Divine Institutes 4.29.1–5.4.8
Latin text: CSEL 19 (Latin text: S. Brandt (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).
Divine 4, chapter 29
4.29.1CSEL 19:391–392
Fortasse quaerat aliquis quomodo, cum deum nos unum colere dicamus, duos tamen esse adseueremus, deum patrem et deum filium. quae adseueratio plerosque in maximum inpingit errorem.
Perhaps someone may ask how, when we say that we worship one God, we nevertheless assert that there are two, God the Father and God the Son. This assertion drives many into the greatest error.
Notes and citation
Summary: How can Christians worship one God yet speak of Father and Son?
Topics: Trinity, Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.1 (CSEL 19:391–392; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.2CSEL 19:392
quibus cum probabilia uideantur esse quae dicimus, in hoc uno labare nos arbitrantur, quod et alterum et mortalem deum fateamur. de mortalitate iam diximus: nunc de unitate doceamus.
To them what we say seems probable, but they think we stumble in this one point, that we confess both another God and a mortal one. Of the mortality we have already spoken; now let us teach about the unity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Having discussed his mortality, he now explains the unity of Father and Son.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.2 (CSEL 19:392; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.3CSEL 19:392
cum dicimus deum patrem et deum filium, non diuersum dicimus nec utrumque secernimus, quia nec pater a filio potest nec filius a patre secerni, siquidem nec pater sine filio nuncupari nec filius potest sine patre generari.
When we say God the Father and God the Son, we do not speak of different ones nor separate each, because neither can the Father be separated from the Son nor the Son from the Father, since the Father cannot be named without the Son, nor the Son begotten without the Father.
Notes and citation
Summary: Father and Son are not separate, since each implies the other.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.3 (CSEL 19:392; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.4CSEL 19:392
cum igitur et pater filium faciat et filius patrem, una utrique mens, unus spiritus, una substantia est: sed ille quasi exuberans fons est, hic tamquam defluens ex eo riuus, ille tamquam sol, hic quasi radius ex sole porrectus.
Since, then, the Father makes the Son and the Son the Father, both have one mind, one spirit, one substance; but the one is like an overflowing spring, the other like a stream flowing from it; the one like the sun, the other like a ray extended from the sun.
Notes and citation
Summary: Father and Son share one mind, spirit and substance, like spring and stream, sun and ray.
- Lactantius's formulation, written before the Council of Nicaea (325); translated as written.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.4 (CSEL 19:392; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.5CSEL 19:392
qui quoniam summo patri et fidelis et carus est, non separatur, sicut nec riuus a fonte nec radius a sole, quia et aqua fontis in riuo est et solis lumen in radio; aeque nec uox ab ore seiungi nec uirtus aut manus a corpore diuelli potest.
Since he is both faithful and dear to the supreme Father, he is not separated, as neither the stream from the spring nor the ray from the sun; for both the water of the spring is in the stream and the light of the sun in the ray; likewise neither can the voice be severed from the mouth, nor the power or the hand be torn from the body.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Son is inseparable from the Father, as ray from sun.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.5 (CSEL 19:392; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.6CSEL 19:392
cum igitur a prophetis idem manus dei et uirtus et sermo dicatur, utique nulla discretio est, quia et lingua, sermonis ministra, et manus, in qua est uirtus, indiuiduae sunt corporis portiones.
Since, then, the same one is called by the prophets the hand and power and word of God, there is certainly no division, because both the tongue, the minister of the word, and the hand, in which is power, are undivided parts of the body.
Notes and citation
Summary: As hand and word of God, the Son is undivided from him.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.6 (CSEL 19:392; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.7CSEL 19:392–393
propiore uti exemplo libet. cum quis habet filium quem unice diligat, qui tamen sit in domo et in manu patris, licet ei nomen domini potestatemque concedat, ciuili tamen iure et domus una et unus dominus nominatur.
I would like to use a nearer example. When someone has a son whom he loves uniquely, who is still in the household and under the father's hand, even if he grants him the name and power of master, yet by civil law there is said to be one household and one master.
Notes and citation
Summary: A father and son in one household are one household and one master.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.7 (CSEL 19:392–393; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.8CSEL 19:393
sic hic mundus una dei domus est et filius ac pater, qui unanimes incolunt mundum, deus unus, quia et unus est tamquam duo et duo tamquam unus.
So this world is one house of God, and the Son and the Father, who dwell in the world with one mind, are one God, because the one is as two and the two as one.
Notes and citation
Summary: Father and Son are one God, as two in one household.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.8 (CSEL 19:393; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.9CSEL 19:393
neque id mirum, cum et filius sit in patre, quia pater diligit filium, et pater in filio, quia uoluntati patris fideliter paret, nec umquam faciat aut fecerit nisi quod pater aut uoluit aut iussit.
Nor is this strange, since the Son is in the Father, because the Father loves the Son, and the Father is in the Son, because he faithfully obeys the Father's will, and never does or has done anything but what the Father either willed or commanded.
John 14:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 5:19 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Son is in the Father and the Father in the Son.
- Cf. John 14:10; 5:19.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.9 (CSEL 19:393; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.10CSEL 19:393
denique unum deum esse tam patrem quam filium Esaias in illo exemplo quod superius posuimus ostendit, cum diceret: adorabunt te et in te precabuntur: quoniam in te deus est, et non est deus alius praeter te. sed et alio loco similiter ait: sic dicit deus rex Israhel et qui eruit eum deus aeternus: ego primus et ego nouissimus et praeter me non est deus.
Finally, that both the Father and the Son are one God, Isaiah shows in that example we set out above, when he said: 'They will worship you and pray to you: for God is in you, and there is no other God besides you.' And in another place he likewise says: 'Thus says God, the King of Israel, and the eternal God who rescued him: I am the first and I am the last, and besides me there is no God.'
Isa 45:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 44:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah shows that Father and Son are one God.
- Isa 45:14; Isa 44:6 (Greek text).
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.10 (CSEL 19:393; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.11CSEL 19:393
cum duas personas proposuisset, dei regis, id est Christi, et dei patris, qui eum post passionem ab inferis excitauit, sicut ostendisse diximus Osee prophetam qui ait: et de manu inferorum eruam eum, tamen ad utramque personam referens intulit: et praeter me non est deus, cum posset dicere praeter nos: sed fas non erat plurali numero separationem tantae necessitudinis fieri.
Though he had set forth two persons, of God the King, that is, Christ, and of God the Father, who raised him from the underworld after his passion, as we said the prophet Hosea showed, who says, 'And from the hand of the underworld I will rescue him', yet, referring to both persons, he added, 'and besides me there is no God', though he could have said 'besides us'; but it was not right that the separation of so close a bond should be made by the plural number.
Hos 13:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah speaks of two persons yet says 'besides me', since they are not separated.
- Hos 13:14 (see 4.19.9).
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.11 (CSEL 19:393; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.12CSEL 19:393–394
unus est enim, solus, liber, deus summus, carens origine, quia ipse est origo rerum et in eo simul et filius et omnia continentur.
For he is one, alone, free, the supreme God, without origin, because he himself is the origin of things, and in him both the Son and all things are contained.
Notes and citation
Summary: The supreme God is one and contains the Son and all things.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.12 (CSEL 19:393–394; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.13CSEL 19:394
quapropter cum mens et uoluntas alterius in altero sit uel potius una in utroque, merito unus deus uterque appellatur, quia quidquid est in patre, ad filium transfluit et quidquid est in filio, a patre descendit.
Therefore, since the mind and will of the one is in the other, or rather is one in both, both are rightly called one God, because whatever is in the Father flows over to the Son, and whatever is in the Son comes down from the Father.
Notes and citation
Summary: Father and Son are one God, sharing one mind and will.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: m for in): est m filio → est in filio.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.13 (CSEL 19:394; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.14CSEL 19:394
non potest igitur summus ille ac singularis deus nisi per filium coli. qui solum patrem se colere putat, sicut filium non colit ita ne patrem quidem.
So that supreme and only God cannot be worshipped except through the Son. He who thinks he worships the Father alone, as he does not worship the Son, so does not worship the Father either.
John 5:23 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God can be worshipped only through the Son.
- Cf. John 5:23; 14:6.
Topics: Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.14 (CSEL 19:394; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.29.15CSEL 19:394
qui autem filium suscipit et nomen eius gerit, is uero cum filio simul et patrem colit, quoniam legatus et nuntius et sacerdos summi patris est filius. hic templi maximi ianua est, hic lucis uia, hic dux salutis, hic ostium uitae.
