Octavius 27.8 · Sophia Scriptura

Summary: Demons stir up hatred of Christians so people will condemn them without knowing them.

Latin text · CSEL 2:40

ideo inserti mentibus imperitorum odium nostri serunt occulte per timorem: naturale est enim et odisse quem timeas, et quem metueris infestare, si possis. sic occupant animos et obstruunt pectora, ut ante nos incipiant homines odisse quam nosse, ne cognitos aut imitari possint aut damnare non possint.

English · Claude translation

So, planted in the minds of the ignorant, they secretly sow hatred of us through fear; for it is natural both to hate one whom you fear and to attack, if you can, one whom you dread. So they take possession of souls and block up hearts, that men may begin to hate us before they know us, lest, knowing us, they either be able to imitate us or be unable to condemn us.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 2:40 · 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.

Topics

Persecution

Cite this passage

Minucius Felix, Oct. 27.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/27/8/).

Plain text

Minucius Felix, Oct. 27.8 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/minucius-octavius/27/8/).