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TOPIC: Nicene Fathers Vol 04 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 14.03.27 Against Celsus Book III Part 2
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Chapter XVIII.
In the next place, referring to the statements of the Egyptians, who talk loftily about irrational animals, and who assert that they are a sort of symbols of God, or anything else which their prophets, so termed, are accustomed to call them, Celsus says that "an impression is produced in the minds of those who have learned these things; that they have not been initiated in vain; "hyperlink while with regard to the truths which are taught in our writings to those who have made progress in the study of Christianity (through that which is called by Paul the gift consisting in the "word of wisdom" through the Spirit, and in the "word of knowledge" according to the Spirit), Celsus does not seem even to have formed an idea,hyperlink judging not only from what he has already said, but from what he subsequently adds in his attack upon the Christian system, when he asserts that Christians "repel every wise man from the doctrine of their faith, and invite only the ignorant and the vulgar; "on which assertions we shall remark in due time, when we come to the proper place.
Chapter XIX.
He says, indeed, that "we ridicule the Egyptians, although they present many by no means contemptible mysterieshyperlink for our consideration, when they teach us that such rites are acts of worship offered to eternal ideas, and not, as the multitude think, to ephemeral animals; and that we are silly, because we introduce nothing nobler than the goats and dogs of the Egyptian worship in our narratives about Jesus." Now to this we reply, "Good sir,hyperlink (suppose that) you are right in eulogizing the fact that the Egyptians present to view many by no means contemptible mysteries, and obscure explanations about the animals (worshipped) among them, you nevertheless do not act consistently in accusing us as if you believed that we had nothing to state which was worthy of consideration, but that all our doctrines were contemptible and of no account, seeing we unfoldhyperlink the narratives concerning Jesus according to the `wisdom of the word' to those who are `perfect' in Christianity. Regarding whom, as being competent to understand the wisdom that is in Christianity, Paul says: `We speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, who come to nought, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory; which none of the princes of this world knew.'"hyperlink
Chapter XX.
And we say to those who hold similar opinions to those of Celsus: "Paul then, we are to suppose, had before his mind the idea of no pre-eminent wisdom when he professed to speak wisdom among them that are perfect? "Now, as he spoke with his customary boldness when in making such a profession he said that he was possessed of no wisdom, we shall say in reply: first of all examine the Epistles of him who utters these words, and look carefully at the meaning of each expression in them-say, in those to the Ephesians, and Colossians, and Thessalonians, and Philippians, and Romans,-and show two things, both that you understand Paul's words, and that you can demonstrate any of them to be silly or foolish. For if any one give himself to their attentive perusal, I am well assured either that he will be amazed at the understanding of the man who can clothe great ideas in common language; or if he be not amazed, he will only exhibit himself in a ridiculous light, whether he simply state the meaning of the writer as if he had comprehended it, or try to controvert and confute what he only imagined that he understood!
Chapter XI.
And I have not yet spoken of the observancehyperlink of all that is written in the Gospels, each one of which contains much doctrine difficult to be understood, not merely by the multitude, but even by certain of the more intelligent, including a very profound explanation of the parables which Jesus delivered to "those without," while reserving the exhibition of their full meaninghyperlink for those who had passed beyond the stage of exoteric teaching, and who came to Him privately in the house. And when he comes to understand it, he will admire the reason why some are said to be "without," and others "in the house." And again, who would not be filled with astonishment that is able to comprehend the movementshyperlink of Jesus; ascending at one time a mountain for the purpose of delivering certain discourses, or of performing certain miracles, or for His own transfiguration, and descending again to heal the sick and those who were unable to follow Him whither His disciples went? But it is not the appropriate time to describe at present the truly venerable and divine contents of the Gospels, or the mind of Christ-that is, the wisdom and the word-contained in the writings of Paul. But what we have said is sufficient by way of answer to the unphilosophic sneershyperlink of Celsus, in Comparing the inner mysteries of the Church of God to the cats, and apes, and crocodiles, and goats, and dogs of Egypt.
Chapter XXII.
But this low jesterhyperlink Celsus, omitting no species of mockery and ridicule which can be employed against us, mentions in his treatise the Dioscuri, and Hercules, and Aesculapius, and Dionysus, who are believed by the Greeks to have become gods after being men, and says that "we cannot bear to call such beings gods, because they were at first men,hyperlink and yet they manifested many noble qualifies, which were displayed for the benefit of mankind, while we assert that Jesus was seen after His death by His own followers; "and he brings against us an additional charge, as if we said that "He was seen indeed, but was only a shadow!" Now to this we reply, that it was very artful of Celsus not here clearly to indicate that he did not regard these beings as gods, for he was afraid of the opinion of those who might peruse his treatise, and who might suppose him to be an atheist; whereas, if he had paid respect to what appeared to him to be the truth, he would not have feigner to regard them as gods.hyperlink Now to either of the allegations we are ready with an answer. Let us, accordingly, to those who do not regard them as gods reply as follows: These beings, then, are not gods at all; but agreeably to the view of those who think that the soul of man perishes immediately (after death), the souls of these men also perished; or according to the opinion of those who say that the soul continues to subsist or is immortal, these men continue to exist or are immortal, and they are not gods but heroes,-or not even heroes, but simply souls. If, then, on the one hand, you suppose them not to exist, we shall have to prove the doctrine of the soul's immortality, which is to us a doctrine of pre-eminent importance;hyperlink if, on the other hand, they do exist, we have still to provehyperlink the doctrine of immortality, not only by what the Greeks have so well said regarding it, but also in a manner agreeable to the teaching of Holy Scripture. And we shall demonstrate that it is impossible for those who were polytheists during their lives to obtain a better country and position after their departure from this world, by quoting the histories that are related of them, in which is recorded the great dissoluteness of Hercules, and his effeminate bondage with Omphale, together with the statements regarding Aesculapius, that their Zeus struck him dead by a thunderbolt. And of the Dioscuri, it will be said that they die often-
"At one time live on alternate days, and at another
Die, and obtain honour equally with the gods."hyperlink
How, then, can they reasonably imagine that one of these is to be regarded as a god or a hero?
