Octavius 24.8 · Sophia Scriptura

Latin text · CSEL 2:34–35

nudi cruda hieme discurrunt, alii incedunt pilleati, scuta uetera circumferunt, pelles caedunt, mendicantes uicatim deos ducunt: quaedam fana semel anno adire permittunt, quaedam in totum nefas uisere: est quo uiro non licet, nonnulla absque feminis sacra sunt, etiam seruo quibusdam caerimoniis interesse piaculare flagitium est: alia sacra coronat uniuira, alia multiuira, et magna religione conquiritur quae plura possit adulteria numerare.

English · Claude translation

Naked, they run about in the raw winter; others go about wearing felt caps, carry around old shields, beat hides, lead gods begging from street to street. Some shrines they allow to be visited once a year, some it is altogether unlawful to see; there is one where a man may not go; some rites are without women; for a slave even to be present at certain ceremonies is an offence needing expiation. Some rites are crowned by a woman married once, others by a woman married many times, and with great religious care they seek out the one who can count the most adulteries.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 2:34–35 · 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.

Notes

Translation notes

"A woman married once" (uniuira) and "married many times" (multiuira) refer to priestesses of particular cults; the last clause is sarcastic.

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 24.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/24/8/).

Plain text

Minucius Felix, Oct. 24.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/24/8/).