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Against Hermogenes

Tertullian

Chapter 21

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXI.—A Retort of Heresy Answered. That Scripture Should in So Many Words Tell Us that the World Was Made of Nothing is Superfluous.

But, you will say to me, if you determine

‹ Chapter 20 Chapter 22 ›

that

all

things

were

made

of

nothing

,

on

the

ground

that

it

is

not

told

us

that

anything

was

made

out

of

pre

-

existent

Matter

,

take

care

that

it

be

not

contended

on

the

opposite

side

,

that

on

the

same

ground

all

things

were

made

out

of

Matter

,

because

it

is

not

likewise

expressly

said

that

anything

was

made

out

of

nothing

.

Some

arguments

may

,

of

course

,

be

thus

retorted

easily

enough

;

but

it

does

not

follow

that

they

are

on

that

account

fairly

admissible

,

where

there

is

a

diversity

in

the

cause

.

For

I

maintain

that

,

even

if

the

Scripture

has

not

expressly

declared

that

all

things

were

made

out

of

nothing

—

just

as

it

abstains

(

from

saying

that

they

were

formed

)

out

of

Matter

—

there

was

no

such

pressing

need

for

expressly

indicating

the

creation

of

all

things

out

of

nothing

,

as

there

was

of

their

creation

out

of

Matter

,

if

that

had

been

their

origin

.

Because

,

in

the

case

of

what

is

made

out

of

nothing

,

the

very

fact

of

its

not

being

indicated

that

it

was

made

of

any

particular

thing

shows

that

it

was

made

of

nothing

;

and

there

is

no

danger

of

its

being

supposed

that

it

was

made

of

anything

,

when

there

is

no

indication

at

all

of

what

it

was

made

of

.

In

the

case

,

however

,

of

that

which

is

made

out

of

something

,

unless

the

very

fact

be

plainly

declared

,

that

it

was

made

out

of

something

,

there

will

be

danger

,

until

it

is

shown

of

what

it

was

made

,

first

of

its

appearing

to

be

made

of

nothing

,

because

it

is

not

said

of

what

it

was

made

;

and

then

,

should

it

be

of

such

a

nature

as

to

have

the

appearance

of

having

certainly

been

made

of

something

,

there

will

be

a

similar

risk

of

its

seeming

to

have

been

made

of

a

far

different

material

from

the

proper

one

,

so

long

as

there

is

an

absence

of

statement

of

what

it

was

made

of

.

Then

,

if

God

had

been

unable

to

make

all

things

of

nothing

,

the

Scripture

could

not

possibly

have

added

that

He

had

made

all

things

of

nothing

:

(

there

could

have

been

no

room

for

such

a

statement

,

)

but

it

must

by

all

means

have

informed

us

that

He

had

made

all

things

out

of

Matter

,

since

Matter

must

have

been

the

source

;

because

the

one

case

was

quite

to

be

understood

,

if

it

were

not

actually

stated

,

whereas

the

other

case

would

be

left

in

doubt

unless

it

were

stated

.

Notes

1
Plane.
2
Dum ostenditur: which Oehler and Rigalt. construe as “donec ostendatur.” One reading has “dum non ostenditur,” “so long as it is not shown.”
3
Ea conditione.
4
In totum habebat intelligi.