Divine Institutes 5.11.1–5.16.13
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 5, chapter 11
5.11.1CSEL 19:433
iis igitur hominibus qui deorum suorum moribus congruunt, quia grauis est et acerba iustitia, eandem inpietatem suam qua in ceteris rebus utuntur, aduersus iustos uiolenter exercent, nec inmerito a prophetis bestiae nominantur.
So these people, who conform to the morals of their gods, since justice is heavy and bitter to them, exercise violently against the just the same impiety they use in everything else; and not undeservedly are they called beasts by the prophets.
Notes and citation
Summary: Idolaters rage against the just and are rightly called beasts.
- The prophetic passages are not specified; perhaps Dan 7 (uncertain).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (period for comma splitting one sentence): congruunt. quia → congruunt, quia.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.1 (CSEL 19:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-1).
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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).
5.11.2CSEL 19:433
praeclare itaque M. Tullius: etenim si nemo est inquit quin emori malit quam conuerti in aliquam figuram bestiae, quamuis hominis mentem sit habiturus, quanto est miserius in hominis figura animo esse efferato? mihi quidem tanto uidetur, quanto praestabilior est animus corpore.
So Marcus Tullius put it excellently: "For if there is no one who would not rather die than be turned into some shape of a beast, even though he would keep a human mind, how much more wretched is it to have a savage soul in human shape? To me, indeed, it seems as much worse as the soul is more excellent than the body."
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero: a savage soul in a human body is worse than a beast's body.
- Cicero, probably On the Republic 4 (fragment; uncertain).
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.2 (CSEL 19:433; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-2).
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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).
5.11.3CSEL 19:433–434
aspernantur itaque corpora beluarum, quibus sunt ipsi saeuiores, sibique adeo placent, quod homines nati sint, quorum nihil nisi lineamenta et summam figuram gerunt.
So they scorn the bodies of beasts, though they are more savage than beasts, and are so pleased with themselves for being born human, though they bear nothing of it but the outlines and outward shape.
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecutors are human only in form.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.3 (CSEL 19:433–434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-3).
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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).
5.11.4CSEL 19:434
nam quis Caucasus, quae India, quae Hyrcania tam inmanes, tam sanguinarias umquam bestias aluit? quoniam ferarum omnium rabies usque ad uentris satietatem furit fameque sedata protinus conquiescit.
For what Caucasus, what India, what Hyrcania ever bred beasts so monstrous, so bloodthirsty? For the rage of all wild beasts goes on only until the belly is full, and once hunger is satisfied it at once subsides.
Notes and citation
Summary: Wild beasts stop when fed; persecutors do not.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.4 (CSEL 19:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-4).
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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).
5.11.5CSEL 19:434
illa, illa est uera bestia, cuius una iussione funditur ater ubique cruor: crudelis ubique luctus, ubique pauor et plurima mortis imago.
That, that is the true beast, at whose single command "black blood is poured out everywhere: everywhere cruel grief, everywhere fear, and many a form of death."
Notes and citation
Summary: The true beast is the ruler whose command sheds blood everywhere.
- The "beast" is the persecuting emperor, not named. The verse is Virgil, Aeneid 2.368–369, with a half-line adapted from elsewhere in Virgil.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: i for l): ilia, illa → illa, illa.
Extrabiblical texts: Virgil, Aen. 2.368-369 (Virgil; quotation)
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.5 (CSEL 19:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-5).
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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).
5.11.6CSEL 19:434
nemo huius tantae beluae inmanitatem potest pro merito describere, quae uno loco recubans tamen per totum orbem ferreis dentibus saeuit et non tantum artus hominum dissipat, sed et ossa ipsa comminuit et in cineres furit, ne quis extet sepulturae locus: quasi uero id adfectent qui deum confitentur; ut ad eorum sepulchra ueniatur, ac non ut ipsi ad deum ueniant.
No one can describe as it deserves the savagery of so great a beast, which, though lying in one place, rages with iron teeth through the whole world, and not only scatters human limbs but grinds the very bones and rages even against the ashes, so that no place of burial may remain; as if those who confess God were concerned that people should come to their tombs, rather than that they themselves should come to God.
Dan 7:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The persecutor destroys even the bodies and ashes of Christians.
- The iron teeth recall the fourth beast of Dan 7:7.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.6 (CSEL 19:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-6).
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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).
5.11.7CSEL 19:434
quaenam illa feritas, quae rabies, quae insania est lucem uiuis, terram mortuis denegasse? dico igitur nihil esse miserius iis hominibus quos ministros furoris alieni, quos satellites inpiae iussionis necessitas aut inuenit aut fecit.
What savagery, what rage, what madness is this, to deny light to the living and earth to the dead? I say, then, that nothing is more wretched than those men whom necessity has found or made the servants of another's fury, the attendants of an impious command.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who carry out the persecution are most wretched.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.7 (CSEL 19:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-7).
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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).
5.11.8CSEL 19:434
non enim honor ille aut prouectio dignitatis fuit, sed hominis damnatio ad carnificinam, dei uero ad poenam sempiternam.
For that was no honor or promotion in rank, but a condemnation: by men, to the work of butchery; by God, to eternal punishment.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their office is a sentence to eternal punishment.
- The Latin is compressed (hominis damnatio … dei vero); the sense is that human command condemned these officials to act as torturers, and God will condemn them to eternal punishment.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.8 (CSEL 19:434; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-8).
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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).
5.11.9CSEL 19:434–435
quae autem per totum orbem singuli gesserint, enarrare inpossibile est. quis enim uoluminum numerus capiet tam infinita, tam uaria genera crudelitatis? accepta enim potestate pro suis moribus quisque saeuiuit.
What individual officials have done throughout the world is impossible to recount. For what number of volumes will hold such endless and varied kinds of cruelty? Once given power, each raged according to his own character.
Notes and citation
Summary: Officials' cruelty was countless and varied.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: V for a question mark): crudelitatis V accepta → crudelitatis? accepta.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.9 (CSEL 19:434–435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-9).
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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).
5.11.10CSEL 19:435
alii prae nimia timiditate plus ausi sunt quam iubebantur, alii suo proprio aduersus iustos odio, quidam naturali mentis feritate, nonnulli, ut placerent et hoc officio uiam sibi ad altiora munirent; aliqui ad occidendum praecipites extiterunt, sicut unus in Phrygia, qui uniuersum populum cum ipso pariter conuenticulo concremauit. sed hic quanto saeuior, tanto clementior inuenitur:
Some, out of excessive timidity, dared more than they were ordered; others from their own hatred of the just; some from natural savagery of mind; some to please and pave their way by this service to higher office. Some were quick to kill, like one in Phrygia who burned a whole people together with their very meeting-place. But the more savage he was, the more merciful he is found to be.
Notes and citation
Summary: Motives varied; one governor in Phrygia burned a whole congregation.
- The burning of a Christian town in Phrygia is also reported by Eusebius, Church History 8.11.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.10 (CSEL 19:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-10).
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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).
5.11.11CSEL 19:435
illut uero pessimum genus est cui clementiae species falsa blanditur, ille grauior, ille saeuior est carnifex qui neminem statuit occidere.
But that is the worst kind, which is flattered by a false appearance of mercy; that is the harsher and more savage executioner who has decided to kill no one.
Notes and citation
Summary: The worst persecutor tortures without killing.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.11 (CSEL 19:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-11).
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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).
5.11.12CSEL 19:435
itaque dici non potest huiusmodi iudices quanta et quam grauia tormentorum genera excogitauerint, ut ad effectum propositi sui peruenirent.
So it cannot be told how many and how severe the kinds of torture such judges have devised to achieve their aim.
Notes and citation
Summary: Judges devised countless tortures.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.12 (CSEL 19:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-12).
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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).
5.11.13CSEL 19:435
haec autem non tantum ideo faciunt, ut gloriari possint nullum se innocentium peremisse — nam et ipse audiui aliquos gloriantes quod administratio sua in hac parte fuerit incruenta —, sed et inuidiae causa, ne aut ipsi uincantur aut illi uirtutis suae gloriam consequantur.
They do this not only so that they can boast that they have put none of the innocent to death (for I myself have heard some boasting that their administration had been bloodless in this respect), but also out of envy, so that they are not defeated themselves and the others do not win the glory of their virtue.
Notes and citation
Summary: They avoid killing to boast and to deny martyrs glory.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.13 (CSEL 19:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-13).
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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).
5.11.14CSEL 19:435
itaque in excogitandis poenarum generibus nihil aliut quam uictoriam cogitant: sciunt enim certamen esse illud et pugnam.
So in devising kinds of punishment they think of nothing but victory, for they know that it is a contest and a battle.
Notes and citation
Summary: Torture is a contest they seek to win.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: l for x): elcogitandis → excogitandis.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.14 (CSEL 19:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-14).
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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).
5.11.15CSEL 19:435
uidi ego in Bithynia praesidem gaudio mirabiliter elatum tamquam barbarorum gentem aliquam subegisset, quod unus qui per biennium magna uirtute restiterat, postremo cedere uisus esset.
I myself saw in Bithynia a governor wonderfully elated with joy, as if he had subdued some barbarian nation, because one man who had resisted with great courage for two years finally seemed to give way.
Notes and citation
Summary: A Bithynian governor rejoiced when one Christian yielded after two years.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.15 (CSEL 19:435; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-15).
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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).
5.11.16CSEL 19:435–436
contendunt igitur ut uincant et exquisitos dolores corporibus inmittunt et nihil aliut deuitant quam ut ne torti moriantur: quasi uero mors tantummodo beatos faciat ac non etiam tormenta quanto fuerint grauiora, tanto maiorem uirtutis gloriam pariant.
So they strive to win, and inflict refined pains on bodies, and avoid nothing so much as that the tortured should die; as though death alone made people blessed, and as though tortures too did not produce greater glory of virtue the heavier they were.
Notes and citation
Summary: They keep victims alive, not knowing torture adds to their glory.
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.16 (CSEL 19:435–436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-16).
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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).
5.11.17CSEL 19:436
illi autem pertinaci stultitia iubent curam tortis diligenter adhiberi, ut ad alios cruciatus membra renouentur et reparetur nouus sanguis ad poenam. quid tam pium, tam beneficum, tam humanum fieri potest? non curassent tam sollicite quos amarent.
But with stubborn folly they order that the tortured be carefully tended, so that their limbs may be renewed for further torments and fresh blood restored for punishment. What could be done more piously, more kindly, more humanely? They would not have cared so anxiously for those they loved.
Notes and citation
Summary: Victims are healed only to be tortured again.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.17 (CSEL 19:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-17).
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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).
5.11.18CSEL 19:436
haec est deorum disciplina, ad haec opera cultores suos erudiunt, haec sacra desiderant. quin etiam sceleratissimi homicidae contra pios iura inpia condiderunt: nam et constitutiones sacrilegae et disputationes iuris peritorum leguntur iniustae.
This is the discipline of the gods; to these works they train their worshippers; these are the rites they desire. Moreover, the most wicked murderers have drawn up impious laws against the pious: for sacrilegious ordinances and unjust discussions of jurists are read.
Notes and citation
Summary: Impious laws and legal writings were made against Christians.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.18 (CSEL 19:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-18).
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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).
5.11.19CSEL 19:436
Domitius de officio proconsulis libro septimo rescripta principum nefaria collegit, ut doceret quibus poenis adfici oporteret eos qui se cultores dei confiterentur.
Domitius, in the seventh book On the Duty of a Proconsul, collected the wicked rescripts of emperors, to teach what penalties ought to be inflicted on those who confessed themselves worshippers of God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Ulpian collected imperial rulings on punishing Christians.
- Domitius Ulpianus (Ulpian), On the Duty of a Proconsul, book 7; the work survives only in fragments.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.11.19 (CSEL 19:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-11-19).
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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).
Divine 5, chapter 12
5.12.1CSEL 19:436
Quid iis facias qui ius uocant carnificinas ueterum tyrannorum aduersus innocentes rabide saeuientium? et cum sint iniustitiae crudelitatisque doctores, iustos se tamen ac prudentes uideri uolunt, caeci et hebetes et rerum et ueritatis ignari.
What can you do with people who call "law" the butcheries of ancient tyrants raging madly against the innocent? And though they are teachers of injustice and cruelty, they want to seem just and prudent, blind and dull and ignorant of reality and truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Jurists call tyrants' butchery law.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.1 (CSEL 19:436; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-1).
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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).
5.12.2CSEL 19:436–437
adeone uobis, o perditae mentes, inuisa iustitia est, ut eam summis sceleribus adaequetis? adeone aput uos perit innocentia, ut ne morte quidem simplici dignam iudicetis, sed supra omnia facinora habeatur nullum facinus admittere pectusque parum ab omni sceleris contagione praestare?
Is justice so hateful to you, you lost minds, that you equate it with the greatest crimes? Is innocence so dead among you that you judge it unworthy even of a simple death, but it is held worse than all crimes to commit no crime and to keep one's heart free from all contagion of wrongdoing?
Notes and citation
Summary: Innocence is punished more harshly than crime.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period): adeone. aput → adeone aput.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.2 (CSEL 19:436–437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-2).
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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).
5.12.3CSEL 19:437
et quoniam communiter cum deorum cultoribus loquimur, liceat per uos bene facere uobiscum: haec est enim lex nostra, hoc opus, haec religio. si uobis sapientes uidemur, imitamini, si stulti, contemnite aut etiam ridete, si libet: nobis enim stultitia nostra prodest. quid laceratis? quid adfligitis?
And since we are speaking generally with the worshippers of the gods, let us be allowed by you to do good to you: for this is our law, this our work, this our religion. If we seem wise to you, imitate us; if foolish, despise us or even laugh, if you like; for our folly profits us. Why do you tear us? Why do you afflict us?
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians only ask to be allowed to do good.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.3 (CSEL 19:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-3).
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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).
5.12.4CSEL 19:437
non inuidemus sapientiae uestrae: hanc stultitiam malumus, hanc amplectimur, hoc nobis credimus expedire, ut uos diligamus et in uos ipsos qui odistis omnia conferamus.
We do not envy your wisdom: we prefer this folly, we embrace it, we believe this is good for us: to love you and to bestow everything on you who hate us.
Matt 5:44 (echo, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 1:21 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians choose the 'folly' of loving those who hate them.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.4 (CSEL 19:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-4).
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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).
5.12.5CSEL 19:437
est apud Ciceronem non abhorrens a uero locus in ea disputatione quae habetur a Furio contra iustitiam. quaero inquit, si duo sint, quorum alter optimus uir, aequissimus, summa iustitia, singulari fide, alter insigni scelere et audacia, et si in eo sit errore ciuitas, ut bonum illum uirum sceleratum facinerosum nefarium putet, contra autem (eum) qui sit inprobissimus, existimet esse summa probitate ac fide, proque hac opinione omnium ciuium bonus ille uir uexetur rapiatur, manus ei denique auferantur, effodiantur oculi, damnetur uinciatur uratur exterminetur egeat,
There is a passage in Cicero, not far from the truth, in the discussion Furius holds against justice. "I ask," he says, "if there were two men, one the best of men, most fair, of the highest justice and singular faithfulness, the other of notable crime and audacity; and if the city were in such error that it thought that good man wicked, criminal, and abominable, and on the other hand thought the one who is most wicked to be of the highest integrity and faithfulness; and if, in keeping with this opinion of all the citizens, that good man were harassed, seized, and finally had his hands cut off, his eyes gouged out, were condemned, bound, burned, banished, and left in want,
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's Furius imagines a just man thought wicked and punished.
- Cicero, On the Republic 3 (speech of Furius Philus; fragment). The quotation continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: lx for x; stray period; word split in the digital text): alter. optimus → alter optimus; inprobis simus → inprobissimus; elxistimet → existimet.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.5 (CSEL 19:437; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-5).
