Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 5.9

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

Summary: Weather and lightning arise naturally and strike the pious and the guilty alike.

Latin text · CSEL 2:8

sic congregatis ignium seminibus soles alios atque alios semper splendere, sic exalatis terrae uaporibus nebulas semper adolescere, quibus densatis coactisque nubes altius surgere, isdem labentibus pluuias fluere, flare uentos, grandines increpare, uel nimbis conlidentibus tonitrua mugire, rutilare fulgora, fulmina praemicare: adeo passim cadunt, montes inruunt, arboribus incurrunt, sine dilectu tangunt loca sacra et profana, homines noxios feriunt et saepe religiosos.

English · Claude translation

So, by the gathering of the seeds of fire, other and yet other suns always shine; so, by the vapours breathed out from the earth, mists always grow; when these are condensed and compressed, clouds rise higher; when the same fall, rains flow, winds blow, hail rattles; or, when storm clouds collide, thunder roars, lightnings flash red, thunderbolts flash forth: so much do they fall at random, rush upon mountains, strike trees, touch without distinction places sacred and profane, strike guilty men and often religious ones too.

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:8 · 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

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR: "mm" for "min".): semmibus → seminibus.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/5/9/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/5/9/).

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