2 in-print translations and 0 audiobooks, compared by who made them, when, and what each one is actually trying to do — Origen.
The short answer. There is no single best translation of Against Celsus, because the editions are optimised for different things: for a first read, the editions described as the most readable are Frederick Crombie.
Every claim below is the publisher’s or translator’s own description, shown next to it, so you can judge rather than take our word. And you can read the whole thing free on this site first.
Scriptorium Press publishes a complete new plain-English translation of Against Celsus, free, with a complete free audiobook. No account, no paywall — 8 works in this volume.
Start reading free → Free audiobook → Whole book on one page →Older translations, out of copyright, hosted free by CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library), Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg. Not our work and not affiliate links — they are here because they are genuinely useful.
| Translator | Year | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick Crombie (Books I–VI, VIII pt.) and W. H. Cairns (Books VII–VIII) | 1869–1885 (Ante-Nicene Christian Library ed. 1869–72; Ante-Nicene Fathers reprint 1885) | complete (all 8 books) | CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) → |
| Frederick Crombie | 1869 | Book I only (in Vol. 1 of Origen's Works, alongside De Principiis) | Project Gutenberg → |
| Frederick Crombie (Books II–VI, pt. VIII) and W. H. Cairns (Books VII–VIII) | 1872 | Books II–VIII (completes the work begun in Vol. 1) | Project Gutenberg → |
| James Bellamy | 1660 | complete (2-volume 17th-century English edition) | Internet Archive → |
Sorted as the research file records them. The note on each row is that edition’s own published description.
| Translator | Year | Publisher | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Chadwick | 1953 | Cambridge University Press | prose, the standard modern scholarly translation, most-recommended | Find it |
| Frederick Crombie | 1885 | Ante-Nicene Fathers series / widely reprinted (Ex Fontibus, CreateSpace, Eerdmans reprint, etc.) | prose, 19th-century classic version, public-domain text, readable but dated diction | Find it |
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The editions described as the most readable are Frederick Crombie (1885). Their published descriptions emphasise pace and plain modern idiom rather than strict line-by-line fidelity, which is what makes them easier on a first pass.
The most frequently recommended are Henry Chadwick (1953). "Most recommended" is not the same as "best for you": a scholarly standard and an easy first read are different books, and the table on this page shows which is which.
Yes. Scriptorium Press publishes a complete new plain-English translation of Against Celsus free to read, with a complete free audiobook, no account and no paywall - 8 works in this volume.
Historical context, on our companion site: Who decided the books of the Bible?