First I post a quotation, then I add a post raising questions about its genuineness. Now I find that it was genuine in the first place. Tertullian, On Idolatry , 19 asks “whether a believer may turn himself unto military service, and whether the military may be admitted unto the faith, even the rank and file, or each inferior grade, to whom there is no necessity for taking part in sacrifices or capital punishments.”
He answers: “There is no agreement between the divine and the human sacrament, the standard of Christ and the standard of the devil, the camp of light and the camp of darkness. One soul cannot be due to two masters — God and Cæsar.”
The Latin of the last sentences reads: Non convenit sacramento divino et humano, signo Christi et signo diaboli, castris lucis et castris tenebrarum: non potest una anima duobos deberi, Deo et Caesari.
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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