PL 6 · cols. 253–346

L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius, Divinarum Institutionum liber secundus, De origine erroris

Editors' preface

PL 6:253

LIBER SECUNDUS.

BOOK II.

DE ORIGINE ERRORIS.

ON THE ORIGIN OF ERROR.

CAPUT PRIMUM.

CHAPTER I.

Quod rationis oblivio faciat homines ignorantes veri Dei, qui colitur in adversis, et in prosperis contemnitur.

That forgetfulness of reason makes men ignorant of the true God, Who is worshipped in adversity and despised in prosperity.

Quamquam primo libro religiones deorum falsas esse monstraverim; quod ii, quorum varios dissimilesque cultus per universam terram consensus hominum stulta persuasione suscepit, mortales fuerint, functique vita, divinae necessitati morte concesserint; tamen ne qua dubitatio relinquatur, hic secundus liber fontem ipsum patefaciet errorum, causasque omnes explicabit, quibus decepti homines, et primitus

Although in the first book I have shown that the religions of the gods are false, because those whose various and dissimilar cults the consent of men has taken up throughout the whole earth through a foolish persuasion were mortal, and, having finished their life, yielded by death to the divine necessity; nevertheless, so that no doubt may be left, this second book will lay open the very source of the errors, and will set out all the causes by which men were deceived, and first

Editors' notes and page, col. 253

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running head: 253 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[...] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A hominum (Cap. 15), nocere tamen; B Atque hactenus haec disputatio; C Dei, qui colitur in adversis; D (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: editors' matter set: the analysis of Book II continued from the previous column (hominum (Cap. 15), nocere tamen...), ending mid-sentence at "tractarit,"; full-width title LIBER SECUNDUS / DE ORIGINE ER[RORIS] stands between the analysis and CAPUT PRIMUM, cut off, not set; full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE above the page-foot notes not set; the notes (Gestio enim, Constantine Imperator...; Convictis inanibus...) are left for the later pass; last word "primi-" is split at the column break
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other: the column opens with the end of the previous work (another unit); not set here: the unit begins at CAPUT PRIMUM.
running head: 253 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 254
marginal letters: A ‹hominum (Cap. 15), nocere tamen› (editors' Analysis); B ‹Atque hactenus haec disputatio› (editors' Analysis); C ‹Dei, qui colitur in adversis› (caption line); D (not visible on this page)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: The upper part of the page (both columns) is the end of the editors' Analysis of Book II (ending "SCULTETUS."), not set. The paragraph runs on into col. 254; "primi-|tus" is hyphenated across the columns and set whole here (joined on receipt check). VARIORUM NOTAE at the foot not set.

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deos esse crediderint, et postmodum inveterata persuasione in susceptis pravissime Religionibus perseveraverint. Gestio enim, Constantine Imperator, convictis inanibus, et hominum impia vanitate detecta, singularis Dei asserere majestatem, suscipiens utilius et majus officium revocandi homines a pravis itineribus, et in gratiam secum ipsos reducendi, ne se (ut quidam philosophi faciunt) tantopere despiciant, neve se infirmos, et supervacuos, et nihil, et frustra omnino natos putent. Quae opinio plerosque ad vitia compellit. Nam dum existimant, nulli Deo nos esse curae, aut post mortem nihil futuros, totos se libidinibus addicunt, et dum licere sibi putant,

believed them to be gods, and afterwards, by an inveterate persuasion, persevered most perversely in the religions they had taken up. For I am eager, Emperor Constantine, once the empty things have been refuted and the impious vanity of men laid bare, to assert the majesty of the one God, taking up the more useful and greater duty of calling men back from crooked ways and of bringing them back into favour with themselves, so that they may not (as certain philosophers do) despise themselves so greatly, nor think themselves weak, and superfluous, and nothing, and born altogether in vain. This opinion drives very many to vices. For while they suppose that we are a care to no God, or that after death we shall be nothing, they give themselves wholly over to their lusts, and while they think it is permitted to them,

Editors' notes and page, col. 254

Footnotes

(Gestio enim, Constantine Imperator) ‹anchor: perseveraverint. Gestio enim› · call in col 254 Gestio enim, Constantine Imperator. Haec duo postrema verba sunt in antiquissimo 900 annorum codice Regio, in alio item Reg., 7 Vaticanis, 2 Lipsiensibus, Balliol., Marm. et in editis Soubron., Fasitel. 1545, Gymn. 1555, Betul., Tornes., 2 Paris., Thomas., Thys., Gall., Spark., Cellar., Walch. At in Rhoanneo et Sangerm., Soubron., 2 Paris. multis, desunt. Regio-Puteanus habet in titulo ad Constantinum Imperatorem.

Gestio enim, Constantine Imperator ("For I am eager, Emperor Constantine"). These last two words are in the very ancient Royal codex, 900 years old, likewise in another Royal, in 7 Vatican, 2 Leipzig manuscripts, the Balliol, the Marmoutier, and in the editions of Soubron, Fasitelius 1545, Gymnicus 1555, Betuleius, Tornaesius, 2 Paris editions, Thomasius, Thysius, Gallaeus, Sparke, Cellarius, Walch. But in the Rhoanneus and the Sangermanensis, in Soubron, and in many Paris editions they are lacking. The Regio-Puteanus has in the title ad Constantinum Imperatorem ("to the Emperor Constantine").

(Convictis inanibus) ‹anchor: Imperator, convictis inanibus› · call in col 254 Convictis inanibus. Ita reposui ex mss. 6 Reg., quorum duo sunt veterrimi, 1 Lips., Em., Gat., Marm. et Vict. in marg., edit. Rom., 1470, Gymnic., Fasit., Torn., Thom., Is., Thys., Cellar., Walch., et sic legere malo cum eruditis viris Jo. Clerico in Arte Critic. P. III, S. I. c. 4, p. 44, Cellario et Walchio. Plane enim mihi persuasi pro in positum fuisse m; quod amanuensibus saepe contigisse notum est. Nam legendum omnino videtur inanibus, nempe diis, qui rectius opponuntur singulari Deo, quam manes. 1 Clarom. habet, convictis diis inanibus; 1 Colb. prave, conjunctis inanibus; in 16 aliis mss. recent. et 5 editis est convictis manibus. Vide infra, l. III, c. 30 convictis philosophiae disciplinis, etc.

Convictis inanibus ("the empty ones refuted"). So I have restored it from 6 Royal manuscripts, two of them very old, 1 Leipzig, the Emmanuel, the Gatianus, the Marmoutier, and the Victorine in the margin, the Rome edition of 1470, Gymnicus, Fasitelius, Tornaesius, Thomasius, Isaeus, Thysius, Cellarius, Walch; and I prefer to read so with learned men, John Le Clerc in his Ars Critica, Part III, Sect. I, ch. 4, p. 44, Cellarius and Walch. For I am fully persuaded that m was put for in, which is known often to have happened to copyists. For inanibus ("the empty ones"), that is, the gods, plainly seems the reading, since they are more rightly set against the singular God than manes ("the shades"). 1 Clermont manuscript has convictis diis inanibus ("the empty gods refuted"); 1 Colbert wrongly conjunctis inanibus ("the empty ones joined"); in 16 other recent manuscripts and 5 editions it is convictis manibus ("the shades refuted"). See below, book III, ch. 30, convictis philosophiae disciplinis ("the teachings of philosophy refuted"), etc.

(Vanitate detecta) ‹anchor: impia vanitate detecta› · call in col 254 Vanitate detecta. Non male Goth. vanitate dejecta. BUN.

Vanitate detecta ("their vanity exposed"). Not badly the Gotha manuscript: vanitate dejecta ("their vanity cast down"). BÜNEMANN.

(Suscipiens) ‹anchor: majestatem, suscipiens› · call in col 254 Suscipiens. Quaedam editiones habent suspicans, quod idem est.

Suscipiens ("taking up"). Some editions have suspicans, which is the same.

(Quidam philosophi) ‹anchor: ut quidam philosophi› · call in col 254 Quidam philosophi. Hic perstringit Lactantius Epicureos.

Quidam philosophi ("certain philosophers"). Here Lactantius is glancing at the Epicureans.

(Et nihil, et frustra) ‹anchor: supervacuos, et nihil, et frustra› · call in col 254 Et nihil, et frustra. Ita restituimus ex mss. 7 Reg. quorum duo sunt vetustissimi, 4 Colbert., Goth., Ult., Bonon. minus antiq., Em., Cantabrig., Brun., edit. Egnat., Paris. 1525, Fasit., Graph. In recentioribus, 2 Reg., 3 Lips., Cauc., Pen., Rostoch., Pal., 2 Clarom., Christ., 1 Colb., edit. Rom. 1470, Gymn., Betul., Tornes., Cellar., est, et nihil; quod abest a ms. 1 Bon. antiq. et editis quinque rec. In 1 Colb. et ad nihil, et frustra. Alicubi legitur nihili pro nihil, in quem locum notam habet sequentem Bunemannus. — Et nihili. Merito Cellarius ex Lips. tribus et Betul. recepit: habent et mss. C. C. C. Reimm., Ultr., Cauc., Pal. et Tornes. Prius confirmo ex Lact., l. I, c. 11: Qui sit et mortalis, et imbecillus, et nihili; et l. VI, c. 22: Insipiens, et ineptus, et nihili est. BUN.

Et nihil, et frustra ("and nothing, and born in vain"). So we have restored it from 7 Royal manuscripts, two of them very old, 4 Colbert, the Gotha, the Utrecht, the less ancient Bologna, the Emmanuel, the Cambridge, the Brunswick, the editions of Egnatius, Paris 1525, Fasitelius, Gryphius. In the more recent ones, 2 Royal, 3 Leipzig, the Caucian, the Penrose, the Rostock, the Palatine, 2 Clermont, the Christina, 1 Colbert, the Rome edition of 1470, Gymnicus, Betuleius, Tornaesius, Cellarius, it is et nihil; which is missing from 1 ancient Bologna manuscript and five recent editions. In 1 Colbert: et ad nihil, et frustra ("and for nothing, and in vain"). In some places nihili is read for nihil, on which passage Bünemann has the following note. — Et nihili ("and worthless"). Cellarius rightly received it from three Leipzig manuscripts and Betuleius; the manuscripts C. C. C., Reimmann's, the Utrecht, the Caucian, the Palatine and Tornaesius also have it. I confirm the former from Lactantius, book I, ch. 11: Who would be both mortal, and weak, and worthless; and book VI, ch. 22: He is foolish, and inept, and worthless. BÜNEMANN.

(Nulli Deo) ‹anchor: nulli Deo› · call in col 254 Nulli Deo. De hoc etiam in prioribus primi libri capitibus dictum est, ac rursus dicetur in opere de Ira Dei. Nulli refertur ad Curae.

Nulli Deo ("to no God"). This was also spoken of in the earlier chapters of the first book, and will be spoken of again in the work On the Wrath of God. Nulli ("to no") refers to curae ("a care").

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running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 254
marginal letters: A quod scilicet inveteratos errores; B defectionem Chami et posteritatis; C perseveraverint. Gestio enim; D (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: editors' matter set: ‹quod scilicet inveteratos errores› (end of the book's argument, continued from col. 253) and ‹Altera libri hujus pars›, ending SCULTETUS; "pii" before Noe is damaged type (prints like "pji"); full-width title LIBER SECUNDUS. DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. printed across both columns between the argument and the text, cut off at the image edge, not set; column text begins "tus", the rest of "primi-tus" broken from col. 253; VARIORUM NOTAE at the page foot (Vanitate detecta ... Nulli Deo) not set, left for the later pass
other: the 3 paragraph(s) of this column above the full-width band are set under col 253 (reading order, moved on receipt)
running head: 253 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 254
marginal letters: A ‹quod scilicet inveteratos errores› (editors' Analysis); B ‹defectionem Chami et posteritatis› (editors' Analysis); C ‹perseveraverint. Gestio enim› (approx.); D (not visible on this page)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: Continues mid-paragraph from col. 253 ("primitus" set whole there). Editors' Analysis at the top of the column not set. "in gratiam secum ipsos reducendi" rendered "bringing them back into favour with themselves" (i.e. reconciling them to themselves).

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hauriendis voluptatibus sitienter incumbunt, per quas imprudentes in laqueos mortis incurrunt; ignorant enim quae sit hominis ratio. Quam si tenere vellent, in primis Dominum suum agnoscerent, virtutem justitiamque sequerentur, terrenis figmentis animas suas non substernerent, mortiferas libidinum suavitates non appeterent: denique seipsos magni aestimarent, atque intelligerent plus esse in homine, quam videtur, cujus vim conditionemque non aliter possent retinere, nisi cultum veri parentis sui, deposita pravitate, susceperint. Equidem, sicut oportet, de summa rerum saepenumero cogitans, admirari soleo majestatem Dei singularis, quae continet regitque omnia, in tantam venisse oblivionem, ut quae sola coli debeat, sola potissimum negligatur; homines autem ipsos ad tantam caecitatem esse deductos ut vero ac vivo Deo mortuos praeferant, terrenos autem sepultosque in terra ei qui fundator ipsius terrae fuit.

thirstily devote themselves to drinking in pleasures, through which they run unawares into the snares of death; for they do not know what the nature of man is. If they were willing to hold to it, they would first of all acknowledge their Lord, follow virtue and justice, not prostrate their souls before earthly figments, and not seek after the deadly sweetnesses of the lusts: in short, they would value themselves highly, and understand that there is more in man than is seen, whose power and condition they could not retain otherwise than if, having laid aside depravity, they took up the worship of their true parent. Indeed, reflecting often, as one ought, upon the whole of things, I am accustomed to marvel that the majesty of the one God, which contains and rules all things, has come into such oblivion that, though it alone ought to be worshipped, it alone above all is neglected; and that men themselves have been led into such blindness that they prefer the dead to the true and living God, and earthly ones, buried in the earth, to Him Who was the founder of the earth itself.

Et tamen huic impietati hominum posset venia concedi, si omnino ab ignorantia divini nominis veniret hic error. Cum vero ipsos deorum cultores saepe videamus Deum summum et confiteri et praedicare, quam sibi veniam sperare possunt impietatis suae? qui non agnoscunt cultum ejus, quem prorsus ignorari ab homine fas non est. Nam et cum jurant, et cum optant, et cum gratias agunt, non Jovem aut deos multos, sed Deum nominant: adeo ipsa veritas,

And yet pardon could be granted to this impiety of men, if this error came entirely from ignorance of the divine name. But since we often see the very worshippers of the gods both confess and proclaim the supreme God, what pardon for their impiety can they hope for? they who do not acknowledge the worship of Him of Whom it is not permitted that man should be wholly ignorant. For both when they swear, and when they make wishes, and when they give thanks, they name not Jupiter or many gods, but God: so far does truth itself,

Editors' notes and page, col. 255

Footnotes

(Hauriendis voluptatibus sitienter incumbunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 255 Hauriendis voluptatibus sitienter incumbunt. Ms. 1 Brun. et edit. Paris., 1525, sitientes. Ms. 2 Colb. et 1 Clarom. scienter, prave. Genuina lectio sitienter, id est, avide. Cicero Tuscul. 217, a. Nec sitienter quid appetens. Prudentius Cathemerin. IV, v. 88, Sitienter haurire. WALCH.

Hauriendis voluptatibus sitienter incumbunt ("they bend thirstily to draining pleasures"). 1 Brunswick manuscript and the Paris edition of 1525: sitientes ("thirsting"). 2 Colbert manuscripts and 1 Clermont: scienter ("knowingly"), wrongly. The genuine reading is sitienter, that is, greedily. Cicero, Tusculans 217 a: "Nor thirstily seeking anything." Prudentius, Cathemerinon IV, line 88: "To drink thirstily." WALCH.

(Dominum suum) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 255 Dominum suum. Ita ms. Rohan. et Sangermann., quod est rectius, quam Deum suum, ut habent vulgatae editiones.

Dominum suum ("their Lord"). So the Rohan and Sangermanensis manuscripts, which is more correct than Deum suum ("their God"), as the common editions have.

(Suavitates) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 255 Suavitates. Sic reposuimus ex ms. 2 Bonon. et 5 Reg., quorum duo sunt antiquissimi, Tax., 2 Lips., Goth., 1 Colb., 2 Clarom. In recentioribus mss. et in editis est voluptates.

Suavitates ("sweetnesses"). So we have restored it from 2 Bologna manuscripts and 5 Royal, two of them very ancient, the Taxian, 2 Leipzig, the Gotha, 1 Colbert, 2 Clermont. In the more recent manuscripts and in the editions it is voluptates ("pleasures").

(Plus esse in homine) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 255 Plus esse in homine. Id desumptum est ex Platonis Timaeo et Cratylo. Vide et Lactant. de Opificio Dei, c. 19 et 20.

Plus esse in homine ("that there is more in man"). This is taken from Plato's Timaeus and Cratylus. See also Lactantius, On the Workmanship of God, chs. 19 and 20.

(Possent retinere) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 255 Possent retinere. Ita restituimus ex mss. 1 Bonon. antiquiore, et 1 Clarom. In caeteris est, posse retineri in 1 Reg., posset.

Possent retinere ("they could retain"). So we have restored it from 1 older Bologna manuscript and 1 Clermont. In the rest it is posse retineri ("could be retained"); in 1 Royal, posset.

(Susceperint) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 255 Susceperint. Forte, susciperent.

Susceperint ("they have taken up"). Perhaps susciperent ("they were taking up").

(Praeferant) ‹anchor: mortuos praeferant› · call in col 255 Praeferant. Rostoch. et Ultr.. anteferant.

Praeferant ("they prefer"). The Rostock and Utrecht manuscripts: anteferant ("they set before").

(Sepultosque in terra ei) ‹anchor: sepultosque in terra ei› · call in col 255 Sepultosque in terra ei. Ms. 1 Clarom. et recentes edd. septem addunt praeponant; perperam, cum mox praecesserit verbum praeferant.

Sepultosque in terra ei ("and those buried in the earth to him"). 1 Clermont manuscript and seven recent editions add praeponant ("they put before"); wrongly, since the verb praeferant has just gone before.

(Nominis) ‹anchor: ignorantia divini nominis› · call in col 255 Nominis. Heumannus credit legendum esse numinis. At non mutamus lectionem mss. et editorum.

Nominis ("name"). Heumann believes numinis ("divinity") should be read. But we do not change the reading of the manuscripts and editions.

(Quem prorsus ignorari ab homine fas non est) ‹anchor: quem prorsus ignorari› · call in col 255 Quem prorsus ignorari ab homine fas non est. Id est, qui ut prorsus ignoretur ab homine fieri non potest. Affirmavit enim errorem ab ignoratione divini nominis non venisse. Ad rem pertinet Tertull. Apolog. c. 17: Haec est summa delicti nolentium recognoscere, quem ignorare non possunt. BUN.

Whom it is not right to be wholly unknown by man. That is, who cannot possibly be wholly unknown by man. For he has asserted that the error did not come from ignorance of the divine name. Tertullian, Apology ch. 17, bears on the point: "This is the sum of the guilt of those who refuse to acknowledge him whom they cannot be ignorant of." BÜNEMANN.

(Sed Deum nominant) ‹anchor: sed Deum nominant› · call in col 255 Sed Deum nominant. Cypr. Idol. Van. cap. V: Dici frequenter audimus: O Deus; et, Deus videt; et, Deo commendo; et, Deus mihi reddet; et, Quod vult Deus; et, Si Deus dederit. Atque haec est summa delicti, nolle agnoscere quem ignorare non possis. BUN.

Sed Deum nominant ("but they name God"). Cyprian, On the Vanity of Idols, ch. V: "We often hear it said: O God; and, God sees; and, I commend it to God; and, God will repay me; and, What God wills; and, If God grants. And this is the sum of the guilt, to refuse to acknowledge him whom you cannot be ignorant of." BÜNEMANN.

(Debent) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 256 Debent. Sic reposui ex omnibus mss. et 4 edd. In 14 impressis est deberent; sed male.

Debent ("they ought"). So I have restored it from all the manuscripts and 4 editions. In 14 printed ones it is deberent ("they would owe"); but wrongly.

(Si qua necessitas) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 256 Si qua necessitas. Sic Lucret. l. 3: . . . . Rebus in arctis / Acrius advertunt animos ad relligionem. Optime Rivetus, in notis suis mss. ad hunc auctorem compertum est, optimos esse nos dum aegri sumus; unde recte optat Plinius, ut tales esse sani perseveremus, quales nos futuros esse profitemur aegroti.

Si qua necessitas ("if any need"). So Lucretius, book 3: ". . . . In straitened times / they turn their minds more keenly to religion." Very well Rivet, in his manuscript notes on this author: it is found that we are at our best while we are sick; whence Pliny rightly wishes that in health we may persevere in being such as we profess we will be when sick.

(Confugitur) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 256 Confugitur. Melius cum sequentibus cohaeret ex cunctis pene mss. quam confugiunt, quod est duorum rec. mss. Reg. et editorum.

Confugitur ("refuge is taken"), from almost all the manuscripts, fits better with what follows than confugiunt ("they take refuge"), which is the reading of two recent Royal manuscripts and of the editions.

(Potius) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 256 Potius. Sic restituo ex omnibus mss. et vet. editis Rom. In 14 editis recentioribus est protinus. Vide praecedentia.

Potius ("rather"). So I restore it from all the manuscripts and the old Rome editions. In 14 more recent editions it is protinus ("at once"). See the preceding.

(Nomen) ‹anchor: unicum nomen› · call in col 256 Nomen. Ita reposui ex cunctis mss. et vet. editis Rom. et Crat. ac Graph. in margine; et apte quidem ad verba stipem mendicantium in nomine Domini. In omnibus fere editis est, numen.

Nomen ("name"). So I have restored it from all the manuscripts and the old Rome editions, and Cratander's, and Gryphius's in the margin; and aptly indeed, in view of the words of beggars asking alms in the name of the Lord. In almost all the editions it is numen ("divinity").

(Malis sunt) ‹anchor: in malis sunt› · call in col 256 Malis sunt. In rebus adversis. Lib. VI, cap. 25: Etiam in malis gratias agat. Cic. pro Cluentio, cap. 61: Unum... in malis perfugium calamitatis. BUN.

Malis sunt ("they are in troubles"): in adversity. Book VI, ch. 25: "Let him give thanks even in troubles." Cicero, For Cluentius, ch. 61: "The one... refuge of calamity in troubles." BÜNEMANN.

(Hos coronant) ‹anchor: hos coronant› · call in col 256 Hos coronant. Simulacra deorum coronari apud Gentiles moris erat. Arnob. lib. VII: Etiamne dii sertis, coronis afficiuntur et floribus? Vide etiam Clem. Alexand, παιδαγ. lib. II, cap. 8. Tertullian., de Cor. Mil., cap. 7: Saturnum Pherecydes ante omnes refert coronatum, Jovem Diodorus post devictos Titanas. Dat et Priapo taenias idem, et Ariadnae sertum. Plinius, lib. XVI, cap. 4, ait, antiquitus neminem, nisi deos, coronis ornari solitum; et lib. XXI, cap. 24: Coronae deorum honos erant, et Larium publicorum privatorumque. Artemidor. lib. II, Oneirocrit., cap. 34. Sed non solum dii coronati, verum etiam illi qui sacris operabantur, imo vasa etiam ac victimae, quarum cornua inaurabantur, etc. Ex HERALDO et ELMENH.

Hos coronant ("these they crown"). It was the custom among the Gentiles to crown the images of the gods. Arnobius, book VII: "Are the gods, too, affected by garlands, crowns and flowers?" See also Clement of Alexandria, Paedagogus book II, ch. 8. Tertullian, On the Soldier's Crown, ch. 7: "Pherecydes reports Saturn crowned before all others; Diodorus, Jupiter after the Titans were overcome. The same gives fillets to Priapus too, and a garland to Ariadne." Pliny, book XVI, ch. 4, says that in ancient times none but the gods used to be adorned with crowns; and book XXI, ch. 24: "Crowns were the honour of the gods, and of the Lares, public and private." Artemidorus, Oneirocritica book II, ch. 34. But not only were the gods crowned, but also those who performed the sacred rites, indeed even the vessels and the victims, whose horns were gilded, etc. From HÉRAULT and ELMENHORST.

(Offundere tenebras) ‹anchor: opus offundere tenebras› · call in col 256 Offundere tenebras. Iterum, lib. II, cap. 16: Offundunt tenebras, veritatem caligine obducunt. Ibid. Erro- (continues)

Offundere tenebras ("to pour darkness over"). Again, book II, ch. 16: "They pour darkness over, they cover the truth with fog." Ibid. Erro- (continues)

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running head: 255 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹hauriendis voluptatibus sitienter›; B ‹nes autem ipsos ad tantam caecitatem›; C (none visible); D (printed in the notes area beside the right-hand column's ‹omnibu...›, not in this column's text)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins and ends mid-sentence (ends at "veritas,"); overlapping lines between images set once; the VARIORUM NOTAE heading and notes at the page foot are left for the later pass; "susceperint" kept as printed (the editors' note suggests susciperent)

PL 6:256

cogente natura, etiam ab invitis pectoribus erumpit; quod quidem non faciunt in prosperis rebus. Nam tum maxime Deus ex memoria hominum elabitur, cum beneficiis ejus fruentes, honorem dare divinae indulgentiae debent. At vero si qua necessitas gravis presserit, tunc Deum recordantur. Si belli terror infremuerit, si morborum pestifera vis incubuerit, si alimenta frugibus longa siccitas denegaverit, si saeva tempestas, si grando ingruerit, ad Deum confugitur, a Deo petitur auxilium, Deus, ut subveniat, oratur. Si quis in mari, vento saeviente, jactatur, hunc invocat. Si quis aliqua vi afflictatur, hunc potius implorat. Si quis ad extremam mendicandi necessitatem deductus, victum precibus exposcit, Deum solum obtestatur, et per ejus divinum atque unicum nomen hominum sibi misericordiam quaerit. Numquam igitur Dei meminerunt, nisi dum in malis sunt. Postquam metus deseruit et pericula recesserunt, tum vero alacres ad deorum templa concurrunt; his libant, his sacrificant, hos coronant. Deo autem, quem in ipsa necessitate imploraverant, ne verbo quidem gratias agunt: adeo ex rerum prosperitate luxuria, ex luxuria vero, ut vitia omnia, sic impietas adversus Deum nascitur.

under the compulsion of nature, burst forth even from unwilling breasts; which indeed they do not do in prosperous circumstances. For God slips from the memory of men most of all at the very time when, enjoying His benefits, they ought to give honour to the divine indulgence. But if some grievous necessity has pressed upon them, then they remember God. If the terror of war has roared, if the pestilent force of diseases has settled upon them, if a long drought has denied nourishment to the crops, if a savage storm, if hail has assailed them, refuge is taken in God, help is sought from God, God is entreated to come to their aid. If anyone is tossed at sea while the wind rages, it is Him he invokes. If anyone is afflicted by some violence, it is Him rather that he implores. If anyone, reduced to the utmost necessity of begging, asks for sustenance with entreaties, he appeals to God alone, and by His divine and unique name he seeks mercy for himself from men. They never, therefore, remember God except while they are in misfortune. After fear has left them and dangers have withdrawn, then indeed they run eagerly together to the temples of the gods; to these they pour libations, to these they sacrifice, these they crown. But to God, Whom they had implored in that very necessity, they do not give thanks even with a word: so true is it that from prosperity springs luxury, and from luxury, as all vices, so impiety towards God.

Quanam istud ex causa fieri putemus? nisi esse aliquam perversam potestatem, quae veritatis sit semper inimica, quae humanis erroribus gaudeat, cui unicum ac perpetuum sit opus offundere tenebras,

For what cause, then, are we to think that this happens? unless that there is some perverse power, which is always hostile to truth, which rejoices in human errors, whose single and perpetual work is to spread darkness,

Editors' notes and page, col. 256

Page

running head: ...CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 256 (left part of the running head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A cogente natura; B hominum sibi misericordiam; C (none seen); D beside "omnibus fere editis est, numen" in the Variorum notae, not in the text block
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: second "quae" (before "humanis erroribus") has damaged type, read as quae; text block ends mid-sentence at "tenebras,"; VARIORUM NOTAE below the text block not set (later pass); the left column belongs to col. 255 and is not set

PL 6:257

et hominum caecare mentes, ne lucem videant, ne denique in coelum aspiciant, ac naturam corporis sui servent, cujus originem suo loco narrabimus; nunc fallacias arguamus. Nam cum caeterae animantes pronis corporibus in humum spectent, quia rationem ac sapientiam non acceperunt, nobis autem status rectus, sublimis vultus ab artifice Deo datus sit, apparet istas religiones deorum non esse rationis humanae, quia curvant coeleste animal ad veneranda terrena. Parens enim noster ille unus et solus, et cum fingeret hominem, id est animal intelligens et rationis capax, eum vero ex humo sublevatum ad contemplationem sui artificis erexit. Quod optime ingeniosus poeta (Ovid. I Metam.) signavit:

and to blind the minds of men, so that they may not see the light, so that, in short, they may not look up to heaven and keep to the nature of their body, whose origin we shall relate in its place; now let us expose their deceits. For since the other living creatures look towards the ground with bodies bent forward, because they have not received reason and wisdom, whereas to us an upright stance and a lofty countenance have been given by God the Craftsman, it is plain that these religions of the gods do not belong to human reason, since they bend the heavenly creature down to the venerating of earthly things. For that Parent of ours, one and alone, when He was fashioning man, that is, a creature intelligent and capable of reason, lifted him up from the ground and raised him to the contemplation of his Maker. This the ingenious poet (Ovid, Metamorphoses 1) has excellently marked:

Pronaque cum spectent animalia caetera terram; / Os homini sublime dedit, coelumque tueri / Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus.

And while the other animals, bent forward, look upon the earth, / to man He gave a lofty face, and bade him behold the heaven / and raise his upright countenance to the stars.

Hinc utique ἀνθρωπον Graeci appellarunt, quod sursum spectet. Ipsi ergo sibi renuntiant, seque hominum nomine abdicant, qui non sursum aspiciunt, sed deorsum: nisi forte id ipsum, quod recti sumus, sine causa homini attributum putant. Spectare nos coelum Deus voluit, utique non frustra. Nam et aves, et ex mutis pene omnia coelum vident; sed nobis proprie datum est, coelum rigidis ac stantibus intueri, ut religionem ibi quaeramus, ut Deum, cujus sedes illa, quoniam oculis non possumus, animo contemplemur:

Hence indeed the Greeks called [him] ἀνθρωπον, because he looks upward. They therefore renounce themselves and disown the name of men, who look not upward but downward: unless perhaps they think that this very thing, that we are upright, has been assigned to man without cause. God willed that we should look upon heaven, and certainly not in vain. For both the birds and nearly all the dumb creatures see the sky; but to us it has been given as our own to gaze upon the sky with [bodies] rigid and standing, so that we may seek religion there, so that, since we cannot with the eyes, we may contemplate with the mind God, Whose seat that is:

Editors' notes and page, col. 257

Page

running head: 257 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ERRORIS (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A et hominum caecare mentes; B Jussit, et erectos ad sidera (beside the verse, level with the right column's heading); C res.... offundunt (in the Variorum Notae); D Eum vero ex humo sublevatum (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins and ends mid-sentence; "Hinc" printed with faint/broken H (looks like "llinc"), set as Hinc; Greek printed ἀνθρωπον without visible accent, set as printed; verse block (Ovid) set as one paragraph with " / " marking printed line divisions; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE." not set; Variorum Notae at page foot (res.... offundunt ... de Art. poet. 372:) not set, left for later pass; right-column heading "Quae fuerit pri... Dei" belongs to col. 258

PL 6:258

quod profecto non facit, qui aes, aut lapidem, quae sunt terrena, veneratur. Est autem pravissimum, cum ratio corporis recta sit, quod est temporale, ipsum vero animum, qui sit aeternus, humilem fieri; cum figura et status nihil aliud significent, nisi mentem hominis eo spectare oportere, quo vultum et animum tam rectum esse debere, quam corpus, ut id, cui dominari debet, imitetur. Verum homines, et nominis sui, et rationis obliti, oculos suos ab alto dejiciunt, soloque defigunt, atque timent opera digitorum suorum, quasi vero quidquam esse possit artifice suo majus.

which he certainly does not do who venerates bronze or stone, things which are earthly. Yet it is most perverse that, while the frame of the body, which is temporal, is upright, the soul itself, which is eternal, should be made lowly; since the figure and posture signify nothing other than that the mind of man ought to look there where his face looks, and that the soul ought to be as upright as the body, so that it may imitate that which it ought to rule. But men, forgetful both of their name and of their reason, cast their eyes down from on high and fix them on the ground, and fear the works of their own fingers, as if indeed anything could be greater than its maker.

CAPUT II.

Chapter II.

Quae fuerit prima causa fingendi simulacra; de vera Dei imagine, et ejus vero cultu.

What was the first cause of fashioning images; of the true image of God, and of His true worship.

Quae igitur amentia est, aut ea fingere quae ipsi postmodum timeant, aut timere quae finxerint? Non ipsa, inquiunt, timemus, sed eos, ad quorum imaginem ficta, et quorum nominibus consecrata sunt. Nempe ideo timetis, quod eos esse in coelo arbitramini: neque enim, si dii sunt, aliter fieri potest. Cur igitur oculos in coelum non tollitis; et advocatis eorum nominibus, in aperto sacrificia celebratis? Cur ad parietes, et ligna, et lapides potissimum, quam illo spectatis, ubi eos esse creditis? Quid sibi templa?

What madness is it, then, either to fashion things which they themselves afterwards fear, or to fear what they have fashioned? We do not fear the things themselves, they say, but those in whose likeness they were fashioned and in whose names they were consecrated. Surely you fear them for this reason, that you think they are in heaven: for indeed, if they are gods, it cannot be otherwise. Why then do you not raise your eyes to heaven, and, calling upon their names, celebrate sacrifices in the open? Why do you look chiefly towards walls and wood and stones rather than there, where you believe them to be? What do the temples mean?

Editors' notes and page, col. 258

Footnotes

(Sit) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 258 Sit. Ita omnes mss. et vet. edd. In 12 impressis legitur est.

Sit ("be"). So all the manuscripts and the old editions. In 12 printed ones est ("is") is read.

(Ut id, cui dominari debet, imitetur) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 258 Ut id, cui dominari debet, imitetur. Ita emendavimus ex mss. codicibus Regiis, Bonon. antiq., 6 Colb., Cauc., Jun., Ultr., Lips., Pal., Pen., Rostoch., Tornes., Betul., Clarom., Cantabrig., Em., Brun., et vet. editis 3 Romanis, Venet. 1490, Paris. 1525, Graph., Betul., Antuerp. 1539, Is., Cellar. ac Genev. ad marg. In editis rec. octo est, ne id, prave. Legendum esse ut id asserit Isaeus et textus ipse convincit, videlicet ut animus erigendo se ad coelum, imitetur statum corporis quod erectum est.

Ut id, cui dominari debet, imitetur ("that it may imitate that which it ought to rule"). So we have corrected it from the Royal manuscript codices, the ancient Bologna, 6 Colbert, the Caucian, the Junius, the Utrecht, the Leipzig, the Palatine, the Penrose, the Rostock, Tornaesius's, Betuleius's, the Clermont, the Cambridge, the Emmanuel, the Brunswick, and the old editions, 3 Roman, Venice 1490, Paris 1525, Gryphius, Betuleius, Antwerp 1539, Isaeus, Cellarius, and the Geneva in the margin. In eight recent editions it is ne id ("lest it"), wrongly. Isaeus asserts that ut id is to be read, and the text itself proves it: namely, that the mind, by raising itself to heaven, should imitate the posture of the body, which is upright.

(Quasi vero) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 258 Quasi vero. Addidimus vero ex mss. codicibus et edit. Soubron. et Tornes. Quod tamen deest in vulgatis.

Quasi vero ("as if indeed"). We have added vero ("indeed") from the manuscript codices and the editions of Soubron and Tornaesius. It is, however, lacking in the common editions.

(Igitur) ‹anchor: Quae igitur amentia› · call in col 258 Igitur. Rohanneus codex legit ergo, quod idem est.

Igitur ("then"). The Rohan codex reads ergo, which is the same.

(Non ipsa, inquiunt, timemus) ‹anchor: Non ipsa, inquiunt, timemus› · call in col 258 Non ipsa, inquiunt, timemus, etc. Sic etiam Eusebius, praefat. lib. IV, refert hoc Gentilibus planum fuisse, imagines non esse deos. Verba ejus sunt: Ὅτι μὲν οὖν οὐ θεοὶ ἄψυχα ξόανα, προφανὲς καὶ αὐτοῖς. Eamdem exceptionem videsis apud Arnob. lib. VI, Origen. contra Cels., lib. VII, Augustin. in Ps. CXIII. Ex GALLAEO.

Non ipsa, inquiunt, timemus ("it is not these, they say, that we fear"), etc. So also Eusebius, preface to book IV, reports that it was plain to the Gentiles that images are not gods. His words are: "That lifeless wooden images are not gods is evident even to them." See the same objection in Arnobius, book VI, Origen, Against Celsus, book VII, Augustine on Psalm CXIII. From GALLAEUS.

(Eorum nominibus) ‹anchor: quorum nominibus; eorum nominibus› · call in col 258 Eorum nominibus. Sic reposuimus ex mss. et edit. Tornes. ac Soubron. quod venustius est quam deorum, ut in vulgatis cum vox dii mox praecesserit. — Advocatis.... nominibus. Sic omnes libri, id est, invocatis. Iterum infra, Nomina precibus advocare. Lib. II, cap. 5: Quibus quamque (stellam) nominibus, quibus precibus advocemus. Lexica hunc significatum non observarunt. BUN.

Eorum nominibus ("by their names"). So we have restored it from the manuscripts and the editions of Tornaesius and Soubron, which is more graceful than deorum ("of the gods"), as in the common editions, since the word dii ("gods") has just gone before. — Advocatis.... nominibus ("their names called upon"). So all the books, that is, invocatis ("invoked"). Again below: "To call upon names in prayers." Book II, ch. 5: "By what names, with what prayers we should call upon each (star)." The lexicons have not noticed this meaning. BÜNEMANN.

(printed under page 132)

Page

running head: [DE OR]IGINE ERRORIS. 258 (left part cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹quod profecto non facit›; B ‹Dei imagine, et ejus vero cultu›; C ‹Mediocribus esse poetis› (in the notes); D ‹vincit, videlicet ut animus› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: full-width heading "[...]I NOTAE." printed across both columns above the foot notes, cut off at left edge, not set; editors' notes (Mediocribus esse poetis ... BUN.) at page foot not set (later pass); stray mark printed after "tollitis" before the semicolon, ignored; "quo vultum et animum" set as printed without punctuation after vultum; column ends mid-word "tem-" (templa)

PL 6:259

quid arae volunt? quid denique ipsa simulacra, quae aut mortuorum aut absentium monimenta sunt? Nam omnino fingendarum similitudinum ratio idcirco ab hominibus inventa est, ut posset eorum memoria retineri, qui vel morte subtracti, vel absentia fuerant separati. Deos igitur in quorum numero reponemus? Si in mortuorum, quis tam stultus ut colat? Si in absentium, colendi ergo non sunt, si nec vident quae facimus, nec audiunt quae precamur. Si autem dii absentes esse non possunt, qui quoniam divini sunt, in quacumque mundi parte fuerint, vident et audiunt universa; supervacua ergo sunt simulacra, illis ubique praesentibus, cum satis sit audientium nomina precibus advocare. At enim praesentes non nisi ad imagines suas adsunt. Ita plane; quemadmodum vulgus existimat, mortuorum animas circa tumulos et corporum suorum reliquias oberrare. Sed tamen postquam deus ille praesto esse coepit, jam simulacro ejus opus non est.

What do altars mean? What, finally, do the images themselves mean, which are memorials either of the dead or of the absent? For the whole method of fashioning likenesses was devised by men for this reason, that the memory of those might be retained who had either been taken away by death or been separated by absence. In the number of which, then, shall we place the gods? If in that of the dead, who is so foolish as to worship them? If in that of the absent, then they are not to be worshipped, if they neither see what we do nor hear what we pray. But if gods cannot be absent, since, being divine, in whatever part of the world they may be, they see and hear all things, then images are superfluous, since they are present everywhere, as it is enough to call upon the names of those who hear us with prayers. But, it is said, they are present only at their own images. Just so; in the same way as the common people think that the souls of the dead wander about their tombs and the remains of their bodies. But nevertheless, once that god has begun to be present, there is no longer any need of his image.

Quaero enim, si quis imaginem hominis peraegre constituti contempletur saepius, ut ex ea solatium capiat absentis, num idem sanus esse videatur, si, eo reverso atque praesente, in contemplanda imagine perseveret, eaque potius, quam ipsius hominis aspectu frui velit? Minime profecto. Etenim hominis imago necessaria tum videtur, cum procul abest; supervacua futura, cum praesto est: Dei autem, cujus spiritus ac numen ubique diffusum, abesse numquam potest,

For I ask: if someone often gazes at the image of a man who is abroad, so as to draw from it comfort for his absence, would the same person seem to be sane if, when the man has returned and is present, he persisted in gazing at the image and wished to enjoy it rather than the sight of the man himself? Certainly not. For the image of a man seems necessary then, when he is far away; it will be superfluous when he is at hand. But of God, Whose Spirit and divine power are spread everywhere, Who can never be absent,

Editors' notes and page, col. 259

Footnotes

(Quid sibi templa?) ‹anchor: Quid sibi tem-[pla] (word begins at foot of col 258)› · call in col 259 Quid sibi templa? Non est putandum hic loci a Lactantio interdictum esse omnibus, ne quem locum cultui divino consecrarent fideles, siquidem templorum nomine aedes tantum significet diis gentilium sacras, cum Christiani adeo illud verbum horrerent, ut locum in quo ad res sacras peragendas convenirent, ecclesiae solum, aut conventiculi nomine signarent. SPARK. — Ecclesias jam a primis saeculis pro christianis exstructas, constat ex Lampridio, Flavio Vopisco, Tertulliano lib. de Idololatria, item ad uxorem lib. II, cap. 9; lib. de velandis Virginibus, c. 13, et alibi saepe. Sed et Cyprianus, qui florebat anno 250 Ecclesiae, sub nomine Dominici, mentionem egit libro de Operibus et Eleemosynis; denique ex edicto Diocletiani de diruendis ecclesiis, et comburendis christianorum libris, apud Eusebium, lib. VIII Histor., cap. 2 et 3, qui eam cladem deplorat; sicut et Arnobius in fine libri IV, et ipse Lactantius infra l. V. Videsis illum, lib. V, in fine, libro de Ira Dei, c. VIII, Ex ISAEO.

Quid sibi templa? ("What do temples mean?"). It must not be thought that here Lactantius forbids all the faithful to consecrate any place to divine worship, since the name temples signifies only buildings sacred to the gods of the Gentiles, the Christians so shrinking from that word that they designated the place where they gathered to perform sacred things only by the name of church or assembly. SPARKE. — That churches were built for Christians already from the first centuries is established from Lampridius, Flavius Vopiscus, Tertullian in the book On Idolatry, likewise To His Wife book II, ch. 9; in the book On the Veiling of Virgins, ch. 13, and often elsewhere. Cyprian too, who flourished in the year 250 of the Church, mentioned it under the name Dominicum ("the Lord's house") in the book On Works and Alms; and finally from the edict of Diocletian on pulling down churches and burning the books of the Christians, in Eusebius, History book VIII, chs. 2 and 3, who laments that disaster; as does Arnobius at the end of book IV, and Lactantius himself below, book V. See him, book V, at the end, and in the book On the Wrath of God, ch. VIII. From ISAEUS.

(Quid arae volunt?) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 259 Quid arae volunt? Nempe in quibus Gentiles sacrificia diis facere consuerunt. Alias enim Christianis sua fuisse altaria satis constat ex Sacris litteris. SPARK.

Quid arae volunt? ("What do altars mean?"). Those, namely, on which the Gentiles were accustomed to offer sacrifices to the gods. For otherwise it is well enough established from the Sacred Scriptures that the Christians had their own altars. SPARKE.

(Fingendarum) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 259 Fingendarum. De hoc vide S. Justinum in Paraenetico. Vide etiam Sapient., cap. 13 et 14.

Fingendarum ("of fashioning"). On this see St. Justin in the Exhortation. See also Wisdom, chs. 13 and 14.

(In quorum numero reponemus) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 259 In quorum numero reponemus. Sexto casu. Lact. l. II, cap. 5; lib. III, c. 4; de Ira, c. 22. Ita quoque Cicero, lib. III de Nat. deor., cap. 9, et cap. 19 et 20; l. I de Orat., cap. 13. BUN.

In quorum numero reponemus ("in whose number we shall place"): with the ablative. Lactantius, book II, ch. 5; book III, ch. 4; On the Wrath, ch. 22. So too Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book III, ch. 9, and chs. 19 and 20; On the Orator book I, ch. 13. BÜNEMANN.

(Nomina) ‹anchor: dientium nomina precibus advocare› · call in col 259 Nomina. Heumannus putat legendum esse numina, sed contra fidem mss. et editorum.

Nomina ("names"). Heumann thinks numina ("divinities") should be read, but against the witness of the manuscripts and editions.

(Mortuorum animas) ‹anchor: mortuorum animas› · call in col 259 Mortuorum animas, etc. Simile aliquid legimus apud Gregorium Nyssenum, tractatu de Anima et Resurrectione circa medium.

Mortuorum animas ("the souls of the dead"), etc. We read something similar in Gregory of Nyssa, in the treatise On the Soul and the Resurrection, about the middle.

(Oberrare) ‹anchor: reliquias oberrare› · call in col 259 Oberrare. Gentiles enim existimabant nondum humatorum corporum animas in terris oberrare, donec sepulcro mandarentur mortuorum reliquiae. — Animas circa tumulos... oberrare. Ammianus Marcell. l. XIX, c. 12: Si qui per monumentum transisse vespere malivolorum argueretur indiciis, ut veneficus, sepulcrorumque honores et errantium ibidem animarum ludibria colligens vana, pronuntiatus reus capite interibat. Habent a Platone, ad quem provocat Origenes contra Cels. l. II, p. 97, ubi vide Spencerum, et lib. VII, p. 334. BUN.

Oberrare ("to wander about"). For the Gentiles thought that the souls of bodies not yet buried wandered on earth until the remains of the dead were committed to the tomb. — Animas circa tumulos... oberrare ("that souls wander about tombs"). Ammianus Marcellinus, book XIX, ch. 12: "If anyone was charged on the information of the malicious with having passed by a tomb in the evening, as a poisoner gathering the horrors of graves and the empty phantoms of the souls wandering there, he was pronounced guilty and put to death." They have it from Plato, to whom Origen appeals, Against Celsus book II, p. 97 (see Spencer there), and book VII, p. 334. BÜNEMANN.

(Si quis imaginem) ‹anchor: si quis imaginem› · call in col 259 Si quis imaginem. Senec. ep. 40, pr. Si imagines nobis amicorum absentium jucundae sunt, quae memoriam renovant, et desiderium absentiae falso atque inani solatio levant: quanto jucundiores sunt litterae, quae vera amici absentis vestigia, veras notas afferunt. BUN.

Si quis imaginem ("if anyone ... an image"). Seneca, Letter 40, beginning: "If the pictures of absent friends are pleasant to us, which renew the memory and lighten the longing of absence with a false and empty comfort, how much more pleasant are letters, which bring true traces, true marks of an absent friend." BÜNEMANN.

(Ut ex ea) ‹anchor: ut ex ea› · call in col 259 Ut ex ea. Mss. 20, et ex ea.

Ut ex ea ("so that from it"). 20 manuscripts: et ex ea ("and from it").

(Et tamen hominis imago) ‹anchor: Etenim hominis imago› · call in col 259 Et tamen hominis imago. Mss. Angl. et Lips. cum Rom. Et tamen: non quod alii, et enim. CELL.

Et tamen hominis imago ("and yet the image of a man"). The English and Leipzig manuscripts with the Roman edition: Et tamen ("and yet"); not, as others, et enim ("for indeed"). CELLARIUS.

(Diffusum) ‹anchor: ubique diffusum› · call in col 259 Diffusum. Sic et Virgilius: Jove plena sunt omnia.

Diffusum ("spread abroad"). So also Virgil: "All things are full of Jove."

(Inanis sit et vana) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 260 Inanis sit et vana. Mss. C. C. C. Emman., Cant., Cauc., Junt., Sublac., Rost., Ven. 1471, 72, utraque 78, 93, 97, Pier., Parrhas., Paris., Crat., inanis sit et vacua. Sic variant quoque l. VII, c. 6. Nihil tamen muto. Vid. l. II, c. 1, c. 3, c. 17; lib. III, c. 4, ubi quoque inanis et vanus junguntur. BUN.

Inanis sit et vana ("be empty and vain"). The manuscripts C. C. C., Emmanuel, Cambridge, Caucian, the Junta, the Subiaco, the Rostock, the Venice editions of 1471, 72, both of 78, 93, 97, Pierius, Parrhasius, Paris, Cratander: inanis sit et vacua ("be empty and void"). So too they vary at book VII, ch. 6. I change nothing, however. See book II, ch. 1, ch. 3, ch. 17; book III, ch. 4, where inanis et vanus ("empty and vain") are also joined. BÜNEMANN.

(Sensibile) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 260 Sensibile. Id est, quod sensu non careat. FRANCIUS.

Sensibile ("sentient"), that is, what does not lack sense. FRANCIUS.

(Quae nec sentiunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 260 Quae nec sentiunt. Ita reposuimus ex ed. Soubr., Torn. et Thys. ac omnibus mss. praeter Christ. et Ald. edit. in quibus est, quae nihil sentiunt.

Quae nec sentiunt ("which do not even feel"). So we have restored it from the editions of Soubron, Tornaesius and Thysius and all the manuscripts except the Christina and the Aldine edition, in which it is quae nihil sentiunt ("which feel nothing").

(Homo) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 260 Homo. Qui scilicet ad imaginem Dei creatus est. Genes. I, vers. 26. Sed quanto quisque major est, ait Cicero de Officiis, lib. I, tanto se submissius gerat. Vide et S. Augustin. lib. XII de Civit. Dei, cap. 23.

Homo ("man"), who, that is, was created to the image of God, Genesis 1:26. But "the greater each one is," says Cicero, On Duties book I, "the more humbly let him bear himself." See also St. Augustine, City of God book XII, ch. 23.

(Adoratura hominem fuissent, a quo) ‹anchor: adoratura hominem fuissent, a quo› · call in col 260 Adoratura hominem fuissent, a quo. Sic restituimus ex cunctis pene mss. quod sequentibus magis respondet, quam lectio 2 Reg. rec. et edit., in quibus est, adoratura homines fuissent, a quibus. In 2 Bonon. hominem fuissent, quo; in 1 Colb., ex quo.

Adoratura hominem fuissent, a quo ("they would have adored the man by whom"). So we have restored it from almost all the manuscripts, which answers better to what follows than the reading of 2 recent Royal manuscripts and the editions, in which it is adoratura homines fuissent, a quibus ("they would have adored the men by whom"). In 2 Bologna: hominem fuissent, quo; in 1 Colbert: ex quo.

(Suspicit) ‹anchor: nemo suspicit› · call in col 260 Suspicit. Ita emendavimus ex vetustissimis et optimis mss. 2 Reg., 2 Bonon., 3 Colb., Tornes., Goth., 1 Clarom. et pluribus editis. In aliis est, suscipit.

Suspicit ("looks up to"). So we have corrected it from the very old and best manuscripts, 2 Royal, 2 Bologna, 3 Colbert, Tornaesius's, the Gotha, 1 Clermont, and several editions. In others it is suscipit ("takes up").

(printed under page 133)

Page

running head: 259 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A pla? quid arae volunt; B quemadmodum vulgus existimat; C Quid sibi templa? Non est putandum (in the notes); D Quid arae volunt? Nempe (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "pla?", the rest of "tem-pla?" broken from the preceding column; the last word "po-" is broken across the column break (potest); "peraegre" looks like æ in the image, but this is UNSURE (damaged or blurred type); several letters in "Minime", "ipsius", "hominis" in the second paragraph are blurred, read as printed words; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" (cut off at the edge) and the editors' variorum notes below it ("Quid sibi templa? Non est putandum ...", "Quid arae volunt? ...", "Fingendarum ...", etc.) are not set: page-foot commentary for a later pass

PL 6:260

semper utique imago supervacua est. Sed verentur, ne omnis eorum religio inanis sit et vana, si nihil in praesenti videant quod adorent, et ideo simulacra constituunt, quae quia mortuorum sunt imagines, similia mortuis sunt; omni enim sensu carent. Dei autem in aeternum viventis vivum et sensibile debet esse simulacrum. Quod si a similitudine in nomen accepit, quomodo possunt ista simulacra Deo similia judicari, quae nec sentiunt, nec moventur? Itaque simulacrum Dei non illud est, quod digitis hominis ex lapide, aut aere, aliave materia fabricatur; sed ipse homo, quoniam et sentit, et movetur, et multas magnasque actiones habet. Nec intelligunt homines ineptissimi, quod, si sentire simulacra et moveri possent, ultro adoratura hominem fuissent, a quo sunt expolita, quae essent aut incultus et horridus lapis, aut materia informis ac rudis, nisi fuissent ab homine formata.

the image is certainly always superfluous. But they fear that all their religion may be empty and vain if they see nothing present before them to adore, and therefore they set up images, which, because they are images of the dead, are like the dead; for they lack all sense. But the image of God, Who lives for ever, ought to be living and endowed with sense. And if it has taken its name from likeness, how can these images be judged like God, when they neither feel nor move? Therefore the image of God is not that which is fashioned by the fingers of a man out of stone, or bronze, or some other material, but man himself, since he both feels and moves and has many and great activities. Nor do these most foolish men understand that, if images could feel and move, they would of their own accord have adored the man by whom they were polished, since they would be either an unworked and rough stone or formless and crude material, had they not been shaped by a man.

Homo igitur illorum quasi parens putandus est, per cujus manus nata sunt, per quem speciem, figuram, pulchritudinem habere coeperunt. Et ideo melior est qui fecit, quam illa quae facta sunt. Et tamen factorem ipsum nemo suspicit, aut veretur: quae fecit, timet, tamquam plus possit esse in opere, quam in opifice. Recte igitur Seneca in libris moralibus: Simulacra, inquit, deorum venerantur, illis supplicant genu posito, illa adorant, illis per totum assident diem, aut astant, illis stipem jaciunt, victimas caedunt;

Man, then, is to be regarded as their parent, as it were, by whose hands they were born, through whom they began to have appearance, shape and beauty. And therefore he who made them is better than the things that were made. And yet no one looks up to or reveres the maker himself: they fear the things he made, as though there could be more in the work than in the workman. Rightly, therefore, does Seneca say in his books of morals: They venerate the images of the gods, he says, they supplicate them on bended knee, they adore them, they sit beside them or stand before them the whole day, they throw coins to them, they slaughter victims;

Editors' notes and page, col. 260

Page

running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 260 (left edge cut off)
marginal letters: A test, semper utique imago; B quo sunt expolita; C c. 12: Si qui per monumentum (in the Variorum Notae); D et vacua. Sic variant (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with "test", the end of "potest" broken from column 259; column ends with "cae-" (caedunt) across the column break. "a similitudine in nomen accepit" is set as printed; the usual text has "a similitudine nomen accepit", so "in" may be a misprint (unsure). "similla" read as "similia" (damaged i). Full-width heading "[VA]RIORUM NOTAE" stands between the text and the notes and is not set. The Variorum Notae below it are left for the later pass.

PL 6:261

et cum haec tantopere suspiciant, fabros, qui illa fecere, contemnunt. Quid inter se tam contrarium, quam statuarium despicere, statuam adorare, et eum ne in convictum quidem admittere, qui tibi deos faciat? Quam ergo vim, quam potestatem habere possunt, cum ipse, qui fecit illa, non habeat? Sed ne haec quidem dare his potuit, quae habebat, videre, audire, loqui, moveri. Quisquamne igitur tam ineptus est, ut putet aliquid esse in simulacro dei, in quo ne hominis quidem quidquam est praeter umbram? Sed haec nemo considerat; infecti sunt enim persuasione, ac mentes eorum penitus fucum stultitiae perbiberunt. Adorant ergo insensibilia, qui sentiunt; irrationabilia, qui sapiunt; exanima, qui vivunt; terrena, qui oriuntur e coelo. Juvat ergo, velut in aliqua sublimi specula constitutum, unde universi exaudire possint, Persianum illud proclamare,

and though they look up to these things so greatly, they despise the craftsmen who made them. What is so contrary to itself as to despise the statue-maker and adore the statue, and not even to admit to one's table the man who makes gods for you? What force, then, what power can they have, when he himself who made them does not have it? But he could not even give them the things which he had: to see, to hear, to speak, to move. Is anyone, then, so foolish as to think that there is anything in the image of a god, in which there is not even anything of a man except the shadow? But no one considers these things; for they are steeped in a persuasion, and their minds have thoroughly drunk in the dye of folly. Those who perceive, therefore, adore things without perception; those who are wise, things without reason; those who live, lifeless things; those who spring from heaven, earthly things. It is pleasing, therefore, as one set upon some lofty watch-tower, whence all may hear, to proclaim that line of Persius,

O curvae in terras animae, et coelestium inanes!

O souls bent down to the earth, and empty of heavenly things!

Coelum potius intuemini, ad cujus spectaculum vos excitavit ille artifex vester Deus. Ille vobis sublimem vultum dedi⟨t⟩; vos in terram curvamini: vos altas mentes, et ad parentem suum cum corporibus suis erectas, ad inferiora deprimitis, tamquam vos poeniteat non quadrupedes esse natos. Fas non est coeleste

Look rather at heaven, to the sight of which that Craftsman of yours, God, has roused you. He gave you an upturned face; you bend yourselves to the earth: your lofty minds, raised up together with your bodies towards their Parent, you press down to lower things, as though you regretted not having been born four-footed. It is not right for the heavenly

Editors' notes and page, col. 261

Page

running head: 261 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A dunt; et cum haec tantopere; B blimi specula constitutum; C pecuniarum, stipulatio (in the notes); D nulli Vaticani (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "dunt" of a word broken from the previous column; ends with "coe-" broken across the column break (coe-lesti...). "dedi⟨t⟩": the final t appears lost or faint after "dedi", read as dedit. Full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" above the page-foot notes, cut off at the image edge, not set; the Variorum notae (Illis stipem jaciunt...; Fucum stultitiae perbiberunt...; In... sublimi specula...; Persianum...) left for the later pass. No editors' matter in the text block.

PL 6:262

animal cum terrenis, in terramque vergentibus coaequari. Quid vos beneficiis coelestibus orbatis, pronique in humum vestra sponte procumbitis? Humi enim miseri volutamini, cum deorsum quaeritis quod in sublimi quaerere debuistis. Nam ista mortalium digitorum ludicra et fragilia figmenta, ex quolibet materiae genere formata, quid aliud sunt, nisi terra, ex qua nata sunt? Quid ergo rebus inferioribus subjacetis? quid capitibus vestris terram superponitis? Cum enim vos terrae submittitis, humilioresque facitis, ipsi vos ultro ad inferos mergitis, ad mortemque damnatis, quia nihil terra inferius et humilius, nisi mors et inferi. Quae si effugere velletis, subjectam pedibus vestris terram contemneretis, corporis statu salvo: quod idcirco rectum accepistis, quo oculos atque mentem cum eo, qui fecit, conferre possitis. Contemnere autem et calcare terram, nihil aliud est quam simulacra non adorare, quia de terra ficta sunt, item divitias non concupiscere, voluptates corporis spernere, quia opes et corpus ipsum, cujus hospitio utimur, terra est. Vivum colite, ut vivatis; moriatur enim necesse est, qui se suamque animam mortuis adjudicavit.

animal to be put on a level with earthly things and things inclining towards the earth. Why do you deprive yourselves of heavenly benefits, and of your own accord fall face down upon the ground? For you wretched people roll about on the ground when you seek below what you ought to have sought on high. For these playthings and fragile fabrications of mortal fingers, formed from any kind of material whatever, what else are they but earth, from which they were born? Why then do you lie subject to lower things? Why do you set earth above your heads? For when you submit yourselves to the earth and make yourselves lower, you yourselves of your own accord plunge yourselves into the underworld and condemn yourselves to death, since nothing is lower and humbler than the earth except death and the underworld. If you wished to escape these, you would despise the earth set beneath your feet, keeping the posture of your body intact, which you received upright for this reason, that you might be able to bring your eyes and mind together with Him Who made [it]. Now to despise and trample on the earth is nothing other than not to worship images, because they are fashioned from earth; likewise not to covet riches, to spurn the pleasures of the body, because wealth and the body itself, whose hospitality we use, are earth. Worship the Living One, that you may live; for he must die who has assigned himself and his soul to the dead.

Editors' notes and page, col. 262

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 262
marginal letters: A leste animal cum terrenis; B tis, quo oculos atque mentem; C tico, cap. 11; et Arnobium (in the notes, not set); D In terramque vergentibus coaequari (in the notes, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: first word "leste" is the end of "coeleste" broken from the column before, set as printed; the heading "[VA]RIORUM NOTAE", printed across both columns below the text block and cut off at the left edge, is not set; the editors' Variorum notae at the page foot are left for the later pass

PL 6:263

CAPUT III.

Chapter III.

Quod Cicero aliique doctiores peccaverunt, non avertendo populos ab errore.

That Cicero and other more learned men did wrong in not turning the peoples away from error.

Sed quid prodest ad vulgus et ad homines imperitos hoc modo concionari? cum videamus etiam doctos et prudentes viros, cum religionum intelligant vanitatem, nihilominus tamen in iis ipsis, quae damnant, colendis nescio qua pravitate perstare. Intelligebat Cicero falsa esse, quae homines adorarent. Nam cum multa dixisset quae ad eversionem religionum valerent, ait tamen non esse illa vulgo disputanda, ne susceptas publice religiones disputatio talis extinguat. Quid de eo facias, qui, cum errare se sentiat, ultro ipse in lapides impingat, ut populus omnis offendat? ipse sibi oculos eruat, ut omnes caeci sint? qui nec de aliis bene mereatur, quos patitur errare; nec de se ipso, qui alienis accedit erroribus, nec utitur tandem sapientiae suae bono, ut factis impleat, quod mente percepit, sed prudens et sciens pedem laqueo inserit, ut simul cum caeteris, quos liberare ut prudentior debuit, et ipse capiatur? Quin potius, si quid tibi, Cicero, virtutis est, experire populum facere sapientem: digna res est, ubi omnes eloquentiae tuae vires exerceas. Non enim verendum est ne te in tam bona causa deficiat oratio,

But what does it profit to harangue the common people and unlearned men in this way, when we see that even learned and wise men, though they understand the vanity of the religions, nevertheless persist, through some perversity or other, in worshipping the very things which they condemn? Cicero understood that the things which men adored were false. For when he had said many things which tended to the overthrow of the religions, he nevertheless says that these matters ought not to be discussed before the common people, lest such a discussion extinguish the religions publicly adopted. What are you to do with a man who, though he perceives that he is in error, of his own accord dashes himself against stones so that the whole people may stumble? who tears out his own eyes so that all may be blind? who neither deserves well of others, whom he allows to go astray, nor of himself, since he joins in the errors of others, nor at last makes use of the benefit of his own wisdom so as to fulfil in deeds what he has grasped in mind, but knowingly and wittingly thrusts his foot into the snare, so that he himself too is caught together with the rest, whom, as the wiser man, he ought to have set free? Rather, if you have any virtue, Cicero, try to make the people wise: it is a worthy matter on which to exercise all the powers of your eloquence. For there is no need to fear that in so good a cause speech should fail you,

Editors' notes and page, col. 263

Footnotes

Cicero: namely, in the outstanding books On the Nature of the Gods.

(Ait tamen non esse illa) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 263 Ait tamen non esse illa. Ait in libro quodam deperdito. In Ciceronianis enim hodie non extat. CELL.

Ait tamen non esse illa ("yet he says that they are not"). He says it in some lost book; for it is not found today in Cicero's works. CELLARIUS.

(Quid de eo facias) ‹anchor: Quid de eo facias› · call in col 263 Quid de eo facias. Ita lego cum melioribus et antiquioribus mss. 6 Reg., 4 Colb., Lipsiensibus, Goth., Em., Brun. In 8 rec., et in vulgatis est, Quid ei facies. — Quid de eo facies. Praestat, inquit Cell. vulgato, ei. Est ei in Lips., Bon., Reimm., Sublac., Ven. 1471, 97, Rost., Paris., reliquis, nec contra indolem Cic. et Lactantii. Hic lib. III, cap. 18: Quid Ciceroni faciemus? Cap. 20: Quid his facias, qui inconcessa scrutari volunt? Lib. V, cap. 12: Quid iis facias, qui jus vocant carnificinas? Cicero pro Caecina, cap. 11, pr. Quid huic tu homini facias? BUNEMAN.

Quid de eo facias ("what are you to do about him"). So I read with the better and older manuscripts, 6 Royal, 4 Colbert, the Leipzig, the Gotha, the Emmanuel, the Brunswick. In 8 recent ones and in the common editions it is Quid ei facies ("what will you do to him"). — Quid de eo facies. It is better, says Cellarius, than the common ei. Ei is in the Leipzig, Bologna, Reimmann's, the Subiaco, the Venice editions of 1471 and 97, the Rostock, the Paris, and the rest, and it is not against the manner of Cicero and Lactantius. Here, book III, ch. 18: "What shall we do with Cicero?" Ch. 20: "What are you to do with those who wish to search out things not granted?" Book V, ch. 12: "What are you to do with those who call butcheries law?" Cicero, For Caecina, ch. 11, beginning: "What are you to do with this man?" BÜNEMANN.

(Ultro se ipse in lapides impingat) ‹anchor: ultro ipse in lapides impingat› · call in col 263 Ultro se ipse in lapides impingat. Recte duo Lips. illud se, vulgo neglectum, interponunt, quod indoles verbi impingendi reposcit. BUNEMAN.

Ultro se ipse in lapides impingat ("of his own accord dash himself against stones"). Rightly two Leipzig manuscripts insert that se ("himself"), commonly omitted, which the nature of the verb impingere demands. BÜNEMANN.

(Oculos eruat) ‹anchor: sibi oculos eruat› · call in col 263 Oculos eruat. De Opif. cap. 8 Erutis et effossis oculis. Probata locutio. Senec. cap. 7. Suas. Eruentur oculi tui. Filius Sen. de Provid. 5. Justin. lib. V. cap. 8. BUNEMAN.

Oculos eruat ("tear out his eyes"). On the Workmanship, ch. 8: "With eyes torn out and dug out." An approved expression. Seneca, Suasoriae ch. 7: "Your eyes will be torn out." Seneca the son, On Providence 5. Justin, book V, ch. 8. BÜNEMANN.

(Prudens et sciens pedem laqueo inserit) ‹anchor: prudens et sciens pedem laqueo inserit› · call in col 263 Prudens et sciens pedem laqueo inserit. Ven. 1497. vitiose, prudens et sciens. Pari elegantia lib. VI, cap. 12: Prudens ac sciens in hos se laqueos induit. Cic. pro Marcello 5: Ut prudens et sciens tamquam ad interitum voluntarium. Ubi Abramus plura. BUNEMAN.

Prudens et sciens pedem laqueo inserit ("wittingly and knowingly puts his foot in the snare"). Venice 1497, faultily, prudens et sciens. With equal elegance book VI, ch. 12: "Wittingly and knowingly he entangles himself in these snares." Cicero, For Marcellus 5: "As if wittingly and knowingly to a voluntary death." Where Abram has more. BÜNEMANN.

(Vires exerceas) ‹anchor: eloquentiae tuae vires exerceas› · call in col 263 Vires exerceas. Goth. Reimm. cum Sublac. Rost. Ven. 1471, 72, utraque 78, et reliquis, exeras, id est, exseras, ut Arnob. lib. I, pag. 11: Intestinas exserant experianturque virtutes. At praestat, exerceas, quod quoque expressit ed. Paris. 1513. Ita solet noster lib. III, cap. 16: Sapientia, quo vim suam exerceat; lib. VII, cap. 4: Vim suae rationis exerceat. BUNEMAN.

Vires exerceas ("you should exercise the powers"). The Gotha, Reimmann's, with the Subiaco, the Rostock, the Venice editions of 1471, 72, both of 78, and the rest: exeras, that is, exseras ("put forth"), as Arnobius, book I, p. 11: "Let them put forth and test their inward powers." But exerceas is better, which the Paris edition of 1513 also printed. So our author is wont to say, book III, ch. 16: "Wisdom, in order to exercise its power"; book VII, ch. 4: "Let him exercise the power of his reason." BÜNEMANN.

(Ne te in tam bona causa deficiat oratio) ‹anchor: ne te in tam bona causa deficiat ora[tio]› · call in col 263 Ne te in tam bona causa deficiat oratio. Locutio Ciceroniana, quae est optimorum mss. et editorum multorum. Scripti 8. rec. et quinque impressi habent tibi.

Ne te in tam bona causa deficiat oratio ("lest speech fail you in so good a cause"). A Ciceronian expression, which is that of the best manuscripts and many editions. 8 recent manuscripts and five printed ones have tibi ("to you").

(Sed nimirum Socratis carcerem times) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 264 Sed nimirum Socratis carcerem times. Hic Ciceronem exagitat Lactantius, quod veritatem, ne mortis periculum adiret, noluerit Romanis declarare. Val. Max., Xenophon et Diogenes Laertius referunt, quam forti animo Socrates ab Atheniensibus damnatus, potionem veneni e manu carnificis acceperit. Hanc historiam refert Plato in Phaed.

Sed nimirum Socratis carcerem times ("but doubtless you fear the prison of Socrates"). Here Lactantius rebukes Cicero for having been unwilling to declare the truth to the Romans, lest he incur the danger of death. Valerius Maximus, Xenophon and Diogenes Laertius relate with what brave spirit Socrates, condemned by the Athenians, received the draught of poison from the executioner's hand. Plato relates this story in the Phaedo.

(Et erat quidem multo pulchrius) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 264 Et erat quidem multo pulchrius. Sic legendum est ex antiquo codice Bonon. cum quo 6 Reg., 6 Colb., quinque Vaticani, 2 Clarom. et Brun. concordant. Et sane nisi copula illa, et, addatur, nulla potest constare sententia. THOMASIUS. — Sic etiam habent Cauc., Lips., Pal., Jun. Sic legit Is., Thysiana editio, et antiquiss. an. 1490, ut et Betuleiana. In 12 mss. deest quidem.

Et erat quidem multo pulchrius ("and indeed it was much finer"). So it must be read from the ancient Bologna codex, with which 6 Royal, 6 Colbert, five Vatican, 2 Clermont and the Brunswick agree. And truly, unless that conjunction et is added, no sense can stand. THOMASIUS. — So also have the Caucian, the Leipzig, the Palatine, the Junius. So Isaeus reads, and the Thysius edition, and the most ancient one of the year 1490, as also Betuleius's. In 12 manuscripts quidem ("indeed") is lacking.

(Philippicae) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 264 Philippicae. Novem in M. Antonium Cicero scripserat invectivas, quibus, ad imitationem Demosthenis, Philippicarum titulum fecit. Atque hae orationes in causa fuerunt, cur ab Augusto Antonius mortem Ciceronis exoraverit.

Philippicae ("the Philippics"). Cicero had written nine invectives against Mark Antony, to which, in imitation of Demosthenes, he gave the title of Philippics. And these speeches were the reason why Antony prevailed on Augustus to grant him Cicero's death.

(Revocatae) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 264 Revocatae. Sic omnino recte mss. et Parrh., Ald., Crat., Gymn., Gryph., Betul., primae Tornesianae, Thomasius et sequentes, ut cohaereant, discussus.... et... revocatae. Eleganter vero dictum mentes ad sanitatem revocatae, id est, saniora, rectiora consilia. Sic Hirtius B. Alex. cap. 24: Cives ad sanitatem revocare. BUNEMAN.

Revocatae ("recalled"). So, quite rightly, the manuscripts and Parrhasius, Aldus, Cratander, Gymnicus, Gryphius, Betuleius, the first Tornaesius editions, Thomasius and those following, so that discussus.... and... revocatae hang together. Elegantly said is mentes ad sanitatem revocatae ("minds recalled to soundness"), that is, to sounder, more upright counsels. So Hirtius, Alexandrian War ch. 24: "To recall the citizens to soundness." BÜNEMANN.

(Hoc enim quod oculis subjectum est) ‹anchor: Hoc enim quod oculis subjectum est› · call in col 264 Hoc enim quod oculis subjectum est, etc. Hic Platonem sequitur Lactantius: Plato siquidem, in Alcibiade hominis essentiam posuit in anima intellectiva. Attamen corpus non est tantum instrumentum; verum est de essentia ipsius hominis, qui duabus constat partibus, corpore scilicet atque anima intellectiva: sed Lactantius denominationem facit a potiori et digniori parte; anima enim est potissima pars hominis, et ex illa elucent praecipuae hominis dignitates. Qui plura volet, consulat Isaeum in notis ad Lactantium. Has addidimus ad finem hujus voluminis.

Hoc enim quod oculis subjectum est ("for this which is set before the eyes"), etc. Here Lactantius follows Plato: for Plato, in the Alcibiades, placed the essence of man in the intellective soul. Yet the body is not merely an instrument; it truly belongs to the essence of man himself, who consists of two parts, namely the body and the intellective soul. But Lactantius names him from the stronger and worthier part; for the soul is the chief part of man, and from it shine the principal dignities of man. Whoever wants more, let him consult Isaeus in his notes on Lactantius. We have added them at the end of this volume.

(printed under page 135)

Page

running head: 263 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVI[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A CAPUT III.; B omnis offendat? ipse sibi oculos eruat; C Cicero. Scilicet in eximiis (notes); D oculi tui. Filius Sen. (notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: last word "ora-" (oratio) split at the column break, English ends with "speech" to match; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" and the Variorum notes beneath it (Cicero. Scilicet...; Ait tamen...; Buneman, Cell.) not set, left for the later pass; the italic chapter summary "Quod Cicero aliique..." set as a caption on its own line, as printed

PL 6:264

qui saepe etiam malas copiose ac fortiter defendisti. Sed nimirum Socratis carcerem times, ideoque patrocinium veritatis suscipere non audes. At mortem ut sapiens contemnere debuisti. Et erat quidem multo pulchrius, ut ob bene dicta potius, quam ob maledicta morereris. Nec plus tibi laudes Philippicae afferre potuerunt, quam discussus error humani generis, et mentes hominum ad sanitatem tua disputatione revocatae.

you who have often defended even bad [causes] copiously and boldly. But no doubt you fear the prison of Socrates, and therefore you do not dare to take up the advocacy of the truth. Yet as a wise man you ought to have despised death. And indeed it would have been far nobler for you to die on account of things well said rather than on account of abuse. Nor could the Philippics have brought you more praise than the error of the human race dispelled, and the minds of men recalled to soundness by your disputation.

Sed concedamus timiditati, quae in sapiente esse non debet. Quid ergo ipse in eodem versaris errore? Video te terrena et manufacta venerari: vana esse intelligis, et tamen eadem facis quae faciunt ipsi, quos ipse stultissimos confiteris. Quid igitur profuit vidisse te veritatem, quam nec defensurus esses, nec secuturus? Si libenter errant etiam ii qui errare se sentiunt, quanto magis vulgus indoctum, quod pompis inanibus gaudet, animisque puerilibus spectat omnia? oblectatur frivolis, et specie simulacrorum capitur, nec ponderare secum unamquamque rem potest, ut intelligat nihil colendum esse quod oculis mortalibus cernitur, quia mortale sit necesse est. Nec mirandum est, si Deum non videant, cum ipsi ne hominem quidem videant, quem videre se credunt. Hoc enim quod oculis subjectum est, non

But let us make allowance for timidity, which ought not to be found in a wise man. Why then do you yourself remain in the same error? I see you venerate earthly and hand-made things: you understand that they are vain, and yet you do the same things that those very people do whom you yourself confess to be most foolish. What then did it profit you to have seen the truth, which you were going neither to defend nor to follow? If even those who perceive that they are in error err willingly, how much more the unlearned common people, which delights in empty pageants and views everything with childish minds? It is delighted by trifles, and is captivated by the appearance of images, nor can it weigh each thing within itself so as to understand that nothing ought to be worshipped which is perceived by mortal eyes, since it must necessarily be mortal. Nor is it to be wondered at if they do not see God, when they do not even see man, whom they believe they see. For this which is subject to the eyes is not

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running head: LACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 264 (initial L cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹tio, qui saepe etiam malas›; B ‹vidisse te veritatem, quam nec›; C ‹Sed nimirum Socratis carcerem times. Hic Ciceronem› (in the Variorum Notae); D ‹Revocatae. Sic omnino recte mss.› (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "tio", the end of a word broken from col. 263; a small mark (";"-like, possibly a section sign or damaged numeral) printed before "Sed concedamus" not set, UNSURE what it is; "venerari : vana" printed with a space before the colon, set as "venerari: vana"; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" printed across both columns below the text, cut off at the left image edge, not set; VARIORUM NOTAE (Commentarius) at the page foot not set (later pass); the column at left belongs to col. 263 and is not set

PL 6:265

homo, sed hominis receptaculum est; cujus qualitas et figura, non ex lineamentis vasculi quo continetur, sed ex factis et moribus pervidetur. Qui ergo colunt simulacra, corpora sunt hominibus carentia, quia se corporalibus dediderunt, nec vident plus aliquid mente quam corpore; cum sit animi officium ea subtilius cernere, quae acies corporalis non potest intueri. Quos homines idem ille philosophus ac poeta graviter accusat, tamquam humiles et abjectos, qui contra naturae suae rationem ad veneranda terrena se prosternant: ait enim (Lucret., lib. VI de Natura rerum, v. 51):

the man, but the receptacle of the man; and his quality and shape are discerned not from the lineaments of the vessel in which he is contained, but from his deeds and conduct. Those, therefore, who worship images are bodies lacking men, because they have given themselves over to corporeal things, and see nothing more with the mind than with the body; although it is the office of the soul to discern more subtly those things which the bodily sight cannot behold. These men that same philosopher and poet gravely accuses, as lowly and abject, since against the reason of their own nature they prostrate themselves to venerate earthly things; for he says (Lucretius, book 6 of On the Nature of Things, line 51):

Et faciunt animos humiles formidine divum, / Depressosque premunt ad terram.

And they make minds lowly through fear of the gods, / and press them down, bowed, to the earth.

Aliud quidem ille, cum haec diceret, sentiebat; nihil utique esse colendum, quia dii humana non curent.

He indeed meant something else when he said this: that nothing at all is to be worshipped, because the gods do not care for human affairs.

Denique alio loco religiones deorum et cultus inane esse officium confitetur (Idem, lib. V, ad finem):

Finally, in another place he confesses that the rites and worship of the gods are an empty duty (the same, book 5, towards the end):

Nec pietas ulla est, velatum saepe videri / Vertere se ad lapidem, atque omnes accedere ad aras, / Et procumbere humi prostratum, et pandere palmas / Ante deum delubra, nec aras sanguine multo / Spargere quadrupedum, nec votis nectere vota.

Nor is it any piety to be seen often, with veiled head, / turning towards a stone, and approaching all the altars, / and falling prostrate on the ground, and spreading out the palms / before the shrines of the gods, nor sprinkling the altars with much blood / of four-footed beasts, nor linking vows to vows.

Quae profecto si cassa sunt, non oportet sublimes et

But if these things are indeed void, it is not fitting that lofty and

Editors' notes and page, col. 265

Footnotes

(Non homo) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 265 Non homo. De hoc vide supra cap. 1, col. 255, nota.....

Non homo ("not the man"). On this see above, ch. 1, col. 255, note.....

(Corpora sunt hominibus carentia) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 265 Corpora sunt hominibus carentia. Sic legendum est hominibus ex mss. 2 Bonon., 9 Reg., 3 Vatic., 5 Colb., Cauc., Tax., Pal., Pen., 1 Sorbon., Lips., Ultr., 1 Clarom., Em., Cantab., Brun. et ex pluribus editis; quae vox idem sonat quod animabus in hac Platonicorum sententia. In 4 mss. rec. et nonnullis editis est animabus; sed legendum hominibus, quod est multo elegantius juxta Thomasium; hominis enim essentiam et rationem in anima statuit Plato. — Corpora... hominibus carentia. Lactantius audiatur de Opif. c. 1: Corpus vas est... quo animus, id est homo ipse verus continetur. Ibid. cap. 19: Corpusculum... hominis receptaculum est, lib. V, cap. 21: Animus, in quo solo est homo, etc. BUNEMAN.

Corpora sunt hominibus carentia ("they are bodies lacking men"). Hominibus is to be read so from 2 Bologna manuscripts, 9 Royal, 3 Vatican, 5 Colbert, the Caucian, the Taxian, the Palatine, the Penrose, 1 Sorbonne, the Leipzig, the Utrecht, 1 Clermont, the Emmanuel, the Cambridge, the Brunswick, and from several editions; a word that means the same as animabus ("souls") in this doctrine of the Platonists. In 4 recent manuscripts and some editions it is animabus; but hominibus is to be read, which is much more elegant according to Thomasius; for Plato set the essence and reason of man in the soul. — Corpora... hominibus carentia. Let Lactantius be heard, On the Workmanship, ch. 1: "The body is a vessel... by which the mind, that is the true man himself, is contained." Ibid., ch. 19: "The little body... is the receptacle of the man"; book V, ch. 21: "The mind, in which alone is the man," etc. BÜNEMANN.

(Dediderunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 265 Dediderunt. Ita restitui ex edit. Is. et cunctis fere mss. In 2 Colbert., Cauc., Cantab. et in vulgatis est dederunt.

Dediderunt ("they have given themselves up"). So I have restored it from Isaeus's edition and almost all the manuscripts. In 2 Colbert, the Caucian, the Cambridge and in the common editions it is dederunt ("they have given").

