Origen (Ὠριγένης) was born in Alexandria around 185 and died in Tyre around 253. He wrote numerous biblical commentaries and was a point of reference for later commentators, both in the Greek and Latin worlds. The Cappadocian Fathers, Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa drew on his exegesis, and Ambrose transmitted it to the Latin world and to St. Augustine. It should be noted that the Cappadocian Fathers Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus valued the importance of Origen’s exegetical approach so highly that they compiled a “Philokalia,” a collection of texts they particularly loved from Origen’s various works, especially those texts which, defending the divine inspiration of Scripture, opposed Gnostic or overly “literalist” ans simplistic interpretations.
For a more comprehensive introduction to the life, works, and doctrine of Origen, see the two audiences of Pope Benedict XVI dedicated to him:
http://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070425.html
http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/it/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070502.html
[Note: In 553, Emperor Justinian condemned certain Gnostic interpretations that some monks, known as Origenists, had introduced into Origen’s work in the wake of the monk Evagrius Ponticus (346-399). Evagrius and his Origenist disciples had already aroused strong opposition in the 4th century. The question of the introduction of Gnostic theses into Origen’s work has been studied in depth in the work of Antoine Guillaumont: Les « Kephalaia gnostica » d’Évagre le Pontique et l’histoire de l’origénisme chez les Grecs et les Syriens, Paris, Seuil, 1962.
Unfortunately, the Commentary on the Book of Genesis has been lost, but some homilies on this book have been handed down by Rufinus of Aquileia (c. 345 in Concordia Sagittaria, Italy – c. 411 in Messina, Italy). However, in the Commentary on the Gospel of John there is a long explanation, about fifty pages long, on the first word of the Gospel: ἀρχὴ (arkhế).
For an introduction to the commentaries on Genesis 1:1, see the page Genesis 1:1 In the head of God – Bereshit
For the Greek lexicon (arkhế, lógos, génesis) see: Lexicon of the commentaries on Genesis 1:1
Here are the first verses of Genesis and the Gospel according to John that are at the origin of Origen’s commentary and that identify Christ with the lógos of God the creator, through whom, in arkhế, heaven and earth came into existence.
The verses are presented here and translated into the Greek and Latin versions found in Origen’s Greek text and in Origen’s Latin text transmitted by Rufinus, without taking into account other possible readings and textual variants:
GENESIS, chapter 1, verses 1 and 3
1:1 בְּרֵאשִׁית, בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים, אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם, וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ
᾿Εν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.
Translation of the Greek text: In arkhế God made the heaven and the earth.
1,3 וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, יְהִי אוֹר; וַיְהִי-אוֹר.
καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεός Γενηθήτω φῶς. καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς.
And God said, “Let the light be generated.” And the light was generated.
GOSPEL according to Saint John, chapter 1, verses 1-4
1,1 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος.
In arkhế was the lógos, and the lógos was with God, and the lógos was God.
In the beginning was the lógos, and the lógos was with God, and the Word was God.
2 οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν.
This [lógos] was in arkhế with God.
hoc erat in principio apud Deum
3 πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν ὃ γέγονεν
All things came to being through him, and without him nothing came to being of what has to being.
Omnia per ipsum facta sunt et sine ipso factum est nihil quod factum est
4 ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων·
in him was life, and the life was the light of men.
in ipso vita erat et vita erat lux hominum
5 καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.
and the light appears in the darkness, and the darkness didn’t comprehend it [also: grasp or stop it].
et lux in tenebris lucet et tenebrae eam non conprehenderunt.
Commentary by Origen on the Gospel according to John
Greek text in J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, Greek series, Volume 14
Book 1, 14, 90 ff.
14.90. Οὐ μόνον Ἕλληνες πολλά φασι σημαινόμενα εἶναι ἀπὸ τῆς «ἀρχῆς» προσηγορίας· ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἴ τις τηρήσαι συνάγων πάντοθεν τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα καὶ ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάζων βούλοιτο κατανοεῖν ἐν ἑκάστῳ τόπῳ τῶν γραφῶν ἐπὶ τίνος τέτακται, εὑρήσει καὶ κατὰ τὸν θεῖον λόγον τὸ πολύσημον τῆς φωνῆς.
