On the Anger of God 14.1–22.8
Latin text: CSEL 27.1 (Latin text: S. Brandt and G. Laubmann (CSEL 27.1, 1893), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7 (1886).
Chapter 14
14.1CSEL 27.1:104
Sequitur ut ostendam cur fecerit hominem ipsum deus. sicut mundum propter hominem machinatus est, ita ipsum propter se tamquam diuini templi antistitem. spectatorem operum rerumque caelestium.
It follows that I should show why God made man himself. Just as he contrived the world for man's sake, so he made man himself for his own sake, as the priest of a divine temple, the spectator of his works and of heavenly things.
Notes and citation
Summary: God made the world for man, and man for himself, as priest of his temple and beholder of his works.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 14.1 (CSEL 27.1:104; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-14-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
14.2CSEL 27.1:104–105
solus est enim qui sentiens capaxque rationis intellegere possit deum, qui opera eius admirari, uirtutem potestatemque perspicere: idcirco enim consilio mente prudentia instructus est, ideo solus praeter ceteras animantes recto corpore ac statu fictus est, ut ad contemplationem parentis sui excitatus esse uideatur, ideo sermonem solus accepit ac linguam cogitationis interpretem, ut enarrare maiestatem domini sui possit, postremo idcirco ei cuncta subiecta sunt, ut fictori atque artifici deo esset ipse subiectus.
For he alone, being sentient and capable of reason, can understand God, admire his works, and perceive his virtue and power. For this reason he was furnished with counsel, mind, and prudence; for this reason he alone, beyond the other living creatures, was formed with an upright body and stance, so that he might seem roused to the contemplation of his parent; for this reason he alone received speech and a tongue, the interpreter of thought, so that he might tell the majesty of his Lord; finally, for this reason all things were made subject to him, so that he himself might be subject to God, his maker and craftsman.
Ps 8:6 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Man alone was given reason, upright stature, and speech so that he might know, contemplate, and praise God, and all things were subject to him so that he would be subject to God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 14.2 (CSEL 27.1:104–105; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-14-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
14.3CSEL 27.1:105
si ergo deus hominem suum uoluit esse cultorem ideoque illi tantum honoris attribuit, ut rerum omnium dominaretur, utique iustissimum est et deum qui tanta praestiterit amare et hominem qui sit nobiscum diuini iuris societate coniunctus. nec enim fas est cultorem dei a dei cultore uiolari.
If, then, God willed man to be his worshiper, and for that reason gave him so much honor that he should rule over all things, then certainly it is most just both to love God, who has bestowed such great things, and to love man, who is joined with us in the fellowship of divine law. For it is not right that a worshiper of God should be harmed by a worshiper of God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since God made man his worshiper and lord of creation, we must love God and also our fellow man.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 14.3 (CSEL 27.1:105; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-14-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
14.4CSEL 27.1:105
unde intellegimus religionis ac iustitiae causa esse hominem figuratum. cuius rei testis est Marcus Tullius in libris De legibus ita dicens: sed omnium quae in doctorum hominum disputatione uersantur, nihil est profecto praestabilius quam plane intellegi nos ad iustitiam esse natos.
From this we understand that man was fashioned for the sake of religion and righteousness. Marcus Tullius is a witness to this in the books On the Laws, where he says: “But of all the things discussed by learned men, nothing is surely more excellent than to understand plainly that we are born for righteousness.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Man was made for religion and righteousness, as Cicero says: we are born for justice.
- Cicero, Leg. 1.28.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Leg. 1.28 (Cicero; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 14.4 (CSEL 27.1:105; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-14-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
14.5CSEL 27.1:105
quod si est uerissimum, deus ergo uult omnes homines esse iustos id est deum et hominem caros habere, deum scilicet honorare tamquam patrem, hominem diligere uelut fratrem; in his enim duobus tota iustitia consistit.
And if this is most true, then God wills all men to be righteous, that is, to hold God and man dear: namely, to honor God as a father and to love man as a brother; for in these two the whole of righteousness consists.
Matt 22:37 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 22:39 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 22:40 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God wills everyone to honor him as Father and love others as brothers; in these two lies all righteousness.
- Compare the two great commandments, Matt 22:37–40.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 14.5 (CSEL 27.1:105; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-14-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
14.6CSEL 27.1:105–106
qui ergo aut deum non agnoscit aut homini nocet, iniuste et contra naturam suam uiuit et hoc modo inrumpit institutum legemque diuinam.
Whoever, then, either does not acknowledge God or harms a man lives unrighteously and against his own nature, and in this way breaks through the divine ordinance and law.
Notes and citation
Summary: Whoever ignores God or harms others breaks the divine law and his own nature.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 14.6 (CSEL 27.1:105–106; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-14-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 15
15.1CSEL 27.1:106
Hic fortasse quaerat aliquis unde ad hominem peccata peruenerint aut quae prauitas diuini instituti regulam ad peiora detorserit, ut cum sit ad iustitiam genitus, opera tamen efficiat iniusta.
Here perhaps someone may ask where sins came to man from, or what perversity twisted the rule of the divine ordinance toward worse things, so that, though he was born for righteousness, he nevertheless does unrighteous works.
Notes and citation
Summary: Why, if man was made for righteousness, does he sin?
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.1 (CSEL 27.1:106; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.2CSEL 27.1:106
iam superius explicaui simul deum proposuisse bonum ac malum et bonum quidem diligere, malum autem quod bono repugnat odisse, sed ideo malum permisisse, ut et bonum emicaret, quod alterum sine altero, sicut saepe docui, intellegimus constare non posse: denique ipsum mundum ex duobus elementis repugnantibus et inuicem copulatis esse concretum, igneo et umido, nec potuisse lucem fieri. nisi et tenebrae fuissent, quia nec superum esse potest sine infero nec oriens sine occidente nec calidum sine frigido nec molle sine duro.
I have already explained above that God set forth good and evil at the same time, and that he loves the good but hates the evil, which is opposed to the good; but that he permitted evil for this reason, that the good too might shine out, since, as I have often taught, we understand that the one cannot exist without the other. Indeed, the world itself was compacted from two elements opposed and joined to each other, the fiery and the moist; nor could light have been made unless there had also been darkness, because there can be no above without a below, no east without a west, no hot without cold, no soft without hard.
Gen 1:4 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God permits evil so that good may shine, since opposites define each other, as the world itself is made of opposites.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.2 (CSEL 27.1:106; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.3CSEL 27.1:106
sic et nos ex duobus aeque repugnantibus conpacti sumus, anima et corpore, quorum alterum caelo adscribitur, quia. tenue est. et intractabile, alterum terrae, quia conprehensibile est: alterum solidum est et aeternum, alterum fragile atque mortale. ergo alteri bonum adhaeret, alteri malum, alteri lux uita iustitia. alteri tenebrae mors iniustitia.
So we too are compacted of two things equally opposed, soul and body, of which the one is assigned to heaven, because it is fine and cannot be handled, the other to earth, because it can be grasped; the one is solid and eternal, the other fragile and mortal. Therefore good clings to the one, evil to the other; to the one light, life, righteousness; to the other darkness, death, unrighteousness.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man is made of opposing soul and body: the soul heavenly, eternal, and good; the body earthly, mortal, and inclined to evil.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.3 (CSEL 27.1:106; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.4CSEL 27.1:106
hinc extitit in hominibus naturae suae deprauatio, ut esset necesse constitui legem qua possent et uitia prohiberi et uirtutis officia imperari.
From this there arose in men a depravation of their nature, so that it was necessary that a law be established by which vices might be forbidden and the duties of virtue commanded.
Notes and citation
Summary: Because human nature became corrupt, a law was needed to forbid vice and command virtue.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.4 (CSEL 27.1:106; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.5CSEL 27.1:106–107
cum igitur sint in rebus humanis bona et mala, quorum rationem declaraui, necesse est in utramque partem moueri deum, et ad gratiam, cum iusta fieri uidet, et ad iram, cum cernit iniusta.
Since, then, there are goods and evils in human affairs, whose reason I have declared, God must be moved in both directions: to favor, when he sees righteous things done, and to anger, when he sees unrighteous things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since there are good and evil deeds, God must respond with favor to the one and anger to the other.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.5 (CSEL 27.1:106–107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.6CSEL 27.1:107
sed occurrit nobis Epicurus ac dicit: si est in deo laetitiae adfectus ad gratiam et odii. ad iram, necesse est habeat et timorem et libidinem et cupiditatem ceterosque adfectus, qui sunt inbecillitatis humanae.
But Epicurus meets us and says: “If there is in God the emotion of joy, leading to favor, and of hatred, leading to anger, he must also have fear and lust and desire and the other emotions, which belong to human weakness.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurus objects that a God with joy and anger must also have fear, lust, and every other human weakness.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray line number in the digital text): et 5 libidinem → et libidinem.
Extrabiblical texts: Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.6 (CSEL 27.1:107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.7CSEL 27.1:107
non est necesse ut timeat qui irascitur aut maereat qui gaudet: denique iracundi minus timidi sunt et natura laeti minus maerent. quid opus est de humanis adfectibus dicere, quibus fragilitas nostra succumbit? consideremus diuinam necessitatem, nolo enim naturam dicere, quia deus numquam creditur natus.