Chapter XXIII.
But we, in proving the facts related of our Jesus from the prophetic Scriptures, and comparing afterwards His history with them, demonstrate that no dissoluteness on His part is recorded. For even they who conspired against Him, and who sought false witnesses to aid them, did not find even any plausible grounds for advancing a false charge against Him, so as to accuse Him of licentiousness; but His death was indeed the result of a conspiracy, and bore no resemblance to the death of Aesculapius by lightning. And what is there that is venerable in the madman Dionysus, and his female garments, that he should be worshipped as a god? And if they who would defend such beings betake themselves to allegorical interpretations, we must examine each individual instance, and ascertain whether it is well founded,hyperlink and also in each particular case, whether those beings can have a real existence, and are deserving of respect and worship who were torn by the Titans, and cast down from their heavenly throne. Whereas our Jesus, who appeared to the members of His own troophyperlink -for I will take the word that Celsus employs-did really appear, and Celsus makes a false accusation against the Gospel in saying that what appeared was a shadow. And let the statements of their histories and that of Jesus be carefully compared together. Will Celsus have the former to be true, but the latter, although recorded by eye-witnesses who showed by their acts that they clearly understood the nature of what they had seen, and who manifested their state of mind by what they cheerfully underwent for the sake of His Gospel, to be inventions? Now, who is there that, desiring to act always in conformity with right reason, would yield his assent at randomhyperlink to what is related of the one, but would rush to the history of Jesus, and without examination refuse to believe what is recorded of Him?hyperlink
Chapter XXIV.
And again, when it is said of Aesculapius that a great multitude both of Greeks and Barbarians acknowledge that they have frequently seen, and still see, no mere phantom, but Aesculapius himself, healing and doing good, and foretelling the future; Celsus requires us to believe this, and finds no fault with the believers in Jesus, when we express our belief in such stories, but when we give our assent to the disciples, and eye-witnesses of the miracles of Jesus, who clearly manifest the honesty of their convictions (because we see their guilelessness, as far as it is possible to see the conscience revealed in writing), we are called by him a set of "silly" individuals, although he cannot demonstrate that an incalculablehyperlink number, as he asserts, of Greeks and Barbarians acknowledge the existence of Aesculapius; while we, if we deem this a matter of importance, can clearly show a countless multitude of Greeks and Barbarians who acknowledge the existence of Jesus. And some give evidence of their having received through this faith a marvellous power by the cures which they perform, revoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of all things, and of Jesus, along with a mention of His history. For by these means we too have seen many persons freed from grievous calamities, and from distractions of mind,hyperlink and madness, and countless other ills, which could be cured neither by men nor devils.
Chapter XXV.
Now, in order to grant that there did exist a healing spirit named Aesculapius, who used to cure the bodies of men, I would say to those who are astonished at such an occurrence, or at the prophetic knowledge of Apollo, that since the cure of bodies is a thing indifferent,hyperlink and a matter within the reach not merely of the good,hyperlink but also of the bad; and as the foreknowledge of the future is also a thing indifferent-for the possessor of foreknowledge does not necessarily manifest the possession of virtue-you must show that they who practise healing or who forefell the future are in no respect wicked, but exhibit a perfect pattern of virtue, and are not far from being regarded as gods. But they will not be able to show that they are virtuous who practise the art of healing, or who are gifted with foreknowledge, seeing many who are not fit to live are related to have been healed; and these, too, persons whom, as leading improper lives, no wise physician would wish to heal. And in the responses of the Pythian oracle also you may find some injunctions which are not in accordance with reason, two of which we will adduce on the present occasion; viz., when it gave commandment that Cleomedeshyperlink -the boxer, I suppose-should be honoured with divine honours, seeing some great importance or other attaching to his pugilistic skill, but did not confer either upon Pythagoras or upon Socrates the honours which it awarded to pugilism; and also when it called Archilochus "the servant of the Muses"-a man who employed his poetic powers upon topics of the most wicked and licentious nature, and whose public character was dissolute and impure-and entitled him "pious,"hyperlink in respect of his being the servant of the Muses, who are deemed to be goddesses! Now I am inclined to think that no one would assert that he was a "pious" man who was not adorned with all moderation and virtue, or that a decoroushyperlink man would utter such expressions as are contained in the unseemlyhyperlink iambics of Archilochus. And if nothing that is divine in itself is shown to belong either to the healing skill of Aesculapius or the prophetic power of Apollo, how could any one, even were I to grant that the facts are as alleged, reasonably worship them as pure divinities?-and especially when the prophetic spirit of Apollo, pure from any body of earth, secretly enters through the private parts the person of her who is called the priestess, as she is seated at the mouth of the Pythian cave!hyperlink Whereas regarding Jesus and His power we have no such notion; for the body which was born of the Virgin was composed of human material, and capable of receiving human wounds and death.
