possible in relation to the Agent upon any deficiency of knowledge how to effect it.

And as the wisdom is infinite, so the power of this Agent is illimited; for God is as much omnipotent as omniscient. There can be no opposition made against him, because all power is his; nor can he receive a check against whom there is no resistance: all creatures must not only suffer, but do what he will have them; they are not only passively, but actively obediential. There is no atom of the dust or ashes but must be where it pleaseth God, and be applied and make up what and how it seemeth good to him. The resurrection therefore cannot be impossible in relation unto God upon any disability to effect it, and consequently there is no impossibility in reference to the agent, or him who is to raise us.

Secondly, The resurrection is not impossible in relation to the patient, because where we look upon the power of God, nothing can be impossible but that which involveth a contradiction, as we before have proved; and there can be no contradiction in this, that he which was, and now is not, should hereafter be what before he was. It is so far from a repugnancy, that it rather containeth a rational and apparent possibility, that man who was once dust, becoming dust, should become man again. Whatsoever we lose in death, is not lost to God: as no creature could be made out of nothing but by him, so can it not be reduced into nothing but by the same: though therefore the parts of the body of man be dissolved, yet they perish not; they lose not their own entity when they part with their relation to humanity; they are laid up in the secret places,* and lodged in the chambers of nature, and it is no more a contradiction that they should become the parts of the same body of man to which they did belong, than that after his death they should become the parts of any other body, as we see they do. Howsoever they are scattered, or wheresoever lodged, they are within the knowledge and power of God,† and can have no repugnancy by their separation to be reunited when and how he pleaseth.

* Non sola anima seponitur: habet et caro suos sinus interim, in aquis, in alitibus, in ignibus, in bestiis; cum in hæc dissolvi videtur, velut in vasa transfunditur.' Tertull. de Resur. carnis, c. 63. Tu perire et Deo credis, si quid oculis nostris hebetibus subtrahitur? Corpus omne, sive arescit in pulverem, sive in humorem solvitur, vel in cinerem comprimitur, vel in nidorem tenuatur, subducitur nobis, sed Deo elementorum custodi reservatur.' Minutius Felix in Octavio, c. 34. 'Omnia quæ discerpuntur, et in favillas quasdam putrescunt, integra Deo sunt; in illa enim elementa

mundi eunt, unde primo venerunt.' S. Angust. in Psal, enarrat. 62. §. 6.

+ Absit autem ut ad resuscitanda corpora vitæque reddenda non possit omnipotentia Creatoris omnia revocare quæ vel bestia vel ignis absumpsit, vel in pulverem cineremque collapsum, vel in humorem solutum, vel in auras est exhalatum. Absit ut sinus ullus, secretumque naturæ ita recipiat aliquid subtractum sensibus nostris, ut omnium Creatoris aut lateat cognitionem, aut effugiat potestatem.' S. August. de Civitate Dei, I. xxii. c. 20.

The first dust of which man was made, was as far from being flesh as any ashes now or dust can be; it was only an omnipotent power which could mould that into a human body, and breathe into the nostrils of it the breath of life. The same power therefore, which must always be, can still make of the dust returning from the bodies of men unto the earth, human bones and flesh, as well as of the dust which first came from the earth: for if it be not easier, it is most certainly as easy to make that to be again which once hath been, as to make that to be which before was not.* When there was no man, God made him of the earth; and therefore when he returns to earth, the same God can make him man again. The resurrection therefore cannot be impossible, which is our first conclusion.

Secondly, The resurrection is not only in itself possible, so that no man with any reason can absolutely deny it; but it is also upon many general considerations highly probable, so that all men may very rationally expect it. If we consider the principles of humanity, the parts of which we all consist, we cannot conceive this present life to be proportionable to our composition. The souls of men as they are immaterial, so they are immortal; and being once created by the Father of spirits, they receive a subsistence for eternity; the body is framed by the same God to be a companion for his spirit, and a man born into the world consisteth of these two. Now the life of the most aged person is but short, and many far ignobler creatures of a longer duration. Some of the fowls of the air, several of the fishes of the sea, many of the beasts of the field, divers of the plants of the earth, are of a more durable constitution, and outlive the sons of men. And can we think that such material and mortal, that such inunderstanding souls should by God and nature be furnished with bodies of so long permansion, and that our spirits should be joined unto flesh so subject to corruption, so suddenly dissolvable, were it not that they lived but once, and so enjoyed that life for a

