A prayer for words that uproot and plant
In the three books before this one, holy Ambrose, we have gone through what occurred to us in reply to Celsus’s treatise. Now, having prayed to God through Christ, we dictate a fourth in reply to what comes next. May we be given words such as those of which it is written in Jeremiah, where the Lord says to the prophet: “Behold, I have put my words into your mouth as fire. Behold, I have set you this day over nations and kingdoms, to root out and to dig down, to destroy and to pull down, to build again and to plant” (Jeremiah 1:9–10; 5:14).
For we too now need words that will root out whatever stands against the truth from every soul that has been harmed by Celsus’s treatise or by thoughts like his. We need thoughts as well that will dig down the buildings of every false opinion, and the building Celsus has put up in his treatise, which is like the building of those who said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top shall reach to heaven” (Genesis 11:4). And we need wisdom that pulls down every height that is lifted up “against the knowledge of God” (2 Corinthians 10:5), and the “height” of arrogance that Celsus has “lifted up” against us.
Then, since we must not stop at “rooting out and digging down” what we have named, but must “plant” a planting of God’s field in the ground of what has been rooted out, and must build God’s building and a temple of God’s glory in the place of what has been dug down (1 Corinthians 3:9), for this reason we too must pray to the Lord who gave what is written in Jeremiah, that he may give us also words for building up the things of Christ, and for “planting” the spiritual law and the prophetic words that answer to it.
Above all, in answer to what Celsus says next after the passages already treated, we need to establish that what was prophesied about Christ was rightly prophesied. For Celsus stands against both parties at once: against the Jews, who deny that the coming of Christ has taken place but hope that it will, and against the Christians, who confess that Jesus is the Christ who was prophesied. He says:
Greek
Ἐν τρισὶ τοῖς πρὸ τούτων διεξελθόντες βιβλίοις τὰ πρὸς τὸ Κέλσου σύγγραμμα νοηθέντα ἡμῖν, ἱερὲ Ἀμβρόσιε, τέταρτον πρὸς τὰ ἑξῆς εὐξάμενοι διὰ Χριστοῦ τῷ θεῷ ὑπαγορεύομεν. δοθεῖεν δ᾿ ἡμῖν λόγοι, περὶ ὧν ἐν τῷ Ἱερεμίᾳ γέγραπται, ὡς τοῦ κυρίου πρὸς τὸν προφήτην εἰπόντος· „ἰδοὺ δέδωκα τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου πῦρ. ἰδοὺ καθέστακά σε σήμερον ἐπὶ ἔθνη καὶ βασιλείας, ἐκριζοῦν καὶ κατασκάπτειν καὶ ἀπολύειν καὶ κατασπᾶν καὶ ἀνοικοδομεῖν καὶ καταφυτεύειν.“ καὶ γὰρ ἡμεῖς νῦν χρῄζομεν λόγων ἐκριζούντων τὰ κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀπὸ πάσης ψυχῆς. βεβλαμμένης ἀπὸ τοῦ συγγράμματος Κέλσου ἢ τῶν παραπλησίων αὐτῷ νοημάτων. δεόμεθα δὲ καὶ νοημάτων, κατασκαπτόντων πάσης ψευδοδοξίας οἰκοδομὰς καὶ τῆς Κέλσου ἐν τῷ συγγράμματι αὐτοῦ οἰκοδομῆς παραπλήσια τῇ οἰκοδομῇ τῶν εἰπόντων· „δεῦτε οἰκοδομήσωμεν ἑαυτοῖς πόλιν καὶ πύργον, οὗ ἡ κεφαλὴ ἔσται ἕως τοῦ οὐρανοῦ“· ἀλλὰ καὶ χρῄζομεν σοφίας κατασπώσης πάντα τὰ ἐπαιρόμενα „κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ“ ὑψώματα καὶ τὸ Κέλσου „ἐπαιρόμενον“ καθ᾿ ἡμῶν τῆς ἀλαζονείας „ὕψωμα.“ εἶτ᾿ ἐπεὶ μὴ χρὴ καταλήγειν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὸ „ἐκριζοῦν καὶ κατασκάπτειν“ τὰ προειρημένα ἀλλ᾿ εἰς μὲν τὴν χώραν τῶν ἐκριζωθέντων „καταφυτεύειν“ φυτείαν τοῦ κατὰ θεὸν γεωργίου, εἰς δὲ τὸν τόπον τῶν κατασκαφέντων οἰκοδομεῖν θεοῦ οἰκοδομὴν καὶ ναὸν δόξης θεοῦ, διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἡμῖν εὐκτέον ἐστὶ τῷ δεδωκότι κυρίῳ τὰ ἐν τῷ Ἱερεμίᾳ γεγραμμένα, ἵνα καὶ ἡμῖν δῷ λόγους καὶ πρὸς τὸ οἰκοδομεῖν τὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ „καταφυτεύειν“ τὸν πνευματικὸν νόμον καὶ τοὺς ἀνάλογον αὐτῷ προφητικοὺς λόγους. καὶ μάλιστα χρεία ἡμῖν πρὸς τὰ νῦν ἑξῆς τοῖς προειρημένοις τῷ Κέλσῳ λεγόμενα κατασκευάσαι ὅτι καλῶς τὰ περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πεπροφήτευται. ἅμα γὰρ πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους ἱστάμενος ὁ Κέλσος, Ἰουδαίους μὲν ἀρνουμένους γεγονέναι τὴν Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημίαν ἐλπίζοντας δ᾿ αὐτὴν ἔσεσθαι, Χριστιανοὺς δὲ ὁμολογοῦντας τὸν Ἰησοῦν εἶναι τὸν προφητευθέντα Χριστὸν, φησίν·