Apologetical Works; Octavius

INTRODUCTION

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pp. 3-27

AMONG THE WRITINGS of Tertullian, the Apology holds a pre-eminent position both by reason of its brilliant rhetorical style and of the compelling force of its argument. The esteem in which this work was held in ancient times is evident from the fact that it was translated into Greek, an honor which fell to the lot of only few other writings of the first centuries of....

APOLOGY

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pp. 28-126

MAGISTRATES of the Roman Empire, seated as you are " before the eyes of all, in almost the highest position in the state to pronounce judgment: if you are not allowed to conduct an open and public examination and inquiry as to what the real truth is with regard to the Christians; if, in this case alone your authority fears or blushes to conduct a public investigation with the diligence...

INTRODUCTION

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pp. 129-130

ONE OF THE METHODS employed by the Christian " Apologists for gaining a hearing for their faith was to show that, in a number of fundamental questions, many pagan philosophers and poets were in agreement with Christian teaching. In his Testimony of the Soul, Tertullian acknowledges the failure of this approach, because the foes of Christianity reject even their most...

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SOUL

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pp. 131-144

A GREAT LOVE for research and an even greater memory are required of a student who would gather, from the most accepted works of the philosophers, poets, and any other teachers of secular learning and wisdom, proofs for the truth of Christianity, in order to convict its rivals and persecutors by their own learned apparatus of error in themselves, and, thus, of their injustice...

INTRODUCTION

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pp. 147-150

DURING THE LAST YEARS of the .eign of Septimius Severus (A.D. 193-211), and under his immediate successors, the Church enjoyed relative tranquility. She made considerable progress in expansion and was able to consolidate her organization. However, the attitude of high imperial officials toward Christianity...

TO SCAPULA

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pp. 151-162

WE ARE, INDEED, neither dismayed nor greatly disturbed at the persecutions which we suffer from ignorant men, since we joined this way of life with the understanding that we pledged ourselves to enter into the present conflicts at the risk even of our lives, wishing to obtain those things which God promises in return...

INTRODUCTION

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pp. 165-174

TERTULLIAN'S TREATISE On the Soul is the first work . in the long series of Christian contributions to psychology. In entering this field, however, the most learned personality of the early Church was not deserting his dual function as apologist for Christianity against the pagans and as staunch defender of the...

CONTENTS

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pp. 175-178

ON THE SOUL

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pp. 179-310

IN MY DISCUSSION with Hermogenes concerning the nature of the soul, I deliberately restricted myself to the single point of its origin, in as much as he assumed this origin to be a result of an emanation from matter rather than of the divine inbreathing.¹ Now we may tum to some other related questions in which I feel sure I shall have to contend with the philosophers...

INTRODUCTION

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pp. 313-320

HE OCTAVIUS of Marcus ¹ Minucius Felix is called after the Christian interlocutor in the first Christian dialogue in Latin. We know very little about the life of its author, but we are able to draw a general picture by linking up the few facts which he himself mentions in his work.² According to these statements, he probably came from North Africa and was a pagan...

OCTAVIUS

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pp. 321-402

AS I WAS CONTEMPLATING and refreshing in my mind the memory of my good and most faithful companion, Octavius, such a sweet affection for the man remained with me that I myself seemed in some way to return to the past and not merely to recall things which were passed and gone. ² So deeply did his image, though removed from my eyes, remain engraved in...