(), one of the most eminent of the early Christian writers, not only for his intellectual powers and attainments, but also for the influence exercised by him on the opinions of subsequent ages, and for the dissensions and discussions respecting his opinions, which have been carried on through many centuries down to modern times.
Origen bore, apparently from his birth (Haeres. Ixiv. 73)
that he assumed it himself. Doubtless, the name was regarded by the admirers of Origen as
significant either of his unwearied industry (Hieron. Ep. xliii. ad Marcellam, 100.1. vol. i. p. 190 ed Vallars.), or of the irrefragable
strength of his arguments (Phot. Bibl. cod. ll8); but these obviously
laudatory interpretations of it render it improbable that Origen assumed it himself, as a
boastful temper does not appear to have been at all characteristic of him. The names
"Chalcenterus" l.c. ), and "Chalceutes" Haeres. 63.1; and Tillemont. Mém. vol. iii. p. 497),
appear to have been mere epithets, expressive of his assiduity. As he was in his seventeenth
year, at the time of his father's death, which occurred apparently in April 203 (Huet. Origenian. 1.8), in the persecution which began in the tenth year of the
reign of the Emperor Severus, his birth must be fixed in or about Chronicon Paschale, is too late;
and 185, given by most modern writers, too early. His father was Leonides (s. v.
Origen was a pupil of Clement of Alexandria, and he also received some instruction of
Pantaenus apparently after his return from India. [PANTAENUS.] He
had Alexander, afterwards bishop of Jerusalem, for his early friend and fellow-student (Alex.
ap.
In the persecution which commenced in the tenth year of Severus (ibid.)
His De Vir.
Illustr. c. 54) and Gregory Thuamaturgus (Paneg. in Origen. 100.7,
8, 9), ethics, grammar, rhetoric, dialectics or logic, geometry, arithmetic, music, and an
acquaintance with the tenets of the various philosophical sects; to which may be added an
acquaintance with the Hebrew language, a rare acquisition among the Christians of those days.
It is probable, however, that several of these attainments were made later in life than the
time of which we are now speaking. His knowledge of Hebrew was most likely of later date;
from whom he acquired it is not clear. He often quotes (vid. Hieronym. in
Rufin. lib. i., Opera, vol. iv. pars ii. col. 363, ed. Benedict,
vol. ii. pars i. ed. Vallars.) Huillus, a patriarch of the Jews, of whom nothing appears to
be known; but whether he was Origen's instructor in the Hebrew language is only conjecture.
If Origen was, as Porphyry (ap. Graecar. Affection. Curat. lib. vi. Opera, vol. iv. p. 573, ed. Sirmond. p. 869. ed Schulze) affirm, a hearer
of Ammonius Saccas [AMMONIUS
SACCAS], it was probably at a later period, when he attended a
lecturer on philosophy, whom he does not name, to gain an acquaintance with the Greek
philosophy. (Origen. ap. Haeres. 64.1) says that perhaps he studied at Athens; but it
is not likely that he visited that city in early life, though he was there when he travelled
into Greece many years afterward.
Within a very short time after he had commenced teacher of grammar, he was applied to by
some heathens who desired instruction in Christianity. The first of those who applied to him
were Plutarchus, who suffered martyrdom at Alexandria very shortly after, and his brother
Heraclas, who became in the sequel Origen's assistant and successor in the office of
Catechist, and afterward bishop of Alexandria. At the time of their application to Origen,
the office of Catechist was vacant through the dispersion of the clergy consequent on the
persecution; and Demetrius, the bishop, shortly after appointed Origen, though only in his
eighteenth year, to the office. The young teacher showed a zeal and self-denial beyond his
years. The persecution was still raging; but he shrunk not from giving every support and
encouragement to those who suffered, frequently at the risk of his life. The number of those
who resorted to him as Catechist continually increased; and, deeming his profession as
teacher of grammar inconsistent with his sacred work, he gave it up; and that he might not,
in the failure of this source of income, become dependent on others, he sold all his books of
secular literature, and lived for many years on an income of four oboli a day derived from
the proceeds of the sale. His course of life was of the most rigorously ascetic character.
