Dom Charles Delarue was born at Corbie near Amiens on July 29, 1685; as a youth at Meaux, he pronounced his solemn religious vows to God in the monastery of St. Faron on November 21, 1703. Thereafter, he was instructed in theology, Hebrew, and Greek literature by Dom Bernard de Montfaucon, a man most famous for every kind of scholarly praise, who toward the end of 1712 took him on as his disciple. Dom Bernard de Montfaucon was bringing out Origen’s *Hexapla*, and he judged that it would be most useful if the remaining works of so great a writer—both those of which only a Latin interpretation survives and those which have reached us in Greek—were recalled to the reliability of ancient manuscripts and all gathered into a single corpus. This had been done neither by Huet, who had edited the Greek, nor by Merlin and Genebrard, who had edited the Latin versions, which were everywhere teeming with errors. But since this most learned man was then occupied with other tasks of no less moment, he entrusted this province to his disciple. With a heart eager to promote the public good, Dom Charles Delarue set upon this arduous work, nor did the usual drudgeries that follow deter him. He applied himself so entirely to Origen that in the year 1725 he sent the first two volumes of his Works to the press, which appeared to the applause of the scholarly world at the beginning of 1733. Among other admirers, the most celebrated doctors of the Sorbonne wrote thus of them in an epistle to the Very Reverend Fathers Superior General, Prior, and monks of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, printed in the year 1735, page 20: "It will not be with grief, as we hope, that the most erudite Ruæus will bear our observation, inasmuch as he is not like those shallow wits who, because they possess nothing, can have nothing subtracted from them. He edits accurately, he notes accurately what is worthy of note; and this new edition of Origen will always be great evidence that he is to be distinguished from the motley crowd of daily editors." The dedicatory epistle of the work, addressed to the Supreme Pontiff Clement XII, so pleased the Most Holy Father that the illustrious president of his library, Dom d'Inghembert, then Archbishop of Theodosia and today Bishop of Carpentras, wrote back to his friend the author as follows: "My very Reverend Father, I had the honor of reading your dedicatory epistle to our Holy Father the Pope as soon as I received it. His Holiness listened to the reading with an attention and satisfaction that I cannot express to you: and in truth, I do not know that I have ever read anything to him, since I have had the happiness of being in his service, that pleased him more. You may therefore print this dedicatory epistle precisely as you have sent it to me. Our Holy Father the Pope, and Cardinal Quirini, to whom I have also shared it, judge that you cannot touch it without spoiling it. I have the honor to be with much consideration, my very Reverend Father, etc. Rome, November 19, 1732." Upon receiving the first volume of Origen, the Supreme Pontiff sent to the author an express image of his countenance on two medals of gold and silver (a most honorable pledge of favor and benevolence), for which Cardinal Firrao wrote this letter in the name of the Most Holy Father: "Very Reverend Father. The Holy Father has accepted with a joyful countenance and held in gratitude the first volume of the Origenian work, presented to him in your name, rendered to posterity more clearly and diligently than before, and bathed in the light of much erudition; he judged that in interpreting this most ingenious but ambiguous author, you wished that no one would remain unaware that he, wherever he erred, erred to his own loss, not that of the Catholic religion; and at the same time, that nothing has escaped you in explaining his opinions that does not befit a student of your most holy institute and a follower of the true faith. Wherefore he wished your gift to be placed in his most extensive and select library, a document of your obedience toward him, by which papal benevolence, if you should have need of it, might be excited; and it will be pleasant for him to have it excited. He ordered me to reply to your letter with his added paternal blessing. I myself wish that you might learn, by experience, in what honor I hold those who pursue good letters with diligent study (and I rejoice that you are one of these). Rome, November 11, 1733. Prepared for the offices of your Paternity, etc." Dom Charles Delarue was about to entrust the final two volumes of Origen to the press at the very beginning of 1736, had he not then been deterred from his purpose by the unexpected death of Dom Vincent Thuillier, with whom he had always lived most amicably since the solemn profession of his vows. For grieving for the loss of a friend, he wasted away in such bitter sorrow that, having himself been nearly extinguished by a bronchial congestion, he seemed to have escaped fate on the condition that he would trade his life for a perpetual languor. However, judging this to be a harbinger of imminent death, the more the languor worsened, the more he strove religiously to augment those seeds of Christian piety which he had conceived and cherished. In the meantime, however, supplementing what was lacking in vigor with the firmness of his spirit, he had already brought the third volume of Origen, sent to the press in 1737, almost to completion, when his tongue suddenly became immobile, and with the right side of his body void of all sense and motion, he perished in a few days. He died at Paris in the monastery of Saint-Germain-des-Prés on the 6th of October, in the year 1739. He lived 54 years, 2 months, 7 days. Dom Charles Delarue was a man of most pleasant and elegant speech, open and simple, a faithful friend, loving his family more than he cultivated them, always prepared to serve. To a judgment both extraordinary and keen, there was added a vigorous power of high intellect, facility, and splendor. For many years before his death, the learned man had meditated upon writing another very weighty and most useful work, *On Ecclesiastical Antiquities*, in French, and already—
FRAGMENTA IN PROVERBIA SALOMONIS
A B 4
FRAGMENTS ON THE PROVERBS OF SOLOMON.
