Opening the library…

Search the Bible

The Soul's Testimony

Tertullian

Chapter 5

About this work

Author: Tertullian

These testimonies of the soul are simple as true, commonplace as

‹ Chapter 4 Chapter 6 ›

simple

,

universal

as

commonplace

,

natural

as

universal

,

divine

as

natural

.

I

don’t

think

they

can

appear

frivolous

or

feeble

to

any

one

,

if

he

reflect

on

the

majesty

of

nature

,

from

which

the

soul

derives

its

authority

.

If

you

acknowledge

the

authority

of

the

mistress

,

you

will

own

it

also

in

the

disciple

.

Well

,

nature

is

the

mistress

here

,

and

her

disciple

is

the

soul

.

But

everything

the

one

has

taught

or

the

other

learned

,

has

come

from

God

—

the

Teacher

of

the

teacher

.

And

what

the

soul

may

know

from

the

teachings

of

its

chief

instructor

,

thou

canst

judge

from

that

which

is

within

thee

.

Think

of

that

which

enables

thee

to

think

;

reflect

on

that

which

in

forebodings

is

the

prophet

,

the

augur

in

omens

,

the

foreseer

of

coming

events

.

Is

it

a

wonderful

thing

,

if

,

being

the

gift

of

God

to

man

,

it

knows

how

to

divine

?

Is

it

anything

very

strange

,

if

it

knows

the

God

by

whom

it

was

bestowed

?

Even

fallen

as

it

is

,

the

victim

of

the

great

adversary’s

machinations

,

it

does

not

forget

its

Creator

,

His

goodness

and

law

,

and

the

final

end

both

of

itself

and

of

its

foe

.

Is

it

singular

then

,

if

,

divine

in

its

origin

,

its

revelations

agree

with

the

knowledge

God

has

given

to

His

own

people

?

But

he

who

does

not

regard

those

outbursts

of

the

soul

as

the

teaching

of

a

congenital

nature

and

the

secret

deposit

of

an

inborn

knowledge

,

will

say

that

the

habit

and

,

so

to

say

,

the

vice

of

speaking

in

this

way

has

been

acquired

and

confirmed

from

the

opinions

of

published

books

widely

spread

among

men

.

Unquestionably

the

soul

existed

before

letters

,

and

speech

before

books

,

and

ideas

before

the

writing

of

them

,

and

man

himself

before

the

poet

and

philosopher

.

Is

it

then

to

be

believed

,

that

before

literature

and

its

publication

no

utterances

of

the

sort

we

have

pointed

out

came

from

the

lips

of

men

?

Did

nobody

speak

of

God

and

His

goodness

,

nobody

of

death

,

nobody

of

the

dead

?

Speech

went

a

-

begging

,

I

suppose

;

nay

,

(

the

subjects

being

still

awanting

,

without

which

it

cannot

even

exist

at

this

day

,

when

it

is

so

much

more

copious

,

and

rich

,

and

wise

)

,

it

could

not

exist

at

all

if

the

things

which

are

now

so

easily

suggested

,

that

cling

to

us

so

constantly

,

that

are

so

very

near

to

us

,

that

are

somehow

born

on

our

very

lips

,

had

no

existence

in

ancient

times

,

before

letters

had

any

existence

in

the

world

—

before

there

was

a

Mercury

,

I

think

,

at

all

.

And

whence

was

it

,

I

pray

,

that

letters

themselves

came

to

know

,

and

to

disseminate

for

the

use

of

speech

,

what

no

mind

had

ever

conceived

,

or

tongue

put

forth

,

or

ear

taken

in

?

But

,

clearly

,

since

the

Scriptures

of

God

,

whether

belonging

to

Christians

or

to

Jews

,

into

whose

olive

tree

we

have

been

grafted

—

are

much

more

ancient

than

any

secular

literature

,

(

or

,

let

us

only

say

,

are

of

a

somewhat

earlier

date

,

as

we

have

shown

in

its

proper

place

when

proving

their

trustworthiness

)

;

if

the

soul

have

taken

these

utterances

from

writings

at

all

,

we

must

believe

it

has

taken

them

from

ours

,

and

not

from

yours

,

its

instruction

coming

more

naturally

from

the

earlier

than

the

later

works

.

Which

latter

indeed

waited

for

their

own

instruction

from

the

former

,

and

though

we

grant

that

light

has

come

from

you

,

still

it

has

flowed

from

the

first

fountainhead

originally

;

and

we

claim

as

entirely

ours

,

all

you

may

have

taken

from

us

and

handed

down

.

Since

it

is

thus

,

it

matters

little

whether

the

soul’s

knowledge

was

put

into

it

by

God

or

by

His

book

.

Why

,

then

,

O

man

,

wilt

thou

maintain

a

view

so

groundless

,

as

that

those

testimonies

of

the

soul

have

gone

forth

from

the

mere

human

speculations

of

your

literature

,

and

got

hardening

of

common

use

?

Notes

1
[This appeal to the universal conscience and consciousness of mankind is unanswerable, and assures us that counter-theories will never prevail. See Bossuet, De la Connoisance de Dieu et de Soi-même. Œuvres, Tom. V. pp. 86 et. seqq. Ed. Paris, 1846.]
2
[Compare the heathen ideas in Plato: e.g. the story Socrates tells in the Gorgias, (near the close) about death and Judgment.]