Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 25.1

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

Summary: Octavius ironically answers the claim that Rome's piety won its empire.

Latin text · CSEL 2:35

At tamen ista ipsa superstitio Romanis dedit, auxit, fundauit imperium, cum non tam uirtute quam religione et pietate pollerent. nimirum insignis et nobilis iustitia Romana ab ipsis imperii nascentis incunabulis auspicata est.

English · Claude translation

"'But still, this very superstition gave, increased, and established empire for the Romans, since they were strong not so much by valour as by religion and piety.' No doubt the distinguished and noble justice of Rome was inaugurated from the very cradle of the infant empire!

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:35 · 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 first sentence restates Caecilius's argument (6.2–3); the second is ironic.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR: "E" for "R".): Eomanis → Romanis.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 25.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/25/1/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 25.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/25/1/).

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