In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

INTRODUCTION DN CONTRAST TO the impassioned rhetoric which stamps so distinctively the bulk of Tertullian's writings, the homily on Patience presents an urgent, but gentle, exhortation to the practice of this truly Christian virtue. 'I confess,' he begins, 'to the Lord my God that I certainly have courage, not to say presumption, to have dared to write on patience, a virtue which I am utterly unfit to practise, being, as I am, a man of no account.' Such a disarming admission, followed by a humble acknowledgment of the need of divine assistance in order to attain to patience, together with the relatively mild and pleasing tone of the entire treatise, sets it apart as rather rare in the work of the great controversialist. However, he finds a degree of consolation in speaking of something he does not possess, even as the sick, deprived of health, constantly speak of the value of health. Patience, he points out, has its origin in God, just as impatience comes from the Devil. This latter is the mother of all sins; patience is the fulfillment of the Law. Various stumbling-blocks to this virtue and the joy which attends the exercise of it are outlined. Toward the end (Ch. 15), Tertullian describes in beautiful language the sublime daughter of heaven in her exterior 191 192 TERTULLIAN appearance and pictures her as the type of the ideal Christian. Undoubtedly, it was for himself as well as for the catechumens that the author intended this attractive essay. It was probably written between 200 and 203. The present translation is based on the critical text of J. G. Ph. Borleffs in the Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 1 (Turnholti 1954) 297-317. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY Texts: Aem. Kroymann, CSEL 47 (1906) 1-24. J. G. Ph. Borleffs, Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 1 (Turnholti 1954) 297-317. Secondary Sources: M. L. Carlson, 'Pagan Examples of Fortitude in the Latin Christian Apologists,' Classical Philology 43 (1948) 93-104. R. Kaderschafka, Quae ratio et rerum materiae et generis dicendi i'ntercedere videatur inter Cypriani libellum 'De bono patientiae' et Tertulliani librum 'De patientia,' Programm des Gymnasiums Pilsen 1913. ...

Share