Church Fathers: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 04: 24.03.38 Book VI Part 2

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Church Fathers: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 04: 24.03.38 Book VI Part 2

TOPIC: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 04 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 24.03.38 Book VI Part 2

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Chapter XXII.

After this, Celsus, desiring to exhibit his learning in his treatise against us, quotes also certain Persian mysteries, where he says: "These things are obscurely hinted at in the accounts of the Persians, and especially in the mysteries of Mithras, which are celebrated amongst them. For in the latter there is a representation of the two heavenly revolutions,-of the movement, viz., of the fixed^{hyperlink stars, and of that which take place among the planets, and of the passage of the soul through these. The representation is of the following nature: There is a ladder with lofty gates,^{hyperlink and on the top of it an eighth gate. The first gate consists of lead, the second of tin, the third of copper, the fourth of iron, the fifth of a mixture of metals,^{hyperlink the sixth of silver, and the seventh of gold. The first gate they assign to Saturn, indicating by the 'lead' the slowness of this star; the second to Venus, comparing her to the splendour and softness of tin; the third to Jupiter, being firm^{hyperlink and solid; the fourth to Mercury, for both Mercury and iron are fit to endure all things, and are money-making and laborious;^{hyperlink the fifth to Mars, because, being composed of a mixture of metals, it is varied and unequal; the sixth, of silver, to the Moon; the seventh, of gold, to the Sun,-thus imitating the different colours of the two latter." He next proceeds to examine the reason of the stars being arranged in this order, which is symbolized by the names of the rest of matter.^{hyperlink Musical reasons, moreover, are added or quoted by the Persian theology; and to these, again, he strives to add a second explanation, connected also with musical considerations. But it seems to me, that to quote the language of Celsus upon these matters would be absurd, and similar to what he himself has done, when, in his accusations against Christians and Jews, he quoted, most inappropriately, not only the words of Plato; but, dissatisfied even with these,^{hyperlink he adduced in addition the mysteries of the Persian Mithras, and the explanation of them. Now, whatever be the case with regard to these,-whether the Persians and those who conduct the mysteries of Mithras give false or true accounts regarding them,-why did he select these for quotation, rather than some of the other mysteries, with the explanation of them? For the mysteries of Mithras do not appear to be more famous among the Greeks than those of Eleusis, or than those in Aegina, where individuals are initiated in the rites of Hecate. But if he must introduce barbarian mysteries with their explanation, why not rather those of the Egyptians, which are highly regarded by many,^{hyperlink or those of the Cappadocians regarding the Comanian Diana, or those of the Thracians, or even those of the Romans themselves, who initiate the noblest members of their senate?^{hyperlink But if he deemed it inappropriate to institute a comparison with any of these, because they furnished no aid in the way of accusing Jews or Christians, why did it not also appear to him inappropriate to adduce the instance of the mysteries of Mithras?}}}}}}}}}Chapter XXIII.

If one wished to obtain means for a pro-founder contemplation of the entrance of souls into divine things, not from the statements of that very insignificant sect from which he quoted, hut from books-partly those of the Jews, which are read in their synagogues, and adopted by Christians, and partly from those of Christians alone-let him peruse, at the end of Ezekiel's prophecies, the visions beheld by the prophet, in which gates of different kinds are enumerated,^{hyperlink which obscurely refer to the different modes in which divine souls enter into a better world;^{hyperlink and let him peruse also, from the Apocalypse of John, what is related of the city of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and of its foundations and gates.^{hyperlink And if he is capable of finding out also the road, which is indicated by symbols, of those who will march on to divine things, let him read the book of Moses entitled Numbers, and let him seek the help of one who is capable of initiating him into the meaning of the narratives concerning the encampments of the children of Israel; viz., of what sort those were which were arranged towards the east, as was the case with the first; and what those towards the south-west. and south; and what towards the sea; and what the last were, which were stationed towards the north. For he will see that there is in the respective places a meaning^{hyperlink not to be lightly treated, nor, as Celsus imagines, such as calls only for silly and servile listeners: but he will distinguish in the encampments certain things relating to the numbers that are enumerated, and which are specially adapted to each tribe, of which the present does not appear to us to be the proper time to speak. Let Celsus know, moreover, as well as those who read his book, that in no part of the genuine and divinely accredited Scriptures are "seven" heavens mentioned; neither do our prophets, nor the apostles of Jesus, nor the Son of God Himself, repeat anything which they borrowed from the Persians or the Cabiri.}}}}Chapter XXIV.

After the instance borrowed from the Mithraic mysteries, Celsus declares that he who would investigate the Christian mysteries, along with the aforesaid Persian, will, on comparing the two together, and on unveiling the rites of the Christians, see in this way the difference between them. Now, wherever he was able to give the names of the various sects, he was nothing loth to quote those with which he thought himself acquainted; but when he ought most of all to have done this, if they were really known to him, and to have informed us which was the sect that makes use of the diagram he has drawn, he has not done so. It seems to me, however, that it is from some statements of a very insignificant sect called Ophites,^{hyperlink which he has misunderstood, that, in my opinion, he has partly borrowed what he says about the diagram.^{hyperlink Now, as we have always been animated by a love of learning,^{hyperlink we have fallen in with this diagram, and we have found in it the representations of men who, as Paul says, "creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts; ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."^{hyperlink The diagram was, however, so destitute of all credibility, that neither these easily deceived women, nor the most rustic class of men, nor those who were ready to be led away by any plausible pretender whatever, ever gave their assent to the diagram. Nor, indeed, have we ever met any individual, although we have visited many parts of the earth, and have sought out all those who anywhere made profession of knowledge, that placed any faith in this diagram.}}}}Chapter XXV.

