1 [This, St. Augustine powerfully illustrates, See Confessions, lib. iii. cap 3. Note also Ib., lib. ix. cap 5.]
2 [It thrills me to compare this modest tribute of Christian confidence, with Justin's unheeded appeal to the Stoical Antonine.]
3 [Pilate is answered at last out of the Roman court itself .]
"How charming is divine philosophy!
Not harsh and crabbed, as dull fools suppose."
-Milton, Comus.]
5 [Ingeniously introduced, and afterward very forcibly expanded.]
6 [A hint to Caesar himself, the force of which began soon after very sorely to be felt in the empire.]
7 Cunei; properly, soldiers arranged in the shape of a wedge.
8 [Not David merely, nor only other kings of the Hebrews. Elucidation I.]
12 Georg., iv. 221. [These passages seem borrowed from the Octavius of Minucius, cap. 19, vol. iv. p. 183.]
13 [Fabricatorem mundi, rerum opificem.]
14 [Concerning the 0rphica, see vol. i. p. 178, note 1, and pp. 279, 290. For Sibyllina, Ibid., p. 169, note 9, and pp. 280-289. Note also vol. ii. p. 194, note 2, and T. Lewis, Plato cont. Ath., p. 99.]
15 Virg., Georg., ii. 325-327.
16 [See (Sigonius) p. 144, ed. Paris, 1818.]
17 [See vol. i. p. 289 note 2, this series.]
18 The Quindecemviri were the fifteen men to whom the care of the Sibylline books was entrusted. At first two (Duumviri) were appointed. The number was afterwards increased to ten, and subsequently to fifteen. It appears probable that this last change was made by Sulla.
19 [i.e., Counsel of God. See p. 14 supra, and 16 infra.]
20 [Concerning the Sibyls, see also, fully, Lardner, Credib., ii. 258, 334, etc On the use here and elsewhere made of them by our author, Ibid., p. 343, and iii. 544; also pp. 14 and 15, supra.]
21 [Vol. ii. cap, 28, p. 143.]
22 [1 John iv. 8. The Divine Triad "is Love."]
24 [The bees, according to Virgil, Georg. iv. 199.]
25 [Vol. ii. p. 179. It is interesting to observe the influence of Justin and Clement on the reasoning of the later Fathers, not excepting St. Augustine.]
27 [See vol. v. p. 43, and note, p. 46, this series.]
28 [Nat. Deor., iii. 36. De Maistre, Soirèes, i. p. 30, and note, p 63.]
29 [Compare the remorseless satire of Arnobius, vol. vi. p. 498.]
30 Zeu\j or Zh=n. [Quad sit auctor vitae. Delphin note.]
31 [On the Poets, vol. i. cap. 2, p, 273.]
33 Juvando. [Nat. Deor., iii. 25, 26.]
34 Aetate pessum acta. [See plural Joves, Nat. Deor., iii. 16.]
35 Commutavit; others read consummavit, "he completed."
36 [Condensed from cap. xxii. See vol. iv. p. 186, this series.]
37 Aether. [Tayler Lewis, Plato cont. Ath., pp. 126-129.]
38 Aether. [Tayler Lewis, Plato cont. Ath., pp. 126-129.]
39 Euhemerus was a Sicilian author of the age of Alexander the Great. He wrote a sacred history containing an account of the several gods who were worshipped in Greece, whom he represents as having originally been men who had distinguished themselves by their exploits, or benefits conferred upon men, and who were therefore, after their death, worshipped as gods. The Christian writers frequently refer to Euhemerus as helping them to prove that the pagan mythology consisted only of fables invented by men. See Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography.
40 vi. 291. [Tayler Lewis (ut supra), note xii. p. 119.]
46 [Vol. ii. cap. 28, p. 143, this series.]
47 Per amorem meriti. Some editions omit "meriti."
50 Instructa. [Vol. ii. cap. 18, p. 137, this series.]
53 And that the office of propagating (his race) does not fall within the nature of God.
54 i. 931. [i.e., De Rerum Natura, lib. i. verse 931.]
55 [Cicero, De Officiis, lib. iii. 11.]
58 The priests of Cybele were called Galli.
61 Virtus in its first meaning denotes valour, the property of a man (vir); then it is used to signify moral excellence.
64 Exorsus est. The word properly denotes to begin a web, to lay the warp; hence the use of "ordiri" In the following clause.
65 Lupa. [See vol. iii. cap. 10, p. 138, this series.]
67 Mens. [Tayler Lewis, Plato, etc., p. 219.]
68 Or, lights. The oracle is ambiguous, since the word fwj signifies a man, and also light. [i.e., fw\j = man, and fw=j = light.]
72 So the priests of Baal cut themselves, I Kings xviii. 28.
73 Panibus, loaves made in the shape of crowns.
74 [See this page, note 6, infra.]
76 eu0fhmia. It was supposed that words of ill omen, if uttered during the offering of a sacrifice, would render the gods unpropitious: the priest therefore, at the commencement of a sacrifice, called upon the people to abstain from ill-omened words: eu0fhmei=te, "favete linguis."
78 Aratus was the author of two Greek astronomical poems, the faino/mena and the Dioshme=ia. Virgil. in his Georgics, has borrowed largely from the latter. Germanicus Caesar, the grandson of Augustus, as stated in the text, translated the faino/mena.
80 Ancile, the sacred shield, carried by the Salii, or priests of Mars, in the processions at the festival of that deity.
81 Non Furius, sed plane furiosus.
83 Terricolas. Another reading is terriculas, bugbears.
84 Pergula. The word properly means a projection attached to a house. Apelles is said to have placed his pictures in such an adjunct, and to have concealed himself behind them, that he might hear the comments of persons passing by.
85 Cithaeron, from "cithara," a lyre.
86 Didymus. A celebrated Alexandrian grammarian, a follower of the school of Aristarchus. He is distinguished from other grammarians who bore the name of Didymus, by the surname Chalcenteros, which he is said to have received from his unwearied diligence in study. Among his productions, which are all lost, was one on the Homeric poems. He also wrote a commentary on Pindar, to which allusion is made in the text. See Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography.
87 Cf. Virg., Aeneid, v. [verse 718].
88 Theophilus was bishop of Antioch in the latter part of the second century. He was originally a heathen, and was converted to Christianity, as he tells us, by the reading of the Scriptures. [See vol. ii. pp. 87 and 120, this series.]
89 De Temporibus. Among the extant works of Theophilus there is not any with this title, but his work to Autolycus contains an apology for Christianity in three books. It is to this that Lactantius here refers.
90 Abnepos, son of a great-grandchild.
91 Pronepotes, great-grandsons.
1 [See Tertullian, vol. iii. p. 176, this series.]
2 Nomen. Another reading is numen, deity.
3 It was a custom among the heathen nations to crown the images of the gods with garlands of flowers.
4 The allusion is to the upright attitude of man, as compared with other created beings. The argument is often used by Lactantius.
5 This sentence is omitted in some editions.
6 Ovid, Metamorphosis [book i. 85.
Os homini sublime dedit: coelumque tueri
Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere vultus].
7 The allusion is to the supposed derivation of the word a!nqrwpoj, from a0na\, tre/pw, w!y, to turn the face upwards.
8 The word temples is not here applied to the buildings which the faithful set apart for the worship of God, but to the places used by the heathens for their rites and sacrifices. [For three centuries templa was the word among Christians for the idolatrous places.] That buildings were set apart by Christians from the earliest ages for their religious assemblies, is gathered from the express testimony of Tertullian, Cyprian, and other early writers. They were called ecclesiae; churches, not temples. [For kuriako\n, dominicum, basilica, etc., see Bingham, book viii. cap i. sec. 2.]
9 The heathens thought that the souls of the unburied dead wandered about on the earth, until their remains were committed to the tomb.
10 The words simulacrum, "an image," and similitudo, "a likeness" or "resemblance," are connected together through the common root similis, "like."
11 Materia is especially used in the sense of wood or timber.
12 Stipem jaciunt, "they throw a coin." The word properly means a "coin," money bearing a stamped impression; hence stipendium "soldiers' pay."
13 Fucus, "colouring juice;" hence anything not genuine, but artificial. Others read succum, "juice."
14 Persius, Satire 2d, 6. Lactantius uses the testimony of heathen writers against the heathen.
16 Ludicra, "diversions." The word is applied to stage-plays.
17 Adjudicavit, adjudged, made over. Cf. Hor., Ep., 1. 18: "Et, si quid abest, Italis adjudicat armis."
18 Fill up and complete the outline which he has conceived.
19 Lactantius charges Cicero with want of courage, in being unwilling to declare the truth to the Romans, lest he should incur the peril of death. The fortitude with which Socrates underwent death, when condemned by the Athenians, is related by Xenophon and Plato.
20 Lactantius here follows Plato, who placed the essence of man in the intellectual soul. The body, however, as well as the soul, is of the essence of man; but Lactantius seems to limit the name of man to the higher and more worthy part. [Rhetorically, not dogmatically.]
21 Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, vi. 5. ["Premunt ad terram."]
