Chapter XXV.

Celsus says that “the demons belong to God, and are therefore to be believed, to be sacrificed to according to laws, and to be prayed to that they may be propitious.”  Those who are disposed to learn, must know that the word of God nowhere says of evil things that they belong to God, for it judges them unworthy of such a Lord.  Accordingly, it is not all men who bear the name of “men of God,” but only those who are worthy of God,—such as Moses and Elias, and any others who are so called, or such as resemble those who are so called in Scripture.  In the same way, all angels are not said to be angels of God, but only those that are blessed:  those that have fallen away into sin are called “angels of the devil,” just as bad men are called “men of sin,” “sons of perdition,” or “sons of iniquity.”  Since, then, among men some are good and others bad, and the former are said to be God’s and the latter the devil’s, so among angels some are angels of God, and others angels of the devil.  But among demons there is no such distinction, for all are said to be wicked.  We do not therefore hesitate to say that Celsus is false when he says, “If they are demons, it is evident that they must also belong to God.”  He must either show that this distinction of good and bad among angels and men has no foundation, or else that a similar distinction may be shown to hold among demons.  If that is impossible, it is plain that demons do not belong to God; for their prince is not God, but, as holy Scripture says, “Beelzebub.”

Ἐπεὶ δέ φησιν ἐν τούτοις ὁ Κέλσος ὅτι καὶ οἱ δαίμονές εἰσι τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πιστευτέον ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς καὶ καλλιερητέον κατὰ νόμους καὶ προσευκτέον, ἵν' εὐμενεῖς ὦσι, διδακτέον καὶ περὶ τούτου τοὺς βουλομένους ὅτι ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος οὐδὲν τῶν φαύλων ἀναγορεύειν βούλεται κτῆμα θεοῦ τυγχάνειν, ἀνάξιον αὐτὸ κρίνων τηλικούτου κυρίου. ∆ιόπερ οὐ πάντες μὲν ἄνθρωποι χρηματίζουσιν ἄνθρωποι θεοῦ, μόνοι δὲ οἱ ἄξιοι τοῦ θεοῦ· ὁποῖος ἦν Μωϋσῆς καὶ Ἠλίας, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος ἀναγέγραπται "ἄνθρωπος θεοῦ" ἢ παραπλήσιός ἐστι τοῖς ἀναγεγραμμένοις. Οὕτως δὲ καὶ οὐ πάντες ἄγγελοι "ἄγγελοι" λέγονται εἶναι "τοῦ θεοῦ" ἀλλὰ μόνοι οἱ μακάριοι, οἱ δ' ἐκτραπέντες ἐπὶ τὴν κακίαν ἄγγελοι τοῦ διαβόλου ὀνομάζονται, ὥσπερ οἱ φαῦλοι ἄνθρωποι ἄνθρωποι ἁμαρτίας ἢ υἱοὶ λοιμοὶ ἢ υἱοὶ ἀδικίας. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ἄνθρωποι οἱ μέν εἰσι σπουδαῖοι οἱ δὲ φαῦλοι, διὸ καὶ οἱ μὲν "τοῦ θεοῦ" οἱ δὲ τοῦ διαβόλου εἶναι λέγονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ "ἄγγελοι" οἱ μὲν "τοῦ θεοῦ" οἱ δὲ τοῦ πονηροῦ, δαίμονες δὲ οὐκέτι διχῶς, πάντες γὰρ ἀποδείκνυνται εἶναι φαῦλοι· διὰ τοῦτο φήσομεν ψευδῆ εἶναι τὸν Κέλσου λόγον εἰπόντος τό· Εἰ δ' εἰσί τινες δαίμονες, δηλονότι καὶ οὗτοι τοῦ θεοῦ· ἢ δεικνύτω ὁ βουλόμενος μὴ λόγον ὑγιῆ εἶναι τὴν περὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἀγγέλων διαίρεσιν, ἢ λόγον ἔχοντα παραπλήσιον δύνασθαι ἀποδείκνυσθαι καὶ ἐπὶ δαιμόνων.