# Unde oportet charitati srena imponere



## KsSp

Hello. 
Here is another sentence from Origen's _Homilies on Luke_ that I find difficult to understand. 
"Unde oportet charitati srena imponere, et tantum ei vagandi permittere libertatem, quantum in praerupta non corruat."
My take on it is that it is something like "Therefore, the love for God must be above everything else, and to whatever extent we can diverge from the topic, however great a failure may be in a collapse." 
Rendered like this, the piece does not seem to have any meaning. Could you please comment on what it means? 
Thank you.


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## bearded

Hello
I surmise that you should read ''frena'' (brakes) instead of ''srena''. The shapes of f and s are similar in many an old writing..
My interpretation of the sentence (bad English, just for the sake of understanding):

''It is therefore necessary to set limits (lit.brakes) to love, and to allow it only as much freedom to roam/meander as (long as) it won't fall into a ravine''.


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## Scholiast

saluete omnes!

This link should take you to the primary text of Origen's 25th _Homily_ on Luke's Gospel,* in _Patrologiae Cursus Completus_ (vol. XXVI) from 1843. There is surely a more recent edition, but thus far I have been unable to track it down, and road-works are cutting me off today from access to my friendly neighbourhood Uni. Library, and everything else.

bearded was quite right: f is often confused with 'long' s, but his translation looks impeccable to me.

Σ

*Edit: in Jerome's Latin translation—of course Origen wrote in Greek.


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## bearded

Scholiast said:


> but his translation looks impeccable to me.


Sorry, sometimes English sounds a bit cryptic.  Do you mean my or KsSp's translation?


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## Scholiast

Sorry, bearded, I wrote in excessive haste. I meant of course yours.

Σ


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## bearded

Oh, thank you!


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## KsSp

Thank you, bearded and Scholiast!


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