63. But if, my opponents
say, Christ was sent by God for this end, that He might deliver unhappy
souls from ruin and destruction, of what crime were former ages guilty
which were cut off in their mortal state before He came? Can you,
then, know what has become of these souls3838
| 3838 So the edd., reading quid sit
cum eis animis actum for the ms. cum ejus nimis. |
of men who lived long
ago?
3839
| 3839
Lit., “of ancient and very old men.” |
whether
they, too, have
not been aided,
provided, and cared for in some
way? Can you, I say, know that which could have been
learned
through
Christ’s teaching; whether the ages are unlimited in
number or not since the human race began to be on the
earth; when
souls
were first bound to bodies; who contrived that binding,
3840
| 3840
So the ms., LB., Hild., and Oehler,
reading vinctionis; the other edd.
junctionis—“union.” |
nay, rather,
who formed man himself; whither the
souls of men who lived before us
have gone; in what parts or
regions of the
world they were; whether
they were corruptible or not; whether they could have encountered the
danger of
death, if
Christ had not come forward as their preserver at
their time of need? Lay aside these cares, and abandon
questions
to which you can find no answer.
3841
The
Lord’s
compassion has
been shown to them, too, and the
divine kindness3842
has been extended to
3843
| 3843
Lit., “has run over.” |
all alike;
they have been
preserved, have been
delivered, and have laid aside the
lot and condition of mortality. Of what kind,
my opponents
ask, what, when? If you were free from presumption,
arrogance, and conceit, you might have learned long ago from this
teacher.
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