abstinence not only from it, but from the flesh of goats, and sheep, and oxen, and fishes as well; while Pythagoras and his disciples do not eat beans, nor anything that contains life. It is not probable, however, that they enjoy God's favour, or are loved by Him differently from others, or that angels were sent from heaven to them alone, as if they had had allotted to them * some region of the blessed,'! for we see both themselves and the country of which they were deemed worthy. Let this band,’ then, take its departure, after paying the penalty of its vaunting, not having a knowledge of the great God, but being led away and deceived by the artifices of Moses, having become his pupil to no good end."
CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLII.
It is evident that, by the preceding remarks, Celsus charges the Jews with falsely giving themselves out as the chosen por- tion of the Supreme God above all other nations. And he accuses them of boasting, because they gave out that they knew the great God, although they did not really know Him, but were led away by the artifices of Moses, and were deceived by him, and became his disciples to: no good end. Now we have in the preceding pages already spoken in part of the venerable and distinguished polity of the Jews, when it existed amongst them as a symbol of the city of God, and of His temple, and of the sacrificial worship offered in it and at the altar of sacrifice. But if any one were to turn his attention to the meaning of the legislator, and to the constitution which he established, and were to examine the various points relating to him, and compare them with the present method of worship among other nations, there are none which he would admire to a greater degree; because, so far as can be accomplished among mortals, everything that was not of advantage to the human race was withheld from them, and only those things . which are useful bestowed. And for this reason they had neither gymnastic contests, nor scenic representations, nor horse- races; nor were there among them women who sold their beauty to any one who wished to have sexual intercourse with- out offspring, and to cast contempt upon the nature of human 1 οἷον δή τινα μωχάρων χώραν λαχοῦσιν. 2 χορός.
Book v.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 918 generation. And what an advantage was it to be taught from their tender years to ascend above all visible nature, and to hold the belief that God was not fixed anywhere within its limits, but to look for Him on high, and beyond the sphere of all bodily substance!! And how great was the advantage which they enjoyed in being instructed almost from their birth, and as soon as they could speak,’ in the immortality of the soul, and in the existence of courts of justice under the earth, and in the rewards provided for those who have lived righteous lives] These truths, indeed, were proclaimed in the veil of fable to children, and to those whose views of things were childish; while to those who were already occupied in inves- tigating the truth, and desirous of making progress therein, these fables, so to speak, were transfigured into the truths which were concealed within them. And I consider that it was in a manner worthy of their name as the “portion of God” that they despised all kinds of divination, as that which bewitches men to no purpose, and which proceeds rather from wicked demons than from anything of a better nature; and sought the knowledge of future events in the souls of those who, owing to their high degree of purity, received the spirit of the Supreme God.
CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
But what need is there to point out how agreeable to sound reason, and unattended with injury either to master or slave, was the law that one of the same faith? should not be allowed to continue in slavery more than six years?* "The Jews, then, cannot be said to preserve their own law in the same points with the other nations. For it would be censurable in them, and would involve a charge of insensibility to the superiority of their law, if they were to believe that they had been legislated for in the same way as the other nations among the heathen. And although Celsus will not admit it, the Jews nevertheless are possessed of a wisdom superior not only to that of the multi- tude, but also of those who have the appearance of philosophers; ὑκὲρ τὼ σώματα. 3 συμπληρώσει τοῦ λόγον. 3 τὸν ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ὁρώμενον δογῥιάτων. 4 Cf. Ex. xxi. 2 and Jer. xxxiv. 14.
814 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boox v.
because those who engage in philosophical pursuits, after the utterance of the most venerable philosophical sentiments, fall away into the worship of idols and demons, whereas the very lowest Jew directs his look to the Supreme God alone; and they do well, indeed, so far as this point is concerned, to pride themselves thereon, and to keep aloof from the society of others as accursed and impious. And would that they had not sinned, and transgressed the law, and slain the prophets in former times, and in these latter days conspired against Jesus, that we might be in possession of a pattern of a heavenly city which even Plato would have sought to describe; although I doubt whether he could have accomplished as much as was done by Moses and those who followed him, who nourished a “ chosen generation," and “a holy nation," dedicated to God, with words free from all superstition. | CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLIV.
