Preliminary notice for the translation of Tertullian's works

Quintus, Septimius, Florus Tertullian was born in the city of Carthage, in Africa, around 145 or 150 after the Nativity of Christ. As a child, he lost his father, who was a centurion in the troops of the African Proconsul, and after his death he found in his mother a caring and enlightened leader. Being endowed by nature with a lively imagination, a subtle mind and the gift of speech, he acquired early success in all pagan sciences, and became a teacher of Rhetoric. At that time, out of his own consciousness, he was carried away into all the follies of youth; but carnal pleasures could not satisfy his ardent soul. He needed either a vast battlefield where he could struggle, or a saving yoke that would tame him. He found both in Christian ideas. It is not known exactly when Tertullian became a Christian. Before that, he had been armed against Christianity for a long time; but then he was one of its most zealous defenders. From his writings one can guess that he was greatly influenced by the spectacle of courage shown by the martyrs; and he, as usually happens with generous people, turned from an enemy into a friend of the persecuted. It is believed that this happened in 185. The following year he married a Christian woman. He could not remain for long among the ordinary ascetics of the army of Christ. He wanted to fight at the head of all kinds of dangers, and in 195 he was awarded the title of priest. Freed from the impulses of youth, he lived with his wife in marital fidelity. He wrote a message for her, in which he advised her, in the event of his death, to observe abstinence and remain a widow. Tertullian could not repent of the simple methodological course of the then Christian society. The cruelty of persecution, as noted above, opened the way for him to a new belief. His soul thirsts to seek greater dangers, to achieve the highest perfection, to make heavy sacrifices, to achieve greater glory. It seemed to him that the Christians of that time did not pray diligently and did not endure hardships and torment quite courageously. In his opinion, life is a struggle where only one generous death can gain victory. The Italian clergy, not so zealous as the African priest, ordered him to act more leniently with weak Christians. He was indignant at this. The clergy, for their part, were angry with him because he went beyond the bounds of moderation and followed the paths of Montanus, who spoils everything by exaggeration and forces people to observe such perfection that exceeded their strength. Tertullian, driven out of patience, publicly renounced the Roman clergy, and became a Montanist. The reason for this change was probably that since the Montanists showed the appearance that they adhere to the strictest discipline, maintain greater abstinence, observe frequent fasts, multiply prayers and devotions, offer martyrdom to the point that they do not allow either escape from torment or ransom for themselves with money: then Tertullian, whose mind already went to extremes, willingly accepted the teaching, so much consistent with his character. This happened around 199 I think. Having fallen away from the Roman Christian Church, he nevertheless defended Christianity and rebelled against sects that sought to become independent. Meanwhile, he soon became convinced of the errors of the teachings of his new friends, the Montanists, and formed, they say, his own sect, traces of which were visible in Africa and in the time of St. Augustine, that is, at the beginning of the fifth century. Tertullian's last works are limited to the years 217 and 218. He is believed to have died around 220. His most famous creation is the Apology or defense of Christians against the pagans. To praise Tertullian, it must be said that many learned and pious men had special respect for him. By the way, St. Martyr Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, who lived in the third century shortly after him, was so attached to him that he referred to him only as his teacher. Tertullian was perhaps the first Western Christian writer, who flourished during pagan times almost before all known holy fathers. In the Christian reading for 1842, in the June and July books, all the works of Tertullian are listed and presented in an abbreviated form. But in order to thoroughly judge a writer, one must read his works in full. Here we offer, so to speak, half of the works of this wonderful Writer. There is a lot in them that is entertaining, curious and instructive, especially in relation to ancient customs and the original image of the Christian faith. His other works are written in the same spirit; but they were left without translation because, on the one hand, they mostly contain repetition of almost the same objects, and on the other, some of them are full of darkness, confusion and errors, which probably crept in from the copyists of his works before the invention of printing. However, the articles currently published alone are enough to get a complete understanding of the firmness and severity of Tertullian’s character and his extensive knowledge, erudition and scholarship in everything.