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ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, HOMILY 1. Previously we discoursed with you concerning doctrines and the glory of the only-begotten Son of God, silencing those who destroy His worth and alienate Him from the One who begot Him; today I wish to exercise a more ethical discourse, and to make the whole exhortation about life and conduct; or rather, this discourse will not be ethical only, but doctrinal as well; for I am preparing to descend into the subject of the resurrection. This subject is a varied one, at once correcting us in doctrines, and regulating our life, and freeing the providence of God from every accusation. And just as, when it is disbelieved, it overturns our life, and fills it with countless evils, and turns things upside down; so, when it is believed, it brings in for us the arguments concerning Providence, and prepares us to take great care for virtue, and to flee from vice with much zeal, and fills all things with calm and peace. For the one who does not expect to rise again, nor to give an account of the things done by him here, but thinks that our affairs stand only as far as the present life, and that there is nothing more beyond, will not take care for virtue; for how could he, when he expects no recompense laid up for him for his labors? Nor will he abstain from vice, expecting to undergo no punishment for the evils done by him; but giving himself over to shameful desires, he will proceed to every form of wickedness.

But the one who has persuaded himself concerning the coming judgment, and keeps that fearful tribunal before his eyes, along with the inexorable accounts and the verdict that admits no evasion, will in every way endeavor to hold fast to chastity and equity and the rest of virtue, and to flee from licentiousness and recklessness and all the rest of wickedness; and this man will be able from this source to stop the mouths of those who accuse the providence of God, with great abundance. For when some, seeing that the equitable and chaste and those living in righteousness are oppressed by poverty, abused, slandered, scarcely obtaining the necessary food, and often wasted away by long disease and grievous sicknesses, and obtaining no protection, while men who are sorcerers and vile and full of many evils are clothed in wealth, live in luxury, wear splendid garments, drag along a great swarm of servants, are admired, enjoy power, and possess great boldness of speech before the king—when, then, some on account of these things accuse the providence of God and say, Where is this providence? Where is the righteous judgment? The chaste and equitable man is in evils, the licentious and corrupt man is in good things; and this man is admired, while that man is despised; this man enjoys great luxury, that man is in poverty and the worst evils—the one who doubts concerning the things to come will be silenced, and will say nothing at all; but the one who knows how to philosophize concerning the resurrection will easily restrain the blasphemy, and will say to those who are indignant at such things:

Cease sharpening your own tongue against God who made you. For our affairs do not stand only until the present life, but we hasten toward another life, far longer, or rather having no end; and there, certainly, this poor man who lives with righteousness will receive the recompense for these labors, while the dissolute and the deceiver will pay the penalty for this wickedness and unjust luxury. Therefore let us not judge concerning God's providence from present things only, but also from things to come. For the present is a contest and a wrestling pit and a stadium, while the things to come are prizes and crowns and awards. Just as the athlete must struggle in the wrestling pit and sweat and dust and great heat and labors and hardships, so also the righteous man here must endure many things and bear all nobly, if indeed he is to receive those bright crowns there. But if the prosperities of the wicked disturb some, let them again consider this also concerning these things: that, just as robbers and tomb-breakers and murderers and pirates who sail the sea, before they enter the courtroom, enjoy much luxury, making others' misfortunes their own prosperity, and acquiring unjust wealth, and getting drunk every day—but when they come under the judge's verdicts, they pay the penalty for all those things—

Thus also these men who buy harlots, and set out Sybaritic tables, and lift up their brows, and swagger about in the marketplace, and tear the poor to pieces—when the only-begotten Son of God comes with his own angels, and sits upon that judgment seat, and brings the whole inhabited world into the midst, they will be brought in naked and destitute of all their fancy, having no advocate or protector, and will be carried away without any pardon into the rivers of fire. Do not, then, call these men blessed because of their luxury here, but weep because of the punishment to come; nor call the righteous man wretched because of his poverty here, but call him blessed because of the wealth of good things to come, and root the doctrine of the resurrection in your own mind, so that, even if you are good and are tempted, you may become more approved, receiving greater eagerness through the hopes to come; and even if you are wicked, you may depart from your wickedness, making yourself more temperate through the fear of the coming punishment.

