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FIRMICUS, MATERNUS JULIUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V10, Page 424 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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FIRMICUS, MATERNUS See also:JULIUS , a Latin writer, who lived in the reign of See also:Constantine and his successors. About the See also:year 346 he composed a See also:work entitled De erroribus profanarum religionum, which he inscribed to See also:Constantius and See also:Constans, the sons of Constantine, and which is still extant. In the first See also:part (chs. 1-17) he attacks the false See also:objects of See also:worship among the See also:Oriental cults; in the second (chs. 18-29) he discusses a number of formulae and See also:rites connected with the mysteries. The whole See also:tone of the work is fanatical and declamatory rather than argumentative, and is thus in such See also:sharp contrast with the eight books on See also:astronomy (Libri VIII. Matheseos) bearing the same author's name, that the two See also:works have usually been attributed to different writers. See also:Mommsen (See also:Hermes vol. 29, pp. 468-472) has, however, shown that the astronomy—a work interfused with an urbane Neoplatonic spirit—was composed about 336 and not in 354 as was formerly held. When we add to this the similarity of See also:style, and the fact that each betrays a connexion with See also:Sicily, there is the strongest See also:reason for claiming the same author for the two books, though it shows that in the 4th See also:century See also:acceptance of See also:Christianity did not always mean an advance in ethical standpoint. The See also:Christian work is preserved in a See also:Palatine MS. in the Vatican library.

It was first printed at See also:

Strassburg in 1562, and has been reprinted several times, both separately and along with the writings of Minucius See also:Felix, See also:Cyprian or See also:Arnobius. The most correct See also:editions are those by Conr. See also:Bursian (See also:Leipzig, 1856), and by C. See also:Halm, in his Minucius Felix (Corp. Scr. Eccl. See also:Lat. ii.), (See also:Vienna, 1867). The Neoplatonist work was first printed by Aldus See also:Manutius in 1501, and has often been reprinted. For full discussions see G. See also:Ebert, Gesch. der chrt lat. Litt., ed. 1889, p.

I29 ff.; O. Bardenhewer, Patrologie, ed. toot, p.

End of Article: FIRMICUS, MATERNUS JULIUS

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