In this diagram were described ten circles, distinct from each other, but united by one circle, which was said to be the soul of all things, and was called "Leviathan."^{hyperlink This Leviathan, the Jewish Scriptures say, whatever they mean by the expression, was created by God for a plaything;^{hyperlink for we find in the Psalms: "In wisdom hast Thou made all things: the earth is full of Thy creatures; so is this great and wide sea. There go the ships; small animals with great; there is this dragon, which Thou hast formed to play therein."^{hyperlink Instead of the word "dragon," the term "leviathan" is in the Hebrew. This impious diagram, then, said of this leviathan, which is so clearly depreciated by the Psalmist, that it was the soul which had travelled through all things! We observed, also, in the diagram, the being named "Behemoth," placed as it were under the lowest circle. The inventor of this accursed diagram had inscribed this leviathan at its circumference and centre, thus placing its name in two separate places. Moreover, Celsus says that the diagram was "divided by a thick black line, and this line he asserted was called Gehenna, which is Tartarus." Now as we found that Gehenna was mentioned in the Gospel as a place of punishment, we searched to see whether it is mentioned anywhere in the ancient Scriptures, and especially because the Jews too use the word. And we ascertained that where the valley of the son of Ennom was named in Scripture in the Hebrew, instead of "valley," with fundamentally the same meaning, it was termed both the valley of Ennom and also Geenna. And continuing our researches, we find that what was termed "Geenna," or "the valley of Ennom," was included in the lot of the tribe of Benjamin, in which Jerusalem also was situated. And seeking to ascertain what might be the inference from the heavenly Jerusalem belonging to the lot of Benjamin and the valley of Ennom, we find a certain confirmation of what is said regarding the place of punishment, intended for the purification of such souls as are to be purified by torments, agreeably to the saying: "The Lord cometh like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and of gold."^hyperlink}}}Chapter XXVI.

It is in the precincts of Jerusalem, then, that punishments will be inflicted upon those who undergo the process of purification,^{hyperlink who have received into the substance of their soul the elements of wickedness, which in a certain place^{hyperlink is figuratively termed "lead," and on that account iniquity is represented in Zechariah as sitting upon a "talent of lead."^{hyperlink But the remarks which might be made on this topic are neither to be made to all, nor to be uttered on the present occasion; for it is not unattended with danger to commit to writing the explanation of such subjects, seeing the multitude need no further instruction than that which relates to the punishment of sinners; while to ascend beyond this is not expedient, for the sake of those who are with difficulty restrained, even by fear of eternal punishment, from plunging into any degree of wickedness, and into the flood of evils which result from sin.^{hyperlink The doctrine of Geenna, then, is unknown both to the diagram and to Celsus: for had it been otherwise, the framers of the former would not have boasted of their pictures of animals and diagrams, as if the truth were represented by these; nor would Celsus, in his treatise against the Christians, have introduced among the charges directed against them statements which they never uttered instead of what was spoken by some who perhaps are no longer in existence, but have altogether disappeared, or been reduced to a very few individuals, and these easily counted. And as it does not beseem those who profess the doctrines of Plato to offer a defence of Epicurus and his impious opinions, so neither is it for us to defend the diagram, or to refute the accusations brought against it by Celsus. We may therefore allow his charges on these points to pass as superfluous and useless,^{hyperlink for we would censure more severely than Celsus any who should be carried away by such opinions.}}}}}Chapter XXVII.

After the matter of the diagram, he brings forward certain monstrous statements, in the form of question and answer,^{hyperlink regarding what is called by ecclesiastical writers the "seal," statements which did not arise from imperfect information; such as that "he who impresses the seal is called father, and he who is sealed is called young man and son; "and who answers, "I have been anointed with white ointment from the tree of life,"-things which we never heard to have occurred even among the heretics. In the next place, he determines even the number mentioned by those who deliver over the seal, as that "of seven angels, who attach themselves to both sides of the soul of the dying body; the one party being named angels of light, the others `archontics; '"^{hyperlink and he asserts that the "ruler of those named `archontics' is termed the `accursed' god." Then, laying hold of the expression, he assails, not without reason; those who venture to use such language; and on that account we entertain a similar feeling of indignation with those who censure such individuals, if indeed there exist any who call the God of the Jews-who sends rain and thunder, and who is the Creator of this world, and the God of Moses, and of the cosmogony which he records-an "accursed" divinity. Celsus, however, appears to have had in view in employing these expressions, not a rational^{hyperlink object, but one of a most irrational kind, arising out of his hatred towards us, which is so unlike a philosopher. For his aim was, that those who are unacquainted with our customs should, on perusing his treatise, at once assail us as if we called the noble Creator of this world an "accursed divinity." He appears to me, indeed, to have acted like those Jews who, when Christianity began to be first preached, scattered abroad false reports of the Gospel, such as that "Christians offered up an infant in sacrifice, and partook of its flesh; "and again, "that the professors of Christianity, wishing to do the `works of darkness, 'used to extinguish the lights (in their meetings), and each one to have sexual intercourse with any woman whom he chanced to meet." These calumnies have long exercised, although unreasonably, an influence over the minds of very many, leading those who are aliens to the Gospel to believe that Christians are men of such a character; and even at the present day they mislead some, and prevent them from entering even into the simple intercourse of conversation with those who are Christians.}}}Chapter XXVIII.

