I shall add here a few more select passages. a 5. Beausobre once had suspicions, that Arnobius held the Manichæan principle concerning the origin of the human soul; but upon farther consideration he acquitted him. I cannot believe, that Arnobius was at all acquainted with the Manichees. And Beausobre's opinion, that Manichæism had spread in Africa before the end of the third century, appears to me to be without good foundation. 6. Arnobius seems to speak of some extraordinary works done in the name of Christ in his own time. с 7. He supposeth Christ to have died, that thereby, and by his resurrection afterwards, he might confirm the truth of his doctrine, and give his followers full assurance of immortality. d 8. In his answer to the forementioned objection, If Christ came to save men, why are not all saved? he strongly asserts human power and freedom. For he says, that the kind proposal of the gospel is made to all; if any refuse it, it is their own fault. It is not to be expected, that God should force their consent: it is not the method of his dealings with men. с 9. Arnobius informs us, that not a few heathens of his time were much offended at Cicero, for the freedom he had taken in exposing some of their absurd sentiments concerning their deities; and that his writings were so serviceable to the Christian cause, that some people were for having his works, or some of them at least, destroyed, or prohibited by order of the senate. 10. Upon occasion of which, Arnobius declares it to be his opinion, that' reading and inquiry ought not to be discouraged, and that so doing is a sign of a bad cause. Mr. Bayle observed this passage of our author: I choose to place his words at the bottom of the page. IV. I come now to observe this writer's testimony to the scriptures of the Old and New Testament. 1. Arnobius has not expressly quoted any books, either of the Old or the New Testament. It is likely, that he did not judge it proper to allege the scriptures, as books of authority, in an argument with heathens, and was of the same opinion upon this head with Lactantius, who did not scruple to censure St. Cyprian for so doing. h 2. We can perceive however, that Arnobius was acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures. For whereas some heathens objected, that those scriptures spake of God, as having bodily parts, i spiritum perpetuitatis apponere, 1. ii. p. 89. sub fin. And compare Beaus. Hist. de Manich. T. ᎥᎥ . p. 413. "See Beaus. Hist. de Manich. T. ii. p. 413, &c. See him likewise, p. 145, 146, and p. 330, 331, & 398, 399. C b —qui justissimis viris etiam nunc impollutis, ac diligentibus sese, noh per vana insomnia, sed per puræ speciem simplicitatis apparet? cujus nomen auditum fugat noxios spiritus, imponit silentium vatibus, haruspices inconsultos reddit, arrogantium magorum frustrari efficit actiones, non horrore, ut dicitis, nominis, sed majoris licentiâ potestatis, 1. i. p. 27. Cumque novitas rerum, & inaudita premissio audientium turbaret mentes, & credulitatem faceret hæsitare, virtutum omnium dominus, atque ipsius mortis extinctor, hominem suum permiserit interfici, ut ex rebus consequentibus scirent in tuto esse spes suas, quas jamdudum acceperant de animarum salute, nec periculum mortis aliâ se posse ratione vitare, I. i. p. 41. Non æqualiter liberat, qui æqualiter omnes vocat?Si tibi fastidium tantum est, ut oblati respuas beneficium muneris- -quid invitans in te peccat, cujus solæ sunt hæ partes, ut sub tui juris arbitrio fructum suæ benignitatis exponat?Vis sumere quod offertur, atque in tuos usus convertere? Consulueris tu tibi-Nulli Deus infert necessitatemImmo, inquit, si Deus est potens, misericors, conservator, convertat nobis mentes, & invitos faciat suis pollicitationibus credere. Vis ergo est ista, non gratia: nec Dei liberalitas principis, sed ad vincendi studium, puerilis atque animi contentio, l. ii. p. 88 & 89. Adduci enim primum hoc ut credamus, non possumus, immortalem illam- naturam divisam esse per sexusQuem quidem locum plene jamdudum homines pectoris vivi, -explicavere—& ante omnes Tullius Romani disertissi mus generis-Sed quid aucupia verborum, splendoremque gil auroit pu se moquer de ces sectaires, s'ils fussent venus lui alléguer les reflexions que faisoit Arnobe, sur ce que les idolâtres demandoient que le sénat abolit par ses arrêts quelques livres de Cicéron, où la vanité des faux dieux est démontrée. Refutez les, leur disoit