Divine Institutes 2.7.1–2.8.71
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 2, chapter 7
2.7.1CSEL 19:124
Quare oportet in ea re maxime in qua uitae ratio uersatur, sibi quemque confidere suoque iudicio ac propriis sensibus niti ad inuestigandam et perpendendam ueritatem, quam credentem alienis erroribus decipi tamquam ipsum rationis expertem.
Therefore it is right, above all in the matter on which the conduct of life turns, that each should trust himself and rely on his own judgment and his own senses in investigating and weighing the truth, rather than, by believing, be deceived by the errors of others as though he himself lacked reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: Each person should use his own judgment in matters of religion rather than follow others' errors.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips (m for in; stray hyphen)): muestiga-ndam → inuestigandam.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.1 (CSEL 19:124; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-1).
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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).
2.7.2CSEL 19:124–125
dedit omnibus deus pro uirili portione sapientiam, ut et inaudita inuestigare possent et audita perpendere. nec quia nos illi temporibus antecesserunt, sapientia quoque antecesserunt, quae si omnibus aequaliter datur, occupari ab antecedentibus non potest.
God has given wisdom to all in their proper share, so that they might both investigate things unheard and weigh things heard. Nor, because our ancestors preceded us in time, did they also precede us in wisdom; for if wisdom is given equally to all, it cannot be seized in advance by those who come first.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wisdom is given to all equally; the ancients have no monopoly on it.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (a for u); OCR slip (m for ni)): ommbus → omnibus; antecesserant → antecesserunt.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.2 (CSEL 19:124–125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-2).
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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).
2.7.3CSEL 19:125
inlibabilis est tamquam lux et claritas solis, quia ut sol oculorum sic sapientia lumen est cordis humani.
It cannot be diminished, like the light and brightness of the sun; for as the sun is the light of the eyes, so wisdom is the light of the human heart.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wisdom, like sunlight, is inexhaustible; it is the light of the heart.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips): iniibabUis → inlibabilis.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.3 (CSEL 19:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-3).
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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).
2.7.4CSEL 19:125
quare cum sapere id est ueritatem quaerere omnibus sit innatum, sapientiam sibi adimunt qui sine ullo iudicio inuenta maiorum probant et ab aliis pecudum more ducuntur.
So since to be wise, that is, to seek the truth, is inborn in all, those take wisdom away from themselves who without any judgment approve what their ancestors discovered and are led by others like cattle.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who follow ancestors without judgment throw away their own wisdom.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.4 (CSEL 19:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-4).
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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).
2.7.5CSEL 19:125
sed hoc fallit, quod maiorum nomine posito non putant fieri posse ut aut ipsi plus sapiant, quia minores uocantur, aut illi desipuerint, quia maiores nominantur.
But they are deceived by this: once the name of "ancestors" (maiores, the greater) is used, they do not think it possible either that they themselves are wiser, because they are called "descendants" (minores, the lesser), or that those were foolish, because they are named "the greater."
Notes and citation
Summary: The words "greater" and "lesser" for ancestors and descendants mislead people.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): fiprt → fieri.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.5 (CSEL 19:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-5).
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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).
2.7.6CSEL 19:125
quid ergo inpedit quin ab ipsis sumamus exemplum, ut quomodo illi quae falsa inuenerant posteris tradiderunt, sic nos qui uerum inuenimus posteris meliora tradamus?
What, then, prevents us from taking an example from them, so that, just as they handed down to posterity the falsehoods they had found, we who have found the truth may hand down better things to posterity?
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians should pass on truth as the ancestors passed on falsehood.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.6 (CSEL 19:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-6).
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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).
2.7.7CSEL 19:125
Superest ingens quaestio, cuius disputatio non ab ingenio, sed a scientia uenit: quae pluribus explicanda erit, ne quid omnino dubium relinquatur. nam fortasse aliquis ad illa confugiat, quae a multis et non dubiis traduntur auctoribus, eos ipsos quos docuimus deos non esse, maiestatem suam persaepe ostendisse et prodigiis et somniis et auguriis et oraculis.
There remains a huge question, the discussion of which comes not from ingenuity but from knowledge; it must be explained at greater length, so that no doubt at all may be left. For perhaps someone may take refuge in the things handed down by many trustworthy authors: that those very beings whom we have shown not to be gods have very often shown their majesty by prodigies, dreams, auguries, and oracles.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius turns to reports that the gods showed power through prodigies, dreams, and oracles.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.7 (CSEL 19:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-7).
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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).
2.7.8CSEL 19:125–126
et sane multa enumerari possunt digna miraculo, in primis illut, quod Attus Nauius summus augur cum Tarquinium Priscum moneret, ut nihil noui facere inciperet, nisi prius esset inauguratus, eique rex artis eius eleuans fidem diceret ut consultis auibus renuntiaret sibi, utrumne fieri posset id quod ipse animo concepisset, adfirmaretque Nauius posse, cape igitur inquit hanc cotem eamque nouacula dissice. at ille incunctanter accepit ac secuit.
And certainly many things worthy of wonder can be listed, first of all that when Attus Navius, the chief augur, warned Tarquinius Priscus to begin nothing new unless he had first taken the auspices, and the king, disparaging the credibility of his art, told him to consult the birds and report whether what he himself had conceived in his mind could be done, and Navius affirmed that it could, the king said: "Take this whetstone, then, and cut it with a razor." And he took it without hesitation and cut it.
Notes and citation
Summary: The augur Attus Navius cut a whetstone with a razor at Tarquin's challenge.
- Compare Livy 1.36 and Cicero, On Divination 1.32.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slips; stray hyphen and point (OCR); stray mark (OCR)): mu!tA → multa; Na-uius.summus → Nauius summus; igitur* → igitur.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 1.36 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion); Cicero, Div. 1.32 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.8 (CSEL 19:125–126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-8).
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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).
2.7.9CSEL 19:126
deinde illut, quod Castor et Pollux bello Latino aput lacum Iuturnae uisi sunt equorum sudorem abluentes, cum aedes eorum quae iuncta fonti erat sua sponte patuisset.
Next, that Castor and Pollux were seen in the Latin War at the lake of Juturna washing the sweat from their horses, when their temple, which adjoined the spring, had opened of its own accord.
Notes and citation
Summary: Castor and Pollux were reportedly seen watering their horses after a battle.
- Compare Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 2.6.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 2.6 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.9 (CSEL 19:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-9).
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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).
2.7.10CSEL 19:126
idem bello Macedonico equis albis insidentes Publio Vatieno Romam nocte uenienti se obtulisse dicuntur nuntiantes eo die regem Persen uictum atque captum: quod paucis post diebus litterae Pauli uerum fuisse docuerunt.
The same pair, in the Macedonian War, riding white horses, are said to have appeared to Publius Vatienus as he came to Rome at night, announcing that on that day King Perseus had been defeated and captured; and a few days later the letter of Paulus showed that this was true.
Notes and citation
Summary: They were also said to have announced Perseus' defeat before the news arrived.
- Compare Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 2.6.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 2.6 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.10 (CSEL 19:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-10).
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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).
2.7.11CSEL 19:126
illut etiam mirabile, quod simulacrum Fortunae Muliebris non semel locutum esse traditur, item Iunonis Monetae, cum captis Veiis unus ex militibus ad eam transferendam missus iocabundus ac ludens interrogaret utrumne Romam migrare uellet, uelle respondit.
This too is wonderful, that the statue of Womanly Fortune is said to have spoken more than once, and likewise that of Juno Moneta: when, after Veii was taken, one of the soldiers sent to move her jokingly and playfully asked whether she wished to move to Rome, she answered that she did.
Notes and citation
Summary: Statues of Fortune and Juno were said to have spoken.