It is not necessary that one who is angry should fear, or that one who rejoices should grieve; indeed, the irascible are less fearful, and those joyful by nature grieve less. What need is there to speak of human emotions, to which our frailty succumbs? Let us consider the divine necessity; for I do not wish to say “nature,” since God is never believed to have been born.
Notes and citation
Summary: Anger does not imply fear, nor joy grief; and God's condition must be considered, not a "nature," since he was never born.
- Lactantius plays on natura and nasci ("to be born").
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.7 (CSEL 27.1:107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.8CSEL 27.1:107
timoris adfectus habet in homine materiam, in deo non habet. homo quia multis casibus periculisque subiectus est, metuit ne qua uis maior existat quae illum uerberet spoliet laceret adfligat interimat, deus autem, in quem nec egestas nec iniuria nec dolor nec mors cadit, timere nullo pacto potest, quia nihil est quod ei uim possit adferre.
The emotion of fear has material in man, but in God it has none. Man, because he is subject to many accidents and dangers, fears lest some greater force arise that may beat, rob, tear, afflict, or kill him; but God, upon whom neither want nor injury nor pain nor death can fall, can in no way fear, because there is nothing that can do him violence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man fears because he can be harmed; God cannot be harmed and so cannot fear.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.8 (CSEL 27.1:107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.9CSEL 27.1:107
item libidinis ratio et causa in homine manifesta est. nam quia fragilis ac mortalis effectus est, necessarium fuit alterum sexum diuersumque constitui cuius se permixtione suboles effici posset ad continuandam generis perpetuitatem.
Likewise the reason and cause of lust in man is plain. For because he was made fragile and mortal, it was necessary that another and different sex be established, by mingling with which offspring might be produced to continue the perpetuity of the race.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sexual desire exists in man because, being mortal, he needs another sex to continue the race.
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.9 (CSEL 27.1:107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.10CSEL 27.1:107
haec autem libido in deo locum non habet, quia et fragilitas et interitus ab eo alienus est, nec ulla est apud eum femina cuius possit copulatione gaudere, nec successione indiget qui semper futurus est.
But this lust has no place in God, because both frailty and death are foreign to him; nor is there any female with him in union with whom he could delight; nor does he who will always be need a successor.
Notes and citation
Summary: God, immortal and alone, has no need of sexual desire or offspring.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.10 (CSEL 27.1:107; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.11CSEL 27.1:107–108
eadem de inuidia et cupiditate dici possunt: quae certis manifestisque de causis in hominem cadunt, in deum nullo modo.
The same can be said of envy and desire: they fall upon man for fixed and plain reasons, upon God in no way.
Notes and citation
Summary: Likewise envy and greed belong to man, not God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.11 (CSEL 27.1:107–108; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
15.12CSEL 27.1:108
at uero et gratia et ira et miseratio habent in deo materiam recteque illis utitur summa illa et singularis potestas ad rerum conseruationem.
But favor and anger and pity do have material in God, and that supreme and unique power rightly uses them for the preservation of things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Favor, anger, and pity, however, rightly belong to God, who uses them to preserve the world.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 15.12 (CSEL 27.1:108; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-15-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 16
16.1CSEL 27.1:108
Quaeret quispiam quae sit ista materia. primum accidentibus malis adflicti homines ad deum plerumque confugiunt mitigant obsecrant credentes eum posse ab iis iniurias propulsare. habet igitur deus causam miserandi: nec enim tam inmitis est hominumque contemptor, ut auxilium laborantibus deneget.
Someone will ask what that material is. First, men afflicted by misfortunes usually flee to God, appease him, and implore him, believing that he can ward off injuries from them. God therefore has cause for pity; for he is not so harsh and contemptuous of men as to deny help to those in distress.
Notes and citation
Summary: Men in trouble appeal to God, so God has reason for pity and helps them.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.1 (CSEL 27.1:108; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.2CSEL 27.1:108
item plurimi quibus persuasum est deo placere iustitiam eumque, quia sit dominus ac parens omnium, uenerantur. ei precibus adsiduis ac frequentibus uotis dona et sacrificia offerunt, nomen eius laudibus prosecuntur, iustis ac bonis operibus demereri eum laborant. est ergo propter quod deus et possit et debeat gratificari.
Likewise very many, persuaded that righteousness pleases God, venerate him as Lord and parent of all; they offer him gifts and sacrifices with constant prayers and frequent vows, pursue his name with praises, and labor to win his favor by righteous and good works. There is, then, a reason why God both can and should show favor.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many worship and serve God with prayer and good works, so he has reason to show favor.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.2 (CSEL 27.1:108; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.3CSEL 27.1:108
nam si nihil est tam conueniens deo quam beneficentia, nihil autem tam alienum quam ut sit ingratus, necesse est ut officiis optimorum sancteque uiuentium praestet aliquid ac uicem reddat, ne subeat ingrati culpam, quae est etiam homini criminosa.
For if nothing is so fitting for God as beneficence, and nothing so foreign to him as being ungrateful, he must bestow something on the services of the best and of those who live holily, and make a return, lest he incur the charge of ingratitude, which is blameworthy even in a man.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since God is beneficent and not ungrateful, he must reward those who live holily.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.3 (CSEL 27.1:108; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.4CSEL 27.1:108
contra autem sunt alii facinerosi ac nefarii qui omnia libidinibus polluant, caedibus uexent, fraudent rapiant periurent, nec consanguineis nec parentibus parcant, leges et ipsum etiam deum neglegant.
On the other hand there are others, criminal and wicked, who pollute everything with their lusts, harass it with murders, defraud, rob, perjure themselves, spare neither kin nor parents, and neglect the laws and even God himself.
Notes and citation
Summary: Others are criminals who commit every crime and despise the law and God.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.4 (CSEL 27.1:108; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.5CSEL 27.1:108–109
habet igitur in deo ira materiam. non est enim fas eum, cum talia fieri uideat, non moueri et insurgere ad ultionem sceleratorum et pestiferos nocentesque delere, ut bonis omnibus consulat: adeo et in ipsa ira inest gratificatio.
Anger, therefore, has material in God. For it is not right that, when he sees such things done, he should not be moved and rise up to punish the wicked and destroy the pestilent and guilty, so as to provide for all the good: so there is kindness even in anger itself.
Notes and citation
Summary: God must be angered by the wicked and punish them to protect the good; his anger is itself a kindness.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.5 (CSEL 27.1:108–109; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.6CSEL 27.1:109
inania ergo reperiuntur argumenta uel eorum qui cum irasci deum nolunt, gratificari uolunt, quia ne hoc quidem fieri sine ira potest, uel eorum qui nullum animi motum esse in deo putant.
Empty, then, are found the arguments both of those who, while unwilling that God be angry, want him to show favor, since not even this can happen without anger, and of those who think there is no motion of the mind in God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Both those who allow God favor but not anger, and those who deny him any emotion, are wrong.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.6 (CSEL 27.1:109; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.7CSEL 27.1:109
et quia sunt aliqui adfectus qui non cadunt in deum, ut libido timor auaritia maeror inuidia, omni prorsus adfectu eum uacare dixerunt. his enim uacat, quia uitiorum adfectus sunt, eos autem qui sunt uirtutis, id est ira in malos, caritas in bonos, miseratio in adflictos, quoniam diuina potestate sunt digna, proprios et iustos et ueros habet.
And because there are some emotions that do not befall God, such as lust, fear, avarice, grief, and envy, they have said that he is wholly free of every emotion. He is indeed free of these, because they are emotions of vices; but those that belong to virtue, that is, anger toward the wicked, love toward the good, pity toward the afflicted, since they are worthy of divine power, he has as his own, just and true.
Notes and citation
Summary: God lacks the emotions of vice, such as lust and envy, but truly has those of virtue: anger at the wicked, love for the good, pity for the afflicted.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.7 (CSEL 27.1:109; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.8CSEL 27.1:109
quae profecto nisi habeat, humana uita turbabitur atque ad tantam confusionem deueniet status rerum, ut contemptis superatisque legibus sola regnet audacia, ut nemo denique tutus esse possit nisi qui uiribus praeualeat: ita quasi communi latrocinio terra omnis depopulabitur. nunc uero quoniam et mali poenam et boni gratiam et adflicti opem sperant, et uirtutibus locus est et scelera rariora sunt.
And if he did not have them, human life would be thrown into disorder, and the state of things would come to such confusion that, the laws being despised and overcome, audacity alone would reign, and no one in short could be safe except one who prevailed by strength: so the whole earth would be laid waste as by a common robbery. But now, since the wicked expect punishment, the good favor, and the afflicted help, there is room for virtues and crimes are rarer.
Notes and citation
Summary: Without God's anger and favor, the world would fall into lawless violence; because people expect judgment, virtue thrives and crime is rarer.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.8 (CSEL 27.1:109; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
16.9CSEL 27.1:109–110
at enim plerumque et scelerati feliciores sunt et boni miseriores et iusti ab iniustis inpune uexantur. considerabimus postea cur ista fiant: interim de ira explicemus, an sit aliqua in deo, utrum nihil curet omnino nec moueatur ad ea quae inpie geruntur.
