professor of rhetoric at Siccæ, in Numidia, towards the end of the third century. Owing to certain dreams which he had, he became desirous of embracing Christianity, and for this purpose applied to the bishops for admission into the church; but his former violent hostility to the faith led them to distrust him, and, before they would consent, they insisted on some proofs of his sincerity. In compliance with this demand, he wrote against the Gentiles, refuting the absurdities of their religion, and ridiculing their false gods. In this treatise he has employed all the flowers of rhetoric, and displayed great learning; but from an impatience to be admitted within the pale of Christianity, he is thought to have been in too great a hurry in composing his work, as there does not appear in it so complete an order and disposition as could be wished; and not having a perfect and exact knowledge of the Christian faith, he published some very dangerous errors. Mr Bayle remarks, that his notions about the origin of the soul, the cause of natural evil, and several other important points, are highly pernicious. St Jerome, in his epistle to Paulinus, is of opinion that his style is unequal and too diffuse, and that his book is written without any method; but Dr Cave thinks this judgment too severe, and that Arnobius wants neither elegance nor order in his composition. Vossius styles him the Varro of the ecclesiastical writers. Du Pin observes that his work is written in a manner worthy of a professor of rhetoric: the turn of his sentiments is very oratorical; but his style is a little African, his expressions being harsh and inelegant. We have several editions of this work of Arnobius against the Gentiles; one published at Rome in 1542, at Basil in 1546 and 1560, at Paris in 1570, at Antwerp in 1582, and one at Hamburg in 1610, with notes by Geverard Elmenhorst, besides many others. He wrote also a piece entitled De Rhetorice Institutione, which is not extant.