The Instructor 3.7.36–3.11.63
Greek text: Stählin, GCS 12 (Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 1: Protrepticus und Paedagogus (GCS 12, 1905), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885).
The 3, chapter 7
3.7.36Stählin 1:258
Τρυφὴ δὲ εἰς ἡδονὰς ἀλωμένη χαλεπὸν ἀνθρώποις ναυάγιον γίνεται·
Tryphē de eis hēdonas alōmenē chalepon anthrōpois nauagion ginetai;
Luxury, wandering into pleasures, becomes a grievous shipwreck for human beings.
Notes and citation
Summary: Chapter 7 opens: luxury wandering into pleasure is a shipwreck.
- This sentence opens chapter 7; the section number 36 continues from the end of chapter 6.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.7.36 (Stählin 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-7-36).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.7.37Stählin 1:258
ἀλλότριον γὰρ τῆς ἀληθοῦς φιλοκαλίας καὶ τῶν ἀστείων ἡδονῶν ὁ ἡδὺς οὗτος καὶ ἀκλεὴς τῶν πολλῶν βίος. φύσει γὰρ ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὑψηλόν ἐστι ζῷον καὶ γαῦρον καὶ τοῦ καλοῦ ζητητικόν, ἄτε τοῦ μόνου καλοῦ δημιούργημα, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ γαστέρα αὐτῷ βίος ἄσεμνός τε καὶ ἐπονείδιστος καὶ εἰδεχθὴς καὶ καταγέλαστος. ἀλλοτριώτατον δὲ τῆς θείας φύσεως ἡ φιληδονία, ὁμοίως μὲν σιτεῖσθαι τοῖς στρουθοῖς, ὁμοίως δὲ τοῖς ὑσὶν καὶ τοῖς τράγοις ὀχεύειν· τὸ γὰρ τὴν ἡδονὴν νομίζειν ἀγαθὸν ἀπειροκαλίας ἐστὶ τελείας, φιλοπλουτία δὲ ἐξίστησι τῆς ὀρθῆς διαίτης τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀπερυθριᾶν πρὸς τὰ αἰσχρὰ ἀναπείθουσα, »ἐὰν μόνον ἔχῃ δύναμιν καθάπερ θηρίον τοῦ φαγεῖν παντοδαπὰ καὶ πιεῖν ὡσαύτως καὶ ἀφροδισίων πᾶσαν πάντως παρέχειν πλησμονήν«. διὰ τοῦτο σπανιαίτατα τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ κληρονομεῖ. ποῦ τοίνυν τὰ τοσαῦτα παρασκευάζονται ὄψα ἢ ἵνα μίαν πληρώσωσι γαστέρα; τὸ ἀκάθαρτον τῆς γαστριμαργίας οἱ κοπρῶνες ἐλέγχουσιν, εἰς οὓς ἀποπτύουσιν ἡμῶν αἱ γαστέρες τῆς δαιτὸς τὰ λείψανα. ποῦ δὲ τοὺς οἰνοχόους τοὺς τοσούτους συναγείρουσι μιᾷ κύλικι πλησθῆναι δυνάμενοι; ποῦ δὲ τῶν ἐσθήτων τὰς κιβωτούς; τὰ χρυσία δὲ ποῦ; καὶ τὰ κόσμια ποῦ; λωποδύταις δὲ αὐτὰ καὶ κακούργοις παρασκευάζονται καὶ τοῖς λίχνοις ὀφθαλμοῖς.
allotrion gar tēs alēthous philokalias kai tōn asteiōn hēdonōn ho hēdys houtos kai akleēs tōn pollōn bios. physei gar ho anthrōpos hypsēlon esti zǭon kai gauron kai tou kalou zētētikon, ate tou monou kalou dēmiourgēma, ho de epi gastera autǭ bios asemnos te kai eponeidistos kai eidechthēs kai katagelastos. allotriōtaton de tēs theias physeōs hē philēdonia, homoiōs men siteisthai tois strouthois, homoiōs de tois hysin kai tois tragois ocheuein; to gar tēn hēdonēn nomizein agathon apeirokalias esti teleias, philoploutia de existēsi tēs orthēs diaitēs ton anthrōpon aperythrian pros ta aischra anapeithousa, »ean monon echę̄ dynamin kathaper thērion tou phagein pantodapa kai piein hōsautōs kai aphrodisiōn pasan pantōs parechein plēsmonēn«. dia touto spaniaitata tēn basileian tou theou klēronomei. pou toinyn ta tosauta paraskeuazontai opsa ē hina mian plērōsōsi gastera? to akatharton tēs gastrimargias hoi koprōnes elenchousin, eis hous apoptyousin hēmōn hai gasteres tēs daitos ta leipsana. pou de tous oinochoous tous tosoutous synageirousi mią kyliki plēsthēnai dynamenoi? pou de tōn esthētōn tas kibōtous? ta chrysia de pou? kai ta kosmia pou? lōpodytais de auta kai kakourgois paraskeuazontai kai tois lichnois ophthalmois.
For this pleasant and inglorious life of the many is foreign to true love of the beautiful and to refined pleasures. By nature the human being is a lofty animal, proud, and a seeker of the beautiful, as the creation of the only Beautiful One; but the life given to the belly is undignified, disgraceful, ugly, and ridiculous. Love of pleasure is most foreign to the divine nature: to feed like sparrows and to mate like pigs and goats. To consider pleasure the good belongs to complete tastelessness; and love of wealth drives the human being out of a right way of life, persuading him to lose all shame at what is shameful, “if only he has the power, like a beast, to eat everything and to drink likewise, and to have every kind of fill of sexual pleasure.” That is why he very rarely inherits the kingdom of God. Why, then, are so many dishes prepared, except to fill one belly? The latrines expose the impurity of gluttony, into which our bellies spit the remains of the feast. Why do they gather so many cupbearers, when one cup can satisfy them? Why chests of clothes? Where is the gold for, and the ornaments? They are prepared for clothes-thieves and criminals and dainty eyes.
Matt 19:23 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 6:10 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The life of the belly is unworthy of human nature, made by the Beautiful One; love of pleasure and wealth makes it hard to enter the kingdom; luxury only feeds thieves.
- The quoted phrase is from Plato, Laws 8.831d–e (freely); the allusion is Matt 19:23–24.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misplaced accent; stray letter in the digital text): μίαν πλήρωσωσι γαστέρα → μίαν πληρώσωσι γαστέρα; λωπολδύταις δὲ αὐτὰ → λωποδύταις δὲ αὐτὰ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 831d–e (Plato (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.7.37 (Stählin 1:258; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-7-37).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.7.38Stählin 1:258–259
»ἐλεημοσύναι δὲ καὶ πίστεις μὴ ἐκλειπέτωσάν σε«, φησὶν ἡ γραφή. ἰδοὺ γοῦν καὶ τὸν Θεσβίτην Ἠλίαν καλὸν ὑπόδειγμα τῆς εὐτελείας ἔχομεν, ὅτε »ἐκάθισεν ὑπὸ τὴν ῥάμνον« καὶ ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτῷ κομίζει τροφάς· »ἐγκρυφίας κρίθινος ἦν καὶ καψάκης ὕδατος.« τοιοῦτον ἄριστον αὐτῷ κύριος ἔπεμψεν. ἡμῖν ἄρα ἀνάγκη πρὸς ἀλήθειαν ὁδοιποροῦσιν εὐζώνοις γενέσθαι· »μὴ βαστάζετε γάρ«, εἶπεν ὁ κύριος, »βαλλάντιον, μὴ πήραν μηδὲ ὑπόδημα«, τουτέστι, μὴ πλοῦτον κτήσησθε τὸν ἐν βαλλαντίῳ μόνον θησαυριζόμενον, μὴ τὰς ἀποθήκας πληρώσητε τὰς ἰδίας ὡς ἐν πήρᾳ παρατιθέμενοι τὸν σπόρον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς δεομένοις κοινωνήσατε, μὴ ὑποζύγια καὶ οἰκέτας πολυπραγμονεῖτε, οἵτινες ὑποδήματα τῆς πορείας τῶν πλουσίων ἀχθοφοροῦντες ἀλληγορικῶς εἴρηνται. ἀπορριπτέον οὖν τῶν σκευῶν τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὰ ἀργυρᾶ καὶ τὰ χρυσᾶ ἐκπώματα καὶ τὸν ὄχλον τῶν οἰκετῶν, καλὰς καὶ σεμνὰς παρὰ τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ συνοπαδοὺς αὐτουργίαν καὶ εὐτέλειαν παραλαβόντας· καὶ δὴ βαδιστέον εὐαρμόστως τῷ λόγῳ, κἂν γυνή τῳ παρῇ καὶ τέκνα· οὐκ ἄχθος ἐστὶν ὁ οἶκος συνεπισπέσθαι μαθὼν ὁδοιπόρῳ σώφρονι.
