Origen of Alexandria, Selections on Job

I have been justified.” great is the confidence of the just man, both concerning his former life and concerning the things at the time of the trial, s

So, he says, you know, if you have sinned, what you will do to undo the sin? if you have sinned in words, heal it with better words if you have sinne

So that your righteousness may be clear to those who do not know? take up, then, height. it is also possible to understand the verses in this way: you

so that your righteousness may be clear to those who do not know? Take up, then, height. It is also possible to understand the verses in this way: You have conquered the tempter; take up your height; take up your power; you are crowned; put on comeliness. The insolent one has marched against you; but you have humbled the arrogant one, and turned him far away in shame with his phalanx. CHAP. 41. Will you play with him as with a little bird? or will you bind him as a sparrow for a child? He describes the end of a great and strong and perfect soul, that the dragon is delivered to it like a sparrow to a child, not even being able to harm the child, because the child leads it bound wherever it wishes and carries it about; thus by the grace of the Lord, like a sparrow in hand, Satan has been bound for infants and sucklings, from whose mouth God has perfected praise. And nations feed on him. Just as the Lord is the food of the faithful, so the dragon is of the impious; «For you gave him as food to the peoples of the Ethiopians;» that is, to the sons of darkness, those in ignorance. For with every word that we receive, we either eat from the dragon, if we accept a vain report, or from Christ, if we accept a word that builds up and helps. But every sailing vessel that comes together shall not bear one hide of his tail. Or to speak more clearly; Men, who use their bodies as ships, cannot by themselves put to death the last and final parts of the dragon; but with divine power watching over us, we can both carry him whole and put him to death. And each of us, as much as in him lies, puts the devil to death, according to the saying; «But God shall crush Satan under your feet shortly.» Who can enter into the fold of his breastplate? Breastplate and chest is the name for where the ruling faculty is. His breastplate is not simple; it is deceitful, it is folded; but a holy one can convict him, and show that it is folded; for to the holy one it is not folded. But a spirit shall not pass through him. The phrase, «shall not pass through,» is not that it does not go through and pass by, but that nothing escapes his notice; all must come through him. Let us therefore prepare ourselves, not to be seized by him. But his eyes are the form of the Morning Star. His eyes, then, are not morning stars, but «the form of the Morning Star;» for he transforms himself into an angel of light. He pretends to be a heavenly star; he pretends to be a symbol of day. As burning lamps. I think that all 12.1049 the impious introducers of atheistic doctrines are the mouth of the dragon; and there might be something tropologically understood besides this, whence the destroying words come. If you have ever heard a word, under the pretext of Christianity, accusing the Creator, say, advocating the doctrines of Marcion, of Valentinus, of Basilides; when they speak evil of the Maker of heaven and earth, when something similar, you will see that from the mouth of such people torches come forth. Let us therefore watch ourselves, lest those lamps burn us; lest the braziers of fire touch us. Destruction runs before him. Destruction is, as it were, a forerunner of his and attends him as a guard; wherever he comes, his destruction runs before, and then he himself enters. Unless one first accepts destruction, one does not accept the dragon; for when someone sins, then, having an itching ear, he seeks teachers while perishing; and seeking teachers, after he has perished he finds the dragon, and receives this one, filled with so many evils, into his own soul. CHAP. 42. And the Lord gave double. He, therefore, who has endured every temptation receives as prizes for his patience all things double what they were before; but the Lord gives prizes not only twofold, but a hundredfold; and he would not have received double the former things, if he had not shown double the virtue.

