Milton

¶1Tertius mortis gradus est quæ CORPORALIS MORS dici solet. In corpore autem labores, ærumnæ, morbi, quid aliud sunt, nisi corporalis, quæ dicitur, mortis præludia? Gen. iii. 16. admodum multiplico dolorem tuum. et v. 17. cum dolore comedito proventum ejus. et v. 19. in sudore vultus tui. Job. v. 7. homo ad ærumnas natus est, ut scintillæ rursum evolant. Deut. xxviii. 22. percutiet Jehova te tabe. Hos. ii. 18. peragam pro ipsis fœdus cum bestiis agri. Rom. ii. 9. afflictio et angustia in omnem perpetrantem malum. Totam denique naturam maledictio atque mors propter hominem pervasit. Gen. iii. 17. maledicta esto terra propter te. Rom. viii. 20, 21. vanitati mundus subjectus est non sua sponte. etiam bestias, Gen. iii. 14. et vi. 7. primogenitas Ægyptias, Exod. xi. 5.

¶2Corporalis ista mors, non minus quam cæteri mortis gradus, peccati pœna, tametsi id negant nonnulli, censenda est. Rom. v. 13, 14. usque ad legem peccatum in mundo erat—: regnavit autem mors ab Adamo usque ad Mosen. 1 Cor. xv. 21. quia per hominem mors; tam scilicet temporalis quam æterna; ut ex opposito membro sententiæ liquet, per hominem quoque resurrectio mortuorum: ergo mors illa corporalis unde resurgitur, per hominem nimirum peccantem, non per naturam fuit: id quod refellit eos qui mortem hanc temporalem naturæ, æternam duntaxat peccato acceptam referunt.

¶3Mors corporalis, quæ dicitur, est privatio vitæ sive extinctio. Nam separatio animæ et corporis, quemadmodum vulgo mors definitur, nullo modo mors esse potest: hominis enim quæ tandem pars moritur in illo p. 193dissidio? num anima? at id negant qui mortem sic definiunt: num corpus? at mori quo pacto dicitur quod vi sua nunquam vixit? Separatio igitur illa non est mors hominis dicenda.

¶4Gravis itaque hic oritur quæstio, theologorum præjudicio rejecta potius quam diligenter satis tractata, totusne homo, an corpus tantummodo vita privetur? Quæ quoniam citra fidei aut pietatis detrimentum agitari potest, sive quis hanc sive illam tueatur sententiam, quod ex innumeris pene scripturæ locis videor mihi didicisse, nisi quis e scholis potius quam ex libris sacris hauriendam veritatem putat, libere exponam.

¶5Cum totus homo ex corpore, spiritu et anima constare passim dicatur, quacunque demum ratione partes illas inter se distinguendas esse arbitremur, primum totum hominem, deinde singulas ejus partes vita privari singulatim ostendam. Atque hoc imprimis animadvertendum est, Deum toti homini peccanti, sine ullius partis exceptione, mortem denuntiasse: quid enim justius esse potuit, quam, ut qui totus peccaverat, totus moreretur? et ea pars maxime, anima nempe vel spiritus, quæ pars princeps in peccato reperta est? contra, quid absurdius, quam partem maxime peccantem, nimirum animam, denuntiatam mortem effugere, corpus solum, (quæ pars, antequam mors per peccatum invecta est, æqua sorte immortalis fuit) per se expers peccati morte obita peccatum lueret?

