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Lactantius. a. D. 306. 525
exposing their philosophy, he is not so tentler of the sophists,
Nevcrllieless, I do not perceive, that Lactantius had any regard
for heathen priests. And 1 apprehend he so concludes
his second book, as to show that the" philosophers of his
time were reputed by him the most formidable adversaries ;
so far as they were respected, and were in the wrong-. This
seems to be the reason why he argued so much against them.
For a like reason Augustine, as he himself assures us, chiefly
argued against the'' Platonists.
Du Pin says, ' that'' Lactantius is Justly esteemed the
' christian Cicero for his style, and greatly surpasscth him
' in his thouohts.' For certain, so it ouiiht to be: this is
honourable to the christian religion. And J presiune, that
those learned moderns, who are pleased to depreciate Lactan-
tius, as if it had little knowledge of the christian religion,
will allow as much. 1 shall here refer to a passage of our
author, correcting a moral sentiment of Cicero ; where that
great heathen moralist and philosopher seems to say, ' We^
' should relieve deserving persons. And, says Lactantius,
' undeserving likewise.
Some have said, that Lactantius took delight in opposing
Cicero. However, it was not because he had not a high
esteem for Cicero, as is manifest; but rather, it is likely,
because there was no other person so considerable :
*' and if
he was mistaken, it was not to be expected that any other
heathen should have better notions.
Certainly Lactantius is to be respected upon many accounts.
The tiuie in which he lived secures him a kind of
veneration. He saw the C(uiet and peaceful state of the
church, before Dioclesian's persecution ; he was also witness
of that dreadful scene, and afterwards saw the flourishingcondition
of christians under Constantine. His eminent
abilities recommended him to the esteem of two great emperors
of different religions. His uncommon honesty and
" Peracta est igitur, ni fallor, magna ct difficilis suscepti operis portio.
Nunc vcro major nobis ac difficilior cum philosophis proposita luctalio est.
1. ii. c. 19. ^ Ideo quippc hos potissimum elegi, quorum de uno
Deo qui fecit coelum et terram, cjuanto melius senserunt, tanto caeteiis gloriosiores
et illustriores habentur. De Civ. Dei, 1. viii. c. 12, Elegimus enim
Platonicos, omnium philosophorum merito nobilissimos. lb. 1. x. c. 1. n. 1.
1 II merite a bon droit le nom de Ciceron cliretien.—Quoiqu' il en soit, il
est certain, que Lactance surpasse de beaucoup Ciceron pour les pensees, parceque
les matieres de la religion dont il traile sont infiniment au dessus des
maximes de la doctrine des philosophes. Bib. T. i. p. 208.
Et sa;pe idoneis hominibus egentibusde re familiari impertiendum. Quid
est idoneis ?—Non enim idoneis hominibus largiendum est, sed, quantum
potest, non idoneis, &c. I. vi. c. 1 1. p. 582. * Eodem ductus
errore Seneca. Quisenim veram viamteneret, errante Cicerone ? 1. iii. c. 15.
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