Against Celsus

Origen, ANF 4

Book 3, For the Church of God, e.g., which is at Athens, is a meek and stable body, as…

For the Church¹ of God, e.g., which is at Athens, is a meek and stable body, as being one which desires to please God, who is over all things; whereas the assembly² of the Athenians is given to sedition, and is not at all to be compared to the Church of God in that city. And you may say the same thing of the Church of God at Corinth, and of the assembly of the Corinthian people; and also of the Church of God at Alexandria, and of the assembly of the people of Alexandria. And if he who hears this be a candid man, and one who investigates things with a desire to ascertain the truth, he will be filled with admiration of Him who not only conceived the design, but also was able to secure in all places the establishment of Churches of God alongside³ of the assemblies of the people in each city. In like manner, also, in comparing the council⁴ of the Church of God with the council in any city, you would find that certain councillors⁵ of the Church are worthy to rule in the city of God, if there be any such city in the whole world;⁶ whereas the councillors in all other places exhibit in their characters no quality worthy of the conventional⁷ superiority which they appear to enjoy over their fellow-citizens. And so, too, you must compare the ruler of the Church in each city with the ruler of the people of the city, in order to observe that even amongst those councillors and rulers of the Church of God who come very far short of their duty, and who lead more indolent lives than others who are more energetic, it is nevertheless possible to discover a general superiority in what relates to the progress of virtue over the characters of the councillors and rulers in the various cities.⁸

Notes

ἐκκλησία.
ἐκκλησία.
παροικούσας.
βουλήν.
βουλευταί.
εὕροις ἄν τίνες μὲν τῆς ἐκκληοίας βουλευταὶ ἄξιοί εἰσιν, εἴ τἰς ἐστιν ἐν τῶ πάντι πόγις τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐν ἐκεινῆ πολιτεύεσθαι. Boherellus conjectures εὕροις ἃν ὄτι τινὲσμὲν, κ.τ.λ.
τῆς ἐκ κατατάξεως ὑπεροχῆς.
ὅτι και ἐπὶ τῶν σφόδρα ἀποτυγχανομένων βουλευτῶν καὶ ἀρχόντων ἐκκλησίας Θεοῦ, καὶ παθυμότερον παρὰ τοὺς εὐτονωτέρως βιοῦντας, οὐδὲν ῇττὸν ἐστιν εὑρεῖν ὡς ἐπίπαν ὑπεροχὴν, τὴν ἐν τῆ ἐπὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς προκοπῆ, παρὰ τὰ ἔθη τῶν ἐν ταῖς πολεσι βουλευτῶν καὶ ἀρχόντων. Boherellus conjectures π̔αθυμοτερων.