¶6In eadem sententia fuisse sanctos omnes ac fideles, patriarchas, prophetas, apostolos clarum est. Jacobum: Gen. xxxvii. 35. descensurus sum ad filium meum lugens in sepulchrum. et xlii. 36. Joseph non est. Jobum: cap. iii. 12. usque ad v. 18. sicut abortus non amplius essem, ut infantes qui non viderunt lucem. et cap. x. 21. idem. et xiv. 11. cum exspiravit homo ubinam est? et v. 13. vir cum occubuit, non resurgit usquedum non erunt cœli. et cap. xvii. 12. si expectem, sepulchrum domus est. et v. 14, 15. ubi est expectatio mea? vectibus sepulchralibus descendent: et multis aliis locis. Davidem; ut ex eo toties colligitur argumento p. 194quo mortem ab se solet deprecari: Psal. vi. 5. non est in morte recordatio tui: in sepulchro quis celebrat te? et lxxxviii. 11, 12, 13. idem. cxv. 17. non qui mortui sunt laudant Jah. et xxxix. 14. priusquam abeam, et non sim amplius. et cxlvi. 2. laudabo Deum meum dum adhuc ego. Profecto si animam superstitem credidisset cœlo statim recipiendam, hujusmodi argumento prorsus abstinuisset, ut qui mox eo esset evolaturus, ubi Deum indesinenter posset laudare. Quod autem Davides de se credidit, id de Davide credidit etiam Petrus, Act. ii. 29, 34. licet libere dicere apud vos de patriarcha David, eum et obiisse et sepultum esse, et monumentum ejus esse apud nos ad hunc usque diem: nec enim David ascendit in cœlos. Satis etiam declarat Hezechia quam serio sentiret se totum esse moriturum, dum queritur se Deum in sepulchro laudare non posse: Isa. xxxviii. 18, 19. sepulchrum non celebrat te; non habent expectationem in fide tua qui descendunt in sepulchrum: vivens, vivens ipse celebrat te, ut ego hodie. Testatur idem vox ipsa Dei: Isa. lvii. 5, 6. justus perit, et nemo homo reponit in animum: homines benigni recipiuntur, nemine advertente ante adventum ipsius mali recipi justum, ingredi pacem, requiescere in cubilibus suis. Jer. xxxi. 15. cum Matt. ii. 18. Rachel plorans filios suos, et noluit consolationem admittere, quia non sunt. Et Daniel: cap. xii. 2. multi ex dormientibus in pulverulenta terra—. Christus ipse non alia ratione Deum probat viventium esse Deum, Luc. xx. 37, &c. quam quod sint resurrecturi: si enim jam nunc viverent, non eo argumento necesse esset concedi, resurrectionem corporis futuram: itaque Joan. xi. 25. ego sum resurrectio et vita. Ante resurrectionem igitur ne locum quidem sanctis esse ullum vivendi in cœlo apertissime declarat Joan. xiv. 2, 3. eo paraturus vobis locum; atque si profectus ero, paraveroque vobis locum, rursus venio, vosque recipiam ad me; ut ubi sum ego, etiam vos sitis: de corporibus tantum hæc dici nullo satis valido argumento affirmari potest; de anima igitur et spiritu non nisi cum corpore, eoque post secundum tandem Domini adventum in cœlum recipiendo palam est hæc dici atque intelligi oportere. Sic Luc. xx. 35. et Act. vii. 60. cum hoc dixisset, obdormivit. et xxiii. 6. de spe et resurrectione, id est, spe resurrectionis, quam solam indicat se habuisse. Sic cap. xxiv. 21. et xxvi. 6, 7, 8. et 1 Cor. xv. 17, 18, 19. si p. 195Christus non est suscitatus (quod ideo factum est ut mortui resurgerent) tum qui obdormierunt in Christo, perierunt: duo igitur hic videmus quorum alterum necesse est sequi, aut resurgere aut periisse: nam si in hac solum vita speramus in Christo, miserrimi omnium sumus: en iterum, aut resurrectionem credere aut in hac solum vita spem collocare. et v. 29, 30. si mortui non suscitantur, quorsum periclitamur? et v. 32. edamus et bibamus, cras enim morimur; toti scilicet; alioqui argumentum nihili esset: inde a versu 42. ad v. 50. a mortali simpliciter ad simpliciter immortale, a morte ad resurrectionem procurrit argumentatio; de statu autem ullo intermedio, ne verbum quidem: immo ipse Paulus non ante sibi coronam justitiæ reportandam pollicetur, quam dies ille venerit extremus. 2 Tim. iv. 8. quod reliquum est, reposita est mihi justitiæ corona quam reddet mihi Dominus in die illo justus judex: non solum autem mihi, sed et omnibus qui expetiverunt illustrem illum ipsius adventum: reposita est Paulo corona; non ergo statim post mortem accipienda: quando ergo? tum cum cæteris omnibus danda est, nimirum non ante illustrem Christi adventum. Philipp. ii. 16. ut gloriari possim in die Christi. et iii. 11. experiens ecquo modo perveniam ad resurrectionem mortuorum. et v. 20, 21. nostra civitas in cœlis est, unde etiam servatorem expectamus Dominum Jesum Christum: qui transfigurabit corpus nostrum humile ut conforme fiat corpori ejus glorioso: civitas quidem nostra est in cœlis, non in qua jam nunc habitamus, sed unde, qui nos eo deducat, servatorem expectamus. Sic Luc. xx. 35, 36. qui vero digni habiti fuerint qui ævum illud consequantur et resurrectionem ex mortuis, &c. pares enim angelis sunt, &c. quum sint filii resurrectionis: tum demum; igitur non antea cœleste ævum consequuntur.

¶7Hactenus totum hominem mori probavimus: nunc ne quis argutetur, non totum hominis tamen, de supra dictis ejus partibus, corpore, spiritu et anima, idem probabimus: et de corpore quidem dubium nemini est quin vita privetur.

