Strength, wisdom, prudence: earth, world, heaven

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The prophet of God, taking as it were three virtues—his strength and his wisdom and his prudence—assigns to each a fitting work: to strength the earth, to wisdom the inhabited world, and to prudence the heaven. For hear the wording that says: “The Lord who made the earth in his strength, who set upright the inhabited world in his wisdom, and in his prudence stretched out the heaven.”

And we too, toward our earth (for it was spoken to Adam, “Earth…”): we have need of God’s strength, and apart from God’s power we are not able to accomplish those things that are not according to the mindset of the flesh. And when the members upon the earth have been put to death, there will be what is according to the will of the Spirit, since “by the Spirit the deeds of the flesh are put to death,” as the apostle says. “The Lord,” then, “who made the earth in his strength.”

And if you also come upon this earth, if you can see what is written in Job—as we found in the more accurate copies—that he set it “upon nothing,” you will see that by God’s strength it lies according to the very middle.

I come also upon the inhabited world. I know an inhabited soul; I know a deserted soul. For if it does not have God, if it does not have Christ who said, “I and my Father will come to him and we will make our abode with him,” if a soul does not have the Holy Spirit, it is deserted. But it is inhabited when it is filled with God, when it has Christ, when the Holy Spirit is in it. And these things are said variously and differently in the Scriptures—that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are in the human soul.

David, then, in the psalm of confession asks the Father concerning these spirits, saying: “With a governing spirit support me”; “Renew a right spirit in my inward parts”; “And do not take your Holy Spirit from me.” What are these three spirits? The governing is the Father, the right is Christ, and the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit. These things are for presenting the inhabited world, which remains not otherwise than in the wisdom of God; for “wisdom will help the wise more than ten rulers who are in the city.” “But the one who despises wisdom and instruction is miserable, and empty is his hope, and his labors unprofitable, and useless his works,” says the Wisdom inscribed to Solomon.

For this reason, as much as power allows—since the inhabited world is set upright in the wisdom of God—let us ourselves also wish that our inhabited world be set upright, perhaps having fallen. For this inhabited world fell when we came into the place of affliction; this inhabited world fell when “we sinned, were ungodly, did injustice,” and it needs setting upright. God, then, is the one who set upright the inhabited world. And if you do not take “who set upright the inhabited world” in this way, but understand the inhabited world more commonly, seek from where he is the one who set it upright; seek the fall of the inhabited world, so that finding its fall you may see its setting upright.

If then anyone is in this inhabited world—if you understand the inhabited world thus—before setting upright it is empty. And if it has fallen, clearly it needs setting upright; and no one who has fallen is without need of setting upright. And if it has been set upright, let us see who—clearly each of those in the inhabited world has fallen from sin. And “the Lord is the one who sets upright those who have been cast down,” and “he supports all who are falling”; “in Adam all die,” and thus the inhabited world has fallen and needs setting upright, so that “in Christ all may be made alive.”

So I have rendered the things about the inhabited world in two ways: in one way showing concerning each one how each soul is either inhabited or deserted; in another way setting the word upon the inhabited world itself.

Greek

Τρεῖς οἱονεὶ ἀρετὰς παραλαβὼν ὁ προφήτης τοῦ θεοῦ, τὴν ἱσχὺν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν σοφίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν φρόνησιν αὐτοῦ, ἐκάστῃ αὐτῶν οἰκεῖόν τι ἔργον ἀπονέμει, τῇ μὲν ἱσχύϊ τὴν γῆν, τῇ δὲ σοφίᾳ τὴν οἱκουμένην, τῇ δὲ φρονήσει τὸν οὐρανόν· ἄκουε γὰρ τῆς λέξεως λεγούσης· «κύριος ὁ ποιήσας τὴν γῆν έν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὐτοῦ, ὁ ἀνορθώσας τὴν οἰκουμένην έν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ έν τῇ φρονήσει αὐτοῦ ἐξέτεινεν τὸν οὐρανόν. καὶ ἡμεῖς δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἡμετέραν γῆν (λέλεκται γὰρ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδάμ. «γῆ χρείαν ἔχομεν τῆς ἰσχύος τοῦ θεοῦ, χωρὶς δὲ τῆς δυνάμεως τοῦ θεοῦ οὐχ οἷοί τέ ἐσμεν ἐπιτελέσαι ταῦτα, ὅσα οὐ κατὰ >τὸ φρόνημά ἐστιν τῆς σαρκός<. >νεκρωθέντων δὲ τῶν μελῶν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς<, ἔσται τὸ κατὰ τὸ βούλημα τοῦ πνεύματος, ἐπεὶ τῷ >πνεύματι αἱ πράξεις τῆς σαρκὸς< κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον θανατοῦνται. «κύριος« οὖν «ὁ ποιήσας τὴν γῆν έν τῇ ἰσχύϊ αὐτοῦ.

