Epitome of the Divine Institutes 62.1–68.5
Latin text: CSEL 19 (Latin text: S. Brandt and G. Laubmann (CSEL 19, 1890), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7 (1886).
Chapter 62
62.1CSEL 19:748–749
Sed enim haec omnia difficilia sunt homini nec patitur condicio fragilitatis esse quemquam sine macula. ultimum ergo remedium illut est, ut confugiamus ad paenitentiam, quae non minimum locum inter uirtutes habet, quia sui correctio est, ut cum forte aut re aut uerbo lapsi fuerimus, statim resipiscamus ac nos deliquisse fateamur oremusque a deo ueniam, quam pro sua misericordia non negabit nisi perseuerantibus in errore.
But all these things are difficult for man, and the condition of frailty does not allow anyone to be without stain. The last remedy, then, is that we flee to repentance, which holds no small place among the virtues, since it is the correction of oneself; so that if perhaps we have slipped in deed or word, we may at once come to our senses, confess that we have done wrong, and ask pardon from God, which in his mercy he will not refuse except to those who persist in error.
1 John 1:9 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Since no one is sinless, the remedy is repentance, which God will not refuse.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.1 (CSEL 19:748–749; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.2CSEL 19:749
magnum est paenitentiae auxilium, magnum solacium. illa est uulnerum peccatorumque sanatio, illa spes, illa portus salutis: quam qui tollit, uiam uitae sibi amputat, quia nemo esse tam iustus potest, ut numquam sit ei paenitentia necessaria.
Great is the help of repentance, great its comfort. It is the healing of wounds and sins; it is the hope, it is the harbour of salvation. Whoever takes it away cuts off for himself the way of life, since no one can be so just that repentance is never necessary for him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Repentance heals sin; without it there is no way of life.
- Probably aimed at the Novatianist denial of repentance to the lapsed.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.2 (CSEL 19:749; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.3CSEL 19:749
nos uero, etiamsi nullum sit peccatum, confiteri tamen debemus deo et pro delictis nostris identidem deprecari, gratias agere etiam in malis. hoc semper obsequium domino deferamus. humilitas enim cara et amabilis deo est. qui cum magis suscipiat peccatorem confitentem quam iustum superbum, quanto magis iustum suscipiet confitentem eumque in regnis caelestibus faciet pro humilitate sublimem!
But we, even if there is no sin, must still confess to God and pray again and again for our faults, and give thanks even in evils. Let us always pay this homage to the Lord. For humility is dear and lovely to God. Since he accepts a sinner who confesses rather than a proud righteous man, how much more will he accept a righteous man who confesses, and make him exalted in the heavenly kingdom for his humility!
Luke 18:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Thess 5:18 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Always confess and give thanks; God exalts the humble.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.3 (CSEL 19:749; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.4CSEL 19:749–750
haec sunt quae debeat cultor dei exhibere, hae sunt uictimae, hoc sacrificium placabile, hic uerus est cultus, cum homo mentis suae pignora in aram dei confert. summa illa maiestas hoc cultore laetatur, hunc ut filium suscipit atque idoneum praemium immortalitatis impertit: de qua nunc mihi disserendum est et arguenda persuasio eorum qui extingui animas cum corporibus arbitrantur. qui quia nec deum sciebant nec arcanum mundi perspicere poterant, ne hominis quidem animaeque rationem conprehenderunt.
These are what the worshipper of God ought to show; these are the victims, this the propitiating sacrifice, this the true worship, when a man brings the pledges of his mind to God's altar. That supreme majesty rejoices in such a worshipper, receives him as a son, and bestows the fitting reward of immortality. Of this I must now speak and refute the belief of those who think that souls are extinguished with bodies. Because they neither knew God nor could see into the secret of the world, they did not even grasp the nature of man and the soul.
Notes and citation
Summary: True worship earns immortality; now he refutes those who say the soul dies with the body.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.4 (CSEL 19:749–750; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.5CSEL 19:750
quomodo enim possent sequentia peruidere qui summam non tenebant? negantes igitur esse ullam prouidentiam, utique deum, qui fons et caput rerum est. negauerunt.
For how could they see the consequences, who did not hold the sum? Denying, then, that there is any providence, they denied God, who is the source and head of things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Denying providence, they denied God.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): sequentLa → sequentia; tenef.ant → tenebant; npgauf-runt → negauerunt.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.5 (CSEL 19:750; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.6CSEL 19:750
sequebatur ut ea quae sunt, aut semper fuisse dicerent aut sua sponte esse nata aut minutorum seminum conglobatione concreta. semper fuisse non potest quod et est et nisui subiacet: ipsum enim esse sine aliquo initio non potest. sua sponte autem nihil nasci potest, quia nulla est sine generante natura.
It followed that they should say that the things that exist either always existed, or were born of their own accord, or were compacted by the gathering of tiny seeds. What both exists and is subject to sight cannot always have existed; for existence itself cannot be without some beginning. And nothing can be born of its own accord, since there is no nature without one that generates it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Things cannot be eternal or self-generated.
- The digital text reads “nisui”, probably for uisui (“sight”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): sequebator → sequebatur; semper foisse → semper fuisse; ant minutorum → aut minutorum; pote=t → potest.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.6 (CSEL 19:750; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.7CSEL 19:750
semina uero principalia quomodo esse potuerunt, cum et semina ex rebus oriantur et uicissim res ex seminibus? nullum igitur semen est quod originem non habet sic factum est ut cum putarent mundum nulla prouidentia factum, ne hominem quidem putarent aliqua ratione generatum: quodsi nulla esset in fingendo homine ratio uersata, inmortalem igitur animam esse non posse.
And how could there be first seeds, since seeds arise from things and things in turn from seeds? There is, then, no seed that has no origin. So it came about that, since they thought the world was made by no providence, they did not think that man was generated by any reason either; and if no reason was at work in fashioning man, then the soul could not be immortal.
