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Lactantius. a. D. 306. 481
CHAP. LXV.
LACTANTIUS.
I. His history. II. His works. \\\. Select passages : 1.
The desifpi of the christian relif/ion. 2. Its cjffect.t. 3.
His interpolation of (roi.vi.-i. A. Free-u-ill. 5. Christian
vriters mentioned In/ him. (), 7. Writers against the
christian religion. 8. Unsteadg christians in his time. 0.
Calumnies against the christians. 10. The innocence oj'
christian peo])le. 11. Miracles in his time. \2. Ajittwe
state proveahle by reason. 13. He did not deny the
eternity of hell-torments, 14. The value of repentance.
15. The etids oJ' ChrisVs coming and death. IG. The
great progress of the christian religion. 17. Christian
J'ortitude. 18. The right oJ' private judgment. 19.
Arguments against persecution. 20. Christians did not
persecute. IV. Errors ascribed to him : 1. Manich(vism.
2. He denied antipodes. 3. Of the Jail 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
^N'eio 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.
A''! I. 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.
ST. JEROM'S history of Lactantius, in his Catalogue of
Ecclesiastical Writers, is to this purpose : ' Firmianus,"
suarum mysteria literarum Beatus enim perfectus esse non poteris, nisi
scrutatus fueris testimonia ejus. Tu quid facis, christiane? Si militas
homini, scrutatis 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.
' Firmianus, qui et Lactantius, Arnobii discipulus, sub Diocletiano principe
accitus cum Flavio Grammatico, cujus de Medicinalibus versu compositi extant
libri, Nicomediae rhetoricam docuit ; et penuria discipulorum, ob Gr?ecain videlicet
civitatem, ad scribendum se contulit. Habcmus ejus Symposium, quod
adolescentulus scripsit j OSomopiKov de Africa usque ad Nicomediam, hexa-
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