But he who receives the Son and bears his name truly worships the Father together with the Son, since the Son is the envoy and messenger and priest of the supreme Father. He is the gate of the greatest temple, he the way of light, he the leader of salvation, he the door of life.
John 10:9 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Whoever receives the Son worships the Father; the Son is the way and the door.
- Cf. John 10:9; 14:6.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.29.15 (CSEL 19:394; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-29-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 4, chapter 30
4.30.1CSEL 19:394
Sed quoniam multae haereses extiterunt et instinctibus daemonum populus dei scissus est, determinanda est nobis ueritas breuiter et in suo proprio domicilio conlocanda, ut si quis aquam uitae cupiet haurire, non ad detritos lacus deferatur qui non habent uenam, sed uberrimum dei nouerit fontem quo inrigatus perenni luce potiatur.
But since many heresies have arisen and the people of God has been split by the instigations of demons, the truth must be briefly defined by us and placed in its own proper dwelling, so that if anyone desires to draw the water of life, he may not be brought to broken cisterns which have no spring, but may know the most abundant fountain of God, watered by which he may enjoy perpetual light.
Jer 2:13 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Because heresies have divided God's people, he will define where truth is found.
- Cf. Jer 2:13.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.1 (CSEL 19:394; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.2CSEL 19:394–395
ante omnia scire nos conuenit et ipsum et legatos eius praedixisse quod plurimae sectae haberent exsistere quae concordiam sancti corporis rumperent, ac monuisse ut summa prudentia caueremus, ne quando in laqueos et fraudes illius aduersarii nostri cum quo nos luctari deus uoluit incideremus;
Above all, we should know that both he himself and his envoys foretold that very many sects would arise that would break the concord of the holy body, and warned us to beware with the utmost prudence lest we ever fall into the snares and frauds of that adversary of ours with whom God willed us to wrestle;
Matt 24:11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Acts 20:30 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ and the apostles foretold sects and warned against them.
- Cf. Matt 24:11; Acts 20:29–30; 1 Cor 11:19.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.2 (CSEL 19:394–395; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.3CSEL 19:395
tum dedisse certa mandata, quae in perpetuum custodire debemus: quorum plerique immemores deserto itinere caelesti uias sibi deuias per anfractus et praecipitia condiderunt, per quas partem plebis incautam et simplicem ad tenebras mortemque deducerent. quod quatenus acciderit exponam.
then that they gave definite commands which we must keep forever; forgetting which, very many, having left the heavenly road, built for themselves roads astray through windings and precipices, by which to lead the unwary and simple part of the people to darkness and death. How this happened I will explain.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many abandoned the commands and led the simple astray.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.3 (CSEL 19:395; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.4CSEL 19:395
fuerunt quidam nostrorum uel minus stabilita fide uel minus docti uel minus cauti, qui discidium facerent unitatis et ecclesiam dissiparent.
There were some of our own who, either less firm in faith, or less learned, or less cautious, caused a division of unity and scattered the church.
Notes and citation
Summary: Some believers caused schism through weak faith, ignorance, or carelessness.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.4 (CSEL 19:395; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.5CSEL 19:395
sed ii quorum fides fuit lubrica, cum deum nosse se et colere simularent, augendis opibus et honori studentes adfectabant maximum sacerdotium. et a potioribus uicti secedere cum suffragatoribus suis maluerunt quam eos ferre praepositos quibus concupierant ipsi ante praeponi.
But those whose faith was slippery, while pretending to know and worship God, eager to increase their wealth and honour, aimed at the highest priesthood; and, defeated by stronger candidates, they preferred to withdraw with their supporters rather than bear as their superiors those over whom they had themselves desired to be set.
Notes and citation
Summary: Some, failing to gain the episcopate, broke away with their supporters.
- 'the highest priesthood' is the episcopate; Novatian's schism (251) is a likely example.
Topics: Heresy, Church office
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.5 (CSEL 19:395; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.6CSEL 19:395
quidam uero non satis caelestibus litteris eruditi cum ueritatis accusatoribus respondere non possent, obicientibus uel inpossibile uel incongruens esse ut deus in uterum se mulieris includeret nec caelestem illam maiestatem ad tantam infirmitatem potuisse deduci, ut hominibus contemtui derisui contumeliae ludibrio esset, postremo etiam cruciamenta perferret atque exsecrabili patibulo figeretur,
Some, not well enough instructed in the heavenly writings, when they could not answer the accusers of the truth who objected that it was impossible or unfitting for God to enclose himself in a woman's womb, and that that heavenly majesty could not have been brought down to such weakness as to be an object of contempt, derision, insult, and mockery to men, and at last even to endure tortures and be fixed to an accursed gibbet,
Notes and citation
Summary: Others, unable to answer objections to the incarnation and cross,
- The sentence continues in 4.30.7.
Topics: Heresy, Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.6 (CSEL 19:395; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.7CSEL 19:395
quae omnia cum neque ingenio neque doctrina defendere ac refutare possent — nec enim uim rationemque penitus peruidebant —, deprauati sunt ab itinere recto et caelestes litteras corruperunt, ut nouam sibi doctrinam sine ulla radice ac stabilitate conponerent.
since they could neither defend nor refute all these things by talent or learning (for they did not see through their force and reason), were turned aside from the right road and corrupted the heavenly writings, so as to compose for themselves a new teaching without any root or stability.
Notes and citation
Summary: corrupted the Scriptures and invented new doctrines.
- Probably aimed at Marcion and docetic groups.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period): sine ulla. radice → sine ulla radice.
Topics: Heresy, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.7 (CSEL 19:395; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.8CSEL 19:395–396
nonnulli autem falsorum prophetarum uaticinio inlecti, de quibus et ueri prophetae et ipse praedixerat, exciderunt a doctrina dei et traditionem ueram reliquerunt.
And some, enticed by the prophesying of false prophets, of whom both the true prophets and he himself had foretold, fell away from God's teaching and abandoned the true tradition.
Matt 24:24 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Others followed false prophets and left the true tradition.
- Probably the Montanists. Cf. Matt 24:24.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.8 (CSEL 19:395–396; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.9CSEL 19:396
sed illi omnes daemonicis fraudibus inretiti, quas prospicere et cauere debuerant, diuinum nomen et cultum per inprudentiam perdiderunt.
But all of these, entangled in demonic frauds which they should have foreseen and guarded against, lost through imprudence the divine name and worship.
Notes and citation
Summary: All of them lost the divine name through demonic deception.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.9 (CSEL 19:396; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.10CSEL 19:396
cum enim Phryges aut Nouatiani aut Valentiniani aut Marcionitae aut Anthropiani seu quilibet alii nominantur, Christiani esse desierunt, qui Christi nomine amisso humana et externa uocabula induerunt.
For when they are named Phrygians or Novatians or Valentinians or Marcionites or Anthropians or anything else, they have ceased to be Christians, who, having lost the name of Christ, have put on human and foreign names.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sects named after men have ceased to be Christian.
- Phrygians are the Montanists. The 'Anthropians' are otherwise unknown (perhaps a group holding Christ to be a mere man).
- Some manuscripts, followed by ANF, add 'or Arians'; the edition used here does not have it.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.10 (CSEL 19:396; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.11CSEL 19:396
sola igitur catholica ecclesia est quae uerum cultum retinet. hic est fons ueritatis, hoc domicilium fidei, hoc templum dei: quo si quis non intrauerit uel a quo si quis exierit, a spe uitae ac salutis alienus est. neminem sibi oportet pertinaci concertatione blandiri.
The catholic church alone, then, is the one that retains true worship. This is the fountain of truth, this the dwelling of faith, this the temple of God; whoever does not enter it, or whoever goes out from it, is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation. No one ought to flatter himself by obstinate contention.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only the catholic church keeps true worship; outside it there is no hope of salvation.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.11 (CSEL 19:396; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.12CSEL 19:396
agitur enim de uita et salute: cui nisi caute ac diligenter consulatur, amissa et extincta erit.
For it is a question of life and salvation: unless it is cared for cautiously and diligently, it will be lost and extinguished.
Notes and citation
Summary: Salvation is at stake.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.12 (CSEL 19:396; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.13CSEL 19:396
sed tamen quia singuli quique coetus haereticorum se potissimum Christianos et suam esse catholicam ecclesiam putant, sciendum est illam esse ueram in qua est confessio et paenitentia, quae peccata et uulnera quibus subiecta est inbecillitas carnis salubriter curat.
But yet, since each and every gathering of heretics thinks that they above all are Christians and theirs is the catholic church, it must be known that that is the true one in which there is confession and penance, which wholesomely cures the sins and wounds to which the weakness of the flesh is subject.
Notes and citation
Summary: The true church is the one that has confession and penance for sin.