(Acies corporalis) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 265 Acies corporalis. Lib. VII, cap. 13, Quum mentis acies multo clarior... quam corporis. Aciem de oculis dici frustra quidam negant. Ipse Cicero lib. V Fin., cap. 28: Bonum incolumis acies, misera caecitas. BUNEMAN.

Acies corporalis ("the bodily sight"). Book VII, ch. 13: "Since the sight of the mind is much clearer... than that of the body." Some deny in vain that acies is said of the eyes. Cicero himself, On Ends book V, ch. 28: "Unimpaired sight is a good, blindness a misery." BÜNEMANN.

(Velatum) ‹anchor: velatum saepe videri› · call in col 265 Velatum. Ms. 1 Bonon. antiq., vulgatum. Sed vera prior lectio; qui enim deos venerabantur, velato erant capite. Vide Plutarchum, ἐν Ῥωμαϊκοῖς; Plaut., Amphitr.; Virgil., lib. III Aeneid., v. 545.

Velatum ("veiled"). 1 ancient Bologna manuscript: vulgatum ("made common"). But the former reading is the true one; for those who worshipped the gods had their heads veiled. See Plutarch, in the Roman Questions; Plautus, Amphitryon; Virgil, Aeneid book III, line 545.

(Vertere se ad lapidem) ‹anchor: Vertere se ad lapidem› · call in col 265 Vertere se ad lapidem. Sic lego cum veteribus editis Rom., Torn.; Soubron., ac omnibus mss. praeter rec. Em., Cantab. et edit. 14, in quibus est, vertier ad lapidem, ut legitur apud Lucretium. — Vertier ad lapidem. Sic libri Lucretiani, atque Lucretio illud vertier, libro I, pag. et l. 2, 926, quoque usitatum. Praeferenda igitur haec Aldi, Crat., Gymn., Griph., Botul., Rost., Paris., Parrhas., Tornes. vertere, se. BUN.

Vertere se ad lapidem ("to turn oneself to a stone"). So I read with the old editions, the Roman, Tornaesius, Soubron, and all the manuscripts except the recent Emmanuel, the Cambridge and 14 editions, in which it is vertier ad lapidem, as is read in Lucretius. — Vertier ad lapidem. So the books of Lucretius, and that vertier is customary in Lucretius too, book I, p. [blank], and book 2, 926. This is therefore to be preferred to the vertere, se of Aldus, Cratander, Gymnicus, Gryphius, Betuleius, the Rostock, the Paris, Parrhasius, Tornaesius. BÜNEMANN.

(Et procumbere) ‹anchor: Et procumbere humi› · call in col 265 Et procumbere. Sic mss. et edit. Rom., Crat., et Torn. In vulgatis, nec procumbere.

Et procumbere ("and to fall forward"). So the manuscripts and the editions of Rome, Cratander and Tornaesius. In the common editions: nec procumbere ("nor to fall forward").

(Avocari) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 266 Avocari. Ita correxi ex cunctis ferme mss. et vet. editis. In 2 mss. rec. et editis, advocari; in Brun., evocari. — Avocari. Confirmamus ex ipso Lactantio, l. VI, c. 6: Ut a coelestibus avocatum terrenisque demersum... interficiant; infra: Neque fas est animam coelestibus intentam bonis... ab immortalibus suis bonis avocari. BUNEMAN.

Avocari ("to be called away"). So I have corrected it from almost all the manuscripts and the old editions. In 2 recent manuscripts and the editions: advocari ("to be called to"); in the Brunswick, evocari ("to be called out"). — Avocari. We confirm it from Lactantius himself, book VI, ch. 6: "That they may kill [the man] called away from heavenly things and sunk in earthly ones"; below: "Nor is it right that the soul, intent on heavenly goods,... should be called away from its own immortal goods." BÜNEMANN.

(Et eo modo) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 266 Et eo modo. Sic legendum esse cum Thomasio censeo ex Bonon., Ultr., 2 Brun., aliisque mss., ut sensus sit, refutatis falsis religionibus et nulla certa constituta, eo tamquam modo et via quadam inductos esse reprehensores religionum, ut nullam esse dicerent, qui error gravior fuit quam eorum qui falsam sectabantur. Eodem autem modo, ut in 8 editis et impressis est, legi nullo modo potest; quia non eodem modo, neque eisdem rationibus aliquis efficitur contemptor religionum, vel sectator falsae religionis, sed contrario modo, et plane repugnantibus rationibus. GALLAEUS.

Et eo modo ("and in this way"). I judge with Thomasius that it should be read so, from the Bologna, the Utrecht, 2 Brunswick and other manuscripts, so that the sense is: once false religions were refuted and no certain one established, the critics of religions were led by that, as by a kind of way and path, to say that there was none; an error graver than that of those who followed a false one. Eodem modo ("in the same way"), as it stands in 8 editions and printings, can by no means be read; for one is not made a despiser of religions, or a follower of a false religion, in the same way or for the same reasons, but in the opposite way and for plainly conflicting reasons. GALLAEUS.

(Siquidem hominum atque mutorum, crimen est) ‹anchor: siquidem hominum atque mutorum› · call in col 266 Siquidem hominum atque mutorum, crimen est..... Vide infra hoc eodem libro, c. 9, lib. III, c. 10; lib. de Ira Dei, c. 7. Haec opinio a Pythagora in sua Metempsycosi manasse creditur: quam et Plato habuit, et de qua Plutarchus scribit, V Placitor., c. 20. Subit mirari Basilium in Homil. de Paradiso dicentem, bruta omnia fuisse inter se ante Adami lapsum concorditer viventia, quaeque audirent inter se, et mutuo loquerentur sensate. Sed contra disserit S. August., lib. II de Genesi ad litteram, c. 29. Denique soli homini rationem tributam esse docet Spiritus sanctus Psalm. XXXI: Sicut equus et mulus, quibus non est intellectus. et Psal. XLIV: Comparatus est jumentis insipientibus. Quod et ipse Lactantius asseruit libro de Ira Dei, cap. 7 et 13, et de Opificio Dei, cap. 2 et 3. Eam haeresim de brutis ratione participibus Philastrius tribuit Gnosticis et Manichaeis. ISAEUS.

Siquidem hominum atque mutorum, crimen est..... ("since of men and dumb beasts the distinction is....."). See below in this same book, ch. 9; book III, ch. 10; the book On the Wrath of God, ch. 7. This opinion is believed to have flowed from Pythagoras in his metempsychosis: Plato too held it, and Plutarch writes of it, Opinions [of the Philosophers] V, ch. 20. One is moved to wonder at Basil in the Homily on Paradise, saying that all the brute beasts before Adam's fall lived in concord with one another, and heard one another, and spoke to each other with understanding. But St. Augustine argues against this, On Genesis according to the Letter book II, ch. 29. Finally, the Holy Spirit teaches that reason was given to man alone, Psalm XXXI: "Like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding"; and Psalm XLIV: "He has been compared to the senseless beasts." Lactantius himself also asserted this in the book On the Wrath of God, chs. 7 and 13, and On the Workmanship of God, chs. 2 and 3. Philastrius attributes that heresy, of brutes sharing in reason, to the Gnostics and Manichaeans. ISAEUS.

(Facilius est de alienis) ‹anchor: facilius est de alienis judicare› · call in col 266 Facilius est de alienis. Respexit ad Terentii locum adductum a Lactantio, l. III, c. 4; Senec., ep. 109: Homines plus in alieno negotio videre, quam in suo; Cic., lib. III Tuscul., c. 30: Proprium est stultitiae aliorum vitia cernere, oblivisci suorum. BUNEMAN.

Facilius est de alienis ("it is easier about others' affairs"). He had in view the passage of Terence cited by Lactantius, book III, ch. 4; Seneca, Letter 109: "Men see more in another's business than in their own"; Cicero, Tusculans book III, ch. 30: "It is the mark of folly to discern the faults of others and forget its own." BÜNEMANN.

(Odor quidam sapientiae) ‹anchor: odor quidam sapientiae› · call in col 266 Odor quidam sapientiae. Id est, vestigium quoddam sapientiae. — Odor quidam sapientiae. Admodum amat hanc elegantem locutionem, lib. VI, cap. 12. Quasi odore quodam veritatis retenti. Ibid. c. 22: Quem nec odor quidem virtutis attigerit. Lib. VII, cap. 1: Philosophi veritatem ita leviter odoratos, ut tamen unde eos (continues)

Odor quidam sapientiae ("a certain scent of wisdom"), that is, a certain trace of wisdom. — Odor quidam sapientiae. He is very fond of this elegant expression: book VI, ch. 12: "Held back as if by a certain scent of truth." Ibid., ch. 22: "Whom not even the scent of virtue has touched." Book VII, ch. 1: "That the philosophers had scented the truth so lightly that yet whence they (continues)

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running head: 265 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[RRORIS] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A homo, sed hominis receptaculum est; B utique esse colendum, quia dii; C tr., 1 Clarom., Em., Cantab.; D Velatum. Ms. 1 Bonon. antiq.
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: verse quotations set as one paragraph each, lines divided by " / "; "graviter" has a damaged e, read as graviter; "continetur" and "terrena" slightly broken type, read as printed words; column begins "homo", its "non" standing in the previous column (cf. note "Non homo"); full-width heading "VARIORUM NOT[AE]" below the text block not set (cut off at right edge); Variorum notes (Non homo... Avocari...) not set, left for the later pass; printer's signature PATROL. VI omitted

PL 6:266

excelsos animos avocari, atque in terram premi, sed nihil aliud quam coelestia cogitare.

exalted minds be called away and pressed down to the earth, but that they think of nothing other than heavenly things.

Impugnatae sunt ergo a prudentioribus falsae religiones, quia sentiebant esse falsas: sed non est inducta vera, quia qualis, aut ubi esset, ignorabant. Itaque sic habuerunt, tanquam nulla esset omnino, quia veram non poterant invenire. Et eo modo inciderunt in errorem multo majorem quam illi qui falsam tenebant. Nam isti fragilium cultores, quamvis sint inepti, quia coelestia constituunt in rebus corruptibilibus atque terrenis, aliquid tamen sapientiae retinent, et habere veniam possunt, quia summum hominis officium, etsi non reipsa, tamen proposi⟨t⟩o tenent: siquidem hominum atque mutorum, vel solum, vel certe maximum in religione discrimen est. Hi vero quanto fuerunt sapientiores, quod intellexerunt falsae religionis errorem, tanto facti sunt stultiores, quod esse aliquam veram non putaverunt. Itaque quoniam facilius est de alienis judicare, quam de suis; dum aliorum praecipitium vident, non prospexerunt quid ante suos pedes esset. In utraque igitur parte, et summa stultitia invenitur, et odor quidam sapientiae: ut possis dubitare, quos dicas potissimum stultiores, illosne qui falsam religionem suscipiunt,

False religions, therefore, were attacked by the more prudent, because they perceived that they were false; but the true one was not brought in, because they did not know of what sort it was, or where it was. And so they treated the matter as though there were none at all, because they could not find the true one. And in this way they fell into an error much greater than those who held the false one. For these worshippers of perishable things, although they are foolish, because they place heavenly things in corruptible and earthly objects, nevertheless retain something of wisdom, and can be granted pardon, because they hold to the highest duty of man, if not in fact, yet in intention: since indeed the difference between men and dumb animals lies either solely, or at any rate chiefly, in religion. But those others, the wiser they were in that they understood the error of false religion, the more foolish they became in that they did not think that there was any true one. And so, since it is easier to judge of other people's affairs than of one's own, while they see the headlong fall of others, they did not foresee what was before their own feet. On both sides, therefore, there is found both the utmost folly and a certain scent of wisdom: so that you might be in doubt whom you should above all call the more foolish, those who take up a false religion,

Editors' notes and page, col. 266

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running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS.
marginal letters: A excelsos animos avocari; B vero quanto fuerunt sapientiores; C sus sit, refutatis falsis religionibus (in the Variorum notae); D mini rationem tributam esse (in the Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 6:267

an eos qui nullam. Sed (ut dixi) venia concedi potest imperitis, et qui se sapientes non esse fateantur: his vero non potest qui, sapientiam professi, stultitiam potius exhibent. Non sum equidem tam iniquus, ut eos putem divinare potuisse, ut veritatem per seipsos invenirent; quod fieri ego non posse confiteor. Sed hoc ab his exigo, quod ratione ipsa praestare potuerunt. Facerent enim prudentius, si et intelligerent esse aliquam veram religionem, et falsis impugnatis, aperte pronuntiarent, eam, quae vera esset, ab hominibus non teneri.

or those who [hold] none. But (as I said) pardon can be granted to the unskilled, and to those who confess that they are not wise; but it cannot be granted to these who, having professed wisdom, display folly instead. I am not indeed so unfair as to think that they could have divined their way to finding the truth by themselves; which I confess cannot be done. But I demand of them this, which they could have achieved by reason itself. For they would have acted more prudently if they had both understood that there is some true religion and, having attacked the false ones, had openly declared that the one which was true was not held by men.

Sed moverit eos fortasse illud, quod si qua vera esset religio, exereret se ac vindicaret, nec pateretur esse aliud quidquam. Videre enim nullo modo poterant, quare, aut a quo, et quemadmodum Religio vera opprimeretur; quod est divini sacramenti, et coelestis arcani. Id vero, nisi doceatur, aliquis scire nullo pacto potest. Summa rei haec est: imperiti et insipientes falsas religiones pro veris habent, quia neque veram sciunt, neque falsam intelligunt. Prudentiores vero, quia veram nesciunt, aut in iis, quas falsas esse intelligunt, perseverant, ut aliquid tenere videantur, aut omnino nihil colunt, ne incidant in errorem, cum id ipsum maximi sit erroris vitam pecudum sub figura hominis imitari. Falsum vero intelligere, est quidem sapientiae, sed humanae. Ultra hunc gradum procedi ab homine non potest; itaque multi philosophorum religiones (ut docui) sustulerunt: verum autem scire divinae est sapientiae. Homo autem per seipsum pervenire ad hanc scientiam non potest, nisi doceatur a Deo. Ita philosophi quod

But perhaps this moved them: that if there were any true religion, it would put itself forth and assert itself, and would not suffer anything else to exist. For they could in no way see why, or by whom, and in what manner the true Religion was being suppressed; which belongs to the divine mystery and the heavenly secret. This indeed no one can know by any means unless he is taught. The sum of the matter is this: the unskilled and the foolish hold false religions for true, because they neither know the true nor understand the false. But the more prudent, because they do not know the true, either persevere in those which they understand to be false, so as to seem to hold something, or worship nothing at all, lest they fall into error, although this very thing is a mark of the greatest error, to imitate the life of cattle under the form of a man. To understand what is false is indeed a matter of wisdom, but of human wisdom. Beyond this step man cannot proceed; and so many of the philosophers (as I have shown) did away with religions: but to know what is true belongs to divine wisdom. Yet man cannot by himself arrive at this knowledge unless he is taught by God. Thus the philosophers, what

Editors' notes and page, col. 267

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running head: 267 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A an eos qui nullam; B vera opprimeretur; C non potest, nisi doceatur a Deo; D man., c. I, v. 19 (in the notes at the page foot)
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PL 6:268

summum fuit humanae sapientiae assecuti sunt, ut intelligerent quid non sit: illud assequi nequiverunt, ut dicerent quid sit. Nota Ciceronis vox est (Lib. I de Natura deorum): « Utinam tam facile vera invenire possem, quam falsa convincere. » Quod quia vires humanae conditionis excedit, ejus officii facultas nobis est attributa, quibus tradidit Deus scientiam veritatis; cui explicandae quatuor posteriores libri servient. Nunc interim falsa, ut coepimus, detegamus.

was the highest point of human wisdom, attained, namely that they understood what is not; that other thing they were unable to attain, namely to say what is. Well known is the saying of Cicero (Book 1, On the Nature of the Gods): 'Would that I could find out the true as easily as I can refute the false.' Since this exceeds the powers of the human condition, the capacity for that task has been granted to us, to whom God has handed down the knowledge of the truth; to the setting forth of this the four later books will be devoted. Meanwhile, for now, let us, as we have begun, uncover what is false.

CAPUT IV.

Chapter IV.

De Simulacris, ornamentisque templorum, et eorum contemptu, etiam ab ipsis Gentilibus.

Of images and the ornaments of temples, and of the contempt for them, even on the part of the Gentiles themselves.

Quid igitur majestatis possunt habere simulacra, quae fuerunt in homunculi potestate, vel ut aliud fierent, vel ut omnino non fierent? Idcirco apud Horatium Priapus ita loquitur:

What majesty, then, can images have, which were in the power of a little man, either to be made into something else or not to be made at all? For this reason, in Horace, Priapus speaks thus:

Olim truncus eram ficulnus, inutile lignum; Cum faber incertus, scamnum faceretne Priapum, Maluit esse deum. Deus inde ego, furum aviumque Maxima formido.

Once I was a fig-wood trunk, a useless log; when the craftsman, uncertain whether to make a bench or a Priapus, preferred that I be a god. Thenceforth I am a god, the greatest terror of thieves and birds.

Quis non sit tanto hoc custode securus? Fures enim tam stulti sunt, ut Priapi tentiginem timeant; cum aves ipsae, quas terrore falcis aut inguinis abigi existimant, simulacris fabrefactis, id est, hominum plane similibus, insidant, nidificent, inquinent. Sed Flaccus, ut satyrici carminis scriptor, derisit hominum vanitatem. Verum ii qui faciunt, seriam se facere rem opinantur. Denique poeta maximus, homo in caeteris prudens, in hoc solo non poetice, sed aniliter desipuit; cum in illis emendatissimis libris etiam fieri hoc jubet:

Who would not be secure with so great a guardian as this? For thieves are so foolish as to fear the lust of Priapus, while the very birds, which they think are driven off by the terror of his sickle or his groin, settle on, nest in and befoul the fashioned images, that is, images plainly like men. But Flaccus, as a writer of satirical verse, mocked the vanity of men. Yet those who make them think they are doing a serious thing. Indeed the greatest poet, a man prudent in other matters, in this alone played the fool, not as a poet but like an old woman, when in those most polished books he even orders this to be done:

Editors' notes and page, col. 268

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running head: LACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 268 (first letters cut off at the image edge; "...CTANTII" visible)
marginal letters: A ‹summum fuit humanae sapientiae›; B ‹fierent, vel ut omnino non fierent›; C ‹etiam fieri hoc jubet›; D ‹Ficulnus. Ficulnus proverbiali› (in the notes area)
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PL 6:269

Et custos furum atque avium, cum falce saligna,

And let the guardian against thieves and birds, with his willow sickle,

Hellespontiaci servet tutela Priapi.

the protection of Hellespontine Priapus, keep [them] safe.

Adorant ergo mortalia, ut a mortalibus facta. Frangi enim, cremari, perire possunt. Nam et tectis vetustate labentibus saepe comminui solent, et consumpta incendio dilabuntur in cinerem, et plerumque (nisi sna illis magnitudo subvenerit, aut custodia diligens sepserit) in praedam furibus cedunt. Quae igitur insania est, ea timere, pro quibus aut ruinae, aut ignes, aut furta timeantur? Quae vanitas, aliquam ab his sperare tutelam, quae tueri semetipsa non possunt? Quae perversitas, ad eorum praesidia decurrere, quae ipsa, cum violantur, inulta sunt, nisi a colentibus

They worship, therefore, mortal things, as being made by mortals. For they can be broken, burned, perish. For when roofs collapse with age they are often smashed to pieces, and consumed by fire they crumble away into ash, and very often (unless their own size has come to their aid, or a careful guard has fenced them about) they fall as plunder to thieves. What madness is it, then, to fear those things for whose sake either collapses, or fires, or thefts are feared? What folly, to hope for any protection from these things, which cannot protect themselves? What perversity, to run for help to the defences of those things which, when they are violated, are themselves unavenged, unless by their worshippers

Editors' notes and page, col. 269

Footnotes

(Et custos) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Et custos. Carmina sunt Virgilii in IV Georgicor.

Et custos ("and the guardian"). These are verses of Virgil in Georgics IV.

(Hellespontiaci) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Hellespontiaci. Priapus colebatur apud Lampsacum, quae Straboni urbs insignis est Hellesponti; unde Priapus et Lampsacenus, et Hellespontiacus dictus est. De quo vide Ovidium lib. VI Fastorum, et Lactantium cap. 21 libri I.

Hellespontiaci ("of the Hellespont"). Priapus was worshipped at Lampsacus, which for Strabo is a notable city of the Hellespont; whence Priapus was called both Lampsacene and Hellespontine. On which see Ovid, Fasti book VI, and Lactantius, book I, ch. 21.

(Tutela) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Tutela. Emmenessio ad h. l. Virgilii, tutela est imago. Sed num ea vox praeter insigne navale, ut Lact. lib. I, c. 11, dictum, id valeat dubito. Est igitur hic proprie defensio, ut ex infra hic apparet, ubi: Quae vanitas ab his sperare tutelam, quae tueri semetipsa non possunt? Arnob. l. II, p. 89: Dii certi certas apud vos habent tutelas, licentias, potestates, etc. BUN.

Tutela ("protection"). For Emmeness, on this passage of Virgil, tutela is an image. But I doubt whether the word means that, apart from a ship's figurehead, as said in Lactantius, book I, ch. 11. Here, then, it is properly defence, as appears from below in this place, where: "What vanity to hope for protection from these, which cannot protect themselves?" Arnobius, book II, p. 89: "Certain gods have among you certain protective charges, licences, powers," etc. BÜNEMANN.

(Cremari, perire possunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Cremari, perire possunt. Sic cum editis Gymnic., Tornes., Soubr., Cellar., omnes mss. rotundius, quam duo rec. Reg. et caeteri editi, cremari possunt ac perire; in edit. Betul. est, cremari, perire possent.

Cremari, perire possunt ("they can be burned, can perish"). So, with the editions of Gymnicus, Tornaesius, Soubron, Cellarius, all the manuscripts, more roundly than two recent Royal manuscripts and the other editions, cremari possunt ac perire ("they can be burned and perish"); in Betuleius's edition it is cremari, perire possent.

(Ea timere, pro quibus) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Ea timere, pro quibus, etc. Non inconcinne notat Gallaeus post Gronovium, rectius fore si deleatur vocula pro, et legatur, ea timere quibus aut ruinae, aut ignes, aut furta timeantur. Sic apud Silium Ital. — / Extrema simul gentique urbique timebant. / Quibus ..... timeantur. Caeteri scripti et editi, pro quibus, uti Celsus l. III, c. 11, pro quibus metuimus. BUNEMAN.

Ea timere, pro quibus ("to fear those things for which"), etc. Not inelegantly Gallaeus, after Gronovius, notes that it would be more correct if the little word pro were deleted and one read ea timere quibus aut ruinae, aut ignes, aut furta timeantur ("to fear those things for which ruins, or fires, or thefts are feared"). So in Silius Italicus: "They feared the worst at once for the nation and for the city." — Quibus ..... timeantur. The other manuscripts and editions: pro quibus, as Celsus, book III, ch. 11: pro quibus metuimus ("for which we fear"). BÜNEMANN.

(Sperare) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Sperare. Ita cum Cellario et Walchio lego ex omnibus mss. et edit. Paris. 1525, Crat., Gymnic., Torn., Soubr., Cellar., Walch. In edit. Rom. 1470, Fasitel., Egnat., Thom., Is., Thys., Spark., spectare; nec male. Spectare, pro expectare, forsan genuina Lactantii lectio, qui frequenter verbis simplicibus utitur pro compositis, ut observo alias. — Sperare tutelam. Imitatur Cyprianum ad Demetrian. fol. 328: Pudeat te, eos colere, quos ipse defendis, pudeat tutelam de iis sperare, quos tu ipse tueris. Saepe sperare, spectare, expectare in mss. confundi docui ad Epitom., cap. 61: Ab his aliquod sperare praesidium. Ad rem Conf. Lact. L. V. cap. 20. et Justin. Mart. Apol. 1 sect. 9, fin. et not. Grabii. BUN.

Sperare ("to hope for"). So, with Cellarius and Walch, I read from all the manuscripts and the editions of Paris 1525, Cratander, Gymnicus, Tornaesius, Soubron, Cellarius, Walch. In the editions of Rome 1470, Fasitelius, Egnatius, Thomasius, Isaeus, Thysius, Sparke: spectare ("to look for"); and not badly. Spectare for expectare is perhaps the genuine reading of Lactantius, who often uses simple verbs for compounds, as I observe elsewhere. — Sperare tutelam ("to hope for protection"). He imitates Cyprian, To Demetrian, fol. 328: "Be ashamed to worship those whom you yourself defend; be ashamed to hope for protection from those whom you yourself protect." I have shown on the Epitome, ch. 61, that sperare, spectare, expectare are often confused in manuscripts: "to hope for some defence from these." On the matter compare Lactantius, book V, ch. 20, and Justin Martyr, Apology 1, sect. 9, end, and Grabe's note. BÜNEMANN.

(Quae tueri semetipsa non possunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 269 Quae tueri semetipsa non possunt. Sic mss. antiquiores et meliores cum omnibus editis. Scripti recentiores 2 Regii, 4 Colbert., Em., Brun., quae tueri se nullo modo possunt.

Quae tueri semetipsa non possunt ("which cannot protect themselves"). So the older and better manuscripts with all the editions. The more recent manuscripts, 2 Royal, 4 Colbert, the Emmanuel, the Brunswick: quae tueri se nullo modo possunt ("which can in no way protect themselves").

(Ad ..... praesidia decurrere) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 270 Ad ..... praesidia decurrere. Ut succurrere, est opem ferre, sic decurrere ad praesidia, est opem, auxilium implorare. L. II, c. 14, l. VI, c. 10, jungit: ad alios decurrisse, praesidium implorasse. BUN.

Ad ..... praesidia decurrere ("to run down to the defences"). As succurrere is to bring help, so decurrere ad praesidia is to implore help, aid. Book II, ch. 14, and book VI, ch. 10, he joins: "to have run to others, to have implored defence." BÜNEMANN.

(Excolunt et exornant) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 270 Excolunt et exornant. Unum alterum explicat. Vid. not. 6. cap. 13, ubi bis, simulacra excolere. Sic Cyprianus l. II, ep. 2 ad Donatum: Quum scieris te esse excolendum magis, te potius ornandum. BUN.

Excolunt et exornant ("they adorn and deck out"). The one explains the other. See note 6 on ch. 13, where twice simulacra excolere ("to adorn images"). So Cyprian, book II, letter 2 to Donatus: "When you know that it is you who should rather be adorned, you rather who should be decked." BÜNEMANN.

(Pari enim ratione defunctorum corpora odoribus) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 270 Pari enim ratione defunctorum corpora odoribus, etc. Uncturam mortuorum in usu fuisse etiam apud paganos patet ex Plinio Secund. lib. V, Epist. 16: Non possum exprimere verbis quantum animi vulnus acceperim, cum audivi Fundinum ipsum praecipientem, quod in vestes, margaritas, et gemmas fuerat irrogaturus, hoc in thura, et unguenta, et odores impenderetur. Ex Ovid. IV Fast.: / Osculaque applicuit posito suprema feretro, / Atque ait: invito frater adempte, vale. / Arsurosque artus unxit. / et Apuleio Apol.: Et si thus, et casiam, et myrrham, caeterosque id genus odores funeri tantum emptos arbitreris, cum et medicamento parentur et sacrificio. Hic mos est antiquissimus, et ab Aegyptiis originem traxisse videtur. Sic enim Genes. c. ult: Praecepit (Joseph) servis suis medicis, ut aromatibus condirent patrem. Vide etiam versum ultimum hujusce capitis. Quomodo autem haec fierent, narrant Herodotus lib. II, et Diod. Sicul. Bib. Hist. lib. II, cap. 5. Apud Judaeos etiam hunc morem obtinuisse constat ex Matthaei XXVI, vers. 10, etc., deinde ad Christianos pervenit. Tertull. de Idololatr.: Etiam hominibus ad pigmenta medicinalia, nobis quoque insuper ad solatia sepulturae usui sunt; item Apol. c. 42. Nec solummodo ungi, verum etiam lavari solebant corpora mortuorum: hinc Virgil. Aeneid. VI: / Corpusque lavant frigentis et ungunt. / Hic abluendi ritus etiam in primitiva Ecclesia obtinuit, ut constat ex Actorum cap. IX, v. 37, ubi legitur, Tabitham vita functam confestim lotam fuisse. Ex KIRCHMANNO. — Et hic mos etiamnum perseverat, non modo in omnibus fere monachorum ac monialium caenobiis, sed et vulgo in nonnullis provinciis ac dioecesibus, ut in Abrincensi, in Vascitania et in Benearno erga mortuos laicos. De his plura disseruimus in Itinerario nostro liturgico, gallice edito, Parisiis anno 1718. Ita JOANNES LE BRUN.

Pari enim ratione defunctorum corpora odoribus ("for on the same principle [they anoint] the bodies of the dead with perfumes"), etc. That anointing of the dead was in use among the pagans too is clear from Pliny the Younger, book V, Letter 16: "I cannot express in words what a wound I received in my soul when I heard Fundanus himself directing that what he had meant to spend on clothes, pearls and jewels should be laid out on incense, ointments and perfumes." From Ovid, Fasti IV: "And he pressed last kisses on the bier set down, / and said: brother, taken from me against my will, farewell. / And he anointed the limbs that were to burn." And from Apuleius, Apology: "Even if you think incense, and cassia, and myrrh, and the other perfumes of that kind are bought only for funerals, when they are got ready both for medicine and for sacrifice." This custom is very ancient, and seems to have taken its origin from the Egyptians. For so Genesis, last chapter: "He (Joseph) commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father with spices." See also the last verse of this chapter. How these things were done is related by Herodotus, book II, and Diodorus Siculus, Historical Library book II, ch. 5. That this custom also held among the Jews is established from Matthew 26:10, etc.; from there it passed to the Christians. Tertullian, On Idolatry: "They serve men too for medicinal ointments, and us besides for the comforts of burial"; likewise Apology ch. 42. And the bodies of the dead were wont not only to be anointed but also to be washed: hence Virgil, Aeneid VI: "And they wash and anoint the body of the cold one." This rite of washing also held in the primitive Church, as is established from Acts 9:37, where we read that Tabitha, when she had died, was at once washed. From KIRCHMANN. — And this custom still continues, not only in almost all the convents of monks and nuns, but also commonly in some provinces and dioceses, as in the diocese of Avranches, in Gascony and in Béarn, towards dead lay people. We have discussed this more fully in our liturgical Itinerary, published in French at Paris in the year 1718. So JEAN LE BRUN.

(Ac pretiosis vestibus) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 270 Ac pretiosis vestibus. Vestibus etiam mortuorum corpora induebant pagani. Quem morem salse deridet Lucianus de luctu, alludens ad veterum superstitionem existimantium mortuos in inferis rigere absque vestibus, et frigore confici; sed et Herodotus Musa V. Haec erant Graeculorum deliria. Nam Romani, ut ex sequentibus patebit, aliovorsum respexerunt, vestibus involventes mortuos, quorum communem per totam adeo Italiam amictum fuisse togam, docuit nos Juvenalis Satyra 3: / Pars magna Italiae, si verum admittimus, in qua / Nemo togam sumit nisi mortuus. / Et Martialis, lib. IX, Epigram. 58, / Et pallens toga mortui tribulis. / Apuleius, lib. I Florid.: Nam illic quoque viderat hominem praesidere, hominem depugnare, togam quoque parari et voto et funeri; item pallio cadavera operiri et (continues)

Ac pretiosis vestibus ("and with precious garments"). The pagans also clothed the bodies of the dead in garments. Lucian wittily mocks this custom in On Mourning, alluding to the superstition of the ancients, who thought that the dead grew stiff with cold in the underworld without clothes and were worn away by the cold; and so too Herodotus, in the Muse V. These were the ravings of the little Greeks. For the Romans, as will appear from what follows, looked to another end in wrapping the dead in garments, whose common garment throughout all Italy was the toga, as Juvenal teaches us, Satire 3: "A great part of Italy, if we admit the truth, in which / no one puts on the toga unless he is dead." And Martial, book IX, Epigram 58: "And the pale toga of a dead fellow-tribesman." Apuleius, Florida book I: "For there too he had seen a man preside, a man fight to the end, the toga made ready both for a vow and for a funeral; likewise corpses covered with a cloak and (continues)

(printed under page 138)

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running head: 269 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ERRORIS (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹Et custos furum atque avium› (beside the opening verse); B ‹Et custos. Carmina sunt Virgilii› (in the notes); C ‹ac perire; in edit. Betul.› (in the notes); D ‹deat tutelam de iis sperare› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the verse is Virgil, Georg. IV, 110-111, printed as two lines; "avium" printed with a broken letter (av!um), read as avium; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" and the notes below it (Variorum notae, from "Et custos. Carmina sunt Virgilii" to "etiam apud") are page-foot commentary and are not set here; the column ends mid-sentence at "colentibus", continued in the next column with "vindicentur?"
misprints kept as printed: "sna illis magnitudo" (for "sua") (Q2a)

PL 6:270

vindicentur? Ubi ergo veritas est? ubi nulla vis adhiberi potest Religioni; ubi nihil, quod violari possit, apparet; ubi sacrilegium fieri non potest.

they are avenged? Where then is the truth? Where no force can be brought to bear on Religion; where nothing appears that could be violated; where sacrilege cannot be committed.

Quidquid autem oculis manibusque subjectum est, id vero, quia fragile est, ab omni ratione immortalitatis est alienum. Frustra igitur homines auro, ebore, gemmis deos excolunt et exornant; quasi vero ex his rebus ullam possint capere voluptatem. Quis usus est pretiosorum munerum nihil sentientibus? an ille qui mortuis? Pari enim ratione defunctorum corpora, odoribus ac pretiosis vestibus illita et convoluta, humi condunt, qua deos honorant, qui neque cum fierent, sentiebant, neque cum coluntur, sciunt; nec

But whatever is subject to the eyes and hands, that indeed, because it is fragile, is foreign to every principle of immortality. In vain therefore do men adorn and deck out gods with gold, ivory and gems, as if indeed they could take any pleasure from these things. What use are precious gifts to those who feel nothing? Is it not the same as that [which they are] to the dead? For by the same reasoning by which they honour the gods, they bury in the ground the bodies of the dead, anointed with perfumes and wrapped in precious garments; [the gods], who neither felt when they were being made, nor know when they are worshipped; nor

Editors' notes and page, col. 270

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running head: [cut off at left edge]RIGINE ERRORIS. 270
marginal letters: A vindicentur? Ubi ergo; B paganos patet ex Plinio (in the notes); C Diod. Sicul. Bib. Hist. (in the notes); D anno 1718. Ita Joannes le Brun (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 6:271

enim sensum consecratione sumpserunt. Non placebat Persio, quod aurea vasa templis inferantur, supervacuum putanti esse inter religiones, quod non sanctitatis, sed avaritiae sit instrumentum. Illa enim satius est Deo, quem recte colas, inferre pro munere.

indeed did they acquire sense through consecration. It did not please Persius that golden vessels are brought into temples, since he thought it superfluous among religious observances, because it is an instrument not of holiness but of avarice. For it is better to bring to God, Whom you rightly worship, these things as a gift:

Compositum jus, fasque animi, sanctosque recessus Mentis, et incoctum generoso pectus honesto.

law and divine right well ordered in the soul, and the holy recesses of the mind, and a breast steeped in noble honour.

Egregie, sapienterque sensit. Verum illud ridicule subdidit: hoc esse aurum in templis, quod sint,

He thought this excellently and wisely. But he added this ridiculously: that the gold in temples is what are

Veneri donatae a virgine pupae:

dolls given to Venus by a maiden:

quas ille ob minutiem fortasse contempserit. Non videbat enim, simulacra ipsa et effigies deorum, Polycleti, et Euphranoris, et Phidiae manu ex auro atque ebore perfectas, nihil aliud esse quam grandes pupas,

which he perhaps despised on account of their smallness. For he did not see that the very images and likenesses of the gods, finished by the hand of Polycletus and Euphranor and Phidias out of gold and ivory, are nothing other than large dolls,

Editors' notes and page, col. 271

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running head: 271 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹enim sensum consecratione sumpserunt›; B ‹philosophos. Caeterum toga illa› (in the notes); C ‹efferri mos erat. Valer. Maximus› (in the notes); D ‹In Oriente etiamnum perseverat› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" (cut off) stands below the text block after "grandes pupas,"; not set. The Variorum notes below it (philosophos. Caeterum toga... to Aurum in templis. Ita legendum...) are page-foot commentary, left for the later pass. A stray point-like mark is printed after "ridicule" mid-line; it is taken as a printing blemish and not set. The Persius verse is printed on two lines and is set here as one paragraph.

PL 6:272

non a virginibus, quarum lusibus venia dari potest, sed a barbatis hominibus consecratas. Merito igitur etiam senum stultitiam Seneca deridet. Non, inquit, bis pueri sumus (ut vulgo dicitur); sed semper. Verum hoc interest, quod majora nos ludimus. Ergo his ludicris, et ornatis, et grandibus pupis et unguenta, et thura, et odores inferunt: his opimas et pingues hostias immolant, quibus est quidem os, sed carens officio dentium: his peplos et indumenta pretiosa, quibus usus velaminis nullus est: his aurum et argentum consecrant, quae tam non habent qui accipiunt, quam qui illa donarunt.

not by maidens, whose games can be pardoned, but consecrated by bearded men. Rightly, therefore, does Seneca also mock the folly of old men. "We are not," he says, "children twice (as is commonly said), but always. But there is this difference, that we play at greater things." So to these playthings, these adorned and large dolls, they bring ointments, and incense, and perfumes; to these they sacrifice rich and fat victims, though they have indeed a mouth, but one lacking the service of teeth; to these they offer robes and precious garments, though they have no use for a covering; to these they consecrate gold and silver, which those who receive them possess as little as those who gave them.

Nec immerito Dionysius, Siciliae tyrannus, post victoriam Graecia potitus, deos tales contempsit, spoliavit,

Not undeservedly did Dionysius, tyrant of Sicily, having gained possession of Greece after his victory, despise such gods, despoil them,

Editors' notes and page, col. 272

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running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 272 (cut off at left edge)
marginal letters: A non a virginibus; B et plerisque editis (Variorum Notae); C Idem alibi (Variorum Notae, approx.); D Erasmum / Quidem os (Variorum Notae)
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PL 6:273

illusit: siquidem sacrilegia sua jocularibus etiam dictis prosequebatur. Nam cum Jovi Olympio aureum amiculum detraxisset, laneum jussit imponi, dicens, aestate grave esse aureum, hyeme frigidum, laneum vero utrique tempori aptum. Idem auream barbam detrahens Aesculapio, incongruens et iniquum esse ait, cum Apollo pater ejus imberbis esset adhuc, ac laevis, priorem filium quam patrem barbatum videri. Item pateras, et exuvias, et parva quaedam sigilla, quae simulacrorum protentis manibus tenebantur, detrahebat: et accipere se illa, non auferre dicebat; perquam enim stultum esse et ingratum, nolle accipere ab his ultro porrigentibus, a quibus bona sibi homines precarentur. Haec ille fecit impune, quia rex et victor fuit. Quin etiam secuta est eum solita felicitas: vixit enim usque ad senectutem, regnumque per manus filio tradidit. In eo igitur, quia homines sacrilegia vindicare non poterant, oportuit deos ipsos sui vindices esse. At si humilis quispiam tale quid commiserit, huic praesto sunt flagella, ignes, equulei, cruces, et quidquid excogitare iratis et furentibus licet. Sed cum puniunt deprehensos in sacrilegio, ipsi de deorum suorum potestate diffidunt. Cur enim illis

and mock them; for he even accompanied his sacrileges with jesting words. For when he had taken the golden cloak off Olympian Jupiter, he ordered a woollen one to be put on him, saying that a golden one was heavy in summer and cold in winter, whereas a woollen one was suited to either season. The same man, taking the golden beard off Aesculapius, said that it was incongruous and unfair that, while Apollo his father was still beardless and smooth, the son should be seen bearded before the father. Likewise he used to take away the bowls, and the spoils, and certain small figurines which were held in the outstretched hands of the statues, and he said that he was receiving these things, not carrying them off; for it was utterly foolish and ungrateful to be unwilling to receive from those who offered of their own accord, the very ones from whom men pray for good things for themselves. These things he did with impunity, because he was a king and a victor. Indeed, his accustomed good fortune even followed him: for he lived to old age and handed on his kingdom by succession to his son. In his case therefore, since men could not avenge the sacrileges, the gods themselves ought to have been their own avengers. But if some lowly person has committed any such thing, for him there are at hand whips, fires, racks, crosses, and whatever angry and raging men are able to devise. But when they punish those caught in sacrilege, they themselves distrust the power of their own gods. For why to them

Editors' notes and page, col. 273

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running head: 273 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[RRORIS] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A vit, illusit: siquidem sacrilegia; B citas: vixit enim usque; C Syracusis in parte Acradina (in the notes); D et facetis verbis, vide Valerium (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "vit" of a word broken from the previous column (presumably spoliavit), English supplied in brackets; "barbam" has a damaged or blurred second letter (looks like "bnrbam"), set as barbam; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE", cut off at the right edge, stands between the text and the notes and is not set; the Variorum notes at the page foot (Cell., Buneman, etc.) are left for the later pass

PL 6:274

potissimum non relinquant ulciscendi sui locum, si eos posse aliquid arbitrantur? Quin etiam putant illorum numine accidisse, ut praedones rerum sacrarum deprehensi tenerentur; et saeviunt non tam ira, quam metu, ne si deorum injuriam non vindicaverint, ipsos expetant poenae; incredibili scilicet vanitate, qui nocituros sibi deos putent ob aliena scelera, qui ipsis, a quibus violati spoliatique sunt, per seipsos nihil nocere potuerunt. At enim saepe ipsi quoque in sacrilegos vindicaverunt: potest id vel casu accidisse, quod aliquando, non semper. Sed tamen paulo post, quomodo id acciderit, ostendam. Nunc interim quaero, cur illi tot et tanta sacrilegia in Dionysio non vindicaverunt, qui non furtim, sed palam deos ludibrio habuit? Cur hunc tam potentem sacrilegum a templis, a ceremoniis, ab imaginibus suis non arcuerunt? Cur etiam sacris rebus ablatis, prospere navigavit? quod joco ipse testatus est (ut solebat). Videtisne (inquit comitibus suis naufragium timentibus) quam prospera sacrilegis navigatio ab ipsis diis immortalibus tribuatur? Sed hic fortasse a Platone didicerat, deos nihil esse.

above all do they not leave room for avenging themselves, if they think that they are able to do anything? Indeed they even think that it came about by their divine power that the robbers of sacred things were caught and held; and they rage not so much from anger as from fear, lest, if they have not avenged the injury done to the gods, the punishments should seek out themselves; with incredible folly, to be sure, since they think that the gods will harm them on account of the crimes of others, gods who by themselves were able to do no harm to the very men by whom they were violated and despoiled. But, it is said, they themselves too have often taken vengeance on the sacrilegious: that may even have happened by chance, since it happened sometimes, not always. But a little later I shall show how it came about. Meanwhile I now ask why they did not avenge so many and such great sacrileges in Dionysius, who held the gods in mockery not secretly but openly? Why did they not keep this so powerful sacrilegious man away from their temples, from their ceremonies, from their images? Why, too, when the sacred things had been carried off, did he sail prosperously? Which he himself attested in jest (as was his custom): 'Do you see,' he said to his companions, who were afraid of shipwreck, 'how prosperous a voyage is granted to the sacrilegious by the immortal gods themselves?' But perhaps he had learned from Plato that the gods are nothing.

Editors' notes and page, col. 274

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marginal letters: A potissimum non relinquant; B plis, a ceremoniis; C sigilla, etc. (in the notes); D cet saepius urgeant (in the notes)
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PL 6:275

Quid Caius Verres? quem Tullius, accusator ejus, eidem Dionysio, et Phalaridi, et tyrannis, omnibus comparat. Nonne omnem Siciliam compilavit, sublatis deorum simulacris, ornamentisque fanorum? Otiosum est persequi singula. Unum libet commemorare (Vid. Verrin. IV) in quo accusator omnibus eloquentiae viribus, omni denique conatu vocis et corporis deploravit, de Cerere Catinensi, vel Ennensi; quarum alterius tanta fuit religio, ut adire templi ejus secreta penetralia viris nefas esset; alterius antiquitas tanta, ut omnes historiae loquantur ipsam deam fruges in Ennae solo primum reperisse, filiamque ejus virginem ex eodem loco raptam. Denique Gracchanis temporibus, turbata republica et seditionibus et ostentis, cum repertum esset in carminibus Sibyllinis antiquissimam Cererem debere placari, legati sunt Ennam missi. Haec igitur Ceres vel religiosissima, quam videre maribus ne adorandi quidem gratia licebat, vel antiquissima, quam Senatus Populusque Romanus sacrificiis donisque placaverat, ex arcanis et vetustis penetralibus, a Caio Verre, immissis latronibus servis, impune sublata est. Idem vero cum affirmaret se a Siculis, ut causam provinciae susciperet, oratum, his verbis usus est: « Sese jam ne deos quidem in suis urbibus, ad quos confugerent, habere; quod eorum simulacra sauctissima C. Verres ex delubris religiosissimis sustulisset: » quasi vero si Verres ex urbibus delubrisque sustulerat, de coelo quoque sustulerat. Unde apparet istos deos nihil habere in se amplius quam materiam do qua sunt fabricati. Nec immerito ad te,

What of Gaius Verres? whom Tullius, his accuser, compares to that same Dionysius, and to Phalaris, and to all tyrants. Did he not plunder the whole of Sicily, having carried off the images of the gods and the ornaments of the shrines? It is idle to go through them one by one. I wish to recall one case (see Verrines 4) in which the accuser lamented with all the powers of eloquence, in short with every effort of voice and body: concerning the Ceres of Catina, or of Enna; of which the one had such sanctity that it was forbidden for men to approach the secret inner recesses of her temple; the other such antiquity that all histories say that the goddess herself first found grain in the soil of Enna, and that her daughter, a virgin, was carried off from that same place. Finally, in the times of the Gracchi, when the republic was disturbed both by seditions and by portents, since it had been found in the Sibylline verses that the most ancient Ceres ought to be appeased, envoys were sent to Enna. This Ceres, then, whether the most sacred, whom males were not permitted to see even for the purpose of worshipping, or the most ancient, whom the Senate and the Roman People had appeased with sacrifices and gifts, was carried off with impunity from her secret and ancient inner recesses by Gaius Verres, who sent in slaves as robbers. And the same man, when he affirmed that he had been entreated by the Sicilians to take up the cause of the province, used these words: "that they no longer had even gods in their cities to whom they might flee, because C. Verres had carried off their most holy images from the most sacred shrines": as if indeed, if Verres had removed them from the cities and shrines, he had removed them from heaven also. Whence it is apparent that these gods have nothing more in them than the material of which they were made. And not undeservedly to you,

Editors' notes and page, col. 275

Footnotes

Accusator ("the accuser"). Cicero, Against Verres, action VI, at the end.

(Catinensi) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 275 Catinensi. Ita reposui ex mss. codicibus, et vet. editis Rom. 1468, 1470. Dicitur etiam a Pomponio Mela Catina; a Cicerone Catina vel Catine, act. VI in Verrem in fine; et Silio lib. XIII. Multi editi habent Catanensi. Catina vero nunc est Catana ad radicem Aetnae montis, a cujus conflagratione multum passa est his ultimis temporibus.

Catinensi ("of Catina"). So I have restored it from the manuscript codices and the old Rome editions of 1468 and 1470. Pomponius Mela also calls it Catina; Cicero, Catina or Catine, Against Verres action VI, at the end; and Silius, book XIII. Many editions have Catanensi. Catina is now Catana (Catania), at the foot of Mount Etna, from whose eruption it has suffered much in these latest times.

(Ennensi) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 275 Ennensi. Ἔννη, Enna, urbs in meditullio Siciliae, etiam Strabonis et Melae testimoniis, Cereris cultu nobilis. Sic etiam apud Claudianum et Silium Italicum Ceres Ennea nominatur.

Ennensi ("of Enna"). Ἔννη, Enna, a city in the middle of Sicily, famous, on the testimony of Strabo and Mela too, for the worship of Ceres. So too in Claudian and Silius Italicus Ceres is called Ennaean.

(Alterius tanta fuit religio) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 275 Alterius tanta fuit religio. Alterius, Catanensis. De religione ejus Cic. d. l. cap. 45. CELL.

Alterius tanta fuit religio ("so great was the sanctity of the one"). Of the one: the Catanian. On its sanctity, Cicero in the said place, ch. 45. CELLARIUS.

(Gracchanis temporibus) ‹anchor: [Gracchanis] temporibus, turbata republica› · call in col 275 Gracchanis temporibus. Cum Tiberio Graccho occiso, magnorum periculorum metus ex ostentis portenderetur. Ex Cicerone de Clar. or. c. 45. CELLAR. — De his seditionibus Ennensibus vide Livium Decad. IV.

Gracchanis temporibus ("in the times of the Gracchi"). When, after Tiberius Gracchus was killed, fear of great dangers was foreshown by portents. From Cicero, On Famous Orators, ch. 45. CELLARIUS. — On these seditions at Enna see Livy, Decade IV.

(Ceres) ‹anchor: Haec igitur Ceres› · call in col 275 Ceres. De Cereris cultu vide supra libro I, cap. 21.

Ceres. On the worship of Ceres see above, book I, ch. 21.

(Caio Verre) ‹anchor: a Caio Verre› · call in col 275 Caio Verre. Cneio Pompeio primum et M. Crasso Coss. Caius Verres perfunctus quaestura, legatione, praetura urbana, cum eam per triennium tenuisset, atque in ea fuisset libidinose, avare, crudeliterque versatus, repetundarum reus a Siculis postulatus est. Extant 7 Ciceronis contra Verrem orationes. Sed quod ad praesens negotium attinet, sexta prae caeteris legenda est. Scribitur historia etiam a Valerio lib. I, cap. 1.

Caio Verre ("by Gaius Verres"). In the first consulship of Gnaeus Pompey and Marcus Crassus, Gaius Verres, having discharged the quaestorship, a legateship and the city praetorship, and having held [the governorship of Sicily] for three years and conducted himself in it lustfully, greedily and cruelly, was arraigned by the Sicilians for extortion. Seven speeches of Cicero against Verres survive. But as regards the present business, the sixth is to be read before the others. The story is also written by Valerius, book I, ch. 1.

(De coelo quoque sustulerat) ‹anchor: de coelo quoque sustulerat› · call in col 275 De coelo quoque sustulerat. Sic restitui ex veteribus editis, cunctisque mss. dempto uno Colbertino, cui est sustulerit. In 12 impressis legitur sustulisset.

De coelo quoque sustulerat ("he had removed them from heaven too"). So I have restored it from the old editions and all the manuscripts except one Colbert, which has sustulerit. In 12 printed ones sustulisset is read.

(Ad te, Marce Tulli, hoc est, ad hominem) ‹anchor: Nec immerito ad te› · call in col 275 Ad te, Marce Tulli, hoc est, ad hominem. Sic legitur in antiquis mss. Bonon.; in editis quibusdam legebatur: Ad te, Marce Tulli, hoc est ad teipsum hominem, quod minus recte est propter inutilem repetitionem, ut monet Thomasius.

Ad te, Marce Tulli, hoc est, ad hominem ("to you, Marcus Tullius, that is, to a man"). So it is read in the ancient Bologna manuscripts; in some editions it used to read Ad te, Marce Tulli, hoc est ad teipsum hominem ("to you, Marcus Tullius, that is, to yourself, a man"), which is less correct because of the useless repetition, as Thomasius warns.

(Potuerunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 276 Potuerunt. Ita restitui ex mss. omnibus et editis Rom. 1470. Paris., Crat., Torn., Soubron., Cellar. In Ald. 1515, est, poterunt; in caeteris vulgatis, poterant.

Potuerunt ("they were able"). So I have restored it from all the manuscripts and the editions of Rome 1470, Paris, Cratander, Tornaesius, Soubron, Cellarius. In Aldus 1515 it is poterunt ("they will be able"); in the other common editions, poterant ("they could").

(Damnatus est) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 276 Damnatus est. Quadragenties enim sestertium abstulerat, teste Cicer., Plut., auctore, interprete Budaeo, tricies sestertium: id est, septuaginta millia aureorum coronatorum, computante eodem Budaeo.

Damnatus est ("he was condemned"). For he had carried off four million sesterces, on the testimony of Cicero; on Plutarch's authority, as Budé renders it, three million sesterces: that is, seventy thousand gold crowns, by the same Budé's reckoning.

(Qua vel defensores) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 276 Qua vel defensores. Ms. 1 Bon. antiq. et edit. Walch., quae: Jun. et ed. Ald. Paris., Graph., quia; edit. Rom. 1468, qua vel deprehensores.

Qua vel defensores ("by which either the defenders"). 1 ancient Bologna manuscript and Walch's edition: quae; the Junius and the editions of Aldus, Paris, Gryphius: quia; the Rome edition of 1468: qua vel deprehensores ("by which either the captors").

(Qui cecidisse) ‹anchor: qui cecidisse solus› · call in col 276 Qui cecidisse. De triumvirorum proscriptione lege Eutrop. lib. VII; Appianum lib. IV; Plut. in Antonio, Flor. lib. IV, cap. 5; Oros. lib. VI, cap. 18; Velleium Paterc. lib. II et alios. Nuspiam tamen, quod ego sciam, de Verre mentio fit. Forsan id legerat Lactantius in scriptis quibusdam deperditis.

Qui cecidisse ("who [seemed] to have fallen"). On the proscription of the triumvirs read Eutropius, book VII; Appian, book IV; Plutarch, in the Antony; Florus, book IV, ch. 5; Orosius, book VI, ch. 18; Velleius Paterculus, book II, and others. Nowhere, however, so far as I know, is mention made of Verres. Perhaps Lactantius had read it in some lost writings.

(Stantibus) ‹anchor: universis stantibus› · call in col 276 Stantibus. Id est, salvis. Exprimit Ciceronem lib. VI ad Famil. ep. 6. BUNEMAN. — Universis stantibus. Sic lego cum edit. Torn., Soubron., Walch. cunctisque mss. praeter 2 rec. Reg. et 14 edit. in quibus est, omnibus stantibus.

Stantibus ("standing"), that is, safe. He renders Cicero, Letters to Friends book VI, letter 6. BÜNEMANN. — Universis stantibus ("while all were standing"). So I read with the editions of Tornaesius, Soubron, Walch and all the manuscripts except 2 recent Royal ones and 14 editions, in which it is omnibus stantibus.

(Quanto igitur rectius est) ‹anchor: Quanto igitur rectius est› · call in col 276 Quanto igitur rectius est. Mss. I Bon. antiq., 1 Clarom. et Cotton. habent: Quanto igitur honestius et rectius est.

Quanto igitur rectius est ("how much more right is it, then"). The manuscripts, 1 ancient Bologna, 1 Clermont and the Cotton, have: Quanto igitur honestius et rectius est ("how much more honourable and right is it, then").

(printed under page 141)

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running head: 275 FIRM. LACTANT. DIVIN. (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹Quid Caius Verres? quem Tullius›; B ‹antiquissimam Cererem debere placari›; C ‹materiam do qua sunt fabricati›; D ‹Alterius tanta fuit religio› (in the Variorum notes, not the text block)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "sauctissima" read as printed (u for n), fairly clear in the image; "Otiosum" type damaged but legible; column ends mid-sentence at "ad te," with no hyphen; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOT[AE]" stands between text and notes, cut off at the right edge, not set; Variorum notes at the page foot (Accusator ... De coelo quoque sustulerat) left for the later pass

PL 6:276

Marce Tulli, hoc est, ad hominem, Siculi confugerunt; quoniam triennio sunt experti deos illos nihil valere. Essent enim stultissimi, si ad eos ob defendendas injurias hominum confugissent, qui Caio Verri nec pro seipsis irati esse potuerunt. At enim Verres ob haec facinora damnatus est. Non ergo dii vindicaverunt, sed Ciceronis industria, qua vel defensores ejus oppressit, vel gratiae restitit. Quid, quod apud ipsum Verrem non fuit illa damnatio, sed vacatio? ut quemadmodum Dionysio deorum spolia gestanti dii immortales bonam dederant navigationem, sic etiam Verri bonam quietem tribuisse videantur, in qua sacrilegiis suis tranquille frui posset. Nam frementibus postea civilibus bellis, sub obtentu damnationis ab omni periculo et metu remotus, aliorum graves casus et miserabiles exitus audiebat, et qui cecidisse solus universis stantibus videbatur, is vero universis cadentibus solus stetit, donec illum et opibus sacrilegio partis et vita satiatum, ac senectute confectum, proscriptio triumviralis auferret, eadem scilicet quae Tullium violatae deorum majestatis ultorem. Quin etiam felix in eo ipso fuit, quod ante suam mortem crudelissimum exitum sui accusatoris audivit; diis videlicet providentibus, ut sacrilegus ac praedo ille religionum suarum, non ante moreretur quam solatium de ultione cepisset.

Marcus Tullius, that is, to a man, the Sicilians fled for refuge; because for three years they had learned by experience that those gods had no power. For they would have been most foolish if, to have the wrongs done to men redressed, they had fled for refuge to those who could not be angry with Gaius Verres even on their own behalf. But, it is said, Verres was condemned for these crimes. Then it was not the gods who avenged them, but the diligence of Cicero, by which he either overpowered his defenders or withstood [their] influence. What of the fact that for Verres himself that was not a condemnation but a release from duty? so that, just as the immortal gods had given a good voyage to Dionysius as he carried off the spoils of the gods, so too they seem to have granted Verres a good repose, in which he might quietly enjoy his sacrileges. For when civil wars afterwards raged, removed from all danger and fear under cover of his condemnation, he heard of the grievous misfortunes and wretched ends of others; and he who seemed to have fallen alone while all were standing, he in truth stood alone while all were falling, until the triumviral proscription carried him off, sated both with wealth gained by sacrilege and with life, and worn out with old age, the same, of course, that carried off Tullius, the avenger of the violated majesty of the gods. Nay more, he was fortunate in this very thing, that before his own death he heard of the most cruel end of his accuser; the gods evidently providing that that sacrilegious man and plunderer of their sacred things should not die before he had received the consolation of vengeance.

CAPUT V.

Chapter V.

Quod solus omnium creator Deus est colendus, non vero elementa, nec corpora caelestia: Refelliturque Stoicorum sententia, qui stellas et astra deos putant.

That God, the Creator of all things, is alone to be worshipped, and not the elements, nor the heavenly bodies; and the opinion of the Stoics, who think the stars and constellations to be gods, is refuted.

Quanto igitur rectius est, omissis insensibilibus et

How much more right it is, then, leaving aside the insensible and

Editors' notes and page, col. 276

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running head: [LA]CTANT. DIVIN. INSTIT. 276 (left edge cut off)
marginal letters: A ‹Marce Tulli, hoc est›; B ‹et miserabiles exitus audiebat›; C ‹Quanto igitur rectius est›; D ‹tricies sestertium› (beside the notes at the page foot, not the text block)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence after "ad te," at the foot of col. 275; "haec" after "Verres ob" looks like "bæc" in the blurred type, read as haec; full-width heading "[V]ARIORUM NOTAE." stands across both columns above the page-foot notes, cut off at the left edge, not set; the Variorum notes (Ad te, Marce Tulli ... Quanto igitur rectius est) are page-foot commentary, left for the later pass

PL 6:277

vanis, oculos eo tendere, ubi sedes, ubi habitatio est Dei veri; qui terram stabili firmitate suspendit; qui coelum distinxit astris fulgentibus; qui solem rebus humanis clarissimum, ac singulare lumen, in argumentum suae unicae majestatis accendit: terris autem maria circumfudit, flumina sempiterno lapsu fluere praecepit.

vain things, to direct the eyes thither where is the seat, where is the dwelling of the true God; Who suspended the earth with stable firmness; Who distinguished the heaven with shining stars; Who kindled the sun, most bright for human affairs, and a singular light, in proof of His sole majesty; and poured the seas around the lands, and commanded the rivers to flow in an everlasting course.

Jussit et extendi campos, subsidere valles, / Fronde tegi silvas, lapidosos surgere montes.

He commanded both the plains to be stretched out and the valleys to sink down, / the woods to be covered with foliage, the stony mountains to rise.

Quae utique omnia non Jupiter fecit, qui ante annos mille septingentos natus; sed idem:

All which things Jupiter certainly did not make, who was born seventeen hundred years ago; but the same:

Ille opifex rerum, mundi melioris origo,

That maker of things, origin of a better world,

qui vocatur Deus, cujus principium, quoniam non potest comprehendi, ne quaeri quidem debet. Satis est homini ad plenam perfectamque prudentiam, si Deum esse intelligat: cujus intelligentiae vis et summa haec est, ut suspiciat et honorificet communem parentem generis humani, et rerum mirabilium fabricatorem. Unde quidam hebetis obtusique cordis, elementa, quae et facta sunt et carent sensu, tamquam deos adorant. Qui cum Dei opera mirarentur, id est coelum cum variis luminibus, terram cum campis et montibus, maria cum fluminibus et stagnis et fontibus, earum rerum admiratione obstupefacti, et ipsius artificis obliti, quem videre non poterant, ejus opera venerari et colere coeperunt; nec umquam intelligere quiverunt, quanto major quantoque mirabilior sit, qui illa fecit ex nihilo. Quae cum videant divinis legibus obsequentia commodis atque usibus

Who is called God, Whose beginning, since it cannot be comprehended, ought not even to be sought. It is enough for man, for full and perfect wisdom, if he understands that God exists: and the force and sum of this understanding is that he should look up to and honour the common Parent of the human race and the Maker of wondrous things. Whence certain men of dull and blunted heart worship as gods the elements, which both were made and lack sense. These, while they marvelled at the works of God, that is, the heaven with its various lights, the earth with its plains and mountains, the seas with rivers and pools and springs, astounded by admiration of those things and forgetful of the Artificer Himself, Whom they could not see, began to venerate and worship His works; nor were they ever able to understand how much greater and how much more wonderful He is Who made those things out of nothing. And since they see these things, obedient to divine laws, for the conveniences and uses

Editors' notes and page, col. 277

Footnotes

(Ubi sedes) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Ubi sedes. De hac Lactantii sententia vide Plutarch. de Placitis Philosophorum lib. I, cap. 6.

Ubi sedes ("where the seat"). On this opinion of Lactantius see Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers, book I, ch. 6.

(Qui terram stabili) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Qui terram stabili. Philo Judaeus libro de Mundo quaerit, quae sit basis universi; tandem colligit eam esse legem et decretum aeterni Dei: huc referas psalm. CXLVIII, vers. 6.

Qui terram stabili ("who [founded] the earth with stable [weight]"). Philo the Jew, in the book On the World, asks what is the foundation of the universe; at length he concludes that it is the law and decree of the eternal God. Refer to this Psalm 148:6.

(Terram... suspendit) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Terram... suspendit. Lib. III, cap. 3: Quibus fundamentis terra librata aut suspensa sit. BUN.

Terram... suspendit ("he hung the earth"). Book III, ch. 3: "On what foundations the earth is balanced or hung." BÜNEMANN.

(In argumentum) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 In argumentum, etc. Similia leguntur apud S. Augustin. lib de Genesi ad litteram.

In argumentum ("as proof"), etc. Similar things are read in St. Augustine, the book On Genesis according to the Letter.

(Maria circumfudit) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Maria circumfudit. Ita legunt omnes mss. et vulgati, praeter 4 rec. edit. quibus est, circumfundit.

Maria circumfudit ("he poured the seas around"). So read all the manuscripts and the common editions, except 4 recent editions, which have circumfundit ("he pours around").

(Jussit) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Jussit. Haec ex Ovid. initio I Metamorph.

Jussit ("he commanded"). This is from Ovid, beginning of Metamorphoses I.

(Qui ante annos mille septingentos natus) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Qui ante annos mille septingentos natus. Ms. Christ. Qui post annos mille, etc. Utraque lectio bona, quae idem significat. Lactantio enim familiare est, cum de tempore agitur, ante usurpare pro post, ut in lib. IV. Divin. Institutionum, cap. 10: Ante diem decimum calendarum Aprilium Judaei Christum cruci affixerunt; in libro autem de Mortibus persecutorum, cap. 2, initio: Post diem decimum calendarum Aprilium, etc. ut ibi fusius demonstrabimus, et in Dissertatione de hoc ipso libro.

Qui ante annos mille septingentos natus ("who, born one thousand seven hundred years before"). The Christina manuscript: Qui post annos mille ("who after a thousand years"), etc. Both readings are good, since they mean the same thing. For it is customary with Lactantius, where time is concerned, to use ante for post, as in book IV of the Divine Institutes, ch. 10: "On the tenth day before the Kalends of April the Jews fastened Christ to the cross"; but in the book On the Deaths of the Persecutors, ch. 2, at the beginning: "After the tenth day before the Kalends of April," etc., as we shall show more fully there, and in the Dissertation on that very book.

(Ille opifex) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 277 Ille opifex. Ovidius ubi supra paulo post.

Ille opifex ("that craftsman"). Ovid, in the place cited above, a little after.

(Usibus hominis) ‹anchor: commodis atque usibus [hominis]› · call in col 277 Usibus hominis. Mss. 3 rec. Reg. et editi habent, usibus hominum: at 6 Reg. quorum duo sunt antiquissimi, 2 Colbert., 2 Clarom., hominis, unde factum est humanis in rec. 2 Reg., 4 Colb., Em., Christ.

Usibus hominis ("the uses of man"). 3 recent Royal manuscripts and the editions have usibus hominum ("the uses of men"); but 6 Royal, two of them very ancient, 2 Colbert, 2 Clermont: hominis; from which came humanis ("human uses") in 2 recent Royal, 4 Colbert, the Emmanuel, the Christina.

(Famulari) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 278 Famulari. Sublac. et Ven. prima 1478, prave, familiari, ubi recte mss. et Rost., Ven. 1471, et secunda 78, 93, 97, et aliae, famulari. De Ira lib. XXIII, c. 21, terrenis... famulari. BUN.

Famulari ("to serve"). The Subiaco and the first Venice 1478, wrongly, familiari; where rightly the manuscripts and the Rostock, Venice 1471, and the second of 78, 93, 97, and others: famulari. On the Wrath, book XXIII [sic], ch. 21: "to serve... earthly things." BÜNEMANN.

(Qui Deo et patri indulgentissimo sua sibi opera praetulerunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 278 Qui Deo et patri indulgentissimo sua sibi opera praetulerunt. Ita cum editis Rom. 1468 et 1470, Is. et sex recentioribus impressis antiquiores et potiores mss. 2 Bon., Reg., Tax., Jun., Pen., 6 Colb., Lips., Pal., Brun. et 2 Clarom., nisi quod in uno Clarom. et 1 Reg. rec. deest et, sicut in sex editis ms. Cauc., qui Deo Patri indulgentissimo suo, sua sibi opera: antiquae enim editiones suus et ille promiscue usurpabant.

Qui Deo et patri indulgentissimo sua sibi opera praetulerunt ("who preferred his own works to God, their most indulgent father"). So, with the Rome editions of 1468 and 1470, Isaeus and six more recent printings, the older and better manuscripts, 2 Bologna, the Royal, the Taxian, the Junius, the Penrose, 6 Colbert, the Leipzig, the Palatine, the Brunswick and 2 Clermont, except that in one Clermont and 1 recent Royal et is lacking, as in six editions; the Caucian manuscript: qui Deo Patri indulgentissimo suo, sua sibi opera ("who [preferred] his own works to God, their most indulgent Father"); for the old editions used suus and ille indiscriminately.

(Lucilius) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 278 Lucilius. Hoc ex Cicerone desumptum est lib. II de Nat. deor. num. 54, ubi reprehenduntur ii qui sideribus divinitatem tribuunt. Clinias etiam apud Platonem lib. X de Legibus, soli, lunae et sideribus animam tribuit. Ita scriptum reperio in mss. 9 Reg., 2 Bonon., Tax., Pen., 6 Colb., 2 Clarom., Em., Cantabrig., Brun. in editis Gymnic., Betul., Torn., Soubron., Is., Cellar., Walch. et apud Ciceronem ipsum. Scripti Lips., Jun., Bodl., Cotton., edit. Rom. 1470, et Crat. habent, Lucillius; editi 7, Lucillus. — Lucilius Stoicus. Cicero lib. I, de Nat. deor. cap. 6: Q. Lucilius Balbus, qui tantos progressus habebat in Stoicis, ut cum excellentibus in eo genere Graecis compararetur. CELL.

Lucilius. This is taken from Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book II, no. 54, where those who ascribe divinity to the stars are rebuked. Clinias too, in Plato, Laws book X, ascribes a soul to the sun, the moon and the stars. I find it so written in the manuscripts, 9 Royal, 2 Bologna, the Taxian, the Penrose, 6 Colbert, 2 Clermont, the Emmanuel, the Cambridge, the Brunswick, in the editions of Gymnicus, Betuleius, Tornaesius, Soubron, Isaeus, Cellarius, Walch, and in Cicero himself. The Leipzig, Junius, Bodleian and Cotton manuscripts, the Rome edition of 1470, and Cratander have Lucillius; 7 editions, Lucillus. — Lucilius Stoicus ("Lucilius the Stoic"). Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book I, ch. 6: "Q. Lucilius Balbus, who had made such progress among the Stoics that he was compared with the Greeks who excelled in that school." CELLARIUS.

(In tam variis) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 278 In tam variis. Addita praepositio in ex omnibus mss. et cunctis fere editis: deest in 5 vulgatis rec.

In tam variis ("in so varied"). The preposition in is added from all the manuscripts and almost all the editions; it is lacking in 5 recent common editions.

(Restat) ‹anchor: Restat, inquit› · call in col 278 Restat. Hoc ex Cicerone, ibid. n. 44.

Restat ("it remains"). This is from Cicero, ibid., no. 44.

(Verum etiam impie faciat, si deos esse neget) ‹anchor: verum etiam impie faciat, si deos esse neget› · call in col 278 Verum etiam impie faciat, si deos esse neget. Plato in Cratylo. Similiter stoici, ut Posidonius apud Stobaeum. S. August. l. IV de Civ. Dei, cap. 11: Dicunt (stoici) omnia sidera partes Jovis esse, et omnia vivere, atque rationales animas habere; et ideo sine controversia deos esse. VOSSIUS.

Verum etiam impie faciat, si deos esse neget ("but would even act impiously if he denied that they are gods"). Plato in the Cratylus. Likewise the Stoics, such as Posidonius in Stobaeus. St. Augustine, City of God book IV, ch. 11: "They (the Stoics) say that all the stars are parts of Jupiter, and that all are alive and have rational souls, and that therefore they are gods beyond dispute." VOSSIUS.

(Illi enim solem et lunam) ‹anchor: Illi enim solem et lunam› · call in col 278 Illi enim solem et lunam. Variis gentibus mos fuit, Solem et Lunam adorare. De Persis Herodotus in Clio: Sacrificant et Soli, et Lunae, et Telluri, et Igni, et Aquae, et Ventis: his enim solis ut sacrificent, antiqua obtinuit consuetudo. Idem, de Libyae populis, in Melpomene: Sacrificant Soli et Lunae solis, quibus omnes Libyae populi solent immolare. SCHEDIUS.

Illi enim solem et lunam ("for they [think] the sun and moon"). It was the custom of various nations to worship the Sun and the Moon. Of the Persians, Herodotus in Clio: "They sacrifice to the Sun, and the Moon, and the Earth, and Fire, and Water, and the Winds: for ancient custom has prevailed that they sacrifice to these alone." The same, of the peoples of Libya, in Melpomene: "They sacrifice to the Sun and Moon alone, to which all the peoples of Libya are accustomed to offer victims." SCHEDIUS.

(printed under page 142)

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running head: 277 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE [cut off at right edge]
marginal letters: A ‹vanis, oculos eo tendere› (between columns); B ‹Deum esse intelligat›; C ‹Ubi sedes. De hac Lactantii› (in the notes); D ‹Divin. Institutionum, cap. 10› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "vanis" and ends mid-sentence with "usibus"; the two verse lines (Ovid, Met. 1) set as one paragraph joined by " / "; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTA[E]" at the page foot, cut off at the right edge, not set (belongs to the notes, later pass); Variorum notae at page foot not set

PL 6:278

hominis perpetua necessitate famulari, tamen illa deos existima⟨n⟩t esse; ingrati adversus beneficia divina, qui Deo et patri indulgentissimo sua sibi opera praetulerunt. Sed quid mirum, si aut barbari, aut imperiti homines errant? cum etiam philosophi Stoicae disciplinae in eadem sint opinione, ut omnia coelestia, quae moventur, in deorum numero habenda esse censeant; siquidem Lucilius Stoicus apud Ciceronem sic loquitur: « Hanc igitur in stellis constantiam, hanc tantam in tam variis cursibus in omni aeternitate convenientiam temporum, non possum intelligere sine mente, ratione, consilio; quae cum in sideribus esse videamus, non possumus ea ipsa non in deorum numero reponere. » Item paulo superius: « Restat, inquit, ut motus astrorum sit voluntarius; quae qui videat, non indocte solum, verum etiam impie faciat, si deos esse neget. » Nos vero et quidem constanter negamus, ac vos, o philosophi, non solum indoctos et impios, verum etiam caecos, ineptos delirosque probamus, qui ignorantiam imperitorum vanitate v⟨i⟩cistis. Illi enim solem et lunam, vos etiam sidera deos putatis.

of man serve by a perpetual necessity, yet they think those things to be gods; ungrateful towards the divine benefits, they who have preferred His own works to God, their most indulgent Father. But what wonder is it if either barbarians or unlearned men go astray, when even the philosophers of the Stoic school are of the same opinion, so that they judge all the heavenly bodies which move are to be held in the number of the gods? For Lucilius the Stoic speaks thus in Cicero: "This constancy, then, in the stars, this so great agreement of times in courses so varied through all eternity, I cannot understand without mind, reason, counsel; and since we see these to be in the stars, we cannot but place those very things in the number of the gods." Likewise a little earlier: "It remains," he says, "that the motion of the stars is voluntary; and whoever sees this would act not only ignorantly but also impiously if he should deny that they are gods." We, however, do deny it, and steadfastly, and we prove you, O philosophers, to be not only ignorant and impious, but also blind, foolish and deranged, you who have surpassed the ignorance of the unlearned in vanity. For they think the sun and the moon to be gods, you think the stars as well.

Tradite igitur nobis stellarum mysteria, ut aras et templa singulis erigamus; ut sciamus quo quamque ritu, quo die colamus, quibus nominibus, quibus precibus advocemus; nisi forte nullo discrimine tam innumerabiles, tam minutos deos acervatim colere debemus. Quid quod argumentum illud, quo colligunt universa coelestia deos esse, in contrarium

Hand down to us, then, the mysteries of the stars, so that we may raise altars and temples to each one; so that we may know with what rite, on what day we are to worship each, by what names, with what prayers we are to call upon them; unless perhaps we ought to worship gods so innumerable, so minute, in a heap without any distinction. What of the fact that that argument, by which they infer that all the heavenly bodies are gods, to the contrary

Editors' notes and page, col. 278

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running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 278
marginal letters: A hominis perpetua necessitate; B quae qui videat; C Pal., Brun. et 2 Clarom. (in the Variorum notae, not set); D cis, ut cum excellentibus (in the Variorum notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence and ends mid-sentence at "in contrarium"; existima⟨n⟩t and v⟨i⟩cistis have damaged type, as do "innumerabiles" and "Quid", which are read clearly enough to set; I in ERRORIS in the running head damaged; Variorum notae at page foot not set (later pass); no full-width line; no editors' matter in the text block

PL 6:279

valet. Nam si deos esse idcirco opinantur, quia certos et rationabiles cursus habent, errant. Ex hoc enim apparet deos non esse, quod exorbitare illis a praestitutis itineribus non licet. Caeterum si dii essent, huc atque illuc passim sine ulla necessitate ferrentur, sicut animantes in terra, quarum quia liberae sunt voluntates, huc atque illuc vagantur, ut libuit, et quo quamque mens duxerit, eo fertur. Non est igitur astrorum motus voluntarius, sed necessarius, quia praestitutis legibus officiisque deserviunt. Sed cum disputaret de cursibus siderum, quos ex ipsa rerum ac temporum congruentia intelligebat non esse fortuitos, existimavit voluntarios esse, tamquam non possent tam disposite, tam ordinate moveri, nisi sensus illis inesset officii sui sciens. O quam difficilis est ignorantibus veritas, et quam facilis scientibus! Si motus, inquit, astrorum fortuiti non sunt, nihil aliud restat, nisi ut voluntarii sint; immo vero, ut non esse fortuitos manifestum est, ita nec voluntarios. Quomodo igitur in conficiendis itineribus constantiam suam servant? Nimirum Deus, universi artifex, sic illa disposuit, sic machinatus est, ut per spatia coeli divina et admirabili ratione decurrerent, ad efficiendas succedentium sibi temporum varietates. An Archimedes Siculus concavo aere similitudinem mundi ac figuram potuit machinari, in quo ita solem ac lunam composuit, ut inaequales motus, et coelestibus similes conversionibus, singulis quasi diebus efficerent, et non modo accessus solis et recessus, vel incrementa diminutionesque lunae, verum etiam stellarum, vel inerrantium, vel vagarum, dispares cursus orbis ille, dum vertitur, exhiberet? Deus ergo illa vera non potuit machinari et efficere quae potuit solertia hominis imitatione simulare?

holds good. For if they think that they are gods for this reason, because they have fixed and rational courses, they are mistaken. For from this very fact it is apparent that they are not gods, that they are not permitted to stray from their prescribed paths. But if they were gods, they would be carried hither and thither at random without any necessity, like the living creatures on earth, which, because their wills are free, wander hither and thither as they please, and each is carried wherever its mind has led it. The motion of the stars, therefore, is not voluntary but necessary, because they are in service to prescribed laws and duties. But when he was discussing the courses of the heavenly bodies, which he understood from the very harmony of things and of seasons not to be fortuitous, he supposed that they were voluntary, as though they could not be moved in so well-arranged and so orderly a manner unless a sense aware of its own duty were present in them. O how difficult is the truth to those who do not know it, and how easy to those who know! If, he says, the motions of the stars are not fortuitous, nothing else remains but that they be voluntary; nay rather, just as it is plain that they are not fortuitous, so neither are they voluntary. How then do they keep their constancy in completing their paths? Assuredly God, the maker of the universe, so arranged them, so contrived them, that they should run through the spaces of the heaven by a divine and admirable plan, to bring about the variations of the seasons that succeed one another. Could Archimedes the Sicilian contrive in hollow bronze a likeness and figure of the world, in which he so set the sun and moon that they produced unequal motions, similar to the revolutions of the heavens, as it were each day, and that globe, while it turned, displayed not only the approaches and retreats of the sun, or the waxings and wanings of the moon, but also the unequal courses of the stars, whether fixed or wandering? Could God, then, not contrive and bring about the real things which the skill of man was able to simulate by imitation?

Utrumne igitur stoicus, si astrorum figuras in illo

Would the Stoic, then, if the figures of the stars in that

Editors' notes and page, col. 279

Footnotes

(Rationabiles) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 279 Rationabiles. Mss. Brun. rationales; et sic legere malebat Francius.

Rationabiles ("rational"). The Brunswick manuscript: rationales; and Francius preferred to read so.

(Exorbitare) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 279 Exorbitare. Cyprian. lib. I. ep. 12. Exorbitans et a via veritatis exerrans. BUN.

Exorbitare ("to go off course"). Cyprian, book I, letter 12: "Going off course and straying from the way of truth." BÜNEMANN.

(Passim) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 279 Passim. Id est, sine ordine, sine certis legibus, ut libuit: sicut omnia verba, contextus produnt. Noto ad l. II, cap. 6, et ad l. III, cap. 9. BUN.

Passim ("here and there"), that is, without order, without fixed laws, as it pleased: as all the words of the context show. I note it on book II, ch. 6, and on book III, ch. 9. BÜNEMANN.

(Ut libuit) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 279 Ut libuit. Ita omnes editi et mss. praeter sex rec. in quibus est, ut libet.

Ut libuit ("as it pleased"). So all the editions and manuscripts except six recent ones, in which it is ut libet ("as it pleases").

(Eo fertur) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 279 Eo fertur. Mss. 2 rec., feruntur.

Eo fertur ("it is carried thither"). 2 recent manuscripts: feruntur ("they are carried").

(Non est igitur astrorum motus voluntarius) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 279 Non est igitur astrorum motus voluntarius. Veteres moveri sidera dicebant, cum oriebantur vel occidebant.

Non est igitur astrorum motus voluntarius ("the motion of the stars, then, is not voluntary"). The ancients said the stars move when they rose or set.

(Officii... sciens) ‹anchor: officii sui sciens› · call in col 279 Officii... sciens. Ut l. II, cap. 14, Rerum scios. Epist. cap. 5, rerum scientes. BUN.

Officii... sciens ("knowing its duty"). As book II, ch. 14: "knowing of things." Epitome, ch. 5: "knowing things." BÜNEMANN.

(An Archimedes) ‹anchor: An Archimedes Siculus› · call in col 279 An Archimedes, etc. Cic. Tuscul. I. Nam cum Archimedes, lunae, solis, quinque errantium motus in sphaeram illigavit, effecit idem, quod ille qui in Timaeo mundum aedificavit Platonis Deus, ut tarditate, celeritate dissimillimosque motus una regeret conversio: quod si in hoc mundo sine Deo fieri non potest, ne in sphaera quidem eosdem motus Archimedes sine divino ingenio potuisset imitari. Jul. Firmic., lib. VI, cap. 5: Hic est ille noster, cujus ingenio sphaera fabricata coeli lapsum et omnium siderum cursus exemplo divinae imitationis ostendit. Solinus cap. 21: Hic domus Archimedis, qui juxta siderum disciplinam machinarius commentator fuit. Nec tamen haec machina solum celebris fuit, sed aliis in obsidione Syracusarum ab omnibus celebratis. Item hydraulica machina quapiam, quam Tertull. laudat cap. 14, lib. de Anima: Specta, inquit, portentosissimam Archimedis munificentiam, organum hydrolicum dico, tot membra, tot partes, tot compagines, tot itinera vocum, tot compendia sonorum, tot commercia modorum, tot acies, etc. BARTHIUS. Hujus sphaerae meminit etiam Cicero lib. II de Natura deorum, et lib. V Tusculan. Quaestionum. Vide etiam Claudianum in Epigrammate de Archimede. — Archimedes. Apparet Lactantium respexisse ad Cic. lib. II de Nat. deorum, c. 36: Archimedem arbitrantur plus valuisse in imitandis sphaerae conversionibus, quam naturam in efficiendis. Add. c. 34. BUNEMAN.

