XX–XXIII. Origen first imported purgatorial fire from Plato; differs from papal thrice
XX. But Origen, laying the foundations of the papal purgatory from Plato's dogma, also expressed by Virgil in Aeneid book 6, first imported into the church a fire by which souls after this life would be purged from sins. XXI. Ambrose, Hilary, Jerome, and Rufinus followed Origen in this matter.
XXII. Yet Origen's purgatory differs from the papal in three ways. (1) By reason of persons: because according to the papalists only those are purged by fire whose souls are bound by the guilt of some temporal punishment, or who migrate from this life with some venial sins; but according to Origen and others who preceded Augustine, all mortals except Christ alone will undergo this fire. (2) By reason of time: because the papalists teach souls are to be purged by this fire immediately from departure, those ancients only on the last day of judgment. (3) By reason of mitigation: because the papalists judge that purgatorial punishments can be taken away or mitigated by the offerings and prayers of the living — which sort of thing Origen neither felt nor said, nor those we touch who followed him.
XXIII. Therefore purgatory such as the papalists hand down was unknown before Augustine's times: but to Augustine it seemed doubtful; yet from Gregory's age in the Roman church it has been held certain from lying revelations and visions; but the Greek church does not receive it even today. All these things Gerhard Vossius, a man of infinite reading and doctrine, has most rightly built up in On the State of the Separated Soul. If any things are brought from antiquity to the contrary, they are either from spurious and bastard writings, or they speak of the purgation of this age which is done by the fire of tribulation (as Augustine), or of the purgation of fire which may be done at Christ's second advent. Compare Doctor Johannes Crocius's treatise On Purgatory, and others of our people.
Latin
XX. Origenes vero fundamenta jaciens pontificii purgatorii ex dogmate Platonis, a Virgilio quoque 6. Aeneid. expresso, primus in ecclesiam invexit ignem, quo animae post hanc vitam a peccatis purgarentur. XXI. Origenem in hac re secuti Ambrosius, Hilarius, Hieronymus, Rufinus. XXII. Differt tamen purgatorium Origenis a pontificio trifariam. 1. Ratione personarum, quia juxta pontificios duntaxat igni purgantur, quorum animae alicujus temporalis poenae reatu obstructae, vel cum aliquibus peccatis venialibus migrant de hac vita: at juxta Origenem & alios, qui Augustinum praecesserunt, mortales omnes, uno Christo excepto, ignem hunc subibunt. 2. Ratione temporis, quia pontificii animas statim ab excessu, veteres illi non nisi extremo judicii die igni hoc purgandas docent. 3. Ratione mitigationis, quia pontificii censent tolli vel mitigari posse poenas purgatoriales per oblationes & orationes vivorum, quale nihil sensit aut dixit Origenes, vel quos eum secutos delibamus. XXIII. Purgatorium igitur quale tradunt pontificii, ante Augustini tempora ignotum fuit: at Augustino illud dubium visum: a Gregorii vero aetate in Romana ecclesia ex mendacibus revelationibus ac visionibus habitum est certum; Graeca vero ecclesia nec hodie recipit. Haec omnia rectissime infinitae lectionis & doctrinae vir Gerh. Vossius de statu animae separatae adstruxit. Si qua in contrarium ex antiquitate afferuntur, ea sunt vel e scriptis nothis ac spuriis: vel loquuntur de purgatione hujus saeculi, quae fit per ignem tribulationis, ut Augustinus: vel de ignis purgatione, quae fiat in adventu Christi secundo. Confer D. Joh. Crocium tractatu de purgatorio, aliosque nostrates.