- paenitentia here refers to the church's penitential discipline, rendered 'penance'; the remark is aimed at the Novatianists, who refused reconciliation to the lapsed.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.13 (CSEL 19:396; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.14CSEL 19:396–397
haec interim paucis admonendi gratia rettuli, ne quis errorem fugere cupiens maiore inplicetur errore, dum penetrale ueritatis ignorat: postea plenius et uberius contra omnes mendaciorum sectas proprio separatoque opere pugnabimus.
I have set down these things briefly for the moment by way of warning, lest anyone wishing to flee error be entangled in greater error while he does not know the inner sanctuary of truth. Later we shall fight more fully and abundantly against all the sects of lies in a separate work of its own.
Notes and citation
Summary: He promises a separate work against all heresies.
- This work against heresies is not known to have been written or does not survive.
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.14 (CSEL 19:396–397; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
4.30.15CSEL 19:397
Sequitur ut quoniam satis de religione uera et sapientia locuti sumus, in proximo libro de iustitia disseramus.
It follows, since we have spoken enough about true religion and wisdom, that in the next book we discuss justice.
Notes and citation
Summary: Book 5 will treat justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.30.15 (CSEL 19:397; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-4-30-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 5, chapter 1
5.1.1CSEL 19:398
Non est aput me dubium quin hoc opus nostrum, quo singularis ille rerum conditor et huius inmensi rector adseritur, si quis attigerit ex istis inepte religiosis, ut sunt nimia superstitione inpatientes, insectetur etiam maledictis et uix lecto fortasse principio adfligat proiciat exsecretur seque inexpiabili scelere contaminari atque adstringi putet, si haec aut legat patienter aut audiat.
I have no doubt that if any of those foolishly religious people, impatient as they are from excessive superstition, lays hands on this work of ours, in which the one Maker of all things and Ruler of this vast world is defended, he will even assail it with abuse, and perhaps, having barely read the beginning, will dash it down, throw it away, and curse it, and will think himself defiled and bound by an inexpiable crime if he reads or hears these things with patience.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius expects superstitious readers to reject his book unread.
- The Latin text used here has no address to Constantine at this point; ANF 7 prints one ("O mighty Emperor Constantine"), found in part of the manuscript tradition.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.1 (CSEL 19:398; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.2CSEL 19:398
ab hoc tamen si fieri potest humanitatis iure postulamus, ut non prius damnet quam uniuersa cognouerit. nam si sacrilegis et proditoribus et ueneficis potestas defendendi sui datur nec praedamnari quemquam incognita causa licet, non iniuste petere uidemur, ut si quis erit ille qui inciderit in haec, si leget, perlegat, si audiet, sententiam differat in extremum.
Yet from such a person we ask, if it can be done, by the right of common humanity, that he not condemn before he has learned the whole. For if the sacrilegious, traitors, and poisoners are given the opportunity to defend themselves, and no one may be condemned in advance with his case unheard, we do not seem to ask unjustly that whoever comes upon these pages should, if he reads, read to the end, and if he hears, defer his judgment until the conclusion.
Notes and citation
Summary: He asks readers to hear the whole case before condemning it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.2 (CSEL 19:398; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.3CSEL 19:398
sed noui hominum pertinaciam: numquam inpetrabimus. timent enim ne a nobis reuicti manus dare aliquando clamante ipsa ueritate cogantur.
But I know the obstinacy of men: we will never obtain this. For they are afraid that, refuted by us, they will at some point be forced to give in, as truth itself cries out.
Notes and citation
Summary: Opponents refuse a hearing because they fear being refuted.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (hyphen left from a line break in the digital text): num-quam → numquam.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.3 (CSEL 19:398; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.4CSEL 19:398–399
obstrepunt igitur et intercedunt, ne audiant, et oculos suos opprimunt, ne lumen uideant quod offerimus: quo plane ipsi diffidentiam suae perditae rationis ostendunt, cum neque cognoscere neque congredi audent, quia sciunt se facile superari.
So they make an uproar and interrupt, so as not to hear, and they shut their eyes, so as not to see the light we offer. By this they plainly show their own distrust of their lost system, since they dare neither to examine nor to engage, because they know they are easily overcome.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their refusal to listen shows they distrust their own position.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.4 (CSEL 19:398–399; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.5CSEL 19:399
et idcirco disceptatione sublata pellitur e medio sapientia, ui geritur res, ut ait Ennius. et quia student damnare tamquam nocentes quos utique sciunt innocentes, constare de ipsa innocentia nolunt: quasi uero maior iniquitas sit probatam innocentiam damnasse quam inauditam.
And therefore, with discussion removed, "wisdom is driven from the field, the matter is settled by force," as Ennius says. And because they are eager to condemn as guilty those whom they certainly know to be innocent, they do not want innocence itself established, as though it were a greater injustice to condemn innocence once proved than innocence unheard.
Notes and citation
Summary: Refusing discussion, they rule by force and condemn the innocent unheard.
- The line is from Ennius (Annals, fragment), also quoted by Cicero (Pro Murena 30).
Extrabiblical texts: Ennius (Ennius; quotation)
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.5 (CSEL 19:399; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.6CSEL 19:399
sed ut dixi uerentur, ne si audierint, damnare non possint, et ideo cultores dei summi hoc est iustos homines torquent interficiunt exterminant. nec causas odiorum reddere ipsi possunt qui tam uehementer oderunt:
But, as I said, they fear that if they hear they will be unable to condemn, and so they torture, kill, and banish the worshippers of the supreme God, that is, righteous people. Nor can those who hate so fiercely give the reasons for their hatred.
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecutors torture and kill the righteous without being able to say why.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.6 (CSEL 19:399; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.7CSEL 19:399
quia ipsi errant, irascuntur iis qui ueram uiam secuntur, et cum corrigere se possint, errores suos insuper crudelibus factis coaceruant, innocentium cruore maculantur et dicatas deo mentes euisceratis corporibus extorquent.
Because they themselves are in error, they are angry with those who follow the true way; and though they could correct themselves, they pile cruel deeds on top of their errors, stain themselves with the blood of the innocent, and wrench out minds dedicated to God from disemboweled bodies.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those in error rage against the followers of truth with cruelty.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: l for i): lrascuntur → irascuntur.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.7 (CSEL 19:399; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.8CSEL 19:399
cum talibus nunc congredi et disputare contendimus, hos ad ueritatem ab inepta persuasione traducere, qui sanguinem facilius hauserint quam uerba iustorum. quid igitur? operamne perdemus?
It is with such people that we now set out to engage and argue, to bring them over from a foolish persuasion to the truth, people who would sooner drink blood than the words of the righteous. What then? Shall we waste our labor?
Notes and citation
Summary: He asks whether arguing with such men is wasted effort.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.8 (CSEL 19:399; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.9CSEL 19:399–400
minime. nam si lucrari hos a morte, ad quam concitatissime tendunt, non potuerimus, si ab illo itinere deuio ad uitam lucemque reuocare, quoniam ipsi saluti suae repugnant, nostros tamen confirmabimus, quorum non est stabilis ac solidis radicibus fundata et fixa sententia. nutant enim plurimi ac maxime qui litterarum aliquid attigerunt.
Not at all. For even if we cannot win these men from the death toward which they are rushing headlong, even if we cannot call them back from that wandering road to life and light, since they themselves fight against their own salvation, we will still strengthen our own people, whose conviction is not yet firm, founded, and fixed with solid roots. For very many waver, and especially those who have had some contact with literature.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even if opponents are not won, wavering believers will be strengthened.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.9 (CSEL 19:399–400; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.10CSEL 19:400
nam et in hoc philosophi et oratores et poetae perniciosi sunt, quod incautos animos facile inretire possunt suauitate sermonis et carminum dulci modulatione currentium.
For in this respect philosophers, orators, and poets are dangerous: they can easily ensnare unwary minds with the charm of their speech and the sweet rhythm of flowing verse.
Notes and citation
Summary: Literary charm easily ensnares the unwary.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.10 (CSEL 19:400; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.11CSEL 19:400
ob eamque causam uolui sapientiam cum religione coniungere, ne quid studiosis inanis illa doctrina possit officere, ut iam scientia litterarum non modo nihil noceat religioni atque iustitiae, sed etiam prosit quam plurimum, si is qui eas didicerit, sit in uirtutibus instructior, in ueritate sapientior.
For this reason I wished to join wisdom with religion, so that empty learning could do no harm to the studious, and so that literary knowledge would not only do no harm to religion and justice but would even be of the greatest help, if the one who has learned letters becomes better furnished in virtue and wiser in truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: He joins wisdom to religion so that learning serves the faith.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.11 (CSEL 19:400; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.12CSEL 19:400
praeterea etiamsi nulli alii, nobis certe proderit: delectabit se conscientia, gaudebitque mens in ueritatis se luce uersari, quod est animae pabulum incredibili quadam iucunditate perfusum.
