Frasi di Tertulliano

“Il sepolto è risorto: è certo perché è impossibile.”

“La verità è una, l'errore si moltiplica.”

“Credo perché è assurdo.”

“Devo scacciare la vanità con la vanità.”

“La verità non arrossisce di nulla.”
Nihil veritas erubescit

“Eppure a nulla servono le vostre ingiuste crudeltà: sono piuttosto un'attrattiva per la nostra setta. Noi diventiamo più numerosi tutte le volte che siamo falciati da voi: il sangue è semente di cristiani.”

“La donna ha il diritto di vestirsi solo a lutto. Non appena ha raggiunto l'età adulta, dovrà coprire il suo viso che è fonte di tanti pericoli, altrimenti rischia di perdere la beatitudine eterna.”

“La religione di un uomo non è di danno o di aiuto ad un altro. Ma non fa certo parte della religione imporre la religione.”

“Tu sei la porta del diavolo, tu sei la profanatrice dell'albero della vita, tu sei stata la prima a violare la legge divina, tu sei colei che persuase Adamo, colui che il diavolo invece non riuscì a tentare. Tu che hai infranto l'immagine di Dio, l'uomo, con tanta facilità. Per causa tua esiste la morte, anche il Figlio di Dio ha dovuto morire. E tu hai in mente di adornarti con altro che non siano le tuniche che coprono la tua pelle?”

“Man is one name belonging to every nation upon earth. In them all is one soul though many tongues.”
Omnium gentium unus homo, uarium nomen est, una anima, uaria uox, unus spiritus, uarius sonus, propria cuique genti loquella, sed loquellae materia communis.

“It is to be believed because it is absurd.”
Prorsus credibile est, quia ineptum est. / Certum est, quia impossibile.

“Truth persuades by teaching, but does not teach by persuading.”
Veritas autem docendo persuadet non suadendo docet.

“You who make [ idols], that they may be able to be worshipped, do worship; and you worship, not with the spirit of some worthless perfume, but with your own; nor at the expense of a beast's soul, but of your own. To them you immolate your ingenuity; to them you make your sweat a libation; to them you kindle the torch of your forethought. More are you to them than a priest, since it is by your means they have a priest; your diligence is their divinity.”

“Now if He too is God, according to John, (who says.) "The Word was God," then you have two, One that commands that the thing be made. and the Other that makes. In what sense, however, you ought to understand Him to be another I have already explained, on the ground of Personality, not of Substance, in the way of distinction, not of division.”

“We worship unity in trinity, and trinity in unity; neither confounding the person nor dividing the substance.”

“You can judge the quality of their faith from the way they behave. Discipline is an index to doctrine.”

“If we rejoice with the world, there is reason to fear that with the world we shall grieve too. But when the world rejoices, let us grieve; and when the world afterward grieves, we shall rejoice.”

“We renounce all your spectacles, as strongly as we renounce the matters originating them, which we know were conceived of superstition, when we give up the very things which are the basis of their representations. Among us nothing is ever said, or seen, or heard, which has anything in common with the madness of the circus, the immodesty of the theatre, the atrocities of the arena, the useless exercises of the wrestling-ground.”

“The principal crime of the human race, the highest guilt charged upon the world, the whole procuring cause of judgment, is idolatry.”

“It is certainly no part of religion to compel religion.”
Nec religionis est cogere religionem

“Reason, in fact, is a thing of God, inasmuch as there is nothing which God the Maker of all has not provided, disposed, ordained by reason — nothing which He has not willed should be handled and understood by reason. All, therefore, who are ignorant of God, must necessarily be ignorant also of a thing which is His, because no treasure-house at all is accessible to strangers. And thus, voyaging all the universal course of life without the rudder of reason, they know not how to shun the hurricane which is impending over the world.”
Quippe res dei ratio quia deus omnium conditor nihil non ratione providit disposuit ordinavit, nihil [enim] non ratione tractari intellegique voluit. [3] Igitur ignorantes quique deum rem quoque eius ignorent necesse est quia nullius omnino thesaurus extraneis patet. Itaque universam vitae conversationem sine gubernaculo rationis transfretantes inminentem saeculo procellam evitare non norunt.

“We are but of yesterday, and yet we have filled all the places that belong to you — cities, islands, forts, towns, exchanges; the military camps themselves, tribes, town councils, the palace, the senate, the market-place; we have left you nothing but your temples.”
Esterni sumus, & vestra omnia implevimus, Vrbes, Insulas, Castella, Municipia, Conciliabula, Castra ipsa, Tribus, Decurias, palatium, Senatum, Forum, sola vobis relinquimus Templa.

“We are not Indian Brahmins or Gymnosophists, who dwell in woods and exile themselves from ordinary human life. We do not forget the debt of gratitude we owe to God, our Lord and Creator; we reject no creature of His hands, though certainly we exercise restraint upon ourselves, lest of any gift of His we make an immoderate or sinful use. So we sojourn with you in the world.”

“Why lean upon a blind guide, if you have eyes of your own? Why be clothed by one who is naked, if you have put on Christ? Why use the shield of another, when the apostle gives you armour of your own? It would be better for him to learn from you to acknowledge the resurrection of the flesh, than for you from him to deny it; because if Christians must needs deny it, it would be sufficient if they did so from their own knowledge, without any instruction from the ignorant multitude.”

“We [ Christians] have no pressing inducement to take part in your public meetings; nor is there anything more entirely foreign to us than affairs of state. We acknowledge one all-embracing commonwealth—the world.”

“He who flees will fight again.”
Qui fugiebat, rursus sibi proeliabitur.

“We multiply whenever we are mown down by you; the blood of Christians is seed.”
Plures efficimur, quoties metimur a vobis; semen est sanguis christianorum.

“When God's Spirit descends, then Patience accompanies Him indivisibly.”
Cum ergo spiritus Dei descendit, indiuidua patientia comitatur eum.

“Christians are made, not born.”
Fiunt non nascuntur Christiani

“I shall dispel one empty story by another.”
Itaque et ego vanitatem vanitate depellam.

“Of little worth is the recommendation which has for its prop the defamation of another.”
Infirma commendatio est quae de alterius destructione fulcitur.

“All things will be in danger of being taken in a sense different from their own proper sense, and, whilst taken in that different sense, of losing their proper one, if they are called by a name which differs from their natural designation. Fidelity in names secures the safe appreciation of properties.”
Omnia periclitabuntur aliter accipi quam sunt, et amittere quod sunt dum aliter accipiuntur, si aliter quam sunt cognominantur. Fides nominum salus est proprietatum.

“One man's religion neither harms nor helps another man.”
Nec alii obest aut prodest alterius religio.

“In pursuit of gain, men have begun to consider their violence an article to be bought and sold.”

“See, they say, how they love one another, for themselves are animated by mutual hatred; how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves will sooner put to death.”
Vide, inquiunt, ut invicem se diligant; ipsi enim invicem oderunt: et ut pro alterutro mori sint parati; ipsi enim ad occidendum alterutrum paratiores erunt.

“Out of the frying pan into the fire.”
De calcaria in carbonarium.

“Truth does not blush.”
Nihil veritas erubescit

“The Son of God was crucified: I am not ashamed--because it is shameful. The Son of God died: it is immediately credible--because it is silly. He was buried, and rose again: it is certain--because it is impossible. (Evans translation). z Tertullianus - De carne Christi”
Crucifixus est dei filius; non pudet, quia pudendum est. Et mortuus est dei filius; credibile prorsus est, quia ineptum est. Et sepultus resurrexit; certum est, quia impossibile.