Can anyone shed some light on this issue from Eusebius' Church History 3.5.88. In case the Greek below doesn't come through in my post, you can find the verse here:
http://www.archive.org/stream/operaeusebius03euseuoft#page/182/mode/2upἐν μεν γαρ ταις επιστολαις αὐτου οὐδε μνημην της οἰκειας προσηγοριας ποιειται, ἠ πρεσβυτερον ἑαυτον ὀνομαζει, οὐδομου δε ἀποστολον, οὐδε ε͗υαγγελιστην·
My main question has to do with the clause beginning with the conjunction ἠ. Does this translate as "For, on the one hand, in his epistles neither does he make his name familiar,
or else/except he calls himself presbyter, but nowhere apostle, nor evangelist"?
Or should it be "…neither does he make his name familiar,
or call himself presbyter, and nowhere apostle, nor evangelist"?
The significance of this concerns the authorship of John's epistles in the Bible. The first translation supports Johannine authorship of 2 and 3 John. The second translation denies it.
Are both translations possible, making the conclusion about authorship dubious? Or is one correct and the other incorrect? If so, which is the correct translation? Thanks for your help!