It is not only the Greeks who say that many meanings can be deduced from the word “arkhế”: in fact, if someone studies this word and wants to understand it by deducing with application and drawing interpretations from every part, in every passage of the Scriptures, he will also find in the divine word the polysemy of this term.
Note 1 at the bottom of the page: Text by Aristotle on arkhế.
91. Ἡ μὲν γάρ τις ὡς μεταβάσεως, αὕτη δέ ἐστιν ἡ ὡς ὁδοῦ καὶ μήκους· ὅπερ δηλοῦται ἐκ τοῦ “Ἀρχὴ ὁδοῦ ἀγαθῆς τὸ ποιεῖν τὰ δίκαια.”
In fact, one of these [meanings of the word arkhế] refers to movement (μεταβάσεως metabáseōs), which is that which refers to the path and its length: as appears from this: “The arkhế of the good path is to do what is right.”
[…]
95. Ἔστι δὲ «ἀρχὴ» καὶ ἡ ὡς γενέσεως, ἣ δόξαι ἂν ἐπὶ τοῦ «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν»
There is also an arkhế in reference to genesis (γενέσεως genéseōs), which appears in this context: “In arkhế God made heaven and earth.”
[…]
101. Κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ τὸ ὡς γενέσεως σημαινόμενον τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς σοφίας ἐν παροιμίαις λεγόμενον ἐκδέξασθαι δυνησόμεθα· «Ὁ θεός, γάρ φησιν, ἔκτισέν με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ». Δύναται μέντοι γε καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ πρῶτον ἀνάγεσθαι, τουτέστι τὸ ὡς ὁδοῦ, διὰ τὸ λέγεσθαι «Ὁ θεὸς ἔκτισέν με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ».
We can deduce the meaning of arkhế as genesis from this and also from what Wisdom says in the book of Proverbs (8:22): “For God created me (ἔκτισεν), arkhế of the paths [leading] to his works.” On the other hand, it is also possible to interpret it in the first sense, that of way, through what it says: “The Lord has generated me, arkhế of his ways.”
102. Οὐκ ἀτόπως δὲ καὶ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεὸν ἐρεῖ τις ἀρχὴν σαφῶς προπίπτων, ὅτι ἀρχὴ υἱοῦ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ἀρχὴ δημιουργημάτων ὁ δημιουργὸς καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς ἀρχὴ τῶν ὄντων ὁ θεός. Παραμυθήσεται δὲ διὰ τοῦ «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος», λόγον νοῶν τὸν υἱόν, παρὰ τὸ εἶναι ἐν τῷ πατρὶ λεγόμενον εἶναι ἐν ἀρχῇ.
It is not inappropriate for someone to say that the God of all things is clearly arkhế, deducing that the arkhế of the son is the father and the arkhế of what is created is the creator (δημιουργὸς dēmiourgós) and that God is the arkhế of beings. This will be confirmed by this: “In arkhế was the lógos” (John 1:1), thinking that the lógos is the Son who is called arkhế because of his being in the Father.
103. Τρίτον δὲ τὸ ἐξ οὗ οἷον τὸ ἐξ ὑποκειμένης ὕλης, ἀρχὴ παρὰ τοῖς ἀγένητον αὐτὴν ἐπισταμένοις, ἀλλ’ οὐ πὰρ’ ἡμῖν τοῖς πειθομένοις, ὅτι ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὰ ὄντα ἐποίησεν ὁ θεός, ὡς ἡ μήτηρ τῶν ἑπτὰ μαρτύρων ἐν Μακκαβαϊκοῖς καὶ ὁ τῆς μετανοίας ἄγγελος ἐν τῷ Ποιμένι ἐδίδαξε.
