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The Prescription Against Heretics

Tertullian

Chapter 26

About this work

Tertullian argues that apostolic churches possess the proper claim to interpret Christian Scripture and that rival teachers should not be granted equal standing in debates over the inherited rule of faith.

Author: Tertullian
Date: c. AD 200–210
Origin: Carthage, North Africa
Genre: Heresiology

Chapter XXVI.—The Apostles Did in All Cases Teach the Whole Truth to the Whole Church. No Reservation, Nor Partial Communication to Favourite Friends.

Besides which, it must have followed,

‹ Chapter 25 Chapter 27 ›

that

,

for

the

man

to

whom

he

committed

the

ministration

of

the

gospel

,

he

would

add

the

injunction

that

it

be

not

ministered

in

all

places

,

and

without

respect

to

persons

,

in

accordance

with

the

Lord’s

saying

,

“

Not

to

cast

one’s

pearls

before

swine

,

nor

that

which

is

holy

unto

dogs

.

”

Openly

did

the

Lord

speak

,

without

any

intimation

of

a

hidden

mystery

.

He

had

Himself

commanded

that

,

“

whatsoever

they

had

heard

in

darkness

”

and

in

secret

,

they

should

“

declare

in

the

light

and

on

the

house

-

tops

.

”

He

had

Himself

foreshown

,

by

means

of

a

parable

,

that

they

should

not

keep

back

in

secret

,

fruitless

of

interest

,

a

single

pound

,

that

is

,

one

word

of

His

.

He

used

Himself

to

tell

them

that

a

candle

was

not

usually

“

pushed

away

under

a

bushel

,

but

placed

on

a

candlestick

,

”

in

order

to

“

give

light

to

all

who

are

in

the

house

.

”

These

things

the

apostles

either

neglected

,

or

failed

to

understand

,

if

they

fulfilled

them

not

,

by

concealing

any

portion

of

the

light

,

that

is

,

of

the

word

of

God

and

the

mystery

of

Christ

.

Of

no

man

,

I

am

quite

sure

,

were

they

afraid

,

—

neither

of

Jews

nor

of

Gentiles

in

their

violence

;

with

all

the

greater

freedom

,

then

,

would

they

certainly

preach

in

the

church

,

who

held

not

their

tongue

in

synagogues

and

public

places

.

Indeed

they

would

have

found

it

impossible

either

to

convert

Jews

or

to

bring

in

Gentiles

,

unless

they

“

set

forth

in

order

”

that

which

they

would

have

them

believe

.

Much

less

,

when

churches

were

advanced

in

the

faith

,

would

they

have

withdrawn

from

them

anything

for

the

purpose

of

committing

it

separately

to

some

few

others

.

Although

,

even

supposing

that

among

intimate

friends

,

so

to

speak

,

they

did

hold

certain

discussions

,

yet

it

is

incredible

that

these

could

have

been

such

as

to

bring

in

some

other

rule

of

faith

,

differing

from

and

contrary

to

that

which

they

were

proclaiming

through

the

Catholic

churches

,

—

as

if

they

spoke

of

one

God

in

the

Church

,

(

and

)

another

at

home

,

and

described

one

substance

of

Christ

,

publicly

,

(

and

)

another

secretly

,

and

announced

one

hope

of

the

resurrection

before

all

men

,

(

and

)

another

before

the

few

;

although

they

themselves

,

in

their

epistles

,

besought

men

that

they

would

all

speak

one

and

the

same

thing

,

and

that

there

should

be

no

divisions

and

dissensions

in

the

church

,

seeing

that

they

,

whether

Paul

or

others

,

preached

the

same

things

.

Moreover

,

they

remembered

(

the

words

)

:

“

Let

your

communication

be

yea

,

yea

;

nay

,

nay

;

for

whatsoever

is

more

than

this

cometh

of

evil

;

”

so

that

they

were

not

to

handle

the

gospel

in

a

diversity

of

treatment

.

Notes

1
Passim.
2
Inconsiderate.
3
Matt. vii. 6.
4
John xviii. 20.
5
Matt. x. 27.
6
Luke xix. 20–24.
7
Matt. v. 15.
8
Literally, “the violence of neither Jew nor Gentile.”
9
Luke i. 1.
10
Domesticos. [All this interprets Clement and utterly deprives the Trent System of its appeal to a secret doctrine, against our Præscription.]
11
Catholice, or, “which they were bringing before the public in catholic way.”
12
1 Cor. i. 10.
13
Matt. v. 37.