“But the wicked are often happier and the good more wretched, and the righteous are harassed with impunity by the unrighteous.” We shall consider later why these things happen; meanwhile let us explain about anger, whether there is any in God, or whether he cares for nothing at all and is not moved by what is done impiously.
Ps 73:3 (72:3 Vulg.) (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Why the wicked often prosper will be considered later; first, whether God is angered by wickedness.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 16.9 (CSEL 27.1:109–110; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-16-9).
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Chapter 17
17.1CSEL 27.1:110
Deus inquit Epicurus nihil curat. nullam igitur habet potestatem — curare enim necesse est eum qui habeat, uel si habet et non utitur, quae tanta neglegentiae causa est ut ei non dicam nostrum genus, sed etiam mundus ipse sit uilis?
“God,” says Epicurus, “cares for nothing.” Then he has no power; for one who has power must care. Or, if he has it and does not use it, what great cause of negligence is there, that not only our race, I will not say, but even the world itself is worthless to him?
Notes and citation
Summary: If God cares for nothing, either he has no power or he despises the world he made.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words run together in the digital text): habeatuel → habeat, uel.
Extrabiblical texts: Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.1 (CSEL 27.1:110; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.2CSEL 27.1:110
ideo inquit incorruptus est ac beatus, quia semper quietus. cui ergo administratio tantarum rerum cessit, si haec a deo neglegantur quae uidemus ratione summa gubernari? aut quietus esse quomodo potest qui uiuit ac sentit? nam quies aut somni res est aut mortis.
“For this reason,” he says, “he is incorrupt and blessed, because he is always at rest.” To whom, then, has the administration of such great things fallen, if these things which we see governed with the highest reason are neglected by God? Or how can one who lives and perceives be at rest? For rest belongs either to sleep or to death.
Notes and citation
Summary: If God is always at rest, who governs the world? And a living being can only rest in sleep or death.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.2 (CSEL 27.1:110; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.3CSEL 27.1:110
sed nec somnus habet quietem. nam cum soporati sumus, corpus quidem quiescit, animus tamen inrequietus agitatur; imagines sibi quas cernat adfingit, ut naturalem suum motum exerceat uarietate uisorum, auocatque se falsis, dum membra saturentur ac uigorem capiant de quiete.
But not even sleep has rest. For when we are asleep, the body indeed rests, but the mind is restlessly active; it forms images for itself to behold, so as to exercise its natural motion by the variety of what it sees, and distracts itself with false things while the limbs are refreshed and take strength from rest.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even in sleep the mind is active, dreaming while the body rests.
- Compare Lactantius, Opif. 18.4–8.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.3 (CSEL 27.1:110; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.4CSEL 27.1:110
quies igitur sempiterna solius mortis est. si autem mors deum non attingit, deus igitur numquam quietus est. dei uero actio quae potest esse nisi mundi administratio? si uero mundi curam gerit, curat igitur hominum uitam deus et singulorum actus animaduertit eosque sapientes ac bonos esse desiderat.
Everlasting rest, therefore, belongs to death alone. But if death does not touch God, then God is never at rest. And what can God's activity be but the administration of the world? But if he takes care of the world, then God cares for the life of men and notices the acts of each, and desires them to be wise and good.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only death is endless rest; the living God is ever active in governing the world and watches over each person's deeds.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.4 (CSEL 27.1:110; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.5CSEL 27.1:110
haec est uoluntas dei, haec diuina lex: quam qui sequitur. qui obseruat, deo carus est. necesse est igitur ut ira moueatur deus aduersus eum qui hanc aeternam diuinamque legem aut uiolauerit aut spreuerit.
This is the will of God, this the divine law: whoever follows and keeps it is dear to God. It is necessary, therefore, that God be moved to anger against one who has either violated or despised this eternal and divine law.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's will is his law; those who keep it are dear to him, and he must be angry with those who violate it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.5 (CSEL 27.1:110; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.6CSEL 27.1:110–111
si nocet inquit alicui deus, iam bonus non est. non exiguo falluntur errore qui censuram siue humanam siue diuinam acerbitatis et malitiae nomine infamant putantes nocentem dici oportere qui nocentes adficit poena. quod si est, nocentes igitur leges habemus quae peccantibus supplicia sanxerunt, nocentes iudices qui scelere conuictos poena capitis adficiunt.
“If God harms anyone,” he says, “he is no longer good.” Those are in no small error who defame judgment, whether human or divine, with the name of harshness and malice, thinking that one who inflicts punishment on the guilty should be called harmful. If that is so, then we have harmful laws, which have decreed punishments for wrongdoers, and harmful judges, who inflict capital punishment on those convicted of crime.
Notes and citation
Summary: To call punishment harm would make just laws and judges harmful too.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.6 (CSEL 27.1:110–111; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.7CSEL 27.1:111
quod si et lex iusta est, quae [et] nocenti retribuit quod meretur, et iudex integer ac bonus dicitur, cum male facta uindicat — bonorum enim salutem custodit qui malos punit —, ergo et deus cum malis obest, nocens non est, is est autem nocens qui aut innocenti nocet aut nocenti parcit, ut pluribus noceat.
But if the law is just which pays back to the guilty what he deserves, and the judge is called upright and good when he punishes evil deeds (for he who punishes the wicked guards the safety of the good), then God too, when he opposes the wicked, is not harmful. He is harmful, rather, who either harms the innocent or spares the guilty, so as to harm more people.
Notes and citation
Summary: Just punishment protects the good; the one who truly harms is he who harms the innocent or spares the guilty.
- The edition's square brackets around et mark a deletion; the word is left out.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (bracket and letters misread in the digital text): [etj nocenti retnbuit → [et] nocenti retribuit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.7 (CSEL 27.1:111; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.8CSEL 27.1:111
libet quaerere ab iis qui deum faciunt inmobilem, si quis habeat rem domum familiam seruique eius contemnentes patientiam domini omnia eius inuaserint, ipsi bonis eius fruantur, ipsos familia eius honoret, dominus autem contemnatur ab omnibus, derideatur, relinquatur, utrumne sapiens esse possit qui contumelias non uindicet suisque rebus eos frui patiatur in quos habeat potestatem? quae tanta in quoquam potest patientia reperiri? si tamen patientia nominanda est et non stupor quidam insensibilis.
I should like to ask those who make God immovable: if someone had property, a house, a household, and his slaves, despising their master's patience, had seized everything, enjoyed his goods themselves, were honored by his household, while the master was despised, mocked, and abandoned by all, could he be wise who did not avenge the insults and let those over whom he had power enjoy his goods? What patience so great could be found in anyone? If indeed it should be called patience and not a kind of senseless stupor.
Notes and citation
Summary: A master who let rebellious slaves seize his goods unpunished would not be wise or patient, but senseless.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.8 (CSEL 27.1:111; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.9CSEL 27.1:111–112
sed facile est ferre contemptum. quid si fiant illa quae a Cicerone dicuntur? etenim quaero si quis pater familias liberis suis a seruo interfectis. uxore occisa, incensa domo, supplicium de seruo non quam acerrimum sumpserit, utrum is clemens ac misericors an inhumanus et crudelissimus esse uideatur.
But it is easy to bear contempt. What if those things were done which Cicero speaks of? “For I ask, if a father of a family, when his children had been killed by a slave, his wife slain, and his house burned, did not inflict the harshest punishment on the slave, would he seem merciful and compassionate, or inhuman and most cruel?”
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero asks whether a father who spared a slave who murdered his family and burned his house would be merciful or monstrous.
- Cicero, Cat. 4.12.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Cat. 4.12 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.9 (CSEL 27.1:111–112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.10CSEL 27.1:112
quod si eiusmodi facinoribus ignoscere crudelitatis est potius quam pietatis, non est ergo uirtutis in deo ad ea quae iniuste fiunt non commoueri.
And if to pardon crimes of this kind belongs to cruelty rather than to kindness, then it is not a mark of virtue in God not to be moved by things done unjustly.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pardoning such crimes is cruelty; so God's virtue requires that injustice move him.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.10 (CSEL 27.1:112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.11CSEL 27.1:112
nam mundus tamquam dei domus est et homines tamquam serui: quibus si ludibrio sit nomen eius, qualis aut quanta patientia est ut honoribus suis cedat, praua et iniqua fieri uideat et non indignetur? quod proprium et naturale est ei cui peccata non placeant.
For the world is, as it were, God's house, and men, as it were, his slaves; if his name is a mockery to them, what kind or how great a patience is it that he should give up his honors, see wicked and unjust things done, and not be indignant? This is proper and natural to one who is not pleased by sins.
