Tag: greek transcription

Origen on the Ages to Come Pt. 2

~ Alex Poulos ~ Leave a comment

Introduction

Part 1 is here. As promised, here is the second installment of the end of Origen’s first homily on Ps. 77 (76 LXX). In these two paragraphs, Origen discusses God’s rejection. Based on the psalm, he doesn’t think rejection will last forever, but he also urges his audience to consider the terror of separation from God. To be separated from God even for a single hour is dreadful, as whenever someone is rejected they are handed over to Satan and his angels.

English

“Surely the Lord will not reject forever?”

As I probed my spirit about these matters, I reasoned carefully and said, “Let God reject someone for a year, and hand him over to trials. Let this last for two years. Let this be the case for their entire life. How many years is this? Fifty or sixty. Let him forsake someone for this entire age. Will God forsake them forever? “Surely the Lord will not reject forever?” is said, for he doesn’t wish to forsake us, even for a single age. There are, though, those whom he will reject in another age besides this one. The Savior mentions these, saying that when people sin against the Holy Spirit, “it will not be forgiven them, neither in this age, nor the one to come.” Consider someone who sinned at the time of Adam, who will be punished from that time until the end of the age for their sin. Think about the span of this punishment, and if you can, think of another like it, equal in time to this age or not (I don’t know, after all, the sizes of the different ages). Look at someone being punished for that entire age, consider the great magnitude of punishment, but do not despise it. Rather, remember the prophet’s words, that the Lord will not reject for ever.

On those rejected by God.

Remember too that to be rejected by the Lord for a single hour is a terrible punishment, because when God rejects me, the Devil receives me. When someone is rejected, he is handed over to the devil, which is what happened when Paul rejected the sexually immoral man in Corinth. Why did he bar him from the church? He handed him over to Satan so that the man’s flesh would be destroyed and his spirit saved. Should God reject any one of us, we would fall right into the hands of Satan and his angels. It is a horrible thing to be subjected to Satan, and if someone is made subject to him, it is God’s punishment, for the person deserves this subjection.

Greek

¶ μὴ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας
ἀπώσεται κύριος; ταῦτα σκάλλων τὸ πνεῦμα,
διελογισάμην καὶ ἔλεγον, ἔστω ἀπωθεῖται
τινὰ ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ ἐνιαυτὸν, καὶ ἐγκαταλείπει
αὐτὸν εἰς θλίψεις. ἔστω δὲ ἐπὶ
δύο ἔτη τινὰ καταλείπεσθαι. ἔστω,
ἐπὶ ὅλον τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἐνταῦθα ζωῆς.
πόσα ἐστὶ τὰ ἔτη; πεντήκοντα ἔτη
καὶ ἐξήκοντα. ἔστω τινὰ καταλείπεσθαι
ὅλον τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦτον. ἆρα καὶ
ἐφ᾽ ὅλους τοὺς αἰῶνας ἐγκαταλείψει ὁ
θεὸς; μὴ, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας ἀπώσηται κύριος·
ἵνα μὴ ἀπώσηται ἡμᾶς μηδὲ εἰς ἕνα
αἰῶνα. εἰσὶ γάρ τινες οὓς ἀπωθεῖται
καὶ ἐπὶ αἰῶνα ἕτερον, παρὰ τοῦτον
αἰῶνα, περὶ ὧν ὁ σωτὴρ λέγει, ὅταν
ἁμάρτωσιν εἰς τὸ ἅγιον πνεῦμα, ὅτι οὐ μὴ
ἀφεθῇ αὐτῷ, οὔτε ἐν τούτῳ τῷ αἰῶνι οὔτε
ἐν τῷ μέλλοντι. φέρε
γὰρ τινὰ ἔχειν ἁμάρτημα ἐπὶ τῶν χρόνων
τοῦ ἀδὰμ, καὶ κολάζεσθαι ἔκτοτε
μέχρι τῆς συντελείας ἐπὶ τῷ ἁμαρτήματι.

