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ORIGEN'S EPISTLEORIGEN'S EPISTLE TO AFRICANUS. Origen to Africanus, beloved brother in God the Father through Jesus Christ his holy child, greetings. Your letter, through which I learned what you indicated concerning the story of Susanna in Daniel, which is current in the Churches, seems to be rather brief; yet in a few words it contains many problems, each of which required not a casual treatment, but one so great as to exceed the character of a letter, and to have the scope of a treatise. And I, understanding, as much as I am able, the mediocrity of my own intellect, so that I might not be insensible of myself, see that I fall short of the precision required for a reply to your letter; so that even the few days of my stay in Nicomedia were not sufficient for me 11.49 to write to you even in the present style concerning the things you asked and demanded of me. Therefore, granting pardon to my mediocrity and to the constraint of time, read this letter with all goodwill, contributing if anything has been omitted by us. And first, you said that when I was conversing with our companion Bassus, and I used the Scripture of the younger Daniel prophesying concerning Susanna, I did this as if it had escaped my notice that this part of the book was spurious. And you said that this passage is praised in a way as something charming; but you said you censure it as being a new and fabricated composition; and that, like not even Philistion the mime, the one who fabricated the little composition used the proximity of the names, *prinos* to *prisis* [holm-oak to sawing], and *schinos* to *schisis* [mastic-tree to splitting]; Which things seem to be so in the Greek tongue, but in Hebrew not at all. Know then, concerning these things, what we ought to do not only about the story of Susanna, which is current in every Church of Christ in the Greek version among the Greeks, but is not found among the Hebrews; nor about the two other passages, as you said, at the end of the book written about Bel and the dragon, which themselves are not written in the Daniel of the Hebrews; but also about countless other things which, according to our moderate ability, we found in many places when we compared our copies with the Hebrew manuscripts. For in Daniel itself, concerning the burning furnace, we found "bound"; but in our 11.52 copies, there are not a few superfluous verses compared to those in the Hebrew, the beginning of which, according to some of those current in the churches, was thus: «Ananias, and Azarias, and Misael prayed, and they hymned the Lord;» until: «Bless the Lord, all who worship the Lord the God of gods. Hymn and give thanks, for his mercy is for ever, and for ever and ever. And it came to pass when the king heard them hymning, that he saw them living.» And according to others: «And they were walking in the midst of the flame, hymning God, and blessing the Lord;» until: «Bless the Lord, all who worship the Lord the God of gods. Hymn and give thanks, for his mercy is for all ages.» But in the Hebrew was joined: «And those three men, Sedrach, Misach, Abdenego, fell into the midst of the fire bound;» and: «King Nabuchodonosor marveled, and rose up in haste, and answered, and said to his nobles.» For so Aquila, serving the Hebrew wording, has published it, having been more ambitiously trusted by the Jews to have interpreted the Scripture; whom those who are ignorant of the Hebrew dialect are especially accustomed to use, as having succeeded more than all others. But of our copies, the wording of which I have set out, the one was according to the Seventy; and the other according to Theodotion; and just as in both was found the story of Susanna, the fabrication as you say, and the last sections in Daniel;

