Solomon’s three books: moral, natural, contemplative
I think Solomon handed down a threefold philosophy in these books: moral in Proverbs, natural in Ecclesiastes, contemplative in the Song of Songs. For in Proverbs he corrects morals and cuts back vices; in Ecclesiastes he discusses the nature of things and shows the vanity of temporal things; in the Song of Songs he leads on to contemplation and joins the Bride to the Bridegroom — that is, the church to Christ, or the soul to the Word. The Greeks also name these three kinds of wisdom ethics, physics, and epoptics. But Solomon handed down first ethics, then physics, and last epoptics, so that through correction of morals and knowledge of creatures one may arrive at the contemplation of God.
Latin
Triplicem in his Salomonem libris tradidisse philosophiam puto: moralem in Proverbiis, naturalem in Ecclesiasten, contemplativam in Cantico Canticorum. In Proverbiis enim mores corrigit et vitia resecat; in Ecclesiasten de natura rerum disputat et vanitatem temporalium monstrat; in Cantico Canticorum ad contemplationem perducit et sponsam sponso, id est ecclesiam Christo vel animam Verbo, coniungit. Haec tria genera sapientiae Graeci quoque ethicam, physicam, epopticen nominant. Sed Salomon prius ethica, deinde physica, ad ultimum epoptica tradidit, ut per correctionem morum et scientiam creaturarum ad contemplationem Dei perveniatur.
About this text
Origen’s Commentary on the Song of Songs, Prologus (Rufinus’s Latin). Complete on this page: §§1–20.
English follows Baehrens, Origenes Werke VIII (GCS 33, 1925), Rufinus’s Latin of the Commentary Prologus. Lawson ACW 26 was not used as wording. This page is Prologus §§1–20 (closeout).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Baehrens, Origenes Werke VIII = GCS 33 (1925) (Latin · Commentary Prologus §§1–20)
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.