Better to depart and be with Christ
Origen went on: So the heart of the fool is lost, and it is said, Hear me, you who have lost the heart, as the blood is poured out and the vital power of the soul.
If the soul has been understood, and understood according to the inner man, and it has been understood that in that one is the 'according to the image,' (Philippians 1:23) it is clear that Paul says well: For it is better to depart and to be with Christ. Before the resurrection the righteous man is with Christ, and in that very soul he lives with Christ. For this reason: For it is better to depart and to be with Christ.
But according to you who say that the soul lies in the tomb with the body, it has not gone out from the body, it does not rest, it has not come to be in the paradise of God, it does not rest in Abraham's bosom. And according to you who say such things, it is not better to depart and to be with Christ; for he is not with Christ at the moment of departing, if the soul is blood. If the soul lies in the tombs, how can it be with Christ?
But according to me and the word of God, the soul that has departed from the labors, that has departed from the sweats, that has been released from the body, that can say, Now you release your servant, Master, in peace, goes out in peace and rests with Christ. So Abraham's soul heard: And you shall go to your fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age. He goes away to the fathers. Which fathers? About whom Paul says: For this reason I bend my knees to the Father, from whom every family (Luke 16:22) (Luke 2:29) (Genesis 15:15) (Luke 23:43).
Greek
καὶ ἡ δύναμις ἡ ζωτικὴ τῆς ψυχῆς. Εἰ νενόηται ἡ ψυχή, καὶ νενόηται κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, καὶ νενόηται ὅτι ἐν ἐκείνῃ ἐστὶν τὸ «κατ' εἰκόνα», δῆλον ὅτι καλῶς ὁ Παῦλος λέγει· «Κάλλιον γὰρ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι.». Πρὸ τῆς ἀναστάσεως σὺν Χριστῷ ἐστιν ὁ δίκαιος καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ψυχῇ ζῇ μετὰ Χριστοῦ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο «κάλλιον γὰρ ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι».
Κατὰ δὲ ὑμᾶς τοὺς λέγοντας ὅτι ἡ ψυχὴ κεῖται ἐν τῷ μνημείῳ μετὰ τοῦ σώματος, οὐκ ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, οὐκ ἀναπαύεται, οὐ γέγονεν ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐκ ἀναπαύεται ἐν κόλποις Ἀβραάμ· κατὰ δὲ ὑμᾶς τοὺς τὰ τοσαῦτα λέγοντας οὐ «κάλλιον ἀναλῦσαι καὶ σὺν Χριστῷ εἶναι»· οὐ γὰρ σὺν Χριστῷ ἐστιν ἅμα τῷ ἀναλῦσαι, εἰ ἡ ψυχὴ αἷμα.
Εἰ ἡ ψυχὴ κεῖται ἐν τοῖς μνημείοις, πῶς δύναται «εἶναι σὺν Χριστῷ»; Κατὰ δὲ ἐμὲ καὶ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἡ ἀναλύσασα ἀπὸ τῶν καμάτων, ἡ ἀναλύσασα ἀπὸ τῶν ἱδρώτων ψυχή, ἡ ἀπολυθεῖσα τοῦ σώματος, ἡ δυναμένη λέγειν «Νῦν ἀπολύεις τὸν δοῦλόν σου, δέσποτα, μετ' εἰρήνης», ἐξέρχεται ἐν εἰρήνῃ καὶ μετὰ Χριστοῦ ἀναπαύεται. Οὕτως ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ ἤκουσεν· «Σὺ δὲ ἀπελεύσει πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας σου μετ' εἰρήνης τραφεὶς ἐν γήρει καλῷ.». Ἀπέρχεται πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας. Ποίους
About this text
Bishops examine Heraclides on the Father, the Son, and the soul. Gaps in the Greek are marked, not filled.
English follows the Greek of the Toura dialogue in the Scherer tradition, from Documenta Catholica Omnia. Gaps in the papyrus are marked, not filled. Sources Chrétiennes 67 was not used as copy-text.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Scherer tradition via Documenta Catholica Omnia (Greek · Dialogue with Heraclides)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.