Eusebius' Life of Constantine [Paperback]

`Overall, however, this volume will prove an enormously useful tool for scholars and students of church history and late antiquity in general.' Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2001

`This volume provides a fine introduction to the Life of Constantine in a format that is user-friendly both with regard to organization of content and graphic design ... The commentary helpfully assesses the historicity of Eusebius' accounts of specific events and how certain themes in the text serve the various literary purposes of the work. The book is a goldmine of bibliographical sources on particular topics in the Vita, for example, on Constantine's building programs in Jerusalem and elsewhere.' Journal of Early Christian Studies, 2001

`The commentary is a mine of information and succinctly distilled learning, drawn from an extensive modern bibliography supplemented by the authors' own combined wisdom.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History, April 2001

`Their collaboration on Eusebius ... has resulted in what is sure to become an indispensable companion to Constantinian studies.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History, April 2001

`scrupulous fidelity to the tenor of Eusebius' Greek often reproduces his vaqueness and pomposity.' T.D.Barnes, The Classical Review, Vol.51, No.1, 2001

`sure to become an indispensable companion to Constantinian studies ... The commentary is a mine of information and succinctly distilled learning ... the authors have succeeded in condensing a mass of modern scholarship in clarifying the (often obscure) details of Eusebius' text.' E.D.Hunt, Ecclesiastical History, vol.52/2, April 2001

`this translation is a good introduction to the VC of Eusebius for the specialist and the generalist alike. To those users who know no Greek, this book is a godsend; for the specialist, it provides the reader with easy access to the most recent literature on the various issues dealt with in the VC. In a word, the book is a real gem.' Michael DiMaio, Dept of Philosophy, Salve Regina University.

`It is ... a pleasant experience to be able to read the VC from beginning to end without worrying about the exact meaning of the text since one can safely rely on Cameron and Halls translation as giving an accurate representation of the content and flavor of Eusebius narrative.' Michael DiMaio, Dept of Philosophy, Salve Regina University.

`Cameron and Halls discussion of Eusebius use of imperial documents in the VC is especially worthy of note because it takes one of the most complicated and disputed issues and explains it in a clear fashion ... Cameron and Halls discussion of the plan and literary character of the VC is unique because they place Eusebius work in its proper relation to ancient biography.' Michael DiMaio, Dept of Philosophy, Salve Regina University.

Eusebius' Life of Constantine is the most important single record of Constantine, the emperor who turned the Roman Empire from prosecuting the Church to supporting it, with huge and lasting consequences for Europe and Christianity. The only English version previously available is based on a seventeenth-century Greek edition, but two new critical editions produced this century make a new English version necessary. The authors of this edition present the results of the recent scholarly debate, as well as their own researches so as to clarify the significance of Eusebius' work and introduce the student to the text and its interpretation, thus opening up the contentious issues. At face value much of what Eusebius wrote is false. This book shows how, once his partisan interpretations and rhetoric are properly understood, both Eusebius' text and the documents it contains give vital historical insights.