Eusebius in his Chronicle, or rather Jerom, (who in his translation of that work of Eusebius inserted divers things of his own, especially relating to the Roman history and Latin authors,) says, that Crispus was instructed in Latin by Lactantius, the most learned man of his time, but so poor in this world, that for the most part he wanted necessaries.' Cave says, that Lactantius flourished chiefly in the year 303, and onwards; which is not much amiss: for though Lactantius lived partly in the third, and partly in the fourth century of the Christian æra, and must have been a man of note for polite literature before the year 300; yet it is likely, that most of his remaining pieces, particularly the Divine Institutions, his principal work, were not written till after the year 303. This author's name is now generally written Lucius Coelius, or Cæcilius Firmianus Lactantius. But whether the names Lucius and Coelius, or Cæcilius, belong to him, may be questioned; they not being given him by any of the ancient writers who lived near his time: and they are generally wanting in the manuscript copies of his works, and in the most early printed editions. In this manner divers learned men argue upon this point: whilst some others contend, that his name is rightly written as above. The native country of Lactantius is not certainly known. Some have conjectured, that he was born at Firmum, now Fermo, in Italy, and that from thence he was called Firmianus. But it is more generally reckoned, that he was an African: his education under Arnobius, who taught rhetoric at Sicca in Africa, is an argument of some weight: and it is confirmed by the Itinerary of Lactantius from Africa to Nicomedia, which, probably, contained a description of his own journey from Africa to Nicomedia, when he was sent for by Dioclesian. i The original of the names Firmianus and Lactantius, has been largely considered by Dr. Heumann, to whom I refer. A good part of the history of our author, before taken from Jerom, may be confirmed from himself. For he speaks of his being invited to Nicomedia, and of his teaching rhetoric there, when the church of the Christians in that city was destroyed, at the beginning of the persecution. He also intimates his having been long employed as a professor of rhetoric, and his great diligence in the pursuit of eloquence: which he did not repent of, because he hoped it might be of use in the defence of true religion. m n In his later works he refers to the more early. In his Divine Institutions, he refers to the Workmanship of God, inscribed to his scholar Demetrian, and written not long before. In his book of the Wrath of God, he several times makes mention of the Divine Institutions. I need * Sciendum etenim, me esse & interpretis et scriptoris ex parte officio usum, quia & Græca fidelissime expressi, & nonnulla, quæ intermissa videbantur, adjeci, in Romanâ maxime historiâ, quam Eusebius, hujus conditor libri, non tam ignorâsse, ut pote eruditissimus, quam Græce scribens parum suis necessariam perstrinxisse, mihi videtur. Hier. Præf. in Chr. p. 4. f. b Quorum Crispum Lactantius Latinis literis erudivit, vir omnium suo tempore eruditissimus, sed adeo in hac vitâ pauper, ut plerumque etiam necessariis indiguerit. Chron. p. 180. f. с claruit præcipue ann. 303. & deinceps. H. L. T. i. P. 161. e Vid. Chr. M. Pfaff. Diss. Prælim. ad Epit. Inst. Div. Sect. 12 & 13. f Vid. Heuman. Pr. ad Lact. Symp. sect. 16. p. xxviii. & sect. 22. p. XXXV. Patriam habuit Italiam, forsan Firmo, quod agri Piceni oppidum est ad oram maris Hadriatici, oriundus, Cav. ubi supra, p. 161. Firmianus cognominatur a Firmo, agri Piceni oppido. Cellar. Excerpt. de Vit. Lact. Vid. Baluz. Annot. ad Lact. de M. P. Tillem. Mem. Ec. Lactance, T. 6. P. i. p. 340. & note 1. Vid. & Heumann Pr. ad Symp. sect. 18 & 19. p. xxix- - xxxi. Cæterum vulgata est opinio, Lactantium cognomen Firmiani accepisse a patriâ Firmo, agri Piceni oppido. Sed hic quidem error facile confutatur. Primum enim ostendemus inferius, Firmianum fuisse proprium Lactantii nomen, neque adeo a patriâ inditum. Heum. ib. sect. 18. p. xxx.