Notes and citation
Summary: Denying a rational creator, they also denied the soul's immortality.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): potuernnt → potuerunt; semina ei rebus → semina ex rebus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.7 (CSEL 19:750; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.8CSEL 19:750
alii uero ex aduerso et deum esse unum et ab eo mundum factum et hominum causa factum et animas esse immortales existimauerunt. sed cum uera sentirent, huius tamen diuini operis atque consilii nec causas nec rationes nec exitus perspexerunt, ut omne ueritatis arcanum consummarent atque aliquo ueluti fine concluderent.
Others, on the contrary, thought that there is one God, that the world was made by him and made for the sake of men, and that souls are immortal. But though they thought what is true, they did not see the causes, reasons, or outcomes of this divine work and plan, so as to complete the whole secret of the truth and bring it to a conclusion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Others taught one God, creation, and immortality, but without grasping the purpose.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): ei aduerso → ex aduerso.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.8 (CSEL 19:750; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
62.9CSEL 19:750
sed quod illi facere non potuerunt, quia ueritatem perpetuo non tenebant, nobis faciendum est, qui eam cognouimus deo adnuntiante.
But what they could not do, because they did not hold the truth continuously, we must do, who have come to know it by God's announcement.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians, taught by God, can complete what the philosophers could not.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 62.9 (CSEL 19:750; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-62-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 63
63.1CSEL 19:750–751
Consideremus ergo quae ratio fuerit huius tanti tamque inmensi operis fabricandi. fecit deus mundum, sicut Plato existimauit, sed cur fecerit, non ostendit. quia bonus est inquit et inuidens nulli, fecit quae bona sunt. atquin uidemus in rerum natura et bona esse et mala.
Let us consider, then, what was the reason for making so great and immense a work. God made the world, as Plato thought, but why he made it he did not show. “Because he is good,” he says, “and grudges nothing, he made things that are good.” Yet we see that in the nature of things there are both goods and evils.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato said God made the world because he is good, yet there are evils in it.
- Plato, Tim. 29e.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 29e (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.1 (CSEL 19:750–751; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.2CSEL 19:751
potest ergo existere peruersus aliquis, qualis fuit atheus ille Theodorus, et Platoni respondere: immo quia malus est, fecit quae mala sunt. quomodo illum redarguet? si quae bona sunt deus fecit, unde igitur tanta mala eruperunt, quae plerumque etiam praeualent bonis? in materia inquit continebantur.
Some perverse person, then, like that atheist Theodorus, could answer Plato: “No, because he is evil, he made things that are evil.” How will he refute him? If God made the things that are good, from where then have such great evils broken out, which often even prevail over the goods? “They were contained in matter,” he says.
Notes and citation
Summary: A cynic could reply that God is evil; Plato blames evil on matter.
- Theodorus of Cyrene, called “the atheist”.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.2 (CSEL 19:751; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.3CSEL 19:751
si mala, ergo et bona, ut aut nihil fecerit deus aut si bona tantum fecit, aeterniora sint mala, quae facta non sunt, quam bona, quae habuerunt exordium. finem igitur habebunt quae aliquando coeperunt et permanebunt quae semper fuerunt. mala ergo potiora sunt.
If evils were, then goods also, so that either God made nothing, or, if he made only the goods, the evils, which were not made, are more eternal than the goods, which had a beginning. Those things, then, will have an end which once began, and those will remain which always were. The evils, then, are stronger.
Notes and citation
Summary: If evil is eternal matter and good was made, evil would be stronger.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.3 (CSEL 19:751; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.4CSEL 19:751
si autem potiora esse non possunt, ne aeterniora quidem possunt. ergo aut utraque semper fuerunt et deus otiosus aut utraque ex uno fonte fluxerunt. est enim conuenientius ut deus omnia fecerit potius quam nihil. ergo secundum sententiam Platonis idem deus et bonus est, quia bona fecit, et malus, quia mala.
But if they cannot be stronger, neither can they be more eternal. Either, then, both always existed and God is idle, or both flowed from one source. For it is more fitting that God made all things rather than nothing. So by Plato's view the same God is both good, because he made goods, and evil, because he made evils.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato's view would make God both good and evil.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.4 (CSEL 19:751; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.5CSEL 19:751
quod si fieri non potest, apparet non ideo factum esse a deo mundum, quia bonus est [mundus]: omnia enim conplexus est et bona et mala. nec fiet propter se quidquam, sed propter aliut.
If that cannot be, it is clear that the world was not made by God on the ground that he is good; for it embraces all things, both good and evil. Nor is anything made for its own sake, but for the sake of something else.
Notes and citation
Summary: Goodness alone does not explain creation; everything is made for a purpose beyond itself.
- The edition brackets “mundus” as spurious; it is left out.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.5 (CSEL 19:751; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.6CSEL 19:751–752
domus aedificatur non ad hoc solum, ut sit domus, sed ut suscipiat et tueatur habitantem. item nauis fabricatur non ut nauis tantum uideatur, sed ut in ea possint homines nauigare. uasa item fiunt non ut uasa sint solum, sed ut capiant ea quae sunt usui necessaria.
A house is built not only so that it may be a house, but so that it may receive and protect an inhabitant. Likewise a ship is built not just to look like a ship, but so that people can sail in it. Vessels likewise are made not only to be vessels, but to hold what is needed for use.
Notes and citation
Summary: Houses, ships, and vessels exist for a use.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.6 (CSEL 19:751–752; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.7CSEL 19:752
sic et mundum deus ad usum aliquem fecerit necesse est. Stoici aiunt hominum causa factum, et recte. homines enim fruuntur iis omnibus bonis quae mundus in se continet. sed ipsi homines cur facti sint aut quid in illis utilitatis habeat fabricatrix illa rerum prouidentia, non explicant.
