LATTANZIO. – Christian writer (3rd–4th century).
I. Life
Sources for the life of L. are several passages from his works, especially Inst., 1, 1, 8–10; 3, 13, 12; 5, 2, 2; 5, 11, 15, and the testimonies of s. Gerolamo (De vir. ill., 80; Chron., a. 2333=317).Caecilius Firmianus L. (some manuscripts give the name Caelius, but Caecilius is confirmed by an inscription from Numidia, in CIL, VIII, 7241), born into a pagan family around 250 in Africa, was a disciple of Arnobio (v.). Trained in literary studies, he became a teacher of rhetoric, first in Africa and then at Nicomedia, summoned there by the emperor Diocleziano, perhaps around 290. But his school was poorly attended: Latin letters aroused little interest in a centre of Greek culture; moreover, L. was more learned than eloquent, and consequently suffered painful poverty. Having converted to Christianity—it is not known whether at Nicomedia or earlier—he left Bithynia in 305–306 because of the persecution of Diocleziano; he probably returned there in 311, after the Edict of Toleration promulgated by Galerio. In 317 he was summoned to Gaul by Costantino, who entrusted him with the education of his son Crispo. This is the last information concerning L.
II. WORKS
The following works certainly belong to L. and have survived: 1) De opificio Dei; composed when the persecution of Diocletian had already broken out (1, 1, 7; 20, 1), probably toward the end of 303 or at the beginning of 304, and addressed to an ancient disciple of the author, Demetrianus; remaining on scientific and philosophical ground, without introducing specifically Christian elements (apart from the dualistic passage 19, 8), it aims to demonstrate the providence of God in the constitution of the human body, which it examines in an accurate anatomical and physiological description, and of the soul. 2) The Divinae institutiones, in 7 books, composed between 304 and 313, have a fundamentally apologetic purpose, seeking to defend Christianity against the accusations of the pagans, in particular of two writers, a philosopher, whom it is impossible to identify, and a judge, probably the heir. But the author’s learning and his intention of responding fully to the objections of educated pagans gave the work the character of a systematic treatise (as the title indicates), in which the polemical element is complemented by a constant effort to deepen Christianity rationally. In Book I, De falsis religione, he demonstrates through reason and tradition the unity of God and the absurdity of polytheism, whose cause he indicates in Book II, De origine erroris, as lying in the activity of demons, expanding upon the exposition of demonology. He then proceeds, in Book III, De falsis philosophus, to demonstrate the insufficiency of the claim to human wisdom, especially in the doctrine of the supreme good; and in Book IV, De vera sapientia et religione, he sets against it Christianity and its central dogma of the Incarnation and Redemption. In Book V, De iustitia, attention is focused on the ethical sphere, reproaching the pagans for the injustice with which they persecute Christians and demonstrating that justice is founded on the true knowledge of God. The moral problem is likewise the subject of Book VI, De vero cultu, since God is honored not with material sacrifices, but with uprightness of conscience, which leads to love of one’s neighbor. Book VII, De vita beata, concludes with a demonstration of the immortality of the soul and with a fantastic description of the future life in a millenarian sense. 3) In the Epitome, composed after 314 at the request of Pentadius, L. summarizes the major work in a free reworking. 4) Probably in 314 or 315 he wrote De ira Dei, in which he asserts, against Epicureans and Stoics, that in God there is anger just as there is goodness.The authorship by Lactantius of two important writings is debated, the first as a historical source, the second as a literary document. 1) In De mortibus persecutorum, composed when the persecution of Licinius was imminent (v.), the origin of Christianity is briefly narrated, and then its fiercest persecutors are reviewed, with the miserable end of each being shown: Nero, Domitian, Decius, Valerian, Aurelian, and, above all, the contemporaries Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Maximinus. Its essential historical reliability is generally admitted; modern criticism is now almost unanimous in recognizing L. as the author, despite certain external difficulties (the author’s name and the title reported by St. Jerome) and, above all, internal ones, namely the marked difference in tone and style between this work of violent polemic and the other works. 2) The poem De ave phoenice recounts in 85 elegiac couplets the marvelous story of the fabulous bird that rises again from its own ashes. The mythical content does not prevent its attribution to a Christian author, for whom this fable offered a clear symbol of the Resurrection; Lactantius’s authorship, moreover, appears to be confirmed by notable consonances with L.’s ideas.
St. Jerome informs us of other works by L., now lost: Symposium; Hodoeporicon; Grammaticus; two books Ad Asclepiadem; four books of letters to Probus; two to Demetrianus; two to Severus. A brief fragment of a book De motibus animi has survived under L.’s name.
Two poems were wrongly attributed to him: the De Resurrectione, or De Pascha, which is due to Venantius Fortunatus, and the De passione Domini.
III. THOUGHT
L.’s work is of little interest for the history of dogma, since it moves predominantly in the field of theology and natural ethics; where specifically Christian concepts emerge, there is neither originality of position nor speculative depth. Particularly poor and uncertain is his Trinitarian theology. The order of things manifests to everyone, in some manner, the existence of God and his providence (Inst., 1, 2, 5; 2, 7, 1-3; 7, 9, 5); yet man, whose soul is created immediately by God (Epit., 19, 1-6), cannot attain perfect knowledge of the truth unless he is instructed by God (2, 3, 23), « the light of the human mind » (Ira Dei. 1). God is one (Inst., 1, 3 sgg. e passim); Father and Son are not separate, but form one mind, one spirit, one substance, being distinct from one another as the stream from its source, the ray from the sun (4, 29, 1-5); elsewhere he attempts to explain the origin of the Son from the Father as « word » and « breath » (4, 8, 6 sgg.). Christ therefore was born twice, first in spirit, then in the flesh, Son of God in spirit and son of man in the flesh (4, 8, 1-2; 13, 2-5). The Holy Spirit of God descended upon the Virgin and made her fruitful (4, 12, 1; cf. however Epit., 38, 9). Christ’s divinity is demonstrated by the fulfilment in him of the prophets’ predictions, which also foretold the cross (Inst., 5, 3, 18-21); he knew that he was to suffer and be put to death for the salvation of many (4, 18, 2); he is « the food and life of all who believe in the flesh which he bore and in the cross from which he hung » (4, 18, 28). In any case, L. insists above all on Christ’s mission as teacher, a mission that precisely required him to be capable of suffering and mortal (4, 22 sgg.). In the Catholic Church alone, which preserves the true worship of God, adulterated by heretics, are life and salvation found; it is the Church in which confession and penance are found (4, 30), a haven of salvation opened by God to man (6, 24). This penance and confession of sins, symbolized by circumcision, is necessary to obtain forgiveness (4, 17, 17), just as Baptism is necessary to purify man and give him immortality and perfection (3, 20, 8-9; 7, 5, 22). Peter and Paul preached in Rome under Nero and suffered martyrdom there (4, 21, 12; De mort. pers., 2, 5-6). Mention has already been made of the millenarianism professed by L. His dualism is also distinctive: it sets the devil in opposition to God; although created by God, the author of all good, the devil is the cause of all evil.IV. LO SCRITTORE
Il significato storico di L. è soprattutto nella presentazione ch'egli seppe fare del cristianesimo nella forma richiesta dalla cultura del suo tempo, cioè in un'elaborazione, per quanto debole filosoficamente e teologicamente, organica, nella quale si faceva appello, pur ripudiando la filosofia, alla ragione, e in una prosa d'arte ispirata ai modelli classici, in primo luogo a Cicerone. Fu in gran parte questa perfezione stilistica (che tuttavia non gl'impedi di arricchire la sua lingua di elementi cristiani) a lui suggerita, oltre che dalla sua educazione, dalla ferma convinzione di giovare in tal modo alla causa cristiana (Inst., 1, 1, 10), la ragione della fortuna che godè L., il « Cicerone cristiano » di Pico della Mirandola, nell'antichità cristiana, nel medioevo e nel Rinascimento.Studi: R. Pichon, Lactance. Étude sur le mouvement philos. et religieux sous le règne de Constantin, Parigi 1901; P. Monceaux, Histoire littéraire de l'Afrique chrétienne. II, ivi 1905, pp. 287-359; Burdenhower, II (1914), pp. 525-49; G. Krüger, in Schanz-Hosius, III, 3e ed. (1922), pp. 413-37; Moricea, I, pp. 618-64; P. de Labriolle-G. Bardy, Histoire de la littérature latine chrétienne, I, 3e ed., Parigi 1947, pp. 201-318; E. Amann, Lactance, in D'ThC. VIII, coll. 2425-44. La bibl. particolare più recente in U. Mannucci-A. Casamassa, Istituzioni di patrologie, I, 6e ed., Roma 1948, pp. 143-48; B. Altaner, Patrologie, 2e ed., Friburgo in Br. 1950, pp. 153-57. Si può aggiungere: L. Alfonsi, L. e Giustino, in Rendic. istit. tomb., 82 (1949), pp. 19-27; A. Hud-
son-Williams, Orientius and L., in Vigiliae christianae, 3 (1949), pp. 237-43. Su gli elementi cristiani della lingua di L., V. C. Mohrmann, in Vigiliae christianae, 2 (1948), pp. 165-76. Michele Pellegrino