Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Ad Nationes

Tertullian

Book 2 · Chapter 12

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XII.—The Original Deities Were Human—With Some Very Questionable Characteristics. Saturn or Time Was Human. Inconsistencies of Opinion About Him.

Now, how much further need I go in recounting your gods

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 11 Book 2 · Chapter 14 ›

—

because

I

want

to

descant

on

the

character

of

such

as

you

have

adopted

?

It

is

quite

uncertain

whether

I

shall

laugh

at

your

absurdity

,

or

upbraid

you

for

your

blindness

.

For

how

many

,

and

indeed

what

,

gods

shall

I

bring

forward

?

Shall

it

be

the

greater

ones

,

or

the

lesser

?

The

old

ones

,

or

the

novel

?

The

male

,

or

the

female

?

The

unmarried

,

or

such

as

are

joined

in

wedlock

?

The

clever

,

or

the

unskilful

?

The

rustic

or

the

town

ones

?

The

national

or

the

foreign

?

For

the

truth

is

,

there

are

so

many

families

,

so

many

nations

,

which

require

a

catalogue

(

of

gods

)

,

that

they

cannot

possibly

be

examined

,

or

distinguished

,

or

described

.

But

the

more

diffuse

the

subject

is

,

the

more

restriction

must

we

impose

on

it

.

As

,

therefore

,

in

this

review

we

keep

before

us

but

one

object

—

that

of

proving

that

all

these

gods

were

once

human

beings

(

not

,

indeed

,

to

instruct

you

in

the

fact

,

for

your

conduct

shows

that

you

have

forgotten

it

)

—

let

us

adopt

our

compendious

summary

from

the

most

natural

method

of

conducting

the

examination

,

even

by

considering

the

origin

of

their

race

.

For

the

origin

characterizes

all

that

comes

after

it

.

Now

this

origin

of

your

gods

dates

,

I

suppose

,

from

Saturn

.

And

when

Varro

mentions

Jupiter

,

Juno

,

and

Minerva

,

as

the

most

ancient

of

the

gods

,

it

ought

not

to

have

escaped

our

notice

,

that

every

father

is

more

ancient

than

his

sons

,

and

that

Saturn

therefore

must

precede

Jupiter

,

even

as

Cœlus

does

Saturn

,

for

Saturn

was

sprung

from

Cœlus

and

Terra

.

I

pass

by

,

however

,

the

origin

of

Cœlus

and

Terra

.

They

led

in

some

unaccountable

way

single

lives

,

and

had

no

children

.

Of

course

they

required

a

long

time

for

vigorous

growth

to

attain

to

such

a

stature

.

By

and

by

,

as

soon

as

the

voice

of

Cœlus

began

to

break

,

and

the

breasts

of

Terra

to

become

firm

,

they

contract

marriage

with

one

another

.

I

suppose

either

Heaven

came

down

to

his

spouse

,

or

Earth

went

up

to

meet

her

lord

.

Be

that

as

it

may

,

Earth

conceived

seed

of

Heaven

,

and

when

her

year

was

fulfilled

brought

forth

Saturn

in

a

wonderful

manner

.

Which

of

his

parents

did

he

resemble

?

Well

,

then

,

even

after

parentage

began

,

it

is

certain

that

they

had

no

child

previous

to

Saturn

,

and

only

one

daughter

afterwards

—

Ops

;

thenceforth

they

ceased

to

procreate

.

The

truth

is

,

Saturn

castrated

Cœlus

as

he

was

sleeping

.

We

read

this

name

Cœlus

as

of

the

masculine

gender

.

And

for

the

matter

of

that

,

how

could

he

be

a

father

unless

he

were

a

male

?

But

with

what

instrument

was

the

castration

effected

?

He

had

a

scythe

.

What

,

so

early

as

that

?

For

Vulcan

was

not

yet

an

artificer

in

iron

.

The

widowed

Terra

,

however

,

although

still

quite

young

,

was

in

no

hurry

to

marry

another

.

Indeed

,

there

was

no

second

Cœlus

for

her

.

What

but

Ocean

offers

her

an

embrace

?

But

he

savours

of

brackishness

,

and

she

has

been

accustomed

to

fresh

water

.

And

so

Saturn

is

the

sole

male

child

of

Cœlus

and

Terra

.

When

grown

to

puberty

,

he

marries

his

own

sister

.

No

laws

as

yet

prohibited

incest

,

nor

punished

parricide

.

Then

,

when

male

children

were

born

to

him

,

he

would

devour

them

;

better

himself

(

should

take

them

)

than

the

wolves

,

(

for

to

these

would

they

become

a

prey

)

if

he

exposed

them

.

He

was

,

no

doubt

,

afraid

that

one

of

them

might

learn

the

lesson

of

his

father’s

scythe

.