His food, and his periods of sleep, which he took, not in a bed, but on the bare ground, were
restricted within the narrowest limits; and, understanding literally the precepts of the Lord
Jesus Christ, not to have two coats and to take no shoes (Matt. 10.10.), he went for many
years barefoot, by which and by other austerities he had nearly ruined his health. The same
ascetic disposition, and the same tendency to interpret to the letter the injunctions of the
Scriptures, led him to a strange act of self-mutilation, in obedience to what he regarded as
the recommendation of Christ. (Matt. 19.12.) He was influenced to this act also by the
consideration of his own youth, and by the circumstance that his catechumens were of both
sexes. He wished, however, to conceal what he had done, and appears to have been much
confused when it was divulged; but the bishop Demetrius, respecting his motive, exhorted him
to take courage, though he did not hesitate, at a subsequent period, to make it a matter of
severe accusation against him. (Hueres.
64.3; Hieron. Epist. 65, ed. vett., 41, ed. Benedict., 84, ed. Vallars.)
Origen himself (Comment. in Matt. tom. 15.1) afterwards repudiated this
literal understanding of our Lord's words.
With the death of Severus (Haeres. 64.3); at any rate a dissenter of some kind from the orthodox
church; a man of wealth, rank, and earnestness of character. Origen convinced him of his
error; and Ambrose, grateful for the benefit, became the great supporter of Origen in his
biblical labours, devoting his wealth to his service, and supplying him with more than seven
amanuenses to write from his dictation, and as many transcribers to make fair copies of his
works. (HIPPOLYTUS, No. 1]. After a time he again left Alexandria on account of a serious
disturbance which arose there; and, not deeming himself safe in any part of Egypt, withdrew
to Caesareia in Palestine. Huet (Origeniana, lib. i. c. 2.6), Tillemont,
and others identify the tumult (Eusebius calls it "the war") which compelled Origen to quit
Alexandria, with the slaughter of the people of that city by Caracalla. [CARACALLA.] If this conjecture is admitted, it enables Edition Quinta or Sexta, which
he published in his
His next journey was into Greece. Eusebius (In version Eusebii, l.c.) and Jerome (De Vir Illustr. c. 54) more exactly describe the object as being the
refutation of heretics who were increasing there. Passing through Palestine on his way, he
was ordained presbyter by his friends, Theoctistus and Alexander, and the other bishops of
that province, at Caesareia. This aroused again the jealousy of Demitrius, and led to a
decisive rupture between him and Origen, who, however, completed his journey, in the course
of which he probably met with a Greek version of the O. T. (the
On his return to Alexandria, he had to encounter the open enmity of Demetrius. The
remembrance of incidents of the former part of his life was revived and turned to his
disadvantage. His selfmutilation, which had been excused at the time, was now urged against
him; and a passage in Epiphanius (Haeres. 64.2) gives reason to think
that a charge of having offered incense to heathen deities was also brought against him.
Eusebius has omitted the account of the steps taken by Demetrius against Origen from his
Origen was, meanwhile, secure at Caesareia, where he preached almost daily in the church.
He wrote a letter in vindication of himself to some friends at Alexandria, in which he
complains of the falsification of his writings. According to Jerome (In
Rufin. 2.18). he severely handled (laceret) Demetrius, and
"inveighed against (invehatur) the bishops and clergy of the whole
world," expressing his disregard of their excommunication of him: but from some quotations
from the letter it appears to have been written in a milder and more forgiving spirit than
Jerome's description would lead us to expect. Demetrius
But the life of this laborious and self-denying Christian was drawing near its close. With
the reign of Decius (DIONYSIUS, No. 2.] Whatever prospect this letter might
open of reconciliation with the Alexandrian Church was of little moment now. Origen was worn
out with years, labours, and sufferings. He had lost by death his great friend and supporter
Ambrosius, who had not bequeathed any legacy to sustain him during what might remain of life.
But poverty had been through life the state which Origen had voluntarily chosen, and it
mattered but little to him that he was left destitute for the brief remainder of his
pilgrimage. After the persecution, according to Epiphanius. he left Caesareia for Jerusalem,
and afterwards went to Tyre. He died in Hieron. De Viris Illustr. c. 54.) His sufferings in the Decian persecution
appear to have hastened his end, and gave rise to the statement, supported by the respectable
authority of the martyr Pamphilus and others of the generation succeeding Origen's own time,
that he had died a martyr in Caesareia during the persecution. This statement, as Photins
observes, could be received only by denying the genuineness of the letters purporting to have
been written by Origen after the persecution had ceased. (Phot. Bibl.