¶8De spiritu non minus perspicuum erit, si constat spiritum non esse divinum quidquam, sed humanum, ut supra docuimus cap. vii. causæp. 196que nihil inveniri posse, quamobrem, denuntiante Deo mortem toti homini peccanti, spiritus potissimum peccati reus peccati pœna morte solus immunis esset: præsertim cum ante peccatum humana omnia æque essent immortalia; post peccatum ex divina denuntiatione æque omnia morti addicta. Nunc testimoniis agamus. Mortis expertem esse spiritum Ecclesiastes ipse mortalium sapientissimus disertis verbis negat: cap. iii. 18, 19, 20. ut moritur bestia, ita mori hominem, et spiritum eundem omnibus ipsis esse. horum unumquodque ire locum eundem. et v. 21. eos inscitiæ damnat, qui diversum iter spirituum hominis et bestiæ post mortem affirmare audeant; quis scit spiritum hominis an sursum ascendat? Psal. cxlvi. 4. exit spiritus ejus, redit homo in humum suam: eo die pereunt cogitationes ejus: cogitationes autem in animo et spiritu sunt, non in corpore; quæ si perierunt, ipse quoque animus ac spiritus subiisse idem fatum cum corpore censendus est. 1 Cor. v. 5. ut spiritus salvus sit die illo Domini Jesu: non dixit in die mortis, sed in die illo Domini. Animam denique, sive ea totum compositum quod aiunt, sive idem quod spiritus significat, mortem quoque obire tam naturalem quam violentam plurimis testimoniis evincitur. Numer. xxiii. 14. moriatur anima mea mortem justorum: hæc verba quidem sunt Balaami prophetæ non probissimi, sed quæ verba Deus ori ejus indidit, v. 9. Job. xxxiii. 18. cohibeat animam ejus a fovea. et xxxvi. 14. moritur in juventute anima eorum. Psal. xxii. 21. eripe a gladio animam meam. et lxxviii. 50. non cohibuit a morte animam eorum. et lxxxix. 49. quis vir eripiat animam suam a sepulchro? et xciv. 17. parum abest quin habitasset in loco silentii anima mea. Itaque homo quoque mortuus anima dicitur; Levit. xix. 28. et xxi. 1, 11. neque ad ullas animas mortuas venito; et alibi: Isa. xxxviii. 17. eduxisti animam meam e fovea. Rationem autem quam attulimus justissimam cur præcipue anima moreretur, Dei ipsius est, Ezech. xviii. 20, Anima quæ peccat ipsa morietur: hinc etiam Christi ob nostra peccata morientis animam aliquantisper morti succubuisse testatur et propheta et apostolus et ipse Christus. Psal. xvi. 10. cum Act. ii. 27, 28, 31. non derelictam esse in sepulchro animam, neque carnem ejus. Matt. xxvi. 38. tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem. Nec usquam legitur animas e cœlo aut inferno ad judicium p. 197sisti aut convolare, sed de sepulchro omnes evocari, vel saltem in statu mortuorum dicuntur fuisse. Joan. v. 28, 29. veniet hora qua omnes qui in monumentis sunt, audient vocem ejus, et prodibunt, &c. hic qui resurgunt, sive justi sive injusti, qui audiunt, qui prodeunt, nusquam omnino loci nisi in monumentis. 1 Cor. xv. 52. tuba canet, mortui resurgent. 1 Thess. iv. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17. nolim autem vos in ignorantia versari, fratres, quod ad eos attinet qui obdormierunt, ut ne doleatis, sicut et cæteri qui spem non habent. Nam si credimus Jesum mortuum esse et resurrexisse, ita etiam et Deus eos qui obdormierint per Jesum ducet cum eo: hoc enim vobis dicimus verbis Domini, fore ut nos vivi qui reliqui erimus in adventu Domini, non præveniamus eos qui obdormierint: nam ipse Dominus, &c. et qui mortui fuerint in Christo, resurgent primum: deinde nos vivi, qui reliqui erimus, rapiemur simul cum eis in nubes, in occursum Domini, in aera, et ita semper cum Domino erimus: obdormierunt; at corpus exanimum non dormit, nisi et lapides quoque dormiunt: ut ne doleatis, sicut et cæteri qui spem non habent; at cur dolerent, cur spem non haberent, quicquid de corpore futurum sit, si salvas ac beatas fore citra resurrectionem animas crediderunt? cæteri profecto qui spem non habebant, tam de anima quam de corpore desperabant, quia resurrectionem nullam credebant: spem ergo omnium fidelium Paulus ad resurrectionem dirigit: Deus eos qui obdormierint, per Jesum ducet cum eo; nempe in cœlum ex sepulchro: fore ut nos vivi, qui reliqui erimus in adventu Domini, non præveniamus eos qui obdormierint; atqui hoc verendum non erat ne præveniamus, siquidem qui obdormierunt jam pridem in cœlum evolarunt; quod si ita est, non in occursum Domini sed reduces cum eo veniunt: verum nos vivi rapiemur simul cum eis, non post eos, et ita semper cum Domino erimus; post resurrectionem nimirum, non ante: atque tum demum justi ab impiis segregabuntur, Matt. xiii. 49. Dan. xii. 2. multi ex dormientibus in pulverulenta terra expergiscentur: hi ad vitam æternam, illi ad opprobria et contemptum æternum. Eodem somno consopitum etiam Lazarum crediderim, si forte quis quærat, quonam Lazari anima in illo mortis quatriduo se receperit: non enim devocatam p. 198cœlo ad corporis incommoda rursus subeunda, sed evocatam sepulchro, mortisque somno excitatam, mea quidem sententia, haud dubitarim respondere: quod ut faciam Christi verba ipsa invitant; Joan. xi. 11, 13. Lazarus amicus noster dormit; sed proficiscor ut a somno excitem eum: hoc autem dixerat Jesus de ipsius morte; quæ vera mors fuit, siquidem miraculum illud verum. Idem demonstrat ipse Christi gestus in suscitando Lazaro v. 43. clamavit voce magna, Lazare, huc veni foras; si anima Lazari, id est, revera ipse Lazarus intus non erat, cur exanimum corpus audire nescium inclamavit? si inclamavit animam, cur eo ex loco ubi ante non erat quam inclamasset? eo sane oculos intendisset, in cœlum nempe, unde animam Lazari redire par erat, si divisam a corpore credi voluisset; nam evocare ex sepulchro quod in sepulchro non sit, idem est quod vivum inter mortuos quærere: id quod in discipulis angelus inscitiæ arguebat, Luc. xxiv. 5. Idem in suscitando viduæ filio perspicuum est, Luc. vii. 14.

¶9Contra, qui animam mortis expertem ad loca præmio aut pœnæ destinata, exuto corpore, recta commeare, aut angelos via duces sequi affirmant, ibique ad finem usque mundi seorsim degere, his præcipue nituntur scripturæ locis. Psal. xlix. 16. Deus est redempturus animam meam e sepulchro; verum hic potius arguitur animam cum corpore sepulchrum subire, ut jam sæpius demonstratum est, unde opus esset redemptio; in resurrectione scilicet, cum recepturus est eam Deus potentissime, versu eodem: quod ad reliquos, quorum redemptio cessat in sæculum, v. 9. similesque esse jumentis, v. 13, 15.

¶10Locus secundus est Eccl. xii. 9. spiritu redeunte ad Deum, qui dederat illum. Atqui ne hinc quidem quod volunt evincitur; ad Deum enim redire, late admodum necesse est accipi; quandoquidem improbi non ad Deum, sed a Deo in morte procul abscedunt: et supra dixerat, cap. iii. 12. horum unumquodque ire eundem locum: et omnium prorsus animalium spiritum dicitur Deus et dedisse et ad se recipere, dum corpus ad pulverem revertitur. Job. xxxiv. 14, 15. si— spiritum ejus et animam ejus ad se recip. 199peret, exspiraret omnis caro simul, et homo in pulverem reverteretur. Psal. civ. 29, 30. idem. Quanto rectius Euripides vel insciens hunc locum interpretatus est in Supplicibus:^la1 ὅθεν δ' ἕκαστον εἰς τὸ σῶμ' ἀφίκετο / ἐνταῦθ' ἀπῆλθε, πνεῦμα μὲν πρὸς αἰθέρα, / τὸ σῶμα δ' εἰς γῆν —— hoc est, soluta pars quæque in sua redit principia, in sua elementa: quod etiam ab Ezechiele confirmatur, cap. xxxvii. 9. a quatuor ventis adveni O spiritus; certe igitur spiritus hominis illuc abierat, unde est reversus. Hinc puto Matt. xxiv. 31. congregabunt electos ejus a quatuor ventis; quidni tam spiritus electorum, quam minutissimos corporum pulvisculos, in diversas nonnunquam regiones longissime difflatos? Idem censendum de 1 Reg. xvii. 21. revertatur quæso anima pueri. Quamquam et iste modus loquendi vulgaris ad omnem animæ defectionem adhiberi solet: Judic. xv. 19. rediit spiritus ejus et vixit. 1 Sam. xxx. 12. idem. Nam certe mortuis omnem vitæ existentiam adimunt multa scripturæ loca, quorum aliquot modo protulimus: sed apertissime huic objectioni satisfaciunt quæ supra de interitu spiritus attulimus.

