On First Principles, Volume I

«I know that very many of the brethren, driven by a desire for knowledge of the Scriptures, have requested of some scholars, experts in Greek letters, that they should make a Roman of Origen and present him to Latin ears.!» — abre el prefacio de Rufino, que es el primer texto del volumen: dice que muchos hermanos pidieron a peritos en letras griegas que hicieran romano a Orígenes y lo dieran a oídos latinos

«To this end also, when our brother and colleague, at the entreaty of Bishop Damasus, had translated two of the Homilies on the Song of Songs from Greek into Latin, he composed so elegant and splendid a preface to that work as to inspire a desire in everyone to read and avidly study Origen, saying that one could apply to his soul the saying, The King has brought me into his chamber; asserting that while he ‘in other works surpassed all other writers, in the Song of Songs he had surpassed even himself.’» — el antecedente que invoca sin nombrarlo: el hermano y colega que a ruego del papa Dámaso tradujo dos homilías sobre el Cantar y escribió un prefacio que encendía el deseo de leer a Orígenes

«He promises, indeed, in that same preface, that he himself will present the books on the Song of Songs and numerous others of Origen to Roman ears. But he, I see, finding greater pleasure in his own pen, pursues an end with greater glory, that he may be a ‘father of the word” rather than a translator.» — y el reproche velado que le hace: prometió dar a oídos romanos los libros sobre el Cantar y muchos otros, y prefirió su propia pluma, para ser padre de la palabra antes que traductor

«Accordingly we take up the work that was begun and approved of by him, although we are not able to provide such eloquent words as that great man. Therefore I am afraid lest, through my fault, that man, whom he has deservedly acknowledged as the other teacher of knowledge and wisdom in the Church after the apostles, should, through our own poverty of language, appear far inferior to what he is.» — cómo se sitúa Rufino respecto de él: retoma la obra que aquel empezó y aprobó, temiendo que por su pobreza de lenguaje aquel a quien reconoció como el segundo maestro de ciencia y sabiduría en la Iglesia después de los apóstoles parezca inferior a lo que es

«Continually thinking of this, I kept silent and did not yield to the brethren frequently entreating me to undertake this work. But your influence, most faithful brother Macarius, is so persuasive that not even lack of skill is able to withstand it.» — la resistencia que dice haber opuesto y quién la venció: la insistencia de Macario

«Because of this, that I might not find you too severe in your demands, I gave way, even against my resolution, yet on the agreement and arrangement, however, that in translating 1 would follow as far as possible the rule observed by my predecessors, and especially by that distinguished man whom I mentioned above.» — la condición con que cedió, y que es la que gobierna todo el texto que sigue: traducir siguiendo en lo posible la regla de sus predecesores y sobre todo la de aquel varón

«He, when translating into Latin more than seventy treatises, called Homilies, of Origen, and also a number of tomes on the writings of the Apostle, in which are found in the Greek a good many stumbling-blocks, so smoothed over and purified them all in his translation that a Latin reader» — en qué consistía esa regla, según la describe Rufino: al traducir más de setenta homilías y varios tomos sobre los escritos del Apóstol, aquel limó y purificó los tropiezos que el griego traía. La frase remata en la plana siguiente

«would find in them nothing that differs from our faith. His example, then, we follow to the best of our ability, if not with the same power of eloquence yet at least with the same rules of method, taking care not to reproduce those passages in the books of Origen which are found to be inconsistent or contrary to himself.» — y su remate, con la declaración de método: no reproducir los pasajes de los libros de Orígenes que se hallen inconsistentes o contrarios a él mismo

«The cause of these variations we have explained more fully in the Apology, which Pamphilus wrote in defence of the works of the same Origen, to which added a brief tract, in which we showed, I think, by clear proofs that his books have been corrupted in many places by heretics and malevolent persons,» — la causa que Rufino da a esas variaciones: que los libros han sido corrompidos en muchos lugares por herejes y malévolos, cosa que dice haber probado en un tratado añadido a la Apología de Pánfilo

