CHAPTER LXXXVIII.
And wishing to show at greater length that even the thoughts of God entertained by the human race are not superior to those of all other mortal creatures, but that certain of the irrational animals are capable of thinking about Him regarding whom opinions so discordant have existed among the most acute of mankind—Greeks and Barbarians—he continues: “If, because man has been able to grasp the idea of God, he is deemed superior to the other animals, let those who hold this opinion know that this capacity will be claimed by many of the other animals; and with good reason: for what would any one main- tain to be more divine than the power of foreknowing and pre dicting future events? Men accordingly acquire the art from the other animals, and especially from birds. And those who listen to the indications furnished by them, become possessed 0 the gift of prophecy. If, then, birds, and the other prophetic animals, which are enabled by the gift of God to foreknow events, instruct us by means of signs, so much the nearer do they seem to be to the society of God, and to be endowed with 1 αὐτόθεν. 3 John xvi. 25. 3 ἰδιωτιχά.
Book iv. } ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 255 greater wisdom, and to be more beloved by Him. The more intelligent of men, moreover, say that the animals hold meet- ings which are more sacred than our assemblies, and that they know what is said at these meetings, and show that in reality they possess this knowledge, when, having previously stated that the birds have declared their intention of departing to some particular place, and of doing this thing or the other, the truth of their assertions is established by the departure of the birds to the place in question, and by their doing what was foretold. And no race of animals appears to be more observant of oaths than the elephants are, or to show greater devotion to divine things; and this, I presume, solely because they have some knowledge of God.” See here now how he at once lays hold of, and brings forward as acknowledged facts, questions which are the subject of dispute among those philosophers, not only among the Greeks, but also among the Barbarians, who have either discovered or learned from certain demons some things about birds of augury and other animals, by which certain prophetic intimations are said to be made to men. For, in the first place, it has been disputed whether there is an art of augury, and, in general, a method of divination by animals, or not. And, in the second place, they who admit that there is an art of divination by birds, are not agreed about the manner of the divination; since some maintain that it is from certain demons or gods of divination! that the animals receive their impulses to action—the birds to flights and sounds of different kinds, and the other animals to movements of one sort or another. Others, again, believe that their souls are more divine in their nature, and fitted to operations of that kind, Which is a most incredible supposition.
CHAPTER LXXXIX.
Celsus, however, seeing he wished to prove by the foregoing Statements that the irrational animals are more divine and intelligent than human beings, ought to have established at greater length the actual existence of such an art of divina- tion, and in the next place have energetically undertaken its defence, and effectually refuted the arguments of those who 1 θεῶν καντικῶν.
256 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book 1v.
would annihilate such arts of divination, and have overturned in a convincing manner also the arguments of those who say that it is from demons or from gods that animals receive the movements which lead them to divination, and to have proved in the next place that the soul of irrational animals is more divine than that of man. For, had he done so, and manifested a philosophical spirit in dealing with such things, we should to the best of our power have met his confident assertions, refuting in the first place the allegation that irra- tional animals are wiser than men, and showing the falsity of the statement that they have ideas of God more sacred than ours, and that they hold among themselves certain sacred assem- blies.. But now, on the contrary, he who accuses us because we believe in the Supreme God, requires us to believe that the souls of birds entertain ideas of God more divine and distinct than those of men. Yet if this is true, the birds have clearer ideas of God than Celsus himself; and it is not matter of sur- prise that it should be so with him, who so greatly depreciates human beings. Nay, so far as Celsus can make it appear, the birds possess grander and more divine ideas than, I do not say we Christians do, or than the Jews, who use the same Scriptures with ourselves, but even than are possessed by the theologians among the Greeks, for they were only human beings. According to Celsus, indeed, the tribe of birds that practise divination, forsooth, understand the nature of the Divine Being better than Pherecydes, and Pythagoras, and Socrates, and Plato! We ought then to go to the birds as our teachers, in order that as, according to the view of Celsus, they instruct us by their power of divination in the knowledge of future events, so also they may free men from doubts regarding the Divine Deing, by imparting to them the clear ideas which they * have obtained respecting Him! It follows, accordingly, that Celsus, who regards birds as superior to men, ought to employ them as his instructors, and not one of the Greek philosophers!
CHAPTER XC.
