Anthropological foundations of Firmianus Lactantius’s doctrine of free will

Abstract

The article focuses on the doctrine of free will in the works of Firmianus Lactantius, a Latin apologist of the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, which is paradoxically built upon dualistic anthropological premises. While early Christian tradition attributed human inner conflict to the consequences of Original Sin, Lactantius offers a different perspective: he views the struggle between soul and body as an original, “natural” state of created nature. The study aims to demonstrate that this specific anthropology serves as the foundation for his apology for free will. Drawing on historical-philosophical and comparative-theological analysis of Lactantius’s treatises (“Divine Institutes”, “On the Workmanship of God”, etc.), the author concludes that the soul-body dualism is interpreted by the apologist not as a consequence of the Fall, but as a necessary condition for human moral self-determination. The article also compares Lactantius’s position with the views of Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage, highlighting the scientific novelty of the research. This novelty lies in identifying a direct correlation between Lactantius’s anthropological optimism (the absence of a doctrine of total hereditary corruption) and his teaching on free choice (liberum arbitrium) as the basis for Divine justice.

References

1. Майоров Г. Г. Формирование средневековой философии. Латинская патристика. М.: Мысль, 1979.
2. Фокин А. Р. Латинская патрология. М.: Греко-лат. каб. Ю. А. Шичалина, 2005. Т. 1. Период первый. Доникейская латинская патрология (150-325 гг.).
3. Arnobius. Adversus nations: libri septem / ed. by A. Reifferscheid. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 1875. Vol. IV. Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum Latinorum.
4. Coleman A. P. Lactantius the Theologian: Lactantius and the Doctrine of Providence. Piscataway: Gorgias Press, 2017.
5. Cyprianus. De bono patientiae // S. Thasci Caecili Cypriani Opera Omnia. Pars II / ed. by C. Moreschini. Turnhout: Brepols, 1976a. Vol. 3A. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina.
6. Cyprianus. De Dominica oratione // S. Thasci Caecili Cypriani Opera Omnia. Pars II / ed. by C. Moreschini. Turnhout: Brepols, 1976b. Vol. 3A. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina.
7. Cyprianus. Epistula LXIV // S. Thasci Caecili Cypriani Opera Omnia. Pars III / ed. by G. F. Diercks. Turnhout: Brepols, 1996. Vol. 3C. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina.
8. Lactantius. De Ira Dei // Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (CSEL) / ed. by S. Brandt. Wien, 1893a. Vol. 27/1.
9. Lactantius. De mortibus persecutorum // Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum / ed. by S. Brandt, G. Laubmann. Vienna – Leipzig: F. Tempsky; G. Freytag, 1897. Vol. 27/2. Pars II. Fasciculus 2.
10. Lactantius. De opificio Dei // Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (CSEL) / ed. by S. Brandt. Wien, 1893b. Vol. 27/1.
11. Lactantius. Divinae Institutiones // Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (CSEL) / ed. by S. Brandt. Wien, 1890a. Vol. 19. Pars I. Sectio I.
12. Lactantius. Divinae Institutiones // Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum (CSEL) / ed. by S. Brandt. Wien, 1890b. Vol. 19. Pars I. Sectio II.
13. McGuckin J. The Problem of Lactantius the Theologian // Studia Patristica / ed. by M. Vinzent. 2017. Vol. LXXX.
14. Pichon R. Lactance: étude sur le movement philosophique et religieux sous le règne de Constantin. P.: Librairie Hachette et Cie, 1901.
15. Seneca L. A. Ad Lucilium epistulae morales: in three volumes / with an English translation by R. M. Gummere. L. – N. Y.: William Heinemann; G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1917. Vol. I.
16. Studer B. La Soteriologie de Lactance // Lactance et son temps: Recherches actuelles. Actes du IVe colloque d'études historiques et patristiques (Chantilly, 21-23 septembre 1976) / ed. by J. Fontaine, M. Perrin. P.: Éditions Beauchesne, 1978.
17. Tertullianus. De resurrectione mortuorum // Tertulliani Opera Pars II: Opera Montanistica / ed. by J. G. Ph. Borleffs, E. Kroymann, R. F. Refoulé, D. J. van Berchem. Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 2. Turnholt: Brepols, 1954.
18. Tertullianus. De testimonio animae // Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani Opera, Pars I / Ed. by A. Reifferscheid, G. Wissowa. Vienna – Leipzig: F. Tempsky; G. Freytag, 1890. Vol. 20. Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum.

Author information

About this article

Publication history

• Received: January 31, 2026.
• Published: March 13, 2026.

Keywords

• свобода воли
• христианская антропология
• богословская этика
• полемика с гностицизмом
• Божественный Промысел
• free will
• Christian anthropology
• theological ethics
• polemics against Gnosticism
• Divine Providence

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)
© 2026 Gramota Publishing, LLC

User license

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)