1 Corinthians 15:12–19

How grave an offense it is not to believe in the resurrection of the dead. If we do not rise again, Christ died in vain and did not rise again. For if he did not rise for us, he did not rise at all, because there is no reason why he should rise for himself.

When the apostle says to the Corinthians, "How can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?" he shows plainly that not all of them were claiming this but that some were, and that it is clear they were not outside but among them… If we had not read in the same letter that "the testimony of Christ is confirmed in you so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace," we might otherwise have concluded that all the Corinthians were carnalminded and sensual, not discerning the Spirit of God, "quarrelsome, envious, walking according to man." Letter , To Vincent.

Now, if Christ is preached that he hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised? and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain and your faith also is vain; as if he said: Your faith in Christ is of no use to you, unless our resurrection also is believed by you. For if ye have believed of one that he was raised from the dead, how is it not to be believed that it is possible for all others besides to be raised? For he that can raise one can also raise all.

It is plain, then, that Paul knew no other Christ besides Him alone, who both suffered, and was buried, and rose gain, who was also born, and whom he speaks of as man. For after remarking, "But if Christ be preached, that He rose from the dead," he continues, rendering the reason of His incarnation, "For since by man came death, by man [came] also the resurrection of the dead." And everywhere, when [referring to] the passion of our Lord, and to His human nature, and His subjection to death, he employs the name of Christ, as in that passage: "Destroy not him with thy meat for whom Christ died." And again: "But now, in Christ, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." And again: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree." And again: "And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died;" indicating that the impassible Christ did not descend upon Jesus, but that He Himself, because He was Jesus Christ, suffered for us; He, who lay in the tomb, and rose again, who descended and ascended,-the Son of God having been made the Son of man, as the very name itself doth declare. For in the name of Christ is implied, He that anoints, He that is anointed, and the unction itself with which He is anointed. And it is the Father who anoints, but the Son who is anointed by the Spirit, who is the unction, as the Word declares by Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me,"-pointing out both the anointing Father, the anointed Son, and the unction, which is the Spirit.

"Now if Christ is preached that He hath been raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?"

Seest thou how excellently he reasons, and proves the resurrection from the fact of Christ's being raised, having first established the former in many ways? "For both the prophets spake of it," saith he, "and the Lord Himself showed it by His appearing, and we preach, and ye believed;" weaving thus his fourfold testimony; the witness of the prophets, the witness of the issue of events, the witness of the apostles, the witness of the disciples; or rather a fivefold. For this very cause too itself implies the resurrection; viz. his dying for others' sins. If therefore this hath been proved, it is evident that the other also follows, viz. that the other dead likewise are raised. And this is why, as concerning an admitted fact, he challenges and questions them, saying, "Now if Christ hath been raised, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?"

Hereby also again abating the boldness of the gainsayers: in that he said not, "how say, ye," but, "how say some among you." And neither doth he bring a charge against all nor declare openly the very persons whom he accuses, in order not to make them more reckless: neither on the other hand doth he conceal it wholly, that he may correct them. For this purpose accordingly, separating them from the multitude, he strips himself for the contest with them, by this both weakening and confounding them, and holding the rest in their conflicts with these firmer to the truth, nor suffering them to desert to those that were busy to destroy them: he being in fact prepared to adopt a vehement mode of speech.

Further, lest they should say, "this indeed is clear and evident unto all that Christ is raised, and none doubts it; this doth not however necessarily imply the other also, to wit, the resurrection of mankind:"-for the one was both before proclaimed and came to pass, and was testified of by his appearing; the fact, namely, of Christ's resurrection: but the other is yet in hope, i.e., our own part:-see what he doeth; from the other side again he makes it out: which is a proof of great power. Thus, "why do some say," saith he, "that there is no resurrection of the dead?" Of course then the former also in its turn is subverted by this, the fact, namely, that Christ is raised.

