Divine Institutes 4.17.1–4.23.10
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 4, chapter 17
4.17.1CSEL 19:343
Sed irae atque inuidiae suae, quam in cordibus suis gerebant intus inclusam, alias causas praeferebant: quod legem dei per Moysen datam solueret, id est quod sabbatis non uacaret operans in salutem hominum, quod circumcisionem uacuefaceret, quod abstinentiam suillae carnis auferret:
But they put forward other reasons for the anger and envy they carried shut up in their hearts: that he was dissolving the law of God given through Moses, that is, that he did not rest on the sabbaths, working for people's salvation; that he was making circumcision void; that he was removing the abstinence from pork:
Notes and citation
Summary: They accused him of breaking the law on sabbath, circumcision and pork.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.1 (CSEL 19:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-1).
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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).
4.17.2CSEL 19:343
in quibus rebus Iudaicae religionis sacramenta consistunt. ob haec itaque cetera pars populi, quae nondum ad Christum secesserat, a sacerdotibus incitabatur ut inpium iudicaret eum, quod legem dei solueret, cum hoc ille non suo iudicio, sed ex dei uoluntate et secundum praedicta faceret prophetarum.
in which things the sacred rites of the Jewish religion consist. For these reasons, then, the rest of the people, who had not yet gone over to Christ, were incited by the priests to judge him impious for dissolving the law of God, although he did this not by his own judgment but by the will of God and according to the predictions of the prophets.
Notes and citation
Summary: He changed the law by God's will and as foretold.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.2 (CSEL 19:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-2).
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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).
4.17.3CSEL 19:343–344
Micheas enim nouam legem datuiri denuntiauit hoc modo: lex de Sion proficiscetur et sermo domini ab Hierusalem. et iudicabit inter plurimos populos et reuincet et detege ualidas nationes.
For Micah announced that a new law would be given, in this way: 'The law shall go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge between many peoples and shall rebuke and lay bare strong nations.'
Mic 4:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Mic 4:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Micah foretold a new law from Zion.
- Mic 4:2–3. 'detege' is taken in the sense 'lay bare'.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split): iudi cabit → iudicabit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.3 (CSEL 19:343–344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-3).
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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).
4.17.4CSEL 19:344
illa enim prior lex quae per Moysen data est, non in monte Sion, sed in monte Choreb data est quam Sibylla fore ut a filio dei solueretur ostendit: † ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ταῦτα πάντα τελειωθῇ ἅπερ εἶπον, εἰς αὐτὸν τότε πᾶς λύεται νόμος.
For that former law, which was given through Moses, was given not on Mount Zion but on Mount Horeb; and the Sibyl showed that it would be dissolved by the Son of God: 'But when all these things are fulfilled which I have spoken, then the whole law is dissolved into him.'
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: The old law came from Horeb; the Sibyl foretold its dissolution by the Son.
- Sibylline fragment (cf. Or. Sib. 8.299–300); the editor marks the Greek line with a dagger as corrupt, and the translation is by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR): Moyseqj → Moysen.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. fragment (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.4 (CSEL 19:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-4).
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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).
4.17.5CSEL 19:344–345
sed et ipse Moyses, per quem sibi datam legem dum pertinaciter tuentur, exciderunt a deo et deum non adgnouerunt, praedixerat fore ut propheta maximus mitteretur a deo, qui sit supra legem, qui uoluntatem dei ad homines perferat.
But Moses himself too, through whom they, while stubbornly guarding the law given to them, fell away from God and did not know God, had foretold that a very great prophet would be sent by God, who would be above the law, who would bring God's will to men.
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses foretold a great prophet above the law.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.5 (CSEL 19:344–345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-5).
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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).
4.17.6CSEL 19:345
in Deuteronomio ita scriptum reliquit: et dixit dominus ad me: prophetam excitabo eis de fratribus eorum sicut te et dabo uerbum meum in os eius, et loquetur ad eos ea quae praecepero ei. et quisque non audierit ea quae loquetur propheta ille in nomine meo, ego uindicabo in eum.
In Deuteronomy he left it written thus: 'And the Lord said to me: I will raise up for them a prophet from among their brothers like you, and I will put my word in his mouth, and he shall speak to them what I command him. And whoever does not hear the things that prophet shall speak in my name, I will take vengeance on him.'
Deut 18:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 18:19 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Deuteronomy 18: God will raise up a prophet like Moses.
- Deut 18:17–19.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.6 (CSEL 19:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-6).
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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).
4.17.7CSEL 19:345
denuntiauit scilicet deus per ipsum legiferum quod filium suum id est uiuam praesentemque legem missurus esset et illam ueterem per mortalem datam soluturus, ut denuo per eum qui esset aeternus, legem sanciret aeternam.
God announced, namely through the lawgiver himself, that he would send his Son, that is, a living and present law, and would dissolve that old one given through a mortal, so that through him who was eternal he might establish an eternal law anew.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Son is the living law replacing the old.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.7 (CSEL 19:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-7).
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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).
4.17.8CSEL 19:345–346
item de circumcisione soluenda Esaias ita prophetauit: haec dicit dominus uiris Iuda et qui inhabitant in Hierusalem: renouate inter uos nouitatem et ne seminaueritis in spinis. circumcidite uos deo uestro et circumcidite praeputium cordis uestri, ne exeat ira mea sicut ignis et non sit qui extinguat item Moyses ipse:
Likewise about the dissolving of circumcision Isaiah prophesied thus: 'Thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and those who dwell in Jerusalem: Renew newness among yourselves, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to your God and circumcise the foreskin of your heart, lest my anger go forth like fire and there be none to quench it.' Likewise Moses himself:
Jer 4:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 4:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophet calls for circumcision of the heart.
- The text is Jer 4:3–4, though Lactantius names Isaiah.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.8 (CSEL 19:345–346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-8).
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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).
4.17.9CSEL 19:346
in nouissimis diebus circumcidet deus cor tuum ad dominum deum tuum amandum. item Iesus Naue successor eius: et dixit dominus ad Iesum: fac tibi cultellos petrinos nimis acutos et sede et circumcide secundo filios Israhel.
'In the last days God will circumcise your heart to love the Lord your God.' Likewise Jesus son of Nun, his successor: 'And the Lord said to Jesus: Make for yourself stone knives, very sharp, and sit and circumcise the children of Israel a second time.'
Deut 30:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Josh 5:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses and Joshua speak of a second circumcision.
- Deut 30:6; Josh 5:2 (Greek text). 'Jesus son of Nun' is Joshua.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.9 (CSEL 19:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-9).
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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).
4.17.10CSEL 19:346
secundam circumcisionem futuram esse dixit non carnis, sicut fuit prima, qua etiamnunc Iudaei utuntur, sed cordis ac spiritus, quam tradidit Christus, qui uerus Iesus fuit.
He said that there would be a second circumcision, not of the flesh, as the first was, which the Jews still practise, but of the heart and spirit, which Christ handed down, who was the true Jesus.
Notes and citation
Summary: The second circumcision is of the heart, given by Christ, the true Jesus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.10 (CSEL 19:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-10).
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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).
4.17.11CSEL 19:346
non enim propheta sic ait et dixit dominus ad me, sed ad Iesum, ut ostenderet quod non de se loqueretur, sed de Christo, ad quem tum deus loquebatur.
For the prophet does not say, 'And the Lord said to me', but 'to Jesus', to show that he was not speaking of himself but of Christ, to whom God was then speaking.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's words 'to Jesus' point to Christ.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray backslashes): ad me\\ sed → ad me, sed.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.11 (CSEL 19:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-11).
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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).
4.17.12CSEL 19:346–347
Christi enim figuram gerebat ille Iesus. qui cum primum Auses uocaretur, Moyses futura praesentiens iussit eum Iesum uocari, ut quoniam dux militiae delectus esset aduersus Amalech, qui obpugnabat filios Israhel, et aduersarium debellaret per nominis figuram et populum in terram promissionis induceret.
For that Jesus bore the figure of Christ. When he was first called Auses, Moses, foreseeing the future, ordered him to be called Jesus, so that, since he had been chosen commander of the army against Amalek, who was attacking the children of Israel, he might both defeat the adversary through the figure of the name and lead the people into the land of promise.
Num 13:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 17:9 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Joshua, renamed from Hoshea, prefigured Christ by his name and deeds.
- Num 13:16 (Auses = Hoshea); Exod 17:8–13.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.12 (CSEL 19:346–347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-12).
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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).
4.17.13CSEL 19:347
et idcirco etiam Moysi successit, ut ostenderetur nouam legem per Christum Iesum datam ueteri legi successuram, quae data per Moysen fuit.
And for this reason he also succeeded Moses, to show that the new law given through Christ Jesus would succeed the old law, which was given through Moses.
