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A Treatise on the Soul

Tertullian

Chapter 47

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XLVII.—Dreams Variously Classified. Some are God-Sent, as the Dreams of Nebuchadnezzar; Others Simply Products of Nature.

We declare, then, that dreams are inflicted on us

‹ Chapter 46 Chapter 48 ›

mainly

by

demons

,

although

they

sometimes

turn

out

true

and

favourable

to

us

.

When

,

however

,

with

the

deliberate

aim

after

evil

,

of

which

we

have

just

spoken

,

they

assume

a

flattering

and

captivating

style

,

they

show

themselves

proportionately

vain

,

and

deceitful

,

and

obscure

,

and

wanton

,

and

impure

.

And

no

wonder

that

the

images

partake

of

the

character

of

the

realities

.

But

from

God

—

who

has

promised

,

indeed

,

“

to

pour

out

the

grace

of

the

Holy

Spirit

upon

all

flesh

,

and

has

ordained

that

His

servants

and

His

handmaids

should

see

visions

as

well

as

utter

prophecies

”

—

must

all

those

visions

be

regarded

as

emanating

,

which

may

be

compared

to

the

actual

grace

of

God

,

as

being

honest

,

holy

,

prophetic

,

inspired

,

instructive

,

inviting

to

virtue

,

the

bountiful

nature

of

which

causes

them

to

overflow

even

to

the

profane

,

since

God

,

with

grand

impartiality

,

“

sends

His

showers

and

sunshine

on

the

just

and

on

the

unjust

.

”

It

was

,

indeed

by

an

inspiration

from

God

that

Nebuchadnezzar

dreamt

his

dreams

;

and

almost

the

greater

part

of

mankind

get

their

knowledge

of

God

from

dreams

.

Thus

it

is

that

,

as

the

mercy

of

God

super

-

abounds

to

the

heathen

,

so

the

temptation

of

the

evil

one

encounters

the

saints

,

from

whom

he

never

withdraws

his

malignant

efforts

to

steal

over

them

as

best

he

may

in

their

very

sleep

,

if

unable

to

assault

them

when

they

are

awake

.

The

third

class

of

dreams

will

consist

of

those

which

the

soul

itself

apparently

creates

for

itself

from

an

intense

application

to

special

circumstances

.

Now

,

inasmuch

as

the

soul

cannot

dream

of

its

own

accord

(

for

even

Epicharmus

is

of

this

opinion

)

,

how

can

it

become

to

itself

the

cause

of

any

vision

?

Then

must

this

class

of

dreams

be

abandoned

to

the

action

of

nature

,

reserving

for

the

soul

,

even

when

in

the

ecstatic

condition

,

the

power

of

enduring

whatever

incidents

befall

it

?

Those

,

moreover

,

which

evidently

proceed

neither

from

God

,

nor

from

diabolical

inspiration

,

nor

from

the

soul

,

being

beyond

the

reach

as

well

of

ordinary

expectation

,

usual

interpretation

,

or

the

possibility

of

being

intelligibly

related

,

will

have

to

be

ascribed

in

a

separate

category

to

what

is

purely

and

simply

the

ecstatic

state

and

its

peculiar

conditions

.

Notes

1
Joel iii. 1.
2
Matt. v. 45.
3
Dan. ii. 1, etc.