2. For this reason Paul also continually brings up for us the argument concerning the resurrection, just as you heard him today crying out and saying: "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building of God, not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens." But rather let us carry the argument further back, and let us see from what source he fell into the argument concerning the resurrection. For it is not without reason, nor by chance, that he continually brings up this teaching; but at once wishing to teach the things to come, and desiring to strengthen the athletes of piety. For now, indeed, through the grace of God we enjoy great peace; for kings live in piety, and rulers have come to know the truth, and peoples and cities and nations, having been released from error, all worship Christ. But then, at the beginning of the preaching, when the seeds of piety were just being sown, the war was great and varied and manifold. For rulers and kings and household members and relatives and all were warring against the faithful, and the war was stirred up even through nature itself. For a father often handed over his child, and a mother her daughter, and a master his servant. For not only cities, nor regions, but even households often fought among themselves; and the tumult that prevailed then was harsher than any civil war. For both property was plundered, and freedom was betrayed, and the danger hung over life itself—not with barbarians rushing in and committing outrages, but with those who seemed to preside and rule treating their subjects more harshly than any enemies.

And Paul, showing this, said: You endured a great struggle of sufferings—on the one hand, being made a spectacle with reproaches and afflictions, and on the other, having become partakers with those who were so treated. For you also sympathized with my chains, and you accepted the plundering of your possessions with joy. And he says to the Galatians: You suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain. And to the Thessalonians, and to the Philippians, and simply to all whom he writes, he bears witness to many such things. And it was not only this that was difficult—that the war stirred up from outside was great and continual—but also that among the believers themselves certain scandals and strifes and rivalries and jealousies came to be; and Paul, showing these very things, said: Outside, battles; inside, fears. And this war was more difficult than that one, both for those who were ruled and for the teachers. At any rate, Paul did not fear the plots of enemies as much as the falls within and the lawlessness of his own people. When, then, someone among the Corinthians committed fornication, he continued mourning that whole time, tearing his own heart, and wailing bitterly. There was also a third thing, not less than those mentioned, bringing much toil upon believers: the very nature of affairs, full of many sweats and labors. For the way on which the apostles led them was not easy and smooth, but rough and hard to accomplish, and needing a soul that was philosophical and watchful and exact in every way. For this reason Christ also called it narrow and constricted.

For it was not possible to live without fear, as among the Greeks, in shamefulness and drunkenness and gluttony and luxury and extravagance; but one had to bridle the temper, and master disgraceful desires, and despise wealth, and trample on glory, and be superior to envy and malice. But how great a toil these things provide, those who wrestle with them daily know. For tell me, what is harder than a disgraceful desire, which, like a rabid dog, continually leaps upon us, and day by day troubles us, and needs a soul that is ever watchful? And what is more bitter than anger? For it is sweet to avenge oneself on the one who has wronged us, but this was not permitted. And why do I say that it was not permitted to avenge oneself on the one who has wronged us? One had to do good to those who grieve us, and bless those who revile us, and never let fall even a bitter word; and one had to display chastity, not only as far as deeds, but also as far as thought. For one must abstain not only from the licentious act itself, but also from such a sight, and not even luxuriate in the sights of beautiful women, since for this viewing too they were about to undergo the final judgment. Since, then, the war was great from those outside, great the fear from those within, great the toil toward the working of virtue. And there was also a fourth thing present: the inexperience of those who were about to struggle this great struggle. For the apostles did not receive men who had inherited piety from their ancestors, but men reared in sloth and luxury and drunkenness and shamefulness and licentiousness.

And this was no small factor contributing to the difficulty of their contests: that they had not been trained in this philosophy from the beginning, nor from their ancestors, but were now for the first time stripping for these struggles. 3. Since, then, the difficulty was so great for those who contended at that time, he kept continually bringing forward the discourse concerning the resurrection to console their toil. And he does not only encourage and anoint the athletes in this way, but also by the narration of his own sufferings. Therefore, before falling into the discourses concerning the resurrection, he narrates his own sufferings, saying thus: In every way afflicted, but not distressed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed—by these words making clear the daily deaths, that like living corpses they went about, being delivered over to death every day. When, then, they brought these things upon them, he then brings forward the discourse concerning the resurrection. For we believe, he says, that he who raised our Lord Jesus Christ will also raise us through Jesus and present us with you. Therefore we do not lose heart, having the greatest consolation in our contests, namely the hope of the things to come. And he did not say to them, "Therefore do not lose heart," but what? "Therefore we do not lose heart," showing that he himself was also in the contests continually. For in the Olympic games, the athlete contends within, while the trainer sits far off and brings the help that comes from words, contributing to the wrestler only as much as to shout and speak; but to stand near and to bring the alliance that comes from his hands, no law permits him.