But as Celsus would compare the venerable customs of the Jews with the laws of certain nations, let us proceed to look at them. He is of opinion, accordingly, that there is no difference between the doctrine regarding * heaven" and that regarding * God;” and he says that * the Persians, like the Jews, offer sacrifices to Jupiter upon the tops of the mountains,"— not observing that, as the Jews were acquainted with one God, so they had only one holy house of prayer, and one altar of whole burnt-offerings, and one censer for incense, and one high priest of God. The Jews, then, had nothing in common with the Persians, who ascend the summits of their mountains, which are many in number, and offer up sacrifices which have nothing in common with those which are regulated by the Mosaic code, —in conformity to which the Jewish priests * served unto the example and shadow of heavenly things," explaining enigmati- cally the object of the law regarding the sacrifices, and the things of which these sacrifices were the symbols. The Per- sians therefore may call the * whole circle of heaven" Jupiter; but we maintain that “the heaven” is neither Jupiter nor God, as we indeed know that certain beings of a class inferior to God have ascended above the heavens and all visible nature: and in this sense we understand the words, * Praise God, ye Boox v.) ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 815 heaven of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens; let them praise the name of the Lord."!
CHAPTER XLV.
As Celsus, however, is of opinion that it matters nothing whether the highest being be called Jupiter, or Zen, or Adonai, or Sabaoth, or Ammoun (as the Egyptians term him), or Pap- peus (as the Scythians entitle him), let us discuss the point for a little, reminding the reader at the same time of what has been said above upon this question, when the language of Celsus led us to consider the subject. And now we maintain that the nature of names is not, as Aristotle supposes, an enact- ment of those who impose them.’ For the languages which are prevalent among men do not derive their origin from men, as is evident to those who are able to ascertain the nature of the charms which are appropriated by the inventors of the lan- guages differently, according to the various tongues, and to the varying pronunciations of the names, on which we have spoken briefly in the preceding pages, remarking that when those names which in a certain language were possessed of a natural power were translated into another, they were no longer able to accom- plish what they did before when uttered in their native tongues. And the same peculiarity is found to apply to men; for if we were to translate the name of one who was called from his birth by a certain appellation in the Greek language into the Egyptian or Roman, or any other tongue, we could not make him do or suffer the same things which he would have done or suffered under the appellation first bestowed upon him. Nay, even if we translated into the Greek language the name of an individual who had been originally invoked in the Roman tongue, we could not produce the result which the incantation professed itself capable of accomplishing had it preserved the name first conferred upon him. And if these statements are true when spoken of the names of men, what are we to think of those which are transferred, for any cause whatever, to the Deity? For example, something is transferred? from the 1 Cf. Ps. cxlviii. 4, 5. 3 ὅτι ἡ τῶν ὀνομάτων Φύσις ov θεβένων εἰσὶ νόμοι.
ὃ κεταλαμβάνεται γάρ tt, Φερ εἰπεῖν. In the editions of Hoeschel and Spencer, τι is wanting.
316 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [ Book v.
name Abraham when translated into Greek, and something is signified by that of Isaac, and also by that of Jacob; and accordingly, if any one, either in an invocation or in swearing an oath, were to use the expression, “the God of Abraham,” and “the God of Isaac,” and “the God of Jacob,” he would produce certain effects, either owing to the nature of these names or to their powers, since even demons are vanquished and become submissive to him who pronounces these names; whereas if we say, “the god of the chosen father of the echo, and the god of laughter, and the god of him who strikes with the heel," the mention of the name is attended with no result, as is the case with other names possessed of no power. And in the same way, if we translate the word “Israel” into Greek or any otherlanguage, we shall produce no result; but if we retain it as it is, and join it to those expressions to which such as are skilled in these matters think it ought to be united, there would then follow some result from the pronunciation of the word which would accord with the professions of those who employ such invocations. And we may say the same also of the pronunciation of * Sabaoth," a word which is frequently employed in incantations; for if we translate the term into “Lord of hosts,” or “Lord of armies,” or “ Almighty" (dif- ferent acceptations of it having been proposed by the inter- preters) we shall accomplish nothing; whereas if we retain the original pronunciation, we shall, as those who are skilled in such matters maintain, produce some effect. And the same ob- servation holds good of Adonai. If, then, neither * Sabaoth" nor “ Adonai,” when rendered into what appears to be their meaning in the Greek tongue, can accomplish anything, how much less would be the result among those who regard it 88 a matter of indifference whether the highest being be called Jupiter, or Zen, or Adonai, or Sabaoth!
