Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Vol. 1 (Eusebius: Church History, Life of Constantine)

"master" (original: "τοῦ δεσπότου μου" Greek for "my master", in his epistle to Paulinus contained in Theodoret's Ecclesiastical History I. 6), and that Eusebius of Cæsarea calls Eusebius of Nicomedia "the great Eusebius" (Euseb. lib. adv. Marcell. I. 4), both of which expressions seem inconsistent with brotherhood. Lightfoot justly remarks that neither the argument itself nor the objections carry much weight. The term "brother" (original: "ἀδελφός" Greek for "brother") may well have been used to indicate merely theological or ecclesiastical association, while, on the other hand, brotherhood would not exclude the forms of expression employed by each in speaking of the other. Of more weight is the fact that neither Eusebius himself nor any historian of that period refers to such a relationship, and also the unlikelihood that two members of one family should bear the same name.

From Eusebius' works, we gather that he must have received an extensive education in both secular philosophy and Biblical and theological science. Although his immense erudition was doubtless the result of wide and varied reading continued throughout his life, it is highly probable that he acquired the taste for such reading in his youth. We do not know who his early instructors were, and therefore cannot estimate the degree of their influence. However, as he was a man who cherished deep admiration for those whom he regarded as great and good, and as he possessed an unusually receptive mind and a flexible disposition, we should naturally suppose that his instructors must have had considerable influence over him, and that his methods of study in later years were largely molded by their example and teaching. We see this exemplified to a remarkable degree in the influence exerted over him by Pamphilus, his dearest friend and the mentor of his early manhood. Certainly this great bibliophile a lover and collector of books must have done much to strengthen Eusebius' natural taste for voracious reading, and the opportunities afforded by his grand library for the cultivation of such a taste were not lost. To the influence of Pamphilus, the devoted admirer and enthusiastic champion of Origen, was doubtless also due, in large measure, the deep respect which Eusebius showed for that illustrious Father—a respect to which we owe one of the most delightful sections of his Church History, his long account of Origen in the sixth book, and to which, in part, antiquity was indebted for the elaborate Defense of Origen composed by Pamphilus and himself, but which is unfortunately no longer extant. Eusebius certainly owed much to the companionship of that eager student and noble Christian hero, and he always recognized with deep gratitude his indebtedness to him. (Compare the account of Pamphilus given below in Bk. VII. chap. 32, § 25 sq.) The names of his earlier instructors, who were eminently successful at least in fostering his thirst for knowledge, are quite unknown. His abiding admiration for Plato, whom he always placed at the head of all philosophers (see Stein, p. 6), would lead us to think that he received at least a part of his secular training from some ardent Platonist, while his intense interest in apologetics the discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation, which lasted throughout his life and affected all his works, seems to indicate the particular bent of his early Christian education. Trithemius concluded from a passage in his History (VII. 32) that Eusebius was a pupil of the learned Dorotheus of Antioch, and Valesius, Lightfoot, and others are apparently inclined to accept his conclusion. But, as Stroth remarks (Eusebii Kirchengeschichte, p. xix), all that Eusebius says is that he heard Dorotheus expound the Scriptures in the church (original: "τούτου μετρίως τὰς γραφὰς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας διηγουμένου κατηκούσαμεν" Greek for "we heard him expounding the scriptures in the church in a moderate/proper manner"), that is, that he heard him preach. To conclude from this statement that he was a pupil of Dorotheus is certainly quite unwarranted.

Stroth's suggestion that he probably enjoyed the instruction of Meletius for seven years during the persecution rests upon no good ground, for the passage which he relies upon to sustain his opinion (H. E. VII. 32. 28) says only that Eusebius "observed Meletius well" (original: "κατενοήσαμεν" Greek for "we observed/contemplated") during those seven years.

In Cæsarea, Eusebius was at one time a presbyter of the church, as we may gather from his words in the epistle to that church already referred to, where, in speaking of the creed, he says, "As we believed and taught in the presbytery and in the episcopate itself." But the attempt to fix the date of his ordination to that office is futile. It is commonly assumed that he