Irenaeus of Lyons · a new plain-English translation from the original language
How souls persevere, retaining the form of the body. The Lord taught not merely that souls persist, not passing from body to body, but also that they preserve the very character of the body to which they were fitted, and that they remember the deeds they did here, and the things from which they ceased — in the account written of the rich man and Lazarus, who found rest in the bosom of Abraham. In it he says that the rich man recognized Lazarus after death, and Abraham likewise, and that each of them remained in his own rank, and that the rich man asked that Lazarus be sent to bring him relief — Lazarus, to whom he would not even give a share of the crumbs from his table. And there is the answer of Abraham, who declared not only the things concerning himself but agreed also with the prophets, saying that those who did not wish to arrive at that place of punishment ought rather to receive the proclamation of him who would rise from the dead. By these things it is most plainly declared both that souls persist and do not pass from body to body, and that they retain the form of a human being, so that they may also be recognized and may remember the things that belong to this life here; and that Abraham's prophetic foresight is present, and that each nation receives a fitting dwelling-place even before the judgment. How souls, though they had a beginning of generation, nevertheless persevere as incorruptible into the future. But if anyone should say at this point that souls which only recently began to exist cannot persist for a long span of time, but must either be unbegotten, in order to be immortal, or else, if they received a beginning through generation, must die along with the body itself — let such a person learn that only God, who governs all as Lord, has neither a start nor a finish, remaining forever the same in the identical manner. But all things that come from him, whatever has been made and is being made, receive indeed a beginning of their generation, and are for that reason inferior to the one who made them; yet they are extended into the length of the ages according to the will of God the maker — so that, just as they came to be at the beginning, so afterward it is granted to them to continue existing. For just as the heaven that is above us, the firmament, and the sun and moon and the remaining constellations, together with all their adornments, though none of these existed beforehand, were made, and persist for a long span of time according to the will of God — so too anyone who reflects on souls, and on spirits, and altogether on all things that have been made, will in no way go astray: for all things that have been made have indeed a beginning of their making, but they persevere for as long as God wills them to exist and to persevere. The prophetic spirit also bears witness to these statements, when it says: For he himself spoke, and they were made; he himself commanded, and they were created. He established them forever, and unto the ages of ages. And again, speaking of the salvation of man, it says thus: He asked life of you, and you granted him length of days forever and ever — as though the Father of all were the giver, and perseverance forever and ever belonged to those who are being saved. For life originates not with us, nor out of our own nature, but is granted as a gift of God's favor. Therefore whoever preserves the gift of life, and gives thanks to him who bestowed it, will receive length of days forever and ever as well. But whoever rejects it, and proves ungrateful to his maker, because though made he did not recognize the one who bestows it, robs himself of everlasting continuance. On this account the Lord said to those ungrateful toward him: If you have not proved faithful in a small thing, who will entrust you with what is great? — meaning that whoever shows ingratitude toward the one who gave him this brief, passing life will rightly be refused, by that same giver, an unending span of days. Just as the animal body itself is not the soul, but partakes of the soul only for as long as God wills, so too the soul itself is not life, but partakes of the life bestowed on it by God. Hence the prophetic saying concerning the man first fashioned: he was made into a living soul — instructing us that, through partaking of life, the soul was made living, so that the soul is understood as one thing and the life that belongs to it as another. Since God, then, grants life and perpetual perseverance, it follows that souls, not existing at first, thereafter begin to persevere, once God has willed them to exist and to subsist. For the will of God must hold first place and rule in all things, and everything else must yield to it, and be subject to it, and given over into its service. And let this much be said, up to this point, concerning the making and perseverance of the soul.