Tertullian — Against Marcion 2.20
But these cuttlefish—in whose figure that fishy food too the law refused—as they feel their own traduction, vomit blasphemy’s darkness from here and so scatter each one’s already near aim, by tossing and asserting what would darken the Creator’s shining goodness. But through those fogs too we will track the wickedness and drag into light the ingeniums of darkness that cast up against the Creator especially that fraud and robbery of gold and silver mandated by him to the Hebrews against the Egyptians.
Come, most unhappy heretic, I demand you yourself as arbiter: first know into each nation, and so you will judge about the precept’s author. The Egyptians reclaim from the Hebrews golden and silver vessels. Against them the Hebrews institute mutual petitions, alleging that to themselves also in the same fathers’ name from the same Scripture instrument wages ought to be restored of that laboring slavery for bricks drawn, for cities and villas built.
What will you judge, elector of the Best God? That Hebrews ought to acknowledge fraud, or Egyptians compensation? For they say it was so done by envoys on each side—Egyptians indeed reclaiming vessels, Jews reclaiming their labors. And yet by this injustice the Egyptians renounced claim for themselves; today against Marcionites the Hebrews allege further, denying that whatever gold and silver that was suffices for compensation if six hundred thousand labors across so many years be estimated even at single daily coins.
Which part is greater—those reclaiming vessels or those inhabiting villas and cities? Therefore is Egyptians’ complaint greater or Hebrews’ thanks? So that by a sole judgment of injuries Hebrews would strike Egyptians back—free humans forced into the workhouse—so as to show only their shoulders at their desks, torn by the scribes’ insulting atrocity of whips: not with a few platters and cups of fewer rich of course, but with all resources everywhere both of themselves and collections of all the people they would have pronounced the Hebrews must be satisfied.
Therefore if the Hebrews’ cause is good, already also good is the cause—that is the mandate—of the Creator, who both made the Egyptians grateful unknowing and cleared his people in the narrow time of expedition with some scant solace of silent compensation. Clearly he ordered less to be exacted. For the Egyptians ought to have restored even their children to the Hebrews.
Latin
Sed enim sepiae isti, quorum (in) figuram illud quoque pisculentum de cibis lex recusauit, ut traductionem sui sentiunt. tenebras hinc blasphemiae interuomunt atque ita intentionem uniuscuiusque iam proximam dispargunt, iactitando et adseuerando ea, quae relucentem bonitatem creatoris infuscent. sed et per istas caligines sequemur nequitiam et in lucem extrahemus ingenia tenebrarum, obicientia creatori uel maxime fraudem illam et rapinam auri et argenti, mandatam ab illo Hebraeis in Aegyptios. age, infelicissime haeretice, te ipsum expostulo arbitrum, cognosce in utramque gentem prius, et ita de auctore praecepti iudicabis. reposcunt Aegyptii de Hebraeis uasa aurea et argentea. contra Hebraei mutuas petitiones instituunt, adlegantes sibi quoque eorundem patrum nomine ex eodem scripturae instrumento mercedes restitui oportere illius operariae seruitutis pro lateris deductis, pro ciuitatibus et uillis aedificatis. quid iudicabis, optimi dei elector? Hebraeos fraudem agnoscere debere an Aegyptios compensationem? nam et aiunt ita actum per legatos utrimque, Aegyptiorum quidem repetentium uasa, Iudaeorum uero reposcentium operas suas. et tamen has iniustitia renuntiauerunt sibi Aegyptiis: hodie aduersus Marcionitas amplius adlegant Hebraei, negantes compensationi satis esse quantumuis illud auri et argenti, (si) sexcentorum milium operae per tot annos uel singulis nummis diurnis aestimentur. quae autem pars maior, repetentium uasa an incolentium uillas et urbes? querela ergo maior Aegvptiorum an gratia Hebraeorum? ut solo iniuriarum iudicio Hebraei Aegyptios repercuterent, liberi homines in ergastulum subacti, ut solas scapulas suas scribae eorum apud subsellia sua ostenderent flagellorum contumeliosa atrocitate laceratas: non paucis lancibus et scyphis pauciorum utique diuitum, sed totis ubique et ipsorum facultatibus et popularium omnium conlationibus satisfaciendum Hebraeis pronuntiassent. igitur si bona Hebraeorum causa, bona iam et causa, id est mandatum, creatoris, qui et Aegyptios gratos fecit nescientes et suum populum in tempore expeditionis angusto aliquo solatio tacitae compensationis expunxit. plane minus exigi iussit. Hebraeis enim etiam filios Aegyptii restituere debuerant.