Divine Institutes 5.17.1–5.20.15
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 5, chapter 17
5.17.1CSEL 19:452
Quod ad praesentem disputationem pertinebat ostendi quomodo iustitia similitudinem stultitiae gerat, ut adpareat non sine causa decipi eos qui putant nostrae religionis homines stultos esse, qui talia facere uideantur qualia ille proposuit.
As far as concerned the present discussion, I have shown how justice bears a likeness to folly, so that it may be clear that those are not deceived without reason who think the people of our religion fools, since they seem to do such things as he proposed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice looks like folly, which explains the charge against Christians.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.1 (CSEL 19:452; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-1).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-1) · Report an error
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).
5.17.2CSEL 19:452
nunc maius a me exigi sentio, ut ostendam quare iustitiam deus stultitiae specie conuolutam et oculis hominum uoluerit auferre, si prius Furio respondero, quia parum plene respondit Laelius. qui profecto licet sapiens fuerit, ut uocabatur, patrocinari tamen uerae iustitiae nullo modo poterat, quia caput ipsum fontemque iustitiae non tenebat.
Now I sense that more is required of me: to show why God willed that justice, wrapped in the appearance of folly, be hidden from human eyes; but first I will answer Furius, since Laelius answered him too incompletely. Though he was indeed wise, as he was called, he could in no way plead for true justice, because he did not hold the very head and source of justice.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will answer Furius better than Laelius did.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: i for t): conuolutam ei oculis → conuolutam et oculis.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.2 (CSEL 19:452; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-2).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-2) · Report an error
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).
5.17.3CSEL 19:452
nobis autem facilior est ista defensio, quibus caelesti beneficio familiaris est ac penitus nota iustitia quique illam non nomine, sed re nouimus.
But this defense is easier for us, to whom by heaven's gift justice is familiar and thoroughly known, and who know it not in name but in reality.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians know justice in reality.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.3 (CSEL 19:452; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-3).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-3) · Report an error
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).
5.17.4CSEL 19:452
nam Plato et Aristoteles honesta quidem uoluntate iustitiam defendere cupierunt effecissentque aliquid, si conatus eorum bonos, si eloquentiam, si uirtutem ingenii diuinarum quoque rerum doctrina iuuisset.
For Plato and Aristotle, with honorable intent, wanted to defend justice, and they would have achieved something if knowledge of divine things had also assisted their good efforts, their eloquence, and the strength of their genius.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato and Aristotle lacked divine knowledge.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato (Plato (works); allusion); Aristotle (Aristotle (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.4 (CSEL 19:452; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-4).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-4) · Report an error
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).
5.17.5CSEL 19:452–453
itaque opus illorum inane atque inutile iacuit nec cuiquam hominum persuadere potuerunt ut eorum praescripto uiueret, quia fundamentum a caelo disciplina illa non habuit.
So their work lay empty and useless, and they could persuade no one to live by their rule, because that teaching had no foundation from heaven.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philosophy without heavenly foundation persuaded no one.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.5 (CSEL 19:452–453; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-5).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-5) · Report an error
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).
5.17.6CSEL 19:453
nostrum opus certius sit necesse est, quos deus docuit. illi enim depingebant uerbis et imaginabantur iustitiam quae in conspectu non erat, nec praesentibus exemplis confirmare poterant quae adserebant.
Our work must be surer, since God has taught us. For they painted in words and imagined a justice that was not in view, and they could not confirm what they asserted with present examples.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philosophers could show no living examples of justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.6 (CSEL 19:453; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-6).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-6) · Report an error
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).
5.17.7CSEL 19:453
responderi enim posset ab audientibus non posse ita uiui, sicut illi sua disputatione praescriberent, adeo ut nulli adhuc extiterint qui id genus uitae sequerentur.
For their hearers could reply that it was impossible to live as they prescribed in their discussion, so much so that no one had yet appeared who followed that kind of life.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one lived as the philosophers taught.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.7 (CSEL 19:453; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-7).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-7) · Report an error
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).
5.17.8CSEL 19:453
nos autem non uerbis modo, sed etiam exemplis ex uero petitis uera esse quae a nobis dicuntur ostendimus.
But we show that what we say is true not only by words but also by examples drawn from reality.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians demonstrate justice by examples.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.8 (CSEL 19:453; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-8).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-8) · Report an error
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).
5.17.9CSEL 19:453
sensit igitur Carneades quae sit natura iustitiae, nisi quod parum alte perspexit stultitiam [non] esse: quamquam intellegere mihi uideor qua mente id fecerit. non enim uere existimauit eum stultum esse qui iustus est, sed cum sciret non esse et rationem tamen cur ita uideretur non conprehenderet, uoluit ostendere latere in abdito ueritatem, ut decretum disciplinae suae tueretur, cuius summa sententia est nihil percipi posse.
So Carneades perceived what the nature of justice is, except that he did not look deeply enough into why it seems folly; though I think I understand with what intention he did it. For he did not truly think that the just man is a fool, but since he knew he was not, yet did not grasp the reason why he seemed so, he wanted to show that truth lies hidden, so as to uphold the doctrine of his school, whose chief tenet is that nothing can be perceived.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades used the paradox to support Academic skepticism.
- The editor deletes a "not" (non) in the first sentence; the clause is compressed and is translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray dots): [non]... esse → [non] esse.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.9 (CSEL 19:453; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-9).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-9) · Report an error
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).
5.17.10CSEL 19:453
uideamus ergo utrumne iustitia foedus aliquod habere cum stultitia possit. iustus inquit si aut ecum saucio aut tabulam naufrago non ademerit, ut ipse animam suam liberet, stultus est.
Let us see, then, whether justice can have any alliance with folly. "The just man," he says, "if he does not take the horse from the wounded man or the plank from the shipwrecked, to save his own life, is a fool."
Notes and citation
Summary: He examines Carneades' claim.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.10 (CSEL 19:453; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-10).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-10) · Report an error
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).
5.17.11CSEL 19:453–454
primum omnium nego ullo modo fieri posse ut homini, qui quidem uere iustus sit, eiusmodi casus eueniat, quia iustus neque cuiquam nato inimicus est neque quicquam omnino adpetit alienum.
First of all, I deny that it can in any way happen that such an accident befalls a man who is truly just, because the just man is an enemy to no one born and seeks nothing at all that belongs to another.
Notes and citation
Summary: The truly just man would not be in such situations.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.11 (CSEL 19:453–454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-11).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-11) · Report an error
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).
5.17.12CSEL 19:454
cur enim nauiget aut quid petat ex aliena terra cui sufficiat sua? cur autem belligeret ac se alienis furoribus misceat in cuius
For why would he sail, or what would he seek from a foreign land, when his own is enough for him? And why would he wage war and mix himself in others' frenzies, in whose
Notes and citation
Summary: The just man neither trades abroad nor makes war.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.12 (CSEL 19:454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-12).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-12) · Report an error
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).
5.17.13CSEL 19:454
animo pax cum hominibus perpetua uersetur? scilicet peregrinis mercibus aut humano sanguine delectabitur qui nec lucrum sciat adpetere, cui sufficiat uictus, et non modo ipse caedem facere, sed interesse facientibus ac spectare ducat nefas. sed omitto ista, quoniam fieri potest ut uel inuitus ad haec subeunda cogatur.
mind perpetual peace with all people dwells? Will he, forsooth, delight in foreign merchandise or in human blood, who does not know how to seek gain, for whom food suffices, and who considers it wrong not only to commit slaughter himself but even to be present and watch others do it? But I pass over these points, since it may happen that he is compelled even against his will to undergo them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The just man seeks no gain and will not even watch killing.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: r for question mark): uerseturr → uersetur?.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.13 (CSEL 19:454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-13).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-13) · Report an error
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).
5.17.14CSEL 19:454
adeone ergo iustitiam, O Furi uel potius O Carneade, cuius est illa omnis oratio, tam inanem, tam superuacuam tamque contemptam deo putas, ut nihil possit nihilque habeat in sese quod ad custodiam sui ualeat?
Do you, then, Furius, or rather Carneades, whose whole speech that is, think justice so empty, so superfluous, and so despised by God that it can do nothing and has nothing in itself strong enough to guard it?
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice is not powerless to protect itself.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (digit zero for letter O): 0 Furi → O Furi; 0 Carneade → O Carneade.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.14 (CSEL 19:454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-14).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-14) · Report an error
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).
5.17.15CSEL 19:454
sed uidelicet qui sacramentum hominis ignorant ideoque ad hanc temporalem uitam referunt omnia, quanta sit uis iustitiae scire non possunt.
But evidently those who do not know the mystery of man and therefore refer everything to this temporal life cannot know how great the power of justice is.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who think only of this life misjudge justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.15 (CSEL 19:454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-15).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-15) · Report an error
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).
5.17.16CSEL 19:454
nam et cum de uirtute disputant, quamuis intellegant aerumnis ac miseriis esse plenissimam, tamen expetendam esse aiunt sua causa: eius enim praemia, quae sunt aeterna et inmortalia, nullo modo uident. sic rebus omnibus ad hanc praesentem uitam relatis uirtutem plane ad stultitiam redigunt, siquidem tantos huius uitae labores frustra et inaniter suscipit sed haec alio loco plenius, interim de iustitia, ut coepimus:
For even when they discuss virtue, though they understand that it is full of hardships and miseries, they say it must be sought for its own sake; for they do not see its rewards at all, which are eternal and immortal. So by referring everything to this present life they reduce virtue plainly to folly, since it takes on the great labors of this life in vain and to no purpose. But more fully on this elsewhere; for now, about justice, as we began.
Notes and citation
Summary: Without eternal reward, virtue would be folly.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.16 (CSEL 19:454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-16).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-16) · Report an error
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).
5.17.17CSEL 19:454
cuius tanta uis est, ut cum oculos in caelum sustulerit, a deo mereatur omnia.
Its power is so great that when it lifts its eyes to heaven, it obtains everything from God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice obtains all things from God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.17 (CSEL 19:454; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-17).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-17) · Report an error
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).
5.17.18CSEL 19:454–455
recte igitur Flaccus tantam esse dixit innocentiae uim, ut ad tutelam sui non egeat nec armis nec uiribus, quacumque iter fecerit: integer uitae scelerisque purus non eget Mauris iaculis nec arcu nec uenenatis grauida sagittis, Fusce, pharetra, siue per Syrtis iter aestuosas siue facturus per inhospitalem Caucasum uel quae loca fabulosus lambit Hydaspes.
So Flaccus rightly said that the power of innocence is so great that it needs neither arms nor strength to protect it, wherever it travels: "The man upright in life and clean of crime has no need of Moorish javelins or bow or quiver heavy with poisoned arrows, Fuscus, whether he is to journey through the sweltering Syrtes, or through the inhospitable Caucasus, or the places washed by the storied Hydaspes."
Notes and citation
Summary: Horace: innocence needs no weapons.
- Horace, Odes 1.22.1–8 (no id for Horace in the controlled list).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.18 (CSEL 19:454–455; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-18).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-18) · Report an error
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).
5.17.19CSEL 19:455
non potest ergo fieri quin hominem iustum inter discrimina tempestatum atque bellorum caelestis tutela custodiat ac non, etiamsi cum parricidis et nocentibus nauiget, aut malis quoque parcatur, ut una iusta et innocens anima liberetur, aut certe pereuntibus ceteris sola seruetur.
So it cannot be that heaven's protection does not guard the just man amid the dangers of storms and wars, and that, even if he sails with parricides and criminals, either the wicked too are spared so that one just and innocent soul may be saved, or at least, while the rest perish, he alone is preserved.
Acts 27:24 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God protects the just in danger.
- Compare Acts 27:24 (Paul's shipmates spared for his sake).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.19 (CSEL 19:455; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-19).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-19) · Report an error
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).
5.17.20CSEL 19:455
sed concedamus posse fieri quod proponit philosophus: quid ergo iustus faciet, si nactus fuerit aut in equo saucium aut in tabula naufragum? non inuitus confiteor: morietur potius quam occidat.
But let us grant that what the philosopher proposes can happen. What then will the just man do if he comes upon a wounded man on a horse or a shipwrecked man on a plank? I confess, not unwillingly: he will die rather than kill.
Notes and citation
Summary: The just man will die rather than kill.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.20 (CSEL 19:455; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-20).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-20) · Report an error
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).
5.17.21CSEL 19:455
nec ideo tamen iustitia, quod est singulare hominis bonum, stultitiae nomen accipiet. quid enim melius, quid carius esse homini debet quam innocentia? quae utique tanto perfectior sit necesse est, quanto illam perduxeris ad extremum morique malueris, ne quid de innocentiae ratione minuatur.
Yet not for that reason will justice, which is man's singular good, receive the name of folly. For what should be better, what dearer to a human being than innocence? And it must surely be the more perfect the further you carry it to the extreme and prefer to die rather than diminish anything of the principle of innocence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Innocence kept even to death is perfect, not foolish.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.21 (CSEL 19:455; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-21).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-21) · Report an error
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).
5.17.22CSEL 19:455–456
stultitia est inquit alienae animae parcere cum pernicie suae. num etiam pro amicitia perire stultum iudicabis? quid ergo illi familiares Pythagorei laudantur a uobis, quorum alter se tyranno uadem mortis pro altero dedit, alter ad praestitutum tempus, cum iam sponsor eius duceretur, praesentiam sui fecit eumque interuentu suo liberauit? quorum uirtus in tanta gloria non haberetur, quod alter pro amico, alter etiam pro fide mori uoluit, si stulti putarentur.
"It is folly," he says, "to spare another's life at the cost of one's own." Will you judge it foolish even to die for friendship? Why then do you praise those Pythagorean friends, one of whom gave himself to the tyrant as surety for the other's death, while the other appeared at the appointed time, when his surety was already being led away, and freed him by his arrival? Their virtue would not be held in such glory, since one was willing to die for a friend and the other for his word, if they were thought fools.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Pythagorean friends who risked death are praised, not called fools.
- Damon and Phintias before Dionysius of Syracuse; compare Cicero, On Duties 3.45.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Off. 3.45 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.22 (CSEL 19:455–456; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-22).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-22) · Report an error
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).
5.17.23CSEL 19:456
denique ob hanc ipsam uirtutem tyrannus iis gratiam rettulit utrumque seruando et hominis crudelissimi natura mutata est. quin etiam deprecatus esse dicitur ut se tertium in amicitiam reciperent, non utique tamquam stultos, sed tamquam bonos et sapientes uiros.
In the end, for this very virtue the tyrant repaid them by saving both, and the nature of a most cruel man was changed. He is even said to have begged them to receive him as a third into their friendship, certainly not as fools but as good and wise men.
Notes and citation
Summary: The tyrant admired and spared them.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.23 (CSEL 19:456; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-23).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-23) · Report an error
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).
5.17.24CSEL 19:456
itaque non uideo quare, cum pro amicitia et fide mori summa gloria conputetur, non etiam pro innocentia perire sit homini gloriosum. ergo stultissimi sunt qui nobis crimini dant mori uelle pro deo, cum ipsi eum qui pro homine mori uoluit, in caelum summis laudibus tollant.
So I do not see why, when dying for friendship and good faith is counted the highest glory, perishing for innocence should not also be glorious for a man. They are the greatest fools, then, who charge us with wanting to die for God, when they themselves exalt to heaven with the highest praise the one who was willing to die for a man.
Notes and citation
Summary: Dying for God is more glorious than dying for a friend.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.24 (CSEL 19:456; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-24).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-24) · Report an error
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).
5.17.25CSEL 19:456
denique, ut concludam disputationem, non posse eundem iustum esse ac stultum, eundem sapientem et iniustum docet ipsa ratio. qui enim stultus est, quid sit iustum ac bonum nescit et ideo semper peccat. ducitur enim quasi captiuus a uitiis nec resistere ullo modo potest, quia caret uirtute, quam nescit.
Finally, to conclude the discussion, reason itself teaches that the same person cannot be just and foolish, or wise and unjust. For the fool does not know what is just and good, and therefore always sins. He is led as a captive by vices and can in no way resist, because he lacks virtue, which he does not know.
Notes and citation
Summary: The fool, not knowing the good, always sins.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.25 (CSEL 19:456; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-25).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-25) · Report an error
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).
5.17.26CSEL 19:456–457
iustus autem ab omni se peccato abstinet, quod aliter facere non potest quam si habeat recti prauique notitiam. rectum autem discernere a prauo quis potest nisi sapiens? ita fit ut numquam possit iustus esse qui stultus est, neque sapiens qui fuerit iniustus.