Besides, even if it benefits no one else, it will certainly benefit us: the conscience will take delight in itself, and the mind will rejoice to dwell in the light of truth, which is the food of the soul, filled with an unbelievable sweetness.
Notes and citation
Summary: At the least, the work will delight the author's own mind with truth.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.12 (CSEL 19:400; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.13CSEL 19:400–401
uerum non est desperandum, fortasse non canimus surdis. nec enim tam in malo statu res est, ut desint sanae mentes, quibus et ueritas placeat et monstratum sibi rectum iter et uideant et sequantur.
But we must not despair; perhaps "we are not singing to the deaf." Things are not in so bad a state that there are no sound minds to whom truth is pleasing, and who, when the right road is shown them, will both see it and follow it.
Notes and citation
Summary: There are still sound minds who will follow the truth when shown it.
- "We are not singing to the deaf" is from Virgil, Eclogues 10.8.
Extrabiblical texts: Virgil, Ecl. 10.8 (Virgil; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.13 (CSEL 19:400–401; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.14CSEL 19:401
circumlinatur modo poculum caelesti melle sapientiae, ut possint ab inprudentibus amara remedia sine offensione potari, dum inliciens prima dulcedo acerbitatem saporis asperi sub praetexto suauitatis occultat.
Only let the cup be smeared around the rim with the heavenly honey of wisdom, so that the bitter medicine may be drunk by the unsuspecting without offense, while the first sweetness entices them and hides the harshness of the bitter taste under a cover of pleasantness.
Notes and citation
Summary: Truth must be sweetened like medicine with honey on the cup.
- The image of honey on the rim of a cup of medicine is from Lucretius, On the Nature of Things 1.936–42.
Extrabiblical texts: Lucretius, 1.936-942 (Lucretius, On the Nature of Things; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.14 (CSEL 19:401; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.15CSEL 19:401
nam haec in primis causa est cur aput sapientes et doctos et principes huius saeculi scriptura sancta fide careat, quod prophetae communi ac simplici sermone ut ad populum sunt locuti.
For this is the chief reason why Holy Scripture lacks credit among the wise, the learned, and the princes of this age: the prophets spoke in plain and simple language, as to the people.
Notes and citation
Summary: The learned despise Scripture because the prophets spoke plainly.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.15 (CSEL 19:401; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.16CSEL 19:401
contemnuntur itaque ab iis qui nihil audire uel legere nisi expolitum ac disertum uolunt nec quicquam haerere animis eorum potest nisi quod aures blandiore sono mulcet, illa uero quae sordida uidentur, anilia inepta uulgaria existimantur.
So they are despised by those who want to hear or read nothing but what is polished and eloquent; nothing can stick in their minds except what soothes the ears with a more flattering sound, while whatever seems plain is judged old wives' talk, silly, and vulgar.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plain Scripture is scorned by those who want polished style.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in a list of adjectives): anilia. inepta → anilia inepta.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.16 (CSEL 19:401; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.17CSEL 19:401
adeo nihil uerum putant nisi quod auditu suaue est, nihil credibile nisi quod potest incutere uoluptatem: nemo rem ueritate ponderat, sed ornatu.
They think nothing true except what is pleasant to hear, nothing credible except what can stir pleasure; no one weighs a matter by its truth, but by its ornament.
Notes and citation
Summary: People judge by ornament, not by truth.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.17 (CSEL 19:401; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.18CSEL 19:401
non credunt ergo diuinis, quia fuco carent, sed ne illis quidem qui ea interpretantur, quia sunt et ipsi aut omnino rudes aut certe parum docti. nam ut plane sint eloquentes, perraro contingit: cuius rei causa in aperto est.
So they do not believe the divine writings, because they lack cosmetic paint; nor do they even believe those who interpret them, because these too are either entirely unlearned or at least not learned enough. For it very rarely happens that they are truly eloquent, and the reason is obvious.
Notes and citation
Summary: Neither Scripture nor its interpreters are believed, being unadorned.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.18 (CSEL 19:401; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.19CSEL 19:401–402
eloquentia enim saeculo seruit, populo se iactare et in rebus malis placere gestit, siquidem ueritatem saepius expugnare conatur, ut uim suam monstret: opes expetit, honores concupiscit, summum denique gradum dignitatis exposcit.
For eloquence serves the world; it longs to show itself off before the people and to please in evil causes, since it often tries to overthrow the truth in order to display its power. It seeks wealth, covets honors, and in the end demands the highest rank of dignity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eloquence serves worldly ambition.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.19 (CSEL 19:401–402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.20CSEL 19:402
ergo haec quasi humilia despicit, arcana tamquam contraria sibi fugit, quippe quae publico gaudeat et multitudinem celebritatemque desideret:
So it looks down on these things as lowly and shuns what is hidden as contrary to itself, since it delights in publicity and craves crowds and fame.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eloquence shuns the hidden things of faith.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.20 (CSEL 19:402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.21CSEL 19:402
eo fit ut sapientia et ueritas idoneis praeconibus indigeat. et si qui forte litteratorum se ad eam contulerunt, defensioni eius non suffecerunt.
Hence wisdom and truth lack suitable heralds. And if any literary men have perhaps come over to it, they have not been adequate for its defense.
Notes and citation
Summary: Truth lacks capable advocates.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.21 (CSEL 19:402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.22CSEL 19:402
ex iis qui mihi noti sunt Minucius Felix non ignobilis inter causidicos loci fuit. huius liber, cui Octauio titulus est, declarat quam idoneus ueritatis adsertor esse potuisset, si se totum ad id studium contulisset.
Of those known to me, Minucius Felix held no mean place among advocates. His book, titled Octavius, shows how fit a defender of the truth he could have been had he given himself wholly to that pursuit.
Notes and citation
Summary: Minucius Felix's Octavius shows what he might have done.
- Minucius Felix, Octavius.
Extrabiblical texts: Minucius Felix, Oct. (Octavius; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.22 (CSEL 19:402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-22).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.23CSEL 19:402
Septimius quoque Tertullianus fuit omni genere litterarum peritus, sed in eloquendo parum facilis et minus comptus et multum obscurus fuit. ergo ne hic quidem satis celebritatis inuenit.
Septimius Tertullian too was skilled in every kind of literature, but in expression he was not fluent, not polished enough, and very obscure. So he too did not win enough fame.
Notes and citation
Summary: Tertullian was learned but obscure in style.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.23 (CSEL 19:402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-23).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.24CSEL 19:402
unus igitur praecipuus et clarus extitit Cyprianus, quoniam et magnam sibi gloriam ex artis oratoriae professione quaesierat et admodum multa conscripsit in suo genere miranda.
The one outstanding and famous figure, then, was Cyprian, since he had won great glory for himself from his profession of the art of oratory and wrote a great many things admirable of their kind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cyprian stands out as the eloquent Christian writer.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.24 (CSEL 19:402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-24).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.25CSEL 19:402
erat enim ingenio facili copioso suaui et, quae sermonis maxima est uirtus, aperto, ut discernere non queas, utrumne ornatior in eloquendo an felicior in explicando an potentior in persuadendo fuerit.
For his talent was ready, abundant, pleasant, and, what is the greatest virtue of speech, clear, so that you could not decide whether he was more ornate in expression, more successful in explanation, or more powerful in persuasion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cyprian's style was fluent, rich, and clear.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.25 (CSEL 19:402; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-25).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.26CSEL 19:402–403
hic tamen placere ultra uerba sacramentum ignorantibus non potest, quoniam mystica sunt quae locutus est et ad id praeparata, ut a solis fidelibus audiantur: denique a doctis huius saeculi, quibus forte scripta eius innotuerunt, derideri solet.
Yet beyond his words he cannot please those who do not know the mystery, since what he said is mystical and meant to be heard by the faithful alone. In fact he is usually mocked by the learned of this age to whom his writings happen to become known.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cyprian's writings, meant for believers, are mocked by outsiders.
- "Mystery" renders sacramentum, the Christian faith and its hidden meaning.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.26 (CSEL 19:402–403; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-26).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.27CSEL 19:403
audiui ego quendam hominem sane disertum, qui eum inmutata una littera Coprianum uocaret, quasi quod elegans ingenium et melioribus rebus aptum ad aniles fabulas contulisset.
I myself heard a man, quite eloquent, who by changing one letter called him "Coprianus," as though he had spent an elegant talent, fit for better things, on old wives' tales.
