The library · Edition and sources
Tertullian: Against Marcion, Books I–V
ANF historical edition · Edition commentary
Book V. Wherein Tertullian proves, with respect to St. Paul's epistles, what he had proved in the preceding book with respect to St. Luke's gospel. Far from being at variance, they were in perfect unison with the writings of the Old Testament, and therefore testified that the Creator was the only God, and that the Lord Jesus was his Christ. As in the preceding books, Tertullian supports his argument with profound reasoning, and many happy illustrations of Holy Scripture. — Translator and historical edition notes (part 23)
Eph. i. 13 .
Joel ii. 28 .
Eph. ii. 17 .
Ps. xxiv. 10 .
Eph. i. 17 .
Isa. xi. 2 .
Eph. i. 18 .
Isa. xlii. 19 (Sept.).
Eph. i. 18 .
Ps. ii. 8 .
Eph. i. 19–22 .
Ps. cx. 1 .
Ps. viii. 7 .
Infertur.
Plane.
Eph. ii. 1, 2 .
Deo mundi: i.e. the God who made the world.
Operator: in reference to the expression in ver. 2 , “who now worketh ,” etc.
Sufficit igitur si.
Isa. xiv. 13, 14 . An inexact quotation from the Septuagint .
On this and another meaning given to the phrase in 2 Cor. iv. 4 , see above, chap. xi.
Plane: an ironical particle here.
Eph. ii. 3 .
Eph. ii. 3 .
In Marcion’s sense.
Eph. ii. 3 .
Captante.
Eph. ii. 10 .
Literally, “the covenants and their promise.”
Eph. ii. 11, 12 .
Conversatio: rather, “intercourse with Israel.”
Eph. ii. 13 .
This is rather an allusion to, than a quotation of, Isa. xlvi. 12, 13 .
Eph. ii. 14 .
Eph. ii. 15 .
“The law of commandments contained in ordinances.”
He expresses the proverbial adage very tersely, “non Marrucine, sed Pontice.”
Vacuam fecit.
Ex adjutore.
Conderet: “create,” to keep up the distinction between this and facere , “to make.”
Eph. ii. 10 .
Eph. ii. 15–16 .
Eph. ii. 16 .
Eph. ii. 17–20 .
“Because, if our building as Christians rested in part upon that foundation, our God, and the God of the Jews must be the same, which Marcion denied” (Lardner).
Eph. ii. 20 .
Ps. cxviii. 22 .
Eph. iii. 8, 9 .
The passage of St. Paul, as Tertullian expresses it, “Quæ dispensatio sacramenti occulti ab ævis in Deo, qui omnia condidit.” According to Marcion’s alteration, the latter part runs, “ Occulti ab ævis Deo, qui omnia condidit .” The original is, Τίς ἡ οἰκονομία τοῦ μυστηρίου τοῦ ἀποκεκρυμμένου ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων ἐν τῷ Θεῷ (compare Col. iii. 3 ) τῷ τὰ πάντα κτίσαντι . Marcion’s removal of the ἐν has no warrant of ms. authority; it upsets St. Paul’s doctrine, as attested in other passages, and destroys the grammatical structure.
Emicat.
Eph. iii. 10 .
Debebat.
Isa. xl. 13 .
Marcion’s god, of course.
Eph. iv. 8 and Ps. lxviii. 19 .
Ps. xlv. 3 .
Isa. viii. 4 .
Extundis.
See above, book iii. chap. xiii. and xiv. p. 332.
Eph. iv. 25 .
Ps. iv. 4 .
Eph. iv. 26 .
Eph. iv. 26 .
Eph. v. 11 .
Ps. xviii. 26 .
Deut. xxi. 21, quoted also in 1 Cor. v. 13 .
Isa. lii. 11, quoted in 2 Cor. vi. 17 .
Eph. v. 18 .
Amos ii. 12 .
Lev. x. 9 .
Eph. v. 19 .
Isa. v. 11, 12 .
Eph. v. 22, 24 .
Eph. v. 23 .
Eph. v. 23 .
Eph. v. 25, 28 .
Eph. v. 29 .
Proinde.
Ego.
Masculi.
Eph. v. 31, 32 .
Inter ista.
Magna sacramenta.
Eph. v. 32 .
Eph. vi. 1 .
Eph. vi. 2 . “He did this (says Lardner) in order that the Mosaic law might not be thought to be thus established.”
Ex. xx. 12 .
Eph. vi. 4 .
Ex. x. 2 .
Eph. vi. 12 .