When

Jupiter

was

born

in

course

of

time

,

he

was

removed

out

of

the

way

:

(

the

father

)

swallowed

a

stone

instead

of

the

son

,

as

was

pretended

.

This

artifice

secured

his

safety

for

a

time

;

but

at

length

the

son

,

whom

he

had

not

devoured

,

and

who

had

grown

up

in

secret

,

fell

upon

him

,

and

deprived

him

of

his

kingdom

.

Such

,

then

,

is

the

patriarch

of

the

gods

whom

Heaven

and

Earth

produced

for

you

,

with

the

poets

officiating

as

midwives

.

Now

some

persons

with

a

refined

imagination

are

of

opinion

that

,

by

this

allegorical

fable

of

Saturn

,

there

is

a

physiological

representation

of

Time

:

(

they

think

)

that

it

is

because

all

things

are

destroyed

by

Time

,

that

Cœlus

and

Terra

were

themselves

parents

without

having

any

of

their

own

,

and

that

the

(

fatal

)

scythe

was

used

,

and

that

(

Saturn

)

devoured

his

own

offspring

,

because

he

,

in

fact

,

absorbs

within

himself

all

things

which

have

issued

from

him

.

They

call

in

also

the

witness

of

his

name

;

for

they

say

that

he

is

called

Κρόνος

in

Greek

,

meaning

the

same

thing

as

χρόνος

.

His

Latin

name

also

they

derive

from

seed

-

sowing

;

for

they

suppose

him

to

have

been

the

actual

procreator

—

that

the

seed

,

in

fact

,

was

dropt

down

from

heaven

to

earth

by

his

means

.

They

unite

him

with

Ops

,

because

seeds

produce

the

affluent

treasure

(

Opem

)

of

actual

life

,

and

because

they

develope

with

labour

(

Opus

)

.

Now

I

wish

that

you

would

explain

this

metaphorical

statement

.

It

was

either

Saturn

or

Time

.

If

it

was

Time

,

how

could

it

be

Saturn

?

If

he

,

how

could

it

be

Time

?

For

you

cannot

possibly

reckon

both

these

corporeal

subjects

as

co

-

existing

in

one

person

.

What

,

however

,

was

there

to

prevent

your

worshipping

Time

under

its

proper

quality

?

Why

not

make

a

human

person

,

or

even

a

mythic

man

,

an

object

of

your

adoration

,

but

each

in

its

proper

nature

not

in

the

character

of

Time

?

What

is

the

meaning

of

that

conceit

of

your

mental

ingenuity

,

if

it

be

not

to

colour

the

foulest

matters

with

the

feigned

appearance

of

reasonable

proofs

?

Neither

,

on

the

one

hand

,

do

you

mean

Saturn

to

be

Time

,

because

you

say

he

is

a

human

being

;

nor

,

on

the

other

hand

,

whilst

portraying

him

as

Time

,

do

you

on

that

account

mean

that

he

was

ever

human

.

No

doubt

,

in

the

accounts

of

remote

antiquity

your

god

Saturn

is

plainly

described

as

living

on

earth

in

human

guise

.

Anything

whatever

may

obviously

be

pictured

as

incorporeal

which

never

had

an

existence

;

there

is

simply

no

room

for

such

fiction

,

where

there

is

reality

.

Since

,

therefore

,

there

is

clear

evidence

that

Saturn

once

existed

,

it

is

in

vain

that

you

change

his

character

.

He

whom

you

will

not

deny

to

have

once

been

man

,

is

not

at

your

disposal

to

be

treated

anyhow

,

nor

can

it

be

maintained

that

he

is

either

divine

or

Time

.

In

every

page

of

your

literature

the

origin

of

Saturn

is

conspicuous

.

We

read

of

him

in

Cassius

Severus

and

in

the

Corneliuses

,

Nepos

and

Tacitus

,

and

,

amongst

the

Greeks

also

,

in

Diodorus

,

and

all

other

compilers

of

ancient

annals

.

No

more

faithful

records

of

him

are

to

be

traced

than

in

Italy

itself

.

For

,

after

(

traversing

)

many

countries

,

and

(

enjoying

)

the

hospitality

of

Athens

,

he

settled

in

Italy

,

or

,

as

it

was

called

,

Œnotria

,

having

met

with

a

kind

welcome

from

Janus

,

or

Janes

,

as

the

Salii

call

him

.

The

hill

on

which

he

settled

had

the

name

Saturnius

,

whilst

the

city

which

he

founded

still

bears

the

name

Saturnia

;

in

short

,

the

whole

of

Italy

once

had

the

same

designation

.

Such

is

the

testimony

derived

from

that

country

which

is

now

the

mistress

of

the

world

:

whatever

doubt

prevails

about

the

origin

of

Saturn

,

his

actions

tell

us

plainly

that

he

was

a

human

being

.

Since

,

therefore

,

Saturn

was

human

,

he

came

undoubtedly

from

a

human

stock

;

and

more

,

because

he

was

a

man

,

he

,

of

course

,

came

not

of

Cœlus

and

Terra

.

Some

people

,

however

,

found

it

easy

enough

to

call

him

,

whose

parents

were

unknown

,

the

son

of

those

gods

from

whom

all

may

in

a

sense

seem

to

be

derived

.

For

who

is

there

that

does

not

speak

under

a

feeling

of

reverence

of

the

heaven

and

the

earth

as

his

own

father

and

mother

?

Or

,

in

accordance

with

a

custom

amongst

men

,

which

induces

them

to

say

of

any

who

are

unknown

or

suddenly

apparent

,

that

“

they

came

from

the

sky

?

”

Hence

it

happened

that

,

because

a

stranger

appeared

suddenly

everywhere

,

it

became

the

custom

to

call

him

a

heaven

-

born

man

,

—

just

as

we

also

commonly

call

earth

-

born

all

those

whose

descent

is

unknown

.

I

say

nothing

of

the

fact

that

such

was

the

state

of

antiquity

,

when

men’s

eyes

and

minds

were

so

habitually

rude

,

that

they

were

excited

by

the

appearance

of

every

newcomer

as

if

it

were

that

of

a

god

:

much

more

would

this

be

the

case

with

a

king

,

and

that

the

primeval

one

.

I

will

linger

some

time

longer

over

the

case

of

Saturn

,

because

by

fully

discussing

his

primordial

history

I

shall

beforehand

furnish

a

compendious

answer

for

all

other

cases

;

and

I

do

not

wish

to

omit

the

more

convincing

testimony

of

your

sacred

literature

,

the

credit

of

which

ought

to

be

the

greater

in

proportion

to

its

antiquity

.

Now

earlier

than

all

literature

was

the

Sibyl

;

that

Sibyl

,

I

mean

,

who

was

the

true

prophetess

of

truth

,

from

whom

you

borrow

their

title

for

the

priests

of

your

demons

.

She

in

senarian

verse

expounds

the

descent

of

Saturn

and

his

exploits

in

words

to

this

effect

:

“

In

the

tenth

generation

of

men

,

after

the

flood

had

overwhelmed

the

former

race

,

reigned

Saturn

,

and

Titan

,

and

Japetus

,

the

bravest

of

the

sons

of

Terra

and

Cœlus

.

”

Whatever

credit

,

therefore

,

is

attached

to

your

older

writers

and

literature

,

and

much

more

to

those

who

were

the

simplest

as

belonging

to

that

age

,

it

becomes

sufficiently

certain

that

Saturn

and

his

family

were

human

beings

.

We

have

in

our

possession

,

then

,

a

brief

principle

which

amounts

to

a

prescriptive

rule

about

their

origin

serving

for

all

other

cases

,

to

prevent

our

going

wrong

in

individual

instances

.

The

particular

character

of

a

posterity

is

shown

by

the

original

founders

of

the

race

—

mortal

beings

(

come

)

from

mortals

,

earthly

ones

from

earthly

;

step

after

step

comes

in

due

relation

—

marriage

,

conception

,

birth

—

country

,

settlements

,

kingdoms

,

all

give

the

clearest

proofs

.

They

,

therefore

who

cannot

deny

the

birth

of

men

,

must

also

admit

their

death

;

they

who

allow

their

mortality

must

not

suppose

them

to

be

gods

.

Notes

2
Bona fide.
3
Censum.
4
There is here an omitted clause, supplied in The Apology, “but rather to recall it to your memory.”
5
Ab ipsa ratione.
6
Signatur.
7
Undeunde.
8
Tantam proceritatem.
9
Insolescere, i.e., at the commencement of puberty.
10
Lapilliscere, i.e., to indicate maturity.
11
The nominative “cœlum” is used.
12
It is not very clear what is the force of “sed et pepererit,” as read by Oehler; we have given the clause an impersonal turn.
13
“Certe” is sometime “certo” in our author.
14
Distulit.
15
That is, to rain and cloud.
16
Abalienato.
17
The word is “cœlum” here.
18
Eleganter.
19
i.e., as representing Time.
20
So Augustine, de Civ. Dei, iv. 10; Arnobius, adv. Nationes, iii. 29; Cicero, de Nat. Deor. ii. 25.
21
As if from “sero,” satum.
22
Translatio.
23
Utrumque corporale.
24
Mentitis argumentationibus.
25
Census.
26
See his Histories, v. 2, 4.
27
Antiquitatem canos, “hoary antiquity.”
28
Jano sive Jane.
29
Depalaverat, “marked out with stakes.”
30
Cœlitem.
31
Magis proximis quoniam illius ætatis.
32
Prosapia.
33
Qualitas. [n.b. Our author’s use of Præscriptio.]
34
Comparantur.
35
Monumenta liquent.