Thirdly, the arkhế is that from which [something comes] as from an underlying matter, which some interpret as ungenerated, but not for us who are convinced that God made existing beings from those that were not, as taught by the mother of the seven martyrs in the book of Maccabees and the angel of repentance in [the book] of the Shepherd. (Second Book of the Martyrs of Israel 7, 22-23)
104. Πρὸς τούτοις ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ «καθ’ οἷον” κατὰ τὸ εἶδος, οὕτως· εἴπερ εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου ὁ πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως, ἀρχὴ αὐτοῦ ὁ πατήρ ἐστιν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Χριστὸς ἀρχὴ τῶν κατ’ εἰκόνα γενομένων θεοῦ.
In addition to these [meanings], arkhế is also that to which the eidos [the form of something] conforms, thus: if the image (εἰκὼν eikōn) of the invisible God is the firstborn of every creature, his arkhế is the Father. In the same way, Christ is also the arkhế of those who are generated according to the image of God.
105. Εἰ γὰρ οἱ ἄνθρωποι «κατ’ εἰκόνα», ἡ εἰκὼν δὲ κατὰ τὸν πατέρα, τὸ μὲν «καθ’ ὃ» τοῦ Χριστοῦ ὁ πατὴρ ἀρχή, τὸ δὲ «καθ’ ὃ» τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὁ Χριστός, γενομένων οὐ κατὰ τὸ οὗ ἐστιν εἰκών, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν εἰκόνα· ἁρμόσει δὲ τὸ «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος» εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ παράδειγμα.
For if men are according to the image, the image is according to the Father, so the Father is the arkhế, according to which Christ is, and Christ is that according to which men are, who are not begotten according to that of which he [Christ] is the image, but according to the image: to this model the “In arkhế was the lógos” conforms.
17. 106. Ἔστιν ἀρχὴ καὶ ὡς μαθήσεως καθ’ ὃ τὰ στοιχεῖά φαμεν ἀρχὴν εἶναι γραμματικῆς. Κατὰ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος ὅτι «Ὀφείλοντες εἶναι διδάσκαλοι διὰ τὸν χρόνον, πάλιν χρείαν ἔχετε τοῦ διδάσκειν ὑμᾶς τίνα τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ».
There is also an arkhế in what refers to learning, which is why we say that letters are the arkhế of writing. Based on this, the apostle says that “Because of the time, you should be teachers, but you still need us to teach you some of the elements of the arkhế of God’s words” (Hebrews 5:12).
[…]
108. … Ἔστι δὲ ἀρχὴ καὶ ὡς πράξεως, ἐν ᾗ πράξει ἐστί τι τέλος μετὰ τὴν ἀρχήν.
There is also an arkhế that refers to action; in action there is a certain purpose that follows the arkhế.
The principle, that which is at the origin of an action, is its end, its purpose, and that is why arkhế is also placed, in this case, in what comes after. The word meta in Greek can indicate that which is with something or also that which comes after.
Καὶ ἐπίστησον εἰ ἡ σοφία ἀρχὴ τῶν πράξεων οὖσα τοῦ θεοῦ οὕτω δύναται νοεῖσθαι ἀρχή.
It would be necessary to know whether wisdom, being arkhế of God’s actions (Proverbs 8:22), is how arkhế can be understood.
That is, being the principle that encompasses the purpose of the action, Arkhế would encompass the beginning and end of the action because the principle, the origin of an action, includes its purpose.
Footnote 2: Aristotle on causes.
109. Τοσούτων σημαινομένων ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος ἡμῖν ὑποπεσόντων περὶ «ἀρχῆς», ζητοῦμεν ἐπὶ τίνος δεῖ λαμβάνειν τὸ «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος». Καὶ σαφὲς ὅτι οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὡς μεταβάσεως ἢ ὡς ὁδοῦ καὶ μήκους· οὐκ ἄδηλον δὲ ὅτι οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὡς γενέσεως.
Since there appear to be so many meanings of arkhế, let us seek which one we should understand by “In arkhế was the lógos.” It is clear that it does not refer to transition, nor to a path, nor to length; nor is it doubtful that it refers to coming into being.