But in the contests of piety it is not so; rather, the same person is both trainer and athlete. For this reason he does not sit outside the wrestling pit, but having thrown himself into the contests themselves, he anoints those who box with him, saying: Therefore we do not lose heart. And he did not say, "Therefore I do not lose heart," but, "Therefore we do not lose heart," wishing to rouse them by his commendations. But even if our outer man is being destroyed, yet the inner man is being renewed day by day. Observe the apostle's understanding. He exhorted them from what they were suffering: that In everything we are afflicted, but not crushed; he exhorted them from the resurrection of Jesus, saying, Because he who raised Jesus will also raise us. Then he brings forward another kind of encouragement as well. For since many people, being somewhat fainthearted and weak and wretched, even if they are convinced about the resurrection, grow slack at the length of the time and become dizzy and fall back, he gives them another reward and recompense before the resurrection. What is this? Even if our outer man is being destroyed, yet the inner man is being renewed day by day—calling the body the outer man, and the soul the inner man. What he is saying is this: Even before you rise, and before you enjoy the glory to come, from here already you have received no small recompense for your labors, since in the very midst of affliction our soul is being renewed, becoming wiser and more devout, acquiring greater endurance, being made more vigorous and stronger.

For just as those who contend in bodily athletic contests, even before the crowns and before the prizes, receive a great reward from the training itself and the wrestling, making their bodies healthier and stronger than they were through training, and escaping every infirmity—so too in the contests of virtue, even before heaven is opened, even before the Son of God comes, even before we receive our recompense, we reap a great reward from this very thing, as our soul becomes more philosophical. For indeed, those who have sailed a great sea, and endured countless waves, and fought with many beasts, and borne many storms, even before their trade itself receive no small profit from this long journey, through their confidence and their daring to venture upon the deep, and to make these sea voyages fearlessly and with pleasure. So too in the present life, the one who has endured many afflictions for Christ, who has suffered many terrible things, even before the kingdom of heaven has received a great recompense, having gained boldness before God already from this point, and having made his own soul more exalted, so as to laugh to scorn all terrible things from then on. But so that what is said may become clearer, I wish to make it evident by an example. For this very Paul himself, having endured countless terrible things, received no small recompenses even from this, laughing to scorn tyrants, rising up against

What could equal this—when, despising every punishment, he remains undaunted before raging mobs, before wild beasts, before iron, before seas, before cliffs, before uprisings, before plots, and before all dreadful things? For the untrained man, who has suffered nothing dreadful, is accustomed to be thrown into confusion even by ordinary things—or rather, not only by the things themselves, but even by bare expectations; and why do I say bare expectations? Shadows frighten and terrify such a man. But he who has stripped himself of everything, entered the contests, and suffered countless dreadful things, is henceforth superior to all, laughing at those who threaten as at cawing jackdaws. This crown is no small one, nor is this reward ordinary—when nothing human can cause him pain, when the things that are fearful to others become contemptible to him, when for the very things at which others shudder and are beside themselves, he is about to laugh, having transferred himself, by the excess of his endurance, to the philosophy of the angelic powers. For if we call that body blessed which can bear cold and heat without distress, and hunger, and want, and journeying, and other hardships, much more must we call that soul blessed which can bear steadfastly and nobly all the assaults of dreadful things, and preserve its own mind unenslaved through all things. Such a man is more kingly than kings themselves.