But the just man abstains from all sin, which he cannot do unless he has knowledge of right and wrong. And who can distinguish right from wrong except the wise? So it comes about that one who is a fool can never be just, and one who has been unjust can never be wise.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice requires wisdom, so the just cannot be fools.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: r for t): rectum aurem → rectum autem.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.26 (CSEL 19:456–457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-26).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-26) · Report an error
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).
5.17.27CSEL 19:457
quod si est uerissimum, manifestum est eum qui aut naufrago tabulam aut ecum saucio non ademerit stultum non esse, quia haec facere peccatum est, a quo se sapiens abstinet.
If this is most true, it is clear that the one who does not take the plank from the shipwrecked man or the horse from the wounded one is not a fool, because to do these things is a sin, from which the wise man abstains.
Notes and citation
Summary: Refusing to harm another is wise, not foolish.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.27 (CSEL 19:457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-27).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-27) · Report an error
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).
5.17.28CSEL 19:457
uideri tamen et ipse confiteor per hominum errorem ignorantium cuiusque rei proprietatem. itaque omnis haec quaestio non tam argumentis quam definitione dissoluitur.
I myself admit, though, that he seems a fool, through the error of people who do not know the proper nature of each thing. So this whole question is settled not so much by arguments as by definition.
Notes and citation
Summary: The question is settled by defining folly.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.28 (CSEL 19:457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-28).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-28) · Report an error
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).
5.17.29CSEL 19:457
stultitia igitur est in factis dictisque per ignorantiam recti ac boni erratio. ergo stultus non est qui ne sibi quidem parcit, dum ne noceat alteri, quod est malum. quod quidem nobis et ratio et ueritas ipsa praescribit.
Folly, then, is going astray in deeds and words through ignorance of what is right and good. So he is not a fool who does not spare even himself, provided he does not harm another, which is evil. This is what reason and truth itself prescribe to us.
Notes and citation
Summary: Folly is erring through ignorance of the good.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.29 (CSEL 19:457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-29).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-29) · Report an error
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).
5.17.30CSEL 19:457
in omnibus enim uidemus animalibus, quia sapientia carent, conciliatricem sui esse naturam. nocent igitur aliis, ut sibi prosint: nesciunt enim quia malum est nocere.
For in all animals we see that nature, since they lack wisdom, makes them look after themselves. So they harm others to benefit themselves; for they do not know that harming is evil.
Notes and citation
Summary: Animals harm others by nature, lacking wisdom.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.30 (CSEL 19:457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-30).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-30) · Report an error
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).
5.17.31CSEL 19:457
homo uero quia scientiam boni ac mali habet, abstinet se a nocendo etiam cum incommodo suo, quod animal inrationale facere non potest, et ideo inter summas hominis uirtutes innocentia numeratur. quibus rebus apparet sapientissimum esse qui mauult, perire ne noceat, ut id officium quo a mutis discernitur seruet.
But a human being, since he has knowledge of good and evil, abstains from harming even to his own cost, which an irrational animal cannot do; and therefore innocence is counted among the highest human virtues. From this it is clear that the wisest is the one who prefers to perish rather than harm, so as to keep that duty by which he is distinguished from dumb animals.
Notes and citation
Summary: Humans, knowing good and evil, prefer to suffer rather than harm.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.31 (CSEL 19:457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-31).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-31) · Report an error
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).
5.17.32CSEL 19:457
nam qui uendentis errorem non redarguit, ut aurum paruo emat, aut qui non profitetur fugitiuum seruum uel pestilentem se domum uendere lucro et commodo suo consulens, non est ille sapiens, ut Carneades uideri uolebat, sed callidus et astutus.
For the one who does not correct the seller's mistake so as to buy gold cheaply, or who does not declare that he is selling a runaway slave or a plague-ridden house, looking after his own gain and advantage, is not wise, as Carneades wanted him to seem, but crafty and cunning.
Notes and citation
Summary: Deceit in trade is cunning, not wisdom.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.32 (CSEL 19:457; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-32).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-32) · Report an error
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).
5.17.33CSEL 19:457–458
calliditas autem et astutia in mutis quoque animalibus sunt, uel cum insidiantur aliis et dolo capiunt, ut deuorent, uel cum insidias aliorum uario genere deludunt, sapientia uero in hominem solum cadit.
Craft and cunning exist in dumb animals too, whether when they lie in wait for others and catch them by trickery to devour them, or when they elude others' traps in various ways; but wisdom belongs to man alone.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cunning is animal; wisdom is human.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.33 (CSEL 19:457–458; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-33).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-33) · Report an error
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).
5.17.34CSEL 19:458
sapientia est enim intellegentia uel ad bonum rectumque faciendum uel ad abstinentiam dictorum factorumque inproborum. lucro autem numquam sapiens studet, quia bona haec terrena contemnit, nec quemquam falli patitur, quia boni uiri officium est errores hominum corrigere eosque in uiam reducere, siquidem socialis est hominis ac benefica natura, quo solo cognationem cum deo habet.
For wisdom is understanding directed either to doing what is good and right or to abstaining from wicked words and deeds. The wise man never pursues gain, because he despises these earthly goods, nor does he allow anyone to be deceived, because it is the duty of a good man to correct people's errors and bring them back to the way, since human nature is social and beneficent, and by this alone it has kinship with God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wisdom seeks the good and corrects others' errors.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.17.34 (CSEL 19:458; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-17-34).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-17-34) · Report an error
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 18
5.18.1CSEL 19:458
Sed nimirum haec causa efficit ut stultus esse uideatur qui egere aut mori malit quam noceat uel eripiat aliquid alteri, quod hominem morte deleri putant. ex qua persuasione omnes cum uulgi tum etiam philosophorum nascuntur errores.
But no doubt the reason why the one who would rather be in want or die than harm or rob another seems a fool is that people think a human being is destroyed by death. From this conviction arise all the errors both of the crowd and of the philosophers.
Notes and citation
Summary: Disbelief in life after death makes justice seem foolish.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.1 (CSEL 19:458; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-1).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-1) · Report an error
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).
5.18.2CSEL 19:458
si enim post mortem nihil sumus, profecto stultissimi est hominis non huic uitae consulere, ut sit quam diutina et commodis omnibus plena.
For if we are nothing after death, it is surely the mark of the greatest fool not to look after this life, so that it may be as long as possible and full of every advantage.
Notes and citation
Summary: If death ends all, one should maximize this life.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.2 (CSEL 19:458; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-2).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-2) · Report an error
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).
5.18.3CSEL 19:458
quod qui faciet, a iustitiae regula discedat necesse est. si autem superest homini uita melior et longior, quod et philosophorum magnorum argumentis et uatum responsis et prophetarum diuinis uocibus discimus, hanc praesentem cum bonis suis contemnere sapientis est, cuius omnis iactura inmortalitate pensatur.
Whoever does this must depart from the rule of justice. But if a better and longer life remains for a human being, as we learn from the arguments of great philosophers, the answers of seers, and the divine voices of the prophets, then it is the mark of the wise man to despise this present life with its goods, since every loss of his is repaid with immortality.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since a better life follows, the wise despise this one.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.3 (CSEL 19:458; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-3).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-3) · Report an error
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).
5.18.4CSEL 19:458–459
aput Ciceronem idem ille iustitiae defensor Laelius uult inquit paene uirtus honorem nec est uirtutis ulla alia merces. est plane et quidem uirtute dignissima, quam tu, Laeli, numquam poteras suspicari: nihil enim diuinarum noueras litterarum. quam tamen illa inquit accipit facile, exigit non acerbe. erras uehementer, si putas ab homine praemium solui posse uirtuti, cum ipse alio loco uerissime dixeris: huic tu uiro quas diuitias obicies? quae imperia? quae regna? qui ista putat humana, sua bona diuina iudicat.
In Cicero, that same defender of justice, Laelius, says: "Virtue almost wants honor, and there is no other reward for virtue." There plainly is, and one most worthy of virtue, which you, Laelius, could never suspect, for you knew nothing of the divine writings. "Yet it accepts it easily," he says, "and does not demand it harshly." You are badly mistaken if you think a reward can be paid to virtue by man, when you yourself said very truly elsewhere: "What riches will you offer this man? What commands? What kingdoms? He considers those things human and judges his own goods divine."
