This page copyright © 2002 Blackmask Online.
http://www.blackmask.com
IN beginning this our sixth book, we desire, my reverend
Ambrosius, to answer in it those accusations which Celsus brings
against the Christians, not, as might be supposed, those objections
which he has adduced from writers on philosophy. For he has quoted a
considerable number of passages, chiefly from Plato, and has placed
alongside of these such declarations of holy Scripture as are fitted to
impress even the intelligent mind; subjoining the assertion that "these
things are stated much better among the Greeks (than in the
Scriptures). and in a manner which is free from all exaggerations(1)
and promises on the part of God, or the Son of God." Now we maintain,
that if it is the object of the ambassadors of the truth to confer
benefits upon the greatest possible number, and, so far as they can, to
win over to its side, through their love to men, every one without
exception—intelligent as well as simple—not Greeks only, but also
Barbarians (and great, indeed, is the humanity which should succeed in
converting the rustic and the ignorant(2)), it is manifest that they
must adopt a style of address fitted to do good to all, and to gain
over to them men of every sort. Those, on the other hand, who turn
away(3) from the ignorant as being mere slaves,(4) and unable to
understand the flowing periods of a polished and logical discourse, and
so devote their attention solely to such as have been brought up
amongst literary pursuits,(5) confine their views of the public good
within very strait and narrow limits.
I have made these remarks in reply to the charges which Celsus
and others bring against the simplicity of the language of Scripture,
which appears to be thrown into the shade by the splendour of polished
discourse. For our prophets, and Jesus Himself, and His apostles, were
careful to adopt(6) a style of address which should not merely convey
the truth, but which should be fitted to gain over the multitude, until
each one, attracted and led onwards, should ascend as far as he could
towards the comprehension of those mysteries which are contained in
these apparently simple words. For, if I may venture to say so, few
have been benefited (if they have indeed been benefited at all) by the
beautiful and polished style of Plato, and those who have written like
him;(7) while, on the contrary, many have received advantage from those
who wrote and taught in a simple and practical manner, and with a view
to the wants of the multitude. It is easy, indeed, to observe that
Plato is found only in the hands of those who profess to be literary
men;(8) while Epictetus is admired by persons of ordinary capacity, who
have a desire to be benefited, and who perceive the improvement which
may be derived from his writings. Now we make these remarks, not to
disparage Plato (for the great world of men has found even him useful),
but to point out the aim of those who said: "And my speech and my
preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that our faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."(9) For the word
of God declares that the preaching (although in itself true and most
worthy of belief) is not sufficient to reach the human heart, unless a
certain power be imparted to the speaker from God, and a grace appear
upon his words; and it is only by the divine agency that this takes
place in those who speak effectually. The prophet says in the
sixty-seventh Psalm, that "the Lord will give a word with great power
to them who preach."(1) If, then, it should be granted with respect to
certain points, that the same doctrines are found among the Greeks as
in our own Scriptures, yet they do not possess the same power of
attracting and disposing the souls of men to follow them. And therefore
the disciples of Jesus, men ignorant so far as regards Grecian
philosophy, yet traversed many countries of the world, impressing,
agreeably to the desire of the Logos, each one of their hearers
according to his deserts, so that they received a moral amelioration in
proportion to the inclination of their will to accept of that which is
good.
Let the ancient sages, then, make known their sayings to those
who are capable of understanding them. Suppose that Plato, for example,
the son of Ariston, in one of his Epistles, is discoursing about the
"chief good," and that he says, "The chief good can by no means be
described in words, but is produced by long habit, and bursts forth
suddenly as a light in the soul, as from a fire which had leapt forth."
We, then, on hearing these words, admit that they are well said, for it
is God who revealed to men these as well as all other noble
expressions. And for this reason it is that we maintain that those who
have entertained correct ideas regarding God, but who have not offered
to Him a worship in harmony with the truth, are liable to the
punishments which fall on sinners. For respecting such Paul says in
express words: "The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in
them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that
they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they
glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in
their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the
incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and four-looted beasts, and creeping things."(2) The truth,
then, is verily held (in unrighteousness), as our Scriptures testify,
by those who are of opinion that "the chief good cannot be described in
words," but who assert that, "after long custom and familiar usage,(3)
a light becomes suddenly kindled in the soul, as if by a fire
springing forth, and that it now supports itself alone."
Notwithstanding, those who have written in this manner regarding
the "chief good" will go down to the Piraeus and offer prayer to
Artemis, as if she were God, and will look (with approval) upon the
solemn assembly held by ignorant men; and after giving utterance to
philosophical remarks of such profundity regarding the soul, and
describing its passage (to a happier world) after a virtuous life, they
pass from those great topics which God has revealed to them, and adopt
mean and trifling thoughts, and offer a cock to AEsculapius!(4) And
although they had been enabled to form representations both of the
"invisible things" of God and of the "'archetypal forms" of things from
the creation of the world, and from (the contemplation of) sensible
things, from which they ascend to those objects which are comprehended
by the understanding alone,—and although they had no mean glimpses of
His "eternal power and Godhead,"(5) they nevertheless became "foolish
in their imaginations," and their "foolish heart" was involved in
darkness and ignorance as to the (true) worship of God. Moreover, we
may see those who greatly pride themselves upon their wisdom and
theology worshipping the image of a corruptible man, in honour, they
say, of Him, and sometimes even descending, with the Egyptians, to the
worship of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things! And
although some may appear to have risen above such practices,
nevertheless they will be found to have changed the truth of God into a
lie, and to worship and serve the "creature more than the Creator."(6)
As the wise and learned among the Greeks, then, commit errors in the
service which they render to God, God "chose the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and base things of the world, and things
that are weak, and things which are despised, and things which are
nought, to bring to nought things that are;" and this, truly, "that no
flesh should glory in the presence of God."(7) Our wise men,
however,—Moses, the most ancient of them all, and the prophets who
followed him,—knowing that the chief good could by no means be
described in words, were the first who wrote that, as God manifests
Himself to the deserving, and to those who are qualified to behold
Him,(8) He appeared to Abraham, or to Isaac, or to Jacob. But who He
was that appeared, and of what form, and in what manner, and like to
which of mortal beings,(1) they have left to be investigated by those
who are able to show that they resemble those persons to whom God
showed Himself: for He was seen not by their bodily eyes, but by the
pure heart. For, according to the declaration of our Jesus, "Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."(2)
But that a light is suddenly kindled in the soul, as by a fire
leaping forth, is a fact known long ago to our Scriptures; as when the
prophet said, "Light ye for yourselves the light of knowledge."(3) John
also, who lived after him, said, "That which was in the Logos was life,
and the life was the light of men;"(4) which "true light lighteneth
every man that cometh into the world" (i.e., the true world, which is
perceived by the understanding(5)), and maketh him a light of the
world: "For this light shone in our hearts, to give the light of the
glorious Gospel of God in the face of Christ Jesus."(6) And therefore
that very ancient prophet, who prophesied many generations before the
reign of Cyrus (for he was older than he by more than fourteen
generations), expressed himself in these words: "The LORD is my light
and my salvation: whom shall I fear?"(7) and, "Thy law is a lamp unto
my feet, and a light unto my path;"(8) and again, "The light of Thy
countenance, O LORD, was manifested towards us;"(9) and, "In Thy light
we shall see light."(10) And the Logos, exhorting us to come to this
light, says, in the prophecies of Isaiah: "Enlighten thyself, enlighten
thyself, O Jerusalem; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD
is risen upon thee."(11) The same prophet also, when predicting the
advent of Jesus, who was to turn away men from the worship of idols,
and of images, and of demons, says, "To those that sat in the land and
shadow of death, upon them hath the light arisen;"(12) and again, "The
people that sat in darkness saw a great light."(12) Observe now the
difference between the fine phrases of Plato respecting the "chief
good," and the declarations of our prophets regarding
the "light" of the blessed; and notice that the truth as it is contained in Plato concerning this subject did not at all help his readers to attain to a pure worship of God, nor even himself, who could philosophize so grandly about the "chief good," whereas the simple language of the holy Scriptures has led to their honest readers being filled with a divine spirit;(13) and this light is nourished within them by the oil, which in a certain parable is said to have preserved the light of the torches of the five wise virgins.(14)
Seeing, however, that Celsus quotes from an epistle of Plato
another statement to the following effect, viz.: "If it appeared to me
that these matters could be adequately explained to the multitude in
writing and in oral address, what nobler pursuit in life could have
been followed by me, than to commit to writing what was to prove of
such advantage to human beings, and to lead the nature of all men
onwards to the light?"—let us then consider this point briefly, viz.,
whether or not Plato were acquainted with any doctrines more profound
than are contained in his writings, or more divine than those which he
has left behind him, leaving it to each one to investigate the subject
according to his ability, while we demonstrate that our prophets did
know of greater things than any in the Scriptures, but which they did
not commit to writing. Ezekiel, e.g., received a roll,(15) written
within and without, in which were contained "lamentations," and
"songs," and "denunciations;"(16) but at the command of the Logos he
swallowed the book, in order that its contents might not be written,
and so made known to unworthy persons. John also is recorded to have
seen and done a similar thing.(17) Nay, Paul even heard "unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."(18) And it is
related of Jesus, who was greater than all these, that He conversed
with His disciples in private, and especially in their sacred retreats,
concerning the Gospel of God; but the words which He uttered have not
been preserved, because it appeared to the evangelists that they could
not be adequately conveyed to the multitude in writing or in speech.
And if it were not tiresome to repeat the truth regarding these
illustrious individuals, I would say that they saw better than Plato
(by means of the intelligence which they received by the grace of God),
what things were to be committed to writing, and how this was to be
done, and what was by no means to be written to the multitude, and what
was to be expressed in words, and what was not to be so conveyed. And
once more, John, in teaching us the difference between what ought to be
committed to writing and what not, declares that he heard seven
thunders instructing him on certain matters, and forbidding him to
commit their words to writing.(1)
There might also be found in the writings of Moses and of the
prophets, who are older not only than Plato, but even than Homer and
the invention of letters among the Greeks, passages worthy of the grace
of God bestowed upon them, and filled with great thoughts, to which
they gave utterance, but not because they understood Plato imperfectly,
as Celsus imagines. For how was it possible that they should have heard
one who was not yet born? And if any one should apply the words of
Celsus to the apostles of Jesus, who were younger than Plato, say
whether it is not on the very face of it an incredible assertion, that
Paul the tentmaker, and Peter the fisherman, and John who left his
father's nets, should, through misunderstanding the language of Plato
in his Epistles, have expressed themselves as they have done regarding
God? But as Celsus now, after having often required of us immediate
assent (to his views), as if he were babbling forth something new in
addition to what he has already advanced, only repeats himself,(2) what
we have said in reply may suffice. Seeing, however, he produces another
quotation from Plato, in which he asserts that the employment of the
method of question and answer sheds light on the thoughts of those who
philosophize like him, let us show from the holy Scriptures that the
word of God also encourages us to the practice of dialectics: Solomon,
e.g., declaring in one passage, that "instruction unquestioned goes
astray;"(3) and Jesus the son of Sirach, who has left us the treatise
called "Wisdom," declaring in another, that "the knowledge of the
unwise is as words that will not stand investigation."(4) Our methods
of discussion, however, are rather of a gentle kind; for we have
learned that he who presides over the preaching of the word ought to be
able to confute gainsayers. But if some continue indolent, and do not
train themselves so as to attend to the reading of the word, and "to
search the Scriptures," and, agreeably to the command of Jesus, to
investigate the
meaning of the sacred writings, and to ask of God concerning them, and to keep "knocking" at what may be closed within them, the Scripture is not on that account to be regarded as devoid of wisdom.
In the next place, after other Platonic declarations, which
demonstrate that "the good" can be known by few, he adds: "Since the
multitude, being puffed up with a contempt for others, which is far
from right, and being filled with vain and lofty hopes, assert that,
because they have come to the knowledge of some venerable doctrines,
certain things are true." "Yet although Plato predicted these things,
he nevertheless does not talk marvels,(5) nor shut the mouth of those
who wish to ask him for information on the subject of his promises; nor
does he command them to come at once and believe that a God of a
particular kind exists, and that he has a son of a particular nature,
who descended (to earth) and conversed with me." Now, in answer to this
we have to say, that with regard to Plato, it is Aristander, I think,
who has related that he was not the son of Ariston, but of a phantom,
which approached Amphictione in the guise of Apollo. And there are
several other of the followers of Plato who, in their lives of their
master, have made the same statement. What are we to say, moreover,
about Pythagoras, who relates the greatest possible amount of wonders,
and who, in a general assembly of the Greeks, showed his ivory thigh,
and asserted that he recognised the shield which he wore when he was
Euphorbus, and who is said to have appeared on one day in two different
cities! He, moreover, who will declare that what is related of Plato
and Socrates belongs to the marvellous, will quote the story of the
swan which was recommended to Socrates while he was asleep, and of the
master saying when he met the young man, "This, then, was the swan!"(6)
Nay, the third eye which Plato saw that he himself possessed, he will
refer to the category of prodigies.(7) But occasion for slanderous
accusations will never be wanting to those who are ill-disposed, and
who wish to speak evil of what has happened to such as are raised above
the multitude. Such persons will deride as a fiction even the demon of
Socrates. We do not, then, relate marvels when we narrate the history
of Jesus, nor have His genuine disciples recorded any such stories of
Him; whereas this Celsus, who professes universal knowledge, and who
quotes many of the sayings of Plato, is, I think, intentionally silent
on the discourse concerning the Son of God which is related in Plato's
Epistle to Hermeas and Coriscus. Plato's words are as follows: "And
calling to witness the God of all things—the ruler both of things
present and things to come, father and lord both of the ruler and
cause—whom, if we are philosophers indeed, we shall all clearly know,
so far as it is possible for happy human beings to attain such
knowledge."(1)
Celsus quotes another saying of Plato to the following effect:
"It has occurred to me to speak once more upon these subjects at
greater length, as perhaps I might express myself about them more
clearly than I have already done for there is a certain 'real' cause,
which proves a hindrance in the way of him who has ventured, even to a
slight extent, to write on such topics; and as this has been frequently
mentioned by me on former occasions, it appears to me that it ought to
be stated now. In each of existing things, which are necessarily
employed in the acquisition of knowledge, there are three elements;
knowledge itself is the fourth; and that ought to be laid down as the
fifth which is both capable of being known and is true. Of these, one
is 'name;' the second is 'word;' the third, 'image;' the fourth,
'knowledge.'"(2) Now, according to this division, John is introduced
before Jesus as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, so as to
correspond with the "name" of Plato; and the second after John, who is
pointed out by him, is Jesus, with whom agrees the statement, "The Word
became flesh;" and that corresponds to the "word" of Plato. Plato terms
the third "image;" but we, who apply the expression "image" to
something different, would say with greater precision, that the mark of
the wounds which is made in the soul by the word is the Christ which is
in each one of us and this mark is impressed by Christ the Word.(3) And
whether Christ, the wisdom which is in those of us who are perfect,
correspond to the "fourth" element—knowledge—will become known to him
who has the capacity to ascertain it.
