By Water & Blood

Epitome of Book 10

CHAP. 1.--DOROTHEUS indeed, as we said above, was driven cut of Antioch, The presbyters, however, of the same city, Asterius and Crispinus, and the rest of the clergy, convened a council, at which some of the neighbouring bishops were present, and sent to Eunomius and his party, demanding to be admitted into communion by them. These, however, sent letters by way of reply, to the effect that they would receive them into communion on no other conditions except that they should rescind the sentence of condemnation which they had formerly passed on Aetius and his writings; and moreover, they required them to show a reformation in their lives ; for they were tainted by some impure actions. The others did not at that time admit the proffered conditions, but afterwards they went so far as to revile Eunomius and his party in the churches, calling them "Men in the clouds;"^[177] and full |501 of desperation and madness, because forsooth they had dared to proffer to them such, terms as those mentioned above,

CHAP. 2. -- Philostorgius brings a charge of impiety against their leader Arius, because he said that the God of the universe consisted of many parts ; for he declares that Arius asserted that God can be comprehended, not in his entire magnitude, but so far as each individual is gifted with strength to comprehend him ; and that he also gave it as his opinion that God was neither substance nor person, nor any one of those things which are usually predicated of him ; ^[178] and that these assertions are supported by the synods of Ariminum and Constantinople, the latter of which declared that the mode of the generation of the Son was entirely unknown to all, ascribing the knowledge of that generation to him alone who begot him.^[179] Now this is the very synod which passed sentence of condemnation on Aetius.

CHAP. 3. -- The Arian party developed their doctrine of the likeness of the only-begotten Son to the Father into a variety of heresies ; some of them, for instance, made it to consist in the fact that both of them have a foreknowledge of future events. Others, again, in that both the Father and the Son are born God. Others, again, in the fact that both can create things out of nothing. But, says Philostorgius, these opinions, though they seem to be at variance with each other, all come to one point in the end, namely, in that they declare the Son to be of one substance^[180] with the Father. Philostorgius, moreover, adds, that this party, after being cut up into a variety of discordant sects, perpetrated many other foul and disgraceful deeds, buying and selling the priesthood^[181] for money, and giving themselves up to the lowest of sensual pleasures.

CHAP. 4. -- The Eunomians, according to the testimony of Philostorgius, so utterly abhorred the heresies above mentioned, |502 that they would not admit their baptism or their ordination. Moreover, the Eunomians baptized not with trine immersion, but with one immersion only, baptizing, as they said, into the Lord's death ;^[182] and this death (they added) he underwent for us once only, and not three times.

CHAP. 5. -- The emperor Theodosius invested his son Arcadius ^[183] with the imperial purple while he was still very young. And not long afterwards, the emperor Gratian was put to death in Gaul by the treachery of the tyrant Maximus. Philostorgius also forges many calumnies against Gratian, going even so far as to compare him with Nero. For his profession of the right rule of faith did not please Philostorgius in Gratian.

CHAP. 6. -- The emperor Theodosius, on finding some of the chamberlains of his court infected with the Eunomian doctrines, expelled them from his palace. Eunomius himself he ordered to be banished from the city of Chalcedon, and to he sent into exile at Halmyris.^[184] This Halmyris is a place in Moesia, situate on the Danube ; but soon after this it was captured by the barbarians, who crossed the Danube when it was frozen over. Eunomius is dismissed thence to Caesarea in Cappadocia. But becoming distasteful to the people of Caesarea, because he had formerly written some books against their bishop, Basil, he was permitted to live in his country place, which was called the Dacoroenian fields. In this place, Philostorgius writes, that when he was twenty years of age, he came to Constantinople and saw Eunomius. He raises him to the very skies with praise, and declares that his prudence and virtue were consummate. He also describes his personal appearance, his countenance, body, and limbs, as full of grace and dignity. He compares also to pearls the speeches which flowed from his lips, though shortly afterwards he confesses him, even against his will, to have lisped. And he is not ashamed to exalt this lisp into a mark of great grace and elegance. Moreover, the white leprosy,^[185] which marked his |503 face as it were with brands and sears, were an addition to the majesty of his person. And further, although he praises very highly the rest of his writings, still he affirms that his Epistles far surpass the rest of his works in merit.

