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A Treatise on the Soul

Tertullian

Chapter 49

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XLIX.—No Soul Naturally Exempt from Dreams.

As for those persons who suppose that infants do not dream

‹ Chapter 48 Chapter 50 ›

,

on

the

ground

that

all

the

functions

of

the

soul

throughout

life

are

accomplished

according

to

the

capacity

of

age

,

they

ought

to

observe

attentively

their

tremors

,

and

nods

,

and

bright

smiles

as

they

sleep

,

and

from

such

facts

understand

that

they

are

the

emotions

of

their

soul

as

it

dreams

,

which

so

readily

escape

to

the

surface

through

the

delicate

tenderness

of

their

infantine

body

.

The

fact

,

however

,

that

the

African

nation

of

the

Atlantes

are

said

to

pass

through

the

night

in

a

deep

lethargic

sleep

,

brings

down

on

them

the

censure

that

something

is

wrong

in

the

constitution

of

their

soul

.

Now

either

report

,

which

is

occasionally

calumnious

against

barbarians

,

deceived

Herodotus

,

or

else

a

large

force

of

demons

of

this

sort

domineers

in

those

barbarous

regions

.

Since

,

indeed

,

Aristotle

remarks

of

a

certain

hero

of

Sardinia

that

he

used

to

withhold

the

power

of

visions

and

dreams

from

such

as

resorted

to

his

shrine

for

inspiration

,

it

must

lie

at

the

will

and

caprice

of

the

demons

to

take

away

as

well

as

to

confer

the

faculty

of

dreams

;

and

from

this

circumstance

may

have

arisen

the

remarkable

fact

(

which

we

have

mentioned

)

of

Nero

and

Thrasymedes

only

dreaming

so

late

in

life

.

We

,

however

,

derive

dreams

from

God

.

Why

,

then

,

did

not

the

Atlantes

receive

the

dreaming

faculty

from

God

,

because

there

is

really

no

nation

which

is

now

a

stranger

to

God

,

since

the

gospel

flashes

its

glorious

light

through

the

world

to

the

ends

of

the

earth

?

Could

it

then

be

that

rumour

deceived

Aristotle

,

or

is

this

caprice

still

the

way

of

demons

?

(

Let

us

take

any

view

of

the

case

)

,

only

do

not

let

it

be

imagined

that

any

soul

is

by

its

natural

constitution

exempt

from

dreams

.

Notes

1
Who mentions this story of the Atlantes in iv. 184.
2
In ch. xliv. p. 223.