Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Series II/Volume I/Church History of Eusebius/Prolegomena/Eusebius' Church History/Literature

&#167;5. Literature.

The literature upon Eusebius&#8217; History is very extensive. Many of the editions already mentioned discuss, in their prolegomena, the History itself and Eusebius&#8217; character as a historian, as do also all the lives of Eusebius referred to above, and all the larger histories of the Church. In addition to these we have numerous important monographs and essays, of which the following may be mentioned here: M&#246;ller, de Fide Eusebii in rebus christianis enarrandis, Havn. 1813; Danz, ''de Eusebio C&#230;sariensi Hist. Ecclesiastic&#230; Scriptore'', Jen&#230;, 1815. This was mentioned in Chapter I. as containing a valuable discussion of the life of Eusebius. Its chief importance lies in its treatment of the sources of the Church History, to which the author devotes the whole of Chap. III. which bears the title, de fontibus, quibus usus, historiam ecclesiasticam conscripsit Eusebius, pp. 76&#8211;144. Kestner, ''de Eusebii Histori&#230; Eccles. conditoris auctoritate, et fide diplomatica, sive de ejus Fontibus et Ratione qua eis usus est'', Gotting&#230;, 1816; and by the same author, Ueber die Einseitigkeit und Partheiligkeit des Eusebius als Geschichtschreibers, Jen&#230;, 1819; Reuterdahl, ''de Fontibus Histori&#230; Eccles. Eusebian&#230;'', Londini Gothorum, 1826; Reinstra, ''de Fontibus, ex quibus Histori&#230; Eccles. opus hausit Eusebius Pamphili, et de Ratione, qua iis usus est, Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1833; F. C. Baur, Comparatur Eusebius Histori&#230; Eccles. Parens cum Parente Histori&#230; Herodoto'', T&#252;b. 1834; and pp. 9&#8211;26 of the same author&#8217;s Epochen der kirchlichen Geschichtschreibung, T&#252;b. 1852; Dowling, ''Introduction to the Critical Study of Eccles. History'', London, 1838, pp. 11&#8211;18; H&#233;ly, Eus&#232;be de C&#233;sar&#233;e, premier Historien de l&#8217;&#201;glise, Paris, 1877; J. Burckhardt, Zeit Constantins, 2d ed. 1880, pp. 307 sq. Burckhardt depreciates Eusebius&#8217; value and questions his veracity. The review articles that have been written on Eusebius&#8217; History are legion. I shall mention only Engelhardt&#8217;s Eusebius als Kirchengeschichtschreiber, in the ''Zeitschrift f&#252;r hist. Theol''. 1852, pp. 652&#8211;657; and Jachmann&#8217;s Bemerkungen &#252;ber die Kirchengeschichte des Eusebius, ib. 1839, II. pp. 10&#8211;60. The latter contains one of the most unsparing attacks upon Eusebius&#8217; honesty that has ever been made (see above, p. 49).