M. Minucii Felicis Octavius Cum integris omnium Notis ac Commentariis, novaque Recensione Jacobi Ouzeli. Cujus & accedunt Animaduersiones. Insuper Johannis Meursii Notae. Et Liber Julii Firmici Materni V. C. De Errore Profanarum Religionum. Lugduni Batavorum, Ex Officina Hackiana, 1672.
-------------------
The initial author of this work was a Roman legal expert and writer, believed to originate from Cirta in Algeria, who is thought to have passed away around 260 AD. The second author was a Roman author and astrologer.
Referred to as the Octavius due to historical confusion (it was mistakenly preserved as the eighth book of Arnobius). This work is often compared to Tertullian's Apologeticum. The Octavius is an imaginative three-way dialogue that unfolds on the shores of Ostia, featuring the characters Minucius, Caecilius, and Octavius. Minucius acts as the mediator, Caecilius passionately defends Roman pagan traditions, while Octavius advocates for Christianity.
Minucius, in fact, seeks a harmonious transition between paganism and Christianity, one that respects the traditions rooted in Hellenistic culture and Roman societal structures. It is worth noting that this is one of the earliest writings in defence of Christianity to survive from antiquity, around a century after Josephus.
-------------------
Size: 125 x 195 mm (approx.)
Condition:
Full vellum, quarto, a little discoloured but generally very good and smart. Early ink title to the head of the spine and a small sticker at the foot. A little extremity wear. Joints very good with both boards securely attached. Bookplate to front pastedown of Fintray House Library. Text block mildly toned but generally very good. With a very nice engraved frontispiece from the Dutch Golden Age of engravers.