Notes and citation
Summary: Joshua succeeding Moses figures the new law succeeding the old.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.13 (CSEL 19:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-13).
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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).
4.17.14CSEL 19:347
nam illa carnis circumcisio caret utique ratione, quia si deus id uellet, sic a principio formasset hominem, ut praeputium non haberet: sed huius secundae circumcisionis figura erat significans nudandum esse pectus, id est aperto et simplici corde oportere nos uiuere, quoniam pars illa corporis quae circumciditur habet quandam similitudinem cordis et est pudenda.
For that circumcision of the flesh certainly lacks reason, because if God wanted it, he would have formed man from the beginning without a foreskin; but it was a figure of this second circumcision, signifying that the breast must be laid bare, that is, that we ought to live with an open and simple heart, since that part of the body which is circumcised has a certain likeness to the heart and is shameful.
Notes and citation
Summary: Circumcision figures an open and sincere heart.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.14 (CSEL 19:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-14).
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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).
4.17.15CSEL 19:347
ob hanc causam deus nudari eam iussit, ut hoc argumento nos admoneret, ne inuolutum pectus habeamus, id est ne quod pudendum facinus intra conscientiae secreta uelemus. haec est cordis circumcisio, de qua prophetae loquuntur:
For this reason God ordered it to be bared, so as to warn us by this token not to have a wrapped-up breast, that is, not to veil any shameful deed within the secrets of conscience. This is the circumcision of the heart of which the prophets speak,
Notes and citation
Summary: Circumcision of the heart means hiding no shameful deed.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.15 (CSEL 19:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-15).
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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).
4.17.16CSEL 19:347
quam deus a carne mortali ad animam transtulit, quae sola mansura est.
which God transferred from the mortal flesh to the soul, which alone will endure.
Notes and citation
Summary: God moved circumcision from flesh to soul.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.16 (CSEL 19:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-16).
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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).
4.17.17CSEL 19:347–348
uolens enim uitae ac saluti nostrae pro aeterna sua pietate consulere, paenitentiam nobis in illa circumcisione proposuit, ut si cor nudauerimus, id est si peccata nostra confessi satis deo fecerimus, ueniam consequamur, quae contumacibus et admissa sua celantibus denegatur ab eo qui non faciem sicut homo, sed intima et arcana pectoris intuetur.
For, wishing in his eternal kindness to provide for our life and salvation, he set repentance before us in that circumcision: so that if we lay bare our heart, that is, if we confess our sins and make satisfaction to God, we may obtain pardon, which is denied to the obstinate and those who conceal their misdeeds by him who looks not on the face, as man does, but on the inmost and secret things of the heart.
1 Sam 16:7 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Circumcision signifies repentance: confessing sins to God brings pardon.
- Cf. 1 Sam 16:7.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.17 (CSEL 19:347–348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-17).
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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).
4.17.18CSEL 19:348
eodem spectat etiam carnis suillae interdictio. qua cum eos abstinere deus iussit, id potissimum uoluit intellegi, ut se peccatis atque inmunditiis abstinerent.
The prohibition of pork looks to the same end. When God ordered them to abstain from it, he wished it to be understood above all that they should abstain from sins and uncleanness.
Lev 11:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The ban on pork signifies abstaining from sin.
- Lev 11:7.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.18 (CSEL 19:348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-18).
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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).
4.17.19CSEL 19:348
est enim lutulentum hoc animal et inmundum nec umquam caelum aspicit, sed in terram toto et corpore et ore proiectum uentri semper et pabulo seruit, nec ullum alium cum uiuit praestare usum potest sicut ceterae animantes, quae uel sedendi uehiculum praebent uel in cultibus agrorum iuuant uel plaustra collo trahunt uel onera tergo gestant uel indumentum exuuiis suis exhibent uel copia lactis exuberant uel custodiendis domibus inuigilant.
For this animal is muddy and unclean and never looks at the sky, but, thrown down on the earth with its whole body and snout, always serves its belly and its fodder; nor can it provide any other use while it lives, as the other animals do, which either provide a vehicle to sit on, or help in cultivating the fields, or draw carts with their necks, or carry loads on their backs, or provide clothing from their hides, or abound in plenty of milk, or keep watch in guarding houses.
Notes and citation
Summary: The pig is earthbound and useless in life, unlike other animals.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.19 (CSEL 19:348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-19).
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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).
4.17.20CSEL 19:348
interdixit ergo ne porcina carne uterentur, id est ne uitam porcorum imitarentur, qui ad solam mortem nutriuntur, ne uentri ac uoluptatibus seruientes ad faciendam iustitiam inutiles essent ac morte adficerentur;
So he forbade them to use pork, that is, to imitate the life of pigs, which are fed only for death; lest, serving the belly and pleasures, they be useless for doing justice and be struck by death;
Notes and citation
Summary: The ban warns against living like pigs for the belly.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: m for in): mterdixit → interdixit.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.20 (CSEL 19:348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-20).
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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).
4.17.21CSEL 19:348–349
item ne se foedis libidinibus inmergerent sicut sus, qui se ingurgitat caeno, uel ne terrenis seruiant simulacris ac se luto inquinent. luto enim se oblinunt qui deos id est lutum terramque uenerantur. sic uniuersa praecepta Iudaicae legis ad exhibendam iustitiam spectant, quoniam per ambagem data sunt, ut per carnalium figuram spiritalia noscerentur.
likewise lest they plunge into foul lusts like the pig that wallows in the mud, or serve earthly images and defile themselves with clay. For those smear themselves with mud who worship gods, that is, mud and earth. So all the precepts of the Jewish law look to showing justice, since they were given in a figurative way, so that through the figure of the fleshly the spiritual might be known.
Notes and citation
Summary: All the Jewish law's precepts are figures of spiritual justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.17.21 (CSEL 19:348–349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-17-21).
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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).
Divine 4, chapter 18
4.18.1CSEL 19:349
Cum igitur ea quae deus fieri uoluit quaeque per prophetas suos multis saeculis ante praedixit, Christus inpleret, ob ea incitati et diuinas litteras nescientes coierunt, ut deum suum condemnarent.
So when Christ fulfilled the things that God willed to be done and had foretold through his prophets many ages before, they, stirred up by these things and ignorant of the divine writings, conspired to condemn their God.
Notes and citation
Summary: They conspired to condemn Christ.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.1 (CSEL 19:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-1).
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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).
4.18.2CSEL 19:349
quod cum sciret futurum ac subinde diceret oportere se pati atque interfici pro salute multorum, secessit tamen cum discipulis suis, non ut uitaret quod necesse erat perpeti ac sustinere, sed ut ostenderet quod ita fieri oporteat in omni persecutione, ne sua quis culpa incidisse uideatur; ac denuntiauit fore ut ab uno eorum proderetur.
Though he knew this would happen and said repeatedly that he must suffer and be killed for the salvation of many, he nevertheless withdrew with his disciples, not to avoid what had to be suffered and endured, but to show that in every persecution one should act so, lest anyone seem to have fallen into it by his own fault; and he announced that he would be betrayed by one of them.
Matt 16:21 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 26:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ foretold his death and betrayal, and withdrew as an example in persecution.
- Matt 16:21; 26:21.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.2 (CSEL 19:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-2).
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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).
4.18.3CSEL 19:349
itaque Iudas praemio inlectus tradidit eum Iudaeis.
So Judas, enticed by a reward, handed him over to the Jews.
Matt 26:15 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Judas betrayed him for money.
- Matt 26:14–16.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: l for I): itaque ludas → itaque Iudas.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.3 (CSEL 19:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-3).
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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).
4.18.4CSEL 19:349
at illi conprehensum ac Pontio Pilato, qui tum legatus Syriam regebat, oblatum cruci adfigi postulauerunt obicientes ei nihil aliut nisi quod diceret se filium dei esse, regem Iudaeorum; item quia dixerat: si solueritis hoc templum, quod aedificatum est annis XLVI, ego illut in triduo sine manibus resuscitabo, significans futuram breui passionem suam et se a Iudaeis interfectum tertio die resurrecturum. ipse enim fuerat uerum dei templum.
They, having seized him and brought him to Pontius Pilate, who then governed Syria as legate, demanded that he be fixed to the cross, charging him with nothing else but that he said he was the Son of God, the king of the Jews; likewise because he had said: 'If you destroy this temple, which was built in forty-six years, I will raise it up in three days without hands', signifying his coming passion, and that, killed by the Jews, he would rise on the third day. For he himself was the true temple of God.
John 2:19 (quotation, high confidence) · John 2:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 14:58 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Before Pilate they accused him of claiming to be Son of God and king, and of the temple saying.
- John 2:19–21; Mark 14:58. Pilate was prefect of Judaea, not legate of Syria; Lactantius's statement is given as written.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.4 (CSEL 19:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-4).
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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).