B 1. *Proverbs of Solomon the son of David.* He is also called the Savior and Son of David. This peaceable Savior of ours, who came from the seed of David according to the flesh, reigned in Israel. Therefore he was also inscribed as fulfilling the dispensation for men: "This is the king of the Jews." The Jews are Israel, whom the peaceable Savior rules as those who have discernment, if they are truly Israel. For not all who are the seed of Abraham are necessarily his children, because they do not perform the works of Abraham.
*To know wisdom and instruction.* Wisdom is the science of divine and human things, and the apprehension of them; according to some, it is a vapor of the power of God, and a pure effluence of the glory of the Almighty; for nothing defiled enters into it; for it is the brightness of everlasting light, and an unspotted mirror of the operation of God, and the image of his goodness. He who knows the works of wisdom knows these things, that is, the brightness of the everlasting light, and the unspotted mirror of the operation of God, and the image of his goodness.
A These things are nothing other than the Son of God, who is love, and the wisdom which is Christ. For Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. But this is not manifested by flesh and blood, but by the revelation of the heavenly Father. For someone who has knowledge of the divine oracles, of the Law and the prophets, is he who knows wisdom, and he who has the understanding of the divine, legal, prophetic, evangelical, and apostolical discourses. B He places the foundation upon the rock, that is, upon the faith of Christ, so that he may withstand the rains, and the winds, and the spirits—namely, whatever trials come from anywhere. And regarding what Luke says, that he commended the steward of iniquity, he spoke abusively, praising his shrewdness because of the dexterity of his mind. And this same thing seems to be signified by the words: *The serpent was the most prudent of all beasts*; whence it is written: *Be prudent as the serpent*, as if to say, do not be inexperienced in the craftiness of the serpent.
Vers. 6. Observe the parable, and the dark speech, and the sayings of the wise, and the enigmas. Let us consider what difference these have from one another; and first, let us see what a parable is, from the grounds we have in the Gospels. For others have used the name of C parable, and Matthew says: *On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea, and all the multitude stood on the shore, and he spoke to them many things in parables: Behold, a sower went out to sow.* A parable, therefore, is a discourse as if concerning something that has happened, which has not happened according to the letter, but is able to happen, being figuratively indicative of matters by the transfer of those things mentioned in the parable. For the event, *A sower went out*, did not happen according to the wording, as we say the things of history have happened; nevertheless, it is possible for it to happen according to the letter: *Behold, a sower went out*, etc. I, however, think that Jesus spoke in parables to those on the outside, to whom, because they were outside, it was not given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, having gone out D of the house, as Matthew recorded, having not done this without cause and reason: *On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.* For it was fitting, towards those who were not capable of entering into the house, but were outside of it, that he should go out from it. That such a thing was understood by Matthew in this place will be clear to him who has observed the things that follow; for he says: *Having left the multitudes, he entered into his house, and reveals the things of the parable to the disciples.* Observe, then, in these things, in what manner Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and spoke nothing to them without a parable; which he does even until now: for the multitudes are not capable of the interpretation of the parables. And pay attention also to the phrase: *Having left the multitudes, he entered into his house,* which is recorded very sagely, because it was not possible for the multitudes to come in with him, but only those differing from the multitudes, who were his disciples, and who were able to have the boldness to enter into the house of Jesus. There, not like those who were outside, but having become capable of being inside, they approached the teacher and asked to learn the inward meaning of the parables. And since they were capable of following him as he entered into the house, for this reason, answering to the request, *Explain to us the parable*, he said what he said.
