Fragments on Lamentations · §54

Prophet’s glory; infants faint; Paul shares weakness

The prophet calls his own glory both temple of God and piety of homeland. And the famine was working the fainting of the infants. And you would say more loftily that he makes his own the passions of those kindred according to flesh according to “who is weak, and I am not weak?”—taking up those difficult things according to their soul: a withering of true knowledge and an unstable bearing of the reasoning toward the earthly things and a deprivation of that which lifts the head according to “you, O Lord, are my helper, my glory, and the one lifting my head.”

Greek

Klagel. Jerem. 2, 11. Δόξαν ἰδίαν φησὶν ὁ προφήτης θεοῦ τε ναὸν καὶ πατρίδος εὐσέβειαν. τῶν δὲ νηπίων τὴν ἔκλυσιν ὁ λιμὸς ἀπηργάζετο. εἴποις δ' ἂν ὑψηλότερον, ὡς οἰκειοῦται τῶν συγγενὼν κατὰ σάρκα τὰ πάθη κατὰ τὸ τίς ἀσθενεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀσθενῶ;« τὰ κατὰ ψυχὴν ἐκείνων ἀναδεχόμενος δυσχερῆ, γνώσεως ἀληθοῦς μαρασμὸν καὶ φορὰν ἄστατον τοῦ λογισμοῦ πρὸς τὰ γήϊνα καὶ στέρησιν τῆς ὑψούσης τὴν κεφαλὴν κατὰ τὸ « σὺ κύριε , ἀντιλήπτωρ μου εἶ, δόξα μου καὶ ὑψῶν τὴν κεφαλήν μου.

About this text

Origen, Fragments on Lamentations. Original English Translation from the Greek (Klostermann).

English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.