Chapter XXVI.
Let us see what Celsus says next, when he adduces from history marvellous occurrences, which in themselves seem to be incredible, but which are not discredited by him, so far at least as appears from his words. And, in the first place, regarding Aristeas of Proconnesus, of whom he speaks as follows: "Then, with respect to Aristeas of Proconnesus, who disappeared from among men in a manner so indicative of divine intervention,hyperlink and who showed himself again in so unmistakeable a fashion, and on many subsequent occasions visited many parts of the world, and announced marvellous events, and whom Apollo enjoined the inhabitants of Metapontium to regard as a god, no one considers him to be a god." This account he appears to have taken from Pindar and Herodotus. It will be sufficient, however, at present to quote the statement of the latter writer from the fourth book of his histories, which is to the following effect: "Of what country Aristeas, who made these verses, was, has already been mentioned, and I shall now relate the account I heard of him in Proconnesus and Cyzicus. They say that Aristeas, who was inferior to none of the citizens by birth, entering into a fuller's shop in Proconnesus, died suddenly, and that the fuller, having closed his workshop, went to acquaint the relatives of the deceased. When the report had spread through the city that Aristeas was dead, a certain Cyzicenian, arriving from Artace, fell into a dispute with those who made the report, affirming that he had met and conversed with him on his way to Cyzicus, and he vehemently disputed the truth of the report; but the relations of the deceased went to the fuller's shop, taking with them what was necessary for the purpose of carrying the body away; but when the house was opened, Aristeas was not to be seen, either dead or alive. They say that afterwards, in the seventh year, he appeared in Proconnesus, composed those verses which by the Greeks are now called Arimaspian, and having composed them, disappeared a second time. Such is the story current in these cities. But these things I know happened to the Metapontines in Italy 340 years after the second disappearance of Aristeas, as I discovered by computation in Proconnesus and Metapontium. The Metapontines say that Aristeas himself, having appeared in their country, exhorted them to erect an altar to Apollo, and to place near it a statue beating the name of Aristeas the Proconnesian; for he said that Apollo had visited their country only of all the Italians, and that he himself, who was now Aristeas, accompanied him; and that when he accompanied the god he was a crow; and after saying this he vanished. And the Metapontines say they sent to Delphi to inquire of the god what the apparition of the man meant; but the Pythian bade them obey the apparition, and if they obeyed it would conduce to their benefit. They accordingly, having received this answer, fulfilled the injunctions. And now, a statue beating the name of Aristeas is placed near the image of Apollo, and around it laurels are planted: the image is placed in the public square. Thus much concerning Aristeas."hyperlink
Chapter XXVII.
Now, in answer to this account of Aristeas, we have to say, that if Celsus had adduced it as history, without signifying his own assent to its truth, it is in a different way that we should have met his argument. But since he asserts that he "disappeared through the intervention of the divinity," and "showed himself again in an unmistakeable manner," and "visited many parts of the world," and "made marvellous announcements; "and, moreover, that there was "an oracle of Apollo, enjoining the Metapontines to treat Aristeas as a god," he gives the accounts relating to him as upon his own authority, and with his full assent. And (this being the case), we ask, How is it possible that, while supposing the marvels related by the disciples of Jesus regarding their Master to be wholly fictitious, and finding fault with those who believe them, you, O Celsus, do not regard these stories of yours to be either products of juggleryhyperlink or inventions? And how,hyperlink while charging others with an irrational belief in the marvels recorded of Jesus, can you show yourself justified in giving credence to such statement as the above, without producing some proof or evidence of the alleged occurrences having taken place? Or do Herodotus and Pindar appear to you to speak the truth, while they who have made it their concern to die for the doctrine of Jesus, and who have left to their successors writings so remarkable on the truths which they believed, entered for the sake of "fictions" (as you consider them), and "myths," and "juggleries," upon a struggle which entails a life of danger and a death of violence? Place yourself, then, as a neutral party, between what is related of Aristeas and what is recorded of Jesus, and see whether, from the result, and from the benefits which have accrued from the reformation of morals, and to the worship of the God who is over all things, it is not allowable to conclude that we must believe the events recorded of Jesus not to have happened without the divine intervention, but that this was not the case with the story of Aristeas the Proconnesian.
Chapter XXVIII.
For with what purpose in view did Providence accomplish the marvels related of Aristeas? And to confer what benefit upon the human race did such remarkable events, as you regard them, take place? You cannot answer. But we, when we relate the events of the history of Jesus, have no ordinary defence to offer for their occurrence;-this, viz., that God desired to commend the doctrine of Jesus as a doctrine which was to save mankind, and which was based, indeed, upon the apostles as foundations of the risinghyperlink edifice of Christianity, but which increased in magnitude also in the succeeding ages, in which not a few cures are wrought in the name of Jesus, and certain other manifestations of no small moment have taken place. Now what sort of person is Apollo, who enjoined the Metapontines to treat Aristeas as a god? And with what object does he do this? And what advantage was he procuring to the Metapontines from this divine worship, if they were to regard him as a god, who a little ago was a mortal? And yet the recommendations of Apollo (viewed by us as a demon who has obtained the honour of libation and sacrificial odourshyperlink ) regarding this Aristeas appear to you to be worthy of consideration; while those of the God of all things, and of His holy angels, made known beforehand through the prophets-not after the birth of Jesus, but before He appeared among men-do not stir you up to admiration, not merely of the prophets who received the Divine Spirit, but of Him also who was the object of their predictions, whose entrance into life was so clearly predicted many years beforehand by numerous prophets, that the whole Jewish people who were hanging in expectation of the coming of Him who was looked for, did, after the advent of Jesus, fall into a keen dispute with each other; and that a great multitude of them acknowledged Christ, and believed Him to be the object of prophecy, while others did not believe in Him, but, despising the meekness of those who, on account of the teaching of Jesus, were unwilling to cause even the most trifling sedition, dared to inflict on Jesus those cruelties which His disciples have so truthfully and candidly recorded, without secretly omitting from their marvellous history of Him what seems to the multitude to bring disgrace upon the doctrine of Christianity. But both Jesus Himself and His disciples desired that His followers should believe not merely in His Godhead and miracles, as if He had not also been a partaker of human nature, and had assumed the human flesh which "lusteth against the Spirit; "hyperlink but they saw also that the power which had descended into human nature, and into the midst of human miseries, and which had assumed a human soul and body, contributed through faith, along with its divine elements, to the salvation of believers,hyperlink when they see that from Him there began the union of the divine with the human nature, in order that the human, by communion with the divine, might rise to be divine, not in Jesus alone, but in all those who not only believe, buthyperlink enter upon the life which Jesus taught, and which elevates to friendship with God and communion with Him every one who lives according to the precepts of Jesus.
Chapter XXIX.
According to Celsus, then, Apollo wished the Metapontines to treat Aristeas as a god. But as the Metapontines considered the evidence in favour of Aristeas being a man-and probably not a virtuous one-to be stronger than the declaration of the oracle to the effect that he was a god or worthy of divine honours, they for that reason would not obey Apollo, and consequently no one regarded Aristeas as a god. But with respect to Jesus we would say that, as it was of advantage to the human race to accept him as the Son of God-God come in a human soul and body-and as this did not seem to be advantageous to the gluttonous appetiteshyperlink of the demons which love bodies, and to those who deem them to be gods on that account, the demons that are on earth (which are supposed to be gods by those who are not instructed in the nature of demons), and also their worshippers, were desirous to prevent the spread of the doctrine of Jesus; for they saw that the libations and odours in which they greedily delighted were being swept away by the prevalence of the instructions of Jesus. But the God who sent Jesus dissipated all the conspiracies of the demons, and made the Gospel of Jesus to prevail throughout the whole world for the conversion and reformation of men, and caused Churches to be everywhere established in opposition to those of superstitious and licentious and wicked men; for such is the character of the multitudes who constitute the citizenshyperlink in the assemblies of the various cities. Whereas the Churches of God which are instructed by Christ, when carefully contrasted with the assemblies of the districts in which they are situated, are as beaconshyperlink in the world; for who would not admit that even the inferior members of the Church, and those who in comparison with the better are less worthy, are nevertheless more excellent than many of those who belong to the assemblies in the different districts?
Chapter XXX.
For the Churchhyperlink of God, e.g., which is at Athens, is a meek and stable body, as being one which desires to please God, who is over all things; whereas the assemblyhyperlink of the Athenians is given to sedition, and is not at all to be compared to the Church of God in that city. And you may say the same thing of the Church of God at Corinth, and of the assembly of the Corinthian people; and also of the Church of God at Alexandria, and of the assembly of the people of Alexandria. And if he who hears this be a candid man, and one who investigates things with a desire to ascertain the truth, he will be filled with admiration of Him who not only conceived the design, but also was able to secure in all places the establishment of Churches of God alongsidehyperlink of the assemblies of the people in each city. In like manner, also, in comparing the councilhyperlink of the Church of God with the council in any city, you would find that certain councillorshyperlink of the Church are worthy to rule in the city of God, if there be any such city in the whole world;hyperlink whereas the councillors in all other places exhibit in their characters no quality worthy of the conventionalhyperlink superiority which they appear to enjoy over their fellow-citizens. And so, too, you must compare the ruler of the Church in each city with the ruler of the people of the city, in order to observe that even amongst those councillors and rulers of the Church of God who come very far short of their duty, and who lead more indolent lives than others who are more energetic, it is nevertheless possible to discover a general superiority in what relates to the progress of virtue over the characters of the councillors and rulers in the various cities.hyperlink
Chapter XXXI.
