# Against All Heresies

- Author: Anonymous
- Latin title: *Adversus omnes haereses*
- Date: early 3rd cent. (disputed) (disputed)
- Source: Aemilius Kroymann, ed., Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani opera, Pars 3, CSEL 47 (Vienna: Tempsky, 1906) (Latin text: A. Kroymann (CSEL 47, 1906), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/
- Passages: 8

## Against All Heresies 1

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-1
- Source: CSEL 47:213–216
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author passes over the Jewish sects and begins his list of Christian heresies with Simon Magus, Menander, Saturninus, Basilides, and Nicolaus.

### Latin text

Quorum haereticorum, ut plura praeteream, pauca perstringam. taceo enim Iudaismi haereticos, Dositheum inquam Samaritanum, qui primus ausus est prophetas quasi non in spiritu sancto locutos repudiare, taceo Saducaeos, qui ex huius erroris radice surgentes ausi sunt ad hanc haeresim etiam resurrectionem carnis negare, praetermitto Pharisaeos, qui additamenta quaedam legi adstruendo a Iudaeis diuisi sunt, unde etiam hoc accipere ipsum quod habent nomen digni fuerunt, cum his etiam Herodianos, qui Christum Herodem esse dixerunt: ad eos me conuerto, qui ex euangelio haeretici esse uoluerunt. ex quibus est primus omnium Simon Magus. qui in Actis Apostolorum condignam meruit ab apostolo Petro iustamque sententiam. hic ausus est summam se dicere uirtutem, id est summum deum, mundum autem ab angelis suis institutum. ad daemonem se oberrantem, qui esset sapientia, descendisse quaerendum. apud Iudaeos se in phantasmate dei non passum, sed esse quasi passum. post hunc Menander <extitit.) discipulus ipsius, similiter magus, eadem dicens quae Simon ipse, [quicquid se Simon dixerat, hoc se Menander esse dicebat,] negans habere posse quemquam salutem, nisi in nomine suo baptizatus fuisset. secutus est post haec et Saturninus, et hic similiter dicens innoscibilem Virtutem, id est deum, in summis et infinitis illis partibus et in superioribus manere, longe autem distanter [et] ab hoc angelos inferiores mundum fecisse. et quia splendor quidam luminis desursum in inferioribus refulsisset, ad similitudinem illius luminis angelos hominem instituere curasse. hunc super terram iacuisse reptantem; cuius lumen illud, id est uirtutem illam superiorem, propter misericordiam scintillam *** saluam esse, cetera hominis perire; Christum in substantia corporis non fuisse et phantasmate tantum quasi passum fuisse; resurrectionem carnis nullo modo futuram esse. postea Basilides haereticus erupit. hic esse dicit summum deum, nomine Abraxan, ex quo mentem creatam, quam Graece VODV appellat: inde uerbum, ex illo prouidentiam, (ex prouidentia) uirtutem et sapientiam, ex ipsis inde principatus et potestates et angelos factos, deinde infinitas angelorum editiones et probolas; ab istis angelis trecentos sexaginta quinque caelos institutos et mundum in honorem Abraxae, cuius nomen hunc in se habeat numerum computatum. in ultimis quidem angelis, qui et hunc fecerunt mundum, nouissimum ponit Iudaeorum deum, id est deum legis et prophetarum, quem deum negat, sed angelum dicit; huic sortito obtigisse semen Abrahae, atque ideo hunc de terra Aegypti filios Israhel in terram Chanaan transtulisse; hunc turbulentiorem prae ceteris angelis atque ideo et seditiones frequenter et bella concutere, sed et humanum sanguinem fundere; Christum autem, non ab hoc, qui fecerit mundum, sed ab illo Abraxa missum, uenisse in phantasmate, sine substantia carnis fuisse; hunc passum apud Iudaeos non esse, sed uice ipsius Simonem crucifixum esse; unde nec in eum credendum esse, qui sit crucifixus, ne quis confiteatur in Simonem credidisse. martyria negat esse facienda. carnis resurrectionem grauiter impugnat, negans salutem corporibus repromissam. alter haereticus Nicolaus emersit. hic de septem diaconibus, qui in Actis Apostolorum adlecti sunt, fuit. hic dicit tenebras in concupiscentia luminis et quidem foeda et obscoena fuisse; ex hac permixtione pudor est dicere quae foetida et inmunda. sunt et cetera obscoena. aeones enim refert quosdam turpitudinis natos et complexus et permixtiones execrabiles obscoenasque coniuncturas, et quaedam ex ipsis adhuc turpiora natos praeterea daemones et deos et spiritus septem, et alia satis sacrilega pariter et foeda, quae referre erubescimus et iam Praeterimus. satis est nobis, quod totam istam haeresim Nicolaitarum Apocalypsis domini grauissima sententiae auctoritate damnauit dicendo: hoc tenes, quia odisti doctrinam Nicolaitarum, quam et ego odi.

