DOCSLIB.ORG

The Legal Concept of Ratio in Tertullian by Gerald Bray

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Legal Concept of Ratio in Tertullian by Gerald Bray THE LEGAL CONCEPT OF RATIO IN TERTULLIAN BY GERALD BRAY The notion that Tertullian used the word ratio, especially in his philosophical treatises, as the equivalent of the Stoic or Divine Reason, has received general acceptance in scholarly circles in recent years. It is now assumed, virtually without argument, that since Latin philosophy derived its vocabulary from the Greek, and since ratio was in common use in Latin as the translation of X6yog, Tertullian must have followed established usage in this respect. Consequently, his use of ratio may be construed as referring to the Divine Mind in the Stoic sense, albeit with suitably Christianized overtones. In particular, the influence of Neo-Thomism has disposed many scholars to accept this scheme, since it provides a ready parallel with Thomas Aquinas and makes Tertullian look more like a precursor of Scholasticism than the maverick philosopher- theologian he might otherwise so easily appear. The following comment by F. De Pauw is typical: "Pour designer cette realite (sc. the source from which unwritten traditions are derived and by which they are justified), Tertullien emploie un terme vague et multivalent, susceptible par consequent d'equivoque, a savoir le terme ratio... Parmi les sens qu'il regoit le plus fondamental est celui de raison-sagesse; un autre, derive mais qui nous interesse specialement en la matiere, est celui de motif-fondement. Il arrive souvent que la signification premiere influence les autres acceptions, et, en particulier, que les deux sens sur-indiques se compenetrent mutuellement. Nous obtenons alors le sens de fondement ou argument de raison, de justification ou convenance rationnelle, de fondement qui confere a l'observance qu'elle justifie un caractere eminemment rationnel."1 De Pauw begins his study with some caution, aware that Tertullian 2 used ratio in many different ways which are not always readily separable.2 1 F. De Pauw, La justificationdes traditions non-ecrites chez Tertullien, Ephemerides TheologicaeLovanienses 19 (1942) 11. 2 Cf. A. Blaise, Dictionnaire latin-français des auteurs chritiens, 696, where many instances of ratio being used in Tertullian are cited as having more than one possible meaning. The confusion is particularly acute in Adv. Prax. 5-6 where Blaise maintains 95 But whatever reservations De Pauw may have as to the centrality of the Stoic concept of Divine Reason in Tertullian's thought, he does not maintain them for long. He assumes, quite unhistorically, that the basic meaning of ratio is "Reason" and the rest of his study is based on that assumption. Indeed he states quite clearly that Tertullian used the word ratio to refer to the divine Even more direct than De Pauw is J. Fontaine. Writing in a commentary on De corona 4,5 Fontaine says: "La raison 6tant le fondement de la loi comme de toute institution humaine, toute observance raisonnable, meme non-ecrite, possede en raison la meme autorite qu'une loi. Tertullien utilise ici 1'effort des juristes de I'Empire pour elaborer une philosophie du droit qui en permette la systematisation rationnelle. Effort commence des la Republique dans le sillage des Grecs, et particulierement du rationalisme stoicien ;cf. en particulier, Cic6roii, De legibus, livre I. Une telle filière intellectuelle va permettre a Tertullien de remonter par la raison au fondement naturel, et par IA, divin, de toute observance raisonnee"4 Fontaine may be thought, in contrast to De Pauw, to have grossly overstated his case - few would accept, for instance, the notion that Tertullian was essentially a rationalist - but he raises some interesting points nevertheless. Conscious as he is of Tertullian's debt to the Roman jurists, Fontaine then asserts that the latter were engaged in the elabora- tion of a systematised philosophy of law, the origins of which go back to Cicero. According to him, therefore, Tertullian simply followed a philo- sophical tradition already current among the jurists of his time. In the light of these statements we believe that some clarification is needed as to the meaning of the word ratio in Tertullian. We feel that although Fontaine is probably correct in positing a juristic origin for this particular term, he is mistaken in his assumption that the jurists were concerned to work out a legal philosophy. Likewise we are convinced that De Pauw has erred in stating that Tertullian assimilated ratio to God in imitation of the Stoics. It is of course true that Tertullian spoke of God as rationalis but, as we shall see, he did not understand this in the same way as the Stoics.5 We feel that a thorough study of the historical develop- ment of the word ratio, together with a close examination of the relevant passages in Tertullian will bear out our contention. Let us then consider that ratio is both the k6709 ?v8Ld9eTO<;of Hippolytus ("le Verbe latent au sein de Dieu de toute eternite") and also the property of the sermo-7,,oyo5,a distinction which he notes without further explanation. 3 Ibid., 31. 4 De corona, ed. J. Fontaine, Collection Erasme, 18 (Paris 1966) 74. 5 In fact, he sharply disagreed with them. Cf. e.g. De anima 5,2 et passim. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Fathers of the Church, Part 2: the Latin (Or Western) Fathers