- Compare Livy 5.22.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 5.22 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.11 (CSEL 19:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-11).
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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).
2.7.12CSEL 19:126
Claudia quoque proponitur in exemplum miraculi. nam cum ex libris Sibyllinis Idaea mater esset accita et in uado Tiberini fluminis nauis qua uehebatur haesisset nec ulla ui commoueretur, Claudiam ferunt, quae semper inpudica esset habita ob nimios corporis cultus, deam submissis genibus orasse, ut si se castam iudicaret, suum cingulum sequeretur: ita nauem, quae ab omni iuuentute non ualuit commoueri, ab una muliere esse commotam.
Claudia too is put forward as an example of a miracle. For when the Idaean Mother had been summoned in accordance with the Sibylline books, and the ship carrying her had stuck in a shallow of the Tiber and could not be moved by any force, they say that Claudia, who had always been thought unchaste because of her excessive attention to her person, prayed to the goddess on bended knees that, if she judged her chaste, she would follow her girdle; and so the ship, which all the young men could not move, was moved by one woman.
Notes and citation
Summary: Claudia moved the stranded ship of Cybele with her girdle, proving her chastity.
- Compare Livy 29.14 and Ovid, Fasti 4.305–344.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): accita. et → accita et.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 29.14 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion); Ovid, Fast. 4.305–344 (Ovid; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.12 (CSEL 19:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-12).
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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).
2.7.13CSEL 19:126
illut aeque mirum, quod lue saeuiente Aesculapius Epidauro accitus urbem Romam diuturna pestilentia
Equally wonderful is that, when a plague was raging, Aesculapius, summoned from Epidaurus, is said to have freed the city of Rome from a long pestilence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aesculapius was said to have ended a plague at Rome.
- Compare Livy 10.47 and Periochae 11.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; stray point before the section break (OCR)): quod!up saeuiente → quod lue saeuiente; pestilentia. → pestilentia.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 10.47 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.13 (CSEL 19:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-13).
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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).
2.7.14CSEL 19:126–127
liberasse perhibetur. sacrilegi quoque numerari possunt, quorum praesentibus poenis iniuriam suam dii uindicasse creduntur.
Sacrilegious men too can be listed, by whose immediate punishment the gods are believed to have avenged the wrong done to them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Stories of punished sacrilege are also cited.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.14 (CSEL 19:126–127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-14).
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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).
2.7.15CSEL 19:127
Appius Claudius censor cum ad seruos publicos sacra Herculis transtulisset, luminibus orbatus est et Potitiorum gens, quae prodidit, intra unius anni tempus extincta est.
Appius Claudius the censor, when he had transferred the rites of Hercules to public slaves, was deprived of his sight, and the family of the Potitii, who had given them up, died out within a single year.
Notes and citation
Summary: Appius Claudius was blinded and the Potitii died out after changing Hercules' rites.
- Compare Livy 9.29.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 9.29 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.15 (CSEL 19:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-15).
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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).
2.7.16CSEL 19:127
item censor Fuluius cum ei Iunonis Laciniae templo marmoreas tegulas abstulisset, quibus aedem Fortunae Equestris quam Romae fecerat tegeret, et mente captus est et amissis duobus filiis in Illyrico militantibus summo animi maerore consumptus est.
Likewise the censor Fulvius, when he had taken the marble tiles from the temple of Lacinian Juno to roof the temple of Equestrian Fortune which he had built at Rome, both lost his mind and, having lost two sons serving in Illyricum, was consumed by the deepest grief.
Notes and citation
Summary: Fulvius went mad and lost his sons after robbing Juno's temple.
- Compare Livy 42.3 and 42.28.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 42.3, 28 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.16 (CSEL 19:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-16).
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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).
2.7.17CSEL 19:127
praefectus etiam Marci Antonii Turullius cum aput Coos euerso Aesculapii luco classem fecisset, eodem postea loco a militibus Caesaris interfectus est.
Also Turullius, a prefect of Mark Antony, having cut down the grove of Aesculapius on Cos to build a fleet, was later killed in that same place by Caesar's soldiers.
Notes and citation
Summary: Turullius was killed where he had cut down a sacred grove.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): praefectus diam → praefectus etiam.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.17 (CSEL 19:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-17).
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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).
2.7.18CSEL 19:127
his exemplis adiungitur Pyrrhus, qui sublata ex thensauro Proserpinae Locrensis pecunia naufragium fecit ac uicinis deae litoribus inlisus est, ut nihil praeter eam pecuniam incolume reperiretur.
To these examples is added Pyrrhus, who, having taken money from the treasury of Proserpina at Locri, was shipwrecked and dashed on the shores near the goddess's shrine, so that nothing was found safe except that money.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pyrrhus was shipwrecked after robbing Proserpina's treasury, and only the money survived.
- Compare Livy 29.18.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (c for e)): cx thensauro → ex thensauro.
Extrabiblical texts: Livy, 29.18 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.18 (CSEL 19:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-18).
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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).
2.7.19CSEL 19:127
Ceres quoque Milesia multum sibi aput homines uenerationis adiecit. nam cum ab Alexandro capta ciuitas esset ac milites ad eam spoliandam inrupissent, oculos omnium repente obiectus fulgor exstinxit.
Milesian Ceres too gained much veneration among men. For when the city had been taken by Alexander and the soldiers had burst in to plunder her, a flash suddenly thrown before them put out the eyes of all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Soldiers plundering Ceres' temple at Miletus were blinded by a flash.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.19 (CSEL 19:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-19).
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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).
2.7.20CSEL 19:127–128
referuntur etiam somnia quae uim deorum uideantur ostendere. Tiberio namque Atinio homini plebeio per quietem obuersatus esse Iuppiter dicitur et praecepisse, ut consulibus et senatui nuntiaret ludis Circensibus proximis praesultorem sibi displicuisse, quod Autronius Maximus quidam uerberatum seruum sub furca medio circo ad supplicium duxerat, ideoque ludos instaurari oportere:
Dreams too are reported which seem to show the power of the gods. For Jupiter is said to have appeared in sleep to Tiberius Atinius, a plebeian, and to have commanded him to tell the consuls and senate that the leading dancer at the last Circensian games had displeased him, because a certain Autronius Maximus had led a slave, after scourging him, under the fork through the middle of the circus to execution, and that the games must therefore be renewed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Jupiter reportedly appeared in a dream to Atinius demanding that the games be repeated.
- Compare Cicero, On Divination 1.55 and Livy 2.36.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR garbling of referuntur): rppehuntur → referuntur.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Div. 1.55 (Cicero; allusion); Livy, 2.36 (Livy, History of Rome; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.20 (CSEL 19:127–128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-20).
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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).
2.7.21CSEL 19:128
quod cum ille neclexisset, eodem die filium perdidisse, ipse autem graui morbo esse correptus; et cum rursus eandem imaginem cerneret quaerentem satisne poenarum pro neclecto imperio pependisset, lectica delatus ad consules et omni re in senatu exposita recepisse corporis firmitatem suisque pedibus domum redisse.
When he neglected this, he lost his son that same day and was himself seized by a serious illness; and when he again saw the same figure asking whether he had paid enough penalty for neglecting the command, he was carried in a litter to the consuls, and when the whole matter had been laid before the senate, he recovered his bodily strength and returned home on his own feet.
Notes and citation
Summary: Atinius, after losing his son and falling ill, obeyed and was healed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (m for in)): re m senatu → re in senatu.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.21 (CSEL 19:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-21).
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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).