An Archimedes ("could Archimedes"), etc. Cicero, Tusculans I: "For when Archimedes bound into a sphere the motions of the moon, the sun and the five wandering stars, he achieved the same as Plato's God, who in the Timaeus built the world: that a single revolution should govern motions most unlike in slowness and speed. And if in this world this cannot happen without God, neither could Archimedes have imitated the same motions in a sphere without a divine genius." Julius Firmicus, book VI, ch. 5: "This is that countryman of ours whose genius built a sphere that showed the gliding of the heaven and the courses of all the stars by a pattern imitating the divine." Solinus, ch. 21: "Here is the house of Archimedes, who was an inventor of machines according to the science of the stars." Yet not only was this machine famous, but also others celebrated by all at the siege of Syracuse; likewise a certain hydraulic machine, which Tertullian praises, On the Soul, ch. 14: "Behold," he says, "the most marvellous munificence of Archimedes, I mean the water organ: so many members, so many parts, so many joints, so many passages for voices, so many short-cuts for sounds, so many interchanges of modes, so many rows [of pipes]," etc. BARTH. Cicero too mentions this sphere, On the Nature of the Gods book II, and Tusculan Disputations book V. See also Claudian in the Epigram on Archimedes. — Archimedes. It appears that Lactantius had in view Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book II, ch. 36: "They think Archimedes had more power in imitating the revolutions of the sphere than nature in producing them." Add ch. 34. BÜNEMANN.

(Inaequales motus) ‹anchor: ut inaequales motus› · call in col 279 Inaequales motus. De his vide Plinium, lib. II.

Inaequales motus ("unequal motions"). On these see Pliny, book II.

(Conversionibus) ‹anchor: similes conversionibus› · call in col 279 Conversionibus. Id est regressibus solis ab uno Tropico ad alium. Vide Plinium lib. XVIII.

Conversionibus ("revolutions"), that is, the sun's returns from one tropic to the other. See Pliny, book XVIII.

(Vel inerrantium) ‹anchor: vel inerrantium› · call in col 279 Vel inerrantium. Haec lectio est omnium mss. (dempto 1 Oxoniensi) et veterum 2 edit. Rom., Venet., 1490, ac Betul., Is., Spark., Cellar., Valch., id est, fixarum. Edit plures habent, errantium, male: idem enim est ac τὸ vagarum, quod sequitur, pro quo est vagantium in 1 Clar. et Cotton.

Vel inerrantium ("whether of the unwandering"). This is the reading of all the manuscripts (except 1 Oxford) and of the 2 old Rome editions, Venice 1490, and Betuleius, Isaeus, Sparke, Cellarius, Walch; that is, of the fixed stars. Several editions have errantium ("of the wandering"), wrongly: for that is the same as the vagarum ("of the roving") that follows, for which 1 Clermont and the Cotton have vagantium.

(Solem stare) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 280 Solem stare. Vide Plinium lib. II, cap. 19.

Solem stare ("that the sun stands still"). See Pliny, book II, ch. 19.

(Animalia esse sidera) ‹anchor: animalia esse sidera› · call in col 280 Animalia esse sidera. In quo errore fuit et Origenes in libro de Principiis.

Animalia esse sidera ("that the stars are living beings"). Origen too was in this error, in the book On First Principles.

(Minutisque luminibus) ‹anchor: multis minutisque luminibus› · call in col 280 Minutisque luminibus. Quoad oculum scilicet.

Minutisque luminibus ("and with tiny lights"): tiny, that is, to the eye.

(Φαινόμενα) ‹anchor: quo Φαινόμενα breviter comprehendit› · call in col 280 Φαινόμενα. Hic Ovidii liber, sive translatio ex Arati Phaenomenis, desumptus est. Haec carmina ex Arato graece refert Plutarchus lib. II de Philosophor. Placitis, cap. 19.

Phaenomena ("Appearances"). This book of Ovid, or translation, is taken from the Phaenomena of Aratus. Plutarch quotes these verses from Aratus in Greek, On the Opinions of the Philosophers book II, ch. 19.

(printed under page 143)

Page

running head: FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN[...] (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A ‹valet. Nam si deos›; B ‹lis est ignorantibus veritas›; C ‹rum etiam stellarum›; D ‹Eo fertur. Mss. 2 rec.› (in the Variorum notae at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "existimavit" printed with a stray accent-like mark over the a; "potuit" (quae potuit solertia) printed with a breve-like mark over the o; both set without the marks. Ligatures followed as printed: Caeterum, praestitutis, liberae, coeli, aere, inaequales, coelestibus, lunae, quae. Column ends mid-sentence at "in illo". The VARIORUM NOTAE at the page foot (Rationabiles... to Tertull.) are not set (later pass).

PL 6:280

aere pictas effictasque vidisset, suo illa consilio moveri diceret, ac non potius artificis ingenio? Inest ergo sideribus ratio ad peragendos meatus suos apta: sed Dei est illa ratio, qui et fecit, et regit omnia, non ipsorum siderum, quae moventur. Nam si solem stare voluisset, perpetuus utique dies esset. Item, si motus astra non haberent, quis dubitet sempiternam noctem fuisse futuram? Sed ut diei ac noctis vices essent, moveri ea voluit: et tam varie moveri, ut non modo lucis ac tenebrarum mutuae vicissitudines fierent, quibus laboris et quietis alterna spatia constarent; sed etiam frigoris et caloris, ut diversorum temporum vis ac potestas, vel generandis, vel maturandis frugibus conveniret. Quam solertiam divinae potestatis in machinandis itineribus astrorum, quia philosophi non videbant, animalia esse sidera putaverunt; tamquam pedibus, et sponte, non divina ratione procederent. Cur autem illa excogitaverit Deus, quis non intelligit? Scilicet ne solis lumine decedente, nimium caeca nox tetris atque horrentibus tenebris ingravesceret, noceretque viventibus. Itaque et coelum simul mira varietate distinxit, et tenebras ipsas multis minutisque luminibus temperavit. Quanto igitur Naso prudentius, quam illi, qui sapientiae studere se putant, qui sentit a Deo lumina illa, ut honorem tenebrarum depellerent, instituta! Is eum librum, quo Φαινόμενα breviter comprehendit, his tribus versibus terminavit:

bronze he had seen painted and fashioned, say that they moved by their own design, and not rather by the ingenuity of the craftsman? There is, therefore, in the stars a reason fitted to accomplishing their courses; but that reason belongs to God, Who both made and governs all things, not to the stars themselves, which are moved. For if He had willed the sun to stand still, there would certainly be perpetual day. Likewise, if the stars had no motion, who would doubt that there would have been everlasting night? But so that there might be the alternations of day and night, He willed them to move; and to move so variously that there might come about not only the mutual successions of light and darkness, by which the alternating periods of labour and rest might be established, but also those of cold and heat, so that the force and power of the different seasons might be suited either to producing or to ripening the crops. Because the philosophers did not see this skill of the divine power in contriving the paths of the stars, they supposed that the stars were living beings, as though they went forward on feet and of their own accord, not by divine reason. But who does not understand why God devised these things? Namely, lest when the light of the sun departed, night, too blind, should grow heavy with foul and dreadful darkness and do harm to living things. And so at the same time He both adorned the sky with wonderful variety and tempered the darkness itself with many small lights. How much more wisely, then, does Naso [judge] than those who think they pursue wisdom, since he perceives that those lights were established by God to drive away the honour of the darkness! He ended the book in which he briefly comprised the Phaenomena with these three verses:

Tot numero, talique Deus simulacra figura / Imposuit coelo, perque atras sparsa tenebras / Clara pruinosae jussit dare lumina nocti.

So many in number and of such a form, God set these images upon the sky, and bade them, scattered through the black darkness, give bright lights to the frosty night.

Quod si fieri non potest, ut stellae dii sint; ergo nec sol quidem, nec luna dii esse possunt, quoniam luminibus astrorum, non ratione differunt, sed magnitudine. Quod si hi dii non sunt; ergo nec coelum quidem, in quo illa omnia continentur.

But if it cannot be that the stars are gods, then neither can the sun nor the moon be gods, since they differ from the lights of the stars not in nature but in size. And if these are not gods, then neither is the sky itself, in which all those things are contained.

Editors' notes and page, col. 280

Page

running head: [L]ACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 280 (initial letter cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹aere pictas effictasque›; B ‹philosophi non videbant›; C ‹Quod si fieri non potest›; D ‹c. 36 : Archimedem arbitrantur› (in the Variorum notes, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "ac non potius" in line 2 prints a damaged first letter (looks like ɔc), set as ac; "honorem tenebrarum" set as printed, though other editions read horrorem, so it may be a misprint; the three verse lines are set as one paragraph with " / " marking the printed line breaks; the full-width heading "[V]ARIORUM NOTAE." is cut off at the left edge and not set; the Variorum notes below it are left for the later pass

PL 6:281

CAPUT VI.

Chapter VI.

Quod nec mundus totus, nec elementa sint Deus, nec animata.

That neither the whole world nor the elements are God, nor are they living.

Simili modo si terra, quam calcamus, quam subigimus et colimus ad victum, deus non est, nec campi quidem ac montes dii erunt: sed si hi non sunt, ergo ne tellus quidem universa Deus videri potest. Item si aqua, quae servit animantibus ad usum bibendi aut lavandi, deus non est, nec fontes quidem, ex quibus aqua profluit. Si fontes non sunt, nec flumina quidem, quae de fontibus colliguntur. Si flumina quoque dii non sunt, ergo et mare, quod ex fluminibus constat, Deus haberi non potest. Quod si neque coelum, neque terra, neque mare, quae mundi partes sunt, dii esse possunt; ergo ne mundus quidem totus Deus est, quem iidem ipsi stoïci, et animantem, et sapientem esse contendunt, et propterea Deum: in quo tam inconstantes fuerunt, ut nihil dictum sit ab his quod non ab iisdem fuerit eversum. Sic enim argumentantur: Fieri non posse, ut sensu careat, quod sensibilia ex se generat. Mundus autem generat hominem, qui est sensu praeditus; ergo et ipsum sensibilem esse. Item: Sine sensu esse non posse, cujus pars habeat sensum; igitur quia homo sensibilis est, etiam mundo, cujus pars homo est, inesse

In like manner, if the earth, which we tread upon, which we work and cultivate for our sustenance, is not a god, neither indeed will the fields and mountains be gods; but if these are not, then not even the whole earth can be regarded as God. Likewise, if water, which serves living creatures for the purpose of drinking or washing, is not a god, neither indeed are the springs from which the water flows forth. If the springs are not, neither indeed are the rivers, which are gathered from the springs. If the rivers too are not gods, then the sea also, which consists of rivers, cannot be held to be God. But if neither the sky, nor the earth, nor the sea, which are parts of the world, can be gods, then not even the whole world is God, which these same Stoics contend is both living and wise, and therefore God: and in this they were so inconsistent that nothing has been said by them which has not been overturned by the same men. For they argue thus: that it cannot be that what generates sentient things from itself should lack sense. But the world generates man, who is endowed with sense; therefore it too is sentient. Likewise: that a thing of which a part has sense cannot be without sense; therefore, since man is sentient, there is also present in the world, of which man is a part,

Editors' notes and page, col. 281

Footnotes

(Si terra, quam calcamus) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 281 Si terra, quam calcamus, etc. Multae nationes terram tamquam deam coluere. A Phrygibus colebatur sub nomine Rheae, Cybeles, etc. Assyrii itidem illam pro dea habuere, teste Macrobio Sat. lib. I, cap. 23: Assyrii Deo, quem summum maximumque venerantur, Adad nomen dederunt: subjungunt eidem deam, nomine Adargatim, omnemque potestatem cunctarum rerum his duobus attribuunt, solem terramque intelligentes. Aegyptii etiam illi divinos detulere honores sub nomine Isidis, teste Servio in VIII Aeneid.: Isis, inquit, lingua Aegyptiorum est terra, quam Isin esse volunt. Item Macrob. Sat. 17, cap. 20: Isis juncta religione celebratur, quae est vel terra, vel natura rerum subjacens soli. Germani etiam hanc deam coluere, ut testatur Tacitus, qui dicit illam vocatam, Hertham. Vid. Voss., de Idol., cap. 55.

Si terra, quam calcamus ("if the earth, which we tread"), etc. Many nations worshipped the earth as a goddess. The Phrygians worshipped it under the name of Rhea, Cybele, etc. The Assyrians likewise held it for a goddess, on the testimony of Macrobius, Saturnalia book I, ch. 23: "The Assyrians gave the name Adad to the god whom they venerate as highest and greatest; they join to him a goddess named Adargatis, and attribute all power over all things to these two, understanding by them the sun and the earth." The Egyptians too paid it divine honours under the name of Isis, on the testimony of Servius on Aeneid VIII: "Isis," he says, "in the Egyptian tongue is the earth, which they hold to be Isis." Likewise Macrobius, Saturnalia 17 [sic], ch. 20: "Isis is honoured in joint worship, who is either the earth or the nature of things lying beneath the sun." The Germans too worshipped this goddess, as Tacitus attests, who says she was called Hertha. See Vossius, On Idolatry, ch. 55.

(Quam subigimus et colimus ad victum) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 281 Quam subigimus et colimus ad victum. Ita restituimus ex veteribus editis cunctisque mss. praeter I Bonon. antiq. in quo deest et colimus. De hoc Cato apud Ciceronem, de Senectute.

Quam subigimus et colimus ad victum ("which we break and till for our food"). So we have restored it from the old editions and all the manuscripts except 1 ancient Bologna, in which et colimus ("and till") is lacking. On this, Cato in Cicero, On Old Age.

(Nec campi quidem) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 281 Nec campi quidem. Lego, ne campi quidem, ut Ven. 1493, 97. BUN.

Nec campi quidem ("nor even the plains"). I read ne campi quidem ("not even the plains"), as Venice 1493, 97. BÜNEMANN.

(Item si aqua) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 281 Item si aqua. Prae cunctis gentibus praecipue aquam venerati videntur Aegyptii et Persae. De prioribus ita Plutarch. lib. de Is. et Osir.: Nihil in majore est Aegyptiis honore, quam Nilus. E nostris Athanasius, qui Aegyptius ipse fuit, Orat. cont. Gentes: Alii fluvios et fontes, et omnium maxime Aegyptii aquam praecipue venerati, deosque appellant. Similiter Jul. Firmic. de Err. prof. Relig. VOSSIUS.

Item si aqua ("likewise if water"). Above all nations the Egyptians and Persians seem especially to have venerated water. Of the former Plutarch says thus, On Isis and Osiris: "Nothing is in greater honour with the Egyptians than the Nile." Of our own writers Athanasius, himself an Egyptian, Oration against the Gentiles: "Others [worship] rivers and springs, and above all the Egyptians especially venerate water and call it gods." Similarly Julius Firmicus, On the Error of Profane Religions. VOSSIUS.

(Nec fontes quidem) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 281 Nec fontes quidem. Ex Goth., Lips. tert., Ven. 1471, Rost., ne fontes quidem, ut multi libri: ne tellus quidem, ne flumina quidem, ne mundus quidem: unde ne coelum quidem corrigendum putavi. Conf. Graevium et alios, ad de M. Pers. cap. 4, not. 8 et not. ad Lact. lib. VI, cap. 15. BUN.

Nec fontes quidem ("nor even the springs"). From the Gotha, the third Leipzig, Venice 1471, the Rostock: ne fontes quidem ("not even the springs"), as many books have: ne tellus quidem, ne flumina quidem, ne mundus quidem ("not even the earth, not even the rivers, not even the world"); whence I thought ne coelum quidem ("not even the sky") should be corrected in. Compare Graevius and others on On the Deaths of the Persecutors, ch. 4, note 8, and the note on Lactantius, book VI, ch. 15. BÜNEMANN.

(Nec flumina quidem) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 281 Nec flumina quidem. Pro ne reposui nec ex mss. 2 Reg., 3 Colb., Brun. et editis multis: quod praecedentia requirunt.

Nec flumina quidem ("nor even the rivers"). For ne I have restored nec from the manuscripts, 2 Royal, 3 Colbert, the Brunswick, and many editions, as what precedes requires.

(Quae mundi partes sunt) ‹anchor: quae mundi partes sunt› · call in col 281 Quae mundi partes sunt. Eadem mens est Ciceronis de Natura deorum, scilicet partes mundi non esse partes Dei.

Quae mundi partes sunt ("which are parts of the world"). The same is the thought of Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods: namely, that the parts of the world are not parts of God.

(Ergo ne mundus quidem totus Deus est) ‹anchor: ergo ne mundus quidem totus Deus est› · call in col 281 Ergo ne mundus quidem totus Deus est. De hac stoicorum sententia vide Ciceronem in IV Academicarum Quaestion. Mundus erat Stoicis Deus ipse. Vid. Plutarch., de Phil. Plac., lib. I, cap. 3 et 7; Epiphan., Haeres. praefat.: Seneca, Quaest. nat., lib. II, cap. 45: Vis Deum mundum vocare? non falleris. Ipse enim est totum quod vides, totus operibus suis inditus et se sustentans vi sua. Manil. Astron., lib. I: / Qua pateat mundum divino numine verti, / Atque ipsum esse Deum. / Sic et Cato apud Lucanum, lib. IX: / Jupiter est quodcumque vides, quodcumque movetur.

Ergo ne mundus quidem totus Deus est ("so not even the whole world is God"). On this opinion of the Stoics see Cicero, Academic Questions IV. For the Stoics the world was God himself. See Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers, book I, chs. 3 and 7; Epiphanius, Heresies, preface; Seneca, Natural Questions book II, ch. 45: "Will you call God the world? You will not be wrong. For he is the whole that you see, wholly set within his works and sustaining himself by his own power." Manilius, Astronomica book I: "Whereby it may be plain that the world is turned by divine power, / and is itself God." So also Cato in Lucan, book IX: "Jupiter is whatever you see, whatever moves."

(Propositiones quidem verae sunt... sed assumptiones falsae) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 282 Propositiones quidem verae sunt... sed assumptiones falsae. Ciceroniano more loquitur Lactantius, propositionemque vocat eam syllogismi partem quam scholastici majorem nominant, et assumptionem dicit quam scholastici minorem vocant. Ex ISAEO.

Propositiones quidem verae sunt... sed assumptiones falsae ("the propositions are true... but the assumptions false"). Lactantius speaks in Cicero's manner, calling propositio that part of the syllogism which the schoolmen name the major, and calling assumptio what the schoolmen call the minor. From ISAEUS.

(Mundus domicilium) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 282 Mundus domicilium. Sic Cicero, lib. III de Finibus ait: Mundum autem censent regi numine deorum, eumque esse quasi communem urbem et civitatem hominum et deorum; et unumquemque nostrum ejus mundi esse partem.

Mundus domicilium ("the world, a dwelling"). So Cicero says, On Ends book III: "They hold that the world is ruled by the will of the gods, and that it is as it were the common city and commonwealth of men and gods; and that each of us is a part of that world."

(Aliud quod incolit) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 282 Aliud quod incolit. Ita ex omnibus mss. et veteribus editis restitui. In pluribus impressis est colit. Vide praecedentia.

Aliud quod incolit ("another thing, which inhabits"). So I have restored it from all the manuscripts and the old editions. In several printed ones it is colit ("tills/dwells in"). See the preceding.

(Consequentia) ‹anchor: argumentorum suorum consequentia› · call in col 282 Consequentia. Reimm., Tornaes., Consequentiam. Idem Reimm: Ergo et Jumenta; bene. BUN.

Consequentia ("the consequence"). Reimmann's and Tornaesius: Consequentiam. Reimmann's likewise: Ergo et Jumenta ("therefore beasts of burden too"); well. BÜNEMANN.

(Sed et) ‹anchor: sed et omnibus morbis› · call in col 282 Sed et. Omnium mss. est; sed etiam editorum, praeter Tornes. et Soubron.

Sed et ("but also"). It is the reading of all the manuscripts; sed etiam that of the editions, except Tornaesius and Soubron.

(Jumenta et pecudes) ‹anchor: jumenta, et pecudes› · call in col 282 Jumenta et pecudes. Quod confirmatur ex Epistola Pauli ad Roman., cap. I, v. 23.

Jumenta et pecudes ("beasts of burden and cattle"). Which is confirmed from Paul's Epistle to the Romans, 1:23.

(Nam et haec colunt Aegyptii) ‹anchor: nam et haec colunt Aegyptii› · call in col 282 Nam et haec colunt Aegyptii. Absurdioribus superstitionibus maxime addicti. De superstitionibus religiosis Aegyptiorum vide Herodotum lib. II; Cicero- (continues)

Nam et haec colunt Aegyptii ("for the Egyptians worship these too"), who were most given to rather absurd superstitions. On the religious superstitions of the Egyptians see Herodotus, book II; Cicero- (continues)

(printed under page 144)

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running head: 281 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E (cut off at the image edge; presumably ERRORIS)
marginal letters: A ‹CAPUT VI.› (printed between the columns, level with the right column's "sensum"); B ‹sunt, dii esse possunt; ergo ne mundus quidem to-›; C ‹Si terra, quam calcamus, etc.› (in the notes); D ‹Nec campi quidem. Lego› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: a stray speck before "et animantem" was ignored; "stoïci" is set with its diaeresis as printed; "coelum" is printed with the œ ligature; the column ends mid-sentence at "inesse" with no hyphen; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" (cut off at the edge) is not set; the Variorum notes at the page foot ("Si terra, quam calcamus" through "Quae mundi partes sunt") are left for the later pass

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sensum. Propositiones quidem verae sunt, et sensibile esse, quod sensu praeditum gignat, et habere sensum, cujus pars sensu aucta sit: sed assumptiones falsae, quibus argumenta concludunt, quia neque mundus generat hominem, neque homo mundi pars est. Nam hominem a principio idem Deus fecit, qui et mundum: et non est mundi pars homo, sicut corporis membrum; potest enim mundus esse sine homine, sicut urbs, et domus. Atqui ut domus unius hominis habitaculum est, et urbs unius populi; sic et mundus domicilium totius generis humani. Et aliud est, quod incolitur, aliud quod incolit. Sed illi, dum student id, quod falso susceperant, confirmare, et sensibilem esse mundum, et Deum, argumentorum suorum consequentia non viderunt. Nam si mundi pars est homo, et sensibilis est mundus, quia homo sentit: ergo quia mortalis est homo, mortalis sit et mundus necesse est; nec tantum mortalis, sed et omnibus morbis et passionibus subjectus.

sense. The propositions indeed are true: both that what begets something endowed with sense is sentient, and that that has sense of which a part has been furnished with sense. But the assumptions by which they conclude their arguments are false, because neither does the world beget man, nor is man a part of the world. For the same God Who made the world also made man from the beginning; and man is not a part of the world as a limb is of the body, for the world can exist without man, just as a city and a house can. Yet just as a house is the dwelling of one man, and a city of one people, so too the world is the domicile of the whole human race. And that which is inhabited is one thing, that which inhabits is another. But they, while they are eager to confirm what they had falsely taken up, that the world is both sentient and God, did not see the consequence of their own arguments. For if man is a part of the world, and the world is sentient because man feels, then because man is mortal, it necessarily follows that the world too is mortal; and not only mortal, but also subject to all diseases and passions.

Et e contrario: Si Deus est mundus, et partes ejus utique immortales sunt; ergo et homo Deus est, quia pars est (ut dicitis) mundi. Si homo; ergo et jumenta, et pecudes, et caetera genera bestiarum, et avium, et piscium; quoniam et illa eodem modo sentiunt, et mundi partes sunt. At hoc tolerabile est: nam et haec colunt Aegyptii. Sed res eo pervenit, ut

And conversely: if God is the world, its parts too are surely immortal; therefore man also is God, since he is (as you say) a part of the world. If man, then also beasts of burden, and cattle, and the other kinds of wild animals, and of birds, and of fishes; since they too feel in the same way and are parts of the world. But this is tolerable: for the Egyptians also worship these. But the matter has come to this, that

Editors' notes and page, col. 282

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running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 282
marginal letters: A ‹sensum. Propositiones quidem›; B ‹si mundi pars est homo›; C ‹de Natura deorum› (in the notes); D ‹lastici majorem nominant› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE, cut off at the left edge, stands below the text block and is not set; the Variorum notae beneath it (from "de Natura deorum" to "Cicero-") are page-foot commentary left for the later pass; "utique" is slightly damaged in print but legible

PL 6:283

et ranae, et culices, et formicae dii esse videantur, quia et ipsis inest sensus, et partes mundi sunt. Ita semper argumenta ex falso petita ineptos et absurdos exitus habent. Quid, quod iidem ipsi aiunt, deorum et hominum causa mundum esse constructum, quasi communem domum: ergo nec mundus Deus est, nec animans, si constructus est; animans enim non construitur, sed nascitur. Et si est aedificatus sic utique tamquam domus, tamquam navis: est ergo aliquis artifex mundi Deus; et seorsum erit mundus, qui factus est, seorsum ille, qui fecit. Jam illud quam repugnans et absurdum, quod cum coelestes ignes caeteraque mundi elementa deos affirment, item ipsum deum mundum dicunt. Quomodo potest ex deorum multorum acervo unus Deus confici? Si astra dii sunt, mundus ergo non Deus, sed domicilium deorum est. Si vero Deus mundus est; ergo omnia illa quae sunt in eo dii non sunt, sed Dei membra, quae utique sola Dei nomen accipere non possunt. Nec enim recte quis dixerit, membra hominis unius multos homines esse: sed tamen non est similis comparatio animalis et mundi. Animal enim, quia sensu praeditum est, etiam membra ejus habent sensum, nec, nisi a corpore divulsa, brutescunt. Cujus igitur rei similitudinem gerit mundus? Nimirum ipsi docent, cum factum esse non diffitentur, ut esset diis et hominibus quasi communis domus. Si ergo est constructus, ut domus, nec ipse Deus est, nec elementa, quae sunt partes ejus; quia neque domus habere dominium sui potest, neque illa de quibus domus constat. Non tantum igitur veritate, sed

even frogs, and gnats, and ants seem to be gods, because they too have sense in them, and are parts of the world. Thus arguments drawn from a falsehood always have foolish and absurd outcomes. What of the fact that these same men say that the world was built for the sake of gods and men, as a common home? Then the world is neither God nor a living being, if it was built; for a living being is not built, but born. And if it was constructed in this way, surely like a house, like a ship, then there is some maker of the world, God; and the world, which was made, will be one thing apart, and He Who made it another apart. Then again, how contradictory and absurd is this: that while they affirm the heavenly fires and the other elements of the world to be gods, they likewise call the world itself god. How can one God be made up out of a heap of many gods? If the stars are gods, then the world is not God, but the dwelling-place of gods. But if the world is God, then all those things which are in it are not gods, but members of God, which surely cannot receive by themselves the name of God. For no one could rightly say that the members of one man are many men: but yet the comparison between a living being and the world is not a like one. For a living being, because it is endowed with sense, its members also have sense, and they do not become insensible unless torn from the body. Of what thing, then, does the world bear the likeness? Clearly they themselves teach it, since they do not deny that it was made, so as to be a kind of common home for gods and men. If then it was built, like a house, neither is it itself God, nor are the elements, which are its parts; because neither can a house have dominion over itself, nor can those things of which a house consists. Not only, then, by the truth, but

Editors' notes and page, col. 283

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running head: 283 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN.
marginal letters: A et ranae, et culices; B cilium deorum est; C bus domus constat; D (in the notes area, beside quando materia aliam formam)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "communem" printed with poorly inked type (looks like cominunem), set as communem; stray mark before "Et si est aedificatus" ignored; heading VARIORUM NOTAE printed across both columns above the notes, cut off at the right edge, not set; Variorum notae at page foot left for later pass

PL 6:284

etiam verbis suis revincuntur. Sicut enim domus, in usum habitandi facta, per se nihil sentit, dominoque subjecta est, qui eam fecit, aut incolit: ita mundus, per se nihil sentiens, factori Deo subjacet, qui eum in usum sui fecit.

even by their own words are they refuted. For just as a house, made for the purpose of dwelling, feels nothing of itself, and is subject to the master who made it or inhabits it, so the world, feeling nothing of itself, is subject to God its Maker, Who made it for His own use.

CAPUT VII.

Chapter VII.

De Deo, et religionibus insipientium; de avaritia et majorum auctoritate.

Of God, and of the religions of the foolish; of avarice and the authority of the ancestors.

Duplici ergo ratione peccatur ab insipientibus: primum, quod elementa. id est Dei opera Deo praeferunt; deinde, quod elementorum ipsorum figuras humana specie comprehensas colunt. Nam solis lunaeque simulacra humanum in modum formant; item ignis, et terrae, et maris, quae illi Vulcanum, Vestam, Neptunum vocant; nec elementis ipsis in aperto litant. Tanta homines imaginum cupiditas tenet, ut jam viliora ducantur illa quae vera sunt: auro scilicet, gemmis, et ebore delectantur. Horum pulchritudo ac nitor praestringit oculos: nec ullam religionem putant ubicumque illa non fulserint. Itaque sub obtentu deorum avaritia et cupiditas colitur. Credunt enim deos amare quidquid ipsi concupiscunt; quiquid est, propter quod furta, et latrocinia, et homicidia quotidie saeviunt; propter quod bella per totum orbem populos urbesque subvertunt. Consecrant ergo diis manubias et rapinas suas, quos certe necesse est imbecilles esse, ac summae virtutis expertes, si subjecti sunt cupiditatibus. Cur enim coelestes eos putemus, si desiderant aliquid de terra? vel beatos,

Sin is therefore committed by the foolish in two ways: first, because they prefer the elements, that is, the works of God, to God; secondly, because they worship the figures of the elements themselves represented in human form. For they fashion images of the sun and moon after the human manner; likewise of fire, and earth, and sea, which they call Vulcan, Vesta, Neptune; nor do they sacrifice to the elements themselves in the open. So great a desire for images possesses men that the things which are real are now held cheaper: they delight, namely, in gold, gems and ivory. The beauty and lustre of these dazzle the eyes, nor do they think there is any religion wherever those things have not shone. And so under the cover of the gods avarice and greed are worshipped. For they believe that the gods love whatever they themselves covet; whatever there is on account of which thefts and robberies and murders rage daily; on account of which wars overthrow peoples and cities throughout the whole world. They therefore consecrate to the gods their spoils and plunder, gods who must surely be weak and devoid of the highest virtue, if they are subject to desires. For why should we think them heavenly, if they desire something from the earth? or blessed,

Editors' notes and page, col. 284

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running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 284 (left part of head cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A etiam verbis suis revincuntur; B Neptunum vocant; C putemus, si desiderant; D nem disputat Eusebius (in the Variorum Notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "elementa. id est" appears printed with a full stop, possibly a comma, UNSURE; stray mark before "ullam" (nec ,ullam) not set; Variorum Notae at page foot not set (later pass)
misprints kept as printed: "quiquid est" (for "quidquid") (Q2a)

PL 6:285

si aliqua re indigent? vel incorruptos, si voluptati habent ea in quibus appetendis cupiditas hominum non immerito damnatur? Veniunt igitur ad deos, non tam religionis gratia, quae nulla potest esse in rebus male partis et corruptibilibus, quam ut aurum oculis hauriant, nitorem levigati marmoris, aut eboris aspiciant; ut insignes lapillis et coloribus vestes, vel distincta gemmis fulgentibus pocula insatiabili contemplatione contrectent. Et quanto fuerint ornatiora templa, et pulchriora simulacra, tanto plus majestatis habere creduntur: adeo religio eorum nihil aliud est, quam quod cupiditas humana miratur.

if they lack anything? or incorrupt, if they hold as a pleasure those things in the seeking of which the desire of men is not undeservedly condemned? They come therefore to the gods, not so much for the sake of religion, which can have no existence in things ill-gotten and corruptible, as that they may drink in gold with their eyes, may gaze upon the lustre of polished marble or of ivory; that they may handle with insatiable contemplation garments distinguished by little stones and colours, or cups set off with gleaming gems. And the more ornate the temples and the more beautiful the images have been, the more majesty they are believed to have: to such a degree is their religion nothing else than what human desire admires.

Hae sunt religiones, quas sibi a majoribus suis traditas pertinacissime tueri ac defendere perseverant: nec considerant quales sint; sed ex hoc probatas atque veras esse confidunt, quod eas veteres tradiderunt, tantaque est auctoritas vetustatis, ut inquirere in eam scelus esse dicatur. Itaque creditur ei passim, tamquam cognitae veritati. Denique apud Ciceronem sic dicit Cotta Lucilio: « Habes, Balbe, quid Cotta, quid pontifex sentiat. Fac nunc ego intelligam, quid tu sentias; a te enim philosopho rationem religionis accipere debeo, majoribus autem nostris, etiam nulla ratione reddita, rationis est credere. » Si credis, cur ergo rationem requiris, quae potest efficere ne credas? Si vero rationem requiris, et quaerendam

These are the religions which, handed down to them by their ancestors, they persist in guarding and defending most obstinately: nor do they consider of what kind they are; but they trust that they are proven and true from this, that the ancients handed them down; and so great is the authority of antiquity that to inquire into it is said to be a crime. And so it is believed indiscriminately, as though it were known truth. Finally, in Cicero, Cotta speaks thus to Lucilius: « You have, Balbus, what Cotta, what a pontiff, thinks. Now let me understand what you think; for from you, a philosopher, I ought to receive the reason of religion, but our ancestors it is reasonable to believe even when no reason has been given. » If you believe, why then do you seek a reason, which can bring it about that you do not believe? But if you seek a reason, and that it must be sought

Editors' notes and page, col. 285

Footnotes

(Nitorem levigati marmoris) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 285 Nitorem levigati marmoris, etc. Vide Tertull. Apol. cap. 12, Justin. Mart. Apol. II, pro Christianis.

Nitorem levigati marmoris ("the sheen of polished marble"), etc. See Tertullian, Apology ch. 12; Justin Martyr, Apology II, for the Christians.

(Adeo religio eorum) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 285 Adeo religio eorum. Sic restituimus ex mss. 9 Reg., 2 Bonon., plur. Vatic., 6 Colb., 2 Clarom., Em., Cantab., Christ., Cotton., Bailliol., et edit. Rom. 1470: impressi 8, adeo religio deorum; Egnat. seu Ald. 1515, Paris. 1525, Graph., an ideo religio deorum.

Adeo religio eorum ("so far does their religion"). So we have restored it from the manuscripts, 9 Royal, 2 Bologna, several Vatican, 6 Colbert, 2 Clermont, the Emmanuel, the Cambridge, the Christina, the Cotton, the Balliol, and the Rome edition of 1470; 8 printed ones: adeo religio deorum ("so far does the religion of the gods"); Egnatius or Aldus 1515, Paris 1525, Gryphius: an ideo religio deorum.

(Scelus esse dicatur) ‹anchor: scelus esse dicatur› · call in col 285 Scelus esse dicatur. Sic legendum est ex utroque Bon. codice, et tribus Vaticanis; quia, inquit Thomasius, docti et sapientes cum simularent se magni facere veterum auctoritatem, dicebant quidem scelus esse in eam inquirere, non tamen id scelus esse ducebant, cum saepe ipsi multa suorum majorum irriderent. Nec solum dicatur habent codices 2 Bonon., 3 Vatic., sed et 5 Colb., Jun., Lips., Tax., Ultr., Em., Cantab., Rostoch., Pen., 2 Clarom. et edit. 2 vet. Rom. ac Is., Gall., Spark., Cellar., Walch.; quasi ita dicant paganorum eruditi, etsi aliter sentiant. In scriptis 4 Reg., 1 Colb., Brun. et 8 impressis, ducatur.

Scelus esse dicatur ("it is said to be a crime"). So it must be read from both Bologna codices and three Vatican ones; because, says Thomasius, the learned and wise, while pretending to make much of the authority of the ancients, said indeed that it was a crime to inquire into it, yet did not consider it a crime, since they themselves often mocked many things of their ancestors. And not only do the codices, 2 Bologna and 3 Vatican, have dicatur, but also 5 Colbert, the Junius, the Leipzig, the Taxian, the Utrecht, the Emmanuel, the Cambridge, the Rostock, the Penrose, 2 Clermont, and the 2 old Rome editions and Isaeus, Gallaeus, Sparke, Cellarius, Walch; as if the learned among the pagans said so, even though they thought otherwise. In the manuscripts, 4 Royal, 1 Colbert, the Brunswick, and in 8 printed ones: ducatur ("it is considered").

(Passim) ‹anchor: creditur ei passim› · call in col 285 Passim. Id est, temere, sine ulla ratione. Vid. not. sup. et l. III, c. 9. BUN.

Passim ("indiscriminately"), that is, rashly, without any reason. See the note above and book III, ch. 9. BÜNEMANN.

(Lucilio) ‹anchor: Cotta Lucilio› · call in col 285 Lucilio. Ita restitutum ex omnibus forme mss. et editis. In 1 Reg. rec. ac 4 editis, Lucillo; in edit. Graph., Lucillio. Haec Ciceronis verba sunt ex lib. III de Nat. deorum, non longe a principio.

Lucilio ("to Lucilius"). So restored from almost all the manuscripts and editions. In 1 recent Royal and 4 editions: Lucillo; in Gryphius's edition: Lucillio. These are Cicero's words from On the Nature of the Gods book III, not far from the beginning.

(Balbe) ‹anchor: Habes, Balbe› · call in col 285 Balbe. Balbus est ipse Lucilius (vid. cap. 5), et Cotta est idem pontifex. Cic. de Nat: deorum lib. I, cap. 22.

Balbe ("Balbus"). Balbus is Lucilius himself (see ch. 5), and Cotta is the same as the pontiff. Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book I, ch. 22.

(Rationis est credere) ‹anchor: rationis est credere› · call in col 285 Rationis est credere. Absunt a Ciceronis libris rationis est; nec vero displicent Grutero. CELL.

Rationis est credere ("it is the part of reason to believe"). Rationis est is missing from the books of Cicero; but it does not displease Gruter. CELLARIUS.

(Quae quidem tibi non ab alio insinuata) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 285 Quae quidem tibi non ab alio insinuata. Sic habent mss. 2 Bonon., Tax., Pen., 5 Vatic., 5 Colb., Em., Cant., Cauc., Pal., Lips., Rostoch., Ult.; 2 Clarom., Brun. et veteres edit. Rom., Paris., Is., aliique Regii quatuor et nonnullae editiones carent illa negativa, quae necessario est addenda, ut sensus constet.

Quae quidem tibi non ab alio insinuata ("which indeed was not instilled in you by another"). So have the manuscripts, 2 Bologna, the Taxian, the Penrose, 5 Vatican, 5 Colbert, the Emmanuel, the Cambridge, the Caucian, the Palatine, the Leipzig, the Rostock, the Utrecht; 2 Clermont, the Brunswick, and the old editions, Rome, Paris, Isaeus; four other Royal manuscripts and some editions lack that negative, which must necessarily be added for the sense to stand.

(Electa est) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 285 Electa est. Mss. 14, elata est. Verum Thomasius putat legendum esse: Elata est.

Electa est ("it was chosen"). 14 manuscripts: elata est ("it was raised up"). Thomasius indeed thinks Elata est should be read.

(Sin autem pietas majores sequi suadet) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 286 Sin autem pietas majores sequi suadet. Thomasius notat huic sententiae minoribus litteris in codice Bon. haec verba fuisse superscripta: Sin autem veritas major est quae suadet. Verum in nullo alio codice nobis quidem viso ita habetur; quare nihil mutandum censuimus. GALL. — Quam lectionem immutari non vult Thomasius propter codicis antiquitatem. Attamen minoribus litteris legitur in eodem codice: Sin autem veritas major est, quae suadet, fatere igitur.

Sin autem pietas majores sequi suadet ("but if piety urges following one's ancestors"). Thomasius notes that in the Bologna codex these words were written above this sentence in smaller letters: Sin autem veritas major est quae suadet ("but if it is truth, the greater, that urges"). But it is so in no other codex that we at least have seen; so we have judged that nothing should be changed. GALLAEUS. — A reading that Thomasius does not want altered, because of the antiquity of the codex. Yet in the same codex is read in smaller letters: Sin autem veritas major est, quae suadet, fatere igitur ("but if truth, which urges, is greater, confess then").

(Fatere) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 286 Fatere. Sic reposui ex mss. et veteribus editis Rom. In caeteris vulgatis est, fateris.

Fatere ("confess"). So I have restored it from the manuscripts and the old Rome editions. In the other common editions it is fateris ("you confess").

(Servierunt) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 286 Servierunt. Omnium fere mss. est. In mss. Jun. et in vet. editis sex, serviunt; in sex aliis excusis, servierint. — Servierint. Hoc rectius, quam unius Bon. Reim. et Goth. servierunt, aut edd. Sublac., Rost. Ven. 1471-97, Paris., Junt., Crat., Ald., Parrh., Gymn., serviunt. BUN.

Servierunt ("they served"). It is the reading of almost all the manuscripts. In the Junius manuscript and in six old editions: serviunt ("they serve"); in six other printings: servierint ("they may have served"). — Servierint. This is more correct than the servierunt of one Bologna, Reimmann's and the Gotha, or the serviunt of the editions of Subiaco, Rostock, Venice 1471–97, Paris, Junta, Cratander, Aldus, Parrhasius, Gymnicus. BÜNEMANN.

(Quod falsum esse convinceris) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 286 Quod falsum esse convinceris. Ita lego cum mss. 5 Regiis, quorum duo sunt veterrimi, 7 Vat., 4 Colbert. aliisque multis, ac 10 vet. edit. In scriptis 19, inter quos est 1 Bonon. antiq., et in 6 impressis recentioribus est, conviceris. Attamen putat Thomasius ex 1 Bonon. et 5 Vaticanis legendum esse, quod falsum esse conviceris. Et hoc, inquit, refertur ad Ciceronem dicentem: Qui ea ob pietatem sequebatur, quae falsa esse conviceret.

Quod falsum esse convinceris ("which you are convicted of [following though] false"). So I read with the manuscripts, 5 Royal, two of them very old, 7 Vatican, 4 Colbert and many others, and 10 old editions. In 19 manuscripts, among them 1 ancient Bologna, and in 6 more recent printings it is conviceris ("you have proved"). Yet Thomasius thinks that, from 1 Bologna and 5 Vatican, quod falsum esse conviceris ("which you have proved to be false") should be read. And this, he says, refers to Cicero, who said: "Who out of piety was following things that he had proved false."

(Videamus tandem) ‹anchor: videamus tandem› · call in col 286 Videamus tandem. Mss. 11 et 6 vet. edit. pro tandem, repetunt tamen, quod proxime praecessit.

Videamus tandem ("let us see at last"). 11 manuscripts and 6 old editions, for tandem, repeat tamen ("however"), which came just before.

(Asylum) ‹anchor: constituit asylum› · call in col 286 Asylum. De quo vide Dionysium Halycarn., Livium., Plutarchum et Strabonem.

Asylum ("a sanctuary"). On which see Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Livy, Plutarch and Strabo.

(Passim) ‹anchor: Eo passim confugerunt› · call in col 286 Passim. Perottus in Cornu copiae, ed. Ald. f. 844 passim hic exponit per undique. Imo significat hic indistincte, sine ordine; quod suadent verba, sine ullo discrimine. BUN.

Passim ("from everywhere"). Perotti, in the Cornucopia, Aldine edition, fol. 844, explains passim here as undique ("from all sides"). Rather, it here means indiscriminately, without order; as the words sine ullo discrimine ("without any distinction") suggest. BÜNEMANN.

(Propertius) ‹anchor: Propertius Elegiarum scriptor› · call in col 286 Propertius. Lib. IV, Elegia 1, in qua veterum Romanorum frugalitatem cum sui temporis luxu confert.

Propertius. Book IV, Elegy 1, in which he compares the frugality of the ancient Romans with the luxury of his own time.

(Buccina cogebat) ‹anchor: Buccina cogebat› · call in col 286 Buccina cogebat, etc. Hic ordo est manuscriptorum et vet. editorum: plures vulgati prius distichon posteriori ponunt loco. His versibus significat Propertius, primos senatores non usos fuisse togis prae- (continues)

Buccina cogebat ("the trumpet gathered"), etc. This is the order of the manuscripts and the old editions; several common editions put the first couplet in the later place. By these verses Propertius signifies that the first senators did not wear the toga prae[texta] (continues)

(printed under page 146)

Page

running head: 285 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A si aliqua re indigent? vel incorruptos; B que veras esse confidunt; C Nitorem levigati marmoris (in the foot notes); D sis, ducatur. (in the foot notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "Habes" printed with damaged H (reads Ilabes); "Fac" and "credere" blurred in the image (look like Fao, credero), set as Fac and credere, UNSURE. Column ends mid-sentence at "quaerendam" (continues "putas" in the next column). Full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" at the page foot not set; the Variorum notae (Nitorem levigati marmoris ... Elata est) left for the later pass.

PL 6:286

putas, ergo non credis. Ideo enim quaeris, ut eam sequaris, cum inveneris. Docet ecce te ratio non esse veras religiones deorum. Quid facies? majoresne potius, an rationem sequeris? quae quidem tibi non ab alio insinuata, sed a te ipso inventa et electa est, cum omnes religiones radicitus eruisti. Si rationem mavis, discedere te necesse est ab institutis et auctoritate majorum; quoniam id solum rectum est quod ratio praescribit. Sin autem pietas majores sequi suadet, fatere igitur, et stultos illos fuisse, qui excogitatis contra rationem religionibus servierunt, et te ineptum qui id colas, quod falsum esse convinceris. Sed tamen quoniam nobis tantopere majorum nomen opponitur, videamus tandem qui fuerint majores illi, a quorum auctoritate discedi nefas ducitur.

you think, therefore you do not believe. For you seek it precisely in order that you may follow it when you have found it. Behold, reason teaches you that the religions of the gods are not true. What will you do? Will you rather follow your ancestors, or reason? Reason, which was not instilled into you by another, but was found and chosen by you yourself, when you tore up all religions by the roots. If you prefer reason, you must depart from the institutions and authority of the ancestors; since that alone is right which reason prescribes. But if piety persuades you to follow the ancestors, then confess both that they were fools, who served religions devised contrary to reason, and that you are senseless, who worship what you are convicted [of knowing] to be false. But nevertheless, since the name of the ancestors is so insistently set against us, let us at length see who those ancestors were, from whose authority it is held impious to depart.

Romulus urbem conditurus, pastores inter quos adoleverat convocavit, cumque is numerus condendae urbi parum idoneus videretur, constituit asylum. Eo passim confugerunt ex finitimis locis pessimi quique, sine ullo conditionis discrimine. Ita conflavit ex his omnibus populum; legitque in senatum, eos qui aetate anteibant, et Patres appellavit, quorum consilio gereret omnia. De quo senatu Propertius Elegiarum scriptor haec loquitur:

Romulus, when about to found the city, called together the shepherds among whom he had grown up, and since that number seemed too small for founding a city, he established an asylum. To it all the worst men from the neighbouring places fled indiscriminately, without any distinction of condition. Thus out of all these he forged a people; and he chose into the senate those who were foremost in age, and called them Fathers, so that he might conduct all things by their counsel. Of this senate Propertius, the writer of elegies, says this:

Buccina cogebat priscos ad verba Quirites:

The trumpet used to summon the Quirites of old to speeches:

Centum illi in prato saepe Senatus erat.

those hundred in a meadow were often the Senate.

Editors' notes and page, col. 286

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 286
marginal letters: A putas, ergo non credis; B Romulus urbem conditurus; C Sin autem pietas majores sequi suadet (Variorum notae); D inter quos est 1 Bonon. antiq. (Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "putas"; "praescribit" print blurred (c looks like e), set as praescribit, UNSURE; the Propertius couplet is set as two lines; the heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" is a full-width line cut off at the left edge of the image, not set; the Variorum notae from "Sin autem pietas majores sequi suadet. Thomasius" to "primos senatores non usos fuisse togis prae-" are left for the later pass; left-column fragments are not set

PL 6:287

Curia, praetexto quae nunc nitet alta Senatu, / Pellitos habuit rustica corda Patres.

The Senate-house, which now gleams on high with its purple-bordered Senate, once held skin-clad Fathers, rustic hearts.

Hi sunt Patres, quorum decretis eruditi ac prudentes viri devotissime serviunt, idque verum ac immutabile omnis posteritas judicet, quod centum pelliti senes statutum esse voluerunt, quos tamen, ut in primo libro dictum est, cap. 22, Pompilius illexit, ut vera crederent esse sacra quae ipse tradebat. Est vero, cur illorum auctoritas tanti habeatur a posteris, quos nemo, cum viverent, neque summus, neque infimus affinitate dignos judicavit?

These are the Fathers to whose decrees learned and prudent men most devotedly submit, and all posterity is to judge that true and unchangeable which a hundred skin-clad old men wished to be established, whom nevertheless, as was said in the first book, chapter 22, Pompilius enticed into believing that the rites which he himself was handing down were true. Is there indeed reason why the authority of those men should be held in such esteem by posterity, whom no one, while they lived, neither the highest nor the lowest, judged worthy of alliance by marriage?

CAPUT VIII.

Chapter VIII.

De rationis usu in religione; deque somniis, auguriis, oraculis, talibusque portentis.

On the use of reason in religion; and on dreams, auguries, oracles, and such portents.

Quare oportet, in ea re maxime in qua vitae ratio versatur, sibi quemque confidere, suoque judicio ac propriis sensibus magis niti ad investigandam et perpendendam veritatem; quam credentem alienis erroribus decipi tamquam ipsum rationis expertem. Dedit omnibus Deus pro virili portione sapientiam, ut et inaudita investigare possent, et audita perpendere. Nec quia nos illi temporibus antecesserunt, sapientia quoque antecesserunt; quae si omnibus aequaliter datur, occupari ab antecedentibus non potest. Illibabilis est tamquam lux et claritas solis, quia ut sol oculorum, sic sapientia lumen est cordis

Wherefore it is fitting, above all in that matter in which the conduct of life is concerned, that each person should trust himself, and rely rather on his own judgement and his own senses for investigating and weighing the truth, than, by believing the errors of others, be deceived as though he were himself devoid of reason. God has given wisdom to all in equal portion, so that they might both investigate things unheard and weigh things heard. Nor, because those men preceded us in time, did they also precede us in wisdom; for if it is given to all equally, it cannot be seized beforehand by those who come before. It cannot be diminished, like the light and brightness of the sun, because as the sun is the light of the eyes, so wisdom is the light of the heart

Editors' notes and page, col. 287

Page

running head: 287 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A ‹Curia, praetexto quae nunc nitet›; B ‹Quare oportet, in ea re maxime›; C ‹textatis, sed pellibus› (in the notes); D ‹cerpi potest. Docte Gronovius› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the two verse lines (Propertius) are set as one paragraph with " / " between the lines; "Est vero, cur" is set as printed; "versatur" has a damaged s in the print but reads clearly; the last word "cordis" continues with "humani" at the head of col. 288; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" is cut off at the right edge and is not set; the Variorum notes below it are left for the later apparatus pass; the "Digitized by Google" watermark is not set

PL 6:288

humani. Quare cum sapere, id est, veritatem quaerere, omnibus sit innatum, sapientiam sibi adimunt, qui sine ullo judicio inventa majorum probant, et ab aliis pecudum more ducuntur. Sed hoc eos fallit, quod majorum nomine posito, non putant fieri posse, ut aut ipsi plus sapiant, quia minores vocantur, aut illi desipuerint, quia majores nominantur. Quid ergo impedit, quin ab ipsis sumamus exemplum; ut quomodo illi, quae falsa invenerant, posteris tradiderunt, sic nos, qui verum invenimus, posteris meliora tradamus? Superest ingens quaestio, cujus disputatio non ab ingenio, sed a scientia venit, quae pluribus explicanda erit, ne quid omnino dubium relinquatur. Nam fortasse aliquis ad illa confugiat, quae a multis et non dubiis traduntur auctoribus; eos ipsos, quos docuimus deos non esse, majestatem suam persaepe ostendisse, et prodigiis, et somniis, et auguriis, et oraculis. Et sane multa enumerari possunt digna miraculo: in primis illud, quod Accius Navius summus Augur, cum Tarquinium Priscum commoneret, ut nihil novi facere inciperet, nisi prius esset inauguratus, eique rex artis ejus elevans fidem diceret, ut consultis avibus renuntiaret sibi, utrumne fieri posset id quod ipse animo concepisset, affirmaretque Navius posse: Cape igitur hanc, inquit, cotem, eamque novacula dissice. At ille incunctanter accepit ac secuit.

of man. Therefore, since to be wise, that is, to seek the truth, is innate in all, those deprive themselves of wisdom who without any judgement approve the discoveries of their forefathers and are led by others in the manner of cattle. But this deceives them: that, once the name of the forefathers (majores) has been set before them, they do not think it can happen either that they themselves are wiser, because they are called the lesser (minores), or that those others were foolish, because they are named the greater (majores). What then prevents us from taking an example from them, so that, just as they handed down to posterity the false things they had found, so we, who have found the truth, may hand down better things to posterity? There remains a great question, the discussion of which comes not from talent but from knowledge, and which will have to be set out at some length, lest anything at all be left in doubt. For perhaps someone may take refuge in those things which are handed down by many authors, and not doubtful ones: that those very beings whom we have shown not to be gods have very often displayed their majesty, by prodigies, by dreams, by auguries and by oracles. And indeed many things worthy of wonder can be enumerated: first of all that well-known case, when Accius Navius, the chief Augur, was warning Tarquinius Priscus to begin doing nothing new unless he had first been inaugurated, and the king, making light of the credibility of his art, told him to consult the birds and report to him whether what he himself had conceived in his mind could be done, and Navius affirmed that it could: 'Take then this whetstone,' he said, 'and cut it apart with a razor.' And he without hesitation took it and cut it.

Editors' notes and page, col. 288

Page

running head: TANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. (left edge cut off; presumably LACTANTII) 288
marginal letters: A humani. Quare cum sapere; B eos ipsos, quos docuimus; C et apud barbaras quasque nationes (in the notes); D Extat in Livio (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: a stray vertical mark is printed between "ipsos," and "quos", not set; the full-width heading "[VA]RIORUM NOTAE" stands below "pit ac secuit.", cut off at the left edge, not set; the Variorum notes below it (beginning "et apud barbaras quasque nationes") are left for the later pass; the left-hand fragments belong to column 287 and are not set; the whole text block is printed as one paragraph

PL 6:289

Deinde illud, quod Castor et Pollux, bello latino, apud Lacum Juturnae visi sunt equorum sudorem abluentes, cum aedes eorum, quae juncta fonti erat, sua sponte patuisset: iidem bello macedonico equis albis insidentes, Publio Vatieno Romam nocte venienti se obtulisse dicuntur, nuntiantes eo die regem Persen victum atque captum, quod paucis post diebus litterae Pauli verum fuisse docuerunt. Illud etiam mirabile, quod simulacrum Fortunae muliebre non semel locutum esse traditur; item Junonis Monetae, cum, captis Veiis, unus ex militibus ad eam transferendam missus, jocabundus ac ludens interrogavit, utrumne Romam migrare vellet, respondit velle. Claudia quoque proponitur in exemplum miraculi. Nam cum ex libris Sibyllinis Idaea mater esset accita, et in vado Tiberini fluminis navis qua vehebatur haesisset, nec ulla vi commoveretur, Claudiam

Then there is this: that Castor and Pollux, in the Latin war, were seen at the Lake of Juturna washing off the sweat of their horses, when their temple, which adjoined the spring, had opened of its own accord; and that the same, in the Macedonian war, seated on white horses, are said to have presented themselves to Publius Vatienus as he was coming to Rome by night, announcing that on that day King Perses had been defeated and captured, which the letter of Paulus a few days later showed to have been true. This too is wondrous, that the image of Female Fortune is reported to have spoken more than once; likewise that of Juno Moneta, when, after Veii had been taken, one of the soldiers sent to carry her across asked her, jesting and playing, whether she wished to move to Rome, answered that she did. Claudia also is put forward as an example of a miracle. For when, in accordance with the Sibylline books, the Idaean Mother had been summoned, and the ship by which she was being carried had stuck in a shallow of the river Tiber and could not be moved by any force, Claudia

Editors' notes and page, col. 289

Page

running head: 289 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[...] (cut off at the image edge; presumably ERRORIS)
marginal letters: A Deinde illud, quod Castor; B batur haesisset, nec ulla; C Fastor. ab Ovidio (in the Variorum Notae); D faventibus mss. 1 Colb. (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-sentence at "Claudiam"; the page-foot VARIORUM NOTAE (beginning "de re vide Pareum", notes on Et Pollux, Juturnae, Aedes... erat... patuisset, Publio Vatieno, Eo die regem Persen...) not set, left for the later pass; the cut-off "VARIORUM NOTAE" heading spans both columns and is not set; the partly visible right-hand column belongs to col. 290

PL 6:290

ferunt, quae semper impudica esset habita ob nimios corporis cultus, deam submissis genibus orasse, ut, si se castam judicaret, suum cingulum sequeretur, ita navim, quae ab omni juventute non valuit commoveri, ab una muliere esse commotam. Illud aeque mirum, quod lue saeviente, Aesculapius, Epidauro accitus, urbem Romam diutnrna pestilentia liberasse perhibetur.

they report, who had always been held unchaste on account of her excessive care for her body, prayed to the goddess on bended knees that, if she judged her chaste, she should follow her girdle; and so the ship, which all the youth had not been able to move, was moved by one woman. Equally marvellous is this, that while a plague was raging, Aesculapius, summoned from Epidaurus, is said to have freed the city of Rome from a long-lasting pestilence.

Sacrilegi quoque numerari possunt, quorum praesentibus poenis injuriam suam dii vindicasse creduntur. Appius Claudius Censor, cum adversus responsum ad servos publicos sacra Herculis transtulisset, luminibus orbatus est, et Potitiorum gens, quae prodidit, intra unius anni tempus extincta est. Item Censor Fulvius, cum ex Junonis Laciniae templo marmoreas tegulas abstulisset, quibus aedem Fortunae

Sacrilegious men too can be enumerated, on whom the gods are believed to have avenged their injury by immediate punishments. Appius Claudius the Censor, when, contrary to the response, he had transferred the rites of Hercules to public slaves, was deprived of his sight, and the clan of the Potitii, which had betrayed [them], was extinct within the space of a single year. Likewise the Censor Fulvius, when he had carried off marble tiles from the temple of Juno Lacinia, with which the temple of Fortune

Editors' notes and page, col. 290

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 290
marginal letters: A ‹ferunt, quae semper impudica›; B ‹moreas tegulas abstulisset›; C ‹plum eo loco fuisse› (in the Variorum Notae); D ‹1; Livium, IX, cap. 29› (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "ferunt" and ends mid-sentence with "Fortunae" (no hyphen); "diutnrna" appears to be a turned u, UNSURE whether misprint or damaged type; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" (cut off at left edge) stands between the text block and the notes and is not set; the Variorum Notae below it (Simulacrum Fortunae muliebre ... Junonis Laciniae) are left for the later pass; running head cut off at left edge of the image

PL 6:291

equestris, quam Romae fecerat, tegeret, et mente captus est, et amissis duobus filiis in Illyrico militantibus, summo animi moerore consumptus est. Praefectus etiam M. Antonii Turullius, cum apud Coos everso Aesculapii luco classem fecisset, eodem postea loco a militibus Caesaris est interfectus. His exemplis adjungitur Pyrrhus, qui sublata ex thesauro Proserpinae Locrensis pecunia, naufragium fecit, ac vicinis deae littoribus illisus est, ut nihil, praeter eam pecuniam, incolume reperiretur. Ceres quoque Milesia multum sibi apud homines venerationis adjecit. Nam cum ab Alexandro capta civitas esset, ac milites ad eam spoliandam irrupissent, omnium oculos repente objectus fulgor ignis extinxit.

Equestris, which he had built at Rome, he might roof, was both deranged in mind and, having lost two sons serving in Illyricum, was consumed by the utmost grief of soul. Also the prefect of Mark Antony, Turullius, when among the Coans he had overturned the grove of Aesculapius and built a fleet, was afterwards killed in that same place by the soldiers of Caesar. To these examples is added Pyrrhus, who, having taken money from the treasury of Proserpina of Locri, suffered shipwreck and was dashed upon the shores near the goddess, so that nothing except that money was found unharmed. Ceres of Miletus also gained for herself much veneration among men. For when the city had been captured by Alexander, and the soldiers had burst in to plunder it, a flash of fire suddenly thrown before them put out the eyes of all.

Reperiuntur etiam somnia, quae vim deorum videantur ostendere. Tiberio Namque Attinio, homini plebeio, per quietem obversatus esse Jupiter dicitur, et praecepisse, ut Consulibus et Senatui nuntiaret, ludis Circensibus proximis praesultorem sibi displicuisse, quod Antonius Maximus quidam diverberatum

Dreams are also found which seem to show the power of the gods. For to Tiberius Attinius, a man of the common people, Jupiter is said to have appeared during sleep, and to have instructed him to announce to the consuls and the senate that at the last Circensian games the leading dancer had displeased him, because a certain Antonius Maximus had soundly beaten

Editors' notes and page, col. 291

Page

running head: 291 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹equestris, quam Romae fecerat›; B ‹deantur ostendere. Tiberio Namque›; C ‹Turullius. Sic plurimi mss.› (in the notes); D ‹factam, eamdemque non impunitam› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "fecerat" printed with a damaged second e (looks like "feccrat"), set as fecerat; "obversatus" printed with a damaged u (looks like "obversatns"); "Attinio" set as printed (Livy has Latinius); full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" at the page foot, cut off at the edge, not set; Variorum notes at the page foot (end of a note "cognomine juxta Crotonem", Aedem Fortunae equestris, Turullius, Loco, Caesaris, Pyrrhus, Ex thesauro, Milesia, Capta civitas, Objectus fulgor ignis, Somnia, Per quietem, Praesultorem) left for the later pass; column ends mid-sentence at "diverberatum"

PL 6:292

servum sub furca medio circo ad supplicium duxerat, ideoque ludos instaurari oportere; quod cum ille neglexisset, eodem die filium perdidisse, ipse autem gravi morbo esse correptus: et cum rursus eamdem imaginem cerneret quaerentem, satisne poenarum pro neglecto imperio pependisset, lectica delatus ad Consules, et omni re in Senatu exposita, recepisse corporis firmitatem, suisque pedibus domum rediisse. Illud quoque somnium non minoris fuit admirationis, quo Caesar Augustus dicitur esse servatus. Nam cum bello civili Brutiano, implicitus gravi morbo, abstinere praelio statuisset, medico ejus Artorio Minervae species obversata est, monens ne propter corporis imbecillitatem castris se contineret Caesar. Itaque in aciem lectica perlatus est, et eodem die a Bruto castra capta sunt. Multa praeterea exempla similia possunt proferri: sed vereor ne, si fuero in propositione rerum contrariarum diutius immoratus, aut oblitus esse propositi videar, aut crimen loquacitatis incurram.

a slave and led him under the fork through the middle of the circus to punishment, and that therefore the games ought to be held afresh; and when he had neglected this, [it is said] that on the same day he lost his son, and that he himself was seized by a grave illness; and when he again saw the same apparition asking whether he had paid penalty enough for the neglected command, he was carried in a litter to the consuls, and when the whole matter had been set out in the Senate, he recovered the strength of his body and returned home on his own feet. That dream too was of no less wonder by which Caesar Augustus is said to have been saved. For when in the civil war against Brutus, stricken by a grave illness, he had resolved to keep away from the battle, the form of Minerva appeared to his physician Artorius, warning that Caesar should not keep himself within the camp on account of the weakness of his body. And so he was carried in a litter into the battle line, and on the same day the camp was taken by Brutus. Many other similar examples could besides be brought forward; but I fear that, if I linger too long over setting out contrary matters, I may either seem to have forgotten my purpose or incur the charge of talkativeness.

Editors' notes and page, col. 292

Page

running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 292 (left part of the running head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A servum sub furca medio circo; B tra capta sunt. Multa; C scurus. at dicitur Dionysio (in the Variorum notae, not set); D ctorem habuit Valerium (in the Variorum notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence ("servum", continuing the Antronius/Latinius story from the previous column) and ends complete at "incurram."; "in-/curram" joined; the full-width heading "[V]ARIORUM NOTAE" and the notes beneath it (Antonius..., Servum sub furca..., Ipse autem gravi morbo..., Illud quoque somnium..., Augustus..., Obversata..., Crimen... incurram...) are page-foot apparatus, not set in this pass; no editors' matter in the text block

PL 6:293

CAPUT IX.

Chapter IX.

De Diabolo, Mundo, Deo, Providentia, Homine et ejus sapientia.

On the Devil, the World, God, Providence, Man and his Wisdom.

Exponam igitur omnium istorum rationem, quo facilius res difficiles et obscurae intelligantur, et has omnes simulati numinis praestigias revelabo, quibus inducti homines, a veritatis via longius recesserunt. Sed repetam longe altius; nt si quis ad legendum veri expers et ignarus accesserit, instruatur, atque intelligat, quod tandem sit

I shall therefore set out the account of all these things, so that difficult and obscure matters may be more easily understood, and I shall reveal all these deceptions of a counterfeit deity, led on by which men have withdrawn rather far from the way of truth. But I shall go back much further, so that if anyone without share in the truth and ignorant of it comes to the reading, he may be instructed and may understand what, in the end, is

Caput horum et causa malorum;

the source and cause of these evils;

Editors' notes and page, col. 293

Footnotes

(printed under page 150)

(a) ‹anchor: (note from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) rimus. Buneman.

(printed under page 150)

(b) ‹anchor: Et has omnes simulati numinis praestigias revelabo› · lemma note, no call

Et has omnes simulati numinis praestigias revelabo. Ita mss. plerique Regii et Vaticani, 6 Colb., Pen., 1 Clarom., Brun., omnesque editi praeter Rom., 1468 et 1470, in quibus est, simulatas; in Regio-Put., et has omnes simulationum in his praestigias revelabo; in Bon. antiq., et has omnes simulationum causas in his praestigiis revelabo; in 1 Clarom., et has omnes simulationum causas in his praestigiis simulati numinis praestigias revelabo.

"And I shall lay bare all these juggleries of a feigned godhead." So most of the Royal and Vatican manuscripts, 6 Colbert, Pen., 1 Clermont, Brun., and all the printed editions except Rome 1468 and 1470, which have "feigned" (simulatas, agreeing with the juggleries); the Regio-Puteanus has "and I shall lay bare all these juggleries of feignings in them"; the old Bologna has "and I shall lay bare all these causes of feignings in these juggleries"; 1 Clermont has "and I shall lay bare all these causes of feignings in these juggleries, the juggleries of a feigned godhead".

(printed under page 150)

Inducti. Mss. 1 Bon. antiq. et 1 Clarom., indocti.

"Led on." The manuscripts 1 old Bologna and 1 Clermont have "untaught".

(printed under page 150)

(d) ‹anchor: Instruatur› · lemma note, no call

Instruatur. Ita quamplurimi mss. et ed. Cellar. In octo rec. mss. et cunctis ferme editis, Instituatur.

"Let him be furnished." So a great many manuscripts and Cellarius's edition. In eight recent manuscripts and almost all the editions, "Let him be instructed."

(printed under page 150)

(e) ‹anchor: Caput› · lemma note, no call

Caput. Ex Virgil. II Aeneid.

"Head." From Virgil, Aeneid II.

(printed under page 150)

(f) ‹anchor: Perspiciat errores› · lemma note, no call

Perspiciat errores. Post haec verba in decem rec. mss. et in plurimis impressis sequentia haec leguntur: Sicut mater sine exemplo genuit auctorem suum, sic ineffabiliter Pater genuisse credendus est coaeternum. De matre natus est, qui jam ante fuit; de Patre, qui aliquando non fuit: hoc fides credat, intelligentia non requirat, ne aut non inventum putet incredibile, aut repertum non credat singulare. Sed illa non reperiuntur in antiquissimis mss., 1 Bonon., 2 Reg., Cauc., 3 item aliis Regiis, 8 Vaticanis, 1 Sorbon., 4 Oxon., Tornes., Betul., Gal., 2 Colb., 1 Clarom., edit. Is., Spark. aliisque. In 1 Clarom. cod. margine scriptum est: Haec non credo esse Lactantii verba. In editionibus antiquissimis 1475 et 1490, paulo post medium legitur, non defuit; sicut et in mss. Rohanneo et Sangermanensi. At rectius illa sustuleris, quam si in emendandis (quod alii faciunt) operam luseris. Etenim ab Arianis addita sunt, et redolent haeresim Arianam, quae toties de Christo pronuntiavit Ἦν ὅταν οὐκ ἦν. Ego haec in textum propter illos maximo numero mss. non esse admittenda puto cum Gallaeo. Betuleius qui haec verba admittit in textu Lactantiano, monet tamen ea non esse in veteri codice, ac nil non movet, ut ipse sensum his tribuat Catholicum, faleturque ea sapere haeresim Arianam. Verum praestantissima editio Coloniensis anni 1544, illa non admittit nisi minutiori charactere, monetque ea non haberi in manuscriptis quibus editor usus est.

"Let him see through the errors." After these words, in ten recent manuscripts and in most printed editions, the following is read: "As a mother without precedent bore her own maker, so the Father must be believed to have begotten, ineffably, one co-eternal. He was born of a mother who already was before; of the Father, who once was not: let faith believe this, let understanding not inquire, lest it either think incredible what it has not found out, or, having found it out, not believe it unique." But these words are not found in the most ancient manuscripts, 1 Bologna, 2 Royal, Cauc., likewise 3 other Royal, 8 Vatican, 1 Sorbonne, 4 Oxford, Tornaesius, Betuleius, Gallaeus, 2 Colbert, 1 Clermont, Isaeus's edition, Sparke, and others. In the margin of the 1 Clermont codex is written: "I do not think these are Lactantius's words." In the very old editions of 1475 and 1490, a little after the middle, "did not fail to be" is read (for "once was not"); so too in the Rohan and Saint-Germain manuscripts. But you will do better to remove them than to waste your effort emending them (as others do). For they were added by the Arians, and they smell of the Arian heresy, which so often declared of Christ, "There was when he was not." I think, with Gallaeus, that on account of that very great number of manuscripts these words are not to be admitted into the text. Betuleius, who admits these words into the text of Lactantius, nevertheless warns that they are not in the old codex, and he leaves no stone unturned to give them a Catholic sense himself, and admits that they savour of the Arian heresy. But the excellent Cologne edition of 1544 admits them only in smaller type, and warns that they are not found in the manuscripts the editor used.

(printed under page 150)

(g) ‹anchor: Deus ad excogitandum providentissimus› · lemma note, no call

Deus ad excogitandum providentissimus. Sic habent multi antiquissimi et optimi mss. quod ex infra sequentibus confirmatur: Et maximum Filium praefecit operi universo; eoque simul et consiliatore usus est et artifice in excogitandis, ornandis perficiendisque rebus, quoniam is et providentia, et ratione et potestate perfectus est. Et inferius: Providentia excogitandi, et solertia potestasque faciendi. In 8 rec. scriptis et in editis est, prudentissimus.

"God, most provident in devising." So many very ancient and excellent manuscripts have it, and it is confirmed by what follows below: "And he set the greatest, his Son, over the whole work; and used him at once as counsellor and as craftsman in devising, ordering and completing things, since he is perfect in providence, in reason and in power." And further down: "providence in devising, and skill and power in making." In 8 recent manuscripts and in the printed editions it is "most prudent".

(printed under page 150)

(h) ‹anchor: Ordiretur hoc opus mundi› · lemma note, no call

Ordiretur hoc opus mundi. Post haec verba in mss. Marm., Goth. et in multis impressis haec sequuntur: Fecit in principio bonum et malum; id plane quid sit, apertius explicabo, ne quis me ita loqui arbitretur, ut poetae solent, qui res incorporales quibusdam figuris quasi visibilibus comprehendunt, cum praesertim (vel praeter) ipsum adhuc nihil esset. Sed quia Manichaeam haeresim asserunt, a qua Lactantius plane fuit alienus, ut patet ex sequentibus, e textu expunximus tamquam adulterina manu addita; non enim inveniuntur in antiquiss. Bon., Tax., 8 Regiis, 6 Colb., 2 Clarom., undecim Vaticanis, 2 Br., nec Oxoniensibus, nec in mss. Jun., Rohan. et Sangerm. His etiam carent optimae editiones Rom. 1468; 1470, Veneta anni 1490, Florentina, Plantiniana, Cratandri 1524, Ald. 1515, Antuerp. Gymnici 1539, et Grach. GALLAEUS.

"Should begin this work of the world." After these words, in the Marmoutier and Gotha manuscripts and in many printed editions, the following comes: "In the beginning he made good and evil; what exactly that is I shall explain more openly, lest anyone think I speak as the poets do, who grasp incorporeal things in certain figures as if visible, especially since (or: apart from) him there was as yet nothing." But since these words assert the Manichaean heresy, from which Lactantius was plainly a stranger, as is clear from what follows, we have struck them out of the text as added by a spurious hand; for they are not found in the very ancient Bologna, Tax., 8 Royal, 6 Colbert, 2 Clermont, eleven Vatican, 2 Br., nor in the Oxford manuscripts, nor in the Junius, Rohan and Saint-Germain manuscripts. The best editions also lack them: Rome 1468; 1470, the Venice edition of 1490, the Florentine, the Plantin, Cratander's of 1524, the Aldine of 1515, Gymnicus's Antwerp edition of 1539, and Grach. GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 150)

(i) ‹anchor: Bonum› · lemma note, no call

Bonum. Sic reposuimus ex antiquissimis et optimis mss. 2 Bonon., 12 Vatic., 6 Reg., quorum unus est 900 annorum, 6 Colb., Tax., Pen., 1 Clarom., ed. Tornes., Is., Cellar., mss. Cauc., 2 Reg. rec. et 12 edit., bono. Mss. Regio-Puteanus, Ultr., Clarom. et Brun., bonus. Bonae sunt tres illae lectiones, quae mss. codicum auctoritate fulciuntur.

"Good" (bonum). So we have restored it from the most ancient and best manuscripts, 2 Bologna, 12 Vatican, 6 Royal (one of which is 900 years old), 6 Colbert, Tax., Pen., 1 Clermont, and the editions of Tornaesius, Isaeus and Cellarius. The manuscripts Cauc., 2 recent Royal and 12 editions have bono; the manuscripts Regio-Puteanus, Utrecht, Clermont and Brun. have bonus. All three readings are good, being supported by the authority of manuscript codices.

(printed under page 150)

(j) ‹anchor: Similem sui spiritum› · lemma note, no call

Similem sui spiritum. A S. Hieronymo Epist. ad Pammach. erroris redarguitur Lactantius, quod Dei Filium Dei spiritum appellaverit locutione caeteris usitata Patribus, Tertulliano Apologet., cap. 21, de Orat., c. 1, adv. Marcion., lib. I, cap. 19, lib. III, cap. 6 et 16, lib. IV, cap. 21, adv. Prax., cap. 26; Cypriano de Vanit. idolol. num. 11 [print unclear: 11 or 71], juxta Pamelium, etc. Vide S. Thom. 1 part. quaest. 36, art. 1. Ex Isaeo. in mss. Brun. et Colb., similem sibi. At male Lactantius dixit, Patrem produxisse Filium; Filius enim non fuit productus, sed genitus.

"A spirit like himself." Lactantius is convicted of error by St Jerome in his Letter to Pammachius for calling the Son of God the spirit of God, an expression in common use among the other Fathers: Tertullian, Apology ch. 21, On Prayer ch. 1, Against Marcion book I ch. 19, book III chs 6 and 16, book IV ch. 21, Against Praxeas ch. 26; Cyprian, On the Vanity of Idols no. 11 [print unclear: 11 or 71], in Pamelius's numbering, etc. See St Thomas, Part 1, question 36, article 1. From Isaeus. In the Brun. and Colbert manuscripts, "like to him". But Lactantius spoke wrongly in saying that the Father "brought forth" the Son; for the Son was not produced but begotten.

(printed under page 150)

(k) ‹anchor: Quomodo autem id voluerit› · lemma note, no call

Quomodo autem id voluerit, in quarto libro docere conabimur, etc. Sic legendum est cum 7 Reg., 12 Vatic., 2 Bon., Cauc., Tax., Pen., 6 Colb., 3 Oxon., Ultr., 2 Clarom., Em., Cant., Brun., Jun., Sic vet. edit. Rom. 1468, Venet. 1490, Ald. 1515 et aliae 7 editiones. Nonnullae cum mss. 3 Reg. et Balliol., fecerit, pro voluerit: cum solus esset, sed male, quia Christus non potest dici umquam solus fuisse, ut dictum est in notis ad l. I, c. 7. ISAEUS.—Quomodo autem id voluerit; haec verba Heumannus putat esse additamentum.— Buneman habet, Quomodo autem id fecerit, cum solus esset, in libro, etc., duasque in hunc locum exhibet notas, quae sequuntur. — Quomodo autem, etc., l. IV, c. 6 et seq. Deus igitur machinator... rerum, sicut in secundo libro diximus, antequam... opus mundi adoriretur, sanctum... spiritum genuit. Hoc ibid. ex Hermete exprimit, ἐπεὶ τὸν δεύτερον ἐποίησε θεόν; item ex Sibylla, ἐποίησε. Sunt autem Lactantio, fecit, genuit, produxit, procreavit, synonyma. Hinc ulterius lib. IV, cap. 8, ut nostro loco quaerit: Quomodo igitur procreavit. Idem suadet Epit. cap. 42: filium sibi progenuit; deinde, secundum fecit deum visibilem... Quum ergo hunc fecisset primum. Quae commode explicat Pfaffius in Dissert. Praelimin. ad Epit., § 28, pag. 35, ex Act. II, 36 et Hebr. II, 2.—Fecerit, quum solus esset. Haec putavi textui inserenda ex Gryphiana, Goth. vero legit, fecerit, quum solus est. In libro quarto enim, cap. 8, Deus... quum solus adhuc esset... ad creandum (id est generandum, gignendum) societate alterius non indigebat. BUN.

"But how he willed it, we shall try to show in the fourth book," etc. So it should be read, with 7 Royal, 12 Vatican, 2 Bologna, Cauc., Tax., Pen., 6 Colbert, 3 Oxford, Utrecht, 2 Clermont, Em., Cant., Brun., Junius; so too the old editions of Rome 1468, Venice 1490, Aldine 1515 and seven other editions. Some, with the manuscripts 3 Royal and Balliol, have "made" for "willed": "when he was alone"; but wrongly, since Christ can never be said to have been alone, as was said in the notes on book I, ch. 7. ISAEUS. — "But how he willed it": Heumann thinks these words an addition. — Bünemann has "But how he made it, when he was alone, in the book," etc., and offers two notes on this place, which follow. — "But how," etc.: book IV, ch. 6 and following: "God, then, the contriver of things, as we said in the second book, before he undertook the work of the world, begot a holy spirit." There he expresses this from Hermes, "since he made the second god," and likewise from the Sibyl, "he made". For Lactantius "made", "begot", "brought forth" and "procreated" are synonyms. Hence further on, book IV, ch. 8, he asks, as in our place: "How then did he procreate?" The Epitome, ch. 42, points the same way: "he begot for himself a son"; then, "he made a second, visible god… When therefore he had made him first." Pfaff explains this well in his preliminary dissertation to the Epitome, § 28, p. 35, from Acts 2:36 and Hebrews 2:2. — "He made, when he was alone." I thought these words should be inserted into the text from the Gryphius edition; but the Gotha manuscript reads "he made, when he is alone". For in the fourth book, ch. 8: "God… when he was as yet alone… needed no partnership of another to create (that is, to generate, to beget)." BUN.

(printed under page 150)

(l) ‹anchor: Invidia tamquam veneno infectus est› · lemma note, no call

Invidia tamquam veneno infectus est. Quod confirmatur Sap. cap. II, v. 24: Invidia diaboli mors introivit in orbem terrarum. Irenaeus quoque, lib. IV adv. haer., (continues)

"He was tainted with envy as with poison." This is confirmed by Wisdom 2:24: "By the envy of the devil death entered into the world." Irenaeus too, book IV Against Heresies, (continues)

(printed under page 150)

Page

running head: 293 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ERRO (cut off at the image edge; the column numeral is blurred, printed like "2)3")
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: margin letters A, B, C, D on the page stand at the left of the right-hand column (beside "ct, lumine", "ut patet ex", the notes, and "iv, c. 6") and belong to that column, so none is recorded for this one; "nt" is set as printed (it looks like a turned u, but blurred type is possible); the verse "Caput horum et causa malorum" (Virgil, Aeneid 11) is printed indented on its own line; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE." runs across both columns and is not set; the Variorum notae below it (beginning "rimus. BUNEMAN." and "Et has omnes simulati numinis praestigias revelabo") are page-foot apparatus left for the later pass

PL 6:294

et, lumine accepto, suos ac totius generis humani perspiciat errores.

and, having received the light, may perceive his own errors and those of the whole human race.