Notes and citation
Summary: A scoffer punned on Cyprian's name.
- The pun is on Greek kopros, "dung."
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.27 (CSEL 19:403; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-27).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.1.28CSEL 19:403
quodsi accidit hoc ei cuius eloquentia non insuauis est, quid tandem putemus accidere eis quorum sermo ieiunus est et ingratus? qui neque uim persuadendi neque subtilitatem argumentandi neque ullam prorsus acerbitatem ad reuincendum habere potuerunt.
If this happened to one whose eloquence is not unpleasing, what must we think happens to those whose style is meager and unattractive, who could have had neither power of persuasion, nor subtlety in argument, nor any sharpness at all for refutation?
Notes and citation
Summary: Lesser Christian writers fare even worse.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.1.28 (CSEL 19:403; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-1-28).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 5, chapter 2
5.2.1CSEL 19:403
Ergo quia defuerunt aput nos idonei peritique doctores, qui uehementer, qui acriter errores publicos redarguerent, qui causam omnem ueritatis ornate copioseque defenderent, prouocauit quosdam haec ipsa penuria, ut auderent scribere contra ignotam sibi ueritatem.
So, because we have lacked capable and skilled teachers to refute public errors forcefully and keenly and to defend the whole cause of truth with ornament and fullness, this very lack provoked some to dare to write against a truth unknown to them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The lack of able Christian teachers emboldened critics.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.1 (CSEL 19:403; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.2CSEL 19:403
omitto eos qui prioribus eam temporibus nequicquam lacessierunt. ego cum in Bithynia oratorias litteras accitus docerem contigissetque ut eodem tempore dei templum euerteretur, duo extiterunt ibidem qui iacenti atque abiectae ueritati nescio utrum superbius an inportunius insultarent.
I pass over those who assailed it in vain in earlier times. When I had been summoned to Bithynia and was teaching rhetoric there, and it happened that at that same time the temple of God was overthrown, two men arose in that very place who insulted the truth as it lay prostrate and cast down, I do not know whether more arrogantly or more offensively.
Notes and citation
Summary: In Bithynia, when the church was destroyed, two men attacked the faith.
- The destruction of the church at Nicomedia in 303 opened the Great Persecution under Diocletian.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.2 (CSEL 19:403; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.3CSEL 19:403–404
quorum alter antistitem se philosophiae profitebatur, uerum ita uitiosus, ut continentiae magister non minus auaritia quam libidinibus arderet, in uictu tam sumptuosus, ut in schola uirtutis adsertor, parsimoniae paupertatisque laudator, in palatio peius cenaret quam domi. tamen uitia sua capillis et pallio et, quod maximum est uelamentum, diuitiis praetegebat: quas ut augeret, ad amicitias iudicum miro ambitu penetrabat eosque sibi repente auctoritate falsi nominis obligabat, non modo ut eorum sententias uenderet, uerum etiam ut confines suos, quos sedibus agrisque pellebat, a suo repetendo hac potentia retardaret.
One of them professed himself a high priest of philosophy, but was so vicious that, a teacher of self-restraint, he burned no less with greed than with lusts; so extravagant in his table that, though in the school he championed virtue and praised frugality and poverty, he dined worse at the palace than at home. Still, he screened his vices with his hair and his cloak and, the greatest cover of all, with his wealth. To increase it he made his way with remarkable scheming into the friendships of the judges, and quickly bound them to himself by the authority of a false name, not only to sell their verdicts but also to use this influence to hinder his neighbors, whom he was driving from their homes and fields, from recovering their property.
Notes and citation
Summary: The first critic was a hypocritical, greedy philosopher.
- The philosopher is not named; he has sometimes been identified with Porphyry, but this is uncertain.
- "A false name": the name of philosopher.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.3 (CSEL 19:403–404; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.4CSEL 19:404
hic uero qui suas disputationes moribus destruebat uel mores suos disputationibus arguebat ipse aduersum se grauis censor et accusator acerrimus, eodem ipso tempore quo iustus populus nefarie lacerabatur tres libros euomuit contra
This man, who destroyed his arguments by his conduct or condemned his conduct by his arguments, a stern censor and fierce accuser against himself, at the very time when the righteous people were being wickedly torn to pieces, vomited out three books against
Notes and citation
Summary: During the persecution he wrote three books against the Christians.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: h for b): destruehat → destruebat.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.4 (CSEL 19:404; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.5CSEL 19:404
religionem nomenque Christianum, professus ante omnia philosophi officium esse erroribus hominum subuenire atque illos ad ueram uiam reuocare id est ad cultus deorum, quorum numine ac maiestate mundus gubernetur, nec pati, homines inperitos quorundam fraudibus inlici, ne simplicitas eorum praedae ac pabulo sit hominibus astutis:
the Christian religion and name. He declared first of all that it is a philosopher's duty to come to the aid of human errors and to call people back to the true way, that is, to the worship of the gods, by whose divine power and majesty the world is governed, and not to allow the unskilled to be lured by the tricks of certain people, lest their simplicity become prey and food for clever men.
Notes and citation
Summary: He claimed a philosopher must recall people to the gods.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: li for n): liomenque → nomenque.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.5 (CSEL 19:404; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.6CSEL 19:404
itaque se suscepisse hoc munus philosophia dignum, ut praeferret non uidentibus lumen sapientiae, non modo ut susceptis deorum cultibus resanescant, sed etiam ut pertinaci obstinatione deposita corporis cruciamenta deuitent neu saeuas membrorum lacerationes frustra perpeti uelint.
So, he said, he had taken up this task, worthy of philosophy, to hold out the light of wisdom to those who do not see, not only so that they might recover their health by taking up the worship of the gods, but also so that, laying aside their stubborn obstinacy, they might avoid the tortures of the body and not choose to endure cruel mangling of their limbs for nothing.
Notes and citation
Summary: He urged Christians to return to the gods and escape torture.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.6 (CSEL 19:404; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.7CSEL 19:404–405
ut autem appareret cuius rei gratia opus illut elaborasset, effusus est in principum laudes, quorum pietas et prouidentia, ut quidem ipse dicebat, cum in ceteris rebus tum praecipue in defendendis deorum religionibus claruisset: consultum esse tandem rebus humanis, ut cohibita inpia et anili superstitione uniuersi homines legitimis sacris uacarent ac propitios sibi deos experirentur.
And so that it would be clear for whose sake he had worked out that book, he poured himself out in praise of the emperors, whose piety and foresight, as he put it, had shone in other matters and especially in defending the religion of the gods: at last the interests of mankind had been provided for, so that with the impious old wives' superstition restrained, all people might devote themselves to lawful rites and find the gods favorable to them.
Notes and citation
Summary: He flattered the emperors for suppressing Christianity.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.7 (CSEL 19:404–405; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.8CSEL 19:405
ubi autem religionis eius contra quam perorabat infirmare uoluit rationem, ineptus uanus ridiculus apparuit, quia grauis ille consultor utilitatis alienae non modo quid obpugnaret, sed etiam quid loqueretur nesciebat.
But when he tried to weaken the reasoning of the religion against which he was declaiming, he showed himself inept, empty, and ridiculous, because that serious counselor of other people's welfare did not know not only what he was attacking but even what he was saying.
Notes and citation
Summary: His arguments against Christianity were ignorant and ridiculous.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.8 (CSEL 19:405; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.9CSEL 19:405
nam si qui nostrorum adfuerunt, quamuis temporis gratia coniuerent, animo tamen derisere utpote cum uiderent hominem profitentem se inluminaturum alios, cum ipse caecus esset, reducturum alios ab errore, cum ipse ignoraret ubi pedes suos poneret, eruditurum alios ad ueritatem, cuius ille ne scintillam quidem unam uidisset aliquando, quippe cum sapientiae professor profligare sapientiam niteretur.
For if any of our people were present, though they kept silent because of the times, they laughed at him inwardly, seeing a man who claimed he would enlighten others though he himself was blind, lead others back from error though he did not know where to put his own feet, and instruct others in the truth though he had never seen even one spark of it, since a professor of wisdom was striving to overthrow wisdom.
Matt 15:14 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians privately laughed at the blind guide.
- The blind leading others echoes Matt 15:14.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.9 (CSEL 19:405; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.10CSEL 19:405
omnes tamen id arguebant, quod illo potissimum tempore id operis esset adgressus quo furebat odiosa crudelitas. o philosophum adulatorem ac tempori seruientem!
Everyone, however, blamed him for this: that he undertook the work precisely at the time when hateful cruelty was raging. What a flattering philosopher, a slave to the times!