2.7.22CSEL 19:128
illut quoque somnium non minoris admirationis fuit quo Caesar Augustus dicitur esse seruatus. nam cum bello ciuili Brutiano inplicitus graui morbo abstinere proelio statuisset, medico eius Artorio Mineruae species obuersata est monens, ne propter corporis inbecillitatem castris se Caesar contineret. itaque in aciem lectica perlatus est et eodem die a Bruto castra
No less wonderful was that dream by which Caesar Augustus is said to have been saved. For when, involved in the civil war against Brutus, he had decided to stay out of battle because of a serious illness, the figure of Minerva appeared to his physician Artorius, warning that Caesar should not keep to the camp because of his bodily weakness. So he was carried into the battle line in a litter, and on that same day his camp was
Notes and citation
Summary: A dream of Minerva saved Augustus by warning him not to stay in camp.
- Compare Valerius Maximus 1.7.1.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point before the section break (OCR)): castra. → castra.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.22 (CSEL 19:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-22).
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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).
2.7.23CSEL 19:128
capta sunt. multa praeterea possunt similia exempla proferri, sed uereor ne si fuero in propositione rerum contrariarum diutius inmoratus, aut oblitus esse propositi uidear aut crimen loquacitatis incurram.
taken by Brutus. Many similar examples can be brought forward besides, but I fear that if I linger too long in setting out opposing matters, I may seem either to have forgotten my purpose or to incur the charge of talkativeness.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many more such examples exist, but Lactantius will not dwell on them.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (c for e) and stray point): practerea. → praeterea.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.7.23 (CSEL 19:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-7-23).
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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).
Divine 2, chapter 8
2.8.1CSEL 19:128–129
Exponam igitur istorum omnium rationem, quo facilius res difficiles et obscurae intellegantur, et has omnes simulati numinis praestrigias reuelabo, quibus inducti homines a ueritatis uia longius recesserunt.
I shall therefore set out the explanation of all these things, so that difficult and obscure matters may be more easily understood, and I shall unveil all these deceptions of a counterfeit divinity, by which men have been led far away from the path of truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius will explain and expose these false signs of divine power.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): facilius. res → facilius res.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.1 (CSEL 19:128–129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-1).
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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).
2.8.2CSEL 19:129
sed repetam longe altius, ut si quis ad legendum ueri expers et ignarus accesserit, instruatur atque intellegat quod tandem sit caput horum et causa malorum, et lumine accepto suos ac totius generis humani perspiciat errores.
But I shall go back much further, so that anyone who comes to read without knowledge of the truth may be instructed and understand what at last is the head and cause of these evils, and, having received the light, may see through his own errors and those of the whole human race.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will go back to the beginning to explain the root cause of these evils.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.2 (CSEL 19:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-2).
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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).
2.8.3CSEL 19:129
cum esset deus ad excogitandum prouidentissimus, ad faciendum sollertissimus, antequam ordiretur hoc opus mundi, quoniam pleni et consummati boni fons in ipso erat, sicut est semper, ut ab eo bonum tamquam riuus oreretur longeque proflueret, produxit similem sui spiritum, qui esset uirtutibus patris dei praeditus. quomodo autem id uoluerit, in quarto libro docere conabimur.
Since God was most provident in planning and most skilful in making, before he began this work of the world, because the fountain of full and complete good was in him, as it always is, so that good might spring from him like a stream and flow far, he brought forth a Spirit like himself, who should be endowed with the powers of God the Father. How he willed this, we shall try to teach in the fourth book.
Notes and citation
Summary: Before creating the world, God brought forth a Spirit like himself, endowed with the Father's powers.
- Lactantius here speaks of the Son as a "Spirit" brought forth before creation; his fuller account is in Book 4. Translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (i for x)): eicogitandum → excogitandum.
Topics: Christology, Trinity
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.3 (CSEL 19:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-3).
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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).
2.8.4CSEL 19:129
deinde fecit alterum, in quo indoles diuinae stirpis non permansit. itaque suapte inuidia tamquam ueneno infectus est et ex bono ad malum transcendit suoque arbitrio, quod illi a deo liberum fuerat datum, contrarium sibi nomen adsciuit.
Then he made another, in whom the character of the divine stock did not remain. So he was infected by his own envy as by poison and passed over from good to evil, and by his own choice, which had been given him free by God, he took for himself a name contrary to him.
Notes and citation
Summary: God then made another spirit, who by his own free choice turned from good to evil through envy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (o for u); stray point (OCR)): alterom → alterum; inuidia. tamquam → inuidia tamquam; a.dsciuit → adsciuit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.4 (CSEL 19:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-4).
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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).
2.8.5CSEL 19:129–130
unde apparet cunctorum malorum fontem esse liuorem. inuidit enim illi antecessori suo, qui deo patri perseuerando cum probatus tum etiam carus est.
From this it appears that envy is the fountain of all evils. For he envied that one who came before him, who by persevering with God the Father is both approved and also dear.
Notes and citation
Summary: Envy of the first-born Son is the source of all evils.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.5 (CSEL 19:129–130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-5).
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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).
2.8.6CSEL 19:130
hunc ergo ei bono per se malum effectum Graeci διάβολον appellant, nos criminatorem uocamus, quod crimina in quae ipse inlicit ad deum deferat.
This one, then, who from good became evil by his own act, the Greeks call diabolos; we call him the accuser, because he reports to God the crimes into which he himself entices men.
Rev 12:10 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: This fallen spirit is the devil, the accuser who reports the sins he provokes.
- Compare Rev 12:10 ("the accuser of our brothers").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip in the Greek (lost letter); OCR slip; the sense requires effectum): διβολον → διάβολον; enectum → effectum.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.6 (CSEL 19:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-6).
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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).
2.8.7CSEL 19:130–132
exorsus igitur deus fabricam mundi illum primum et maximum filium praefecit operi uniuerso eoque simul et consiliatore usus est et artifice in excogitandis ordinandis perficiendisque rebus, quoniam is et prouidentia et ratione et potestate perfectus est; de quo nunc parcius, quod alio loco et uirtus eius et nomen et ratio enarranda nobis erit.
So God, beginning the fabric of the world, set that first and greatest Son over the whole work and used him at once as counsellor and craftsman in devising, arranging, and completing things, since he is perfect in providence, reason, and power. Of him I say little now, because his power, name, and nature must be set out by us in another place.
John 1:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Prov 8:30 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God made his first and greatest Son counsellor and craftsman of creation.
- Compare John 1:3 and Prov 8:27–30.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (a for u)): deas fabricam → deus fabricam.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.7 (CSEL 19:130–132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-7).
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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).
2.8.8CSEL 19:132
nemo quaerat ex quibus ista materiis tam magna, tam mirifica opera deus fecerit: omnia enim fecit ex nihilo. nec audiendi sunt poetae, qui aiunt chaos in principio fuisse, id est confusionem rerum atque elementorum, postea uero deum diremisse omnem illam congeriem singulisque rebus ex confuso aceruo separatis in ordinemque discriptis instruxisse mundum pariter et ornasse.
Let no one ask from what materials God made such great and wonderful works: for he made all things out of nothing. Nor are the poets to be listened to, who say that chaos was in the beginning, that is, a confusion of things and elements, and that afterwards God divided that whole mass and, having separated each thing from the confused heap and arranged them in order, both built and adorned the world.
Notes and citation
Summary: God made everything from nothing, not from a pre-existing chaos.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (i for x)): quaerat ei quibus → quaerat ex quibus; fecit ei nihilo → fecit ex nihilo.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.8 (CSEL 19:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-8).
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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).
2.8.9CSEL 19:132
quibus facile est respondere potestatem dei non intellegentibus, quem credant nihil efficere posse nisi ex materia subiacente ac parata: in quo errore etiam philosophi fuerunt.
It is easy to answer them, since they do not understand the power of God, whom they believe can make nothing except from material lying ready and prepared; and in this error even the philosophers were.