CHAPTER XLVI.
It was for these and similar mysterious reasons, with which Moses and the prophets were acquainted, that they forbade H name of other gods to be pronounced by him who bethoug 16 θεὸς πατρὸς ἐκλεχτοῦ τῆς ἠχοῦς, καὶ ὁ θεὸς τοῦ γέλωτος, καὶ ὃ bio; axtepvicrov. Cf. note in Benedictine ed.
Book v. ] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 317 himself of praying to the one Supreme God alone, or to be re- membered by a heart which had been taught to be pure from all foolish thoughts and words. And for these reasons we should prefer to endure all manner of suffering rather than acknowledge Jupiter to be God. For we do not consider Jupiter and Sabaoth to be the same, nor Jupiter to be at all divine, but that some demon, unfriendly to men and to the true God, rejoices under this title! And although the Egyptians were to hold Ammon before us under threat of death, we would rather die than address him as God, it being a name used in all probability in certain Egyptian incantations in which this demon is invoked. And although the Scythians may call Pappsus the supreme God, yet we will not yield our assent to this; granting, indeed, that there 7s a Supreme Deity, although we do not give the name Pappseus to Him as His proper title, but regard it as one which is agreeable to the demon to whom was allotted the desert of Scythia, with its people and its language. He, however, who gives God His title in the Scythian tongue, or in the Egyptian or in any language in which he has been brought up, will not be guilty of sin.
CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVII.
Now the reason why circumcision is practised among the Jews is not the same as that which explains its existence among the Egyptians and Colchians, and therefore it is not to be con- sidered the same circumcision. And as he who sacrifices does not sacrifice to the same god, although he appears to perform the rite of sacrifice in a similar manner, and he who offers up prayer does not pray to the same divinity, although he asks the same things in his supplication; so, in the same way, if one per- forms the rite of circumcision, it by no means follows that it is not a different act from the circumcision performed upon an- other. For the purpose, and the law, and the wish of him who performs the rite, place the act in a different category. But that the whole subject may be still better understood, we have to remark that the term for *righteousness"? is the same among all the Greeks; but righteousness is shown to be one thing according to the view of Epicurus; and another accord- 1 δαίμονα δέ rive χαίρειν οὕτως ὀνομαζόμενον. 3 δικαιοσύνη.
318 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boox v.
ing to the Stoics, who deny the threefold division of the soul; and a different thing again according to the followers of Plato, who hold that righteousness is the proper business of the parts of the soul! And so also the “courage”? of Epicurus is one thing, who would undergo some labours in order to escape from a greater number; and a different thing that of the philosopher of the Porch, who would choose all virtue for its own sake; and a different thing still that of Plato, who main- tains that virtue itself is the act of the irascible part of the soul, and who assigns to it a place about the breast) And so cir- cumcision will be a different thing according to the varying opinions of those who undergo it. But on such a subject it is unnecessary to speak on this occasion in a treatise like the present; for whoever desires to see what led us to the subject, can read what we have said upon it in the Epistle of Paul to the Romans. CHAPTER XLVIII.
