Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenæus

"And the man of God asked, 'Where did it fall?' He showed him the place. So he cut down a tree and threw it in there, and the iron floated." This was a sign that souls should be lifted through the instrument of wood, upon which He suffered, who can lift those souls that follow His ascension. This event also indicated that when the holy soul of Christ descended to Hades, many souls ascended and were seen in their bodies. Just as the wood, which is lighter, was submerged in the water, but the iron, heavier, floated: so, when the Word of God became one with flesh, through a physical and hypostatic union, the heavy and earthly part, made immortal, was lifted into heaven by the divine nature after the resurrection.