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The Divine Institutes

Lactantius

Book 1 · Chapter 4

About this work

A large Latin presentation of Christian teaching that criticizes pagan religion and philosophy while treating justice, God, creation, Christ, worship, ethics, and the final destiny of humanity.

Author: Lactantius
Date: c. AD 303–311
Origin: North Africa and Nicomedia
Genre: Apology

Chap. IV.—That the one god was foretold even by the prophets.

The prophets, who were very many, proclaim

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and

declare

the

one

God

;

for

,

being

filled

with

the

inspiration

of

the

one

God

,

they

predicted

things

to

come

,

with

agreeing

and

harmonious

voice

.

But

those

who

are

ignorant

of

the

truth

do

not

think

that

these

prophets

are

to

be

believed

;

for

they

say

that

those

voices

are

not

divine

,

but

human

.

Forsooth

,

because

they

proclaim

one

God

,

they

were

either

madmen

or

deceivers

.

But

truly

we

see

that

their

predictions

have

been

fulfilled

,

and

are

in

course

of

fulfilment

daily

;

and

their

foresight

,

agreeing

as

it

does

to

one

opinion

,

teaches

that

they

were

not

under

the

impulse

of

madness

.

For

who

possessed

of

a

frenzied

mind

would

be

able

,

I

do

not

say

to

predict

the

future

,

but

even

to

speak

coherently

?

Were

they

,

therefore

,

who

spoke

such

things

deceitful

?

What

was

so

utterly

foreign

to

their

nature

as

a

system

of

deceit

,

when

they

themselves

restrained

others

from

all

fraud

?

For

to

this

end

were

they

sent

by

God

,

that

they

should

both

be

heralds

of

His

majesty

,

and

correctors

of

the

wickedness

of

man

.

Moreover, the inclination to feign and speak falsely belongs to those who covet riches, and eagerly desire gains,—a disposition which was far removed from those holy men. For they so discharged the office entrusted to them, that, disregarding all things necessary for the maintenance of life, they were so far from laying up store for the future, that they did not even labour for the day, content with the unstored food which God had supplied; and these not only had no gains, but even endured torments and death. For the precepts of righteousness are distasteful to the wicked, and to those who lead an unholy life. Wherefore they, whose sins were brought to light and forbidden, most cruelly tortured and slew them. They, therefore, who had no desire for gain, had neither the inclination nor the motive for deceit. Why should I say that some of them were princes, or even kings, upon whom the suspicion of covetousness and fraud could not possibly fall, and yet they proclaimed the one God with the same prophetic foresight as the others?

Notes

1
[Not David merely, nor only other kings of the Hebrews. Elucidation I.]