CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Our noble [friend], moreover, not satisfied with the objec- tions which he has drawn from the Diagram, desires, in order to strengthen his accusations against us, who have nothing in common with it, to introduce certain other charges, which he adduces from the same [heretics], but yet as if they were from a different source. His words are: * And that is not the least of their marvels, for there are between the upper circles—those that are above the heavens—certain inscriptions of which they give the interpretation, and among others two words especially, ‘a greater and a less,’ which they refer to Father and Son.” ° Now, in the Diagram referred to, we found the greater and 1 αὐτόθεν. 3 ἄρχονταις.
3 ἄλλα τι, καὶ δύο ἅττα, μεῖζον τε καὶ μικρίτερον υἱοῦ xai πατρός. 4 Book Vi. ] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 877 the lesser circle, upon the diameter of which was inscribed * Father and Son;” and between the greater circle (in which the lesser was contained) and another! composed of two circles, —the outer one of which was yellow, and the inner blue,—a barrier inscribed in the shape of a hatchet. And above it, a short circle, close to the greater of the two former, having the inscription * Love;" and lower down, one touching the same circle, with the word * Life." And on the second circle, which was intertwined with and included two other circles, another figure, like a rhomboid, [entitled] “The foresight of wisdom." And within their point of common section was “ The nature of wisdom.” And above their point of common section was a circle, on which was inscribed * Knowledge;” and lower down another, on which was the inscription, “ Understanding.” We have introduced these matters into our reply to Celsus, to show to our readers that we know better than he, and not by mere report, those things, even although we also disapprove of them. Moreover, if those who pride themselves upon such matters profess also a kind of magic and sorcery,—which, in their opinion, is the summit of wisdom,—we, on the other hand, make no affirmation about it, seeing we never have discovered anything of the kind. Let Celsus, however, who has been already often convicted of false witness and irrational accusa- tions, see whether he is not guilty of falsehood in these also, or whether he has not extracted and introduced into his treatise, statements taken from the writings of those who are foreigners and strangers to our Christian faith.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
In the next place, speaking of those who employ the arts of magic and sorcery, and who invoke the barbarous names of demons, he remarks that such persons act like those who, in reference to the same things)? perform marvels before those who are ignorant that the names of demons among the Greeks are different from what they are among the Scythians. He 1 For ἄλλους, the textual reading, Gelenius, with the approval of Doherellus, proposes xai &AaAov συγκειμένον, which has been followed in the translation.
3 ἐπὶ Toig αὐτοῖς ὑποκειμένοις.
378 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book v1.
then quotes a passage from Herodotus, stating that * Apollo is called Gongosyrus by the Scythians; Poseidon, Thagima- sada; Aphrodite, Árgimpasan; Hestia, Tabiti.” Now, he who has the capacity can inquire whether in these matters Celsus and Herodotus are not both wrong; for the Scythians do not understand the same thing as the Greeks, in what relates to those beings which are deemed to be gods. For how is it credible? that Apollo should be. called Gongosyrus by the Scythians? I do not suppose that Gongosyrus, when trans- ferred into the Greek language, yields the same etymology as Apollo; or that Apollo, in the dialect of the Scythians, has the signification of Gongosyrus. Nor has any such assertion hitherto been made regarding the other names,’ for the Greeks took occasion from different circumstances and etymologies to give to those who are by them deemed gods the names which they bear; and the Scythians, again, from another set of cir- cumstances; and the same also was the case with the Persians, or Indians, or Ethiopians, or Libyans, or with those who delight to bestow names [from fancy], and who do not abide by the just and pure idea of the Creator of all things. Enough, how- ever, has been said by us in the preceding pages, where we wished to demonstrate that Sabaoth and Zeus were not the same deity, and where also we made some remarks, derived from the Holy Scriptures, regarding the different dialects. We willingly, then, pass by these points, on which Celsus would make us repeat ourselves. In the next place, again, mixing up together matters which belong to magic and sorcery, and referring them perhaps to no one,—because of the non-existence of any who practise magic under pretence of a worship of this character,—and yet, perhaps, having in view some who do employ such practices in the presence of the simple (that they may have the appearance of acting by divine power), he adds: * What need to number up all those who have taught methods of purification, or expiatory hymns, or spells for averting evil, or [the making of] images, or resemblances of demons, or the Cf. Herodot. iv. 9.