Notes and citation
Summary: All blamed him for writing during the persecution.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.10 (CSEL 19:405; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.11CSEL 19:405
uerum hic pro sua inanitate contemptus est, qui et gratiam quam sperauit non adeptus est et gloria quam captauit in culpam reprehensionemque conuersa est.
But he was despised as his emptiness deserved: he did not gain the favor he hoped for, and the glory he chased was turned into blame and reproach.
Notes and citation
Summary: He won contempt instead of favor.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.11 (CSEL 19:405; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.12CSEL 19:405–406
alius eandem materiam mordacius scripsit, qui erat tum e numero iudicum et qui auctor in primis faciendae persecutionis fuit: quo scelere non contentus etiam scriptis eos quos adflixerat insecutus est.
Another wrote on the same subject more bitingly. He was then one of the judges and was a leading instigator of the persecution; not content with that crime, he also pursued with writings those whom he had afflicted.
Notes and citation
Summary: A second critic, a judge and instigator of persecution, also wrote.
- This is Sossianus Hierocles, governor of Bithynia; his work is named in 5.3.22.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.12 (CSEL 19:405–406; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.13CSEL 19:406
conposuit enim libellos duos, non contra Christianos, ne inimice insectari uideretur, sed ad Christianos, ut humane ac benigne consulere putaretur: in quibus ita falsitatem scripturae sacrae arguere conatus est, tamquam sibi esset tota contraria.
He composed two little books, not against the Christians, so as not to seem to attack them as an enemy, but to the Christians, so as to be thought to give them humane and kindly advice. In them he tried to prove Holy Scripture false, as though it were wholly self-contradictory.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles tried to show Scripture contradicts itself.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.13 (CSEL 19:406; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.14CSEL 19:406
nam quaedam capita quae repugnare sibi uidebantur exposuit adeo multa, adeo intima enumerans, ut aliquando ex eadem disciplina fuisse uideatur.
For he set out certain passages that seemed to conflict, listing so many and such inward matters that at times he seems to have once belonged to the same discipline.
Notes and citation
Summary: His knowledge suggests he had once been a Christian.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.14 (CSEL 19:406; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.15CSEL 19:406
quod si fuit, quis eum Demosthenes poterit ab inpietate defendere, qui religionis cui fuerat accensus et fidei cuius nomen induerat et sacramenti quod acceperat proditor factus est? nisi forte casu in manus eius diuinae litterae inciderunt.
If he was, what Demosthenes could defend him from the charge of impiety, a man who became a traitor to the religion to which he had been admitted, to the faith whose name he had put on, and to the sacrament he had received? Unless perhaps the divine writings fell into his hands by chance.
Notes and citation
Summary: If he had been a Christian, he was an apostate traitor.
- "Admitted" renders accensus, literally "enrolled"; "sacrament" (sacramentum) may mean baptism or the oath of the faith.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.15 (CSEL 19:406; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.16CSEL 19:406
quae igitur temeritas erat id audere dissoluere quod illi nemo interpretatus est? bene, quod aut nihil didicit aut nihil intellexit. tantum enim abest a diuinis litteris repugnantia, quantum ille afuit a fide et ueritate.
What rashness, then, to dare to dismantle what no one had interpreted for him! Just as well that he either learned nothing or understood nothing. For contradiction is as far from the divine writings as he was from faith and truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture has no contradictions; he simply did not understand it.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.16 (CSEL 19:406; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.2.17CSEL 19:406
praecipue tamen Paulum Petrumque lacerauit ceterosque discipulos tamquam fallaciae seminatores, quos eosdem tamen rudes et indoctos fuisse testatus est: nam quosdam eorum piscatorio artificio fecisse quaestum; quasi aegre ferret quod illam re(ligione)m non Aristophanes aliquis aut Aristarchus commentatus sit.
Above all, though, he tore at Paul and Peter and the other disciples as sowers of deceit, while testifying that they were uneducated and unlearned, for he said that some of them had earned their living by the fisherman's trade; as if he were annoyed that some Aristophanes or Aristarchus had not composed that religion.
Acts 4:13 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He attacked the apostles as deceivers, yet called them unlearned fishermen.
- Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus were famous Alexandrian scholars; "religion" is the editor's supplement for a damaged word.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.2.17 (CSEL 19:406; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-2-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 5, chapter 3
5.3.1CSEL 19:406–407
Afuit ergo ab his fingendi uoluntas et astutia, quoniam rudes fuerunt. aut quis possit indoctus apta inter se et cohaerentia fingere, cum philosophorum doctissimi, Plato et Aristoteles et Epicurus et Zenon, ipsi sibi repugnantia et contraria dixerint? haec est enim mendaciorum natura, ut cohaerere non possint.
So these men lacked both the will and the cunning to invent, since they were unlearned. Or what uneducated person could invent things fitting and coherent with each other, when the most learned philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, and Zeno, said things that contradict and oppose themselves? For this is the nature of lies, that they cannot hold together.
Notes and citation
Summary: Unlearned apostles could not have invented a coherent teaching.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.1 (CSEL 19:406–407; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.2CSEL 19:407
illorum autem traditio quia uera est, quadrat undique ac sibi tota consentit et ideo persuadet, quia constanti ratione subfulta est.
But their tradition, because it is true, fits on every side and agrees with itself throughout, and so it persuades, because it rests on consistent reasoning.
Notes and citation
Summary: The apostles' teaching is consistent because it is true.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.2 (CSEL 19:407; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.3CSEL 19:407
non igitur quaestus et commodi gratia religionem istam conmenti sunt, quippe qui et praeceptis et re ipsa eam uitam secuti sint, quae et uoluptatibus caret et omnia quae habentur in bonis spernit, et qui non tantum pro fide mortem subierint, sed etiam morituros esse se et scierint et praedixerint et postea uniuersos qui eorum disciplinam secuti essent acerba et nefanda passuros.
So they did not invent this religion for gain and advantage, since both in teaching and in fact they followed a life that lacks pleasures and despises all that is counted as goods; and they not only underwent death for the faith but also knew and foretold that they would die, and that afterward all who followed their teaching would suffer bitter and monstrous things.
Notes and citation
Summary: The apostles gained nothing and foretold their own and their followers' sufferings.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.3 (CSEL 19:407; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.4CSEL 19:407
ipsum autem Christum adfirmauit a Iudaeis fugatum collecta nongentorum hominum manu latrocinia fecisse.
He claimed that Christ himself, driven out by the Jews, gathered a band of nine hundred men and committed robberies.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles called Christ a bandit chief.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.4 (CSEL 19:407; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.5CSEL 19:407
quis tantae auctoritati audeat repugnare? credamus hoc plane, nam fortasse illi hoc in somnis Apollo aliquis nuntiauit. tot semper latrones perierunt et cottidie pereunt, utique multos et ipse damnasti: quis eorum post crucem suam non dicam deus,
Who would dare to resist such great authority? Let us believe it outright, for perhaps some Apollo announced it to him in his dreams. So many robbers have always perished and perish every day; you yourself have certainly condemned many. Which of them after his cross has been called, I will not say a god,
Notes and citation
Summary: Many robbers have been crucified, but none was ever called God.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.5 (CSEL 19:407; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.6CSEL 19:407
sed homo appellatus est? uerum tu forsitan ex eo credidisti, quia uos homicidam Martem consecrastis ut deum: quod tamen non fecissetis, si illum Ariopagitae in crucem sustulissent.
but even a man? But perhaps you believed it because you consecrated Mars, a murderer, as a god; which you would not have done if the Areopagites had crucified him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pagans deified the murderer Mars, who was never crucified.
- The Areopagus court in myth tried Mars (Ares) for murder.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period inside a phrase): homicidam. Martem → homicidam Martem.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.6 (CSEL 19:407; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.7CSEL 19:407–408
idem cum facta eius mirabilia destrueret nec tamen negaret, uoluit ostendere Apollonium uel paria uel etiam maiora fecisse. mirum quod Apuleium praetermisit, cuius solent et multa et mira memorari.
The same man, while trying to demolish his miracles, yet without denying them, wanted to show that Apollonius had done equal or even greater things. Strange that he left out Apuleius, of whom many marvels are commonly related.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles set Apollonius's wonders against Christ's.
- Apollonius of Tyana, the first-century wonder-worker whose life Philostratus wrote.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.7 (CSEL 19:407–408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.8CSEL 19:408
cur igitur, o delirum caput, nemo Apollonium pro deo colit? nisi forte tu solus, illo scilicet deo dignus, cum quo te in sempiternum uerus deus puniet.
