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Epiphanius Of Salamis: Panarion/Adversus Haereses (Excerpts)
Some sections of Epiphanius's antiheretical compendium. These excerpts relate to the Council of Nicaea.
http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/epiphanius.html

Extractions: (Excerpts on the Council of Nicaea) Panarion , meaning Medicine-chest , but the Latin translations of the 16th century had the title Adversus Haereses , meaning Against the heresies Epiphanius (Some readers of this page may find this note compiled from the preface to volume I useful) . Epiphanius was born between 310-320AD in Palestine, educated by monks and grew up in Egypt where he came into personal contact with Valentinian groups, where female members attempted to seduce him. He founded a monastery at the age of 20. About 367 he became Bishop of Salamis in Cyprus. He was involved in the Origenist controversies of the period, although he respected the scholarship of Origen, becoming a friend of St. Jerome. In 402 or 403 he was induced by Theophilus of Alexandria to travel to Constantinople to attend the Synod of the Oak as part of that prelate's campaign against John Chrysostom. It is unclear what happened, but it seems possible that he was made aware of the political nature of the synod; he certainly left abruptly. He died at sea on the way home to Cyprus. Text and Translation The English translation is: (Checked) Title: The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis / Translated by Frank Williams. Author: Epiphanius, Saint, Bp. of Constantia in Cyprus. Publisher: Leiden : Brill, 1987,1994 Description 2 v. ; 25 cm ; hardback Series: Nag Hammadi studies vols. 35-36; ISSN: 0169-9350 (vol. 35) and 0929-2470 (vol. 36) Notes: Translation of: Panarion Includes bibliographical references and index Contents: Vol.1. Book I (Sects 1-46), xxx, 359pp Vol.2. Books II and III (Sects 47-80, De Fide), xviii, 677pp. ISBN 90-04-07926-2 (Vol. 1), 90-04-09898-4 (Vol. 2)
Ancient History Sourcebook: Tertullian: On Pagan Learning, C. 220 CE
Ancient History Sourcebook tertullian On Pagan Learning, c. 220 CE. SourceFrom tertullian, On the Proscription of Heretics, trans.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/200Tertullian-pagan.html

Extractions: On Pagan Learning, c. 220 CE enthymesis and ectroma . Unhappy Aristotle! who invented for these men dialectics, the art of building up and pulling down; an art so evasive in its propositions, so far-fetched in its conjectures, so harsh, in its arguments, so productive of contentions, embarrassing even to itself, retracting everything, and really treating of nothing! Whence spring those "fables and endless genealogies," and "unprofitable questions," and "words which spread like a cancer?" From all these, when the apostle would restrain us, he expressly names philosophy as that which he would have us be on our guard against. Writing to The Colossians , he says, "See that no one beguile you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, and contrary to the wisdom of the Holy Ghost." He had been at Athens, and had in his interviews (with its philosophers) become acquainted with that human wisdom which pretends to know the truth, while it only corrupts it, and is itself divided into its own manifold heresies, by the variety of its mutually repugnant sects. What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem? What concord is there between the Academy and the Church? What between heretics and Christians? Our instruction comes from "the porch of Solomon," who had himself taught that "the Lord should be sought in simplicity of heart." Away with all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity of Stoic, Platonic, and dialectic composition! We want no curious disputation after possessing Christ Jesus, no inquisition after enjoying the gospel! With our faith, we desire no further belief. For this is our primary faith, that there is nothing which we ought to believe besides!
Http://ccel.org/
Demonstrates that the custom of praying at the third, sixth, and ninth hour is of very ancient origin in the Church.
http://www.ccel.org/pager.cgi?&file=fathers/ANF-03/tertullian/part3/prayer.h
Tertullian. The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001
tertullian. Some of tertullians opinions differed from the main stream of Christianthought, particularly his more rigorous view of sin and its forgiveness.
http://www.bartleby.com/65/te/Tertulli.html

