Opening the library…

Search the Bible

Against Hermogenes

Tertullian

Chapter 10

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter X.—To What Straits Hermogenes Absurdly Reduces the Divine Being. He Does Nothing Short of Making Him the Author of Evil.

Even if Matter had been the perfection of good, would

‹ Chapter 9 Chapter 11 ›

it

not

have

been

equally

indecorous

in

Him

to

have

thought

of

the

property

of

another

,

however

good

,

(

to

effect

His

purpose

by

the

help

of

it

)

?

It

was

,

therefore

,

absurd

enough

for

Him

,

in

the

interest

of

His

own

glory

,

to

have

created

the

world

in

such

a

way

as

to

betray

His

own

obligation

to

a

substance

which

belonged

to

another

—

and

that

even

not

good

.

Was

He

then

,

asks

(

Hermogenes

)

,

to

make

all

things

out

of

nothing

,

that

so

evil

things

themselves

might

be

attributed

to

His

will

?

Great

,

in

all

conscience

,

must

be

the

blindness

of

our

heretics

which

leaves

them

to

argue

in

such

a

way

that

they

either

insist

on

the

belief

of

another

God

supremely

good

,

on

the

ground

of

their

thinking

the

Creator

to

be

the

author

of

evil

,

or

else

they

set

up

Matter

with

the

Creator

,

in

order

that

they

may

derive

evil

from

Matter

,

not

from

the

Creator

.

And

yet

there

is

absolutely

no

god

at

all

that

is

free

from

such

a

doubtful

plight

,

so

as

to

be

able

to

avoid

the

appearance

even

of

being

the

author

of

evil

,

whosoever

he

is

that

—

I

will

not

say

,

indeed

,

has

made

,

but

still

—

has

permitted

evil

to

be

made

by

some

author

or

other

,

and

from

some

source

or

other

.

Hermogenes

,

therefore

,

ought

to

be

told

at

once

,

although

we

postpone

to

another

place

our

distinction

concerning

the

mode

of

evil

,

that

even

he

has

effected

no

result

by

this

device

of

his

.

For

observe

how

God

is

found

to

be

,

if

not

the

Author

of

,

yet

at

any

rate

the

conniver

at

,

evil

,

inasmuch

as

He

,

with

all

His

extreme

goodness

,

endured

evil

in

Matter

before

He

created

the

world

,

although

,

as

being

good

,

and

the

enemy

of

evil

,

He

ought

to

have

corrected

it

.

For

He

either

was

able

to

correct

it

,

but

was

unwilling

;

or

else

was

willing

,

but

being

a

weak

God

,

was

not

able

.

If

He

was

able

and

yet

unwilling

,

He

was

Himself

evil

,

as

having

favoured

evil

;

and

thus

He

now

opens

Himself

to

the

charge

of

evil

,

because

even

if

He

did

not

create

it

yet

still

,

since

it

would

not

be

existing

if

He

had

been

against

its

existence

,

He

must

Himself

have

then

caused

it

to

exist

,

when

He

refused

to

will

its

non

-

existence

.

And

what

is

more

shameful

than

this

?

When

He

willed

that

to

be

which

He

was

Himself

unwilling

to

create

,

He

acted

in

fact

against

His

very

self

,

inasmuch

as

He

was

both

willing

that

should

exist

which

He

was

unwilling

to

make

,

and

unwilling

to

make

that

which

He

was

willing

should

exist

.

As

if

what

He

willed

was

good

,

and

at

the

same

time

what

he

refused

to

be

the

Maker

of

was

evil

.

What

He

judged

to

be

evil

by

not

creating

it

,

He

also

proclaimed

to

be

good

by

permitting

it

to

exist

.

By

bearing

with

evil

as

a

good

instead

of

rather

extirpating

it

,

He

proved

Himself

to

be

the

promoter

thereof

;

criminally

,

if

through

His

own

will

—

disgracefully

,

if

through

necessity

.

God

must

either

be

the

servant

of

evil

or

the

friend

thereof

,

since

He

held

converse

with

evil

in

Matter

—

nay

,

more

,

effected

His

works

out

of

the

evil

thereof

.

Notes

1
Optima.
2
Bona fide.
3
Audiat.
4
De mali ratione.
5
Hac sua injectione. See our Anti-Marcion, iv. i., for this word, p. 345.
6
Assentator. Fr. Junius suggests “adsectator” of the stronger meaning “promoter;” nor does Oehler object.
7
Adversum semetipsum.
8
Male: in reference to His alleged complicity with evil.