Is nothing born of matter immortal?
He says also that “nothing born of matter is immortal.” To this it will be said that, if nothing born of matter is immortal, then either the whole world is immortal and is not something born of matter, or the world itself is not an immortal thing either.
If, then, the world is immortal, which is the view even of those who said that only the soul is God’s work and who say that it came from a mixing bowl (Plato, Timaeus 41d), let Celsus show that the world did not come into being from matter without qualities, if he is to keep his saying that “nothing born of matter is immortal.” But if, since the world is born of matter, the world is not immortal, is the world then mortal, and does it perish, or not? For if it perishes, it will perish as a work of God. Then, when the world perishes, what will the soul, the work of God, do? Let Celsus tell us.
But suppose he twists the notion of “immortal” and says that the world is immortal by being perishable and yet not perishing, as being capable of death but not in fact dying. Then plainly, on his view, there will be something at once mortal and immortal, by being capable of both; there will be a mortal thing that does not die; and what is not immortal by nature will be called immortal in a special sense, because it does not die. In what sense of the word, then, will he be drawing his distinction when he says that “nothing born of matter is immortal”? And you see that the ideas in his writings, when they are pressed and put to the test, are shown up as admitting nothing sound and beyond dispute.
After saying this he adds: “On this subject so much is enough; and if anyone is able to hear and inquire further, he will know.” Let us then, who are without understanding in his view, see what has come of our being able to hear him and inquire even a little.
Greek
Φησὶ δ᾿ ὅτι καὶ ὕλης ἔκγονον οὐδὲν ἀθάνατον. καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο λελέξεται ὅτι, εἴπερ ὕλης οὐδὲν ἔκγονον ἀθάνατον, ἤτοι ἀθάνατος ὅλος ὁ κόσμος καὶ οὐχ ὡς ὕλης ἐστὶν ἔκγονον ἢ οὐδ᾿ αὐτὸς χρῆμά ἐστιν ἀθάνατον. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀθάνατος ὁ κόσμος, ὅπερ ἀρέσκει καὶ τοῖς θεοῦ ἔργον εἰποῦσι μόνην τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ἀπό τινος αὐτὴν κρατῆρος γεγονέναι λέγουσι. δεικνύτω ὁ Κέλσος οὐκ ἐξ ὕλης ἀποίου αὐτὸν γεγονέναι, τηρῶν τὸ ὕλης ἔκγονον οὐδὲν ἀθάνατον· εἰ δ᾿, ἐπεὶ ὕλης ἔκγονόν ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος, οὐκ ἔστιν ἀθάνατον ὁ κόσμος· θνητὸν ὁ κόσμος ἆρ᾿ οὖν καὶ φθειρόμενον ἢ μή; εἰ μὲν γὰρ φθειρόμενον, ὡς θεοῦ ἔργον ἔσται φθειρόμενον· εἶτ᾿ ἐν τῇ φθορᾷ τοῦ κόσμου τὸ ἔργον τοῦ θεοῦ ἡ ψυχὴ τί ποιήσει. λεγέτω ὁ Κέλσος· εἰ δὲ διαστρέφων τὴν ἔννοιαν τοῦ ἀθανάτου φήσει τῷ φθαρτῷ μὲν οὐ φθειρομένῳ δὲ ἀθάνατον αὐτὸν εἶναι, ὡς δεκτικὸν μὲν θανάτου οὐ μὴν δὲ καὶ ἀποθνῄσκοντα. δῆλον ὅτι ἔσται τι κατ᾿ ἐκεῖνον θνητὸν ἅμα καὶ ἀθάνατον τῷ ἀμφοτέρων εἶναι δεκτικὸν, καὶ ἔσται θνητὸν οὐκ ἀποθνῇσκον, καὶ τὸ οὐ τῇ φύσει ἀθάνατον παρὰ τὸ μὴ ἀποθνῄσκειν ἰδίως λεγόμενον ἀθάνατον. κατὰ ποῖον οὖν σημαινόμενον διαστελλόμενος φήσει ὕλης ἔκγονον οὐδὲν ἀθάνατον; καὶ ὁρᾷς ὅτι πιεζόμενα αὐτὰ καὶ βασανιζόμενα τὰ ἐν τοῖς γράμμασι νοήματα διελέγχεται οὐκ ἐπιδεχόμενα τὸ γενναῖον καὶ ἀναντίῤῥητον. εἰπὼν δὲ ταῦτ᾿ ἐπιφέρει ὅτι τοῦδε μὲν πέρι ἀπόχρη τοσαῦτα· καὶ εἴ τις ἐπὶ πλεῖον ἀκούειν δύναιτο καὶ ζητεῖν. εἴσεται. ἴδωμεν οὖν ἡμεῖς οἱ κατ᾿ αὐτὸν ἀνόητοι, τί ἠκολούθησε τῷ κἂν ἐπ᾿ ὀλίγον ἡμᾶς αὐτοῦ ἀκούειν δυνηθῆναι καὶ ζητεῖν.