Extractions: Select Search All Bartleby.com All Reference Columbia Encyclopedia World History Encyclopedia World Factbook Columbia Gazetteer American Heritage Coll. Dictionary Roget's Thesauri Roget's II: Thesaurus Roget's Int'l Thesaurus Quotations Bartlett's Quotations Columbia Quotations Simpson's Quotations English Usage Modern Usage American English Fowler's King's English Strunk's Style Mencken's Language Cambridge History The King James Bible Oxford Shakespeare Gray's Anatomy Farmer's Cookbook Post's Etiquette Bulfinch's Mythology Frazer's Golden Bough All Verse Anthologies Dickinson, E. Eliot, T.S. Frost, R. Hopkins, G.M. Keats, J. Lawrence, D.H. Masters, E.L. Sandburg, C. Sassoon, S. Whitman, W. Wordsworth, W. Yeats, W.B. All Nonfiction Harvard Classics American Essays Einstein's Relativity Grant, U.S. Roosevelt, T. Wells's History Presidential Inaugurals All Fiction Shelf of Fiction Ghost Stories Short Stories Shaw, G.B. Stein, G. Stevenson, R.L. Wells, H.G. Reference Columbia Encyclopedia See also: Tertullian Quotations PREVIOUS NEXT CONTENTS ... BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Tertullian n) ( KEY Montanism Apologeticus, Ad Nationes
Tertullian : L'Apologétique De Tertullien. Traduction Litterale Par J.P.Waltz
Traduction litt©rale par J.P.Waltzing, Paris, 1914 de l'oeuvre de Tertullien ©crite en l'an 197 apr¨s J©susChrist.
http://www.tertullian.org/french/apologeticum.htm

Extractions: Reproduction et traduction interdites. A BERTHE pvi Semen est sanguis christianorum! (De poenitentia,1). Aux Martyrs (Ad nationes), l'autre aux gouverneurs des provinces (Apologeticum). (ch. XLVII, 10) ; aux Juifs jaloux, il montrait (Ad Judaeos) pvii De Poenitentia, (usque ad decrepitam aetatem). p. 190.) pviii Tertullien La pix Les trois premiers chapitres forment l'introduction, la quasi praefatus haec). veut ignorer (I, 2-3).
Tertullian. C. 160-c. 230. John Bartlett, Comp. 1919. Familiar Quotations, 10th
tertullian. c. 160c. 230. John Bartlett, comp. 1919. John Bartlett (18201905).Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919. tertullian. (c. 160c. 230). 1.
http://www.bartleby.com/100/719.html

Extractions: Select Search All Bartleby.com All Reference Columbia Encyclopedia World History Encyclopedia World Factbook Columbia Gazetteer American Heritage Coll. Dictionary Roget's Thesauri Roget's II: Thesaurus Roget's Int'l Thesaurus Quotations Bartlett's Quotations Columbia Quotations Simpson's Quotations English Usage Modern Usage American English Fowler's King's English Strunk's Style Mencken's Language Cambridge History The King James Bible Oxford Shakespeare Gray's Anatomy Farmer's Cookbook Post's Etiquette Bulfinch's Mythology Frazer's Golden Bough All Verse Anthologies Dickinson, E. Eliot, T.S. Frost, R. Hopkins, G.M. Keats, J. Lawrence, D.H. Masters, E.L. Sandburg, C. Sassoon, S. Whitman, W. Wordsworth, W. Yeats, W.B. All Nonfiction Harvard Classics American Essays Einstein's Relativity Grant, U.S. Roosevelt, T. Wells's History Presidential Inaugurals All Fiction Shelf of Fiction Ghost Stories Short Stories Shaw, G.B. Stein, G. Stevenson, R.L. Wells, H.G. Reference Quotations John Bartlett Familiar Quotations ... CONCORDANCE INDEX John Bartlett Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. Tertullian.
Quintus Florens Tertullian | Study Archive | The Preterist Archive Www
Preterist Commentaries. Quintus Florens tertullian (Premillennialistc.145 220). tertullian. (On fulfillment of Zechariah 144) 'But
http://www.preteristarchive.com/StudyArchive/t/tertullian.html