—— Unde igitur, inquies, Firmiani nomen? Fuisse hoc proprium virorum nomen illo ævo non infrequens, facile sibi persuadebit, qui consideravit, plura veteribus nomina fuisse propria a firmo deducta. Non enim solum ipsum nomen Firmus factum est nomen proprium, sed etiam Firmius, Firmicus, Firminus, Firmilianus, Firmianus, &c. Id. ib. sect. 20. p. xxxii. Superest Lactantii nomen, quod communiter creditur ei inditum fuisse a lacteo flumine eloquentiæ. Sed & hæc sententia, & simul altera illa de patria ejus Firmo, satis refellitur silentio Hieronymi. Is enim, cum in catalogo suo, tum alibi, ubi Lactantii mentionem facit, perspicue ostendit, utrumque nomen, & Lactantii & Firmiani, ipsius fuisse proprium; ut multum errent, qui ea pro cognominibus habent a patriâ & eloquentiâ impositis--Quomodo enim a lactans derivatum est nomen Lactantii, sic a prudens, vincens, constans, mus nomina vulgo nota Prudentii, Vincentii, Constantii, Fulgentii, Innocentii, Vigilantii. Id. ib. sect. 21. p. xxxiii. habe Ego cum in Bythyniâ oratorias literas accitus docerem, contigissetque, ut eodem tempore Dei templum everteretur― Inst. I. v. c. 2. sub in. "Multum tamen exercitatio illa fictarum litium contulit, ut nunc majori copiâ & facultate dicendi causam veritatis peroremus. Ib. 1. i. c. 1. p. 5. n quam [materiam] ego nunc iccirco prætereo, quia nuper proprium de eâ librum ad Demetriadem auditorem meum scripsi. Inst. 1. ii. c. 10. p. 199. • Sed imperitiam horum jam coarguimus in secundo Divinarum Institutionum libro. De Irâ Dei cap. 2. p. 766. Vid. ib. p. 767. et cap. 11. p. 793. & cap. 17. p. 809. not add, that these last are also taken notice of in the Epitome, or abridgment of them. And whereas Jerom, among the works of Lactantius, reckons two books to Asclepiades, we find Asclepiades mentioned by Lactantius in his Institutions. And we perceive, that Asclepiades had dedicated to him a book, which he commends. In his Institutions Lactantius also declares his intention to write a distinct treatise upon the subject, Of the Wrath of God: which he afterwards did, as has been seen. C He also seems to intimate his poverty, unless the words are capable of another sense, and mean only his many employments, by which he was fully engaged; or rather the difficulties of the time in which he lived, by reason of the persecution of cruel tyrants, as Nourry understands the expression. d That extreme poverty of our author, which St. Jerom mentions, if Lactantius does not, may be thought to be a reflection upon Constantine, that he should have made no better provision for his eldest son's preceptor. But Du Pin and Tillemont are of opinion, that it was a voluntary poverty. What Jerom therefore writes of that matter is to be esteemed a grand and magnificent commendation. Aman must be virtuous in a high degree, to live miserably at court, ⚫ want necessaries in the midst of abundance, and taste no pleasures in the company of such as • wallow in them.' But I see no proof, that Lactantius was destitute of necessaries, whilst he was employed in teaching Crispus; though it happens, that Jerom has mentioned those two things together. And what he says is, that for the most part Lactantius was poor. Therefore he was not always so: there was a time, when he had enough, and perhaps abundance: and he might enjoy it too with moderation. That time, we may suppose to have been, when he was in the service of Constantine; the rest of his life he lived in mean circumstances. Jerom has informed us, that Lactantius had not many scholars, whilst he taught rhetoric at Nicomedia; for which cause he betook himself to writing, which likewise, is no very profitable employment. When we observe from his works, that Lactantius was a great reader; and consider, that books in manuscript must have been very costly; we can easily conceive, how the furniture of his library might keep him low for the most part. agree Lactantius then may be reckoned to have been poor, and sometimes almost destitute, until he was invited to Constantine's court. And since his pupil Crispus was put to death by his father, it is likely, he was not much taken notice of afterwards. This, if I mistake not, is able to St. Jerom's account, that Lactantius plerumque, for the most part; the greatest part of his life, was so poor, as to want even necessaries. But those expressions, in my opinion, give no countenance at all to the supposition of a chosen and voluntary poverty. Trithemius seems