Commentary on Romans 8.13–9.1
Latin text: Migne, PG 14 (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Graeca vol. 14 (1862), transcribed from library-scan OCR of the printed volume).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 8
8.13PG 14:1198b–1201b
Secundum Evangelium quidem inimici propter vos : secundum electionem autem charissimi propter patres. Sine poenitentia enim sunt dona et vocatio Dei. Sicut enim vos aliquando non credidistis Deo, nunc autem misericordiam consecuti estis propter ipsorum incredulitatem : ita et isti nunc crediderunt in vestri misericordia, ut et ipsi misericordiam consequantur : conclusit enim Deus omnes in incredulitate, ut omnibus misereatur. Ο altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientia: Dei : quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae eius! Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? Aut quis illi consiliarius fuit? Aut quis prior dedit ei, et retribuetur ei? Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia : ipsi gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen.» Eadem persequens adhuc de Israel et gentibus Apostolus, et ramis oleastri qui insultabant ramis olivae defractis imputans etiam haec addit : Quia Israel secundum Evangelium quidem inimicus factus est Deo, quia non credidit Christo: quantum autem spectat ad honorificentiam patrum, electus est, et charissimus habetur apud Deum. Semel autem donata electione semini patrum, et dilectione concessa, servat sine dubio Deus dona et vocationem suam erga semen eorum quorum meritis id aliquando largitus est : nec poenitudo incurrit in Deum, etiamsi minus digni videantur exsistere hi erga quos promissa patribus beneficia conferuntur. Verum, ut saepe commonuimus, etiam in praesenti loco illa est observanda distinctio, quod Israel quidem qui inimicus est Deo, ille dicatur qui clamat de Christo: Tolle, tolle, crucifige eum. Quomodo enim non dicantur inimici Dei, qui vel tunc, vel etiam nunc dixerint ista, vel dicant? Sed quod dicit, propter vos, hoc est, quorum saluti scilicet invident, prohibentes apostolos gentibus loqui, et persequentes eos qui annuntiant Christum. Secundum reliquias vero quae salvandae dicuntur, in quibus electio credentium secuta est ex Israel, charissimi sunt propter patres: quorum scilicet fidem sequentes, credunt in eum qui suscitavit Christum Jesum a mortuis. Et secundum hoc erga hujusmodi semen sine poenitentia sunt dona et vocatio Dei. Post haec vero etiam latentes et profundiores incredulitatis eorum aperit causas, et dicit: Quia sicut vos gentes quondam non credebatis Deo, nec tamen idcirco penitus reliquit vos Deus, sed aliquando ad ultimum misericordiam consecuti estis : occasio tamen conferendae in vos misericordiae, populi Israel incredulitas exstitit : ita etiam illi qui nunc de populo Israel non crediderunt, et pro incredulitate sua derelicti sunt, ut ad vos Dei misericordia flecteretur, non usquequaque relinquentur in incredulitate sua; sed posteaquam plenitudinis gentium fuerit impleta dispensatio, etiam ipsi misericordiam consequentur. In quo volens Apostolus bonitatem Dei ostendere, qua incredulitate aliorum, aliorum salutem facit: «Conclusit, inquit, Deus omnes in incredulitate, ut omnibus misereatur; non quo ipse eis injecerit incredulitatis propositum, sed ex ipsorum incredulitatis proposito credendi aditum aliis qui et ipsi prius increduli fuerant, patefecit. In his autem positus locis Paulus, et altius intuens hujusmodi causas, quomodo Deus malum propositum non continuo resecet et excidat, sed patiatur et reservet: prospiciens quia aliquid boni in aliis futurum sit per alterius propositum malum: ab his, opinor, de quibus loquebatur, retulit oculos cordis sui ad ipsam malitiae originem, quod eam Deus ex initio in his quibus oborta est, quicunque illi sunt, pullulantem, et arbitrii libertate crescentem utile non judicaverit resecare; sed permiserit eos uti proposito suo, sciens et prospiciens quod multorum profectus et utilitas ex malitiae illorum occasione consurget, et in tantum apud bonum Deum virtuti locus est, ut et malitiae opus quamvis illi perniciosum sit de quo procedit, beneficium tamen praestare dispensetur cui agones commovet, cum fuerit superata. Considerans igitur sancta Apostolus tantas esse bonitatis Dei divitias, et tantum divinae sapientiae opus erga rationabiles agi naturas, et quia tantum Deus dives est in misericordia, et «dives in omnes qui invocant eum , et tanta est bonitatis ejus, et patientiae, et longanimitatis magnitudo, repente interioribus eas cordis oculis intuens, immensitatemque earum perspiciens, stupore simul et pavore perculsus exclamat et dicit : altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei, quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus! Unde etenim humanae mentis sensus ista posset opinari, ut servata unicuique arbitrii libertate, alterius malitiae opus verteretur alteri ad salutem, et vincenti se malitia palmam conferret, quae utenti se perniciem praebet? His igitur generali, quantum videtur, Apostolus ratione perspectis, exclamat et dicit, quia tanta est altitudo divitiarum Dei, et sapientiae ejus tanta est altitudo, et scientiae nihilominus tanta est altitudo (ad omnia enim haec altitudinis sermo deservit), ut scrutari judicia ejus, quibus unamquamque animam atque omnem naturam rationabilem dispensat, nemo sufficiat, nec vias Dei quibus providentia eius incedit investigare aliquis possit. Aliquis autem dicimus non solum hominum, sed et totius creaturae. Neque enim inscrutabilia judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus dicerentur, nisi quia nulla est creatura quae vel investigare valeat illa, vel scrutari. Solus est enim Filius qui noverit Patrem, et solus est «Spiritus» sanctus qui « scrutatur omnia, etiam altitudinem Dei ". Et ideo hanc altitudinem Dei, quam et inscrutabilem dicit et investigabilem, creaturae omni inscrutabilem et investigabilem dicit. De Filio vero et Spiritu sancto dicere ista non poterat, quia Filius in Evangelio dicit ad Patrem: « Pater, omnia mea tua sunt, et tua mea ;» et de Spiritu sancto ipse Paulus pronuntiat dicens: « Nemo enim scit hominum quae sunt hominis, nisi spiritus hominis qui in ipso est : ita et quae in Deo sunt, nemo cognovit, nisi Spiritus Dei. Vides ergo quod Paulus in praesenti capitulo in his quae dicit : « Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini, aut quis illi consiliarius fuit? de creaturis dicat; naturam vero Trinitatis excipiat : quippe cui nihil sit cum creatura commune, nisi beneficentiae opus. Sed et quod ait : « Quis illi consiliarius fuit? Non quasi minus ipse sufficiens consilio indigeret alterius, Sed consilii participem nullum quidem inter creaturas esse pronuntiat. Consilium vero sapienti necessario in sapientia sua est, qui est Christus, et in sanctitate, qui est Spiritus sanctus. Simili autem modo et « Quis prior dedit ei, et retribuetur ei? intelligendum est. Nemo enim aliquid factori suo prior contulit: quippe cum etiam hoc ipsum quod est, unusquisque a conditore susceperit. « Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia. Vides quomodo in ultimis ostendit, quod in omnibus quae supra dixit, signaverit mysterium Trinitatis. Sicut enim in praesenti loco quod ait: « Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia, convenit illis dictis quae idem Apostolus in aliis memorat locis cum dicit: « Unus Deus Pater ex quo omnia, et unus Dominus noster Jesus Christus per quem omnia; et item in Spiritu Dei dicit revelari omnia, et per haec designat in omnibus esse providentiam Trinitatis; ita et cum dicit: «Altitudo divitiarum, Patrem, ex quo omnia dicit esse, significat: et sapientiae altitudinem, Christum, qui est sapientia ejus, ostendit: et scientiae altitudinem, Spiritum sanctum, qui etiam alta Dei novit, declarat. Verumtamen quod dicit: « Ex ipso,» hoc ipsum quod sumus indicat: « Per ipsum autem, quod per ejus providentiam dispensamur in vita: « In ipso vero, quod perfectio omnium et finis in ipso erit tunc cum erit Deus omnia in omnibus: et tunc «ipsi gloria in saecula saeculorum: Amen. In saecula, propter hoc quod perfectio omnium non intra unum saeculum concluditur, sed in multa protenditur, et vix aliquando adimplenda speratur. Jungit autem et « Amen, ut intelligamus per illum ad istam beatitudinem veniendum, de quo scriptum est in Apocalypsi: Haec dicit qui est Amen.