ἵνα τοῖς ἀγνοοῦσι δήλη ἡ σὴ δικαιοσύνη ᾖ; Ἀνάλαβε δὴ ὕψος. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ οὕτω νοῆσαι τοὺς στίχους· Νενίκηκας τὸν πειραστήν· ἀνάλαβέ σου τὸ ὕψος· ἀνάλαβέ σου τὴν δύναμιν· στεφάνωσαι· ἔνδυσαι εὐπρέπειαν. Ὁ ὑβριστὴς ἐστρατεύσατο κατὰ σοῦ· σὺ δὲ τὸν ὑπερήφανον ἐταπείνωσας, καὶ μακρὰν μετ' αἰσχύνης ἀπέστρεψας μετὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ φάλαγγος. ΚΕΦ. ΜΑʹ. Παίξῃ δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ ὥσπερ ὀρνέῳ; ἢ δήσεις αὐτὸν ὥσπερ στρουθίον παιδίῳ; Μεγάλης καὶ ἐῤῥωμένης καὶ τελείας ψυχῆς διαγράφει τὸ τέλος, ὅτι γε ὁ δράκων αὐτῷ, ὥσπερ στρουθίον παραδέδοται παιδίῳ, μηδὲ βλάψαι τὸ παιδίον δυνάμενον, ὅτι καὶ δεδεμένον αὐτὸ ἄγει ὅπου γε βούλεται τὸ παιδίον καὶ περιφέρει· οὕτω τῇ χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου, ὡς στρουθίον ὑποχείριον, ὁ Σατανᾶς δεδεμένος γεγένηται τοῖς νηπίοις καὶ θηλάζουσιν, ὧν ἐκ στόματος κατηρτήσατο αἶνον ὁ Θεός. Ἐνσιτοῦνται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔθνη. Ὥσπερ τῶν πιστῶν βρῶμα ὁ Κύριος, οὕτως ὁ δράκων τῶν ἀσεβῶν· «Ἔδωκας γὰρ αὐτὸν βρῶμα λαοῖς τοῖς Αἰθίοψι·» τουτέστι, τοῖς υἱοῖς τοῦ σκότους, τοῖς ἐν ἀγνωσίᾳ. Καθ' ἕκαστον γὰρ λόγον ὃν παραδεχόμεθα, ἤτοι ἀπὸ τοῦ δράκοντος ἐσθίομεν, ἐὰν παραδεξώμεθα ἀκοὴν μα- ταίαν, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐὰν παραδεξώμεθα λόγον οἰκοδομοῦντα καὶ ὠφελοῦντα. Πᾶν δὲ πλωτὸν συνελθὸν οὐ μὴ ἐνέγκωσι βύρσαν μίαν οὐρᾶς αὐτοῦ. Σαφέστερον δὲ εἰπεῖν· Οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οἱ πλοίοις τοῖς σώμασι χρώμενοι, τὰ τελευταῖα τοῦ δράκοντος καὶ τὰ ἔσχατα νεκρῶσαι αὐτοὶ καθ' ἑαυτοὺς οὐ δύνανται· θείας δὲ δυνάμεως ἐπισκο- πούσης, καὶ ὅλον αὐτὸν κομίσαι καὶ νεκρῶσαι δυνάμεθα. Νεκροῦμεν δὲ ἕκαστος, τὸ ὅσον ἐφ' ἑαυτῷ, τὸν διάβολον, κατὰ τό· «Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς συντρίψει τὸν σατανᾶν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑμῶν ἐν τάχει.» Εἰς πτύξιν θώρακος αὐτοῦ τίς ἂν εἰσέλθοι, Θώραξ καὶ στῆθος ὀνομάζεται, ὅπου ἐστὶ τὸ ἡγεμονικόν. Οὐχ ἁπλοῦς ἐστιν ὁ θώραξ αὐτοῦ· δόλιός ἐστιν, ἐπτυγμένος ἐστίν· ἅγιος δὲ ἐλέγχειν αὐτὸν δύναται, καὶ δεῖξαι, ὅτι ἔπτυκται· τῷ γὰρ ἁγίῳ οὐκ ἔπτυκται. Πνεῦμα δὲ οὐ μὴ διέλθῃ αὐτόν. Τὸ, «οὐ μὴ διέλθῃ,» οὐχ ὅτι οὐ διέρχεται καὶ παρέρχεται, ἀλλ' ὅτι οὐδὲν αὐτὸν λανθάνει· πάντας δεῖ δι' αὐτοῦ ἐλθεῖν. Ἑαυτοὺς οὖν παρασκευάσωμεν, τοῦ μὴ κατασχεθῆναι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ. Οἱ δὲ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῦ εἶδος Ἑωσφόρου. Οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ γοῦν αὐτοῦ οὐκ εἰσὶν Ἑωσφόροι, ἀλλ' «εἶδος Ἑωσφόρου·» μετασχηματίζεται γὰρ εἰς ἄγγελον φωτός. Προσποιεῖται εἶναι οὐράνιος ἀστήρ· προσποιεῖται σύμβολον ἡμέρας. Ὡς λαμπάδες καιόμεναι. Οἶμαι μὲν καὶ πάντας 12.1049 τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἀθέων δογμάτων εἰσηγητὰς εἶναι στόμα τοῦ δράκοντος· εἴη δ' ἄν τι καὶ τροπικῶς νοούμενον παρὰ τοῦτο, ὅθεν οἱ λόγοι ἀπολλύντες. Εἴποτε ἤκουσας λόγου προφάσει Χριστιανισμοῦ κατηγοροῦντος τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ, φέρε εἰπεῖν, πρεσβεύοντος τὰ Μαρκίωνος, τὰ Οὐαλεντίνου, τὰ Βασιλείδου· ὅταν κακῶς λέγωσι τὸν Ποιητὴν οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὅταν τι ὅμοιον, ὄψει ὅτι ἐκ στόματος τῶν τοιούτων ἐξέρχονται δαλοί. Τηρῶμεν οὖν ἑαυτοὺς, μήποτε ἐκεῖναι λαμπάδες ἡμᾶς καύσωσι· μήποτε αἱ ἐσχάραι τοῦ πυρὸς ἡμῶν ἅψωνται. Ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ τρέχει ἀπώλεια. Οἷον πρόδρομός τις ἐστὶν αὐτοῦ καὶ δορυφέρει αὐτὸν ἡ ἀπώλεια· ὅπου ἐὰν ἔρχηται, προτρέχει ἡ ἀπώλεια αὐτοῦ, εἶθ' οὕτως αὐτὸς εἰσέρχεται. Ἐὰν μὴ πρῶτον παραδέξηταί τις τὴν ἀπώλειαν, οὐ παραδέχεται τὸν δρά- κοντα· ὅταν γὰρ ἁμάρτῃ τις, τότε, κνηθόμενος τὴν ἀκοὴν, διδασκάλους ζητεῖ ἀπολούμενος· καὶ ζητῶν διδασκάλους, μετὰ τὸ ἀπολέσθαι εὑρίσκει τὸν δράκοντα, καὶ παραδέχεται τοῦτον τοσούτων κακῶν πεπληρωμένον εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν. ΚΕΦ. ΜΒʹ. Ἔδωκε δὲ ὁ Κύριος διπλᾶ. Ὁ μὲν οὖν πάντα πειρασμὸν ὑποστὰς ἆθλα λαμβάνει τῆς ὑπομονῆς αὐτοῦ πάντα διπλᾶ παρὰ τὰ πρότερον· ὁ δὲ Κύριος ἆθλα δίδωσιν οὐχὶ διπλασίονα μόνον, ἀλλ' ἑκατονταπλασίονα· οὐκ ἂν δὲ διπλάσια τῶν προτέρων ἔλαβεν, εἰ μὴ διπλασίονα τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείξατο.