Divine Institutes 1.1.1–1.5.28
Latin text: CSEL 19 (Latin text: S. Brandt (CSEL 19, 1890), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7 (1886).
Divine 1, chapter 1
1.1.1CSEL 19:1–2
Magno et excellenti ingenio uiri cum se doctrinae penitus edidissent quicquid laboris poterat impendi contemptis omnibus et priuatis et publicis actionibus ad inquirendae ueritatis studium contulerunt, existimantes multo esse praeclarius humanarum diuinarumque rerum inuestigare ac scire rationem quam struendis opibus aut cumulandis honoribus inhaerere:
Men of great and outstanding ability, when they had given themselves wholly to learning, set at nothing all business, private and public alike, and devoted whatever labour could be spent to the pursuit of searching out the truth. They judged it far more excellent to investigate and to know the principle of human and divine things than to cling to piling up wealth or heaping up honours,
Notes and citation
Summary: Gifted men once gave up everything else to search for the truth, thinking it better than wealth or honour.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.1 (CSEL 19:1–2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.2CSEL 19:2
quibus rebus, quoniam fragiles terrenaeque sunt et ad solius corporis pertinent cultum, nemo melior, nemo iustior effici potest.
for by such things, since they are fragile and earthly and pertain only to the care of the body, no one can be made better or more just.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wealth and honours cannot make anyone better or more just.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.2 (CSEL 19:2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.3CSEL 19:2
erant illi quidem ueritatis cognitione dignissimi, quoniam scire tanto opere cupiuerunt atque ita, ut eam rebus
Those men were indeed most worthy of knowing the truth, since they desired so greatly to know it, and did so in such a way that they preferred it to
Notes and citation
Summary: The philosophers deserved to know the truth because they longed for it above everything.
- The edition's section divisions here fall in the middle of sentences; 1.1.3–5 form one sentence.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.3 (CSEL 19:2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.4CSEL 19:2
omnibus anteponerent — nam et abiecisse quosdam res familiares suas et renuntiasse uniuersis uoluptatibus constat, ut solam nudamque uirtutem nudi expeditique sequerentur, (et) tantum apud eos uirtutis nomen et auctoritas ualuit, ut in
all things. For it is well known that some even cast away their property and renounced every pleasure, so that, stripped and unencumbered, they might follow virtue alone and unadorned; and the name and authority of virtue counted for so much among them that
Notes and citation
Summary: Some philosophers gave up property and pleasure to follow virtue alone.
- The round brackets around "et" in the Latin mark a word added by the editor; it is translated.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.4 (CSEL 19:2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.5CSEL 19:2
ipsa esse summi boni praemium iudicarent —, sed neque adepti sunt id quod uolebant et operam simul atque industriam perdiderunt, quia ueritas id est arcanum summi dei, qui fecit omnia, ingenio ac propriis sensibus non potest conprehendi: alioquin nihil inter deum hominemque distaret, si consilia et dispositiones illius maiestatis aeternae cogitatio adsequeretur humana.
they judged the reward of the highest good to lie in virtue itself. Yet they did not attain what they wished, and they lost their effort and industry together, because the truth, that is, the secret of the supreme God who made all things, cannot be grasped by ability and by one's own senses. Otherwise there would be no difference between God and man, if human thought could reach the counsels and ordinances of that eternal majesty.
Notes and citation
Summary: The philosophers failed, because God's truth cannot be reached by human ability alone.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.5 (CSEL 19:2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.6CSEL 19:2
quod quia fieri non potuit ut homini per se ipsum ratio diuina notesceret, non est passus hominem deus lumen sapientiae requirentem diutius errare ac sine ullo laboris effectu uagari per tenebras inextricabiles: aperuit oculos eius aliquando et notionem ueritatis munus suum fecit, ut et humanam sapientiam nullam esse monstraret et erranti ac uago uiam consequendae inmortalitatis ostenderet.
And because it could not be that the divine plan should become known to man by his own efforts, God did not allow man, as he sought the light of wisdom, to wander any longer and roam without any fruit of his labour through darkness from which there was no way out. At length he opened his eyes and made the knowledge of the truth his own gift, so as both to show that human wisdom is nothing and to point out to the wandering and straying man the way to gain immortality.
Notes and citation
Summary: God himself revealed the truth, showing that human wisdom is nothing and pointing to the way of immortality.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.6 (CSEL 19:2; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.7CSEL 19:2–3
uerum quoniam pauci utuntur hoc caelesti beneficio ac munere, quod obuoluta in obscuro ueritas latet eaque uel contemptui doctis est, quia idoneis adsertoribus eget, uel odio indoctis ob insitam sibi austeritatem, quam natura hominum procliuis in uitia pati non potest — nam quia uirtutibus amaritudo permixta est, uitia uero uoluptate condita sunt, illa offensi, hac deleniti feruntur in praeceps et bonorum specie falsi mala pro bonis amplectuntur —, succurrendum esse his erroribus credidi, ut et docti ad ueram sapientiam dirigantur et indocti ad ueram religionem.
But few make use of this heavenly kindness and gift, because the truth lies hidden, wrapped in obscurity. The learned despise it because it lacks competent champions; the unlearned hate it for the severity that belongs to it, which human nature, prone to vice, cannot bear. For since bitterness is mixed with the virtues, while the vices are seasoned with pleasure, men are repelled by the one and charmed by the other; they rush headlong and, deceived by the appearance of good things, embrace evils in place of goods. I have therefore believed that I must come to the help of these errors, so that the learned may be directed to true wisdom and the unlearned to true religion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Few accept revealed truth, so Lactantius writes to lead the learned to true wisdom and the unlearned to true religion.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.7 (CSEL 19:2–3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.8CSEL 19:3
quae professio multo melior utilior gloriosior putanda est quam illa oratoria, in qua diu uersati non ad uirtutem, sed plane ad argutam malitiam iuuenes erudiebamus, multoque nunc rectius de praeceptis caelestibus disseremus, quibus ad cultum uerae maiestatis mentes hominum instituere possimus,
This profession is to be judged far better, more useful, and more glorious than that of oratory, in which I was long engaged, training young men not to virtue but plainly to clever wickedness. Much more rightly shall I now discourse on the heavenly precepts, by which I may be able to form the minds of men for the worship of the true majesty.
Notes and citation
Summary: Teaching heavenly precepts is better than the oratory Lactantius once taught.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.8 (CSEL 19:3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.9CSEL 19:3
nec tam de rebus humanis bene meretur qui scientiam bene dicendi adfert quam qui pie atque innocenter docet uiuere. idcirco apud Graecos maiore in gloria philosophi quam oratores fuerunt. illi enim recte uiuendi doctores sunt existimati, quod est longe praestabilius, quoniam bene dicere ad paucos pertinet, bene autem uiuere ad omnes.
Nor does one who imparts the skill of speaking well deserve as well of the human race as one who teaches how to live piously and innocently. That is why among the Greeks the philosophers were held in greater glory than the orators: they were regarded as teachers of right living, which is far more excellent, since speaking well concerns few, but living well concerns all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Teaching people to live well matters more than teaching them to speak well.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.9 (CSEL 19:3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.10CSEL 19:3
multum tamen nobis exercitatio illa fictarum litium contulit, ut nunc maiore copia et facultate dicendi causam ueritatis peroremus. quae licet possit sine eloquentia defendi, ut est a multis saepe defensa, tamen claritate ac nitore sermonis inlustranda et quodammodo adserenda est, ut potentius in animos influat et ui sua instructa et luce orationis ornata. de religione itaque nobis rebusque diuinis instituitur disputatio.
