Beginning and first
For the making of the world has had a beginning, the Creator, yet it was not made first by the Creator — for the Creator made many things before [...]. But the things that came to be had a beginning, whether first or second in word. For the first is properly said only when nothing precedes; but beginning is signified of things that begin, even if they come last. And whatever is first is also a beginning; but what is a beginning is not already also first.
Greek
τῆς γὰ[ρ κοσμοποιί]ας ἀρχὴν ἐσχηκ[υίας τὸν δημιο]ουργό[ν], οὐ μέντ[οι γε πρώτης ὑπ]ὸ τοῦ δημ[ιουργοῦ ποιηθείσ]ης – πολλ[ὰ γὰρ πρότερον ὁ δη]μιου[ργὸς ἐποίησεν ... μι ... · ἀλ[λ]ὰ ἀρχὴν μὲν [εἶ]χεν [τὰ] γενόμεν[α εἴτε λ]όγῳ [τὰ] πρῶτα [ἢ δεύτερ]α· τ[ὸ μὲν γ]ὰρ πρῶ[τον μόνον] μη[δενὸς] προάγο[ντος κυρίω]ς λέγ[εται], ἡ δὲ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τ[ῶν ἀρ]χομέ[νων], κἂν τελευταῖ[α γέ]νηται, σημαίνεται. Κ[αὶ ὅ τι] μὲν πρῶτόν ἐστιν, τοῦ[τ]ο κ[αὶ] ἀρχή ἐστιν, οὐχ ὅ τι δὲ ἀρχή, ἤδη καὶ πρῶτον.
About this text
Origen on the Passover: what the feast means, and how Christians should keep it.
English follows the Greek as printed in Witte (1993), from the page images. OCR of those pages was checked. Damaged lines are marked as gaps, not filled from another edition. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Witte, Die Schrift des Origenes „Über das Passa“ (1993) (Greek · On Pascha, from the page images)
- Checked print OCR of the Witte page images (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.