Nor shall an assertion of this kind prevail in the Church of Christ against the exact truth, so as that a lie should be contrived for the praise and glory of Christ. For who does not know that most holy word of the apostle also, who, when he was preaching and proclaiming the resurrection of our Saviour, and confidently affirming the truth, said with great fear, "If any say that Christ is not risen, and we assert and have believed this, and both hope for and preach that very thing, we are false witnesses of God, in alleging that He raised up Christ, whom He raised not up?" And if he who glorifies God the Father is thus afraid lest he should seem a false witness in narrating a marvellous fact, how should not he be justly afraid, who tries to establish the truth by a false statement, preparing an untrue opinion?

Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, sets his mark on certain who denied and doubted the resurrection. This opinion was the especial property of the Sadducees.

I am content to illustrate this imperfection by the fact that even those whom he saves are found to possess but an imperfect salvation-that is, they are saved only so far as the soul is concerned, but lost in their body, which, according to him, does not rise again.

Ours is a better faith, which believes in a future Christ, than the heretic's, which has none at all to believe in. Touching the resurrection of the dead, let us first inquire how some persons then denied it.

For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: and if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, because ye are yet in your sins, and they which have fallen asleep in Christ are perished." Now, what is the point which he evidently labours hard to make us believe throughout this passage? The resurrection of the dead, you say, which was denied: he certainly wished it to be believed on the strength of the example which he adduced-the Lord's resurrection.

He reasons beautifully. First he proved that Christ rose and that he and the apostles preach this. And then by His resurrection he confirms the general resurrection, since after the head the other parts of the body follow. He does not extend the accusation to all, lest he make them more shameless, but says: "some say."

911. – Having built up faith in the resurrection of Christ, the Apostle now proves by the resurrection of Christ the future resurrection of the dead. First, he proves the future resurrection; secondly, he shows the quality of those rising (v. 35); thirdly, he describes the order of the resurrection (v. 54). In regard to the first he does two things: first, he proves the future resurrection of the dead with a reason taken from the resurrection of Christ; secondly, with a reason taken from the lives of the saints (v. 29). He proves the resurrection of the dead from the resurrection of Christ with this reason: If Christ arose, then the dead will rise. In regard to this reason he does three things: first, he presents a conditional proposition, namely, if Christ arose, the dead also will rise; secondly, he proves the antecedent of this conditional (v. 13); thirdly, he proves that the conditional is true (v. 20).

912. – First, therefore, he says: I have said that whether I preached or others, namely, the apostles, you have so believed. But if Christ is preached by us as raised from the dead, how can some of you, i.e., among you, say that there is no resurrection of the dead? As if to say: If Christ rose from the dead, as we preach: "Since we believe that Christ died and rose again" (1 Th 4:13), no one should doubt the future resurrection of the dead. Hence Rom (8:10): "He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to our mortal bodies."

913. – But this argument seems invalid, since it argues from the greater by affirming. For although Christ rose in particular in virtue of His divinity, it does not follow that other men will rise. To this some answer that it is not from the greater but from a similar. For to die and to rise belong to Christ according to His human nature, and they say, that the argument is similar, as though I should say: The soul of Socrates is immortal; therefore all souls of men are immortal. But it seems better to say that it is arguing from a cause, because the resurrection of Christ is the cause of our resurrection. Therefore, according to a Gloss is should be said: If Christ, Who is the efficient cause of our resurrection, has risen, how do you say that there is no resurrection? Yet one should not say that He is the efficient cause only after the manner of merit, because by rising He did not merit it, since He was already a comprehensor, and lived the life of glory, unless perhaps the merit of the resurrection of the dead be referred to the death of Christ. Neither is He merely the exemplary cause, as some say, but He is the efficient and exemplary cause. Hence Augustine says, On John, that "the Word made flesh vivifies souls and raises the dead. Therefore, it is clear that if Christ rose, the dead also will rise.

914. – But on the other hand, to rise from the dead is above nature; but this is done only by the infinite power of God: therefore, the resurrection of Christ's body is not the efficient cause of the resurrection of the dead, since the humanity of Christ or the body is a creature, although it cannot be said of Christ or of "the man," that he is a creature. The answer is that inasmuch as God or the godhead is in Christ, Christ is the exemplary and efficient cause of the resurrection of the dead through His humanity, as through an instrument of His divinity. To answer the objection it should be noted that the flesh of Christ or the humanity is not said to produce an effect of infinite power, inasmuch as it is flesh or humanity, but inasmuch as it is the flesh and humanity of Christ.

