ars,
some defective in vision, others in bearing and speech; some born in
that condition, others deprived of the use of their senses immediately
after birth. But why should I repeat and enumerate all the horrors of
human misery? Why should this be?"

Origen then goes on to combat the ideas advanced by some thinkers of
his times, that the differences were caused by some essential
difference in the nature and quality of the souls of individuals. He
states emphatically that all souls are essentially equal in nature and
quality and that the differences arise from the various exercise of
their power of free-will. He says of his opponents:

"Their argument accordingly is this: If there be this great
diversity of circumstances, and this diverse and varying
condition by birth, in which the faculty of free-will has no
scope (for no one chooses for himself either where, or with
whom, or in what condition he is born); if, then, this is
not caused by the difference in the nature of souls, i.e.,
that a soul of an evil nature is destined for a wicked
nation and a good soul for a righteous nation, what other
conclusion remains than that these things must be supposed
to be regulated by accident or chance? And, if that be
admitted, then it will be no longer believed that the world
was made by God, or administered by His providence."

Origen continues:

"God who deemed it just to arrange His creatures according
to their merit, brought down these different understandings
into the harmony of one world, that He might adorn, as it
were, one dwelling, in which there ought to be not only
vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay (and
some, indeed, to honor, and others to dishonor) with their
different vessels, or souls, or understandings. On which
account the Creator will neither appear to be unjust in
distributing (for the causes already mentioned) to every one
according to his wants, nor will the happiness or
unhappiness of each one's birth, or whatever be the
condition that falls to his lot, be accidental."

He then asserts that the condition of each man is the result of his
own deeds.

He then considers the case of Jacob and Esau, which a certain set of
thinkers had used to illustrate the unjust and cruel discrimination of
the Creator toward His creatures. Origen contended that in this case
it would