    Fathers of the Church, Part 2: The Latin (or Western) Fathers A previous In Focus explored some of the great Fathers of the Eastern, or Greek, Church. This week the Latin (Western) Fathers are highlighted. While there is no official list of the Fathers, since the fifth century the criteria for selection has been that the individuals lived holy lives, were orthodox in their teachings and writings, lived during antiquity (the first through seventh centuries) and have been approved by the Church. According to some historians, there are more than 100 total Church Fathers (East and West); many of the same names are found on the different lists. The Fathers helped define, establish and promote the dogmas of the Catholic faith. They not only explained and advanced Christianity, but they stood against those who would defame, deny or exploit our Lord, Jesus Christ. This author is not able to adequately measure or describe the sanctity of these men, who were popes, bishops, theologians, apologists and writers. Some are saints, and all gave themselves in the service of the Lord. Here are a handful among the giants from the Western Church who have the title Church Father. They are categorized by those who lived just before the Council of Nicea, those in the era of Nicea and those after the council, up through the seventh century. Part one about the Greek (Eastern) Church Fathers was published Jan. 21 and can be found at: bit.ly/fatherspart1. Ante-Nicea Fathers Tertullian (c. 155-220) Tertullian Public domain The Fathers of the Western Church begin with Tertullian in the second century.
    [Show full text]
  • Poverty, Charity and the Papacy in The
    TRICLINIUM PAUPERUM: POVERTY, CHARITY AND THE PAPACY IN THE TIME OF GREGORY THE GREAT AN ABSTRACT SUBMITTED ON THE FIFTEENTH DAY OF MARCH, 2013 TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS OF TULANE UNIVERSITY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BY ___________________________ Miles Doleac APPROVED: ________________________ Dennis P. Kehoe, Ph.D. Co-Director ________________________ F. Thomas Luongo, Ph.D. Co-Director ________________________ Thomas D. Frazel, Ph.D AN ABSTRACT This dissertation examines the role of Gregory I (r. 590-604 CE) in developing permanent ecclesiastical institutions under the authority of the Bishop of Rome to feed and serve the poor and the socio-political world in which he did so. Gregory’s work was part culmination of pre-existing practice, part innovation. I contend that Gregory transformed fading, ancient institutions and ideas—the Imperial annona, the monastic soup kitchen-hospice or xenodochium, Christianity’s “collection for the saints,” Christian caritas more generally and Greco-Roman euergetism—into something distinctly ecclesiastical, indeed “papal.” Although Gregory has long been closely associated with charity, few have attempted to unpack in any systematic way what Gregorian charity might have looked like in practical application and what impact it had on the Roman Church and the Roman people. I believe that we can see the contours of Gregory’s initiatives at work and, at least, the faint framework of an organized system of ecclesiastical charity that would emerge in clearer relief in the eighth and ninth centuries under Hadrian I (r. 772-795) and Leo III (r.
    [Show full text]
  • St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on the Mind, Body, and Life After Death
    The University of Akron IdeaExchange@UAkron Williams Honors College, Honors Research The Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors Projects College Spring 2020 St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on the Mind, Body, and Life After Death Christopher Choma [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects Part of the Christianity Commons, Epistemology Commons, European History Commons, History of Philosophy Commons, History of Religion Commons, Metaphysics Commons, Philosophy of Mind Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Please take a moment to share how this work helps you through this survey. Your feedback will be important as we plan further development of our repository. Recommended Citation Choma, Christopher, "St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on the Mind, Body, and Life After Death" (2020). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 1048. https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/1048 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by The Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Honors College at IdeaExchange@UAkron, the institutional repository of The University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, USA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects by an authorized administrator of IdeaExchange@UAkron. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 1 St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas on the Mind, Body, and Life After Death By: Christopher Choma Sponsored by: Dr. Joseph Li Vecchi Readers: Dr. Howard Ducharme Dr. Nathan Blackerby 2 Table of Contents Introduction p. 4 Section One: Three General Views of Human Nature p.