Notes and citation
Summary: The world is God's house and men his servants; he must be indignant when they mock his name and do evil.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.11 (CSEL 27.1:112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.12CSEL 27.1:112
irasci ergo rationis est: auferuntur enim delicta et refrenatur licentia, quod utique iuste sapienterque fit. sed Stoici non uiderunt esse discrimen recti et praui, esse iram iustam, esse et iniustam, et quia medellam rei non inueniebant, uoluerunt eam penitus excidere. Peripatetici uero non excidendam, sed temperandam esse dixerunt: quibus in sexto libro Institutionum satis respondimus.
To be angry, then, belongs to reason: for offenses are removed and license is restrained, which is certainly done justly and wisely. But the Stoics did not see that there is a distinction between right and wrong, that there is a just anger and also an unjust one; and because they found no remedy for the thing, they wished to cut it out entirely. The Peripatetics said it should not be cut out but moderated; we have answered them sufficiently in the sixth book of the Institutes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Anger can be reasonable; the Stoics wrongly wished to root it out, the Peripatetics only to moderate it.
- Lactantius, Inst. 6.15–17.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.12 (CSEL 27.1:112; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.13CSEL 27.1:112–113
nescisse autem philosophos quae ratio esset irae, apparet ex finitionibus eorum quas Seneca enumerauit in libris quos De ira conposuit. ira est inquit cupiditas ulciscendae iniuriae aut ut ait Posidonius, cupiditas puniendi eius a quo te inique putes laesum. quidam ita finierunt: ira est incitatio animi ad nocendum ei qui aut nocuit aut nocere uoluit. Aristotelis definitio non multum a nostra abest. ait enim iram esse cupiditatem doloris reponendi.
That the philosophers did not know what the principle of anger is appears from their definitions, which Seneca listed in the books he composed On Anger. “Anger,” he says, “is the desire to avenge an injury”; or, as Posidonius says, “the desire to punish one by whom you think you have been unjustly harmed.” Some have defined it thus: “Anger is an incitement of the mind to harm one who has either harmed or wished to harm.” Aristotle's definition is not far from ours; for he says that anger is the desire to repay pain.
Notes and citation
Summary: The philosophers' definitions of anger, collected by Seneca, all describe it as a desire for revenge.
- The definitions are from a lost part of Seneca, De ira (compare 1.2.3–1.3.3); Aristotle, De an. 1.1 (403a30).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen and stray period in the digital text): repo-. nendi → reponendi.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristotle, De an. 1.1 (Aristotle (works); allusion); Seneca, Ira (Seneca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.13 (CSEL 27.1:112–113; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.14CSEL 27.1:113
haec est ira de qua superius diximus iniusta, quae etiam mutis inest, in homine uero cohibenda est, ne ad aliquod maximum malum prosiliat per furorem. haec in deo esse non potest, quia inlaesibilis est, in homine autem, quia fragilis est, inuenitur. inurit enim laesio dolorem et dolor facit ultionis cupiditatem.
This is the unjust anger of which we spoke above, which is present even in the dumb animals, but in man must be restrained, lest it leap through madness into some very great evil. This cannot be in God, because he cannot be harmed; but it is found in man, because he is frail. For injury burns in pain, and pain produces the desire for revenge.
Notes and citation
Summary: Vengeful anger comes from injury and pain; it is found in frail man, not in God, who cannot be hurt.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.14 (CSEL 27.1:113; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.15CSEL 27.1:113
ubi est ergo ira illa iusta qua mouentur aduersum delinquentes? quae utique non est cupiditas ultionis, quia non praecedit iniuria.
Where, then, is that just anger by which people are moved against wrongdoers? It is certainly not a desire for revenge, since no injury precedes it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Just anger is not a desire for revenge, since it does not arise from personal injury.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.15 (CSEL 27.1:113; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.16CSEL 27.1:113–114
non dico de iis qui aduersum leges peccant, quibus etsi iudex sine crimine irasci potest, fingamus tamen eum sedato animo esse debere, cum subicit poenae nocentem, quia legum sit minister, non animi aut potestatis suae; sic enim uolunt, qui iram conantur euellere. sed de iis potissimum dico qui sunt nostrae potestatis, ut serui, ut liberi, ut coniuges, ut discipuli: quos cum delinquere uidemus, incitamur ad coercendum.
I am not speaking of those who sin against the laws; although a judge may be angry with them without blame, let us suppose that he ought to be of calm mind when he subjects the guilty to punishment, because he is the minister of the laws, not of his own feeling or power; for so those wish who try to root out anger. But I speak especially of those who are in our power, such as slaves, children, wives, and pupils: when we see them do wrong, we are roused to restrain them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Leaving judges aside, we are rightly roused to correct those under our authority when they do wrong.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (letters misread in the digital text): de ns qui → de iis qui.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.16 (CSEL 27.1:113–114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.17CSEL 27.1:114
necesse est enim bono ac iusto displicere quae praua sunt, et cui malum displicet, mouetur, cum id fieri uidet. ergo surgimus ad uindictam non quia laesi sumus, sed ut disciplina seruetur.
For what is wicked must displease one who is good and just; and one to whom evil is displeasing is moved when he sees it done. So we rise to punish, not because we have been harmed, but so that discipline may be kept,
Notes and citation
Summary: The good man is displeased by evil and rises to correct it, not for his own sake but to keep discipline,
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.17 (CSEL 27.1:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.18CSEL 27.1:114
mores corrigantur, licentia conprimatur. haec est ira iusta: quae sicut in homine necessaria est ad prauitatis correctionem, sic utique in deo, a quo ad hominem peruenit exemplum.
morals corrected, and license suppressed. This is just anger: which, as it is necessary in man for the correction of wickedness, so certainly in God, from whom the example came to man.
Notes and citation
Summary: correct behavior, and curb license; this just anger exists in God, from whom man learned it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.18 (CSEL 27.1:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.19CSEL 27.1:114
nam sicuti nos potestati nostrae subiectos coercere debemus, ita etiam deus peccata uniuersorum debet coercere. quod ut faciat, irascatur necesse est, quia naturale est bono ad alterius peccatum moueri et incitari.
For just as we ought to restrain those subject to our power, so God too ought to restrain the sins of all. And to do this he must be angry, because it is natural for one who is good to be moved and stirred by another's sin.
Notes and citation
Summary: As we correct those in our charge, God must restrain the sins of all, and so must be angry.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.19 (CSEL 27.1:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.20CSEL 27.1:114
ergo ita definire debuerunt: ira est motus animi ad coercenda peccata insurgentis. nam definitio Ciceronis ira est libido ulciscendi non multum a superioribus distat.
They ought, therefore, to have defined it thus: anger is a motion of the mind rising up to restrain sins. For Cicero's definition, “anger is a lust for revenge,” is not much different from the earlier ones.
Notes and citation
Summary: Anger should be defined as the mind's movement to restrain sin, not, as Cicero put it, lust for revenge.
- Cicero, Tusc. 4.21.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Tusc. 4.21 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.20 (CSEL 27.1:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
17.21CSEL 27.1:114
ira autem quam possumus uel furorem uel iracundiam nominare, haec ne in homine quidem debet esse, quia tota uitiosa est, ira uero quae ad correctionem uitiorum pertinet, nec homini adimi debet nec deo potest. quia et utilis est rebus humanis et necessaria.
But that anger which we can call either fury or irascibility ought not to be even in man, because it is wholly vicious; but the anger that belongs to the correction of vices ought not to be taken from man, and cannot be taken from God, because it is both useful and necessary to human affairs.
Notes and citation
Summary: Furious anger is wholly vicious, but corrective anger is useful and necessary, for man and God alike.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 17.21 (CSEL 27.1:114; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-17-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 18
18.1CSEL 27.1:114–115
Quid opus est inquiunt ira, cum sine hoc adfectu peccata corrigi possint? atquin nullus est qui peccantem possit uidere tranquille. possit fortasse qui legibus praesidet, quia facinus non sub oculis eius admittitur, sed defertur aliunde tamquam dubium. nec umquam potest scelus esse tam clarum ut defensioni locus non sit, et ideo potest iudex non moueri aduersum eum qui potest innocens inueniri, cumque detectum facinus in lucem uenerit, iam non sua, sed legum sententia utitur.
“What need is there of anger,” they say, “since sins can be corrected without this emotion?” And yet there is no one who can see someone sinning with calm. Perhaps one who presides over the laws can, because the crime is not committed before his eyes but is reported from elsewhere as something doubtful. Nor can a crime ever be so clear that there is no room for defense; and so the judge can be unmoved against one who may be found innocent, and when the crime has been exposed and come to light, he now uses not his own sentence but that of the laws.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one can see wrongdoing calmly; a judge may, since crimes come to him secondhand and he applies the law's sentence, not his own.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.1 (CSEL 27.1:114–115; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.2CSEL 27.1:115
sed potest concedi ut sine ira faciat quod facit, habet enim quod sequatur: nos certe, cum domi peccatur a nostris, siue id cernimus siue sentimus, indignari necesse est; ipse enim peccati aspectus indignus est.
It may be granted that he does what he does without anger, for he has something to follow. But we, certainly, when wrong is done at home by our own people, whether we see it or perceive it, must be indignant; for the very sight of sin is unworthy.