¶11Tertius locus est Matt. x. 28. occidunt corpus, animam non possunt. Respondeo, corpus, proprie loquendo, occidi non posse, utpote per se inanimatum: necesse est igitur corpus, ut in scriptura fere, pro toto composito, ut loquimur, seu pro vita animali ac temporali accipiatur; anima pro vita spirituali, qua post sæculi finem induendi sumus, ut ex reliquo versiculo et 1 Cor. xv. 44. liquet.

¶12Quartus locus est Philipp. i. 23. cupiens dissolvi et cum Christo esse. Ut taceam incertam et variam verbi ἀναλῦσαι versionem, quod nihil minus quam dissolvi significat, respondeo, tametsi Paulus summam statim adipisci perfectionem et gloriam, veluti ultimum suum finem, cupiebat, quod p. 200et omnes pro se cupiunt, non continuo demonstrari cujusque animam elapsam corpore, vel cœlo vel inferno sine mora recipi: esse enim cum Christo cupiebat nempe in adventu ejus, quem omnes fideles quam primum adfore et cupiebant et expectabant: sic navigaturus cupit solvere et esse in portu, itineris interjecti mentionem vix facit. Quod si tempus nullum sine motu, unde qui apud heroas dormire dicebantur, momentum quo somnum inierunt momento quo excitati sunt connectebant, intermedium omne eximentes, Arist. Phys. l. iv. c. 11. quanto magis illis qui mortui sunt, quicquid intercedit temporis perit: unde mori et esse cum Christo eodem fieri momento sentietur. Quando autem erit ut tandem simus cum Christo, Christus ipse disertissime docet, Joan. xiv. 3. quum profectus fuero et paravero vobis locum, rursum veniam et assumam vos ad meipsum: ut ubi ero ego et vos sitis.

¶13Quintus locus nobiscum plane facit: 1 Pet. iii. 19. spiritibus qui sunt in carcere, ad verbum, in custodia; ut Syrus habet, in sepulchro, quod eodem recidit; est enim sepulchrum communis omnium in diem judicii custodia; quod ergo apostolus cap. iv. 5, 6. planius dicit, paratus est ad judicandum vivos et mortuos; idcirco et mortuis evangelizatum fuit, idem nunc dicit per metaphoram spiritus qui sunt in custodia; spiritus ergo mortui.

¶14Sextus est Apoc. vi. 9. vidi animas sub altari. Respondeo, constare ex toto idiomate biblico animam pro toto corpore animato plerumque dici: nunc de animabus nondum natis dicitur; nisi forte sigillum quintum Joannis tempore apertum jam erat: sic Christus in illa divitis et Lazari parabola, Luc. xvi. tametsi docendi causa anticipans ponit quasi factum, quod non nisi post diem judicii faciendum erat, statumque mortuorum diversum adumbrat, nequaquam tamen animam a corpore sejungit.

¶15Septimus locus est Luc. xxiii. 43. tum dixit ei Jesus, Amen dico tibi, hodie mecum eris in paradiso. Multos variis de causis exercuit hic locus, usque eo ut interpunctionem etiam tollere non dubitarint; ut si sic scriptum esset, dico tibi hodie, id est, etiamsi hodie miserrimus et conp. 201temptissimus videar esse omnibus, tibi tamen dico, atque confirmo, fore te mecum in paradiso; id est, in loco aliquo amœno (nam paradisus proprie cœlum non est) sive statu cum animæ tum corporis spirituali: quemadmodum cæteri, Matt. xxvii. 52, 53. in illo enim terræ motu, eodem die, non triduo post, ut vulgo creditur, monumenta aperta sunt, mortui surrexerunt, et egressi sunt, v. 52. καὶ ἐξελθόντες, egressi cum essent, post resurrectionem demum Christi introierunt in sanctam urbem: cum ejusmodi enim interpunctione veteres Græci ista legebant Erasmo teste: et Syrus plane sic; et egressi sunt, et post resurrectionem ejus ingressi sunt &c. Status ille resurgentium sanctorum cum animæ tum corporis spiritualis, non immerito quidem Paradisus dici potuit, in quo bonum illum latronem cæteris sanctis fuisse aggregatum sine noxa equidem existimem: nec hodie stricte sumi necesse est, sed tempus breve modo intelligi, ut 2 Sam. xvi. 3. Heb. iii. 7. Utcunque hæc sint, ob unum difficillimum et non satis intellectum locum tot clarissima testimonia repudiari non debent.

¶16Octavus est ejusdem capitis v. 46. in manus tuas commendo spiritum meum. Sed neque separandum idcirco a corpore, neque non mortalem; sic Davides non tum utique moriturus, Psal. xxxi. 6. in manum tuam, inquit, depono spiritum meum, in corpore tamen, et cum corpore manentem: sic Stephanus Act. vii. 59. Domine Jesu recipe spiritum meum. hæc tamen dicens obdormivit: quid ergo? commendavit spiritum suum non nudum et exutum, sed integrum, ut est 1 Thess. v. 23. cum corpore et anima, ille quidem triduo post resuscitandum; hic in adventum Domini servandum. Sic 1 Pet. iv. 19. deponant apud eum ut fidum conditorem suas ipsorum animas, cum bene faciendo.

