Source edition
Tertullian. Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani opera, Pars III (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, Volume 47). Kroymann, Emil, editor. Prague, Vienna, Leipzig: F. Tempsky, G. Freytag, 1906.
Source data
Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a theological and ethical treatise in which the author, while acknowledging his own lack of patience, discusses the essence and practice of this vital Christian virtue (patientia). The author begins by presenting God's forbearance toward the unrighteous and Christ's supreme example during His earthly life and passion as the ultimate models of patience. In contrast, impatience is identified as the root of all sin originating from the devil, which led to the fall of Adam and Eve, Cain's fratricide, and the infidelity of the Israelites. The middle section offers practical guidance on how to respond to worldly losses, physical or verbal abuse, and the death of loved ones with patience, rather than anger, vengeance, or excessive grief. In the latter part, the author emphasizes the importance of bodily endurance through asceticism and martyrdom, alongside mental patience as the foundation of love, citing biblical figures like Isaiah and Job. Ultimately, the treatise concludes that patience is a beautiful virtue accompanied by the Holy Spirit, which enables Christians to endure earthly trials and leads them to heavenly beatitude.