Appian Way Press

Writings of Tertullian, Volume One: Apologetic Writings

by Tertullian

This volume gathers the principal apologetic writings of Tertullian as preserved in the Ante-Nicene Fathers, presented in clear, contemporary English. At its center stands The Apology, a work of remarkable forensic clarity that reframes the Christian condition before Roman law and public opinion. From that juridical foundation Tertullian moves outward into the life of the city: On Idolatry unmasks the compromises of everyday practice; The Shows exposes the moral cost of public spectacle; The Chaplet makes the smallest gesture—a crown—into a test of conscience and allegiance. The collection also includes appeals and arguments addressed to authority and culture. To Scapula speaks plainly to a governor with historical warning and moral urgency. To the Nations answers the intellectual and popular charges laid against Christians across the empire. An Answer to the Jews engages contested readings of Scripture at a time when the boundaries between synagogue and church were still being formed. Balancing public defense with inner inquiry, The Soul’s Testimony treats conscience itself as a witness to divine truth, while A Treatise on the Soul supplies one of the earliest Christian accounts of human origin, constitution, moral struggle, and destiny. Modernized for readers today, these texts preserve Tertullian’s severity and precision while removing the barriers of archaic English so that clergy, students, and serious readers may engage these foundational works directly.