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| Prologue of Rufinus.
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Prologue of Rufinus.
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I know that very many of
the brethren, induced by their thirst for a knowledge of the
Scriptures, have requested some distinguished men, well versed in Greek
learning, to translate Origen into Latin, and so make him accessible to
Roman readers. Among these, when our brother and
colleague1913
| 1913 Jerome is the person
alluded to. | had, at the earnest
entreaty of Bishop Damasus, translated two of the Homilies on the Song
of Songs out of Greek into Latin, he prefixed so elegant and noble a
preface to that work, as to inspire every one with a most eager desire
to read and study Origen, saying that the expression, “The King
hath brought me into his chamber,”1914
was appropriate to his feelings, and declaring that while Origen in his
other works surpassed all writers, he in the Song of Songs surpassed
even himself. He promises, indeed, in that very preface, that he
will present the books on the Song of Songs, and numerous others of the
works of Origen, in a Latin translation, to Roman readers. But
he, finding greater pleasure in compositions of his own, pursues an end
that is attended with greater fame, viz., in being the author rather
than the translator of works. Accordingly we enter upon the
undertaking, which was thus begun and approved of by him, although we
cannot compose in a style of elegance equal to that of a man of such
distinguished eloquence; and therefore I am afraid lest, through my
fault, the result should follow, that that man, whom he deservedly
esteems as the second teacher of knowledge and wisdom in the Church
after the apostles, should, through the poverty of my language, appear
far inferior to what he is. And this consideration, which
frequently recurred to my mind, kept me silent, and prevented me from
yielding to the numerous entreaties of my brethren, until your
influence, my very faithful brother Macarius, which is so great,
rendered it impossible for my unskilfulness any longer to offer
resistance. And therefore, that I might not find you too grievous
an exactor, I gave way, even contrary to my resolution; on the
condition and arrangement, however, that in my translation I should
follow as far as possible the rule observed by my predecessors, and
especially by that distinguished man whom I have mentioned above, who,
after translating into Latin more than seventy of those treatises of
Origen which are styled Homilies and a considerable number also
of his writings on the apostles, in which a good many
“stumbling-blocks” are found in the original Greek, so
smoothed and corrected them in his translation, that a Latin reader
would meet with nothing which could appear discordant with our
belief. His example, therefore, we follow, to the best of our
ability; if not with equal power of eloquence, yet at least with the
same strictness of rule, taking care not to reproduce those expressions
occurring in the works of Origen which are inconsistent with and
opposed to each other. The cause of these variations we have
explained more freely in the Apologeticus, which Pamphilus wrote
in defence of the works of Origen, where we added a brief tract, in
which we showed, I think, by unmistakeable proofs, that his books had
been corrupted in numerous places by heretics and malevolent persons,
and especially those books of which you now require me to undertake the
translation, i.e., the books which may be entitled De
Principiis or De Principatibus, and which are indeed in
other respects full of obscurities and difficulties. For he there
discusses those subjects with respect to which philosophers, after
spending all their lives upon them, have been unable to discover
anything. But here our author strove, as much as in him lay, to
turn to the service of religion the belief in a Creator, and the
rational nature of created beings, which the latter had degraded to
purposes of wickedness. If, therefore, we have found anywhere in
his writings, any statement opposed to that view, which elsewhere in
his works he had himself piously laid down regarding the Trinity, we
have either omitted it, as being corrupt, and not the composition of
Origen, or we have brought it forward agreeably to the rule which we
frequently find affirmed by himself. If, indeed, in his desire to
pass rapidly on, he has, as
speaking to persons of skill and knowledge, sometimes expressed himself
obscurely, we have, in order that the passage might be clearer, added
what we had read more fully stated on the same subject in his other
works, keeping explanation in view, but adding nothing of our own, but
simply restoring to him what was his, although occurring in other
portions of his writings.
These remarks, therefore, by way of admonition, I have
made in the preface, lest slanderous individuals perhaps should think
that they had a second time discovered matter of accusation. But
let perverse and disputatious men have a care what they are
about. For we have in the meantime undertaken this heavy labour,
if God should aid your prayers, not to shut the mouths of slanderers
(which is impossible, although God perhaps will do it), but to afford
material to those who desire to advance in the knowledge of these
things. And, verily, in the presence of God the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, I adjure and beseech every one, who
may either transcribe or read these books, by his belief in the kingdom
to come, by the mystery of the resurrection from the dead, and by that
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels, that, as he
would not possess for an eternal inheritance that place where there is
weeping and gnashing of teeth, and where their fire is not quenched and
their worm dieth not, he add nothing to Scripture, and take nothing
away from it, and make no insertion or alteration, but that he compare
his transcript with the copies from which he made it, and make the
emendations and distinctions according to the letter, and not have his
manuscript incorrect or indistinct, lest the difficulty of ascertaining
the sense, from the indistinctness of the copy, should cause greater
difficulties to the readers. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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