Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 36.8

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

Summary: Hardship trains virtue, as the pagans' own heroes show.

Latin text · CSEL 2:51

fortitudo enim in infirmitatibus roboratur et calamitas saepius disciplina uirtutis est. uires denique et mentis et corporis sine laboris exercitatione torpescunt: omnes adeo uestri uiri fortes, quos in exemplum praedicatis, aerumnis suis inclyti floruerunt.

English · Claude translation

For strength is made strong in weaknesses, and calamity is very often the training school of virtue. Indeed, strength of both mind and body grows sluggish without the exercise of toil: all your brave men, whom you proclaim as examples, flourished famous through their hardships.

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:51 · 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.
Scripture

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 36.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/36/8/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 36.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/36/8/).

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