Still, that practice in fictitious lawsuits has been of great use to me, so that I can now plead the cause of truth with greater fullness and fluency of speech. Although the truth can be defended without eloquence, as it often has been defended by many, yet it ought to be made illustrious, and in a manner championed, by clarity and elegance of language, so that it may flow more powerfully into men's minds, both equipped with its own force and adorned with the light of speech. So I undertake a discussion of religion and of divine things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rhetorical training helps present the truth persuasively, and the work now turns to religion.
- "Fictitious lawsuits": the practice speeches (declamations) of the rhetorical schools.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.10 (CSEL 19:3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.11CSEL 19:3–4
nam si quidam maximi oratores professionis suae quasi ueterani decursis operibus actionum suarum postremo se philosophiae tradiderunt eamque sibi requiem laborum iustissimam putauerunt, si animos suos in earum rerum quae inueniri non poterant inquisitione torquerent, ut non tam otium sibi quam negotium quaesisse uideantur et quidem multo molestius quam in quo fuerant ante uersati, quanto iustius ego me ad illam piam ueram diuinam sapientiam quasi ad portum aliquem tutissimum conferam, in qua omnia dictu prona sunt, auditu suauia, facilia intellectu, honesta susceptu?
For if certain very great orators, like veterans having finished the campaigns of their pleading, at last gave themselves to philosophy and thought it the most just rest from their labours, and yet tortured their minds in searching for things that could not be found, so that they seem to have sought for themselves not leisure but business, and indeed far more troublesome business than that in which they had been occupied before, how much more justly shall I betake myself, as to a most secure harbour, to that pious, true, and divine wisdom, in which all things are ready to be said, pleasant to hear, easy to understand, and honourable to undertake?
Notes and citation
Summary: If retired orators turned to philosophy, Lactantius has more reason to turn to divine wisdom, which is clear and honourable.
- Probably an allusion to Cicero, who turned to philosophy late in life.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point inside the word (OCR)): suscept.u? → susceptu?.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.11 (CSEL 19:3–4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.12CSEL 19:4
et si quidam prudentes et arbitri aequitatis institutiones ciuilis iuris conpositas ediderunt, quibus ciuium dissidentium lites contentionesque sopirent, quanto melius nos et rectius diuinas institutiones litteris persequemur, in quibus non de stillicidiis aut aquis arcendis aut de manu conserenda, sed de spe, de uita, de salute, de inmortalitate, de deo loquemur, ut superstitiones mortiferas erroresque turpissimos sopiamus?
And if certain wise men, arbiters of equity, composed and published institutes of civil law to settle the quarrels and disputes of citizens at variance, how much better and more rightly shall we set out in writing divine institutes, in which we shall speak not of eaves-drip, or of warding off rainwater, or of joining hands in a claim at law, but of hope, of life, of salvation, of immortality, of God, so that we may put to rest deadly superstitions and most shameful errors?
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: As jurists wrote institutes of civil law, Lactantius writes divine institutes about life, salvation, and God.
- The title of the work plays on the "Institutes" of Roman law. The examples are technical terms of Roman property law (rights over dripping eaves, the action to ward off rainwater, and the formal joining of hands in a claim of ownership).
- Sections 1.1.13–16 (an address to Constantine found in some manuscripts) are not in this edition's text here.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.12 (CSEL 19:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.17CSEL 19:4
Omissis ergo terrenae huiusce philosophiae auctoribus nihil certi adferentibus adgrediamur uiam rectam. quos equidem si putarem satis idoneos ad bene uiuendum duces esse, et ipse sequerer et alios ut sequerentur hortarer:
Leaving aside, then, the teachers of this earthly philosophy, who offer nothing certain, let us take the right road. If I thought them adequate guides to living well, I would follow them myself and urge others to follow them;
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius sets the philosophers aside because they offer nothing certain.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.17 (CSEL 19:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.18CSEL 19:4–5
sed cum inter se magna concertatione dissideant secumque ipsi plerumque discordent, apparet eorum iter nequaquam esse directum, siquidem sibi quisque ut est libitum proprias uias inpresserunt confusionemque magnam quaerentibus ueritatem reliquerunt.
but since they disagree among themselves in great contention and are very often at odds with themselves, it is plain that their road is by no means straight. Each of them has marked out his own paths as he pleased, and they have left great confusion for those who seek the truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: The philosophers contradict one another and themselves, and so leave seekers confused.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.18 (CSEL 19:4–5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.19CSEL 19:5
nobis autem qui sacramentum uerae religionis accepimus cum sit ueritas reuelata diuinitus, cum doctorem sapientiae ducemque uirtutis deum sequamur, uniuersos sine ullo discrimine uel sexus uel aetatis ad caeleste pabulum conuocamus:
But we, who have received the sacrament of the true religion, since the truth has been revealed by God, and since we follow God as the teacher of wisdom and the guide of virtue, call all people without any distinction of sex or age to the heavenly food;
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians, having received revealed truth, invite everyone of every sex and age to it.
- "Sacrament" (sacramentum) here has its older sense: the sacred mystery or pledge of the true religion.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip for autem): nobis antem → nobis autem.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.19 (CSEL 19:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.20CSEL 19:5
nullus enim suauior animo cibus est quam cognitio ueritatis. cui adserendae atque inlustrandae septem uolumina destinavimus, quamuis ea res infiniti sit paene operis et inmensi, ut si quis haec dilatare atque exsequi plenissime uelit, tanta illi rerum copia exuberet, ut nec libri modum nec finem reperiat oratio.
for no food is sweeter to the soul than the knowledge of the truth. To asserting and illustrating it I have devoted seven volumes, although the subject is a task almost without end and without measure, so that if anyone wished to expand and pursue these things in full, such an abundance of matter would pour out on him that his speech would find neither limit for books nor end.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius announces seven books on the truth, though the subject is almost limitless.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (u for n)): adsereudae → adserendae.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.20 (CSEL 19:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.21CSEL 19:5
sed nos idcirco breviter omnia colligemus, quod ea quae adlaturi sumus tam clara sunt et lucida, ut magis mirum esse uideatur tam obscuram uideri hominibus ueritatem et iis praecipue qui sapientes uulgo putantur, uel quod tantummodo instituendi nobis homines erunt hoc est ab errore quo sunt implicati ad rectiorem uiam reuocandi.
But we shall gather everything together briefly, because the things we are going to set forth are so clear and bright that it seems more wonderful that the truth should seem so obscure to men, and especially to those who are commonly thought wise; or because we shall have only to instruct men, that is, to call them back from the error in which they are entangled to a more correct road.
Notes and citation
Summary: The treatment will be brief, because the truth is clear and the aim is to call people back from error.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.21 (CSEL 19:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.22CSEL 19:5
quod si fuerimus ut spero adsecuti, mittemus eos ad ipsum doctrinae uberrimum ac plenissimum fontem, cuius haustu atque potu conceptam uisceribus sitim sedent ardoremque restinguant, eruntque illis omnia facilia prona manifesta, modo ne pigeat ad percipiendam sapientiae disciplinam legendi uel audiendi patientiam commodare.
If we succeed in this, as I hope, we shall send them to the very fountain of teaching, most abundant and most full, so that by drinking from it they may quench the thirst they have conceived within and extinguish its burning; and everything will be easy, ready, and plain to them, provided they are not reluctant to lend patience to reading or hearing, so as to take in the discipline of wisdom.
Notes and citation
Summary: Readers who are persuaded will be sent on to the full source of teaching, if they are patient enough to read or listen.
- The "fountain" is probably the Scriptures.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.22 (CSEL 19:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-22).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.23CSEL 19:5–6
multi enim superstitionibus uanis pertinaciter inhaerentes obdurant contra manifestam ueritatem, non tam de suis religionibus quas praue adserunt bene meriti quam de se male. qui cum habeant iter rectum, deuios secuntur anfractus, planum deserunt, ut per praecipitium labantur, lucem relinquunt, ut in tenebris caeci ac debiles iaceant.