Recogita quid fueris, antequam tionem carnis faciliorem credas instiesses; utique nibil. Meminisses enim, tutione.' Idem, de Resur. carn. c. 11. si quid fuisses. Qui ergo nihil fueras 'Difficilius est id quod non sit incipriusquam esses, idem nihil factus pere, quam id quod fuerit iterare.' cum esse desieris, cur non possis esse Minutius Felix in Octavio, c. 34. rursus de nihilo, ejusdem Auctoris vo- 'Utique plus est facere quod nunluntate, qui te voluit esse de nihilo? quam fuit, quam reparare quod fuerit. Quid novi tibi eveniet? Qui non eras, Quomodo ergo impossibile esse dicis, factus es; cum iterum non eris, fies. ut Deus, qui hominem formavit ex niRedde, si potes, rationem qua factus hilo, reformet? Quomodo nos suscies, et tunc require qua fies. Et tamen tare non potest conversos in pulverem, facilius utique fies, quod fuisti ali- qui etiamsi in nihilum rediremus, faquando, quia æque non difficile factus cere poterat ut essemus, sicut et fecit es, quod nunquam fuisti aliquando.' nos esse, cum antea nunquam fuisseTertull. Apol. c. 48. Utique ido- mus?' S. August. de verbis Apost. neus est reficere, qui fecit. Quanto Serm. 34. al. 109. append. §. 3. plus est fecisse quam refecisse, initium To the same purpose the Jews, dedisse quam reddidisse; ita restitu

דלא חוו הוו דהוו לא כל שכן:

longer season, and then went soul and body to the same destruction, never to be restored to the same subsistence? but when the soul of man, which is immortal, is forced from its body in a shorter time, nor can by any means continue with it half the years which many other creatures live, it is because this is not the only life belonging to the sons of men, and so the soul may at a shorter warning leave the body which it shall resume again.

Again, If we look upon ourselves as men, we are free agents, and therefore capable of doing good or evil, and consequently ordinable unto reward or punishment. The angels who are above us, and did sin, received their punishment without a death, because being only spirits they were subject to no other dissolution than annihilation, which cannot consist with longer suffering punishment; those who continued in their station were rewarded and confirmed for all eternity: and thus all the angels are incapable of a resurrection. The creatures which are below us, and for want of freedom cannot sin, or act any thing morally either good or evil, they cannot deserve after this life either to be punished or rewarded, and therefore when they die they continue in the state of death for ever. Thus those who are above'us shall not rise from the dead, because they are punished or rewarded without dying; and where no death is, there can be no resurrection from the dead. Those which are below us, are neither capable of reward or punishment for any thing acted in this life, and therefore though they die, yet shall they never rise, because there is no reason for their resurrection. But man by the nobleness of his better part being free to do what is good or evil while he liveth, and by the frailty of his body being subject to death, and yet after that, being capable in another world to receive a reward for what he hath done well, and a punishment for what he hath done ill in the flesh, it is necessary that he should rise from the dead to enjoy the one, or suffer the other. For there is not only no just retribution rendered in this life to man, but considering the ordinary condition of things, it cannot be. For it is possible, and often cometh to pass, that one man may commit such sins as all the punishments in this world can no way equalize them.* It is just, that he who sheddeth man's blood, by man his blood should be shed; but what death can sufficiently retaliate the many murders committed by one notorious pirate, who may cast many thousands over board; or the rapines or assassinations of one rebel or tyrant, who may destroy whole nations? It is fit that he who blasphemeth God should die; but what equivalent punishment can he receive in this life, who shall constantly blaspheme the name of God, destroy his priests and temples,

* Παρίημι γὰρ λέγειν ὅτι σωζομένης τῆς φύσεως, ἐν ᾗ νῦν ἔσμεν, οὔθ ̓ ἡ θνητὴ φύσις ἐνεγκεῖν οἷά τε ἦν τὴν σύμμετρον

δίκην πλειόνων ἢ βαρυτέρων φερομένων πλημμελημάτων. Athenagoras, de Resurrect. Mort. p. 62.

abolish his worship, and extirpate his servants? What is then more proper, considering the providence of a most just God, than to believe that man shall suffer in another life such torments as will be proportionable to his demerits? Nor can we with reason think, that the soul alone shall undergo those sufferings, because the laws which were given to us are not made in respect of that alone, but have most frequent reflection on the body, without which in this life the soul can neither do nor suffer any thing. It is therefore highly probable, from the general consideration of human actions and divine retributions, that there shall be a "resurrection of the flesh, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (2 Cor. v. 10.)

Furthermore, Beside the principles of which we consist, and the actions which flow from us, the consideration of the things without us, and the natural course of variations in the creature, will render the resurrection yet more highly probable. Every space of twenty-four hours teacheth thus much, in which there is always a revolution amounting to a resurrection. The day dies into night, and is buried in silence and in darkness;+ in the next morning it appeareth again and reviveth, opening the grave of darkness, rising from the dead of night: this is a diurnal resurrection. As the day dies into the night, so doth the summer into winter; the sap is said to descend into the root, and there it lies buried in the ground; the earth is covered with snow, or crusted with frost, and be

'Quod congruet judicari, hoc competit etiam resuscitari.' Tertull. de Resurrectione carnis, c. 14. Negent operarum societatem, ut merito possint mercedem negare. Non sit particeps in sententia caro, si non fuerit et in causa. Sola anima revocetur, si sola decedit. At enim non magis sola decedit, quam sola decucurrit illud unde decedit; vitam hanc dico.' Ibid. c. 15. Cum omnis vitæ nostræ usus in corporis animæque consortio sit, resurrectio autem aut boni actus præmium habcat aut poenam improbi, necesse est corpus resurgere cujus actus expenditur. Quomodo enim in judicium vocabitur sine corpore, cum de suo et corporis contubernio ratio præstanda sit?' S. Ambros. de fide Resur

† Κατανόησον τὴν τῶν καιρῶν καὶ ἡμερῶν καὶ νυκτῶν τελευτὴν, πῶς καὶ αὐτὰ τελευτᾷ καὶ ἀνίσταται. S.Theophil. Antioch. ad Autol. l. i. p. 77. Dies moritur in noctem et tenebris usquequaque sepelitur. Funcstatur mundi honor; omnis substantia denigratur.