“As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake; but as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. For just as you once did not believe God, but now have obtained mercy because of their unbelief, so they too have now not believed in the mercy shown to you, that they too may obtain mercy. For God has shut up all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all. O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him? For from him and through him and in him are all things; to him be glory for ages of ages. Amen.” Pursuing still the same matters about Israel and the Gentiles, and reproving the branches of the wild olive that insulted the broken branches of the olive, the Apostle adds this too: that Israel, as regards the gospel, has become an enemy to God because it did not believe Christ; but as regards the honor of the fathers, it is elect and held most dear by God. For once election has been given to the seed of the fathers and love granted, God without doubt keeps his gifts and his calling toward the seed of those for whose merits he once bestowed them; nor does repentance befall God, even if those on whom the benefits promised to the fathers are conferred seem less worthy. But, as we have often pointed out, in the present passage too that distinction must be observed: that the Israel which is an enemy to God is said to be the one which cries out concerning Christ, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” For how should they not be called enemies of God who, either then or even now, have said or say such things? And as to his saying, “for your sake”: that is, for the sake of those whose salvation they envy, forbidding the apostles to speak to the Gentiles and persecuting those who announce Christ. But according to the remnant which is said to be saved, in which the election of believers from Israel has followed, they are most dear for the sake of the fathers, whose faith, namely, they follow, believing in him who raised Christ Jesus from the dead. And accordingly, toward seed of this kind, the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance.
After this he lays open also the hidden and deeper causes of their unbelief, and says: Just as you Gentiles once did not believe God, and yet God did not therefore leave you entirely, but at length you have finally obtained mercy, though the occasion for bestowing mercy on you was the unbelief of the people of Israel: so also those of the people of Israel who now have not believed, and have been left because of their unbelief so that God’s mercy might be turned toward you, will not be left altogether in their unbelief; but after the dispensation of the fullness of the Gentiles has been fulfilled, they too will obtain mercy. In this the Apostle, wishing to show the goodness of God by which he makes the unbelief of some the salvation of others, says, “God has shut up all in unbelief, that he may have mercy on all”: not that he himself cast into them the purpose of unbelief, but that out of their purpose of unbelief he opened an entrance to believing for others, who themselves too had formerly been unbelieving. Placed in these passages, and looking more deeply into causes of this kind, how God does not at once cut off and remove an evil purpose but bears with it and reserves it, foreseeing that some good will come to others through another’s evil purpose, Paul, I think, turned the eyes of his heart from those of whom he was speaking to the very origin of evil: that God did not judge it useful to cut it off from the beginning, as it sprang up and grew by the freedom of choice in those in whom it arose, whoever they are, but permitted them to use their own purpose, knowing and foreseeing that the progress and benefit of many would arise on the occasion of their wickedness. And with the good God there is so much room for virtue that even the work of wickedness, however destructive it is to the one from whom it proceeds, is so dispensed as to confer a benefit on the one in whom it stirs up contests, once it has been overcome. Considering, then, that the riches of God’s goodness are so great, and that so great a work of divine wisdom is carried on toward rational natures, and that God is so rich in mercy and rich toward all who call upon him, and that the greatness of his goodness and patience and long-suffering is so great, the holy Apostle, suddenly beholding these things with the inner eyes of his heart and perceiving their immensity, struck at once with astonishment and fear, cries out and says: “O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” For whence could the understanding of the human mind conceive this: that, with each one’s freedom of choice preserved, the work of one person’s wickedness should be turned to another’s salvation, and that wickedness, which brings ruin to the one who uses it, should confer the palm on the one who overcomes it? Having seen these things, then, in a general way, as far as appears, the Apostle cries out and says that so great is the depth of the riches of God, and so great the depth of his wisdom, and no less so great the depth of his knowledge (for the word “depth” serves for all these), that no one is able to search out his judgments, by which he dispenses each soul and every rational nature, nor can anyone trace the ways of God along which his providence proceeds. And by “anyone” we mean not only of human beings but of the whole creation. For his judgments would not be called unsearchable, and his ways past finding out, were it not that there is no creature that can either trace or search them out. For the Son alone knows the Father, and the Holy Spirit alone searches all things, even the depths of God. And therefore this depth of God, which he calls unsearchable and past finding out, he says is unsearchable and past finding out to every creature. But he could not say this of the Son and the Holy Spirit, since the Son says to the Father in the Gospel, “Father, all that is mine is yours, and yours is mine”; and of the Holy Spirit Paul himself declares, saying, “For no one among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him; so too no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” You see, then, that in the present section, in what he says, “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?”, Paul speaks of creatures, but excepts the nature of the Trinity, which has nothing in common with creation except the work of beneficence. And as to his saying, “Who has been his counselor?”: not as if, being less sufficient, he needed another’s counsel; but he declares that there is no partner in his counsel among creatures. For the wise one, counsel is necessarily in his wisdom, which is Christ, and in holiness, which is the Holy Spirit. In a like manner also “Who has first given to him, and it will be repaid to him?” is to be understood. For no one has first conferred anything on his Maker, since each one has received from the Creator even the very fact that he exists. “For from him and through him and in him are all things.” You see how in these last words he shows that in all that he said above he was marking out the mystery of the Trinity. For as in the present passage what he says, “For from him and through him and in him are all things,” agrees with those sayings which the same Apostle records in other places, when he says, “One God the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord our Jesus Christ, through whom are all things,” and likewise he says that all things are revealed in the Spirit of God, and by these indicates that the providence of the Trinity is in all things: so too, when he says, “the depth of the riches,” he signifies the Father, from whom he says all things are; and by “the depth of the wisdom” he shows Christ, who is his wisdom; and by “the depth of the knowledge” he declares the Holy Spirit, who knows even the depths of God. But what he says, “from him,” indicates the very fact that we exist; “through him,” that we are governed in life through his providence; and “in him,” that the perfection and end of all things will be in him then, when God will be all in all; and then “to him be glory for ages of ages. Amen.” “For ages,” because the perfection of all things is not concluded within one age, but extends over many, and is hoped to be fulfilled only at long last. And he adds “Amen,” that we may understand that we must come to that blessedness through him of whom it is written in the Apocalypse, “Thus says he who is the Amen.”
Rom 11:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:30 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:31 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:32 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:36 (quotation, high confidence) · John 19:15 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Thess 2:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 4:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 2:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 10:12 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 2:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 11:27 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:11 (quotation, high confidence) · John 17:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 1:24 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 8:6 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:28 (quotation, high confidence) · Rev 3:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Israel, an enemy as regards the gospel but beloved for the fathers, will obtain mercy after the fullness of the Gentiles; God permits evil, even from its origin, so that others may profit from it, and Paul's cry 'O the depth' and 'from him, through him, in him' points to the Trinity, whose counsels no creature can search.
- Lemma: Rom 11:28–36. Cited: John 19:15; 1 Thess 2:16; Rom 4:24; Eph 2:4; Rom 10:12; Rom 2:4; Matt 11:27; 1 Cor 2:10–11; John 17:10; 1 Cor 1:24, 30; 1 Cor 8:6; 1 Cor 15:28; Rev 3:14.
- The end of the comment on this section (from “pronuntiat” and “Consilium vero sapienti” to “Haec dicit qui est Amen”) was misplaced by the scan at the start of 9.1; it is moved here by paired logged corrections.
- God's permission of evil from its origin, and the Trinitarian reading of Rom 11:33–36, are translated exactly. The phrase about perfection extending over many ages is given as it stands.
- Israel: Origen distinguishes the Israel that cried “crucify him” from the remnant and holds that the rest too will obtain mercy after the fullness of the Gentiles.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; OCR slips and Migne column number; OCR slips and Migne note number; OCR slips and stray marks; removed Migne footnote references inside a hyphenated word; OCR slip; removed a Migne footnote reference; OCR slip; stray mark inside a hyphenated word; stray marks; the end of this section, misplaced by the scan at the start of 9.1, is moved here (paired with a removal in 9.1); mechanical OCR fixes and Migne marks removed in the moved text): dona let vocatio Dei, → dona et vocatio Dei.; Eadem per— " .Ioan. sa. I. 9. . [It Rom. XI, seq. sequens ad'iuc de Israel → Eadem persequens adhuc de Israel; quia non credidit Cltristo:quantum → quia non credidit Christo: quantum; et cltarissimus habetur → et charissimus habetur; nec ptenitudoiucurrit in Deum, etiamsi minus digni videantur exsistere bi erga quos promiSsa patribus benefit-ia → nec poenitudo incurrit in Deum, etiamsi minus digni videantur exsistere hi erga quos promissa patribus beneficia; ut saepe comtnouuimus, etiam iu praesenti loco illa cst observanda distinctio, quod lsrael → ut saepe commonuimus, etiam in praesenti loco illa est observanda distinctio, quod Israel; qui clamat de Cbristo : Tolle, tolle, crucilige eum . Quomodo enim nun dicantur → qui clamat de Christo: Tolle, tolle, crucifige eum. Quomodo enim non dicantur; propter vos, boc est → propter vos, hoc est; qui annuutiant Chrismm. Secundum reliquias vero quae salvandze → qui annuntiant Christum. Secundum reliquias vero quae salvandae; secuta estex Israel, charissimi sunt propter patres: quorum scilicet tidem sequentes, credunt in eum qui suscitavit Christum Jcsum a mortuis“. Et secundum hoc erga bujusmodi semen (sine pomitentia Sunt dona et vocatio Dei. ο Post lucc vero → secuta est ex Israel, charissimi sunt propter patres: quorum scilicet fidem sequentes, credunt in eum qui suscitavit Christum Jesum a mortuis. Et secundum hoc erga hujusmodi semen sine poenitentia sunt dona et vocatio Dei. Post haec vero; ita etiam lll qui nunc → ita etiam illi qui nunc; fuerit impleta diSpeusatio, ctiam ipsi → fuerit impleta dispensatio, etiam ipsi; bonitatem Dei ostende- ἕ rc, qua incredulitate → bonitatem Dei ostendere, qua incredulitate; in increduli. tate, ut omnibus misereatur; non quo ipse eis injecerit incredulitatis propositum, sed ex ipsorum ξ incredulitatis prOpoSIto credendi aditum aliis qni et ipsi prius increduli fuerant, patefecit. ln bis autem positus locis Paulus, et altius intuens bojus- ἒ modi causas → in incredulitate, ut omnibus misereatur; non quo ipse eis injecerit incredulitatis propositum, sed ex ipsorum incredulitatis proposito credendi aditum aliis qui et ipsi prius increduli fuerant, patefecit. In his autem positus locis Paulus, et altius intuens hujusmodi causas; sed patiatur et rescr- i vet : prospiciens quia aliquid boni in aliis fu- ‘ turum sit per alterius propositum malum : ab bis. Oplltm‘, de quibus loquebatur, retulit oculos cordis sui ad ipsam malititeoriginem, quod eam Deus ex ‘ initio in bis quibus oborta est, quicunque illi sunt, pullulautem → sed patiatur et reservet: prospiciens quia aliquid boni in aliis futurum sit per alterius propositum malum: ab his, opinor, de quibus loquebatur, retulit oculos cordis sui ad ipsam malitiae originem, quod eam Deus ex initio in his quibus oborta est, quicunque illi sunt, pullulantem; ex malitia: illorum occasione consurget, et intantum apud bonum (3|) Deum virtuti locus est, ut et malitiae opus quantvis illi perniciosa sit de quo procedit, beneficium tamen prmstare dispensetur cui agones wmmovet → ex malitiae illorum occasione consurget, et in tantum apud bonum Deum virtuti locus est, ut et malitiae opus quamvis illi perniciosum sit de quo procedit, beneficium tamen praestare dispensetur cui agones commovet; tantum divina: sapientiae Opus → tantum divinae sapientiae opus; Deus dives estin misericordia”, et «dives in omnes qui invocznt eum → Deus dives est in misericordia, et «dives in omnes qui invocant eum; et Iongauimitatis 65.2 magnitudo, tepente interioribus eas cordis oculisintuens, immensitatequ earum → et longanimitatis magnitudo, repente interioribus eas cordis oculis intuens, immensitatemque earum; sapientiae et scientia: Dei, quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus! Unde etenim → sapientiae et scientiae Dei, quam inscrutabilia sunt judicia ejus, et investigabiles viae ejus! Unde etenim; posset opinari. ut servata unicuique 'arbitrii libertate, alterius malitia: opus → posset opinari, ut servata unicuique arbitrii libertate, alterius malitiae opus; quae utenti se ι. Rom. ιι, 12. perniciem praabet? → quae utenti se perniciem praebet?; quia tanta est. altitudo