18. After this preface
as to the falsification by heretics of the apostles, of both the
Clements, and of Dionysius, he at last comes to Origen; and these are
his words:
“I have shewn from his own
words and writings how he himself complains of this and deplores it: He
explains clearly in the letter which he wrote to some of his intimate
friends at Alexandria what he suffered while living here in the flesh
and in the full enjoyment of his senses, by the corruption of his books
and treatises, or by spurious editions of them.”
He subjoins a copy of this
letter; and he who implores to the heretics the falsification of
Origen’s writings himself begins by falsifying them, for he does
not translate the letter as he finds it in the Greek, and does not
convey to the Latins what Origen states in his letter. The object of
the whole letter is to assail Demetrius the Pontiff of Alexandria, and
to inveigh against the bishops throughout the world, and to tell them
that their excommunication of him is invalid; he says further that he
has no intention of retorting their evil speaking; indeed he is so much
afraid of evil speaking that he does not dare to speak evil even of the
devil; insomuch that he gave occasion to Candidus an adherent of the
errors of Valentinian to represent him falsely as saying that the devil
is of such a nature as could be saved. But our friend takes no notice
of the real purport of the letter, and makes up for Origen an argument
which he does not use. I have therefore translated a part of the
letter, beginning a little way below what has been already spoken of, and have appended it to the part which has been translated by him in a curtailed and disingenuous manner, so that the reader may perceive the object with which he suppressed the earlier part. He is contending, then, against the Bishops of the church generally, because they had judged him unworthy of its communion; and he continues as follows:
“Why need I speak of the
language in which the prophets constantly threaten and reprove the
pastors, elders, the priests and the princes? These things you can of
yourselves without my aid draw out from the Holy Scriptures, and you
may clearly see that it may well be the present time of which it is
said ‘Trust not in your friends, and
do not hope in princes,’ and that the prophecy is now gaining its
fulfilment, ‘The leaders of my people
have not known me; my sons are fools and not wise: they are wise to do
evil, but know not to do good.’ We ought to pity them, not to
hate them, to pray for them, not to curse them. For we have been
created for blessing, not for cursing. Therefore even Michael, when he disputed against the devil concerning the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a railing accusation even for so great an evil, but said; ‘The Lord rebuke thee.’ And we read something similar in Zachariah, ‘The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; the Lord which hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee.’ So also we desire that those who will not humbly accept the rebuke of their neighbours may be rebuked of the Lord. But, since Michael says, ‘The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan,’ and Zechariah says the same, the devil knows well whether the Lord rebukes him or not; and must acknowledge the manner of the rebuke.”
Then, after a passage too long
to insert here, he adds: