erficienti. Hunc ex deo prolatum didicimus
et prolatione generatum et idcirco filium dei et deum dictum ex unitate
substantiae, nam et deus spiritus (that is, the antemundane Logos is the
Son of God). Et cum radius ex sole porrigitur, portio ex summa; sed sol
erit in radio, quia solis est radius nec separatur substantia sed
extenditur (cf. adv. Prax. 8). Ita de spiritu spiritus et deo deus ut
lumen de lumine accensum. Manet integra et indefecta materiae matrix,
etsi plures inde traduces qualitatis mutueris: ita et quod de deo
profectum est, deus est et dei filius et unus ambo. Ita et de spiritu
spiritus et de deo deus modulo alternum numerum, gradu non statu fecit,
et a matrice non necessit sed excessit. Iste igitur dei radius, ut retro
semper praedicabatur, delapsus in virginem quandam et in utero eius caro
figuratus nascitur homo deo mixtus. Caro spiritu instructa nutritur,
adolescit, adfatur, docet, operatur et Christus est." Tertullian adds:
"Recipite interim hanc fabulam, similis est vestris." As a matter of
fact the heathen must have viewed this statement as a philosophical
speculation with a mythological conclusion. It is very instructive to
ascertain that in Hippolytus' book against Noetus "the setting forth of
the truth" (c. 10 ff.) he begins with the proposition: [Greek: Theos
eboulethe kosmon ktisai]. The Logos whose essence and working are
described merely went forth to realise this intention.]

[Footnote 532: See Hagemann, Die roemische Kirche (1864), p. 172 ff.]

[Footnote 533: See my detailed exposition of the _orthodox_ side of
Tertullian's doctrine of the Trinity ("orthodox" in the later sense of
the word), in Vol. IV. There it is also shown that these formulae were
due to Tertullian's _juristic_ bias. The formulae, "una _substantia_,
tres _personae_", never alternates in his case with the others, "una
_natura_, tres _personae_"; and so it remained for a long time in the
West; they did not speak of "natures" but of "substances" ("nature" in
this connection is very rare down to the 5th century). What makes this
remarkable is the fact that Tertullian always uses "substance" in the
concrete sense "individual substance" and has even expressed himself
precisely on the point. He says in de anima 32: "aliud est substantia,
aliud natura substantiae; siquidem substantia propria est rei cuiusque,
natura vero potest esse communis. Suscipe exemplum: substantia est
lapis, ferrum; duritia lapidis et ferri natura subs