Lactantius, Divine Institutes 11
Who is so foolish as to think that this one reigns in heaven, when he ought not even to have reigned on earth? A certain poet did not foolishly write of the triumph of Cupid; in that work he makes Cupid not only the most powerful of the gods, but also their victor. Having enumerated the loves of individuals by which they fell under Cupid's power and dominion, he describes the procession in which Jupiter, together with the other gods, is led in chains before the chariot of the triumphant one. The poet figured this elegantly, yet it does not stray far from the truth. For the one who lacks virtue, who is conquered by desire and evil lusts, is subject not to Cupid as the poet imagined, but to eternal death. But let us omit speaking of morals; let us consider the matter, so that men may understand in what errors they are miserably entangled.
The common people believe that Jupiter reigns in heaven; this has persuaded both the learned and the unlearned alike, as demonstrated by the religion itself and its prayers, hymns, temples, and statues. Yet they confess that he was born of Saturn and Rhea. How can he be regarded as a god, or, as the poet says, the discoverer of human and worldly things, when before his birth there were countless thousands of men—namely, those who lived under Saturn's reign and who enjoyed the light before Jupiter possessed it? It is therefore clear that there was one divine king in the earliest times, another in the ages that followed. Hence it is possible that another will arise in the future. For if the kingdom was changed once, why should we despair that it might be changed again? Unless, perhaps, Saturn could generate a stronger son, but Jupiter cannot. Yet the divine empire is either always unchangeable, or, if it is changeable—which cannot happen—it is always changeable. Can Jupiter therefore lose his kingdom, just as his father lost it? Yes, certainly. For though he spared neither virgins nor married women, he nevertheless abstained from Thetis alone, because it was prophesied that whoever would be born of her would be greater than his father. This reveals, first, imprudence unworthy of a god: unless Themis had foretold the future, he himself would not have known it; but if he is not divine, he is not a god at all, since divinity takes its name from the divine just as humanity takes its name from man. Second, it reveals a consciousness of weakness: he certainly feared a greater power. Whoever does this knows full well that he is not the greatest, since something greater can exist. This same Jupiter swears most sacredly by the Stygian marsh—the one superstition rendered to the gods above.
Latin
Quis est igitur tam excors qui hunc regnare in caelo putet, qui ne in terra quidem debuit? non insulse quidam poeta triumphum Cupidinis scripsit, quo in libro non modo potentissimum deorum Cupidinem, sed etiam uictorem facit. enumeratis enim amoribus singulorum, quibus in potestatem Cupidinis dicionemque uenissent, instruit pompam, in qua Iuppiter cum ceteris diis ante currum triumphantis ducitur catenatus. eleganter id quidem a poeta figuratum, sed tamen non multum distat a uero. qui enim uirtutis est expers, qui cupiditate ac libidinibus malis uincitur, non Cupidini ut ille finxit, sed morti subiectus est sempiternae. sed omittamus de moribus dicere, rem consideremus, ut intellegant homines in quibus miseri uersentur erroribus. regnare in caelo Iouem uulgus existimat: id et doctis pariter et indoctis persuasum est, quod et religio ipsa et precationes et hymni et delubra et simulacra demonstrant. eundem tamen Saturno et Rhea genitum confitentur. quomodo potest deus uideri aut, ut ait poeta, hominum rerumque repertor, ante cuius ortum infinita hominum milia fuerunt? eorum scilicet, qui Saturno regnante uixerunt et priores luce quam Iuppiter sunt potiti. nideo alium deum regem fuisse primis temporibus, alium consequentibus. potest ergo fieri ut alius postea sit futurus. si enim prius regnum mutatum est, cur desperemus etiam posterius posse mutari? nisi forte Saturnus generare potuit fortiorem, Iuppiter non potest. atquin diuinum imperium aut semper inmutabile est aut si est mutabile, quod fieri non potest, semper utique mutabile est. potest ergo Iuppiter regnum amittere, sicut pater eius amisit? ita plane. nam cum idem neque uirginibus neque maritatis umquam pepercisset, abstinuit se tamen una Thetide, quod responsum fuit maiorem patre suo futurum quisquis ex ilia natus esset. et primum mprudentia in eo non dei, cui nisi Themis futura dixisset, ipse nesciret; si autem diuinus non sit, ne deus quidem sit, unde ipsa diuinitas nominatur, ut ab homine humanitas; deinde conscientia inbecillitatis, qui timuit utique maiorem. quod qui facit, scit profecto non esse se maximum, quandoquidem potest aliquid maius existere. idem per Stygiam paludem sanctissime iurat, una superstitio superis quae reddita diuis.