I have previously written that Eusebius treated Origen with great respect and had read Against Celsus 1.47.
Peter Kirby wrote: ↑Tue Mar 19, 2024 10:39 am
Peter Kirby wrote: ↑Sat Mar 16, 2024 9:01 pm
Euseb. H. E. II 1, 4f. Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς (Clemens) ἐν ἑβδόμῳ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως (d. i. der Hypotyposeis) ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα περὶ αὐτοῦ (d. i. den Jakobus) φησιν· »Ἰακώβῳ τῷ δικαίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννῃ καὶ Πέτρῳ μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν παρέδωκεν τὴν γνῶσιν ὁ κύριος, οὗτοι τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀποστόλοις παρέδωκαν, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἀπόστολοι τοῖς ἑβδομήκοντα, ὧν εἷς ἦν καὶ Βαρνάβας. δύο δὲ γεγόνασιν Ἰάκωβοι, εἷς ὁ δίκαιος, ὁ κατὰ τοῦ πτερυγίου βληθεὶς καὶ ὑπὸ γναφέως ξύλῳ πληγεὶς εἰς θάνατον, ἕτερος δὲ ὁ καρατομηθείς. αὐτοῦ δὴ τοῦ δικαίου καὶ ὁ Παῦλος μνημονεύει γράφων· <ἕτερον δὲ τῶν ἀποστόλων οὐκ εἶδον, εἰ μὴ Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ κυρίου.>»
In the seventh book of the same Hypotyposeis, Clement also speaks concerning James as follows: "The Lord after His resurrection delivered knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter; these delivered it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom one was Barnabas. But there are two Jameses: one called the Just, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and beaten to death with a club by a fuller, and another who was beheaded. And Paul mentions the Just, one of the apostles, in his writings, saying, 'But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.'"
This can also be punctuated this way:
But the same writer, in the seventh book of the same work, relates also the following things concerning him: "The Lord after his resurrection imparted knowledge to James the Just and to John and Peter, and they imparted it to the rest of the apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the seventy, of whom Barnabas was one. But there were two Jameses: one called the Just, who was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and was beaten to death with a club by a fuller, and another who was beheaded." Paul also makes mention of the same the Just, where he writes, "Other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother."
In this rendition, it would perhaps be Eusebius who was inspired to make this quote by Origen (Against Celsus 1.47), instead of Eusebius preserving part of a quote from Clement of Alexandria. I can't be certain, but the idea that it is two separate quotes seems consistent with the quotation habits of Eusebius and the respect that Eusebius paid to Origen.
When I wrote that, of course I had in mind the passage where Eusebius quotes something as though it came from Josephus, not because he found it in any copy of Josephus, but rather because he found it said by Origen in
Against Celsus 1.47 (in the context of what Origen writes about Josephus).
Comparing what Eusebius writes to what Origen writes:
Origen, Against Celsus 1.47 |
Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2.23.20 |
ταῦτα συμβεβηκέναι τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις κατ’ ἐκδίκησιν Ἰακώβου
τοῦ δικαίου, ὃς ἦν ἀδελφὸς Ἰησοῦ τοῦ λεγομένου Χριστοῦ,
ἐπειδήπερ δικαιότατον αὐτὸν ὄντα ἀπέκτειναν.
|
ἀμέλει γέ τοι ὁ Ἰώσηπος οὐκ ἀπώκνησεν καὶ τοῦτ'
ἐγγράφως ἐπιμαρτύρασθαι δι' ὧν φησιν λέξεων·
»ταῦτα δὲ συμβέβηκεν Ἰουδαίοις κατ' ἐκδίκησιν Ἰακώβου
τοῦ δικαίου, ὃς ἦν ἀδελφὸς Ἰησοῦ τοῦ λεγομένου Χριστοῦ,
ἐπειδήπερ δικαιότατον αὐτὸν ὄντα οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἀπέκτειναν». |
these disasters happened to the Jews
as a punishment for the death of James
the Just, who was a brother of Jesus called Christ,
the Jews having put him to death,
although he was a man most distinguished for his justice. |
Josephus, at least, has not hesitated
to testify this in his writings, where he says,
“These things happened to the Jews
to avenge James
the Just, who was a brother of Jesus, that is called the Christ.
For the Jews slew him,
although he was a most just man.” |
Josephus of course would not have said directly what Eusebius presents as
δι' ὧν φησιν λέξεων, and likewise Origen is most naturally read as providing his own words (and not the very words of Josephus) when saying, "[the Jews] having put him to death, although he was a man most distinguished for his justice." The transfer here of Origen's words into
Ecclesiastical History 2.23.20 is apparent, and thus so is the debt of Eusebius to
Against Celsus 1.47.
To my mind, this renders feckless the idea of any such 'lost' reference in Josephus; if there were one, Eusebius didn't know about it.