"

is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption :" &c. This represents the apostle as teaching that the body which is sown is the same one that is raised, which certainly was not his doctrine; for he declares expressly, in reference to that with which he compares the unexpressed thing, "Thou sowest not that body that shall be; or more properly, "the body which will spring into being." Others think the word "man" should be supplied; as, "Man is sown . . . . . . he is raised," &c. This makes the apostle affirm of man- what it seems very unlikely he meant to affirm of man that he is a "body," or a mere organization; as "Man is sown a natural body; he is raised a spiritual body."

......

The text is confessedly difficult of explication. It professes to set forth the manner of "the resurrection of the dead," in answer to the questions, "How are the dead raised? and with what body do they come?” But it seems, at first view, unfortunate that in the passage of which the text forms a part, there are frequent ellipses of nouns and verbs; the neuter pronoun is employed in an extra-indeterminate manner; a lengthy parenthesis, consisting of many particulars, is thrown in between the first and last part of the answer; an unusual use of some important terms seems to be made; and in the text itself, occurs a rather an apparent solecism* in language. It is perhaps possible, however, that by paying very particular attention both to the drift of the apostle's ideas, and to the construction of his sentences, his meaning may be unfolded truly and fully. I attempt its unfoldment in this chapter. And

1. Paul makes his questioner not respectfully to ask the questions, as would an honest, sincere in

* See last paragraph of this chapter.

quirer, but disrespectfully to "say" them, as would a captious, sneering objector: "But some one will say," &c. Hence his exclamation, "Foolish one! that which thou sowest," &c.

2. Having such a questioner in his mind, he therefore, in reply to the first question, "How are the dead raised?" does not forthwith declare the manner of the operation, but shows simply that the thing is not incredible. "That which thou sowest", says he,-" is not quickened, if it does not die." He thus calls attention to the natural fact that if a kernel of grain germinates, its germ shoots forth into vegetable life, while the kernel itself dies, that is, loses its seminal life, and so perishes. By a very familiar example, then, he showed that life may and often does succeed death.

3. Also, in reply to the second question, "With what body," &c., he does not, at first, treat it as an inquiry, and so immediately mention the kind of body with which the dead come; but he replies as if to the naked assumption that there is no bodily organization except this fleshly one, and hence that when this becomes defunct, the spirit must be bodiless, as a matter of course. Says he, "Thou sowest not the body which will spring into being; but...... God gives a body," &c. In this he shows that when, in the germination of a seed, life succeeds death, a new body also succeeds the old.

4. In these replies, the apostle also recognizes the fact that though a seed is in a manner alive, as of course it must be in order to die, its life is of a lower grade than that of the plant which springs from it, the latter possessing vegetable life, while the former has but seminal life. He seems quite aware, also, that the organization of a seed is of a less advanced grade than is that of a plant; or, in

other words, that both the life and the organization of a plant are of a higher grade than are those of the seed from which it sprung. Says he, "Thou sowest not the body which will spring into being;" —that is, the future plant; "but thou sowest a

mere kernel; perhaps of wheat.. ...; and God gives to the germ within it a body, according as he willed; also, to each of the seeds He thus gives its proper body." (See Chap. xxxvi of this work.)

5. He next adds three verses of the nature of a parenthesis, setting forth that what we call flesh is not all of the same specific quality" one kind of flesh of men, an other flesh of beasts," &c.; that there are bodies in the sky as well as on earth -"celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial; "- that the celestial and terrestrial bodies have each their own glory or splendor-"the glory of the celestial is one; and the glory of the terrestrial is an other; "that the different orders of celestial bodies have different glories, or degrees of splendor" one glory of the Sun, and an other glory of the Moon," &c.;- also, that celestial bodies of the same order (as the stars) have not all the same splendor" one star differeth from an other star in glory."

6. He now applies to the subject his simile of grain-sowing with some of its results, in which process is committed to the earth — not a growing plant, but an inactive kernel, whose germ, however, becomes a plant, while the kernel itself perishes. And it is highly important to be observed, here, that the affirmation, "so also is the resurrection of the dead," is not, grammatically, coupled with the immediately preceding affirmation," one star differeth from an other star in glory;" (their union giving rise to the not remarkably luminous

proposition," as the stars differ in glory, so also is the resurrection;) but the words "so also," &c., are actually connected, in grammatical construction, with what is said four verses previous. I quote, passing over the three parenthetical verses, and adopting a rendering very nearly literal, and containing no supplied words:

"But some one will say, 'How are the dead raised? and with what body did they come?' Foolish one! that which thou sowest is not quickened, if it does not die. And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body which will spring into being; but a mere kernel; perhaps of wheat, or of some one of the others; and God gives a body to it, according as He willed; also, to each of the seeds, its proper body."

"In such manner, also, the raising of the dead is sown in corruptibility; is raised in incorruptibility: is sown in dishonor; is raised in glory: is sown in weakness; is raised in power is sown an animal body; is raised a spiritual body." (See Chap. xxxvi.)

The drift of the above, to my poor perception, is to the following purport: Grain is sown; the germ of the kernel sprouts; the body of the kernel dies; the life-principle of the germ draws around itself a new and different organism; and all this in accordance with the original will of God: "in such manner, also, the raising of the dead," &c. which is to say that the circumstances attendant on our transition from this to an other mode of being, are, in certain respects, analogous to those connected with the springing of a plant from a seed.

7. From the foregoing considerations, several things seem well-nigh certain: as,

First. In the latter paragraph of the passage just cited, the proper nominative of the verb "is sown," and the proper nominative of the verb "is raised," can not be the same, but must be different; for the apostle had said of the grain or kernel Kiter

literally sown, with which he compares a something metaphorically sown, "Thou sowest not the body which will spring into being."

Second. The thing metaphorically sown is evidently this corruptible and mortal body, answering to the kernel which the objector sowed literally.

Third. In a literal sense, to be "sown," supposes being committed to the earth; yet as affirmed metaphorically of the human body, though an allusion may be had to interment, the important idea is clearly this, that the body is dead. Yet a fact of very great significance is manifestly implied in this use of the verb "to sow," namely, that the earthly body, while possessed of its life, incloses a germ of a higher mode of life.

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Fourth. In the passage under consideration, that which is raised, whatever it really is, answers to that in a kernel represented by " it," (or by a something within the it,) in the text where the apostle says that "God gives a body to it." He had said, "That which thou sowest is not quickened, if it does not die;" but the "it" which dies, and the "it" which takes a new body, are obviously two things. What are these two things, if the one is not the kernel, and the other its vegetative germ? * the former dying, the latter springing up, and becoming unfolded into a vegetable?

Fifth. Since, in the passage in hand, the process

-or

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"Vegetative germ. Some have dreamed of a principle· something else appertaining to each plant, which principle (, or whatever else it may be called,) is analogous to the spirit in man. I do not take it upon me to say that there is no such thing as a plant-spirit;" nor do I affirm that Paul did not recognize its existence, if it has any;- what I say in relation to it, is, that, to me, his language in this place conveys not even an allusion to such an entity. But I do understand him as recognizing in a seed the existence of a something which I have called a vegetative germ, which germ may be considered as a rudimental plant- -a plant as it were in embryo. To this God gives a body; that is, He causes it to grow up into a visible, tangible organism.

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