¶17Nonus locus est 2 Cor. v. a versu primo ad vigessimum. Verum abunde liquet non ibi separationem animæ a corpore doceri, sed vitam animalem totius hominis et terrestrem, vitæ ejusdem spirituali et cœlesti opponi: hinc v. 1. domus tabernaculi opponitur non animæ, sed ædificio et domicilio, id est, totius hominis renovationi ultimæ, ut etiam Beza explicat, qua superinduamur in cœlis, induti, non nudi, v. 3. id quod p. 202v. 4. clarissime demonstrat, in quo constituti, non cupimus exui, sed superindui, ut absorbeatur mortale a vita: et v. 5. Deus nos ad seipsum condidit; non profecto ad separationem a corpore, sed ad utriusque perfectionem adipiscendam: hinc demum v. 8. illud abesse a corpore, et adesse apud Dominum, de consummata nostra beatitudine intelligi necesse est: et corpus pro vita hac fragili, ut apud sacros scriptores fere semper, et illam ἐκδήμησιν v. 9. pro æterna ad cœleste ævum migratione sumi: vel etiam præsentes esse in corpore et a Domino peregre vivere v. 6. idem esse videtur quod rebus mundanis implicitos esse, et cœlestibus minus vacare: ratio redditur, v. 7. quia per fidem ambulamus, non per visum: itaque v. 8. confidimus et probamus magis peregrinari ex corpore et domi esse apud Dominum; id est, mundanis rebus, quantum fieri potest, renuntiare, et in cœlestibus versari: et v. 9. clarius adhuc ostendit, illud cum peregrinari, tum domi esse de hac vita dici. Contendimus igitur, sive domi sive peregre viventes, Deo accepti esse: non enim certe in futura vita contendimus ut Deo ad resurrectionem usque grati in cœlo simus; ea scilicet opera, is labor hujus tantummodo vitæ est, ejusque laboris præmium in adventu tandem Christi secundo, non ante, expectandum. Nam inquit v. 10. oportet nos manifestos fieri coram tribunali Christi, ut unusquisque reportet quæ in corpore fecerit, congruenter ad id quod fecerit sive bonum, sive malum: boni ergo vel mali retributio post mortem ante diem illum judicii nulla est. Consulatur 1 Cor. xv. quod totum fere caput haud mediocrem huic loco lucem affert. Eodem etiam referri debet 2 Pet. i. 13, 14, 15. quamdiu sum in hoc tabernaculo, &c. id est in hac vita. Quid plura? vix restat alius scripturæ locus, cui non ex iis quæ jam dicta sunt abunde responderi possit.

¶18Ultimus mortis gradus est MORS ÆTERNA, DAMNATORUM PŒNA: de qua infra cap. xxvii.

¶1The third degree of death is what is called THE DEATH OF THE BODY. To this all the labours, sorrows, and diseases which afflict the body, are nothing but the prelude. Gen. iii. 16. I will greatly multiply thy sorrow. v. 17. in sorrow shalt thou eat of it. v. 19. in the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread. Job v. 7. man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Deut. xxviii. 22. Jehovah shall smite thee with a consumption. Hos. ii. 18. in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field. Rom. ii. 9. tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil. All nature is likewise subject to mortality and a curse on account of man. Gen. iii. 17. cursed is the ground for thy sake. Rom. viii. 20, 21. the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly. Even the beasts are not exempt, Gen. iii. 14. vi. 7. So the first-born of beasts in the land of Egypt perished for the sins of their masters, Exod. xi. 5.

¶2The death of the body is to be considered in the light of a punishment for sin, no less than the other degrees of death, notwithstanding the contrary opinion entertained by some.³ Rom. v. 13, 14. until the law sin was in the world ...... death reigned from Adam to Moses. 1 Cor. xv. 21. since by man came death; that is to say, temporal as well as eternal death; as is clear from the corresponding member of the sentence, by p. 279man came also the resurrection from the dead; therefore that bodily death from which we are to rise again, originated in sin, and not in nature; contrary to the opinion of those who maintain that temporal death is the result of natural causes, and that eternal death alone is due to sin.⁴

¶3The death of the body is the loss or extinction of life. The common definition, which supposes it to consist in the separation of soul and body, is inadmissible.⁵ For what part of man is it that dies when this separation takes place? Is it the soul? This will not be admitted by the supporters of the above definition. Is it then the body? But how can that be said to die, which never had any life of itself? Therefore the separation of soul and body cannot be called the death of man.

¶4Here then arises an important question, which, owing to the prejudice of divines in behalf of their preconceived opinions, has usually been dismissed without examination, instead of being treated with the attention it deserves. Is it the whole man, or the body alone, that is deprived of vitality? And as this is a subject which may be discussed without endangering our faith or devotion, whichever side of the controversy we espouse, I shall declare freely what seems to me the true doctrine, as collected from numberless passages of Scripture; without regarding the opinion of those, who think that truth is to be sought in the schools of philosophy, rather than in the sacred writings.

¶5Inasmuch then as the whole man is uniformly said to consist of body, spirit, and soul, (whatever may be the distinct provinces severally assigned p. 280to these divisions), I will show, that in death, first, the whole man, and secondly, each component part suffers privation of life. It is to be observed, first of all, that God denounced the punishment of death against the whole man that sinned, without excepting any part. For what could be more just, than that he who had sinned in his whole person, should die in his whole person? Or, on the other hand, what could be more absurd than that the mind, which is the part principally offending, should escape the threatened death; and that the body alone, to which immortality was equally allotted, before death came into the world by sin,⁶ should pay the penalty of sin by undergoing death, though not implicated in the transgression?

