This work's title, translatable as "tutor", refers to Christ as the teacher of all mankind, and it features an extended metaphor

of Christians as children.[23] It is not simply instructional : the author intends to show how the Christian should respond to the Love of God authentically.[24] Clement, following Plato (Republic 4:441), divides life into three elements: character, actions and passions. The first having been dealt with in the Protrepticus, he devotes the Paedagogus to reflections on Christ's role in teaching us to act morally and to control our passions.[25] Despite its explicitly Christian nature, Clement's work draws on Stoic philosophy and pagan literature; Homer alone is cited over sixty times in the work.[26] Although Christ, like man, is made in the image of God, he alone shares the likeness of God the Father.[27] Christ is both sinless and apathetic, and thus by striving to imitate Christ, man can achieve salvation. To Clement, sin is involuntary, and thus irrational [], removed only through the wisdom of the Logos.[28] God's guidance of us away from sin is thus a manifestation of God's universal love for mankind. The word play on and is characteristic of Clement's writing, and may be rooted in the Epicurean belief that relationships between words are deeply reflective of relationships between the objects they signify.[29] Clement argues for the equality of sexes, on the grounds that salvation is extended to all of mankind equally.[30] Unusually, he suggests that Christ is neither male or female, and that God the Father has both male and female aspects: the eucharist is described as milk from the breast (Christ) of the Father.[31][32] He is supportive of women playing an active role in the leadership of the church, and provides a list of women he considers inspirational, which includes both Biblical and Classical Greek figures. It has been suggested that Clement's progressive views on gender as set out in the Paedagogus were influenced by Gnosticism.[31] However, later in the work, he argues against the Gnostics that faith, not esoteric knowledge [], is required for salvation. According to Clement, it is through faith in Christ that we are enlightened and come to know God.[33] In the second book, Clement provides practical rules on living a Christian life. He argues against overindulgence in food and in favour of good table manners.[34] While prohibiting drunkenness, he promotes the drinking of alcohol in moderation following 1 Timothy 5:23.[34] Clement argues for a simple way of life in accordance with the innate simplicity of Christian monotheism. He condemns elaborate and expensive furnishings and clothing, and argues against overly passionate music and perfumes. But Clement does not believe in the abandoning of worldly pleasures and argues that the Christian should be able to express his joy in God's creation through gaiety and partying.[35] He opposes the wearing of garlands, because the picking of the flowers ultimately kills a beautiful creation of God, and the garland resembles the crown of thorns.[36] Clement treats sex at some length. He argues that both promiscuity and sexual abstinence are unnatural, and that the main goal of human sexuality is procreation.[37] Homosexuality, prostitution, concubinage, adultery and coitus with pregnant women should all be avoided as they will not act towards the generation of legitimate offspring.[38] The third book continues along a similar vein, condemning cosmetics on the grounds that it is our souls, not our bodies, that we should seek to beautify.[39] Clement also opposes the dyeing of men's hair and male depilation as effeminacy. He advises choosing one's company carefully, to avoid being corrupted by immoral people, and while arguing that material wealth is no sin in itself,

it is too likely to distract one from the infinitely more important spiritual wealth which is found in Christ.[40] The work finishes with selections of scripture supporting Clement's argument, and following a prayer, the lyrics of a hymn.[41] Stromata[edit]