ἐὰν δὲ ἔλθῃς καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτην τὴν γῆν, εἰ δύνασαι ἰδεῖν τὸ ἐν τῷ Ἰὼβ γεγραμμένον, ὡς έν τοῖς ἀκριβεστέροις ἀντιγράφοις εὕρομεν, ὅτι ἔστησεν αὐτὴν «ἐπ᾿ οὐδενί«, ὄψῃ ὅτι ἰσχυϊ θεοῦ κατὰ τὸ μεσαίτατον κεῖται. Ἕρχομαι καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκουμένην. οἶδα ψυχὴν οἰκουμένην, οἶδα ψυχὴν ἔρημον. εἰ γὰρ οὐκ ἔχει τὸν θεόν, εἰ οὐκ ἔχει τὸν Χριστὸν τὸν εἰπόντα· >ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ πατήρ μου ἐλευσόμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ μονὴν παρ᾿ αὐτῷ, ποιησόμεθα< εἰ οὐκ ἔχει τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ψυχή, ἔρημός έστιν. οἰκουμένη δέ ἐστιν, ὅτε πεπλήρωται θεοῦ, ὅτε ἔχει τὸν Χριστόν, ὅτε πνεῦμα ἅγιόν ἐστιν ἐν αὐτῇ. ταῦτα δὲ ποικίλως καὶ διαφόρως έν ταῖς γραφαῖς λέγεται, τὸ εἶναι τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸ ἄγιον πνεῦμα ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχῇ.

ὁ γοῦν Δαβὶδ ἐν τῷ ψαλμῷ τῆς ἐξομολογήσεως περὶ τούτων τῶν πνευμάτων αἰτεῖ τὸν πατέρα λέγων· «πνεύματι ἡγεμονικῷ στήριξόν με«, «πνεῦμα εὐθὲς ἐγκαίνισον έν τοῖς ἐγκάτοις μου«, «καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιόν σου μὴ ἀντανέλῃς άπ΄ ἐμοῦ((. τίνα τὰ τρία πνεύματα ταῦτα; τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν ὁ πατήρ, τὸ εὐθὲς ὁ Χριστός, καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον τὸ τὸ ἄγιον ταῦτα είς τὸ παραστῆσαι τὴν οἱκουμένην οὐκ ἄλλως μένην ἢ έν τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ· «ἡ« γὰρ «σοφία βοηθήσει τῷ σοφῷ ὑπὲρ δέκα ἐξουσιάζοντας τοὺς ὄντας έν τῇ πόλει. «σοφίαν δὲ καὶ παιδείαν ὁ ἐξουθενῶν ταλαίπωρος, καὶ κενὴ ἡ ἐλπὶς αὐτοῦ, καὶ οἱ κόποι αὐτοῦ ἀνόνητοι, καὶ ἄχρηστα τὰ ἔργα αύτοῦ«, φησὶν ἡ Σοφία ἡ ἐπιγεγραμμένη Σολομῶντος. διὰ τοῦτο ὅση δύναμις, ἐπεὶ ἀνορθοῦται ἡ οἰκουμένη έν τῇ σοφίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ, βουλώμεθα δὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀνορθωθῆναι ἡμῶν τὴν οἰκουμένην τάχα πεσοῦσαν· πέπτωκεν γὰρ αὕτη ὴ οἰκουμένη ἡνίκα ἤλθομεν εἰς τὸν τόπον τῆς κακώσεως, πέπτωκεν αὕτη ἡ οἰκουμένη ἡνίκα «ἡμάρτομεν, ἠσεβήσαμεν, ἡδικήσαμεν«, καὶ δεῖται ἀνορθώσεως. θεὸς οὖν ὁ ἀνορθώσας τὴν οἱκουμένην ἐστίν. εἰ δὲ μὴ τοιοῦτον λαμβάνεις τὸ «ἀνορθώσας τὴν οἱκουμένην«, ἀλλὰ κοινότερον νοήσας τὴν ἰκουμένην, ζήτει πόθεν ἀνορθώσας ἐστὶν τὴν οἰκουμένην, ζήτει τῆς οἱκουμένης πτῶσιν, ἕνα εὑρὼν αὑτῆς τὴν πτῶσιν ἴδῃς αὐτῆς τὴν ἀνόρθωσιν. εἴ τις οὖν έστιν ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ταύτῃ, ἐὰν οὔτως νοήσῃς τὴν οἰκουμένην, πρὸ ἀνορθώσεως κεν. εἰ δὲ πέπτωκε δῆλον ὅτι δεῖται τῆς ἀνορθώσεως, οὐδεὶς δὲ πεσὼν δεῖται τῆς ἀνορθώσεως. ݲεἰ δὲ ἀνωρθώθη, ἴδωμεν τίς δῆλον ὅτι πέπτωκεν ἕκαστος τῶν ἐν τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἀπὸ ἀμαρτίας. καὶ κύριός έστιν ὁ ἀνορθῶν τοὺς κατερραγμένους«, καὶ «ὑποστηρίζει πάντας τοὺς καταπίπτοντας«, «ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες άποθνᾐσκουσιν«, καὶ οὕτως πέπτωκεν ἡ οἰκουμένη καὶ δεῖται ἀνορθώσεως, έν «ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντες« ζωοποιηθῶσιν.

ὥστε διχῶς ἀποδέδωκα τὰ περὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης, πῇ μὲν ἐπὶ ἔνα ἕκαστον δεικνὺς πῶς ἐκάστη ψυχὴ ἤτοι οἱκουμένη ἐστὶν ἢ ἔρημος, πῇ δὲ ἐπ’ αὐτῆς στήσας τὸν λόγον τῆς οἰκουμένης.

About this text

Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page has Homilies 1–20. The rest of the volume is still being translated.

English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.

Witnesses

Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)

Where the prints differ

Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.

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.