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Apology

Tertullian

Chapter 40

About this work

A forceful Latin defense of Christians against legal injustice and popular accusation, explaining Christian worship and ethics while challenging Roman religious, political, and judicial assumptions.

Author: Tertullian
Date: c. AD 197
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Apology

On the contrary, they deserve the name of faction who

‹ Chapter 39 Chapter 41 ›

conspire

to

bring

odium

on

good

men

and

virtuous

,

who

cry

out

against

innocent

blood

,

offering

as

the

justification

of

their

enmity

the

baseless

plea

,

that

they

think

the

Christians

the

cause

of

every

public

disaster

,

of

every

affliction

with

which

the

people

are

visited

.

If

the

Tiber

rises

as

high

as

the

city

walls

,

if

the

Nile

does

not

send

its

waters

up

over

the

fields

,

if

the

heavens

give

no

rain

,

if

there

is

an

earthquake

,

if

there

is

famine

or

pestilence

,

straightway

the

cry

is

,

“

Away

with

the

Christians

to

the

lion

!

”

What

!

shall

you

give

such

multitudes

to

a

single

beast

?

Pray

,

tell

me

how

many

calamities

befell

the

world

and

particular

cities

before

Tiberius

reigned

—

before

the

coming

,

that

is

,

of

Christ

?

We

read

of

the

islands

of

Hiera

,

and

Anaphe

,

and

Delos

,

and

Rhodes

,

and

Cos

,

with

many

thousands

of

human

beings

,

having

been

swallowed

up

.

Plato

informs

us

that

a

region

larger

than

Asia

or

Africa

was

seized

by

the

Atlantic

Ocean

.

An

earthquake

,

too

,

drank

up

the

Corinthian

sea

;

and

the

force

of

the

waves

cut

off

a

part

of

Lucania

,

whence

it

obtained

the

name

of

Sicily

.

These

things

surely

could

not

have

taken

place

without

the

inhabitants

suffering

by

them

.

But

where

—

I

do

not

say

were

Christians

,

those

despisers

of

your

gods

—

but

where

were

your

gods

themselves

in

those

days

,

when

the

flood

poured

its

destroying

waters

over

all

the

world

,

or

,

as

Plato

thought

,

merely

the

level

portion

of

it

?

For

that

they

are

of

later

date

than

that

calamity

,

the

very

cities

in

which

they

were

born

and

died

,

nay

,

which

they

founded

,

bear

ample

testimony

;

for

the

cities

could

have

no

existence

at

this

day

unless

as

belonging

to

postdiluvian

times

.

Palestine

had

not

yet

received

from

Egypt

its

Jewish

swarm

(

of

emigrants

)

,

nor

had

the

race

from

which

Christians

sprung

yet

settled

down

there

,

when

its

neighbors

Sodom

and

Gomorrah

were

consumed

by

fire

from

heaven

.

The

country

yet

smells

of

that

conflagration

;

and

if

there

are

apples

there

upon

the

trees

,

it

is

only

a

promise

to

the

eye

they

give

—

you

but

touch

them

,

and

they

turn

to

ashes

.

Nor

had

Tuscia

and

Campania

to

complain

of

Christians

in

the

days

when

fire

from

heaven

overwhelmed

Vulsinii

,

and

Pompeii

was

destroyed

by

fire

from

its

own

mountain

.

No

one

yet

worshipped

the

true

God

at

Rome

,

when

Hannibal

at

Cannæ

counted

the

Roman

slain

by

the

pecks

of

Roman

rings

.

Your

gods

were

all

objects

of

adoration

,

universally

acknowledged

,

when

the

Senones

closely

besieged

the

very

Capitol

.

And

it

is

in

keeping

with

all

this

,

that

if

adversity

has

at

any

time

befallen

cities

,

the

temples

and

the

walls

have

equally

shared

in

the

disaster

,

so

that

it

is

clear

to

demonstration

the

thing

was

not

the

doing

of

the

gods

,

seeing

it

also

overtook

themselves

.

The

truth

is

,

the

human

race

has

always

deserved

ill

at

God’s

hand

.

First

of

all

,

as

undutiful

to

Him

,

because

when

it

knew

Him

in

part

,

it

not

only

did

not

seek

after

Him

,

but

even

invented

other

gods

of

its

own

to

worship

;

and

further

,

because

,

as

the

result

of

their

willing

ignorance

of

the

Teacher

of

righteousness

,

the

Judge

and

Avenger

of

sin

,

all

vices

and

crimes

grew

and

flourished

.

But

had

men

sought

,

they

would

have

come

to

know

the

glorious

object

of

their

seeking

;

and

knowledge

would

have

produced

obedience

,

and

obedience

would

have

found

a

gracious

instead

of

an

angry

God

.

They

ought

then

to

see

that

the

very

same

God

is

angry

with

them

now

as

in

ancient

times

,

before

Christians

were

so

much

as

spoken

of

.

It

was

His

blessings

they

enjoyed

—

created

before

they

made

any

of

their

deities

:

and

why

can

they

not

take

it

in

,

that

their

evils

come

from

the

Being

whose

goodness

they

have

failed

to

recognize

?

They

suffer

at

the

hands

of

Him

to

whom

they

have

been

ungrateful

.

And

,

for

all

that

is

said

,

if

we

compare

the

calamities

of

former

times

,

they

fall

on

us

more

lightly

now

,

since

God

gave

Christians

to

the

world

;

for

from

that

time

virtue

put

some

restraint

on

the

world’s

wickedness

,

and

men

began

to

pray

for

the

averting

of

God’s

wrath

.

In

a

word

,

when

the

summer

clouds

give

no

rain

,

and

the

season

is

matter

of

anxiety

,

you

indeed

—

full

of

feasting

day

by

day

,

and

ever

eager

for

the

banquet

,

baths

and

taverns

and

brothels

always

busy

—

offer

up

to

Jupiter

your

rain

-

sacrifices

;

you

enjoin

on

the

people

barefoot

processions

;

you

seek

heaven

at

the

Capitol

;

you

look

up

to

the

temple

-

ceilings

for

the

longed

-

for

clouds

—

God

and

heaven

not

in

all

your

thoughts

.

We

,

dried

up

with

fastings

,

and

our

passions

bound

tightly

up

,

holding

back

as

long

as

possible

from

all

the

ordinary

enjoyments

of

life

,

rolling

in

sackcloth

and

ashes

,

assail

heaven

with

our

importunities

—

touch

God’s

heart

—

and

when

we

have

extorted

divine

compassion

,

why

,

Jupiter

gets

all

the

honour

!

Notes

1
[Christianos ad leonem. From what class, chiefly, see cap. xxxv. supra. Elucidation VIII.]