So God too must have made the world for some use. The Stoics say it was made for the sake of men, and rightly; for men enjoy all the goods that the world contains. But why men themselves were made, or what use that providence which fashioned things has in them, they do not explain.
Notes and citation
Summary: The world was made for humans, but why were humans made?
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.7 (CSEL 19:752; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.8CSEL 19:752
inmortales esse animas idem Plato adfirmat: sed cur aut quomodo aut quando aut per quem immortalitatem adsequantur aut quod sit omnino tantum illut mysterium, cur ii qui sunt inmortales futuri, prius mortales nascantur, deinde decurso temporalis uitae spatio atque abiectis fragilium corporum exuuiis ad aeternam illam beatitudinem transferantur, non conprehendit.
The same Plato affirms that souls are immortal; but why, or how, or when, or through whom they attain immortality, or what that great mystery is at all, why those who will be immortal are first born mortal, and then, having run the course of temporal life and cast off the wrappings of frail bodies, are carried over to that eternal blessedness, he did not grasp.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato affirmed immortality but not its purpose or means.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.8 (CSEL 19:752; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
63.9CSEL 19:752
denique nec iudicium dei nec discrimen iusti et iniusti explicauit: sed animas quae se sceleribus inmerserint hactenus condemnari putauit, ut in pecudibus renascantur, et ita peccatorum suorum luere poenas, donec rursus ad figuras hominum reuertantur; et hoc fieri semper nec esse finem transmeandi. ludum mihi nescio quem inducit somnio similem, cui nec ratio ulla nec dei gubernatio nec consilium aliquod inesse uideatur.
Finally he did not explain either the judgement of God or the distinction between the just and the unjust; but he thought that souls that had plunged themselves into crimes are condemned only so far as to be reborn in cattle, and so pay the penalty of their sins until they return again to human forms; and that this happens forever, with no end of passing over. He brings in some kind of game, like a dream, in which there seems to be no reason, no government of God, and no plan.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato's transmigration replaces God's judgement with an endless, pointless cycle.
- Plato, Phaed. 81e–82b; Resp. 10.617d–620d.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phaed. 81e–82b (Plato (works); allusion)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 63.9 (CSEL 19:752; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-63-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 64
64.1CSEL 19:752
Dicam nunc quae sit illa summa, quam ne ii quidem qui uera dixerunt, conlatis in unum causis atque rationibus conectere potuerunt. factus est a deo mundus, ut homines nascerentur; nascuntur autem homines, ut deum parentem agnoscant, in quo est sapientia; agnoscunt, ut colant, in quo est iustitia; colunt, ut mercedem inmortalitatis accipiant; accipiunt inmortalitatem, ut in aeternum deo seruiant.
I will now say what that sum is which not even those who spoke the truth could connect by bringing causes and reasons together into one. The world was made by God so that men might be born; men are born so that they may acknowledge God as parent, in which is wisdom; they acknowledge him so that they may worship him, in which is justice; they worship so that they may receive the reward of immortality; they receive immortality so that they may serve God forever.
Notes and citation
Summary: The world exists for humans, humans to know and worship God, and worship leads to immortality and eternal service.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.1 (CSEL 19:752; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
64.2CSEL 19:752–753
uidesne quemadmodum sibi conexa sint et prima cum mediis et media cum extremis? inspiciamus singula et uideamus utrumne illis ratio subsistat. fecit deus mundum propter hominem.
Do you see how the first things are connected with the middle and the middle with the last? Let us examine each and see whether reason supports them. God made the world for man's sake.
Notes and citation
Summary: Each link of this chain can be tested.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.2 (CSEL 19:752–753; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
64.3CSEL 19:753
hoc qui non peruidet, non multum distat a pecude. quis caelum suspicit nisi homo? quis solem, quis astra, quis omnia dei opera miratur nisi homo? quis colit terram? quis ex ea fructum capit? quis nauigat mare? quis pisces, quis uolatilia, quis quadrupedes habet in potestate nisi homo? cuncta igitur propter hominem deus fecit, quia usui hominis cuncta cesserunt.
Whoever does not see this is not far from a beast. Who looks up to heaven but man? Who marvels at the sun, the stars, all the works of God, but man? Who tills the earth? Who takes fruit from it? Who sails the sea? Who has fish, birds, and four-footed beasts in his power but man? God made all things, then, for man's sake, since all things have yielded to man's use.
Gen 1:28 (echo, medium confidence) · Ps 8:6 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: All creation serves humans, so it was made for them.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.3 (CSEL 19:753; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
64.4CSEL 19:753
recte ergo uiderunt hoc philosophi, sed illut quod sequitur non uiderunt, quod ipsum hominem propter se fecerit. erat enim consequens et pium et necessarium ut, cum hominis causa tanta opera molitus sit, cum tantum illi honoris, tantum dederit potestatis, ut dominetur in mundo, et homo agnosceret deum tantorum beneficiorum auctorem, qui et ipsum fecit et mundum propter ipsum eique cultum et honorem debitum redderet.
The philosophers saw this rightly; but what follows they did not see: that he made man himself for his own sake. For it was consistent, pious, and necessary that, since he had undertaken such great works for man's sake, since he gave him so much honour and so much power that he rules in the world, man too should acknowledge God as the author of such great benefits, who made both him and the world for him, and should render him due worship and honour.
Notes and citation
Summary: God made humans for himself, so they owe him worship.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.4 (CSEL 19:753; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
64.5CSEL 19:753
hic Plato aberrauit, hic perdidit quam primo arripuerat ueritatem, cum de cultu eius dei quem conditorem rerum ac parentem fatebatur opticuit, nec intellexit hominem deo pietatis uinculis esse religatum, unde ipsa religio nominatur, et hoc esse solum propter quod inmortales animae fiant.
Here Plato went astray; here he lost the truth he had first grasped, when he was silent about the worship of that God whom he confessed to be the founder and parent of things, and did not understand that man is bound to God by the bonds of piety, from which religion itself is named, and that this alone is the reason souls become immortal.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato missed that humans are bound (religio) to God, which is why souls become immortal.