to have understood the case, as I have represented it. And Nourry is clearly of opinion, that what is said by Jerom of our author's poverty, does not relate to the time when he had Crispus under his care. h We are not acquainted with the circumstances of this writer's family. The Epitome is. inscribed to his brother Pentadius: but in what sense Pentadius was his brother, does not clearly appear. Nor do we know any thing more of the life of Lactantius, than the particulars already mentioned; his education under Arnobius, his teaching rhetoric at Nicomedia, (where he certainly was at the beginning of the persecution under Dioclesian: where likewise, or in its: neighbourhood, he' seems to have stayed some while after that persecution was begun), his 1 Vidi ego in Bithyniâ præsidem gaudio mirabiliter elatum, -quod unus, qui per biennium magnâ virtute restiterat, postremo cedere visus esset, 1. v. c. 11. p. 491. h d a C writing the books above-mentioned, his instructing Crispus in the Latin tongue in Gaul, his being generally poor, and living to a great age, and that he never pleaded as an advocate at the bar. But we are not informed, how he passed through that long and dreadful persecution. Nor can the time of his leaving Nicomedia, or of his coming into Gaul, or of his death, be exactly determined at present. If indeed the book of the Deaths of Persecutors be his, it may be thought, as is argued by Baluze, that Lactantius became acquainted with Constantine, and left Nicomedia about the year 314, and soon after came into Gaul by order of that emperor. It has been supposed by some, that Lactantius was at first a heathen. Gallæus speaks of this as a point not to be disputed: Tillemont in a manner takes it for granted: and it was the opinion likewise of Du Pin, that Lactantius was converted in his youth. But Cellarius was in suspense about it. Du Pin refers to two passages of our author's works; where, as he says, Lactantius seems to reckon himself with those, who having seen their error embraced the true religion. But those expressions appear to me ambiguous: and, as I apprehend, they rather relate to the state of mankind in general, than to that of Lactantius himself, or of any other particular person; he is there speaking of the great design of the Christian religion in general, to deliver men from the errors and superstitions in which they had been long involved. So Arnobius says: It is now about three hundred years since we began to be Chris ians.' e i g f Beside these two passages, Gallæus refers to a third. But the same answer will suffice for that likewise. k 1 His being sent for by Dioclesian, to teach rhetoric at Nicomedia, is no proof that he was then a heathen. Dioclesian, who was intent upon adorning that city, would be glad of any man of fine parts, who would come and take up his residence, and display them there. It is well known, that before the persecution there were many Christians in the imperial court and armies: and it is past doubt, that Lactantius was a Christian, when the persecution began at Nicomedia. Nor does his great and long diligence in the pursuit of eloquence, and the study of polite literature, afford any argument for his heathenism at that time. It can hardly be suspected, that Lactantius was not a Christian when he wrote the Epistles, mentioned by St. Jerom. Yet pope Damasus writes to him, that he did not read them with pleasure, because, though many of them were very long, they had little about the Christian doctrine, but chiefly related to measures, and the situation of countries, and philosophical questions. Nay, that observation of Damascus does at once afford a proof of our author's Christianity at that time, and of his extensive learning. Nor does the Symposium, supposing it to be a genuine work of Lactantius, demonstrate his heathenism. It was composed indeed during the holidays of Saturn. But yet there is no heathenism in any part of the work, as is well observed by the learned editor. Finally therefore, since there are no clear intimations of his heathenism, or of his conversion m Equidem tametsi operam dederim, ut quantulamcumque dicendi assequerer facultatem propter studium docendi; tamen eloquens nunquam fui, quippe qui forum ne attigerim quidem. Inst. 1. iii. c. 13. p. 275. b Vid. Baluz. Annot. ad libr. de M. P. p. 5. edit. Ultraj. Du Pin, as before, p. 205. 