Notes and citation
Summary: Poets and philosophers wrongly thought God needed pre-existing matter.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray points and OCR slip (m for in)): materia. subiacente ac parata.: m quo → materia subiacente ac parata: in quo.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.9 (CSEL 19:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-9).
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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).
2.8.10CSEL 19:132
nam Cicero de natura deorum disputans ait sic: primum igitur non est probabile eam materiam rerum unde omnia orta sunt esse diuina prouidentia effectam, sed et habere et habuisse uim et naturam suam.
For Cicero, discussing the nature of the gods, says this: "First, then, it is not probable that the matter of things from which all things arose was made by divine providence, but that it has and has had its own force and nature.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero argued that matter was not made by providence.
- Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods (from the lost part of Book 3; fragment).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen and point (OCR); stray points (OCR); words run together and stray hyphen (OCR)): proba-. bile → probabile; omnia. orta. sunt → omnia orta sunt; habere etha-buisse → habere et habuisse.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 3 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.10 (CSEL 19:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-10).
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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).
2.8.11CSEL 19:132
ut igitur faber cum quid aedificaturus est, non ipse facit materiam, sed utitur ea quae sit parata, fictorque item cera, sic isti prouidentiae diuinae materiam praesto esse oportuit, non quam ipsa faceret, sed quam haberet paratam. quodsi materia non est a deo facta, ne terra quidem et aqua et aer et ignis a deo factus est.
As, therefore, a builder, when he is going to build something, does not himself make the material but uses what is ready, and a modeller likewise uses wax, so for that divine providence material had to be at hand, not one which it made itself, but one which it had ready. But if matter was not made by God, then neither earth nor water nor air nor fire was made by God."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero compared providence to a builder who uses existing material.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 3 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.11 (CSEL 19:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-11).
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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).
2.8.12CSEL 19:132–133
o quam multa sunt uitia in his decem uersibus! primum quod is qui in aliis disputationibus et libris fere omnibus prouidentiae fuerit adsertor et qui acerrimis argumentis inpugnauerit eos qui prouidentiam non esse dixerunt, idem nunc quasi proditor aliquis aut transfuga prouidentiam conatus est tollere.
O how many faults there are in these ten lines! First, that he who in other discussions and in almost all his books was a champion of providence, and who attacked with the sharpest arguments those who said there was no providence, now like some traitor or deserter has tried to abolish providence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero here contradicts his usual defence of providence.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (n for u) and stray hyphen; word split (OCR)): pronidentia-e → prouidentiae; trans fuga → transfuga.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.12 (CSEL 19:132–133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-12).
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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).
2.8.13CSEL 19:133
in quo si contra dicere uelis, nec cogitatione opus est nec labore: sua illi dicta recitanda sunt; nec enim poterit ab ullo Cicero quam a Cicerone uehementius refutari.
If you wished to contradict him in this, you need neither thought nor labour: his own words need only be read out to him; for Cicero could be refuted by no one more forcefully than by Cicero.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero is best refuted by his own words.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.13 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-13).
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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).
2.8.14CSEL 19:133
sed concedamus hoc mori et instituto Academicorum, ut liceat hominibus ualde liberis dicere ac sentire quae uelint: sententias ipsas consideremus. non est inquit probabile materiam rerum a deo factam. quibus hoc argumentis doces?
But let us grant this to the custom and practice of the Academics, that men who are very free may say and think what they like: let us consider the opinions themselves. "It is not probable," he says, "that the matter of things was made by God." By what arguments do you show this?
Notes and citation
Summary: Granting the Academics' freedom, Lactantius examines Cicero's claim itself.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.14 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-14).
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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).
2.8.15CSEL 19:133
nihil enim dixisti quare hoc non sit probabile.
For you have said nothing about why this is not probable.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero gave no reason for his claim.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen (OCR)): proba-bile → probabile.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.15 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-15).
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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).
2.8.16CSEL 19:133
itaque mihi e contrario uel maxime probabile uidetur, nec tamen temere uidetur, cogitanti plus esse aliquid in deo, quem profecto ad inbecillitatem hominis redigis, cui nihil aliut quam opificium concedis.
So to me, on the contrary, it seems most probable, and not without reason, when I consider that there is something more in God, whom you reduce to the weakness of man, granting him nothing but craftsmanship.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lactantius finds it most probable that God made matter, since Cicero reduces God to a human craftsman.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.16 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-16).
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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).
2.8.17CSEL 19:133
quo igitur ab homine diuina illa uis differet, si ut homo sic etiam deus ope indiget aliena? indiget autem, si nihil moliri potest, nisi ab altero illi materia ministretur. quod si fit, inperfectae utique uirtutis est, et erit iam potentior iudicandus materiae institutor. quo ergo nomine appellabitur qui potentia deum uincit?
In what, then, will that divine power differ from man, if God, like man, needs another's help? And he does need it, if he can build nothing unless material is supplied to him by another. If that is so, his power is certainly imperfect, and the one who provided the material must now be judged more powerful. By what name, then, will he be called who surpasses God in power?
Notes and citation
Summary: If God needed materials from another, that other would be more powerful than God.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point and comma (OCR)): a.b altero illi materia, ministretur → ab altero illi materia ministretur.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.17 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-17).
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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).
2.8.18CSEL 19:133
siquidem maius est propria facere quam aliena disponere.
For it is greater to make one's own things than to arrange another's.
Notes and citation
Summary: Making is greater than arranging.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.18 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-18).
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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).
2.8.19CSEL 19:133
si autem fieri non potest ut sit potentius deo quicquam, quem necesse est perfectae esse uirtutis potestatis rationis, idem igitur materiae fictor est qui et rerum ex materia constantium. neque enim deo non faciente et inuito esse aliquid aut potuit aut debuit.
But if it cannot be that anything is more powerful than God, who must be of perfect power, might, and reason, then the same one is the maker of matter who is the maker of the things that consist of matter. For nothing either could or should exist without God making it or against his will.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since nothing surpasses God, he made matter as well as the things made from it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.19 (CSEL 19:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-19).
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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).
2.8.20CSEL 19:133–134
sed probabile est inquit materiam rerum (et) habere et habuisse uim et naturam suam. quam uim potuit habere nullo dante, quam naturam nullo generante? si habuit uim, ab aliquo eam sumpsit. a quo autem sumere nisi a deo potuit?
"But it is probable," he says, "that the matter of things both has and has had its own force and nature." What force could it have if no one gave it? What nature if no one begot it? If it had force, it took it from someone. From whom could it take it except from God?
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Matter's force and nature must have come from God.
- The editor adds "et" in round brackets; translated.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.20 (CSEL 19:133–134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-20).
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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).
2.8.21CSEL 19:134
si habuit naturam, quae utique a nascendo dicitur, nata est. a quo autem nisi a deo potuit procreari? natura enim, qua dicitis orta esse omnia, si consilium non habet, efficere nihil potest: si autem generandi et faciendi potens est, habet ergo consilium et propterea deus sit
If it had a nature, which is certainly named from being born (nasci), it was born. From whom but God could it have been produced? For nature, from which you say all things arose, if it has no purpose, can make nothing; but if it is able to generate and make, then it has purpose and therefore must be
Notes and citation
Summary: Nature that can produce things must have purpose, and so be God.
- Natura is derived from nasci, "to be born".
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.21 (CSEL 19:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-21).
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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).
2.8.22CSEL 19:134
necesse est, nec alio nomine appellari potest ea uis, in qua inest et prouidentia excogitandi et sollertia potestasque faciendi.
God; nor can that force be called by any other name, in which there is both the providence to devise and the skill and power to make.
Notes and citation
Summary: A force that plans and makes can only be called God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.22 (CSEL 19:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-22).
