Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 10.2

Minucius Felix · Octavius · ca. 197–250 · Rome · Read in context

Summary: Why do Christians have no temples, altars, or images, and meet in secret, unless they have something to hide?

Latin text · CSEL 2:14

cur etenim occultare et abscondere quicquid illud colunt magnopere nituntur, cum honesta semper publico gaudeant, scelera secreta sint? cur nullas aras habent, templa nulla, nulla nota simulacra, numquam palam loqui, numquam libere congregari, nisi illud, quod colunt et interprimunt, aut puniendum est aut pudendum?

English · Claude translation

For why do they strive so hard to hide and conceal whatever it is they worship, when honourable things always rejoice in publicity while crimes are secret? Why do they have no altars, no temples, no known images? Why do they never speak openly, never assemble freely, unless what they worship and suppress is either punishable or shameful?

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:14 · Karl Halm, ed., M. Minucii Felicis Octavius; Iulii Firmici Materni Liber de errore profanarum religionum, CSEL 2 (Vienna: Gerold, 1867), 1–56 · Latin text: K. Halm (CSEL 2, 1867), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in CSEL 2. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made) · Divided there by chapter only.

Notes

Translation notes

  • The digital text has no section 10.3.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/10/2/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/10/2/).

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