Clement describes the Stromata as a work on various subjects, which spring up in the text like flowers in a meadow.[42] The contents of the Stromata, as its title suggests, are miscellaneous. Its place in the trilogy is disputed Clement initially intended to write the Didasculus, a work which would complement the practical guidance of the Paedagogus with a more intellectual schooling in theology.[43] The Stromata is less systematic and ordered than Clement's other works, and it has been theorized by Andr Mhat that it was intended for a limited, esoteric readership.[44] Although Eusebius wrote of eight books of the work, only seven undoubtably survive. Photius, writing in the 9th century, found various text appended to manuscripts of the seven canonical books, which lead Daniel Heinsius to suggest that the original eighth book is lost, and he identified the text purported to be from the eighth book as fragments of the Hypopotoses.[45] The first book starts on the topic of Greek philosophy. Consistent with his other writing, Clement affirms that philosophy had a propaedeutic role for the Greek, similar to the function of the law for the Jews.[46] He then embarks on a discussion of the origins of Greek culture and technology, arguing that most of the important figures in the Greek world were foreigners, and (erroneously) that Jewish culture was the most significant influence on Greece.[47] In an attempt to demonstrate the primacy of Moses, Clement gives an extended chronology of the world, wherein he dates the birth of Christ to 25 April or May, 4-2 B.C., and the creation of the world to 5592 B.C. The books ends with a discussion on the origin of languages and the possibility of a Jewish influence on Plato.[48] The second book is largely devoted to the respective roles of faith and philosophical argument. Clement contends that while both are important, the fear of God is foremost, because through faith one receives divine wisdom.[49] To Clement, scripture is an innately true primitive philosophy which is complemented by human reason through the Logos.[50] Faith is voluntary, and the decision to believe is a crucial fundamental step in becoming closer to God.[51][52] It is never irrational, as it is founded on the knowledge of the truth of the Logos, but all knowledge proceeds from faith, as first principles are unprovable outside a systematic structure.[53] The third book covers asceticism. He discusses marriage, which is treated similarly in the Paedagogus. Clement rejects the Gnostic opposition to marriage, arguing that only men who are uninterested in women should remain celibate, and that sex is a positive good if performed within marriage for the purposes of procreation.[54] However it has not always been so: the Fall occurred because Adam and Eve succumbed to their desire for each other, and copulated before the allotted time.[55] He argues against the idea that Christians should reject their family for an ascetic life, which stems from Luke 14:2527, contending that Jesus would not have contradicted

the precept to "Honour thy Father and thy Mother" (Exodus 20:12), one of the Ten Commandments.[56] Clement concludes that asceticism will only be rewarded if the motivation is Christian in nature, and thus the asceticism of non-Christians such as the gymnosophists is pointless.[57][58] Clement begins the fourth book with a belated explanation of the disorganized nature of the work, and gives a brief description of his aims for the remaining three or four books.[59] The fourth book focuses on martyrdom. While all good Christians should be unafraid of death, Clement condemns those who actively seek out a martyr's death, arguing that they do not have sufficient respect for God's gift of life.[60] He is ambivalent whether any believing Christian can become a martyr by virtue of the manner of their death, or whether martyrdom is reserved for those who have lived exceptional lives.[61] Marcionites cannot become martyrs, because they do not believe in the divinity of God the Father their sufferings are in vain.[62] There is then a digression to the subject of theological epistemology. According to Clement, there is no way of empirically testing the existence of God the Father, because the Logos has revelatory, not analysable meaning, although Christ was an object of the senses. God had no beginning, and is the universal first principle.[63] The fifth book returns to the subject of faith. Clement argues that truth, justice and goodness can be seen only by the mind, not the eye; faith is a way of accessing the unseeable.[64] He stresses that knowledge of God can only be achieved through faith once ones moral faults have been corrected.[65] This parallels Clement's earlier insistence that martyrdom can only be achieved by those who practice their faith in Christ through good deeds, not those who simply profess their faith. God transcends matter entirely, and thus the materialist cannot truly come to know God. Although Christ was God incarnate, it is our spiritual, not physical comprehension of him which is important.[65] In the beginning of the sixth book, Clement intends to demonstrate that the works of Greek poets were derived from the prophetic books of the Bible. In order to reinforce his position that the Greeks were inclined towards plagiarism, he cites numerous instances of such inappropriate appropriation by classical Greek writers, reported second-hand from On Plagiarism, an anonymous 3rd century BC work sometimes ascribed to Aretades.[66] Clement then digresses to the subject of sin and hell, arguing that Adam was not perfect when created, but given the potential to achieve perfection. He espouses broadly universalist doctrine, holding that Christ's promise of salvation is available to all, even those condemned to hell.[67] The final extant book begins with a description of the nature of Christ, and that of the true Christian, who aims to be as similar as possible to both the Father and the Son. Clement then criticizes the simplistic anthropomorphism of most ancient religions, quoting Xenophanes' famous description of African, Thracian and Egyptian deities.[68] The Greek gods may also have had their origins in the personification of material objects: Ares representing iron, and Dionysus wine.[69] Prayer, and the relationship between love and knowledge are then discussed. 1 Corinthians 13:8 seems to contradict the characterization of the true Christian as one who knows; but to Clement knowledge vanishes only in that it is subsumed by the universal love expressed by the Christian in his reverence for his Creator.[70] Following Socrates, he argues that vice arises from a state of ignorance, not from intention. The Christian is a "labourer in God's vineyard", responsible both for