He next continues: "You see how Plato, although maintaining that
(the chief good) cannot be described, in words, yet, to avoid the
appearance of retreating to an irrefutable position, subjoins a reason
in explanation of this
difficulty, as even 'nothing'(4) might perhaps be explained in words." But as Celsus adduces this to prove that we ought not to yield a simple assent, but to furnish a reason for our belief, we shall quote also the words of Paul, where he says, in censuring the hasty(5) believer, "unless ye have believed inconsiderately."(6) Now, through his practice of repeating himself, Celsus, so far as he can, forces us to be guilty of tautology, reiterating, after the boastful language which has been quoted, that "Plato is not guilty of boasting and falsehood, giving out that he has made some new discovery, or that he has come down from heaven to announce it, but acknowledges whence these statements are derived." Now, if one wished to reply to Celsus, one might say in answer to such assertions, that even Plato is guilty of boasting, when in the Timoeus(7) he puts the following language in the month of Zeus: "Gods of gods, whose creator and father I am," and so on. And if any one will defend such language on account of the meaning which is conveyed under the name of Zeus, thus speaking in the dialogue of Plato, why should not he who investigates the meaning of the words of the Son of God, or those of the Creator((8) in the prophets, express a profounder meaning than any conveyed by the words of Zeus in the Timoeus? For the characteristic of divinity is the announcement of future events, predicted not by human power, but shown by the result to be due to a divine spirit in him who made the announcement. Accordingly, we do not say to each of our hearers, "Believe, first of all, that He whom I introduce to thee is the Son of God;" but we put the Gospel before each one, as his character and disposition may fit him to receive it, inasmuch as we have learned to know "how we ought to answer every man."(9) And there are some who are capable of receiving nothing more than an exhortation to believe, and to these we address that alone; while we approach others, again, as far as possible, in the way of demonstration, by means of question and answer. Nor do we at all say, as Celsus scoffingly alleges, "Believe that he whom I introduce to thee is the Son of God, although he was shamefully bound, and disgracefully punished, and very recently(10) was most contumeliously treated before the eyes of all men;" neither do we add, "Believe it even the more (on that account)." For it is our endeavour to state, on each individual point, arguments more numerous even than we have brought forward in the preceding pages.
After this Celsus continues: "If these (meaning the Christians)
bring forward this person, and others, again, a different individual
(as the Christ), while the common and ready cry(1) of all parties is,
'Believe, if thou wilt be saved, or else begone,' what shall those do
who are in earnest about their salvation? Shall they cast the dice, in
order to divine whither they may betake themselves, and whom they shall
join?" Now we shall answer this objection in the following manner, as
the clearness of the case impels us to do. If it had been recorded that
several individuals had appeared in human life as sons of God in the
manner in which Jesus did, and if each of them had drawn a party of
adherents to his side, so that, on account of the similarity of the
profession (in the case of each individual) that he was the Son of God,
he to whom his followers bore testimony to that effect was an object of
dispute, there would have been ground for his saying, "If these bring
forward this person, and others a different individual, while the
common and ready cry of all parties is, 'Believe, if thou wilt be
saved, or else begone,'" and so on; whereas it has been proclaimed to
the entire world that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God who visited
the human race: for those who, like Celsus, have supposed that (the
acts of Jesus) were a series of prodigies,(2) and who for that reason
wished to perform acts of the same kind,(3) that they, too, might gain
a similar mastery over the minds of men, were convicted of being utter
nonentities.(4) Such were Simon, the Magus of Samaria, and Dositheus,
who was a native of the same place; since the former gave out that he
was the power of God that is called great,(5) and the latter that he
was the Son of God. Now Simonians are found nowhere throughout the
world; and yet, in order to gain over to himself many followers, Simon
freed his disciples from the danger of death, which the Christians were
taught to prefer, by teaching them to regard idolatry as a matter of
indifference. But even at the beginning of their existence the
followers of Simon were not exposed to persecution. For that wicked
demon who was conspiring against the doctrine of Jesus, was well aware
that none of his own maxims would be weakened by the teaching of Simon.
The Dositheans, again, even in former times, did not rise to any
eminence, and now they are completely extinguished, so that it is said
their whole number does not
amount to thirty. Judas of Galilee also, as Luke relates in the Acts of the Apostles,(6) wished to call himself some great personage, as did Theudas before him; but as their doctrine was not of God, they were destroyed, and all who obeyed them were immediately dispersed. We do not, then, "cast the dice in order to divine whither we shall betake ourselves, and whom we shall join," as if there were many claimants able to draw us after them by the profession of their having come down from God to visit the human race. On these points, however, we have said enough.
Accordingly, let us pass on to another charge made by Celsus, who
is not even acquainted with the words (of our sacred books), but who,
from misunderstanding them, has said that "we declare the wisdom that
is among men to be foolishness with God;" Paul having said that "the
wisdom of the world is foolishness with God."(7) Celsus says that "the
reason of this has been stated long ago." And the reason he imagines to
be, "our desire to win over by means of this saying the ignorant and
foolish alone." But, as he himself has intimated, he has said the same
thing before; and we, to the best of our ability, replied to it.
Notwithstanding this, however, he wished to show that this statement
was an invention(8) of ours, and borrowed from the Grecian sages, who
declare that human wisdom is of one kind, and divine of another. And he
quotes the words of Heraclitus, where he says in one passage, that
"man's method of action is not regulated by fixed principles, but that
of God is;"(9) and in another, that "a foolish man listens to a demon,
as a boy does to a man." He quotes, moreover, the following from the
Apology of Socrates, of which Plato was the author: "For I, O men of
Athens, have obtained this name by no other means than by my wisdom.
And of what sort is this wisdom? Such, probably, as is human; for in
that respect I venture to think that I am in reality wise."(10) Such
are the passages adduced by Celsus. But I shall subjoin also the
following from Plato's letter to Hermeas, and Erastus, and Coriscus:
"To Erastus and Coriscus I say, although I am an old man, that, in
addition to this noble knowledge of 'forms' (which they possess), they
need a wisdom, with regard to the class of wicked and unjust persons,
which may serve as a protective and repelling force against them. For
they are inexperienced, in consequence of having passed a large
portion of their lives with us, who are moderate(1) individuals, and
not wicked. I have accordingly said that they need these things, in
order that they may not be compelled to neglect the true wisdom, and to
apply themselves in a greater degree than is proper to that which is
necessary and human."
According to the foregoing, then, the one kind of wisdom is
human, and the other divine. Now the "human" wisdom is that which is
termed by us the wisdom of the "world," which is "foolishness with
God;" whereas the "divine"—being different from the "human," because
it is "divine"—comes, through the grace of God who bestows it, to
those who have evinced their capacity for receiving it, and especially
to those who, from knowing the difference between either kind of
wisdom, say, in their prayers to God, "Even if one among the sons of
men be perfect, while the wisdom is wanting that comes from Thee, he
shall be accounted as nothing."(2) We maintain, indeed, that "human"
wisdom is an exercise for the soul, but that "divine" wisdom is the
"end," being also termed the "strong" meat of the soul by him who has
said that "strong meat belongeth to them that are perfect,(3) even
those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both
good and evil."(4) This opinion, moreover, is truly an ancient one, its
antiquity not being referred back, as Celsus thinks, merely to
Heraclitus and Plato. For before these individuals lived, the prophets
distinguished between the two kinds of wisdom. It is sufficient for the
present to quote from the words of David what he says regarding the man
who is wise, according to divine wisdom, that "he will not see
corruption when he beholds wise men dying."(5) Divine wisdom,
accordingly, being different from faith, is the "first" of the
so-called "charismata" of God; and the "second" after it—in the
estimation of those who know how to distinguish such things
accurately—is what is called "knowledge;"(6) and the "third"—seeing
that even the more simple class of men who adhere to the service of
God, so far as they can, must be saved—is faith. And therefore Paul
says: "To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the
word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same
Spirit."(7) And therefore it is no ordinary individuals whom you will
find to have participated in the "divine" wisdom, but the more
excellent and distinguished among
those who have given in their adherence to Christianity; for it is not "to the most ignorant, or servile, or most uninstructed of mankind," that one would discourse upon the topics relating to the divine wisdom.
In designating others by the epithets of "uninstructed, and
servile, and ignorant," Celsus, I suppose, means those who are not
acquainted with his laws, nor trained in the branches of Greek
learning; while we, on the other hand, deem those to be "uninstructed"
who are not ashamed to address (supplications) to inanimate objects,
and to call upon those for health that have no strength, and to ask the
dead for life, and to entreat the helpless for assistance.(8) And
although some may say that these objects are not gods, but only
imitations and symbols of real divinities, nevertheless these very
individuals, in imagining that the hands of low mechanics(9) can frame
imitations of divinity, are "uninstructed, and servile, and ignorant;"
for we assert that the lowest(10) among us have been set free from this
ignorance and want of knowledge, while the most intelligent can
understand and grasp the divine hope. We do not maintain, however, that
it is impossible for one who has not been trained in earthly wisdom to
receive the "divine," but we do acknowledge that all human wisdom is
"folly" in comparison with the "divine." In the next place, instead of
endeavouring to adduce reasons, as he ought, for his assertions, he
terms us "sorcerers,"(11) and asserts that "we flee away with headlong
speed(12) from the more polished(13) class of persons, because they are
not suitable subjects for our impositions, while we seek to decoy(14)
those who are more rustic." Now he did not observe that from the very
beginning our wise men were trained in the external branches of
learning: Moses, e.g., in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; Daniel, and
Ananias, and Azariah, and Mishael, in all Assyrian learning, so that
they were found to surpass in tenfold degree all the wise men of that
country. At the present time, moreover, the Churches have, in
proportion to the multitudes (of ordinary believers), a few "wise" men,
who have come over to them from that wisdom which is said by us to be
"according to the flesh;"(15) and they have also some who have advanced
from it to that wisdom which is "divine."
Celsus, in the next place, as one who has heard the subject of
humility greatly talked about;(1) but who has not been at the pains to
understand it,(2) would wish to speak evil of that humility which is
practised among us, and imagines that it is borrowed from some words of
Plato imperfectly understood, where he expresses himself in the Laws as
follows: "Now God, according to the ancient account, having in Himself
both the beginning and end and middle of all existing things, proceeds
according to nature, and marches straight on.(3) He is constantly
followed by justice, which is the avenger of all breaches of the divine
law: he who is about to become happy follows her closely in humility,
and becomingly adorned."(4) He did not observe, however, that in
writers much older than Plato the following words occur in a prayer:
"Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty, neither do I walk
in great matters, nor in things too wonderful for me; if I had not been
humble,"(5) etc. Now these words show that he who is of humble mind
does not by any means humble himself in an unseemly or inauspicious
manner, falling down upon his knees, or casting himself headlong on the
ground, putting on the dress of the miserable, or sprinkling himself
with dust. But he who is of humble mind in the sense of the prophet,
while "walking in great and wonderful things," which are above his
capacity—viz., those doctrines that are truly great, and those
thoughts that are wonderful—"humbles himself under the mighty hand of
God." If there are some, however, who through their stupidity(6) have
not clearly understood the doctrine of humiliation, and act as they do,
it is not our doctrine which is to be blamed; but we must extend our
forgiveness to the stupidity(6) of those who aim at higher things, and
owing to their fatuity of mind(7) fail to attain them. He who is
"humble and becomingly adorned," is so in a greater degree than Plato's
"humble and becomingly adorned" individual: for he is becomingly
adorned, on the one hand, because "he walks in things great and
wonderful," which are beyond his capacity; and humble, on the other
hand, because, while being in the midst of such, he yet voluntarily
humbles himself, not under any one at random, but under "the mighty
hand of God," through Jesus Christ, the teacher of such instruction,
"who did not deem equality with God a thing to be eagerly clung to, but
made Himself of no reputation, and took on
Him the form of a servant, and being found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."(8) And so great is this doctrine of humiliation, that it has no ordinary individual as its teacher; but our great Saviour Himself says: "Learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls."(9)
In the next place, with regard to the declaration of Jesus
against rich men, when He said, "It is easier for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of
God,"(10) Celsus alleges that this saying manifestly proceeded from
Plato, and that Jesus perverted the words of the philosopher, which
were, that "it was impossible to be distinguished for goodness, and at
the same time for riches."(11) Now who is there that is capable of
giving even moderate attention to affairs—not merely among the
believers on Jesus, but among the rest of mankind—that would not laugh
at Celsus, on hearing that Jesus, who was born and brought up among the
Jews, and was supposed to be the son of Joseph the carpenter, and who
had not studied literature—not merely that of the Greeks, but not even
that of the Hebrews—as the truth-loving Scriptures testify regarding
Him,(12) had read Plato, and being pleased with the opinion he
expressed regarding rich men, to the effect that "it was impossible to
be distinguished for goodness and riches at the same time," had
perverted this, and changed it into, "It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God!" Now, if Celsus had not perused the Gospels in a spirit
of hatred and dislike, but had been imbued with a love of truth, he
would have turned his attention to the point why a camel—that one of
animals which, as regards its physical structure, is crooked—was
chosen as an object of comparison with a rich man, and what
signification the "narrow eye of a needle" had for him who saw that
"strait and narrow was the way that leadeth unto life;(13) and to this
point also, that this animal. according to the law, is described as
"unclean," having one element of acceptability, viz. that it ruminates,
but one of condemnation, viz., that it does not divide the hoof. He
would have inquired, moreover, how often the camel was adduced as an
object of comparison in the sacred Scriptures, and in reference to what
objects, that he might thus ascertain the mean- ing of the Logos
concerning the rich men. Nor would he have left without examination the
fact that "the poor" are termed "blessed" by Jesus, while "the rich"
are designated as "miserable;" and whether these words refer to the
rich and poor who are visible to the senses, or whether there is any
kind of poverty known to the Logos which is to be deemed "altogether
blessed," and any rich man who is to be wholly condemned. For even a
common individual would not thus indiscriminately have praised the
poor, many of whom lead most wicked byes. But on this point we have
said enough.
Since Celsus, moreover, from a desire to depreciate the accounts
which our Scriptures give of the kingdom of God, has quoted none of
them, as if they were unworthy of being recorded by him (or perhaps
because he was unacquainted with them), while, on the other hand, he
quotes the sayings of Plato, both from his Epistles and the Phoedrus,
as if these were divinely inspired, but our Scriptures were not, let us
set forth a few points, for the sake of comparison with these plausible
declarations of Plato, which did not however, dispose the philosopher
to worship in a manner worthy of him the Maker of all things. For he
ought not to have adulterated or polluted this worship with what we
call "idolatry," but what the many would describe by the term
"superstition." Now, according to a Hebrew figure of speech, it is said
of God in the eighteenth Psalm, that "He made darkness His secret
place,"(1) to signify that those notions which should be worthily
entertained of God are invisible and unknowable, because God conceals
Himself in darkness, as it were, from those who cannot endure the
splendours of His knowledge, or are incapable of looking at them,
partly owing to the pollution of their understanding, which is clothed
with the body of mortal lowliness, and partly owing to its feebler
power of comprehending God. And in order that it may appear that the
knowledge of God has rarely been vouch-safed to men, and has been found
in very few individuals, Moses is related to have entered into the
darkness where God was.(2) And again, with regard to Moses it is said:
"Moses alone shall come near the LORD, but the rest shall not come
nigh."(3) And again, that the prophet may show the depth of the
doctrines which relate to God, and which is unattainable by those who
do not possess the "Spirit which searcheth all things, even the deep
things of God," he added: "The abyss like a garment is His
covering."(4) Nay,
our Lord and Saviour, the Logos of God, manifesting that the greatness of the knowledge of the Father is appropriately comprehended and known pre-eminently by Him alone, and in the second place by those whose minds are enlightened by the Logos Himself and God, declares: "No man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him."(5) For no one can worthily know the "uncreated"(6) and first-born of all created nature like the Father who begat Him, nor any one the Father like the living Logos, and His Wisdom and Truth.(7) By sharing in Him who takes away from the Father what is called "darkness," which He "made His secret place," and "the abyss," which is called His "covering," and in this way unveiling the Father, every one knows the Father who(8) is capable of knowing Him.
I thought it right to quote these few instances from a much
larger number of passages, in which our sacred writers express their
ideas regarding God, in order to show that, to those who have eyes to
behold the venerable character of Scripture, the sacred writings of the
prophets contain things more worthy of reverence than those sayings of
Plato which Celsus admires. Now the declaration of Plato, quoted by
Celsus, runs as follows: "All things are around the King of all, and
all things exist for his sake, and he is the cause of all good things.