Notes and citation
Summary: When our own household does wrong, we must be indignant, for sin is shameful to see.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.2 (CSEL 27.1:115; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.3CSEL 27.1:115
nam qui non mouetur omnino, aut probat delicta, quod est turpius et iniustius, aut molestiam castigandi fugit, quam sedatus animus et quieta mens aspernatur ac renuit, nisi stimulauerit ira et incitauerit, qui autem cum moueatur, tamen intempestiua lenitate uel saepius quam necesse est uel etiam semper ignoscit, is plane et illorum uitam perdit quorum audaciam nutrit ad facinora maiora, et sibi ipse aeternam molestiarum materiam subministrat. uitiosa est ergo in peccatis irae suae cohibitio.
For one who is not moved at all either approves the offenses, which is more shameful and unjust, or avoids the trouble of chastising, which a calm spirit and tranquil mind spurn and refuse unless anger has spurred and roused them. And one who is moved, yet by untimely leniency pardons either more often than necessary or even always, plainly ruins the life of those whose audacity he nourishes for greater crimes, and supplies himself with endless material for trouble. The restraint of one's anger in the face of sins is, therefore, a fault.
Notes and citation
Summary: Never to be angry means approving sin or shirking correction; constant leniency ruins the wrongdoers and causes endless trouble.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.3 (CSEL 27.1:115; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.4CSEL 27.1:115
laudatur Archytas Tarentinus, qui cum in agro corrupta esse omnia conperisset uilici sui culpa, miserum te inquit quem iam uerberibus necassem, nisi iratus essem.
Archytas of Tarentum is praised, who, when he found that everything on his farm had been ruined by the fault of his steward, said: “Wretch, I would have beaten you to death by now if I were not angry.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Archytas is praised for sparing a negligent steward because he was too angry to punish him.
- Compare Cicero, Tusc. 4.78 and Rep. 1.59.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.4 (CSEL 27.1:115; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.5CSEL 27.1:115–116
unicum hoc exemplum temperantiae putant, sed auctoritate ducti non uident quam inepta et locutus fuerit et fecerit. nam si, ut ait Plato, nemo prudens punit, quia peccatum est, sedne peccetur, apparet quam malum uir sapiens proposuerit exemplum.
They think this a unique example of self-control, but, led by authority, they do not see how foolishly he both spoke and acted. For if, as Plato says, no prudent man punishes because a sin has been committed, but so that it may not be committed, it is plain what a bad example the wise man set.
Notes and citation
Summary: But as Plato says, punishment aims to prevent future wrong, so Archytas set a bad example.
- Plato, Prot. 324a–b (and Leg. 11.934a), as quoted by Seneca, De ira 1.19.7.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Prot. 324a–b (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.5 (CSEL 27.1:115–116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.6CSEL 27.1:116
si enim senserint serui dominum suum saeuire cum non irascitur, tum parcere cum irascitur, non peccabunt utique leuiter, ne uerberentur, sed quantum poterunt grauissime, ut stomachum peruersi hominis incitent atque inpune discedant.
For if slaves perceive that their master is harsh when he is not angry and spares them when he is angry, they certainly will not sin lightly, lest they be beaten, but as gravely as they can, so as to rouse the temper of a perverse man and get off unpunished.
Notes and citation
Summary: Slaves of such a master would commit serious wrongs to anger him and so escape punishment.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.6 (CSEL 27.1:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.7CSEL 27.1:116
ego uero laudarem, si cum fuisset iratus, dedisset irae suae spatium, ut residente per interuallum temporis animi tumore haberet modum castigatio.
I would have praised him if, when he was angry, he had given his anger some time, so that, as the swelling of his mind subsided over an interval, the chastisement might have had measure.
Notes and citation
Summary: He should have waited until his anger cooled and then punished in measure.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.7 (CSEL 27.1:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.8CSEL 27.1:116
non ergo propter irae magnitudinem donanda erat poena, sed differenda, ne aut peccanti maiorem iusto dolorem inureret aut castiganti furorem. nunc uero quae tandem aequitas aut quae sapientia est ut aliquis ob exiguum delictum puniatur, ob maximum non puniatur?
Punishment, therefore, was not to be remitted because of the greatness of his anger, but deferred, lest it inflict on the wrongdoer more pain than was just, or on the one chastising, madness. But as it is, what equity or what wisdom is it that someone should be punished for a small offense and not punished for a very great one?
Notes and citation
Summary: Punishment should be delayed, not cancelled; otherwise small faults are punished and great ones go free.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.8 (CSEL 27.1:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.9CSEL 27.1:116
quod si naturam rerum causasque didicisset, numquam tam inportunam continentiam profiteretur, ut nequam seruus iratum sibi fuisse dominum gratularetur.
If he had learned the nature and causes of things, he would never have professed so ill-timed a self-restraint that a worthless slave could congratulate himself that his master had been angry with him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Archytas's restraint only let a bad slave rejoice at his master's anger.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.9 (CSEL 27.1:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.10CSEL 27.1:116
nam sicut corpus humanum deus multis et uariis sensibus ad usum uitae necessariis instruxit, sic et animo uarios attribuit adfectus, quibus uitae ratio constaret: ut libidinem prodendae subolis gratia dedit, sic iram cohibendorum causa delictorum.
For just as God furnished the human body with many and various senses necessary for the use of life, so he also gave the soul various emotions by which the conduct of life might be maintained: as he gave desire for the sake of producing offspring, so he gave anger for the sake of restraining offenses.
Notes and citation
Summary: God gave the soul emotions for life's needs: desire for procreation, anger for restraining wrongdoing.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.10 (CSEL 27.1:116; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.11CSEL 27.1:116–117
uerum ii qui nesciunt fines bonorum ac malorum, sicut libidine utuntur ad corruptelas et ad uoluptatem, sic irae adfectu ad nocendum, dum iis quos odio habent irascuntur. ergo etiam non peccantibus irascuntur, etiam paribus aut etiam superioribus. hinc cotidie ad inmania facinora prosilitur, hinc tragoediae saepe nascuntur.
But those who do not know the limits of good and evil, just as they use desire for corruption and pleasure, so use the emotion of anger for doing harm, when they are angry with those they hate. So they are angry even with those who do no wrong, even with equals or even superiors. Hence people rush daily into monstrous crimes; hence tragedies often arise.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who misuse desire for lust also misuse anger for harm, raging at the innocent and causing tragedies.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.11 (CSEL 27.1:116–117; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.12CSEL 27.1:117
esset igitur laudandus Archytas, si cum alicui ciui et pari facienti sibi iniuriam fuisset iratus, repressisset se tamen et patientia furoris impetum mitigasset. haec sui cohibitio gloriosa est, qua conpescitur aliquod imminens magnum malum, seruorum autem filiorumque peccata non coercere peccatum est: euadent enim ad maius malum per inpunitatem. hic non cohibenda ira, sed etiam, si iacet, excitanda est.
Archytas would, then, have been praiseworthy if, when angry with some fellow citizen and equal who had wronged him, he had nevertheless restrained himself and calmed the rush of fury with patience. Such self-restraint is glorious, by which some great impending evil is held back; but not to restrain the sins of slaves and children is itself a sin, for through impunity they will go on to greater evil. Here anger must not be restrained, but even, if it lies idle, roused.
Notes and citation
Summary: Restraining anger against an equal is praiseworthy, but failing to correct slaves and children is a sin; there anger should even be roused.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.12 (CSEL 27.1:117; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.13CSEL 27.1:117
quod autem de homine dicimus, idem etiam de deo, qui hominem similem sui fecit. omitto de figura dei dicere, quia Stoici negent habere ullam formam deum, et ingens alia materia nascetur, si eos coarguere uelim: de animo tantum loquor.
And what we say of man, we say also of God, who made man like himself. I pass over speaking of the form of God, since the Stoics deny that God has any form, and a huge further subject would arise if I wished to refute them; I speak only of the mind.
Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: What is true of man applies to God, who made man in his likeness; Lactantius sets aside the question of God's form.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.13 (CSEL 27.1:117; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
18.14CSEL 27.1:117
si deo subiacet cogitare sapere intellegere prouidere praestare, ex omnibus autem animalibus homo solus haec habet, ergo ad dei similitudinem factus est. sed ideo procedit in uitium, quia de terrena fragilitate permixtus non potest id quod a deo sumpsit, incorruptum purumque seruare, nisi ab eodem deo iustitiae praeceptis inbuatur.
If it belongs to God to think, to be wise, to understand, to foresee, and to excel, and of all animals man alone has these, then he was made in the likeness of God. But he goes forward into vice because, being mixed with earthly frailty, he cannot keep uncorrupted and pure what he received from God, unless he is instructed by the same God in the precepts of righteousness.
Gen 1:27 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Man's mind shows he is made in God's likeness, but his earthly frailty leads him into vice unless God teaches him righteousness.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 18.14 (CSEL 27.1:117; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-18-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 19
19.1CSEL 27.1:117–118
Sed quoniam conpactus est, ut diximus, e duobus. animo et corpore. in altero uirtutes, in altero uitia continentur et inpugnant inuicem. animi enim bona, quae sunt in continendis libidinibus, contraria sunt corpori, et corporis bona, quae sunt in omni genere uoluptatum, inimica sunt animo.
