Commodian — Instructiones 6
Concerning the septizonium and the stars: the circle of the zone deceives you by your ignorance, from this that you happen to think Jupiter must be prayed to. ****** The Omnipotent placed the stars when he made all; they do not run that they may give you the fates of genesis. He himself orders their course. Why then do you inquire from them what he did not grant them to tell? Leave the stars’ error; the law teaches what must be followed. ******
Latin
6 DE SEPTIZONIO ET STELLIS. De circulo zonae fallit uos imperitia uestra, Ex eo quod forte Iouem experitis orandum. Saturnus fertur ibi, sed stella, non ille; exfugit Expulsus a Ioue. Aut Iouis in stella credatur Poli quoque sidera tractauit solisque sator? Troianis qui bellum fecit, auem mortalem amauit. Ipsis sideribus aut Mars qui cum ipsa deprehensus Zelo maritali deus dominetur aduliscens? O nimium stulti, qui putatis moechos ab astris Nascentes regere aut tota<m> mundi natura<m>. In uulnera positi et ipsi sub fata uiuentes, Obsceni, furiosi, bellatores, impii uitae, Et filios totidem mortales illi fecere: Terribilis omnis, stulti, septizonio fortis! Si stellas colitis, colite et bis sena sigilla! Tam arietem, taurum, geminos, toruumque leonem Et dein qui uadunt in piscibus tu quoque probabis. Lex sine lege, fuga uestra, quod uult esse ualebit. Lasciua uult esse, sine freno uiuere quaerit. Ipsi quod uultis erit, et deos et deas oratis. Sic ego colui, dum erraui, quos modo culpo.