With things of the second rank he is second, and with those of the
third rank he is third. The human soul, accordingly, is eager to learn
what these things are, looking to such things as are kindred to itself,
none of which is perfect. But as regards the King and those things
which I mentioned, there is nothing which resembles them."(9) I might
have mentioned, moreover, what is said of those beings which are called
seraphim by the Hebrews, and described in Isaiah,(10) who cover the
face and feet of God, and of those called cherubim, whom Ezekiel(11)
has described, and the postures of these, and of the manner in which
God is said to be borne upon the cherubim. But since they are mentioned
in a very mysterious manner, on account of the unworthy and the
indecent, who are unable to enter into the great thoughts and venerable
nature of theology, I have not deemed it becoming to discourse of them
in this treatise.
Celsus in the next place alleges, that "certain Christians,
having misunderstood the words of Plato, loudly boast of a
'super-celestial' God thus ascending beyond the heaven of the Jews." By
these words, indeed, he does not make it clear whether they also ascend
beyond the God of the Jews, or only beyond the heaven by which they
swear. It is not our purpose at present, however, to speak of those who
acknowledge another god than the one worshipped by the Jews, but to
defend ourselves, and to show that it was impossible for the prophets
of the Jews, whose writings are reckoned among ours, to have borrowed
anything from Plato, because they were older than he. They did not then
borrow from him the declaration, that "all things are around the King
of all, and that all exist on account of him;" for we have learned that
nobler thoughts than these have been uttered by the prophets, by Jesus
Himself and His disciples, who have clearly indicated the meaning of
the spirit that was in them, which was none other than the spirit of
Christ. Nor was the philosopher the first to present to view the
"super-celestial" place; for David long ago brought to view the
profundity and multitude of the thoughts concerning God entertained by
those who have ascended above visible things, when he said in the book
of Psalms: "Praise God, ye heaven of heavens and ye waters that be
above the heavens, let them praise the name of the LORD."(1) I do not
indeed, deny that Plato learned from certain Hebrews the words quoted
from the Phoedrus, or even, as some have recorded, that he quoted them
from a perusal of our prophetic writings, when he said: "No poet here
below has ever sung of the super-celestial place, or ever will sing in
a becoming manner," and so on. And in the same passage is the
following: "For the essence, which is both colourless and formless, and
which cannot be touched, which really exists, is the pilot of the soul,
and is beheld by the understanding alone; and around it the genus of
true knowledge holds this place."(2) Our Paul, moreover, educated by
these words, and longing after things "supra-mundane" and
"super-celestial," and doing his utmost for their sake to attain them,
says in the second Epistle to the Corinthians: "For our light
affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things
which are seen are temporal; but the things which are unseen are
eternal."(3)
Now, to those who are capable of understanding him, the apostle
manifestly presents to view "things which are the objects of
perception," calling them "things seen;" while he terms "unseen,"
things which are the object of the understanding, and cognisable by it
alone. He knows, also, that things "seen" and visible are "temporal,"
but that things cognisable by the mind, and "not seen," are "eternal;"
and desiring to remain in the contemplation of these. and being
assisted by his earnest longing for them, he deemed all affliction as
"light" and as "nothing," and during the season of afflictions and
troubles was not at all bowed down by them, but by his contemplation of
(divine) things deemed every calamity a light thing, seeing we also
have "a great High Priest," who by the greatness of His power and
understanding "has passed through the heavens, even Jesus the Son of
God," who has promised to all that have truly learned divine things,
and have lived lives in harmony with them, to go before them to the
things that are supra-mundane; for His words are: "That where I go, ye
may be also."(4) And therefore we hope, after the troubles and
struggles which we suffer here, to reach the highest heavens,(5) and
receiving, agreeably to the teaching of Jesus, the fountains of water
that spring up unto eternal life, and being filled with the rivers of
knowledge,(6) shall be united with those waters that are said to be
above the heavens, and which praise His name. And as many of us(7) as
praise Him shall not be carried about by the revolution of the heaven,
but shall be ever engaged in the contemplation of the invisible things
of God, which are no longer understood by us through the things which
He hath made from the creation of the world, but seeing, as it was
expressed by the true disciple of Jesus in these words, "then face to
face;"(8) and in these, "When that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part will be done away."(9)
The Scriptures which are current in the Churches(10) of God do
not speak of "seven" heavens, or of any definite number at all,(1) but
they do appear to teach the existence of "heavens," whether that means
the "spheres" of those bodies which the Greeks call "planets," or
something more mysterious. Celsus, too, agreeably to the opinion of
Plato,(2) asserts that souls can make their way to and from the earth
through the planets; while Moses, our most ancient prophet, says that a
divine vision was presented to the view of our prophet Jacob,(3)—a
ladder stretching to heaven, and the angels of God ascending and
descending upon it, and the Lord supported(4) upon its top,—obscurely
pointing, by this matter of the ladder, either to the same truths which
Plato had in view, or to something greater than these. On this subject
Philo has composed a treatise which deserves the thoughtful and
intelligent investigation of all lovers of truth.
After this, Celsus, desiring to exhibit his learning in his
treatise against us, quotes also certain Persian mysteries, where he
says: "These things are obscurely hinted at in the accounts of the
Persians, and especially in the mysteries of Mithras, which are
celebrated amongst them. For in the latter there is a representation of
the two heavenly revolutions,—of the movement, viz., of the fixed(5)
stars, and of that which take place among the planets, and of the
passage of the soul through these. The representation is of the
following nature: There is a ladder with lofty gates,(6) and on the top
of it an eighth gate. The first gate consists of lead, the second of
tin, the third of copper, the fourth of iron, the fifth of a mixture of
metals,(7) the sixth of silver, and the seventh of gold. The first gate
they assign to Saturn, indicating by the 'lead' the slowness of this
star; the second to Venus, comparing her to the splendour and softness
of tin; the third to Jupiter, being firm(8) and solid; the fourth to
Mercury, for both Mercury and iron are fit to endure all things, and
are money-making and laborious;(9) the fifth to Mars, because, being
composed of a mixture of metals, it is varied and unequal; the sixth,
of silver, to the Moon; the seventh, of gold, to the Sun,—thus
imitating the different colours of the two latter." He next proceeds to
examine the reason of the stars being arranged in this order, which is
symbolized by the names of the rest of matter.(10)
Musical reasons, moreover, are added or quoted by the Persian theology; and to these, again, he strives to add a second explanation, connected also with musical considerations. But it seems to me, that to quote the language of Celsus upon these matters would be absurd, and similar to what he himself has done, when, in his accusations against Christians and Jews, he quoted, most inappropriately, not only the words of Plato; but, dissatisfied even with these,(11) he adduced in addition the mysteries of the Persian Mithras, and the explanation of them. Now, whatever be the case with regard to these,—whether the Persians and those who conduct the mysteries of Mithras give false or true accounts regarding them,—why did he select these for quotation, rather than some of the other mysteries, with the explanation of them? For the mysteries of Mithras do not appear to be more famous among the Greeks than those of Eleusis, or than those in AEgina, where individuals are initiated in the rites of Hecate. But if he must introduce barbarian mysteries with their explanation, why not rather those of the Egyptians, which are highly regarded by many,(12) or those of the Cappadocians regarding the Comanian Diana, or those of the Thracians, or even those of the Romans themselves, who initiate the noblest members of their senate?(13) But if he deemed it inappropriate to institute a comparison with any of these, because they furnished no aid in the way of accusing Jews or Christians, why did it not also appear to him inappropriate to adduce the instance of the mysteries of Mithras?
If one wished to obtain means for a pro-founder contemplation of
the entrance of souls into divine things, not from the statements of
that very insignificant sect from which he quoted, hut from
books—partly those of the Jews, which are read in their synagogues,
and adopted by Christians, and partly from those of Christians
alone—let him peruse, at the end of Ezekiel's prophecies, the visions
beheld by the prophet, in which gates of different kinds are
enumerated,(14) which obscurely refer to the different modes in which
divine souls enter into a better world;(15) and let him peruse also,
from the Apocalypse of John, what is related of the city of God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and of its foundations and gates.(16) And if he is
capable of finding out also the road, which is indicated by symbols, of
those who will march on to divine things, let him read the book of
Moses entitled Numbers, and let him seek the help of one who is capable
of initiating him into the meaning of the narratives concerning the
encampments of the children of Israel; viz., of what sort those were
which were arranged towards the east, as was the case with the first;
and what those towards the south-west. and south; and what towards the
sea; and what the last were, which were stationed towards the north.
For he will see that there is in the respective places a meaning(1) not
to be lightly treated, nor, as Celsus imagines, such as calls only for
silly and servile listeners: but he will distinguish in the encampments
certain things relating to the numbers that are enumerated, and which
are specially adapted to each tribe, of which the present does not
appear to us to be the proper time to speak. Let Celsus know, moreover,
as well as those who read his book, that in no part of the genuine and
divinely accredited Scriptures are "seven" heavens mentioned; neither
do our prophets, nor the apostles of Jesus, nor the Son of God Himself,
repeat anything which they borrowed from the Persians or the Cabiri.
After the instance borrowed from the Mithraic mysteries, Celsus
declares that he who would investigate the Christian mysteries, along
with the aforesaid Persian, will, on comparing the two together, and on
unveiling the rites of the Christians, see in this way the difference
between them. Now, wherever he was able to give the names of the
various sects, he was nothing loth to quote those with which he thought
himself acquainted; but when he ought most of all to have done this, if
they were really known to him, and to have informed us which was the
sect that makes use of the diagram he has drawn, he has not done so. It
seems to me, however, that it is from some statements of a very
insignificant sect called Ophites,(2) which he has misunderstood, that,
in my opinion, he has partly borrowed what he says about the
diagram.(3) Now, as we have always been animated by a love of
learning,(4) we have fallen in with this diagram, and we have found in
it the representations of men who, as Paul says, "creep into houses,
and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers
lusts; ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the
truth."(5) The diagram was, however, so destitute of all credibility,
that neither these easily deceived women, nor the most rustic class of
men, nor those who were ready to be led away by any
plausible pretender whatever, ever gave their assent to the diagram. Nor, indeed, have we ever met any individual, although we have visited many parts of the earth, and have sought out all those who anywhere made profession of knowledge, that placed any faith in this diagram.
In this diagram were described ten circles, distinct from each
other, but united by one circle, which was said to be the soul of all
things, and was called "Leviathan."(6) This Leviathan, the Jewish
Scriptures say, whatever they mean by the expression, was created by
God for a plaything;(7) for we find in the Psalms: "In wisdom hast Thou
made all things: the earth is full of Thy creatures; so is this great
and wide sea. There go the ships; small animals with great; there is
this dragon, which Thou hast formed to play therein."(8) Instead of the
word "dragon," the term "leviathan" is in the Hebrew. This impious
diagram, then, said of this leviathan, which is so clearly depreciated
by the Psalmist, that it was the soul which had travelled through all
things! We observed, also, in the diagram, the being named "Behemoth,"
placed as it were under the lowest circle. The inventor of this
accursed diagram had inscribed this leviathan at its circumference and
centre, thus placing its name in two separate places. Moreover, Celsus
says that the diagram was "divided by a thick black line, and this line
he asserted was called Gehenna, which is Tartarus." Now as we found
that Gehenna was mentioned in the Gospel as a place of punishment, we
searched to see whether it is mentioned anywhere in the ancient
Scriptures, and especially because the Jews too use the word. And we
ascertained that where the valley of the son of Ennom was named in
Scripture in the Hebrew, instead of "valley," with fundamentally the
same meaning, it was termed both the valley of Ennom and also Geenna.
And continuing our researches, we find that what was termed "Geenna,"
or "the valley of Ennom," was included in the lot of the tribe of
Benjamin, in which Jerusalem also was situated. And seeking to
ascertain what might be the inference from the heavenly Jerusalem
belonging to the lot of Benjamin and the valley of Ennom, we find a
certain confirmation of what is said regarding the place of punishment,
intended for the purification of such souls as are to be purified by
torments, agreeably to the saying: "The Lord cometh like a refiner's
fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver and of gold."(9)
It is in the precincts of Jerusalem, then, that punishments will
be inflicted upon those who undergo the process of purification,(1) who
have received into the substance of their soul the elements of
wickedness, which in a certain place(2) is figuratively termed "lead,"
and on that account iniquity is represented in Zechariah as sitting
upon a "talent of lead."(3) But the remarks which might be made on this
topic are neither to be made to all, nor to be uttered on the present
occasion; for it is not unattended with danger to commit to writing the
explanation of such subjects, seeing the multitude need no further
instruction than that which relates to the punishment of sinners; while
to ascend beyond this is not expedient, for the sake of those who are
with difficulty restrained, even by fear of eternal punishment, from
plunging into any degree of wickedness, and into the flood of evils
which result from sin.(4) The doctrine of Geenna, then, is unknown both
to the diagram and to Celsus: for had it been otherwise, the framers of
the former would not have boasted of their pictures of animals and
diagrams, as if the truth were represented by these; nor would Celsus,
in his treatise against the Christians, have introduced among the
charges directed against them statements which they never uttered
instead of what was spoken by some who perhaps are no longer in
existence, but have altogether disappeared, or been reduced to a very
few individuals, and these easily counted. And as it does not beseem
those who profess the doctrines of Plato to offer a defence of Epicurus
and his impious opinions, so neither is it for us to defend the
diagram, or to refute the accusations brought against it by Celsus. We
may therefore allow his charges on these points to pass as superfluous
and useless,(5) for we would censure more severely than Celsus any who
should be carried away by such opinions.
After the matter of the diagram, he brings forward certain
monstrous statements, in the form of question and answer,(6) regarding
what is called by ecclesiastical writers the "seal," statements which
did not arise from imperfect information; such as that "he who
impresses the seal is called father, and he who is sealed is called
young man and son;" and who answers, "I have been anointed with white
ointment from the tree of life,"—things which we never heard
to have occurred even among the heretics. In the next place, he determines even the number mentioned by those who deliver over the seal, as that "of seven angels, who attach themselves to both sides of the soul of the dying body; the one party being named angels of light, the others 'archontics;' "(7) and he asserts that the "ruler of those named 'archontics' is termed the 'accursed' god." Then, laying hold of the expression, he assails, not without reason; those who venture to use such language; and on that account we entertain a similar feeling of indignation with those who censure such individuals, if indeed there exist any who call the God of the Jews—who sends rain and thunder, and who is the Creator of this world, and the God of Moses, and of the cosmogony which he records—an "accursed" divinity. Celsus, however, appears to have had in view in employing these expressions, not a rational(8) object, but one of a most irrational kind, arising out of his hatred towards us, which is so unlike a philosopher. For his aim was, that those who are unacquainted with our customs should, on perusing his treatise, at once assail us as if we called the noble Creator of this world an "accursed divinity." He appears to me, indeed, to have acted like those Jews who, when Christianity began to be first preached, scattered abroad false reports of the Gospel, such as that "Christians offered up an infant in sacrifice, and partook of its flesh;" and again, "that the professors of Christianity, wishing to do the 'works of darkness,' used to extinguish the lights (in their meetings), and each one to have sexual intercourse with any woman whom he chanced to meet." These calumnies have long exercised, although unreasonably, an influence over the minds of very many, leading those who are aliens to the Gospel to believe that Christians are men of such a character; and even at the present day they mislead some, and prevent them from entering even into the simple intercourse of conversation with those who are Christians.
With some such object as this in view does Celsus seem to have
been actuated, when he alleged that Christians term the Creator an
"accursed divinity;" in order that he who believes these charges of his
against us, should, if possible, arise and exterminate the Christians
as the most impious Of mankind. Confusing, moreover, things that are
distinct,(9) he states also the reason why the God of the Mosaic
cosmogony is termed "accursed," asserting that "such is his character,
and worthy of execration in the opinion of those who so regard him,
inasmuch as he pronounced a curse upon the serpent, who introduced the
first human beings to the knowledge of good and evil." Now he ought to
have known that those who have espoused the cause of the serpent,
because he gave good advice to the first human beings, and who go far
beyond the Titans and Giants of fable, and are on this account called
Ophites, are so far from being Christians, that they bring accusations
against Jesus to as great a degree as Celsus himself; and they do not
admit any one into their assembly(1) until he has uttered maledictions
against Jesus. See, then, how irrational is the procedure of Celsus,
who, in his discourse against the Christians, represents as such those
who will not even listen to the name of Jesus, or omit even that He was
a wise man, or a person of virtuous(2) character! What, then, could
evince greater folly or madness, not only on the part of those who wish
to derive their name from the serpent as the author of good,(3) but
also on the part of Celsus, who thinks that the accusations with which
the Ophites(4) are charged, are chargeable also against the Christians!
Long ago, indeed, that Greek philosopher who preferred a state of
poverty,(5) and who exhibited the pattern of a happy life, showing that
he was not excluded from happiness although he was possessed of
nothing,(6) termed himself a Cynic; while these impious wretches, as
not being human beings, whose enemy the serpent is, but as being
serpents, pride themselves upon being called Ophites from the serpent,
which is an animal most hostile to and greatly dreaded by man, and
boast of one Euphrates(7) as the introducer of these unhallowed
opinions.
In the next place, as if it were the Christians whom he was
calumniating, he continues his accusations against those who termed the
God of Moses and of his law an "accursed" divinity; and imagining that
it is the Christians who so speak, he expresses himself thus: "What
could be more foolish or insane than such senseless(8) wisdom? For what
blunder has the Jewish lawgiver committed? and why do you accept, by
means, as you say,(9) of a certain allegorical and typical method of
interpretation, the cosmogony which he gives, and the law of the Jews,
while it is with unwillingness, O most impious man, that
you give praise to the Creator of the world, who promised to give them all things; who promised to multiply their race to the ends of the earth, and to raise them up from the dead with the same flesh and blood, and who gave inspiration(10) to their prophets; and, again, you slander Him! When you feel the force of such considerations, indeed, you acknowledge that you worship the same God; but when your teacher Jesus and the Jewish Moses give contradictory decisions,(11) you seek another God, instead of Him, and the Father!" Now, by such statements, this illustrious philosopher Celsus distinctly slanders the Christians, asserting that, when the Jews press them hard, they acknowledge the same God as they do; but that when Jesus legislates differently from Moses, they seek another god instead of Him. Now, whether we are conversing with the Jews, or are alone with ourselves, we know of only one and the same God, whom the Jews also worshipped of old time, and still profess to worship as God, and we are guilty of no impiety towards Him. We do not assert, however; that God will raise men from the dead with the same flesh and blood, as has been shown in the preceding pages; for we do not maintain that the natural(12) body, which is sown in corruption, and in dishonour, and in weakness, will rise again such as it was sown. On such subjects, however, we have spoken at adequate length in the foregoing pages.
He next returns to the subject of the Seven ruling Demons,(13)
whose names are not found among Christians, but who, I think, are
accepted by the Ophites. We found, indeed, that in the diagram, which
on their account we procured a sight of, the same order was laid down
as that which Celsus has given. Celsus says that "the goat was shaped
like a lion," not mentioning the name given him by those who are truly
the most impious of individuals; whereas we discovered that He who is
honoured in holy Scripture as the angel of the Creator is called by
this accursed diagram Michael the Lion-like. Again, Celsus says that
the "second in order is a bull;" whereas the diagram which we possessed
made him to be Suriel, the bull-like. Further, Celsus termed the third
"an amphibious sort of animal, and one that hissed frightfully;" while
the diagram described the third as Raphael, the serpent-like. Moreover,
Celsus asserted that the "fourth had the form of an eagle;" the diagram
representing him as Gabriel, the eagle-like. Again, the "fifth,"
according to Celsus, "had the countenance of a bear;" and this,
according to the diagram, was Thauthabaoth,(1) the bear-like. Celsus
continues his account, that the "sixth was described as having the face
of a dog;" and him the diagram called Erataoth. The "seventh," he adds,
"had the countenance of an ass, and was named Thaphabaoth or Onoel;"
whereas we discovered that in the diagram he is called Onoel, or
Thartharaoth, being somewhat asinine in appearance. We have thought it
proper to be exact in stating these matters, that we might not appear
to be ignorant of those things which Celsus professed to know, but that
we Christians, knowing them better than he, may demonstrate that these
are not the words of Christians, but of those who are altogether
alienated from salvation, and who neither acknowledge Jesus as Saviour,
nor God, nor Teacher, nor Son of God.
Moreover, if any one would wish to become acquainted with the
artifices of those sorcerers, through which they desire to lead men
away by their teaching (as if they possessed the knowledge of certain
secret rites), but are not at all successful in so doing, let him
listen to the instruction which they receive after passing through what
is termed the "fence of wickedness,"(2)-gates which are subjected to
the world of ruling spirits.(3) (The following, then, is the manner in
which they proceed): "I salute the one-formed(4) king, the bond of
blindness, complete(5) oblivion, the first power, preserved by the
spirit of providence and by wisdom, from whom I am sent forth pure,
being already part of the light of the son and of the father: grace be
with me; yea, O father, let it be with me." They say also that the
beginnings of the Ogdoad(6) are derived from this. In the next place,
they are taught to say as follows, while passing through what they call
Ialdabaoth: "Thou, O first and seventh, who art born to command with
confidence, thou, O Ialdabaoth, who art the rational ruler of a pure
mind, and a perfect work to son and father, bearing the symbol of life
in the character of a type, and opening to the world the gate which
thou didst close against thy kingdom, I pass again in freedom through
thy realm. Let grace be with me; yea, O father, let it be with me."
They say, moreover, that the star Phaenon(7) is in sympathy(8) with the
lion-like ruler. They next imagine that he who has passed through
Ialdabaoth and arrived at Iao ought thus to speak: "Thou, O second Iao,
who shinest by night(9) who art the ruler of the secret mysteries of
son and father, first prince of death, and portion of the innocent,
bearing now mine own beard as symbol, I am ready to pass through thy
realm, having strengthened him who is born of thee by the living word.
Grace be with me; father, let it be with me." They next come to
Sabaoth, to whom they think the following should be addressed: "O
governor of the fifth realm, powerful Sabaoth, defender of the law of
thy creatures, who are liberated by thy grace through the help of a
more powerful Pentad,(10) admit me, seeing the faultless symbol of
their art, preserved by the stamp of an image, a body liberated by a
Pentad. Let grace be with me, O father, let grace be with me." And
after Sabaoth they come to Astaphaeus, to whom they believe the
following prayer should be offered: "O Astaphaeus, ruler of the third
gate, overseer of the first principle of water, look upon me as one of
thine initiated,(11) admit me who am purified with the spirit of a
virgin, thou who seest the essence of the world. Let grace be with me,
O father, let grace be with me." After him comes Aloaeus, who is to be
thus addressed: "O Aloaeus, governor of the second gate, let me pass,
seeing I bring to thee the symbol of thy mother, a grace which is
hidden by the powers of the realms.(12) Let grace be with me, O father,
let it be with me." And last of all they name Horaeus, and think that
the following prayer ought to be offered to him: "Thou who didst
fearlessly overleap the rampart of fire, O Horaeus, who didst obtain
the government of the first gate, let me pass, seeing thou beholdest
the symbol of thine own power, sculptured(13) on the figure of the tree
of life, and formed after this image, in the likeness of innocence. Let
grace be with me, O father, let grace be with me."
The supposed great learning of Celsus, which is composed,
however, rather of curious trifles and silly talk than anything else,
has made us touch upon these topics, from a wish to show to every one
who peruses his treatise and our reply, that we have no lack of
information on those subjects, from which he takes occasion to
calumniate the Christians, who neither are acquainted with, nor concern
themselves about, such mat- ters. For we, too, desired both to learn
and set forth these things, in order that sorcerers might not, under
pretext of knowing more than we, delude those who are easily carried
away by the glitter(1) of names. And I could have given many more
illustrations to show that we are acquainted with the opinions of these
deluders,(2) and that we disown them, as being alien to ours, and
impious, and not in harmony with the doctrines of true Christians, of
which we are ready to make confession even to the death. It must be
noticed, too, that those who have drawn up this array of fictions,
have, from neither understanding magic, nor discriminating the meaning
of holy Scripture, thrown everything into confusion; seeing that they
have borrowed from magic the names of Ialdabaoth, and Astaphaeus, and
Horaeus, and from the Hebrew Scriptures him who is termed in Hebrew Iao
or Jah, and Sabaoth, and Adonaeus, and Eloaeus. Now the names taken
from the Scriptures are names of one and the same God; which, not being
understood by the enemies of God, as even themselves acknowledge, led
to their imagining that Iao was a different God, and Sabaoth another,
and Adonaeus, whom the Scriptures term Adonai, a third besides, and
that Eloaeus, whom the prophets name in Hebrew Eloi, was also different.
Celsus next relates other fables, to the effect that "certain
persons return to the shapes of the archontics,(3) so that some are
called lions, others bulls, others dragons, or eagles, or bears, or
dogs." We found also in the diagram which we possessed, and which
Celsus called the "square pattern," the statements(4) made by these
unhappy beings concerning the gates of Paradise. The flaming sword was
depicted as the diameter of a flaming circle, and as if mounting guard
over the tree of knowledge and of life. Celsus, however, either would
not or could not repeat the harangues which, according to the fables of
these impious individuals, are represented as spoken at each of the
gates by those who pass through them; but this we have done in order to
show to Celsus and those who read his treatise, that we know the depth
of these unhallowed mysteries,(5) and that they are far removed from
the worship which Christians offer up to God.
After finishing the foregoing, and those analogous matters which
we ourselves have added,
Celsus continues as follows: "They continue to heap together one thing after another,—discourses of prophets, and circles upon circles, and effluents(6) from an earthly church, and from circumcision; and a power flowing from one Prunicos, a virgin and a living soul; and a heaven slain in order to live, and an earth slaughtered by the sword, and many put to death that they may live, and death ceasing in the world, when the sin of the world is dead; and, again, a narrow way, and gates that open spontaneously. And in all their writings (is mention made) of the tree of life, and a resurrection of the flesh by means(7) of the 'tree,' because, I imagine, their teacher was nailed to a cross, and was a carpenter by craft; so that if he had chanced to have been cast from a precipice, or thrust into a pit, or suffocated by hanging, or had been a leather-cutter, or stone-cutter, or worker in iron, there would have been (invented) a precipice of life beyond the heavens, or a pit of resurrection, or a cord of immortality, or a blessed stone, or an iron of love, or a sacred leather! Now what old woman would not be ashamed to utter such things in a whisper, even when making stories to lull an infant to sleep?" In using such language as this, Celsus appears to me to confuse together matters which he has imperfectly heard. For it seems likely that, even supposing that he had heard a few words traceable to some existing heresy, he did not clearly understand the meaning intended to be conveyed; but heaping the words together, he wished to show before those who knew nothing either of our opinions or of those of the heretics, that he was acquainted with all the doctrines of the Christians. And this is evident also from the foregoing words.
It is our practice, indeed, to make use of the words of the
prophets, who demonstrate that Jesus is the Christ predicted by them,
and who show from the prophetic writings the events in the Gospels
regarding Jesus have been fulfilled. But when Celsus speaks of "circles
upon circles," (he perhaps borrowed the expression) from the
aforementioned heresy, which includes in one circle (which they call
the soul of all things, and Leviathan) the seven circles of archontic
demons, or perhaps it arises from misunderstanding the preacher, when
he says: "The wind goeth in a circle of circles, and returneth again
upon its circles."(8) The expression, too, "effluents of an earthly
church and of circumcision," was probably taken from the fact that the
church on earth was called by some an efflu- ent from a heavenly church
and a better world; and that the circumcision described in the law was
a symbol of the circumcision performed there, in a certain place set
apart for purification. The adherents of Valentinus, moreover, in
keeping with their system of error,(1) give the name of Prunicos to a
certain kind of wisdom, of which they would have the woman afflicted
with the twelve years' issue of blood to be the symbol; so that Celsus,
who confuses together all sorts of opinions—Greek, Barbarian, and
Heretical—having heard of her, asserted that it was a power flowing
forth from one Prunicos, a virgin. The "living soul," again, is perhaps
mysteriously referred by some of the followers of Valentinus to the
being whom they term the psychic(2) creator of the world; or perhaps,
in contradistinction to a "dead" soul, the "living" soul is termed by
some, not inelegantly,(3) the soul of "him who is saved." I know
nothing, however, of a "heaven which is said to be slain," or of an
"earth slaughtered by the sword," or of many persons slain in order
that they might live; for it is not unlikely that these were coined by
Celsus out of his own brain.
We would say, moreover, that death ceases in the world when the
sin of the world dies, referring the saying to the mystical words of
the apostle, which run as follows: "When He shall have put all enemies
under His feet, then the last enemy that shall be destroyed is
death."(4) And also: "When this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory."(5) The "strait descent,"(6) again,
may perhaps be referred by those who hold the doctrine of
transmigration of souls to that view of things. And it is not
incredible that the gates which are said to open spontaneously are
referred obscurely by some to the words, "Open to me the gates of
righteousness, that I may go into them, and praise the LORD; this gate
of the LORD, into it the righteous shall enter;"(7) and again, to what
is said in the ninth psalm, "Thou that liftest me up from the gates of
death, that I may show forth all Thy praise in the gates of the
daughter of Zion."(8) The Scripture further gives the name of "gates of
death" to those sins which lead to destruction, as it terms, on the
contrary, good actions the "gates of Zion." So also "the gates of
righteousness," which is an equivalent expression to "the gates of
virtue," and these are ready to be opened to him who follows after
virtuous pursuits. The subject of the "tree of life" will be more
appropriately explained when we interpret the statements in the book of
Genesis regarding the paradise planted by God. Celsus, moreover, has
often mocked at the subject of a resurrection,—a doctrine which he did
not comprehend; and on the present occasion, not satisfied with what he
has formerly said, he adds, "And there is said to be a resurrection of
the flesh by means of the tree;" not understanding, I think, the
symbolical expression, that "through the tree came death, and through
the tree comes life,"(9) because death was in Adam, and life in Christ.
He next scoffs at the "tree," assailing it on two grounds, and saying,
"For this reason is the tree introduced, either because our teacher was
nailed to a cross, or because he was a carpenter by trade;" not
observing that the tree of life is mentioned in the Mosaic writings,
and being blind also to this, that in none of the Gospels current in
the Churches(10) is Jesus Himself ever described as being a
carpenter.(11)
Celsus, moreover, thinks that we have invented this "tree of
life" to give an allegorical meaning to the cross; and in consequence
of his error upon this point, he adds: "If he had happened to be cast
down a precipice, or shoved into a pit, or suffocated by hanging, there
would have been invented a precipice of life far beyond the heavens,
or a pit of resurrection, or a cord of immortality." And again: "If the
'tree of life' were an invention, because he—Jesus—(is reported) to
have been a carpenter, it would follow that if he had been a
leather-cutter, something would have been said about holy leather; or
had he been a stone-cutter, about a blessed stone; or if a worker in
iron, about an iron of love." Now, who does not see at once(12) the
paltry nature of his charge, in thus calumniating men whom he professed
to convert on the ground of their being deceived? And after these
remarks, he goes on to speak in a way quite in harmony with the tone of
those who have invented the fictions of lion-like, and ass-headed, and
serpent-like ruling angels,(13) and other similar absurdities, but
which does not affect those who belong to the Church. Of a truth, even
a drunken old woman would be ashamed to chaunt or whisper to an infant,
in order to lull him to sleep, any such fables as those have done who
invented the beings with asses' heads, and the harangues, so to speak,
which are delivered at each of the gates. But Celsus is not acquainted
with the doctrines of the members of the Church, which very few have
been able to comprehend, even of those who have devoted all their
lives, in conformity with the command of Jesus, to the searching of the
Scriptures, and have laboured to investigate the meaning of the sacred
books, to a greater degree than Greek philosophers in their efforts to
attain a so-called wisdom.
Our noble (friend), moreover, not satisfied with the objections
which he has drawn from the diagram, desires, in order to strengthen
his accusations against us, who have nothing m 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."(1) Now, in the diagram referred to, we found the
greater and 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(2) 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 accusations, 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.
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,(3) 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 then quotes a passage from Herodotus, stating that
"Apollo is called Gongosyrus by the Scythians; Poseidon, Thagimasada;
Aphrodite, Argimpasan; Hestia, Tabiti."(4) 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(5) that Apollo should be called Gongosyrus by
the Scythians? I do not suppose that Gongosyrus, when transferred 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,(6) 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 circumstances; 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, however, 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 various sorts of
antidotes against poison (to be found)(1) 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.
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 Christians, and this admission made by the
multitude and those altogether aliens to our faith; so would the
following statements of Celsus be found to be calumnies invented
against the Christians, where he says that "he has seen in the hands of
certain presbyters belonging to our faith(2) 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!
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 any effect, because they were
careful to observe a healthy manner 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 philosopher, 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 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"(3)
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,(4) whatever be the meaning of "face" or
of "behold."
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 ignorance, 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 a truth, such statements are altogether of mortal
invention,(5) and not even proper to be repeated, viz., that the mighty
God, in His desire to confer good upon men, has yet one counterworking
Him, and is helpless. The Son of God, it follows, is vanquished 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 manoeuvring against
those who are opposed to his views, and who rank themselves against
them." In the next place, desiring to point out the "enigmas," our
mistakes regarding which lead to the introduction 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 drown 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(1) 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(2) 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 Pherecydes, and the
originators of the mysteries about the Titans and Giants, in those
words which Hephaestus addresses to Hera as follows:—
"Once in your cause I felt his matchless might,
Hurled headlong downward from the ethereal height."(3)
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 trembling in 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."(4)
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;(5) 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 becomes disorderly. With the same ideas also are closely connected the peplos of Athena, which is beheld by all in the procession of the Panathenoea. For it is manifest from this, he continues, that a motherless and unsullied demon(6) 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."
Mark now, whether he who charges us with having committed errors
of the most impious kind, and with having wandered away from the (true
meaning) of the divine enigmas, 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, mention is
made of this wicked one, and of his having fallen from heaven. For the
serpent(7)—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(8) 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(9)
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(10) is sent away
(into the wilderness), 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.(1) Nay, with respect to the sons of Belial in the book
of Judges,(2) 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,(3) the devil is distinctly
described as presenting himself before God,(4) and asking for power
against Job, that he might involve him in trials(5) 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.(6) I pass by 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)(7) 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,(8)
where he speaks, as it were, of Pharaoh, or Nebuchadnezzar, or the
prince of Tyre; or those in Isaiah,(9) 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,(10) and who
had followed him who was the first to lose his own.
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,
concerning the truly rich man, that "he made to himself wings like an
eagle, and returns to the house of his patron.(11) 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 "(12) 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 anything base injuring their rational nature, they may appear 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 a manner contrary to virtue) Satanas, that is, an "adversary" to the Son of God, who is righteousness, and truth, and wisdom.(13) 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 faultlessly in all his ways, "until iniquity was found in him,"(14) 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."(15) 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 whose soul had been dragged down, and torn away from God, and from right views of Him, and from His word, by this wicked demon.
But since Celsus rejects the statements concerning Antichrist, as
it is termed, having neither read what is said of him in the book of
Daniel(16) nor in the writings of Paul,(1) nor what the Saviour in the
Gospels(2) has predicted about his coming, we must make a few remarks
upon this subject also; because, "as faces do not resemble faces,"(3)
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,
rash 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,(4)—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 conversion, 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 mankind 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 Antichrist, describing, though with a certain reserve,(5) 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 slightest degree of ridicule.
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 himself 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 his time. 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 believe a lie; that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."(6) To explain each particular here referred to does not belong to our present purpose. 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 kingdom, 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 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."(7) What is stated by Paul in the words quoted from him, where he says, "so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God,"(8) 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."(1) 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 charges of Celsus, and reply to it as we best may.
Celsus, after what has been said, goes on as follows: "I can tell
how the very thing occurred, viz., that they should call him 'Son of
God.' Men of ancient times termed this world, as being born of God,
both his child and his son.(2) Both the one and other 'Son of God,'
then, greatly resembled each other." He is therefore of opinion that we
employed the expression "Son of God," having perverted(3) what is said
of the world, as being born of God, and being His "Son," and "a God."
For he was unable so to consider the times of Moses and the prophets,
as to see that the Jewish prophets predicted generally that there was a
"Son of God" long before the Greeks and those men of ancient time of
whom Celsus speaks. Nay, he would not even quote the passage in the
letters of Plato, to which we referred in the preceding pages,
concerning Him who so beautifully arranged this world, as being the Son
of God; lest he too should be compelled by Plato, whom he often
mentions with respect, to admit that the architect of this world is the
Son of God, and that His Father is the first God and Sovereign Ruler
over all things.(4) Nor is it at all wonderful if we maintain that the
soul of Jesus is made one with so great a Son of God through the
highest union with Him, being no longer in a state of separation from
Him For the sacred language of holy Scripture knows of other things
also, which, although "dual" in their own nature, are considered to be,
and really are, "one" in respect to one another. It is said of husband
and wife, "They are no longer twain, but one flesh;"(5) and of the
perfect man, and of him who is joined to the true Lord, Word, and
Wisdom, and Truth, that "he who is joined to the Lord is one
spirit."(6) And if he who "is joined to the Lord is one spirit," who
has been joined to the Lord, the Very Word, and Wisdom, and Truth, and
Righteousness, in a more intimate union, or even in a manner at all
approaching to it than the soul of Jesus? And if this be so, then the
soul of Jesus and God the Word—the first-born of every creature—are
no longer two, (but one).
In the next place, when the philosophers of the Porch, who assert
that the virtue of God and man is the same, maintain that the God who
is over all things is not happier than their wise man, but that the
happiness of both is equal, Celsus neither ridicules nor scoffs at
their opinion. If, however, holy Scripture says that the perfect man is
joined to and made one with the Very Word by means of virtue, so that
we infer that the soul of Jesus is not separated from the first-born of
all creation, he laughs at Jesus being called "Son of God," not
observing what is said of Him with a secret and mystical signification
in the holy Scriptures. But that we may win over to the reception of
our views those who are willing to accept the inferences which flow
from our doctrines, and to be benefited thereby, we say that the holy
Scriptures declare the body of Christ, animated by the Son of God, to
be the whole Church of God, and the members of this body—considered as
a whole—to consist of those who are believers; since, as a soul
vivifies and moves the body, which of itself has not the natural power
of motion like a living being, so the Word, arousing and moving the
whole body, the Church, to befitting action, awakens, moreover, each
individual member belonging to the Church, so that they do nothing
apart from the Word. Since all this, then, follows by a train of
reasoning not to be depreciated, where is the difficulty in maintaining
that, as the soul of Jesus is joined in a perfect and inconceivable
manner with the very Word, so the person of Jesus, generally
speaking,(7) is not separated from the only-begotten and first-born of
all creation, and is not a different being from Him? But enough here on
this subject.
Let us notice now what follows, where, expressing in a single
word his opinion regarding the Mosaic cosmogony, without offering,
however, a single argument in its support, he finds fault with it,
saying: "Moreover, their cosmogony is extremely silly."(8) Now, if he
had produced some credible proofs of its silly character, we should
have endeavoured to answer them; but it does not appear to me
reasonable that I should be called upon to demonstrate, in answer to
his mere assertion, that it is not "silly." If any one, however, wishes
to see the reasons which led us to accept the Mosaic account, and the
arguments by which it may be defended, he may read what we have written
upon Genesis, from the beginning of the book up to the passage, "And
this is the book of the generation of men,"(1) where we have tried to
show from the holy Scriptures themselves what the "heaven" was which
was created in the beginning; and what the "earth," and the "invisible
part of the earth," and that which was "without form;"(2) and what the
"deep" was, and the "darkness" that was upon it; and what the "water"
was, and the "Spirit of God" which was "borne over it;" and what the
"light" which was created, and what the "firmament," as distinct from
the "heaven" which was created in the beginning; and so on with the
other subjects that follow. Celsus has also expressed his opinion that
the narrative of the creation of man is "exceedingly silly," without
stating any proofs, or endeavouring to answer our arguments; for he had
no evidence, in my judgment, which was fitted to overthrow the
statement that "man has been made in the image of God."(3) He does not
even understand the meaning of the "Paradise" that was planted by God,
and of the life which man first led in it; and of that which resulted
from accident,(4) when man was cast forth on account of his sin, and
was settled opposite the Paradise of delight. Now, as he asserts that
these are silly statements, let him turn his attention not merely to
each one of them (in general), but to this in particular, "He placed
the cherubim, and the flaming sword, which turned every way, to keep
the way of the tree of life,"(5) and say whether Moses wrote these
words with no serious object in view, but in the spirit of the writers
of the old Comedy, who have sportively related that "Proetus slew
Bellerophon," and that "Pegasus came from Arcadia." Now their object
was to create laughter in composing such stories; whereas it is
incredible that he who left behind him laws(6) for a whole nation,
regarding which he wished to persuade his subjects that they were given
by God, should have written words so little to the purpose,(7) and have
said without any meaning, "He placed the cherubim, and the flaming
sword, which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life," or
made any other statement regarding the creation of man, which is the
subject of philosophic investigation by the Hebrew sages.
In the next place, Celsus, after heaping together, simply as mere
assertions, the varying
opinions of some of the ancients regarding the world, and the origin of man, alleges that "Moses and the prophets, who have left to us our books, not knowing at all what the nature of the world is, and of man, have woven together a web of sheer nonsense."(8) If he had shown, now, how it appeared to him that the holy Scriptures contained "sheer nonsense," we should have tried to demolish the arguments which appeared to him to establish their nonsensical character; but on the present occasion, following his own example, we also sportively give it as our opinion that Celsus, knowing nothing at all about the nature of the meaning and language of the prophets,(9) composed a work which contained "sheer nonsense," and boastfully gave it the title of a "true discourse." And since he makes the statements about the "days of creation" ground of accusation,—as if he understood them clearly and correctly, some of which elapsed before the creation of light and heaven, and sun, and moon, and stars, and some of them after the creation of these,—we shall only make this observation, that Moses must then have forgotten that he had said a little before, "that in six days the creation of the world had been finished," and that in consequence of this act of forgetfulness he subjoins to these words the following: "This is the book of the creation of man, in the day when God made the heaven and the earth!" But it is not in the least credible, that after what he had said respecting, the six days, Moses should immediately add, without a special meaning, the words, "in the day that God made the heavens and the earth;" and if any one thinks that these words may be referred to the statement, "In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth," let him observe that before the words, "Let there be light, and there was light," and these, "God called the light day," it has been stated that "in the beginning God made the heaven and the earth."
On the present occasion, however, it is not our object to enter
into an explanation of the subject of intelligent and sensible
beings,(10) nor of the manner in which the different kinds(11) of days
were allotted to both sorts, nor to investigate the details which
belong to the subject, for we should need whole treatises for the
exposition of the Mosaic cosmogony; and that work we had already
performed, to the best of our ability, a considerable time before the
commencement of this answer to Celsus, when we discussed with such
measure of capacity as we then possessed the question of the Mosaic
cosmogony of the six days. We must keep in mind, however, that the Word
promises to the righteous through the mouth of Isaiah, that days will
come(1) when not the sun, but the LORD Himself, will be to them an
everlasting light, and God will be their glory.(2) And it is from
misunderstanding, I think, some pestilent heresy which gave an
erroneous interpretation to the words, "Let there be light," as if they
were the expression of a wish(3) merely on the part of the Creator,
that Celsus made the remark: "The Creator did not borrow light from
above, like those persons who kindle their lamps at those of their
neighbours." Misunderstanding, moreover, another impious heresy, he has
said: "If, indeed, there did exist an accursed god opposed to the great
God, who did this contrary to his approval, why did he lend him the
light?" So far are we from offering a defence of such puerilities, that
we desire, on the contrary, distinctly to arraign the statements of
these heretics as erroneous, and to undertake to refute, not those of
their opinions with which we are unacquainted, as Celsus does, but
those of which we have attained an accurate knowledge, derived in part
from the statements of their own adherents, and partly from a careful
perusal of their writings.
Celsus proceeds as follows: "With regard to the origin of the
world and its destruction, whether it is to be regarded as uncreated
and indestructible, or as created indeed, but not destructible, or the
reverse, I at present say nothing." For this reason we too say nothing
on these points, as the work in hand does not require it. Nor do we
allege that the Spirit of the universal God mingled itself in things
here below as in things alien to itself,(4) as might appear from the
expression, "The Spirit of God moved upon the water;" nor do we assert
that certain wicked devices directed against His Spirit as if by a
different creator from the great God, and which were tolerated by the
Supreme Divinity, needed to be completely frustrated. And, accordingly,
I have nothing further to say to those(5) who utter such absurdities;
nor to Celsus, who does not refute them with ability. For he ought
either not to have mentioned such matters at all, or else, in keeping
with that character for philanthropy which he assumes, have carefully
set them forth, and then endeavoured to rebut these impious assertions.
Nor have we ever heard that the great God, after giving his spirit to
the creator, demands it back again. Proceeding next foolishly to assail
these impious assertions, he asks: "What god gives anything with the
intention of demanding it back? For it is the mark of a needy person to
demand back (what he has given), whereas God stands in need of
nothing." To this he adds, as if saying something clever against
certain parties: "Why, when he lent (his spirit), was he ignorant that
he was lending it to an evil being?" He asks, further: "Why does he
pass without notice(6) a wicked creator who was counter-working his
purposes?"
In the next place, mixing up together various heresies, and not
observing that some statements are the utterances of one heretical
sect, and others of a different one, he brings forward the objections
which we raised against Marcion.(7) And, probably, having heard them
from some paltry and ignorant individuals,(8) he assails the very
arguments which combat them, but not in a way that Shows much
intelligence. Quoting then our arguments against Marcion, and not
observing that it is against Marcion that he is speaking, he asks: "Why
does he send secretly, and destroy the works which he has created? Why
does he secretly employ force, and persuasion, and deceit? Why does he
allure those who, as ye assert, have been condemned or accused by him,
and carry them away like a slave-dealer? Why does he teach them to
steal away from their Lord? Why to flee from their father? Why does he
claim them for himself against the father's will? Why does he profess
to be the father of strange children?" To these questions he subjoins
the following remark, as if by way of expressing his surprise:(9)
"Venerable, indeed, is the god who desires to be the father of those
sinners who are condemned by another (god), and of the needy,(10) and,
as themselves say, of the very offscourings(11) (of men), and who is
unable to capture and punish his messenger, who escaped from him!"
After this, as if addressing us who acknowledge that this world is not
the work of a different and strange god, he continues in the following
strain: "If these are his works, how is it that God created evil? And
how is it that he cannot persuade and admonish (men)? And how is it
that he repents on account of the ingratitude and wickedness of men? He
finds fault, moreover, with his own handwork,(12) and hates, and
threatens, and destroys his own off- spring? Whither can he transport
them out of this world, which he himself has made?" Now it does not
appear to me that by these remarks he makes clear what "evil" is; and
although there have been among the Greeks many sects who differ as to
the nature of good and evil, he hastily concludes, as if it were a
consequence of our maintaining that this world also is a work of the
universal God, that in our judgment God is the author of evil. Let it
be, however, regarding evil as it may—whether created by God or
not—it nevertheless follows only as a result when you compare the
principal design.(1) And I am greatly surprised if the inference
regarding God's authorship of evil, which he thinks follows from our
maintaining that this world also is the work of the universal God, does
not follow too from his own statements. For one might say to Celsus:
"If these are His works, how is it that God created evil? and how is it
that He cannot persuade and admonish men?" It is indeed the greatest
error in reasoning to accuse those who are of different opinions of
holding unsound doctrines, when the accuser himself is much more liable
to the same charge with regard to his own.
Let us see, then, briefly what holy Scripture has to say
regarding good and evil, and what answer we are to return to the
questions, "How is it that God created evil?" and, "How is He incapable
of persuading and admonishing men?" Now, according to holy Scripture,
properly speaking, virtues and virtuous actions are good, as, properly
speaking, the reverse of these are evil. We shall be satisfied with
quoting on the present occasion some verses from the 34th Psalm, to the
following effect: "They that seek the LOuD shall not want any good
thing. Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of
the LORD. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that
he may see good? Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking
guile. Depart from evil, and do good."(2) Now, the injunctions to
"depart from evil, and to do good," do not refer either to corporeal
evils or corporeal blessings, as they are termed by some, nor to
external things at all, but to blessings and evils of a spiritual kind;
since he who departs from such evils, and performs such virtuous
actions, will, as one who desires the true life, come to the enjoyment
of it; and as one loving to see "good days," in which the word of
righteousness will be the Sun, he will see them, God taking him away
from this "present evil world,"(3) and from those evil days
concerning which Paul said: "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."(4)
Passages, indeed, might be found where corporeal and external
(benefits) are improperly(5) called "good,"—those things, viz., which
contribute to the natural life, while those which do the reverse are
termed "evil." It is in this sense that Job says to his wife: "If we
have received good at the hand of the Lord, shall we not also receive
evil!"(6) Since, then, there is found in the sacred Scriptures, in a
certain passage, this statement put into the mouth of God, "I make
peace, and create evil;"(7) and again another, where it is said of Him
that "evil came down from the LORD to the gate of Jerusalem, the noise
of chariots and horsemen,"(8)—passages which have disturbed many
readers of Scripture, who are unable to see what Scripture means by
"good" and "evil,"—it is probable that Celsus, being perplexed
thereby, gave utterance to the question, "How is it that God created
evil?" or, perhaps, having heard some one discussing the matters
relating to it in an ignorant manner, he made this statement which we
have noticed. We, on the other hand, maintain that "evil," or
"wickedness," and the actions which proceed from it, were not created
by God. For if God created that which is really evil, how was it
possible that the proclamation regarding (the last) judgment should be
confidently announced,(9) which informs us that the wicked are to be
punished for their evil deeds in proportion to the amount of their
wickedness, while those who have lived a virtuous life, or performed
virtuous actions, will be in the enjoyment of blessedness, and will
receive rewards from God? I am well aware that those who would daringly
assert that these evils were created by God will quote certain
expressions of Scripture (in their support), because we are not able to
show one consistent series(10) of passages; for although Scripture
(generally) blames the wicked and approves of the righteous, it
nevertheless contains some statements which, although comparatively(11)
few in number, seem to disturb the minds of ignorant readers of holy
Scripture. I have not, however, deemed it appropriate to my present
treatise to quote on the present occasion those discordant statements,
which are many in number,(12) and their explanations, which would
require a long array of proofs. Evils, then, if those be meant which
are properly so called, were not created by God; but some, although few
in comparison with the order of the whole world, have resulted from His
principal works, as there follow from the chief works of the carpenter
such things as spiral shavings and sawdust,(1) or as architects might
appear to be the cause of the rubbish(2) which lies around their
buildings in the form of the filth which drops from the stones and the
plaster.
If we speak, however, of what are called "corporeal" and
"external" evils,—which are improperly so termed,—then it may be
granted that there are occasions when some of these have been called
into existence by God, in order that by their means the conversion of
certain individuals might be effected. And what absurdity would follow
from such a course? For as, if we should hear those sufferings(3)
improperly termed "evils" which are inflicted by fathers, and
instructors, and pedagogues upon those who are under their care, or
upon patients who are operated upon or cauterized by the surgeons in
order to effect a cure, we were to say that a father was ill-treating
his son, or pedagogues and instructors their pupils, or physicians
their patients, no blame would be laid upon the operators or
chastisers; so, in the same way, if God is said to bring upon men such
evils for the conversion and cure of those who need this discipline,
there would be no absurdity in the view, nor would "evils come down
from the LORD upon the gates of Jerusalem,"(4)—which evils consist of
the punishments inflicted upon the Israelites by their enemies with a
view to their conversion; nor would one visit "with a rod the
transgressions of those who forsake the law of the Lord, and their
iniquities with stripes;"(5) nor could it be said, "Thou hast coals of
fire to set upon them; they shall be to thee a help."(6) In the same
way also we explain the expressions, "I, who make peace, and create
evil;"(7) for He calls into existence "corporeal" or "external" evils,
while purifying and training those who would not be disciplined by the
word and sound doctrine. This, then, is our answer to the question,
"How is it that God created evil?"
With respect to the question, "How is he incapable of persuading
and admonishing men?"
it has been already stated that, if such an objection were really a ground of charge, then the objection of Celsus might be brought against those who accept the doctrine of providence. Any one might answer the charge that God is incapable of admonishing men; for He conveys His admonitions throughout the whole of Scripture, and by means of those persons who, through God's gracious appointment, are the instructors of His hearers. Unless, indeed, some peculiar meaning be understood to attach to the word "admonish," as if it signified both to penetrate into the mind of the person admonished, and to make him hear the words of his(8) instructor, which is contrary to the usual meaning of the word. To the objection, "How is he incapable of persuading?"—which also might be brought against all who believe in providence,—we have to make the following remarks. Since the expression "to be persuaded" belongs to those words which are termed, so to speak, "reciprocal"(9) (compare the phrase "to shave a man," when he makes an effort to submit himself to the barber(10), there is for this reason needed not merely the effort of him who persuades, but also the submission, so to speak, which is to be yielded to the persuader, or the acceptance of what is said by him. And therefore it must not be said that it is because God is incapable of persuading men that they are not persuaded, but because they will not accept the faithful words of God. And if one were to apply this expression to men who are the "artificers of persuasion,"(11) he would not be wrong; for it is possible for a man who has thoroughly learned the principles of rhetoric, and who employs them properly, to do his utmost to persuade, and yet appear to fail, because he cannot overcome the will of him who ought to yield to his persuasive arts. Moreover, that persuasion does not come from God, although persuasive words may be uttered by him, is distinctly taught by Paul, when he says: "This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you."(12) Such also is the view indicated by these words: "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, a sword shall devour you."(13) For that one may (really) desire what is addressed to him by one who admonishes, and may become deserving of those promises of God which he hears, it is necessary to secure the will of the hearer, and his inclination to what is addressed to him. And therefore it appears to me, that in the book of Deuteronomy the following words are uttered with peculiar emphasis: "And now, O Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, and to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to keep His commandments?"(1)
There is next to be answered the following query: "And how is it
that he repents when men become ungrateful and wicked; and finds fault
with his own handwork, and hates, and threatens, and destroys his own
offspring?" Now Celsus here calumniates and falsities what is written
in the book of Genesis to the following effect: "And the LORD God,
seeing that the wickedness of men upon the earth was increasing, and
that every one in his heart carefully meditated to do evil continually,
was grieved(2) He had made man upon the earth. And God meditated in His
heart, and said, I will destroy man, whom I have made, from the face of
the earth, both man and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air,
because I am grieved(3) that I made them;"(4) quoting words which are
not written in Scripture, as if they conveyed the meaning of what was
actually written. For there is no mention in these words of the
repentance of God, nor of His blaming and hating His own handwork. And
if there is the appearance of God threatening the catastrophe of the
deluge, and thus destroying His own children in it, we have to answer
that, as the soul of man is immortal, the supposed threatening has for
its object the conversion of the hearers, while the destruction of men
by the flood is a purification of the earth, as certain among the Greek
philosophers of no mean repute have indicated by the expression: "When
the gods purify the earth."(5) And with respect to the transference to
God of those anthropopathic phrases, some remarks have been already
made by us in the preceding pages.
Celsus, in the next place, suspecting, or perhaps seeing clearly
enough, the answer which might be returned by those who defend the
destruction of men by the deluge, continues: "But if he does not
destroy his own offspring, whither does he convey them out of this
world(6) which he himself created?" To this we reply, that God by no
means removes out of the whole world, consisting of heaven and earth,
those who suffered death by the deluge, but removes them from a life in
the flesh, and, having set them free from their bodies, liberates them
at the same time from an existence upon earth, which in many parts of
Scripture it is usual to call the "world." In the Gospel according to
John especially, we may frequently find the regions of earth(7) termed
"world," as in the passage, "He was the true Light, which lighteneth
every man that cometh into the 'world;'"(8) as also in this, "In the
world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome
the world."(9) If, then, we understand by "removing out of the world" a
transference from "regions on earth," there is nothing absurd in the
expression. If, on the contrary, the system of things which consists of
heaven and earth be termed "world," then those who perished in the
deluge are by no means removed out of the so-called "world." And yet,
indeed, if we have regard to the words, "Looking not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen;"(10) and also to
these, "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made,"(11)—we might say that he who dwells amid the "invisible"
things, and what are called generally "things not seen,"is gone out of
the world, the Word having removed him hence, and transported him to
the heavenly regions, in order to behold all beautiful things.
But after this investigation of his assertions, as if his object
were to swell his book by many words, he repeats, in different
language, the same charges which we have examined a little ago, saying:
"By far the most silly thing is the distribution of the creation of the
world over certain days, before days existed: for, as the heaven was
not yet created, nor the foundation of the earth yet laid,(12) nor the
sun yet revolving,(13) how could there be days?" Now, what difference
is there between these words and the following: "Moreover, taking and
looking at these things from the beginning, would it not be absurd in
the first and greatest God to issue the command, Let this (first thing)
come into existence, and this second thing, and this (third); and after
accomplishing so much on the first day, to do so much more again on the
second, and third, and fourth, and fifth, and sixth?" We answered to
the best of our ability this objection to God's "commanding this first,
second, and third thing to be created," when we quoted the words, "He
said, and it was done; He commanded, and all things stood fast;"(1)
remarking that the immediate(2) Creator, and, as it were, very Maker(3)
of the world was the Word, the Son of God; while the Father of the
Word, by commanding His own Son—the Word—to create the world, is
primarily Creator. And with regard to the creation of the light upon
the first day, and of the firmament upon the second, and of the
gathering together of the waters that are under the heaven into their
several reservoirs(4) on the third (the earth thus causing to sprout
forth those (fruits) which are under the control of nature alone(5),
and of the (great) lights and stars upon the fourth, and of aquatic(6)
animals upon the fifth, and of land animals and man upon the sixth, we
have treated to the best of our ability in our notes upon Genesis, as
well as in the foregoing pages, when we found fault with those who,
taking the words in their apparent signification, said that the time of
six days was occupied in the creation of the world, and quoted the
words: "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when
they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the
heavens."(7)
Again, not understanding the meaning of the words, "And God
ended(8) on the sixth day His works which He had made, and ceased(9) on
the seventh day from all His works which He had made: and God blessed
the seventh day, and hollowed it, because on it He had ceased(9) from
all His works which He had begun to make;"(10) and imagining the
expression," He ceased on the seventh day," to be the same as this, "He
rested(11) on the seventh day," he makes the remark: "After this,
indeed, he is weary, like a very bad workman, who stands in need of
rest to refresh himself!" For he knows nothing of the day of the
Sabbath and rest of God, which follows the completion of the world's
creation, and which lasts during the duration of the world, and in
which all those will keep festival with God who have done all their
works in their six days, and who, because they have omitted none of
their duties,(12) will ascend to the contemplation (of celestial
things), and to the assembly of righteous and blessed beings. In the
next place, as if either the Scriptures made such a statement, or as if
we ourselves so spoke of God as having rested from fatigue, he
continues: "It is not in keeping with the fitness of things(13) that
the first God should feel fatigue, or work with His hands,(14) or give
forth commands." Celsus says, that" it is not in keeping with the
fitness of things that the first God should feel fatigue. Now we would
say that neither does God the Word feel fatigue, nor any of those
beings who belong to a better and diviner order of things, because the
sensation of fatigue is peculiar to those who are in the body. You can
examine whether this is true of those who possess a body of any kind,
or of those who have an earthly body, or one a little better than this.
But "neither is it consistent with the fitness of things that the first
God should work with His own hands." If you understand the words" work
with His own hands" literally, then neither are they applicable to the
second God, nor to any other being partaking of divinity. But suppose
that they are spoken in an improper and figurative sense, so that we
may translate the following expressions, "And the firmament showeth
forth His handywork,"(15) and "the heavens are the work of Thy
hands,"(16) and any other similar phrases, in a figurative manner, so
far as respects the "hands" and "limbs" of Deity, where is the
absurdity in the words, "God thus working with His own hands?" And as
there is no absurdity in God thus working, so neither is there in His
issuing "commands;" so that what is done at His bidding should be
beautiful and praiseworthy, because it was God who commanded it to be
performed.
Celsus, again, having perhaps misunderstood the words, "For the
mouth of the LORD hath spoken it,"(17) or perhaps because some ignorant
individuals had rashly ventured upon the explanation of such things,
and not understanding, moreover, on what principles parts called after
the names of the bodily members are assigned to the attributes(18) of
God, asserts: "He has neither mouth nor voice." Truly, indeed, God can
have no voice, if the voice is a concussion of the air, or a stroke on
the air, or a species of air, or any other definition which may be
given to the voice by those who are skilled in such matters; but what
is called the "voice of God" is said to be seen as "God's voice" by the
people in the passage; "And all the people saw the voice of God;"(19)
the word "saw" being taken, agreeably to the custom of Scripture, in a
spiritual sense. Moreover, he alleges that "God possesses nothing else
of which we have any knowledge;" but of what things we have knowledge
he gives no indication. If he means "limbs," we agree with him,
understanding the things "of which we have knowledge" to be those
called corporeal, and pretty generally sO termed. But if we are to
understand the words "of which we have knowledge" in a universal sense,
then there are many things of which we have knowledge, (and which may
be attributed to God); for He possesses virtue, and blessedness, and
divinity. If we, however, put a higher meaning upon the words, "of
which we have knowledge," since all that we know is less than God,
there is no absurdity in our also admitting that God possesses none of
those things" of which we have knowledge." For the attributes which
belong to God are far superior to all things with which not merely the
nature of man is acquainted, but even that of those who have risen far
above it. And if he had read the writings of the prophets, David on the
one hand saying, "But Thou art the same,"(1) and Malachi on the other,
"I am (the LORD), and change not,"(2) he would have observed that none
of us assert that there is any change in God, either in act or thought.
For abiding the same, He administers mutable things according to their
nature, and His word elects to undertake their administration.
