Tertullian

Meaning

Tertullian is cited in the author’s attack upon Aristotelian disputation in theology. A Latin maxim calls philosophers the patriarchs of heretics, followed by a German explanation identifying natural pagan masters as their forefathers. The author uses this attributed authority to challenge the importation of philosophical distinctions into the doctrine of Christ’s united natures. The English retains the quotation and explanation as polemical speech. The entry does not authenticate the maxim against Tertullian’s works or extend it into a blanket verdict endorsed by the lexicon. Its local force is an appeal to authority within a particular theological argument.