LII. Οὐκοῦν ἐγκαταλείπεται θείᾳ κρίσει ὁ ἐγκαταλειπό μενος, καὶ μακροθυμεῖ ἐπί τινας τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων ὁ Θεὸς οὐκ ἀλόγως, ἀλλ ̓ ὡς αὐτοῖς συνοίσοντος ὡς πρὸς τὴν ἀθανασίαν τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ τὸν ἄπειρον αἰῶνα τοῦ μὴ ταχὺ 5 συνεργηθῆναι εἰς σωτηρίαν, ἀλλὰ βράδιον ἐπὶ ταύτην ἀχε θῆναι μετὰ τὸ πειραθῆναι πολλῶν κακῶν, ὥσπερ γάρ τινα καὶ ἰατροὶ δυνάμενοι τάχιον ἰάσασθαι, ὅταν ἐγκεκρυμμένον ἰὸν ὑπονοῶσιν ὑπάρχειν περὶ τὰ σώματα, τὸ ἐναντίον τῷ ἰάσασθαι ἐργάζονται, διὰ τὸ ἰᾶσθαι βούλεσθαι ἀσφαλέ1ο στερον τοῦτο ποιοῦντες· ἡγούμενοι κρεῖττον εἶναι πολλῷ χρόνῳ παρακατασχεῖν τινα ἐν τῷ φλεγμαίνειν καὶ κάμνειν ὑπὲρ τοῦ βεβαιότερον αὐτὸν τὴν ὑγείαν ἀπολαβεῖν, ἤπερ τάχιον μὲν ῥῶσαι δοκεῖν ὕστερον δὲ ἀναδῦναι καὶ πρόσκαιρον γενέσθαι τὴν ταχυτέραν ἴασιν· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον 15 καὶ ὁ Θεός, γινώσκων τὰ κρύφια τῆς καρδίας καὶ προγινώσκων τὰ μέλλοντα, διὰ τῆς μακροθυμίας ἐπιτρέπει τάχα καὶ διὰ τῶν ἔξωθεν συμβαινόντων ἐφελκόμενος τὸ ἐν κρυπτῷ κακόν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ καθᾶραι τὸν δι' ἀμέλειαν τὰ σπέρματα τῆς ἁμαρτίας κεχωρηκότα, ἵνα εἰς ἐπιπολὴν 20 ἐλθόντα αὐτά τις ἐμέσας, εἰ καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἐν κακοῖς γεγένηται, ὕστερον δυνηθῇ καθαρσίου τυχὼν τοῦ μετὰ τὴν κακίαν ἀναστοιχειωθῆναι. Θεὸς γὰρ οἰκονομεῖ τὰς ψυχὰς οὐχ ὡς πρὸς τὴν φέρ ̓ εἰπεῖν πεντηκονταετίαν τῆς ἐνθάδε ζωῆς, ἀλλ ̓ ὡς πρὸς τὸν ἀπέραντον αἰῶνα 25 ἄφθαρτον γὰρ φύσιν πεποίηκε τὴν νοερὰν καὶ αὐτῷ συγγενῆ, καὶ οὐκ ἀποκλείεται ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐνταῦθα ζωῆς ἡ λογικὴ ψυχὴ τῆς θεραπείας. ID. De Principiis, iii. 13. The Method of God's dealing with Sinners. He therefore that is left is left to the divine judgement; and God is long-suffering towards certain sinners, not unreasonably, but with intent to profit them, with a view to the immortality of the soul and the unending age, that they be not quickly brought into salvation, but led to it 5 more slowly, after they have had trial of many evils. For even as physicians (though able to heal a man more quickly), when they suspect that there is hidden poison anywhere in the body, do the reverse of healing, and this they do because they wish to heal the more surely; 10 counting it better to keep a man for a long time in inflammation and sickness that he may the more certainly recover his health, than that he should seem to gain strength more quickly and afterward fall back again, so that the quicker healing is but for a time; in the same 15 way God also, knowing the secret things of the heart and foreknowing the things to come, through His long-suffering permits [sins], peradventure by means of outside events drawing together the evil that is in secret, for the sake of cleansing him who by reason of carelessness has received 20 the seeds of sin, to the end that when they have come to the surface a man may spue them out, and even if he have been deep in wickednesses, may afterward be able to obtain cleansing after his wickedness and be renewed. For God disposes souls not as for say the fifty years of life on earth, 25 but as for the unending age; for He has made the intelligent nature incorruptible and akin to Himself, and the rational soul is not shut out from cure as in this present life. LIII. Τῆς δὲ μοχθηρίας τῶν Ἰουδαϊκῶν γραφῶν οὐκ ἀπόστασιν, λύσιν δέ τινες εὑρεῖν προθυμηθέντες, ἐπ ̓ ἐξηγή σεις ἐτράποντο ἀσυγκλώστους καὶ ἀναρμόστους τοῖς γεγραμμένοις, οὐκ ἀπολογίαν μᾶλλον ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀθνείων, 5 παραδοχὴν δὲ καὶ ἔπαινον τοῖς οἰκείοις φερούσας. αἰνίγματα γὰρ τὰ φανερῶς παρὰ Μωϋσει λεγόμενα είναι κομπάσαντες, καὶ ἐπιθειάσαντες ὡς θεσπίσματα πλήρη κρυφίων μυστηρίων, διά τε τοῦ τύφου τὸ κριτικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς καταγοητεύσαντες, ἐπάγουσιν ἐξηγήσεις. 