City of God (Penguin Classics) (190 page)

95
. Constantinople,
A.D
. 330.

96
. 306–337.

97
. Maxentius and Licinus.

98
. Constantine, Constantius, Constans.

99
. June 363–Feb. 364.

100
. 361–3.

101
.
Gratian
, emperor of the West and friend of St Ambrose, associated as Augustus with his father Valentinus in
A.D
. 367; on Valentinus’ death he became practically sole emperor. But his troops deserted on the approach of Maximus and he was murdered, 383. In 379 Gratian appointed Theodosius as emperor of the East.

102
. Who killed himself after the battle of Thapsus. 46
B.C
.; cf. Bk 1, 23.

103
. In
A.D
. 388.

104
.
Cons. Hon
. III, 96f.; cf. Oros. 7, 35, 21.

105
. Eastern Emperor, 364–78.

106
.
Crime at Thessalonica
. In
A.D
. 390 the mob murdered the governor, Botheric, and other officials in a riot after the imprisonment of a popular charioteer. Theodosius took reprisals in a massacre by his soldiers. For this the emperor was condemned to penance by a synod at Milan under St Ambrose.

107
. cf. Jas. 4, 14.

108
. ?
Tusc. Disp
., 5, 19, 55.

1
. cf. Bk X, 1.

2
. Ps. 40, 4.

3
. e.g. Plat,
Tim
., 40.

4
. cf. Bk IV, 11; 21.

5
. cf. Bk IV, 22.

6
. cf. Virg.,
Ecl
., 3, 9…
faciles Nymphae risere…

7
. On Juventas and Bearded Fortune see Bk. IV, 11n.

8
. cf. Bk III 4n.

9
. Presumably in the lost
Acad.
III

10
. 1, 3, 9.

11
.
Terentianus Maurus
: grammarian (fl
c
.
A.D
. 200). He wrote three didactic poems, on Letters, on Syllables, on Metres.

12
.
De Metr
., 2846.

13
. cf. Bk III, 18.

14
. cf. Virg.,
Aen
., 2, 717; 747f.

15
. Keepers of the Sibylline Books.

16
. cf. Bk III, 12.

17
. cf. Bk VII, 2.

18
. ch. 31.

19
. Scaevola’s distinction; Bk IV, 27.

20
. Minerva, Bacchus, and ? Pegasus (the winged horse from the blood of Medusa).

21
. e.g. Mercury, Jupiter, Apollo (slave to Admetus).

22
.
Heraclitus
of Ephesus (
c
. 500
B.C
.) attributed the origin of all things to fire, an immaterial substance.

Pythagoras
of Samos settled in Magna Graeda in the second half of the sixth century
B.C
. He found the explanation of all things in numbers and their relations.

Epicurus
of Samos (341–270
B.C
.) settled in Athens in 306. His physical speculations developed the atomic theory of Leucippus and Democritus.

23
. The Stoics, cf. Cic,
De Nat. Dear
., 2, 7; 2, 14, 37ff.

24
. i.e. the philosophers.

25
. On these three ‘deities’, cf. Bk. IV, 8.

26
. The goat Amalthea (Ovid,
Fast
., 5, 115–128).

27
. cf. Bk IV, 27n.

28
.
Banqueting gods: epulones deos.
Epulones is the name of
priests
in charge of sacrificial banquets offered to gods, and it is occasionally found in inscriptions referring to the gods to whom such banquets are offered. We have no other evidence for the banquets implied by St Augustine, where Zeus entertains other deities. The closest resemblance seems to be the
epulum Jovis
during the
ludi Romani
in September, repeated at the ‘Plebeian Games’ in November. This was a religious banquet on the Capitol, attended by the senate and magistrates, at which the statue of Jupiter reclined, while those of Juno and Minerva sat on chairs (Val. Max., 2, 12).

29
. cf. Plut,
Quaest. Rom
., 36; Gell., 6,7.

30
. cf. Virg., Aen., 1, 15f

31
. Cybele; cf. Bk II, 4n

32
. cf. Ovid, Fast., 4, 223–30; Bk II, 7n; Bk Vii, 25n.

33
. cf. Bk IV, 10n.

34
. cf. Bk IV, 11.

35
.
Liberamentum.
The word is not found elsewhere. Liber is generally a vine god (cf. Bk IV, un.) and the name is perhaps from the same root as ‘libation’. Cicero (
De Nat. Deor
., 2, 24, 62) distinguishes the sexual from the alcoholic Liber, and connects the former with
liberi
, ‘children’.

36
. In 186 B.c.; Liv., 39, 18.

37
.
Silvanus:
generally an agricultural deity. These post-natal precautions are not mentioned elsewhere.

Pilumnus
: mentioned in Virgil,
Aen
., 10, 76, where the note of Servius, citing Varro, says that a bed was made up for Filumnus and Fitumnus in the
atrium
of a house where a child had been born.

Intercidona, Deverra:
unknown elsewhere.

38
. cf. Bk iv. 11.

39
.
Domiducus
appears in Martianus Capella (fifth century),
De Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae
, 2, 149.
Domiduca
occurs as an epithet of Juno (cf. Bk Vii, 3).

Domitius Manturna Virginensis
(cf. Bk IV, 11),
Subigus
are all unknown.

