Against Celsus 8.56
Summary: Christians will live in God's world by his laws, may marry and have children, and will bear hardships as trials; but they will not honour the demons, since they worship God alone, as Christ did, and cannot serve God and mammon.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:272–273
Κἂν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ οὖν λόγῳ πασσυδὶ ἡμᾶς ἀποπέμπῃ τοῦ βίου ὁ Κέλσος, ἵνʼ, ὡς νομίζει, ἐρημωθῇ πάμπαν ἐπὶ γῆς τὸ τοιοῦτον ἡμῶν γένος, ἀλλʼ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς τοῦ κτίσαντος ἡμᾶς κατὰ τοὺς τοῦ θεοῦ βιώσομεν νόμους, οὐδαμῶς δουλεύειν θέλοντες τοῖς τῆς ἁμαρτίας νόμοις. καὶ γυναῖκας. ἐὰν βουλώμεθα, ἀξόμεθα καὶ παῖδας διδομένους ἡμῖν ἐν τοῖς γάμοις ἡμῶν ληψόμεθα. ἐὰν δὲ δέῃ, καὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ μεθέξομεν, ἀνεχόμενοι τῶν ἐπιτεταγμένων κακῶν· ὡς πειρασμῶν τῆς ψυχῆς. οὕτως γὰρ ἔθος τοῖς θείοις ὀνομάζειν λόγοις τὰ συμβαίνοντα ἐν ἀνθρώποις· ἐν οἷς ὡς χρυσὸς ἐν πυρὶ ἡ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου βασανιζομένη ψυχὴ ἤτοι ἐλέγχεται ἢ θαυμαστὴ εἶναι ἀναφαίνεται. καὶ οὕτως γε πρὸς ἃ λέγει κακὰ Κέλσος παρεσκευάσμεθα, ὥστε καὶ λέγειν ἡμᾶς· „δοκίμασόν με. κύριε, καὶ πείρασόν με, πύρωσον τοὺς νεφρούς μου καὶ τὴν καρδίαν μου.“ καὶ γὰρ οὐδεὶς „στεφανοῦται, ἐὰν μὴ νομίμως“ ἐνταῦθα καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς μετὰ σώματος τοῦ „τῆς ταπεινώσεως“ „ἀθλήσῃ.“ πρὸς δὲ τούτοις οὐδὲ ἀποδίδομεν τὰς νομιζομένας προσήκειν τιμὰς οἷς λέγει Κέλσος τὰ τῇδε ἐπιτετράφθαι. „κύριον“ γὰρ „τὸν θεὸν“ ἡμῶν προσκυνοῦμεν „καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ“ λατρεύομεν, εὐχόμενοι μιμηταὶ Χριστοῦ γίνεσθαι. ὃς τῷ εἰπόντι αὐτῷ διαβόλῳ· „ταῦτά σοι πάντα δώσω, ἐὰν πεσὼν προσκυνήσῃς μοι“ εἶπε τό· „κύριον τὸν θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ λατρεύσεις.“ καὶ διὸ τοῦτό γε τὰς νομιζομένας προσήκειν τιμὰς οἷς φησι Κέλσος τὰ τῇδε ἐπιτετράφθαι οὐκ ἀποδίδομεν, ἐπεὶ „οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν“ καὶ οὐ δυνάμεθα ἅμα „θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ, “ εἴθʼ ὅ τι ποτὲ ἓν ἢ πλείονα καλουμένῳ. ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰ „διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως τοῦ νόμου“ ἀτιμάζει τις τὸν νομοθετοῦντα, σαφὲς ἡμῖν φαίνεται ὅτι δύο νόμων ἐναντιότητα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐχόντων. τοῦ νόμου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ νόμου τοῦ μαμωνᾶ. αἱρετώτερον ἡμᾶς „διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως τοῦ νόμου“ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τὸν μαμωνᾶν ἀτιμάζειν, ἵνα διὰ τῆς τηρήσεως τοῦ νόμου τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν θεὸν τιμήσωμεν, ἢ „διὰ τῆς παραβάσεως τοῦ νόμου“ τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν θεὸν ἀτιμάζειν, ἵνα τηρήσει τοῦ νόμου τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τὸν μαμωνᾶν τιμήσωμεν.
English · Claude translation
Even if, then, Celsus by his own argument sends us out of life with all speed, so that, as he thinks, such a race as ours may be utterly wiped out from the earth, we shall live in the world of our Creator according to the laws of God, in no way willing to serve the laws of sin. And we shall marry wives, if we wish, and receive the children given to us in our marriages. And if need be we shall share in the things of life, enduring the evils appointed as trials of the soul. For so the divine words are accustomed to name what befalls men; in these, like gold in the fire, the soul of man is tested and either exposed or shown to be admirable. And we are so prepared for what Celsus calls evils that we even say, “Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my kidneys and my heart by fire.” For no one “is crowned unless he competes lawfully” here on earth with the body “of humiliation.” Besides this, we do not render the honours thought due to those to whom Celsus says the things here have been entrusted. For we worship “the Lord” our “God” “and serve him only,” praying to become imitators of Christ, who, when the devil said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me,” said, “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” That is why we do not render the honours thought due to those to whom Celsus says the things here have been entrusted, since “no one can serve two masters,” and we cannot at once “serve God and mammon,” whether mammon is called one thing or many. And if one dishonours the lawgiver “by breaking the law,” it seems clear to us that, when two laws are opposed to each other, the law of God and the law of mammon, it is preferable for us to dishonour mammon “by breaking the law” of mammon, so that we may honour God by keeping the law of God, rather than to dishonour God “by breaking the law” of God, so that we may honour mammon by keeping the law of mammon.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations and allusions are Rom 7:23, Wis 3:6 (gold in the fire), Ps 26:2 (25:2 LXX), 2 Tim 2:5, Phil 3:21, Matt 4:9–10, Matt 6:24, and Rom 2:23.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 8.56 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/56/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 8.56 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/56/).
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