110. Πλὴν δυνατὸν ὡς τὸ «ὑφ’ οὗ», ὅπερ ἐστὶ ποιοῦν, εἴγε «ἐνετείλατο ὁ θεὸς καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν». Δημιουργὸς γὰρ πως ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν, ᾧ λέγει ὁ πατήρ· «Γενηθήτω φῶς» καὶ «Γενηθήτω στερέωμα».
Unless this refers to that by which, as in the case of the one who does, since “he commanded and they were created” (Psalm 148:5). Christ is indeed Demiurge in a certain sense, since through him the Father says, “Let the light be generated” and “Let the firmament be generated.”
111. Δημιουργὸς δὲ ὁ Χριστὸς ὡς ἀρχή, καθ’ ὃ σοφία ἐστί, τῷ σοφία εἶναι καλούμενος ἀρχή. Ἡ γὰρ σοφία παρὰ τῷ Σαλομῶντί φησιν· «Ὁ θεὸς ἔκτισέν με ἀρχὴν ὁδῶν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔργα αὐτοῦ», ἵνα «ἐν ἀρχῇ ᾖ ὁ λόγος», ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ· κατὰ μὲν τὴν σύστασιν τῆς περὶ τῶν ὅλων θεωρίας καὶ νοημάτων τῆς σοφίας νοουμένης, κατὰ δὲ τὴν πρὸς τὰ λογικὰ κοινωνίαν τῶν τεθεωρημένων τοῦ λόγου λαμβανομένου.
Referring to the arkhế, Christ is demiurge insofar as he is wisdom, by virtue of being wisdom, is called arkhế. In fact, wisdom, in the Proverbs of Solomon (8:22), says: “God has begotten me as the arkhé of his ways for his works,” so that the lógos may be in the arkhế, in wisdom: [it is called wisdom] inasmuch as it is considered that in wisdom there is contemplation of the whole of things and their thought, and inasmuch as the unity of all these things that are contemplated is considered in a single lógos, it is understood as lógos [word that orders, creates, and reasons].
[…]
113. Ἐπίστησον δέ, εἰ οἷόν τέ ἐστι καὶ κατὰ τὸ σημαινόμενον τοῦτο ἐκδέχεσθαι ἡμᾶς τὸ «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος,” ἵνα κατὰ τὴν σοφίαν καὶ τοὺς τύπους τοῦ συστήματος τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ νοημάτων τὰ πάντα γίνηται.
Consider, therefore, whether it is in this sense that we can interpret what it means to say “In arkhế was the lógos,” that is, that everything comes into being according to the knowledge and according to the models (τύπους) of the whole (συστήματος) of the thoughts that are in him [the lógos].
114. Οἶμαι γάρ, ὥσπερ κατὰ τοὺς ἀρχιτεκτονικοὺς τύπους οἰκοδομεῖται ἢ τεκταίνεται οἰκία καὶ ναῦς, ἀρχὴν τῆς οἰκίας καὶ τῆς νεὼς ἐχόντων τοὺς ἐν τῷ τεχνίτῃ τύπους καὶ λόγους, οὕτω τὰ σύμπαντα γεγονέναι κατὰ τοὺς ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ προτρανωθέντας ὑπὸ θεοῦ τῶν ἐσομένων λόγους· «Πάντα γὰρ ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησε».
For I believe that, just as a house or a ship is built and designed according to architectural models (τύπους), and that the models and lógoi found in the builder are the arkhế of the house and the ship, so too the whole was generated according to the lógoi of future beings, foreseen by God in wisdom (σοφίᾳ): “For he has made everything in wisdom” (Psaume 104, 24).
Book 2, 129-131
2.18.129 Αὕτη δὴ ἡ ζωὴ τῷ λόγῳ ἐπιγίνεται, ἀχώριστος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τὸ ἐπιγενέσθαι τυγχάνουσα. Λόγον γὰρ προϋπάρξαι τὸν καθαίροντα τὴν ψυχὴν ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ δεῖ, ἵνα κατὰ τοῦτον καὶ τὴν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ κάθαρσιν, πάσης περιαιρεθείσης νεκρό τητος καὶ ἀσθενείας, ἡ ἀκραιφνὴς ζωὴ ἐγγένηται παρὰ παντὶ τῷ τοῦ λόγου καθ’ ὃ θεός ἐστιν αὑτὸν ποιήσαντι χωρητικόν.
