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A Treatise on the Soul

Tertullian

Chapter 3

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter III.—The Soul’s Origin Defined Out of the Simple Words of Scripture.

Would to God that no “heresies had been ever necessary

‹ Chapter 2 Chapter 4 ›

,

in

order

that

they

which

are

approved

may

be

made

manifest

!

”

We

should

then

be

never

required

to

try

our

strength

in

contests

about

the

soul

with

philosophers

,

those

patriarchs

of

heretics

,

as

they

may

be

fairly

called

.

The

apostle

,

so

far

back

as

his

own

time

,

foresaw

,

indeed

,

that

philosophy

would

do

violent

injury

to

the

truth

.

This

admonition

about

false

philosophy

he

was

induced

to

offer

after

he

had

been

at

Athens

,

had

become

acquainted

with

that

loquacious

city

,

and

had

there

had

a

taste

of

its

huckstering

wiseacres

and

talkers

.

In

like

manner

is

the

treatment

of

the

soul

according

to

the

sophistical

doctrines

of

men

which

“

mix

their

wine

with

water

.

”

Some

of

them

deny

the

immortality

of

the

soul

;

others

affirm

that

it

is

immortal

,

and

something

more

.

Some

raise

disputes

about

its

substance

;

others

about

its

form

;

others

,

again

,

respecting

each

of

its

several

faculties

.

One

school

of

philosophers

derives

its

state

from

various

sources

,

while

another

ascribes

its

departure

to

different

destinations

.

The

various

schools

reflect

the

character

of

their

masters

,

according

as

they

have

received

their

impressions

from

the

dignity

of

Plato

,

or

the

vigour

of

Zeno

,

or

the

equanimity

of

Aristotle

,

or

the

stupidity

of

Epicurus

,

or

the

sadness

of

Heraclitus

,

or

the

madness

of

Empedocles

.

The

fault

,

I

suppose

,

of

the

divine

doctrine

lies

in

its

springing

from

Judæa

rather

than

from

Greece

.

Christ

made

a

mistake

,

too

,

in

sending

forth

fishermen

to

preach

,

rather

than

the

sophist

.

Whatever

noxious

vapours

,

accordingly

,

exhaled

from

philosophy

,

obscure

the

clear

and

wholesome

atmosphere

of

truth

,

it

will

be

for

Christians

to

clear

away

,

both

by

shattering

to

pieces

the

arguments

which

are

drawn

from

the

principles

of

things

—

I

mean

those

of

the

philosophers

—

and

by

opposing

to

them

the

maxims

of

heavenly

wisdom

—

that

is

,

such

as

are

revealed

by

the

Lord

;

in

order

that

both

the

pitfalls

wherewith

philosophy

captivates

the

heathen

may

be

removed

,

and

the

means

employed

by

heresy

to

shake

the

faith

of

Christians

may

be

repressed

.

We

have

already

decided

one

point

in

our

controversy

with

Hermogenes

,

as

we

said

at

the

beginning

of

this

treatise

,

when

we

claimed

the

soul

to

be

formed

by

the

breathing

of

God

,

and

not

out

of

matter

.

We

relied

even

there

on

the

clear

direction

of

the

inspired

statement

which

informs

us

how

that

“

the

Lord

God

breathed

on

man’s

face

the

breath

of

life

,

so

that

man

became

a

living

soul

”

—

by

that

inspiration

of

God

,

of

course

.

On

this

point

,

therefore

,

nothing

further

need

be

investigated

or

advanced

by

us

.

It

has

its

own

treatise

,

and

its

own

heretic

.

I

shall

regard

it

as

my

introduction

to

the

other

branches

of

the

subject

.

Notes

1
1 Cor. x. 19.
2
Compare Tertullian’s Adv. Hermog. c. viii.
3
Col. ii. 8.
4
Linguatam civitatem. Comp. Acts xvii. 21.
5
Isa. i. 22.
6
Honor.
7
Vigor. Another reading has “rigor” (ακληρότης), harshness.
8
Tenor.
9
Stupor.
10
Mœror.
11
Furor.
12
Isa. ii. 3.
13
Flatu.
14
Gen. ii. 7.
15
Titulus.