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date: 20 January 2025

Tertullian c.ad 160–c.225
Roman theologian and Church Father from Carthage 

  1. ‘Look,’ they say, ‘how they [Christians] love one another’ (for they themselves hate one another); ‘and how they are ready to die for each other’ (for they themselves are readier to kill each other).
    usually quoted as, ‘See how these Christians love one another’
    Apologeticus ch. 39, sect. 7
  2. If the Tiber rises, if the Nile does not rise, if the heavens give no rain, if there is an earthquake, famine, or pestilence, straightway the cry is ‘The Christians to the lion!’ So many to one?
    Apologeticus ch. 40; see Anonymous
  3. As often as we are mown down by you, the more we grow in numbers; the blood of Christians is the seed.
    traditionally ‘The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church’
    Apologeticus ch. 50, sect. 13
  4. Certum est quia impossibile est.
    It is certain because it is impossible.
    often quoted as ‘Credo quia impossibile [I believe because it is impossible]’
    De Carne Christi ch. 5
  5. What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?
    De Proescriptione Haereticorum bk. 7, ch. 9; see Alcuin