Eunapius

, a native of Sardis in Lydia, flourished in the fourth century, under the emperors Valentinian, Valeas, | and Gratian. He was a celebrated sophist, a physician and historian. He was brought up by Chrysanthius, a sophist of noble birth, who was related to him by marriage; at whose request he wrote his book “Of. the Lives of the Philosophers and Sophists,” in which he frequently shews himself an enemy to Christianity. Brucker calls it a mass of extravagant tales, discovering a feeble understanding, and an imagination prone to superstition. He wrote a history of the Caesars, which he deduced from the reign of Claudius, where Herodian left off, down to that of Arcadius and Honorius. Photius speaks with approbation of this history; but complains, that he all along treats the Christian emperors very injuriously, while he is so partial to the heathen, as even to prefer Julian to Constantine the Great. He inveighs also severely against the monks, whom he charged with pride and insolence, under the mask of austerity and ridicules with great profaneness the relics of the martyrs. This history is lost but the substance of it is in Zosimus, who is supposed to have done little more than copy it. We have no other remains of Eunapius, but his “Lives of the Sophists,” 1596, 8vo, except a small fragment of his history, which is printed at the end of some editions of the lives; though Fabricius is of opinion that this fragment belongs to another Eunapius, who lived somewhat earlier. ¹