Sophia Scriptura

Against Celsus 5.60

Origen · Against Celsus · ca. 248 · Caesarea · Read in context

Summary: Christians and Jews agree the Scriptures are inspired but differ in interpretation: for Christians the literal law is veiled until one turns to the Lord, who is the Spirit, and sees its hidden glory.

Greek text · Koetschau 2:63–64

Εἰ δʼ ἀκριβῶς χρὴ ἡμᾶς λέγειν τὰ πρὸς τὸν Κέλσον, οἰόμενον τὰ αὐτὰ ἡμᾶς Ἰουδαίοις περὶ τῶν ἐκκειμένων δοξάζειν, φήσομεν ὅτι τὰ μὲν βιβλία θείῳ γεγράφθαι πνεύματι ὁμολογοῦμεν ἀμφότεροι, περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐκδοχῆς τῶν ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις οὐκέτι τὰ ὅμοιά φαμεν, οἵ γε οὐδὲ βιοῦμεν ὡς Ἰουδαῖοι τῷ φρονεῖν οὐ τὴν κατὰ τὸ ῥητὸν ἐκδοχὴν τῶν νόμων εἶναι τὴν περιέχουσαν τὸ βούλημα τῆς νομοθεσίας. καὶ λέγομεν δʼ ὅτι, „ἡνίκα ἂν ἀναγινώσκηται Μωϋσῆς, κάλυμμα ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν κεῖται“ τῷ τοῖς τὴν διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ μὴ ἀσπασαμένοις ὁδὸν ἐπικεκρύφθαι τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Μωϋσέως νόμου. ἴσμεν δʼ ὅτι, „ἐὰν ἐπιστρέψῃ τις πρὸς τὸν κύριον“ („ὁ δὲ κύριος τὸ πνεῦμά ἐστι“), περιαιρεθεὶς „τὸ κάλυμμα“ „ἀνακεκαλυμμένῳ προσώπῳ τὴν“ ἐν τοῖς κεκρυμμένοις νοήμασι κατὰ τὰ γράμματα „δόξαν τοῦ κυρίου“ ὡσπερεὶ κατοπτρίζεται καὶ μεταλαμβάνει τῆς καλουμένης θείας δόξης εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δόξαν (τροπικῶς μὲν λεγομένου προσώπου γυμνότερον δʼ, ὡς ἂν ὀνομάσαι τις, τοῦ νοῦ). ἐν ᾧ ἐστι τὸ [τοῦ] „κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον“ πρόσωπον, πληρούμενον φωτὸς καὶ δόξης ἀπὸ τῆς περὶ τῶν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους ἀληθείας.

English · Claude translation

If we must answer Celsus precisely, since he thinks we hold the same views as the Jews on the matters set out, we will say that we both agree that the books were written by the divine Spirit, but about the interpretation of what is in the books we no longer say the same things, since we do not even live as the Jews do, because we think that the literal interpretation of the laws is not what contains the intent of the legislation. And we say that "whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over the heart," because the intent of the law of Moses has been hidden from those who have not embraced the way through Jesus Christ. And we know that "if anyone turns to the Lord" ("and the Lord is the Spirit"), having had "the veil" removed, he beholds as in a mirror, "with unveiled face," "the glory of the Lord" in the thoughts hidden in the letter, and shares in what is called the divine glory for his own glory ("face" being said figuratively, and, as one might put it more plainly, meaning the mind), in which is the face "of the inner man," filled with light and glory from the truth contained in the laws.

About this passage

Source
Koetschau 2:63–64 · Paul Koetschau, ed., Origenes Werke 1–2: Gegen Celsus, GCS 2–3 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1899) · Greek text: P. Koetschau, Origenes Werke 1–2 (GCS 2–3, 1899), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library and published by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Koetschau, GCS 2–3. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Koetschau, GCS 2–3; made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Scripture
Topics
Scripture and canon

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are 2 Cor 3:15–18 and Rom 7:22. The deleted [τοῦ] is the editor's.

Cite this passage

Origen, Cels. 5.60 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/5/60/).

Plain text
Origen, Cels. 5.60 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/5/60/).

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