24 Rom. i. 22; "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools."
25 The apostle teaches the same, Rom. i. 19-21.
26 Divini sacramenti. 1 Cor. ii. 7: "We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery."
27 1 Cor ii. 14: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him;, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
28 [2 Pet. iii. 16. Even among believers such perils exist.]
29 [De Natura Deorum, lib. i. [cap. 32. Quam falsa convincere].
31 The wood of the fig-tree is proverbially used to denote that which is worthless and contemptible.
32 The Georgics, which are much more elaborately finished than the other works of Virgil.
33 Priapus was especially worshipped at Lampsacus on the Hellespont; hence he is styled Hellespontiacus.
34 Compositum jus, fasque animi. Compositum jus is explained as "the written and ordained laws of men;" fas, "divine and sacred law." Others read animo, "human and divine law settled in the mind."
36 Pupae, dolls or images worn by girls, as bulloe were by boys. On arriving at maturity, they dedicated these images to Venus. See Jahn's note on the passage from Persius.
37 The allusion is to the proverb that "old age is second childhood."
38 An allusion to Ps. cxv. 5: "They have mouths, but they speak not."
39 Quae tam non habent qui accipiunt, quam qui illa donarunt. The senseless images can make no use of the treasures.
40 Justin relates that Graecia Magna, a part of Italy, was subdued by Dionysius. Cicero says that he sailed to Peloponnesus, and entered the temple of the Olympian Jupiter. [De Nat. Deor., iii. 34.]
41 Sigilla. The word is also used to denote seals, or signets.
42 Equuleus: an instrument of torture resembling a horse, on which slaves were stretched and tortured.
43 Nihil esse [= are nothing.]
44 The allusion is to the efforts made by the partisans of Verres to prevent Cicero from obtaining the necessary evidence for the condemnation of Verres. But all these efforts were unavailing: the evidence was overwhelming, and before the trial was over Verres went into exile.
45 Ps. cxlviii. 6: "He hath established them for ever and ever."
46 Ovid, Metam., lib. i. [79. Jussit et extendi campos, etc.].
47 Ovid, Metam., lib. i. [79. Jussit et extendi campos, etc.].
48 [De Nat. Deor., ii. cap. 21.]
49 Exorbitare, "to wander from their orbits."
50 Deserviunt, "they are devoted to."
51 Spatium; a word borrowed frown the chariot-course, and applied with great beauty to the motions of the stars.
52 Archimedes was the greatest of ancient mathematicians, and possessed in an eminent degree inventive genius. He constructed various engines of war, and greatly assisted in the defence of Syracuse when it was besieged by the Romans. His most celebrated work, however, was the construction of a sphere, or "orrery," representing the movements of the heavenly bodies. To this Lactantius refers.
54 Illa vera. [Newton showed his orrery to Halley the atheist, who was charmed with the contrivance, and asked the name of the maker. "Nobody," was the ad hominem retort.]
58 Lactantius speaks after the manner of Cicero, and uses the word proposition to express that which logicians call the major proposition, as containing the major term: the word assumption expresses that which is called the minor proposition, as containing the minor term.
59 Thus Cicero, De Finibus, iii., says: "But they think that the universe is governed by the power of the gods, and that it is, as it were, a city and state common to men and gods, and that every one of us is a part of that universe."
60 If the world was created out of nothing, as Christians are taught to believe, it was not born; for birth (ge/nesij) takes place when matter assumes another substantial form.-Betuleius.
63 Sola, "alone." Another reading is solius, "of the only God."
68 Cicero, De Nat. Deor., iii. 2.
70 [See Clement, vol. ii. cap. 10, p. 197, this series.]
73 Relationship by marriage. The allusion is to the well-known story, that all the neighbouring towns refused to intermarry with the Romans.
74 Pro virili portione. The phrase properly denotes the share that falls to a person in the division of an inheritance, hence equality.
75 It cannot be forestalled or preoccupied.
76 Majores. There is a play upon the words for ancestors and descendants in Latin which our translation does not reproduce. The word translated ancestors may also mean "men who are greater or superior:" the word translated descendants may mean "men who are less or inferior."
77 Exemplum, "an example for imitation."
78 Until he had consulted auguries.
79 Elevans, "disparaging," or "diminishing from."
80 Paulus Aemilius, who subdued Macedonia.
81 Muliebre. Others read Fortunae muliebris.
82 The name is said to be derived from monendo, "giving warning," or "admonition."
84 The circumstance is related by Livy, book ix. c. 29.
86 Lacinian, so called from the promontory Lacinia, near Croton.
87 The island of Cos lies off the coast of Caria; it had a celebrated temple of Aesculapius.
88 The Circensian games were instituted by Romulus, according to the legend, when he wished to attract the Sabine population to Rome for the purpose of obtaining wives for his people. They were afterwards celebrated with great enthusiasm.
89 Furca, an instrument of punishment to which the slave was bound and scourged.
94 The Son of God, afterwards spoken of.
95 By perseverance. There seems to be a contrast between the Son, who remained stedfast, and the evil spirits who fell.
96 dia/boloj, "slanderer or accuser." The Greek and Latin words employed by Lactantius have the same meaning.
98 Book iv. ch. vi., etc. [Deus, igitur, machinator constitutorque rerum, etc.]
99 Lying under; answering to the Greek expression u9pokeime/nh u#lh, subject matter.
100 Not now found in the treatise which bears this title.
102 Materia; perhaps from "mater," mother stuff-matter out of which anything is composed.
103 The moulder. The ancients made statues of wax or clay, as well as of wood, ivory, and marble.
105 Alluding to the well-known practice of the Academics, viz., of arguing on both sides of a question.
106 The founder or preparer of the material.
107 [Quam vim potuit habere nullo dante?]
109 Sibi illam dedit. There is another reading, illa sibi illam dedit, but it does not give so good a sense.
110 A proverbial expression, signifying "to get out of one difficulty by getting into another." The passage in the text is a quotation from Terence, Phorm., v. 2. 15. [Not in some editions of our author; e.g., Basil, 1521.]
112 Which does not exist there, from whence it is sought.
114 Distruitur, "pulled to pieces." The word is thus used by Cicero.
115 Distruitur, "pulled to pieces." The word is thus used by Cicero.
116 Ch. 3 and 7. [See pp. 11, 17, supra.]
118 Lactantius seems to refer not to the true prophets, but to those of other nations, such as Orpheus and Zoroaster, or the magi of the Persians, the gymnosophists of the Indians, or the Druids of the Gauls. St. Augustine often makes mention of these. It would seem inconsistent to mention Moses and the prophets of God with the prophets of the heathens. [Compare, however, "Christian analogies," etc., in Justin. See vol. i. 169; also Ibid., pp. 182, 283-286.]
120 The work of the world, and the workmanship of God.
121 Qui sunt principes omnis disciplinae. There is another reading: quae sunt principes omnium disciplinae, "which are the leading sects of all."
122 Thales said that the world was the work of God.
123 This statement is incorrect, as Plato was born B.C. 430, and Epicurus B.C. 337.
124 There is probably an allusion to the Cynics.
125 Conglobatam. Another reading is, quàm materiâ providentiam conglobatam.
128 As often as he is an Epicurean.
131 Fabrica. The word is also used to denote the exercise of skill in workmanship.
132 Caementa, rough stones from the quarry.
133 Pertaining to time, as opposed to eternal.
135 A curious and profane eagerness.
137 Apos. Const. (so-called), book ii. cap. 57. See Bingham, book viii. cap. 3, sec. 3; also vol. ii. note 1, p. 535, this series, and vol. iii. note 1, p. 31. So Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine, and later Fathers. Bingham book xiii. cap. 8, sec. 15.]
138 [In baptism, the renunciations were made with face turned to the west. Bingham, book xi. cap. 7, sec. 4.]
139 Spatia; an expression derived from the chariot-race.
140 A play upon the words Sol, the sun, and solus, alone.
141 Antitheus, one who takes the place of God: as Antichrist, a0nti/xristoj, one who sets himself in the place of Christ.
145 Sacramento. Torches were lighted at marriage ceremonies, and the bride was sprinkled with water.
149 Eliquaverit. "strained off," "made liquid."
150 [So Izaak Walton: "Known only to him whose name is Wonderful."]
152 Jumenta, "beasts of burthen," as though derived from juvo, "to aid."
153 Homo, "man," from humus, "the ground." [P. 56, supra.]
154 This image, or likeness of God, in which man was originally created, is truly described not by Plato, but by St. Paul: 2 Cor. iv. 6; Col. iii. 10; Eph. iv. 24.
155 Another reading is, "Man is my image."
160 Book i. [ch. 11, p. 22, supra].
161 The title o9 dhmiourgo\j, the Architect, or Creator, is used by Plato and Hermes.
162 Georg., ii. 341. [Terrea progenies duris caput extulit arvis.]
163 Terrea. Another reading is ferrea, "the race of iron."
165 The fable of the three Parcae-Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos-is derived from Hesiod.
167 Ripeness, or suitableness.
168 Little bags, or follicles.
169 Book v. 806. [Uteri terram radicibus apti.]
170 A perpetual temperature and an equable spring.
173 Inextricabilis, that cannot be disentangled. 3
174 [De Legibus, book i. cap. 7.]
