Commentary on Romans 0.1–1.4
Latin text: Migne, PG 14 (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 14 (1862), transcribed from library-scan OCR of the printed volume).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Commentary on Romans 0.1
0.1PG 14:831c–833a
Valentem me parvo subvectum navigio oram tranquilli littoris stringere, et minutos de Graecorum stagnis pisciculos legere, in altum, frater Heracli, laxare vela compellis, relictoque opere, quod in transferendis Homiliis Adamantii senis habebam, suades ut nostra voce quindecim ejus volumina, quibus Epistolam Pauli ad Romanos disseruit, explicemus : in quibus ille dum sectatur Apostoli sensum, in tam profundum pelagus aufertur, ut metus ingens sit illuc eum sequenti, ne magnitudine sensuum, velut immanitate opprimatur undarum. Tum deinde nec illud aspicis, quod tenuis mihi est spiritus ad implendam ejus tam magnificam dicendi tubam. Super omnes autem difficultates est, quod interpolati sunt ipsi libri. Desunt enim fere apud omnium bibliothecas (incertum sane quo casu) aliquanta ex ipso corpore volumina; et haec adimplere, atque in Latino opere integram consequentiam dare, non est mei ingenii, sed, ut tu credis qui haec exigis, muneris fortasse divini. Addis autem, ne quid laboribus meis desit, ut omne hoc quindecim voluminum corpus, quod Graecus sermo ad quadraginta fere aut eo amplius millia versuum produxerit, abbreviem, et ad media, si fieri potest, spatia coarctem. Dura satis imperia, et tanquam ab eo qui pondus operis hujus scire nolit, imposita. Aggrediar tamen, si forte orationibus tuis, quae mihi tanquam homini impossibilia videntur, aspirante Domino, possibilia fiant. Sed ipsum jam, si videtur, Origenem, qualiter praefationem suscepti operis dirigat, audiamus.
I wished to skirt the coast of a calm shore, carried in a little boat, and to gather tiny fish from the pools of the Greeks; but you, brother Heraclius, compel me to spread my sails for the deep, and urge me to leave the work I had in hand of translating the homilies of the old man Adamantius, and to set out in our own tongue his fifteen books in which he discussed Paul's Epistle to the Romans. In these, while he follows the Apostle's meaning, he is carried out into so deep a sea that whoever follows him there has great fear of being overwhelmed by the greatness of his thoughts as by the vastness of the waves. Then you do not consider either that my breath is too slight to fill so magnificent a trumpet of his eloquence. But beyond all the difficulties is this, that the books themselves have been tampered with. For in the libraries of almost everyone (by what chance is quite uncertain) some volumes are missing from the very body of the work; and to fill these up, and to give a complete continuity in the Latin work, is not a matter of my talent but, as you who demand this believe, perhaps of divine gift. And you add, so that nothing may be lacking to my labours, that I should abridge this whole body of fifteen volumes, which the Greek text has extended to about forty thousand lines or more, and compress it, if it can be done, to half the length. Hard enough commands, and imposed as if by one who does not wish to know the weight of this work. Yet I will undertake it, in the hope that by your prayers what seems to me, as a man, impossible may become possible by the Lord's inspiration. But now, if you please, let us hear Origen himself, how he frames the preface of the work he undertook.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rufinus's preface: at Heraclius's request he will translate Origen's fifteen books on Romans, filling gaps in the damaged text and abridging it to about half.
- This is the preface of the translator, Rufinus, not of Origen. He states that the Greek books were incomplete and that he was asked to abridge the work to about half its length; the commentary that follows is therefore his abridged and adapted Latin version. “Adamantius” is Origen's surname; the word is garbled in the scan.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR read Latin as Greek letters; OCR slip; OCR slip and stray mark; OCR slip; words joined; OCR slips; OCR slips; Latin read as Greek letters (Rufinus's usual 'Adamantii senis'); words joined): de Graecum stagnis → de Graecorum stagnis; relictoque apere → relictoque opere; {lomiliis ξααηιηηιὶἱ senis → Homiliis Adamantii senis; immanitate opprimatur undarunt → immanitate opprimatur undarum; ejus lant magnificam → ejus tam magnificam; ipsitlibri → ipsi libri; aliquanta ea: ipsa corpore → aliquanta ex ipso corpore; hac adimplere, (atque → haec adimplere, atque; omne ltoc → omne hoc; quod (λι-αρσια sermo → quod Graecus sermo; Duraisatis → Dura satis; operis ltujus → operis hujus; tuis, qua: mihi tanquam ltomini → tuis, quae mihi tanquam homini; pra'fationem → praefationem.
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 0.1 (PG 14:831c–833a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/0-1/#p-0-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-0-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
0.2PG 14:833a–837a
Quod caeteris apostoli Pauli Epistolis difficilior putatur ad intelligendum haec quae ad Romanos scripta est, duabus mihi videtur fieri ex causis. Una, quod elocutionibus interdum confusis et minus explicitis utitur; alia, quod quaestiones in ea plurimas movet, et eas praecipue, quibus innitentes haeretici astruere solent quod uniuscujusque gestorum causa non ad propositum debeat, sed ad naturae diversitatem referri; et ex paucis hujus Epistolae sermonibus totius Scripturae sensum, qui arbitrii libertatem concessam a Deo homini docet, conantur evertere. Propter quod deprecantes prius Deum, qui docet hominem scientiam, et qui dat per Spiritum uerbum sapientiae , quique illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum, ut dignos nos facere dignetur intelligere parabolas, et obscuros sermones, dictaque sapientium et aenigmata , ita demum explanationis Epistolae Pauli ad Romanos contingemus exordium, praemittentes haec quae ab studiosis observari solent, quod videtur Apostolus in hac Epistola perfectior fuisse quam in caeteris. Etenim eum primam ad Corinthios scriberet, erat quidem in magnis profectibus; aliquid tamen de se velut nutabundus eloquitur, cum dicit : Sed macero corpus meum, et servituti subjicio, ne forte cum aliis praedicaverim, ipse reprobus efficiar. Sed et ad Philippenses scribens, quiddam in se minus adhuc esse illius, quam postea assecutus est, perfectionis ostendit, cum dicit conformari se morti Christi, si quomodo occurrat in resurrectionem, quae est a mortuis. Non enim diceret, si quomodo, si ei jam tunc res indubitata videretur. Sed et in consequentibus ejusdem Epistolae haec eadem ostendit, cum dicit: Non quod jam consecutus sim, aut jam perfectus sim; … propositum sequor, ad palmam supernae vocationis Dei in Christo Jesu; et post hoc dicit: Quicunque ergo perfecti sumus, hoc sentiamus. In quo ostendit duplicem esse perfectionem : unam, quae est in expletione virtutum, secundum quam dicit quod non sit perfectus; et aliam, cum ita quis proficit, ut decidere non possit, neque retrorsum aspicere, secundum quam dicit: Quicunque ergo perfecti sumus, hoc sentiamus. Quomodo ergo docebitur perfectior jam secundam ad Corinthios scripsisse quam primam? Ex his sine dubio quae in ea scripta referuntur, cum dicit: Tribulationem patimur, sed non angustiamur; aporiamur, sed non exaporiamur; persecutionem patimur, sed non derelinquimur; deiicimur, sed non perimus ; semper mortem Jesu in corpore nostro circumferentes, ut et vita Iesu in corpore nostro manifestetur . Qui ergo semper mortem Jesu in corpore suo circumferebat, nunquam utique in eo concupiscebat caro adversus spiritum, sed erat ei subjecta, utpote mortificata ad similitudinem mortis Christi. Quodsi dicat nobis aliquis haec verisimilia non videri, quia non multum temporis inter primam Epistulam fuerit ac secundam, potest et ex eo evidentius noscere, quod in prima Epistola ejectum eum qui fuerat incesti scelere pollutus, et traditum Satanae in interitum carnis, ut spiritus salvus fieret in die Domini, in secunda jam revocat, et Ecclesiae membris associat. Quod utique non faceret, nisi processu temporis dignos in eo fructus poenitentiae pervidisset, et quod jam caro interitum, quem designaverat Apostolus suscepisset, peccato scilicet et vitiis mortua, ut ita demum viveret Deo . Cum ergo tantum spatii fuerit, quo peccator incestus salutem spiritus laudabili carnis interitu receperit, quomodo non putandum est multo velociore cursu Apostolum quae perfecta sunt assecutum? Sed in illis quidem iste ejus fuerit profectus : quanto autem sublimior et eminentior sit ad Romanos scribens, ex ipsius Epistolae sermonibus colligamus, in qua dicit : Quis nos separabit a charitate Christi? Tribulatio, an angustia, an persecutio, an fames, an nuditas, an periculum, an gladius? Sicut scriptum est : Quia propter te morte afficimur tota die, aestimati sumus sicut oves occisionis. Sed in his omnibus supervincimus propter eum qui dilexit nos. Certus sum enim quia neque mors, neque vita, neque angeli, neque principatus, neque potestates, neque praesentia, neque futura, neque virtus, neque altitudo, neque profundum, neque alia ulla creatura, poterit nos separare a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Iesu Domino nostro . Veritatem dico in Christo , non mentior, testimonium mihi perhibente conscientia mea in Spiritu sancto. Nunquid videtur eadem sublimitate mentis dixisse : Macero corpus meum, et servituti subjicio, ne forte cum aliis praedicaverim, ipse reprobus efficiar , qua et hic dicit: quia in his omnibus supervincimus; et: Certus sum enim, quia neque mors, neque vita, neque angeli, neque principatus, et caetera quae descripsit, poterunt nos separare a charitate Dei? His igitur nobis, prout potuimus, de sensu ejus in hac Epistola jam perfectiore conceptis, etiam illud haud absurde admonebimus, quod videtur hanc Epistulam de Corintho scribere, et aliis quidem pluribus indiciis, evidentius tamen ex eo quod dicit: Commendo autem vobis Phoeben sororem nostram ministram Ecclesiae, quae est Cenchris. Cenchris enim dicitur locus Corintho vicinus, imo portus ipsius Corinthi. Et ex hoc ergo apparet de Corintho scripta, et ex eo quod dicit: Salutat vos Caius hospes meus: de quo Gaio scribens Corinthiis commemorat, dicens: Gratias ago Deo meo, quod neminem vestrum baptizavi, nisi Crispum et Gaium. Simile et deinde datur indicium ubi dicit : Salutat vos Erastus aerarius civitatis: de quo Erasto ad Timotheum secundam Epistolam scribens dixit : Erastus … peccati, de interiore et exteriore homine : quae singula praedixisse sufficiat; in his enim continentia haberi videtur Epistulae. Nunc jam, prout viam nobis Dominus aperire dignatur, ad explanationem ipsius quantocius properemus. Prima nobis quaestio de nomine ipsius Pauli videtur exsurgere, cur is qui Saulus dictus est in Actibus apostolorum , nunc Paulus dicatur. Invenimus in Scripturis divinis quibusdam veterum commutata vocabula, ut ex Abram vocatus sit Abraham. ex Sarai Sara, et ex Jacob Israel. In Evangeliis quoque ex Simone Petrus, et filii Zebedaei filii tonitrui nuncupati sunt. Sed hinc ex praecepto Dei legimus facta : nusquam vero erga Paulum invenimus tale aliquid gestum. De qua re quibusdam visum est, quod Pauli proconsulis, quem apud Cyprum Christi fidei subjecerat, vocabulum sibi Apostolus sumpserit, ut sicut reges solent devictis, verbi gratia, Parthis Parthici, et Gothis Gothici nominari, ita et Apostolus subjugato Paulo Paulus fuerit appellatus. Quod ne nos quidem usquequaque evacuandum putamus. Tamen quia nulla talis in Scripturis divinis consuetudo deprehenditur, magis ex his quae in exemplo nobis sunt, absolutionem quaeramus. Invenimus igitur in Scripturis aliquantos binis, alios etiam ternis usos esse nominibus. ut Salomonem, eumdemque Jeddedi; Sedechiam, eamdemque Joachim; Oziam, eumdemque et Azariam; aliosque plurimos in Regum vel in Iudicum libris, binis nominibus invenies vocitatos. Sed nec Evangelia quidem hunc eumdem renuunt morem. Nam et Matthaeus ipse refert de se, quod cum transiret Iesus, invenit quemdam sedentem ad telonium, Matthaeum nomine. Lucas vero de eodem dicit, quia cum transiret Jesus, uidit publicanum quemdam nomine Leui, et dixit ei: Sequere me . Sed et idem Matthaeus in catalogo apostolorum dicit post multos: Matthaeus publicanus, et Iacobus Alphaei, et Lebbaeus, et Simon Chananaeus. Marcus vero ita refert : Matthaeus publicanus, et Thomas, et Iacobus Alphaei, et Thaddaeus. Hunc eumdem, quem Matthaeus Lebbaeum, Marcus Thaddaeum posuit. Lucas vero ita posuit : Matthaeus, Thomas, Iacobus, et Iudas Iacobi. Igitur eumdem, quem Matthaeus Lebbaeum, et Marcus Thaddaeum dixit, Lucas Judam Jacobi scripsit. Certum est autem evangelistas non errasse in nominibus apostolorum ;sed quia moris erat binis vel ternis nominibus uti Hebraeos, unius ejusdemque viri diversa singuli vocabula posuere. Secundum hanc ergo consuetudinem videtur nobis et Paulus duplici usus esse vocabulo; et donec …, quod et magis appellationi patriae vernaculum videbatur; Paulus autem appellatus esse, cum Graecis et gentibus leges ac praecepta conscribit. Nam et hoc ipsum quod Scriptura dicit: Saulus autem, qui et Paulus, evidenter non ei tunc primum Pauli nomen ostendit impositum, sed veteris appellationis id fuisse designat. Haec ab ipso auctore operis omissa, nos quia id dissertationis initium videbatur exposcere, puto quod non inconvenienter praemisimus. Caetera jam de explanationum corpore, quibus poterimus compendiis exsequemur.
