§3Poterat inquisitioni tuae sufficere mea breuis ista responsio; sed quae alia moueant, quibus respondendum existimo, parumper adtende.
This brief response of mine could have sufficed for your inquiry; but attend for a little while to what other matters may move you, to which I think an answer should be given.
in Machabaeorum libris legimus oblatum pro mortuis sacrificium.
In the books of the Maccabees we read that a sacrifice was offered for the dead.
sed et si nusquam in scripturis ueteribus omnino legeretur, non parua est uniuersae ecclesiae quae in hac consuetudine claret auctoritas, ubi in precibus sacerdotis quae domino deo ad eius altare funduntur locum suum habet etiam commendatio mortuorum.
But even if it were nowhere read at all in the ancient scriptures, the authority of the universal Church, which is clear in this custom, is not small, where in the prayers of the priest which are poured forth to the Lord God at His altar, the commendation of the dead also has its place.
Sed utrum aliquid prosit animae mortui locus corporis sui, operosius inquirendum est.
But whether the location of their body benefits the soul of a deceased person in any way must be inquired into more laboriously.
ac primum utrum intersit aliquid ad inferendam uel augendam miseriam post hanc uitam spiritibus hominum, si eorum corpora sepulta non fuerint, non secundum opinionem utcumque uulgatam, sed potius secundum religionis nostrae sacras litteras est uidendum.
And first, whether it makes any difference for bringing about or increasing misery after this life for the spirits of men if their bodies are not buried, must be seen not according to whatever opinion is commonly held, but rather according to the sacred scriptures of our religion.
neque enim credendum est, sicut apud Maronem legitur, insepultos nauigando atque transeundo inferno amne prohiberi, quia scilicet nec ripas datur horrendas et rauca fluenta transportare prius, quam sedibus ossa quierunt.
For we must not believe, as is read in Maro, that the unburied are prevented from sailing and crossing the infernal river, because, forsooth, it is not permitted to transport them across the horrific banks and hoarse-sounding streams before their bones have rested in their tombs.
quis cor christianum inclinet his poeticis fabulosisque figmentis, cum dominus Iesus, ut inter manus inimicorum, qui eorum corpora in potestate haberent, securi occumberent christiani, nec capillum capitis eorum adserat periturum, exhortans ne timeant eos, qui cum corpus occiderint, amplius non habent quid faciant? unde in primo libro de \'Ciuitate dei\' satis, quantum existimo, sum locutus, ut eorum dentem retunderem, qui barbaricam uastitatem, praecipue quam nuper Roma perpessa est, Christianis temporibus inputando etiam id obiciunt, quod suis illic non subuenerit Christus.
Who would incline a Christian heart to these poetic and fabulous fictions, when the Lord Jesus, in order that Christians might die secure in the hands of enemies who had power over their bodies, asserts that not even a hair of their head shall perish, exhorting them not to fear those who, when they have killed the body, have nothing more they can do? Wherefore, in the first book of 'The City of God' I have spoken sufficiently, as I think, in order to blunt the teeth of those who, imputing the barbarian devastation, especially that which Rome recently suffered, to Christian times, also object to this, that Christ did not succor His own there.
quibus cum responsum fuerit animas fidelium pro suae fidei meritis ab illo fuisse susceptas, insultant de cadaueribus insepultis.
When it was answered to them that the souls of the faithful had been received by Him for the merits of their faith, they insult concerning the unburied bodies.
totum itaque istum de sepultura locum uerbis talibus explicaui.
Therefore, I explained this entire locus concerning burial in such words.
§4(At enim in tanta, inquam, strage cadauerum nec sepeliri potuerunt.
("But indeed," I said, "in so great a slaughter of bodies, they could not even be buried.
neque istud pia fides nimium reformidat, tenens praedictum nec absumentes bestias resurrecturis corporibus obfuturas, quorum capillus capitis non peribit.
Nor does pious faith dread this excessively, holding to what was foretold, that not even consuming beasts would hinder the bodies that are to rise again, of whom not a hair of the head shall perish.
nullo modo diceret ueritas: nolite timere eos, qui corpus occidunt, animam autem non possunt occidere, si quidquam obesset futurae uitae quidquid inimici de corporibus occisorum facere uoluissent.
In no way would Truth say: 'Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul,' if whatever enemies wished to do to the bodies of the slain were in any way to hinder the future life.
nisi forte quispiam sic absurdus est, ut contendat eos, qui corpus occidunt, non debere timeri ante mortem, ne corpus occidant, et timeri debere post mortem, ne corpus occisum sepeliri non sinant.
