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Against the Valentinians

Tertullian

Chapter 25

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXV.—An Extravagant Way of Accounting for the Communication of the Spiritual Nature to Man. It Was Furtively Managed by Achamoth, Through the Unconscious Agency of Her Son.

In Achamoth, moreover, there was inherent a certain

‹ Chapter 24 Chapter 26 ›

property

of

a

spiritual

germ

,

of

her

mother

Sophia’s

substance

;

and

Achamoth

herself

had

carefully

severed

off

(

the

same

quality

)

,

and

implanted

it

in

her

son

the

Demiurge

,

although

he

was

actually

unconscious

of

it

.

It

is

for

you

to

imagine

the

industry

of

this

clandestine

arrangement

.

For

to

this

end

had

she

deposited

and

concealed

(

this

germ

)

,

that

,

whenever

the

Demiurge

came

to

impart

life

to

Adam

by

his

inbreathing

,

he

might

at

the

same

time

draw

off

from

the

vital

principle

the

spiritual

seed

,

and

,

as

by

a

pipe

,

inject

it

into

the

clayey

nature

;

in

order

that

,

being

then

fecundated

in

the

material

body

as

in

a

womb

,

and

having

fully

grown

there

,

it

might

be

found

fit

for

one

day

receiving

the

perfect

Word

.

When

,

therefore

,

the

Demiurge

commits

to

Adam

the

transmission

of

his

own

vital

principle

,

the

spiritual

man

lay

hid

,

although

inserted

by

his

breath

,

and

at

the

same

time

introduced

into

the

body

,

because

the

Demiurge

knew

no

more

about

his

mother’s

seed

than

about

herself

.

To

this

seed

they

give

the

name

of

Ecclesia

(

the

Church

)

,

the

mirror

of

the

church

above

,

and

the

perfection

of

man

;

tracing

this

perfection

from

Achamoth

,

just

as

they

do

the

animal

nature

from

the

Demiurge

,

the

clayey

material

of

the

body

(

they

derive

)

from

the

primordial

substance

,

the

flesh

from

Matter

.

So

that

you

have

a

new

Geryon

here

,

only

a

fourfold

(

rather

than

a

threefold

)

monster

.

Notes

1
Accipe.
2
Anima derivaret.
3
Sermoni perfecto.
4
Traducem animæ suæ.
5
Censum.
6
Or, the substance of ᾽Αρχή.