That this Epistle written to the Romans is thought harder to understand than the other Epistles of the apostle Paul seems to me to come about for two reasons. One, that he sometimes uses expressions that are confused and insufficiently explicit; the other, that he raises very many questions in it, and especially those on which the heretics rely when they argue that the cause of each person's deeds is to be referred not to choice but to a diversity of natures; and from a few words of this Epistle they try to overturn the meaning of the whole of Scripture, which teaches that freedom of choice has been granted to man by God. For this reason, first praying to God, who teaches man knowledge, who gives the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and who enlightens every man coming into this world, that he may deign to make us worthy to understand parables and dark sayings, the words of the wise and their riddles, we shall then at last take up the beginning of the explanation of Paul's Epistle to the Romans; first setting down what is usually observed by the studious, that the Apostle seems to have been more perfect in this Epistle than in the others. For when he wrote the first to the Corinthians he was indeed far advanced; yet he speaks of himself somewhat as one wavering, when he says, “But I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become reprobate.” And writing to the Philippians too, he shows that there is something in him still short of that perfection which he afterwards attained, when he says that he is being conformed to the death of Christ, if by any means he may attain to the resurrection which is from the dead. For he would not say “if by any means” if the matter already then seemed to him beyond doubt. And in what follows in the same Epistle he shows this same thing, when he says, “Not that I have already attained or am already perfect …; I press on with purpose toward the prize of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus”; and after this he says, “Let as many of us, then, as are perfect, think this.” In this he shows that perfection is twofold: one, which lies in the fulfilment of the virtues, according to which he says that he is not perfect; and another, when one has so advanced that he cannot fall away or look back, according to which he says, “Let as many of us as are perfect think this.” How, then, will it be shown that he was more perfect when he wrote the second to the Corinthians than the first? Without doubt from what is written in it, when he says, “We suffer tribulation but are not distressed; we are perplexed but not utterly perplexed; we suffer persecution but are not forsaken; we are cast down but do not perish; always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” He, then, who always carried about the dying of Jesus in his body, in him surely the flesh never lusted against the spirit, but was subject to it, as having been put to death after the likeness of Christ's death. And if anyone tells us that this does not seem likely, because not much time passed between the first Epistle and the second, he may learn it more plainly from this: that the man defiled by the crime of incest, who in the first Epistle was cast out and delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord, in the second he now calls back and joins again to the members of the Church. This he surely would not do unless in the course of time he had seen in him worthy fruits of repentance, and that his flesh had already undergone the destruction which the Apostle had appointed, being dead, that is, to sin and vices, so that at last he might live to God. Since, then, there was time enough for the incestuous sinner to receive the salvation of the spirit through a praiseworthy destruction of the flesh, how should we not think that the Apostle attained perfection by a much swifter course? In those Epistles, then, let this have been his progress; but how much more sublime and eminent he is when writing to the Romans, let us gather from the words of the Epistle itself, in which he says: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? As it is written: For your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. But in all these things we more than conquer through him who loved us. For I am certain that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “I speak the truth in Christ, I do not lie, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit.” Does he seem to have said, “I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become reprobate,” with the same sublimity of mind with which he says here, “In all these things we more than conquer,” and, “For I am certain that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,” and the rest that he lists, “will be able to separate us from the love of God”? Having thus formed, as best we could, a view of his mind as more perfect in this Epistle, we shall not unfittingly also point out that he seems to write this Epistle from Corinth: this appears from several other indications, but most plainly from his saying, “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, a minister of the church which is at Cenchreae.” For Cenchreae is the name of a place near Corinth, indeed the port of Corinth itself. So it appears from this that it was written from Corinth, and from his saying, “Gaius my host greets you,” the Gaius whom he mentions when writing to the Corinthians, saying, “I thank my God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius.” A similar indication is then given where he says, “Erastus the treasurer of the city greets you,” the Erastus of whom, writing the second Epistle to Timothy, he said, “Erastus …” … of sin, concerning the inner and the outer man. It is enough to have mentioned these points one by one beforehand, for in them the contents of the Epistle seem to be contained. Now, as the Lord deigns to open the way for us, let us hasten as quickly as we can to its explanation. The first question seems to us to arise about the name of Paul itself: why he who is called Saul in the Acts of the Apostles is now called Paul. We find in the divine Scriptures that the names of certain men of old were changed, so that from Abram he was called Abraham, from Sarai Sarah, and from Jacob Israel. In the Gospels too Simon was named Peter, and the sons of Zebedee were called sons of thunder. But we read that these things were done at God's command; nowhere do we find anything of the kind done in Paul's case. On this question some have thought that the Apostle took for himself the name of Paul the proconsul, whom he had brought to the faith of Christ in Cyprus; so that, as kings are commonly named, for example, Parthicus after conquering the Parthians and Gothicus after the Goths, so the Apostle too, having brought Paul into subjection, was called Paul. Not even we think this should be wholly dismissed. Yet because no such custom is found in the divine Scriptures, let us rather seek a solution from the things that serve as examples for us. We find, then, in the Scriptures some who used two names, and others even three: as Solomon, who is also Jedidiah; Zedekiah, who is also Joachim; Uzziah, who is also Azariah; and you will find very many others in the books of Kings or of Judges called by two names. Nor do the Gospels reject this same custom. For Matthew himself relates of himself that as Jesus was passing by he found a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. But Luke says of the same man that as Jesus was passing by he saw a tax collector named Levi and said to him, “Follow me.” And the same Matthew in the list of the apostles says after many others, “Matthew the tax collector, and James of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, and Simon the Cananaean.” But Mark relates it thus: “Matthew the tax collector, and Thomas, and James of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus.” This same man whom Matthew put as Lebbaeus, Mark put as Thaddaeus. But Luke put it thus: “Matthew, Thomas, James, and Judas of James.” So the same man whom Matthew called Lebbaeus and Mark Thaddaeus, Luke wrote as Judas of James. It is certain, however, that the evangelists did not err in the names of the apostles; but because it was the custom of the Hebrews to use two or three names, each of them set down a different name for one and the same man. According to this custom, then, it seems to us that Paul too used a double name; and while … , which seemed more native to the name used in his homeland; but he was called Paul when he wrote laws and precepts for Greeks and Gentiles. For the very statement of Scripture, “But Saul, who is also Paul,” plainly shows that the name Paul was not then first given him, but indicates that it was an old name. These things were omitted by the author of the work himself; we have, I think, not unfittingly set them first, because the beginning of the discussion seemed to require it. The rest of the body of the explanations we shall carry through with such abridgement as we can.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
1 Cor 9:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 3:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 3:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 3:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 3:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 3:15 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:8 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 5:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 5:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 2:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:37 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:38 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 9:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 16:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 16:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 13:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 13:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 17:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 17:15 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 32:28 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 3:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 3:17 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Sam 12:25 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Kgs 15:1 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 9:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 5:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 10:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 3:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 6:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 6:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 35:11 (echo, low confidence) · 1 Cor 12:8 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:9 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 1:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Origen's preface: Romans is hard because of its obscure style and its questions on free choice; Paul wrote it at his most perfect, from Corinth; Rufinus adds a discussion of why Saul is called Paul.