But since he is compacted, as we have said, of two things, soul and body, the virtues are held in the one and the vices in the other, and they fight against each other. For the goods of the soul, which consist in restraining desires, are contrary to the body; and the goods of the body, which consist in every kind of pleasure, are hostile to the soul.
Gal 5:17 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Man is soul and body, and the virtues of the one fight the vices of the other.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.1 (CSEL 27.1:117–118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.2CSEL 27.1:118
sed si uirtus animi repugnauerit cupiditatibus easque conpresserit. erit uere deo similis. unde apparet animam hominis, quae uirtutem diuinam capit, non esse mortalem.
But if the virtue of the soul has resisted the desires and subdued them, he will truly be like God. From this it appears that the soul of man, which receives divine virtue, is not mortal.
Notes and citation
Summary: When the soul masters desire, man is truly like God, which shows the soul is immortal.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.2 (CSEL 27.1:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.3CSEL 27.1:118
sed discrimen illud est quod cum uirtus habeat amaritudinem et sit dulcis inlecebra uoluptatis, uincuntur plurimi et abstrahuntur ad suauitatem. hi uero quia se corpori rebusque terrenis addixerunt, premuntur in terram nec adsequi possunt diuini muneris gratiam, quia se uitiorum labibus inquinauerunt..
But the difference is this: since virtue has bitterness and pleasure has a sweet allure, very many are overcome and dragged away to sweetness. And these, because they have given themselves over to the body and to earthly things, are pressed down to the earth and cannot attain the grace of the divine gift, because they have defiled themselves with the stains of vices.
Notes and citation
Summary: Most yield to pleasure's sweetness, bind themselves to earthly things, and lose the divine gift.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.3 (CSEL 27.1:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.4CSEL 27.1:118
qui autem deum secuti eique parentes corporis desideria contempserint et uirtutem praeferentes uoluptatibus innocentiam iustitiamque seruauerint. hos deus ut sui similes recognoscit.
But those who, following God and obeying him, have despised the desires of the body and, preferring virtue to pleasures, have kept innocence and righteousness, these God recognizes as like himself.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who obey God, scorn bodily desires, and keep righteousness God recognizes as like himself.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.4 (CSEL 27.1:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.5CSEL 27.1:118
cum igitur sanctissimam legem posuerit uelitque uniuersos innocentes ac beneficos esse, potestne non irasci, cum uidet contemni legem suam, abici uirtutem, adpeti uoluptatem?
Since, then, he has laid down a most holy law and wills all to be innocent and beneficent, can he fail to be angry when he sees his law despised, virtue cast off, and pleasure pursued?
Notes and citation
Summary: God, who gave a holy law, must be angry when it is despised and pleasure preferred to virtue.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.5 (CSEL 27.1:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.6CSEL 27.1:118
quod si est mundi administrator, sicut esse debet, non utique contemnit id quod est in omni mundo uel maximum. si est prouidus, ut oportet deum, consulit utique generi humano, quo sit uita nostra et copiosior et melior et tutior. si est pater ac dominus uniuersorum, certe et uirtutibus hominum delectatur et uitiis commouetur. ergo et iustos diligit et inpios odit.
And if he is the administrator of the world, as he ought to be, he certainly does not despise what is the very greatest thing in the whole world. If he is provident, as God must be, he certainly takes thought for the human race, so that our life may be richer, better, and safer. If he is the father and lord of all, he is certainly both delighted by the virtues of men and moved by their vices. Therefore he both loves the righteous and hates the impious.
Ps 5:5 (5:7 Vulg.) (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: As ruler, provider, and father of all, God delights in virtue and is moved by vice: he loves the righteous and hates the wicked.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.6 (CSEL 27.1:118; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.7CSEL 27.1:118–119
odio inquit opus non est: semel enim statuit bonis praemium et malis poenam. quod si aliquis iuste innocenterque uiuat et idem deum nec colat nec curet omnino, ut Aristides et Cimon et plerique philosophorum, cedetne huic inpune quod cum dei legi obtemperauerit, ipsum tamen spreuerit?
“There is no need of hatred,” he says, “for he has decreed once for all a reward for the good and a punishment for the wicked.” But if someone lives righteously and innocently and yet neither worships God nor cares for him at all, like Aristides and Cimon and most of the philosophers, will it turn out without punishment for him that, though he obeyed God's law, he nevertheless despised God himself?
Notes and citation
Summary: Some say God simply set fixed rewards and punishments; but what of a just man like Aristides who ignores God himself?
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.7 (CSEL 27.1:118–119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.8CSEL 27.1:119
est igitur aliquid propter quod deus possit irasci tamquam fiducia integritatis aduersus eum rebellanti. si huic potest irasci propter superbiam, cur non magis peccatori qui legem cum ipso pariter latore contempserit?
There is, then, something for which God can be angry, as with one who rebels against him through confidence in his own integrity. If he can be angry with this man because of pride, why not rather with the sinner, who has despised the law together with its giver?
Notes and citation
Summary: God can be angry at such pride, and still more at a sinner who despises both law and lawgiver.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.8 (CSEL 27.1:119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
19.9CSEL 27.1:119
iudex peccatis dare non potest ueniam, quia uoluntati seruit alienae, deus autem potest, quia ipse est legis suae disceptator et iudex: quam cum poneret, non utique ademit sibi omnem potestatem, sed habet ignoscendi licentiam.
A judge cannot pardon sins, because he serves another's will; but God can, because he himself is the arbiter and judge of his own law. When he laid it down, he certainly did not take away all power from himself, but has the freedom to pardon.
Notes and citation
Summary: Unlike a human judge, God, author of his own law, is free to pardon.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 19.9 (CSEL 27.1:119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-19-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 20
20.1CSEL 27.1:119
Si potest ignoscere, potest igitur et irasci. cur ergo inquiet aliquis et qui peccant, saepe felices sunt et qui pie uiuunt, saepe miseri? quia et fugitiui et abdicati libere uiuunt et qui sub disciplina patris aut domini sunt, strictius frugaliusque.
If he can pardon, then he can also be angry. “Why then,” someone will say, “are those who sin often happy, and those who live piously often wretched?” Because runaways and disowned sons also live freely, while those under the discipline of a father or master live more strictly and frugally.
Heb 12:7 (echo, medium confidence) · Heb 12:8 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The wicked often prosper because, like runaway slaves, they live without discipline, while the godly are kept under it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.1 (CSEL 27.1:119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.2CSEL 27.1:119
uirtus enim per mala et probatur et constat, uitia per uoluptatem. nec tamen ille qui peccat sperare debet perpetuam inpunitatem, quia nulla est perpetua felicitas, sed scilicet ultima semper expectanda dies homini dicique beatus ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet, ut ait poeta non insuauis.
For virtue is both proved and established through evils, vices through pleasure. Yet the sinner ought not to hope for perpetual impunity, because no happiness is perpetual, but, of course, “a man must always wait for his last day, and no one should be called happy before his death and final funeral,” as a not unpleasing poet says.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hardship proves virtue; the sinner should not expect lasting impunity, for, as Ovid says, no one is happy before his death.
- The quotation is Ovid, Metam. 3.135–137.
Extrabiblical texts: Ovid, Metam. 3.135–137 (Ovid; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.2 (CSEL 27.1:119; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-2).
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20.3CSEL 27.1:119–120
exitus est qui arguit felicitatem et nemo iudicium dei potest nec uiuus effugere nec mortuus. habet enim potestatem et uiuos praecipitare de summo et mortuos aeternis adficere cruciatibus.
It is the end that proves happiness; and no one can escape the judgment of God, either living or dead. For he has the power both to cast down the living from the height and to inflict eternal torments on the dead.
Luke 1:52 (echo, low confidence) · Matt 25:46 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: No one escapes God's judgment, alive or dead; he can humble the living and punish the dead forever.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.3 (CSEL 27.1:119–120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-3).
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20.4CSEL 27.1:120
immo inquit si irascitur deus, statim debuit uindicare et pro merito quemque punire. at enim si id faceret, nemo superesset. nullus est enim qui nihil peccet et multa sunt quae ad peccandum inritent, aetas uinolentia egestas occasio praemium.
“But,” he says, “if God is angry, he should have punished at once and punished each according to his desert.” But if he did so, no one would be left. For there is no one who does not sin, and there are many things that incite to sin: age, drunkenness, poverty, opportunity, reward.
Eccl 7:20 (echo, medium confidence) · Rom 3:23 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: If God punished every sin at once, no one would survive, for everyone sins.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.4 (CSEL 27.1:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.5CSEL 27.1:120
adeo subiecta est peccato fragilitas carnis qua induti sumus, ut nisi huic necessitati deus parceret, nimium fortasse pauci uiuerent: propter hanc causam patientissimus est et iram suam continet. nam quia perfecta est in eo uirtus, necesse est patientiam quoque eius esse perfectam, quia et ipsa uirtus est.
