De Opificio Lactantii : a reassessment of the work of L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius
The work of L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. A. D. 245-325) has been assessed from a variety of perspectives. The author has been judged as a theologian, a philosopher, a rhetorician, an apologist and, most negatively, as a patchworker of writ ten sources. This dissertation argues that a satisfactory appreciation of Lactantius as an author cannot be provided from any of the above bases but only by commencing from a study of the purpose and plan of his works in relation to his self-understanding as a writer. I argue that such an approach reveals that Lactantius regarded himself as the Christian Cicero, the way that he has sometimes been described by commentators, andïżœ that this self-understanding determines the whole character of his work. Chapter 1 argues that such a self-understanding is suggested by Lactantius' references to Cicero and to himself in relation to Cicero . The rest of the dissertation sets out to add proof to the suggestion. Chapters 2-4 reassess the seven-book Diuinae Institutiones, the De Opificio Dei, and the De Ira Dei . It is argued that the purpose of these treatises deliberately parallels that of Cicero's philosophical works and that each volume, with one important exception,
Roots, Peter Andrew
Philosophy
De Opificio Lactantii : a reassessment of the work of L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius. The work of L. Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius (c. A. D. 245-325) has been assessed from a variety of perspectives. The author has been judged as a theologian, a philosopher, a rhetorician, an apologist and, most negatively, as a patchworker of writ ten sources. This dissertation argues that a satisfactory appreciation of Lactantius as an author cannot be provided from any of the above bases but only by commencing from a study of the purpose and plan of his works in relation to his self-understanding as a writer. I argue that such an approach reveals that Lactantius regarded himself as the Christian Cicero, the way that he has sometimes been described by commentators, andïżœ that this self-understanding determines the whole character of his work. Chapter 1 argues that such a self-understanding is suggested by Lactantius' references to Cicero and to himself in relation to Cicero . The rest of the dissertation sets out to add proof to the suggestion. Chapters 2-4 reassess the seven-book Diuinae Institutiones, the De Opificio Dei, and the De Ira Dei . It is argued that the purpose of these treatises deliberately parallels that of Cicero's philosophical works and that each volume, with one important exception,
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