    [Show full text]
  • Thomas Aquinas and Irenaeus on the Divine and Natural Law
    Randall B. Smith University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas [email protected] 13 (2020) 2: 175–187 ORCID: 0000-0003-4262-4279 ISSN (print) 1689-5150 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/BPTh.2020.007 ISSN (online) 2450-7059 Thomas Aquinas and Irenaeus on the Divine and Natural Law Abstract. Thomas’s account of the natural law owes a large debt to Aristotle and other early Greek philosophers back to Heraclitus. This debt has long been known and dis- cussed. Largely unrecognized, however, are the crucial influences of the early Greek Fathers of the Church who mediated this classical philosophical heritage to the Chris- tian world. They were the first to set out the relationship between the natural law, the Old Law, and grace which would have a decisive influence on Aquinas’s famous “trea- tise on law” in the Summa of Theology. In this paper, I analyze Thomas’s mature work on the natural law in STh I–II, qq. 90–108 and show how the roots of this view can be traced to the earliest Church, especially in the writings of the second century bishop and martyr, St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Of special interest is how Irenaeus transformed the Greek-Aristotelian notion of physis and “natural law” within the context of his discus- sion of the goodness of creation and the Mosaic Law, contrary to the popular Gnostic views of his day. Keywords: Thomas Aquinas; Ireneaus; natural law; divine law; Mosaic Law; Old Law; Adversus Haereses. 1. A Common Narrative about the Natural Law: The Missing Historical Piece common narrative about the natural law divides its development
    [Show full text]
  • FR. WILLIAM B. GOLDIN, S.T.D. Intro to St. Thomas Aquinas the Sources of Catholic Theology
    FR. WILLIAM B. GOLDIN, S.T.D. CLASS 2, SACRA DOCTRINA: INTRODUCTION TO THEOLOGY 3 SEPTEMBER 2020 ST. IRENAEUS CHURCH—CYPRESS, CALIFORNIA Intro to St. Thomas Aquinas The Sources of Catholic Theology Finishing Class 1: Faith and Reason in the Scholastic Period I. Theology as Scientia: Intro to Saint Thomas Aquinas Class 2, Part I: Theology as Scientia: Intro to Saint Thomas Aquinas I. The Contribution of St. Thomas Aquinas to Theology II. How to Read Aquinas ST Ia, q. 1, aa. 1, 2, and 8: Article 1. Whether, besides philosophy, any further doctrine is required? Objection 1. It seems that, besides philosophical science, we have no need of any further knowledge. For man should not seek to know what is above reason: "Seek not the things that are too high for thee" (Sirach 3:22). But whatever is not above reason is fully treated of in philosophical science. Therefore any other knowledge besides philosophical science is superfluous. Objection 2. Further, knowledge can be concerned only with being, for nothing can be known, save what is true; and all that is, is true. But everything that is, is treated of in philosophical science—even God Himself; so that there is a part of philosophy called theology, or the divine science, as Aristotle has proved (Metaph. vi). Therefore, besides philosophical science, there is no need of any further knowledge. On the contrary, It is written (2 Timothy 3:16): "All Scripture, inspired of God is profitable to teach, to reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice." Now Scripture, inspired of God, is no part of philosophical science, which has been built up by human reason.
    [Show full text]
  • Aquinas's Sermon for the Feast of Pentecost
    Aquinas’s Sermon for the Feast of Pentecost: A Rare Glimpse of Thomas the Preaching Friar Peter A. Kwasniewski and Jeremy Holmes1 (1) INTRODUCTION Friar Thomas of the Order of Preachers For seven centuries St. Thomas Aquinas has been revered as the Church’s supreme dogmatic or speculative theologian. In the course of this long history, he has also, though perhaps less widely, been recognized as a scriptural exegete of considerable subtlety and insight.2 It is fair to say, however, that he is rarely thought of as a preacher. Indeed, the conventional image of him—that of an abstracted, solitary genius, aloof from the cares of the world, pacing the halls in pursuit of an argument, plunged into a literary apostolate of staggering dimensions—seems to exclude preaching from the round of activities in which he could have been realistically engaged. His popular nickname, the Angelic Doctor, though very well suited to the loftiness of his thought and the purity of his person, might convey the impression that Thomas, like Moses during the revela- tion of the Law, spent his days at the summit of God’s mountain, unseen by the people.3 Yet those who know more about the saint and his times have good reason for calling into question the fidelity of such a portrait to its flesh-and-blood original.4 Thomas gave himself heart and soul to a new religious community whose very identity was bound up with the mission of public preaching: the Dominicans, or more properly, the Ordo Fratrum Praedicatorum, the order of preaching brethren.
    [Show full text]
  • SDS Contributions
    Contributions on Salvatorian History, Charism, and Spirituality Volume Twelve Key Elements Contributions on Salvatorian History, Charism, and Spirituality Volume Twelve Key Elements A Project of the Joint History and Charism Committee Ms. Janet E Bitzan, SDS Ms. Sue Haertel, SDS Sr. Nelda Hernandez, SDS Fr. Michael Hoffman, SDS Fr. Patric Nikolas, SDS Sr. Barbara Reynolds, SDS Mr. Anthony Scola, SDS Sr. Carol Thresher, SDS With Permission of the Superiors Sr. Beverly Heitke, SDS Provincial of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Divine Savior Mrs. Jaqueline White, SDS National Director of the Lay Salvatorians Fr. Jeff Wocken, SDS Provincial of the Society of the Divine Savior February, 2020 Contents Introduction . v Key Element: Charism . 1 Universality in the Family Charter and its Roots in Father Jordan . .3 Ms. Janet Bitzan, SDS Our Salvation In Jesus Christ . .11 Fr. Luis Alfredo Escalante, SDS Towards a Salvatorian Theory of Salvation in the African Perspective . 23 Fr. Marcel Mukadi Kabisay, SDS Toward a Salvatorian Theology of Salvation. .41 Fr. Thomas Perrin, SDS Exploring Universality as Inclusive Love. .49 Sr. Carol Thresher, SDS Signs of the Presence of the Holy Spirit in the Society of the Divine Savior . .63 Fr. Milton Zonta, SDS The Holy Spirit in Early Salvatorian History. .75 Sr. Carol Thresher, SDS Key Element: Mission. 91 The Salvatorian Family Charter and the Kingdom of God . .93 Sr. Rozilde Maria Binotto, SDS, and Sr. Therezinha Joana Rasera, SDS Salvatorian Mission for the Signs of the Time . .105 Sr. Dinusha Fernando, SDS Living in the “Now”: A Salvatorian Response to the Signs of the Times .
    [Show full text]
  • Tertullian and Medicine
    Tertullian and Medicine Thomas Heyne, Dallas ABSTRACT: Scholars have long described Tertullian as the first Christian writer to show an appreciable knowledge of medicine, but none has analyzed this theme in comprehensive detail. A thorough analysis of Tertullian’s corpus reveals a remarkably consistent respect for physicians, profound understanding of medical science, and creative use of medical metaphors. His medical knowledge ‒ derived from Soranus of Ephesus and Pliny the Elder ‒ was deeper than that of prior Christians, and it appears to have deepened further throughout his lifetime. Furthermore, Tertullian never disparaged doctors as many of his contemporaries did. Nonetheless, he was apparently ignorant of Galen, and he never made medicine his major priority. 1 I. Introduction1 Few scholarly topics are of more practical import today than the interplay between faith and healthcare. And few early Christian writers are more controversial and fascinating than Tertullian of Carthage. Lively scholarly debate continues on numerous topics, including whether he rejected secular learning or embraced Montanism, and whether these opinions changed. Relatively unexplored is the corollary question: did Tertullian, as many scholars have intimated, reject medical science? More specifically, did the ‘fundamentalist’ Tertullian typify a rejection of medicine by certain early Christians, who either embraced suffering or prayed for healing—and therefore ‘hastened the decline of medicine’?2 Put differently, was Tertullian an example of the ‘Christian…glorification of disease,’ which ‘delighted exuberantly in famine and plague’?3 In addition, what precisely was Tertullian’s knowledge and opinion of disease and medicine, and did his opinions ever change? Despite a burgeoning interest in the history of medicine and early Christianity, and despite repeated scholarly acknowledgements of Tertullian’s medical erudition, these questions remain largely answered.
    [Show full text]
  • African Roots of Christianity: Christianity Is a Religion of Africa
    Andrews University Digital Commons @ Andrews University Faculty Publications 2021 African Roots of Christianity: Christianity is a Religion of Africa Trevor O'Reggio Andrews University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs Part of the Missions and World Christianity Commons Recommended Citation O'Reggio, Trevor, "African Roots of Christianity: Christianity is a Religion of Africa" (2021). Faculty Publications. 2255. https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/pubs/2255 This Presentation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Andrews University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Andrews University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. African Roots of Christianity CHRISTIANITY IS A RELIGION OF AFRICA African Proverb We must go back and reclaim our past, so that we can move forward, so we can understand why and how we came to be who we are today Ancient Akan principle of Sankofa Early Christianity Christianity in the 3rd.century Christianity in Africa 250-AD-406-AD Christianity in Transition The era of Western Christianity has passed within our lifetime and the day of Southern Christianity is dawning. The fact of change is undeniable; it has happened and will continue to happen. Phillip Jenkins Shifting Christianity 1500—Era of Luther and Calvin • 92% of Christians were in global north • Christianity was a “white man’s religion” 1800—William Carey to India • 86% of Christians were in global north 1900—82% in north 2000—42% in north, 58% in south • Christianity is a world religion 2100—22% in north, 78% in south (proj.
    [Show full text]
  • Justifying Religious Freedom: the Western Tradition
    Justifying Religious Freedom: The Western Tradition E. Gregory Wallace* Table of Contents I. THESIS: REDISCOVERING THE RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.......................................................... 488 II. THE ORIGINS OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN EARLY CHRISTIAN THOUGHT ................................................................................... 495 A. Early Christian Views on Religious Toleration and Freedom.............................................................................. 495 1. Early Christian Teaching on Church and State............. 496 2. Persecution in the Early Roman Empire....................... 499 3. Tertullian’s Call for Religious Freedom ....................... 502 B. Christianity and Religious Freedom in the Constantinian Empire ................................................................................ 504 C. The Rise of Intolerance in Christendom ............................. 510 1. The Beginnings of Christian Intolerance ...................... 510 2. The Causes of Christian Intolerance ............................. 512 D. Opposition to State Persecution in Early Christendom...... 516 E. Augustine’s Theory of Persecution..................................... 518 F. Church-State Boundaries in Early Christendom................ 526 G. Emerging Principles of Religious Freedom........................ 528 III. THE PRESERVATION OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN MEDIEVAL AND REFORMATION EUROPE...................................................... 530 A. Persecution and Opposition in the Medieval
    [Show full text]
  • Tertullian's Text of the New Testament Outside the Gospels
    TERTULLIAN’S TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT OUTSIDE THE GOSPELS by BENJAMIN DOUGLAS HAUPT A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Philosophy, Theology, and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham January 2019 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This study examines Tertullian’s references to the New Testament outside the Gospels, in order to determine whether he was citing from a Greek or Latin copy of these writings. A new collection of these references was undertaken and is explained in the Appendix. The conclusion of the analysis is that Tertullian was quoting the New Testament writings using Greek exemplars and translating anew in most instances. Tertullian was one of the first Christians to have undertaken such translation work. It is proposed that Tertullian was participating in and influenced by a broad cultural-linguistic movement called the Second Sophistic. Latin writers like Cicero, Quintilian, Varro, and Apuleius were also participants, and their translation of Greek works into Latin likely formed Tertullian to become a literary translator.
    [Show full text]
  • Augustine and Aquinas on Property Ownership
    Journal of Markets & Morality Volume 6, Number 2 (Fall 2003): 479–495 Copyright © 2003 Catholicism and the Economy: Augustine and Aquinas on Property Richard J. Dougherty Ownership University of Dallas This essay attempts to lay out the understanding of property ownership found in the writings of Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. The reason for focus- ing on the thought of these two authors is, in part, that much of the contempo- rary discussion of Church teaching and the economy omits mention of these most prominent figures in the tradition. An additional reason for considering their work is that they both engage the argument laid out by Aristotle on prop- erty, thus bridging the distance between classical and Christian thought. The importance of this question can be seen when one assesses how contemporary policy makers might employ these principles in a largely secular social order. The central focus of both Augustine and Aquinas in their treatment of the question of property ownership is twofold, addressing the rightful acquisition and just use of such possessions. In the conclusion the essay considers some of the ramifications of this earlier teaching for contemporary Catholic social thought on the economy, suggesting that opposing positions will find both sup- port and challenges from the teaching of these authors. It would not be a controversial statement to suggest that the response to devel- opments in Catholic social teaching in the century-plus since the issuance of Rerum Novarum by Pope Leo XIII in 1891 has been marked by critiques and defenses across the political spectrum, as progressives and conservatives have alternately been bolstered or disheartened by the issuance of various papal encyclicals, especially, one might argue, on economic questions.
    [Show full text]