Thanksgiving Address to Origen · §8 · Gregory Thaumaturgus

Natural science, geometry and astronomy

Origen leads them through natural science, geometry and astronomy toward the highest things.

And he did not train only that part which it falls to dialectic alone to set right. There was also the lowly part of our soul. We were awestruck at the mighty works and marvels and the varied, all-wise craftsmanship of the world; we marveled without reason and cowered in astonishment, and like animals without reason we did not know how to reason about any of it at all. This part he roused and set upright by other studies, those of nature. He made clear each thing that exists and distinguished it, and with great wisdom worked his account down to the very first elements; he went through the nature of the whole and of each part, and the many kinds of turning and change in the things of the world. At last, carrying us along by his clear teaching and by the arguments, both those he had learned and those he had found out for himself, about the sacred ordering of the universe and its blameless nature, he set in our souls a reasoned wonder in place of an unreasoning one. Natural science, which all find most delightful, teaches this lofty and divine study.

Why should I speak of the sacred studies, geometry, dear to all and beyond dispute, and astronomy, which travels the heights? He stamped each of these on our souls, by teaching them, or by reminding us of them, or I do not know what I ought to call it. Geometry he made the unshakable base of absolutely everything, a sure foundation; and through astronomy he led us up to the highest things, making heaven passable for us by each of the two studies, as by a ladder reaching up to heaven.

Greek

Καὶ μὴ τοῦθ', ὅπερ εἶδος διαλεκτικὴ κατορθοῦν μόνη εἴληχε. τὸ δέ γε πάλιν ταπεινὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἡμῶν, ἐκτεθαμβημένων μὲν τῇ μεγαλουργίᾳ καὶ θαυματουργίᾳ καὶ ποικίλῃ καὶ πανσόφῳ δημιουργίᾳ τῇ τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ τεθαυμακότων μὲν ἀλόγως, ὑποπτηκότων δὲ ὑπὸ ἐκπλήξεως· εἰδότων δὲ οὔθ' ὁτιοῦν ἐπιλογίσασθαι δίκην ἀλόγων ζώων, ἐξεγείρων καὶ ἀνορθῶν μαθήμασιν ἑτέροις τοῖς φυσικοῖς· σαφηνίζων ἕκαστα τῶν ὄντων καὶ διακρίνων, καὶ μάλα σοφῶς εἰς τὰ πρώτιστα στοιχεῖα κατεπιπλέκων τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ ἐπιπορευόμενος τήν τε τῶν ὅλων καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ μέρους ἑκάστου φύσιν, τροπήν τε τὴν πολυειδῆ καὶ μεταβολὴν τῶν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ· ἕως φέρων ὑπὸ σαφοῦς τῆς παρ' αὐτοῦ διδασκαλίας καὶ λόγων, ὧν τε ἔμαθεν ὧν τε ἐξεύρετο περὶ τῆς τῶν ὅλων οἰκονομίας τῆς ἱερᾶς καὶ φύσεως τῆς ἀμωμήτου, ἀντὶ ἀλόγου λογικὸν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἐγκατέθετο θαῦμα. τοῦθ' ὃ δὴ μάθημα ὑψηλὸν καὶ ἔνθεον ὄν, ἡ ἐρασμιωτάτη πᾶσιν ἐκδιδάσκει φυσιολογία. τί δεῖ λέγειν τὰ τῶν ἱερῶν μαθημάτων, γεωμετρίαν μὲν τὴν πᾶσι φίλην καὶ ἀναμφισβήτητον, καὶ ἀστρονομίαν τὴν μετεωροπόρον; ἃ δὴ ἕκαστα ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἐνετυποῦτο διδάσκων, ἢ ἀναμιμνήσκων, ἢ οὐκ οἶδ' ὅ,τι χρὴ λέγειν· τὴν μέν, ὡς ὑποβάθραν πάντων ἁπλῶς ποιησάμενος οὖσαν ἄσειστον, τὴν γεωμετρίαν, καὶ κρηπῖδα τινὰ ἀσφαλῆ· ἀνάγων δὲ καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἀνωτάτω διὰ τῆς ἀστρονομίας, ὥσπερ διὰ κλίμακός τινος οὐρανομήκους ἑκατέρου τοῦ μαθήματος, βατὸν ἡμῖν τὸν οὐρανὸν παρασκευάσας.

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About this text

Gregory's farewell speech to his teacher Origen: how a pagan boy bound for law school in Berytus was led to Caesarea, how Origen taught him logic, natural science, ethics and the reading of Scripture, and his grief at leaving. A fresh English translation of the whole address.

Gregory Thaumaturgus (c. 213–c. 270) wrote this address to his teacher Origen. The speech is an expression of thanks and praise, though Gregory feels inadequate to the task of honoring his teacher.

The occasion is Gregory's farewell to Origen's school at Caesarea. He begins by explaining that he has neither spoken nor written for eight years, and has only listened to philosophers who value accurate investigation over polished speech. He then tells how a guardian angel led him, a pagan boy bound for law studies in Berytus, to Origen, and how Origen trained him in logic, natural science, ethics and the reading of Scripture. He ends by lamenting his departure and asking Origen to pray for him.

A reader will meet Gregory himself as the speaker, and Origen as the subject of the speech. Origen is described as a man who appears human, but to those who can perceive the greatness of his character and habits, seems endowed with greater and nearly divine ornaments.

The opening section (to the point where Gregory turns to his subject) was translated from the Latin column of the Opera omnia print (Paris, 1622). Everything after it, to the closing prayer, was translated from that print's Greek column, read from the page images; the facing Latin was used to settle damaged or abbreviated words. Where the print is hard to construe, a few readings follow Koetschau's edition (1894); each one is named in the translator notes. The older Ante-Nicene Fathers English was used only as a sense check for the opening section.

Printed text used

Translated from Opera omnia, Greek and Latin (Paris: Sonnius, Morel and Cramoisy, 1622), page images (Greek and Latin · Whole address: Latin column for section 1, Greek column for sections 2.1-19)
Translated from Latin of the opening section (Latin · Section 1)
Also checked DjVu text of the same print (Latin and Greek (machine-read text) · Opening)

Where the prints differ

Section 1 — Translated from the Latin column; the Greek of this opening was not used. Long-s and column joins expanded (ductu; nec aut scripsi; historiamve; arte nostra); the editor's argument and notes left out.
Sections 5.1, 5.3 and 6.2 — Abbreviated words read from the page images and the facing Latin: 'father' (πατρός), 'toward our sister' (πρὸς τὴν ἀδελφήν), 'through the whole of this life' (διὰ παντός), 'handing over his charge' (τὴν οἰκονομίαν παραδιδούς), 'with difficulty' (δυσχερῶς).
Section 6.3 — The print's doubtful participle (βλέψαν) is rendered with Koetschau's reading βλάψαν ('without doing it any harm').
Sections 7.2 and 8 — The print runs one sentence across the break; it is translated once, at the start of section 8, where Koetschau begins chapter 8.

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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