Cod. 118.) It is remarkable that Eusebius does not distinctly record his death.
There are few of the early fathers of whom we have such full information as of Origen, and
there are none whose characters are more worthy of our esteem. His firmness in time of
persecution; his unwearied assiduity both in his office of catechist and his studies as a
biblical scholar and theologian; his meekness under the injurious usage he received from
Demetrius and other members of the Alexandrian church; the steadfastness of his friendship
with Ambrose, Alexander of Jerusalem, and others; and his general piety and selfdenial,
entitle him to our highest respect. His bitterest enemies respected his character, and have
borne honourable testimony to his worth. The chief ancient authorities for his life have been
cited Origeniana, lib. i.); Cave
(Apostolici,or Lives of the Primitive Fathers, and
Hist. Litt. ad Hist. De l'Origenisme, liv. i. ii.); Tillemont
(Mémoires, vol. iii. p. 494, &c.); Dupin (Nouvelle Biblioth. Trois Premiers Siècles, vol. i. p. 326, &100.8vo. Paris,
1698, &c.); Oudin (De Scriptorib. Eccles. vol. i. col. 231,
&c.); Ceillier (Auteurs Sacrés, vol. ii. p. 584); Fabricius
(Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 201, &c.); and Neander (Church History, vol. ii. p. 376, &c. Rose's translation).
Origen prepared two editions of the Old Testament, known respectively as Tetrapla, "The Fourfold," and Hexapla, "The Six-fold." To the
latter the names Octapla, "The Eight-fold," and Enneapla, "The Nine-fold," have been sometimes given; but the last name is not found
in any ancient writer. There is a difference also in the form of these names. Origen
himself, Eusebius, and Jerome use the plural forms Tetrapla, and Hexapla; but later writers use the singular
forms, Tetraplum, and
Hexplum. Epiphanius,
in one place, speaks of Sextuplices Libros. The names Quadruplex Columna (s. pagina), Sextuplex Columna,
Octuplex Columna were also applied to the work by ancient writers. In one citation the
name Quintuplex
Colziuna, is found. In some cases a book of Scripture is cited thus: Sexluplex Hieremias, i.
e. "Jereniah in the Hexupla." But this multiplicity of names must not mislead the
reader into the supposition that Origen prepared more than the two works, known respectively
as the
The Hexapla consisted of several copies of the Old Testament, six in
some parts, seven in others, eight in others, and nine in a few, ranged in parallel columns.
The first column to the right contained the Hebrew text in Hebrew characters, (i. e. those
now in use, not the more ancient Samaritan letters,) the second the same text in Greek
characters, the third the version of Aquila, the fourth that of Symmachus, the fifth the
Septuagint, the sixth the version of Theodotion, the proximity of these several versions to
the columns containing the Hebrew text being determined by their more close and literal
adherence to the original; and the seventh, eighth, and ninth columns being occupied by
three versions, known from their position in this work as Quinta, Sexta, et Septima Editiones, i. e. versils, Each of the first
six columns contained all the books of the Old Testament, and these six complete columns
gave to the work its title
The Tetrapla contained the four versions, the Septuagint, and those
of Aquila, Symmnchus, and Theodotion. Of the versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion,
an account is given under their respective names. and of the Septuagint there is a brief
notice under ARISTEAS. Of the three remaining versions we give
here a brief account. The Quinta Editio, according to Epiphanius (De Mensuris et I'onderib., 100.17, 18), and the author of the
Beside the compilation and arrangement of so valuable a critical apparatus as these
versions, Origen added marginal notes, containing, among other things, an explanation of the
Hebrew names. There is reason to think that he occasionally gave in his marginal notes a
Greek version of the readings of the Syriac and Samaritan versions, of the former in various
books, of the latter in the Pentateuch only. Certainly such readings are found, not only in
extant MS. where the Hexapla is cited, but in the citations of it by the fathers of the
fourth and fifth centuries. It is to be observed also that Origen did not content himself
with giving the text of the Septuagint as it stood in his own time, deeming it to have been
much corrupted by the carelessness or unscrupulous alterations or additions or omissions of
transcribers. (Origen. Comment. in Matth. apud Hodium, De Text. Originalibus, lib. iii. c. 4.8.) He amended the text chiefly by the aid of
Theodotion's version, allowing the received reading to remain, but marking his proposed
alterations or additions with an asterisk (*), and prefixing an obelus De Mensur. et Ponderib. c. viii.), is
evidently erroneous. Origen's revision of the text of the Septuagint was regarded by
succeeding generations as the standard ; it was frequently transcribed, and Latin, Syriac,
and Arabic versions made from it.
