The Instructor 1.2.4
Summary: The Instructor, the sinless Son of God, is the model we must imitate; and there are degrees of freedom from sin, down to not persisting in it.
Greek text · Stählin 1:91–92
Ἔοικεν δὲ ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ἡμῶν, ὦ παῖδες ὑμεῖς, τῷ πατρὶ τῷ αὑτοῦ τῷ θεῷ, οὗπέρ ἐστιν υἱός, ἀναμάρτητος, ἀνεπίληπτος καὶ ἀπαθὴς τὴν ψυχήν, θεὸς ἐν ἀνθρώπου σχήματι ἄχραντος, πατρικῷ θελήματι διάκονος, λόγος θεός, ὁ ἐν τῷ πατρί, ὁ ἐκ δεξιῶν τοῦ πατρός, σὺν καὶ τῷ σχήματι θεός· οὗτος ἡμῖν εἰκὼν ἡ ἀκηλίδωτος, τούτῳ παντὶ σθένει πειρατέον ἐξομοιοῦν τὴν ψυχήν· ἀλλʼ ὃ μὲν ἀπόλυτος εἰς τὸ παντελὲς ἀνθρωπίνων παθῶν, διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ μόνος κριτής, ὅτι ἀναμάρτητος μόνος· ἡμεῖς δέ, ὅση δύναμις, ὡς ὅτι ἐλάχιστα ἁμαρτάνειν πειρώμεθα. κατεπείγει γὰρ οὐδὲν τοσοῦτον ὡς ἡ τῶν παθῶν καὶ νοσημάτων ἀπαλλαγὴ πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ ἡ κώλυσις τῆς εἰς τὴν συνήθειαν τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων εὐεμπτωσίας. ἄριστον μὲν οὖν τὸ μηδʼ ὅλως ἐξαμαρτάνειν κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον, ὃ δή φαμεν εἶναι θεοῦ· δεύτερον δὲ τὸ μηδενὸς τῶν κατὰ γνώμην ἐφάψασθαί ποτε ἀδικημάτων, ὅπερ οἰκεῖον σοφοῦ· τρίτον δὲ τὸ μὴ πάνυ πολλοῖς τῶν ἀκουσίων περιπεσεῖν, ὅπερ ἴδιον παιδαγωγουμένων εὐγενῶς· τὸ δὲ μὴ ἐπὶ μήκιστον διατρῖψαι τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασι τελευταῖον τετάχθω· ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο [δὲ] τοῖς εἰς μετάνοιαν
English · Claude translation
Our Instructor, my children, is like God his Father, whose Son he is: sinless, blameless, and without passion in soul; God undefiled in the form of man, minister of the Father's will, the Word who is God, who is in the Father, who is at the Father's right hand, God with the form as well. He is our spotless image; to him we must try with all our strength to make our soul like. He is entirely free from human passions, and that is why he alone is judge, because he alone is sinless; but we, as far as we can, try to sin as little as possible. For nothing is so urgent as, first, to be set free from passions and diseases, and then to be kept from easily falling into the habit of sin. Best of all is not to sin at all in any way, which we say belongs to God; second, never to touch any deliberate wrongdoing, which is proper to the wise man; third, not to fall into very many involuntary sins, which is characteristic of those who are nobly instructed; and let the last place be given to not remaining very long in our sins. But even this is saving for those who are called back to repentance, to renew the fight.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “Without passion” (ἀπαθής) is a philosophical term: free from disordered emotions. “God in the form of man” and “with the form as well” echo Phil 2:6–7.
- The sentence runs on into the next section; the translation completes it here.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray raised point in the digital text): ὦ παῖδες ὑμεῖς,· → ὦ παῖδες ὑμεῖς,.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.2.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/2/4/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.2.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/2/4/).
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