2. Now, when it is said that all things were made by Him, and that in Him were all things created, both things in heaven and things on earth, there can be no doubt that also those things which are in the firmament, which is called heaven, and in which those luminarics are said to be placed, are included amongst the number of heavenly things. And secondly, seeing that the course of the discussion has mani- festly discovered that all things were made or created, and that amongst created things there is nothing which may not admit of good and evil, and be capable of either, what are we to think of the following opinion which certain of our friends entertain regarding sun, moon, and stars, viz. that they are unchangeable, and incapable of becoming the opposite of what they are? Nota few have held that view even regarding the holy angels, and certain heretics also regarding souls, which they call spiritual natures.
In the first place, then, Ict us see what reason itself can discover respecting sun, moon, and stars, —whether the opinion, entertained by some, of their unchangeableness be Cuar. vu] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPUIS. 61 correct,—and let the declarations of holy Scripture, as far as possible, be first adduced. For Job appears to assert that not only may the stats be subject to sin, but even that they are actually not clean from the contagion of it. The follow- ing are his words: “The stars also are not clean in Thy sight.” + Nor is this to be understood of the splendour of their physical substance, as if one were to say, for example, of a garment, that it is not clean; for if such were the meaning, then the accusation of a want of cleanness in the splendour of their bodily substance would imply an injurious reflection upon their Creator. For if they are unable, through their own diligent efforts, either to acquire for themselves a body of greater brightness, or through their sloth to make the one they have less pure, how should they incur censure for being stars that are not clean, if they receive no praise because they are so?
3. But to arrive at a clearer anderstanding on these matters, we ought first to inquire after this point, whether it is allowable to suppose that they are living and rational beings; then, in the next place, whether their souls came into existence at the same time with their bodies, or seem to be anterior to them; and also whether, after the end of the world, we are to understand that they are to be released from their bodies; and whether, 4s we cease to live, so they also will cease from illuminating the world. Although this in- quiry may seem to be somewhat bold, yet, as we are incited by the desire of ascertaining the truth as far as possible, there seems no absurdity in attempting an investigation of the subject agreeably to the grace of the Holy Spirit.
We think, then, that they may be designated as living beings, for this reason, that they are said to receive com- mandments from God, which is ordinarily the case only with rational beings. “I have given a commandment to. all the stars,”* says the Lord. What, now, are these command- ments? Those, namely, that each star, in its order and course, should bestow upon the world the amount of splen- dour which has been entrusted to it. For those which are 62 ORIGEN DE PRINCIPUS. [Book 1.
called “ planets” move in orbits of one kind, and those which are termed ddaveis are different. Now it manifestly follows from this, that neither can the movement of that body take place without a soul, nor can living things be at any time without motion. And seeing that the stars move with such order and regularity, that their movements never appear to be at any time subject to derangement, would it not be the height of folly to say that so orderly an observance of method and plan could be carried out or accomplished by irrational beings? In the writings of Jeremiah, indeed, the moon is called the queen of heaven.’ Yet if the stars are living and rational beings, there will undoubtedly appear among them both an advance and a falling back. For the language of Job, “the stars are not clean in His sight,” seems to me to convey some such idea.
4. And now we have to ascertain whether those beings which in the course of the discussion we have discovered to possess life and reason, were endowed with a soul along with their bodies at the time mentioned in Scripture, when “God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the stars also,” ’ or whether their spirit was implanted in them, not at the creation of their bodies, but from without, after they had been already made. I, for my part, suspect that the spirit was implanted in them from without; but it will be worth while to prove this from Scripture: for it will seem an easy matter to make the assertion on conjectural grounds, while it is more difficult to establish it by the testimony of Scrip- ture. Now it may be established conjecturally as follows. If the soul of a man, which is certainly inferior while it remains the soul of a man, was not formed along with his body, but is proved to have been implanted strictly from without, much more must this be the case with those living beings which are called heavenly. For, as regards man, how could the soul of him, viz. Jacob, who supplanted his brother in the womb, appear to be formed along with his body? Or how could his soul, or its images, be formed along CHAP. VII. ] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIS. 63 with his body, who, while lying in his mother’s womb, was filled with the Holy Ghost? I refer to John leaping in his mother’s womb, and exulting because the voice of the salu- - tation of Mary had come to the ears of his mother Elisabeth. TIow could his soul and its images be formed along with his body, who, before he was created in the womb, is said to be known to God, and was sanctified by Him before his birth? Some, perhaps, may think that God fills individuals with His _ Holy Spirit, and bestows upon'them sanctification, not on grounds of justice and according to their deserts, but unde- servedly. And how shall we escape that declaration: “Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid!”? or this: “ Is there respect of persons with God?”? For such is the de- fence of those who maintain that souls come into existence with bodies. So far, then, as we can form an opinion from a comparison with the condition of man, I think it follows that we must hold the same to hold good with heavenly beings, which reason itself and scriptural authority show us to be the case with men.