- 1 Cor 9:27; Phil 3:10–15; 2 Cor 4:8–10; Gal 5:17; 1 Cor 5:5 and 2 Cor 2:6–8 (the incestuous man, identified as the same person, as Origen held); Rom 8:35–39; Rom 9:1; Rom 16:1, 23; 1 Cor 1:14; 2 Tim 4:20; Acts 13:7–12; Gen 17:5, 15; 32:28; Mark 3:16–17; 2 Sam 12:25; 2 Kgs 15; Matt 9:9; Luke 5:27; Matt 10:3–4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15–16; Acts 13:9. The heretics referred to held that people are saved or lost by nature (Valentinians and others). Lines are lost in the scan within the quotation of Phil 3:12–14 (marked “…”). Several lines are also lost after “Erastus” (the rest of the Erastus quotation and the beginning of a list of the Epistle's themes), marked “…”; a few words are also garbled before “which seemed more native,” where the sense is that he was called Saul among his own people. The end of the preface, which the scan placed inside 1.1, is moved here by logged correction. The closing remark that the section on Paul's names was not in Origen's work is Rufinus's own.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR read Latin as Greek letters; OCR slip; OCR slip and footnote marker; OCR slip and stray mark; OCR slips; OCR slips and footnote marker; OCR slips and missing spaces; OCR slips, word split and footnote marker; footnote marker; footnote markers; lines lost in the scan (the rest of Phil 3:12–13 and a remark introducing 3:13–14); marked …; missing space; missing spaces; several lines lost in the scan; marked …; stray mark; stray number; the end of the preface, placed by the scan inside 1.1 (see the correction there), moved here; OCR slips corrected; word split; word split and stray mark; words garbled in the scan; marked …; words joined; words joined; OCR slip): Epistolis "difficilior → Epistolis difficilior; haec qum ad Romanos → haec quae ad Romanos; minus ει· plicitis → minus explicitis; astruere solem quod → astruere solent quod; causa nonad propositum → causa non ad propositum; hujus Epistola' sermonibus totius Scriptura: sensum → hujus Epistolae sermonibus totius Scripturae sensum; hominem scientiam ”, → hominem scientiam,; renientem in hunc mundum π, → venientem in hunc mundum,; explanationis Epistolas Pauli → explanationis Epistolae Pauli; scriberet,erat → scriberet, erat; nutabundus (το) eloquitur → nutabundus eloquitur; pra:dicauerim,ipse reprobus efliciar". → praedicaverim, ipse reprobus efficiar.; si quontodo occurrat in resurrectionem, qua? est a mor- ο tuis”. → si quomodo occurrat in resurrectionem, quae est a mortuis.; consequentibus ejusdem Epistolas haec → consequentibus ejusdem Epistolae haec; cum dicit“ : Non quod → cum dicit: Non quod; palmam superna: vocationis → palmam supernae vocationis; unam, qum est in explelione → unam, quae est in expletione; secundum quam ἀίεεὺθῐ ε Quicunque 9'90 perfecti → secundum quam dicit: Quicunque ergo perfecti; perfectiorjam → perfectior jam; non angustiamur;aporiamur, sed non exaporiamur;persecutionem → non angustiamur; aporiamur, sed non exaporiamur; persecutionem; mortem Jesu incorpore nostro → mortem Jesu in corpore nostro; in corpore nostra manifestetur → in corpore nostro manifestetur; aliquis hazc verisimilia → aliquis haec verisimilia; ac secun-J dam → ac secundam; quodin prima → quod in prima; in die Domini “, in secunda "jam revocat → in die Domini, in secunda jam revocat; Ecclesia: membris → Ecclesiae membris; fruetus ptenitentiae pervidisset. et quod → fructus poenitentiae pervidisset, et quod; quae perfeCta sunt → quae perfecta sunt; ex ipsius Epistolas sermonibus → ex ipsius Epistolae sermonibus; an auditas → an nuditas; morte efficimur tota die, mstimati → morte afficimur tota die, aestimati; neque pra’sentia, neque future → neque praesentia, neque futura; Christo Iesu Do- ’ mino nostro → Christo Iesu Domino nostro; per/libente → perhibente; in Spiritu sancto”. → in Spiritu sancto.; cum aliis prtedicaverim → cum aliis praedicaverim; quia in Itis omnibus supervincimus; et :Certus → quia in his omnibus supervincimus; et: Certus; poterint nos separare a charitate Dei?His igitur nobis,prout potuimus, de sensu ejus.in hac → poterunt nos separare a charitate Dei? His igitur nobis, prout potuimus, de sensu ejus in hac; sororem nostrant → sororem nostram; quae est Cenchris “. → quae est Cenchris.; Etex hoc ergo apparet de Corintho scripta, etexeo → Et ex hoc ergo apparet de Corintho scripta, et ex eo; hospes meus “ : → hospes meus:; quod neminent vestrum → quod neminem vestrum; et Gaium“. → et Gaium.; Erastus arearius civitatis “ :de quo → Erastus aerarius civitatis: de quo; ad Timotheum 460 secundam → ad Timotheum secundam; Erastus peccati, de interiore → Erastus … peccati, de interiore; quae stngula praedixisse subiciat → quae singula praedixisse sufficiat; Invenimus . in Scripturis → Invenimus in Scripturis; ex Sarai Sara “, et ex Jacob Israel ν’. In Evangeliis quoque“ ex → ex Sarai Sara, et ex Jacob Israel. In Evangeliis quoque ex; lilii Zebedzei → filii Zebedaei; Christi Iidei subiecerat δ’, → Christi fidei subjecerat,; utsicut → ut sicut; nulla talisin → nulla talis in; magisex his quae in exemplo nostris sunt → magis ex his quae in exemplo nobis sunt; Azariam '°; → Azariam;; Nam et Matthteus ipse → Nam et Matthaeus ipse; Matthazum nomine δι. → Matthaeum nomine.; Matthzeus in catalogo apostolorum dicit post multos (8'5): Matthwus publicanus, et Iacobus Alphei, et Lebbteus, et Simon Chananteus . → Matthaeus in catalogo apostolorum dicit post multos: Matthaeus publicanus, et Iacobus Alphaei, et Lebbaeus, et Simon Chananaeus.; Matthteus publicanus,et Thomas, et Iacobus Alphwi,et 'I'haddteus ". → Matthaeus publicanus, et Thomas, et Iacobus Alphaei, et Thaddaeus.; quem Matthteus Lebbaeum, Marcus Thaddazum posuit → quem Matthaeus Lebbaeum, Marcus Thaddaeum posuit; lotthwus, Thomas → Matthaeus, Thomas; Iudas Iacobi ". Igitur eumdem, quem Matthzeus Lebbteum → Iudas Iacobi. Igitur eumdem, quem Matthaeus Lebbaeum; in nontinibus → in nominibus; et donec quitus, quod → et donec …, quod; appellationi patrize → appellationi patriae; Paulus autem appellatus esse, cum → Paulus autem appellatus esse, cum Graecis et gentibus leges ac praecepta conscribit. Nam et hoc ipsum quod Scriptura dicit: Saulus autem, qui et Paulus, evidenter non ei tunc primum Pauli nomen ostendit impositum, sed veteris appellationis id fuisse designat. Haec ab ipso auctore operis omissa, nos quia id dissertationis initium videbatur exposcere, puto quod non inconvenienter praemisimus. Caetera jam de explanationum corpore, quibus poterimus compendiis exsequemur.; aut jam perfectus sim; propositum sequor → aut jam perfectus sim; … propositum sequor.
