Octavius 1.1–16.6
Latin text: CSEL 2 (Latin text: K. Halm (CSEL 2, 1867), 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. 4 (1885).
Chapter 1
1.1CSEL 2:3
Cogitanti mihi et cum animo meo Octaui boni et fidelissimi contubernalis memoriam recensenti tanta dulcedo et adfectio hominis inhaesit, ut ipse quodammodo mihi uiderer in praeterita redire, non ea quae iam transacta et decursa sunt, recordatione reuocare:
As I was thinking, and going over in my mind the memory of Octavius, my good and most faithful companion, such sweetness and affection for the man clung to me that I seemed somehow to be going back into the past myself, and not merely to be calling back by recollection things already done and gone:
Notes and citation
Summary: The author, remembering his dead friend Octavius, feels as if he were living the past again.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 1.1 (CSEL 2:3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-1-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
1.2CSEL 2:3
ita eius contemplatio quantum subtracta est oculis, tantum pectori meo ac paene intimis sensibus inplicata est.
so much as the sight of him has been withdrawn from my eyes, so much has it been woven into my heart and almost into my inmost feelings.
Notes and citation
Summary: The less he can see Octavius, the more his friend lives in his heart.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 1.2 (CSEL 2:3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-1-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
1.3CSEL 2:3
nec inmerito decedens uir eximius et sanctus inmensum sui desiderium nobis reliquit, utpote cum et ipse tanto nostri semper amore flagrauerit, ut et in ludicris et seriis pari mecum uoluntate concineret eadem uelle uel nolle: crederes unam mentem in duobus fuisse diuisam.
And not without reason did that excellent and holy man, at his departure, leave us an immense longing for himself, since he himself always burned with such love for us that in play and in earnest alike he was in tune with me with an equal will, wanting and not wanting the same things: you would have thought that one mind had been divided between two.
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius loved his friend so much that they seemed to share one mind.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 1.3 (CSEL 2:3; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-1-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
1.4CSEL 2:3–4
sic solus in amoribus conscius, ipse socius in erroribus: et cum discussa caligine de tenebrarum profundo in lucem sapientiae et ueritatis emergerem, non respuit comitem, sed quod est gloriosius, praecucurrit.
So he alone was my confidant in my loves, my companion in my errors; and when, the mist dispelled, I was emerging from the depths of darkness into the light of wisdom and truth, he did not reject me as a companion, but, what is more glorious, he ran on ahead.
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius shared the author's former errors and came to the truth before him.
- The "errors" are the pagan life both men led before their conversion; Octavius became a Christian first.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 1.4 (CSEL 2:3–4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-1-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
1.5CSEL 2:4
itaque cum per uniuersam conuictus nostri et familiaritatis aetatem mea cogitatio uolueretur, in illo praecipue sermone eius mentis meae resedit intentio, quo Caecilium superstitiosis uanitatibus etiamnunc inhaerentem disputatione grauissima ad ueram religionem reformauit.
And so, while my thoughts were ranging over the whole span of our life together and our friendship, the attention of my mind settled above all on that conversation of his in which, by a most weighty argument, he brought back to the true religion Caecilius, who was still clinging to superstitious vanities.
Notes and citation
Summary: The author chooses to record the debate in which Octavius converted Caecilius.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "m" for "in".): m illo praecipue → in illo praecipue.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 1.5 (CSEL 2:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-1-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 2
2.1CSEL 2:4
Nam negotii et uisendi mei gratia Romam contenderat, relicta domo, coniuge, liberis, et quod est in liberis amabilius, adhuc annis innocentibus et adhuc dimidiata uerba temptantibus, loquellam ipso offensantis linguae fragmine dulciorem.
For he had hurried to Rome on business and to visit me, leaving his home, his wife, his children, and, what is most lovable in children, children still in their innocent years and still attempting half-formed words, a speech made sweeter by the very stumbling of the faltering tongue.
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius had come to Rome, leaving his wife and small children at home.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 2.1 (CSEL 2:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-2-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
2.2CSEL 2:4
quo in aduentu eius non possum exprimere sermonibus, quanto quamque inpatienti gaudio exultauerim, cum augeret maxime laetitiam meam amicissimi hominis inopinata praesentia.
At his arrival I cannot express in words with how great and how uncontainable a joy I leapt up, since the unexpected presence of my dearest friend most greatly increased my happiness.
Notes and citation
Summary: The author was overjoyed at his friend's unexpected arrival.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 2.2 (CSEL 2:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-2-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
2.3CSEL 2:4
igitur post unum et alterum diem, cum iam et auiditatem desiderii frequens adsiduitatis usus implesset et quae per absentiam mutuam de nobis nesciebamus, relatione alterna comperissemus, placuit Ostiam petere, amoenissimam ciuitatem, quod esset corpori meo siccandis umoribus de marinis lauacris blanda et adposita curatio: sane et ad uindemiam feriae iudiciariam curam relaxauerant. nam id temporis post aestiuam diem in temperiem semet autumnitas dirigebat.
So after a day or two, when constant companionship had satisfied the eagerness of our longing, and by telling each other in turn we had learned what we did not know about each other through our separation, we decided to go to Ostia, a most delightful town, because sea bathing would be a pleasant and suitable treatment for my body in drying up its humours; and besides, the vintage holidays had released me from my cares in the courts. For at that time, after the summer days, autumn was turning toward milder weather.
Notes and citation
Summary: During the grape-harvest holidays the friends went to Ostia for sea bathing.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 2.3 (CSEL 2:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-2-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
2.4CSEL 2:4
itaque cum diluculo ad mare inambulando litore pergeremus, ut et aura adspirans leniter membra uegetaret et cum eximia uoluptate molli uestigio cedens harena subsideret, Caecilius simulacro Serapidis denotato, ut uulgus superstitiosus solet, manum ori admouens osculum labiis inpressit.
So when at daybreak we were walking along the shore toward the sea, so that the gently blowing breeze might refresh our limbs and the sand, yielding to our soft tread, might sink beneath us with exquisite pleasure, Caecilius, noticing a statue of Serapis, raised his hand to his mouth, as the superstitious common people do, and pressed a kiss upon it with his lips.
Notes and citation
Summary: On the beach Caecilius blew a kiss to a statue of Serapis, as pagans did.
- Kissing the hand toward a god's image was a common pagan gesture of reverence.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 2.4 (CSEL 2:4; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-2-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 3
3.1CSEL 2:4–5
Tunc Octauius ait: Non boni uiri est, Marce frater, hominem domi forisque lateri tuo inhaerentem sic in hac inperitiae uulgaris caecitate deserere, ut tam luculento die in lapides eum patiaris inpingere, effigiatos sane et unctos et coronatos, cum scias huius erroris non minorem ad te quam ad ipsum infamiam redundare.
Then Octavius said: "It is not the part of a good man, brother Marcus, to abandon a man who clings to your side at home and abroad to this blindness of vulgar ignorance, so that on so bright a day you let him stumble against stones, carved, to be sure, and anointed and garlanded, when you know that the disgrace of this error redounds on you no less than on him."
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius rebukes Marcus for letting his friend Caecilius worship stone idols.
- Marcus is the narrator, Marcus Minucius Felix.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "m" for "in".): sic m hac → sic in hac.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 3.1 (CSEL 2:4–5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-3-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
3.2CSEL 2:5
cum hoc sermone eius medium spatium civitatis emensi iam liberum litus tenebamus.
With this talk of his we had crossed the middle of the town and were now on the open shore.
Notes and citation
Summary: Talking, they reached the open beach.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 3.2 (CSEL 2:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-3-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
3.3CSEL 2:5
ibi harenas extimas, uelut sterneret ambulacro, perfundens lenis unda tendebat, et ut semper mare etiam positis flatibus inquietum est, etsi non canis spumosisque fluctibus exibat ad terram, tamen crispis tortuosisque ibidem erroribus delectati perquam sumus, cum in ipso aequoris limine plantas tingueremus, quod uicissim nunc adpulsum nostris pedibus adluderet fluctus, nunc relabens ac uestigia retrahens in sese resorberet.
There a gentle wave, washing over the outermost sands, was stretching them smooth as if to lay out a promenade; and as the sea is always restless even when the winds have dropped, though it did not come up on the land in white and foaming breakers, still we were greatly delighted by its curling, winding wanderings there, as we dipped our feet at the very edge of the water, while the wave now struck against our feet and played about them, now slipped back and, drawing back our footprints, sucked itself in again.
Notes and citation
Summary: They walked at the water's edge, enjoying the gentle waves.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 3.3 (CSEL 2:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-3-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
3.4CSEL 2:5
sensim itaque tranquilleque progressi oram curui molliter litoris iter fabulis fallentibus legebamus. hae fabulae erant Octaui disserentis de nauigatione narratio.
So, advancing gradually and calmly, we followed the edge of the gently curving shore, beguiling the way with stories. These stories were Octavius's account of a sea voyage.
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius told them about a sea voyage as they walked.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 3.4 (CSEL 2:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-3-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
3.5CSEL 2:5
sed ubi eundi spatium satis iustum cum sermone consumpsimus, eandem emensi uiam rursus uersis uestigiis terebamus, et cum ad id loci uentum est, ubi subductae nauiculae substratis roboribus a terrena labe suspensae quiescebant, pueros uidimus certatim gestientes testarum in mare iaculationibus ludere.
