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__NOTOC__ Julius Firmicus Maternus was a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
writer and
astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...
, who received a pagan classical education that made him conversant with
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
; he lived in the reign of
Constantine I Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to convert to Christianity. Born in Naissus, Dacia Mediterran ...
(306 to 337 AD) and his successors. His triple career made him a public advocate, an astrologer and finally a Christian apologist. The ''
explicit Explicit refers to something that is specific, clear, or detailed. It can also mean: * Explicit knowledge Explicit knowledge (also expressive knowledge) is knowledge that can be readily articulated, codified, stored and accessed. It can be expres ...
'', or end-tag, of the sole surviving
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced i ...
of his ''De errore profanarum religionum'' ("On the error of profane religions") gives his name as ''Iulius Firmicus Maternus V C'', identifying him as a ''
vir clarissimus The constitution of the late Roman Empire was an unwritten set of guidelines and principles passed down, mainly through precedent, which defined the manner in which the late Roman Empire was governed. As a matter of historical convention, the late ...
'' and a member of the senatorial class. He was also author of the most extensive surviving text of Roman astrology, ''Matheseos libri octo'' ("Eight books of astrology") written around 334–337. Manuscripts of this work identify him as "the younger" (''iunior'') or "the Sicilian" (''Siculus''). The
lunar crater Lunar craters are impact craters on Earth's Moon. The Moon's surface has many craters, all of which were formed by impacts. The International Astronomical Union currently recognizes 9,137 craters, of which 1,675 have been dated. History The w ...
Firmicus was named in his honour. The ''Matheseos'' was dedicated to the governor of Campania, Lollianus Mavortius, whose knowledge of the subject inspired Firmicus, and whose encouragement supported him during the composition of this handbook. It is among the last extensive handbooks of a "scientific" astrology that circulated in the West before the appearance of Arabic texts in the 12th century.
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
, drawn to astrology in his youth in the mid-fourth century, fulminated against the study's impieties, in part based on the astrologers' view that the planets were divinities, but also on rational grounds, taking, for instance, the divergent careers of twins. The
Neoplatonist Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
astrological work was first printed by
Aldus Manutius Aldus Pius Manutius (; it, Aldo Pio Manuzio; 6 February 1515) was an Italian printer and humanist who founded the Aldine Press. Manutius devoted the later part of his life to publishing and disseminating rare texts. His interest in and preser ...
in 1499, and has often been reprinted. About the year 346 he composed ''De errore profanarum religionum'', which he dedicated to
Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germanic ...
and
Constans Flavius Julius Constans ( 323 – 350), sometimes called Constans I, was Roman emperor from 337 to 350. He held the imperial rank of '' caesar'' from 333, and was the youngest son of Constantine the Great. After his father's death, he was mad ...
, the sons of Constantine, and which is still extant. He holds up to scorn the religious beliefs and practices of pagans and implores the Emperor to stamp out the old religions as a sacred duty which will be rewarded by
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
. In the first part (chs. 1‑17) he attacks the false objects of worship among the Oriental cults; in the second (chs. 18‑29) he discusses a number of formulae and rites connected with the mysteries, with particular attention and animus toward alleged homosexual practices, recovering in a certain way the contempt that the senators had at the time of the Republic to the Hellenization of the Roman religion and culture. For 19th-century readers, ''De errore profanarum religionum'' provided such a sharp contrast with Firmicus' book on astrology (commonly referred to as the ''Matheseos'') that the two works were generally attributed to different writers. However, Clifford Herschel Moore soundly identified the single authorship of the two works, by idiosyncratic choices of vocabulary and syntax, in a dissertation overseen by
Eduard Wölfflin Eduard Wölfflin (1 January 1831, Basel – 8 November 1908, Basel) was a Swiss classical philologist. He was the father of art historian Heinrich Wölfflin. Career From 1848 to 1854, he studied at the Universities of Basel and Göttingen ...
(1897).
Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th centur ...
has shown that the ''Matheseos'' was composed in the year 336 and not in 354 as was formerly held, thus making it an earlier work than ''De errore profanarum religionum''; modern readers who find astrology incompatible with
Early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewis ...
argue that it would have been written prior to Firmicus' conversion to Christianity. The Christian work is preserved in a single manuscript from the
Bibliotheca Palatina The Bibliotheca Palatina (" Palatinate library") of Heidelberg was the most important library of the German Renaissance, numbering approximately 5,000 printed books and 3,524 manuscripts. The Bibliotheca was a prominent prize captured during t ...
. It was first printed at Strasbourg in 1562, and has been reprinted several times, both separately and combined with the polemical writings of Minucius Felix,
Cyprian Cyprian (; la, Thaschus Caecilius Cyprianus; 210 – 14 September 258 AD''The Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite: Vol. IV.'' New York: Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1975. p. 1406.) was a bishop of Carthage and an early Christ ...
or
Arnobius Arnobius (died c. 330) was an early Christian apologist of Berber origin during the reign of Diocletian (284–305). According to Jerome's ''Chronicle,'' Arnobius, before his conversion, was a distinguished Numidian rhetorician at Sicca Ve ...
.Editions by
Conrad Bursian Conrad Bursian (; 14 November 1830 – 21 September 1883) was a German philologist and archaeologist. Biography He was born at Mutzschen in Saxony. When his parents moved to Leipzig, he received his early education at Thomasschule zu Leipzig ...
(1856), and by
Karl Felix Halm Karl Felix Halm (also ''Carl''; ''Karl Felix Ritter von Halm'' after 1872; 5 April 1809 – 5 October 1882), was a German classical scholar and critic. Life He was born at Munich. In 1849, having held appointments at Speyer and Hadamar, h ...
, in his ''Minucius Felix'' ('' Corpus Scrip. Eccles. Lat.'' ii, 1867)


Bibliography


Editions

*''Matheseos libri VIII'', 2 vols, edited by W. Kroll and F. Skutsch, Stuttgart, Teubner, 1968.


Translations

*''De errore profanarum religionum'', translated by as ''The Error of the Pagan Religions'', Newman Press, 1970 ( Ancient Christian Writers, 37).
''Ancient Astrology: Theory and Practice. Matheseos Libri VIII by Firmicus Maternus''
translated by Jean Rhys Bram, Park Ridge, Noyes Press, 1975. *''Mathesis'', edited and translated by James Herschel Holden, Tempe, Az., A.F.A., Inc., 2011.


References


Further reading

* Adolf Ebert, ''Geschichte der christlich-lateinischen Literatur'', ed. 1889; p. 129 ff. * Otto Bardenhewer, ''Patrologie'', ed. 1901, p. 354. * Béatrice Caseau, "Firmicus Maternus: Un astrologue converti au christianisme ou la rhétorique du rejet sans appel," in ''La religion que j'ai quittée'', éd. D. Tollet, Paris, Presses de la Sorbonne, 2007, 39–63.


External links


David McCann's ''Profile of a Roman Astrologer''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Firmicus Maternus Year of birth missing 4th-century deaths People from Syracuse, Sicily Christian apologists Christian writers Ancient Roman astrologers 4th-century Christians 4th-century Romans 4th-century Latin writers Maternus, Julius Firmicus