Extractions: "Accordingly the times must be inquired into of the predicted and future nativity of the Christ, and of His passion, and of the extermination of the city of Jerusalem, that is, its devastation. For Daniel says, that "both the holy city and the holy place are exterminated together with the coming Leader, and that the pinnacle is destroyed unto ruin." And so the times of the coming Christ, the Leader, must be inquired into, which we shall trace in Daniel; and, after computing them, shall prove Him to be come, even on the ground of the times prescribed, and of competent signs and operations of His. Which matters we prove, again, on the ground of the consequences which were ever announced as to follow His advent; in order that we may believe all to have been as well fulfilled as foreseen.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. IV
Written during tertullian's Montanist years, defends the Montanist practice of frequent fasting. S. Thelwall translation, with notes. From the AnteNicene Fathers, vol. 4, American edition.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-04/anf04-21.htm

Extractions: VIII. On Fasting. In Opposition to the Psychics. VIII. On Fasting. In Opposition to the Psychics. [Translated by the Rev. S. Thelwall.] I should wonder at the Psychics, if they were enthralled to voluptuousness alone, which leads them to repeated marriages, if they were not likewise bursting with gluttony, which leads them to hate fasts. Lust without voracity would certainly be considered a monstrous phenomenon; since these two are so united and concrete, that, had there been any possibility of disjoining them, the pudenda would not have been affixed to the belly itself rather than elsewhere. Look at the body: the region (of these members) is one and the same. In short, the order of the vices is proportionate to the arrangement of the members. First, the belly; and then immediately the materials of all other species of lasciviousness are laid subordinately to daintiness: through love of eating, love of impurity finds passage. I recognise, therefore, animal faith by its care of the flesh (of which it wholly consists)-as prone to manifold feeding as to manifold marrying-so that it deservedly accuses the spiritual discipline, which according to its ability opposes it, in this species of continence as well; imposing, as it does, reins upon the appetite, through taking, sometimes no meals, or late meals, or dry meals, just as upon lust, through allowing but one marriage.
Tertullian
Name tertullian, Florens Quintus Septimius. Occupation From Carthage.Son of Occupation Centurion. Dates c. AD 160225. Brief
http://www.swan.ac.uk/classics/staff/ter/grst/People/Tertullian.htm

Extractions: Name : Tertullian, Florens Quintus Septimius Occupation: From : Carthage Son of: Occupation: Centurion Dates : c. AD 160-225 Brief biography Born a pagan, given a good education, converted to Christianity before 197 and went on to become (with hindsight) 'the Father of Latin theology'. He has his own excellent website by R Pearse here Context Works References Oxf.Comp.Cl.Lit . s.v. Last modified: 11 March 2003
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. III
tertullian at his sarcastic best. Peter Holmes translation, from the AnteNicene Fathers, vol. 3, American edition. Translator's introduction and each book in its own file, with notes, and links to previous, next, table of contents.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-03/anf03-26.htm
Western North African Christianity: Tertullian
Western North African Christianity. tertullian (160240). tertullian setthe North African church on a rigorous and uncompromising path.
http://www.bethel.edu/~letnie/AfricanChristianity/WNATertullian.html

Extractions: African Christianity Homepage Tertullian Tertullian, a lay theologian from Carthage, North Africa,was perhaps the most important theologian in the Western Church at the end of the second century. He had been trained in Stoic philosophy, rhetoric and possibly law, when he converted to Christianity in Rome, at the age of 40. He returned to North Africa, and used his literary skill to defend the Christian community against their persecutors. Tertullian set the North African church on a rigorous and uncompromising path. He believed that once a seeker has found the truth, it is time to stop any further seeking, and simply to believe that truth. He vigorously opposed mixing the Greco-Roman philosophical tradition into Christian theological thinking, or using Greek or Roman concepts to help understand the truths of Christianity. He condemned "all attempts to produce a mottled Christianity of Stoic, Platonic, and dialectic composition." (Against Heretics) Such attempts led him to the rhetorical question, "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" He believed that Christians should rely only on the bible as a source for their thinking.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. III
A fairly short treatise by tertullian, in S. Thelwall's translation. With notes. From the AnteNicene Fathers, vol. 3, American edition.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-03/anf03-47.htm