### English translation (Claude)

Of these heretics, to pass over many, I will touch briefly on a few. I say nothing of the heretics of Judaism: I mean Dositheus the Samaritan, who was the first to dare to reject the prophets as not having spoken in the Holy Spirit. I say nothing of the Sadducees, who, springing from the root of this error, dared to add to this heresy the denial even of the resurrection of the flesh. I pass over the Pharisees, who were divided from the Jews by building certain additions onto the Law, which is why they deserved to receive the very name they bear; and with them the Herodians, who said that Herod was the Christ. I turn to those who chose to be heretics from the gospel. The first of all of these is Simon Magus, who in the Acts of the Apostles received a fitting and just sentence from the apostle Peter. He dared to call himself the supreme Power, that is, the supreme God, and to say that the world was made by his angels; that he had come down in search of a wandering demon, who was Wisdom; and that among the Jews he did not suffer as God, but in a phantom, as though he suffered. After him arose Menander, his disciple, likewise a magician, saying the same things as Simon himself, and denying that anyone could have salvation unless he had been baptized in his name. After these Saturninus also followed. He too said that the unknowable Power, that is, God, abides in those highest, infinite, upper regions, and that the lower angels, far distant from him, made the world; and that because a certain radiance of light from above had shone forth in the lower regions, the angels took care to form a human being after the likeness of that light; that this human being lay crawling on the earth; that his light, that is, that higher power, out of mercy, a spark …, is saved, while the rest of the human being perishes; that Christ did not exist in the substance of a body and suffered only in a phantom, as though he suffered; and that there will be no resurrection of the flesh at all. Afterward the heretic Basilides broke out. He says that there is a supreme God, named Abraxas, from whom Mind was created, which he calls in Greek Nous; from it came the Word; from that, Providence; from Providence, Power and Wisdom; and from these, in turn, principalities and powers and angels were made; then endless issues and emanations of angels; that by these angels three hundred and sixty-five heavens were made, and the world, in honor of Abraxas, whose name has this number computed in it. Among the last angels, those who made this world, he places last the God of the Jews, that is, the God of the Law and the Prophets, whom he denies to be God and calls an angel. To him, he says, the seed of Abraham fell by lot, and so he brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt into the land of Canaan; he is more turbulent than the other angels, and therefore often stirs up seditions and wars and even sheds human blood. Christ, however, was sent not by the one who made the world but by Abraxas; he came in a phantom and was without the substance of flesh; he did not suffer among the Jews, but Simon was crucified in his place; hence one must not believe in him who was crucified, lest anyone confess that he has believed in Simon. He says that martyrdoms should not be undergone. He fiercely attacks the resurrection of the flesh, denying that salvation has been promised to bodies. Another heretic, Nicolaus, emerged. He was one of the seven deacons chosen in the Acts of the Apostles. He says that darkness was in desire for light, and in a foul and obscene desire at that; and of this mixture it is shameful to tell the fetid and unclean results. The rest is obscene too. For he tells of certain aeons, offspring of shamefulness, and embraces and execrable mixtures and obscene couplings, and certain still more shameful things born of these: besides demons and gods and seven spirits, and other things equally sacrilegious and foul, which we blush to report and now pass over. It is enough for us that the Lord's Apocalypse condemned this whole heresy of the Nicolaitans with the weightiest authority of judgment, saying: “This you hold, that you hate the teaching of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”

### Scripture references

- Acts 8:20: allusion, high confidence
- Acts 6:5: allusion, high confidence
- Rev 2:6: quotation, high confidence
- Rev 2:15: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- This tract, appended to Tertullian's Prescription against Heretics, is not by Tertullian; it is usually thought to abridge a lost Greek catalogue of heresies (often linked with Hippolytus). Kroymann's square brackets mark deletions: the editor deletes the clause “whatever Simon had said he was, Menander said he was” and an “and”. The text has a gap (marked ***) after “a spark”; the sense is that only this spark is saved. Allusions: Acts 8:9–24 (Simon); Acts 6:5 (Nicolaus); Rev 2:6, quoted in a form close to Rev 2:6 and 2:15.

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 1 (CSEL 47:213–216; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1).

## Against All Heresies 2

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-2
- Source: CSEL 47:216–218
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author describes the Ophites, who exalted the serpent of Eden, the Cainites, who honored Cain and Judas, and the Sethites, who identified Christ with Seth.