»eleēmosynai de kai pisteis mē ekleipetōsan se«, phēsin hē graphē. idou goun kai ton Thesbitēn Ēlian kalon hypodeigma tēs euteleias echomen, hote »ekathisen hypo tēn rhamnon« kai ho angelos autǭ komizei trophas; »enkryphias krithinos ēn kai kapsakēs hydatos.« toiouton ariston autǭ kyrios epempsen. hēmin ara anankē pros alētheian hodoiporousin euzōnois genesthai; »mē bastazete gar«, eipen ho kyrios, »ballantion, mē pēran mēde hypodēma«, toutesti, mē plouton ktēsēsthe ton en ballantiǭ monon thēsaurizomenon, mē tas apothēkas plērōsēte tas idias hōs en pērą paratithemenoi ton sporon, alla kai tois deomenois koinōnēsate, mē hypozygia kai oiketas polypragmoneite, hoitines hypodēmata tēs poreias tōn plousiōn achthophorountes allēgorikōs eirēntai. aporripteon oun tōn skeuōn to plēthos kai ta argyra kai ta chrysa ekpōmata kai ton ochlon tōn oiketōn, kalas kai semnas para tou paidagōgou synopadous autourgian kai euteleian paralabontas; kai dē badisteon euarmostōs tǭ logǭ, kan gynē tǭ parę̄ kai tekna; ouk achthos estin ho oikos synepispesthai mathōn hodoiporǭ sōphroni.
“Let not almsgiving and faithfulness fail you,” says Scripture. See, we have Elijah the Tishbite as a fine example of frugality, when “he sat under the broom tree,” and the angel brought him food: “there was a barley cake and a jar of water.” Such a meal the Lord sent him. So we, journeying toward the truth, must be unencumbered. “Carry no purse,” said the Lord, “no bag, no sandals,” that is, do not acquire wealth treasured up only in a purse; do not fill your own barns, laying up seed as in a bag, but share with those in need; do not busy yourselves with beasts of burden and servants, who are figuratively called sandals, since they carry the loads of the rich on their journey. We must throw away the multitude of vessels, the silver and gold cups, and the crowd of servants, taking from the Instructor fine and dignified companions: working with one's own hands, and frugality. We must walk in harmony with the Word, even if one has a wife and children; a household that has learned to follow a self-controlled traveler is no burden.
Prov 3:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 19:4 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Kgs 19:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 10:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 12:18 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Elijah's simple meal and the Lord's command to carry no purse teach frugality: Christians should share, give up excess possessions and servants, and travel light, household and all.
- The quotations are Prov 3:3, 1 Kgs 19:4–6, and Luke 10:4 (with Clement's allegorical reading of “sandals” as servants).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing accent): ἐν βαλλαντίῳ μονον θησαυριζόμενον → ἐν βαλλαντίῳ μόνον θησαυριζόμενον.
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.7.38 (Stählin 1:258–259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-7-38).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.7.39Stählin 1:259
σταλτέον δὲ καὶ τὴν φίλανδρον γυναῖκα τἀνδρὶ παραπλησίως, ὁδοιπορικῶς καλὸν ἐφόδιον τῆς εἰς οὐρανοὺς πορείας εὐτέλειαν ἐπιφερομένους μιᾷ σεμνότητι σώφρονι· μέτρον δὲ καθάπερ ὁ ποὺς τοῦ ὑποδήματος, οὕτως καὶ τῆς κτήσεως ἑκάστου τὸ σῶμα· τὸ δὲ περιττόν, ἃ δή φασι κόσμια, καὶ τὰ ἔπιπλα τῶν πλουσίων ἄχθος ἐστίν, οὐ κόσμος τοῦ σώματος. χρὴ δὲ τὸν ἀναβαίνειν βιαζόμενον εἰς τοὺς οὐρανοὺς καλὴν βακτηρίαν τὴν εὐεργεσίαν περιφέρειν καὶ τοῖς θλιβομένοις μεταδεδωκότα τῆς ἀληθοῦς ἀναπαύσεως μεταλαμβάνειν· ὁμολογεῖ γὰρ ἡ γραφή, ὡς ἄρα »λύτρον ἐστὶν ἀνδρὸς ψυχῆς ὁ ἴδιος πλοῦτος«, τουτέστιν, ἐὰν πλουτῇ, μεταδόσει σωθήσεται. καθάπερ γὰρ τῶν φρεάτων ὅσα πέφυκεν βρύειν ἀπαντλούμενα εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἀναπιδύει μέτρον, οὕτως ἡ μετάδοσις ἀγαθὴ φιλανθρωπίας ὑπάρχουσα πηγή, κοινωνοῦσα τοῖς διψῶσι τοῦ ποτοῦ αὔξεται πάλιν καὶ πίμπλαται, ὃν τρόπον ἐπὶ τοὺς θηλαζομένους ἢ καὶ βδαλλομένους μαστοὺς ἐπιρρεῖν εἴωθε τὸ γάλα.
stalteon de kai tēn philandron gynaika tandri paraplēsiōs, hodoiporikōs kalon ephodion tēs eis ouranous poreias euteleian epipheromenous mią semnotēti sōphroni; metron de kathaper ho pous tou hypodēmatos, houtōs kai tēs ktēseōs hekastou to sōma; to de peritton, ha dē phasi kosmia, kai ta epipla tōn plousiōn achthos estin, ou kosmos tou sōmatos. chrē de ton anabainein biazomenon eis tous ouranous kalēn baktērian tēn euergesian peripherein kai tois thlibomenois metadedōkota tēs alēthous anapauseōs metalambanein; homologei gar hē graphē, hōs ara »lytron estin andros psychēs ho idios ploutos«, toutestin, ean ploutę̄, metadosei sōthēsetai. kathaper gar tōn phreatōn hosa pephyken bryein apantloumena eis to archaion anapidyei metron, houtōs hē metadosis agathē philanthrōpias hyparchousa pēgē, koinōnousa tois dipsōsi tou potou auxetai palin kai pimplatai, hon tropon epi tous thēlazomenous ē kai bdallomenous mastous epirrein eiōthe to gala.
The wife who loves her husband should be equipped like her husband, both carrying frugality, a fine provision for the journey to heaven, with one self-controlled dignity. As the foot is the measure of the shoe, so the body is the measure of each person's possessions; what is superfluous, the so-called ornaments and the furnishings of the rich, is a burden, not an adornment of the body. The one who is striving to force his way up to heaven must carry beneficence as a good staff, and, sharing with the afflicted, partake of true rest. For Scripture confesses that “a man's own wealth is the ransom of his soul,” that is, if he is rich, he will be saved by sharing. As wells that naturally gush up, when drawn from, rise again to their former level, so sharing, being a good spring of love for humankind, when it shares its drink with the thirsty, grows again and is filled, just as milk usually flows into breasts that are suckled or milked.
Matt 11:12 (echo, medium confidence) · Prov 13:8 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Husband and wife should travel together with frugality; the body is the measure of possessions; generosity is the staff for the road to heaven, and like a well it refills as it gives.
- The allusion is Matt 11:12 (“striving to force his way,” βιαζόμενον); the quotation is Prov 13:8 (LXX).
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.7.39 (Stählin 1:259; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-7-39).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.7.40Stählin 1:259–260
ἀνενδεὴς γὰρ ὁ τὸν παντοκράτορα θεὸν λόγον ἔχων καὶ οὐδενὸς ὧν χρῄζει ἀπορεῖ ποτε· κτῆσις γὰρ ὁ λόγος ἀνενδεὴς καὶ εὐπορίας ἁπάσης αἴτιος. εἰ δέ τις φαίη ἑωρακέναι πολλάκις ἄρτου πενόμενον δίκαιον, σπάνιον μὲν τοῦτο, καὶ ἔνθα οὐκ ἄλλος δίκαιος, ἀναγνώτω δὲ ὅμως κἀκεῖνο· »οὐ γὰρ ἐπʼ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ δίκαιος, ἀλλʼ ἐν τῷ ῥήματι κυρίου«, ὅς ἐστιν ἄρτος ἀληθινός, ἄρτος οὐρανῶν. οὐκ ἄρα ποτὲ ὁ ἀγαθὸς ἀνὴρ ἄπορος, ἕως ἂν ἔχῃ σῴαν τὴν πρὸς θεὸν ὁμολογίαν· πάρεστι μὲν γὰρ αὐτῷ αἰτεῖσθαι καὶ λαμβάνειν ὧν ἂν δέηται παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν ὅλων καὶ τῶν ἰδίων ἀπολαύειν, εἰ φυλάττοι τὸν υἱόν· πάρεστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, μηδεμιᾶς ἐνδείας αἰσθάνεσθαι. ὁ παιδαγωγικὸς ἡμῶν οὗτος λόγος τὸν πλοῦτον ἡμῖν δίδωσι, καὶ πλουτεῖν οὐ φθόνος τὸ ἀνενδεὲς κτωμένοις διʼ αὐτοῦ· ὁ τοῦτον ἔχων τὸν πλοῦτον βασιλείαν κληρονομήσει θεοῦ.
anendeēs gar ho ton pantokratora theon logon echōn kai oudenos hōn chrę̄zei aporei pote; ktēsis gar ho logos anendeēs kai euporias hapasēs aitios. ei de tis phaiē heōrakenai pollakis artou penomenon dikaion, spanion men touto, kai entha ouk allos dikaios, anagnōtō de homōs kakeino; »ou gar epʼ artǭ monǭ zēsetai ho dikaios, allʼ en tǭ rhēmati kyriou«, hos estin artos alēthinos, artos ouranōn. ouk ara pote ho agathos anēr aporos, heōs an echę̄ sǭan tēn pros theon homologian; paresti men gar autǭ aiteisthai kai lambanein hōn an deētai para tou patros tōn holōn kai tōn idiōn apolauein, ei phylattoi ton huion; paresti de kai touto, mēdemias endeias aisthanesthai. ho paidagōgikos hēmōn houtos logos ton plouton hēmin didōsi, kai ploutein ou phthonos to anendees ktōmenois diʼ autou; ho touton echōn ton plouton basileian klēronomēsei theou.
For the one who has the almighty God, the Word, lacks nothing and is never at a loss for anything he needs; for the Word is a possession that lacks nothing and the cause of all abundance. If anyone should say that he has often seen a just man in need of bread, this is rare, and only where there is no other just man; but let him read this too: “For the just man shall not live by bread alone, but by the word of the Lord,” who is the true bread, the bread of heaven. So the good man is never without resources, as long as he keeps his confession toward God intact. For he may ask and receive from the Father of all whatever he needs, and enjoy what is his own, if he keeps the Son; and this too is possible: to feel no need at all. This Word, our Instructor, gives us wealth, and there is no envy in being rich for those who acquire through him freedom from need; whoever has this wealth will inherit the kingdom of God.
Ps 37:25 (36:25 LXX) (echo, medium confidence) · Deut 8:3 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 4:4 (quotation, high confidence) · John 6:32 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 7:7 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The one who has the Word lacks nothing; the just live not by bread alone but by the Word, the bread of heaven; this wealth inherits God's kingdom.
- The allusions and quotations are Ps 37:25 (36:25 LXX), Deut 8:3 (Matt 4:4), John 6:32, and Matt 7:7.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray elision mark): πάρεστιʼ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο → πάρεστι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.7.40 (Stählin 1:259–260; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-7-40).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
The 3, chapter 8
3.8.41Stählin 1:260–261
Εἰ δέ τις ὑμῶν φεύξεται διὰ τέλους τρυφὴν εὐτελείᾳ τιθηνούμενος, μελετήσει ῥᾷον τοὺς ἀκουσίους ὑπομένειν πόνους, τὰς ἑκουσίους θλίψεις γυμνάσματα συνεχῶς ποιούμενος διωγμῶν, ὁπόταν εἰς ἀναγκαίους ἔλθῃ πόνους καὶ φόβους καὶ λύπας, οὐκ ἀμελέτητος ὢν καρτερεῖν. διὰ τοῦτό τοι πατρίδα ἐπὶ γῆς οὐκ ἔχομεν, ὡς ἂν καταφρονοῖμεν τῶν ἐπιγείων κτημάτων. πλουσιωτάτη δὲ ἡ εὐτέλεια ἕξις οὖσα ἀνελλιπὴς ἐν δαπάναις ταῖς εἰς ἃ χρὴ καὶ ἐφʼ ὅσον χρὴ τελεῖσθαι προσηκούσαις· τέλη γὰρ τὰ δαπανήματα. ὅπως μὲν οὖν συμβιωτέον ἀνδρὶ τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ περὶ αὐτουργίας καὶ οἰκουρίας καὶ οἰκετῶν χρήσεως, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ γάμου καὶ τῶν ὅσα γυναιξὶν ἁρμόζει, ἐν τῷ γαμικῷ διέξιμεν λόγῳ· ἃ δὲ ἁρμόδια πρὸς παιδαγωγίαν, ταῦτα ἡμῖν νῦν παραθετέα μόνα ἐν ὑπογραφῆς μέρει παρασημειουμένοις Χριστιανῶν τὸν βίον. καὶ δὴ τὰ μὲν πλεῖστα ἤδη λέλεκται καὶ πεπαιδαγώγηται, ὃ δὲ ἔτι λοιπόν, ὑποθησόμεθα· οὐ γὰρ μικρὰ ῥοπὴ εἰς σωτηρίαν τὰ ὑποδείγματα. ὅρα· φησὶν ἡ τραγῳδία, Ὀδυσσέως ἄλοχον οὐ κατέκτανε Τηλέμαχος· οὐ γὰρ ἐπεγάμει πόσει πόσιν, μένει δὲ ἐν οἴκοις ὑγιὲς εὐναστήριον. ὀνειδίζων τις μοιχείαν ἀσελγῆ καλὴν εἰκόνα σωφροσύνης ἐδείκνυεν φιλανδρίαν· τοὺς δὲ Εἵλωτας [οἰκέτας] (οἰκετῶν ὄνομά εἰσιν οἱ Εἵλωτες) οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι μεθύειν ἀναγκάζοντες ἐδείκνυον σφίσιν αὐτοῖς τῆς μέθης τὰ ἔργα σωφρονοῦσιν ἐν θεραπείας καὶ διορθώσεως μέρει.
