ABSTRACT
§ 1 . Tertullian’s treatise “De Anima” begins with a reference to a previous treatise, the “De Censu Animæ,” in which he claims to have proved that the soul is not material but is the breath of God, the afflatus Dei. From these writings we learn that Tertullian regards man as by nature dual, a being composed of flesh and soul. The soul is also dual, being at once a vital principle (ψυχή) and a rational principle (νο https://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"> υ ⌢ https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315830087/e934f023-946d-468f-8098-ee90fff3c3fb/content/inline-math_47_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> ς). Man is animal, animated, in virtue of the soul (ψυχικός); and also spiritual (πνϵυματικός) in virtue of his share in the spirit of God. The soul is superior to the intellect, for the intellect is its servant, the deputy through whom it does the work of feeling and motion.