For many, clinging stubbornly to vain superstitions, harden themselves against the manifest truth, deserving well not so much of their religions, which they wrongly defend, as ill of themselves. Though they have a straight road, they follow winding byways; they desert the level ground to slip down the precipice; they leave the light to lie blind and helpless in darkness.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many cling to superstition against plain truth and so harm themselves.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.23 (CSEL 19:5–6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-23).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.24CSEL 19:6
his consulendum est, ne contra se pugnent uelintque se tandem ab inueteratis erroribus liberari: quod utique facient, si quare sint nati aliquando peruiderint.
We must take thought for these people, that they may not fight against themselves but may at last be willing to be freed from their inveterate errors; and this they will surely do, if they ever come to see clearly for what purpose they were born.
Notes and citation
Summary: Such people must be helped to see why they were born, so they will want to leave their errors.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.24 (CSEL 19:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-24).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.1.25CSEL 19:6
haec enim prauitatis est causa, ignoratio sui: quam si quis cognita ueritate discusserit, sciet quo referenda et quemadmodum sibi uita degenda sit. cuius scientiae summam breuiter circumscribo, ut neque religio ulla sine sapientia suscipienda sit nec ulla sine religione probanda sapientia.
For this is the cause of perversity: ignorance of oneself. If anyone dispels it by coming to know the truth, he will know to what end his life must be directed and how it must be lived. The sum of this knowledge I briefly define thus: no religion is to be taken up without wisdom, and no wisdom approved without religion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Ignorance of oneself causes error; religion and wisdom must go together.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.1.25 (CSEL 19:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-1-25).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 1, chapter 2
1.2.1CSEL 19:6
Suscepto igitur inlustrandae ueritatis officio non putaui adeo necessarium ab illa quaestione principium sumere, quae uidetur prima esse natura, sitne prouidentia quae rebus omnibus consulat an fortuito vel facta sint omnia uel gerantur.
Having undertaken, then, the task of illustrating the truth, I did not think it so necessary to begin from that question which seems by nature to come first: whether there is a providence that takes thought for all things, or whether all things were made or are carried on by chance.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius does not think he must begin with the question of whether providence exists.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.2.1 (CSEL 19:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-2-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.2.2CSEL 19:6
cuius sententiae auctor est Democritus, confirmator Epicurus. sed et antea Protagoras qui deos in dubium uocauit et postea Diagoras qui exclusit et alii nonnulli qui non putauerunt deos esse quid aliud effecerunt nisi ut nulla esse prouidentia putaretur? quos tamen ceteri philosophi ac maxime Stoici acerrime rettuderunt docentes nec fieri mundum sine diuina ratione potuisse nec constare, nisi summa ratione regeretur.
The author of that opinion is Democritus, its confirmer Epicurus. But earlier Protagoras, who called the gods into doubt, and later Diagoras, who shut them out altogether, and some others who thought the gods do not exist, what else did they achieve than that there should be thought to be no providence? Yet the other philosophers, and especially the Stoics, beat them back most vigorously, teaching that the world could neither have come into being without divine reason nor hold together unless it were governed by the highest reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: Democritus and Epicurus denied providence, but the Stoics refuted them.
Extrabiblical texts: Democritus (Democritus (fragments); allusion); Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.2.2 (CSEL 19:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-2-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.2.3CSEL 19:6
sed et Marcus Tullius quamuis Academicae disciplinae defensor esset, de prouidentia gubernatrice rerum et multa et saepe disseruit Stoicorum argumenta confirmans et noua ipsa adferens plurima: quod facit cum in omnibus philosophiae suae libris tum maxime in iis qui sunt de natura deorum.
Marcus Tullius too, although he was a defender of the Academic school, discussed providence as the governor of things often and at length, confirming the arguments of the Stoics and bringing forward very many new ones himself. He does this in all his philosophical books, but above all in those On the Nature of the Gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero, though an Academic, argued for providence, especially in On the Nature of the Gods.
- Marcus Tullius is Cicero; the work is De natura deorum.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.2.3 (CSEL 19:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-2-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.2.4CSEL 19:6–7
nec difficile sane fuit. paucorum hominum praua sentientium redarguere mendacia testimonio populorum atque gentium in hac una re non dissidentium.
Nor was it difficult indeed to refute the lies of a few men who held perverse views by the testimony of peoples and nations, which do not disagree on this one matter.
Notes and citation
Summary: The consent of all peoples easily refutes the few who deny providence.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.2.4 (CSEL 19:6–7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-2-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.2.5CSEL 19:7
nemo est enim tam rudis, tam feris moribus quin oculos suos in caelum tollens, tametsi nesciat cuius dei prouidentia regatur hoc omne quod cernitur, aliquam tamen esse intellegat ex ipsa rerum magnitudine motu dispositione constantia utilitate pulchritudine temperatione nec posse fieri quin id quod mirabili ratione constat consilio maiore aliquo sit instructum.
For no one is so rude and so savage in character that, lifting his eyes to heaven, even if he does not know by the providence of which god all this that is seen is ruled, he does not nevertheless understand from the very greatness of things, their motion, arrangement, constancy, usefulness, beauty, and balance, that there is some providence, and that it cannot be but that what is constituted with wonderful order has been arranged by some greater design.
Notes and citation
Summary: Anyone who looks at the order of the heavens recognizes a governing providence.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.2.5 (CSEL 19:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-2-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.2.6CSEL 19:7
et nobis utique facillimum est exsequi hanc partem quamlibet copiose: sed quia multum inter philosophos agitata res est et prouidentiam tollentibus satis responsum uidetur ab hominibus argutis et eloquentibus et de sollertia diuinae prouidentiae per totum hoc opus quod suscepimus sparsim dicere nos necesse est, omittamus in praesenti hanc quaestionem, quae cum ceteris sic cohaeret, ut nihil a nobis uideatur disseri posse, ut non simul de prouidentia disseratur.
And it would certainly be very easy for us to pursue this subject as fully as we liked. But since the matter has been much debated among philosophers, and those who deny providence seem to have been answered sufficiently by acute and eloquent men, and since we must in any case speak here and there throughout this whole work that we have undertaken about the skill of divine providence, let us pass over this question for the present. It is so bound up with the others that nothing, it seems, can be discussed by us without providence being discussed at the same time.
Notes and citation
Summary: Providence will be treated throughout the work rather than separately here.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.2.6 (CSEL 19:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-2-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 1, chapter 3
1.3.1CSEL 19:7
Sit ergo nostri operis exordium quaestio illa consequens ac secunda, utrum potestate unius dei mundus regatur anne multorum. nemo, qui quidem sapiat rationemque secum putet, non unum esse intellegat, qui et condiderit omnia et eadem qua condidit uirtute moderetur.
Let the beginning of our work, then, be the question that follows as the second: whether the world is governed by the power of one God or of many. No one who is wise and reckons the matter within himself fails to understand that there is one who both founded all things and governs them by the same power by which he founded them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The work begins with whether the world is ruled by one God or many; reason shows there is one.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.1 (CSEL 19:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.2CSEL 19:7–8
quid enim multis opus est ad mundi regimen sustinendum? nisi forte arbitrabimur, si plures sint, minus habere singulos neruorum atque uirium:
For what need is there of many to sustain the government of the world? Unless perhaps we shall think that, if there are several, each has less strength and power;
Notes and citation
Summary: Many gods would only be needed if each were weak.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.2 (CSEL 19:7–8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.3CSEL 19:8
quod quidem faciunt ii qui esse multos uolunt, quia necesse est inbecillos esse, siquidem singuli sine auxilio reliquorum tantae molis gubernaculum sustinere non possunt. deus autem, qui est aeterna mens, ex omni utique parte perfectae consummataeque uirtutis est:
and this is what those who want there to be many do in fact imply, since they must be weak, if each one without the help of the rest cannot hold the helm of so vast a mass. But God, who is eternal Mind, is certainly of perfect and complete power in every respect;
Notes and citation
Summary: Belief in many gods implies weak gods, whereas God, eternal Mind, is perfect in power.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.3 (CSEL 19:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.4CSEL 19:8
quod si uerum est, unus sit necesse est. potestas enim uel uirtus absoluta retinet suam propriam firmitatem. id autem solidum existimandum est, cui nihil decedere, id perfectum, cui nihil possit accedere.
and if this is true, he must be one. For absolute power or might keeps its own proper firmness. That is to be judged solid from which nothing can be taken away, and that perfect to which nothing can be added.
