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1356

THE ETERNAL DURATION

OR

IDISC.

For

as

the

potter,

if

he make a

vessel,

and

it

be dis-

torted

in

his hands,

or broken, again

forms

it a

-new;

but

if

he

bath gone

so

far as

to throw

it

into the fur-

nace of

fire,

he

can

no

more bring any remedy

to

it

:

So

we,

whilst

we

are

in this world,

should

repent

with

our

whole

heart

for whatsoever

evil

we

have

done

in

the

flesh,

while we have

yet the time

of

repentance,

that

we

may

be saved

by

the

Lord.

For

after

we

shall

have departed

out of

this world,

we

shall

no longer

be able

either to

confess

our

sins,

or

repent

in

the other."

The

English

reader

may find

this in

Archbishop Wake's Translation

of

the

most Primitive

Fathers.

.

Justin

Martyr,

who

is

also one

of

the

most

early

wri-

ters,

in the

eighth section

of

his

"

First

Apology," tells

us,

"

that Plato

teaches

that

Rhadamanthus and Minos

punished

the

unrighteous

who

came

before

them

;

and

that

we

Christians

say

the

same

thing

will

be

done,

but

it

is

by Christ

;

when their

bodies

are

joined

with

their

souls,

and

they shall

be

punished with

eternal punish-

went,

and

not

for the period

of

a thousand

years only,

as

Plato

said."

This same writer,

also,

in

very many

places

of

his

works,

talks

of eternal

punishment,

and

of

punishment

for

an

endless

age,

and

eternal

fire,

with

eternal

sensation or pain.

Irenuus,

also,

after

him, as well as

Ignatius and

Poiycarp

before

him,

speak

of this'fire

which

is

not

to

be quenched,

and

of

death and punishment, not tempo-

ral,

but

eternal.

So

that it

is

really an

imposition

upon

unlearned readers

to

pretend,

that

the

doctrine

which

denies

the

eternity of

the punishments

of

hell,

was

the

common sense

of

the primitive fathers, though

it

is

granted

that

Origen, and

some others,

might

be

of

this

opinion.

To conclude

Since

the

word has expressly assured

us,

that

these

punishments

of

sinful men shall be

eter-

nal,

it

is

not

for

us

to

hearken

to

any

other

doctrines,

and neglect what

God

has

said

;

nor

is

it

fit

for

us

to

dispute

the

wisdom

and

justice of

divine

conduct,

nor

to impeach

his

goodness.

" Let

God

be true,

though

every man be

a liar,"

Rom,

iii.

4.; let God

be

wise,

though every

man be a

fool;

let God

be

just

and

right-

eous

in

all his

ways,

though

man vainly

murmur

against

him,

and

.raise

these noisy

and

feeble

remonstrances