CHAP. 7.--Upon the demise of his empress Placidia,^[186] Theodosius took to wife Galla, the sister of the younger Valentinian, and the daughter of Valentinian the Great, and of Justina, who was created Augusta.^[187] This Justina was a follower of the Arian heresy. By Galla Theodosius had a daughter who was named Placidia.

CHAP. 8.--Theodosius joined his forces with those of Valentinian at Thessalonica, and set out to meet the tyrant Maximus; for the latter, when he had possessed himself of Gratian's share in the imperial purple, endeavoured to obtain possession of that of Valentinian as well. Accordingly, the emperors send against the tyrant,^[188] Timasius and Richomer, masters of the cavalry, as likewise Promotus and Arbogastes. These surprise him by a sudden attack, and quickly hurl him down from his throne, strip him of the insignia of empire, and bring him before the emperors in the dress of a private citizen. Maximus was then beheaded, having exercised the power of a tyrant for five years.

CHAP. 9.--After gaining this victory over Maximus, and after the arrival^[189] of Theodosius at Rome, when the emperor was on the point of taking his departure thence, a new and strange star^[190] was seen in the sky, which announced the coming of very great calamities upon the world. It appeared first at midnight, near the east, in the very circle which is called the Zodiac. It was large and bright, and in brilliance it was not much inferior to the morning star. After this, a concourse of stars gathered around it on every side, like a swarm of bees gathering in a cluster round their queen. Then, as if impelled, by some mutual collision, the light of all the stars mingled |504 together, and shone forth in a single flame, assuming the shape of a double-edged sword, huge and terrible. But that one star which first appeared seemed like the hilt of the sword above mentioned, or rather like a root shooting up the large body of light, from what appeared to be a star, surmounted with flowers darting up like the flame from a lamp. Such was the novel and wondrous sight exhibited by the star which then appeared. Its course, moreover, was very different from that of the rest of the stars ; for from the time of its first appearing in the place where we have said, and moving on from thence, it began to rise and set together with the morning star. Afterwards, however, receding by little and little, it went up towards the north, advancing slowly and gradually, and following its own course with a slight deflection towards the left of those who beheld it, but in reality it pursued in the same course as the other stars, with which it came into contact from time to time. At length, having completed its course in the space of forty days, it suddenly passed on into the sign of the Great Bear, and was last seen in the very centre of it, where, soon afterwards, it was extinguished. In addition to these particulars, Philostorgius gives us many other wonderful details concerning this star in the shape of a sword.

CHAP. 10.--Philostorgius says that he himself wrote against Porphyry on behalf of the Christians.

CHAP. 11.--At the very time of the appearance of this star in the shape of a sword, there were seen also two human bodies ; one in Syria, far surpassing in height the usual stature of man, the other in Egypt, of incredible smallness. The Syrian was five cubits and a palm in height; though his feet were by no means in proportion to the rest of the body, but were turned inwards and crooked. His name was Anthony. The Egyptian, however, was so extremely short, that he gracefully imitated partridges shut up in cages, and that the latter played and strove with him in jest. And what is more wonderful still he had a stock of practical wisdom by no means commensurate with his bodily stature. His voice was far from unmusical, and his conversation evinced clearly the excellence of his intellectual powers. Both of these lived in the time of Philostorgius, and neither of them was short-lived;^[191] the tall one dying after reaching five and twenty years of age, and the |505 diminutive one nearly attaining the same number. In this place Philostorgius makes mention of many other prodigies which had happened either at the same time with, or just before, those above-mentioned.

CHAP. 1.2. -- Philostorgius says, that the fast of the fourth and sixth days of the week does not consist in mere abstinence from flesh meat, but that it is laid down by the canons, that no kind of food whatever is to be taken till evening. For concerning Eudoxius,^[192] a follower of his own peculiar heresy, who was of the degree of presbyter, though he had lost his genitals, he thus writes, "He was so zealous in keeping the fast, that throughout his life he observed not only those days which the Christians keep, according to the precept of the church, in memory of the Passion of our Lord." 

(Here four pages are wanting, and the 10th book is imperfect.)