Why then, you lunatic, does no one worship Apollonius as a god? Unless perhaps you alone do, worthy of that god indeed, with whom the true God will punish you forever.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one worships Apollonius except perhaps Hierocles himself.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.8 (CSEL 19:408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.9CSEL 19:408
si magus Christus, quia mirabilia fecit, peritior utique Apollonius, qui ut describis cum Domitianus eum punire uellet, repente in iudicio non conparuit. quam ille qui et conprehensus est et cruci adfixus.
If Christ was a magician because he did wonders, then Apollonius was surely more skillful, since, as you describe, when Domitian wanted to punish him he suddenly vanished from the court, than he who was both arrested and fastened to a cross.
Notes and citation
Summary: By Hierocles' logic, Apollonius would be the better magician.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.9 (CSEL 19:408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.10CSEL 19:408
at enim ex hoc ipso fortasse insolentiam Christi uoluit arguere, quod deum se constituerit, ut ille uerecundior fuisse uideatur, qui cum maiora faceret, ut hic putat, tamen id sibi non adrogauerit.
But perhaps he wanted by this very point to prove Christ's arrogance, in that he made himself God, so that Apollonius might seem more modest, since though he did greater things, as this man thinks, he did not claim this for himself.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles charged Christ with arrogance for claiming divinity.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.10 (CSEL 19:408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.11CSEL 19:408
omitto nunc ipsa opera conparare, quia in secundo et in superiore libro de fraude ac praestigiis artis magicae dixi.
I pass over comparing the works themselves for now, since I spoke of the fraud and illusions of the magic art in the second book and the one before this.
Notes and citation
Summary: Magic was discussed in earlier books.
- Institutes 2.14–16 and 4.15.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.11 (CSEL 19:408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.12CSEL 19:408
nego esse quemquam qui non optet in primis id sibi post mortem contingere quod etiam reges maximi concupiscunt.
I say there is no one who does not wish above all for what even the greatest kings desire to befall them after death.
Notes and citation
Summary: Everyone desires lasting honor after death.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.12 (CSEL 19:408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.13CSEL 19:408
cur enim sibi homines sepulchra magnifica, cur statuas, cur imagines conparant? cur aliquibus claris factis aut etiam pro ciuibus morte suscepta student opiniones hominum promereri? cur denique ipse ingenii tui monumentum hoc detestabile stultitia tamquam caeno aedificatum constituere uoluisti, nisi quod inmortalitatem de memoria nominis speras?
For why do people get themselves magnificent tombs, statues, and images? Why do they strive to win people's esteem by famous deeds, or even by death undergone for their fellow citizens? Why, finally, did you yourself want to set up this monument of your talent, this detestable thing built of folly as if of mud, except that you hope for immortality from the memory of your name?
Notes and citation
Summary: People seek immortality through fame, as Hierocles does by his book.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.13 (CSEL 19:408; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.14CSEL 19:408–409
stultum igitur est id putare Apollonium noluisse quod optaret utique, si posset, quia nemo est qui inmortalitatem recuset, maxime cum eum dicas et adoratum esse a quibusdam sicut deum et simulacrum eius sub Herculis Alexicaci nomine constitutum ab Ephesiis etiam nunc honorari.
It is foolish, then, to think that Apollonius did not want what he would certainly have wished for if he could, since no one refuses immortality, especially when you say that he was worshipped by some as a god and that his statue, set up under the name of Hercules Alexicacus, is still honored by the Ephesians.
Notes and citation
Summary: Apollonius surely desired divine honor, as his cult shows.
- Alexicacus, "averter of evil," a title of Hercules.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.14 (CSEL 19:408–409; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.15CSEL 19:409
non potuit ergo post mortem deus credi, quia et hominem et magum fuisse constabat, et ideo alieni nominis titulo adfectauit diuinitatem, quia suo nec poterat nec audebat. noster uero et potuit deus credi, quia magus non fuit, et creditus est, quia uere fuit.
So he could not be believed to be a god after death, because it was well known that he had been a man and a magician; and therefore he grasped at divinity under the title of another's name, because under his own he neither could nor dared. But ours both could be believed to be God, because he was not a magician, and was believed to be, because he truly was.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ was believed to be God because he truly was.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.15 (CSEL 19:409; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.16CSEL 19:409
non inquit hoc dico, idcirco Apollonium non haberi deum, quia noluerit, sed ut appareat nos sapientiores esse, qui mirabilibus factis non statim fidem diuinitatis adiunximus, quam uos, qui ob exigua portenta deum credidistis.
"I do not say this," he says, "to claim that Apollonius is not held to be a god because he did not want it, but to make it clear that we are wiser, who did not at once attach belief in divinity to wonderful deeds, than you, who believed him a god because of slight marvels."
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles said pagans were wiser than Christians for not deifying Apollonius.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): non in quit → non inquit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.16 (CSEL 19:409; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.17CSEL 19:409
non est mirum si tu, qui a dei sapientia longe remotus es, nihil prorsus intellegis eorum quae legisti, cum Iudaei, qui a principio prophetas lectitauerant quibusque sacramentum dei fuerat adsignatum, tamen quid legerent ignorauerint.
It is no wonder if you, far removed as you are from God's wisdom, understand nothing at all of what you have read, since the Jews, who had been reading the prophets from the beginning and to whom the mystery of God had been assigned, still did not know what they were reading.
2 Cor 3:14 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the Jews did not understand the prophets they read.
- A statement of the author's own view of Jewish reading of the prophets.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.17 (CSEL 19:409; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.18CSEL 19:409
disce igitur, si quid tibi cordis est, non idcirco a nobis deum creditum, quia mirabilia fecit, sed quia uidimus in eo facta esse omnia quae nobis adnuntiata sunt uaticinio prophetarum.
Learn, then, if you have any sense, that he was believed by us to be God not because he did wonders, but because we saw that everything announced to us by the prophecy of the prophets was fulfilled in him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ is believed to be God because prophecy was fulfilled in him.
Topics: Christology, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.18 (CSEL 19:409; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.19CSEL 19:409–410
fecit mirabilia: magum putassemus, ut et uos nunc putatis et Iudaei tunc putauerunt, si non illa ipsa facturum prophetae omnes uno spiritu praedixissent.
He did wonders: we would have thought him a magician, as you now think and as the Jews then thought, if all the prophets with one Spirit had not foretold that he would do those very things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Without prophecy his miracles might have seemed magic.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: t for f): tecit → fecit.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.19 (CSEL 19:409–410; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.20CSEL 19:410
itaque deum credimus non magis ex factis operibusque mirandis quam ex illa ipsa cruce, quam uos sicut canes lambitis, quoniam simul et illa praedicta est.
So we believe him to be God no more from his deeds and wonderful works than from that very cross, which you lick at like dogs, since that too was foretold together with them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The foretold cross is also evidence of his divinity.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.20 (CSEL 19:410; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.21CSEL 19:410
non igitur suo testimonio — cui enim de se dicenti potest credi? —, sed prophetarum testimonio, qui omnia quae fecit ac passus est multo ante cecinerunt, fidem diuinitatis accepit, quod neque Apollonio neque Apuleio neque cuiquam magorum potuit aut potest aliquando contingere.
So he gained belief in his divinity not by his own testimony (for who can be believed speaking about himself?) but by the testimony of the prophets, who sang long before of all that he did and suffered; and this could not happen, and never can happen, to Apollonius, to Apuleius, or to any magician.
John 5:31 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ's divinity rests on the prophets' prior testimony.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray circumflex): îgitur → igitur.
Topics: Christology, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.21 (CSEL 19:410; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.22CSEL 19:410
cum igitur talia ignorantiae suae deliramenta fudisset, cum ueritatem penitus excindere conisus esset, ausus est libros suos nefarios ac dei hostes φιλαληθεῖς; adnotare.
When he had poured out such ravings of his ignorance and had striven to cut truth out completely, he dared to entitle his wicked books, enemies of God, Philalethes, "Lover of Truth."
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles titled his attack "Lover of Truth."
- The Greek title Philalēthēs is quoted by the author.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.22 (CSEL 19:410; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-22).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.23CSEL 19:410
o caecum pectus, o mentem Cimmeriis ut aiunt tenebris atriorem! discipulus hic fortasse Anaxagorae fuerit, cui niues atramentum fuerunt. atquin eadem caecitas est et uero falsitatis et mendacio ueritatis nomen inponere. uidelicet homo subdolus uoluit lupum sub ouis pelle celare, ut fallaci titulo posset inretire lectorem.
O blind heart, O mind darker than Cimmerian darkness, as they say! Perhaps he was a disciple of Anaxagoras, for whom snow was black. Yet it is the same blindness to give falsehood the name of truth and truth the name of lie. Clearly the crafty man wanted to hide the wolf under a sheep's skin, to ensnare the reader with a deceptive title.