«and especially those which you now request me to translate, that is Peri Archon, which may be rendered either On First Principles or On Principalities, and which are indeed for other reasons most obscure and very difÏcult. For here he discusses subjects concerning which philosophers, after spending their whole lives upon them, have been able to discover nothing.» — y la segunda dificultad, con las dos traducciones posibles del título que él mismo ofrece: sobre los primeros principios o sobre las principalidades, libros oscuros y difíciles porque tratan materias en que los filósofos nada hallaron tras dedicarles la vida

«But our author strives, as far as he possibly can, to turn to piety the faith in a Creator and the knowledge of creatures, which they had dragged down to impiety.» — lo que atribuye al propósito de Orígenes frente a esos filósofos: volver a la piedad la fe en un Creador y el conocimiento de las criaturas, que ellos habían arrastrado a la impiedad

«I have made these remarks in the preface, therefore, by way of precaution, lest slanderers should perhaps think that they have again discovered a pretext for accusation.» — por qué lo dice en el prefacio: por precaución, para que los calumniadores no crean haber hallado otra vez pretexto de acusación

«In the meantime, however, we have undertaken this heavy labour, with the aid of God by your prayers, not to shut the mouths of slanderers (for this is not possible, unless perhaps God should do it), but to provide material to those who desire to advance in the knowledge of realities.» — y para quién declara haber emprendido el trabajo: no para cerrar la boca a los calumniadores, cosa que tiene por imposible, sino para dar materia a quienes desean avanzar en el conocimiento de las realidades

«everyone who copies or reads these books, in the presence of God the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by his belief in the kingdom to come, the mystery of the resurrection from the dead, and by that everlasting fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels,’ that, if he would not have for an eternal inheritance that place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth? and where their fire is not quenched and their worm does not die? he neither add anything to this writing, nor take anything from it, nor insert anything, nor alter anything,» — el conjuro con que Rufino cierra su prefacio, dirigido a todo copista o lector, por el Padre, el Hijo y el Espíritu Santo, por el reino venidero, el misterio de la resurrección y el fuego eterno: que no añada, ni quite, ni inserte, ni altere nada

«but that he shall compare his copy with the exemplar from which he transcribed it and shall correct it to the letter and punctuate it, and not have an incorrect or unpunctuated manuscript, lest the difÏculty of ascertaining the sense, if the manuscript is not punctuated, should cause greater difÏculties to the readers.» — y la instrucción práctica que lo acompaña: cotejar la copia con el ejemplar, corregirla a la letra y puntuarla, porque un manuscrito sin puntuar dificulta averiguar el sentido

«they had dragged down to impiety. Wherever, therefore, we found in his writings anything contrary to that which he had himself elsewhere piously laid down regarding the Trinity, we have either omitted it, as being corrupt and interpolated,» — el procedimiento declarado, en el texto del cuerpo: lo hallado contrario a lo que el propio Orígenes asienta piadosamente sobre la Trinidad se omite por corrupto e interpolado. La introducción de Behr cita este mismo pasaje y ahí el troceo imprime *corrupt or interpolated*, divergencia que se consigna sin armonizar

«All’ who believe and are assured that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ? and who know Christ to be the truth, according to his saying, I am the truth? derive the knowledge which leads human beings to live a good and blessed life from no other source than from the very words and teaching of Christ.» — abre el prefacio de Orígenes: quienes creen que la gracia y la verdad vinieron por Jesucristo y saben que Cristo es la verdad no sacan de otra fuente que sus palabras y su enseñanza el conocimiento que lleva a vivir bien y felizmente

«And by the words of Christ we mean not only those which he spoke when he became human and dwelt in the flesh; for even before this, Christ, the Word of God, was in Moses and the prophets.» — y la extensión que da a esas palabras, que es una de las tesis que gobiernan la obra: no solo las dichas cuando se hizo hombre, porque antes ya el Verbo de Dios estaba en Moisés y en los profetas

