Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles)
The work of Origen on first principles, in four books, has been read by me. The first book concerns the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; in it he utters grave blasphemies, saying the Son was made by the Father and the Spirit by the Son, and that the Father pervades all beings, the Son only rational beings, and the Spirit only those being saved. He says other most perverse things as well, full of impiety: he drivels about transmigrations of souls, ensouled stars, and other things like these.
His first book, in his own phrase, gives a mythologized account of the Father, of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, and further of rational natures. His second concerns the world and the creatures in it, and further that the God of the Law and the prophets is one, that the God of the Old and New Testaments is the same, and the incarnation of the Saviour, and that the same Spirit was in Moses, the other prophets, and the holy Apostles; further the soul, the resurrection, punishment, and the promises.
His third concerns free will: how the devil and the opposing powers, according to the Scriptures, campaign against the human race; that the world is created and perishable, having begun in time.
His fourth concerns the end: that the Scriptures are divine. Finally, how one ought to read and understand the Scriptures.
Greek
Ἀνεγνώσθη ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ τὸ περὶ ἀρχῶν, λόγοι δʹ, ὧν ὁ μὲν πρῶτος περὶ πατρὸς καὶ υἱοῦ καὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος· ἐν ᾧ πλεῖστα βλασφημεῖ, τὸν μὲν υἱὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς πεποιῆσθαι λέγων, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα ὑπὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ, καὶ διήκειν μὲν τὸν πατέρα διὰ πάντων τῶν ὄντων, τὸν δὲ υἱὸν μέχρι τῶν λογικῶν μόνον, τὸ δὲ πνεῦμα μέχρι μόνον τῶν σεσῳσμένων. λέγει δὲ καὶ ἄλλα παραλογώτατα καὶ δυσσεβείας πλήρη· μετεμψυχώσεις τε γὰρ ληρωδεῖ, καὶ ἐμψύχους τοὺς ἀστέρας, καὶ ἕτερα τούτοις παραπλήσια. ἔστι δ' ὁ μὲν πρῶτος αὐτῷ μεμυθολογημένος περὶ πατρὸς καὶ (ὡς ἐκεῖνός φησι) περὶ Χριστοῦ καὶ περὶ ἁγίου πνεύματος, ἔτι καὶ περὶ λογικῶν φύσεων· ὁ δὲ δεύτερος περὶ κόσμου καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ κτισμάτων, καὶ ἔτι ὅτι εἷς θεὸς νόμου καὶ προφητῶν, καὶ ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς παλαιᾶς καὶ καινῆς διαθήκης θεός, καὶ περὶ τῆς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἐνανθρωπήσεως, καὶ ὅτι τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα ἐν Μωϋσῇ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις προφήταις καὶ ἁγίοις ἀποστόλοις· ἔτι περὶ ψυχῆς, περὶ ἀναστάσεως, περὶ κολάσεως, περὶ ἐπαγγελιῶν. ὁ δὲ τρίτος περὶ αὐτεξουσίου· πῶς ὁ διάβολος καὶ αἱ ἀντικείμεναι δυνάμεις κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς στρατεύονται τῷ ἀνθρωπίνῳ γένει· ὅτι γενητὸς ὁ κόσμος καὶ φθαρτὸς ἀπὸ χρόνου ἀρξάμενος. ὁ δὲ τέταρτος περὶ τέλους· ὅτι θεῖαι αἱ γραφαί. τέλος, ὅπως δεῖ ἀναγινώσκειν καὶ νοεῖν τὰς γραφάς.
About this text
Photius of Constantinople, Bibliotheca (Myriobiblon) — Codices 1-17 in new English from Bekker 1824 Greek, from Theodore on Dionysius through the Acts of Ephesus and Chalcedon. Codices 18-279 are not in this volume.
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.