Matt 7:15 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The title is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
- Anaxagoras reportedly said snow is black. The wolf in sheep's skin echoes Matt 7:15.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR dropped a letter (comparative of ater); word split in the digital text): atrorem → atriorem; in retire → inretire.
Extrabiblical texts: Anaxagoras (Anaxagoras; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.23 (CSEL 19:410; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-23).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.24CSEL 19:410
uerum esto, inscitia hoc, non malitia feceris: quam tandem nobis adtulisti ueritatem, nisi quod adsertor deorum eos ipsos ad ultimum prodidisti?
But suppose you did this out of ignorance, not malice: what truth, then, have you brought us, except that as the champion of the gods you ended by betraying them?
Notes and citation
Summary: Hierocles betrayed the gods he defended.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.24 (CSEL 19:410; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-24).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.25CSEL 19:410–411
prosecutus enim summi dei laudes, quem regem, quem maximum, quem opificem rerum, quem fontem bonorum, quem parentem omnium, quem factorem altoremque uiuentium confessus es, ademisti Ioui tuo regnum eumque summa potestate depulsum in ministrorum numerum redegisti. epilogus itaque te tuus arguit stultitiae uanitatis erroris.
For after proclaiming the praises of the supreme God, whom you confessed to be king, greatest, maker of the world, fountain of good things, parent of all, creator and sustainer of the living, you took the kingdom from your Jupiter, drove him from supreme power, and reduced him to the ranks of servants. So your own conclusion convicts you of folly, emptiness, and error.
Notes and citation
Summary: By praising the supreme God, Hierocles demoted Jupiter.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.25 (CSEL 19:410–411; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-25).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.3.26CSEL 19:411
adfirmas enim deos esse et illos tamen subicis et mancipas ei deo cuius religionem conaris euertere.
For you affirm that the gods exist, and yet you subject and hand them over as slaves to that God whose religion you are trying to overturn.
Notes and citation
Summary: He made the gods servants of the God he attacked.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.3.26 (CSEL 19:411; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-3-26).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 5, chapter 4
5.4.1CSEL 19:411
Hi ergo de quibus dixi cum praesente me ac dolente sacrilegas suas litteras explicassent, et illorum superba inpietate stimulatus et ueritatis ipsius conscientia et, ut ego arbitror, deo, suscepi hoc munus, ut omnibus ingenii mei uiribus accusatores iustitiae refutarem, non ut contra hos scriberem qui paucis uerbis obteri poterant, sed ut omnes qui ubique idem operis efficiunt aut effecerunt, uno semel inpetu profligarem.
So when these men I have mentioned had set out their sacrilegious writings in my presence and to my grief, I was spurred both by their proud impiety and by my awareness of the truth itself and, as I believe, by God, and I took up this task: to refute the accusers of justice with all the strength of my talent, not so as to write against these two, who could be crushed in a few words, but so as to rout in one single attack all who anywhere are doing or have done the same work.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius wrote to refute all attackers of the faith at once.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.1 (CSEL 19:411; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.2CSEL 19:411
non dubito enim quin et alii plurimi et multis in locis et non modo Graecis, sed etiam Latinis litteris monumentum iniustitiae suae struxerint. quibus singulis quoniam respondere non poteram, sic agendam mihi hanc causam putaui, ut et priores cum suis omnibus scriptis peruerterem et futuris omnem facultatem scribendi aut respondendi amputarem. praebeant modo aures: efficiam profecto ut quicumque ista cognouerit, aut suscipiat quod ante damnauit aut, quod est proximum, deridere aliquando desistat.
For I do not doubt that very many others, in many places, and not only in Greek but also in Latin literature, have built a monument to their injustice. Since I could not answer each of them, I thought I should conduct this case so as both to overturn the earlier writers with all their writings and to cut off from future ones every means of writing or replying. Only let them lend their ears: I will surely bring it about that whoever learns these things will either embrace what he formerly condemned or, what is next best, at last stop mocking.
Notes and citation
Summary: He aims to answer all critics, past and future, at once.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.2 (CSEL 19:411; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.3CSEL 19:411–412
quamquam Tertullianus eandem causam plene perorauerit in eo libro cui Apologeticum nomen est, tamen quoniam aliut est accusantibus respondere, quod in defensione aut negatione sola positum est, aliut instituere, quod nos facimus, in quo necesse est doctrinae totius substantiam contineri, non defugi hunc laborem, ut inplerem materiam, quam Cyprianus non est exsecutus in ea oratione, qua Demetrianum sicut ipse ait oblatrantem atque obstrepentem ueritati redarguere conatur.
Although Tertullian pleaded the same case fully in the book called the Apology, still, since it is one thing to answer accusers, which consists only in defense or denial, and another to give instruction, as we do, in which the substance of the whole teaching must be contained, I did not shrink from this labor, so as to complete the subject that Cyprian did not follow through in the speech in which he tries to refute Demetrianus, who, as he himself says, was barking and clamoring against the truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Tertullian's Apology and Cyprian's To Demetrianus left the task incomplete.
- Tertullian, Apology; Cyprian, To Demetrianus 1.
Extrabiblical texts: Cyprian, Demetr. 1 (To Demetrian; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.3 (CSEL 19:411–412; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.4CSEL 19:412
qua materia non est usus ut debuit: non enim scripturae testimoniis, quam ille utique uanam fictam commenticiam putabat, sed argumentis et ratione fuerat refellendus.
He did not handle that subject as he ought: for Demetrianus should have been refuted not by testimonies from Scripture, which he certainly thought empty, fictitious, and made up, but by arguments and reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cyprian should have used reason, not Scripture, against an unbeliever.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.4 (CSEL 19:412; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.5CSEL 19:412
nam cum ageret contra hominem ueritatis ignarum, dilatis paulisper diuinis lectionibus formare hunc a principio tamquam rudem debuit eique paulatim lucis principia monstrare, ne toto lumine obiecto caligaret.
For since he was dealing with a man ignorant of the truth, he should have set aside the divine readings for a while and formed him from the beginning as a novice, showing him the first principles of the light little by little, so that he would not be dazzled by the whole light thrown at him.
Notes and citation
Summary: An unbeliever must be led gradually into the light.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.5 (CSEL 19:412; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.6CSEL 19:412
nam sicut infans solidi ac fortis cibi capere uim non potest ob stomachi teneritudinem, sed liquore lactis ac mollitudine alitur, donec firmatis uiribus uesci fortioribus possit, ita et huic oportebat, quia nondum poterat capere diuina, prius humana testimonia offerri id est philosophorum et historicorum, ut suis potissimum refutaretur auctoribus.
For just as an infant cannot take the strength of solid, strong food because of the tenderness of its stomach, but is nourished on liquid, soft milk until, its strength confirmed, it can eat stronger things, so to this man too, since he could not yet take in divine things, human testimonies should first have been offered, that is, those of philosophers and historians, so that he might be refuted above all by his own authorities.
1 Cor 3:2 (echo, medium confidence) · Heb 5:12 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like infants on milk, unbelievers should first be given human testimonies.
- The milk and solid food image echoes 1 Cor 3:2 and Heb 5:12–14.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.6 (CSEL 19:412; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.7CSEL 19:412
quod quia ille non fecit raptus eximia eruditione diuinarum litterarum, ut iis solis contentus esset quibus fides constat, accessi deo inspirante, ut ego facerem et simul ut uiam ceteris ad imitandum pararem.
Because he did not do this, carried away by his outstanding learning in the divine writings so that he was content with those alone on which faith rests, I have come forward, with God's inspiration, to do it myself and at the same time to prepare a road for others to follow.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius undertakes the reasoned approach Cyprian omitted.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.7 (CSEL 19:412; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
5.4.8CSEL 19:412–413
ac si hortatu nostro docti homines ac diserti huc se conferre coeperint et ingenia sua uimque dicendi in hoc ueritatis campo iactare maluerint, euanituras breui religiones falsas et occasuram esse omnem philosophiam nemo dubitauerit, si fuerit omnibus persuasum cum hanc solam religionem, tum etiam solam ueram esse sapientiam. sed euagatus sum longius quam uolebam.
And if at our urging learned and eloquent men begin to turn to this and prefer to display their talents and power of speech in this field of truth, no one could doubt that false religions will soon vanish and all philosophy will fall, once everyone is persuaded that this alone is religion and also the only true wisdom. But I have wandered further than I intended.
Notes and citation
Summary: If the learned defended the faith, false religion and philosophy would fall.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.4.8 (CSEL 19:412–413; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-29-1/#p-5-4-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).