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Dist. 44, Part 2, Art. 1, Q. 2

Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 44

Textus Latinus
p. 923

Quaestio II. Ubi sit infernus.

Secundo quaeritur, ubi sit infernus. Et quod sit sub terra, videtur:

1. Primo per Symbolum2, ubi dicitur: Descendit ad inferos etc. Si descendit, cum descendere dicat motum ad illud quod deorsum est, et ipse erat in terra: ergo infernus sub terra.

2. Item, hoc ostenditur per Scripturam, Isaiae decimo quarto3: Infernus subtus conturbatus est.

3. Item, hoc ostenditur per denominationem: quia, ut dicit Gregorius in quarto Dialogorum4, «infernus dicitur, quia inferius iacet; quod enim est terra ad caelum, hoc est infernus ad terram».

4. Item, hoc videtur per rationem: quia quanto corpus est nobilius, tanto locus debetur ei nobilior: si ergo nobilissimis corporibus, utpote gloriosis, debetur locus supremus, scilicet empyreum5, ergo restat, ut corporibus ignobilibus, utpote corporibus damnatorum, debeatur locus infimus. Hic autem est sub terra: ergo etc.

5. Item, locus debet per concordantiam respondere statui; sed status viae est medius inter poenam et gloriam: ergo et locus debet esse medius; ergo cum sit inferior loco Beatorum, debet esse superior loco damnatorum.

Contra: 1. Augustinus super Genesim ad litteram libro duodecimo6: «Sub terris dicuntur esse inferi vel creduntur, quia congruenter in spiritu per illas corporalium rerum similitudines sic demonstrantur»: ergo videtur secundum hoc, quod infernus non sit sub terra, etsi appareat esse sub terra.

2. Item, idem volens rationem nominis assignare dicit7: «Inferi, eo quod infra sunt, appellantur Latine. Sicut autem secundum corpus, si ponderis sui ordinem teneant, inferiora sunt omnia graviora; ita secundum spiritum inferiora sunt omnia tristiora»: ergo si tristari non dicit inferioritatem secundum situm, sed potius secundum spiritum; videtur, quod infernus non sit inferius secundum situm, sed secundum affectum.

3. Item, locus debet proportionari ponderi trahenti ad locum, alioquin pondus nunquam traheret, nisi haberet cum loco similitudinem; sed pondus p. 924 trahens ad infernum est peccatum, et hoc est quid spirituale, non corporale1: ergo et locus debet habere situm spiritualem, non corporalem, ergo non est sub terra.

4. Item, multo plures sunt damnati quam electi; sed caelum erit plenum electis, secundum quod dicitur Matthaei vigesimo secundo2: Ut impleatur domus discumbentibus: ergo necesse est, quod damnati habeant maiorem locum, quam sit locus caeli, cum sint multo plures: ergo cum infernus complectatur omnes damnatos, necesse est, quod sit tantae amplitudinis, ut caelum: ergo impossibile est, quod sit sub terra.

5. Item, ordo partium in maiori mundo debet respondere ordini partium in minori mundo3; sed nobilissima pars hominis est in medio, utpote cor: ergo si medium terrae est medium mundi, ille locus erit nobilissimus: ergo in illo loco debet situari nobilissima pars mundi, non ergo peccatores: ergo si sunt in inferno, infernus non est sub terra, vel in medio terrae.

Conclusio.

Possumus dicere, infernum esse locum corporeum, sub terra situm habentem.