«For without the Word of God how could they have been able to prophesy of Christ? In proof of this, it would not be difÏcult to show from the divine Scriptures how Moses or the prophets were filled with the Spirit of Christ in what they said and all that they did, were it not our purpose to confine the present work within the briefest possible limits.» — el argumento que aduce y el límite que se pone: sin el Verbo no habrían podido profetizar de Cristo, y no se detiene a probarlo por Escritura porque quiere ceñir la obra

«And therefore I think it sufÏcient to quote this one testimony of Paul from the epistle which he writes to the Hebrews, in which he says as follows, By faith Moses, when grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be afÒicted with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, considering abuse suffered for Christ greater riches than the treasures of the Egyptians.’» — el testimonio único con que lo cierra: el pasaje de Hebreos donde Moisés tuvo por mayor riqueza el oprobio sufrido por Cristo que los tesoros de Egipto

«And that he also spoke, after his ascension into heaven, in his apostles, is shown by Paul in this way, Or do you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me?» — y la segunda mitad de la misma tesis: que también habló en sus apóstoles tras la ascensión, probado por la pregunta paulina sobre el Cristo que habla en él

«Since, however, many of those who profess to believe in Christ differ not only in small and trivial matters, but even on great and important matters— such as concerning God or the Lord Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit, and not only regarding these but also regarding matters concerning created beings, that is, the dominions and the holy powers—because of this it seems necessary first of all to lay down a definite line and clear rule regarding each one of these matters, and then thereafter to investigate other matters.’» — el motivo declarado de la obra: como muchos de los que profesan creer en Cristo difieren no solo en cosas menudas sino en las grandes —Dios, Jesucristo, el Espíritu Santo, y también las dominaciones y potestades—, hace falta fijar primero una línea y una regla clara

«For just as, although many Greeks and barbarians promise the truth, we gave up seeking it from all who claimed it for false opinions after we had come to believe that Christ was the Son of God and were persuaded that we must learn it from him, so also, although there are many who think that they know what are the teachings of Christ, and not a few of them think differently from those before them, one must guard the ecclesiastical preaching,» — el paralelo con que lo justifica: así como se dejó de buscar la verdad en griegos y bárbaros al creer que Cristo es el Hijo de Dios, también entre los que creen saber lo que Cristo enseña hay que guardar la predicación eclesiástica

«Now it ought to be known that the holy apostles, in preaching the faith of Christ, delivered with utmost clarity to all believers, even to those who seemed somewhat dull in the investigation of divine knowledge, certain points that they believed to be necessary, leaving, however, the grounds of their statements to be inquired into by those who should merit the excellent gifts of the Spirit and especially by those who should receive from the Holy Spirit himself the grace of language, wisdom, and knowledge?» — la distinción de la que sale toda la arquitectura de la obra: los apóstoles entregaron con suma claridad ciertos puntos que tenían por necesarios, dejando las razones de esos enunciados a la indagación de quienes merezcan los dones del Espíritu

«while on other points they stated that things were so, keeping silence about how or whence they are, certainly so that the more diligent of their successors, being lovers of wisdom, those, I mean, who should prepare themselves to be worthy and capable of receiving wisdom, might have an exercise on which they might display the fruit of their ability.» — y el segundo miembro de esa distinción: sobre otros puntos solo afirmaron que las cosas son así, callando el cómo y el de dónde, para que los sucesores más diligentes tuvieran un ejercicio en que mostrar el fruto de su capacidad

«First, that ‘there is one God, who created and arranged all things; and who, when nothing existed, made all things;" he is God from the first creation and foundation of the world, the God of all the» — el primer punto de la lista, en el texto del cuerpo: un solo Dios que creó y dispuso todas las cosas y que, cuando nada existía, hizo todas las cosas. El tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«just, of Adam, Abel, Seth, Enosh, Enoch, Noah, Sem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs, Moses, and the prophets; and that this God in the last days," as he had announced beforehand by his prophets, sent our Lord Jesus Christ to call first Israel to himself and second the Gentiles,’* after the unfaithfulness of the people of Israel.» — la continuación de ese primer punto, con la lista de los justos y el envío de Cristo a llamar primero a Israel y después a los gentiles

