Against Celsus 4.35
Summary: Celsus should have argued properly against the Jewish genealogy instead of hinting; no one can prove the patriarchs contemptible or claim their Hebrew names for another people.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:305–306
Καὶ ὅρα ὁ ἐντυγχάνων τῇ Κέλσου γραφῇ εἰ μὴ ταῦτʼ αἰνίττεται τὸ καὶ ἐπεχείρησαν γενεαλογῆσαι αὑτοὺς ἀπὸ πρώτης σπορᾶς γοήτων καὶ πλάνων ἀνθρώπων, ἀμυδρὰς καὶ ἀμφιβόλους φωνὰς ἐν σκότῳ που κρυφίους ἐπιμαρτυρόμενοι. κρύφια γὰρ καὶ οὐκ ἐν φωτὶ καὶ γνώσει πολλῶν ἐστι τὰ ὀνόματα ταῦτα. καθʼ ἡμᾶς μὲν οὐκ ἀμφίβολα. κἂν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τῆς ἡμετέρας θεοσεβείας παραλαμβάνηται· κατὰ δὲ Κέλσον, οὐ παριστάντα τὸ τῶν φωνῶν ἀμφίβολον, οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως παρέῤῥιπται. καίτοι γε ἐχρῆν αὐτὸν, εἴπερ εὐγνωμόνως ἀνατρέπειν ἐβούλετο ἣν ᾠήθη ἀναισχυντότατα παρειλῆφθαι γενεαλογίαν Ἰουδαίοις αὐχοῦσι τὸν Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τοὺς ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ, ὅλα ἐκθέσθαι τὰ κατὰ τὸν τόπον καὶ πρότερον συναγορεῦσαι ᾗ ἐνόμιζε πιθανότητι καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο γενναίως ἀνατρέψαι τῇ φαινομένῃ αὐτῷ ἀληθείᾳ καὶ τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς λογίοις τὰ κατὰ τὸν τόπον. ἀλλʼ οὔτε Κέλσος οὔτʼ ἄλλος τις δυνήσεται τὰ περὶ φύσεως ὀνομάτων εἰς δυνάμεις παραλαμβανομένων διαλαμβάνων τὸν ἀκριβῆ περὶ τούτων παραστῆσαι λόγον καὶ ἐλέγξαι, ὡς εὐκαταφρόνητοι γεγόνασιν ἄνθρωποι, ὧν καὶ αἱ ὀνομασίαι μόνον οὐ παρὰ τοῖς οἰκείοις μόνοις ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις δύνανται. ἔδει δʼ αὐτὸν παραθέσθαι, πῶς ἡμεῖς μὲν τοῖς ἀμαθέσι καὶ ἀνοήτοις παρεξηγούμενοι τὰ περὶ τῶν ὀνομάτων τούτων ἀπατῶμεν, ὡς οἴεται, τοὺς ἀκούοντας, αὐτὸς δὲ, ὁ αὐχῶν εἶναι μὴ ἀμαθὴς μηδὲ ἀνόητος, τὴν ἀληθῆ λέγει περὶ τούτων ἑρμηνείαν. παρέῤῥιψε δʼ ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὰ ὀνόματα ταῦτα, ἀφʼ ὧν γενεαλογοῦνται Ἰουδαῖοι, ὅτι οὐδὲ πώποτʼ ἐν πολλῷ τῷ πρόσθεν χρόνῳ ἀμφισβήτησις γεγένηται περὶ τῶν τοιῶνδε ὀνομάτων, ἀλλὰ νῦν Ἰουδαῖοι πρὸς ἑτέρους τινὰς, οὓς οὐκ ὠνόμασε, περὶ τούτων ἀμφισβητοῦσι. δεικνύτω γὰρ ὁ βουλόμενος, τίνες οἱ ἐπιδικαζόμενοι καὶ κἂν πιθανότητι χρώμενοι κατὰ Ἰουδαίων πρὸς τὸ μὴ ὑγιῶς μὲν Ἰουδαίους καὶ Χριστιανοὺς τὰ περὶ τούτων ἀπαγγέλλειν, καθʼ ὧν κεῖται τὰ ὀνόματα, ἑτέρους δʼ εἶναι τοὺς (τὰ) σοφώτατα καὶ τὰ ἀληθέστατα περὶ τούτων διειληφότας. ἀλλὰ πεπείσμεθα ὅτι οὐ δυνήσονται τὸ τοιοῦτον ποιῆσαί τινες, ἐναργοῦς ὄντος τοῦ τὰ ὀνόματα ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑβραίων εἰλῆφθαι διαλέκτου, παρὰ μόνοις Ἰουδαίοις εὑρισκομένης.
English · Claude translation
And let the reader of Celsus's book see whether he is not hinting at these things in the words, “They tried to trace their genealogy from the first seed of sorcerers and deceivers, calling to witness dim and ambiguous words hidden somewhere in darkness.” For these names are hidden, and not in the light and knowledge of many. In our view they are not ambiguous, even if they are used by those alien to our worship; but in Celsus's view, though he does not show the ambiguity of the words, they have somehow been tossed aside. And yet, if he wanted fairly to overturn the genealogy which he thought the Jews had most shamelessly adopted in boasting of Abraham and his descendants, he should have set out the whole passage, first argued for it with whatever plausibility he thought it had, and after that nobly overturned it with what seemed to him the truth and the arguments for it. But neither Celsus nor anyone else, discussing the nature of names used for works of power, will be able to present an accurate account of them and to prove that men whose very names have power not only among their own people but also among foreigners were contemptible. He should have shown how we deceive our hearers, as he thinks, by misinterpreting to the ignorant and foolish the facts about these names, while he himself, who boasts that he is neither ignorant nor foolish, gives the true interpretation of them. He also tossed out, concerning these names from which the Jews trace their genealogy, that “in all the long time before, no dispute had ever arisen” about such names, but that now the Jews dispute about them with certain others whom he did not name. Let whoever wishes show who these are who lay claim to them and use even plausible arguments against the Jews to show that the Jews and Christians do not report soundly about those to whom the names belong, and that others are the ones who have understood the wisest and truest things about them. But we are persuaded that no one can do such a thing, since it is evident that the names are taken from the Hebrew language, which is found among the Jews alone.
About this passage
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 4.35 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/4/35/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 4.35 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/4/35/).
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