Divinarum institutionum libri septem
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Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius
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Edited by:
Eberhard Heck
The seven books of the Diuinae institutiones (“The Divine Institutions”) are the most important of the writings of the Christian author Lactantius. Their critical edition is continued here with a second fascicle containing books III (with evidence for philosophical texts otherwise lost) and IV (with numerous quotes from the Bible). To this end the various manuscripts were collated, the constitution of the text checked on the basis of previous research, and the evidence for sources and subsequent textual transmission updated. The first fascicle with books I and II was published in 2005.
The seven books of the Diuinae institutiones , the most important work by Lactantius, the Christian author and contemporary of Constantine the Great, are an apologetic treatise that includes a defense of Christianity and a criticism of pagan religion, philosophy and morals. The third fascicle, consisting of books V and VI (Christian ethics, views on the state and religion), continues the critical edition of this work, of which fascicle 1, containing books I and II as well as a praefatio, was published in 2005, and fascicle 2 with books III and IV in 2007. Book VII and indices will comprise a fourth fascicle, planned for 2011.
The seven books of the Diuinae institutiones , the most important work by Lactantius, the Christian author and contemporary of Constantine the Great, are an apologetic treatise that includes a defense of Christianity and a criticism of pagan religion, philosophy and morals. The fourth fascicle, consisting of book VII (Christian eschatology), an appendix (Latin translations of Greek quotations) and indexes, continues the critical edition of this work, of which fascicle 1, containing books I and II as well as a praefatio, was published in 2005, fascicle 2 with books III and IV in 2007 and fascicle 3 with books V and VI in 2009.