- Lactantius derives religio from religare, “to bind” (Div. inst. 4.28).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.5 (CSEL 19:753; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
64.6CSEL 19:753–754
sensit tamen aeternas esse, sed non per gradus ad eam sententiam descendit. amputatis enim mediis incidit potius in ueritatem quasi per abruptum aliquod praecipitium nec ulterius progressus est, quoniam casu, non ratione uerum inuenerat.
Yet he perceived that souls are eternal, but he did not come down to that view by steps. For, the middle terms cut off, he fell into the truth rather as over some abrupt precipice and went no further, since he had found the truth by chance, not by reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato reached immortality by chance, not by reasoning.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.6 (CSEL 19:753–754; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
64.7CSEL 19:754
colendus est igitur deus, ut per religionem, quae eadem iustitia est, accipiat homo a deo immortalitatem, nec est ullum aliut praemium piae mentis: quae si est inuisibilis, non potest ab inuisibili deo nisi inuisibili mercede donari.
God must therefore be worshipped, so that through religion, which is the same as justice, man may receive immortality from God; nor is there any other reward for a pious mind: and since it is invisible, it cannot be rewarded by the invisible God except with an invisible reward.
Notes and citation
Summary: Worship of God is rewarded with immortality.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 64.7 (CSEL 19:754; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-64-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 65
65.1CSEL 19:754
Plurimis uero argumentis colligi potest aeternas esse animas. Plato ait, quod per se ipsum semper mouetur nec principium motus habet, etiam finem non habere; animum autem hominis per se semper moueri: qui quia sit ad cogitandum mobilis, ad inueniendum sollers, ad percipiendum facilis, ad discendum capax et quia praeterita teneat, praesentia conprehendat, futura prospiciat multarumque rerum et artium scientiam conplectatur, immortalem esse, siquidem nihil habeat in se de terreni ponderis labe concretum.
That souls are eternal can be gathered from very many arguments. Plato says that what is always moved by itself and has no beginning of motion also has no end; and that the soul of man is always moved by itself; and that because it is quick in thinking, skilful in discovering, ready in perceiving, capable of learning, and because it retains the past, grasps the present, foresees the future, and embraces the knowledge of many things and arts, it is immortal, since it has in itself nothing compounded of the stain of earthly weight.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato argued the soul is immortal because it is self-moving and has godlike powers.
- Plato, Phaedr. 245c–e; compare Cicero, Tusc. 1.53–66.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phaedr. 245c–e (Plato (works); allusion)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.1 (CSEL 19:754; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.2CSEL 19:754
praeterea ex uirtute ac uoluptate intellegitur aeternitas animae. uoluptas omnibus est communis animalibus, uirtus solius est hominis: illa uitiosa est, haec honesta, illa secundum naturam, haec aduersa naturae, nisi anima inmortalis est.
Moreover, the eternity of the soul is understood from virtue and pleasure. Pleasure is common to all animals, virtue belongs to man alone: the one is vicious, the other honourable; the one according to nature, the other contrary to nature, unless the soul is immortal.
Notes and citation
Summary: Virtue, unique to humans and contrary to self-interest, implies immortality.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.2 (CSEL 19:754; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.3CSEL 19:754
uirtus enim pro fide, pro iustitia nec egestatem timet nec exilium metuit nec carcerem perhorrescit nec dolorem reformidat nec mortem recusat: quae quia naturae contraria sunt, aut stultitia est uirtus, si et commoda impedit et uitae nocet, aut si stultitia non est, ergo anima inmortalis est et ideo praesentia bona contemnit, quia sunt alia potiora quae post dissolutionem corporis sui adsequatur.
For virtue, for the sake of faith and justice, fears neither poverty nor exile, dreads not prison, shrinks not from pain, refuses not death. Since these things are contrary to nature, either virtue is folly, if it both obstructs advantages and harms life; or, if it is not folly, then the soul is immortal and therefore despises present goods, because there are other, better things which it will obtain after the dissolution of its body.
Notes and citation
Summary: Virtue that accepts suffering and death makes sense only if the soul is immortal.
Topics: Eschatology, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.3 (CSEL 19:754; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.4CSEL 19:754–755
illut etiam maximum argumentum immortalitatis est, quod deum homo solus agnoscit. in mutis nulla suspicio religionis est, quia terrena sunt in terramque prostrata: homo ideo rectus aspicit caelum, ut deum quaerat. non potest igitur non esse inmortalis qui inmortalem desiderat, non potest esse solubilis qui cum deo et uultu et mente communis est.
This too is the greatest argument for immortality, that man alone knows God. In dumb animals there is no hint of religion, because they are earthly and bent toward the earth; man stands upright and looks at heaven so that he may seek God. He cannot, then, fail to be immortal who longs for the Immortal; he cannot be dissoluble who shares with God both in face and in mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only humans know God and look upward, proof that they are immortal.
- Compare Ovid, Metam. 1.84–86.
Extrabiblical texts: Ovid, Metam. 1.84–86 (Ovid; echo)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.4 (CSEL 19:754–755; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.5CSEL 19:755
denique caelesti elemento, quod est ignis, solus homo utitur. si enim lux per ignem, uita per lucem, apparet eum qui habeat usum ignis non esse mortalem, quoniam id illi proximum, id familiare est sine quo non potest nec lux nec uita constare.
Finally, man alone uses the heavenly element, which is fire. For if light is through fire and life through light, it is clear that one who has the use of fire is not mortal, since that is nearest to him and familiar to him without which neither light nor life can exist.
Notes and citation
Summary: Humans alone use fire, the heavenly element, a sign of immortality.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.5 (CSEL 19:755; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.6CSEL 19:755
sed quid argumentis colligimus aeternas esse animas, cum habeamus testimonia diuina? id enim sacrae litterae ac uoces prophetarum docent. quod si cui parum uidetur, legat carmina Sibyllarum, Apollinis quoque Milesii responsa consideret, ut intellegat delirasse Democritum et Epicurum et Dicaearchum, qui soli omnium mortalium quod est euidens negauerunt.
