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| Introduction containing the Reason for the Author's Revision of his First and Second Books.
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Book II.
Chapter
I.—Introduction containing the Reason for the
Author’s Revision of his First and Second Books.
Rufinus, who wrote an
Ecclesiastical History in Latin,261
| 261Rufinus’ Historia Ecclesiastica, in two
books, begins with Arius and ends with Theodosius the Great. It is not
very accurate, but written largely from memory. It is dedicated to
Chromatius, bishop of Aquileja, and translated into Greek by Gelasius
and Cyril of Jerusalem. On the edition used by Socrates, see Introd.
and I. 12, note 1. Cf. also on his knowledge of Latin, II. 23, 30, and
37.
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has erred in respect to chronology. For he supposes that what was done
against Athanasius occurred after the death of the Emperor Constantine:
he was also ignorant of his exile to the Gauls and of various other
circumstances. Now we in the first place wrote the first two books of
our history following Rufinus; but in writing our history from the
third to the seventh, some facts we collected from Rufinus, others from
different authors, and some from the narration of individuals still
living. Afterward, however, we perused the writings of Athanasius,
wherein he depicts his own sufferings and how through the calumnies of
the Eusebian fiction he was banished, and judged that more credit was
due to him who had suffered, and to those who were witnesses of the
things they describe, than to such as have been dependent on
conjecture, and had therefore erred. Moreover, having obtained several
letters of persons eminent at that period, we have availed ourselves of
their assistance also in tracing out the truth as far as possible. On
this account we were compelled to revise the first and second books of
this history, using, however, the testimony of Rufinus where it is
evident that he could not be mistaken. It should also be observed, that
in our former edition, neither the sentence of deposition which was
passed upon Arius, nor the emperor’s letters were inserted, but
simply the narration or facts in order that the history might not
become bulky and weary the readers with tedious matters of detail. But
in the present edition, such alterations and additions have been made
for your sake, O sacred man of God, Theodore,262
| 262ὦ ἱερὲ τοῦ
Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπε
Θεόδωρε; cf. Introd. p. x,
also VI. Introd. and VII. 48.
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in order that you might not be ignorant what the princes wrote in their
own words, as well as the decisions of the bishops in their various
Synods, wherein they continually altered the confession of faith.
Wherefore, whatever we have deemed necessary we have inserted in this
later edition. Having adopted this course in the first book, we shall
endeavor to do the same in the consecutive portion of our history, I
mean the second. On this let us now enter.
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