175 That is, according to the notions of the heathen.
178 It was necessary to remove ambiguity from the heathen to whom the word death conveys no such meaning. In the sacred writings the departure of the soul from the body is often spoken of as sleep, or rest. Thus Lazarus is said to sleep. 1 Thess. iv. 14, "Them that sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him,"-an expression of great beauty and propriety as applied to Christians. On the other hand, the prophets speak of "the shadow of death."
179 Extinguishes. Compare the words of Christ Himself, John v. 29; Acts xxiv. 15.
180 [Must not be overlooked. See vol. iv. p. 495, and elucidation (after book. iv.) on p. 542.]
181 [Eccles. iii. 18-21. Answered, Eccles. xii. 7.]
183 It is not to be supposed that Lactantius, following the error of Marcion, believed that the body of man had been formed by the devil, for he has already described its creation by God. He rather speaks of the devil as exercising a power permitted to him over the earth and the bodies of men. Compare 2 Cor. iv. 4.
185 The word teneo is used in this sense by Cicero (De Nat. Deor., 11. 54): "Tribus rebus animantium vita tenetur, cibo, potione, spiritu."
188 We are not to understand this as asserting that the man lived in idleness, and without any employment in paradise; for this would be inconsistent with the Scripture narrative, which tells us that Adam was placed there to keep the garden and dress it. It is intended to exclude painful and anxious labour, which is the punishment of sin. See Gen. iii. 17.
190 Another reading is, ad dejiciendum hominem, "to overthrow the man."
191 Circumvallavit, "placed a barrier round." See Gen. iii. 24: "He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubims, and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life."
192 [Not novissima, but extrema here. He refers to book vii. cap. 11, etc.]
193 Temporary. The word is opposed to everlasting.
194 No one actually lived a thousand years. They who approached nearest to it were Methuselah, who lived 969 years, Jared 962, and Noah 950.
195 It appears that the practice of the Egyptians varied as to the computation of the year.
197 ["Old Parr," born in Shropshire, A.D. 1483, died in 1635: i.e., born before the discovery of America, he lived to the beginning of Hampden's career in England.]
198 The reading is quod, which in construction refers not to the preceding, but to the following substantive. Qui has been suggested as a preferable reading.
199 Lactantius understands the hundred and twenty years (mentioned Gen. vi. 3) as the limit of human life, and regards it as a mark of severity on God's part. But Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, and most commentators, regard it rather as a sign of God's patience and long-suffering, in giving them that space for repentance. And this appears to be confirmed by the Apostle Peter, 1 Ep. iii. 20, "When once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing."
202 This refers to that prophetic denunciation of divine judgment on the impiety of Ham, which Noah, by the suggestion of the Holy Spirit, uttered against the posterity of the profane man. Gen. ix. 25: "Cursed be Canaan." The curse was not uttered in a spirit of vengeance or impatience on account of the injury received, but by the prophetic impulse of the Divine Spirit. [The prophet fixes on the descendant of Ham, whose impiety was foreseen, and to whom it brought a curse so signal.]
203 [Our author falls into a hysteron-proteron: the curse did not work the ignorance, but wilful ignorance and idolatry wrought the curse, which was merely foretold, not fore-ordained.]
208 See 2 Cor. iv. 4, "the god of this world."
211 dah/monej. Other derivations have been proposed; but the word probably comes from dai/w, "to distribute destinies." Plato approves of the etymology given by Lactantius; for he says that good men, distinguished by great honours, after their death became demons, in accordance with this title of prudence and wisdom. [See the whole subject in Lewis' Plato, etc., p. 347. ]
212 To combine, qualify, or temperate.
214 Blinding tricks, juggleries.
215 They lavish. The word implies a profuse and excessive liberality.
216 Thin, unsubstantial, as opposed to corporeal. The ancients inclined to the opinion that angels had a body, not like that of man, but of a slight and more subtle nature. Probably Lactantius refers to this idea in using the word tenuis. How opposed this view is to Scripture is manifest. [Not so maniifest as our translator supposes. I do not assert what Lactantius says to be scripturally correct: but it certainly is not opposed to many facts as Scripture states them; whether figuratively or otherwise, I do not venture a suggestion.]
217 Augustine gives an account of these deceits, De Civit. Dei, ix. 18.
218 Thus the ancient Romans worshipped Fever, Fear, etc., to avoid injury from them.
220 See Acts of Apostles xvi. 18, and xix. 15, 16. In the Gospels the demons say to Jesus, "Art Thou come to torment us before the time?" [Suggestive of 2 Pet. ii. 4.]
221 The practice of exorcism was used in the early ages of the Church, and the faithful were supposed to possess power over demons. See book iv. ch. 27. Justin, Tertullian and other writers attest the same. There were also exorcists in the Jewish synagogues. See Acts xix. 13.
222 Sed. Other editions read et; but the one adopted in the text brings out the meaning more distinctly by contrast = they did not disgrace religion, but their own honour.
224 Malefici-evil doers. The word is specially used of enchanters.
226 Apparitors. The word is especially applied to public servants, as lictors, etc.
228 Praevaricatores. The word is properly applied to an advocate who is guilty of collusion with his antagonist, and thus betrays his client.
232 At their nod, or suggestion.
234 That which was necessary according to the purpose and arrangement of God.
235 Tensa; a carriage on which the images of the gods were carried to the circus at the Circensian games.
236 Deserved nothing, had nothing worthy of punishment. Varro and Paulus Aemilius were the two consuls who commanded at Cannae. Varro escaped, Paulus was slain.
241 Jerome says "Great is the anger of God when He does not correct sins, but punishes blindness with blindness. On this very account God sends strong delusion, as St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians, that they should believe a lie, that they all may be damned who have not believed the truth. They are unworthy of the living fountain who dig for themselves cisterns."
242 Virg., Aen., iv. 464. Some read priorum instead of piorum.
244 Addico, "to adjudge," is the legal term, expressing the sentence by which the praetor gave effect to the right which he had declared to exist.
246 Mancipo. The word implies the making over or transferring by a formal act of sale. Debtors, who were unable to satisfy the demands of their creditors, were made over to them, and regarded as their slaves. They were termed addicti. Our Lord said (John viii. 34), "Whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin." Thus also St. Paul, Rom. vi. 16, 17.
247 [Quare non est dubium quin religio nulla sit ubicunque simulacrum est. Such is the uniform Ante-Nicene testimony.]
248 Simulacrum, "an image," from simulo, "to imitate."
252 [Quis autem nesciat plus esse momenti in paucioribus doctis, quam in pluribus imperitis?]
1 [A modest confession of his desire to "find out acceptable words." Eccles. xii.. 10. His success is proverbial]
4 [i.e., false sophia = "philosophy falsely so called." Vol. v. p. 81.]
5 Aliter. This word is usually read in the former clause, but it gives a better meaning in this position.
6 [Religionum falsitas. He does not here employ superstitio. By the way, Lactantius derives this word from those "qui superstitem memoriam hominum, tanquam deorum, colerent." Cicero, however, derives it from those who bother the gods with petitions,-"pro superstite prole." See note of the annotator of the Delphin Cicero, on the Natura Deor., i. 17.]
8 What he professed-gave himself out to be.
10 It is evident that the Academy took its rise from the doctrine of Socrates. Plato, the disciple of Socrates, founded the Academy. However excellent their system may appear to many, the opinion of Carneades the Stoic seems just, who said that "the wise man who is about to conjecture is about to err, for he who conjectures knows nothing." Thus knowledge is taken from them by themselves.-Betul.
11 With nothing but an inner wall between.
12 Terent., Heautont., iii. sec. 97.
13 spartoi/, those who sprung from the dragon's teeth.
14 Distrahi, which is the reading of some editions, is here followed in preference to the common reading, detrahi.
18 In Greek, a0su/staton, "without consistency, not holding together;" in Latin, "instabile" or "inconstans."
19 Versutus, one who turns and shifts.
21 The hinge of wisdom altogether turns.
22 Rationem, "the plan or method of his condition."
23 [Sus ille lutulentus. 2 Pet. ii. 22.]
24 They, i.e., the beasts of prey and the tame animals.
25 Virg, Georg. iii. 112, 102.
26 [De Finibus, book v. cap. 28.]
27 Literally, "since the nature of good things is placed on a steep ascent, that of evil things on a precipitous descent."
28 Honestas is used with some latitude of meaning, to express respectability of character, or honourable feeling, or the principle of honour, or virtue itself. [See Philipp. iv. 8.]
29 That he might be able to make some answer.
31 This sight or spectacle, that is, into this world. This expression is used for the place from which the sight is beheld.
33 Each, viz., the world and the eye.
34 Expedita, "free from obstacles," "unembarrassed."
35 Humanity, properly that which is characteristic of man, then kindness and humaneness.
36 Pietas. The word denotes not only piety towards God, but also the affection due to a parent.
37 The sounds uttered bv the beasts, by which they are able to distinguish one another. [Rousseau's theory goes further.]
