{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p class=\"c005\">Reader, remember me in your prayers, that we\r\ntoo may deserve to be made emulators of the\r\nspirit. The two former books on <i>The Principles</i>\r\nI translated not only at your instance, but even\r\nunder pressure from you during the days of Lent;<a id=\"r348\"></a><a class=\"c007 pginternal\" href=\"#f348\"><sup>[348]</sup></a> but\r\nas you, my devout brother Macarius, were not only living\r\nnear me during that time, but had more leisure at your\r\ncommand than now, so I also worked the harder; whereas I\r\nhave been longer in explaining these two latter books, seeing\r\nyou came less frequently from a distant extremity of the\r\ncity to urge on my labour. Now if you remember what I\r\nwarned you of in my former preface,—that certain persons\r\nwould be indignant, if they did not hear that we spoke some\r\nevil of Origen,—that, I imagine, you have forthwith experienced,\r\nhas come to pass. But if those demons<a id=\"r349\"></a><a class=\"c007 pginternal\" href=\"#f349\"><sup>[349]</sup></a> who excite\r\nthe tongues of men to slander were so infuriated by that\r\nwork, in which he had not as yet fully unveiled their secret\r\nproceedings, what, think you, will be the case in this, in\r\nwhich he will expose all those dark and hidden ways, by\r\nwhich they creep into the hearts of men, and deceive weak\r\nand unstable souls? You will immediately see all things\r\nthrown into confusion, seditions stirred up, clamours raised\r\nthroughout the whole city, and that individual summoned to\r\nreceive sentence of condemnation who endeavoured to dispel\r\nthe diabolical darkness of ignorance by means of the light\r\nof the gospel lamp.<a id=\"r350\"></a><a class=\"c007 pginternal\" href=\"#f350\"><sup>[350]</sup></a> Let such things, however, be lightly\r\n<span class=\"pageno\" id=\"Page_155\">155</span>esteemed by him who is desirous of being trained in divine\r\nlearning, while retaining in its integrity the rule of the\r\nCatholic faith.<a id=\"r351\"></a><a class=\"c007 pginternal\" href=\"#f351\"><sup>[351]</sup></a> I think it necessary, however, to remind\r\nyou that the principle observed in the former books has been\r\nobserved also in these, viz. not to translate what appeared\r\ncontrary to Origen’s other opinions, and to our own belief,\r\nbut to pass by such passages as being interpolated and forged\r\nby others. But if he has appeared to give expression to any\r\nnovelties regarding rational creatures (on which subject the\r\nessence of our faith does not depend), for the sake of discussion\r\nand of adding to our knowledge, when perhaps it was\r\nnecessary for us to answer in such an order some heretical\r\nopinions, I have not omitted to mention these either in the\r\npresent or preceding books, unless when he wished to repeat\r\nin the following books what he had already stated in the\r\nprevious ones, when I have thought it convenient, for the\r\nsake of brevity, to curtail some of these repetitions. Should\r\nany one, however, peruse these passages from a desire to\r\nenlarge his knowledge, and not to raise captious objections,\r\nhe will do better to have them expounded by persons of skill.\r\nFor it is an absurdity to have the fictions of poetry and the\r\nridiculous plays of comedy<a id=\"r352\"></a><a class=\"c007 pginternal\" href=\"#f352\"><sup>[352]</sup></a> interpreted by grammarians, and\r\nto suppose that without a master and an interpreter any one\r\nis able to learn those things which are spoken either of God\r\nor of the heavenly virtues, and of the whole universe of\r\nthings, in which some deplorable error either of pagan philosophers\r\nor of heretics is confuted; and the result of which\r\nis, that men would rather rashly and ignorantly condemn\r\nthings that are difficult and obscure, than ascertain their\r\nmeaning by diligence and study.</p>","headings":["The Writings of Origen, Vol. 1 of 2","ORIGEN DE PRINCIPIIS.","BOOK III.","PREFACE OF RUFINUS."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg70561-paragraph-195"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"5a049b446d91c7e27792e3f5bc79d9fa9e19cfa3eee740d27e4e0bb099ca91cf","edition_title":"The writings of Origen, Vol. 1 (of 2)","edition_translators":["Frederick Crombie"],"edition_year":1869,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg70561-f348","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Project Gutenberg metadata: Public domain in the USA. Existing 1869 English translation; translator died 1889. Electronic transcription subject to Project Gutenberg reuse terms.","source_anchor":"f348","source_ebook":70561,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\" id=\"f348\">\n<p class=\"c006\"><span class=\"label\"><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#r348\">348</a>. </span><span lang=\"la\">Diebus quadragesimæ.</span></p>\n</div>","source_sha256":"de125e213d16053354f22b34a1c8d477ac23f201e660e4f4841b2ed7e05bb367","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70561/pg70561-images.html#f348","text_sha256":"474ade1c1bcc20cc2f79c29ee78095b22eda7cbe5215aabe2ff2a67fe43c9a54","verified":false,"work_id":null}