But when we had spent a fair distance of walking in conversation, we turned around and trod the same way back again; and when we came to the place where small boats, drawn up and resting on timbers laid beneath them, were raised off the dirt of the ground, we saw boys eagerly competing at a game of throwing shells into the sea.
Notes and citation
Summary: On the way back they saw boys skipping shells on the water.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 3.5 (CSEL 2:5; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-3-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
3.6CSEL 2:5–6
is lusus est testam teretem iactatione fluctuum leuigatam legere de litore, eam testam plano situ digitis conprehensam inclinem ipsum atque humilem quantum potest super undas inrotare, ut illud iaculum uel dorsum maris raderet [uel enataret], dum leni impetu labitur, uel summis fluctibus tonsis emicaret [emergeret, dum adsiduo saltu subleuatur. is se in pueris uictorem ferebat, cuius testa et procurreret longius et frequentius exsiliret.
The game is to pick up from the shore a shell made smooth by the tossing of the waves, to hold the shell flat in the fingers, and, bending oneself as low as possible, to send it spinning over the waves, so that the missile either skims the back of the sea while it glides with a gentle impetus, or, shaving the tops of the waves, flashes up and is lifted by continual leaps. That boy counted himself the winner among the boys whose shell both ran farthest and leapt most often.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: The boys competed to see whose skipped shell went farthest and bounced most.
- The editor deletes "uel enataret" ("or swims out") and "emergeret" ("emerges"; its bracket is unclosed in the digital text); neither is translated.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 3.6 (CSEL 2:5–6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-3-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 4
4.1CSEL 2:6
Igitur cum omnes hac spectaculi uoluptate caperemur, Caecilius nihil intendere neque de contentione ridere, sed tacens, anxius, segregatus dolere nescio quid uultu fatebatur.
So while all of us were taken with the pleasure of this spectacle, Caecilius paid no attention and did not laugh at the contest, but, silent, anxious, and apart, showed by his face that he was pained by something.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius stood apart, silent and troubled.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: misread name.): Caecuius → Caecilius.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 4.1 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-4-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
4.2CSEL 2:6
cui ego: Quid hoc est rei? cur non agnosco, Caecili, alacritatem tuam illam?
I said to him: "What is the matter? Why do I not recognize that liveliness of yours, Caecilius?
Notes and citation
Summary: Marcus asks Caecilius why he is so gloomy.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 4.2 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-4-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
4.3CSEL 2:6
et illam oculorum etiam in seriis hilaritatem requiro. tum ille: Iam dudum me Octaui nostri acriter angit et remordet oratio, qua in te inuectus obiurgauit neglegentiae, ut me dissimulanter grauius argueret inscientiae..
I miss too that cheerfulness of your eyes, even in serious matters." Then he said: "For some while now the speech of our Octavius has been sharply vexing and gnawing at me, in which he attacked you and rebuked you for negligence, so as indirectly to accuse me more seriously of ignorance.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius says Octavius's rebuke has stung him, since it indirectly called him ignorant.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: misread letters.; OCR: words run together.): ocnloram → oculorum; meOctaui → me Octaui.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 4.3 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-4-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
4.4CSEL 2:6
itaque progrediar ulterius: de toto et integro mihi cum Octauio res est. si placet, ut ipsius sectae homo cum eo disputem, iam profecto intelleget facilius esse in contubernalibus disputare quam conserere sapientiam:
So I will go further: my business is with Octavius, wholly and entirely. If he agrees, I will argue with him as a man of his own sect, and he will surely understand that it is easier to argue among companions than to join battle in wisdom.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius challenges Octavius to a formal debate.
- The phrase "as a man of his own sect" is obscure; it may mean that Caecilius will argue as one well acquainted with Octavius's views. The text may be corrupt.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 4.4 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-4-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
4.5CSEL 2:6
modo in istis ad tutelam balnearum iactis et in altum procurrentibus petrarum obicibus residamus, ut et requiescere de itinere possimus et intentius disputare.
Only let us sit down on these barriers of rocks thrown out to protect the baths and running out into the deep, so that we can both rest from our walk and argue more attentively."
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius suggests they sit on the breakwater to debate.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 4.5 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-4-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
4.6CSEL 2:6
et cum dicto eius adsedimus, ita ut me ex tribus medium lateris ambitione protegerent: nec hoc obsequi fuit aut ordinis aut honoris, quippe cum amicitia pares semper aut accipiat aut faciat, sed ut arbiter et utrisque proximus aures darem et disceptantes duos medius segregarem.
And at his word we sat down, so that they placed me in the middle of the three, protecting me on either side; nor was this done out of deference or rank or honour, since friendship always either finds or makes men equal, but so that as arbiter, and nearest to both, I might give them my ears and, sitting in the middle, keep the two disputants apart.
Notes and citation
Summary: Marcus sits between the two as the judge of the debate.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 4.6 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-4-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 5
5.1CSEL 2:6
Tum sic Caecilius exorsus est: Quamquam tibi, Marce frater, de quo cum maxime quaerimus non sit ambiguum, utpote cum diligenter in utroque uiuendi genere uersatus repudiaris alterum, alterum conprobaris, in praesentiarum tamen ita tibi informandus est animus, ut libram teneas aequissimi iudicis nec in alteram partem propensus incumbas, ne non tam ex nostris disputationibus nata sententia quam ex tuis sensibus prolata uideatur.
Then Caecilius began thus: "Although for you, brother Marcus, the question we are chiefly inquiring into is not in doubt, since, having carefully lived in both ways of life, you have rejected the one and approved the other, still for the present you must so dispose your mind as to hold the balance of a most impartial judge and not lean inclined to one side, lest your verdict seem not so much born of our arguments as brought forth from your own feelings.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius asks Marcus, though a Christian, to judge the debate impartially.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.1 (CSEL 2:6; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.2CSEL 2:6–7
proinde si mihi quasi nouus aliqui et quasi ignarus partis utriusque considas, nullum negotium est patefacere, omnia in rebus humanis dubia, incerta, suspensa, magisque omnia uerisimilia quam uera.
So if you sit by me as someone new, as it were, and ignorant of both sides, it is no trouble to show that everything in human affairs is doubtful, uncertain, in suspense, and that all things are more probable than true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius argues that everything in human affairs is uncertain.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: stray accent.): patefacerè → patefacere.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.2 (CSEL 2:6–7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.3CSEL 2:7
quo minus mirum est nonnullos taedio inuestigandae penitus ueritatis cuilibet opinioni temere succumbere quam in explorando pertinaci diligentia perseuerare.
So it is the less surprising that some, out of weariness with searching thoroughly for the truth, rashly give in to any opinion whatever rather than persevere in investigating with persistent diligence.
Notes and citation
Summary: Many people, tired of searching, accept any opinion at random.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "a" for "u".): miram → mirum.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.3 (CSEL 2:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.4CSEL 2:7
itaque indignandum omnibus, indolescendum est audere quosdam, et hoc studiorum rudes, litterarum profanos, expertes artium etiam sordidarum, certum aliquid de summa rerum ac maiestate decernere, de qua tot omnibus saeculis sectarum plurimarum usque adhuc ipsa philosophia deliberat.
So all should be indignant, all should be pained, that certain people, and those untrained in study, strangers to letters, without skill even in the meaner crafts, dare to decide anything certain about the universe and its majesty, about which philosophy itself, with its many sects, has been deliberating through all these ages up to now.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius is indignant that uneducated Christians claim certainty about matters philosophers still debate.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.4 (CSEL 2:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.5CSEL 2:7
nec inmerito, cum tantum absit ab exploratione diuina humana mediocritas, ut neque quae supra nos caelo suspensa sublata sunt, neque quae infra terram profunda demersa sunt, aut scire sit datum aut scrutari permissum aut suspicari religiosum, et beati satis satisque prudentes iure uideamur, si secundum illud uetus sapientis oraculum nosmet ipsos familiarius nouerimus.
And not without reason, since human mediocrity is so far from the investigation of divine things that it is neither granted to know, nor permitted to search out, nor reverent to conjecture what is lifted up and hung in the heavens above us, or what is sunk deep below the earth; and we may rightly seem happy enough and wise enough if, according to that ancient oracle of the sage, we know ourselves more intimately.
Notes and citation
Summary: Humans cannot know heavenly things and should be content to know themselves.
- The "ancient oracle" is the Delphic maxim "Know yourself."
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.5 (CSEL 2:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.6CSEL 2:7
sed quatenus indulgentes insano atque inepto labori ultra humilitatis nostrae terminos euagamur et in terram proiecti caelum ipsum et ipsa sidera audaci cupiditate transcendimus, uel hunc errorem saltem non uanis et formidulosis opinionibus implicemus.
But since, indulging in an insane and foolish labour, we wander beyond the bounds of our lowliness, and, cast down upon the earth, we climb with bold desire beyond heaven itself and the stars themselves, let us at least not entangle this error with vain and fearful opinions.