But we have a few remarks to make, out of a larger number, in answer to these statements of Celsus, that we may show the ingratitude towards his Maker which is involved in his holding Book 1v.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 287 these false opinions! For Celsus, although a man, and “ being in honour,"? does not possess understanding, and therefore he did not compare himself with the birds and the other irrational animals, which he regards as capable of divining; but yielding to them the foremost place, he lowered himself, and as far as he could the whole human race with him (as entertaining lower and inferior views of God than the irrational animals), beneath the Egyptians, who worship irrational animals as divinities. Let the principal point of investigation, however, be this: whether there actually is or not an art of divination, by means of birds and other living things believed to have such power. For the arguments which tend to establish either view are not to be despised. On the one hand, it is pressed upon us not to admit such an art, lest the rational being should abandon the divine oracles, and betake himself to birds; and on the other, there is the energetic testimony of many, that nume- rous individuals have been saved from the greatest dangers by putting their trust in divination by birds. For the pre- sent, however, let it be granted that an art of divination does exist, in order that I may in this way show to those who are prejudiced on the subject, that if this be admitted, the superiority of man over irrational animals, even over those that are endowed with power of divination, is great, and beyond all reach of comparison with the latter. We have then to say, that if there was in them any divine nature capable of fore- telling future events, and so rich [ig that knowledge] as out of its superabundance to make them known to any man who wished to know them, it is manifest that they would know what concerned themselves far sooner [than what concerned others]; and had they possessed this knowledge, they would have been upon their guard against flying to any particular place where men had planted snares and nets to catch them, or where archers took aim and shot at them in their flight. And especially, were eagles aware beforehand of the designs formed against their young, either by serpents crawling up to their nests and destroying them, or by men who take them for their amusement, or for any other useful purpose or service, they would not have placed their young in a spot where they 1 τὴν ὠχάριστον Ψευδοδοξίαν. 2 ps. xlix. 12. ORIG.— VOL. II. R 258 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book rv.
were to be attacked; and, in general, not one of these animals would have been captured by men, because they were more divine and intelligent than they..
CHAPTER XCI.
But besides, if birds of augury converse with one another,’ as Celsus maintains they do, the prophetic birds having a divine nature, and the other rational animals also ideas of the divinity and foreknowledge of future events; and if they had communi- cated this knowledge to others, the sparrow mentioned in Homer would not have built her nest in the spot where a serpent was to devour her and her young ones, nor would the serpent in the writings of the same poet have failed to take precautions against being captured by the eagle. For this wonderful poet says, in his poem regarding the former: ** A mighty dragon shot, of dire portent; From Jove himself the dreadful sign was sent. Straight to the three his sanguine spires he rolled, And curled around in many a winding fold. The topmost branch a mother bird possessed; Eight callow infants filled the mossy nest; Herself the ninth: the serpent, as he hung, Stretched his black jaws, and crushed the dying young; While hovering near, with miserable moan, The drooping mother wailed her children gone. The mother last, as round the nest she flew, Seized by the beating wing, the monster slew: Nor long survived: to marble turned, he stands A lasting prodigy on Aulis sands.; Such was the will of Jove; and hence we dare Trust in his omen, and support the war."?
And regarding the second—the bird—the poet says: ** Jove’s bird on rounding pinions beat the skies, A bleeding serpent of enormous size, His talons twined; alive, and curling round, He stung the bird, whose throat received the wound. Mad with the smart, he drops the fatal prey, In airy circles wings his painful way, 1 εἴπερ οἰωνοὶ οἰωνοῖς μάχονται. For μάχονται Ruseus conjectures διαλέ- | yovreat, which is adopted by Lommatzsch. 3 Homer, Ilias, ii. 808 sq. (Pope's translation.)
Boox 1v.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 259 Floats on the winds, and rends the heaven with eries; Amidst the host, the fallen serpent lies.
They, pale with terror, mark its spires unrolled, And Jove's portent with beating hearts behold."!
Did the eagle, then, possess the power of divination, and the serpent (since this animal also is made use of by the augurs) not? But as this distinction can be easily refuted, cannot the assertion that both were capable of divination be refuted also? For if the serpent had possessed this knowledge, would not he have been on his guard against suffering what he did from the eagle? And innumerable other instances of a similar character may be found, to show that animals do not possess a prophetic soul, but that, according to the poet and the majority of man-- kind, it is the * Olympian himself who sent him to the light." And it is with a symbolical meaning? that Apollo employs the hawk* as his messenger, for the hawk‘ is called the “swift messenger of Apollo.” ° CHAPTER XCII.: In my opinion, however, it is certain wicked demons, and, so to speak, of the race of Titans or Giants, who have been guilty of impiety towards the true God, and towards the angels in heaven, and who have fallen from it, and who haunt the . denser parts of bodies, and frequent unclean places upon earth, and who, possessing some power of distinguishing future events, because they are without bodies of earthly material, engage in an employment of this kind, and desiring to lead the human race away from the true God, secretly enter the bodies of the more rapacious and savage and wicked of animals, and stir them up to do whatever they choose, and at whatever time they choose: either turning the fancies of these animals to make flights and movements of various kinds, in order that men may be caught by the divining power that is in the irrational animals, and neglect to seek after the God who contains all 1 Homer, Jlias, xii. 290 sq. (Pope's translation.) 2 κατὰ δέ τί σημεῖον. ὃ ἱέραξ. — * χίρκος, ‘the hen-harrier,” *T'alco," or ** Circus PM Cf. Liddell and Scott, s.v. | 5 Cf. Homer, Odyss. xv. v. 526.
260 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boor 1v.
things; or to search after the pure worship of God, but allow their reasoning powers to grovel on the earth, and amongst birds and serpents, and even foxes and wolves. For it has been observed by those who are skilled in such matters, that the clearest prognostications are obtained from animals of this kind; because the demons cannot act so effectively in the milder sort of animals as they can in these, in consequence of the similarity between them in point of wickedness; and yet it is not wickedness, but something like wickedness,’ which exists in these animals.
CHAPTER XCIII.
For which reason, whatever else there may be in the writings of Moses which excites my wonder, I would say that the fol- lowing is worthy of admiration, viz. that Moses, having observed the varying natures of animals, and having either learned from God what was peculiar to them, and to the demons which are kindred to each of the animals, or having himself ascertained these things by his own wisdom, has, in arranging the differ- ent kinds of animals, pronounced all those which are sup- posed by the Egyptians and the rest of mankind to possess the power of divination to be unclean, and, as a general rule, all that are not of that class to be clean. And amongst the unclean animals mentioned by Moses are the wolf, and fox, and serpent, and eagle, and hawk, and such like. And, generally speaking, you will find that not only in the law, but also in the prophets, these animals are employed as examples of all that is most wicked; and that a wolf or a fox is never men- tioned for a good purpose. Each species of demon, conse- quently, would seem to possess a certain affinity with a certain species of animal. And as among men there are some who are stronger than others, and this not at all owing to their moral character, so, in the same way, some demons will be more powerful in things indifferent than others;? and one class of them employs one kind of animal for the purpose of delud- ing men, in accordance with the will of him who is called in our Scriptures the “prince of this world,” while others predict future events by means of another kind of animal. Observe, xal ob κακίαν piv, οἱονεὶ δὲ κακίαν οὖσων. 3 ἐν μέσοις.
Book rv. ] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 261 moreover, to what a pitch of wickedness the demons proceed, so that they even assume the bodies of weasels in order to reveal the future! And now, consider with yourself whether it is better to accept the belief that it is the Supreme God and His Son who stir up the birds and the other living creatures to divina- tion, or that those who stir up these creatures, and not human beings (although they are present before them), are wicked, and, as they are called by our Scriptures, unclean demons.
CHAPTER XCILV.
But if the soul of birds is to be esteemed divine because future events are predicted by them, why should we not rather maintain, that when omens! are accepted by men, the seuls of those are divine through which the omens are heard? Accordingly, among such would be ranked the female slave mentioned in Homer, who ground the corn, when she said regarding the suitors: * For the very last time, now, will they sup here.”?
This slave, then, was divine, while the great Ulysses, the friend of Homer’s Pallas Athene, was not divine, but understanding tlhe words spoken by this “divine” grinder of corn as an omen, rejoiced, as the poet says: ** The divine Ulysses rejoiced at the omen." ὃ Observe, now, as the birds are possessed of a divine soul, and are capable of perceiving God, or, as Celsus says, the gods, it is clear that when we men also sneeze, we do so in consequence of a kind of divinity that is within us, and which imparts a prophetic power to our soul. For this belief is testified by many witnesses, and therefore the poet also says: ** And while he prayed, he sneezed.” ¢ And Penelope, too, said: εἰ Perceiv'st thou not that at every word my son did sneeze?" 5 l χληδόνες. ? Cf. Homer, Odyss. iv. v. 685; cf. also xx. vv. 116, 119. 8 Cf. Homer, Odyss. xx. 120...* Cf. Homer, Odyss. xvii. 541 5 Cf. Homer, Odyss. xvii. 545.
262, ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boox m.
CHAPTER XCV.
The trae God, however, neither employs irrational animals, nor any individuals whom chance may offer! to convey a knowledge of the future; but, on the contrary, the most pure and holy of human souls, whom He inspires and endows with prophetic power. And therefore, whatever else in the Mosaic writings may excite our wonder, the following must be con- sidered as fitted to do so: “ Ye shall not practise augury, nor observe the flight of birds;”? and in another place: “ For the nations whom the Lord thy God will destroy from before thy face, shall listen to omens and divinations; but as for thee, the Lord thy God has not suffered thee to do so.”* And he adds: “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you from among your brethren.”* On one occasion, moreover, God, wishing by means of an augur to turn away [His people] from the practice of divination, caused the spirit that was in the augur to speak as follows: * For there is no enchantment in Jacob, nor is there divination in Israel. In due time will it be declared to Jacob and Israel what the Lord will do.”* And now, we who knew these and similar sayings wish to observe this precept with the mystical meaning, viz. * Keep thy heart with all diligence," that nothing of a demoniacal nature may enter into our minds, or any spirit of our adversaries turn our imagination whither it chooses. But we pray that the light of the knowledge of the glory of God may shine in our hearts, and that the Spirit of God may dwell in our imaginations, and lead them to contemplate the things of God; for “as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."?
CHAPTER XCVI.
We ought to take note, however, that the power of foreknow- ing the future is by no means a proof of divinity; for in itself it is a thing indifferent, and is found occurring amongst both good and bad. Physicians, at any rate, by means of their pro- 1 οὔτε Toig τυχοῦσι τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
3 Cf. Lev. xix. 26. The Septuagint here differs from the Masoretic text. 35 Cf. Deut. xviii. 14, cf. 12. * Cf. Deut, xviii. 15.
* Cf. Num. xxiii. 23. 6 Prov. iv. 23. 7 Cf. Rom. vii. 14.
Book tv. | ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 263 fessional skill foreknow certain tRings, although their character may happen to be bad. And in the same way also pilots, al- though perhaps wicked men, are able to foretell the signs! [of good or bad weather], and the approach of violent tempests of wind, and atmospheric changes,’ because they gather this knowledge from experience and observation, although I do not suppose that on that account any one would term them * gods" if their characters happened to be bad. The assertion, then, of Celsus is false, when he says: * What could be called more divine than the power of foreknowing and foretelling the future?" And so also is this, that “ many of the animals claim to have ideas of God;” for none of the irrational animals possess any idea of God. And wholly false, too, is his asser- tion, that “ the irrational animals are nearer the society of God [than men ],” when even men who are still in a state of wicked- ness, however great their progress in knowledge, are far removed from that society. It is, then, those alone who are truly wise and sincerely religious who are nearer to God's society; such persons as were our prophets, and Moses, to the latter of whom, on account of his exceeding purity, the Scripture said: * Moses alone shall come near the Lord, but the rest shall not come nigh."?
CHAPTER XCVII.
CHAPTER XCVII.
How impious, indeed, is the assertion of this man, who charges us with impiety, that “not only are the irrational animals wiser than the human race, but that they are more beloved by God [than they]!” And who would not be repelled [by horror] from paying any attention to a man who declared that a serpent, and a fox, and a wolf, and an eagle, and a hawk, were more beloved by God than the human race? For it follows from his maintaining such a position, that if these animals be more beloved by God than human beings, it is manifest that they are dearer to God than Socrates, and Plato, and Pythagoras, and Pherecydes, and those theologians whose praises he had sung a little before. And one might address him with the prayer: “If these animals be dearer to God than men, may you be beloved of God along with them, and be made 1 ἐπισημασίας. 3 γροπάς. 8 Cf. Ex. xxiv. 2.