### Latin text

Accesserunt his haeretici etiam illi, qui Ophitae nuncupantur. nam serpentem magnificant in tantum, ut illum etiam ipsi Christo praeferant. ipse enim, inquiunt, scientiae nobis boni et mali originem dedit. huius animaduertens potentiam et maiestatem Moyses, inquiunt, aereum posuit serpentem, et quicumque ipsum aspexerunt, sanitatem consecuti sunt. ipse, aiunt, praeterea Christus in euangelio suo imitatur serpentis ipsius sacram potestatem dicendo: et sicut Moyses exaltauit serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet filium hominis. ipsum introducunt ad benedicenda eucharistia sua. sed tota istius erroris et scaena et doctrina inde fluxit: dicunt enim de illo summo primario Aeone complures alios Aeones extitisse inferiores, omnibus tamen istis Aeonem antestare, cuius sit nomen Ialdabaoth. hunc autem conceptum esse ex altero Aeone Aeonibus inferioribus permixto, seque postea cum in superiora uoluisset eniti, grauitate materiae permixta sibi non potuisse ad superna peruenire; in medietate relictum extendisse totum et fecisse sic caelum. Ialdabaoth tamen inferius descendisse et fecisse sibi filios septem; quem occlusisse superiora dilatatione, ut, quia angeli, quae superiora essent, scire non possent, ipsum solum deum putarent. uirtutes igitur illas et angelos inferiores hominem fecisse, et quia ab infirmioribus et mediocribus uirtutibus institutus esset, quasi uermem iacuisse reptantem; illum uero Aeonem, ex quo Ialdabaoth processisset, inuidia commotum scintillam quandam iacenti homini inmisisse, qua excitatus per prudentiam saperet et intellegere posset superiora. sic rursum Ialdabaoth istum in indignationem conuersum ex semetipso edidisse uirtutem et similitudinem serpentis, et hanc fuisse uirtutem in paradiso, id est istum fuisse serpentem, cui Eua quasi filio deo crediderat. decerpsit, inquiunt, de fructu arboris, atque ideo generi humano scientiam bonorum et malorum contribuit. Christum autem non in substantia carnis fuisse; salutem carnis sperandam omnino non esse. nec non etiam erupit alia quoque haeresis, quae dicitur Cainaeorum. et ipsi enim magnificant Cain, quasi ex quadam potenti uirtute conceptum, quae operata sit in ipso. nam Abel ex inferiore uirtute conceptum, procreatum et ideo inferiorem repertum, hi qui hoc adserunt, etiam Iudam proditorem defendunt, admirabilem illum et magnum esse memorantes propter utilitates, quas humano generi contulisse iactatur. quidam enim ipsorum gratiarum actionem Iudae propter hanc causam reddendam putant. animaduertens enim, inquiunt, Iudas, quod Christus uellet ueritatem subuertere, tradidit illum, ne subuerti ueritas posset. et alii sic contra disputant et dicunt: quia potestates huius mundi nolebant pati Christum, ne humano generi per mortem ipsius salus pararetur, saluti consulens generis humani tradidit Christum, ut salus, quae impediebatur per uirtutes, quae obsistebant, ne pateretur Christus, impediri omnino non posset et ideo per passionem Christi non posset salus humani generis retardari. sed et illa haeresis processit, quae dicitur Sethoitarum. huius peruersitatis doctrina haec est: duos homines ab angelis constitutos, Cain et Abel. propter hos magnas inter angelos contentiones et discordias extitisse. ob hanc causam illam uirtutem, quae super omnes uirtutes esset, quam matrem pronuntiant, dum Abel interfectum dicerent, uoluisse concipi et nasci hunc Seth loco Abelis, ut euacuarentur angeli illi. qui duos priores illos homines condidissent, dum hoc semen mundum oritur et nascitur. permixtiones enim dicunt angelorum et hominum iniquas fuisse, ob quam causam illam uirtutem, quam, sicut diximus, pronuntiant matrem, ad uindictam etiam cataclysmum inducere, ut et illud permixtionis semen tolleretur et hoc solum semen, quod esset purum, integrum custodiretur. sed enim illos, qui seminis illos prioris instituissent, occulte et latenter et ignorante illa matre uirtute cum illis octo animabus in arcam misisse etiam semen Cham. quo semen malitiae non periret, sed cum ceteris conseruatum et post cataclysmum terris redditum exemplo ceterorum excresceret et effunderetur et totum orbem et impleret et occuparet. de Christo autem sic sentiunt, ut dicant illum tantummodo Seth et pro ipso Seth Christum fuisse.

### English translation (Claude)

To these were added also the heretics called Ophites. For they so magnify the serpent that they even prefer it to Christ himself. For it, they say, gave us the origin of the knowledge of good and evil. Moses, they say, perceiving its power and majesty, set up a bronze serpent, and whoever looked at it obtained healing. Christ himself, they say, also imitates in his gospel the sacred power of this serpent, saying: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.” They bring it in to bless their eucharist. But the whole staging and teaching of this error flowed from this: they say that from that supreme, primary Aeon many other, lower Aeons came into being, but that above all these stands an Aeon whose name is Ialdabaoth. He, they say, was conceived from another Aeon mixed with lower Aeons; and afterward, when he wished to struggle up to the higher regions, he could not reach the heights because of the weight of the matter mixed with him; left in the middle, he stretched himself out entirely and so made the heaven. Ialdabaoth, however, came down lower and made for himself seven sons, and shut off the higher regions by his spreading out, so that the angels, because they could not know what was above, would think him the only God. Those powers and lower angels, then, made the human being; and because he had been formed by weaker and middling powers, he lay crawling like a worm. But that Aeon from whom Ialdabaoth had come forth, moved by envy, sent a certain spark into the prostrate human being, roused by which he might become wise through understanding and be able to grasp the higher things. Ialdabaoth in turn, they say, turning to indignation, produced from himself a power in the likeness of a serpent; and this was the power in paradise, that is, this was the serpent whom Eve believed as though it were God the Son. She plucked, they say, from the fruit of the tree, and so bestowed on the human race the knowledge of good and evil. Christ, however, was not in the substance of flesh, and salvation of the flesh is not to be hoped for at all. Another heresy too broke out, called that of the Cainites. For they too magnify Cain, as though he had been conceived from some mighty power which worked in him; for Abel, they say, was conceived and begotten from a lower power and so was found inferior. Those who assert this also defend Judas the traitor, declaring him admirable and great because of the benefits he is boasted to have conferred on the human race. Some of them think that thanks should be given to Judas for this reason. For Judas, they say, noticing that Christ wished to overturn the truth, betrayed him, so that the truth could not be overturned. Others argue the opposite way and say: because the powers of this world did not wish Christ to suffer, lest salvation be prepared for the human race through his death, Judas, looking to the salvation of the human race, betrayed Christ, so that salvation, which was being hindered by the powers that resisted Christ's suffering, could not be hindered at all, and so the salvation of the human race could not be delayed through the passion of Christ. The heresy called that of the Sethites also came forth. The teaching of this perversity is as follows: two human beings were made by angels, Cain and Abel. Because of them great contentions and discords arose among the angels. For this reason that Power which is above all powers, which they call the Mother, when they said Abel had been killed, willed that this Seth be conceived and born in Abel's place, so that those angels who had made the two earlier human beings might be brought to nothing, while this pure seed arises and is born. For they say that there were wicked minglings of angels and human beings; and for this reason that Power, whom, as we said, they call the Mother, brought on the flood also in vengeance, so that the seed of that mingling might be removed and only this seed, which was pure, might be kept whole. But those who had made the seed of the earlier ones, secretly, covertly, and without the knowledge of that Mother Power, sent the seed of Ham also into the ark with those eight souls, so that the seed of wickedness might not perish, but, preserved with the rest and restored to the earth after the flood, might grow and spread like the others and fill and occupy the whole world. Of Christ they think in such a way as to say that he was only Seth, and that Christ was in the place of Seth himself.

