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To His Wife

Tertullian

Book 1 · Chapter 1

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Author: Tertullian

IV. To His Wife.

Chapter I.—Design of the Treatise. Disavowal of Personal Motives in Writing It.

I have thought it meet, my best beloved fellow-servant

Book 1 · Chapter 2 ›

in

the

Lord

,

even

from

this

early

period

,

to

provide

for

the

course

which

you

must

pursue

after

my

departure

from

the

world

,

if

I

shall

be

called

before

you

;

(

and

)

to

entrust

to

your

honour

the

observance

of

the

provision

.

For

in

things

worldly

we

are

active

enough

,

and

we

wish

the

good

of

each

of

us

to

be

consulted

.

If

we

draw

up

wills

for

such

matters

,

why

ought

we

not

much

more

to

take

forethought

for

our

posterity

in

things

divine

and

heavenly

,

and

in

a

sense

to

bequeath

a

legacy

to

be

received

before

the

inheritance

be

divided

,

—

(

the

legacy

,

I

mean

,

of

)

admonition

and

demonstration

touching

those

(

bequests

)

which

are

allotted

out

of

(

our

)

immortal

goods

,

and

from

the

heritage

of

the

heavens

?

Only

,

that

you

may

be

able

to

receive

in

its

entirety

this

feoffment

in

trust

of

my

admonition

,

may

God

grant

;

to

whom

be

honour

,

glory

,

renown

,

dignity

,

and

power

,

now

and

to

the

ages

of

the

ages

!

The precept, therefore, which I give you is, that, with all the constancy you may, you do, after our departure, renounce nuptials; not that you will on that score confer any benefit on me, except in that you will profit yourself. But to Christians, after their departure from the world, no restoration of marriage is promised in the day of the resurrection, translated as they will be into the condition and sanctity of angels. Therefore no solicitude arising from carnal jealousy will, in the day of the resurrection, even in the case of her whom they chose to represent as having been married to seven brothers successively, wound any one of her so many husbands; nor is any (husband) awaiting her to put her to confusion. The question raised by the Sadducees has yielded to the Lord’s sentence. Think not that it is for the sake of preserving to the end for myself the entire devotion of your flesh, that I, suspicious of the pain of (anticipated) slight, am even at this early period instilling into you the counsel of (perpetual) widowhood. There will at that day be no resumption of voluptuous disgrace between us. No such frivolities, no such impurities, does God promise to His (servants). But whether to you, or to any other woman whatever who pertains to God, the advice which we are giving shall be profitable, we take leave to treat of at large.

Notes

2
Jam hinc.
3
Sæculo.
4
Fidei.
5
Sæcularibus.
6
Posteritati; or, with Mr. Dodgson, “our future.”
7
Deputantur.
8
Solidum; alluding to certain laws respecting a widow’s power of receiving “in its entirety” her deceased husband’s property.
9
Fidei commissum.
10
Sæculo.
11
Luke xx. 36.
12
Nulla…neminem—two negatives.
13
See Matt. xxii. 23–33; Mark xii. 18–27; Luke xx. 27–40.
14
Jam hinc. See beginning of chapter.