5. But let us see whether we can find in holy Scripture any indications properly applicable to these heavenly existences. The following is the statement of the Apostle Paul: “The creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.”* To what vanity, pray, was the creature made subject, or what creature is referred to, or how is it said “not willingly,” or “in hope of what?” And in what way is the creature itself to be delivered from the bondage of corruption? Elsewhere, also, the same apostle says: “For the expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” * And again in another passage, “ And not only we, but the creation itself groaneth together, and is in pain until now.”° And hence we have to inquire what are the groanings, and what are the pains. Let us see then, in the first place, what 1 Rom. ix. 14. 2 Rom. ii. 11. 3 Cf. Rom. viii. 20, 2L 4 Rom. viii. 19. 5 Rom. viii. 22, cf. 23.
64 ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. [Boox 1.
is the vanity to which the creature is subject. I apprehend that it is nothing else than the body; for although the body _ of the stars is ethereal, it is nevertheless material. Whence also Solomon appears to characterize the whole of corporeal nature as a kind of burden which enfeebles the vigour of the ' soul in the following language: “ Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher; all is vanity. I have looked, and seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity.’ To this vanity, then, is the creature subject, that creature espe- cially which, being assuredly the greatest in this world, holds also a distinguished principality of labour, i.e. the sun, and moon, and stars, are said to be subject to vanity, because they are clothed with bodies, and set apart to the office of giving light to the human race. And this creature,’ he remarks, “was subjected to vanity not willingly.” For it did not undertake a voluntary service to vanity, but because it was the will of Him who made it subject, and because of the promise of the Subjector to those who were reduced to this unwilling obedience, that when the ministry of their great work was performed, they were to be freed from this bondage of corruption and vanity when the time of the glorious re- demption of God’s children should have arrived. And the whole of creation, receiving this hope, and looking for the fulfilment of this promise now, in the meantime, as having an affection for those whom it serves, groans along with them, and patiently suffers with them, hoping for the fulfilment of the promises. See also whether tlie following words of Paul can apply to those who, although not willingly, yet in accord- ance with the will of Him who subjected them, and in hope of the promises, were made subject to vanity, when he says, “For I eould wish to be dissolved,” or “to return and be with Christ, which is far better.”? For I think that the sun might say in like manner, “I would desire to be dissolved,” or “to return and be with Christ, which is far better.” Paul indeed adds, “ Nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you;” while the sun may say, “To abide in this bright and heavenly body is more necessary, on account of Cap. vit. | ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. 65 the manifestation of the sons of God.” The same views are to be believed and expressed regarding the moon and stars.
Let us see now what is the freedom of the creature, or the termination of its bondage. When Christ shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the Father, then also those living things, when they shall have first been made the kingdom of Christ, shall be delivered, along with the whole of that king- dom, to the rule of the Father, that when God shall be all in all, they also, since they are a part of all things, may have God in themselves, as He is in all things.
CHAPTER VIII. ON THE ANGELS.
1. A SIMILAR method must be followed in treating of the angels; nor are we to suppose that it is the result of accident that a particular office is assigned to a particular angel: as to Raphael, e.g., the work of curing and healing; to Gabriel, the conduct of wars; to Michael, the duty of attending to the prayers and supplications of mortals. For we are not to imagine that they obtained these offices otherwise than by their own merits, and by the zeal and excellent qualities which © they severally displayed before this world was formed; so that afterwards, in the order of archangels, this or that office was assigned to each one, while others deserved to be enrolled in the order of angels, and to act under this or that arch- angel, or that leader or head of an order. All of which things were disposed, as I have said, not indiscriminately and fortui- tously, but by a most appropriate and just decision of God, who arranged them according to deserts, in accordance with His own approval and judgment: so that to one angel the church of the Ephesians was to be entrusted; to another, that of the Smyrnzans; one angel was to be Peter’s, another Paul’s; and so on through every one of the little ones that are in the church, for such and such angels as even daily ORIG. E 66 ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. [ Book 1.: behold the face of God must be assigned to each one of them;7 and there must also be some angel that encampeth round about them that fear God.’ All of which things, assuredly, it is to be believed, are not performed by accident or chance, or because they [the angels] were so created, lest on that view the Creator should be accused of partiality; but it is to be believed that they were conferred by God, the just and impartial Ruler of all things, agreeably to the merits and good qualities and mental vigour of each individual spirit.