Notes and citation
Summary: Perfect power must belong to one being.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.4 (CSEL 19:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.5CSEL 19:8
quis dubitet potentissimum esse regem qui totius orbis habeat imperium? neque inmerito. cum illius sint Quae ubique sunt omnia cum ad eum solum omnes undique copiae congerantur.
Who would doubt that a king who holds the rule of the whole world is most powerful? And rightly, since all things everywhere are his, and all resources from every side are gathered to him alone.
Notes and citation
Summary: A king who rules the whole world is the most powerful.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.5 (CSEL 19:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.6CSEL 19:8
at si plures partiantur orbem, minus certe opum, minus uirium singuli habebunt, cum intra praescriptam portionem se quisque contineat.
But if several divide the world, each will certainly have less wealth and less strength, since each keeps within the portion assigned to him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Kings who share the world are each weaker.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (ni for m)): uiriuni → uirium.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.6 (CSEL 19:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.7CSEL 19:8
eodem modo etiam dii, si plures sint, minus ualebunt, aliis tantundem in se habentibus. uirtutis autem perfecta natura in eo potest esse in quo totum est quam in eo in quo pars exigua de toto est. deus uero si perfectus est, ut esse debet, non potest esse nisi unus, ut in eo sint omnia.
In the same way the gods also, if there are several, will be less strong, since others have just as much in themselves. But the perfect nature of power can exist in the one in whom the whole is, rather than in one who has only a small part of the whole. God, if he is perfect, as he must be, cannot be other than one, so that all things may be in him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many gods would each be weaker; a perfect God must be one.
- The Latin lacks a word such as "rather" (potius) before "than"; it is translated by the evident sense.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.7 (CSEL 19:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.8CSEL 19:8
deorum igitur uirtutes ac potestates infirmiores sint necesse est, quia tantum singulis deerit, quantum in ceteris fuerit: ita quanto plures tanto minores erunt.
The powers and might of the gods, then, must be weaker, since each will lack as much as is in the others; so the more there are, the less they will be.
Notes and citation
Summary: The more gods there are, the weaker each would be.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.8 (CSEL 19:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.9CSEL 19:8–9
quid quod summa illa rerum potestas ac diuina uis ne semel quidem diuidi potest? quidquid enim capit diuisionem, et interitum capiat necesse est. si autem interitus procul est a deo, quia incorruptibilis est et aeternus, consequens est ut diuidi potestas diuina non possit.
What of the fact that that supreme power over things, the divine might, cannot be divided even once? For whatever admits of division must also admit of destruction. But if destruction is far from God, because he is incorruptible and eternal, it follows that the divine power cannot be divided.
Notes and citation
Summary: Divine power cannot be divided, because what is divisible is perishable.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.9 (CSEL 19:8–9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.10CSEL 19:9
deus ergo unus est, si nihil esse aliut potest quod tantundem capiat potestatis: et ii tamen qui multos esse arbitrantur officia inter se dicunt esse partitos. de quibus omnibus suo loco disputabimus.
God is therefore one, if nothing else can exist that has as much power. And yet those who think there are many say that they have divided their offices among themselves. We shall discuss all these in their place.
Notes and citation
Summary: God is one, though polytheists say the gods divide their offices.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray colon (OCR)): quod: tantundem → quod tantundem.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.10 (CSEL 19:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.11CSEL 19:9
illud interim quod ad praesentem locum pertinet teneo: si partiti sunt inter se officia, eodem reuoluitur res, ut ex iis quilibet sufficere omnibus nequeat. perfectus igitur non erit qui cessantibus ceteris non potest omnia gubernare. ita fit ut ad regendum mundum unius perfecta uirtute opus sit quam inbecillitate multorum.
Meanwhile I hold to what concerns the present point: if they have divided their offices among themselves, the matter comes back to the same place, that none of them can suffice for all things. He will therefore not be perfect who cannot govern all things if the rest are idle. So it follows that to rule the world there is need of the perfect power of one rather than the weakness of many.
Notes and citation
Summary: If the gods share offices, none is perfect; ruling the world needs the perfect power of one.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.11 (CSEL 19:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.12CSEL 19:9
qui autem putat hanc tantam magnitudinem non posse ab uno regi, fallitur neque quanta sit uis ac potestas diuinae maiestatis intellegit, si existimat singularem deum qui facere mundum potuit, eundem regere non posse quem fecit.
Whoever thinks that so great a magnitude cannot be ruled by one is mistaken and does not understand how great is the force and power of the divine majesty, if he supposes that the one God who could make the world cannot rule what he made.
Notes and citation
Summary: The one God who made the world can also rule it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.12 (CSEL 19:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.13CSEL 19:9
at si concipiat animo quanta sit diuini huius operis inmensitas (eamque) cum antea nihil esset, tamen uirtute atque consilio dei ex nihilo esse conflatam, quod opus nisi ab uno inchoari perficique non potuit, iam intelleget multo facilius esse ab uno regi quod est ab uno constitutum.
But if he conceives in his mind how great is the immensity of this divine work, and that, although before there was nothing, it was nevertheless brought together out of nothing by the power and counsel of God, a work that could not have been begun and completed except by one, he will now understand that what was established by one is much more easily ruled by one.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since one God created the world from nothing, one God can more easily rule it.
- The editor adds "eamque" ("and that it") in round brackets; translated.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.13 (CSEL 19:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.14CSEL 19:9
dicat fortasse aliquis ne fabricari quidem tam inmensum opus mundi nisi a pluribus potuisse. quamlibet multos, quamlibet magnos faciat, quidquid in multis magnitudinis potestatis uirtutis maiestatisque posuerit, id totum in unum confero et in uno esse dico, ut tantum in eo sit istarum rerum, quantum nec cogitari nec dici potest.
Someone may perhaps say that so immense a work as the world could not even have been fashioned except by several. Let him make them as many and as great as he likes: whatever greatness, power, might, and majesty he places in the many, I gather all of it into one and say that it is in one, so that there is as much of these things in him as can neither be thought nor spoken.
Notes and citation
Summary: Whatever power one ascribes to many gods, Lactantius ascribes all of it to one God.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (t for f)): tabricari → fabricari.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.14 (CSEL 19:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.15CSEL 19:9–10
qua in re quoniam et sensu deficimur et uerbis, quia neque tantam intellegentiae lucem pectus humanum neque explanationem tantarum rerum capit lingua mortalis, id ipsum intellegere nos oportet ac dicere.
And since in this we fail both in understanding and in words, because the human breast cannot contain so great a light of understanding, nor mortal tongue an explanation of such great things, we ought to understand and to say that very thing.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's greatness exceeds human thought and speech, and that itself must be acknowledged.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.15 (CSEL 19:9–10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.16CSEL 19:10
uideo rursus quid e contrario dici possit, tales esse illos plures qualem nos uolumus unum. at hoc fieri nullo pacto potest, quod singulorum potestas progredi longius non ualebit occurrentibus sibi potestatibus ceterorum. necesse est enim ut suos quisque limites aut transgredi nequeat aut si transgressus fuerit, suis alterum finibus pellat.
