1Christians do not fear persecution; Tertullian writes out of love for his enemies, as Christ commanded, to warn them of what is coming.
2Christians worship the one God, hold that religion must not be compelled, pray for the emperor to their God, and are loyal and peaceable subjects who leave vengeance to God.
3Tertullian points to disasters and to the miserable deaths of persecuting governors as signs of God's wrath and warns Scapula that judgment is coming.
4Tertullian urges Scapula not to fight against God, citing lenient governors, Christian healings of pagans, the favor of Severus, the rain miracle under Marcus Aurelius, and the blameless life of Christians.
5Christians gladly offer themselves to death; persecution cannot destroy them but only spreads the faith, so Scapula should spare Carthage and himself.
authentic · Undisputed work of Tertullian, transmitted under his name.
Standing
Not honoured as a saint or in a church calendar by the Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant traditions. Later sided with the New Prophecy (Montanism), but was never put outside the church in his lifetime by a substantial part of it; not venerated as a saint.
Older English translation
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3 (1885) (public domain, at CCEL; for comparison: our translation is made from the original first and checked against it afterwards)
Date
212 (probable) · Addressed to Scapula, proconsul of Africa ca. 211–213; chapter 3 mentions a solar eclipse at Utica, usually identified with that of 14 August 212.
Written at
Carthage, Africa Proconsularis (North Africa) (probable)
Addressed to
Scapula, proconsul of Africa
Language
Latin
Genre
apology
Reference system
chapter (as divided by Oehler); the section numbers of modern editions are not yet divided
SBL abbreviation
Scap.
Text from
Franz Oehler, ed., Quinti Septimii Florentis Tertulliani quae supersunt omnia, vol. 1 (Leipzig: T. O. Weigel, 1853), 539–550 (Printed edition in the public domain; digital text CC BY-SA 4.0)
Critical editions
Tertulliani Opera, Pars 2: Opera montanistica, CCSL 2 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1954) (cited, not reproduced)