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Tertullian

Book 1 · Chapter 19

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XIX.—If Christians and the Heathen Thus Resemble Each Other, There is Great Difference in the Grounds and Nature of Their Apparently Similar Conduct.

Here end, I suppose, your tremendous charges of obstinacy against

‹ Book 1 · Chapter 18 Book 1 · Chapter 20 ›

the

Christians

.

Now

,

since

we

are

amenable

to

them

in

common

with

yourselves

,

it

only

remains

that

we

compare

the

grounds

which

the

respective

parties

have

for

being

personally

derided

.

All

our

obstinacy

,

however

,

is

with

you

a

foregone

conclusion

,

based

on

our

strong

convictions

;

for

we

take

for

granted

a

resurrection

of

the

dead

.

Hope

in

this

resurrection

amounts

to

a

contempt

of

death

.

Ridicule

,

therefore

,

as

much

as

you

like

the

excessive

stupidity

of

such

minds

as

die

that

they

may

live

;

but

then

,

in

order

that

you

may

be

able

to

laugh

more

merrily

,

and

deride

us

with

greater

boldness

,

you

must

take

your

sponge

,

or

perhaps

your

tongue

,

and

wipe

away

those

records

of

yours

every

now

and

then

cropping

out

,

which

assert

in

not

dissimilar

terms

that

souls

will

return

to

bodies

.

But

how

much

more

worthy

of

acceptance

is

our

belief

which

maintains

that

they

will

return

to

the

same

bodies

!

And

how

much

more

ridiculous

is

your

inherited

conceit

,

that

the

human

spirit

is

to

reappear

in

a

dog

,

or

a

mule

,

or

a

peacock

!

Again

,

we

affirm

that

a

judgment

has

been

ordained

by

God

according

to

the

merits

of

every

man

.

This

you

ascribe

to

Minos

and

Rhadamanthus

,

while

at

the

same

time

you

reject

Aristides

,

who

was

a

juster

judge

than

either

.

By

the

award

of

the

judgment

,

we

say

that

the

wicked

will

have

to

spend

an

eternity

in

endless

fire

,

the

pious

and

innocent

in

a

region

of

bliss

.

In

your

view

likewise

an

unalterable

condition

is

ascribed

to

the

respective

destinations

of

Pyriphlegethon

and

Elysium

.

Now

they

are

not

merely

your

composers

of

myth

and

poetry

who

write

songs

of

this

strain

;

but

your

philosophers

also

speak

with

all

confidence

of

the

return

of

souls

to

their

former

state

,

and

of

the

twofold

award

of

a

final

judgment

.

Notes

2
Præstruitur.
3
Præsumimus.
4
Est.
5
Interim.
6
Traditum.
7
The heathen hell, Tartarus or Orcus.
8
Reciprocatione.
9
Distributione.