Arnobe, s'ils contiennent des impiétés. Car d'en interdire la lecture, ce n'est pas soutenir la cause des dieux; c'est craindre le temoignage de la verité. Bayle, Dict. V. iv. p. 2840. b. edit. 3. Volkelius, Note (A). h-quâ materiâ non est usus, ut debuit. Non enim scrip- turæ testimoniis, quam ille [Demetrianus] utique vanam, fictam, commentitiamque putabat; sed argumentis & ratione, fuerat refellendus. Nam, cum ageret contra hominem veritatis ignarum, dilatis paulisper divinis lectionibus, formare hunc a principio tamquam rudem debuit, atque paulatim lucis principia monstrare, Lact. Inst. 1. v. c. 4. i Nunc ad speciem veniamus & formas, quibus esse descriptos deos superos creditis-Neque quisquam Judaïcas in hoc loco nobis opponat, & Sadducæi generis fabulas, tamquam and human passions; he recommends it to them, to study the style of those books with greater care, and then, he says, they will better know their true meaning. Nevertheless it must be owned, that at the end of his sixth book, and in the seventh book almost throughout, Arnobius so argues against all manner of sacrifices, and particularly bloody sacrifices of animals; that we may be apt to suspect, he was not well acquainted with the Mosaic institution, or else had but little regard for it. And it is not unlikely, that about this time Gentile people became first acquainted with Christians and their scriptures: and they might be converted some while, before they were well acquainted with the Jewish scriptures, and the ancient constitution of that people. 3. Arnobius, for certain, was well acquainted with the books of the New Testament, though he did not think fit to quote them expressly in his books against the Gentiles. 4. He says, the world has this benefit from Christ, that there is already a vast multitude of men, who have been taught by his laws, precepts, and institutions, "not to return evil for evil,” and rather suffer wrong than to do any. 5. Herein he may be thought to refer to the whole tenor of the Christian doctrine, as contained in the New Testament. However, it must be also reckoned probable, that he has some particular regard to that part of our Lord's doctrine, which is recorded in the fifth chapter of St. Matthew's gospel, especially from ver. 38 to the end; and perhaps to some other texts, where "recompensing," or " rendering evil for evil," is forbidden in terms, much resembling those of Arnobius. See Rom. xii. 17. 1 Thess. v. 15. 1 Pet. iii. 9. с 6. He has enumerated the miracles of our Saviour in such a manner as shews him to have been well acquainted with our gospels; and that he gave full credit to them, and paid them great deference. He speaks of our Lord's healing fevers, dropsies, lunacies, leprosies, and all manner of diseases and torments, to which the human frame is subject; and relieving great numbers of those deplorable cases on the sudden, by his word and command only, without any external means, and without charms and incantations: and some obtained relief by only a slight touch of his garment. He strengthened the lame to walk, and to carry their beds, who before was carried themselves upon men's shoulders: he enabled the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak: he gave sight to the blind, to some that were blind from their birth: he calmed the boisterous winds, and the stormy seas, and himself walked safely upon them: he fed five thousand 'people at once with five loaves, of which also there remained, after all were satisfied, such an abundance, that twelve baskets were filled with the fragments: a sure proof,' he says, 'that there was no deceit: he raised the dead, and some that had been buried. 7. He observes also, agreeably to our gospels, that sometimes Christ by touching the afflicted with his hands, at other times by his sole command, opened the ears of the deaf, and the eyes of formas tribuant atque os Deo. Hoc enim putatur in eorum literis dici, & ut vel re certâ, atque auctoritate firmari: quæ aut nihil ad nos attinent-aut, si sunt, ut creditur, sociæ, quærendi sunt nobis altioris intelligentiæ doctores, per quos possitis addiscere quibus modis conveniat literarum illarum nubes atque involucra relaxare, 1. iii. p. 106, 107. Ergone, o Jupiter, aut quis alius Deus es, humanum est istud & rectum,-ut, cum alius peccaverit, ego occidar, & de meo sanguine fieri tibi patiaris satis, qui nunquam te læserim? &c. 1. vii. p. 216.-quod est istud honoris genus, vervecem, arietem, taurum, dei sub ore connectere, conspectuque in ejus occidere? Quod est honorum genus deum invitare ad sanguinem, quem cum canibus videas eum sumere, atque habere communem? ib. p. 222. b Nam cum hominum vis tanta magisteriis ejus acceperimus ac legibus, malum malo rependi non oportere; injuriam perpeti, quam irrogare, esse præstantius,-habet a Christo beneficium jamdudum orbis ingratus, 1. i. p. 5, 6. Ergo ille mortalis, aut unus fuit e nobis, cujus imperium, cujus vocem, popularibus & quotidianis verbis missam, valetudines, morbi, febres, atque alia corporum cruciamenta fugiebant? Unus fuit e nobis, cujus præsentiam, cujus visum gens illa nequibat ferre mersorum in visceribus dæmonum, conterritaque vi novâ, membroruin possessione cedebat? Unus fuit e nobis, cujus fœdæ vitiligines jussioni optemperabant pulsæ statim, & concordiam colorum commaculatis visceribus relinquebant? Unus fuit e nobis, cujus ex levi tactu stabant profluvia sanguinis, & immoderatos cohibebant fluores? Unus fuit e nobis, cujus manus intercutes & veternosæ fugiebant undæ ? Unus fuit e nobis, qui claudos currere præcipiebat? Etiam operis res erat porrigere mancos manus, & articuli immobilitates jam ingenitas explicabant: captos membris assurgere. Etiam suos referebant lectos alienis paulo ante cervicibus lati viduatos videre luminibus, etiam cœlum diemque nullis cum oculis procreatos. Unus, inquam, fuit e nobis, qui debilitatibus variis, morbisque vexatos centum, aut hoc amplius, semel unâ intercessione sanabat? cujus vocem ad simplicem furibunda & insana explicabant se maria, procellarum turbines tempestatesque sidebant? qui per altissimos gurgites pedem ferebat inlutum? calcabat ponti terga undis ipsis stupentibus, in famulatum subeunte naturâ? qui sequentium se millia quinque, quinque saturavit e panibus: ac, ne esse præstigia incredulis illis viderentur & duris, bis senarum sportarum fragminibus aggerebat? Unus fuit e nobis, qui redire in corpora jamdudum animas præcipiebat afflatas, prodire ab aggeribus conditos? & post diem funeris tertium pollinctorum voluminibus expediri? Î. i. p. 26. d Christus enim scitur, aut admotâ partibus debilitatis manu, aut vocis simplicis jussione, aures aperuisse surdorum, exturbâsse ab oculis cæcitates, orationem dedisse mutis, articulorum vincula relaxâsse, ambulatum dedisse contractis, &c, ib. p. 28. "the blind, and unloosed the tongues of the dumb, or gave feet to the lame, and performed other like works. 3 8. He takes notice of the uncommon darkness, and other surprising events, at the time of our Lord's passion and death; which he describes in a very rhetorical manner. 9. Arnobius, as before said, does not expressly quote any books of scripture: but it is likely, that he, in the places just cited, refers to our evangelists, and their histories. It is plain, he does not take his accounts of our Lord's miracles from oral tradition only. For, as he goes along in his argument, he refers to writers, and writings, which also he calls ours. d 10. We may be confirmed in the supposition, that he means our evangelists, and their gospels, from the character he gives the historians of our Lord's miracles, which he speaks of. For he insists, that they are credible witnesses of the things they relate, because they had seen them, and were present at the doing them; and they write with evident marks of truth and credibility. He likewise owns, that they were unlearned and mean men, and that their style is destitute of ornaments. But then he says, that their accounts are not for those reasons the less credible. с 11. He seems to refer to John xiv. 6, and perhaps to some other texts in that gospel. h 12. He seems likewise to refer to the books of the Acts of the Apostles, when he says, that Christ gave to those little ones, fishermen, and other mean persons, his disciples, the power of performing the same great works that he did: and when he speaks of their exerting that power all over the world, in obedience to the commission they had received. And he may be thought to refer to the great miracle of speaking with divers tongues, recorded Acts ii. when he express-eth himself after this manner: Was he one of us, who, when he spake one language, was thought by divers people, using different languages, to speak words, they were well acquainted with, and in their own language?' He may be thought likewise to allude to * Acts xvii. 25and 28. i k 13. In the accounts