Ep 12—Minucius Felix and the Great Novel of Antiquity

By Mike Aquilina ( bio - articles - email ) | Mar 25, 2020 | In Way of the Fathers (Podcast)

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Marcus Minucius Felix is one of the greatest writers you never heard of. His “Octavius,” written in the late second century, is a work of fictionalized memoir set in the resort town of Ostia. Three friends go to the beach, and in a day of walks and conversation one of them leads another to conversion. It is the most deeply human study we have of the early Christians, describing the feel of the ocean breezes and the sand between their toes—and the best arguments for believing.

Links

The Octavius by Minucius Felix https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=1688

More works by the Fathers https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/

Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com

Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of http://www.ccwatershed.org.

Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics. He is executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. See full bio.

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