Sozomen, Salamanes Hermias

Sozomen, Salamanes Hermias, a Greek writer of Church history, almost contemporary with Socrates as an author, was born at Bethelia, a town of Palestine. After being liberally educated, he studied lav at Berytus, in Phoenicia, and then pleaded at the bai in Constantinople. He afterwards applied himself to the writing of ecclesiastical history, and drew up compendium in two books, from the ascension of Chrisi to A.D. 323; but this is lost. Then he continued his history in a more circumstantial manner to A.D. 440 and this part is extant in nine books. A comparison renders it probable that Sozomen was acquainted with the work of Socrates, his own additions and enlargements being more important with regard to volume than quality, and relating principally to hermits and monks. For those recluses he had a high veneration so that he frequently extolled the monastic life is hymns. His vision saw only what was extreme ani imposing, so that he was not able to appreciate the more moderate phases of life, and the ordinary conflict between virtue and vice. In point of style he is superior to Socrates, as was already seen by Photius (ἐν τῇ φράσει βελτίων), but in every other respect he is inferior. Attention has often been called to material misapprehensions in his statements, e.g. by Dupin (Nouvelle Bibliothque, 4, 80). An edition of Sozomen, bounce with Eusebius and Socrates, was published by Valesius in 1659, and often republished. See Dupin, as above Schrickh, Kirchengesch. vol. 7; Holzhausen, De Fontibus quibus Socrates, Soz., et Theod. usi sunt (Gotting 1825); Baur, Epochen d. kirchl. Geschichtschreibung Herzog, Real-Encyklop. s.v.; Smith, Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Biog. s.v.