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The Chaplet, or De Corona

Tertullian

Chapter 15

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Keep for God His own property untainted; He will crown

it

if

He

choose

.

Nay

,

then

,

He

does

even

choose

.

He

calls

us

to

it

.

To

him

who

conquers

He

says

,

“

I

will

give

a

crown

of

life

.

”

Be

you

,

too

,

faithful

unto

death

,

and

fight

you

,

too

,

the

good

fight

,

whose

crown

the

apostle

feels

so

justly

confident

has

been

laid

up

for

him

.

The

angel

also

,

as

he

goes

forth

on

a

white

horse

,

conquering

and

to

conquer

,

receives

a

crown

of

victory

;

and

another

is

adorned

with

an

encircling

rainbow

(

as

it

were

in

its

fair

colours

)

—

a

celestial

meadow

.

In

like

manner

,

the

elders

sit

crowned

around

,

crowned

too

with

a

crown

of

gold

,

and

the

Son

of

Man

Himself

flashes

out

above

the

clouds

.

If

such

are

the

appearances

in

the

vision

of

the

seer

,

of

what

sort

will

be

the

realities

in

the

actual

manifestation

?

Look

at

those

crowns

.

Inhale

those

odours

.

Why

condemn

you

to

a

little

chaplet

,

or

a

twisted

headband

,

the

brow

which

has

been

destined

for

a

diadem

?

For

Christ

Jesus

has

made

us

even

kings

to

God

and

His

Father

.

What

have

you

in

common

with

the

flower

which

is

to

die

?

You

have

a

flower

in

the

Branch

of

Jesse

,

upon

which

the

grace

of

the

Divine

Spirit

in

all

its

fulness

rested

—

a

flower

undefiled

,

unfading

,

everlasting

,

by

choosing

which

the

good

soldier

,

too

,

has

got

promotion

in

the

heavenly

ranks

.

Blush

,

ye

fellow

-

soldiers

of

his

,

henceforth

not

to

be

condemned

even

by

him

,

but

by

some

soldier

of

Mithras

,

who

,

at

his

initiation

in

the

gloomy

cavern

,

in

the

camp

,

it

may

well

be

said

,

of

darkness

,

when

at

the

sword’s

point

a

crown

is

presented

to

him

,

as

though

in

mimicry

of

martyrdom

,

and

thereupon

put

upon

his

head

,

is

admonished

to

resist

and

cast

it

off

,

and

,

if

you

like

,

transfer

it

to

his

shoulder

,

saying

that

Mithras

is

his

crown

.

And

thenceforth

he

is

never

crowned

;

and

he

has

that

for

a

mark

to

show

who

he

is

,

if

anywhere

he

be

subjected

to

trial

in

respect

of

his

religion

;

and

he

is

at

once

believed

to

be

a

soldier

of

Mithras

if

he

throws

the

crown

away

—

if

he

say

that

in

his

god

he

has

his

crown

.

Let

us

take

note

of

the

devices

of

the

devil

,

who

is

wont

to

ape

some

of

God’s

things

with

no

other

design

than

,

by

the

faithfulness

of

his

servants

,

to

put

us

to

shame

,

and

to

condemn

us

.

Notes

1
Rev. ii. 10; Jas. i. 22.
2
2 Tim. iv. 8.
3
Rev. vi. 2.
4
Rev. x. 1.