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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).
5.12.6CSEL 19:437–438
postremo iure etiam optimo omnibus miserrimus esse uideatur, contra autem ille inprobus laudetur colatur, ab omnibus diligatur, omnes ad eum honores, omnia imperia, omnes opes, omnes undique copiae conferantur, uir denique optimus omnium existimatione et dignissimus omni fortuna iudicetur: quis tandem erit tam demens qui dubitet utrum se esse malit?
and finally seemed, even with the best right, to all to be most wretched; while on the other hand that wicked man were praised, honored, and loved by all, all honors, all commands, all wealth, all resources from every side were bestowed on him, and he were judged in everyone's estimation the best of men and most worthy of every fortune: who will be so mad as to doubt which of the two he would rather be?"
Notes and citation
Summary: Furius asks who would not rather be the honored wicked man.
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.6 (CSEL 19:437–438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-6).
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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).
5.12.7CSEL 19:438
profecto quasi diuinaret quae nobis mala et quo modo euentura essent propter iustitiam, hoc posuit exemplum. haec enim populus noster patitur omnia errantium prauitate.
Surely he set out this example as if foreseeing what evils would befall us on account of justice, and how. For our people suffer all these things through the perversity of those in error.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's example foretells what Christians suffer.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.7 (CSEL 19:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-7).
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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).
5.12.8CSEL 19:438
ecce in eo est errore ciuitas uel potius orbis ipse totus, ut bonos et iustos uiros tamquam malos et impios persequatur excruciet damnet occidat.
See, the city, or rather the whole world, is in such error that it persecutes, tortures, condemns, and kills good and just men as if they were wicked and impious.
Notes and citation
Summary: The world persecutes the just as wicked.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.8 (CSEL 19:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-8).
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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).
5.12.9CSEL 19:438
nam quod ait neminem esse tam dementem qui dubitet utrum se esse malit, ille quidem ut is qui contra iustitiam disserebat, hoc sensit, malle sapientem malum esse cum bona existimatione quam bonum cum mala.
As for his saying that no one is so mad as to doubt which he would rather be, he, as one arguing against justice, meant that the wise man would rather be bad with a good reputation than good with a bad one.
Notes and citation
Summary: Furius argued the wise prefer a good reputation to goodness.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.9 (CSEL 19:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-9).
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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).
5.12.10CSEL 19:438
a nobis autem absit haec amentia, ut falsum uero anteponamus. an boni nostri qualitas ex populi pendebit erroribus quam ex conscientia nostra et iudicio dei? aut aliqua nos felicitas inliciet umquam, ut non potius ueram bonitatem cum omni malo quam falsam cum omni prosperitate malimus?
But far from us be this madness, that we should put the false before the true. Will the quality of our goodness depend on the errors of the people rather than on our conscience and the judgment of God? Or will any happiness ever entice us not to prefer true goodness with every evil to false goodness with every prosperity?
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians prefer true goodness with suffering to false with prosperity.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.10 (CSEL 19:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-10).
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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).
5.12.11CSEL 19:438
sua sibi habeant regna reges, suas diuitias diuites, ut loquitur Plautus, suam uero prudentiam prudentes: relinquant nobis stultitiam nostram, quam uel ex hoc apparet esse sapientiam quod eam nobis inuident.
Let kings keep their kingdoms, the rich their riches, as Plautus says, and the prudent their prudence: let them leave us our folly, which is shown to be wisdom by this very fact, that they envy us for it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their envy shows Christian folly is wisdom.
- Plautus, Curculio 178–180 (no id for Plautus in the controlled list).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.11 (CSEL 19:438; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-11).
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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).
5.12.12CSEL 19:438–439
quis enim stulto inuideat nisi qui ipse sit stultissimus? illi autem non sunt adeo stulti ut stultis inuideant, sed ex eo quod accurate, quod sollicite persecuntur, stultos non esse concedunt.
For who would envy a fool except one who is himself a greater fool? But they are not such fools as to envy fools; rather, by persecuting us so carefully and anxiously, they concede that we are not fools.
Notes and citation
Summary: Persecution concedes that Christians are not fools.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.12 (CSEL 19:438–439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-12).
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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).
5.12.13CSEL 19:439
cur enim tam crudeliter saeuiant nisi quia metuunt, ne in dies inualescente iustitia cum diis suis cariosis relinquantur? si ergo cultores deorum sapientes sunt et nos stulti, quid metuant ne sapientes inliciantur a stultis?
For why would they rage so cruelly unless they fear that, as justice grows stronger day by day, they will be left alone with their worm-eaten gods? If, then, the worshippers of the gods are wise and we are fools, why should they fear that the wise will be lured away by fools?
Notes and citation
Summary: Their fear shows they know the faith is winning.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.12.13 (CSEL 19:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-12-13).
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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 5, chapter 13
5.13.1CSEL 19:439
Cum autem noster numerus semper de deorum cultoribus augeatur, numquam uero, ne in ipsa quidem persecutione minuatur — quoniam peccare homines et inquinari sacrificio possunt, auerti autem non possunt a deo: ualet enim ui sua ueritas — quis est tandem tam excors tamque caecus quin uideat in utra sit parte sapientia?
But since our number is always increased from the worshippers of the gods and never diminished, not even in persecution itself (for people can sin and be defiled by sacrifice, but they cannot be turned away from God, since truth prevails by its own strength), who is so senseless and so blind as not to see on which side wisdom lies?
Notes and citation
Summary: The church grows even in persecution, showing where wisdom lies.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.1 (CSEL 19:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-1).
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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).
5.13.2CSEL 19:439
sed illi malitia et furore caecantur, ne uideant, stultosque esse arbitrantur qui cum habeant in potestate supplicia uitare, cruciari tamen et emori malunt, cum possint ex eo ipso peruidere non esse stultitiam in quam tanta hominum milia per orbem totum una et pari mente consentiant.
But they are blinded by malice and fury so as not to see, and they think those are fools who, though it is in their power to avoid punishment, still prefer to be tortured and to die; whereas they could see from this very fact that it is not folly to which so many thousands of people throughout the world agree with one and the same mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: The agreement of thousands shows the faith is not folly.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.2 (CSEL 19:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-2).
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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).
5.13.3CSEL 19:439
si enim feminae sexus infirmitate labuntur - nam interdum isti muliebrem aut anilem superstitionem uocant — uiri certe sapiunt. si pueri, si adulescentes inprouidi sunt per aetatem, maturi certe ac senes habent stabile iudicium.
For if women slip through the weakness of their sex (for sometimes these men call it a womanish or old wives' superstition), men at least are wise. If boys and youths are thoughtless because of their age, surely the mature and the old have steady judgment.
Notes and citation
Summary: Men, women, young and old all hold the faith.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: nr for fi): innrmitate → infirmitate.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.3 (CSEL 19:439; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-3).
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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).
5.13.4CSEL 19:439–440
si una ciuitas desipit, ceterae utique innumerabiles stultae esse non possunt. si una prouincia, una natio prudentia caret, ceteras omnes habere intellegentiam recti necesse est.
If one city is foolish, the countless others certainly cannot be fools. If one province, one nation lacks prudence, all the rest must have an understanding of what is right.
Notes and citation
Summary: Not every city and nation can be foolish.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.4 (CSEL 19:439–440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-4).
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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).
5.13.5CSEL 19:440
cum uero ab ortu solis usque ad occasum lex diuina suscepta sit et omnis sexus, omnis aetas et gens et regio unis ac paribus animis deo seruiat, eadem sit ubique patientia, idem contemtus mortis, intellegere debuerant aliquid in ea re esse rationis quod non sine causa usque ad mortem defendatur, aliquid fundamenti ac soliditatis quod eam religionem non tantum iniuriis et uexatione non soluat, sed augeat semper et faciat firmiorem.