ὅρα τὸ μέγεθος πηλίκον ἐστὶ τῆς κολάσεως.
καὶ εἰ δύνασαι καὶ ἄλλον συνάψαι.
ἤτοι ἰσόχρονον τούτῳ τῷ αἰῶνι,
ἢ οὐκ ἰσόχρονον. οὐ γὰρ οἶδα τὰ
μεγέθη τῶν αἰώνων. ἴδε τινά μοι κολαζόμενον
κἀκεῖνον τὸν αἰῶνα, καὶ ὅρα τὸ
μέγεθος τῆς κολάσεως, καὶ μὴ καταφρόνει,
καὶ νόει τὰ ἐνταῦθα εἰρημένα
ὑπὸ τοῦ φροφήτου ὅτι οὐκ εἰς
τοὺς αἰῶνας ἀπώσεται κύριος. ¶ τῶν
ἀπωσωμῶν τοῦ θεοῦ. ἀλλ᾽ ὅρα ὅτι καὶ μίαν
ὥραν ἀπωσθῆναι τοῦ θεοῦ, ζημία ἐστὶ
μεγάλη. ὅταν γὰρ ἀπώσηταί με ὁ θεὸς,
διάβολός με λαμβάνει, ὡς ἀπωσθέντα,
καὶ αὐτῷ παραδοθέντα, οἷον ἀπώσατο
παῦλος τὸν πεπορνευκότα ἐν κορίνθῳ.
διὰ τοῦτο ἀπώσατο αὐτὸν ἀπὸ
τῆς ἐκκλησίας, παρέδωκεν αὐτὸν
τῷ σατανᾷ εἰς ὄλεθρον τῆς σαρκὸς
ἵνα τὸ πνεῦμα σωθῇ. καὶ ἕκαστον ἡμῶν
ἂν ἀπώσηται ὁ θεὸς, οὐδεὶς ἄλλος παραλαμβάνει,
ἢ ὁ σατανᾶς καὶ οἱ ἄγγελοι
αὐτοῦ. φοβερὸν τὸ ὑπ᾽ ἐκεῖνον γενέσθαι,
καὶ εἴ τις γίνεται ὑπ᾽ ἐκεῖνον, κρίματι

#182r
θεοῦ ὡς ἄξιος τοῦ ὑπ᾽ ἐκεῖνον γενέσθαι
παραδέδοται. #END

ἐν αὐτῷ,
ΜΑΘΠ

Origen on the Ages to Come Pt. 1

~ Alex Poulos ~ 2 Comments

Psalm

“I have pondered over the ancient days,
and I have kept remembrance and meditated upon the eternal years.
In the night, I groaned deeply in my heart,
and I probed my spirit.
Surely the Lord will not reject forever,
and continue not to set forth goodwill?
Surely, in the end, he will not cut off his mercy
from generation to generation?
Surely God will not forget to show compassion,
and withhold, within his wrath, his mercies?” (Ps. 76:6-10 LXX).

English 
The Psalmist says, “I have pondered the ancient days,” but then as he ponders the ancient days, he ascends to what is beyond them: the eternal years. Moreover (if I may say so) years that share in temporality are themselves temporary, since the things we see are only temporary. There are, however, other years that are eternal: those before the world, perhaps, and those after the world. The law has measures concerning these years, because it has a shadow of the good things to come: it teaches about what must be done in the seventh year and in the fiftieth. After all, when someone has comprehended the spiritual nature of the law, they will understand that these ordinances refer to eternal years. Thus, this righteous one ascends from pondering the ancient days to the eternal years. These eternal years are comprised of eternal days, which are written about in Deuteronomy, “remember the days of eternity. Understand the years of the generation of generations.” (Dt. 32:7) Hearing this, we pray to ascend from these earthly days, and months, and years, to ascend to the days of eternity, to the eternal years, and, if I dare say so, since the new-moon feast is spiritual, to ascend also to the eternal months, in which the passage of our lives is not demarcated by the sun, for there the “Lord will be an eternal light for you, and God will be your glory” (Is 60:19).  

Therefore, “I have remembered and meditated on the eternal years. In the night, I would search deeply with my heart, and would probe my spirit.” Take note of this passage, so that if sleep ever forsakes you, and you are lying awake, you do not waste that time of wakefulness on unnecessary things. Rather, during the time you are awake, while sleep as forsaken you, set your thoughts on service to God. This man, having set his mind to such things, said, “in the night I would search deeply with my heart, and would probe my spirit.” His spirit and heart replied, “Surely the Lord will not reject forever, nor hold back his mercies within his wrath?” This is what he said, ‘I meditated in the night, and in private I would search deeply with my heart, and would probe my spirit.’ Since our spirit was given to us to be a better helper than our souls, if someone wishes to find what they seek, they shouldn’t probe their soul, nor probe their body, but probe instead their spirit.  Just as someone who wishes to find something in the ground will probe the ground to find what they imagine to be in the ground, so too you must probe the spirit to find the fruits of the spirit, if you are seeking spiritual things.  “I was probing my spirit” because you, [my spirit], “search all things.” That is, [as you search] the deep things of God, you are probing your spirit. Furthermore, I’d say that you’re probing the Spirit of God, for it is possible to come to the Spirit and search him.  

Commentary

First, I’ll say that I’ve tried to produce a translation in the proper register.  The proper register for this homily is classroom lecture, or church sermon, and so I’ve tried to use appropriately colloquial English (that’s why you see singular ‘they’, which may grate the ears of some).  I’ve taken liberties at several points to add clarifying phrases, so you are getting my interpretation of what Origen says here (as always happens when reading a translation).  I’ve tried to be a faithful translator, but there will always be problems somewhere!  If you notice something off, do let me know.  

This discussion precedes Origen’s discussion on punishment, but you can see how the text demands that he will discuss it.  He follows the text quite closely, and what I find interesting is his attention to method.  This comes out in several ways.  First, as he is wont to due, Origen brings in relevant scriptures from other places (Deuteronomy and Isaiah).  He does indulge in some speculative philosophy on the nature of the “eternal days,” and he acknowledges this by saying ‘If I dare say so.’  But this is deeply rooted in the text, something many people who haven’t read much Origen forget.  He was known later as the most infamous of all allegorists, but his attention to detail is remarkable and note worthy.

Beyond exegetical method, Origen gives much attention to the nature and method of revelation.  The psalmist is an example of devotion for us to follow.  Our sleeplessness should cause us to pursue God in prayer, and it is only in the context of prayer that one experiences what Paul calls “things unspeakable” (2 Cor 12:4).  This “mystical ascent” cannot always be expressed in direct terms, and when it is shared, it’s often done in symbolically or apophatically. Thus, Paul (2 Cor 12) and John (Revelation) are models for how to understand this passage.  We must remember this mystical “reluctance” when reading Origen’s statements on the ages to come.  Hopefully I’ll have more up soon!  

Greek

Note this is a provisional transcription.  I’ve taken the liberty of italicizing scriptural quotations, and I’ve tried to divide the sentences logically.  In punctuating, I’ve considered the manuscript’s punctuation, but also tried to make it comprehensible for a modern reader.  One of the reasons I’ve left it in this form is so you can check my work against the manuscript.  If something looks off, then please take a look at the ms and let me know in the comments.  You can find direction on my Origen page for how to access it.

#180v
διελογισάμην
οὖν φησι, ἡμέρας ἀρχαίας. εἶτα
διαλογισάμενος ἡμέρας ἀρχαίας,
ἔτι ἀναβαίνει ἐπὶ τὰ ἀνωτέρω τῶν ἀρχαίων
ἡμερῶν, τὰ ἔτη τὰ αἰώνια.
ἀλλ᾽εἰ δεῖ οὕτως εἰπεῖν, ἐπεὶ τὰ βλεπόμενα
πρόσκαιρά ἐστι, καὶ τὰ ἐν τοῖς
προσκαίροις ἔτη, πρόσκαιρά ἐστιν.
ἔστι δὲ ἄλλα ἔτη αἰώνια, τὰ πρὸ τοῦ
κόσμου τάχα, καὶ τὰ μετὰ τὸν κόσμον,
περὶ ὧν ἐτῶν, περιέχει ὁ σκιὰν ἔχων
τῶν μελλόντων ἀγαθῶν νόμος, διδάσκει
περὶ ἑβδόμου ἔτους ὃ δεὶ ποιεῖν, περὶ
πεντηκοστοῦ ἔτους. ὁ γὰρ νοήσας τὸν
νόμον καθὸ πνευματικός ἐστιν, ἀνάγει
ταῦτα ἐπὶ τὰ αἰώνια ἔτη. ὁ οὖν δίκαιος
ἀναβαίνει ἀπὸ τοῦ διαλογίσασθαι

#181r
ἡμέρας ἀρχαίας, ἐπὶ τὰ ἔτη τὰ αἰώνια.
τάδε αἰώνια ἔτη συνέστηκεν, ἐξ ἡμερῶν
αἱωνίων, περὶ ὧν γέγραπται ἐν
δευτερονομίῳ, τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον, μνήσθητε
ἡμέρας αἰῶνος. σύνετε ἔτη γενεᾶς
γενεῶν. καὶ εὐχόμεθά γε ἀναβῆναι
ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν ἡμερῶν, καὶ τούτων
τῶν μηνῶν, καὶ τούτων τῶν ἐτῶν, ἐπὶ
τὰς τοῦ αἰῶνος ἡμέρας, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἔτη
τὰ αἰώνια, καὶ εἰ δεῖ τολμήσαντα εἰπεῖν,
διὰ τὸ καὶ νουμηνίας εἶναι πνευματικὰς,
καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μῆνας τοὺς αἱωνίους,
ἐν οἷς πολιτεύομεθα χαρακτηριζόμενοι,
οὐχ ὑπὸ τούτου τοῦ ἡλίου
ἔσται γάρ σοι κύριος φῶς αἰώνιον, καὶ ὁ θεὸς
δόξα σου. ¶ ἔτη οὖν αἰώνια ἐμνήσθην καὶ
ἐμελέτησα, νυκτὸς μετὰ τῆς καρδίας
μου ἠδολέσχουν. καὶ ἐσκάλαυον τὸ πνεῦμα
μου. μάνθανε καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ῥητοῦ, ἐάν
ποτέ σε καὶ ὕπνος καταλίπῃ καὶ
διαγρυπνῇς, μὴ παραπολλύειν τὸν
χρόνον τῆς ἀγρυπνίας εἰς τὸ μὴ δέον·
ἀλλὰ παρ᾽ ὃν καιρὸν ἐγρήγορας, τοῦ ὕπνου σε
καταλιπόντος, διαλογισμοὺς