### Scripture references

- Num 21:9: allusion, high confidence
- John 3:14: quotation, high confidence
- Gen 3:6: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 4:25: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 6:2: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Pet 3:20: allusion, medium confidence
- Gen 9:18: allusion, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Allusions: the bronze serpent (Num 21:8–9), quoted through John 3:14; the fall (Gen 3:1–6); Cain, Abel, and Seth (Gen 4:1–25); the minglings of angels and humans (Gen 6:1–4); the eight souls in the ark (Gen 7:13; 1 Pet 3:20); Ham (Gen 9:18–25).

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 2 (CSEL 47:216–218; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/2).

## Against All Heresies 3

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-3
- Source: CSEL 47:218–219
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author describes Carpocrates and Cerinthus, who held that Christ was a mere man born of Joseph, and Ebion, who used Matt 10:24 to bind Christians to the Law.

### Latin text

Carpocrates praeterea hanc tulit sectam: unam esse dicit uirtutem in superioribus principalem. ex hac prolatos angelos atque uirtutes, quos distantes longe a superioribus [uirtutum] mundum istum in inferioribus partibus condidisse; Christum non ex uirgine Maria natum, sed ex semine Ioseph hominem tantummodo genitum, sane prae ceteris iustitiae cultu, uitae integritate meliorem. hunc apud Iudaeos passum, solam animam ipsius in caelo receptam, eo quod et infirmior et robustior ceteris fuerit; ex quo colligi retenta animarum sola salute nullas corporis resurrectiones. post hunc Cerinthus haereticus erupit, similia docens. nam et ipse mundum institutum esse ab angelis dicit; Christum ex semine Ioseph natum proponit, hominem illum tantummodo sine diuinitate contendens, ipsam quoque legem ab angelis datam perhibens, Iudaeorum deum non dominum, sed angelum promens. huius successor Ebion fuit, Cerintho non in omni parte consentiens, quod a deo dicat mundum, non ab angelis factum. et quia scriptum sit: nemo discipulus super magistrum, nec seruus super dominum, *** legem esse proponit, scilicet ad excludendum euangelium et uindicandum Iudaismum.

### English translation (Claude)

Carpocrates, moreover, brought in this sect. He says that there is one chief Power in the upper regions; from it angels and powers were produced, which, far distant from the upper regions, made this world in the lower parts. Christ was not born of the Virgin Mary but was begotten of the seed of Joseph, a mere human being, though better than others in the practice of righteousness and integrity of life. He suffered among the Jews, and only his soul was received into heaven, because it had been both weaker and stronger than the others. From this he gathers that only the salvation of souls is kept, and there are no resurrections of the body. After him the heretic Cerinthus broke out, teaching similar things. For he too says that the world was made by angels; he puts forward that Christ was born of the seed of Joseph, contending that he was a mere human being without divinity; he maintains that the Law itself was given by angels, and declares the God of the Jews to be not the Lord but an angel. His successor was Ebion, who did not agree with Cerinthus in every point, in that he says the world was made by God, not by angels. And because it is written, “No disciple is above the master, nor a servant above the lord,” he puts forward … the Law, of course in order to exclude the gospel and to champion Judaism.

### Scripture references

- Matt 10:24: quotation, high confidence
- Gal 3:19: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- The editor deletes “of the powers” (uirtutum) in “far distant from the upper [powers]”. A gap (***) stands before “the Law”; the sense is probably that Ebion held the Law to be still binding. Quotation: Matt 10:24. “The Law given by angels” echoes Gal 3:19 and Acts 7:53.

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 3 (CSEL 47:218–219; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/3).

## Against All Heresies 4

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-4
- Source: CSEL 47:219–222
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author summarizes Valentinus's system of thirty Aeons, the fall of Achamoth, and his docetic Christ, and notes the variations of Ptolemy, Secundus, and Heracleon.