But since the divine law has been received from the rising of the sun to its setting, and every sex, every age, race, and region serves God with one and the same mind, and there is everywhere the same patience, the same contempt of death, they ought to have understood that there is some reason in this thing, which is not without cause defended even to death, some foundation and solidity, which not only keeps this religion from being dissolved by injuries and harassment but always increases it and makes it firmer.
Mal 1:11 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The faith's worldwide steadfastness shows it has a solid foundation.
- "From the rising of the sun to its setting" echoes Mal 1:11 and Ps 113:3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: i for x): lei diuina → lex diuina.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.5 (CSEL 19:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-5).
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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).
5.13.6CSEL 19:440
nam et in hoc quoque illorum malitia conuincitur, quod euertisse se funditus religionem dei opinantur, si homines inquinauerint, cum et deo satisfacere liceat et nullus sit tam malus dei cultor quin data facultate ad placandum deum reuertatur et quidem deuotione maiore.
For in this too their malice is convicted: they think they have overturned the religion of God from its foundations if they have defiled people, when it is possible to make satisfaction to God, and no worshipper of God is so bad that, given the chance, he does not return to appease God, and indeed with greater devotion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who lapse can make satisfaction and return more devoted.
- On the return of the lapsed through repentance (church discipline).
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.6 (CSEL 19:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-6).
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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).
5.13.7CSEL 19:440
peccati enim conscientia et metus poenae religiosiorem facit et semper multo firmior est fides quam reponit paenitentia.
For awareness of sin and fear of punishment make a person more religious, and the faith that repentance restores is always much firmer.
Notes and citation
Summary: Repentance makes faith firmer.
- "Repentance" renders paenitentia; here it refers to the restoration of those who had sacrificed (penance).
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.7 (CSEL 19:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-7).
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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).
5.13.8CSEL 19:440
si ergo ipsi cum deos sibi arbitrantur iratos, tamen donis et sacrificiis et odoribus placari eos credunt, quid est tandem cur deum nostrum tam inmitem, tam inplacabilem putent, ut uideatur is iam Christianus esse non posse qui diis eorum coactus inuitusque libarit? nisi forte contaminatos semel putant animum translaturos, ut sua sponte iam facere incipiant quod per tormenta fecerunt.
If, then, they themselves, when they think the gods are angry with them, still believe they can be appeased with gifts, sacrifices, and incense, why do they think our God so harsh and implacable that one who has poured a libation to their gods under compulsion and against his will seems no longer able to be a Christian? Unless perhaps they think that those once defiled will change their minds, so as to begin doing of their own accord what they did under torture.
Notes and citation
Summary: God is not implacable toward those forced to sacrifice.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.8 (CSEL 19:440; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-8).
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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).
5.13.9CSEL 19:440–441
quis id officium libens obeat quod ab iniuria coepit? quis cum uideat laterum suorum cicatrices, non magis oderit deos, propter quos aeterna poenarum insignia et inpressas uisceribus suis notas gestet?
Who would willingly undertake a duty that began with injury? Who, when he sees the scars on his sides, will not hate the gods all the more, on whose account he bears lasting badges of punishment and marks pressed into his flesh?
Notes and citation
Summary: The tortured come to hate the gods more.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.9 (CSEL 19:440–441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-9).
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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).
5.13.10CSEL 19:441
ita fit ut data diuinitus pace et qui fugerunt uniuersi redeant et alius propter miraculum uirtutis nouus populus accedat.
So it happens that when peace is granted by God, all who fled return, and another, new people joins because of the wonder of such courage.
Notes and citation
Summary: When peace comes, the lapsed return and new converts join.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.10 (CSEL 19:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-10).
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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).
5.13.11CSEL 19:441
nam cum uideat uulgus dilacerari homines uariis tormentorum generibus et inter fatigatos carnifices inuictam tenere patientiam, existimant, id quod res est, nec consensum tam multorum nec perseuerantiam morientium uanam esse nec ipsam patientiam sine deo cruciatus tantos posse superare.
For when the crowd sees people torn apart by various kinds of torture and keeping unconquered patience amid exhausted executioners, they conclude, as is the truth, that neither the agreement of so many nor the perseverance of the dying is vain, and that patience itself could not overcome such tortures without God.
Notes and citation
Summary: The martyrs' endurance convinces onlookers that God is with them.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.11 (CSEL 19:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-11).
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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).
5.13.12CSEL 19:441
latrones et robusti corporis uiri eiusmodi lacerationes perferre non queunt, exclamant et gemitus edunt, uincuntur enim dolore, quia deest illis inspirata patientia: nostri autem, ut de uiris taceam, pueri et mulierculae tortores suos taciti uincunt et exprimere illis gemitum nec ignis potest.
Robbers and men of strong body cannot endure such mangling; they cry out and groan, for they are overcome by pain, because they lack inspired patience. But ours, to say nothing of men, boys and weak women silently overcome their torturers, and not even fire can wring a groan from them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even Christian children and women endure torture in silence.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.12 (CSEL 19:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-12).
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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).
5.13.13CSEL 19:441
eant Romani et Mucio glorientur aut Regulo, quorum alter necandum se hostibus tradidit, quod captiuum puduit uiuere, alter ab hostibus deprehensus cum uideret mortem se uitare non posse, manum foco iniecit, ut pro facinore suo satisfaceret hosti quem uoluit occidere, eaque poena ueniam quam non meruerat accepit:
Let the Romans go and boast of Mucius or Regulus, one of whom gave himself up to the enemy to be killed because he was ashamed to live as a captive, while the other, caught by the enemy, when he saw he could not escape death, thrust his hand into the fire to make satisfaction to the enemy he had wanted to kill for his deed, and by that punishment received a pardon he had not earned.
Notes and citation
Summary: Roman heroes' endurance was forced by circumstance.
- The "one … the other" is in reverse order: Regulus returned to Carthage to die; Mucius Scaevola burned his hand before Porsenna.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.13 (CSEL 19:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-13).
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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).
5.13.14CSEL 19:441
ecce sexus infirmus et fragilis aetas dilacerari se toto corpore urique perpetitur non necessitate, quia licet uitare si uelint, sed uoluntate, quia confidunt deo.
See, the weaker sex and fragile age endure being torn apart and burned over the whole body, not by necessity, since they could avoid it if they wished, but by choice, because they trust in God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians endure by choice, trusting God.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.14 (CSEL 19:441; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-14).
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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).
5.13.15CSEL 19:441–442
haec est uera uirtus, quam philosophi quoque gloriabundi non re, sed uerbis inanibus iactant disserentes nihil esse tam congruens uiri sapientis grauitati atque constantiae quam nullis terroribus de sententia et proposito posse depelli, sed tanti esse cruciari et emori, ne fidem prodat, ne ab officio discedat, ne metu mortis aut dolore acerbo subactus aliquid faciat iniustum:
This is true virtue, which the philosophers too boast of, not in reality but in empty words, arguing that nothing so fits the dignity and constancy of a wise man as to be driven from his opinion and purpose by no terrors, but to count it worth being tortured and dying rather than betray his faith, abandon his duty, or, overcome by fear of death or bitter pain, do anything unjust;
Notes and citation
Summary: Philosophers praise such constancy only in words.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.15 (CSEL 19:441–442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-15).
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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).
5.13.16CSEL 19:442
nisi forte delirare illis uidetur Flaccus in lyricis, cum dicit: iustum et tenacem propositi uirum non ciuium ardor praua iubentium, non uultus instantis tyranni mente quatit solida.
unless perhaps they think Flaccus is raving in his lyrics when he says: "The man who is just and firm of purpose is not shaken in his solid mind by the passion of citizens commanding what is wrong, nor by the face of a threatening tyrant."
Notes and citation
Summary: Horace praises the just man unshaken by tyrants.
- Horace (Q. Horatius Flaccus), Odes 3.3.1–4 (no id for Horace in the controlled list).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: u for n): uon uultus → non uultus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.16 (CSEL 19:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-16).
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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).
