On Prayer 20 · Sophia Scriptura

Latin text · CSEL 20:192

De habitu uero dumtaxat feminarum uarietas obseruationis effecit post sanctissimum apostolum nos uel maxime nullius loci homines impudenter retractare, nisi quod non impudenter, si secundum apostolum retractemus. de modestia quidem cultus et ornatus aperta praescriptio est etiam Petri, cohibentis eodem ore, quia eodem et spiritu, quo Paulus, et uestium gloriam et auri superbiam et crinium lenonem operositatem.

English · Claude translation

As for dress, however, at least that of women, the variety of practice has made us, men of no standing, deal with the matter shamelessly after the most holy apostle; except that it is not shameless if we deal with it according to the apostle. Concerning modesty of dress and adornment there is a plain prescription of Peter too, who with the same mouth, because with the same Spirit, as Paul, restrains both the glory of clothes, the pride of gold, and the pandering elaborateness of hairstyles.

About this passage

Source

CSEL 20:192 · August Reifferscheid and Georg Wissowa, eds., Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani Opera, Pars 1, CSEL 20 (Prague: Tempsky; Vienna: Tempsky; Leipzig: Freytag, 1890), 180–200 · Latin text: August Reifferscheid and Georg Wissowa (CSEL 20), digitized by Open Greek and Latin, University of Leipzig (csel-dev), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in CSEL 20. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Latin text of CSEL 20; made independently of existing English translations.

Compare

Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)

Scripture

1 Pet 3:3 · allusion, high confidence
1 Tim 2:9 · allusion, high confidence

Topics

Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

The allusions are 1 Pet 3:3 and 1 Tim 2:9 (and 1 Cor 11 on veiling, taken up in the following chapters). “Men of no standing” is rendered freely from nullius loci homines.

Cite this passage

Tertullian, Or. 20 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tertullian-oratione/20/).

Plain text

Tertullian, Or. 20 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tertullian-oratione/20/).