Sordent, silent, stupent cuncta; ubique justitium est, quies rerum: ita lux amissa lugetur, et tamen rursus cum suo cultu, cum dote, cum sole, eadem et integra et tota universo orbi reviviscit, interficiens mortem suam noctem, rescindens sepulturam suam tenebras, hæres sibimet exsistens, donec et nox reviviscat, cum suo et illa suggestu. Redaccenduntur enim et stellarum radii, quos matutina succensio exstinxerat. Reducuntur et siderum absentiæ, quas temporalis distinctio exemerat. Redornantur et specula lunæ, quæ menstruus numerus attriverat.' Tertull. de Resur. carn. c. 12. Lux quotidie interfecta resplendet, et tenebræ pari vice decedendo succedunt; sidera defuncta vivescunt; tempora ubi finiuntur inci, piunt; fructus consummantur et redeunt. Idem, Apol. c. 48. Δύνει ἡ ἡμέρα, καὶ νεκρῶν αἰνιττόμεθα τὸν τρό που, κοιμισμὸν αἰνιττομένης· ἀνατέλλει ἡ ἡμέρα ἡμᾶς διυπνίζουσα καὶ ἀναστάσεως vodevovoa rò onμeiov. S. Epiphan.in Ancorato, §. 84.

comes a general sepulchre: when the spring appeareth, all begin to rise; the plants and flowers peep out of their graves, revive, and grow, and flourish: this is the annual resurrection. The corn by which we live, and for want of which we perish with famine, is notwithstanding cast upon the earth and buried in the ground, with a design that it may corrupt, and being corrupted may revive and multiply; our bodies are fed with this constant experiment, and we continue this present life by succession of resurrections. Thus all things are repaired by corrupting, are preserved by perishing, and revive by dying; and can we think that man, the lord of all these things which thus die and revive for him, should be detained in death as never to live again? Is it imaginable that God should thus restore all things to man, and not restore man to himself? If there were no other consideration, but of the principles of human nature, of the liberty and remunerability of human actions, and of the natural revolutions and resurrections of other creatures, it were abundantly sufficient to render the resurrection of our bodies highly probable.

We must not rest in this school of nature, nor settle our persuasions upon likelihoods; but as we passed from an apparent possibility, unto a high presumption and probability, so must we pass from thence unto a full assurance of an infallible certainty. And of this indeed we cannot be assured but by the revelation of the will of God; upon his power we must conclude that we may, from his will that we shall, rise from the dead. Now the power of God is known unto all men, and therefore all men may infer from thence a possibility; but the will of God is not revealed unto all men, and therefore all have not an infallible certainty of the resurrection. For the grounding of which assurance, I shall shew that God hath 'Omnia pereundo servantur, omnia de interitu reformantur. Tu homo, tantum nomen, si intelligas te, vel de titulo Pythiæ discens, dominus omnium morientium et resurgentium, ad hoc morieris ut pereas?' Tertull. Apol. c. 48. 'Revolvuntur hyemes et æstates, et verna aut autumna, cum suis viribus, moribus, fructibus. Quippe etiam terræ de cœlo disciplina est arbores vestire post spolia, flores denuo colorare, herbas rursus imponere, exhibere eadem quæ absumpta sunt semina; nec prius exhibere quam absumpta. Mira ratio, de fraudatrice servatrix, ut reddat intercipit, ut custodiat perdit, ut integret vitiat, ut etiam ampliet prius decoquit. Siquidem uberiora et cultiora restituit, quam exterminavit: revera foenore interitu, et injuria usura, et lucro da mno. Semel dixerim, universa conditio recidiva est. Quodcunque convene

ris, fuit; quodcunque amiseris, nihil non iterum est. Omnia in statum redeunt, cum abscesserint; omnia incipiunt, cum desierint: ideo finiuntur ut fiant; nihil deperit nisi in salutem. Totus igitur hic ordo revolubilis rerum testatio est resurrectionis mortuorum. Operibus eam præscripsit Deus antequam literis, viribus prædicavit antequam vocibus. Præmisit tibi naturam magistram, submissurus et prophetiam, quo facilius credas prophetiæ discipulus naturæ ; quo statim admittas cum audieris, quod ubique jam videris, nec dubites Deum carnis etiam resuscitatorem, quem omnium noris restitutorem. Et utique si omnia homini resurgunt, cui procurata sunt: porro non homini, nisi et carni, quale est ut ipsa depereat in totum, propter quam et cui nihil deperit?' Idem, de Resurrect, carn. c. 12.