Celsus, not observing the difference between "after the image of
God" and "God's image," next asserts that the "first-born of every
creature" is the image of God,—the very word and truth, and also the
very wisdom, being the image of His goodness, while man has been
created after the image of God; moreover, that every man whose head is
Christ is the image and glory of God;—and further, not observing to
which of the characteristics of humanity the expression "after the
image of God" belongs, and that it consists in a nature which never had
nor longer has "the old man with his deeds," being called "after the
image of Him who created it," from its not possessing these
qualities,—he maintains: "Neither did He make man His image; for God
is not such an one, nor like any other species of (visible) being." Is
it possible to suppose that the element which is "after the image of
God" should exist in the inferior part—I mean the body—of a compound
being like man, because Celsus has explained that to be made after the
image of God? For if that which is "after the image of God" be in the
body only, the better part, the soul, has been deprived of that which
is "after His image," and this
(distinction) exists in the corruptible body,—an assertion which is made by none of us. But if that which is "after the image of God" be in both together, then God must necessarily be a compound being, and consist, as it were, of soul and body, in order that the element which is "after God's image," the better part, may be in the soul; while the inferior part, and that which "is according to the body," may be in the body,—an assertion, again, which is made by none of us. It remains, therefore, that that which is "after the image of God" must be understood to be in our "inner man," which is also renewed, and whose nature it is to be "after the image of Him who created it," when a man becomes "perfect," as "our Father in heaven is perfect," and hears the command, "Be ye holy, for I the LORD your God am holy,"(3) and learning the precept, "Be ye followers of God,"(4) receives into his virtuous soul the traits of God's image. The body, moreover, of him who possesses such a soul is a temple of God; and in the soul God dwells, because it has been made after His image.(5)
Celsus, again, brings together a number of statements, which he
gives as admissions on our part, but which no intelligent Christian
would allow. For not one of us asserts that "God partakes of form or
colour." Nor does He even partake of "motion," because He stands firm,
and His nature is permanent, and He invites the righteous man also to
do the same, saying: "But as for thee, stand thou here by Me."(6) And
if certain expressions indicate a kind of motion, as it were, on His
part, such as this, "They heard the voice of the LORD God walking in
the garden in the cool of the day,"(7) we must understand them in this
way, that it is by sinners that God is understood as moving, or as we
understand the "sleep" of God, which is taken in a figurative sense, or
His "anger," or any other similar attribute. But "God does not partake
even of substance."(8) For He is partaken of (by others) rather than
that Himself partakes of them, and He is partaken of by those who have
the Spirit of God. Our Saviour, also, does not partake of
righteousness; but being Himself "righteousness," He is partaken of by
the righteous. A discussion about "substance" would be protracted and
difficult, and especially if it were a question whether that which is
permanent and immaterial be "sub- stance" properly so called, so that
it would be found that God is beyond" substance," communicating of His
"substance," by means of office and power,(1) to those to whom He
communicates Himself by His Word, as He does to the Word Himself; or
even if He is "substance," yet He is said be in His nature "invisible,"
in these words respecting our Saviour, who is said to be "the image of
the invisible God,"(2) while from the term "invisible" it is indicated
that He is "immaterial." It is also a question for investigation,
whether the "only-begotten" and "first-born of every creature" is to be
called "substance of substances," and "idea of ideas," and the
"principle of all things," while above all there is His Father and
God.(3)
Celsus proceeds to say of God that "of Him are all things,"
abandoning (in so speaking), I know not how, all his principles;(4)
while our Paul declares, that "of Him, and through Him, and to Him are
all things,"(5) showing that He is the beginning of the substance of
all things by the words "of Him," and the bond of their subsistence by
the expression "through Him," and their final end by the terms "to
Him." Of a truth, God is of nothing. But when Celsus adds, that "He is
not to be reached by word,"(6) I make a distinction, and say that if he
means the word that is in us—whether the word conceived in the mind,
or the word that is uttered(7)—I, too, admit that God is not to be
reached by word. If, however, we attend to the passage, "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God,"(8) we are of opinion that God is to be reached by this Word, and
is comprehended not by Him only, but by any one whatever to whom He may
reveal the Father; and thus we shall prove the falsity of the assertion
of Celsus, when he says, "Neither is God to be reached by word." The
statement, moreover, that "He cannot be expressed by name," requires to
be taken with a distinction. If he means, indeed, that there is no word
or sign(9) that can represent the attributes of God, the statement is
true, since there are many qualities which cannot be indicated by
words. Who, for
example, could describe in words the difference betwixt the quality of sweetness in a palm and that in a fig? And who could distinguish and set forth in words the peculiar qualities of each individual thing? It is no wonder, then, if in this way God cannot be described by name. But if you take the phrase to mean that it is possible to represent by words something of God's attributes, in order to lead the hearer by the hand,(10) as it were, and so enable him to comprehend something of God, so far as attainable by human nature, then there is no absurdity in saying that "He can be described by name." And we make a similar distinction with regard to the expression, "for He has undergone no suffering that can be conveyed by words." It is true that the Deity is beyond all suffering. And so much on this point.
Let us look also at his next statement, in which he introduces,
as it were, a certain person, who, after hearing what has been said
expresses himself in the following manner, "How, then, shall I know
God? and how shall I learn the way that leads to Him? And how will you
show Him to me? Because now, indeed, you throw darkness before my eyes,
and I see nothing distinctly." He then answers, as it were, the
individual who is thus perplexed, and thinks that he assigns the reason
why darkness has been poured upon the eyes of him who uttered the
foregoing words, when he asserts that "those whom one would lead forth
out of darkness into the brightness of light, being unable to withstand
its splendours, have their power of vision affected(11) and injured,
and so imagine that they are smitten with blindness." In answer to
this, we would say that all those indeed sit in darkness, and are
rooted in it, who fix their gaze upon the evil handiwork of painters,
and moulders and sculptors, and who will not look upwards, and ascend
in thought from all visible and sensible things, to the Creator of all
things, who is light; while, on the other hand, every one is in light
who has followed the radiance of the Word, who has shown in consequence
of what ignorance, and impiety, and want of knowledge of divine things
these objects were worshipped instead of God, and who has conducted the
soul of him who desires to be saved towards the uncreated God, who is
over all. For "the people that sat in darkness—the Gentiles—saw a
great light, and to them who sat in the region and shadow of death
light is sprung up,"(12)—the God Jesus. No Christian, then, would give
Celsus, or any accuser of the divine Word, the answer, "How shall I
know God?" for each one of them knows God according to his capacity.
And no one asks, "How shall I learn the way which leads to Him?"
because he has heard Him who says, "I am the way, and the truth, and
the life,"(1) and has tasted, in the course of the journey, the
happiness which results from it. And not a single Christian would say
to Celsus, "How will you show me God?"
The remark, indeed, was true which Celsus made, that any one, on
hearing his words, would answer, seeing that his words are words of
darkness, "You pour darkness before my eyes." Celsus verily, and those
like him, do desire to pour darkness before our eyes: we, however, by
means of the light of the Word, disperse the darkness of their impious
opinions. The Christian, indeed, could retort on Celsus, who says
nothing that is distinct or true, "I see nothing that is distinct among
all your statements." It is not, therefore, "out of darkness" into "the
brightness of light" that Celsus leads us forth: he wishes, on the
contrary, to transport us from light into darkness, making the darkness
light and the light darkness, and exposing himself to the woe well
described by the prophet Isaiah in the following manner: "Woe unto them
that put darkness for light, and light for darkness."(2) But we, the
eyes of whose soul have been opened by the Word, and who see the
difference between light and darkness, prefer by all means to take our
stand "in the light," and will have nothing to do with darkness at all.
The true light, moreover, being endued with life, knows to whom his
full splendours are to be manifested, and to whom his light; for he
does not display his brilliancy on account of the still existing
weakness in the eyes of the recipient. And if we must speak at all of
"sight being affected and injured," what other eyes shall we say are in
this condition, than his who is involved in ignorance of God, and who
is prevented by his passions from seeing the truth? Christians,
however, by no means consider that they are blinded by the words of
Celsus, or any other who is opposed to the worship of God. But let
those who perceive that they are blinded by following multitudes who
are in error, and tribes of those who keep festivals to demons, draw
near to the Word, who can bestow the gift of sight,(3) in order that,
like those poor and blind who had thrown themselves down by the
wayside, and who were healed by Jesus because they said to Him, "Son of
David, have mercy upon me," they too may receive mercy and recover
their eyesight,(3) fresh and beautiful, as the Word of God can create
it.
Accordingly, if Celsus were to ask us how we think we know God,
and how we shall be saved by Him, we would answer that the Word of God,
which entered into those who seek Him, or who accept Him when He
appears, is able to make known and to reveal the Father, who was not
seen (by any one) before the appearance of the Word. And who else is
able to save and conduct the soul of man to the God of all things, save
God the Word, who, "being in the beginning with God," became flesh for
the sake of those who had cleaved to the flesh, and had become as
flesh, that He might be received by those who could not behold Him,
inasmuch as He was the Word, and was with God, and was God? And
discoursing in human form,(4) and announcing Himself as flesh, He calls
to Himself those who are flesh, that He may in the first place cause
them to be transformed according to the Word that was made flesh, and
afterwards may lead them upwards to behold Him as He was before He
became flesh; so that they, receiving the benefit, and ascending from
their great introduction to Him, which was according to the flesh, say,
"Even if we have known Christ after the flesh, yet henceforth know we
Him no more."(5) Therefore He became flesh, and having become flesh,
"He tabernacled among us,"(6) not dwelling without us; and after
tabernacling and dwelling within us, He did not continue in the form in
which He first presented Himself, but caused us to ascend to the lofty
mountain of His word, and showed us His own glorious form, and the
splendour of His garments; and not His own form alone, but that also of
the spiritual law, which is Moses, seen in glory along with Jesus. He
showed to us, moreover, all prophecy, which did not perish even after
His incarnation, but was received up into heaven, and whose symbol was
Elijah. And he who beheld these things could say, "We beheld His glory,
the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth."(6) Celsus, then, has exhibited considerable ignorance in the
imaginary answer to his question which he puts into our mouth, "How we
think we can know God? and how we know we shall be saved by Him?" for
our answer is what we have just stated.
Celsus, however, asserts that the answer which we give is based
upon a probable conjecture,(7) admitting that he describes our answer
in the following terms: "Since God is great and diffi- cult to see,(1)
He put His own Spirit into a body that resembled ours, and sent it down
to us, that we might be enabled to hear Him and become acquainted with
Him." But the God and Father of all things is not the only being that
is great in our judgment; for He has imparted (a share) of Himself and
His greatness to His Only-begotten and First-born of every creature, in
order that He, being the image of the invisible God, might preserve,
even in His greatness, the image of the Father. For it was not possible
that there could exist a well-proportioned,(2) so to speak, and
beautiful image of the invisible God, which did not at the same time
preserve the image of His greatness. God, moreover, is in our judgment
invisible, because He is not a body, while He can be seen by those who
see with the heart that is, the understanding; not indeed with any kind
of heart, but with one which is pure. For it is inconsistent with the
fitness of things that a polluted heart should look upon God; for that
must be itself pure which would worthily behold that which is pure. Let
it be granted, indeed, that God is "difficult to see," yet He is not
the only being who is so; for His Only-begotten also is "difficult to
see." For God the Word is "difficult to see," and so also is His(3)
wisdom, by which God created all things. For who is capable of seeing
the wisdom which is displayed in each individual part of the whole
system of things, and by which God created every individual thing? It
was not, then, because God was "difficult to see" that He sent God His
Son to be an object "easy to be seen."(4) And because Celsus does not
understand this, he has represented us as saying, "Because God was
'difficult to see,' He put His own Spirit in a body resembling ours,
and sent it down to us, that we might be enabled to hear Him and become
acquainted with Him." Now, as we have stated, the Son also is
"difficult to see," because He is God the Word, through whom all things
were made, and who "tabernacled amongst us."
If Celsus, indeed, had understood our teaching regarding the
Spirit of God, and had known that "as many as are led by the Spirit of
God, these are the sons of God,"(5) he would not have returned to
himself the answer which he represents as coming from us, that "God put
His own Spirit into a body, and sent it down to us;" for God is
perpetually bestowing of His own Spirit to those who are capable of
receiving it, although
it is not by way of division and separation that He dwells in (the hearts of) the deserving. Nor is the Spirit, in our opinion, a "body," any more than fire is a "body," which God is said to be in the passage, "Our God is a consuming fire."(6) For all these are figurative expressions, employed to denote the nature of "intelligent beings" by means of familiar and corporeal terms. In the same way, too, if sins are called "wood, and straw, and stubble," we shall not maintain that sins are corporeal; and if blessings are termed "gold, and silver, and precious stones,"(7) we shall not maintain that blessings are "corporeal;" so also, if God be said to be a fire that consumes wood, and straw, and stubble, and all substance(8) of sin, we shall not understand Him to be a "body," so neither do we understand Him to be a body if He should be called "fire." In this way, if God be called "spirit,"(9) we do not mean that He is a "body." For it is the custom of Scripture to give to "intelligent beings" the names of "spirits" and "spiritual things," by way of distinction from those which are the objects of "sense;" as when Paul says, "But our sufficiency is of God; who hath also made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life,"(10) where by the "letter" he means that "exposition of Scripture which is apparent to the senses,"(11) while by the "spirit" that which is the object of the "understanding." It is the same, too, with the expression, "God is a Spirit." And because the prescriptions of the law were obeyed both by Samaritans and Jews m a corporeal and literal(12) manner, our Saviour said to the Samaritan woman, "The hour is coming, when neither in Jerusalem, nor in this mountain, shall ye worship the Father. God is a Spirit; and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."(13) And by these words He taught men that God must be worshipped not in the flesh, and with fleshly sacrifices, but in the spirit. And He will be understood to be a Spirit in proportion as the worship rendered to Him is rendered in spirit, and with understanding. It is not, however, with images(14) that we are to worship the Father, but "in truth," which "came by Jesus Christ," after the giving of the law by Moses. For when we turn to the Lord (and the Lord is a Spirit(15)), He takes away the veil which lies upon the heart when Moses is read.
Celsus accordingly, as not understanding the doctrine relating to
the Spirit of God ("for the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned"(1)), weaves together
(such a web) as pleases himself,(2) imagining that we, in calling God a
Spirit, differ in no respect in this particular from the Stoics among
the Greeks, who maintain that "God is a Spirit, diffused through all
things, and containing all things within Himself." Now the
superintendence and providence of God does extend through all things,
but not in the way that spirit does, according to the Stoics.
Providence indeed contains all things that are its objects, and
comprehends them all, but not as a containing body includes its
contents, because they also are "body,"(3) but as a divine power does
it comprehend what it contains. According to the philosophers of the
Porch, indeed, who assert that principles are "corporeal," and who on
that account make all things perishable, and who venture even to make
the God of all things capable of perishing, the very Word of God, who
descends even to the lowest of mankind, would be—did it not appear to
them to be too gross an incongruity(4)—nothing else than a "corporeal"
spirit; whereas, in our opinion,—who endeavour to demonstrate that the
rational soul is superior to all "corporeal" nature, and that it is an
invisible substance, and incorporeal,—God the Word, by whom all things
were made, who came, in order that all things might be made by the
Word, not to men only, but to what are deemed the very lowest of
things, under the dominion of nature alone, would be no body. The
Stoics, then, may consign all things to destruction by fire; we,
however, know of no incorporeal substance that is destructible by fire,
nor (do we believe) that the soul of man, or the substance of "angels,"
or of "thrones," or dominions," or "principalities," or "powers," can
be dissolved by fire.
