TERTIILLIAN, a father of the church, and one of the earliest who used the Latin language in written compositions. In one passage, the genuineness of which there is no reason to doubt, he calls himself Septimius Tertullianus. The best manuscripts call him Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus. He was the son of a proconsular cen turion—that is, a centurion who attended on the proconsul. He was born in Carthage. He was brought up a heathen, and from his own writings we learn that he was licentious in his conduct, and fond of the public shows. We know nothing more of his heathen life. Eusebius describes him as a man exceedingly well acquainted with the laws of the Romans, and his writings bear out the assertion. From this circumstance, some have identified him with a Tertullianus whose name occurs in the index of the Pandects, and have supposed that he acted, as an advocate; but the supposition is a mere conjecture. We know nothing of his conversion. He became a presbyter in the church, but whether he held this office in Rome or in Carthage, is matter of dispute, and there are no data to determine the question. It is certain that he visited Rome, and was well acquainted with the affairs of the Roman church. He also married; and as his wife was a Christian, it is supposed that his marriage took place after his conversion. After remaining a presbyter until he had reached middle age, he became a Montanist. Jerome attributes his adoption of Montanism to the insulting treatment which he received at the hands of the Roman clergy. But this is not likely an entirely accurate account of the matter. Jerome himself had been ill treated by the Roman clergy, and was therefore inclined to blame them; and in the character and general tendency of Tertullian's opin ions, we have ample explanation of his passing over to Montanism. See NoivrAicus. He lived to a good old age, remaining a Montanist to the last. We have no clue to precise dates in the history of Tertullian. Jerome states that he flourished under Severus and Antoninus Caracalla. Allix places his birth at 145 or 150 A.D., and his death at about 220 A.D.; but these are conjectures.
Tertullian was a man of strong and violent passions: he loved and hated with intensity. He possessed considerable culture, and was well versed in Roman law, in ancient philosophy, history, and poetry. He was not deficient in philosophical power, but he was narrow, bigoted, and uncharitable. He shows no sympathy with Greek speculation or with freedom of human thought; and he shows little sympathy with the joys and pleasures of man, being strongly inclined to asceticism. We need not wonder,
therefore, that he came to believe in the paraclete of Montanus as the revealer of the perfection of Christianity, and that he adopted the Montanist opinions, that second mar riages were adulteries, and that it was unlawful to flee in times of persecution, and wrong to receive the lapsed back into the communion of the church.
His writings are numerous. Attempts have been made to divide them into those which were written before lie became a Montanist, and those written after that event; but the attempts have failed; for in treating many subjects he would have no occasion to say a word in regard to the paraclete, second marriages, or persecution.
His works are interesting, throwing much light on the internal circumstances of the church, on the social questions which perplexed Christians, on the opinions of heretics, and on the development of doctrine. Of his theology, Neander remarks: "In Tertullian we find the first germ of that spirit which afterward appeared with more refinement and purity in Augustine, as from Augustine the scholastic theology proceeded, and in him also the reformation found its point of connection." Among the peculiar opinions which he held may be mentioned his belief in the corporeality of the human soul.
His writings had great influence on the subsequent ages, but especially on Cyprian. Jerome says: "I saw at Concordia, in Italy, an old man named Paulus. He said that, when young, he had met at Borne with an aged amanuensis of the blessed Cyprian, who told him that Cyprian never passed a day without reading some portion of Tertulhan'a works; and used frequently to-say: Give me my master, meaning Tertullian." There are many editions of Tertullian; the best is by Franciscus Oehler (3 vols. 8vo, Lps. 1853). The third volume contains the principal dissertations on the life and writ ings of Tertullian. The works of Tcrtnllian, with many dissertations and notes, form the rirst and second volumes of Migne's Petrologic Latina. The English reader will find a full and satisfactory account of Tertullian's life, writings, and opinions in bishop Kaye's Ecclesiastical History of the Second and Third Centuries, Illustrated from the Writ ings of Tertullian (8vo, 2d ed. Cambridge, 1829); and in Neander's or the Spirit of Tertullian, translated by J. E. Ryland. A good translation of Tertullian's works will be found in Clark's Christian Library, edited by Drs. Roberts and Donaldson