λαμβάνειν θεοσεβείας. ὁ ποίους λαβῶν
οὗτος ἔλεγε, νυκτὸς μετὰ τῆς καρδίας
μου ἠδολέσχουν, καὶ ἐσκάλαυον τὸ
πνεῦμα μου. καὶ εἶπον, μὴ, εἰς τοὺ αἰῶνας
ἀπώσεται κύριος, ἢ συνέξει ἐν τῇ ὀργῇ
αὐτοῦ τοὺς οἰκτιρμοὺς αὐτοῦ; ταῦτά φησι
νυκτὸς διελογισάμην, καὶ κατ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν
ἠδολέσχουν, μετὰ τῆς καρδίας μου, καὶ
ἐσκάλαυον τὸ πνεῦμα μου. ἐπεὶ γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα
δίδοται ὑπὸ θεοῦ εἰς βοήθειαν, ὡς
κρεῖττον τυχάνον τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν, ὁ
βουλόμενος εὑρεῖν ὃ ζητεῖ, μὴ σκαλευέτω
τὴν ψυχὴν, μηδὲ σκαλαύετω τὸ σῶμα.
ἀλλὰ σκαλευέτω τὸ πνεῦμα. καὶ ὥσπερ
ὁ βουλόμενος τί εὑρεῖν ἐν γῇ, σκάλει
τὴν γῆν ἵνα εὕρῃ ὃ φαντάζεται εἶναι
ἐν τῇ γῇ, τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, ἐι πνευματικὰ
ζητεῖς, σκάλλε τὸ πνεῦμα, εὑρίσκειν τοὺς
καρποὺς τοῦ πνεύματος. ἔσκαλλον τὸ πνεῦμα
μου, ὅτε καὶ σὺ πάντα ἐρευνᾷς. καὶ
τὰ βάθη τοῦ θεοῦ, σκάλλεις τὸ πνεῦμα σου.
ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω, ὅτι καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦ θεοῦ.
δυνατὸν γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἐπ᾽αὐτὸ φθάσαι

#182r
ἐρευνῆσαι αὐτό.
#END 

ἐν αὐτῷ,
ΜΑΘΠ 

Origen Update

~ Alex Poulos ~ Leave a comment

I’ve been busily plugging away at the PDF of the text and translation of the homily.  I’m going back through and re-translating most of what I’ve done, since the first run was pretty rough.  I’ve found several places were i messed up and have naturally corrected them in this version.  Once I’m done, I’ll post it here under either a Creative Commons license or just place it in the public domain.

Here’s a screenshot (click to enlarge).  Pardon the errors, I haven’t proofed much yet.

image

ἐν αὐτῷ,

ΜΑΘΠ

Origen on the "Voice of the Clouds" and the rivers

~ Alex Poulos ~ Leave a comment

Here, Origen discusses rivers and clouds.  Rivers are the "streams of living waters" which flow from the believer (see John 7:38).  The Greek word ποταμός can be translated as either stream or river.  The clouds, continuing from the previous passage, represent the apostles and prophets:  they had these streams within them, which "gladdened the city of God." Origen also states that thunder is the voice of the angels who administer the clouds.

καὶ ἐπεὶ ποταμοί
τινες ἐκ κοιλίας αὐτῶν ἦσαν
ὕδατος ἐξιόντες εἰς ζωὴν αίώνιον,
ποταμοὺς ἔχοντες ἐλάλουν καὶ
εὔφραινον τὴν πόλιν τοῦ θεοῦ, "τοῦ
γὰρ ποταμοῦ τὰ ὀρμήματα, εὐφραίνουσι
τὴν πόλιν τοῦ θεοῦ." ἐπεὶ οὖν ἔφασκεν
ἐνταῦθα ὁ λόγος, "φωνὴν
ἔδωκαν αἱ νεφέλαι." οὐκ ἦν χαλεπὸν
τροπολογῆσαι. ἀκολούθως
δέ τις ζητήσει τοῖς ἀποδεδομένοις
εἰς τὸ "εἴδοσάν σε ὕδατα καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν."
καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς ἰδεῖν, μὴ
λανθάνειν τί καὶ περὶ τὰς νεφέλας.