It is therefore in vain that Celsus asserts, as one who knows not
the nature of the Spirit of God, that "as the Son of God, who existed
in a human body, is a Spirit, this very Son of God would not be
immortal." He next becomes confused in his statements, as if there were
some of us who did not admit that God is a Spirit, but maintain that
only with regard to His Son, and he thinks that he can answer us by
saying that there "is no kind of spirit which lasts for ever." This is
much the same as if, when we term God a "consuming fire," he were to
say that there "is no kind of fire which lasts for ever;" not observing
the sense in which we say that our God is a fire, and what the things
are which He consumes, viz., sins, and wickedness. For it becomes a God
of goodness, after each individual has shown, by his efforts, what kind
of combatant he has been, to consume vice by the fire of His
chastisements. He proceeds, in the next place, to assume what we do not
maintain, that "God must necessarily have given up the ghost;" from
which also it follows that Jesus could not have risen again with His
body. For God would not have received back the spirit which He had
surrendered after it had been stained by contact with the body. It is
foolish, however, for us to answer statements as ours which were never
made by us.
He proceeds to repeat himself, and after saying a great deal
which he had said before, and ridiculing the birth of God from a
virgin,—to which we have already replied as we best could,—he adds
the following: "If God had wished to send down His Spirit from Himself,
what need was there to breathe it into the womb of a woman? For as one
who knew already how to form men, He could also have fashioned a body
for this person, without casting His own Spirit into so much
pollution;(5) and in this way He would not have been received with
incredulity, if He had derived His existence immediately from above."
He had made these remarks, because he knows not the pure and virgin
birth, unaccompanied by any corruption, of that body which was to
minister to the salvation of men. For, quoting the sayings of the
Stoics,(6) and affecting not to know the doctrine about "things
indifferent," he thinks that the divine nature was cast amid pollution,
and was stained either by being in the body of a woman, until a body
was formed around it, or by assuming a body. And in this he acts like
those who imagine that the sun's rays are polluted by dung and by
foul-smelling bodies, and do not remain pure amid such things. If,
however, according to the view of Celsus, the body of Jesus had been
fashioned without generation, those who beheld the body would at once
have believed that it had not been formed by generation; and yet an
object, when seen, does not at the same time indicate the nature of
that from which it has derived its origin. For example, suppose that
there were some honey (placed before one) which had not been
manufactured by bees, no one could tell from the taste or sight that it
was not their workmanship, because the honey which comes from bees does
not make known its origin by the senses,(1) but experience alone can
tell that it does not proceed from them. In the same way, too,
experience teaches that wine comes from the vine, for taste does not
enable us to distinguish (the wine) which comes from the vine. In the
same manner, therefore, the visible(2) body does not make known the
manner of its existence. And you will be induced to accept this
view,(3) by (regarding) the heavenly bodies, whose existence and
splendour we perceive as we gaze at them; and yet, I presume, their
appearance does not suggest to us whether they are created or
uncreated; and accordingly different opinions have existed on these
points. And yet those who say that they are created are not agreed as
to the manner of their creation, for their appearance does not suggest
it, although the force of reason(4) may have discovered that they are
created, and how their creation was effected.
After this he returns to the subject of Marcion's opinions
(having already spoken frequently of them), and states some of them
correctly, while others he has misunderstood; these, however, it is not
necessary for us to answer or refute. Again, after this he brings
forward the various arguments that may be urged on Marcion's behalf,
and also against him, enumerating what the opinions are which exonerate
him from the charges, and what expose him to them; and when he desires
to support the statement which declares that Jesus has been the subject
of prophecy,—in order to found a charge against Marcion and his
followers,—he distinctly asks, "How could he, who was punished in such
a manner, be shown to be God's Son, unless these things had been
predicted of him?" He next proceeds to jest, and, as his custom is, to
pour ridicule upon the subject, introducing "two sons of God, one the
son of the Creator,(5) and the other the son of Marcion's God; and he
portrays their single combats, saying that the Theomachies of the
Fathers are like the battles between quails;(6) or that the Fathers,
becoming useless through age, and falling into their dotage(7) do not
meddle at all with one another, but leave their sons to fight it out."
The remark which he made formerly we will turn against himself: "What
old woman would not be ashamed to lull a child to sleep with such
stories as he has inserted in the work which he entitles A True
Discourse? For when he ought seriously(8) to apply himself to argument,
he leaves serious argument aside, and betakes himself to jesting and
buffoonery, imagining that he is writing mimes or scoffing verses; not
observing that such a method of procedure defeats his purpose, which is
to make us abandon Christianity and give in our adherence to his
opinions, which, perhaps, had they been stated with some degree of
gravity,(9) would have appeared more likely to convince, whereas since
he continues to ridicule, and scoff, and play the buffoon, we answer
that it is because he has no argument of weight(10) (for such he
neither had, nor could understand) that he has betaken himself to such
drivelling."(11)
To the preceding remarks he adds the following: "Since a divine
Spirit inhabited the body (of Jesus), it must certainly have been
different From that of other beings, in respect of grandeur, or beauty,
or strength, or voice, or impressiveness,(12) or persuasiveness. For it
is impossible that He, to whom was imparted some divine quality beyond
other beings, should not differ from others; whereas this person did
not differ in any respect from another, but was, as they report,
little, and ill-favoured, and ignoble."(13) Now it is evident by these
words, that when Celsus wishes to bring a charge against Jesus, he
adduces the sacred writings, as one who believed them to be writings
apparently fitted to afford a handle for a charge against Him; but
wherever, in the same writings, statements would appear to be made
opposed to those charges which are adduced, he pretends not even to
know them! There are, indeed, admitted to be recorded some statements
respecting the body of Jesus having been "ill-favoured;" not, however,
"ignoble," as has been stated, nor is there any certain evidence that
he was "little." The language of Isaiah runs as follows, who prophesied
regarding Him that He would come and visit the multitude, not in
comeliness of form, nor in any surpassing beauty: "Lord, who hath
believed our report, and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed? He
made announcement before Him, as a child, as a root in a thirsty
ground. He has no form nor glory, and we beheld Him, and He had no form
nor beauty; but His form was without honour, and inferior to that of
the sons of men."(1) These passages, then, Celsus listened to, because
he thought they were of use to him in bringing a charge against Jesus;
but he paid no attention to the words of the 45th Psalm, and why it is
then said, "Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O most mighty, with Thy
comeliness and beauty; and continue, and prosper, and reign."(2)
Let it be supposed, however, that he had not read the prophecy,
or that he had read it, but had been drawn away by those who
misinterpreted it as not being spoken of Jesus Christ. What has he to
say of the Gospel, in the narratives of which Jesus ascended up into a
high mountain, and was transfigured before the disciples, and was seen
in glory, when both Moses: and Elias, "being seen in glory, spake of
the decease which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem?"(3) or when
the prophet says, "We beheld Him, and He had no form nor beauty," etc.?
and Celsus accepts this prophecy as referring to Jesus, being blinded
in so accepting it,! and not seeing that it is a great proof that the
Jesus who appeared to be "without form" was the Son of God, that His
very appearance should have been made the subject of prophecy many
years before His birth. But if another prophet speak of His comeliness
and beauty, he will no longer accept the prophecy as referring to
Christ And if it were to be clearly ascertained from the Gospels that
"He had no form nor beauty, but that His appearance was without honour,
and inferior to that of the sons of men," it might be said that it was
not with reference to the prophetic writings, but to the Gospels, that
Celsus made his remarks. But now, as neither the Gospels nor the
apostolic writings indicate that "He had no form nor beauty," it is
evident that we must accept the declaration of the prophets as true of
Christ, and this will prevent the charge against Jesus from being
advanced.(4)
But again, how did he who said, "Since a divine Spirit inhabited
the body (of Jesus), it must certainly have been different from that of
other beings in respect of grandeur, or voice, or strength, or
impressiveness, or persuasiveness," not observe the changing relation
of His body according to the capacity of the spectators (and therefore
its corresponding utility), inasmuch as it appeared to each one of such
a nature as it was requisite for him to behold it? Moreover
it is not a subject of wonder that the matter, which is by nature susceptible of being altered and changed, and of being transformed into anything which the Creator chooses, and is capable of receiving all the qualities which the Artificer desires, should at one time possess a quality, agreeably to which it is said, "He had no form nor beauty," and at another, one so glorious, and majestic, and marvellous, that the spectators of such surpassing loveliness—three disciples who had ascended (the mount) with Jesus—should fall upon their faces. He will say, however, that these are inventions, and in no respect different from myths, as are also the other marvels related of Jesus; which objection we have answered at greater length in what has gone before. But there is also something mystical in this doctrine, which announces that the varying appearances of Jesus are to be referred to the nature of the divine Word, who does not show Himself in the same manner to the multitude as He does to those who are capable of following Him to the high mountain which we have mentioned; for to those who still remain below, and are not yet prepared to ascend, the Word "has neither form nor beauty," because to such persons His form is "without honour," and inferior to the words given forth by men, which are figuratively termed "sons of men." For we might say that the words of philosophers—who are "sons of men"—appear far more beautiful than the Word of God, who is proclaimed to the multitude, and who also exhibits (what is called) the "foolishness of preaching," and on account of this apparent "foolishness of preaching" those who look at this alone say, "We saw Him; but He had no form nor beauty." To those, indeed, Who have received power to follow Him, in order that they may attend Him even when He ascends to the "lofty mount," He has a diviner appearance, which they behold, if there happens to be (among them) a Peter, who has received within himself the edifice of the Church based upon the Word, and who has gained such a habit (of goodness) that none of the gates of Hades will prevail against him, having been exalted by the Word from the gates of death, that he may "publish the praises of God in the gates of the daughter of Sion," and any others who have derived their birth from impressive preaching,(5) and who are not at all inferior to "sons of thunder." But how can Celsus and the enemies of the divine Word, and those who have not examined the doctrines of Christianity in the spirit of truth, know the meaning of the different appearances of Jesus? And I refer also to the different stages of His life, and to any actions performed by Him be- fore His sufferings, and after His resurrection from the dead.
Celsus next makes certain observations of the following nature:
"Again, if God, like Jupiter in the comedy, should, on awaking from a
lengthened slumber, desire to rescue the human race from evil, why did
He send this Spirit of which you speak into one corner (of the earth)?
He ought to have breathed it alike into many bodies, and have sent them
out into all the world. Now the comic poet, to cause laughter in the
theatre, wrote that Jupiter, after awakening, despatched Mercury to the
Athenians and Lacedaemonians; but do not you think that you have made
the Son of God more ridiculous in sending Him to the Jews?" Observe in
such language as this the irreverent character of Celsus, who, unlike a
philosopher, takes the writer of a comedy, whose business is to cause
laughter, and compares our God, the Creator of all things, to the being
who, as represented in the play, on awaking, despatches Mercury (on an
errand)! We stated, indeed, in what precedes, that it was not as if
awakening from a lengthened slumber that God sent Jesus to the human
race, who has now, for good reasons, fulfilled the economy of His
incarnation, but who has always conferred benefits upon the human race.
For no noble deed has ever been performed amongst men, where the divine
Word did not visit the souls of those who were capable, although for a
little time, of admitting such operations of the divine Word. Moreover,
the advent of Jesus apparently to one corner (of the earth) was founded
on good reasons, since it was necessary that He who was the subject of
prophecy should make His appearance among those who had become
acquainted with the doctrine of one God, and who perused the writings
of His prophets, and who had come to know the announcement of Christ,
and that He should come to them at a time when the Word was about to be
diffused from one corner over the whole world.
And therefore there was no need that there should everywhere
exist many bodies, and many spirits like Jesus, in order that the whole
world of men might be enlightened by the Word of God. For the one Word
was enough, having arisen as the "Sun of righteousness," to send forth
from Judea His coming rays into the soul of all who were willing to
receive Him. But if any one desires to see many bodies filled with a
divine Spirit, similar to the one Christ, ministering to the salvation
of men everywhere, let him take note of those who teach the Gospel of
Jesus in all lands in soundness of doctrine and
uprightness of life, and who are themselves termed "christs" by the holy Scriptures, in the passage, "Touch not Mine anointed,(1) and do not My prophets any harm."(2) For as we have heard that Antichrist cometh, and yet have learned that there are many antichrists in the world, in the same way, knowing that Christ has come, we see that, owing to Him, there are many christs in the world, who, like Him, have loved righteousness and hated iniquity, and therefore God, the God of Christ, anointed them also with the "oil of gladness." But inasmuch as He loved righteousness and hated iniquity above those who were His partners,(3) He also obtained the first-fruits of His anointing, and, if we must so term it, the entire unction of the oil of gladness; while they who were His partners shared also in His unction, in proportion to their individual capacity. Therefore, since Christ is the Head of the Church, so that Christ and the Church form one body, the ointment descended from the head to the beard of Aaron,—the symbols of the perfect man,—and this ointment in its descent reached to the very skirt of his garment. This is my answer to the irreverent language of Celsus when he says, "He ought to have breathed (His Spirit) alike into many bodies, and have sent it forth into all the world." The comic poet, indeed, to cause laughter, has represented Jupiter asleep and awaking from slumber, and despatching Mercury to the Greeks; but the Word, knowing that the nature of God is unaffected by sleep, may teach us that God administers in due season, and as right reason demands, the affairs of the world. It is 'not, however, a matter of surprise that, owing to the greatness and incomprehensibility(4) of the divine judgments, ignorant persons should make mistakes, and Celsus among them. There is therefore nothing ridiculous in the Son of God having been sent to the Jews, amongst whom the prophets had appeared, in order that, making a commencement among them in a bodily shape, He might arise with might and power upon a world of souls, which no longer desired to remain deserted by God.
After this, it seemed proper to Celsus to term the Chaldeans a
most divinely-inspired nation from the very earliest times,(5) from
whom the delusive system of astrology(6) has spread abroad among men.
Nay, he ranks the Magi also in the same category, from whom the art of
magic derived its name and has been transmitted to other nations, to
the corruption and destruction of those who employ it. In the preceding
part of this work, (we mentioned) that, in the opinion even of Celsus,
the Egyptians also were guilty of error, because they had indeed solemn
enclosures around what they considered their temples, while within them
there was nothing save apes, or crocodiles, or goats, or asps, or some
other animal; but on the present occasion it pleases him to speak of
the Egyptian people too as most divinely inspired, and that, too, from
the earliest times,—perhaps because they made war upon the Jews from
an early date. The Persians, moreover, who marry their own mothers,(1)
and have intercourse with their own daughters, are, in the opinion of
Celsus, an inspired race; nay, even. the Indians are so, some of whom,
in the preceding, he mentioned as eaters of human flesh. To the Jews,
however, especially those of ancient times, who employ none of these
practices, he did not merely refuse the name of inspired, but declared
that they would immediately perish. And this prediction he uttered
respecting them, as being doubtless endued with prophetic power, not
observing that the whole history of the Jews, and their ancient and
venerable polity, were administered by God; and that it is by their
fall that salvation has come to the Gentiles, and that "their fall is
the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the
riches of the Gentiles,"(2) until the fulness of the Gentiles come, that after that the whole of Israel, whom Celsus does not know, may be saved.
I do not understand, however, how he should say of God, that
although "knowing all things, He was not aware of this, that He was
sending His Son amongst wicked men, who were both to be guilty of sin,
and to inflict punishment upon Him." Certainly he appears, in the
present instance, to have forgotten that all the sufferings which Jesus
was to undergo were foreseen by the Spirit of God, and foretold by His
prophets; from which it does not follow that "God did not know that He
was sending His Son amongst wicked and sinful men, who were also to
inflict punishment upon Him." He immediately adds, however, that "our
defence on this point is that all these things were predicted." But as
our sixth book has now attained sufficient dimensions, we shall stop
here, and begin, God willing, the argument of the seventh, in which we
shall consider the reasons which he thinks furnish an answer to our
statement, that everything regarding Jesus was foretold by the
prophets; and as these are numerous, and require to be answered at
length, we wished neither to cut the subject short, in consequence of
the size of the present book, nor, in order to avoid doing so, to swell
this sixth book beyond its proper proportions.