8 Superest, ut exhortemur omnes,—————————— -ut, contemtis terrestribus & abjectis erroribus, quibus antea tenebamurad cœlestis thesauri præmia dirigamur-Div. Inst. 1. vii. cap. ult. p. 730. In hoc statu cum essent humanæ res, misertus est nostri Deus - -revelavit se nobis,-ut errore prioris vitæ abjecto,- -legem divinam, tradente ipso Domino, sumeremus; quâ lege universi, quibus irretiti faimus, errores, cum vanis & impiis superstitionibus, tollerentur. Epit. cap. iii. p. 739. Leyd. cap. lx. p. 129. ed. Pfaff. h Trecenti sunt anni, minus vel plus aliquid, ex quo cœpimus esse Christiani, & terrarum in orbe censeri. Arnob. I. i. P. 9. in. i -cognoscere ministrum ejus, ac nuntium quem legavit in terram; quo dicente liberati ab errore, quo implicati tenebamur, formatique ad veri Dei cultum, justitiam disceremus. De Irâ Dei, Cap. 2. p. 766.. n * Ita semper dementabat, Nicomediam studens urbi Romæ coæquare. De M. Pers. cap. 7. 1 Vid. Eus. H. E. 1. viii. cap. 6. & libr. de M. P. cap. 15. m Fateor quippe tibi, eos, quos mihi jam pridem Lactantii dederas libros, ideo non libenter lego, quia & plurimæ epistolæ ejus usque ad mille spatia versuum tenduntur, & raro de nostro dogmate disputant; quo fit, ut & legenti fastidium generet longitudo: & si qua brevia sunt, scholasticis magis sint apta, quam nobis, de metris & regionum situ, & philosophia disputantibus, [aliter disputantia]. Damas. Pap. ad Hier. T. p. 561. Ed. Bened. ii. Hoc quoque Symposium lusi de carmine inepto. Nec enim quidquam in ejus ænigmatibus inest, quod sapiat ethnicismum: tantum abest, ut probet ethnicismum. Heuman. Præf. ad Lact. Symp. Sect. 14. p. xxv. P Nam si Lactantius ex ethnicis tenebris ad lucem Christianæ sapientiæ emersisset, videtur summum hoc Numinis beneficium alicubi librorum suorum commemoraturus fuisse prædicaturusque- -pristinæ religionis, si diversam a Christianis prius habuisset, memoriam, tot invitantibus occasionibus, nec debuit supprimere, nec, quæ pietas ejus fuit, voluit. Heumann ib. p. xxiv. & xxv. a b to Christianity, in his own works, or in any ancient writers who have mentioned him; I rather think, (though without being positive,) that he was from the beginning educated in the Christian religion. Nourry was of the same opinion: and herein I thought I had the honour to agree likewise with Dr. Heumann, who has lately given us a very valuable edition of Lactantius, and been long before acquainted with his works. But in his preface to that edition, he has let fall some expressions on the other side; as if he had altered his opinion, or forgot what he had well and largely argued formerly. II. We have seen in Jerom a catalogue of the works of Lactantius: the catalogues in Honorius of Autun and Trithemius are very little different. f 1. The last-mentioned writer adds, that beside the books enumerated by him, it was said, that Lactantius had written not a few more, but he had not seen them. h 2. Lactantius himself in his & Institutions, and in his book Of the Wrath of God, mentions a design to write against all heresies; which we do not know that he ever did, being perhaps prevented by death. I thought it proper, however, to take notice of it in this place, as a proof of our author's zeal for truth, with which he was greatly enamoured, (as some other expressions also of his elsewhere shew,) and his readiness to employ his time in the defence of it. k 3. And at the beginning of the seventh book of his Institutions, he promises * somewhat against the Jews, which we have not, unless it be in the latter part of that very book. 4. Two of the three books first mentioned by Jerom, the Itinerary and Grammaticus, seem to be irrecoverably lost. And it has been generally thought, that the third, the Symposium, or Banquet, was lost likewise. But Dr. Heumann, who not very long since published an edition of a work with that title, asserts its genuineness. It is a collection of a hundred tristich epigrams, with a prologue. I do not dispute the favourable judgment, which the learned editor forms of this work. But I shall have no occasion to quote it at present. 