So subject to sin is the frailty of the flesh with which we are clothed that, unless God spared this necessity, perhaps very few would live. For this reason he is most patient and restrains his anger. For because virtue is perfect in him, his patience also must be perfect, since it too is a virtue.
Ps 103:14 (102:14 Vulg.) (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Because our flesh is so prone to sin, God is supremely patient and holds back his anger.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.5 (CSEL 27.1:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.6CSEL 27.1:120
quam multi ex peccatoribus iusti posterius effecti sunt, ex malis boni, ex inprobis continentes! quam multi in prima aetate turpes et omnium iudicio damnati postmodum tamen laudabiles extiterunt! quod utique non fieret, si omne peccatum poena sequeretur.
How many of the sinners have later become righteous, of the wicked good, of the dissolute self-controlled! How many, disgraceful in their youth and condemned by the judgment of all, afterwards nevertheless became praiseworthy! This certainly would not happen if punishment followed every sin.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many sinners have later become righteous, which could not happen if every sin were punished at once.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.6 (CSEL 27.1:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.7CSEL 27.1:120
leges publicae manifestos reos damnant, sed plurimi sunt quorum peccata occultantur, plurimi qui delatorem conprimunt aut precibus aut praemio, plurimi qui iudicia eludunt per gratiam uel potentiam.
Public laws condemn the manifestly guilty; but there are very many whose sins are concealed, very many who silence the informer with prayers or bribes, very many who evade the courts through favor or power.
Notes and citation
Summary: Human laws miss many whose sins are hidden or who escape by bribery or influence.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.7 (CSEL 27.1:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-7).
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20.8CSEL 27.1:120
quod si eos omnes qui humanam poenam effugiunt, censura diuina damnaret, esset homo aut rarus aut etiam nullus in terra.
And if the divine judgment condemned all those who escape human punishment, man would be rare on the earth, or even nonexistent.
Notes and citation
Summary: If God condemned everyone who escapes human justice, hardly anyone would remain.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letters in the digital text): omnes so qui → omnes qui.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.8 (CSEL 27.1:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.9CSEL 27.1:120
denique uel una illa causa delendi generis humani iusta esse potuisset, quod homines contempto deo uiuo terrenis fragilibusque figmentis honorem diuinum tamquam caelestibus deferunt adorantes opera humanis digitis laborata.
In fact, that one cause alone could have been just for destroying the human race: that men, despising the living God, give divine honor to earthly and fragile figments as though they were heavenly, adoring works fashioned by human fingers.
Rom 1:23 (allusion, medium confidence) · Ps 115:4 (113:12 Vulg.) (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Idolatry alone would justify destroying mankind, since men worship handmade figures instead of the living God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.9 (CSEL 27.1:120; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.10CSEL 27.1:120–121
cumque illos deus artifex ore sublimi, statu recto figuratos ad contemplationem caeli et notitiam dei excitauerit, curuare se ad terram maluerunt et pecudum modo humi repere.
And although God the craftsman raised them up, fashioned with lofty face and upright stance, to the contemplation of heaven and the knowledge of God, they preferred to bend themselves to the earth and creep on the ground like cattle.
Notes and citation
Summary: Made upright to look to heaven, men chose to bow to the earth like beasts.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.10 (CSEL 27.1:120–121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.11CSEL 27.1:121
humilis enim et curuus et pronus est qui ab aspectu caeli deique patris auersus terram quam calcare debuerat, id est de terra ficta et formata ueneratur.
For he is lowly and bent and prone who, turned away from the sight of heaven and of God the Father, venerates the earth, which he ought to tread underfoot, that is, things fashioned and formed from earth.
Notes and citation
Summary: The idolater turns from heaven to worship things made of the earth he should tread on.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.11 (CSEL 27.1:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.12CSEL 27.1:121
in tanta igitur inpietate hominum tantisque peccatis id adsequitur patientia dei, ut se ipsi homines damnatis uitae prioris erroribus corrigant. denique et boni sunt iustique multi et abiectis terrenis cultibus maiestatem dei singularis agnoscunt.
In the midst of such great impiety of men and such great sins, then, the patience of God achieves this: that men, condemning the errors of their former life, correct themselves. In fact many are good and righteous, and, having cast off earthly cults, acknowledge the majesty of the one God.
Rom 2:4 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's patience leads many to repent, abandon idols, and acknowledge the one God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.12 (CSEL 27.1:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
20.13CSEL 27.1:121
sed cum maxima et utilissima sit dei patientia, tamen quamuis sero noxios punit nec patitur longius procedere, cum eos inemendabiles esse peruiderit.
But although the patience of God is very great and very useful, yet, however late, he punishes the guilty and does not allow them to go further when he has seen that they are incorrigible.
Notes and citation
Summary: Yet God's patience ends: he punishes, however late, those he sees are incorrigible.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 20.13 (CSEL 27.1:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-20-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 21
21.1CSEL 27.1:121
Superest una et extrema quaestio. nam dixerit fortasse quispiam adeo non irasci deum, ut etiam in praeceptis hominem irasci uetet.
One last question remains. For someone might say that God is so far from being angry that he even forbids man in his precepts to be angry.
Matt 5:22 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: One last objection: God even forbids man to be angry.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.1 (CSEL 27.1:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.2CSEL 27.1:121
possem dicere quod ira hominis refrenanda fuerit, quia iniuste saepe irascitur et praesentem habet motum, quia temporalis est.
I could say that man's anger had to be curbed because he is often angry unjustly and has an immediate impulse, since he is temporal.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man's anger must be curbed because it is often unjust and impulsive.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.2 (CSEL 27.1:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.3CSEL 27.1:121
itaque ne fierent ea quae faciunt per iram et humiles et mediocres et magni reges, temperari debuit furor eius et conprimi, ne mentis inpos aliquod inexpiabile facinus admitteret. deus autem et non ad praesens irascitur, quia aeternus est perfectaeque uirtutis, et numquam nisi merito irascitur. sed tamen non ita se res habet.
And so, lest those things be done which the lowly, the middling, and great kings do through anger, his fury had to be moderated and suppressed, lest, out of his mind, he commit some inexpiable crime. But God is not angry for the moment, because he is eternal and of perfect virtue, and he is never angry except with cause. And yet this is not the whole of the matter.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man's anger needs restraint lest he commit crimes; God's anger is never impulsive or undeserved. But there is more to say.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.3 (CSEL 27.1:121; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.4CSEL 27.1:121–122
nam si omnino prohiberet irasci, ipse quodammodo reprehensor opificii sui fuisset, quia in principio iram [iecur] homini indidisset, siquidem creditur causa huius commotionis in umore fellis contineri.
For if he forbade anger altogether, he himself would in a way have found fault with his own workmanship, since in the beginning he had put anger in man, as it is believed that the cause of this commotion is contained in the fluid of the gall.
Notes and citation
Summary: If God forbade all anger, he would be faulting his own creation, since he gave man the capacity for anger.
- The edition's square brackets around iecur ("the liver") mark a deletion; the word is left out.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.4 (CSEL 27.1:121–122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.5CSEL 27.1:122
non igitur in totum prohibet irasci, quia is adfectus necessario datus est, sed prohibet in ira permanere. ira enim mortalium debet esse mortalis: nam si maneat.
He does not, then, forbid anger entirely, because this emotion was given of necessity; but he forbids remaining in anger. For the anger of mortals ought to be mortal: for if it remains,
Eph 4:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God forbids not anger itself but staying angry; human anger should be short-lived,
- The reference is to Eph 4:26.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.5 (CSEL 27.1:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.6CSEL 27.1:122
confirmantur inimicitiae ad perniciem sempiternam. deinde rursum cum irasci quidem, sed tamen non peccare praecepit, non utique euellit iram radicitus, sed temperauit, ut in omni castigatione modum ac iustitiam teneremus.
enmities are confirmed to everlasting ruin. Then again, when he commanded us to be angry but not to sin, he certainly did not tear anger out by the roots, but moderated it, so that in every chastisement we might keep measure and justice.
Eph 4:26 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 4:4 (4:5 LXX; 4:5 Vulg.) (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: lest enmity become permanent; "be angry and do not sin" moderates anger rather than uprooting it.
- The quotation is Eph 4:26, citing Ps 4:4 (4:5 LXX).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.6 (CSEL 27.1:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.7CSEL 27.1:122
qui ergo nos irasci iubet, ipse utique irascitur, qui placari celerius praecipit, est utique ipse placabilis: ea enim praecipit quae sunt iusta et rebus utilia communibus.
He, then, who bids us be angry is certainly angry himself; he who commands us to be appeased quickly is certainly himself placable: for he commands things that are just and useful to the common good.
Notes and citation
Summary: The God who permits anger is himself angry, and the God who commands quick reconciliation is himself easily appeased.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.7 (CSEL 27.1:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.8CSEL 27.1:122
sed quia dixeram non esse iram dei temporalem sicut hominis, qui praesentanea commotione feruescit nec facile regere se potest propter fragilitatem, intellegere debemus, quia sit aeternus deus, iram quoque eius in aeternum manere, sed rursum, quia uirtute sit maxima praeditus, in potestate habere iram suam nec ab ea regi, sed ipsum illam quemadmodum uelit moderari: quod utique non repugnat superiori.
