... = omissions by me
... I do not present Celsus’ words as a continuous text. Ellipses in brackets [. . .] indicate those places where Origen could have omitted material. In most of these cases, it is too subjective to invent a transition where one feels it might be needed. We do not know if there are missing words or whole paragraphs.
...My method is simple: to translate Celsus literally, though not woodenly. When I add a word or transition for clarity, I put the word or phrase in italics. I also use italics when Origen’s quotation of Celsus is vague, choppy, or paraphrastic. In short, italics indicate places where we do not have the original words of Celsus.* Celsus was eloquent, witty, and sharp-witted. There is, accordingly, no need to improve on his language or rhetoric. I have simply tried to represent it—in all its biting wit and force.
...I do not claim that my translation is a “reconstruction” of Celsus’ text, since I have merely gone through Origen’s Against Celsus section by section and picked out the quotations from Celsus’ prior work. My method assumes, of course, that Origen quoted Celsus’ treatise in order. I don’t see any compelling reason to reject this assumption. (Origen’s most frequent transition is something to this effect: “And let us see what Celsus says next. . . .”) ...
...Origen generally quoted Celsus rather like biblical texts in Origen’s commentaries: lemma after lemma in the original order. If Origen initially paraphrased Celsus, he sometimes later gave a more accurate quote. I have only used material which plausibly derives from Celsus, and most of the decisions about what is quoted from Celsus have already been made before me by editors and translators of Against Celsus (who customarily but the words of Celsus in italics) ...
Litwa, M. David; Platonicus, Celsus. Celsus in His Own Words: A Translation of The True Teaching (pp. 7-8). Kindle Edition.
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*
italics added
here^ by me (
those below are Litwa's, used as explained above)
Selected excerpts (most as available on kindle sample-preview):
The True Teaching
..Introduction
..1.1 Christians secretly make covenants with each other against what has been ordained by law and custom. Of these covenants, some are public—as many as are in accordance with the laws—but others are hidden which are ratified against what is ordained by law and custom
...
......The common law is against this, namely the covenants made by Christians. [. . .]
......It is irrational to make covenants against what is ordained by law and custom. [. . .]
..1.2 Their teaching is foreign in origin,
dependent on Judaism [. . .]
...
..1.3 Christians have secret teachings which they perform and teach among themselves
...
..1.6 Christians have apparently mastered daimonic names and invocations [. . .]
......Jesus himself, empowered by sorcery, performed the miracles he seemed to perform. Now, when he foresaw that others would come, learn the same lessons, and perform the same miracles—solemnly confessing they did so by the power of God—he expelled these people from his society. If he justly expelled them, while he himself was guilty of the same things, he is morally corrupt. But, if he is not morally corrupt in performing these miracles, then neither are those who perform just as he did. [. . .]
..1.7 Their teaching is secret
for the reasons I mentioned [. . .]
....
Litwa, M. David; Platonicus, Celsus.
Celsus in His Own Words: A Translation of The True Teaching (pp.10-11). Kindle Edition.
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..The Speech of the Jew to Jesus [in part]
.. ...
..1.34 The star rose at your birth and other miraculous events [. . .] ...
.......The prophecy about your advent is fictional, as is the narrative about the star, and the magi who came from the east to bow down to you as a child. [. . .] ...
..1.58 You say that Chaldeans were driven to come at your birth to worship you as a god when you were still a baby, and they revealed this to Herod the tetrarch ...
..1.62 You attached ten or eleven nobodies to yourself, infamous persons, the most perverse tax-collectors and sailors; and with these men, you rushed off like a slave here and there, shamefully and greedily gathering your food. [. . .] ...
..1.67 The ancient myths which attribute a divine conception to Perseus, Amphion, Aeacus and Minos, we (Jews) do not believe, despite the fact that they displayed great and wondrous works truly for the advantage of humanity so as not to seem unconvincing ....
Litwa, M. David; Platonicus, Celsus. Celsus in His Own Words: (pp.14-16). Kindle Edition
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Interesting that Celsus calls the magi 'Chaldeans'
