Against Celsus, preface 5
Summary: Paul warned against the empty deceit of philosophy, but Celsus's book does not even rise to the level of philosophical deceit.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:54
Ὁ μὲν οὖν Παῦλος συνιδὼν ὅτι ἔστιν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ Ἑλληνικῇ οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητα τοῖς πολλοῖς πιθανὰ, παριστάντα τὸ ψεῦδος ὡς ἀλήθειαν, φησὶν ἐπʼ ἐκείνοις τό· „βλέπετε, μή τις ὑμᾶς ἔσται ὁ συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου καὶ οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν.“ καὶ ὁρῶν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τῆς τοῦ κόσμου σοφίας ἐμφαινόμενόν τι μέγεθος, εἶπεν εἶναι τοὺς λόγους τῶν φιλοσόφων „κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου.“ οὐδεὶς δὲ τῶν νοῦν ἐχόντων φήσαι ἂν καὶ τὰ Κέλσου „κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου“ εἶναι γεγραμμένα. κἀκεῖνα μὲν ἔχοντά τι ἀπατηλὸν καὶ κενὴν ἀπάτην ὠνόμασε, τάχα πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν ἀπάτης τινὸς οὐ κενῆς. ἣν θεωρήσας ὁ Ἱερεμίας ἐτόλμησε πρὸς θεὸν εἰπεῖν τό· „ἠπάτησάς με, κύριε, καὶ ἠπατήθην, ἐκράτησας καὶ ἠδυνήθης·“ τὰ δὲ Κέλσου οὐδαμῶς ἀπάτην ἔχειν μοι φαίνεται, διὸ οὐδὲ κενὴν, ὁποίαν ἔχει τὰ τῶν αἱρέσεις ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ πηξάντων καὶ τῶν νοῦν οὐ τὸν τυχόντα κατʼ ἐκεῖνα ἀνειληφότων. καὶ ὥσπερ οὐ τὸ τυχὸν τῶν ψευδομένων ἐν γεωμετρικοῖς θεωρήμασι ψευδογραφούμενόν τις ἂν λέγοι ἢ καὶ ἀναγράφοι γυμνασίου ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀπὸ τοιούτων, οὕτως παραπλήσια εἶναι χρὴ τοῖς τῶν αἱρέσεις πηξάντων ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ νοήμασι τὰ μέλλοντα ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις λέγεσθαι κενὴν ἀπάτην καὶ „παράδοσιν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου.“
English · Claude translation
Paul, perceiving that there are in Greek philosophy things not to be despised, plausible to the many, which present falsehood as truth, says about them: "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ." And seeing some greatness displayed in the words of the wisdom of the world, he said that the words of the philosophers were "according to the elements of the world." But no one with sense would say that Celsus's writings are "according to the elements of the world." Those, since they had something deceptive, he called "empty deceit," perhaps to distinguish them from a deceit that is not empty, which Jeremiah perceived when he dared to say to God: "You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived; you prevailed and were strong." But Celsus's writings seem to me to have no deceit at all, and so not even empty deceit, such as the writings of those who founded schools in philosophy, and who took up no ordinary intelligence for that purpose, possess. And just as one would not call just any false statement in geometrical theorems a false diagram, or write it up for the sake of the exercise it gives, so the things that are to be called, like those, "empty deceit" and "human tradition, according to the elements of the world" must resemble the thoughts of those who founded schools in philosophy.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Col 2:8 and Jer 20:7. αἵρεσις is rendered "school" (a philosophical school). The "false diagram" (ψευδογράφημα) is a technical term for a plausible but faulty geometrical proof, as in Aristotle's logic.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 0.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/0/5/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 0.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/0/5/).
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