4.18.5CSEL 19:349–350
has uoces eius tamquam infaustas et inpias insectabantur. quae cum Pilatus audisset et ille in defensionem sui nihil diceret, pronuntiauit nihil in eo damnatione dignum uideri. at illi iniustissimi accusatores cum populo, quem incitauerant, subclamare coeperunt et crucem eius uiolentis uocibus flagitare.
They pursued these words of his as ill-omened and impious. When Pilate heard them, and he said nothing in his own defence, he pronounced that nothing in him seemed worthy of condemnation. But those most unjust accusers, with the people they had stirred up, began to shout and to demand his cross with violent cries.
Luke 23:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 23:21 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Pilate found nothing worthy of death, but the crowd demanded crucifixion.
- Luke 23:4, 21.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.5 (CSEL 19:349–350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-5).
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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).
4.18.6CSEL 19:350
tum Pontius et illorum clamoribus et Herodis tetrarchae instigatione metuentis, ne regno pelleretur; uictus est, nec tamen ipse sententiam protulit, sed tradidit eum Iudaeis, ut ipsi de illo secundum legem suam iudicarent.
Then Pontius was overcome both by their clamour and by the instigation of Herod the tetrarch, who feared he would be driven from his kingdom; yet he did not himself pronounce sentence, but handed him over to the Jews so that they might judge him according to their own law.
John 19:16 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Pilate yielded and handed him to the Jews to judge.
- Herod's role here is Lactantius's own account; cf. Luke 23:6–12; John 18:31; 19:16.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.6 (CSEL 19:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-6).
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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).
4.18.7CSEL 19:350
duxerunt igitur eum flagellis uerberatum et priusquam cruci adfigerent, inluserunt: indutum enim coloris punicei ueste ac spinis coronatum quasi regem salutarunt et dederunt ei cibum fellis et miscuerunt ei aceti potionem.
So they led him away, beaten with scourges, and before fixing him to the cross they mocked him: for having clothed him in a purple-coloured robe and crowned him with thorns, they saluted him as a king, and gave him gall for food and mixed him a drink of vinegar.
Matt 27:28 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:34 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: They scourged, mocked and crowned him with thorns, and gave him gall and vinegar.
- Matt 27:26–34.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.7 (CSEL 19:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-7).
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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).
4.18.8CSEL 19:350
post haec conspuerunt faciem eius et palmis ceciderunt. cumque ipsi carnifices de uestimentis eius contenderent, sortiti sunt inter se de tunica et pallio.
After this they spat in his face and struck him with their palms. And when the executioners themselves quarrelled over his garments, they cast lots among themselves for his tunic and cloak.
Matt 26:67 (allusion, high confidence) · John 19:24 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: They spat on him, struck him, and cast lots for his clothes.
- Matt 26:67; John 19:23–24.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.8 (CSEL 19:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-8).
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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).
4.18.9CSEL 19:350
et cum haec omnia fierent, nullam uocem ex ore suo, tamquam si mutus esset, emisit. tum suspenderunt eum inter duos noxios medium, qui ob latrocinia damnati erant, crucique fixerunt.
And while all these things were done, he uttered no word from his mouth, as if he were dumb. Then they hung him in the middle between two criminals, who had been condemned for robbery, and fixed him to the cross.
Matt 27:38 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Silent, he was crucified between two robbers.
- Matt 27:14, 38.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.9 (CSEL 19:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-9).
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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).
4.18.10CSEL 19:350–351
quid ego hic in tanto facinore deplorem aut quibus uerbis tantum nefas conquerar? non enim Gauianam crucem describimus, quam Marcus Tullius uniuersis eloquentiae suae neruis ac uiribus uelut effusis totius ingenii fontibus prosecutus est, facinus indignum esse proclamans ciuem Romanum contra omnes leges in crucem esse sublatum.
What shall I lament here in so great a crime, or with what words shall I bewail so great an outrage? For we are not describing the cross of Gavius, which Marcus Tullius pursued with all the sinews and strength of his eloquence, as if pouring out the fountains of his whole genius, proclaiming it an unworthy crime that a Roman citizen had been raised on a cross against all laws.
Notes and citation
Summary: This crime surpasses the crucifixion of Gavius that Cicero lamented.
- Cicero, Verr. 2.5.158–170.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero, Verr. 2.5.158–170 (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.10 (CSEL 19:350–351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-10).
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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).
4.18.11CSEL 19:351
qui quamuis innocens fuerit et illo supplicio indignus, mortalis tamen et ab homine scelesto qui iustitiam ignoraret adfectus.
He, though he was innocent and unworthy of that punishment, was yet mortal, and was afflicted by a wicked man who did not know justice.
Notes and citation
Summary: Gavius was innocent but mortal.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.11 (CSEL 19:351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-11).
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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).
4.18.12CSEL 19:351
quid de huius crucis indignitate dicemus, in qua deus a cultoribus dei suspensus est atque subfixus? quis tam facundus et tanta rerum uerborumque copia instructus existet, quae oratio tantae affluentiae ubertate decurrens, ut illam crucem merito deploret, quam mundus ipse et tota mundi elementa luxerunt?
What shall we say of the indignity of this cross, on which God was hung and fastened by the worshippers of God? Who will be so eloquent, so equipped with abundance of matter and words, what speech running with such rich fullness, as to lament worthily that cross which the world itself and all the elements of the world mourned?
Notes and citation
Summary: No eloquence can lament the cross on which God was hung.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR): cultonbus → cultoribus.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.12 (CSEL 19:351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-12).
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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).
4.18.13CSEL 19:351
haec autem sic futura esse et prophetarum uocibus et Sibyllinis carminibus denuntiatum est. aput Esaiam ita scriptum inuenitur: non sum contumax neque contradico: dorsum meum posui ad flagella et maxillas meas ad palmas, faciem autem meam non auerti a foeditate sputorum. similiter Dauid in psalmo XXXIIII:
That these things would happen so was announced both by the voices of the prophets and by the Sibylline verses. In Isaiah it is found written thus: 'I am not rebellious nor do I contradict: I gave my back to the scourges and my cheeks to blows, and I did not turn away my face from the foulness of spitting.' Similarly David in Psalm 34:
Isa 50:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 50:6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah foretold the scourging and spitting.
- Isa 50:5–6.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.13 (CSEL 19:351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-13).
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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).
4.18.14CSEL 19:351–352
congregata sunt in me flagella et ignorauerunt, dissoluti sunt nec conpuncti sunt: temptauerunt me et deriserunt derisum, striderunt super me dentibus suis.
'Scourges were gathered against me and they did not know; they were scattered and not pricked at heart; they tempted me and mocked me with mockery; they gnashed their teeth at me.'
Ps 35:15 (34:15 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 35:16 (34:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 35 foretells the mockery.
- Ps 35:15–16 (34:15–16 LXX).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.14 (CSEL 19:351–352; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-14).
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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).
4.18.15CSEL 19:352–353
Sibylla quoque eadem futura monstrauit: εἰς ἀνόμους χεῖρας καὶ ἀπίστων ὕστερον ἥξει, δώσουσι δὲ θεῷ ῥαπίσματα χερσὶν ἀνάγνοις, καὶ στόμασιν μιαροῖσι ἐμπτύσματα φαρμακόεντα· δώσει δ᾽ εἰς μάστιγας ἁπλῶς ἁγνὸν τότε νῶτον.
The Sibyl too showed the same things would happen: 'Afterwards he will come into the lawless hands of the faithless, and they will give God blows with unholy hands, and with polluted mouths poisonous spittings; and he will then simply give his holy back to the scourges.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl foretold the blows, spitting and scourging.
- Sibylline Oracles 8.287–290.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 8.287–290 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.15 (CSEL 19:352–353; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-15).
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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).
4.18.16CSEL 19:353
item de silentio eius, quod usque ad mortem pertinaciter tenuit, Esaias iterum sic locutus est: sicut ouis ad immolandum adductus est et sicut agnus coram tondentibus sine uoce, sic non aperuit os suum.
Likewise about his silence, which he kept steadfastly until death, Isaiah again spoke thus: 'As a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearers is without voice, so he did not open his mouth.'
Isa 53:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah foretold his silence.
- Isa 53:7.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.16 (CSEL 19:353; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-16).
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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).
4.18.17CSEL 19:353–354
et Sibylla supra dicta: καὶ κολαφιζόμενος σιγήσει, μή τις ἐπιγνῶ τίς λόγος ἢ πόθεν ἦλθεν, ἵνα φθιμένοισι λαλήσει, καὶ στέφανον φορέσει τὴν ἀκάνθινον.
And the Sibyl mentioned above: 'And when struck he will be silent, lest anyone should know what word he is or whence he came, so that he may speak to the dead; and he will wear the crown of thorns.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl foretold his silence and crown of thorns.
- Sibylline Oracles 8.292–294.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 8.292–294 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.17 (CSEL 19:353–354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-17).