Ei de tis hymōn pheuxetai dia telous tryphēn euteleią tithēnoumenos, meletēsei rhąon tous akousious hypomenein ponous, tas hekousious thlipseis gymnasmata synechōs poioumenos diōgmōn, hopotan eis anankaious elthę̄ ponous kai phobous kai lypas, ouk ameletētos ōn karterein. dia touto toi patrida epi gēs ouk echomen, hōs an kataphronoimen tōn epigeiōn ktēmatōn. plousiōtatē de hē euteleia hexis ousa anellipēs en dapanais tais eis ha chrē kai ephʼ hoson chrē teleisthai prosēkousais; telē gar ta dapanēmata. hopōs men oun symbiōteon andri tēn gynaika kai peri autourgias kai oikourias kai oiketōn chrēseōs, pros de kai tēs hōras tou gamou kai tōn hosa gynaixin harmozei, en tǭ gamikǭ dieximen logǭ; ha de harmodia pros paidagōgian, tauta hēmin nyn parathetea mona en hypographēs merei parasēmeioumenois Christianōn ton bion. kai dē ta men pleista ēdē lelektai kai pepaidagōgētai, ho de eti loipon, hypothēsometha; ou gar mikra rhopē eis sōtērian ta hypodeigmata. hora; phēsin hē tragǭdia, Odysseōs alochon ou katektane Tēlemachos; ou gar epegamei posei posin, menei de en oikois hygies eunastērion. oneidizōn tis moicheian aselgē kalēn eikona sōphrosynēs edeiknyen philandrian; tous de Heilōtas [oiketas] (oiketōn onoma eisin hoi Heilōtes) hoi Lakedaimonioi methyein anankazontes edeiknyon sphisin autois tēs methēs ta erga sōphronousin en therapeias kai diorthōseōs merei.
If any of you shuns luxury to the end, nursed by frugality, he will more easily practice enduring involuntary labors, making voluntary hardships a constant training for persecutions, so that when he comes to necessary labors, fears, and griefs, he will not be untrained in endurance. That is why we have no fatherland on earth, so that we may despise earthly possessions. Frugality is the richest thing, being a disposition that lacks nothing in the expenses that ought to be made for what is needed and as far as is needed; for expenses are payments. How a wife should live with her husband, about working with her own hands, housekeeping, and the use of servants, and also about the time for marriage and what befits women, we discuss in the treatise on marriage; what suits instruction is all we must set down now, noting in outline the life of Christians. Most of it has already been said and taught; what is still left we will set out; for examples are no small weight toward salvation. “See,” says tragedy, “Telemachus did not kill the wife of Odysseus; for she did not take a husband over her husband, but the marriage bed remains sound in the house.” Someone, reproaching lewd adultery, showed love for her husband as a fine image of self-control. And the Spartans, compelling the Helots (Helots is a name for servants) to get drunk, showed themselves, being sober, the deeds of drunkenness by way of cure and correction.
Heb 13:14 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Frugality trains Christians to endure persecution, having no fatherland on earth; examples teach virtue, as Penelope's faithfulness and the Spartans' drunken Helots did.
- Clement's treatise on marriage is lost (or was never written). The quotation is Euripides, Orestes 588–590. The bracketed word is marked by the editor as a gloss. The allusion is Heb 13:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent: grave on the relative ὃ): ὅ δὲ ἔτι λοιπόν → ὃ δὲ ἔτι λοιπόν.
Extrabiblical texts: Euripides, Or. 588–590 (Euripides (plays and fragments); quotation)
Topics: Persecution, Marriage, Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.8.41 (Stählin 1:260–261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-8-41).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.8.42Stählin 1:261
παραφυλάττοντες δʼ οὖν τὴν ἐκείνων ἀσχημοσύνην, ὡς μὴ περιπέσοιεν αὐτοὶ ταῖς ὁμοίαις καταγνώσεσιν, ἐπαιδεύοντο τῷ ἐπονειδίστῳ τῶν μεθυόντων εἰς τὸ ἑαυτῶν ἀναμάρτητον ὠφελούμενοι. τῶν γὰρ ἀνθρώπων οἳ μὲν διδαχθέντες ἐσώθησαν, οἳ δὲ αὐτοδιδάκτως· ἢ ἐζήλωσαν ἢ ἐζήτησαν ἀρετήν. κεῖνος μὲν πανάριστος, ὃς αὑτῷ πάντα νοήσῃ· οὗτός ἐστιν Ἀβραὰμ ὁ ζητήσας τὸν θεόν· ἐσθλὸς δʼ αὖ κἀκεῖνος, ὃς εὖ εἰπόντι πίθηται· οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ μαθηταὶ οἱ πεισθέντες τῷ λόγῳ· διὰ τοῦτο ὃ μὲν ἤκουσεν φίλος, οἳ δὲ ἀπόστολοι, ἕνα καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν θεὸν ὃ μὲν πολυπραγμονῶν, οἳ δὲ κηρύσσοντες, ἐσθλοὶ δὲ ἄμφω· ἀμφοῖν δὲ τούτοιν οἱ ἀκροαταί, ὃ μὲν ὠφελούμενος διὰ τὴν ζήτησιν, ὃ δὲ σῳζόμενος διὰ τὴν εὕρεσιν.
paraphylattontes dʼ oun tēn ekeinōn aschēmosynēn, hōs mē peripesoien autoi tais homoiais katagnōsesin, epaideuonto tǭ eponeidistǭ tōn methyontōn eis to heautōn anamartēton ōpheloumenoi. tōn gar anthrōpōn hoi men didachthentes esōthēsan, hoi de autodidaktōs; ē ezēlōsan ē ezētēsan aretēn. keinos men panaristos, hos hautǭ panta noēsę̄; houtos estin Abraam ho zētēsas ton theon; esthlos dʼ au kakeinos, hos eu eiponti pithētai; houtoi eisin hoi mathētai hoi peisthentes tǭ logǭ; dia touto ho men ēkousen philos, hoi de apostoloi, hena kai ton auton theon ho men polypragmonōn, hoi de kēryssontes, esthloi de amphō; amphoin de toutoin hoi akroatai, ho men ōpheloumenos dia tēn zētēsin, ho de sǭzomenos dia tēn heuresin.
Watching the others' indecency, so that they themselves would not fall into similar condemnation, they were trained by the disgrace of the drunkards, benefiting from it for their own sinlessness. Of human beings, some are saved by being taught, others by teaching themselves; they either emulated or sought virtue. “That man is best of all who understands all things for himself”: this is Abraham, who sought God. “And good too is he who obeys one who speaks well”: these are the disciples, who obeyed the Word. That is why the one was called friend, the others apostles: the one searching for the one and the same God, the others proclaiming him; and both are good. Hearers of both are the one who benefits by seeking and the other who is saved by finding.
Jas 2:23 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Some are saved by being taught, others by seeking themselves: Abraham sought God and was called friend; the apostles obeyed the Word and proclaimed him.
- The verses are Hesiod, Works and Days 293 and 295. Abraham as “friend” recalls Jas 2:23.
