Arguments of Celsus, Porphyry, and the Emperor Julian, Against the Christians Also Extracts from Diodorus Siculus, Josephus, and Tacitus, Relating to the Jews — Background and Themes

Taylor's Editorial Voice and Method

Taylor's introduction reveals a distinctive editorial approach. He quotes Warburton's wish for a collection of fragments from Porphyry, Celsus, Hierocles, and Julian with a 'just, critical and theological comment,' but Taylor himself declines the theological role, noting he is 'not a divine.' Instead, his notes aim solely to illustrate meaning through parallel passages. This self-imposed limitation shapes the reader's experience: the volume presents the arguments without systematic Christian rebuttal, leaving the rhetorical force of the pagan critiques largely intact. Taylor's language occasionally betrays his own sympathies, as when he describes Origen's response to Celsus as 'very futile and inefficient,' but he refrains from extended polemic.

Rhetorical Strategies in Julian's Epistle

Julian's epistle to the Alexandrians exemplifies the pagan use of historical and civic pride to undermine Christian claims. He contrasts the city's founder, Alexander of Macedon, with the 'Galilaeans,' and reminds his audience that their ancestors were conquerors of Egypt, not slaves to 'despisers of your national dogmas.' Julian invokes the visible gods—the sun and moon—as universally acknowledged deities, asking why Alexandrians worship a Jesus 'whom neither you nor your fathers have seen' while ignoring the sun, 'a living, animated, intellectual, and beneficent image of the intelligible.' This appeal to empirical observation and ancestral tradition forms a recurring pattern in the collection's arguments.

Pagan Accounts of Jewish Origins

The extracts from Diodorus Siculus and Tacitus present alternative narratives of Jewish history. Diodorus, citing Manetho, describes the Jews as descendants of leprous and scabbed Egyptians who, after being expelled, followed Moses to conquer Judaea. Tacitus's account, though not fully excerpted in the provided text, is listed among the contents. These pagan versions directly challenge the biblical account, and Taylor's inclusion of them alongside the more philosophical critiques of Celsus and Porphyry broadens the volume's scope. The juxtaposition allows readers to compare different modes of anti-Christian argument: historical revisionism, philosophical rationalism, and political invective.

Readers approaching this collection should attend to Taylor's editorial framing and the distinct voices of each critic. The volume rewards attention to the rhetorical strategies—whether Julian's appeal to civic pride, Celsus's philosophical objections, or the historical counter-narratives of Diodorus and Tacitus. Taylor's notes, though sparse, provide valuable cross-references to other ancient sources, making this a useful resource for studying early pagan-Christian polemic in its own terms.

Reading those old pagan arguments—Celsus’s sharp questions, Julian’s disappointment—left me with a strange sense of how much sincere disagreement can hold. It reminded me of hours spent in quiet libraries, and something in that quiet echoes the careful, patient unpacking of Isaiah’s words in The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Books of the Bible, Volume 15 (of 32) The Preacher's Complete Homiletic Commentary on the Book of the Prophet — Background and Themes. Both feel like old friends trying to make sense of something vast.