915. – But there is another question: once the sufficient cause is posited, the effect follows at once; therefore, if the resurrection of Christ is the sufficient case of the resurrection of the dead, then the dead should all rise and not merely be delayed. The answer is that an effect follows from instrumental causes according to the condition of the principal cause. Therefore, since God is the principal cause of our resurrection, but Christ's resurrection is the instrumental cause, our resurrection follows Christ's resurrection according to God's arrangement, which directed that it happen at such a time.

916. – But if God had not been incarnate, would men rise? It seems not, because Christ would not have suffered and arisen. I answer that this objection is null, because when something is directed by some cause, one should argue to it, observing the order of that cause. Therefore, it must be said that God directed the resurrection of the dead to occur in that manner; yet another manner could still be found by God, if He willed.

And that our bodies are to rise again, He shows when He says, "Verily I say unto you, that the hour cometh, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live." And [says] the apostle, "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." And that we must live soberly and righteously, he [shows when he] says again, "Be not deceived: neither adulterers, nor effeminate persons, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor fornicators, nor revilers, nor drunkards, nor thieves, can inherit the kingdom of God." And again, "If the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised; our preaching therefore is vain, and your faith is also vain: ye are yet in your sins. Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. If the dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." But if such be our condition and feelings, wherein shall we differ from asses and dogs, who have no care about the future, but think only of eating, and of indulging such appetites as follow after eating? For they are unacquainted with any intelligence moving within them.

That he uses these words with respect to the body of flesh, and to none other, he declares to the Corinthians manifestly, indubitably, and free from all ambiguity: "Always bearing about in our body the dying of Jesus, that also the life of Jesus Christ might be manifested in our body. For if we who live are delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, it is that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our mortal flesh." And that the Spirit lays hold on the flesh, he says in the same Epistle, "That ye are the epistle of Christ, ministered by us, inscribed not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart." If, therefore, in the present time, fleshly hearts are made partakers of the Spirit, what is there astonishing if, in the resurrection, they receive that life which is granted by the Spirit? Of which resurrection the apostle speaks in the Epistle to the Philippians: "Having been made conformable to His death, if by any means I might attain to the resurrection which is from the dead." In what other mortal flesh, therefore, can life be understood as being manifested, unless in that substance which is also put to death on account of that confession which is made of God?-as he has himself declared, "If, as a man, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me if the dead rise not? For if the dead rise not, neither has Christ risen. Now, if Christ has not risen, our preaching is vain, and your faith is vain. In that case, too, we are found false witnesses for God, since we have testified that He raised up Christ, whom [upon that supposition] He did not raise up. For if the dead rise not, neither has Christ risen. But if Christ be not risen, your faith is vain, since ye are yet in your sins. Therefore those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are more miserable than all men. But now Christ has risen from the dead, the first-fruits of those that sleep; for as by man [came] death, by man also [came] the resurrection of the dead."

"But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised."

Seest thou Paul's energy, and his spirit for the combat, so invincible? how not only from what is evident he demonstrates what is doubted, but also from what is doubted, endeavors to demonstrate to gainsayers the former evident proposition? Not because what had already taken place required demonstration, but that he might signify this to be equally worthy of belief with that.

"And what kind of consequence is this?" saith one. "For if Christ be not raised, that then neither should others be raised, doth follow: but that if others be not raised, neither should Christ be raised, what reason can there be in this?" Since then this doth not appear to be very reasonable, see how he works it out wisely, scattering his seeds beforehand from the beginning, even from the very groundwork of the Gospel: as, that "having died for our sins," He was raised; and that He is "the first-fruits of them that slept." For the first-fruits-of what can He be the first-fruits, except of them that are raised? And how can He be first-fruits, if they rise not of whom He is first-fruits? How then are they not raised?

Again, if they be not raised, wherefore was Christ raised? Wherefore came He? Wherefore did He take upon Him flesh, if he were not about to raise flesh again? For He stood not in need of it Himself but for our sakes. But these things he afterwards set down as he goes on; for the present he saith, "If the dead be not raised, neither hath Christ been raised," as though that were connected with this. For had He not intended to raise Himself, He would not have wrought that other work. Seest thou by degrees the whole economy overthrown by those words of theirs and by their unbelief in the resurrection? But as yet he saith nothing of the incarnation, but of the resurrection. For not His having become incarnate, but His having died, took away death; since while He had flesh, the tyranny of death still had dominion.

