God is not a body: fire, spirit, light
I know some will try from our Scriptures to say God is a body, finding in Moses our God is a consuming fire and in John God is spirit. Fire and spirit they take as nothing but body. Ask them what they say of God is light, and in him is no darkness. That light is what illumines every mind that can receive truth, as the psalm says in your light we see light — that is, in your Word and Wisdom, your Son, we see you the Father. The name “light” does not make him like this sun’s bodily light.
Latin
Scio quoniam conabuntur quidam etiam secundum scripturas nostras dicere deum corpus esse, quoniam inveniunt scriptum esse apud Moysen quidem: "Deus noster ignis consumens est", in evangelio vero secundum Iohannem: "Deus spiritus est, et eos qui adorant eum, in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare". Ignis vero et spiritus non aliud apud eos quam corpus esse putabitur. Quos interrogare volo, quid dicant de eo quod scriptum est, quia "deus lux est", sicut Iohannes in epistola sua dicit: "Deus lux est, et tenebrae non sunt in eo". Ista nempe lux est, quae inluminat omnem sensum eorum, qui possunt capere veritatem, sicut in tricesimo quinto psalmo dicitur: "In lumine tuo videbimus lumen". Quid enim aliud lumen dei dicendum est, in quo quis videt lumen, nisi virtus dei, per quam quis inluminatus vel veritatem rerum omnium pervidet vel ipsum deum cognoscit, qui veritas appellatur? Tale est ergo quod dicitur: "In lumine tuo videbimus lumen", hoc est, in verbo tuo et sapientia tua, qui est filius tuus, in ipso te videbimus patrem. Numquidnam quia lumen nominatur, simile putabitur solis huius lumini?
About this text
Origen’s De Principiis, Book I (Rufinus Latin). Complete on this page: Pref + I.1–I.8 (BOOK I closeout).
English follows Koetschau GCS 22 Rufinus Latin (paraphrase disclosed). ANF Crombie and Butterworth were not used as wording. This page is Pref + I.1–I.8 (BOOK I closeout).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Koetschau GCS 22 (1913) — Rufinus Latin (Latin · Book I Pref + I.1–I.8)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.