divitiarum Dei, et sapientia: ejus tanta est altitudo, ctscientias nihilominus tanta est altitudo (ad omnia enim haec altitudiuis sermo deservitl'351 ). ut scrutari → quia tanta est altitudo divitiarum Dei, et sapientiae ejus tanta est altitudo, et scientiae nihilominus tanta est altitudo (ad omnia enim haec altitudinis sermo deservit), ut scrutari; nemo suiliciat → nemo sufficiat; investigabiles vim ejus dicerentur, nisi quia nulla est creatura quae velqinvestigare → investigabiles viae ejus dicerentur, nisi quia nulla est creatura quae vel investigare; Patrem , et so- _ lus est «Spiritus › sanctus → Patrem, et solus est «Spiritus» sanctus; hanc altitu- ‘ dinem Dei → hanc altitudinem Dei; creaturas omni inscrutabilem et investigabil'em → creaturae omni inscrutabilem et investigabilem; «licens : « Nemo enim → dicens: « Nemo enim; quippe cui nihil sitcum creatura commune, nisi beneficentia: opus. Sed et qttod ait → quippe cui nihil sit cum creatura commune, nisi beneficentiae opus. Sed et quod ait; Non quasi minus ipse subiciens consilio → Non quasi minus ipse sufficiens consilio; Sed consilii participem nullum quidem inter creaturas esse pronun- → Sed consilii participem nullum quidem inter creaturas esse pronuntiat. Consilium vero sapienti necessario in sapientia sua est, qui est Christus, et in sanctitate, qui est Spiritus sanctus. Simili autem modo et « Quis prior dedit ei, et retribuetur ei? intelligendum est. Nemo enim aliquid factori suo prior contulit: quippe cum etiam hoc ipsum quod est, unusquisque a conditore susceperit. « Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia. Vides quomodo in ultimis ostendit, quod in omnibus quae supra dixit, signaverit mysterium Trinitatis. Sicut enim in praesenti loco quod ait: « Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia, convenit illis dictis quae idem Apostolus in aliis memorat locis cum dicit: « Unus Deus Pater ex quo omnia, et unus Dominus noster Jesus Christus per quem omnia; et item in Spiritu Dei dicit revelari omnia, et per haec designat in omnibus esse providentiam Trinitatis; ita et cum dicit: «Altitudo divitiarum, Patrem, ex quo omnia dicit esse, significat: et sapientiae altitudinem, Christum, qui est sapientia ejus, ostendit: et scientiae altitudinem, Spiritum sanctum, qui etiam alta Dei novit, declarat. Verumtamen quod dicit: « Ex ipso,» hoc ipsum quod sumus indicat: « Per ipsum autem, quod per ejus providentiam dispensamur in vita: « In ipso vero, quod perfectio omnium et finis in ipso erit tunc cum erit Deus omnia in omnibus: et tunc «ipsi gloria in saecula saeculorum: Amen. In saecula, propter hoc quod perfectio omnium non intra unum saeculum concluditur, sed in multa protenditur, et vix aliquando adimplenda speratur. Jungit autem et « Amen, ut intelligamus per illum ad istam beatitudinem veniendum, de quo scriptum est in Apocalypsi: Haec dicit qui est Amen..
Topics: Trinity, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 8.13 (PG 14:1198b–1201b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/8-13/#p-8-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.
Chapter 9
9.1PG 14:1201b–1208a
… docuisset Apostolus quomodo a Judaeis ad gentes, a circumcisione ad fidem, a littera ad spiritum, ab umbra ad veritatem, ab observantia carnali ad observantiam spiritalem religionis summa translata sit, et haec ita futura propheticis ostendisset vocibus designata : jam nunc spiritalis hujus observantiae, ad quam cultus Dei ritum docuit esse translatum, aggreditur mores et instituta sancire, et ait : Obsecro itaque vos, fratres, per misericordiam Dei, ut exhibeatis corpora uestra hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem,rationabile obsequium vestrum. Et nolite conformari huic saeculo: sed reformamini renovatione sensus vestri: ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum. Quoniam, inquit, ostendimus a sacrificiis carnalibus recedendum, secundum quod et Propheta dicit: Hostias et oblationem noluisti , nec placita sunt tibi’ : nunc, ait, doceo vos quibus hostiis delectetur Deus:et haec doceo non quasi imperans, nihil enim proficit legis imperium, sed quasi qui officium susceperim reconciliandi vos Deo, obsecro vos, fratres; et obsecro non per potentiam, sed per misericordiam Dei. Quia enim, sicut supra ostendi, omnes conclusi sunt sub peccato , nunc jam non in meritis, sed in misericordia Dei salus humana consistit. Quid autem est quod vos obsecro? Ut exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem, ut sit rationabile obsequium vestrum. Obsequium hic cultum Dei dicit. Qui cultus quoniam dudum in pecudum mutorum corporibus consistebat, nunc, inquit, in corpore rationabilis hominis offeratur, et corpora magis vestra quam pecudum fiant sacrificium Deo, atque in sacris altaribus collocentur. Hi enim qui membra sua mortificant ab incentivo libidinis et furoris, et actus corporis sui Deo placitos habent, hostiam viventem, sanctam, placentem, Deo rationabiliter offerunt, et legem sacrificiorum quae in Levitico lata est secundum spiritalem intelligentiam complent. Verbi causa, ut ibi offerebant vitulum primo loco, vel secundo arietem, aut tertio hircum, aut quarto turtures, vel etiam pullos columbarum, ut in his uniuscujusque anima purificaretur pro qualitate gestorum; … in librum Levitici aliqua diceremus, pro viribus explanare tentavimus quomodo unusquisque rationabili obsequio cultus Dei, si superbiam corporis sui vincat, immolet vitulum; si iracundiam superet, arietem jugulet; si libidinem vincat, in holocaustum offerat hircum; si vagos et lubricos cogitationum resecet volatus, columbas et turtures immolet. Sed haec, ut dixi, si quis scire dignum putat, ibi latius disserta reperiet. Nunc autem Paulus obsecrat credentes in Christo, ut corpora sua exhibeant hostiam viventem, sanctam, placentem Deo. Viventem dicit hostiam, quae vitam , hoc est, Christum in se gerit, et dicit: Mortem Jesu in corpore nostro circumferimus, ut et vita Jesu Christi in corpore nostro manifestetur . Sanctam dicit, in qua sanctus Spiritus habitat, secundum quod in alio loco dixit: An nescitis quia templum Dei estis, et Spiritus Dei habitat in vobis! Placentem Deo, utpote a peccatis et vitiis separatam. Haec autem omnia rationabilis cultus est Dei. Potest enim pro tali cultu reddi ratio, et ostendi quia dignum est Deo tales hostias immolari : arietes autem, et hircos, et vitulos immortali et incorporeo Deo offerri nulla ratio recta et honesta suscipiet. Haec ergo ita facere, et ita colere Deum eos qui Christo crediderunt, non solum docet Apostolus, sed et obsecrat per misericordiam Dei : ut ostendat per hoc humano generi (quoniam proclive est ad delictum) hujuscemodi hostias Dei miseratione provisas :quibus si unquam lapsus acciderit, per rationabile obsequium et hostias eo modo quo supra diximus immolatas, reparari possit anima ac restitui ad salutem. Quod autem multae sint misericordiae Dei, designat Paulus in secunda ad Corinthios, dicens : Benedictus Deus et Pater Domini nostri Iesu Christi Pater misericordiarum '. Audis Deum, sicut Christi Pater est, et sapientiae pater est, et justitiae pater est, quae omnia Christus est, ita esse et misericordiarum patrem. Ergo Christus sicut caetera omnia est, et misericordia ipse est, misericordiae multae, non una: hoc est, sicut thesauri sapientiae et scientiae in ipso sunt, sed sunt absconditi'; ita et misericordiae thesaurus in ipso est , sed est absconditus : ne forte si ad subitum et ante tempus proferatur, faciat me, et si quis mihi in desidia similis esse voluerit, negligentem. Videbitur ergo praecipue hostia vivens, et sancta. et Deo placens, corpus esse incontaminatum. Verum quoniam videmus nonnullos sanctorum, aliquos etiam apostolorum habuisse conjugia, non usquequaque possumus hoc de sola virginitate sentire, quamvis in hujuscemodi hostiis habere primum ordinem possit : sicut et in lege alia erat hostia sacerdotis, alia principis, alia Synagogae, et alia unius animae. Et quamvis in Ecclesia prima post apostolos hostia martyrum, secunda virginum videatur, tertia continentium; puto tamen quod neque illi qui in conjugiis positi sunt, et ex consensu ad tempus vacant orationi, velut Nazaraeorum vota solventes, si in caeteris sancte agant et juste, negandi sunt corpora sua exhibere posse hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem; nec rursum corpora virginum vel continentium, si aut superbiae macula, aut avaritiae sordibus, aut linguae maledicae, vel mendacii immunditia polluantur, hostiam sanctam et Deo placentem putandi sunt ex sola virginitate corporis obtulisse: quia et in lege hostia cum offerretur, inspiciebatur a sacerdote diligentius non solum si ex mundis esset animalibus, sed ne aut in oculo haberet vitium, aut in auribus, aut in pedibus, ne claudum, ne luscum, ne surdum animal divino admoveretur altari . Sic ergo per omnia membra discutitur et pertractatur hostia vivens, sancta, Deo placens, quae rationabiliter offerenda est. Et nolite conformari huic saeculo; sed reformamini renovatione sensus vestri, ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum. Sciendum est quod in Graeco habetur : Ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei bona, et beneplacita, et perfecta. Sed nos, quia unus in utroque potest sensus videri, consuetudinem sequimur Latinorum. Nolite ergo, inquit, conformari huic saeculo. In quo ostendit esse quamdam formam hujus saeculi, et aliam esse saeculi futuri: et si qui sunt qui amant praesens saeculum, et ea quae sunt in hoc mundo, secundum formam saeculi praesentis aptantur: qui vero non respiciunt ea quae videntur, sed quae non videntur et aeterna sunt , transformamur et renovantur ad futuri saeculi formam : et inde fit ut eos non agnoscat hic mundus, sed odio habeat, et persequatur “. Sed agnoscunt istam formam angeli Dei, qui sunt de illo saeculo venturo. Et simile mihi videtur esse hoc illi dicto quo ait: Sicut portavimus imaginem terreni , portemus et imaginem caelestis ". Vide ergo ne forte cum venit ira in cor tuum, conformem te faciat huic saeculo: similiter autem et concupiscentia mala, et avaritia, caeteraque vitia quibus praesens saeculum delectatur, formam tibi saeculi praesentis imponant. Si vero econtrario mansuetudo, patientia, lenitas, continentia, fides, veritas, caeteraeque virtutes habitent in sensu tuo, conformem te futuri saeculi facient, et ita pulchram animae tuae speciem reddent, ut Verbum Dei quod despondit eam sibi in misericordia et fide, dicat ad eam: Tota es formosa, proxima mea, et macula non est in te". Intende autem diligentius quod ait : Sed reformamini renovatione sensus vestri, ut ostendat formam quidem culpabilem : prius enim formam malitiae habuit omnis anima. Sed adhortatur ex hoc sermo apostolicus, ut, illa abjecta, ad singularum virtutum speciem reformentur, et ita demum possimus revelato vultu cordis gloriam Domini speculari ab huiusmodi imagine transformati. Quomodo autem in haec transformemur ipse edocet dicens: Renovatione sensus vestri. Renovatur autem sensus noster per exercitia sapientiae, et meditationem verbi Dei, et legis ejus intelligentiam spiritalem : et quanto quis quotidie ex Scripturarum proficit lectione, quanto altius intellectus ejus accedit, tanto semper novus et quotidie novus efficitur. Nescio autem si potest renovari sensus qui piger est erga Scripturas divinas et intelligentiae spiritalis exercitia, quibus possit non solum intelligere quae scripta sunt, verum et explicare apertius, et manifestare diligentius. Potest tamen fieri ut non omnis sensus in hoc possit renovari, ut agnitione scientiae dilatetur. Potest enim renovari sensus ad justitiam, ad continentiam, ad misericordiam, fidem, patientiam. Sed vide quid in sequentibus huic renovationi sensus adjungat Apostolus. Ut probetis, inquit, quae sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum. Et utique nisi ad omnem scientiam renovatus sit sensus, et totus Dei sapientia illuminatus, probare non potest quae sit voluntas Dei. In multis enim putatur esse voluntas Dei, et non est. In quo hi utique qui sensum non habent renovatum, errant et falluntur. Est autem revera non cujuscunque sensus, sed valde renovati, et (ut ita dicam) ad Dei jam imaginem reformati, probare in singulis quibusque quae agimus, quae loquimur, quae c0gitamus, si sit voluntas Dei; et nihil omnino vel agere, vel dicere, vel cogitare quod voluntati Dei non senserit convenire. Quae sit, inquit, voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum. Si secundum hoc legamus quod in Latinis codicibus invenimus, hic erit sensus: Quia voluntas Dei est quidquid bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum est: nec potest aliud velle Deus, nisi quod bonum est: et utique quod bonum est et perfectum, sine dubio hoc Deo placet. Si vero secundum hoc quod diximus apud Graecos haberi, id est ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei bona, et beneplacita, et perfecta, potest quidem idem quod supra diximus, videri, quod omnis voluntas Dei bona sit, et beneplacita, et perfecta. Potest autem et tale aliquid in his sermonibus sentiri, quia Dei quidem voluntas semper bona est, sed non semper bona ejus voluntate dispensari meremur, neque beneplacita et perfecta. Verbi causa, ut ungeretur Saul in regem fuit quidem voluntas Dei, sed non beneplacita, neque perfecta. Irascens enim populo, qui refutaverat Deum habere super se … Dei haec bona est, et beneplacita, atque perfecta; et non talis quae magis desideriis nostris indulgeat, quam utilitatibus consulat. Sed jam ad sequentia convertamur.
… the Apostle had shown how the sum of religion had been transferred from the Jews to the Gentiles, from circumcision to faith, from the letter to the spirit, from the shadow to the truth, from carnal observance to spiritual observance, and had shown that these things were marked out by the voices of the prophets as about to happen so; now he sets about establishing the morals and practices of this spiritual observance, to which he taught that the rite of the worship of God had been transferred, and he says: “I beseech you therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” Since, he says, we have shown that carnal sacrifices are to be given up, according to what the prophet too says, “Sacrifice and offering you did not want, nor were they pleasing to you,” now, he says, I teach you in what sacrifices God delights. And I teach these things not as one commanding (for the command of the law profits nothing), but as one who has received the office of reconciling you to God: I beseech you, brothers; and I beseech not by power but by the mercy of God. For because, as I showed above, all have been shut up under sin, human salvation now rests no longer on merits but on the mercy of God. And what is it that I beseech of you? That you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, so that it may be your reasonable service. By “service” he here means the worship of God. Since that worship formerly consisted in the bodies of dumb beasts, now, he says, let it be offered in the body of a rational human being, and let your bodies rather than those of beasts become a sacrifice to God and be placed on the holy altars. For those who put to death their members from the incitement of lust and rage, and keep the acts of their body pleasing to God, offer a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, in a reasonable way, and fulfill according to the spiritual understanding the law of sacrifices given in Leviticus. For example, as there they offered a calf in the first place, or a ram in the second, or a goat in the third, or turtledoves or even young pigeons in the fourth, so that in these each one’s soul might be purified according to the quality of his deeds: … when we were saying something on the book of Leviticus, we tried as far as we could to explain how each person, in the reasonable service of the worship of God, sacrifices a calf if he overcomes the pride of his body; slaughters a ram if he masters anger; offers a goat as a whole burnt offering if he conquers lust; and sacrifices doves and turtledoves if he cuts off the wandering and slippery flights of his thoughts. But these things, as I said, if anyone thinks them worth knowing, he will find discussed more fully there.
Now Paul beseeches believers in Christ to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God. He calls “living” the sacrifice which bears life, that is, Christ, within itself, and he says, “We carry about the death of Jesus in our body, that the life of Jesus Christ also may be made manifest in our body.” He calls “holy” the one in which the Holy Spirit dwells, according to what he said in another place, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you?” “Pleasing to God,” as being separated from sins and vices. And all this is the reasonable worship of God. For an account can be given for such worship, and it can be shown that it is worthy of God that such sacrifices be offered; but that rams and goats and calves should be offered to the immortal and incorporeal God no right and honest reasoning will accept. The Apostle not only teaches those who have believed in Christ to do these things so and to worship God so, but even beseeches them by the mercy of God, to show by this to the human race (since it is prone to sin) that sacrifices of this kind have been provided by God’s compassion, by which, if a lapse ever occurs, the soul can be repaired and restored to salvation through reasonable service and sacrifices offered in the way we described above. And that the mercies of God are many Paul indicates in the second letter to the Corinthians, saying, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies.” You hear that God, as he is the Father of Christ, and the Father of wisdom, and the Father of righteousness, all of which Christ is, so is also the Father of mercies. Christ, then, as he is all the other things, is also himself mercy, many mercies, not one; that is, as the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are in him, but are hidden, so the treasure of mercies too is in him, but is hidden, lest, if it were brought out suddenly and before the time, it make me, and anyone who wishes to be like me in idleness, negligent.
The living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, will seem, then, to be above all an undefiled body. But since we see that some of the saints, and some even of the apostles, had marriages, we cannot by any means understand this of virginity alone, although in sacrifices of this kind it may hold the first rank; as in the law too there was one sacrifice of the priest, another of the ruler, another of the synagogue, and another of a single soul. And although in the church the first sacrifice after the apostles seems to be that of the martyrs, the second that of the virgins, the third that of the continent, yet I think that neither those who are placed in marriage and by consent are free for a time for prayer, as though paying the vows of Nazirites, are to be denied the ability to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, if in other things they act holily and justly; nor, again, are the bodies of virgins or of the continent, if they are polluted by the stain of pride or the filth of avarice or a slandering tongue or the uncleanness of lying, to be thought to have offered a sacrifice holy and pleasing to God on the ground of bodily virginity alone. For in the law too, when a sacrifice was offered, it was inspected carefully by the priest, not only whether it was from the clean animals, but lest it have a blemish in the eye or the ears or the feet, lest a lame or one-eyed or deaf animal be brought to the divine altar. So, then, the living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, which is to be offered reasonably, is examined and handled member by member.
“And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” It must be known that in the Greek we have, “that you may prove what the will of God is, good and well-pleasing and perfect.” But since one sense can be seen in both, we follow the custom of the Latins. “Do not,” then, he says, “be conformed to this age.” In this he shows that there is a form of this age and another of the age to come; and if there are some who love the present age and the things that are in this world, they are fitted to the form of the present age; but those who look not at the things that are seen but at those that are not seen and are eternal are transformed and renewed to the form of the age to come; and hence it happens that this world does not know them, but hates and persecutes them. But the angels of God, who are of that age to come, recognize that form. And this seems to me like the saying in which he says, “As we have borne the image of the earthly, let us also bear the image of the heavenly.” See, then, lest perhaps, when anger comes into your heart, it make you conformed to this age; and likewise evil desire and avarice and the other vices in which the present age delights impose on you the form of the present age. But if, on the contrary, gentleness, patience, mildness, continence, faith, truth and the other virtues dwell in your mind, they will make you conformed to the age to come, and will render the form of your soul so beautiful that the Word of God, who has betrothed it to himself in mercy and faith, says to it, “You are all fair, my near one, and there is no blemish in you.” Attend more carefully to his saying, “But be transformed by the renewal of your mind,” to show that the former form was blameworthy; for every soul first had the form of wickedness. But the apostolic word exhorts us from this that, casting that away, they be transformed to the beauty of the several virtues, and so at length we may with unveiled face of heart behold the glory of the Lord, transformed from such an image. And how we are transformed into these he himself teaches, saying, “by the renewal of your mind.” Our mind is renewed by exercises of wisdom and meditation on the word of God and the spiritual understanding of his law; and the more one daily profits from the reading of the Scriptures, the deeper his understanding goes, the more he is always made new and new every day. But I do not know whether a mind can be renewed that is sluggish toward the divine Scriptures and the exercises of spiritual understanding, by which it might not only understand what is written but also explain it more openly and set it out more carefully. Yet it may be that not every mind can be renewed in this, that it be broadened by the recognition of knowledge. For the mind can be renewed to righteousness, to continence, to mercy, faith, patience. But see what the Apostle joins to this renewal of mind in what follows: “That you may prove,” he says, “what is the will of God, what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” And surely, unless the mind has been renewed to all knowledge and wholly enlightened by the wisdom of God, it cannot prove what the will of God is. For in many things the will of God is thought to be present, and it is not; in this those who do not have a renewed mind go astray and are deceived. But in truth it belongs not to any mind whatever, but to one greatly renewed and, so to speak, already re-formed to the image of God, to prove in each single thing we do, say or think whether it is the will of God, and to do or say or think nothing at all which it does not perceive to agree with the will of God.
