| Irenaeus (AH III, 12.12) structural phrase or clause | English translation | Tertullian Latin parallel | English translation |
|---|
| Apostolos quidem… annuntiasse Evangelium | apostles as authoritative proclaimers of the gospel | “argumentatur haereticus… sed iam nec mihi competit… quia ignorantiam illis adscribit apostolus” (Adversus Marcionem V.6.5–7) | “the apostle attributes ignorance… thus the heretic argues…” |
| putaverunt semetipsos plus invenisse quam Apostoli | opponents claiming superior understanding beyond apostolic teaching | “argumentatur haereticus… quod principes huius aevi… ut et hoc in ipsum recidat creatorem” (Adversus Marcionem V.6.5) | “the heretic argues that the rulers of this age… so that this may be turned against the creator.” |
| Unde et Marcion… scripturas… decurtantes | Marcionite reinterpretation or reduction of scriptural witness | “secundum autem Marcionem… nec apostolus hoc loco patitur…” (Adversus Marcionem V.6.8) | “according to Marcion… the apostle here does not allow…” |
| Nos autem etiam ex his quae adhuc apud eos custodiuntur arguemus eos | refutation from materials retained by opponents | “Et quare adhuc eodem et deus instrumento et apostolus nititur? Quid illi cum sententiis prophetarum ubique?” (Adversus Marcionem V.6.9) | “And why do both God and the apostle still rely on the same instrument? What has he to do with the sayings of the prophets everywhere?” |
| abstiterunt… ab eo qui est Deus… alterum Deum adinvenientes | assertion of another god contrasted with the creator | “Aut probet dei sui saecula Marcion… revertor…” (Adversus Marcionem V.6.4) | “Let Marcion prove the ages of his god… otherwise I return [to the creator].” |
| Irenaeus (parallel evidence) | Tertullian (Adv. Marc. V.6 primary text) |
|---|
| “Unum et eundem Deum ostendens qui et prophetas misit et Filium suum… et omnia praeordinavit.” *“Showing that one and the same God sent the prophets and the Son… and preordained all things.”* (Adv. Haer. III.11.8) | “Hanc dicit sapientiam in occulto fuisse… quae latuerit etiam sub figuris, allegoriis et aenigmatibus, revelanda postmodum in Christo…” “He says that this wisdom existed in hidden form… concealed under figures, allegories, and riddles, to be revealed later in Christ.” (Adv. Marc. V.6.1) |
| “Prophetae autem praedixerunt… et apostoli demonstraverunt ex Scripturis quod idem Deus sit.” *“The prophets foretold… and the apostles demonstrated from the Scriptures that the same God is proclaimed.”* (Adv. Haer. III.12.9) | “…posito in lumen nationum a creatore promittente per Esaiae vocem patefacturum se thesauros invisibiles et occultos.” “…set as a light to the nations by the Creator, promising through Isaiah that he would reveal hidden and invisible treasures.” (Adv. Marc. V.6.1) |
| “Non alium Deum annuntiat apostolus quam eum qui mundum fecit…” *“The apostle proclaims no other God than the one who made the world…”* (Adv. Haer. III.14.1) | “Cuius et saecula, nisi creatoris?… apparet et saecula creatoris esse…” “Whose ages are these, if not the Creator’s?… it is clear that the ages belong to the Creator…” (Adv. Marc. V.6.3) |
| “…scripturas propheticas adhibent apostoli ad demonstrandum dispensationem Dei.” *“…the apostles employ the prophetic scriptures to demonstrate the economy of God.”* (Adv. Haer. IV.9.1) | “Quid illi cum sententiis prophetarum ubique? Quis enim cognovit sensum domini… Esaias est.” “What has he to do everywhere with the sayings of the prophets? ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord…?’—it is Isaiah.” (Adv. Marc. V.6.9) |
| “…omnia quae dicta sunt in lege et prophetis de Christo consummata sunt.” *“…all things spoken in the law and prophets concerning Christ were fulfilled.”* (Adv. Haer. IV.34.1) | “Ecce ego… inicio in fundamenta Sionis lapidem pretiosum… quia et de hoc per eundem prophetam creator…” “Behold, I lay in the foundations of Zion a precious stone… for concerning this the Creator spoke through the same prophet.” (Adv. Marc. V.6.10) |
| “Haeretici autem… alienum Christum fingunt et Scripturas male interpretantur.” *“Heretics fabricate a foreign Christ and misinterpret the Scriptures.”* (Adv. Haer. III.12.12) | “argumentatur haereticus quod principes huius aevi… alterius scilicet dei Christum… cruci confixerint…” “The heretic argues that the rulers of this age crucified the Christ of another god…” (Adv. Marc. V.6.5) |
| “…Spiritus Dei inhabitare in hominibus templum Dei faciens…” *“…the Spirit of God dwelling in humans, making them the temple of God…”* (Adv. Haer. V.6.1) | “Nescitis quod templum dei sitis, et in vobis inhabitet spiritus dei?” “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (Adv. Marc. V.6.11) |
| “Deus iudex est… retributionem faciens secundum opera.” *“God is judge… rendering recompense according to works.”* (Adv. Haer. IV.40.1) | “Quodsi templum dei quis vitiaverit, vitiabitur… Ultorem intentans, creatorem intentabis.” “If anyone corrupts the temple of God, he will be destroyed… in threatening an avenger you invoke the Creator.” (Adv. Marc. V.6.12) |
Clear signs of the same anti-heretical pattern appear throughout this chapter, especially the polemical logic that opponents imagine themselves to possess deeper insight than the apostles and thereby construct a second god. Although the exact wording of the earlier formulation (i.e. AH III, 12.12) is not repeated, Tertullian’s argument consistently aims to dismantle interpretations that elevate later theological speculation above apostolic and prophetic continuity. He insists that the “hidden wisdom” spoken by Paul belongs to the Creator and was already embedded in prophetic figures, allegories, and enigmas destined for revelation in Christ, thereby rejecting any claim that Paul disclosed a previously unknown deity. The repeated appeal to Isaiah and other prophetic texts, and the claim that apostolic teaching unfolds what was already “propositum… ante saecula” by the Creator, function as a rebuttal to the idea that a more “prudent” or refined theology supersedes the apostolic proclamation. Tertullian also directly exposes what he sees as the methodological flaw of his opponents: they reinterpret Pauline language to imply a second divine economy, yet Paul’s own citations of scripture show continuity with the Creator’s revelation. By emphasizing that heretical readings depend on detaching Paul from the prophetic and apostolic framework and by portraying such detachment as logically incoherent, the chapter reflects the broader accusation that theological innovation arises when interpreters assume themselves wiser than the apostles and thereby “adinveniunt alterum Deum.”
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