Octavius 7.4 · Sophia Scriptura

Latin text · CSEL 2:11

frequentius etiam quam uolebamus deorum praesentiam contempta auspicia contestata sunt. sic Allia nomen infaustum, sic Claudi et Iuni non proelium in Poenos, sed ferale naufragium est, et ut Trasymenus Romanorum sanguine et maior esset et decolor, spreuit auguria Flaminius, et ut Parthos signa repeteremus, dirarum inprecationes Crassus et meruit et inrisit.

English · Claude translation

Even more often than we wished, auspices despised have testified to the presence of the gods. So the Allia is an ill-omened name; so the affair of Claudius and Junius against the Carthaginians was not a battle but a deadly shipwreck; and so that the Trasimene might be both larger and discoloured with Roman blood, Flaminius spurned the auguries; and so that we must seek back our standards from the Parthians, Crassus both deserved and mocked the imprecations of the Furies.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 2:11 · 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 Allia was the defeat by the Gauls (ca. 390 BC); Claudius Pulcher and Junius Pullus lost fleets in the First Punic War after ignoring omens; Flaminius was defeated at Lake Trasimene (217 BC); Crassus was killed at Carrhae (53 BC) after ignoring curses.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/7/4/).

Plain text

Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/7/4/).