r his
soul were separated from his body. For he says (2 Cor. 12:2): "I know
a man in Christ rapt even to the third heaven." Now man denotes
something composed of soul and body; and rapture differs from death.
Seemingly therefore he knew that his soul was not separated from his
body by death, which is the more probable seeing that this is the
common opinion of the Doctors.

Obj. 2: Further, it appears from the same words of the Apostle that
he knew whither he was rapt, since it was "to the third heaven." Now
this shows that he knew whether he was in the body or not, for if he
knew the third heaven to be something corporeal, he must have known
that his soul was not separated from his body, since a corporeal
thing cannot be an object of sight save through the body. Therefore
it would seem that he was not ignorant whether his soul were
separated from his body.

Obj. 3: Further, Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 28) that "when in
rapture, he saw God with the same vision as the saints see Him in
heaven." Now from the very fact that the saints see God, they know
whether their soul is separated from their body. Therefore Paul too
knew this.

_On the contrary,_ It is written (2 Cor. 12:3): "Whether in the body,
or out of the body, I know not, God knoweth."

_I answer that,_ The true answer to this question must be gathered
from the Apostle's very words, whereby he says he knew something,
namely that he was "rapt even to the third heaven," and that
something he knew not, namely "whether" he were "in the body or out
of the body." This may be understood in two ways. First, the words
"whether in the body or out of the body" may refer not to the very
being of the man who was rapt (as though he knew not whether his soul
were in his body or not), but to the mode of rapture, so that he
ignored whether his body besides his soul, or, on the other hand, his
soul alone, were rapt to the third heaven. Thus Ezechiel is stated
(Ezech. 8:3) to have been "brought in the vision of God into
Jerusalem." This was the explanation of a certain Jew according to
Jerome (Prolog. super Daniel.), where he says that "lastly our
Apostle" (thus said the Jew) "durst not assert that he was rapt in
his body, but said: 'Whether in the body or out of the body, I know
not.'"

Augustine, however, disapproves of this explanation (Gen. ad lit.
xii, 3 seqq.) for this reason that the Apostle states that he knew he
was rapt even to the third heaven. Wherefore he