PREFACE

The present translation of the Church History of Eusebius has been made from the second edition of the Greek text by Heinichen, though I have adopted variant readings without hesitation whenever they seemed more accurate. In all such cases, the deviation from Heinichen’s text is noted. I originally intended only a simple revision of the English version by Crusè, but a brief examination convinced me that a satisfactory revision was almost impossible and that a new, independent translation was necessary.

In preparing this translation, I received invaluable assistance from my father, the Rev. Joseph N. McGiffert, D.D., whose help and counsel I here publicly acknowledge with profound gratitude. He examined the entire translation and provided timely suggestions and criticisms. Furthermore, he personally translated a significant portion of the work (Books V–VIII and the Martyrs of Palestine). I have carefully revised the work he rendered to ensure uniformity in style and expression throughout; therefore, I accept full responsibility for both those parts and the remainder of the book.

Regarding the principles of this translation, I have constantly endeavored to reproduce the substance and form of the original as closely as possible. Given the need for accuracy in a work like this, I have preferred to risk being overly literal rather than taking undue liberties.

A word on the accompanying notes: Because this volume is part of a popular series, I included supplementary information about the persons, places, and events mentioned in the text. This information might be superfluous to a professional historian or a student with access to rich libraries, but I did not feel justified in limiting my notes only to issues that might interest the critical scholar. At the request of the general editor, I have attempted to make this work a general history or historical commentary on the first three centuries of the Christian Church, often providing fuller presentations of subjects that Eusebius only briefly mentioned. My primary goal, however, was to elucidate difficult and disputed points, fulfilling the duty of a commentator. While the volume and detail of such notes are debatable, I have been careful to avoid the fragmentary nature of annotations found in previous editions, and I have not skipped any passage that required discussion nor consciously avoided any difficulty. Keeping historical students in mind, I have supported my statements with references to the original authorities and indicated the sources necessary for further investigation.