### Latin text

Valentinus autem haereticus multas introduxit fabulas. has ego circumcidens breuiter expediam. introducit enim Pleroma et Aeones triginta; exponit autem hos per synzygias, id est coniugationes quasdam. nam dicit in primis esse Bython et Silentium, ex his processisse Mentem et Veritatem, ex quibus erupisse Verbum et Vitam, de quibus rursum creatum Hominem et Ecclesiam. sed enim ex eis quoque processisse duodecim Aeonas; de Sermone autem et Vita Aeonas alios decem. hanc esse Aeonum triacontada, quae sit in Pleromate, ex ogdoade et decade ac duodecade. tricesimum autem Aeonem Bython illum uidere uoluisse et ad uidendum illum ausum esse in superiora conscendere, et quoniam ad magnitudinem ipsius uidendam capax non fuerit, in defectione fuisse et paene dissolutum esse, nisi, qui missus esset ad constabiliendum illum — ille, quem appellat Horon —, confirmasset illum dicto (Iao) pronuntiato. istum autem Aeonem in defectione factum, Achamoth. dicit in passionibus desiderii quibusdam fuisse et ex passionibus materias edidisse. expauit enim, inquit, et extimuit et contristatus est et ex his passionibus concepit et edidit. [hinc fecit caelum et terram et mare et omnia, quaecumque sunt in eis.] ob quam causam omnia infirma esse et fragilia et caduca et mortalia, [quaecumque sunt ab ipso facta] quoniam quidem ipse fuerit de defectione conceptus atque prolatus. Horon tamen instituisse istum mundum ex his materiis, quas Achamoth uel pauendo uel timendo uel contristando uel f suadendo praestiterat. nam ex pauore, inquit, tenebrae factae sunt, ex timore et ignorantia spiritus nequitiae et malignitatis, ex tristitia et lacrimis humida fontium, fluminum materia marisque. Christum autem missum ab illo propatore, qui est Bythos. hunc autem in substantia corporis nostri non fuisse, sed spiritale nescio quod corpus de caelo deferentem, quasi aquam per fistulam, sic per Mariam uirginem transmeasse, nihil inde uel accipientem uel mutuantem. resurrectionem huius carnis negat, sed alterius. legis et Ptolomaeus quaedam probat, quaedam improbat, id est omnia improbat, dum quaedam reprobat. euangelium habet etiam suum praeter haec nostra. post hunc extiterunt Ptolomaeus et Secundus haeretici, qui cum Valentino per omnia consentiunt, in illo solo differunt: nam cum Valentinus Aeonas tantum triginta finxisset, isti addiderunt alios complures; quatuor enim primum, deinde alios quatuor adgregauerunt. et quod dicit Valentinus Aeonem tricesimum excessisse de Pleromate, ut in defectionem, negant isti: non enim ex illa triacontada fuisse hunc, qui fuerit in defectione propter desiderium uidendi propatoris. extitit praeterea Heracleon alter haereticus, qui cum Valentino paria sentit, sed nouitate quadam pronuntiationis uult uideri alias sentire. introducit enim in primis illud fuisse quod. pronuntiat, et deinde ex illa monade duo, ac deinde reliquos Aeonas. deinde introducit totum Valentinum.

### English translation (Claude)

The heretic Valentinus brought in many fables. I will set them out briefly, pruning them. He introduces a Pleroma and thirty Aeons, and he sets these out in syzygies, that is, certain pairings. For he says that first there were Bythos (Depth) and Silence; from these came Mind and Truth; from these burst forth Word and Life; and from these again were created Man and Church. Moreover, from these too came twelve Aeons, and from Word and Life ten other Aeons. This is the triacontad of Aeons in the Pleroma, made up of an ogdoad, a decad, and a dodecad. The thirtieth Aeon, he says, wished to see Bythos and dared to climb into the higher regions to see him; and because it had no capacity to see his greatness, it fell into failing and was almost dissolved, had not the one sent to steady it, the one he calls Horos (Limit), strengthened it by uttering the word “Iao”. This Aeon, having fallen into failing, is Achamoth. He says it was in certain passions of desire and produced material substances from the passions. For it was dismayed, he says, and afraid and grieved, and from these passions it conceived and brought forth. For this reason all things are weak, fragile, perishable, and mortal, since he himself was conceived and brought forth out of failing. Horos, however, made this world out of the material substances that Achamoth had supplied by dismay or fear or grief or … . For from dismay, he says, darkness was made; from fear and ignorance the spirits of wickedness and malice; from grief and tears the moisture of springs, the substance of rivers and the sea. Christ was sent by that First Father who is Bythos. He was not in the substance of our body; rather, bringing some sort of spiritual body from heaven, he passed through the Virgin Mary as water through a pipe, receiving or borrowing nothing from her. He denies the resurrection of this flesh, but affirms that of another. Of the Law, Ptolemy too approves some things and disapproves others, that is, he disapproves all of it, since he rejects some of it. He also has a gospel of his own besides these of ours. After him arose the heretics Ptolemy and Secundus, who agree with Valentinus in everything and differ in this alone: whereas Valentinus had invented only thirty Aeons, they added several others; for first they added four, and then another four. And Valentinus's claim that the thirtieth Aeon went out of the Pleroma, as into failing, they deny; for the one that was in failing through the desire to see the First Father was not, they say, of that triacontad. There arose besides Heracleon, another heretic, who thinks the same as Valentinus, but wishes, by a certain novelty of expression, to seem to think otherwise. For he introduces first that there was what he calls … , and then from that Monad two, and then the remaining Aeons. Then he brings in the whole of Valentinus.

