Every charge against Jesus strikes Moses too
Indeed, everything that the Jew in Celsus says to those who believe in Jesus can be turned equally into a charge against Moses, so that one may say that the sorcery of Jesus either does not differ at all from that of Moses or is very like it, since both, as far as the words of Celsus’s Jew go, can be brought under the same charges. For example, about Christ the Jew in Celsus says: “But O light and truth! With his own voice Jesus openly declares these things, as you yourselves have recorded: that others too will come to you using like powers, wicked men and sorcerers” (compare Matthew 24:24).
But about Moses, one who disbelieves the writings of Moses, whether an Egyptian or anyone at all, might say to the Jew: ‘But O light and truth! With his own voice Moses openly declares, as you yourselves have recorded, that others will come to you using like powers, wicked men and sorcerers. For it is written in your law: “If a prophet arises among you, or one who dreams a dream, and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass of which he spoke to you, saying, Let us go and follow other gods, whom you do not know, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or of the one who dreams that dream” (Deuteronomy 13:1–3), and so on.’
And the one who slanders the words of Jesus says that he even names a certain Satan as contriving such things; but the one who turns this against Moses will say that Moses too names a prophet who dreams dreams as contriving such things. And just as the Jew in Celsus says of Jesus: “So that not even he himself denies that these things, at least, are nothing divine, but are the works of wicked men,” so the one who disbelieves the writings of Moses will set out the passage already quoted and say the same to him: ‘So that not even Moses himself denies that these things, at least, are nothing divine, but are the works of wicked men.’ He will do the same with this too: ‘Compelled by the truth, Moses at one stroke both laid bare the deeds of others and convicted his own.’
And when the Jew also says: “How then is it not monstrous, from the same works, to think the one a god and the others sorcerers?” someone might say to him, on account of the words of Moses set out above: ‘How then is it not monstrous, from the same works, to think the one a prophet of God and his servant (Numbers 12:7), and the others sorcerers?’
And since Celsus, dwelling on this point, added this too to the words I have set out and turned against Moses: “For why, on the strength of these things at least, should we think the others wicked rather than this man, when we have him as our witness?” we too shall add something like this to what has been said: ‘For why, on the strength of these things at least, should we think those wicked whom Moses says must not be obeyed when they display signs and wonders, rather than Moses, on account of the very words by which he slandered others over signs and wonders?’
Saying more to the same effect, so as to seem to strengthen his argument, he says: “These things, at any rate, he himself admitted to be the marks not of a divine nature but of certain deceivers and utter scoundrels.” Who, then, is “he himself”? You, Jew, say that it is Jesus; but the one who accuses you, as liable to the same charges, will refer “he himself” to Moses.
Greek
