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A Treatise on the Soul

Tertullian

Chapter 57

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter LVII.—Magic and Sorcery Only Apparent in Their Effects. God Alone Can Raise the Dead.

It is either a very fine thing to be detained in

‹ Chapter 56 Chapter 58 ›

these

infernal

regions

with

the

Aori

,

or

souls

which

were

prematurely

hurried

away

;

or

else

a

very

bad

thing

indeed

to

be

there

associated

with

the

Biaeothanati

,

who

suffered

violent

deaths

.

I

may

be

permitted

to

use

the

actual

words

and

terms

with

which

magic

rings

again

,

that

inventor

of

all

these

odd

opinions

—

with

its

Ostanes

,

and

Typhon

,

and

Dardanus

,

and

Damigeron

,

and

Nectabis

,

and

Berenice

.

There

is

a

well

-

known

popular

bit

of

writing

,

which

undertakes

to

summon

up

from

the

abode

of

Hades

the

souls

which

have

actually

slept

out

their

full

age

,

and

had

passed

away

by

an

honourable

death

,

and

had

even

been

buried

with

full

rites

and

proper

ceremony

.

What

after

this

shall

we

say

about

magic

?

Say

,

to

be

sure

,

what

almost

everybody

says

of

it

—

that

it

is

an

imposture

.

But

it

is

not

we

Christians

only

whose

notice

this

system

of

imposture

does

not

escape

.

We

,

it

is

true

,

have

discovered

these

spirits

of

evil

,

not

,

to

be

sure

,

by

a

complicity

with

them

,

but

by

a

certain

knowledge

which

is

hostile

to

them

;

nor

is

it

by

any

procedure

which

is

attractive

to

them

,

but

by

a

power

which

subjugates

them

that

we

handle

(

their

wretched

system

)

—

that

manifold

pest

of

the

mind

of

man

,

that

artificer

of

all

error

,

that

destroyer

of

our

salvation

and

our

soul

at

one

swoop

.

In

this

way

,

even

by

magic

,

which

is

indeed

only

a

second

idolatry

,

wherein

they

pretend

that

after

death

they

become

demons

,

just

as

they

were

supposed

in

the

first

and

literal

idolatry

to

become

gods

(

and

why

not

?

since

the

gods

are

but

dead

things

)

,

the

before

-

mentioned

Aori

Biaeothanati

are

actually

invoked

,

—

and

not

unfairly

,

if

one

grounds

his

faith

on

this

principle

,

that

it

is

clearly

credible

for

those

souls

to

be

beyond

all

others

addicted

to

violence

and

wrong

,

which

with

violence

and

wrong

have

been

hurried

away

by

a

cruel

and

premature

death

and

which

would

have

a

keen

appetite

for

reprisals

.

Under

cover

,

however

,

of

these

souls

,

demons

operate

,

especially

such

as

used

to

dwell

in

them

when

they

were

in

life

,

and

who

had

driven

them

,

in

fact

,

to

the

fate

which

had

at

last

carried

them

off

.

For

,

as

we

have

already

suggested

,

there

is

hardly

a

human

being

who

is

unattended

by

a

demon

;

and

it

is

well

known

to

many

,

that

premature

and

violent

deaths

,

which

men

ascribe

to

accidents

,

are

in

fact

brought

about

by

demons

.

This

imposture

of

the

evil

spirit

lying

concealed

in

the

persons

of

the

dead

,

we

are

able

,

if

I

mistake

not

,

to

prove

by

actual

facts

,

when

in

cases

of

exorcism

(

the

evil

spirit

)

affirms

himself

sometimes

to

be

one

of

the

relatives

of

the

person

possessed

by

him

,

sometimes

a

gladiator

or

a

bestiarius

,

and

sometimes

even

a

god

;

always

making

it

one

of

his

chief

cares

to

extinguish

the

very

truth

which

we

are

proclaiming

,

that

men

may

not

readily

believe

that

all

souls

remove

to

Hades

,

and

that

they

may

overthrow

faith

in

the

resurrection

and

the

judgment

.

And

yet

for

all

that

,

the

demon

,

after

trying

to

circumvent

the

bystanders

,

is

vanquished

by

the

pressure

of

divine

grace

,

and

sorely

against

his

will

confesses

all

the

truth

.

So

also

in

that

other

kind

of

magic

,

which

is

supposed

to

bring

up

from

Hades

the

souls

now

resting

there

,

and

to

exhibit

them

to

public

view

,

there

is

no

other

expedient

of

imposture

ever

resorted

to

which

operates

more

powerfully

.

Of

course

,

why

a

phantom

becomes

visible

,

is

because

a

body

is

also

attached

to

it

;

and

it

is

no

difficult

matter

to

delude

the

external

vision

of

a

man

whose

mental

eye

it

is

so

easy

to

blind

.

The

serpents

which

emerged

from

the

magicians

’

rods

,

certainly

appeared

to

Pharaoh

and

to

the

Egyptians

as

bodily

substances

.

It

is

true

that

the

verity

of

Moses

swallowed

up

their

lying

deceit

.

Many

attempts

were

also

wrought

against

the

apostles

by

the

sorcerers

Simon

and

Elymas

,

but

the

blindness

which

struck

(

them

)

was

no

enchanter’s

trick

.

What

novelty

is

there

in

the

effort

of

an

unclean

spirit

to

counterfeit

the

truth

?

At

this

very

time

,

even

,

the

heretical

dupes

of

this

same

Simon

(

Magus

)

are

so

much

elated

by

the

extravagant

pretensions

of

their

art

,

that

they

undertake

to

bring

up

from

Hades

the

souls

of

the

prophets

themselves

.

And

I

suppose

that

they

can

do

so

under

cover

of

a

lying

wonder

.

For

,

indeed

,

it

was

no

less

than

this

that

was

anciently

permitted

to

the

Pythonic

(

or

ventriloquistic

)

spirit

—

even

to

represent

the

soul

of

Samuel

,

when

Saul

consulted

the

dead

,

after

(

losing

the

living

)

God

.

God

forbid

,

however

,

that

we

should

suppose

that

the

soul

of

any

saint

,

much

less

of

a

prophet

,

can

be

dragged

out

of

(

its

resting

-

place

in

Hades

)

by

a

demon

.

We

know

that

“

Satan

himself

is

transformed

into

an

angel

of

light

”

—

much

more

into

a

man

of

light

—

and

that

at

last

he

will

“

show

himself

to

be

even

God

,

”

and

will

exhibit

“

great

signs

and

wonders

,

insomuch

that

,

if

it

were

possible

,

he

shall

deceive

the

very

elect

.

”

He

hardly

hesitated

on

the

before

-

mentioned

occasion

to

affirm

himself

to

be

a

prophet

of

God

,

and

especially

to

Saul

,

in

whom

he

was

then

actually

dwelling

.

You

must

not

imagine

that

he

who

produced

the

phantom

was

one

,

and

he

who

consulted

it

was

another

;

but

that

it

was

one

and

the

same

spirit

,

both

in

the

sorceress

and

in

the

apostate

(

king

)

,

which

easily

pretended

an

apparition

of

that

which

it

had

already

prepared

them

to

believe

as

real

—

(

even

the

spirit

)

through

whose

evil

influence

Saul’s

heart

was

fixed

where

his

treasure

was

,

and

where

certainly

God

was

not

.

Therefore

it

came

about

,

that

he

saw

him

through

whose

aid

he

believed

that

he

was

going

to

see

,

because

he

believed

him

through

whose

help

he

saw

.

But

we

are

met

with

the

objection

,

that

in

visions

of

the

night

dead

persons

are

not

unfrequently

seen

,

and

that

for

a

set

purpose

.

For

instance

,

the

Nasamones

consult

private

oracles

by

frequent

and

lengthened

visits

to

the

sepulchres

of

their

relatives

,

as

one

may

find

in

Heraclides

,

or

Nymphodorus

,

or

Herodotus

;

and

the

Celts

,

for

the

same

purpose

,

stay

away

all

night

at

the

tombs

of

their

brave

chieftains

,

as

Nicander

affirms

.

Well

,

we

admit

apparitions

of

dead

persons

in

dreams

to

be

not

more

really

true

than

those

of

living

persons

;

but

we

apply

the

same

estimate

to

all

alike

—

to

the

dead

and

to

the

living

,

and

indeed

to

all

the

phenomena

which

are

seen

.

Now

things

are

not

true

because

they

appear

to

be

so

,

but

because

they

are

fully

proved

to

be

so

.

The

truth

of

dreams

is

declared

from

the

realization

,

not

the

aspect

.

Moreover

,

the

fact

that

Hades

is

not

in

any

case

opened

for

(

the

escape

of

)

any

soul

,

has

been

firmly

established

by

the

Lord

in

the

person

of

Abraham

,

in

His

representation

of

the

poor

man

at

rest

and

the

rich

man

in

torment

.

No

one

,

(

he

said

,

)

could

possibly

be

despatched

from

those

abodes

to

report

to

us

how

matters

went

in

the

nether

regions

,

—

a

purpose

which

,

(

if

any

could

be

,

)

might

have

been

allowable

on

such

an

occasion

,

to

persuade

a

belief

in

Moses

and

the

prophets

.

The

power

of

God

has

,

no

doubt

,

sometimes

recalled

men’s

souls

to

their

bodies

,

as

a

proof

of

His

own

transcendent

rights

;

but

there

must

never

be

,

because

of

this

fact

,

any

agreement

supposed

to

be

possible

between

the

divine

faith

and

the

arrogant

pretensions

of

sorcerers

,

and

the

imposture

of

dreams

,

and

the

licence

of

poets

.

But

yet

in

all

cases

of

a

true

resurrection

,

when

the

power

of

God

recalls

souls

to

their

bodies

,

either

by

the

agency

of

prophets

,

or

of

Christ

,

or

of

apostles

,

a

complete

presumption

is

afforded

us

,

by

the

solid

,

palpable

,

and

ascertained

reality

(

of

the

revived

body

)

,

that

its

true

form

must

be

such

as

to

compel

one’s

belief

of

the

fraudulence

of

every

incorporeal

apparition

of

dead

persons

.

Notes

1
Litteratura.
2
Oehler takes these descriptive clauses as meant of Satan, instead of being synonymes of magic, as the context seems to require.
3
Æque.
4
Above, in ch. xxxix. p. 219.
5
Aliquem ex parentibus.
6
One who fought with wild beasts in the public games, only without the weapons allowed to the gladiator.
7
Ex. vii. 12.
8
Acts viii. 9; xiii. 8.
9
See above in ch. xxviii. p. 209, supra.
10
1 Sam. xxviii. 6–16.
11
2 Cor. xi. 14.
12
2 Thess. ii. 4.
13
Matt. xxiv. 24.
14
Si forte.
15
Non frustra.
16
In iv. 172.
17
Luke xvi. 26. [Compare note 15, p. 231. supra.]