With some such object as this in view does Celsus seem to have been actuated, when he alleged that Christians term the Creator an "accursed divinity; "in order that he who believes these charges of his against us, should, if possible, arise and exterminate the Christians as the most impious Of mankind. Confusing, moreover, things that are distinct,^{hyperlink he states also the reason why the God of the Mosaic cosmogony is termed "accursed," asserting that "such is his character, and worthy of execration in the opinion of those who so regard him, inasmuch as he pronounced a curse upon the serpent, who introduced the first human beings to the knowledge of good and evil." Now he ought to have known that those who have espoused the cause of the serpent, because he gave good advice to the first human beings, and who go far beyond the Titans and Giants of fable, and are on this account called Ophites, are so far from being Christians, that they bring accusations against Jesus to as great a degree as Celsus himself; and they do not admit any one into their assembly^{hyperlink until he has uttered maledictions against Jesus. See, then, how irrational is the procedure of Celsus, who, in his discourse against the Christians, represents as such those who will not even listen to the name of Jesus, or omit even that He was a wise man, or a person of virtuous^{hyperlink character! What, then, could evince greater folly or madness, not only on the part of those who wish to derive their name from the serpent as the author of good,^{hyperlink but also on the part of Celsus, who thinks that the accusations with which the Ophites^{hyperlink are charged, are chargeable also against the Christians! Long ago, indeed, that Greek philosopher who preferred a state of poverty,^{hyperlink and who exhibited the pattern of a happy life, showing that he was not excluded from happiness although he was possessed of nothing,^{hyperlink termed himself a Cynic; while these impious wretches, as not being human beings, whose enemy the serpent is, but as being serpents, pride themselves upon being called Ophites from the serpent, which is an animal most hostile to and greatly dreaded by man, and boast of one Euphrates^{hyperlink as the introducer of these unhallowed opinions.}}}}}}}}Chapter XXIX.

In the next place, as if it were the Christians whom he was calumniating, he continues his accusations against those who termed the God of Moses and of his law an "accursed" divinity; and imagining that it is the Christians who so speak, he expresses himself thus: "What could be more foolish or insane than such senseless^{hyperlink wisdom? For what blunder has the Jewish lawgiver committed? and why do you accept, by means, as you say,^{hyperlink of a certain allegorical and typical method of interpretation, the cosmogony which he gives, and the law of the Jews, while it is with unwillingness, O most impious man, that you give praise to the Creator of the world, who promised to give them all things; who promised to multiply their race to the ends of the earth, and to raise them up from the dead with the same flesh and blood, and who gave inspiration^{hyperlink to their prophets; and, again, you slander Him! When you feel the force of such considerations, indeed, you acknowledge that you worship the same God; but when your teacher Jesus and the Jewish Moses give contradictory decisions,^{hyperlink you seek another God, instead of Him, and the Father!" Now, by such statements, this illustrious philosopher Celsus distinctly slanders the Christians, asserting that, when the Jews press them hard, they acknowledge the same God as they do; but that when Jesus legislates differently from Moses, they seek another god instead of Him. Now, whether we are conversing with the Jews, or are alone with ourselves, we know of only one and the same God, whom the Jews also worshipped of old time, and still profess to worship as God, and we are guilty of no impiety towards Him. We do not assert, however; that God will raise men from the dead with the same flesh and blood, as has been shown in the preceding pages; for we do not maintain that the natural^{hyperlink body, which is sown in corruption, and in dishonour, and in weakness, will rise again such as it was sown. On such subjects, however, we have spoken at adequate length in the foregoing pages.}}}}}Chapter XXX.

He next returns to the subject of the Seven ruling Demons,^{hyperlink whose names are not found among Christians, but who, I think, are accepted by the Ophites. We found, indeed, that in the diagram, which on their account we procured a sight of, the same order was laid down as that which Celsus has given. Celsus says that "the goat was shaped like a lion," not mentioning the name given him by those who are truly the most impious of individuals; whereas we discovered that He who is honoured in holy Scripture as the angel of the Creator is called by this accursed diagram Michael the Lion-like. Again, Celsus says that the "second in order is a bull; "whereas the diagram which we possessed made him to be Suriel, the bull-like. Further, Celsus termed the third "an amphibious sort of animal, and one that hissed frightfully; "while the diagram described the third as Raphael, the serpent-like. Moreover, Celsus asserted that the "fourth had the form of an eagle; "the diagram representing him as Gabriel, the eagle-like. Again, the "fifth," according to Celsus, "had the countenance of a bear; "and this, according to the diagram, was Thauthabaoth,^{hyperlink the bear-like. Celsus continues his account, that the "sixth was described as having the face of a dog; "and him the diagram called Erataoth. The "seventh," he adds, "had the countenance of an ass, and was named Thaphabaoth or Onoel; "whereas we discovered that in the diagram he is called Onoel, or Thartharaoth, being somewhat asinine in appearance. We have thought it proper to be exact in stating these matters, that we might not appear to be ignorant of those things which Celsus professed to know, but that we Christians, knowing them better than he, may demonstrate that these are not the words of Christians, but of those who are altogether alienated from salvation, and who neither acknowledge Jesus as Saviour, nor God, nor Teacher, nor Son of God.}}Chapter XXXI.

