Thanksgiving Address to Origen · §6.3 · Gregory Thaumaturgus

The spark of love: bound like Jonathan to David

Love for the Word and for Origen binds Gregory to him, as Jonathan's soul was bound to David's.

Like a spark dropping into the middle of our soul, love was kindled there and fanned into flame: love for the holy Word himself, the most lovely, who by his unspeakable beauty is the most winning of all, and love for this man, his friend and advocate. Wounded deeply by this love, I was persuaded to neglect all the affairs and studies that seemed to concern us, among them even my fine laws, and to neglect my homeland and my family, both those who are here with me and those we left when we went abroad. One thing alone was dear to me and loved: philosophy, and this divine man who is its guide.

“And the soul of Jonathan was bound to David” (1 Samuel 18:1). I read this only later in the holy Scriptures, but I had felt it before, no less vividly than it is told there, though the inspired words there put it most vividly. For it was not simply Jonathan who was bound to David, but what is most truly theirs, their souls: things which, even when the men who appear and are seen are parted, will not be forced apart by any device, not against their will at any rate. For the soul is a free thing and cannot be shut in by any means, not even if you lock it up and guard it in a little cell. By nature it is, in the primary sense, wherever the mind is; and if it seems to you to be in the cell, it is pictured as being there in a secondary sense. This in no way prevents it from being wherever it wishes to be. Rather, it can be, and would rightly be believed to be, wholly and in every way only there where the activities that belong to it alone are found, and toward which they are directed.

So the text showed most plainly, in the fewest words, what I experienced: that the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David (1 Samuel 18:1). These souls, as I said, will never be overpowered into separation against their will, and they will not easily wish it of their own accord. For the power to undo these sacred bonds of friendship does not lie, I think, with the worse party, who is changeable and more easily changes his mind (the binding did not lie with him alone at the beginning either), but with the better, who is steadfast and not easily won over, and to whom it belonged rather to make the bonds and to tie this sacred knot. At any rate, in the divine word too it is not the soul of David that was bound to the soul of Jonathan; on the contrary, it is the soul of the worse, which underwent this, that is said to be bound to the soul of David. For the better, being sufficient in itself, would not choose to be bound to what is worse than itself; but the worse, needing help from the better, had to be bound to the better and to hang upon it. In this way the one, remaining as it was, would take no harm from its fellowship with the worse, while the other, disordered in itself, once bound and fitted to the better, would be won over to the better by the constraints of the bonds without doing it any harm. So making the bonds belonged to the superior, not to the inferior; being bound belonged to the worse, so that it should have no power in any way to be set free from the bonds. With constraints such as these this David holds us bound fast, now and ever since that time, and even if we wished, we could not be loosed from his bonds. Nor, then, even if we go away, will he let go of our souls, which, as the divine Scripture says, he holds so bound together.

