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| Chapter XVII. The Error of Origen a great Trial to the Church.
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Chapter XVII.
The Error of Origen a great Trial to the Church.
[42.] We said above that
in the Church of God the teacher’s error is the people’s
trial, a trial by so much the greater in proportion to the greater
learning of the erring teacher. This we showed first by the authority
of Scripture, and then by instances from Church History, of persons who
having at one time had the reputation of being sound in the faith,
eventually either fell away to some sect already in existence, or else
founded a heresy of their own. An important fact truly, useful to be
learnt, and necessary to be remembered, and to be illustrated and
enforced again and again, by example upon example, in order that all
true Catholics may understand that it behoves them with the Church to
receive Teachers, not with Teachers to desert the faith of the
Church.
[43.] My belief is, that among many instances of
this sort of trial which might be produced, there is not one to be
compared with that of Origen,481
| 481 Origen was born of
Christian parents, at Alexandria, about the year 186. His father,
Leonidas, suffered martyrdom in the persecution under Severus, in 202;
and the family estate having been confiscated, his mother, with six
younger children, became dependent upon him for her support. At the age
of eighteen he was appointed by the bishop Demetrius over the
Catechetical School of Alexandria, the duties of which place he
discharged with eminent ability and success. He remained a layman till
the age of forty-three, when he was admitted to priest’s orders
at Cæsarea, greatly to the displeasure of Demetrius, by whose
hand, according to the Church’s rule, the office ought to have
been conferred, and he was in consequence banished from Alexandria.
Returning to Cæsarea, he taught there with great reputation, and
had many eminent persons among his disciples. He suffered much in the
Decian persecution in 250, when he was thrown into prison and subjected
to severe tortures. His works, as Vincentius says, were very numerous,
including among them the Hexapla, a revised edition of the Hebrew
Scriptures and of the Septuagint version, together with three other
versions, the Hebrew being set forth in both Hebrew and Greek
characters. His writings were corrupted in many instances, so that, as
Vincentius says, opinions were often imputed to him which he would not
have acknowledged. He died in his sixty-ninth year at Tyre, and was
buried there. | in whom there
were
many things so
excellent, so unique, so admirable, that antecedently any one would
readily deem that implicit faith was to be placed all his assertions.
For if the conversation and manner of life carry authority, great was
his industry, great his modesty, his patience, his endurance; if his
descent or his erudition, what more noble than his birth of a house
rendered illustrious by martyrdom? Afterwards, when in the cause of
Christ he had been deprived not only of his father, but also of all his
property, he attained so high a standard in the midst of the straits of
holy poverty, that he suffered several times, it is said, as a
Confessor. Nor were these the only circumstances connected with him,
all of which afterwards proved an occasion of trial. He had a genius so
powerful, so profound, so acute, so elegant, that there was hardly any
one whom he did not very far surpass. The splendour of his learning,
and of his erudition generally, was such that there were few points of
divine philosophy, hardly any of human which he did not thoroughly
master. When Greek had yielded to his industry, he made himself a
proficient in Hebrew. What shall I say of his eloquence, the style of
which was so charming, so soft, so sweet, that honey rather than words
seemed to flow from his mouth! What subjects were there, however
difficult, which he did not render clear and perspicuous by the force
of his reasoning? What undertakings, however hard to accomplish, which
he did not make to appear most easy? But perhaps his assertions rested
simply on ingeniously woven argumentation? On the contrary, no
teacher ever used more proofs drawn from Scripture. Then I suppose he
wrote little? No man more, so that, if I mistake not, his writings not
only cannot all be read through, they cannot all be found;482
| 482 “Quis
nostrum,” says St. Jerome, “potest tanta legere quanta ille
conscripsit.”—Hieron. ad Pam. et
Occan. | for that nothing might be wanting to his
opportunities of obtaining knowledge, he had the additional advantage
of a life greatly prolonged.483
| 483 He died, as was
said in the preceding note, in his sixty-ninth year. | But perhaps he
was not particularly happy in his disciples? Who ever more so? From his
school came forth doctors, priests, confessors, martyrs, without
number.484
| 484 Among these were
Gregory Thaumaturgus, Bishop of NeoCæsarea in Pontus, and
Firmilian, Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia. | Then who can express how much he was
admired by all, how great his renown, how wide his influence? Who was
there whose religion was at all above the common standard that did not
hasten to him from the ends of the earth? What Christian did not
reverence him almost as a prophet; what philosopher as a master? How
great was the veneration with which he was regarded, not only by
private persons, but also by the Court, is declared by the histories
which relate how he was sent for by the mother of the Emperor
Alexander,485
moved by the
heavenly wisdom with the love of which she, as he, was inflamed. To
this also his letters bear witness, which, with the authority which he
assumed as a Christian Teacher, he wrote to the Emperor
Philip,486
| 486 These are St.
