{"collection":"chr","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/chr/ecf/009/0090467.htm","path":"chr/ecf/009/0090467.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/chr/ecf/009/0090467.htm","text":"26. The Little Ones and Their Angels.\n\u201cSee that ye despise not one of these little ones.\u201d 5974 It seems to me that as among the bodies of men there are differences in point of size,\u2014so that some are little, and others great, and others of middle height, and, again, there are differences among the little, as they are more or less little, and the same holds of the great, and of those of middle height,\u2014so also among the souls of men, there are some things which give them the stamp of littleness, and other things the stamp of greatness, so to speak, and generally, after the analogy of things bodily, other things the stamp of mediocrity. But in the case of bodies, it is not due to the action of men but to the spermatic principles, that one is short and little, another great, and another of middle height; but in the case of souls, it is our free-will, and actions of such a kind, and habits of such a kind, that furnish the reason why one is great, or little, or of middle height; and it is of our free-will either by advancing in stature to increase our size, or not advancing to be short. And so indeed I understand the words about Jesus having assumed a human soul, \u201cJesus advanced;\u201d 5975 for as from the free-will there was an advance of His soul in wisdom and grace, so also in stature. And the Apostle says, \u201cUntil we all attain unto a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ;\u201d 5976 for we must think that he attains unto a man, and that full-grown, according to the inner man, who has gone through the things of the child, and has reached the stage of the man, and has put away the things of the child, and generally, has perfected the things of the man. 5977 And so we must suppose that there is a certain measure of spiritual stature unto which the most perfect soul can attain by magnifying the Lord, and become great. Thus, then, these became great, of whom this is written, Isaac, and Moses, and John, and the Saviour Himself above all; for also about Him Gabriel said, \u201cHe shall be great;\u201d 5978 but the little ones are \u201cthe newborn babes which long for the reasonable milk which is without guile,\u201d 5979 such as stand in need of nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers, spoken of in Isaiah when he says, about the calling from the Gentiles, \u201cAnd they shall bring the sons in the bosom, and take their daughters on the shoulders, and kings shall be thy nursing-fathers and their princesses thy nursing-mothers.\u201d 5980 For these reasons you will, then, attend to the word, \u201cDo not despise one of these little ones,\u201d 5981 and consider whether it is their angels who bring them in their bosom, since they have become sons, and also take on their shoulders what are called daughters, and whether from them are the nursing-fathers who are called kings, and the nursing-mothers who are called princesses. And since the little ones, pointed out by our Saviour, are under the stewardship as of nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers, on this account I think that Moses, who believed that he had been already assigned a place among the ranks of the great, said, with regard to the promise, \u201cMy angel shall go before you,\u201d 5982 \u201cIf thou thyself do not go along with me, carry me not up hence.\u201d 5983 For though the little one even be an heir, yet as being a child he differs nothing from a servant when he is a child, 5984 and to the extent to which he is little \u201chas the spirit of bondage to fear;\u201d 5985 but he who is not at all any longer such has no longer the spirit of bondage, but already the spirit of adoption, when \u201cperfect love casteth out fear;\u201d 5986 it will be plain to thee, how that according to these things \u201cthe angel of the Lord\u201d is said \u201cto encamp round about them that fear Him, and to save them.\u201d 5987 But you will consider, according to these things also, whether these are indeed angels of the little ones \u201cwho are led by the spirit of bondage to fear,\u201d \u201cwhen the angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him and delivereth them;\u201d but of the great, whether it is the Lord who is greater than the angels, who might say about each of them, \u201cI am with him in affliction;\u201d 5988 and, so long as we are imperfect, and need one to assist us that we may be delivered from evils, we stand in need of an angel of whom Jacob said, \u201cThe angel who delivered me from all the evils;\u201d 5989 but, when we have become perfected, and have passed through the stage of being subject to nursing-fathers and nursing-mothers and guardians and stewards, 5990 we are meet to be governed by the Lord Himself.\nCf. 1 Cor. xiii. 11.\n490:5978 490:5979 490:5980\nIsa. 49:22, 23.\n490:5981 490:5982 490:5983 490:5984 490:5985 490:5986 490:5987 490:5988 490:5989 490:5990","title":"Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol IX: Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew.: Chapter XXVI","type":"page"}