But why do we gather by arguments that souls are eternal, when we have divine testimonies? For the sacred writings and the voices of the prophets teach this. If this seems too little to anyone, let him read the songs of the Sibyls and consider the answers of Milesian Apollo too, so that he may understand that Democritus, Epicurus, and Dicaearchus raved, who alone of all mortals denied what is evident.
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture, the Sibyls, and even oracles attest the soul's immortality.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. (Sibylline Oracles; allusion); Democritus (Democritus (fragments); allusion); Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion)
Topics: Eschatology, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.6 (CSEL 19:755; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.7CSEL 19:755
Confirmata inmortalitate superest docere a quo et quibus et quomodo et quando tribuatur. cum certa et constituta diuinitus tempora compleri coeperint, interitum et consummationem rerum fieri necesse est, ut innouetur a deo mundus. id uero tempus in proximo est, quantum de numero annorum deque signis quae praedicta sunt a prophetis colligi potest.
Immortality having been confirmed, it remains to teach by whom, to whom, how, and when it is granted. When the times fixed and established by God have begun to be fulfilled, the destruction and consummation of things must take place, so that the world may be renewed by God. And that time is near, as far as can be gathered from the number of years and from the signs foretold by the prophets.
Notes and citation
Summary: At the appointed time, which is near, the world will end and be renewed.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.7 (CSEL 19:755; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.8CSEL 19:755–756
sed cum sint innumerabilia quae de fine saeculi et conclusione temporum dicta sunt, ea ipsa quae dicuntur, nuda ponenda sunt, quoniam ut testimoniis utamur inmensum est si quis illa desiderat aut nobis minus credit, adeat ad ipsum sacrarium caelestium litterarum, quarum fide instructior errasse philosophos sentiat, qui aut aeternum esse hunc mundum aut infinita esse annorum milia putauerunt ex quo fuerit instructus.
But since the things said about the end of the age and the close of the times are innumerable, those things that are said must be set down bare, since to use testimonies would be endless. If anyone wants them, or believes us too little, let him go to the very sanctuary of the heavenly writings, and, better instructed by their trustworthiness, he will perceive that the philosophers erred, who thought either that this world is eternal or that countless thousands of years have passed since it was set in order.
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture shows the philosophers wrong in thinking the world eternal or very old.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): ant infinita → aut infinita; ei quo fuerit → ex quo fuerit.
Topics: Eschatology, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.8 (CSEL 19:755–756; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
65.9CSEL 19:756
nondum enim sex milia conpleta sunt: quo numero consummato tunc demum malum omne tolletur, ut regnet sola iustitia. quod quatenus euenturum sit paucis explicabo.
For six thousand years are not yet completed; when this number is fulfilled, then at last all evil will be taken away, so that justice alone may reign. How this will come about I will explain in a few words.
2 Pet 3:8 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: When six thousand years are complete, evil will end and justice reign.
- The scheme of six ages of a thousand years each followed by a sabbath millennium is set out in Div. inst. 7.14; compare Barn. 15.4 and 2 Pet 3:8.
Extrabiblical texts: Barn. 15.4 (Epistle of Barnabas; echo)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 65.9 (CSEL 19:756; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-65-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 66
66.1CSEL 19:756
Haec autem a prophetis, sed et a uatibus futura dicuntur. cum coeperit mundo finis ultimus propinquare, malitia inualescet, omnia uitiorum et fraudum genera crebrescent, iustitia interibit, fides pax misericordia pudor ueritas non erit, uis et audacia praeualebit, nemo quidquam habebit nisi manu partum manuque defensum.
These things are said to be coming not only by the prophets but also by the seers. When the last end of the world begins to draw near, wickedness will grow strong; every kind of vice and fraud will multiply; justice will perish; faithfulness, peace, mercy, shame, and truth will not exist; force and boldness will prevail; no one will have anything except what is won by hand and defended by hand.
Matt 24:12 (echo, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 3:1 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Near the end, wickedness will prevail and every virtue will vanish.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point in the digital text): interibit., → interibit,.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.1 (CSEL 19:756; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.2CSEL 19:756
si qui erunt boni, praedae ac ludibrio habebuntur. nemo pietatem parentibus exhibebit, nemo infantis aut senis miserebitur, auaritia et libido uniuersa corrumpet. erunt caedes et sanguinis effusiones, erunt bella non modo externa et finitima, uerum etiam intestina. ciuitates inter se belligerabunt, omnis sexus et omnis aetas arma tractabit.
If there are any good people, they will be held as plunder and a laughing-stock. No one will show dutifulness to parents, no one will pity infant or old man; avarice and lust will corrupt everything. There will be slaughters and bloodshed; there will be wars not only foreign and with neighbours but also civil. Cities will make war on one another; every sex and every age will handle arms.
2 Tim 3:2 (echo, medium confidence) · Matt 24:6 (echo, medium confidence) · Mark 13:12 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Family love will fail and wars of every kind will spread.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.2 (CSEL 19:756; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.3CSEL 19:756–757
non imperii dignitas conseruabitur, non militiae disciplina, sed more latrocinii depraedatio et uastitas fiet. regnum multiplicabitur et decem uiri occupabunt orbem et partientur et deuorabunt et existet alius longe potentior ac nequior, qui tribus deletis Asiam possidebit et ceteris in potestatem suam redactis et adscitis uexabit omnem terram. nouas leges statuet, ueteres abrogabit; rem publicam suam faciet, nomen imperii sedemque mutabit. tunc erit tempus infandum et execrabile, quo nemini libeat uiuere.
