Against Celsus 6.50
Summary: Celsus calls the creation account nonsense without argument; Origen notes that Moses himself shows the six “days” are not ordinary days, since light and the sun came after the first day.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:121–122
Ἑξῆς δὲ τούτοις συμφορήσας ἐν ψιλαῖς ἀποφάσεσι τὰς διαφορὰς τῶν περὶ κόσμου καὶ ἀνθρώπων γενέσεώς τισι τῶν ἀρχαίων εἰρημένας φησὶ τοὺς τὰ ἡμέτερα συγγράμματα λιπόντας Μωϋσέα καὶ τοὺς προφήτας, οὐκ εἰδότας ἥτις ποτέ ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φύσις, συνθεῖναι λῆρον βαθύν. εἰ μὲν οὖν εἰρήκει τὸν δοκοῦντα αὐτῷ τρόπον περὶ τοῦ λῆρον εἶναι βαθὺν τὰ θεῖα γράμματα, κἂν ἐπειράθημεν ἀνασκευάσαι τὰς φανείσας ἐκείνῳ πιθανότητας περὶ τοῦ λῆρον αὐτὰ εἶναι βαθύν· νυνὶ δὲ τὸ ὅμοιον ἐκείνῳ πράττοντες καὶ παίζοντες καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀποφανούμεθα ὅτι τίς ποτε ἐστὶν ἡ φύσις τοῦ νοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἐν τοῖς προφήταις λόγου οὐδαμῶς ὁ Κέλσος εἰδὼς λῆρον συνέθηκε βαθὺν, ἀλαζονικῶς αὐτὸν ἐπιγράψας ἀληθῆ λόγον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὡς σαφῆ καὶ ἀκριβῶς αὐτῷ νενοημένα προφέρει εἰς κατηγορίαν τὰ περὶ τῶν τῆς κοσμοποιΐας ἡμερῶν, ὧν τινὲς μὲν πρὶν φῶς καὶ οὐρανὸν γενέσθαι ἥλιόν τε καὶ σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας παρεληλύθασι, τινὲς δὲ μετὰ τὴν τούτων γένεσιν, τοῦτο μόνον ἐπισημειωσόμεθα πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὅτι ἆρʼ ἔλαθε Μωϋσέα τὸ προειρηκέναι ἐν ἓξ ἡμέραις συντετελέσθαι τὸν κόσμον δημιουργούμενον, καὶ ἑαυτοῦ ἐπιλαθόμενος τούτοις ἐπιφέρει τὸ „αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως ἀνθρώπων, ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν“; ἀλλʼ οὐδεμία πιθανότης ἐστὶ μηδὲν νενοηκότα Μωϋσέα εἰρηκέναι μετὰ τὰ περὶ τῶν ἓξ ἡμερῶν τό· „ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.“ ἐὰν δέ τις νομίζῃ δύνασθαι ταῦτʼ ἀναφέρεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ „ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, “ ἐπιστησάτω ὅτι πρὸ τοῦ „γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς“ καὶ τοῦ „ἐκάλεσεν ὁ θεὸς τὸ φῶς ἡμέραν“ λέλεκται τό· „ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.“
English · Claude translation
Next, having piled together in bare assertions the differing views some of the ancients held about the origin of the world and of men, he says that Moses and the prophets, who left us our writings, not knowing what the nature of the world and of men is, composed utter nonsense. If he had said in what way he thought the divine writings were utter nonsense, we would have tried to refute the arguments that seemed plausible to him for their being utter nonsense. But as it is, doing the same as he and jesting too, we shall declare that Celsus, in no way knowing what the nature of the meaning and the word in the prophets is, composed utter nonsense, boastfully entitling it The True Word. And since he brings forward as an accusation, as though it were clear and precisely understood by him, the matter of the days of creation, some of which passed before light and heaven, sun, moon, and stars came to be, and some after they came to be, we shall only point out this to him: did Moses forget that he had just said that the world was completed in its making in six days, and, forgetting himself, did he add to these words, “This is the book of the generation of men, in the day when God made the heaven and the earth”? But it is not at all credible that Moses said, after the account of the six days, “in the day when God made the heaven and the earth,” without meaning anything. And if anyone thinks this can refer to “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth,” let him note that “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth” is said before “Let there be light, and there was light,” and before “God called the light day.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The passages are Gen 2:4 combined with Gen 5:1 (Origen's form of the verse), Gen 1:1, Gen 1:3, and Gen 1:5. The True Word (Ἀληθὴς Λόγος) is the title of Celsus's book. The digital text has unread characters in the name Moses, which is certain.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (unread characters in the digital text; the name Moses is certain from context): Μω(??)σέα → Μωϋσέα.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 6.50 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/50/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 6.50 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/50/).
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