3 role yap wibavorne.
3 For the textual reading, οὔπω δὲ οὐδὲ περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ταὐτόν τι ifi Boherellus conjectures εἴρηται, which has been adopted in the translation.
Book v1.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 979 various sorts of antidotes against poison [to be found]! in clothes, or in numbers, or stones, or plants, or roots, or generally in all kinds of things?" In respect to these matters, reason does not require us to offer any defence, since we are not liable in the slightest degree to suspicions of such a nature.
CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XL.
After these things, Celsus appears to me to act like those who, in their intense hatred of the Christians, maintain, in the presence of those who are utterly ignorant of the Christian faith, that they have actually ascertained that Christians devour the flesh of infants, and give themselves without restraint to sexual intercourse with their women. Now, as these statements have been condemned as falsehoods invented against the Chris- tians, and this admission made by the multitude and those alto- gether aliens to our faith; so would the following statements of Celsus be found to be calumnies invented against the Chris- tians, where he says that “ he has seen in the hands of certain presbyters belonging to our faith? barbarous books, containing the names and marvellous doings of demons;”’ asserting further, that “these presbyters of our faith professed to do no good, but all that was calculated to injure human beings.” Would, indeed, that all that is said by Celsus against the Christians was of such a nature as to be refuted by the multitude, who have ascertained by experience that such things are untrue, seeing that most of them have lived as neighbours with the Christians, and have not even heard of the existence of any such alleged practices!
CHAPTER XLI.
In.the next place, as if he had forgotten that it was his object to write against the Christians, he says that, “ having become acquainted with one Dionysius, an Egyptian musician, the latter told him, with respect to magic arts, that it was only over the uneducated and men of corrupt morals that they had any power, while on philosophers they were unable to produce 1 For αἰσθητῶν, Lommatzsch adopts the conjecture of Boherellus, approved by Ruzus, ἐσθήτων.
3 δόξης.
380 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boos vi.
any effect, because they were careful to observe a healthy man- ner of life.” If, now, it had been our purpose to treat of magic. we could have added a few remarks in addition to what we have already said on this topic; but since it is only the more important matters which we have to notice in answer to Celsus, we shall say of magic, that any one who chooses to inquire whether philosophers were ever led captive by it or not, can read what has been written by Moiragenes regarding the memoirs of the magician and philosopher Apollonius of Tyana, in which this individual, who is not a Christian, but a philoso- pher, asserts that some philosophers of no mean note were won over by the magic power possessed by Apollonius, and resorted to him as a sorcerer; and among these, I think, he especially mentioned Euphrates and a certain Epicurean. Now we, on the other hand, affirm, and have learned by experience, that they who worship the God of all things in conformity with the Christianity which comes by Jesus, and who live according to His gospel, using night and day, continuously and becomingly, the prescribed prayers, are not carried away either by magic or demons. For verily *the angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them"! from all evil; and the angels of the little ones in the church, who are appointed to watch over them, are said always to behold the face of their Father who is in heaven, whatever be the mean- ing of *face" or of * behold."
CHAPTER XLII.
After these matters, Celsus brings the following charges against us from another quarter: “Certain most impious errors, he says, * are committed by them, due to their extreme igne rance, in which they have wandered away from the meaning of the divine enigmas, creating an adversary to God, the devil, and naming him in the Hebrew tongue, Satan. Now, of 8 truth, such statements are altogether of mortal invention,’ and not even proper to be repeated, viz. that the mighty God, in His desire to confer good upon men, has yet one counterwork- Cf. Ps. xxxiv. 7. ᾿ς * Cf. Matt. xviii. 10.
8 θνητά. Instead of this reading, Guietus conjectures xraxra, which is approved of by Ruseus.
