Sophia Scriptura

Octavius 21.2

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

Summary: Prodicus and Persaeus say the gods were discoverers of useful crops.

Latin text · CSEL 2:29

Prodicus adsumptos in deos loquitur, qui errando inuentis nouis frugibus utilitati hominum profuerunt. in eandem sententiam et Persaeus philosophatur et adnectit inuentas fruges et frugum ipsarum repertores isdem nominibus, ut comicus sermo est, Venerem sine Libero et Cerere frigere.

English · Claude translation

Prodicus says that those were taken up among the gods who, in their wanderings, benefited mankind by discovering new crops. Persaeus philosophizes to the same effect and links the crops discovered and the discoverers of the crops themselves under the same names, as the comic saying goes, 'Venus is cold without Liber and Ceres.'

About this passage

Source
CSEL 2:29 · 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.
Extrabiblical texts
  • Terence, Eun. 732 (Terence) · quotation, high confidence

Notes

Translation notes

  • The comic saying is Terence, Eun. 732 ("sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus").

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (OCR: "n" for "u".): nonis frugibus → nouis frugibus.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 21.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/21/2/).

Plain text
Minucius Felix, Oct. 21.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/21/2/).

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