Καὶ ὅλα δὲ, ἅπερ ὁ παρὰ τῷ Κέλσῳ Ἰουδαῖος λέγει πρὸς τοὺς πιστεύοντας εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν, δύναται κοινοποιεῖσθαι εἰς τὴν Μωϋσέως κατηγορίαν· ὥστ᾿ ἢ μηδὲν διαφέρειν ἢ παραπλήσιον εἶναι λέγειν γοητείαν τὴν Ἰησοῦ τῇ Μωϋσέως, ἀμφοτέρων ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ λέξει τοῦ παρὰ τῷ Κέλσῳ Ἰουδαίου δυναμένων τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὑπάγεσθαι ἐγκλήμασιν. οἷον περὶ μὲν Χριστοῦ ὁ παρὰ Κέλσῳ Ἰουδαῖος λέγει· ἀλλ᾿ ὦ φῶς καὶ ἀλήθεια. τῇ αὐτοῦ φωνῇ διαῤῥήδην ἐξαγορεύει Ἰησοῦς ταῦτα, καθὰ καὶ ὑμεῖς συγγεγράφατε. διότι παρέσονται ὑμῖν καὶ ἕτεροι δυνάμεσιν ὁμοίαις χρώμενοι, κακοὶ καὶ γόητες· περὶ δὲ Μωϋσέως εἴποι ἂν ὁ ἀπιστῶν πρὸς τὸν Ἰουδαῖον τοῖς Μωϋσέως εἴτ᾿ Αἰγύπτιος εἴθ᾿ ὁστισοῦν· ἀλλ᾿ ὦ φῶς καὶ ἀλήθεια, τῇ αὐτοῦ φωνῇ Μωϋσῆς διαῤῥήδην ἐξαγορεύει. καθὰ καὶ ὑμεῖς συγγεγράφατε, διότι παρέσονται ὑμῖν ἕτεροι δυνάμεσιν ὁμοίαις χρώμενοι, κακοὶ καὶ γόητες. γέγραπται γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐν τῷ νόμῳ· „ἐὰν δὲ ἀναστῇ ἐν σοὶ προφήτης ἢ ἐνυπνιαζόμενος ἐνύπνιον καὶ δῷ σοι σημεῖον ἢ τέρας, καὶ ἔλθῃ τὸ σημεῖον ἢ τὸ τέρας, ὃ ἐλάλησε πρός σε λέγων· πορευθῶμεν καὶ ἀκολουθήσωμεν θεοῖς ἑτέροις, οὓς οὐκ οἴδατε, καὶ λατρεύσωμεν αὐτοῖς. οὐκ ἀκούσεσθε τοὺς λόγους τοῦ προφήτου ἐκείνου ἢ τοῦ ἐνυπνιαζομένου τὸ ἐνύπνιον ἐκεῖνο“ καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καὶ ὁ μὲν τοὺς λόγους τοῦ Ἰησοῦ διαβάλλων φησὶ καὶ σατανᾶν τινα τοιαῦτα παραμηχανώμενον ὀνομάζειν, ὁ δὲ κοινοποιῶν τοῦτο πρὸς Μωϋσέα ἐρεῖ καὶ προφήτην ἐνυπνιαζόμενον τοιαῦτα παραμηχανώμενον ὀνομάζειν. ὥσπερ δ᾿ ὁ παρὰ τῷ Κέλσῳ Ἰουδαῖός φησι περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ὅτι ὥστε οὐδ᾿ αὐτὸς ἔξαρνός ἐστιν, ὡς ταῦτά γε οὐδὲν θεῖον ἀλλὰ πονηρῶν ἐστιν ἔργα. οὕτως ὁ τοῖς Μωϋσέως ἀπιστῶν φήσει πρὸς αὐτὸν τὰ προειρημένα ἐκτιθέμενος τὸ αὐτό· ὥστε οὐδ᾿ αὐτὸς Μωϋσῆς ἔξαρνός ἐστιν, ὡς ταῦτά γε οὐδὲν θεῖον ἀλλὰ πονηρῶν ἐστιν ἔργα. τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ ποιήσει καὶ ἐπὶ τούτου· βιαζόμενος ὑπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας ὁμοῦ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἀπεκάλυψε καὶ τὰ καθ᾿ ἑαυτὸν ἤλεγξεν ὁ Μωϋσῆς. λέγοντι δὲ τῷ Ἰουδαίῳ καὶ τό· πῶς οὖν οὐ σχέτλιον ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ἔργων τὸν μὲν θεὸν τοὺς δὲ γόητας ἡγεῖσθαι; εἴποι τις ἂν πρὸς αὐτὸν διὰ τὰς Μωϋσέως ἐκτεθείσας λέξεις· πῶς οὖν οὐ σχέτλιον ἀπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν ἔργων τὸν μὲν προφήτην θεοῦ καὶ θεράποντα αὐτοῦ τοὺς δὲ γόητας ἡγεῖσθαι; ἐπεὶ δὲ προσδιατρίβων τῷ τόπῳ ὁ Κέλσος προσέθηκεν οἷς ἐξεθέμην κοινοποιηθεῖσι καὶ τό· τί γὰρ μᾶλλον ἀπό γε τούτων τοὺς ἄλλους πονηροὺς ἢ τοῦτον νομιστέον αὐτῷ χρωμένους μάρτυρι; προσθήσομεν τοῖς λεγομένοις καὶ ἡμεῖς τοιαῦτα· τί γὰρ μᾶλλον ἀπό γε τούτων, οἷς ἀπαγορεύει πείθεσθαι Μωϋσῆς ἐπιδεικνυμένοις σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα, ἐκείνους πονηροὺς νομιστέον ἢ Μωϋσέα ἐξ ὧν ἑτέρους περὶ σημείων καὶ τεράτων διέβαλε; πλείονα δ᾿ εἰς ταὐτὸν λέγων, ἵνα δόξῃ αὔξειν τὸ ἐπιχείρημα, φησί· ταῦτα μέν γε καὶ αὐτὸς ὡμολόγησεν οὐχὶ θείας φύσεως ἀλλ᾿ ἀπατεώνων τινῶν καὶ παμπονήρων εἶναι γνωρίσματα. τίς οὖν αὐτός; σὺ μὲν, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε. φῂς ὅτι ὁ Ἰησοῦς, ὁ δὲ ἐγκαλῶν σοι ὡς τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἐγκλήμασιν ὑποκειμένῳ τὸ αὐτὸς ἀνάξει ἐπὶ τὸν Μωϋσέα.