Ante-Nicene Christian Library; Translations Of The Writings Of The Fathers Down To A.D. 325, Volume 21: The Works Of Lactantius, Volume 1

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Christia .

Therelare, sinco those tWo fountains os justice are changed, ali virtus and ali truth ars inhen aWay, and justice iraeli retumsto heaven. And on this account the true good Was not dis- covered by philosophera, becauso they mers ignorant both Mita origin and effecta: whicli has been revealed to no others butio our people. Some one Will say, Me there not among you

not by tho body, but by the spirit, although the condition ofbodies is different, yet me have no servandi, but Wo both regardand spea of them as brothera in spirit, in religion as fello

servants. Riches also do not render men illustrious, exceptthat they are able to mahe them more conspicuous by good oris. For men are ricli, not becauso they possess riches, butbecause they emplo them on Works of justice; and they whoseem to be poor, on this account are rich, becauso they are not in Want, and destre nothing.

Though, thereiore, in to linem of mind we aro on an equality, tho fres With flaves, and the ricti With the poor, nevertheims intho sight ot God ws are distinguished by virtve. Aaad every one is mors elevated in proportion to his greater justico. For is itis justice tor a man to put himself on a levet even Mith thoso otioWer rank, although lis excels in this very thing, that ho mado himself equat to his inferiors; yet ii ho has conducted himselfnot only as an equat, but even as an inferior, he Will plainlyobtain a much higher rank oi dignity in tho judgment of God. For assuredly, sinco est things in this temporia lito are irati and liabis to decv, men both prsier themselves to othera, and comtend about dignity; than whicli nothing is more Iovi, nothingmore arrogant, nothing more removed hom tho conduci os amise man: for these earthly things aro altogether opposed to

Quia non egent.' Some editora omit non; but thia is not ao good.

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I have explained the reason Why philosophera mere unablesither to find or to defend justice. NoW Ι return to that whichΙ had purposed. Carneades, the fore, sinos the argumenta of the philosophera mere Weis, underiooh the bold task of retulinginem, because he underatood that they Were capabis os resutation. The substancs of his disputation mas this: That menenacted laws for themselves, With a vieW to their oWn aduantam, differing in ed according to their charactera, and in the caseos tho fame persona osten changed according to tho times; butthat thero mas no natural laW: that ait, both men and other animais, mero borno by the guidance of nature to their own advantage; thereforo that thero Was no justico, or is any diderist, it Was the greatest solly, becauso it injured itself by pr moting the interesis of othera.' And he brought for ard theso arguments: That ali nations Which flourished With dominion, even the Romans themselves, Who mero masters of tho wholemorid, is they Wish to be just, ibat is, to restore the possessionaos othera, must retum to cottages, and lie doWn in Want and

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330 LACTANTIUS.

Was civit, the oster natural, hs subverted both: Meause tho civilpari is Wisdom, but not justics; but the natural pari is justice,

but not misdom. Thesa arguments are altogether subito and acuto,in and such as Marcus Tullius mas unablo is refute. ForWhen ho representa Laelius as replying to Furius, and speisingin belliat of justico, he passed them by as a pitfail Without r futing them; so that tho sanio Laelius appears not to have defended natural justico, .hich had fallon undor the chargo offolin but that civit justies Whieli Furius hia admitted to bo

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ine truth. There oro Carneades underetood What is the natum

λ Le. The Academio School. 3 Sacramentum,' the true theory es humau lila.

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332 LACTANTIUS

for they by no means see iis reWards, Which aro eternat and immortal. Thus, is referring ali things to the present lite, theyaltogether reduce virtve to folly, since it undergoes such greatlabours of this life in vain and to no purpose. But more oninis subject at another opportuni . In tho meanWhilo let us speah of justice, as me Myn, the που of Whicli is so great, that when it has raised iis vis in heaven, it deserves ali things from God. Flaccus thereiare rightly said, that tho poWer os innocenco is so great, that

herevor it journe , it neoti neither arms nor strength for ita protection:

Though his path ba along aulita African Syrtes,

It is impossibie, thereiore, that amidsi tho dangers of tempestsand of wars the just man aliould bo unprotected by the gua dianship of Heaven; and that even is lis ahould bo at sea in company With parricides and guilty men, the wiched also aliould not bo spared, that this one just and innocent foul may befreed from danger, or at any rate may bo alone preserved Whilo the rest perish. But let us grant that tho caso vhich thophilosopher proposes is possibie: What, then, Will the just mando, is he shali havo met with a Wounded man on a horae, or RahipWreched man on a plank Ι am not unWilling to consesshe wili rassior dio than put another to death. Nor Will justice, which is tho chiei good of man, on this account receive thonams of folly. For What ought in be better and dearer to manthan innocence And this must be the more persect, the momyou bring it to extremity, and chooso to dis raster than to detraci frem the character os innocence. It is folly, he fars, tospare the lise of another in a case Which involves the destruc

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of this very virtve tho tyrant reWarded them by preservingboth, and thus the disposition os a most cruei man was changed. MoreoVer, it is even said that ho entrealed ' them to admit him

the whole of this inquio is refuted not so much is argumentsas by definition. Therelare folly is the erring in deeds and words, through ignorance of What is right and good. Thore- foro ho is not a toot who does not even spare himself to preventinjury to another, Which is an evit. And this, indeed, reason

Pro fidae Deprecatus esse dicitur.' Proprietatem.

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and ius truth ilaeis dictate.' For Ws see that in ali animais, because they are destitute ot Wisdom, naturo is sto provider os supplies for iiseis. Therelare they injuro others that theymay profit themselves, for they do not underatand that the 'committing an injury is evil. But man, Who has the knowledgoot good and evit, abstains fram committing an injury even to his oWn damage, Which an animal mithout mason is unabis todo; and on this account innocence is rechoned among the chies viriues of man. by these things it appears that he is themisest man who presera to peristi rather than to commit an injury, that he may preserve that sense of duu' by which heis distinguished from tho dumb creation. For he Who does notpoint out the error of one Who is offering the gold tor salo, inorder that he may buy it for a mali sum, or he who does notavo that he is offering for sale a mnaway clave or an intected homo, haVing an ve to his oWn gain or advantage, is not amiso man, as Carneades Wished it to appear, but crasty and cunning. No crastiness and cunning exist in tho dumbanimais alsor either When they lie in Wait for othera, and taho

never gives himself to the purauit os gain, becauso ho despises

theso earthly advantages: nor does ho alloW any one to bedeceived, bocanso it is the duw of a good man to correct thoerrors of men, and to bring them bach to tho right Way; sincellis naturo os man is sociat and beneficent, in Which respectatone ho bears a relation to God. CHAP. XIX.- in virtue and the tortures of Christians, and of the right os a fathem and master.

ε Thus far hs has refuted tho argumenta os Furius, tho advocato es injustico. He nou ino a the reasona Why Laelius, .ho mas eat med mori Wiae, Mea not Worintly maintain ine causo os justice, e. Minum he Wasignorant of heavenly Wisdom.

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sooliin Who prefers to be in Want, or to die raster stan to inflict injury or talis aWay the proper os anothe -namely, cause they thinh that man is destroyed by death. And Domitiis persuasion ali the errore both of the common people andalso of the philosophers arise. For it me have no existenceaster death, assuredly it is the part of tho most laesish man notio promote the interesis ot the present lila, stat it may bo long- continued, and may Aound with ali Quantages. But he whoshali aci thus must os necessi depari fram the ruis of justico. But it there remians to man a longar and a Miter liti and this wo learn both hom tho arguments of great philosophera, and hom the ansmers of seers, and the divine Words ot propheta t is the part of the wiso man to despuo this present lita mithiis advantages, since ita entire loss is compensated by immo tali . The fame defender of justice, Laelius, sus in Cicero: Viriue altogether Wishes sor honour; nor is there any otherroward os virtve.' There is indeod another, and that most

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336LICTANNUS

tho most morthlem os flaves Who runs aWay and deserta his

master, and is ho is judged most deseruing ot stripes and chalas, and a prison, and the cross, and os ali evit; and is a son, in thosame manner, is thought abandoned and implous who deserta his fallier, that he may not pay him obedience, and on this account is considered deseruing of being disinherited, and of

beyond the nourishment With Whicli ho supplies him for his

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