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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).
4.18.18CSEL 19:354
de cibo uero et potu, quem antequam figerent ei obtulerunt, Dauid in psalmo LXVIII sic ait: et dederunt in escam meam fel et in siti mea potum mihi dederunt acetum.
About the food and drink they offered him before they fixed him, David in Psalm 68 says thus: 'And they gave gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.'
Ps 69:21 (68:22 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 69 foretold the gall and vinegar.
- Ps 69:21 (68:22 LXX).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.18 (CSEL 19:354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-18).
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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).
4.18.19CSEL 19:354
idem hoc futurum etiam Sibylla contionata est: εἰς δὲ τὸ βρῶμα χολὴν καὶ εἰς δίψαν ὄξος ἔδωκαν, τῆς ἀφιλοξενίης ταύτην δείξουσι τράπεζαν.
The Sibyl too proclaimed that this would happen: 'They gave gall for food and vinegar for thirst; this table of inhospitality they will show.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl foretold the gall and vinegar.
- Sibylline Oracles 8.303–304. A misplaced repetition of the opening of 4.18.20 in the digital text is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misplaced repetition of the opening of 4.18.20): Et alia Sibylla Iudaeam terram his increpat increpat: → .
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 8.303–304 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.19 (CSEL 19:354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-19).
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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).
4.18.20CSEL 19:354–355
et alia Sibylla Iudaeam terram his increpat uersibus: αὐτὴ γὰρ δύσφρων, τὸν σὸν θεὸν οὐκ ἐνόησας παίζοντα θνητοῖσι νοήμασιν, ἀλλὰ ἀπ ἀκάνθης ἔστεψας στεφάνῳ φοβερὴν τε χολὴν ἐκέρασσας.
And another Sibyl rebukes the land of Judaea with these verses: 'For you yourself, senseless one, did not perceive your God playing with mortal thoughts, but crowned him with a crown of thorns and mixed dreadful gall.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Another Sibyl rebukes Judaea for crowning God with thorns.
- Sibylline Oracles 6.22–24.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 6.22–24 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.20 (CSEL 19:354–355; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-20).
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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).
4.18.21CSEL 19:355
fore autem ut Iudaei manus inferrent deo suo eumque interficerent, testimonia prophetarum haec antecesserunt.
That the Jews would lay hands on their God and kill him, these testimonies of the prophets went before.
Notes and citation
Summary: The prophets foretold that the Jews would kill their God.
- Translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.21 (CSEL 19:355; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-21).
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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).
4.18.22CSEL 19:355–356
aput Hesdram ita scriptum est: et dixit Hesdras ad populum: hoc pascha saluator noster est et refugium nostrum. cogitate et ascendat in cor uestrum, quoniam habemus humiliare eum in signo: et post haec sperabimus in eum, ne deseratur hic locus in aeternum tempus, dicit dominus deus uirtutum. si non credideritis ei neque exaudieritis adnuntiationem eius, eritis derisio in gentibus.
In Ezra it is written thus: 'And Ezra said to the people: This passover is our Saviour and our refuge. Consider, and let it come up into your heart, that we are to humble him in a sign; and after this we shall hope in him, lest this place be deserted for all time, says the Lord God of hosts. If you do not believe him nor hearken to his proclamation, you will be a laughing-stock among the nations.'
Notes and citation
Summary: A passage attributed to Ezra calls the passover our Saviour, to be humbled on a sign.
- This passage is not in any extant text of Ezra; Justin, Dial. 72.1, quotes it and claims the Jews removed it.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split): adnuntia tionem → adnuntiationem.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.22 (CSEL 19:355–356; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-22).
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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).
4.18.23CSEL 19:356
unde apparet Iudaeos nullam aliam spem habere nisi se abluerint a sanguine ac sperauerint in eum ipsum quem necauerunt.
From which it appears that the Jews have no other hope unless they wash themselves from the blood and hope in the very one whom they killed.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Jews' only hope is to repent and trust in him.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.23 (CSEL 19:356; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-23).
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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).
4.18.24CSEL 19:356
Esaias quoque facinus eorum designat et dicit: in humilitate iudicium eius sublatam est. natiuitatem eius quis enarrabit? quoniam auferetur a terra uita eius, a facinoribus populi mei abductus est ad mortem. et dabo malos pro sepultura eius et diuites pro morte eius, quia facinus non fecit neque insidias ore suo locutus est.
Isaiah too indicates their crime and says: 'In humiliation his judgment was taken away. Who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth; from the crimes of my people he was led to death. And I will give the wicked for his burial and the rich for his death, because he did no crime nor spoke treachery with his mouth.
Isa 53:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 53:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah describes his unjust death and innocence.
- Isa 53:8–9 (Greek text).
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.24 (CSEL 19:356; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-24).
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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).
4.18.25CSEL 19:356–357
propterea ipse consequetur multos et fortium diuidet spolia, propterea quod traditus est ad mortem et inter facinerosos deputatus est: et ipse peccata multorum pertulit et propter facinora illorum traditus est.
Therefore he shall obtain many and divide the spoils of the strong, because he was handed over to death and reckoned among the wicked; and he bore the sins of many and was handed over for their crimes.'
Isa 53:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The servant was numbered with the wicked and bore the sins of many.
- Isa 53:12.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.25 (CSEL 19:356–357; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-25).
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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).
4.18.26CSEL 19:357
Dauid quoque in psalmo XCIII: captabunt in animam iusti et sanguinem innocentem condemnabunt, et factus est mihi dominus in refugium.
David too in Psalm 93: 'They will hunt after the soul of the just and condemn innocent blood; and the Lord has become my refuge.'
Ps 94:21 (93:21 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 94:22 (93:22 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 94 foretells the condemning of innocent blood.
- Ps 94:21–22 (93:21–22 LXX).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.26 (CSEL 19:357; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-26).
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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).
4.18.27CSEL 19:357–358
item Hieremias: domine, significa mihi, et cognoscam. tunc uidi meditationes eorum: ego sicut agnus sine malitia perductus sum ad uictimam: in me cogitauerunt cogitationem dicentes: uenite, mittamus lignum in panem eius et eradamus a terra uitam eius et nomen eius non erit in memoria amplius.
Likewise Jeremiah: 'Lord, make it known to me, and I shall know. Then I saw their thoughts: I was led like a lamb without malice to the sacrifice; they devised a plan against me, saying: Come, let us put wood into his bread, and let us wipe out his life from the earth, and his name shall be remembered no more.'
Jer 11:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 11:19 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jeremiah foretells the plot: 'let us put wood into his bread'.
- Jer 11:18–19 (Greek text).
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.27 (CSEL 19:357–358; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-27).
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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).
4.18.28CSEL 19:358
lignum autem crucem significat et panem corpus eius, quia ipse est cibus ac uita omnium qui credunt in carnem quam portauit et in crucem qua pependit.
The wood signifies the cross, and the bread his body, because he is the food and life of all who believe in the flesh which he bore and in the cross on which he hung.
Notes and citation
Summary: The wood is the cross and the bread his body, the food of believers.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.28 (CSEL 19:358; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-28).
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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).
4.18.29CSEL 19:358
de qua tamen apertius ipse Moyses in Deuteronomio ita praedicauit: et erit pendens uita tua ante oculos tuos, et timebis die ac nocte et non credes uitae tuae, idem rursus in Numeris: non quasi homo dominus suspenditur neque quasi filius hominis minas patitur. Zacharias etiam sic tradidit: et intuebuntur in me, quem transfixerunt.
Of this Moses himself foretold more plainly in Deuteronomy thus: 'And your life shall hang before your eyes, and you shall fear day and night, and you shall not believe in your life.' The same again in Numbers: 'The Lord is not hung up like a man, nor does he suffer threats like a son of man.' Zechariah also handed down thus: 'And they shall look on me whom they pierced.'
Deut 28:66 (quotation, high confidence) · Num 23:19 (quotation, medium confidence) · Zech 12:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Moses and Zechariah foretold the hanging and piercing.
- Deut 28:66; Num 23:19 (in an Old Latin form very different from the Hebrew and Greek); Zech 12:10.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.29 (CSEL 19:358; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-29).
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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).
4.18.30CSEL 19:358–359
item Dauid in psalmo XXI: effoderunt manus meas et pedes meos, dinumerauerunt omnia ossa mea: ipsi autem contemplati sunt et uiderunt me et diuiserunt uestimenta mea sibi et super uestem meam sortem miserunt.
Likewise David in Psalm 21: 'They dug through my hands and my feet; they numbered all my bones. And they looked and saw me, and divided my garments among them, and on my robe they cast lots.'
Ps 22:16 (21:17 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 22:17 (21:18 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 22:18 (21:19 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Psalm 22 foretells the piercing and the casting of lots.