Extractions: On Repentance. On Repentance. [Translated by the Rev. S. Thelwall.] Repentance, men understand, so far as nature is able, to be an emotion of the mind arising from disgust at some previously cherished worse sentiment: that kind of men I mean which even we ourselves were in days gone by-blind, without the Lord's light. From the reason of repentance, however, they are just as far as they are from the Author of reason Himself. Reason , in fact, is a thing of God, inasmuch as there is nothing which God the Maker of all has not provided, disposed, ordained by reason -nothing which He has not willed should be handled and understood by reason . All, therefore, who are ignorant of God, must necessarily be ignorant also of a thing which is His, because no treasure-house at all is accessible to strangers. And thus, voyaging all the universal course of life without the rudder of reason, they know not how to shun the hurricane which is impending over the world.
Tertullian
Translate this page Gastbeitrag von Cethegus. (inhaltlich nicht von weltchronik.de verantwortet). Navigationweltchronik.de » Hauptseite tertullian (160 bis ca. 220 nach Christus).
http://www.weltchronik.de/bio/cethegus/t/tertullian.html

Extractions: Im Web suchen Gastbeitrag von Cethegus (inhaltlich nicht von weltchronik.de verantwortet) Navigation: weltchronik.de Hauptseite Der erste christliche Autor, der lateinisch schrieb. Quintus Septimius Tertullianus, geboren um nach Christus in Karthago und dort um nach Christus gestorben, stammte aus Karthago in Afrika und gilt als der erste lateinisch schreibende Kirchenschriftsteller. Er verfaßte mehrere Werke, in denen er den Gnostizismus angriff, die Trinitäts- und Erbsündenlehre formulierte und dogmatische Elemente einflocht, die ihn der katholischenKirche entfremdeten, worauf er sich dem Montanismus zuwandte. Hauptseite Sind unsere Seiten wertvoll für Sie?
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. III
The earliest Christian treatise on a sacrament. Incidentally, tertullian displays his disdain for women here. S. Thelwall translation, with notes. From the AnteNicene Fathers, vol. 3, American edition.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-03/anf03-49.htm

Extractions: On Baptism. On Baptism. [Translated by the Rev. S. Thelwall.] Happy is our sacrament Of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! A treatise on this matter will not be superfluous; instructing not only such as are just becoming formed (in the faith), but them who, content with having simply believed, without full examination of the grounds of the traditions, carry (in mind), through ignorance, an untried though probable faith. The consequence is, that a viper of the Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism. Which is quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and basilisks themselves generally do affect arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes, after the example of our Icqus Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine
The Development Of The Canon Of The New Testament - Tertullian
tertullian of Carthage (Quintus Septimius Florens Terullianus). (b. 155/160Carthage d. 220? CE). tertullian Table. tertullian and the Gospels.
http://www.ntcanon.org/Tertullian.shtml

Extractions: Vulgate Tertullian, an early Christian author and polemicist, helped to establish Latin rather than Greek, which was the most widely used language at that time as an ecclesiastical language and as a vehicle for Christian thought in the West. He coined many new theological words and phrases and gave currency to those already in use, thus becoming a significant thinker in forging and fixing the vocabulary and thought structure of Western Christianity for the next 1000 years. Because he was a moralist rather than a philosopher by temperament which probably precipitated his famous question: "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem" Tertullian's practical and legal bent of mind expressed what would later be taken as the unique genius of Latin Christianity. The life of Tertullian is based almost wholly on information written by men living over a century after him and from obscure references in his own works. On this basis a general outline of his life has been constructed, but most of the details have been continually disputed by modern scholars. Tertullian was born in Carthage in the Roman province of Africa, present Tunisia, approximately 155-160 CE. Carthage at that time was second only to Rome as a cultural and educational center in the West, and Tertullian received an exceptional education in grammar, rhetoric, literature, philosophy, and law. Little is known of his early life. His parents were pagan, and his father may have been a centurion in an African-based legion assigned to the governor of the province. After completing his education in Carthage, he went to Rome, probably in his late teens or early 20s, to study further and perhaps begin work as a lawyer.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. III
Much of the story is told by Perpetua herself, and some think that tertullian was the editor. R.E. Wallis translation. From AnteNicene Fathers, volume 3.
http://www.ccel.org/fathers2/ANF-03/anf03-54.htm
Tertullianus
Translate this page Q. SEPTIMIVS FLORENS TERTVLLIANVS. Apologeticus ad Nationes de Palliode Spectaculis Adversus Marcionem. Adversus Praxean ad Martyres
http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/tertullian.html
To The Martyrs
Short. In plain text, translator unnamed.
http://www.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/humftp/E-text/Tertullian/ter-mart.txt