Topics: Heresy, Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 0.2 (PG 14:833a–837a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/0-1/#p-0-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-0-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
Chapter 1
1.1PG 14:837b–840a
Paulus seruus Jesu Christi. De Paulo jam diximus. Requiramus nunc cur servus dicatur is qui alibi scribit : Non enim accepistis spiritum seruitutis iterum in timore, sed accepistis spiritum adoptionis, in quo clamamus: Abba Pater; et iterum: Quia autem estis filii, misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda nostra clamantem :Abba Pater. Itaque jam non est servus, sed filius. Quomodo ergo, cum etiam his quibus praedicabat, dicat quia :iam non est servus, sed filius, ipse se servum profitetur? Sive id secundum illam humilitatem dictum putemus, quam Dominus docuit, dicens: Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde, non errabimus. Neque enim per hoc laeditur veritas libertatis in Paulo. Dicit enim et ipse: Nam cum liber sim ab omnibus, omnibus me servum … ejus pronuntiet qui dixerat: Ecce ego sum in medio uestrum, non sicut discumbens, sed sicut ministrans;et ejus qui semetipsum exinanivit formam servi accipiens , ut sicut iis qui in lege sunt fit et ipse sub lege, et iis qui sine lege sunt eflicitur etiam ipse sine lege, ita et ipse pro his qui adhuc servi sunt, et nondum per spiritum adoptionis in libertatem perducti filiorum, servus efficiatur, contrarium non videbitur. Ad hoc potest etiam illud addi, quod ad Corinthios Scribens idem Apostolus, et de nuptiis vel castitate praecipiens, tanquam alieno nomine quaedam de libertate ac servitute interserit, dicens : Servus vocatus es ? Nihil cures : sed et si potes liber fieri, magis utere. Qui enim in Domino vocatus est seruus, libertus est Domini: similiter et qui liber uocatus est, servus est Christi. Pretio empti estis, nolite fieri servi hominum. Quae utique nonnullis contra rationem videntur inserta. Quid enim ad nuptiarum vel castitatis praecepta commemoratio servitutis ac libertatis assumitur? Sed nos sensum Pauli ita intelligimus, quod servum dicat eum qui jugali conditione constrictus est : quia mulier non habet potestatem corporis sui, sed vir ejus; et vir non habet potestatem corporis sui, sed uxor ejus. Propter quod et in aliis dicit de eis, quia non est servituti subjectus frater, vel soror in talibus , scilicet, quod in aliis eos servituti sciret esse subjectos. Est ergo servus vocatus. qui in conjugio positus venit ad Christum, cui dicitur: Servus vocatus es? Nihil ad te attineat: sed et si potes liber fieri, magis utere ; quia in conjugibus alterius continentiae libertas alteri generat periculum castitatis. Non enim debent nisi ex consensu ad tempus vacare orationi , et iterum in idipsum est revertendum, ne eos tentet Satanas propter incontinentiam suam. Is ergo qui pro nexu conjugii servus vocatus est, libertus est Domini. Libertus enim neque ex integro liber, neque ex integro servus est. Si in caeteris virtutibus liber fuerit, si fidei, patientiae, misericordiae, justitiae tenuerit libertatem, libertus Domini appellatur, utpote qui pro animi virtutibus liber sit, et pro conjugali necessitate sit servus. Liber vero est qui sine uxore per puritatem continentiae venit ad Christum, qui tamen servus Christi efficitur, dum ex integro virtutibus servit. Paulus ergo, sicut quidam tradunt, cum uxore vocatus est; de qua dicit ad Philippenses scribens: Rogo etiam te, germane compar, adjuva illas: qui quoniam ab ipsa ex consensu liber effectus est, servum se nominat Christi. Si vero, ut aliis videtur, sine uxore, nihilominus qui liber vocatus est, servus est Christi. Quid est autem servum esse Christi, nisi quod est servum esse verbi Dei, sapientiae, justitiae, veritatis, et omnium omnino virtutum, quae omnia Christus est? Sed et illud,si videtur, in hoc loco addamus, quod sicut scientia, quae nunc datur sanctis, per speculum datur et in aenigmate, et prophetia, et caetera dona Spiritus sancti: ita et libertas, quae nunc sanctis praestatur, nondum plena libertas est, sed velut per speculum, et in aenigmate; et ideo sancti servos se esse dicunt, ad comparationem illius libertatis, quae facie ad faciem tribuitur. Qui etenim potest in carne quis positus adipisci integram libertatem, ut in nullo jam serviat carni? Sicut nec adoptionem filiorum quis in corpore positus habere ex integro potest. Atque utinam hoc saltem obtineri possit in vita mortalium, ut servus quis Christi ex integro fiat, et non carni, non sanguini, non vanae gloriae, non cupiditati, non avaritiae, non iracundiae, non invidiae; sed qui soli Christo, id est omnibus simul virtutibus serviat. Haec de eo quod scriptum est: Paulus servus Jesu Christi.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.” Of Paul we have already spoken. Let us now ask why he is called a servant who elsewhere writes, “For you did not receive the spirit of servitude again in fear, but you received the spirit of adoption, in which we cry, Abba, Father”; and again, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So he is no longer a servant but a son.” How, then, since he says even to those to whom he preached that “he is no longer a servant but a son,” does he profess himself a servant? If we think that it was said in accordance with that humility which the Lord taught, saying, “Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart,” we shall not err. For the truth of Paul's freedom is not harmed by this. For he himself says, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself the servant of all” … of him who had said, “Behold, I am in your midst, not as one who reclines at table but as one who serves,” and of him who emptied himself, taking the form of a servant; so that, just as for those under the law he too becomes as one under the law, and for those without law he too becomes as one without law, so also for those who are still servants, and not yet led through the spirit of adoption into the freedom of sons, he becomes a servant: this will not seem contradictory. To this can also be added that the same Apostle, writing to the Corinthians and giving instructions about marriage or chastity, inserts, as if under another heading, certain things about freedom and servitude, saying, “Were you called as a servant? Do not care; but even if you can become free, make use of it rather. For he who was called in the Lord as a servant is the Lord's freedman; likewise he who was called free is Christ's servant. You were bought with a price; do not become servants of men.” These words seem to some to have been inserted against reason. For why is mention of servitude and freedom brought into precepts about marriage or chastity? But we understand Paul's meaning thus: that he calls a servant the one who is bound by the condition of marriage, since the wife does not have power over her own body, but the husband; and the husband does not have power over his own body, but the wife. For this reason he also says of them elsewhere that a brother or sister is not subject to servitude in such cases: implying, that is, that he knew them to be subject to servitude in other cases. He, then, is called as a servant who came to Christ while placed in marriage, and to him it is said, “Were you called as a servant? Let it not concern you; but even if you can become free, make use of it rather”; because in spouses the freedom of continence in one creates a danger to the chastity of the other. For they ought not to abstain except by consent, for a time, to devote themselves to prayer, and they must come together again, lest Satan tempt them because of their incontinence. He, then, who was called as a servant on account of the bond of marriage is the Lord's freedman. For a freedman is neither wholly free nor wholly a servant. If he has been free in the other virtues, if he has kept the freedom of faith, patience, mercy and justice, he is called the Lord's freedman, as one who is free by the virtues of his soul and a servant by the necessity of marriage. But he is free who comes to Christ without a wife through the purity of continence; and yet he becomes Christ's servant, while he serves the virtues wholly. Paul, then, as some relate, was called with a wife, of whom he speaks when writing to the Philippians, “I ask you too, true yokefellow, help them”; and since he was made free from her by consent, he calls himself Christ's servant. But if, as others think, he was without a wife, nonetheless he who was called free is Christ's servant. And what is it to be a servant of Christ, except to be a servant of the Word of God, of wisdom, of justice, of truth, and of all the virtues whatever, all of which Christ is? And let us add this too in this place, if it seems good: that just as the knowledge now given to the saints is given through a mirror and in an enigma, and so prophecy and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit, so too the freedom now granted to the saints is not yet full freedom, but as through a mirror and in an enigma; and therefore the saints say that they are servants in comparison with that freedom which is given face to face. For who, while placed in the flesh, can obtain complete freedom, so as to serve the flesh in nothing? Just as no one placed in the body can have the adoption of sons in full. And would that at least this might be obtained in the life of mortals: that a man become wholly Christ's servant, and not a servant of flesh, nor of blood, nor of vainglory, nor of greed, nor of avarice, nor of anger, nor of envy, but serve Christ alone, that is, all the virtues together. So much on what is written: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ.”
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 4:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 4:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 11:29 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 22:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:20 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:21 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:21 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:22 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:23 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:15 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Phil 4:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul calls himself a servant from humility and in imitation of Christ; in 1 Cor 7 the 'servant' is one bound in marriage, the 'freedman' the married believer free in virtue; full freedom comes only face to face.