The one depends on the other. Either you believe both, or you believe neither.

Christ died and rose again for nothing if we are not to rise again as well.

Moreover, they even show themselves to be false witnesses of God, because they testified that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise. And we remain in our sins still. And those who have slept in Christ have perished; destined, forsooth, to rise again, but peradventure in a phantom state, just like Christ.

Lest they say that although Christ rose, yet there will be no general resurrection, he confirms the latter, and says: if there is no resurrection, then Christ has not risen either. For the one confirms the other. For why did He rise, if not to be our firstfruits?

917. – Then when he says: But if there is no resurrection, Christ has not risen, he proves that Christ has risen, and this by leading to incongruities. In regard to this he does two things: first, he leads to the incongruities, secondly, he shows that they are incongruities.

"And if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain."

Although what followed in due course would have been, "but if Christ be not risen, ye fight against things evident, and against so many prophets, and the truth of facts;" nevertheless he states what is much more fearful to them: "then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain." For he wishes to shake thoroughly their mind: "we have lost all," saith he, "all is over, if He be not risen." Seest thou how great is the mystery of the oeconomy? As thus: if after death He could not rise again, neither is sin loosed nor death taken away nor the curse removed. Yea, and not only have we preached in vain, but ye also have believed in vain.

Some heretics claim that there is a resurrection of the soul but not of the body, though this makes no sense. How can there be a resurrection of something which has not fallen into the ground and died?

Forgiveness of sins comes through the resurrection.

For if He, having died, could not rise again, then neither has sin been destroyed, nor death abolished; and finally, we have preached in vain, and you have believed in vain.

918. – In regard to the first he makes his deduction by supposing that if Christ had not risen, the dead will not rise. If this is so, two undesirable things follow: one is that the Apostle's preaching is vain and useless; the other is that the faith of the Corinthians is in vain. Hence he says: If Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain. And this is what he says: from the fact that I or others preach this. He says, therefore: If Christ had not risen, our preaching is in vain, i.e., false, because you have so believed; and this is a great incongruity, that the truth did not underprop their preaching, especially since the Apostle says: "I have not run or labored in vain" (Phil 2:16).

If a lie directed against the temporal life of another is detestable, how much more so is one prejudicial to his eternal life. Such is every lie voiced in the teaching of religion. On that account, the apostle terms it false witness if anyone lies about Christ, even in what might seem to pertain to his praise.

Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he raised not up, if so be the dead are not raised. But we, he says, who have testified unto you that God raised up Christ shall be found to be liars and impostors.

And not hereby alone doth he show the impiety of these evil doctrines, but he further contends earnestly against them, saying,

"Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God: because we witnessed of Him that He raised up Christ; whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead are not raised."

But if this be absurd, (for it is a charge against God and a calumny,) and He raised Him not, as ye say, not only this, but other absurdities too will follow.

Our preaching would not just be pointless, it would be downright false, if this were the case.

We, he says, turn out to be wrong, because we falsely testified about God that He raised the One whom He did not raise. Such a consequence follows if the dead do not rise. But if such a consequence is absurd, then it is also absurd to believe that the dead do not rise.

919. – We are even found to be misrepresenting God. Here he shows that those two things are incongruous. First, he shows that it is incongruous, if the preaching of the apostles were in vain or false; secondly, he shows that if it is incongruous, their faith would be in vain (v. 17).

920. – First, it is shown to be incongruous, because they would be false witnesses not only for saying vain things or things against any man falsely, which is a mortal sin, but false witnesses against God, which is a sacrilege. For if God did not raise Christ from the dead, we are found to be false witnesses; and if the dead do not rise, God did not raise Christ from the dead: "Will you speak falsely for God?" (Jb 13:7). And this is the worst, namely, that something be attributed to God which He does not do and to praise in Him what is not His. Hence Augustine says: "When something false is praised in God, it is not lesser but a greater crime than if the truth were reviled." The reason for this is that our intellect can never praise God so much as not to fall short of His perfection; therefore, if the intellect knows every truth about God totally, this is due to God's excellence. But if something He does not have to do is attributed to God, it seems that our intellect is greater than God and understands something greater than He, which is falsely attributed to Him. And this is contrary to 1 John (3:20): "God is greater than our heart."