«He assumed a body like to our own, differing in this respect only, that it was born of a virgin and of the Holy Spirit.*» — y la precisión sobre ese cuerpo: semejante al nuestro, distinto solo en haber nacido de una virgen y del Espíritu Santo

«And that this Jesus Christ was born and did suffer in truth, and not in appearance,’ and truly died our common death,? and did truly rise from the dead, and after the resurrection, having sojourned a while with his disciples, was taken up.» — el remate del segundo punto, dirigido contra quien tenga por aparente la carne: nació y padeció de verdad y no en apariencia, murió nuestra muerte común y resucitó de veras

«From which it follows, also, that we understand ourselves not to be subject to necessity, so as to be altogether compelled, even against our will, to do either good or evil."» — y lo que de ahí se sigue, que es la línea que Orígenes defenderá contra el fatalismo: no estamos sujetos a necesidad ni forzados contra nuestra voluntad a hacer el bien o el mal

«For if we possess free will, some powers perhaps may be able to urge us to sin, and others to help us to salvation;? we are not, however, compelled by necessity to act either rightly or wrongly, as those think who say that the course and movement of the stars are the cause of human actions, not only of those which take place outside the realm of free will, but also of those which are placed within our own power.» — la posición que fija frente a la astrología: unas potencias pueden urgir al pecado y otras ayudar a la salvación, pero no obliga la necesidad, como creen quienes hacen del curso y el movimiento de los astros la causa de los actos humanos

«But with respect to the soul, whether it is derived from the seed being transferred, so that the principle or substance of it may be held to be in the seminal particles of the body itself, or whether it has any other beginning, and this beginning itself, whether it is begotten or not begotten, or whether it is imparted to the body from without or not, is not explained with sufÏcient clarity in the preaching.?» — la abstención expresa sobre el origen del alma: si viene de la semilla transmitida o tiene otro principio, y si ese principio es engendrado o no engendrado, o le viene al cuerpo desde fuera, no se explica con claridad suficiente en la predicación

«This opinion, however, is held by most, that this devil was an angel, but having become an apostate he persuaded as many angels as possible to fall away with himself, and even until now these are called his angels.??» — la opinión que Orígenes atribuye a la mayoría sobre el diablo, sin hacerla punto de fe: que fue un ángel que, hecho apóstata, persuadió a cuantos ángeles pudo a caer con él

«For the things that are described [therein] are the forms of certain mysteries and images of divine things. There is one mind throughout the entire church about this, that the whole law is indeed spiritual,” yet that which the law conveys is not known by all but only by those on whom the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed in the word of wisdom and knowledge.» — el punto sobre la Escritura y su segundo sentido: lo descrito son formas de ciertos misterios e imágenes de lo divino, y toda la ley es espiritual, aunque no todos conocen lo que transmite

«The term ἀσώματος (that is, 'bodiless?) is unused and unknown not only in many other writings, but also in our own Scriptures.» — el excurso con que Orígenes cierra el prefacio, y que Behr liga con el final de la obra: el término incorpóreo no se usa ni se conoce en las propias Escrituras

«If anyone should quote it to us out of that pamphlet called The Teaching of Peter, where the Saviour is seen to say to his disciples, ‘I am not a bodiless daemonj» — la objeción que se plantea: que se le cite el opúsculo llamado la Enseñanza de Pedro, donde el Salvador dice a sus discípulos que no es un demonio incorpóreo. La cita se corta antes de la llamada a nota que el troceo deja pegada con dos asteriscos

