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and concerning his heresy. 44 The story of Serapion from Dionysius. 45 An epistle of Dionysius to Novatus. M On the other epistles of Dionysius. 6.1.1 When Severus was also stirring up persecution against the churches, splendid martyrdoms of the athletes for piety were accomplished in every place, but they were especially numerous in Alexandria, as athletes of God were sent there from all of Egypt and the Thebaid as to a very great stadium, winning their crowns from God through most steadfast endurance of various tortures and kinds of death; among these was also Leonides, the so-called father of Origen, who was beheaded, leaving his son quite young; and of what a disposition this man was from that time regarding the divine Word, it is not untimely to relate briefly, since the account proclaimed about him is especially widespread among the many. One could indeed say many things, attempting to recount the life of the man at leisure in writing, and the composition concerning him would require its own treatise; nevertheless, for the present, abbreviating most things as briefly as possible, we will go through a few things concerning him, drawing the details from some letters and from the history of his acquaintances whose life has been preserved even to us. 6.2.2 The things concerning Origen, even from his swaddling clothes, so to speak, seem to me to be worthy of mention. For Severus was in the tenth year of his reign, and Laetus was governor of Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and Demetrius had then recently received the episcopate of the dioceses there after Julianus. 6.2.3 So when the fire of persecution was kindled to a great blaze and countless numbers were being crowned with the crowns of martyrdom, so great a love for martyrdom possessed the soul of Origen, who was still quite a child, that he was eager to go to meet the dangers and to leap forth and rush into the contest. 6.2.4 And indeed, he was but a little way from and not far from the departure from life, had not the divine and heavenly Providence, for the benefit of many, stood in the way of his zeal through his mother. 6.2.5 For at first, she beseeched him with words, and begged him to have pity on her motherly affection for him, but when she saw him pressing on more vehemently, after he learned that his father had been seized and was being kept in prison and he was wholly given over to the impulse for martyrdom, she hid all his clothes and compelled him to stay at home. 6.2.6 But he, since there was nothing else for him to do, as his zeal increased beyond his years, being unable to keep quiet, sent to his father a most encouraging letter concerning martyrdom, in which he exhorts him word for word, saying: "Take heed not to change your mind on our account." Let this be recorded as the first proof of Origen's childish sagacity and his most genuine disposition toward piety. 6.2.7 For he had already laid no small foundations in the words of the faith, having been trained in the divine Scriptures from a child. Indeed, he labored not moderately in these, as his father, in addition to his general education, had made the study of these no secondary matter for him. 6.2.8 In any case, before the study of Greek subjects, he would have him train in the sacred disciplines, demanding from him memorization and recitation each day. 6.2.9 And these things were not done by the boy unwillingly, but he labored at them even with extreme eagerness, so that the simple and plain readings of the sacred words were not enough for him, but he sought something more and from that time was already investigating deeper meanings, so that he even gave trouble to his father, by inquiring what the intention of the divinely inspired Scripture might mean. 6.2.10 And he, to all appearances, would rebuke him to his face, advising him to seek nothing beyond his age nor beyond the obvious meaning, but privately in his own heart he rejoiced greatly and gave the greatest thanks to God, the author of all good things, that he indeed him of such a