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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).
2.8.23CSEL 19:134
melius igitur Seneca omnium Stoicorum acutissimus, qui uidit nihil aliut esse naturam quam deum. ergo inquit deum non laudabimus, cui naturalis est uirtus? nec enim illam didicit ex ullo. immo laudabimus. quamuis enim naturalis illi sit, sibi illam dedit, quoniam deus ipse natura est.
Better, then, Seneca, the keenest of all the Stoics, who saw that nature is nothing else than God. "Shall we then not praise God," he says, "whose virtue is natural? For he did not learn it from anyone. Yes, we shall praise him; for although it is natural to him, he gave it to himself, since God himself is nature."
Notes and citation
Summary: Seneca rightly said that nature is God.
- Seneca (fragment).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): na.turalis → naturalis.
Extrabiblical texts: Seneca (Seneca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.23 (CSEL 19:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-23).
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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).
2.8.24CSEL 19:134
cum igitur ortum rerum tribuis naturae ac detrahis deo, in eodem luto haesitans uersura soluis, Geta. a quo enim fieri negas, ab eodem plane fieri mutato nomine confiteris.
When, then, you assign the origin of things to nature and take it from God, "stuck in the same mud, you pay off a debt by borrowing, Geta." For you plainly confess, with the name changed, that things were made by the one by whom you deny they were made.
Notes and citation
Summary: Crediting nature instead of God only renames God, as Terence's proverb says.
- Terence, Phormio 780 ("in eodem luto haesitas; versuram solves, Geta").
Extrabiblical texts: Terence, Phorm. 780 (Terence; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.24 (CSEL 19:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-24).
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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).
2.8.25CSEL 19:134
sequitur ineptissima comparatio. ut faber inquit cum quid aedificaturus est, non ipse facit materiam, sed utitur ea quae sit parata, fictorque item cera, sic isti prouidentiae diuinae materiam praesto esse oportuit, non quam ipsa faceret, sed quam haberet paratam.
There follows a most foolish comparison. "As a builder," he says, "when he is going to build something, does not himself make the material but uses what is ready, and a modeller likewise wax, so for that divine providence material had to be at hand, not one which it made itself, but one which it had ready."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero compares God to a builder using ready materials.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 3 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.25 (CSEL 19:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-25).
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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).
2.8.26CSEL 19:134–135
immo uero non oportuit: erit enim deus minoris potestatis, si ex parato facit; quod est hominis. faber sine ligno nihil aedificabit, quia lignum ipsum facere non potest; non posse autem inbecillitatis humanae est.
On the contrary, it did not have to: for God will be of lesser power if he makes things from what is ready, which is man's way. A builder will build nothing without wood, because he cannot make the wood itself; and not to be able belongs to human weakness.
Notes and citation
Summary: Needing materials is a mark of human weakness, not of God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.26 (CSEL 19:134–135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-26).
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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).
2.8.27CSEL 19:135
deus uero facit sibi ipse materiam, quia potest: posse enim dei est; nam si non potest, deus non est.
But God makes material for himself, because he can: for to be able belongs to God; if he cannot, he is not God.
Notes and citation
Summary: God makes his own material because he is able.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.27 (CSEL 19:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-27).
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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).
2.8.28CSEL 19:135
homo facit ex eo quod est, quia per mortalitatem inbecillus est, per inbecillitatem definitae ac modicae potestatis; deus autem facit ex eo quod non est, quia per aeternitatem fortis est, per fortitudinem potestatis inmensae, quae fine ac modo careat sicut uita factoris.
Man makes from what exists, because through mortality he is weak, and through weakness of limited and moderate power; but God makes from what does not exist, because through eternity he is strong, and through strength of immense power, which has neither end nor measure, like the life of the Maker.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man makes from existing things, God from nothing.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.28 (CSEL 19:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-28).
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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).
2.8.29CSEL 19:135
quid ergo mirum si facturus mundum deus prius materiam de qua faceret praeparauit et praeparauit ex eo quod non erat? quia nefas est deum aliunde aliquid mutuari, cum ex ipso uel in ipso sint omnia.
What wonder, then, if God, when about to make the world, first prepared the material from which to make it, and prepared it out of what did not exist? For it is unthinkable that God should borrow anything from elsewhere, since all things are from him or in him.
Notes and citation
Summary: God first made the matter of the world out of nothing.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (a for u); OCR slip (i for x)): miram → mirum; praeparauit ei eo → praeparauit ex eo.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.29 (CSEL 19:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-29).
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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).
2.8.30CSEL 19:135
nam si est aliquid ante illum, si factum est quicquam non ab ipso, iam potestatem dei et nomen amittet. at enim materia numquam facta est sicut deus, qui ex materia fecit hunc mundum.
For if there is anything before him, if anything was made not by him, he will lose both the power and the name of God. "But matter was never made, just as God, who made this world out of matter, was not."
Notes and citation
Summary: If anything existed before God, he would not be God; the objector says matter is eternal like God.
- The first word of the objection is garbled in the digital text; corrected by the sense ("at enim").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR garbling of at): M enim materia → at enim materia.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.30 (CSEL 19:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-30).
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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).
2.8.31CSEL 19:135
duo igitur constituuntur aeterna et quidem inter se contraria, quod fieri sine discordia et pernicie non potest; conlidant enim necesse est ea quorum uis ac ratio diuersa est. sic utraque aeterna esse non poterunt, si repugnant, quia superare alterum necesse est.
Then two eternal things are established, and those contrary to each other, which cannot happen without discord and destruction; for things whose force and nature are different must collide. So both could not be eternal if they conflict, since one must overcome the other.
Notes and citation
Summary: Two opposed eternal principles would destroy each other.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): diuersa. est. → diuersa est..
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.31 (CSEL 19:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-31).
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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).
2.8.32CSEL 19:135
ergo fieri non potest quin aeterni natura sit simplex, ut inde omnia uelut ex fonte descenderint. itaque aut deus ex materia ortus est aut materia ex deo. quid horum sit uerius facile est intellegi. ex his enim duobus alterum sensibile est, alterum caret sensu.
It must be, therefore, that the nature of the eternal is simple, so that all things may descend from it as from a fountain. So either God arose from matter or matter from God. Which of these is truer is easy to understand. For of these two, one has sense, the other lacks sense.
Notes and citation
Summary: The eternal must be one; either God came from matter or matter from God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.32 (CSEL 19:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-32).
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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).
2.8.33CSEL 19:135–136
potestas faciendi aliquid non potest esse nisi in eo quod sentit, quod sapit, quod cogitat, quod mouetur.
The power of making anything can exist only in what feels, is wise, thinks, and moves.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only a thinking being can make things.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.33 (CSEL 19:135–136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-33).
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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).
2.8.34CSEL 19:136
nec incipi aut fieri aut consummari quicquam potest, nisi fuerit ratione prouisum et quemadmodum fiat antequam est et quemadmodum constet postquam fuerit effectum.
Nor can anything be begun, made, or completed unless it has been foreseen by reason both how it is to be made before it exists and how it is to endure after it has been made.
Notes and citation
Summary: Making requires foresight.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.34 (CSEL 19:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-34).
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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).
2.8.35CSEL 19:136
denique is facit aliquid qui habet uoluntatem ad faciendum et manus ad id quod uoluit inplendum. quod autem insensibile est, iners et torpidum semper iacet; nihil inde oriri potest ubi nullus est motus uoluntarius.
In short, he makes something who has the will to make it and hands to carry out what he has willed. But what lacks sense always lies inert and sluggish; nothing can arise from where there is no voluntary motion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only what has will and hands can make; senseless matter cannot.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.35 (CSEL 19:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-35).
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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).