¶6It is evident that the saints and believers of old, the patriarchs, prophets and apostles, without exception, held this doctrine. Jacob. Gen. xxxvii. 35. I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. xlii. 36. Joseph is not. So also Job, ch. iii. 12—18. as an hidden untimely birth I had not been; as infants which never saw light. Compare x. 21. xiv. 10. man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? v. 13. so man lieth down, and riseth not, till the heavens be no more. xvii. 13. if I wait, the grave is mine house. v. 15, 16. where is now my hope?....they shall go down to the bars of the pit. See also many other passages. The belief of David was the same, as is evident from the reason so often given by him for deprecating the approach of death. Psal. vi. 5. in death there is no remembrance of thee; in the grave who shall give thee thanks? See also lxxxviii. 11—13. cxv. 17. the dead praise not Jehovah. xxxix. 13. before I go hence, and p. 281be no more. cxlvi. 2. while I live will I praise Jehovah. Certainly if he had believed that his soul would survive, and be received immediately into heaven, he would have abstained from all such remonstrances, as one who was shortly to take his flight where he might praise God unceasingly. It appears that the belief of Peter respecting David was the same as David's belief respecting himself: Acts ii. 29, 34. let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day ....for David is not ascended into the heavens. Again, it is evident that Hezekiah fully believed that he should die entirely, where he laments that it is impossible to praise God in the grave. Isai. xxxviii. 18, 19. for the grave cannot praise thee; death cannot celebrate thee; they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth: the living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day. God himself bears testimony to the same truth. Isai. lvii. 1, 2. the righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come: he shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds. Jer. xxxi. 15. compared with Matt. ii. 18. Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not. Thus also Daniel, ch. xii. 2. many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. It is on the same principle that Christ himself proves God to be a God of the living, Luke xx. 37, &c. arguing from their future resurrection; for if they were then living, it would not necessarily follow from his argument that there would be a resurrection of the body: hence he says John xi. 25. I am the resurrection and the life. Accordingly he declares expressly, that there is not even a place appointed for the abode of the saints in heaven, till the resurrection: John xiv. 2, 3. I go to prepare a place for you: and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. There is no sufficient reason for interpreting this of the body; it is clear therefore that it was spoken, and should be understood, of the reception of the soul and spirit conjointly with the body into heaven, and that not till the coming of the Lord. So likewise Luke xx. 35. Acts vii. 60. when he p. 282had said this, he fell asleep. xxiii. 6. the hope and resurrection of the dead; that is, the hope of the resurrection, which was the only hope the apostle professed to entertain. Thus also xxiv. 21. xxvi. 6—8. 1 Cor. xv. 17—19. if Christ be not raised (which resurrection took place for the very purpose that mankind might likewise rise again) then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ, are perished; whence it appears that there were only two alternatives, one of which must ensue; either they must rise again, or perish: for if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable; which again indicates that we must either believe in the resurrection, or have our hope in this life only. v. 29, 30. if the dead rise not at all, why stand we in jeopardy every hour? v. 32. let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die; that is, die altogether, for otherwise the argument would have no force. In the verses which follow, from v. 42. to v. 50. the reasoning proceeds on the supposition that there are only two states, the mortal and the immortal, death and resurrection; not a word is said of any intermediate condition. Nay, Paul himself affirms that the crown of righteousness which was laid up for him was not to be received before that last day: 2 Tim. iv. 8. henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. If a crown were laid up for the apostle, it follows that it was not to be received immediately after death. At what time then was it to be received? At the same time when it was to be conferred on the rest of the saints, that is, not till the appearance of Christ in glory. Philipp. ii. 16. that I may rejoice in the day of Christ. iii. 11. if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. v. 20, 21. our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. Our conversation therefore is in heaven, not where we are now dwelling, but in that place from whence we look for the coming of the Saviour, who shall conduct us thither. Luke xx. 35, 36. they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, &c. ...for they are equal p. 283unto the angels...being the children of the resurrection,—that is, when they finally become such; whence it follows, that previous to the resurrection they are not admitted to that heavenly world.

¶7Thus far proof has been given of the death of the whole man. But lest recourse should be had to the sophistical distinction, that although the whole man dies, it does not therefore follow that the whole of man should die, I proceed to give similar proof with regard to each of the parts, the body, the spirit, and the soul, according to the division above stated.

¶7 cont.–8First, then, as to the body, no one doubts that it suffers privation of life. Nor will the same be less evident as regards the spirit, if it be allowed that the spirit, according to the doctrine laid down in the seventh chapter, has no participation in the divine nature, but is purely human; and that no reason can be assigned, why, if God has sentenced to death the whole of man that sinned, the spirit, which is the part principally offending, should be alone exempt from the appointed punishment; especially since, previous to the entrance of sin into the world, all parts of man was alike immortal; and that since that time, in pursuance of God's denunciation, all have become equally subject to death.⁷ But to come to the proofs. The Preacher himp. 284self, the wisest of men, expressly denies that the spirit is exempt from death: iii. 18—20. as the beast dieth, so dieth the man; yea, they have all one breath .... all go unto one place. And in the twenty-first verse, he condemns the ignorance of those who venture to affirm that the way of the spirits of men and of beasts after death is different: who knoweth the spirit of man, an sursum ascendat, whether it goeth upward?⁸ Psal. cxlvi. 4. his breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Now the thoughts are in the mind and the spirit, not in the body; and if they perish, we must conclude that the mind and spirit undergo the same fate as the body. 1 Cor. v. 5. that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus: the apostle does not say in the day of death, but in the day of the Lord.