τάχα οὖν ὥσπερ εἴσι  δυνάμεις ἐπὶ
θαλασσῶν, ἐπὶ ποταμῶν, ἐπὶ
γῆς, ἐπὶ φυτῶν, ἐπὶ ζῴων γενέσεως,
οὕτως εἰσὶ  δυνάμεις  καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν
νεφελῶν, ὡς τετάχθαι τινὰς καὶ
ἐπὶ τῶν βροντῶν, ἐπὶ τῶν ἀστραπῶν,
ἐπὶ τῶν ὑετῶν, καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ προστάσσοντος
καὶ ἐντελλομένου γίνεσθαι
ὑετοὺς ἐπὶ τήνδε τὴν πόλιν, καὶ
μὴ γενέσθαι ἐφ᾽ἑτέραν πόλιν, κατὰ
τὸ εἰρημένον ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ, ἢ
καὶ τὸ ῥητὸν, "καὶ βρέξω ἐπὶ πόλιν
μίαν. ἐπὶ δὲ πόλιν μίαν οὐ βρέξω"  (Am. 4:7)
"φωνὴν οὖν ἔδωκαν αἱ νεφέλαι." αἱ βρονταὶ,
οὐδὲν ἄλλο εἰσὶν, ἢ νεφελῶν φωναί,
ὡς τετήρηται ἐν τοῖς χειμῶσιν,
οὐδέποτε οὖν αἰθρίου ὄντος τοῦ
ἀέρος, ἤκουσέ τις βροντῆς, οὐδὲ
ἐώρακεν ἀστραπήν. "φωνὴν ἔδωκαν
αἱ νεφέλαι" οἰκονομούντων τῶν
πεπιστευμένων ταῦτα ἀγγέλων τὴν διάκρισιν.

And since streams of living water were proceeding from their hearts to eternal life (Jn. 7:37),  they would speak, as they had these streams, and would bring cheer to the city of God, "for the sudden force of the river, it makes glad the city of God."  And so the passage says here, "the clouds gave a voice."  It was not difficult to allegorize this. Following this, one will seek an account of the passage, "the waters saw you and were afraid," in order to see what follows, so that nothing may remain hidden about the clouds.

Perhaps then, just as there are powers over the seas, over the rivers, over the earth, and over the types of animals, so are there powers over the clouds. Thus, some would have places over the thunder, some over the lightning, and some over the rains.  So, by the order and command of God, rain comes upon this one city, but not upon another one, as it is said in the prophet, or at least at the literal level, "And I send rain on one city, but I will not send rain on another." (Am. 4:7) Thus, "the clouds give a voice."  Thunder, then, is nothing other than the voices of the clouds.  Because the voice is observed during storms, one has never heard thunder while the weather is clear, nor has one seen lightning.  "The clouds gave a voice."  This voice is the judgment of the administering angels who have been entrusted with these matters.

ἐν αὐτῷ,

ΜΑΘΠ

Origen on the “Prophets and Apostles as Clouds”

~ Alex Poulos ~ Leave a comment

In this excerpt, Origen considers the clouds to be symbols of the prophets and apostles, whose divine words fell upon the Earth like rain.

"φωνὴν ἔδωκαν αἱ νεφέλαι."
πάλιν ἐὰν τροπολογίαν θέλωμεν,
πολλάκις εἰρήκαμεν. καὶ
μάλιστα διὰ τὸ "ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐντελοῦμαι
τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι ὑετὸν ἐπ᾽αὐτον." (Is. 5:6)
τίνα δὲ, ἢ "τὸν ἀμπελῶνα
τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Ισραήλ." καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια
δὲ τοῦ θεοῦ, φθάνει ἕως
τῶν νεφελῶν, ἀλλ᾽εἰσὶ τινὲς δίκαιοι
ἐπαιρόμενοι ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς
σώμασι, καὶ γενόμενοι νεφέλαι. 
τοιοῦτος ἦν Μωϋσῆς λέγων, "πρόσεχε
ὁ οὐρανὲ καὶ λαλήσω, καὶ ἀκουέτω
γῆ ῥήματα ἐκ στόματός μου.
προσδοκάσθω ὡς ὑετὸς τὸ ἀπόφθεγμά μου."

εἶτα ὥσπερ ὑετοῦ σωματικοῦ
καὶ ἀψύχου, ἡ νεφέλη αὐτὴ
ἔλεγεν ἄν, "προσδοκάσθω ὡς ὑετὸς
καὶ ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος," οὕτως ἐπεὶ Μωϋσῆς
λέγεται νεφέλη ἦν, ἔλεγε, "προσδοκάσθω
ὡς ὑετὸς  τὸ ἀπόφθεγμά μου,
καὶ καταβήτω ὥς δρόσος τὰ
ῥήματά μου," καὶ ἐπεὶ νεφέλη ἦν, ἔλεγεν
"ὡσεὶ ὄμβρος ἐπ᾽ἄγρωστιν,
καὶ ὡσεὶ νιφετὸς ἐπὶ χόρτον,
ὅτι ὄνομα κυρίου ἐκάλεσα." (Dt. 32:2-3)
τοιοῦτοι ἦσαν πάντες, οἱ ἐκλεκτοὶ προφῆται,
οἱ θαυμάσιοι ἀπόστολοι.

"The clouds gave a voice." Again, if we choose allegory, will shall have much to say, and especially because of the scripture, "I will command the clouds to not rain upon it."  (Is. 5:6) Upon what?  Upon "the vineyard that is the house of Israel."  Also there is the scripture, "the truth of God reaches unto the clouds,"   but there are also some righteous men who have been lifted from the earth while in their bodies, and have become clouds.  Such was Moses, saying, "harken O heaven, and I will speak. Let the earth listen to the words from my mouth. Let my message be yearned for like rain." 

