Origen of Alexandria, Against Celsus

Such is our doctrine of punishment; and the inculcation of this doctrine turns many from their sins. But let us see, on the other hand, what is the response given on this subject by the priest of Jupiter or Apollo of whom Celsus speaks. It is this: “The mills of the gods grind slowly.”1849 “The mills of the gods grind slowly, but they grind to powder” (Plutarch): [De Sera Numinis Vindicta, sect. iii. S.] Another describes punishment as reaching “to children’s children, and to those who came after them.”1850 Hom. Il., xx. 308. How much better are those words of Scripture: “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children for the fathers. Every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”1851 Deut. xxiv. 16. And again, “Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.”1852 Jer. xxxi. 30. And, “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”1853 Ezek. xviii. 20. If any shall say that the response, “To children’s children, and to those who come after them,” corresponds with that passage, “Who visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,”1854 Ex. xx. 5. let him learn from Ezekiel that this language is not to be taken literally; for he reproves those who say, “Our fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge,”1855 Ezek. xviii. 2–4. and then he adds, “As I live, saith the Lord, every one shall die for his own sin.” As to the proper meaning of the figurative language about sins being visited unto the third and fourth generation, we cannot at present stay to explain.

Καὶ ἡμεῖς μὲν ὅ τι ποτὲ περὶ κολάσεως λέγοντες καὶ διὰ τῆς περὶ κολάσεως διδασκαλίας πολλοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπιστρέφομεν· ὁ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Κέλσον ἱερεὺς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος ἢ τοῦ ∆ιὸς οἷα ἀποκρίνεται, κατανοήσω μεν· Ὀψέ, φησί, θεῶν ἀλέουσι μύλοι, καὶ Ἐς παίδων παῖδας, τοί κεν μετόπισθε γένωνται. Ὅρα δὲ ὅσῳ τούτου βέλτιον τὸ "Οὐκ ἀποθανοῦνται πατέρες ὑπὲρ τέκνων, οὐδὲ υἱοὶ ἀποθανοῦνται ὑπὲρ πατέρων· ἕκαστος τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἑαυτοῦ ἀποθανεῖται" καὶ τοῦτο "Τοῦ φαγόντος τὸν ὄμφακα αἱμωδιάσουσιν οἱ ὀδόντες αὐτοῦ" καὶ τὸ "Υἱὸς οὐ λήψεται ἀδικίαν πατρός, καὶ πατὴρ οὐ λήψεται ἀδικίαν υἱοῦ· δικαιοσύνη δικαίου ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται, καὶ ἀνομία ἀνόμου ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἔσται". Ἐὰν δέ τις ὅμοιον εἶναι λέγῃ τῷ Ἐς παίδων παῖδας, τοί κεν μετόπισθε γένωνται τὸ "Ἀποδιδοὺς ἁμαρτίας πατέρων ἐπὶ τέκνα ἐπὶ τρίτην καὶ τετάρτην γενεὰν τοῖς μισοῦσί [με]", μαθέτω ὅτι ἐν τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ "παραβολὴ" τὸ τοιοῦτον εἶναι λέλεκται, αἰτιωμένῳ τοὺς λέγοντας· "Οἱ πατέρες ἔφαγον ὄμφακα, καὶ οἱ ὀδόντες τῶν τέκνων ᾑμωδίασαν", ᾧ ἐπιφέρεται· "Ζῶ ἐγώ, λέγει κύριος", "ἀλλ' ἢ ἕκαστος τῇ ἑαυτοῦ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἀποθα νεῖται". Οὐ κατὰ τὸν παρόντα δὲ καιρόν ἐστι διηγήσασθαι, τί σημαίνει ἡ περὶ τοῦ "[ἐπὶ] τρίτην καὶ τετάρτην γενεὰν" ἀποδίδοσθαι τὰς "ἁμαρτίας" παραβολή.