¶8 cont.Lastly, there is abundant testimony to prove that the soul (whether we understand by this term the whole human composition, or whether it is to be considered as synonymous with the spirit) is subject to death, natural as well as violent. Numb. xxiii. 10. let me (anima mea, Lat. Vulg.) die the death of the righteous. Such are the words of Balaam, who, though not the most upright of prophets, yet in this instance uttered the words which the Lord put into his mouth; v. 9. Job xxxiii. 18. he keepeth back his soul from the pit. xxxvi. 14. they (anima eorum, Lat. Vulg.) die in youth. Psal. xxii. 20. deliver my soul from the sword. lxxviii. 50. he spared not their soul from death. lxxxix. 48. shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? xciv. 17. my soul had almost dwelt in silence. Hence man himself, p. 285when dead, is spoken of under the name of the soul; Lev. xix. 28. Hebr. and xxi. 1, 11. neither shall he go in to any dead body (soul, Hebr.) Isai. xxxviii. 17. thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption. The just and sufficient reason assigned above for the death of the soul, is the same which is given by God himself; Ezek. xviii. 20. the soul that sinneth, it shall die: and therefore, on the testimony of the prophet and the apostle, as well as of Christ himself, the soul even of Christ was for a short time subject unto death on account of our sins: Psal. xvi. 10. compared with Acts ii. 27, 28, 31. his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Matt. xxvi. 38. my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Nor do we anywhere read that the souls assemble, or are summoned to judgement, from heaven or from hell, but that they are all called out of the tomb, or at least that they were previously in the state of the dead. John v. 28, 29. the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. In this passage those who rise again, those who hear, those who come forth, are all described as being in the graves, the righteous as well as the wicked. 1 Cor. xv. 52. the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised. 1 Thess. iv. 13—17. but I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope: for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him: for this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep; for the Lord himself shall descend, &c. ... and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them into the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord. They were asleep; but the lifeless body does not sleep, unless inanimate matter can be said to sleep. That ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope,—but why should they sorrow and have no hope, if they believed that their souls would be in a state of salvation and happiness even before the resurrection, whatever might become of the body? The rest of the world, indeed, who had no hope, might with reason p. 286despair concerning the soul as well as the body, because they did not believe in the resurrection; and therefore it is to the resurrection that Paul directs the hope of all believers. Them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him; that is, to heaven from the grave. We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. But there would have been no reason to fear lest the survivors should prevent them, if they who were asleep had long since been received into heaven; in which case the latter would not come to meet the Lord, but would return with him. We however which are alive shall be caught up together with them, not after them, and so shall we ever be with the Lord, namely, after, not before the resurrection. And then at length the wicked shall be severed from among the just, Matt. xiii. 49. Dan. xii. 2. many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. In such a sleep I should suppose Lazarus to have been lying, if it were asked whither his soul betook itself during those four days of death. For I cannot believe that it would have been called back from heaven to suffer again the inconveniences of the body, but rather that it was summoned from the grave, and roused from the sleep of death. The words of Christ themselves lead to this conclusion: John xi. 11, 13. our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep: howbeit Jesus spake of his death: which death, if the miracle were true, must have been real. This is confirmed by the circumstances of Christ's raising him; v. 43. he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. If the soul of Lazarus, that is, if Lazarus himself was not within the grave, why did Christ call on the lifeless body which could not hear? If it were the soul which he addressed, why did he call it from a place where it was not? Had he intended to intimate that the soul was separated from the body, he would have directed his eyes to the quarter whence the soul of Lazarus might be expected to return, namely, from heaven: for to call from the grave what is not there, is like seeking the living among the dead, which the angel reprehended as ignorance in the disciples, Luke xxiv. 5. The same is apparent in the raising of the widow's son: Luke vii. 14.

¶9p. 287 On the other hand, those who assert that the soul is exempt from death, and that when divested of the body, it wings its way, or is conducted by angels, directly to its appointed place of reward or punishment, where it remains in a separate state of existence to the end of the world, found their belief principally on the following passages of Scripture. Psal. xlix. 15. God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave. But this proves rather that the soul enters the grave with the body, as was shown above, from whence it needs to be redeemed, namely, at the resurrection, when God shall receive it, as follows in the same verse. As for the remainder, their redemption ceaseth for ever, v. 8. and they are like the beasts that perish, v. 12, 14.

¶10The second text is Eccles. xii. 7. the spirit shall return unto God that gave it. But neither does this prove what is required; for the phrase, the spirit returning to God, must be understood with considerable latitude; since the wicked do not return to God at death, but depart far from him. The preacher had moreover said before, iii. 20. all go unto one place; and God is said both to have given, and to gather unto himself the spirit of every living thing, whilst the body returns to dust, Job xxxiv. 14, 15. if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust. See also Psal. civ. 29, 30. Euripides in the Suppliants has, without being aware of it, given a far better interpretation of this passage than the commentators in question.⁹ p. 288ὅθεν δ' ἕκαστον εἰς τὸ φῶς¹ ἀφίκετο, / ἐνταῦθ' ἀπελθεῖν, πνεῦμα μὲν πρὸς αἰθέρα, / τὸ σῶμα δ' εἰς γῆν—. 532. Edit. Beck. Each various part / That constitutes the frame of man, returns / Whence it was taken; to th' ethereal sky / The soul, the body to its earth. Line 599. Potter's Transl. that is, every constituent part returns at dissolution to its elementary principle. This is confirmed by Ezek. xxxvii. 9. come from the four winds, O breath; it is certain therefore that the spirit of man must have previously departed thither from whence it is now summoned to return. Hence perhaps originates the expression in Matt. xxiv. 31. they shall gather together the elect from the four winds. For why should not the spirits of the elect be as easily gathered together as the smallest particles of their bodies, sometimes most widely dispersed throughout different countries? In the same manner is to be understood 1 Kings xvii. 21. let this child's soul come into him again. This however is a form of speech applied to fainting in general: Judges xv. 19. his spirit came again, and he revived. See also 1 Sam. xxx. 12. For there are many passages of Scripture, some of which have been already quoted, which undoubtedly represent the dead as devoid of all vital existence; but what was advanced above respecting the death of the spirit affords a sufficient answer to the objection.

¶11The third passage is Matt. x. 28. fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. It may be answered that, properly speaking, the body cannot be killed, as being in itself a thing inanimate: the body therefore, as is common in Scripture, must be taken for the whole human compound, or for the animal and temporal life; the soul for that spiritual life with which we shall be clothed after the p. 289end of the world, as appears from the remainder of the verse, and from 1 Cor. xv. 44.