Extractions: TO THE MARTYRS by Tertullian Chapter 1 Blessed martyrs elect, along with the nourishment for the body which our Lady Mother the Church from her breast, as well as individual brethren from their private resources, furnish you in prison, accept also from me some offering that will contribute to the sustenance of the spirit. For it is not good that the flesh be feasted while the spirit goes hungry. Indeed, if care is bestowed on that which is weak, there is all the more reason not to neglect that which is still weaker. (2) Not that I am specially entitled to exhort you. Yet, even the most accomplished gladiators are spurred on not only by their trainers and managers but also from afar by people inexperienced in this art and by all who choose, without the slightest need for it, with the result that hints issuing from the crowd have often proved profitable for them (3) In the first place, then, O blessed, 'do not grieve the Holy Spirit who has entered prison with you. For, if He had not accompanied you there in your present trial, you would not be there today. See to it, therefore, that He remain with you there and so lead you out of that place to the Lord. (4) Indeed, the prison is the Devil's house too, where he keeps his household. But you have come to the prison for the very purpose of trampling upon him right in his own house. For you have engaged him in battle already outside the prison and trampled him underfoot. (5) Let him, therefore, not say: 'Now that they are in my domain, I will tempt them with base hatreds, with defections or dissensions among themselves.' Let him flee from your presence, and let him, coiled and numb, like a snake that is driven out by charms or smoke, hide away in the depths of his den. Do not allow him the good fortune in his own kingdom of setting you against one another, but let him find you fortified by the arms of peace among yourselves, because peace among yourselves means war with him. (6) Some, not able to find this peace in the Church, are accustomed to seek it from the martyrs in prison. For this reason, too, then, you ought to possess, cherish and preserve it among yourselves that you may perhaps be able to bestow it upon others also. Chapter 2 (1) Other attachments, equally burdensome to the spirit, may have accompanied you to the prison gate; so far your relatives, too, may have escorted you. From that very moment on you have been separated from the very world. How much more, then, from its spirit and its ways and doings? Nor let this separation from the world trouble you. For, if we reflect that it is the very world that is more truly a prison, we shall realize that you have left a prison rather than entered one. (2) The world holds the greater darkness, blinding men's hearts. The world puts on the heavier chains, fettering the very souls of men. The world breathes forth the fouler impuritieshuman lusts. (3) Finally, the world contains the larger number of criminals, namely, the entire human race. In fact, it awaits sentence not from the proconsul but from God. (4) Wherefore, O blessed consider yourselves as having been transferred from prison to what we may call a place of safety. Darkness is there, but you are light; fetters are there, but you are free before God. It breathes forth a foul smell, but you are an odor of sweetness. There the judge is expected at every moment, but you are going to pass sentence upon the judges themselves. (5) There sadness may come upon the man who sighs for the pleasures of the world The Christian, however even when he is outside the prison, has renounced the world and, when in prison, even prison itself. It does not matter what part of the world you are in, you who are apart from the world. (6) And if you have missed some of the enjoyments o life, remember that it is the way of business to suffer one losses in order to make larger profits. I say nothing yet about the reward to which God invites the martyrs. Meanwhile, let us compare the life in the world with that in prison to see if the spirit does not gain more in prison than the flesh loses there. (7) In fact, owing to the solicitude of the Church and the charity of the brethren, the flesh does not miss there what it ought to have, while, in addition, the spirit obtains what is always beneficial to the faith: you do not look at strange gods; you do not chance upon their images; you do not, even by mere physical contact, participate in heathen holidays; you are not plagued by the foul fumes of the sacrificial banquets, not tormented by the noise of the spectacles, nor by the atrocity or frenzy or shamelessness of those taking part in the celebrations; your eyes do not fall on houses of lewdness; you are free from inducements to sin, from temptations, from unholy reminiscences, free, indeed, even from persecution. (8) The prison now offers to the Christian what the desert once gave to the Prophets. Our Lord Himself quite often spent time in solitude to pray there more