For that man, bodyguards and friends and enemies could do much harm by plotting and working mischief; but the man who has such a soul as I have just described—no king, no bodyguard, no servant, no friend, no enemy, not even the devil himself, will be able to injure. For how could it be otherwise, when he has trained himself to consider none of the things thought to be terrible as terrible? 4. Such was the blessed Paul; for this reason he said: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For your sake we are put to death all the day long; we were reckoned as sheep for slaughter; but in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Hinting at this very thing here also, he said: Even if our outward man is being destroyed, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. The body becomes weaker, he says, but the soul is stronger and more powerful, and takes wing the more. And just as a soldier who has heavy armor, even if he be exceedingly brave and warlike, would not become formidable to the enemy, since the weight of his armor is hampered by the speed of his feet and his experience in war; but if he takes up light and easily handled arms, he swoops upon his opponents like anything with wings;

Thus also the man who does not fatten his own flesh with drunkenness, nor with luxury and self-indulgence, but makes it lighter and finer by fastings and prayers and by great endurance of afflictions—like some winged creature descending from above—thus with great force falling upon the ranks of the demons, he easily overthrows the opposing powers and makes them subject to him. Thus also Paul, having received many blows and having been thrown into prison and bound in the stocks, had a body weaker, strained by pains, but a soul strong and vigorous; and so strong was he who was bound that by his voice alone he shook the foundations of the prison, and brought the jailer who had been loosed bound at his own feet, and opened the doors that had been shut. Not a small consolation, then, did Paul give us even before the resurrection—that we become better and more philosophical through temptations. Therefore he says: Tribulation works endurance, and endurance proven character, and

Testing produces hope, and hope does not put to shame. And again someone else says: An untested man is unproven, and the unproven man is worth no account. So it is no small fruit we reap from affliction even before the resurrection—namely, having a soul more proven, wiser, and more understanding, and freed from all cowardice. For this reason he says: Even if our outer man is being destroyed, yet our inner man is renewed day by day. How is it renewed, tell me? When all cowardice is driven out, when improper desire is quenched, when love of money, vainglory, and simply all the other corrupted thoughts are done away with. For just as the soul that enjoys idleness and ease is easily caught by these passions, so the soul that has continually devoted itself to the struggles for piety does not even have leisure ever to think on these things, since the care for its contests draws it away from all of them. For this reason he said: It is renewed day by day. Then again, consoling the souls that are grieved by the terrible things brought upon them and do not know how to philosophize, he raises them up through hope in the things to come, saying thus: For the momentary lightness of our affliction works for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, while we look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are not seen. For the things that are seen are temporary, but the things that are not seen are eternal. What he means is this: Above all, then, even here affliction benefits us, making our soul wiser and more philosophical.

After this, it also procures for us countless good things for the future, not equal in weight to our labors, but far greater than our struggles both in quantity and in quality. Paul, I say, making both of these clear, both the exceeding greatness of the dangers and the prizes, makes the comparison and sets the eternal against the momentary, the weight against the light, the glory against the affliction. For the affliction, he says, is temporary and light, but the relief—or rather, he did not say "relief," but "glory," which is far greater than relief, eternal and perpetual and great. And by "weight" here he did not mean the painful and burdensome, but the costly and honorable, according to the custom of many, who are accustomed to call precious things by this term "most weighty." When, then, he says "weight of glory," he means "greatness of glory." Do not, therefore, consider only this, he says, that you are scourged and driven, but also the crowns and the recompenses, that those are far greater and more brilliant than the present things, and have no end or limit. But these things, he says, are in experience, while those are in hope; and these are visible, while those do not appear but hang suspended and aloft; yet even if they are invisible, they are more visible than the things that appear. Why do I say "more visible"? You are able to see those more than these. For these pass away, but those remain. Therefore he added, saying: While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

5. But if you say, "And how will I be able to see the invisible things, and not see the things present?" I will try to lead you to this faith from the things of daily life. For no one would easily touch these perishable affairs in the world without first seeing the invisible things before the visible. What I mean is this: the merchant endures many storms and the rising of waves and shipwrecks and countless hardships, but after the storms he also enjoys wealth, disposing of his cargo and conducting much business. But the storms come first, the cargo afterward; and the seas and the waves are visible once he has left the harbor, but the trade is not visible, for it is still in hopes. Yet nevertheless, unless he first looks toward that invisible and not-present thing, which is not in his hands but in hopes, he would not touch these present and visible things. So too the farmer yokes his oxen, and draws the plow, and cuts a deep furrow, and casts seeds into the ground, and spends all that he has, and endures frost and ice and rains and many other hardships, and after this labor he expects to see the crops flourishing and the threshing floor filled. Do you see how here too the labor comes first, and the reward after these things; and the reward is unclear, but the labor is clear and visible; and that one is in hopes, but this one is in his hands?

But nevertheless, even this man, unless he first looks to that unseen and invisible reward, not seen by the eyes of the body, will not only not yoke oxen, nor drag a plow, nor cast seed, but he will never even stir from home for this labor. How then is it absurd, in the affairs of life, to look at unseen things before visible ones, and to endure toils before rewards, and first bearing all the difficult things, then to await the good things that come from them, and, urged on by the hopes of unseen things, thus to take hold of visible ones; but in the case of God to hesitate and doubt, and to demand rewards before toils, and to appear more fainthearted than farmers and sailors? For we will be shown worse than they not only in this respect, in that we are vexed at what is to come, but also in another not less than this. What is this? That they, though they have no confidence at all about the outcome, not even so do they withdraw from their toils; but you, having a trustworthy guarantor of the crowns, not even so imitate their endurance. For the farmer often, after casting the seed and tending the earth and seeing the crops flourishing, if hail, or rust, or locusts, or some other such plague has come upon them, has fallen short of the reward of his toils, and after many sweats returns home with empty hands. And the merchant again, after running across a great sea bringing his ship fully laden, often at the very mouth of the harbor, when winds have fallen upon him, having dashed against some rock, barely escaped, saving his body naked.

And simply in the case of all worldly things, it is likely that many such disasters often happen at the end. But in the case of your contests this is not so; rather, the one who has contended, who has sown godliness and borne many labors, must by all means attain the end. For God has not entrusted the rewards of these labors to irregularities of the air or to the blasts of winds, but they are laid up in the heavens, in treasures that cannot be plundered. For this reason Paul also said: Tribulation produces endurance, and endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope, and hope does not put to shame. Do not, then, say that the things to come are invisible; for if you wish to examine carefully, they are much more visible than the things in hand. And Paul again, showing us this very thing, calls the one eternal and the other temporary, by “temporary” making clear their corruptibility. For before they appear they fly away, and they run off before they stand still, and their changes are swift, and their possession is untrustworthy. One may see this happening in the case of wealth and glory and power, and in the case of the beauty of bodies, and in the case of strength, and simply in the case of the other worldly things. For this reason the prophet also, mocking those who live in luxury and are mad about money and every other illusion, says, They reckoned these things as standing firm, and not as fleeing. For just as it is impossible to grasp a shadow, so too with worldly affairs; but some are destroyed by their end, and others flow past even before their end, swifter than any winter torrent. But the things to come are not like this.

For it does not know change, does not admit of alteration, does not understand old age, has no variation of any kind, but flourishes continually, and remains in the same comeliness. So that if one must speak of things invisible and hidden and incredible, one must speak of present things—things that do not remain with those who possess them, but change their owners, and every day leap from this one to another, and again from that one to another. All these things Paul having made clear to us, and for this reason having called present things temporary and future things eternal, raises the discourse concerning the resurrection, saying thus: For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, we have a building from God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 6. Observe again here how he has used the words in their proper sense, displaying the force of the thoughts through the very names themselves. For he did not call the body a tabernacle without purpose, but by this showing us the temporary nature of our present life, and declaring the change to what is better, almost saying: Why do you groan and weep, beloved, because you are beaten and driven about and fall into prison? Why do you lament these partial afflictions, when you ought to receive the complete dissolution of the body—or rather, not simply of the body, but of the corruption in the body? For in order to show that these partial afflictions ought not only not to grieve us, but even to gladden us, he shows that the universal and final destruction is a thing to be prayed for, thus calling the dissolution through death. And again:

For in this tabernacle we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our dwelling from heaven. And he calls the body a house of the tabernacle, or rather by both names; either a house of the tabernacle, or the houses in which we dwell, the cities, the condition of the present life. And he did not say simply, I know, but, We know, also taking in the judgment of his hearers. I am not speaking, he says, about matters that are disputed, nor about things that are unknown, but about those things whose faith you have already received, having believed in the resurrection of the Lord. For this reason we also call the bodies of the departed tabernacles. And observe how he has used the word in its proper sense. He did not say, It was destroyed and made to vanish, but, It was dissolved, showing that it is dissolved in order that it may rise more radiant, more bright. Then, just as he made a comparison in the case of labors and rewards, from their quality, from their time and their quantity, so also here he does the same, calling the body that falls a tabernacle, and that which rises a house; and not simply a house, but eternal; and not simply eternal, but heavenly, showing the superiority both from the time and from the place. For this one is earthly, that one heavenly; this one temporary, that one eternal. And now we need both a body and dwellings because of the weakness of the flesh; but then the same thing will be both body and dwelling, needing no roof, nor any coverings, incorruption being sufficient for it in place of all things. Then, showing the superiority of the good things laid up for it, he says: For indeed in this tabernacle we groan. He did not say, I groan, but he makes the judgment common.

For, he says, in this we groan, wishing to draw them to his own philosophy and to make them sharers in his judgment. For in this we groan, longing to be clothed upon with our dwelling from heaven. He did not say simply "to be clothed," but "to be clothed upon"; and he adds: If indeed, even when clothed, we shall not be found naked. And what is said seems indeed to be unclear, but it becomes clearer through what follows: For we who are in the tabernacle groan, being burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon. Do you see how he does not forget himself, nor call this body a house, but again a tabernacle? "Because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon"? Here he has struck a fatal blow against those who slander the nature of the body and accuse our flesh. For since he said that we groan and do not wish to be unclothed, lest you suppose that he flees the body as something evil and a cause of wickedness and an enemy and adversary, hear how he corrects the suspicion: first, by saying, We groan, longing to be clothed upon with our dwelling from heaven—for the one who is clothed upon is truly clothed upon with something else; then, by saying, We groan, being burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon. And what he means is this: We do not wish, he says, to put off the flesh, but corruption; not the body, but death. The body is one thing, and death another; the body is one thing, and corruption another; neither is the body corruption, nor is corruption the body. And the body is indeed corruptible, but the body is not corruption; and the body is indeed mortal, but the body is not death.

But the body was a work of God, while corruption and death were introduced by sin. Therefore, he says, I wish to put off what is alien, not what is my own; and what is alien is not the body, but corruption. For this reason he says: For which we do not wish to be unclothed, that is, of the body, but to be clothed upon the body with incorruption. The body is between corruption and incorruption. It therefore puts off corruption and puts on incorruption; it casts away what it received from sin, and acquires what the grace of God gave. And so that you may learn that he is speaking of being unclothed not concerning the body, but concerning corruption and death, hear what follows immediately. For having said, We do not wish to be unclothed, but to be clothed upon, he did not say: That the body may be swallowed up by incorporeality; but what? That what is mortal may be swallowed up by life, that is, that it may be made to disappear, that it may be destroyed; so that he calls destruction not of the body, but of death and corruption. For life, when it comes upon it, does not make the body disappear and consume it, but the corruption and death that come upon it. Therefore the groaning is not because of the body, but because of the corruption that lies upon it; for the body is heavy and burdensome and oppressive, not by its own nature, but by the mortality that later came upon it. But the body is not corruptible, but incorruptible. For so great is its nobility that even in corruption itself it displays its own worth. At any rate, the shadows of the apostles drove away the incorporeal powers, and dust and ashes prevailed over demons, and the garments that had been in contact with their bodies took away diseases and restored health.

Do not tell me of phlegm and bile, and sweat, and filth, and the other things which those who accuse the body speak of; for these were not of the nature of the body, but of the corruption that came upon it afterward. But if you wish to learn its excellence, go over the formation of all the members, the shape, the activities, the harmony of them with one another; and you will see the constitution of these members with one another more exact than any city well governed and having all its citizens as philosophers. But if, running past these things up and down, you set before us only what is corruptible and mortal in it, not even from this shall we be at a loss for a defense. For that not only has no harm come from this, but also great gain to the race of men, is clear from that. For all the saints, living with this body, displayed that angelic constitution, and no harm came to them from it for the course of virtue; and those who looked toward impiety had no small hindrance, the corruption of the body, from advancing further in their own lawlessness.

For if many people, while clothed in this corruptible and passible body, imagined themselves to be equal to God, and did many things to wrap themselves in such glory—if they had not had a passible and corruptible body, exposing their weakness, whom would they not have deceived among the more foolish? When, then, it appears to be a hindrance even to impiety, which is the last limit of wickedness, and provides the saints an opportunity to display the courage of the soul, what forgiveness would those deserve who slander and revile it? For we could not say only these things about it, but also that it has become for us a cause of the knowledge of God. For if his invisible attributes are clearly seen from the creation of the world, being understood through the things he has made, and faith comes from hearing, it is evident that the soul, led by the hand through eyes and ears, recognized God who made it. For this reason Paul loves it, and cries out saying, "We do not wish to put it off, but to put on immortality over it." And do not tell me, "How can the body rise again and become incorruptible?" For when the power of God is at work, let not the "how" be added. And why do I speak of God? He made you yourself to become a maker of resurrection—in the case of seeds, in the case of crafts, and in the case of metallic materials. For seeds, unless they first die and rot and are destroyed, do not bring forth the ear of grain. Just as, then, when you see the grain rotting and dissolving there, you do not doubt about the resurrection, but make for yourself the clearest proof—for if it did not remain rotting and being destroyed, it would never rise again.

Reason about your body in the same way: when you see its corruption, then especially reflect on the resurrection. For death is nothing other than the final removal of corruption; death does not consume the body simply as such, but its corruption. This can be seen happening also with metallic substances. Those experienced in such matters take gold-bearing earth, hand it over to the crucible, and produce gold; and mixing in sand and other material, they made pure glass. Then tell me, will the grace of God not be able to do what the power of fire can? And who among those with any sense at all would say such a thing? Consider how he made you in the beginning, and no longer doubt about the resurrection. Did he not take earth and fashion it? Yet which is more difficult: to make from earth flesh and veins and skin and bones and sinews and nerves and arteries, both the organs and the simple bodies—eyes, ears, noses, feet, and hands—and to implant in each of these both its own and its shared function, or to make corruptible things immortal? Do you not see how earth is uniform in kind, but the body is varied and manifold, both in its functions and in its colors and in its formation and in its substances and in all other respects? How then do you doubt concerning things to come, tell me? And why need one speak of bodies? For the countless powers, and the hosts of angels, the archangels, the orders higher than these—tell me, how did he make them? For I could not state the manner, but that his mere willing was sufficient.

Then is the one who made so many hosts of incorporeal beings unable to renew a human body that has been corrupted, and to bring it to a greater dignity? And who is so senseless as to doubt concerning these things and to abolish the resurrection? For if the body does not rise, man does not rise; for man is not soul only, but soul and body. If, then, only the soul rises, the living being rises by half, but not whole; and besides, in the case of the soul, resurrection would not properly be spoken of. For resurrection is of that which has fallen and been dissolved, and the soul is not dissolved, but the body. And what is this, "If indeed even having been clothed, we shall not be found naked"? A great and secret mystery is hinted at to us here. What, then, is this? The same thing that he says also in the Epistle to the Corinthians: that "we shall all rise, but each in his own order." And what is the meaning of what is said? That both Greek and Jew and heretic and every man who has come into this world, will rise on that day. And declaring this very thing he said: "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

8. Since, then, the resurrection is universal for all, and common to both the pious and the impious, and to wicked and good men alike, lest from this you should suppose that some unjust judgment is taking place, and lest you say to yourself: "What is this? Am I, the earnest man who has labored so much and endured such hardship, raised up, and the Greek, and the impious man, and the one who worshipped idols, and the one who did not know Christ—is he too raised up in the same way, and does he enjoy the same honor?"—lest, I say, by saying these things you be troubled, hear what he says: "If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked." And how, he says, is it possible for one who has been clothed with incorruption and immortality to be found naked? How? When we are destitute of glory, and deprived of boldness toward God. For the bodies of sinners also rise incorruptible and immortal; but this honor becomes for them a provision for punishment and retribution; for they rise incorruptible in order that they may burn forever. Since that fire is unquenchable, it needs bodies of such a kind as are never consumed.

