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The Octavius of Minucius Felix

Minucius Felix

Chapter 30

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 XXX.—Argument: The Story About Christians Drinking the Blood of an Infant that They Have Murdered, is a Barefaced Calumny. But the Gentiles, Both Cruelly Expose Their Children Newly Born, and Before They are Born Destroy Them by a Cruel Abortion. Christians are Neither Allowed to See Nor to Hear of Manslaughter.

“And now I should wish to

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meet

him

who

says

or

believes

that

we

are

initiated

by

the

slaughter

and

blood

of

an

infant

.

Think

you

that

it

can

be

possible

for

so

tender

,

so

little

a

body

to

receive

those

fatal

wounds

;

for

any

one

to

shed

,

pour

forth

,

and

drain

that

new

blood

of

a

youngling

,

and

of

a

man

scarcely

come

into

existence

?

No

one

can

believe

this

,

except

one

who

can

dare

to

do

it

.

And

I

see

that

you

at

one

time

expose

your

begotten

children

to

wild

beasts

and

to

birds

;

at

another

,

that

you

crush

them

when

strangled

with

a

miserable

kind

of

death

.

There

are

some

women

who

,

by

drinking

medical

preparations

,

extinguish

the

source

of

the

future

man

in

their

very

bowels

,

and

thus

commit

a

parricide

before

they

bring

forth

.

And

these

things

assuredly

come

down

from

the

teaching

of

your

gods

.

For

Saturn

did

not

expose

his

children

,

but

devoured

them

.

With

reason

were

infants

sacrificed

to

him

by

parents

in

some

parts

of

Africa

,

caresses

and

kisses

repressing

their

crying

,

that

a

weeping

victim

might

not

be

sacrificed

.

Moreover

,

among

the

Tauri

of

Pontus

,

and

to

the

Egyptian

Busiris

,

it

was

a

sacred

rite

to

immolate

their

guests

,

and

for

the

Galli

to

slaughter

to

Mercury

human

,

or

rather

inhuman

,

sacrifices

.

The

Roman

sacrificers

buried

living

a

Greek

man

and

a

Greek

woman

,

a

Gallic

man

and

a

Gallic

woman

;

and

to

this

day

,

Jupiter

Latiaris

is

worshipped

by

them

with

murder

;

and

,

what

is

worthy

of

the

son

of

Saturn

,

he

is

gorged

with

the

blood

of

an

evil

and

criminal

man

.

I

believe

that

he

himself

taught

Catiline

to

conspire

under

a

compact

of

blood

,

and

Bellona

to

steep

her

sacred

rites

with

a

draught

of

human

gore

,

and

taught

men

to

heal

epilepsy

with

the

blood

of

a

man

,

that

is

,

with

a

worse

disease

.

They

also

are

not

unlike

to

him

who

devour

the

wild

beasts

from

the

arena

,

besmeared

and

stained

with

blood

,

or

fattened

with

the

limbs

or

the

entrails

of

men

.

To

us

it

is

not

lawful

either

to

see

or

to

hear

of

homicide

;

and

so

much

do

we

shrink

from

human

blood

,

that

we

do

not

use

the

blood

even

of

eatable

animals

in

our

food

.

Notes

1
By medicaments and drinks.