Pico della Mirandola and Origen: The Origin of the Soul and the Theology of Restoration

Introduction

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–1494), one of the most brilliant minds of the Italian Renaissance, attempted what few before him had dared: a grand synthesis of all philosophical and religious traditions into a unified Christian truth. Among his many sources, the speculative theology of Origen of Alexandria (c. 184–253) played a subtle but important role. Although Origen was condemned for certain doctrines, particularly the pre-existence of souls and universal salvation (apokatastasis pantōn), his influence persisted in various Christian mystical and intellectual traditions. In this essay, we will examine how Pico engaged Origen’s thought, particularly concerning the origin and destiny of the soul.

1. Origen’s Doctrine of the Soul

Origen's De Principiis offers one of the earliest and most speculative Christian treatments of the soul. According to Origen, all rational beings (logika) were originally created by God in a perfect, spiritual state, existing prior to the material world (Origen, De Principiis, I.6.2; III.5.3). The diversity of beings—angels, humans, demons—resulted from the varying degrees of love and devotion these souls exhibited toward God in their pre-temporal existence. The material cosmos was thus created as a remedial school for fallen souls, with the goal of their eventual restoration.

Crucially, Origen argued for the eventual apokatastasis pantōn, the restoration of all souls to God (cf. De Principiis, III.6.5; see also 1 Corinthians 15:28), which led to his posthumous condemnation at the Second Council of Constantinople (553 AD). Nevertheless, his vision of the soul’s fall and ascent, grounded in freedom and divine pedagogy, exercised great influence on later Christian mystics and philosophers.

2. Pico’s Synthesis and the Origin of the Soul

In his Oration on the Dignity of Man, Pico asserts a radical view of human freedom:

"Thou, constrained by no limits, in accordance with thine own free will, in whose hand We have placed thee, shalt ordain for thyself the limits of thy nature" (Pico, Oration, trans. Cassirer, 1948, p. 224).

Here Pico echoes Origen’s theme of the soul’s freedom to ascend or descend in the cosmic hierarchy. Yet unlike Origen, Pico avoids an explicit doctrine of pre-existence. Influenced by both Aristotelian creationism and Platonic emanationism, Pico leaves open the question of the soul's precise moment of origin. In his 900 Theses, he writes:

"Whether the rational soul is infused immediately by God, or proceeds by way of secondary causes, has not yet been definitively resolved" (Conclusiones, Thesis 11, 1486).

Nevertheless, Pico’s mystical reading of Genesis in the Heptaplus suggests that the soul's origin reflects a divine act that mirrors the eternal intelligible order—a notion resonant with Origen’s Platonism.

3. Shared Doctrine of Ascent and Deification

Pico’s anthropology, like Origen’s, centers on the soul’s capacity for ascent. Influenced by Neoplatonism (especially Plotinus and Proclus), Pico describes the soul’s journey upward through intellectual and mystical stages, ultimately culminating in union with God—a process akin to Origen's doctrine of theōsis (Origen, De Principiis, III.6.1; Pico, Oration, pp. 225-230).

For Origen, God is "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), and every rational soul is destined to return to full communion with the divine nature. Pico cautiously mirrors this optimism, emphasizing man’s "almost infinite" potential to imitate the angelic and even divine life (Pico, Oration, p. 227). Both thinkers view the soul's ascent as a dynamic process of purification, knowledge, and love.

4. Universal Restoration: Apokatastasis

Origen’s teaching on universal restoration is arguably his most controversial legacy. While Pico does not openly advocate apokatastasis, his optimistic anthropology bears an unmistakable Origenian flavor. As Brian Copenhaver observes:

"The Oration's optimism is rooted in an Origenian vision of human freedom that leaves open the possibility of the soul's final transformation into a likeness of God" (Copenhaver, Pico della Mirandola: Oration on the Dignity of Man, 2012, p. 43).

Pico’s syncretism—melding Christian, Platonic, Hermetic, and Kabbalistic traditions—suggests a cosmic harmony reminiscent of Origen’s universalism, though presented in a more speculative, non-dogmatic form.

5. Origen's Influence on Pico’s Christian Kabbalah

Pico’s encounter with Jewish Kabbalah deepened his affinity with Origen’s esoteric exegesis. Both employed allegorical and mystical readings of Scripture, seeking hidden wisdom accessible only to the spiritually advanced. In this, Pico reflects Origen's tripartite interpretation of Scripture—literal, moral, and mystical (Origen, De Principiis, IV.2.4)—and applies it to both the Bible and the Zohar. Both sought unity between revealed religion and philosophical wisdom, seeing philosophy not as a threat but as a handmaiden to theology.

Conclusion

Though separated by more than a millennium, Pico della Mirandola and Origen of Alexandria share striking commonalities in their theological vision of the soul’s origin and destiny. Both affirm the soul’s divine origin, its freedom to ascend or fall, and its potential for ultimate restoration. While Pico stops short of endorsing Origen’s pre-existence of souls or his fully realized doctrine of apokatastasis, the echoes of Origen are unmistakable. Pico’s Renaissance synthesis thus demonstrates the enduring power of Origen’s thought to inspire new theological horizons, even amid the constraints of post-patristic orthodoxy.

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Select Bibliography:

• Origen. On First Principles. Trans. G.W. Butterworth. Gloucester: Peter Smith, 1973.

• Pico della Mirandola. Oration on the Dignity of Man. Trans. A. Robert Caponigri. Regnery, 1956.

• Pico della Mirandola. Conclusiones. 1486.

• Copenhaver, Brian. Pico della Mirandola: Oration on the Dignity of Man: A New Translation and Commentary. Cambridge University Press, 2012.

• Gersh, Stephen. From Iamblichus to Eriugena: An Investigation of the Prehistory and Evolution of the Pseudo-Dionysian Tradition. Brill, 1978.

• McGinn, Bernard. The Foundations of Mysticism. Crossroad, 1991.

• Clark, Elizabeth A. Origen: Self and Salvation. Oxford University Press, 1992.