B Not only does Jesus depart from his house so that, having become strange to those without, he might speak in parables; but he also sits beside the sea, hinting that both the multitudes and those outside are like the waves of the sea and its saltwater, and are not far off. Observe, too, that while many multitudes did not gather to Jesus as he went out of the house and sat by the sea, those who are no longer the many multitudes, but the few who tread the narrow and constricted path and find the way that leads into life, enter into the house to him. C Reasoning, therefore, in a manner worthy of the evangelical word, and examining the will of Jesus as he boards the boat and says to everyone by the shore—I speak in parables—lest, perhaps, the word standing before the multitudes, neither staying, but being in the water of the sea, might be speaking over that which is, as it were, able to stand upon the water; which has been called a boat. Do not be amazed, if such meanings have been expressed in a more refined way, so that one might not think that the multitude who are outside [believe there to be] some mind hidden and possessed of dense elegance residing in the evangelical disposition; for it was indeed the work of the grace that administers the Word of God. D I also attempt to listen more deeply to the passage: *The disciples came to him and said: Why do you speak to them in parables?* and, *He left the multitudes and came into his house; and his disciples came to him, saying: Explain to us the parable*. For always the multitudes, if they hear a parable, do not even attend to it as requiring explanation; but the disciples, observing that he speaks in parables to the multitudes because they are outside, leave the multitudes, follow Jesus, and seeing that they cannot learn the meanings of the parables elsewhere than by entering into the house of Jesus, enter to him, and approaching him, say: *Explain to us the parable* about which they wish to learn. But such is the parable. The following is the dark discourse:
It is, therefore, in the Scriptures
that some things are said so deliberately obscurely that not even an ordinary person could perceive any meaning in them without much and great examination according to both phrase and meaning, and...A simply to understand the literal sense is possible, as we shall show; but the obscure word is not as it stands: such as is also that which is in Isaiah: "Woe to the ships of the sea, beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, which sends messengers by the sea, and paper letters upon the waters." But that we should explain each of these and enlighten the understanding of the obscure discourse is not for the present time, lest we make many and unseasonable digressions. It is sufficient to explain the psalm as it is said. For when I cried out, chanting hymns to God, and speaking of God the whole day long, nothing in me grew old, but rather I was renewed. Where I abstained from divine discourses, through numbness I became silent, and the lethargy penetrated even to my bones, and to those parts of me which seemed the strongest. And to this followed the heaviness of Thy hand upon me by night and day, and for this reason, from the former visitation, Thy heaviness of hand was turned against me into my misery. And I have deservedly suffered these things, as the thorn was stuck fast in me, when I was held fast by cares, or even by wealth and worldly pleasures. And that such things are understood by the Prophet in these matters is clear from what follows them: "I acknowledged my sin," and the rest. B After this, it is to be seen what are the sayings of the wise, then what are the riddles; of what wise men are the sayings, of which the one who hears them is wise, and by the hearing of them becomes wiser himself. For are they only of the wise according to God and His truth, or not of these only, but also of those whom God will seize in their craftiness? For the Word has called these wise as well. For why would the one mentioned understand the sayings of the blessed wise men, but not suffice to understand the words of the remaining wise men, but his mind would be inferior to the mind of the wise men of this world, and unable to follow what is said by them? Or is it perhaps that just as it is the work of the eye not only to see what is ordered, but also what is otherwise, or as the craftsman therein wishes; so it is the work of the mind to contemplate both the successful thoughts C and those not so, so that he himself might not be captured by the persuasiveness found in falsehoods, and that he might rescue those who have been captured, if he understands the sayings of the other wise men, where they act sophistically, and in what way they produce a false conclusion; and how the sophism is solved, and the false conclusion is refuted. For thus also, through His own wise men, God threatens that He will set at naught the wisdom of the wise which is worthy to perish because of the lie, and the deceptive intelligence of those who are not prudent according to Him, and thus through His own will He will seize the craftiness of the wise of this age. D
A For what are the three fruit-bearing trees—the fig, the vine, and the olive—which were unwilling to reign over the trees unworthy of their kingship? And who is the prickly bramble that sends forth fire from itself to consume the cedars of Lebanon? It is for the wise man to see this, referring these trees to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and the bramble to the adversary. B There is also an enigma of this kind in the Books of Kings: "The thistle that is in Lebanon sent to the cedar that is in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife," and what follows. You might also find enigmas in the prophets, as in Ezekiel: "The great eagle with great wings, long-winged, full of feathers," and the rest. So much we have been able to provide at the present time regarding the subject before us; these were a parable and a dark saying, the words of the wise, and enigmas. A parable is a discourse C as if about something that happened, even if it did not happen according to the literal meaning, yet could have happened, figuratively signifying enigmas, as in the text: "A sower went out to sow." For this did not happen according to the literal wording, even if it can be referred to other things.
