the esteemed Aquila has made nothing other than the designation and the predicate. But let him who is slow to accept these things consider if an ethical problem, or a physical one, or a theological one can be presented in the manner it ought, without precision in meanings and in those things that are clarified in the domain of logic. For what is absurd in hearing literal expressions in the dialects, and paying careful attention to the things signified? for there are places where through ignorance of logic we fall into great error, by not clarifying homonyms, and ambiguities, and misuses of words, and literal meanings, and distinctions; for example, through ignorance of the homonymous term for ‘world,’ those who have not clarified to what things the saying, ‘The world lies in the evil one,’ is applied, have fallen away into thinking most impiously about the Creator, because this was said there by John in place of earthly and human things. For, thinking that ‘world’ according to the word itself signifies the system composed of heaven and earth and the things in them, they make most rash and unholy pronouncements about God; being in no way able to show in fact how the sun and moon and stars, which move in such an orderly fashion, lie in the evil one. Then if we bring before them from, ‘This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,’ that ‘world’ in these words means where sin abounds, that is, in the earthly regions, if they are reasonable they will accept what is said, but if they are contentious, behaving foolishly, they will persist in the wicked things once judged so because of ignorance of the homonym; and again, if it is said, ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,’ they will no longer be able to show what they have understood about the entire world, that is, about the things in the whole world, especially according to their own hypotheses; for in this case too the word must of necessity be examined as a homonym. And concerning the ambiguity of wicked interpretations and from the division of punctuation, and of countless other things, it is possible for one who takes pains to find not a few examples. We have digressed on these matters to show that for us who wish not to err concerning the truth in understanding the divine Scriptures, it is most necessary to know the logical principles that come into use; which we have also needed now to find the difference between the things said to have been made ‘for the beginnings of the night,’ and ‘to rule the day and the night.’ 12.92 FROM THE 3RD VOLUME OF THE COMMENTARIES OF ORIGEN ON GENESIS. And when the holy apostles and disciples of our Savior were scattered over the whole inhabited world, Thomas, as tradition has it, was allotted Parthia, Andrew Scythia, and John Asia, among whom he also spent his time, and died in Ephesus; Peter seems to have preached in Pontus and Galatia, and Bithynia, Cappadocia and Asia to the Jews of the dispersion; who also, at last coming to Rome, was crucified upside down, having himself requested to suffer in this way. What need is there to speak of Paul, who from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum fulfilled the Gospel of Christ, and later was martyred in Rome under Nero?