Greek

Οἷος οὖν τις σπινθὴρ ἐνσκήψας μέσῃ τῇ ψυχῇ ἡμῶν, ἀνήπτετό τε καὶ ἐξεριπίζετο, ὅ, τε πρὸς τὸν ἁπάντων ὑπὸ κάλλους ἀρρήτου ἐπακτικώτατον αὐτὸν λόγον τὸν ἱερὸν τὸν ἐρασμιώτατον. καὶ ὁ πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα τόνδε τὸν αὐτοῦ φίλον καὶ προήγορον, ἔρως, ᾧ μάλιστα τετρωμένος, ἁπάντων τῶν δοκούντων ἡμῖν προσήκειν πραγμάτων ἢ μαθημάτων, τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν καλῶν μου νόμων, ἀμελεῖν ἐπείσθην. πατρίδος τε καὶ οἰκείων τῶν τε παρόντων ἐνταῦθα, καὶ οἷς ἀπεδημήσαμεν. ἓν δέ μοι φίλον ἦν καὶ ἀγαπώμενον, φιλοσοφία τε καὶ ὁ ταύτης καθηγεμὼν οὗτος ὁ θεῖος ἄνθρωπος. καὶ συνεδέθη ἡ ψυχὴ Ἰωνάθαν Δαβίδ. τοῦτο ἀνέγνων μὲν ὕστερον ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς γράμμασιν. ἔπαθον δὲ πρότερον οὐκ ἧττον ἐναργῶς, ἢ εἴρηται, καί τοι γε ἐναργέστατα κεχρησμῳδημένων. οὐ γὰρ συνεδέθη ἁπλῶς Ἰωνάθαν Δαβίδ. αὐτὰ δὲ τὰ κυριώτατα, ψυχή, ταῦθ᾽ ἅπερ οὐδὲ χωρισθέντων τῶν φαινομένων καὶ βλεπομένων ἀνθρώπων, χωρισθῆναι καὶ αὐτὰ μηχανῇ τινι καταναγκασθήσεται, ἄκοντα μὲν, οὐδαμῶς. ψυχὴ γὰρ ἐλεύθερον καὶ οὐκ ἐγκατάκλειστον οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐν οἰκίσκῳ καθείρξας τηρῇς. καὶ γὰρ εἶναι πέφυκε τόν γε πρῶτον λόγον, οὗπερ ἂν ὁ νοῦς ᾖ. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐν τῷ οἰκίσκῳ σοι εἶναι δοκεῖ, κατὰ δεύτερόν τινα λόγον ἐνταῦθα εἶναι φαντάζεται. οὐδαμῶς εἶναι ἐκεῖ διὰ τοῦτο κεκωλυμένη, οὗπερ ἂν εἶναι βουληθῇ. μᾶλλον δὲ πάντῃ πάντως ἐκεῖ μόνον εἶναι καὶ δυναμένη καὶ πιστευθεῖσα ἂν εἰκότως, οὗπερ ἂν καὶ πρὸς ὃ δὴ τὰ μόνης αὐτῆς ἴδια κατ᾽ αὐτὴν ἔργα ᾖ. οὐκοῦν περιφανέστατα τοῦθ᾽ ὅπερ ἔπαθον βραχυτάταις λέξεσιν ἐδήλωσε, τὴν ψυχὴν Ἰωνάθαν συνδεδέσθαι τῇ ψυχῇ Δαβίδ. ταῦθ᾽ ἅπερ ἄκοντα μὲν οὐδαμῶς, ὡς ἔφην, χωρισθῆναι ἐκνικηθήσεται, ἑκόντα δὲ οὐ ῥᾳδίως θελήσει. οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῷ χείρονι, οἶμαι, ὄντι πολυτρόπῳ καὶ εὐκολωτέρῳ μεταβουλεύεσθαι, ἡ τῆς ἀναλύσεως τῶν ἱερῶν τῶν φιλίων τούτων δεσμῶν ἐξουσία. ἐφ᾽ ᾧπερ οὐδὲ τὸ καταδήσασθαι ἐγίνετο τὴν ἀρχὴν μόνῳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ τῷ κρείττονι ὄντι μονίμῳ, καὶ οὐκ εὐπίστῳ, ἐφ᾽ ᾧπερ καὶ κατεργάσασθαι τοὺς δεσμοὺς καὶ τὸ ἱερὸν τοῦτο ἅμμα μᾶλλον ἦν. συνεδέθη γοῦν καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου λόγου, οὐχ ἡ ψυχὴ Δαβίδ, τῇ ψυχῇ Ἰωνάθαν. ἔμπαλιν δὲ ἡ τοῦ χείρονος ψυχὴ τοῦτο παθοῦσα συνδεομένη λέγεται τῇ ψυχῇ Δαβίδ. οὐ γὰρ τὸ κρεῖττον αὔταρκες ὄν, ἕλοιτο ἂν τῷ αὐτοῦ συνδεδέσθαι χείρονι. ἀλλὰ τὸ χεῖρον ἐπικουρίας δεόμενον τῆς παρὰ τοῦ βελτίονος, συνδεθὲν τῷ κρείττονι προσηρτῆσθαι ἐχρῆν. ἵνα τὸ μὲν, μένον ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ, μηδεμιᾶς ἀπολάβῃ βλάβης ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον κοινωνίας. τὸ δ᾽ ἄτακτον ἐξ αὐτοῦ καταδεθὲν καὶ συναρμοσθὲν τῷ κρείττονι, μηδὲν βλέψαν ταῖς ἀνάγκαις τῶν δεσμῶν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἐκνικηθῇ. διὸ καὶ κατεργάζεσθαι μὲν τοὺς δεσμοὺς, τοῦ διαφέροντος, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ τοῦ ἥττονος ἦν. συνδεῖσθαι δὲ τοῦ χείρονος, ὡς μηδ᾽ ἐξουσίαν ἔχειν πως, ἀπολελύσθαι τῶν δεσμῶν. Τοιαύταις τισὶν ἀνάγκαις Δαβὶδ οὗτος συσφιγξάμενος ἡμᾶς ἔχει, νῦν τε καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου, οὐδ᾽ εἰ βουλοίμεθα τῶν δεσμῶν αὐτοῦ λελύσθαι δυναμένους. οὐ τοίνυν καὶ εἰ ἀποδημήσαιμεν, ἀνήσει τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν κατὰ τὸ θεῖον γράμμα ἔχων οὕτως συνδεδεμένας.