he gives of our Lord's resurrection, and the many proofs and incontestible evidences, which were afforded of it, it is somewhat doubtful, whether he refers only to the histories of that important event at the end of the gospels, or whether he intends likewise the • beginning of the book of the Acts. 14. He has the words of 1 Cor. iii. 19, but without any intimation of his borrowing from any particular book. 15. St. Paul says, 1 Cor. xv. 6, that our Lord, after he was risen, "was seen of above five hundred brethren at once." It is not easy to say, whether Arnobius has any particular reference to that text, when he observes, that Christ, in a short time after he had died, shewed himself to innumerable people. a n 16. The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks much of Christ's priesthood: Arnobius * Exutus at corpore, quod in exiguâ sui circumferebat parte, postquam videri se passus est, cujus esset aut magnitudinis sciri, novitate rerum exterrita universa mundi sunt elementa turbata; tellus mota contremuit; mare funditus refusum est: aër globis involutus est tenebrarum; igneus orbis solis tepefacto ardore diriguit, p. 32. b . Conscriptores nostri, 1. i. p. 33. Quidquid dicere de nostris conscriptoribus intenderitis, p. 34. с Non creditis scriptis nostris? p. 34.--quæ in nostris consignata sunt literis, confiteamini necesse est esse vera, ib. Sed non creditis gesta hæc. Sed qui ea conspicati sunt fieri, & sub oculis suis viderunt agi, testes optimi, certissimique auctores, & crediderunt hæc ipsi, & credenda posteris nobis, haud exilibus cum approbationibus, tradiderunt, p. 32. f. Vid. & p. 33. e Sed ab indoctis hominibus, & rudibus, scripta sunt; & idcirco non sunt facili auditione credenda. Vide ne magis hæc fortior causa sit, cur illa nullis coinquinata mendaciis, mente simplici tradita, & ignarâ lenociniis ampliare. Trivialis & sordidus sermo est. Nunquam enim veritas sectata est fucum; nec quod exploratum & certum est, circumduci se patitur per ambitum longiorem, l. i. p. 34, 35. f Et hoc necesse a nobis est ut debeatis accipere, a nullo animas posse vim vitæ atque incolumitatis accipere, nisi ab eo, quem Rex summus huic muneri officioque præfecit. Hanc Omnipotens Imperator esse voluit salutis viam, hanc vitæ, ut ita dixerim, januam. Per hunc solum est ingressus ad lucem, &c. l. ii. p. 89, 90. Neque quidquam est ab illo gestum per admirationem stupentibus cunctis, quod non omne donaverit faciendum parvulis istis & rusticis, & eorum subjecerit potestati, 1. i. p. 30, f. h Imo quia hæc omnia & ab ipso cernebant geri, & ab ejus præconibus, qui per orbem totum missi beneficia patris & munera sanandis animis hominibusque portabant, &c. l. i, p. 33. mì i Unus fuit e nobis, qui, cum unam emitteret vocem, ab diversis populis, & dissonâ oratione loquentibus, familiaribus verborum sonis, & suo cuique utens existimabatur eloquio? p. 27. * Nonne huic omnes debemus hoc ipsum primum, quod sumus?—Non, quod incedimus, quod spiramus & vivimus, ab eo ad nos venit, vique ipsâ vivendi efficit nos esse, ut animali agitatione motari? 1. i. p. 16. Unus fuit e nobis, qui deposito corpore innumeris se hominum promtâ in luce detexit? qui sermonem dedit, atque accepit, docuit, castigavit, admonuit? qui, ne illi se falsos vanis imaginationibus existimarent, semel, iterum, sæpius, familiari collocutione monstravit, 1. i. p. 37. m Nunquam illud vulgatum perstrinxit aures vestras, sapientiam hominis stultitiam esse apud Deum? 1. ii. p. 46. in. " See before, Note '. a also has the expression of Christ's high-priesthood. In Heb. ix. 6, are the words "eternal spirit:” Arnobius has a like expression. I refer to a passage, which may be consulted for both these particulars. But I somewhat question, whether any will think our author had an eye to the Epistle to the Hebrews. 17. It may be proper to observe here, that in one place Arnobius speaks of the burning of the Christian scriptures, and complains of it, as a most unreasonable thing. 