Book v1.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 381 ing Him, and is helpless. The Son of God, it follows, is van- quished by the devil; and being punished by him, teaches us also to despise the punishments which he inflicts, telling us beforehand that Satan, after appearing to men as He Himself had done, will exhibit great and marvellous works, claiming for himself the glory of God, but that those who wish to keep him at a distance ought to pay no attention to these works of Satan, but to place their faith in Him alone. Such statements are manifestly the words of a deluder, planning and manceuvring against those who are opposed to his views, and who rank them- selves against them." In the next place, desiring to point out the * enigmas," our mistakes regarding which lead to the intro- duction of our views concerning Satan, he continues: “The ancients allude obscurely to a certain war among the gods, Heraclitus speaking thus of it: * If one must say that there is a general war and discord, and that all things are done and administered in strife.’ ^ Pherecydes, again, who is much older than Heraclitus, relates a myth of one army drawn up in hostile array against another, and names Kronos as the leader of the one, and Ophioneus of the other, and recounts their challenges and struggles, and mentions that agreements were entered into between them, to the end that whichever party should fall into the Ocean! should be held as vanquished, while those who had expelled and conquered them should have possession of heaven. The mysteries relating to the Titans and Giants also had some such [symbolical] meaning, as well as the Egyptian mysteries of Typhon, and Horus, and Osiris." After having made such statements, and not having got over the difficulty? as to the way in which these accounts contain a higher view of things, while our accounts are erroneous copies of them, he continues his abuse of us, remarking that * these are not like the stories which are related of a devil, or demon, or, as he remarks with more truth, of a man who is an impostor, who wishes to establish an opposite doctrine.” And in the same way he understands Homer, as if he referred obscurely to matters similar to those mentioned by Heraclitus, and Phere- cydes, and the originators of the mysteries about the Titans 1 Qynyey, i.e. in Oceanum, Hesych.; ᾽Ὥγην, ὠκεανός, Suid. 3 xal μὴ παραμυθησάμενος.
982 ORIGEN A AINST CELSUS. [Book v1.
and Giants, in those worls which Hephzstus addresses to Hera, as follows: ** Once in your cause I felt his matchless might, Hurled headlong downward from the ethereal height.”!
And in those of Zeus to Hera:.
‘¢ Hast thou forgot, when bound and fix'd on high From the vast concave of the spangled sky, I hung thee tremblinjz on a golden chain, And all the raging gods opposed in vain?
Headlong I hurled them from the Olympian hall, Stunn'd in the whirl, and breathless with the fall.”? Interpreting, moreover, the words of Homer, he adds: “ The words of Zeus addressed to Hera are the words of God addressed to matter; and the words addressed to matter obscurely signify that the matter which at the beginning was in a state of discord [with God], was taken by Him, and bound together and arranged under laws, which may be analogically compared to chains;* and that by way of chastising the demons who create disorder in it, he hurls them down headlong to this lower world.” These words of Homer, he alleges, were so understood by Pherecydes, when he said that beneath that region is the region of Tartarus, which is guarded by the Harpies and Tempest, daughters of Boreas, and to which Zeus banishes any one of the gods who be- comes disorderly. With the same ideas also are closely connected the peplos of Athena, which is beheld by all in the procession of the Panathenea. For it is manifest from this, he continues, that a motherless and unsullied demon * has the mastery over the daring of the Giants. While accepting, moreover, the fictions of the Greeks, he continues to heap against us such accusations as the following, viz., that “the Son of God is punished by the devil, and teaches us that we also, when punished by him, ought to endure it. Now these statements are altogether ridiculous. For it is the devil, I think, who ought rather to be punished, and those human beings who are calumniated by him ought not to be threatened with chastisement.”
3 Cf. Iliad, book xv. vv. 18-24, Pope's translation. 8 dvaroyiais τισὶ συνέδησε καὶ ἐκόσμησεν ὃ Θεός.
4 ἐμήτωρ τις καὶ ἄχραντο; δαίμων.
Book v1.] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 883 CHAPTER XLIII.