So then, if this was a cloud of normal, physical rain, he would have said, "May my word be yearned for, even as rain."  But since Moses is said to be a cloud, he said, “Let my message be yearned for as rain, and let my words fall as dew.” Likewise, since he was a cloud, he continued, “and as a rainstorm upon the greenery, and as a snowstorm upon the grass, for I have called upon the name of the Lord.”  All of the chosen prophets and the wondrous apostles were as such. 

ἐν αὐτῷ,

ΜΑΘΠ

Origen on the Voice of the Troubled

~ Alex Poulos ~ Leave a comment

"εἴδοσάν σε, ὕδατα ὁ θεός. ἔιδοσάν
σε ὕδατα καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν,
ἐταράχθησαν ἄβυσσοι πλῆθος ἤχους
ὕδάτων." "στενὴ γὰρ καὶ τεθλιμμένη
ἡ ὁδὸς, ἡ ἀπάγουσα εἰς τὴν ζωήν.
καὶ ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ εὑρίσκοντες αὐτήν." (Mt. 7:14)
καὶ ὁ λαὸς ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὀλιγοστοί
εἰσι παρὰ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐπὶ
τῆς γῆς. καὶ ἐν τῇ κιβωτῷ τοῦ Νῶε,
ὅσῳ ἀνωτέρῳ τοσούτῳ στενοτέρα,
καὶ ὀλιγότερα χωρεῖ τὰ ἀνωτέρῳ
ὅπου δὲ τὰ τεταραγμένα κατὰ
τὴν ἄβυσσον πράγματα, ἐκεῖ τὸ
πλῆθος ὠνομάσθη. "ἐταράχθησαν
ἄβυσσοι πλῆθος ἤχους ὕδατος."

καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τῶν ὁρώντων τὸν θεὸν
ὑδάτων, ἦχος οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδὲ ἄσημος
φωνῆ, ἀλλά τις εὐστάθεια καὶ
ἡσυχία, μόνον φοβουμένων τῶν θεορούντων
αὐτὸν ὑδάτων, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς
ἀβύσσου, "ἐταράχθησαν ἄβυσσοι πλῆθος
ἦχους ὕδατος," ὁρᾶς, ὅτι ἦχος
ἐστὶν, ἐν τοῖς τεταραγμένοις, οὐ τρανὴ
οὐδὲ ἄσημος οὐδὲ διηρθρωμένη
φωνή;

“The waters saw you, O God.  The waters saw you, and were afraid.  The abysses were terrified, a depth of the sound of the waters.”  “Straight and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.” (Mt. 7:14)  The people of God, they are the fewest among all the nations on the Earth.  As with the ark of Noah, for whom things were much more narrow, so now the few advance to the things above, where the affairs of the abyss have been troubled; for there the depth is named, “The abysses were troubled, a depth of the sound of waters.”

With the waters that see God, there is no sound, nor an indistinct voice, but a certain tranquility and stillness, but only for those waters that see and fear him.  But about the abyss, it says, “The abysses were terrified, the depth of the sound of waters.”  Do you see, that there is a sound among the troubled, a voice that is not clear, nor unnoticed, nor articulate?

ἐν αὐτῷ,

ΜΑΘΠ

Origen on Reconciling the Fear of God and the Love of God

~ Alex Poulos ~ Leave a comment

Here is the latest batch from the homily.  Following the previous discussion of fear, Origen anticipates an objection from the audience: “Perfect love drives out fear!”  Origen thus distinguishes between two types of fear, one which is proper to the Christian (and all creatures), and the other of which the Christian must dispose. 

I’ve also been experimenting with ledmac set of LaTeX packages.  I think I’ll be able to generate a nice “edition” of the homily with them.  Sans doute, a PDF is more suitable for reading an extended text, so I hope to generate a nice looking PDF with footnotes and parallel text/translation.   

ἀλλὰ ἐρεῖ τίς τῶν ἀκουόντων,
ἡ τελεῖα ἀγάπη ἔξωβάλλει τὸν φόβον.
ἔστι μὲν χαλεπὸν διηγήσασθαι
τὰ κατὰ τὸν φόβον, καὶ μάλιστα
φθάσαντος τοῦ λόγου παραστῆσαι,
ὅτι ἀναγκαῖον φοβεῖσθαι τὸν
θεόν.  μήποτε γὰρ κ’ἄν ἐξωβάλλῃ
τὸν φόβον, οὐχὶ ὅλον αὐτὸν ἐκβάλλει
ἀλλὰ εἶδός τι αὐτοῦ.  οἶδα γὰρ καὶ
τὸν φόβον, διαφέρως ὀνομαζόμενον
ἐν τῇ γραφῇ, "ὁ φοβούμενος,
οὐτε τελείωται," ἀλλὰ ἡ ὁμωνυμία
νοηθεῖσα, ποιήσει ἡμᾶς ὁρᾶν.