Neither the dignity of empire nor military discipline will be preserved, but plunder and devastation will take place in the manner of brigandage. The kingdom will be multiplied, and ten men will seize the world and divide and devour it; and another, far more powerful and more wicked, will arise, who, having destroyed three, will possess Asia, and, having brought the rest under his power and taken them to himself, will harass the whole earth. He will set up new laws and abolish the old; he will make the state his own; he will change the name and seat of the empire. Then will be an unspeakable and accursed time, in which no one will care to live.
Dan 7:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Dan 7:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Dan 7:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Dan 7:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 17:12 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Ten kings will divide the world, then a more wicked one will overthrow three and rule all.
- Drawing on Dan 7:7–8, 24–25 and Rev 17:12. The prediction that the seat of empire would move to Asia was read later in the light of events; the author wrote before Constantinople's foundation.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.3 (CSEL 19:756–757; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.4CSEL 19:757
denique in eum statum res cadet, ut uiuos lamentatio, mortuos gratulatio sequatur. ciuitates et oppida interibunt modo ferro et igni, modo terrae motibus crebris, modo aquarum inundatione, modo pestilentia et fame. terra nihil feret aut frigoribus nimiis aut caloribus sterilis. aqua omnis partim mutabitur in cruorem, partim in amaritudinem uitiabitur, ut nihil sit nec ad cibos utile nec ad potum salubre.
Finally things will come to such a state that lamentation will follow the living and congratulation the dead. Cities and towns will perish, now by sword and fire, now by frequent earthquakes, now by flood, now by pestilence and famine. The earth will bear nothing, barren from excessive cold or heat. All water will partly be changed into blood and partly be corrupted into bitterness, so that there will be nothing useful for food or wholesome for drink.
Matt 24:7 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 8:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 8:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 16:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Earthquakes, floods, plagues, famine, and waters turned to blood will devastate the earth.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.4 (CSEL 19:757; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.5CSEL 19:757
his malis accedent etiam prodigia de caelo, ne quid desit hominibus ad timorem. cometae crebro apparebunt, sol perpetuo pallore fuscabitur, luna sanguine inficietur nec amissae lucis damna reparabit, stellae omnes decident nec temporibus sua ratio constabit, hieme atque aestate confusis;
To these evils will be added portents from heaven, so that nothing may be lacking to men for fear. Comets will appear often; the sun will be darkened with a perpetual pallor; the moon will be stained with blood and will not repair the loss of her light; all the stars will fall, and the seasons will not keep their order, winter and summer being confused;
Joel 2:31 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 6:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 6:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Signs in the sun, moon, and stars will terrify the world.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.5 (CSEL 19:757; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.6CSEL 19:757–758
tunc et annus et mensis et dies breuiabitur: et hanc esse mundi senectutem ac defectionem Trismegistus elocutus est. quae cum euenerint, adesse tempus sciendum est quo deus ad commutandum saeculum reuertatur.
then too the year and the month and the day will be shortened; and Trismegistus declared that this is the old age and failing of the world. When these things happen, it must be known that the time is at hand when God will return to change the age.
Matt 24:22 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Time itself will be shortened, the world's old age, before God returns.
- Compare the Hermetic Asclepius 24–26. Compare also Matt 24:22.
Extrabiblical texts: Corp. herm. Ascl. 24–26 (Hermetic writings; allusion)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.6 (CSEL 19:757–758; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.7CSEL 19:758
inter haec autem mala exurget rex impius non modo generi hominum, sed etiam deo inimicus. hic reliquias illius prioris tyranni conteret cruciabit uexabit interemet. tunc erunt lacrimae iuges et gemitus perpetes et ad deum cassae preces, nulla requies a formidine nec somnus ad quietem. dies cladem, nox metum semper augebit. sic orbis terrarum paene ad solitudinem, certe ad raritatem hominum redigetur.
Amid these evils an impious king will arise, an enemy not only of the human race but also of God. He will crush, torture, harass, and kill the remnants of that former tyrant. Then there will be unceasing tears and perpetual groans and prayers to God in vain; no rest from fear, nor sleep for quiet. Day will always increase disaster, night fear. So the world will be reduced almost to a desert, at least to a scarcity of men.
2 Thess 2:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Dan 7:25 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: An impious king, enemy of God, will arise and devastate the earth.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): tunc erant lacrimae → tunc erunt lacrimae.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.7 (CSEL 19:758; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.8CSEL 19:758
tunc et impius iustos homines ac dicatos deo duobus et quadraginta mensibus persequetur et se coli iubebit ut deum: se enim dicet esse Christum, cuius erit aduersarius. ut credi ei possit, accipiet potestatem mirabilia faciendi, ut ignis descendat a caelo, ut sol resistat a cursu suo, ut imago quam posuerit loquatur.
Then the impious one will persecute righteous men dedicated to God for forty-two months and will order himself to be worshipped as God; for he will say that he is Christ, whose adversary he will be. So that he may be believed, he will receive power to work wonders: that fire may come down from heaven, that the sun may stand still in its course, that the image he has set up may speak.
Rev 13:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 13:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 13:15 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Thess 2:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:24 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Antichrist will persecute for 42 months, claim to be Christ, and work false wonders.
- The sun standing still is not in Revelation; compare Sib. Or. 3.63–67.
Topics: Eschatology, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.8 (CSEL 19:758; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.9CSEL 19:758
quibus prodigiis inliciet multos, ut adorent eum signumque eius in manu aut fronte suscipiant. et qui non adorauerit signumque susceperit, exquisitis cruciatibus morietur. ita fere duas partes exterminabit, tertia in desertas solitudines fugiet.
By these portents he will entice many to worship him and receive his mark on hand or forehead. And whoever does not worship him and receive the mark will die by exquisite tortures. So he will destroy about two parts; the third will flee into desert solitudes.
Rev 13:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 13:17 (allusion, medium confidence) · Zech 13:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 12:6 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those refusing his mark will be tortured; two-thirds will perish and a third flee.
