ved
the story of Adam symbolically. See c. Cels. IV. 40; [Greek: peri
archon] IV. 16; in Levit. hom. VI. 2. In his later writings, after he
had met with the practice of child baptism in Caesarea and prevailed on
himself to regard it as apostolic, he also assumed the existence of a
sort of hereditary sin originating with Adam, and added it to his idea
of the preexisting Fall. Like Augustine after him, he also supposed that
there was an inherent pollution in sexual union; see in Rom. V. 9: VII.
4; in Lev. hom. VIII. 3; in Num. hom. 2 (Bigg, p. 202 f.).]

[Footnote 785: Nevertheless Origen assumes that some souls are invested
with flesh, not for their own sins, but in order to be of use to others.
See in Joh. XIII. 43 ad fin; II. 24, 25; in Matth. XII. 30.]

[Footnote 786: Origen again and again strongly urged the necessity of
divine grace.]

[Footnote 787: See on this point Bigg, pp. 207 ff., 223 f. Origen is the
father of Joachim and all spiritualists.]

[Footnote 788: See Knittel, Orig. Lehre von der Menschwerdung (Tuebinger
Theologische Quartalschrift, 1872). Ramers, Orig. Lehre von der
Auferstehung des Fleisches, 1851. Schultz, Gottheit Christi, pp. 51-62.]

[Footnote 789: With regard to this point we find the same explanation in
Origen as in Irenaeus and Tertullian, and also among the Valentinians, in
so far as the latter describe the redemption necessary for the Psychici.
Only, in this instance also, everything is more copious in his case,
because he availed himself of the Holy Scriptures still more than these
did, and because he left out no popular conception that seemed to have
any moral value. Accordingly he propounded views as to the value of
salvation and as to the significance of Christ's death on the cross,
with a variety and detail rivalled by no theologian before him. He was,
as Bigg (p. 209 ff.) has rightly noticed, the first Church theologian
after Paul's time that gave a detailed theology of sacrifices. We may
mention here the most important of his views. (1) The death on the cross
along with the resurrection is to be considered as a real, recognisable
victory over the demons, inasmuch as Christ (Col. II. 14) exposed the
weakness of his enemies (a very frequent aspect of the matter). (2) The
death on the cross is to be considered as an expiation offered to God.
Here Origen argued that all sins require expiation, and, conversely,
that all innocent blood has a greater or less importance according to
t