Creation from nothing confessed
Last the youngest, with his mother. The tyrant promised riches and friendship, and bade the mother persuade her son to live. She in the fathers' tongue: 'My son, pity me, who bore thee nine months, nursed thee three years, reared thee; look on heaven and earth and all in them, and know God made them not from things that are — so too mankind comes to be. Fear not this tormentor, but, worthy of thy brethren, accept death, that in mercy I may receive thee with them.' (2 Maccabees 7:20–31) He answered: 'For whom wait ye? I obey not the king's command, but the law given through Moses. And thou, contriver of all evil against the Hebrews, shalt not escape God's hands.' So the seven with their mother were perfected, and the tyrant learned godliness is unconquered.
Greek
αὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἐχείνοις προαίρεσιν ἀλλαις ἐφόδοις ἐχρῆτο, νομίζων αὐτὸν παρακλήσεσι πεισϑήσεσϑαι καὶ ταῖς di’ ὅρκων πιστώσεσι περὶ τοῦ πλούσιον αὐτὸν ποιήσειν καὶ „uaxa- ριστὸν“ ,μεταϑέμενόν τε ἀπὸ τῶν πατρίων" (καὶ εἰς φίλους ἐγχατα- ταχϑέντα καὶ ,χρείας" βασιλικὰς ἐμπιστευϑέντα. οἧς δ᾽ οὐδὲν ἤνυε τὴν ἀρχὴν μηδὲ προσέχοντος τοῦ νεανίου ὡς ἀλλοτρίοις τῆς ἑαυτοῖ προαι- ρέσεως τοῖς λεγομένοις, ςπροσχαλεσάμενος τὴν μητέρα παρήνει γί- νεῦϑαι τοῦ μειρακίου σύμβουλον ἐπὶ σωτηρία“. ἡ δὲ ἐπιδειξαμένη πείσειν περὶ ὧν ἤϑελε τὸν υἱὸν καὶ χλευάσασα τὸν τύραννον πολλοὺς τῷ υἱῷ ἐκίνει λόγους περὶ ὑπομονῆς, ος τὸν νεανίαν μὴ περιμείναντα τὴν ἐπιφερομένην χόλασιν προλαβόντα προχαλέσασϑαι τοὺς δημίους λέγοντα τί μέλλετε καὶ βραδύνετε, ἀκούομεν γὰρ νόμου τοῦ δοϑέν- τος ἀπὸ ϑεοῦ" οὐ προσιέναι δεῖ πρόσταγμα ἐναντιούμενον ϑείοις λό- yoıs. ἀλλὰ καὶ εὑσπερεὶ βασιλεὺς ἀποφαινόμενος χατὰ τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῷ δικαζομένων ἀπεφήνατο χρίσιν τὴν κατὰ τοῦ τυράννου, δικάζων μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἥπερ δικαζόμενος" καὶ ἔφασχεν, og ἄρα ἐπὶ τοὺς οὐρα- νίους παῖδας ἀράμενος χεῖρας, 00x ἐχφεύξεται͵, τὴν τοῦ παντοχράτο- ρος ἐπόπτου ϑεοῦ κρίσιν."
ΧΧΥΙΙ. Ἦν δὲ τότε τὴν μητέρα τῶν τοσούτων ἰδεῖν ,εὐψύχως“ φέρουσαν ,διὰ τὰς ἐπὶ τὸν ϑεὸν ἐλπίδας" τοὺς πόνους xal τοὺς ϑανά- τους τῶν υἱῶν" δρόσοι γὰρ εὐσεβείας καὶ πνεῦμα ὁσιότητος 00x εἴων ἀνάπτεσϑαι ἐν τοῖς σπλάγχνοις αὐτῆς τὸ μητρικὸν καὶ ἐν πολλαῖς ἀναφλεγόμενον ὡς ἐπὶ βαρυτάτοις κακοῖς πῦρ. νομίζω δὲ καὶ ταῦτα
ὅ χρησιμώτατα πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ἐπιτεμόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς γραφῆς
παρατεϑεῖσϑαι" iv’ ἴδωμεν, ὅσον δύναται κατὰ τῶν τραχυτάτων πό- γῶν καὶ τῶν βαρυτάτων βασάνων εὐσέβεια καὶ τὸ πρὸς ϑεὸν φίλτρον
παντὸς φίλτρου καϑ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν πλεῖον δυνάμενον. τούτῳ δὲ τῷ πρὸς ϑεὸν φίλτρῳ ἀνϑρωπίνη ἀσϑένεια οὐ συμπολιτεύεται ὑπερόριος ἀφ᾽ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς ἐλαυνομένη καὶ οὐδὲ χατὰ ποσὸν ἐνεργεῖν δυναμένη, ὅπου ἐστὶν ὃ οἷός τε εἰπεῖν᾽ ἰσχύς μου καὶ ὕμνησίς μου ὃ κύριος" 5 χαὶ πάντα ἰσχύω ἐν τῷ ἐνδυναμοῦντί με Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν“.
About this text
Written for Ambrose and Protoctetus. Open the Greek under each section.
English follows Paul Koetschau, Origenes Werke I (GCS, 1899). The Archive OCR of that same print was checked. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Koetschau, Origenes Werke I (GCS 2, 1899) (Greek · Exhortation to Martyrdom)
- Checked print Archive.org OCR of GCS 2 (Greek · Same print)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.