Respondeo: Dicendum, quod quamvis temerarium videatur istam quaestionem determinare, pro eo quod Augustinus arbitratus est, eam neminem scire, secundum quod dicitur in littera4, sed opinatus est, infernum non esse locum corporalem, sed spiritualem, secundum quod dicitur duodecimo super Genesim ad litteram; attamen non est praesumptuosum modernis aliquid super hoc dicere, cum Gregorius expresse dicat quarto Dialogorum5, infernum esse locum corporalem se non ambigere; et astruit etiam per auctoritatem Scripturae, infernum sub terra esse, tum ex illo quod dicitur in Psalmo: Eruisti animam meam ex inferno inferiori; tum ex illo quod dicitur Apocalypsis quinto: Non est inventus aliquis, nec in caelo nec in terra nec subtus terram etc. Et ideo ipsius auctoritate muniti, dicere possumus, infernum locum esse corporeum, sub terra habentem situm. Et huic concordat Scriptura, concordat denominatio, concordat et ratio. Sicut enim status damnatorum perfecta distantia distat a statu Beatorum, ita et locus a loco; et sicut statui beatitudinis debetur locus supremus, ita et statui miseriae locus infimus, etiam secundum corpus.

1. 2. Ad illud quod obiicitur in contrarium, dicendum, quod Augustinus non dixit hoc asserendo, sed ratiocinando et coniecturando; unde et illud retractavit in libro Retractationum secundo6 dicens: «Magis mihi videtur dicere debuisse de inferis, quod sub terra sint, quam rationem reddidisse, cur sub terris esse creduntur, quasi non ita sit».

3. Ad aliud quod obiicitur secundo de pondere peccati, dicendum, quod est ordo iustitiae et ordo naturae. Peccatum autem trahit deorsum non secundum ordinem naturae, cum non habeat conformitatem ad illum, sed secundum ordinem iustitiae, quia peccatum, cum sit vilissimum, disponit hominem ad locum vilissimum et infimum.

4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod caelum plenum est electis; dicendum, quod istud non intelligitur de plenitudine coangustationis, sed de plenitudine pulcritudinis, qua dicimus, caelum plenum esse stellis, et mare piscibus, et mundum hominibus. — Si autem quaeras imaginationem, qualiter capiatur istud, quod tanta hominum multitudo sub terra sit; dici potest, quod omnes homines, qui nunc sunt, vix caperent millesimam partem terrae, si simul essent. Si ergo omnes homines, qui fuerunt ab initio usque in finem, vix excedunt homines, qui nunc sunt, in millecupla7 proportione, omnes homines vix occuparent superficiem terrae. Si ergo concavitas maioris est capacitatis, quam sit superficies, multo magis poterunt capi in concavitatibus terrae, quae, quamvis nobis non appareant, tamen multae sunt, sicut ostendunt decursus aquarum de montibus et concussiones terrae motuum; et infernus creditur esse maximae concavitatis, ac per hoc et magnae capacitatis.

5. Ad illud quod ultimo obiicitur de ordine, vel de situ in partibus hominis; voluerunt aliqui dicere, quod id quod est cor in corpore hominis, hoc est corpus solis in medio mundi; et secundum p. 925 istam viam terra non iudicatur esse media, sed magis extremum, et extremum infimum. — Aliter potest dici, quod non est simile: quia cum universum sit orbiculare, et circumferentia sit eiusdem naturae; quodlibet1 extremum tenet rationem superioris, et ideo medium tenet rationem infimi. In homine autem non sic: quia una extremitas, ut caput, dicitur esse superius; alia, ut pedes, dicitur esse inferius; et ideo medietas nec inferius nec superius est, sed habet influentiam ad utrumque: et ideo nobilis pars debet situari in homine in medio; non sic in universo, sed potius in extremo2.

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English Translation

Question II. Where hell is.

Secondly it is asked, where hell is. And that it is under the earth seems [to be so]:

1. First, through the Creed2, where it is said: He descended into the lower regions etc. If he descended, since to descend signifies motion toward that which is below, and he himself was on the earth: therefore hell is under the earth.

2. Likewise, this is shown through Scripture, Isaiah the fourteenth3: Hell beneath was thrown into confusion.

3. Likewise, this is shown by denomination [from the name]: for, as Gregory says in the fourth [book] of the Dialogues4, «it is called hell (infernus) because it lies lower (inferius); for what earth is to heaven, that hell is to earth».