Again I see what can be said on the other side: that those many are such as we want the one to be. But this cannot possibly happen, because the power of each will not be able to advance further when it meets the powers of the others. For each must either be unable to pass his own boundaries, or, if he has passed them, must drive another from his territory.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many all-powerful gods are impossible, since each would limit the others.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.16 (CSEL 19:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.17CSEL 19:10
non uident qui deos multos esse credunt fieri posse ut aliquid diuersum uelint, ex qua re disceptatio inter eos et certamen oriatur; sicut Homerus bellantes inter se deos finxit, cum alii Troiam capi uellent, alii repugnarent.
Those who believe there are many gods do not see that it could happen that they wish different things, from which dispute and conflict would arise among them; just as Homer imagined the gods warring among themselves, some wishing Troy to be taken and others opposing it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many gods could want different things and fight, as Homer's gods did over Troy.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. (Homer, Iliad; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.17 (CSEL 19:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.18CSEL 19:10
unius igitur arbitrio mundum regi necesse est. nisi enim singularum partium potestas ad unam prouidentiam referatur, non poterit summa ipsa constare, uno quoque nihil curante amplius quam quod ad eum proprie pertinet, sicut ne res quidem militaris nisi unum habeat ducem atque rectorem.
The world must therefore be ruled by the will of one. For unless the power over the several parts is referred to one providence, the whole itself cannot hold together, each caring for nothing beyond what properly belongs to him; just as not even military affairs can stand unless they have one commander and director.
Notes and citation
Summary: The world must be ruled by one will, just as an army needs one commander.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.18 (CSEL 19:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.19CSEL 19:10
quodsi in uno exercitu tot fuerint imperatores quot legiones, quot cohortes, quot cunei, quot alae, primum nec instrui poterit acies uno quoque periculum recusante nec regi facile aut temperari, quod suis propriis consiliis utantur omnes, quorum diuersitate plus noceant quam prosint: sic in hoc rerum naturae imperio nisi unus fuerit ad quem totius summae cura referatur, uniuersa soluentur et conruent.
If in one army there were as many generals as there are legions, cohorts, wedges, and squadrons, first, the battle line could not be drawn up, each one refusing the danger; nor could it easily be ruled or controlled, because all would follow their own counsels, and by their diversity they would do more harm than good. So in this empire of nature, unless there were one to whom the care of the whole was referred, all things would be dissolved and would collapse.
Notes and citation
Summary: An army with many generals would fall apart, and so would a universe with many rulers.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.19 (CSEL 19:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.20CSEL 19:10–11
dicere autem multorum arbitrio regi mundum tale est, quale si quis adfirmet in uno corpore multas esse mentes, quoniam multa et uaria sint ministeria membrorum, ut singulos corporis sensus singulae mentes regere credantur, item multi adfectus, quibus commoueri solemus uel ad iram uel ad cupiditatem uel ad laetitiam uel ad metum uel ad miserationem, ut in his omnibus totidem mentes putentur operari. quod si quis profecto dicat, ne ipsam quidem quae una est habere uideatur.
To say that the world is ruled by the will of many is as if someone were to assert that in one body there are many minds, because the functions of the limbs are many and various, so that each sense of the body is believed to be ruled by its own mind; and likewise the many emotions by which we are usually moved, to anger or desire or joy or fear or pity, so that in all these as many minds are supposed to be at work. If anyone did say this, he would seem not to have even the one mind that there is.
Notes and citation
Summary: Saying many gods rule the world is like saying one body has many minds.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.20 (CSEL 19:10–11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.21CSEL 19:11
quodsi in uno corpore tantarum rerum gubernationem mens una possidet et uniuersis simul intenta est, cur aliquis existimet mundum non posse ab uno regi, a pluribus posse? quod quia intellegunt isti adsertores deorum, ita eos praeesse singulis rebus ac partibus dicunt, ut tamen unus sit rector eximius.
But if in one body one mind has the government of so many things and attends to all of them at once, why should anyone think that the world cannot be ruled by one but can be ruled by many? Because these champions of the gods understand this, they say that the gods preside over particular things and parts in such a way that there is nevertheless one supreme ruler.
Notes and citation
Summary: One mind rules the body; polytheists themselves admit one supreme ruler over the gods.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.21 (CSEL 19:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.22CSEL 19:11
iam ergo ceteri non dii erunt, sed satellites ac ministri, quos ille unus maximus ac potens omnium iis officiis praefecerit, ut ipsi eius imperio ac nutibus seruiant. si uniuersi pares non sunt, non igitur dii omnes sunt: nec enim potest hoc idem esse quod seruit et quod dominatur.
Then the others will no longer be gods but attendants and ministers, whom that one, the greatest and mighty over all, has set over those offices, so that they serve his command and nod. If they are not all equal, then they are not all gods: for what serves and what rules cannot be the same.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lesser beings who serve the supreme God are ministers, not gods.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.22 (CSEL 19:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-22).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.23CSEL 19:11
nam si deus nomen est summae potestatis, incorruptibilis esse debet, perfectus inpassibilis nulli rei subiectus. ergo dii non sunt quos parere uni maximo deo necessitas cogit.
For if "god" is the name of the highest power, he must be incorruptible, perfect, impassible, subject to nothing. Those, therefore, whom necessity compels to obey the one greatest God are not gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Beings obliged to obey the supreme God cannot be gods.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; the sense requires uni ("the one")): parere um maximo → parere uni maximo.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.23 (CSEL 19:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-23).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.3.24CSEL 19:11
sed quia non frustra falluntur qui hoc ita putant, causam huius erroris paulo post aperiemus. nunc unitatem diuinae potestatis testimoniis conprobemus.
But since those who think so are not deceived without cause, we shall disclose the cause of this error a little later. Now let us prove the unity of the divine power by testimonies.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius will explain the source of the error later and now turns to testimonies for one God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.3.24 (CSEL 19:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-3-24).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 1, chapter 4
1.4.1CSEL 19:11
Prophetae, qui fuerunt admodum multi, unum deum praedicant, unum locuntur, quippe qui unius dei spiritu pleni quae futura essent pari et consona uoce praedixerint.
The prophets, who were very many, proclaim one God and speak of one, since, being filled with the Spirit of the one God, they foretold what was to come with a like and harmonious voice.
Notes and citation
Summary: The many prophets, filled with one Spirit, all proclaim one God.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.1 (CSEL 19:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.2CSEL 19:11–12
at enim ueritatis expertes non putant his esse credendum: illas enim non diuinas, sed humanas fuisse uoces aiunt: uidelicet quia de uno deo praeconium faciunt, aut insani aut fallaces fuerunt.
But those who have no share in the truth think they should not be believed. They say those were not divine but human voices; evidently, because they proclaim one God, they were either mad or deceivers.
Notes and citation
Summary: Unbelievers dismiss the prophets as mad or deceitful.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.2 (CSEL 19:11–12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.3CSEL 19:12
atquin inpleta esse inplerique cottidie illorum uaticinia uidemus et in unam sententiam congruens diuinatio docet non fuisse furiosos. quis enim mentis emotae non modo futura praecinere, sed etiam cohaerentia loqui possit?
Yet we see that their prophecies have been fulfilled and are being fulfilled daily, and their divination, agreeing in one meaning, shows that they were not raving. For who with a disordered mind could not only foretell the future but also speak coherently?
Notes and citation
Summary: Fulfilled and harmonious prophecies show the prophets were not mad.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.3 (CSEL 19:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.4CSEL 19:12
num ergo fallaces erant qui talia loquebantur? quid ab his tam longe alienum quam ratio fallendi, cum ceteros ab omni fraude cohiberent? idcirco enim a deo mittebantur, ut et praecones essent maiestatis eius et correctores prauitatis humanae.
