Against Celsus 3.21
Summary: Origen points to the depth of the Gospels, with parables explained only to those “in the house” and Jesus' ascents of the mountain, as proof that Christianity's inner teaching is nothing like Egyptian animal worship.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:217–218
Καὶ οὔπω λέγω περὶ τῆς ἐν τοῖς εὐαγγελίοις τηρήσεως πάντων τῶν γεγραμμένων· ὧν ἕκαστον πολὺν καὶ δυσθεώρητον οὐ μόνον τοῖς πολλοῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ τισι τῶν συνετῶν περιέχει λόγον. ἔχοντα διήγησιν βαθυτάτην παραβολῶν, ὧν τοῖς „ἔξω“ ἐλάλησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, τηρῶν αὐτῶν τὴν σαφήνειαν τοῖς ὑπερβεβηκόσι τὰς ἐξωτερικὰς ἀκοὰς καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν αὐτῷ „ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ“ προσερχομένοις, θαυμάσεται δὲ νοήσας, τίνα λόγον ἔχει τὸ „ἔξω“ τινὰς ὀνομάζεσθαι καὶ ἄλλους „ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ.“ καὶ πάλιν τίς οὐκ ἂν καταπλαγείη τῶν δυναμένων βλέπειν τὰς Ἰησοῦ μεταβάσεις, ἀναβαίνοντος μὲν εἰς ὄρος ἐπὶ τοιοῖσδε λόγοις ἢ πράξεσιν ἢ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ μεταμορφώσει. κάτω δὲ θεραπεύοντος τοὺς ἀσθενοῦντας καὶ μὴ δυναμένους ἀναβαίνειν ὅπου ἕπονται αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ; διηγεῖσθαι δὲ νῦν τὰ ἀληθῶς σεμνὰ καὶ θεῖα τῶν εὐαγγελίων ἢ τὸν ἐν τῷ Παύλῳ Χριστοῦ. τουτέστι τῆς σοφίας καὶ τοῦ λόγου, νοῦν οὐκ εὔκαιρον. ἀλλʼ αὐτάρκη καὶ ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν ἀφιλόσοφον χλεύην τοῦ Κέλσου. ὁμοιοῦντος τὰ ἔνδον καὶ μυστικὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ θεοῦ τοῖς Αἰγυπτίων αἰλούροις ἢ πιθήκοις ἢ κροκοδείλοις ἢ τράγοις ἢ κυσίν.
English · Claude translation
And I do not yet speak of the careful attention to everything written in the Gospels, each of which contains a meaning great and hard to discern, not only for the many but even for some of the intelligent. They include a most profound exposition of the parables which Jesus spoke to “those outside,” keeping their clear meaning for those who had passed beyond hearing from outside and came to him privately “in the house.” One will marvel, having understood it, at what reason there is for some being called “outside” and others “in the house.” And again, who among those able to see would not be amazed at the movements of Jesus, going up a mountain for certain words or deeds or for his own transfiguration, and below healing the sick who were unable to go up where his disciples follow him? But to expound now what is truly dignified and divine in the Gospels, or the mind of Christ in Paul, that is, of Wisdom and the Word, is not timely. These things are enough against Celsus's unphilosophical mockery, when he likens the inner mysteries of the church of God to the cats, apes, crocodiles, goats, or dogs of the Egyptians.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The allusions are Mark 4:11 (“those outside”), Matt 13:36 (“in the house”), Matt 17:1–2, Matt 15:29–30, and 1 Cor 2:16 (“the mind of Christ”).
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 3.21 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/3/21/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 3.21 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/3/21/).
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