If Everything Is a Forgery, Nothing Belongs to Anyone

But let us look at the arguments by which he tries to prove that Origen’s writings have been corrupted by the heretics. “Clement,” he says, “who was the disciple of the apostles, and who succeeded the apostles both in the office of bishop and in martyrdom, wrote the books called the Recognitions. In these, although on the whole the teaching set out in the name of the apostle Peter is genuinely apostolic, yet in certain passages the teaching of Eunomius is brought in, in such a way that you would think Eunomius himself was conducting the argument and asserting his view that the Son was created out of nothing.” [a] And after a passage too long to reproduce, he adds: “What, then, are we to think of these facts? Must we believe that an apostolic man wrote heresy? Or is it not more likely that men of perverse mind, wanting to win support for their own teachings and gain easier belief for them, brought in under the names of holy men views that those men cannot be believed either to have held or to have written down?”

He tells us that Clement, the presbyter of Alexandria, who was a catholic man, also writes at times in his works that the Son of God is created; and that Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, a very learned man, slips into the teaching of Arius in the four books in which he argued against the teachings of Sabellius. What he aims at in quoting these examples is not to show that churchmen and catholics have erred, but that their writings have been corrupted by heretics. He closes the discussion with these words: [b] “And when we find in Origen a certain inconsistency of teaching, just as we have found it in those we have spoken of above, will it not be enough for us to believe the same in his case as we believe or understand in the case of the catholic men we have reviewed? Will not the same defense hold when the case is the same?”

If, I reply, we grant that everything offensive in a book was inserted by others to corrupt it, nothing will be left belonging to the author whose name the book bears. Everything can be credited to those who are supposed to have corrupted it. But then it will not belong to them either, since we do not know who they were. The result will be that every book belongs to everybody and to nobody in particular. In the confusion this method of defense brings in, it will be impossible to convict Marcion of error, or Mani, or Arius, or Eunomius. As soon as we point out a statement of their unbelief, their disciples will answer that this was not what the master wrote, but was inserted by his opponents to corrupt it. On this principle, this very book of yours will be neither yours nor mine. And as for this very book in which I am replying to your accusations, whatever you find fault with in it will be held to have been written not by me but by you who now find fault with it. Further, while you assign everything to the heretics, there will be nothing left that you can assign to churchmen as their own. [c] But you may ask, “How is it, then, that false views occur in their books?” Well, if I answer that I do not know where these false views came from, I must not be taken to have said that they are heretics. They may have fallen into error without realizing it, or the words may have carried a different meaning, or they may have been gradually corrupted by unskilled copyists. It must be admitted that before Arius arose in Alexandria as a demon of the south, things were said carelessly that cannot be defended against hostile criticism. But when glaring faults are exposed in Origen, you do not defend him; you accuse others. You do not deny the faults; you summon up a crowd of criminals. If you were asked to name those who have been Origen’s companions in his heresies, it would be right enough to call in these others. But what you are asked now is to tell us whether those statements in Origen’s books are good or evil. And you say nothing, but bring in things beside the point, such as: “This is what Clement says; this is an error Dionysius is found guilty of; these are the words in which Bishop Athanasius defends the error of Dionysius; in the same way the writings of the apostle have been tampered with.” And then, while the charge of heresy is being fastened on you, you say nothing in your own defense, but make confessions about me. I bring no accusations; I am content to answer for myself. I am not what you try to prove me to be. Whether you are what you are accused of being is for you to consider. My being cleared of blame does not prove me innocent, nor does your being accused prove you a criminal. [d]