Jerome’s words, from whose book, De Viris illustribus c.
54, Vincentius’s account of Origen is taken. The vexed question
of Philip’s claim to be ranked as a Christian is discussed by
Tillemont.—Histoire des
Empereurs, T. iii. pp. 494 sqq. | the first Roman prince that was a
Christian. As to his incredible learning, if any one is unwilling to
receive the testimony of Christians at our hands, let him at least
accept that of heathens at the hands of philosophers. For that impious
Porphyry says that when he was little more than a boy, incited by his
fame, he went to Alexandria, and there saw him, then an old man, but a
man evidently of so great attainments, that he had reached the summit
of universal knowledge.
[44.] Time would fail me to recount, even in a
very small measure, the excellencies of this man, all of which,
nevertheless, not only contributed to the glory of religion, but also
increased the magnitude of the trial. For who in the world would
lightly desert a man of so great genius, so great learning, so great
influence, and would not rather adopt that saying, That he would rather
be wrong with Origen, than be right with others.487
| 487 Errare malo
cum Platone quam cum istis vera sentire.—Cicero, Tuscul.
Quæst. 1. |
What shall I say more? The result was that very many
were led astray from the integrity of the faith, not by any human
excellencies of this so great man, this so great doctor, this so great
prophet, but, as the event showed, by the too perilous trial which he
proved to be. Hence it came to pass, that this Origen, such and so
great as he was, wantonly abusing the grace of God, rashly following
the bent of his own genius, and placing overmuch confidence in himself,
making light account of the ancient simplicity of the Christian
religion, presuming that he knew more than all the world besides,
despising the traditions of
the Church and the determinations of the ancients, and interpreting
certain passages of Scripture in a novel way, deserved for himself the
warning given to the Church of God, as applicable in his case as in
that of others, “If there arise a prophet in the midst of
thee,”… “thou shalt not hearken to the words of that
prophet,”…“because the Lord your God doth make trial
of you, whether you love Him or not.”488
Truly, thus of a sudden to seduce the
Church which was devoted to him, and hung upon him through admiration
of his genius, his learning, his eloquence, his manner of life and
influence, while she had no fear, no suspicion for herself,—thus,
I say, to seduce the Church, slowly and little by little, from the old
religion to a new profaneness, was not only a trial, but a great
trial.489
| 489 “The great
Origen died after his many labors in peace. His immediate pupils were
saints and rulers in the Church. He has the praise of St. Athanasius,
St. Basil, and St. Gregory Nazianzen, and furnishes materials to St.
Ambrose and St. Hilary; yet, as time proceeded a definite heterodoxy
was the growing result of his theology, and at length, three hundred
years after his death, he was condemned, and, as has generally been
considered, in an Œcumenical
Council.”—Newman on
Development, p. 85, First Edition. |
[45.] But some one will say, Origen’s books have
been corrupted. I do not deny it; nay, I grant it readily. For that
such is the case has been handed down both orally and in writing, not
only by Catholics, but by heretics as well. But the point is, that
though himself be not, yet books published under his name are, a great
trial, which, abounding in many hurtful blasphemies, are both read and
delighted in, not as being some one else’s, but as being believed
to be his, so that, although there was no error in Origen’s
original meaning, yet Origen’s authority appears to be an
effectual cause in leading people to embrace error. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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