Ascending And Descending

Quod autem ascendit, quid est nisi qui et descendit in inferiora terrae? Positum est in psalmo ascendens altitudinem ex quo verbo capiamus intelligentiam quia is ascendit, qui descendit. Natura etenim rei sic se habet, ut ascendere in coelum non possit nisi qui inde descendit. Hoc circa coelestia: nam circa alia hujusmodi terrena potest aliquis ascendere, qui non descendit: sed in coelum atque in coelos nemo ascendit, nisi qui inde descendit. Sic enim Salvator in Evangelio dixit: nisi quis renatus fuerit, non potest regnum Dei tenere. Deinde subjunxit, quoniam quod ex carne nascitur, caro est; quod autem ex spiritu nascitur, spiritus est. Spiritus autem de supernis est; ergo spiritus ad superna redit. Nam et cum resurrectio fuerit, omnia spiritus erunt; et totus homo spiritus factus, in coelum ascendet, scilicet per spiritum. Ergo necessarium factum est ut qui ascendit in coelum, ipse sit qui descendit. Christus ergo, de quo dictum est, quia ascendit in coelum, intelligitur quod descenderit: et si descendit, utique in terrae inferiora descendit; non solum in terram, sed in inferiora terrae. Lectum est enim, quia in infernum descendit Salvator passione illa crucis, ut omnem animam liberaret, et ex omnibus locis redimeret membra sua. Victorinus Afrus, In Epistolam Pauli ad Ephesios, Liber Secundus, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 8.1273d-1274a

And who ascends but he who descends into the interior of the earth? 1 It has been written in the Psalm: 'Rising to the height,' 2 from which we should understand that this one who ascends is he who descends. Indeed the nature of it is such that he who ascends into heaven cannot do so unless he came down from there. And this ascent is into the heavenly places, for someone is able to ascend into some other terrestrial place who does not descend, but no one ascends into heaven and heavenly things unless he who descends from there. So the Saviour says in the Gospel: 'Unless a man has been reborn, he is not able to lay hold of the kingdom of God.' Then He continues, 'Because what is born from flesh is flesh and what is born from the spirit is spirit.' 3 And the spirit is from above, therefore the spirit returns to things above. For come the resurrection everything will be spirit, and having been made a spirit the whole man will ascend into heaven, that is, through the spirit. Therefore it was necessary that he who ascends into heaven is he who descends. Therefore Christ says about this that he who ascends into heaven is understood as he who has descended, 4 and if he descends, he descends even into the interior of the earth; and not only to earth, but even into the interior of the earth. For it is written that in the passion of the cross the Saviour descended to hell so that he might free every soul and redeem his members from every place. 5 Victorinus Afrus, On the Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians, Book Two, Chapter Four 1 Ephes 4.9 2 Ps 67.19 3 Jn 3.5-6 4 Jn 3.13 5 1 Peter 3.18-19