- Ps 22:16–18 (21:17–19 LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray hyphen): di-numerauerunt → dinumerauerunt.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.30 (CSEL 19:358–359; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-30).
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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).
4.18.31CSEL 19:359
quae utique propheta non de se locutus est. fuit enim rex et numquam illa perpessus est, sed spiritus dei per eum loquebatur, qui fuerat illa passurus post annos mille et quinquaginta, tot enim colliguntur anni a regno Dauid usque ad crucem Christi.
The prophet certainly did not say these things of himself. For he was a king and never suffered them; but the Spirit of God was speaking through him, who was to suffer them one thousand and fifty years later; for so many years are reckoned from the reign of David to the cross of Christ.
Notes and citation
Summary: David spoke of Christ, not himself, a thousand years before.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.31 (CSEL 19:359; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-31).
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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).
4.18.32CSEL 19:359–360
sed et Solomon filius eius, qui Hierosolymam condidit, eam ipsam perituram esse in ultionem sanctae crucis prophetauit: quodsi auertimini a me, dicit dominus, et non custodieritis ueritatem meam, reiciam Israhel a terra quam dedi illis, et domum hanc quam aedificaui illis in nomine meo, proiciam illam ex omnibus, et erit Israhel in perditionem et in inproperium populo, et domus haec erit deserta, et omnis qui transiet per illam admirabitur et dicet: propter quam rem deus fecit terrae huic et huic domui haec mala?
But Solomon too, his son, who founded Jerusalem, prophesied that it would perish in vengeance for the holy cross: 'But if you turn away from me, says the Lord, and do not keep my truth, I will cast Israel out of the land which I gave them, and this house which I built for them in my name I will cast out from all, and Israel shall be for destruction and a reproach to the people, and this house shall be deserted, and everyone who passes by it will marvel and say: Why has God done these evils to this land and to this house?
1 Kgs 9:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 9:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 9:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Solomon's oracle foretells the destruction of Israel and the temple.
- 1 Kgs 9:6–8 (3 Kingdoms in the Greek Bible).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: s for x): illam es omnibus → illam ex omnibus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.32 (CSEL 19:359–360; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-32).
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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).
4.18.33CSEL 19:360
et dicent: quia reliquerunt dominum deum suum et persecuti sunt regem suum dilectissimum deo et cruciauerunt illum in humilitate magna: propter hoc inportauit illis deus mala haec.
And they will say: Because they forsook the Lord their God and persecuted their king, most beloved of God, and tortured him in great humiliation; for this reason God brought these evils upon them.'
1 Kgs 9:9 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The oracle says the ruin came because they persecuted their king beloved of God.
- 1 Kgs 9:9; the words about persecuting and torturing the king are not in the Hebrew or Greek text and are probably a Christian expansion in Lactantius's Latin text.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.18.33 (CSEL 19:360; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-18-33).
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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).
Divine 4, chapter 19
4.19.1CSEL 19:360
Quid amplius iam de facinore Iudaeorum dici potest quam excaecatos tum fuisse atque insanabili furore correptos, qui haec cottidie legentes neque intellexerunt neque quin facerent cauere potuerunt?
What more can now be said of the crime of the Jews than that they were then blinded and seized by incurable madness, who, reading these things daily, neither understood them nor could keep from doing them?
Notes and citation
Summary: The Jews read these prophecies yet fulfilled them blindly.
- Polemical; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray letters): correptos, io qui → correptos, qui.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.1 (CSEL 19:360; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-1).
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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).
4.19.2CSEL 19:360
suspensus igitur et adfixus exclamauit ad deum uoce magna et ultro spiritum posuit. et eadem hora terrae motus factus est et uelum templi quod separabat duo tabernacula scissum est in duas partes et sol repente subductus est et ab hora sexta usque in nonam tenebrae fuerunt.
So, hanging and fastened there, he cried out to God with a loud voice and of his own accord laid down his spirit. And at the same hour there was an earthquake, and the veil of the temple, which separated the two tabernacles, was torn into two parts, and the sun was suddenly withdrawn, and from the sixth hour until the ninth there was darkness.
Matt 27:45 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:50 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 27:51 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: At his death came an earthquake, the torn veil, and darkness.
- Matt 27:45–51.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.2 (CSEL 19:360; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-2).
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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).
4.19.3CSEL 19:360–361
qua de re Amos propheta testatur: et erit in illo die, dicit dominus, occidet sol meridie et obtenebrabitur dies lucis: et conuertam dies festos uestros in luctum et cantica uestra in lamentationem.
Of this the prophet Amos testifies: 'And it shall be in that day, says the Lord, the sun shall set at noon, and the day of light shall be darkened; and I will turn your feasts into mourning and your songs into lamentation.'
Amos 8:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Amos 8:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Amos foretold the darkness at noon.
- Amos 8:9–10.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.3 (CSEL 19:360–361; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-3).
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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).
4.19.4CSEL 19:361
item Hieremias: exterrita est quae parit et taeduit anima, et subiuit sol ei, cum adhuc medius dies esset, contusa est et maledicta: reliquos eorum in gladium dabo in conspectu inimicorum eorum. et Sibylla:
Likewise Jeremiah: 'She who bears is terrified and her soul is weary, and the sun has gone down for her while it was still midday; she is crushed and cursed: the rest of them I will give to the sword in the sight of their enemies.' And the Sibyl:
Jer 15:9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jeremiah foretold the sun setting at midday.
- Jer 15:9.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.4 (CSEL 19:361; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-4).
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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).
4.19.5CSEL 19:361–362
ναοῦ δὲ σχισθῆ τὸ πέτασμα, καὶ ἤματι μέσσῳ νὺξ ἔσται σκοτόεσσα πελώριος ἐν τρίσιν ὤραις.
'The veil of the temple shall be torn, and at midday there shall be a dark, monstrous night for three hours.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl foretold the torn veil and three hours of darkness.
- Sibylline Oracles 8.305–306.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 8.305–306 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.5 (CSEL 19:361–362; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-5).
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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).
4.19.6CSEL 19:362
cum haec facta essent, ne prodigiis quidem caelestibus facinus suum intellegere quiuerunt, sed quoniam praedixerat se tertio die ab inferis resurrecturum, metuentes ne a discipulis subrepto et amoto corpore uniuersi resurrexisse eum crederent et fieret multo maior in plebe confusio, detraxerunt eum cruci et conclusum in monumento firmiter militari custodia circumdederunt.
When these things had happened, not even by the heavenly portents could they understand their crime; but since he had foretold that he would rise from the dead on the third day, fearing that if his body were stolen and removed by the disciples everyone would believe he had risen, and far greater confusion would arise among the people, they took him down from the cross, shut him in a tomb, and surrounded it firmly with a military guard.
Matt 27:64 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: They buried him and set a guard lest his body be stolen.
- Matt 27:62–66.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.6 (CSEL 19:362; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-6).
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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).
4.19.7CSEL 19:362
uerum tertio die ante lucem terrae motu repente facto patefactum est sepulcrum et custodibus quos adtonitos obstupefecerat pauor nihil uidentibus integer e sepulcro ac uiuus egressus in Galilaeam profectus est, ut discipulos suos quaereret, in sepulcro uero nihil repertum est nisi exuuiae, quibus conuolutum corpus incluserant.
But on the third day before dawn, an earthquake suddenly occurred, the tomb was opened, and while the guards, whom fear had struck dumb and dazed, saw nothing, he came out of the tomb whole and alive and set out for Galilee to seek his disciples; in the tomb nothing was found but the grave-clothes in which they had wrapped and enclosed the body.
Matt 28:2 (allusion, high confidence) · John 20:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: On the third day he rose and went to Galilee; only the grave-clothes were left.
- Matt 28:2–7; John 20:5–7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR capital; OCR: a for u): lUcem → lucem; ac uiuas egressus → ac uiuus egressus.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.7 (CSEL 19:362; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-7).
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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).
4.19.8CSEL 19:362–363
illum autem aput inferos non remansurum, sed die tertio resurrecturum prophetae cecinerant. David in psalmo XV: non derelinques animam meam ad inferos neque dabis sanctum tuum uidere interitum. item in tertio: ego dormiui et somnum cepi, et surrexi, quoniam dominus auxiliatus est mihi.
The prophets had sung that he would not remain in the underworld but would rise on the third day. David in Psalm 15: 'You will not leave my soul in the underworld, nor give your holy one to see corruption.' Likewise in the third: 'I slept and took my sleep, and I rose, because the Lord helped me.'
Ps 16:10 (15:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 3:5 (3:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: David foretold the resurrection.
- Ps 16:10 (15:10 LXX); Ps 3:5 (3:6 LXX).
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.8 (CSEL 19:362–363; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-8).
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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).
