Lactantius: Divine Institutes

The Divine Institutes of Lactantius was a vigorous riposte to pagan criticism and persecution of Christianity, which came to a head in the Great Persecution of Diocletian in the early fourth century AD. Lactantius was also concerned, however, to put forward, for the benefit of educated pagans (such as he had earlier been), the Christian position on the nature of God and man, the history of religion on earth, the beginning and end of the world, the life and mission of Christ, and ethics - for in Christian moral philosophy Lactantius was a genuine pioneer. As both Christian apologetic and summary of Christian thought, the work can be seen as a predecessor of Augustine’s City of God . Lactantius enjoyed a high reputation in late antiquity and in the Renaissance, as apologist, rhetorician and stylist. He earned his living as a teacher of rhetorical Latin, and Ciceronian Latin lived again through his pen, enabling his wit and empowering his argument. This edition of Divine Institutes has been prepared with students and scholars of intellectural history in mind, but it should also appeal to those concerned with ecclesiastical history and patristics, and to anyone interested in tracing the impact of classical philosophy and literature on an early Christian thinker.