Origen · a new plain-English translation from the Greek and Latin
On the passage that is written: "My soul magnifies the Lord," up to the place where it says: "he has done a mighty deed for those who fear him." Before John, Elizabeth prophesies; before the birth of the Lord the Savior, Mary prophesies. And just as sin began with a woman and afterward reached even to the man, so too the beginning of salvation had its origin from women, so that the rest of women too, having set aside the frailty of their sex,
might imitate the life and conduct of the holy women, and especially of those who are now described in the Gospel. Let us then look at the virgin's prophecy. "My soul," she says, "magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has exulted in God my savior." Two things, soul and spirit, perform a twofold praise. The soul proclaims the Lord, the spirit proclaims God: not that the praise of the Lord is one thing and that of God another, but because he who is God is the same one
who is also Lord, and he who is Lord is also God. It is asked how the soul can magnify the Lord, since the Lord can receive neither increase nor decrease, and what he is, he is; for what reason, then, does Mary now say: "My soul magnifies the Lord"? If I consider that the Lord the Savior is the invisible God's very image, and I see that my soul was made "according to the image" of the Creator, it would be the image of that image
—for my soul is not, strictly speaking, the image of God, but was made after the likeness of the prior image—then I shall see that, after the example of those who are accustomed to paint images, and who, having received, for instance, one face of a king, apply the skill of their art to expressing the principal likeness, so each one of us, forming his soul to the image of Christ, gives it either a greater or a lesser
image, either faded and dingy, or bright and shining and answering to the likeness of the principal image. When, then, I make the image of the image—that is, my soul—great, and magnify it in deed, in thought, in word, then the image of God is made great, and the Lord himself, whose image it is, is magnified in our soul. And just as the Lord grows in our image, so too, if
we are sinners, he is diminished and decreases. Or rather, the Lord is neither diminished nor decreased, but we, instead of the image of the Savior, put on other images for ourselves; instead of the image of the Word, of wisdom, of justice, and of the other virtues, we take on the form of the devil, so that it is said of us: "serpents, brood of vipers." But we also put on the persona both of the dragon and of the foxes, when we are venomous, cruel, and cunning, and also that of the goats,
when we are more inclined toward lust. I recall that once, when discussing Deuteronomy, at the place where it is written: "you shall not make any likeness of male or of female, the likeness of any animal," I said that it is the spiritual law that some make the image of a male, others of a female, that one has the likeness of birds, another of reptiles and serpents, and another makes the likeness of God. How these things are to be understood, he will know who has also
read those passages. So Mary's soul first magnifies the Lord, and afterward her spirit exults in God; for unless we have first believed, we cannot exult. "Because he has looked," she says, "upon the humility of his handmaid." Upon what humility of Mary did the Lord look? What lowly or abject thing did the mother of the Savior have, she who bore the Son of God in her womb? What, then, does she mean when she says: "he has looked upon the humility"
..."his handmaid," it is as if he had said: he "looked" upon the justice of his handmaid, he "looked" upon her temperance, he "looked" upon her fortitude and wisdom. For it is fitting that God should look upon the virtues. Someone may object and say: I understand how God looks upon the justice and the wisdom of his handmaid, but how he attends to her humility is not quite clear. Let whoever asks such things consider that, properly speaking, in the scriptures one of the
virtues that is proclaimed is humility. For the Savior says: "Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls." ... to hear the name of this virtue, however it may also be called by the philosophers, listen: it is the very "humility" that God looks upon, whatever they may call it. But we too can name it by a certain roundabout way, namely, when someone is not puffed up, but
casts himself down. For whoever is puffed up falls, according to the Apostle, "into the judgment of the devil" — since that one too began from being puffed up, and from pride — so that, not being "puffed up," he may not fall into the judgment of the devil. God "looked" upon the humility of his handmaid, and God looked upon the virtue of one who pursues gentleness and self-abasement. For behold, "from now on all generations will call me blessed" — let me understand "all" simply as all who believe, concerning
that I offer this interpretation. But if I search into it somewhat more deeply, I shall observe how great a step forward it is to say: "because he who is mighty has done great things for me"; since everyone who humbles himself will be exalted — and God exalted the humility of blessed Mary; he "did" great things for her, he who is, whose name is holy. His mercy, moreover, extends to generations; the reckonings of God are not confined to one generation, nor to two, nor
to three, nor even to five, but are extended forever, "from generation to generation." "He has done a mighty deed with his arm." Even if you have come to the Lord in weakness, if you fear him you will be able to hear the promise which the Lord pledges to you on account of your fear of him. What is this promise? "To those who fear him," it says, "he has done a mighty deed" — or rather, dominion is royal power. For indeed what
we call "dominion" is so named from the fact that it commands, or that it holds all things beneath itself. If, then, you fear the Lord, he gives you strength, that is, dominion; he gives you a kingdom, so that, being made subject to the "King of kings," you may possess the kingdom in Christ Jesus, to whom is glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.