Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 13.5

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

Summary: Caecilius concludes that doubtful questions about the gods should be left undecided.

Latin text · CSEL 2:18

mea quoque opinione quae sunt dubia, ut sunt, relinquenda sunt, nec tot ac tantis uiris deliberantibus temere et audaciter in alteram partem ferenda sententia est, ne aut anilis inducatur superstitio aut omnis religio destruatur.

English · Claude translation

In my opinion too, what is doubtful should be left, as it is, doubtful; and when so many great men are deliberating, one should not rashly and boldly give a verdict for one side, lest either an old wives' superstition be introduced or all religion be destroyed."

About this passage

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

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/13/5/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 13.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/13/5/).

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