2.8.36CSEL 19:136
nam si omne animal ratione constat, certe nasci non potest ex eo quod ratione praeditum non est, nec aliunde accipi potest id quod ibi unde petitur non est.
For if every living creature consists of reason, it certainly cannot be born from what is not endowed with reason, nor can what is not in the source be received from it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rational beings cannot come from what lacks reason.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.36 (CSEL 19:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-36).
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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).
2.8.37CSEL 19:136
nec tamen commoneat aliquem quod animalia quaedam de terra nasci uidentur. haec enim non terra per se gignit, sed spiritus dei, sine quo nihil gignitur.
Nor let it disturb anyone that certain animals seem to be born from the earth. For the earth does not beget these of itself, but the Spirit of God, without whom nothing is begotten.
Notes and citation
Summary: Creatures that seem to spring from the earth are produced by God's Spirit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.37 (CSEL 19:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-37).
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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).
2.8.38CSEL 19:136
non ergo deus ex materia, quia sensu praeditum ex insensibili, sapiens ex bruto, inpatibile de patibili, expers corporis de corporali numquam potest oriri, sed materia potius ex deo est.
God, then, is not from matter, because the sentient can never arise from the insentient, the wise from the brute, the impassible from the passible, the bodiless from the bodily; rather matter is from God.
Notes and citation
Summary: God cannot come from matter; matter comes from God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.38 (CSEL 19:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-38).
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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).
2.8.39CSEL 19:136
quidquid est enim solido et contrectabili corpore, accipit externam uim; quod accipit uim, dissolubile est; quod dissoluitur, interibit; quod interit, ortum sit necesse est; quod ortum est, habuit fontem unde oreretur id est factorem aliquem sentientem prouidum peritumque faciendi. is est profecto nec ullus alius quam deus.
For whatever has a solid and tangible body receives external force; what receives force is dissoluble; what is dissolved will perish; what perishes must have come into being; what has come into being had a source from which it arose, that is, some maker who is sentient, provident, and skilled in making. This is certainly none other than God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Everything bodily is perishable and so had a beginning from a wise maker, God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.39 (CSEL 19:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-39).
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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).
2.8.40CSEL 19:136–137
qui quoniam sensu ratione prouidentia potestate uirtute praeditus est, et animantia et inanima creare et efficere potest, quia tenet quomodo sit quidque faciendum.
And since he is endowed with sense, reason, providence, power, and might, he can create and make both living and lifeless things, because he knows how each thing is to be made.
Notes and citation
Summary: God, having reason and power, can make living and lifeless things.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray comma (OCR)): inanima, creare → inanima creare.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.40 (CSEL 19:136–137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-40).
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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).
2.8.41CSEL 19:137
materia uero semper fuisse non potest, quia mutationem non caperet, si fuisset. quod enim semper fuit, semper esse non desinit, et unde afuit principium, abesse hinc etiam finem necesse est. quin etiam facilius est ut id quod habuit initium fine careat, quam ut habeat finem quod initio caruit.
But matter cannot always have existed, because it would not admit change if it had. For what always was does not cease always to be, and from what has had no beginning an end also must be absent. Indeed, it is easier for what had a beginning to lack an end than for what lacked a beginning to have an end.
Notes and citation
Summary: Matter changes, so it cannot be eternal.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.41 (CSEL 19:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-41).
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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).
2.8.42CSEL 19:137
materia igitur si facta non est, nec fieri ex ea quicquam potest; si fieri ex ea non potest, ne materia quidem erit; materia est enim ex qua fit aliquid. omne autem ex quo fit, quia recipit opificis manum, destruitur et aliut esse incipit.
So if matter was not made, nothing can be made from it either; if nothing can be made from it, it will not even be matter; for matter is that from which something is made. But everything from which something is made, since it receives the craftsman's hand, is destroyed and begins to be something else.
Notes and citation
Summary: Matter is transformed when things are made from it.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): materia. quidem → materia quidem; quia. recipit → quia recipit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.42 (CSEL 19:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-42).
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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).
2.8.43CSEL 19:137
ergo quoniam finem habuit materia tum, cum factus est ex ea mundus, et initium quoque habuit. nam quod destruitur, aedificatum est, quod soluitur, alligatum, quod finitur, inceptum. si ergo ex commutatione ac fine materia colligitur habuisse principium, a quo alio fieri nisi a deo potuit?
Therefore, since matter had an end when the world was made from it, it also had a beginning. For what is destroyed was built up, what is loosed was bound, what is ended was begun. If, then, it is gathered from its change and end that matter had a beginning, by whom else could it have been made but by God?
Notes and citation
Summary: Since matter ended in forming the world, it had a beginning, from God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.43 (CSEL 19:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-43).
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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).
2.8.44CSEL 19:137
solus igitur deus est qui factus non est, et idcirco destruere alia potest, ipse destrui non potest. permanebit semper in eo quod fuit, quia non est aliunde generatus, nec ortus ac natiuitas eius ex aliqua re altera pendet, quae illum mutata dissoluat. ex se ipso est, ut in primo diximus libro, et ideo talis est qualem esse se uoluit, inpassibilis inmutabilis incorruptus beatus aeternus.
God alone, then, is the one who was not made, and therefore he can destroy other things but cannot himself be destroyed. He will always remain in what he was, because he was not begotten from elsewhere, nor does his origin and birth depend on any other thing which, if changed, might dissolve him. He is from himself, as we said in the first book, and therefore he is such as he willed to be: impassible, unchangeable, incorrupt, blessed, eternal.
Notes and citation
Summary: God alone is unmade, self-existent, and indestructible.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): altera. pendet → altera pendet.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.44 (CSEL 19:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-44).
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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).
2.8.45CSEL 19:137
iam uero illa conclusio qua sententiam terminauit multo absurdior. quodsi materia inquit non est a deo facta, ne terra quidem et aqua et aer et ignis a deo factus est. quam callide periculum praeteruolauit!
Now that conclusion with which he ended the sentence is much more absurd: "But if matter was not made by God, neither were earth and water and air and fire made by God." How cleverly he flew past the danger!
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's conclusion evades the real question.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): pra.eteruolauit → praeteruolauit.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 3 (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.45 (CSEL 19:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-45).
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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).
2.8.46CSEL 19:137–138
sic enim superius illut adsumpsit, tamquam probatione non indigeret, cum id multo esset incertius quam illud propter quod adsumptum est. si non est inquit a deo facta materia, nec mundus a deo factus est.
For he assumed the former point as if it needed no proof, although it was much more uncertain than that for the sake of which it was assumed. "If matter was not made by God," he says, "neither was the world made by God."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero assumed the more doubtful premise to argue that God did not make the world.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.46 (CSEL 19:137–138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-46).
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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).
2.8.47CSEL 19:138
ex falso maluit colligere quod est falsum quam ex uero quod uerum, et cum debeant incerta de certis probari, hic probationem sumpsit ex incerto ad euertendum quod erat certum.
He preferred to infer the false from the false rather than the true from the true; and while uncertain things ought to be proved from certain ones, he took his proof from the uncertain to overturn what was certain.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero reasoned from uncertain premises against certain truth.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.47 (CSEL 19:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-47).
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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).
2.8.48CSEL 19:138
nam diuina prouidentia effectum esse mundum, ut taceam de Trismegisto qui hoc praedicat, taceam de carminibus Sibyllarum quae idem nuntiant, taceam de prophetis qui opus mundi et opificium dei uno spiritu et pari uoce testantur, etiam inter philosophos paene uniuersos conuenit; id enim Pythagorei Stoici Peripatetici, quae sunt principales omnium disciplinae.