38 Multo magis is the reading of the mss.; but multo minus-"much less"-seems preferable.
39 Liable to fall, perishable.
40 According to St. Paul, man consists of three parts-body, soul and spirit. Lactantius appears to use the word soul in the same sense in which the Scriptures speak of spirit. [Vol. i. p. 532.]
41 Tenuis, as applied to the soul, opposed to solidus, applied to the body.
42 There is a memorable story related by ecclesiastical historians, about a very clever disputant, whose sophistries could not be answered by his fellow-disputants, but who was completely silenced by the simple answers of a Christian otherwise unknown. When questioned about his sudden silence, the sophist replied that others exchanged words for words, but that this simple Christian fought with virtue.
43 There seems to be a reference to a passage of Terence, in which the poet represents it as the property of man to err. [Or to Cicero, rather: Cujusvis hominis est errare, etc. Philipp. xii. 2.]
44 Cicero, De Officiis, ii. 2.
45 Ars denotes study, method, or system. The word is applied both to theoretical knowledge and practical skill.
46 A proverbial expression, denoting an accidental occurrence.
50 The allusion is to the punishment of parricides, who were sewed into a bag with an ape, a serpent, and a cock, and thus thrown into the sea.
51 If any one has approached her as a learner.
52 Marcus Antonius, who was consul with C. Caesar in the year when Caesar was assassinated. It was against Antonius that Cicero wrote those speeches full of invectives, which, in imitation of Demosthenes, he named Philippics.
53 This point is discussed by Cicero in his Academic questions.
54 [Advice which he took to heart as a swinish debauchee.]
55 Than-that no one knows anything.
56 Sallust as a writer abounds in denunciations of vice. But see book ii. cap. 13, note 4, p. 62, supra.]
57 Indicium sui professos putes; others read judicium, "you would think that they were passing sentence on themselves."
59 Augustine in many places expresses his opinion that the Cynics were so called from their immodesty. Others suppose that the name was given to them on account of their snarling propensity.
60 [See p. 83, note 2, and p. 84, 1.]
61 Lactantius must be understood as speaking of that kind of philosophy which teaches errors and deceits, as St. Paul speaks, Col. ii. 8: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit."
64 [The force of the poet's satire is in this petty merchandise.]
65 [See Plato's remark upon what he calls this disease, De Leg., x., finely expounded in Plato cont. Atheos (note ix. p. 114) by Tayler Lewis.]
66 There is another reading, "adversus parentes impio," "to the son whose conduct to his parents is unnatural."
67 Lucretius, De Rerum Natura, ii. 1101, Munro.
68 [This age is favoured with a reproduction of these absurdities; and what has happened in consequence before, will be repeated now.]
70 [See vol. ii. p. 465, the whole of 14th chapter.]
72 The reading of the text, which appears to be the true one, is "quo nos etiamnum sumus." There is another reading, "quo et nos jam non sumus." This latter reading would be in accordance with the sentiment of Epicurus, which is totally opposed to the view taken by Lactantius.
73 [For his pious talk, however, see T. Lewis, Plato, etc., p. 258.]
74 [These operations of the unbelieving mind have appeared in our day in the Communisme of Paris. They already threaten the American Republic, the mass of the population being undisciplined in moral principle, and our lawgivers as well.]
75 Cleanthes was a Stoic philosopher, who used to draw water by night for his support, that he might devote himself to the study of philosophy by day. He ended his life by refusing to take food.
76 Chrysippus was a disciple of Zeno, and, after Cleanthes, the chief of the Stoic sect. According to some accounts, he died front an excessive draught of wine; according to others, from excessive laughter.
77 Zeno, the chief of the Stoic sect. He is said to have died from suffocation.
78 Empedocles was a philosopher and poet. There are various accounts of his death; that mentioned in the text is usually received.
79 There are various accounts respecting the death of Democritus.
82 Heautontim., v. 2, 18. This advice is given to a young man, who, not knowing the value of life, is prepared rashly to throw it away in consequence of some check to his plans.
83 Pythagoras taught the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, and affirmed that he had lived already as Euphorbus, one of the heroes of Troy, who was slain by Menelaus in the Trojan war. Lactantius again refers to this subject, book vii. ch. 23, infra.
84 This passage is not contained in Cicero's treatise on the Laws, but the substance of it is in the Tusculan Questions.
85 See Dan. xii.; Matt. iii., xiii., xxv.; John xii.
86 [See vol. iii. p. 231, and same treatise sparsim.]
87 Silenus was the constant companion of Dionysus. He was regarded as an inspired prophet, who knew all the past and the most distant future, and as a sage who despised all the gifts of fortune.
88 The Greeks included all nations, except themselves, under the general name of barbarians.
89 In transversum, "crosswise or transversely."
90 Lactantius here uses cor, "the heart," for wisdom, regarding the heart as the seat of wisdom.
91 The allusion is to the upright figure of man, as opposed to the other animals, which look down upon the earth, whereas man looks upward. [Our author is partial to this idea. See p. 41, supra.]
92 This oath is mentioned by Athenaeus. Tertullian makes an excuse for it, as though it were done in mockery of the gods. Socrates was called the Athenian buffoon, because he taught many things in a jesting manner.
93 To be distinguished from Zeno of Citium, the Stoic, and also from Zeno of Elea.
94 The Stoics not only regarded accidental things, but also our bodies themselves, as being without us.
95 Justice comprises within herself all the virtues. And thus Aristotle calls her the mother of the other virtues, because she cherishes as it were in her bosom all the rest.
96 [This caustic review of Plato is painfully just. Alas! that such opprobria should be incapable of reply.]
97 That is, philosophers of less repute and fame.
98 Cicero speaks of Tuditanus as scattering money from the rostrum among the people.
99 [Anacreon, Ode 2. toi=j a!dra/sin fro/nhma.]
100 Animals of a solitary nature, as opposed to those of gregarious habits.
101 [He was nearer truth than he imagined, if the planet Mars may be called below us.]
103 He alludes to the hanging gardens of Semiramis at Babylon.
104 [World here means universe. See vol. ii. p. 136, note 2.]
106 A long beard and cloak were the badges of the philosophers. [See vol. ii. p. 321, note 9.]
107 [Platonic philosophy being addressed to the mind, and the Epicurean to lusts and passions.]
108 Themiste is said to have been the wife of Leontius; Epicurus is reported to have written to her. Themistoclea, the sister of Pythagoras, is mentioned as a student of philosophy; besides many other women in different ages.
109 Plato dedicated to Phaedo his treatise on the immortality of the soul: according to other accounts, Phaedo was ransomed by Crito or Alcibiades at the suggestion of Socrates.
111 Perillus invented the brazen bull, which the tyrant Phalaris used as an instrument of torture. It was so constructed that the groans of the victims appeared to resemble the bellowing of the bull.
112 The baptismal font. [i.e., as signifying Zech. xiii. 1.]
114 A shadow; outline, or resemblance.
116 Thus St. Paul, Col. iii. 2, exhorts us to set our affections on things above, not on things of the earth.
117 [Quod si Deum naturam vocant quae perversitas est naturam potius quam Deum nominare. Observe this terse maxim of our author. It rebukes the teachers and scientists of our day, who seem afraid to "look through nature up to nature's God," in their barren instruction. They go back to Lucretius, and call it progress!]
118 To raise or stretch out the hand was an acknowledgment of defeat.
119 [See p. 91, note 3, supra, and sparsim in this work.]
120 Literally, "their accounts did not square."
121 Afficit, "presses and harasses." Another reading is affligit, "casts to the ground."
122 Cicero, De Offic., ii. 6. The expressions are borrowed from the figure of a ship at sea.
126 Satire x. 365: Nullum numen abest. Others read, Nullum numen habes. You have no divine power, O Fortune, if there is prudence, etc.
127 Acad., i. 7. [Let our sophists feel this rebuke of Tully.]
128 [A noble utterance from Christian philosophy, now first gaining the ear and heart of humanity.]
2 Thus St. Paul, 1 Cor. ii. 9: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."
4 The seven wise men were, Thales, Pittacus, Bias, Solon, Cleobulus, Chilo, and Periander. To these some add Anacharsis the Scythian. [Vol. v. p. 11, supra. For Thales, vol. ii. p. 140.]
5 This was the opinion of Pythagoras. See Book iii. 2.
7 ["Thou art a God that hidest thyself," Isa xlv. 15. Wisdom must be searched after as hidden treasure.]
8 See Eph. i. 9, 10; Col. i. 26, 27. [This is a mysterious truth: God's election of men and nations has been according to their desire to be enlightened. Christ must be the "Desire of Nations."]
9 The last time is the last dispensation, the time of the new covenant. Heb. i. 2.
10 See Isa. lv. 4: "Behold, I have given Him for a leader and commander to the people."
12 [Iidem sunt doctores sapientiae qui et De. sacerdotes.]
13 [The satirist, not Cicero's friend; Nat. Deor., iii.]
14 Fathers in ancient times had the greatest power over their children, so that they had the right of life and death, as masters had over their slaves.