Moreover, if any one would wish to become acquainted with the artifices of those sorcerers, through which they desire to lead men away by their teaching (as if they possessed the knowledge of certain secret rites), but are not at all successful in so doing, let him listen to the instruction which they receive after passing through what is termed the "fence of wickedness,"^{hyperlink -gates which are subjected to the world of ruling spirits.^{hyperlink (The following, then, is the manner in which they proceed): "I salute the one-formed^{hyperlink king, the bond of blindness, complete^{hyperlink oblivion, the first power, preserved by the spirit of providence and by wisdom, from whom I am sent forth pure, being already part of the light of the son and of the father: grace be with me; yea, O father, let it be with me." They say also that the beginnings of the Ogdoad^{hyperlink are derived from this. In the next place, they are taught to say as follows, while passing through what they call Ialdabaoth: "Thou, O first and seventh, who art born to command with confidence, thou, O Ialdabaoth, who art the rational ruler of a pure mind, and a perfect work to son and father, bearing the symbol of life in the character of a type, and opening to the world the gate which thou didst close against thy kingdom, I pass again in freedom through thy realm. Let grace be with me; yea, O father, let it be with me." They say, moreover, that the star Phaenon^{hyperlink is in sympathy^{hyperlink with the lion-like ruler. They next imagine that he who has passed through Ialdabaoth and arrived at Iao ought thus to speak: "Thou, O second Iao, who shinest by night^{hyperlink who art the ruler of the secret mysteries of son and father, first prince of death, and portion of the innocent, bearing now mine own beard as symbol, I am ready to pass through thy realm, having strengthened him who is born of thee by the living word. Grace be with me; father, let it be with me." They next come to Sabaoth, to whom they think the following should be addressed: "O governor of the fifth realm, powerful Sabaoth, defender of the law of thy creatures, who are liberated by thy grace through the help of a more powerful Pentad,^{hyperlink admit me, seeing the faultless symbol of their art, preserved by the stamp of an image, a body liberated by a Pentad. Let grace be with me, O father, let grace be with me." And after Sabaoth they come to Astaphaeus, to whom they believe the following prayer should be offered: "O Astaphaeus, ruler of the third gate, overseer of the first principle of water, look upon me as one of thine initiated,^{hyperlink admit me who am purified with the spirit of a virgin, thou who seest the essence of the world. Let grace be with me, O father, let grace be with me." After him comes Aloaeus, who is to be thus addressed: "O Aloaeus, governor of the second gate, let me pass, seeing I bring to thee the symbol of thy mother, a gracewhich is hidden by the powers of the realms.^{hyperlink Let grace be with me, O father, let it be with me." And last of all they name Horaeus, and think that the following prayer ought to be offered to him: "Thou who didst fearlessly overleap the rampart of fire, O Horaeus, who didst obtain the government of the first gate, let me pass, seeing thou beholdest the symbol of thine own power, sculptured^{hyperlink on the figure of the tree of life, and formed after this image, in the likeness of innocence. Let grace be with me, O father, let grace be with me."}}}}}}}}}}}}Chapter XXXII.

The supposed great learning of Celsus, which is composed, however, rather of curious trifles and silly talk than anything else, has made us touch upon these topics, from a wish to show to every one who peruses his treatise and our reply, that we have no lack of information on those subjects, from which he takes occasion to calumniate the Christians, who neither are acquainted with, nor concern themselves about, such matters. For we, too, desired both to learn and set forth these things, in order that sorcerers might not, under pretext of knowing more than we, delude those who are easily carried away by the glitter^{hyperlink of names. And I could have given many more illustrations to show that we are acquainted with the opinions of these deluders,^{hyperlink and that we disown them, as being alien to ours, and impious, and not in harmony with the doctrines of true Christians, of which we are ready to make confession even to the death. It must be noticed, too, that those who have drawn up this array of fictions, have, from neither understanding magic, nor discriminating the meaning of holy Scripture, thrown everything into confusion; seeing that they have borrowed from magic the names of Ialdabaoth, and Astaphaeus, and Horaeus, and from the Hebrew Scriptures him who is termed in Hebrew Iao or Jah, and Sabaoth, and Adonaeus, and Eloaeus. Now the names taken from the Scriptures are names of one and the same God; which, not being understood by the enemies of God, as even themselves acknowledge, led to their imagining that Iao was a different God, and Sabaoth another, and Adonaeus, whom the Scriptures term Adonai, a third besides, and that Eloaeus, whom the prophets name in Hebrew Eloi, was also different.}}Chapter XXXIII.

Celsus next relates other fables, to the effect that "certain persons return to the shapes of the archontics,^{hyperlink so that some are called lions, others bulls, others dragons, or eagles, or bears, or dogs." We found also in the diagram which we possessed, and which Celsus called the "square pattern," the statements^{hyperlink made by these unhappy beings concerning the gates of Paradise. The flaming sword was depicted as the diameter of a flaming circle, and as if mounting guard over the tree of knowledge and of life. Celsus, however, either would not or could not repeat the harangues which, according to the fables of these impious individuals, are represented as spoken at each of the gates by those who pass through them; but this we have done in order to show to Celsus and those who read his treatise, that we know the depth of these unhallowed mysteries,^{hyperlink and that they are far removed from the worship which Christians offer up to God.}}}Chapter XXXIV.

After finishing the foregoing, and those analogous matters which we ourselves have added, Celsus continues as follows: "They continue to heap together one thing after another,-discourses of prophets, and circles upon circles, and effluents^{hyperlink from an earthly church, and from circumcision; and a power flowing from one Prunicos, a virgin and a living soul; and a heaven slain in order to live, and an earth slaughtered by the sword, and many put to death that they may live, and death ceasing in the world, when the sin of the world is dead; and, again, a narrow way, and gates that open spontaneously. And in all their writings (is mention made) of the tree of life, and a resurrection of the flesh by means^{hyperlink of the `tree, 'because, I imagine, their teacher was nailed to a cross, and was a carpenter by craft; so that if he had chanced to have been cast from a precipice, or thrust into a pit, or suffocated by hanging, or had been a leather-cutter, or stone-cutter, or worker in iron, there would have been (invented) a precipice of life beyond the heavens, or a pit of resurrection, or a cord of immortality, or a blessed stone, or an iron of love, or a sacred leather! Now what old woman would not be ashamed to utter such things in a whisper, even when making stories to lull an infant to sleep? "In using such language as this, Celsus appears to me to confuse together matters which he has imperfectly heard. For it seems likely that, even supposing that he had heard a few words traceable to some existing heresy, he did not clearly understand the meaning intended to be conveyed; but heaping the words together, he wished to show before those who knew nothing either of our opinions or of those of the heretics, that he was acquainted with all the doctrines of the Christians. And this is evident also from the foregoing words.}}Chapter XXXV.