For that the world was made by divine providence (to say nothing of Trismegistus, who proclaims this, nothing of the verses of the Sibyls, which announce the same, nothing of the prophets, who testify with one spirit and a like voice to the work of the world and the craftsmanship of God) is agreed even among almost all philosophers; for this the Pythagoreans, Stoics, and Peripatetics, which are the chief schools of all, hold.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hermes, the Sibyls, the prophets, and most philosophers agree that providence made the world.
- The Latin lacks a verb such as "hold" at the end; supplied by the sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray capital (OCR)): efFectum → effectum.
Extrabiblical texts: Corp. herm. (Hermetic writings; allusion); Sib. Or. (Sibylline Oracles; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.48 (CSEL 19:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-48).
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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).
2.8.49CSEL 19:138
denique a primis illis septem sapientibus ad Socraten usque ac Platonem pro confesso et indubitato habitum est, donec unus multis post saeculis extitit delirus Epicurus, qui auderet negare id quod est euidentissimum, studio scilicet inueniendi noua, ut nomine suo constitueret disciplinam.
In short, from those first seven wise men down to Socrates and Plato it was held as admitted and undoubted, until, many ages later, there arose one crazy Epicurus, who dared to deny what is most evident, from a desire, of course, of finding novelties, so that he might found a school in his own name.
Notes and citation
Summary: Until Epicurus, all the wise held that providence made the world.
Extrabiblical texts: Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.49 (CSEL 19:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-49).
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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).
2.8.50CSEL 19:138
et quia nihil noui potuit reperire, ut tamen dissentire a ceteris uideretur, uetera uoluit euertere: in quo illum circumlatrantes philosophi omnes coarguerunt. certius est igitur mundum prouidentia instructum quam materiam prouidentia conglobatam.
And because he could find nothing new, he wished to overturn old views, so as still to seem to disagree with the rest; in which all the philosophers barking around him refuted him. It is more certain, then, that the world was built by providence than that matter was gathered by providence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurus overturned old truths to seem original; providence in the world is more certain than in matter.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): uetera. uoluit → uetera uoluit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.50 (CSEL 19:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-50).
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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).
2.8.51CSEL 19:138–139
quare non oportuit putare idcirco non esse mundum diuina prouidentia factum, quia materia eius diuina prouidentia facta non sit, sed quia mundus diuina prouidentia sit effectus, etiam materiam factam esse diuinitus.
So he ought not to have thought that the world was not made by divine providence because its matter was not made by divine providence, but, because the world was made by divine providence, that matter too was made by God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since the world is providential, its matter must be too.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (n for u)): pntare → putare.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.51 (CSEL 19:138–139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-51).
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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).
2.8.52CSEL 19:139
credibilius est enim materiam potius a deo factam, quia deus potest omnia, quam mundum non esse a deo factum, quia sine mente ratione consilio nihil fieri potest.
For it is more credible that matter was made by God, since God can do all things, than that the world was not made by God, since nothing can be made without mind, reason, and purpose.
Notes and citation
Summary: It is more credible that God made matter than that he did not make the world.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.52 (CSEL 19:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-52).
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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).
2.8.53CSEL 19:139
uerum haec non Ciceronis est culpa, sed sectae. cum enim suscepisset disputationem qua deorum naturam tolleret, de qua philosophi garriebant, omnem diuinitatem ignorantia ueri putauit esse tollendam.
But this is not Cicero's fault but his school's. For when he had undertaken a discussion to do away with the nature of the gods, about which the philosophers prattled, in ignorance of the truth he thought that all divinity had to be done away with.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's Academic school led him to reject all divinity along with the gods.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.53 (CSEL 19:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-53).
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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).
2.8.54CSEL 19:139
itaque deos potuit tollere, quia non erant: cum autem prouidentiam diuinam quae est in uno deo conaretur euertere, quia contra ueritatem niti coeperat, deficientibus argumentis in hanc foueam necessario decidit, unde se extricare non posset. hic ergo illum teneo haerentem, teneo defixum, quoniam Lucilius qui contra disserebat ommutuit.
So he could do away with the gods, because they did not exist; but when he tried to overturn the divine providence which is in the one God, because he had begun to strive against the truth, his arguments failed and he necessarily fell into this pit, from which he could not extricate himself. Here, then, I hold him stuck, I hold him fixed, since Lucilius, who argued on the other side, fell silent.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero rightly abolished the gods but failed when he attacked providence.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (i for l)): toilere → tollere.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.54 (CSEL 19:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-54).
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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).
2.8.55CSEL 19:139
hic est cardo rerum, hic uertuntur omnia. explicet se Cotta si potest ex hac uoragine, proferat argumenta quibus doceat semper fuisse materiam, quam nulla prouidentia effecerit, ostendat quomodo quicquam ponderosum et graue aut esse potuerit sine auctore aut inmutari ualuerit, ac desierit esse quod semper fuit, ut inciperet esse quod numquam fuit.
This is the hinge of things, on this all turns. Let Cotta extricate himself from this abyss if he can; let him bring forward arguments to show that matter always existed, which no providence made; let him show how anything ponderous and heavy could either exist without an author or be changed, and cease to be what it always was, so as to begin to be what it never was.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cotta must prove matter eternal and explain how it could change.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (i for x)): ei hac uoragine → ex hac uoragine.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.55 (CSEL 19:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-55).
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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).
2.8.56CSEL 19:139
quae si docuerit, tum demum adsentiar ne mundum quidem diuina prouidentia constitutum, et tamen sic adsentiar, ut aliis illum laqueis teneam.
If he proves these things, then at last I will agree that even the world was not established by divine providence; and yet I will agree in such a way as to hold him with other snares.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even if he did, Lactantius would still catch him another way.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.56 (CSEL 19:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-56).
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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).
2.8.57CSEL 19:139–140
eodem enim quo nolet reuoluetur, ut dicat et materiam, de qua mundus est, et mundum, qui de materia est, natura extitisse, cum ego ipsam naturam deum esse contendam.
For he will come back to the point to which he does not wish to come, so as to say that both the matter of which the world is made and the world which is made of matter arose by nature, while I contend that nature itself is God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Attributing everything to nature brings him back to God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.57 (CSEL 19:139–140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-57).
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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).
2.8.58CSEL 19:140
nec enim potest facere mirabilia id est maxima ratione constantia nisi qui habet mentem prouidentiam potestatem.
For no one can make wonderful things, that is, things constituted with the greatest reason, except one who has mind, providence, and power.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wonderful order requires mind and power.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.58 (CSEL 19:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-58).
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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).
2.8.59CSEL 19:140
ita fiet ut deus fecerit omnia nec quicquam esse possit omnino quod non originem a deo traxerit.
So it will follow that God made all things, and that nothing at all can exist which has not drawn its origin from God.
Notes and citation
Summary: God made everything.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): ita. fiet → ita fiet.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.59 (CSEL 19:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-59).
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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).
2.8.60CSEL 19:140
at idem quotiens Epicureus est ac non uult a deo factum esse mundum, quaerere solet quibus manibus, quibus machinis, quibus uectibus, qua molitione tantum hoc opus fecerit. uideres fortasse, si eo tempore potuisses esse quo fecit.
But the same man, whenever he plays the Epicurean and does not want the world to have been made by God, usually asks with what hands, what machines, what levers, what effort he made so great a work. You might perhaps have seen it, had you been able to be there at the time he made it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's Epicurean asks how God built the world; no one was there to see.
- Compare Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1.19.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point (OCR)): at idem. quotiens → at idem quotiens.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Nat. d. 1.19 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.60 (CSEL 19:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-60).
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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).
2.8.61CSEL 19:140
sed ne perspiceret homo dei opera, noluit eum inducere in hunc mundum nisi perfectis omnibus.
But so that man might not see through the works of God, God did not wish to bring him into this world until everything was completed.