«he must be answered, in the first place, that this work is not itself included among the ecclesiastical books, and it can be shown that it is not a writing of Peter nor of anyone else who was inspired by the Spirit of God.» — y su primera respuesta, que es un juicio de canon y de atribución: esa obra no está entre los libros eclesiásticos, y puede mostrarse que no es escrito de Pedro ni de otro inspirado

«But even if the point were conceded, the sense of the word ἀσώματος there does not indicate the same as that intended by Greek and pagan authors, when philosophers discuss bodiless nature.» — la segunda respuesta, concediendo lo anterior: aun así el sentido de la palabra allí no es el que le dan los autores griegos y paganos al discutir la naturaleza incorpórea

«Now, according to human custom, everything that is not such is called bodiless by the simple or uneducated, just as one says that the air we breathe is bodiless, because it is not a body that can be grasped and held or resist pressure.» — el cierre del excurso, con el ejemplo del habla común: los simples llaman incorpóreo al aire que respiramos porque no se puede asir ni resiste la presión

«This just and good God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,“ himself gave the law and the prophets and the Gospels, who is also the God of the apostles and of the Old and New Testaments.» — el cierre de ese primer punto, que es la afirmación antimarcionita de la lista: el mismo Dios justo y bueno, Padre de Jesucristo, dio la ley, los profetas y los Evangelios, y es el Dios de los apóstoles y de los dos Testamentos

«Several years ago now | interrupted the series of books I was writing to prepare the ground for the next volume in the sequence by undertaking an edition, translation, and study of the fragments of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia.» — Behr abre su prefacio contando de dónde viene este libro: interrumpió la serie que escribía para editar, traducir y estudiar los fragmentos de Diodoro de Tarso y Teodoro de Mopsuestia. El troceo imprime una barra vertical donde la plana lleva el pronombre *I*

«However, as I continued to study the period concerned, I became convinced that, in order to understand Evagrius and the sixth-century Origenist controversy properly, I would have to go back to take a closer look at the work here edited and translated, Origen’s On First Principles, That, together with my increasing dissatisfaction with the standard English translation, based on Koetschaus edition of the text—representing as it does a curious byway of earlier Origen scholarship, yet remaining the translation and layout of the text that we are forced to use in the classroom—compelled me to undertake this new edition and translation, together with the extensive study that precedes it.» — y por qué volvió sobre Orígenes: Behr dice que para entender a Evagrio y la controversia origenista del siglo VI tenía que mirar de cerca esta obra, y que su creciente insatisfacción con la traducción inglesa corriente, hecha sobre la edición de Koetschau, lo llevó a emprender edición y traducción nuevas

«I have come to the conclusions presented here in the introduction over the course of repeatedly teaching a seminar class on Origen, grappling almost every year for the last decade with the difÏcult task of trying to make sense of this text, which lies, in so many ways, at the heart of subsequent theological reflection.» — de dónde salen las conclusiones de su introducción, según él mismo: de repetir durante una década un seminario sobre Orígenes con un texto que, dice, está en el corazón de la reflexión teológica posterior. El troceo imprime *difÏcult*, ligadura de la fuente

«It might be possible, now, to continue my series on the formation of Christian theology, but I suspect that there is more work to be done on the early stages of the formation of Christian theology, especially on the Gospel of John and a new edition and translation of Against the Heresies by Irenaeus of Lyons.» — el trabajo que Behr declara pendiente tras este volumen: el Evangelio de Juan y una edición y traducción nuevas de Contra las herejías de Ireneo de Lyon

«I am deeply grateful to my students, who were prepared to grapple with the text with me.» — el agradecimiento con que Behr cierra, a los estudiantes del seminario

«I would like to thank Ignatius Green, my teaching assistant during the semester when this work finally came together, for carefully reading through what I had prepared and making numerous helpful suggestions.» — y a Ignatius Green, su asistente de enseñanza en el semestre en que el trabajo cuajó