5.13.17CSEL 19:442
quo nihil uerius dici potest, si hoc ad eos referatur qui nullos cruciatus, nullam mortem recusant, ne a fide iustitiaque declinent, qui non tyrannicas iussiones, non praesidum gladios tremunt, quominus ueram et solidam libertatem constanti mente defendant, quae in hoc solo tuenda sapienti est.
Nothing truer can be said, if it is applied to those who refuse no tortures and no death so as not to turn from faith and justice, who do not tremble at tyrants' commands or governors' swords so as to fail to defend with steady mind true and solid freedom, which for the wise must be guarded in this alone.
Notes and citation
Summary: Horace's words fit Christian martyrs, who defend true freedom.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray comma): nullos, cruciatus → nullos cruciatus.
Topics: Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.17 (CSEL 19:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-17).
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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).
5.13.18CSEL 19:442
quis enim tam insolens, tam elatus est qui me uetet oculos in caelum tollere, qui inponat mihi necessitatem uel colendi quod nolim uel quod uelim non colendi?
For who is so insolent, so exalted, as to forbid me to raise my eyes to heaven, or to impose on me the necessity either of worshipping what I do not wish or of not worshipping what I wish?
Notes and citation
Summary: No one may compel worship.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.18 (CSEL 19:442; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-18).
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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).
5.13.19CSEL 19:442–443
quid iam nobis ulterius relinquatur, si etiam hoc quod uoluntate fieri oportet libido extorqueat aliena? nemo istut efficiet, si quid nobis ad contemnendam mortem doloremque uirtutis est. quam constantiam si tenemus, cur stulti iudicamur facientes ea quae philosophi laudant?
What further would be left to us, if even this, which ought to be done by will, another's whim could extort? No one will achieve that, if we have any virtue for despising death and pain. If we hold to this constancy, why are we judged fools for doing what the philosophers praise?
Notes and citation
Summary: Worship must be voluntary; Christians do what philosophers praise.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.19 (CSEL 19:442–443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-19).
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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).
5.13.20CSEL 19:443
recte igitur Seneca incongruentiam hominibus obiectans ait: summa uirtus illis uidetur magnus animus, et idem eum qui contemnit mortem pro furioso habent: quod est utique summae peruersitatis.
So Seneca rightly, reproaching people for their inconsistency, says: "The highest virtue seems to them a great soul, and yet they hold the man who despises death to be mad"; which is surely the height of perversity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Seneca notes people praise greatness of soul but call those who despise death mad.
- Seneca, from a lost work (uncertain).
Extrabiblical texts: Seneca (Seneca; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.20 (CSEL 19:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-20).
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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).
5.13.21CSEL 19:443
sed hi uanarum religionum cultores eadem stultitia id obiciunt qua uerum deum non intellegunt: quos Sibylla Erythraea xuxpoy? et avoTQVOj; uocat, surdos scilicet et excordes, qui nec audiant diuina nec sentiant, sed terram digitis suis imaginatam metuant et adorent.
But these worshippers of vain religions raise this objection with the same folly by which they do not understand the true God. The Erythraean Sibyl calls them "deaf" and "senseless," that is, people who neither hear nor perceive divine things but fear and adore earth shaped by their own fingers.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Sibyl calls idolaters deaf and senseless.
- The Sibyl's two Greek words are garbled in the digital text (xuxpoy, avoTQVOj); they are rendered by the author's own gloss, surdos et excordes (probably κωφούς and ἀνοήτους; uncertain).
- Sibylline Oracles, fragment (exact location uncertain).
Extrabiblical texts: Sib. Or. (Sibylline Oracles; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.13.21 (CSEL 19:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-13-21).
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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 5, chapter 14
5.14.1CSEL 19:443
Quae uero causa sit ut eos qui sapientes sunt stultos putent, magna ratio est — nec enim frustra falluntur —: quae nobis diligenter est explicanda, ut errores suos tandem si fieri possit adgnoscant.
But there is a weighty reason why they think the wise are fools (for they are not deceived for nothing); and we must explain it carefully, so that they may at last, if possible, recognize their errors.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will explain why the wise are thought fools.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.1 (CSEL 19:443; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-1).
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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).
5.14.2CSEL 19:443–444
iustitia suapte natura speciem quandam stultitiae habet, quod ego et diuinis et humanis testimoniis confirmare possum. sed nihil fortasse aput istos agamus, nisi eos de suis doceamus auctoribus non posse quemquam iustum esse, quod est coniunctum cum uera sapientia, nisi idem stultus esse uideatur.
Justice by its very nature has a certain appearance of folly, which I can confirm by both divine and human testimonies. But perhaps we would achieve nothing with these people unless we teach them from their own authors that no one can be just, which is joined with true wisdom, without also seeming a fool.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice by nature looks like folly.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.2 (CSEL 19:443–444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-2).
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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).
5.14.3CSEL 19:444
Carneades Academicae sectae philosophus, cuius in disserendo quae uis fuerit, quae eloquentia, quod acumen, qui nescit ipsum, ex praedicatione Ciceronis intelleget aut Lucilii, aput quem disserens Neptunus de re difficillima ostendit non posse id explicari, non Carneaden si ipsum Orcus remittat, cum legatus ab Atheniensibus Romam missus esset, disputauit de iustitia copiose audiente Galba et Catone Censorio maximis tunc oratoribus.
Carneades, a philosopher of the Academic school (whoever does not know what force, what eloquence, what sharpness he had in argument will learn it from the praise of Cicero or of Lucilius, in whose poem Neptune, discussing a very difficult matter, shows it cannot be explained, "not if Orcus sent back Carneades himself"), when he was sent by the Athenians as an envoy to Rome, discoursed at length on justice in the hearing of Galba and Cato the Censor, the greatest orators of the time.
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades lectured on justice at Rome.
- The embassy was in 155 BC. Lucilius, fragment 31 (Marx).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen and leaked line number): dispu- 10 tauit → disputauit.
Extrabiblical texts: Lucilius (Lucilius (satires, fragments); quotation); Cicero (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.3 (CSEL 19:444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-3).
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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).
5.14.4CSEL 19:444
sed idem disputationem suam postridie contraria disputatione subuertit et iustitiam quam pridie laudauerat sustulit, non quidem philosophi grauitate, cuius firma et stabilis debet esse sententia, sed quasi oratorio exercitii genere in utramque partem disserendi. quod ille facere solebat, ut alios quidlibet adserentes posset refutare.
But the next day he overturned his argument with a contrary argument and demolished the justice he had praised the day before, not with the seriousness of a philosopher, whose opinion ought to be firm and steady, but as a kind of orator's exercise in arguing both sides. He used to do this so that he could refute others whatever they asserted.
Notes and citation
Summary: The next day he argued against justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.4 (CSEL 19:444; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-4).
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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).
5.14.5CSEL 19:444–445
eam disputationem, qua iustitia euertitur, aput Ciceronem Lucius Furius recordatur, credo quoniam de re publica disserebat, ut defensionem laudationemque eius induceret, sine qua putabat regi non posse rem publicam. Carneades autem ut Aristotelen refelleret ac Platonem iustitiae patronos, prima illa disputatione collegit ea omnia quae pro iustitia dicebantur, ut posset illam, sicut fecit, euertere.
That argument, by which justice is overturned, is recalled by Lucius Furius in Cicero, because, I believe, he was discussing the commonwealth, so as to introduce a defense and praise of justice, without which he thought a commonwealth could not be governed. But Carneades, to refute Aristotle and Plato, the patrons of justice, gathered in that first argument everything that was said for justice, so that he could overturn it, as he did.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's Republic records Carneades' argument against justice.
- Cicero, On the Republic 3 (fragment).
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; allusion); Aristotle (Aristotle (works); allusion); Plato (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.5 (CSEL 19:444–445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-5).
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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).
5.14.6CSEL 19:445
erat enim facillimum iustitiam radices non habentem labefactare, quia tum nulla in terra fuit, ut quid esset aut qualis a philosophis cerneretur.
For it was very easy to shake a justice that had no roots, since then there was none on earth, so that philosophers might see what it was or of what kind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice then had no roots on earth.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.6 (CSEL 19:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-6).