Topics: Eschatology, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.9 (CSEL 19:758; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
66.10CSEL 19:758
sed ille uecors ira inplacabili furens adducet exercitum et obsidebit montem quo iusti confugerint. qui cum se uiderint circumsessos, implorabunt auxilium dei uoce magna et exaudiet eos et mittet illis liberatorem.
But that madman, raging with implacable anger, will bring an army and besiege the mountain to which the righteous have fled. When they see themselves besieged, they will implore God's help with a loud voice; and he will hear them and send them a deliverer.
Notes and citation
Summary: When the Antichrist besieges the righteous, God will send them a deliverer.
Topics: Eschatology, Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 66.10 (CSEL 19:758; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-66-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 67
67.1CSEL 19:758–759
Tunc caelum intempesta nocte patefiet et descendet Christus in uirtute magna et anteibit eum claritas ignea et uirtus inaestimabilis angelorum et extinguetur omnis illa multitudo impiorum et torrentes sanguinis current et ipse ductor effugiet atque exercitu saepe reparato quartum proelium faciet, quo captus cum ceteris omnibus tyrannis tradetur exustioni.
Then heaven will be opened in the dead of night, and Christ will descend in great power, and a fiery brightness will go before him and an incalculable host of angels; and all that multitude of the impious will be destroyed, and torrents of blood will run; and the leader himself will escape, and, having often renewed his army, will fight a fourth battle, in which he will be captured with all the other tyrants and handed over to burning.
Rev 19:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 24:30 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 19:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 14:20 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ will descend from heaven with his angels, destroy the wicked, and cast the Antichrist into fire.
Topics: Eschatology, Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.1 (CSEL 19:758–759; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.2CSEL 19:759
sed et ipse daemonum princeps auctor et machinator malorum catenis alligatus custodiae dabitur, ut pacem mundus accipiat et uexata tot saeculis terra requiescat.
But the prince of demons himself too, the author and contriver of evils, will be bound with chains and given into custody, so that the world may receive peace and the earth, harassed for so many ages, may rest.
Rev 20:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 20:3 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The devil will be chained so the earth may have peace.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.2 (CSEL 19:759; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.3CSEL 19:759
pace igitur parata conpressoque omni malo rex ille iustus et uictor iudicium magnum de uiuis et mortuis faciet super terram et uiuentibus quidem iustis tradet in seruitium gentes uniuersas, mortuos autem ad aeternam uitam suscitabit et in terra cum iis ipse regnabit et condet sanctam ciuitatem et erit hoc regnum iustorum mille annis.
Peace being established, then, and all evil suppressed, that just and victorious King will hold a great judgement of the living and the dead on the earth; and to the righteous who are living he will hand over all nations in servitude, and the dead he will raise to eternal life; and he himself will reign with them on the earth and will found a holy city; and this kingdom of the righteous will last a thousand years.
Rev 20:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 20:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 21:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ will judge, raise the righteous, and reign with them on earth for a thousand years.
- Lactantius expects an earthly thousand-year kingdom of the righteous (Div. inst. 7.24), as some earlier writers did (e.g. Justin, Dial. 80–81); others rejected the view. It is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point in the digital text): erit hoc. regnum → erit hoc regnum.
Topics: Eschatology, Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.3 (CSEL 19:759; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.4CSEL 19:759
per idem tempus et stellae candidiores erunt et claritas solis augebitur et luna non patietur deminutionem. tunc descendet a deo pluuia benedictionis matutina et uespertina et omnem frugem terra sine labore hominum procreabit.
During the same time the stars will be brighter, the brightness of the sun will be increased, and the moon will suffer no waning. Then a rain of blessing will come down from God morning and evening, and the earth will produce every crop without human labour.
Isa 30:26 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 2:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In the millennium the heavens will shine brighter and the earth yield without labour.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.4 (CSEL 19:759; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.5CSEL 19:759
stillabunt mella de rupibus, lactis et uini fontes exuberabunt. bestiae deposita feritate mansuescent, lupus inter pecudes errabit innoxius, uitulus cum leone pascetur, columba cum accipitre congregabitur, serpens uirus non habebit, nullum animal uiuet ex sanguine. omnibus enim deus copiosum atque innocentem uictum ministrabit.
Honey will drip from the rocks; fountains of milk and wine will overflow. Beasts, laying aside their ferocity, will grow tame; the wolf will wander harmless among the flocks; the calf will graze with the lion; the dove will gather with the hawk; the serpent will have no venom; no animal will live by blood. For God will supply abundant and innocent food to all.
Isa 11:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 65:25 (allusion, high confidence) · Joel 3:18 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The earth will overflow with plenty and wild beasts will become tame.
- Compare Virgil, Ecl. 4.21–30 and Sib. Or. 3.744–751, 788–795.
Extrabiblical texts: Virgil, Ecl. 4.21–30 (Virgil; echo); Sib. Or. 3.788–795 (Sibylline Oracles; allusion)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.5 (CSEL 19:759; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.6CSEL 19:759–760
peractis uero mille annis ac resoluto daemonum principe rebellabunt gentes aduersus iustos et ueniet innumerabilis multitudo ad expugnandam sanctorum ciuitatem.
But when the thousand years are completed and the prince of demons is loosed, the nations will rebel against the righteous, and a countless multitude will come to storm the city of the saints.
Rev 20:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 20:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 20:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: After the thousand years the devil is loosed and the nations attack the holy city.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.6 (CSEL 19:759–760; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.7CSEL 19:760
tunc fiet ultimum iudicium dei aduersus gentes. concutiet enim a fundamentis suis terram et corruent ciuitatem, et pluet super impios ignem cum sulpure et grandine et ardebunt et se inuicem trucidabunt. iusti uero sub terra paulisper latebunt, donec perditio gentium fiat, et exibunt post diem tertium et uidebunt campos cadaueribus opertos. tunc fiet terrae motus et scindentur montes et subsident ualles in altitudinem profundam et congerentur in eam corpora mortuorum et uocabitur nomen eius Polyandrium.