2. And now let us say something regarding those who maintain the existence of a diversity of spiritual natures, that we may avoid falling into the silly and impious fables of such as pretend that there is a diversity of spiritual natures both among heavenly existences and human souls, and for that reason allege that they were called into being by different creators; for while it seems, and is really, absurd that to one and the same creator should be ascribed the creation of different natures of rational beings, they are nevertheless ignorant of the cause of that diversity. For they say that it seems inconsistent for one and the same creator, without any existing ground of merit, to confer upon some beings the power of dominion, and to subject others again to authority; to bestow a principality upon some, and to render others sub- ordinate to rulers. Which opinions indeed, in my judgment, are completely rejected by following out the reasoning ex- plained above, and by which it was shown that the cause of the diversity and variety among these beings is due to their conduct, which has been marked either with greater earnest- ness or indifference, according to the goodness or badness of their nature, and not to any partiality on the part of the Disposer. But that this may more easily be shown to be the case with heavenly beings, let us borrow an illustration from what either has been done or is done among men, in order that 1 Matt. xviii. 10.
1 Matt. xviii. 10.
7 Ps. xxxiv. 7. Tum demum per singulos minimorum, qui sunt in ecclesia, qui vel qui adscribi singulis debeant angeli, qui etiam quotidie videant faciem Dei; sed et quis pent esse angelus, qui circumdet in circuitu timentium Deum.
Caap. vii. | ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. 67 from visible things we may, by way of consequence, behold also things invisible.
Paul and Peter are undoubtedly proved to have been men of a spiritual nature. When, therefore, Paul is found to have acted contrary to religion, in having persecuted the church of God, and Peter to have committed so grave a sin as, when questioned by the maid-servant, to have asserted with an oath that he did not know who Christ was, how is it possible that these—who, according to those persons of whom we speak, were spiritual beings—should fall into sins of such a nature, especially as they are frequently in the habit of saying that a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits? And if a good tree cannot produce evil fruit, and as, according to them, Peter and Paul were sprung from the root of a good tree, how should they be deemed to have brought forth fruits so wicked? And if they should return the answer which is generally invented, that it was not Paul who persecuted, but some other person, I know not whom, who was in Paul; and that it was not Peter who uttered the denial, but some other individual in him; how should Paul say, if he had not sinned, that “ I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God?” Or why did Peter weep most bitterly, if it were another than he who sinned? From which all their _ assertions will be proved to be baseless.
3. According to our view, there is no rational creature which is not capable both of good and evil. But it does not follow, that because we say there is no nature which may not admit evil, we therefore maintain that every nature has admitted evil, t.e. has become wicked. As we may say that the nature of every man.admits of his being a sailor, but it does not follow from that, that every man will become so; or, again, it is possible for every one to learn grammar or medicine, but it is not therefore proved that every man is either a physician or a grammarian; so, if we say that there is no’ nature which may not admit evil, it is not necessarily indicated that it has done so. For, in our view, not even the 68 ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIS. [Book 1.
devil himself was incapable of good; but although capable of admitting good, he did not therefore also desire it, or make any effort after virtue. For, as we are taught by those quotations which we adduced from the prophets, there was once a time when he was good, when he walked in the paradise of God between the cherubim. As he, then, pos- sessed the power either of receiving good or evil, but fell away from a virtuous course, and turned to evil with all the powers of his mind, so also other creatures, as having a capacity for either condition, in the exercise of the freedom of their will, flee from evil, and cleave to good. There is no nature, then, which may not admit of good or evil, except the nature of God—the fountain of all good things—and of Christ; for it is wisdom, and wisdom assuredly cannot admit folly; and it is righteousness, and righteousness will never certainly admit of unrighteousness; and it is the Word, or Reason, which certainly cannot be made irrational; nay, it is also the light, and it is certain that the darkness docs not receive the light. In like manner, also, the nature of the Holy Spirit, being holy, does not admit of pollution; for it is holy by nature, or essential being. If there is any other nature which is holy, it possesses this property of being made holy by the reception or inspiration of the Holy Spirit, not having it by nature, but as an accidental quality, for which reason it may be lost, in consequence of being accidental.
So also a man may possess an accidental righteousness, from which it is possible for him to fall away. Even the wisdom which a man has is still accidental, although it be within our own power to become wise, if we devote ourselves to wisdom with the zeal and effort of our life; and if we always pursue the study of it, we may always be participators of wisdom: and that result will follow either in a greater or less degree, according to the desert of our life or the amount of our zeal. For the goodness of God, as is worthy of Him, incites and attracts all to that blissful end, where all pain, and sadness, and sorrow fall away and disappear.
4. I am of opinion, then, so far as appears to me, that the preceding discussion has sufficiently proved that it is neither Cuap. VItt. ] OLIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. 69 from want of discrimination, nor from any accidental cause, either that the “ principalities” hold their dominion, or the other orders of spirits have obtained their respective offices; but that they have received the steps of their rank on account of their merits, although it is not our privilege to know or inquire what those acts of theirs were, by which they earned a place in any particular order. It is sufficient only to know this much, in order to demonstrate the impartiality and righteousness of God, that, conformably with the declara- tion of the Apostle Paul, “there is no acceptance of persons with Him,” who rather disposes everything according to the deserts and moral progress of each individual. So, then, the angelic office does not exist except as a consequence of their desert; nor do “ powers” exercise power except in virtue of their moral progress; nor do those which are called “ seats,” i.e. the powers of judging and ruling, administer their powers unless by merit; nor do “dominions” rule undeservedly, for that great and distinguished order of rational creatures among celestial existences is arranged in a glorious variety of offices. And the same view is to be entertained of those opposing influences which have given themselves up to such places and offices, that they derive the property by which they are made “ principalities,” or “ powers,” or rulers of the darkness of the world, or spirits of wickedness, or malignant spirits, or unclean demons, not from their essential nature, nor from their being so created, but have obtained these degrees in evil in proportion to their conduct, and the pro- gress which they made in wickedness. And that is a second order of rational creatures, who have devoted themselves to wickedness in so headlong a course, that they are unwilling rather than unable to recall themselves; the thirst for evil being already a passion, and imparting to them pleasure. But the third order of rational creatures is that of those who are judged fit by God to replenish the human race, i.e. the souls of men, assumed in consequence of their moral pro- gress into the order of angels; of whom we see some assumed into the number: those, viz., who have been made the sons of 70 ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. [Book 1.
God, or the children of the resurrection, or who have aban- doned the darkness, and have loved the light, and have been made children of the light; or those who, proving victorious in every struggle, and being made men of peace, have been the sons of peace, and the sons of God; or those who, morti- fying their members on the earth, and, rising above not only their corporeal nature, but even the uncertain and fragile movements of the soul itself, have united themselves to the Lord, being made altogether spiritual, that they may be for ever one spirit with Him, discerning along with Him each individual thing, until they arrive at a condition of perfect spirituality, and discern all things by their perfect illumina- tion in all holiness through the word and wisdom of God, and are themselves altogether undistinguishable by any one.
We think that those views are by no means to be admitted, which some are wont unnecessarily to advance and main- tain, viz. that souls descend to such a pitch of abasement that they forget their rational nature and dignity, and sink into the condition of irrational animals, either large or small; and in support of these assertions they generally quote some pretended statements of Scripture, such as, that a beast, to which a woman has unnaturally prostituted herself, shall be deemed equally guilty with the woman, and shall be ordered to be stoned; or that a bull which strikes with its horns, shall be put to death in the same way; or even the speaking of Balaam’s ass, when God opened its mouth, and the dumb beast of burden, answering with human voice, reproved the madness of the prophet. All of which assertions we not only do not receive, but, as being contrary to our belicf, we refute and reject. After the refutation and rejection of such perverse opinions, we shall show, at the proper time and place, how those passages which they quote from the sacred Scriptures ought to be understood.
Book 1.] ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. 71 FRAGMENT FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF THE DE PRINCIPIIS. Translated by Jerome in his Epistle to Avitus.
“Tt is an evidence of great negligence and sloth, that each one should fall down to such (a pitch of degradation), and be so emptied, as that, in coming to evil, he may be fastened to the gross body of irrational beasts of burden.”
ANOTHER FRAGMENT FROM THE SAME.
Translated in the same Epistle to Avitus.
‘‘ At the end and consummation of the world, when souls and rational creatures shall have been sent forth as from bolts and barriers,’ some of them walk slowly on account of their slothful habits, others fly with rapid flight on account of their diligence. And since all are possessed of free-will, and may of their own accord admit either of good or evil, the former will be in a worse condition than they are at pre- sent, while the latter will advance to a better state of things; because different conduct and varying wills will admit of a different condition in either direction, t.e. angels may become men or demons, and again from the latter they may rise to be men or angels.”
