Expositio in Proverbia Unit 5 opening
An absurd punishment. The mind is the storehouse of the belly, the heart, and knowledge; in it are laid up all divine teachings as well as impious doctrines. Just as one who lights a lamp seeks to find something among the things stored in the pantries, so the Lord, with the light of His knowledge, searches the storehouses of human words and deeds. To those people who know the Lord’s knowledge, it is light for them. Therefore, if the Lord’s light is the Lord’s knowledge, and the Lord’s light is the breath of humanity, then the Lord’s knowledge is the breath of humanity. The demon who appears in ignorance, pretending to be something, He has named a lamp that empties the mind of good knowledges and transforms itself into an angel of light. Since, however, the Lord’s light was not chosen to be known or walked in by them, the impious reckoned ignorance as light. If they indeed held ignorance as light, then clearly they also practiced the works invented by the demon of ignorance; those who journeyed with his ignorance will be with him into the ages of ages. But those who are with the Lord’s knowledge will be with the Lord. He casts out this statement regarding the sacrifice offered through irrational beasts; for a sacrifice to God is a spirit broken in pieces. If holy and right works are the Lord’s works, and one of His works is the mind,
The mind was rightly created by God, pure and upright, and we are obligated to preserve it in that state against the evil influences that come upon us. He set the defiled and common house in opposition to the open-air corner; but if the defiled and common house is wickedness, then the open-air corner is virtue—the very angle of virtue. This is the practice of contemplation in action, touching and enlightened by the sun of righteousness. Paul also spoke well when he called the high priest of the Jews a defiled wall, to be struck blind by God. Likewise, the Savior in the Gospels called the Pharisees defiled tombs. And well did he say in verse 17.216, upon the corner: “Here lies the stone rejected by the builders, which has become the cornerstone; and this is Christ.” Now, what is common is what does not belong to the one God. Secret giving is when the right hand acts and the left hand does not know; it stirs up a strong wrath against itself on the day of judgment, the one who withholds aid from the needy. The synagogue of the giants is wickedness and ignorance; for the giants are the demons. This means that the one who strays from the path of righteousness will find rest in great sins. It is better to be solitary than to keep company with such as these; and David says: “In a desolate, impassable, and waterless land, thus have I appeared before you in the holy place.”
The earth is now a desert where virtue dwells in the soul, uninhabited by the old human passions that once dwelled there—those corrupting impulses that once ruled according to the former deceitful desires. For this reason, the devil finds no rest in it, since he wanders wearily through waterless places seeking repose, yet finds none; for he is king over all who dwell in the waters, that is, over those who rest and indulge in carnal pleasures. Again: the paths of wisdom are the sheltered dwellings of her house. If this is so, then surely the warlike, gossiping, wrathful woman is wickedness itself—the kind that makes the one who lives with her become warlike, gossipy, and irritable. Wisdom of the Lord rests in the heart of a righteous, wise person; but foolish men slander her in order to destroy her. Wisdom is a fortified city, within which the wise dwell, tearing down reasonings and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God—of which the fortified cities, says the text, are those souls subdued and conquered by impious demons and wicked men, who exalt themselves against the knowledge of God. When the wise man ascends this stronghold and sees their supposed security, he, by means of such wisdom, surrounds and overthrows it. He who guards mouth, tongue, mind, passion, and desire preserves his soul from the anguish of judgment. He himself is…
Greek