For if the dead rise not, neither hath Christ risen, but if Christ hath not risen, your faith is vain—-ye are yet in your sins; from that which was confessed and believed in by them, he confutes them and says: for if He, concerning whom you have believed, when He was dead rose again, why do you doubt the resurrection of the other dead, so that you make it appear that you have believed in vain about the resurrection of but one. For he, who is able to raise one of the dead, is able also to raise all the others that are dead. So that by not believing in the resurrection of the dead, you revert to your former superstition, and have fallen away, for this he means by saying: Ye are yet in your sins.

And again he establishes it all, and takes it up again, saying,

"For if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised."

For had He not intended to do this, He would not have come into the world. And he names not this, but the end, to wit, His resurrection; through it drawing all things.

In other words, if you accept that Christ rose from the dead, believe that we shall rise again also.

Again he defends the same proposition. For He rose for the purpose of bringing about the universal resurrection. But if there is no resurrection, then He too has not risen; if this is admitted, then your faith is in vain: which is absurd. "You are still in your sins." If He has not risen, then He did not die, and if He did not die, then He did not destroy sin either: for His death is for the destruction of sin. For it is said: "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (Jn. 1:29). He called Him a Lamb, without a doubt, on account of the slaughter. But if sin has not been destroyed, then you certainly remain in it. How then did you come to believe that you have been delivered from it?

If the cross is an illusion, the resurrection is an illusion also, and "if Christ has not risen, we are still in our sins." If the cross is an illusion, the ascension is also an illusion, and everything, finally, becomes unsubstantial.

"And if Christ hath not been raised, your faith is vain."

With whatever is clear and confessed, he keeps on surrounding the resurrection of Christ, by means of the stronger point making even that which seems to be weak and doubtful, strong and clear.

"Ye are yet in your sins." For if He was not raised, neither did He die; and if He died not, neither did He take away sin: His death being the taking away of sin. "For behold," saith one, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." But how "taketh away?" By His death. Wherefore also he called him a Lamb, as one slain. But if He rose not again, neither was He slain: and if He was not slain, neither was sin taken away: and if it was not taken away, ye are in it: and if ye are in it, we have preached in vain: and if we have preached in vain, ye have believed in vain that ye were reconciled. And besides, death remains immortal, if He did not arise. For if He too was holden of death and loosed not its pains, how released He all others, being as yet Himself holden of it?

If Christ lied about his resurrection, then he lied about his claim to forgive our sins also.

921. – But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain. Here he shows that it is incongruous, if their faith were vain. He shows this with three incongruities, which follow therefrom. The first is that it is clear that falseness does not have the power to cleanse. But faith cleanses from sins: "He cleansed their hearts by faith" (Ac 15:9). If, therefore, our faith is in vain, which would be the case if Christ has not risen, because you did believe that He arose, your sins are not forgiven. And this is what he says: You are still in your sins.

Paul says this because the Corinthians will not want to listen to the false prophets once they realize that if they do so their dead, whom they love, will be taken from them.

"Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ have perished."

"And why speak I of you," saith he, "when all those also are perished, who have done all and are no longer subject to the uncertainty of the future?" But by the expression, "in Christ," he means either "in the faith," or "they who died for His sake, who endured many perils, many miseries, who walked in the narrow way."

Where are those foul-mouthed Manichees who say that by the resurrection here means the liberation from sin? For these compact and continuous syllogisms, holding as they do also conversely, indicate nothing of what they say, but what we affirm. It is true, "rising again" is spoken of one who has fallen: and this is why he keeps on explaining, and saith not only that He was raised, but adds this also, "from the dead." And the Corinthians too doubted not of the forgiveness of sins, but of the resurrection of bodies.