Notes and citation
Summary: Laelius in Cicero misunderstands virtue's reward.
- Cicero, On the Republic 3 (fragments).
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.4 (CSEL 19:458–459; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-4).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-4) · Report an error
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).
5.18.5CSEL 19:459
quis ergo te sapientem, Laeli, putet, cum ipse tibi loquare contraria et paulo post uirtuti adimas quae dedisti? sed uidelicet ignorantia ueri facit incertam labantemque sententiam.
Who, then, would think you wise, Laelius, when you contradict yourself and shortly afterward take from virtue what you had given it? But evidently ignorance of the truth makes one's opinion uncertain and wavering.
Notes and citation
Summary: Laelius contradicts himself.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.5 (CSEL 19:459; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-5).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-5) · Report an error
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).
5.18.6CSEL 19:459
deinde quid adiungis? sed si aut ingrati uniuersi aut inuidi multi aut inimici potentes suis uirtutem praemiis spoliant, —
Then what do you add? "But if either everyone is ungrateful, or many are envious, or powerful enemies strip virtue of its rewards…"
Notes and citation
Summary: Laelius admits virtue may be robbed of its rewards.
- Cicero, On the Republic 3 (fragment); the quotation is completed in 5.18.8.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.6 (CSEL 19:459; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-6).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-6) · Report an error
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).
5.18.7CSEL 19:459
o quam fragilem, quam inanem uirtutem induxisti, si spoliari praemio suo potest! quae si bona sua diuina iudicat, ut aiebas, qui possunt existere tam ingrati, tam inuidi, tam potentes, qui uirtutem spoliare ualeant iis bonis quae fuerint in eam conlata diuinitus?
O how fragile, how empty a virtue you have presented, if it can be robbed of its reward! If it judges its goods divine, as you said, who can be so ungrateful, so envious, so powerful as to be able to rob virtue of goods conferred on it by God?
Notes and citation
Summary: True virtue cannot be robbed of divine goods.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.7 (CSEL 19:459; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-7).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-7) · Report an error
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).
5.18.8CSEL 19:459
— ne illa se inquit multis solaciis oblectat maximeque suo decore se ipsa sustentat. quibus solaciis? quo decore? cum in crimen saepe ueniat et in poenam decor ille uertatur.
"…surely," he says, "it delights itself with many consolations and sustains itself above all by its own beauty." What consolations? What beauty? When it often comes under accusation and that beauty is turned into punishment?
Notes and citation
Summary: Virtue's supposed consolations fail under punishment.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.8 (CSEL 19:459; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-8).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-8) · Report an error
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).
5.18.9CSEL 19:459–460
quid enim, si, ut Furius dicebat, rapiatur uexetur exterminetur egeat, auferantur ei manus, effodiantur oculi, damnetur uinciatur uratur, miseris etiam modis necetur. perdetne suum praemium uirtus aut potius peribit ipsa? minime, sed et mercedem suam deo iudice accipiet et uiuet ac semper uigebit.
For what if, as Furius said, it is seized, harassed, banished, left in want, has its hands cut off and its eyes gouged out, is condemned, bound, burned, and even killed in wretched ways? Will virtue lose its reward, or rather perish itself? Not at all; it will receive its wages with God as judge, and it will live and flourish forever.
Notes and citation
Summary: Virtue will receive its reward from God.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.9 (CSEL 19:459–460; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-9).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-9) · Report an error
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).
5.18.10CSEL 19:460
quae si tollas, nihil potest in uita hominum tam inutile, tam stultum uideri esse quam uirtus: cuius naturalis bonitas et honestas docere nos potest animam non esse mortalem diuinumque illi a deo praemium constitutum.
If you take these away, nothing in human life can seem so useless, so foolish, as virtue; whose natural goodness and honor can teach us that the soul is not mortal and that a divine reward has been appointed for it by God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Virtue's goodness shows the soul is immortal.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (period for comma in a list): inutile. tam stultum → inutile, tam stultum.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.10 (CSEL 19:460; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-10).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-10) · Report an error
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).
5.18.11CSEL 19:460
sed idcirco uirtutem ipsam deus sub persona stultitiae uoluit esse celatam, ut mysterium ueritatis ac religionis suae esset arcanum, ut has religiones sapientiamque terrenam extollentem se altius sibique multum placentem uanitatis errorisque damnaret, ut proposita denique difficultate angustissimus trames ad immortalitatis praemium sublime perduceret.
But God willed that virtue itself be hidden under the mask of folly, so that the mystery of his truth and religion might be secret, so that he might condemn these religions and earthly wisdom, which exalts itself highly and is much pleased with itself, of emptiness and error, and finally so that, with difficulty set before it, a very narrow path might lead up to the lofty reward of immortality.
Matt 7:14 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 1:27 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God hid virtue under folly so that the narrow path leads to immortality.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.11 (CSEL 19:460; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-11).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-11) · Report an error
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).
5.18.12CSEL 19:460
Docui, ut opinor, cur populus noster aput stultos stultus habeatur. nam cruciari atque interfici malle quam tura tribus digitis conprehensa in focum iacere tam ineptum uidetur quam in periculo uitae alterius animam magis curare quam suam.
I have shown, I think, why our people are held fools by fools. For to prefer being tortured and killed to throwing incense held in three fingers onto the altar-fire seems as silly as caring more for another's life than one's own when one's life is in danger.
Notes and citation
Summary: Refusing a pinch of incense seems as foolish as sparing another at one's own cost.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.12 (CSEL 19:460; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-12).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-12) · Report an error
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).
5.18.13CSEL 19:460
nesciunt enim quantum sit nefas adorare aliud praeterquam deum, qui condidit caelum atque terram, qui humanum genus finxit inspirauit luce donauit.
For they do not know how great a crime it is to worship anything other than God, who made heaven and earth, who formed the human race, breathed life into it, and gave it light.
Notes and citation
Summary: Worshipping any but the Creator is a great crime.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.13 (CSEL 19:460; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-13).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-13) · Report an error
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).
5.18.14CSEL 19:460–461
quodsi seruorum nequissimus habetur qui dominum suum fuga deseruit isque uerberibus et uinculis et ergastulo et cruce et omni malo dignissimus iudicatur, et si filius eodem modo perditus atque inpius existimatur qui patrem suum dereliquit ne illi obsequatur, ob eamque causam dignus putatur qui sit exheres et cuius nomen in perpetuum de familia deleatur, quanto magis qui deum deserit, in quem duo uocabula domini et patris aeque ueneranda conueniunt?
If the most worthless of slaves is thought to be the one who has deserted his master by flight, and he is judged most deserving of lashes, chains, the workhouse, the cross, and every evil; and if a son is likewise considered lost and impious who has abandoned his father so as not to obey him, and for that reason is thought to deserve disinheritance and to have his name blotted out of the family forever; how much more the one who deserts God, to whom the two titles of Lord and Father, equally venerable, both belong?
Notes and citation
Summary: Deserting God, who is Lord and Father, is worse than a slave's or son's desertion.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.14 (CSEL 19:460–461; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-14).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-14) · Report an error
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).
5.18.15CSEL 19:461
nam ille qui seruum pretio conparat, quid in eum beneficii confert praeter alimenta, quae illi utilitatis suae gratia subministrat? et qui filium generat, non habet in potestate ut concipiatur, ut nascatur, ut uiuat: unde apparet non esse illum patrem, sed tantummodo generandi ministrum.
For the one who buys a slave for a price, what benefit does he confer on him besides food, which he supplies for his own advantage? And the one who begets a son does not have it in his power that he be conceived, be born, or live; from which it is clear that he is not a father but only an agent of begetting.
Notes and citation
Summary: Human masters and fathers give little compared with God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.15 (CSEL 19:461; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-15).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-15) · Report an error
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).
5.18.16CSEL 19:461
quibus ergo suppliciis dignus est desertor eius qui et dominus uerus et pater est, nisi quae deus ipse constituit, qui spiritibus iniustis aeternum parauit ignem, quod ipse per uates suos inpiis ac rebellibus comminatur?
What punishments, then, does one deserve who deserts him who is both true Lord and Father, other than those God himself has appointed, who has prepared eternal fire for unjust spirits, as he himself threatens the impious and rebellious through his prophets?
