(Not) a Language of Peace? – The Use of War Metaphors in Tertullian’s Works

“A good soldier serves Christ, his emperor, who, having been so fully armed by the apostle, when he hearsthe trumpet call of persecution, flees from the day of persecution!” (Tert. fug. 10.)

A fine soldier in the eyes of his Commander, Christ, is one who, even though he is so thoroughly armed by the Apostle, turns away from his commander on the day of prosecution as soon as he hears the trumpet of prosecution!¹

The metaphorical description of the devout Christian as a soldier (miles Christi) is a central rhetorical element in the writings of the early Latin church writer Tertullian (c. 155–c. 220 CE). To what extent, however, did the Carthaginian author draw on Greek-Christian models—such as Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians or early Christian Greek apologetics—in developing this linguistic image? And to what extent does he draw upon the Latin linguistic system—which was not yet firmly established in Christian texts—as well as specifically Roman cultural (idealized) notions of war and soldiering to portray his miles Christi reshape them and thus adapt them to a Western audience as well as to various historical circumstances? This planned dissertation aims to explore these questions through, among other things, a detailed philological analysis of selected writings from Tertullian’s body of work. In doing so, the study will also take into account the findings of modern cognitive-linguistic theories of metaphor, which provide valuable insights into the mode of operation and the rhetorical potential of such early Christian war imagery. Thus, the function of metaphorical expressions such as *bonus miles Christi* or *Christus imperator* From a cognitive-linguistic perspective, this is by no means a matter of linguistic ornamentation. Rather, it is the projection—evoked in the reader by such expressions—of selected military virtues and duties onto the Christian that lends the image of the Christian soldier its true rhetorical power. On the one hand, the activation of such a projection enables the author to generate a desired perspective on the devout Christian as well as on various events and situations in his life. On the other hand, this also allows certain actions in these situations to be portrayed as particularly virtuous or necessary. For example, Tertullian’s argument against fleeing during prosecution in the passage quoted at the beginning is based primarily on the fact that the author implicitly urges the reader to understand the situation of prosecution as a battle and, accordingly, to view fleeing as desertion.

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¹ Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus: *Ad martyras*, *ad scapulam*, *de fuga in persecutione*, *de monogamia*, *de virginibus velandis*, *de pallio*. Works edited by Emil Kroymann. Published by Vinzenz Bulhart. *De paenitentia*. Edited by Philipp Borleffs, *Quinti Septimi Florentis Tertulliani opera* 4, CSEL 76, Vienna 1957. My own translation.