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Against Hermogenes

Tertullian

Chapter 43

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XLIII.—Other Discrepancies Exposed and Refuted Respecting the Evil in Matter Being Changed to Good.

On the subject of motion I would make this further remark

‹ Chapter 42 Chapter 44 ›

.

Following

the

simile

of

the

boiling

caldron

,

you

say

that

motion

in

Matter

,

before

it

was

regulated

,

was

confused

,

restless

,

incomprehensible

by

reason

of

excess

in

the

commotion

.

Then

again

you

go

on

to

say

,

“

But

it

waited

for

the

regulation

of

God

,

and

kept

its

irregular

motion

incomprehensible

,

owing

to

the

tardiness

of

its

irregular

motion

.

”

Just

before

you

ascribe

commotion

,

here

tardiness

,

to

motion

.

Now

observe

how

many

slips

you

make

respecting

the

nature

of

Matter

.

In

a

former

passage

you

say

,

“

If

Matter

were

naturally

evil

,

it

would

not

have

admitted

of

a

change

for

the

better

;

nor

would

God

have

ever

applied

to

it

any

attempt

at

arrangement

,

for

His

labour

would

have

been

in

vain

.

”

You

therefore

concluded

your

two

opinions

,

that

Matter

was

not

by

nature

evil

,

and

that

its

nature

was

incapable

of

being

changed

by

God

;

and

then

,

forgetting

them

,

you

afterwards

drew

this

inference

:

“

But

when

it

received

adjustment

from

God

,

and

was

reduced

to

order

,

it

relinquished

its

nature

.

”

Now

,

inasmuch

as

it

was

transformed

to

good

,

it

was

of

course

transformed

from

evil

;

and

if

by

God’s

setting

it

in

order

it

relinquished

the

nature

of

evil

,

it

follows

that

its

nature

came

to

an

end

;

now

its

nature

was

evil

before

the

adjustment

,

but

after

the

transformation

it

might

have

relinquished

that

nature

.

Notes

1
Concretus.
2
Certaminis.
3
Compositionem: “arrangement.”
4
See above, ch. xxxvii. p. 498.
5
Ornata.
6
Cessavit a.
7
Cessavit.