Now if these things be so, why should it not be consistent with reason to hold with regard to Jesus, who was able to effect results so great, that there dwelt in Him no ordinary divinity? while this was not the case either with the Proconnesian Aristeas (although Apollo would have him regarded as a god), or with the other individuals enumerated by Celsus when he says, "No one regards Abaris the Hyperborean as a god, who was possessed of such power as to be borne along like an arrow from a bow."hyperlink For with what object did the deity who bestowed upon this Hyperborean Abaris the power of being carried along like an arrow, confer upon him such a gift? Was it that the human race might be benefited thereby,hyperlink or did he himself obtain any advantage from the possession of such a power?-always supposing it to be conceded that these statements are not wholly inventions, but that the thing actually happened through the co-operation of some demon. But if it be recorded that my Jesus was received up into glory,hyperlink I perceive the divine arrangementhyperlink in such an act, viz., because God, who brought this to pass, commends in this way the Teacher to those who witnessed it, in order that as men who are contending not for human doctrine, but for divine teaching, they may devote themselves as far as possible to the God who is over all, and may do all things in order to please Him, as those who are to receive in the divine judgment the reward of the good or evil which they have wrought in this life.
Chapter XXXII.
But as Celsus next mentions the case of the Clazomenian, subjoining to the story about him this remark, "Do they not report that his soul frequently quitted his body, and flitted about in an incorporeal form? and yet men did not regard him as a god," we have to answer that probably certain wicked demons contrived that such statements should be committed to writing (for I do not believe that they contrived that such a thing should actually take place), in order that the predictions regarding Jesus, and the discourses uttered by Him, might either be evil spoken of, as inventions like these, or might excite no surprise, as not being more remarkable than other occurrences. But my Jesus said regarding His own soul (which was separated from the body, not by virtue of any human necessity, but by the miraculous power which was given Him also for this purpose): "No one taketh my life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."hyperlink For as He had power to lay it down, He laid it down when He said, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And when He had cried with a loud voice, He gave up the ghost,"hyperlink anticipating the public executioners of the crucified, who break the legs of the victims, and who do so in order that their punishment may not be further prolonged. And He "took His life," when He manifested Himself to His disciples, having in their presence foretold to the unbelieving Jews, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again,"hyperlink and "He spake this of the temple of His body; "the prophets, moreover, having predicted such a result in many other passages of their writings, and in this, "My flesh also shall rest in hope: for Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption."hyperlink
Chapter XXXIII.
Celsus, however, shows that he has read a good many Grecian histories, when he quotes further what is told of Cleomedes of Astypalaea, "who," he relates, "entered into an ark, and although shut up within it, was not found therein, but through some arrangement of the divinity, flew out, when certain persons had cut open the ark in order to apprehend him." Now this story, if an invention, as it appears to be, cannot be compared with what is related of Jesus, since in the lives of such men there is found no indication of their possessing the divinity which is ascribed to them; whereas the divinity of Jesus is established both by the existence of the Churches of the saved,hyperlink and by the prophecies uttered concerning Him, and by the cures wrought in His name, and by the wisdom and knowledge which are in Him, and the deeper truths which are discovered by those who know how to ascend from a simple faith, and to investigate the meaning which lies in the divine Scriptures, agreeably to the injunctions of Jesus, who said, "Search the Scriptures,"hyperlink and to the wish of Paul, who taught that "we ought to know how to answer every man; "hyperlink nay, also of him who said, "Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh of you a reason of the faithhyperlink that is in you."hyperlink If he wishes to have it conceded, however, that it is not a fiction, let him show with what object this supernatural power made him, through some arrangement of the divinity, flee from the ark. For if he will adduce any reason worthy of consideration, and point out any purpose worthy of God in conferring such a power on Cleomedes, we will decide on the answer which we ought to give; but if he fail to say anything convincing on the point, clearly because no reason can be discovered, then we shall either speak slightingly of the story to those who have not accepted it, and charge it with being false, or we shall say that some demoniac power, casting a glamour over the eyes, produced, in the case of the Astypalaean, a result like that which is produced by the performers of juggling tricks,hyperlink while Celsus thinks that with respect to him he has spoken like an oracle, when he said that "by some divine arrangement he flew away from the ark."
Chapter XXXIV.
I am, however, of opinion that these individuals are the only instances with which Celsus was acquainted. And yet, that he might appear voluntarily to pass by other similar cases, he says, "And one might name many others of the same kind." Let it be granted, then, that many such persons have existed who conferred no benefit upon the human race: what would each one of their acts be found to amount to in comparison with the work of Jesus, and the miracles related of Him, of which we have already spoken at considerable length? He next imagines that, "in worshipping him who," as he says, "was taken prisoner and put to death, we are acting like the Getae who worship Zamolxis, and the Cilicians who worship Mopsus, and the Acarnanians who pay divine honours to Amphilochus, and like the Thebans who do the same to Amphiaraus, and the Lebadians to Trophonius." Now in these instances we shall prove that he has compared us to the foregoing without good grounds. For these different tribes erected temples and statues to those individuals above enumerated, whereas we have refrained from offering to the Divinity honour by any such means (seeing they are adapted rather to demons, which are somehow fixed in a certain place which they prefer to any other, or which take up their dwelling, as it were, after being removed (from one place to another) by certain rites and incantations), and are lost in reverential wonder at Jesus, who has recalled our minds from all sensible things, as being not only corruptible, but destined to corruption, and elevated them to honour the God who is over all with prayers and a righteous life, which we offer to Him as being intermediate between the nature of the uncreated and that of all created things,hyperlink and who bestows upon us the benefits which come from the Father, and who as High Priest conveys our prayers to the supreme God.