τιμούμενος Ἀκύλας οὐκ ἄλλο πεποίηκε παρὰ τὴν προσηγορίαν καὶ τὸ κατηγόρημα. Ἐπιστησάτω δ' ὁ δυσπαραδέκτως ἔχων τούτων, εἰ δύναται ἠθικὸν πρόβλημα, ἢ φυσιολογούμενον, ἢ θεολογούμενον χωρὶς ἀκριβείας σημαινομένων καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν λογικὸν τόπον τρανουμένων, ὃν δεῖ τρόπον παρίστασθαι. Τί γὰρ ἄτοπον ἀκούειν τῶν κυριολεκτουμένων ἐν ταῖς διαλέκτοις, καὶ ἐφιστάνειν ἐπιμελῶς τοῖς σημαινομένοις; ἔστι γὰρ ὅπου παρὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῶν λογικῶν μεγάλως περιπίπτομεν μὴ καθαίροντες τὰς ὁμωνυμίας, καὶ ἀμφιβολίας, καὶ καταχρήσεις, καὶ κυριολεξίας, καὶ διαστολάς· οἷον παρὰ τὸ ἀγνοεῖσθαι τὴν ὁμώνυμον τῆς κόσμου προσηγορίας φωνὴν ἐκπεπτώκασιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀσεβέστατα φρονεῖν περὶ τοῦ ∆ημιουργοῦ οἱ μὴ καθάραντες, ἐπὶ τίνων κεῖται τὸ, «Ὁ κόσμος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται,» ὅτι ἀντὶ τῶν περιγείων καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων τοῦτο οὕτως ἐκεῖ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ εἴρηται. Οἰηθέντες γὰρ κόσμον κατ' αὐτὴν τὴν λέξιν σημαίνεσθαι τὸ σύστημα τὸ ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτοῖς, θρασύτατα καὶ ἀνοσιώτατα ἀποφαίνονται περὶ Θεοῦ· μηδαμῶς ἔργῳ δεικνύναι δυνάμενοι πῶς ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη καὶ ἀστέρες, τὰ οὕτω τεταγμένως κινούμενα, κεῖται ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ. Εἶτα ἐὰν προσάγωμεν αὐτοῖς ἐκ τοῦ, «Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ αἴρων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῦ κόσμου,» ὅτι κόσμος ἔνθα ἡ ἁμαρτία πλεονάζει κατὰ ταύτας τὰς λέξεις λέγεται, τουτέστιν ἐν τοῖς περιγείοις τόποις, εὐγνωμονοῦντες μὲν προσήσονται τὰ λεγόμενα, φιλονεικοῦντες δὲ, ἠλιθίως ἀναστρεφόμενοι, ἐπιμενοῦσι τοῖς ἅπαξ κριθεῖσι μοχθηροῖς διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τῆς ὁμωνυμίας· πάλιν τε αὖ ἐὰν λέγηται, «Θεὸς ἦν ἐν Χριστῷ κόσμον καταλλάσσων ἑαυτῷ,» οὐκέτι δυνήσονται ὃ ἐξειλήφασι περὶ παντὸς τοῦ κόσμου, τουτέστι περὶ τῶν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ, μάλιστα κατὰ τὰς ὑποθέσεις αὐτῶν δεῖξαι· καὶ κατ' αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἀνάγκη τὴν λέξιν ὡς ὁμώνυμον ἐξετάζεσθαι. Καὶ περὶ τὴν ἀμφιβολίαν δὲ μοχθηρῶν ἐκδοχῶν καὶ παρὰ τὴν διαστολὴν τῶν στιγμῶν, καὶ ἄλλων δὲ μυρίων παραδείγματά ἐστι φιλοτιμησάμενον οὐκ ὀλίγα λαβεῖν. Ταῦτα δὲ παρεξέβημεν, ἵνα δείξωμεν, ὅτι καὶ καθ' ἡμᾶς τοὺς θέλοντας μὴ σφάλλεσθαι περὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐν τῷ νοεῖν τὰς θείας Γραφὰς ἀναγκαιότατά ἐστι τὰ πίπτοντα εἰς τὴν χρῆσιν εἰδέναι λογικά· ὧν καὶ νῦν ἐδεήθημεν εἰς τὸ εὑρεῖν τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν λεγομένων γεγονέναι «εἰς ἀρχὰς τῆς νυκτὸς,» καὶ «εἰς τὸ ἄρχειν τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τῆς νυκτός.» 12.92 ΕΚ ΤΟΥ Γʹ ΤΟΜΟΥ ΤΩΝ ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΗΝ ΓΕΝΕΣΙΝ ΕΞΗΓΗΤΙΚΩΝ. Τῶν δὲ ἱερῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν ἀποστόλων τε καὶ μαθητῶν ἐφ' ἅπασαν διασπαρέντων τὴν οἰκουμένην, Θωμᾶς μὲν, ὡς ἡ παράδοσις περιέχει, τὴν Παρθίαν εἴληχεν, Ἀνδρέας δὲ τὴν Σκυθίαν· Ἰωάννης τὴν Ἀσίαν· πρὸς οὓς καὶ διατρίψας ἐν Ἐφέσῳ τελευτᾷ· Πέτρος δ' ἐν Πόντῳ καὶ Γαλατίᾳ, καὶ Βιθυνίᾳ, Καππαδοκίᾳ τε καὶ Ἀσίᾳ κεκηρυχέναι τοῖς ἐκ διασπορᾶς Ἰουδαίοις ἔοικεν· ὃς, καὶ ἐπὶ τέλει ἐν Ῥώμῃ γενόμενος, ἀνεσκολοπίσθη κατὰ κεφαλῆς, οὕτως αὐτὸς ἀξιώσας παθεῖν. Τί δεῖ περὶ Παύλου λέγειν, ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ μέχρι τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ πεπληρωκότος τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ ὕστερον ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ ἐπὶ Νέρωνος μεμαρτυρηκότος;