Love in Origen's Commentary on the Song of Songs

Abstract

This survey intends to reassess the well known view of Anders Nygren who believes that the difference between eros and agape is key in the early Christian literature, and in this respect it considers the case of Origen of Alexandria (185-254) who, in the original Greek fragments of his Commentary on the Song of Songs, passed down to us also in the partial Latin translation of Rufinus of Aquileia, though he is aware of the original semantic difference between them, employs them as synonyms and applies them to supersensible and spiritual entities.