18. This is all which we have to produce from this writer upon this head. We have seen good evidence of his being well acquainted with the gospels. And it is likely, that he had read, and highly respected the other books of the New Testament, generally received by Christians. But he did not judge it proper to quote expressly, and as of authority, any books of scripture, in an argument with heathens. V. I shall now, as formerly proposed, make some extracts out of the other Arnobius's Commentaries upon the Psalms. But a few particulars will suffice out of so late a writer, who flourished not till about the year 460. I shall take it for granted, that he received the Old Testament, and those books of the New, which were always received by all Christians in general. I shall only observe some passages, relating to such books, or parts of books of the New Testament, which have been denied, or disputed by some, together with a few other remarkable things. с 1. There are in these Commentaries some indications, that there still were heathens, who practised their idolatrous rites and ceremonies. d 2. He magnifies the speedy progress of the gospel in this manner: For many ages God was "known in Judea only. But upon the coming of Christ, the word of the Lord ran swiftly from the east to the west, from the Indies to Britain. e 3. This writer mentions divers of those Christians, which are called heretics, as the Nova. tians, the Manichees, and Photinus, and some others. i 4. This author cites our Lord's genealogy in the first chapter of St. Matthew's gospel. 5. He takes notice of several things in the second chapter of the same gospel, as the coming of the wise men to Jerusalem, the star that conducted them, and the slaughter of the infants at Bethlehem. 6. He also mentions several things, which are in' the first and second chapters of St. Luke's gospel. 7. He has several things out of the book of the Acts. m 8. He has twice quoted Philip. ii. 6, and in one of those places seems to understand the words rendered by us," thought it not robbery to be equal with God," as expressing our Lord's free and voluntary humiliation. 9. He received the epistle to the Hebrews, as St. Paul's. aThat passage is quoted already, p. 252. Note ". b Nam nostra quidem scripta cur ignibus meruerunt dari ? cur immaniter conventicula dirui? 1. iv. p. 152. f. Usque hodie gentes fremunt adversus Christum, qui idolis finem imposuit. Arnob. in Pis. ii. p. 3. Basil. 1560. In Libano sacrificantes usque hodie turpissimæ Veneri, vitulorum virilia amputant, & in ejus sacrificio hujusmodi incensa supponunt: mercedem quam oportuit erroris sui, deæ suæ exhibent meretrici. In Ps. xxviii. p. 64. Vid. & in Ps. ix. p. 17. Et tam velociter currit sermo ejus, ut, cum per tot millia annorum in solâ Judæá notus fuerit Deus, nunc, intra paucos annos, nec ipsos Indos lateat a parte Orientis, nec ipsos Britones a parte occidentis: ubique cucurrit velociter sermo ejus. In Ps. cxlvii. p. 443. Sicut enim ecclesiæ in toto mundo positæ civitates sanctorum sunt. In Ps. ix. p. 17. In Ps. cv. p. 195. in Ps. cxxxviii. p. 406 & 407. In Ps. cx. p. 319, in Ps. cxxxviii. p. 409. Non ergo, sicut damnabilis Photinus credit, ex Mariæ partu sumsit exordium, sed ante luciferum est ex patris ore progenitus. In Ps. cix. p. 317. Hunc enim eundemque Deum Marcion negat, similiter Apelles & Valentinus & Manichæus, infideles & miseri. In Ps. cxliii. p. 430. Sic enim legis evangelii caput: liber generationis Jesu Christi, filii David, filii Abraham. In Ps. ciii. p. 277. * Sic autem proprium locum relinquentes magi stellæ indicio, &c. in Ps. xviii. al. xix. p. 40. Herodes turbatur, pastores terrentur, magi fugiunt, infantes occiduntur, angeli psallunt dicentes: Gloria Deo in excelsis, &c. In Ps. xlvi. p. 118. Vid. & in Ps. xlvii. P. 120. 1 In Ps. xviii. al. xix. p. 41. in Ps. lxxi. p. 185. Vid. & supr. not. k m Hi autem, qui cum apostolis tertiâ diei horâ ebrii sunt Spiritu Sancto, lætentur, &c. In Prologo. p. ita ut universarum gentium loquaces dicerent de eis: Nonne hi viri Galilæi sunt, &c. in Ps. xviii al. xix. p. 41. Unde & Petrus mendicanti infirmo: Argentum & aurum non habeo, &c. In' Ps. Ixviii. p. 178. n Ille, cum dominus cœli & terræ esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse se æqualem Deo, sed semetipsum exinanivit, &c. In Ps. cxxx. p. 383. Cum in formâ dei esset, essetque æqualis Deo patri, exinanivit seipsum, &c. In Ps. cxliii. p. 429. Sine fide autem, ut ait Apostolus, impossibile est placere Deo. In Ps. lxxvii. p. 207. Ad hæc Paulus clamat, Hebræus ex Hebræis, impossibile est mentiri Deum, [Hebr. vi. 18.] In Ps. civ. p. 287. 10. He quotes the epistle of James, as written by James the apostle. b 11. He quotes the book of the Revelation, and ascribes it to John the apostle. 12. He recommends the frequent reading of the scriptures. I. His history. II. His works. III. Select passages: 1, The design of the Christian religion. 