It is our practice, indeed, to make use of the words of the prophets, who demonstrate that Jesus is the Christ predicted by them, and who show from the prophetic writings the events in the Gospels regarding Jesus have been fulfilled. But when Celsus speaks of "circles upon circles," (he perhaps borrowed the expression) from the aforementioned heresy, which includes in one circle (which they call the soul of all things, and Leviathan) the seven circles of archontic demons, or perhaps it arises from misunderstanding the preacher, when he says: "The wind goeth in a circle of circles, and returneth again upon its circles."^{hyperlink The expression, too, "effluents of an earthly church and of circumcision," was probably taken from the fact that the church on earth was called by some an effluent from a heavenly church and a better world; and that the circumcision described in the law was a symbol of the circumcision performed there, in a certain place set apart for purification. The adherents of Valentinus, moreover, in keeping with their system of error,^{hyperlink give the name of Prunicos to a certain kind of wisdom, of which they would have the woman afflicted with the twelve years' issue of blood to be the symbol; so that Celsus, who confuses together all sorts of opinions-Greek, Barbarian, and Heretical-having heard of her, asserted that it was a power flowing forth from one Prunicos, a virgin. The "living soul," again, is perhaps mysteriously referred by some of the followers of Valentinus to the being whom they term the psychic^{hyperlink creator of the world; or perhaps, in contradistinction to a "dead" soul, the "living" soul is termed by some, not inelegantly,^{hyperlink the soul of "him who is saved." I know nothing, however, of a "heaven which is said to be slain," or of an "earth slaughtered by the sword," or of many persons slain in order that they might live; for it is not unlikely that these were coined by Celsus out of his own brain.}}}}Chapter XXXVI.

We would say, moreover, that death ceases in the world when the sin of the world dies, referring the saying to the mystical words of the apostle, which run as follows: "When He shall have put all enemies under His feet, then the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."^{hyperlink And also: "When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory."^{hyperlink The "strait descent,"^{hyperlink again, may perhaps be referred by those who hold the doctrine of transmigration of souls to that view of things. And it is not incredible that the gates which are said to open spontaneously are referred obscurely by some to the words, "Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may go into them, and praise the Lord; this gate of the Lord, into it the righteous shall enter; "^{hyperlink and again, to what is said in the ninth psalm, "Thou that liftest me up from the gates of death, that I may show forth all Thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion."^{hyperlink The Scripture further gives the name of "gates of death" to those sins which lead to destruction, as it terms, on the contrary, good actions the "gates of Zion." So also "the gates of righteousness," which is an equivalent expression to "the gates of virtue," and these are ready to be opened to him who follows after virtuous pursuits. The subject of the "tree of life" will be more appropriately explained when we interpret the statements in the book of Genesis regarding the paradise planted by God. Celsus, moreover, has often mocked at the subject of a resurrection,-a doctrine which he did not comprehend; and on the present occasion, not satisfied with what he has formerly said, he adds, "And there is said to be a resurrection of the flesh by means of the tree; "not understanding, I think, the symbolical expression, that "through the tree came death, and through the tree comes life,"^{hyperlink because death was in Adam, and life in Christ. He next scoffs at the "tree," assailing it on two grounds, and saying, "For this reason is the tree introduced, either because our teacher was nailed to a cross, or because he was a carpenter by trade; "not observing that the tree of life is mentioned in the Mosaic writings, and being blind also to this, that in none of the Gospels current in the Churches^{hyperlink is Jesus Himself ever described as being a carpenter.^hyperlink}}}}}}}Chapter XXXVII.

Celsus, moreover, thinks that we have invented this "tree of life" to give an allegorical meaning to the cross; and in consequence of his error upon this point, he adds: "If he had happened to be cast down a precipice, or shoved into a pit, or suffocated by hanging, there would have been invented a precipice of life far beyond the heavens, or a pit of resurrection, or a cord of immortality." And again: "If the 'tree of life' were an invention, because he-Jesus-(is reported) to have been a carpenter, it would follow that if he had been a leather-cutter, something would have been said about holy leather; or had he been a stone-cutter, about a blessed stone; or if a worker in iron, about an iron of love." Now, who does not see at once^{hyperlink the paltry nature of his charge, in thus calumniating men whom he professed to convert on the ground of their being deceived? And after these remarks, he goes on to speak in a way quite in harmony with the tone of those who have invented the fictions of lion-like, and ass-headed, and serpent-like ruling angels,^{hyperlink and other similar absurdities, but which does not affect those who belong to the Church. Of a truth, even a drunken old woman would be ashamed to chaunt or whisper to an infant, in order to lull him to sleep, any such fables as those have done who invented the beings with asses' heads, and the harangues, so to speak, which are delivered at each of the gates. But Celsus is not acquainted with the doctrines of the members of the Church, which very few have been able to comprehend, even of those who have devoted all their lives, in conformity with the command of Jesus, to the searching of the Scriptures, and have laboured to investigate the meaning of the sacred books, to a greater degree than Greek philosophers in their efforts to attain a so-called wisdom.}}Chapter XXXVIII.

Our noble (friend), moreover, not satisfied with the objections which he has drawn from the diagram, desires, in order to strengthen his accusations against us, who have nothing in common with it, to introduce certain other charges, which he adduces from the same (heretics), but yet as if they were from a different source. His words are: "And that is not the least of their marvels, for there are between the upper circles-those that are above the heavens-certain inscriptions of which they give the interpretation, and among others two words especially, `a greater and a less, 'which they refer to Father and Son."^{hyperlink Now, in the diagram referred to, we found the greater and the lesser circle, upon the diameter of which was inscribed "Father and Son; "and between the greater circle (in which the lesser was contained) and another^{hyperlink composed of two circles,-the outer one of which was yellow, and the inner blue,-a barrier inscribed in the shape of a hatchet. And above it, a short circle, close to the greater of the two former, having the inscription "Love; "and lower down, one touching the same circle, with the word "Life." And on the second circle, which was intertwined with and included two other circles, another figure, like a rhomboid, (entitled) "The foresight of wisdom." And within their point of common section was "The nature of wisdom." And above their point of common section was a circle, on which was inscribed "Knowledge; "and lower down another, on which was the inscription, "Understanding." We have introduced these matters into our reply to Celsus, to show to our readers that we know better than he, and not by mere report, those things, even although we also disapprove of them. Moreover, if those who pride themselves upon such matters profess also a kind of magic and sorcery,-which, in their opinion, is the summit of wisdom,-we, on the other hand, make no affirmation about it, seeing we never have discovered anything of the kind. Let Celsus, however, who has been already often convicted of false witness and irrational accusations, see whether he is not guilty of falsehood in these also, or whether he has not extracted and introduced into his treatise, statements taken from the writings of those who are foreigners and strangers to our Christian faith.}}Chapter XXXIX.

In the next place, speaking of those who employ the arts of magic and sorcery, and who invoke the barbarous names of demons, he remarks that such persons act like those who, in reference to the same things,^{hyperlink perform marvels before those who are ignorant that the names of demons among the Greeks are different from what they are among the Scythians. He then quotes a passage from Herodotus, stating that "Apollo is called Gongosyrus by the Scythians; Poseidon, Thagimasada; Aphrodite, Argimpasan; Hestia, Tabiti."^{hyperlink Now, he who has the capacity can inquire whether in these matters Celsus and Herodotus are not both wrong; for the Scythians do not understand the same thing as the Greeks, in what relates to those beings which are deemed to be gods. For how is it credible^{hyperlink that Apollo should be called Gongosyrus by the Scythians? I do not suppose that Gongosyrus, when transferred into the Greek language, yields the same etymology as Apollo; or that Apollo, in the dialect of the Scythians, has the signification of Gongosyrus. Nor has any such assertion hitherto been made regarding the other names,^{hyperlink for the Greeks took occasion from different circumstances and etymologies to give to those who are by them deemed gods the names which they bear; and the Scythians, again, from another set of circumstances; and the same also was the case with the Persians, or Indians, or Ethiopians, or Libyans, or with those who delight to bestow names (from fancy), and who do not abide by the just and pure idea of the Creator of all things. Enough, however, has been said by us in the preceding pages, where we wished to demonstrate that Sabaoth and Zeus were not the same deity, and where also we made some remarks, derived from the holy Scriptures, regarding the different dialects. We willingly, then, pass by these points, on which Celsus would make us repeat ourselves. In the next place, again, mixing up together matters which belong to magic and sorcery, and referring them perhaps to no one,-because of the non-existence of any who practise magic under pretence of a worship of this character,-and yet, perhaps, having in view some who do employ such practices in the presence of the simple (that they may have the appearance of acting by divine power), he adds: "What need to number up all those who have taught methods of purification, or expiatory hymns, or spells for averting evil, or (the making of) images, or resemblances of demons, or the various sorts of antidotes against poison (to be found)^{hyperlink in clothes, or in numbers, or stones, or plants, or roots, or generally in all kinds of things? "In respect to these matters, reason does not require us to offer any defence, since we are not liable in the slightest degree to suspicions of such a nature.}}}}}Chapter XL.

After these things, Celsus appears to me to act like those who, in their intense hatred of the Christians, maintain, in the presence of those who are utterly ignorant of the Christian faith, that they have actually ascertained that Christians devour the flesh of infants, and give themselves without restraint to sexual intercourse with their women. Now, as these statements have been condemned as falsehoods invented against the Christians, and this admission made by the multitude and those altogether aliens to our faith; so would the following statements of Celsus be found to be calumnies invented against the Christians, where he says that "he has seen in the hands of certain presbyters belonging to our faith^{hyperlink barbarous books, containing the names and marvellous doings of demons; "asserting further, that "these presbyters of our faith professed to do no good, but all that was calculated to injure human beings." Would, indeed, that all that is said by Celsus against the Christians was of such a nature as to be refuted by the multitude, who have ascertained by experience that such things are untrue, seeing that most of them have lived as neighbours with the Christians, and have not even heard of the existence of any such alleged practices!}Chapter XLI.

In the next place, as if he had forgotten that it was his object to write against the Christians, he says that, "having become acquainted with one Dionysius, an Egyptian musician, the latter told him, with respect to magic arts, that it was only over the uneducated and men of corrupt morals that they had any power, while on philosophers they were unable to produce any effect, because they were careful to observe a healthy manner of life." If, now, it had been our purpose to treat of magic, we could have added a few remarks in addition to what we have already said on this topic; but since it is only the more important matters which we have to notice in answer to Celsus, we shall say of magic, that any one who chooses to inquire whether philosophers were ever led captive by it or not, can read what has been written by Moiragenes regarding the memoirs of the magician and philosopher Apollonius of Tyana, in which this individual, who is not a Christian, but a philosopher, asserts that some philosophers of no mean note were won over by the magic power possessed by Apollonius, and resorted to him as a sorcerer; and among these, I think, he especially mentioned Euphrates and a certain Epicurean. Now we, on the other hand, affirm, and have learned by experience, that they who worship the God of all things in conformity with the Christianity which comes by Jesus, and who live according to His Gospel, using night and day, continuously and becomingly, the prescribed prayers, are not carried away either by magic or demons. For verily "the angel of the Lord encamps round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them"^{hyperlink from all evil; and the angels of the little ones in the Church, who are appointed to watch over them, are said always to behold the face of their Father who is in heaven,^{hyperlink whatever be the meaning of "face" or of "behold."}}Chapter XLII.

After these matters, Celsus brings the following charges against us from another quarter: "Certain most impious errors," he says, "are committed by them, due to their extreme ignorance, in which they have wandered away from the meaning of the divine enigmas, creating an adversary to God, the devil, and naming him in the Hebrew tongue, Satan. Now, of a truth, such statements are altogether of mortal invention,^{hyperlink and not even proper to be repeated, viz., that the mighty God, in His desire to confer good upon men, has yet one counterworking Him, and is helpless. The Son of God, it follows, is vanquished by the devil; and being punished by him, teaches us also to despise the punishments which he inflicts, telling us beforehand that Satan, after appearing to men as He Himself had done, will exhibit great and marvellous works, claiming for himself the glory of God, but that those who wish to keep him at a distance ought to pay no attention to these works of Satan, but to place their faith in Him alone. Such statements are manifestly the words of a deluder, planning and manoeuvring against those who are opposed to his views, and who rank themselves against them." In the next place, desiring to point out the "enigmas," our mistakes regarding which lead to the introduction of our views concerning Satan, he continues: "The ancients allude obscurely to a certain war among the gods, Heraclitus speaking thus of it: 'If one must say that there is a general war and discord, and that all things are done and administered in strife.' Pherecydes, again, who is much older than Heraclitus, relates a myth of one army drown up in hostile array against another, and names Kronos as the leader of the one, and Ophioneus of the other, and recounts their challenges and struggles, and mentions that agreements were entered into between them, to the end that whichever party should fall into the ocean^{hyperlink should be held as vanquished, while those who had expelled and conquered them should have possession of heaven. The mysteries relating to the Titans and Giants also had some such (symbolical) meaning, as well as the Egyptian mysteries of Typhon, and Horus, and Osiris." After having made such statements, and not having got over the difficulty^{hyperlink as to the way in which these accounts contain a higher view of things, while our accounts are erroneous copies of them, he continues his abuse of us, remarking that "these are not like the stories which are related of a devil, or demon, or, as he remarks with more truth, of a man who is an impostor, who wishes to establish an opposite doctrine." And in the same way he understands Homer, as if he referred obscurely to matters similar to those mentioned by Heraclitus, and Pherecydes, and the originators of the mysteries about the Titans and Giants, in those words which Hephaestus addresses to Hera as follows:-}}}"Once in your cause I felt his matchless might,

Hurled headlong downward from the ethereal height."^hyperlinkAnd in those of Zeus to Hera:-

"Hast thou forgot, when, bound and fix'd on high,

From the vast concave of the spangled sky,

I hung thee trembling in a golden chain,

And all the raging gods opposed in vain?

Headlong I hurled them from the Olympian hall,

Stunn'd in the whirl, and breathless with the fall."^{hyperlink

Interpreting, moreover, the words of Homer, he adds: "The words of Zeus addressed to Hera are the words of God addressed to matter; and the words addressed to matter obscurely signify that the matter which at the beginning was in a state of discord (with God), was taken by Him, and bound together and arranged under laws, which may be analogically compared to chains;^{hyperlink and that by way of chastising the demons who create disorder in it, he hurls them down headlong to this lower world." These words of Homer, he alleges, were so understood by Pherecydes, when he said that beneath that region is the region of Tartarus, which is guarded by the Harpies and Tempest, daughters of Boreas, and to which Zeus banishes any one of the gods who becomes disorderly. With the same ideas also are closely connected the peplos of Athena, which is beheld by all in the procession of the Panathenaea. For it is manifest from this, he continues, that a motherless and unsullied demon^{hyperlink has the mastery over the daring of the Giants. While accepting, moreover, the fictions of the Greeks, he continues to heap against us such accusations as the following, viz., that "the Son of God is punished by the devil, and teaches us that we also, when punished by him, ought to endure it. Now these statements are altogether ridiculous. For it is the devil, I think, who ought rather to be punished, and those human beings who are calumniated by him ought not to be threatened with chastisement."

Footnotes}}}^{118 th=j te a0planou=j.

¹¹⁹kli/mac i9i/puloj. Boherellus conjectures e9pta/puloj.

¹²⁰kerastou= nomi/smatoj.

¹²¹th/n xalkoba/thn kai\ ster0r9a/n.

¹²²tlh/mona ga\r e!rgwn a9pa/ntwn, kai\ xrhmatisth/n, kai\ polu/kmnton ei\nai, to/n te si/dhron kai\ to\n 'Ermh=n.

¹²³th=j loiph=j u#lhj. For u#lhj, another reading is pu/lhj.

¹²⁴For w9j e0kei/noij a0rkei=sqai, Spencer introduced into his text, ou0d' e0kei/noij a0rkei=sqai, which has been adopted in the translation.

¹²⁵e0n oi[j polloi\ semnu/nontai.

¹²⁶a0po\ th=j sugklh/tou boulh=j.

¹²⁷Cf. Ezek. xlviii.

¹²⁸e0pi\ ta\ krei/ttona.

¹²⁹Cf. Rev. xxi.

¹³⁰qewrh/mata.

¹³¹[Vol. i. p. 354, this series.]

¹³²"Utinam exstaret! Multum enim lucis procul dubio antiquissimorum Patrum libris, priscae ecclesiae temporibus, et quibusdam sacrae Scripturae locis, accederet." - Spencer.

¹³³kata\ to\ filomaqe\j h\mw=n.

¹³⁴Cf. 2 Tim. iii. 6, 7.

¹³⁵Cf. note in Spencer's edition.

¹³⁶pai/gnion.

¹³⁷Cf. Ps. civ. 24-26.

¹³⁸Cf. Mal. iii. 2, 3.

¹³⁹xwneuome/nwn.

¹⁴⁰pou=.

¹⁴¹Cf. Zech. v. 7

¹⁴²[See Dean Plumptre's The Spirits in Prison, on "The Universalism of Origen," p. 137, et seqq. S.]

¹⁴³ma/thn e0kkei/mena.

¹⁴⁴a0llo/kota kai\ a0moibai/aj fwna/j.

¹⁴⁵a0rxontikw=n.

¹⁴⁶ou0k eu!gnwmon a0lla/ . . . pa/nu a0gnwmone/staton.

¹⁴⁷fu/rwn de\ ta\ pra/gmata.

¹⁴⁸sune/drion.

¹⁴⁹me/trioj ta\ h!qh.

¹⁵⁰a0rxhgou= tw=n kalw=n.

¹⁵¹'Ofia=noi: cf. Irenaeus, vol. i. pp. 354-358.

¹⁵²th\n eu0te/leian a0gaph/saj.

¹⁵³a0po\ th=j pantelou=j a0kthmosu/nhj.

¹⁵⁴"Euphraten hujus haeresis auctorem solus Origenes tradit." - Spencer; cf. note in Spencer's edition.

¹⁵⁵a0naisqh/tou.

¹⁵⁶Boherellus proposes fh=j for the textual reading fhsi/.

¹⁵⁷kai\ toi=j profh/taij e0mpne/onta.

¹⁵⁸o#tan de\ ta\ e0nanti/a o\ do\j dida/skaloj 'Ihsou=j, kai\ o9 'Ioudai/wn Mwu>\sh=j, nomoqeth=.

¹⁵⁹yuxiko/n.

¹⁶⁰Cf. Spencer's note, as quoted in Benedictine edition.

¹⁶¹"Nescio, an haeresium Scriptores hujus Thauthabaoth, Erataoth, Thaphabaoth, Onoeles, et Thartharaoth, usquam meminerint. Hujus generis vocabula innumera invenies apud Epiphan., Haer., 31, quae est Valentinianorum, pp. 165-171." - Spencer.

¹⁶²fragmo\n kaki/aj.

¹⁶³pu/laj a0rxo/ntwn ai0w=ni dedeme/naj.

¹⁶⁴mono/tropon.

¹⁶⁵lh/qhn a0peri/skepron.

¹⁶⁶'Ogdoa/doj. Cf. Tertullian, de Praescript. adv. Haereticos, cap. xxxiii. (vol. iii. p. 259), and other references in Benedictine ed.

¹⁶⁷Fai/nwn. "Ea, quae Saturni stella dicitur, Gai/nwn que a Graecis dicitur." - Cicero, de Nat. Deorum, book ii. c. 20.

¹⁶⁸sumpaqei=n.

¹⁶⁹nuktofah/j.

¹⁷⁰penta/di dunatwte/ra|.

¹⁷¹mu/sthn.

¹⁷²xa/pin kruptome/nhn duna/mesin e0cousiw=n.

¹⁷³For dataluqi\n Boherellus conjectures kataylufqe/n, which has been adopted in the translation.

¹⁷⁴fantasi/aj.

¹⁷⁵a0patew/nwn.

¹⁷⁶ei0j ta\j a0rxontika\j morfa/j.

¹⁷⁷Guietus thinks that some word has been omitted here, as ci/foj, which seems very probable.

¹⁷⁸to\ th=j a0tele/stou teleth=j pe/raj.

¹⁷⁹a0por0r9oi/aj.

¹⁸⁰a0po\ cu/lou.

¹⁸¹Eccles. i. 6. (literally rendered). [Modern science demonstrates this physical truth.]

¹⁸²kata\ th\n peplanhue/nhn e9autwn sofi/an.

¹⁸³yuxiko\n dhmiwurgo/n.

¹⁸⁴ou0k akgennw=j.

¹⁸⁵Cf. 1 Cor. xv. 25, 26.

¹⁸⁶Cf. 1 Cor. xv. 54; cf. Hos. xiii. 14.

¹⁸⁷ka/qodon stunh/n.

¹⁸⁸Cf. Ps. cxviii. 19, 20.

¹⁸⁹Cf. Ps. ix. 13, 14.

¹⁹⁰Cf. 1 Cor. xv. 22.

¹⁹¹[See note supra, p. 582. S.]

¹⁹²Cf., however, Mark vi. 3. [Some mss., though not of much value, have the reading here (Mark vi. 3), "Is not this the carpenter's son, the son of Mary?" Origen seems to have so read the evangelist. See Alford, in loc. S.]

¹⁹³au0to/qen.

¹⁹⁴a!rxontaj.

¹⁹⁵a!lla te, kai\ du/o a!tta, mei=zon te kai\ mikro/teron ui9ou= kai\ patpo/j.

¹⁹⁶For a!llouj, the textual reading, Gelenius, with the approval of Boherellus, proposes kai\ a!llou sugkeime/nou, which has been followed in the translation.

¹⁹⁷e0pi\ toi=j au0toi=j u9pokeime/noij.

¹⁹⁸Cf. Herodot., iv. 59.

¹⁹⁹}