Were they, then, deceivers who spoke such things? What was so foreign to them as the design of deceiving, when they restrained others from all fraud? For this is why they were sent by God: to be heralds of his majesty and correctors of human wickedness.
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets, who forbade fraud, were sent by God and were not deceivers.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.4 (CSEL 19:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.5CSEL 19:12
praeterea uoluntas fingendi ac mentiendi eorum est qui opes adpetunt, qui lucra desiderant: quae res procul ab illis sanctis uiris afuit.
Moreover, the will to feign and lie belongs to those who seek riches and desire gain; and this was far from those holy men.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lying comes from greed, which the prophets lacked.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.5 (CSEL 19:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.6CSEL 19:12
ita enim delegato sibi officio functi sunt, ut derelictis omnibus ad tutelam uitae necessariis non modo in futurum, sed ne in diem quidem laborarent contenti extemporali cibo quem deus subministrasset. et hi non modo quaestum nullum habuerunt, sed etiam cruciatus atque mortem.
For they discharged the office entrusted to them in such a way that, leaving behind everything needed to sustain life, they took no trouble not only for the future but not even for the day, content with the food of the moment which God supplied. And they not only had no gain, but even tortures and death.
Matt 6:34 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets lived without provision, trusting God for daily food, and suffered torture and death.
- Perhaps an echo of Matt 6:34 ("do not be anxious about tomorrow").
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.6 (CSEL 19:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.7CSEL 19:12
amara sunt enim uitiosis ac male uiuentibus praecepta iustitiae. itaque ii quorum peccata et arguebantur et prohibebantur excruciatos eos acerbissime necauerunt. ergo a quibus afuit studium lucri, afuit etiam uoluntas et causa fallendi.
For the precepts of justice are bitter to the vicious and to those who live evilly. So those whose sins were exposed and forbidden tortured them most cruelly and killed them. Those, therefore, who had no love of gain had no will or reason to deceive.
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets were killed by sinners they rebuked, and without greed they had no motive to deceive.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.7 (CSEL 19:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.4.8CSEL 19:12–13
quid quod aliqui eorum principes aut etiam reges fuerunt, in quos cadere non potest suspicio cupiditatis ac fraudis, et tamen praeconium dei singularis eadem qua ceteri diuinatione fecerunt?
What of the fact that some of them were princes or even kings, on whom no suspicion of greed or fraud can fall, and yet they proclaimed the one God with the same inspiration as the rest?
Notes and citation
Summary: Even prophets who were princes or kings, free of any suspicion of greed, proclaimed one God.
- Probably David and Solomon are meant.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (m for in)): prmcipes → principes.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.4.8 (CSEL 19:12–13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-4-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 1, chapter 5
1.5.1CSEL 19:13
Sed omittamus sane testimonia prophetarum, ne minus idonea probatio uideatur esse de his quibus omnino non creditur.
But let us by all means leave aside the testimonies of the prophets, lest the proof seem less adequate if drawn from those who are not believed at all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius sets the prophets aside, since opponents do not believe them.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.1 (CSEL 19:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.2CSEL 19:13
ueniamus ad auctores et eos ipsos ad ueri probationem testes citemus, quibus contra nos uti solent, poetas dico ac philosophos. ex his unum deum probemus necesse est, non quod illi habuerint cognitam ueritatem, sed quod ueritatis ipsius tanta uis est, ut nemo possit esse tam caecus, quin uideat ingerentem se oculis diuinam claritatem.
Let us come to authorities, and call as witnesses to prove the truth the very men whom they are accustomed to use against us: I mean the poets and philosophers. From these we must prove that God is one, not because they had knowledge of the truth, but because the force of truth itself is so great that no one can be so blind as not to see the divine brightness forcing itself upon his eyes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius will prove one God from the poets and philosophers, whom his opponents respect.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.2 (CSEL 19:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.3CSEL 19:13
poetae igitur quamuis deos carminibus ornauerint et eorum res gestas amplificauerint summis laudibus, saepissime tamen confitentur spiritu uel mente una contineri regique omnia.
The poets, then, although they adorned the gods in their songs and magnified their deeds with the highest praises, yet very often confess that all things are held together and ruled by one spirit or mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: The poets often admit that one spirit or mind rules all things.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.3 (CSEL 19:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.4CSEL 19:13
Orpheus, qui est uetustissimus poetarum et aequalis ipsorum deorum, siquidem traditur inter Argonautas cum Tyndaridis et Hercule nauigasse, deum uerum et magnum πρωτόγονον appellat, quod ante ipsum nihil sit genitum, sed ab ipso sint cuncta generata. eundem etiam Φάνητα nominat, quod cum adhuc nihil esset, primus ex infinito apparuerit et extiterit.
Orpheus, who is the most ancient of the poets and a contemporary of the gods themselves, since he is said to have sailed among the Argonauts with the sons of Tyndareus and Hercules, calls the true and great God Protogonos, "first-born," because nothing was born before him, but all things were begotten from him. He also names him Phanes, "the one who appears," because when as yet nothing existed he first appeared and came forth from the infinite.
Notes and citation
Summary: Orpheus called the great God "first-born" and "Phanes", since all things came from him.
- Orphic fragments; the Greek names πρωτόγονος and Φάνης are quoted in the Latin text.
Extrabiblical texts: Orpheus (attributed), Orph. frag. (Orpheus (attributed), Orphic poems (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.4 (CSEL 19:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.5CSEL 19:13–14
cuius originem atque naturam quia concipere animo non poterat, ex aere inmenso natum esse dixit: πρωτόγονος Φαέθων περιμήϰεος ἠέρος υἱός.
Because he could not conceive in his mind his origin and nature, he said he was born of the boundless air: "First-born Phaethon, son of the far-stretching air."
Notes and citation
Summary: Orpheus, unable to explain God's origin, called him son of the air.
- Orphic fragment, quoted in Greek.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (n for ri)): onginem → originem.
Extrabiblical texts: Orpheus (attributed), Orph. frag. (Orpheus (attributed), Orphic poems (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.5 (CSEL 19:13–14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.6CSEL 19:14
aliut enim amplius quod diceret non habebat. hunc ait esse omnium deorum parentem, quorum causa caelum condiderit liberisque prospexerit, ut haberent habitaculum sedemque communem: ἔϰτισεν ἀθανάτοις δόμον άϕθιτον. natura igitur et ratione ducente intellexit esse praestantissimam potestatem, caeli ac terrae conditricem.
For he had nothing further to say. He says that he is the parent of all the gods, for whose sake he founded heaven and provided for his children, that they might have a dwelling and a common home: "He built for the immortals an imperishable house." So under the guidance of nature and reason he understood that there is a most excellent power, the founder of heaven and earth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Orpheus called this God the parent of the gods and builder of heaven, recognizing a supreme creator.
- Orphic fragment, quoted in Greek.
Extrabiblical texts: Orpheus (attributed), Orph. frag. (Orpheus (attributed), Orphic poems (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.6 (CSEL 19:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.7CSEL 19:14
non poterat enim dicere Iouem esse principem rerum, qui erat Saturno genitus, neque ipsum Saturnum, qui caelo natus ferebatur; caelum autem tamquam deum primum constituere non audebat, quod uidebat elementum esse mundi, quod ipsum eguerit auctore. haec eum ratio perduxit ad deum illum primogenitum, cui adsignat et tribuit principatum.
For he could not say that Jupiter was the first principle of things, since he was begotten of Saturn; nor Saturn himself, who was said to have been born of Heaven; and he did not dare to set up Heaven as the first god, because he saw that it was an element of the world and itself needed an author. This reasoning led him to that first-begotten God, to whom he assigns and grants the primacy.