Matt 25:41 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Deserters of God face the eternal fire.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period): comminatur?. → comminatur?.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.18.16 (CSEL 19:461; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-18-16).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-18-16) · Report an error
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 19
5.19.1CSEL 19:461
Discant igitur et suarum et alienarum interfectores animarum quam inexpiabile facinus admittant, primum quod se ipsos iugulant perditissimis daemonibus seruiendo, quos deus in aeterna supplicia damnauit, deinde quod nec ab aliis deum coli patiuntur, sed auertere homines ad mortifera sacra contendunt nitunturque summa diligentia ne qua sit anima incolumis in terra quae saluo statu suo spectet in caelum.
Let the killers of their own souls and of others', then, learn what an inexpiable crime they commit: first, that they cut their own throats by serving the most depraved demons, whom God has condemned to eternal punishments; then, that they do not allow God to be worshipped by others either, but strive to turn people to deadly rites and labor with the greatest care that no soul on earth remain unharmed that looks to heaven with its state secure.
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecutors destroy their own souls and try to destroy others'.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period): se. ipsos → se ipsos.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.1 (CSEL 19:461; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-1).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-1) · Report an error
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).
5.19.2CSEL 19:461
quid aliut dicam quam miseros qui praedonum suorum instigationibus parent, quos deos esse opinantur? quorum neque condicionem neque originem neque nomina neque rationem sciunt, sed inhaerente persuasione uulgari libenter errant et stultitiae suae fauent.
What else shall I call them but wretched, who obey the promptings of their robbers, whom they think gods? They know neither their condition nor their origin nor their names nor their nature, but, clinging to popular belief, they gladly go astray and favor their own folly.
Notes and citation
Summary: Idolaters follow demons they know nothing about.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.2 (CSEL 19:461; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-2).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-2) · Report an error
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).
5.19.3CSEL 19:461–462
a quibus si persuasionis eius rationem requiras, nullam possint reddere, sed ad maiorum iudicia confugiant, quod illi sapientes fuerint, illi probauerint, illi scierint quid esset optimum, seque ipsos sensibus spoliant, ratione abdicant, dum alienis erroribus credunt.
If you ask them the reason for this belief, they can give none, but take refuge in the judgment of their ancestors: that they were wise, that they approved it, that they knew what was best. So they strip themselves of their senses and renounce reason, while they trust in others' errors.
Notes and citation
Summary: They appeal only to ancestral custom.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.3 (CSEL 19:461–462; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-3).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-3) · Report an error
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).
5.19.4CSEL 19:462
sic inplicati rerum omnium ignorantia nec se nec deos suos norunt. atque utinam soli errare, soli desipere uellent! alios etiam in consortium mali sui rapiunt quasi habituri solacium de perditione multorum.
So, entangled in ignorance of all things, they know neither themselves nor their gods. And would that they wished to go astray and be foolish alone! They drag others too into partnership in their evil, as if they would find comfort in the ruin of many.
Notes and citation
Summary: They drag others into their error.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: i for l): inpiicati → inplicati.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.4 (CSEL 19:462; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-4).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-4) · Report an error
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).
5.19.5CSEL 19:462
sed haec ipsa ignoratio efficit ut in persequendis sapientibus tam mali sint fingantque se illis consulere, illos ad bonam mentem uelle reuocare.
But this very ignorance makes them so wicked in persecuting the wise, and makes them pretend that they are looking after them and want to call them back to a sound mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecutors pretend to help those they persecute.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.5 (CSEL 19:462; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-5).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-5) · Report an error
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).
5.19.6CSEL 19:462
num igitur hoc sermone aut aliqua ratione reddita facere nituntur? minime, sed ui atque tormentis. o mira et caeca dementia! in iis putatur mala mens esse qui fidem seruare conantur, in carnificibus autem bona!
Do they try to do this, then, by speech or by giving some reason? Not at all, but by force and torture. O strange and blind madness! Those who try to keep faith are thought to have an evil mind, but the executioners a good one!
Notes and citation
Summary: They use torture, not argument.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.6 (CSEL 19:462; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-6).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-6) · Report an error
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).
5.19.7CSEL 19:462
in iisne mala mens est qui contra ius humanitatis, contra fas omne lacerantur, an potius in iis qui ea faciunt in corporibus innocentium, quae nec saeuissimi latrones nec iratissimi hostes nec immanissimi barbari aliquando fecerunt? adeone etiam sibi mentiuntur, ut uicissim boni ac mali nomina transferant et inmutent?
Is the evil mind in those who are mangled against the law of humanity and against all right, or rather in those who do to the bodies of the innocent what neither the most savage robbers nor the angriest enemies nor the most monstrous barbarians have ever done? Do they so lie even to themselves that they swap and exchange the names of good and evil?
Notes and citation
Summary: The torturers, not the victims, have evil minds.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.7 (CSEL 19:462; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-7).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-7) · Report an error
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).
5.19.8CSEL 19:462–463
quid ergo non diem noctem uocant, solem tenebras? alioquin eadem inpudentia est bonis malorum nomen imponere, sapientibus stultorum, iustis inpiorum: quin immo si qua illis fiducia est uel in philosophia uel in eloquentia, arment se ac refellant haec nostra, si possunt, congrediantur comminus et singula quaeque discutiant.
Why then do they not call day night and the sun darkness? It is the same shamelessness to give the good the name of the wicked, the wise that of fools, the just that of the impious. Rather, if they have any confidence in philosophy or eloquence, let them arm themselves and refute these arguments of ours if they can; let them meet us at close quarters and examine each point.
Isa 5:20 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Let them refute Christians by argument, not force.
- Compare Isa 5:20.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.8 (CSEL 19:462–463; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-8).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-8) · Report an error
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).
5.19.9CSEL 19:463
decet eos suscipere defensionem deorum suorum, ne si nostra inualuerint, ut cottidie inualescunt, cum delubris ac ludibriis suis deserantur. et quoniam ui nihil possunt — augetur enim religio dei quanto magis premitur —, oratione potius et hortamentis agant.
It befits them to take up the defense of their gods, lest, if our cause grows strong, as it grows stronger daily, they be deserted along with their shrines and mockeries. And since they can do nothing by force (for the religion of God increases the more it is oppressed), let them act rather by speech and exhortation.
Notes and citation
Summary: Force fails, since the faith grows under oppression.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.9 (CSEL 19:463; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-9).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-9) · Report an error
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).
5.19.10CSEL 19:463
procedant in medium pontifices seu minores seu maximi, flamines augures, item reges sacrificuli quique sunt sacerdotes et antistites religionum, conuocent nos ad contionem, cohortentur ad suscipiendos cultus deorum, persuadeant multos esse quorum numine ac prouidentia regantur omnia, ostendant origines et initia sacrorum ac deorum quomodo sint mortalibus tradita, qui fons, quae ratio sit explicent, proferant quae merces in cultu, quae poena in contemptu maneat, quare ab hominibus coli se uelint, quid illis, si beati sunt, humana pietas conferat: quae omnia non adseueratione propria — nec enim ualet quicquam mortalis hominis auctoritas — sed diuinis aliquibus testimoniis confirment, sicuti nos facimus.
Let the pontiffs, lesser or greatest, come forward, the flamens and augurs, likewise the sacrificial kings and all who are priests and overseers of religions; let them call us to an assembly and urge us to take up the worship of the gods; let them persuade us that there are many by whose divine power and providence all things are ruled; let them show the origins and beginnings of the rites and the gods, how they were handed down to mortals; let them explain their source and principle; let them set out what reward awaits worship and what punishment contempt, why the gods want to be worshipped by human beings, and what human piety adds to them if they are blessed; and let them confirm all this not by their own assertion (for the authority of a mortal man counts for nothing) but by some divine testimonies, as we do.
Notes and citation
Summary: Let pagan priests argue their case with divine testimony.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.10 (CSEL 19:463; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-10).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-10) · Report an error
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).
5.19.11CSEL 19:463–464
non est opus ui et iniuria, quia religio cogi non potest, uerbis potius quam uerberibus res agenda est, ut sit uoluntas. destringant aciem ingeniorum suorum: si ratio eorum uera est, adseratur. parati sumus audire, si doceant: tacentibus certe nihil credimus, sicut ne saeuientibus quidem cedimus.
There is no need of force and injury, because religion cannot be compelled; the matter must be handled with words rather than blows, so that there may be free will. Let them draw the sharp edge of their minds: if their reasoning is true, let it be asserted. We are ready to listen if they teach; to the silent we certainly give no credit, just as we do not yield even to those who rage.