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καὶ περὶ τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν αἱρέσεως. Μ∆ Περὶ Σεραπίωνος ἱστορία ∆ιονυσίου. ΜΕ Ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Νοουᾶτον ∆ιονυσίου. Μ Περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ∆ιονυσίου ἐπιστολῶν. 6.1.1 Ὡς δὲ καὶ Σευῆρος διωγμὸν κατὰ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐκίνει, λαμπρὰ μὲν τῶν ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἀθλητῶν κατὰ πάντα τόπον ἀπετελεῖτο μαρτύρια, μάλιστα δ' ἐπλήθυεν ἐπ' Ἀλεξανδρείας, τῶν ἀπ' Αἰγύπτου καὶ Θηβαΐδος ἁπάσης αὐτόθι ὥσπερ ἐπὶ μέγιστον ἀθλητῶν θεοῦ παραπεμπομένων στάδιον διὰ καρτερικωτάτης τε ποικίλων βασάνων καὶ θανάτου τρόπων ὑπομονῆς τοὺς παρὰ θεῷ στεφάνους ἀναδουμένων· ἐν οἷς καὶ Λεωνίδης, ὁ λεγόμενος Ὠριγένους πατήρ, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτμηθείς, νέον κομιδῇ καταλείπει τὸν παῖδα· ὃς δὴ ὁποίας ἐξ ἐκείνου περὶ τὸν θεῖον λόγον προαιρέσεως ἦν, οὐκ ἄκαιρον διὰ βραχέων διελθεῖν τῷ μάλιστα πολὺν εἶναι παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς τὸν περὶ αὐτοῦ βεβοημένον λόγον. πολλὰ μὲν οὖν ἄν τις εἴποι τὸν βίον τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐν σχολῇ παραδοῦναι διὰ γραφῆς πειρώμενος, δέοιτο δ' ἂν καὶ ἰδίας ὑποθέσεως ἡ περὶ αὐτοῦ σύνταξις· ὅμως δ' ἡμεῖς ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἐπιτεμόμενοι τὰ πλεῖστα διὰ βραχέων ὡς οἷόν τε, ὀλίγα ἄττα τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν διελευσόμεθα, ἔκ τινων ἐπιστολῶν καὶ ἱστορίας τῶν καὶ εἰς ἡμᾶς τῷ βίῳ πεφυλαγμένων αὐτοῦ γνωρίμων τὰ δηλούμενα φέροντες. 6.2.2 Ὠριγένους καὶ τὰ ἐξ αὐτῶν ὡς εἰπεῖν σπαργάνων ἀξιομνημόνευτά μοι εἶναι δοκεῖ. δέκατον μὲν γὰρ ἐπεῖχε Σευῆρος τῆς βασιλείας ἔτος, ἡγεῖτο δὲ Ἀλεξανδρείας καὶ τῆς λοιπῆς Αἰγύπτου Λαῖτος, τῶν δ' αὐτόθι παροικιῶν τὴν ἐπισκοπὴν νεωστὶ τότε μετὰ Ἰουλιανὸν ∆ημήτριος ὑπειλήφει. 6.2.3 εἰς μέγα δὴ οὖν τῆς τοῦ διωγμοῦ πυρκαϊᾶς ἁφθείσης καὶ μυρίων ὅσων τοῖς κατὰ τὸ μαρτύριον ἀναδουμένων στεφάνοις, ἔρως τοσοῦτος μαρτυρίου τὴν Ὠριγένους, ἔτι κομιδῇ παιδὸς ὑπάρχοντος, κατεῖχε ψυχήν, ὡς ὁμόσε τοῖς κινδύνοις χωρεῖν προπηδᾶν τε καὶ ὁρμᾶν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα προθύμως ἔχειν. 6.2.4 ἤδη γέ τοι σμικρὸν ὅσον αὐτῷ καὶ τὰ τῆς ἀπὸ τοῦ βίου ἀπαλλαγῆς οὐ πόρρω καθίστατο, μὴ οὐχὶ τῆς θείας καὶ οὐρανίου προνοίας εἰς τὴν πλείστων ὠφέλειαν διὰ τῆς αὐτοῦ μητρὸς ἐμποδὼν αὐτῷ τῆς προθυμίας ἐνστάσης. 6.2.5 αὕτη γοῦν τὰ μὲν πρῶτα λόγοις ἱκετεύουσα, τῆς περὶ αὐτὸν μητρικῆς διαθέσεως φειδὼ λαβεῖν παρεκάλει, σφοδρότερον δ' ἐπιτείναντα θεασαμένη, ὅτε γνοὺς ἁλόντα τὸν πατέρα δεσμωτηρίῳ φυλάττεσθαι ὅλος ἐγίνετο τῆς περὶ τὸ μαρτύριον ὁρμῆς, τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ ἀποκρυψαμένη ἐσθῆτα οἴκοι μένειν ἀνάγκην ἐπῆγεν· 6.2.6 ὃ δ', ὡς οὐδὲν ἄλλο πράττειν αὐτῷ παρῆν, τῆς προθυμίας ὑπὲρ τὴν ἡλικίαν ἐπιτεινομένης οὐχ οἷός τε ὢν ἠρεμεῖν, διαπέμπεται τῷ πατρὶ προτρεπτικωτάτην περὶ μαρτυρίου ἐπιστολήν, ἐν ᾗ κατὰ λέξιν αὐτῷ παραινεῖ λέγων «ἔπεχε μὴ δι' ἡμᾶς ἄλλο τι φρονήσῃς». τοῦτο πρῶτον τῆς Ὠριγένους παιδικῆς ἀγχινοίας καὶ περὶ τὴν θεοσέβειαν γνησιωτάτης διαθέσεως ἀνάγραπτον ἔστω τεκμήριον. 6.2.7 καὶ γὰρ ἤδη καὶ τῶν τῆς πίστεως λόγων οὐ σμικρὰς ἀφορμὰς καταβέβλητο, ταῖς θείαις γραφαῖς ἐξ ἔτι παιδὸς ἐνησκημένος· οὐ μετρίως γοῦν καὶ περὶ ταύτας πεπόνητο, τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῷ πρὸς τῇ τῶν ἐγκυκλίων παιδείᾳ καὶ τούτων οὐ κατὰ πάρεργον τὴν φροντίδα πεποιημένου. 6.2.8 ἐξ ἅπαντος γοῦν αὐτὸν πρὸ τῆς τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν μαθημάτων μελέτης ἐνῆγεν τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἐνασκεῖσθαι παιδεύμασιν, ἐκμαθήσεις καὶ ἀπαγγελίας ἡμέρας ἑκάστης αὐτὸν εἰσπραττόμενος· 6.2.9 οὐκ ἀπροαιρέτως δὲ ταῦτ' ἐγίνετο τῷ παιδί, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄγαν προθυμότατα περὶ ταῦτα πονοῦντι, ὡς μηδ' ἐξαρχεῖν αὐτῷ τὰς ἁπλᾶς καὶ προχείρους τῶν ἱερῶν λόγων ἐντεύξεις, ζητεῖν δέ τι πλέον καὶ βαθυτέρας ἤδη ἐξ ἐκείνου πολυπραγμονεῖν θεωρίας, ὥστε καὶ πράγματα παρέχειν τῷ πατρί, τί ἄρα ἐθέλοι δηλοῦν τὸ τῆς θεοπνεύστου γραφῆς ἀναπυνθανόμενος βούλημα. 6.2.10 ἐκεῖνος δὲ τῷ μὲν δοκεῖν εἰς πρόσωπον ἐπέπληττεν αὐτῷ, μηδὲν ὑπὲρ ἡλικίαν μηδὲ τῆς προφανοῦς διανοίας περαιτέρω τι ζητεῖν παραινῶν, ἰδίως δὲ παρ' ἑαυτῷ τὰ μεγάλα γεγηθὼς τὴν μεγίστην ὡμολόγει τῷ πάντων ἀγαθῶν αἰτίῳ θεῷ χάριν, ὅτι δὴ αὐτὸν τοιοῦδε