Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 14.8

Minucius Felix · Octavius · ca. 197–250 · Rome · Read in context

Summary: Marcus worries that eloquence can make even plain truth look otherwise.

Latin text · CSEL 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.

English · Claude translation

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."

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:18 · Karl Halm, ed., M. Minucii Felicis Octavius; Iulii Firmici Materni Liber de errore profanarum religionum, CSEL 2 (Vienna: Gerold, 1867), 1–56 · Latin text: K. Halm (CSEL 2, 1867), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in CSEL 2. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 2; made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made) · Divided there by chapter only.

Notes

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR: words run together.): etquamquam → et quamquam.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/14/8/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 14.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/14/8/).

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