View source for Marci Minucii Felicis Octavius

{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Marci Minucii Felicis Octavius''}}
===by Marcus Minucius Felix===
__NOTOC__
{{BookPageInfoBox
|imagename=MinuciusMarciMinuciiFelicisOctavius1750TitlePage.jpg
|link=https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3757399
|shorttitle=Marci Minucii Felicis Octavius
|author=Marcus Minucius Felix
|editor=John Davies
|lang=Latin
|publoc=Glasguae
|publisher=In aedibus academicis excudebant Robertus et Andreas Foulis
|year=1750
|pages=[4], 112, [12] 
|desc=8vo (16 cm.)
|shelf=A-4
}}[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minucius_Felix Minucius Marcus Minucuis Felix] (d. ca. 250 CE) was a Roman advocate, rhetorician, and Christian apologist. His only known work,<ref>''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', s.v. "[http://www.iep.utm.edu/minucius/ Minucius Felix (c. 2nd and 3rd C. CE)]," accessed Oct. 8, 2013.</ref> ''Octavius'', one of the earliest Christian apologies in Latin. It is a dialogue between pagan Caecilius Natalis and a Christian, Octavius Januarius. We know little about the author, Marcus Minucuis Felix, other than that he was a lawyer and a Christian.<ref>''Encyclopaedia Britannica Online'', s.v. "[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384629/Marcus-Minucius-Felix Marcus Minucius Felix]," accessed October 17, 2013.</ref>
<blockquote>Minucius is of interest not only to theologians and Church historians, but also to those with an interest in philosophy and rhetoric. Unlike other Latin apologists of the period, such as Tertullian, who asserted ''credo quia ineptum'' (I believe because [it is] absurd) (''De Carne Christi'' 5.4), and who was openly hostile to speculative philosophy, Minucius attempted to establish at least the ''rational possibility'' of the Christian faith. The rhetoric found within the ''Octavius'' can be considered Ciceronian, having elements of the six-part speech (exordium, narration, partition, confirmation, refutation, and conclusion). This text represents an important stage in the evolution of rhetoric from a primarily oral, forensic, and political art, to a literary art.<ref>''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', s.v. "Minucius Felix."</ref> </blockquote>

The edition in George Wythe’s collection was edited by [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Davies_(Queens%27) John Davies] (1679–1732), who was president of Queen’s College, Cambridge. He was close friends with the eminent classicist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bentley Richard Bentley], who contributed to many of Davies’s editions.<ref>Thompson Cooper, "[http://www.oxforddnb.com.proxy.wm.edu/view/article/7248 Davies, John (1679–1732)]," rev. S. J. Skedd in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (Oxford University Press, 2004- ), accessed October 17, 2013.</ref>

==Evidence for Inclusion in Wythe's Library==
Listed in the [[Jefferson Inventory]] of [[Wythe's Library]] as "Minucii Felicis Octavius. 12mo. Foulis." This was one of the books kept by [[Thomas Jefferson]]. The Foulis Press printed only one title by Minucius, in 1755.<ref>Philip Gaskell, ''A Bibliography of the Foulis Press'', 2nd ed. (Winchester, Hampshire, England: St Paul's Bibliographies, 1986), 145.</ref> Jefferson owned two copies of this work. He sold one to the Library of Congress in 1815, but it no longer exists to establish Wythe's prior ownership.<ref>E. Millicent Sowerby, ''Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson'' 2nd ed. (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1983), 2:42 [no.1332].</ref> The [https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433 Brown Bibliography]<ref> Bennie Brown, "The Library of George Wythe of Williamsburg and Richmond," (unpublished manuscript, May, 2012) Microsoft Word file. Earlier edition available at: https://digitalarchive.wm.edu/handle/10288/13433</ref> mentions this copy and the one sold in 1829 after Jefferson's death, but Brown does not speculate about which copy previously belonged to Wythe. [http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe George Wythe's Library]<ref>''LibraryThing'', s.v. "[http://www.librarything.com/profile/GeorgeWythe Member: George Wythe]," accessed March 4, 2014.</ref> on LibraryThing also includes the Foulis publication with the note "Not sold to Congress in 1815." The Wolf Law Library purchased a copy of the Foulis edition.

==Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy==
Bound in contemporary calf, rebacked. Board edges stamped and gilt. Purchased from Rosenlund Rare Books and Manuscripts.

View the record for this book in [https://catalog.swem.wm.edu/law/Record/3757399 William & Mary's online catalog].

==See also==
*[[George Wythe Room]]
*[[Wythe's Library]]

==References==
<references/>

==External Links==
Read this book in [http://books.google.com/books?id=XtIPAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover Google Books.]

[[Category:George Wythe Collection at William & Mary's Wolf Law Library]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Titles in Wythe's Library]]