A Rich Young Man

Ἐξῆς δὲ τούτοις λέγεται, ὅτι ' Ἀκούσας τὸν λόγον ὁ νεανίσκος, ἀπῆλθε λυπούμενος· ἥν γὰρ ἔχων κτήματα πολλά. Καὶ ὅψει γε, ὡς πρὸς τὴν ἀναγωγὴν τίνα, τρόπον δυσαποσπάστως ἔχομεν τοῦ φρονεῖν τὸν πλοῦτον ἀγαθὸν εἶναι, ἤ τὴν κάτω δόξαν· ἀλλὰ καὶ μᾶλλον θέλομεν, ἐπεὶ ἀγαπῶμεν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν, τυχεῖν τῶν φαύλως ἐπιθυμουμένων, ἢ ἀπαλλαγῆναι τῆς ἐπιθυμίας· καὶ μᾶλλον περιπεσεῖν οἶς φανταζόμεθα φοβεροῖς, ἥπερ ἀποθέσθαι τὸν ἐχθρὸν τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ φόβον. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ πρεσβύτερός τις εἰσῆκται καθεστηκὼς, οὐδὲ ἀνὴρ καταρήσας τὰ τοῦ νηπίου, ἀλλὰ νεανίσκος ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούσας, καὶ ἀπελθὼν λυπούμενος. Τοιοῦτος γὰρ ἧν τὴν ψυχὴν, διὸ καὶ καταλιπὼν τὸν Ἰησοὺν ἀπῆλθεν· ἐπὶ ψόγῳ γὰρ εἴρηται τό· 'Ἀπῆλθε,' καὶ ' ἀπῆλθε λυπούμενος, λύπην' τὴν τοῦ κόσμου, ' τὴν θάνατον κατεργαζομένην.' Τίς γὰρ ἀγαπῶν τὸ ὀργίζεσθαι, καὶ τὸ λυπεῖσθαι, ἔχων κτήματα πολλὰ ἂπερ ἠγαπα, διὸ ἀπῆλθε λυπούμενος, καὶ ὅσα ἀπὸ κακίας ἧν κεκρατηκότα τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ; Εἰ μέντοι ἐπὶ τῆς ἱστορίας μένοις κατά τινα τῶν προαποδεδομένων διήγησιν, ἐξ ἡμισείας εὕροις ἄν ἐπαινετὸν, καὶ ἐξ ἡμισείας ψεκτὸν τὸν νεανίσκον τοῦτον· ᾗ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἐμοίχευσεν, οὐδὲ ἐφόνευσεν, οὐδὲ ἔκλεψεν, οὐδὲ ἐψευδοματρύρησεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἥδη νεανίσκος ὥν ἐτίμησε τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα, καὶ ἐλυπήθη ἐπὶ τοῖς τὴν τελειότητα ὑποτιθεμένοις λόγοις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ ἐπαγγελλομένοις αὐτὴν, εἰ ἀποδοῖτο τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, ἀστεῖόν τι ἧν ἐν αὐτῷ· ᾗ δὲ ἀπῆλθεν ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ λυπούμενος διὰ τὰ κτήματα, δέον αὐτὸν χαίρειν, ὅτι ἀντ' ἐκείνων ἔμελλεν ἔχειν θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανῳ, καὶ ἀκολουθῶν τῷ Ἰησοῦ κατ' ἴχνη βαίνειν υἱοῦ Θεοῦ, ψεκτὸς ἡν. Ὀριγεν, Κατὰ Ματθαιον Ἐξηγητικων, Τομος ΙΕ'

After these thing it is said 'When the young man heard the word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions' 1 And see, as though in anagogical terms, we have become stubbornly fixed in thinking that wealth is good, rather than the opinion below. But even more we wish, since we love even the desire, to touch upon those things that are desired worthlessly, or rather to be freed from the desire, and still more the fall into those fears we imagine which heap up fear of the enemy rather than the fear of God. Now he was not introduced as an elder in a mature state, nor as a man disdaining the things of childhood, but as a youth who hears the word and goes away grieving. For such is his soul, since indeed after leaving Jesus he went away, for it is said as a matter of blame that 'He went away' and 'he went away grieving the grief' that is 'of the world' which produces' death' 2 For someone who loves inclines to anger and to grief, and having many possessions which he loved, since he went away grieving, what evil was it that wrought this state of soul? Attending first to the literal level of the explanation of things previously set forth, you would find half a measure of praise and half of blame given to this youth. For he did not commit adultery, not murder, nor steal, nor bear false witness, but, being a young man, he honoured his mother and father, and yet he was grieved at the teachings of Jesus set forth about perfection and what was promised to him, that if he would give away his property, there would be something beneficial for him, and as he went away from Jesus grieving on account of his possessions, he became blameworthy, for he should have rejoiced, because instead of these things he would have had treasure in heaven, even following Jesus, walking in the footsteps of the son of God. Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Book 15 1 Mt 19.22 2 2 Cor 7.10