his own path to salvation and that of his neighbor. The work ends with an extended passage against the contemporary divisions and heresies within the church.[71] Other works[edit] Besides the great trilogy, Clement's only other extant work is the treatise Salvation for the rich, also known as Who is the Rich Man who is Saved?. Having begun with a scathing criticism of the corrupting effects of money and misguided servile attitudes towards the wealthy, Clement discusses the implications of Mark 10:25.[72] The rich are either unconvinced by the promise of eternal life, or unaware of the conflict between the possession of material and spiritual wealth, and the good Christian has a duty to guide them towards a better life through the Gospel.[72] Jesus' words are not to be taken literally we should seek the supercelestial [] meaning in which the true route to salvation is revealed.[73] The holding of material wealth in itself is not a wrong, as long as it is used charitably, but men should be careful not to let their wealth dominate their spirit. It is more important to give up sinful passions than external wealth. If the rich man is to be saved, all he must do is to follow the two commandments, and while material wealth is of no value to God, it can be used to alleviate the suffering of our neighbor.[74] Other known works exist in fragments alone, including the four eschatological works in the secret tradition: Hypotyposes, Excerpta ex Theodoto, Eclogae Propheticae and the Adumbraetiones.[75] These cover Clement's celestial hierarchy, a complex schema in which the universe is headed by the Face of God, below which lie seven protoctists, followed by archangels, angels and humans.[76] According to Jean Danilou, this schema is inherited from a Judaeo-Christian esotericism, followed by the Apostles, which was only imparted orally to those Christians who could be trusted which such mysteries.[77] The proctocists are the first beings created by God, and act as priests to the archangels. Clement identifies them both as the "Eyes of the Lord" and with the Thrones.[78] Clement characterizes the celestial forms as entirely different from anything earthly, although he argues that members of each order only seem incorporal to those of lower orders.[79] According to the Eclogae Propheticae, every thousand years every member of each order moves up a degree, and thus men can become angels. Even the protoctists can be elevated, although their new position in the hierarchy is not clearly defined.[79] The apparent contradiction between the fact that there can be only seven protoctists but also a vast number of archangels to be promoted to their order is problematic. The commonest modern explanation is that the number seven is not meant to be taken literally, but has a principally numerological significance.[80] We know the titles of several lost works because of a list in Eusebius' Ecclesiastical History, 6.13.13. They include the Outlines, in eight books, and Against Judaizers. Others are known only from mentions in Clement's own writings, including On Marriage and On Prophecy, although few are attested by other writers and it is difficult to separate works which he intended to write from those which were actually completed.[81] The Mar Saba letter was attributed to Clement by Morton Smith, but there remains much debate today over whether it is an authentic letter from Clement, an ancient pseudepigraph or a modern forgery.[82] If authentic, its main significance would be in its relating that the apostle Mark came to Alexandria from Rome and there wrote a more spiritual gospel, which he entrusted to the

church in Alexandria on his death: if genuine, the letter pushes back the tradition related by Eusebius connecting Mark with Alexandria by a century.[83] Legacy[edit]

Eusebius is the first writer to provide an account of Clement's life and works, in the Church History. There are two separate sections of the work dedicated to Clement (5.11 and 6.11), the latter of which seems decidedly out of place, and Valesius argued that this was evidence that Eusebius never revised his work.[84] Eusebius provides a list of Clement's works, biographical information, and an extended quotation from the Stromata. Photios I of Constantinople writes against Clement's theology in the Bibliotheca, although he is appreciative of Clement's learning and the literary merits of his work.[85] In particular, he is highly critical of the Hypotyposes, a work of biblical exegesis of which only a few fragments have survived. Photius compared Clement's treatise, which like his other works was highly syncretic, featuring ideas of Hellenistic, Jewish and Gnostic origin, unfavourably against the prevailing orthodoxy of the 9th century.[86] Among the particular ideas Photius deemed heretical were: His belief that matter and thought are eternal, and thus did not originate from God, contradicting the doctrine of Creatio ex nihilo.[87] His belief in cosmic cycles predating the creation of the world, following Heraclitus, which is extraBiblical in origin.[88] His belief that Christ, as Logos, was in some sense created, contrary to John 1 but following Philo.[89] His ambivalence towards docetism, the heretical doctrine that Christ's earthly body was an illusion.[90] His belief that Eve was created from Adam's sperm after he ejaculated during the night.[91] His belief that Genesis 6:2 implies that angels indulged in coitus with human women. In orthodox Catholic theology, angels are considered genderless.[92] Down to the seventeenth century he was venerated as a saint in Catholicism. His name was to be found in the martyrologies, and his feast fell on the fourth of December. But when the Roman Martyrology was revised by Pope Clement VIII his name was dropped from the calendar on the advice of Cardinal Baronius. Benedict XIV maintained this decision of his predecessor on the grounds that Clement's life was little known, that he had never obtained public cultus in the Church, and that some of his doctrines were, if not erroneous, at least suspect.[93] Thus Clement is not revered as a saint in contemporary Roman Catholicism, nor is he considered a saint in much of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Clement's veneration is somewhat limited; he is commemorated nonetheless in Anglicanism.[94] As well, the Universal Catholic Church's cathedral in Dallas is dedicated to him.

