Chapter 2 (71): 1. Whether In Death Christ Was A Man Anywhere, And Whether He
94 | THE SENTENCES, BOOK 3
Chapter 2 (71)
1. WHETHER IN DEATH CHRIST WAS A MAN ANYWHERE, AND WHETHER HE
IS AMAN WHEREVER HE IS. Here it is asked whether in death Christ was a man anywhere, and whether, wherever he is, he is a man.—To which we say that it was not everywhere he was that he was a man; neither is he a man now wherever he is, because he is everywhere according to the Godhead, nor is he everywhere a man, because he is not everywhere united to the man. But wherever he is according to his humanity, there he is a man.
At the time of his death, he was everywhere according to the Godhead, in the tomb according to his humanity, and in hell also according to his humanity; but he was in hell according to the soul and in the tomb according to the flesh.' And so the man was in the tomb, because he was united to his humanity, although not to all of it, because only to the flesh; and the man was in hell, because he was united to his humanity, although not to all of it, because only to the soul.
2. OBJECTION. But if in hell he was united to the soul alone, and in the tomb to the flesh alone, then he was not united to soul and flesh either in hell, or in the tomb. How then may the man be said to be either here or there? What is the reason for this assertion? —EXPOSITION OF ITS CAUSE.
Because it was by one and the same union that he was united to the soul in hell and to the flesh in the tomb; and he was as united to those two, which had then become severed, as he had been to them before their separation, that is, before death.
3. OBJECTION. The following objection is made to this: If Christ had taken only a soul or only flesh, he would not have been true man; it was because he had taken both that he was true man. In the same way, then, where he did not have flesh and soul united to himself, there he was not true man. But at the time of his death he did not have those two in union anywhere, because neither in the tomb, nor in hell, nor anywhere else; therefore nowhere was he true man.—To which we say that Christ would certainly not have been true man, if he had not taken flesh and soul. And yet, because he never laid down either of them after he had taken them, but instead unceasingly continued the same union with each of them which he had contracted when he had taken them, not unsuitably do we say that wherever he is united to the soul or the flesh or both, there he is said to be true man, because there he has taken on human form." And so the man was in the tomb, and the man was in hell, because in each place
Christ had taken on human form and had one and the same union with soul and flesh, even though these were now separate. And at one and the same time, Christ lay in the tomb and descended into hell, but he lay in 'Cf. Fulgentius, De fide ad Petrum, c2 n11.
Cf. above, dist. 7 cl n17.