Q. Septimii Florentis Tertulliani...apologeticus, BOUND with Discuisitio Chronologico-Critica De Vera Aetate Apologetici Ad Codices Mstos & Editiones Veteres Summa Cura Recognitus, Castigatus, Emendatus Ut Et Perpetuo Commentario ...

Leiden: Isaac Severinus. Good with no dust jacket. 1718 - 1720. First Edition Thus. Vellum. [38], 443, [53] pages and 64 pages. Frontis plate and folding plate. Numerous engravings within the text. Octavo. In a vellum prize binding with blind ruling, brilliant gilt classical figure with gilt acorn clusters in the corners, spine has gilt decorations in the compartments. Holes where ties once were. Vellum a bit grubby and darkened but otherwise intact. Inside front cover the prize has been removed leaving the board bare. Inside back cover page is also removed. A few library marks but otherwise clean and unmarked. Text in Latin across the top, with two columns in Latin beneath. Tertullian, a Roman from Carthage, was the first Christian writer to write in Latin, described as "the first and incomparably the best" by the Roman author of Praedestinatus," a brilliant author who writing is "aggressive, sarcastic, and brilliant, at points very funny even after 2000 years." His most important work is the Apologeticum, in defense of the Christians." In this work Tertullian defends Christianity, demanding legal toleration and that Christians be treated as all other sects of the Roman Empire. It is in this treatise that one finds the phrase: "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." It was written in Carthage in the summer or autumn of 197 AD, during the reign of Septimius Severus. Using this date, most scholars agree that Tertullian's conversion to Christianity occurred sometime before 197, possibly around 195. ] It was written before the edict of Septimius Severus (202 AD) , and consequently, the laws to which Tertullian took exception were those under which the Christians of the 1st and 2nd centuries had been convicted. "This work is ostensibly addressed to the provincial governors of the Roman Empire, more specifically the magistrates of Carthage... Structured as an appeal on behalf of the Christians and pleads "for toleration of Christianity, attacking pagan superstition, rebutting charges against Christian morality, and claiming that Christians are no danger to the State but useful citizens. Its readership is likely to have been composed of Christians, whose faith was reinforced through Tertullian's defense against rationalizations and rumours and who "would have been hugely enheartened by Tertullian's matchless confidence in the superiority of the Christian religion." OCLC 1015435968 and 48792688; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 443 pages .