Against Celsus 6.15
Summary: Celsus says Christian humility is a garbled borrowing from Plato's Laws, but Origen shows it is older, from the Psalms, and was taught above all by Christ, who humbled himself to death on a cross.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:85–86
Εἶτα μετὰ ταῦτα ὁ Κέλσος ὡς περιηχηθεὶς τὰ περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης καὶ μὴ ἐπιμελῶς αὐτὴν νοήσας βούλεται μὲν τὴν παρʼ ἡμῖν κακολογεῖν. οἴεται δʼ αὐτὴν παράκουσμα εἶναι τῶν Πλάτωνος λόγων, ὅς φησι ποὺ ἐν τοῖς Νόμοις· „ὁ μὲν δὴ θεὸς, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ παλαιὸς λόγος, ἀρχήν τε καὶ τελευτὴν καὶ μέσα τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ἔχων εὐθείᾳ περαίνει κατὰ φύσιν περιπορευόμενος· τῷ δʼ ἀεὶ ξυνέπεται δίκη τῶν ἀπολελειμμένων τοῦ θείου νόμου τιμωρὸς, ἧς ὁ μὲν εὐδαιμονήσειν μέλλων ἐχόμενος ξυνέπεται ταπεινὸς καὶ κεκοσμημένος“· οὐχ ὁρῶν ὅτι παρὰ τοῖς πολὺ Πλάτωνος ἀρχαιοτέροις λέλεκται ἐν εὐχῇ τό· „κύριε, οὐχ ὑψώθη μου ἡ καρδία, οὐδὲ ἐμετεωρίσθησαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου, οὐδὲ ἐπορεύθην ἐν μεγάλοις οὐδὲ ἐν θαυμασίοις ὑπὲρ ἐμὲ, εἰ μὴ ἐταπεινοφρόνουν.“ ἅμα δὲ δηλοῦται διὰ τούτων ὅτι οὐ πάντως ὁ ταπεινοφρονῶν ἀσχημόνως καὶ ἀπαισίως ταπεινοῦται, χαμαιπετὴς ἐπὶ τῶν γονάτων καὶ πρηνὴς ἐῤῥιμμένος, ἐσθῆτα δυστήνων ἀμφισκόμενος καὶ κόνιν ἐπαμώμενος. ὁ γὰρ κατὰ τὸν προφήτην ταπεινοφρονῶν, πορευόμενος „ἐν μεγάλοις καὶ θαυμασίοις“ τοῖς ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν, τοῖς ἀληθῶς „μεγάλοις“ δόγμασι καὶ τοῖς „θαυμασίοις“ νοήμασι, ταπεινοῖ ἑαυτὸν „ὑπὸ τὴν κραταιὰν χεῖρα τοῦ θεοῦ.“ εἰ δέ τινες διὰ τὴν ἰδιωτείαν μὴ τρανώσαντες τὸ περὶ τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης δόγμα τοιαῦτα ποιοῦσιν, οὐ τὸν λόγον αἰτιατέον, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἰδιωτείᾳ τῶν προθεμένων μὲν τὰ κρείττονα διὰ δὲ τὸν ἰδιωτισμὸν ἀποτυγχανόντων συγγνωστέον. μᾶλλον γὰρ τοῦ κατὰ Πλάτωνα ταπεινοῦ καὶ κεκοσμημένου „ταπεινὸς καὶ κεκοσμημένος“ ἐστὶν ὁ κεκοσμημένος μὲν διὰ τὸ πορεύεσθαι „ἐν μεγάλοις“ καὶ „θαυμασίοις“ ὑπὲρ αὐτόν· ταπεινὸς δὲ, ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν τούτοις ὢν ταπεινοῦται ἑκὼν. οὐχ ὑπὸ τὸν τυχόντα ἀλλʼ „ὑπὸ τὴν κραταιὰν χεῖρα τοῦ θεοῦ, “ διὰ τοῦ διδασκάλου τῶν τοιούτων μαθημάτων Ἰησοῦ· „ὃς“ „οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο εἶναι ἴσα θεῷ, ἀλλʼ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσε μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, “ „καὶ σχήματι εὑρεθεὶς ὡς ἄνθρωπος ἐταπείνωσεν ἑαυτὸν, γενόμενος ὑπήκοος μέχρι θανάτου, θανάτου δὲ σταυροῦ.“ καὶ οὕτω μέγα δόγμα τὸ περὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἐστὶν, ὡς μὴ τὸν τυχόντα διδάσκαλον ἔχειν περὶ αὐτοῦ, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸν λέγειν τὸν τηλικοῦτον ἡμῶν σωτῆρα· „μάθετε ἀπʼ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πρᾷός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ. καὶ εὑρήσετε ἀνάπαυσιν ταῖς ψυχαῖς ὑμῶν.“
English · Claude translation
Then, after this, Celsus, as though he had merely heard talk about humility and had not carefully understood it, wishes to disparage the humility we teach; he thinks it is a misunderstanding of the words of Plato, who says somewhere in the Laws: “God, as the ancient saying has it, holding the beginning and end and middle of all things that are, accomplishes his course straightforwardly, going round according to nature; and justice always follows him, the avenger of those who fall short of the divine law; and the one who is to be happy holds fast to her and follows her, humble and orderly.” He does not see that among men far older than Plato it was said in prayer: “Lord, my heart has not been lifted up, nor have my eyes been raised high; nor have I walked among great things, nor among wonderful things above me, unless I was humble-minded.” At the same time these words show that the humble-minded person does not in every case humble himself in an unseemly and ill-omened way, as Celsus puts it, falling on his knees, flinging himself headlong, wearing the clothes of wretches, and heaping dust upon himself. For the one who is humble-minded according to the prophet, while walking “among great and wonderful things” above him, that is, among truly “great” doctrines and “wonderful” thoughts, humbles himself “under the mighty hand of God.” And if some, through lack of education, have not grasped the doctrine of humility clearly and do such things, the teaching is not to be blamed; rather we must pardon the lack of education of those who aim at better things but miss them through simplicity. For more truly “humble and orderly” than the humble and orderly man of Plato is the one who is orderly because he walks “among great” and “wonderful things” above him, and humble because, even while among them, he willingly humbles himself, not under any chance person but “under the mighty hand of God,” through Jesus, the teacher of such lessons, “who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,” “and being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.” And the doctrine of humility is so great that it has no ordinary teacher, but our great Saviour himself says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Plato, Laws 715e–716a, Ps 131:1–2 (130:1–2 LXX), 1 Pet 5:6, Phil 2:6–8, and Matt 11:29. The description of grovelling penitents is Celsus's.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text inside Celsus's description): ἐῤῥιμμένος. ἐσθῆτα → ἐῤῥιμμένος, ἐσθῆτα.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 6.15 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/15/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 6.15 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/15/).
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