one. According to his theory, the Apology of Athenagoras (of whom none of the Fathers, except Methodius and Philip of Side, seem to have had any knowledge) was attributed to Justin by a copyist of the third century,--who altered the address so as to throw it into Justin's time,--and as such it came into the hands of Eusebius, who mentions it among the works of Justin. That he does not quote from it may be due to the fact that it contained nothing suited to his purpose, or it is possible that he had some suspicions about it; the last, however, is not probable, as he nowhere hints at them. That some uncertainty, however, seemed to hang about the work is evident. The erasure of the name of Athenagoras and the substitution of Justin's name accounts for the almost total disappearance of the former from history. This Apology and his treatise on the resurrection first appear again under his name in the eleventh century, and exist now in seventeen mss. (see Schaff, II. 731). The traditional second Apology of Justin having thus after the eleventh century disappeared, his one genuine Apology was divided by later copyists, so that we still have apparently two separate apologies. ↩

  4. This and the following were possibly genuine works of Justin; but, as they are no longer extant, it is impossible to speak with certainty. The two extant works, Discourse to the Greeks (Oratio ad Graecos) and Hortatory Address to the Greeks (Cohortatio ad Graecos), which are translated in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, I. p. 271-289, are to be regarded as the productions of later writers, and are not to be identified with the two mentioned here (although Otto defends them both, and Semisch defends the latter). ↩

  5. We have no reason to think that this work was not genuine, but it is no longer extant, and therefore certainty in the matter is impossible. It is not to be identified with the extant work upon the same subject (translated in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, I. p. 290-293), which is the production of a later writer. ↩

  6. This work and the following have entirely disappeared, but were genuine productions of Justin, for all that we know to the contrary. ↩

  7. This is a genuine work of Justin, and is still extant (translated in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, I. p. 194-270). Its exact date is uncertain, but it was written after the Apology (to which it refers in chap. 120), and during the reign of Antoninus Pius (137-161). Of Trypho, whom Eusebius characterizes as "a most distinguished man among the Hebrews," we know nothing beyond what we can gather from the dialogue itself. ↩

  8. See Dial. chap. 2 sq. ↩

  9. ibid. chap. 17. ↩

  10. ibid.chap. 82. ↩

  11. ibid.chap. 81. ↩

  12. ibid.chap. 71. ↩

  13. Of the many extant and non-extant works attributed to Justin by tradition, all, or the most of them (except the seven mentioned by Eusebius, and the work Against Marcion, quoted by Irenaeus,--see just below,--and the Syntagma Contra omnes Haer.), are the productions of later writers. ↩

  14. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. IV. 6. 2. ↩

  15. Irenaeus, V. 26. 2. Irenaeus does not name the work which he quotes here, and the quotation occurs in none of Justin's extant works, but the context and the sense of the quotation itself seem to point to the same work, Against Marcion. ↩

  16. Epiphanius expresses the same thought in his Haer. XXXIX. 9. ↩

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Kirchengeschichte (BKV)

