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Tertullian

Book 2 · Chapter 2

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter II.—Philosophers Had Not Succeeded in Discovering God. The Uncertainty and Confusion of Their Speculations.

But the authority of the physical philosophers is maintained among you as

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 1 Book 2 · Chapter 3 ›

the

special

property

of

wisdom

.

You

mean

of

course

,

that

pure

and

simple

wisdom

of

the

philosophers

which

attests

its

own

weakness

mainly

by

that

variety

of

opinion

which

proceeds

from

an

ignorance

of

the

truth

.

Now

what

wise

man

is

so

devoid

of

truth

,

as

not

to

know

that

God

is

the

Father

and

Lord

of

wisdom

itself

and

truth

?

Besides

,

there

is

that

divine

oracle

uttered

by

Solomon

:

“

The

fear

of

the

Lord

,

”

says

he

,

“

is

the

beginning

of

wisdom

.

”

But

fear

has

its

origin

in

knowledge

;

for

how

will

a

man

fear

that

of

which

he

knows

nothing

?

Therefore

he

who

shall

have

the

fear

of

God

,

even

if

he

be

ignorant

of

all

things

else

,

if

he

has

attained

to

the

knowledge

and

truth

of

God

,

will

possess

full

and

perfect

wisdom

.

This

,

however

,

is

what

philosophy

has

not

clearly

realized

.

For

although

,

in

their

inquisitive

disposition

to

search

into

all

kinds

of

learning

,

the

philosophers

may

seem

to

have

investigated

the

sacred

Scriptures

themselves

for

their

antiquity

,

and

to

have

derived

thence

some

of

their

opinions

;

yet

because

they

have

interpolated

these

deductions

they

prove

that

they

have

either

despised

them

wholly

or

have

not

fully

believed

them

,

for

in

other

cases

also

the

simplicity

of

truth

is

shaken

by

the

over

-

scrupulousness

of

an

irregular

belief

,

and

that

they

therefore

changed

them

,

as

their

desire

of

glory

grew

,

into

products

of

their

own

mind

.

The

consequence

of

this

is

,

that

even

that

which

they

had

discovered

degenerated

into

uncertainty

,

and

there

arose

from

one

or

two

drops

of

truth

a

perfect

flood

of

argumentation

.

For

after

they

had

simply

found

God

,

they

did

not

expound

Him

as

they

found

Him

,

but

rather

disputed

about

His

quality

,

and

His

nature

,

and

even

about

His

abode

.

The

Platonists

,

indeed

,

(

held

)

Him

to

care

about

worldly

things

,

both

as

the

disposer

and

judge

thereof

.

The

Epicureans

regarded

Him

as

apathetic

and

inert

,

and

(

so

to

say

)

a

non

-

entity

.

The

Stoics

believed

Him

to

be

outside

of

the

world

;

the

Platonists

,

within

the

world

.

The

God

whom

they

had

so

imperfectly

admitted

,

they

could

neither

know

nor

fear

;

and

therefore

they

could

not

be

wise

,

since

they

wandered

away

indeed

from

the

beginning

of

wisdom

,

”

that

is

,

“

the

fear

of

God

.

”

Proofs

are

not

wanting

that

among

the

philosophers

there

was

not

only

an

ignorance

,

but

actual

doubt

,

about

the

divinity

.

Diogenes

,

when

asked

what

was

taking

place

in

heaven

,

answered

by

saying

,

“

I

have

never

been

up

there

.

”

Again

,

whether

there

were

any

gods

,

he

replied

,

“

I

do

not

know

;

only

there

ought

to

be

gods

.

”

When

Crœsus

inquired

of

Thales

of

Miletus

what

he

thought

of

the

gods

,

the

latter

having

taken

some

time

to

consider

,

answered

by

the

word

“

Nothing

.

”

Even

Socrates

denied

with

an

air

of

certainty

those

gods

of

yours

.

Yet

he

with

a

like

certainty

requested

that

a

cock

should

be

sacrificed

to

Æsculapius

.

And

therefore

when

philosophy

,

in

its

practice

of

defining

about

God

,

is

detected

in

such

uncertainty

and

inconsistency

,

what

“

fear

”

could

it

possibly

have

had

of

Him

whom

it

was

not

competent

clearly

to

determine

?

We

have

been

taught

to

believe

of

the

world

that

it

is

god

.

For

such

the

physical

class

of

theologizers

conclude

it

to

be

,

since

they

have

handed

down

such

views

about

the

gods

that

Dionysius

the

Stoic

divides

them

into

three

kinds

.

The

first

,

he

supposes

,

includes

those

gods

which

are

most

obvious

,

as

the

Sun

,

Moon

,

and

Stars

;

the

next

,

those

which

are

not

apparent

,

as

Neptune

;

the

remaining

one

,

those

which

are

said

to

have

passed

from

the

human

state

to

the

divine

,

as

Hercules

and

Amphiaraus

.

In

like

manner

,

Arcesilaus

makes

a

threefold

form

of

the

divinity

—

the

Olympian

,

the

Astral

,

the

Titanian

—

sprung

from

Cœlus

and

Terra

;

from

which

through

Saturn

and

Ops

came

Neptune

,

Jupiter

,

and

Orcus

,

and

their

entire

progeny

.

Xenocrates

,

of

the

Academy

,

makes

a

twofold

division

—

the

Olympian

and

the

Titanian

,

which

descend

from

Cœlus

and

Terra

.

Most

of

the

Egyptians

believe

that

there

are

four

gods

—

the

Sun

and

the

Moon

,

the

Heaven

and

the

Earth

.

Along

with

all

the

supernal

fire

Democritus

conjectures

that

the

gods

arose

.

Zeno

,

too

,

will

have

it

that

their

nature

resembles

it

.

Whence

Varro

also

makes

fire

to

be

the

soul

of

the

world

,

that

in

the

world

fire

governs

all

things

,

just

as

the

soul

does

in

ourselves

.

But

all

this

is

most

absurd

.

For

he

says

,

Whilst

it

is

in

us

,

we

have

existence

;

but

as

soon

as

it

has

left

us

,

we

die

.

Therefore

,

when

fire

quits

the

world

in

lightning

,

the

world

comes

to

its

end

.

Notes

1
Patrocinatur.
2
Mancipium.
3
Prov. ix. 10; Ps. cxi. 10.
4
Porro.
5
Deum omnium notititam et veritatem adsecutus, i.e., “following the God of all as knowledge and truth.”
6
Nutat.
7
Passivæ fidei.
8
Solummodo.
9
Otiosum.
10
“A nobody.”
11
Nisi ut sint expedire.
12
Aliquot commeatus.
13
Quasi certus.
14
Istos deos.
15
Non tenebat.
16
De mundo deo didicimus.