A Mother's Teaching

Καὶ μὴ ἀπώσῃ θεσμοὺς μητρός σου Τὴν μητέρα ἐπάγεσθαι προστάσει, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡ σοφία γεννῶσα, ἡ μὲν κατὰ Θεόν· καίτοι ἐρχῆν αὐτὸν εἰπεῖν τὸν πατέρα· οὗτος γὰρ πρὸς τὸ συνεῖναι τῷ υἱῷ μᾶλλον ἐπιτηδειότερος· ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐ δυνατὸν, αὐτὸν γνῶναι τὸν Θεὸν πρὸ τῆς τῶν γεγονότων θεωρίας, τούτου χάριν τὴν μητέρα καὶ οὐ τὸν πατέρα προστάσσει ἐπάγεσθαι· ἵνα διὰ τῆς μητρὸς ὁ υἱὸς ἴδῃ τὸν πατέρα· ἐὰν γὰρ αὑτὴ μὴ γεννήσῃ, οὐ βλέπει τὸ φῶς, ὅπερ ἐστι γνῶσις αὐτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ Ϛ' Source: Migne PG 17.185a

And forsake not your mother's teaching. 1 He commands that he has a mother with him, which is the wisdom that brings forth according to God. And this befits rather than a father, for this is more fitting for the understanding of the child, since he is unable to know God before beholding things which are; therefore he is commanded to have with him the mother rather than the father, that through the mother the son might know the father. For unless she has given birth to him, he does not see the light, which is to say, the knowledge of God. Origen, On Proverbs, Chap 6, Fragment 1 Prov 6.20