4. Likewise, this seems [to hold] by reason: for the nobler a body is, the nobler a place is owed to it: if therefore to the noblest bodies, namely the glorified, the highest place is owed, namely the empyrean5, then it remains that to ignoble bodies, namely the bodies of the damned, the lowest place should be owed. But this is under the earth: therefore etc.

5. Likewise, place ought by concordance to correspond to state; but the state of the wayfarer is midway between punishment and glory: therefore the place too ought to be midway; therefore, since it is lower than the place of the Blessed, it ought to be higher than [the place] of the damned.

On the contrary: 1. Augustine, on Genesis according to the letter, book twelve6: «Under the earth the lower regions are said, or believed, to be, because they are fittingly demonstrated in the spirit through those likenesses of corporeal things»: therefore it seems, according to this, that hell is not under the earth, even though it appears to be under the earth.

2. Likewise, the same [Augustine], wishing to assign the reason of the name, says7: «They are called inferi (the lower ones) in Latin because they are below (infra). But just as, according to the body, if they keep the order of their own weight, all heavier things are lower; so according to the spirit all sadder things are lower»: therefore, if to be sad does not denote inferiority according to position but rather according to spirit; it seems that hell is not lower according to position, but according to affection.

3. Likewise, place ought to be proportioned to the weight drawing toward the place, otherwise the weight would never draw unless it had a likeness with the place; but the weight p. 924 drawing toward hell is sin, and this is something spiritual, not corporeal1: therefore the place too ought to have a spiritual position, not a corporeal one, therefore it is not under the earth.

4. Likewise, the damned are far more numerous than the elect; but heaven will be full of the elect, according to what is said in Matthew the twenty-second2: That the house may be filled with those reclining [at table]: therefore it is necessary that the damned have a greater place than the place of heaven is, since they are far more numerous: therefore, since hell encompasses all the damned, it is necessary that it be of such great size as heaven: therefore it is impossible that it be under the earth.

5. Likewise, the order of the parts in the greater world ought to correspond to the order of the parts in the lesser world3; but the noblest part of man is in the middle, namely the heart: therefore, if the middle of the earth is the middle of the world, that place will be the noblest: therefore in that place the noblest part of the world ought to be situated, therefore not sinners: therefore if they are in hell, hell is not under the earth, or in the middle of the earth.

Conclusion.

We can say that hell is a corporeal place, having its position under the earth.

I respond: It must be said that, although it may seem rash to determine this question—for the reason that Augustine judged that no one knows it, according to what is said in the text4, but was of the opinion that hell is not a corporeal place but a spiritual one, according to what is said in the twelfth [book] on Genesis according to the letter—nevertheless it is not presumptuous for moderns to say something about this, since Gregory expressly states, in the fourth [book] of the Dialogues5, that he does not doubt hell to be a corporeal place; and he also establishes, by the authority of Scripture, that hell is under the earth, both from that which is said in the Psalm: Thou hast rescued my soul from the lower hell; and from that which is said in Apocalypse the fifth: No one was found, neither in heaven nor on earth nor beneath the earth etc. And therefore, fortified by his authority, we can say that hell is a corporeal place, having its position under the earth. And with this Scripture agrees, denomination agrees, and reason too agrees. For just as the state of the damned stands at a perfect distance, distant from the state of the Blessed, so also place [is distant] from place; and just as to the state of beatitude the highest place is owed, so also to the state of misery the lowest place, even according to the body.

1, 2. To that which is objected on the contrary, it must be said that Augustine did not say this by asserting it, but by reasoning and conjecturing; whence he also retracted it in the second book of the Retractations6, saying: «It seems to me rather that I ought to have said of the lower regions that they are under the earth, than to have given the reason why they are believed to be under the earth, as if it were not so».

3. To the other [objection] which is raised secondly concerning the weight of sin, it must be said that there is an order of justice and an order of nature. But sin draws downward not according to the order of nature, since it has no conformity to it, but according to the order of justice, because sin, since it is most vile, disposes man toward the most vile and lowest place.

