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| The Opposite Extravagance Exposed. That is Christ with a Soul Composed of Flesh--Corporeal, Though Invisible. Christ's Soul, Like Ours, Distinct from Flesh, Though Clothed in It. PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP
Chapter XI.—The
Opposite Extravagance Exposed. That is Christ with a Soul
Composed of Flesh—Corporeal, Though Invisible. Christ’s
Soul, Like Ours, Distinct from Flesh, Though Clothed in It.
But we meet another argument of theirs, when we
raise the question why Christ, in assuming a flesh composed of soul,
should seem to have had a soul that was made of flesh? For God, they
say, desired to make the soul visible to men, by enduing it with a
bodily nature, although it was before invisible; of its own nature,
indeed, it was incapable of seeing anything, even its own self, by
reason of the obstacle of this flesh, so that it was even a matter of
doubt whether it was born or not. The soul, therefore (they
further say), was made corporeal in Christ, in order that we might see
it when undergoing birth, and death, and (what is more) resurrection.
But yet, how was this possible, that by means of the flesh the soul
should demonstrate itself7085
7085 Demonstraretur: or,
“should become apparent.” | to itself or to us,
when it could not possibly be ascertained that it would offer this mode
of exhibiting itself by the flesh, until the thing came into existence
to which it was unknown,7086 that is to say, the
flesh? It received darkness, forsooth, in order to be able to shine!
Now,7087 let us first turn our attention to this
point, whether it was requisite that the soul should exhibit itself in
the manner contended for;7088 and next
consider whether their previous position be7089 that the soul is wholly invisible (inquiring
further) whether this invisibility is the result of its incorporeality,
or whether it actually possesses some sort of body peculiar to itself.
And yet, although they say that it is invisible, they determine it to
be corporeal, but having somewhat that is invisible. For if it has
nothing invisible how can it be said to be invisible? But even its
existence is an impossibility, unless it has that which is instrumental
to its existence.7090 Since, however, it
exists, it must needs have a something through which it exists. If it
has this something, it must be its body. Everything which exists
is a bodily existence sui generis. Nothing
lacks bodily existence but that which is non-existent. If, then, the
soul has an invisible body, He who had proposed to make it7091 visible would certainly have done His work
better7092
7092 Dignius: i.e.,
“in a manner more worthy of Himself.” | if He had made that
part of it which was accounted invisible, visible; because then there
would have been no untruth or weakness in the case, and neither of
these flaws is suitable to God. (But as the case stands in the
hypothesis) there is untruth, since He has set forth the soul as
being a different thing from what it really is; and there is
weakness, since He was unable to make it appear7093 to be that which it is. No one who wishes to
exhibit a man covers him with a veil7094 or a mask.
This, however, is precisely what has been done to the soul, if it has
been clothed with a covering belonging to something else, by being
converted into flesh. But even if the soul is, on their hypothesis,
supposed7095 to be incorporeal,
so that the soul, whatever it is, should by some mysterious
force of the reason7096
7096 Aliqua vi rationis:
or, “by some power of its own condition.” | be quite unknown,
only not be a body, then in that case it were not beyond the power of
God—indeed it would be more consistent with His plan—if He
displayed7097 the soul in some
new sort of body, different from that which we all have in common, one
of which we should have quite a different notion,7098 (being spared the idea that)7099 He
had set His mind on7100 making, without an
adequate cause, a visible soul instead of7101 an
invisible one—a fit incentive, no doubt, for such questions as
they start,7102 by their
maintenance of a human flesh for it.7103
7103 In illam:
perhaps “in it,” as if an ablative case, not an
unusual construction in Tertullian. | Christ,
however, could not have appeared among men except as a man. Restore,
therefore, to Christ, His faith; believe that He who willed to
walk the earth as a man exhibited even a soul of a thoroughly human
condition, not making it of flesh, but clothing it with
flesh.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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