The Word’s strength grows or fails in each soul
Let us see whether, the Word himself giving, we can also say something clearer than what has been said toward 'My strength failed among those who curse me.' 'There was the true light, which enlightens every human coming into the world.' 'The true light' is the Son of God, 'which enlightens every human coming into the world.' And whoever is rational shares in the true light, and every human is rational. So of all humans who share in the Word, in some the strength of the Word has grown, and in some it fails.
If you see a passionate and sinful soul, you will see there the strength of the Word failing; but if you see a holy and righteous soul, you will see the strength of the Word bearing fruit day by day, and you will fit what is said about Jesus to the righteous. For not by himself alone 'did Jesus advance in wisdom and stature and grace with God and humans,' but also in each of those who receive the advance in wisdom, stature, and grace, Jesus advances 'in wisdom, stature, and grace with God and humans.' So the Word, the Son of God, who is in the one saying 'Woe is me, mother' and what follows, says that 'My strength failed among those who curse me.'
Whoever curses the Word at once receives the punishment for cursing the Word, for blaming Jesus' teaching; for Jesus' strength fails in such a one, and there is no strength of Word in him. And again from the contrary: if you bless Jesus and accept him, his strength suffers the opposite of what it suffered among those who curse. For as there it failed among those who curse, so here it grows among those who bless.
Greek
Ἴδωμεν εἰ αὐτοῦ διδόντος τοῦ λόγου δυνάμεθα καὶ ἄλλο σαφέστερόν τι παρὰ τὰ εἰρημένα εἰπεῖν λόγου δυνάμεθα καὶ ἄλλο σαφέστερόν τι παρὰ τὸ εἰρημένα εἰπεῖν εἰς τὸ «ἡ ἰσχύς μου ἐξέλιπεν ἐν τοῖς καταρωμένοις με. «ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον. «τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινὸν« ὁ υἱός ἐστι τοῦ θεοῦ, «ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον. καὶ ὅς ἐστι λογικός, μετέχει τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτός, λογικὸς δέ ἐστι πᾶς ἄνθρωπος. τῶν οὖν μετεχόντων λόγου πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐν τισὶ μὲν ἡ ἰσχὺς τοῦ λόγου ηὔξησεν, ἐν τισὶ δὲ ἐκλείπει.
ἐὰν μὲν ἴδῃς ψυχὴν ἐμπαθῆ καὶ ἁμαρτωλόν, ὄψει ἐκεῖ τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ λόγου ἐπιλείπουσαν· ἐὰν δὲ ἴδῃς ψυχὴν ἁγίαν καὶ δικαίαν, ὄψει τὴν ἰσχὺν τοῦ λόγου ὁσημέραι καρποφοροῦσαν, καὶ τὸ εἰρημένον περὶ Ἰησοῦ ἐφαρμόσεις τοῖς δικαίοις. οὐ γὰρ καθ᾿ αὑτὸν μόνον «ὁ Ἰησοῦς προέκοπτεν ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις«, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν ἑκάστῳ τῶν τὴν προκοπὴν ἐν σοφίᾳ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παραδεχομένων προκόπτει «Ἰησοῦς ἐν σοφίᾳ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις. λέγει οὖν ὁ λόγος, ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, ὁ ὢν ἐν τῷ εἰπόντι «οἴμοι ἐγώ, μῆτερ« καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ὅτι «ἡ ἰσχύς μου ἐξέλιπεν ἐν τοῖς καταρωμένοις με.
ὅς ἂν καταράσηται τῷ λόγῳ, οὗτος εὐθέως λαμβάνει τὴν κολασιν ἐπὶ τῷ καταράσασθαι τῷ λόγῳ, ἐπὶ τῷ μέμψασθαι τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ Ἰησοῦ· ἡ γὰρ ἰσχὺς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐκλείπει ἐν τῷ τοιούτῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἰσχὺς λόγου ἐν αὐτῷ. ὡς πάλιν ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου, ἐὰν εὐλογήσῃς Ἰησοῦν καὶ παραδέξῃ αὐτόν, ἡ ἰσχὺς αὐτοῦ τὸ ἐναντίον πάσχει οὗ πέπονθεν ἐν τοῖς παραδέξῃ αὐτόν, αὐτόν· ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖ ἐξέλιπεν ἐν τοῖς καταρωμένοις, οὕτως ἐνταῦθα αὔξει ἐν τοῖς εὐλογοῦσι.
About this text
Origen on Jeremiah. Twenty Greek homilies survive. This page publishes the Pass B English for Homilies 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Homily 8 remains a machine draft and is not shipped yet. The rest of the volume is still being translated.
English follows Erich Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901). A second transcription of that same edition (First1KGreek TEI) was checked; where the TEI drops or garbles a line, the page image wins. This is a reading translation for study, not a new critical edition of the Greek. Homilies that survive only in Jerome’s Latin are not on this page yet. When they are, they will be marked at those homilies.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Klostermann, Origenes Werke III (GCS, 1901) (Greek · Homilies 1–20 Greek (this page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20))
- Checked print Archive.org page image and DjVu of GCS III (Greek · Same print as the copy-text)
- Checked print First1KGreek TEI of GCS III (Greek · Same print; encoding errors deferred to the page image)
Where the prints differ
- Homily 1.1 — The TEI omits Ἑβραῖον. English follows the GCS page image: Jonah is “a Hebrew prophet.”
- Homily 1.5 — The TEI dropped Ἰσαάκ. English follows the GCS page image: Isaac born of promise.
- Homily 1.11 — The TEI/OCR of this line is garbled. English follows the GCS page image and the quoted verse: “I have sanctified you.”
- Homily 3.2 — The TEI gaps Matthew 5:45 (sun on the evil and [gap]; rain on [gap] and the unjust). English follows the Gospel wording.
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.