But since I had said that the anger of God is not temporal, like man's, who boils with a sudden agitation and cannot easily govern himself because of frailty, we must understand that, since God is eternal, his anger too remains for ever; but again, since he is endowed with the greatest virtue, he has his anger in his power and is not ruled by it, but himself governs it as he wills: which certainly does not contradict what was said before.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's anger, like God, is eternal, but it is always under his control, never ruling him.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.8 (CSEL 27.1:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.9CSEL 27.1:122
nam si prorsus inmortalis fuisset ira eius, non esset satisfactioni aut gratiae post delictum locus, cum ipse homines reconciliari iubeat ante solis occasum, sed ira diuina in aeternum manet aduersus eos qui peccant in aeternum.
For if his anger had been wholly immortal, there would be no place for satisfaction or favor after an offense, since he himself commands men to be reconciled before the setting of the sun; but the divine anger remains for ever against those who sin for ever.
Eph 4:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God's anger does not remain against the repentant, since he commands reconciliation before sunset; it remains only against those who never cease sinning.
- The allusion is to Eph 4:26.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (letter misread in the digital text): mmortalis → inmortalis.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.9 (CSEL 27.1:122; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
21.10CSEL 27.1:122–123
itaque deus non ture, non hostia, non pretiosis muneribus, quae omnia sunt corruptibilia, sed morum emendatione placatur et qui peccare desinit, iram dei mortalem facit. idcirco enim non ad praesens noxium quemque punit, ut habeat homo resipiscendi et corrigendi sui facultatem.
And so God is appeased not by incense, not by a victim, not by precious gifts, all of which are corruptible, but by the amendment of one's ways; and whoever ceases to sin makes God's anger mortal. For this reason he does not punish every guilty person at once, so that man may have the opportunity to come to his senses and correct himself.
Ps 51:17 (50:19 Vulg.) (echo, low confidence) · 2 Pet 3:9 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God is appeased not by sacrifices but by changed lives; he delays punishment so that sinners may repent.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 21.10 (CSEL 27.1:122–123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-21-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 22
22.1CSEL 27.1:123
Haec habui quae de ira <dei> dicerem, Donate carissime, ut scires quemadmodum refelleres eos qui deum faciunt inmobilem.
These are the things I had to say about the anger of God, dearest Donatus, so that you might know how to refute those who make God immovable.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius concludes his case to Donatus that God can be angry.
- The angle brackets mark a word supplied by the editor.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.1 (CSEL 27.1:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.2CSEL 27.1:123
restat ut more Ciceronis utamur epilogo ad perorandum. sicut ille in Tusculanis de morte disserens fecit, ita nos in hoc opere testimonia diuina quibus credi possit adhibere debemus, ut illorum persuasionem reuincamus qui sine ira deum esse credentes dissoluunt omnem religionem: sine qua, ut ostendimus, aut inmanitate beluis aut stultitia pecudibus adaequamur; in sola enim religione id est in dei summi notione sapientia est.
It remains for us, in the manner of Cicero, to use an epilogue to conclude. As he did in the Tusculans when discussing death, so we in this work ought to bring forward divine testimonies which may be believed, so as to overcome the persuasion of those who, believing God to be without anger, dissolve all religion; without which, as we have shown, we become equal either to wild beasts in savagery or to cattle in stupidity. For in religion alone, that is, in the knowledge of the supreme God, is wisdom.
Notes and citation
Summary: Like Cicero in the Tusculans, Lactantius ends with divine testimonies, since without religion men become like beasts.
- Compare Cicero, Tusc. 1.114–116.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.2 (CSEL 27.1:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.3CSEL 27.1:123
prophetae uniuersi diuino spiritu repleti nihil aliud quam de gratia dei erga iustos et ira eius aduersus inpios locuntur. quorum testimonia nobis quidem satis sunt, uerum his quoniam non credunt isti qui sapientiam capillis et habitu iactant, ratione quoque et argumentis a nobis fuerant refellendi.
All the prophets, filled with the divine Spirit, speak of nothing else but the favor of God toward the righteous and his anger against the impious. Their testimonies are indeed enough for us; but since those who parade wisdom in their hair and dress do not believe them, they had to be refuted by us with reason and arguments too.
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets, full of the Spirit, speak of God's favor to the righteous and anger against the wicked; but philosophers need arguments.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.3 (CSEL 27.1:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.4CSEL 27.1:123
sic enim praepostere agitur, ut humana diuinis tribuant auctoritatem, cum potius humanis diuina debuerint. quae nunc sane omittamus, ne et nihil apud istos agamus et in infinitum materia procedat. ea igitur quaeramus testimonia quibus illi possint aut credere aut certe non repugnare.
For things are done so backwards that they grant authority to human things over divine ones, when rather they ought to have granted it to divine things over human ones. Let us now indeed leave these aside, lest we both accomplish nothing with such people and the subject run on endlessly. Let us seek, then, those testimonies which they can either believe or at least not oppose.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since philosophers trust human authority over divine, Lactantius will cite testimonies they cannot reject.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.4 (CSEL 27.1:123; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.5CSEL 27.1:123–124
Sibyllas fuisse multas plurimi et maximi auctores tradiderunt, Graecorum Aristonicus et Apollodorus Erythraeus, nostrorum Varro et Fenestella. hi omnes praecipuam et nobilem praeter ceteras Erythraeam fuisse commemorant.
Very many and very great authors have recorded that there were many Sibyls: among the Greeks Aristonicus and Apollodorus of Erythrae, among our own Varro and Fenestella. All these relate that the Erythraean was the chief and most famous beyond the rest.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many authors, Greek and Roman, record many Sibyls, the Erythraean being the most famous.
- Compare Lactantius, Inst. 1.6.7–14 (from Varro).
Extrabiblical texts: Varro (Varro; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.5 (CSEL 27.1:123–124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.6CSEL 27.1:124
Apollodorus quidem ut de ciui ac populari sua gloriatur, Fenestella uero etiam legatos Erythras a senatu esse missos refert, ut huius Sibyllae carmina Romam deportarentur et ea consules Curio et Octauius in Capitolio, quod tunc erat curante Quinto Catulo restitutum, ponenda curarent.
Apollodorus indeed boasts of her as his fellow citizen and countrywoman; and Fenestella even reports that envoys were sent to Erythrae by the senate so that the songs of this Sibyl might be brought to Rome, and that the consuls Curio and Octavius saw to their being placed in the Capitol, which had then been restored under the care of Quintus Catulus.
Notes and citation
Summary: Fenestella reports that the Senate brought the Erythraean Sibyl's verses to Rome and placed them in the restored Capitol.
- The consuls of 76 BC.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.6 (CSEL 27.1:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.7CSEL 27.1:124
apud hanc de summo et conditore rerum deo huiusmodi uersus reperiuntur: ἄφθαρτος κτίστης αἰώνιος αἰθέρα ναίων, τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς προφέρων πολὺ μείζονα μισθὸν τοῖς δὲ κακοῖς ἀδίκοις τε χόλον καὶ θυμὸν ἐγείρων.
In her are found verses of this kind about the supreme God and founder of things: “Imperishable Creator, eternal, dwelling in the ether, bringing forth for the good a far greater reward, but for the wicked and unjust rousing wrath and fury.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The Erythraean Sibyl says the eternal Creator rewards the good and rouses his wrath against the wicked.
- Sibylline Oracles, fragment 3.17–19 (Geffcken), also quoted by Theophilus, Autol. 2.36, which reads “good to the good, a far greater reward”.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. frag. 3.17–19 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.7 (CSEL 27.1:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.
22.8CSEL 27.1:124–125
rursus alio loco enumerans quibus maxime facinoribus incitetur deus, haec intulit: φεῦγε δὲ λατρείας ἀνόμους, τῷ ζῶντι λάτρευε· μοιχείας τε φυλάξαι καὶ ἄρσενος ἄκριτον εὐνὴν· τὴν δ ἰδίαν γένναν παίδων τρέφε μήδε φόνευε. ταῦτα γὰρ ἀθάνατος κεχολώσεται ὅς κεν ἁμάρτῃ. indignatur ergo aduersus peccatores.
Again, in another place, listing the crimes by which God is most provoked, she added: “Flee lawless worship; serve him who lives. Guard against adultery and indiscriminate bedding with a male. Rear your own offspring of children and do not murder them. For the Immortal will be angry with whoever sins.” He is indignant, therefore, against sinners.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl warns against idolatry, adultery, sex between males, and killing children, for God is angry with those who sin.
- Sibylline Oracles 3.763–766. μοιχεία is rendered "adultery." The Greek has φυλάξαι where some texts read πεφύλαξο; the article before ζῶντι is restored.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (letter dropped in the digital text): ῷ ζῶντι → τῷ ζῶντι.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 3.763–766 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Ira 22.8 (CSEL 27.1:124–125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-ira/14-1/#p-22-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 27.1; made independently of existing English translations.