4.19.9CSEL 19:363
Osee quoque primus duodecim prophetarum de resurrectione eius testificatus est: hic filius meus sapiens, propter quod nunc non resistet in contribulatione filiorum suorum: et de manu inferorum eruam eum. ubi est iudicium tuum, mors, aut ubi est aculeus tuus? idem alio loco: uiuificabit nos post biduum die tertio.
Hosea too, the first of the twelve prophets, testified of his resurrection: 'This is my wise son, therefore he shall not now stand in the affliction of his sons; and I will rescue him from the hand of the underworld. Where is your judgment, O death, or where is your sting?' The same in another place: 'He will revive us after two days, on the third day.'
Hos 13:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Hos 13:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Hos 6:2 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Hosea foretold rescue from death on the third day.
- Hos 13:13–14 (Greek text); Hos 6:2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (doubled period): eruam eum.. → eruam eum..
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.9 (CSEL 19:363; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-9).
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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).
4.19.10CSEL 19:363–364
et ideo Sibylla inpositurum esse morti terminum dixit post tridui somnum: καὶ θανάτου μοῖραν τελέσει τρίτον ἧμαρ ὑπνώσας· καὶ τότ᾽ ἀπὸ φθιμένων ἀναλύσας εἰς φάος ἥξει πρῶτος ἀναστάσεως κλητοῖς ἀρχὴν ὑποδείξας.
And so the Sibyl said he would set an end to death after a three days' sleep: 'And he will fulfil the lot of death, having slept for the third day; and then, released from the dead, he will come to the light, the first to show the beginning of resurrection to the called.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl foretold his resurrection after three days.
- Sibylline Oracles 8.312–314.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 8.312–314 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.10 (CSEL 19:363–364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-10).
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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).
4.19.11CSEL 19:364
uitam enim nobis adquisiuit morte superata nulla igitur spes alia consequendae immortalitatis homini datur, nisi crediderit in eum et crucem portandam patiendamque susceperit.
For he gained life for us by conquering death. No other hope, then, of attaining immortality is given to man, unless he believes in him and takes up the cross to be carried and endured.
Matt 16:24 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Immortality comes only by believing in Christ and taking up the cross.
- Cf. Matt 16:24.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR; stray period): datur. nisi → datur, nisi; Clim crac-tm → crucem.
Topics: Christology, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.19.11 (CSEL 19:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-19-11).
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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).
Divine 4, chapter 20
4.20.1CSEL 19:364
Profectus ergo in Galilaeam — noluit enim se Iudaeis ostendere, ne adduceret eos in paenitentiam atque inpios resanaret —, discipulis iterum congregatis scripturae sanctae litteras id est prophetarum arcana patefecit. quae antequam pateretur perspici nullo modo poterant, quia ipsum passionemque eius adnuntiabant.
So he set out for Galilee (for he did not wish to show himself to the Jews, lest he lead them to repentance and heal the impious), and, having gathered his disciples again, he opened to them the writings of holy Scripture, that is, the secrets of the prophets, which could in no way be perceived before he suffered, because they announced him and his passion.
Luke 24:45 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 4:12 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In Galilee the risen Christ opened the prophets to his disciples.
- Luke 24:45. The reason given for not appearing to the Jews is Lactantius's own; cf. Mark 4:12.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR; stray period): id e-t → id est; poterant. quia → poterant, quia.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.1 (CSEL 19:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-1).
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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).
4.20.2CSEL 19:364
idcirco Moyses et idem ipsi prophetae legem quae Iudaeis data est testamentum uocant, quia nisi testator mortuus fuerit, nec confirmari testamentum potest nec sciri quid in eo scriptum sit, quia clausum et obsignatum est.
For this reason Moses and the same prophets call the law given to the Jews a testament, because unless the testator has died, a testament can neither be confirmed nor can it be known what is written in it, since it is closed and sealed.
Heb 9:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Heb 9:17 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The law is a testament, confirmed only by the testator's death.
- Cf. Heb 9:16–17.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.2 (CSEL 19:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-2).
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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).
4.20.3CSEL 19:364
itaque nisi Christus mortem suscepisset, aperiri testamentum
So unless Christ had undergone death, the testament could not have been opened,
Notes and citation
Summary: Without Christ's death the testament could not be opened.
- The sentence continues in 4.20.4.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.3 (CSEL 19:364; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-3).
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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).
4.20.4CSEL 19:364–365
id est reuelari et intellegi mysterium dei non potuisset uerum scriptura omnis in duo testamenta diuisa est illut quod aduentum passionemque Christi antecessit, id est lex et prophetae, uetus dicitur, ea uero quae post resurrectionem eius scripta sunt, nouum testamentum nominatur.
that is, the mystery of God could not have been revealed and understood. But all Scripture is divided into two testaments. That which preceded the coming and passion of Christ, that is, the law and the prophets, is called the Old; but the writings after his resurrection are named the New Testament.
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture is divided into Old and New Testaments.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.4 (CSEL 19:364–365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-4).
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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).
4.20.5CSEL 19:365
Iudaei uetere utuntur, nos nouo: sed tamen diuersa non sunt, quia nouum ueteris adinpletio est et in utroque idem testator est Christus, qui pro nobis morte suscepta nos heredes regni aeterni facit abdicato et exheredato populo Iudaeorum, sicut Hieremias propheta testatur, cum loquitur talia:
The Jews use the Old, we the New; but they are not different, because the New is the fulfilment of the Old, and in both the testator is the same, Christ, who, having undergone death for us, makes us heirs of the eternal kingdom, the Jewish people having been disowned and disinherited, as the prophet Jeremiah testifies when he speaks thus:
Notes and citation
Summary: The New Testament fulfils the Old; Christ, the testator, makes believers heirs.
- The claim that the Jewish people were disinherited is translated as written.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.5 (CSEL 19:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-5).
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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).
4.20.6CSEL 19:365
ecce dies ueniunt, dicit dominus, et consummabo domui Israhel et domui Iuda testamentum nouum, non secundum testamentum quod disposui patribus eorum in die, qua adprehendi manum eorum, ut educerem illos de terra Aegypti, quia ipsi non perseuerauerunt in testamento meo, et ego neclexi eos, dicit dominus.
'Behold, the days come, says the Lord, and I will accomplish for the house of Israel and the house of Judah a new testament, not according to the testament which I made with their fathers in the day when I took their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in my testament, and I neglected them, says the Lord.'
Jer 31:31 (38:31 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 31:32 (38:32 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jeremiah foretold a new covenant.
- Jer 31:31–32 (38:31–32 LXX, whose wording this follows).
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.6 (CSEL 19:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-6).
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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).
4.20.7CSEL 19:365
idem alio loco similiter ait: dereliqui domum meam, dimisi hereditatem meam in manus inimicorum eius. facta est hereditas mea mihi sicut leo in silua, dedit ipsa super me uocem suam, idcirco odiui eam.
The same says likewise in another place: 'I have forsaken my house, I have given my inheritance into the hands of its enemies. My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest; it has given its voice against me; therefore I have hated it.'
Jer 12:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 12:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jeremiah: God forsook his inheritance.
- Jer 12:7–8.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.7 (CSEL 19:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-7).
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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).
4.20.8CSEL 19:365
cum sit hereditas eius caeleste regnum, non utique ipsam hereditatem se dicit odisse, sed heredes, qui aduersus eum ingrati et inpii extiterunt.
Since his inheritance is the heavenly kingdom, he surely does not say that he hates the inheritance itself, but the heirs, who proved ungrateful and impious toward him.
Notes and citation
Summary: God hates not the inheritance but the ungrateful heirs.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.8 (CSEL 19:365; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-8).
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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).
4.20.9CSEL 19:365–366
facta est inquit hereditas mea mihi sicut leo, id est praeda et deuoratio factus sum heredibus meis, qui me immolauerunt sicut pecus. dedit super me uocem suam, id est sententias aduersus me mortis crucisque dixerunt.
'My inheritance,' he says, 'has become to me like a lion', that is, I have become prey and something devoured to my heirs, who sacrificed me like a beast. 'It has given its voice against me', that is, they pronounced sentences of death and the cross against me.
Notes and citation
Summary: He interprets the lion and its voice as the sentence of crucifixion.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.9 (CSEL 19:365–366; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-9).
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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).
4.20.10CSEL 19:366
nam quod superius ait consummaturum se domui Iuda testamentum nouum, ostendit uetus illut testamentum quod per Moysen datum est non fuisse perfectum, id autem quod per Christum dari haberet consummatum fore.
For in saying above that he would accomplish a new testament for the house of Judah, he shows that the old testament given through Moses was not perfect, but that the one to be given through Christ would be complete.
Notes and citation
Summary: The old covenant was imperfect; the new is complete.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.10 (CSEL 19:366; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-10).
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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).