«Finally, this work is dedicated to Fr Andrew Louth, a long-time mentor in the ways of the Fathers.» — la dedicatoria, que Behr explica: Andrew Louth, uno de los dos editores generales de la serie, es su maestro de largo tiempo en los Padres

«Abbreviations for classical and Patristic texts are those found in the following: The SBL Handbook of Style for Ancient Near Eastern, Biblical and Early Christian Studies, ed. P. H. Alexander et al. (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999).» — la tabla de abreviaturas declara su norma: las de textos clásicos y patrísticos son las del manual de estilo de la Society of Biblical Literature

«Scriptural references have been given according to the LXX; this principally affects the numeration of the Psalms and the naming of 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings as 1-4 Reigns.» — y la decisión que gobierna todas las referencias bíblicas del volumen: se dan según la Septuaginta, lo que cambia la numeración de los salmos y el nombre de los libros de Samuel y de los Reyes

«Origen of Alexandria (c.185-c.254) was the greatest theological luminary of his age.'» — Behr abre la introducción con la valoración que sostendrá en todo el estudio, y con las fechas que da a Orígenes; la comilla suelta al final es la llamada a la nota 1, que el troceo deja pegada

«He was the most prolific Christian writer, or perhaps any writer, of the ancient world; Epiphanius (no friend of Origen) claimed that Origens literary output amounted to six thousand works, while Jerome derides that number as impossible yet still asserts that Eusebius’ list amounted to at most two thousand works, still an impressive number by any reckoning.’» — la medida de esa productividad según los testimonios que Behr alinea sin armonizarlos: Epifanio, a quien llama enemigo de Orígenes, habla de seis mil obras, y Jerónimo tiene la cifra por imposible pero sostiene que la lista de Eusebio llegaba a dos mil

«They include his monumental Hexapla (an edition of the Scriptures in six versions: Hebrew, the Septuagint, and other Greek translations), texts on Scriptural interpretation in various genres (commentaries, homilies, and scholia), treatises on martyrdom, prayer, and the Pascha, and one of the greatest apologetic works of early Christianity.» — el inventario que Behr da de esa obra: la Hexapla como edición de las Escrituras en seis versiones, comentarios, homilías y escolios, tratados sobre el martirio, la oración y la Pascua, y una obra apologética

«He travelled extensively, visiting Rome to hear the great Christian teachers there, made visits to the Holy Land to explore the geography of the Scriptures, and was called to various councils of bishops around the Mediterranean to expound the faith and to examine the faith of others, even bishops.» — los viajes que Behr le atribuye —Roma, Tierra Santa y concilios de obispos por todo el Mediterráneo— y el papel que le da en ellos: exponer la fe y examinar la de otros, incluso la de obispos

«A transcript of an actual dialogue that took place at just such a meeting was discovered in the middle of the last century: in it Origen is described as ‘teaching’ those, including bishops, gathered together?» — el testimonio con que lo apoya: el acta del diálogo hallada a mediados del siglo pasado, donde a Orígenes se le describe enseñando a los reunidos, obispos incluidos. El signo de interrogación final es la llamada a nota que el troceo confunde con signo

«following century he would be appealed to by Athanasius as ‘the labour-loving Origen’ who had defended the consubstantiality of the Son with the Father, and lauded by Gregory the Theologian as ‘the whetstone of us all’» — Behr abre con la recepción antigua de Orígenes: Atanasio lo invoca como el Orígenes amante del trabajo que defendió la consustancialidad del Hijo con el Padre, y Gregorio el Teólogo lo elogia como la piedra de afilar de todos

«Yet, when the Second Council of Constantinople met in 553 it condemned Origen and his ‘impious writings.» — y con lo que contrasta con esa recepción: la condena del Segundo Concilio de Constantinopla en 553. Behr nombra los escritos con el adjetivo del concilio, no con el suyo

