Against Celsus 8.17
Summary: Christians do have altars, images, and temples: the righteous soul is the altar whose incense is prayer, and the virtues formed by the Word are images of God, far surpassing Phidias's Zeus, and best of all in Christ.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:234–235
Μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ὁ Κέλσος φησὶν ἡμᾶς βωμοὺς καὶ ἀγάλματα καὶ νεὼς ἱδρύεσθαι φεύγειν, ἐπεὶ τὸ πιστὸν ἡμῖν ἀφανοῦς καὶ ἀποῤῥήτου κοινωνίας οἴεται εἶναι σύνθημα· οὐχ ὁρῶν ὅτι βωμοὶ μέν εἰσιν ἡμῖν τὸ ἑκάστου τῶν δικαίων ἡγεμονικὸν, ἀφʼ οὗ ἀναπέμπεται ἀληθῶς καὶ νοητῶς εὐώδη „θυμιάματα, “ „προσευχαὶ“ ἀπὸ συνειδήσεως καθαρᾶς. διὸ λέγεται παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ ἐν τῇ Ἀποκαλύψει· „τὰ δὲ θυμιάματά εἰσιν αἱ προσευχαὶ τῶν ἁγίων“ καὶ παρὰ τῷ ὑμνῳδῷ· „γενηθήτω ἡ προσευχή μου ὡς θυμίαμα ἐνώπιόν σου.“ ἀγάλματα δὲ καὶ πρέποντα θεῷ ἀναθήματα, οὐχ ὑπὸ βαναύσων τεχνιτῶν κατεσκευασμένα· ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ λόγου θεοῦ τρανούμενα καὶ μορφούμενα ἐν ἡμῖν. αἱ ἀρεταὶ, μιμήματα τυγχάνουσαι τοῦ πρωτοτόκου „πάσης κτίσεως.“ ἐν ᾧ ἐστι δικαιοσύνης καὶ σωφροσύνης καὶ ἀνδρείας καὶ σοφίας καὶ εὐσεβείας καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν παραδείγματα. ἐν πᾶσιν οὖν ἐστι, τοῖς κατὰ τὸν θεῖον λόγον σωφροσύνην ἑαυτοῖς κατασκευάσασι καὶ δικαιοσύνην καὶ ἀνδρείαν καὶ σοφίαν καὶ εὐσέβειαν καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀρετῶν τὰ κατασκευάσματα, ἀγάλματα· οἷς πρέπον εἶναι πεπείσμεθα τιμᾶσθαι τὸ πρωτότυπον πάντων ἀγαλμάτων. τὴν εἰκόνα „τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀοράτου.“ τὸν μονογενῆ θεόν. ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἐκδυόμενοι „τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον σὺν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνδυόμενοι τὸν νέον. τὸν ἀνακαινούμενον εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτὸν, “ τὸ „κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος“ εἶναι ἀναλαμβάνοντες. ἀγάλματα ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ποιοῦσιν, ὁποῖα βούλεται ὁ ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεὸς, ἐκείνου. ὥσπερ δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀγαλματοποιῶν οἱ μέν τινες εἰσὶ θαυμαστῶς κατορθοῦντες τὸ ἔργον, ὥσπερ εἰπεῖν Φειδίας ἢ Πολύκλειτος ἢ ζωγράφοι Ζεῦξις καὶ Ἀπελλῆς, ἕτεροι δὲ ἔλαττον τούτων ἀγαλματοποιοῦσι, καὶ ἄλλοι ἔτι καὶ τῶν δευτέρων ἔλαττον, καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς πολλὴ διαφορά ἐστι τῆς τῶν ἀγαλμάτων καὶ εἰκόνων κατασκευῆς· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον οἱ μέν τινες εἰσὶ ποιοῦντες ἀγάλματα τοῦ ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεοῦ βέλτιον καὶ κατὰ τελείαν ἐπιστήμην, ὡς μηδεμίαν εἶναι σύγκρισιν τοῦ ὑπὸ Φειδίου κατασκευασθέντος Ὀλυμπίου Διὸς πρὸς τὸν κατασκευασθέντα „κατʼ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος“ θεοῦ· πάντων δὲ τῶν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ κτίσει πολλῷ βέλτιον καὶ ὑπερέχον ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ σωτῆρι ἡμῶν, τῷ λέγοντι· „ὁ πατὴρ ἐν ἐμοί.“
English · Claude translation
After this Celsus says that we avoid setting up altars, images, and temples, because he thinks this is our token of a secret and forbidden association; not seeing that our altars are the ruling faculty of each righteous man, from which fragrant incense, prayers from a pure conscience, is truly and spiritually sent up. That is why John says in the Revelation, “The incense is the prayers of the saints,” and the psalmist, “Let my prayer be set as incense before you.” And our images and offerings fitting for God are not made by vulgar craftsmen, but are shaped and formed in us by the Word of God: the virtues, which are imitations of the firstborn “of all creation,” in whom are the patterns of righteousness, self-control, courage, wisdom, piety, and the other virtues. In all, then, who by the divine Word have formed in themselves self-control, righteousness, courage, wisdom, piety, and the works of the other virtues, there are images; by these we are persuaded it is fitting to honour the prototype of all images, the image “of the invisible God,” the only-begotten God. Moreover, those who put off “the old man with his deeds and put on the new, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him who created him,” taking up what is “after the image of him who created him,” make images of him within themselves such as the God over all wishes. And just as among sculptors some accomplish their work marvellously, such as Phidias or Polyclitus, or among painters Zeuxis and Apelles, while others make images less well than these, and others less well than the second, and in short there is a great difference in the making of statues and pictures; in the same way some make images of the God over all better and with perfect knowledge, so that there is no comparison between the Olympian Zeus made by Phidias and the man made “after the image of him who created him”; but far better and more excellent than all those in the whole creation is the image in our Saviour, who says, “The Father is in me.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Rev 5:8, Ps 141:2 (140:2 LXX), Col 1:15, Col 3:9–10, and John 10:38. Phidias's gold-and-ivory Zeus at Olympia was counted among the wonders of the world.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἐνώπιόν δου → ἐνώπιόν σου.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 8.17 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/17/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 8.17 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/17/).
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