On Buildings

Regarding this expedition undertaken by Basiliscus against the Vandals, Euagrius says (II 16): "Basiliscus, the brother of Leo's wife Verina, is sent out as general against Gaiseric with troops selected for their excellence." These matters were worked out most accurately by the rhetorician Priscus. Since Procopius agrees with Theophanes and Nicephorus Callistus, and Theophanes at this very point praises Priscus, while Euagrius states that these matters were written most accurately by Priscus, we conclude that this narrative of Procopius, Theophanes, and Nicephorus Callistus flowed from Priscus, and that C. Mueller (FHG IV 110 [42]) correctly received the words of Theophanes into the fragments of Priscus.

Nicephorus Callistus drew a great deal from Euagrius. But since he narrates not a few things that are not found in the history of Euagrius, without doubt he also employed other writers of history. I conjecture that these were the same ones whom Euagrius cited again and again: Priscus and Eustathius. Indeed, I have demonstrated that the things he narrates concerning the expedition of Basiliscus, which he had read written in Euagrius as being most copiously set forth by Priscus, were in truth drawn by him from Priscus.

In a similar manner, Nicephorus Callistus, transcribing Euagrius, finds this (cf. Euagrius I 19): "Thus also, with the Persians acting insolently, he prevailed, while Isdigerdes father of Varanes was reigning over them, or as it seems to Socrates, while Varanes himself was reigning, so that he granted peace to them when they sent envoys... These things were recorded by others, but have been epitomized quite elegantly by Eustathius the Syrian of Epiphaneia..." From this, since he himself describes that war waged against the Persians (XIV 19–21) in such a way that the words of Euagrius "epitomized quite elegantly" fit him, I think it most likely that he excerpted Eustathius. One may conjecture that Theophanes (I 82, 18) also used this author, from the concordance of the words of Nicephorus Callistus ("he excelled most of all in his zeal for Christ, and indeed, having once used this not to good purpose...") and Theophanes ("being carried by zeal for God, but not using this zeal for good purpose..."). Also, in another place (Euagrius II 15), "Whence this Zeno was brought forward, and for what reason he was preferred by Leo before all, is set forth by Eustathius the Syrian," I am moved to conjecture that Nicephorus Callistus followed Eustathius. For the things which Euagrius says here were reported by Eustathius the Syrian are narrated by Nicephorus Callistus (XV 27). Furthermore, Priscus and Eustathius are cited so often by Nicephorus Callistus that you might rightly expect many fragments of Priscus or Eustathius to be contained in his ecclesiastical history. These are the things I thought should be said about Nicephorus Callistus, from which it appears why Procopius agrees so very often with Nicephorus.