Exhortation to Martyrdom 21 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Koetschau 1:19

Μὴ τὸ ἐν φανερῷ δὲ μόνον μαρτύριον ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ἐν κρυπτῷ τελείως ἀναλαβεῖν ἀγωνισώμεθα, ἵνα καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀποστολικῶς ἀναφθεγξώμεθα τό· „τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ καύχημα ἡμῶν, τὸ μαρτύριον τῆς συνειδήσεως ἡμῶν, ὅτι ἐν ἁγιότητι καὶ εἰλικρινείᾳ θεοῦ“ „ἀνεστράφημεν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ.“ συνάπτωμεν δὲ τῷ ἀποστολικῷ τὸ προφητικὸν τό· „αὐτὸς δὲ γινώσκει τὰ κρύφια τῆς καρδίας“ ἡμῶν, καὶ μάλιστα, ἐὰν τὴν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ ἀπαγώμεθα· ὅτε φήσομεν τὸ ὑπὸ μόνων μαρτύρων λεγόμενον τῷ θεῷ τό· „ὅτι ἕνεκα σοῦ θανατούμεθα ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν, ἐλογίσθημεν ὡς πρόβατα σφαγῆς.“ ἐὰν δέ ποτε ἀπὸ τοῦ φρονήματος „τῆς σαρκὸς“ ὑποβάλληται ἡμῖν φόβος τῶν ἀπειλούντων ἡμῖν θάνατον δικαστῶν, τότε εἴπωμεν αὐτοῖς τὸ ἀπὸ τῶν Παροιμιῶν· „υἱὲ, τίμα τὸν κύριον, καὶ ἰσχύσεις· πλὴν δὲ αὐτοῦ μὴ φοβοῦ ἄλλον.“

English · Claude translation

Let us strive to take up perfectly not only the martyrdom that is in the open but also that which is in secret, so that we too may cry out as the apostle did: “For this is our boast, the testimony of our conscience, that in holiness and godly sincerity” “we have conducted ourselves in the world.” And let us join to the apostle's words the prophet's: “For he knows the secrets of the heart,” ours, especially if we are led away to death; when we shall say to God what only martyrs say: “For your sake we are put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” And if ever, from the mind “of the flesh,” fear of the judges who threaten us with death is suggested to us, then let us say to them the words from Proverbs: “Son, honor the Lord, and you will be strong; but besides him fear no other.”

About this passage

Source

Koetschau 1:19 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 1: Die Schrift vom Martyrium, Buch I–IV gegen Celsus, GCS 2 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899), 1–47 · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 1 (GCS 2, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Koetschau, GCS 2. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 2; made independently of existing English translations. No public-domain English translation exists; reviewed against the Greek.

Scripture

2 Cor 1:12 · quotation, high confidence
Ps 44:21 (43:22 LXX) · quotation, high confidence
Ps 44:22 (43:23 LXX) · quotation, high confidence
Rom 8:36 · allusion, medium confidence
Rom 8:6 · allusion, medium confidence
Prov 7:1 · quotation, high confidence

Topics

Martyrdom

Notes

Translation notes

“Martyrdom” (μαρτύριον) also means “testimony,” and Origen plays on 2 Cor 1:12, “the testimony of our conscience.” The quotations are 2 Cor 1:12, Ps 44:21–22 (43:22–23 LXX; Rom 8:36), Rom 8:6, and Prov 7:1a, a line found only in the LXX.

Cite this passage

Origen, Mart. 21 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-exhortatio/21/).

Plain text

Origen, Mart. 21 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-exhortatio/21/).