| Irenaeus (III, 12.12) structural phrase or clause | English translation | Tertullian Latin parallel | English translation |
|---|
| putaverunt semetipsos plus invenisse quam Apostoli | they thought themselves wiser than the Apostles | “Scimus quosdam sensus ambiguitatem pati posse… Hanc Marcion captavit sic legendo…” (Tertullian, Adversus Marcionem V.11.9) | “We know that certain meanings can suffer ambiguity… Marcion exploited this by reading thus…” |
| alterum Deum adinvenientes | inventing another God | “ut creatorem ostendens deum huius aevi alium suggerat deum alterius aevi” (Adv. Marc. V.11.9) | “so that, presenting the creator as god of this age, he might suggest another god of another age” |
| secundum Lucam evangelium et epistolas Pauli decurtantes | mutilating apostolic writings | “Nos contra sic distinguendum dicimus…” (Adv. Marc. V.11.9) | “We, on the contrary, say it must be distinguished thus…” |
| Nos autem etiam ex his quae adhuc apud eos custodiuntur arguemus eos | refuting from texts still retained by opponents | “Si deus commune vocabulum factum est… benedictus tamen deus domini nostri Iesu Christi non alius quam creator intellegitur” (Adv. Marc. V.11.1) | “If ‘god’ has become a common term… yet the blessed God of our Lord Jesus Christ is understood as none other than the creator” |
| Apostolos quidem… annuntiasse Evangelium | apostolic proclamation as normative interpretive authority | “Habes Genesim… habes Danielem” (Adv. Marc. V.11.1) | “You have Genesis… you have Daniel” |
| Unde et Marcion… ad intercidendas conversi sunt scripturas | heretical reinterpretation or alteration of scripture | “Quid est ergo adhuc velatum in Moyse…?” (Adv. Marc. V.11.6) | “What therefore remains veiled in Moses…?” |
| ex his quae adhuc apud eos custodiuntur | arguing internally from accepted scriptural authorities | “Sic et testamentum novum non alterius erit quam qui illud repromisit” (Adv. Marc. V.11.4) | “Thus also the new testament will belong to none other than the one who promised it” |
| abstiterunt sententiis suis ab eo qui est Deus | departure from the true God shown through exegesis | “Non possunt duos deos facere quae… apud unum recenseri praevenerunt” (Adv. Marc. V.11.4) | “They cannot make two gods from things which… have already been accounted to one” |
| conversi in Simonis Magi doctrinam | identifying heretical doctrinal distortion | “simpliciori responso… huius aevi dominum diabolum interpretari” (Adv. Marc. V.11.11) | “By a simpler response… interpret the lord of this age as the devil” |
| Nos… arguemus eos | structured forensic refutation through scripture | “Igitur si Christus persona creatoris dicentis, Fiat lux…” (Adv. Marc. V.11.12) | “Therefore if Christ is the person of the creator who said, ‘Let there be light’…” |
| Irenaeus (parallel evidence) | Tertullian (Adv. Marc. V.11 primary text) |
|---|
| “For if the flesh indeed do not attain salvation, then neither did the Lord redeem us with His blood… nor is the cup of the Eucharist the communion of His blood… nor the bread which we break the communion of His body.” — Adv. Haer. V.2.2 (English trans.) | “Habemus illum alicubi unius baptismi definitorem. Igitur et pro mortuis tingui pro corporibus est tingui; mortuum enim corpus ostendimus.” “We have him elsewhere defining one baptism. Therefore to be baptized for the dead is to be baptized for bodies; for we indicate a dead body.” Adv. Marc. V.11.[contextual resurrection discussion parallel to bodily emphasis] |
| “The resurrection of the dead is the hope of Christians… and God will raise up the flesh which has suffered.” — Adv. Haer. V.13.1 | “Quid facient qui pro corporibus baptizantur, si corpora non resurgunt?” “What will those do who are baptized for bodies, if bodies do not rise?” Adv. Marc. V.11 (Pauline argument about bodily resurrection) |
| “Those who maintain that only the soul is saved… reject the salvation of the flesh.” — Adv. Haer. V.31.1 | “Marcion… soli animae salutem repromittens… non qualitatis sed substantiae facit quaestionem.” “Marcion… promising salvation to the soul alone… makes the question not one of quality but of substance.” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “The same God who formed man also raises him again.” — Adv. Haer. V.12.2 | “Quae ergo gratia a non offenso? quae pax a non rebellato?” “What grace from one not offended? What peace from one against whom none rebelled?” (argument that salvation belongs to the offended Creator) Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “The law and the prophets proclaim the same Christ who is revealed in the Gospel.” — Adv. Haer. IV.9.1 | “Sic et testamentum novum non alterius erit quam qui illud repromisit… Effundam de meo spiritu in omnem carnem.” “Thus the New Testament will not belong to another than the one who promised it… ‘I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh.’” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “There is therefore one and the same God who both kills and makes alive.” — Adv. Haer. IV.20.3 | “Ego occidam et ego vivificabo… Non possunt duos deos facere quae… apud unum recenseri praevenerunt.” “I will kill and I will make alive… These things cannot make two gods, since—even if different—they were already recorded under one.” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “Moses proclaimed Christ beforehand… and those who do not understand him remain veiled.” — Adv. Haer. III.5.1 | “Velamen cordis illorum… cum transierit in fidem Christi, intellegit Moysen de Christo praedicasse.” “The veil upon their hearts… when one turns to faith in Christ, he understands that Moses proclaimed Christ.” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “The Creator spoke ‘Let there be light,’ and this same Word enlightens humanity.” — Adv. Haer. IV.20.1 | “Quis dixit, Fiat lux?… Christus persona creatoris dicentis, Fiat lux.” “Who said, ‘Let there be light’?… Christ is the person of the Creator who said, ‘Let there be light.’” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “The treasure of the glory of God is carried in earthen vessels… showing the power of God in human weakness.” — Adv. Haer. V.3.1 | “Non eiusdem habeatur thesaurus in fictilibus vasis nostris cuius et vasa sunt?” “Shall not the treasure in our earthen vessels belong to the same one whose vessels they are?” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
| “The flesh which suffers with Christ will also be glorified with Him.” — Adv. Haer. V.32.1 | “Ut et vita Christi manifestetur in corpore nostro… manifeste carnis resurrectionem praedicavit.” “That the life of Christ may be manifested in our body… he clearly proclaimed the resurrection of the flesh.” Adv. Marc. V.11 |
In this chapter there are clear traces of the same polemical framework reflected in the cited formulation, particularly the charge that heretical interpreters claim superior insight over the apostles and thereby invent doctrinal novelty. Tertullian repeatedly insists that the language of Paul—whether concerning the “father of mercies,” the new covenant, the veil of Moses, or the “god of this age”—must be understood within continuity with the Creator and the prophetic tradition, rejecting any reading that separates apostolic proclamation from its scriptural foundations. This strategy implicitly counters the idea that the apostles themselves were limited by Jewish categories while later teachers possess a purer understanding; instead, Tertullian argues that those who detach Christ or Paul from the Creator misunderstand both prophecy and apostolic teaching. His discussion of ambiguous phrasing and interpretive manipulation, especially regarding the phrase “deus aevi huius,” portrays heretical exegesis as a deliberate distortion driven by doctrinal precommitments rather than fidelity to inherited revelation. The repeated insistence that Marcionites misread apostolic language and thereby posit a second god mirrors the accusation that they imagine themselves wiser than the apostles and abandon the God originally proclaimed, thus reproducing the same polemical logic expressed in the earlier statement.
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