Abstract

DIRCKSEN, Marianne R.  and  BRITZ, Beate. Five brave pagan women in the work of Tertullian. In Skriflig (Online) [online]. 2014, vol.48, n.2, pp.1-7. ISSN 2305-0853.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4102/ids.v48i2.1777.

Historical exempla have been employed as a rhetorical stratagem since the 8th century BCE. The Christian apologist Tertullian, who received thorough training in rhetoric, was familiar with this device. Lucretia, Cleopatra, Dido, 'the wife of Hasdrubal' and Leaena also appear in the works of Roman authors as typical examples of bravery. In his Ad Martyres (4), Tertullian groups together all five as fine examples of bravery when facing death. Four of the examples appear in his Ad Nationes (1.18) and two in the Liber Apologeticus (50). Both the Ad Nationes and the Liber Apologeticus were written in defence of the Christians. In Tertullian's De exhortatione castitatis (13.3) and the De Monogamia (17), Lucretia and Dido are referred to as exempla of chastity and monogamy. The first four paragraphs preceding the analysis of these texts provide the context and contain background information on the Christian apologists, a short biography of Tertullian, a few remarks on the use of history as a rhetorical tool and a discussion on the place of these women in ancient pagan literature. The investigation of Tertullian's use of the exempla to bolster his argument reveals how he adapted these stock examples of pagan women to fit the Christian context, and illustrates how and why ancient rhetoric became part of Christian literary tradition.

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