An ironical allusion to Marcion’s interpretation, which he has considered in a former chapter, of the title God of this world .
Eph. vi. 11 .
Eph. vi. 12 .
Apud Creatorem.
Ex qua delatura.
Illius arbusculæ.
Spiritalia nequitiæ: “wicked spirits.”
Eph. vi. 12 .
Gen. vi. 1–4 . See also Tertullian, De Idol. 9; De Habit. Mul. 2; De Cultu Femin. 10; De Vel. Virg. 7; Apolog. 22. See also Augustin, De Civit. Dei. xv. 23.
Ut taxaret. Of course he alludes to Marcion’s absurd exposition of the 12th verse , in applying St. Paul’s description of wicked spirits to the Creator.
Eph. vi. 19, 20 .
Compendium figere.
Col. i. 5, 6 .
Antoniniani Marcionis: see above in book i. chap. xix.
Ps. xix. 4 .
Col. i. 15 .
Ex. xxxiii. 20 .
Col. i. 15 . Our author’s “primogenitus conditionis” is St. Paul’s πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως , for the meaning of which see Bp. Ellicott, in loc.
John i. 3 .
Ante omnes.
Ante amina.
Creatoris is our author’s word.
Col. i. 19 .
Aut si.
Evangelizatores.
Ceterum quale.
Col. i. 20 .
“Una ipsa” is Oehler’s reading instead of universa .
Cujus novissime fuerant.
Col. i. 21 .
Eph. i. 23 .
Col. i. 24 .
Col. i. 22 .
As if only in a metaphorical body, in which sense the Church is “His body.”
Col. ii. 8 .
“Dominum inferens hebetem ;” with which may be compared Cicero ( De Divin. ii. 50, 103): “Videsne Epicurum quem hebetem et rudem dicere solent Stoici…qui negat, quidquam deos nec alieni curare, nec sui.” The otiose and inert character of the god of Epicurus is referred to by Tertullian not unfrequently; see above, in book iv. chap. xv.; Apolog. 47, and Ad Nationes , ii. 2; whilst in De Anima , 3, he characterizes the philosophy of Epicurus by a similar term: “Prout aut Platonis honor, aut Zenonis vigor, aut Aristotelis tenor, aut Epicuri stupor , aut Heracliti mæror, aut Empedoclis furor persuaserunt.”
The Stoical dogma of the eternity of matter and its equality with God was also held by Hermogenes; see his Adv. Hermogenem , c. 4, “Materiam parem Deo infert.”
Pliny, Nat. Hist. vii. 55, refers to the peculiar opinion of Democritus on this subject (Fr. Junius).
1 Cor. i. 27 .
Isa. xxix. 14, quoted 1 Cor. i. 19; comp. Jer. viii. 9 and Job v. 12, 13 .
Col. ii. 13 .
Col. ii. 16, 17 .
Col. ii. 18, 19, 21 .
Col. ii. 22 .
Recensentur: Eph. i. 10 .
Initium.
Contained in Vol. iii. and iv.
In the Epistle to the Laodiceans or Ephesians; see his remarks in the preceding chapter of this book v.
Isa. xliii. 18, 19, and lxv. 17; 2 Cor. v. 17 .
Jer. iv. 3 . This and the passage of Isaiah just quoted are also cited together above, book iv. chap. i. and ii. p. 345.
Phil. i. 14–17 .
Utique.
Regulas sacramentorum.
Phil. i. 18 .
Nihilominus.
Plane.
Compare the treatise, De Resur. Carnis , c. vi. (Oehler).
Exhausit ἐκένωσε .
Phil. ii. 6, 7 .
Col. i. 15 .
Posuit.
Inventum ratione.
Phil. ii. 8 .
Phil. ii. 8 .
Non enim exaggeraret.
Virtutem: perhaps the power .
See the preceding note.
Candidæ pharisaeæ: see Phil. iii. 4–6 .
Phil. iii. 7 .
Phil. iii. 8 .
Phil. iii. 9 .
Phil. iii. 20 .
Gen. xxii. 17 .
1 Cor. xv. 41 .
Phil. iii. 21 . [I have adhered to the original Greek, by a trifling verbal change, because Tertullian’s argument requires it.]
1 Cor. xv. 51, 52 .
Deputari , which is an old reading, should certainly be demutari , and so say the best authorities. Oehler reads the former, but contends for the latter.
1 Thess. iv. 16, 17 .
Inspector: perhaps critic .
Retro: in the former portions of this treatise.
Expunxerimus.
Qua eruimus ipsa ista.
[Elucidation II.]