15 Pater familias-a title given to the master of a household, whether he had sons or not; the slaves of a house were called familia.
16 It has been judged better to keep the words "slave" and "lord" throughout the passage, for the sake of uniformity of expression, though in some places "servant" and "master" might seem more appropriate.
17 Among the Romans slaves had no praenomen or distinguishing name; when a slave was set at liberty, he was allowed to assume the name of his master as a praenomen. Thus, in Persius (Sat., v.), "Dama," the liberated slave, becomes "Marcus Dama."
18 Thus the slave in Terence wished to know how many masters he had.
19 Fear, in the language of the prophets often implies reverence of the divine majesty. Lactantius seems to refer to Mal. i. 6: "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?"
20 Literally, runaways. The reference is, as before, to runaway slaves.
22 [See Pusey's Daniel; also Minor Prophets.]
23 See 2 Kings xxv.; Jer. xxxix. and lii.
24 The same is asserted by Justin Martyr [vol. i. p. 277], Eusebius, Augustine, and other writers. See Augustine, De Civitate Dei, book xviii. 37. Pythagoras, one of the most ancient of the Greek philosophers, was contemporary with the latest prophets.
25 Literally, "sends." The passage appears to be corrupt: u9popi/ptei has been suggested instead of u9pope/mpei, "falls under perception," "is an object of perception."
26 Prov. viii. 22-31. Lactantius quotes from the Septuagint.
27 According to the Hebrew, "possessed me in the beginning," and so the authorized version.
28 Fines inhabitabiles. Other editions read terras inhabitabiles, "uninhabitable lands."
29 Literally, "whose first nativity not only preceded the world." He speaks of the eternal generation of the Son, as distinguished from His incarnation, which he afterwards speaks of as His second nativity. [See vol. vi. p. 7.]
31 Jesus, is, [Joshua = ] Saviour.
32 Suetonius speaks of Christ as Chrestus. The Christians also were called Chrestians, as Tertullian shows in his Apology. The word xrhsto/j has the signification of kind, gentle, good. [Vol. i. p. 163.]
33 Each has reference to Christ, as He is King and Priest. Of the anointing of kings, see 1 Sam., and of priests, Lev. viii. [Of prophets, 1 Kings xix. 16.] The priesthood of Christ is most fully set forth in the Epistle to the Hebrews.
34 Thus Horatius, Carm., i. 35, "Purpurei metuunt tyranni;" and Gray, Ode to Adversity, "Purple tyrants vainly groan."
36 Interpretatae sunt, used here in a passive sense.
39 Jer. i. 5. It can only be in a secondary sense that this prophecy refers to Christ; in its primary sense it refers to the prophet himself, as the context plainly shows.
40 This passage is not found in Jeremiah, or in the Bible.
43 Denuo, i.e. de nova, "afresh."
44 Societate alterius. [Profanely arguing to God from man. Humanity has a procreant power of a lower sort; but the ideal is divine, and needs no process like that of man's nature.]
45 au/topa/tora kai\ au0tomh/tora.
46 Thus Isa. liii. 8: "Who shall declare His generation?"
48 Thus lo/goj includes the two senses of word and reason.
49 There is great difficulty in translating this passage, on account of the double sense of spiritus (as in Greek, pneu=ma), including "spirit" and "breath." It is impossible to express the sense of the whole passage by either word singly. There Is the same difficulty with regard to pneu=ma, as in Heb. i. 7: "He maketh His angels spirits," more correctly "winds." See Delitzsch on Hebrews, and comp. Ps. civ. 4.
51 Coelestis arcani. See Rom. xvi. 25.
52 Lactantius is speaking of the breath: he cannot refer to the soul, which he everywhere speaks of as immortal.
54 In our version, Ps. xxxiii. 6.
55 Quoted from the Septuagint version.
56 Ps. xlv. 1. [See vol. i. p. 213.]
58 Ecclus. xxiv. 5-7. This book is attributed to Solomon by many of the Fathers, though it bears the title of the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach.
61 The boundary of the age. Thus the Scriptures speak of the end of the world, the last days.
63 An expression frequently used by the Fathers to denote the assumption of our nature by Christ.
64 Seminaret, "sow" or "spread." [I have put "sow" into the text, and brought down "spread," for an obvious reason.]
65 The patriarchs. The idea appears to be that Christians from the Gentiles, having succeeded to the privileges of the Jews, are, as it were, their posterity.
66 The duration of the captivity in Egypt was two hundred and fifteen years. The period of four hundred and thirty years is reckoned from the call of Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees to the final departure from Egypt.
67 The Angel of the Covenant, who so often presented Himself to the Hebrews. See Ex. xxiii. 20. [The Jehovah-Angel. Compare Justin, vol. i. pp. 223-226, and others passim, this series.]
68 Virgil, Georg., iv. 361. He describes Aristaeus as descending to the chamber of his mother Cyrene, in the depths of the river Peneus. The waters separate on each side to make a way for him, and then close over his head.
69 Coeuntibus aquis, "meeting together."
70 See Ps. lxxviii. 24: "He rained down manna upon them to eat."
72 Some of the Fathers think, with Lacantius, that it was the head only, and not the whole figure, of a calf which they made.
73 Apis is the name given by the Egyptians to the calf which they worshipped.
75 The moral law had been already given to Moses on the mount before the making of the golden calf. The law here referred to may well be taken to express the burthensome routine of the ceremonial law, which Peter (Acts xv. 10) describes as a "yoke which neither their fathers nor they were able to bear." [Our author expresses himself with accuracy: He subjected them by the oppresive ceremonial law to the moral law He had just given.]
76 The Hebrews are said to have derived their name from Heber the descendant of Noah by Shem; or more probably from Abram the Hebrew, that is, the man who had crossed the river,-a name given to him by the Canaanites. See Gen. xiv. 13.
78 There seems to be no authority for this derivation of the name. They were doubtless called Jews from Judah. As those who returned from the captivity at Babylon were principally of the tribe of Judah, though some from the other tribes returned with them, they were called Jews after the captivity.
79 There appears to be no reasonable doubt that the day on which our Lord suffered was the 14th of Nisan, that is, April 7. See Gresswell's Dissertations, vol. iii. p. 168; also Ellicott's Lectures on the Life of Christ. [Gresswell is not to be too readily accepted in this. See the learned inquiry of Dr. Jarvis, of whom, vol. ii. p. 477.]
80 Testamentum, properly the solemn declaration of a will.
82 Alienigenis. Comp. Eph. ii. 12: "Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise."
85 From generation to generation.
86 Neh. ix. 26. The book of Nehemiah is called by the Greek writers the second book of Ezra. The words quoted are spoken by the Levites.
87 1 Kings xix. 10. The 1st and 2d Samuel are in the Septuagint 1st and 2d Kings, and 1st and 2d Kings are 3d and 4th.
88 I have been jealous with jealousy-Aemulando aemulatus sum,-a Hebraism. So Luke xxii. 15; John iii. 29.
89 Fathers were said to disown (abdicare) and cast off degenerate sons.
90 Thus Col. i. 18, "who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead."
93 In the Septuagint dedo/castai, "has been glorified."
94 Ps. xviii. 43. The quotation is from the Septuagint, katasth/seij; our version reads, "Thou hast made me."
95 Isa. lxvi. 18, 19. The quotation is again taken from the Septuagint.
96 See Ezek. xli., where an angel measures the temple; and Rev. xi., where an angel directs John to measure it.
97 The Scriptures do not make mention of the death of Isaiah. It is supposed that there is an allusion to it in Heb. xi. 37.
99 Filios genui et exaltavi. This is quoted from the Septuagint.
101 This is quoted from the Septuagint; literally, have watched for, custodierunt.
102 Metatura. There is considerable difference in the readings of this passage. The text, as given above, deviates considerably from the Septuagint, which is more nearly expressed by the reading of other editions: "Incassum facta est metatura falsa, scribae confusi sunt."
103 Pius. The word is often used to represent kindness.
104 Men are represented as being enemies to God. The enmity is on man's side, but if persisted in, must make God his enemy. See Rom. v. 9, 10, and Isa. lxiii. 10.
107 So Virgil, Georgic iii. 274:-
"Et saepe sine ullis
Conjugiis vento gravidae, mirabile dictu."This theory of the impregnation of mares by the wind was general among the ancients.
108 This passage does not occur in the writings of Solomon, or in the Old Testament. [Possibly from some copy (North African) of the "Book of Wisdom," interpolated from a marginal comment.]
111 Ps. lxxxv. 12, quoted from the Septuagint.
113 The days of the age. In the next clause the text differs both from the Hebrew and the Septuagint-which the English authorized version follows-"who raised up out of the sea."
114 Isa. xlv. 8, quoted from the Septuagint.
115 Isa. ix. 6, from the Septuagint.
117 Obtulerunt eum, "presented Him."
118 Quod carne indui haberet in terrâ. Another reading is "deberet," but the present is in accordance with the style of Lactantius.
120 Acts i. 9: "A cloud received Him out of their sight."
123 Isa. xlv. 1-3. The quotation is from the Septuagint. It expressly refers to Cyrus, whom God raised up to accomplish His will; but the prophecy may have a further reference to Christ, as is here supposed.
