Against Celsus 8.3
Summary: Jesus' saying that no one can serve two masters is sound; Scripture speaks of an assembly of gods, not the demons of the nations, over whom the one God rules as God of gods.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:222–223
Ἴδωμεν δὴ πρὸ τῶν ἑξῆς εἰ μὴ εὐλόγως ἀποδεχόμεθα τὴν „οὐδεὶς δύναται δυσὶ κυρίοις δουλεύειν“ φωνὴν, ᾗ ἐπιφέρεται τὸ „ἢ γὰρ τὸν ἕνα μισήσει καὶ τὸν ἕτερον ἀγαπήσει, ἢ ἑνὸς ἀνθέξεται καὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου καταφρονήσει, “. καὶ ἑξῆς αὐτῷ τὸ „οὐ δύνασθε θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ.“ καλεῖ δʼ ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀπολογία εἰς βαθύτερόν τινα καὶ ἀπόῤῥητον περὶ θεῶν καὶ κυρίων λόγον. ἐπίσταται γὰρ ἡ θεία γραφὴ τὸν μέγαν εἶναι κύριον παρὰ „πάντας τοὺς θεούς“· ἐν οἷς „θεοὺς“ οὐ τοὺς προσκυνουμένους ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἐξακούομεν, ἅτε μαθόντες ὅτι „πάντες οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια, “ ἀλλὰ „θεοὺς, “ ὧν οἶδέ τινα συναγωγὴν ὁ προφητικὸς λόγος. καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεὸν τούτους διακρίνοντα καὶ διατασσόμενον ἑκάστῳ τὸ οἰκεῖον αὐτῷ ἔργον. „ὁ θεὸς“ γὰρ „ἔστη ἐν συναγωγῇ θεῶν, ἐν μέσῳ δὲ θεοὺς διακρινεῖ.“ καὶ γάρ ἐστι „θεὸς θεῶν κύριος.“ ὃς διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ „ἐκάλεσε τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν ἡλίου ἕως δυσμῶν.“ καὶ προστασσόμεθα ἐξομολογεῖσθαι „τῷ θεῷ τῶν θεῶν, “ μαθόντες καὶ τὸ „ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἔστι νεκρῶν ἀλλὰ ζώντων“· ἅπερ δὴ λέγεται οὐ μόνον διὰ τῶν ἐκκειμένων ἀλλὰ καὶ διʼ ἄλλων μυρίων.
English · Claude translation
Before what follows, let us see whether we do not rightly accept the saying, “No one can serve two masters,” which is followed by “for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other,” and after that, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Our defence calls us to a deeper and secret teaching about gods and lords. For the divine Scripture knows that the great Lord is above “all the gods”; and by “gods” here we do not understand those worshipped among the nations, since we have learned that “all the gods of the nations are demons,” but “gods” of whom the prophetic word knows a certain assembly, and knows that the God over all judges between them and appoints to each his proper work. For “God has taken his place in the assembly of the gods; in the midst he judges gods.” For he is “God of gods, the Lord,” who through the Son “has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.” And we are commanded to give thanks “to the God of gods,” having learned also that “God is not the God of the dead but of the living”; and these things are said not only in the passages cited but in countless others.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Matt 6:24, Ps 96:4–5 (95:4–5 LXX), Ps 82:1 (81:1 LXX), Ps 50:1 (49:1 LXX), Ps 136:2 (135:2 LXX), and Matt 22:32.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing breathing and accent in the digital text): ος διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ → ὃς διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 8.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/3/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 8.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/8/3/).
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