- Rom 1:1; Rom 8:15; Gal 4:6–7; Matt 11:29; 1 Cor 9:19; Luke 22:27; Phil 2:7; 1 Cor 9:20–21; 1 Cor 7:21–23; 1 Cor 7:4; 1 Cor 7:15; 1 Cor 7:5; Phil 4:3; 1 Cor 13:12. A line or two are lost in the scan after the quotation of 1 Cor 9:19 (marked “…”); a passage belonging to the end of the preface, misplaced here by the scan, has been moved to 0.2, and Migne's notes removed. The reading of 1 Cor 7:21–23 as about marriage and continence, and the report that Paul was married (Phil 4:3), are Origen's, translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's footnote leaked into the text; OCR slip; OCR slip; OCR slip and footnote marker; OCR slip; missing space; OCR slip; words joined; OCR slips; OCR slips; word split; OCR slips; words joined; footnote marker; footnote marker and stray mark; stray mark; the end of the preface, misplaced here by the scan, moved to 0.2; Migne's notes and running head removed; a line or two lost in the scan marked …; words joined): Jesu Christi". De Paulo → Jesu Christi. De Paulo; adoptionis,iin quo clamamus :Abba → adoptionis, in quo clamamus: Abba; et iterum έθ : → et iterum:; ipse se sertum profitetur → ipse se servum profitetur; dicens “ : Discite → dicens: Discite; Dicit enim et ipse": _ Nam → Dicit enim et ipse: Nam; omnibus me servum Graecis et gentibus leges ac prmeepta conscribit. Nam et hoc ipsum quod Scriptura dicit : Saulus autem, qui et Paulus , evidenter non ei tunc primum Paulinomen ostendit impositum, sed veteris appellationis id fuisse designat. Haec ab ipso auctore operis omissa, nos quia id dissertationis initium videbatur exposcere, puto quntl non incnnvenientcr prtemisimus. Caetera jam de explanationum corpore, quibus poterimus compendiis exsequemur. gelii prmcepta conscribit. Sea caeteri mss., Haliartus et editi ut in textu, nisi quod ms. unus Regius ιιυρζβςόμ liabea't‘ conscripsit lpqo-conficribit. Ms.‘ unus Regius num. 16M, Nunc jam ca:tera de explanationis corpore. . . exsequamur. EPISTOLAM Il. PAULI ROMANOS ejus pronuntiet → omnibus me servum … ejus pronuntiet; qui dixerat"I : → qui dixerat:; exiuanivit → exinanivit; sine lege "', → sine lege,; pro bis qui adhuc → pro his qui adhuc; filiorum,servus eiliciatur, cono trarium → filiorum, servus efficiatur, contrarium; alieno nomine qmedam → alieno nomine quaedam; prteceptzt Matth. χι 29. “ ICor. tx, 19.“? Luc. xm, Ξῖ. commemoratio → praecepta commemoratio; coustrictus → constrictus; sed uxor ejus ". → sed uxor ejus.; alterius continentia: libertas → alterius continentiae libertas; c0njugii → conjugii; fidei, patientiaa, → fidei, patientiae,; appellaturfutpote → appellatur, utpote; Llher vero → Liber vero; puritatem continentia: venit → puritatem continentiae venit; servus Chri- ,sti cllicitur → servus Christi efficitur; cum uxore vocatus ’ est → cum uxore vocatus est; scribens" :Rog't etiam te → scribens: Rogo etiam te; illas : qui ϐ quoniam → illas: qui quoniam; nisi-quod → nisi quod; sapientiae, justitiaa, veritatis → sapientiae, justitiae, veritatis; scientia, quin nunc → scientia, quae nunc; czetera dona Spiritus sancti“ : → caetera dona Spiritus sancti:; in amigmate"; → in aenigmate;; sancti senos se esse → sancti servos se esse; libertatis. quia facie → libertatis, quae facie; in nullojam → in nullo jam; possitin vita → possit in vita; exintegro [lat ε et → ex integro fiat, et; non vanae gloria, → non vanae gloriae,; Hzec de eo → Haec de eo.
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 1.1 (PG 14:837b–840a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/0-1/#p-1-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-1-1) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
1.2PG 14:840a–842a
Vocatus Apostolus . Nomen hoc, id est vocatus, quia ad omnes pertinet qui in Christo credunt, generale potest videri; sed unusquisque secundum id quod in eo praevidit et elegit Deus, aut apostolus vocatur, aut propheta, aut magister, aut liber ab uxore, aut servus in conjuge; et pro diversitate gratiae completur illud quod scriptum est: Multi sunt vocati, pauci autem electi. Sciendum tamen est quod possibile est aliquem esse vocatum apostolum, aut vocatum prophetam, aut vocatum magistrum, et si neglexerit vocationis suae gratiam, decidere ex ea; sicut et Judas, qui apostolus vocatus est, et negligens vocationis suae gratiam, ex apostolo effectus est proditor. Et fuit quidem vocatus apostolus, sed non fuit electus apostolus. Sed et ille propheta qui in tertio Regnorum libro refertur prophetasse de Jeroboam, vocatus propheta fuit; si autem et electus, ipse discutito, quoniam quidem prohibitus panem manducare in Israel, manducavit, et interemptus est leone. Sunt et multi vocati magistri per omnes Ecclesiae Dei, et vocati ministri; sed nescio qui in his electi magistri sint, et electi ministri. Sic et puto esse quosdam vocatos quidem ut patiantur pro Christo, non tamen electos; id est, vocatos martyres, sed non electos martyres: ut sunt illi … quae scilicet non fuerit sancta corpore et spiritu. Et est vocatus pastor, sed non electus pastor, qui praeest quidem gregi, et lacte ejus utitur, et lanis ejus operitur; sed infirmum non requirit, et claudum non colligit, et fortem circumscribit in labore. Ita est et vocatus abstinens, sed non electus abstinens, scilicet qui jejunat tristis, et exterminans faciem suam ut hominibus appareat. Sed et per singulos gratiarum gradus similiter invenies multos quidem vocatos, paucos autem electos.
“Called an apostle.” This name, that is, “called,” since it belongs to all who believe in Christ, can seem general; but each, according to what God foresaw and chose in him, is called either an apostle, or a prophet, or a teacher, or one free from a wife, or a servant in marriage; and according to the diversity of grace is fulfilled what is written: “Many are called, but few are chosen.” We must know, however, that it is possible for someone to be called an apostle, or called a prophet, or called a teacher, and, if he neglects the grace of his calling, to fall from it; as Judas, who was called an apostle and, neglecting the grace of his calling, became from an apostle a betrayer. And he was indeed a called apostle, but he was not a chosen apostle. And that prophet too, who is related in the third book of Kingdoms to have prophesied about Jeroboam, was a called prophet; but whether he was also chosen, judge for yourself, since, having been forbidden to eat bread in Israel, he ate, and was killed by a lion. There are also many called teachers throughout all the Churches of God, and called ministers; but I do not know which of them are chosen teachers and chosen ministers. So too I think there are some called to suffer for Christ, yet not chosen; that is, called martyrs, but not chosen martyrs, such as those … who, that is, was not holy in body and spirit. And there is a called shepherd but not a chosen shepherd, who presides over the flock and uses its milk and is covered with its wool, but does not seek out the weak, nor gather the lame, and hems in the strong with labour. So too there is a called abstainer, but not a chosen abstainer, namely one who fasts gloomily and disfigures his face so as to appear to men. And through each degree of graces you will likewise find many called but few chosen.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 22:14 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 13:24 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:34 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 34:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 34:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:16 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: 'Called' is common to all believers, but not all the called are chosen: Judas, the disobedient prophet, and unworthy martyrs, virgins, shepherds and fasters.
- Rom 1:1; Matt 22:14; 1 Kgs 13 (the prophet from Judah; “third book of Kingdoms” in the Greek Bible); 1 Cor 7:34 (holy in body and spirit); Ezek 34:3–4; Matt 6:16. Some lines are lost in the scan after “such as those” (Migne's notes indicate a parallel about a called but not chosen virgin), marked “…”; Migne's footnotes leaked into the text are removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's footnotes leaked into the text; OCR slips; OCR read Latin as Greek letters; OCR slip; OCR slip; word split; OCR slips; OCR slips; word split; footnote marker; lines lost in the scan marked …; OCR slip and footnote marker; missing space): id est rocetus → id est vocatus; θυι· liber ab uxore → aut liber ab uxore; diversitate gratim completur → diversitate gratiae completur; scriptum est"‘:Multi → scriptum est: Multi; pauci autem electi“). → pauci autem electi.; vocationis sua; gratiam, decidere ex eazsicut et ludas → vocationis suae gratiam, decidere ex ea; sicut et Judas; negligens vocationis sua gratiam, ex apostolo etl'ectus → negligens vocationis suae gratiam, ex apostolo effectus; Ει fuit quidem → Et fuit quidem; de Jeroboam", → de Jeroboam,; electi ministri.Sic → electi ministri. Sic; ut patiantur-(tl pro Christo → ut patiantur pro Christo; ut sunt illi qua! scilicet non fuerit sancta corpore et spiritu ". → ut sunt illi … quae scilicet non fuerit sancta corpore et spiritu.; electus pa- Slor → electus pastor; lacte eius uti- Illl', → lacte ejus utitur,; reqnirit → requirit; circumseribit in labore ". lla est et vocatus abstinens, sed " l Cor. vn, δι. Ezeclt. χθων, 3, 4. Mat :li. xxxiv, 3, 4. Matth. mss. et Rabanus. _Editi, sed non electa,’ quiescilicet virgo sancta fuerit. etc. Pastor. Ueest in editis. Deinde ms. unus, non Colligite. _ ἢ . fi _ _ _ Abstincm. Deest in _ editisuneinde mss. quidam. et exterminat: Czcleri vero, Rabanus et editi. «exterminans. Paulo post ms. unus, sic ει per sittgulot, etc. ’ ’ segregem; in Evangeiiunt Dei, etc._Quam inliilisit'lliifini internretvsitio. liqnet'ex Gfmcis. quae [féiiocaiiie‘capite 25‘sic regini-sinuantur: ’ζρίτρ 4m}.th- 3396}: ei ξιὶ aliudve).ng Ergo?) ne}? MSS.“ 797161,: “'97 non electus abstinens → circumscribit in labore. Ita est et vocatus abstinens, sed non electus abstinens; ut hominibus ιιιςιeeat . → ut hominibus appareat..