Cum esset Deus ad excogitandum providentissimus, ad faciendum solertissimus, antequam ordiretur hoc opus mundi (quoniam pleni et consummati boni fons in ipso erat, sicut est semper), ut ab eo bonum tamquam rivus oriretur, longeque proflueret, produxit similem sui spiritum, qui esset virtutibus Dei Patris praeditus. Quomodo autem id voluerit, in quarto libro docere conabimur (scilicet cap. 6). Deinde fecit alterum, in quo indoles divinae stirpis non permansit. Itaque suapte invidia tamquam veneno infectus est, et

Since God was most provident in devising and most skilful in making, before He began this work of the world (since the fount of full and perfect good was in Him, as it always is), in order that good might arise from Him like a stream and flow forth far, He produced a Spirit like Himself, Who would be endowed with the powers of God the Father. But how He willed this, we shall try to show in the fourth book (namely ch. 6). Then He made another, in whom the character of the divine stock did not remain. And so he was infected by his own envy as by poison, and

Editors' notes and page, col. 294

Page

running head: ...ORIGINE ERRORIS. 294 (left part cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A et, lumine accepto; B ut patet ex sequentibus (in the Variorum Notae); C 6 et 16, lib. IV (in the Variorum Notae); D IV, c. 6 et seq. (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence ("et, lumine accepto") and ends mid-sentence ("infectus est, et"). "providentis simus" is printed with a space and joined as providentissimus. "praeditus" is faintly printed (it resembles "prædilus") and is taken as praeditus. "veneno" shows a stray mark over the e. "(scilicet cap. 6)" is an editors' insertion in italics within the text, set as printed. The heading "...RUM NOTÆ" (Variorum Notae) and the notes beneath it at the page foot (Bonum; Similem sui spiritum; Quomodo autem id voluerit; Invidia tamquam veneno) are not set and are left for the later pass.

PL 6:295

ex bono ad malum transcendit; suoque arbitrio, quod a Deo illi liberum datum fuerat, contrarium sibi nomen adscivit. Unde apparet cunctorum malorum fontem esse livorem. Invidit enim illi antecessori suo, qui Deo Patri perseverando, cum probatus, tum etiam charus est. Hunc ergo ex bono per se malum effectum

passed over from good to evil; and by his own will, which had been given to him free by God, he took to himself a name contrary [to his own]. Whence it is apparent that envy is the source of all evils. For he envied that predecessor of his, who by persevering with God the Father is both approved and also dear. This one, therefore, who of himself was made evil from good,

Editors' notes and page, col. 295

Footnotes

(printed under page 151)

(a) ‹anchor: Invidia tamquam veneno infectus est (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) […line(s) not in image…] distinct. 6, § 2 et 3. — Itaque suapte invidia. Non primo; sentiunt enim SS. Patres, Basilius, Chrysostomus, Ambrosius, Hieronymus, Augustinus, Gregorius M. et S. Thomas, diabolum primo peccasse peccato superbiae. Consequenter vero peccasse peccato invidiae dicitur, affectando excellentiam quamdam singularem. Ex sacro textu dicitur: In veritate non stetisse (Joan. VIII, 44).

(printed under page 151)

(b) ‹anchor: Quod ab Deo illi liberum datum fuerat› · lemma note, no call

Quod ab Deo illi liberum datum fuerat. Poterant haec abesse, et fere suspecta sunt mihi aeque ac l. II, cap. 14, ubi eadem in optimis manuscriptis non habentur. BUN.

"Which had been given him by God as free." These words could be absent, and they are almost suspect to me, just as in book II, ch. 14, where the same words are not found in the best manuscripts. BUN.

(printed under page 151)

Livorem. Vide Sapient. c. II, 24.

"Spite." See Wisdom 2:24.

(printed under page 151)

(d) ‹anchor: Cum probatus, tum etiam charus est› · lemma note, no call

Cum probatus, tum etiam charus est. Ita restitui ex mss. antiquissimis 1 Bonon., 1 Regio-Put., 1 al. Reg., 1 Colb. aliisque, faventibus 1 Reg., 1 Colb., Pal., Lips., Brun., et edit. Gymnic. in quibus est, comprobatus; in 1 Clarom. et ed. Ald., Paris., Crat., Graph., tum comprobatus; in 4 Colb., 1 Clarom. et 6 editis, tum probatus

"He is both approved and also dear." So I have restored it from the most ancient manuscripts, 1 Bologna, 1 Regio-Puteanus, 1 other Royal, 1 Colbert and others, with the support of 1 Royal, 1 Colbert, Pal., Lips., Brun., and Gymnicus's edition, which have "approved" (comprobatus); in 1 Clermont and the Aldine, Paris, Cratander and Gryphius editions, "then approved" (tum comprobatus); in 4 Colbert, 1 Clermont and 6 editions, "then approved" (tum probatus).

(printed under page 151)

(e) ‹anchor: Per se malum effectum› · lemma note, no call

Per se malum effectum. Haec pugnant cum doctrina Manichaeorum, qui putant Deum auctorem mali fuisse. Hic e contra angelus, qui bonus esset, per se malus effectus est.

"Made evil of himself." This conflicts with the teaching of the Manichaeans, who think God was the author of evil. Here, on the contrary, an angel who was good became evil of himself.

(printed under page 151)

(f) ‹anchor: Ad Deum deferat› · lemma note, no call

Ad Deum deferat. Post haec verba in mss. 1 Reg. 900 annor., 1 al. Reg., rec., Marm., Balliol, et in nonnullis editis sequitur: Cur autem justus Deus talem voluerit esse, quantum sensus nostri mediocritas poterit, explanare conabor. Fabricaturus Deus hunc mundum, qui constaret in (vel ex) rebus inter se contrariis atque discordibus, constituit ante diversa, fecitque ante omnia duos fontes rerum sibi adversantium, inter seque pugnantium, illos videlicet duos spiritus, rectum atque pravum, quorum alter est Deo tanquam dextera, alter tanquam sinistra, ut in eorum essent potestate contraria illa, quorum mixtura et temperatione mundus, et quae in eo sunt, universa constarent. Item facturus hominem, cui virtutem ad vivendum proponeret, per quam immortalitatem assequeretur, bonum et malum fecit, ut posset esse virtus; quae nisi malis agitetur, aut vim suam perdet, aut omnino non erit. Nam ut opulentia bonum videatur, acerbitas egestatis facit; et gratiam lucis commendat obscuritas tenebrarum; valetudinis et sanitatis voluptas ex morbo ac dolore cognoscitur: ita bonum sine malo in hac vita esse non potest. Et utrumque licet contrarium sit, tamen ita cohaeret, ut alterum si tollas, utrumque sustuleris; nam neque bonum comprehendi ac percipi potest sine declinatione ac fuga mali, nec malum caveri ac vinci sine auxilio comprehensi ac percepti boni. Necesse igitur fuerat, et malum fieri, ut bonum fieret. Et quoniam fas non erat, ut a Deo proficisceretur malum (neque enim contra se ipse faciet), illum constituit malorum inventorem; quem cum faceret, dedit illi ad mala excogitanda ingenium, et astutiam, ut in eo esset et voluntas prava, et perfecta nequitia, et ab eo contraria virtutibus suis voluit oriri, eumque secum contendere, utrumne ipse plus bonorum daret, an ille plus malorum. Sed rursus quoniam Deo summo repugnari non potest, bonorum suorum potestatem illi ultori (forte leg. alteri) assignavit, quem supra bonum ac perfectum esse dixi- […line(s) not in image…] est in ortus sui principio: sed post compositum ordinatumque, sicut mox docebimus, a substantiae coelestis vigore perversa voluntate descivit. Caeterum in principio pares universi aequa conditione apud Deum fuere, et idcirco Angeli omnes, quorum principes erant illi duo. Cum autem Deus ex his duobus alterum bono praeposuisset, alterum malo, exorsus est fabricam mundi, omnibus his, quos creaverat, ministrantibus, et per certa officia dispositis. Sed hanc orationem tamquam adulterinam in textum admittere noluimus; abest enim a duodecim Vaticanis, 8 Reg. 1 Bon., antiquiss. Tax., Pen., Lips., Nav., Pal., 2 Brun., 4 Oxon., Tornes., Rostoch., 6 Colb., Gat., Vict., 1 Sorbon., 2 Clarom. Abest etiam a mss. Rohanneo et Sangerman. non invenitur in antiquiss. ed. Rom., Venet., 1490, nec in Ald. 1515, Paris., 1525, Graph., Antuerp., 1539, Cratandri 1524, Is., etc. Neque etiam ullo modo admittenda, quamvis stylum Lactantii redoleat, quippe quae multos errores continet: primo docet Manichaeum errorem, nempe Deum creasse duo principia, unum boni, alterum mali. Falsum etiam est, bonum et malum ita cohaerere, ut si unum, etiam alterum sustuleris; in coelo enim hoc non obtinet. Deinde diabolum cum Dei Filio confert, quod plane impium, ac ab Ariano quopiam excogitatum. Etiam hoc ἀντίγραφον, Deum habuisse in creatione Angelos operis sui ministros; immo et Lactantio repugnans, qui hoc eodem cap. sic inquit: Quomodo igitur ab homine divina illa vis differret, si ut homo, ita etiam Deus ope indigeat aliena? GALLAEUS.

"Should refer it to God." After these words, in the manuscripts 1 Royal (900 years old), 1 other Royal, recent, Marmoutier, Balliol, and in some editions, there follows: "But why the just God willed him to be such, I shall try to explain as far as the poverty of our understanding allows. When God was about to build this world, which was to consist in (or: of) things contrary and discordant among themselves, he first set up the opposites, and made before all things two sources of things hostile to each other and fighting each other, namely those two spirits, the upright and the depraved, of whom the one is to God as his right hand, the other as his left, so that those contraries might be in their power, from whose mixture and tempering the world and all that is in it should consist. Likewise, when he was about to make man, to whom he would set virtue before him for living, by which he might attain immortality, he made good and evil, so that there could be virtue; for unless virtue is exercised by evils, it either loses its strength or will not exist at all. For it is the bitterness of want that makes wealth seem good; the darkness of night commends the grace of light; the pleasure of good health is known from sickness and pain: so good cannot exist in this life without evil. And though each is the contrary of the other, they so cling together that if you take away one you take away both; for neither can the good be grasped and perceived without turning aside from and fleeing evil, nor can evil be shunned and overcome without the help of the good grasped and perceived. It was necessary, therefore, that evil also be made, so that good might be made. And since it was not right that evil should proceed from God (for he will not act against himself), he set that one up as the inventor of evils; and in making him he gave him wit and cunning for devising evils, so that in him there should be both a depraved will and perfect wickedness; and he willed that things contrary to his own virtues should arise from him, and that he should contend with him, whether he himself would give more goods or the other more evils. But again, since the supreme God cannot be resisted, he assigned the power over his goods to that avenger (perhaps read: to that other), whom I said above to be good and perfect […] was in the beginning of his origin; but after the world was put together and ordered, as we shall presently show, he fell away by a perverse will from the vigour of the heavenly substance. Besides, in the beginning all were equal, of equal condition before God, and therefore all were Angels, of whom those two were the princes. But when God had set one of these two over good and the other over evil, he began the building of the world, all those whom he had created ministering and being arranged in fixed offices." But we have refused to admit this passage into the text, as spurious; for it is absent from twelve Vatican, 8 Royal, 1 Bologna, the very ancient Tax., Pen., Lips., Nav., Pal., 2 Brun., 4 Oxford, Tornaesius, Rostock, 6 Colbert, Gat., Vict., 1 Sorbonne, 2 Clermont. It is also absent from the Rohan and Saint-Germain manuscripts; it is not found in the very ancient editions of Rome and Venice 1490, nor in the Aldine of 1515, Paris 1525, Gryphius, Antwerp 1539, Cratander 1524, Isaeus, etc. Nor is it to be admitted in any way, although it smells of Lactantius's style, since it contains many errors: first, it teaches the Manichaean error, that God created two principles, one of good and the other of evil. It is false, too, that good and evil so cling together that if you take away one you take away the other as well; for this does not hold in heaven. Next, it compares the devil with the Son of God, which is plainly impious and devised by some Arian. This too is ἀντίγραφον [as printed], that God had Angels as ministers of his work in creation; indeed it contradicts Lactantius himself, who says in this same chapter: "How then would that divine power differ from man, if God, like man, needed another's help?" GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 151)

(g) ‹anchor: Illum primum et maximum Filium› · lemma note, no call

Illum primum et maximum Filium. Cave putes Lactantium arbitrari, angelos Dei filios natura esse, et ita vel ad Dei naturam illos extollere, vel Filium Dei ad naturam angelorum dejicere. Lactantius unum Dei Filium Jesum, et cognovit, et docuit, ut infra hoc libro, cap. 17, et lib. IV, cap. 8, ipsumque Deum de Deo confitetur eodem cap. 8 et cap. 18 ejusdem libri IV: Quid, inquit, de hujus crucis indignitate dicemus, in qua Deus a cultoribus Dei suspensus est atque suffixus? Idem habet eodem lib. IV, cap. 10, 13, 14 et 29, item de lumine lumen eodem cap. 29, Patri consubstantialem cap. eodem: Utrique, inquit, una substantia est; ejusdem cum eo potestatis hoc eodem lib. cap. 17: Solus inquit, habet rerum omnium cum Filio potestatem; et unum cum Patre toto capite eodem; et cap. 8 ejusdem libri IV, citat illud Joannis, et confitetur: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum; in quo divinitas et coaeternitas Filii luculenter asseritur. Omnia denique per ipsum facta fuisse confirmat hoc loco, et lib. IV, cap. 6 et cap. 8, in fine. Potius igitur ex Lactantio confoditur Arius, quam ut ei vel minimum assentiatur. Cum igitur Lactantius hic et lib. IV, cap. 6, angelos censere Dei filiorum nomine videatur, respectu quidem Verbi, id est unigeniti Filii Dei non univoce, sed aequivoce illo uti nomine putandus est.

"That first and greatest Son." Beware of thinking that Lactantius holds the angels to be sons of God by nature, and so either raises them to God's nature or lowers the Son of God to the nature of angels. Lactantius both knew and taught one Son of God, Jesus, as below in this book, ch. 17, and book IV, ch. 8; and he confesses him God from God in that same ch. 8 and in ch. 18 of the same book IV: "What," he says, "shall we say of the indignity of this cross, on which God was hung and fastened by the worshippers of God?" He says the same in the same book IV, chs 10, 13, 14 and 29; likewise "light from light" in the same ch. 29; consubstantial with the Father in the same chapter: "To both," he says, "there is one substance"; of the same power with him in the same book, ch. 17: "He alone," he says, "has power over all things together with the Son"; and one with the Father throughout that same chapter; and in ch. 8 of the same book IV he quotes the words of John and confesses: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God"; in which the divinity and co-eternity of the Son are clearly asserted. Finally, he affirms in this place, and in book IV, ch. 6 and ch. 8 at the end, that all things were made through him. Arius, then, is run through by Lactantius rather than given the least assent. Since, therefore, Lactantius seems here and in book IV, ch. 6, to count the angels under the name of sons of God, he must be thought to use that name, with respect to the Word, that is, the only-begotten Son of God, not univocally but equivocally.

(printed under page 151)

(h) ‹anchor: Artifice› · lemma note, no call

Artifice. Id concordat cum verbis Pauli ad Colossenses, cap. I, v. 16 et 17, ubi creatio mundi Verbo tribuitur.

"Craftsman." This agrees with Paul's words to the Colossians, 1:16–17, where the creation of the world is attributed to the Word.

(printed under page 151)

(i) ‹anchor: Ornandis› · lemma note, no call

Ornandis. Mss. 1 Bonon. antiq. ordinandis. Sed et infra instruxisse mundum pariter et ornasse.

"Ordering" (ornandis, adorning). The old manuscript 1 Bologna has ordinandis (arranging). But below, too: "to have furnished the world and likewise adorned it".

(printed under page 151)

Page

running head: 295 FIRM. LACTANTII (the final letter is cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ex bono ad malum transcendit; B sostomus, Ambrosius, Hieronymus (in the notes); C Manichaeorum, qui putant Deum (in the notes); D det, aut omnino non erit (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the column ends mid-word with "ef-" (effectum), split at the column break, so the English ends mid-sentence. The rest of the column, the VARIORUM notes from "cap. 78, lib. v" to "assignavit, quem supra bonum ac perfectum esse dixi-", is the editors' foot apparatus and is not set here; it is left for the later pass. The heading "VARIORUM" is cut off at the right edge.
other: the word effectum was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 296

PL 6:296

Graeci διάβολον appelant; nos criminatorem vocamus, quod crimina, in quae ipse illicit, ad Deum deferat. Exorsus igitur Deus fabricam mundi, illum primum et maximum Filium praefecit operi universo, eoque simul et consiliatore usus est, et artifice in excogitandis, ornandis, perficiendisque rebus, quoniam

the Greeks call diabolos; we call him the accuser, because he carries before God the charges into which he himself entices [men]. So God, having begun the construction of the world, set that first and greatest Son over the whole work, and used Him at once both as counsellor and as craftsman in devising, adorning and completing things, since

Editors' notes and page, col. 296

Page

running head: M. LACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 296
marginal letters: A fectum Graeci διάβολον appelant; B vigore perversa voluntate descivit (in Variorum Notae); C leris; in caelo enim hoc non obtinet (in Variorum Notae); D substantialem cap. eodem (in Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: first word "fectum" completes "ef-" broken from col. 295 (effectum); last word "quo-" is broken at the column foot (quoniam). The heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" and the editors' notes below it (Gallaeus's note on the added passage "Ita duos ad certamen composuit...", notes on "Illum primum et maximum Filium", "Artifice" and "Ornandis") are page-foot commentary and are not set here; they are left for the later pass. "consiliatore" and "in" are printed with worn type and are read as such.
other: the word quoniam was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 297

PL 6:297

is et providentia, et ratione, et potestate perfectus est: de quo nunc parcius, quod alio loco (scilicet lib. IV, cap. 6 et seqq.) et virtus, et nomen ejus, et ratio enarranda nobis erit. Nemo quaerat, ex quibus ista materiis tam magna, tam mirifica opera Deus fecerit; omnia enim fecit ex nihilo.

He is perfect in providence, and in reason, and in power: of which I speak more sparingly now, because elsewhere (namely book 4, chapter 6 and following) His power, and His name, and His nature will have to be set out by us. Let no one ask from what materials God made works so great, so wonderful; for He made all things out of nothing.

Nec audiendi sunt poetae, qui aiunt chaos in principio fuisse, id est, confusionem rerum, atque elementorum; postea vero Deum diremisse omnem illam congeriem, singulisque rebus ex confuso acervo separatis, in ordinemque descriptis, instruxisse mundum pariter et ornasse. Quibus facile est respondere potestatem Dei non intelligentibus, quem credant nihil efficere posse, nisi ex materia subjacente ac parata; in quo errore etiam philosophi fuerunt. Nam Cicero de Natura deorum disputans, sic ait: « Primum igitur non est probabile, eam materiam rerum, unde orta sunt omnia, esse divina providentia effectam; sed habere, et habuisse vim et naturam suam. Ut igitur faber, cum quid aedificaturus est, non ipse facit materiam, sed ea utitur quae sit parata, fictorque item cera: sic isti providentiae divinae materiam praesto esse oportuit, non quam ipse faceret, sed quam haberet paratam. Quod si non est a Deo materia facta, ne terra quidem, et aqua, et aer, et ignis a Deo factus est. » O quam multa sunt vitia in his decem versibus! Primum, quod is, qui in aliis disputationibus, et libris fere omnibus providentiae fuerit assertor, et qui acerrimis argumentis impugnaverit eos, qui providentiam non esse dixerunt, idem nunc quasi proditor aliquis, aut transfuga, providentiam

Nor are the poets to be heeded, who say that in the beginning there was chaos, that is, a confusion of things and of elements; but that afterwards God divided all that mass, and, with the individual things separated out of the confused heap and arranged in order, both furnished and adorned the world. It is easy to answer them, since they do not understand the power of God, Whom they believe able to effect nothing except out of matter lying ready and prepared; in which error even the philosophers were. For Cicero, discussing the nature of the gods, speaks thus: « First, then, it is not probable that the matter of things, from which all things have arisen, was made by divine providence; rather, that it has and has had its own force and nature. As, therefore, a craftsman, when he is about to build something, does not himself make the material, but uses what is ready to hand, and the modeller likewise wax: so for that divine providence of yours matter had to be at hand, not such as it would itself make, but such as it would have ready. But if matter was not made by God, then neither earth, nor water, nor air, nor fire was made by God. » O how many faults there are in these ten lines! First, that he who in other disputations and in almost all his books was an asserter of providence, and who with the sharpest arguments attacked those who said that there is no providence, now, like some traitor or deserter, the same man has tried to remove providence.

Editors' notes and page, col. 297

Footnotes

(printed under page 152)

(a) ‹anchor: Quoniam is et providentia› · lemma note, no call

Quoniam is et providentia. Mss. 1 Reg. et Rostoch. ac edit. Rom. 1468 et 1470, prudentia, quae parum apposite de Deo dicitur. Est enim virtus prudentia hominibus propria, providentia Deo, ut recte Thomasius observat.

"Since he is both in providence." The manuscripts 1 Royal and Rostock and the Rome editions of 1468 and 1470 have "prudence", which is said of God not very fittingly. For prudence is the virtue proper to men, providence to God, as Thomasius rightly observes.

(printed under page 152)

(b) ‹anchor: Poetae› · lemma note, no call

Poetae. Hesiodus scilicet et Ovid. initio I Metam. et I Fast. Vide supra l. I, c. 5. Non ideo poetas reprehendit Lactantius, quod chaos quoddam constituerint, e quo postea emerserit universi pulchritudo; sed quod illud fecerint Deo coaeternum. Notum est enim ex sacris Scripturis, confusam aliquam indigestamque molem, id est chaos, ex nihilo creasse Deum.

"Poets." Namely Hesiod, and Ovid at the beginning of Metamorphoses I and Fasti I. See above, book I, ch. 5. Lactantius does not blame the poets for positing a kind of chaos from which the beauty of the universe afterwards emerged, but for making it co-eternal with God. For it is known from the sacred Scriptures that God created out of nothing a confused and unordered mass, that is, chaos.

(printed under page 152)

Descriptis. Ita omnes fere mss. et impressi. At 1 Bon. antiq. et 1 Clarom. cum edit. Is., digestis.

"Set out." So almost all the manuscripts and printed editions. But the old 1 Bologna and 1 Clermont, with Isaeus's edition, have "arranged".

(printed under page 152)

(d) ‹anchor: Credant› · lemma note, no call

Credant. Manuscriptorum est; credunt, editorum.

"They should believe" (credant) is the manuscripts' reading; "they believe" (credunt), the editions'.

(printed under page 152)

(e) ‹anchor: De Natura deorum› · lemma note, no call

De Natura deorum. Scilicet in fragmentis libri I, de Natura deorum.—Nam Cicero de Natura deorum disputans. Materiam disputationis significat, non titulum libro praescriptum, quia verba haec in tribus de Natura deorum libris, quos habemus, non reperiuntur; aut ergo ex libro sunt deperdito, aut ampliores fuere de natura qui sunt deorum.

"On the Nature of the Gods." That is, in the fragments of book I [as printed] On the Nature of the Gods. — "For Cicero, disputing on the nature of the gods." He means the subject of the disputation, not the title set on the book, since these words are not found in the three books On the Nature of the Gods that we have; so either they are from a lost book, or the books on the nature of the gods were once fuller.

(printed under page 152)

(f) ‹anchor: Providentiae divinae› · lemma note, no call

Providentiae divinae. De hac vide librum Lactant. de Ira Dei.

"To divine providence." On this see Lactantius's book On the Anger of God.

(printed under page 152)

(g) ‹anchor: Non quam ipse faceret› · lemma note, no call

Non quam ipse faceret. Forte legendum, ipse fecerit.

"Not one which he himself would make." Perhaps read "he himself made".

(printed under page 152)

(h) ‹anchor: In his decem versibus› · lemma note, no call

In his decem versibus. Latinis versus non tantum metrici, sed quaecumque lineae scripturarum. Cicer.: Non paginas tantum epistolae, sed etiam versus syllabasque numerabo.

"In these ten lines." For Latin writers versus are not only metrical lines but any lines of writing. Cicero: "I shall count not only the pages of the letter but its lines and syllables too."

(printed under page 152)

(i) ‹anchor: Concedamus hoc mori› · lemma note, no call

Concedamus hoc mori. Ita legendum ex mss. omnibus et editis, praeter Torn., Soubr., Thom., Walch., in quibus est, huic mori; et Rom. 1470, 2 Paris., Ald., Fasitel., ac Betul., in quibus est, hoc more; male. Cicero enim Academicorum more disputabat, atque illi mori concedendum aiebat Lactantius. Ex ISAEO.

"Let us grant this to custom." So it should be read from all the manuscripts and editions, except Tornaesius, Soubron, Thomasius, Walch, which have "to this custom"; and Rome 1470, 2 Paris, Aldine, Fasitelius and Betuleius, which have "in this manner": wrongly. For Cicero disputed after the manner of the Academics, and Lactantius was saying that allowance must be made for that custom. From ISAEUS.

(printed under page 152)

(j) ‹anchor: Sententias ipsas consideremus› · lemma note, no call

Sententias ipsas consideremus. Ex 4 vet. mss. Regiis, Goth., 1 Clarom. et edit. Cellar., approbante Francio, reposui ipsas, quod efficacius est, quam ipsius aliorum.

"Let us consider the opinions themselves." From 4 old Royal manuscripts, Gotha, 1 Clermont and Cellarius's edition, with Francius's approval, I have restored "themselves" (ipsas), which is more forceful than the others' "his" (ipsius).

(printed under page 152)

(k) ‹anchor: Doces› · lemma note, no call

Doces. Omnium est mss. ac edit. Rom. 1468, 1470, Torn., Soubron. In 14 editis legitur, probas?

"You teach." This is the reading of all the manuscripts and of the editions Rome 1468 and 1470, Tornaesius, Soubron. In 14 editions one reads "you prove?"

(printed under page 152)

(l) ‹anchor: Nihil enim› · lemma note, no call

Nihil enim. Sic plurimi mss. Regii, 6 Colb., 2 Clarom., Em., Cant., Brun. et editi supra citati. In mss. 2 Bonon. sex aliis, et in nonnullis editis est, Non enim.

"For nothing." So most of the Royal manuscripts, 6 Colbert, 2 Clermont, Em., Cant., Brun., and the editions cited above. In the manuscripts 2 Bologna and six others, and in some editions, it is "For not".

(printed under page 152)

(m) ‹anchor: Quo igitur ab homine› · lemma note, no call

Quo igitur ab homine. Ita cum ed. Rom. 1470, Thys., Gall. et Cellar. et mss. omnibus, praeter rec., 2 Colb. et Jun. et editos duodecim, in quibus est Quomodo.

"In what then … from man." So with the editions Rome 1470, Thysius, Gallaeus and Cellarius, and all the manuscripts except the recent one, 2 Colbert and Junius, and twelve editions, which have "How".

(printed under page 152)

(n) ‹anchor: Divina illa vis differet› · lemma note, no call

Divina illa vis differet. Sic restitui ex veterrimis mss. 1 Regio-Put., 1 Bon., 4 Colb., 1 Clarom., Brun., et edit. Gall. 1563, faventibus 1 Reg. antiquissimo, Jun., Lips., Pal., Pen., Ultr., 1 Colb., 1 Clarom., ac editis quibus est differret, praeter ed. Rom. 1470, in qua, sicut et in 1 Bon., 1 Reg. et 1 Colb. legitur, differt.

"That divine power will differ." So I have restored it from the very old manuscripts 1 Regio-Puteanus, 1 Bologna, 4 Colbert, 1 Clermont, Brun., and Gallaeus's edition of 1563, with the support of 1 very ancient Royal, Junius, Lips., Pal., Pen., Utrecht, 1 Colbert, 1 Clermont, and the editions, which have "would differ", except the Rome edition of 1470, in which, as also in 1 Bologna, 1 Royal and 1 Colbert, one reads "differs".

(printed under page 152)

(o) ‹anchor: Ope indiget aliena› · lemma note, no call

Ope indiget aliena... Indiget, omnium fere mss. et vet. editorum est; in caeteris impressis et Reg. 1 Colb. et Brun., indigeat.

"Needs another's help." "Needs" (indiget) is the reading of almost all the manuscripts and old editions; in the other printed editions and in Royal, 1 Colbert and Brun., "should need" (indigeat).

(printed under page 152)

(p) ‹anchor: Institutor› · lemma note, no call

Institutor. Variat; alias fictor, alias factor. Haec notio in meo Fabro nondum indicata. Sic Tertullian. lib. V, adv. Marc., cap. 5: Patrem dominum dicit, et hominis, et universitatis creatorem et institutorem.

"Founder." The reading varies: elsewhere "fashioner", elsewhere "maker". This sense is not yet noted in my Faber. So Tertullian, Against Marcion book V, ch. 5: he calls the Father Lord, and creator and founder both of man and of the universe.

(printed under page 152)

(q) ‹anchor: Sumpsit› · lemma note, no call

Sumpsit. Manuscriptorum est et vet. editorum ac Cellar. In rec. vulgatis, assumpsit.

"Took." This is the reading of the manuscripts, of the old editions and of Cellarius. In the recent common editions, "assumed".

(printed under page 152)

Page

running head: 297 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹niam is et providentia›; B ‹Cicero de Natura deorum disputans›; C ‹nunc quasi proditor aliquis›; D ‹Credant. Manuscriptorum est› (in the Variorum notae at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: first word "niam" is the end of "Quoniam" broken from the previous column; last word "providen-" is broken across the column break; "ordinemque" and "mundum" have blurred letters (ordineinque / dun:) read as damaged type; VARIORUM NOTAE at the page foot not set (later pass); printer's signature "PATROL. VI." omitted; right-hand column (298) is cut off and not set
other: the word providentiam was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 298

PL 6:298

conatus est tollere : in quo si contradicere velis, nec cogitatione opus est, nec labore ; sua illi dicta recitanda sunt. Nec enim ab ullo poterit Cicero, quam a Cicerone vehementius refutari. Sed concedamus hoc mori et instituto Academicorum ; ut liceat hominibus valde liberis dicere, ac sentire quae velint. Sententias ipsas consideremus. Non est, inquit, probabile, materiam rerum a Deo factam. Quibus hoc argumentis doces ? Nihil enim dixisti, quare hoc non sit probabile. Itaque mihi e contrario vel maxime probabile videtur : nec tamen temere videtur, cogitanti plus esse aliquid in Deo, quem profecto ad imbecillitatem hominis redigis ; cui nihil aliud, quam opificium concedis. Quo igitur ab homine divina illa vis differet, si ut homo, sic etiam Deus ope indiget aliena ? Indiget autem, si nihil moliri potest, nisi ab altero illi materia ministretur. Quod si fit, imperfectae utique virtutis est, et erit jam potentior judicandus materiae institutor. Quo igitur nomine appellabitur, qui potentia Deum vincit ? Siquidem majus est, propria facere, quam aliena disponere. Si autem fieri non potest, ut sit potentius Deo quidquam, quem necesse est perfectae esse virtutis, potestatis, rationis : idem igitur materiae fictor est, qui et rerum ex materia constantium. Neque enim Deo non faciente, et invito, esse aliquid aut potuit, aut debuit. Sed probabile est, inquit, materiam rerum habere, et habuisse semper vim et naturam suam. Quam vim potuit habere, nullo dante ? quam naturam, nullo generante ? Si habuit vim, ab aliquo eam sumpsit. A quo autem sumere, nisi a Deo potuit ? Porro si habuit

That is his attempt: and if you wish to contradict him in this, there is need neither of thought nor of labour; his own words must be recited to him. For Cicero could be refuted more vehemently by no one than by Cicero. But let us grant this to the custom and practice of the Academics, that men who are exceedingly free may say and think whatever they wish. Let us consider the opinions themselves. It is not probable, he says, that the matter of things was made by God. With what arguments do you teach this? For you have said nothing as to why this is not probable. And so to me, on the contrary, it seems even most probable; nor does it seem so rashly to one who reflects that there is something more in God, Whom you surely reduce to the weakness of man, to Whom you grant nothing other than craftsmanship. In what, then, would that divine power differ from man, if, as man, so God too needs the help of another? But He does need it, if He can undertake nothing unless matter is supplied to Him by another. And if this is so, He is certainly of imperfect power, and the establisher of matter will then have to be judged more powerful. By what name, then, will he be called who surpasses God in power? For indeed it is a greater thing to make one's own things than to arrange another's. But if it cannot be that anything is more powerful than God, Who must of necessity be of perfect power, might and reason, then the same One is the fashioner of matter Who is also the fashioner of the things that consist of matter. For nothing either could or ought to have existed when God was not making it and was unwilling. But it is probable, he says, that the matter of things has, and has always had, its own power and nature. What power could it have, when no one gave it? What nature, when no one begot it? If it had power, it took it from someone. And from whom could it take it, except from God? Furthermore, if

Editors' notes and page, col. 298

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 298 (left part of the head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹tiam conatus est tollere›; B ‹aliena? Indiget autem›; C ‹quo autem sumere, nisi a Deo›; D ‹beside the Variorum note "Quo igitur ab homine"›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with "tiam", the end of "providen-tiam" broken from col. 297; column ends "ha-" broken to col. 299; stray dot before "nomine" in "Quo igitur .nomine" not set; Variorum notae at page foot and signature "10" not set; no editors' matter in text block
other: the word habuit was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 299

PL 6:299

naturam, quae utique a nascendo dicitur, nata est. A quo autem, nisi a Deo potuit procreari? Natura enim, qua dicitis orta esse omnia, si consilium non habet, efficere nihil potest. Si autem generandi et faciendi potens est, habet ergo consilium et propterea Deus sit necesse est. Nec alio nomine appellari potest ea vis, in qua inest, et providentia excogitandi, et solertia potestasque faciendi. Melius igitur Seneca omnium stoicorum acutissimus, qui vidit « nil aliud esse naturam, quam Deum. Ergo, inquit, Deum non laudabimus, cui naturalis est virtus? » nec enim illam didicit ex ullo. Immo laudabimus: quamvis enim naturalis illi sit, illa sibi illam dedit; quoniam Deus ipse natura est. Cum igitur ortum rerum tribuis naturae, ac detrahis Deo, in eodem luto haesitas; versuram solvis, Geta. A quo enim fieri negas, ab eodem plane fieri mutato nomine confiteris.

it had a nature, then, since nature is certainly named from being born, it was born. By whom, then, could it have been brought forth, if not by God? For nature, from which you say all things arose, if it has no design, can effect nothing. But if it is capable of generating and making, it therefore has design, and for that reason it must be God. Nor can that power be called by any other name in which there is present both the foresight of devising and the skill and power of making. Better, therefore, Seneca, the most acute of all the Stoics, who saw « that nature is nothing other than God. Shall we not then, he says, praise God, whose virtue is natural? » for He did not learn it from anyone. Indeed we shall praise Him: for although it is natural to Him, that [nature] gave it to itself; since God Himself is nature. Since, therefore, you ascribe the origin of things to nature and take it away from God, you are stuck in the same mud; you pay off one debt with another, Geta. For you plainly confess, with only the name changed, that things are made by the very One by whom you deny that they are made.

Sequitur ineptissima comparatio. « Ut faber, inquit, cum quid aedificaturus est, non ipse facit materiam, sed utitur ea quae sit parata, fictorque item cera: sic isti providentiae divinae materiam esse praesto oportuit, non quam ipse faceret, sed quam haberet paratam. » Immo vero non oportuit; erit enim Deus minoris potestatis, si ex parato facit, quod est hominis. Faber sine ligno nihil aedificabit, quia lignum ipsum facere non potest; non posse autem, imbecillitatis est humanae: Deus vero facit sibi ipse

There follows a most foolish comparison. « As a builder, he says, when he is about to build something, does not himself make the material but uses what is ready to hand, and a modeller likewise uses wax: so for this divine providence material had to be at hand, not such as He Himself would make, but such as He would have ready. » On the contrary, it did not have to be; for God will be of lesser power if He makes from what is ready, which is the way of man. A builder will build nothing without timber, because he cannot make the timber itself; but not being able to is a mark of human weakness: God, however, makes for Himself

Editors' notes and page, col. 299

Footnotes

(printed under page 153)

(a) ‹anchor: Qua dicitis› · lemma note, no call

Qua dicitis. Sic restitui ex editis Rom. 1468, 1470, Betul., Tornes., Soubron. cunctisque mss. praeter 1 Clarom. in quo est, qua dicis; in altero Clarom. multisque editis, qua dicitur.

"As you say." So I have restored it from the editions Rome 1468 and 1470, Betuleius, Tornaesius, Soubron, and all the manuscripts except 1 Clermont, which has "as you (sing.) say"; in the other Clermont and many editions, "as is said".

(printed under page 153)

(b) ‹anchor: Et faciendi› · lemma note, no call

Et faciendi. Ita plures editi et omnes mss. praeter Cotton. in quo est ac faciendi; in multis impressis, aut faciendi.

"And of making." So most editions and all the manuscripts except the Cotton, which has "and also of making"; in many printed editions, "or of making".

(printed under page 153)

Seneca. Vid. Senec., lib. IV de Benefic., c. 7. Adde Plinium, lib. II, cap. 7; et lib. XXVII, cap. 3. De hoc infra lib. III, cap. 18.

"Seneca." See Seneca, On Benefits book IV, ch. 7. Add Pliny, book II, ch. 7, and book XXVII, ch. 3. On this, below, book III, ch. 18.

(printed under page 153)

(d) ‹anchor: Nec enim› · lemma note, no call

Nec enim. Additum est enim ex mss. Regiis, 3 Colb., 2 Brun. et vetustioribus ac melioribus editis: quod in 9 mss. deest.

"For neither." "For" (enim) has been added from the Royal manuscripts, 3 Colbert, 2 Brun., and the older and better editions; it is lacking in 9 manuscripts.

(printed under page 153)

(e) ‹anchor: Naturalis illi sit, illa sibi illam dedit› · lemma note, no call

Naturalis illi sit, illa sibi illam dedit. Ita mss. 2 Bonon., 9 Reg., 4 Colb., 2 Clarom. In scriptis Tax., Pen., Cantabrig. et Brun. editisque pluribus, illa sit. In 1 Reg., rec. et ed. Rom. 1470, Ald. 1515, Paris. 1525, Crat., Graph., Gymnic., Fasit. et edit. Colon. 1544, Naturalis illa ei sit, sibi illam dedit; quod aptius crederem. In Em., naturalis illi sit, sibi eam dedit. Hae duae posteriores lectiones mihi non displicent.

"Be natural to it, it gave it to itself." So the manuscripts 2 Bologna, 9 Royal, 4 Colbert, 2 Clermont. In the manuscripts Tax., Pen., Cambridge and Brun., and in most editions, "it be". In 1 Royal, the recent one, and the editions Rome 1470, Aldine 1515, Paris 1525, Cratander, Gryphius, Gymnicus, Fasitelius and the Cologne edition of 1544, "Be that natural to it, it gave it to itself", which I would think more fitting. In Em., "be natural to it, it gave it to itself" (eam). These last two readings do not displease me.

(printed under page 153)

(f) ‹anchor: Deus ipse natura est› · lemma note, no call

Deus ipse natura est. Sic lego cum mss. 2 Bonon., 8 Reg., quorum duo sunt vetustissimi, 3 Colb., 2 Clarom., Tax., Brun. aliisque. Sic infra Lactantius lib. III, c. 26. In 1 Reg., 3 Colb., Jun. multisque editis, Deus ipsa natura est.

"God himself is nature." So I read with the manuscripts 2 Bologna, 8 Royal (two of which are very old), 3 Colbert, 2 Clermont, Tax., Brun. and others. So Lactantius below, book III, ch. 26. In 1 Royal, 3 Colbert, Junius and many editions, "God is nature itself".

(printed under page 153)

(g) ‹anchor: In eodem luto haesitas› · lemma note, no call

In eodem luto haesitas, etc. Duo haec sunt ex Phormione Terentiano act. V, scen. 2, v. 15. Proverbium est, quo significatur aliquos implicari negotio, quo se extricare nequeunt. Vide, si lubet, Erasmi Adagia Chiliad. I ant. IV, Adag. 99. Prioris meminit idem Lactantius lib. VII, cap. 2. — In eodem luto haesitas. Iterum l. VII, cap. 2: In eodem luto, sicut Comicus ait, haesitaverunt. BUN.

"You stick in the same mud," etc. These two phrases are from Terence's Phormio, act V, scene 2, line 15. It is a proverb signifying that people are entangled in a business from which they cannot extricate themselves. See, if you please, Erasmus's Adages, Chiliad I, [cent.] IV, adage 99. Lactantius himself mentions the first in book VII, ch. 2. — "You stick in the same mud." Again book VII, ch. 2: "They stuck in the same mud, as the Comic poet says." BUN.

(printed under page 153)

(h) ‹anchor: Versuram solvis, Geta› · lemma note, no call

Versuram solvis, Geta. Mss. 1 Bon. antiq., 3 Reg., Ultr., Brun. aliique addunt Geta. Muretus legit, vorsuram: alii vorsura scriptum volunt a Terentio. Versuram autem solvere Budaeo dicuntur, qui ut syngrapham unam dissolvant, et una cautione se liberent, pecuniam mutuam majori foenore iterum accipiunt, etc. Competit in eos, qui sic implicantur difficili negotio, ut se nequeant sine magno dispendio extricare. ERASM. — Translatio est a viatoribus, qui statim ut in lutum inciderint, alterum pedem educere conati, altero altius immerguntur.

"You pay a debt by borrowing, Geta." The old manuscript 1 Bologna, 3 Royal, Utrecht, Brun. and others add "Geta". Muretus reads vorsuram; others hold that Terence wrote vorsura. According to Budé, those are said to "pay by borrowing" who, to discharge one bond and free themselves of one surety, take a loan again at higher interest, etc. It applies to those who are so entangled in a difficult business that they cannot extricate themselves without great loss. ERASMUS. — The figure is taken from travellers who, as soon as they have fallen into mud, try to pull out one foot and sink the other deeper.

(printed under page 153)

(i) ‹anchor: Fieri negas› · lemma note, no call

Fieri negas. Ita mss. vetustissimi et optimi 1 Bonon. et 2 Reg., 6 Colb., Cant., Em., 2 Clarom., Brun., 2 vet. edit. Rom., Ald., Paris., Graph., Crat. et Gallica versio. At rec. mss. 2 Reg., 7 editi post fieri addunt mundum; sed perperam. Vide praecedentia.

"You deny it is made." So the very old and excellent manuscripts 1 Bologna and 2 Royal, 6 Colbert, Cant., Em., 2 Clermont, Brun., the 2 old Rome editions, the Aldine, Paris, Gryphius, Cratander, and the French version. But the recent manuscripts 2 Royal and 7 editions add "the world" after "is made"; wrongly. See what precedes.

(printed under page 153)

(j) ‹anchor: Quam ipse faceret› · lemma note, no call

Quam ipse faceret. Forte legendum, quam ipsa fecerit.

"Which he himself would make." Perhaps read "which it itself made".

(printed under page 153)

(k) ‹anchor: Aedificabit› · lemma note, no call

Aedificabit. Ita reposui ex mss. praeter 1 Reg. in quo legitur aedificavit, v pro b. In editis est, aedificat.

"Will build." So I have restored it from the manuscripts, except 1 Royal, in which aedificavit (has built) is read, v for b. In the editions it is "builds".

(printed under page 153)

(l) ‹anchor: Facit ex eo› · lemma note, no call

Facit ex eo. Sic mss. et vet. editi. In octo impressis rec. est, fecit.

"Makes from it." So the manuscripts and the old editions. In eight recent printed editions it is "made".

(printed under page 153)

(m) ‹anchor: Praeparavit, et praeparavit ex eo› · lemma note, no call

Praeparavit, et praeparavit ex eo. Sic codices Bononienses atque unus Vaticanus, teste Thomasio, qui hanc repetitionem concinnam invenit; cum prius in editis semel tantum legeretur, praeparavit ex eo.

"He prepared, and prepared from it." So the Bologna codices and one Vatican, on the testimony of Thomasius, who found this repetition elegant; whereas formerly the editions read only once, "he prepared from it".

(printed under page 153)

(n) ‹anchor: Nefas est› · lemma note, no call

Nefas est. Ita restitui ex mss. In 2 Reg. rec. et editis, nefas esset.

"It is unlawful." So I have restored it from the manuscripts. In 2 recent Royal and the editions, "it would be unlawful".

(printed under page 153)

(o) ‹anchor: Nam si est aliquid ante illum, potestatem Dei et nomen amittet› · lemma note, no call

Nam si est aliquid ante illum, potestatem Dei et nomen amittet. Sic emendavimus ex mss. codicibus antiquissimis 1 Bonon., 5 Reg., 4 Colb., 1 Clarom., Em., Balliol., 2 Brun. Mire variant caeteri mss. et editi, quorum nobis videntur incongruae lectiones. Sed lectio quam admittimus optimum efficit sensum, quod prius non erat in quibus legebatur his verbis: Nam si est aliquid ante illum factum.

"For if there is anything before him, he will lose the power and name of God." So we have emended it from the very ancient manuscript codices 1 Bologna, 5 Royal, 4 Colbert, 1 Clermont, Em., Balliol, 2 Brun. The other manuscripts and editions vary remarkably, and their readings seem to us incongruous. But the reading we admit gives the best sense, which was not so before in those where it was read in these words: "For if there is anything made before him."

(printed under page 153)

(p) ‹anchor: Non poterunt› · lemma note, no call

Non poterunt. Sic lego cum omnibus prope mss. et veteribus editis. Caeteri vulgati cum 2 Colb. habent, potuerunt.

"They will not be able." So I read with nearly all the manuscripts and the old editions. The other common editions, with 2 Colbert, have "they were able".

(printed under page 153)

(q) ‹anchor: Itaque aut Deus› · lemma note, no call

Itaque aut Deus. Additum aut ex cunctis mss. et quampluribus editis.

"Therefore either God." "Either" has been added from all the manuscripts and a great many editions.

(printed under page 153)

(r) ‹anchor: Nisi in eo quod sentit, quod sapit› · lemma note, no call

Nisi in eo quod sentit, quod sapit. Addidimus, quod (continues)

"Except in that which feels, which is wise." We have added "which" (continues)

(printed under page 153)

Page

running head: 299 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹buit naturam, quae utique›; B ‹versuram solvis, Geta›; C ‹Qua dicitis. Sic restitui (in the Variorum Notae)›; D ‹Hae duae posteriores lectiones (in the Variorum Notae)›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "buit", the end of a word broken from the previous column (probably ha-buit); column ends with "ipse", and the sentence continues in col. 300 ("materiam"); the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" and the notes below it are not set (they belong to the later pass); "illa sibi illam dedit" is set as printed (the notes record the variants)

PL 6:300

materiam, quia potest. Posse enim, Dei est: nam si non potest, Deus non est. Homo facit ex eo, quod est; quia per mortalitatem imbecillis est, per imbecillitatem, definitae ac modicae potestatis: Deus autem facit ex eo, quod non est; quia per aeternitatem fortis est, per fortitudinem, potestatis immensae, quae fine ac modo caret, sicut vita factoris. Quid ergo mirum, si facturus mundum Deus, prius materiam de qua faceret praeparavit, et praeparavit ex eo quod non erat? quia nefas est Deum aliunde aliquid mutuari, cum in ipso vel ex ipso sint omnia. Nam si est aliquid ante illum, et si factum est quidquam non ab ipso, jam et potestatem Dei, et nomen amittet. At enim materia nunquam facta est, sicut Deus, qui ex materia fecit hunc mundum. Duo igitur constituuntur aeterna, et quidem inter se contraria; quod fieri sine discordia et pernicie non potest. Collidant enim necesse est ea quorum vis et ratio diversa est: sic utraque aeterna esse non poterunt, si repugnant, quia superare alterum necesse est. Ergo fieri non potest, quin aeterni natura sit simplex, ut inde omnia, velut ex fonte, descenderint. Itaque aut Deus ex materia ortus est, aut materia ex Deo. Quid horum sit verius, facile est intelligi. Ex his enim duobus alterum sensibile est, alterum caret sensu. Potestas faciendi aliquid non potest esse, nisi in eo quod sentit, quod sapit, quod cogitat, quod movetur. Nec incipi, aut fieri, aut consummari quidquam

matter, because He is able. For to be able belongs to God: for if He is not able, He is not God. Man makes out of that which exists, because through mortality he is weak, and through weakness he is of limited and moderate power; but God makes out of that which does not exist, because through eternity He is strong, and through strength He is of immeasurable power, which lacks end and limit, like the life of the Maker. What wonder then, if God, when about to make the world, first prepared the matter from which He would make it, and prepared it out of that which was not? For it is unlawful for God to borrow anything from elsewhere, since all things are in Him or from Him. For if there is anything before Him, and if anything has been made not by Him, He will at once lose both the power and the name of God. But, they say, matter was never made, just as God, who made this world out of matter, [was not made]. Thus two eternal things are established, and these contrary to one another; which cannot come about without discord and destruction. For things whose force and nature are different must necessarily collide: thus both will not be able to be eternal, if they are in conflict, since one must necessarily overcome the other. Therefore it cannot be but that the nature of the eternal is simple, so that from it all things, as from a fountain, have descended. Therefore either God arose from matter, or matter from God. Which of these is the truer is easy to understand. For of these two the one is sentient, the other lacks sense. The power of making anything cannot exist except in that which perceives, which is wise, which thinks, which moves. Nor can anything be begun, or be made, or be completed

Editors' notes and page, col. 300

Page

running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 300 (left part cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A materiam, quia potest; B inter se contraria; C pecuniam mutuam (in Variorum Notae); D nienses atque unus Vaticanus (in Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "Collidant enim necesse est" set as printed (other editions read "Collidi"), unsure whether misprint; last word "quid-" split at column break (quidquam?); full-width heading "[VA]RIORUM NOTAE." not set; Variorum Notae at page foot not set (later pass)

PL 6:301

potest, nisi fuerit ratione provisum; et quemadmodum fiat, antequam est, et quemadmodum constet, postquam fuerit effectum. Denique is facit aliquid, qui habet voluntatem ad faciendum et manus ad id quod voluit implendum. Quod autem insensibile est, iners et torpidum semper jacet, et nihil inde oriri potest, ubi nullus est motus voluntarius. Nam si omne animal ratione constat, certe nasci ex eo non potest, quod ratione praeditum non est; nec aliunde accipi potest id, quod ibi, unde petitur, non est. Nec tamen commoveat aliquem, quod animalia quaedam de terra nasci videntur. Haec enim non terra per se gignit, sed spiritus Dei, sine quo nihil gignitur. Non ergo Deus ex materia, quia sensu praeditum ex insensibili, sapiens ex bruto, impatibile de patibili, expers corporis de corporali numquam potest oriri: sed materia potius ex Deo est. Quidquid enim est solido et contrectabili corpore, accipit externam vim. Quod accipit vim, dissolubile est. Quod dissolvitur, interit. Quod interit, ortum sit necesse est. Quod ortum est, habuit fontem unde oriretur, id est factorem aliquem sentientem, providum, peritumque faciendi. Is est profecto, nec ullus alius quam Deus. Qui quoniam sensu, ratione, providentia, potestate, virtute praeditus est, et animantia, et inanima creare et efficere potest, quia tenet quomodo quidque sit faciendum. Materia vero semper fuisse non potest, quia mutationem non caperet, si fuisset. Quod enim semper fuit, semper esse non desinit; et unde abfuit principium, abesse hinc etiam finem necesse est. Quin etiam facilius est, ut id quod habuit initium, fine careat, quam ut habeat finem, quod initio caruit. Materia ergo si facta non est, ne fieri ex ea quidquam potest. Si fieri ex ea non potest, nec materia quidem

unless it has been provided for by reason; both how it is to come about before it exists, and how it is to hold together after it has been made. In short, he makes something who has the will to make it and the hands to accomplish what he has willed. But what is insensible always lies inert and torpid, and nothing can arise from it, where there is no voluntary motion. For if every living creature subsists by reason, it certainly cannot be born from that which is not endowed with reason; nor can that be received from elsewhere which is not there whence it is sought. Yet let it not trouble anyone that certain animals seem to be born from the earth. For it is not the earth that produces these of itself, but the spirit of God, without which nothing is produced. Therefore God is not from matter, because what is endowed with sense can never arise from the insensible, the wise from the brute, the impassible from the passible, the incorporeal from the corporeal: but rather matter is from God. For whatever is of solid and tangible body receives external force. What receives force is dissoluble. What is dissolved perishes. What perishes must have come into being. What has come into being had a source whence it arose, that is, some maker who is sentient, provident, and skilled in making. He is assuredly none other than God. And since He is endowed with sense, reason, providence, power and strength, He can create and produce both living things and lifeless ones, because He knows how each thing is to be made. But matter cannot have existed always, because it would not admit of change if it had. For what has always been does not cease to be always; and where a beginning was absent, from there an end too must be absent. Indeed it is easier for that which had a beginning to lack an end than for that which lacked a beginning to have an end. Therefore if matter was not made, nothing can be made from it either. If nothing can be made from it, not even matter

Editors' notes and page, col. 301

Footnotes

(printed under page 154)

(a) ‹anchor: Nisi in eo quod sentit, quod sapit (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) sentit, ex omnibus scriptis et veteribus editis. Vide ea quae praecesserunt.

(printed under page 154)

(b) ‹anchor: Provisum› · lemma note, no call

Provisum. Ita restituimus ex mss. Vaticanis, 2 Bon., 8 Reg., Tax., Pen., Lips., Pal., Brun., edit. Rom. 1468, 1470, et edit. Is. In 2 Col., 1 Clarom. et in cunctis fere editis, praevisum. Vide infra ratione, providentia.

"Provided." So we have restored it from the Vatican manuscripts, 2 Bologna, 8 Royal, Tax., Pen., Lips., Pal., Brun., the Rome editions of 1468 and 1470, and Isaeus's edition. In 2 Colbert, 1 Clermont and almost all the editions, "foreseen". See below, "by reason, by providence".

(printed under page 154)

Et quemadmodum. Bis in supradictis 29 mss. Legitur aut bis in 2 Reg., 1 Bon. rec., 1 Colb. et in Clarom. et in omnibus ferme editis. In Em. et Christ., fiat antequam factum est.

"And how." Twice in the 29 manuscripts named above. "Or" is read twice in 2 Royal, 1 recent Bologna, 1 Colbert, and in Clermont, and in nearly all the editions. In Em. and Christ., "let it be made before it was made".

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(d) ‹anchor: Animal ratione› · lemma note, no call

Animal ratione. Hic innuere videtur Lactantius animalia ratione esse praedita.

"A living being … by reason." Here Lactantius seems to hint that living beings are endowed with reason.

(printed under page 154)

(e) ‹anchor: Contrectabili corpore› · lemma note, no call

Contrectabili corpore. Ita emendavimus ex mss. 7 Reg., 6 Colb., 2 Clarom., Brun., aliisque, ac editis Torn., Thomas. In caeteris vulgatis tribusque Regiis rec. est contractabili.

"With a tangible body." So we have emended it from the manuscripts 7 Royal, 6 Colbert, 2 Clermont, Brun. and others, and the editions of Tornaesius and Thomasius. In the other common editions and three recent Royal it is contractabili.

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(f) ‹anchor: Et inanima› · lemma note, no call

Et inanima. Sic mss. 2 Bonon. et 2 Reg. vetustissimi, et complures editi. In 1 Clarom., inanimia; in 4 Reg., 3 Colb. et 1 Clarom., inanimata; in aliis 3 Reg., 3 Colb. et Brun., inanimantia.

"And lifeless things." So the very old manuscripts 2 Bologna and 2 Royal, and several editions. In 1 Clermont, inanimia; in 4 Royal, 3 Colbert and 1 Clermont, inanimata; in another 3 Royal, 3 Colbert and Brun., inanimantia.

(printed under page 154)

(g) ‹anchor: Materia› · lemma note, no call

Materia. Vide Plutarch. de Placitis philosophor., lib. I, cap. 9.

"Matter." See Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers, book I, ch. 9.

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(h) ‹anchor: Quod enim semper fuit, semper esse non desinit› · lemma note, no call

Quod enim semper fuit, semper esse non desinit. Ex antiquioribus et melioribus editis codicibus omnibusque mss. addidimus semper esse, quod deest in pluribus vulgatis et 3 scriptis Oxoniensibus.

"For what has always been does not cease always to be." From the older and better printed books and all the manuscripts we have added "always to be", which is lacking in most common editions and in 3 Oxford manuscripts.

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(i) ‹anchor: Quae illum mutata dissolvat› · lemma note, no call

Quae illum mutata dissolvat. Ms. 1 Bonon. antiq., Quae illum mutet ac dissolvat.

"Which, being changed, might dissolve him." The old manuscript 1 Bologna: "which might change and dissolve him".

(printed under page 154)

(j) ‹anchor: Impassibilis› · lemma note, no call

Impassibilis. Vide annotata ad libr. de Ira Dei.

"Impassible." See the notes on the book On the Anger of God.

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(k) ‹anchor: Sibyllarum› · lemma note, no call

Sibyllarum. Initio scilicet sermonis primi.

"Of the Sibyls." That is, at the beginning of the first discourse.

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(l) ‹anchor: De prophetis› · lemma note, no call

De prophetis. Haec ego non de veris prophetis intelligo, sed de alienigenis; ut puta Orpheo, Zoroastre, vel de Persarum magis, Indorumve gymnosophistis, aut Gallorum Druidis vel Semnotheis. Nam sic Augustinus quoque aliquoties horum vatum mentionem facit. Lactantius siquidem hoc agit, ut gentes suorum hominum testimoniis convincat. Quid enim attinebat, Mosen et alios ex professo vero Deo mundi opificium assignantes, cum gentilibus numerari? BETULEIUS. — Et hoc mihi videtur de veris prophetis etiam intelligi posse. Confer. Huetium, Demonstr. Evangelic., pag. 497.

"Of the prophets." I understand this not of the true prophets but of foreign ones: for instance Orpheus, Zoroaster, or the magi of the Persians, the gymnosophists of the Indians, or the Druids or Semnothei of the Gauls. For Augustine too sometimes mentions these seers in this way. Lactantius's aim, after all, is to convict the nations by the testimony of their own people. What would have been the point of counting among the gentiles Moses and the others who expressly assign the making of the world to the true God? BETULEIUS. — This too, it seems to me, can also be understood of the true prophets. Compare Huet, Demonstratio Evangelica, p. 497.

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(m) ‹anchor: Id enim› · lemma note, no call

Id enim. Sic emendavi ex mss. vetustissimis, 2 Bon., 2 Reg. aliisque 4 Reg., 4 Colb., Goth., 1 Lips., 2 Clarom., Brun., et ed. Tornes., Cellar., Walch.; quod aptius est quam plerorumque vulgatorum, idem etiam, 2 Colb. et ed. Is., idem enim.

"For this." So I have emended it from the very old manuscripts 2 Bologna, 2 Royal and another 4 Royal, 4 Colbert, Gotha, 1 Lips., 2 Clermont, Brun., and the editions of Tornaesius, Cellarius and Walch; this is more fitting than the reading of most common editions, "the same also", or that of 2 Colbert and Isaeus's edition, "for the same".

(printed under page 154)

(n) ‹anchor: Pythagoraei› · lemma note, no call

Pythagoraei. Ita restitui ex mss. fere omnibus. In 3 Colb., Brun., et in vulgatis, Pythagorici. De quo Plutarchus in Placitis philosophor. ait Pythagoram statuisse Deum ut principium omnium.

"Pythagoreans" (Pythagoraei). So I have restored it from almost all the manuscripts. In 3 Colbert, Brun., and in the common editions, Pythagorici. On this Plutarch, in the Opinions of the Philosophers, says that Pythagoras set up God as the principle of all things.

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(o) ‹anchor: Stoici› · lemma note, no call

Stoici. Hi docuerunt nos Dei cognitionem habere ex pulchritudine simul et magnitudine rerum ab ipso factarum; ut Galen. in hist. Philos. retulit, cap. 27. Apud Laertium, in Zenonis Vita, definiunt, Θεὸν εἶναι ζῷον ἀθάνατον. Miror autem quid Hieronymo venerit in mentem, qui capite nono in Ezechielem negat Stoicos providentiam Dei asserere, praesertim cum Senecae stoici liber egregius de Providentia extet, (continues)

"Stoics." They taught that we have knowledge of God from the beauty and at the same time the greatness of the things he made, as Galen reports in his History of Philosophy, ch. 27. In Laertius, in the Life of Zeno, they define "God to be an immortal living being". But I wonder what came into Jerome's mind when, in the ninth chapter on Ezekiel, he denies that the Stoics assert the providence of God, especially since an excellent book of the Stoic Seneca On Providence is extant, (continues)

(printed under page 154)

Page

running head: 301 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[rest cut off at image edge]
marginal letters: A ‹quam potest, nisi fuerit ratione provisum›; B ‹expers corporis de corporali›; C ‹fine careat, quam ut habeat›; D ‹beside the notes at the page foot (fiat antequam factum est), not the text›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins "quam potest", possibly the tail of a word broken from the column before (e.g. nequaquam), set as printed; column ends mid-sentence at "quidem"; full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE above the foot notes not set; Variorum notes at the page foot not set

PL 6:302

erit. Materia enim est, ex qua fit aliquid. Omne autem ex quo fit, quia recepit opificis manum, destruitur, et aliud esse incipit. Ergo quoniam finem habuit materia, tum cum factus est ex ea mundus, et initium quoque habuit. Nam quod destruitur, aedificatum est; quod solvitur, alligatum; quod finitur, incoeptum est. Si ergo ex commutatione ac fine materia colligitur habuisse principium, a quo alio fieri nisi a Deo potuit? Solus igitur Deus, qui factus non est, et idcirco destruere alia potest, ipse destrui non potest. Permanebit semper in eo quod fuit, quia non est aliunde generatus, nec ortus, nec nativitas ejus ex aliqua alia re pendet, quae illum mutata dissolvat. Ex seipso est, ut in primo diximus libro (scilicet, c. 3 et 7); et ideo talis est, qualem se esse voluit, impassibilis, immutabilis, incorruptus, beatus, aeternus.

will be. For matter is that from which something is made. But everything from which [something] is made, because it has received the hand of a craftsman, is destroyed and begins to be something else. Therefore, since matter had an end at the time when the world was made from it, it also had a beginning. For what is destroyed was built; what is loosed was bound; what is ended was begun. If, therefore, from its change and end matter is inferred to have had a beginning, by whom else could it have been made except by God? God alone, therefore, Who was not made, and for that reason can destroy other things, cannot Himself be destroyed. He will remain always in that which He was, because He was not begotten from elsewhere, nor does His origin or His birth depend on any other thing which, being changed, might dissolve Him. He is from Himself, as we said in the first book (namely, ch. 3 and 7); and therefore He is such as He willed Himself to be: impassible, immutable, incorrupt, blessed, eternal.

Jam vero illa conclusio, qua sententiam terminavit Tullius, multo absurdior. « Quod si materia, inquit, a Deo non est facta, nec terra quidem, et aqua, et aer, et ignis a Deo factus est. » Quam callide periculum praetervolavit. Sic enim superius illud assumpsit, tanquam probatione non indigeret; cum id multo esset incertius quam illud propter quod assumptum est. Si non est, inquit, a Deo facta materia, nec mundus a Deo factus est. Ex falso maluit colligere, quod falsum est, quam ex vero, quod verum. Et cum debeant incerta de certis probari, hic probationem sumpsit ex incerto, ad evertendum quod erat certum. Nam divina Providentia effectum esse mundum (ut taceam de Trismegisto, qui hoc praedicat, taceam de carminibus Sibyllarum, quae idem nuntiant; taceam de prophetis, qui opus mundi, ac opificium Dei uno spiritu ac pari voce testantur) etiam inter philosophos pene universos convenit; id enim Pythagoraei, Stoici, Peripatetici,

But now that conclusion with which Tullius ended his opinion is far more absurd. "But if matter," he says, "was not made by God, then neither the earth indeed, and water, and air, and fire were made by God." How cunningly he has flown past the danger! For he assumed that earlier point as though it needed no proof, although it was much more uncertain than that for the sake of which it was assumed. If matter, he says, was not made by God, neither was the world made by God. He preferred to infer from the false what is false, rather than from the true what is true. And whereas uncertain things ought to be proved from certain ones, he took his proof from the uncertain in order to overturn what was certain. For that the world was brought into being by divine Providence (to say nothing of Trismegistus, who proclaims this; to say nothing of the songs of the Sibyls, which announce the same; to say nothing of the prophets, who with one spirit and with equal voice bear witness to the making of the world and the workmanship of God) is agreed even among almost all the philosophers; for this the Pythagoreans, the Stoics, the Peripatetics,

Editors' notes and page, col. 302

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 302
marginal letters: A ‹erit. Materia enim est›; B ‹sibilis, immutabilis, incorruptus›; C ‹phetis, qui opus mundi›; D ‹rari? Betuleius› (in the Variorum Notae at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: left-hand column (301) cut off at image edge, not set; column ends mid-word "Pe-" (Peripatetici), split at column break; "incoeptum" set from printed œ; "Omne" final letter slightly damaged but legible; Variorum Notae at page foot (Sibyllarum. Initio scilicet...; De prophetis...; Id enim...; Pythagoraei...; Stoici...) not set, left for later pass; "(scilicet, c. 3 et 7)" is an editorial insertion printed in the text, set as printed

PL 6:303

qui sunt principes omnis disciplinae. Denique a primis illis septem sapientibus ad Socratem usque ac Platonem pro confesso et indubitato habitum est, donec unus multis post saeculis extitit delirus Epicurus, qui auderet negare id quod est evidentissimum, studio scilicet inveniendi nova, ut nomine suo constitueret disciplinam. Et quia nihil novi potuit reperire: ut tamen dissentire a caeteris videretur, vetera voluit evertere. In quo illum circumlatrantes philosophi omnes coarguerunt. Certius est igitur mundum providentia instructum, quam materia providentiam conglobatam. Quare non oportuit putare, idcirco mundum non esse divina providentia factum, quia materia ejus divina providentia facta non sit: sed quia mundus divina providentia sit effectus, et materiam esse factam divinitus. Credibilius est enim materiam potius a Deo factam, quia Deus omnia potest, quam mundum a Deo non esse factum, quia sine mente, ratione, consilio nihil fieri potest. Verum haec non Ciceronis est culpa, sed sectae. Cum enim suscepisset disputationem, qua deorum naturam tolleret, de qua philosophi garriebant, omnem divinitatem ignorantia veri putavit esse tollendam. Itaque deos potuit tollere, quia non erant. Cum autem providentiam divinam, quae est in uno Deo, conaretur evertere, quia contra veritatem niti coeperat, deficientibus

who are the leaders of every school. In short, from those first seven wise men down to Socrates and Plato it was held as admitted and undoubted, until, many ages later, there arose one man, the crazed Epicurus, who dared to deny what is most evident, out of eagerness, no doubt, to discover new things, so that he might establish a school under his own name. And since he could find nothing new, yet so that he might seem to dissent from the rest, he chose to overturn the old. In this all the philosophers, barking around him, refuted him. It is therefore more certain that the world was furnished by providence than that providence was massed together by matter. Therefore one ought not to have thought that the world was not made by divine providence on the ground that its matter was not made by divine providence; but rather, since the world was produced by divine providence, that the matter too was made divinely. For it is more credible that matter was made by God, because God can do all things, than that the world was not made by God, since nothing can come about without mind, reason and counsel. But this is not the fault of Cicero, but of the sect. For when he had undertaken a disputation by which he would do away with the nature of the gods, about which the philosophers prattled, he thought, through ignorance of the truth, that all divinity must be done away with. And so he was able to do away with the gods, because they did not exist. But when he tried to overturn divine providence, which is in the one God, because he had begun to strive against the truth, his arguments failing him,

Editors' notes and page, col. 303

Footnotes

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(a) ‹anchor: Stoici (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) Quid quod Salvianus, sub initium sui operis, ubi eorumdem fere testimonia profert, stoicos nequaquam silentio praeterit. BETULEIUS.

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(b) ‹anchor: Disciplinae› · lemma note, no call

Disciplinae, id est, sectae. Saepe ita cum Cicerone, Macrobio et aliis noster. Terent. Eun., act. II, sc. II. Philosophorum habent disciplinae ex ipsis vocabula. Cicero, lib. I, de Nat. deor., c. 7: Tres trium disciplinarum principes convenistis; l. V, Tuscul., c. 32: Omnes fere philosophi omnium disciplinarum. Conf., Lact., lib. II, c. 5, lib. III, c. 12, 14, 15, 17, 28 et 30. BUN.

"Of the schools" (disciplinae), that is, of the sects. Our author often uses it so, with Cicero, Macrobius and others. Terence, Eunuch, act II, scene 2: "The schools of the philosophers take their names from the men themselves." Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book I, ch. 7: "You have met together, three leaders of three schools"; Tusculans book V, ch. 32: "Nearly all the philosophers of all the schools". Compare Lactantius, book II, ch. 5; book III, chs 12, 14, 15, 17, 28 and 30. BUN.

(printed under page 155)

Qui sunt principes omnis disciplinae. Hanc restitui lectionem, quae melior visa est, quam sequentes recentiorum. 4 mss. quae sunt principes omnium disciplinae; 2 Bon., 8 Reg., quorum duo sunt antiq., 3 Colbert., Pal., Lips., Ult., 1 Clarom., Brun., ed. Rom. 1468, 1470, quae sunt principales omnium disciplinae; 2 Reg. et 3 Colb., qui.

"Who are the leaders of every school." I have restored this reading, which seemed better than the following readings of the more recent witnesses. 4 manuscripts: "which are the leaders of the school of all"; 2 Bologna, 8 Royal (two of them old), 3 Colbert, Pal., Lips., Utrecht, 1 Clermont, Brun., and the Rome editions of 1468 and 1470: "which are the chief of the school of all"; 2 Royal and 3 Colbert: "who".

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(d) ‹anchor: Ad Socratem usque ad Platonem› · lemma note, no call

Ad Socratem usque ad Platonem. Ex 2 codicibus Regiis 900 annor. alioque rec. Regio, sed bonae notae, sic emendavi. Et haec est vera lectio. Alii multi scripti et impressi, a Socrate usque ad Platonem. Sic Thales apud Laertium dicit mundum esse opus Dei.

"To Socrates, right down to Plato." So I have emended it from 2 Royal codices 900 years old and another recent Royal, but of good repute. And this is the true reading. Many other manuscripts and printed editions: "from Socrates down to Plato". So Thales, in Laertius, says the world is the work of God.

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(e) ‹anchor: Multis saeculis› · lemma note, no call

Multis saeculis. Hic errat Lactantius; non multis post saeculis, sed paucis post annis a Platone vixit Epicurus: hic natus est anno II, CIX Olymp.; Plato vero obiit ann. I Olymp. CVIII.

"Many ages." Here Lactantius errs: Epicurus lived not many ages after Plato but a few years after him. He was born in the 2nd year of the 109th Olympiad; Plato died in the 1st year of the 108th Olympiad.

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(f) ‹anchor: Circumlatrantes› · lemma note, no call

Circumlatrantes. Hic innuere videtur cynicos. — Circumlatrantes. Auctoritas melior, quam quae est in Lexicis ex Avieno et Nolano. Invenio quoque in Senec. ad Marciam, c. 22: Circumlatrare hominem; et Ammian. Marcell., lib. XVI: Circumlatrabat Arbetionem invidia. Add. Falsteri Suppl., lib. L, pag. 54. BUN.

"Barking all around." Here he seems to hint at the Cynics. — "Barking all around." A better authority than the ones in the lexicons from Avienus and Paulinus of Nola. I also find in Seneca, To Marcia, ch. 22: "to bark around a man"; and Ammianus Marcellinus, book XVI: "envy was barking around Arbetio". Add Falster's Supplement, book L [as printed], p. 54. BUN.

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(g) ‹anchor: Providentia instructum› · lemma note, no call

Providentia instructum. Sic omnes. Heumann. legit: mundum a providentia instructum. Potest praepos. a abesse, ut lib. I, c. 2: Consilio... instructum; lib. de Ira, c. 9: Mundum ipsum nec ratione ulla, nec arte, nec fabrica instructum; et lib. de Opif., c. 2: Nulla providentia instructum esse ac regi mundum. BUN.

"Furnished by providence." So all. Heumann reads "the world furnished by (a) providence". The preposition a can be absent, as in book I, ch. 2: "furnished by counsel"; On the Anger of God, ch. 9: "the world itself furnished by no reason, no art, no craftsmanship"; and On the Workmanship of God, ch. 2: "that the world is furnished and ruled by no providence". BUN.

(printed under page 155)

(h) ‹anchor: Quam materia providentiam conglobatam› · lemma note, no call

Quam materia providentiam conglobatam. Sic habet ms. 1 Bonon. antiquior, suffragantibus 3 Vatic., 1 Lips. et Goth, in quibus est, materiae providentiam conglobatam. Providentiam autem cum materia conglobatam ait ille, qui providentiam eodem tempore cum materia fuisse existimat, et putat nihil potuisse efficere providentiam, nisi ante vel simul materiam habuisset. In quo quidem multum providentiae detrahitur. THOMASIUS.—Mss. 28 et vet. ed. Rom. habent, materiam providentia conglobatam; 12 editi, materiae providentia conglobatum. — Quam materiam providentia conglobatam. In lib. de Ira, c. 9: Naturam rerum quibusdam minutis seminibus et insecabilibus conglobatam; et cap. 10, hanc atomorum coitionem et conglobationem efficere omnia. BUN.

"Than providence massed together by matter." So the older manuscript 1 Bologna has it, with the support of 3 Vatican, 1 Lips. and Gotha, which have "providence massed together with matter". He speaks of providence massed together with matter who thinks providence existed at the same time as matter, and believes providence could have done nothing unless it had had matter before or together with it. This takes much away from providence. THOMASIUS. — 28 manuscripts and the old Rome edition have "matter massed together by providence"; 12 editions, "massed together by the providence of matter". — "Than matter massed together by providence." In On the Anger of God, ch. 9: "the nature of things massed together from certain minute and indivisible seeds"; and ch. 10, "that this coming together and massing of atoms makes all things". BUN.

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(i) ‹anchor: Quo Lucilius› · lemma note, no call

Quo Lucilius. Plurimi mss. et editi ita ferunt. Scripti 9 et duo impressi, quoniam Lucilius; 1 Bonon. antiq. et edit. Rom. 1470, quia Lucilius; nonnulli vulgati, Lucillius. Hoc vide in Ciceron., lib. I de Nat. deor. Lucilius apud Ciceronem partes stoicorum defendit.

"Where Lucilius." Most manuscripts and editions have this. 9 manuscripts and two printed editions, "since Lucilius"; the old 1 Bologna and the Rome edition of 1470, "because Lucilius"; some common editions, "Lucillius". See this in Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods, book I. In Cicero, Lucilius defends the Stoic side.

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(j) ‹anchor: Explicet se Cotta› · lemma note, no call

Explicet se Cotta. Sic lego cum omnibus mss. et cunctis fere editis. In nonnullis vulgatis est Explicet C. Cotta, prave. Cotta quidem apud Ciceronem erat Academicus. — Teneo... teneo... explicet se. Elegans formula, qua utuntur, quum alter in angustias se conclusit, alter de victoria gaudet. Cic. IV Acad., 48: Teneo te, inquam, etc.; pro Quinctio, c. 20: Hic te teneo; et lib. III, in Verr., c. 60. BUN.

"Let Cotta extricate himself." So I read with all the manuscripts and nearly all the editions. In some common editions it is "Let C. Cotta extricate", wrongly. Cotta, in Cicero, was an Academic. — "I hold … I hold … let him extricate himself." An elegant formula, used when one party has shut himself into a tight place and the other rejoices in victory. Cicero, Academics IV, 48: "I hold you, I say," etc.; For Quinctius, ch. 20: "Here I hold you"; and Against Verres book III, ch. 60. BUN.

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(k) ‹anchor: Nolet› · lemma note, no call

Nolet. 2 Reg. rec., nolit; scripti 5 rec., nollet; Reg. Put., non vult.

"He will not wish." 2 recent Royal, nolit; 5 recent manuscripts, nollet; Regio-Puteanus, "does not wish".

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(l) ‹anchor: Quibus manibus› · lemma note, no call

Quibus manibus. Vide Cic. I de Natura deorum.

"With what hands." See Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods I.

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(m) ‹anchor: Quibus machinis... vectibus... molitione› · lemma note, no call

Quibus machinis... vectibus... molitione. Add. infra ferramentis. Respexit ad Cic. l. I de Nat. deor. c. 8: Quae molitio? Quae ferramenta? Qui vectes? Quae machinae? BUN.

"With what engines … levers … labour." Add "tools" below. He was looking to Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book I, ch. 8: "What labour? What tools? What levers? What engines?" BUN.

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(n) ‹anchor: Videret fortasse› · lemma note, no call

Videret fortasse, etc. Mss. 9, Videres... potuisses. 1, Bon. antiq. et Pal. Videre fortasse potuisses.... potuisses.

"Perhaps he would see," etc. 9 manuscripts: "you would see … you could have". 1, the old Bologna and Pal.: "Perhaps you could have seen … you could have".

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(o) ‹anchor: Quo fecit› · lemma note, no call

Quo fecit. 1 Colb. fecerit; plures, quo Deus fecit, inter quos Buneman., qui hunc locum sic annotat: — Quo Deus fecit. Addunt Deus, Lips., Goth., Emman., Bodl., Cott., Sublac., Ven. 1471, 72, 97, (continues)

"When he made it." 1 Colbert, fecerit; most, "when God made it", among them Bünemann, who annotates this place thus: — "When God made it." "God" is added by Lips., Gotha, Emmanuel, Bodleian, Cotton, Subiaco, Venice 1471, 72, 97, (continues)

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Page

running head: 303 FIRM. LACTANTII (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ripatetici, qui sunt principes; B materiam esse factam divinitus; C eorumdem fere testimonia profert (in the Variorum Notae); D scripti et impressi / Thales apud Laertium (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "ripatetici" (Peripatetici) broken from the previous column; column ends with "deficienti-" split at the column break. "quam materia providentiam conglobatam" is the reading the editors adopt from the older Bologna ms. (per their note), not treated as a misprint; translated literally. The heading "VARIORUM N[OTAE]" and the editors' notes below it (Betuleius, Bun.) are not set here (later pass); the heading appears cut off at the image's right edge.

PL 6:304

argumentis, in hanc foveam necessario decidit, unde se extricare non posset. Hic ergo illum teneo haerentem, teneo defixum, quo Lucilius, qui contra disserebat, obmutuit. Hic est ergo cardo rerum; hic vertuntur omnia. Explicet se Cotta, si potest, ex hac voragine; proferat argumenta, quibus doceat semper fuisse materiam, quam nulla providentia effecerit. Ostendat, quomodo quidquam ponderosum et grave, aut esse potuerit sine auctore, aut immutari valuerit, ac desierit esse, quod semper fuit, ut inciperet esse, quod numquam fuit. Quae si docuerit, tum demum assentiar, ne mundum quidem divina providentia constitutum; et tamen sic assentiar, ut aliis illum laqueis teneam. Eodem enim, quo nolet revolvetur, ut dicat, et materiam de qua mundus est, et mundum qui de materia est, natura extitisse: cum ego ipsam naturam Deum esse contendam. Nec enim potest facere mirabilia, id est maxima ratione constantia, nisi qui habet mentem, providentiam, potestatem. Ita fiet, ut Deus fecerit omnia, nec quidquam esse possit omnino, quod non originem a Deo traxerit.

he of necessity fell into this pit, from which he could not extricate himself. Here therefore I hold him stuck fast, I hold him pinned down, at the point where Lucilius, who was arguing on the other side, fell silent. Here therefore is the hinge of things; on this everything turns. Let Cotta extricate himself, if he can, from this abyss; let him bring forward arguments by which he may show that matter has always existed, which no providence made. Let him show how anything heavy and weighty could either have existed without an author, or have been able to be changed, and have ceased to be what it always was, so as to begin to be what it never was. If he shows these things, then at last I shall agree that not even the world was established by divine providence; and yet I shall agree in such a way as to hold him in other snares. For he will be rolled back to the very point he will not want, so as to say that both the matter of which the world consists and the world which consists of matter came into being by nature: whereas I contend that nature itself is God. For no one can make wonderful things, that is, things that hold together by the highest order, except one who has mind, providence and power. Thus it will come about that God made all things, and that nothing at all can exist which has not drawn its origin from God.

At idem quoties Epicureus est, et non vult a Deo factum esse mundum, quaerere solet quibus manibus, quibus machinis, quibus vectibus, qua molitione hoc tantum opus fecerit. Videret fortasse, si eo tempore potuisset esse, quo fecit. Sed ne perspiceret

But the same man, whenever he is an Epicurean and does not want the world to have been made by God, is accustomed to ask with what hands, with what machines, with what levers, by what construction He made so great a work. He would perhaps have seen, if he could have existed at the time at which He made it. But so that there should be no perceiving

Editors' notes and page, col. 304

Page

running head: M. LACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 304
marginal letters: A ‹bus argumentis, in hanc foveam›; B ‹qui de materia est, natura extitisse›; C ‹conglobatam. Providentiam autem› (in the Variorum Notae, not set); D ‹cunctis fere editis› (in the Variorum Notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the word-fragment "bus" broken from col. 303 (English begins at "arguments"); column ends mid-sentence at "perspiceret"; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE." and the notes below it are not set (later pass); no editors' matter in the text block

PL 6:305

homo Dei opera, noluit eum inducere in hunc mundum, nisi perfectis omnibus. Sed ne induci quidem poterat: quomodo enim subsisteret, cum fabricaretur desuper coelum, terraque subter fundaretur; cum fortasse humida, vel nimiis rigoribus torporata concrescerent, vel igneis caloribus incocta et solidata durescerent? Aut quomodo viveret, sole nondum instituto, nec frugibus, nec animalibus natis? Itaque necesse fuit hominem postremo fieri, cum jam mundo caeterisque rebus manus summa esset imposita. Denique sanctae litterae docent hominem fuisse ultimum Dei opus, et sic inductum fuisse in hunc mundum, quasi in domum jam paratam et instructam: illius enim causa facta sunt omnia. Idem etiam poetae fatentur. Ovidius (principio Metam.) perfecto jam mundo, et universis animalibus figuratis, hoc addidit:

by man of the works of God, He was unwilling to bring him into this world until all things had been completed. But indeed he could not even have been brought in: for how would he have survived while the heaven was being fashioned above and the earth was being founded beneath, when perhaps the moist elements were either congealing, numbed by excessive cold, or hardening, baked and solidified by fiery heats? Or how would he have lived, with the sun not yet established, and neither crops nor animals born? Therefore it was necessary that man be made last, when the finishing hand had already been put to the world and to all other things. Finally, the sacred writings teach that man was the last work of God, and that he was brought into this world as into a house already prepared and furnished: for all things were made for his sake. The poets also acknowledge the same. Ovid (at the beginning of the Metamorphoses), when the world has been completed and all the animals formed, has added this:

Sanctius his animal, mentisque capacius altae / Deerat adhuc, et quod dominari in caetera posset; / Natus homo est.

