Lactantius was an early Christian author and Latin rhetorician, widely regarded as one of the most eloquent defenders of the Christian faith in the ancient world. Born in North Africa around 250 AD, he studied under the grammarian Arnobius before becoming a teacher of rhetoric. Emperor Diocletian invited him to teach in Nicomedia, where he later converted to Christianity. His most celebrated work, "Divine Institutes," offered a systematic defense of Christianity against pagan philosophy. In his later years, Emperor Constantine appointed him tutor to his son Crispus. Lactantius died around 325 AD.