Mark now, whether he who charges us with having com- mitted errors of the most impious kind, and with having wandered away from the [true meaning] of the divine enig- mas, is not himself clearly in error, from not observing that in the writings of Moses, which are much older not merely than Heraclitus and Pherecydes, but even than Homer, men- tion is made of this wicked one, and of his having fallen from heaven. For the serpent!—from whom the Ophioneus spoken of by Pherecydes is derived—having become the cause of man's expulsion from the divine Paradise, obscurely shadows forth something similar, having deceived the woman? by a promise of divinity and of greater blessings; and her example is said to have been followed also by the. man. And, further, who else could the destroying angel mentioned in the Exodus of Moses? be, than he who was the author of destruction to them that obeyed him, and did not withstand his wicked deeds, nor struggle against them? Moreover, [the goat], which in the book of Leviticus * is sent away [into the wilder- ness] and which in the Hebrew language is named Azazel, was none other than this; and it was necessary to send it away into the desert, and to treat it as an expiatory sacrifice, because on it the lot fell. For all who belong to the * worse? part, on account of their wickedness, being opposed to those who are God's heritage, are deserted by God. Nay, with respect to the sons of Belial in the book of Judges, whose sons are they said to be, save his, on account of their wickedness? And besides all these instances, in the book of Job, which is older even than Moses himself, the devil is distinctly described as present- ing himself before God,° and asking for power against Job, that he might involve him in trials? of the most painful kind; the first of which consisted in the loss of all his goods and of his children, and the second in afflicting the whole body of Job with the so-called disease of elephantiasis) I pass by 1 Cf. Gen. iii. 3 70 θηλύτερον γένος. 3 Cf. Ex. xii. 23. * Cf. Lev. xvi. 8.
5 ἐγαγντίοι ὄντες τοῖς ὡπὸ τοῦ κλήρου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐρημοί εἰσι Θεοῦ.
6 Cf. Job i, ii. 7 χεριστάσεσι. 9 ἀγρίῳ ἐλέφαντι.
984 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book v1.
what might be quoted from the Gospels regarding the devil who tempted the Saviour, that I may not appear to quote in reply to Celsus from more recent writings on this question. In the last [chapter]! also of Job, in which the Lord utters to Job amid tempest and clouds what is recorded in the book which bears his name, there are not a few things referring to the serpent. I have not yet mentioned the passages in Ezekiel,” where he speaks, as it were, of Pharaoh, or Nebuchadnezzar, or the prince of Tyre; or those in Isaiah, where lament is made for the king of Babylon, from which not a little might be learned concerning evil, as to the nature of its origin and generation, and as to how it derived its existence from some who had lost their wings,* and who had followed him who was the first to lose his own.
CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLIV.
For it is impossible that the good which is the result of . accident, or of communication, should be like that good which comes by nature; and yet the former will never be lost by him who, so to speak, partakes of the “living” bread with a view to his own preservation. But if it should fail any one, it must be through his own fault, in being slothful to partake of this “living bread” and * genuine drink," by means of which the wings, nourished and watered, are fitted for their purpose, even according to the saying of Solomon, the wisest of men, con- cerning the truly rich man, that * he made to himself wings like an eagle, and returns to the house of his patron.'* For it became God, who knows how to turn to proper account even those who in their wickedness have apostatized from Him, to place wickedness of this sort in some part of the universe, and to appoint a training-school of virtue, wherein those must exercise themselves who would desire to recover in a “lawful manner " the possession [which they had lost]; in order that being tested, like gold in the fire, by the wickedness of these, and having exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent any- thing base injuring their rational nature, they may appear 1 Cf. Job xl. 20.? Cf. Ezek. xxxii. 1-28. 3 Isa. xiv. 4 sqq.
* πτεροῤῥνησάντων. Cf. Book iv. c. 40. 5 Cf. Prov. xxiii. 5.
Book vi. ] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 385 deserving of an ascent to divine things, and may be elevated by the Word to the blessedness which is above all things, and so to speak, to the very summit of goodness. Now he who in the Hebrew language is named Satan, and by some Satanas— as being more in conformity with the genius of the Greek language—signifies, when translated into Greek, “adversary.” But every one who prefers vice and a vicious life, is (because acting in ἃ manner contrary to virtue) Satanas, that is, an * adversary” to the Son of God, who is righteousness, and truth, and wisdom. With more propriety, however, is he called “adversary,” who was the first among those that were living a peaceful and happy life to lose his wings, and to fall from blessedness; he who, according to Ezekiel, walked fault- lessly in all his ways, “ until iniquity was found in him,"? and who being the “seal of resemblance” and the “crown of beauty” in the paradise of God, being filled as it were with good things, fell into destruction, in accordance with the word which said to him in a mystic sense: “ Thou hast fallen into destruction, and shalt not abide for ever.” * We have ventured somewhat rashly to make these few remarks, although in so doing we have added nothing of importance to this treatise. If any one, however, who has leisure for the examination of the sacred writings, should collect together from all sources and form into one body of doctrine what is recorded concerning the origin of evil, and the manner of its dissolution, he would see that the views of Moses and the prophets regarding Satan had not been even dreamed of either by Celsus or any one of those wliose soul had been dragged down, and torn away from God, and from right views of Him, and from His word, by this wicked demon.