Although the Jews, then, pride themselves on circumcision, they will separate it not only from that of the Colchians and Egyptians, but also from that of the Arabian Ishmaelites; and yet the latter was derived from their ancestor Abraham, the father of Ishmael, who underwent the rite of circumcision along with his father. The Jews say that the circumcision per- formed on the eighth day is the principal circumcision, and that which is performed according to circumstances is different; and probably it was performed on account of the hostility of some angel towards the Jewish nation, who had the power to injure such of them as were not circumcised, but was powerless against those who had undergone the rite. This may be said to appear from what is written in the book of Exodus, where the angel before the circumcision of Eliezer* was able to work against Moses, but could do nothing after his son was circum- cised. And when Zipporah had learned this, she took a pebble and circumcised her child, and is recorded, according to the l Ιδιοπραγίαν τῶν μερῶν τῆς ψυχῆς. 3 ἀνδρεία.
3 γοῦ θυμικοῦ μέρον; τῆς ψυχῆς φάσκοντος αὐτὸ εἶναι ἀρετὴν, καὶ ἐτοτάσσον»- τὸς αὐτῇ τόπον τὸν περὶ τὸν θωράκα.
‘Cf. Ex. iv. 24, 25. Eliezer was one of the two sons of Moses. Cf. Ex. xviii. 4. 5 ἐνεργεῖν κατὰ Μωνεέως.
4 Book v.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 319 reading of the common copies, to have said, “‘ The blood of my child's circumcision is stayed," but according to the Hebrew text, “A bloody husband art thou to me.” For she had known the story about a certain angel having power before the shedding of the blood, but who became powerless through the blood of circumcision. For which reason the words were addressed to Moses, “ A bloody husband art thou to me.” But these things, which appear rather of a curious nature, and not level to the comprehension of the multitude, I have ventured to treat at such length; and now I shall only add, as becomes a Christian, one thing more, and shall then pass on to what folows. For this angel might have had power, I think, over those of the people who were not circumcised, and generally over all who worshipped only the Creator; and this power lasted so long as Jesus had not assumed a human body. But when. He had done this, and had undergone the rite of circumcision in His own person, all the power of the angel over those who prac- tise the same worship, but are not cireumcised,” was abolished; for Jesus reduced it to nought by [the power of] His unspeak- able divinity. And therefore His disciples are forbidden to circumcise themselves, and are reminded [by the apostle]: “ If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." * CHAPTER XLIX.
But neither do the Jews pride themselves upon abstaining from swine's flesh, as if it were some great thing; but upon their having ascertained the nature of clean and unclean animals, and the cause of the distinction, and of swine being classed among the unclean. And these distinctions were signs of cer- tain things until the advent of Jesus; after whose coming it was said to His disciple, who did not yet comprehend the doc- trine concerning these matters, but who said, * Nothing that is common or unclean hath entered into my mouth," * “ What God hath cleansed, call not thou common." It therefore in no way affects either the Jews or us that the Egyptian priests * xard τῶν ἐν τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ ταύτῃ περιτεμινομένων δύναμις. Boherellus. inserts 9 before σεριτερενορεένων, which has been adopted in the text.
920 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book v.
abstain not only from the flesh of swine, but also from that of goats, and sheep, and oxen, and fish. But since it is not that * which entereth into the mouth that defiles a man," and since * meat does not commend us to God," we do not set great store on refraining from eating, nor yet are we induced to eat from a gluttonous appetite. And therefore, so far as we are con- cerned, the followers of Pythagoras, who abstain from all things that contain life, may do as they please; only observe the dif- ferent reason for abstaining from things that have life on the part of the Pythagoreans and our ascetics. For the former abstain on account of the fable about the transmigration of souls, as the poet says: ** And some one, lifting up his beloved son, Will slay him after prayer; O how foolish he! "! We, however, when we do abstain, do so because * we keep under our body, and bring it into subjection,"? and desire “to mortify our members that are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence;”* and we use every effort to “ mortify the deeds of the flesh." * CHAPTER L.
CHAPTER L.