ἀναπόδιστον τιμωρίαν. Ταμιεῖα κοιλίας ἐστὶν ὁ νοῦς, ἡ καρδία, καὶ ἡ γνῶ σις, ἔνθα πάντα τὰ θεῖά τε καὶ ἀσεβῆ ἐναποτίθενται διδάγματα· ὥσπερ δέ τις λύχνον ἅψας, τῶν ἐν τοῖς ταμιείοις κειμένων εὑρεῖν τι βούλεται, οὕτως ὁ Κύ ριος τῷ φωτὶ τῆς γνώσεως αὐτοῦ ἐρευνᾷ τὰ ταμιεῖα τῶν ἐν λόγοις καὶ πράξεσιν ἀνθρώπων· τοῖς δὲ τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐπισταμένοις ἀνθρώποις, φῶς ἐστιν αὐτοῖς· εἰ οὖν τὸ φῶς τοῦ Κυρίου, ἡ γνῶσις τοῦ Κυρίου ἐστὶ, τὸ δὲ φῶς τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ πνοὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἄρα ἡ γνῶσις τοῦ Κυρίου πνοὴ τῶν ἀν θρώπων ἐστί· τὸν δὲ ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ διάβολον φαίνειν δο κοῦντα, λύχνον ὠνόμασεν ἐκκενοῦντα τὸν νοῦν τῶν ἀγαθῶν γνώσεων, καὶ μετασχηματιζόμενον εἰς ἄγγε λον φωτός· ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ φῶς τοῦ Κυρίου, οὐχ εἵλαντο γνῶναι οὐδὲ πορεύεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ, τὴν ἄγνοιαν ὡς φῶς ἐλογίζοντο οἱ ἀσεβεῖς· εἰ δὲ τὴν ἄγνοιαν ὡς φῶς εἶχον, δηλονότι καὶ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ τῆς ἀγνοίας ἐφευρε τοῦ διαβόλου ἔπραττον· οἱ δὲ τῇ ἀγνοίᾳ αὐτοῦ συμ πορευθέντες, σὺν αὐτῷ ἔσονται εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων· οἱ δὲ τῇ γνώσει τοῦ Κυρίου, σὺν τῷ Κυρίῳ. Ἐκβάλλει τὸ ῥητὸν τοῦτο τὴν διὰ τῶν ἀλόγων ζώων θυσίαν· θυσία γὰρ τῷ Θεῷ πνεῦμα συντετριμ μένον. Εἰ ἁγνὰ καὶ ὀρθὰ ἔργα Κυρίου, ἓν δὲ τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ ἐστι καὶ ὁ νοῦς, ὀρθὸς ἄρα ἐκτίσθη καὶ ἁγνὸς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁ νοῦς, καὶ ὀρθὸν ὀφείλομεν διαφυλάτ τειν αὐτὸν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐκ τῶν ἐπερχομένων ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ πονηροῦ κακῶν. Τὸν οἶκον τὸν κεκονιαμένον καὶ κοινὸν, τῇ ὑπαί θρῳ γωνίᾳ ἀντέθεικεν· εἰ δὲ ὁ οἶκος ὁ κεκονιαμένος καὶ κοινὸς, ἡ κακία ἐστὶν, ἡ ὕπαιθρος γωνία ἡ ἀρετή ἐστιν γωνία τοίνυν ὕπαιθρός ἐστιν, πρᾶξις θεωρίας ἐφαπτομένη, καὶ φωτιζομένη ὑπὸ τοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύ νης ἡλίου· καλῶς δὲ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τὸν ἀρχιερέα τῶν Ἰουδαίων, τοῖχον εἶπε κεκονιαμένον τυφθησόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐν Εὐαγγελίοις τοὺς Φα ρισαίους, τάφους εἶπε κεκονιαμένους· εὖ δὲ καὶ τὸ 17.216 ἐπὶ γωνίας εἶπεν, ἔνθα ὁ λίθος κεῖται ὁ ἀποδοκιμα σθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν οἰκοδόμων, καὶ γενόμενος κεφαλὴ γω νίας, ὅς ἐστι Χριστός· κοινὸν δέ ἐστιν, ὃ μὴ τοῦ ἑνός ἐστι Θεοῦ. ∆όσις λάθριός ἐστιν, ὃ ποιεῖ ἡ δεξιὰ, μὴ γινώσκει δὲ ἡ ἀριστερά· θυμὸν ἐγείρει κατ' αὐτοῦ ἰσχυρὸν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς κρίσεως, ὁ τῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἐνδεεῖς δώ ρων φειδόμενος. Ἡ συναγωγὴ τῶν γιγάντων, ἡ κακία καὶ ἡ ἀγνω σία ἐστίν· γίγαντες δὲ οἱ δαίμονες· τουτέστιν ἐν μεγάλαις ἁμαρτίαις ἀναπαύσεται ὁ πλανώμενος ἐξ ὁδοῦ δικαιοσύνης. Ἀγύναιον εἶναι κρεῖττον, ἢ τοιαύτῃ συνεῖναι· καὶ ὁ ∆αυΐδ φησιν· Ἐν γῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἀβάτῳ καὶ ἀν ύδρῳ, οὕτως ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ ὤφθην σοι· ἔρημος τοί νυν γῆ ἐστιν ἡ ἀρετὴν ἔχουσα ψυχὴ, καὶ μὴ ἔχουσα τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐνοικοῦντας, τοὺς φθειρο μένους κατὰ τὰς παλαιὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης· διὸ οὐδὲ εὑρίσκει ἐν αὐτῇ ἀνάπαυσιν ὁ διάβολος· εἴγε δυσχερῶς δι' ἀνύδρων τόπων ζητῶν ἀνάπαυσιν, καὶ οὐχ εὑρίσκει· αὐτὸς γὰρ βασιλεύς ἐστι πάντων τῶν ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι, τουτέστι τῶν ἐν ἀναπαύσει καὶ ἀπο λαύσει σαρκικῶν ἡδονῶν. Καὶ πάλιν· Τῆς σοφίας στεγναὶ αἱ διατριβαὶ οἴκων αὐτῆς· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκ οῦν καὶ ἡ γυνὴ ἡ μάχιμος καὶ γλωσσώδης καὶ ὀργί λος, ἡ κακία ἐστὶν, ἥτις τὸν συζῶντα αὐτῇ ποιεῖ μάχιμον καὶ γλωσσώδη καὶ ὀργίλον. Σοφία Κυρίου ἀναπαύσεται ἐν καρδίᾳ δικαίου σοφοῦ· ἄφρονες δὲ ἄνδρες διαβάλλουσιν αὐτὴν τοῦ φθεῖραι. Ἡ σοφία ἐστὶ πόλις ὀχυρὰ, ἐν ᾗ οἱ σοφοὶ κατοι κοῦσι, λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες, καὶ πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ. –Πόλεις ὀχυράς φησιν τὰς ὀχυρωθείσας καὶ κατακρατηθεί σας ψυχὰς ὑπὸ τῶν ἀσεβῶν δαιμόνων καὶ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων, τῶν ἐπαιρομένων κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ Θεοῦ· ὧν τὸ ὀχύρωμα ἐπιβὰς ὁ σοφὸς, καὶ τὴν δο κοῦσαν ἀσφάλειαν αὐτῶν, τῇ οὕτως σοφίᾳ περιφρα χθεὶς καθεῖλεν. Στόμα καὶ γλῶσσαν καὶ νοῦν, θυμὸν καὶ ἐπιθυμίαν ὃς φυλάσσει, διατηρεῖ ἐκ τῆς ἐν κρίσει θλίψεως τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ. Αὐτός ἐστι διαφόρως
About this text
Origen of Alexandria, Expositio in Proverbia (Greek).
Original English Translation of Origen’s Expositio in Proverbia — new OET from PG 13 Greek.
Catalogue & scope
Khazarzar scan
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 13 (Khazarzar) (Greek)
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.