Notes and citation
Summary: Religion cannot be compelled; persuade with words, not blows.
- The wordplay verbis … verberibus ("words … blows") is the author's.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.11 (CSEL 19:463–464; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-11).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-11) · Report an error
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).
5.19.12CSEL 19:464
imitentur nos, ut rationem rei totius exponant: nos enim non inlicimus, ut ipsi obiectant, sed docemus probamus ostendimus.
Let them imitate us in setting out the reasoning of the whole matter: for we do not entice, as they charge, but we teach, prove, and demonstrate.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians persuade by teaching and proof.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.12 (CSEL 19:464; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-12).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-12) · Report an error
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).
5.19.13CSEL 19:464
itaque nemo a nobis retinetur inuitus — inutilis est enim deo qui deuotione ac fide caret — et tam nemo discedit ipsa ueritate retinente.
So no one is kept by us against his will (for one who lacks devotion and faith is of no use to God); and yet no one leaves, since truth itself holds them.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one is kept unwillingly, yet truth holds all.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.13 (CSEL 19:464; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-13).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-13) · Report an error
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).
5.19.14CSEL 19:464
doceant isti hoc modo, si qua illis fiducia ueritatis est, loquantur hiscant, audeant inquam disputare nobiscum aliquid eiusmodi: iam profecto ab aniculis quas contemnunt et a pueris nostratibus error illorum ac stultitia ridebitur.
Let them teach in this way, if they have any confidence in truth; let them speak, let them open their mouths; let them dare, I say, to debate something of this kind with us: their error and folly will surely be laughed at by the old women they despise and by our children.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even Christian children would laugh at pagan arguments.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.14 (CSEL 19:464; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-14).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-14) · Report an error
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).
5.19.15CSEL 19:464
cum enim sint peritissimi deorumque progeniem et res gestas et imperia et interitus et sepulcra de libris nouerint ipsosque ritus quibus sunt initiati uel ex rebus gestis hominum uel ex casibus uel etiam ex mortibus natos sciant, incredibilis dementia est deos putare quos fuisse mortales negare non audeant: uel si tam inpudentes fuerint ut negent, suae illos ac suorum litterae coarguant, ipsa denique illos sacrorum initia conuincant.
For since they are very learned and know from books the birth of the gods, their deeds, reigns, deaths, and tombs, and know that the very rites into which they have been initiated arose from human deeds or misfortunes or even deaths, it is unbelievable madness to think gods those whom they dare not deny were mortal; or if they are so shameless as to deny it, let their own writings and those of their people refute them, and finally let the very origins of the rites convict them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pagan books show their gods were mortals.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.15 (CSEL 19:464; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-15).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-15) · Report an error
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).
5.19.16CSEL 19:464
sciant igitur ex hoc ipso quantum intersit inter uerum atque falsum, quando ipsi cum sint eloquentes, persuadere non possunt, inperiti ac rudes possunt, quia res ipsa et ueritas loquitur.
Let them learn from this very fact how great the difference is between true and false: they, eloquent as they are, cannot persuade, while the unskilled and rough can, because the thing itself and the truth speak.
Notes and citation
Summary: Truth persuades even through the unlearned.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.16 (CSEL 19:464; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-16).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-16) · Report an error
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).
5.19.17CSEL 19:464–465
quid ergo saeuiunt? ut stultitiam suam dum minuere uolunt augeant. longe diuersa sunt carnificina et pietas nec potest aut ueritas cum ui aut iustitia cum crudelitate coniungi.
Why then do they rage? So that, while they want to lessen their folly, they increase it. Butchery and piety are far apart, and neither truth can be joined with force nor justice with cruelty.
Notes and citation
Summary: Force and cruelty cannot serve truth.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.17 (CSEL 19:464–465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-17).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-17) · Report an error
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).
5.19.18CSEL 19:465
sed merito non audent de rebus quicquam docere diuinis, ne et a nostris derideantur et a suis deserantur.
But they rightly do not dare to teach anything about divine things, lest they be laughed at by our people and deserted by their own.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pagans avoid teaching for fear of ridicule.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.18 (CSEL 19:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-18).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-18) · Report an error
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).
5.19.19CSEL 19:465
nam fere uulgus, cui simplex incorruptumque iudicium est, si mysteria illa cognoscat in memoriam mortuorum constituta, damnabit aliutque uerius quod colat quaeret. hinc fida silentia sacris instituta sunt ab hominibus callidis, ne sciat populus quid colat.
For the common people, whose judgment is simple and uncorrupted, if they learned that those mysteries were instituted in memory of the dead, would condemn them and seek something truer to worship. That is why "faithful silence" was imposed on the rites by clever men, so that the people would not know what they worship.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mysteries are kept secret to hide that they honor dead men.
- "Faithful silence for the rites" is a poetic phrase (source unidentified).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.19 (CSEL 19:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-19).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-19) · Report an error
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).
5.19.20CSEL 19:465
cum autem nos in eorum doctrinis uersemur, cur nobis aut non credunt, qui utrumque nouimus, aut inuident, quia falsis uera praetulimus? sed defendenda sunt inquiunt suscepta publice sacra: o quam honesta uoluntate miseri errant!
But since we are versed in their teachings, why do they either not believe us, who know both sides, or envy us because we have preferred the true to the false? "But the rites publicly adopted must be defended," they say. O with what honorable intent the wretches go astray!
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians know both sides; pagans defend public rites with good intent but in error.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.20 (CSEL 19:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-20).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-20) · Report an error
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).
5.19.21CSEL 19:465
sentiunt enim nihil esse in rebus humanis religione praestantius eamque summa ui oportere defendi, sed ut in ipsa religione sic in defensionis genere falluntur.
For they feel that nothing in human affairs is more excellent than religion and that it ought to be defended with all strength; but as in religion itself, so in the manner of defense they are deceived.
Notes and citation
Summary: They rightly value religion but err in how to defend it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.21 (CSEL 19:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-21).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-21) · Report an error
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).
5.19.22CSEL 19:465
defendenda enim religio est non occidendo sed moriendo, non saeuitia sed patientia, non scelere sed fide: illa enim malorum sunt, haec bonorum, et necesse est bonum in religione uersari, non malum.
For religion must be defended not by killing but by dying, not by savagery but by patience, not by crime but by faith: for the former belong to the wicked, the latter to the good, and it is necessary that good, not evil, have its place in religion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Religion is defended by dying, not killing.
Topics: Martyrdom, Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.22 (CSEL 19:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-22).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-22) · Report an error
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).
5.19.23CSEL 19:465
nam si sanguine, si tormentis, si malo religionem defendere uelis, iam non defendetur illa, sed polluetur atque uiolabitur. nihil est enim tam uoluntarium quam religio, in qua si animus sacrificantis auersus est, iam sublata, iam nulla est.
For if you want to defend religion with blood, with tortures, with evil, it will no longer be defended but polluted and violated. For nothing is so voluntary as religion; if the mind of the one sacrificing is turned away, it is already taken away, it is already nothing.
Notes and citation
Summary: Nothing is so voluntary as religion.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.23 (CSEL 19:465; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-23).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-23) · Report an error
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).
5.19.24CSEL 19:465–466
recta igitur ratio est ut religionem patientia uel morte defendas; in quo fides conseruata et ipsi deo grata est et religioni addit auctoritatem.
So the right way is to defend religion by patience or death; in which faithfulness kept is both pleasing to God himself and adds authority to religion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Faithfulness to death pleases God and strengthens religion.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.24 (CSEL 19:465–466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-24).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-24) · Report an error
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).
5.19.25CSEL 19:466
nam si is qui in hac terrestri militia regi suo fidem seruat in aliquo egregio facinore, si post uixerit, (et) acceptior fit et carior, si perierit, summam consequitur gloriam, quod pro duce suo morte occubuerit, quanto magis imperatori omnium deo fides seruanda est, qui non tantum uiuentibus, sed etiam mortuis praemium potest uirtutis exsoluere?
For if one who in this earthly military service keeps faith with his king in some outstanding deed becomes more welcome and dearer if he survives, and, if he perishes, wins the highest glory for having fallen for his commander, how much more must faith be kept with God, the Commander of all, who can pay the reward of virtue not only to the living but also to the dead?
Notes and citation
Summary: Faithfulness to God, the Commander of all, is rewarded even after death.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: m for in): qui m hac → qui in hac.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.25 (CSEL 19:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-25).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-25) · Report an error
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).
5.19.26CSEL 19:466
igitur dei cultus, quoniam militiae caelestis est, deuotionem maximam fidemque desiderat. quomodo enim deus aut amabit colentem, si ipse non ametur ab eo, aut praestabit precanti quidquid orauerit, cum ad precandum neque ex animo neque obseruanter accedat?
So the worship of God, since it is a heavenly military service, requires the greatest devotion and faithfulness. For how will God either love the worshipper if he is not loved by him, or grant the one who prays whatever he asks, when he comes to pray neither from the heart nor reverently?
Notes and citation
Summary: Worship of God requires devotion from the heart.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray dash): quoniam - militiae → quoniam militiae.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.26 (CSEL 19:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-26).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-26) · Report an error
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).
5.19.27CSEL 19:466
isti autem cum ad sacrificandum ueniunt, nihil intimum, nihil proprium diis suis offerunt, non integritatem mentis, non reuerentiam, non timorem. peractis itaque sacrificiis inanibus omnem religionem in templo et cum templo sicut inuenerant relincunt nihilque secum ex ea neque adferunt neque referunt.
But these people, when they come to sacrifice, offer their gods nothing inward, nothing of their own, no integrity of mind, no reverence, no fear. So when the empty sacrifices are finished, they leave all their religion in the temple and with the temple, just as they found it, and they bring nothing of it with them and take nothing away.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pagan worship is external and leaves no mark on life.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark): itaque • sacrificiis → itaque sacrificiis.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.27 (CSEL 19:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-27).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-27) · Report an error
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).
5.19.28CSEL 19:466
inde est quod eiusmodi religiones neque bonos facere possunt neque firmae atque inmutabiles esse. traducuntur itaque ab his homines facile, quia nihil ibi ad uitam, nihil ad sapientiam, nihil ad fidem discitur.
That is why religions of this kind can neither make people good nor be firm and unchangeable. So people are easily drawn away from them, because nothing is learned there for life, nothing for wisdom, nothing for faith.
Notes and citation
Summary: Such religions teach nothing for life.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.28 (CSEL 19:466; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-28).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-28) · Report an error
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).
5.19.29CSEL 19:466–467
quae est enim superstitio illorum deorum? quae uis? quae disciplina? quae origo? quae ratio? quod fundamentum? quae substantia? quo tendit aut quid pollicetur, ut ab homine possit fideliter seruari fortiterque defendi? in qua nihil aliut uideo quam ritum ad solos digitos pertinentem.
For what is the superstition of those gods? What is its power, its teaching, its origin, its principle, its foundation, its substance? Where does it tend, or what does it promise, that a person could faithfully keep it and bravely defend it? In it I see nothing but a rite that concerns the fingers alone.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pagan religion is mere ritual of the fingers.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.29 (CSEL 19:466–467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-29).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-29) · Report an error
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).
5.19.30CSEL 19:467
nostra uero religio eo firma est et solida et inmutabilis, quia iustitiam docet, quia nobiscum semper est, quia tota in animo colentis est, quia mentem ipsam pro sacrificio habet. illic nihil exigitur aliut quam sanguis pecudum et fumus et inepta libatio, hic bona mens, purum pectus, innocens uita; illuc ueniunt sine dilectu adulterae inpudicae, lenae procaces, obscenae meretrices, ueniunt gladiatores latrones fures uenefici et precantur nihil aliut quam ut scelera inpune committant.
But our religion is firm, solid, and unchangeable because it teaches justice, because it is always with us, because it is wholly in the heart of the worshipper, because it has the mind itself as its sacrifice. There nothing else is required but the blood of cattle, smoke, and silly libations; here a good mind, a pure heart, an innocent life. To those rites come without distinction adulteresses and unchaste women, brazen procuresses, obscene prostitutes; gladiators, robbers, thieves, and poisoners come, and pray for nothing else than to commit their crimes with impunity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christian worship is inward; pagan rites admit criminals praying for success.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.30 (CSEL 19:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-30).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-30) · Report an error
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).
5.19.31CSEL 19:467
quid enim latro sacrificans aut gladiator roget nisi ut occidant? quid uenenarius nisi ut fallat? quid meretrix nisi ut plurimum peccet? quid adultera nisi aut mortem uiri aut ut sua inpudicitia celetur? quid lena nisi ut multos bonis exuat? quid fur nisi ut plura conpilet?
For what would a robber or a gladiator ask when sacrificing but to kill? What a poisoner, but to deceive? What a prostitute, but to sin as much as possible? What an adulteress, but either her husband's death or that her unchastity be hidden? What a procuress, but to strip many of their goods? What a thief, but to pilfer more?
Notes and citation
Summary: Criminals pray for success in crime.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.31 (CSEL 19:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-31).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-31) · Report an error
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).
5.19.32CSEL 19:467
hic uero etiam leni communique peccato locus nullus est et si quis ad sacrificium non integra conscientia uenerit, audit quae illi deus comminetur, ille qui latebras cordis uidet, qui peccatis semper infestus est, qui exigit iustitiam, qui fidem poscit. quis hic malae menti aut malae preci locus est?
But here there is no room even for a light and common sin, and if anyone comes to the sacrifice without a sound conscience, he hears what God threatens him with, God who sees the hiding places of the heart, who is always hostile to sins, who demands justice and requires faithfulness. What room is there here for an evil mind or an evil prayer?
1 Cor 11:28 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christian worship demands a clean conscience before God who sees the heart.
- "The sacrifice" is Christian worship; compare 1 Cor 11:27–29 (echo).
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.32 (CSEL 19:467; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-32).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-32) · Report an error
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).
5.19.33CSEL 19:467–468
at illi infelices nec ex sceleribus suis intellegunt quam malum sit quod colunt, quandoquidem flagitiis omnibus inquinati ueniunt ad precandum et se pie sacrificasse opinantur, si cutem lauerint, tamquam libidines intra pectus inclusas ulli amnes abluant aut ulla maria purificent.
But those unhappy people do not understand even from their own crimes how evil is what they worship, since they come to pray defiled with every outrage and think they have sacrificed piously if they have washed their skin, as though any rivers could wash away or any seas purify the lusts shut up within the heart.
Notes and citation
Summary: Washing the skin cannot purify the heart.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.33 (CSEL 19:467–468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-33).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-33) · Report an error
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).
5.19.34CSEL 19:468
quanto satius est mentem potius eluere, quae malis cupiditatibus sordidatur, et uno uirtutis ac fidei lauacro uniuersa uitia depellere! quod qui fecerit, quamlibet inquinatum ac sordidum corpus gerat, satis purus est.
How much better to wash the mind, which is soiled by evil desires, and drive out all vices by the one washing of virtue and faith! Whoever does this, however defiled and dirty a body he bears, is pure enough.
Notes and citation
Summary: The true washing is of the mind by virtue and faith.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: n for u): elnere → eluere.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.19.34 (CSEL 19:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-19-34).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-19-34) · Report an error
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 20
5.20.1CSEL 19:468
Isti autem quia nesciunt uel quid uel quomodo sit colendum, caeci et inprudentes in contrarium cadunt. adorant itaque hostes suos, latrones et interfectores suos uictimis placant et animas suas cum ture ipso cremandas aris detestabilibus inponunt.
But because they do not know either what or how one should worship, they fall blindly and unwisely into the opposite. So they adore their enemies, appease their robbers and murderers with victims, and place their own souls on detestable altars to be burned together with the incense.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pagans worship demons who are their enemies.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.1 (CSEL 19:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-1).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-1) · Report an error
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).
5.20.2CSEL 19:468
irascuntur etiam miseri quod non simul et alii pereant, incredibili mentium caecitate. quid enim uideant qui solem non uident? quasi uero si dii essent, indigerent hominum auxilio aduersus contemptores suos. quid ergo nobis irascuntur, si illi nihil possunt? nisi quod ipsi deos suos destruunt, quorum potestate diffidunt, magis inreligiosi quam qui omnino non colunt.