Extrabiblical texts: Hesiod, Op. 293–295 (Hesiod, Works and Days; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.8.42 (Stählin 1:261; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-8-42).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.8.43Stählin 1:261–262
ὃς δέ κε μήτʼ αὐτὸς νοέῃ μήτʼ ἄλλου ἀκούων ἐν θυμῷ βάλληται, ὃ δʼ αὖτʼ ἀχρήιος ἀνήρ. [λαὸς ἄλλος ἐστὶν ἐθνικός, ἀχρεῖος·] οὗτος ὁ λαὸς ὁ μὴ Χριστῷ ἑπόμενος· πολυτρόπως δὲ ὅμως ὠφελῶν ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ὁ φιλάνθρωπος τὰ μὲν παρῄνεσεν, τὰ δὲ καὶ ὠνείδισεν, τὸ δὲ καὶ ἄλλων ἁμαρτανόντων τὸ αἶσχος αὐτῶν ὑπέδειξεν ἡμῖν καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τούτῳ τιμωρίαν ψυχαγωγῶν τε ἅμα καὶ νουθετῶν ἐφανέρωσε, φιλάνθρωπον ἀποτροπὴν τῆς κακίας μηχανώμενος διὰ τῆς τῶν προπεπονθότων ἐνδείξεως· διʼ ὧν εἰκόνων σαφέστατα τοὺς μὲν ἔπαυσεν κακῶς διατεθέντας, τοὺς δὲ τὰ ἴσα τολμῶντας ἐκώλυσεν, ἄλλους εἰς ὑπομονὴν ἐθεμελίωσεν, ἑτέρους ἔπαυσε κακίας, τοὺς δὲ καὶ ἰάσατο τῇ τοῦ ὁμοίου θεωρίᾳ μεταθεμένους ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον. τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἄν [τι] παραφυλάξαιτο, ἑπόμενός τῳ καθʼ ὁδόν, εἶτα μέντοι τοῦ προτέρου εἰς βόθρον ἐμπεσόντος, μὴ οὐχὶ ἀποκλῖναι τὸν ἴσον κίνδυνον, τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς ἁμαρτίας φυλαξάμενος; τίς δὲ αὖθις ἀσκητὴς ὤν, καταμαθὼν τῆς φιλοδοξίας τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ τὸ ἔπαθλον ἰδὼν τὸν πρὸ αὑτοῦ ἀγωνιστὴν εἰληφότα, οὐκ ἐπὶ τὸν στέφανον ἵεται καὶ αὐτός, μιμούμενος τὸν πρεσβύτερον;
hos de ke mētʼ autos noeę̄ mētʼ allou akouōn en thymǭ ballētai, ho dʼ autʼ achrēios anēr. [laos allos estin ethnikos, achreios;] houtos ho laos ho mē Christǭ hepomenos; polytropōs de homōs ōphelōn ho paidagōgos ho philanthrōpos ta men parę̄nesen, ta de kai ōneidisen, to de kai allōn hamartanontōn to aischos autōn hypedeixen hēmin kai tēn epi toutǭ timōrian psychagōgōn te hama kai nouthetōn ephanerōse, philanthrōpon apotropēn tēs kakias mēchanōmenos dia tēs tōn propeponthotōn endeixeōs; diʼ hōn eikonōn saphestata tous men epausen kakōs diatethentas, tous de ta isa tolmōntas ekōlysen, allous eis hypomonēn ethemeliōsen, heterous epause kakias, tous de kai iasato tę̄ tou homoiou theōrią metathemenous epi to beltion. tis gar ouk an [ti] paraphylaxaito, hepomenos tǭ kathʼ hodon, eita mentoi tou proterou eis bothron empesontos, mē ouchi apoklinai ton ison kindynon, tēn akolouthian tēs hamartias phylaxamenos? tis de authis askētēs ōn, katamathōn tēs philodoxias tēn hodon kai to epathlon idōn ton pro hautou agōnistēn eilēphota, ouk epi ton stephanon hietai kai autos, mimoumenos ton presbyteron?
“But the one who neither understands himself nor, hearing another, takes it to heart, he is a useless man.” [Another people is the pagan, useless.] This is the people that does not follow Christ. But the loving Instructor, helping in many ways, has admonished some things and reproached others, and has also shown us the shame of others who sinned and has revealed their punishment, at once leading and admonishing us, contriving a loving turning away from vice by showing those who suffered before. By these examples he most clearly stopped some who were ill-disposed, prevented others who dared the same things, established others in endurance, stopped others from vice, and healed others who, seeing the like, changed for the better. For who, following someone on a road, when the one ahead has fallen into a pit, would not take care to turn aside from the same danger, guarding against following the sin? And again, what athlete, having learned the way to glory and seen the one before him receive the prize, does not also strive for the crown, imitating his predecessor?
1 Cor 9:24 (echo, medium confidence) · Heb 12:1 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The one who neither seeks nor listens is useless; the Instructor uses examples of others' sins and their punishment, and of others' rewards, to turn us from vice and toward the crown.
- The verses are Hesiod, Works and Days 296–297. The bracketed words are marked by the editor as a gloss. The image of the athlete recalls Heb 12:1 and 1 Cor 9:24–25.
Extrabiblical texts: Hesiod, Op. 296–297 (Hesiod, Works and Days; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.8.43 (Stählin 1:261–262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-8-43).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.8.44Stählin 1:262
πολλαὶ τοιαῦται τῆς θεϊκῆς σοφίας αἱ εἰκόνες· ἑνὸς δὲ ὑποδείγματος μνησθήσομαι καὶ διὰ βραχέων παραθήσομαι· τὸ Σοδομιτῶν πάθος κρίσις μὲν ἀδικήσασι, παιδαγωγία δὲ ἀκούσασιν. οἱ Σοδομῖται ὑπὸ πολλῆς τρυφῆς ἐξοκείλαντες εἰς ἀσέλγειαν, μοιχεύοντες μὲν ἀδεῶς, περὶ τὰ παιδικὰ ἐκμανῶς ἐπτοημένοι, ἐπεῖδεν αὐτοὺς ὁ παντεπόπτης λόγος, ὃν οὐκ ἔστι λαθεῖν ἀνόσια δρῶντας, οὐδὲ ἐπηρέμησεν τῇ ἀσελγείᾳ αὐτῶν ὁ ἄγρυπνος τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος φύλαξ· ἀποτρέπων δὲ ἡμᾶς τῆς μιμήσεως τῆς ἐκείνων, πρὸς σωφροσύνην τὴν αὑτοῦ παιδαγωγῶν, τίσιν τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ἐπιβαλών, ὡς μὴ τὸ ἀτιμώρητον τῆς ἀκολασίας ἀδείας ἐπιρροὴν προσλάβῃ, καταφλεχθῆναι προσέταξε τὰ Σόδομα, ὀλίγον τι τοῦ φρονίμου πυρὸς ἐκείνου ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκολασίαν ἐκχέων, ὡς μὴ ἀκόλαστον αὐτῶν τὸ λάγνον γενόμενον πλατείας ἀναπετάσῃ κλισιάδας τοῖς εἰς ἡδυπάθειαν φερομένοις. γέγονεν τοίνυν ἡ Σοδομιτῶν δικαία τιμωρία τῆς εὐλογίστου τοῖς ἀνθρώποις σωτηρίας εἰκών· οἱ γὰρ μὴ τὰ ὅμοια τοῖς κεκολασμένοις ἁμαρτήσαντες οὐ τὴν ὁμοίαν ποτὲ τοῖς ἁμαρτωλοῖς ὑπόσχοιεν ἂν δίκην τῷ μὴ ἁμαρτεῖν τὸ μὴ παθεῖν πεφυλαγμένοι. »εἰδέναι γὰρ ὑμᾶς«, φησὶν ὁ Ἰούδας, »βούλομαι, ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἅπαξ ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου λαὸν σώσας τὸ δεύτερον τοὺς μὴ πιστεύσαντας ἀπώλεσεν, ἀγγέλους τε τοὺς μὴ τηρήσαντας τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρχήν, ἀλλὰ ἀπολιπόντας τὸ ἴδιον οἰκητήριον εἰς κρίσιν μεγάλης ἡμέρας δεσμοῖς ἀιδίοις ὑπὸ ζόφον
