De Principiis: Prologue of Rufinus

Origen of Alexandria (c. AD 185-253), one of the early church's most influential and most controversial theologians, wrote De Principiis ('On First Principles') as the first systematic attempt at a full Christian theology, around AD 220-230. The Greek original is almost entirely lost; what survives is chiefly Rufinus of Aquileia's Latin translation and paraphrase (c. AD 397), which Rufinus himself admits here he softened in places he judged later scribes had corrupted or heretics had interpolated -- a translator's decision that has shaped every reader's access to this work ever since. This is Rufinus's own prologue, defending his translation method and Origen's orthodoxy against critics. Not scripture. Translated by Frederick Crombie (1869, Ante-Nicene Christian Library).