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ΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗΩΡΙΓΕΝΟΥΣ ΕΠΙΣΤΟΛΗ ΠΡΟΣ ΑΦΡΙΚΑΝΟΝ. Ὠριγένης Ἀφρικανῷ ἀγαπητῷ ἀδελφῷ ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ ἁγίου παιδὸς αὐτοῦ εὖ πράττειν. Ἡ μὲν σὴ ἐπιστολὴ, δι' ἧς ἐμάνθανον ἃ ἐνέφηνας περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ φερομένης ἐν ταῖς Ἐκκλησίαις Σωσάννης, βραχεῖα μέν τις εἶναι δοκεῖ· ἐν ὀλίγοις δὲ πολλὰ προβλήματα ἔχουσα, ὧν ἕκαστον ἐδεῖτο οὐ τῆς τυχούσης ἐξεργασίας, ἀλλὰ τοσαύτης, ὥστε ὑπερβαίνειν τὸν ἐπιστολικὸν χαρακτῆρα, καὶ συγγράμματος ἔχειν περιγραφήν. Ἐγὼ δὲ τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ τῆς διανοίας μέτριον, ὅση δύναμις, κατανοῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀναισθητοίην ἐμαυτοῦ, θεωρῶ, ὅτι ἀπολείπομαι τῆς ἀπαιτουμένης ἀκριβείας εἰς τὴν ἀντιγραφὴν τῆς ἐπιστολῆς σου· ὡς καὶ οὐδ' ὀλίγαι τῆς ἐν Νικομηδείᾳ διατριβῆς ἡμέραι μοι διήρκουν πρὸς 11.49 τὸ κἀν κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν λέξιν περὶ ὧν ἐξῄτησας καὶ ἀπῄτησάς με, ἐπιστεῖλαί σοι. ∆ιόπερ συγγνώμην ἀπονέμων τῇ τε μετριότητί μου καὶ τῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ καιροῦ στενοχωρία, ἔντυχε τῇ ἐπιστολῇ μετὰ πάσης εὐνοίας, συνεισφέρων εἴ τι ὑφ' ἡμῶν παραλέλειπται. Καὶ πρῶτόν γε ἔφασκες, ὅτι ἡνίκα διελεγόμην τῷ ἑταίρῳ ἡμῶν Βάσσῳ, καὶ συνεχρώμην τῇ τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ νεωτέρου προφητεύσαντος περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν Σωσάνναν Γραφῇ, τοῦτο πεποίηκα, ὡς λανθάνοντός με τοῦ μέρους τοῦ βιβλίου κεκιβδηλευμένου ὄντος. Καὶ ἔλεγες τὴν περικοπὴν ταύτην ἐπαινεῖν μέν πως ὡς τι χαρίεν· ἔφασκες δὲ ψέγειν ὡς οὖσαν σύγ- γραμμα νεωτερικὸν καὶ πεπλασμένον· καὶ ὅτι, ὡς οὐδὲ Φιλιστίων ὁ μῖμος, ἐχρήσατο ἀναπλάσας τὸ συγγραμμάτιον τῇ τῶν ὀνομάτων γειτνιάσει, πρίνου πρὸς πρίσιν, καὶ σχίνου πρὸς σχίσιν· Ἅπερ κατὰ μὲν τὴν Ἑλλήνων φωνὴν τοιαῦτα εἶναι δοκεῖ, κατὰ δὲ τὴν Ἑβραίων οὐδαμῶς. Ἴσθι τοίνυν πρὸς ταῦτα, τί χρὴ ἡμᾶς πράττειν οὐ περὶ τῶν κατὰ Σωσάνναν μόνον, ἐν μὲν τῷ καθ' Ἕλληνας Ἑλληνικῷ φερομένων ἐν πάσῃ Ἐκκλησίᾳ Χριστοῦ, παρὰ δὲ Ἑβραίοις μὴ κειμένων· οὐδὲ περὶ τῶν, ὡς ἔφασκες, ἄλλων δύο περικοπῶν τῶν ἐπὶ τέλει τοῦ βιβλίου περί τε τῶν κατὰ τὸν Βὴλ, καὶ τὸν δράκοντα ἀναγεγραμμένων, οὐδ' αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ τῶν Ἑβραίων γεγραμμένων· ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ἄλλων μυρίων, ἂ κατὰ τὴν μετριότητα ἡμῶν τοῖς Ἑβραϊκοῖς συγκρίναντες ἀντιγράφοις τὰ ἡμέτερα, πολλαχοῦ εὕρομεν. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ περὶ τῆς καμίνου τῆς καιομένης, τὸ «πεπεδημένοι» εὕρομεν· ἐν δὲ τοῖς 11.52 ἡμετέροις ἀντιγράφοις περισσεύοντα παρὰ τὰ ἐν τοῖς Ἑβραϊκοῖς ἔπη οὐκ ὀλίγα, ὧν ἀρχὴ κατὰ μέν τινα τῶν φερομένων ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἦν οὕτως· «Προσηύξαντο Ἀνανίας, καὶ Ἀζαρίας, καὶ Μισαὴλ, καὶ ὕμνησαν τὸν Κύριον·» ἕως τοῦ· «Εὐλογεῖτε πάντες οἱ σεβόμενοι Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν τῶν θεῶν. Ὑμνεῖτε καὶ ἐξομολογεῖσθε, ὅτι εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα τῶν αἰώνων. Καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν τῷ ἀκοῦσαι τὸν βασιλέα ὑμνούντων αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐθεώρει αὐτοὺς ζῶντας.» Κατὰ δὲ ἕτερα· «Καὶ περιεπάτουν ἐν μέσῳ τῆς φλογὸς ὑμνοῦντες τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ εὐλογοῦντες τὸν Κύριον·» ἕως τοῦ· «Εὐλογεῖτε πάντες οἱ σεβόμενοι τὸν Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν τῶν θεῶν. Ὑμνεῖτε καὶ ἐξομολογεῖσθε, ὅτι εἰς πάντας τοὺς αἰῶνας τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ.» Συνῆπτο δὲ ἐν τοῖς Ἑβραϊκοῖς τό· «Καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες ἐκεῖνοι οἱ τρεῖς Σεδρὰχ, Μισὰχ, Ἀβδενεγὼ, ἔπεσον εἰς μέσον τοῦ πυρὸς πεπεδημένοι·» τό τε· «Ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ Ναβουχοδονόσορ ἐθαύμασε, καὶ ἀνέστη ἐν σπουδῇ, καὶ ἀπεκρίθη, καὶ εἶπε τοῖς μεγιστᾶσιν αὐτοῦ.» Οὕτω γὰρ Ἀκύλας δουλεύων τῇ Ἑβραϊκῇ λέξει ἐκδέδωκεν εἰπών· φιλοτιμότερον πεπιστευμένος παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις ἡρμηνευκέναι τὴν Γραφήν· ᾧ μάλιστα εἰώθασι οἱ ἀγνοοῦντες τὴν Ἑβραίων διάλεκτον χρῆσθαι, ὡς πάντων μᾶλλον ἐπιτετευγμένῳ. Τὰ δὲ παρ' ἡμῖν ἀντίγραφα, ὧν καὶ τὰς λέξεις ἐξεθέμην, τὸ μὲν ἦν κατὰ τοὺς Οʹ· τὸ δὲ ἕτερον κατὰ Θεοδοτίωνα· καὶ ὥσπερ παρ' ἀμφοτέροις ἔκειτο τὸ περὶ τὴν Σωσάνναν, ὡς σὺ φὴς, πλάσμα, καὶ αἱ τελευταῖαι ἐν τῷ ∆ανιὴλ περικοπαί·