This life comes into being (ἐπιγίνεται) through the lógos and remains inseparable from it once it has been produced. It is necessary that the lógos that purifies the psykhế exist previously in the psykhế, so that after him and after the purification that comes from him, all death and weakness having been eliminated, incorruptible life may be born in each one who has made himself worthy of the logós, since this logós is God.
2.19.130 Τηρητέον δὲ τὰ δύο «ἐν» καὶ τὴν διαφορὰν αὐτῶν ἐξεταστέον· πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἐν τῷ «λόγος ἐν ἀρχῇ», δεύτερον δὲ ἐν τῷ «ζωὴ ἐν λόγῳ». Ἀλλὰ λόγος μὲν «ἐν ἀρχῇ» οὐκ ἐγένετο· οὐκ ἦν γάρ, ὅτε ἡ ἀρχὴ ἄλογος ἦν, διὸ λέγεται· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος·» ζωὴ δὲ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ οὐκ ἦν· ἀλλὰ ζωὴ ἐγένετο, εἴ γε «ζωή ἐστι τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων». Ὅτε γὰρ οὐδέπω ἄνθρωπος ἦν, οὐδὲ «φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων» ἦν, τοῦ φωτὸς τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατὰ τὴν πρὸς ἀνθρώπους σχέσιν νοουμένου.
We must pay attention to how we examine the two [ways of saying] “in” and the difference between them: first, in fact, in this, “the lógos in arkhế” and then in this, “life in the lógos.” But the lógos was not generated in arkhế: there was no moment when the arkhế was without lógos, which is why it is said: “The lógos was in arkhế.” Life, on the other hand, was not in the lógos: but life was generated, since life is “the light of men.” In fact, when there was no man yet, there was no light of men. The light of men is understood according to its presence (σχέσιν) among men.
2.19.131 Μηδεὶς δ’ ἡμᾶς θλιβέτω χρονικῶς οἰόμενος ταῦτα ἀπαγγέλλειν, τῆς τάξεως τὸ πρῶτον καὶ τὸ δεύτερον καὶ τὰ ἐφεξῆς ἀπαιτούσης, κἂν χρόνος μὴ εὑρίσκηται, ὅτε τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ λόγου ὑποβαλλόμενα τρίτα καὶ τέταρτα οὐδαμῶς ἦν.
Let no one oppress us by believing that he interprets these things in a temporal manner, since the order requires a first, a second, and so on, even if time could have been found when these third and fourth things that are placed by the lógos did not exist at all.
Origen distinguishes here between the vision and order of creation found in the divine lógos, outside of time, and the coming into existence of things in time. This distinction will be taken up and refined by later commentators, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, Augustine, and many others.
Here is the beginning of a homily by Origen on the first verses of Genesis, as handed down to us by Rufinus of Aquileia in the fifth century in Latin:
First homily, 1, 1
“In principio fecit Deus caelum et terram”. Quod est omnium principium nisi Dominus poster et Salvator omnium, Jesus Christus, “primogenitus omnis creaturae”? In hoc ergo principio, hoc est in Verbo suo, “Deus caelum et terram fecit”, eicut et Evangelista Iohannes in initio evangelii sui ait dicens: “In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum. Omnia per ipsum facta sunt et sine ipso factum est nihil.” Non ergo hic temporale aliquod principium dicit, sed in principio est in Salvatore, factum esse dicit caelum et terram et omnia quae facta sunt.
“In principio God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). What is the principium of everything, if not our Lord and “Savior of all” (1 Timothy 4:10), Jesus Christ, “the firstborn of every creature” (Colossians 1:15)? Therefore, in this principium, that is, in his Verbum, God created heaven and earth, as the evangelist John also tells us at the beginning of his Gospel: “In principio was the Verbum, and the Verbum was with God, and the Verbum was God. This was in the principium with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing was made.” So here we are not talking about a principium in time, but we are saying that “in principio,” that is, “in the Savior,” heaven and earth and everything that has been made were made.
