Against Celsus 6.61
Summary: God's “rest” on the seventh day does not mean he was tired; it points to the eternal sabbath of the blessed, and God's “hands” and “commands” are figurative expressions.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:131–132
Εἶτα πάλιν μὴ κατακούσας τοῦ „καὶ συνετέλεσεν ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἕκτῃ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ, ἃ ἐποίησε· καὶ κατέπαυσεν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἐποίησε. καὶ εὐλόγησεν ὁ θεὸς τὴν ἡμέραν τὴν ἑβδόμην καὶ ἡγίασεν αὐτὴν, ὅτι ἐν αὐτῇ κατέπαυσεν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ, ὧν ἤρξατο ὁ θεὸς ποιῆσαι“ καὶ οἰηθεὶς ταὐτὸν εἶναι τὸ „κατέπαυσε τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ“ καὶ τὸ „ἀνεπαύσατο τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ“ φησί· μετὰ τοῦτο μὴν ὥσπερ τις ἀτεχνῶς πονηρὸς χειροτέχνης ἐκκαμὼν καὶ πρὸς ἀνάπαυσιν ἀργίας δεηθείς. οὐδὲ γὰρ οἶδε, τίς ἡ μετὰ τὴν ὅσον ὁ κόσμος συνέστηκεν ἐνεργουμένην κοσμοποιΐαν, ἡ τοῦ σαββάτου καὶ τῆς καταπαύσεως τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ ἑορτάσουσιν ἅμα τῷ θεῷ οἱ πάντα τὰ ἔργα ἑαυτῶν ταῖς ἓξ ἡμέραις πεποιηκότες καὶ διὰ τὸ μηδὲν παραλελοιπέναι τῶν ἐπιβαλλόντων ἀναβαίνοντες ἐπὶ τὴν θεωρίαν καὶ τὴν ἐν αὐτῇ τῶν δικαίων καὶ μακαρίων πανήγυριν. εἶτα ὡς ἤτοι τῶν γραφῶν οὕτω λεγουσῶν ἢ καὶ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν οὕτως διηγουμένων περὶ θεοῦ, ὅτι καμὼν ἀνεπαύσατο, φησὶν ὅτι οὐ θέμις τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν κάμνειν οὔτε χειρουργεῖν οὔτε κελεύειν. ὁ μὲν οὖν Κέλσος φησὶν ὅτι οὐ θέμις τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν κάμνειν· ἡμεῖς δὲ εἴποιμεν ἂν ὅτι οὐδʼ ὁ θεὸς λόγος κάμνει οὐδʼ ὅσοι τῆς κρείττονος ἤδη καὶ θειοτέρας τάξεως ἔχονται· τὸ γὰρ κάμνειν ἐστὶ τῶν ἐν σώματι. ζητήσεις δὲ, πότερον ἢ τῶν ἐν οἱῳποτοῦν σώματι ἢ τῶν ἐν τῷ γηΐνῳ καὶ ὀλίγον τούτου βελτίονι. ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ θέμις τὸν πρῶτον θεὸν χειρουργεῖν· ἐὰν δὲ κυρίως ἀκούῃς τοῦ χειρουργεῖν, οὐδὲ τὸν δεύτερον οὐδʼ ἄλλο τι τῶν θειοτέρων. ἀλλʼ ἔστω καταχρηστικῶς λέγεσθαι τὸ χειρουργεῖν ἢ τροπικῶς, ἵνα διηγησώμεθα καὶ τὸ „ποίησιν δὲ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ἀναγγέλλει τὸ στερέωμα“ καὶ „αἱ χεῖρες αὐτοῦ ἔστησαν τὸν οὐρανὸν“ καὶ εἴ τι τούτοις εἴρηται παραπλησίως, τροπολογούντων ἡμῶν χεῖρας καὶ μέλη τοῦ θεοῦ· τί οὖν ἄτοπον οὕτω χειρουργεῖν θεόν; ὡς οὐκ ἄτοπον δὲ οὕτω χειρουργεῖν θεὸν, οὕτως οὐδὲ τὸ κελεύειν αὐτὸν, ἵνα καλὰ καὶ ἐπαινετὰ ᾖ τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ κελευομένου ἐπιτελούμενα τῷ θεὸν εἶναι τὸν κεκελευκότα περὶ αὐτῶν.
English · Claude translation
Then again, having misunderstood “And on the sixth day God finished his works which he had made; and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it he ceased from all his works which God began to make,” and thinking that “he ceased on the seventh day” is the same as “he rested on the seventh day,” he says: After this, like some thoroughly bad workman, he grew weary and needed a holiday to rest. For he does not know what the day of the sabbath and of God's ceasing is, which follows the making of the world that goes on as long as the world lasts, the day on which those who have done all their works in the six days will keep festival with God, and, because they have left undone nothing that falls to them, will ascend to contemplation and to the festal assembly of the righteous and blessed in it. Then, as though either the Scriptures said so or we ourselves explained it so, that God grew weary and rested, he says that it is not lawful for the first God to grow weary, or to work with his hands, or to give orders. Celsus says that it is not lawful for the first God to grow weary; but we would say that neither does God the Word grow weary, nor any of those who already belong to the better and more divine order; for growing weary belongs to beings in a body. You will inquire whether it belongs to those in any body whatever, or to those in an earthly body and one a little better than this. Nor is it lawful for the first God to work with his hands; and if you understand working with hands in the proper sense, neither for the second God nor for any other of the more divine beings. But let working with hands be spoken of loosely or figuratively, so that we may explain “The firmament proclaims the work of his hands” and “His hands established the heaven,” and anything said similarly, interpreting figuratively the hands and limbs of God. What is absurd, then, in God's working with his hands in this way? And as it is not absurd for God to work with his hands in this way, so neither is it absurd for him to command, so that what is accomplished by the one commanded may be good and praiseworthy, because the one who commanded them is God.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The passages are Gen 2:2–3 LXX, Ps 19:1 (18:2 LXX), and Isa 45:12 (cf. Isa 48:13). The eternal sabbath echoes Heb 4:9–10. Origen calls the Word “the second God,” as he does elsewhere in this work.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 6.61 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/61/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 6.61 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/61/).
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