Arguments of Celsus, Porphyry, and the Emperor Julian, Against the Christians. Cornelius Tacitus
According to this wise Christian philosopher therefore, not only all the confessedly wise and virtuous
Heathens that lived posterior, but those also who lived anterior to the promulgation of the Christian religion, will have no place hereafter among the blessed.
Cyril should have tried to make us believe, that Julian was a mean and cowardly prince*. Those who judge of men that lived in former ages by those who have lived in more recent times, may feel little surprise at the proceedings of Cyril. It has rarely happened that long animosity and abuse have not been introduced into religious controversies."
After what has been above said of Julian, I deem it necessary to observe, that Father Petau is egregiously mistaken in supposing that Cyril has preserved the whole of that Emperor's arguments against the Christians: and the Marquis D'Argêns is also mistaken when he says, that "the passages of Julian's text which are
* This is by no means wonderful in Cyril, when we consider
that he is, with the strongest reason, suspected of being
the cause of the murder of Hypatia, who was one of the
brightest ornaments of the Alexandrian school, and who was
not only a prodigy of learning, but also a paragon of
beauty.
abridged or omitted, aire very few." For Hieronymus in Epist. 83. Ad Magnum Oratorem Romanum, testifies that this work consisted of seven books; three of which only Cyril attempted to confute, as is evident from his own words, [—Greek—] "Julian wrote three books against the holy Evangelists." But as Fabricius observes, (in Biblioth. Græc. tom. vii. p. 89.) in the other four books, he appears to have attacked the remaining books of the Scriptures, i.e. the books of the Old Testament.
With respect, however, to the three books which Cyril has endeavoured to confute, it appears to me, that he has only selected such parts of these books as he thought he could most easily answer. For that he has not given even the substance of these three books, is evident from the words of Julian himself, as recorded by Cyril. For Julian, after certain invectives both against Christ and John, says, "These things, therefore, we shall shortly discuss, when we come particularly to consider
the monstrous deeds and fraudulent machinations of the Evangelists*." There is no particular discussion however of these in any part of the extracts preserved by Cyril.
That the work, indeed, of Julian against the Christians was of considerable extent, is evident from the testimony of his contemporary, Libanius; who, in his admirable funeral oration on this most extraordinary man, has the following remarkable passage: "But when the winter had extended the nights, Julian, besides many other beautiful works, attacked the books which make a man of Palestine to be a God, and the son of God; and in a long contest, and with strenuous arguments, evinced that what is said in these writings is ridiculous and nugatory. And in the execution of this work he appears to have excelled in wisdom the Tyrian old man.**
* [—Greek—]
** viz. Porphyry, who was of Tyre, and who, as is well
known, wrote a work against the Christians, which was
publicly burnt by order of the Emperor Constantine.
In asserting this however, may the Tyrian be propitious to me, and benevolently receive what I have said, he having been vanquished by his son*."
With respect to Celsus, the author of the following Fragments, he lived in the time of the Emperor Adrian. and was, if Origen may be credited, an Epicurean philosopher. That he might indeed, at some former period of his life, have been an Epicurean maybe admitted; but it would be highly absurd to suppose that he was so when he wrote this invective against the Christians; for the arguments which he mostly employs show that he was well skilled m the philosophy of Plato: and to suppose, as Origen does, that he availed himself of arguments in
* [—Greek—]
which he did not believe, and consequently conceived to be erroneous, in order to confute doctrines which he was persuaded are false, would be to make him, instead of a philosopher, a fool. As to Origen, though he abandoned philosophy for Christianity, he was considered as heterodox by many of the Christian sect. Hence, with some of the Catholics, his future salvation became a matter of doubt*; and this induced the celebrated Johannes Picus Mirandulanus, in the last of his Theological conclusions according to his own opinion, to say: "Rationabilius est credere Uriginem esse salvum, quam credere ipsum esse damnatum," i.e. It is more reasonable to believe that Origen is saved, than that he is damned.
I shall conclude this Introduction with the following extract.
* 'In Prato Spiritual!, c. 26, quod citatur, à VIL Synodo,
et à Johanne Diacono, lib. ii. c. 45. vitas B. Gregorii
narratur fevelatio, qua Origines viras est in Gehenna ignis
cum Alio et Netftorio."*—Fobric. BMiotk Grate torn. v. p.
216
Directions of Dr. Barlow, Bishop of Lincoln, to a young divine.
"It will be of great use for a divine to be acquainted with the arts, knavery, and fraud of the Roman inquisitor, in purging, correcting, or rather corrupting authors in all arts and faculties. For this purpose we may consult the Index Expurgatorius. By considering this Index, we come to know the best editions of many good books.
"1st. The best books; that is, those that are condemned.
"2nd. The best editions; viz. those that are dated before the Index, and consequently not altered.
"3rd. The Index is a good common place book, to point out who has written well against the Church, p. 70.
"Ockam is damned in the Index, and therefore we may be sure he was guilty of telling some great truth, p. 41.*"
* The Bishop's rule is as good for one church as for
another, and every church has its Index.
THE ARGUMENTS OF CELSUS AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS
"THE Christians are accustomed to have private assemblies, which are forbidden by the law. For of assemblies some are public, and these are conformable to the law of the land; but others are secret, and these are such as are hostile to the laws; among which are the Love Feasts of the Christians *.
* Why the Romans punished the Christians:
"It is commonly regarded as a very curious and remarkable
fact, that, although the Romans were disposed to tolerate
every other religious sect, yet they frequently persecuted
the Christians with unrelenting cruelty. This exception, so
fatal to a peaceable and harmless sect, must have originated
in circumstances which materially distin- …
"Men who irrationally assent to anything, resemble those who are delighted with jugglers and enchanters, &c. For as most of these are depraved characters, who deceive the vulgar, and persuade them to assent to whatever they please, this also takes place with the Christians. Some of these are not willing either to give or receive a reason for what they believe; but are accustomed to say, 'Do not investigate, but believe, your faith will save you.
… guished them from the votaries of every other religion. The
causes and the pretexts of persecution may have varied at
various periods; but there seems to have