Topics: Martyrdom, Fasting, Church office
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 1.2 (PG 14:840a–842a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/0-1/#p-1-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-1-2) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
1.3PG 14:842a–847b
Segregatus in Evangelium Dei. In Paulo non sola generalis vocatio ad apostolatum designatur, sed et electio protinus secundum Dei praescientiam subsecuta per hoc quod segregatus dicitur in Evangelium Dei; sicut alibi ipse de se dicit : Cum autem complacuit Deo, qui me segregavit de utero matris meae, ut revelaret Filium suum in me. Quod tamen haeretici ad calumniam vocant, dicentes eum segregatum esse ab utero matris suae ob hoc quod in eo naturae bonitas fuerat ; sicut econtrario de his qui malae naturae sunt, dicitur in Psalmis, quia segregati sunt peccatores ex utero. Nos autem dicimus quod neque Paulus fortuito aut naturali differentia electus est, sed electionis suae causas in semetipso dedit ei qui scit cuncta antequam fiant; neque peccatores qui separantur a ventre judicis iniquitate separantur. Denique statim in consequentibus vide quid de his dical sermo divinus. Scriptum est enim: Segregati sunt peccatores ab utero . erraverunt a ventre, locuti sunt falsa. Si intelligamus quomodo statim ut de ventre matris procedunt peccatores, erraverunt, vel locuti sunt falsa, pariter intelligimus quod juste separantur a ventre. Ergo et Paulus quod segregatus in Evangelium dicitur, et segregatus a ventre matris suae, causas in eo et merita quibus in hoc segregari debuerit, vidit ille quem non latet mens. Praevidit enim quod abundantius quam caeteri omnes laboraturus esset in Evangelio , quod in fame et siti, in frigore et nuditate , periculis latronum, periculis fluminum, periculis maris , praedicaturus esset Evangelium Christi, sciens quod vae sibi esset si non evangelizaret, et quod maceraturus esset corpus suum, et servituti subjecturus , ne forte cum aliis praedicasset, ipse reprobus efficeretur. Haec ergo et multa alia his similia in eo de ventre matris praevidens Jesus, pro his segregavit eum in Evangelium. Si enim, ut haeretici putant, vel sortis incerto, vel naturae melioris praerogativa fuisset electus, nunquam utique timuisset ne si minus corporis sui frena tenuisset, evenire posset ut reprobus fieret, vel vae sibi futurum esset si evangelizare cessasset. Denique et ipse in consequentibus latius disserens ait, quia quos praescivit et praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui, evidenter ostendens, quod eos quos praescivit Deus tales futuros, ut Christo se in passionibus conformarent , ipsos etiam conformes ac similes imaginis ejus praedestinavit et gloriae. Praecedit ergo praescientia Dei, per quam noscuntur qui in se labores et virtutes habituri sint , et ita praedestinatio sequitur; nec tamen rursus praedestinationis causa putabitur praescientia. Quod enim apud homines uniuscujusque meritum pensatur ex praeteritis gestis, hoc apud Deum iudicatur ex futuris: et valde impius est qui in hac non credit Deo , ut quod nos in praeteritis videmus, hoc ille videat in futuris. Segregatus, inquit, in Evangelium Dei. In aliis locis Scripturae Evangelium Christi esse dicitur … Initium Evangelii Jesu Christi, sicut scriptum est in Isaia propheta. Verum quoniam Christus Verbum est, et in principio erat Verbum , et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum , unum atque idem est dici Evangelium Dei et Evangelintn Christi, vel quia ipse Dominus dicit quod ego et Pater unum sumus : et iterum dicit ad Patrem: Omnia mea tua sunt, et tua mea, et glorificatus sum in his. Ergo et Evangelium Patris Evangelium Filii est. Sed et Paulus dicit: Evangelium meum quod praedico inter gentes : quod fortassis ut haeres Christi dicit, et tanquam in Evangelio cohaeres, quia et alibi etiam plurimorum dicit esse Evangelium, sicut ad Galatas : Sed et si velatum est Euangelium nostrum; nostrum, id est omnium qui cohaeredes sumus Christi. Verum et secundum hoc quod ipse praedicator ejus est, recte suum dicit esse Paulus Evangelium.
“Set apart for the Gospel of God.” In Paul not only the general calling to apostleship is signified, but also the election that followed immediately according to God's foreknowledge, through his being said to be set apart for the Gospel of God; as elsewhere he says of himself, “But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother's womb, to reveal his Son in me.” This, however, the heretics turn to calumny, saying that he was set apart from his mother's womb because there was goodness of nature in him; just as, on the contrary, it is said in the Psalms of those who are of an evil nature that sinners are set apart from the womb. But we say that Paul was not chosen by chance or by a difference of nature, but that he gave, in himself, the causes of his election to him who knows all things before they come to be; nor are the sinners who are separated from the womb separated by the injustice of the judge. Then see at once, in what follows, what the divine word says of them. For it is written: “Sinners are set apart from the womb; they have gone astray from the belly; they have spoken falsehoods.” If we understand how sinners, as soon as they come out of their mother's belly, have gone astray or spoken falsehoods, we likewise understand that they are justly separated from the belly. So too with Paul, in that he is said to be set apart for the Gospel and set apart from his mother's belly: he from whom no mind is hidden saw in him the causes and merits for which he ought to be set apart for this. For he foresaw that he would labour more abundantly than all the others in the Gospel; that in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, in dangers from robbers, dangers from rivers, dangers from the sea, he would preach the Gospel of Christ, knowing that woe would be to him if he did not preach the Gospel; and that he would chastise his body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when he had preached to others, he himself should become reprobate. Foreseeing, then, these and many other such things in him from his mother's womb, Jesus set him apart for the Gospel on their account. For if, as the heretics think, he had been chosen either by the uncertainty of lot or by the prerogative of a better nature, he would surely never have feared that, if he held the reins of his body less firmly, he might become reprobate, or that woe would be to him if he ceased to preach the Gospel. Finally he himself, discussing it more broadly in what follows, says that those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son: showing plainly that those whom God foreknew would be such as to conform themselves to Christ in sufferings, these he also predestined to be conformed and like to his image and glory. God's foreknowledge, then, comes first, by which those are known who will have labours and virtues in themselves, and so predestination follows; yet foreknowledge in its turn will not be thought the cause of predestination. For what among men is weighed as each one's merit from past deeds is judged by God from future ones; and he is very impious who does not believe God in this, that what we see in the past he sees in the future. “Set apart,” he says, “for the Gospel of God.” In other places of Scripture the Gospel is said to be Christ's … “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet.” But since Christ is the Word, and in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, it is one and the same thing to say the Gospel of God and the Gospel of Christ; or else because the Lord himself says, “I and the Father are one,” and again he says to the Father, “All that is mine is yours, and yours is mine, and I am glorified in them.” So the Gospel of the Father is the Gospel of the Son. But Paul too says, “My Gospel, which I preach among the Gentiles”: which he says perhaps as an heir of Christ, and as a co-heir in the Gospel, since elsewhere too he says that the Gospel belongs to many, as to the Galatians: “But even if our Gospel is veiled”; “our,” that is, of all of us who are co-heirs of Christ. But also, inasmuch as he himself is its preacher, Paul rightly calls the Gospel his own.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 1:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 1:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 58:3 (57:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:26 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:16 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 9:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 8:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 1:2 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:1 (quotation, high confidence) · John 10:30 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 2:2 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:17 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Paul was set apart from the womb not by nature, as heretics claim, but because God foresaw his merits; foreknowledge precedes predestination without causing it; the Gospel of God is the Gospel of Christ.