freely, to be there away from the world. In fact, it was in a secluded place that He manifested His glory to His disciples. Let us drop the name 'prison' and call it a place of seclusion. (9) Though the body is confined, though the flesh is detained, there is nothing that is not open to the spirit. In spirit wander about, in spirit take a walk, setting before yourselves not shady promenades and long porticoes but that path which leads to God. As often as you walk that path, you will not be in prison. (10) The leg does not feel the fetter when the spirit is in heaven. The spirit carries about the whole man and brings him wherever he wishes. And where your heart is, there will your treasure be also. There, then, let our heart be where we would have our treasure. CHAPTER 3 (1) Granted now, O blessed, that even to Christians the prison is unpleasantyet, we were called to the service in the army of the living God in the very moment when we gave response to the words of the sacramental oath. No soldier goes out to war encumbered with luxuries, nor does he march to the line of battle from the sleeping chamber, but from light and cramped tents where every kind of austerity, discomfort, and inconvenience is experienced. (2) Even in time of peace soldiers are toughened to warfare by toils and hardships: by marching in arms, by practicing swift maneuvers in the field, by digging a trench, by joining closely together to form a tortoise-shield. Everything is set in sweating toil, lest bodies and minds be frightened at having to pass from shade to sunshine, from sunshine to icy cold, from the tunic to the breastplate, from hushed silence to the warcry, from rest to the din of battle. (3) In like manner, O blessed, consider whatever is hard in your present situation as an exercise of your powers of mind and body. You are about to enter a noble contest in which the living God acts the part of superintendent and the Holy Spirit is your trainer, a contest whose crown is eternity, whose prize is angelic nature, citizenship in heaven and glory for ever and ever. (4) And so your Master, Jesus Christ, who has anointed you with His Spirit and has brought you to this training ground, has resolved, before the day of the contest, to take you from a softer way of life to a harsher treatment that your strength may be increased. For athletes, too, are set apart for more rigid training that they may apply themselves to the building up of their physical strength. They are kept from lavish living, from more tempting dishes, from more pleasurable drinks. They are urged on, they are subjected to torturing toils, they are worn out: the more strenuously they have exerted themselves, the greater is their hope of victory. (5) And they do this, says the Apostle, to win a perishable crown. We who are about to win an eternal one recognize in the prison our training ground, that we may be led forth to the actual contest before the seat of the presiding judge well practiced in all hardships, because strength is built up by austerity, but destroyed by softness. CHAPTER 4 (1) We know from our Lord's teaching that, while the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. Let us, however, not derive delusive gratification from the Lord's acknowledgment of the weakness of the flesh. For it was on purpose that He first declared the spirit willing: He wanted to show which of the two ought to be subject to the other, that is to say, that the flesh should be submissive to the spirit, the weaker to the stronger, so that the former may draw strength from the latter. (2) Let the spirit converse with the flesh on their common salvation, no longer thinking about the hardships of prison but, rather, about the struggle of the actual contest. The flesh will perhaps fear the heavy sword and the lofty cross and the wild beasts mad with rage and the most terrible punishment of alldeath by fireand, finally, all the executioner's cunning during the torture. (3) But let the spirit present to both itself and the flesh the other side of the picture: granted, these sufferings are grievous, yet many have borne them patiently nay, have even sought them on their own accord for the sake of fame and glory; and this is true not only of men but also of women so that you, too, O blessed women may be worthy of your sex. (4) It would lead me too far were I to enumerate each one of those who, led by the impulse of their own mind put an end to their lives by the sword. Among women there is the well-known instance of Lucretia. A victim of violence, she stabbed herself in the presence of her kinsfolk to gain glory for her chastity. Mucius burnt his right hand on the altar that his fair fame might include this deed. (5) Nor did the philosophers act less courageously: Heraclitus, for instance, who put an end to his life by smearing himself with cow dung ; Empedocles, too, who leaped down into the fires of Mt. Etna; and Peregrinus who not long ago threw himself upon a funeral pile. Why, even