In the preparation of this most laborious and valuable work, Origen was encouraged by the
exhortations and supported by the wealth of his friend Ambrose. It is probable that, from
the labour and cost required, comparatively few transcripts were ever made; though there
were a sufficient number for the leading ecclesiastical writers of succeeding ages to have
access to it; as Pamphilus, Eusebius of Caesareia, (these two are said to have corrected the
text of the work, and Eusebitis added Scholia) Athanasius, Theodorus of
Heracleia, the Arian, Diodorus of Tarsus, Epiphanius, Riiinus. Jerome, Chrysostom,
Theodoret, Procopins of G(kiza. &c. Others of the fathers employed the work levssa
frequently; and some borrowed their acquaintance with its various readings from the
citations of their predecessors. Origen's own copies of the
These comprehend three classes. (Hieronym. Praef. in Translat. Homil.
Origen. in Jerem. et Ezech.) 1. Volumina, containing ample commentaries, in which he
gave full scope to his intellect. 2. Scholia ; brief notes on detached passages, designed to clear up
obscurities and remove difficulties. 3. Homiliae, poplar expositions,
delivered chiefly at Ca(sareia; land in the latter part of his life (i. e. after his
sixtieth year, A. l). 246), extemporaneously, being taken down the time of delivery by
persons employed for the purpose.
Of the Scholia a number have been collected chiefly from the citations of the
fathers, and are gi en by Delarume under the title of
In his various expositions Origen sought to extract from the Sacred Writings their
historical, Homil. XVII. in Genesimr, 100.1.) His desire of finding continually a
mystical sense led him frequently into the neglect of the historical sense, and even into
the denial of its truth. This capital fault has at all times furnished ground for
depreciating his labours, and has no doubt materially diminished their value: it must not,
however, be supposed that his denial of the historical truth of the Sacred Writings is more
than occasional, or that it has been carried out to the full extent which some of his
accusers (for instance, Eustathius of Antioch) have charged upon him. His character as a
commentator is thus summed up by the acute Richard Simon (Hist. Critique des
Principaux Commentateurs du NV. T. ch. iii.): -- "Origen is every where too long and
too much given to digressions. He commonly says every thing which occurs to him with respect
to some word that he meets with, and he affects great refinement in his speculations (il
affected de paroitre subtil dans ses inventions), which often leads him to resort to airy
(sublimes) and allegorical meanings. But notwithstanding these faults, we find in his
Commentaries on the New Testament profound learning and an extensive acquaintance with every
thing respecting religion; nor is there any writer from whom we can learn so well as from
him what the ancient theology was. He had carefully read a great number of writers of whom
we now scarcely know the names." His proneness to allegorical and mystical interpretations
was probably derived from, at least strengthened by, his study of Plato, and others of the
Greek philosophers.
The exegetical writings of Origen might well have been the sole labour of a long life
devoted to literature. They form, however, only a part of the works of this indefatigable
father. Epiphanius affirms (Haeres. 64.63) that common report assigned
to him the composition of "six thousand books" (ad Paulum Epistol. 29, ed. Benedictin, 33, ed. Vallars., et apud
Rufin. Invectiv. lib. 2.19), and states that he surpassed him and all
other writers, whether Latin or Greek, in the number and extent of his works. Of his
miscellaneous works the following only are known: --
Epistolae. Origen
wrote many letters, of which Eusebius collected as many as he could find extant, to the
number of more than a hundred (H. E. 6.36). Most of them have long
since perished. Delarne has given (vol. i. p. 1-32) those, whether entire or fragmentary,
which remain.
De
Resurrectione. Eusebius says this work was in two books (H. E.
6.24), and was written at Alexandria before the Commentaries on the Lamentations of
Jeremiah, in which they are referred to. Jerome (ibid.) adds that he wrote two other Dialogi de Resurrectione ; and in another place (Ad
Pammach. Epistol. 61, edd. vet., 38, ed. Benedictin.; Lib. Contra
Joannem Jerosolymitanum, 100.25, ed. Vallarsi) he cites the fourth book on the
resurrection, as if he regarded the two works as constituting one. The works on the
resurrection are lost, except a few fragments cited by Jerome or by Pamphilus, in his
Stromatewn (s. Stromatum) Libri
X., written at Alexandria, in the reign of Alexander Severus (CLEMENS
ALEXANDRINUS.] The tenth book was chiefly composed of Scholia on the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians. Nothing is extant of the
work, except two or three fragments cited in Latin by Jerome. (Delarue, vol.i. pp.
37-41.
De Principiis.
This work, which was written at Alexandria (Eusebius,
De Oratione.
This work is mentioned by Pamphilus (Apol. pro Orig. c. viii.), and is
still extant. It was first published, 12mo. Oxford, 1685, with a Latin version. (Delarue,
vol. i. pp. 195-272.)
Exhortatio ad Martyrium, or De Martyrio, addressed to his friend and patron
Ambrosius, and to Protoctetus of Caesareia, during the persecution under the emperor
Maximin (
Celsum
Libri VIII., written in the time of the emperor Philippus (CELSUS]. The Philocalia is chiefly made up of extracts from it. It was first printed
in the Latin version of Christophoris Persona, fol. Rome, 1481, and in Greek by David
Hoeschelius, 4to, Augsburg, 1605. (Delarue, vol. i. pp. 310-799.)
It may be as well here to mention that the Philocalia, so often mentioned, was a
compilation by Basil of Caesareia, and his friend Gregory of Nazianzus [BASILIUS, No. 2; GREGORIUS
NAZIANZENUS], almost exclusively from tle writings of Origen, of
which many important fragments have been thus preserved, especially from his reply to
Celsus. It is divided into twentyseven chapters. It was first published in the Latin
version of Gilbertus Genebrardtus, in the second volume of that author's edition of
Origen's works, fol. Paris, 1574, and in Greek by Joannes Tarinus, 4to, Paris, 1618. It is
not given as a whole by Delarue, but such of the extracts as are not eisewhere extant are
distributed to their appropriate places.
Many works of Origen are totally lost. An enumeration of those of which we have any
information is given by Fabricius (Bibl. Graec. vol. vii. p. 235,
&c). The majority of those which are lost were biblical and exegetical. The others were
chiefly directed against the various classes of heretics, and partly consisted of records of
his disputations with them. The book De Libero Arbitrio, mentioned by
himself in his
Several works have been ascribed to Origen, and published under his name, which really do
not belong to him. Of these, the most important are the following. (1) Dialogus contra Marcionitas sive de Recta in Deum
Fide. This was first published in the Latin version of Joannes Picus. 4to, Paris,
1555, and in Greek by Jo. Rud. Vetstenius, with a Latin version, 4to, Basel, 1674. It is
given by Delarue (vol. i. pp. 800-827), but not as Origen's. It was ascribed to Origen,
perhaps by Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, certainly by Anastasius Sinaita; but Huet has shown
that internal evidence is against its being his; and it is in all probability the production
of a later age. Adamantius is the "orthodox" speaker in the
Beside his own works, Origen revised the Lexicon of Hebrew names, Hebraicorum Nominum S. Scripturae et Mensurarum Interpretatio, of Philo Judaeus [PHILO]; and enlarged it by the addition of the names in the
New Testament: the work is consequently ascribed to him in some MSS.: but after his reputed
heresies had rendered him odious, the name of Cyril of Alexandria was prefixed to the Lexicon is extant in
the Latin version of Jerome, among whose works it is usually printed. (Vol. ii. pars i.
edit. Benedictin, vol. iii. ed. Vallars.)
Apologia pro Origenae, which
involved him in much trouble, and obliged him to defend himself in a new Apologia, published in Annales Typ. vol. vii.) gives the version of Erasmus as
published in 4 vols. fol. Lyon (Lugdunum), 1536. It was reprinted, with additions, in 1545,
1551, 1557, and 1571.