A For God is the giver of good things; we are the cause of evil things, clearly of things that are hurtful. You might say these things also regarding those of the Jews who participated in the blood, both of the prophets and of Christ himself. These are the ways of all who perfect iniquities. I do not think "to perfect" means simply to do, but to fill up the measure of their fathers, and to be held liable for all the blood from Abel to Zacharias. B Wisdom is praised in the exits. When silenced by a wise man, it is not praised; but when it obtains an exit, it is praised. For it shall be when you call upon me. For we call upon wisdom, which is Christ, as Lord. Therefore, he who calls upon Christ, if he understands who He is, calls upon wisdom, understanding, sanctification, righteousness, and every virtue—if not with the lips, then with actions. But let us not be such that we call upon Him, and He does not listen.
CHAPTER II
If, having received the word of my commandment, you hide it within yourself. One hides it, not doing this for vainglory, but striving to remain unnoticed. Then you shall understand the fear of the Lord. C See with how many things we shall understand the fear of the Lord; for it is obscure even in itself, as is clear from the simpler things; for it is possible to see some not fearing the Lord where they ought, and fearing Him where they ought not. And you shall give your voice for understanding. Each person gives his own voice to someone, perhaps uttering it to anger, or to sorrow, or to fornication. But the blessed man entrusts his whole voice to the Lord, so that whatever he speaks, it may be wisdom. D As another seeks silver, so you seek wisdom, becoming as it were a lover of money in this. May a wicked counsel not overtake you. The aliens of the Church promise certain things in the beginning, but others at the end; for they deflect from idolatry at the beginning and bring [people] to the Creator; then, changing, they reject the Old Scripture, opposing themselves to elementary youth. But among ecclesiastical teachers, the ends are in agreement with the elements in the beginning.
CHAPTER III
Let your heart keep my words. After the commandments and prohibitions of the law of God, the words of the wisdom of God announce the unfailing knowledge of what exists. Such also is the text: "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." For he who keeps the laws shall take up wisdom. "Sow for yourselves," he says, "in righteousness."
Reaping in the time of life. And then there is added: "Illuminate for yourselves the light of knowledge."
Provide good things before the Lord and men. If you perform what is done in wisdom, you shall be a son of God, as it has been said: "He made all things in wisdom."
Honor the Lord from your righteous labors. The term "honor" in divine Scripture is habitually used for a gift; for the Scripture says, honor widows, [meaning] the widows who are truly widows, in place of, "give to them," so that it may humble the widow, and not speak of alms. And the Savior also says: "It is written in the law, Honor your father and your mother, and so on." But he said "from righteous labors," so that it might not be from robbery and covetousness. And let no one delay giving C because of an excuse; for there is nothing left [to say] as an excuse, since that widow in the Gospel cast in her entire living, and, being justified, [she gave] not from those things taken by robbery, but from those she had in abundance. But all giving towards God [consists of] works of temperance and the other virtues. For it is necessary that firstfruits be given to God from all produce—by [members of] the Church and by the poor. And when one arises from sleep, one must give firstfruits to God: [this means] prayer, and from the [holy] words, the firstfruits [consist of] psalms. For thus it will be said to you: "And your storehouses will be blessed, and your leavings"—he speaks here of those of the soul. D
God founded the earth with wisdom. But the faithful soul is also earth, bearing fruit a hundredfold. This [soul], from the fatness which is wisdom, becomes wise, as God founds it upon Himself. For He establishes for it the introduction of instruction, making [its] foundation from wisdom, and as it always progresses, He fashions it into a heaven, a most pure creature, a dwelling place for angels and for intellectual essences. Having received a perception of the Existent, and contemplating the precision of things, it begins to divide and dissect them.
CHAP. V. Keep your way far from her. He calls "way" the mind that travels toward virtue; or else he commands [us] to separate virtue from vice.
CHAP. VI. But a woman hunts the precious souls of men. And the soul hunted by a woman is precious by nature; for it is not by nature earthy. Or [it means that] since the mindset and soul of brave men is precious, yet she hunts even these.
CHAP. VIII. I was [He] in whom He took delight. [The word] "was," in the case of God, does not signify time; for it is temporal when it signifies something that is under time, as in the phrase: "I was in the marketplace."
If, however, [one says] "it was" in the case of God, it is appropriate to the Unbegotten, and is eternal itself. A
CHAPTER X.
Vers. 22. *This one enriches.* If everyone who is blessed by the Lord is rich, and those who walk in the law of the Lord are blessed by the Lord, then those who walk in the law of the Lord are surely rich. B
*In laughter the foolish does evil.* One who does evil takes pleasure and rejoices in it. But wisdom begets discretion for a man, that is, active virtue.
CHAPTER XI.
Vers. 23. *He who does not associate in his own house will inherit winds.* Our house is God, in whom we move and have our being. He who does not walk in the commandments of God will be a co-heir of the opposing powers.
Vers. 30. *From the fruit of righteousness is born the tree of life.* The fruit of righteousness is the end of virtue. One has as many trees of life as he has fruits of righteousness. C This is the tree of life planted in the midst of paradise, which Adam is forbidden to touch after the sin, considering that he had lost the seeds of righteousness from which the tree of life is born.
CHAPTER XII.
Vers. 26. *He shall be his own friend.* Origen does not mention this verse at all. It is found, however, in some manuscripts; for it does not exist among the LXX, nor is it in others.
CHAPTER XVI.
Vers. 14. *The wrath of a king is a messenger of death; but a wise man will appease it.* For if the saint be impassible, or if we should allegorize the "wrath." D
CHAPTER XXV.
*In the places of the impious, men are caught.* Their places are the gatherings of the heretics.
CHAPTER XXX.
Vers. 15. *Three things are impossible for me to comprehend.* It is impossible for one who is being introduced to scientific understanding to comprehend a theorem, and it is impossible for a man to see and understand things that are above man, such as the cure for cancer—even if angels might know it. It is impossible for anything to be understood by someone if it in no way exists, and cannot even (come to) exist, such as for three to be four. Therefore, it seems to have been spoken regarding things that do not exist. For it is impossible to understand the way of an eagle in the air if it has not left tracks in its flight, analogous to the tracks left on the sandy ground by those who walk upon it; so also with regard to a serpent: on yielding ground it is possible to understand its paths, but on rock it is not. *And the tracks of a ship sea-faring.* Perhaps by "ship" here we should speak of Jesus and his disciples, or sometimes of them alone; not sea-faring, for "straightway the boat reached the land to which they were going" by divine power. But a ship that does not carry Jesus does fare upon the sea, and this continuously, being made unstable by contrary winds. And since the affairs of life are vanity, [as they are] always sea-faring, and no man leads [anyone] to eternal life, it is not possible to comprehend their tracks. Accordingly, of the glorious kings of the earth, or even of the rulers, no work estranged from piety remains after death. For their glory has been extinguished. *But it is not recognized,* he says, *nor the ways of a man in youth,* inflamed by desires on account of the instability of his ways; *and of an adultress,* likewise on account of the shamelessness. Or this is the Church of the nations, which, after having been washed through baptism, says it has done nothing absurd. But the righteous man is not in his youth, since, having been perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long ages. Such is every adulterous woman, or one who has estranged herself from her bridegroom, and a soul having left her husband and going after lovers. *And it sets out at one command in orderly fashion.* The locust is also praised as orderly, being obedient to the command of the word of God.
Such is the Church, which, on account of its being despised by men, is compared to the locust in what pertains to the earth; but because it is gathered with Jesus and is not scattered, but puts on the whole armor of God that it might stand against the stratagems of the devil, it sets out at one command in orderly array. It is not under a king, like Pharaoh, but it is under the King, and the labors of the Egyptians are handed over to it. Perhaps it is because we are C not reigned over before the reign of Christ that the locust has no king. For they have no leader, just as bees, yet each one goes forward. These are those who, by their own choice, are lifted up from earthly things, traveling a life that is ordered. Or the locusts are those who, wanting to think of flying, are unable, and are dragged back a little by the earth. But if they should partake of the active life, they will be brought into one active rank.
*And a he-goat leading a flock.* The third is the he-goat, according to the Seventy, the leader of a flock of goats, increasing it and leading it to the high pastures. For no flock of animals so ascends the heights. Such is the leader of Christ’s flock, leading it toward the heights. D Otherwise, the he-goat typifies Christ, being offered for sin. To Him, being on the height, follows the whole multitude of the godly.