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| Chapter LXV
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Chapter LXV.
Celsus proceeds to say of God that “of Him
are all things,” abandoning (in so speaking), I know not how, all
his principles;4618
| 4618 For αὐτοῦ Boherellus
conjectures αὑτοῦ, and translates,
“Propria ipse principia, quæ sunt Epicuri,
subruens.” | while our Paul
declares, that “of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all
things,”4619
showing that He is
the beginning of the substance of all things by the words “of
Him,” and the bond of their subsistence by the expression
“through Him,” and their final end by the terms “to
Him.” Of a truth, God is of nothing. But when Celsus
adds, that “He is not to be reached by word,”4620
I make a distinction, and say that if he
means the word that is in us—whether the word conceived in
the mind, or the word that is uttered4621
| 4621 εἴτε
ἐνδιαθέτῳ
εἴτε καὶ
προφορικῷ. | —I, too, admit that God is not to be
reached by word. If, however, we attend to the passage, “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God,”4622
we are of opinion
that God is to be reached by this Word, and is comprehended not
by Him only, but by any one whatever to whom He may reveal the Father;
and thus we shall prove the falsity of the assertion of Celsus, when he
says, “Neither is God to be reached by word.” The
statement, moreover, that “He cannot be expressed by name,”
requires to be taken with a distinction. If he means, indeed,
that there is no word or sign4623
| 4623 οὐδὲν τῶν
ἐν λέξεσι καὶ
σημαινομένοις. | that can represent
the attributes of God, the statement is true, since there are many
qualities which cannot be indicated by words. Who, for example,
could describe in words the difference betwixt the quality of sweetness
in a palm and that in a fig? And who could distinguish and set
forth in words the peculiar qualities of each individual thing?
It is no wonder, then, if in this way God cannot be described by
name. But if you take the phrase to mean that it is possible to
represent by words something of God’s attributes, in order to
lead the hearer by the hand,4624
as it were, and so
enable him to comprehend something of God, so far as attainable by
human nature, then there is no absurdity in saying that “He
can be described by name.” And we make a similar
distinction with regard to the expression, “for He has undergone
no suffering that can be conveyed by words.” It is true
that the Deity is beyond all suffering. And so much on this
point.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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