As one of the earliest of the Church fathers whose works have survived, he is the subject of a significant amount of recent academic work, mainly focusing on the relationship between his thought and non-Christian philosophy and his influence on Origen.

Chronology and contents[edit] The chronology of these writings is difficult to fix with certainty. It is in part determined by the Montanistic views that are set forth in some of them, by the author's own allusions to this writing, or that, as antedating others (cf. Harnack, Litteratur ii.260262), and by definite historic data (e.g., the reference to the death of Septimius Severus, Ad Scapulam, iv). In his work against Marcion, which he calls his third composition on the Marcionite heresy, he gives its date as the fifteenth year of the reign of Severus (Adv. Marcionem, i.1, 15)which would be approximately the year 208. The writings may be divided with reference to the two periods of Tertullian's Christian activity, the Catholic and the Montanist (cf. Harnack, ii.262 sqq.), or according to their subject-matter. The object of the former mode of division is to show, if possible, the change of views Tertullian's mind underwent. Following the latter mode, which is of a more practical interest, the writings fall into two groups. Apologetic and polemic writings, like Apologeticus, De testimonio animae, the antiJewish De Adversus Iudeaos, Adv. Marcionem, Adv. Praxeam, Adv. Hermogenem, De praescriptione hereticorum, and Scorpiace were written to counteract Gnosticism and other religious or philosophical doctrines. The other group consists of practical and disciplinary writings, e.g., De monogamia, Ad uxorem, De virginibus velandis, De cultu feminarum, De patientia, De pudicitia, De oratione, and Ad martyras. Among his apologetic writings, the Apologeticus, addressed to the Roman magistrates, is a most pungent defense of Christianity and the Christians against the reproaches of the pagans, and an important legacy of the ancient Church, proclaiming the principle of freedom of religion as an inalienable human right and demands a fair trial for Christians before they are condemned to death. Tertullian was the first to break the force of such charges as that the Christians sacrificed infants at the celebration of the Lord's Supper and committed incest. He pointed to the commission of such crimes in the pagan world and then proved by the testimony of Pliny that Christians pledged themselves not to commit murder, adultery, or other crimes. He adduced also the inhumanity of pagan customs such as feeding the flesh of gladiators to beasts. He argued that the gods have no existence and thus there is no pagan religion against which Christians may offend. Christians do not engage in the foolish worship of the emperors. They do better: they pray for them. Christians can afford to be put to torture and to death, and the more they are cast down the more they grow; "the blood of the martyrs is seed" (Apologeticum, 50). In the De Praescriptione he develops as its fundamental idea that, in a dispute between the Church and a separating party, the whole burden of proof lies with the latter, as the Church, in possession of the unbroken tradition, is by its very existence a guarantee of its truth. The five books against Marcion, written 207 or 208, are the most comprehensive and elaborate of his polemical works, invaluable for gauging the early Christian view of Gnosticism. Of the moral

and ascetic treatises, the De patientia and De spectaculis are among the most interesting, and the De pudicitia and De virginibus velandis among the most characteristic.[citation needed] Theology[edit]

General character[edit]