4. To that which is objected, that heaven is full of the elect; it must be said that this is not understood of a fullness of crowding, but of a fullness of beauty, by which we say heaven is full of stars, and the sea full of fish, and the world full of men. — But if you seek an imagining of how this is to be grasped, that so great a multitude of men is under the earth; it can be said that all the men who now exist would scarcely fill a thousandth part of the earth, if they were all together at once. If therefore all the men who have been from the beginning unto the end scarcely exceed the men who now exist by a thousandfold7 proportion, all men together would scarcely occupy the surface of the earth. If therefore the hollow is of greater capacity than the surface is, much more will they be able to be contained in the hollows of the earth, which, although they do not appear to us, nevertheless are many, as the courses of waters from the mountains and the shakings of earthquakes show; and hell is believed to be of the greatest hollowness, and thereby also of great capacity.

5. To that which is finally objected concerning order, or concerning position in the parts of man; some wished to say that what the heart is in the body of man, that the body of the sun is in the middle of the world; and according to p. 925 this way the earth is not judged to be the middle, but rather the extreme, and the lowest extreme. — Otherwise it can be said that it is not similar: because, since the universe is spherical, and the circumference is of the same nature, any1 extreme holds the character of the superior, and therefore the middle holds the character of the lowest. But in man it is not so: because one extremity, as the head, is called superior; another, as the feet, is called inferior; and therefore the middle is neither inferior nor superior, but has an influence toward both: and therefore the noble part ought to be situated in man in the middle; not so in the universe, but rather in the extreme2.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. 2
    Scilicet Apostolorum. — In fine arg. Vat. supplet est.
    That is, [the Creed] of the Apostles. — At the end of the argument the Vatican edition supplies est.
  2. 3
    Vers. 9: Infernus subter etc. — Cfr. Hieron., ibid. in v. 19.
    Verse 9: Hell beneath etc. — Cf. Jerome, on the same passage, on v. 19.
  3. 4
    Cap. 42. Pro hoc est textus originalis esse debet.
    Chapter 42. For hoc est the original text has esse debet.
  4. 5
    Cfr. II. Sent. d. 2. p. II. a. 1. q. 1. fundam. 4. — Mox pro ignobilibus cod. Z ignobilissimis.
    Cf. II Sent., d. 2, p. II, a. 1, q. 1, fundamentum 4. — Shortly after, for ignobilibus codex Z reads ignobilissimis.
  5. 6
    Cap. 34. n. 66. — Pro congruenter cod. A non incongruenter, non pauci alii codd. et ed. I perperam non congruenter. Inferius pro etsi appareat (plures codd. appetat) edd. sed quod apparet.
    Chapter 34, n. 66. — For congruenter codex A reads non incongruenter; not a few other codices and edition I wrongly read non congruenter. Below, for etsi appareat (several codices appetat) the editions read sed quod apparet.
  6. 7
    Loc. cit. in praeced. nota. Pro teneant edd. cum pluribus codd. teneat. In fine arg. pro affectum Vat. effectum.
    The passage cited in the preceding note. For teneant the editions, with several codices, read teneat. At the end of the argument, for affectum the Vatican edition reads effectum.
  7. 1
    Quod enim est pondus in corporibus, hoc est amor in spiritibus, ut docet August. (cfr. tom. III. pag. 639, nota 3.). Vide etiam supra pag. 583, nota 1. Glossam, quae est secundum August., Enarrat. 2. in Ps. 29. n. 10. — Post ergo et locus cod. L addit ergo infernus.
    For what weight is in bodies, that is love in spirits, as Augustine teaches (cf. tom. III, p. 639, note 3). See also above, p. 583, note 1, the Gloss, which is according to Augustine, Enarratio 2 on Ps. 29, n. 10. — After ergo et locus codex L adds ergo infernus.
  8. 2