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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).
5.14.7CSEL 19:445
atque utinam tot ac tales uiri quantum eloquentiae, quantum animi, tantum etiam scientiae ad inplendam defensionem summae uirtutis habuissent, cuius origo in religione, ratio in aequitate est! sed ii qui primam illam partem nescierunt, ne secundam quidem tenere potuerunt.
And would that so many and such great men had had as much knowledge as they had eloquence and spirit, to complete the defense of the highest virtue, whose origin is in religion and whose principle is in equity! But those who did not know the first part could not hold the second either.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice springs from religion and consists in equity.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.7 (CSEL 19:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-7).
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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).
5.14.8CSEL 19:445
uolo autem prius circumscripte ac breuiter quid sit ostendere, ut intellegatur philosophos ignorasse iustitiam nec id quod minime nouerant potuisse defendere.
But first I want to show concisely and briefly what it is, so that it may be understood that the philosophers did not know justice and could not defend what they hardly knew.
Notes and citation
Summary: He will define justice briefly.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: n for ri): circumscnpte → circumscripte.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.8 (CSEL 19:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-8).
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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).
5.14.9CSEL 19:445
iustitia quamuis omnes simul uirtutes amplectatur, tamen duae sunt omnium principales quae ab ea diuelli separarique non possunt, pietas et aequitas. nam fides temperantia probitas innocentia integritas et cetera eiusmodi uel natura uel institutis parentum possunt esse in iis hominibus qui iustitiam nesciunt, sicuti semper fuerunt:
Though justice embraces all the virtues together, there are two chief ones among them all that cannot be torn or separated from it: piety and equity. For faithfulness, self-control, uprightness, innocence, integrity, and the like can exist, by nature or by the training of parents, in people who do not know justice, as they always have.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice's two chief parts are piety and equity.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.9 (CSEL 19:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-9).
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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).
5.14.10CSEL 19:445
nam Romani ueteres, qui iustitia gloriari solebant, iis utique uirtutibus gloriabantur quae, ut dixi, proficisci a iustitia possunt et ab ipso fonte secerni.
For the ancient Romans, who used to boast of justice, were in fact boasting of those virtues which, as I said, can come from justice and be separated from the source itself.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Romans had lesser virtues, not justice itself.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.10 (CSEL 19:445; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-10).
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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).
5.14.11CSEL 19:446
pietas uero et aequitas quasi uenae sunt eius, his enim duobus fontibus constat tota iustitia: sed caput eius et origo in illo primo est, in secundo uis omnis ac ratio. pietas autem nihil aliut est quam dei notio, sicut Trismegistus uerissime definiuit, ut alio loco diximus.
But piety and equity are, as it were, its veins; for all justice consists of these two springs. But its head and origin lie in the first, and all its force and principle in the second. Piety is nothing other than the knowledge of God, as Trismegistus most truly defined it, as we said elsewhere.
Notes and citation
Summary: Piety is the knowledge of God, per Trismegistus.
- Hermes Trismegistus; compare Institutes 2.15.6.
Extrabiblical texts: Corp. herm. (Hermetic writings; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.11 (CSEL 19:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-11).
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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).
5.14.12CSEL 19:446
si ergo pietas est cognoscere deum, cuius cognitionis haec summa est ut colas, ignorat utique iustitiam qui religionem dei non tenet. quomodo enim potest eam ipsam nosse qui unde oriatur ignorat?
If, then, piety is knowing God, and the sum of this knowledge is to worship him, whoever does not hold the religion of God certainly does not know justice. For how can one know it who does not know where it comes from?
Notes and citation
Summary: Without worshipping God one cannot know justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.12 (CSEL 19:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-12).
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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).
5.14.13CSEL 19:446
Plato quidem multa de uno deo locutus est, a quo ait constitutum esse mundum, sed nihil de religione: somniauerat enim deum, non cognouerat. quodsi iustitiae defensionem uel ipse uel quilibet alius implere uoluisset, in primis deorum religiones euertere debuit, quia contrariae sunt pietati.
Plato indeed said much about the one God, by whom he says the world was established, but nothing about religion; for he had dreamed of God, not known him. But if he or anyone else had wanted to complete a defense of justice, he ought first of all to have overturned the religions of the gods, since they are contrary to piety.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato knew of one God but not true religion.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato (Plato (works); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.13 (CSEL 19:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-13).
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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).
5.14.14CSEL 19:446
quod quidem Socrates quia facere temptauit, in carcerem coniectus est, ut iam tunc appareret quid esset futurum iis hominibus qui iustitiam ueram defendere deoque singulari seruire coepissent.
Because Socrates tried to do this, he was thrown into prison, so that it was already clear then what would happen to those who began to defend true justice and serve the one God.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates' fate foreshadowed the Christians'.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.14 (CSEL 19:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-14).
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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).
5.14.15CSEL 19:446
altera est iustitiae pars aequitas: aequitatem dico non utique bene iudicandi, quod et ipsum laudabile est in homine iusto, sed se cum ceteris coaequandi, quam Cicero aequabilitatem uocat.
The other part of justice is equity. By equity I do not mean that of judging well, though that too is praiseworthy in a just man, but that of making oneself equal with others, which Cicero calls "equability."
Notes and citation
Summary: Equity means treating oneself as equal to others.
- Cicero, On the Republic 1.53 (aequabilitas; uncertain).
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; allusion)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.15 (CSEL 19:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-15).
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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).
5.14.16CSEL 19:446
deus enim, qui homines et generat et inspirat, omnes aequos id est pares esse uoluit, eandem condicionem uiuendi omnibus posuit, omnes ad sapientiam genuit, omnibus inmortalitatem spopondit: nemo a beneficiis eius caelestibus segregatur.
For God, who begets and breathes life into human beings, willed that all should be equal, that is, alike; he set the same condition of life for all, begot all for wisdom, promised immortality to all; no one is shut out from his heavenly gifts.
Notes and citation
Summary: God made all people equal.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.16 (CSEL 19:446; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-16).
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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).
5.14.17CSEL 19:446–447
nam sicut omnibus unicum suum lumen aequaliter diuidit, emittit omnibus fontes, uictum sum ministrat, quietem somni dulcissimam tribuit, sic omnibus aequitatem uirtutemque largitur. nemo aput eum seruus est, nemo dominus: si enim cunctis idem pater est, aequo iure omnes liberi sumus.
For just as he shares his one light equally with all, sends forth springs for all, supplies food, and grants the sweetest rest of sleep, so he bestows equity and virtue on all. With him no one is a slave, no one a master; for if the same Father belongs to all, we are all children by equal right.
Matt 5:45 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Before God no one is slave or master.
- "Children" renders liberi, which also means "free"; the wordplay is intentional.
- Compare Matt 5:45.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.17 (CSEL 19:446–447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-17).
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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).
5.14.18CSEL 19:447
nemo deo pauper est nisi qui iustitia indiget, nemo diues nisi qui uirtutibus plenus est, nemo denique egregius nisi qui bonus et innocens fuerit, nemo clarissimus nisi qui opera misericordiae largiter fecerit, nemo perfectissimus nisi qui omnes gradus uirtutis inpleuerit.
No one is poor before God except the one who lacks justice; no one rich except the one full of virtues; no one distinguished except the one who has been good and innocent; no one most illustrious except the one who has done works of mercy generously; no one most perfect except the one who has completed every step of virtue.
Notes and citation
Summary: God's measure of rank is virtue and mercy.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.18 (CSEL 19:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-18).
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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).
5.14.19CSEL 19:447
quare neque Romani neque Graeci iustitiam tenere potuerunt, quia dispares multis gradibus homines habuerunt, a pauperibus ad diuites, ab humilibus ad potentes, a priuatis denique usque ad regum sublimissimas potestates.
So neither the Romans nor the Greeks could hold justice, because they had people unequal by many degrees, from the poor to the rich, from the lowly to the powerful, and finally from private persons up to the loftiest powers of kings.