But what necessity is there at all, that except mankind be not without sin, neither should Christ Himself be so? Whereas, if He were not to raise men up, it were natural to say, "wherefore came He and took our flesh and rose again?" But on our supposition not so. Yea, and whether men sin or do not sin, there is ever with God an impossibility of sinning, and what happens to us reaches not to Him, nor doth one case answer to the other by way of conversion, as in the matter of the resurrection of the body.

Paul has the martyrs in mind above all. They would have lost their lives in vain if there was no other life to look forward to.

That is, those who died for Christ and bore witness to Him have perished, if there is no resurrection. And in general, all who died in the faith of Christ and in a life of hardship and affliction have perished, because they were deprived of worldly pleasures, and after this will receive no good thing, if there is no resurrection.

922. – But because someone could say: although faith does not cleanse sins, they can be cleansed by good works. Therefore, he adds a second incongruity, namely, that the dead, who cannot be cleansed in the other life, have perished without hope of salvation. And so, as if concluding, he says: Those who have fallen asleep, i.e., died in hope of salvation, in Christ, i.e., in the faith of Christ, have perished, because in the other life, there are no meritorious works.

Paul says this, not because to hope in Christ is miserable but because Christ has prepared another life for those who hope in him. For this life is liable to sin. The life above is reserved for our reward.

It is clear that we hope in Christ both for this life and for the next one. Christ does not abandon his servants but gives them grace, and in the future they will dwell in eternal glory.

"If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable."

What sayest thou, O Paul? How "in this life only have we hope," if our bodies be not raised, the soul abiding and being immortal? Because even if the soul abide, even if it be infinitely immortal, as indeed it is, without the flesh it shall not receive those hidden good things, as neither truly shall it be punished. For all things shall be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ, "that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Therefore he saith, "if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable." For if the body rise not again, the soul abides uncrowned without that blessedness which is in heaven. And if this be so, we shall enjoy nothing then at all: and if nothing then, in the present life is our recompense. "What then in this respect can be more wretched than we?" saith he.

But these things he said, as well to confirm them in the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, as to persuade them concerning that immortal life, in order that they might not suppose that all our concerns end with the present world. For having sufficiently established what he purposed by the former arguments, and having said, "if the dead are not raised, neither hath Christ been raised; but if Christ were not raised, we have perished, and we are yet in our sins;" again he also subjoins this, thoroughly demolishing their arrogance. For so when he intends to introduce any of the necessary doctrines, he first shakes thoroughly their hardness of heart by fear: which accordingly he did here, having both above scattered those seeds, and made them anxious, as those who had fallen from all: and now again after another manner, and so as they should most severely feel it, doing this same thing and saying, "'we are of all men most pitiable,' if after so great conflicts and deaths and those innumerable evils, we are to fall from so great blessings, and our happiness is limited by the present life." For in fact all depends on the resurrection. So that even hence it is evident that his discourse was not of a resurrection from sins, but of bodies, and of the life present and to come.

For if our souls are mortal, if virtue is about to have no existence after the dissolution of the body, why do we avoid the goods assigned to us, as though we were ungrateful or unworthy of enjoying the divine gifts? For, that we may enjoy these blessings, we must live in wickedness and impiety, because virtue, that is, justice, is followed by poverty. Therefore he is not of sound mind, who, without having any greater hope set before him, prefers labours, and tortures, and miseries, to those goods which others enjoy in life. But if virtue is to be taken up, as is most rightly said by these, because it is evident that man is born to it, it ought to contain some greater hope, which may apply a great and illustrious solace for the ills and labours which it is the part of virtue to endure.

Therefore Christ is not to be hoped in for this life only, in which the bad can do more than the good, in which those who are more evil are happier, and those who lead a more criminal life live more prosperously.

For behold with us is poverty, but with the world there are riches; with us there is disgrace, but with it glory; with us there is humility, but with it pride; with us there is inferiority, but with it dominion; with us there is indigence, but with it possessions; with us there is hunger, but with it satiety; with us there is want, but with it abundance; with us there are afflictions, but with it pleasures; with us there is subjection, but with it command; with us there is the "narrow way," but with it the broad path; with us is the single garment which is limited by command, but with it are various kinds of fine raiment and apparel; with us is the order which restraineth us from our daily food, but with it are the treasures which are collected for generations and years; with us is the obligation to appear in neglect and contempt, but with it the appearance of pride and honour. All these things, and those which are like unto them, appear glorious to the world, and better in every respect than those which we have; but if we remove from the midst faith which is our true riches, even as our teacher Paul also testified concerning this in his word, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, of all men we are the most miserable."

What archangel's voice, (I wonder), what trump of God is now heard, except it be, forsooth, in the entertainments of the heretics? For, allowing that the word of the gospel may be called "the trump of God," since it was still calling men, yet they must at that time either be dead as to the body, that they may be able to rise again; and then how are they alive? Or else caught up into the clouds; and how then are they here? "Most miserable," no doubt, as the apostle declared them, are they "who in this life only" shall be found to have hope: they will have to be excluded while they are with premature haste seizing that which is promised after this life; erring concerning the truth, no less than Phygellus and Hermogenes.

If, he says, all that is ours is limited to this present life and we who hope in Christ, that is, who have our hope in Christ, exist only in it, and there is no other life beyond, then we are more miserable than all, since we have neither enjoyed the good things of this life, as was said above, nor shall we receive the future ones, because we shall not even rise again, as some say. Perhaps someone will say: the soul alone will enjoy them. But why so? It was not the soul alone that labored, but the body too. Where then is the justice, if the body, which bore the greater part of the hardships, shall be turned to nothing and receive no good, while the soul alone shall be crowned?

923. – But because someone could still say: I do not care about sins, I do not care about the dead, as long as in this life I have peace and quiet. Therefore, he adds a third incongruity, when he says: If for this life only, we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. And he rests on this argument: if there is no resurrection of the dead, it follows that nothing good is possessed by men except in this life alone; and if this is so, then those who suffer many evils and tribulations in this life are more miserable. Therefore, since the apostles and Christians suffer many tribulations, it follows that they are more miserable than other men, who at least enjoy the good things of this world.

924. – But there seem to be two doubts about this reasoning: one is that what the Apostle says does not seem to be universally true, namely, that Christians are confident in this life only, because they could say that, although our bodies do not possess any good things except in this life, which is mortal, yet according to the soul they have many good things in the other life. This can be turned aside in two ways: in one way, because if the resurrection of the body is denied, it is not easy, yea it is difficult, to sustain the immortality of the soul. For it is clear that the soul is naturally united to the body and is departed from it, contrary to its nature and per accidens. Hence the soul devoid of its body is imperfect, as long as it is without the body. But it is impossible that what is natural and per se be finite and, as it were, nothing; and that which is against nature and per accidens be infinite, if the soul endures without the body. And so, the Platonists positing immortality, posited re-incorporation, although this is heretical. Therefore, if the dead do not rise, we will be confident only in this life. In another way, because it is clear that man naturally desires his own salvation; but the soul, since it is part of man's body, is not an entire man, and my soul is not I; hence, although the soul obtains salvation in another life, nevertheless, not I or any man. Furthermore, since man naturally desires salvation even of the body, a natural desire would be frustrated.

925. – The second doubt is that it seems that if bodies do not rise, we Christians would be not more miserable than other men, because those who are in sins undergo greater labors: "They have labored to commit iniquity" (Jer 4:5); "The impious say: we have walked difficult paths" (Wis 5:7). But of the good and just it says in Gal (5:22): "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace…" The answer to this is that evils in this world are not to be sought as such, but inasmuch as they are directed to some good. But the apostles and Christians have suffered many evils in the world. Therefore, unless they were directed to some good, they would be more miserable than other men. Either they are directed to a future good or to a present good; but they are not ordained to a future good, if there is no resurrection of the dead. But if they are ordained to a present good, this is either the good of the intellect, as philosophers of nature suffered poverty and many other evils, in order to know the truth. But it cannot be directed to this, if there is no resurrection of the dead, because then their faith would be false, because they preached a future resurrection. But falsity is not a good of the intellect. Or it is a good of morals, as moral philosophers suffered many evils to acquire virtues and fame. But neither can they be directed to this, because if there is no resurrection of the dead, it is not regarded as virtuous and glorious to wish to renounce all pleasant things and undergo the punishments of death and contempt; rather it is considered folly. And so it is clear that they would more miserable than other men.