“What is,” he says, “the will of God, what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” If we read according to what we find in the Latin manuscripts, this will be the sense: that the will of God is whatever is good and well-pleasing and perfect, and God cannot will anything except what is good; and surely what is good and perfect without doubt pleases God. But if we read according to what we said is found among the Greeks, that is, “that you may prove what the will of God is, good and well-pleasing and perfect,” the same may indeed seem to be meant as we said above, that every will of God is good and well-pleasing and perfect. But this too can be perceived in these words: that the will of God is always good, but we do not always deserve to be governed by his good will, nor by his well-pleasing and perfect will. For example, that Saul should be anointed king was indeed the will of God, but not well-pleasing, nor perfect. For, being angry with the people, which had refused to have God over it, … this will of God is good and well-pleasing and perfect, and not such as rather indulges our desires than consults our benefit. But now let us turn to what follows.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Rom 12:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 12:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 40:6 (39:7 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 3:5 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 4:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 3:16 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Col 2:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 7:5 (allusion, high confidence) · Num 6:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · Lev 22:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Cor 4:18 (allusion, high confidence) · John 15:19 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 15:49 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 5:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · Hos 2:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Song 4:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:18 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Sam 8:7 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians offer God the reasonable sacrifice of their own bodies, mastering pride, anger and lust; virginity holds a high rank but married believers too can offer a holy sacrifice, while virgins stained by pride or avarice do not; renewal of mind through Scripture lets one discern God's good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Lemma: Rom 12:1–2. Cited: Ps 40:6 (39:7 LXX; Heb 10:5, 8); Rom 11:32; Gal 3:22; Col 3:5; Lev 1, 4–5 (calf, ram, goat, doves); 2 Cor 4:10; 1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 1:3; Col 2:3; Lev 4:3, 13, 22, 27; 1 Cor 7:5; Num 6 (Nazirite vows); Lev 22:22; Mal 1:8; 2 Cor 4:18; John 15:19; 1 Cor 15:49; Gal 5:22–23; Hos 2:19–20; Song 4:7; 2 Cor 3:18; 1 Sam 8:7, 22; Ps 81:12 (80:13 LXX).
- Lines are lost in the scan at three points, marked “…”: the opening words of Book 9 (the sense: in the whole preceding text of the letter); after the list of Levitical sacrifices (the sense: each one who purifies these things in his own body offers a living sacrifice, as was explained in the homilies on Leviticus); and after “had refused to have God over it” (the sense: God ordered a human king to be appointed, and says through the prophet that he gave them up to the desires of their heart; the renewed mind must test whether a given will of God is good and pleasing and perfect).
- At the start of this section the scan placed Migne's footnotes and the end of Book 8 (from “tiat. Consilium vero sapienti” to “qui est Amen”); that text is moved to 8.13 by paired logged corrections.
- Marriage and virginity: the ranking martyrs, virgins, continent, and the statement that married believers can offer a holy sacrifice, are translated exactly.
- Rufinus notes the Greek reading of Rom 12:2 (“what the will of God is, good…”) and keeps the Latin.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; OCR slips; OCR slips and Migne column number; OCR slips and Migne note number; OCR slips; removed Migne footnotes and the end of Book 8 (from 'tiat. Consilium vero sapienti' to 'qui est Amen'), which the scan placed here; that text is moved to 8.13 (paired correction); the opening words of Book 9 are lost, marked …; OCR slips; the scan has lost lines here, marked …; removed Migne footnote references; removed Migne footnotes (references and manuscript notes) inserted mid-sentence; stray mark; stray mark inside a hyphenated word): doct-isset Apostolus quomodo a Judzeis ad Matth. χι, 27. "lCor.tt,10. ’ Joan. xvu, tt, i0. ’ θ’ Apoc. Ill, M. ro mss., Rabantts et editi, « incomprehensihilia... verteretur' (editi , « vertatur, liabanus, tiat. Consilium vero sapienti necessario in sapientia sua est, qui est Christus, et in sanctitate, qui est Spiritus sanctus. Simili autem modo et « Quis prior dedit ei, et retribuetur ei? intelligendum est. Nemo enim aliquid {actori suo prior contulit : quippe cunt etiam hoc ipsum quod est, unusquisque a conditore susceperit. « Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia. Vides quomodo in ultimis ostendit, quod iu omnibus quas supra dixit, signaverit (ΛΞ) mysterium Trinitatis. Sicut enim in praesenti loco quod ait : ε Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia, convenit illis dictis quae idem Apostolus in aliis memorat locis cum dicit" : « Unus Dens Pater ex quo utnnia, et unus Dominus noster Jesus Christus per quem omnia; et item in Spiritu Dei dicit revelari omnia ’, et per haec designat in omnibus esse providentiam Trinitatis; ita et cum dicit: «Altitudo divitiarum, Patrem, ex quo omnia dicit esse, significat: et sapientiae altitudinem, Christum, qui est sapientia ejus, ostendit: et scientiae altitudinem, Spiritum sanctum, qui etiam alta Dei novit", declarat. Verumtamen quod dicit: « Ex ipso,» hoc ipsum quod sumus indicat : « Per ipsum autem, quod per eius providetiam dispensamur in vita : « In ipso vero, quod perfectio omnium et finis in ipso erit tunc cum erit Deus omnia in omnibus " : et tunc «ipsi gloria in saecula saeculorum : Amen. In saecula, propter hoc quod perfectio omnium non intra unum saeculum concluditur, sed in multa protenditur, et vix aliquando adimplenda speratur. Jungit autem et « Amen, ut intelligamus per illum ad istam beatitudinem veniendum, de quo scriptum est in Apocalypsi : t Herc dicit qui est Amen". ο gentes → … docuisset Apostolus quomodo a Judaeis ad gentes; ab observantia carnali. l Cor. vui, 6. ’θ μοι’. HL ” l Cor. Il, ll. ad observantiam → ab observantia carnali ad observantiam; jam nunc Spiritalis hujus → jam nunc spiritalis hujus; Et nolite conformari huic satculo : sed reformamini renovatione sensus uestri : ιιι probetis (μιαν sit rot’untas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum ί. → Et nolite conformari huic saeculo: sed reformamini renovatione sensus vestri: ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum.; a sxcriticiis carnalibus → a sacrificiis carnalibus; recouciliandi vos Deo → reconciliandi vos Deo; corpora vestra hostium viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem , ut sit → corpora vestra hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem, ut sit; Ili cnim qui membra sua mortilicant ab incentivo libidinis et furoris, ct actus → Hi enim qui membra sua mortificant ab incentivo libidinis et furoris, et actus; Deo rationabiliter ofi‘erunt, et legem sacritlciorum → Deo rationabiliter offerunt, et legem sacrificiorum; ut