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Against the Valentinians

Tertullian

Chapter 33

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXXIII.—These Remaining Chapters an Appendix to the Main Work. In This Chapter Tertullian Notices a Difference Among Sundry Followers of Ptolemy, a Disciple of Valentinus.

I shall now at last produce, by way of

‹ Chapter 32 Chapter 34 ›

finale

,

after

so

long

a

story

,

those

points

which

,

not

to

interrupt

the

course

of

it

,

and

by

the

interruption

distract

the

reader’s

attention

,

I

have

preferred

reserving

to

this

place

.

They

have

been

variously

advanced

by

those

who

have

improved

on

the

doctrines

of

Ptolemy

.

For

there

have

been

in

his

school

“

disciples

above

their

master

,

”

who

have

attributed

to

their

Bythus

two

wives

—

Cogitatio

(

Thought

)

and

Voluntas

(

Will

)

.

For

Cogitatio

alone

was

not

sufficient

wherewith

to

produce

any

offspring

,

although

from

the

two

wives

procreation

was

most

easy

to

him

.

The

former

bore

him

Monogenes

(

Only

-

Begotten

)

and

Veritas

(

Truth

)

.

Veritas

was

a

female

after

the

likeness

of

Cogitatio

;

Monogenes

a

male

bearing

a

resemblance

to

Voluntas

.

For

it

is

the

strength

of

Voluntas

which

procures

the

masculine

nature

,

inasmuch

as

she

affords

efficiency

to

Cogitatio

.

Notes

1
Velut epicitharisma.
2
Emendatoribus.
3
Censum.