Principium: this word is used in the Latin translation of the Bible, called the Vulgate, to translate the Greek word arkhế. In Latin, too, commentators will try to apply to this word the speculations on the different meanings of the Greek word arkhế. We will retain above all those that speak to us of a beginning in time or of a logical beginning, of a principle in actions, of principles in the conception of the world and of life, as in the case of moral principles. But we can also retain the nuance that refers to something principal, first and prior in a hierarchy of both logical and social order. In Latin, a word from the same root, “principia” (plural of principium), can be used to refer to the principles that govern our thoughts and the principles (plural of princeps) that govern this world. All refer to the idea of principal, first in importance and origin, and first in time and causality.
Verbum is the Latin word used to translate lógos. This word, which means verb, word, as already explained in relation to lógos, must be understood in this context as a word that is an expression of the wisdom, of the knowledge of God, a word in which the reason and principle of all that is can be found, since through it everything came into existence.
Note 1. Aristotle on Arkhế
Metaphysics 5, 1012b 34 – 1013a 24
[1012b][34] Ἀρχὴ λέγεται ἡ μὲν ὅθεν ἄν τις τοῦ πράγματος [35] κινηθείη πρῶτον, οἷον τοῦ μήκους καὶ ὁδοῦ ἐντεῦθεν μὲν αὕτη ἀρχή, ἐξ ἐναντίας δὲ ἑτέρα·
It is called arkhế that from which something of an object can be moved first, as where the line or the path begins there is an arkhế and on the opposite side another [arkhế ].
[1013a][1] ἡ δὲ ὅθεν ἂν κάλλιστα ἕκαστον γένοιτο, οἷον καὶ μαθήσεως οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου καὶ τῆς τοῦ πράγματος ἀρχῆς ἐνίοτε ἀρκτέον ἀλλ’ ὅθεν ῥᾷστ’ ἂν μάθοι·
That from which each thing can become the most accomplished (κάλλιστα), as for example in learning, sometimes it is not necessary to begin with the first and the beginning of the thing, but with that from which it can be learned more easily.
ἡ δὲ ὅθεν πρῶτον γίγνεται ἐνυπάρχοντος, οἷον ὡς πλοίου [5] τρόπις καὶ οἰκίας θεμέλιος καὶ τῶν ζῴων οἱ μὲν καρδίαν οἱ δὲ ἐγκέφαλον οἱ δ’ ὅ τι ἂν τύχωσι τοιοῦτον ὑπολαμβάνουσιν·
that which is first generated from something in which it subsists (ἐνυπάρχοντος), for example, like the keel of a ship and the foundations of a house, and [principle] of animals, some may understand the heart, others the brain or something similar.
ἡ δὲ ὅθεν γίγνεται πρῶτον μὴ ἐνυπάρχοντος καὶ ὅθεν πρῶτον ἡ κίνησις πέφυκεν ἄρχεσθαι καὶ ἡ μεταβολή, οἷον τὸ τέκνον ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῆς μητρὸς καὶ ἡ μάχη [10] ἐκ τῆς λοιδορίας·
that which is first generated from something in which it does not subsist and from which [its] movement and change first originate according to nature, as the child [comes] from the father and mother and the fight from the offense.
ἡ δὲ οὗ κατὰ προαίρεσιν κινεῖται τὰ κινούμενα καὶ μεταβάλλει τὰ μεταβάλλοντα, ὥσπερ αἵ τε κατὰ πόλεις ἀρχαὶ καὶ αἱ δυναστεῖαι καὶ αἱ βασιλεῖαι καὶ τυραννίδες ἀρχαὶ λέγονται καὶ αἱ τέχναι, καὶ τούτων αἱ ἀρχιτεκτονικαὶ μάλιστα.
This is the free choice by which what is moved moves and what is changing changes, as princes for the city, dynasties, kings, and tyrants are called princes (ἀρχαὶ) [the word princes is “principes” in Latin] and the arts (τέχναι, techniques), among which especially the “arkhi” -tecturals.