Notes and citation
Summary: Greek and Roman inequality excluded justice.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.19 (CSEL 19:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-19).
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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).
5.14.20CSEL 19:447
ubi enim non sunt uniuersi pares, aequitas non est, et excludit inaequalitas ipsa iustitiam, cuius uis omnis in eo est, ut pares faciat eos qui ad huius uitae condicionem pari sorte uenerunt.
For where all are not equal, there is no equity, and inequality itself shuts out justice, whose whole force lies in making equal those who came into the condition of this life by an equal lot.
Notes and citation
Summary: Justice makes equal those born equal.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.14.20 (CSEL 19:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-14-20).
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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).
Divine 5, chapter 15
5.15.1CSEL 19:447
Duobus igitur illis iustitiae fontibus immutatis omnis uirtus et omnis ueritas tollitur et ipsa iustitia remigrat in caelum. ideo non est uerum illut bonum a philosophis repertum, quia ignorabant uel unde oreretur uel quid efficeret: quod nullis aliis praeterquam nostro populo reuelatum est.
So when those two springs of justice are changed, all virtue and all truth are removed, and justice itself goes back to heaven. That is why that true good was not found by the philosophers: they did not know either where it arises or what it produces; and this has been revealed to no one but our people.
Notes and citation
Summary: Only Christians know the source and effect of justice.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: l- for r): uil-tus → uirtus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.1 (CSEL 19:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-1).
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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).
5.15.2CSEL 19:447
meet aliquis: nonne sunt aput uos alii pauperes, alii diuites, alii serui, alii domini? nonne aliquid inter singulos interest? nihil, nec alia causa est cur nobis inuicem fratrum nomen inpertiamus, nisi quia pares esse nos credimus.
Someone will say: "Are there not among you some poor and some rich, some slaves and some masters? Is there no difference between individuals?" None; and there is no other reason why we give one another the name of brothers than that we believe we are equals.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians call each other brothers because they are equal.
- The first word is garbled in the digital text (meet); it is translated by sense as "someone will say" (probably dicet; uncertain).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.2 (CSEL 19:447; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-2).
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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).
5.15.3CSEL 19:447–448
nam cum omnia humana non corpore, sed spiritu metiamur, tametsi corporum sit diuersa condicio, nobis tamen serui non sunt, sed eos et habemus et dicimus spiritu fratres, religione conseruos.
For since we measure all human things not by the body but by the spirit, though the condition of bodies differs, to us they are not slaves; we regard them and call them brothers in spirit and fellow servants in religion.
Notes and citation
Summary: Slaves are brothers in spirit and fellow servants.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.3 (CSEL 19:447–448; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-3).
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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).
5.15.4CSEL 19:448
diuitiae quoque non faciunt insignes, nisi quod possunt bonis operibus facere clariores. diuites sunt enim non quia diuitias habent, sed quia utuntur illis ad opera iustitiae, et qui pauperes uidentur, eo tamen diuites sunt, quia et non egent et nihil concupiscunt.
Riches too do not make people distinguished, except that they can make them more illustrious by good works. For people are rich not because they have riches but because they use them for works of justice; and those who seem poor are rich in that they neither lack nor covet anything.
Notes and citation
Summary: True riches lie in good use and contentment.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.4 (CSEL 19:448; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-4).
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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).
5.15.5CSEL 19:448
cum igitur et liberi seruis et diuites pauperibus humilitate animi pares simus, aput deum tamen uirtute discernimur: tanto quisque sublimior est quanto iustior.
So though free and slave, rich and poor, are equal in humility of mind, yet before God we are distinguished by virtue: each is the more exalted the more just he is.
Notes and citation
Summary: Before God rank depends on justice.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.5 (CSEL 19:448; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-5).
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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).
5.15.6CSEL 19:448
si enim iustitia est parem se etiam minoribus facere, quamquam hoc ipso praecellit, quod se inferioribus coaequauit, tamen si non tantum quasi parem, sed etiam quasi minorem se gesserit, utique multo altiorem dignitatis gradum deo iudice consequetur.
For if justice is to make oneself equal even to lesser people, though one excels by this very fact, that he has made himself equal to his inferiors, yet if he conducts himself not only as an equal but even as a lesser, he will surely attain a much higher degree of dignity with God as judge.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those who make themselves lower will be raised higher by God.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.6 (CSEL 19:448; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-6).
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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).
5.15.7CSEL 19:448
nam profecto in hac uita saeculari quoniam breuia et caduca sunt omnia, et praeferunt se alteris homines et de dignitate contendunt, quo nihil foedius, nihil adrogantius, nihil a sapientiae ratione submotius: rebus enim caelestibus contraria sunt ista uniuersa terrena.
For in this worldly life, since all things are brief and perishable, people put themselves before one another and contend for rank; nothing is fouler, more arrogant, more remote from the principle of wisdom than this: for all these earthly things are contrary to the heavenly.
Notes and citation
Summary: Contending for rank is contrary to wisdom.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.7 (CSEL 19:448; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-7).
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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).
5.15.8CSEL 19:448
sicut enim sapientia hominum summa stultitia est aput deum, stultitia, ut docui, summa sapientia est, sic deo humilis et abiectus est qui fuerit conspicuus et sublimis in terra.
For just as human wisdom is the height of folly with God, and folly, as I have taught, is the height of wisdom, so the one who has been conspicuous and exalted on earth is lowly and abject before God.
1 Cor 3:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 16:15 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: What is high among men is low with God.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.8 (CSEL 19:448; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-8).
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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).
5.15.9CSEL 19:448–449
nam ut taceam quod haec praesentia terrae bona, quibus magnus honos tribuitur, uirtuti contraria sunt et uigorem mentis eneruant, quae tandem potest firma esse nobilitas, quae opes, quae potentia, cum possit deus reges quoque ipsos inferiores etiam infimis facere? et ideo consulens nobis deus inter diuina praecepta illut praecipue posuit: qui se extollit, humiliabitur, et qui se humiliat, exaltabitur.
For, to say nothing of the fact that these present goods of the earth, to which great honor is paid, are contrary to virtue and weaken the vigor of the mind, what nobility, what wealth, what power can be firm, when God can make even kings lower than the lowest? And so God, providing for us, set this above all among his divine precepts: "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
Luke 14:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 23:12 (quotation, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ taught that the humble will be exalted.
- Luke 14:11; 18:14; Matt 23:12.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.9 (CSEL 19:448–449; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-9).
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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).
5.15.10CSEL 19:449
cuius praecepti salubritas docet quod qui se aput homines planum fecerit humilemque praebuerit, hic aput deum praecellens et insignis habeatur.
The wholesomeness of this precept teaches that whoever has made himself level with others and shown himself humble among men will be held outstanding and distinguished before God.
Notes and citation
Summary: The humble are distinguished before God.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.10 (CSEL 19:449; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-10).
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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).
5.15.11CSEL 19:449
neque enim falsa est illa sententia quae aput Euripidem fertur in hunc modum: quae hic mala putantur, haec sunt in caelo bona.
Nor is that saying false which is reported from Euripides in this way: "What are thought evils here are goods in heaven."
Notes and citation
Summary: Euripides: earthly evils are heavenly goods.
- Euripides, fragment (unidentified play).
Extrabiblical texts: Euripides (Euripides (plays and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.15.11 (CSEL 19:449; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-15-11).
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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 5, chapter 16
5.16.1CSEL 19:449
Exposui causam cur philosophi nec inuenire iustitiam nec defendere potuerunt: nunc redeo ad id quod intenderam.
I have set out why the philosophers could neither find nor defend justice; now I return to what I had in view.
Notes and citation
Summary: He returns to Carneades.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.1 (CSEL 19:449; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-1).
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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).
5.16.2CSEL 19:449
Carneades ergo, quoniam erant infirma quae a philosophis adserebantur, sumpsit audaciam refellendi, quia refelli posse intellexit.
So Carneades, since what the philosophers asserted was weak, took courage to refute it, because he saw that it could be refuted.
