Chapter VIII.—The Names and Descent of Other Æons; First Half a Score, Then Two More, and Ultimately a Dozen Besides. These Thirty Constitute the Pleroma. But Why Be So Capricious as to Stop at Thirty?

For, behold, when the second Tetrad—Sermo and Vita, Homo and Ecclesia87    We everywhere give Tertullian’s own names, whether of Greek form or Latin. On their first occurrence we also give their English sense.—had borne fruit to the Father’s glory, having an intense desire of themselves to present to the Father something similar of their own, they bring other issue into being88    Ebulliunt.—conjugal of course, as the others were89    Proinde conjugales.—by the union of the twofold nature. On the one hand, Sermo and Vita pour out at a birth a half-score of Æons; on the other hand, Homo and Ecclesia produce a couple more, so furnishing an equipoise to their parents, since this pair with the other ten make up just as many as they did themselves procreate. I now give the names of the half-score whom I have mentioned:  Bythios (Profound) and Mixis (Mixture), Ageratos (Never old) and Henosis (Union), Autophyes (Essential nature) and Hedone (Pleasure), Acinetos (Immoveable) and Syncrasis (Commixture,) Monogenes (Only-begotten) and Macaria (Happiness). On the other hand, these will make up the number twelve (to which I have also referred):  Paracletus (Comforter) and Pistis (Faith), Patricas (Paternal) and Elpis (Hope), Metricos (Maternal) and Agape (Love), Ainos (Praise)90    Of this name there are two forms—Αἶνος (Praise) and ᾽Αεινοῦς (Eternal Mind). and Synesis (Intelligence), Ecclesiasticus (Son of Ecclesia) and Macariotes (Blessedness), Theletus91    Or Τελετός (Teletus). Another form of this Æon’s name is Φιλητός (Philetus = Beloved). Oehler always reads Theletus. (Perfect) and Sophia (Wisdom).  I cannot help92    Cogor. here quoting from a like example what may serve to show the import of these names. In the schools of Carthage there was once a certain Latin rhetorician, an excessively cool fellow,93    Frigidissimus. whose name was Phosphorus. He was personating a man of valour, and wound up94    Cum virum fortem peroraret…inquit. with saying, “I come to you, excellent citizens, from battle, with victory for myself, with happiness for you, full of honour, covered with glory, the favourite of fortune, the greatest of men, decked with triumph.” And forthwith his scholars begin to shout for the school of Phosphorus, φεῦ95    Tertullian’s joke lies in the equivocal sense of this cry, which may mean either admiration and joy, or grief and rage. (ah!).  Are you a believer in96    Audisti: interrogatively. Fortunata, and Hedone, and Acinetus, and Theletus? Then shout out your φεῦ for the school of Ptolemy.97    See above, chap. iv. p. 505. This must be that mystery of the Pleroma, the fulness of the thirty-fold divinity. Let us see what special attributes98    Privilegia. belong to these numbers—four, and eight, and twelve. Meanwhile with the number thirty all fecundity ceases. The generating force and power and desire of the Æons is spent.99    Castrata. As if there were not still left some strong rennet for curdling numbers.100    Tanta numerorum coagula. As if no other names were to be got out of the page’s hall!101    The pædagogium was either the place where boys were trained as pages (often for lewd purposes), or else the boy himself of such a character. For why are there not sets of fifty and of a hundred procreated? Why, too, are there no comrades and boon companions102    Oehler reads, “hetæri (ἑταῖροι) et syntrophi.” Another reading, supported by Rigaltius, is “sterceiæ,” instead of the former word, which gives a very contemptuous sense, suitable to Tertullian’s irony. named for them?

CAPUT VIII.

Ecce enim secunda Tetras, Sermo et Vita, Homo et Ecclesia, quod in Patris gloriam fruticasset. Hinc 0553A numero gestientes et ipsi tale quid Patri de suo offerre, alios ebulliunt fetus, proinde conjugaleis, per copulam utriusque naturae: Hac Sermo et Vita decuriam Aeonum simul fundunt: illac Homo et Ecclesia duos amplius, aequiparando parentibus, quia et ipsi duo cum illis decem tot efficiunt, quot ipsi procreaverunt. Reddo nunc nomina, quos decuriam dixi: Bythos et Mixis: Ageratos et Henosis: Autophyes et Hedone: Acinetos et Syncrasis: Nonogenes et Macaria. Contra, duodenarius numerus hi erunt: Paracletus et Pistis: Patricos et Elpis: Metricos et Agape: Ainus et Synesis: Ecclesiasticus et Macariotes: Theletus et Sophia. Cogor hic, quid ista nomina desiderent, proferre de pari exemplo. In scholis carthaginiensibus fuit quidam frigidissimus 0553B rhetor latinus, Phosphorus nomine: 0554A cum virum fortem peroraret: Venio, inquit, ad vos optimi cives, de praelio, cum victoria mea, cum felicitate vestra, ampliatus, gloriosus, fortunatus, maximus, triumphalis. Et scholastici statim Familiae Phosphori: Φεῦ ! Audisti Fortunatam, et Hedonem, et Acinetum, et Theletum, acclama: Familiae Ptolomaei Φεῦ! Hoc erit Pleroma illud arcanum, divinitatis tricenariae plenitudo. Videamus quae sint istorum privilegia numerorum, quaternarii, et octonarii, et duodenarii. Interim, in tricenario fecunditas tota deficit; castrata est vis et potestas et libido genitalis Aeonum. Quasi non et humerorum tanta adhuc coagula superessent, et nulla alia de paedagogio nomina. Quare enim non et quinquaginta et centum procreantur? quare non et 0554B stercolae et syntrophi nominantur ?