- Rom 1:1; Gal 1:15–16; Ps 58:3 (57:4 LXX); Sus 42 (Dan 13:42 Vulg., outside the 66-book canon); 1 Cor 15:10; 2 Cor 11:26–27; 1 Cor 9:16; 1 Cor 9:27; Rom 8:29; Mark 1:1–2; John 1:1; John 10:30; John 17:10; Gal 2:2; 2 Cor 4:3 (the text says “to the Galatians”; the verse is from 2 Corinthians); Rom 8:17. The doctrine that foreknowledge of merits precedes predestination is Origen's, translated as written. Migne prints on these columns, beside Rufinus's text, Origen's Greek on Rom 1:1 preserved in the Philocalia (ch. 25) with a modern Latin version; the scan interleaved that version and Migne's notes with Rufinus's text, and they are removed here by logged correction. A few words are lost in the scan after “the Gospel is said to be Christ's” (marked “…”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Migne's notes and the Latin version of the Philocalia fragment (not Rufinus's text) removed; Migne's notes and the Latin version of the Philocalia fragment removed; words lost in the scan marked …; broken words completed; Migne's notes, the Greek of the Philocalia fragment and its Latin version (not Rufinus's text) removed; OCR slip; OCR read Latin as Greek letters; OCR slip; OCR slip and footnote marker; OCR slip; word split; OCR slips; OCR slips and footnote marker; OCR slips and stray mark; OCR slips; Greek debris from Migne's parallel column removed; footnote marker; stray mark; stray number; the Latin version of the Philocalia fragment (not Rufinus's text) removed): Segregalus in Euangelium Dei. In Paulo Geo? Iwn'rog Tiofi_ro§_fisofi° sit} dli-0'94 δὲ εἶδεν (smmi-956'. νωσξεελν Mdg-stici} A6 ιιοη sola generalis → Segregatus in Evangelium Dei. In Paulo non sola generalis; pra'scientiam → praescientiam; per hoc quod 463 segregatus → per hoc quod segregatus; Dei; 'sicut alibi → Dei; sicut alibi; utero ntatris metu, ut reuelaret Filium suum in me ο. → utero matris meae, ut revelaret Filium suum in me.; ab Galat. ι, 15, l6. Psal. Lm, 4. Dan. “11,42. rtpr iatn; flabile/ar ei; refl “vitae atqu “de ad · Trita;illi.de infausti»; neglegam, ,ὅτι elui] bntottlagev‘ cibi ιέε αὐιεδν alia}; xquéavcu dar sapa Geo}; πρὸς τὸ {si} γε·- fricbat αΰτῳ auat, usuusu.- uvuw υυυιιι, uvas ευιωιιιι, una uva” adtigi; sp}; padei; indtqu τῆς diros-strinxi}; es dmo- Tertio loco examinandum est illud : Segregatus in Evangelium Dei (Rom. ι, l): et in Epistolis ad Calatas, hinc de se praedicat Apostolus (Galat. ι, 15) : Cum vero placuitei, qui me segregaritab utero matris meze, ut revelaret' Filium suum in me. Hinc autem verba, qui pramotionem non intelligunt, sic interpretantur, quasi prie/initio causa sit cur eveniant quae promota sunt; ob eamque rem quosdamex natura et conditione sua salvos introducunt. Nonnulli ea: illis verbis libertatem nobis arbitrii adimunt, utunturque liis etiam psalmi verbis : Alienati sunt peccatores ξι Vulva (l’sal. Lvn, 4, 5), quibus cuin utero matris sate → ab utero matris suae; natura: bonitas iuerat → naturae bonitas fuerat; male natara: sunt → malae naturae sunt; in Psalmis ’ί , → in Psalmis,; peccatores ea: utero → peccatores ex utero; naturali dilicrentia electus esu → naturali differentia electus est; antequam fiant “; → antequam fiant;; separantur. interrogatione occurrere licet; scriptum est enim: Alienati sunt peccatores ab utero, erraverunt a ventre matris. locuti sunt falsa : furor illis secundum similitudinem serpentis._ Et quaeremus ab iis qui verba illa tanquam aperta accipiunt , an qui alienati sunt ab utero peccatores , simul ac materno utero egressi _s_unt, erraverint, et a via salutis suo aliqua 3 [acto abducti sint. Quomodo oero abalienati ab utero peccatores, a centre matris aberrarunt, et falsa locuti sunt? Νοη enim ostendent eos, sintut ac. nati sunt, ueram ac plenam vocem, falsum quid proferentes . emisisse. Si vero ea respiciaiiuts. qua, de'pra'finitioae in hac quant explicanius Epistolu' dicuntur ,’ poterimus, destructis iis quae simpliciores in ejus semen. tiam pertrahunt quidivinam doctrinam injustititt accusat, de eo respondere qui ab utero matris destinat. quique servum Jesu Christi vocatum Apostolum Pan- um in Euunaeltum Dei seareaat. Verba hn'c\ nm: u_m in Evangeltunt Dei segregat. Verba turn sunt (_Rom. vni. 28, seq.) : Scimus'quoniam diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur iu bonum, iis qui secundum propositum ipsius vocati sunt, quia quos pra:no_vit, eos et praedestinavit conformes imagini Filii sui, ut sit ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus. Quos autetn’prtedestina'vit, hos et vocarit :_et quas yocavil,_ltos_etjustificarit: quos vero jusrilica‘vit, hos etgloriticaijit. Dictorum'igitur seriem attendo; mus. Justificat Deus quos priusvvocavit : non autem justi/icavit quos non vocavit : vocat autem prtvdestinatos ante uacationem, quos non uocasset nisi pmdestinasset; neque ipsis justificationis et vocationis principium est pra'destinntiafSi enim haec principium esset eorum quae sequuntur, haud dubie vincerem qui absurdum de natura sermonem introducunt: sed ante pra'destinationem prwnotio est: Quos enim, inquit , rrwnovit, hos et prwdestinuvit conformes imaginis ‘ilii sui. Dens initur aui futurarum seriem πηοηιωl‘ilii su_i.‘Deus igitur qui futurorum seriem prospeatit, et libertatis nostra: propensionem cognorit ,ἰι aliquorum ad pietatem impetum a/fectuinque post hanc propensionem, quodque ii se totos virtuti ἀπturi sint, ipsos pra'novitacognoscens quidem praesentia, prwsciens vero futura_; et quos ita'pru'not-n. {uturos conformes imagini Filiisui, pra'destinarit. Est igitur Dei lt'ilius_imago Dei invisibilis. et hujus imago, ea quae Filii Dei imago dicitur, quam esse arbitramur eam quam Dei Filius assumpsit humanam animum, per virtutem imaginis Dei imaginem factum. Hujus vero, quam imaginis Filii Det imaginem esse . putamus, c_on[ormes fieri pra’destinavit Deus , quos per suam de ipsis pramon'onem pra’destinaoit. Non est igitur existimanda futurorum causa esse pnetratio Dei : sed quia luturum erat secundum proprios impetus sta/fectus facientis, propterea promovit, qui novit omnia ante ortum eorum (Dim. Illi, i2); aliquas prwnovit et pra’destinavit imagini ΕΜ sui [ore conformes, alios vidit abalienatos. Ad ha'c autem si quis objiciat, [ieri ne possit ut non sint quietalia [ore prwnovit Deus: respondebitpus fieri non posse ut non eveniant; sed non ideo quia fieri non potest ut non eveniant, necesse est non evenire, vel evenire. Fiunt enim haudquaquam ex necessitae , sed-fieri quoque potest ut non fiant. Sed rationis ac intelligendi acumen et perspicientiam desiderat locus hic de iis quc fieri possunt, ut qui mentis suat oculum absterserit, demonstrationum subtilitatem assecutus, intelligere po.sit quomodo in minimis etiam rebus non impedia- Denique statim → separantur. Denique statim; Scriptum est enim ε δρῃτεο gati sunt → Scriptum est enim: Segregati sunt; procedunt peceatores , errave-. runt → procedunt peccatores, erraverunt; quod iusri separantur → quod juste separantur; segregatus in Evangeliutn dicitur → segregatus in Evangelium dicitur; matris sute. causas → matris suae, causas; Praevitlit → Praevidit; quam cteteri omnes → quam caeteri omnes; pra:dicaturns → praedicaturus; si non evangelizaret “, → si non evangelizaret,; ne lorte cum → ne forte cum; reprobus ‘elliceretur . → reprobus efficeretur.; lltec ergo et multa alia his similia (ll) in eo → Haec ergo et multa alia his similia in eo; matris prtevidens → matris praevidens; Si enim, ut Psal. Lm, »1. l Cor. xv, it). ll Car.xt,9 margini}: suffigit?ch ρξξςει fidentia esse possit. gitti-1.1.7.1.! gfim‘ultisuid-quodJ futurum est ξεί, ita ξςςηςίιξίηεξξξ [pregri-idern, sgd'non necessario fore. . . . . possit ut non sit, erit non conjectura jeiitiere‘prtenotunt..Neque vero qui; putet vos illud, secundum propositutn‘ , _reticui'sse, quasi sententia nostra: nocéathit enim Paulus : Scimus autem quoniamdiligentibus Deum Omnia cooperantur mulionum, iis qui“ secundum propositum'vocati sunt. Sed consideret illius seettndu'tn ιίιηψοείιιιιηήυοζ urbanissimum Apostolum statim reddidisse . cum dicit; Quospgenovit, eos et prtetlestinavitcantor; rues. imagini Filii sui. Et quem alium oportebat in justificantem vocationem pr'oposito Det secerni et se? gregarinrteter eos qui ipsum diligunt .9 Hujus vero prtrpost'ti et prtenotionis causam in nostra libertate finiatis declarat illud : Scimus quoniam diligentibus. Deum Omnia cooperantur in bonum : perinde quasi dixisset, omnia quae ad bonum conducu'ntJdeo gon‘ducere, quiaauxilio'digni sunt qui diligunt Deum. ded interrogandi sunt, qui co'ntiar'iitniiitéiiiuifilii huc nobis rizspondeant'. 'Ponamus in conditione,'aliqua in nostra- esse potestate; idque adversus eos qui “59mm arbitrium iollunt, donec'ea: conditione eorum tollentia falsa convincatur. Si ergo in nobis libera voluntas; an igitur Deus futurorum seriem intuitus, lltwnoscet ea quae ea: libertate unusquisque nostrum {thematis congios acturus sit? an non'praanoscet ? (illi responderit non prtenolu'rum, ignorei ille necesse tu mentem infinitam, et magnitudinem Dei. Si prienozurutn agnoscant, rursus quaeremus ea: ipsis, an ejus utentia causa sit cur eventura sint futura, cum εόηο, fedatur aliquid in nostra esse potesiate ; tia quia [u- ‘ffflm est prtenovit : neque ullo modo pramotio causa {deorum quae unicuique nostrum ex‘libertate arbitrii [utut-aeut. ieri ergo poterat. ut aliquibus ocfltrentibns impedimentis'non hoc, sed illud faceret, qui liber creatus est. Ha'c igitur vet similia sidiam?ξξιτ, id quoque servatur : Euge, serve bone et lide- ‘ με. apt. amarissimum: ape; tanta sumillam τ’ intra in gaudiunt Domini tui (Matth. xxv , “il li ιιιηι et‘lausfomnis, quat battis trib‘ut'tur; ac de; haeretici putant → Si enim, ut haeretici putant; natura: ntelioris → naturae melioris; utique 'timuisset → utique timuisset; vel ,ναι sibi → vel vae sibi; cessasset (l2). → cessasset.; quos prtesct'vit et praedestinavit conformesfieri imaginis Filii sui 3‘, → quos praescivit et praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui,; Prteeedit ergo prteseientia → Praecedit ergo praescientia; ita prtedestinatio → ita praedestinatio; prmdestinationis → praedestinationis; ex prteteritis → ex praeteritis; in bac non credit → in hac non credit; ut quod.th in → ut quod nos in; in Evangeiium Dei. In aliis locisSeripturm Evangelium Cbristi → in Evangelium Dei. In aliis locis Scripturae Evangelium Christi; esse die 7. Cor. tx, i6. ibid.27. Rom. vm, 29. distisflmibi mandu_care_(ibid. at, ss), et qute sequuti. imiimi?iiis'éZd'i'te‘fuit:iui;ledieti, in igneni aeternum prmpar’atum diabolo et mm... . ...ιωηιηιι ...ς nam... luauulu τι angelis eju:; quia esutivi ,ν etP non dedistis mihi qttgtl'etleiem’,:t ca'tera. Qu’in‘etiam, si illud , Deo tium Evangelii Jesu → esse dicitur … Initium Evangelii Jesu; υιιιιιιι τιεque idem → unum atque idem; ego et Pnter → ego et Pater; ct iterum dicit ad Patrem → et iterum dicit ad Patrem; glorificatus sum in Itis . → glorificatus sum in his.; quod prwdica inter gentes ” → quod praedico inter gentes; ut lueres Christi dicit, ct tanquam in Evangelia cohteres → ut haeres Christi dicit, et tanquam in Evangelio cohaeres; Euangelium nostrum “; → Euangelium nostrum;; secundum hac quod → secundum hoc quod.