Notes and citation
Summary: If we must speculate about the heavens, let us at least avoid frightening superstitions.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.6 (CSEL 2:7; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.7CSEL 2:7–8
sint principio omnium semina natura se coeunte densata, quis hic auctor deus? sint fortuitis concursionibus totius mundi membra coalita, digesta, formata, quis deus machinator? sidera licet ignis accenderit et caelum licet sua materia suspenderit, licet terram sua fundauerit pondere et mare licet confluxerit e liquore, unde haec religio, unde formido?
Suppose that in the beginning the seeds of all things were condensed by nature combining with itself: what god is the author here? Suppose that the members of the whole world were joined together, arranged, and formed by chance collisions: what god is the builder? Though fire may have kindled the stars, and the heaven may have been suspended by its own matter, and the earth founded by its own weight, and the sea flowed together from liquid, whence this religion, whence this fear?
Notes and citation
Summary: If the world arose from natural or chance causes, there is no need for a creator god or religious fear.
- The argument draws on Epicurean and atomist physics.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.7 (CSEL 2:7–8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.8CSEL 2:8
quae superstitio est? homo et animal omne quod nascitur, inspiratur, attollitur, elementorum ut uoluntaria concretio est, in quae rursum homo et animal omne diuiditur, soluitur, dissipatur: ita in fontem refluunt et in semet omnia reuoluuntur, nullo artifice nec iudice nec auctore.
What is this superstition? Man, and every animal that is born, receives breath, and grows up, is as it were a voluntary combination of the elements, into which man and every animal is again divided, dissolved, and dispersed: so all things flow back to their source and turn back into themselves, with no maker, no judge, no author.
Notes and citation
Summary: Living things simply combine from and dissolve back into the elements, with no creator or judge.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.8 (CSEL 2:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.9CSEL 2:8
sic congregatis ignium seminibus soles alios atque alios semper splendere, sic exalatis terrae uaporibus nebulas semper adolescere, quibus densatis coactisque nubes altius surgere, isdem labentibus pluuias fluere, flare uentos, grandines increpare, uel nimbis conlidentibus tonitrua mugire, rutilare fulgora, fulmina praemicare: adeo passim cadunt, montes inruunt, arboribus incurrunt, sine dilectu tangunt loca sacra et profana, homines noxios feriunt et saepe religiosos.
So, by the gathering of the seeds of fire, other and yet other suns always shine; so, by the vapours breathed out from the earth, mists always grow; when these are condensed and compressed, clouds rise higher; when the same fall, rains flow, winds blow, hail rattles; or, when storm clouds collide, thunder roars, lightnings flash red, thunderbolts flash forth: so much do they fall at random, rush upon mountains, strike trees, touch without distinction places sacred and profane, strike guilty men and often religious ones too.
Notes and citation
Summary: Weather and lightning arise naturally and strike the pious and the guilty alike.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "mm" for "min".): semmibus → seminibus.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.9 (CSEL 2:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.10CSEL 2:8
quid tempestates loquar uarias et incertas, quibus nullo ordine uel examine rerum omnium impetus uolutatur? in naufragiis bonorum malorumque fata mixta, merita confusa? in incendiis interitum conuenire insontium nocentiumque? et cum tabe pestifera caeli tractus inficitur, sine discrimine omnes deperire? et cum belli ardore saeuitur, meliores potius occumbere?
Why should I speak of the varied and uncertain storms, by which the onset of all things is tossed about without order or weighing? In shipwrecks, are not the fates of good and bad mixed together, their deserts confused? In fires, do not innocent and guilty meet the same death? And when a tract of the sky is infected with a pestilent plague, do not all perish without distinction? And when war rages hotly, do not the better men rather fall?
Notes and citation
Summary: Disasters kill good and bad without distinction.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.10 (CSEL 2:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-10).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.11CSEL 2:8
in pace etiam non tantum aequatur nequitia melioribus, sed et colitur, ut in pluribus nescias, utrum sit eorum detestanda prauitas an optanda felicitas.
In peace too wickedness is not only put on a level with the better sort but even honoured, so that in many cases you do not know whether their depravity should be detested or their prosperity desired.
Notes and citation
Summary: In peacetime the wicked often prosper.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "m" for "in".): m pace etiam → in pace etiam.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.11 (CSEL 2:8; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-11).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.12CSEL 2:8–9
quod si mundus diuina prouidentia et alicuius numinis auctoritate regeretur, numquam mereretur Phalaris et Dionysius regnum, numquam Rutilius et Camillus exilium, numquam Socrates uenenum.
But if the world were ruled by divine providence and by the authority of some deity, Phalaris and Dionysius would never have deserved a kingdom, nor Rutilius and Camillus exile, nor Socrates poison.
Notes and citation
Summary: If providence ruled, tyrants would not reign nor good men suffer.
- Phalaris of Acragas and Dionysius of Syracuse were proverbial tyrants; Rutilius Rufus and Camillus were upright Romans exiled; Socrates was condemned to drink hemlock.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.12 (CSEL 2:8–9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-12).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
5.13CSEL 2:9
ecce arbusta frugifera, ecce iam seges cana, iam temulenta uindemia imbri corrumpitur, grandine caeditur. adeo aut incerta nobis ueritas occultatur et premitur, aut quod magis credendum est, uariis et lubricis casibus soluta legibus fortuna dominatur.
See, the fruit-bearing trees, see, the crop already white, the vintage already heady, are spoiled by rain, cut down by hail. So either the truth is hidden and kept down, uncertain to us, or, what is more to be believed, Fortune, freed from laws, rules through varied and slippery chances."
Notes and citation
Summary: Harvests are ruined at random: either truth is hidden or blind chance rules.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 5.13 (CSEL 2:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-5-13).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 6
6.1CSEL 2:9
Cum igitur aut fortuna caeca aut incerta natura sit, quanto uenerabilius ac melius antistitem ueritatis maiorum excipere disciplinam, religiones traditas colere, deos, quos a parentibus ante inbutus es timere quam nosse familiarius, adorare, nec de numinibus ferre sententiam, sed prioribus credere, qui adhuc rudi saeculo in ipsis mundi natalibus meruerunt deos uel faciles habere uel reges? inde adeo per uniuersa imperia, prouincias, oppida uidemus singulos sacrorum ritus gentiles habere et deos colere municipes, ut Eleusinios Cererem, Phrygas Matrem, Epidaurios Aesculapium, Chaldaeos Belum, Astarten Syros, Dianam Taurios, Gallos Mercurium, numina uniuersa Romanos.
"Since, then, either Fortune is blind or nature uncertain, how much more reverent and better it is to receive the teaching of our ancestors as the high priest of truth, to cultivate the religions handed down, to worship the gods whom you were trained by your parents to fear before you knew them more intimately, and not to pass judgment on the divine powers but to believe those before us, who in an age still rude, at the very birth of the world, were worthy to have gods either as kindly helpers or as kings? Hence, then, we see throughout all empires, provinces, and towns that each people has its own rites of worship and worships local gods: the Eleusinians Ceres, the Phrygians the Mother, the Epidaurians Aesculapius, the Chaldaeans Bel, the Syrians Astarte, the Taurians Diana, the Gauls Mercury, the Romans all the divinities.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius argues it is better to keep the ancestral religion, as every people worships its own gods.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 6.1 (CSEL 2:9; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-6-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
6.2CSEL 2:9–10
sic eorum potestas et auctoritas totius orbis ambitum occupauit, sic imperium suum ultra solis uias et ipsius Oceani limites propagauit, dum exercent in armis uirtutem religiosam, dum urbem muniunt sacrorum religionibus, castis uirginibus, multis honoribus ac nominibus sacerdotum, dum obsessi et citra solum Capitolium capti colunt deos, quos alius iam spreuisset iratos, et per Gallorum acies mirantium superstitionis audaciam pergunt telis inermes, sed cultu religionis armati, dum captis hostilibus moenibus adhuc ferociente uictoria numina uicta uenerantur, dum undique hospites deos quaerunt et suos faciunt, dum aras extruunt interdum etiam ignotis numinibus et manibus.
So their power and authority has occupied the circuit of the whole world; so they have extended their empire beyond the paths of the sun and the bounds of Ocean itself, while they practise a religious valour in arms, while they fortify the city with the rites of sacred things, with chaste virgins, with many honours and titles of priests; while, besieged and captured except for the Capitol alone, they worship gods whom another would already have spurned as angry, and pass through the ranks of the Gauls, who marvel at the boldness of their superstition, unarmed with weapons but armed with the worship of religion; while, having taken the enemy's walls, with victory still raging, they venerate the conquered gods; while they seek out guest gods from everywhere and make them their own; while they build altars sometimes even to unknown divinities and to the shades of the dead.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rome won its empire by its piety, even adopting the gods of conquered peoples.
- The "chaste virgins" are the Vestals. The Capitol episode is the Gallic sack of Rome (ca. 390 BC), when Fabius Dorsuo passed through the Gallic lines to perform a sacrifice.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 6.2 (CSEL 2:9–10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-6-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
6.3CSEL 2:10
sic dum uniuersarum gentium sacra suscipiunt, etiam regna meruerunt. hinc perpetuus uenerationis tenor mansit, quae longa aetate non infringitur, sed augetur: quippe antiquitas caerimoniis atque fanis tantum sanctitatis tribuere consueuit quantum adstruxerit uetustatis.
