Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 18.4

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

Summary: As an orderly house implies a master, the ordered world implies a Lord.

Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.

Latin text · CSEL 2:23

quod si ingressus aliquam domum omnia exculta, disposita, ornata uidisses, utique praeesse ei crederes dominum et illis bonis rebus multo esse meliorem. ita in hac mundi domo cum caelum terramque * * perspicias prouidentiam, ordinem, legem, crede esse uniuersitatis dominum parentemque ipsis sideribus et totius mundi partibus pulchriorem:

English · Claude translation

If, on entering some house, you saw everything well kept, arranged, and adorned, you would certainly believe that a master was in charge of it and that he was much better than those good things. So in this house of the world, when you see in heaven and earth ... providence, order, and law, believe that there is a Lord and Parent of the universe, more beautiful than the stars themselves and the parts of the whole world.

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:23 · 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; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.
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 text has a gap ("* *") after "heaven and earth"; a verb or phrase is missing.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 18.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/18/4/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 18.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/18/4/).

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