A living being holier than these, and more capable of lofty mind, / was still lacking, and one that could have dominion over the rest; / man was born.

Adeo nefas existimandum est ea scrutari, quae Deus voluit esse celata! Verum ille non audiendi aut discendi studio requirebat, sed refellendi; quia confidebat neminem id posse dicere. Quasi vero ex hoc putandum sit, non esse haec divinitus facta, quia quomodo facta sint, non potest pervideri. Au tu, si educatus in domo fabrefacta et ornata, nullam umquam fabricam vidisses, domum illam putasses non ab homine esse aedificatam; quia, quomodo aedificetur, ignorares? Idem profecto de domo quaereres, quod nunc de mundo requiris; quibus manibus, quibus ferramentis homo tanta esset opera molitus; maxime si saxa ingentia, immensa caementa, vastas columnas,

So wicked must it be reckoned to search into those things which God has willed to be hidden! But that man was inquiring not out of a desire to hear or to learn, but to refute, because he was confident that no one could answer it. As if indeed it should be thought on this account that these things were not made by God, because how they were made cannot be discerned. Would you, if you had been brought up in a house skilfully built and adorned and had never seen any building in progress, have thought that that house was not built by man, because you did not know how a house is built? You would surely ask about the house the same thing that you now inquire about the world: with what hands, with what iron tools a man could have accomplished such great works; especially if huge rocks, immense blocks of masonry, vast columns,

Editors' notes and page, col. 305

Footnotes

(printed under page 156)

(a) ‹anchor: Quo fecit (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) Rost., Pier., Parrh. Crat., Ald., Gymn., Tornes. At male Thomas. et sequentes omiserunt.

(printed under page 156)

(b) ‹anchor: Sed ne perspiceret homo opera Dei› · lemma note, no call

Sed ne perspiceret homo opera Dei, etc. Falsa est haec Lactantii sententia.

"But so that man should not see through the works of God," etc. This opinion of Lactantius is false.

(printed under page 156)

Nimiis rigoribus torporata. Sic omnes edd. praeter vet. Rom. In cunctis ferme mss. est corporata, quod cum rigoribus minus convenit. Sed et cap. seq. post initium Lactantius scribit frigoribus et gelu torpet; et torporavit etiam Turpilius dixit apud Nonium.

"Benumbed by excessive stiffness." So all the editions except the old Rome. In nearly all the manuscripts it is "embodied", which fits "stiffness" less well. But in the next chapter too, after the beginning, Lactantius writes "is numb with cold and frost"; and Turpilius also said torporavit, in Nonius.

(printed under page 156)

(d) ‹anchor: Sole nondum instituto› · lemma note, no call

Sole nondum instituto. Thomasius legit, ut in Bon. et 1 Clarom., solo nondum instituto, quod magis cohaerere videantur sequentia de frugibus et animalibus, quae in solo versantur. Ego lectionem caeteris omnibus mss. et impressis receptam exhibui. Caeterum de solo, sive terra, Lactantius jam dixerat, et rationem Thomasii nihil habere momenti intelliget, qui textum inspexerit. ISAEUS.

"The sun not yet established." Thomasius reads, as in Bologna and 1 Clermont, "the ground not yet established", because what follows about crops and animals, which live on the ground, would seem to cohere better. I have given the reading accepted in all the other manuscripts and printed editions. Besides, Lactantius had already spoken of the ground or earth, and anyone who looks at the text will see that Thomasius's reason carries no weight. ISAEUS.

(printed under page 156)

(e) ‹anchor: Hominem fuisse ultimum Dei opus› · lemma note, no call

Hominem fuisse ultimum Dei opus. Gen. c. II. Si quis miretur, cur Deus operi praestantissimo locum postremum dederit, sufficiat illi sapientissima creatoris voluntas. Si quis tamen causas aliquas scire velit, has habeat: Indigebat homo domicilio, et quidem nec vacuo, nec deformi, quippe creatura Dei nobilissima, et semideus quidam existens. Prius igitur Deus pulcherrimum et absolutissimum, hoc est, rebus adornatum, ad usum, ad jucunditatem denique omnimodam pertinentibus refertissimum universi theatrum construxit; postea hominem in palatium augustissimum ita praeparatum introduxit, atque creaturis omnibus principem praefecit: quod si homo mundum reperisset vacuum, et destitutum sole, luminaribus, herbis, fructibus, animantibus denique vivis, sese moventibus in aere, aquis et terra, utique ei solitudo fuisset permolesta, et defectus rerum necessariarum felicitatem ejus varie turbasset. Plura qui volet, legat Philonis Cosmopoeiam, Gregorii Nysseni librum de hominis Opificio, cap. 2, Ambrosii epistol. ad Herontianum, quae est 38. PARAEUS.

"That man was God's last work." Genesis 2. If anyone wonders why God gave the last place to his most excellent work, the creator's most wise will should suffice him. Yet if anyone wants to know some reasons, let him have these: man needed a dwelling, and one neither empty nor unsightly, since he is the noblest creature of God and a kind of demigod. So God first built the theatre of the universe most beautiful and most complete, that is, adorned with things and filled to overflowing with everything that serves use and every kind of delight; afterwards he led man into the most majestic palace thus prepared, and set him as prince over all creatures. Had man found the world empty and bereft of sun, lights, plants, fruits, and finally of living creatures moving in the air, the waters and the earth, the solitude would surely have been most irksome to him, and the lack of necessary things would have disturbed his happiness in many ways. Whoever wants more may read Philo's Creation of the World, Gregory of Nyssa's book On the Making of Man, ch. 2, and Ambrose's letter to Horontianus, which is no. 38. PAREUS.

(printed under page 156)

(f) ‹anchor: Quomodo aedificetur› · lemma note, no call

Quomodo aedificetur. Ita mss. ex quibus duo sunt omnium antiquissimi 1 Bon. et 1 Reg., 4 Colb., Jun., Brun. et quamplures editi. In 4 scriptis et 2 vulgatis est aedificatur; in 2 mss. Reg. et 1 Lips. aedificaretur; in 1 Clarom. ac edit. Tornes. et Soubron. fabricatur.

"How it is built" (aedificetur). So the manuscripts, of which two are the most ancient of all, 1 Bologna and 1 Royal, 4 Colbert, Junius, Brun. and a great many editions. In 4 manuscripts and 2 common editions it is aedificatur; in 2 Royal manuscripts and 1 Lips., aedificaretur; in 1 Clermont and the editions of Tornaesius and Soubron, "is constructed".

(printed under page 156)

(g) ‹anchor: Hermes› · lemma note, no call

Hermes. Trismeg. apud Stob. in Collectan. serm. 80, de Diis.

"Hermes." Trismegistus, in Stobaeus's Collections, discourse 80, On the Gods.

(printed under page 156)

(h) ‹anchor: Perspectionem› · lemma note, no call

Perspectionem. Quod tota haec sectio supra requirit. Vidit etiam Borrichius in defectu lexicorum. Iterum Lact. l. de Ira c. 1: A veri perspectione. Inveni quoque vocem rariorem ex antiquioribus adhuc ignotam in Augustini de Civ. Dei, l. VIII, c. 4: Contemplatio perspectionem sibi vindicat veritatis. BUN.

"Seeing through." Which this whole section above requires. Borrichius also saw it, among the gaps of the lexicons. Again Lactantius, On the Anger of God, ch. 1: "from the seeing through of the truth". I have also found this rarer word, still unknown from older writers, in Augustine, City of God book VIII, ch. 4: "Contemplation claims for itself the seeing through of truth." BUN.

(printed under page 156)

(i) ‹anchor: Custodia septum› · lemma note, no call

Custodia septum. Sic de corpore et anima loquitur Plato in Phaedone. Sic et Lactantius ipse in libro de Opificio Dei, cap. 20, ad mentem Platonicorum de homine ait: Nam corpusculum hoc quo induti sumus, hominis receptaculum est.

"Hedged in as in custody." So Plato speaks of body and soul in the Phaedo. So too Lactantius himself, in the book On the Workmanship of God, ch. 20, says of man, after the mind of the Platonists: "For this little body with which we are clothed is the receptacle of the man."

(printed under page 156)

(j) ‹anchor: Ea sola scire... curiosam› · lemma note, no call

Ea sola scire... curiosam. Conf. infra, l. II, c. 11; l. III, c. 20: De Opif., c. 15. Tertull. de Anima, c. 1, fin.: Praestat per Deum nescire, quia non revelaverit, quam per hominem scire, quia ipse praesumpserit. BUN,

"To know those things only … curious." Compare below, book II, ch. 11; book III, ch. 20; On the Workmanship, ch. 15. Tertullian, On the Soul, ch. 1, end: "It is better not to know through God, because he has not revealed it, than to know through man, because man has presumed it." BUN. [printed with a comma]

(printed under page 156)

Page

running head: 305 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[...] (cut off at the image edge; first word printed with damaged type, reads LIEER/LIBER)
marginal letters: A homo Dei opera, noluit eum inducere; B jam mundo, et universis animalibus figuratis; C nunc de mundo requiris; D (in the Variorum notae, beside: bus, quae in solo versantur)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence (Sed ne perspiceret ... on the previous column) and ends mid-sentence after columnas,; verse lines set as one paragraph separated by slashes; in the verse, Sanctius and in could also be read Sanctlus and ln (small type, likely dotless i), so they are set as Sanctius and in; full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE stands above the page-foot notes, cut off at the right edge, not set; the Variorum notae at the page foot are not set (later pass)

PL 6:306

opus totum sublime et excelsum videres, nonne haec tibi humanarum virium modum viderentur excedere, quia illa non tam viribus quam ratione atque artificio facta esse nescires?

you were to see the whole work, sublime and lofty, would these things not seem to you to exceed the measure of human strength, since you would not know that they had been made not so much by strength as by reason and skill?

Quod si homo, in quo nihil perfectum est, tamen plus efficit ratione, quam vires ejus exiguae patiantur, quid est cur incredibile tibi esse videatur, cum mundus dicitur factus a Deo, in quo, quia perfectus est, nec sapientia potest habere terminum, nec fortitudo mensuram? Opera ipsius videntur oculis. Quomodo autem illa fecerit, ne mente quidem videtur: quia, ut Hermes ait, mortale immortali, temporale perpetuo, corruptibile incorrupto propinquare non potest, id est propius accedere et intelligentia subsequi. Et ideo terrenum adhuc animal rerum coelestium perspectionem non capit, quia corpore quasi custodia septum tenetur, quominus soluto ac libero sensu cernat omnia. Sciat igitur quam inepte faciat, qui res inenarrabiles quaerit. Hoc est enim modum conditionis suae transgredi, nec intelligere, quousque homini liceat accedere. Denique cum aperiret homini veritatem Deus, ea sola scire nos voluit, quae interfuit hominem scire ad vitam consequendam: quae vero ad curiosam et profanam cupiditatem pertinebant, reticuit, ut arcana essent. Quid ergo quaeris, quae nec potes scire, nec si scias, beatior fias? Perfecta est in homine sapientia, si et Deum esse unum, et ab ipso esse facta universa cognoscat.

But if man, in whom nothing is perfect, nevertheless accomplishes more by reason than his slight strength allows, what reason is there why it should seem incredible to you when the world is said to have been made by God, in Whom, because He is perfect, neither can wisdom have a limit nor strength a measure? His works are seen with the eyes. But how He made them is not seen even with the mind: because, as Hermes says, the mortal cannot draw near to the immortal, the temporal to the everlasting, the corruptible to the incorrupt, that is, approach more closely and follow with the understanding. And therefore a creature still earthly does not take in the beholding of heavenly things, because it is held shut in by the body as by a prison, so that it cannot discern all things with a loosed and free sense. Let him know, then, how foolishly he acts who inquires into things that cannot be told. For this is to overstep the measure of one's condition, and not to understand how far it is permitted to man to approach. In short, when God opened the truth to man, He willed us to know only those things which it concerned man to know for attaining life; but those which pertained to curious and profane desire He passed over in silence, so that they might be secret. Why then do you inquire into things which you can neither know nor, if you knew them, would you become happier for knowing? Wisdom in man is perfect if he recognizes both that God is one and that all things have been made by Him.

CAPUT X.

Chapter X.

De mundo ejusque partibus, elementis et tempestatibus.

On the world and its parts, the elements and the seasons.

Nunc quoniam refutavimus eos qui de mundo et

Now since we have refuted those who concerning the world and

Editors' notes and page, col. 306

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 306
marginal letters: A ‹opus totum sublime et excelsum›; B ‹stium perspectionem non capit›; C ‹De mundo ejusque partibus›; D ‹bron. fabricatur› (in the Variorum Notae at page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-sentence at "de mundo et"; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" across both columns not set (cut off at left edge); Variorum notes at page foot not set (later pass); left-column fragments belong to col. 305 and are not set; "coelestium" printed with œ ligature across line break (cœle-stium)

PL 6:307

de factore ejus Deo aliter sentiunt quam veritas habet, ad divinam mundi fabricam revertamur, de qua in arcanis sanctae religionis litteris traditur. Fecit igitur Deus primum omnium coelum, et in sublime suspendit, quod esset sedes ipsius Dei conditoris. Deinde terram fundavit, ac coelo subdidit, quam homo cum caeteris animalium generibus incoleret. Eam voluit humore circumflui, et contineri. Suum vero habitaculum distinxit claris luminibus, et implevit, sole scilicet, lunaeque orbe fulgenti, et astrorum micantium splendentibus signis adornavit; tenebras autem, quod est his contrarium, constituit in terra: nihil enim per se continet luminis, nisi accipiat a coelo, in quo posuit lucem perennem, et superos, et vitam perpetuam, et contra in terra tenebras, et Inferos, et mortem. Tanto enim haec ab illis superioribus distant, quantum mala a bonis, et vitia a virtutibus. Ipsius quoque terrae binas partes contrarias inter se, diversasque constituit, scilicet orientem, occidentemque: ex quibus oriens Deo accensetur: quia ipse luminis fons, et illustrator est rerum, et quod oriri nos faciat ad vitam sempiternam. Occidens autem conturbatae illi pravaeque menti adscribitur, quod lumen abscondat, quod tenebras semper inducat, et quod homines faciat occidere atque interire peccatis. Nam sicut lux orientis est, in luce autem vitae ratio versatur; sic occidentis tenebrae sunt: in tenebris autem, et mors, et interitus continetur. Deinde alteras partes eadem ratione dimensus est, meridiem ac septentrionem: quae partes illis duabus societate junguntur. Ea enim, quae est solis calore flagrantior, proxima est, et cohaeret orienti. At illa, quae frigoribus et perpetuo gelu torpet, ejusdem est cujus extremus occasus. Nam sicut contrariae sunt lumini tenebrae,

concerning its Maker, God, think otherwise than the truth holds, let us return to the divine construction of the world, concerning which it is handed down in the secret writings of the holy religion. God therefore made first of all the heaven, and suspended it on high, that it might be the seat of God the Founder Himself. Then He founded the earth, and placed it beneath the heaven, that man might inhabit it together with the other kinds of living creatures. He willed it to be flowed around and held in by moisture. His own dwelling, however, He distinguished with bright lights and filled it, namely with the sun and the shining orb of the moon, and adorned it with the splendid signs of the twinkling stars; but darkness, which is the contrary of these, He established on the earth: for of itself it contains nothing of light, unless it receives it from heaven, in which He placed perpetual light, and the beings above, and everlasting life, and on the other hand on the earth darkness, and the beings below, and death. For these things are as far distant from those higher ones as evils from goods, and vices from virtues. Of the earth itself also He established two parts, contrary to each other and diverse, namely the east and the west: of which the east is assigned to God, because He is the fount of light and the illuminator of things, and because He makes us rise to life everlasting. The west, however, is ascribed to that disordered and depraved mind, because it hides the light, because it always brings on darkness, and because it makes men fall and perish in their sins. For just as light belongs to the east, and in light the principle of life is found, so darkness belongs to the west: and in darkness both death and destruction are contained. Then He measured out other parts on the same principle, the south and the north: which parts are joined in fellowship with those two. For that which is more ablaze with the heat of the sun is next to and adjoins the east. But that which is numb with cold and perpetual frost belongs to the same [power] as the farthest west. For just as darkness is contrary to light

Editors' notes and page, col. 307

Footnotes

(printed under page 157)

(a) ‹anchor: Et de factore ejus› · lemma note, no call

Et de factore ejus. Restituta praepositio de ex cunctis pene mss. Deest in 4 rec. et multis editis. De opere sex dierum, vide S. Ambr., S. Basilium, S. August. Confess., lib. XII; et Theodoret. de Provid., lib. I et II.

"And about its maker." The preposition "about" has been restored from nearly all the manuscripts. It is lacking in 4 recent ones and many editions. On the work of the six days, see St Ambrose, St Basil, St Augustine, Confessions book XII, and Theodoret, On Providence, books I and II.

(printed under page 157)

(b) ‹anchor: Circumflui› · lemma note, no call

Circumflui. Pass. ut Macrob. Somn. Scip., l. II, c. 9: Gemino Oceani ambitu terrae corpus omne circumflui. BUN.

"To be flowed around." Passive, as in Macrobius, On the Dream of Scipio, book II, ch. 9: "that the whole body of the earth is flowed around by the twofold circuit of Ocean". BUN.

(printed under page 157)

Suum vero habitaculum. Hic loci et lib. VII, cap. 5, ab auctore nostro coelum accipitur pro universa coelorum mole, quatenus etiam empyreum complectitur. ISAEUS.

"But his own dwelling." In this place and in book VII, ch. 5, our author takes heaven for the whole mass of the heavens, inasmuch as it also includes the empyrean. ISAEUS.

(printed under page 157)

(d) ‹anchor: Tenebras autem, quod est his contrarium› · lemma note, no call

Tenebras autem, quod est his contrarium. Nihil mutandum: quod est significat, id est, hoc est, pro more aliorum, et Lactantii, l. VI, c. 23: Divina lex duos in matrimonium, quod est, in corpus unum... conjungit. Epit. Taur. c. 13. extr. ΖΑΝ ΚΡΟΝΟΥ, quod est Jupiter Saturni. BUN.

"But darkness, which is the contrary of these." Nothing is to be changed: "which is" means "that is", "namely", after the manner of others and of Lactantius, book VI, ch. 23: "The divine law joins two in marriage, which is, into one body…" Epitome, Turin [manuscript], ch. 13, end: "ΖΑΝ ΚΡΟΝΟΥ, which is Jupiter son of Saturn". BUN.

(printed under page 157)

(e) ‹anchor: Oriens Deo accensetur› · lemma note, no call

Oriens Deo accensetur. Sic 36 mss. et plures editi. Id est, attribuitur. In 2, Reg. rec. et nonnullis editis, Deo similis censetur; quod est glossema. Videtur hic Lactantius nimis allegoriis indulgere.

"The east is reckoned to God." So 36 manuscripts and most editions; that is, it is attributed. In 2, the recent Royal and some editions, "is reckoned like God", which is a gloss. Here Lactantius seems to indulge too much in allegories.

(printed under page 157)

(f) ‹anchor: Pravaeque menti› · lemma note, no call

Pravaeque menti. Hic et infra minus catholice loquitur Lactantius, quasi mala mens summum habeat imperium in Occidens.

"And to the depraved mind." Here and below Lactantius speaks in a less than Catholic way, as if an evil mind had supreme dominion over the West.

(printed under page 157)

(g) ‹anchor: Plaga est septentrionalis› · lemma note, no call

Plaga est septentrionalis. Sic restitui ex antiquioribus et melioribus mss. 1 Bonon., Regio-Put., 2 al. Reg. bonae notae, Pal. et Lips. In vulgatis et in pluribus mss. est septentrionis.

"The region is northern." So I have restored it from the older and better manuscripts 1 Bologna, Regio-Puteanus, 2 other Royal of good repute, Pal. and Lips. In the common editions and most manuscripts it is "of the north".

(printed under page 157)

(h) ‹anchor: Ver orienti› · lemma note, no call

Ver orienti. De his allegoriis, vide etiam S. Ambrosium, lib. IV Hexameron.

"Spring to the east." On these allegories see also St Ambrose, Hexameron book IV.

(printed under page 157)

(i) ‹anchor: Occidentis autumnus est, septentrionis hyems› · lemma note, no call

Occidentis autumnus est, septentrionis hyems. Ita mss. et vet. ed. Rom. casu secundo. Caeteri vulgati casu tertio Occidenti... septentrioni. In plerisque mss. pro hyems, est hybernus. Lectio nostra propius accedit ad ordinem linguae latinae.

"Autumn is the west's, winter the north's." So the manuscripts and the old Rome edition, in the second case (genitive). The other common editions have the third case (dative): "to the west … to the north". In most manuscripts, for "winter" (hyems) it is "wintry" (hybernus). Our reading comes nearer to the order of the Latin language.

(printed under page 157)

(j) ‹anchor: Quae spatia› · lemma note, no call

Quae spatia. Sic mss. 6 Reg., 3 Colb., 2 Brun. et antiquiores ac meliores editi bene multi. Quidam mss. et edd. 7, qui.

"Which spaces." So the manuscripts 6 Royal, 3 Colbert, 2 Brun., and a good many of the older and better editions. Certain manuscripts and 7 editions, "who".

(printed under page 157)

(k) ‹anchor: Conficiant› · lemma note, no call

Conficiant. Goth. Perficiant, illud praefero. l. VII, c. 14: Diebus per vicem revolutis orbes conficiuntur annorum; et epit., c. 25: Ut... cursus et certa spatia conficerent. BUN.

"Complete" (conficiant). Gotha: perficiant. I prefer the former. Book VII, ch. 14: "as the days turn in succession the cycles of years are completed"; and the Epitome, ch. 25: "that they might complete … their courses and fixed spaces". BUN.

(printed under page 157)

(l) ‹anchor: Inducit› · lemma note, no call

Inducit. Ita omnes fere mss. et editi: et quidem recte, ut respondeat praecedentibus: Oriens subministrat. Ms. 1 Reg. ac ed. Thys. et Gall., induxit.

"Brings on." So almost all the manuscripts and editions, and rightly, to answer to what precedes: "the east supplies". The manuscript 1 Royal and the editions of Thysius and Gallaeus, "brought on".

(printed under page 157)

(m) ‹anchor: Etiam in hoc› · lemma note, no call

Etiam in hoc. Haec restitui ex omnibus mss. et impressis, praeter 5 edd. recentiores, in quibus desiderantur.

"In this also." I have restored these words from all the manuscripts and printed editions except 5 more recent editions, in which they are missing.

(printed under page 157)

(n) ‹anchor: Qui oritur in diem› · lemma note, no call

Qui oritur in diem. Sic emendavi ex cunctis mss. praeter 1 Reg. rec. et editiones, in quibus est in die.

"Which rises for the day." So I have emended it from all the manuscripts except 1 recent Royal and the editions, which have "in the day".

(printed under page 157)

(o) ‹anchor: Perfectae plenitudinis lumen› · lemma note, no call

Perfectae plenitudinis lumen. Heraclitus solem coelestis luminis fontem, teste Macrobio, dicit; sive lumen suum, secundum Plin. caeteris sideribus foeneret; sive, ut Cic. voluit, aliis quidem sideribus, excepta luna, proprium sit lumen, ipse dux, princeps et moderator luminum sit. Vide Platonem in Timaeo, Ciceronem de Universitate, Macrob. lib. I Som. supra cap. 20. BETULEIUS.

"A light of perfect fullness." Heraclitus, on Macrobius's testimony, calls the sun the fountain of heavenly light; whether, according to Pliny, it lends its light to the other stars, or, as Cicero held, the other stars, the moon excepted, have their own light, the sun is the leader, chief and governor of the lights. See Plato in the Timaeus, Cicero On the Universe, Macrobius, Dream book I, above, ch. 20. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 157)

(p) ‹anchor: Calore potissimo› · lemma note, no call

Calore potissimo. Ita omnes editi et multi melioresque mss. In 1 Bonon. antiq., 3 Reg., Lips. et Pal., potentissimo.

"With the greatest heat." So all the editions and many better manuscripts. In the old 1 Bologna, 3 Royal, Lips. and Pal., "most powerful".

(printed under page 157)

(q) ‹anchor: Antitheo› · lemma note, no call

Antitheo. Id est, diabolo. Antitheus, vox graeca, significat, qui contra Deum est, vel Dei adversarius.

"To the anti-god." That is, to the devil. Antitheus, a Greek word, means one who is against God, or God's adversary.

(printed under page 157)

(r) ‹anchor: Praeferunt› · lemma note, no call

Praeferunt. Sic quamplures editi et omnes ferme (continues)

"They show." So a great many editions and nearly all (continues)

(printed under page 157)

Page

running head: 307 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A de factore ejus Deo; B et mortem. Tanto enim; C junguntur. Ea enim; D Tenebras autem, quod est his contrarium (in the Variorum notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence; last word te- (tenebrae) hyphenated across the column break; Variorum Notae at the page foot not set (later pass); "Digitized by Google" watermark not set; coelum/coelo printed with oe ligature, caeteris/sanctae etc. with ae, set as printed
other: the word tenebrae, was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 308

PL 6:308

ita frigus calori. Ut igitur calor lumini est proximus, sic meridies orienti: ut frigus tenebris, ita plaga est septentrionalis occasui. Quibus singulis partibus suum tempus attribuit, ver scilicet orienti, aestatem meridianae plagae; occidentis autumnus est, septentrionis hyems. In his quoque duabus partibus, meridiana et septentrionali, figura vitae et mortis continetur: quia vita in calore est, mors in frigore. Sicut autem calor ex igne est, ita frigus ex aqua. Secundum harum partium dimensionem, diem quoque fecit ac noctem, quae spatia, et orbes temporum perpetuos ac volubiles, quos vocamus annos, alterna per vices successione conficiant. Dies, quem primus oriens subministrat, Dei sit necesse est, ut omnia quaecumque meliora sunt. Nox autem, quam occidens extremus inducit, ejus scilicet, quem Dei esse aemulum diximus.

so is cold to heat. Therefore, just as heat is nearest to light, so is the south to the east; as cold is to darkness, so is the northern region to the west. To each of these parts He assigned its own season: namely spring to the east, summer to the southern region; autumn belongs to the west, winter to the north. In these two parts also, the southern and the northern, a figure of life and death is contained: because life is in heat, death in cold. And just as heat comes from fire, so cold comes from water. According to the measure of these parts He also made day and night, which by alternate succession in turn make up the spaces and the perpetual and revolving circuits of times which we call years. The day, which the east, as first, supplies, must needs be God's, as are all things that are better. But the night, which the west, as last, brings on, belongs to him, namely, whom we have said to be the rival of God.

Quae duo etiam in hoc praescius futurorum Deus fecit, ut ex iis, et verae religionis, et falsarum superstitionum imago quaedam ostenderetur. Nam sicut sol, qui oritur in diem, licet sit unus, unde solem esse appellatum Cicero vult videri (lib. II de Nat. deorum), quod obscuratis sideribus, solus appareat, tamen quia verum ac perfectae plenitudinis lumen est, et calore potissimo, et fulgore clarissimo illustrat omnia: ita in Deo, licet sit unus, et majestas, et virtus, et claritudo perfecta est. Nox autem, quam pravo illi antitheo dicimus attributam, ejus ipsius multas et varias religiones per similitudinem demonstrat. Quamvis enim stellae innumerabiles micare ac radiare videantur; tamen, quia non sunt plena ac solida lumina, nec caloris praeferunt quidquam, nec tenebras multitudine sua vincunt. Duo igitur illa principalia inveniuntur, quae diversam et contrariam

These two things also God, foreknowing what was to come, made for this purpose, that from them a kind of image both of the true religion and of false superstitions might be shown. For just as the sun, which rises for the day, though it is one (whence Cicero would have it seem that it was called sol (Book 2 On the Nature of the Gods), because when the stars are obscured it alone [solus] appears), yet, because it is a true light of perfect fullness, illuminates all things both with the most powerful heat and with the brightest splendour: so in God, though He is one, majesty and power and brightness are perfect. But the night, which we say is assigned to that depraved anti-god, shows by likeness the many and various religions of that same one. For although innumerable stars seem to twinkle and shine, yet, because they are not full and solid lights, they neither bring forth any heat nor overcome the darkness by their multitude. Those two principles, therefore, are found, which have a diverse and contrary

Editors' notes and page, col. 308

Page

running head: [L]ACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 308
marginal letters: A ‹nebrae, ita frigus calori›; B ‹occidens extremus inducit›; C ‹radiare videantur›; D ‹Inducit. Ita omnes (in the Variorum notae)›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "nebrae" of te-nebrae broken from the previous column; running head cut off at the left edge of the image (initial L not visible); "virtus" printed with worn type (looks like "virius"), read as virtus; heading VARIORUM NOTAE and the notes below it are page-foot apparatus, not set; last line ends "contrariam" without hyphen

PL 6:309

sibi habent postestatem; calor et humor: quae mirabiliter Deus ad sustentanda et gignenda omnia excogitavit. Nam cum virtus Dei sit in calore et igni, nisi ardorem vimque ejus admixta humoris ac frigoris materia temperasset, nec nasci quidquam nec cohaerere potuisset, quin statim conflagratione interiret quidquid esse coepisset. Unde et philosophi quidam et poetae discordi concordia mundum constare dixerunt: sed rationem penitus non videbant. Heraclitus ex igne nata esse omnia dixit; Thales Milesius ex aqua. Uterque vidit aliquid: sed erravit tamen uterque, quod alterutrum si solum fuisset, neque aqua nasci ex igne potuisset, neque rursus ignis ex aqua. Sed est verius, simul ex utroque permisto cuncta generari. Ignis quidem permisceri cum aqua non potest, quia sunt utraque inimica; et si cominus venerint, alterutrum quod superaverit, conficiat alterum necesse est: sed eorum substantiae permisceri possunt. Substantia ignis, calor est; aquae, humor. Recte igitur Ovidius:

power towards each other: heat and moisture, which God wonderfully devised for sustaining and generating all things. For since the power of God is in heat and fire, unless He had tempered its burning and force by admixing the matter of moisture and cold, nothing could have been born or held together, but whatever had begun to exist would at once have perished by conflagration. Hence also certain philosophers and poets said that the world consists of a discordant concord; but they did not at all see the reason. Heraclitus said that all things were born from fire; Thales of Miletus, from water. Each saw something; but each nevertheless erred, because if either one alone had existed, neither could water have been born from fire, nor again fire from water. But it is truer that all things are generated from both mixed together. Fire indeed cannot be mixed with water, because both are hostile to each other; and if they come to close quarters, whichever has prevailed must destroy the other; but their substances can be mixed. The substance of fire is heat; that of water, moisture. Rightly therefore Ovid:

Quippe ubi temperiem sumpsere humorque calorque,

For when moisture and heat have taken on a tempered blend,

Concipiunt, et ab his oriuntur cuncta duobus:

they conceive, and from these two all things arise:

Cumque sit ignis aquae pugnax, vapor humidus omnes

and though fire is at war with water, moist vapour creates all

Res creat, et discors concordia foetibus apta est.

things, and discordant concord is suited to offspring.

Editors' notes and page, col. 309

Footnotes

(printed under page 158)

(a) ‹anchor: Praeferunt (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) mss. In rec. 1 Reg. et 1 Colb. est, praeferant; in 1 Lips. et 3 editis proferunt; in 3 Reg. rec. ac edd. sex, perferunt. Buneman legit etiam perferunt, notamque sequentem exhibet. — Perferunt. De Opificio cap. 7: Admirabile, quod una dispositio.... innumerabiles animantium praeferat varietates. Ubi multae edd., perferat subornarant. De Opif. c. 8: Incredibile est, quantam pulchritudinem praeferat. BUNEM.

(printed under page 158)

(b) ‹anchor: Mirabiliter› · lemma note, no call

Mirabiliter. Mss. 1 Colbert. et 1 Brun. multum utiliter.

"Wonderfully." The manuscripts 1 Colbert and 1 Brun. have "very usefully".

(printed under page 158)

Philosophi. Empedocles scilicet, de quo apud Laertium et Plutarch. de Placitis Philosophor. lib. I, c. 3.

"Philosophers." Empedocles, namely; on him see Laertius, and Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers, book I, ch. 3.

(printed under page 158)

(d) ‹anchor: Et poetae› · lemma note, no call

Et poetae. Ut Ovidius verbis paulo post proferendis; et Horat., l. I, epist. 12, v. 19, de pugna elementorum. Quid velit et possit concordia discors.

"And the poets." As Ovid, in the words to be quoted shortly; and Horace, Epistles book I, 12, line 19, on the strife of the elements: "What the discordant concord means and can do."

(printed under page 158)

(e) ‹anchor: Non videbant› · lemma note, no call

Non videbant. Ita restituimus ex omnibus mss. et edit. Tornes., Betul., et Soubron. In caeteris impressis est, non viderunt.

"They did not see" (videbant). So we have restored it from all the manuscripts and the editions of Tornaesius, Betuleius and Soubron. In the other printed editions it is viderunt.

(printed under page 158)

(f) ‹anchor: Heraclitus ex igne› · lemma note, no call

Heraclitus ex igne. Refertur a Laertio inter ejus dogmata. Meminit Cic. in IV Academ. Quaest. Confutatur etiam a Lucretio lib. 1. BETUL.

"Heraclitus, from fire." Laertius reports it among his doctrines. Cicero mentions it in Academic Questions IV. It is also refuted by Lucretius, book 1. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 158)

(g) ‹anchor: Thales› · lemma note, no call

Thales. De quo dictum est libro I, cap. 8, et apud Laertium.

"Thales." On whom see what was said in book I, ch. 8, and in Laertius.

(printed under page 158)

(h) ‹anchor: Substantia ignis, calor est; aquae, humor› · lemma note, no call

Substantia ignis, calor est; aquae, humor. Quia his subsistunt ac conservantur. Vide infra, et cap. 12.

"The substance of fire is heat; of water, moisture." Because by these they subsist and are preserved. See below, and ch. 12.

(printed under page 158)

(i) ‹anchor: Ovidius› · lemma note, no call

Ovidius. Lib. I Metam., ibid. ubi de Nili foecunditate scribit.

"Ovid." Metamorphoses book I, in the place where he writes of the fertility of the Nile.

(printed under page 158)

(j) ‹anchor: Ut sacramento ignis et aquae nuptiarum foedera sanciantur› · lemma note, no call

Ut sacramento ignis et aquae nuptiarum foedera sanciantur. Festus Pompeius lib. I: Aqua dicitur a qua juvantur: aqua et ignis interdici solet, quam accipiunt nuptae, videlicet quia hae duae res humanam vitam maxime continent. Eadem Plutarch., Rom. Problem., cap. 1. Idem Festus lib. 6: Facem in nuptiis in honorem Cereris praeferebant, aquaque aspergebatur nova nupta, sive ut casta puraque ad virum veniret, sive ut ignem et aquam cum viro communicaret. Valerius Flaccus lib. VIII, Argonaut.: Ignem Pollux, undamque jugalem / Praetulit, ut dextrum pariter vertantur in orbem. Ovid. lib. II de Arte amandi: Ista viri captent, si jam captanda probabant, / Quos faciunt justos ignis et unda viros. In primo limine aquam exhibebant, cui titionem intingebant. M. Varro apud Turneb. lib. XXIX, c. 27: Contra a novo marito, cum item a foco in titione ex felici arbore, et in aquali aqua allata esset. Dempsterus. Vide Brissonium, de Ritu Nuptiarum.

"That the covenants of marriage are sanctioned by the sacrament of fire and water." Festus Pompeius, book I: "Water (aqua) is so called from that by which they are helped; there is commonly an interdiction of water and fire, which brides receive, namely because these two things above all hold human life together." Plutarch says the same, Roman Questions, ch. 1. Festus again, book 6: "At weddings they carried a torch before them in honour of Ceres, and the new bride was sprinkled with water, either that she might come to her husband chaste and pure, or that she might share fire and water with her husband." Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica book VIII: "Pollux carried before them the fire and the nuptial water, / so that they might turn together into the rightward circle." Ovid, Art of Love book II: "Let men pursue those things, if they approved them as worth pursuing, / men whom fire and water make lawful husbands." At the very threshold they presented water, into which they dipped a firebrand. Marcus Varro, in Turnebus book XXIX, ch. 27: "In turn from the new husband, when likewise from the hearth on a brand of a lucky tree, and water had been brought in a water-vessel." Dempster. See Brisson, On the Rite of Marriage.

(printed under page 158)

(k) ‹anchor: Corporentur, atque animentur› · lemma note, no call

Corporentur, atque animentur. Junxit eodem modo Plinius l. VII Hist. Nat., sect. 13 fin. de Generatione Hominis. Hieronymus ad Pammach. f. m. 170: Confotum corporat, corporatum in membra distinguit. Conf. Lact. lib. II, c. 8 et Barthii Advers. l. VII, c. 2, fol. 313. BUN.

"They are embodied and ensouled." Pliny joined them in the same way, Natural History book VII, section 13 end, on the generation of man. Jerome to Pammachius, p. 170 of my copy: "What has been warmed he embodies; what has been embodied he distinguishes into members." Compare Lactantius, book II, ch. 8, and Barth's Adversaria book VII, ch. 2, fol. 313. BUN.

(printed under page 158)

(l) ‹anchor: Nec humor potest corporari, nec corpus animari› · lemma note, no call

Nec humor potest corporari, nec corpus animari. Sic legendum est ex edit. Soubron. et Tornes. ac mss. non ut male in nonullis editis, corporare, nec corpus animare. Ita autem legendum esse patebit cuivis, si modo scopum Lactantii perpenderit; corpus enim non animat, sed animatur. Ex ISAEO.—Corporari, pro corpore indui, et animari, pro animam accipere, rarae voces. Extant insuper lib. IV Institut., cap. 26.

"Neither can moisture be embodied, nor the body be ensouled." So it should be read, from the editions of Soubron and Tornaesius and the manuscripts, not, as wrongly in some editions, "embody, nor the body ensoul". That it should be read so will be plain to anyone who weighs Lactantius's aim; for the body does not ensoul, it is ensouled. From ISAEUS. — Corporari for "to be clothed with a body" and animari for "to receive a soul" are rare words. They occur also in Institutes book IV, ch. 26.

(printed under page 158)

(m) ‹anchor: Exulibus quoque› · lemma note, no call

Exulibus quoque. Interdictio illa, citra soli mutationem, in eo habebatur, cum nemine, sic interdicto, communicandam aquam, et ignem, aut tectum. Ut Appianus loquitur de Metello sic interdicto. Etiam lege Julia de vi privata tenebatur, qui eum cui et aqua et igni interdictum est, receperit, celaverit, tenuerit; quod ait Paulus Sent. V, cap. 26. Etiam apud Graecos similis poena in usu. Electra apud Euripidem in Oreste de se, Pylade ac Oreste, Decretum, inquit, est Argis nemini fas esse nos matricidas, aut tecto, aut igne, aut alloquio excipere. SELDENUS.— Eadem poena affectus fuisse legitur in Usuardi Martyrologio XVIII kal. januarii S. Valerianus in Africa episcopus, qui cum esset annorum plus octoginta, in persecutione Vandalica sub Genserico rege ariano extra civitatem singularis expelli jussus est: et ita praeceptum, ut nullus eum neque in domo, neque in agro dimitteret habitare; sed in strata publica multo tempore nudus sub aere jacens, in confessione catholicae veritatis, et defensione sanctimonii cursum beatae vitae complevit. Ex Vict. Vit. Hist. Persecut. Vandal. lib. I, n. 12.

"To exiles too." That interdiction, short of change of country, consisted in this, that no one was to share water and fire or shelter with the man so interdicted; so Appian speaks of Metellus when so interdicted. Under the Julian law on private violence, too, a man was liable who received, hid or kept one interdicted from water and fire; as Paul says, Sentences V, ch. 26. A like penalty was in use among the Greeks also. Electra in Euripides' Orestes says of herself, Pylades and Orestes: "It is decreed at Argos that no one may receive us matricides with shelter, or fire, or a word." SELDEN. — We read in Usuard's Martyrology, on the eighteenth day before the Kalends of January, that the same penalty was inflicted on St Valerian, a bishop in Africa, who, being more than eighty years old, was ordered in the Vandal persecution under the Arian king Genseric to be driven out of the city alone; and it was commanded that no one should let him live either in a house or in a field; but lying a long time naked under the sky on the public road, in the confession of Catholic truth and the defence of holiness, he completed the course of a blessed life. From Victor of Vita, History of the Vandal Persecution, book I, no. 12.

(printed under page 158)

(n) ‹anchor: Horum alterum nobis› · lemma note, no call

Horum alterum nobis, etc. Non agit hoc Lactantius, ut doceat hominem tantum ex igne et aqua constare. Corpus siquidem hominis, ut animantium reliquorum omnium, constat ex quatuor elementis, Aristot. et Hippocrate testibus. Sed ex analogia docet, animae originem coelitus esse; corporis ex iisdem elementis, ex quibus universa constant: sed in primis ex humido, eo forte, quia et semen et sanguis humo- (continues)

"One of these to us," etc. Lactantius is not concerned here to teach that man consists of fire and water only. For the body of man, like that of all other living things, consists of the four elements, on the testimony of Aristotle and Hippocrates. But he teaches by analogy that the soul's origin is from heaven, the body's from the same elements of which all things consist, but above all from the moist, perhaps because both seed and blood are moi- (continues)

(printed under page 158)

Page

running head: 309 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A sibi habent postestatem; B mica; et si cominus venerint; C mss. In rec. (in the notes, not set); D Thales. De quod dictum (in the notes, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE, cut off at the right edge, stands below the Ovid verses and is not set; the editors' notes beneath it (beginning "mss. In rec. 1 Reg.") are left for the later pass; Ovid's four verse lines are set one per line; "temperiem" is read from slightly blurred type

PL 6:310

Alterum enim quasi masculinum elementum est, alterum quasi foemininum; alterum activum, alterum patibile. Ideoque a veteribus institutum est, ut sacramento ignis et aquae nuptiarum foedera sanciantur, quod foetus animantium calore et humore corporentur, atque animentur ad vitam.

For the one is, as it were, the masculine element, the other, as it were, the feminine; the one active, the other passive. And therefore it was instituted by the ancients that the covenants of marriage should be ratified by the sacrament of fire and water, because the offspring of living creatures are given bodies by heat and moisture, and are animated to life.

Cum enim constet omne animal ex anima et corpore, materia corporis in humore est, animae in calore: quod ex avium foetibus datur scire, quos crassi humoris plenos nisi opifex calor foverit, nec humor potest corporari, nec corpus animari. Exulibus quoque ignis et aqua interdici solebat: adhuc enim videbatur nefas, quamvis malos, tamen homines supplicio capitis afficere. Interdicto igitur usu earum rerum, quibus vita constat hominum, perinde habebatur, ac si esset, qui eam sententiam exceperat, morte mulctatus. Adeo ista duo elementa prima sunt habita, ut nec ortum hominis, nec sine his vitam crediderint posse constare. Horum alterum nobis commune est cum caeteris animantibus, alterum soli homini datum. Nos enim quoniam coeleste atque immortale animal sumus, igne utimur, qui nobis in

For since every living creature consists of soul and body, the matter of the body lies in moisture, that of the soul in heat: which one may learn from the young of birds, which are full of thick moisture, and unless the creative heat has warmed them, neither can the moisture take on a body nor the body be animated. To exiles also fire and water used to be interdicted: for it still seemed impious to inflict capital punishment on men who, though wicked, were nevertheless men. Therefore, when the use of those things by which the life of men subsists had been interdicted, he who had received that sentence was regarded just as if he had been punished with death. So far were these two elements held to be primary that they believed that neither the origin of man nor his life could subsist without them. Of these, the one is common to us with the other living creatures, the other has been given to man alone. For since we are a heavenly and immortal living being, we use fire, which to us as

Editors' notes and page, col. 310

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 310
marginal letters: A ‹Alterum enim quasi masculinum›; B ‹inde habebatur, ac si esset›; C ‹Vide Brissonium, de Ritu Nuptiarum› (in the notes); D ‹Etiam lege Julia de vi privata› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 6:311

argumentum immortalitatis datus est, quoniam ignis e coelo est: cujus natura, quia mobilis est, et sursum nititur, vitae continet rationem. Caetera vero animalia, quoniam tota sunt mortalia, tantummodo aqua utuntur, quod est elementum corporale atque terrenum. Cujus natura, quia mobilis est, ac deorsum vergens, figuram mortis ostendit. Ideo pecudes, neque in coelum suspiciunt, neque religiones sentiunt, quoniam ab his usus ignis alienus est. Unde autem, vel quomodo Deus haec duo principalia, ignem et aquam, vel accenderit, vel eliquaverit, solus scire potest qui fecit.

a proof of immortality has been given, since fire is from heaven: and its nature, because it is mobile and strives upwards, holds the principle of life. But the other animals, since they are wholly mortal, use only water, which is a bodily and earthly element. Its nature, because it is mobile and tends downwards, shows the figure of death. Therefore cattle neither look up to heaven nor have any sense of religion, since the use of fire is foreign to them. But whence or how God either kindled or made to flow these two principal things, fire and water, He alone Who made them can know.

CAPUT XI.

Chapter XI.

De animantibus, homine, Prometheo, Deucalione, Parcis.

On living creatures, man, Prometheus, Deucalion, the Fates.

Consummato igitur mundo, animalia varii generis, dissimilibus formis, et magna et minora ut fierent, imperavit. Et facta sunt bina; id est diversi sexus singula: ex quorum foetibus, et aer, et terra, et maria completa sunt. Deditque his omnibus generatim Deus alimenta de terra, ut usui hominibus esse possent; alia nimirum ad cibos, alia vero ad vestitum: quae autem magnarum sunt virium, ut in excolenda terra juvarent; unde dicta sunt jumenta. Ita rebus omnibus mirabili descriptione compositis, regnum

When the world, therefore, had been completed, He commanded that animals of various kinds, of unlike forms, both great and smaller, should come into being. And they were made in pairs, that is, one of each sex: and from their offspring the air, the earth and the seas were filled. And to all these God gave, kind by kind, nourishment from the earth, so that they might be of use to men; some, namely, for food, others for clothing; while those which are of great strength [He gave] so that they might help in tilling the earth; whence they have been called beasts of burden (jumenta). All things having thus been set in order by a wonderful arrangement, a kingdom

Editors' notes and page, col. 311

Footnotes

(printed under page 159)

(a) ‹anchor: Horum alterum nobis (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) res sunt; nam Thaletis opinio ab ipso Lactantio paulo superius est explosa. Quod autem animae igneam tribuit naturam, suis ipsius rationibus quibus non ita pridem Heracliti dogma confutavit, repugnat. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 159)

(b) ‹anchor: Tota› · lemma note, no call

Tota. Nota vocem tota pluraliter in recto casu.

"All" (tota). Note the word tota used in the plural, in the nominative case.

(printed under page 159)

Quia mobilis est, ac deorsum vergens. Praeter ms. 1 Bonon. qui habet immobilis; a secunda manu, omnes mss et editi legunt mobilis: quae lectio, refragante licet Isaeo, videtur praeferenda. Cum enim experientiam testatus, aquam dicat immobilem esse et tamen deorsum vergere, qui fieri possit, rogo, ut aqua deorsum moveatur, quod fatetur, ipsa interim immobilis? Certe Lactantii mentem felicius assequemur, si ad praecedentia oculos intendamus. Quippe ubi dicit nos igne uti, cujus motus omnis est ad superna, caetera vero animalia hoc cum aqua commune habere, quae ignei vigoris expers alio longe motu fertur, et qua potest vi deorsum vergit. SPARK.

"Because it is mobile and tends downward." Except the manuscript 1 Bologna, which has "immobile" by a second hand, all the manuscripts and editions read "mobile"; and this reading, though Isaeus objects, seems preferable. For since he appeals to experience, and says water is immobile and yet tends downward, how can it be, I ask, that water moves downward, as he admits, while itself immobile? Certainly we shall grasp Lactantius's meaning better if we turn our eyes to what precedes: where he says that we use fire, all of whose motion is upward, but that the other living things have this in common with water, which, lacking fire's vigour, is carried by a far different motion and tends downward with what force it can. SPARKE.

(printed under page 159)

(d) ‹anchor: Bina› · lemma note, no call

Bina. Vide Genes. I, et confer. cum cap. VI, vers. 20.

"In pairs." See Genesis 1, and compare with ch. 6, verse 20.

(printed under page 159)

(e) ‹anchor: Ad vestitum› · lemma note, no call

Ad vestitum. Sic restitui ex plerisque mss. tum veterrimis, tum optimis, Reg., Bonon. aliisque. In 8 rec. et in editis est, ad vestimentum. — Ad vestitum. Sic edo ex Bon., Pal., Ultr., Lips. 1, et loco gemino, secundum meliores libros, de Ira, c. 13: Partim ad cibos, partim ad vestitum. BUN.

"For clothing" (ad vestitum). So I have restored it from most manuscripts, both the oldest and the best, Royal, Bologna and others. In 8 recent ones and in the editions it is ad vestimentum. — Ad vestitum. So I print from Bologna, Pal., Utrecht, Lips. 1, and from the twin passage, according to the better books, On the Anger of God, ch. 13: "partly for food, partly for clothing". BUN.

(printed under page 159)

(f) ‹anchor: Innumerabiles animas procreare› · lemma note, no call

Innumerabiles animas procreare. Ex hoc loco nonnulli arguunt, Lactantium sensisse animas omnes in principio fuisse creatas: sed hoc Platonicorum commentum de animabus ante corpora conditis irridet, et refutat ille lib. III, cap. 18. Et quidem Lactantius hic non de ipsa animarum creatione loquitur, sed de divino eas creandi decreto; quod denotat his verbis: Constituit et excogitavit.

"To bring forth innumerable souls." From this place some argue that Lactantius held that all souls were created in the beginning; but he mocks and refutes this Platonist fiction of souls made before bodies in book III, ch. 18. And indeed Lactantius speaks here not of the creation of souls itself but of the divine decree to create them, which he signifies by these words: "He established and devised."

(printed under page 159)

(g) ‹anchor: Formam› · lemma note, no call

Formam. Quae sit imago, aut divinus character homini inditus a Creatore, vide non Platonem, sed Paulum, II Corinth. cap. III, Colossens. cap. III, et Ephes. cap. IV.

"Form." For what the image is, or the divine character impressed on man by the Creator, see not Plato but Paul: 2 Corinthians 3, Colossians 3, and Ephesians 4.

(printed under page 159)

(h) ‹anchor: Θεοειδῆν› · lemma note, no call

Θεοειδῆν. Θεοειδῆ potius, vel θεοειδές, ut est apud ipsum Platonem in libro de Republica sexto. Sic Philo Judaeus, animam ἀπόσπασμα θεοῦ dicit; tribuit illi quod Paulus ad Heb. I, ipsi unigenito Dei Filio Christo. In libro de Mundo, τύποθεν σφραγῖδα θεοῦ, animam vocat, cujus characterem esse ait, aeternam rationem. Pythagoras ait mortalibus θεῖον γένος esse; sicut etiam Aratus: τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν. Quod nec Paulus quidem Athenis improbavit, Actor. XVII. Ex his, inquam, facile possumus colligere, quam prope ad verum per medias tenebras studiosa antiquitas pervenerit. Nam vere, ut Lactantius ait, ipsos non res, sed nomen artificis fefellit, optimo atque maximo Deo Jovis nomen, quod Scriptura ignorat, tribuentes. BETULEIUS.

"Godlike" (θεοειδῆν). Rather θεοειδῆ, or θεοειδές, as in Plato himself in the sixth book of the Republic. So Philo the Jew calls the soul "a fragment torn from God"; he attributes to it what Paul, Hebrews 1, attributes to Christ himself, the only-begotten Son of God. In the book On the World he calls the soul τύποθεν [as printed] "the seal of God", whose impress, he says, is the eternal reason. Pythagoras says mortals have "a divine race"; as Aratus too: "for we are also his offspring". Paul himself did not reject this at Athens, Acts 17. From these things, I say, we can easily gather how near to the truth a studious antiquity came through the midst of darkness. For truly, as Lactantius says, it was not the thing but the name of the craftsman that deceived them, when they gave to the best and greatest God the name of Jupiter, which Scripture does not know. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 159)

(i) ‹anchor: Εἰκών› · lemma note, no call

Εἰκών, etc. Sibyllar. Carm., serm. 8. Interpretatio latina: Imago est homo mea, rationem rectam habens. Vide etiam sermonem primum Sibyllar. Carminum, ubi de Creatione hominis.

"Image" (Εἰκών), etc. Sibylline Oracles, discourse 8. Latin translation: "Man is my image, having right reason." See also the first discourse of the Sibylline Oracles, on the creation of man.

(printed under page 159)

(j) ‹anchor: Prometheo› · lemma note, no call

Prometheo. Hanc fabulam diversimode diversi narrant; de qua vide Hesiodum in Ergis, Platonem in Protagora, Ovidium initio Metamorph.; Horatium Od. 16, Carm. 1; Propertium lib. III, Elegia 3; Fulgentium in Fabulis, et Servium.

"Prometheus." Different writers tell this fable in different ways; on it see Hesiod in the Works, Plato in the Protagoras, Ovid at the beginning of the Metamorphoses; Horace, Odes book 1, 16; Propertius book III, Elegy 3; Fulgentius in the Fables, and Servius.

(printed under page 159)

(k) ‹anchor: Nullo non addente aliquid ad quod audierat› · lemma note, no call

Nullo non addente aliquid ad quod audierat. Ex mss. et vet. edit., Rom. ita reposui. In impressis erat, nullo non addente aliquid ad quod audierunt. Lectionem textus, errorem librarii putes forsan: at ego ipsius Lactantii scitum esse censeo hellenismum: sic Terent. in Andria: Restitue in quem me accepisti locum. Sic Livius, lib. I: Et in quem primum egressi sunt locum Troja, vocatur. Gronovius. Hanc lectionem confirmant etiam mss. Lips., Ultr., 2 Brun. In 3 Reg., rec. ad id quod.

"Everyone adding something to what he had heard." So I have restored it from the manuscripts and the old Rome edition. The printed editions had "everyone adding something to what they had heard". You might perhaps think the reading of the text a copyist's error; but I judge it a deliberate Hellenism of Lactantius himself: so Terence in the Andria: "Restore me to the place in which you received me." So Livy, book I: "And the place where they first landed is called Troy." Gronovius. The manuscripts Lips., Utrecht and 2 Brun. also confirm this reading. In 3 Royal, the recent one, "to that which".

(printed under page 159)

(l) ‹anchor: Prometheus› · lemma note, no call

Prometheus. Unus e Titanibus. Japetus namque Urani et Titaeae filius erat: haec facta sunt circa Saturni tempora, scilicet novemdecim et amplius saecula ante vulgarem aeram.

"Prometheus." One of the Titans. For Iapetus was the son of Uranus and Titaea: these things happened about the times of Saturn, that is, nineteen centuries and more before the common era.

(printed under page 159)

Page

running head: 311 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A argumentum immortalitatis datus est; B Parcis.; C paulo superius est explosa (Variorum Notae); D between vers. 20. and Ad vestitum (Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-sentence at "regnum"; the running head's first letter is poorly printed and is read as FIRM.; the VARIORUM NOTAE heading and the notes below it at the page foot (beginning "res sunt; nam Thaletis opinio") are not set and are left for the later pass; "Digitized by Google" mark at the foot is not set

PL 6:312

sibi aeternum parare constituit, et innumerabiles animas procreare, quibus immortalitatem daret. Tum fecit ipsi sibi simulacrum sensibile, atque intelligens, id est ad imaginis suae formam, qua nihil potest esse perfectius: hominem figuravit ex limo terrae; unde homo nuncupatus est, quod sit factus ex humo. Denique Plato humanam formam esse ait; et Sibylla, quae dicit:

eternal for Himself He resolved to prepare, and to create innumerable souls, to which He might give immortality. Then He made for Himself a likeness endowed with sense and also with understanding, that is, according to the form of His own image, than which nothing can be more perfect: He fashioned man out of the slime of the earth; whence he was named homo, because he was made out of humus. Accordingly Plato says that [this] is the human form; and so does the Sibyl, who says:

Εἰκὼν ἐστ' ἄνθρωπος ἐμὴ, λόγον ὀρθὸν ἔχουσα.

Man is my image, possessing right reason.

De hac hominis fictione poetae quoque, quamvis corrupte, tamen non aliter tradiderunt: namque hominem de luto a Prometheo factum esse dixerunt. Res eos non fefellit, sed nomen artificis. Nullas enim litteras veritatis attigerant: sed quae prophetarum vaticinio tradita, in sacrario Dei continebantur, ea de fabulis et obscura opinione collecta et depravata, ut veritas a vulgo solet variis sermonibus dissipata corrumpi, nullo non addente aliquid ad quod audierat, carminibus suis comprehenderunt; et hoc quidem inepte, quod tam mirabile tamque divinum opificium homini dederunt. Quid enim opus fuit hominem de luto fingi, cum posset eadem ratione generari qua ipse Prometheus ex Japeto natus est? qui si fuit homo, generare hominem potuit, facere non potuit. De diis autem illum non fuisse, poena ejus in Caucaso

Concerning this fashioning of man the poets too, although in a corrupted way, have nevertheless handed down no other account: for they said that man was made out of clay by Prometheus. The fact did not deceive them, but the name of the craftsman did. For they had touched no writings of the truth: but the things which, handed down by the prophecy of the prophets, were kept in the sanctuary of God, these they gathered from fables and obscure opinion, and in a corrupted state, as truth is wont to be corrupted by the common people when it is scattered about in various talk, everyone adding something to what he had heard, and they included them in their poems; and this indeed foolishly, in that they assigned so wonderful and so divine a work to a man. For what need was there for man to be moulded out of clay, when he could have been begotten in the same way in which Prometheus himself was born of Iapetus? And if he was a man, he could beget a man, he could not make one. But that he was not one of the gods, his punishment on the Caucasus

Editors' notes and page, col. 312

Page

running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 312 (left part of the head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A sibi aeternum parare; B vaticinio tradita; C Philo Judaeus (in the Variorum Notae); D Prometheo. Hanc fabulam (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the column begins and ends mid-sentence (ends "in Caucaso"). The Greek verse is printed very small and its accents are UNSURE (ἐμὴ/ἐμή). "Denique Plato humanam formam esse ait" is set as printed; the sentence seems elliptical here (other editions add a Greek word), so the English supplies [this]. The full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE." is cut off at the left edge and stands between the text and the notes; it is not set. The Variorum Notae below it (Betuleius, Gronovius, etc.) are not set and are left for the later pass.

PL 6:313

monte declarat. Sed neque patrem ipsius Japetum, patruumque Titana quisquam deos nuncupavit, quia regni sublimitas penes Saturnum solum fuit, per quam divinos honores cum omnibus suis posteris consecutus est. Multis argumentis hoc figmentum poetarum coargui potest. Factum esse diluvium ad perdendam tollendamque ex orbe terrae malitiam, constat inter omnes. Idem enim et philosophi, poetae (scil. Ovid., I, Met.), scriptoresque rerum antiquarum loquuntur; in eoque maxime cum prophetarum sermone consentiunt. Si ergo cataclysmus ideo factus est, ut malitia, quae per nimiam multitudinem increverat, perderetur, quomodo fictor hominis Prometheus fuit? cujus filium Deucalionem iidem ipsi ob justitiam solum esse dicunt servatum. Quomodo unus gradus, et una progenies, orbem terrae tam celeriter potuit hominibus implere? Sed videlicet hoc quoque sic corruperunt, ut illud superius; cum ignorarent, in quo tempore cataclysmus sit factus in terra, et quis ob justitiam meruerit, genere humano pereunte, salvari, et quomodo, aut cum quibus servatus sit: quae omnia propheticae litterae docent. Apparet ergo falsum esse quod de opificio Promethei narrant.

mountain makes plain. But no one has called either his father Japetus or his uncle Titan gods, because the loftiness of the kingship lay with Saturn alone, through which he obtained divine honours together with all his posterity. This fiction of the poets can be refuted by many arguments. That a flood took place to destroy and remove wickedness from the world is agreed among all. For philosophers, poets (namely Ovid, Met. 1) and writers of ancient history say the same thing; and in this they agree most of all with the speech of the prophets. If, then, the cataclysm was brought about for this reason, that the wickedness which had grown through an excessive multitude might be destroyed, how was Prometheus the fashioner of man? whose son Deucalion these same people say was alone preserved on account of his righteousness. How could one generation and one line of descent fill the world with men so quickly? But evidently they corrupted this too, as they did the former matter, since they did not know at what time the cataclysm took place on the earth, and who deserved, on account of his righteousness, to be saved while the human race was perishing, and how, or with whom, he was preserved: all of which the prophetic writings teach. It is therefore evident that what they relate about the handiwork of Prometheus is false.

Verum quia poetas dixeram (scil. lib. I, cap. 11) non omnino mentiri solere, sed figuris involvere, et obscurare quae dicant, non dico esse mentitos, sed

But since I had said (namely in book 1, chapter 11) that the poets are not wont to lie altogether, but to wrap in figures and to obscure what they say, I do not say that they lied, but

Editors' notes and page, col. 313

Footnotes

(printed under page 160)

(a) ‹anchor: Poena ejus in Caucaso monte› · lemma note, no call

Poena ejus in Caucaso monte. In Caucaso ipsum esse affixum interpretatur Tzetzes. — Poena ejus in Caucaso monte. De Promethei fabula pleni sunt libri. De poena Propertius, lib. II, Eleg. 1, v. 71: Idem caucasea solvet de rupe Promethei / Brachia, et a medio pectore pellet avem. Et Martialis Spectac., carm. 7: Qualiter in scythica religatus rupe Prometheus / Assiduam nimio pectore pavit avem. CELL.

"His punishment on Mount Caucasus." Tzetzes explains that he was fastened on the Caucasus. — "His punishment on Mount Caucasus." Books are full of the fable of Prometheus. On the punishment, Propertius book II, Elegy 1, line 71: "The same will loose Prometheus's arms from the Caucasian rock, / and drive the bird from the middle of his breast." And Martial, On the Spectacles, poem 7: "As Prometheus, bound on the Scythian rock, / fed the unwearying bird with his too-abundant breast." CELLARIUS.

(printed under page 160)

(b) ‹anchor: Patruumque Titana› · lemma note, no call

Patruumque Titana. Fuit avus paternus. THYSIUS.

"And his uncle Titan." He was his paternal grandfather. THYSIUS.

(printed under page 160)

Penes Saturnum solum fuit. Fuit ex omnibus mss. est et ex veteribus editis; fuerit, in recentioribus impressis. Saturnus fuit etiam Urani et Titaeae filius, ac proinde Japeti frater.

"Was with Saturn alone." "Was" (fuit) is from all the manuscripts and the old editions; fuerit in the more recent printed editions. Saturn too was the son of Uranus and Titaea, and so the brother of Iapetus.

(printed under page 160)

(d) ‹anchor: Factum esse diluvium› · lemma note, no call

Factum esse diluvium, etc. Nonnus libro III, Dionys. tres κατακλυσμοὺς enumerat. Isidorus Orig., lib. XIII, cap. 22, tria diluvia recenset. MEURSIUS. — Propter peccatum factum esse diluvium, elegantissime descripsit Ovid., lib. I Metamorph. Si quis plura de hac re velit testimonia, adeat Grotius in notis ad lib. de Veritate relig. christianae.

"That a flood happened," etc. Nonnus, Dionysiaca book III, lists three floods. Isidore, Etymologies book XIII, ch. 22, counts three deluges. MEURSIUS. — That the flood happened because of sin Ovid described most elegantly, Metamorphoses book I. If anyone wants more testimonies on this matter, let him go to Grotius in his notes on the book On the Truth of the Christian Religion.

(printed under page 160)

(e) ‹anchor: Si ergo cataclysmus ideo factus est› · lemma note, no call

Si ergo cataclysmus ideo factus est. Ita cuncti pene mss. et edd. Tornes. et Soubron. At 2 vet. et mss. 2 rec. pro ideo habent a Deo; impressi multi utrumque, a Deo ideo. De universali diluvio apud omnes constat, qui in dubium non vocant S. Litteras. Caeteri vero, de quibus aliquid memoriae proditum est, incerta admodum fide laborant. Quidam tamen, inter quos est Grotius, in annotationibus ad cap. 16 de Vera religione, lib. I, recentiora antiquioribus miscent, existimantque eadem esse Noachi, Ogygis et Deucalionis diluvia, quamvis inter haec ipsa, multa intercedant tempora.

"If then the cataclysm was made for this reason." So nearly all the manuscripts and the editions of Tornaesius and Soubron. But 2 old and 2 recent manuscripts have "by God" for "for this reason"; many printed editions have both, "by God for this reason". The universal flood is certain for all who do not call the Holy Scriptures into doubt. The other floods, of which some record has been handed down, suffer from very uncertain credit. Some, however, Grotius among them, in his notes on ch. 16 of On the True Religion, book I, mix later things with earlier and think the floods of Noah, Ogyges and Deucalion are the same, though long ages lie between them.

(printed under page 160)

(f) ‹anchor: Deucalionem› · lemma note, no call

Deucalionem. De Deucalionis historia vide Justinum libro II, et Lucianum in Dialogo de Syria dea. Prometheum vero Deucalionis patrem septimo anno Moseos natum esse, narrat Cyrillus.

"Deucalion." On the history of Deucalion see Justin, book II, and Lucian in the dialogue On the Syrian Goddess. Cyril relates that Prometheus, the father of Deucalion, was born in the seventh year of Moses.

(printed under page 160)

(g) ‹anchor: Quod de opificio Promethei narrant› · lemma note, no call

Quod de opificio Promethei narrant. Ita mss. omnes et editi plures vet., Edd. Betul. et Gymnic. post opificio, addunt iidem; sex al., itidem; 1 Clarom., idem.

"What they tell of Prometheus's handiwork." So all the manuscripts and most old editions. The editions of Betuleius and Gymnicus add "the same men" after "handiwork"; six others, "likewise"; 1 Clermont, "the same".

(printed under page 160)

(h) ‹anchor: Promethea simulacrum hominis› · lemma note, no call

Promethea simulacrum hominis, etc. Sic reposuimus ex vetustissimis et optimis mss. 2 Bon., 4 Regiis, 2 Colb., Sorbon., Pen., Tax., 2 Clarom. In 10 rec. et in 10 edit. est Prometheum; in 1 Reg. et 1 Lips., Prometheo.

"That Prometheus [made] an image of man," etc. So we have restored it (Promethea) from the very old and excellent manuscripts 2 Bologna, 4 Royal, 2 Colbert, Sorbonne, Pen., Tax., 2 Clermont. In 10 recent manuscripts and 10 editions it is Prometheum; in 1 Royal and 1 Lips., Prometheo.

(printed under page 160)

(i) ‹anchor: Ab eoque primo natam esse artem› · lemma note, no call

Ab eoque primo natam esse artem. Ita cuncti ferme mss. et vet. edit. Rom. Desideratur esse in mss. 2 rec. et in multis editis.

"And that the art first arose from him." So nearly all the manuscripts and the old Rome edition. "To be" (esse) is missing in 2 recent manuscripts and in many editions.

(printed under page 160)

(j) ‹anchor: Templa constitui› · lemma note, no call

Templa constitui. Infinitivo modo multi editi omnesque mss. ut ad coeperunt, quod sequitur, referatur. In 1 Colbert. rec. et 6 rec. vulgatis est, constituit.

"That temples be established." Many editions and all the manuscripts have the infinitive, so that it refers to "they began", which follows. In 1 recent Colbert and 6 recent common editions it is "he established".

(printed under page 160)

(k) ‹anchor: Fictio... e limo Dei est› · lemma note, no call

Fictio... e limo Dei est. Haec ita capias: Dei est fictio... hominis e limo, sive: Deus est fictor hominis e limo. Hinc comma cum Walchio post limo, posui. BUN.

"The fashioning … from clay is God's." Take it thus: "the fashioning … of man from clay is God's", or, "God is the fashioner of man from clay". Hence, with Walch, I have put a comma after "clay". BUN.

(printed under page 160)

(l) ‹anchor: Quod Hermes quoque tradidit› · lemma note, no call

Quod Hermes quoque tradidit. Tradidit, quod est in 6 Reg., 4 Colbert., Brun., aliisque, requirunt sequentia verba, dixit... tentavit; sex mss. rec. cum editis, tradit. Hominem ad imaginem Dei creatum esse testatur Hermes, Pimandri scilicet capite 1. Ne quis autem arbitretur, Deo summo architecto nomen τοῦ δημιουργοῦ a Platone modo et Hermete tribui, ut jam saepius vidimus, sciat hoc reperiri etiam in litteris Apostolicis. Paul. ad Hebr. cap. II, δημιουργὸς ὁ Θεός, etc. Sed hoc opificium Lactantius noster singulari opere complexus est, quod ipse jam ad Demetrianum auditorem scripsisse testatur. Hermes vero secutus est Pythagoram, et Pythagoreum Jamblichum, et alios. BETULEIUS.

"Which Hermes too handed down." "Handed down" (tradidit), the reading of 6 Royal, 4 Colbert, Brun. and others, is required by the words that follow, "said … attempted"; six recent manuscripts with the editions have "hands down". Hermes testifies that man was created in the image of God, namely in Pimander, chapter 1. Lest anyone think that the name of "the Demiurge" is given to God, the supreme architect, only by Plato and Hermes, as we have often seen already, let him know that it is also found in the Apostolic writings: Paul to the Hebrews, ch. 2 [as printed], "whose maker is God", etc. But our Lactantius covered this workmanship in a separate work, which he himself testifies he had already written for his pupil Demetrianus. Hermes followed Pythagoras, and the Pythagorean Iamblichus, and others. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 160)

(m) ‹anchor: Factum› · lemma note, no call

Factum. Mss. 9, fictum.

"Made." 9 manuscripts, "fashioned".

(printed under page 160)

(n) ‹anchor: Et secutus eos Tullius› · lemma note, no call

Et secutus eos Tullius. Ita restitui ex cunctis pene mss. Pro Tullius in 3 Reg. rec. et editis est Cicero; in 5 Colb. et Brun., et secutus est eos Tullius. — Vide Ciceron., lib. II de Natur. deor., et I de Legib.

"And Tully, following them." So I have restored it from nearly all the manuscripts. For "Tully", 3 recent Royal and the editions have "Cicero"; 5 Colbert and Brun., "and Tully followed them". — See Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book II, and On the Laws I.

(printed under page 160)

(o) ‹anchor: Contingit› · lemma note, no call

Contingit. Sic lego cum mss. 6 Reg., 4 Colb., 2 Clarom., Brun aliisque, nec non editis Rom. 1468, 1470, Soubron., Tornes., Cellar. In 3 rec. Reg. et 2 Colbert. editisque pluribus est contigit.

"Touches on." So I read with the manuscripts 6 Royal, 4 Colbert, 2 Clermont, Brun. and others, and also the editions Rome 1468 and 1470, Soubron, Tornaesius, Cellarius. In 3 recent Royal, 2 Colbert and most editions it is contigit (touched on).

(printed under page 160)

(p) ‹anchor: Librum› · lemma note, no call

Librum. Qui est de Opificio Dei ad Demetrianum. Hunc reperies infra tomo II, hujus nostrae editionis.

"A book." That is, On the Workmanship of God, to Demetrianus. You will find it below, in volume II of this our edition.

(printed under page 160)

(q) ‹anchor: Homines caeteraque animalia› · lemma note, no call

Homines caeteraque animalia. Vide Orphaeum, Pacuvium, et Diodorum Siculum lib. I, ubi de Fabulis agit

"Men and the other living things." See Orpheus, Pacuvius, and Diodorus Siculus book I, where he treats of the fables.

(printed under page 160)

(r) ‹anchor: Virgilianum est› · lemma note, no call

Virgilianum est: — Virumque Terrea progenies, etc. Apud Virgilium, lib. II Georg., v. 341. Nonnullae editiones Ferrea legunt, et in primis (continues)

"Is Virgil's: — 'And the earthborn race of men,'" etc. In Virgil, Georgics book II, line 341. Some editions read "iron", and especially (continues)

(printed under page 160)

Page

running head: 313 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A monte declarat. Sed neque patrem; B gradus, et una progenies; C esse affixum interpretatur Tzetzes (in the notes); D Si ergo cataclysmus ideo factus est. Ita cuncti pene (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-sentence at "sed"; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" stands between the text block and the notes, cut off at the right edge, not set; the Variorum notes at the page foot (from "Poena ejus in Caucaso monte") are left for the later pass; "(scil. Ovid., I, Met.)" and "(scil. lib. I, cap. 11)" set as printed in the text; some letters worn (e.g. Saturnum, malitiam) but readable, set as intended

PL 6:314

primum omnium Promethea simulacrum hominis formasse de pingui et molli luto, ab eoque primo natam esse artem, et statuas, et simulacra fingendi; siquidem Jovis temporibus fuit, quibus primum templa constitui, et novi deorum cultus esse coeperunt. Sic veritas fucata mendacio est; et illud, quod a Deo factum ferebatur, homini, qui opus divinum imitatus est, etiam coepit adscribi. Caeterum fictio veri ac vivi hominis e limo Dei est. Quod Hermes quoque tradidit: qui non tantum hominem ad imaginem Dei factum esse dixit a Deo; sed etiam illud explanare tentavit, quam subtili ratione singula quaeque in corpore hominis membra formaverit, cum eorum nihil sit quod non tantumdem ad usus necessitatem, quantum ad pulchritudinem valeat. Id vero etiam stoici, cum de providentia disserunt, facere conantur; et secutus eos Tullius pluribus quidem locis. Sed tamen materiam tam copiosam et uberem strictim contingit; quam ego nunc idcirco praetereo, quia nuper proprium de ea re librum ad Demetrianum auditorem meum scripsi. Illud hoc loco praeterire non possum, quod errantes philosophi quidam aiunt, homines, caeteraque animalia sine ullo artifice orta esse de terra; unde illud Virgilianum est:

that Prometheus first of all formed a likeness of a man out of rich and soft clay, and that from him first arose the art of fashioning statues and images; for he lived in the times of Jupiter, in which temples first began to be established and new worships of the gods to exist. Thus the truth has been coloured with falsehood; and that which was reported to have been done by God began also to be ascribed to a man who imitated the divine work. But the fashioning of the true and living man out of mud is God's. This Hermes also has handed down: he not only said that man was made by God after the image of God, but also tried to explain with what subtle design He formed each and every member in the body of man, since there is none of them which does not avail as much for the necessity of use as for beauty. This the Stoics too attempt to do when they discourse on providence; and Tullius, following them, [does so] in several places indeed. But nevertheless he touches only briefly on a matter so abundant and rich; which I now pass over for this reason, that I recently wrote a book of its own on this subject to Demetrianus my pupil. This I cannot pass over in this place, that certain philosophers in their error say that men and the other animals arose from the earth without any maker; whence comes that line of Virgil:

Virumque Terrea progenies duris caput extulit arvis.

And the earthborn race of men lifted its head from the hard fields.

Editors' notes and page, col. 314

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS.
marginal letters: A primum omnium Promethea simulacrum; B stoici, cum de providentia; C et in 10 edit. est Prometheum (in the Variorum Notae); D Θεός, etc. Sed hoc opificium (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "primum", the start of the sentence is in col. 313; verse quotation printed as two lines ("Virumque" set above the line "Terrea progenies...") and set here as one line; the heading "VARIORUM NOTAE." runs across both columns and is cut off at the left edge, so it is not set; the editors' Variorum Notae at the page foot (Colb., Sorbon., ... down to "Nonnullae editiones Ferrea legunt") are not set and are left for the later pass; the column number in the head is printed 314 in worn type.

PL 6:315

Et ii maxime fuerunt in ea sententia qui esse providentiam negant. Nam stoici animantium fabricam divinae solertiae tribuunt. Aristoteles autem labore se ac molestia liberavit, dicens semper mundum fuisse; itaque et humanum genus, et caetera quae in eo sunt, initium non habere, sed fuisse semper, ao semper fore. Sed cum videamus singula quaeque animalia, quae ante non fuerant, incipere esse, et esse desinere, necesse est totum genus aliquando esse coepisse, et aliquando desiturum esse, quia coeperit.

And those who deny that there is a providence held this opinion most of all. For the Stoics attribute the fashioning of living creatures to divine skill. But Aristotle freed himself from the labour and trouble, saying that the world has always existed; and so that both the human race and the other things that are in it have no beginning, but have always existed and will always exist. But since we see that each individual living creature, which did not exist before, begins to exist and ceases to exist, it is necessary that the whole kind began at some time, and will at some time come to an end, because it began.

Omnia enim tribus temporibus contineri necesse est, praeterito, praesenti, futuro. Praeteriti est origo, praesentis substantia, futuri dissolutio. Quae omnia in singulis hominibus apparent, et incipimus enim, cum nascimur; et sumus, cum vivimus; et desinimus, cum interimus. Unde etiam tres Parcas esse voluerunt; unam, quae vitam hominibus ordiatur; alteram, quae contexat; tertiam, quae rumpat ac finiat. In toto autem genere hominum, quia solum praesens tempus apparet, ex eo tamen et praeteritum, id est, origo colligitur; et futurum, id est, dissolutio. Nam quoniam est, apparet aliquando coepisse (esse enim nulla res sine exordio potest); et quia coepit, apparet quandoque desiturum. Nec enim potest id totum esse immortale, quod ex mortalibus constat. Nam sicut universi per singulos interimus, fieri potest, ut aliquo casu omnes simul; vel sterilitate

For all things must be contained in three times: past, present and future. To the past belongs the origin, to the present the substance, to the future the dissolution. All these appear in individual men; for indeed we begin when we are born, and we are while we live, and we cease when we perish. Hence also they would have it that there are three Fates: one, to begin the thread of life for men; another, to weave it on; a third, to break it off and end it. But in the whole race of men, since only the present time appears, from it nevertheless both the past, that is, the origin, is inferred, and the future, that is, the dissolution. For since it exists, it is evident that it began at some time (for nothing can exist without a beginning); and since it began, it is evident that it will at some time come to an end. For that whole which consists of mortal parts cannot be immortal. For just as we all perish one by one, it can happen that by some chance all [perish] at once; or by sterility

Editors' notes and page, col. 315

Footnotes

(printed under page 161)

(a) ‹anchor: Virgilianum est (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) Heinsiana; sed male: ex hoc loco versus ille corrigendus. Si Ferrea Lactantii tempore fuisset lectum apud Virgilium, versus hic scopo suo nullo modo quadrasset. Ut probet dictum Philosophorum, sine ullo artifice homines et terra ortos existimantium, addit. unde illud Virgilianum. Mss. 3 Reg. Ferrea.— Virumque. Hanc vocem, quae ad Lactantii propositum facit, addidi ex mss. Bonon. et 2 Regiis 900 annor. ac 2 al. Reg. rec., sed bonae notae.

(printed under page 161)

(b) ‹anchor: Aristoteles autem labore se› · lemma note, no call

Aristoteles autem labore se, etc. Lib. I de Coelo, c. 10 et l. II, c. 1. Haec opinio non solum Aristotelem auctorem habet; verum etiam alii eam sunt secuti: sic Heraclitus Ephesius apud Clement. Alexandr. l. VI Stromat.; Plinius l. I, c. 1. Hanc opinionem refellit Lucretius l. V, v. 325 et seqq. GALLAEUS.

"But Aristotle [freed] himself from the labour," etc. On the Heavens book I, ch. 10, and book II, ch. 1. This opinion has not only Aristotle as its author; others too have followed it: so Heraclitus of Ephesus in Clement of Alexandria, Stromata book VI; Pliny, book I [as printed], ch. 1. Lucretius refutes this opinion, book V, line 325 and following. GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 161)

Tribus temporibus. Stoicorum haec temporis est divisio, qui praeteritum et futurum infinita faciunt, praesens finitum. Sunt qui praesens tempus esse negent; sed de hac disp. lege Arist., l. IV de Nat. Auscult. cap. 10 et seqq.; vel si malis August., lib. II Confess., c. 17 et 18. Sed haec tota disputatio in hoc adhibetur, ut statuatur providentia Dei. BETULEIUS.

"In three times." This division of time is the Stoics', who make past and future infinite and the present finite. There are some who deny that the present time exists; but on this disputation read Aristotle, Physics book IV, ch. 10 and following; or, if you prefer, Augustine, Confessions book II [as printed], chs 17 and 18. But this whole disputation is brought in to establish the providence of God. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 161)

(d) ‹anchor: Praesentis substantia› · lemma note, no call

Praesentis substantia. Hoc est, substitit tempus praesens, quod nunc extat. Sic et infra, praesentis temporis substantia.

"The substance of the present." That is, the present time has substance, which now exists. So too below, "the substance of the present time".

(printed under page 161)

(e) ‹anchor: Tres Parcas› · lemma note, no call

Tres Parcas. Haec fabula trium Parcarum originem sumpsit ab Hesiodi Theogonia. Vide et Platonem libro X, de Republ. circa finem, ac praecipue Aristotelem libro de Mundo, ubi plurima unius Dei nomina enumeravit, Parcarum rationem et officia eidem uni Deo tribuens.— Parcas. Conf. Voss. II Idolol., c. 44 toto. Prave Lips. 3, tres partes. BUN.