124 From the Israelites, to whom He first revealed Himself, to the Gentile world at large.
125 a/pa/twr and a0mh/twr. See Heb. vii. 3, where Melchisedec is a type of Christ.
126 Ex utroque genere permistum. Though the Godhead and the manhood are joined together in one person in our Lord Jesus Christ, there is no confounding of the two natures: each is whole and perfect. While Nestorius held that there were two persons in Christ, Eutyches fell into the opposite error, and taught that the two natures were so blended together as to form one mixed nature. The expression in the text is not very clear.
128 Fatigata est Aegyptus. This is taken from the Septuagint.
129 This quotation is from the apocryphal book of Baruch iii. 35-37, which is sometimes spoken of as the book of Jeremiah Baruch.
131 Jer. xvii. 9. The passage is quoted from the Septuagint.
132 Isa. xix. 20, quoted from the Septuagint.
133 Num. xxiv. 17. The well-known prophecy of Balaam is here spoken of as though given by Moses, who only records it. [In an elucidation touching the Sibyls, I shall recur to the case of Balaam.]
134 Exsurget homo ex Israel. This is taken from the Septuagint, instead of the ordinary reading, "A sceptre shall rise out of Israel."
135 [The oracle of Apollo Didymaeus; from the Milesian temple burnt by Xerxes. Readers will remember the humour of Arnobius about these divers names, vol. vi. p. 419, this series.]
139 Flos. Quoted from the Septuagint, a!nqoj.
140 Implebit eum spiritus timoris Dei.
141 2 Sam. vii. 4, 5, 12-14, 16..
142 Fidem consequetur, following the Septuagint pistwqh/setai.
143 Hierosolyma. As though derived from i0ero/n and Solsmw=n. But Solomon was not the founder of the city. The name is probably derived from Salem, of which city Melchisedec was king. Some derive it from Jebus (the ancient name of the city) and Salem. [See vol. ii. p. 107, note 3, this series.]
144 Non est fidem consecuta, as above.
145 Thus Peter speaks, 1 Ep. ii. 5, "Ye are built up a spiritual house."
148 Ps. cx. 3, 4, quoted from the Septuagint. With reference to this priesthood, see Heb. v.
150 Fidelem, i.e.; firm and stedfast.
151 In conspectu meo. The Septuagint, e0nw/pion xristou= mou; and so the English authorized version, "before my anointed."
153 The authorized version reads Joshua, which has the same meaning with Jesus. See Heb. iv. 8. [Compare Justin, vol. i. note 4, p. 227.]
154 Diabolus, i.e., the calumniator. To stand on the right hand is to accuse with authority. See Ps. cix. 6.
155 Tunica talaris, a garment reaching to the ankles; in Greek, podh/rhj.
156 Cidarim; an Eastern word denoting a head-dress worn by the Persian kings, or, as in this passage, the mitre of the Jewish high priest.
157 Not the Great, but the tenth, a much earlier king of Macedon.
158 i.e., Joshua the son of Nun, as he is generally called. [Justin vol. i. pp. 174, 266.]
159 Ambureretur. The word is applied to anything which is partly burned, burnt around, scorched. Hence Cicero jestingly speaks of Munatius Plancus, at whose instigation the people set fire to the senate-house, as tribunus ambustus. Cic., pro Milone.
160 i.e., the word titio, "a firebrand," is thus used.
161 i.e., authority to judge. [Ps. lxxii. 1 and John v. 22.]
162 After these words some editions, "principem angelorum," the chief of angels.
163 Cum primus coepit adolescere.
165 Not of His own flesh but of human nature. Our Lord Himself gives a better explanation of His baptism, in His reply to the Baptist who at first forbade him: "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness" (Matt. iii. 15.]
167 Compare Matt. iii. 17 with Ps. ii. 7.
168 ["A brilliant dove" is the idea. Ps. lxviii. 13. Comp. Justin, vol. i. note 6, p. 243.]
171 In eloquium sermonemque solvebat.
173 Aspersos maculis, i.e., lepers.
174 Except in the case of the blind man, whose eyes He anointed with clay. John ix. 9.
175 Isa. xxxv. 3-6. The passage is quoted from the Septuagint. The authorized English version follows the Hebrew, "Strengthen ye the weak hands," etc.
177 Plana erit, "shall be intelligible."
178 Quantos secum cibos gestarent. See Matt. xiv.; Mark vi.; Luke ix.; John vi.
179 Cophini. This miracle is always distinguished from the feeding of the four thousand by the use of this word. Thus Juvenal: "Judaeis, quorum cophinus, foenumque supellex."
180 Ad circumscribendos oculos. Cicero also uses the word "circumscriptio" to denote "fraud and deceit."
184 In solido. So Virg., Georg., ii. 231:-
"Alteque jubebis"
In solido puteum demitti."
186 Matt. viii.; Mark iv.; Luke viii.
187 Cicero, De Natura Deorum, ii.
188 Jacuerunt. [Elucidation II.]
190 The pagans upbraided Christians, that they worshipped a man who was put to death as a slave.
191 Suspiciunt, "view with admiration."
194 In traductionem cogitationum nostrarum. Traductio is sometimes used, as here, to denote exposure to ignominy.
196 Nugaces. In the Greek it is ei0j kibdhlon, as a counterfeit.
197 Praefert. The Greek has makari/zei, "deems happy."
202 Ps. lxxii. 6, 7, quoted from the Septuagint,
203 Sine cujusquam suspicione.
205 Annuntiavimus coram ipso sicut pueri; and so the Septuagint, a0nhggei/lamen e0na/ntion au0tou= w9j paidi/on. It is most difficult to account for this remarkable translation. The meaning of the passage is plain, that the Messiah would spring from an obscure source. [Elucidation III.]
206 Homo in plagâ positus. The Septuagint, a!nqrwpoj e0n plhgh=wÖ\n.
207 Aversus est. So also the Septuagint, a0pe/straptai to\ pro/swpon au0tou=. Some have supposed that there is a reference to lepers, who were compelled to cover their faces.
208 i.e., for Himself, as though He were bearing the punishment of His own sins.
210 Doctrina pacis nostrae, "the correction."
211 Livore ejus nos sanati sumus. The word "livor" properly denotes the blackness arising from a bruise.
212 Intus inclusam. Another reading is, "Intus inclusâ malitia," with malice shut up within.
213 Solveret, "He loosened or relaxed."
215 Operans in salutem hominum, "by healing diseases and doing good."
216 There is no mention of this in the Gospels.
217 Secesserat: "withdrawn themselves from the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees, and betaken themselves to Christ."
219 Some read, "evincet et deliget validas nationes;" but the reading "deliget" seems to have arisen from a corrupt reading of the Septuagint,-e0kle/cei, "he shall choose," having been substituted for ecelegcei, "he shall rebuke."
220 The scene of the giving of the law is sometimes spoken of as Horeb, as Ex. iii., and sometimes as Sinai, as Ex. xix. The difficulty of discriminating the two is very great. See Stanley's Sinai and Palestine [pp. 29, 32, 36-37, 40-42, etc. Robinson, vol. i. 177, 531.]
223 Vivam praesentemque legem.
224 Another reading is, "per Moysen," by Moses.
225 The quotation is not from Isaiah, but from Jer iv. 3, 4.
227 i.e., Joshua. See Josh. v. 2.
228 "Figuram gerebat," typified, or set forth as in a figure.
229 i.e., Osee, Oshea, or Hoshea, as Joshua was first called. See Num. xiii. 8. [But note Num. xiii. 16. The change was significant. See Pearson On the Creed, art. ii. 125-128. Thus, "Jehovah-Saviour" = Jesus, and the change was prophetic of "the Name which is above every name." Compare Gen. xxxii. 29 and Phil. ii. 9, 10.]
230 Per figuram nominis. The name Jesus or Joshua signifies a deliverer or saviour. [Nay, more, Jehovah-Salvator, thus: Hoshea + Jah = Jehoshua = Joshua = Jesus.]
231 Involutum. Thus Seneca: "Non est tibi frons ficta, nec in alienam voluptatem sermo compositus, nec cor involutum."
232 1 Sam. xvi. 7: "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."
233 Lutulentum (besmeared with mud) "et immundum." See 2 Pet. ii. 22.
234 ["The swine gorges his acorns, and never looks up to the tree from which they fall," as a parable of nature for swinish men.]
235 Sedendi vehiculum. "Sedeor" is sometimes used in this sense for riding.
236 Exuviis, used in the same sense as "pellibus."
237 Ingurgitat coeno, "plunges into the mire." ["Sus lota in volutabro luti." 2 Pet. ii. 22, Vulgate]
238 Per figuram. [This Typology has never yet been fully or satisfactorily treated. Yet the volumes of Dr. Fairbairn (Typology of Scripture, Clarks, Edin.) ought to be known to every Bible student.]
239 Subinde, "from time to time."
240 Legatus. This title was given, in the time of the Roman emperors, to the governors sent by them into the provinces. Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea, which was not a separate province, but a dependency of the province of Syria, which was at this time governed by Silanus.