2. Its effects. 3. His interpretation of Gen. vi. 3. 4. Free will. 4. Free will. 5. Christian writers mentioned by him. 6, 7. Writers against the Christian religion. 8. Unsteady Christians in his time. 9. Calumnies against the Christians. 10. The innocence of Christian people. 11. Miracles in his time. 12. A future state proveable by reason. 13. He did not deny the eternity of helltorments. 14. The value of repentance. 15. The ends of Christ's coming and death. 16. The great progress of the Christian religion. 17. Christian fortitude. 18. The right of private judgment. 19. Arguments against persecution. 20. Christians did not persecute. IV. Errors ascribed to him: 1. Manichæism. 2. He denied antipodes. 3. Of the fall of angels. 4. Held a millennium. 5. Denied the personality of the Spirit. 6. Of the origin of the soul. 7. Of Christ's priestly office. V. His character. VI. His testimony to the scriptures: 1. Of the Old Testament. 2. Of the New Testament, particularly the gospels. 3. The Acts of the Apostles. 4. St. Paul's epistles. 5. The catholic epistles. 6. The Revelation. 7. Respect for the scriptures. VII. Whether he quotes any other writings as of authority. VIII. The sum of his testimony to the scriptures. IX. Extracts from the book of the deaths of persecutors. d e ST. JEROM's history of Lactantius, in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers, is to this purpose: Firmianus, called also Lactantius, scholar of Arnobius, being sent for in the time of the emperor Dioclesian, together with Flavius Grammaticus, whose books of medicines, written in verse, are still extant, taught rhetoric at Nicomedia: but not having many scholars there, it being a Greek city, he betook himself to writing. We have his Banquet, which he wrote when very young: an Itinerary from Africa to Nicomedia, in hexameter verses: and another book, 'entitled Grammaticus: and an excellent book Of the Wrath of God: and seven books of • Divine Institutions against the Gentiles: and an Epitome of the same work in one book, the beginning of which is wanting: and two books to Asclepiades: Of the Persecution, one 'book: four books of Epistles to Probus: two books of Epistles to Severus: two books of ' epistles to Demetrian, his scholar and to the same, one book of the Workmanship of God, or the Formation of Man. In his old age he was preceptor to Crispus Cæsar, son of Constantine, in Gaul, who was afterwards put to death by his father.' a Unde & Jacobus apostolus: Omne, inquit, gaudium existimate, fratres, cum in tentationibus variis incideritis. [Cap. i. 2.] In Ps. xxxii. p. 73 & 74. b Sicut Ezechielis prophetia, & Joannis Apocalypsis loqui- tur. In Ps. xx. p. 45. Si vis videre divitem & mendicum, sancti apostoli Joannis lege Apocalypsin. In Ps. cii. p. 274. • Deus enim sciri vult omnia suarum mysteria literarum- Beatus enim perfectus esse non poteris, nisi scrutatus fueris testimonia ejus.--Tu quid facis, Christiane? Si militas homini, scrutaris legem ejus; quia si quid, licet jam ignarus, incurreris, morieris. Nescire enim legem nemini licet. Servus Christi es? Scrutare testimonia ejus. In Ps. cxviii. al. cxix. p. 338, 339. d Firmianus, qui & Lactantius, Arnobii discipulus, sub Diocletiano principe accitus cum Flavio Grammatico, cujus de - Medicinalibus versu compositi extant libri, Nicomediae rhetoricam docuit; & penuriâ discipulorum, ob Græcam videlicet civitatem, ad scribendum se contulit. Habemus ejus VOL. II. Symposium, quod adolescentulus scripsit; 'Odooxor de Africâ usque ad Nicomediam, hexametris scriptum versibus; & alium librum, qui inscribitur Grammaticus; & pulcherrimum de Irâ Dei; & Institutionum Divinarum adversum Gentes libros septem; & Emilourv ejusdem operis in libro uno acephalo; & ad Asclepiadem libros duos; de Persecutione librum unum; ad Probum Epistolarum libros quatuor; ad Severum Epistolarum libros duos; ad Demetrianum, auditorem suum, Epistolarum libros duos; ad eundem de Opificio Dei, vel Formatione hominis, librum unum. Hic extremâ senectute magister Cæsaris Crispi, filii Constantini, in Galliâ fuit, qui postea a patre interfectus. De Vir. Ill. cap. 80. e I shall here place an ingenious conjecture of Dr. Heu--mann: Scilicet apud Hieronymum pro hexametris scriptum versibus conjiciebam scriptum fuisse hexametris utrumque versibus: Utrumque, id est, tum Symposium, tum Odporicum Lactantii. Vid. Sympos. Lact. in Præf. n. xix. 2 L |