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (August 2013) Though thoroughly conversant with the Greek theology, Tertullian was independent of its metaphysical speculation. He had learned from the Greek apologies, and forms a direct contrast to Origen of Alexandria, who drew much of his theories regarding creation from middle platonism. Tertullian, the prince of realists and practical theologian[neutrality is disputed], carried his realism to the verge of materialism. This is evident from his ascription to God of corporeity and his acceptance of the traducian theory of the origin of the soul. He despised Greek philosophy, and, far from looking at Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek thinkers whom he quotes as forerunners of Christ and the Gospel, he pronounces them the patriarchal forefathers of the heretics (De anima, iii.). He held up to scorn their inconsistency when he referred to the fact that Socrates in dying ordered a cock to be sacrificed to Aesculapius (De anima, i). Tertullian always wrote under stress of a felt necessity. He was never so happy as when he had opponents like Marcion and Praxeas, and, however abstract the ideas may be which he treated, he was always moved by practical considerations to make his case clear and irresistible. It was partly this element which gave to his writings a formative influence upon the theology of the post-Nicene period in the West and has rendered them fresh reading to this day. He was a born disputant. It is true that during the 3rd century no mention is made of his name by other authors. Lactantius at the opening of the 4th century is the first to do this, but Augustine treats him openly with respect. Cyprian, Tertullian's North African compatriot, though he nowhere mentions his name, was well read in his writings, as Cyprian's secretary told Jerome. Specific teachings[edit] Tertullian's main doctrinal teachings are as follows: The soul was not preexistent, as Plato affirmed, nor subject to metempsychosis or reincarnation, as the Pythagoreans held. In each individual it is a new product, proceeding equally with the body from the parents, and not created later and associated with the body (De anima, xxvii). This position is called traducianism in opposition to 'creationism', or the idea that each soul is a fresh creation of God. For Tertullian the soul is, however, a distinct entity and a certain corporeity and as such it may be tormented in Hell (De anima, lviii).[not in citation given] The soul's sinfulness is easily explained by its traducian origin (De anima, xxxix). It is in bondage to Satan (whose works it renounces in baptism), but has seeds of good (De anima, xli), and when awakened, it passes to health and at once calls upon God (Apol., xvii.) and is naturally Christian. It

exists in all men alike; it is a culprit and yet an unconscious witness by its impulse to worship, its fear of demons, and its musings on death to the power, benignity, and judgment of God as revealed in the Christian's Scriptures (De testimonio, v-vi). God, who made the world out of nothing through his Son, the Word, has corporeity though he is a spirit (De praescriptione, vii.; Adv. Praxeam, vii.). However Tertullian used 'corporeal' only in the stoic sense, to mean something with actual existence, rather than the later idea of flesh. In the statement of the Trinity, Tertullian was a forerunner of the Nicene doctrine, approaching the subject from the standpoint of the Logos doctrine, though he did not state the immanent Trinity. His use of trinitas (Latin: 'Threeness') emphasised the manifold character of God. In his treatise against Praxeas, who taught patripassianism in Rome, he used the words, "Trinity and economy, persons and substance." The Son is distinct from the Father, and the Spirit from both the Father and the Son (Adv. Praxeam, xxv). "These three are one substance, not one person; and it is said, 'I and my Father are one' in respect not of the singularity of number but the unity of the substance." The very names "Father" and "Son" indicate the distinction of personality. The Father is one, the Son is one, and the Spirit is one (Adv. Praxeam, ix). As regards the question whether the Son was coeternal with the Father, many believe that Tertullian did not teach that. The Catholic Encyclopedia comments that for Tertullian, "There was a time when there was no Son and no sin, when God was neither Father nor Judge."[19][20] Similarly J.N.D. Kelly has stated: "Tertullian followed the Apologists in dating His perfect generation" from His extrapolation for the work of creation; prior to that moment God could not strictly be said to have had a Son, while after it the term Father", which for earlier theologians generally connoted God as author of reality, began to acquire the specialized meaning of Father and Son.".[21] As regards the subjects of subordination of the Son to the Father, the New Catholic Encyclopedia has commented: "In not a few areas of theology, Tertullians views are, of course, completely unacceptable. Thus, for example, his teaching on the Trinity reveals a subordination of Son to Father that in the later crass form of Arianism the Church rejected as heretical."[22] In soteriology, Tertullian does not dogmatize; he prefers to keep silence at the mystery of the cross (De Patientia, iii). The sufferings of Christ's life as well as of the crucifixion are efficacious to redemption. In the water of baptism, which (upon a partial quotation of John 3:5) is made necessary (De baptismo, vi.), humans are born again; the baptized does not receive the Holy Spirit in the water, but is prepared for the Holy Spirit. Humans are little fishesafter the example of the ichthys, fish, Jesus Christare born in water (De baptismo, i). In discussing whether sins committed subsequent to baptism may be forgiven, Tertullian calls baptism and penance "two planks" on which the sinner may be saved from shipwrecklanguage which he gave to the Church (De penitentia, xii). With reference to the 'rule of faith', it may be said that Tertullian is constantly using this expression, and by it means now the authoritative tradition handed down in the Church, now the Scriptures themselves, and, perhaps, a definite doctrinal formula. While he nowhere gives a list of the books of Scripture, he divides them into two parts and calls them the instrumentum and testamentum (Adv. Marcionem, iv.1). He distinguishes between the four Gospels and insists upon their apostolic origin as accrediting their authority (De praescriptione, xxxvi; Adv. Marcionem, iv.15); in trying to account for Marcion's treatment of the Lucan Gospel and the Pauline writings he sarcastically queries whether the "shipmaster from Pontus" (Marcion) had ever been guilty of