241 John ii. 19, 20. The forty-six years spoken of were not occupied with the rebuilding of the temple, which was completed in nine years, but with the additional works which Herod the Great and his successors were continually carrying on for the adorning and beautifying of the temple. See Prideaux. [I regret the loose references of the translator, and yet more that the inexorable demands of the press give me time to supply only the more important ones. See Connections, book ix. vol. ii. p. 394.]
242 [It is probable, that, owing to the perpetual and universal recitation of the Creed, this unhappy name has been more frequently uttered and recalled to human memory than that of any other human being.]
243 Herod Antipas the tetrarch of Galilee. According to St. Luke (xxiii. 15), Herod agreed with Pilate in declaring the innocency of Jesus.
244 This statement requires some modification. Pilate did indeed say to the Jews, "Take ye Him, and judge Him according to your law;" but they declared that it was not lawful for them to put any man to death. The punishment was entirely Roman, the mode of death Roman, the executioners Roman soldiers. There were two distinct trials,-one before the Jewish Sanhedrim on a charge of impiety, the other before the Roman governor on a charge of treason.
245 Punicei coloris. The colour was a kind of red, not purple. [It was mixed with blue, so as to be at once purple and in some reflections scarlet.]
246 The quaternion of Roman soldiers who carried out the execution.
247 De tunicâ et pallio. The "tunica" was the inner garment, the "pallium" a mantle or cloak. Thus the proverbial phrase, "tunica proprior pallio." [Vol. iv. p. 13, Elucidation I., this series.]
248 Gavius was crucified by Verres. [In Verrem, act ii. cap. 62. This event providentially illustrated the extreme wickedness of what was done to our Lord, but so quickened the Roman conscience that it prevented like injustice to St. Paul, although a Roman citizen, over and over again. Acts xvi. 37, 38, and xxii. 24, 25.]
250 Tantae affluentiae ubertate. [Compare Cicero (ut supra): Crux, crux! inquam infelici et aerumnoso, qui nunquam istam potestatem viderat comparabatur.]
251 Isa. l. 5, 6, quoted from the Septuagint.
252 i.e., of the smiters; Gr. ei0j r9api/smata, "blows with the hand."
253 Ps. xxxv. 15, 16. The quotation is from the Septuagint, and differs widely from the authorized English version.
254 Flagella, said to be used for men deserving the scourge; wicked men.
256 Ignoraverunt. Others read "ignoravi," I knew it not.
257 Deriserunt me derisu. So the Greek, e0cemukthxrisaxn me mukthrismoxn.
261 paizonta. Another reading is ptai/onta, which would imply that they regarded Christ as a transgressor.
262 Justin Martyr quotes this passage in his Dialogue with Trypho, and complains that it had been expunged by the Jews. [See vol. i. p. 234, and remarks of Bishop Kaye, Justin Martyr, p. 44, on passages suppressed by the Jews.]
263 Negaverunt. Another reading is "necaverunt," they put to death.
264 Isa. liii. 8-10, 12. The quotation is made from the Septuagint.
265 Consequetur. In the Greek, klhronomh/sei, "shall inherit."
267 Jer. xi. 18, 19. quoted from the Septuagint.
268 Sine malitiâ. Another reading is "sine maculâ," without spot.
270 For the various explanations, see Pole's Synopsis. Some suppose that there is a reference to the corruption of food by poisonous wood; others that the meaning is a substitution of wood for bread. Another explanation is, that the word translated bread denotes fruit, as in the English authorized version, "Let us destroy the tree, with the fruit thereof." But see Pole on the passage. [Jer xi. 19. Here is a very insufficient note, the typology of Scripture not being duly observed. Compare Tertullian, vol. iii. p. 166, especially at note 10, which illustrates the uniform spirit of the Fathers in dealing with the Jews. And note Bishop Kaye's remark, vol. ii. p. 206, note 5, this series.]
271 This explanation appears altogether fanciful and unwarranted.
273 So the Septuagint. The English authorized version appears accurately to express the idea intended to be conveyed: "Thy life shall hang in doubt before Thee."
274 The idea is that God is not in doubt, as a man, as to His conduct, nor is He liable to change His mind, or to be influenced by threats or in any other way.
277 Ps. xxii. 16-18. [Compare vol. i. p. 176, note 4, this series.]
278 1 Kings ix. 6-9, with some additions and omissions; and 1 Chron. vii. 19-22.
279 Ex omnibus. The English authorized version has, "out of my sight."
280 In perditionem et improperium.
281 This is not taken from the passages cited, nor from the Old Testament.
282 i.e., from noon. [Elucidation IV.]
286 i.e. Hades, the place of departed spirits.
292 [ A very feeble exposition of Luke xix. 42, 44.]
293 Revelari, to be laid bare, uncovered, brought to light.
294 Abdicato et exhaeredato. The two expressions are joined together, to give strength. "Abdicati" were sons deprived of a share in their father's possessions during his life; "exhaeredati," disinherited, those who have forfeited the right of succession after their father's death.
296 Or rather "covenant," diaqh/kh, for this signification is much more in accordance with the general meaning of the passage.
299 Consummaturum, "would complete," "make perfect," as in the next clause.
300 See Heb. viii. 13, "In that He saith, a new covenant, He hath made the first old."
301 St. John's testimony is more distinct, i. 12: "But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."
303 Confirmabo te, "will strengthen Thee."
304 In testamentum generis mei. The word here rendered "covenant" is the same (testamentum) as that translated in other places "testament," which does not supply the sense here required. The attempt to give the meaning "testament" in all places causes much confusion, as in this passage.
307 i.e., the new doctrine which they announced.
308 In memoriam scripta. This is said to have been the title of a spurious book now lost.
309 Expugnaret. The word properly signifies to take by storm.
310 Ut naturae immortali quidquam decederet.
312 Professi Dei. The expression denotes one who shows himself in his real character, without any veiling or concealment. There is another reading-"professi Deum."
314 Ipse praeceptis suis fidem detrahat.
317 [See Augustine, quoted in elucidation, vol. vi. p. 541.]
321 [What neither Platonists nor Censors, in their judgments, could effect by their sophia, the crucified Jesus has done by His Gospel. The impotence of philosophers as compared with the Carpenter's Son, to change the morals of nations, cannot be gainsaid. See Young's Christ of History.]
325 Thus our Lord tells us that flesh and blood cannot reveal to us mysteries.
327 Omnium excusationum vias. [Here is the defect of Cicero's philosophy. See William Wilberforce, Practical Christianity, p. 25, ed. London, 1815.]
329 Thus St. Paul complains, Rom. vii. 15: "What I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I;" and ver. 21, "I find then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with me." But (viii. 3) he says, "What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, condemned sin in the flesh."
331 This is urged as an excuse by him to whom the precept is addressed. In this and the following sentences there is a dialogue between the teacher and the taught.
332 Praecepta sua factis adimplendo.
334 Thus, Heb. viii. 2, Christ it spoken of as "a minister of the sanctuary, and the true tabernacle."
335 Having a human father and mother.
336 mesi/thj, a mediator, one who stands between two parties to bring them together. Thus 1 Tim. ii. 5, "There is one God, and one mediator (meoi/thj) between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." In the Epistle to the Hebrews Christ is spoken of as the "mediator of the new covenant." And Gal. iii. 20, "A mediator is not of one:" the very idea of a mediator implies that he stands between two parties as a reconciler.
337 Emereri, "to earn or obtain." The word is specially applied to soldiers who have served their time, and are entitled to their discharge.
340 i.e., was shown by the event to be true, not doubtful or deceptive.
345 See Matt. ix. 33, "The dumb spake, and the multitudes marvelled:" Mark vii. 37, "They were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: He maketh both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak."
348 Elephantiaci, those afflicted with "elephantiasis," a kind of leprosy, covering the skin with incrustations resembling the hide of an elephant.
349 Resignasse, "to have unsealed or opened."
351 [It is undoubtedly true that all our Lord's miracles are also parables. Such also is the entire history of the Hebrews.]
352 Acerbitates et amaritudines.
353 The word "corona" denotes a "crown," and also, as here, a "ring" of persons standing around. The play on the word cannot be kept up in English. [Thus "corona tibi et judices defuerunt" Cicero, Nat. Deor., ii. 1. So Ignatius, ste/fanon tou= presbuteri/ou = corona presbyterii, vol. i. p. 64, this series.]
355 The cross was the usual punishment of slaves.
357 A weak and senseless reason. The true cause is given by St. John xix. 36: "These things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not be broken." [The previous question, however, remains: Why was the Paschal lamb to be of unbroken bones, and why the special providence that fulfilled the type? Doubtless He who raised up His body could have restored it, had the bones also been broken; but the preciousness of Christ's body was thus indicated as in the new tomb, the fine linen and spices, and the ministry of "the rich in his death, because He had done no violence," etc.-Isa. liii. 9.]
