Against Celsus 2.70
Summary: Origen denies that Jesus hid himself or appeared only to one woman after rising, citing Matthew's account of the two Marys, and points out the absurdity of Celsus's claim that the opposite should have happened.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:192–193
Πόθεν δὲ τῷ Κέλσου Ἰουδαίῳ λέλεκται ὅτι ἐκρύπτετο Ἰησοῦς; λέγει γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ· τίς δὲ πώποτε πεμφθεὶς ἄγγελος, δέον ἀγγέλλειν τὰ κεκελευσμένα, κρύπτεται; οὐ γὰρ ἐκρύπτετο ὁ εἰπὼν τοῖς ζητοῦσιν αὐτὸν συλλαβεῖν· „καθʼ ἡμέραν ἤμην ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ παῤῥησίᾳ διδάσκων, καὶ οὐκ ἐκρατήσατέ με, “ πρὸς δὲ τὸ ἑξῆς παλιλλογούμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ Κέλσου ἡμεῖς ἅπαξ ἀπολογησάμενοι ἀρκεσθησόμεθα τοῖς προειρημένοις. γέγραπται γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἀνωτέρω καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἢ ὅτε μὲν ἠπιστεῖτο ἐν σώματι, πᾶσιν ἀνέδην ἐκήρυττεν· ὅτε δὲ πίστιν ἂν ἰσχυρὰν παρεῖχεν ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστὰς, ἑνὶ μόνῳ γυναίῳ καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ θιασώταις κρύβδην παρεφαίνετο; ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὅτι ἑνὶ μόνῳ γυναίῳ ἐφάνη, ἀληθές ἐστιν· γέγραπται γὰρ ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ματθαῖον εὐαγγελίῳ ὅτι „ὀψὲ σαββάτων. τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ εἰς μίαν σαββάτων, ἦλθε Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ καὶ ἡ ἄλλη Μαρία, θεωρῆσαι τὸν τάφον. καὶ ἰδοὺ σεισμὸς ἐγένετο μέγας· ἄγγελος γὰρ κυρίου καταβὰς ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καὶ προσελθὼν ἀπεκύλισε τὸν λίθον.“ καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον φησὶν ὁ Ματθαῖος· „καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὑπήντησεν αὐταῖς“ (δῆλον δʼ ὅτι ταῖς προειρημέναις Μαρίαις) „λέγων· χαίρετε. αἱ δὲ προσελθοῦσαι ἐκράτησαν αὐτοῦ τοὺς πόδας καὶ προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ.“ λέλεκται δὲ καὶ πρὸς τὸ κολαζόμενος μὲν ἄρα πᾶσιν ἑωρᾶτο, ἀναστὰς δὲ ἑνὶ, ὅτε ἀπελογούμεθα πρὸς τὸ οὐ πᾶσιν ἑωρᾶτο. καὶ νῦν δὲ φήσομεν ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἀνθρώπινα αὐτοῦ πᾶσιν ἦν ὁρατὰ. τὰ δὲ θειότερα (λέγω δὲ οὐ περὶ τῶν σχέσιν πρὸς ἕτερα ἐχόντων ἀλλὰ περὶ τῶν κατὰ διαφορὰν) οὐ πᾶσι χωρητά. πρόσχες δὲ καὶ τῇ παρὰ πόδας τοῦ Κέλσου ἐναντιότητι πρὸς ἑαυτόν. προειπὼν γοῦν ἑνὶ γυναίῳ καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ θιασώταις κρύβδην αὐτὸν παραπεφάνθαι εὐθέως ἐπιφέρει· κολαζόμενος μὲν ἄρα πᾶσιν ἑωρᾶτο, ἀναστὰς δὲ ἑνὶ, οὗπερ ἐχρῆν τοὐναντίον. τί δὲ καὶ νομίζει τὸ ἐχρῆν. ἀκούσωμεν. ἐναντίον τοῦ μὲν κολαζόμενον πᾶσιν ἑωρᾶσθαι, ἀναστάντα δὲ ἑνί· ὅσον γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ λέξει ἑαυτοῦ ἤθελε καὶ ἀδύνατον καὶ ἄλογον, κολαζόμενον μὲν ἑνὶ ὁρᾶσθαι, ἀναστάντα δὲ πᾶσιν· ἢ πῶς διηγήσῃ τὸ οὗπερ ἐχρῆν τοὐναντίον;
English · Claude translation
Where did the Jew of Celsus get the statement that Jesus hid himself? For he says of him: “What messenger ever sent, when he ought to announce what he was commanded, hides himself?” He did not hide himself who said to those seeking to arrest him: “Day after day I was in the temple teaching openly, and you did not seize me.” To what follows, which Celsus repeats, we, having answered once, shall be content with what was said before. For above we have written also against this: “Or, when he was disbelieved while in the body, he preached to all without restraint; but when he would have provided strong faith by rising from the dead, he appeared secretly to one little woman alone and to his own band of followers?” But it is not even true that he appeared to one little woman alone. For it is written in the Gospel according to Matthew: “After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone.” And a little later Matthew says: “And behold, Jesus met them” (clearly the Marys already mentioned), “saying, Greetings. And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.” We have also answered this: “When he was being punished he was seen by all, but when he rose, by one,” when we replied to the objection that he was not seen by all. And now we shall say that his human attributes were visible to all, but his more divine attributes (I speak not of those that have a relation to other things, but of those by which he differs) were not accessible to all. Notice too Celsus's contradiction with himself in the very next words. Having said that he appeared secretly to one little woman and to his own band of followers, he immediately adds: “When he was being punished he was seen by all, but when he rose, by one; whereas the opposite should have happened.” Let us hear what he thinks “should have happened.” The opposite of being seen by all when punished and by one when risen: so far as his words go, he wanted what is both impossible and unreasonable, that when punished he should be seen by one, and when risen by all. Or how will you explain “whereas the opposite should have happened”?
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Matt 26:55 (with Mark 14:49; “openly” recalls John 18:20), Matt 28:1–2, and Matt 28:9. θιασῶται (“band of followers”) is a term for members of a religious guild. The parenthesis on attributes contrasts relative titles of Christ with his distinctive divine properties.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text): ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἱερῷ → ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 2.70 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/2/70/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 2.70 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/2/70/).
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