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Against the Valentinians

Tertullian

Chapter 36

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Chapter XXXVI.—Less Reprehensible Theories in the Heresy. Bad is the Best of Valentinianism.

How much more sensible are they who, rejecting all this

‹ Chapter 35 Chapter 37 ›

tiresome

nonsense

,

have

refused

to

believe

that

any

one

Æon

has

descended

from

another

by

steps

like

these

,

which

are

really

neither

more

nor

less

Gemonian

;

but

that

on

a

given

signal

the

eight

-

fold

emanation

,

of

which

we

have

heard

,

issued

all

at

once

from

the

Father

and

His

Ennœa

(

Thought

)

,

—

that

it

is

,

in

fact

,

from

His

mere

motion

that

they

gain

their

designations

.

When

,

as

they

say

,

He

thought

of

producing

offspring

,

He

on

that

account

gained

the

name

of

Father

.

After

producing

,

because

the

issue

which

He

produced

was

true

,

He

received

the

name

of

Truth

.

When

He

wanted

Himself

to

be

manifested

,

He

on

that

account

was

announced

as

Man

.

Those

,

moreover

,

whom

He

preconceived

in

His

thought

when

He

produced

them

,

were

then

designated

the

Church

.

As

man

,

He

uttered

His

Word

;

and

so

this

Word

is

His

first

-

begotten

Son

,

and

to

the

Word

was

added

Life

.

And

by

this

process

the

first

Ogdoad

was

completed

.

However

,

the

whole

of

this

tiresome

story

is

utterly

poor

and

weak

.

Notes

1
The “Gemonian steps” on the Aventine led to the Tiber, to which the bodies of executed criminals were dragged by hooks, to be cast into the river.
2
Mappa, quod aiunt, missa: a proverbial expression.
3
Istam.
4
See above, ch. vii. p. 506.