Unless perhaps someone is so absurd as to contend that those who kill the body ought not to be feared before death lest they kill the body, but ought to be feared after death lest they do not permit the slain body to be buried.
falsum est ergo quod ait: qui corpus occidunt et postea non habent quid faciant, si habent tanta, quae de cadaueribus faciant? absit, ut falsum sit quod ueritas dixit.
It is false, therefore, what He says: 'They kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do,' if they have so many things they can do to the corpses. Far be it that what Truth said should be false.
dictum est enim aliquid eos facere, cum occidunt, quia in corpore sensus est occidendo, postea uero nihil habere quod faciant, quia nullus sensus est in corpore occiso.
For it was said that they do something when they kill, because there is sensation in the body during the killing, but afterwards indeed they have nothing they can do, because there is no sensation in the killed body.
multa itaque corpora Christianorum terra non texit, sed nullum eorum quisquam a caelo et terra separauit, quam totam inplet praesentia sui, qui nouit unde resuscitet quod creauit.
Therefore, the earth did not cover many bodies of Christians, but no one of them did anyone separate from heaven and earth, the whole of which is filled with the presence of Him who knows from where to raise up what He created.
dicitur quidem in psalmo: posuerunt mortalia seruorum tuorum escam uolatilibus caeli, carnes sanctorum tuorum bestiis terrae; effuderunt sanguinem eorum tamquam aquam in circuitu Hierusalem, et non erat qui sepeliret, sed magis ad exaggerandam crudelitatem eorum, qui ista fecerunt, non ad eorum infelicitatem, qui ista perpessi sunt.
Indeed, it is said in the Psalm: 'They have laid the dead bodies of Your servants as food for the birds of heaven, the flesh of Your saints for the beasts of the earth; they have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them'; but this was rather to exaggerate the cruelty of those who did these things, not to indicate the unhappiness of those who suffered them.
quamuis enim haec in conspectu hominum dura et dira uideantur, sed pretiosa in conspectu domini mors sanctorum eius. proinde ista omnia, id est curatio funeris, conditio sepulturae, pompa exequiarum, magis sunt uiuorum solacia quam subsidia mortuorum.
For although these things seem harsh and dreadful in the sight of men, yet 'precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.' Therefore, all these things—that is, the care of the funeral, the condition of burial, the pomp of obsequies—are rather solaces for the living than helps for the dead.
si aliquid prodest inpio sepultura pretiosa, oberit pio uilis aut nulla.
If a costly burial benefits an impious man in any way, a cheap one or none at all will hinder a pious man.
praeclaras exequias in conspectu hominum purpurato illi diuiti turba exhibuit famulorum, sed multo clariores in conspectu domini ulceroso illi pauperi ministerium praebuit angelorum, qui eum non extulerunt in marmoreum tumulum, sed in Abrahae gremium sustulerunt.
A crowd of servants displayed a splendid funeral in the sight of men for that rich man clad in purple, but the ministry of angels provided a far more splendid one in the sight of the Lord for that poor man covered with sores, who carried him out not into a marble tomb, but lifted him up into Abraham's bosom.
rident haec illi, contra quos defendendam suscepimus ciuitatem dei.
Those against whom we have undertaken to defend the City of God laugh at these things.
uerum tamen sepulturae curam etiam eorum philosophi contempserunt.
Nevertheless, even their own philosophers have despised the care of burial.
et saepe uniuersi exercitus, dum pro terrena patria morerentur, ubi postea iacerent uel quibus bestiis esca fierent, non curarunt, licuitque de hac re poetis plausibiliter dicere: caelo tegitur, qui non habet urnam. quanto minus debent de corporibus insepultis insultare Christianis, quibus et ipsius carnis membrorumque omnium reformatio non solum ex terra, uerum etiam ex aliorum elementorum secretissimo sinu, quo dilapsa cadauera recesserunt, in temporis puncto reddenda et redintegranda promittitur!
And often whole armies, while dying for their earthly fatherland, cared not where they should afterwards lie or for what beasts they should become food; and it was permitted to poets to say plausibly on this matter: 'He is covered by the sky who has no urn.' How much less, then, ought they to insult Christians concerning unburied bodies, to whom the restoration of the very flesh and of all the members, to be returned and reintegrated in a moment of time, is promised not only from the earth but even from the most secret bosom of the other elements into which the dissolved corpses have retreated!