Exhortation to Martyrdom 5
Summary: Piety toward the one God is a contest only God's people undertake; faith in the heart is not enough without confessing him with the mouth.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:6–7
Τῷ μὲν οὖν Ἀβραάμ ποτε ὑπὸ θεοῦ εἴρητο· „ἔξελθε ἐκ τῆς γῆς σου“, ἡμῖν δὲ τάχα μετʼ ὀλίγον λεχθήσεται· ἐξέλθετε ἀπὸ τῆς ὅλης γῆς· ᾧ πείθεσθαι καλὸν, ἵνα ἡμῖν ταχέως δείξῃ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, ἐν οἷς ἐστιν ἡ καλουμένη τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλεία. περὶ μὲν οὖν πολλῶν ἀρετῶν ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τὸν βίον ἀγώνων πεπληρωμένον καὶ τοὺς ἀγωνιζομένους. δόξουσι γὰρ περὶ μὲν σωφροσύνης καὶ ἕτεροι τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μερίδος ἠγωνίσθαι πολλοὶ, καὶ μετὰ ἀνδρείας ἐναποτεθνηκέναι τινὲς τηροῦντες τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ κοινοῦ δεσπότου πρόθεσιν, φρονήσεώς τε ἐπιμεμελῆσθαι οἱ περὶ τοὺς ἐξεταζομένους λόγους δεινοὶ, καὶ δικαιοσύνῃ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιδεδωκέναι οἱ δικαίως ζῆν προτεθειμένοι. καὶ στρατεύεταί γε καθʼ ἑκάστης ἀρετῆς ἤτοι „τὸ τῆς σαρκὸς φρόνημα“ ἢ καὶ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἐκτός· περὶ δὲ εὐσεβείας μόνον „τὸ ἐκλεκτὸν“ ἀγωνίζεται „γένος, τὸ βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα, τὸ ἔθνος τὸ ἅγιον, ὁ λαὸς ὁ εἰς περιποίησιν·“ οὐδὲ μέχρι τοῦ δοκεῖν δεικνύντων τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅτι, εἰ ἔστι τὰ ἀνταγωνιζόμενα τοῖς εὐσεβέσι, προτίθενται ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἀποθνῄσκειν προτιμῶντες τὸν μετʼ εὐσεβείας θάνατον τοῦ μετὰ ἀσεβείας ζῆν. καὶ ἕκαστός γε τῶν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐκλεκτοῦ γένους εἶναι θελόντων ἀκούειν πείθεται θεοῦ παντὶ καιρῷ λέγοντος, καὶ ὅτε ἐπιβουλεύουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ προφάσει τοῦ εἶναι πολύθεοι ὄντες ἄθεοι, τό· „οὐκ ἔσονταί σοι θεοὶ ἕτεροι πλὴν ἐμοῦ“ καὶ τό· „ὄνομα θεῶν ἑτέρων οὐκ ἀναμνησθήσεσθε ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν, οὐδὲ ὀνομασθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν“. διόπερ „καρδίᾳ“ μὲν ὁ θεὸς τοῖς τοιούτοις „πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην, στόματι δὲ ὁμολογεῖται“ τοῖς τοιούτοις „εἰς σωτηρίαν“, καταλαμβάνουσιν ὅτι οὔτε δικαιωθήσονται, ἐὰν μὴ οὕτω πιστεύσωσι τῷ θεῷ τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν οὕτω διακειμένης, οὔτε ἐν σωτηρίᾳ ἔσονται, ἐὰν μὴ ὁποία ἡ διάθεσις ᾖ, τοιοῦτος καὶ ὁ λόγος. ἑαυτοὺς γὰρ ἀπατῶσιν οἱ νομίζοντες ἀρκεῖν πρὸς τὸ τυχεῖν ἐν Χριστῷ τέλους τό· „καρδίᾳ γὰρ πιστεύεται εἰς δικαιοσύνην“, κἂν μὴ προσῇ τό· „στόματι δὲ ὁμολογεῖται εἰς σωτηρίαν“. καὶ ἔστι γε εἰπεῖν ὅτι μᾶλλόν ἐστι „τοῖς χείλεσι“ τιμᾶν τὴν καρδίαν „πόῤῥω“ ἔχοντα ἀπὸ θεοῦ, ἤπερ τῇ „καρδίᾳ“ τιμᾶν αὐτὸν, τοῦ στόματος μὴ ὁμολογοῦντος „εἰς σωτηρίαν“.
English · Claude translation
To Abraham it was once said by God, “Go out from your land”; but to us perhaps it will shortly be said, “Go out from the whole earth.” It is good to obey this, so that he may quickly show us the heavens, in which is what is called the kingdom of heaven. Now one can see that life is full of contests over many virtues, and full of those who contend. For many others besides those who belong to God's portion will be thought to have contended for self-control; and some to have died with courage, keeping their purpose toward the common Master; and those skilled in the arguments under examination to have cultivated prudence; and those who set themselves to live justly to have given themselves to justice. And against each virtue there wars either “the mind of the flesh” or most external things. But over piety only “the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy nation, the people for God's own possession” contends; for the rest of mankind do not show even in appearance that, if there should be things that fight against the pious, they are resolved to die for piety, preferring death with piety to life with impiety. And each of those who wish to belong to the chosen race obeys God when he hears him say at every time, even when those who under pretence of having many gods are godless plot against him: “You shall have no other gods besides me,” and, “You shall not remember the name of other gods in your hearts, nor shall it be named from your mouth.” Therefore God is “believed with the heart unto righteousness” by such people, and “confessed with the mouth unto salvation” by such people, since they understand that they will not be justified unless they so believe God with their heart so disposed, nor will they be in salvation unless their speech corresponds to their inner disposition. For those deceive themselves who think that to attain the goal in Christ it is enough that “with the heart one believes unto righteousness,” even if “with the mouth one confesses unto salvation” is not added. And one may say that it is better to honor God “with the lips” while the heart is “far” from him than to honor him with the “heart” while the mouth does not confess “unto salvation.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Gen 12:1, Rom 8:6–7 (“the mind of the flesh”), 1 Pet 2:9, Exod 20:3, Exod 23:13, Rom 10:10, and Isa 29:13 (Matt 15:8). The last sentence is a deliberate paradox: open confession matters more than inward belief left unconfessed; Origen's comparison may not be meant literally. “Portion” (μερίς) is God's allotted people (Deut 32:9).
Cite this passage
Origen, Mart. 5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-exhortatio/5/).
Plain text
Origen, Mart. 5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-exhortatio/5/).
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