Notes and citation
Summary: Orpheus could not make Jupiter, Saturn, or Heaven the first principle, so he posited a first-begotten God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.7 (CSEL 19:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.8CSEL 19:14
Homerus nihil nobis dare potuit quod pertineat ad ueritatem: qui humana potius quam diuina conscripsit. potuit Hesiodus, qui deorum generationem unius libri opere conplexus est: sed tamen nihil dedit non a deo conditore sumens exordium, sed a chao, quod est rudis inordinataeque materiae confusa congeries, cum explanare ante debuerit chaos ipsum unde quando quomodo esse aut constare coepisset.
Homer could give us nothing that pertains to the truth, since he wrote of human rather than divine things. Hesiod could have, since he embraced the generation of the gods in the work of one book; but he gave nothing, taking his beginning not from God the Creator but from Chaos, which is a confused heap of raw and disordered matter, whereas he ought first to have explained from where, when, and how Chaos itself began to be or to exist.
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer offers nothing on God, and Hesiod began from Chaos without explaining its origin.
- Hesiod's Theogony.
Extrabiblical texts: Hesiod, Theog. 116 (Hesiod, Theogony; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.8 (CSEL 19:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.9CSEL 19:14–15
nimirum sicut ab aliquo artifice disposita ordinata effecta sunt omnia, sic ipsam materiam fictam esse ab aliquo necesse est. quis igitur hanc nisi deus fecit, cuius potestati subiacent omnia?
Clearly, just as all things were arranged, ordered, and made by some craftsman, so matter itself must have been made by someone. Who then made it but God, to whose power all things are subject?
Notes and citation
Summary: Matter itself must have a maker, namely God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.9 (CSEL 19:14–15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.10CSEL 19:15
sed refugit hoc ille, dum horret incognitam ueritatem. non enim Musarum instinctu sicut uideri uolebat in Helicone carmen illut effudit, sed meditatus uenerat ac paratus.
But he shrank from this, shuddering at the unknown truth. For he did not pour out that song on Helicon by the inspiration of the Muses, as he wished to appear, but came having thought it out and prepared it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hesiod's poem was his own premeditated work, not inspired by the Muses.
- Alludes to the opening of the Theogony, where the Muses meet Hesiod on Helicon.
Extrabiblical texts: Hesiod, Theog. 22–34 (Hesiod, Theogony; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.10 (CSEL 19:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.11CSEL 19:15
nostrorum primus Maro non longe afuit a ueritate, cuius de summo deo, quem mentem ac spiritum nominauit, haec uerba sunt: principio caelum ac terras camposque liquentis lucentemque globum lunae Titaniaque astra spiritus intus alit totamque infusa per artus mens agitat molem et magno se corpore miscet.
The first of our own poets, Maro, was not far from the truth. Of the supreme God, whom he called mind and spirit, these are his words: "In the beginning the heaven and the lands, and the watery plains, the shining globe of the moon, and the Titanian stars, a spirit within nourishes; and mind, poured through all the limbs, moves the whole mass and mingles with the great body."
Notes and citation
Summary: Virgil came near the truth, describing a spirit and mind that pervades and moves the universe.
- Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), Aeneid 6.724–727.
Extrabiblical texts: Virgil, Aen. 6.724–727 (Virgil; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.11 (CSEL 19:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.12CSEL 19:15
ac ne quis forte ignoraret, quisnam esset ille spiritus qui tantum haberet potestatis, declarauit alio loco dicens: deum namque ire per omnis terrasque tractusque maris caelumque profundum; hinc pecudes armenta uiros genus omne ferarum, quemque sibi tenuis nascentem accersere uitas.
And lest anyone should perhaps not know who that spirit was which had so much power, he made it plain in another place, saying: "For God goes through all lands, and the tracts of the sea, and the deep heaven; from him flocks, herds, men, every kind of wild beast, each at birth draws its slender life."
Notes and citation
Summary: Elsewhere Virgil says plainly that God pervades all things and gives life to every creature.
- Virgil, Georgics 4.221–224.
Extrabiblical texts: Virgil, Georg. 4.221–224 (Virgil; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.12 (CSEL 19:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.13CSEL 19:15
Ouidius quoque in principio praeclari operis sine ulla nominis dissimulatione a deo, quem fabricatorem mundi, quem rerum opificem uocat, mundum fatetur instructum.
Ovid also, at the beginning of his famous work, without any concealment of the name, confesses that the world was set in order by God, whom he calls the fabricator of the world, the maker of things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Ovid opens the Metamorphoses by saying God made the world.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.57 and 1.79 (mundi fabricator, opifex rerum).
Extrabiblical texts: Ovid, Metam. 1.57, 79 (Ovid; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.13 (CSEL 19:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.14CSEL 19:15–16
quodsi uel Orpheus uel hi nostri quae natura ducente senserunt in perpetuum defendissent, eandem quam nos sequimur doctrinam conprehensa ueritate tenuissent.
If either Orpheus or these poets of ours had consistently defended what they perceived under the guidance of nature, they would have grasped the truth and held the same doctrine that we follow.
Notes and citation
Summary: Had these poets held firm to what nature taught them, they would have reached the Christian doctrine.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.14 (CSEL 19:15–16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-14).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.15CSEL 19:16
Sed hactenus de poetis. ad philosophos ueniamus, quorum grauior est auctoritas certiusque iudicium, quia non rebus commenticiis, sed inuestigandae ueritati studuisse creduntur.
But enough about the poets. Let us come to the philosophers, whose authority is weightier and judgment more certain, because they are believed to have devoted themselves not to fictions but to searching out the truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius turns from the poets to the philosophers.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; the sense requires non): quia noti rebus → quia non rebus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.15 (CSEL 19:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-15).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.16CSEL 19:16
Thales Milesius, qui unus e septem sapientium numero fuit quique primus omnium quaesisse de causis naturalibus traditur, aquam esse dixit ex qua nata sint omnia, deum autem esse mentem quae ex aqua cuncta formauerit. ita materiam rerum posuit in umore, principium causamque nascendi constituit in deo.
Thales of Miletus, who was one of the number of the Seven Wise Men and who is said to have been the first of all to inquire into natural causes, said that water is that from which all things were born, but that God is the mind that formed all things from water. So he placed the matter of things in moisture and set the principle and cause of birth in God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Thales held that God is the mind who formed all things from water.
- Lactantius' survey in 1.5.16–20 draws on Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1.25–41.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 1.25 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.16 (CSEL 19:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-16).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.17CSEL 19:16
Pythagoras ita definiuit quid esset deus: animus per uniuersas mundi partes omnemque naturam commeans atque diffusus, ex quo omnia quae nascuntur animalia uitam capiunt.
Pythagoras defined what God is thus: a soul passing through and spread through all the parts of the world and all nature, from which all living things that are born receive life.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pythagoras defined God as a soul pervading all nature and giving life.
- Compare Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1.27.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 1.27 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.17 (CSEL 19:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-17).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.18CSEL 19:16
Anaxagoras deum esse dicit infinitam mentem quae per se ipsam moueatur: Antisthenes multos quidem esse populares deos, unum tamen naturalem id est summae totius artificem.
Anaxagoras says that God is infinite mind, which moves of itself. Antisthenes says that there are indeed many gods of the people, but one of nature, that is, the maker of the whole universe.
Notes and citation
Summary: Anaxagoras called God infinite mind; Antisthenes said there is one natural God behind the popular gods.
- Compare Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1.26 and 1.32.
Extrabiblical texts: Anaxagoras (Anaxagoras; allusion); Cicero, Nat. d. 1.26, 32 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.18 (CSEL 19:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-18).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.19CSEL 19:16–17
Cleanthes et Anaximenes aethera esse dicunt summum deum, cui opinioni poeta noster adsensit: tum pater omnipotens fecundis imbribus aether coniugis in gremium laetae descendit et omnis magnus alit magno permixtus corpore fetus.