4.20.11CSEL 19:366
domum autem Iuda et Israhel non utique Iudaeos significat, quos abdicauit, sed nos, qui ab eo conuocati ex gentibus in illorum locum adoptione successimus et appellamur filii Iudaeorum: quod declarat Sibylla, cum dicit: Ἰουδαίων μακάρων θεῖον γένος οὐρανιώνων.
And the house of Judah and Israel certainly does not signify the Jews, whom he disowned, but us, who, called by him from the gentiles, have succeeded to their place by adoption and are called sons of the Jews; which the Sibyl declares when she says: 'The divine race of the blessed heavenly Jews.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The 'house of Judah' now means the gentile church, adopted in the Jews' place.
- Sibylline Oracles 5.249. The replacement claim is translated as written.
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. 5.249 (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.11 (CSEL 19:366; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-11).
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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).
4.20.12CSEL 19:366–367
quod autem futurum esset id genus, Esaias docet, apud quem pater summus ad filium loquitur dicens: ego dominus deus uocaui te in iustitiam, et tenebo manum tuam et confirmabo te, et dedi te in testamentum generis mei, in lucem gentium, aperire oculos caecorum, producere ex uinculis alligatos et de domo carceris sedentes in tenebris.
And who that race would be, Isaiah teaches, in whom the supreme Father speaks to the Son, saying: 'I the Lord God have called you in justice, and I will hold your hand and strengthen you, and I have given you for a covenant of my race, for a light of the gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out the bound from their chains, and from the house of prison those who sit in darkness.'
Isa 42:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 42:7 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Isaiah: the Son is given as covenant and light of the gentiles.
- Isa 42:6–7.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.12 (CSEL 19:366–367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-12).
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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).
4.20.13CSEL 19:367
cum igitur nos antea tamquam caeci et tamquam carcere stultitiae inclusi sederemus in tenebris ignorantes deum et ueritatem, inluminati ab eo sumus, qui nos testamento suo adoptauit et liberatos malis uinculis atque in lucem sapientiae productos in hereditatem regni caelestis adsciuit.
Since, then, we formerly sat in darkness, as if blind and shut up in the prison of folly, ignorant of God and the truth, we have been enlightened by him who adopted us by his testament, and, freed from evil chains and brought out into the light of wisdom, admitted us to the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ has freed and enlightened the gentiles and made them heirs.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.20.13 (CSEL 19:367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-20-13).
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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).
Divine 4, chapter 21
4.21.1CSEL 19:367
Ordinata uero discipulis suis euangelii ac nominis sui praedicatione circumfudit se repente nubes eumque in caelum sustulit, quadragesimo post passionem die, sicut Daniel fore ostenderat dicens: et ecce in nubibus caeli ut filius hominis ueniens (et) usque ad uetustum dierum peruenit.
Having appointed his disciples to the preaching of the gospel and of his name, a cloud suddenly surrounded him and took him up into heaven, on the fortieth day after the passion, as Daniel had shown would happen, saying: 'And behold, on the clouds of heaven one like a son of man coming, ⟨and⟩ he came even to the Ancient of Days.'
Acts 1:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 1:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Dan 7:13 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Forty days after the passion Christ ascended in a cloud, as Daniel foretold.
- Acts 1:3, 9; Dan 7:13. 'and' is the editor's addition.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.21.1 (CSEL 19:367; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-21-1).
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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).
4.21.2CSEL 19:367–368
discipuli uero per prouincias dispersi fundamenta ecclesiae ubique posuerunt facientes et ipsi in nomine magistri dei magna et paene incredibilia miracula, quia discedens instruxerat eos uirtute ac potestate, quo posset nouae adnuntiationis ratio fundari et confirmari. sed et futura illis aperuit omnia: quae Petrus et Paulus Romae praedicauerunt et ea praedicatio in memoriam scripta permansit. in qua cum multa alia mira tum etiam hoc futurum esse dixerunt, ut post breue tempus inmitteret deus regem, qui expugnaret Iudaeos et ciuitates eorum solo adaequaret, ipsos autem fame sitique confectos obsideret.
The disciples, scattered through the provinces, laid the foundations of the church everywhere, themselves also doing, in the name of their divine master, great and almost incredible miracles, because at his departure he had equipped them with power and might, by which the principle of the new proclamation could be founded and confirmed. He also opened to them all things to come, which Peter and Paul preached at Rome, and that preaching remained written down for remembrance. In it, among many other wonderful things, they said this too would come to pass: that after a short time God would send a king who would conquer the Jews and level their cities to the ground, and besiege them, worn out with hunger and thirst.
Notes and citation
Summary: The apostles founded the church; Peter and Paul at Rome foretold the destruction of the Jews.
- The written 'preaching' of Peter and Paul is probably the lost Preaching of Peter (and of Paul); identification uncertain.
Extrabiblical texts: Ker. Pet. fragment (Preaching of Peter; allusion); Ker. Paul. fragment (Preaching of Paul; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.21.2 (CSEL 19:367–368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-21-2).
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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).
4.21.3CSEL 19:368
tum fore ut corporibus
Then it would come to pass that they would feed on the bodies
Notes and citation
Summary: They foretold famine in the siege.
- The sentence continues in 4.21.4.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.21.3 (CSEL 19:368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-21-3).
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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).
4.21.4CSEL 19:368
suorum uescerentur et consumerent inuicem, postremo ut capti uenirent in manus hostium et in conspectu suo uexari acerbissime coniuges suas cernerent, uiolari ac prostitui uirgines, diripi pueros, allidi paruulos, omnia denique igni ferroque uastari, captiuos in perpetuum terris suis exterminari, eo quod exultauerint super amantissimum et probatissimum dei filium.
of their own and devour one another; and finally that they would be captured and come into the hands of their enemies, and would see before their eyes their wives most cruelly abused, virgins violated and prostituted, boys torn away, little children dashed down, everything laid waste by fire and sword, and the captives banished forever from their lands; because they had exulted over the most beloved and most approved Son of God.
Luke 19:43 (echo, medium confidence) · Luke 21:24 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: They foretold the horrors of the siege and exile, as punishment for rejecting the Son.
- Cf. Luke 19:43–44; 21:20–24.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.21.4 (CSEL 19:368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-21-4).
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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).
4.21.5CSEL 19:368
itaque post illorum obitum, cum eos Nero interemisset, Iudaeorum nomen et gentem Vespasianus extinxit fecitque omnia quae illi futura praedixerant.
So, after their death, when Nero had killed them, Vespasian extinguished the name and nation of the Jews and did everything they had foretold would happen.
Notes and citation
Summary: After Nero killed Peter and Paul, Vespasian fulfilled their prophecy.
- The Jewish War of 66–70; Lactantius's 'extinguished the name and nation' is his own statement.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.21.5 (CSEL 19:368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-21-5).
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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).
Divine 4, chapter 22
4.22.1CSEL 19:368
Confirmata sunt ut opinor quae falsa et incredibilia putantur ab iis quos uera caelestium litterarum doctrina non inbuit. sed tamen ut refellantur a nobis etiam illi qui nimium non sine malo suo sapiunt rebusque diuinis fidem detrahunt, argumentis quoque illorum coarguamus errorem, ut tandem aliquando peruideant ita fieri oportuisse, sicut nos ostendimus factum.
I think it has been confirmed, what is thought false and incredible by those whom the true teaching of the heavenly writings has not instructed. But still, so that we may also refute those who are too wise, not without harm to themselves, and who withhold belief from divine things, let us also prove their error by arguments, so that at length they may see that it had to happen just as we have shown it happened.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will now also argue from reason against the objections.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.22.1 (CSEL 19:368; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-22-1).
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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).
4.22.2CSEL 19:368–369
et quamquam aput bonos iudices satis habeant firmitatis uel testimonia sine argumentis uel argumenta sine testimoniis, nos tamen non contenti alterutro sumus, cum subpetat nobis utrumque, ne cui peruerse ingenioso aut non intellegendi aut contra disserendi locum relinquamus.
And although with good judges either testimonies without arguments or arguments without testimonies have firmness enough, we are not content with either alone, since we have both at hand, lest we leave any perversely clever person room either for not understanding or for arguing against.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will use both testimony and argument.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.22.2 (CSEL 19:368–369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-22-2).
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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).
4.22.3CSEL 19:369
negant fieri potuisse ut naturae inmortali quicquam decederet, negant denique deo dignum ut homo fieri uellet seque infirmitate carnis oneraret, ut passionibus, ut dolori, ut morti se ipse subiceret — quasi non facile illi esset ut citra corporis inbecillitatem se hominibus ostenderet eosque iustitiam doceret, siquidem id uolebat, maiore auctoritate ut professi dei —:
They deny that it could happen that anything should be taken from an immortal nature; they deny, in short, that it was worthy of God to wish to become man and burden himself with the weakness of the flesh, subjecting himself to sufferings, to pain, to death; as if it were not easy for him to show himself to men without the weakness of a body and to teach them justice, if that was what he wished, with greater authority as one professing himself God:
Notes and citation
Summary: Objectors deny that God could fittingly become man and suffer.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.22.3 (CSEL 19:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-22-3).
