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Against Praxeas

Tertullian

Chapter 6

About this work

A polemical Latin treatise opposing a modalist account of God and articulating distinctions among Father, Son, and Spirit while insisting on divine unity and the reality of Christ’s incarnation.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Theological Treatise

Chapter VI.—The Word of God is Also the Wisdom of God. The Going Forth of Wisdom to Create the Universe, According to the Divine Plan.

This power and disposition of the Divine Intelligence is

‹ Chapter 5 Chapter 7 ›

set

forth

also

in

the

Scriptures

under

the

name

of

Σοφία

,

Wisdom

;

for

what

can

be

better

entitled

to

the

name

of

Wisdom

than

the

Reason

or

the

Word

of

God

?

Listen

therefore

to

Wisdom

herself

,

constituted

in

the

character

of

a

Second

Person

:

“

At

the

first

the

Lord

created

me

as

the

beginning

of

His

ways

,

with

a

view

to

His

own

works

,

before

He

made

the

earth

,

before

the

mountains

were

settled

;

moreover

,

before

all

the

hills

did

He

beget

me

;

”

that

is

to

say

,

He

created

and

generated

me

in

His

own

intelligence

.

Then

,

again

,

observe

the

distinction

between

them

implied

in

the

companionship

of

Wisdom

with

the

Lord

.

“

When

He

prepared

the

heaven

,

”

says

Wisdom

,

“

I

was

present

with

Him

;

and

when

He

made

His

strong

places

upon

the

winds

,

which

are

the

clouds

above

;

and

when

He

secured

the

fountains

,

(

and

all

things

)

which

are

beneath

the

sky

,

I

was

by

,

arranging

all

things

with

Him

;

I

was

by

,

in

whom

He

delighted

;

and

daily

,

too

,

did

I

rejoice

in

His

presence

.

”

Now

,

as

soon

as

it

pleased

God

to

put

forth

into

their

respective

substances

and

forms

the

things

which

He

had

planned

and

ordered

within

Himself

,

in

conjunction

with

His

Wisdom’s

Reason

and

Word

,

He

first

put

forth

the

Word

Himself

,

having

within

Him

His

own

inseparable

Reason

and

Wisdom

,

in

order

that

all

things

might

be

made

through

Him

through

whom

they

had

been

planned

and

disposed

,

yea

,

and

already

made

,

so

far

forth

as

(

they

were

)

in

the

mind

and

intelligence

of

God

.

This

,

however

,

was

still

wanting

to

them

,

that

they

should

also

be

openly

known

,

and

kept

permanently

in

their

proper

forms

and

substances

.

Notes

1
“Mutual relations in the Godhead.”
2
Sensus.
3
Sapientius.
4
Prov. viii. 22–25.
5
Prov. viii. 27–30.