So, while they took up the sacred rites of all nations, they also won kingdoms. Hence the unbroken course of veneration has remained, which is not weakened by long ages but increased; for antiquity is accustomed to attribute to ceremonies and temples as much sanctity as it has added of age.
Notes and citation
Summary: Roman religion grows more venerable with age.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 6.3 (CSEL 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-6-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 7
7.1CSEL 2:10
Nec tamen temere (ausim enim interim et ipse concedere et sic melius errare) maiores nostri aut obseruandis auguriis aut extis consulendis aut instituendis sacris aut delubris dedicandis operam nauauerunt.
"Nor was it rashly (for I would venture for the moment to concede this myself, and so err the better) that our ancestors gave their effort to observing auguries, consulting entrails, instituting sacred rites, or dedicating shrines.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Roman ancestors had good reason for their religious rites.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.1 (CSEL 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-7-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
7.2CSEL 2:10
specta de libris memoriam: iam eos deprehendes initiasse ritus omnium religionum, uel ut remuneraretur diuina indulgentia, uel ut auerteretur imminens ira aut iam tumens et saeuiens placaretur.
Look at the record in the books: you will find at once that they initiated the rites of all religions either that divine favour might be repaid, or that wrath impending might be averted, or, when already swelling and raging, might be appeased.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rites were begun to thank the gods or to turn away their anger.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.2 (CSEL 2:10; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-7-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
7.3CSEL 2:10–11
testis mater Idaea, quae aduentu suo et probauit matronae castitatem et urbem metu hostili liberauit: testes equestrium fratrum in lacu, sicut se ostenderant, statuae consecratae, qui anheli spumantibus equis atque fumantibus de Perse uictoriam eadem die qua fecerant nuntiauerunt: testis ludorum offensi Iouis de somnio plebei hominis iteratio; et Deciorum deuotio rata testis est: testis et Curtius, qui equitis sui uel mole uel honore hiatum profundae uoraginis coaequauit.
Witness the Idaean Mother, who by her arrival both proved a matron's chastity and freed the city from fear of the enemy; witness the statues of the horsemen brothers consecrated at the pool where they had shown themselves, who, panting, on foaming and steaming horses, announced the victory over Perseus on the same day they had won it; witness the repetition of the games, when Jupiter had been offended, from the dream of a man of the people; and the self-sacrifice of the Decii is a valid witness; witness too Curtius, who filled the chasm of a deep abyss with the bulk, or with the honour, of his rider's body.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius lists famous Roman stories as proof of the gods' presence.
- The stories: the arrival of Cybele's image (204 BC) and Claudia Quinta; Castor and Pollux at the Lake of Juturna announcing the victory at Pydna (168 BC); the repeated games after the dream of Titus Latinius; the Decii devoting themselves to death in battle; Marcus Curtius leaping into the chasm in the Forum.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "n" for "u".): offensi Ionis → offensi Iouis.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.3 (CSEL 2:10–11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-7-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
7.4CSEL 2:11
frequentius etiam quam uolebamus deorum praesentiam contempta auspicia contestata sunt. sic Allia nomen infaustum, sic Claudi et Iuni non proelium in Poenos, sed ferale naufragium est, et ut Trasymenus Romanorum sanguine et maior esset et decolor, spreuit auguria Flaminius, et ut Parthos signa repeteremus, dirarum inprecationes Crassus et meruit et inrisit.
Even more often than we wished, auspices despised have testified to the presence of the gods. So the Allia is an ill-omened name; so the affair of Claudius and Junius against the Carthaginians was not a battle but a deadly shipwreck; and so that the Trasimene might be both larger and discoloured with Roman blood, Flaminius spurned the auguries; and so that we must seek back our standards from the Parthians, Crassus both deserved and mocked the imprecations of the Furies.
Notes and citation
Summary: Roman disasters followed contempt for the auspices.
- The Allia was the defeat by the Gauls (ca. 390 BC); Claudius Pulcher and Junius Pullus lost fleets in the First Punic War after ignoring omens; Flaminius was defeated at Lake Trasimene (217 BC); Crassus was killed at Carrhae (53 BC) after ignoring curses.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.4 (CSEL 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-7-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
7.5CSEL 2:11
omitto uetera quae multa sunt, et de deorum natalibus, donis, muneribus neglego carmina poetarum, praedicta etiam de oraculis fata transilio, ne uobis antiquitas nimium fabulosa uideatur. intende templis ac delubris deorum, quibus Romana ciuitas et protegitur et ornatur: magis sunt augusta numinibus incolis, praesentibus, inquilinis quam cultu, insignibus et muneribus opulenta.
I pass over the old stories, which are many; I neglect the poets' songs about the births, gifts, and rewards of the gods; I skip over even the fates foretold by oracles, lest antiquity seem to you too full of fables. Look at the temples and shrines of the gods, by which the Roman city is both protected and adorned: they are more august by their divine inhabitants, present and indwelling, than rich in worship, ornaments, and gifts.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rome's temples are made sacred by the gods who dwell in them.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: word split by a line-break hyphen.): tem-, plis → templis.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.5 (CSEL 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-7-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
7.6CSEL 2:11
inde adeo pleni et mixti deo uates futura praecerpunt, dant cautelam periculis, morbis medellam, spem adflictis, opem miseris, solacium calamitatibus, laboribus leuamentum. etiam per quietem deos uidemus, audimus, agnoscimus, quos impie per diem negamus, nolumus, peieramus.
Hence, then, prophets filled with and mingled with the god pluck the future beforehand, give warning of dangers, healing to diseases, hope to the afflicted, help to the wretched, comfort in calamities, relief in labours. Even in sleep we see, hear, and recognize the gods whom by day we impiously deny, refuse, and forswear.
Notes and citation
Summary: Prophets and dreams show the gods are real.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 7.6 (CSEL 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-7-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 8
8.1CSEL 2:11
Itaque cum omnium gentium de dis inmortalibus, quamuis incerta sit uel ratio uel origo, maneat tamen firma consensio, neminem fero tanta audacia tamque inreligiosa nescio qua prudentia tumescentem, qui hanc religionem tam uetustam, tam utilem, tam salubrem dissoluere aut infirmare nitatur.
"So, since among all nations there remains a firm agreement about the immortal gods, however uncertain their nature or origin may be, I cannot bear anyone swelling with such boldness and with some irreligious wisdom or other, as to strive to dissolve or weaken this religion, so ancient, so useful, so wholesome.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius cannot tolerate anyone attacking a religion that all nations agree on.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 8.1 (CSEL 2:11; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-8-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
8.2CSEL 2:11–12
sit licet ille Theodorus Cyrenaeus, uel qui prior Diagoras Melius, cui atheon cognomen adposuit antiquitas, qui uterque nullos deos adseuerando timorem omnem, quo humanitas regitur, uenerationemque penitus sustulerunt: numquam tamen in hac inpietatis disciplina simulatae philosophiae nomine atque auctoritate pollebunt.
Let it be that famous Theodorus of Cyrene, or Diagoras of Melos before him, to whom antiquity gave the surname 'atheist', both of whom, by asserting that there are no gods, did away entirely with all the fear by which humankind is governed, and with veneration: yet never in this school of impiety will they prevail by the name and authority of a pretended philosophy.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even famous atheist philosophers never gained real authority.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 8.2 (CSEL 2:11–12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-8-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
8.3CSEL 2:12
cum Abderiten Protagoram Athenienses uiri consulte potius quam profane de diuinitate disputantem et expulerint suis finibus et in contione eius scripta deusserint, quid homines (sustinebitis enim me impetum susceptae actionis liberius exerentem) homines, inquam, deploratae, inlicitae ac desperatae factionis grassari in deos non ingemescendum est?
When the men of Athens expelled Protagoras of Abdera from their territory and burned his writings in the assembly, because he argued about the divinity deliberately rather than profanely, is it not a matter for groaning that men (for you will bear with me as I give freer rein to the impetus of the case I have undertaken), men, I say, of a deplorable, unlawful, and desperate faction should rage against the gods?
Notes and citation
Summary: If Athens punished Protagoras, how much worse is the Christians' attack on the gods.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 8.3 (CSEL 2:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-8-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
8.4CSEL 2:12
qui de ultima faece collectis imperitioribus et mulieribus credulis sexus sui facilitate labentibus plebem profanae coniurationis instituunt, quae nocturnis congregationibus et ieiuniis sollemnibus et inhumanis cibis non sacro quodam, sed piaculo foederatur, latebrosa et lucifuga natio, in publicum muta, in angulis garrula: templa ut busta despiciunt, deos despuunt, rident sacra, miserentur miseri ipsi, si fas est,
They gather from the lowest dregs the more ignorant men and credulous women, who fall easily through the weakness of their sex, and establish a rabble of profane conspiracy, which is bound together by nocturnal gatherings, solemn fasts, and inhuman food, not by any sacred rite but by an abomination: a skulking, light-shunning tribe, silent in public, chattering in corners. They despise temples as tombs, spit upon the gods, laugh at sacred rites; wretched themselves, they pity, if it is lawful to say so,
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius describes Christians as a secret, low-class conspiracy that despises the gods.
