Basil and Gregory's anthology of Origen on reading Scripture and on free will, kept when much of Origen's Greek was lost. Origen's speculative views were later condemned; the compilers chose what they judged sound.
Edition: Internet Archive · archive.org
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From the opening: Explanatory Note in the Greek (continued)
1 Matt. iv. 8. 2 Of. Lev. xi. 14. 3 Gen. xvii. 14.
4 Gf. Deut. xiv. 5, 12. 5 Ex. xvi. 29.
2O
in other cases they sophistically trifle with the words, and confront you with frigid traditions} as regards the Sabbath, for instance, they maintain that every man's " place " is 2000 cubits. Others, among them Dositheus the Samaritan, condemning such an interpretation, think the person is to remain until the evening in the posture in which he was found on the Sabbath day. Nor can the command to carry no burden on the Sabbath be observed; l and the Jewish teachers have accordingly gone very great lengths, pretending that a sandal of one kind is a " burden," but not a sandal of another kind, the one being nailed, the other without nails; and, the same way, what is carried upon one shoulder is a " burden," but by no means what is carried upon both.
19. If we similarly investigate the Gospels, what could be more unreasonable than the command which simple readers think the Saviour gave to His Apostles, " Salute no man by the way."2 Again, what is said about the smiting on the right cheek is incredible; 3 for when a man strikes, if he acts naturally, he strikes the left cheek with his right hand. And we cannot take literally the passage in the Gospel in which the right eye is said to cause one to stumble.4 For even granting the possibility of sight making any one to stumble, why, when the two eyes see, should we put the blame on the right eye. Would any man when he condemns himself for looking on a woman to lust after her, put the blame on the right eye only, and cast it from him? Again, the Apostle lays down the law thus: " Was any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised? " 5 Any one may see that the Apostle has something in view other than the literal context; for, in the first place, such an insertion when he is giving precepts concerning marriage and purity must appear unmeaning. And, in the second place, who will say that, in order to escape from the disgrace mostly connected with circumcision, a man
1 Jer. xvii. 21. 2 Luke x! 4. 3 Matt. v. 39.
4 Matt. v. 28 f. ° 1 Cor. vii. 18.
does wrong in endeavouring, if he can, to become uncircumcised.
20. We have said all this for the sake of showing that the aim of the Divine power which gives us the sacred Scriptures, is not to select such things only as are pre sented in a literal sense, for sometimes the…
Contents (31 sections)
- Opening
- Title page
- Translator's Preface
- Preface (continued)
- Explanatory Note in the Greek
- Explanatory Note in the Greek (continued)
- Chapter II — That the Divine Scripture is closed up and
- Chapters VII–IX
- Chapter XIII — When and to whom the lessons of philosophy may be profitable in the…
- Chapter XIII — When and to whom the lessons of philosophy may be profitable in the… (continued)
- Chapter XV — Ni. — A reply to those Greek philosophers who profess
- Chapter XV — Ni. — A reply to those Greek philosophers who profess (continued)
- Chapter XV — Ni. — A reply to those Greek philosophers who profess (continued)
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of…
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of… (continued)
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of… (continued)
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of… (continued)
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of… (continued)
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of… (continued)
- Chapter XXI — Of Free Will, with an explanation and interpreta tion of those sayings of… (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
- Publisher's catalogue (continued)
How to cite it
- Chicago
- Origen (compiled by Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus). The Philocalia of Origen. Translated by George Lewis. Internet Archive, compiled c. 358; translation 1911. https://archive.org/details/thephilocaliaofo00origuoft
- MLA
- Origen (compiled by Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus). The Philocalia of Origen. Translated by George Lewis, Internet Archive, compiled c. 358; translation 1911. https://archive.org/details/thephilocaliaofo00origuoft
- APA
- Origen (compiled by Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus) (compiled c. 358; translation 1911). The Philocalia of Origen (George Lewis, Trans.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/thephilocaliaofo00origuoft
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