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The Octavius of Minucius Felix

Minucius Felix

Chapter 23

About this work

A polished Latin dialogue in which pagan and Christian friends debate providence, Roman religion, accusations against Christians, resurrection, and the philosophical credibility of Christian monotheism.

Author: Minucius Felix
Date: Late 2nd or early 3rd century
Origin: Rome or North Africa
Genre: Dialogue

The work’s date relative to Tertullian and the author’s geographical setting remain debated.

Chapter XXIII.—Argument: Although the Heathens Acknowledge Their Kings to Be Mortal, Yet They Feign that They are Gods Even Against Their Own Will, Not Because of Their Belief in Their Divinity, But in Honour of the Power that They Have Exerted. Yet a True God Has Neither Rising Nor Setting. Thence Octavius Criticises the Images and Shrines of the Gods.

“It is needless to go through

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each

individual

case

,

and

to

develope

the

entire

series

of

that

race

,

since

in

its

first

parents

their

mortality

is

proved

,

and

must

have

flowed

down

into

the

rest

by

the

very

law

of

their

succession

,

unless

perhaps

you

fancy

that

they

were

gods

after

death

;

as

by

the

perjury

of

Proculus

,

Romulus

became

a

god

;

and

by

the

good

-

will

of

the

Mauritanians

,

Juba

is

a

god

;

and

other

kings

are

divine

who

are

consecrated

,

not

in

the

faith

of

their

divinity

,

but

in

honour

of

the

power

that

they

exercised

.

Moreover

,

this

name

is

ascribed

to

those

who

are

unwilling

to

bear

it

.

They

desire

to

persevere

in

their

human

condition

.

They

fear

that

they

may

be

made

gods

;

although

they

are

already

old

men

,

they

do

not

wish

it

.

Therefore

neither

are

gods

made

from

dead

people

,

since

a

god

cannot

die

;

nor

of

people

that

are

born

,

since

everything

which

is

born

dies

.

But

that

is

divine

which

has

neither

rising

nor

setting

.

For

why

,

if

they

were

born

,

are

they

not

born

in

the

present

day

also

?

—

unless

,

perchance

,

Jupiter

has

already

grown

old

,

and

child

-

bearing

has

failed

in

Juno

,

and

Minerva

has

grown

grey

before

she

has

borne

children

.

Or

has

that

process

of

generation

ceased

,

for

the

reason

that

no

assent

is

any

longer

yielded

to

fables

of

this

kind

?

Besides

,

if

the

gods

could

create

,

they

could

not

perish

:

we

should

have

more

gods

than

all

men

together

;

so

that

now

,

neither

would

the

heaven

contain

them

,

nor

the

air

receive

them

,

nor

the

earth

bear

them

.

Whence

it

is

manifest

,

that

those

were

men

whom

we

both

read

of

as

having

been

born

,

and

know

to

have

died

.

Who

therefore

doubts

that

the

common

people

pray

to

and

publicly

worship

the

consecrated

images

of

these

men

;

in

that

the

belief

and

mind

of

the

ignorant

is

deceived

by

the

perfection

of

art

,

is

blinded

by

the

glitter

of

gold

,

is

dimmed

with

the

shining

of

silver

and

the

whiteness

of

ivory

?

But

if

any

one

were

to

present

to

his

mind

with

what

instruments

and

with

what

machinery

every

image

is

formed

,

he

would

blush

that

he

had

feared

matter

,

treated

after

his

fancy

by

the

artificer

to

make

a

god

.

For

a

god

of

wood

,

a

portion

perhaps

of

a

pile

,

or

of

an

unlucky

log

,

is

hung

up

,

is

cut

,

is

hewn

,

is

planed

;

and

a

god

of

brass

or

of

silver

,

often

from

an

impure

vessel

,

as

was

done

by

the

Egyptian

king

,

is

fused

,

is

beaten

with

hammers

and

forged

on

anvils

;

and

the

god

of

stone

is

cut

,

is

sculptured

,

and

is

polished

by

some

abandoned

man

,

nor

feels

the

injury

done

to

him

in

his

nativity

,

any

more

than

afterwards

it

feels

the

worship

flowing

from

your

veneration

;

unless

perhaps

the

stone

,

or

the

wood

,

or

the

silver

is

not

yet

a

god

.

When

,

therefore

,

does

the

god

begin

his

existence

?

Lo

,

it

is

melted

,

it

is

wrought

,

it

is

sculptured

—

it

is

not

yet

a

god

;

lo

,

it

is

soldered

,

it

is

built

together

—

it

is

set

up

,

and

even

yet

it

is

not

a

god

;

lo

,

it

is

adorned

,

it

is

consecrated

,

it

is

prayed

to

—

then

at

length

it

is

a

god

,

when

man

has

chosen

it

to

be

so

,

and

for

the

purpose

has

dedicated

it

.

Notes

1
“Be created” is a more probable reading.
2
Otherwise, “that he had rashly been so deceived by the artificer in the material, as to make a god.”
3
[Footbaths. See vol. ii., Theophilus, p. 92, and Athenagoras, p. 143.]