264 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boo rv.
like to those whom you consider as dearer to Him than human beings!” And let no one suppose that such a prayer is meant as an imprecation; for who would not pray to resemble in all respects those whom he believes to be dearer to God than others, in order that he, like them, may enjoy the divine love! And as Celsus is desirous to show that the assemblies of the irrational animals are more sacred than ours, he ascribes the statement to that effect not to any ordinary individuals, but to persons of intelligence. Yet it is the virtuous alone who are truly wise, for no wicked man is so. He speaks, accord- ingly, in the following style: “ Intelligent men say that these animals hold assemblies which are more sacred than’ ours, and that they know what is spoken at them, and actually prove that they are not without such knowledge, when they mention beforehand that the birds have announced their intention of departing to a particular place, or of doing this thing or that, and then show that they have departed to the place in question, and have done the particular thing which was foretold.” Nov, truly, no person of intelligence ever related such things; nor did any wise man ever say that the assemblies of the irrational animals were more sacred than those of men. But if, for the purpose of examining [the soundness of] his statements, we look to their consequences, it is evident that, in his opinion, the assemblies of the irrational animals are more sacred than those of the venerable Pherecydes, and Pythagoras and Socrates, and Plato, and of philosophers in general; which assertion is not only incongruous! in itself, but full of absurdity. In order that we may believe, however, that certain individuals do learn from the indistinct sound of birds that they are about to take their departure, and do this thing or that, and announce these things beforehand, we would say that this information is imparted to men by demons by means of signs with the view of having men deceived by demons, and having their understanding dragged down from God and heaven t? earth, and to places lower still.
CHAPTER XCVIII.
I do not know, moreover, how Celsus could hear of the ele 1 deu Qairos.
Boox tv. ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 265 phants’ [fidelity to] oaths, and of their great devotedness to our God, and of the knowledge which they possess of Him. For I know many wonderful things which are related of the nature of this animal, and of its gentle disposition. But I am not aware that any one has spoken of its observance of oaths; unless indeed to its gentle disposition, and its observance of compacts, so to speak, when once concluded between it and man, he give the name of keeping its oath, which statement also in itself is false. For although rarely, yet sometimes it has been recorded that, after their apparent tameness, they have broken out against men in the most savage manner, and have committed’ murder, and have been on that account condemned to death, because no longer of any use. And seeing that after this, in order to establish (as he thinks he does) that the stork is more pious than any human being, he adduces the accounts which are narrated regarding that creature's display of filial affection! in bringing food to its parents for their support, we have to say in reply, that this is done by the storks, not from a regard to what is proper, nor from reflection, but from a natural instinct; the nature which formed them being desirous to show an instance among the irrational animals which might put men to shame, in the matter of exhibiting their gratitude to their parents. And if Celsus had known how great the difference is between acting in this way from reason, and from an irrational natural impulse, he would not have said that storks are more pious than human beings. But further, Celsus, as still con- tending for the piety of the irrational creation, quotes the instance of the Arabian bird the phoenix, which after many years repairs to Egypt, and bears thither its parent, when dead and buried in a ball of myrrh, and deposits its body in the Temple of the Sun. Now this story is indeed recorded, and, if it be true, it is possible that it may occur in consequence of some provision of nature; divine providence freely displaying to human beings, by the differences which exist among living things, the variety of constitution which prevails in the world, and which extends even to birds, and in harmony with which He has brought into existence one creature, the only one of its ντιπελαργοῦντος.
266 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book rv.
kind, in order that by it men may be led to admire, not the creature, but Him who created it.
CHAPTER XCIX.
In addition to all that he has already said, Celsus subjoins the following: “All things, accordingly, were not made for man, any more than they were made for lions, or eagles, or dolphins, but that this world, as being God's work, might be per- fect and entire in all respects. For this reason all things have been adjusted, not with reference to each other, but with regard to their bearing upon the whole. And God takes care of the whole, and [His] providence will never forsake it; and it does not become worse; nor does God after a time bring it back to himself; nor is He angry on account of men any more than on account of apes or flies; nor does He threaten these beings, each one of which has received its appointed lot in its proper place." Let us then briefly reply to these statements. I think, indeed, that I have shown in the preceding pages that all things were created for man, and every rational being, and that it was chiefly for the sake of the rational creature that the creation took place. Celsus, indeed, may say that this was done not more for man than for lions, or the other creatures which he mentions; but we maintain that the Creator did not form these things for lions, or eagles, or dolphins, but all for the sake of the rational creature, and “in order that this world, as being God's work, might be perfect and complete in all things." For to this sentiment we must yield our assent as being well said. And God takes care, not, as Celsus supposes, merely of the