pollai toiautai tēs theïkēs sophias hai eikones; henos de hypodeigmatos mnēsthēsomai kai dia bracheōn parathēsomai; to Sodomitōn pathos krisis men adikēsasi, paidagōgia de akousasin. hoi Sodomitai hypo pollēs tryphēs exokeilantes eis aselgeian, moicheuontes men adeōs, peri ta paidika ekmanōs eptoēmenoi, epeiden autous ho pantepoptēs logos, hon ouk esti lathein anosia drōntas, oude epēremēsen tę̄ aselgeią autōn ho agrypnos tēs anthrōpotētos phylax; apotrepōn de hēmas tēs mimēseōs tēs ekeinōn, pros sōphrosynēn tēn hautou paidagōgōn, tisin tois hamartōlois epibalōn, hōs mē to atimōrēton tēs akolasias adeias epirroēn proslabę̄, kataphlechthēnai prosetaxe ta Sodoma, oligon ti tou phronimou pyros ekeinou epi tēn akolasian ekcheōn, hōs mē akolaston autōn to lagnon genomenon plateias anapetasę̄ klisiadas tois eis hēdypatheian pheromenois. gegonen toinyn hē Sodomitōn dikaia timōria tēs eulogistou tois anthrōpois sōtērias eikōn; hoi gar mē ta homoia tois kekolasmenois hamartēsantes ou tēn homoian pote tois hamartōlois hyposchoien an dikēn tǭ mē hamartein to mē pathein pephylagmenoi. »eidenai gar hymas«, phēsin ho Ioudas, »boulomai, hoti ho theos hapax ek gēs Aigyptou laon sōsas to deuteron tous mē pisteusantas apōlesen, angelous te tous mē tērēsantas tēn heautōn archēn, alla apolipontas to idion oikētērion eis krisin megalēs hēmeras desmois aidiois hypo zophon
Many such are the images of divine wisdom; I will recall one example and set it out briefly. The suffering of the Sodomites is judgment for the wrongdoers and instruction for those who hear. The Sodomites, running aground through much luxury on licentiousness, committing adultery without fear and madly excited over boys: the all-seeing Word, whom those who do unholy things cannot escape, looked upon them; and the sleepless guardian of humanity did not keep quiet at their licentiousness. Turning us from imitating them, training us to his own self-control, inflicting punishment on the sinners so that impunity for their incontinence might not bring an influx of fearlessness, he commanded Sodom to be burned up, pouring a little of that wise fire on licentiousness, lest their lust, left unchecked, should throw wide the doors to those carried away into voluptuousness. The just punishment of the Sodomites, then, has become an image of salvation well-reasoned for human beings; for those who have not sinned like those who were punished would never suffer a penalty like the sinners, having guarded against suffering by not sinning. “For I want you to know,” says Jude, “that God, having once saved a people from the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe; and the angels who did not keep their own dominion, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day
Gen 19:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Jude 1:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Jude 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Jude 1:7 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The destruction of Sodom for its luxury, adultery, and pederasty is an instruction to us, as Jude teaches with the examples of Israel in the desert and the fallen angels.
- The allusion is Gen 19:24; the quotation is Jude 5–6, which continues in the next section.
Topics: Ethics, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.8.44 (Stählin 1:262; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-8-44).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.8.45Stählin 1:262–263
ἀγρίων ἀγγέλων τετήρηκεν.« καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν διδασκαλικώτατα ἐκτίθεται τὰς εἰκόνας τῶν κρινομένων· »οὐαὶ αὐτοῖς, ὅτι τῇ ὁδῷ τοῦ Κάιν ἐπορεύθησαν καὶ τῇ πλάνῃ τοῦ Βαλαὰμ ἐξεχύθησαν καὶ τῇ ἀντιλογίᾳ τοῦ Κορὲ ἀπώλοντο.« τοὺς γὰρ μὴ δυναμένους ἐξουσίαν υἱοθεσίας φέρειν ὁ φόβος μὴ ἐξυβρίζειν διατηρεῖ. διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ αἱ κολάσεις καὶ αἱ ἀπειλαί, ἵνα δείσαντες τὰς δίκας τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν ἀποσχώμεθα. ἔχω σοι φιλοκοσμίας κολάσεις διηγήσασθαι καὶ φιλοδοξίας τιμωρίας, οὐκ ἀκρασίας μόνον, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐπὶ πλούτῳ κακόφρονας παραθέσθαι βλασφημίας, ἐν αἷς διὰ τοῦ φοβεῖν ὁ λόγος ἀνείργει τῶν ἀδικημάτων. ἀλλὰ γὰρ φειδόμενος τοῦ μήκους τοῦ συντάγματος τὰς ἑξῆς τοῦ παιδαγωγοῦ προσάγω σοι ἐντολάς, ἵνα δὴ φυλάξῃ τὰς ἀπειλάς.
agriōn angelōn tetērēken.« kai kata mikron didaskalikōtata ektithetai tas eikonas tōn krinomenōn; »ouai autois, hoti tę̄ hodǭ tou Kain eporeuthēsan kai tę̄ planę̄ tou Balaam exechythēsan kai tę̄ antilogią tou Kore apōlonto.« tous gar mē dynamenous exousian huiothesias pherein ho phobos mē exybrizein diatērei. dia touto gar hai kolaseis kai hai apeilai, hina deisantes tas dikas tou hamartanein aposchōmetha. echō soi philokosmias kolaseis diēgēsasthai kai philodoxias timōrias, ouk akrasias monon, pros de kai tas epi ploutǭ kakophronas parathesthai blasphēmias, en hais dia tou phobein ho logos aneirgei tōn adikēmatōn. alla gar pheidomenos tou mēkous tou syntagmatos tas hexēs tou paidagōgou prosagō soi entolas, hina dē phylaxę̄ tas apeilas.
of savage angels.” And a little further on he sets out most instructively the images of those judged: “Woe to them, for they went in the way of Cain, and abandoned themselves to the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.” Fear keeps those who cannot bear the freedom of adoption from insolence. That is why there are punishments and threats: so that, fearing the penalties, we may keep from sinning. I could tell you the punishments of love of finery and the penalties of love of glory, not only of incontinence, and set out the denunciations of those who are evil-minded about wealth, in which the Word restrains us from wrongdoing by fear. But, sparing the length of the treatise, I bring you the Instructor's commandments that follow, so that you may guard against the threats.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Jude 1:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Jude 1:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:15 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Jude also names Cain, Balaam, and Korah as warnings; punishments and threats hold back from sin those not yet able to bear the freedom of sons.
- The quotations are Jude 6 (end, with “savage angels,” a variant reading) and Jude 11.