"Three Fates." This fable of the three Fates took its origin from Hesiod's Theogony. See also Plato, Republic book X, near the end, and especially Aristotle in the book On the World, where he enumerated very many names of the one God, attributing the nature and offices of the Fates to that same one God. — "Fates." Compare Vossius, On Idolatry II, the whole of ch. 44. Lips. 3 wrongly has "three parts". BUN.

(printed under page 161)

(f) ‹anchor: Vitam hominibus ordiatur› · lemma note, no call

Vitam hominibus ordiatur. Sic lego cum veterrimis mss. Bon., Regio-Put., 3 Colb., 2 Clarom. et omnibus fere editis. In 1 Reg. 900 annor. et 15 rec. scriptis ac 2 ed. Rom. est, hominis.

"Begins the web of life for men." So I read with the very old manuscripts Bologna, Regio-Puteanus, 3 Colbert, 2 Clermont and almost all the editions. In 1 Royal 900 years old, 15 recent manuscripts and the 2 Rome editions it is "of man".

(printed under page 161)

(g) ‹anchor: Desiturum› · lemma note, no call

Desiturum. Ita correxi ex mss. Regio-Put., 1 Colb., Goth., Lips., 1 Clarom., pluribusque aliis. Desiturum, puta tempus, vel totum genus de quo supra. In uno Brun. et 1 Colbert. est, defuturum; in altero Brun. est, defutura; in 1 Colb. et 2 editis, desitura; in 1 Reg. 900 annor., desituram.

"That it will cease" (desiturum). So I have corrected it from the manuscripts Regio-Puteanus, 1 Colbert, Gotha, Lips., 1 Clermont and many others. Desiturum: understand time, or the whole race spoken of above. In one Brun. and 1 Colbert it is defuturum; in the other Brun., defutura; in 1 Colbert and 2 editions, desitura; in 1 Royal 900 years old, desituram.

(printed under page 161)

(h) ‹anchor: Phaetonte› · lemma note, no call

Phaetonte. Ejus fabula legatur apud Ovid. sub finem libri I Metamorph. et initio II. At Lucianus in Astrologia credit Phaetontem solis cursum observasse, ac deprehendisse, sicut Endymion lunae.

"Phaethon." His fable may be read in Ovid, near the end of Metamorphoses book I and at the beginning of II. But Lucian, in On Astrology, believes that Phaethon observed and discovered the course of the sun, as Endymion did that of the moon.

(printed under page 161)

(i) ‹anchor: Divinae providentiae nutu› · lemma note, no call

Divinae providentiae nutu. Ita omnes impressi ac mss. praeter 1 Bonon. antiq. et 1 Clarom. in quibus est, divinae providentiae datur.

"By the nod of divine providence." So all the printed editions and manuscripts except the old 1 Bologna and 1 Clermont, which have "is given to divine providence".

(printed under page 161)

(j) ‹anchor: In totum› · lemma note, no call

In totum. Id est, omnino: lib. IV, c. 1; l. VII, c. 20; Epitom. cap. 61; de Ira Dei, cap. 21; de Opif., cap. 8.

"Wholly" (in totum). That is, altogether: book IV, ch. 1; book VII, ch. 20; Epitome, ch. 61; On the Anger of God, ch. 21; On the Workmanship, ch. 8.

(printed under page 161)

(k) ‹anchor: Non poterit defendere Aristoteles› · lemma note, no call

Non poterit defendere Aristoteles. Haec est lectio omnium fere mss. et 5 edit. quam praecedentia et subsequentia postulant, accedente ms. Jun. qui habet poterat. 1 Reg. potest; scripti quinque rec. et 10 editi, potuit.

"Aristotle will not be able to maintain." This is the reading of almost all the manuscripts and 5 editions, which what precedes and what follows demand; the Junius manuscript, which has "was able", agrees. 1 Royal, "is able"; five recent manuscripts and 10 editions, "was able" (potuit).

(printed under page 161)

(l) ‹anchor: Ingratis› · lemma note, no call

Ingratis. Hic ingratis adverbium est. Ita et apud Plautum Amphytr. act. I, scen. 1, v. 10. Id est, invitis; aut juxta Sparkium, velint, nolint. 1 ms. Clarom. et 4 edit., ingrate.

"Against their will" (ingratis). Here ingratis is an adverb. So too in Plautus, Amphitryon act I, scene 1, line 10. That is, against their will; or, according to Sparke, "willy-nilly". 1 Clermont manuscript and 4 editions, ingrate.

(printed under page 161)

(m) ‹anchor: Epicurus eripiet› · lemma note, no call

Epicurus eripiet. Lege Plutarch. de Placitis philosophorum l. II, c. 4; et Galenum philosoph. histor. cap. 42.

"Epicurus will wrest it away." Read Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers book II, ch. 4; and Galen, History of Philosophy, ch. 42.

(printed under page 161)

(n) ‹anchor: Pluribus› · lemma note, no call

Pluribus. Ms. 1 Clarom. et 7 edit. rec. perperam addunt exequemur, quod abest a caeteris tum mss. tum impress. Pro pluribus, in scriptis rec. 1 Reg. et 2 Colb. est, plenius; in 1 Colb. et Brun., prolixius.

"At more length." The manuscript 1 Clermont and 7 recent editions wrongly add "we shall pursue", which is absent from the other manuscripts and printed editions. For "at more length" (pluribus), the recent manuscripts 1 Royal and 2 Colbert have "more fully"; 1 Colbert and Brun., "more extensively".

(printed under page 161)

(o) ‹anchor: Aiunt› · lemma note, no call

Aiunt, etc. Scilicet Epicurei. Nam Censorinus de Die nat. de hac Epicuri sententia sic scribit: Democrito vero Abderitae ex aqua limoque primum visum esse homines procreatos. Nec longe secus Epicurus: is enim credidit, limo calefacto, uteros nescio quos radicibus terrae increvisse, et infantibus ex se editis, ingenium, lactis humorem, natura ministrante, praebuisse; quos ita educatos et adultos, genus hominum propagasse. De (continues)

"They say," etc. Namely the Epicureans. For Censorinus, On the Birthday, writes thus of this opinion of Epicurus: "To Democritus of Abdera it seemed that men were first produced from water and mud. Epicurus thought not very differently: for he believed that when the mud was warmed, some kind of wombs grew onto the roots of the earth, and, when infants had been brought forth from them, supplied them by nature's ministry with an inborn [ingenium, as printed] liquid of milk; and that these, so reared and grown up, propagated the human race." On (continues)

(printed under page 161)

Page

running head: 315 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN[...] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A Et ii maxime fuerunt; B cum interimus. Unde etiam; C Heinsiana; sed male (notes); D sed de hac disp. lege (notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "ao semper fore" appears printed thus, possibly a damaged c rather than a wrong letter; column ends mid-word "sterili-" (sterilitate, continued in next column); full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" across the page above the notes not set; the Variorum Notae at the page foot (Heinsiana; sed male ... Desiturum. Ita correxi ...) left for the later pass; editors' matter set: none

PL 6:316

terrarum, quae accidere particulatim solet; vel pestilentia ubique diffusa, quae singulas urbes atque regiones plerumque populatur; vel incendio in orbem misso, quale jam fuisse sub Phaetonte dicitur; vel diluvio aquarum, quale sub Deucalione traditur, cum praeter unum hominem genus omne deletum est. Quod diluvium si casu accidit, profecto potuit accidere, ut et unus ille, qui superfuit, interiret. Si autem divinae providentiae nutu, quod negari non potest, ad reparandos homines reservatus est, apparet in Dei potestate esse, vel vitam, vel interitum generis humani. Quod si potest occidere in totum, quia per partes occidit, apparet aliquando esse ortum; et ut fragilitas initium, sic declarat et terminum. Quae si vera sunt, non poterit defendere Aristoteles, quominus habuerit et mundus ipse principium. Quod si Aristoteli Plato et Epicurus extorquent, et Platoni et Aristoteli, qui semper fore mundum putaverunt, licet sint eloquentes, ingratis tamen idem Epicurus eripiet, quia sequitur, ut habeat et finem. Sed haec in ultimo libro pluribus. Nunc ad hominis originem recurramus.

of the lands, which is wont to happen in particular places; or by a pestilence spread everywhere, which for the most part lays waste individual cities and regions; or by a fire sent upon the world, such as is said to have happened already under Phaethon; or by a deluge of waters, such as is handed down under Deucalion, when the whole race except one man was destroyed. If that deluge happened by chance, it certainly could have happened that even that one man who survived should perish. But if he was preserved by the nod of divine providence, which cannot be denied, for the restoring of men, it is evident that it lies in God's power, either the life or the destruction of the human race. But if it can perish entirely, because it perishes in parts, it is evident that it arose at some time; and as frailty declares a beginning, so it declares also an end. If these things are true, Aristotle will not be able to prevent the world itself also from having had a beginning. But if Plato and Epicurus wrest this from Aristotle, the same Epicurus will also snatch it, against their will, from Plato and Aristotle, who thought that the world would always be, however eloquent they may be, because it follows that it has also an end. But more on these matters in the last book. Now let us return to the origin of man.

CAPUT XII.

Chapter XII.

Quod animalia non sponte nata sint, sed dispositione divina, cujus fecisset nos conscios Deus, si scire expediret.

That animals were not born of their own accord, but by divine disposition, of which God would have made us aware, if it were expedient to know it.

Aiunt certis conversionibus coeli, et astrorum motibus

They say that by certain revolutions of the heaven, and motions of the stars,

Editors' notes and page, col. 316

Page

running head: CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 316 (cut at left edge; LACTANTII)
marginal letters: A ‹tate terrarum, quae accidere›; B ‹habuerit et mundus ipse principium›; C ‹puta tempus, vel totum genus› (in the notes); D ‹Ingratis. Hic ingratis› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "tate" of "sterilitate" broken from the previous column; column ends with "mo-" (motibus) broken across the column break; full-width line "VARIORUM NOTAE" heading the page-foot notes, cut off at left, not set; editors' matter set: chapter summary ‹Quod animalia non sponte›; Variorum Notae at page foot left for the later pass

PL 6:317

maturitatem quamdam extitisse animalium serendorum; itaque terram novam, semen genitale retinentem, folliculos ex se quosdam in uterorum similitudinem protulisse, de quibus Lucretius:

a certain ripeness for the begetting of animals had come about; and so the new earth, retaining the generative seed, brought forth from itself certain follicles in the likeness of wombs, of which Lucretius [says]:

Crescebant uteri terrae radicibus apti;

Wombs were growing, fastened to the earth by roots;

eosque, cum maturassent, natura cogente ruptos, animalia tenera profudisse. Deinde terram ipsam humore quodam, qui esset lacti similis, exuberasse, eoque alimento animantes esse nutritas. Quomodo igitur vim frigoris aut caloris ferre aut vitare potuerunt, aut omnino nasci, cum sol exureret, frigus astringeret? Non erant, inquiunt, in principio mundi hyems nec aestas, sed perpetua temperies, et ver aequabile. Cur ergo nihil horum fieri etiamnunc videmus? Quia semel, aiunt, fieri necessarium fuit, ut animalia nascerentur; postquam vero esse coeperunt, concessa his facultate generandi, et terra parere desiit, et temporis conditio mutata est. O quam facile est mendacia redarguere! Primum, quod nihil potest esse in hoc mundo, quod non sic permaneat, ut coepit. Nec enim sol, et luna, et astra tunc non erant, aut cum essent, meatus non habebant, ac non divina moderatio, quae cursus eorum temperat et gubernat, cum ipsis simul coeperit. Deinde quod si ita sit, ut dicunt, providentiam esse necesse est; et in idipsum incidunt, quod maxime fugiunt. Nondum enim natis animalibus, aliquis utique providit, ut nascerentur, ne orbis terrae desertus, atque incultus horreret. Ut autem de terra sine officio parentum nasci possent, necesse est magna ratione esse provisum; deinde ut humor ille concretus de terra in varias imagines corporum fingeretur; item ut e folliculis, quibus tegebantur, accepta vivendi, sentiendique ratione, tamquam ex alvo matrum profunderentur, mira inextricabilisque provisio est. Sed putemus id quoque casu accidisse: illa certe quae sequuntur, fortuita esse non possunt; ut terra continuo lacte manaret, ut aeris temperies esset aequalis. Quae si constat idcirco esse

and that these, when they had ripened, burst under the compulsion of nature and poured forth tender animals. Then that the earth itself overflowed with a certain moisture which was like milk, and that the living creatures were nourished with that food. How then were they able to bear or to escape the force of cold or heat, or to be born at all, when the sun was scorching and the frost was binding? There were not, they say, at the beginning of the world winter or summer, but a perpetual mildness and an even spring. Why then do we see none of these things happening even now? Because, they say, it was necessary for it to happen once, so that animals might be born; but after they had begun to exist, the faculty of generating having been granted to them, the earth both ceased to bear and the condition of the season was changed. O how easy it is to refute lies! First, because there can be nothing in this world which does not remain as it began. For neither were the sun and the moon and the stars not in existence then, nor, when they existed, were they without their courses, nor did the divine governance, which regulates and steers their courses, not begin together with them. Next, if it is as they say, there must be a providence; and they fall into the very thing which they most flee. For when animals had not yet been born, someone certainly provided that they should be born, lest the world of the earth should bristle, deserted and untilled. Moreover, that they could be born from the earth without the service of parents must have been provided for with great reason; then, that that moisture congealed from the earth should be fashioned into the various shapes of bodies; likewise that, having received the means of living and feeling, they should be poured forth from the follicles by which they were covered as from the bellies of mothers, is a wonderful and inextricable providence. But let us suppose that this too happened by chance: certainly the things that follow cannot be fortuitous; that the earth should flow continually with milk, that the temperature of the air should be even. If it is agreed that these things were for this reason

Editors' notes and page, col. 317

Footnotes

(printed under page 162)

(a) ‹anchor: Aiunt (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) qua re vide Lucr. l. V, vers. 806. BETULEIUS.—Vide Ciceron. l. I de Legibus.

(printed under page 162)

(b) ‹anchor: Terrae radicibus apti› · lemma note, no call

Terrae radicibus apti. Haud secus habent mss. codices Lucretiani; nec Lactantiani 6 Reg., 1 Clarom. et 8 impressi. At Reg. Put., 1 al. Reg., 4 Colb., Brun., ed. Rom. 1470, habent terra; alii 2 Reg., 2 Colb., 1 Clarom., ed. Rom. 1468 et Paris. 1525, terram.

"Fastened to the roots of the earth." The manuscript codices of Lucretius have it no differently; nor do those of Lactantius, 6 Royal, 1 Clermont, and 8 printed editions. But Regio-Puteanus, 1 other Royal, 4 Colbert, Brun., and the Rome edition of 1470 have terra; others, 2 Royal, 2 Colbert, 1 Clermont, the Rome edition of 1468 and Paris 1525, terram.

(printed under page 162)

Maturassent. Buneman. legit maturuissent, deque hac lectione sic habet: « Sic edidi ex ms. Ultraj. etiam Munckerus hic ita legere malebat, et sic Hyginum corrigebat, fab. 136, p. 203. » BUN.

"Had ripened" (maturassent). Bünemann reads maturuissent, and says this of the reading: "So I have printed from the Utrecht manuscript; Muncker too preferred to read so here, and corrected Hyginus thus, fable 136, p. 203." BUN.

(printed under page 162)

(d) ‹anchor: Animantes esse nutritas› · lemma note, no call

Animantes esse nutritas. Ita reposui ex mss. Editi legunt nutritos.

"That the living things were nourished." So I have restored it from the manuscripts (nutritas). The editions read nutritos.

(printed under page 162)

(e) ‹anchor: Quomodo igitur› · lemma note, no call

Quomodo igitur. Sic restitui ex mss. omnibus, accedentibus 5 recentioribus et edit. Betul. in quibus est ergo; in editis, quomodo autem. Lucretius eod. lib. V.

"How then" (igitur). So I have restored it from all the manuscripts, with the support of 5 more recent ones and Betuleius's edition, which have ergo; in the editions, "but how". Lucretius, in the same book V.

(printed under page 162)

(f) ‹anchor: Nec› · lemma note, no call

Nec. Reposui ex mss. 2 Reg. 900 annor. aliisque octo. In 2 aliis est aut; in caeteris, et.

"Nor." I have restored it from the manuscripts 2 Royal 900 years old and eight others. In 2 others it is "or"; in the rest, "and".

(printed under page 162)

(g) ‹anchor: Vivendi› · lemma note, no call

Vivendi. Sic restitui ex vet. editis 4, cunctisque mss. dempto uno Tornes. in quo, ut in impressis 10, est videndi.

"Of living." So I have restored it from 4 old editions and all the manuscripts except the one of Tornaesius, in which, as in 10 printed editions, it is "of seeing".

(printed under page 162)

(h) ‹anchor: Ex alvo matrum profunderentur› · lemma note, no call

Ex alvo matrum profunderentur. Arnob. lib. II, Nascimur, et ex alvis effundimur matrum. August. Tom. X de S. Johan. Serm. 2, Corruptibilis uteri finibus effusus est. Quintil. decl. VI, Cicero in Pisonem.

"Should be poured forth as from their mothers' womb." Arnobius, book II: "We are born, and are poured forth from our mothers' wombs." Augustine, volume X, On St John, Sermon 2: "He was poured forth from the confines of a corruptible womb." Quintilian, Declamation VI; Cicero, Against Piso.

(printed under page 162)

(i) ‹anchor: Inextricabilis› · lemma note, no call

Inextricabilis. Haec mutatio facta ex mss. 2 Bonon., 1 Colb. antiq. Jun., Ultr., 2 Brun. ac edd. Tornes. et Soubr. In edit. Walch. est inexpricabilis, typographico mendo; in caeteris, inexplicabilis. — Mira inexplicabilisque provisio. Bon., Ultr., Jun., Goth., mira inextricabilisque. At iterum junxit de Opif. c. 8: Inexplicabilis est ac mira subtilitas. BUN.

"Inextricable." This change has been made from the manuscripts 2 Bologna, 1 old Colbert, Junius, Utrecht, 2 Brun., and the editions of Tornaesius and Soubron. In Walch's edition it is inexpricabilis, a printer's error; in the others, inexplicabilis. — "A wonderful and inexplicable provision." Bologna, Utrecht, Junius, Gotha: "wonderful and inextricable". But he joined them again in On the Workmanship, ch. 8: "The subtlety is inexplicable and wonderful." BUN.

(printed under page 162)

(j) ‹anchor: Ac non et humore› · lemma note, no call

Ac non et humore. Ita restitutum ex ed. Tornes. et Cellar. omnibusque mss. praeter Em., in quo desideratur et; Lipsiensem unum et Colb. 1, in quibus est ac non ex humore.

"And not also by the moisture." So it has been restored from the editions of Tornaesius and Cellarius and all the manuscripts except Em., in which "also" is missing, and one Leipzig and Colbert 1, which have "and not from the moisture".

(printed under page 162)

(k) ‹anchor: Ac non humore illo terrae› · lemma note, no call

Ac non humore illo terrae. Emman. et Lips., ac non: alii, annon. De Opif., c. 16; Potest ne aliquis comprehendere... ac non ex eo ipso intelligat. BUN.

"And not by that moisture of the earth." Emmanuel and Lips., ac non; others, annon. On the Workmanship, ch. 16: "Can anyone grasp … and not understand from that very thing." BUN.

(printed under page 162)

(l) ‹anchor: Quem› · lemma note, no call

Quem. Habent tres optimi mss. Regii, 1 Colb. et 2 Brun. impressi et plerique mss. quod.

"Which" (quem). Three excellent Royal manuscripts, 1 Colbert and 2 Brun. have it; the printed editions and most manuscripts, quod.

(printed under page 162)

(m) ‹anchor: Excreta› · lemma note, no call

Excreta. Quia in Lactantio omnes scripti editique, excreta, servo; sic Virgil. III Georg. 397: Multi jam excretos prohibent a matribus haedos. BUN.

"Separated (weaned)." Since in Lactantius all the manuscripts and editions have excreta, I keep it; so Virgil, Georgics III, 397: "Many keep the kids, already weaned, from their mothers." BUN.

(printed under page 162)

(n) ‹anchor: A supremo Deo› · lemma note, no call

A supremo Deo. Sic cum omnibus pene mss. edit. Tornes. Soubr. et Walch. cunctique codices Ciceroniani: 2 Reg. rec., a superno Deo; 3 Colb., 2 Reg. cum multis editis, a summo Deo.

"By the supreme God." So, with nearly all the manuscripts, the editions of Tornaesius, Soubron and Walch, and all the codices of Cicero; 2 recent Royal, "by the God above"; 3 Colbert, 2 Royal with many editions, "by the highest God".

(printed under page 162)

Page

running head: 317 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[RRORIS] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹tibus maturitatem quamdam extitisse›; B ‹animalia nascerentur; postquam vero›; C ‹humor ille concretus de terra›; D ‹Clarom., ed. Rom. 1468 et Paris.› (in the notes at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "tibus" broken from the previous column; the verse line from Lucretius is set as its own line, as printed; "Quomodo" and "constat" show stray accent-like marks (Quomodò, constát), probably specks, set plain; the heading VARIORUM NOTAE above the notes and the notes themselves (Terrae radicibus apti ... Cicero in Pisonem) are apparatus and are not set here

PL 6:318

facta, ut animalia recens edita, vel haberent alimentum, vel non haberent periculum, necesse est, ut aliquis divina nescio qua ratione providerit.

made, so that newborn animals should either have nourishment or not be in danger, it is necessary that someone should have provided for it by some divine plan, I know not what.

Quis autem potest providere, nisi Deus? Videamus tamen an id ipsum, quod dictitant, fieri potuerit: ut homines nascerentur e terra. Si consideret aliquis quandiu, et quibus modis educetur infans, intelliget profecto non potuisse terrigenas illos pueros sine ullo educatore nutriri. Fuit enim necesse quampluribus mensibus jacere projectos, donec confirmatis nervis movere se, locumque mutare possent: quod vix intra unius anni spatium fieri potest. Jam vide utrumne infans eodem modo, et eodem loco quo est effusus, jacere per multos menses valuerit, ac non et humore illo terrae, quem alimenti gratia ministrabat, et sui corporis purgamentis in unum mixtis obrutus corruptusque moreretur. Itaque nullo modo fieri potest, quin ab aliquo fuerit educatus; nisi forte animalia omnia non tenera nata sunt, sed excreta: quod ut dicerent, numquam venit illis in mentem. Omnis ergo illa ratio impossibilis, et vana est: si tamen ratio dici potest, qua id agitur ut nulla sit ratio. Qui enim dicit omnia sua sponte esse nata, nihilque divinae providentiae tribuit, hic profecto rationem non asserit, sed evertit. Quod si neque quidquam fieri sine ratione, neque nasci potest, apparet divinam esse providentiam, cujus est proprium quod dicitur ratio. Deus igitur rerum omnium machinator fecit hominem. Quod Cicero, quamvis expers coelestium litterarum, vidit tamen; qui libro de Legibus primo hoc idem tradidit, quod prophetae, cujus verba subjeci: « Hoc animal providum, sagax, multiplex, acutum, memor, plenum rationis et consilii, quem vocamus hominem, praeclara quadam conditione generatum esse a supremo Deo; solum est enim ex tot animantium generibus atque naturis, particeps rationis et cogitationis, cum caetera sint omnia expertia. » Videsne hominem, quamvis longe a veritatis

But who can provide, except God? Let us see, however, whether the very thing they keep saying could have happened: that men were born from the earth. If anyone considers how long, and in what ways, an infant is reared, he will surely understand that those earth-born children could not have been nourished without someone to rear them. For they would have had to lie cast down for a great many months, until, their sinews strengthened, they could move themselves and change their place: which can scarcely happen within the space of one year. Now consider whether the infant could have lain for many months in the same manner and in the same place where it was poured forth, and not have died overwhelmed and corrupted both by that moisture of the earth which it supplied for the sake of nourishment and by the filth of its own body mixed together into one. Therefore it can in no way happen that it was not reared by someone; unless perchance all animals were born not tender but already weaned: and it never entered their minds to say this. That whole reasoning, therefore, is impossible and empty: if indeed that can be called reasoning by which the aim is that there should be no reason. For he who says that all things were born of their own accord, and attributes nothing to divine providence, certainly does not assert reason but overturns it. But if nothing can be made or be born without reason, it is clear that there is a divine providence, to which belongs properly what is called reason. God, therefore, the contriver of all things, made man. Which Cicero, although without knowledge of the heavenly writings, nevertheless saw; who in the first book On the Laws handed down this same thing as the prophets did, and I have set his words below: « This animal, provident, shrewd, many-sided, keen, mindful, full of reason and counsel, which we call man, was begotten by the supreme God in a certain glorious condition; for it alone, out of so many kinds and natures of living beings, is a partaker of reason and thought, while all the rest are devoid of them. » Do you see that the man, although far from the truth's

Editors' notes and page, col. 318

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 318
marginal letters: A ‹facta, ut animalia recens edita›; B ‹bat, et sui corporis purgamentis›; C ‹primo hoc idem tradidit›; D ‹mira inextricabilisque (in the Variorum Notae, not set)›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-sentence at "veritatis"; heading "[V]ARIORUM NOTAE" printed across both columns, cut off at the left edge, not set; Variorum Notae at page foot (Inextricabilis ... a summo Deo) left for the later pass; in the bold type several i's look like l (allmentum, slt, dicIt, homIhem, Igitur), taken as scan/type appearance and set as alimentum, sit, dicit, hominem, igitur; "memor" set as printed (Cicero has memorem)

PL 6:319

notitia remotum, tamen, quoniam imaginem sapientiae tuebatur, intellexisse non nisi a Deo hominem potuisse generari? Sed tamen divinis opus est testimoniis, ne minus humana sufficiant. Sibylla hominem Dei opus esse testatur:

knowledge removed as he was, yet, because he kept hold of an image of wisdom, understood that man could not have been brought forth except by God? But nevertheless there is need of divine testimonies, lest human ones be of too little weight. The Sibyl testifies that man is the work of God:

ὃς μόνος ἐστὶ Θεὸς κτίστης ἀκράτητος ὑπάρχων,

Who alone is God, the Creator, being unconquerable,

Αὐτὸς δὲ ἐστήριξε τύπον μορφῆς μερόπωντε,

and He Himself established the pattern of the form and of mortals,

Αὐτὸς ἔμιξε φύσιν πάντων γενεῆς βιότοιο.

He Himself mingled the nature of all things, of the generation of life.

Eadem sanctae litterae continent. Deus ergo veri patris officio functus est. Ipse corpus effinxit; ipse animam qua spiramus infudit. Illius est totum, quidquid sumus. Quomodo id fecerit, si nos oporteret scire, docuisset, sicut docuit caetera quae cognitionem nobis, et pristini erroris et veri luminis attulerunt.

The holy Scriptures contain the same things. God, then, performed the office of a true father. He Himself fashioned the body; He Himself poured in the soul by which we breathe. Whatever we are is wholly His. How He did this, if it were needful for us to know, He would have taught, just as He taught the other things which have brought us knowledge both of our former error and of the true light.

CAPUT XIII.

Chapter XIII.

Quare duo sexus in homine: quid sit mors ejus prima, quid secunda; et de primorum parentum culpa et poena.

Why there are two sexes in man; what his first death is, what the second; and on the fault and punishment of our first parents.

Cum ergo marem ad similitudinem suam primum finxisset, tum etiam foeminam configuravit ad ipsius hominis effigiem, ut duo inter se permisti sexus propagare sobolem possent, et omnem terram multitudine opplere. In ipsius autem hominis fictione illarum duarum materiarum, quas inter se diximus esse contrarias, ignis et aquae, conclusit perfecitque rationem. Ficto enim corpore, spiravit ei animam de vitali fonte spiritus sui, qui est perennis, ut ipsius

When, therefore, He had first fashioned the male after His own likeness, then He also formed the female after the likeness of the man himself, so that the two sexes, mingled with each other, might be able to propagate offspring and fill the whole earth with a multitude. And in the fashioning of man himself He enclosed and brought to completion the principle of those two materials which we have said are contrary to each other, fire and water. For when the body had been fashioned, He breathed into it a soul from the living fountain of His own spirit, which is everlasting, so that of the very

Editors' notes and page, col. 319

Footnotes

(printed under page 163)

(a) ‹anchor: Divinis› · lemma note, no call

Divinis. Sed tantum juxta Ethnicos.

"Divine." But only according to the heathen.

(printed under page 163)

(b) ‹anchor: Ὃς μόνος› · lemma note, no call

Ὃς μόνος, etc. Interpret. lat.: Qui solus est Deus creator invictus existens, / Ipse autem firmavit figuram formae hominumque, / Ipse miscuit naturam omnium generationis vitae. Haec carmina ex Sibyllinis Oraculis, serm. 1.

"Who alone," etc. Latin translation: "Who alone is God, the creator, being unconquered, / He fixed the figure of the form of men, / He mixed the nature of all, the begetter of life." These verses are from the Sibylline Oracles, discourse 1.

(printed under page 163)

Αὐτὸς ἔμιξε. Ita editi et mss. praeter 1 Clarom. et edit. Rom. in quibus est, Αὐτὸς ἔλιξε. Betuleius restitui vult αὐγὰς μῖξε. Isaeus monet sic haberi in codice Sibyllino.

"He himself mixed." So the editions and manuscripts, except 1 Clermont and the Rome edition, which have "He himself rolled". Betuleius wants αὐγὰς μῖξε ("mixed the rays") restored. Isaeus notes that this is the reading of the Sibylline codex.

(printed under page 163)

(d) ‹anchor: Sanctae litterae› · lemma note, no call

Sanctae litterae. Scilicet Genes. I, et David in Psalmis.

"The holy writings." Namely Genesis 1, and David in the Psalms.

(printed under page 163)

(e) ‹anchor: Hominis› · lemma note, no call

Hominis. Id est, maris, viri. Iterum homo κατ' ἐξοχὴν, pro viro, infra. BUN.

"Of man." That is, of the male, the husband. Again "man" par excellence, for husband, below. BUN.

(printed under page 163)

(f) ‹anchor: Spiravit ei animam de vitali fonte› · lemma note, no call

Spiravit ei animam de vitali fonte, etc. Spiravit, pro inspiravit, quod est in ms. 1 Clarom. Verbum simplex pro composito familiare Lactantio. Supra auctor noster dixit, animam esse igneum quiddam ac calorem, et hoc cap. quod si anima ignis est, ut ostendimus. Hic scribit esse ex Deo, ac si animae essent particulae divinae essentiae; nam praeterquam quod hic dicat Deum spirasse animam de vitali fonte, infra hoc explicans, dicit illam ex Deo oriri, imo ex Deo constare. Est ex coelo et Deo, addit paulo post; quae verba ejus mentem satis exponunt. Hanc opinionem refellit Augustinus in epist. ad Hieron. 28; item Thomas Aquinas, contra Gentes lib. II, cap. 85. Sic Leo I, de hac opinione: Nimium igitur superbi, nimiumque sunt caeci, qui, cum dicant animam humanam divinae esse substantiae, non intelligunt, nihil aliud se dicere, quam Deum esse mutabilem, et ipsum perpeti quidquid potest naturae ejus inferri. Hujus erroris occasionem sumpserunt ex loco Gen. II, v. 7, male intellecto, ubi haec leguntur verba: Et inspiravit in faciem ejus spiraculum vitae. Quae nullo modo dicunt, inspirasse flatum vitae ex sua substantia: sed hoc tantum innuunt, Deum infudisse animam, qua corpus e terra factum viveret; non quod ex ipsa Dei essentia sit inspirata. Hoc tantum Spiritui Sancto peculiare, qui Patris et Filii est essentiale spiraculum; et si hoc de homine ita intelligendum esset, Deus factus fuisset. GALLAEUS.

"He breathed a soul into him from the living fountain," etc. "Breathed" for "breathed into", which is in the manuscript 1 Clermont. The simple verb for the compound is familiar in Lactantius. Above, our author said that the soul is something fiery, a heat, and in this chapter, "but if the soul is fire, as we have shown". Here he writes that it is from God, as if souls were particles of the divine essence; for besides saying here that God breathed the soul from the living fountain, below, explaining this, he says that it arises from God, nay, that it consists of God. "It is from heaven and from God," he adds a little later; and these words show his mind clearly enough. Augustine refutes this opinion in his letter to Jerome, no. 28; likewise Thomas Aquinas, Against the Gentiles book II, ch. 85. So Leo I, of this opinion: "Too proud, then, and too blind are those who, in saying that the human soul is of divine substance, do not understand that they are saying nothing else than that God is changeable, and himself suffers whatever can be inflicted on its nature." They took the occasion of this error from the passage Genesis 2:7, misunderstood, where these words are read: "And he breathed into his face the breath of life." These words in no way say that he breathed the breath of life out of his own substance; they only intimate that God poured in a soul by which the body made from earth should live; not that it was breathed out of the very essence of God. That is peculiar to the Holy Spirit alone, who is the essential breath of the Father and the Son; and if this were to be so understood of man, he would have been made God. GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 163)

(g) ‹anchor: Empedocles› · lemma note, no call

Empedocles. Legitur quidem ejus Vita apud Laertium inter philosophorum aliorum Vitas: a Cicerone frequentius inter poetas numeratur; sed in primo de Oratore, negat eadem ratione dici physicos et poetas eosdem, quoniam Empedocles physicus egregium poema fecerit. Ejus carmina plurima leguntur in Collectione Henrici Stephani, cui titulus: Poesis Philosophica, edita in octava forma.

"Empedocles." His Life is indeed read in Laertius among the Lives of the other philosophers; Cicero more often counts him among the poets; but in the first book On the Orator he denies that natural philosophers and poets are to be called the same on that account, because Empedocles, a natural philosopher, made an excellent poem. Very many of his verses are read in Henri Estienne's collection entitled Poesis Philosophica, published in octavo.

(printed under page 163)

(h) ‹anchor: Quatuor elementa› · lemma note, no call

Quatuor elementa. De his vide S. Epiphanium lib. III, contra Haereses; et Plutarch. de Placitis Philosophor., lib. I, cap. 3. Vide et Laertium in Vitis Philosophor. — Empedocles...... Varro. Sequitur Quintilianum, l. I, Inst., c. 4. Empedocles in Graecis, Varro ac Lucretius in Latinis praecepta sapientiae versibus tradiderunt. Aristoteles, lib. de Poetica, c. 1, Empedoclem φυσιολόγον μᾶλλον ἢ ποιητὴν appellat. BUN.

"Four elements." On these see St Epiphanius, Against Heresies book III, and Plutarch, On the Opinions of the Philosophers, book I, ch. 3. See also Laertius in the Lives of the Philosophers. — "Empedocles … Varro." He follows Quintilian, Institutes book I, ch. 4: "Empedocles among the Greeks, Varro and Lucretius among the Latins, handed down the precepts of wisdom in verse." Aristotle, Poetics ch. 1, calls Empedocles "a natural philosopher rather than a poet". BUN.

(printed under page 163)

(i) ‹anchor: Trismegistum secutus› · lemma note, no call

Trismegistum secutus. Est tale quid in tertio Poemandri Dialogo.

"Following Trismegistus." There is something of the kind in the third dialogue of the Poemander.

(printed under page 163)

(j) ‹anchor: Dixit a Deo› · lemma note, no call

Dixit a Deo. Vide eumdem Trismegist. apud Stob. in Collect. Serm. 11 de Veritate.

"He said … from God." See the same Trismegistus in Stobaeus's Collections, discourse 11, On Truth.

(printed under page 163)

(k) ‹anchor: Sit immortalis› · lemma note, no call

Sit immortalis. Id est, in perpetuum beata. Explicat ipse: in perpetua luce versetur, quod notandum contra Dodwellum, de quo plura ad l. VII, c. 5; Immortalis et immortalitas. BUN.

"It may be immortal." That is, blessed for ever. He explains it himself: "that it may dwell in perpetual light", which is to be noted against Dodwell; more on this at book VII, ch. 5, "immortal" and "immortality". BUN.

(printed under page 163)

(l) ‹anchor: Et in morte› · lemma note, no call

Et in morte. Mortis nomen, quia amphibolon in quaestione sacra est, removenda gentilibus ambiguitas erat, quibus mortis nomen tale nihil significat. In sacris vero paginis, animae a corpore discessus rarius mortis nomine, frequentius quietis aut somni voce significatur. Sic Lazarus dormire dicitur; et (continues)

"And in death." Because the word "death" is ambiguous in a sacred question, the ambiguity had to be removed for the gentiles, for whom the word "death" means nothing of that kind. In the sacred pages, the departure of the soul from the body is more rarely signified by the word "death", more often by the word "rest" or "sleep". So Lazarus is said to sleep; and (continues)

(printed under page 163)

Page

running head: 319 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at right edge)
marginal letters: A notitia remotum; B Quare duo sexus in homine; C Divinis. Sed tantum (in the notes at page foot); D plex pro composito (in the notes at page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: Greek verse lines set one per line; small type, UNSURE readings: "ἐστήριξε" (perhaps ἰστήριξε), "μερόπωντε" printed run together, "γενεῆς" (perhaps γενετῆς). Stray mark after "nisi" not set; "prima" in the summary shows an accent-like mark (primá), not set. Full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" (cut off at right edge) stands above the notes; not set. Editors' notes at page foot (Divinis. Sed tantum...) left for later pass. Column ends mid-sentence at "ipsius".

PL 6:320

mundi ex contrariis constantis elementis similitudinem gereret. Constat enim ex anima et corpore, id est, quasi e coelo et terra: quandoquidem anima, qua vivimus, velut e coelo, oritur a Deo, corpus e terra, cujus e limo diximus esse formatum.

world, which consists of contrary elements, he might bear the likeness. For he consists of soul and body, that is, as it were of heaven and earth: since the soul, by which we live, takes its origin from God, as from heaven, and the body from earth, from whose clay we have said that it was formed.

Empedocles, quem nescias utrumne inter poetas, an inter philosophos numeres, quia de rerum natura versibus scripsit, ut apud Romanos Lucretius et Varro, quatuor elementa constituit, id est, ignem, aerem, aquam, et terram; fortasse Trismegistum secutus, qui nostra corpora ex his quatuor elementis constituta esse dixit a Deo: habere namque in se aliquid ignis, aliquid aeris, aliquid aquae, aliquid terrae; et neque ignem esse, neque aerem, neque aquam, neque terram: quae quidem falsa non sunt. Nam terrae ratio in carne est; humoris, in sanguine; aeris, in spiritu; ignis, in calore vitali. Sed neque sanguis a corpore secerni potest, sicut humor a terra; neque calor vitalis a spiritu, sicut ignis ab aere: adeo rerum omnium duo sola reperiuntur elementa, quorum omnis ratio in nostri corporis fictione conclusa est. Ex rebus igitur diversis ac repugnantibus homo factus est, sicut ipse mundus ex luce ac tenebris, ex vita et morte: quae duo inter se pugnare in homine praecepit, ut si anima superaverit, quae ex Deo oritur, sit immortalis, et in perpe⟨t⟩ua luce versetur; si autem corpus vicerit animam, ditionique subjecerit, sit in tenebris sempiternis, et in morte. Cujus non ea

Empedocles, whom you could not tell whether to number among the poets or among the philosophers, because he wrote on the nature of things in verse, as among the Romans did Lucretius and Varro, established four elements, that is, fire, air, water and earth; perhaps following Trismegistus, who said that our bodies were constituted by God out of these four elements: for that they have in themselves something of fire, something of air, something of water, something of earth; and yet are neither fire, nor air, nor water, nor earth: which things indeed are not false. For the principle of earth is in the flesh; of moisture, in the blood; of air, in the breath; of fire, in the vital heat. But neither can the blood be separated from the body, as moisture from earth; nor the vital heat from the breath, as fire from air: so true is it that only two elements of all things are found, the whole principle of which is enclosed in the fashioning of our body. Man, therefore, was made from diverse and opposing things, just as the world itself was made from light and darkness, from life and death: which two He commanded to fight against each other in man, so that if the soul, which arises from God, prevails, it may be immortal and dwell in perpetual light; but if the body conquers the soul and subjects it to its dominion, it may be in everlasting darkness and in death. Of this [death] it is not such

Editors' notes and page, col. 320

Page

running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 320 (left edge cut off in image)
marginal letters: A ‹mundi ex contrariis›; B ‹ratio in carne est›; C ‹tantum innuunt, Deum infudisse› (in notes); D ‹Quintilianum, l. 1, Inst.› (in notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: full-width heading "[V]ARIORUM NOTAE" below the text, cut off at left edge, not set; the Variorum notae at the page foot (Gallaeus, Bun.) left for the later pass; fragments of the neighbouring column at left edge not set; "nescias" printed with damaged n (looks like "oescias"), "humor" with damaged r, "perpetua" with damaged t; column ends mid-sentence at "ea"

PL 6:321

vis est, ut injustas animas extinguat omnino, sed ut puniat in aeternum.

power, that it should utterly extinguish unjust souls, but that it should punish them for eternity.

Eam poenam secundam mortem nominamus, quae est et ipsa perpetua, sicut et immortalitas. Primam sic definimus: Mors est naturae animantium dissolutio; vel ita: Mors est corporis animaeque seductio. Secundam vero sic: Mors est aeterni doloris perpessio; vel ita: Mors est animarum pro meritis ad aeterna supplicia damnatio. Haec mutas pecudes non attingit, quarum animae non ex Deo constantes, sed ex communi aere, morte solvuntur. In hac igitur societate coeli atque terrae, quorum effigies in homine expressa est, superiorem partem tenent ea quae sunt Dei, anima scilicet, quae dominium corporis habet; inferiorem autem ea quae sunt diaboli, corpus utique: quod quia terrenum est, animae debet esse subjectum, sicut terra coelo. Est enim quasi vasculum, quo tamquam domicilio temporali spiritus hic coelestis utatur. Utriusque officia sunt, ut hoc, quod est ex coelo et Deo, imperet, illud vero, quod ex terra est

This punishment we name the second death, which is itself also perpetual, just as immortality is. The first we define thus: Death is the dissolution of the nature of living beings; or thus: Death is the separation of body and soul. The second, however, thus: Death is the enduring of eternal pain; or thus: Death is the condemnation of souls to eternal punishments according to their deserts. This does not touch the dumb beasts, whose souls, not consisting of God but of the common air, are dissolved by death. In this partnership, then, of heaven and earth, whose likeness is expressed in man, the higher part is held by those things which are of God, namely the soul, which has dominion over the body; but the lower by those things which are of the devil, that is to say the body: which, because it is earthly, ought to be subject to the soul, as the earth is to heaven. For it is as it were a little vessel, which this heavenly spirit may use as if it were a temporary dwelling. The offices of each are these: that this, which is from heaven and God, should command, but that, which is from the earth

Editors' notes and page, col. 321

Footnotes

(printed under page 164)

(a) ‹anchor: Et in morte (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) I Thess. IV, 13: Deus eos, qui dormierunt per Jesum, adducet cum eo. Loquendi modus Hebraeorum erat, ut defunctos cum patribus obdormivisse dicerent. Pia admodum et spe plena phrasis, qua significabant mortuorum resurrectionem tam certam esse, quam est ex somno excitatio. Quamquam etiam Platonica philosophia eadem utatur voce. Quod vero Lactantius tenebras mortem vocat, propheticae litterae fere umbram mortis appellare solent. Mors, inquit Paulus, intravit per peccatum. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 164)

(b) ‹anchor: Cujus non ea vis est, ut injustas animas extinguat› · lemma note, no call

Cujus non ea vis est, ut injustas animas extinguat, etc. Haec verba sedulo contra Socinianos sunt observanda, quippe quae docent qualis eo tempore Patrum fuerit opinio, de impiorum statu post mortem; non enim, ut asserunt haeretici illi, annihilantur impii, sed ut loquitur Christus, Joan. cap. V, v. 29: Qui mala egerunt, procedent in resurrectionem judicii. Legantur cap. Matth. XXV, et Actor. Apost. cap. XXIV, v. 15, ubi expresse Paulus δικαίων τε καὶ ἀδίκων, justorum et iniquorum, meminit. GALLAEUS.

"Whose power is not such as to extinguish unjust souls," etc. These words are to be carefully noted against the Socinians, since they show what the opinion of the Fathers was at that time on the state of the wicked after death: the wicked are not annihilated, as those heretics assert, but, as Christ says, John 5:29: "Those who have done evil shall come forth to the resurrection of judgement." Let Matthew 25 be read, and Acts of the Apostles 24:15, where Paul expressly mentions "both the just and the unjust". GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 164)

Animantium dissolutio. Idem legitur in Phaedone Platonis; et in I Tusculan. quaest. Ciceronis, mors est discessus animae a corpore.

"The dissolution of living things." The same is read in Plato's Phaedo; and in Cicero's Tusculan Disputations I, death is the departure of the soul from the body.

(printed under page 164)

(d) ‹anchor: Animaeque seductio› · lemma note, no call

Animaeque seductio. In mss. 4 Colb. et Brun. est animaeque dissolutio. — Seductio. Id est, separatio, discretio, ut l. VII, c. 12. Hinc confirmo lectionem Virgilii IV Aen. 385. Et cum frigida mors anima seduxerit artus. BUN.

"And the drawing apart of the soul." In the manuscripts 4 Colbert and Brun. it is "and the dissolution of the soul". — "Drawing apart" (seductio): that is, separation, division, as in book VII, ch. 12. From this I confirm the reading of Virgil, Aeneid IV, 385: "And when cold death has drawn my limbs apart from my soul." BUN.

(printed under page 164)

(e) ‹anchor: Secundam› · lemma note, no call

Secundam. Sic emendavimus ex mss. et pluribus editis. In sex vulgatis secunda, mendose. Legimus enim primam paulo superius.

"The second" (secundam). So we have emended it from the manuscripts and most editions. Six common editions have secunda, wrongly; for we read primam a little above.

(printed under page 164)

(f) ‹anchor: Inferiorem autem› · lemma note, no call

Inferiorem autem, etc. Ne credas in hoc Lactantium Marcionis errorem fuisse secutum, quasi existimaverit a diabolo fuisse formatum hominis corpus, quod superius, cap. 12 et 13, a Deo effictum esse dixit; sed in eo quod juxta Joan., et Paulum II Cor. IV, 4, permissam fuisse diabolo terrae potestatem, et corpus nostrum esse diaboli, quia Deus reliquit ei facultatem homines ad peccatum alliciendi et impellendi, eisque nocendi. Hoc itaque physice non intelligendum, sed moraliter: scilicet corpus peccati, ut loquitur Paulus, a diabolo est, non a Deo. GALLAEUS.

"But the lower," etc. Do not believe that in this Lactantius followed the error of Marcion, as though he thought that man's body was formed by the devil, when he said above, chs 12 and 13, that it was fashioned by God; but in this sense, that according to John, and Paul, 2 Corinthians 4:4, power over the earth was permitted to the devil, and our body is the devil's, because God left him the ability to entice and drive men to sin and to harm them. This then is to be understood not physically but morally: the body of sin, as Paul speaks, is from the devil, not from God. GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 164)

(g) ‹anchor: Est enim quasi vasculum› · lemma note, no call

Est enim quasi vasculum. Sic legendum esse censeo, non ut plerisque mss. et editis male, est enim terra quasi vasculum, etc., de terra enim auctor hic loci non disserit, sed de corpore e terra facto: neque etiam proprie terra dicitur vasculum spiritus nostri; sed referendum est ad corpus, quod est quasi vasculum, aut tamquam domicilium temporale, quo spiritus utitur, ut ipse continuo adjungit. Ex scopo itaque Lactantii lego, ut exhibent mss. antiquissimi ac melioris notae, nempe 1 Bonon., 4 Reg., Cauc., Ultr., 1 Colb., Brun. et editi sex.

"For it is as it were a little vessel." So I judge it should be read, not, as wrongly in most manuscripts and editions, "for the earth is as it were a little vessel", etc.; for the author is not discussing earth in this place but the body made from earth; nor is earth properly called the vessel of our spirit; it must be referred to the body, which is as it were a little vessel, or as a temporary dwelling, which the spirit uses, as he adds at once. So, from Lactantius's aim, I read as the most ancient manuscripts of better repute have it, namely 1 Bologna, 4 Royal, Cauc., Utrecht, 1 Colbert, Brun., and six editions.

(printed under page 164)

(h) ‹anchor: Spiritus hic coelestis› · lemma note, no call

Spiritus hic coelestis. Ex omnibus mss. ac edit. Rom. 1470, Tornes., Soubron., addidimus pronomen, quod caeteris impressis deest.

"This heavenly spirit." From all the manuscripts and the editions Rome 1470, Tornaesius and Soubron we have added the pronoun, which is lacking in the other printed editions.

(printed under page 164)

(i) ‹anchor: Et diabolo› · lemma note, no call

Et diabolo. Ex mss. et editis Roman. 1470, Gymnic., Cellar., addenda fuit particula et, quae similiter extat in priori membro, ex coelo et Deo. Hic vero deest in multis editis.

"And from the devil." From the manuscripts and the editions Rome 1470, Gymnicus and Cellarius, the particle "and" had to be added, which likewise stands in the earlier member, "from heaven and from God". Here, however, it is lacking in many editions.

(printed under page 164)

(j) ‹anchor: Sallustium› · lemma note, no call

Sallustium. Vide in Praefat. histor. de Conjur. Catil.

"Sallust." See the preface of his history of the Catilinarian conspiracy.

(printed under page 164)

(k) ‹anchor: Servitio› · lemma note, no call

Servitio. Pro servitute. Idem lib. IV, cap. 10, gravi servitio; et lib. VII, cap. 15, servitium non tulisse.

"Servitude" (servitio), for servitute. The same author, book IV, ch. 10, "in heavy servitude"; and book VII, ch. 15, "did not bear servitude".

(printed under page 164)

(l) ‹anchor: Servivit enim foedissimis› · lemma note, no call

Servivit enim foedissimis, etc. Suetonius lib. de clar. Grammat. ait a Lenaeo Satyra laceratum, et appellatum lurconem, nebulonem, propinonemque, vita scriptisque monstruosum. Et A. Gellius lib. XVII, cap. 18, ex Varrone retulit, in adulterio deprehensum a Milone, loris caesum bene; et cum dedisset pecuniam, dimissum. JURETUS.

"For he was a slave to the foulest," etc. Suetonius, in the book On Famous Grammarians, says that he was savaged by Lenaeus in a satire and called a glutton, a good-for-nothing, a toper, monstrous in life and writings. And Aulus Gellius, book XVII, ch. 18, reports from Varro that he was caught in adultery by Milo, soundly beaten with thongs, and let go when he had paid money. JURET.

(printed under page 164)

(m) ‹anchor: Et sicut ardere› · lemma note, no call

Et sicut ardere. Ita cum editis Manuscripti omnes, praeter 1 Bonon. antiq. in quo legitur, Nam sicut; 1 Clarom., Nam et sicut.

"And as … to burn." So all the manuscripts, with the editions, except the old 1 Bologna, in which "For as" is read; 1 Clermont, "For also as".

(printed under page 164)

(n) ‹anchor: Teneatur› · lemma note, no call

Teneatur. Id est, alatur. Cic. lib. II, de Nat. deor., c. 54, Tribus rebus animantium vita tenetur, cibo, potione, spiritu. Conf., c. 55, pr. et c. 11; Homines bestiaeque calore tenentur. Paulo ante: retinentur et vigent. BUN.

"Is sustained." That is, is nourished. Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book II, ch. 54: "The life of living things is sustained by three things, food, drink, breath." Compare ch. 55 beginning, and ch. 11: "Men and beasts are sustained by heat." A little before: "they are maintained and thrive". BUN.

(printed under page 164)

(o) ‹anchor: In partibus Orientis› · lemma note, no call

In partibus Orientis. Fuit locus orientalis, respectu Judeae, vel Aegypti, vel Arabiae, ubi Moses scripsit; et quidem pars regionis dictae Eden a voluptate, quia totius orbis fuit pars elegantissima et foecundissima. PARAEUS.

"In the parts of the East." It was an eastern place with respect to Judaea, or Egypt, or Arabia, where Moses wrote; and indeed part of the region called Eden, from "delight", because it was the most elegant and most fertile part of the whole world. PAREUS.

(printed under page 164)

(p) ‹anchor: Consevit› · lemma note, no call

Consevit. Ita lego, ut hic locus ab omnibus citatur, et habetur in mss. Bon., Tax., Pen.; sic infra cap. 14: Vineam sua manu sevit, atque arborum consitiones dicuntur. ISAEUS. — 1 Colb. et edd. septem habent, conseruit; 1 Reg. rec., construit, corrupte. Sed mss. antiquissimi Regii, 2 Bonon., Cauc., aliique 13, ac editiones Rom. 1470, Venet. 1490, aliaeque undecim legunt, consevit; nec aliter Lactantius in Epitome, cap. 27.

"He planted." So I read, as this passage is cited by all and as it stands in the manuscripts Bologna, Tax., Pen.; so below, ch. 14: "He planted a vineyard with his own hand"; and one speaks of "plantings" of trees. ISAEUS. — 1 Colbert and seven editions have conseruit; 1 recent Royal, construit, corruptly. But the most ancient Royal manuscripts, 2 Bologna, Cauc. and 13 others, and the editions Rome 1470, Venice 1490 and eleven others read consevit; nor does Lactantius write otherwise in the Epitome, ch. 27.

(printed under page 164)

(q) ‹anchor: Expersque laborum› · lemma note, no call

Expersque laborum. Haec non ita sunt accipienda, quasi homo otiose vixisset in Paradiso, absque ullo labore: si Lactantius hoc pacto intelligit illud, expers (continues)

"And free from labours." This is not to be taken as if man had lived idly in Paradise, without any labour: if Lactantius understands "free" (continues)

(printed under page 164)

Page

running head: 321 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹vis est, ut injustas animas›; B ‹quod quia terrenum est›; C ‹lus, intravit per peccatum› (in the notes); D ‹editis. In sex vulgatis› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" is printed across both columns and is cut off at the image edge; it and the Variorum notae beneath it (from "I Thess. IV, 13: Deus eos" down to "neque etiam proprie terra dicitur vasculum spiritus") are page-foot commentary and are not set here. Damaged type: "omnino" (first letter damaged), "tenent" (printed like "teuent"), "utatur" (worn type); each is read as the obvious word. There is a stray mark in "terra est" at the foot of the column. The column ends mid-sentence.

PL 6:322

et diabolo, serviat. Quod quidem non fugit hominem nequam Sallustium, qui ait: Sed omnis nostra vis in animo et corpore sita est; animi imperio, corporis servitio magis utimur. Recte, si ita vixisset, ut locutus est. Servivit enim foedissimis voluptatibus, suamque ipse sententiam vitae pravitate dissolvit. Quod si anima ignis est, ut ostendimus (supra, c. 10), in coelum debet eniti, sicuti ignis, ne extinguatur, hoc est ad immortalitatem, quae in coelo est. Et sicut ardere, ac vivere non potest ignis, nisi aliqua pingui materia teneatur, in qua habeat alimentum: sic animae materia et cibus est sola justitia, qua tenetur ad vitam. Post haec Deus hominem, qua exposui ratione generatum, posuit in paradiso (Vid. Gen. II), id est, in horto foecundissimo, et amoenissimo: quem in partibus Orientis omni genere ligni arborumque consevit, ut ex earum variis fructibus aleretur, expersque omnium laborum, Deo patri summa devotione serviret.

and the devil, should serve. This indeed did not escape that worthless man Sallust, who says: But all our strength is situated in mind and body; we make use rather of the command of the mind, the service of the body. Rightly said, if he had lived as he spoke. For he was a slave to the foulest pleasures, and by the depravity of his life he himself undid his own maxim. But if the soul is fire, as we have shown (above, ch. 10), it ought to strive upwards into heaven, as fire does, lest it be extinguished, that is, towards immortality, which is in heaven. And just as fire cannot burn and live unless it is held by some fatty matter in which it may have its nourishment, so the matter and food of the soul is justice alone, by which it is held to life. After this God placed the man, brought into being in the manner I have set out, in paradise (see Gen. 2), that is, in a most fruitful and most delightful garden, which He planted in the regions of the East with every kind of wood and of trees, so that he might be nourished by their various fruits and, free of all labours, might serve God the Father with the utmost devotion.

Tum dedit ei certa mandata: quae si observasset,

Then He gave him certain commandments, which if he had observed,

Editors' notes and page, col. 322

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 322 (left part of the line cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A et diabolo, serviat; B partibus Orientis omni genere; C Et diabolo. Ex mss. (in the notes); D tione, spiritu. (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "et diabolo, serviat" continuing from col. 321; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" below the text block is cut off at the left edge of the image and is not set; the Variorum notes at the foot (Spiritus hic coelestis ... Expersque laborum) are left for the later apparatus pass; no editors' prose in the text block

PL 6:323

immortalis maneret, si transcendisset, morte afficeretur. Id autem praeceptum fuit, ut ex arbore una, quae erat in medio paradisi, non gustaret, in qua posuerat intelligentiam boni et mali. Tum criminator ille invidens operibus Dei, omnes fallacias et calliditates suas ad decipiendum hominem intendit, ut ei adimeret immortalitatem. Et primo mulierem dolo illexit, ut vetitum cibum sumeret; et per eam ipsi quoque homini persuasit, ut transcenderet Dei legem. Percepta igitur scientia boni et mali, pudere eum nuditatis suae coepit, absconditque se a facie Dei, quod antea non solebat. Tum Deus ejecit hominem de paradiso, sententia in peccatorem lata, ut victum sibi labore conquireret, ipsumque paradisum

he would remain immortal; if he had transgressed, he would be punished with death. Now the command was this: that he should not taste of one tree, which was in the middle of paradise, in which He had placed the understanding of good and evil. Then that accuser, envying the works of God, bent all his deceits and cunning to deceiving the man, in order to take immortality away from him. And first he enticed the woman by guile to take the forbidden food; and through her he persuaded the man himself also to transgress the law of God. So, the knowledge of good and evil having been gained, he began to be ashamed of his nakedness, and he hid himself from the face of God, which he had not been accustomed to do before. Then God cast the man out of paradise, sentence having been passed upon the sinner, that he should procure his sustenance for himself by labour, and paradise itself

Editors' notes and page, col. 323

Footnotes

(printed under page 165)

(a) ‹anchor: Expersque laborum (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) laborum, repugnat S. Scripturae, quae dicit Adamum a Deo in Paradiso collocatum, ut coleret eum; quare hoc dictum accipio de molesto labore et dolorifico, qui solus est poena peccati. Ita GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 165)

(b) ‹anchor: Immortalis maneret› · lemma note, no call

Immortalis maneret. Haec contra Pelagium, ejusque asseclas Socinianos militant, qui contendunt Adamum natura mortalem fuisse creatum. Quod falsum esse evincunt loca Rom. VI, v. 23, et I Cor. XV, v. 53, 54 et damnatum fuisse in Concilio Milevitano, id notante Isaeo.

"He would remain immortal." These words tell against Pelagius and his followers the Socinians, who contend that Adam was created mortal by nature. That this is false is proved by the passages Romans 6:23 and 1 Corinthians 15:53–54, and that it was condemned at the Council of Milevis, as Isaeus notes.

(printed under page 165)

Ut ex arbore, etc. Hoc est, fructu arboris: hanc arborem vulgus malum fuisse putat, deceptum ambiguo pomi vocabulo, quod latius patet, et ficum quoque comprehendit. Veteres non consentiunt: plerique ficum, alii citrum fuisse volunt, quorum loca Drusius affert. Sed res incertissima est. GROTIUS.

"That from the tree," etc. That is, from the fruit of the tree. The common people think this tree was an apple tree, deceived by the ambiguous word pomum, which extends more widely and includes the fig as well. The ancients do not agree: most hold it was a fig, others a citron; Drusius cites their passages. But the matter is most uncertain. GROTIUS.

(printed under page 165)

(d) ‹anchor: Quae erat› · lemma note, no call

Quae erat. Ita ms. Regio-Put. et 1 al. Reg. optimae notae.

"Which was." So the Regio-Puteanus manuscript and 1 other Royal of the best repute.

(printed under page 165)

(e) ‹anchor: In qua posuerat› · lemma note, no call

In qua posuerat, etc. Non est haec sententia ita accipienda, ac si arbor esset rationalis, sciens bonum et malum: neque etiam vocatur arbor scientiae boni et mali, eo quod habeat vim dandi intelligentiam boni et mali; sed ab eventu ita nominatur, quia homini hoc eveniret, ut sciret quid boni amisisset, ac mali acquisivisset, quid interesset inter obedientiae bonum et malum inobedientiae. Hanc intelligentiam habuit Adamus post esum fructus vetiti; statim enim coepit eum pudere sui, et vidit se nudum esse. Ex ISAEO. Criminator de quo hic, alius non est a diabolo.

"In which he had placed," etc. This statement is not to be taken as if the tree were rational, knowing good and evil; nor is it called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it has power to give understanding of good and evil; it is so named from the outcome, because it would befall man to know what good he had lost and what evil he had gained, what difference there was between the good of obedience and the evil of disobedience. Adam had this understanding after eating the forbidden fruit; for at once he began to be ashamed of himself, and saw that he was naked. From ISAEUS. The accuser spoken of here is none other than the devil.

(printed under page 165)

(f) ‹anchor: Ad decipiendum hominem› · lemma note, no call

Ad decipiendum hominem. Ita cum Bon., Witeb., Lips., Reimm. aliis mss. omnes fere editiones. Emman. et Goth. et Tornes. 1587, 1613, Ad dejiciendum hominem; certe supra captum Librariorum, ex genio Lactantii l. III, c. 29, Si dolo nihil profecerit, violentia dejicere conatur. L. IV, c. 27: Daemones dejiciendi hominis causa varios... cultus... condiderunt. Cyprian., de Unit. Eccl. princ. Persecutio, quae subruendis ac dejiciendis Dei servis..... grassatur. BUN.

"To deceive man." So almost all the editions, with Bologna, Wittenberg, Lips., Reimmann and other manuscripts. Emmanuel, Gotha and Tornaesius 1587 and 1613: "to cast man down"; certainly beyond the copyists' grasp, and in Lactantius's manner, book III, ch. 29: "If he has gained nothing by guile, he tries to cast down by violence." Book IV, ch. 27: "The demons, to cast man down, established various … cults …" Cyprian, On the Unity of the Church, beginning: "Persecution, which rages … to undermine and cast down the servants of God." BUN.

(printed under page 165)

(g) ‹anchor: Ut transcenderet Dei legem› · lemma note, no call

Ut transcenderet Dei legem. Recte. Vide supra: Dedit ei certa mandata, quae... si transcendisset, morte afficeretur. Ms. 1 Bon. antiq. solus, ut transgrederetur.

"That he should overstep the law of God." Rightly. See above: "He gave him fixed commands, which … if he overstepped, he would be punished with death." The old manuscript 1 Bologna alone has "transgress".

(printed under page 165)

(h) ‹anchor: Deus ejecit hominem de paradiso› · lemma note, no call

Deus ejecit hominem de paradiso. Quidam putarunt paradisum fuisse locum quemdam amoenum extra hunc orbem habitabilem; et cum primos parentes nostros ex paradiso ejectos S. Scriptura tradit, illud intelligendum, ex illo loco, in mundum hunc fuisse relegatos. Quod nullo quidem nititur fundamento, ac contrarium patebit ei qui attentius inspiciet textum; ibi enim mentio fit fluminum hortum irrigantium, quae etiamnum adhuc sunt in rerum natura. Quare dicendum est, illos in paradiso degentes, etiam in hac nostra terra habitasse, et cum ejicerentur de paradiso, illos tantum mutasse locum in hoc mundo. GALLAEUS.

"God cast man out of paradise." Some have thought that paradise was some pleasant place outside this habitable world, and that when Holy Scripture relates that our first parents were cast out of paradise, it is to be understood that they were banished from that place into this world. This rests on no foundation, and the contrary will be plain to anyone who looks at the text more attentively; for mention is made there of the rivers watering the garden, which still exist in the nature of things. It must therefore be said that while living in paradise they dwelt on this earth of ours too, and when they were cast out of paradise they only changed their place within this world. GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 165)

(i) ‹anchor: Sententia in peccatorem lata› · lemma note, no call

Sententia in peccatorem lata. Ita restitui ex mss. veterrimis Cauc., 2 Bonon., Pal. et edit. Is. et Epitom. cap. 27, faventibus 2 Reg. et 12 editis in quibus est in peccatores lata. At 7 scripti Reg. ex quibus duo sunt antiquissimi, 6 Colb., Jun., Ultr., 2 Clarom. et Brun. ac edit. Tornes. et Walch. habent, sententia in peccatores data.

"The sentence passed on the sinner." So I have restored it from the very old manuscripts Cauc., 2 Bologna, Pal., Isaeus's edition and the Epitome, ch. 27, with the support of 2 Royal and 12 editions, which have "passed on the sinners". But 7 Royal manuscripts, two of them very ancient, 6 Colbert, Junius, Utrecht, 2 Clermont and Brun., and the editions of Tornaesius and Walch, have "the sentence given against the sinners".

(printed under page 165)

(j) ‹anchor: Conquireret› · lemma note, no call

Conquireret. Sic emendo ex omnibus mss. et editis Rom. 1468, 1470, et Walch. nisi quod in 3 Colb. legitur conquereret; in alio item Colbertino acquireret: in editis decem conquirerent, minus bene. Deus enim solum hominem ad laborem damnavit, mulierem vero ad partus dolorem (Genes. c. III, v. 16, 17, 19.)

"He should seek out" (conquireret). So I emend from all the manuscripts and the editions Rome 1468 and 1470 and Walch, except that in 3 Colbert conquereret is read; in another Colbertine, acquireret; in ten editions conquirerent (they should seek out), less well. For God condemned only the man to toil, and the woman to the pain of childbirth (Gen. 3:16, 17, 19).

(printed under page 165)

(k) ‹anchor: Igni circumvallavit› · lemma note, no call

Igni circumvallavit. Variant super hac re doctorum sententiae. Tertullianus Apologetic. cap. 46. S. Thomas et alii quidam dixerunt, Mosen figuratis verbis significare voluisse, paradisum sub zona torrida situm, ideoque hominibus inaccessum esse; quoniam recepta opinione, zona torrida ob nimium aestum putata est olim inhabitabilis: quam opinionem experientia nostri saeculi satis refellit. Aliter Ambrosius. Lyranus ut Lactantius. Intelligenda videntur per illud flamma gladii, arma quibus Cherubim angeli hortum custodiebant; igneis cum mucronibus, quos horrendum in modum vibrabant, paradisum reddebant inaccessum. Partim ex PARAEO.

"He walled it round with fire." The opinions of the learned vary on this. Tertullian, Apology ch. 46. St Thomas and some others have said that Moses meant to signify in figurative words that paradise lies under the torrid zone and is therefore inaccessible to men; because, by the received opinion, the torrid zone was once thought uninhabitable on account of its excessive heat, an opinion the experience of our age has sufficiently refuted. Ambrose thinks otherwise. Lyra agrees with Lactantius. By that "flame of the sword" seem to be meant the weapons with which the Cherubim angels guarded the garden; with fiery blades, which they brandished fearsomely, they made paradise inaccessible. Partly from PAREUS.

(printed under page 165)

(l) ‹anchor: Donec summum judicium faciat› · lemma note, no call

Donec summum judicium faciat. Cum Tertulliano, Apol. c. 46, errat Lactantius, dicendo justos in Paradisum terrestrem, post ultimum judicium, introducendos. Hanc opinionem hauserant quidam ex antiquis a Papia Hierapolitano, qui ex capite XX Apocalypseos male intellecto somniaverunt regnum mille annorum, antequam Beati in coelestem patriam introducerentur. Qua de re vide Eusebium Histor. Ecclesiast. libro VIII, cap. 39. Si coeleste regnum intellexisset, verum dixisset; Christus enim diserte testatur, illos ingressuros regnum coelorum, Matth. XXV, v. 34; et B. Paulus II Cor., V, v. 1: Scimus quoniam si terrestris domus nostra hujus habitationis dissolvatur, quod aedificationem ex Deo habemus, domum non manufactam, aeternam in coelis.

"Until he holds the final judgement." With Tertullian, Apology ch. 46, Lactantius errs in saying that the just are to be brought into the earthly Paradise after the last judgement. Some of the ancients drew this opinion from Papias of Hierapolis, who, misunderstanding chapter 20 of the Apocalypse, dreamed of a reign of a thousand years before the Blessed were brought into the heavenly fatherland. On this see Eusebius, Church History book VIII [as printed], ch. 39. Had he understood the heavenly kingdom, he would have spoken truly; for Christ expressly testifies that they will enter the kingdom of heaven, Matthew 25:34; and blessed Paul, 2 Corinthians 5:1: "We know that if our earthly house of this dwelling be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

(printed under page 165)

(m) ‹anchor: Sacrae voces docent› · lemma note, no call

Sacrae voces docent. Sic reposui ex edit. Soubr., Bet., Tornes., Walch. et cunctis prope mss. In 2 Reg. rec. et impressis 12 legitur sacrae litterae. At manuscriptorum lectio praeferenda, qua etiam usus est Lact. lib. IV, cap. 26; et Sulpicius Severus, Histor. Sacr. lib. II, paulo post med., ad Constantini magni tempora.

"The sacred voices teach." So I have restored it from the editions of Soubron, Betuleius, Tornaesius and Walch and nearly all the manuscripts. In 2 recent Royal and 12 printed editions "the sacred writings" is read. But the reading of the manuscripts is to be preferred; Lactantius also used it in book IV, ch. 26; and Sulpicius Severus, Sacred History book II, a little after the middle, on the times of Constantine the Great.

(printed under page 165)

(n) ‹anchor: Οἱ δὲ Θεὸν› · lemma note, no call

Οἱ δὲ Θεὸν. Interpret. Latina: Qui autem Deum honorant verum, sempiternam utique / Vitam haereditario jure possident, per saeculi tempus ipsi / Habitantes paradisum aeque per amoenum hortum.

"But those who [honour] God." Latin translation: "But those who honour the true God possess everlasting / life by right of inheritance, through the age of the world themselves / dwelling in paradise, likewise through the pleasant garden."

(printed under page 165)

(o) ‹anchor: Extrema sunt, in extrema› · lemma note, no call

Extrema sunt, in extrema. Mss. rec. et plures editi, Extrema sunt tota in extrema.

"Are at the extremes, into the extremes." Recent manuscripts and most editions: "are wholly at the extremes, into the extremes".

(printed under page 165)

(p) ‹anchor: Sibylla› · lemma note, no call

Sibylla. De qua vide Serm. I, sub initium, et Serm. 8, circa med.

"The Sibyl." On whom see discourse I, near the beginning, and discourse 8, about the middle.

(printed under page 165)

Page

running head: 323 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A ‹immortalis maneret, si transcendisset›; B ‹victum sibi labore conquireret›; C ‹notae.› (in the Variorum Notae, not set); D ‹de Unit. Eccl. princ. Persecutio› (in the Variorum Notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "praeceptum" printed with damaged type (pr:eceptum), read as praeceptum; the column ends with "ipsumque paradisum", with the sentence continuing in col. 324 ("igni cir..."); the full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE stands below the text block, is cut off at the image edge and is not set; the Variorum Notae at the page foot (labore... Gallaeus; Immortalis maneret; Ut ex arbore; Quae erat; In qua posuerat; Ad decipiendum hominem; Ut transcenderet; Deus ejecit; Sententia in peccatorem lata...) are left for the later pass; the "Digitized by Google" watermark is not set

PL 6:324

igni circumvallavit, ne homo posset accedere, donec summum judicium faciat in terra, et justos viros cultores suos in eumdem locum revocet, morte sublata; sicut sacrae voces docent, et Sibylla Erythraea (Vid. Theophil. ad Amphiloch., lib. II), cum dicit :

He surrounded with fire, so that man might not be able to approach, until He holds the supreme judgement on earth and calls back just men, His worshippers, to the same place, death having been taken away; as the sacred voices teach, and the Erythraean Sibyl (see Theophilus, To Amphilochus, book 2), when she says:

Οἱ δὲ Θεὸν τιμῶντες ἀληθινὸν, ἀέναόν γε

But those who honour the true God, everlasting

Ζωὴν κληρονομοῦσι, τὴν αἰῶνος χρόνον αὐτοὶ

life they inherit, themselves for the time of the age

Οἰκοῦντες παράδεισον ὁμῶς ἐριθηλέα κῆπον.

dwelling in paradise, likewise a richly flourishing garden.

Verum quoniam haec extrema sunt, in extrema operis hujus parte tractabimus. Nunc ea, quae prima sunt, explicemus. Mors itaque secuta est hominem secundum Dei sententiam; quod etiam Sibylla in carmine suo docet, dicens :

But since these are the last things, we shall treat them in the last part of this work. Now let us set out those things which are first. Death, therefore, followed man according to the sentence of God; which the Sibyl also teaches in her song, saying:

Editors' notes and page, col. 324

Page

running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 324 (left edge cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A igni circumvallavit, ne homo; B suo docet, dicens; C putata est olim inhabitabilis (in the notes at the page foot); D niam si terrestris domus (in the notes at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "igni". "Theophil. ad Amphiloch." is as printed; the Sibylline lines actually stand in Theophilus, Ad Autolycum II, so the reference is presumably an editorial slip, left as printed. In the second Greek line the article looks like τὴν (other editions read τὸν), so this reading is unsure. The Greek accents are set as best read from small type. The full-width heading "[VA]RIORUM NOTAE" is cut off at the left edge and not set. The Variorum notes below it (Epitom. cap. 27 ... Sibylla. De qua vide Serm. I) are page-foot commentary left for the later pass.

PL 6:325

Ἄνθρωπον πλασθέντα Θεοῦ παλάμαις ἐνὶ αὐταῖς Ὃν κε πλάνησεν ὄφις δολίως, ἐπὶ μοῖραν ἀνελθεῖν Τοῦ θανάτου, γνῶσίν τε λαβεῖν ἀγαθοῦ τε κακοῦ τε.

Man, fashioned by the very hands of God, whom the serpent deceitfully led astray, so that he came to the lot of death and received knowledge of both good and evil.

Sic facta hominis vita est temporaria: sed tamen longa, quae in mille annos propagaretur. Quod divinis litteris proditum, et per omnium scientiam publicatum cum Varro non ignoraret, argumentari nisus est cur putarentur antiqui mille annos victitasse. Ait enim, apud Aegyptios pro annis menses haberi, ut non solis per XII signa circuitus faciat annum, sed luna, quae orbem illum signiferum 30 dierum spatio lustrat: quod argumentum perspicue falsum est. Nemo enim tunc millesimum annum transgressus est. Nunc vero qui ad centesimum perveniunt, quod fit saepissime, mille certe ac ducentis mensibus vivunt. Et auctores idonei tradunt, ad centum et viginti annos perveniri solere. Sed quia ignorabat Varro, cur aut quando vita hominis esset diminuta, ipse diminuit; cum sciret mille et quadringentis mensibus posse vivere hominem.

Thus the life of man was made temporary, but nevertheless long, such as would be extended to a thousand years. Since Varro was not unaware of this, which was handed down in the divine writings and made public through the knowledge of all, he strove to argue why the ancients were thought to have lived a thousand years. For he says that among the Egyptians months were reckoned in place of years, so that it is not the circuit of the sun through the twelve signs that makes a year, but the moon, which traverses that zodiacal circle in the space of thirty days: an argument which is plainly false. For no one at that time passed beyond the thousandth year. But now those who reach the hundredth, which happens very often, certainly live a thousand and two hundred months. And competent authors relate that men commonly reach a hundred and twenty years. But because Varro did not know why or when the life of man had been diminished, he diminished it himself, though he knew that a man can live a thousand and four hundred months.

Editors' notes and page, col. 325

Footnotes

(printed under page 166)

(a) ‹anchor: Ἄνθρωπον πλασθέντα› · lemma note, no call

Ἄνθρωπον πλασθέντα. Sic restitui ex veterrimis codicibus mss. tribus Regiis, Cauc. et Sibyllino, quo usus est Isaeus, quibus concordant 2 Brun. Impressis est πεπλάσται Versio lat.: Hominem formatum Dei manibus.

"Man, fashioned." So I have restored it from the very old manuscript codices, three Royal, Cauc., and the Sibylline one Isaeus used, with which 2 Brun. agree. The printed editions have πεπλάσται [as printed]. Latin version: "Man formed by the hands of God."

(printed under page 166)

(b) ‹anchor: Ὃν κε› · lemma note, no call

Ὃν κε. Ita reposui ex mss. vet. Regiis, faventibus 3 Colbert., 1 Clarom., 1 Brun. eo quem habuit Masurus, et ed. Rom. 1468, quae habent Ὃν καί. In nonnullis mss. et pluribus editis Ὅν τε, Quem quidem seduxit serpens dolose. Non male legeretur Ὅν γε. Latine: Ut ad fatum accederet mortis, notionemque acciperet boni et mali.

"Whom" (Ὃν κε). So I have restored it from the old Royal manuscripts, with the support of 3 Colbert, 1 Clermont, 1 Brun. (the one Masurus had), and the Rome edition of 1468, which have Ὃν καί. In some manuscripts and most editions Ὅν τε: "Whom indeed the serpent led astray by guile." Ὅν γε would not be a bad reading. In Latin: "That he should come to the doom of death, and receive the knowledge of good and evil."

(printed under page 166)

Ἐπὶ μοῖραν. Opsopoeius in suo ms. Sibyllino, μ' ἐπὶ cum addita negatione, et pro ἀνελθεῖν ἐπελθεῖν legit.

"To the doom." Opsopoeus, in his Sibylline manuscript, reads μ' ἐπὶ with a negative added, and ἐπελθεῖν for ἀνελθεῖν.

(printed under page 166)

(d) ‹anchor: Quae in mille annos› · lemma note, no call

Quae in mille annos, etc. Nemo mille annos vixit in terra: quare dicendum est in mille annos propagasse vitam, hoc est, quam proxime ad illos annos accessisse, ut Mathusala, Jared, Noe. Ex ISAEO.

"Which to a thousand years," etc. No one lived a thousand years on earth: so it must be said that they prolonged their life towards a thousand years, that is, came as near as possible to that number, like Methuselah, Jared, Noah. From ISAEUS.

(printed under page 166)

(e) ‹anchor: Nisus est› · lemma note, no call

Nisus est. Ita plerique et optimi mss. et edit. Rom. et Gymnic. unde scripti recentiores 7 fecerunt visus est.

"Strove." So most and the best manuscripts, and the Rome and Gymnicus editions; from which 7 more recent manuscripts made "seemed".

(printed under page 166)

(f) ‹anchor: Pro annis menses haberi› · lemma note, no call

Pro annis menses haberi. Non fuit hoc perpetuum apud Aegyptios, licet Macrob. 1 Saturn., cap. 12 affirmet, anni certum modum apud solos Aegyptios semper fuisse; nam verius est, Aegyptios annum variasse, et quandoque trium, saepius quatuor mensium annum effecisse, ut supposititius habet Xenophon in l. de Aequivocis: Annus diversus est; etenim Aegyptii utuntur anno quandoque menstruo, saepe bimestri, non raro trimestri, saepe quadrimestri, nonnunquam solari. Solin. cap. 3, Aegyptiorum annum quatuor mensium scribit fuisse; et S. Augustin., lib. XV de Civ. Dei, cap. 12, aliquando quatuor mensium, aliquando menstruum. Plut. in Numa, Aegyptiis menstruum annum, mox quadrimestrem fuisse tradit: illum tamen plerumque mensis spatio metitos ad cursum lunae scribit Plin. lib. VII, cap. 48, et Censorin. de die natal. De anni diversitate apud varias gentes, vid. Alex. ab Alex. dier. Gen. lib. III, cap. 24. Gyrald., de Dieb. ann. et mens. ISAEUS. — Et Fabricii Menologium in 4 Hamburg. 1712.

"That months were counted as years." This was not perpetual among the Egyptians, although Macrobius, Saturnalia 1, ch. 12, affirms that a fixed measure of the year always existed among the Egyptians alone; for it is truer that the Egyptians varied the year, and sometimes made a year of three months, more often of four, as the spurious Xenophon has in the book On Equivocal Terms: "The year varies; for the Egyptians use a year sometimes of one month, often of two, not rarely of three, often of four, sometimes the solar year." Solinus, ch. 3, writes that the Egyptians' year was of four months; and St Augustine, City of God book XV, ch. 12, sometimes of four months, sometimes of one. Plutarch, in the Numa, relates that the Egyptians had a year of one month, later of four; Pliny, book VII, ch. 48, and Censorinus, On the Birthday, write that they mostly measured it by the space of a month, by the course of the moon. On the variety of the year among various nations, see Alexander ab Alexandro, Genial Days book III, ch. 24; Giraldi, On Days, Years and Months. ISAEUS. — And Fabricius's Menologium, in quarto, Hamburg 1712.

(printed under page 166)

(g) ‹anchor: Luna, quae orbem illum signiferum 30 dierum spatio lustrat› · lemma note, no call

Luna, quae orbem illum signiferum 30 dierum spatio lustrat. Sic est mss. omnibus et ed. Rom. 1470, restitui lustrat, pro illustrat, quod est in editis. Et ita hunc locum refert Ambrosius Calepinus in Lustro. Sed et apud Ciceronem eodem significatu accipitur, itemque apud Virgilium: Sol lustrabat lampade terras.

"The moon, which traverses that sign-bearing circle in the space of 30 days." So it is in all the manuscripts and the Rome edition of 1470; I have restored "traverses" (lustrat) for "illuminates" (illustrat), which is in the editions. And Ambrogio Calepino cites this place so, under Lustro. It is taken in the same sense in Cicero too, and likewise in Virgil: "The sun was traversing the lands with its lamp."

(printed under page 166)

(h) ‹anchor: Tradunt› · lemma note, no call

Tradunt. Philo de Gigant. Joseph. lib. I Antiquit., cap. 5.