ὡς καὶ ὁ φόβος γε ὁμωνύμως
λέγεται, ἔστιν οὖν φόβος, ὅν ἀεῖ
φοβεῖσθαι δεῖ. καὶ ἔστι φόβος, περὶ
οὗ λέγει ὁ Ἰωάννης, ὁ φοβούμενος,
οὐ τετελείωται, οὕτος ὁ φόβος, κόλασιν
ἔχει, ὅν τινα δεῖ τὸν τετελειωμένον
ὑπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης μηκέτι φοβεῖσθαι.

But one one of listeners will say, "perfect love casts out fear."  It is difficult to explain those things which pertain to fear, especially after the message has been presented that it is required to fear God.  But perhaps, if love should cast out fear, it does not cast out fear entirely, but only a certain form of it.  For I know that fear named in the scripture, "The one who fears is not being perfected," is of a different type.  This double-sense, once perceived, will clear matters up for us. 

Namely, "fear" is said in two ways.  There is a fear, which it is always necessary to have;  there is also a fear, concerning which John says, "the one who fears has not been perfected."  This fear has punishment, and the one who is being perfected by love must not have it.

ἐν αὐτῷ,

ΜΑΘΠ

 

Origen- Theosis, and the Help of God

~ Alex Poulos ~ 1 Comment

In this excerpt, Origen discusses the greatness of “the seed of man,” going so far as to say that it is divine if it heeds God’s command (assuming I’ve read that sentence right). Though this sounds strange to western ears, it appears to me to be rather consistent with the doctrine theosis as it has been developed and taught in the Eastern Orthodox churches.   Origen also discusses our need for God’s help, arguing that it is even greater when “we are being perfected,” versus “when we sin.” 

ἐὰν γένωμαι καγὼ ἄνθρωπος

γνήσιος τοῦ θεοῦ, δύναμαι ἐν τῶ ἐν ἐμοὶ
λαλοῦντι Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ ἐπιτιμῆσαι τῇ
κτίσει, ἵνα εἴπω τῷ ἡλίῳ, στῆθι κατὰ
Γαβαώ. ἀλθηῶς γὰρ σπέρμα ἔντιμον,
ποῖον, σπέρμα ἀνθρώπου.  ὅσον
δὲ ἔντιμον τὸ σπέρμα ἀνθρώπου, μεγάλην
δύναμιν λαβὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ,
ἂν προσέχῃ θεός ἐστιν, εἰδὲ μὴ,
τοσούτω ἄτιμόν ἐστι παραχρησάμενον
ἑαυτῷ, καὶ ἀπογραφὲν τὸν θεόν. 
ποικίλως οὖν εξήτασται, τὸ "εἴδοσάν
σε ὕδατα ὁ θεός, εἴδοσάν
σε ὕδατα καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν." πάντα
γὰρ φοβεῑται τὸν θεόν, ἐὰν μὴ ὁ θεὸς
ἡμᾶς συνέχῃ, κ’ἂν ἀρετὴν ἔχωμεν,
ἀπολλύμεθα, "ἀποστρέψαντος
γάρ σου," φησὶ, "τὸ πρόσωπον, ταραχθήσονται,"
διὰ τοῦτο οὐ μόνον ὅταν
ἁμαρτάνωμεν χρείαν ἔχωμεν
βοηθοῦντος τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλ’ἐγὼ τολμῶ
καὶ λέγω, ὅτ’ἂν τελειωθῶμεν, πλείονος
βοηθείας δεόμεθα. διατί;
τελειωθέντες γὰρ, ὑπὸ πλειόνων
ἀντικειμένων ἐνεργειῶν ἐπιβολευόμεθα,

πλειόνων οὖν οὐσῶν δυνάμεων,
πλείονος ἡμῖν συμμαχίας
δεῖ. μήποτε καταπέσωμεν διὰ τὴν
τελειότητα, καὶ γένηται ἡμῖν, τὸ
πῶς ἐξἐπεσεν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὁ ἑωσφόρος
ὁ πρωῒ ἀνατέλλων. πολλὰ ἅγια
πέπωκε, τὰ γὰρ μυστήρια τῶν
γραφῶν, τοιαῦτα δηλοῖ, οἷον “περιεπάτησας
ἄμωμος ἐν πάσαις
ταῖς ὁδοῖς, ἕως οὗ εὑρέθη ἀδικία            #lots of variation in this quote
ἐν σοι.” πάντες οὖν φοβώμεθα τὸν θεόν,
καὶ οἱ ατελεῖς, καὶ οἱ τετελειωμένοι.

For if I should become a true man of God, then perhaps I too will be able to rubuke the creation, by my prayer to Christ Jesus, and so say to the sun, "be still above Gibeon." For the seed of man is truly of the honored sort; it is so honored, that having received great power from God, should it obey, it is a god.  But if it does not heed, then how dishonorable it is, abusing itself, and bringing charges against God.  Thus we have examined in several ways the passage, "The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and were afraid."

