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Tertullian

Chapter 13

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Author: Tertullian

Chapter XIII.—Of Washing the Hands.

But what reason is there in going to prayer with hands indeed washed

‹ Chapter 12 Chapter 14 ›

,

but

the

spirit

foul

?

—

inasmuch

as

to

our

hands

themselves

spiritual

purities

are

necessary

,

that

they

may

be

“

lifted

up

pure

”

from

falsehood

,

from

murder

,

from

cruelty

,

from

poisonings

,

from

idolatry

,

and

all

the

other

blemishes

which

,

conceived

by

the

spirit

,

are

effected

by

the

operation

of

the

hands

.

These

are

the

true

purities

;

not

those

which

most

are

superstitiously

careful

about

,

taking

water

at

every

prayer

,

even

when

they

are

coming

from

a

bath

of

the

whole

body

.

When

I

was

scrupulously

making

a

thorough

investigation

of

this

practice

,

and

searching

into

the

reason

of

it

,

I

ascertained

it

to

be

a

commemorative

act

,

bearing

on

the

surrender

of

our

Lord

.

We

,

however

,

pray

to

the

Lord

:

we

do

not

surrender

Him

;

nay

,

we

ought

even

to

set

ourselves

in

opposition

to

the

example

of

His

surrenderer

,

and

not

,

on

that

account

,

wash

our

hands

.

Unless

any

defilement

contracted

in

human

intercourse

be

a

conscientious

cause

for

washing

them

,

they

are

otherwise

clean

enough

,

which

together

with

our

whole

body

we

once

washed

in

Christ

.

Notes

1
1 Tim. ii. 8.
2
Or, “sorceries.”
3
See Matt. xv. 10, 11, 17–20; xxiii. 25, 26.
4
By Pilate. See Matt. xxvii. 24. [N. B. quoad Ritualia.]
5
i.e. in baptism.