Unius Arbitrio Mundum Regi Necesse Est Lactantius' Concern for the Preservationof Roman Society

UNIUS ARBITRIO MUNDUM REGI NECESSE EST LACTANTIUS' CONCERN FOR THE PRESERVATIONOF ROMAN SOCIETY

CHRISTOPHER OCKER

Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was probably born c. 250-260 C. E. to a pagan family in northern Africa.' According to Jerome, he was a student of Arnobius and became a renowned rhetor. He pur- portedly was brought by Diocletian to Nicomedia, the new capitol in Bithynia (and not far from the future Constantinople), in order to teach in its recently founded school. It is difficult to trace Lactantius' subse- quent movements, although his writing suggests that he was well acquainted with the activities of the emperors. Jerome tells us that he became the tutor of Constantine's son Crispus, having been brought by the emperor to Gaul. For our purposes, it is sufficient to know that the best evidence for his life, De viris illustribus of Jerome and Lactantius' own writings, reveals to us an educated rhetor who was associated with two emperors, one who was instigated to try exterminating the Christian religion and another who tried to exterminate all but the Christian religion. Lactantius appears to have had intimate knowledge of the religious and political events of the early fourth century. Lactantius remains historically significant apart from his contacts with Diocletian and Constantine. His memory was committed to the western Christian tradition by Jerome. Moreover, his writings ex- perienced a respectable measure of popularity during the Renaissance. From 1465 to 1600, sixty editions of items from among his works were published; in the sixteenth century, French versions were published five times.2 Another famous author of Institutes, of the sixteenth century, was acquainted with his predecessor's work.3 Our author was named christianus Cicero by the humanists Pico della Mirandola and Rudolf Agricola, and the appellation was taken over by Desiderius Erasmus 4 (who edited a handy pocket-size edition of Lactantius' Opera).' The two works which concern us, the Divine Institutes and On the Death of the Persecutors, appear to have been written at about the same time. Internal evidence suggests that the Institutes were written before 349

all the persecuting emperors had died and while Galerius, emperor in the Illyrican quarter of the empire, was still persecuting (i.e. before 310, c. 308-09). The invocations of Constantine reflect a later time, when Constantine was sole emperor. This fact, together with textual evidence, 5 indicates that the passages were not part of Lactantius' first draft.' Timothy Barnes has carefully argued that Death of the Persecutors was completed after Diocletian's death (no later than 313 and perhaps as early as 311) and before war broke out between Constantine and Licinius (316 or 317). He placed the completion of the work late in 314 or early in 315.6 Although these two works were written with dif- ferent ends in view-the Institutes for a broader audience and the Death of the Persecutors probably only for Christians'-we may expect to find both works expressing compatible if not identical ideas. The Lactantius of these two works lived in a milieu most disconcer- ting to him.8 Diocletian divided the empire into two equal parts of east and west, eventually sharing the title of Augustus with Maximian (283). Each emperor took on a Caesar, which established a quaternary im- perium or, more accurately, the Tetrarchy. The division of power was part of an extensive administrative reform which brought the entire empire under greater imperial control and which created a more efficient means of exacting revenues for maintaining the army and the bureaucracy. Roman religion accommodated the Tetrarchy by fur- nishing each of the imperial offices with a prominent patron deity. The original four rulers were Diocletian as Augustus in the East with Galerius as his Caesar and Maximian as Augustus in the West with Constantius as his Caesar. Diocletian claimed the paternal favor of the ultimate Roman god, Jupiter, and Maximian claimed the favor of Hercules. Galerius claimed Mars, and Constantius claimed Sol. The gods were said to have fathered the rulers, who in turn reflected on earth the order of government in heaven. The rulers devoted themselves to the worship of their deities, receiving protection and aid in return.9 In addi- tion, the metaphysical bond between the rulers was strengthened by the Augusti adopting the Caesars as sons. We may recall William of Ockham's good advice (entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem) and anticipate the ensuing confusion. Suffice it to say that much of the story which we read in Death of the Persecutors is Lactan- tius' view of the conflicts between rulers. As far as Lactantius was con- cerned, Diocletian usurped the purple and destroyed the empire by I dividing the imperial power. I