On First Principles (De principiis)

Introduction

Origen wrote the four books “On First Principles” in Alexandria, probably in the 220s. The Greek original, “Peri archōn”, is largely lost; the work survives mainly in the Latin translation of Rufinus (398), who admitted toning down passages he found unorthodox, and in Greek excerpts. The first three books treat God, the rational creatures, their fall and the world, free will and the end of all things; the fourth sets out how to interpret Scripture according to its literal, moral and spiritual sense. Several of Origen’s teachings, among them the pre-existence of souls, were condemned at the Council of Constantinople in 553.