"They relate." Philo, On the Giants; Josephus, Antiquities book I, ch. 5.

(printed under page 166)

(i) ‹anchor: Mille et quadringentis mensibus› · lemma note, no call

Mille et quadringentis mensibus, etc. Ita mss. et editi ferme omnes. 1 Reg. rec. habet, trecentis; 1 Bon. antiq., Mille et quadringentis quadraginta mensibus; ed. Spark. sine quadringentis; ed. Walch., mille et quadringenta mensibus, vitiose.

"In a thousand four hundred months," etc. So nearly all the manuscripts and editions. 1 recent Royal has "three hundred"; the old 1 Bologna, "in a thousand four hundred and forty months"; Sparke's edition omits "four hundred"; Walch's edition, "a thousand and four hundred (quadringenta) months", faultily.

(printed under page 166)

(j) ‹anchor: Unum, quod› · lemma note, no call

Unum, quod. Sic omnes libri. Heumannus: vehementer, inquit, gestio rescribere unum, qui. Ego puto neutrum quod referendum ad exemplum. Nota exempla, ubi pronomen hoc non ad praecedens, sed sequens substantivum refertur; e. g. Lact. l. II, c. 11: Animal, quem vocamus hominem, lib. VII, c. 9: Ignem, quod est elementum; et lib. II, cap. 9: Aqua utuntur, quod est elementum... terrenum. Livius, l. XXX, c. 7: Senatum Suffetes, quod velut consulare imperium apud eos erat, vocaverunt. Cic. lib. I, Div. cap. 23: Magos dixisse, quod genus sapientum et doctorum habebatur in Persis. BUNEMAN.

"One, which" (quod). So all the books. Heumann: "I very much want," he says, "to write unum, qui." I think the neuter quod is to be referred to "example". Note the examples where this pronoun refers not to the preceding but to the following noun; e.g. Lactantius, book II, ch. 11: "the living being (animal), whom (quem) we call man"; book VII, ch. 9: "fire (ignem), which (quod) is an element"; and book II, ch. 9: "they use water, which (quod) is the … earthly element". Livy, book XXX, ch. 7: "The Suffetes, which (quod) was among them as it were the consular power, called the senate." Cicero, On Divination book I, ch. 23: "that the Magi said, which (quod) kind was held among the Persians to be that of the wise and learned". BÜNEMANN.

(printed under page 166)

(k) ‹anchor: Fabricavit arcam› · lemma note, no call

Fabricavit arcam. Navigii genus absque velis et remis, arcae in modum constructum tectumque LXX κιβωτὸν vocant; Josephus λάρνακα: unde θήβατα [print unclear] in Clemente Strom. lib. V. Hujusmodi navigia, vel ex ligno fiebant, ut arca Noe, vel ex papyro, ut scirpea illa rates, quae Mosen infantem vexit: hanc LXX θίβην appellant, haud obscuro vestigio vocabuli hebraici. DRUSIUS.

"He built an ark." A kind of vessel without sails or oars, built and roofed like a chest, which the Seventy call κιβωτός; Josephus, λάρναξ; whence θήβατα [print unclear] in Clement, Stromata book V. Vessels of this kind were made either of wood, like Noah's ark, or of papyrus, like that rush boat which carried the infant Moses: the Seventy call this θίβη, a clear trace of the Hebrew word. DRUSIUS.

(printed under page 166)

(l) ‹anchor: In centum et viginti annis metam collocavit› · lemma note, no call

In centum et viginti annis metam collocavit. Juxta Brasichii animadversionem, dissentiunt ab hac Lactantii opinione, quae etiam fuit Josephi, S. Hieronymus in Traditionibus Hebraicis, in Genes. VI, S. Chrysostomus Homil. 20 in Genes., et plerique ferme omnes. Vide Sixtum lib. V, Bibliothec., Annot. 75, et recentiores Interpretes in VI Genes. At quamplurimos centum et viginti annos excessisse novimus, non solum ex sacris Litteris, sed etiam ex profanis auctoribus. Itaque quae hic refert Lactantius ex Moyse cap. VI Genes. non ad vivendum, sed ad poenitendum intelligenda esse videntur Isaeo. Quasi diceret Deus: Eum hic puniam, et aquis obruam; quin etiam antequam puniam, dabo ei tempus poenitudinis, eruntque dies illius ad poenitendum centum et viginti annorum. Ergo verba Domini non severitatis sunt, sed clementiae atque miserationis; et ita interpretantur ea Chrysostomus Homil. 22, su- (continues)

"He set the limit at a hundred and twenty years." According to Brasichellen's observation, St Jerome in the Hebrew Questions on Genesis 6, St Chrysostom, Homily 20 on Genesis, and nearly all others dissent from this opinion of Lactantius, which was also Josephus's. See Sixtus, Bibliotheca book V, note 75, and the more recent interpreters on Genesis 6. But we know that very many exceeded a hundred and twenty years, not only from the sacred Scriptures but also from profane authors. So Isaeus thinks that what Lactantius reports here from Moses, Genesis 6, is to be understood not of living but of repenting; as if God said: "I will punish him here and overwhelm him with waters; but before I punish, I will give him time for repentance, and his days for repenting shall be a hundred and twenty years." So the Lord's words are words not of severity but of clemency and mercy; and so they are interpreted by Chrysostom, Homily 22, (continues)

(printed under page 166)

Page

running head: LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[RRORIS] (cut off at the image edge), column number 325
marginal letters: A Ὃν κε πλάνησεν ὄφις (between the first and second Greek verse lines); B nos perveniri solere; C ed. Rom. 1468, quae habent (in the Variorum Notae); D effecisse, ut supposititius (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the three Greek verse lines are printed one per line and are set here as one paragraph; the Greek is small and blurred, so its accents and breathings are uncertain. The heading VARIORUM NOTAE stands across both columns and is cut off at the right edge; it is not set. The Variorum Notae below it (beginning "Ἄνθρωπον πλασθέντα. Sic restitui") are page-foot apparatus left for the later pass.

PL 6:326

CAPUT XIV.

Chapter XIV.

De Noe vini inventore : qui primi scientiam astrorum habuerint, ac de ortu falsarum religionum.

On Noah the inventor of wine: who first had knowledge of the stars, and on the origin of false religions.

Deus autem postea, cum videret orbem terrae malitia et sceleribus oppletum, statuit humanum genus diluvio perdere : set tamen ad multitudinem reparandam delegit unum, quod, corruptis omnibus, singulare justitiae supererat exemplum. Hic cum sexcentorum esset annorum, fabricavit arcam, sicut praeceperat ei Deus, in qua ipse, cum conjuge, ac tribus filiis totidemque nuribus servatus est, cum aqua universos montes altissimos operuisset. Deinde orbe siccato, execratus injustitiam prioris saeculi Deus, ne rursus longitudo vitae causa esset excogitandorum malorum, paulatim per singulas progenies diminuit hominis aetatem, atque in centum et viginti annis metam collocavit, quam transgredi non liceret. Ille

But God afterwards, when He saw that the world was filled with malice and crimes, resolved to destroy the human race by a flood; yet, to restore the multitude, He chose one [man], who, when all had been corrupted, remained as a singular example of justice. When he was six hundred years old, he built an ark, as God had commanded him, in which he himself, with his wife and three sons and as many daughters-in-law, was preserved when the water had covered all the highest mountains. Then, when the world had been dried, God, having cursed the injustice of the former age, lest length of life should again be a cause for devising evils, gradually diminished the age of man through each generation, and set the limit at a hundred and twenty years, which it should not be lawful to pass. He

Editors' notes and page, col. 326

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 326 (left part of the running head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹CAPUT XIV.›; B ‹rursus longitudo vitae›; C ‹ed. Spark. sine quadringentis› (in the notes); D ‹appellant, haud obscuro› (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: full-width line "VARIORUM NOTAE." below the text block, cut off at the left edge, not set; the Variorum notae at the page foot (from "itemque apud Virgilium" to "Chrysostomus Homil. 22, su-") are the editors' Commentarius, left for the later pass; the stray mark before "cum videret" is taken as a printing blemish; "set" is read as printed and is likely a misprint for sed

PL 6:327

vero, cum egressus esset ex arca, ut sanctae litterae docent, terram studiose coluit, atque vineam sua manu sevit. Unde arguuntur qui auctorem vini Liberum putant. Ille enim non modo Liberum, sed etiam Saturnum, atque Uranum multis antecessit aetatibus. Qua ex vinea cum primum fructum cepisset, laetus factus, bibit usque ad ebrietatem, jacuitque nudus. Quod cum vidisset unus ex filiis, cui nomen fuit Cham, non texit patris nuditatem: sed egressus, etiam fratribus indicavit. At illi sumpto pallio, intraverunt aversis vultibus, patremque texerunt. Quae cum facta recognovisset pater, abdicavit atque expulit filium. At ille, profugus, in ejus terrae parte consedit, quae nunc Arabia nominatur; eaque terra de nomine ejus Chanaan dicta est, et posteri ejus Chananaei. Haec fuit prima gens, quae Deum ignoravit; quoniam princeps ejus et conditor cultum Dei a patre

however, when he had come out of the ark, as the sacred writings teach, tilled the earth diligently and planted a vineyard with his own hand. Hence those who think Liber the originator of wine are refuted. For he preceded by many ages not only Liber but also Saturn and Uranus. When he had gathered the first fruit from this vineyard, having become glad, he drank to the point of drunkenness and lay naked. When one of his sons, whose name was Ham, had seen this, he did not cover his father's nakedness, but going out he even made it known to his brothers. But they, taking a cloak, went in with faces turned away and covered their father. When the father had learned what had been done, he disowned and drove out his son. And he, a fugitive, settled in a part of that land which is now called Arabia; and that land was called Canaan from his name, and his descendants Canaanites. This was the first nation which did not know God, since its chief and founder did not receive the worship of God from his father

Editors' notes and page, col. 327

Footnotes

(printed under page 167)

(a) ‹anchor: In centum et viginti annis metam collocavit (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) per Genesim; S. Hieron. in quaest. Hebraic.; S. Aug. lib. XV de Civ. Dei, cap. 24; Hug. a S. Vict. in Gen., etc. Ex ISAEO. — In centum et 20 annis metam. Noster ex aliis repetiit. Hinc c. 12: Auctores idonei, inquit, tradunt, ad 120 annos perveniri solere. Sic Arnobius lib. II, pag. 94: Annis vixerint vicenis atque centenis; ultra enim negatur posse hominis vita produci. Iterum Lact. Epit. Taur., c. 27: Vita... ad annos centum viginti redacta est. Singularis est locus Trebellii Pollionis in Divo Claudio c. 2: Doctissimi mathematicorum centum et viginti annos homini ad vivendum datos judicant, neque amplius cuiquam jactitant esse concessum; etiam illud addentes, Mosem solum, Dei (ut Judaeorum libri loquuntur) familiarem, 127 annos vixisse: qui quum quereretur, quod juvenis interiret responsum ei ab incerto ferunt numine, neminem plus esse victurum. BUNEMAN.

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(b) ‹anchor: Cum egressus esset ex arca› · lemma note, no call

Cum egressus esset ex arca. Genes. IX. In Armenia. Loco nomen ἀποβατήριον. Epiphanius montes hos medios inter Armeniam et Cardyaeos facit. Ipsum montem in quo arca substitit Lubar vocat. Haec ex antiqua traditione petita, quam Josephus Antiquitatibus suis inseruit. Fertur, inquit, navigii hujus pars quaedam adhuc in Armenia, apud montem Gordyaeorum superesse, et quosdam inde bitumen abrasum deportasse.

"When he had come out of the ark." Genesis 9. In Armenia. The place is named the "Landing-place". Epiphanius places these mountains between Armenia and the Cardyaeans. The mountain itself on which the ark came to rest he calls Lubar. This is drawn from an ancient tradition, which Josephus put into his Antiquities: "It is said," he says, "that some part of this vessel still survives in Armenia, by the mountain of the Gordyaeans, and that some have carried away bitumen scraped from it."

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Vineam sua manu sevit. Ita mss. et editi fere omnes. In Regio-Put., Jun., Ultr., 1 Clarom. et ed. Paris. 1525, legitur suam; in Bonon. antiq. et 1 Clarom., vineam sevit; in 1 Reg. rec., vineas sua manu eruit.

"He planted a vineyard with his own hand." So almost all the manuscripts and editions. In Regio-Puteanus, Junius, Utrecht, 1 Clermont and the Paris edition of 1525, "his own" (suam, with vineyard) is read; in the old Bologna and 1 Clermont, "he planted a vineyard"; in 1 recent Royal, "he dug up vineyards with his own hand".

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(d) ‹anchor: Multis aetatibus› · lemma note, no call

Multis aetatibus. Liber ille, de quo hic agitur, fuit Jovis et Semelis filius: at Jupiter in Graecia cultus decimo nono ante vulgarem aeram vixit; at Noe obiit viginti et amplius, aut etiam viginti sex saeculis ante aeram nostram. Hinc Tertullianus dicit Liberum non tam invenisse, quam demonstrasse vinum.

"Many ages." The Liber spoken of here was the son of Jupiter and Semele; but the Jupiter worshipped in Greece lived in the nineteenth [century] before the common era, whereas Noah died twenty or more, or even twenty-six, centuries before our era. Hence Tertullian says that Liber did not so much discover wine as show it.

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(e) ‹anchor: Abdicavit atque expulit filium› · lemma note, no call

Abdicavit atque expulit filium. De hoc in Genesi nihil; apud Berosum lib. III satis: verum Berosi non sunt quae hodie extant. Abdicandi autem verbum J. C. est, quo significant ignominiosam emancipationem. Vide ad haec Vallam l. V, c. 102. BETULEIUS.

"He disowned and drove out his son." Of this there is nothing in Genesis; in Berosus, book III, enough; but what is extant today is not Berosus's. "To disown" is a jurists' term, by which they mean an ignominious emancipation. On this see Valla, book V, ch. 102. BETULEIUS.

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(f) ‹anchor: De nomine ejus› · lemma note, no call

De nomine ejus. Sic cum edit. Cellar. cuncti mss. praeter 1 Reg. rec. in quibus, ut in vulgatis, est de nomine suo. Non de nomine Cham, sed filii sui natu minimi, qui Chanaan dictus fuit, cujus progenie pulsa, populus Israeliticus terram illam in deditionem acceperat. Unde Judaea etiam Chananaeae nomen retinuit, ut auctor est Josephus, lib. I, cap. 12 et 15. BETUL.— At Cham penetravit etiam in Aegyptum, quae olim dicta est Chemia ex Plutarcho, et terra Cham in prophetis, unde et apud Aegyptios Jupiter Ammon.

"From his name." So, with Cellarius's edition, all the manuscripts except 1 recent Royal, in which, as in the common editions, it is "from his own name". Not from the name of Ham, but of his youngest son, who was called Canaan, whose offspring having been driven out, the people of Israel had received that land in surrender. Hence Judaea also kept the name of Canaan, as Josephus reports, book I, chs 12 and 15. BETULEIUS. — But Ham also made his way into Egypt, which was once called Chemia, according to Plutarch, and the land of Ham in the prophets; whence too Jupiter Ammon among the Egyptians.

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(g) ‹anchor: Prima gens› · lemma note, no call

Prima gens. Ms. 1 Bonon. antiq. solus, prima progenies.

"The first nation." The old manuscript 1 Bologna alone has "the first progeny".

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(h) ‹anchor: Maledictus ab eo› · lemma note, no call

Maledictus ab eo. Accipienda haec vox pro denuntiatione prophetica judicii divini adversus impietatem Chami, quam Spiritus Sanctus ori Noachi indidit, ut tamquam Dei minister sententiam pronuntiaret adversus hominis profani posteritatem: quae cum fuerit apud Deum rata, suum habuit effectum eo ipso tempore quo fuit pronuntiata ex parte; cujus tamen pars maxima differebatur ex dispensatione divina in illud tempus, quo debuit posteritas Chanaan, vel plane deleri, vel in servitutem in reliquiis redigi. Non est ergo vir Sanctus insimulandus quasi ardore vindictae, aut impatientia acceptae injuriae, haec verba protulerit: sed agnoscendus est in eo justitiae zelus, et Spiritus sancti extraordinarius motus. Alioqui vix fieri potuisset, ut vir tam benignus, nec naturali στοργῇ destitutus, tam duris verbis in nepotem intonasset; nisi Dei voluntate actus, judicis personam induens, exuisset ad tempus personam patris et avi. RIVETUS.

"Cursed by him." This word is to be taken as a prophetic announcement of divine judgement against the impiety of Ham, which the Holy Spirit put into Noah's mouth, so that as God's minister he might pronounce sentence against the posterity of the profane man: and since it was ratified with God, it took effect in part at the very time it was pronounced; but the greatest part of it was deferred by divine dispensation to the time when the posterity of Canaan was to be either wholly destroyed or reduced, in its remnants, to servitude. The holy man is not then to be accused of uttering these words from heat of vengeance or impatience at an injury received; rather, zeal for justice and an extraordinary movement of the Holy Spirit are to be recognized in him. Otherwise it could hardly have happened that a man so kind, and not lacking natural affection, should have thundered such harsh words against his grandson, unless, moved by God's will and putting on the person of a judge, he had for a time put off the person of father and grandfather. RIVET.

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(i) ‹anchor: Hebraei› · lemma note, no call

Hebraei. Sunt nonnulli, quibus Hebraei dicti videntur a particula eber, trans, ultra, πέρα graece; quasi περᾶται, quia eorum patriarcha Abraham transeuphratensis fuit. Ita senserunt e veteribus African. Orig., Diodor., Tarsens., Chrysost., Theodoret.; et e recentioribus Scaliger et alii. Tunc Hebraei nomen Abrahamo fuisset peculiare, non commune cum posteris, quia solus fuit transeuphratensis. Denique Hebraeorum gens etiam vocatur Eber, Num. XXIV, 24; et filii Eber, Gen. X, 21, ut ab Ebere tam deduci scias nomen Ebraeorum, quam Judaeorum a Juda. Frustra objicit Theodoretus, Ebraeos dici in Scriptura solos Judaeos, non omnes filios Eber; Jectanaeos puta, Ismaelitas, Idumaeos, Amalecitas, Moabitas, Ammonitas, Madianitas, etc. qui Ebraei nusquam vocantur, quamvis Eberem patrem agnoscant. Nam ratio in promptu est: non vocantur Ebraei, quia Ebraica lingua neglecta, populorum inter quos degebant, sermonem aemulabantur. Sic Laban in Mesopotamia syro sermoni assueverat; Ismaelitae in Arabia, arabico. BOCHARTUS.

"Hebrews." There are some who think the Hebrews were so called from the particle eber, "across, beyond", πέρα in Greek, as if "those from across", because their patriarch Abraham was from beyond the Euphrates. So thought, among the ancients, Africanus, Origen, Diodore of Tarsus, Chrysostom, Theodoret; and among the moderns Scaliger and others. In that case the name of Hebrew would have been peculiar to Abraham, not shared with his descendants, since he alone came from beyond the Euphrates. Moreover, the Hebrew nation is also called Eber, Numbers 24:24, and "the sons of Eber", Genesis 10:21, so that you may know the name of the Hebrews is derived from Eber just as that of the Jews is from Judah. Theodoret objects in vain that in Scripture only the Jews are called Hebrews, not all the sons of Eber, such as the Joktanites, Ishmaelites, Idumaeans, Amalekites, Moabites, Ammonites, Midianites, etc., who are nowhere called Hebrews though they acknowledge Eber as their father. The reason is ready to hand: they are not called Hebrews because, having neglected the Hebrew tongue, they adopted the speech of the peoples among whom they lived. So Laban in Mesopotamia had grown used to the Syrian speech; the Ishmaelites in Arabia, to Arabic. BOCHART.

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(j) ‹anchor: Nec ullis in ea regione nubibus subtexitur coelum› · lemma note, no call

Nec ullis in ea regione nubibus subtexitur coelum. In mss. 4 Vatic. et 11 impressis legitur, nec enim ullius, etc. Sed particula enim abest a caeteris mss. et ab editis 2 vet. Rom., Betull. et Cellar., ideoque eam ut inutilem expunxi. Non sunt autem in illis regionibus imbres, quia Nili inundatione Deus illis providit, inquit Thomasius. Pro subtexitur, in I Lipsiensi est abtexitur; in quibusdam aliis subtegitur. Vide Tibull., lib. I, Eleg. 7; et Lucan., lib. VIII, vers. 846. Caeterum quod in ea regione coelum non (continues)

"Nor in that region is the sky veiled by any clouds." In the manuscripts 4 Vatican and 11 printed editions, "for not of any", etc., is read. But the particle "for" is absent from the other manuscripts and from the editions 2 old Rome, Betuleius and Cellarius, and so I have struck it out as useless. There are no rains in those regions, says Thomasius, because God provided for them by the flooding of the Nile. For subtexitur, 1 Leipzig has abtexitur; certain others, subtegitur. See Tibullus, book I, Elegy 7; and Lucan, book VIII, line 846. Moreover, that in that region the sky is not (continues)

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Page

running head: 327 FIRM. LACTANTII
marginal letters: A vero, cum egressus esset ex arca; B nanaei. Haec fuit prima gens; C etiam illud addentes, Mosem solum (in the Variorum commentary); D Jovis et Semelis filius (in the Variorum commentary)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins and ends mid-sentence; the Variorum commentary at the page foot (from "per Genesim; S. Hieron. in quaest. Hebraic.") is not set, left for the later pass; no editors' matter in the text block; no full-width line

PL 6:328

non accepit, maledictus ab eo: itaque ignorantiam divinitatis minoribus suis reliquit.

being cursed by him: and so he left ignorance of the divinity to his descendants.

Ab hac gente, proximi quique populi, multitudine increscente, fluxerunt. Ipsius autem patris posteri, Hebraei dicti, penes quos religio Dei resedit. Sed et ab his postea, multiplicato in immensum numero, cum eos angustiae locorum suorum capere non possent, tum adolescentes vel missi a parentibus, vel sua sponte, cum rerum penuria cogeret, profugi, ad quaerendas sibi novas sedes, huc atque illuc dispersi, omnes insulas, et orbem totum replerunt; et a stirpe sanctae radicis avulsi, novos sibi mores, ac instituta pro arbitrio condiderunt. Sed omnium primi, qui Aegyptum occupaverunt, coelestia suspicere atque adorare coeperunt. Et quia neque domiciliis tegebantur propter aeris qualitatem, nec ullis in ea regione nubibus subtexitur coelum, cursus siderum, et

From this race all the nearest peoples flowed out as the multitude increased. But the descendants of the father himself [were] called Hebrews, among whom the religion of God remained. But from these too afterwards, when their number had multiplied beyond measure and the narrowness of their own territories could not hold them, young men, either sent by their parents or of their own accord, when scarcity of goods compelled them, went out as fugitives to seek new homes for themselves, and, scattered here and there, filled all the islands and the whole world; and, torn from the stock of the holy root, they founded for themselves new customs and institutions at their own discretion. But first of all, those who occupied Egypt began to look up at and to worship the heavenly bodies. And because they were not covered by dwellings, on account of the quality of the air, and in that region the sky is not overspread with any clouds, the courses of the stars and

Editors' notes and page, col. 328

Page

running head: M. LACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 328
marginal letters: A non accepit, maledictus ab eo; B bantur propter aeris qualitatem; C Non est ergo vir Sanctus insimulandus (in the Variorum Notae); D objicit Theodoretus, Ebraeos dici (in the Variorum Notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence ("non accepit"), continuing from col. 327; ends mid-sentence ("cursus siderum, et"). "tege-bantur" joined across the line end. The VARIORUM NOTAE at the page foot (Prima gens; Maledictus ab eo; Hebraei; Nec ullis in ea regione...) are not set and are left for the apparatus pass. The partly visible left column is col. 327 and is not set. The heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" appears to span the page width and is not set. Editors' matter set: none.

PL 6:329

defectus notaverunt, dum ea saepe venerantes, curiosius atque liberius intuerentur. Postea deinde potentificas animalium figuras, quas colerent, commenti sunt, quibusdam prodigiis inducti: quorum mox auctores aperiemus. Caeteri autem, qui per terram dispersi fuerunt, admirantes elementa mundi, coelum, solem, terram, male, sine ullis imaginibus ac templis venerabantur, et his sacrificia in aperto celebrabant; donec processu temporum, potentissimis regibus templa et simulacra fecerunt; eaque victimis et odoribus colere instituerunt; sic aberrantes a notitia dei gentes esse coeperunt. Errant igitur, qui deorum cultus ab exordio rerum fuisse contendunt, et priorem esse gentilitatem, quam Dei religionem: quam putant posterius inventam, quia fontem atque originem veritatis ignorant. Nunc ad principium mundi revertamur.

eclipses were noted by them, while, venerating them often, they gazed upon them more curiously and more freely. Then afterwards they devised portentous figures of animals for them to worship, led on by certain prodigies, whose authors we shall presently disclose. But the rest, who were dispersed over the earth, marvelling at the elements of the world, the heaven, the sun, the earth, the sea, venerated them without any images and temples, and celebrated sacrifices to them in the open; until, in the course of time, they made temples and images for the most powerful kings, and established the practice of worshipping them with victims and odours; thus, straying from the knowledge of God, they began to be Gentiles. They err, therefore, who contend that the worship of gods existed from the beginning of things, and that heathenism is older than the religion of God, which they think was discovered later, because they do not know the fountain and origin of truth. Now let us return to the beginning of the world.

Editors' notes and page, col. 329

Footnotes

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(a) ‹anchor: Nec ullis in ea regione nubibus subtexitur coelum (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) tegatur nubibus, testatur etiam Mela, lib. I: Aegyptus, inquit, expers imbrium, mire tamen fertilis, etc. Plinius, lib. II, c. 1, nubes ibi fieri scribit, quamvis raras et tenues. Et Democritus, referente Plutarcho, Placit. lib. IV, cap. 1, ob id Nili incrementum fieri tradebat, quod nive in partibus ad Septentrionem sitis sub solstitium aestivum resoluta atque diffusa, densentur ex vaporibus nubes, quae compulsae versus meridiem, et ad Aegyptum ab Etesiis ventis, in magnos ac vehementes dissolvantur imbres, quibus cum paludes, tum Nilus impleantur. Diodor. quoque lib. I, c. 2, pluvias ibi, sed raras fieri testatur. Verum ex Philone scriptores conciliare possumus, qui lib. I de Vita Mosis, parvas ibi, rarasque pluvias fieri scribit, in locis quidem maritimis: at supra Memphim nullus omnino; ubi et cur hyems Aegypto sit supervacanea, pulcherrime disserit. ISAEUS. —Nubibus subtexitur coelum. Sic libri, non subtegitur. Sic quoque veteres poetae. Lucretius, lib. V, vers. 467: Corpore concreto subtexunt nubila coelum. Et Virgilius, Aeneid. III, vers. 582: .... Coelum subtexere fumo.

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(b) ‹anchor: Defectus› · lemma note, no call

Defectus. Mss. 6 rec., effectus.

"Eclipses" (defectus). 6 recent manuscripts, "effects".

(printed under page 168)

Venerantes. Edit. Betul. venantes; et sic Jo. Cauc. putat legendum: quae conjectura haud inconcinna videtur; venari enim, pro diligentissime quaerere accipi, omnibus notum: et sic hoc loco accipienda esset illius vocis significatio, si lectio haec retinenda esset. Bonon. legit hoc modo: Dum ea saepe venerantur curiosius atque liberius intuentes. GALLAEUS.

"Venerating." Betuleius's edition has "hunting"; and Jo. Cauc. thinks it should be read so: a conjecture that seems not unfitting; for everyone knows that "to hunt" is taken for "to seek most diligently", and the word's meaning would have to be taken so here if this reading were kept. Bologna reads thus: "While they often venerate them, gazing at them too curiously and too freely." GALLAEUS.

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(d) ‹anchor: Portentificus› · lemma note, no call

Portentificus. Rarissima vox, quae exstat quoque Divinar. Institut. libro IV, c. 15, et quam nullibi forsan reperies, nisi apud Ovidium.

"Wonder-working." A very rare word, which also occurs in the Divine Institutes book IV, ch. 15, and which you will perhaps find nowhere except in Ovid.

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(e) ‹anchor: Processu temporum› · lemma note, no call

Processu temporum. De Phrasi, lib. III, c. 6; de Ira, c. 13. Arnob. II, p. 55: Artes cum processu temporis paulatim meditatione conflatae. BUN.

"With the progress of time." On the phrase: book III, ch. 6; On the Anger of God, ch. 13. Arnobius II, p. 55: "Arts put together little by little by reflection with the progress of time." BUN.

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(f) ‹anchor: Cum ergo numerus hominum coepisset increscere› · lemma note, no call

Cum ergo numerus hominum coepisset increscere, etc. Circumspecte legendum est hoc caput 15, nam nonnullos errores Lactantius implicat. Primus est, Deum ab initio tribuisse diabolo terrae potestatem. Secundus, angelos non missos ad hominum tutelam, nisi postquam genus humanum coepisset increscere. Tertius, praecepisse Deum bonis angelis, ne terrae contagione macularentur, ne substantiae coelestis amitterent dignitatem. Quartus, diabolum paulatim pellexisse bonos angelos ad vitia, et eos mulierum congressibus inquinasse. Quintus, hoc esse peccatum ob quod angeli e coelo ceciderunt. Sextus e congressu illo angelorum cum foeminis natum esse tertium genus eorum, qui neque angeli coelestes, neque homines, neque daemones inferni fuere; sed sobolem quamdam terrestrium daemonum, qui sunt hominum tentatores, deceptores, magicarum artium et humanarum calamitatum ac malorum auctores. Sunt omnia ista dogmata absurda, erronea, et a sincera theologorum doctrina prorsus aliena. Consule Sixtum, l. V Biblioth., annot. 77, et alios interpretes cap. VI Geneseos. BRASICHELL. — In eo falsus est Lactantius, quod ait, non ante ad custodiam datos angelos, quam hominum numerus coepisset increscere; nam a primis usque parentibus unaquaeque anima ab initio suae creationis angelum habet ad sui custodiam deputatum; nec eo primi ipsi parentes, nec ulli omnino homines caruerunt. Origen. in lib. Numer.; Hieronym. in Matth.: XVIII Angelicorum, etc.; S. Bernard. Serm. de Angelis, et in Psal. VIII: Quid est homo, quod memor es ejus, etc.; Magist. et omnes theolog. in secundo, dist. 11; S. Thom. pag. 1, quaest. 113, art. 4. ISAEUS.

"When therefore the number of men had begun to increase," etc. This chapter 15 is to be read with caution, for Lactantius entangles several errors in it. The first is that God from the beginning gave the devil power over the earth. The second, that angels were not sent to guard men until the human race had begun to increase. The third, that God commanded the good angels not to be stained by contact with the earth, lest they lose the dignity of their heavenly substance. The fourth, that the devil little by little enticed the good angels into vice and defiled them by intercourse with women. The fifth, that this is the sin for which the angels fell from heaven. The sixth, that from that intercourse of angels with women was born a third kind of beings, who were neither heavenly angels, nor men, nor demons of the underworld, but a kind of offspring of earthly demons, who are the tempters and deceivers of men, the authors of magic arts and of human calamities and evils. All these doctrines are absurd, erroneous, and wholly foreign to the sound teaching of the theologians. Consult Sixtus, Bibliotheca book V, note 77, and the other interpreters on Genesis 6. BRASICHELLEN. — Lactantius is wrong in saying that angels were not given as guardians before the number of men had begun to increase; for from our first parents onward each soul, from the beginning of its creation, has an angel appointed to guard it; neither our first parents themselves nor any men at all have lacked one. Origen on the book of Numbers; Jerome on Matthew 18, "of the angels", etc.; St Bernard, Sermon on the Angels, and on Psalm 8: "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him," etc.; the Master and all the theologians on the second book, distinction 11; St Thomas, Part 1, question 113, article 4. ISAEUS.

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(g) ‹anchor: Diabolus› · lemma note, no call

Diabolus. Bonon. Zabulus, ut de Mort. Persec. c. 16, Zabulum... debellasti; et infra, Zabulus victus. BUN.

"The devil." Bologna has Zabulus, as in On the Deaths of the Persecutors, ch. 16: "you have vanquished the Zabulus …"; and below, "the Zabulus conquered". BUN.

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(h) ‹anchor: Disperderet› · lemma note, no call

Disperderet. Sic emendo ex mss. vet. Regiis, 2 Bon. Cauc., 5 Vatic., 6 Colb. et 15 aliis, ac ed. Rom. 1470, Betul., Is., Sparck., Cellar. Hic sequimur ms. Rohan. In 1 Reg. rec., 2 Vat., Jun. et 10 ed. est, dispergeret.

"Should destroy." So I emend from the old Royal manuscripts, 2 Bologna, Cauc., 5 Vatican, 6 Colbert and 15 others, and the editions Rome 1470, Betuleius, Isaeus, Sparke, Cellarius. Here we follow the Rohan manuscript. In 1 recent Royal, 2 Vatican, Junius and 10 editions it is "should scatter".

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(i) ‹anchor: Quod› · lemma note, no call

Quod. Restitutum ex mss. 10 Reg., 2 Bonon., 5 Vat., 6 Colb., et 10 al. et ed. Rom. 1468, 1470, et Is. In 2 Vatic., Cauc., Jun. et excusis 11 legitur quos.

"Which" (quod). Restored from the manuscripts 10 Royal, 2 Bologna, 5 Vatican, 6 Colbert and 10 others, and the editions Rome 1468 and 1470 and Isaeus. In 2 Vatican, Cauc., Junius and 11 printed editions, "whom" is read.

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(j) ‹anchor: In exordio› · lemma note, no call

In exordio. Mss. 2 Bon., 5 Vatic., Tax., Pen., 1 Clarom. et impressi 5 rec. properam addunt, rerum, quod a triginta aliis scriptis abest, et decem vetustioribus editis.

"In the beginning." The manuscripts 2 Bologna, 5 Vatican, Tax., Pen., 1 Clermont and 5 recent printed editions wrongly [properam, as printed] add "of things", which is absent from thirty other manuscripts and ten older editions.

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(k) ‹anchor: Cultumque generis humani› · lemma note, no call

Cultumque generis humani. Id est, culturam sive curam generis humani. — Ad tutelam cultumque. Haec ipse exponit in Epit. c. 27: Angelos misit, ut vitam hominum excolerent, eosque ab omni malo tuerentur. BUN.

"And the tending of the human race." That is, the cultivation or care of the human race. — "For the guarding and tending." He explains this himself in the Epitome, ch. 27: "He sent angels to tend the life of men and to guard them from all evil." BUN.

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(l) ‹anchor: Quia liberum arbitrium erat datum› · lemma note, no call

Quia liberum arbitrium erat datum. Haec absunt a mss. 10 Reg., 6 Colb., Cauc., Tornes., Lips., Goth., Jun., Ultr., Em., Cant., 1 Sorbon., Nav., Vict., Gat., Marm., 1 Clarom., 2 Brun., Rohan., et ab edit. 2 vet. Rom., Ald., Paris. 1525, Graph., Crat., Betul. (An glossema?) Sunt in nonnullis aliis, et saltem subaudienda. Sic enim eodem libro II, c. 8, Lactantius scripsit de angeli creatione: Suo arbitrio, quod a Deo illi liberum datum fuerat, contrarium sibi nomen adscivit.

"Because free will had been given." These words are absent from the manuscripts 10 Royal, 6 Colbert, Cauc., Tornaesius, Lips., Gotha, Junius, Utrecht, Em., Cant., 1 Sorbonne, Nav., Vict., Gat., Marmoutier, 1 Clermont, 2 Brun., Rohan, and from the editions 2 old Rome, Aldine, Paris 1525, Gryphius, Cratander, Betuleius. (A gloss?) They are in some others, and must at least be understood. For so Lactantius wrote in this same book II, ch. 8, of the angel's creation: "By his own will, which had been given him free by God, he took to himself a name contrary."

(printed under page 168)

(m) ‹anchor: Ad vitia pellexit, et mulierum congressibus inquinavit› · lemma note, no call

Ad vitia pellexit, et mulierum congressibus inquinavit. Locus VI Geneseos, vs. 11, male a Lactantio, Sulpicio Severo, Hist. Sacr. libro I, et nonnullis aliis intellectus, occasionem dedit fabulis istis, quae subinde sequuntur, quibus dicuntur angeli se cum mulieribus miscuisse; quem errorem plures ex antiquis secuti sunt. Nihil hic aliud intelligi videtur, quam Sethi, ut Caini, progeniem in summam impietatem (continues)

"He enticed them into vice, and defiled them by intercourse with women." The passage Genesis 6, verse 11 [as printed], misunderstood by Lactantius, by Sulpicius Severus, Sacred History book I, and by some others, gave occasion to the fables that follow presently, in which angels are said to have had intercourse with women; an error that many of the ancients followed. Nothing else seems to be meant here than that the progeny of Seth, like that of Cain, [fell] into the utmost impiety (continues)

(printed under page 168)

Page

running head: LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ER[...] (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A ‹defectus notaverunt, dum ea saepe›; B ‹nem veritatis ignorant. Nunc ad principium mundi›; C ‹de Vita Mosis, parvas ibi› (in the Variorum notes); D ‹san reperies, nisi apud Ovidium› (in the Variorum notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: running head is printed across both columns and cut off at the image edge; the full-width line "VARIORUM NOT[AE]" below the text block is cut off and not set; the Variorum notes at the page foot (tegatur nubibus, testatur etiam Mela... through "sed sobolem") are left for the later apparatus pass; "potentificas" is split poten-/tificas in the print, and the notes' lemma reads Portentificas; "male" is translated as the intended "sea"; "dei" is printed lowercase; the signature "PATROL. VI" is not set.

PL 6:330

CAPUT XV.

Chapter XV.

De inquinatione angelorum, et duobus generibus daemonum.

On the defilement of the angels, and the two kinds of demons.

Cum ergo numerus hominum coepisset increscere, providens Deus ne fraudibus suis diabolus, cui ab initio terrae dederat potestatem, vel corrumperet homines, vel disperderet, quod in exordio fecerat, misit angelos ad tutelam cultumque generis humani: quibus quia liberum arbitrium erat datum, praecepit, ante omnia, ne, terrae contagione maculati, substantiae coelestis amitterent dignitatem. Scilicet id eos facere prohibuit, quod sciebat esse facturos, ut veniam sperare non possent. Itaque illos cum hominibus commorantes dominator ille terrae fallacissimus consuetudine ipsa paulatim ad vitia pellexit, et mulierum congressibus inquinavit. Tum in coelum ob peccata, quibus

When, therefore, the number of men had begun to increase, God, taking care that the devil, to whom He had from the beginning given power over the earth, should not by his frauds either corrupt or destroy men, as he had done at the outset, sent angels for the protection and cultivation of the human race; and because free will had been given to them, He commanded them above all not to lose the dignity of their heavenly substance by being stained with the contagion of the earth. That is to say, He forbade them to do what He knew they would do, so that they could not hope for pardon. Accordingly, that most deceitful ruler of the earth, by the very habit of their dwelling among men, gradually enticed them into vices and defiled them through intercourse with women. Then into heaven, on account of the sins in which

Editors' notes and page, col. 330

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. (left end of the running head cut off at the image edge; first letter only partly visible)
marginal letters: A CAPUT XV.; B dine ipsa paulatim ad vitia pellexit; C nym. in Matth. (in the Variorum notae); D curam generis humani (in the Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: a stray mark printed between ante and omnia (ante'omnia) is not set; the full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE, cut off at the left edge, stands below the text block and is not set; the Variorum notae below it are left for the later pass; the line-ends at the left of the images belong to column 329 and are not set

PL 6:331

se immerserant, non recepti, ceciderunt in terram. Sic eos diabolus ex angelis Dei suos fecit satellites, ac ministros. Qui autem sunt ex his procreati, quia neque angeli, neque homines fuerunt, sed mediam quamdam naturam gerentes (Vid. S. Aug. de Civit. Dei, lib. VIII, cap. 14), non sunt ad inferos recepti, sicut in coelum parentes eorum. Ita duo genera daemonum facta sunt, unum coeleste, alterum terrenum. Hi sunt immundi spiritus, malorum, quae geruntur, auctores, quorum idem diabolus est princeps. Unde Trismegistus illum δαιμονιάρχην vocat. Daemonas autem grammatici dictos aiunt, quasi δαήμονας, id est, peritos, ac rerum scios, hos enim putant deos esse. Sciunt illi quidem futura multa (Vid. S. Aug. de Civitate Dei, lib. IX, cap. 20), sed non omnia, quippe quibus penitus consilium Dei scire non liceat: et ideo solent responsa in ambiguos exitus temperare. Eos poetae et sciunt esse daemonas, et loquuntur. Hesiodus ita tradit:

they had immersed themselves, not being received back, fell to the earth. Thus the devil made them, from angels of God, his own attendants and ministers. But those who were begotten of them, because they were neither angels nor men, but bore a certain intermediate nature (see St Augustine, On the City of God, bk 8, ch. 14), were not received into the underworld, just as their parents were not received into heaven. Thus two kinds of demons came into being, one heavenly, the other earthly. These are the unclean spirits, the authors of the evils that are done, of whom the same devil is the chief. Hence Trismegistus calls him the daimoniarch [prince of demons]. The grammarians, however, say that demons are so called as if daēmones, that is, skilled and knowing of things; for these they consider to be gods. They do indeed know many future things (see St Augustine, On the City of God, bk 9, ch. 20), but not all, since they are not permitted to know the counsel of God thoroughly; and for that reason they are accustomed to temper their responses towards ambiguous outcomes. The poets both know that these are demons and say so. Hesiod relates thus:

Editors' notes and page, col. 331

Footnotes

(printed under page 169)

(a) ‹anchor: Ad vitia pellexit, et mulierum congressibus inquinavit (from previous page)› · lemma note, no call

(continued) degenerasse, vel saltem cum Caini posteris se miscuisse foedo concubitu: siquidem nonnulli, referente Aben Ezra, per filios Dei filios Sethi intelligunt, et per filios hominum Caini posteros. SPARK. — Haec sane expositio genuina videtur. Vide Augustinum de Civ. Dei, lib. XV, cap. 23, et Estium in lib. II Sententiarum, distinct. 6, § 12.— Mulierum congressibus. Idem Tertul. Idol. c. 9; Cult. Foem. l. I, c. 2; Virg. Veland. c. 7; Cyprian. de Hab. Virg. f. m. 109; Commodian. Commonitor. p. 4, et plures tradunt. Vid. Kortholt. ad Justin. Martyr. f. 19, et Suicer. Thesaur. Eccl. t. I, fol. 37-40. BUN.

(printed under page 169)

(b) ‹anchor: Neque angeli, neque homines fuerunt› · lemma note, no call

Neque angeli, neque homines fuerunt. In pluribus editis deerant priores duae voces, quas restitui ex omnibus mss. et 12 vet. impressis; et postulant sequentia, mediam quamdam naturam gerentes, scilicet inter angelos et homines.

"They were neither angels nor men." In most editions the first two words were missing; I have restored them from all the manuscripts and 12 old printed editions; and what follows requires them, "bearing a kind of middle nature", that is, between angels and men.

(printed under page 169)

Ita duo genera daemonum, etc. Fabulae sunt, ortae ex loco, quem supra explicuimus, male intellecto.

"So two kinds of demons," etc. These are fables, arising from the passage explained above, misunderstood.

(printed under page 169)

(d) ‹anchor: Daemonas autem grammatici› · lemma note, no call

Daemonas autem grammatici, etc. Placet hoc etymon Platoni in Cratylo, ex sententia Hesiodi. Ait etiam viros probos magnis honoribus affectos, daemones fieri, juxta hoc prudentiae et sapientiae nomen, post mortem; eique sententiae libenter se assentiri, ut optimus quisque, sive sit vivus, sive defunctus, recte vocetur daemon. Possidonius, teste Macrob. Saturn. II, ἀπὸ τοῦ δαίειν, id est, urendo, deducebat; quod constent ex substantia aetherea. Euseb. utrumque etymon rejiciens, vult dictos ἀπὸ τοῦ δειμαίνω, quod est exterreo, pavefacio, ut daemones solent.

"But the grammarians [say] demons," etc. This etymology pleases Plato in the Cratylus, following Hesiod. He says too that good men, honoured with great honours, become demons after death, according to this name of prudence and wisdom; and that he gladly assents to the view that every excellent man, living or dead, is rightly called a demon. Posidonius, on Macrobius's testimony, Saturnalia II, derived it from δαίειν, that is, from burning, because they consist of an ethereal substance. Eusebius, rejecting both etymologies, holds that they are named from δειμαίνω, which means "I terrify, I frighten", as demons do.

(printed under page 169)

(e) ‹anchor: (no lemma printed)› · lemma note, no call

Cunctorum mss. est; Hos autem, editorum.

[The reading in the text] is that of all the manuscripts; "But these", that of the editions.

(printed under page 169)

(f) ‹anchor: Scire non liceat› · lemma note, no call

Scire non liceat. Ita restitui ex omnibus mss. ac edit. Rom. 1470 et Gymn.

"It is not permitted to know." So I have restored it from all the manuscripts and the editions Rome 1470 and Gymnicus.

(printed under page 169)

(g) ‹anchor: Responsa in ambiguos› · lemma note, no call

Responsa in ambiguos. De quibus lege Eusebium de Praepar. Evang. l. V, c. 10.

"Answers into ambiguous [outcomes]." On these read Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel book V, ch. 10.

(printed under page 169)

(h) ‹anchor: Οἱ μὲν δαίμονες› · lemma note, no call

Οἱ μὲν δαίμονες..... Latine: Ii quidem daemones sunt Jovis magni propter voluntatem, / Boni, terrestres, custodes mortalium hominum. Hesiodus in operibus et diebus, ubi de aureo saeculo, De quo loco vide Platonem de Republ., liv. V, ac in Cratylo; et Eusebium, de Praeparat. evan., l. V, c. 4.

"They are demons …" In Latin: "These are demons by the will of great Jupiter, / good, on the earth, guardians of mortal men." Hesiod in the Works and Days, on the golden age. On this passage see Plato, Republic book V, and in the Cratylus; and Eusebius, Preparation for the Gospel book V, ch. 4.

(printed under page 169)

(i) ‹anchor: Et Deus non colatur› · lemma note, no call

Et Deus non colatur. Desunt haec verba in ms. 1 Bonon. antiq., Tax., Lips. Extant in caeteris scriptis et in vulgatis.

"And God is not worshipped." These words are missing in the old manuscript 1 Bologna, Tax., Lips. They stand in the other manuscripts and in the common editions.

(printed under page 169)

(j) ‹anchor: De his disserunt› · lemma note, no call

De his disserunt. Sic ferunt mss. 6 Reg., inter quos sunt duo veterrimi, 1 Colb., 2 Clarom., 2 Brun. ac edit. Gymnic. et Spark. Caeteri, dixerunt. Utraque lectio bona.

"They discourse about these." So the manuscripts 6 Royal (two of them very old), 1 Colbert, 2 Clermont, 2 Brun., and the editions of Gymnicus and Sparke. The others, "they said". Both readings are good.

(printed under page 169)

(k) ‹anchor: Et Socrates esse circa se assiduum daemona› · lemma note, no call

Et Socrates esse circa se assiduum daemona, etc. Hujus Socratis daemonis saepe fit mentio apud Platonem, ut in Eutyphrone, in Apologia, in Theaeteto, in Phaedro, in Theage, in Euthydemo; apud Xenophontem, de Reb. memorab. Socratis; apud Ciceron., lib. I de Nat. deorum; apud Maximum Tyrium; apud Plutarchum in Symposiacis lib IX, cap. pene ultimo. Sic Apuleius de hac re scripsit libellum de deo Socratis, ibique exponit cujus generis numen Socrates sibi habebat adjunctum, et amicitia conciliatum, a quo perhibetur solitus admoneri, ut desisteret ab agendo, quando id quod agere volebat, prospere non fuerat eventurum. Vide et S. Augustin., lib. VIII de Civit. Dei, cap. 14; et Diog. Laertium. Hunc Socratis genium quidam sternutationem cum ipsius, tum aliorum, esse dixerunt. Socratem vero, si quid agere inciperet, ac aliquem sternutantem audiret a dextra, illud pro signo habuisse, in actu pergendum esse; sin vero a sinistra, plane desistendum a proposito: sic testatur Plutarch. in lib. de Socrat. Gen. quod postea ipse refellit. Sternutatio inter omina olim fuit habita. Matutinam infaustam, meridianam autem bonam esse tradit Aristot., Problem sect. 33, § 11, praecipue si a dextra fieret, teste Plutarcho in Themistocle: hinc sternutantibus bene precabantur. Apuleius, lib. IX: Crebras ei sternutationes commovebat, et quod, cum putaret ab ea profectum, solito sermone salutem ei fuerat imprecatus. Hic quoque Hebraeis mos erat. Rabbini volunt plures in sternutatione obiisse mortem, atque hinc natum, ut sternutantem salvare juberent. Caeterum hunc Socraticum daemonem plane fabulosum esse existimo, vel ab ipso Socrate fictum, vel ab amicis ejus falso divulgatum, hoc fine, ut auctoritatem apud imperitum vulgus sibi conciliaret. GALLAEUS.

"And that Socrates [said] a demon was constantly about him," etc. Socrates's demon is often mentioned in Plato, as in the Euthyphro, the Apology, the Theaetetus, the Phaedrus, the Theages, the Euthydemus; in Xenophon, Memorabilia of Socrates; in Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods book I; in Maximus of Tyre; in Plutarch, Table Talk book IX, nearly the last chapter. So Apuleius wrote a little book on this subject, On the God of Socrates, and there explains what kind of divinity Socrates had joined to himself and won by friendship, by whom he is said to have been regularly warned to desist from acting when what he wanted to do was not going to turn out well. See also St Augustine, City of God book VIII, ch. 14, and Diogenes Laertius. Some have said that this genius of Socrates was sneezing, both his own and others'. When Socrates began to do anything and heard someone sneeze on his right, he took it as a sign that he should go on with the act; but if on his left, that he should wholly give up his purpose: so Plutarch testifies in the book On the Genius of Socrates, which he afterwards refutes himself. Sneezing was once counted among omens. Aristotle, Problems section 33, § 11, relates that a morning sneeze was unlucky but a midday one good, especially if it came from the right, as Plutarch testifies in the Themistocles: hence they wished sneezers well. Apuleius, book IX: "It set him sneezing repeatedly, and because he thought it came from her, he had wished her health in the usual words." This was a custom among the Hebrews too. The Rabbis hold that many died while sneezing, and that from this arose the practice of bidding a sneezer good health. But I judge this Socratic demon wholly fabulous, either invented by Socrates himself or falsely spread by his friends, to win him authority with the ignorant crowd. GALLAEUS.

(printed under page 169)

(l) ‹anchor: Puero› · lemma note, no call

Puero. Buneman, legit, a Puero, et notam habet sequentem. — Sibi a puero. Edidi, uti Betuleius habet, suadente Epitome cap. 28, A prima pueritia. Secutus videtur Tertull. de Anima, cap. 1: Socrati aiunt daemonium a puero adhaesisse. BUNEMAN.

"Boy." Bünemann reads "from boyhood" (a puero), and has the following note. — "To him from boyhood." I have printed it as Betuleius has it, with the Epitome, ch. 28, "from earliest boyhood", pointing that way. He seems to have followed Tertullian, On the Soul, ch. 1: "They say a demon clung to Socrates from boyhood." BÜNEMANN.

(printed under page 169)

(m) ‹anchor: Magorum... adspirationibus› · lemma note, no call

Magorum... adspirationibus. Vid. Tertull. Apolog. cap. 22 et 23, maxime Minuc. cap. 26: Magi, quidquid miraculi ludunt, per daemonas faciunt; illis adspirantibus et infundentibus praestigias edunt, vel quae non sunt, videri, vel quae sunt, non videri. BUN.

"Of the magi … by the breathings." See Tertullian, Apology chs 22 and 23, and above all Minucius, ch. 26: "The magi do whatever wonder they play at through demons; with these breathing on them and pouring in, they produce illusions, making what is not seem to be, or what is seem not to be." BUN.

(printed under page 169)

(n) ‹anchor: Putent› · lemma note, no call

Putent. Hanc correctionem, quae omnium fere mss. et editorum est, probant praecedentia. In 3 mss. rec. totidemque editis est putant.

"They may think" (putent). What precedes supports this correction, which is the reading of nearly all the manuscripts and editions. In 3 recent manuscripts and as many editions it is putant.

(printed under page 169)

(o) ‹anchor: Adhaerent enim singulis hominibus› · lemma note, no call

Adhaerent enim singulis hominibus, etc. Idem sensit (continues)

"For they cling to individual men," etc. The same was held by (continues)

(printed under page 169)

Page

running head: 331 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVI[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A se immerserant, non recepti; B quibus penitus consilium Dei; C beside the Variorum notae (ad Justin. Martyr.), not set; D beside the Variorum notae (Cunctorum mss. est), not set
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: ceciderunt and consilium are blurred in the scan (they look like oeciderunt and coxsilium), so they are set as the evident words; the Greek δαιμονιάρχην is UNSURE in its ending; there are handwritten check marks in the left margin beside the lines "in coelum parentes eorum", "num facta sunt" and "sunt immundi spiritus", and they are not set; the full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE and the editors' notes below it (degenerasse, vel saltem ... Utraque lectio bona) are page-foot commentary for a later pass and are not set

PL 6:332

Οἱ μὲν δαίμονές εἰσι Διὸς μεγάλου διὰ βουλὰς, Ἐσθλοὶ, ἐπιχθόνιοι, φύλακες θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.

These are daemons by the counsels of great Zeus, noble, dwelling upon the earth, guardians of mortal men.

Quod idcirco dictum est, quoniam custodes eos humano generi Deus miserat: sed ipsi, cum sint perditores hominum, custodes tamen se videri volunt, ut ipsi colantur, et Deus non colatur. Philosophi quoque de his disserunt. Nam Plato etiam naturas eorum in Symposio exprimere conatus est. Et Socrates esse circa se assiduum daemona loquebatur, qui sibi puero adhaesisset, cujus arbitrio et nutu sua vita regeretur. Magorum quoque ars omnis ac potentia horum aspirationibus constat, a quibus invocati, visus hominum praestigiis obcaecantibus fallunt; ut non videant ea quae sunt, et videre se putent illa quae non sunt. Hi, ut dico, spiritus contaminati ac perditi per omnem terram vagantur, et solatium perditionis suae perdendis hominibus operantur. Itaque omnia insidiis, fraudibus, dolis, erroribus complent; adhaerent enim singulis hominibus, et omnes

This was said for this reason, because God had sent them as guardians to the human race; but they themselves, although they are destroyers of men, nevertheless wish to seem guardians, so that they themselves may be worshipped and God may not be worshipped. The philosophers too discourse about them. For Plato also attempted to express their natures in the Symposium. And Socrates used to say that there was about him a constant daemon, which had attached itself to him as a boy, by whose judgement and nod his life was governed. The whole art and power of the magi also consists in the inspirations of these, by whom, when invoked, they deceive the sight of men with blinding illusions, so that they do not see the things which are, and think that they see those things which are not. These spirits, as I say, defiled and lost, wander through all the earth, and work out a consolation for their own perdition by destroying men. And so they fill all things with snares, frauds, deceits, errors; for they cling to individual men, and all

Editors' notes and page, col. 332

Page

running head: LACTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 332
marginal letters: A Οἱ μὲν δαίμονές εἰσι; B ac perditi per omnem; C liatum, a quo perhibetur (in the Variorum notae); D tum, ut sternutantem (in the Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column opens with the Greek verses (Hesiod), following "Hesio-" at the foot of col. 331; Greek accents small and blurred, set as best read, UNSURE; Greek two verse lines set as one paragraph; "cum" partly damaged in print; full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" below the text block not set; Variorum notae (Socrates' daemon, sneezing, Puero, Magorum, Putent, Adhaerent) left for later pass; column ends mid-sentence at "omnes"

PL 6:333

ostiatim domos occupant, ad sibi geniorum nomen assumunt: sic enim latino sermone daemonas interpretantur. Hos in suis penetralibus consecrant: his quotidie merum profundunt; et scientes, daemonas venerantur, quasi terrestre deos, et quasi depulsores malorum, quae ipsi faciunt et irrogant. Qui quoniam sunt spiritus tenues, et incomprehensibiles, insinuant se corporibus hominum, et occulte in visceribus operati, valetudinem vitiant, morbos citant, somniis animos terrent, mentes furoribus quatiunt, ut homines his malis cogant ad eorum auxilia decurrere.

houses they occupy door by door, and take to themselves the name of genii; for so they render "demons" in the Latin tongue. These they consecrate in their inner shrines; to these they daily pour out unmixed wine; and knowingly they venerate demons, as if earthly gods, and as if averters of the evils which they themselves cause and inflict. Since these are thin and incomprehensible spirits, they insinuate themselves into the bodies of men, and, working secretly in their inward parts, they impair health, stir up diseases, terrify souls with dreams, and shake minds with frenzies, so that by these evils they may compel men to run for refuge to their aid.

Editors' notes and page, col. 333

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma.]

(continued) ‹anchor: lemma on previous page› · col 333

Empedocles apud Plutarch. περὶ εὐθυμίας. Et Menander, cujus versus extant apud Clem. Alex. Strom. v; Stob. in eclog. Phys. lib. I, cap. 9; Ammian. Marcell., lib. XXI, Scholiast.; Theocrit., Eidyll. 1. Vide in hanc rem Acta Apost. cap. 12, v. 15; Tertull. de Anima, cap. 37, et ibid. Pamel. cap. 39; Just. Mart. Ἀπόκρις. πρὸς ὀρθοδ. quaest. 30; Orig., super Numer., Homil. 20, et lib. III, περὶ Ἀρχ., cap. 2, Hieron., in Matth. c. XVIII, et in Esai. c. LXVI; Augustin. Soliloq., cap. 27; Joh. Cassian., collat. XIII, cap. 12; Burchard. Wormat. Episc. lib. XX, Decret., cap. 46 et 47; Servium in illud Virgil. Quisque suos patimur manes. Quem autem Menand. μυσταγωγόν, hunc Plato, teste Clem. Alex. Strom. v, φύλακα, uti et Hesiod. Oper. et Dier. et Apuleius lib. de deo Socrat., Arrian. lib. I, dissert. 25, ἐπίτροπον; Senec. epist. CX, Paedagogum; Censorinus, assiduum observatorem; Martian. Capell. lib. II. Philol., Praestitem et tutelatorem fidissimumque Germanum appellat. LINDENBROGIUS.

Empedocles in Plutarch, On Tranquillity of Mind. And Menander, whose verses survive in Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 5; Stobaeus in the Eclogae Physicae book 1, chapter 9; Ammianus Marcellinus, book 21; the scholiast on Theocritus, Idyll 1. On this matter see Acts chapter 12, verse 15; Tertullian, On the Soul, chapter 37, and Pamelius there on chapter 39; Justin Martyr, Answers to the Orthodox, question 30; Origen on Numbers, Homily 20, and On First Principles book 3, chapter 2; Jerome on Matthew chapter 18 and on Isaiah chapter 66; Augustine, Soliloquies, chapter 27; John Cassian, Conference 13, chapter 12; Burchard, bishop of Worms, Decretum book 20, chapters 46 and 47; Servius on Virgil's line Each of us suffers his own shades. What Menander calls the "mystagogue", Plato, on the witness of Clement of Alexandria (Stromata 5), calls the "guardian", as do Hesiod in the Works and Days and Apuleius in his book On the God of Socrates; Arrian, book 1, discourse 25, calls him the "overseer"; Seneca, letter 110, the "tutor"; Censorinus, "the constant watcher"; Martianus Capella, book 2 of the Philology, "protector and guardian and most faithful Germanus". LINDENBROGIUS.

(continued, second hand) ‹anchor: same lemma› · col 333 Ut animas nascentibus, ita populis fatales genios dividi ait Symmachus, cujus opinionem recitat Prudentius, his versibus: Sicut variae nascentibus, inquit, / Contingunt pueris animae: sic urbibus affert / Hora diesque suum, cum primum moenia surgunt, / Aut fatum, aut genium, cujus moderamine regnent. Regni quoque genium Claudian. dixit: Quid nos perficeret scribentis voce serenae. / Vel genius regni, vel pietatis amor. Et Romae quamdam aedem genio populi dicatam fuisse docet Dio. lib L Hist. ubi de simia loquitur. Alexandriae quoque genii templum fuisse colligimus ex Ammian. Marcellino, lib. XXII Rer. gest., in quibus etiam genii publici meminit l. XX et XXV. PETRUS FAB.

Symmachus says that as souls are allotted to those being born, so fated genii are allotted to peoples; Prudentius quotes his opinion in these verses: "Just as different souls," he says, "fall to boys at their birth, so to cities the hour and day, when first their walls rise, bring their own fate or genius, under whose governance they rule." Claudian also spoke of the genius of the realm: "What would perfect us by the voice of a serene writer: either the genius of the realm or the love of piety." And Dio, History book 50, where he speaks of the ape, shows that there was at Rome a shrine dedicated to the genius of the people. That there was also a temple of the genius at Alexandria we gather from Ammianus Marcellinus, Res gestae book 22, in which he also mentions the public genius in books 20 and 25. PETRUS FABER.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Geniorum nomen› · col 333

Geniorum nomen. Vide Censorinum de Die Natali cap. 2: Genius, inquit, est deus cujus in tutela, ut quisque natus est, vivit... certe a gignendo genius appellatur.

The name of genii. See Censorinus, On the Birthday, chapter 2: "The genius," he says, "is the god under whose protection each one lives from his birth... certainly it is called genius from begetting (gignendo)."

(lemma) ‹anchor: His quotidie merum profundunt› · col 333

His quotidie merum profundunt. Sic omnes fere antiquae editiones. Haec lectio ex Plinio lib. XIV, cap. 19, auctoritatem habet, ubi Geniis et Laribus ab antiquis merum profundi solitum erat. Attamen hanc vocem merum, omittunt mss. fere omnes. Sed haec sententia (ut cuivis patet) supplenda est aliqua dictione. Sive itaque cum Betulei sanguinem profundunt, vel cum multis editis merum profundunt, legas, perinde est; sanguinem enim, ut et merum, gentiles idolis suis profudisse, constat: de sanguine, testatur auctor noster, supra lib. I, cap. 21, ubi notas vide. Verum si quis conjecturae locus, ausim affirmare, merum profundunt, legendum esse, quod modo probavi: haec mea est ratio, quia Lactantius ex professo de geniis loquitur; geniis autem merum profundi solitum, notum est ex Horat. lib. III, Od. 17: . . . . Cras Genium mero / Placabis et porco bimestri. Persius sat. 6: Funde merum Genio. GALLAEUS.

To these they daily pour out unmixed wine. So read almost all the old editions. This reading has authority from Pliny, book 14, chapter 19, where unmixed wine was customarily poured out by the ancients to the Genii and Lares. Yet nearly all the manuscripts omit this word merum (unmixed wine). But the sentence (as anyone can see) must be completed with some word. So whether you read with Betuleius they pour out blood, or with many printed editions they pour out unmixed wine, it comes to the same; for it is established that the gentiles poured out blood, as well as wine, to their idols: of blood our author testifies above, book 1, chapter 21, where see the notes. But if there is any room for conjecture, I would venture to affirm that merum profundunt should be read, as I have just argued; my reason is that Lactantius is speaking expressly of genii, and that unmixed wine was customarily poured out to genii is known from Horace, book 3, Ode 17: ". . . . Tomorrow you will appease your Genius with wine and a two-month pig." Persius, satire 6: "Pour out wine to the Genius." GALLAEUS.

(lemma, addition) ‹anchor: profundere› · col 334 Caeterum, profundere, est profusam et nimiam liberalitatem habere, ut apud Terentium Adelph. act. I, scen. 2, v. 54: Profundat, pereat, perdat.

Besides, profundere means to show lavish and excessive liberality, as in Terence, Adelphoe act 1, scene 2, line 54: "Let him squander, perish, waste."

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quasi depulsores malorum... faciunt› · col 334

Quasi depulsores malorum... faciunt. Tertull. Apol. cap. 22: Laedunt primo, dehinc remedia praecipiunt ad miraculum nova, sive contraria. Post quae desinunt laedere, et curasse creduntur. Minuc. cap. 27; Cypr., Idol. Van. cap. 4. Mox irrogant omnes, recte. Ven. 1471, irrigant, pravo. BUNEMAN.

As if averters of evils... they make. Tertullian, Apology chapter 22: "First they harm; then they prescribe remedies, novel to the point of wonder, or contrary ones. After which they stop harming, and are believed to have cured." Minucius, chapter 27; Cyprian, That Idols Are Not Gods, chapter 4. Next, all read irrogant, rightly; Venice 1471 reads irrigant, wrongly. BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quoniam sunt spiritus tenues› · col 334

Quoniam sunt spiritus tenues. Veteres eo inclinabant ut solum Deum ἀσώματον dicerent; angelos vero habere corpus aliquod, non hominum corporibus simile, sed tenue aliquod et subtile: hinc eos Lactantius spiritus tenues dicit. Tertull. lib. de Carne Christi cap. 6: Constat angelos carnem propriam non gestasse: ut puta naturae spiritalis, et si corporis alicujus, sui tamen generis; in carnem autem humanam transfigurabiles ad tempus, ut videri et congredi cum hominibus possint. Cassianus, collat. 7, cap. 13, ait angelos habere corpus, licet tenuius quam nos; et Macarius Homil. 4. VOSSIUS. — Sed hanc sententiam esse erroneam, cuivis sacram Scripturam legenti patet.

Since they are thin spirits. The ancients inclined to call God alone "bodiless", but held that angels have some body, not like human bodies but thin and subtle: hence Lactantius calls them thin spirits. Tertullian, On the Flesh of Christ chapter 6: "It is agreed that angels did not bear flesh of their own, being, say, of spiritual nature, and if of some body, yet of their own kind; but transformable for a time into human flesh, so that they could be seen by men and meet with them." Cassian, Conference 7, chapter 13, says "angels have a body, though thinner than ours"; and Macarius, Homily 4. VOSSIUS. — But that this opinion is erroneous is plain to anyone who reads sacred Scripture.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Operati› · col 334

Operati. Sic praeferunt omnes pene mss. et quidam editi. In 1 Bon. antiq. est operantur; in 2 Reg. rec. ac pluribus impressis operti, mendose; supervacaneum enim esset illud occulte.

Operati (having worked). So almost all the manuscripts and some printed editions give it. In one old Bologna manuscript it is operantur; in two more recent Regii and several printed editions operti (covered), wrongly; for the word occulte (secretly) would then be superfluous.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Morbos citant› · col 334

Morbos citant. Id est, concitant vel excitant: simplex pro composito; ut spiravit pro inspiravit, lib. II Divin. Instit. cap. 12, plagas tendunt, pro intendunt, eodem lib. II, cap. 17, etc.

They summon diseases. That is, they stir up or rouse them: the simple verb for the compound; as spiravit for inspiravit, Divine Institutes book 2, chapter 12; plagas tendunt for intendunt, in the same book 2, chapter 17, etc.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Fallaciarum› · col 334

Fallaciarum. De his daemonum fallaciis vide S. Augustin. de Civit. Dei, lib. IX, cap. 18.

Of deceits. On these deceits of the demons see St Augustine, City of God, book 9, chapter 18.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Cum nocere desinunt› · col 334

Cum nocere desinunt. Hinc veteres Romani Febrem, Pavorem et Pallorem coluerunt, et Babylonii draconem, ne eis nocerent.

When they stop harming. Hence the ancient Romans worshipped Fever, Fear and Pallor, and the Babylonians the dragon, so that they would not harm them.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Justos... metuunt› · col 334

Justos... metuunt. Vide in Actis Apostolorum, c. XVI et XIX, et notum est illud Evangelii, cum daemones Christo Jesu dicunt: Quid venisti ante tempus torquere nos?

They fear the just. See Acts chapters 16 and 19; and well known is the Gospel passage where the demons say to Christ Jesus: "Why have you come before the time to torment us?"

(lemma) ‹anchor: Cujus nomine adjurati, de corporibus excedunt› · col 334

Cujus nomine adjurati, de corporibus excedunt. Observa antiquissimum exorcismorum usum in Ecclesia, et potestatem fidelium in daemonas. Ita l. IV, c. 27. Adde Justin. Dialog. cum Triphone de Veritate christianae relig., et in Orat. ad Gent.; Tertullian., de Corona militis, cap. 11; de Idololatria, cap. 11, in fine; ad Scap., cap. 2, et in Apologet. cap. 23; Cyprian. ad Demetrianum et ad Donat, epist. II, et de Vanitate Idolorum; Minut., in Octav.; Epiphan., Haeres. 30; Prudent. in Apotheos. contra Judaeos. Sed et in Synagoga exorcistas fuisse colligitur ex Actis (continues)

Adjured in his name, they leave the bodies. Note the most ancient use of exorcisms in the Church, and the power of the faithful over demons. So too book 4, chapter 27. Add Justin, Dialogue with Trypho on the Truth of the Christian Religion, and the Address to the Greeks; Tertullian, On the Soldier's Crown, chapter 11; On Idolatry, chapter 11, at the end; To Scapula, chapter 2, and Apology chapter 23; Cyprian, To Demetrian and To Donatus, letter 2, and That Idols Are Not Gods; Minucius, in the Octavius; Epiphanius, Heresies 30; Prudentius, Apotheosis, against the Jews. But that there were exorcists in the Synagogue too is gathered from Acts (continues)

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running head: 333 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E[RRORIS] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ostiatim domos occupant; B v; Stob. in eclog. Phys. (in the Variorum notae); C nem recitat Prudentius (in the Variorum notae); D His quotidie merum profundunt (in the Variorum notae)
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CAPUT XVI.

Chapter XVI.

Daemones nihil posse in eos qui in fide solidati sunt.

That demons can do nothing against those who are made firm in the faith.

Quarum omnium fallaciarum ratio expertibus veritatis obscura est. Prodesse enim eos putant, cum nocere desinunt, qui nihil aliud possunt quam nocere. Dicat fortasse aliquis, colendos esse ergo, ne noceant, siquidem possunt nocere. Nocent illi quidem, sed iis, a quibus timentur, quos manus Dei potens et excelsa non protegit, qui profani sunt a sacramento veritatis. Justos autem, id est cultores Dei, metuunt, cujus nomine adjurati de corporibus excedunt: quorum verbis, tanquam flagris verberati, non modo daemonas se esse confitentur, sed etiam nomina sua edunt, illa, quae in templis adorantur,

The working of all these deceptions is hidden from those who have no share in the truth. For they think that they do good when they cease to do harm, they who can do nothing else but harm. Someone may perhaps say that they ought therefore to be worshipped, so that they may not do harm, since indeed they are able to do harm. They do harm indeed, but to those by whom they are feared, whom the mighty and exalted hand of God does not protect, who are strangers to the sacrament of truth. But the righteous, that is, the worshippers of God, they fear; adjured in His name they depart from bodies; beaten by their words as if by whips, they not only confess that they are demons, but even give out their names, those which are worshipped in the temples,

Editors' notes and page, col. 334

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running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 334 (left part of running head cut off at image edge)
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PL 6:335

et quod plerumque coram cultoribus suis faciunt; non utique in opprobrium religionis et honoris sui, quia nec Deo per quem adjurantur, nec justis, quorum voce torqnentur, mentiri possunt. Itaque maximis, saepe ululatibus editis, verberari se et ardere, et jam jamque exire proclamant: tantum habet Dei cognitio ac justitia potestatis! Cui ergo nocere possunt, nisi iis, quos habent in sua potestate? Denique affirmat eos Hermes, qui cognoverint Deum, non tantum ab incursibus daemonum tutos esse, verum etiam ne fato quidem teneri. Μία, inquit, φυλακὴ εὐσέβεια· εὐσεβοῦς γὰρ ἀνθρώπου οὐ δαίμων κακὸς, οὔτε εἱμαρμένη κρατεῖ. Θεὸς γὰρ ῥύεται τὸν εὐσεβῆ ἐκ παντὸς κακοῦ· τὸ γὰρ ἓν καὶ μόνον ἐν ἀνθρώποις ἐστὶν ἀγαθὸν εὐσέβεια. Quid sit autem εὐσέβεια, alio loco his verbis testatur, dicens:

and this they often do in the presence of their own worshippers; not, surely, to the disgrace of their religion and honour, since they cannot lie either to God, by Whom they are adjured, or to the just, by whose voice they are tormented. And so, often uttering the loudest howls, they cry out that they are being beaten and are burning, and that they are on the very point of going out: such power does the knowledge and justice of God have! Whom, then, can they harm, except those whom they hold in their power? Finally Hermes affirms that those who have known God are not only safe from the attacks of demons, but are not even held by fate. 'The one safeguard,' he says, 'is piety; for over the pious man neither an evil demon nor fate has power. For God rescues the pious man from every evil; for the one and only good among men is piety.' And what piety is, he testifies in another place in these words, saying:

Editors' notes and page, col. 335

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma.]

(continued) ‹anchor: Cujus nomine adjurati (previous page)› · col 335

Apostolorum cap. XIX; et testatur Josephus, qui mira quaedam refert, Judaear. Antiquit. lib. VIII, cap. 2, et Epiphan. Haeres. 30. ISAEUS. — Justin. Dial. cum Tryphone: Τὴν τοῦ ὀνόματος Χριστοῦ ἰσχὺν καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια τρέμει, καὶ σήμερον ἐξορκιζόμενα κατὰ τὸ ὄνομα Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ σταυρωθέντος ὑποτάσσεται. Christi nominis potentiam daemones tremunt et reformidant, et hodie quoque illi per nomen Jesu Christi crucifixi adjurati, nobis parent. Item: Ἡμεῖς οἱ πιστεύοντες ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρωθέντα Ἰησοῦν Κύριον ἡμῶν, τὰ δαιμόνια πάντα καὶ πνεύματα πονηρὰ ἐξορκίζοντες. Nos qui in crucifixum Jesum Dominum credimus, daemonia cuncta spiritusque malignos adjurantes expellimus. Hoc donum ejiciendi daemonia aliaque faciendi miracula, Deus concesserat apostolicis viris, ut veritatem Evangelii tanto magis confirmarent. Etiam Gentiles et Judaei exorcistas suos habebant. Justin. loco laudato: Οἱ ἐκ Ἰουδαίων ἐξορκισταὶ τῇ τέχνῃ ἥπερ καὶ τὰ ἔθνη χρώμενοι ἐξορκίζουσι, καὶ θυμιάμασι, καὶ καταδεσμοῖς χρῶνται. Judaeorum exorcistae, seu adjuratores vestri, jam arte quadam veluti Gentes in adjurationibus utuntur, et thymiamata et vincula adhibent. Gentiles suos habuisse exorcistas constat ex Luciano in Philopseude, quem adi; multa ad hanc rem invenies. Plutarch. Sympos. lib. VII, quaest. 5, testatur, daemonibus obsessos, jubentibus magis, Ephesias debuisse recitare litteras.

Acts chapter 19; and Josephus testifies to it, who relates some remarkable things, Jewish Antiquities book 8, chapter 2; and Epiphanius, Heresies 30. ISAEUS. — Justin, Dialogue with Trypho: [Greek, translated by the Latin that follows] "The demons tremble and dread the power of Christ's name, and today too, adjured through the name of Jesus Christ crucified, they obey us." Again: [Greek] "We who believe in Jesus our Lord, the crucified, adjuring all demons and evil spirits, drive them out." This gift of casting out demons and working other miracles God had granted to apostolic men, so that they might confirm the truth of the Gospel all the more. The gentiles and the Jews also had their exorcists. Justin, in the passage cited: [Greek] "The exorcists of the Jews, your adjurers, now use a certain art in their adjurations as the gentiles do, and employ incense and binding spells." That the gentiles had their own exorcists is established from Lucian in the Philopseudes, which consult; you will find much on this matter. Plutarch, Table Talk book 7, question 5, testifies that the possessed, at the magi's bidding, had to recite the Ephesian letters.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quod plerumque coram suis cultoribus faciunt› · col 335

Quod plerumque coram suis cultoribus faciunt. Hunc locum, qui mihi valde corruptus videtur, ita ex Cypriano et Minucio, a quibus haec fere omnia desumpsit Firmianus, restituendum arbitror: Quod etiam plerumque coram cultoribus suis faciunt; non utique in opprobrium religionis et honoris sui, quia nec Deo, per quem adjurantur, nec justis, quorum voce torquentur, mentiri possunt. Cyprian. de Idol. Vanit.: Unde veniant et quando discedant, ipsis etiam, qui se colunt, audientibus confiteri. Minuc.: quod sunt, eloquuntur, nec utique in turpitudinem sui, nonnullis praesertim vestrum assistentibus, mentiuntur. ISAEUS. — Quod plerumque. Ediderant recentiores, et quod. Ejeci copulam auctoritate Lips. tert., Reimm., Ven., 1471, 72, utriusque 78, 93, 97, Rost., Paris., Tornes., ut oratio melius fluat, idem Heumannus sentit. BUN.

Which they mostly do in the presence of their worshippers. This passage, which seems to me badly corrupted, I think should be restored thus from Cyprian and Minucius, from whom Firmianus took nearly all of this: "Which they also mostly do in the presence of their worshippers; not, surely, to the reproach of their religion and honour, but because they can lie neither to God, by whom they are adjured, nor to the just, by whose voice they are tormented." Cyprian, That Idols Are Not Gods: "to confess whence they come and when they depart, even in the hearing of those who worship them." Minucius: "they declare what they are, and do not lie, surely, to their own disgrace, especially when some of you are standing by." ISAEUS. — Quod plerumque. The more recent editors had printed et quod. I have thrown out the conjunction on the authority of the third Leipzig manuscript, Reimmann's, Venice 1471 and 72, both of 78, 93 and 97, the Rostock, Paris and Tornaesius editions, so that the sentence runs better; Heumann thinks the same. BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Non utique in opprobrium Religionis et honoris sui, quia nec Deo› · col 335

Non utique in opprobrium Religionis et honoris sui, quia nec Deo, etc. Hic locus qui est Cypriani de Idolorum vanitate, sic ex vetustissimis mss. 1 Bonon. et 2 Reg. aliisque duobus bonae notae Regiis, et Isaeo est profecto restituendus: in his deest sed, ut et in nonnullis editis. At in multis mss. et editis sic habetur: Non utique in opprobrium religionis, sed honoris sui, quia nec Deo; male. Vide infra, non quo ullum honorem desiderent. Quis enim perditis honor est? C. 17, circa medium. Pro quia, est qui in 1 Bonon. antiq. — Non utique in opprobrium religionis, sed honoris sui. Ita constanter et recte libri omnes. Male igitur Isaeus et Spark. sine libris in notis corrigunt: Non utique in opprobrium religionis et honoris sui. Vult igitur daemonas adjuratos confiteri se daemonas, non deos, esse, et nomina edere, non in opprobrium religionis christianae, sed in opprobrium honoris sui daemonacii, sive in suum dedecus, suam turpitudinem. Heumannus ex ingenio legit: Non opprobrium religionis, sed honorem. BUN.

Not, surely, to the reproach of their religion and honour, because not to God, etc. This passage, which is Cyprian's, from That Idols Are Not Gods, must certainly be restored thus from the very old manuscripts, one of Bologna and two Regii and two other Regii of good repute, and from Isaeus: in these sed (but) is lacking, as also in some printed editions. But in many manuscripts and editions it reads: "Not, surely, to the reproach of their religion, but of their own honour, because not to God"; wrongly. See below, "not that they desire any honour. For what honour is there for the lost?", chapter 17, about the middle. For quia (because) the one old Bologna manuscript has qui. — "Not, surely, to the reproach of the religion, but of their own honour." So all the books read, consistently and rightly. Isaeus and Spark therefore wrongly correct it in their notes, without manuscript support, to "Not, surely, to the reproach of their religion and honour". He means that the adjured demons confess that they are demons, not gods, and give their names, not to the reproach of the Christian religion, but to the reproach of their own demonic honour, that is, to "their own shame, their own disgrace". Heumann reads by conjecture: "Not the reproach of the religion, but its honour." BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Incursibus› · col 336

Incursibus. Ita restitui ex editis Rom. 1470 et Cellar. cunctisque mss. dempto 1 Colb., in quo, sicut et in vulgatis multis, est incursionibus.

Incursibus (by assaults). So I have restored from the Rome 1470 and Cellarius editions and all the manuscripts except one Colbert manuscript, in which, as also in many common editions, it is incursionibus.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Μία› · col 336

Μία, etc. Latine: Una, inquit, custodia pietas: pios enim homines nec daemon malus, nec fatum tenet. Nam Deus liberat pium ab omni malo: quod enim unum et solum in hominibus bonum, est pietas.

One, etc. In Latin: "One safeguard," he says, "is piety: for neither an evil demon nor fate holds pious men. For God frees the pious man from every evil: for the one and only good among men is piety."

(lemma) ‹anchor: Εἱμαρμένη› · col 336

Εἱμαρμένη. Hermes in Asclepio, εἱμαρμένην, Necessitatem et Ordinationem Dei nutu factas esse docet, qui mundum gubernat sua lege, et ratione divina. Augustinus variis locis varie Fati vocem usurpat, quandoque etiam pro astrorum dictamine, quod theologi rejiciunt prorsus; cujus observationem Chrysostomus, in tertio de Fato et Providentia sermone, tam manifeste contra legem Dei dicit, quam est vel sabbati neglectus, vel homicidium, vel adulterium. Fidem autem (hanc enim veram εὐσέβειαν esse dico) Fati leges rumpere, docet Ezechiae exemplum, cui vitae curriculum quindecim annis protractum fuit; docet Lazarus redivivus; docent plurima alia: quae Paulus ad Hebraeos capite undecimo enumerat; Epiphanius ubi de Pharisaeorum erroribus loquitur, tollit fatum, judicii opposit; haec duo siquidem ait simul consistere non posse. BETUL.

