10.04.2013 Views

1 Earliest Rome

1 Earliest Rome

1 Earliest Rome

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

9- I N D I V I D U A L S A N D G O D S<br />

However, there is no point in arguing with people who believe all this, since they are<br />

entirely bound to the body; nor is this the only respect in which they are crude and<br />

impure, lacking in reason and afflicted with seditiousness. I will debate only with those<br />

who aspire to have their soul or mind eternally with god - whether they call this mind<br />

"spiritual", or a "holy and blessed mental spirit", or a "living soul", or the "super-heavenly<br />

and indestructible child of a nature godly and immaterial", or whatever they want to call<br />

it. To this extent at least, they are in the right: those who have lived lives of virtue will be<br />

happy, while the wicked will suffer perpetual griefs. This idea is not to be lost by them or<br />

anybody else.'<br />

Celsus often complains about our view of resurrection. I have already given what we<br />

think to be the reasonable view on this matter and do not intend to repeat the answer to<br />

an objection put forward so often. 5<br />

But Celsus is quite wrong in his assertion that we<br />

hold nothing better or more precious than the body. We hold that the soul and especially<br />

the rational soul is more precious than the body, because it contains that which is 'after<br />

the image of the Creator' , whereas this is not at all true of the body. In<br />

our view, God is not a material substance. We would not fall into the silly views of those<br />

who follow Zeno and Chrysippus. 2<br />

238<br />

1. See e.g. Against CeisusVH.32.<br />

2. That is, the view of Stoic philosophers.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!