The Latin language with its concrete practical character was, unlike Greek, incapable of expressing philosophical truths in early Christian times. Neither did it have the capacity to present Christian truths with precision. This ability had to be developed, and it was gradually formed in the third century by Tertullian (d. c. 220), Cyprian (d. 258), Arnobius (d. c. 317) and Lactantius (d. 317). One of Tertullian’s chief doctrinal works was On the Prescription against Heretics, with its famous caution against the dangers of philosophy as the source of heresies. Asking ‘‘What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?’’ he pointed out how Christians have often been led astray in their beliefs by the teachings of various philosophers. Tertullian’s Against Marcion defends the compatibility of the Old and New Testaments and challenges Marcion’s rejection of the Gospels of Matthew, Luke, and John. His Against the Valentinians and On the Flesh of Christ both show his own philosophical acumen, however, as he fights against the different Gnostic positions. His Against Praxeas is one of the best expositions on the Trinity before the Council of Nicea. However, he speaks especially of how the divine plurality was manifested in creation and redemption and seems to contend that the Father became the Father only after the generation of the Word as the model of creation. He presents no awareness of an eternal generation. Many of his later works also were disrespected, since they were produced after he became a Montanist and embraced its rigorism. Cyprian, another Latin writer, is most praised for his treatise On the Unity ofthe Church, a twofold attack on the Roman schism of Novatian and the African schism of Felicissimus. Arnobius and his student Lactantius are known as competent rhetoricians, and certainly the latter is considered a master of Latin expression. However, neither is highly respected for theological originality in their works.
World History