2 De quibusdam repagulis atque carceribus. There is an allusion here to the race-course and the mode of starting the chariots.
BOOK IL.
— CHAPTER I.
ON THE WORLD.
aC LTHOUGH all the discussions in the preceding 41 book have had reference to the world and its arrangements, it now seems to follow that we should specially re-discuss a few points respect- ing the world itself, i.e. its beginning and end, or those dis- pensations of Divine Providence which have taken place between the beginning and the end, or those events which are supposed to have occurred before the creation of the world, or are to take place after the end.
In this investigation, the first point which clearly appears is, that the world in all its diversified and varying conditions is composed not only of rational and diviner natures, and of a diversity of bodies, but of dumb animals, wild and tame beasts, of birds, and of all things which live in the waters; ' then, secondly, of places, t.e. of the heaven or heavens, and of the earth or water, as well as of the air, which is inter- mediate, and which they term ether, and of everything which proceeds from the earth or is born init. Seeing, then,” there is so great a variety in the world, and so great a diver- sity among rational beings themselves, on account of which every other variety and diversity also is supposed to have 1 The words “Sin aquis ” are omitted in Redepenning’s edition.
2 The original of this sentence is found at the close of the Emperor Justinian’s epistle to Menas, patriarch of Constantinople, and, literally translated, is as follows: ‘‘The world being so very varied, and contain- ing so many different rational beings, what else ought we to say was the ¢2 Cup. 1. | ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. 73 come into existence, what other cause than this ought to be assigned for the existence of the world, especially if we have regard to that end by means of which it was shown in the pre- ceding book that all things are to be restored to their original condition? And if this should seem to be logically stated, what other cause, as we have already said, are we to imagine for so great a diversity in the world, save the diversity and variety in the movements and declensions of those who felF from that primeval unity and harmony in which they were at first created by God, and who, being driven from that state of goodness, and drawn in various directions by the harass- ing influence of different motives and desires, have changed, according to their different tendencies, the single and undi- vided goodness of their nature into minds of various sorts?? 2. But God, by the ineffable skill of His wisdom, trans- forming and restoring all things, in whatever manner they are made, to some useful aim, and to the common advantage of all, recalls those very creatures which differed so much from each other in mental conformation to one agreement of labour and purpose; so that, although they are under the influence of diffe- rent motives, they nevertheless complete the fulness and perfec- tion of one world, and the very variety of minds tends to one end of perfection. For it is one power which grasps and holds together all the diversity of the world, and leads the different movements towards one work, lest so immense an undertak- ing as that of the world should be dissolved by the dissensions of souls. And for this reason we think that God, the Father of all things, in order to ensure the salvation of all His crea- tures through the ineffable plan of His word and wisdom, so arranged each of these, that every spirit, whether soul or rational existence, however called, should not be compelled by force, against the liberty of his own will, to any other course than that to which the motives of his own mind led cause of its cxistence than the diversity of the falling away of those who decline from unity (r%¢ éyadcs) in different ways?”—Ruzvus. Lom- matzsch adds a clause not contained in the note of the Benedictine editor: ‘‘and sometimes the soul selects the life that is in water ” (évvdpoy).
1 Lit. ‘‘into various qualitics of minds.”
74 ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS. [ Boox 11. him (lest by so doing the power of exercising free-will should seem to be taken away, which certainly would produce a change in the nature of the being itself); and that the vary- ing purposes of these would be suitably and usefully adapted to the harmony of one world, by some of them requiring help, and others being able to give it, and others again being the cause of struggle and contest to those who are making progress, amongst whom their diligence would be deemed more worthy of approval, and the place of rank obtained after victory be held with greater certainty, which should be established by the difficulties of the contest."
3. Although the whole world is arranged into offices of different kinds, its condition, nevertheless, is not to be sup- posed as one of internal discrepancies and discordances; but as our one body is provided with many members, and is held together by one soul, so I am of opinion that the whole world also ought to be regarded as some huge and immense animal, which is kept together by the power and reason of God as by one soul. This also, I think, is indicated in sacred Scripture by the declaration of the prophet, “ Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord;”? and again, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool;”* and by the Saviour’s words, when Ie says that we are to swear “neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool.” * To the same effect also are the words of Paul, in his address to the Athenians, when he says, “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” ® For how do we live, and move, and have our being in God, except by His compre- hending and holding together the whole world by His power? And how is heaven the throne of God, and the earth His footstool, as the Saviour Himself declares, save by His power