The Fate of the Devil in Origen

Abstract

Origen's prediction that death will at last be at peace with God at De Principiis 3.6.5 is generally assumed to allude to the devil, though without naming him. Eriugena (Peri Phuseon 930 Migne) is acquainted with a variant in which the devil is expressly named. This is unlikely to be the true reading, since: (a) there is no strong evidence that he had access to a superior manuscript of the De Principiis; and (b) the devil is once again camouflaged under a personification of death at Commentary on Romans V.560-572 Bammel. If we accept, however, that the devil is the intended subject of these passages, we must reconcile them with the letter in which Origen vehemently denies that the devil can be saved. The solution proposed here is to distinguish between the true salvation of the elect and the mere acquiescence of the devil in the victory of God.