None of These Answers Will You Give Us. You Turn to Other Things, and by Your Tricks and Shew of Words Prevent us from Paying Close Attention to the Question. What! You Will Say, was not the Question About the Resurrection of the Flesh and the Punishment of the Devil? True; and Therefore I Ask for a Brief and Sincere Answer. I Raise no Question as to Your Declaration that it is this Very Flesh in which we Live which Rises Again, Without the Loss of a Single Member, and Without any Part of the Body Being Cut Off (For These are Your Own Words). But I Want to Know Whether You Hold, what Origen Denies, that the Bodies Rise with the Same Sex with which they Died; and that Mary Will Still be Mary and John be John; or Whether the Sexes Will be So Mixed and Confused that There Will be Neither Man nor Woman, but Something which is Both or Neither; and Also Whether You Hold that the Bodies Remain Uncorrupt and Immortal, And, as You Acutely Suggest after the Apostle, Spiritual Bodies Forever; and not Only the Bodies, but the Actual Flesh, with Blood Infused into It, and Passing by Channels through the Veins and Bones, --Such Flesh as Thomas Touched; or that Little by Little they are Dissolved into Nothing, and Reduced into the Four Elements of which they were Compounded. This You Ought Either to Confess or Deny, and not to Say what Origen Also Says, but Insincerely, as if He were Playing Upon the Weakness of Fools and Children, "Without the Loss of a Single Member or the Cutting Off of any Part of the Body. " do You Suppose that what we Feared was that we Might Rise Without Noses and Ears, that we Should Find that Our Genital Organs Would be Cut Off or Maimed and that a City of Eunuchs was Built up in the New Jerusalem? C6. Of the Devil He Thus Frames his Opinion:
5. None of these answers will you give us. You turn to other things, and by your tricks and shew of words prevent us from paying close attention to the question. What! you will say, was not the question about the resurrection of the flesh and the punishment of the devil? True; and therefore I ask for a brief and sincere answer. I raise no question as to your declaration that it is this very flesh in which we live which rises again, without the loss of a single member, and without any part of the body being cut off (for these are your own words). But I want to know whether you hold, what Origen denies, that the bodies rise with the same sex with which they died; and that Mary will still be Mary and John be John; or whether the sexes will be so mixed and confused that there will be neither man nor woman, but something which is both or neither; and also whether you hold that the bodies remain uncorrupt and immortal, and, as you acutely suggest after the Apostle, spiritual bodies forever; and not only the bodies, but the actual flesh, with blood infused into it, and passing by channels through the veins and bones, -- such flesh as Thomas touched; or that little by little they are dissolved into nothing, and reduced into the four elements of which they were compounded. This you ought either to confess or deny, and not to say what Origen also says, but insincerely, as if he were playing upon the weakness of fools and children, "without the loss of a single member or the cutting off of any part of the body." Do you suppose that what we feared was that we might rise without noses and ears, that we should find that our genital organs would be cut off or maimed and that a city of eunuchs was built up in the new Jerusalem? c6. Of the devil he thus frames his opinion:"We affirm also a judgment to come, in which judgment every man is to receive the due meed of his bodily life, according to that which he has done, whether good or evil. And, if in the case of men the reward is according to their works how much more will it be so in the case of the devil who is the universal cause of sin. Of the devil himself our belief is that which is written in the Gospel, namely that both he and all his angels will receive as their portion the eternal fire, and with him those who do his works, that is, who become the accusers of their brethren. If then any one denies that the devil is to be subjected to eternal fires, may he have his part with him in the eternal fire, so that he may know by experience the fact which he now denies."

I will repeat the words one by one. "We affirm also a judgment to come, in which judgment &c." I had determined to say nothing about verbal faults. But, since his disciples admire the eloquence of their master, I will make one or two strictures upon it. He had already said "a future judgment;" but, being a cautious man, he was afraid of saying simply "in which," and therefore wrote "in which judgment;" for fear that, if he had not said "judgment" a second time, we, forgetting what had gone before, might have supplied the word "ass." That which he brings in afterwards "those who become the accusers of their brethren will with him have their portion in the eternal fire," is in a style of equal beauty. Who ever heard of possessing [3088] the flames'? It would be like enjoying tortures.' I suppose that, being now a Greek, he had tried to translate himself, and that for the word kleronomesousin, [3089] which can be rendered in Latin by the single word Hæreditabunt, he said Hæreditate potientur [3090] supposing it to be something more elaborate and ornate. With such trifles and such improprieties of speech his whole discourse is teeming. But to return to the meaning of his words.


Footnotes:

[3088] Potiri, rendered above have their portion.'

[3089] Kleronomesousin, they shall inherit.

[3090] They will enjoy the inheritance.

4 he goes on
Top of Page
Top of Page