TERTULLIAN ON THE WEARING OF CROWNS AND MILITARY SERVICE - page 1 of 3

 

Subscription Version of Text
With translation,
more background info & notes

Info about Subscription Site

$5 for trial, $30 a year for individuals ($15 students).

Printable Version of Text
plus translation and notes
("Latin Writers" Section)

Important Info About Printing

Tertullian related books @ Amazon

De Corona, 1, 11, 12

Latin text from Migne PL, Vol. 2, Cols. 76 - 77, 91 - 95.

An English translation of this text, placed alongside the Latin text, can be found on the subscription version of the site.

A complete version of the Latin text of this work (at tertullian.org) and an English translation (with a facility for viewing it alongside) can be accessed through the website along with a very large number of other complete texts.

Click here for information about: 1) the public domain texts used on this site;  2) more recent scholarly work on the original language texts.

 

(Click on Latin words to link to the Perseus Morphology. If there are problems with the Perseus website click here for a version of the page with a locally based morphology* and lexicon.)

 

                Next page »

CAPUT PRIMUM.

Proxime facta est liberalitas praestantissimorum imperatorum; expungebantur in castris milites laureati. Adhibetur quidam illic magis Dei miles, caeteris constantior fratribus, qui se duobus dominis servire posse praesumpserant, solus libero capite, coronamento in manu otioso. Vulgata jam et ista disciplina Christianorum relucebat. Denique singuli designare, et eludere eminus, infrendere cominus. Murmur tribuno defertur, et persona jam ex ordine accesserat. Statim tribunus: Cur, inquit, tam diversus habitu? Negavit ille cum caeteris sibi licere; caussas expostulatus, Christianus sum, respondit. O militem in Deo gloriosum! Suffragia exinde, et res ampliata, et reus ad praefectos. Ibidem gravissimas penulas posuit, relevari auspicatus, speculatoriam morosissimam de pedibus absolvit, terrae sanctae insistere incipiens, gladium nec dominicae defensioni necessarium reddidit (Math. XXVI, 52): laurea et de manu corruit. Et nunc russatus sanguinis sui spe, calceatus de Evangelii paratura, succinctus acutiore verbo Dei, totus de Apostolo armatus (Eph. VI, 11) et de martyrii candida melius coronandus, donativum Christi in carcere exspectat. Exinde sententiae super illo, nescio an Christianorum, non enim aliae ethnicorum, ut de abrupto, et praecipiti, et mori cupido, qui de habitu interrogatus nomini negotium fecerit: solus scilicet fortis, inter tot fratres commilitones solus Christianus. Plane superest ut etiam martyria recusare meditentur, qui prophetias ejusdem Spiritus sancti respuerunt. Mussitant denique, tam bonam et longam sibi pacem periclitari. Nec dubito quosdam Scripturas emigrare, sarcinas expedire, fugae accingi de civitate in civitatem; nullam enim aliam Evangelii memoriam curant. Novi et pastores eorum, in pace leones, in praelio cervos. Sed de quaestionibus confessionum alibi docebimus. At nunc quatenus et illud opponunt: Ubi autem prohibemur coronari? Hanc magis localem substantiam caussae praesentis aggrediar, ut et qui ex sollicitudine ignorantiae quaerunt, instruantur; et qui in defensionem delicti contendunt, revincantur; ipsi vel maxime Christiani laureati, quibus id solum quaestio est; quasi aut nullum aut incertum saltem haberi possit delictum quod patiatur quaestionem. Nec nullum autem nec incertum, hinc interim ostendam....

                Next page »