Topics: Fasting
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 8.4 (CSEL 2:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-8-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
8.5CSEL 2:12
sacerdotum, honores etpurpuras despiciunt, ipsi seminudi, pro mira stultitia et incredibilis audacia! spernunt tormenta praesentia, dum incerta metuunt et futura, et dum mori post mortem timent, interim mori non timent: ita illis pauorem fallax spes solacio rediuiuo blanditur.
the priests; they despise honours and purple robes, themselves half-naked. What wonderful folly, what incredible boldness! They spurn present torments while they fear uncertain future ones, and while they fear to die after death, they do not fear to die meanwhile: so deceitful hope soothes their fear with the comfort of coming back to life.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians scorn present tortures out of fear of future punishment and hope of resurrection.
Topics: Martyrdom, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 8.5 (CSEL 2:12; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-8-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 9
9.1CSEL 2:12–13
Ac iam, ut fecundius nequiora proueniunt, serpentibus in dies perditis moribus per uniuersum orbem sacraria ista taeterrima impiae coitionis adolescunt. eruenda prorsus haec et execranda consensio.
"And now, as the worse things grow more fruitfully, with corrupt morals creeping on daily, these most foul shrines of an impious assembly are growing up throughout the whole world. This confederacy must be utterly rooted out and cursed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius says the Christian sect is spreading everywhere and must be destroyed.
Topics: Persecution
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.1 (CSEL 2:12–13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
9.2CSEL 2:13
occultis se notis et insignibus noscunt et amant mutuo paene antequam nouerint: passim etiam inter eos uelut quaedam libidinum religio miscetur, ac se promisce appellant fratres et sorores, ut etiam non insolens stuprum intercessione sacri nominis fiat incestum. ita eorum uana et demens superstitio sceleribus gloriatur.
They know each other by secret marks and signs, and love one another almost before they know one another; everywhere also a kind of religion of lust is mingled among them, and they call one another brothers and sisters indiscriminately, so that even ordinary debauchery becomes incest by the use of the sacred name. So their vain and mad superstition glories in crimes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius repeats the rumour that Christian 'brothers and sisters' commit incest.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.2 (CSEL 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
9.3CSEL 2:13
nec de ipsis, nisi subsisteret ueritas, maxime nefaria et honore praefanda sagax fama loqueretur. audio eos turpissimae pecudis caput [asini] consecratum inepta nescio qua persuasione uenerari: digna et nata religio talibus moribus!
Nor would shrewd rumour speak of the most wicked things about them, things to be mentioned only with an apology, unless truth lay beneath. I hear that, by some foolish persuasion or other, they worship the consecrated head of a most disgraceful beast: a religion worthy of such morals and born of them!
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius repeats the slander that Christians worship an ass's head.
- The editor deletes "asini" ("of an ass") as an explanatory gloss, so it is not translated; the charge of worshipping an ass's head is answered in 28.7.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.3 (CSEL 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
9.4CSEL 2:13
alii eos ferunt ipsius antistitis ac sacerdotis colere genitalia et quasi parentis sui adorare naturam: nescio an falsa, certe occultis ac nocturnis sacris adposita suspicio! et qui hominem summo supplicio pro facinore punitum et crucis ligna feralia eorum caerimonias fabulatur, congruentia perditis sceleratisque tribuit altaria, ut id colant quod merentur.
Others say that they worship the genitals of their very overseer and priest, and adore, as it were, the nature of their parent: I do not know whether this is false, but the suspicion certainly fits secret and nocturnal rites. And he who tells that their ceremonies involve a man punished with the supreme penalty for a crime, and the deadly wood of the cross, assigns to lost and wicked men altars that suit them, so that they worship what they deserve.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius mocks Christians for worshipping a crucified criminal and repeats other obscene rumours.
Topics: Christology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.4 (CSEL 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
9.5CSEL 2:13
iam de initiandis tirunculis fabula tam detestanda quam nota est. infans farre contectus, ut decipiat incautos, adponitur ei qui sacris inbuatur. is infans a tirunculo farris superficie quasi ad innoxios ictus prouocato caecis occultisque uulneribus occiditur. huius, pro nefas! sitienter sanguinem lambunt, huius certatim membra dispertiunt, hac foederantur hostia, hac conscientia sceleris ad silentium mutuum pignerantur. haec sacra sacrilegiis omnibus taetriora.
Now the story about the initiation of novices is as detestable as it is well known. An infant covered with meal, to deceive the unwary, is set before the one being initiated into the rites. This infant is killed with blind and hidden wounds by the novice, who is urged on to strike what seem harmless blows at the surface of the meal. Its blood (O horror!) they lick up thirstily; its limbs they eagerly divide among themselves; by this victim they are bound in league; by this complicity in crime they are pledged to mutual silence. These rites are fouler than all sacrileges.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius repeats the slander that Christian initiates kill and eat a baby.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "fanis" for "farris" (meal; cf. "farre contectus" earlier in the section).): fanis superficie → farris superficie.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.5 (CSEL 2:13; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
9.6CSEL 2:13–14
et de conuiuio notum est; passim omnes locuntur, id etiam Cirtensis nostri testatur oratio. ad epulas sollemni die coeunt cum omnibus liberis, sororibus, matribus, sexus omnis homines et omnis aetatis. illic post multas epulas, ubi conuiuium caluit et incestae libidinis ebriatis feruor exarsit, canis, qui candelabro nexus est, iactu offulae ultra spatium lineae, qua uinctus est, ad impetum et saltum prouocatur.
And about their banquet it is well known; everyone speaks of it everywhere; the speech of our man from Cirta also testifies to it. On a solemn day they gather for a feast with all their children, sisters, mothers, people of every sex and every age. There, after much feasting, when the banquet has grown warm and the heat of incestuous lust has flared up in the drunken, a dog that is tied to the lampstand is provoked to rush and leap by a morsel thrown beyond the length of the cord by which it is bound.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius describes the rumoured Christian banquet that ends in the lamp being knocked over.
- "Our man from Cirta" is Marcus Cornelius Fronto, the orator from Cirta in Numidia, whose speech against the Christians is lost.
Topics: Eucharist
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.6 (CSEL 2:13–14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
9.7CSEL 2:14
sic euerso et extincto conscio lumine inpudentibus tenebris nexus infandae cupiditatis inuoluunt per incertum sortis, etsi non omnes opera, conscientia tamen pariter incesti, quoniam uoto uniuersorum adpetitur quicquid accidere potest in actu singulorum.
So, the light that would have been a witness being overturned and put out, in shameless darkness they entwine in the embraces of unspeakable lust as chance decides; and if not all in deed, yet all alike in complicity are guilty of incest, since whatever can happen in the act of individuals is sought by the wish of all.
Notes and citation
Summary: In the dark, the rumour says, they commit incest at random.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "m" for "in".): mpudentibus → inpudentibus.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 9.7 (CSEL 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-9-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 10
10.1CSEL 2:14
Multa praetereo consulto: nam et haec nimis multa sunt, quae aut omnia aut pleraque [omnium] uera declarat ipsius prauae religionis obscuritas.
"I pass over many things deliberately; for even these are too many, and the very secrecy of this depraved religion declares that all or most of them are true.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius says Christian secrecy proves the rumours true.
- The editor deletes "omnium"; it is not translated.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.1 (CSEL 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-10-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
10.2CSEL 2:14
cur etenim occultare et abscondere quicquid illud colunt magnopere nituntur, cum honesta semper publico gaudeant, scelera secreta sint? cur nullas aras habent, templa nulla, nulla nota simulacra, numquam palam loqui, numquam libere congregari, nisi illud, quod colunt et interprimunt, aut puniendum est aut pudendum?
For why do they strive so hard to hide and conceal whatever it is they worship, when honourable things always rejoice in publicity while crimes are secret? Why do they have no altars, no temples, no known images? Why do they never speak openly, never assemble freely, unless what they worship and suppress is either punishable or shameful?
Notes and citation
Summary: Why do Christians have no temples, altars, or images, and meet in secret, unless they have something to hide?
- The digital text has no section 10.3.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.2 (CSEL 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-10-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
10.4CSEL 2:14
Iudaeorum sola et misera gentilitas unum et ipsi deum, sed palam, sed templis, aris, uictimis caerimoniisque coluerunt, cuius adeo nulla uis nec potestas est, ut sit Romanis numinibus cum sua sibi natione captiuus.
The Jews alone, a wretched people, also worshipped one God, but openly, with temples, altars, victims, and ceremonies; yet he has so little strength or power that he is a captive of the Roman divinities together with his own nation.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the Jews' one God was defeated along with his people by Rome.
- The reference is to the Roman capture of Jerusalem and destruction of the temple (AD 70).