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About this text

Gregory's farewell speech to his teacher Origen: how a pagan boy bound for law school in Berytus was led to Caesarea, how Origen taught him logic, natural science, ethics and the reading of Scripture, and his grief at leaving. A fresh English translation of the whole address.

Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213–c. 270) wrote this address to his teacher Origen. The speech is an expression of thanks and praise, though Gregory feels inadequate to the task of honoring his teacher.

The occasion is Gregory's farewell to Origen's school at Caesarea. He begins by explaining that he has neither spoken nor written for eight years, and has only listened to philosophers who value accurate investigation over polished speech. He then tells how a guardian angel led him, a pagan boy bound for law studies in Berytus, to Origen, and how Origen trained him in logic, natural science, ethics and the reading of Scripture. He ends by lamenting his departure and asking Origen to pray for him.

A reader will meet Gregory himself as the speaker, and Origen as the subject of the speech. Origen is described as a man who appears human, but to those who can perceive the greatness of his character and habits, seems endowed with greater and nearly divine ornaments.

The opening section (to the point where Gregory turns to his subject) was translated from the Latin column of the Opera omnia print (Paris, 1622). Everything after it, to the closing prayer, was translated from that print's Greek column, read from the page images; the facing Latin was used to settle damaged or abbreviated words. Where the print is hard to construe, a few readings follow Koetschau's edition (1894); each one is named in the translator notes. The older Ante-Nicene Fathers English was used only as a sense check for the opening section.

Printed text used

Translated from Opera omnia, Greek and Latin (Paris: Sonnius, Morel and Cramoisy, 1622), page images (Greek and Latin · Whole address: Latin column for section 1, Greek column for sections 2.1-19)
Translated from Latin of the opening section (Latin · Section 1)
Also checked DjVu text of the same print (Latin and Greek (machine-read text) · Opening)

Where the prints differ

Section 1 — Translated from the Latin column; the Greek of this opening was not used. Long-s and column joins expanded (ductu; nec aut scripsi; historiamve; arte nostra); the editor's argument and notes left out.
Sections 5.1, 5.3 and 6.2 — Abbreviated words read from the page images and the facing Latin: 'father' (πατρός), 'toward our sister' (πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφήν), 'through the whole of this life' (διὰ παντός), 'handing over his charge' (τὴν οἰκονομίαν παραδιδούς), 'with difficulty' (δυσχερῶς).
Section 6.3 — The print's doubtful participle (βλέψαν) is rendered with Koetschau's reading βλάψαν ('without doing it any harm').
Sections 7.2 and 8 — The print runs one sentence across the break; it is translated once, at the start of section 8, where Koetschau begins chapter 8.

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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