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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 2 · Chapter 8

About this work

A sustained refutation of Marcion’s theology and edited Scriptures, defending the unity of the Creator and Christ’s Father and reading the Gospel and Pauline letters against Marcionite claims.

Author: Tertullian
Date: Early 3rd century
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter VIII.—Man, Endued with Liberty, Superior to the Angels, Overcomes Even the Angel Which Lured Him to His Fall, When Repentant and Resuming Obedience to God.

For it was not merely that he might

‹ Book 2 · Chapter 7 Book 2 · Chapter 9 ›

live

the

natural

life

that

God

had

produced

man

,

but

that

he

should

live

virtuously

,

that

is

,

in

relation

to

God

and

to

His

law

.

Accordingly

,

God

gave

him

to

live

when

he

was

formed

into

a

living

soul

;

but

He

charged

him

to

live

virtuously

when

he

was

required

to

obey

a

law

.

So

also

God

shows

that

man

was

not

constituted

for

death

,

by

now

wishing

that

he

should

be

restored

to

life

,

preferring

the

sinner’s

repentance

to

his

death

.

As

,

therefore

,

God

designed

for

man

a

condition

of

life

,

so

man

brought

on

himself

a

state

of

death

;

and

this

,

too

,

neither

through

infirmity

nor

through

ignorance

,

so

that

no

blame

can

be

imputed

to

the

Creator

.

No

doubt

it

was

an

angel

who

was

the

seducer

;

but

then

the

victim

of

that

seduction

was

free

,

and

master

of

himself

;

and

as

being

the

image

and

likeness

of

God

,

was

stronger

than

any

angel

;

and

as

being

,

too

,

the

afflatus

of

the

Divine

Being

,

was

nobler

than

that

material

spirit

of

which

angels

were

made

.

Who

maketh

,

says

he

,

His

angels

spirits

,

and

His

ministers

a

flame

of

fire

.

He

would

not

have

made

all

things

subject

to

man

,

if

he

had

been

too

weak

for

the

dominion

,

and

inferior

to

the

angels

,

to

whom

He

assigned

no

such

subjects

;

nor

would

He

have

put

the

burden

of

law

upon

him

,

if

he

had

been

incapable

of

sustaining

so

great

a

weight

;

nor

,

again

,

would

He

have

threatened

with

the

penalty

of

death

a

creature

whom

He

knew

to

be

guiltless

on

the

score

of

his

helplessness

:

in

short

,

if

He

had

made

him

infirm

,

it

would

not

have

been

by

liberty

and

independence

of

will

,

but

rather

by

the

withholding

from

him

these

endowments

.

And

thus

it

comes

to

pass

,

that

even

now

also

,

the

same

human

being

,

the

same

substance

of

his

soul

,

the

same

condition

as

Adam’s

,

is

made

conqueror

over

the

same

devil

by

the

self

-

same

liberty

and

power

of

his

will

,

when

it

moves

in

obedience

to

the

laws

of

God

.

Notes

1
Ut non, “as if he were not,” etc.
2
Ezek. xviii. 23.
3
Ps. civ. 4.
4
[On capp. viii. and ix. See Kaye’s references in notes p. 178 et seqq.]