For this reason he says: "If indeed even having been clothed, we shall not be found naked." For this is not the only thing sought, that we rise and be clothed with immortality, but that, having risen and been clothed with immortality, we may not be found naked of glory and of boldness toward God, so that we may not be handed over to the fire. For this reason he says: "If indeed even having been clothed, we shall not be found naked." Then again, making the account concerning the resurrection more credible, having said that the mortal is about to be swallowed up by life, he added: "But he who has wrought us for this very thing is God." And what he says is this: From the beginning, for this reason he fashioned man, not that he might perish, but that he might journey toward incorruptibility. So that even when he permitted death, he permitted it with such a purpose, that you might be disciplined by the punishment, and having become better, might be able to be led again to immortality. And from above and from the beginning this counsel and purpose prevailed with God, and with this decree he formed the first man; this he hinted to us immediately from the very prefaces. For if he had not wished to open to us the doors of the resurrection from the beginning, he would not have allowed Abel, who displayed every virtue and had become a friend to him, to suffer what he suffered.

But now, demonstrating to us that we are journeying toward another life, and that another age has been left for the righteous, having its recompenses and crowns laid up, he let the first man who became righteous depart, though he did not receive here the wages for which he labored, crying out through what he suffered and saying to all that after this life there is a repayment and a wage and a recompense. For this reason he also translated Enoch and caught up Elijah, hinting to us the doctrine concerning the resurrection. The power of the one who does this is sufficient, then, for full assurance; but if someone is weaker and wishes to receive another proof and a pledge of the future resurrection, God has given this too with great abundance, pouring out the grace of the Spirit with great lavishness. For this reason Paul also, having made the word concerning the resurrection trustworthy from the resurrection of Christ, and from God being the Creator, adds this saying as well, saying that he also gave us a pledge—not a pledge of money or of gold and silver, but a pledge of the Spirit; and the pledge is a part of the whole, and is trustworthy for the whole. For just as in contracts the one who has received the pledge is henceforth confident and has believed concerning the whole, so also you, having received the pledge—I mean the charisms of the Spirit—no longer

Doubt concerning the good things laid up for us. For he who raises the dead, who heals the blind, who drives out demons, who cleanses lepers, who corrects diseases, who destroys death, he who is able to do such great and mighty things in a mortal and perishable body—what forgiveness will you obtain for doubting concerning the resurrection? For if, when the time of recompense had not yet arrived, but the contests were still standing, God has rewarded us with such great crowns, consider how many good things he will give you at the time of the prizes. But if someone should say, "But we do not see these signs happening now, nor do we have such great power," I would say this: it makes no difference whether these things happened now or formerly. For that they happened before by the apostles, the Churches everywhere throughout the world bear witness, and peoples, and cities, and nations that ran to unlettered men and fishermen. For the unlettered and poor and needy and lowly would not have conquered the world, unless they had the aid of the signs. Nevertheless, you too have not been deprived of the grace of the Spirit, but many tokens of that gift remain even now, much greater and more wonderful than those very things enumerated. For it is not equal to raise a body that has died, and to deliver a soul that has been put to death by sins from that destruction, which happens through baptism; it is not equal to drive away diseases of the flesh, and to lay aside the burden of sins; it is not equal to restore an eye that has been blinded, and to illumine a soul that has been darkened with light.

For if there were not even now a pledge of the Spirit, baptism would not have held together, nor would there have been forgiveness of sins. There would be no righteousness and sanctification, we would not have received adoption as sons, we would not have partaken of the mysteries; for the mystical body and blood could never come to be apart from the grace of the Spirit; we would not have had priests—for it is impossible for these ordinations to take place without that visitation. And one could mention many other tokens of the grace of the Spirit. So you too have the pledge of the Spirit, and you have put off the deadness of the soul and the blindness of your reasonings, and you have stripped off the unclean life. Let us not, then, be distressed about what is to come, having received such pledges; but having gathered the argument concerning the resurrection from every side, let us show forth a life worthy of these doctrines, so that we may also obtain the unshakable good things, which surpass all word and human mind; may it be granted to us all to obtain them, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen.