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The Soul's Testimony

Tertullian

Chapter 6

About this work

Author: Tertullian

Believe, then, your own books, and as to our

Scriptures

so

much

the

more

believe

writings

which

are

divine

,

but

in

the

witness

of

the

soul

itself

give

like

confidence

to

Nature

.

Choose

the

one

of

these

you

observe

to

be

the

most

faithful

friend

of

truth

.

If

your

own

writings

are

distrusted

,

neither

God

nor

Nature

lie

.

And

if

you

would

have

faith

in

God

and

Nature

,

have

faith

in

the

soul

;

thus

you

will

believe

yourself

.

Certainly

you

value

the

soul

as

giving

you

your

true

greatness

,

—

that

to

which

you

belong

;

which

is

all

things

to

you

;

without

which

you

can

neither

live

nor

die

;

on

whose

account

you

even

put

God

away

from

you

.

Since

,

then

,

you

fear

to

become

a

Christian

,

call

the

soul

before

you

,

and

put

her

to

the

question

.

Why

does

she

worship

another

?

why

name

the

name

of

God

?

Why

does

she

speak

of

demons

,

when

she

means

to

denote

spirits

to

be

held

accursed

?

Why

does

she

make

her

protestations

towards

the

heavens

,

and

pronounce

her

ordinary

execrations

earthwards

?

Why

does

she

render

service

in

one

place

,

in

another

invoke

the

Avenger

?

Why

does

she

pass

judgments

on

the

dead

?

What

Christian

phrases

are

those

she

has

got

,

though

Christians

she

neither

desires

to

see

nor

hear

?

Why

has

she

either

bestowed

them

on

us

,

or

received

them

from

us

?

Why

has

she

either

taught

us

them

,

or

learned

them

as

our

scholar

?

Regard

with

suspicion

this

accordance

in

words

,

while

there

is

such

difference

in

practice

.

It

is

utter

folly

—

denying

a

universal

nature

—

to

ascribe

this

exclusively

to

our

language

and

the

Greek

,

which

are

regarded

among

us

as

so

near

akin

.

The

soul

is

not

a

boon

from

heaven

to

Latins

and

Greeks

alone

.

Man

is

the

one

name

belonging

to

every

nation

upon

earth

:

there

is

one

soul

and

many

tongues

,

one

spirit

and

various

sounds

;

every

country

has

its

own

speech

,

but

the

subjects

of

speech

are

common

to

all

.

God

is

everywhere

,

and

the

goodness

of

God

is

everywhere

;

demons

are

everywhere

,

and

the

cursing

of

them

is

everywhere

;

the

invocation

of

divine

judgment

is

everywhere

,

death

is

everywhere

,

and

the

sense

of

death

is

everywhere

,

and

all

the

world

over

is

found

the

witness

of

the

soul

.

There

is

not

a

soul

of

man

that

does

not

,

from

the

light

that

is

in

itself

,

proclaim

the

very

things

we

are

not

permitted

to

speak

above

our

breath

.

Most

justly

,

then

,

every

soul

is

a

culprit

as

well

as

a

witness

:

in

the

measure

that

it

testifies

for

truth

,

the

guilt

of

error

lies

on

it

;

and

on

the

day

of

judgment

it

will

stand

before

the

courts

of

God

,

without

a

word

to

say

.

Thou

proclaimedst

God

,

O

soul

,

but

thou

didst

not

seek

to

know

Him

:

evil

spirits

were

detested

by

thee

,

and

yet

they

were

the

objects

of

thy

adoration

;

the

punishments

of

hell

were

foreseen

by

thee

,

but

no

care

was

taken

to

avoid

them

;

thou

hadst

a

savour

of

Christianity

,

and

withal

wert

the

persecutor

of

Christians

.