Extrabiblical texts: Sus 42 (Susanna [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Topics: Heresy
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 1.3 (PG 14:842a–847b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/0-1/#p-1-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-1-3) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
1.4PG 14:847b–848d
Quod ante promiserat per prophetas suos in Scripturis sanctis. Utrum simpliciter accipi debeat Evangelium per Scripturas propheticas a Deo repromissum ; an ad distinctionem alterius Evangelii quod aeternum dicit Joannes in Apocalypsi, quod tunc revelandum est cum umbra transierit et veritas venerit, et cum mors fuerit absorpta et aeternitas restituta, considerato etiam tu qui legis. Cui aeterno Evangelio convenire videbuntur etiam illi aeterni anni de quibus Propheta dicit: Et annos aeternos in mente habui. Eique adjungi potest et ille liber vitae, in quo sanctorum nomina scripta dicuntur : sed et illi libri qui apud Danielem, cum judicium consedisset, aperti sunt ; vel qui apud Ezechielem prophetam deintus et deforis dicuntur inscripti : quae omnia non atramento, sed spiritu Dei vivi scripta memorantur. De quibus quamvis periculosum videatur chartulis committere sermonem, tamen non otiose praetereunda sunt dicta sapientium et aenigmata , sed subtili admodum mentis acie, in quantum res patitur, velut per quoddam speculum contemplanda : ne forte is qui Verbum caro factus ap… quia manifestatus est in carne, justificatus in spiritu apparuit angelis, hoc quod apparuit angelis, non eis absque Evangelio apparuit : sicut ne nobis quidem hominibus, ad quos missum se dicit evangelizare pauperibus, dimittere captivos in remissionem, et annuntiare annum Domini acceptum . Si ergo cum apparuit nobis hominibus, non sine Evangelio apparuit, consequentia videtur ostendere quod etiam angelico ordini non sine Evangelio apparuerit, illo fortassis quod aeternum Evangelium a Joanne memoratum supra docuimus. Si vero etiam in reliquis caelestibus ordinibus tale aliquid ab eo gestum esse suspicandum sit, in ea qua singuli quique sunt forma apparens eis, et annuntians pacem, quoniam quidem per sanguinem crucis suae pacificavit non solum quae in terra, sed et quae in caelis sunt, etiam tu apud temetipsum discutito. Quod promisit per prophetas suos in Scripturis sanctis. Quae de Christo praedicta sunt per prophetas, haec etiam de Evangelio praedicta esse sentiendum est, quamvis Marcus evangelista distinctionem facere videatur Christi et Evangelii, cum dicit : Qui dimiserit patrem et matrem, etc., propter me, vel propter Evangelium. Quod et si proprie Evangelii promissiones requirendae sunt, in prophetis abundanter invenies, ut est illud : Dominus dabit verbum euangelizantibus virtute multa; et: Quam speciosi pedes evangelizantium bona! Ad hoc respicit et: In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum, et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum, et: Velociter currit sermo ejus ; sed et: Ecce ego mitto pastores multos, et venatores multos, et capient eos super omnem montem, et super omnem collem. Per Jeremiam promittitur de Evangelio quod nunc Paulus dicit, quia promisit Deus per prophetas suos in Scripturis sanctis de Filio suo.
“Which he had promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.” Whether this ought to be taken simply of the Gospel promised by God through the prophetic Scriptures, or in distinction from another Gospel, which John in the Apocalypse calls eternal, which is to be revealed when the shadow has passed and the truth has come, and when death has been swallowed up and eternity restored, consider this too, you who read. With this eternal Gospel those eternal years too will be seen to agree, of which the Prophet says, “And I had the eternal years in mind.” And to it can be joined that book of life too, in which the names of the saints are said to be written; and also those books which in Daniel were opened when the judgement had sat; or those which in Ezekiel the prophet are said to be written within and without: all of which are recorded as written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. Although it seems dangerous to commit discussion of these things to paper, yet the sayings and riddles of the wise are not to be passed over idly, but are to be contemplated with a very fine edge of the mind, so far as the matter allows, as through a kind of mirror. Perhaps he who, as the Word made flesh, ap… (for “he was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, appeared to angels”): what appeared to angels did not appear to them without a Gospel; just as he did not appear without one even to us men, to whom he says he was sent to preach good news to the poor, to release captives into remission, and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. If, then, when he appeared to us men he did not appear without a Gospel, consistency seems to show that he did not appear to the angelic order without a Gospel either, perhaps that eternal Gospel which, as we showed above, John mentions. But whether one should suppose that something of this kind was done by him in the other heavenly orders too, appearing to them in the form in which each of them is, and proclaiming peace, since through the blood of his cross he made peace not only for the things on earth but also for those in heaven: examine this too within yourself. “Which he promised through his prophets in the holy Scriptures.” What was foretold of Christ through the prophets must be understood to have been foretold of the Gospel too, although Mark the evangelist seems to make a distinction between Christ and the Gospel when he says, “Whoever leaves father and mother,” and so on, “for my sake or for the Gospel's.” And even if the promises of the Gospel must be sought in the strict sense, you will find them abundantly in the prophets, as this: “The Lord will give the word to those who preach good news with great power”; and, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good things!” To this too refers, “Their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world,” and, “His word runs swiftly”; and also, “Behold, I send many shepherds and many hunters, and they will catch them upon every mountain and upon every hill.” Through Jeremiah there is a promise concerning the Gospel: this is what Paul now says, that God promised through his prophets in the holy Scriptures concerning his Son.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 1:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 14:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:54 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 77:5 (76:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 4:3 (allusion, medium confidence) · Dan 7:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Ezek 2:10 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Prov 1:6 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 1:14 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Tim 3:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 4:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 4:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 1:20 (allusion, high confidence) · Mark 10:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 68:11 (67:12 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 52:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 19:4 (18:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 147:15 (147:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 16:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Gospel promised by the prophets may be distinguished from the 'eternal Gospel' of Revelation, which Christ may have proclaimed to angels and heavenly orders; the prophets abound in promises of the Gospel.
- Rom 1:2; Rev 14:6; Heb 10:1 (shadow); 1 Cor 15:54; Ps 77:5 (76:6 LXX); Phil 4:3 (book of life); Dan 7:10; Ezek 2:10; 2 Cor 3:3; Prov 1:6; 1 Cor 13:12; John 1:14; 1 Tim 3:16; Luke 4:18–19; Col 1:20; Mark 10:29; Ps 68:11 (67:12 LXX); Isa 52:7 (Rom 10:15); Ps 19:4 (18:5 LXX); Ps 147:15 (147:4 LXX); Jer 16:16 (the text reads “shepherds” for “fishers”). Origen's speculation about a Gospel proclaimed to angels and other orders is presented by him as a question for the reader. A few words are lost in the scan after “the Word made flesh” (marked “…”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slip and footnote marker; OCR slips; OCR slips, stray marks and footnote marker; footnote marker; footnote marker and OCR slip; stray mark; word split; word split; words lost in the scan marked …; OCR slip): Quod ante promiserat per prop/tetas suos in Scripturis sanctis ”. → Quod ante promiserat per prophetas suos in Scripturis sanctis.; in Apocalypsi ", → in Apocalypsi,; aeterno Evangelia convenire → aeterno Evangelio convenire; illi arterni anni → illi aeterni anni; dicitzEt annos αἰενηοε in mente habui ". Eique α adiungi potest ct ille → dicit: Et annos aeternos in mente habui. Eique adjungi potest et ille; in qua sanctarum nomina → in quo sanctorum nomina; apud Danielem θ’, → apud Danielem,; apud Ezechieletn proldtetam deiutus → apud Ezechielem prophetam deintus; qua) omnia Itan atramento → quae omnia non atramento; scripta memorantur ί. → scripta memorantur.; nou otiose prietereunda → non otiose praetereunda; sapientium et senigmata → sapientium et aenigmata; in quan» tum → in quantum; cantetnplauda → contemplanda; caro factus apquia manilestatus → caro factus ap… quia manifestatus; angelis (18 ‘), non eis absque Evangelia → angelis, non eis absque Evangelio; dimittere ‘captivos in remissio nem → dimittere captivos in remissionem; non sine Evangelia apparuit, consequentia → non sine Evangelio apparuit, consequentia; ordini non sine Evangelia apparuerit, illo fortassis quad aeternum Evangelinm a Joanne‘ memoratum supra cdocuimus → ordini non sine Evangelio apparuerit, illo fortassis quod aeternum Evangelium a Joanne memoratum supra docuimus; etiam iu reliquis → etiam in reliquis; annuutiaus (i9) pacem → annuntians pacem; sanguinem erucis sua: → sanguinem crucis suae; in caelis sunt ', → in caelis sunt,; Quod promisit per prop/tetas suos in Scripturis sanctis . Qua: de Christo prmdicta sunt per prophetas, hac etiam de Evangelia → Quod promisit per prophetas suos in Scripturis sanctis. Quae de Christo praedicta sunt per prophetas, haec etiam de Evangelio; Marcus eviingelista → Marcus evangelista; pramissioues requirenda: → promissiones requirendae; Daminus dabit → Dominus dabit; uirtute multa “; → virtute multa;; euangelizandum bona “i → evangelizantium bona!; 1η omnem terram exivit sanus eorum → In omnem terram exivit sonus eorum; orbis terra: verba eorum ", → orbis terrae verba eorum,; Velaciter currit → Velociter currit; venatores multas → venatores multos; super omnem callem “. → super omnem collem.; de Evangelia quod nunc → de Evangelio quod nunc.
Topics: Scripture and canon
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 1.4 (PG 14:847b–848d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/0-1/#p-1-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-origen-commentarius-romanos-1-4) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.