Sed et lapillos istos, qui cum
auro superbiam jungunt, quid aliud interpretor quam lapillos et calculos,
ejusdem terræ minutalia; nec tamen aut fundamentis demandandis, aut parietibus
moliendis, aut fastigiis sustinendis, aut tectis densaudis necessaria? Solum
hunc mulierum stuporem ædificare noverunt, quia tarde teruntur, ut niteant, et
subdole substruuntur, ut floreant, et anxie forantur, ut pendeant, et auro
lenocinium mutuum præstant. Sed si quid de mari Britannico aut Indico ambitu
piscatur, conchæ genus est, non dico conchylii aut ostreo, sed nec peloride
gratius de sapore. Ad hoc enim conchas noverim maris poma. Quod si concha illa
aliquid intrinsecus pustulat, vitium ejus magis debet esse, quam gloriæ. Et licet margaritum vocetur, non aliud
tamen intelligendum, quam conchæ illius aliqua dura et rotunda verruca. Aiunt
et de frontibus draconum gemmas erui, sicut et in piscium cerebris lapidositas
quædam est. Hoc quoque deerit christianæ, ut de serpente cultior fiat. Sic
calcabit diaboli caput, dum de capite ejus, cervicibus suis aut ipsi capiti
ornamenta struit? (Tertullian, On the Apparel of Women, 1.6 [Migne, PL
1:1310-11])
Here is an English translation:
(1) But how shall I explain those
precious little stones which share their glory with gold, other than to say
that they are only little stones and pebbles and tiny little bits of the
selfsame earth? They certainly are not required for laying foundations or for
building up walls or supporting pediments or giving compactness to roofs; the
only building they seem to erect is this silly admiration of women. They are
cautiously cut that they may shine, they are cunningly set that they may
glitter, they are carefully pierced so as to hang properly and render to gold a
meretricious service in return. (2) Moreover, whatever love of display fishes
up from the seas around Britain or India is merely a kind of shellfish, and its
taste is no better than that of the giant mussel. Now, there is no reason why I
should not approve of shellfish as the fruit of the sea. If, however, this
shellfish produces some sort of growth inside of it, this should be considered
a fault rather than a cause for glory. And even though we call this thing a
pearl, it certainly must be seen to be nothing else but a hard and round lump
inside a shellfish.
There is a tradition that gems
also come from the foreheads of dragons, just as we sometimes find a certain
stony substance in the brains of fish. (3) This would indeed crown it all: the
Christian woman in need of something from the serpent to add to her grace. It
is probably in this way that she is going to tread upon the serpent’s head
while around her neck or even on top of her own head she carries ornaments that
come from the head of the Devil! (Tertullian, Disciplinary, Moral, and Ascetical
Works [trans. Rudolph Arbesmann, Emily Joseph Daly, and Edwin A. Quain; The
Fathers of the Church 40; Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America
Press, 1959], 124-25)
Tertullian follows the feminine interpretation of Gen 3:15,
applying it to Christian women (christianae, a feminine plural).