Chapter XXXV.
But I should like, in answer to him who for some unknown reason advances such statements as the above, to make in a conversational wayhyperlink some such remarks as the following, which seem not inappropriate to him. Are then those persons whom you have mentioned nonentities, and is there no power in Lebadea connected with Trophonius, nor in Thebes with the temple of Amphiaraus, nor in Acarnania with Amphilochus, nor in Cilicia with Mopsus? Or is there in such persons some being, either a demon, or a hero, or even a god, working works which are beyond the reach of man? For if he answer that there is nothing either demoniacal or divine about these individuals more than others, then let him at once make known his own opinion, as being that of an Epicurean, and of one who does not hold the same views with the Greeks, and who neither recognises demons nor worships gods as do the Greeks; and let it be shown that it was to no purpose that he adduced the instances previously enumerated (as if he believed them to be true), together with those which he adds in the following pages. But if he will assert that the persons spoken of are either demons, or heroes, or even gods, let him notice that he will establish by what he has admitted a result which he does not desire, viz., that Jesus also was some such being; for which reason, too, he was able to demonstrate to not a few that He had come down from God to visit the human race. And if he once admit this, see whether he will not be forced to confess that He is mightier than those individuals with whom he classed Him, seeing none of the latter forbids the offering of honour to the others; while He, having confidence in Himself, because He is more powerful than all those others, forbids them to be received as divinehyperlink because they are wicked demons, who have taken possession of places on earth, through inability to rise to the purer and diviner region, whither the grossnesses of earth and its countless evils cannot reach.
Chapter XXXVI.
But as he next introduces the case of the favourite of Adrian (I refer to the accounts regarding the youth Antinous, and the honours paid him by the inhabitants of the city of Antinous in Egypt), and imagines that the honour paid to him falls little short of that which we render to Jesus, let us show in what a spirit of hostility this statement is made. For what is there in common between a life lived among the favourites of Adrian, by one who did not abstain even from unnatural lusts, and that of the venerable Jesus, against whom even they who brought countless other charges, and who told so many falsehoods, were not able to allege that He manifested, even in the slightest degree, any tendency to what was licentious?hyperlink Nay, further, if one were to investigate, in a spirit of truth and impartiality, the stories relating to Antinous, he would find that it was due to the magical arts and rites of the Egyptians that there was even the appearance of his performing anything (marvellous) in the city which bears his name, and that too only after his decease,-an effect which is said to have been produced in other temples by the Egyptians, and those who are skilled in the arts which they practise. For they set up in certain places demons claiming prophetic or healing power, and which frequently torture those who seem to have committed any mistake about ordinary kinds of food, or about touching the dead body of a man, that they may have the appearance of alarming the uneducated multitude. Of this nature is the being that is considered to be a god in Antinoopolis in Egypt, whose (reputed) virtues are the lying inventions of some who live by the gain derived therefrom;hyperlink while others, deceived by the demon placed there, and others again convicted by a weak conscience, actually think that they are paying a divine penalty inflicted by Antinous. Of such a nature also are the mysteries which they perform, and the seeming predictions which they utter. Far different from such are those of Jesus. For it was no company of sorcerers, paying court to a king or ruler at his bidding, who seemed to have made him a god; but the Architect of the universe Himself, in keeping with the marvellously persuasive power of His words,hyperlink commended Him as worthy of honour, not only to those men who were well disposed, but to demons also, and other unseen powers, which even at the present time show that they either fear the name of Jesus as that of a being of superior power, or reverentially accept Him as their legal ruler.hyperlink For if the commendation had not been given Him by God, the demons would not have withdrawn from those whom they had assailed, in obedience to the mere mention of His name.
Chapter XXXVII.