Here are several words composed from the word ἀρχὴ: ἀρχαὶ the leaders of a city; in Latin languages, we find the same proximity between the word principle and the word “princeps,” meaning prince, the one who is at the head of a city or a kingdom. And also in certain names of sciences, including architecture.
Ἔτι ὅθεν γνωστὸν τὸ πρᾶγμα [15] πρῶτον, καὶ αὕτη ἀρχὴ λέγεται τοῦ πράγματος, οἷον τῶν ἀποδείξεων αἱ ὑποθέσεις.
In addition, that from which a thing is knowable is also called arkhế, as hypotheses [are the principles on which] demonstrations are based.
Ἰσαχῶς δὲ καὶ τὰ αἴτια λέγεται· πάντα γὰρ τὰ αἴτια ἀρχαί. Πασῶν μὲν οὖν κοινὸν τῶν ἀρχῶν τὸ πρῶτον εἶναι ὅθεν ἢ ἔστιν ἢ γίγνεται ἢ γιγνώσκεται·
There are as many [ways of saying arkhế] as there are causes, for all causes are arkhaí. Of all these [different ways of saying arkhế], therefore, what is common to arkhaí is to be the first from which [something] comes into being or is known;
τούτων δὲ αἱ μὲν ἐνυπάρχουσαί εἰσιν αἱ δὲ [20] ἐκτός. Διὸ ἥ τε φύσις ἀρχὴ καὶ τὸ στοιχεῖον καὶ ἡ διάνοια καὶ ἡ προαίρεσις καὶ οὐσία καὶ τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα· πολλῶν γὰρ καὶ τοῦ γνῶναι καὶ τῆς κινήσεως ἀρχὴ τἀγαθὸν καὶ τὸ καλόν.
Of these, some are subsistent (ἐνυπάρχουσαί) [in the thing itself], others are outside. For this reason, nature (φύσις) is a principle and also the element, thought, free choice, ousia, and that because of which [something is, or: of which it is the goal]. Indeed, for many things, the principle of knowledge and movement are the good and the beautiful.
Note 2. Aristotle on causes
Aristotle discusses these different types of causes in Physics, book 2, ch. 2-3, 194 a-b, and Metaphysics 983 a 31 or 5, 2, 1013 a-b.
In summary: to seek the cause is to seek the διὰ τί, which can be translated as “why,” “for what purpose,” or “by what means.” There are therefore several types of causes:
1. τρόπον αἴτιον λέγεται τὸ ἐξ οὗ γίγνεταί τι ἐνυπάρχοντος (Phys. 194b 24). That from which and in which it is produced (the bronze of the statue, material cause)
2. Ἄλλον δὲ τὸ εἶδος καὶ τὸ παράδειγμα, τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος ὁ τοῦ τί ἦν εἶναι καὶ τὰ τούτου γένη (Phys. 194b 26). Another cause is the eidos and the paradigm, this is the lógos, that of the τί ἦν εἶναι « what the being was » and the gender of it. (It is the essence that defines something: for the octave in music it is the ratio of two to one, “formal cause” if we translate εἶδος as form, otherwise “essential cause”).
3. Ἔτι ὅθεν ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς μεταβολῆς ἡ πρώτη ἢ τῆς ἠρεμήσεως (Phys. 194b 29). And again, the first principle of movement or rest. (the author of a decision is the cause of change, of the acts that have been performed, the efficient cause)
4. Ἔτι ὡς τὸ τέλος· τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶν τὸ οὗ ἕνεκα, οἷον τοῦ περιπατεῖν ἡ ὑγίεια· διὰ τί γὰρ περιπατεῖ (Phys. 194b 34). Then, as an end (τέλος finality): this is the cause of something, as health is the cause of walking: for what, indeed, does one walk? (health is the end of walking, the final cause).
Article on the relationship between Origen and the Cappadocian Fathers
Éric A. Junod, “Remarques sur la composition de la ‘Philocalie’ d’Origène par Basile de Césarée et Grégoire de Nazianze,” in Revue d’histoire et de philosophie religieuses, vol. 52 (1972), pp. 149-156.