10 LIV. EUSEBIUS, Hist. Eccles. vi. 19. *Ετι πρὸς τούτοις περὶ τῆς πρὸς ̔Εβραίους ἐπιστολῆς ἐν ταῖς εἰς αὐτὴν ὁμιλίαις ταῦτα διαλαμβάνει· “Οτι ὁ χαρακτὴρ τῆς λέξεως τῆς πρὸς ̔Εβραίους ἐπιγεγραμμένης ἐπιστολῆς οὐκ ἔχει τὸ ἐν λόγῳ ἰδιωτικὸν τοῦ ἀποστόλου, ὁμολογήσαντος ἑαυτὸν ἰδιώτην εἶναι τῷ 15 λόγῳ, τουτέστι τῇ φράσει, ἀλλὰ ἐστὶν ἡ ἐπιστολὴ συνθέσει τῆς λέξεως ̔Ελληνικωτέρα, πᾶς ὁ ἐπιστάμενος κρίνειν φράσεων διαφορὰς ὁμολογήσαι ἄν. πάλιν τε αὖ ὅτι τὰ νοήματα τῆς ἐπιστολῆς θαυμάσιά ἐστι, καὶ οὐ δεύτερα τῶν ἀποστολικῶν ὁμολογουμένων γραμμάτων, καὶ 2ο τοῦτο ἂν συμφήσαι εἶναι ἀληθὲς πᾶς ὁ προσέχων τῇ ἀναγνώσει τῇ ἀποστολικῇ. Τούτοις μεθ ̓ ἕτερα ἐπιφέρει λέγων· Ἐγὼ δὲ ἀποφαινόμενος εἴποιμ ̓ ἄν, ὅτι τὰ μὲν νοήματα τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἐστίν, ἡ δὲ φράσις καὶ ἡ σύνθεσις 25 ἀπομνημονεύσαντός τινος τὰ ἀποστολικά, καὶ ὡσπερεὶ σχολιογραφήσαντός τινος τὰ εἰρημένα ὑπὸ τοῦ διδασκάλου. εἴ τις οὖν ἐκκλησία ἔχει ταύτην τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ὡς Παύ λου, αὕτη εὐδοκιμείτω καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ. οὐ γὰρ εἰκῇ οἱ Porphyry's Objections to Allegorical Interpretations. SOME persons, desiring to find a solution of the baseness of the Jewish Scriptures rather than abandon them, have had recourse to interpretations inconsistent and incongruous with the words written, which explanations instead of supplying a defence of the foreigners, contain rather 5 approval and praise of themselves. For they boast that the plain words of Moses are enigmas, and regard them as oracles full of hidden mysteries; and having bewildered the mental judgement by their folly, they foist interpretations on them. Origen on the Authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews. N. L. In addition Origen makes the following statements in regard to the Epistle to the Hebrews in his Homilies upon it: ΤΟ 'That the verbal style of the epistle entitled "To the Hebrews," is not rude like the language of the Apostle, 15 who acknowledged himself "rude in speech," that is, in expression; but that its diction is purer Greek, any one who has the power to discern differences of phraseology will acknowledge. Moreover, that the thoughts of the epistle are admirable, and not inferior to the acknow- 20 ledged Apostolic writings, any one who carefully examines the Apostolic text will admit.' Farther on he adds: 'If I gave my opinion, I should say that the thoughts are those of the Apostle, but the diction and phraseology 25 are those of some one who remembered the Apostolic teachings, and wrote down at his leisure what had been said by his teacher. Therefore if any Church holds that this epistle is by Paul, let it be commended for this. For ἀρχαῖοι ἄνδρες ὡς Παύλου αὐτὴν παραδεδώκασι. τίς δὲ ὁ γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν, τὸ μὲν ἀληθὲς Θεὸς οἶδεν. ἡ δὲ εἰς ἡμᾶς φθάσασα ἱστορία, ὑπό τινων μὲν λεγόντων, ὅτι Κλήμης ὁ γενόμενος ἐπίσκοπος ̔Ρωμαίων 5 ἔγραψε τὴν ἐπιστολήν, ὑπό τινων δέ, ὅτι Λουκᾶς ὁ γράψας τὸ εὐαγγέλιον καὶ τὰς Πράξεις. LIV A.1 Τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν θυσιῶν ᾑρη Ibid. vi. 25. μένοις κώμης) ̓Αλεξάνδρου) Νήσου ὀφρύι δεξια) καὶ ἀεὶ θύων τοῖς θεοῖς διετέ ροῦσιν ὑμεῖν κατὰ να ἔθυσα καὶ ἔ[πιον] or ἔ[σπεισα] . . . νωνος σεσ[ημείωμαι 3] 1 Brackets ( ) indicate contractions; clams [ ] supply defects in the MS. |