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.4 (CSEL 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-10-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
10.5CSEL 2:14–15
at iam Christiani quanta monstra, quae portenta confingunt! Deum illum suum, quem nec ostendere possunt nec uidere, in omnium mores, actus omnium, uerba denique et occultas cogitationes diligenter inquirere: discurrentem scilicet atque ubique praesentem molestum illum uolunt, inquietum, inpudenter etiam curiosum, siquidem adstat factis omnibus, locis omnibus intererrat, cum nec singulis inseruire possit per uniuersa districtus nec uniuersis sufficere in singulis occupatus.
But now, what monsters, what prodigies the Christians invent! That God of theirs, whom they can neither show nor see, they say inquires diligently into the conduct of all, the acts of all, even their words and hidden thoughts; running about, of course, and present everywhere; they want him to be troublesome, restless, even shamelessly curious, since he stands by at all deeds and wanders among all places, although he can neither attend to individuals while distracted by the whole, nor suffice for the whole while occupied with individuals.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius mocks the idea of an invisible God who sees everything.
- The digital text has no sections 10.6–10.7.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.5 (CSEL 2:14–15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-10-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
10.8CSEL 2:14
unde autem uel quis ille aut ubi deus unicus, solitarius, destitutus, quem non gens libera, non regna, non saltem Romana superstitio nouerunt?
And whence, or who, or where is that one God, solitary, forsaken, whom no free nation, no kingdoms, not even Roman superstition has known?
Notes and citation
Summary: Who is this lonely God whom no nation knows?
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 10.8 (CSEL 2:14; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-10-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 11
11.1CSEL 2:15
Quid? quod toto orbi et ipsi mundo cum sideribus suis minantur incendium, ruinam moliuntur, quasi aut naturae diuinis legibus constitutus aeternus ordo turbetur aut rupto elementorum omnium foedere et caelesti conpage diuisa moles ista, qua continetur et cingitur, subruatur.
"What of the fact that they threaten the whole earth and the world itself with its stars with a conflagration, and plan its ruin, as if either the eternal order of nature, established by divine laws, could be disturbed, or, the league of all the elements being broken and the heavenly framework split apart, this mass by which it is contained and girded could be overthrown?
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius ridicules the Christian belief that the world will end in fire.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.1 (CSEL 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.2CSEL 2:15
nec hac furiosa opinione contenti aniles fabulas adstruunt et adnectunt: renasci se ferunt post mortem et cineres et fauillas et nescio qua fiducia mendaciis suis inuicem credunt: putes eos iam reuixisse.
And not content with this mad opinion, they build on and attach old wives' tales: they say that they are born again after death, from cinders and ashes, and with some confidence or other they believe one another's lies: you would think they had already come back to life.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians believe the dead will rise from their ashes.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.2 (CSEL 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.3CSEL 2:15
anceps malum et gemina dementia, caelo et astris, quae sic relinquimus, ut inuenimus, interitum denuntiare, sibi mortuis et extinctis, qui sicut nascimur et interimus, aeternitatem repromittere!
A double evil and twin madness: to announce destruction to the sky and the stars, which we leave as we found them, and to promise eternity to themselves, dead and extinguished, who perish just as we are born!
Notes and citation
Summary: They predict the end of the stars but eternity for themselves.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.3 (CSEL 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.4CSEL 2:15
inde uidelicet et execrantur rogos et damnant ignium sepulturas, quasi non omne corpus, etsi flammis subtrahatur, annis tamen et aetatibus in terram resoluatur, nec intersit, utrum ferae diripiant an maria consumant an humus contegat an flamma subducat, cum cadaueribus omnis sepultura, si sentiunt, poena sit, si non sentiunt, ipsa conficiendi celeritate medicina.
Hence, of course, they curse funeral pyres and condemn burial by fire, as if every body, even if withdrawn from the flames, were not nevertheless dissolved into earth by years and ages; and it makes no difference whether wild beasts tear it apart or seas consume it or the ground covers it or flame takes it away, since for corpses every burial, if they feel, is a punishment, and if they do not feel, is a remedy in the very speed of its consuming.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians reject cremation, though every body decays anyway.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.4 (CSEL 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.5CSEL 2:15
hoc errore decepti beatam sibi ut bonis et perpetem uitam mortuis pollicentur, ceteris ut iniustis poenam sempiternam. multa ad haec subpetunt, ni festinet oratio. iniustos ipsos magis nec laboro, iam docui: quamquam, etsi iustos darem, culpam tamen uel innocentiam fato tribui sententia est plurimorum, etiam uestra consensio est.
Deceived by this error, they promise themselves, as good men, a blessed and everlasting life after death, and to others, as unjust, eternal punishment. Much comes to mind to say about this, but my speech is in haste. That they themselves are rather the unjust I need not labour to show; I have already shown it. And yet, even if I granted that they were just, it is the opinion of most that guilt or innocence is assigned by fate, and your agreement concurs.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians promise heaven to themselves and hell to others, yet they themselves believe everything is determined.
- The sentence "iniustos ipsos magis nec laboro" is awkward in the text; the sense given is probable.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: stray period inside a phrase.): poenam. sempiternam → poenam sempiternam.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.5 (CSEL 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.6CSEL 2:15
nam quicquid agimus, ut alii fato, ita uos deo addicitis: sic sectae uestrae non spontaneos cupere, sed electos.
For whatever we do, as others ascribe it to fate, so you ascribe it to God; so it is not those who are willing who desire your sect, but those who are chosen.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians attribute everything to God's choice, as others do to fate.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.6 (CSEL 2:15; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.7CSEL 2:15–16
igitur iniquum iudicem fingitis qui sortem in hominibus puniat, non uoluntatem. uellem tamen sciscitari, utrumne cum corporibus an sine corporibus, et corporibus quibus, ipsisne an innouatis resurgatur? sine corpore? hoc, quod sciam, neque mens neque anima nec uita est. ipso corpore? sed iam ante dilapsum est. alio corpore? ergo homo nouus nascitur, non prior ille reparatur.
So you imagine an unjust judge, who punishes in men their lot, not their will. Yet I should like to ask whether the resurrection is with bodies or without bodies, and with which bodies, the same ones or renewed ones. Without a body? That, as far as I know, is neither mind nor soul nor life. With the same body? But it has already fallen to pieces. With another body? Then a new man is born, not the former one restored.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius asks what kind of body could rise again.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.7 (CSEL 2:15–16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.8CSEL 2:16
et tamen tanta aetas abiit, saecula innumera fluxerunt: quis unus ullus ab inferis uel Protesilai sorte remeauit, horarum saltem.. permisso commeatu, uel ut exemplo crederemus?
And yet so long a time has passed, countless ages have flowed by: what single person has come back from the underworld, even with the lot of Protesilaus, with leave granted for a few hours at least, so that we might believe by an example?
Notes and citation
Summary: No one has ever come back from the dead.
- Protesilaus, the first Greek killed at Troy, was allowed by the gods to return to his wife for a few hours.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.8 (CSEL 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
11.9CSEL 2:16
omnia ista figmenta male sanae opinionis et inepta solacia a poetis fallacibus in dulcedinem carminis lusa a uobis nimium credulis in deum uestrum turpiter reformata sunt.
All these fictions of an unsound opinion, and foolish consolations, made up in play by lying poets for the sweetness of their verse, have been disgracefully refashioned by you, who are too credulous, to suit your God.
Notes and citation
Summary: The resurrection is a poets' fable that Christians have borrowed.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 11.9 (CSEL 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-11-9).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 12
12.1CSEL 2:16
Nec saltem de praesentibus capitis experimentum, quam uos inritae pollicitationis cassa uota decipiant: quid post mortem inpendeat, miseri,-dum adhuc uiuitis, aestimate.
"You do not even take a lesson from present things, how the empty wishes of a vain promise deceive you: consider, wretched men, while you are still alive, what threatens you after death.
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius tells Christians to learn from their present misery.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.1 (CSEL 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
12.2CSEL 2:16
ecce pars uestrum, et maior, melior, ut dicitis, egetis algetis, opere fame laboratis, et Deus patitur dissimulat, non uult aut non potest opitulari suis: ita aut inualidus aut iniquus est.
See, part of you, and the larger and better part, as you say, are in want, suffer cold, labour with toil and hunger; and your God allows it, pretends not to see; he does not wish or is not able to help his own: so he is either powerless or unjust.
Notes and citation
Summary: Most Christians are poor, so their God is either weak or unjust.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.2 (CSEL 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
12.3CSEL 2:16
tu, qui inmortalitatem postumam somnias, cum periculo quateris, cum febribus ureris, cum dolore laceraris, nondum condicionem tuam sentis? nondum adgnoscis fragilitatem? inuitus miser infirmitatis argueris nec fateris.
You who dream of immortality after death, when you are shaken by danger, burned with fever, torn with pain, do you not yet perceive your condition? Do you not yet recognize your frailty? Wretch, you are convicted of weakness against your will, and do not confess it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sickness should teach Christians their mortality.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "n" for "u".): tn, qui → tu, qui.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.3 (CSEL 2:16; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
12.4CSEL 2:16–17
sed omitto communia. ecce uobis minae, supplicia, tormenta, et iam non adorandae sed subeundae cruces, ignes etiam quos et praedicitis et timetis: ubi deus ille, qui subuenire reuiuescentibus potest, uiuentibus non potest?