Cleanthes and Anaximenes say that the aether is the supreme God, and our poet agreed with that opinion: "Then the almighty father Aether descends with fruitful showers into the lap of his glad spouse, and, great himself, mingled with her great body, nourishes all offspring."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cleanthes and Anaximenes called the aether God, as Virgil also did.
- Virgil, Georgics 2.325–327.
Extrabiblical texts: Cleanthes (Cleanthes (fragments); allusion); Virgil, Georg. 2.325–327 (Virgil; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.19 (CSEL 19:16–17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-19).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.20CSEL 19:17
Chrysippus naturalem uim diuina ratione praeditam, interdum diuinam necessitatem deum nuncupat, item Zenon naturalem diuinamque legem.
Chrysippus calls God a natural force endowed with divine reason, sometimes a divine necessity; likewise Zeno calls him the natural and divine law.
Notes and citation
Summary: Chrysippus and Zeno described God as divine reason, necessity, or law.
- Compare Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1.36–39.
Extrabiblical texts: Chrysippus (Chrysippus; allusion); Zeno of Citium, Zeno (Zeno of Citium; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.20 (CSEL 19:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-20).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.21CSEL 19:17
horum omnium sententia quamuis sit incerta, eodem tamen spectat, ut prouidentiam unam esse consentiant. siue enim natura siue aether siue ratio siue mens siue fatalis necessitas siue diuina lex siue quid aliut dixeris, idem est quod a nobis dicitur deus. nec obstat appellationum diuersitas, cum ipsa significatione ad unum omnia reuoluantur.
The view of all these men, although it is uncertain, yet looks to the same point: they agree that there is one providence. For whether you call it nature or aether or reason or mind or fated necessity or divine law or anything else, it is the same as what we call God. Nor does the diversity of names stand in the way, since in their meaning they all come back to one.
Notes and citation
Summary: Whatever the philosophers call it, they agree on one providence, which Christians call God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.21 (CSEL 19:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-21).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.22CSEL 19:17
Aristoteles quamuis secum ipse dissideat ac repugnantia sibi et dicat et sentiat, in summum tamen unam mentem mundo praeesse testatur.
Aristotle, although he disagrees with himself and both says and thinks things contradictory to one another, nevertheless testifies in sum that one Mind presides over the world.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle, despite inconsistencies, testifies that one Mind rules the world.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (l for i); OCR slip (n for ri)): Anstoteles → Aristoteles; secum lpse → secum ipse.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristotle (Aristotle (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.22 (CSEL 19:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-22).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.23CSEL 19:17
Plato, qui omnium sapientissimus iudicatur, monarchian plane aperteque defendit nec aethera aut rationem aut naturam, sed ut est deum nominat: ab eo mundum hunc perfectum atque mirabilem esse fabricatum.
Plato, who is judged the wisest of all, plainly and openly defends monarchy, the rule of one; and he names him neither aether nor reason nor nature but, as he is, God, and says that this perfect and wonderful world was fashioned by him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato openly taught that one God made the world.
- The Latin uses the Greek word "monarchian" (rule of one).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (h for b)): ah eo mundum → ab eo mundum.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.23 (CSEL 19:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-23).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.24CSEL 19:17
quem Cicero secutus atque imitatus in plurimis frequenter deum confitetur ac supremum uocat in iis libris quos de legibus scripsit; ab eoque regi mundum argumentatur, cum disputat de natura deorum, hoc modo: nihil est praestantius deo. ab eo igitur mundum regi necesse est. nulli igitur est naturae oboediens aut subiectus deus. omnem ergo regit ipse naturam.
Cicero, following and imitating him in very many things, frequently confesses God and calls him supreme in the books he wrote On the Laws; and he argues that the world is ruled by him when he discusses the nature of the gods, in this way: "Nothing is more excellent than God; therefore the world must be ruled by him. Therefore God is obedient or subject to no nature; therefore he himself rules all nature."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero, following Plato, calls God supreme and argues that he rules all nature.
- Cicero, On the Laws (e.g. 1.22–23) and On the Nature of the Gods 2.77.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Leg. 1.22–23 (Cicero; allusion); Cicero, Nat. d. 2.77 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.24 (CSEL 19:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-24).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.25CSEL 19:17–18
quid autem sit deus, in Consolatione definit: nec uero deus ipse, qui intellegitur a nobis, alio modo intellegi potest nisi mens soluta quaedam et libera, segregata ab omni concretione mortali, omnia sentiens
And what God is he defines in the Consolation: "Nor can God himself, as he is understood by us, be understood in any other way than as a mind unbound and free, separated from every mortal compound, perceiving all things
Notes and citation
Summary: In his Consolation Cicero defines God as a free mind separate from everything mortal.
- Cicero, Consolation (lost; the same fragment is quoted in Tusculan Disputations 1.66).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR garbling of quid ... in Consolatione definit): quia autem sit deus, m uonsoiatione dehmt → quid autem sit deus, in Consolatione definit.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Tusc. 1.66 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.25 (CSEL 19:17–18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-25).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.26CSEL 19:18
et mouens. Annaeus quoque Seneca, qui ex Romanis uel acerrimus Stoicus fuit, quam saepe summum deum merita laude prosequitur! nam cum de inmatura morte dissereret, non intellegis inquit auctoritatem ac maiestatem iudicis tui, rectoris orbis terrarum caelique et deorum omnium dei, a quo ista numina quae singula adoramus et colimus suspensa sunt?
and moving all things." Annaeus Seneca too, who was the keenest Stoic among the Romans, how often he honours the supreme God with deserved praise! For when he was discussing untimely death, he said: "Do you not understand the authority and majesty of your judge, the ruler of the world and of heaven, and the God of all the gods, on whom those divinities that we worship and honour one by one depend?"
Notes and citation
Summary: Seneca often praised the supreme God, the ruler of the world on whom all the lesser gods depend.
- Seneca, a lost work (fragment).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letter at the start of the section (OCR); stray point (OCR)): I et mouens. → et mouens.; merita. laude → merita laude.
Extrabiblical texts: Seneca (Seneca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.26 (CSEL 19:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-26).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.27CSEL 19:18
item in Exhortationibus: hic cum prima fundamenta molis pulcherrimae iaceret et hoc ordiretur quo neque maius quicquam nouit natura nec melius, ut omnia sub ducibus suis irent, quamuis ipse per totum se corpus intenderat, tamen ministros regni sui deus genuit.
Likewise in the Exhortations: "When he was laying the first foundations of this most beautiful mass and beginning this work, than which nature has known nothing greater or better, so that all things might go under their own leaders, although he had extended himself through the whole body, yet God begot ministers of his kingdom."
Notes and citation
Summary: Seneca wrote that God, while making the world, begot ministers of his kingdom.
- Seneca, Exhortations (lost; fragment).
Extrabiblical texts: Seneca (Seneca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.27 (CSEL 19:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-27).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
1.5.28CSEL 19:18
et quam multa alia de deo nostris similia locutus est! quae nunc differo, quod aliis locis opportuniora sunt. nunc satis est demonstrare summo ingenio uiros attigisse ueritatem ac paene tenuisse, nisi eos retrorsus infucata prauis opinionibus consuetudo rapuisset, qua et deos esse alios opinabantur et ea quae in usum hominis deus fecit, tamquam sensu praedita essent, pro diis habenda et colenda credebant.
And how many other things like ours he said about God! These I defer now, because they are more suitable in other places. For now it is enough to show that men of the highest ability touched the truth and almost held it, had not custom, stained with perverse opinions, snatched them back; by which custom they both supposed that there were other gods and believed that the things God made for man's use were to be held and worshipped as gods, as if they were endowed with sense.
Notes and citation
Summary: Great minds nearly grasped the truth, but custom drew them back into worshipping many gods and created things.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 1.5.28 (CSEL 19:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/1-1-1/#p-1-5-28).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).