Against Celsus 3.24
Summary: Origen replies that if Celsus credits the many witnesses to Asclepius, far more witness to Jesus, and that Christians still heal the sick and insane by invoking God and Jesus' name, as Origen himself has seen.
Greek text · Koetschau 1:220–221
Καὶ πάλιν ἐπὰν μὲν περὶ τοῦ Ἀσκληπιοῦ λέγηται ὅτι πολὺ ἀνθρώπων πλῆθος Ἑλλήνων τε καὶ βαρβάρων ὁμολογεῖ πολλάκις ἰδεῖν καὶ ἔτι ὁρᾶν, οὐ φάσμα αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἀλλὰ θεραπεύοντα καὶ εὐεργετοῦντα καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα προλέγοντα. πιστεύειν ἡμᾶς ὁ Κέλσος ἀξιοῖ καὶ οὐκ ἐγκαλεῖ τοῖς εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν πιστοῖς. ἐπὰν τούτοις πιστεύωμεν· ἐπὰν δὲ τοῖς μαθηταῖς καὶ τεθεαμένοις τὰ τεράστια τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ παριστᾶσιν ἐναργῶς τὸ εὔγνωμον τῆς ἑαυτῶν συνειδήσεως συγκαταθώμεθα, ὁρῶντες τὸ ἀπάνουργον αὐτῶν, ὅσον ἔστιν ἰδεῖν συνείδησιν ἀπὸ γραμμάτων, εὐήθεις τινὲς εἶναι παρὰ τῷ Κέλσῳ ὀνομαζόμεθα, οὐκ ἔχοντι παραστῆσαι ἀμύθητον, ὥς φησι. πλῆθος ἀνθρώπων Ἑλλήνων καὶ βαρβάρων ὁμολογούντων Ἀσκληπιῷ. ἡμεῖς γὰρ, εἰ τοῦτο σεμνὸν εἶναι νομίζει, ἐναργῶς δείκνυμεν ἀμύθητόν τι πλῆθος Ἑλλήνων τε καὶ βαρβάρων ὁμολογούντων τῷ Ἰησοῦ. τινὲς δὲ σημεῖα τοῦ εἰληφέναι τι διὰ τὴν πίστιν ταύτην παραδοξότερον ἐπιδείκνυνται ἐν οἷς θεραπεύουσιν. οὐδὲν ἄλλο καλοῦντες ἐπὶ τοὺς δεομένους θεραπείας ἢ τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσι θεὸν καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὄνομα μετὰ τῆς περὶ αὐτοῦ ἱστορίας. τούτοις γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἑωράκαμεν πολλοὺς ἀπαλλαγέντας χαλεπῶν συμπτωμάτων καὶ ἐκστάσεων καὶ μανιῶν καὶ ἄλλων μυρίων, ἅπερ οὔτʼ ἄνθρωποι οὔτε δαίμονες ἐθεράπευσαν.
English · Claude translation
Again, when it is said of Asclepius that a great multitude of people, Greeks and barbarians, acknowledge that they have often seen, and still see, not a phantom but him himself, healing and doing good and foretelling the future, Celsus asks us to believe it and does not accuse those who believe in Jesus when we believe these things. But when we assent to the disciples who saw Jesus' wonders and clearly show the good faith of their conscience, seeing their lack of guile as far as one can see a conscience from writings, we are called simpletons by Celsus, who cannot show the countless multitude, as he says, of Greeks and barbarians acknowledging Asclepius. For if he thinks this impressive, we clearly show a countless multitude of Greeks and barbarians acknowledging Jesus. And some show signs of having received something more marvelous through this faith in the healings they perform, invoking over those who need healing nothing other than the God over all and the name of Jesus, together with the story about him. For by these we too have seen many freed from grievous afflictions, derangements, madnesses, and countless other things, which neither human beings nor daemons had healed.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- Origen here testifies to healings he has witnessed in his own time.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing letter in the digital text): παρστῆσαι → παραστῆσαι.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 3.24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/3/24/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 3.24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/3/24/).
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