Seeds of the virtues kept in the heart
He not only orders the earth to put forth grass, but also seed, so that it may always be able to bear fruit; not only a fruit tree, but one making fruit whose seed is in itself — that we keep the seeds of all the virtues in our heart, and from them carry out acts according to justice. Let this herb come to maturity with deeper roots in the heart, so that they bear fruit and hold seeds of what is to come.
Latin
Non solum iubet terrae proferre herbam foeni, sed et semen, ut semper fructum afferre possit; non solum lignum fructiferum, sed faciens fructum cuius semen in ipso est — omnium virtutum semina in corde nostro continere, ut ex ipsis actus secundum iustitiam geramus. Haec herba ad maturitatem veniat, altioribus in corde radicibus, ut fructum afferant et semina futurorum habeant.
About this text
Origen’s Homilia I on Genesis (Rufinus’s Latin). Complete on this page: §§1–17.
English follows Baehrens, Origenes Werke VI (GCS 29, 1920), Rufinus’s Latin of Homilia I. Heine FOTC 71 was not used as wording. This page is Homilia I §§1–17 (closeout).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Baehrens, Origenes Werke VI = GCS 29 (1920) (Latin · Homilia I §§1–17)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.