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Against the Valentinians

Tertullian

Chapter 7

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter VII.—The First Eight Emanations, or Æons, Called the Ogdoad, are the Fountain of All the Others. Their Names and Descent Recorded.

Beginning with Ennius, the Roman poet, he simply spoke

‹ Chapter 6 Chapter 8 ›

of

“

the

spacious

saloons

of

heaven

,

”

—

either

on

account

of

their

elevated

site

,

or

because

in

Homer

he

had

read

about

Jupiter

banqueting

therein

.

As

for

our

heretics

,

however

,

it

is

marvellous

what

storeys

upon

storeys

and

what

heights

upon

heights

,

they

have

hung

up

,

raised

and

spread

out

as

a

dwelling

for

each

several

god

of

theirs

.

Even

our

Creator

has

had

arranged

for

Him

the

saloons

of

Ennius

in

the

fashion

of

private

rooms

,

with

chamber

piled

upon

chamber

,

and

assigned

to

each

god

by

just

as

many

staircases

as

there

were

heresies

.

The

universe

,

in

fact

,

has

been

turned

into

“

rooms

to

let

.

”

Such

storeys

of

the

heavens

you

would

imagine

to

be

detached

tenements

in

some

happy

isle

of

the

blessed

,

I

know

not

where

.

There

the

god

even

of

the

Valentinians

has

his

dwelling

in

the

attics

.

They

call

him

indeed

,

as

to

his

essence

,

Αἰῶν

τέλειος

(

Perfect

Æon

)

,

but

in

respect

of

his

personality

,

Προαρχή

(

Before

the

Beginning

)

,

῾

Η

᾽

Αρχή

(

The

Beginning

)

,

and

sometimes

Bythos

(

Depth

)

,

a

name

which

is

most

unfit

for

one

who

dwells

in

the

heights

above

!

They

describe

him

as

unbegotten

,

immense

,

infinite

,

invisible

,

and

eternal

;

as

if

,

when

they

described

him

to

be

such

as

we

know

that

he

ought

to

be

,

they

straightway

prove

him

to

be

a

being

who

may

be

said

to

have

had

such

an

existence

even

before

all

things

else

.

I

indeed

insist

upon

it

that

he

is

such

a

being

;

and

there

is

nothing

which

I

detect

in

beings

of

this

sort

more

obvious

,

than

that

they

who

are

said

to

have

been

before

all

things

—

things

,

too

,

not

their

own

—

are

found

to

be

behind

all

things

.

Let

it

,

however

,

be

granted

that

this

Bythos

of

theirs

existed

in

the

infinite

ages

of

the

past

in

the

greatest

and

profoundest

repose

,

in

the

extreme

rest

of

a

placid

and

,

if

I

may

use

the

expression

,

stupid

divinity

,

such

as

Epicurus

has

enjoined

upon

us

.

And

yet

,

although

they

would

have

him

be

alone

,

they

assign

to

him

a

second

person

in

himself

and

with

himself

,

Ennoea

(

Thought

)

,

which

they

also

call

both

Charis

(

Grace

)

and

Sige

(

Silence

)

.

Other

things

,

as

it

happened

,

conduced

in

this

most

agreeable

repose

to

remind

him

of

the

need

of

by

and

by

producing

out

of

himself

the

beginning

of

all

things

.

This

he

deposits

in

lieu

of

seed

in

the

genital

region

,

as

it

were

,

of

the

womb

of

his

Sige

.

Instantaneous

conception

is

the

result

:

Sige

becomes

pregnant

,

and

is

delivered

,

of

course

in

silence

;

and

her

offspring

is

Nus

(

Mind

)

,

very

like

his

father

and

his

equal

in

every

respect

.

In

short

,

he

alone

is

capable

of

comprehending

the

measureless

and

incomprehensible

greatness

of

his

father

.

Accordingly

he

is

even

called

the

Father

himself

,

and

the

Beginning

of

all

things

,

and

,

with

great

propriety

,

Monogenes

(

The

Only

-

begotten

)

.

And

yet

not

with

absolute

propriety

,

since

he

is

not

born

alone

.

For

along

with

him

a

female

also

proceeded

,

whose

name

was

Veritas

(

Truth

)

.

But

how

much

more

suitably

might

Monogenes

be

called

Protogenes

(

First

begotten

)

,

since

he

was

begotten

first

!

Thus

Bythos

and

Sige

,

Nus

and

Veritas

,

are

alleged

to

be

the

first

fourfold

team

of

the

Valentinian

set

(

of

gods

)

the

parent

stock

and

origin

of

them

all

.

For

immediately

when

Nus

received

the

function

of

a

procreation

of

his

own

,

he

too

produces

out

of

himself

Sermo

(

the

Word

)

and

Vita

(

the

Life

)

.

If

this

latter

existed

not

previously

,

of

course

she

existed

not

in

Bythos

.

And

a

pretty

absurdity

would

it

be

,

if

Life

existed

not

in

God

!

However

,

this

offspring

also

produces

fruit

,

having

for

its

mission

the

initiation

of

the

universe

and

the

formation

of

the

entire

Pleroma

:

it

procreates

Homo

(

Man

)

and

Ecclesia

(

the

Church

)

.

Thus

you

have

an

Ogdoad

,

a

double

Tetra

,

out

of

the

conjunctions

of

males

and

females

—

the

cells

(

so

to

speak

)

of

the

primordial

Æons

,

the

fraternal

nuptials

of

the

Valentinian

gods

,

the

simple

originals

of

heretical

sanctity

and

majesty

,

a

rabble

—

shall

I

say

of

criminals

or

of

deities

?

—

at

any

rate

,

the

fountain

of

all

ulterior

fecundity

.

Notes

1
Primus omnium.
2
Cœnacula: dining halls.
3
Supernitates supernitatum.
4
Ædicularum.
5
Meritorium.
6
This is perhaps a fair rendering of “Insulam Feliculam credas tanta tabulata cœlorum, nescio ubi.” “Insula” is sometimes “a detached house.” It is difficult to say what “Felicula” is; it seems to be a diminutive of Felix. It occurs in Arrian’s Epictetica as the name of a slave.
7
We follow Tertullian’s mode of designation all through. He, for the most part, gives the Greek names in Roman letters, but not quite always.
8
Expostulo: “I postulate as a first principle.”
9
Tertullian is responsible for this Latin word amongst the Greek names. The strange mixture occurs often.
10
Quadriga.
11
Factionis.
12
Ibidem simul.
13
Cellas.
14
Census.
15
Turbam.
16
Criminum.
17
Numinum.