358 The sign of the cross used in baptism.
359 The account, Ex xii., makes no mention of colour. "Without spot" is equivalent to "without blemish." [But the whiteness implied. "Without spot" excludes "the ring-streaked and speckled," and a black lamb a fortiori.-1 Pet. i. 19. "Without spot" settles the case. Isa. i. 18 proves that the normal wool is white.]
361 a\po tou= pa/sxein, "rom suffering" The word "pascha" is not derived from Greek, as Lactantius supposes, but from the Hebrew "pasach," to pass over.
362 [See book vii., and the Epitome, cap. li.,infra.]
363 Litant, a word peculiar to the soothsayers, used when the sacrifices are auspicious.
366 Depingere; to make observations on the entrails of the victims, so as to foretell future events.
367 Prosecrârant. Others read "prosecârant," a sacrificial word, properly denoting the setting apart some of the victim for offering to the gods.
368 Praesentibus poenis, "on the spot."
369 i e., the sign of the cross, with which the early Christians frequently marked themselves [So long as Christians were mocked and despised as followers of a crucified one there was a silent testimony and bold confession in this act which must be wholly separated from the mere superstition of degenerate Christians. It used to mean just what the Apostle says, Gal. vi. 14. In this sense it is retained among Anglicans.]
370 [See vol. iii. pp. 37, 176, 180, and iv. 189-190.]
371 [The cessation of oracles is attested by Plutarch. See also Tertullian, vol. iii. p. 38, this series, and Minucius, vol. iv. p. 190. Demonology needs further exposition, for Scripture is express in its confirmation of patristic views of the subject.]
372 There is probably a reference to Iliad, i. 221, where Athene is represented as going to Olympus:-
h9' ou!lupo/nde bebh/kei
dw/mat' e0j aigio/xoio Dio\j meta\ dai/monaj a!llouj
373 Ut errores hominibus immittant.
374 Per diversa regionum. There is another reading, "perversâ religione"-by perverted religion.
375 The reference is to necromancy, or calling up the spirits of the dead by magic rites.
376 There is another reading: "qui de Deo patre omnia, et de filio locutus est multa;" but this is manifestly erroneous.
377 So our Lord, John xvii. 3: "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent."
378 ["Hoc vinculo pietatis obstricti Deo et religati sumus." He returns to this in the same chapter, infra.]
379 A religendo. There is little doubt that the true derivation of "religio" is from religere, not from religare. According to this, the primary meaning is, "the dwelling upon a subject, and continually recurring to it."
380 Superstites, et superstitiosi.
381 [Here the famous passage should be given with accurate reference to its place, as much of its force vanishes in translation. Cicero's etymology is thus given: "Qui autem omnia quae ad cultum deorum pertinerent, diligentes retractarent et tamquam relegerent sunt dicti religiosi, ex relegendo, ut elegantes ex eligendo, tamquam a diligendo diligentes, ex intelligendo intelligentes."-De Nat. Deor., lib. ii. cap. 28.]
382 Demerentur, "they lay under an obligation."
385 [This seems very loose language when compared with Matt. vi. 9 and 1 Cor. xi. 1, 2. The whole epistle shows the how and the what to be important in worship, and that the Apostle had prescribed certain laws about these.]
387 [Lactantius has generally been sustained by Christian criticism in the censures thus passed upon Cicero, and in making the word religio out of religare. His own words are desirable here, to be compared with those which he endeavors to refute (note 4, supra): "Diximus nomen religionis a vinculo pietatis esse deductum, quod hominem sibi Deus religarit," etc.; i.e., it binds again what was loosed.]
390 i.e., those worshipped in public temples, and with public sacrifices, as opposed to the household gods of a family, and ancient as opposed to those newly received as gods.
392 [i.e., the Everlasting Father implies the Everlasting Son.]
395 Thus, Heb. i. 3, the Son is described as the effulgence of the Father's glory: a0pau/gasma th=j do/chj au0you=.
396 In manu patris. Among the Romans the father had the power of life and death over his children.
397 [Mundus una Dei domus. World here = universe. See vol. ii. p. 136, note 2, this series.]
403 Thus Christ Himself speaks, John x. 30, "I and my Father are one;" and iii. 35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand."
405 See Matt. xviii. 7; Luke xvii. 1; 1 Cor. xi. 19; 2 Pet. ii. 1.
408 [N.B.-The Callistians, Novatians, etc.; vol. v. Elucidation XIV. p. 160: and Ibid., p. 319, 321-333.]
410 The Phrygians were the followers of Montanus, who was the founder of a sect in the second century. He is supposed to have been a native of Ardaba, on the borders of Phrygia, on which account his followers were called the Phrygian or Cataphrygian heretics. Montanus gave himself out for the Paraclete or Comforter whom our Lord promised to send. The most eminent of his followers were Priscilla and Maximilla. [But see vol. ii. pp. 4 and 5; also vol. iii. and iv. this series, and notes on Tertullian, passim.]
411 The Novatians were the followers of Novatus, in the third century, They assumed to themselves the title of Cathari, or the pure. They refused to re-admit to their communion those who had once fallen away, and allowed no place for repentance.
412 The Valentinians were the followers of Valentinus, an Egyptian who founded a sect in the second century. His system somewhat resembled the Gnostics. He taught that Christ had a heavenly or spiritual body, and assumed nothing from the Virgin Mary.
413 The Marcionites were the followers of Marcion, a heretic of the second century, who held the Oriental belief of two independent, eternal, co-existing principles, one of good, the other of evil. He applied this doctrine to Christianity. His chief opponent was Tertullian.
414 The Anthropians held that Jesus Christ was nothing but man (a!nqrwpoj).
415 This word is omitted by some editors, as Lactantius wrote before the Arian heresy had gained strength. [See vol. vi. p. 291.]
416 This is directed against the Novatians. See preceding note on the Novatians, [and vol. v., this series, passim].
417 Penetrale, "the interior of a house or temple."
418 Uberius. Others read "verius," more truly: but the reading of the text is preferable.
1 These words are omitted in some editions. The chapter is a kind of preface to the whole book, in which he complains that punishment has been inflicted on the Christians, without due inquiry into their cause. [Religious = superstitious. See p. 131, supra.]
6 There is a reference here to a well-known passage of Lucretius, i. 935: "As physicians, when they purpose to give nauseous wormwood to children, first smear the rim round the bowl with the sweet yellow juice of honey, that the unthinking age of children may be fooled as far as the lips, but though beguiled, not be betrayed."
9 Incutere. So Lucretius, i. 19, "incutiens amorem."
12 [Vol iv. 173. Note our author's reference to the founders of Latin Christianity, all North-Africans, like Arnobius and himself. See vol. iv. pp. 169, 170.]
14 The word kopri/aj is applied to sycophants and low buffoons and jesters, who, for the sake of exciting laughter, made boastful and extravagant promises.
15 [Let us call him Barbatus; for one so graphically described by our author deserves a name worthy of his sole claim to be a philosopher.]
17 It was the custom of the philosophers to wear a beard; to which practice Horace alludes, Serm., ii. 3, "Sapientem pascere barbam," to nourish a philosophic beard. [The readers of this series no longer require this information: but it may be convenient to recur to vol. ii. note 9, p. 321; also, perhaps, to Clement's terrible defence of beards, Ibid., pp. 276-277.]
19 Ambitu. The word denotes the unlawful striving for a post.
20 [On the reference to these two adversaries, see Lardner, Credib., iii. cap. 65, p. 491; vii. cap. 39, p. 471; also vii. 207.]
21 Hierocles is referred to, who was a great persecutor of the Christians in the beginning of the fourth century. He was the chief promoter of the persecution which the Christians suffered under Diocletian. [Wrote a work (Philalethes) to show the contradictions of Scripture. Acts xiii. 10.]
22 Intima, i.e., of an esoteric character, known only to those within the school or sect.]
23 Cui fuerat assensus. Other editions read "accensus," i.e., reckoned among.
28 Hierocles, referred to in chapter 2.
29 Apollonius, a celebrated Pythagorean philosopher of Tyana: his works and doctrines are recorded by Philostratus, from whom Lactantius appears to have derived his account. The pagans compared his life and actions with those of Christ. [See Origen, vol. iv. p. 591, this series.]
30 Apuleius, a native of Madaura, a city on the borders of the province of Africa, he professed the Platonic philosophy. He was reputed a magician by the Christian writers. [Author of The Golden Ass, a most entertaining but often indecent satire, which may have inspired Cervantes, and concerning which see Warburton, Div. Legat., vol. ii. p. 177 (et alibi), ed. London, 1811.]
34 With one spirit, "uno spiritu."
35 [But Apollonius was set up as an Antichrist by Philostratus as Cudworth supposes, and so other men of learning. But no student should overlook l.ardner's valuable commentary on this character, and his quotations from Bishop Parker of Oxford, Credib., vol. vii. p. 486, and also p. 508, cap. 29, and appendix.]
40 [Future Writers. This laying of an anchor to windward is characteristic of Lactantius.]
41 [See elucidations, vol. iii. pp. 56-60, this series.]
42 Oblatrantem atque obstrepentem veritati. These words are taken from Cyprian, vol. v. p. 457, this series.