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades saw the philosophers' case for justice was weak.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: m for in; OCR: t for C): tarneades → Carneades; mfirma → infirma.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.2 (CSEL 19:449; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-2).
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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).
5.16.3CSEL 19:449
eius disputationis summa haec fuit: iura sibi homines pro utilitate sanxisse, scilicet uaria pro moribus, et aput eosdem pro temporibus saepe mutata, ius autem naturale esse nullum; omnes et homines et alias animantes ad utilitates suas natura ducente ferri; proinde aut nullam esse iustitiam aut, si sit aliqua, summam esse stultitiam, quoniam sibi noceret alienis commodis consulens.
The sum of his argument was this: people made laws for themselves for their advantage, varying with customs and often changed among the same people with the times; there is no natural law; all people and other living things are carried, with nature as guide, toward their own advantage; therefore either there is no justice, or, if there is any, it is the height of folly, since it harms itself in looking after others' interests.
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades argued that law is mere advantage and justice folly.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.3 (CSEL 19:449; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-3).
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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).
5.16.4CSEL 19:449–450
et inferebat haec argumenta: omnibus populis qui florerent inperio et Romanis quoque ipsis, qui totius orbis potirentur, si iusti uelint esse, hoc est si aliena restituant, ad casas esse redeundum et in egestate ac miseriis iacendum.
And he brought these arguments: all peoples flourishing in empire, including the Romans themselves, who ruled the whole world, would have to go back to huts and lie in want and misery if they wished to be just, that is, to give back what belongs to others.
Notes and citation
Summary: Empires would have to give everything back to be just.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.4 (CSEL 19:449–450; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-4).
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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).
5.16.5CSEL 19:450
tum omissis communibus ad propria ueniebat. bonus uir inquit si habeat seruum fugitiuum uel domum insalubrem ac pestilentem, quae uitia solus sciat, et ideo proscribat ut uendat, utrumne profitebitur fugitiuum se seruum uel pestilentem domum uendere an celabit emptorem?
Then, leaving general matters, he came to particulars. "If a good man," he said, "has a runaway slave or an unhealthy, plague-ridden house, faults which he alone knows, and so advertises it for sale, will he declare that he is selling a runaway slave or a plague-ridden house, or will he conceal it from the buyer?
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades: must a seller disclose hidden defects?
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.5 (CSEL 19:450; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-5).
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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).
5.16.6CSEL 19:450
si profitebitur, bonus quidem, quia non fallet, sed tamen stultus iudicabitur, quia uel paruo uendet uel omnino non uendet; si celabit, erit quidem sapiens, quia rei consulet, sed idem malus, quia fallet.
If he declares it, he will be judged good, since he will not deceive, but a fool, since he will sell cheaply or not at all; if he conceals it, he will be wise, since he looks after his interest, but also bad, since he will deceive.
Notes and citation
Summary: Honesty is foolish, deception wise but bad.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.6 (CSEL 19:450; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-6).
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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).
5.16.7CSEL 19:450
rursus si reperiat aliquem qui orichalcum se putet uendere, cum sit illut aurum, aut plumbum, cum sit argentum, tacebitne, ut id paruo emat, an indicabit, ut magno?
Again, if he finds someone who thinks he is selling brass when it is gold, or lead when it is silver, will he keep quiet so as to buy it cheaply, or point it out so as to pay much?"
Notes and citation
Summary: Must a buyer reveal the seller's mistake?
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.7 (CSEL 19:450; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-7).
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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).
5.16.8CSEL 19:450
stultum plane uidetur malle magno. unde intellegi uolebat et eum qui sit iustus ac bonus stultum esse et eum qui sapiens, malum, et tamen sine pernicie fieri posse ut sint homines paupertate contenti.
It plainly seems foolish to prefer to pay much. From this he wanted it understood both that the just and good man is a fool and that the wise man is bad, and yet that it is possible without ruin for people to be content with poverty.
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades concluded the just man is a fool.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.8 (CSEL 19:450; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-8).
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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).
5.16.9CSEL 19:450–451
transcendebat ergo ad maiora, in quibus nemo posset sine periculo uitae iustus esse. dicebat enim: nempe iustitia est hominem non occidere, alienum prorsus non attingere.
So he went on to greater cases, in which no one could be just without danger to life. For he said: "Justice, surely, is not to kill a human being and not to touch what belongs to another at all.
Notes and citation
Summary: He turned to cases where justice risks life.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: m for in): m quibus → in quibus.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.9 (CSEL 19:450–451; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-9).
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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).
5.16.10CSEL 19:451
quid ergo iustus faciet, si forte naufragium fecerit et aliquis inbecillior uiribus tabulam ceperit? nonne illum tabula deturbabit, ut ipse conscendat eaque nixus euadat, maxime cum sit nullus medio mari testis? si sapiens est, faciet: ipsi enim pereundum est, nisi fecerit; si autem mori maluerit quam manus inferre alteri, iam iustus ille, sed (idem) stultus est, qui uitae suae non parcat, dum parcit alienae.
What then will the just man do if he happens to be shipwrecked and someone weaker has seized a plank? Will he not push him off the plank so that he can climb on and escape by clinging to it, especially since there is no witness in mid-sea? If he is wise, he will do it, for he must perish unless he does; but if he prefers to die rather than lay hands on another, then he is just, but also a fool, since he does not spare his own life while he spares another's.
Notes and citation
Summary: The shipwreck dilemma: the just man is a fool.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split in the digital text): tabu lam → tabulam.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.10 (CSEL 19:451; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-10).
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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).
5.16.11CSEL 19:451
item si acie suorum fusa hostes insequi coeperint, et iustus ille nanctus fuerit aliquem saucium equo insidentem, eine parcet, ut ipse occidatur, an deiciet ex equo, ut ipse hostem possit effugere? quod si fecerit, sapiens, sed idem malus, si non fecerit, iustus, sed idem stultus sit necesse est.
Likewise, if his side's line is routed and the enemy begins to pursue, and that just man comes upon a wounded man sitting on a horse, will he spare him and be killed himself, or throw him from the horse so that he himself can escape the enemy? If he does that, he is wise but also bad; if he does not, he must be just but also a fool."
Notes and citation
Summary: The fleeing soldier dilemma.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.11 (CSEL 19:451; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-11).
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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).
5.16.12CSEL 19:451
ita ergo iustitiam cum in duas partes diuisisset, alteram ciuilem esse dicens, alteram naturalem, utramque subuertit, quod illa ciuilis sapientia sit quidem, sed iustitia non sit, naturalis autem illa iustitia sit quidem, sed non sit sapientia.
So, having divided justice into two parts, calling one civil and the other natural, he overturned both: the civil kind is wisdom indeed but not justice, while the natural kind is justice indeed but not wisdom.
Notes and citation
Summary: Carneades: civil justice is wise but unjust; natural justice just but foolish.
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.12 (CSEL 19:451; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-12).
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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).
5.16.13CSEL 19:451–452
arguta haec plane ac uenenata sunt et quae Marcus Tullius non potuerit refellere. nam cum faciat Laelium Furio respondentem pro iustitiaque dicentem, inrefutata haec tamquam foueam praetergressus est, ut uideatur idem Laelius non naturalem, quae in crimen stultitiae uenerat, sed illam ciuilem defendisse iustitiam, quam Furius sapientiam quidem esse concesserat, sed iniustam.
These arguments are plainly subtle and poisonous, and Marcus Tullius could not refute them. For when he makes Laelius answer Furius and speak for justice, he passed these by unrefuted as if stepping around a pit, so that Laelius seems to have defended not natural justice, which had been charged with folly, but the civil kind, which Furius had granted to be wisdom but unjust.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cicero's Laelius evaded Carneades' arguments.
- Cicero, On the Republic 3 (fragments).
Extrabiblical texts: Cicero (Cicero; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Lactantius, Inst. 5.16.13 (CSEL 19:451–452; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/lactantius-institutes/5-11-1/#p-5-16-13).
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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).