taking on contraband goods or tampering with them after they were aboard (Adv. Marcionem, v.1). The Scripture, the rule of faith, is for him fixed and authoritative (De corona, iii-iv). As opposed to the pagan writings they are divine (De testimonio animae, vi). They contain all truth (De praescriptione, vii, xiv) and from them the Church drinks (potat) her faith (Adv. Praxeam, xiii). The prophets were older than the Greek philosophers and their authority is accredited by the fulfilment of their predictions (Apol., xix-xx). The Scriptures and the teachings of philosophy are incompatible, insofar as the latter are the origins of sub-Christian heresies. "What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?" he exclaims, "or the Academy with the Church?" (De praescriptione, vii). Philosophy as pop-paganism is a work of demons (De anima, i); the Scriptures contain the wisdom of heaven. However, Tertullian was not averse to using the technical methods of Stoicism to discuss a problem (De anima). The rule of faith, however, seems to be also applied by Tertullian to some distinct formula of doctrine, and he gives a succinct statement of the Christian faith under this term (De praescriptione, xiii). Tertullian was a defender of the necessity of apostolicity. In his Prescription Against Heretics, he explicitly challenges heretics to produce evidence of the apostolic succession of their communities.[23] "Let them produce the original records of their churches; let them unfold the roll of their bishops, running down in due succession from the beginning in such a manner that [that first bishop of theirs] bishop shall be able to show for his ordainer and predecessor some one of the apostles or of apostolic mena man, moreover, who continued steadfast with the apostles. For this is the manner in which the apostolic churches transmit their registers: as the church of Smyrna, which records that Polycarp was placed therein by John; as also the church of Rome, which makes Clement to have been ordained in like manner by Peter. In exactly the same way the other churches likewise exhibit (their several worthies), whom, as having been appointed to their episcopal places by apostles, they regard as transmitters of the apostolic seed." Fornicators and Murderers should never be admitted into the church under any circumstances. In de pudicitia, Tertullian condemns Pope Callixtus I for allowing such people in when they show repentance. Moral principles[edit]

Tertullian was a determined advocate of strict discipline and an austere code of practise, and like many of the African fathers, one of the leading representatives of the rigorist element in the early Church. These views may have led him to adopt Montanism with its ascetic rigor and its belief in chiliasm and the continuance of the prophetic gifts. In his writings on public amusements, the veiling of virgins, the conduct of women, and the like, he gives expression to these views. On the principle that we should not look at or listen to what we have no right to practise, and that polluted things, seen and touched, pollute (De spectaculis, viii, xvii), he declared a Christian should abstain from the theater and the amphitheater. There pagan religious rites were applied and the names of pagan divinities invoked; there the precepts of modesty, purity, and humanity were ignored or set aside, and there no place was offered to the onlookers for the cultivation of the Christian graces. Women should put aside their gold and precious stones as ornaments (De cultu, v-vi), and virgins should conform to the law of St. Paul for women and keep themselves strictly