CHAPTER XLV.
But since Celsus rejects the statements concerning Anti- christ, as it is termed, having neither read what is said of him in the book of Daniel‘ nor in the writings of Paul nor what the Saviour in the Gospels? has predicted about his coming, we must make a few remarks upon this subject also; because, “ as 1 Cf. 1 Cor. i. 30. 3 Cf. Ezek. xxviii. 15. —? Cf. Ezek. xxviii. 19.
* Cf. Dan. viii. 23. 5 Cf. 2 Thess. ii. 8,4. © Cf. Matt. xxiv. 4.
ORIG.—VOL. II. 2B 886 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Boox vi.
faces do not resemble faces,"! so also neither do men's “ hearts” resemble one another. It is certain, then, that there will be diversities amongst the hearts of men,—those which are inclined to virtue not being all modelled and shaped towards it in the same or like degree; while others, through neglect of virtue, rush to the opposite extreme. And amongst the latter are some in whom evil is deeply engrained, and others in whom it is less deeply rooted. Where is the absurdity, then, in holding that there exist among men, so to speak, two extremes,'—the one of virtue, and the other of its opposite; so that the perfection of virtue dwells in the man who realizes the ideal given in Jesus, from whom there flowed to the human race so great a conver- sion, and healing, and amelioration, while the opposite extreme is in the man who embodies the notion of him that is named Antichrist? For God, comprehending all things by means of His foreknowledge, and foreseeing what consequences would result from both of these, wished to make these known to man- kind by His prophets, that those who understand their words might be familiarized with the good, and be on their guard against its opposite. It was proper, moreover, that the one of these extremes, and the best of the two, should be styled the Son of God, on account of His pre-eminence; and the other, who is diametrically opposite, be termed the son of the wicked demon, and of Satan, and of the devil. And, in the next place, since evil is specially characterized by its diffusion, and attains its greatest height when it simulates the appearance of the good, for that reason are signs, and marvels, and lying miracles found to accompany evil, through the co-operation of its father the devil. For, far surpassing the help which these demons give to jugglers (who deceive men for the basest of purposes), is the aid which the devil himself affords in order to deceive the human race. Paul, indeed, speaks of him who is called Anti- christ, describing, though with a certain reserve, both the manner, and time, and cause of his coming to the human race. And notice whether his language on this subject is not most " becoming, and undeserving of being treated with even the plightest degree of ridicule. 1 Cf. Prov. xxvii. 19. 3 οἐἰκρότηταις. 35 μετά τίνος ἐπικρύψεως. Of. 2 Thess. ii. 9.
Boox vi. ] ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. 387 CHAPTER XLVI.
It is thus that the apostle expresses himself: “‘ We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by word, nor by spirit, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth him- self above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in histime. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should be- lieve a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”* To explain each particular here referred to does not belong to our present pur- pose. The prophecy also regarding Antichrist is stated in the book of Daniel, and is fitted to make an intelligent and candid reader admire the words as truly divine and prophetic; for in them are mentioned the things relating to the coming king- dom, beginning with the times of Daniel, and continuing to the destruction of the world. And any one who chooses may read it. Observe, however, whether the prophecy regarding Antichrist be not as follows: “ And at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king, bold in countenance, and understanding riddles. And his power shall be great, and he shall destroy wonderfully, and 388 ORIGEN AGAINST CELSUS. [Book vt.
prosper, and practise; and shall destroy mighty men, and the holy people. And the yoke of his chain shall prosper: there is craft in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by craft shall destroy many; and he shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them as eggs in his hand."! What is stated by Paulin the words quoted from him, where he says, “so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,"? is in Daniel referred to in the following fashion: “And on the temple shall be the abomination of desolations, and at the end of the time an end shall be put to the desolation."? So many, out of a greater number of passages, have I thought it right to adduce, that the hearer may understand in some slight degree the meaning of Holy Scripture, when it gives us information concerning the devil and Antichrist; and being satisfied with what we have quoted for this purpose, let us look at another of the eharges of Celsus, and reply to it as we best may.
CHAPTER XLVII.