The Library of Lactantius (Oxford Reprints S.) - Hardcover

Ogilvie, R. M.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198266456 ISBN 13: 9780198266457

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1978

Synopsis

Lactantius has always commanded respect and admiration for his Latinity, but of his numerous works on various subjects only his Christian writings survive. He lived (c. AD 240-320) in an age of bureaucracy, inflation and narrow-minded ideology when civilized men had lost confidence in their world and when powerful forces were threatening the very existence and freedom of the Roman way of life. At such a time of crisis, with all the resources of the classical inheritance behind him, he turned to the god of the Christians. This makes his writing all the more significant for us today.Lactantius was not a great thinker, but he is very representative of his times, and he is perhaps the most Classical of all early Christian writers. This study provides a detailed analysis of his literary background and of the books that he actually read. This book was originally published by Oxford University Press in 1978. It is being reprinted by Oxford University Press in 2003 for Oxbow Books, Oxford, and Powell's Books, Chicago.

About this title

About the Author

by R M Ogilvie

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1978
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0198266456
• ISBN 13: 9780198266457
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 132