RUFINUS SELF ADMISSION OF FOLLOWING HIS “...PREDECESSORS...” AND “...OTHERS BEFORE...” HIM AND HE WAS AMONG “...MANY...” WHO CORRUPTED ORIGEN'S TEXT'S


A self admission by Rufinus.

Yet another Tri{3}nitarian tampering and corrupting Origen's writings.

But once again Rufinus said there were “...others...” and that he was not the “...first...” that he was the last “...of many...”:

RUFINUS OF AQUILEIA (circa. 340-410 C.E.): “...That in my translation I SHOULD FOLLOW AS FAR AS POSSIBLE - ( THE RULE ) - OBSERVED BY MY - ( PREDECESSORS ),{*} and especially by that distinguished man whom I have mentioned above, who, after translating into Latin more than seventy of those treatises of Origen which are styled Homilies and a considerable number also of his writings on the apostles, in which a good many “stumbling-blocks” are found in the original Greek, SO SMOOTHED AND CORRECTED THEM IN HIS TTRANSLATION, THAT A LATIN READER WOULD MEET WITH NOTHING WHICH COULD APPEAR DISCORDANT WITH - ( OUR ) - ( BELIEF ). His example, therefore, we follow, to the best of our ability; if not with equal power of eloquence, yet at least with the same strictness of rule, TAKING CARE - ( NOT TO REPRODUCE ) - THOSE EXPRESSIONS OCCURING IN THE WORKS OF ORIGEN WHICH ARE INCONSISTENT AND OPPOSED TO EACH OTHER. The cause of these variations we have explained more freely in the Apologeticus, which Pamphilus wrote in defence of the works of Origen, where we added a brief tract, in which we showed, I think, by unmistakeable proofs, that his books had been corrupted in numerous places by heretics and malevolent persons, and especially those books of which you now require me to undertake the translation, i.e., the books which may be entitled De Principiis or De Principatibus, and which are indeed in other respects full of obscurities and difficulties. For he there discusses those subjects with respect to which philosophers, after spending all their lives upon them, have been unable to discover anything. But here our author strove, as much as in him lay, to turn to the service of religion the belief in a Creator, and the rational nature of created beings, which the latter had degraded to purposes of wickedness. IF, THEREFORE, - ( WE ) - HAVE FOUND ANYWHERE IN HIS WRITINGS, - ( ANY STATEMENT ) - OPPOSED TO THAT VIEW, which elsewhere in his works he had himself piously laid down REGARDING - ( THE TRINITY ), - ( WE ) - HAVE EITHER - ( OMITTED IT ), - AS BEING CORRUPT, AND NOT THE COMPOSITION OF ORIGEN, OR - ( WE ) - HAVE - ( BROUGHT IT FORWARD AGREEABLY TO ) - THE RULE WHICH - ( WE ) - FREQUENTLY FIND AFFIRMED BY HIMSELF. If, indeed, in his desire to pass rapidly on, he has, as speaking to persons of skill and knowledge, sometimes expressed himself obscurely, we have, in order that the passage might be clearer, - ( ADDED ) - WHAT - ( WE ) - HAD READ MORE FULLY STATED ON THE SAME SUBJECT IN HIS OTHER WORKS, keeping explanation in view, but adding nothing of our own, but simply restoring to him what was his, although occurring in other portions of his writings...” - (Preface to the Translations of Origen’s Books Περὶ ᾽Αρχῶν Addressed to Macarius, at Pinetum, a.d. 397. Translated by The Hon. and Rev. William Henry Fremantle, M.A. Canon of Canterbury, Fellow and Tutor of Baliol College, Oxford. Under the editorial supervision of Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Church History in the Union Theological Semimary, New York, and Henry Wace, D.D., Principal of King's College, London Published in 1892 by Philip Schaff, New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co.)
[FOOTNOTE *]: Refering to Jerome Epistle 61, To Vigilantius.

RUFINUS OF AQUILEIA (circa. 340-410 C.E.): “...Now [7.] as to another matter. I am told that objections have been raised against me because, forsooth, at the request of some of my brethren, I translated certain works of Origen from Greek into Latin. I suppose that every one sees that it is only through ill will that this is made a matter of blame. For, if there is any offensive statement in the author, why is this to be twisted into a fault of the translator? I was asked to exhibit in Latin what stands written in the Greek text; and I did nothing more than fit the Latin words to the Greek ideas. If, therefore, there is anything to praise in these ideas, the praise does not belong to me; and similarly as to anything to which blame may attach. I ADMIT THAT - ( I ) - ( PUT ) - SOMETHING OF - ( MY OWN ) - ( INTO ) - THE WORK; AS I STATED IN MY PREFACE, I USED ( MY OWN ) - DISCRETION IN - ( CUTTING OUT ) - NOT A FEW PASSAGES; but only those as to which I had come to suspect that the thing had not been so stated by Origen himself; and the statement appeared to me in these cases to have been inserted by others, because in other places I had found the author state the matter in a catholic sense. I entreat you therefore, holy, venerable and saintly father, not to permit a storm of ill will to be raised against me because of this, nor to sanction the employment of partisanship and of calumny--weapons which ought never to be used in the Church of God. Where can simple faith and innocence be safe if they are not protected in the Church? I AM NOT A DEFENDER OR A CHAMPION OF ORIGEN; - ( NOR AM I THE FIRST ) - WHO HAS TRANSLATED HIS WORKS. - ( OTHER(S) ) - BEFORE ME HAD DONE - ( THE VERY SAME THING ), - AND I DID IT, THE LAST - ( OF MANY ), - AT THE REQUEST OF MY BRETHREN. If an order is to be given that such translations are not to be made, such an order holds good for the future, not the past; but if those are to be blamed who have made these translations before any such order was given, the blame must begin with those who took the first step. [8.] As for me, I declare in Christ's name that I never held, nor ever will hold, any other faith but that which I have set forth above, that is, the faith which is held by the Church of Rome, by that of Alexandria, and by my own church of Aquileia; and which is also preached at Jerusalem; and if there is any one who believes otherwise, whoever he may be, let him be Anathema. But those who through mere ill will and malice engender dissensions and offences among their brethren, and cause them to stumble, shall give account of it in the day of judgment...” - (Section 7-8; “Rufinus' Apology in defence of himself - sent to Anastasius, Bishop of the city of Rome,” Translated by The Hon. and Rev. William Henry Fremantle, M.A. Canon of Canterbury, Fellow and Tutor of Baliol College, Oxford. Under the editorial supervision of Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Church History in the Union Theological Semimary, New York, and Henry Wace, D.D., Principal of King's College, London Published in 1892 by Philip Schaff, New York: Christian Literature Publishing Co.)