Against Celsus 8.40
Summary: Celsus's pagan priests threaten that the gods punish descendants late; Scripture teaches better, through Ezekiel and Deuteronomy, that each person dies for his own sin.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:254–255
Καὶ ἡμεῖς μὲν ὅ τι ποτὲ περὶ κολάσεως λέγοντες καὶ διὰ τῆς περὶ κολάσεως διδασκαλίας πολλοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπιστρέφομεν· ὁ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Κέλσον ἱερεὺς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἢ τοῦ Διὸς οἷα ἀποκρίνεται, κατανοήσωμεν· ὀψὲ, φησὶ, θεῶν ἀλέουσι μύλοι, καὶ ἐς παίδων παῖδας, τοί κεν μετόπισθε γένωνται. ὅρα δὲ ὅσῳ τούτου βέλτιον τὸ „οὐκ ἀποθανοῦνται πατέρες ὑπὲρ τέκνων, οὐδὲ υἱοὶ ἀποθανοῦνται ὑπὲρ πατέρων· ἕκαστος τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἑαυτοῦ ἀποθανεῖται“ καὶ τοῦτο „τοῦ φαγόντος τὸν ὄμφακα αἱμωδιάσουσιν οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ“ καὶ τὸ „υἱὸς οὐ λήψεται ἀδικίαν πατρὸς, καὶ πατὴρ οὐ λήψεται ἀδικίαν υἱοῦ· δικαιοσύνη δικαίου ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἔσται, καὶ ἀνομία ἀνόμου ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἔσται.“ ἐὰν δέ τις ὅμοιον εἶναι λέγῃ τῷ ἐς παίδων παῖδας, τοί κεν μετόπισθε γένωνται τὸ „ἀποδιδοὺς ἁμαρτίας πατέρων ἐπὶ τέκνα ἐπὶ τρίτην καὶ τετάρτην γενεὰν τοῖς μισοῦσί (με), “ μαθέτω ὅτι ἐν τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ „παραβολὴ“ τὸ τοιοῦτον εἶναι λέλεκται, αἰτιωμένῳ τοὺς λέγοντας· „οἱ πατέρες ἔφαγον ὄμφακα, καὶ οἱ ὀδόντες τῶν τέκνων ᾑμωδίασαν, “ ᾧ ἐπιφέρεται· „ζῶ ἐγὼ, λέγει κύριος, “ „ἀλλʼ ἢ ἕκαστος τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀποθανεῖται.“ οὐ κατὰ τὸν παρόντα δὲ καιρόν ἐστι διηγήσασθαι, τί σημαίνει ἡ περὶ τοῦ „(ἐπὶ) τρίτην καὶ τετάρτην γενεὰν“ ἀποδίδοσθαι τὰς „ἁμαρτίας“ παραβολή.
English · Claude translation
And we, whatever we say about punishment, turn many from their sins through the teaching about punishment; but let us consider what answers the priest of Apollo or of Zeus, according to Celsus, gives: “Late,” he says, “grind the mills of the gods,” and “to children's children, who shall be born hereafter.” See how much better than this are “Fathers shall not die for children, nor shall sons die for fathers; each shall die for his own sin,” and this, “The teeth of him who eats the sour grape shall be set on edge,” and “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor shall the father bear the iniquity of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the lawlessness of the lawless shall be upon him.” And if anyone says that “to children's children, who shall be born hereafter” is like “visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” let him learn that in Ezekiel this is called a “proverb,” since he blames those who say, “The fathers ate sour grapes, and the children's teeth were set on edge,” to which is added, “As I live, says the Lord,” “but each shall die for his own sin.” It is not the present occasion to explain what the proverb about the “sins” being visited “to the third and fourth generation” means.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are a proverb, “the mills of the gods grind late” (in Sextus Empiricus, Against the Mathematicians 1.287, and elsewhere), Homer, Iliad 20.308, Deut 24:16, Jer 31:30 (38:30 LXX), Ezek 18:20, Exod 20:5, and Ezek 18:2–4.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 8.40 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/40/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 8.40 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/40/).
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