__NOTOC__ Julius Firmicus Maternus was a Roman

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the 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 the power ...

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 (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, knowledge that can be readily articulated, codified and transmitted to others * Explicit (text) The explicit (from Latin ''explicitus est'', ...

'', 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 ...

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 Hellenistic astrology is a tradition of horoscopic astrology that was developed and practiced in the late Hellenistic period in and around the Mediterranean Basin region, especially in Egypt. The texts and technical terminology of this tradition ...

, ''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 wor ...

Firmicus was named in his honour. The ''Matheseos'' was dedicated to the governor of Campania,

Lollianus Mavortius Quintus Flavius Maesius Egnatius Lollianus Mavortius ( 330–356) was a politician of the Roman Empire. In the 18th century an acephalous statue of Mavortius was discovered in Puteoli, then Pozzuoli (near Naples, Italy); after a restoration, th ...

, 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 A ...

, 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 i ...

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 prese ...

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 made ...

, 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 (1897).

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classics, classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19 ...

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 Je ...

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 the ...

. 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 __NOTOC__ Marcus Minucius Felix (died c. 250 AD in Rome) was one of the earliest of the Latin apologists for Christianity. Nothing is known of his personal history, and even the date at which he wrote can be only approximately ascertained as betwe ...

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 Chri ...

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 Ven ...

.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, 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 Ancient Christian Writers: the works of the Fathers in translation (abbreviated as ACW) is a book series with English translations of works by early Christian writers. The translations are made from Latin and Greek.Vol. 16 is translated from Classi ...

, 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

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

Bibliography

Editions

Translations

References

Further reading

External links