Source edition
Tertullian. Quinti Septimii Florentis Tertulliani Quae Supersunt Omnia, Volume 1. Oehler, Franz, editor. Leipzig: Weigel, 1853.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This work is a theological and moral treatise written in the form of a letter by the author to his own wife, advising her on how to conduct her life after his death. Consisting of two books, the work focuses on maintaining Christian chastity and avoiding marriage with pagans. In the first book, the author exhorts his wife not to remarry after his passing, explaining the spiritual value of remaining single and practicing continence. He criticizes excuses based on the weakness of the flesh and highlights the greater virtue of a widow's abstinence. In the second book, acknowledging human weakness, he addresses the possibility of remarriage, insisting that it must only be contracted "in the Lord"—meaning between fellow believers. He warns of the severe practical obstacles that a pagan husband poses to Christian life, such as prayer, fasting, and the sacraments. The treatise concludes with a vivid depiction of the divine blessings and harmony found in a true Christian marriage between believers.