women have despised the flames: Dido did so in order not to be forced to marry after the departure of the man she had loved most dearly; the wife of Hasdrubal, too, with Carthage in flames, cast herself along with her children into the fire that was destroying her native city, that she might not see her husband a suppliant at Scipio's feet. (6) Regulus, a Roman general, was taken prisoner by the Carthaginians, but refused to be the only Roman exchanged for a large number of Carthaginian captives. He preferred to be returned to the enemy, and, crammed Into a kind of chest, suffered as many crucifixions as nails were driven in from the outside in all directions to pierce him. A woman voluntarily sought out wild beasts, namely, vipers, serpents more horrible than either bull or bear, which Cleopatra let loose upon herself as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. (7) You may object: 'But the fear of death is not so great as the fear of torture.' Did the Athenian courtesan yield on that account to the executioner? For, being privy to a conspiracy, she was subjected to torture by the tyrant. But she did not betray her fellow conspirators, and at last bit off her own tongue and spat it into the tyrant's face to let him know that torments, however prolonged, could achieve nothing against her. (8) Everybody knows that to this day the most important festival of the Lacedaemonians is the "diamastigosis," that is, The Whipping. In this sacred rite all the noble youth are scourged with whips before the altar, while their parents and kinsfolk stand by and exhort them to perseverance. For they regard it as a mark of greater distinction and glory if the soul rather than the body has submitted to the stripes. (9) Therefore, if earthly glory accruing from strength of body and soul is valued so highly that one despises sword, fire, piercing with nails, wild beasts and tortures for the reward of human praise, then I may say the sufferings you endure are but trifling in comparison with the heavenly glory and divine reward. If the bead made of glass is rated so highly, how much must the true pearl be worth? Who, therefore, does not most gladly spend as much for the true as others spend for the false? CHAPTER 5 (1) I omit here an account of the motive of glory. For inordinate ambition among men as well as a certain morbidity of mind have already set at naught all the cruel and torturing contests mentioned above. How many of the leisure class are urged by an excessive love of arms to become gladiators? Surely it is from vanity that they descend to the wild beasts in the very arena, and think themselves more handsome because of the bites and scars. Some have even hired themselves out to tests by fire, with the result that they ran a certain distance in a burning tunic. Others have pranced up and down amid the bullwhips of the animal-baiters, unflinchingly exposing their shoulders. (2) All this, O blessed, the Lord tolerates in the world for good reason, that is, for the sake of encouraging us in the present moment and of confounding us on that final day, if we have recoiled from suffering for the truth unto salvation what others have pursued out of vanity unto perdition. CHAPTER 6 (1) Let us, however, no longer talk about those examples of perseverance proceeding from inordinate ambition. Let us, rather, turn to a simple contemplation of man's ordinary lot so that, if we ever have to undergo such trials with fortitude, we may also learn from those misfortunes which sometimes even befall unwilling victims. For how often have people been burned to death in conflagrations! How often have wild beasts devoured men either in the forests or in the heart of cities after escaping from their cages! How many have been slain by the sword of robbers! How many have even suffered the death of the cross at the hands of enemies, after having been tortured first and, indeed, treated with every kind of insult! (2) Furthermore, many a man is able to suffer in the cause of a mere human being what he hesitates to suffer in the cause of God. To this fact, indeed, our present days may bear witness. How many prominent persons have met with death in the cause of a man, though such a fate seemed most unlikely in view of their birth and their rank, their physical condition and their age! Death came to them either from him, if they had opposed him, or from his enemies, if they had sided with him. Made available to the net by: Paul Halsall Halsall@murray.fordham.edu
Tertullian Apology
Translate this page tertullianI APOLOGETICUS. I. Si non licet vobis, Romani imperii antistites,in aperto et edito, in ipso fere vertice civitatis praesidentibus
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English Definition Of Tertullian - WordReference.com
Source The Collins English Dictionary © 1998 HarperCollins Publishers tertulliant t l n n. Latin name Quintus Septimius Florens tertullianus.
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