The wretches are even angry that others do not perish along with them, with unbelievable blindness of mind. For what would they see who do not see the sun? As though, if they were gods, they would need human help against those who despise them! Why then are they angry with us, if those gods can do nothing? Unless it is that they themselves destroy their gods, whose power they distrust, being more irreligious than those who do not worship at all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Defending the gods by force shows distrust of their power.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.2 (CSEL 19:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-2).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-2) · Report an error
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).
5.20.3CSEL 19:468
Cicero in suis Legibus cum caste ad sacrificia praeciperet accedere, pietatem inquit adhibento, opes amouento. qui secus faxit, deus ipse uindex erit.
Cicero in his Laws, when directing that people approach sacrifices chastely, says: "Let them bring piety, let them put away wealth. Whoever does otherwise, God himself will be the avenger."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero: God himself avenges impiety.
- Cicero, On the Laws 2.19 and 2.25.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Leg. 2.19 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.3 (CSEL 19:468; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-3).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-3) · Report an error
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).
5.20.4CSEL 19:468–469
recte hoc quidem: neque enim fas est desperare de deo, quem ideo colas, quia potentem putes. nam quomodo uindicare iniuriam colentis potest, si suam non potest?
Rightly said: for it is wrong to despair of the God whom you worship precisely because you think him powerful. For how can he avenge the wrong done to his worshipper if he cannot avenge his own?
Notes and citation
Summary: A true God can avenge himself.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.4 (CSEL 19:468–469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-4).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-4) · Report an error
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).
5.20.5CSEL 19:469
libet igitur ex iis quaerere cui potissimum praestare se putent cogendo inuitos ad sacrificium. ipsisne quos cogunt? at non est beneficium quod ingeritur recusanti.
I would like to ask them, then, whom they think they chiefly benefit by forcing the unwilling to sacrifice. Those whom they force? But what is forced on someone who refuses is no benefit.
Notes and citation
Summary: Forced benefit is no benefit.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.5 (CSEL 19:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-5).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-5) · Report an error
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).
5.20.6CSEL 19:469
sed consulendum est etiam nolentibus, quando quid sit bonum nesciunt. cur ergo tam crudeliter uexant cruciant debilitant, si saluos uolunt? aut unde pietas tam impia, ut eos miseris modis aut perdant aut inutiles faciant quibus uelint esse consultum? an uero diis praestant?
"But one must look after people even against their will, since they do not know what is good." Why then do they harass, torture, and maim them so cruelly, if they want them safe? Or where does such impious piety come from, that they either ruin in wretched ways or make useless those whom they wish to help? Or do they benefit the gods?
Notes and citation
Summary: Torture cannot be for the victims' good.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.6 (CSEL 19:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-6).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-6) · Report an error
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).
5.20.7CSEL 19:469
at non est sacrificium quod exprimitur inuito. nisi enim sponte atque ex animo fiat, execratio est, cum homines proscriptione iniuriis carcere tormentis adacti faciunt.
But a sacrifice extorted from the unwilling is no sacrifice. For unless it is done freely and from the heart, it is a curse, when people do it driven by proscription, injuries, prison, and tortures.
Notes and citation
Summary: Forced sacrifice is a curse, not worship.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.7 (CSEL 19:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-7).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-7) · Report an error
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).
5.20.8CSEL 19:469
si dii sunt isti qui sic coluntur, uel propter hoc solum colendi non sunt, quod sic coli uolunt, digni scilicet detestatione hominum, quibus cum lacrimis, cum gemitu, cum sanguine de membris omnibus fluente libatur.
If those who are worshipped in this way are gods, they ought not to be worshipped for this reason alone, that they want to be worshipped so; they are surely worthy of human loathing, to whom libations are poured with tears, with groans, with blood flowing from every limb.
Notes and citation
Summary: Gods who want forced worship deserve loathing.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.8 (CSEL 19:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-8).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-8) · Report an error
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).
5.20.9CSEL 19:469
at nos contra non expetimus ut deum nostrum, qui est omnium uelint nolint, colat aliquis inuitus, nec si non coluerit, irascimur. confidimus enim maiestate eius, qui tam contemptum sui possit ulcisci quam etiam seruorum suorum labores et iniurias.
We, on the contrary, do not demand that anyone worship our God, who is God of all whether they will or not, against his will; nor are we angry if he does not worship. For we trust in the majesty of him who can avenge contempt of himself as well as the sufferings and injuries of his servants.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians compel no one, trusting God to avenge.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.9 (CSEL 19:469; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-9).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-9) · Report an error
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).
5.20.10CSEL 19:469–470
et ideo cum nefanda perpetimur, ne uerbo quidem reluctamur, sed deo remittimus ultionem, non ut ii faciunt qui defensores se deorum suorum uideri uolunt et saeuiunt efferate aduersus non colentes.
And so when we suffer abominable things, we do not resist even with a word, but leave vengeance to God; not as those do who want to be seen as defenders of their gods and rage savagely against those who do not worship.
Rom 12:19 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians leave vengeance to God.
Topics: Persecution, Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.10 (CSEL 19:469–470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-10).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-10) · Report an error
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).
5.20.11CSEL 19:470
ex quo intellegi datur quam non sit bonum deos colere, quoniam bono potius adducendi homines ad bonum fuerant, non malo: sed quia illut malum est, etiam officium eius bono caret.
From this it can be understood how far from good it is to worship the gods, since people ought to have been led to good by good, not by evil; but because that is evil, even its service lacks good.
Notes and citation
Summary: Coercion shows pagan worship is evil.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: i for x): ei quo → ex quo.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.11 (CSEL 19:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-11).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-11) · Report an error
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).
5.20.12CSEL 19:470
at enim puniendi sunt qui destruunt religiones. num peius nos destruimus quam natio Aegyptiorum, qui turpissimas bestiarum ac pecudum figuras colunt, quaedam etiam pudenda dictu tamquam deos adorant? num peius quam idem ipsi, qui cum deos colere se dicant, tamen eos publice turpiterque derident, de quibus etiam mimos agi cum risu et uoluptate patiuntur?
"But those who destroy religions must be punished." Do we destroy them worse than the nation of the Egyptians, who worship the most shameful shapes of beasts and cattle, and even adore as gods some things shameful to mention? Worse than those very people who, though they say they worship the gods, still mock them publicly and shamefully, and allow mimes about them to be acted with laughter and pleasure?
Notes and citation
Summary: Egyptians and theater-goers insult the gods more than Christians do.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.12 (CSEL 19:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-12).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-12) · Report an error
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).
5.20.13CSEL 19:470
qualis haec religio aut quanta maiestas putanda est quae adoratur in templis, inluditur in theatris? et qui haec fecerint, non poenas uiolati numinis pendunt, sed honorati etiam laudatique discedunt.
What kind of religion, what majesty, should be thought of that which is adored in temples and mocked in theaters? And those who have done these things do not pay the penalty for outraging divinity, but even go away honored and praised.
Notes and citation
Summary: Gods adored in temples are mocked in theaters.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.13 (CSEL 19:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-13).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-13) · Report an error
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).
5.20.14CSEL 19:470
num peius nos destruimus quam quidam philosophi, qui omnino nullos esse deos aiunt, sed omnia sua sponte nata, omnia fortuito fieri quae geruntur? num peius quam Epicurei, qui esse quidem deos, sed curare quicquam negant, neque irasci eos neque gratia commoueri?
Do we destroy them worse than certain philosophers, who say there are no gods at all, but that everything was born of itself and everything that happens happens by chance? Worse than the Epicureans, who say that gods exist but deny that they care for anything, or are angered or moved by favor?
Notes and citation
Summary: Philosophers who deny the gods are tolerated.
Extrabiblical texts: Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.14 (CSEL 19:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-14).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-14) · Report an error
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).
5.20.15CSEL 19:470
quibus dictis utique persuadent colendos omnino non esse, siquidem nec colentes respiciunt neque non colentibus irascuntur. praeterea cum contra metus disserunt, nihil aliut efficere conantur quam ut nemo deos timeat. et haec tamen ab hominibus et audiuntur libenter et disseruntur inpune.
By these sayings they certainly persuade people that the gods need not be worshipped at all, since they neither regard those who worship nor are angry with those who do not. Moreover, when they argue against fear, they try to do nothing else than make sure no one fears the gods. And yet people listen to these things gladly and they are argued with impunity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurean teaching is heard freely while Christians are punished.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.20.15 (CSEL 19:470; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-17-1/#p-5-20-15).
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-lactantius-institutes-5-20-15) · Report an error
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).