ibi oaerebant vitulum → ut ibi offerebant vitulum; pro qualitate gestorum ; hac nunc in in librum Le’vitici → pro qualitate gestorum; … in librum Levitici; si libidinem vincat, il holocaustum ofi‘erat hircum → si libidinem vincat, in holocaustum offerat hircum; columbas et turtures immolet (5‘5). Sed htec, utdixi → columbas et turtures immolet. Sed haec, ut dixi; credentes in. Christo → credentes in Christo; sanctam, placetltem Deo → sanctam, placentem Deo; et dicit : .llortem less in corpore nostra circumferimus, ut et rita less Christi → et dicit: Mortem Jesu in corpore nostro circumferimus, ut et vita Jesu Christi; in alio loro dixit '°° : An nescitis quia 6M templum Dei estis → in alio loco dixit: An nescitis quia templum Dei estis; Placentem l)eo, utpote a peccatis et vitiis separatam. llam autem omnia rationabilis cultus cst Dei → Placentem Deo, utpote a peccatis et vitiis separatam. Haec autem omnia rationabilis cultus est Dei; incorporeo Deo ofl‘erri → incorporeo Deo offerri; llaec ergo ita facere → Haec ergo ita facere; Quod autem multa: sint misericordiae → Quod autem multae sint misericordiae; et sapientia: pater est, et justititn pater est, qua omnia Christus est, ita esse et misericordiamm patrem → et sapientiae pater est, et justitiae pater est, quae omnia Christus est, ita esse et misericordiarum patrem; et misericordia ipse est, misericordia: multa}, non una 160) : hoc est, sicut thesauri Sapientia: et scientia: in ipso sunt → et misericordia ipse est, misericordiae multae, non una: hoc est, sicut thesauri sapientiae et scientiae in ipso sunt; ita et misericordiae thesaurus . Gal. ut, tu, Xide homil. ιε in Debitio: num._2. Η Ms. unus, cultus Dei faiiat; si superbiam ει(. Sic ms. Regius num. 1639. Caneri vero iu ipso est → ita et misericordiae thesaurus in ipso est; corpus esse incontaminauun → corpus esse incontaminatum; nonnullos sanctormn, aliquos etiam apostolorum habuisse caujugia, mu usquequaque possumus hoc de sola vinginitate sentire, quamvis in hujuscemodi hostiishabore primunt ordinem possit → nonnullos sanctorum, aliquos etiam apostolorum habuisse conjugia, non usquequaque possumus hoc de sola virginitate sentire, quamvis in hujuscemodi hostiis habere primum ordinem possit; alia Synagoμ’, et alia unius anima: ’. → alia Synagogae, et alia unius animae.; in conjugiis positi sunt,’ et ex consensu ad tempus vacant orationi ", velut staraeorum vota solventes, si in caneris sancte agant et juste, negandi sunt corpora sua exhibere posse hostium viventem → in conjugiis positi sunt, et ex consensu ad tempus vacant orationi, velut Nazaraeorum vota solventes, si in caeteris sancte agant et juste, negandi sunt corpora sua exhibere posse hostiam viventem; vel continentimn, si aut superbia: macula, aut avaritia sordibus, aut lingua: maledicas, vel mendacii immunditia polluantur, bostiam sanctam → vel continentium, si aut superbiae macula, aut avaritiae sordibus, aut linguae maledicae, vel mendacii immunditia polluantur, hostiam sanctam; quia etin lege hostia cum olTerretur, inspiciebatur asacerdote diligentius non solum si ex mundis esset animalibus, sed ne aut. in oculo haberet vitium, autin auribus, autin pedibus, ne claudum, ce luscum → quia et in lege hostia cum offerretur, inspiciebatur a sacerdote diligentius non solum si ex mundis esset animalibus, sed ne aut in oculo haberet vitium, aut in auribus, aut in pedibus, ne claudum, ne luscum; per omnia membra discu- ο titur → per omnia membra discutitur; quae rationabiliter ollerenda est. Et nolite conformari huic smculo; sed reformamini renovatione sensus vestri, ut nrobetis quin sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum η. → quae rationabiliter offerenda est. Et nolite conformari huic saeculo; sed reformamini renovatione sensus vestri, ut probetis quae sit voluntas Dei, quod bonum, et beneplacitum, et perfectum.; Nolite ergo, inquit, conformari huic swculo. In quo. ostendit esse quamdam formam hujus smculi, et aliam esse szeculi futuri :et si qui sunt qni amant → Nolite ergo, inquit, conformari huic saeculo. In quo ostendit esse quamdam formam hujus saeculi, et aliam esse saeculi futuri: et si qui sunt qui amant; secundum fortnam sa-culi praesentis → secundum formam saeculi praesentis; et inde tit ut eos nun agnoscat → et inde fit ut eos non agnoscat; cum venit ira in cor tutan, con-formem tc faciat huic saeculo : similiter autcm et concupiscentia mala , ct avaritia. caateraque vitia quibus praesens saeculum delectatur, formam tibi seaculi → cum venit ira in cor tuum, conformem te faciat huic saeculo: similiter autem et concupiscentia mala, et avaritia, caeteraque vitia quibus praesens saeculum delectatur, formam tibi saeculi; lenitas. continentia, fides, veritas, casteraeqne virtutes habitent in sensu 645nm, coul‘ormem te luturi smculi facient, et ita pulchram anima: tua: speciem → lenitas, continentia, fides, veritas, caeteraeque virtutes habitent in sensu tuo, conformem te futuri saeculi facient, et ita pulchram animae tuae speciem; in misericordia et tide, dicat ad eam : Tota es formosa, proxima utea → in misericordia et fide, dicat ad eam: Tota es formosa, proxima mea; ab huiusmodi imagine translormati → ab huiusmodi imagine transformati; Renovatione sensus cestri.\Bcnovatur autem → Renovatione sensus vestri. Renovatur autem; per exercitia sapientiai → per exercitia sapientiae; ex Scripturarum prolicit lectione → ex Scripturarum proficit lectione; novus efilcitur.' Nescio → novus efficitur. Nescio; erga Scripturas divinas ct intelligentia spiritalis → erga Scripturas divinas et intelligentiae spiritalis; iPotest tamen lieri ut non omnis sensus iu hoc possit renovari, ut agnitione scientite dilatetur. Potesl'enim → Potest tamen fieri ut non omnis sensus in hoc possit renovari, ut agnitione scientiae dilatetur. Potest enim; Dei sapientia illuminatus. probare → Dei sapientia illuminatus, probare; Est autem revera non cujuscunque sensus. sed valde → Est autem revera non cujuscunque sensus, sed valde; Qua: sit, inquit, voluntas Dei → Quae sit, inquit, voluntas Dei; quod iu Latinis codicibus invenimus → quod in Latinis codicibus invenimus; et beneplacitum, et perlectum est : nec potest aliud velle Deus, ni‘si quod bonum est : et utique quod bonum est et perlectum → et beneplacitum, et perfectum est: nec potest aliud velle Deus, nisi quod bonum est: et utique quod bonum est et perfectum; apud Grzecos haberi → apud Graecos haberi; bona sit, et beneplucita, et perlecta. Potest autem → bona sit, et beneplacita, et perfecta. Potest autem; neque beneplacita et perlecta. Verbi causa, ut ungeretur Saul in regem fuit quidem voluntas Dei, sed non beneplacita, neque perlecta. lrascens enim populo, qui refutaverat Deum habere super se Dei lucc bona est, et beneplacita, atque perlecta; → neque beneplacita et perfecta. Verbi causa, ut ungeretur Saul in regem fuit quidem voluntas Dei, sed non beneplacita, neque perfecta. Irascens enim populo, qui refutaverat Deum habere super se … Dei haec bona est, et beneplacita, atque perfecta;; Sed jam ad sequentis convertamur. → Sed jam ad sequentia convertamur..
Cite (SBL): Origen, Comm. Rom. 9.1 (PG 14:1201b–1208a; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-commentarius-romanos/8-13/#p-9-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from Rufinus's Latin translation of Origen's lost Greek (Migne PG 14, from the library scan's OCR, slips corrected as logged; lines lost in the scan are marked and noted); no public-domain English translation exists, so each batch was checked afterwards privately against a modern translation (never quoted or copied); the Latin decides.