τάφῳ ἐπει Seixvulo Now fuitable to this Explication of the forementioned Texts, were the Notions of the Primitive Fathers; Athanafius in his Tract against Apollinarius, concerning the Incarnation of our Lord, Mireyed-fhews in fundry places, P That whilft Xn ucpious & his Body lay buried in the Grave, bis Εξώθεν καὶ ἐν Táp TE Soul went into Hell, to perform in that place thofe feveral Actions and Operations ay, Tom. 1.1 which were necessary for the complete p. 630. Redemption and Salvation of Mankind that be performed after his Death, different Actions by his two Effential Parts; by his Body he lay in the Grave, and conquered Corruption; by his Soul he went into Hell, and vanquished Death. Wherefore he writes in another Tract against the said Heretick, That 9 after the Death of Christ, his Body lay in the Grave, and his Soul went to Hell ; neither of which were deferted by his Divinity, according to that Saying of the Pfalmift, Thou fhalt not leave my Soul in Hell, neither wilt thou fuffer thine Holy One to fee Corruption. And the Author of the Dialogues concerning the Holy Trinity, extant amongst the Works of the faid C • MÁTE & JEÓTH MaT IN TWS TάPW STO νομώης, μήτε τ ψυχῆς ἐν τῷ άδη χωριζομβόης, τότε ν' ἔτι To îndev dia 7 wegen, in καλείψεις ψυχώ με εἰς Slus de SWoes Torov C idew Siapboegv. De falut. ad vent. Jef. Chrift. adverf. Apollinar Tom. I. p. 645. 2 Father, Father, writes, That r in urinals went down by his Soul Teva Fia To Caμa. Tom. 2. into Hell, whilft bis Bo- Dialog. 4. p. 245. dy was laid in the Grave. But, what need I multiply Quotations to prove a Point fo univerfally attefted by the Ancients in innumerable places of their Writings? Let therefore the fuperaddition of the fingle Teftimony of Fulgentius fuffice, That after the Death of the Son of God, bis whole Humanity was neither in the Grave nor in Hell, but that he lay dead in the Grave with his Body, Humanitas vera Filii Dei nec tota in fepulchro fuit, nec tota in inferno, fed in fepulchro fecundum veram carnem Chriftus mortuus jacuit, & fecundum animam Ad Trafimund. lib. 3. c. 34. p. 76. ad infernum Chriftus defcendit. whilft he went into Hell with his Soul. From all which it is moft evident, That the Defcent into Hell relates only to the Soul of Chrift during its feparation from the Body, or the time that intervened between his Death and Resurrection; which being premifed, I come now to confider the Article it felf, or what is predicated therein concerning our Lord's feparated Soul, which is, That be defcended into Hell; wherein these two things fhall be examined, Firft, The place whither he went, which was Hell; Secondly, Secondly, The manner of his going thi ther, viz. by descending, he defcended into Hell. Only before I fpeak to either of thefe, I must be forced to premife one thing more, which is, that I do not pretend to affirm, that all the Fathersand Primitive Writers had the fame exact Notions and Conceptions of this Article of the Creed, fince without any Reflection it is too manifeft, that severals of them had no diftinct and clear apprehenfions thereof, but were uncertain and confufed in their Notions thereabouts: Wherefore, it will be fufficient for my purpose, to prove what follows to have been the generally received Opinion, and that it is the most natural, eafy, and unconftrained Interpretation of this perplexed and obfcure Article, he defcended into Hell Now, as for the first thing, the place whither Christ defcended, which is faid to be Hell it is most certain that we have not any one word in our modern English Dialect, nor by what I could ever understand, in any other of the prefent European Tongues, to exprefs the Greek word by: The word in Greek, which is ons, Hades, fignifies fignifies an invifible place, wherein all separated Souls, whether good or bad, righteous or unrighteous, are received and contained, as fhall be hereafter proved; the half of which fignification, is only expreffed in the French word L'Enfer, and in the English and Dutch words Hell and Helle, feeing they are always taken in an evil fenfe, and do folitarily denote the Man fion and Habitation of wicked and ungodly Souls. It is true indeed, that in the ancient English Dialect, the word Hell was taken in a larger fenfe, for the general receptacle of all Souls whatfoever; and even no longer ago than the old Tranflation of the Pfalms, which is still retained in the Common. Prayer Book, it was used in this general Acceptation, as in Pfal. lxxxix. 47. What Man is he that liveth, and shall not fee Death? Shall he deliver his Soul from the Hand of Hell? Where Hell must be understood of the general receptacle of all Souls, or otherwife the words of the Pfalmift would not be true; for, all Souls do not go to that Hell which is the place of the Damned: And even long before that, 1 Commenta as Dr. Towerson informs us, in a ry on the Creed, Saxon Difcourfe written above Seven hundred Years ago, it is faid of Adam, That after he had lived Nine hundred Tears, he went with Sorrow into Hell; where, fince none but reputed Hereticks ever denied the Salvation of A. dam, it is most reasonable to conclude, That by the Hell to which he went, nothing elfe is to be understood than the common receptacle of all departed Souls, whether good or bad. Which antient sense of the word Hell, may be farther confirmed from the primary and original fignification thereof; according to which, it im ports no further than an invisible and hidden place, being derived from the old Saxon word Hil, which fignifies to hide, or from the Participle thereof Helled, that is to say, hidden or covered; as in the Western Parts of England at this very day, to Hele over any thing, fignifies amongst the com. mon People to cover it; and he that covereth an Houfe with Tile or Slate, is called an Helliar. From whence it appears, that the word Hell, according to its Primitive Notion, exactly anfwers to the Greek word dns Hades, which fignifies the common Manfion of all separated Souls, and was fo cal 1 led, |