Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 9.7

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

Summary: In the dark, the rumour says, they commit incest at random.

Latin text · CSEL 2:14

sic euerso et extincto conscio lumine inpudentibus tenebris nexus infandae cupiditatis inuoluunt per incertum sortis, etsi non omnes opera, conscientia tamen pariter incesti, quoniam uoto uniuersorum adpetitur quicquid accidere potest in actu singulorum.

English · Claude translation

So, the light that would have been a witness being overturned and put out, in shameless darkness they entwine in the embraces of unspeakable lust as chance decides; and if not all in deed, yet all alike in complicity are guilty of incest, since whatever can happen in the act of individuals is sought by the wish of all.

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:14 · 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: "m" for "in".): mpudentibus → inpudentibus.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/9/7/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/9/7/).

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