BOOK I.

The following are the contents of the first book of The Refutation of all Heresies. The four manuscripts of the first book existing before the recent discovery of seven of the remaining nine books of The Refutation all attribute the work to Origen. These inscriptions read: 1. "Refutation by Origen of all Heresies"; 2. "Of Origen's Philosophumena... these are the contents"; 3. "Being estimable (Dissertations) by Origen, a man of the greatest wisdom." The recently discovered manuscript itself contains notes in the margin: "Origen, and Origen's opinion." Modern commentators have suggested various titles, but the consensus often leans toward The Refutation of All Heresies or Philosophumena. There were clearly two sections: (1) a summary of philosophical tenets (Books I-IV), serving as a foundation for (2) the refutation of heresies, based on their derivative nature from Greek and Egyptian speculation. Bunsen designates the work "St. Hippolytus' (Bishop and Martyr) Refutation of All Heresies."

We propose to provide an account of the tenets of natural philosophers, moral philosophers, and finally, logicians, along with the identities of those in each group.

Among natural philosophers Most of what follows in Book I is a compilation from ancient sources. The most able summary of ancient philosophical tenets, which Cicero followed in De Natura Deorum, is found in Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Readers may also consult Diogenes’ Lives of the Philosophers, Plutarch’s De Placitis Philosophorum, and various histories of ancient philosophy. may be listed: Thales, Pythagoras, Empedocles, Heraclitus, Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Archelaus, Parmenides, Leucippus, Democritus, Xenophanes, Ecphantus, and Hippo.

Among moral philosophers are: Socrates (a pupil of Archelaus the physicist) and Plato (the pupil of Socrates). This speculator combined three systems of philosophy.

Among logicians is: Aristotle (a pupil of Plato). He systematized the art of dialectics. Among the Stoic logicians were: Chrysippus and Zeno. Epicurus, however, proposed an opinion almost contrary to all other philosophers. Pyrrho was an Academic; This term is variously translated as Academian or Academaic, though some suggest the text should be read as "from home" rather than domestic. this speculator taught the incomprehensibility of everything. The Brahmins among the Indians, the Druids among the Celts, and Hesiod also devoted themselves to philosophical pursuits.

We must not overlook any deception devised by those called philosophers among the Greeks. For even their incoherent tenets must be taken as worthy of credit, due to the extreme madness of the heretics, who—by observing silence and concealing their own ineffable mysteries—have been thought by many to be worshippers of God. An elaborate defense of this position is the subject of Cudworth’s The True Intellectual System of the Universe. We have previously explained these doctrines briefly, not in great detail, but refuting them in a general summary. We did not think it necessary to bring their secret doctrines That is, their esoteric mysteries intended for a select few, as opposed to exoteric doctrines for the general public. to light, hoping that by exposing their tenets through riddles, they might become ashamed and, fearing that we might divulge their mysteries and convict them of atheism, be induced to desist from their [un-...]