Topics: Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.8.45 (Stählin 1:262–263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-8-45).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
The 3, chapter 9
3.9.46Stählin 1:263
Βαλανείου τοίνυν (ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ ἀπετράπην λέγων) τέσσαρές εἰσιν αἰτίαι, καθʼ ἃς ἐπʼ αὐτὸ παραγινόμεθα· ἢ γὰρ καθαριότητος ἕνεκα ἢ ἀλέας ἢ ὑγιείας ἢ τελευταῖον ἡδονῆς. ἡδονῆς μὲν οὖν ἕνεκα λοῦσθαι παραπεμπτέον· ἄρδην γὰρ τὴν ἀναίσχυντον ἡδονὴν ἐκκοπτέον. παραληπτέον δὲ τὸ λουτρὸν ταῖς μὲν γυναιξὶ καθαριότητος ἕνεκεν καὶ ὑγιείας, ὑγείας δὲ μόνης ἀνδράσι. περιττὸν δὲ τὸ τῆς ἀλέας ἐξὸν [δὲ] καὶ ἄλλως παραμυθεῖσθαι τὸ κατεσκληκὸς ὑπὸ κρύους. αἱ δὲ τοῦ βαλανείου συνεχεῖς χρήσεις καθαιροῦσι τὰς δυνάμεις καὶ τοὺς φυσικοὺς χαλῶσι τόνους, πολλάκις δὲ ἐκλύσεις ἄγουσι καὶ λειποθυμίας. τρόπον γάρ τινα πίνει τὰ σώματα, ὥσπερ τὰ δένδρα, οὐ μόνον τῷ στόματι, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ διʼ ὅλου τοῦ σώματος κατὰ τὸ λουτρόν, ὥς φασι, ποροποιίᾳ. τεκμήριον τούτου· διψήσαντες πολλάκις ἔπειτα ἐμβάντες εἰς τὰ ὕδατα τὴν δίψαν ἠκέσαντο. οὔκουν εἰ πρός τι ὠφελεῖ τὸ λουτρόν, ἤδη σφᾶς ἐκλυτέον αὐτῷ· ἀνθρωπογναφεῖα ἐκάλουν αὐτὰ οἱ παλαιοί, ἐπεὶ θᾶττον ἢ προσῆκεν ῥακοῖ τὰ σώματα καὶ προγηράσκειν ἀναγκάζει καθέψοντα κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ σιδήρῳ μαλασσομένης τῇ θερμότητι τῆς σαρκός· ἐντεῦθεν οἱονεὶ τῆς βαφῆς
Balaneiou toinyn (enteuthen gar apetrapēn legōn) tessares eisin aitiai, kathʼ has epʼ auto paraginometha; ē gar kathariotētos heneka ē aleas ē hygieias ē teleutaion hēdonēs. hēdonēs men oun heneka lousthai parapempteon; ardēn gar tēn anaischynton hēdonēn ekkopteon. paralēpteon de to loutron tais men gynaixi kathariotētos heneken kai hygieias, hygeias de monēs andrasi. peritton de to tēs aleas exon [de] kai allōs paramytheisthai to katesklēkos hypo kryous. hai de tou balaneiou synecheis chrēseis kathairousi tas dynameis kai tous physikous chalōsi tonous, pollakis de eklyseis agousi kai leipothymias. tropon gar tina pinei ta sōmata, hōsper ta dendra, ou monon tǭ stomati, alla kai tę̄ diʼ holou tou sōmatos kata to loutron, hōs phasi, poropoiią. tekmērion toutou; dipsēsantes pollakis epeita embantes eis ta hydata tēn dipsan ēkesanto. oukoun ei pros ti ōphelei to loutron, ēdē sphas eklyteon autǭ; anthrōpognapheia ekaloun auta hoi palaioi, epei thatton ē prosēken rhakoi ta sōmata kai progēraskein anankazei kathepsonta kata ta auta tǭ sidērǭ malassomenēs tę̄ thermotēti tēs sarkos; enteuthen hoionei tēs baphēs
There are four reasons (for this is where I turned aside) for which we go to the bath: for cleanliness, warmth, health, or finally pleasure. Bathing for pleasure must be dismissed; for shameless pleasure must be cut out entirely. Women may take the bath for cleanliness and health, men for health only. Bathing for warmth is superfluous, since one can relieve in other ways what is stiffened by cold. Constant use of the bath weakens the strength and relaxes the natural tone, and often brings faintness and fainting fits. For bodies drink, in a way, like trees, not only with the mouth but also, they say, through the opening of the pores of the whole body in the bath. The proof is that people who are thirsty often relieve their thirst by getting into the water. So even if the bath is useful for something, we should not weaken ourselves by it. The ancients called baths “fullers of men,” since they wrinkle bodies sooner than is fitting and force them to age before their time, boiling them, as the flesh is softened by the heat like iron; hence, as it were for dipping
Notes and citation
Summary: There are four reasons for bathing; pleasure is ruled out, women may bathe for cleanliness and health and men for health only; too much bathing weakens and ages the body.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.9.46 (Stählin 1:263; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-9-46).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.9.47Stählin 1:263–264
καὶ τῆς στομώσεως τοῦ ψυχροῦ δεόμεθα. οὐδὲ μὴν ἑκάστοτε λουτέον, ἀλλʼ εἴτε λίαν τις εἴη κενὸς ἢ αὖ πλήρης ἄγαν, παραιτητέον τὸ βαλανεῖον· ναὶ μὴν κατὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἡλικίαν καὶ τοῦ ἔτους τὴν ὥραν· οὐ γὰρ πάντας [ἀεὶ] οὐδὲ ἀεὶ ὀνίνησιν, ὡς οἱ περὶ ταῦτα σοφοὶ ὁμολογοῦσιν. ἡμῖν δὲ ἀπόχρη ἡ συμμετρία, ἣν πανταχοῦ βοηθὸν ἐπικαλούμεθα τῷ βίῳ· οὐδὲ γὰρ τοσοῦτον ἐνδιατριπτέον τῷ βαλανείῳ ὡς δεῖσθαι χειραγωγοῦ, οὐδὲ συνεχῶς καὶ πολλάκις τῆς ἡμέρας λούεσθαι καθάπερ εἰς ἀγορὰν θαμίζοντας. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπὸ πλειόνων οἰκετῶν καταιονεῖσθαι ἐξυβρίζειν ἐστὶν εἰς τοὺς πλησίον, πλεονεκτούντων τῇ τρυφῇ καὶ συνιέναι μὴ ἐθελόντων, ὡς κοινὸν ἐπʼ ἴσης εἶναι τῶν λουομένων τὸ βαλανεῖον δεῖν. λούειν δὲ δεῖ μάλιστα μὲν τὴν ψυχὴν καθαρσίῳ λόγῳ, καὶ τὸ σῶμα δὲ ἔσθʼ ὅτε διὰ τὴν ἄσιν τὴν ἐπιφυομένην αὐτῷ, οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἔσθʼ ὅτε καὶ ὑπεκλύειν τοὺς καμάτους. »οὐαὶ γὰρ ὑμῖν, γραμματεῖς καὶ Φαρισαῖοι ὑποκριταί,« φησὶν ὁ κύριος, »ὅτι ὅμοιοί ἐστε τάφοις κεκονιαμένοις· ἔξωθεν ὁ τάφος φαίνεται ὡραῖος, ἔνδον δὲ γέμει ὀστέων νεκρῶν καὶ πάσης ἀκαθαρσίας.«
kai tēs stomōseōs tou psychrou deometha. oude mēn hekastote louteon, allʼ eite lian tis eiē kenos ē au plērēs agan, paraitēteon to balaneion; nai mēn kata tēn tou sōmatos hēlikian kai tou etous tēn hōran; ou gar pantas [aei] oude aei oninēsin, hōs hoi peri tauta sophoi homologousin. hēmin de apochrē hē symmetria, hēn pantachou boēthon epikaloumetha tǭ biǭ; oude gar tosouton endiatripteon tǭ balaneiǭ hōs deisthai cheiragōgou, oude synechōs kai pollakis tēs hēmeras louesthai kathaper eis agoran thamizontas. alla kai to hypo pleionōn oiketōn kataioneisthai exybrizein estin eis tous plēsion, pleonektountōn tę̄ tryphę̄ kai synienai mē ethelontōn, hōs koinon epʼ isēs einai tōn louomenōn to balaneion dein. louein de dei malista men tēn psychēn katharsiǭ logǭ, kai to sōma de esthʼ hote dia tēn asin tēn epiphyomenēn autǭ, ou mēn allʼ esthʼ hote kai hypeklyein tous kamatous. »ouai gar hymin, grammateis kai Pharisaioi hypokritai,« phēsin ho kyrios, »hoti homoioi este taphois kekoniamenois; exōthen ho taphos phainetai hōraios, endon de gemei osteōn nekrōn kai pasēs akatharsias.«
and tempering, we need cold water. We should not bathe on every occasion, but should avoid the bath if one is very empty or very full; and also according to the age of the body and the season of the year; for it does not benefit all, nor always, as those skilled in these matters agree. For us moderation is enough, which we call on everywhere as a help in life. We should not stay so long in the bath as to need someone to lead us out by the hand, nor bathe continually and many times a day, frequenting it like the market. And to be doused by many servants is an insult to our neighbors, since it takes more for luxury and refuses to understand that the bath should be common to all bathers equally. We must wash above all the soul with the cleansing Word, and the body sometimes, because of the dirt that grows on it, and sometimes also to relieve fatigue. “For woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,” says the Lord, “for you are like whitewashed tombs; outwardly the tomb appears beautiful, but inside it is full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.”
