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The Divine Institutes
Lactantius
Book 3 · Chapter 18 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. XVIII.—The Pythagoreans and Stoics, While They Hold the Immortality of the Soul, Foolishly Persuade a Voluntary Death. Others , again , discuss things contrary to these
‹ Book 3 · Chapter 17 Book 3 · Chapter 19 ›,
namely
,
that
the
soul
survives
after
death
;
and
these
are
chiefly
the
Pythagoreans
and
Stoics
.
And
although
they
are
to
be
treated
with
indulgence
because
they
perceive
the
truth
,
yet
I
cannot
but
blame
them
,
because
they
fell
upon
the
truth
not
by
their
opinion
,
but
by
accident
.
And
thus
they
erred
in
some
degree
even
in
that
very
matter
which
they
rightly
perceived
.
For
,
since
they
feared
the
argument
by
which
it
is
inferred
that
the
soul
must
necessarily
die
with
the
body
,
because
it
is
born
with
the
body
,
they
asserted
that
the
soul
is
not
born
with
the
body
,
but
rather
introduced
into
it
,
and
that
it
migrates
from
one
body
to
another
.
They
did
not
consider
that
it
was
possible
for
the
soul
to
survive
the
body
,
unless
it
should
appear
to
have
existed
previously
to
the
body
.
There
is
therefore
an
equal
and
almost
similar
error
on
each
side
.
But
the
one
side
are
deceived
with
respect
to
the
past
,
the
other
with
respect
to
the
future
.
For
no
one
saw
that
which
is
most
true
,
that
the
soul
is
both
created
and
does
not
die
,
because
they
were
ignorant
why
that
came
to
pass
,
or
what
was
the
nature
of
man
.
Many
therefore
of
them
,
because
they
suspected
that
the
soul
is
immortal
,
laid
violent
hands
upon
themselves
,
as
though
they
were
about
to
depart
to
heaven
.
Thus
it
was
with
Cleanthes
and
Chrysippus
,
with
Zeno
,
and
Empedocles
,
who
in
the
dead
of
night
cast
himself
into
a
cavity
of
the
burning
Ætna
,
that
when
he
had
suddenly
disappeared
it
might
be
believed
that
he
had
departed
to
the
gods
;
and
thus
also
of
the
Romans
Cato
died
,
who
through
the
whole
of
his
life
was
an
imitator
of
Socratic
ostentation
.
For
Democritus
was
of
another
persuasion
.
But
,
however
,
“ By his own spontaneous act he offered up his head to death ; “
and nothing can be more wicked than this . For if a homicide is guilty because he is a destroyer of man , he who puts himself to death is under the same guilt , because he puts to death a man . Yea , that crime may be considered to be greater , the punishment of which belongs to God alone . For as we did not come into this life of our own accord ; so , on the other hand , we can only withdraw from this habitation of the body which has been appointed for us to keep , by the command of Him who placed us in this body that we may inhabit it , until He orders us to depart from it ; and if any violence is offered to us , we must endure it with equanimity , since the death of an innocent person cannot be unavenged , and since we have a great Judge who alone always has the power of taking vengeance in His hands .
All these philosophers , therefore , were homicides ; and Cato himself , the chief of Roman wisdom , who , before he put himself to death , is said to have read through the treatise of Plato which he wrote on the immortality of the soul , and was led by the authority of the philosopher to the commission of this great crime ; yet he , however , appears to have had some cause for death in his hatred of slavery . Why should I speak of the Ambraciot , who , having read the same treatise , threw himself into the sea , for no other cause than that he believed Plato ? — a doctrine altogether detestable and to be avoided , if it drives men from life . But if Plato had known and taught by whom , and how , and to whom , and on account of what actions , and at what time , immortality is given , he would neither have driven Cleombrotus nor Cato to a voluntary death , but he would have trained them to live with justice . For it appears to me that Cato sought a cause for death , not so much that he might escape from Cæsar , as that he might obey the decrees of the Stoics , whom he followed , and might make his name distinguished by some great action ; and I do not see what evil could have happened to him if he had lived . For Caius Cæsar , such was his clemency , had no other object , even in the very heat of civil war , than to appear to deserve well of the state , by preserving two excellent citizens , Cicero and Cato . But let us return to those who praise death as a benefit . You complain of life as though you had lived , or had ever settled with yourself why you were born at all . May not therefore the true and common Father of all justly find fault with that saying of Terence : —
“ First , learn in what life consists ; then , if you shall be dissatisfied with life , have recourse to death . ”
You are indignant that you are exposed to evils ; as though you deserved anything good , who are ignorant of your Father , Lord , and King ; who , although you behold with your eyes the bright light , are nevertheless blind in mind , and lie in the depths of the darkness of ignorance . And this ignorance has caused that some have not been ashamed to say , that we are born for this cause , that we may suffer the punishment of our crimes ; but I do not see what can be more senseless than this . For where or what crimes could we have committed when we did not even exist ? Unless we shall happen to believe that foolish old man , who falsely said that he had lived before , and that in his former life he had been Euphorbus . He , I believe , because he was born of an ignoble race , chose for himself a family from the poems of Homer . O wonderful and remarkable memory of Pythagoras ! O miserable forgetfulness on the part of us all , since we know not who we were in our former life ! But perhaps it was caused by some error , or favour , that he alone did not touch the abyss of Lethe , or taste the water of oblivion ; doubtless the trifling old man ( as is wont to be the case with old women who are free from occupation ) invented fables as it were for credulous infants . But if he had thought well of those to whom he spoke these things ; if he had considered them to be men , he would never have claimed to himself the liberty of uttering such perverse falsehoods . But the folly of this most trifling man is deserving of ridicule . What shall we do in the case of Cicero , who , having said in the beginning of his Consolation that men were born for the sake of atoning for their crimes , afterwards repeated the assertion , as though rebuking him who does not imagine that life is a punishment ? He was right , therefore , in saying beforehand that he was held by error and wretched ignorance of the truth .
Notes 1 Cleanthes was a Stoic philosopher, who used to draw water by night for his support, that he might devote himself to the study of philosophy by day. He ended his life by refusing to take food.
2 Chrysippus was a disciple of Zeno, and, after Cleanthes, the chief of the Stoic sect. According to some accounts, he died front an excessive draught of wine; according to others, from excessive laughter.
3 Zeno, the chief of the Stoic sect. He is said to have died from suffocation.
4 Empedocles was a philosopher and poet. There are various accounts of his death; that mentioned in the text is usually received.
5 There are various accounts respecting the death of Democritus.
6 Lucretius, iii. 1041.
7 Cleombrotus of Ambracia.
8 Heautontim., v. 2, 18. This advice is given to a young man, who, not knowing the value of life, is prepared rashly to throw it away in consequence of some check to his plans.
9 Pythagoras taught the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, and affirmed that he had lived already as Euphorbus, one of the heroes of Troy, who was slain by Menelaus in the Trojan war. Lactantius again refers to this subject, book vii. ch. 23, infra.