The Egyptians, then, having been taught to worship Antinous, will, if you compare him with Apollo or Zeus, endure such a comparison, Antinous being magnified in their estimation through being classed with these deities; for Celsus is clearly convicted of falsehood when he says, "that they will not endure his being compared with Apollo or Zeus." Whereas Christians (who have learned that their eternal life consists in knowing the only true God, who is over all, and Jesus Christ, whom He has sent; and who have learned also that all the gods of the heathen are greedy demons, which flit around sacrifices and blood, and other sacrificial accompaniments,hyperlink in order to deceive those who have not taken refuge with the God who is over all, but that the divine and holy angels of God are of a different nature and willhyperlink from all the demons on earth, and that they are known to those exceedingly few persons who have carefully and intelligently investigated these matters) will not endure a comparison to be made between them and Apollo or Zeus, or any being worshipped with odour and blood and sacrifices; some of them, so acting from their extreme simplicity, not being able to give a reason for their conduct, but sincerely observing the precepts which they have received; others, again, for reasons not to be lightly regarded, nay, even of a profound description, and (as a Greek would say) drawn from the inner nature of things;hyperlink and amongst the latter of these God is a frequent subject of conversation, and those who are honoured by God, through His only-begotten Word, with participation in His divinity, and therefore also in His name. They speak much, too, both regarding the angels of God and those who are opposed to the truth, but have been deceived; and who, in consequence of being deceived, call them gods or angels of God, or good demons, or heroes who have become such by the transference into them of a good human soul.hyperlink And such Christians will also show, that as in philosophy there are many who appear to be in possession of the truth, who have yet either deceived themselves by plausible arguments, or by rashly assenting to what was brought forward and discovered by others; so also, among those souls which exist apart from bodies, both angels and demons, there are some which have been induced by plausible reasons to declare themselves gods. And because it was impossible that the reasons of such things could be discovered by men with perfect exactness, it was deemed safe that no mortal should entrust himself to any being as to God, with the exception of Jesus Christ, who is, as it were, the Ruler over all things, and who both beheld these weighty secrets, and made them known to a few.
Chapter XXXVIII.
The belief, then, in Antinous,hyperlink or any other such person, whether among the Egyptians or the Greeks, is, so to speak, unfortunate; while the belief in Jesus would seem to be either a fortunate one, or the result of thorough investigation, having the appearance of the former to the multitude, and of the latter to exceedingly few.hyperlink And when I speak of a certain belief being, as the multitude would call it, unfortunate, I in such a case refer the cause to God, who knows the reasons of the various fates allotted to each one who enters human life. The Greeks, moreover, will admit that even amongst those who are considered to be most largely endowed with wisdom, good fortune has had much to do, as in the choice of teachers of one kind rather than another, and in meeting with a better class of instructors (there being teachers who taught the most opposite doctrines), and in being brought up in better circumstances; for the bringing up of many has been amid surroundings of such a kind, that they were prevented from ever receiving any idea of better things, but constantly passed their life, from their earliest youth, either as the favourites of licentious men or of tyrants, or in some other wretched condition which forbade the soul to look upwards. And the causes of these varied fortunes, according to all probability, are to be found in the reasons of providence, though it is not easy for men to ascertain these; but I have said what I have done by way of digression from the main body of my subject, on account of the proverb, that "such is the power of faith, because it seizes that which first presents itself."hyperlink For it was necessary, owing to the different methods of education, to speak of the differences of belief among men, some of whom are more, others less fortunate in their belief; and from this to proceed to show that what is termed good or bad fortune would appear to contribute even in the case of the most talented, to their appearing to be more fully endowed with reason and to give their assent on grounds of reason to the majority of human opinions. But enough on these points.
Footnotes
50 fantasian ecapostellein toij tauta memaqhkosin, oti mh mathn memuhtai.
51 pifantasqai.
52 ainigmata.
53 w gennaie.
54 diecodeuwmen.
55 1 Cor. ii. 6-8.
56 thrhsewj.
57 safhneian.
58 metabaseij.
59 afilosofon xleuhn.
60 bwmoloxoj.
61 The reading in the text is kai prwtoi, for which Bohereau proposes to prwton, which we have adopted in the translation.
62 We have followed in the translation the emendation of Guietus, who proposes ei de thn fainomenhn autw alhqeian epresbeusen, ouk a/, k.t.l.,, instead of the textual reading, ei te thj fainomenhj autw alhqeiaj epresbensen, ouk an, k.t.l.
63 ton prohgoumenon hmin peri yuxhj kataskeuasteon logon.
64 Bohereau conjectures, with great probability, that instead of apodekteon, we ought to read apokeikteon.
65 Cf. Hom., Odyss., xi. 303 and 304.
66 eitougiej exousin.
67 qiaswtaij.
68 apoklhrwtikwj.
69 eij de ta peri touton anecetastwj ormwn apisthsai toij peri autou;
70 amuqhton.
71 ekstasewn.
72 meson.
73 asteiouj.
74 Cf. Smith's Dict. of Biograph., S.V.
75 eusebh.
76 kosmioj.
77 oimh semnoi.
78 o#te dia\ tou= Puqi/ou stomi/ou perikaqezome0nh th= kaloume0nh profh/tidi pneu=ma dia\ tw=n gunaikei/wn u9peise/rxetai to\ mantiko\n, o9 'Apo/llwn, to\ kaqaro\n a0po\ ghi/nou sw/mato:. Boherellus conjectures to\ mantiko\n tou= 'Apo/llwnoj to\ kaqaro/n.
79 ou#tw daimoni/wj.
80 Herod., book iv. chaps. 14 and 15 (Cary's transl).
81 teratei/an.
82 Guietus conjectures, kai\ pw=j, w\ lw=ste.
83 th=j kataballome/nhj oi0kodomh=j.
84 tou= kaq' h9ma=j dai/monoj, laxo/ntoj ge/raj loibh=j te kni/sshj te.
85 w9j ou0 koinwnh/santoj th= a0nqrwpi/nh fu/sei, ou0d' a0nalabo/ntoj th\n e0n a0nqrw/poij sa/rka e0piqumou=san data\ tou= pneu/matoj.
86 'Alla\ ga\r kai\ th\n kataba=san eij a0nqrwpi/nhn fu/sin kai= ei0j a0nqrwpi/naj perista/seij du/namin, kai\ a0nalabou=san yuxh\n kai\ sw=ma a0nqrw/pinon, e9w/rwn e0k tou= pisteuesqai meta\ tw=n qeiote/rwn sumballome/nhn ei0j swthri/an toi=j pioteu/ousin.
87 meta\ tou= pisteu/ein. Others read, , meta\ to pisteu/ein.
88 lixnei/a.
89 toiau=ta ga\r ta\ pantaxou= politeuo/mena e0n tai=j e0kklhsi/aij e0kklhsi/aij tw=n po/lewn plh/qh.
90 fwsth=rej. [Phil. ii. 15. Very noteworthy are the details of this and the following chapter, and their defiant comparisons.]
91 e0kklhsi/a.
92 e0kklhsi/a.
93 paroikou/saj.
94 boulh/n.
95 bouleutai/.
96 eu#roij a@n ti/nej me\n th=j e0kklhoi/aj bouleutai\ a!cioi/ ei0sin, ei! ti0j e0stin e0n tw= pa/nti po/gij tou= Qeou=, e0n e0keinh= politeu/esqai. Boherellus conjectures eu#roij a$n o!ti tine\sme\n, k.t.l.
97 th=j e0k katata/cewj u9peroxh=j.
98 o#ti kai e0pi\ tw=n sfo/dra a0potugxanome/nwn bouleutw=n kai\ a0rxo/ntwn e0kklhsi/aj Qeou=, kai\ paqumo/teron para\ tou\j eu0tonwte/rwj biou=ntaj, ou0de\n h[tto\n e0stin eu9rei=n w9j e0pi/pan u9peroxh\n, th\n e0n th= e0pi\ ta\j a0reta\j prokoph=, para\ ta\ e!qh tw=n e0n tai=j polesi bouleutw=n kai\ a0rxo/ntwn. Boherellus conjectures p9aqumoterwn.
99 w!ste o0i>\stw= be/lei sumferesqai. Spencer and Bohereau would delete be/lei as a gloss.
100 Guietus would insert h! before i#na ti\ w0felhqh=. this emendation is adopted in the translation.
101 Cf. 1 Tim. iii. 16.
102 thn oi0konomi/an.
103 Cf. John x. 18.
104 Cf. Matt. xxvii. 46-50.
105 Cf. John ii. 19.
106 Ps. xvi. 9, 10.
107 tw=n w0feloume/nwn.
108 John v. 39.
109 Cf. Col. iv. 6.
110 pi/stewj.
111 1 Pet. iii. 15.
112 h!toi diabalou=men toi=j au0th\n mh\ paradecame/noij, kai\ e0gkale/somen th= i9stori/a w9j ou0k a0lhqei\, h! daimo\nio\n ti fhsomen paraplh/sion toi=j e0pideiknupe/noij go/hsin a0path= o0fqalmw=n pepoihke/nai kai\ perip topn 'Astupalaie/a. Spencer in his edition inludes mh\ in brackets, and renders, "Aut eos incusabimus, qui istam virtutem admiserint."
113 a@j prosa/gomen au0tw=, w9j dia\ metacu\ o!ntoj th=j tou= a0genh/tou kai th=j tw=n genhtw=n pa!ntwn fu/sewj. "Hoeschel (itemque Spencerus ad marg.) suspicabatur legendum: w9j dh\ metacu\ o!ntoj. Male. Nihil mutari necesse est. Agitur quippe de precibus, quas offerimus Deo `per eum qui veluti medius est inter increatam naturam et creatam.
0'"-Ruaeus.
114 a0dolesxh=sai.
115 ta\j toutwn a0podoxa/j.
116 w9j ka!n to\ tuxo\n a0kolasi/aj ka$n e\p' o0li/gon geusame/nou.
117 ou[ a0reta\j oi9 me=n tinej kubeutikw/teron zw= ntej katayeu/dontai.
118 a0kolou=qwj th= e0n tw= le/gein terasti\wj pistikh= duna/mei.
119 w9j data\ no/mouj au0tw=n a!rxontoj.
120 a0pofora/j.
121 proaire/sewj.
122 e0swterikw=n kai\ e0poptikw=n.
123 h@ h#rwaj e0k metabolh=j susta/ntaj a0gaqh=j a0nqrwpi/nhj yuxh=j.
124 [See vol. ii. p. 185, and the stinging reference of Justin, vol. i. p. 172, this series.]
125 peri\ de\ to= 'Ihsou= h!toi do/casa a@n ei\nai eu0tuxh\j, h@ kai\ bebasanisme/nwj e0chtasme/nh, dokou=sa me\n eu0tuxh\j para\ toi=j polloi=j, bebasanisme/nwj de\ e0chtasme/nh para\ pa/nu oligwta/toij.
126 tosou=ton poiei= pi/stij, o0poi/a dh\ prokatasxou=sa.
127 kubeutiko/n.