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Against Hermogenes

Tertullian

Chapter 31

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXXI.—A Further Vindication of the Scripture Narrative of the Creation, Against a Futile View of Hermogenes.

But this circumstance, too, will be caught at,

‹ Chapter 30 Chapter 32 ›

that

Scripture

meant

to

indicate

of

the

heaven

only

,

and

this

earth

of

yours

,

that

God

made

it

in

the

beginning

,

while

nothing

of

the

kind

is

said

of

the

above

-

mentioned

specific

parts

;

and

therefore

that

these

,

which

are

not

described

as

having

been

made

,

appertain

to

unformed

Matter

.

To

this

point

also

we

must

give

an

answer

.

Holy

Scripture

would

be

sufficiently

explicit

,

if

it

had

declared

that

the

heaven

and

the

earth

,

as

the

very

highest

works

of

creation

,

were

made

by

God

,

possessing

of

course

their

own

special

appurtenances

,

which

might

be

understood

to

be

implied

in

these

highest

works

themselves

.

Now

the

appurtenances

of

the

heaven

and

the

earth

,

made

then

in

the

beginning

,

were

the

darkness

and

the

deep

,

and

the

spirit

,

and

the

waters

.

For

the

depth

and

the

darkness

underlay

the

earth

.

Since

the

deep

was

under

the

earth

,

and

the

darkness

was

over

the

deep

,

undoubtedly

both

the

darkness

and

the

deep

were

under

the

earth

.

Below

the

heaven

,

too

,

lay

the

spirit

and

the

waters

.

For

since

the

waters

were

over

the

earth

,

which

they

covered

,

whilst

the

spirit

was

over

the

waters

,

both

the

spirit

and

the

waters

were

alike

over

the

earth

.

Now

that

which

is

over

the

earth

,

is

of

course

under

the

heaven

.

And

even

as

the

earth

brooded

over

the

deep

and

the

darkness

,

so

also

did

the

heaven

brood

over

the

spirit

and

the

waters

,

and

embrace

them

.

Nor

,

indeed

,

is

there

any

novelty

in

mentioning

only

that

which

contains

,

as

pertaining

to

the

whole

,

and

understanding

that

which

is

contained

as

included

in

it

,

in

its

character

of

a

portion

.

Suppose

now

I

should

say

the

city

built

a

theatre

and

a

circus

,

but

the

stage

was

of

such

and

such

a

kind

,

and

the

statues

were

on

the

canal

,

and

the

obelisk

was

reared

above

them

all

,

would

it

follow

that

,

because

I

did

not

distinctly

state

that

these

specific

things

were

made

by

the

city

,

they

were

therefore

not

made

by

it

along

with

the

circus

and

the

theatre

?

Did

I

not

,

indeed

,

refrain

from

specially

mentioning

the

formation

of

these

particular

things

because

they

were

implied

in

the

things

which

I

had

already

said

were

made

,

and

might

be

understood

to

be

inherent

in

the

things

in

which

they

were

contained

?

But

this

example

may

be

an

idle

one

as

being

derived

from

a

human

circumstance

;

I

will

take

another

,

which

has

the

authority

of

Scripture

itself

.

It

says

that

“

God

made

man

of

the

dust

of

the

ground

and

breathed

into

his

nostrils

the

breath

of

life

,

and

man

became

a

living

soul

.

”

Now

,

although

it

here

mentions

the

nostrils

,

it

does

not

say

that

they

were

made

by

God

;

so

again

it

speaks

of

skin

and

bones

,

and

flesh

and

eyes

,

and

sweat

and

blood

,

in

subsequent

passages

,

and

yet

it

never

intimated

that

they

had

been

created

by

God

.

What

will

Hermogenes

have

to

answer

?

That

the

human

limbs

must

belong

to

Matter

,

because

they

are

not

specially

mentioned

as

objects

of

creation

?

Or

are

they

included

in

the

formation

of

man

?

In

like

manner

,

the

deep

and

the

darkness

,

and

the

spirit

and

the

waters

,

were

as

members

of

the

heaven

and

the

earth

.

For

in

the

bodies

the

limbs

were

made

,

in

the

bodies

the

limbs

too

were

mentioned

.

No

element

but

what

is

a

member

of

that

element

in

which

it

is

contained

.

But

all

elements

are

contained

in

the

heaven

and

the

earth

.

Notes

1
Ista: the earth, which has been the subject of contention.
2
Speciebus.
3
Scrupulo: doubt or difficulty.
4
Suggestus: “Hoc est, apparatus, ornatus” (Oehler).
5
It will be observed that Tertullian applies the spiritus to the wind as a creature.
6
Qua summale.
7
Qua portionale.
8
Scena.
9
Has species.
10
Gen. ii. 7.
11
Both in the quotation and here, Tertullian read “faciem” where we read “nostrils.”
12
Cutem: another reading has “costam,” rib.
13
See Gen. ii. 21, 23; iii. 5, 19; iv. 10.