Celsus, still expressing his opinion regarding the Jews, says: « It is not probable that they are in great favour with God, or are regarded by Him with more affection than others, or that angels are sent by Him to them alone, as if to them had been allotted some region of the blessed. For we may see both the people themselves, and the country of which they were deemed worthy.” We shall refute this, by remarking that it is evident that this nation was in great favour with God, from the fact that the God who presides over all things was called the God of the Hebrews, even by those who were aliens to our faith. And because they were in favour with God, they were not abandoned by Him;° but although few in number, they continued to enjoy 1 χαί tig Φίλον νἱὸν ἀείρας, σφάξει ἐπευχόμενος μέγα νήπιος. —A verse of Empedocles, quoted by Plutarch, de Supersiitione, c. xii. Spencer. Of. note in loc. in Benedictine edition.
3 Cf. 1 Cor. ix. 27. 3 Cf. Col. iii. 5. * Cf. Rom. viii. 13.
5 xal ὡς εὐδοκιμοῦντες γε ὅσον οὐκ ἐγχατελείποντος The negative particle (ovx) is wanting in the editions of Hoeschel and Spencer, but is found in Book v. | ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 821 the protection of the divine power, so that in the reign of Alexander of Macedon they sustained no injury from him, although they refused, on account of certain covenants and oaths, to take up arms against Darius. They say that on that occasion the Jewish high priest, clothed in his sacred robe, received obeisance from Alexander, who declared that he had beheld an individual arrayed in this fashion, who announced to him in his sleep that he was to be the subjugator of the whole of Asia. Accordingly, we Christians maintain that “it was the fortune of that people in a remarkable degree to enjoy God's favour, and to be loved by Him in a way different from others;" but that this economy of things and this divine favour were transferred to us, after Jesus had conveyed the power which had been manifested among the Jews to those who had become converts to Him from among the heathen. And for this reason, although the Romans desired to perpetrate many atrocities against the Christians, in order to ensure their ex- termination, they were unsuccessful; for there was a divine hand which fought on their behalf, and whose desire it was that the word of God should spread from one corner of the land of Judea throughout the whole human race.
CHAPTER LI.
But seeing that we have answered to the best of our ability the charges brought by Celsus against the Jews and their doctrine, let us proceed to consider what follows, and to prove that it is no empty boast on our part when we make a profes- sion of knowing the great God, and that we have not been led away by any juggling tricks! of Moses (as Celsus imagines), or even of our own Saviour Jesus; but that for a good end we listen to the God who speaks in Moses, and have accepted Jesus, whom he testifies to be God, as the Son of God, in hope of receiving the best rewards if we regulate our lives according to His word. And we shall willingly pass over what we have already stated by way of anticipation on the points, * whence the Royal, Basil and Vatican Mss. Guietus would delete ὅσον (which emendation has been adopted in the translation), while Boberellus would read oco, instend.—RU.Evs. 1 yonrsía. ORIG.—VOL. II. x 322 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boox v.
we came, and who is our leader, and what law proceeded from Him." Andif Celsus would maintain that there is no differ- ence between us and the Egyptians, who worship the goat, or the ram, or the crocodile, or the ox, or the river-horse, or the dog-faced baboon,! or the cat, he can ascertain if it be so, and so may any other who thinks alike on the subject. We, how- ever, have to the best of our ability defended ourselves at great length in the preceding pages on the subject of the honour which we render to our Jesus, pointing out that we have found the better part;? and that in showing that the truth which is contained in the teaching of Jesus Christ is pure and unmixed with error, we are not commending ourselves, but our Teacher, to whom testimony was borne through many witnesses by the Supreme God and the prophetic writings among the Jews, and by the very clearness of the case itself, for it is demonstrated that He could not have accomplished such mighty works with- out the divine help.
CHAPTER LII.
CHAPTER LII.
