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Origen Against Celsus

5.

Paul, indeed, observing that there are in Greek philosophy certain things not to be lightly esteemed, which are plausible in the eyes of the many, but which represent falsehood as truth, says with regard to such: "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." ¹ And seeing that there was a kind of greatness manifest in the words of the world's wisdom, he said that the words of the philosophers were "according to the rudiments of the world." No man of sense, however, would say that those of Celsus were "according to the rudiments of the world." Now those words, which contained some element of deceitfulness, the apostle named "vain deceit," probably by way of distinction from a deceit that was not "vain;" and the prophet Jeremiah observing this, ventured to say to God, "O Lord, Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; Thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed." ² But in the language of Celsus there seems to me to be no deceitfulness at all, not even that which is "vain;" such deceitfulness, viz., as is found in the language of those who have founded philosophical sects, and who have been endowed with no ordinary talent for such pursuits. And as no one would say that any ordinary error in geometrical demonstrations was intended to deceive, or would describe it for the sake of exercise in such matters; ³ so those opinions which are to be styled "vain deceit," and the "tradition of men," and "according to the rudiments of the world," must have some resemblance to the views of those who have been the founders of philosophical sects, (if such titles are to be appropriately applied to them).

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Contra Celsum

5.

[Ὁ] μὲν οὖν [Παῦλος συνιδὼν ὅτι ἔστιν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ἑλληνικῇ οὐκ εὐκαταφρόνητα] τοῖς πολλοῖς πιθανά, [παριστάντα τὸ ψεῦδος ὡς ἀλήθειαν], φησὶν ἐπ' ἐκείνοις τό· [«Βλέπετε, μή τις ἔσται ὑμᾶς ὁ συλαγωγῶν διὰ τῆς φιλοσοφίας καὶ κενῆς ἀπάτης κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου καὶ οὐ κατὰ Χριστόν.»]

Καὶ ὁρῶν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τῆς τοῦ κόσμου σοφίας ἐμφαινόμενόν τι μέγεθος, εἶπεν εἶναι τοὺς λόγους τῶν φιλοσόφων «κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου». Οὐδεὶς δὲ τῶν νοῦν ἐχόντων φήσαι ἂν καὶ τὰ Κέλσου «κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου» εἶναι γεγραμμένα. Κἀκεῖνα μὲν ἔχοντά τι ἀπατηλὸν καὶ κενὴν ἀπάτην ὠνόμασε, τάχα [πρὸς ἀντιδιαστολὴν ἀπάτης τινὸς οὐ κενῆς, ἣν θεωρήσας ὁ Ἱερεμίας ἐτόλμησε πρὸς θεὸν εἰπεῖν τό· «Ἠπάτησάς με, κύριε, καὶ ἠπατήθην, ἐκράτησας καὶ ἠδυνήθης»· τὰ δὲ Κέλσου οὐδαμῶς ἀπάτην ἔχειν μοι φαίνεται, διὸ οὐδὲ κενήν], ὁποίαν ἔχει τὰ τῶν αἱρέσεις ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ πηξάντων καὶ νοῦν οὐ τὸν τυχόντα κατ' ἐκεῖνα ἀνειληφότων. Καὶ ὥσπερ οὐ τὸ τυχὸν τῶν ψευδομένων ἐν γεωμετρικοῖς θεωρήμασι ψευδογραφούμενόν τις ἂν λέγοι ἢ καὶ ἀναγράφοι γυμνασίου ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀπὸ τοιούτων, οὕτως παραπλήσια εἶναι χρὴ τοῖς τῶν αἱρέσεις πηξάντων ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ νοήμασι τὰ μέλλοντα ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις λέγεσθαι κενὴν ἀπάτην «κατὰ παράδοσιν ἀνθρώπων, κατὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τοῦ κόσμου».