Subject: archetype (Corpus Paulinum)

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 96 17:47:13 +0100

On Thu, 4 April 1996, Maurice Robinson wrote:

>Remember Tertullian's appeal in his Prescription against 
>Heretics -- you are to go to the various churches to which the >apostles 
>themselves wrote, and from there to assemble the "authenticae >litterae" 
>in order to refute heretical corruption.  The evidence certainly >seems 
>to point to church archives as the basis for the Pauline corpus >rather than 
individuals.

On Thu, 11 Apr 1996, Timothy Finney wrote:

>I am indebted to Maurice for his quote of Tertullian (who was >writing a full 
century after the collection seems to have been >made) which favours the 
multiple model.

In apologetical contexts Tertullian often appeals to "objective" facts which 
could be checked if required. For example in _adverus Marcionem IV 7,7_ he 
refers to the "census Augusti, which the Roman registry still has in keeping 
(Romana archiva custodiunt), a most faithful witness to our Lord's nativity" 
(Evans' translation). Evans comments on that: "There seems to be no 
non-Christian evidence that they (i.e. the census records) were preserved in 
Rome or would be available to inquirers". It is most likely that Tertullian just 
conjectured the existence of such evidence which might be plausible on the 
background of Roman bureaucracy, but nevertheless, he on the other hand knew 
very well, that no one, at least no Christian at his time, could ever go there 
and check the census records. Tertullian in fact does not testify to the 
existence of census records concerning "our Lord's nativity", for he does not 
tell us that he actually was in Rome and checked it himself, nor that he knew 
anybody who did this. He only testifies to the plausibility of an appeal based 
on Roman bureaucracy.

So, Tertullian's appeal to the "authenticae litterae" of the apostles writings 
in various church archieves too seems to be nothing more than conjecture on his 
side based on the plausibility of church bureaucracy. While this is in itself 
not implausible, it is to my mind no real _testimony_ to the existence of the 
autographs in various church archieves at the time of Tertullian. His appeal 
serves the same purpose than his appeal to census records: referring to 
plausible "objective" facts, while knowing that no one would travel to Rome and 
all the other churches in order to verify or falsify his claim. Tertullian 
himself shurely did not what he appealed to. Appeals like that, by the way, seem 
to be part of forensic rhetoric.

Tertullian, though writing _only_ "a full century after the collection seems to 
have been made", displays no first hand knowledge of the "authenticae litterae" 
he is referring to, nor of their existence up to his time. He is just supposing 
as we do some 1800 years later.

Ulrich Schmid, Muenster

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From: Maurice Robinson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 27 Apr 1996 13:46:00 -0400 (EDT)

Trying again, since this post got bounced the first time:

 
>>Heretics -- you are to go to the various churches to which the apostles 
>>themselves wrote, and from there to assemble the "authenticae litterae" 
>>in order to refute heretical corruption.  The evidence certainly seems 
>>to point to church archives as the basis for the Pauline corpus rather than 
>>individuals.

> (Romana archiva custodiunt), a most faithful witness to our Lord's nativity" 

I do not object to the fact that Tertullian often spoke in hyperbole or
may have made suggestions which seemed plausible enough to him, even if
the likelihood of actuality might be slim or non-existent.  However, in
the case of this census, Evans may go too far in assuming that Roman
census records of 250 years previous would no longer be available in
some Roman archive or depository.  The fact that we do not have such today
says little about what the state of such records may have been in the
mid-third century (pencil-pushing bureaucrats continue to exist in every 
age); though I would suspect that records relating to non-Roman citizens 
would be the least likely to be preserved for a long time.

> So, Tertullian's appeal to the "authenticae litterae" of the apostles 
> writings in various church archieves too seems to be nothing more than 
> conjecture on his side based on the plausibility of church bureaucracy. 

I have no doubt that Tertullian never verified this claim for himself. 
Whether he relied in any way upon the testimony of others is of course
uncertain.  Note, however, that I do _not_ think Tertullian is claiming
the existence of the _autographs_ in the mid-third century, but only of
"authentic copies" of the autographs which would be preserved most
accurately in the specific churches to which the various epistles had been
sent.  This view remains wholly plausible, so long as those churches
continued to exist, even during periods of persecution, since the
collective memory of a scripture text addressed to their specific church
in the mind of a persecuted people would remain strong, and also continue 
as a basis for reconstruction of that text at a later period, even if 
interim MSS may have been seized or destroyed.  (I would still strongly 
contend for the survival of at least some copies hidden during even the 
worst of the persecutions, so this latter scenario is not the primary 
case being made).

> His appeal 
> plausible "objective" facts, while knowing that no one would travel to Rome 
> and all the other churches in order to verify or falsify his claim. 

There is no doubt that in the polemic context of the Prescription against 
Heretics that Tertullian would not seriously expect his opponents to 
travel far and wide merely to verify this point.  However, I _do_ think 
Tertullian fully expected his opponents to concede the likelihood of the 
accuracy of his point, just as in the situation of the Roman census 
records, which both sides would probably have allowed to exist in Rome, 
even if neither side could actually go there and read them.

_________________________________________________________________________
Maurice A. Robinson, Ph.D.           Assoc. Prof./Greek and New Testament
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary     Wake Forest, North Carolina
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