Octavius 26.7 · Sophia Scriptura

Summary: Octavius explains that impure spirits lie behind oracles.

Latin text · CSEL 2:38

At nonnumquam tamen ueritatem uel auspicia uel oracula tetigerunt. quamquam inter multa mendacia uideri possit industriam casus imitatus, adgrediar tamen fontem ipsum erroris et prauitatis, unde omnis caligo ista manauit, et altius eruere aperire manifestius. spiritus sunt insinceri, uagi, a caelesti uigore terrenis labibus et cupiditatibus degrauati.

English · Claude translation

'But sometimes auspices or oracles have touched the truth.' Although among many lies chance may seem to have imitated design, yet I will approach the very source of error and depravity, from which all this darkness has flowed, and dig it out more deeply and lay it open more plainly. There are spirits, impure and wandering, weighed down from heavenly vigour by earthly stains and desires.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 2:38 · 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.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 26.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/26/7/).

Plain text

Minucius Felix, Oct. 26.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/26/7/).