### Translation notes

- The editor deletes two phrases: “hence he made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them” and “whatever things were made by him”. In the list of Achamoth's passions the text is corrupt (an “f” in the digital text, probably the editor's dagger): rendered “…”. After “what he calls” a word is missing (probably the Greek name of the first principle). The passage is confused about Ptolemy, who is named before he is introduced; translated as written. The heavens, earth, and sea formula in the deleted phrase echoes Exod 20:11.

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 4 (CSEL 47:219–222; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/4).

## Against All Heresies 5

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-5
- Source: CSEL 47:222
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author describes Marcus and Colarbasus, who built a heresy on the numerical values of the Greek letters.

### Latin text

Non defuerunt post hoc Marcus quidam et Colarbasus, nouam haeresim ex Graecorum alphabeto componentes. negant enim ueritatem sine istis posse litteris inueniri, immo totam plenitudinem et perfectionem ueritatis in istis litteris esse dispositam. propter hanc enim causam Christum dixisse: ego sum A et Ω. denique <in> Iesum Christum descendisse, id est columbam in Iesum uenisse, quae Graeco nomine cum περιστερά pronuntietur habere secum hunc numerum DCCCI. percurrunt isti Ω, Ψ, Χ, Φ, Υ, Τ, totum usque ad Β, Α et computant ogdoadas et decadas ita, afferre illorum omnes uanitates ut ineptum sit et otiosum. quod tamen non tantum iam uanum, sed etiam periculosum sit: alterum deum fingunt praeter creatorem. Christum in substantia negant carnis fuisse, negant carnis resurrectionem futuram.

### English translation (Claude)

After this there were not lacking a certain Marcus and Colarbasus, who composed a new heresy out of the Greek alphabet. For they deny that truth can be found without these letters; indeed they say that the whole fullness and perfection of truth is set out in these letters. For this reason, they say, Christ said, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” In fact they say that Jesus Christ came down, that is, that the dove came upon Jesus, which, since it is pronounced by the Greek name peristera, has in itself this number, 801. They run through Ω, Ψ, Χ, Φ, Υ, Τ, the whole alphabet down to Β and Α, and compute ogdoads and decads, so that it would be foolish and idle to report all their vanities. Yet what is not merely vain but also dangerous is this: they invent another god besides the Creator. They deny that Christ existed in the substance of flesh, and they deny that there will be a resurrection of the flesh.

### Scripture references

- Rev 1:8: quotation, high confidence
- Matt 3:16: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- Quotation: Rev 1:8 (21:6, 22:13). The Greek words and letters are garbled in the digital text (περιστερά, “dove”, appears as Latin letters; the letters as Q, f, X, CP, Y, T); corrected by sense. The letters of περιστερά add up to 801, the sum of Α (1) and Ω (800). “Upon Jesus”: the digital text reads “in legum”, an OCR slip for “in Iesum”; the dove alludes to the baptism of Jesus (Matt 3:16).

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 5 (CSEL 47:222; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/5).

## Against All Heresies 6

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-6
- Source: CSEL 47:222–224
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author describes Cerdo's two gods, Marcion, his disciple Lucanus, and Apelles with his starry-fleshed Christ and the prophetess Philumene.

### Latin text

Accedit his Cerdon quidam. hic introducit initia duo, id est duos deos, unum bonum et alterum saeuum, bonum superiorem, saeuum hunc mundi creatorem. hic prophetias et legem repudiat, deo creatori renuntiat, superioris dei filium Christum uenisse tractat, hunc in substantia carnis negat, in phantasmate solo fuisse pronuntiat, nec omnino passum, sed quasi passum, nec ex uirgine natum, sed omnino nec natum. resurrectionem animae tantummodo probat, corporis negat, solum euangelium Lucae nec tamen totum recipit apostoli Pauli neque omnes neque totas epistolas sumit. Acta Apostolorum et Apocalypsim quasi falsa reicit. post hunc discipulus ipsius emersit, Marcion quidam nomine, Ponticus genere, episcopi filius, propter stuprum cuiusdam uirginis ab ecclesiae communicatione abiectus. hic ex occasione qua dictum sit: omnis arbor bona bonos fructus facit, mala autem malos, haeresim Cerdonis approbare conatus est (et) eadem dicere, quae ille superior haereticus ante dixerat. extitit post hunc Lucanus quidam nomine, Marcionis sectator atque discipulus. et hic per eadem uadens blasphemiae genera eadem docet, quae Marcion et Cerdon docuerant. post hos subsequitur Appelles, discipulus Marcionis, qui posteaquam in carnem suam lapsus est, a Marcione segregatus est. hic introducit unum deum (in) infinitis superioribus partibus. hunc potestates multas angelosque fecisse; propterea et aliam uirtutem, quam dicit, dominum dicit sed angelum ponit. (ab) hoc uult uideri mundum institutum ad imitationem mundi superioris, cui mundo permiscuisse paenitentiam, quia non illum tam perfecte fecisset quam ille superior mundus institutus fuisset. legem et prophetas repudiat. Christum neque in phantasmate dicit fuisse, sicut Marcion, neque in substantia ueri corporis, ut euangelium docet, sed in eo, quo de superioribus partibus descenderit, ipso descensu sideream sibi carnem et aeream contexuisse. hunc in resurrectione singulis quibusque elementis quae in descensu suo mutuatus fuisset in ascensu reddidisse, et sic dispersis quibusque corporis sui partibus in caelum spiritum tantum reddidisse. hic carnis resurrectionem negat; animarum solarum dicit salutem. solo utitur apostolo, sed Marcionis, id est non toto. habet praeterea priuatas, sed extraordinarias lectiones suas, quas appellant phanerosis, Philumenes cuiusdam puellae, quam quasi prophetissam sequitur. habet praeterea suos libros, quos inscripsit Syllogismorum, in quibus probare uult quod omnia, quaecumque Moyses de deo scripserit, uera non sint, sed falsa sint.