Notes and citation
Summary: God brought man into the world only after finishing it.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.61 (CSEL 19:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-61).
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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).
2.8.62CSEL 19:140
sed ne induci quidem poterat: quomodo enim subsisteret, cum fabricaretur desuper caelum, terra subter fundaretur, cum fortasse umida uel nimiis rigoribus torporata concrescerent uel igneis caloribus incocta et solidata durescerent? aut quomodo uiueret nondum sole instituto nec frugibus aut animalibus natis? itaque necesse fuit hominem postremo fieri, cum iam mundo ceterisque rebus manus summa esset inposita.
But he could not even have been brought in: for how could he have survived while the heaven was being fashioned above and the earth being founded below, when perhaps things were either congealing, damp or stiffened by excessive cold, or hardening, baked and solidified by fiery heat? Or how could he have lived before the sun was established and before crops or animals were born? So it was necessary that man be made last, when the finishing hand had already been put to the world and everything else.
Notes and citation
Summary: Man could not have survived creation's process, so he was made last.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (p for o); stray points (OCR)): quomodp → quomodo; torpora.ta. → torporata.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.62 (CSEL 19:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-62).
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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).
2.8.63CSEL 19:140
denique sanctae litterae docent hominem fuisse ultimum dei opus et sic inductum esse in hunc mundum quasi in domum iam paratam et instructam; illius enim causa facta sunt omnia.
In fact, the holy writings teach that man was God's last work and was brought into this world as into a house already prepared and furnished; for all things were made for his sake.
Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture teaches man was made last, into a world prepared for him.
- Gen 1:26–31.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.63 (CSEL 19:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-63).
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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).
2.8.64CSEL 19:140–141
idem etiam poetae fatentur. Ouidius perfecto iam mundo et uniuersis animalibus figuratis hoc addidit: sanctius his animal mentisque capacius altae derat adhuc et quod dominari in cetera posset, natus homo est. adeo nefas existimandum est ea scrutari quae deus uoluit esse celata.
The poets too confess the same. Ovid, when the world was already completed and all the animals formed, added this: "A creature holier than these and more capable of lofty mind was still lacking, one that could rule over the rest: man was born." So much is it to be judged wrong to search into what God wished to be hidden.
Notes and citation
Summary: Ovid also says man was made last; it is wrong to pry into what God has hidden.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.76–78.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Omdius → Ouidius.
Extrabiblical texts: Ovid, Metam. 1.76–78 (Ovid; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.64 (CSEL 19:140–141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-64).
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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).
2.8.65CSEL 19:141
uerum ille non audiendi aut discendi studio requirebat, sed refellendi, quia confidebat neminem id posse dicere: quasi uero ex hoc putandum sit non esse haec diuinitus facta, quia quomodo facta sint non potest peruideri.
But he asked not out of eagerness to hear or learn, but to refute, because he was confident no one could answer; as if it should be thought from this that these things were not made by God, because how they were made cannot be seen.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Epicurean asked only to refute, as if not knowing how meant God did not make it.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): diniuitus → diuinitus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.65 (CSEL 19:141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-65).
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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).
2.8.66CSEL 19:141
an tu si educatus in domo fabre facta et ornata nullam umquam fabricam uidisses, domum illam putasses non esse ab homine aedificatam, quia quomodo aedificetur ignorares? idem profecto de domo quaereres quod nunc de mundo requiris, quibus manibus, quibus ferramentis homo tanta esset opera molitus, maxime si saxa ingentia, inmensa caementa, uastas columnas, opus totum sublime et excelsum uideres. nonne haec tibi humanarum uirium modum uiderentur excedere, quia illa non tam uiribus quam ratione atque artificio facta esse nescires?
If you had been brought up in a house skilfully built and adorned and had never seen any building work, would you have thought that house was not built by man because you did not know how it is built? You would surely ask about the house what you now ask about the world: with what hands, with what tools man had produced such great works, especially if you saw huge stones, immense masonry, vast columns, the whole work lofty and high. Would these not seem to you to exceed the measure of human strength, since you did not know they were done not so much by strength as by reason and skill?
Notes and citation
Summary: Ignorance of how a house is built does not prove no one built it.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): humanarum uinum → humanarum uirium.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.66 (CSEL 19:141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-66).
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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).
2.8.67CSEL 19:141
quodsi homo, in quo nihil perfectum est, tamen plus efficit ratione quam uires eius exiguae patiuntur, quid est cur incredibile tibi esse uideatur, cum mundus dicitur factus a deo, in quo, quia perfectus est, nec sapientia potest habere terminum nec fortitudo mensuram?
But if man, in whom nothing is perfect, nevertheless achieves more by reason than his small strength allows, why should it seem incredible to you when the world is said to have been made by God, in whom, because he is perfect, wisdom can have no limit nor strength any measure?
Notes and citation
Summary: If man achieves great things by reason, God's creation of the world is not incredible.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip (m for in)): homo, m quo → homo, in quo.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.67 (CSEL 19:141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-67).
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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).
2.8.68CSEL 19:141–142
opera ipsius uidentur oculis, quomodo autem illa fecerit, ne mente quidem uidetur, quia, ut Hermes ait, mortale inmortali, temporale perpetuo, corruptibile incorrupto propinquare non potest id est propius accedere et intellegentia subsequi. et ideo terrenum adhuc animal rerum caelestium perspectionem non capit, quia corpore quasi custodia saeptum tenetur, quominus soluto ac libero sensu cernat omnia.
His works are seen by the eyes, but how he made them is not seen even by the mind, because, as Hermes says, the mortal cannot draw near to the immortal, the temporal to the everlasting, the corruptible to the incorrupt, that is, approach more closely and follow with understanding. And so a creature still earthly cannot grasp the view of heavenly things, because it is held enclosed in the body as in a prison, which keeps it from seeing all things with free and unbound sense.
Notes and citation
Summary: As Hermes says, mortals cannot comprehend how God works; the body limits understanding.
- Hermetic fragment.
Extrabiblical texts: Corp. herm. (Hermetic writings; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.68 (CSEL 19:141–142; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-68).
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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).
2.8.69CSEL 19:142
sciat igitur quam inepte faciat qui res inenarrabiles quaerat. hoc est enim modum condicionis suae transgredi nec intellegere quousque homini liceat accedere.
Let him know, then, how foolishly he acts who inquires into things that cannot be told. For this is to go beyond the measure of one's condition and not to understand how far man is permitted to approach.
Notes and citation
Summary: Prying into the unknowable exceeds human limits.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.69 (CSEL 19:142; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-69).
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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).
2.8.70CSEL 19:142
denique cum aperiret homini ueritatem deus, ea sola scire nos uoluit quae interfuit hominem scire ad uitam consequendam, quae uero ad curiosam et profanam cupiditatem pertinebant, reticuit, ut arcana
Indeed, when God opened the truth to man, he wished us to know only what it concerned man to know for attaining life; what pertained to curious and profane desire he kept silent, so that they might be secret.
Notes and citation
Summary: God revealed only what is needed for eternal life.
- Compare Deut 29:29; no allusion is certain.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray point before the section break (OCR)): ut arcana. → ut arcana.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.70 (CSEL 19:142; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-70).
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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).
2.8.71CSEL 19:142
essent. quid ergo quaeris quae nec potes scire nec si scias, beatior fies? perfecta est in homine sapientia, si et deum esse unum et ab ipso facta esse uniuersa cognoscat.
Why then do you seek what you can neither know nor, if you knew it, would be happier for knowing? Wisdom in man is complete if he knows both that God is one and that all things were made by him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Human wisdom is complete in knowing one God who made all things.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 2.8.71 (CSEL 19:142; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/2-7-1/#p-2-8-71).
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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).