«It was, moreover, its translation that was the reason why, Jerome says, he took it upon himself to attack Rufinus, and it was the controversy that this caused which ultimately resulted in the original Greek text being lost to the ravages of history.» — y la consecuencia material que le adjudica: Jerónimo dice que atacó a Rufino por causa de la traducción, y de esa controversia resultó, sostiene Behr, la pérdida del original griego

«Origen wrote On First Principles in Alexandria sometime around Ap 229/30, by which time he had already come into conflict with Demetrius.’» — la fecha y el lugar de composición que fija Behr, con el conflicto con Demetrio ya en curso. El troceo imprime *Ap* donde la plana lleva la abreviatura de la era

«Origen had been brought up as a devout Christian by his parents, with his father, Leonidas, a teacher of literature, training him in the divine Scriptures.» — la formación que Behr le atribuye: padres cristianos, y un padre, Leónidas, maestro de literatura que lo instruyó en las Escrituras

«Eusebius mentions that when Leonidas looked at his son asleep, 'he uncovered his breast as if the divine Spirit were enshrined within it, and kissed it reverently, considering himself blessed in his goodly offspring.’» — la anécdota que Behr toma de Eusebio y adjudica a esa voz: Leónidas descubría el pecho del hijo dormido como si el Espíritu divino estuviera guardado allí

«The young Origen was also zealously impetuous: his mother had to hide his clothes so that he couldn't follow his father to martyrdom, although the story about his self-castration should probably be rejected.?» — el juicio de Behr sobre dos relatos de la juventud de Orígenes: da por buena la madre que le escondió la ropa para que no siguiera al padre al martirio, y tiene por rechazable el de la autocastración

«It is at a slightly later period, when he had begun his work of instructing Christians, that Eusebius places Origen’s self-castration (Eccl. hist. 6.8), suggesting that he did this in order to avoid charges of misconduct from pagans regarding his dealings with women (though Eusebius also claims that he kept it a secret) and that» — en nota, la versión de Eusebio que Behr consigna sin adoptarla: sitúa la autocastración más tarde y la explica como manera de evitar acusaciones por su trato con mujeres

«Epiphanius, on the other hand, records a tradition that attributed Origen's renowned chastity to the use of drugs (Panarion, 64.3.12).» — y la versión rival que registra al lado, sin arbitrar: Epifanio atribuye la castidad de Orígenes al uso de drogas

«Henry Chadwick suggests that both stories are malicious gossip, Early Christian Thought» — la tercera lectura que Behr suma en la misma nota, la de Henry Chadwick, para quien ambas historias son chismes maliciosos

«She also treated as her ‘adopted son a certain heretic from Antioch called Paul, whose teaching had attracted ‘a multitude not only of heretics but also of our people, though Eusebius underscores that Origen never joined Paul in prayer.» — el episodio de la protectora que acogió a Orígenes y también a un hereje antioqueno llamado Pablo, con el subrayado que Behr adjudica a Eusebio: Orígenes nunca oró con él

«The impression given by Eusebius is that even in the early third century there were a number of such communities coexisting in Alexandria, and that the relationships, and boundaries, between these house churches were somewhat hazy.”» — y lo que Behr deduce de ahí sobre la Alejandría de principios del siglo III: varias comunidades coexistiendo, con relaciones y fronteras borrosas entre iglesias domésticas

«When persecutions began again, under the prefect Aquila (206-10/11), all the teachers of Christianity in Alexandria fled the city, leaving Origen alone to instruct those who turned to him ‘to hear the Word of God"?» — la persecución bajo el prefecto Aquila, donde Behr hace notar que huyeron todos los maestros de Alejandría y solo quedó Orígenes instruyendo a quienes acudían a él

«According to Eusebius, ‘when he saw yet more coming to him [Origen] for instruction; Demetrius ‘entrusted to him alone the school of catechesis’ while he himself presided over the church, and in turn Origen gave up the teaching of grammar by which he had supported himself, as not consonant with divine training, and even sold his cherished volumes of literature in exchange for a meagre fixed income to support himself in his new position.?» — el paso siguiente según Eusebio: Demetrio confía a Orígenes la escuela de catequesis, y Orígenes deja de enseñar gramática y vende sus volúmenes de literatura a cambio de una renta fija escasa