### English translation (Claude)

To these is added a certain Cerdo. He introduces two first principles, that is, two gods, one good and the other cruel: the good one higher, the cruel one the creator of this world. He rejects the prophecies and the Law, renounces God the Creator, and maintains that Christ came as the Son of the higher God. He denies that Christ was in the substance of flesh, declares that he existed only in a phantom, and did not suffer at all but as though he suffered, and was not born of a virgin, indeed was not born at all. He accepts a resurrection of the soul only and denies that of the body. He receives only the Gospel of Luke, and not all of it; of the apostle Paul he takes neither all the letters nor any letter whole. He rejects the Acts of the Apostles and the Apocalypse as false. After him his disciple emerged, one Marcion by name, a native of Pontus, son of a bishop, cast out of the communion of the church for the seduction of a certain virgin. Taking occasion from the saying, “Every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bad fruit,” he tried to establish the heresy of Cerdo and to say the same things as that earlier heretic had said before. After him arose one Lucanus by name, a follower and disciple of Marcion. He too, going through the same kinds of blasphemy, teaches the same things that Marcion and Cerdo had taught. After these follows Apelles, a disciple of Marcion, who, after he fell into sins of his flesh, was separated from Marcion. He introduces one God in the infinite upper regions. This God, he says, made many powers and angels; and therefore also another power, which he calls lord, but makes an angel. By this one he wants the world to seem to have been made in imitation of the higher world; and with this world he mingled repentance, because he had not made it as perfectly as that higher world had been made. He rejects the Law and the Prophets. He says that Christ was neither in a phantom, as Marcion said, nor in the substance of a true body, as the gospel teaches; rather, in coming down from the upper regions, he wove for himself in the very descent a starry and airy flesh; and in his resurrection, in his ascent, he gave back to each of the elements what he had borrowed in his descent, and so, the several parts of his body being scattered, he returned to heaven only his spirit. He denies the resurrection of the flesh and speaks of the salvation of souls alone. He uses only the Apostle, but Marcion's, that is, not the whole. He has besides his own private but extraordinary readings, which they call “manifestations” (phanerōseis), of a certain girl Philumene, whom he follows as a prophetess. He has besides his own books, which he entitled Syllogisms, in which he wishes to prove that everything Moses wrote about God is not true but false.

### Scripture references

- Matt 7:17: quotation, high confidence
- Luke 6:43: quotation, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “Every good tree …”: Matt 7:17 (Luke 6:43). The charge that Marcion was excommunicated for seducing a virgin appears first in later heresiologists; translated as written. The added words in round brackets (“and”, “in”, “by”) are the editor's supplements and are translated.

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 6 (CSEL 47:222–224; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/6).

## Against All Heresies 7

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-7
- Source: CSEL 47:224–225
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author describes Tatian, who denied Adam's salvation, and the Montanists (Cataphrygians) in their two branches, those of Proclus and those of Aeschines.

### Latin text

His haereticis omnibus accedit Tatianus quidam alter haereticus. hic Iustini Martyris discipulus fuit; post hunc diuersa sentire coepit. totus enim secundum Valentinum sapit, adiciens illud, quod Adam negat salutem consequi posse, quasi non, si rami salui fiunt, et radix salua sit accesserunt alii haeretici, qui dicuntur secundum Phrygas, sed horum non una doctrina est. sunt enim, qui kata Proclum dicantur, sunt alii. qui secundum Aeschinen pronuntiantur. hi habent aliam communem blasphemiam, aliam blasphemiam non communem, sed peculiarem et suam: et communem quidem illam, qua in apostolis quidem dicant spiritum sanctum fuisse, paracletum non fuisse, et qua dicant paracletum plura in Montano dixisse quam Christum in euangelio protulisse, nec tantum plura, sed etiam meliora atque maiora. priuatam autem blasphemiam illi, qui sunt kata Aeschinen, hanc habent, qua adiciunt etiam hoc, uti dicant Christum ipsum esse filium et patrem.