18. Kap. Die auf uns gekommenen Schriften Justins.

Justin hat uns sehr viele und äußerst nützliche Denkmäler seines gebildeten, auf das Religiöse gerichteten Geistes hinterlassen. Wir geben seine uns bekannt gewordenen Schriften zum Gebrauche an, damit sie von den Lernbegierigen verwertet werden. Eine Schrift Justins ist an Antoninus Pius, seine Söhne und den römischen Senat gerichtet und tritt für unsere Lehren ein, eine andere Schrift enthält eine weitere Verteidigung unseres Glaubens und ist an den Nachfolger des erwähnten Kaisers, seinen Namensvetter Antoninus Verus1 gerichtet, dessen Zeit wir jetzt gerade behandeln.2 Eine andere Schrift, an die Hellenen gerichtet, in welcher er sich ausführlich über sehr viele von uns und den griechischen Philosophen behandelte Fragen verbreitet, erörtert die Natur der Dämonen; es dürfte überflüssig sein, hier darauf einzugehen. Ferner ist noch auf uns gekommen eine andere Schrift gegen die Hellenen, die er auch „Widerlegung“ betitelte, außerdem eine Arbeit über die Einheit Gottes, in welcher er nicht nur aus unseren Schriften schöpfte, sondern auch aus griechischen Werken, schließlich eine Abhandlung mit der Überschrift „Psalter“ und eine Lehrschrift über die Seele, worin er verschiedene Forschungen über das in der Überschrift genannte Thema vorträgt und die Ansichten der griechischen Philosophen anführt S. 190 mit dem Versprechen, in einer anderen Schrift diese Ansichten zu widerlegen und seine eigene Anschauung darzulegen.3 Auch verfaßte Justin einen Dialog gegen die Juden, den er zu Ephesus mit Tryphon, dem damals bedeutendsten Hebräer, gehalten hatte. In demselben teilt er mit, wie ihn Gottes Gnade zum Bekenntnis des Glaubens geführt, welchen Eifer er auf die Philosophie verwandt und mit welch feuriger Begeisterung er sich der Erforschung der Wahrheit gewidmet hat.4 Er erzählt daselbst von der jüdischen Hetze gegen die Lehre Christi, indem er sich mit folgenden Worten an Tryphon wendet:5 „Nicht nur habt ihr eure bösen Taten nicht bereut, ihr habt sogar bevorzugte Männer auserwählt und sie damals von Jerusalem aus über die ganze Erde ausgesandt, indem ihr erklärtet, im Christentum sei eine gottlose Häresie erschienen, und uns nach Art all derer, welche uns gar nicht kennen, beschimpftet. Ihr tragt daher nicht nur die Verantwortung für eure eigenen Sünden, sondern auch für die Sünden aller übrigen Menschen überhaupt.“ Justin schreibt auch, daß die prophetischen Gaben zu seiner Zeit noch in der Kirche leuchteten.6 Auch erwähnt er die Offenbarung des Johannes und bemerkt ausdrücklich, daß sie ein Werk des Apostels sei.7 Er verweist auf einige prophetische Aussprüche, um Tryphon zu zeigen, daß sie von den Juden aus der Schrift entfernt worden sind.8 Noch zahlreiche andere Schriften von seiner Hand befinden sich bei vielen Brüdern.9 Schon bei den Alten genossen die Arbeiten Justins solches Ansehen, daß Irenäus Worte Justins zitiert. Im vierten Buche ,,Gegen die Häresien“10 erklärt er: „Mit Recht be- S. 191 hauptet Justin in seiner Schrift gegen Marcion:11 „Ich würde dem Herrn selbst keinen Glauben geschenkt haben wenn er neben dem Weltschöpfer noch einen anderen Gott gelehrt hätte.“ Und im fünften Buche der gleichen Schrift12 sagt er: „Mit Recht behauptete Justin: Vor der Erscheinung des Herrn hat der Satan niemals gewagt, Gott zu lästern, da er seine Verdammung noch nicht wußte.“

Soviel ist notwendig zu sagen, um die Lernbegierigen zu veranlassen, sich eifrig mit den Schriften Justins zu befassen. Dies ist die Geschichte Justins.

  1. = Mark Aurel. ↩

  2. Die nunmehr als Apol. I u. II bezeichnete Schrift Justins bildete ursprünglich ein einziges Buch, welches an Antoninus Pius und seine Mitregenten gerichtet war. Da Eusebius in IV 8 u. 17 Stellen aus der jetzigen zweiten Apologie als Zitate aus der ersten Apologie erklärt, so ist entweder anzunehmen, daß — was wahrscheinlich ist — er sich geirrt hat oder daß er unsere erste und zweite Apologie als ein einziges Ganzes, als erste Apologie, ansah und daß er außer dieser noch eine weitere, jetzt verlorengegangene Apologie kannte. — Sonderausgaben der Apologien: von G. Rauschen in Florilegium patrist. (Bonn 1904), J. M. Pfättisch (Münster i. W. 1912), G. Krüger in Sammlg. ausgew. Quellenschr. (Freiburg i. B.4 1915). Deutsch von G. Rauschen, in „Bibl. der Kirchenväter“ 12 (1913). ↩

  3. Die beiden Schriften gegen die Hellenen, die Schrift über die Einheit Gottes, über den Psalter und über die Seele sind verlorengegangen. ↩

  4. Dial. 2—8. ↩

  5. Ebd. 17. ↩

  6. Ebd. 82. ↩

  7. Ebd. 81. ↩

  8. Ebd. 71—73. ↩

  9. Sonderausgabe des Dialogs besorgte G. Archambault (Paris 1909). Deutsch von Ph. Haeuser, in „Bibl. der Kirchenväter“ 33 (1917). ↩

  10. IV 6, 2. ↩

  11. Auch diese Schrift Justins ist verlorengegangen. ↩

  12. V 26, 2. ↩

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