Against Celsus 6.34
Summary: Celsus mocks a jumble of sayings he attributes to Christians, including resurrection “from the tree” because Jesus was crucified and a carpenter; Origen says he is stringing together half-heard scraps from various sects.
Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.
Greek text · Koetschau 2:103–104
Μετὰ δὲ τὸ ἐκθέσθαι τὰ προειρημένα καὶ τὰ ἀνάλογον αὐτοῖς. ἅτινα ἡμεῖς προσεθήκαμεν, τοιαῦτά φησιν ὁ Κέλσος· οἱ δʼ ἔτι προστιθέασιν ἄλλα ἐπʼ ἄλλοις, προφητῶν λόγους καὶ κύκλους ἐπὶ κύκλοις καὶ ἀποῤῥοίας ἐκκλησίας ἐπιγείου καὶ περιτομῆς καὶ Προυνικοῦ τινος ῥέουσαν δύναμιν παρθένου καὶ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν καὶ σφαζόμενον οὐρανὸν, ἵνα ζήσῃ, καὶ γῆν σφαζομένην μαχαίρᾳ καὶ πολλοὺς σφαζομένους. ἵνα ζήσωσι, καὶ παυόμενον ἐν κόσμῳ θάνατον, ὅταν ἀποθάνῃ ἡ τοῦ κόσμου ἁμαρτία, καὶ κάθοδον αὖθις στενὴν καὶ αὐτομάτως ἀνοιγομένας πύλας· πανταχοῦ δὲ ἐκεῖ τὸ τῆς ζωῆς ξύλον καὶ ἀνάστασιν σαρκὸς ἀπὸ ξύλου, διότι οἶμαι ὁ διδάσκαλος αὐτῶν σταυρῷ ἐνηλώθη καὶ ἦν τέκτων τὴν τέχνην. ὡς εἰ ἔτυχεν ἐκεῖνος ἀπὸ κρημνοῦ ἐῤῥιμμένος ἢ εἰς βάραθρον ἐωσμένος ἢ ἀγχόνῃ πεπνιγμένος ἢ σκυτοτόμος ἢ λιθοξόος ἢ σιδηρεὺς. ἦν ἂν ὑπὲρ τοὺς οὐρανοὺς κρημνὸς ζωῆς ἢ βάραθρον ἀναστάσεως ἢ σχοινίον ἀθανασίας ἢ λίθος μακάριος ἢ σίδηρος ἀγάπης ἢ σκῦτος ἅγιόν [ἐστιν]. ἢ τίς γραῦς, ἐπὶ τῷ βαυκαλῆσαι παιδίον μῦθον ἐπᾴδουσα, τοιαῦτα ψιθυρίζειν οὐκ ἂν ᾐσχύνθη; ἐν τούτοις δὲ δοκεῖ μοι φύρειν τὰ παρακούσματα ὁ Κέλσος. εἰκὸς γὰρ ὅτι, εἴ τι ἤκουσεν οἱασδηποτοῦν αἱρέσεως λεξείδιον, μὴ τρανώσας αὐτὸ κἂν κατὰ τὸ βούλημα ἐκείνης ἀλλὰ τὰ ῥημάτια συμφορήσας, ἐπεδείκνυτο ἐν τοῖς μηδὲν ἐπισταμένοις μήτε τῶν ἡμετέρων μήτε τῶν ἐν ταῖς αἱρέσεσιν ὡς ἄρα πάντα τὰ Χριστιανῶν γινώσκοι. τοῦτο δὲ δῆλον ποιεῖ καὶ ἡ προκειμένη λέξις.
English · Claude translation
After setting out what we have quoted and things similar to what we added, Celsus says this: And they add still more on top of this, words of prophets, and circles upon circles, and emanations of an earthly church and of circumcision, and a power flowing from a certain virgin Prunicus, and a living soul, and heaven slain that it may live, and earth slain with a sword, and many slain that they may live, and death ceasing in the world when the sin of the world dies, and again a narrow way down, and gates that open of themselves. And everywhere there is the tree of life, and a resurrection of the flesh from the tree, because, I suppose, their teacher was nailed to a cross and was a carpenter by trade. So that if he had happened to be thrown from a cliff, or pushed into a pit, or strangled by a noose, or had been a cobbler or a stonemason or a blacksmith, there would be a cliff of life above the heavens, or a pit of resurrection, or a rope of immortality, or a blessed stone, or iron of love, or holy leather. What old woman, humming a story to lull a child to sleep, would not have been ashamed to whisper such things? In this, it seems to me, Celsus is jumbling things he half-heard. For it is likely that if he heard some little phrase of any sect whatever, without making it clear even according to that sect's meaning, he strung the scraps of words together and paraded them before those who know nothing either of our teachings or of those of the sects, as though he knew everything about Christians. The passage before us makes this plain.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “Prunicus” (literally “lewd” or “wanton”) was a name some Gnostics gave to fallen Wisdom (Sophia). The editor deletes ἐστιν (“is”) after “holy leather.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split by a line-end hyphen in the digital text): βάραθρον ἀνα- στάσεως → βάραθρον ἀναστάσεως.
Cite this passage
Origen, Cels. 6.34 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/34/).
Plain text
Origen, Cels. 6.34 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/origen-celsum/6/34/).
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