¶12The fourth text is Philipp. i. 23. having a desire to depart (cupiens dissolvi, having a desire for dissolution) and to be with Christ. But, to say nothing of the uncertain and disputed sense of the word ἀναλῦσαι, which signifies anything rather than dissolution,² it may be answered, that although Paul desired to obtain immediate possession of heavenly perfection and glory, in like manner as every one is desirous of attaining as soon as possible to that, whatever it may be, which he regards as the ultimate object of his being, it by no means follows that, when the soul of each individual leaves the body, it is received immediately either into heaven or hell. For he had a desire to be with Christ; that is, at his appearing, which all the believers hoped and expected was then at hand. In the same manner one who is going on a voyage desires to set sail and to arrive at the destined port, (such is the order in which his wishes arrange themselves) omitting all notice of the intermediate passage. If, however, it be true that there is no time without motion, which Aristotle illustrates by the example of those who were fabled to have slept in the temple of the heroes, and who, on awaking, imagined that the moment in which they awoke had succeeded without an interval to that in which they fell asleep;^3-2 how much more must intervening time be annihilated to the p. 290departed, so that to them to die and to be with Christ will seem to take place at the same moment? Christ himself, however, expressly indicates the time at which we shall be with him; John xiv. 3. if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

¶13The fifth text evidently favours my view of the subject: 1 Pet. iii. 19. by which also he went and preached to the spirits that are in prison, literally, in guard, or, as the Syriac version renders it, in sepulchro, in the grave, which means the same; for the grave is the common guardian of all till the day of judgement. What therefore the apostle says more fully, iv. 5, 6. who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead; for, for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, he expresses in this place by a metaphor, the spirits that are in guard; it follows, therefore, that the spirits are dead.

¶14The sixth text is Rev. vi. 9. I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain. I answer, that in the Scripture idiom the soul is generally often put for the whole animate body, and that in this passage it is used for the souls of those who were not yet born; unless indeed the fifth seal was already opened in the time of John: in the same manner as in the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Luke xvi. though Christ, for the sake of the lesson to be conveyed, speaks of that as present which was not to take place till after the day of judgement, and describes the dead as placed in two distinct states, he by no means intimates any separation of the soul from the body.

¶15The seventh text is Luke xxiii. 43. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. This passage p. 291has on various accounts occasioned so much trouble, that some have not hesitated to alter the punctuation, as if it had been written, I say unto thee to-day;^4-2 that is, although I seem to-day the most despised and miserable of all men, yet I declare to thee and assure thee, that thou shalt hereafter be with me in paradise, that is, in some pleasant place, (for properly speaking paradise is not heaven) or in the spiritual state allotted to the soul and body. The same expedient has been resorted to Matt. xxvii. 52, 53. At the time of the earthquake, on the same day (not three days after, as is generally supposed) the graves were opened, the dead arose and came out, v. 52. καὶ ἐξελθόντες, and having come out, at length after the resurrection of Christ they went into the holy city; for so, according to Erasmus, the ancient Greeks pointed the passage;^5-2 and with this the Syriac agrees: et egressi sunt, et post resurrectionem ejus ingressi sunt, &c. That spiritual state in which the souls as well as bodies of the arising saints previously abode, might not improperly be called paradise; and it was in this state, as appears to me, that the penitent thief was united to the other saints without punishment for sin. Nor is it necessary to take the word to-day in its strict acceptation, but rather for a short time, as in 2 Sam. xvi. 3. Heb. iii. 7. However this may be, so much clear evidence should not be rejected on account of a single passage, of which it is not easy to give a satisfactory interpretation.

¶16The eighth text is the forty-sixth verse of the same chapter; into thy hands I commend my spirit. But the spirit is not therefore separated from the body, or incapable of death; for David uses the same p. 292language Psal. xxxi. 5. although he was not then about to die: into thine hand I commit my spirit, while it was yet abiding in, and with, the body. So Stephen, Acts vii. 59. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit ...... and when he had said this, he fell asleep. It was not the bare spirit divested of the body that he commended to Christ, but the whole spirit and soul and body, as it is expressed 1 Thess. v. 23. Thus the spirit of Christ was to be raised again with the body on the third day, while that of Stephen was to be reserved till the appearing of the Lord. So 1 Pet. iv. 19. let them commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing.

¶17The ninth passage is 2 Cor. v. 1—20. It is sufficiently apparent, however, that the object of this passage is not to inculcate the separation of the soul from the body, but to contrast the animal and terrestrial life of the whole man with the spiritual and heavenly. Hence in the first verse the house of this tabernacle is opposed, not to the soul, but to a building of God, an house not made with hands, that is, to the final renewal of the whole man, as Beza also explains it,^6-2 whereby we are clothed upon in the heavens, being clothed...not naked, v. 3. This distinctly appears from the fourth verse: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. See also v. 5. now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God; not for the separation of the soul from the body, but for the perfecting of both. Wherefore the clause in the eighth verse, to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord, must be understood of the consummation of our happiness; and the body must be taken for this frail life, as is common in the sacred writers, and the absence spoken of v. 9. for our eternal departure to an heavenly world; or perhaps to be at home in the body, and to be absent from the Lord, v. 6. p. 293may mean nothing more than to be entangled in worldly affairs, and to have little leisure for heavenly things; the reason of which is given v. 7. for we walk by faith, not by sight: whence it follows, v. 8. we are confident and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord; that is, to renounce worldly things as much as possible, and to be occupied with things heavenly. The ninth verse proves still more clearly that the expressions to be present and to be absent both refer to this life: wherefore we labour that whether present or absent, we may be accepted of God: for no one supposes that the souls of men are occupied from the time of death to that of the resurrection in endeavours to render themselves acceptable to God in heaven; that is the employment of the present life, and its reward is not to be looked for till the second coming of Christ. For the apostle says, v. 10. we must all appear before the judgement-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. There is consequently no recompense of good or bad after death, previous to the day of judgement. Compare 1 Cor. xv. the whole of which chapter throws no small light on this passage. The same sense is to be ascribed to 2 Pet. i. 13—15; as long as I am in this tabernacle, &c. that is, in this life. It is however unnecessary to prolong this discussion, as there is scarcely one of the remaining passages of Scripture which has not been already explained by anticipation.

¶18The fourth and last degree of death, is DEATH ETERNAL, THE PUNISHMENT OF THE DAMNED; which will be considered in the twenty-seventh chapter.