Saviour, therefore, as well as the Holy Spirit, who spoke by the prophets, instructs not only men, but angels and invisible powers.”—­Hom, xxiii. in Luc. vol. iii. p. 961.

“Whoever, therefore, confessing his sins, repents, or confesses Christ before men in persecutions, is applauded by his brethren.  For there is joy and gladness to the angels in heaven over one sinner that repenteth.  By them, therefore, as by brethren (for both men and angels are sons of the same Creator and Father) they are praised.”—­In Genes.  Hom. xvii. p. 110.]

Celsus accused the Christians of being atheists, godless, men without God, because they would not worship those gods many and lords many, and those secondary, subordinate, auxiliary, and ministering divinities with which the heathen mythology abounded:  Origen answers, we are not godless, we are not without an object of our prayer; we pray to God Almighty alone through the mediation only of his Son.

“We must pray to God alone ([Greek:  Mono gar proseukteon to epi pasi Theo]), who is over all things; and we must pray also to the only-begotten and first-born of every creature, the Word of God; and we must implore him as our High Priest to carry our prayer, first coming to him, to his God and our {140} God, to his Father and the Father of those who live agreeably to the word of God.” [Cont.  Cels.  Sec. 8. c. xxvi. vol. i. p. 761.]

But Celsus, in this well representing the weakness and failings of human nature, still urged on the Christian the necessity, or at all events the expediency, of conciliating those intermediate beings who executed the will of the Supreme Being, and might haply have much left at their own will and discretion to give or to withhold; and therefore the desirableness of securing their good offices by prayer.  To this Origen answers: 

“The one God ([Greek:  Hena oun ton epi pasi theon haemin exenmenisteon])—­the God who is over all, is to be propitiated by us, and to be appeased by prayer; the God who is rendered favourable by piety and all virtue.  But if he (Celsus) is desirous, after the supreme God, to propitiate some others also, let him bear in mind, that just as a body in motion is accompanied by the motion of its shadow, so also by rendering the supreme God favourable, it follows that the person has all his (God’s) friends, angels, souls, spirits, favourable also; for they sympathize with those who are worthy of God’s favour; and not only do they become kindly affected towards the worthy, but they also join in their work with those who desire to worship the supreme God; and they propitiate him, and they pray with us, and supplicate with us; so that we boldly say, that together with men who on principle prefer the better part, and pray to God, ten thousands of holy powers join in prayer UNASKED ([Greek:  aklaetoi]),” [UNBIDDEN, UNCALLED upon.] [Cont.  Cels. lib. viii.  Sec. 64. vol. i. p. 789.]