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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).
4.22.4CSEL 19:369
tunc enim cunctos fuisse praeceptis caelestibus parituros, si ad ea uirtus ac potestas dei praecipientis accederet.
'for then all would have obeyed the heavenly precepts, if the might and power of God giving the precepts had accompanied them.'
Notes and citation
Summary: They say all would have obeyed a God in power.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.22.4 (CSEL 19:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-22-4).
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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).
4.22.5CSEL 19:369
cur igitur aiunt ad docendos homines non ut deus uenit? cur se tam humilem inbecillumque constituit, ut ab hominibus et contemni et poena adfici posset? cur uim ab inbecillis et mortalibus passus est? cur non manus hominum aut uirtute reppulit aut diuinitate uitauit? cur non maiestatem suam sub ipsa saltem morte patefecit, sed ut inualidus in iudicium ductus est, ut nocens damnatus, ut mortalis occisus?
'Why then,' they say, 'did he not come as God to teach men? Why did he make himself so humble and weak that he could be both despised and punished by men? Why did he suffer violence from the weak and mortal? Why did he not repel the hands of men by power, or avoid them by his divinity? Why did he not reveal his majesty at least in death itself, but was led to judgment as powerless, condemned as guilty, killed as mortal?'
Notes and citation
Summary: Why did Christ come in weakness and not in divine power?
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.22.5 (CSEL 19:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-22-5).
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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).
4.22.6CSEL 19:369
refutabo haec diligenter nec quemquam patiar errare. illa enim magna et mirabili ratione sunt facta: quam quicumque perceperit, non tantum mirari desinet deum ab hominibus esse cruciatum, uerum etiam facile peruidebit ne deum quidem potuisse credi, si ea ipsa quae arguit facta non essent.
I will refute these things carefully and will let no one err. For those things were done with a great and wonderful purpose: whoever grasps it will not only cease to wonder that God was tortured by men, but will also easily see that he could not even have been believed God if the very things they object to had not been done.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will show that Christ's sufferings were necessary for him to be believed God.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.22.6 (CSEL 19:369; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-22-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of Brandt, CSEL 19 (1890); made independently of existing English translations and compared afterwards with ANF 7 (which leaves 6.23 in Latin).
Divine 4, chapter 23
4.23.1CSEL 19:369–370
Quicumque praecepta dat hominibus ad uitam moresque fingit aliorum, quaero debeatne ipse facere quae praecipit an non debeat.
Whoever gives men precepts for life and shapes the characters of others, I ask whether he ought himself to do what he prescribes, or not.
Notes and citation
Summary: Must a teacher of morals practise what he teaches?
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.1 (CSEL 19:369–370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-1).
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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).
4.23.2CSEL 19:370
si non fecerit, soluta praecepta sunt. si enim bona sunt quae praecipiuntur, si uitam hominum in optimo statu collocant, non se debet ipse praeceptor a numero coetuque hominum segregare inter quos agit, et ipsi eodem modo uiuendum est quo docet esse uiuendum, ne si aliter uixerit, ipse praeceptis suis fidem detrahat leuioremque doctrinam suam faciat, si re ipsa resoluat quod uerbis nitatur adstringere.
If he does not, the precepts are undone. For if the things prescribed are good, if they set human life in the best condition, the teacher must not separate himself from the number and company of the men among whom he lives, and he himself must live in the same way he teaches one must live; lest, if he lives otherwise, he himself take away credit from his precepts and make his teaching lighter, if by the fact itself he loosens what he strives to bind with words.
Notes and citation
Summary: A teacher who does not practise undermines his own precepts.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.2 (CSEL 19:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-2).
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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).
4.23.3CSEL 19:370
unus quisque enim cum audit praecipientem, non uult inponi sibi necessitatem parendi, tamquam sibi ius libertatis adimatur.
For each one, when he hears someone giving precepts, does not wish the necessity of obeying to be imposed on him, as though the right of liberty were being taken from him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hearers resent being bound to obey.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.3 (CSEL 19:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-3).
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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).
4.23.4CSEL 19:370
respondet itaque doctori hoc modo: non possum facere quae iubes, quoniam sunt inpossibilia. uetas me irasci, uetas cupere, uetas libidine commoueri, uetas dolorem, uetas mortem timere, sed hoc adeo contra naturam est, ut his adfectibus animalia uniuersa subiecta sint: uel si adeo putas repugnari posse naturae, tu ipse qui praecipis fac, ut sciam fieri posse.
So he answers the teacher thus: 'I cannot do what you command, because it is impossible. You forbid me to be angry, you forbid me to desire, you forbid me to be moved by lust, you forbid me to fear pain and death; but this is so contrary to nature that all living things are subject to these feelings. Or if you think nature can be resisted so far, do it yourself, you who prescribe it, so that I may know it can be done.'
Notes and citation
Summary: The hearer demands that the teacher show his precepts can be kept.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.4 (CSEL 19:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-4).
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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).
4.23.5CSEL 19:370
cum autem ipse non facias, quae insolentia est ut homini libero inponere uelis leges quibus ipse non pareas? prius disce qui doces et
'But since you do not do it yourself, what insolence it is to wish to impose on a free man laws that you yourself do not obey! Learn first, you who teach, and
Notes and citation
Summary: The teacher must first learn and correct himself.
- The sentence continues in 4.23.6.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.5 (CSEL 19:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-5).
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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).
4.23.6CSEL 19:370
antequam mores aliorum corrigas, tuos corrige. quis neget iustam esse hanc responsionem? quin etiam in contemtum ueniet huiusmodi doctor et deludetur uicissim, quia uidebitur et ipse deludere.
before you correct others' morals, correct your own.' Who would deny that this answer is just? Indeed such a teacher will come into contempt and be mocked in turn, because he himself will seem to mock.
Rom 2:21 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Such a teacher is rightly despised.
- Cf. Matt 7:5; Rom 2:21.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.6 (CSEL 19:370; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-6).
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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).
4.23.7CSEL 19:370–371
quid ergo faciet ille praeceptor, si haec ei fuerint obposita? quomodo adimet excusationem contumacibus, nisi ut praesentibus factis doceat possibilia se docere? inde euenit ut philosophorum praeceptis nullus obtemperet.
What, then, will that teacher do if these objections are put to him? How will he take away the excuse of the obstinate, unless he teaches by deeds before their eyes that what he teaches is possible? Hence it happens that no one obeys the precepts of the philosophers.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only example removes the excuse; so no one obeys the philosophers.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.7 (CSEL 19:370–371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-7).
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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).
4.23.8CSEL 19:371
homines enim malunt exempla quam uerba, quia loqui facile est, praestare difficile: utinamque tam multi bene facerent quam multi locuntur bene! sed qui praecipiunt nec faciunt, abest ab iis fides: et si homines fuerint, contemnentur ut leues, si deus, opponetur ei excusatio fragilitatis humanae.
For men prefer examples to words, because speaking is easy, performing difficult. Would that as many did well as speak well! But those who prescribe and do not act have no credit; and if they are men, they will be despised as frivolous; if God, the excuse of human frailty will be set against him.
Notes and citation
Summary: People want example, not words; a God who did not share our frailty would face the excuse of weakness.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.8 (CSEL 19:371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-8).
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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).
4.23.9CSEL 19:371
superest ut factis uerba firmentur: quod philosophi facere nequeunt. itaque cum ipsi praeceptores uincantur adfectibus quos uinci praedicant oportere, neminem possunt ad uirtutem quam falso praedicant erudire ob eamque causam putant neminem adhuc perfectum extitisse sapientem, id est in quo summae doctrinae ac scientiae summa uirtus et perfecta iustitia consenserit; quod quidem uerum fuit.
It remains that words be confirmed by deeds, which the philosophers cannot do. So, since the teachers themselves are conquered by the passions which they proclaim must be conquered, they can train no one to the virtue they falsely proclaim; and for this reason they think that no perfectly wise man has yet appeared, that is, one in whom the highest virtue and perfect justice agreed with the highest learning and knowledge; and that indeed was true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Philosophers, ruled by passions, cannot teach virtue; no perfect sage has existed.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.9 (CSEL 19:371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-9).
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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).
4.23.10CSEL 19:371
nemo enim post mundum conditum talis extitit nisi Christus, qui et uerbo sapientiam tradidit et doctrinam praesenti uirtute firmauit.
For no one such has appeared since the world was founded except Christ, who both handed down wisdom by word and confirmed his teaching by present virtue.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only Christ united perfect teaching and perfect virtue.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 4.23.10 (CSEL 19:371; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/4-17-1/#p-4-23-10).
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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).