The Octavius, which is here translated, is a supposed argument between the heathen Cæcilius and the Christian Octavius-the writer being requested to arbitrate between the disputants. Of the literary character of the dialogue, it is sufficient to quote the testimony of the late Dean Milman: "Perhaps no late work, either Pagan or Christian, reminds us of the golden days of Latin prose so much as the Octavius of Minucius Felix."