veiled (De virginibus velandis). He praised the unmarried state as the highest (De monogamia, xvii; Ad uxorem, i.3) and called upon Christians not to allow themselves to be excelled in the virtue of celibacy by Vestal Virgins and Egyptian priests. He even labeled second marriage a species of adultery (De exhortations castitatis, ix), but this directly contradicted the epistles of the Apostle Paul. Tertullian has been accused of going to an unhealthy extreme in his counsels of asceticism; for example, about ejaculatory orgasms he wrote: In that last breaking wave of delight, do we not feel something of our very soul go out from us?[24] His moral vigour and the service he provided as an ingenious and intrepid defender of the Christian religion were, for him, down to his view of Christianity as first and chiefly an experience of the heart. Because of his later affiliation with Montanism, he, like the influential Alexandrian theologian, Origen, has failed to receive the elevation of official canonization. Tertullian is sometimes criticized for being misogynistic, on the basis of the contents of his 'De Cultu Feminarum,' section I.I, part 2 (trans. C.W. Marx): "Do you not know that you are Eve? The judgment of God upon this sex lives on in this age; therefore, necessarily the guilt should live on also. You are the gateway of the devil; you are the one who unseals the curse of that tree, and you are the first one to turn your back on the divine law; you are the one who persuaded him whom the devil was not capable of corrupting; you easily destroyed the image of God, Adam. Because of what you deserve, that is, death, even the Son of God had to die." Tertullian wrote in his book On Patience 5:15 "Having been made pregnant by the seed of the devil ... she brought forth a son." Or, in a different translation, "For straightway that impatience conceived of the devil's seed, produced, in the fecundity of malice, anger as her son; and when brought forth, trained him in her own arts." Works[edit]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Tertullian Tertullian's writings are edited in volumes 12 of the Patrologia Latina, and modern texts exist in the Corpus Christianorum Latinorum. English translations by Sidney Thelwall and Philip Holmes can be found in volumes III and IV of the Ante-Nicene Fathers which are freely available online; more modern translations of some of the works have been made. Apologetic Apologeticus pro Christianis. Dissertatio Mosheim in Apol.

Libri duo ad Nationes. De Testimonio animae. Ad Martyres. De Spectaculis. De Idololatria. Accedit ad Scapulam liber. Dissertatio D. Le Nourry in Apologet. libr. II ad Nat. et libr. ad Scapulam. Polemical De Oratione. De Baptismo. De Poenitentia. De Patientia. Ad Uxorem libri duo. De Cultu Feminarum lib. II. Dogmatic De Corona Militis. De Fuga in Persecutione. Adversus Gnosticos Scorpiace. Adversus Praxeam. Adversus Hermogenem. Adversus Marcionem libri V. Adversus Valentinianos. Adversus Judaeos. De Anima. De Carne Christi. De Resurrectione Carnis. On morality De velandis Virginibus. De Exhortatione Castitatis.

De Monogamia. De Jejuniis. De Pudicitia. De Pallio. Possible chronology[edit] The following chronological ordering was proposed by John Kaye, Bishop of Lincoln in the 19th century:[25] Probably Catholic (Pre-Montanist): 1. De Poenitentia (Of Repentance) 2. De Oratione (Of Prayer) 3. De Baptismo (Of Baptism) 4.,5. Ad Uxorem, lib. I & II, (To His Wife), 6. Ad Martyras (To the Martyrs), 7. De Patientia (Of Patience) 8. Adversus Judaeos (Reply to the Jews) 9. De Praescriptione Haereticorum (Prescription against Heretics), Indeterminate: 10. Apologeticus pro Christianis (Apology for the Christians) 11.,12. ad Nationes, lib. I & II (To the Nations) 13. De Testimonio animae (On the Witness of the Soul) 14. De Pallio (Of the Ascetic Mantle) 15. Adversus Hermogenem (Against Hermogenes) Probably Post-Montanist: 16. Adversus Valentinianus (Against the Valentinians) 17. ad Scapulam (To Scapula, Proconsul of Africa), 18. De Spectaculis (Of the Games), 19. De Idololatria (Of Idolatry) 20., 21. De cultu Feminarum, lib. I & II (Of Women's Dress) Definitely Post-Montanist:

22. Adversus Marcionem, lib I (Against Marcion, Bk. I), 23. Adversus Marcionem, lib II 24. De Anima (Of the Soul), 25. Adversus Marcionem, lib III 26. Adversus Marcionem, lib IV 27. De Carne Christi (Of the Flesh of Christ), 28. De Resurrectione Carnis (Of the Resurrection of Flesh) 29. Adversus Marcionem, lib V 30. Adversus Praxean (Against Praxeas), 31. Scorpiace (Antidote to Scorpion's Bite) 32. De Corona Militis (Of the Soldier's Garland), 33. De velandis Virginibus (Of Veiling Virgins), 34. De Exhortatione Castitatis (Of Exhortation to Chastity), 35. De Fuga in Persecutione (Of Flight in Persecution) 36. De Monogamia (Of Monogamy) 37. De Jejuniis, adversus psychicos (Of Fasting, against the materialists), 38. De Puditicia (Of Modesty)