XI. Further Evidences from Scripture and from Heathenism. All who believe and are assured that grace and truth were obtained through Jesus Christ, and who know Christ to be the truth, agreeably to His own declaration, "I am the truth," … This codex and a related manuscript at Trinity College, Cambridge, are the sole witnesses for the Greek original of books 10–17 of his commentary on St. Matthew. The Greek original of homilies on Jeremiah survives in a single manuscript in the Escorial (Spain), and that of a homily on the witch of Endor (which provoked early criticism for its thesis that Samuel really was conjured up) in a manuscript in Munich and on papyrus. Thence Octavius Criticises the Images and Shrines of the Gods. Advantages of Widowhood. Proceeding to the History of Israel, Tertullian Shows that Appetite Was as Conspicuous Among Their Sins as in Adam's Case. Greek fragments of this, as of most of Origen’s exegetical works, survive in writings known as catenae (“chains”; i.e., anthologies of comments by early Church Fathers on biblical books). Origen’s exegetical writings consist of commentaries (scholarly expositions for instructed Christians), homilies for mixed congregations, and scholia (detached comments on particular passages or books). Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity, University of Cambridge; Master of Peterhouse, Cambridge, 1987–93. God's Distribution Must Regulate Our Desires, Otherwise We Become the Prey of Ambition and Its Attendant Evils. Nor is It Shown Less Plainly that the Worship of the Gods Has Always Been Silly and Impious, in that the Most Ancient of Men Have Venerated Their Kings, Their Illustrious Generals, and Inventors of Arts, on Account of Their Remarkable Deeds, No Otherwise Than as Gods. Of the Reasons Assigned by the Apostle for Bidding Women to Be Veiled. Connection of These Primeval Testimonies with Christ. Some Refinements in Dress and Personal Appearance Lawful, Some Unlawful. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Especially in These Times of Persecution We Must Inure Our Bodies to the Hardships Which They May Not Improbably Be Called to Suffer. Remarks on Some of the “Dangers and Wounds” Referred to in the Preceding Chapter. Argument:  Nor is It Only Hatred that They Arouse Against the Christians, But They Charge Against Them Horrid Crimes, Which Up to This Time Have Been Proved by Nobody. At Alexandria he wrote Miscellanies (Stromateis), On the Resurrection (Peri anastaseos), and On First Principles (De principiis). Argument:  Cæcilius Begins His Argument First of All by Reminding Them that in Human Affairs All Things are Doubtful and Uncertain, and that Therefore It is to Be Lamented that Christians, Who for the Most Part are Untrained and Illiterate Persons, Should Dare to Determine on Anything with Certainty Concerning the Chief of Things and the Divine Majesty:  Hence He Argues that the World is Governed by No Providence, and Concludes that It is Better to Abide by the Received Forms of Religion. Argument:  That the Roman Auspices and Auguries Have Been Neglected with Ill Consequences, But Have Been Observed with Good Fortune. Gold and Silver Not Superior in Origin or in Utility to Other Metals. In Fact, Incestuous Lust is So Unheard Of, that with Many Even the Modest Association of the Sexes Gives Rise to a Blush. Argument:  Whatever the Christians Worship, They Strive in Every Way to Conceal:  They Have No Altars, No Temples, No Acknowledged Images. Moreover, with the Same Tranquillity with Which They Live They Bury Their Dead, Waiting with a Very Certain Hope the Crown of Eternal Felicity. Time Changes Nations' Dresses--and Fortunes. Paragraph by paragraph it answers the Alēthēs logos (“The True Doctrine” or “Discourse”) of the 2nd-century anti-Christian philosopher Celsus and is therefore a principal source for the pagan intelligentsia’s view of 2nd-century Christianity as well as a classic formulation of early Christian reply. Argument:  Moreover, What Will Happen to the Christians Themselves After Death, May Be Anticipated from the Fact that Even Now They are Destitute of All Means, and are Afflicted with the Heaviest Calamities and Miseries. G.L. Further Remarks Upon St. Paul's Teaching. We Must Love Our Neighbour as Ourself. Waiving Allusion to the Paraclete, Tertullian Comes to the Consideration of the Ancient Scriptures, and Their Testimony on the Subject in Hand. For those who posited atoms— either those particles which are incapable of subdivision, or those which are subdivided into equal parts — or any one element, as the principles of bodily things, could not posit the word matter in the proper sense of the term among the first principles of things. Of the Love of Offspring as a Plea for Marriage. Origen's On First Principles is a rigorous text, written by Alexandrian scholar and early Church Father, Origen, around 185 CE. The Rule of Veiling Not Applicable to Children. Passionate Appeal to Truth. Of the Prohibition of Adultery in the Decalogue. Chapter I. translated from the Greek:  On the Freedom of the Will, With an Explanation and Interpretation of Those Statements of Scripture Which Appear to Nullify It. Introduction. Instances from Scripture of Divine Judgments Upon the Self-Indulgent; And Appeals to the Practices of Heathens. For over a decade it has been out of print with only expensive used copies available; now it is available at an affordable price and in a more accessible format. He has been described as "the greatest genius the early church ever produced". He was one of the most influential figures in early Christian theology, apologetics, and asceticism. Christians are Neither Allowed to See Nor to Hear of Manslaughter. Origen of Alexandria (c. 184 – c. 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. Origen composed it as a young man between the years 220 and 230 while he was still living in Alexandria. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy - Biography of Origen of Alexandria, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Biography of Origen, The Catholic Encyclopedia - Origen and Origenism. Nobody Need Complain that the Christians, Unlearned Though They May Be, Dispute About Heavenly Things Because It is Not the Authority of Him Who Argues, But the Truth of the Argument Itself, that Should Be Considered. Celsus’ brusque dismissal of Christianity as a crude and bucolic onslaught on the religious traditions and intellectual values of classical culture provoked Origen to a sustained rejoinder in which he claimed that a philosophic mind has a right to think within a Christian framework and that the Christian faith is neither a prejudice of the unreasoning masses nor a crutch for social outcasts or nonconformists. That the World Took Its Beginning in Time. Commentaries on the Song of Solomon and on Romans survive in a drastically abbreviated Latin paraphrase by the Christian writer Tyrannius Rufinus (c. 365–410/411).