    Vers. 10: Et egressi servi eius in vias congregaverunt... et impletae sunt nuptiae discumbentium. Cfr. Luc. 14, 23: Compelle intrare, ut impleatur domus mea. — Pro maiori vide Matth. 22, 14: Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi.
    Verse 10: And his servants going out into the ways gathered together... and the marriage was filled with guests reclining [at table]. Cf. Luke 14:23: Compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. — For maiori see Matthew 22:14: For many are called, but few are chosen.
  9. 3
    Cfr. Aristot., VIII. Phys. text. 17. (c. 2.). Cfr. tom. II. pag. 336, nota 6. — Hieron., in Ionam 2, 4: Porro per cor maris significatur infernus, pro quo in Evangelio legimus: In corde terrae [Matth. 12, 14.]. Quomodo autem cor animalis in medio est, ita et infernus in medio terrae esse perhibetur. — Inferius pro erit cod. Z debet esse, et pro situari cod. aa servari.
    Cf. Aristotle, Physics VIII, text 17 (c. 2). Cf. tom. II, p. 336, note 6. — Jerome, on Jonah 2:4: Now by the heart of the sea hell is signified, for which in the Gospel we read: In the heart of the earth [Matthew 12:14]. But just as the heart of an animal is in the middle, so also hell is held to be in the middle of the earth. — Below, for erit codex Z reads debet esse, and for situari codex aa reads servari.
  10. 4
    Hic c. 6. — Seq. locus August. est XII. de Gen. ad lit. c. 32. n. 61. Verba vide infra a. 2. q. 1. arg. 5. ad oppos. Cfr. ibid. c. 34. n. 66. in arg. 1. et 2. ad oppos. iam allegatum.
    Here chapter 6. — The following passage of Augustine is Book XII On Genesis according to the letter, c. 32, n. 61. See the words below, a. 2, q. 1, arg. 5 ad oppositum. Cf. ibid. c. 34, n. 66, in arguments 1 and 2 ad oppositum, already cited.
  11. 5
    Cap. 42. — Duo loci Scripturae sunt Ps. 85, 13. (plures codd. vel Eduxisti vel Extraxisti) et Apoc. 5, 3. seq.: Et nemo poterat, neque in caelo neque in terra neque subtus terram [plures codd. sub terra] aperire librum... et ego flebam multum, quoniam nemo dignus inventus est aperire librum etc.
    Chapter 42. — The two scriptural passages are Ps. 85:13 (several codices either Eduxisti or Extraxisti) and Apoc. 5:3ff.: And no one was able, neither in heaven nor on earth nor beneath the earth [several codices under the earth] to open the book... and I wept much, because no one was found worthy to open the book, etc.
  12. 6
    Cap. 24. n. 2: In duodecimo [libro de Gen. ad lit.] de inferis magis mihi videor docere debuisse, quod... quam rationem reddere... credantur [ita etiam cod. L] sive dicantur, quasi non ita sit.
    Chapter 24, n. 2: In the twelfth [book On Genesis according to the letter] concerning the lower regions I seem to myself rather to have had to teach that... than to give the reason... they are believed [so also codex L] or are said, as if it were not so.
  13. 7
    Edd. cum aliquot codd. millesima. In fine solut. pro magnae cod. aa maximae.
    The editions, with some codices, read millesima. At the end of the solution, for magnae codex aa reads maximae.
  14. 1
    Vat. pro eo quod. Mox substituimus ex cod. F (E a secunda manu) superioris pro inferioris. Inferius pro medietas multi codd. et edd. mediocritas.
    The Vatican edition [reads] pro eo quod. Presently, from codex F (E by a second hand), we have substituted superioris ("of the superior") for inferioris ("of the inferior"). Below, for medietas ("middle") many codices and editions [read] mediocritas ("mean").
  15. 2
    Vide scholion ad praecedentem quaest.
    See the scholion on the preceding question.
Cited by

2 places in the Opera Omnia citethis question. Derived from Quaracchi’s own apparatus, never tagged by hand.

Whether after the coming of Christ souls have determinate abodes or places
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 45
supra d. 44. p. II. a. 1. q. 2.
Doubts concerning the text of the Master
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 48
supra d. 44. p. II. a. 1. q. 2.

4 further references address the article or printed page this question belongs to, rather than the question itself.

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