40
.
Prema
is mentioned in Tertullian (Ad Not., 2,11).

Priapus:
cf. Bk 11, 1411.
pertunda:
her function is described in Arnobius (Adv.
Gent
, 3, 10).

41
.
Npnia
means ‘dirge’. Arnobius (
Adv. Gent
., 4, 7) calls her the protector of those
in extremis.

42
.
Seneca
(cf. Bk V, 8n.) was certainly contemporary with the apostles; his elder brother, Gallio, encountered St Paul in Corinth in
A.D
. 52 (Acts 18,12). An apocryphal correspondence (of unutterable banality) between Seneca and Paul is extant (trans, in M. R. James,
Apocryphal New Test
.); and, as we know from Jerome (
De Vir. 111
., 12) and from St Augustine himself (
Ep
., 153, 14) it was accepted as authentic, and widely read, in the fourth century. Many others besides Jerome believed that Seneca was at least sympathetic to Christianity.

43
. Not extant

44
.
Strato
‘was called Physicus because he held that all divine power was situated in nature, which possesses the causes of birth, growth, and diminution, while it lacks any shape or sensibility’ (
Cic, De Nat. Deor
., 1, 13, 35). Strato succeeded Theophrastus as head of the Peripatetic school in 288
B.C
.

45
. cf. Bk IV, 8n.

46
.
Picus, Tiberinus:
cf. Bk IV, 23n.; panic, Pallor: cf. Bk IV, 15.

47
.
Osiris.
The Egyptian myth described him as a king who brought civilization to his people; but he was murdered and his body dissected by his wicked brother Set. Isis, his sister and wife, collected his remains and buried them, and then, with her son Horus, took revenge on Set. Osiris becomes the god of the dead, and through Horus (identified with the Sun) the source of new life. Osiris’ incarnation in the bull Apis suggests that he essentially represents the male generative power.

48
. cf. Bk IV, 11.

49
.
Populonia
occurs as an epithet of Juno, as protectress against devastation (
populan
= ‘to devastate’). Perhaps
Fulgora
describes her as guarding against lightning (
fulgor
).

50
. cf. Bk IV, 11n.

51
.
Adv. Faust. Man
., ch.6; 7.

52
. cf. Bk IV, 18.

1
. cf. Ps. 102, 3; Jas. 4,14.

2
. Neither the Greek theotês nor the Latin
deltas
are found in classical authors.
Divinitas
is a classical Latin word. Christian writers do not establish any firm distinction between
deltas
and
divinitas
, but there is a tendency to use
deltas
of the nature of God, the Godhead, and divinitas of his attributes.

3
. Tert, Ad Nat, 2,9.

4
. cf. Ps. 118, 22.

5
. cf. ch. 13n

6
. cf. Bk IV, 11n; vi, 9.

7
. Generally identified with Diana.

8
.
Libero
and
Mena:
cf. Bk IV, 11n.

9
.
lucina:
cf. Bk IV, 11n.
Vitumnus
is perhaps
Vertumnus;
cf. Bk IV, 21n.
Sentinus
occurs elsewhere only in Tert,
Ad.
Not. 2, 11.

10
. Virg., Aen., 5, 302.

11
. cf. Bk IV, 21.

12
. cf. Bk IV, 21.

13
. Iterduca,
Domiduca
appear as epithetis of Juno as goddess of marriage in Martianus Capella (De Nuptiis Mercurii et Philologiae, 2, 149); cf. Bk VI, 9.

14
. ch. 21; 23.

15
. Cat., 8, 1.

16
. cf. Bk IV, 21.

17
. cf. Virg., Aen., 8. 355–9; Ovid, Fast., 1, 235–46.

18
.
Jonus-two faces:
cf. ch. 8,
four faces.
There was an image of
Janus Quadrifrons
in the Forum Transitorium in a shrine with four gates (Servius on Virg., Aen., 7, 607).

19
.
Four parts.
The notion of the four elements, and their local distribution, goes back to Aristotle. It was developed by Pythagoreans and Stoics; Varro appears to have identified the ether with fire, which Aristotle and the Stoics regarded as the highest element.

20
. 23 Feb.; Ovid,
Fast
., 2, 639–84.

21
.
Latin poets.
Cicero (De Nat.
Dear.
, z, 18, 29) quotes
caeli palatum
from Ennius, ‘the palate of the sky’ meaning ‘the vault of heaven’, the converse of the Greek use of
ouranos
for ‘the palate’.

22
. John 10, 9.

23
.
Jove-Jupiter.
The root Iov for all cases of Jupiter other than the nominative implies a nominative Jovis, which occurs in chs. 14, 15 (twice) and ch. 16. It is perhaps significant that in ch. 15 and ch. 16 this form is found where God is identified with the world, which may suggest a traditional formula. Iovis (nominative) occurs in lines of Ennius quoted in Apuleius (De Deo
Socr.
, 2, 112) in a list of the ‘great gods’. It is used by Apuleius himself in two places (De
Mund.
, 37, 370 and Met., 1, 33, 311).

24
. Georg., 2, 490.

25
. Virg., Ecl., 3, 60.

26
. Q. Valerius
Soranus
of Sora, tribune in 82 B.c. was a friend of Varro and Cicero, and the writer of works on philosophy and philology, of which only a few fragments remain.