Of the Graeco-Latin editions the most important are the following: -- Origenis Opera Exegetica, 2 vols. fol. Rouen, 1668, edited by Pierre
Daniel 1lluet, afterwards Bp. of Avranches.
Catenae,
and containing Scholia on several of the books of Scripture, are given
in the
On the writings of Origen, see Huet, Origeniana, lib. iii.; Cave, Hist. Litt. ad ann. 230, vol. i. p. 112, ed. Oxford, 1740-43; Tillemont,
Mémoires, vol. iii. p. 551, &c., 771, &c.; Dupin, Nouvelle Biblioth. des Aut. Ecclés. des I. II. Ill. Siécles,
vol. i. p. 326, &100.3d ed. 8vo. Paris, 1698; Fabric. Bibl. Graec.
vol. iii. p. 708, &c., vol. vi. p. 199, &c., vol. vii. p. 201; Oudin. Comment. de Scriptoribus Eccles. vol. i. col. 231, &c.; Ceillier, Auteurs Sacrés, vol. ii. p. 601, &c.; Lardner, Credibilily, &c. part 2.100.38.
Few writers have exercised greater influence by the force of their intellect and the variety of their attainments than Origen, or have been the occasion of longer and more acrimonious disputes. His influence is the more remarkable as he had not the advantage of high rank and a commanding position in the church; and his freedom in interpreting the Scriptures, and the general liberality of his views were in direct opposition to the current of religious opinion in his own and subsequent times.
Of the more distinctive tenets of this father, several had reference to the doctrine of the
Trinity, on which he was charged with distinguishing the substantia, of the Father from that of the Son,
with affirming the inferiority of the Holy Spirit to the Son, with making both the Son and
Spirit creatures, and with various other errors either asserted by him, or regarded as
necessarily flowing from his assertions, which it is not requisite to mention. Others of his
opinions had reference to the difficult subject of the incarnation, and to the pre-existence
of Christ's human soul, which, as well as the pre-existence of other human souls, he
affirmed. He was charged also with holding the corporeity of angels, and with other errors as
to angels and daemons, on which subjects his views appear to have fluctuated. He held the
freedom of the human will, and ascribed to man a nature less corrupt and depraved than was
consistent with orthodox views of the operation of divine grace. He held the doctrine of the
universal restoration of the guilty, conceiving that the devil alone would suffer eternal
punishment. Other points of less moment we do not notice here. A full discussion of them is
contained in the
Origen lived before the limits which separated orthodoxy and heterodoxy were so determinately and narrowly laid down, as in the following centuries ; and therefore, though his opinions were obnoxious to many, and embittered the opposition to him, he was not cast out of the church as a heretic in his lifetime, the grounds of his excommunication relating rather to points of ecclesiastical order and regularity, tlhim to questions of dogmatic theology. But some time after his death, and especially after the outbreak of the Arian controversy, and the appeal of the Arians to passages in Origen's works, the cry of heresy was raised by the orthodox party against his writings. The tone, however, of the earlier orthodox leaders, Athanasius, Basil, and Gregory Nazianzen was moderate; others, as Hlilary of Poitiers. John of Jerusalem, Didymns, Gregory Nyssen, Eusebius of Vercellae, Titus of Bostra, Ambrose, Palladius, Isidore of Pelusiunm, and even Jeromie himself in his earlier life. defended Origen, though Jerome's change of opinion in respect of Origen afterwards led to his famous quarrel with Rlufinus. About the close of the fourth century, Theophilus of Alexandria expelled some monks from Egypt on account of their Origenism; but the oppressive deed was not approved at Constantinople, where the monks were kindly received by the Patriarch Chrysostomn and the Empress Eudoxia. The monks were restored : but the conflict of Theophilus and Chrysostom led to the deposition of the latter, one of the charges against whom was that of Origenism. The memory and opinions of Origen were now more decidedly condemned both in the East and West, yet they were favourably regarded by some of the more eminent men, among whom were the ecclesiastical historians Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret. In the reign of Justinian, Origenism revived in the monasteries of Palestine, and the emperor himself wrote his