Tatian, Celsus, and Christianity as “Barbarian Philosophy” in the Late Second Century

[Extract] The figures of Tatian and Celsus have rarely been considered alongside one another. This is partly due to the fact that Tatian is easily overshadowed by Justin and Clement, those more well known philosophical figures on either side of him, while Celsus is most often associated with Origen, who did a great service to posterity by preserving the only surviving fragments of Celsus’ work in his rebuttal to the pagan’s attack. Nevertheless, I will argue in this chapter that a comparison of the two thinkers reveals a striking degree of overlap in their presuppositions and methodology, implying that they were both operating within the same philosophical framework, albeit coming to two diametrically opposed conclusions.