All things fear God; unless God conceals himself from us, or unless we have virtue, we would be destroyed.  Because of this, it is not only when we sin that we need God’s help, but I’d dare to say that we need even more help when we are being perfected.  Why is this? Because when we are being perfected, we are plotted against by greater opposing forces.

Since they are greater forces, we are in need of greater allies, lest we fall on account of perfection. Then the same would happen to us that happened to the one who bore the dawn, the morning star.  For he made all things holy– the mysteries of the scriptures make these matters clear: how "you walked blameless in all your ways, until the time when unrighteousness was found in you." (Ez. 28:15). Thus let us all fear God, both the immortals and those who are being perfected. 

 

ἐν αὐτῷ,

ΜΑΘΠ

More from Origen on the Psalms: Angelic Warfare, Angelic Administration, and Star-Sickness

~ Alex Poulos ~ 2 Comments

It’s been a busy week at work! I’ve been reading more from manuscript, but I haven’t had time to translate much until today. In this passage, Origen discusses further the spiritual powers at work in the universe. Consistent with early Christian thought, he attributes the various Greek gods and divine beings with powerful angelic beings, though he explicitly condemns worshiping them. He also discusses angelic “administration,” and also narrates the fall of a star. Frankly, this portion eludes me entirely. I grasp what he’s saying, but I’m not sure to which star he is referring. As always, corrections on the transcription or translation are welcome.

οὐ πάντη ἀποπεπωκότες τῆς ἀληθείας,
ἀποπεπωκότες δὲ ἐκ
μέρους. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ὡς θεοῖς θύουσιν,
ἁμαρτάνουσιν, εἰ δὲ φαντάζονται
εἶναί τινα δύναμιν περὶ ἐκεῖνα,
οὐχ ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἔστι γὰρ δύναμις.
ἅς καλοῦσι καὶ νύμφας τινὰς εἶναι
ἐπὶ τῶν πηγῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ παντοῦ
τόπου, θέλουσι δύναμιν ἐπιστατεῖν.
εἴποι δ’ ἄν τις ὅτι εἰ μὲν ἐψυχωμένη
ἦν ἡ θάλασσα, καὶ ἕκαστος
τῶν ποταμῶν; πολὺς ἂν εἴη λόγος
ζητεῖν, ἵνα ᾖ καὶ ταῦτα ἐψυχωμένα.
ἀλλά γε πάντα ἅγια τέτακται
καὶ εἰσὶν ἄγγελοι ἐγκεχειρισμένοι
τὰ θαλάσσια πράγματα , καὶ
ἄλλοι ἄγγελοι οἰκονομεῖν, οἱ μὲν, τὰ
τοῦδε τοῦ ποταμοῦ, οἱ δὲ τὰ ἄλλου
τινὸς ποταμοῦ.

οὕτω δὲ καὶ οἱ
ἄγγελοι οἰκονομεῖν τὰ τοῦ ἀστέρος,
καὶ ποτὲ μὲν θειότεροι ἄγγελοι οἰκονομοῦσι
τὰ τοῦ ἀστέρος. ὅτε ὁ ἀστὴρ οὐ
νοσεῖ. οὐ δὲ λοιμώδης γίνεται, ὅτε δὲ
ἄλλη τίς δύναμις παρείληφεν οἰκονομεῖν
τὸν ἀστέρα, πάντως διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας
τῶν ἄνθρώπων. ὅτε χείρονος
δυνάμεως παραλαβούσης τὸν ἀστέρα,
τρέπεται ὁ ἀήρ, καὶ λοιμῶδες κατάστημα
γίνεται, ὥστε τὸν ἀναπνέοντα τὸν ἀστέρα
ἐκεῖνον τὸν ἐφθαρμένον, ἀπὸ δυνάμεως λοιμοποιοῦ,
λοιμώττειν, καὶ νοσεῖν.

They have not departed from the truth entirely, but they have departed in part. Those who sacrifice to these things as gods, they are sinning. But if they imagine that some power is around them, they are not sinning: there is a power. What they call nymphs, some are over the springs, and they want there to be a power in charge of every place. One wishes to ask, “if the Sea was given a soul, were the rivers also given them?” This could be a long subject to pursue, whether these things were given souls. Nevertheless, all things were made holy and there are angels that were entrusted with the matters of the sea. Other angels administer other affairs: some the affairs of this river, and some those of some other river.

In the same way, the angels administer the matters of the Star. There was a time when the more divine angels were in charge of the Star- at this time the Star was not sick, nor had it become pestilent. But then some other power seized the power of the star, as always because of the sins of mankind. After the lesser power had captured the star, the air turned, and the state of pestilence began, such that the star, by breathing that destruction from a pestilent-creating power, now suffers illness and disease.

ἐν αὐτῷ,
ΜΑΘΠ