Then will come God's last judgement against the nations. For he will shake the earth from its foundations, and cities will fall, and he will rain fire with brimstone and hail upon the impious, and they will burn and slaughter one another. But the righteous will hide for a little while under the earth until the destruction of the nations is accomplished, and they will come out after the third day and see the plains covered with corpses. Then there will be an earthquake, and the mountains will be split, and the valleys will sink down to a great depth, and into it the bodies of the dead will be heaped, and its name will be called Polyandrium.
Ezek 38:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 39:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 20:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 26:20 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God will destroy the rebel nations with fire and earthquake; the righteous will be hidden and then emerge.
- Polyandrium (“common grave”) is the Greek and Latin rendering of the valley of Hamon-gog in Ezek 39:11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): iadicium → iudicium.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.7 (CSEL 19:760; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
67.8CSEL 19:760
post haec renouabit deus mundum et transformabit iustos in figuras angelorum, ut inmortalitatis ueste donati seruiant deo in sempiternum. et hoc erit regnum dei, quod finem non habebit. tunc etiam impii resurgent, non ad uitam, sed ad poenam. eos quoque secunda resurrectione facta deus excitabit, ut ad perpetua tormenta damnati et aeternis ignibus traditi merita pro sceleribus suis supplicia persoluant.
After this God will renew the world and transform the righteous into the forms of angels, so that, clothed with the garment of immortality, they may serve God forever. And this will be the kingdom of God, which will have no end. Then the impious too will rise again, not to life but to punishment. These too God will raise when the second resurrection takes place, so that, condemned to perpetual torments and handed over to eternal fires, they may pay the punishments deserved for their crimes.
Rev 21:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 22:30 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 15:53 (allusion, medium confidence) · Dan 12:2 (allusion, high confidence) · John 5:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Rev 20:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · Rev 20:15 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God will renew the world, make the righteous like angels forever, and raise the wicked to eternal punishment.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR misread in the digital text): renonabit → renouabit.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 67.8 (CSEL 19:760; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-67-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 68
68.1CSEL 19:760–761
Quare cum haec omnia uera et certa sint prophetarum omnium consona adnuntiatione praedicta, cum eadem Trismegistus, eadem Hystaspes, eadem Sibyllae cecinerint, dubitari non potest quin spes omnis uitae ac salutis in sola dei religione sit posita.
Since, then, all these things are true and certain, foretold by the harmonious proclamation of all the prophets, and since Trismegistus, Hystaspes, and the Sibyls have sung the same things, there can be no doubt that all hope of life and salvation is placed in the religion of God alone.
Notes and citation
Summary: Prophets, Hermes, Hystaspes, and the Sibyls agree: salvation lies only in the religion of God.
Extrabiblical texts: Hyst. (Oracle of Hystaspes; allusion); Sib. Or. (Sibylline Oracles; allusion); Corp. herm. (Hermetic writings; allusion)
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 68.1 (CSEL 19:760–761; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-68-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
68.2CSEL 19:761
itaque nisi homo susceperit quem deus ad liberationem misit atque missurus est, nisi summum deum per eum cognouerit, nisi mandata eius legemque seruauerit, in eas incidet poenas de quibus locuti sumus.
And so, unless a man receives him whom God has sent and will send for deliverance, unless he knows the supreme God through him, unless he keeps his commands and law, he will fall into those punishments of which we have spoken.
Notes and citation
Summary: Whoever does not receive Christ and keep God's law will be punished.
Topics: Eschatology, Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 68.2 (CSEL 19:761; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-68-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
68.3CSEL 19:761
proinde fragilia contemnenda sunt, ut solida consequamur, spernenda terrena, ut caelestibus honoremur, temporalia fugienda, ut ad aeterna ueniamus.
Therefore frail things must be despised so that we may attain solid ones; earthly things spurned so that we may be honoured with heavenly; temporal things fled so that we may come to eternal.
2 Cor 4:18 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Despise the temporal to gain the eternal.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 68.3 (CSEL 19:761; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-68-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
68.4CSEL 19:761
erudiat se quisque ad iustitiam, reformet ad continentiam, praeparet ad agonem, instruat ad uirtutem, ut si forte aduersarius indixerit bellum, nulla ui, nullo terrore, nullis cruciatibus a recto et bono depellatur. non se substernat insensibilibus figmentis,
Let each train himself for justice, reform himself for self-control, prepare himself for the contest, equip himself for virtue, so that if perhaps the adversary declares war, he may be driven from what is right and good by no force, no terror, no tortures. Let him not prostrate himself before senseless images,
Notes and citation
Summary: Each must train for justice and self-control to stand firm in persecution.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 68.4 (CSEL 19:761; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-68-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.
68.5CSEL 19:761
sed uerum et solum deum rectus agnoscat, abiciat uoluptates, quarum inlecebris anima sublimis deprimitur ad terram, teneat innocentiam, prosit quam plurimis, incorruptibiles sibi thensauros bonis operibus adquirat, ut possit deo iudice pro uirtutis suae meritis uel coronam fidei uel praemium inmortalitatis adipisci.
but, upright, let him acknowledge the true and only God; let him cast away pleasures, by whose allurements the lofty soul is pressed down to earth; let him keep innocence; let him benefit as many as possible; let him acquire for himself incorruptible treasures by good works, so that with God as judge he may obtain, according to the merits of his virtue, either the crown of faith or the reward of immortality.
Matt 6:20 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 4:8 (echo, medium confidence) · Jas 1:12 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Know the one God, shun pleasures, do good, and gain the crown of faith or immortality.
- The “crown of faith” is the martyr's crown; the “reward of immortality” is for those who live faithfully in peace (compare 61.6).
Topics: Eschatology, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Epit. 68.5 (CSEL 19:761; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-epitome/62-1/#p-68-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations.