tantiae est. Duritia
(natura) communicat, substantia discordat. Mollitia lanae, mollitia plumae
pariant naturalia eorum, substantiva non pariant ... Et tune naturae
similitudo notatur, cum substantiae dissimilitudo conspicitur. Men and
animals are similar _natura_, but not _substantia_." We see that
Tertullian in so far as he designated Father, Son, and Spirit as one
substance expressed their _unity_ as strongly as possible. The only idea
intelligible to the majority was a juristic and political notion, viz.,
that the Father, who is the _tota substantia_, sends forth officials
whom he entrusts with the administration of the monarchy. The legal
fiction attached to the concept "person" aided in the matter here.]

[Footnote 534: See adv. Prax. 3: "Igitur si et monarchia divina per tot
legiones et exercitus angelorum administratur, sicut scriptum est:
Milies centies centena milia adsistebant ei, et milies centena milia
apparebant ei, nec ideo unius esse desiit, ut desinat monarchia esse,
quia per tanta milia virtutum procuratur: quale est ut deus divisionem
et dispersionem pati videatur in filio et spiritu sancto, secundum et
tertium sortitis locum, tam consortibus substantiae patris, quam non
patitur in tot angelorum numero?" (!!) c. 4: "Videmus igitur non obesse
monarchiae filium, etsi hodie apud filium est, quia et in suo statu est
apud filium, et cum suo statu restituetur patri a filio." L.c.:
"Monarchia in tot nominibus constituta est, in quot deus voluit."]

[Footnote 535: See Hippol., c. Noetum II. According to these doctrines
the unity is sufficiently preserved (1) if the separate persons have one
and the same substance, (2) if there is one possessor of the whole
substance, _i.e._, if everything proceeds from him. That this is a
remnant of polytheism ought not to be disputed.]

[Footnote 536: Adv. Prax. 8: "Hoc si qui putaverit, me [Greek: probolen]
aliquam introducere id est prolationem rei alterius ex altera, quod
facit Valentinus, primo quidem dicam tibi, non ideo non utatur et
veritas vocabulo isto et re ac censu eius, quia et haeresis utitur; immo
haeresis potius ex veritate accepit quod ad mendacium suum strueret"; cf.
also what follows. Thus far then theologians had got already: "The
economy is founded on as many names as God willed" (c. 4).]

[Footnote 537: See adv. Prax. 5.]

[Footnote 538: Tertull., adv. Hermog. 3: "fuit tempus, cum ei filius non
fuit."]

[Footnote 539: Novatian (de trin. 23) disting