The name of Jesus, not spells
After this Celsus says (what moves him to it I do not know) that Christians appear to gain their power by the names of certain demons and by incantations. He is hinting, I suppose, at those who cast spells on demons and drive them out. But he seems plainly to be slandering our teaching. For Christians do not appear to gain their power by incantations, but by the name of Jesus, together with the telling of the stories about him. These words, when spoken, have often made demons depart from men, especially when those who say them speak from a sound disposition of genuine faith.
Indeed, the name of Jesus has such power against demons that it is sometimes effective even when named by bad men. Jesus taught this when he said: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘In your name we cast out demons and did mighty works’” (Matthew 7:22). Whether Celsus passed over this on purpose and with malice, or from ignorance, I do not know.
In what follows he also accuses the Savior, saying that it was by sorcery that he was able to do the marvels he appeared to have done; and that he foresaw that others too, having learned the same lessons, would do the same thing and would boast that they did it by the power of God; and that Jesus drives such men out of his own commonwealth. And he accuses him thus: if he drives them out justly, while he himself is liable to the same charges, he is a bad man; but if he is not a bad man for having done these things, neither are those who act as he did.
But to speak plainly: even if it seems impossible to put to the test how Jesus did these things, it is clear that Christians use no practice of spells, but the name of Jesus and other words believed in accordance with the divine Scripture.
Greek
Μετὰ ταῦτα οὐκ οἶδα πόθεν κινούμενος ὁ Κέλσος φησὶ δαιμόνων τινῶν ὀνόμασι καὶ κατακηλήσεσι δοκεῖν ἰσχύειν Χριστιανοὺς, ὡς οἶμαι αἰνισσόμενος τὰ περὶ τῶν κατεπᾳδόντων τοὺς δαίμονας καὶ ἐξελαυνόντων. ἔοικε δὲ σαφῶς συκοφαντεῖν τὸν λόγον. οὐ γὰρ κατακηλήσεσιν ἰσχύειν δοκοῦσιν ἀλλὰ τῷ ὀνόματι Ἰησοῦ μετὰ τῆς ἀπαγγελίας τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν ἱστοριῶν. ταῦτα γὰρ λεγόμενα πολλάκις τοὺς δαίμονας πεποίηκεν ἀνθρώπων χωρισθῆναι. καὶ μάλισθ᾿ ὅταν οἱ λέγοντες ἀπὸ διαθέσεως ὑγιοῦς καὶ πεπιστευκυίας γνησίως αὐτὰ λέγωσι, τοσοῦτον μέν γε δύναται τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατὰ τῶν δαιμόνων, ὡς ἔσθ᾿ ὅτε καὶ ὑπὸ φαύλων ὀνομαζόμενον ἀνύειν· ὅπερ διδάσκων ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἔλεγε τό· „πολλοὶ ἐροῦσί μοι ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ· τῷ ὀνόματί σου δαιμόνια ἐξεβάλομεν καὶ δυνάμεις ἐποιήσαμεν.“ τοῦτο δ᾿ οὐκ οἶδα πότερον ἑκὼν παρεῖδε καὶ κακουργεῖ ὁ Κέλσος ἢ μὴ ἐπιστάμενος. κατηγορεῖ δ᾿ ἐν τοῖς ἑξῆς καὶ τοῦ σωτῆρος, ὡς γοητείᾳ δυνηθέντος ἃ ἔδοξε παράδοξα πεποιηκέναι καὶ προϊδόντος ὅτι μέλλουσι καὶ ἄλλοι τὰ αὐτὰ μαθήματα ἐγνωκότες ποιεῖν τὸ αὐτὸ, σεμνυνόμενοι τῷ θεοῦ δυνάμει ποιεῖν· οὕστινας ἀπελαύνει τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πολιτείας ὁ Ἰησοῦς. καὶ κατηγορεῖ αὐτοῦ ὅτι, εἰ δικαίως ἀπελαύνει καὶ αὐτὸς ἔνοχος ὢν τοῖς αὐτοῖς, φαῦλός ἐστιν· εἰ δ᾿ αὐτὸς οὐ φαῦλος ταῦτα ποιήσας, οὐδ᾿ οἱ ὁμοίως αὐτῷ πράττοντες. ἄντικρυς δὲ, κἂν δοκῇ ἀνέλεγκτον εἶναι τὸ περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, πῶς ταῦτα ἐποίησε, σαφὲς ὅτι Χριστιανοὶ οὐδεμιᾷ μελέτῃ ἐπῳδῶν χρώμενοι τυγχάνουσιν ἀλλὰ τῷ ὀνόματι τοῦ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ἄλλων λόγων πεπιστευμένων κατὰ τὴν θείαν γραφήν.