5. All our author's book of Epistles are entirely lost. Pope Damascus, as before shewn, did not read them with pleasure, and seems to have set but little value upon them; nevertheless some learned moderns regret the loss of them.ir m n According to the passage before cited from Jerom's Catalogue, there were only two books of Epistles to Demetrian. Nevertheless, in " another place Jerom quotes the eighth book of Lactantius's Epistles to Demetrian. I fancy the reason is this; there were in all eight books of Epistles, and those to Demetrian were placed last in the collection. Quoting therefore the second book to Demetrian, he calls it the eighth to him; meaning, however, no more than the eighth book of this writer's epistles, which book was to Demetrian. 6. We still have the treatise Of the Workmanship of God, addressed to Demetrian, whom he had taught rhetoric. Demetrian seems to have been a man of fortune, and to have had then some public employment. Lactantius commends him: but he likewise admonisheth him to be upon his guard against the snares of his prosperous condition. And yet it must have been a time of persecution. For with regard to himself, he speaks of the difficulty both of his own! Nourr. Diss. in Lact. cap. i. p. 578. The Symposium of Lactantius, with a long preface, was published by Dr. Heumann at HANOVER, in the year 1722. d Cum enim nec philosophus esset, nec diu sacris versatus in literis, (a puero enim sacra coluerat illa cum suis parentibus, quæ postea exsecrabatur, illatâ menti suæ luce divinæ sapientiæ:) ne satis quidem perceperat ecclesiæ doctrinas, &c. Heuman. Præf. ad opp. Lactant. p, ante f. quart. e Several of his passages are alleged above at note and P: f Alia insuper non pauca scripsisse dicitur. Sed in manus nostras non venerunt. Trithem. cap. 56. * Postea plenius & uberius contra omnes mendaciorum sectas proprio separatoque opere pugnabimus. Inst. 1. iv. c. ult. in fin. h & refutabimus postea diligentius, cum respondere ad omnes sectas cœperimus, quæ veritatem, dum disputant, perdiderunt. De Irâ Dei. c. 2. p. 767. i Nullus enim suavior animo cibus est, quam cognitio veritatis, cujus asserendæ, atque illustrandæ septem volumina destinavimus, 1. i. c. 1. p. 9. * Sed erit nobis contra Judæos separata materia, in quâ illos erroris & sceleris revincemus. Inst. 1. vii. c. 1. ad fin. 1 See p. 260. m Utinam eas epistolas tempus rerum edax nobis non invidisset. Nos libenter legeremus. Basn. Ann. 320. n. iv. -quod & Firmianus in octavo ad Demetrianum epistolarum libro facit. In Galat. c. iv. p. 268. Nam, si te in literis nihil aliud quam linguam instruentibus auditorem satis strenuum præbuisti; quanto magis in his veris, & ad vitam pertinentibus, docilior esse debebis? De Op. Dei, c. i. p. 829. P Nam, licet te publicæ rei necessitas a veris & justis operibus avertat; tamen fieri non potest, quin subinde in cœlum .. aspiciat mens sibi conscia recti, ibid. Ego quidem lætor, omnia tibi, quæ pro bonis habentur, prospere fluere: vereor enim--Ideoque te moneo, repetens iterumque monebo, ne oblectamenta ista terræ pro magnis aut veris bonis habere te credas, ibid. Apud quem nunc profiteor, nullâ me necessitate vel rei, vel temporis impediri, quo minus aliquid excudam. De Op. Dei, cap. i. p. 829. b a circumstances, and of the times; and he says, that the devil then acted as a roaring lion. Tillemont thinks, that this was the first of our author's public labours in the service of religion, because he here expresseth a resolution to employ his time for the future in the defence of truth. But that argument is but barely probable, since Lactantius expresseth himself much after the same manner again in the introduction to his Divine Institutions. с d g f 7. As those Institutions against the Gentiles, in seven books, are the principal work of Lactantius, we should be glad to settle the time of writing and publishing them. As we now have them, they are inscribed to Constantine. And it is thought that he refers to the Licinian persecution, which began in the year 319. They were not therefore published before the year 320. So say Basnage and Pagi, whose arguments I have briefly placed in the margin, for the sake of such readers as may not have their works at hand. Du Pin says, that Lactantius wrote his Institutions in the time of Licinius's persecution, which began in 320, and that he undertook that work about the year of