Anthropology
The influence of Origen can be seen in
the doctrine of the human soul. Although quite a few passages seem to imply
that man consists of only body and soul (De Spir. S. 54; In Ps.
1520 BC), others show that Didymus, following Origen and Plato, believed in
three principles and made a real distinction between the rational soul (νους), the animal soul (ψυχη) and the body (φυσις) (De Spir. S. 54, 55, 59; De Trin.
1,9; 1,15; 3,31).
He follows Origen also in his ideas of
the origin of the soul. He is convinced that the soul has been created but
shares his predecessor’s error that it existed before the body in which it was
enclosed in punishment for sins committed (Enarr. in Epist. Petr. I, 1; De
Trin. 3,1). (Johannes Quasten, Patrology, 4 vols. [Westminster, Md.:
Christian Classics, Inc., 1992], 3:99)
