PROLEGOMENA TO THE FIRST PART.

original: "Prolegomena Partis Prioris."

Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius¹ since the monuments of his genius and learning, which is clear from the index of his books by Jerome,

¹ Regarding the names of Lactantius, about which Fritzsche also wrote this on the first page of his edition: "You would find it hard to say what Lactantius's names were." Although I had intended to deal with this in these Prolegomena, I later joined that question with the discussion in which I pursued the entire life of Lactantius, so that the Prolegomena would not exceed their limit. See: 'On the Life of Lactantius' (Ueber das Leben des Lactantius), Proceedings of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in Vienna, Philosophy-History Class, Volume CXX (1890), Treatise 5, p. 2 ff. 42. In this place, however, one thing must be pointed out: the controversy regarding Lactantius's family name was largely sparked by the fact that Baluze, when he attributed the book inscribed On the Deaths of the Persecutors by Lucius Caecilius to Lactantius, thought the name Caecilius should also be attributed to him: a line of reasoning that is easy to see holds no weight. The question is decided by the testimony of the codices: the family name Caelius is provided by the most ancient codex (6th–7th century) of Bologna in the subscriptions of books I, II, III, IV, and VII of the Institutions; by the excellent Parisian R 1663 (9th century) in the inscription of book I (though perhaps by a different hand) and in the subscriptions of books I, III, IV, and V; by the good Parisian S 1664 (12th century) in the subscription of book III; and by the Valenciennes 141 (9th–10th century) in the inscription of the book On the Work of God. Furthermore, one must add the entry from the Bobbio catalog written in the 10th century: two books of Celius Firmianus Lactantius on the work of God (in Becker, Ancient Library Catalogs, p. 67, no. 220. 21). Conversely, the form Caecilius is held by Montpellier 241 (10th century) in the inscription of book I by a very recent hand on an erasure, and in the subscription of book VI; then by Parisian P 1662 (9th century) in the subscriptions of books I and VII (though 'CI' was perhaps added by another hand) of the Institutions, On the Anger of God, and On the Work of God (p. 730, 14), and in the inscription of book II of the Institutions. But the authority of the Parisian P cannot be compared at all with the trustworthiness of the Bologna codex or the Parisian R, and the Montpellier codex carries much less weight. Furthermore, the name Caecilius, since the Catholic Church venerates not a few Caecilii or Caeciliae among the saints, was much more familiar to copyists than Caelius, of which name there is only one saint, Coelius Sedulius.