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Contra Celsum

5.

Τὸ δ' «ἐξαίφνης οἷον ἀπὸ πυρὸς πηδήσαντος» ἐξάπτεσθαι «φῶς ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ» πρότερος οἶδεν ὁ λόγος, εἰπὼν ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ· «Φωτίσατε ἑαυτοῖς φῶς γνώσεως.» Καὶ Ἰωάννης δὲ ὕστερον ἐκείνου γενόμενος λέγει ὅτι «ὃ γέγονεν» ἐν τῷ λόγῳ «ζωὴ» ἦν, «καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων», ὅπερ «φῶς ἀληθινὸν» «φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον, ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν» ἀληθινὸν καὶ νοητὸν «κόσμον», καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτὸν «φῶς τοῦ κόσμου». «Ἔλαμψε» γὰρ τοῦτο τὸ φῶς «ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ἡμῶν πρὸς φωτισμὸν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν προσώπῳ Χριστοῦ». Διό φησιν ἀρχαιότατος προφήτης πρὸ πολλῶν γενεῶν τῆς Κύρου βασιλείας προφητεύσας – ὑπὲρ τὰς τεσσαρεσκαίδεκα γὰρ γενεὰς πρεσβύτερος αὐτοῦ ἦν – τό· «Κύριος φωτισμός μου καὶ σωτήρ μου, τίνα φοβηθήσομαι»; καί· «Λύχνος τοῖς ποσί μου ὁ νόμος σου, καὶ φῶς ταῖς τρίβοις μου», καί· «Ἐσημειώθη ἐφ' ἡμᾶς τὸ φῶς τοῦ προσώπου σου, κύριε», καί· «Ἐν τῷ φωτί σου ὀψόμεθα φῶς.» Καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ φῶς τοῦτο προτρέπων ἡμᾶς ὁ ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ λόγος φησί· «Φωτίζου, φωτίζου Ἱερουσαλήμ· ἥκει γάρ σου τὸ φῶς, καὶ ἡ δόξα κυρίου ἐπὶ σὲ ἀνέτειλεν.» Ὁ δ' αὐτὸς οὗτος προφητεύων περὶ τῆς τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐπιδημίας, ἀφιστάντος τῆς ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ ἀγαλμάτων καὶ δαιμόνων θεραπείας, φησὶν ὅτι «Καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς», καὶ πάλιν· «Λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει φῶς εἶδε μέγα».

Ὅρα οὖν τὴν διαφορὰν τοῦ καλῶς λελεγμένου ὑπὸ τοῦ Πλάτωνος περὶ τοῦ πρώτου ἀγαθοῦ καὶ τῶν εἰρημένων ἐν τοῖς προφήταις περὶ τοῦ φωτὸς τῶν μακαρίων· καὶ ὅρα ὅτι ἡ μὲν ἐν Πλάτωνι περὶ τούτου ἀλήθεια οὐδὲν ὡς πρὸς εἰλικρινῆ εὐσέβειαν ὤνησε τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας ἀλλ' οὐδ' αὐτὸν τὸν τοιαῦτα περὶ τοῦ πρώτου ἀγαθοῦ φιλοσοφήσαντα, ἡ δὲ τῶν θείων γραμμάτων εὐτελὴς λέξις ἐνθουσιᾶν πεποίηκε τοὺς γνησίως ἐντυγχάνοντας αὐτῇ· παρ' οἷς τρέφεται τοῦτο τὸ φῶς τῷ ἔν τινι παραβολῇ εἰρημένῳ ἐλαίῳ, τηροῦντι τῶν δᾴδων τὸ φῶς ἐν ταῖς φρονίμοις πέντε παρθένοις.]

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Chapter V.

But that a light is suddenly kindled in the soul, as by a fire leaping forth, is a fact known long ago to our Scriptures; as when the prophet said, "Light ye for yourselves the light of knowledge." ¹ John also, who lived after him, said, "That which was in the Logos was life, and the life was the light of men;" ² which "true light lighteneth every man that cometh into the world" (i.e., the true world, which is perceived by the understanding ³ ), and maketh him a light of the world:" For this light shone in our hearts, to give the light of the glorious Gospel of God in the face of Christ Jesus." ⁴ And therefore that very ancient prophet, who prophesied many generations before the reign of Cyrus (for he was older than he by more than fourteen generations), expressed himself in these words: "The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear?" ⁵ and, "Thy law is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path;" ⁶ and again, "The light of Thy countenance, O Lord, was manifested towards us;" ⁷ and, "In Thy light we shall see light." ⁸ And the Logos, exhorting us to come to this light, says, in the prophecies of Isaiah: "Enlighten thyself, enlighten thyself, O Jerusalem; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." ⁹ The same prophet also, when predicting the advent of Jesus, who was to turn away men from the worship of idols, and of images, and of demons, says, "To those that sat in the land and shadow of death, upon them hath the light arisen;" ¹⁰ and again, "The people that sat in darkness saw a great light." ¹¹ Observe now the difference between the fine phrases of Plato respecting the "chief good," and the declarations of our prophets regarding the "light" of the blessed; and notice that the truth as it is contained in Plato concerning this subject did not at all help his readers to attain to a pure worship of God, nor even himself, who could philosophize so grandly about the "chief good," whereas the simple language of the holy Scriptures has led to their honest readers being filled with a divine spirit; ¹² and this light is nourished within them by the oil, which in a certain parable is said to have preserved the light of the torches of the five wise virgins. ¹³