«What we see here, I would suggest, is the first attempt at the establishment of monepiscopacy in the city of Alexandria, roughly contemporaneous with the establishment of monepiscopacy in Rome.» — la lectura que Behr firma en primera persona: ve ahí el primer intento de instaurar el monoepiscopado en Alejandría, contemporáneo del de Roma

«It is really only from this point, when the activity of previously independent teachers (and leaders of Christian communities) was placed at the service of a newly-emerging monarchical style of episcopal leadership, that we can begin to speak of the ‘Catechetical School’ of Alexandria.» — y lo que de ahí se sigue para el nombre de la institución: solo desde ese momento, dice, cabe hablar de la Escuela Catequética de Alejandría

«The establishment of monepiscopacy was not an easy development, nor a quick one.» — el límite que pone a su propia tesis: la instauración del monoepiscopado no fue fácil ni rápida

«We should recall that even into the fourth century, the bishop of Alexandria had more authority over the regions outside Alexandria than he did over the strong presbyters in the city, an uneasy situation that is certainly part of the background for the eruption of the controversy between the presbyter Arius and the bishop Alexander.» — y el apoyo que aduce: hasta el siglo IV el obispo de Alejandría tenía más autoridad fuera de la ciudad que sobre los presbíteros de dentro, situación que enlaza con el estallido entre Arrio y Alejandro

«That Origen was not quite happy with the new configuration is shown by the letter he wrote after his final departure from Alexandria, in which he defends the propriety of studying philosophy and investigating heretical doctrines.'*» — el testimonio con que Behr sostiene la incomodidad de Orígenes: la carta escrita tras su salida definitiva de Alejandría, donde defiende la licitud de estudiar filosofía e investigar doctrinas heréticas

«He continues his letter by pointedly reminding his readers that Heraclas, ‘who is now a member of the presbytery of Alexandria; had attended the lectures of the famous philosopher Ammonius Saccas for five years longer than he had himself» — y el argumento de esa carta: Heraclas, ya miembro del presbiterio de Alejandría, había seguido las lecciones de Amonio Saccas cinco años más que el propio Orígenes

«and that, although Heraclas had previously worn common apparel, he has now laid it aside to adopt the philosopher's mantle and continues in his study of the books of the Greeks.» — el segundo tramo del mismo recordatorio: Heraclas dejó el vestido común por el manto del filósofo y sigue con los libros de los griegos

«Clearly there were other dimensions to Origens tense relations with Demetrius.» — lo que Behr concluye de ese pasaje: había otras dimensiones en la tensión con Demetrio. El troceo imprime *Origens* sin apóstrofo

«It is probably at this period that Origen visited Rome, perhaps to look for a more congenial milieu in which to pursue his studies and teaching, as had many others before him."» — el viaje a Roma que Behr data en ese periodo, y el motivo que le supone: buscar un medio más propicio para estudiar y enseñar

«According to Eusebius, when Origen returned from Rome, he entrusted ‘his pupil’ Heraclas with ‘the preliminary studies of those just learning the elements; so that he himself could have the time necessary for the deeper study of divine things and for the investigation and interpretation of the holy Scriptures’ and teach only the more advanced.”» — la versión de Eusebio sobre el reparto con Heraclas: los principiantes para el discípulo y el estudio profundo de las cosas divinas para Orígenes

«It is more likely, however, that Demetrius was more directly involved in this reconfiguration, ousting Origen from his previous position.”» — y la lectura que Behr le opone: tiene por más probable que Demetrio interviniera directamente y desplazara a Orígenes de su puesto

«Robert L. Wilken speaks of Origen being ‘relieved of his duties by the bishop.» — la voz que cita en nota al mismo efecto, la de Robert L. Wilken: Orígenes relevado de sus funciones por el obispo