But I pass over common things. See, threats, punishments, tortures are ready for you, and crosses now not to be worshipped but to be undergone, fires too, which you both predict and fear: where is that God who can help men when they come back to life but cannot help the living?
Notes and citation
Summary: Why does God not rescue Christians from torture and execution?
Topics: Persecution, Martyrdom
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.4 (CSEL 2:16–17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
12.5CSEL 2:17
nonne Romani sine uestro deo imperant regnant, fruuntur orbe toto uestrique dominantur? uos uero suspensi interim atque solliciti honestis uoluptatibus abstinetis, non spectacula uisitis, non pompis interestis, conuiuia publica absque uobis, sacra certamina, praecerptos cibos et delibatos altaribus potus abhorretis. sic reformidatis deos quos negatis.
Do not the Romans, without your God, rule and reign, enjoy the whole world, and lord it over you? You, meanwhile, in suspense and anxiety, abstain from honourable pleasures: you do not attend the shows, you take no part in processions, public banquets are held without you; you shrink from the sacred games, from food of which a first portion has been taken and from drink poured in libation on the altars. So you dread the gods whom you deny.
Notes and citation
Summary: Romans prosper without the Christian God, while Christians shun public festivities connected with the gods.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.5 (CSEL 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
12.6CSEL 2:17
non floribus caput nectitis, non corpus odoribus honestatis: reseruatis unguenta funeribus, coronas etiam sepulcris denegatis, pallidi trepidi, misericordia digni, sed nostrorum deorum. ita nec resurgitis miseri nec interim uiuitis.
You do not bind your heads with flowers, you do not grace your bodies with perfumes; you reserve ointments for funerals, you even refuse garlands to tombs, pale, trembling, worthy of pity, but the pity of our gods. So, wretched men, you neither rise again nor live in the meantime.
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians deny themselves life's pleasures and gain nothing hereafter.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.6 (CSEL 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
12.7CSEL 2:17
proinde si quid sapientiae uobis aut uerecundiae est, desinite caeli plagas et mundi fata et secreta rimari: satis est pro pedibus aspicere maxime indoctis, inpolitis, rudibus, agrestibus, quibus non est datum intellegere ciuilia, multo magis denegatum est disserere diuina.
So if you have any wisdom or modesty, stop prying into the regions of the sky and the destinies and secrets of the world: it is enough to look at what lies before your feet, especially for the unlearned, unpolished, rude, and rustic, to whom it is not given to understand civil affairs, much less is it allowed to discuss divine things."
Notes and citation
Summary: Uneducated people should not speculate about divine matters.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "n" for "u".): ant uerecundiae → aut uerecundiae.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 12.7 (CSEL 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-12-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 13
13.1CSEL 2:17
Quamquam si philosophandi libido est, Socraten, sapientiae principem, quisque uestrum tantus est, si potuerit, imitetur. eius uiri, quotiens de caelestibus rogabatur, nota responsio est: quod supra nos, nihil ad nos.
"Yet if you have a desire to philosophize, let any of you who is great enough imitate, if he can, Socrates, the prince of wisdom. That man's answer, whenever he was asked about heavenly things, is well known: 'What is above us is nothing to us.'
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius commends Socrates' refusal to speculate about the heavens.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.1 (CSEL 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-13-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
13.2CSEL 2:17
merito ergo de oraculo testimonium meruit prudentiae singularis. quod oraculum, idem ipse persensit, idcirco uniuersis se esse praepositum, non quod omnia comperisset, sed quod nihil se scire didicisset: ita confessae inperitiae summa prudentia est.
Rightly, therefore, he earned from the oracle the testimony of singular wisdom. He himself perceived that oracle's meaning: that he was set above all men not because he had discovered everything but because he had learned that he knew nothing. So the highest wisdom is the confession of ignorance.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates was wisest because he knew he knew nothing.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.2 (CSEL 2:17; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-13-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
13.3CSEL 2:17–18
hoc fonte defluxit Arcesilae et multo post Carneadis et Academicorum plurimorum in summis quaestionibus tuta dubitatio, quo genere philosophari et caute indocti. possunt et docti gloriose.
From this source flowed the safe doubt of Arcesilaus, and much later of Carneades and most of the Academics, on the highest questions; in this manner the unlearned can philosophize cautiously, and the learned gloriously.
Notes and citation
Summary: The sceptical Academy learned from Socrates to suspend judgment.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.3 (CSEL 2:17–18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-13-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
13.4CSEL 2:18
quid, Simonidis melici nonne admiranda omnibus et sectanda cunctatio? qui Simonides, cum de eo, quid et quales arbitraretur deos, ab Hierone tyranno quaereretur, primo deliberationi diem petiit, postridie biduum prorogauit, mox: alterum tantum admonitus adiunxit. postremo cum causas tantae morae tyrannus inquireret, respondit ille, quod sibi quanto inquisitio tardior pergeret, tanto ueritas fieret obscurior.
What of the lyric poet Simonides? Is not his hesitation to be admired and followed by all? When the tyrant Hiero asked this Simonides what he thought the gods were, and of what kind, he first asked for a day to consider; the next day he put it off for two days; then, when reminded, he added as many again. Finally, when the tyrant asked the reasons for so long a delay, he replied that the slower his inquiry went, the more obscure the truth became for him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Simonides kept postponing his answer about the gods because the question grew harder.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.4 (CSEL 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-13-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
13.5CSEL 2:18
mea quoque opinione quae sunt dubia, ut sunt, relinquenda sunt, nec tot ac tantis uiris deliberantibus temere et audaciter in alteram partem ferenda sententia est, ne aut anilis inducatur superstitio aut omnis religio destruatur.
In my opinion too, what is doubtful should be left, as it is, doubtful; and when so many great men are deliberating, one should not rashly and boldly give a verdict for one side, lest either an old wives' superstition be introduced or all religion be destroyed."
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius concludes that doubtful questions about the gods should be left undecided.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.5 (CSEL 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-13-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 14
14.1CSEL 2:18
Sic Caecilius et renidens (nam indignationis eius tumorem effusae orationis impetus relaxauerat): Ecquid ad haec, ait, audet Octauius, homo Plautinae prosapiae, ut Christianorum praecipuus, ita postremus philosophorum?
So Caecilius spoke, and, smiling (for the flow of his outpoured speech had eased the swelling of his indignation), he said: "Does Octavius dare anything in reply to this, a man of the race of Plautus, as foremost of the Christians, so last of the philosophers?"
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius finishes and taunts Octavius.
- "Of the race of Plautus" probably means a man of low birth, like the comic playwright Plautus, who was said to have worked a mill; the exact point is uncertain.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.1 (CSEL 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
14.2CSEL 2:18
Parce, inquam, in eum plaudere: neque enim prius exultare te dignum est concinnitate sermonis, quam utrimque plenius fuerit peroratum, maxime cum non laudi, set ueritati disceptatio uestra nitatur.
"Stop applauding yourself against him," I said; "for it is not fitting for you to exult in the elegance of your speech before both sides have been more fully argued, especially since your debate strives not for praise but for truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Marcus tells Caecilius not to celebrate before Octavius has replied.
- The digital text has no section 14.3.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.2 (CSEL 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
14.4CSEL 2:18–19
id accidere pernotum est auditorum facilitate, qui dum uerborum lenocinio a rerum intentionibus auocantur, sine dilectu adsentiuntur dictis omnibus nec a rectis falsa secernunt, nescientes inesse et in incredibili uerum et in uerisimili mendacium.
It is very well known that this happens through the easiness of hearers, who, while they are drawn away from the substance of things by the allurement of words, assent without discrimination to everything said and do not separate false from right, not knowing that there is truth even in the incredible and falsehood in the probable.
Notes and citation
Summary: Listeners are easily misled by eloquence.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.4 (CSEL 2:18–19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
14.5CSEL 2:19
itaque quo saepius adseuerationibus credunt, eo frequentius a peritioribus arguuntur: sic adsidue temeritate decepti culpam iudicii sui transferunt ad incerti querellam, ut damnatis omnibus malint uniuersa suspendere quam de fallacibus iudicare.
So the more often they believe assertions, the more frequently they are refuted by the more skilful; thus, constantly deceived by their rashness, they transfer the blame of their own judgment to a complaint about uncertainty, so that, having condemned everything, they prefer to suspend judgment on all things rather than judge between deceptive ones.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those often deceived end up doubting everything.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.5 (CSEL 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
14.6CSEL 2:19
igitur nobis prouidendum est, ne odio identidem sermonum omnium laboremus ita, ut in execrationem et odium hominum plerique simpliciores efferantur. nam incaute creduli circumueniuntur ab iis quos bonos putauerunt: mox errore consimili iam suspectis omnibus ut improbos metuunt etiam quos optimos sentire potuerunt.
So we must take care not to suffer from a hatred of all arguments in such a way as many simpler people are carried into cursing and hatred of men. For, credulous without caution, they are cheated by those they thought good; soon, by a like error, now suspecting everyone, they fear as wicked even those whom they could have found to be the best.
Notes and citation
Summary: Disillusionment with arguments should not become distrust of everything, as disillusion with people can.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.6 (CSEL 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
14.7CSEL 2:19
nos proinde solliciti, quod utrimque omni in negotio disseratur et ex altera parte plerumque obscura sit ueritas, ex altero latere mira subtilitas, quae nonnumquam ubertate dicendi fidem confessae probationis imitetur, diligenter quantum potest singula ponderemus, ut argutias quidem laudare, ea uero quae recta sunt, eligere, probare, suscipere possimus.
Therefore let us, anxious because in every matter both sides are argued, and on one side the truth is often obscure, while on the other there is a wonderful subtlety which sometimes by its fullness of speech imitates the credibility of acknowledged proof, weigh each point carefully as far as possible, so that we may praise the cleverness, but choose, approve, and accept what is right.
Notes and citation
Summary: Every point should be weighed carefully, praising cleverness but choosing what is true.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.7 (CSEL 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-7).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
14.8CSEL 2:18
et quamquam magnum in modum me subtili uarietate tua delectarit oratio, tamen altius moueor, non de praesenti actione, sed de toto genere disputandi, quod plerumque pro disserentium uiribus et eloquentiae potestate etiam perspicuae ueritatis condicio mutetur.
And although your speech has delighted me very much with its subtle variety, yet I am more deeply moved, not about the present case, but about the whole manner of debating, because often, according to the strength of the speakers and the power of their eloquence, the status even of evident truth is changed."
Notes and citation
Summary: Marcus worries that eloquence can make even plain truth look otherwise.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: words run together.): etquamquam → et quamquam.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.8 (CSEL 2:18; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-14-8).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 15
15.1CSEL 2:19
Decedis, inquit Caecilius, officio iudicis religiosi: nam periniurium est uires te actionis meae intergressu grauissimae disputationis infringere, cum Octauius integra et inlibata debeat singula, si potest, refutare.
"You are departing from the duty of a conscientious judge," said Caecilius; "for it is very unfair of you to weaken the force of my case by interposing a most weighty argument, when Octavius ought to refute each point, if he can, whole and untouched."
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius protests that Marcus is weakening his case before Octavius replies.
- "Intergressu" ("by interposing") is an odd form in the digital text; the sense is clear.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 15.1 (CSEL 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-15-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
15.2CSEL 2:19
Id quod criminaris, inquam, in commune, nisi fallor, conpendium protuli, ut examine scrupuloso nostram sententiam non eloquentiae tumore, sed rerum ipsarum soliditate libremus, nec auocanda, quod quereris, diutius intentio, cum toto silentio liceat responsionem Ianuari nostri iam gestientis audire.
"What you accuse me of," I said, "I put forward for our common benefit, unless I am mistaken, so that by a scrupulous examination we might weigh our verdict not by the swelling of eloquence but by the solidity of the facts themselves. Nor should our attention be diverted longer, as you complain, since in complete silence we may now hear the reply of our Januarius, who is eager to begin."
Notes and citation
Summary: Marcus explains his remarks and invites Octavius (Januarius) to reply.
- Octavius's full name was Octavius Januarius.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: words run together.): necauocanda → nec auocanda.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 15.2 (CSEL 2:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-15-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Chapter 16
16.1CSEL 2:19–20
Et Octauius: Dicam equidem, ut potero pro uiribus, et adnitendum tibi mecum est, ut conuiciorum amarissimam labem uerborum ueracium flumine diluamus- nec dissimulabo principio ita Natalis mei errantem, uagam, lubricam nutasse sententiam, ut sit nobis ambigendum, utrum uersutia turbata sit, an uacillauerit per errorem.
And Octavius said: "I will speak, indeed, as well as I can with my strength, and you must strive with me to wash away the most bitter stain of these insults with a river of true words. Nor will I conceal at the outset that the opinion of my friend Natalis has wavered so erratically, so vaguely, so slipperily, that we must be in doubt whether it was confused by cunning or tottered through error.
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius begins his reply by pointing out that Caecilius contradicted himself.
- Natalis is Caecilius's cognomen (Caecilius Natalis).
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 16.1 (CSEL 2:19–20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-16-1).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
16.2CSEL 2:20
nam interim deos credere, interim se deliberare uariauit, ut propositionis incerto incertior responsionis nostrae intentio fundaretur. sed in Natali meo uersutiam nolo, non credo: procul est ab eius simplicitate subtilis urbanitas. quid igitur?
For he varied, now believing in gods, now saying that he was deliberating, so that the aim of our answer might be laid on a foundation more uncertain than the uncertainty of his proposition. But in my Natalis I do not wish to assume cunning, I do not believe it: subtle sophistication is far from his simplicity. What then?
Notes and citation
Summary: Caecilius both affirmed the gods and claimed to be undecided, but not from cunning.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "in" read as "m" and "d" as "a" throughout the phrase (interim ... interim).): mcerim aeos creaere, mteum se aeliberare → interim deos credere, interim se deliberare.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 16.2 (CSEL 2:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-16-2).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
16.3CSEL 2:20
ut qui rectam uiam nescit, ubi, ut fit, in plures una diffinditur, [quia uiam nescit] haeret anxius nec singulas audet eligere nec uniuersas probare: sic cui non est ueri stabile iudicium, prout infida suspicio spargitur.
As a man who does not know the right road, when, as happens, one road splits into several, sticks there anxious and dares neither to choose any single one nor to approve them all: so for one who has no firm judgment of the truth, his opinion is scattered as his unreliable suspicion leads.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Like a traveller unsure of the way at a fork, Caecilius wavers without a firm judgment.
- The editor deletes "quia uiam nescit" ("because he does not know the road") as a repetition; it is not translated.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "cl" for "d".): cliffinditur → diffinditur.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 16.3 (CSEL 2:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-16-3).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
16.4CSEL 2:20
ita eius dubia opinio dissipatur. nullum itaque miraculum est, si Caecilius identidem in contrariis ac repugnantibus iactetur, aestuet, fluctuetur. quod ne fiat ulterius, conuincam et redarguam. quamuis sint diuersa quae dicta sunt, una ueritate confirmata probataque nec dubitandum ei de cetero est nec uagandum.
So his doubtful opinion is scattered. It is therefore no wonder if Caecilius is tossed again and again among contrary and conflicting ideas, if he seethes and wavers. That this may happen no longer, I will refute and disprove him. Although the things said are various, once one truth is established and proved, he need neither doubt nor wander any longer about the rest.
Notes and citation
Summary: Octavius promises to establish one truth that will settle Caecilius's doubts.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 16.4 (CSEL 2:20; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-16-4).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
16.5CSEL 2:20–21
et quoniam meus frater erupit, aegre se ferre, stomachari, indignari, dolere, inliteratos, pauperes, inperitos de rebus caelestibus disputare, sciat omnes homines sine dilectu aetatis, sexus, dignitatis rationis et sensus capaces et habiles procreatos nec fortuna nanctos, sed natura insitos esse sapientiam: quin. ipsos etiam philosophos, uel si qui alii artium repertores in memorias exierunt, priusquam sollertia mentis parerent nominis claritatem, habitos esse plebeios, indoctos, seminudos: adeo diuites facultatibus suis inligatos magis aurum suspicere consuesse quam caelum, nostrates pauperes et commentos esse prudentiam et tradidisse ceteris disciplinam. unde apparet ingenium non dari facultatibus nec studio parari, sed cum ipsa mentis formatione generari.
And since my brother has burst out that he takes it ill, is angry, indignant, and pained that the illiterate, the poor, the unskilled should discuss heavenly things, let him know that all human beings, without distinction of age, sex, or rank, are created capable and fit for reason and understanding, and that they have wisdom not acquired by fortune but implanted by nature. Indeed, even the philosophers themselves, or any others who have gone down in memory as discoverers of the arts, before they won a famous name by the skill of their minds, were counted common, unlearned, half-naked. So true is it that the rich, bound up in their wealth, have been accustomed to look up to gold rather than to heaven, while our kind of men, the poor, have both discovered wisdom and handed on its teaching to others. From this it is clear that talent is not given by wealth nor acquired by study, but is begotten with the very formation of the mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: All people, rich or poor, are born capable of reason; wisdom has often come from the poor.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: "n" for "u".): mens frater → meus frater.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 16.5 (CSEL 2:20–21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-16-5).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
16.6CSEL 2:21
nihil itaque indignandum uel dolendum, si quicumque de diuinis quaerat, quae sentiat proferat, cum non disputantis auctoritas, sed disputationis ipsius ueritas requiratur. atque etiam, quo imperitior sermo, hoc inlustrior ratio est, quoniam non fucatur pompa facundiae et gratiae, sed, ut est, recti regula sustinetur.
So there is nothing to be indignant or pained about if anyone at all who inquires about divine things puts forward what he thinks, since what is sought is not the authority of the one arguing but the truth of the argument itself. And indeed, the less skilled the speech, the clearer the reasoning, since it is not painted over with the pomp of eloquence and charm but is upheld, as it is, by the rule of what is right.
Notes and citation
Summary: What matters is not who argues but whether the argument is true; plain speech makes truth clearer.
Cite (SBL): Minucius Felix, Oct. 16.6 (CSEL 2:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/1-1/#p-16-6).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.