Chapter LXII.

He next pours down upon us a heap of names, saying that he knows of the existence of certain Simonians who worship Helene, or Helenus, as their teacher, and are called Helenians.  But it has escaped the notice of Celsus that the Simonians do not at all acknowledge Jesus to be the Son of God, but term Simon the “power” of God, regarding whom they relate certain marvellous stories, saying that he imagined that if he could become possessed of similar powers to those with which be believed Jesus to be endowed, he too would become as powerful among men as Jesus was amongst the multitude.  But neither Celsus nor Simon could comprehend how Jesus, like a good husbandman of the word of God, was able to sow the greater part of Greece, and of barbarian lands, with His doctrine, and to fill these countries with words which transform the soul from all that is evil, and bring it back to the Creator of all things.  Celsus knows, moreover, certain Marcellians, so called from Marcellina, and Harpocratians from Salome, and others who derive their name from Mariamme, and others again from Martha.  We, however, who from a love of learning examine to the utmost of our ability not only the contents of Scripture, and the differences to which they give rise, but have also, from love to the truth, investigated as far as we could the opinions of philosophers, have never at any time met with these sects.  He makes mention also of the Marcionites, whose leader was Marcion.

Εἶτα σωρὸν καταχέων ἡμῶν ὀνομάτων φησὶν εἰδέναι τινὰς καὶ Σιμωνιανούς, οἳ τὴν Ἑλένην ἤτοι διδάσκαλον Ἕλενον σέβοντες Ἑλενιανοὶ λέγονται. Ἀλλὰ λανθάνει τὸν Κέλσον ὅτι οὐδαμῶς τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὁμολογοῦσιν υἱὸν θεοῦ Σιμωνιανοί, ἀλλὰ δύναμιν θεοῦ λέγουσι τὸν Σίμωνα, τερατευόμενοι περὶ αὐτοῦ τινα, οἰηθέντος ὅτι, ἐὰν τὰ παρα πλήσια προσποιήσηται οἷς ἔδοξε προσπεποιῆσθαι τὸν Ἰησοῦν, δυνήσεται καὶ αὐτὸς παρ' ἀνθρώποις τοσοῦτον ὅσον Ἰησοῦς τοῖς πολλοῖς. Ἀλλ' οὔτε Κέλσος οὔτε Σίμων ἐδυνήθησαν νοῆσαι, πῶς Ἰησοῦς ὡς καλὸς "γεωργὸς" λόγου θεοῦ δεδύνηται τὴν πολλὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ τὴν πολλὴν βάρβαρον ἐπισπεῖραι καὶ πληρῶσαι λόγων, μετατιθέντων τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ παντὸς κακοῦ καὶ ἀναγόντων πρὸς τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργόν. Κέλσος μὲν οὖν οἶδε καὶ Μαρκελλιανοὺς ἀπὸ Μαρκελλίνας καὶ Ἁρποκρατιανοὺς ἀπὸ Σαλώμης καὶ ἄλλους ἀπὸ Μαριάμμης καὶ ἄλλους ἀπὸ Μάρθας· ἡμεῖς δὲ οἱ διὰ τὴν κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν ἡμῖν φιλομάθειαν οὐ μόνα τὰ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ καὶ τὰς διαφορὰς τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ἐξετάσαντες, ἀλλ' ὅση δύναμις καὶ τὰ τῶν φιλοσοφησάντων φιλαλήθως ἐρευνήσαντες οὐδέ ποτε τούτοις ὡμιλήσαμεν. Ἐμνήσθη δ' ὁ Κέλσος καὶ Μαρκιωνιστῶν, προϊσταμένων Μαρκίωνα.