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The Five Books Against Marcion

Tertullian

Book 4 · Chapter 23

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 XXIII.—Impossible that Marcion’s Christ Should Reprove the Faithless Generation. Such Loving Consideration for Infants as the True Christ Was Apt to Shew, Also Impossible for the Other. On the Three Different Characters Confronted and Instructed by Christ in Samaria.

I take on myself the character of Israel

‹ Book 4 · Chapter 22 Book 4 · Chapter 24 ›

.

Let

Marcion’s

Christ

stand

forth

,

and

exclaim

,

“

O

faithless

generation

!

how

long

shall

I

be

with

you

?

how

long

shall

I

suffer

you

?

”

He

will

immediately

have

to

submit

to

this

remonstrance

from

me

:

“

Whoever

you

are

,

O

stranger

,

first

tell

us

who

you

are

,

from

whom

you

come

,

and

what

right

you

have

over

us

.

Thus

far

,

all

you

possess

belongs

to

the

Creator

.

Of

course

,

if

you

come

from

Him

,

and

are

acting

for

Him

,

we

will

bear

your

reproof

.

But

if

you

come

from

some

other

god

,

I

should

wish

you

to

tell

us

what

you

have

ever

committed

to

us

belonging

to

yourself

,

which

it

was

our

duty

to

believe

,

seeing

that

you

are

upbraiding

us

with

‘

faithlessness

,

’

who

have

never

yet

revealed

to

us

your

own

self

.

How

long

ago

did

you

begin

to

treat

with

us

,

that

you

should

be

complaining

of

the

delay

?

On

what

points

have

you

borne

with

us

,

that

you

should

adduce

your

patience

?

Like

Æsop’s

ass

,

you

are

just

come

from

the

well

,

and

are

filling

every

place

with

your

braying

.

”

I

assume

,

besides

,

the

person

of

the

disciple

,

against

whom

he

has

inveighed

:

“

O

perverse

nation

!

how

long

shall

I

be

with

you

?

how

long

shall

I

suffer

you

?

”

This

outburst

of

his

I

might

,

of

course

,

retort

upon

him

most

justly

in

such

words

as

these

:

“

Whoever

you

are

,

O

stranger

,

first

tell

us

who

you

are

,

from

whom

you

come

,

what

right

you

have

over

us

.

Thus

far

,

I

suppose

,

you

belong

to

the

Creator

,

and

so

we

have

followed

you

,

recognising

in

you

all

things

which

are

His

.

Now

,

if

you

come

from

Him

,

we

will

bear

your

reproof

.

If

,

however

,

you

are

acting

for

another

,

prythee

tell

us

what

you

have

ever

conferred

upon

us

that

is

simply

your

own

,

which

it

had

become

our

duty

to

believe

,

seeing

that

you

reproach

us

with

‘

faithlessness

,

’

although

up

to

this

moment

you

show

us

no

credentials

.

How

long

since

did

you

begin

to

plead

with

us

,

that

you

are

charging

us

with

delay

?

Wherein

have

you

borne

with

us

,

that

you

should

even

boast

of

your

patience

?

The

ass

has

only

just

arrived

from

Æsop’s

well

,

and

he

is

already

braying

.

”

Now

who

would

not

thus

have

rebutted

the

unfairness

of

the

rebuke

,

if

he

had

supposed

its

author

to

belong

to

him

who

had

no

right

as

yet

to

complain

?

Except

that

not

even

He

would

have

inveighed

against

them

,

if

He

had

not

dwelt

among

them

of

old

in

the

law

and

by

the

prophets

,

and

with

mighty

deeds

and

many

mercies

,

and

had

always

experienced

them

to

be

“

faithless

.

”

But

,

behold

,

Christ

takes

infants

,

and

teaches

how

all

ought

to

be

like

them

,

if

they

ever

wish

to

be

greater

.

The

Creator

,

on

the

contrary

,

let

loose

bears

against

children

,

in

order

to

avenge

His

prophet

Elisha

,

who

had

been

mocked

by

them

.

This

antithesis

is

impudent

enough

,

since

it

throws

together

things

so

different

as

infants

and

children

,

—

an

age

still

innocent

,

and

one

already

capable

of

discretion

—

able

to

mock

,

if

not

to

blaspheme

.

As

therefore

God

is

a

just

God

,

He

spared

not

impious

children

,

exacting

as

He

does

honour

for

every

time

of

life

,

and

especially

,

of

course

,

from

youth

.

And

as

God

is

good

,

He

so

loves

infants

as

to

have

blessed

the

midwives

in

Egypt

,

when

they

protected

the

infants

of

the

Hebrews

which

were

in

peril

from

Pharaoh’s

command

.

Christ

therefore

shares

this

kindness

with

the

Creator

.

As

indeed

for

Marcion’s

god

,

who

is

an

enemy

to

marriage

,

how

can

he

possibly

seem

to

be

a

lover

of

little

children

,

which

are

simply

the

issue

of

marriage

?

He

who

hates

the

seed

must

needs

also

detest

the

fruit

.

Yea

,

he

ought

to

be

deemed

more

ruthless

than

the

king

of

Egypt

.

For

whereas

Pharaoh

forbade

infants

to

be

brought

up

,

he

will

not

allow

them

even

to

be

born

,

depriving

them

of

their

ten

months

’

existence

in

the

womb

.

And

how

much

more

credible

it

is

,

that

kindness

to

little

children

should

be

attributed

to

Him

who

blessed

matrimony

for

the

procreation

of

mankind

,

and

in

such

benediction

included

also

the

promise

of

connubial

fruit

itself

,

the

first

of

which

is

that

of

infancy

!

The

Creator

,

at

the

request

of

Elias

,

inflicts

the

blow

of

fire

from

heaven

in

the

case

of

that

false

prophet

(

of

Baalzebub

)

.

I

recognise

herein

the

severity

of

the

Judge

.

And

I

,

on

the

contrary

,

the

severe

rebuke

of

Christ

on

His

disciples

,

when

they

were

for

inflicting

a

like

visitation

on

that

obscure

village

of

the

Samaritans

.

The

heretic

,

too

,

may

discover

that

this

gentleness

of

Christ

was

promised

by

the

selfsame

severest

Judge

.

“

He

shall

not

contend

,

”

says

He

,

“

nor

shall

His

voice

be

heard

in

the

street

;

a

bruised

reed

shall

He

not

crush

,

and

smoking

flax

shall

He

not

quench

.

”

Being

of

such

a

character

,

He

was

of

course

much

the

less

disposed

to

burn

men

.

For

even

at

that

time

the

Lord

said

to

Elias

,

“

He

was

not

in

the

fire

,

but

in

the

still

small

voice

.

”

Well

,

but

why

does

this

most

humane

and

merciful

God

reject

the

man

who

offers

himself

to

Him

as

an

inseparable

companion

?

If

it

were

from

pride

or

from

hypocrisy

that

he

had

said

,

“

I

will

follow

Thee

whithersoever

Thou

goest

,

’

then

,

by

judicially

reproving

an

act

of

either

pride

or

hypocrisy

as

worthy

of

rejection

,

He

performed

the

office

of

a

Judge

.

And

,

of

course

,

him

whom

He

rejected

He

condemned

to

the

loss

of

not

following

the

Saviour

.

For

as

He

calls

to

salvation

him

whom

He

does

not

reject

,

or

him

whom

He

voluntarily

invites

,

so

does

He

consign

to

perdition

him

whom

He

rejects

.

When

,

however

,

He

answers

the

man

,

who

alleged

as

an

excuse

his

father’s

burial

,

“

Let

the

dead

bury

their

dead

,

but

go

thou

and

preach

the

kingdom

of

God

,

”

He

gave

a

clear

confirmation

to

those

two

laws

of

the

Creator

—

that

in

Leviticus

,

which

concerns

the

sacerdotal

office

,

and

forbids

the

priests

to

be

present

at

the

funerals

even

of

their

parents

.

“

The

priest

,

”

says

He

,

“

shall

not

enter

where

there

is

any

dead

person

;

and

for

his

father

he

shall

not

be

defiled

”

;

as

well

as

that

in

Numbers

,

which

relates

to

the

(

Nazarite

)

vow

of

separation

;

for

there

he

who

devotes

himself

to

God

,

among

other

things

,

is

bidden

“

not

to

come

at

any

dead

body

,

”

not

even

of

his

father

,

or

his

mother

,

or

his

brother

.

Now

it

was

,

I

suppose

,

for

the

Nazarite

and

the

priestly

office

that

He

intended

this

man

whom

He

had

been

inspiring

to

preach

the

kingdom

of

God

.

Or

else

,

if

it

be

not

so

,

he

must

be

pronounced

impious

enough

who

,

without

the

intervention

of

any

precept

of

the

law

,

commanded

that

burials

of

parents

should

be

neglected

by

their

sons

.

When

,

indeed

,

in

the

third

case

before

us

,

(

Christ

)

forbids

the

man

“

to

look

back

”

who

wanted

first

“

to

bid

his

family

farewell

,

”

He

only

follows

out

the

rule

of

the

Creator

.

For

this

(

retrospection

)

He

had

been

against

their

making

,

whom

He

had

rescued

out

of

Sodom

.

Notes

1
Personam: “I personate Israel.”
2
Genitura.
3
Luke ix. 41.
4
ἐπερχόμενε. The true Christ is ὁ ἐρχόμενος.
5
Totum apud te.
6
De tuo commisisti.
7
Quam olim.
8
Imputes.
9
This fable is not extant (Oehler).
10
Adhuc.
11
Insiliit.
12
Nisi quod nec ille. This ille, of course, means the Creator’s Christ.
13
Diligit: or, loves.
14
Luke ix. 47, 48.
15
Autem.
16
2 Kings ii. 23, 24.
17
Committit.
18
Parvulos.
19
Pueros: [young lads].
20
Partus Hebræos.
21
Ex. ii. 15–21.
22
See a like comparison in book i. chap. xxix. p. 294.
23
Qui de infantia primus est: i.e., cujus qui de infantia, etc. [Elucidation VIII.]
24
Repræsentat plagam.
25
2 Kings i. 9–12.
26
I translate after Oehler’s text, which is supported by the oldest authorities. Pamelius and Rigaltius, however, read “Christi lenitatem increpantis eandem animadversionem,” etc. (“On the contrary, I recognize the gentleness of Christ, who rebuked His disciples when they,” etc.) This reading is only conjectural, suggested by the “Christi lenitatem” of the context.
27
Destinantes.
28
Luke ix. 51–56.
29
Isa. xlii. 2, 3.
30
Compare De Patientia, chap. xv.
31
1 Kings xix. 12.
32
Luke ix. 57, 58.
33
Salutem: i.e., “Christ, who is our salvation” (Fr. Junius).
34
Luke ix. 59, 60.
35
Animam defunctam.
36
Lev. xxi. 1, according to our author’s reading.
37
Num. vi. 6, 7.
38
Imbuerat.
39
Sectam.
40
Gen. xix. 17.