### English translation (Claude)

To all these heretics is added another heretic, one Tatian. He was a disciple of Justin Martyr; after Justin's death he began to hold different views. For he thinks entirely after Valentinus, adding this: that he denies that Adam can attain salvation, as though, if the branches are saved, the root would not be saved too. Other heretics were added, who are called “according to the Phrygians”; but their teaching is not one. For there are those called “according to Proclus”, and others named “according to Aeschines”. These have one blasphemy in common and another not in common but peculiar and their own. The common one is that by which they say that the Holy Spirit was indeed in the apostles but the Paraclete was not, and by which they say that the Paraclete said more in Montanus than Christ brought forth in the gospel, and not only more but also better and greater things. The private blasphemy of those “according to Aeschines” is this, in which they add that they say Christ is himself both Son and Father.

### Scripture references

- Rom 11:16: allusion, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- “Post hunc” is taken as “after him” (Justin), i.e. after Justin's death, as the parallel accounts state. The root and branches: Rom 11:16. “According to the Phrygians” renders secundum Phrygas (the Cataphrygians, i.e. Montanists); kata Proclum and kata Aeschinen keep the Greek kata.

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 7 (CSEL 47:224–225; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/7).

## Against All Heresies 8

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/1/#p-8
- Source: CSEL 47:225–226
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27

Summary: The author ends with Blastus, who kept the Passover on the fourteenth, the two Theodoti, who held Christ to be a mere man (one ranking him below Melchizedek), and Praxeas, who identified the Son with the Father.

### Latin text

Est praeterea his omnibus etiam Blastos accedens, qui latenter Iudaismum uult introducere. pascha enim dicit non aliter custodiendum esse, nisi secundum legem Moysi XIUI mensis *. quis autem nesciat, quoniam euangelica gratia euacuatur, si ad legem Christum redigis? accedit his Theodotus, haereticus Byzantius, qui posteaquam Christum, pro nomine adprehensus, negauit, in Christum blasphemare non destitit. doctrinam enim introduxit, qua Christum hominem tantummodo diceret, deum autem illum negaret, ex spiritu quidem sancto (conceptum et) natum ex uirgine, sed hominem solitarium atque nudum, nullo alio prae ceteris nisi sola iustitiae auctoritate. alter post hunc Theodotus haereticus erupit, qui et ipse introduxit alteram sectam: et ipse hominem Christum tantummodo dicit ex spiritu sancto (et) ex uirgine Maria conceptum pariter et natum, sed hunc inferiorem esse quam Melchisedech, eo quod dictum sit de Christo: tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech. nam illum Melchisedech praecipua ex gratia caelestem esse uirtutem, et quod agat Christus pro hominibus, deprecator et aduocatus ipsorum factus, Melchisedech facere pro caelestibus angelis atque uirtutibus. nam esse illum usque adeo Christo meliorem, ut apator sit, ametor sit, agenealogetus sit, cuius neque initium neque finis comprehensus sit aut comprehendi possit. sed post hos omnes etiam Praxeas quidam haeresim introduxit, quam Victorinus corroborare curauit. hic deum patrem omnipotentem Iesum Christum esse dicit; hunc, crucifixum passumque, contendit mortuum; praeterea se ipsum sibi sedere ad dexteram suam cum profana et sacrilega temeritate proponit.

### English translation (Claude)

There is besides, added to all these, Blastus, who wishes covertly to bring in Judaism. For he says that the Passover must be kept only according to the law of Moses, on the fourteenth of the month … . But who does not know that the grace of the gospel is made void if you bring Christ back to the Law? To these is added Theodotus, a heretic of Byzantium, who, after he had been arrested for the name and denied Christ, did not cease to blaspheme against Christ. For he introduced a teaching by which he said that Christ was a mere human being and denied that he was God: conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, but a solitary and bare human being, with nothing above others except only the authority of righteousness. After him another heretic, Theodotus, broke out, who himself also introduced another sect. He too says that Christ was a mere human being, conceived and born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, but that he is inferior to Melchizedek, because it was said of Christ, “You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” For that Melchizedek, he says, by special grace is a heavenly power; and what Christ does for human beings, having become their intercessor and advocate, Melchizedek does for the heavenly angels and powers. For he is so far better than Christ that he is without father, without mother, without genealogy, whose beginning and end have not been, nor can be, comprehended. But after all these a certain Praxeas also brought in a heresy, which Victorinus took care to strengthen. He says that Jesus Christ is God the Father almighty; he contends that he was crucified and suffered and died; and besides, with profane and sacrilegious rashness, he proposes that he sits at his own right hand.

### Scripture references

- Exod 12:6: allusion, medium confidence
- Gal 5:4: echo, medium confidence
- Ps 110:4 (109:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Heb 7:3: allusion, high confidence
- Heb 7:25: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- The month number appears as “XIUI” followed by a gap (*); rendered “the fourteenth” (Exod 12:6). “Grace … made void”: Gal 5:4. Quotation: Ps 110:4 (Heb 5:6, 7:17). “Without father, without mother, without genealogy” keeps the Greek words of Heb 7:3 (apatōr, amētōr, agenealogētos). The Victorinus named is unidentified. These Christological and Trinitarian views are reported as the author gives them.

### Citation (SBL)

Ps.-Tertullian, Haer. 8 (CSEL 47:225–226; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/ps-tertullian-omnes-haereses/8).