Origen ('Qpiys j'j;C) from h> 6pu yn'Tjidc, because he was barn in the viountain region, to which his parents had retired to escape persecution), also surnamed Ada- MANTius, on account of his remarkable firmness and iron assiduitj-, is called the father of Biblical criticism and exegesis in the Church. But it is not only in this line of literary activity that he has distinguished him- self. Origen may well be pronounced one of the ablest
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and worthiest of the Church fathers — indeed, one of the 1 greatest moral prodigies of the human race. He is universally regarded as one of the most laborious and learned scholars that has appeared in Christendom, and although his orthodoxy has on some important doctrinal points been called in question, his fame and influence will endure to the end of time, and his mem- ory be revered among all followers of Jesus Christ.
Life. — Origen was born, according to the most trust- worthy computation, at the city of Alexandria, in Egypt, in A.D. 185. His father, Leonidas, who was a Chris- tian, is reputed to have been a man of culture and of piet}' ; and while he sought to imbue the mind of the youth, whose first instructor he was, with the love of letters and the sciences, which every free Greek was to be conversant with, he yet paid particular atten- tion to sacred knowledge, so that Origen might truly understand the contents of the Scriptures ; and before the boy had reached maturity he evinced that his mind had not onlj' been filled with knowledge, but that his bosom glowed with an equal zeal for the practice of the truths he had learned from the sacred pages. In A.D. 202, during the persecution under Severus, which raged through all the churches, but fell with most tre- mendous devastation on the Church at Alexandria, many of the most distinguished Christians from other parts were brought to suffer martyrdom in this con- spicuous city. Instead of hiding his own convictions, Origen boldly came forward, and exposed himself to a savage multitude by ministering to these holy men ; and when his own father, too, was for his fidelity to the Christian religion imprisoned, and likely to suffer mar- tyrdom, Origen was with great difficulty prevented by his mother from sharing his father's fate. Indeed, so firmly were his convictions rooted that he sent ex- hortation after exhortation to the prison of his parent to suffer death rather than recant. '• Take heed," wrote the beardless youth of seventeen — " take heed, father, that you do not change your mind for our sake." Leonidas remained firm, and was beheaded; and Origen, his mother and younger brothers — six in all — were left destitute of protection, and of property too, as the estate which they owned was confiscated. In this for- lorn condition Origen found a noble patron and sup- porter in a rich lady, who longed to be taught the truths of Christianity. But he did not long depend on her, for in the following year he abandoned her home because she entertained a renowned heretic, whom, though high in repute for his learning, Origen would not consider a fit associate. He supported himself for a while by teaching the Greek language and lit- erature, and by copying MSS. In A.D. 203 bishop Demetrius, afterwards his opponent, placed him in charge of the catechetical school left vacant by the flight of Clement (q. v.), whose instructions Origen had enjoyed, and whose friendship and esteem he had se- cured while a pupil. To worthily fill this important office Origen made himself acquainted with the various heresies, especially the Gnostic, and with the Grecian philosophy. He was not even ashamed to study under the heathen Ammonius Saccas (q. v.), the celebrated founder of Neo-Platonism (q. v.). Of course such a faithful application to research was rewarded with popu- lar applause, and crowds of people flocked to his lectures. Among his pupils were many of the weaker sex ; and as in his studies he employed females as copyists, he de- cided to put away everj' possible appearance of evil by his own emasculation, basing this unwarranted act upon the words of Christ (^latt. xix, 12), which Origen interpreted in a literal sense at that time, though in a later period of life he greatly regretted his early views. He also in this early period of life sought strict con- formity with the doctrine preached by Paul in 1 Cor. vii, 25, and practiced voluntary poverty, and led a strictly ascetic life. He made it a matter of principle to renounce every earthly thing not indispensably necessary ; refused the gifts of his pupils ; had but one
coat, no shoes, and took no thought of the morrow. He rarely ate flesh, never drank wine; devoted the greater part of the night to prayer and study, and slept on the bare floor. By these means he commanded the respect of both the learned and the unlearned in an age and country where such a mode of life was held in the highest reiiute both by Christians and heathen ; and thus, in connection with his public and private instruc- tion, he made a multitude of converts from all ranks of pagans. Among those whom his preaching, backed by a life so replete with consistency, reclaimed was one Valentinian heretic, a wealthy person, named Ambrose, who afterwards assisted Origen materially in the pub- lication of his Commentaries on the Scriptures.