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Against Hermogenes

Tertullian

Chapter 22

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXII.—This Conclusion Confirmed by the Usage of Holy Scripture in Its History of the Creation. Hermogenes in Danger of the Woe Pronounced Against Adding to Scripture.

And to such a degree has the Holy Ghost made this

‹ Chapter 21 Chapter 23 ›

the

rule

of

His

Scripture

,

that

whenever

anything

is

made

out

of

anything

,

He

mentions

both

the

thing

that

is

made

and

the

thing

of

which

it

is

made

.

“

Let

the

earth

,

”

says

He

,

“

bring

forth

grass

,

the

herb

yielding

seed

,

and

the

fruit

-

tree

yielding

fruit

after

its

kind

,

whose

seed

is

in

itself

,

after

its

kind

.

And

it

was

so

.

And

the

earth

brought

forth

grass

,

and

herb

yielding

seed

after

its

kind

,

and

the

tree

yielding

fruit

,

whose

seed

was

in

itself

,

after

its

kind

.

”

And

again

:

“

And

God

said

,

Let

the

waters

bring

forth

abundantly

the

moving

creatures

that

have

life

,

and

fowl

that

may

fly

above

the

earth

through

the

firmament

of

heaven

.

And

it

was

so

.

And

God

created

great

whales

,

and

every

living

creature

that

moveth

,

which

the

waters

brought

forth

abundantly

,

after

their

kind

.

”

Again

afterwards

:

“

And

God

said

,

Let

the

earth

bring

forth

the

living

creature

after

his

kind

,

cattle

,

and

creeping

thing

,

and

beasts

of

the

earth

after

their

kind

.

”

If

therefore

God

,

when

producing

other

things

out

of

things

which

had

been

already

made

,

indicates

them

by

the

prophet

,

and

tells

us

what

He

has

produced

from

such

and

such

a

source

(

although

we

might

ourselves

suppose

them

to

be

derived

from

some

source

or

other

,

short

of

nothing

;

since

there

had

already

been

created

certain

things

,

from

which

they

might

easily

seem

to

have

been

made

)

;

if

the

Holy

Ghost

took

upon

Himself

so

great

a

concern

for

our

instruction

,

that

we

might

know

from

what

everything

was

produced

,

would

He

not

in

like

manner

have

kept

us

well

informed

about

both

the

heaven

and

the

earth

,

by

indicating

to

us

what

it

was

that

He

made

them

of

,

if

their

original

consisted

of

any

material

substance

,

so

that

the

more

He

seemed

to

have

made

them

of

nothing

,

the

less

in

fact

was

there

as

yet

made

,

from

which

He

could

appear

to

have

made

them

?

Therefore

,

just

as

He

shows

us

the

original

out

of

which

He

drew

such

things

as

were

derived

from

a

given

source

,

so

also

with

regard

to

those

things

of

which

He

does

not

point

out

whence

He

produced

them

,

He

confirms

(

by

that

silence

our

assertion

)

that

they

were

produced

out

of

nothing

.

“

In

the

beginning

,

”

then

,

“

God

made

the

heaven

and

the

earth

.

”

I

revere

the

fulness

of

His

Scripture

,

in

which

He

manifests

to

me

both

the

Creator

and

the

creation

.

In

the

gospel

,

moreover

,

I

discover

a

Minister

and

Witness

of

the

Creator

,

even

His

Word

.

But

whether

all

things

were

made

out

of

any

underlying

Matter

,

I

have

as

yet

failed

anywhere

to

find

.

Where

such

a

statement

is

written

,

Hermogenes

’

shop

must

tell

us

.

If

it

is

nowhere

written

,

then

let

it

fear

the

woe

which

impends

on

all

who

add

to

or

take

away

from

the

written

word

.

Notes

1
Gen. i. 11, 12.
2
Gen. i. 20, 21.
3
Ver. 24.
4
Quid unde protulerit: properly a double question ="what was produced, and whence?”
5
Unde unde…dumne.
6
Quid unde processerit: properly a double question ="what was produced, and whence?”
7
Gen. i. 1.
8
Adoro: reverently admire.
9
John i. 3.
10
Officina.
11
Rev. xxii. 18, 19.