Against Celsus 6.5
Summary: The Bible spoke of God's light kindled in the soul long before Plato, and unlike Plato's words its plain speech has actually made readers devout.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:74–75
Τὸ δʼ „ἐξαίφνης οἷον ἀπὸ πυρὸς πηδήσαντος“ ἐξάπτεσθαι „φῶς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ“ πρότερος οἶδεν ὁ λόγος, εἰπὼν ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ· „φωτίσατε ἑαυτοῖς φῶς γνώσεως.“ καὶ Ἰωάννης δὲ ὕστερον ἐκείνου γενόμενος λέγει ὅτι „ὃ γέγονεν“ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ „ζωὴ“ ἦν, „καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, “ ὅπερ „φῶς ἀληθινὸν“ „φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον, ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν“ ἀληθινὸν καὶ νοητὸν „κόσμον, “ καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτὸν „φῶς τοῦ κόσμου.“ „ἔλαμψε“ γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ φῶς „ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ.“ διό φησιν ἀρχαιότατος προφήτης πρὸ πολλῶν γενεῶν τῆς Κύρου βασιλείας προφητεύσας (ὑπὲρ τὰς τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα γὰρ γενεὰς πρεσβύτερος αὐτοῦ ἦν) τό· „κύριος φωτισμός μου καὶ σωτήρ μου, τίνα φοβηθήσομαι;“ καί· „λύχνος τοῖς ποσί μου ὁ νόμος σου, καὶ φῶς ταῖς τρίβοις μου, “ καί· „ἐσημειώθη ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, κύριε, “ καί· „ἐν τῷ φωτί σου ὀψόμεθα φῶς.“ καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦτο προτρέπων ἡμᾶς ὁ ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ λόγος φησί· „φωτίζου, φωτίζου Ἱερουσαλήμ· ἥκει γάρ σου τὸ φῶς, καὶ ἡ δόξα κυρίου ἐπὶ σὲ ἀνέτειλεν.“ ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς οὗτος προφητεύων περὶ τῆς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐπιδημίας, ἀφιστάντος τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ ἀγαλμάτων καὶ δαιμόνων θεραπείας, φησὶν ὅτι „καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς, “ καὶ πάλιν· „λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει φῶς εἶδε μέγα.“ ὅρα οὖν τὴν διαφορὰν τοῦ καλῶς λελεγμένου ὑπὸ τοῦ Πλάτωνος περὶ τοῦ πρώτου ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἐν τοῖς προφήταις περὶ τοῦ φωτὸς τῶν μακαρίων· καὶ ὅρα ὅτι ἡ μὲν ἐν Πλάτωνι περὶ τούτου ἀλήθεια οὐδὲν ὡς πρὸς εἰλικρινῆ εὐσέβειαν ὤνησε τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ αὐτὸν τὸν τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦ πρώτου ἀγαθοῦ φιλοσοφήσαντα, ἡ δὲ τῶν θείων γραμμάτων εὐτελὴς λέξις ἐνθουσιᾶν πεποίηκε τοὺς γνησίως ἐντυγχάνοντας αὐτῇ· παρʼ οἷς τρέφεται τοῦτο τὸ φῶς τῷ ἔν τινι παραβολῇ εἰρημένῳ ἐλαίῳ, τηροῦντι τῶν δᾴδων τὸ φῶς ἐν ταῖς φρονίμοις πέντε παρθένοις.
English · Claude translation
But that “suddenly, like light kindled from a leaping fire,” light is kindled “in the soul,” the word of God knew first, when it said in the prophet: “Light for yourselves the light of knowledge.” And John, who lived later than he, says that “what came to be” in the Word “was life, and the life was the light of men,” which “true light enlightens every man coming into the” true and intelligible “world,” and makes him “the light of the world.” For this light “shone in our hearts to give the light of the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” That is why a very ancient prophet, who prophesied many generations before the reign of Cyrus (for he was older than him by more than fourteen generations), says: “The Lord is my light and my saviour; whom shall I fear?” and “Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my paths,” and “The light of your face has been signed upon us, O Lord,” and “In your light we shall see light.” And the word in Isaiah, urging us to this light, says: “Be enlightened, be enlightened, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.” And this same prophet, prophesying about the coming of Jesus, who would turn men away from the worship of idols and statues and demons, says: “To those who sat in the region and shadow of death a light has risen,” and again: “The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light.” See, then, the difference between what Plato said well about the first good and what is said in the prophets about the light of the blessed; and see that the truth about this in Plato did not help his readers toward pure piety, nor even the man himself who philosophized so about the first good, whereas the plain style of the divine writings has filled with divine inspiration those who read them sincerely. In them this light is nourished by the oil spoken of in a certain parable, which keeps the light of the torches burning in the five wise virgins.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Hos 10:12 LXX, John 1:3–4, 9, Matt 5:14, 2 Cor 4:6, Ps 27:1 (26:1 LXX), Ps 119:105 (118:105 LXX), Ps 4:6 (4:7 LXX), Ps 36:9 (35:10 LXX), Isa 60:1, and Isa 9:2 (9:1 LXX; cf. Matt 4:16), with an allusion to the parable in Matt 25:1–13. The “very ancient prophet” is David. Origen's punctuation of John 1:3–4 joins “what came to be” to the following clause.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 6.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/5/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 6.5 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/5/).
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