The following is from Papias of Hierapolis (via Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History 3.39.1-4):
[1] Thus the recognized writing of Clement is well
known and the works of Ignatius and Polycarp have been spoken of, and of Papias
five treatises are extant which have also the title of “Interpretation of the
Oracles of the Lord.” These are also mentioned by Irenaeus as though his only
writing, for he says in one place, “To these things also Papias, the hearer of
John, who was a companion of Polycarp and one of the ancients, bears witness in
writing in the fourth of his books, for five books were composed by him.” So
says Irenaeus. Yet Papias himself, according to the preface of his treatises,
[2] makes plain that he had in no way been a hearer and eye-witness of the
sacred Apostles, but teaches that he had received the articles of the faith
from those who had known them, [3] for he speaks as follows: “And I shall not
hesitate to append to the interpretations all that I ever learnt well from the
presbyters and remember well, for of their truth I am confident. For unlike
most I did not rejoice in them who say much, but in them who teach the truth,
nor in them who recount the commandments of others, but in them who repeated
those given to the faith by the Lord and derived from truth itself; [4] but
if ever anyone came who had followed the presbyters, I inquired into the words
of the presbyters, what Andrew or Peter or Philip or Thomas or James or John or
Matthew, or any other of the Lord’s disciples, had said, and what Aristion and
the presbyter John, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not suppose
that information from books would help me so much as the word of a living and
surviving voice.” (Eusebius: The Ecclesiastical History, 2 vols. [trans.
Kirsopp Lake; The Loeb Classical Library; New York: Harvard University Press,
1926], 1:291-93, emphasis added)
Here
is an alternative translation:
Now, the acknowledged writing of Clement is well known
and the works of Ignatius and Polycarp have been mentioned; and of Papias five
treatises are in circulation which bear the title, ‘Interpretation of the
Oracles of the Lord.’ And Irenaeus makes mention of these as the only ones
written by him, speaking as follows: ‘These things, too, Papias, an ancient
man, who was a hearer of John and a companion of Polycarp, attests in writing
in the fourth of his books, for five books were composed by him.’ Such are the
words of Irenaeus. Papias himself, however, according to the preface of his
treatises, makes it clear that he was never a hearer or eye-witness of the holy
Apostles, but he shows that he received the doctrines of the faith from those
who knew them, and he does so in these words: ‘I shall not hesitate to set down
for you together with my interpretations all that I have ever learned well from
the presbyters and recall well, being confident of their truth. For, unlike
most, I did not take pleasure in those who say much, but in those who teach the
truth, and not in those who relate the commandments of others, but in those who
relate the commandments given to the faith by the Lord and derived from the
truth itself; but if ever anyone came who had carefully followed the
presbyters, I inquired as to the words of the presbyters, what Andrew or what
Peter said, or what Philip or what Thomas or James or what John or Matthew or
any other of the disciples of the Lord, and what Aristion6 and the presbyter
John, the Lord’s disciples, were saying. For I did not suppose that information
from books helped me so much as that from a living and abiding voice.’ (Eusebius
of Caesarea, Ecclesiastical History, Books 1-5 [trans. Roy Joseph Defarrari;
The Fathers of the Church 19; Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of
America Press, 1953], 202-3, emphasis added)
Here
is the Greek of the text in bold:
[4] εἰ δέ που καὶ παρηκολουθηκώς τις τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις
ἔλθοι, τοὺς τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀνέκρινον λόγους, τί Ἀνδρέας ἢ τί Πέτρος εἶπεν ἢ τί
Φίλιππος ἢ τί Θωμᾶς ἢ Ἰάκωβος ἢ τί Ἰωάννης ἢ Ματθαῖος ἤ τις ἕτερος τῶν τοῦ
κυρίου μαθητῶν ἅ τε Ἀριστίων καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτερος Ἰωάννης, τοῦ κυρίου μαθηταί,
λέγουσιν. οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἐκ τῶν βιβλίων τοσοῦτόν με ὡφελεῖν ὑπελάμβανον ὅσον τὰ παρὰ
ζώσης φωνῆς καὶ μενούσης.”