Octavius 25.7 · Sophia Scriptura

Summary: The conquered gods could not protect their own people, and Rome's native gods are mere men.

Latin text · CSEL 2:36

neque enim potuerunt in ipsis bellis deos adiutores habere, aduersus quos arma rapuerunt, sed quos prostrauerant, detriumphatos colere coeperunt. quid autem isti dii pro Romanis possunt, qui nihil pro suis aduersus eorum arma ualuerunt? Romanorum enim uernaculos deos nouimus: Romulus, Picus, Tiberinus et Consus et Pilumnus ac Volumnus dii.

English · Claude translation

For in the wars themselves they could not have as helpers the gods against whom they took up arms; but those whom they had overthrown they began to worship once triumphed over. And what can these gods do for the Romans, who had no power for their own people against Roman arms? For we know the native gods of the Romans: Romulus, Picus, Tiberinus, and Consus, and Pilumnus and Volumnus are gods.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 2:36 · 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. 25.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/25/7/).

Plain text

Minucius Felix, Oct. 25.7 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/25/7/).