The reason why all those we have mentioned hold false opinions and mak — Origen

"When Origen died he left behind a massive body of writings numbering close to a thousand titles.This vast treasure...was widely used for more than a century without serious obstacles to its diffusion...It had appeared even during Origens Alexandrian period, and it redoubled immediately after his death...His works spread rapidly in the West as well as in the East, emerged unscathed from every skirmish and went on spreading. But from about 375 on everything changed... There followed the physical destruction of his writings... Nearly all of Origens work perished....Luckily there was a number of Latin translations."

"That is properly termed everlasting or eternal which neither had a beginning of existence, nor can ever cease to be what it is. And this is the idea conveyed by John when he says that God is light. Now His wisdom is the splendour of that light, not only in respect of its being light, but also of being everlasting light, so that His wisdom is eternal and everlasting splendour. If this be fully understood, it clearly shows that the existence of the Son is derived from the Father but not in time, nor from any other beginning, except, as we have said, from God Himself."

"All these, down to the very least, God supervises by the power of his wisdom and distinguishes by the controlling hand of his judgment; and thus he has arranged the universe on the principle of a most impartial retribution, according as each one deserves for his merit to be assisted or cared for. Herein is displayed in its completeness the principle of impartiality, when the inequality of circumstances preserves an equality of reward for merit. But the grounds of merit in each individual are known with truth and clearness only to God, together with his only-begotten Word and Wisdom and his Holy Spirit."

"The Creator will not appear to have been unjust when, according to the above principles, he placed everyone in a position proportionate to his merit; nor will the happiness or unhappiness of anyones birth, or any condition whatever that may fall to his lot, be supposed to be due to chance;"

"Every being which is endowed with reason, and transgresses its statutes and limitations, is undoubtedly involved in sin by swerving from rectitude and justice."

"The thing you are accustomed to calling your body, he suggests, is only a cooler and denser declension of your true body."