Opening the library…

Home Bible Corpus Discover You

Search the Bible

Against Hermogenes

Tertullian

Chapter 37

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXXVII.—Ironical Dilemmas Respecting Matter, and Sundry Moral Qualities Fancifully Attributed to It.

I see now that you are coming back again to that

‹ Chapter 36 Chapter 39 ›

reason

,

which

has

been

in

the

habit

of

declaring

to

you

nothing

in

the

way

of

certainty

.

For

just

as

you

introduce

to

our

notice

Matter

as

being

neither

corporeal

nor

incorporeal

,

so

you

allege

of

it

that

it

is

neither

good

nor

evil

;

and

you

say

,

whilst

arguing

further

on

it

in

the

same

strain

:

“

If

it

were

good

,

seeing

that

it

had

ever

been

so

,

it

would

not

require

the

arrangement

of

itself

by

God

;

if

it

were

naturally

evil

,

it

would

not

have

admitted

of

a

change

for

the

better

,

nor

would

God

have

ever

applied

to

such

a

nature

any

attempt

at

arrangement

of

it

,

for

His

labour

would

have

been

in

vain

.

”

Such

are

your

words

,

which

it

would

have

been

well

if

you

had

remembered

in

other

passages

also

,

so

as

to

have

avoided

any

contradiction

of

them

.

As

,

however

,

we

have

already

treated

to

some

extent

of

this

ambiguity

of

good

and

evil

touching

Matter

,

I

will

now

reply

to

the

only

proposition

and

argument

of

yours

which

we

have

before

us

.

I

shall

not

stop

to

repeat

my

opinion

,

that

it

was

your

bounden

duty

to

have

said

for

certain

that

Matter

was

either

good

or

bad

,

or

in

some

third

condition

;

but

(

I

must

observe

)

that

you

have

not

here

even

kept

to

the

statement

which

you

chose

to

make

before

.

Indeed

,

you

retract

what

you

declared

—

that

Matter

is

neither

good

nor

evil

;

because

you

imply

that

it

is

evil

when

you

say

,

“

If

it

were

good

,

it

would

not

require

to

be

set

in

order

by

God

;

”

so

again

,

when

you

add

,

“

If

it

were

naturally

evil

,

it

would

not

admit

of

any

change

for

the

better

,

”

you

seem

to

intimate

that

it

is

good

.

And

so

you

attribute

to

it

a

close

relation

to

good

and

evil

,

although

you

declared

it

neither

good

nor

evil

.

With

a

view

,

however

,

to

refute

the

argument

whereby

you

thought

you

were

going

to

clinch

your

proposition

,

I

here

contend

:

If

Matter

had

always

been

good

,

why

should

it

not

have

still

wanted

a

change

for

the

better

?

Does

that

which

is

good

never

desire

,

never

wish

,

never

feel

able

to

advance

,

so

as

to

change

its

good

for

a

better

?

And

in

like

manner

,

if

Matter

had

been

by

nature

evil

,

why

might

it

not

have

been

changed

by

God

as

the

more

powerful

Being

,

as

able

to

convert

the

nature

of

stones

into

children

of

Abraham

?

Surely

by

such

means

you

not

only

compare

the

Lord

with

Matter

,

but

you

even

put

Him

below

it

,

since

you

affirm

that

the

nature

of

Matter

could

not

possibly

be

brought

under

control

by

Him

,

and

trained

to

something

better

.

But

although

you

are

here

disinclined

to

allow

that

Matter

is

by

nature

evil

,

yet

in

another

passage

you

will

deny

having

made

such

an

admission

.

Notes

1
Compositionem Dei.
2
Non accepisset translationem.
3
Subostendis.
4
Affinem.
5
Matt. iii. 9.
6
Subicis.
7
This is the force of the subjunctive verb.
8
Te confessum.