Christ 320, if his numbers are rightly printed, which I think cannot be properly said. For it is not a work which could be composed in a short time; and we have proofs of his designing it at the very beginning of Dioclesian's persecution. Tillemont says, that in the condition we now have it, it seems not to have been published before the year 321; and therefore it might be the fruit of the time that Lactantius spent with Crispus in Gaul. Nourry's opinion concerning the time of this work is very little different from theirs: (though in one place he says, that the Institutions were composed a little after the year 311.) He observes, that Lactantius seems not to have been in Bithynia, when he composed this work; therefore he might be in Gaul with Crispus, who was not placed under his tuition, before the year 318. He too supposeth, that Lactantius in this work speaks of the Licinian persecution. He does not insist upon the passage in the inscription of the Institutions to Constantine, which is wanting in some manuscripts, but upon some other passages in other parts of that work: where, however, I must own, I cannot yet discern a reference to any persecution, different from that of Dioclesian. о m n Cave was rather of opinion that Lactantius composed the Institutions in the time of this last mentioned persecution. And I beg leave to enlarge in support of his opinion. This work was occasioned by the writings of two heathens of note, who published their pieces against the Christians at the very beginning of the persecution under Dioclesian, as Lactantius expressly assures us. It seems not reasonable to think, that a design, formed by him in 302, or 303, should not be executed before 320. And in several passages of his Institutions, he speaks as if the d Sæviebat itaque tunc Licinii persecutio, quando Lactantius opus illud Constantino dicavit, ideoque non anno 316, ut credidit Baronius, sed post annum 319, in lucem emissum. Pag. in Bar. Ann. 315. n. vii. vid. & 316. n. vi. e-il a donc écrit du temps de la persécution de l'empereur Licinius, qui a commencé en 320. Du Pin. Bib. T. i. p. 209. f Il entreprit ensuite les sept livres des Institutions vers l'an 320 de Jésus Christ. Id. ib. p. 205. 8 Vid. Inst. 1. v. cap. 2. p. 460. & c. 4. p. 470. Tillem. T. 6. P. i. p. 349. iLactantius igitur non ante hunc annum 319, Divinarum Institutionum libros edidit. Nonne autem roboris ac firmamenti aliquid huic posteriori opinioni inde accedit, quod Lactantius significare videtur se ex Bithyniâ-prius secessisse, quam hos libros emisisset in lucem? Non enim prorsus inepte colligi inde potest eos ab illo compositos, postquam se contulisset in Gallias, atque ibi Crispus in ejus traditus fuisset disciplinam. At id anno 318, aut paulo post contigit. Nourry App. T. ii. p. 632. A. B. Si verior sit secunda opinio, certe Lactantius, qui paulo post annum 311, Divinas Institutiones composuit-ib. p. 628. B. Inst. 1. v. c. xi. p. 490. The words will be cited below at Note m. m Et certe Lactantius Diocletiani in Christianos sævientis immanem crudelitatem-depinxit. Lib. v. Inst. cap. xi. p. 490. & seqq. Ast alia his plane similia aut prorsus eadem, adhuc cum hos libros exararet, inflicta sic alibi memorat: Cultores Dei summi, hoc est, justos homines, torquent, interficiunt, &c. ib. cap. i. p. 456. Vid. & cap. 12. p. 493. 1. vi. c. 17. p. 603. Nourry ubi supr. p. 631. n Scripti sunt hi libri sub Diocletiani persecutione, quod ipse Lactantius, 1. v. c. 2, 4. satis aperte testatur: non, quod multi volunt, sub Licinianâ. Inscriptiones enim ad Constantinum M. quæ in librorum 1, 2, 4, & 5, fronte comparent, nec antiquiores editiones, nec melioris notæ codicesMSS. agnoscunt; ideoque ab alienâ manu fluxisse censendæ sunt. Aliter a stylo Lactantiano non multum abhorrent. Cav. H. L. T. i. p. 162. • Ego cum in Bithyniâ oratorias literas accitus docerem, contigissetque, ut eodem tempore Dei templum everteretur, duo exstiterunt ibidem, qui jacenti atque abjectæ veritati, nescio utrum superbius an importunius, insultarent. Inst. 1. v. c. 2. p. 460. Ii ergo, de quibus dixi, cum, præsente me ac dolente, sacrilegas suas literas explicâssent; & illorum superbâ impietate stimulatus,suscepi hoc munus. ib. c. 4. p. 470. » Hæc enim populus noster patitur omnia, errantium pra |