Education is no barrier to knowing God
It is false, too, that those who teach the divine word wish to persuade only “the silly, the low-born, the dull, slaves, women and little children.” The word does call these, to make them better; but it also calls those who are far above them, since Christ is “the Saviour of all men, and especially of believers” (1 Timothy 4:10), whether intelligent or simpler, and he is “the propitiation” “with the Father” “for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (1 John 2:1–2).
After this, then, it is needless for us to want to defend ourselves against Celsus’s words, which run thus: “For what evil is there, in any case, in being educated, in having devoted oneself to the best teachings, and in being sensible and seeming so? What hindrance is this to knowing God? Why is it not rather a help, and a means by which one might better reach the truth?”
To be truly educated, then, is no evil, for education is a road to virtue. Yet not even the wise men of the Greeks will say that those who hold mistaken doctrines should be counted among the educated. Again, who would not agree that it is good to have devoted oneself to the best teachings? But which shall we call the best teachings, if not those that are true and summon us to virtue? Being sensible is also a fine thing, but not merely seeming so, which is what Celsus said. Being educated, having devoted oneself to the best teachings, and being sensible do not hinder the knowledge of God; they even help toward it. And it is more fitting for us to say this than for Celsus, especially if he is shown to be an Epicurean.
Greek
Ψεῦδος δὲ καὶ τὸ μόνους ἠλιθίους καὶ ἀγεννεῖς καὶ ἀναισθήτους καὶ ἀνδράποδα καὶ γύναια καὶ παιδάρια πείθειν ἐθέλειν τοὺς διδάσκοντας τὸν θεῖον λόγον. καὶ τούτους μὲν γὰρ καλεῖ ὁ λόγος, ἵνα αὐτοὺς βελτιώσῃ· καλεῖ δὲ καὶ τοὺς πολλῷ τούτων διαφέροντας· ἐπεὶ „σωτήρ ἐστιν πάντων ἀνθρώπων“ ὁ Χριστὸς καὶ „μάλιστα πιστῶν.“ εἴτε συνετῶν εἴτε ἁπλουστέρων, καὶ „ἱλασμός ἐστι“ „πρὸς τὸν πατέρα“ „περὶ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν, οὐ μόνον δὲ περὶ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου.“ περισσὸν οὖν τὸ θέλειν μετὰ ταῦτ᾿ ἀπολογήσασθαι ἡμᾶς πρὸς τὰς Κέλσου λέξεις οὕτως ἐχούσας· τί γάρ ἐστιν ἄλλως κακὸν τὸ πεπαιδεῦσθαι καὶ λόγων τῶν ἀρίστων ἐπιμεμελῆσθαι καὶ φρόνιμον εἶναί τε καὶ δοκεῖν; τί δὲ κωλύει τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ γνῶναι θεόν; τί δ᾿ οὐχὶ προὔργου μᾶλλον καὶ δι᾿ οὗ μᾶλλόν τις ἂν ἐφικέσθαι δύναιτο ἀληθείας; τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀληθῶς πεπαιδεῦσθαι οὐ κακόν· ὁδὸς γὰρ ἐπ᾿ ἀρετήν ἐστιν ἡ παίδευσις· τὸ μέντοι γε ἐν πεπαιδευμένοις ἀριθμεῖν τοὺς ἐσφαλμένα δόγματα ἔχοντας οὐδ᾿ οἱ Ἑλλήνων σοφοὶ φήσουσι. πάλιν τ᾿ αὖ τίς οὐκ ἂν ὁμολογήσαι ὅτι λόγων τῶν ἀρίστων ἐπιμεμελῆσθαι ἀγαθόν ἐστιν; ἀλλὰ τίνας ἐροῦμεν τοὺς ἀρίστους λόγους ἢ τοὺς ἀληθεῖς καὶ ἐπ᾿ ἀρετὴν παρακαλοῦντας; ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ φρόνιμον εἶναι καλόν ἐστιν, οὐκέτι δὲ τὸ δοκεῖν, ὅπερ εἶπεν ὁ Κέλσος. καὶ οὐ κωλύει γε πρὸς τὸ γνῶναι θεὸν ἀλλὰ καὶ συνεργεῖ τὸ πεπαιδεῦσθαι καὶ λόγων ἀρίστων ἐπιμεμελῆσθαι καὶ φρόνιμον εἶναι. καὶ ἡμῖν μᾶλλον πρέπει τοῦτο λέγειν ἢ Κέλσῳ, καὶ μάλιστ᾿ ἐὰν Ἐπικούρειος ὢν ἐλέγχηται.