There still remains to be considered Hilary’s account of the future state. The human soul, being created after the image of God, is imperishable; resurrection is as inevitable as death Tr. in Ps. li. 18, lxiii. 9.. And the resurrection will be in the body, for good and bad alike. The body of the good will be glorified, like that of Christ; its substance will be the same as in the present life, its glory such that it will be in all other respects a new body Ib. ii. 41.. Indeed, the true life of man only begins when this transformation takes place Ib. cxviii,Gimel, 3.. No such change awaits the wicked; we shall all rise, but we shall not all be changed, as St. Paul says Ib. lii. 17.. They remain as they are, or rather are subjected to a ceaseless process of deterioration, whereby the soul is degraded to the level of the body, while this in the case of others is raised, either instantly or by a course of purification, to the level of the soul Comm. in Matt. x. 19.. Their last state is vividly described in language which recalls that of Virgil; crushed to powder and dried to dust they will fly for ever before the wind of God’s wrath Tr. in Ps. i. 19.. For the thoroughly good and the thoroughly bad the final state begins at the moment of death. There is no judgment for either class, but only for those whose character contains elements of both good and evil Ib. i. 19 ff., translated in this volume. For the good, see also ib. lvii. 7; for the bad, lvii. 5, Trin. vi. 3.. But perfect goodness is only a theoretical possibility, and Hilary is not certain of the condemnation of any except wilful unbelievers. Evil is mingled in varying proportions with good in the character of men at large; God can detect it in the very best. All therefore need to be purified after death, if they are to escape condemnation on the Day of Judgment. Even the Mother of our Lord needs the purification of pain; this is the sword which should pierce through her soul Tr. in Ps.cxviii., Gimel, 12.. All who are infected by sin, the heretic who has erred in ignorance among them Trin. vi. 3., must pass through cleansing fires after death. Then comes the general Resurrection. To the good it brings the final change to perfect glory; the bad will rise only to return to their former place Tr. in. Ps. lii. 17, lxix. 3.. The multitude of men will be judged, and after the education and purification of suffering to which, by God’s mercy, they have been submitted, will be accepted by Him. Hilary’s writings contain no hint that any who are allowed to present themselves on the Day of Judgment will then be rejected.