But the statement of Celsus which we wish to examine at present is the following: “ Let us then pass over the refuta- tions which might be adduced against the claims of their ᾿ teacher, and let him be regarded as really an angel. But is he the first and only one who came [to men], or were there others before him? If they should say that he is the only one, they would be convicted of telling lies against themselves. For they assert that on many occasions others came, and sixty or seventy of them together, and that these became wicked, and were cast under the earth and punished with chains, and that from this source originate the warm springs, which are their - tears; and, moreover, that there came an angel to the tomb of this said being—according to some, indeed, one, but accord- ing to others, two—who answered the women that he had arisen. For the Son of God could not himself, as it seems, open the tomb, but needed the help of another to roll away the stone. And again, on account of the pregnancy of Mary, there came an angel to the carpenter, and once more another angel, in order that they might take up the young child and λ τὸν κυνοχέφαλον. * ὅτι χρεῖττον εὕρομεν.
Boox v.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS.. 323 flee away [into Egypt]. But what need is there to particularize everything, or to count up the number of angels said to have been sent to Moses, and others amongst them? If, then, others were sent, it is manifest that he also came from the same God. But he may be supposed to have the appearance of announcing something of greater importance [than those who preceded him], as if the Jews had been committing sin, or corrupting their religion, or doing deeds of impiety; for these things are obscurely hinted at."
CHAPTER LIII.
The preceding remarks might snffice as an answer to the charges of Celsus, so far as regards those points in which our Saviour Jesus Christ is made the subject of special investigation. Dut that we may avoid the appearance of intentionally passing over any portion of his work, as if we were unable to meet him, let us, even at the risk of being tautological (since we are challenged to this by Celsus), endeavour as far as we can with all due brevity to continue our discourse, since perhaps something either more precise or more novel may occur to us upon the several topics. He says, indeed, that “ he has omitted the refutations which have been adduced against the claims which Christians advance on behalf of their teacher," although he has not omitted ànything which he was able to bring for- ward, as is manifest from his previous language, but makes this statement only as an empty rhetorical device. That we are not refuted, however, on the subject of our great Saviour, although the accuser may appear to refute us, will be manifest to those who peruse in a spirit of truth-loving investigation all - that is predicted and recorded of Him. And, in the next place, since he considers that he makes a concession in saying of the Saviour, * Let him appear to be really an angel,” we reply that we do not accept of such a concession from Celsus; but we look to the work of Him who came to visit the whole human " race in His word and teaching, as each one of His adherents was capable of receiving Him. And this was the work of one who, as the prophecy regarding Him said, was not simply an angel, but the “ Angel of the great council:"! for He announced 324 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. - [Boox v.
to men the great counsel of the God and Father of all things regarding them, [saying] of those who yield themselves up to a life of pure religion, that they ascend by means of their great deeds to God; but of those who do not adhere to Him, that they place themselves at a distance from God, and journey on to destruction through their unbelief of Him. He then con- tinues: “If even the angel came to men, is he the first and only one who came, or did others come on former occasions?” And he thinks he can meet either of these dilemmas at great length, although there is not a single real Christian who asserts that Christ was the only being that visited the human race. For, as Celsus says, * If they should say the only one,” there are others who appeared to different individuals.
CHAPTER LIV.
CHAPTER LIV.
In the next place, he proceeds to answer himself as he thinks fit in the following terms: “ And so he is not the only one who is recorded to have visited the human race, as even those who, under pretext of teaching in the name of Jesus, have apostatized from the Creator as an inferior being, and have given in their adherence to one who is a superior God and father of him who visited [the world], assert that before him certain beings came from the Creator to visit the human race." Now, as it is in the spirit of truth that we investigate all that relates to the subject, we shall remark that it is asserted by Apelles, the celebrated disciple of Marcion, who became the founder of a certain sect, and who treated the writings of the Jews as fabulous, that Jesus is the only one that came to visit the human race. Even against him, then, who maintained that Jesus was the only one that came from God to men, it would - be in vain for Celsus to quote the statements regarding the descent of other angels, seeing Apelles discredits, as we have already mentioned, the miraculous narratives of the Jewish Scriptures; and much more will he decline to admit what Celsus has adduced, from not understanding the contents of the book of Enoch. No one, then, convicts us of falsehood, or of making contradictory assertions, as if we maintained both that our Saviour was the only being that ever came to men, and yet that many others came on different occasions. And in a