Lactantius: Divine Institutes (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Lactantius: Divine Institutes Jeremy Schott Lactantius: Divine Institutes Edited and translated by Anthony Bowen and Peter GarnseyTranslated Texts for Historians 40Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2003 Pp. xiv + 496. $21.95 (paper). Lactantius' Divine Institutes is one of the last Christian apologies written in direct response to persecution. It is also an important source for the critical period from the outbreak of the Great Persecution to the rise of Constantine. There have been two previous translations of the Institutes into English: the first by William Fletcher in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers series and the second (currently out of print) by Mary Francis McDonald in the Fathers of the Church series. This volume from Anthony Bowen and Peter Garnsey, which offers an eminently readable translation along with an expertly written introduction, should supplant these previous translations. The introduction, for which Garnsey acknowledges primary responsibility, begins with a brief but thorough survey of Lactantius' life and work. Garnsey sets the Institutes within the context of Lactatius' rhetorical career, reconstructs his movements during and following the Great Persecution, and discusses his reputation and influence among later writers. More complex issues of textual transmission and variants are dealt with in footnotes. The inclusion of a summary of the contents and arguments of each of the seven books of the Institutes is especially helpful for those taking on the formidable task of reading Lactantius' massive work for the first time. Particular attention is given to Lactantius' use of sources, both the Latin classics and "oriental" sources such as the Hermetic Corpus. While many treatments of Lactantius take this use of sources as indicative of a lack of originality, Garnsey does a fine job of explaining the apologetic purposes behind Lactantius' many quotations. [End Page 252] As the preface indicates, the introduction is consciously written "with the concerns of students and scholars of intellectual history in mind" (ix). Readers looking for an introduction to such issues as Lactantius' theology, Christology, or his attitudes towards Jews and Judaism may be slightly disappointed. Instead, Garnsey offers an introduction to Lactantius' philosophical thought that is both sophisticated and clear. He guides the reader through Lactantius' complex argument for the indivisibility of wisdom (sapientia) and religion (religio). Garnsey also helps to explicate Lactantius' moral philosophy, which for the Latin author was the only branch of philosophy of any real value. The introduction goes beyond mere recapitulations of Lactantius' arguments by offering useful excursuses on his attitudes towards pagan philosophy and by paying particular attention to Lactantius' critical engagement with Cicero. A consideration of the social and political dimensions of the Divine Institutes rounds out the introduction. For Lactantius, the story of human and Roman civilization is one of increasing moral decline. By adapting the myth of a "Golden Age," he implicated traditional Roman religion in the decline of Roman society while simultaneously offering a thinly veiled polemic against Diocletian and the Tetrarchy. Lactantius also responded more directly to Diocletian's policies by arguing for religious freedom and toleration in the face of religious persecution. Scholarly debates about Lactantius' relationship with Constantine and Constantinian politics are also included in this portion of the introduction. Lactantius completed the Institutes before Constantine's rise to power, but he survived the persecution to receive an appointment as tutor to Constantine's ill-fated son, Crispus. In Garnsey's estimation, Lactantius is concerned simply with responding to a persecuting empire, not with articulating a political philosophy for a Christian empire. The translation is based on the editions of Samuel Brandt and Pierre Monat. Bowen confesses that he has set out to offer a translation that privileges the tone, style, and sense of Lactantius' rhetoric over an excessively literal rendering. Lactantius was a professional rhetor long before he became a Christian apologist. Indeed, he expresses his desire to convince by eloquence as much as by reason several times in the Institutes. Thanks to Bowen's efforts, we can hear the witty, often acerbic style of the "Christian Cicero" throughout the translation, and Lactantius' technical vocabulary suffers little in the process. There are copious historical and explanatory notes throughout the text. Garnsey and Bowen have taken special care in documenting Lactantius' use of sources...