Ecclesiastical History

Rufinus's continuation and translation of Eusebius's Church History, extending the narrative to his own time and preserving testimony about the Cappadocian Fathers.

Preliminaries

• TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI. — Cited on Basil and Gregory Nazianzen devoting thirteen years to Moses and Scripture after Athens

  "Rufinus attests that after Saint Basil and Saint Gregory Nazianzen had studied eloquence and philosophy at Athens, they devoted thirteen years to reading and meditating upon Moses and the Sacred Scriptures."

• TO THE MOST REVEREND AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS LORD HENRY FRANCIS VAN DER BURCH, ARCHBISHOP AND DUKE OF CAMBRAI, PRINCE OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, COUNT OF CAMBRAI. — Rufinus quoted (Book II, chapter ix) on Basil's zeal and preaching in Pontus

  "Rufinus recounts the zeal and benefactions of Saint Basil toward his own people, Book II, chapter ix"

Preface and Praise of Sacred Scripture

• Chapter IV: The Judgments and Examples of the Fathers — Book XI, chapter IX quoted: Basil and Gregory studied Scripture from the writings of the elders

  "the divine volumes," says Rufinus, book XI of his History, chapter IX, "they studied through commentary not from their own presumption, but from the writings and authority of the elders, whom they knew had likewise received from apostolic succession the rule of interpretation."

• Chapter V: On the Dispositions Required for This Study — Rufinus cited: Gregory Nazianzen's dream of Wisdom and Chastity at Athens

  "St. Gregory Nazianzen, as Rufinus reports, while he was devoting himself to studies at Athens, saw in a dream that, while he sat reading, two beautiful women had seated themselves on his right and left"