Fate. Hermes in the Asclepius teaches that fate, Necessity and Order were made at the nod of God, who governs the world by his own law and divine reason. Augustine uses the word Fate in various ways in various places, sometimes even for the dictate of the stars, which the theologians reject altogether; the observance of which Chrysostom, in his third sermon On Fate and Providence, calls as plainly against God's law as neglect of the sabbath, or murder, or adultery. That faith (for this I call true piety) breaks the laws of Fate is taught by the example of Hezekiah, whose span of life was prolonged by fifteen years; it is taught by Lazarus raised to life; it is taught by very many other things, which Paul enumerates in the eleventh chapter to the Hebrews. Epiphanius, where he speaks of the errors of the Pharisees, removes fate by setting judgement against it [opposit, as printed]; for he says the two cannot stand together. BETULEIUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια› · col 336

Ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια. Latine: pietas enim cognitio est Dei; idem Trismegist. in Pimandro, cap. 9. Quod congruit cum eo, quod Christus dixit Joannis c. XVII, 3 et III, 15. Sapientiam autem cum pietate idem esse, docet Augustinus in Euchiridio.

For piety. In Latin: "for piety is the knowledge of God"; the same in Trismegistus, the Poimandres, chapter 9. This agrees with what Christ said in John 17:3 and 3:15. That wisdom is the same as piety Augustine teaches in the Enchiridion.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Explicavit› · col 336

Explicavit. Mss. 9 rec. explanavit, non inepte.

Explicavit (he set out). Nine recent manuscripts read explanavit (he explained), not unfittingly.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ἀγγέλους πονηρούς› · col 336

Ἀγγέλους πονηρούς. Latine angelos malos. Ita saepe in Scripturis sacris daemones appellantur, sive angeli diaboli, ut Matth. XXV, sive angeli Satan, ut II Corinth., XII.

Evil angels. In Latin angelos malos. So the demons are often called in the sacred Scriptures, whether "angels of the devil", as in Matthew 25, or "angel of Satan", as in 2 Corinthians 12.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Astrologia› · col 336

Astrologia. Judiciaria videlicet, quae per siderum aspectus vaticinari futura contendit. De qua Tertull. Apol. cap. 35, et lib. de Idololat. damnat has omnes artes, de quibus hic sermo. Etiam Cicero I de Nat. deor. easque demolitur egregio volumine Joan. Francis. Picus, cui tit., de rerum Praenotione. ISAEUS.

Astrology. Judicial astrology, that is, which claims to foretell the future from the aspects of the stars. On it, Tertullian, Apology chapter 35, and in the book On Idolatry, condemns all these arts that are spoken of here. Cicero too, On the Nature of the Gods book 1; and Giovanni Francesco Pico demolishes them in a fine volume entitled On the Foreknowledge of Things. ISAEUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ars magica› · col 336

Ars magica. Vide S. Augustinum, libro VII de Civitate Dei, cap. ultimo, ubi testatur has artes, etiam ante Christum natum 9 legibus Gentilium fuisse prohibitas. Vide etiam Ciceron. in I Tuscul. quaestionum.

The magic art. See St Augustine, City of God book 7, last chapter, where he testifies that these arts were forbidden by the laws of the gentiles even before Christ was born [the "9" before "legibus" as printed]. See also Cicero, Tusculan Disputations book 1.

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other: the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" (cut off at the right edge) stands between the text block and the notes and is not set; the Variorum Notae beginning "Apostolorum cap. XIX" fill the lower part of the column and are left for the later pass; the right-hand column (beginning "ἡ γὰρ εὐ...", "auditor", with the heading "Astrolog...") belongs to the next column; the column ends mid-sentence at "dicens:"

PL 6:336

ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια γνῶσίς ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ. Asclepius quoque auditor ejus, eamdem sententiam latius explicavit in illo sermone perfecto, quem scripsit ad regem. Uterque vero daemonas esse affirmat inimicos et vexatores hominum; quos ideo Trismegistus ἀγγέλους πονηροὺς appellat: adeo non ignoravit ex coelestibus depravatos, terrenos esse coepisse.

for piety is the knowledge of God. Asclepius too, his hearer, set out the same opinion more broadly in that perfect discourse which he wrote to the king. Both of them, moreover, affirm that demons are enemies and harassers of men; and for this reason Trismegistus calls them "evil angels": so far was he from being unaware that, having been corrupted from heavenly beings, they had begun to be earthly.

CAPUT XVII.

Chapter XVII.

Astrologiam, aruspicinam et similes artes esse daemonum inventa.

That astrology, haruspicy and similar arts are the inventions of demons.

Eorum inventa sunt astrologia, et aruspicina, et auguratio, et ipsa quae dicuntur oracula, et necromantia, et ars magica, et quiquid praeterea malorum exercent homines, vel palam, vel occulte. Quae

Their inventions are astrology, and haruspicy, and augury, and the very things that are called oracles, and necromancy, and the magic art, and whatever evils besides men practise, whether openly or in secret. Which

Editors' notes and page, col. 336

Page

running head: [LAC]TANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 336 (left edge cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια γνῶσίς; B Ita constanter et recte (in the notes); C qui mundum gubernat (in the notes); D Explicavit. Mss. 9 rec. (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with the Greek quotation continued from col. 335; "auditor" read on the page (Q3 re-read; an earlier draft had "auditur"); "praeterea" printed with a broken t (prælerea), set as intended; misprints set as printed: "quiquid" (for quidquid); full-width heading "[V]ARIORUM NOTAE." spanning both columns above the notes, cut off at the left edge, not set; the Variorum notes at the page foot (Ita constanter ... ; Incursibus ... ; Μία ... ; Εἱμαρμένη ... ; Ἡ γὰρ εὐσέβεια ... ; Explicavit ... ; Ἀγγέλους πονηρούς ... ; Astrologia ... ; Ars magica ...) left for the later pass; no editors' matter in the text block

PL 6:337

omnia per se falsa sunt, ut Sibylla Erythraea testatur:

things are all of themselves false, as the Erythraean Sibyl testifies:

. . . . . . ἐπεὶ πλάνα πάντα τάδ' ἐστίν,

since all these things are deceptive,

Ἅπερ ἄφρονες ἄνδρες ἐρευνῶσι κατ' ἦμαρ.

which foolish men search into day by day.

Sed iidem ipsi auctores praesentia sua faciunt, ut vera esse credantur. Ita hominum credulitatem mentita divinitate deludunt, quod illis verum aperire non expedit. Hi sunt qui imagines, et simulacra fingere docuerunt; qui, ut hominum mentes a cultu veri Dei averterent, et fictos mortuorum regum vultus, et ornatos exquisita pulchritudine statui consecrarique fecerunt, et illorum sibi nomina, quasi personas aliquas, induerunt. Sed eos magi, et ii quos vere maleficos vulgus appellat, cum artes suas execrabiles exercent, veris suis nominibus cient, illis coelestibus, quae in litteris sanctis leguntur. Hi porro incesti ac vagi spiritus, ut turbent omnia, et errores humanis pectoribus offundant, serunt ac miscent falsa cum veris. Ipsi enim coelestes multos esse finxerunt, unumque omnium regem Jovem; eo quod multi sunt spiritus angelorum in coelo, et unus parens ac dominus omnium Deus: sed veritatem mentitis nominibus involutam ex oculis abstulerunt.

But these same authors by their own presence bring it about that these things are believed to be true. Thus with a feigned divinity they make sport of the credulity of men, because it does not suit them to disclose the truth. These are they who taught men to fashion images and likenesses; who, in order to turn the minds of men away from the worship of the true God, caused both the fashioned faces of dead kings, adorned with exquisite beauty, to be set up and consecrated, and took to themselves the names of those kings, as though putting on certain masks. But the magicians, and those whom the common people rightly call sorcerers, when they practise their accursed arts, summon them by their own true names, those heavenly ones which are read in the sacred writings. Moreover these unclean and wandering spirits, in order to throw all things into confusion and to pour errors over human hearts, sow and mingle false things with true. For they themselves invented the idea that there are many heavenly beings, and one king of all, Jupiter; because there are many spirits of angels in heaven, and one Father and Lord of all, God: but they have wrapped the truth in lying names and taken it away from men's eyes.

Nam Deus, ut principio docui (Scil. lib. I, cap. 6), neque nomine, cum solus sit, eget; neque angeli, cum sint immortales, dici se deos aut patiuntur, aut

For God, as I taught at the beginning (namely Book 1, Chapter 6), has no need of a name, since He is alone; nor do the angels, since they are immortal, either allow themselves to be called gods, or

Editors' notes and page, col. 337

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma.]

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ἐπεὶ πλάνα› · col 337

Ἐπεὶ πλάνα. Sic restitui ex ms. antiquissimo 1 Regio 900 annorum, non abludentibus veterrimis Regio-Put. et Cauc. quibus est ἐπίπλανα. Etiamque erud. Francius legendum esse censebat πλάνα. In multis mss. graecum deest: in 4 Reg. et in vulgatis est πλάνη. Interpretatio latina: Quoniam erronea omnia haec sunt, / Quae stulti homines scrutantur quotidie. Haec desumpta sunt ex Carminib. Sibyllinis, serm. 3, vers. 166.

Since [they are] errant. So I have restored from a very old Regius manuscript of 900 years, the very old Regio-Puteanus and Caucius manuscripts, which have epiplana, not disagreeing. The learned Francius also judged that plana should be read. In many manuscripts the Greek is lacking; in four Regii and in the common editions it is planē (error). The Latin rendering: "Since all these things are errant, which foolish men search into daily." These are taken from the Sibylline Oracles, book 3, line 166.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Et fictos› · col 337

Et fictos. Legitur effictos apud Buneman., qui in hunc locum notam sequentem exhibet. — Effictos mortuorum regum vultus. Mss. Emman., Goth., Lips. effictos; perperam vulgatum et fictos. CELL.

And fashioned. Bünemann reads effictos, and gives the following note on this passage. — The fashioned likenesses of dead kings. The Emmanuel, Gotha and Leipzig manuscripts read effictos; the common reading et fictos is wrong. CELLARIUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Personas aliquas induerunt› · col 337

Personas aliquas induerunt. Ita cum editis manuscripti, praeter 1 Bonon. antiq. et Colon. in quibus legitur induxerunt. Sed retinenda videtur lectio vulgata, quae est Ciceronis et Titi Livii. Vide Isaeum in notis. Et personae indui proprie dicuntur.

They put on certain masks. So the manuscripts with the printed editions, except the one old Bologna manuscript and the Cologne edition, in which induxerunt is read. But the common reading, which is Cicero's and Livy's usage, seems to be kept. See Isaeus in the notes. And masks are properly said to be put on.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quos... maleficos› · col 337

Quos... maleficos, etc. Titul. est in Codice l. IX, decimus octavus, in quo constitutio est Constantini Caesaris, vel potius Constantii, anno 357 lata: Nemo, inquit, aruspicem consulat aut mathematicum, nemo ariolum. Augurum et vatum prava confessio conticescat. Chaldaei, ac magi, et caeteri quos maleficos ob facinorum magnitudinem vulgus appellat, nec ad hanc partem aliquid moliantur. Sileat omnibus perpetuo divinandi curiositas: etenim supplicium capitis feret gladio ultore prostratus, quicumque nostris jussis obsequium denegaverit. BETULEIUS.

Whom... evil-doers, etc. There is a title in the Code, book 9, the eighteenth, containing a constitution of Constantine Caesar, or rather of Constantius, issued in the year 357: "Let no one," it says, "consult a soothsayer or an astrologer, no one a diviner. Let the depraved profession of augurs and seers fall silent. Let the Chaldaeans and magi and the rest whom the people call evil-doers for the enormity of their crimes attempt nothing in this line. Let the curiosity of divining be silent for all, for ever: for whoever refuses obedience to our commands shall suffer capital punishment, struck down by the avenging sword." BETULEIUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Veris suis nominibus cient› · col 337

Veris suis nominibus cient. Arnob. lib. V, initio, modum eliciendi Jovem Numa edoctus. Livius, l. I, de eodem Numa. Modum evocandi deos tutelares ex urbibus, quas Romani expugnatum ibant; invenies apud Macrobium lib. Saturnal. III, cap. 9.

They call them by their true names. Arnobius, book 5, at the beginning: "Numa, taught the way of drawing Jupiter down". Livy, book 1, on the same Numa. The way of calling the tutelary gods out of the cities the Romans were going to storm you will find in Macrobius, Saturnalia book 3, chapter 9.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Incesti› · col 337

Incesti. Hic sunt mali spiritus, qui ad sordes inclinant homines: sic os incestum apud Ciceronem.

Unchaste. These are the evil spirits that incline men to filth: so os incestum (an impure mouth) in Cicero.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Vagi› · col 337

Vagi. Quia sunt aerii, ut ex Apuleio S. Augustinus, et Apuleius ex Platone.

Wandering. Because they are creatures of the air, as St Augustine says following Apuleius, and Apuleius following Plato.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Errores humanis pectoribus offundant› · col 338

Errores humanis pectoribus offundant. Ita restituo ex vetustissimis et optimis mss. 1 Bonon., 2 Reg. aliisque sex, necnon editis Rom. 1470, ac Betul. Et sic Lactantius infra, offundunt tenebras, et supra, eodem lib. II, cap. 1, circa med., offundere tenebras. In 2 Reg., 1 Lips., 3 Colb. et ed. Cellar. est pectoribus offundunt; in 3 al. Reg., 3 Colb., 2 Clarom. Brun., effundant; In 11 vulgatis, infundant.

That they may pour errors over human hearts. So I restore from the very old and best manuscripts, one of Bologna, two Regii and six others, and from the Rome 1470 and Betuleius editions. And so Lactantius below, "they pour out darkness", and above, in this same book 2, chapter 1, about the middle, "to pour out darkness". Two Regii, one Leipzig, three Colbert manuscripts and Cellarius's edition have pectoribus offundunt; three other Regii, three Colbert, two Claromontani and Brun. have effundant; eleven common editions have infundant.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Nisi jussu facere› · col 338

Nisi jussu facere. Ita plurimi mss., Regio-Put., 12 alii, et sex typis excusi. In 1 Bonon. antiq., 1 Reg., 2 Colb., ed. Tornes., legitur, jussum; in 5 al. scriptis, jussa; pro quo justa in 1 Reg. et ed. Rom. 1468, 1470; in Pal. jussi; in 1 Reg., Marm. et 7 impressis, jussu ejus.

To do only at command. So very many manuscripts, the Regio-Puteanus, twelve others, and six printed editions. The one old Bologna manuscript, one Regius, two Colbert manuscripts and the Tornaesius edition read jussum; five other manuscripts jussa, for which one Regius and the Rome editions of 1468 and 1470 have justa; the Palatine has jussi; one Regius, the Marmoutier manuscript and seven printed editions jussu ejus.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Res geratur› · col 338

Res geratur. Mss. 8 et ed. Cellar., res gerantur. Caeteri ut in textu.

The matter be done. Eight manuscripts and Cellarius's edition read res gerantur (things be done). The rest as in the text.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Cum filio› · col 338

Cum filio. Ita cum omnibus editis mss. 30, inter quos est Regio-Put. Hae duae voces absunt a 13 manu exaratis.

With the Son. So thirty manuscripts, among them the Regio-Puteanus, with all the printed editions. These two words are missing from thirteen manuscripts.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Nec est in angelis› · col 338

Nec est in angelis. Ex mss. et veteribus editis restitui est, quod in pluribus rec. impressis deerat.

Nor is it in the angels. From the manuscripts and old editions I have restored est, which was missing in several recent printed editions.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Non quo› · col 338

Non quo. Ita restitui ex omnibus mss. et editione Roman. 1468. Caeteri vulgati habent quod. At quo, pro quod, legitur apud Ciceronem: Non quo alicunde audiveris, lib. X, ad Attic. ep. I, et alibi.

Not that. So I have restored from all the manuscripts and the Rome edition of 1468. The other common editions have quod. But quo for quod is read in Cicero: "not that you have heard from anywhere", To Atticus book 10, letter 1, and elsewhere.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Non quo ullum honorem desiderent› · col 338

Non quo ullum honorem desiderent, etc. Aliud sentit S. August. l. IX de Civ. Dei, cap. 20. Est, inquit, in daemonibus scientia sine charitate; et ideo tam inflati, id est tam superbi sunt, ut honores divinos, et religionis servitutem, quam vero Deo deberi sciunt, sibi sategerint exhiberi, et quantum possunt, adhuc agunt. Quin et D. Thomas asserit, spiritus malos in eodem peccato permanere quo prius peccaverant, quantum ad appetitum, licet non quantum ad hoc quod obtinere se posse putent. SPARK.

Not that they desire any honour, etc. St Augustine holds otherwise, City of God book 9, chapter 20: "There is in the demons," he says, "knowledge without charity; and so they are so puffed up, that is, so proud, that they have striven to have divine honours and the service of religion, which they know to be owed to the true God, shown to themselves, and as far as they can they still do so." Indeed St Thomas also asserts that the evil spirits remain in the same sin in which they first sinned, as regards their desire, though not as regards what they think they can obtain. SPARK.

(lemma) ‹anchor: A cultu et notitia verae majestatis avertere› · col 338

A cultu et notitia verae majestatis avertere. Sic reposui ex mss. 8 Reg. in quibus sunt duo veterrimi, 6 Colbert., 2 Oxon. et octo aliis, atque sex vulgatis. Mss. 2 Reg. rec. et 3 Oxon. ac 9 excusi habent, a cultura.

To turn away from the worship and knowledge of the true majesty. So I have put it back from eight Regius manuscripts, among which are two very old ones, six Colbert, two Oxford and eight others, and six common editions. Two recent Regii, three Oxford manuscripts and nine printed editions have a cultura.

(printed under page 172)

Page

running head: 337 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE ERRORI (cut off at the right edge of the image)
marginal letters: A omnia per se falsa sunt; B cesti ac vagi spiritus; C Ἐπεὶ πλάνα. Sic restitui (in the notes); D decimus octavus (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: VARIORUM NOTAE heading and the notes below it (Ἐπεὶ πλάνα. Sic restitui ... Vagi. Quia sunt aerii) are page-foot commentary, not set; the first letter of the second Greek line is small and blurred, read as Ἅπερ to match the note's Latin "Quae"; "pulchritudine" and "docuerunt" show damaged type but the intended letters are clear; the overlapping lines between the images are set once; the column ends mid-sentence at "aut"

PL 6:338

volunt: quorum unum solumque officium est, servire nutibus Dei, nec omnino quidquam nisi jussu facere. Sic enim mundum regi a Deo dicimus, ut a rectore provinciam: cujus apparitores nemo socios esse in regenda provincia dixerit, quamvis illorum ministerio res geratur. Et hi tamen possunt aliquid praeter jussa rectoris, per ipsius ignorantiam, quae est conditionis humanae. Ille autem praeses mundi, et rector universi, qui scit omnia, cujus divinis oculis nihil septum est, solus habet rerum omnium cum filio potestatem; nec est in angelis quidquam, nisi parendi necessitas. Itaque nullum sibi honorem tribui volunt, quorum omnis honor in Deo est. Illi autem, qui desciverunt a Dei ministerio, quia sunt veritatis inimici, et praevaricatores Dei, nomen sibi et cultum deorum vindicare conantur; non quo ullum honorem desiderent (quis enim perditis honor est?), nec ut Deo noceant, cui noceri non potest: sed ut hominibus, quos nituntur a cultu et notitia verae majestatis avertere, ne immortalitatem adipisci possint, quam ipsi sua nequitia perdiderunt. Offundunt itaque tenebras, et veritatem caligine obducunt, ne dominum, ne patrem suum norint; et ut illiciant facile, in templis se occulunt, et sacrificiis omnibus praesto adsunt, eduntque saepe prodigia, quibus obstupefacti homines, fidem commodent simulacris divinitatis ac

wish it: whose one and only duty is to serve the nod of God, and to do nothing whatever except by command. For we say that the world is ruled by God as a province is ruled by its governor: no one would say that his attendants are partners in governing the province, although business is carried on through their ministry. And yet these can do something beyond the governor's orders, through his ignorance, which belongs to the human condition. But that President of the world and Ruler of the universe, Who knows all things, from Whose divine eyes nothing is shut off, alone holds power over all things together with the Son; nor is there anything in the angels except the necessity of obeying. Therefore they wish no honour to be paid to themselves, whose whole honour is in God. But those who have revolted from the service of God, because they are enemies of the truth and transgressors against God, try to claim for themselves the name and worship of gods; not that they desire any honour (for what honour is there for the lost?), nor in order to harm God, Who cannot be harmed, but to harm men, whom they strive to turn away from the worship and knowledge of the true majesty, so that they may not be able to attain the immortality which they themselves lost by their own wickedness. They therefore spread darkness and cover the truth with gloom, so that men may not know their Lord, their Father; and in order to entice them easily, they hide themselves in temples and are at hand at all sacrifices, and often produce prodigies, so that men, astounded by them, may lend belief to images of divinity and

Editors' notes and page, col. 338

Page

running head: [cut off at left edge] RIGINE ERRORIS. 538
marginal letters: A volunt: quorum unum; B cultum deorum vindicare; C Errores humanis pectoribus (in the notes); D Non quo. Ita restitui (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: running head prints the column number as 538, read as 338 per the assignment (the first digit may be a worn 3); "septum" set as printed (variant spelling of saeptum); "cum filio" printed lowercase; the full-width heading "...RUM NOTAE." (cut off at left edge) stands between the text and the notes and is not set; the editors' notes below it (Errores humanis pectoribus ... a cultura) are left for the later pass.

PL 6:339

numinis: Inde est, quod ab augure lapis novacula incisus est; quod Juno Veiensis migrare se Romam velle respondit; quod Fortuna muliebris periculum denuntiavit; quod Claudiae manum navis secuta est; quod in sacrilegos et Juno nudata, et Locrensis Proserpina, et Ceres Milesia vindicavit; et Hercules de Appio, et Jupiter de Atinio; et Minerva de Caesare: Hinc, quod serpens urbem Romam pestilentia liberavit Epidauro accersitus. Nam illuc δαιμονιάρχης ipse in figura sua sine ulla dissimulatione perlatus est; siquidem legati ad eam rem missi; draconem secum mirae magnitudinis advexerunt.

of the divine power. Hence it is that a whetstone was cut with a razor by an augur; that Juno of Veii answered that she was willing to move to Rome; that Fortuna Muliebris gave warning of danger; that a ship followed the hand of Claudia; that against the sacrilegious both Juno, when stripped, and Proserpina of Locri, and Ceres of Miletus took vengeance; and Hercules on Appius, and Jupiter on Atinius, and Minerva on Caesar. Hence it is that a serpent summoned from Epidaurus freed the city of Rome from pestilence. For thither the chief of the demons himself was carried in his own shape without any disguise; since indeed the envoys sent for that purpose brought back with them a dragon of wondrous size.

In oraculis autem vel maxime fallunt, quorum praestigias profani a veritate intelligere non possunt: ideoque ab illis attribui putant, et imperia, et victorias, et opes, et eventus prosperos rerum; denique ipsorum nutu saepe rempublicam periculis imminentibus liberatam: quae pericula; et responsis denuntiaverunt, et sacrificiis placati averterunt. Sed omnia ista fallaciae sunt. Nam cum dispositiones Dei praesentiant, quippe qui ministri ejus fuerunt, interponunt

But in oracles above all they deceive, whose tricks the profane cannot distinguish from the truth; and therefore they think that empires, and victories, and riches, and prosperous outcomes of affairs are granted by them; in short, that by their nod the commonwealth has often been freed from impending dangers: which dangers they both announced through responses and, appeased by sacrifices, averted. But all these things are deceptions. For since they foresee the dispositions of God, inasmuch as they were His ministers, they interpose

Editors' notes and page, col. 339

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma.]

(lemma) ‹anchor: Augure› · col 339

Augure. Vide supra, c. 8 hujusce libri, post initium.

By the augur. See above, chapter 8 of this book, after the beginning.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Juno Veiensis› · col 339

Juno Veiensis. Hanc Monetam vocavit capite 8 hujusce libri.

Juno of Veii. He called her Moneta in chapter 8 of this book.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Fortuna› · col 339

Fortuna. Vide S. Augustinum, de Civit. Dei lib. IV, cap. 19.

Fortune. See St Augustine, City of God book 4, chapter 19.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Claudiae› · col 339

Claudiae. Vide supra, cap. 8.

Of Claudia. See above, chapter 8.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Juno nudata› · col 339

Juno nudata, etc. Est Juno Lacinia, cujus templum Censor Fulvius tegulis marmoreis nudavit; Locrensis Proserpina, quam Pyrrhus spoliavit: Ceres Milesia, quae Alexandri milites sacrilegos caecitate multavit: Hercules de Appio, quem cum sacra Herculis ad servos transtulisset, Deus luminibus orbavit; Atinio, qui senatui Jovis jussa renuntiaverat; Minerva, cujus species Arturio Augusti medico apparuerat, serpens, Aesculapius. De his supra cap. 8.

Juno stripped, etc. This is Juno Lacinia, whose temple the censor Fulvius stripped of its marble tiles; Proserpina of Locri, whom Pyrrhus despoiled; Ceres of Miletus, who punished Alexander's sacrilegious soldiers with blindness; Hercules on Appius, whom the god deprived of his sight when he had transferred the rites of Hercules to slaves; [the god] on Atinius, who had reported Jupiter's commands to the senate; Minerva, whose form had appeared to Arturius, Augustus's physician; the serpent, Aesculapius. On these, above, chapter 8.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Δαιμονιάρχης› · col 339

Δαιμονιάρχης. Haec vox desideratur in mss. 2 Reg. vetustissimis.

Prince of demons. This word is missing in two very old Regius manuscripts.

(lemma) ‹anchor: In figura sua› · col 339

In figura sua. Scilicet forma serpentis.

In his own shape. That is, in the form of a serpent.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Perlatus est› · col 339

Perlatus est. Ita restitui ex quamplurimis mss. antiquioribus. In 5 manu exaratis, et omnibus excusis legitur, perductus est.

Was carried. So I have restored from a great many older manuscripts. In five manuscripts and all the printed editions perductus est (was led) is read.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Advexerunt› · col 339

Advexerunt. Emman. et Goth. eleganter, advexerunt. Recte vidit Torrenius in Valer. Maxim. l. I, c. 8, n. 2, una voce legendum, urbi se nostrae advehendum restituit. Ubi haec fabula uberius exponitur. BUN.

They brought. The Emmanuel and Gotha manuscripts read, elegantly, advexerunt. Torrenius, on Valerius Maximus book 1, chapter 8, number 2, rightly saw that it should be read as one word, "he restored himself to our city" to be brought [advehendum]. There the tale is set out more fully. BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Profani› · col 339

Profani. Id est, a fide alieni.

The profane. That is, strangers to the faith.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Fuerunt› · col 339

Fuerunt. Mss. sex recentiores fuerint.

They were. Six more recent manuscripts read fuerint.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Dei statutum› · col 339

Dei statutum. Sic emendavi ex mss. et veteribus editis. In scriptis 2 rec. et editis septem legitur statum.

God's decree. So I have corrected from the manuscripts and old editions. In two recent manuscripts and seven printed editions statum is read.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quod formosum puerum in tensa Jovis ad exuvias tenendas collocarat› · col 339

Quod formosum puerum in tensa Jovis ad exuvias tenendas collocarat. Ed. Sublac. habet in templo, pro, in tensa. In omnibus impressis et multis mss. locus hic vitiosissime legitur. Nonnulli habent, in templo Jovis ad excubias tenendas; alii in templo jovis ad exuvias tenendas: sic habent mss. Bonon., Jun., Tax., Pen., 3 Reg., 1 Sorb., 12 Vatic. et editiones 2 Bonon., Veneta, Florent., Junt., Gymnic., Cratand., Aldin., Graph., Tornes. et antiq. 38, aliaeque. In 6 rec. scriptis, eximias; 6 ed., excubias. Emendo secundum meliores codices, pro templo, tensa, et pro excubias, exuvias legens. Sic legunt mss. Pal. et 5 Reg. antiq. In Is. itemtesa; in Cauc. legitur in tentaesa; in Em. tentesea. Jo. Cauci putat librarium vitiose ita scripsisse, pro in tensa, cui conjecturae subscribo. Mss. 2 et Ultr. habent in centesa: sed itidem vitiose per oscitantiam librarii sic scriptum. Menda hoc modo in textum irrepsisse puto; nempe librarios ignorantes quid esset tensa (vox enim obsoleta est) existimasse legendum esse templo, praesertim cum statim sequatur Jovis; et principium vocis tensa haud dissimile sit vocabulo templo; hinc putarunt mentionem fieri templi Jovis. Τὸ excubias, pro exuvias, eo modo irrepsisse autumo, quo Isaeus, nempe pro exuvias; in manuscriptorum antiquis fuisse exubias, vel exsubias. Pro v enim veteres b scribere solebant, et vice versa, ut ostendimus in notis ad Epitomen; s quoque post x addebant, ut patet in exsequor, exsul, etc.: hinc pro eo quod nunc dicimus exuvias, illi scribebant exsubias, cujus vocis significationem librarii haud assequentes, excubias vitiose substituerunt. Caeterum quid sit tensa, notum ex Sisinnio Capitone apud Festum; nempe vehiculum, quo exuviae deorum ludis Circensibus in circum et pulvinar vehebantur. Hoc vehiculum trahebatur non a jumentis, sed ab hominibus: hinc Suet. in Octav. August., c. 43: Accidit votivis Circensibus, ut correptus valetudine lectica cubans tensas deduceret. Illi autem qui deducebant tensas, adtensatores dicebantur. Erant hi plurimum bini, qui vehendi onus subibant. Ex ISAEO. — Apud Tertullianum, lib. de Spectaculis, cap. 7, in ludis Circensibus mentio fit de curribus; de tensis, de sedibus, de coronis, de exuviis. Inde patet, legi debere in tensa Jovis ad exuvias tenendas. Pro formosum, mallet Gallaeus legere famosum. Sed legendum esse formosum constat, tum ex omnibus Lactantii mss. et editis codicibus, tum ex Valerio Maximo, a quo haec desumpsit Lactantius Hist. lib. I, cap. 2, ubi legitur, eximia facie puerum, etc. Item apud Arnobium in fine libri IV, haec referentem. — In tensa Jovis. Tertull. de Spectat., c. 7, fin.: Si unam tensam trahat Jovis... plaustrum est. Egregie nostrum Lact. locum illustrat Cuperus in Harpocrat. ed. in-4°, p. 134 et sq. — In tensa Jovis ad exuvias tenendas. Tensae autem, sive thensae, sunt vehicula deorum, quibus in Circum deducebantur. Suetonius Aug. 43: Accidit votivis Circensibus, ut, correptus valetudine, lectica cubans, tensas deduceret. BUN.

Because he had placed a handsome boy in Jupiter's car to hold the god's robes. The Subiaco edition has in templo (in the temple) for in tensa (in the car). In all the printed editions and many manuscripts this passage is read most corruptly. Some have "in the temple of Jupiter to keep the watches"; others "in the temple of Jupiter to hold the robes": so the Bologna, Junius, Taxaquet, Pen. manuscripts, three Regii, one Sorbonne, twelve Vatican, and the editions: two of Bologna, the Venetian, Florentine, Junta, Gymnicus, Cratander, Aldine, Gryphius [Graph., as printed], Tornaesius, the old one of [15]38, and others. Six recent manuscripts have eximias; six editions excubias. I correct according to the better manuscripts, reading tensa for templo, and exuvias for excubias. So read the Palatine and five old Regii. Is. has itemtesa; Cauc. reads in tentaesa; Em. tentesea. Jo. Caucius thinks the copyist wrote this corruptly for in tensa, and I subscribe to his conjecture. Manuscript 2 and Ultr. have in centesa, but this too was written corruptly through the copyist's carelessness. I think the error crept into the text in this way: the copyists, not knowing what a tensa was (for the word is obsolete), thought templo should be read, especially since Jovis immediately follows, and the beginning of the word tensa is not unlike the word templo; hence they thought a temple of Jupiter was meant. Excubias for exuvias crept in, I maintain, in the way Isaeus says, namely that for exuvias the old manuscripts had exubias or exsubias. For the ancients used to write b for v and vice versa, as we have shown in the notes on the Epitome; they also added s after x, as is clear in exsequor, exsul, etc.: hence for what we now call exuvias they wrote exsubias, and the copyists, not grasping the meaning of the word, wrongly substituted excubias. As for what a tensa is, it is known from Sinnius Capito in Festus: the vehicle in which the robes of the gods were carried into the circus and onto the couch at the Circensian games. This vehicle was drawn not by beasts but by men: hence Suetonius, Augustus chapter 43: "It happened at the votive Circensian games that, seized by illness, he led the cars lying in a litter." Those who led the cars were called adtensatores. Mostly they went in pairs, taking up the burden of hauling. From ISAEUS. — In Tertullian, On the Spectacles, chapter 7, mention is made at the Circensian games of chariots, of tensae, of seats, of crowns, of exuviae. Hence it is clear that "in Jupiter's car to hold the robes" should be read. For formosum (handsome) Gallaeus would prefer to read famosum (notorious). But that formosum is to be read is established both from all the manuscripts and printed copies of Lactantius, and from Valerius Maximus, from whom Lactantius took this, Histories [as printed] book 1, chapter 2, where we read "a boy of outstanding looks", etc. Likewise in Arnobius at the end of book 4, who relates this. — In Jupiter's car. Tertullian, On the Spectacles, chapter 7, at the end: "If it draws one car of Jupiter... it is a wagon." Cuperus illustrates our passage of Lactantius excellently in his Harpocrates, quarto edition, page 134 and following. — In Jupiter's car to hold the robes. Tensae or thensae are the vehicles of the gods, in which they were led into the Circus. Suetonius, Augustus 43: "It happened at the votive Circensian games that, seized by illness, lying in a litter, he led the cars." BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Cur Varro› · col 340

Cur Varro. Historia est apud Livium, lib. II, secundi belli Punici. Vide Valer. Maxim. lib. I, cap. de neglecta Religione. — Cur Varro solus evasit. Terentius Varro, consul, evasit ex Cannensi praelio. BUN.

Why Varro. The story is in Livy, book 2 of the Second Punic War. See Valerius Maximus book 1, the chapter on neglected religion. — Why Varro alone escaped. Terentius Varro, the consul, escaped from the battle of Cannae. BÜNEMANN.

(printed under page 173)

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running head: 339 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A numinis: Inde est, quod ab augure; B rias, et opes, et eventus prosperos rerum; C crepsis Proserpina (in the Variorum Notae at the page foot); D Dei statutum (in the Variorum Notae at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-word "interpo-", continued in col. 340; "deniquc" read as denique (worn type); punctuation "Caesare:" and "missi;" and "pericula;" set as printed; the VARIORUM NOTAE heading and the notes beneath it (Augure. Vide supra...) are the page-foot commentary, not set here; they run across the page into col. 340, which the image cuts off

PL 6:340

se in his rebus, ut quaecumque a Deo vel facta sunt, vel fiunt, ipsi potissimum facere, aut fecisse videantur. Et quoties alicui populo vel urbi; secundum Dei statutum boni quid impendet, illi se id facturos vel prodigiis, vel somniis, vol oraculis pollicentur, si sibi templa, si honores, si sacrificia tribuantur: quibus datis, cum illud acciderit, quod necesse est, summam sibi pariunt venerationem. Hinc templa devoventur, et novae imagines consecrantur, mactantur greges hostiarum. Sed cum haec facta sunt, nihilominus tamen et vita, et salus eorum qui haec fecerint, immolantur. Quoties autem pericula impendent, ob aliquam ineptam et levem causam se profitentur iratos: sicut Juno Varroni, quod formosum puerum intensa Jovis ad excuvias tenendas collocarat; et ob hanc causam Romanum nomen apud Cannas pene deletum est. Quod si Juno alterum Ganymedem verebatur, cur juventus Romana luit poenas? Vel si dii tantummodo duces curant, caeteram multitudinem negligunt, cur Varro solus evasit, qui

themselves into these affairs, so that whatever things either have been done or are being done by God, they themselves may seem above all to do or to have done them. And whenever, according to the decree of God, some good thing is impending for any people or city, they promise that they will bring it about, whether by prodigies, or by dreams, or by oracles, if temples, if honours, if sacrifices are granted to them: and when these have been given, and that has come to pass which was bound to happen, they win for themselves the highest veneration. Hence temples are vowed, and new images are consecrated, flocks of victims are slaughtered. But when these things have been done, nonetheless the life and safety of those who did them are sacrificed. Whenever, on the other hand, dangers are impending, they declare that they are angry for some foolish and trivial cause: as Juno was with Varro, because he had placed a handsome boy in the car of Jupiter to hold the sacred emblems; and for this reason the Roman name was almost destroyed at Cannae. But if Juno feared a second Ganymede, why did the Roman youth pay the penalty? Or if the gods care only for the leaders and neglect the rest of the multitude, why did Varro alone escape, who

Editors' notes and page, col. 340

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running head: [LA]CTANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 340 (left edge of head cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A nunt se in his rebus; B collocarat; et ob hanc; C exubias, vel exsubias (in the Variorum Notae, not set); D vias tenendas. Pro formosum (in the Variorum Notae, not set)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "nunt", the rest of "interpo-" broken from the foot of the left column (interponunt); stray semicolon after "urbi" set as printed; "rebus" printed with a damaged/accented final letter, read as rebus; misprints set as printed: "vol" (for vel), "intensa" (for in tensa, printed as one word), "excuvias" (for exuvias); full-width heading "[VA]RIORUM NOTAE" stands across both columns below the text block, cut at the left edge, not set; the Variorum Notae occupying the lower two-thirds of the column (Menda hoc modo...; Cur Varro...) are editors' commentary at the page foot, left for the later pass

PL 6:341

hoc fecit, et Paulus, qui nihil meruit, occisus est? Videlicet nil tunc Romanis accidit . . . . . Fatis Junonis iniquae, cum Annibal duos exercitus populi Romani, et astu, et virtute confecit. Nam Juno audere non poterat, aut Carthaginem defendere, ubi arma ejus et currus fuit, aut Romanis nocere, quia . . . . . Progeniem Trojano a sanguine duci Audierat, Tyrias olim quae verteret arces.

did this, and Paulus, who deserved nothing, was slain? Plainly nothing befell the Romans then "... by the decrees of unjust Juno," when Hannibal destroyed two armies of the Roman people by both cunning and valour. For Juno could not dare either to defend Carthage, where her arms and her chariot were, or to harm the Romans, because "... she had heard that a race was being drawn from Trojan blood which would one day overturn the Tyrian citadels."

Sed illorum sunt isti lusus, qui sub nominibus mortuorum delitescentes, viventibus plagas tendunt. Itaque sive illud periculum, quod imminet vitari potest, videri volunt id placati avertisse; sive non potest, id agunt, ut propter illorum contemptum accidisse videatur. Ita sibi apud homines, qui eos nesciunt, auctoritatem, ac timorem pariunt. Hac versutia, et his artibus, notitiam veri ac singularis Dei apud omnes gentes inveteraverunt. Suis enim vitiis perditi, saeviunt, et grassantur, ut perdant. Idcirco etiam humanas hostias excogitaverunt ipsi hostes humani generis, ut quam multas devorarent animas.

But these are the sports of those who, lurking under the names of the dead, lay snares for the living. And so, if the danger that threatens can be avoided, they wish to seem to have averted it because they were appeased; if it cannot, they so contrive that it seems to have happened on account of contempt for them. Thus among men who do not know them they beget for themselves authority and fear. By this cunning and by these arts they have made the knowledge of the true and only God grow old among all nations. For, ruined by their own vices, they rage and prowl about so that they may destroy. For this reason these very enemies of the human race also devised human victims, so that they might devour as many souls as possible.

CAPUT XVIII.

Chapter XVIII.

De Dei patientia et ultione, daemonum cultu, et falsis religionibus.

On the patience and vengeance of God, the worship of demons, and false religions.

Dicet aliquis: Cur Ergo Deus haec fieri patitur, nec tam malis succurrit erroribus? Ut mala cum bonis pugnent; ut vitia sint adversa virtutibus; ut habeat alios, quos puniat; alios, quos honoret. Ultimis enim temporibus statuit de vivis ac mortuis judicare: de quo judicio mihi erit in ultimo libro

Someone will say: Why then does God allow these things to happen, and does not come to the aid of such evil errors? So that evils may fight with goods; so that vices may be opposed to virtues; so that He may have some whom He punishes, and others whom He honours. For in the last times He has determined to judge the living and the dead: concerning which judgement I shall have in the last book

Editors' notes and page, col. 341

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma.]

(lemma) ‹anchor: Paulus› · col 341

Paulus. Qui pullos edaces habuit, et tamen apud Cannas cecidit, ut illi Cyprianus illudit.

Paulus. He who had hungry chickens [i.e. favourable auspices], and yet fell at Cannae, as Cyprian mocks him.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Qui nihil meruit› · col 341

Qui nihil meruit. Id est nihil fecit poena dignum. Iterum Lactantius l. VII, cap. 10: Boni nihil tale creduntur mereri, quale saepe patiuntur. BUN.

Who deserved nothing. That is, did nothing worthy of punishment. Again Lactantius, book 7, chapter 10: "The good are believed to deserve nothing such as they often suffer." BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Iniquae› · col 341

Iniquae. Virg. VIII Aeneid., vs. 667. Vide Silium Italic. lib. X.

Hostile. Virgil, Aeneid 8, line 667. See Silius Italicus, book 10.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Astu› · col 341

Astu. Lact. de Opific., cap 2: Astu se protegant.

By cunning. Lactantius, On the Workmanship of God, chapter 2: "Let them protect themselves by cunning."

(lemma) ‹anchor: Audere non poterat› · col 341

Audere non poterat. Heumannus recte exponit non audebat. Singularis tamen dictio, licet audere pro posse, et posse pro audere, interdum ponant veteres. Vid. Broukhus. ad Propert. l. I, el. 15, vs. 37, p. 64, sq. BUN.

Could not dare. Heumann rightly explains it as "did not dare". Still, it is an unusual expression, though the ancients sometimes put audere for posse and posse for audere. See Broukhusius on Propertius, book 1, elegy 15, line 37, page 64 and following. BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Progeniem› · col 341

Progeniem. Virg., initio I Aen. Vide et Valerium loco citato.

Offspring. Virgil, at the beginning of Aeneid 1. See also Valerius in the place cited.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Sub nominibus mortuorum delitescentes› · col 341

Sub nominibus mortuorum delitescentes. Sequitur Tertull., Apol. c. 21: Contraria divinitas delitescens sub nominibus et imaginibus mortuorum, quibusdam signis et miraculis et oraculis fidem divinitatis operatur. Et de Spect., c. 10. BUN.

Lurking under the names of the dead. He follows Tertullian, Apology chapter 21: "The opposing divinity, lurking under the names and images of the dead, procures belief in its divinity by certain signs and miracles and oracles." And On the Spectacles, chapter 10. BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Viventibus› · col 341

Viventibus. Mss. 4 Colbert., 1 Clarom. et Brun. addunt hominibus. Ibidem Lactantius, plagas tendunt, pro intendunt, simplex pro composito, ut mihi videtur, pro insidiantur.

For the living. Four Colbert manuscripts, one Claromontanus and Brun. add hominibus (men). In the same place Lactantius has plagas tendunt for intendunt, the simple for the compound, as it seems to me, meaning "they lie in wait".

(lemma) ‹anchor: Apud omnes gentes› · col 341

Apud omnes gentes. Extrema vox gentes, addita ex cunctis mss. et editis, praeter Thys. Gall. Spark.

Among all nations. The last word, gentes, has been added from all the manuscripts and editions, except Thysius, Gallaeus and Spark.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Inveteraverunt› · col 341

Inveteraverunt. Conf. l II, c. 1, inveterata persuasione. Ibid., c. 19, inveteratos errores dixit. BUN.

They made obsolete. Compare book 2, chapter 1, "by a long-rooted persuasion". In the same book, chapter 19, he said "long-rooted errors". BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Differt ergo› · col 341

Differt ergo. Quia nec gravior Dei ira, nec poena major nobis imminere potest, quam cum Deus peccata punit peccatis. Μακρόθυμος quidem Deus est, nec mortem vult peccatoris, sed ut convertatur et vivat, Ezechielis III. « Magna Dei ira est, ut Hieronymus ad Castrutium Ezechielis auctoritate scribit, quando peccata non corrigit, sed caecitatem caecitate punit. Nam ob hoc ipsum mittit Deus efficaciam illusionis » ut Paulus ad Thessal. scribit, ut credant mendacio, ut judicentur omnes qui non crediderunt veritati. Indigni, inquam, sunt fonte vivo, qui cisternas sibi fodiunt. » Hier. 2. BETUL.

So he defers. Because no heavier wrath of God, no greater punishment, can hang over us than when God punishes sins with sins. God is indeed long-suffering, and does not will the death of the sinner, but that he turn and live, Ezekiel 3. "It is a great wrath of God," as Jerome writes to Castrutius on the authority of Ezekiel, "when he does not correct sins but punishes blindness with blindness. For this very reason God sends the working of delusion," as Paul writes to the Thessalonians, "that they may believe a lie, that all may be judged who did not believe the truth. Unworthy, I say, of the living spring are those who dig cisterns for themselves." Jeremiah [Hier.] 2. BETULEIUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: In potestate› · col 342

In potestate. Id est, per potestatem. Modus loquendi Scripturae.

In power. That is, through power. A manner of speaking of Scripture.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Vatum praedicta piorum› · col 342

Vatum praedicta piorum. Ita restitui ex mss. 2 vetustissimis Reg., 2 al. Reg., Cauc., 4 Colb., Em., et ex mss. Virgil. In sex scrip. rec. et in vulgatis est, priorum. Virg. IV Aen. — Vatum praedicta piorum. Sic edo ex mss. Cauci et Emman. diversis typis. Est hoc receptum epitheton. Sic Virg. VI Aen. vs. 662, Quique pii vates. Silius Ital., l. VI, vs. 288, Nec tacuere pii vates. BUN.

The foretellings of pious seers. So I have restored from two very old Regii, two other Regii, the Caucius manuscript, four Colbert, Em., and from the manuscripts of Virgil. Six recent manuscripts and the common editions have priorum (of former [seers]). Virgil, Aeneid 4. — The foretellings of pious seers. So I print, from the Caucius and Emmanuel manuscripts, in different type. This is the accepted epithet. So Virgil, Aeneid 6, line 662, "and those who were pious seers". Silius Italicus, book 6, line 288, "nor were the pious seers silent". BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quidam› · col 342

Quidam. Epicurei. Vide de Ira Dei, cap. 4.

Some. The Epicureans. See On the Wrath of God, chapter 4.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ne irasci quidem Deum omnino, quod affectibus› · col 342

Ne irasci quidem Deum omnino, quod affectibus, etc. Ita, ut et aliae passiones, Deo conveniunt non affective, sed effective, ut habet regula. Hoc est, ira non turbat, non afficit Deum dolore, ut homines; sed Deus cum irasci dicitur, facit hoc quod irati solent, nempe punit, affligit; ira itaque in Deo non est affectus, sed voluntas puniendi. GALLAEUS. — Vide S. Thom. part. I, quaest. 21, art. 3.

That God is not angry at all, because by passions, etc. Thus anger, like the other passions, belongs to God not affectively but effectively, as the rule has it. That is, anger does not disturb God or affect him with pain, as it does men; but when God is said to be angry, he does what the angry usually do, namely punishes, afflicts; so anger in God is not a passion but the will to punish. GALLAEUS. — See St Thomas, Part 1, question 21, article 3.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Triplici modo› · col 342

Triplici modo. Sic lego cum editis Rom. 1470, Betul., Tornes., Soubr., Cellar. cunctisque mss. praeter Em. in quo legitur tribus modis; in vulgatis 11, triplici ratione.

In a threefold way. So I read with the editions of Rome 1470, Betuleius, Tornaesius, Soubron, Cellarius and all the manuscripts except Em., in which tribus modis is read; eleven common editions have triplici ratione.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Uno› · col 342

Uno. Ex mss. est, inter quos quinque addunt modo; 1 Colb. imo.

One. It is from the manuscripts, among which five add modo (way); one Colbert has imo.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ista› · col 342

Ista. Omnium mss. est, praeter quatuor et editos, in quibus est, ipsa.

These. It is the reading of all the manuscripts except four and the printed editions, in which it is ipsa.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Esse autem perversum› · col 342

Esse autem perversum. Sic reposui ex omnibus mss. et sequentia postulant. In excusis legitur, est.

But that it is perverse. So I have put it back from all the manuscripts, and what follows requires it. The printed editions read est.

(printed under page 174)

Page

running head: 341 LIBER II. DE ORIGINE E (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A hoc fecit, et Paulus; B nesciunt, auctoritatem; C judicare: de quo judicio; D Sub nominibus mortuorum delitescentes (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the verse quotations are printed on indented lines of their own within the first paragraph, and both are set inline with their printed leading dots; the "Ergo" capital is as printed; the full-width heading "VARIORUM NOTAE", cut off at the image edge, stands above the page-foot notes and is not set; the Variorum Notae (Paulus. Qui pullos edaces ...) are left for the later pass; the column ends mid-sentence before "disputatio" in the next column

PL 6:342

disputatio. Differt ergo, donec veniat temporum finis, quo effundat iram suam in potestate ac virtute coelesti, sicut

a discussion. He therefore defers until the end of the times comes, in which He will pour out His wrath with heavenly power and might, just as

. . . . . . Vatum praedicta piorum Terribili monitu horrificant.

. . . . . . the predictions of the pious seers terrify with dreadful warning.

Nunc autem patitur homines errare, et adversum se quoque impios esse, ipse justus, et mitis, et patiens. Nec enim fieri potest, ut non is, in quo perfecta sit virtus, sit etiam perfecta patientia. Unde quidam putant, ne irasci quidem Deum omnino, quod affectibus, qui sunt perturbationes animi, subjectus non sit; quia fragile est omne animal quod afficitur et commovetur. Quae persuasio veritatem, atque religionem funditus tollit. Sed seponatur interim locus hic nobis de ira Dei disserendi, quod et uberior est materia, et opere proprio (Scil lib. de Ira Dei) latius exequenda. Illos ergo nequissimos spiritus quisquis veneratus fuerit, et secutus, neque coelo, neque luce potietur, quae sunt Dei: sed in illa decidet, quae in distributione rerum attributa esse ipsi malorum principii disputavimus; in tenebras scilicet, et inferos, et suplicium sempiternum.

But now He allows men to go astray, and even to be impious against Himself, He Himself being just, and mild, and patient. For it cannot be that He in Whom virtue is perfect should not also have perfect patience. Hence some think that God is not angry at all, because He is not subject to emotions, which are disturbances of the mind; since every living being that is affected and moved is frail. This persuasion utterly removes truth and religion. But let this topic of discoursing on the wrath of God be set aside by us for the present, both because the material is more abundant, and because it is to be pursued more fully in a work of its own (that is, the book On the Wrath of God). Whoever, then, has worshipped and followed those most wicked spirits will obtain neither heaven nor light, which are God's; but he will fall into those things which, as we have argued, were assigned in the distribution of things to the prince of evils himself; namely into darkness, and the lower regions, and everlasting punishment.

Docui religiones deorum triplici modo vanas esse: uno, quod simulacra ista, quae coluntur, effigies sint hominum mortuorum; esse autem perversum et incongruens, ut simulacrum hominis a simulacro Dei colatur: colit enim quod est deterius et imbecillius; tum inexpiabile facinus esse, deserere viventem, ut defunctorum monimentis servias, qui nec vitam, nec lucem dare cuiquam possunt, qua ipsi carent; nec esse alium quemquam Deum, praeter unum, cujus judicio

I have taught that the religions of the gods are vain in a threefold way: first, because those images which are worshipped are likenesses of dead men; and that it is perverse and incongruous that the image of a man should be worshipped by the image of God: for he worships what is inferior and weaker; then, that it is an inexpiable crime to desert the living One in order to serve the monuments of the dead, who can give neither life nor light to anyone, since they themselves lack it; and that there is no other God at all except One, to Whose judgement

Editors' notes and page, col. 342

Page

running head: DE ORIGINE ERRORIS. 342
marginal letters: A disputatio. Differt ergo; B uberior est materia; C alium quemquam Deum; D Nec tacuere pii vates (in the Variorum Notae at the page foot)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins mid-sentence with "disputatio"; the verse quotation is set as one line though printed on two; "(Scil lib. delra Dei)" read as de Ira (I and l indistinct in italic, space lost), unsure; column number printed indistinctly (could be read as 542); stray marks before "et adversum" and "quod" ignored; full-width heading VARIORUM NOTAE at the page foot (cut off at left edge) not set; Variorum notes at foot left for later pass
misprints kept as printed: "suplicium" (for supplicium), last line of the first paragraph (Q1b)

PL 6:343

ac potestati omnis anima subjecta sit. Altero, quod ipsae imagines sacrae, quibus inanissimi homines serviunt, omni sensu carent, quoniam terra sint. Quis autem non intelligat, nefas esse rectum animal curvari, ut adoret terram? quae idcirco pedibus nostris subjecta est, ut calcanda nobis, non adoranda sit, qui sumus ideo excitati ex ea, statumque sublimem praeter caeteras animantes accepimus, ut non revolvamur deorsum, nec hunc coelestem vultum projiciamus ad terram; sed oculos eo dirigamus, quo illos naturae suae conditio dixerit, nihilque aliud adoremus, nihil colamus, nisi solius artificis parentisque nostri unicum numen: qui propterea hominem rigidum figuravit, ut sciamus, nos ad superna et coelestia provocari. Tertio, quod spiritus, qui praesunt ipsis religionibus, condemnati et abjecti a Deo, per terram volutentur: qui non tantum nihil praestare cultoribus suis possint, quoniam rerum potestas penes unum est, verum etiam mortiferis eos illecebris et erroribus perdant; quoniam hoc illis quotidianum sit opus, tenebras hominibus obducere, ne quaeratur ab illis verus Deus. Non igitur colendi sunt, quia sententiae Dei subjacent. Est enim piaculum maximum, addicere se potestati eorum, quibus, si justitiam sequare, potentior esse possis, et eos adjuratione divini nominis expellere, ac fugare. Quod si apparet, religiones istas tot modis esse vanas, quibus docui, manifestum est

and power every soul is subject. Second, that the sacred images themselves, which the most foolish of men serve, lack all sense, since they are earth. But who would not understand that it is wrong for an upright creature to be bent down so as to worship the earth? which has been placed beneath our feet for this reason, that it may be trodden on by us, not worshipped, who have for this very reason been raised up out of it and have received an erect stature beyond the other living creatures, so that we should not be turned back downwards, nor cast this heavenly countenance down towards the earth; but should direct our eyes to where the condition of their nature has directed them, and worship nothing else, revere nothing, except the one divinity of Him alone Who is our Maker and Father: Who for this reason fashioned man upright, that we might know that we are called forth to the things above and heavenly. Third, that the spirits who preside over these very religions, condemned and cast off by God, roam about over the earth: who not only can bestow nothing on their worshippers, since the power over all things lies with One, but even destroy them with deadly allurements and errors; since this is their daily work, to draw darkness over men, so that the true God may not be sought by them. They are therefore not to be worshipped, because they lie under the sentence of God. For it is the greatest sacrilege to hand oneself over to the power of those than whom, if you follow justice, you could be stronger, and could drive them out and put them to flight by adjuring them in the divine name. But if it is clear that these religions are vain in as many ways as I have shown, it is manifest

Editors' notes and page, col. 343

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma.]

(lemma) ‹anchor: Altero› · col 343

Altero. Haec lectio 5 editorum et omnium mss. est, quorum quinque perperam addunt vocabulum modo, quod jam praecessit. Caeteri impressi habent altera, et infra tertia, pro tertio, quod cunct. mss. est.

In a second. This reading is that of five editions and all the manuscripts, five of which wrongly add the word modo (way), which has already gone before. The other printed editions have altera, and below tertia for tertio, which is the reading of all the manuscripts.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Inanissimi› · col 343

Inanissimi. Non aliter legitur in mss. fere omnibus et in decem editis. 1 Colb. habet inmanissimi, corrupte; et 1 Colb. cum sex impressis, vanissimi.

Most empty. It is read no otherwise in almost all the manuscripts and in ten editions. One Colbert manuscript has inmanissimi, corruptly; and one Colbert with six printed editions has vanissimi.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Qui sumus ideo excitati ex ea› · col 343

Qui sumus ideo excitati ex ea. Ita codex antiquus Bononiensis et tres Vaticani; quod sensum efficit rationi magis consentaneum, ait Thomasius.

We who were for this reason raised from it. So the old Bologna codex and three Vatican manuscripts; this, says Thomasius, makes a sense more agreeable to reason.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ex ea, statumque sublimem› · col 343

Ex ea, statumque sublimem. Ita emendo, et sic praeferunt veterrimi mss., 1 Bonon., 3 Reg., 3 Vatic., 5 Colb., Ultr., Tax., Lips., Em., Brun., et ed. Torn., Soubron. In 1 Clarom. et impressis Florent., Spark., Walch., et ex ea statum sublimem; in edit. Is., ex eaque statum sublimem, mendose omnino: nec melius legas in mss. 2 al. Reg. rec., Cauc., Jun. et in edit. Rom. 1470 et aliis quinque. In 1 Clarom., ut ex eo, male; ad quid enim refertur ex eo? neque ex terra excitati, ex ea statum sublimem accepimus. — Excitati ex ea, statumque. Attamen ut hic excitatum ex ea (terra), sic l. II, cap. 1, Ex humo sublevatum; l. VII, c. 9, Ab humo excitatum; ibid. c. 6, Allevatum ex humo... excitasse dixit. BUN.

From it, and an upright stance. So I correct, and so the very old manuscripts give it: one of Bologna, three Regii, three Vatican, five Colbert, Ultr., Tax., Leipzig, Em., Brun., and the Tornaesius and Soubron editions. One Claromontanus and the Florence, Spark and Walch printings have et ex ea statum sublimem; Isaeus's edition ex eaque statum sublimem, quite wrongly; nor would you read better in two other recent Regii, the Caucius and Junius manuscripts, and in the Rome 1470 edition and five others. One Claromontanus has ut ex eo, wrongly; for to what does ex eo refer? Nor, raised from the earth, did we receive an upright stance from it. — Raised from it, and a stance. Yet as here "raised from it" (the earth), so in book 2, chapter 1, "lifted from the ground"; book 7, chapter 9, "raised from the ground"; and ibid. chapter 6 he said "lifted from the ground... raised". BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Praeter... animantes› · col 343

Praeter... animantes. Id est, prae caeteris animantibus. Vid. l. I, cap. 7. Huc pertinet de Ira cap. 14. BUN.

Beyond... the living creatures. That is, above the other living creatures. See book 1, chapter 7. On the Wrath of God, chapter 14, belongs here. BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Nec hunc caelestem› · col 343

Nec hunc coelestem. Sequor veteres editiones et omnes fere mss. At legitur ne, in 4 scriptis rec. et 12 vulgatis.

Nor this heavenly one. I follow the old editions and almost all the manuscripts. But ne is read in four recent manuscripts and twelve common editions.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Nisi solius artificis› · col 343

Nisi solius artificis. Ms. Cauc. et 10 impressis, solum, corrupte; quid enim sibi vult solum unicum numen?

Except of the sole Maker. The Caucius manuscript and ten printed editions read solum, corruptly; for what does "the only sole deity" mean?

(lemma) ‹anchor: Unicum numen› · col 343

Unicum numen. Mss. 26 et ed. Rom. 1470 habent nomen.

The one deity. Twenty-six manuscripts and the Rome 1470 edition have nomen (name).

(lemma) ‹anchor: Rigidum› · col 343

Rigidum. Id est, erectum. Vide cap. seq. circa finem.

Upright. That is, erect. See the next chapter, near the end.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quotidianum sit opus› · col 343

Quotidianum sit opus. mss. est, praeter unum recentiorem; est, typis vulgat.

Be their daily work. It is the manuscripts' reading, except for one more recent; the printed editions have est.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Tenebras hominibus obducere› · col 343

Tenebras hominibus obducere. Hinc Taur. Epit., c. 28, obduxerunt humano generi tenebras. Cicero, l. IV Acad. 6, obducere tenebras rebus clarissimis. BUN.

To draw darkness over men. Hence the Turin Epitome, chapter 28, "they drew darkness over the human race". Cicero, Academica book 4, 6: "to draw darkness over the clearest things". BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Addicere se› · col 343

Addicere se. Usurpat verbum jure consultorum, sicut paulo inferius verbum mancipandi. Nam addicti dicebantur obaerati et nexi, qui ob aes alienum creditoribus in temporariam servitutem tradebantur. Nam qui peccat, servus est peccati, juxta Paulum. Observa, quod religionis nomen pro eo usurpat, quod Graecis est δεισιδαιμονία, in malam nimirum partem: sed id fere in plurali numero duntaxat. BETULEIUS.

To make oneself over. He uses a term of the jurists, as a little below the term for conveying ownership. For those were called addicti who were in debt and bound, handed over to their creditors into temporary servitude for what they owed. For whoever sins is the slave of sin, according to Paul. Note that he uses the word religio for what the Greeks call deisidaimonia, that is, in a bad sense; but generally only in the plural. BETULEIUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Justitiam› · col 344

Justitiam. Id est, veram religionem.

Justice. That is, the true religion.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Violaverint› · col 344

Violaverint. Sic reperimus in vetustioribus et melioribus manuscriptis, faventibus sex aliis, et ed. Rom. 1468 et 1470, in quibus est violaverunt; in 1 Colb. rec. et 12 impressis, violaverunt.

Have violated. So we found it in the older and better manuscripts, six others supporting, and in the Rome editions of 1468 and 1470, in which it is violaverunt; one recent Colbert and twelve printed editions have violaverunt [sic: the same form printed twice].

(lemma) ‹anchor: Sacramentum› · col 344

Sacramentum. Haec vox in Lactantio saepe ita occurrit, ut significet mysterium, ac reconditionem alicujus rei significationem.

Sacrament. This word often occurs in Lactantius in such a way as to mean a mystery, the more hidden meaning of something.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ipse se ab humo suscitet› · col 344

Ipse se ab humo suscitet. Illud se in nonnullis imp. deest: sed exprimitur in melioris notae mss. et edit.

Raise himself from the ground. The word se is missing in some printed editions, but it is expressed in the manuscripts and editions of better repute.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Nec in ima potius, sed in summa regione quaerendus est› · col 344

Nec in ima potius, sed in summa regione quaerendus est. Sic emendavimus ex omnibus pene mss. et impressis: male autem in 3 Reg. et totidem rec. ed. leg., religione. Num rectius legeretur, ut placuit Cellario, Nec in ima, sed potius in summa, etc. — Heumannus: Probo, inquit, codicis a Cellario laudati (scil. Emman.) scripturam, ima, sed potius. Probarem et ipse, nisi cogitarem, Lactantium saepe illud potius contra receptum morem illi sed praemittere. Unde tutius tot mss. in his Reimm., Lips. et Goth., et editiones omnes sequi. Vide quae noto ad infra, non... potissimum... sed; l. VI, c. 12, verum hoc ille non potius incaute... sed ignorantia veri. Ibid., c. 16, nec... potissimum... sed. BUN.

He is to be sought not rather in the lowest region but in the highest. So we have corrected from nearly all the manuscripts and printed editions; but three Regii and as many recent editions wrongly read religione (religion). Would it be read more correctly, as Cellarius preferred, "not in the lowest, but rather in the highest", etc.? — Heumann: "I approve," he says, "the reading of the codex cited by Cellarius (namely the Emmanuel), ima, sed potius." I would approve it myself, did I not reflect that Lactantius often puts that potius before the sed, against received usage. So it is safer to follow so many manuscripts, among them the Reimmann, Leipzig and Gotha, and all the editions. See what I note below on "not... especially... but"; book 6, chapter 12, "but this he did not rather incautiously... but from ignorance of the truth"; ibid., chapter 16, "nor... especially... but". BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: In ea re› · col 344

In ea re. In 1 Clarom. quod, mendose; in altero Clarom. 3 Reg. rec., 2 Colb., 1 Tornes., 1 Sorbon., Lips. et edit. Rom. 1468, in aere quod.

In that thing. One Claromontanus has quod, wrongly; the other Claromontanus, three recent Regii, two Colbert, one Tornaesius, one Sorbonne, the Leipzig manuscript and the Rome 1468 edition have in aere quod (in bronze, which).

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quod quidem de nomine ipso apparere sapienti potest› · col 344

Quod quidem de nomine ipso apparere sapienti potest. Haec quae desunt in ms. Bononiensi antiquo, extant in omnibus mss. et editis, Thysiano, Thomasiano, et Cantabrigiensi exceptis, in quibus male omissa sunt, quia res et sensus postulant.

Which indeed can be evident to a wise man from the very name. These words, which are missing in the old Bologna manuscript, are found in all the manuscripts and editions except the Thysius, Thomasius and Cambridge editions, in which they are wrongly omitted, since the matter and the sense require them.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quidquid... simulatur› · col 344

Quidquid... simulatur. Apte Juvenalis, sat. VI, 324: (continues)

Whatever... is feigned. Aptly Juvenal, satire 6, 324: (continues)

(printed under page 175)

Page

running head: 343 FIRM. LACTANTII DIVIN. I (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ac potestati omnis anima; B religionibus, condemnati et abjecti; C Altero. Haec lectio (in the Variorum notae); D Excitati ex ea, statumque (in the Variorum notae)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "dixerit" read as printed, apparently for "direxerit", and translated in that sense; the VARIORUM NOTAE at the page foot (beginning "Altero. Haec lectio") are not set here, as they belong to the later pass; the heading "VARIORUM NOTAE" runs across the page and is cut off at the right edge; the right-hand column, cut off at the image edge, is column 344 and is not set; the page number in the running head is read as 343 though it is faint

PL 6:344

eos qui vel mortuis supplicant, vel terram venerantur, vel spiritibus impuris animas suas mancipant, rationem hominum non tenere, eosque impietatis ac sceleris sui supplicia pensuros, qui rebelles adversus parentem generis humani Deum, susceptis inexpiabilibus sacris fas omne violaverint.

that those who either make supplication to the dead, or venerate the earth, or enslave their souls to impure spirits, do not keep to the reason of men, and that they will pay the penalties of their impiety and wickedness, who, as rebels against God, the parent of the human race, have violated all that is right by taking up inexpiable rites.

CAPUT XIX.

Chapter XIX.

De simulacrum et terrenarum rerum cultu.

On the worship of images and of earthly things.

Quicumque igitur sacramentum hominis tueri, rationemque naturae suae nititur obtinere, ipse se ab humo suscitet, et erecta mente oculos suos tendat in coelum: non sub pedibus quaerat Deum, nec a vestigiis suis eruat quod adoret (quia quidquid homini subjacet, infra hominem sit necesse est); sed quaerat in sublimi, quaerat in summo; quia nihil potest homine majus esse, nisi quod fuerit supra hominem; Deus autem major est homine; supra ergo, non infra est, nec in ima potius, sed in summa regione quaerendus est. Quare non est dubium quin religio nulla sit, ubicumque simulacrum est. Nam si religio ex divinis rebus est, divini autem nihil est, nisi in coelestibus rebus; carent ergo religione simulacra, quia nihil potest esse coeleste in ea re, quae fit ex terra. Quod quidem de nomine ipso apparere sapienti potest. Quidquid enim simulatur, id falsum sit necesse est; nec potest unquam veri nomen accipere,

Whoever, therefore, strives to guard the sacred trust of man and to maintain the reason of his nature, let him raise himself from the ground, and with upright mind direct his eyes to heaven: let him not seek God beneath his feet, nor dig up from his footprints something to adore (since whatever lies beneath man must necessarily be below man); but let him seek on high, let him seek in the highest; since nothing can be greater than man except what is above man; and God is greater than man; therefore He is above, not below, and is to be sought not in the lowest but rather in the highest region. Therefore there is no doubt that there is no religion wherever there is an image. For if religion consists of divine things, and there is nothing divine except in heavenly things, then images are without religion, since nothing heavenly can be in a thing which is made from earth. This indeed can be evident to a wise man from the very name. For whatever is simulated must necessarily be false; nor can that ever receive the name of the true,

Editors' notes and page, col. 344

Page

running head: [LAC]TANTII DIVIN. INSTIT. 344
marginal letters: A eos qui vel mortuis supplicant; B quaerat in sublimi; C sicut paulo inferius (in the notes); D religione. Num rectius (in the notes)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: head cut off at left edge, only "TANTII DIVIN. INSTIT." visible; full-width line "[VARIO]RIUM NOTAE" across the page above the notes, cut off at the left, not set; Variorum notes at page foot not set (later pass); last word "ac-" split at column break (accipere), English supplied as [receive]; "nec in ima potius, sed in summa" set as printed (editors discuss reading)

PL 6:345

quod veritatem fuco et imitatione mentitur. Si autem omnis imitatio, non res potissimum seria, sed quasi ludus ac jocus est, non religio in simulacris, sed mimus religionis est. Praeferendum est igitur verum omnibus falsis: calcanda terrena, ut coelestia consequamur. Ita enim res se habet, ut quisquis animam suam, cujus origo de coelo est, ad inferna et ima prostraverit, eo cadat quo se ipse dejecerit. Ideoque oportet rationis, ac status sui memorem, non nisi ad superna niti semper, ac tendere. Quod qui fecerit, hic plane sapiens, hic justus, hic homo, hic denique coelo dignus judicabitur: quem suus parens non humilem, nec ad terram more quadrupedum abjectum, sed stantem potius, ac rectum, sicut eum fecit, agnoverit.

which counterfeits truth with disguise and imitation. But if all imitation is not a matter chiefly serious, but as it were a game and a jest, then there is not religion in images, but a mime of religion. The true, therefore, is to be preferred to all things false; earthly things are to be trodden underfoot, so that we may attain heavenly ones. For so the matter stands, that whoever has prostrated his soul, whose origin is from heaven, to the lower and lowest things falls to the place where he has cast himself down. And therefore one who is mindful of his reason and of his condition ought always to strive and to tend towards nothing but the things above. Whoever has done this will be judged plainly wise, just, a man, and in the end worthy of heaven: one whom his Parent will acknowledge as not lowly, nor cast down to the earth after the manner of four-footed beasts, but rather standing and upright, just as He made him.

CAPUT XX.

Chapter XX.

De philosophis, deque veritate.

On the philosophers, and on truth.

Peracta est igitur (ni fallor) magna et difficilis

There has been accomplished, then (unless I am mistaken), a great and difficult

suscepti operis portio; et majestate coelesti suggerente nobis dicendi facultatem, inveteratos depulimus errores. Nunc vero major nobis, ac difficilior cum philosophis proposita luctatio est: quorum summa doctrina et eloquentia, quasi moles aliqua mihi opponitur. Nam ut illic (id est, in secundo libro) multitudine, ac prope consensu omnium gentium premebamur; ita hic auctoritate praestantium omni genere laudis virorum. Quis autem nesciat, plus esse momenti in paucioribus doctis, quam in pluribus imperitis? Sed non est desperandum, istos quoque de sententia, Deo ac veritate ducibus, posse depelli: nec tam pertinaces fore arbitror, ut clarissimum solem sanis ac patentibus oculis videre se negent. Modo illud verum sit, quod ipsi solent profiteri, studio investigandae veritatis se teneri, efficiam profecto, ut quaesitam veritatem diu, et aliquando inventam esse credant, et humanis ingeniis inveniri non potuisse fateantur.

portion of the work undertaken; and, with the heavenly majesty supplying us with the faculty of speaking, we have driven out long-rooted errors. But now a greater and more difficult struggle is set before us with the philosophers, whose supreme learning and eloquence is set against me like some massive bulwark. For as there (that is, in the second book) we were pressed by the multitude and almost the consensus of all nations, so here we are pressed by the authority of men outstanding in every kind of praise. Yet who does not know that there is more weight in a few learned men than in many unskilled ones? But we must not despair that these men too can be dislodged from their opinion, with God and truth as leaders; nor do I think they will be so obstinate as to deny that they see the brightest sun with sound and open eyes. Provided only that what they themselves are accustomed to profess is true, namely that they are held by a zeal for investigating the truth, I shall surely bring it about that they believe the truth, long sought, has at last been found, and confess that it could not have been found by human wits.

Editors' notes and page, col. 345

Footnotes

[Series: VARIORUM NOTAE — lemma-keyed notes, no call letters; set in print order, labelled by lemma. The "Analysis libri tertii" printed below the notes is a separate editorial section, not footnotes, and is not set here.]

(continued) ‹anchor: Quidquid... simulatur (previous page)› · col 345

Nil ibi per ludum simulabitur, omnia fient / Ad verum. Sic Cic., de Amicitia, c. 25, Fucata et simulata sinceris atque veris opponit.

"Nothing there will be feigned in play; all will be done in earnest." So Cicero, On Friendship, chapter 25, sets "the counterfeit and feigned" against "the sincere and true".

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ac jocus est› · col 345

Ac jocus est. Id ex Terent. in Eunuch.

And it is a jest. This is from Terence, in the Eunuch.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Mimus religionis est› · col 345

Mimus religionis est. Hanc lectionem exhibent mss. tres veterrimi Reg., Cauc., Jun., 2 Colb., Goth., Lips., Ultr., Pal., Em., Cantabr., 1 Clarom., Brun., 5 vet. typis excusi, ac 3 rec. Et apud Senecam reperitur, l. V, epist. XXVI. In 2 Reg. et 2 Colb. est munus, quod per librariorum oscitantiam contigisse quis non videat, mutatione trium elementorum, mim in mun, ex litterarum apicibus ducta similitudine. Mss. sex, edit. Rom. 1468, et 12 rec. editi legunt minus, sed sensu alieno. Caeterum mimus religionis recte dicitur gentilium religio, quia mimi instar religionem tantum imitatur, veritatem non habet. Partim ex GALLAEO.

It is a mime of religion. This reading is given by three very old Regius manuscripts, the Caucius, Junius, two Colbert, Gotha, Leipzig, Ultr., Palatine, Em., Cambridge, one Claromontanus, Brun., five old printed editions and three recent ones. And it is found in Seneca, book 5, letter 26. Two Regii and two Colbert have munus (gift), which anyone can see happened through the copyists' carelessness, by the change of three letters, mim to mun, led on by the likeness of the strokes of the letters. Six manuscripts, the Rome 1468 edition and twelve recent editions read minus (less), but with a sense foreign to the passage. As for the rest, the religion of the gentiles is rightly called a "mime of religion", because like a mime it only imitates religion and has no truth. Partly from GALLAEUS.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Hic denique coelo dignus› · col 345

Hic denique coelo dignus. Sic reposui ex mss. 7 Reg., inter quos sunt duo veterrimi, 2 Bonon., Cauc., 3 Vatic., 6 Colb., 2 Clarom., 2 Lips., 1 Sorbon., Pal., Tax., Pen., Ultr., Em., Brun., edit. Graph. Is. in alio Lips. pro denique, est utique; in pluribus Vaticanis et edit. Thys., Gall., Spark., hic Deo coeloque dignus; in scriptis 2 Reg., Jun., Cantabrig., et vet. excusis quinque, hic coelo Deoque dignus. Deoque hic inutilis videtur juxta Thomasium.

This man, in short, is worthy of heaven. So I have put it back from seven Regius manuscripts, among which are two very old ones, two of Bologna, the Caucius, three Vatican, six Colbert, two Claromontani, two Leipzig, one Sorbonne, the Palatine, Tax., Pen., Ultr., Em., Brun., and the Gryphius [Graph.] and Isaeus editions. In another Leipzig manuscript there is utique for denique; several Vatican manuscripts and the Thysius, Gallaeus and Spark editions have "this man is worthy of God and heaven"; two Regius manuscripts, the Junius, the Cambridge, and five old printed editions, "this man is worthy of heaven and God". Deoque seems superfluous here, according to Thomasius.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Peracta› · col 345

Peracta. Hoc caput est veluti transitus ad librum tertium.

Completed. This chapter is a kind of passage to the third book.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Major nobis... cum philosophis... luctatio› · col 345

Major nobis... cum philosophis... luctatio. Lact. IV, c. 25: Una nobis et magna et praecipua cum carne luctatio est. Cic., de Fato, c. 6: Chrysippe, tibi cum Diodoro magna luctatio est. BUN.

A greater struggle for us... with the philosophers. Lactantius, book 4, chapter 25: "We have one great and chief struggle, with the flesh." Cicero, On Fate, chapter 6: "Chrysippus, you have a great struggle with Diodorus." BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Quasi moles› · col 346

Quasi moles. Difficultas. Virgil.: Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem! — Quasi moles... mihi opponitur. Observatus est ei Cicero in Verrem, l. V, orat. 10, c. 1: Quasi murus quidam boni nomen... opponitur. BUN.

As it were a mass. A difficulty. Virgil: "So great a labour [moles] it was to found the Roman race!" — As it were a mass... is set against me. He had in mind Cicero, Against Verres, book 5, oration 10, chapter 1: "The name of a good man... is set against [us] as a kind of wall." BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Ac prope consensu omnium gentium premebantur› · col 346

Ac prope consensu omnium gentium premebantur. Ita restitui ex omnibus pene mss., 8 Reg., Cauc., 5 Colb., Lipsiensibus, 2 Sorbon., Nav., Vict., Gat., Marm., Jun., Pal, Em., Cantabrig., Brun. et vetustioribus ac praestantioribus editis, 3 Rom., Florent., Ald., Paris., 1525, Crat., Graph., Cellar., et Torn. in quo deest gentium. In ms. Tornes. ac pene consensu omnium premebamur; in Regio-Put. et 1 Colb. et 1 Clarom., premebatur, mendose; in 8 impressis rec. veritas premebatur; in scriptis 1 Reg. et 1 Clarom. veritas premeretur.

And they were weighed down by the near consent of all nations. So I have restored from nearly all the manuscripts: eight Regii, the Caucius, five Colbert, the Leipzig manuscripts, two Sorbonne, Nav., Vict., Gat., the Marmoutier, Junius, Palatine, Em., Cambridge, Brun., and the older and more excellent editions: three of Rome, the Florence, Aldine, Paris 1525, Cratander, Gryphius [Graph.], Cellarius and Tornaesius, in which gentium is missing. The Tornaesius manuscript has "and we were weighed down by the near consent of all"; the Regio-Puteanus, one Colbert and one Claromontanus have premebatur, wrongly; eight recent printed editions "the truth was weighed down"; one Regius and one Claromontanus manuscript "the truth would be weighed down".

(lemma) ‹anchor: De sententia... depelli› · col 346

De sententia... depelli. Supra dixit de luctatione; eleganter igitur de re gladiatoria hic transfert, l. III, c. 16, de sententia pulsus est. Conf. c. 17; l. V, c. 13. Nullis terroribus de sententiae proposito posse depelli. BUN.

To be driven from their opinion. Above he spoke of a struggle; so here he elegantly carries over a term from gladiatorial combat; book 3, chapter 16, "he was driven from his opinion". Compare chapter 17; book 5, chapter 13: "that they could be driven from their resolved opinion by no terrors". BÜNEMANN.

(lemma) ‹anchor: Deo ac veritate ducibus› · col 346

Deo ac veritate ducibus. Corrigit vulgatum illud: Duce virtute, comite Fortuna. Docet, sicut christianum decet, non propriis viribus, non Fortunae, sed Deo Opt. Max. omnium bonorum auctori, optima quaeque esse tribuenda. BETUL.

With God and truth as guides. He corrects the common saying, "With virtue as guide and Fortune as companion". He teaches, as befits a Christian, that every best thing is to be credited not to one's own strength, not to Fortune, but to God, Best and Greatest, the author of all good things. BETULEIUS.

(printed under page 176)

Page

running head: 345 ANALYSIS LIBRI TER (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A cipere, quod veritatem fuco; B CAPUT XX. / De philosophis (letter stands between these two lines); C in mun, ex litterarum apicibus (in the Variorum Notae); D (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column begins with the fragment "cipere" of a word broken from the previous column; column text ends mid-sentence at "difficilis" and the Analysis ends mid-sentence at "studiosi sunt"; Variorum Notae at the page foot not set (later pass); full-width heading lines "VARIORUM NOTAE", "ANALYSIS LIBRI ...", "LACTANTII ...", "VANITAS PHILOSOPHIAE ET PH..." and the ornament stand across both columns, are cut off, and are not set; the editors' Analysis of book III (Partes hujus libri tres sunt; In exordio optat sibi) stands below the band and belongs to the next unit: not set here (Q3 re-read; an earlier line said it was set)
other: a full-width band stands across cols 345/346 in mid-page: the 1 paragraph(s) above it in col 346 are set here, after the 4 above it in col 345 (reading order, moved on receipt); the band itself (its title lines) is not set by the volunteer page: set it here, at the move, with full_width
other: the column continues with Partes hujus libri tres sunt (another unit); not set here

PL 6:346

Editors' notes and page, col. 346

Page

running head: …YSIS LIBRI TERTII. 346 (left part of the head cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹suscepti operis portio›; B ‹profecto, ut quaesitam›; C ‹Colb., Lipsiensibus› (in the Variorum notae, not set); D (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: Column begins mid-sentence with "suscepti"; the "-titur." beside the A belongs to col. 345. VARIORUM NOTAE (Bun., Betul.) are left out for the later pass. Full-width lines between the notes and the synopsis are not set: the title "…IS LIBRI TERTII / …ACTANTII. / …SOPHIAE ET PHILOSOPHORUM." with an ornament rule. Editors' matter below the band (synopsis of Book III: philosophi (Cap. 2). — III. In philosophia…) belongs to the next unit and is not set here. In it, the first "(Cap. 4)", after the heading III, may be meant as Cap. 3, but it is printed so. The last word "homin" is cut at the bottom/right edge of the image; the restoration "homine" is UNSURE.
other: the 1 paragraph(s) of this column above the full-width band are set under col 345 (reading order, moved on receipt)
other: the text of this column below the full-width band belongs to the next unit; not set here (rail-only part)