to  these  pains,  I  do  not  doubt. Wherefore,  I  have  not  yet
found  what  benefit  He,  when  He  descended  into  hell,  con
ferred  upon  those  righteous  ones  who  were  in  Abraham's
bosom,  from  whom  I  see  that,  so  far  as  regarded  the  beatific
presence  of  His  Godhead,  He  never  withdrew  Himself ;  since
even  on  that  very  day  on  which  He  died,  He  promised  that  the
thief  should  be  with  Him  in  paradise  at  the  time  when  He  was
about  to  descend  to  loose  the  pains  of  hell. Most  certainly,
therefore,  He  was,  before  that  time,  both  in  paradise  and  the
bosom  of  Abraham  in  His  beatific  wisdom,  and  in  hell  in  His
condemning  power ;  for  since  the  Godhead  is  confined  by  no
limits,  where  is  He  not  present  ?  At  the  same  time,  how
ever,  so  far  as  regarded  the  created  nature,  in  assuming  which
at  a  certain  point  of  time,  He,  while  continuing  to  be  God,
became  man — that  is  to  say,  so  far  as  regarded  His  soul,  He
was  in  hell :  this  is  plainly  declared  in  these  words  of  Scrip
ture,  which  were  both  sent  before  in  prophecy  and  fully
expounded  by  apostolical  interpretation :  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave
my  soul  in  hell."  *

9. I  know  that  some  think  that  at  the  death  of  Christ  a
resurrection  such  as  is  promised  to  us  at  the  end  of  the  world
was  granted  to  the  righteous,  founding  this  on  the  statement
in  Scripture  that,  in  the  earthquake  by  which  at  the  moment
of  His  death  the  rocks  were  rent  and  the  graves  were  opened,
many  bodies  of  the  saints  arose  and  were  seen  with  Him  in
the  Holy  City  after  He  rose. Certainly,  if  these  did  not  fall
asleep  again,  their  bodies  being  a  second  time  laid  in  the
grave,  it  would  be  necessary  to  see  in  what  sense  Christ  can
be  understood  to  be  "  the  first-begotten  from  the  dead,"  2  if  so
many  preceded  Him  in  the  resurrection. 