Testimonia

{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p class=\"c006\">But Celsus, lingering over matters which he does not understand,\r\nleads us to be guilty of tautology, as we do not wish\r\neven in appearance to leave any one of his objections unexamined.\r\nHe proceeds, accordingly, as follows: “God either\r\nreally changes himself, as these assert, into a mortal body, and\r\nthe impossibility of that has been already declared; or else he\r\ndoes <i>not</i> undergo a change, but only causes the beholders to\r\nimagine so, and thus deceives them, and is guilty of falsehood.\r\nNow deceit and falsehood are nothing but evils, and would only\r\nbe employed as a medicine, either in the case of sick and lunatic\r\nfriends, with a view to their cure, or in that of enemies when\r\none is taking measures to escape danger. But no sick man or\r\nlunatic is a friend of God, nor does God fear any one to such\r\na degree as to shun danger by leading him into error.” Now\r\nthe answer to these statements might have respect partly to the\r\nnature of the Divine Word, who is God, and partly to the soul\r\nof Jesus. As respects the nature of the Word, in the same way\r\nas the quality of the food changes in the nurse into milk with\r\nreference to the nature of the child, or is arranged by the\r\nphysician with a view to the good of his health in the case of a\r\nsick man, or [is specially] prepared for a stronger man, because\r\nhe possesses greater vigour, so does God appropriately change,\r\n<span class=\"pageno\" id=\"Page_178\">178</span>in the case of each individual, the power of the Word to which\r\nbelongs the natural property of nourishing the human soul.\r\nAnd to one is given, as the Scripture terms it, “the sincere\r\nmilk of the word;” and to another, who is weaker, as it were,\r\n“herbs;” and to another who is full-grown, “strong meat.”\r\nAnd the Word does not, I imagine, prove false to His own\r\nnature, in contributing nourishment to each one, according as\r\nhe is capable of receiving Him. Nor does He mislead or prove\r\nfalse. But if one were to take the change as referring to the\r\nsoul of Jesus after it had entered a body, we would inquire in\r\nwhat sense the term “change” is used. For if it be meant to\r\napply to its essence, such a supposition is inadmissible, not only\r\nin relation to the soul of Jesus, but also to the rational soul of\r\nany other being. And if it be alleged that it suffers anything\r\nfrom the body when united with it, or from the place to which\r\nit has come, then what inconvenience<a id=\"r539\"></a><a class=\"c008 pginternal\" href=\"#f539\"><sup>[539]</sup></a> can happen to the Word\r\nwho, in great benevolence, brought down a Saviour to the\r\nhuman race?—seeing none of those who formerly professed to\r\neffect a cure could accomplish so much as that soul showed <i>it</i>\r\ncould do, by what it performed, even by voluntarily descending\r\nto the level of human destinies for the benefit of our race.\r\nAnd the Divine Word, well knowing this, speaks to that effect\r\nin many passages of Scripture, although it is sufficient at present\r\nto quote one testimony of Paul to the following effect:\r\n“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus;\r\nwho, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be\r\nequal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took\r\nupon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness\r\nof men; and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled\r\nHimself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of\r\nthe cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and\r\ngiven Him a name which is above every name.”<a id=\"r540\"></a><a class=\"c008 pginternal\" href=\"#f540\"><sup>[540]</sup></a></p>","headings":["The writings of Origen, Vol. 2 of 2","BOOK IV.","Chapter XVIII."],"marker_anchor":null,"paragraph_id":"pg70693-paragraph-237"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"d2d05d939fc1479d7bdf3e083969ffafbc5b464e199f6eb16baa8eefdbf6e87b","edition_title":"The writings of Origen, Vol. 2 (of 2)","edition_translators":["Frederick Crombie","W. H. Cairns"],"edition_year":1872,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg70693-f539","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Project Gutenberg metadata: Public domain in the USA. Existing 1872 English edition; listed translators died 1889 and 1872. Electronic transcription subject to Project Gutenberg reuse terms.","source_anchor":"f539","source_ebook":70693,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\" id=\"f539\">\n<p class=\"c007\"><span class=\"label\"><a class=\"pginternal\" href=\"#r539\">539</a>.  </span><span lang=\"grc\">τί ἄτοπον.</span></p>\n</div>","source_sha256":"76ed9a9fd752c1d5095189e38fe3dcbbea0fd23d6be719db17360e4da14552fa","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/70693/pg70693-images.html#f539","text_sha256":"6f6bae7b3e3db93a2be2e6ac58336613674592c7c101f94719ff57c6aa6db68d","verified":false,"work_id":null}

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