Matt 23:27 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 5:26 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Bathing should be moderate and occasional, not luxurious; above all the soul must be washed by the Word, lest we be like the whitewashed tombs the Lord condemned.
- The quotation is Matt 23:27.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (missing space in the digital text; stray space before the closing quotation mark): πολλάκιςτῆς ἡμέρας → πολλάκις τῆς ἡμέρας; αί, « → αί,«.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.9.47 (Stählin 1:263–264; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-9-47).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.9.48Stählin 1:264
καὶ πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς φησιν· »οὐαὶ ὑμῖν, ὅτι καθαρίζετε τὸ ἔξω τοῦ ποτηρίου καὶ τῆς παροψίδος, ἔνδοθεν δὲ γέμουσιν ἀκαθαρσίας. καθάρισον πρῶτον τὸ ἔνδον τοῦ ποτηρίου, ἵνα γένηται καὶ τὸ ἔξωθεν καθαρόν.« τὸ μὲν οὖν ἄριστον λουτρὸν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀποσμήχει τὸν ῥύπον καί ἐστι πνευματικόν, ἐφʼ οὗ διαρρήδην ἡ προφητεία λέγει· »ἐκπλυνεῖ κύριος τὸν ῥύπον τῶν υἱῶν καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων Ἰσραήλ, καὶ καθαριεῖ τὸ αἷμα ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν«, τὸ αἷμα τῆς ἀνομίας καὶ τῶν προφητῶν τοὺς φόνους. καὶ τὸν τρόπον τῆς καθάρσεως ἐπήγαγεν ὁ λόγος εἰπών· »ἐν πνεύματι κρίσεως καὶ ἐν πνεύματι καύσεως.« τὸ δὲ τοῦ σώματος τὸ σαρκικὸν καὶ διὰ μόνου ὕδατος ἀποπληροῦται, καθάπερ ἐν ἀγροῖς γίνεται πολλάκις, ὅπου βαλανεῖον οὐκ ἔστιν.
kai palin tois autois phēsin; »ouai hymin, hoti katharizete to exō tou potēriou kai tēs paropsidos, endothen de gemousin akatharsias. katharison prōton to endon tou potēriou, hina genētai kai to exōthen katharon.« to men oun ariston loutron tēs psychēs aposmēchei ton rhypon kai esti pneumatikon, ephʼ hou diarrēdēn hē prophēteia legei; »ekplynei kyrios ton rhypon tōn huiōn kai tōn thygaterōn Israēl, kai kathariei to haima ek mesou autōn«, to haima tēs anomias kai tōn prophētōn tous phonous. kai ton tropon tēs katharseōs epēgagen ho logos eipōn; »en pneumati kriseōs kai en pneumati kauseōs.« to de tou sōmatos to sarkikon kai dia monou hydatos apoplēroutai, kathaper en agrois ginetai pollakis, hopou balaneion ouk estin.
And again he says to the same people: “Woe to you, for you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of uncleanness. Clean first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.” The best bath, then, wipes off the filth of the soul and is spiritual; of it prophecy says expressly: “The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Israel, and will cleanse the blood from their midst,” the blood of lawlessness and the murders of the prophets. And the Word added the manner of cleansing, saying: “by a spirit of judgment and by a spirit of burning.” The fleshly washing of the body is accomplished even by water alone, as often happens in the country, where there is no bath.
Matt 23:25 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 23:26 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 4:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The best washing is spiritual, cleansing the inside first, as the Lord taught and Isaiah prophesied; the body can be washed with plain water.
- The quotations are Matt 23:25–26 and Isa 4:4.
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.9.48 (Stählin 1:264; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-9-48).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
The 3, chapter 10
3.10.49Stählin 1:264–265
Μειρακίοις δὲ γυμνάσιον ἀπόχρη, κἂν βαλανεῖον παρῇ· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς ἀνδράσι παντὸς μᾶλλον πρὸ τῶν λουτρῶν ἐγκρῖναι οὐ φαῦλον ἴσως, ἔχοντά τι χρήσιμον τοῖς νέοις πρὸς ὑγίειαν, σπουδήν τε καὶ φιλοτιμίαν ἐντιθέντα οὐχὶ εὐεξίας μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εὐψυχίας ἐπιμελεῖσθαι· ὃ δὴ γινόμενον ἄνευ τοῦ τῶν κρειττόνων ἔργων ἀποσπᾶσθαι χαρίεν καὶ οὐκ ἀλυσιτελές. οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ὑπεξαιρετέον τῆς κατὰ τὸ σῶμα διαπονήσεως τὰς γυναῖκας, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐπὶ πάλην καὶ δρόμους παρακλητέον αὐτάς, ταλασιουργίᾳ δὲ γυμναστέον καὶ ἱστουργίᾳ καὶ τῷ παραστῆναι τῇ πεττούσῃ, εἰ δέοι. ἔτι δὲ αὐτουργικῶς προκομίζειν χρὴ ἐκ τοῦ ταμιείου τὰς γυναῖκας ὧν δεοίμεθα, καὶ τῷ μύλῳ προσελθεῖν οὐκ αἰσχρὸν αὐταῖς· οὐδὲ μὴν περὶ τοὔψον ἀσχολεῖσθαι, ὅπως θυμῆρες ᾖ τἀνδρί, ὄνειδος οἰκουρῷ γαμετῇ καὶ βοηθῷ. εἰ δὲ καὶ στρωμνὴν ἀνατινάξαι διʼ αὑτῆς καὶ ποτὸν ὀρέξαι διψῶντι τῷ γεγαμηκότι καὶ ὄψον παραθείη, εὐσχημονέστατα μεντἂν καὶ εἰς σώφρονα ὑγίειαν γυμνασθείη· τὴν τοιαύτην γυναῖκα ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ἀποδέχεται, ἣ »τοὺς πήχεις ἐκτενεῖ εἰς τὰ χρήσιμα, τὰς χεῖρας δὲ αὐτῆς ἐρείδεται εἰς ἄτρακτον· χεῖρας δὲ αὐτῆς διήνοιξεν πένητι, καρπὸν δὲ ἐξέτεινεν πτωχῷ«, τὴν καλλίστην διακονίαν οὐκ ἐπῃσχύνθη ζηλώσασα Σάρραν, ὑπουργῆσαι τοῖς ὁδοιπόροις. εἶπεν γὰρ αὐτῇ Ἀβραάμ· »σπεῦσον καὶ φύρασον τρία μέτρα σεμιδάλεως καὶ ποίησον ἐγκρυφίας.« »Ῥαχὴλ δὲ ἡ θυγάτηρ Λάβαν ἤρχετο«, φησί, »μετὰ τῶν προβάτων τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς.«
Meirakiois de gymnasion apochrē, kan balaneion parę̄; kai gar kai tauta tois andrasi pantos mallon pro tōn loutrōn enkrinai ou phaulon isōs, echonta ti chrēsimon tois neois pros hygieian, spoudēn te kai philotimian entithenta ouchi euexias monon, alla kai eupsychias epimeleisthai; ho dē ginomenon aneu tou tōn kreittonōn ergōn apospasthai charien kai ouk alysiteles. oude entautha hypexaireteon tēs kata to sōma diaponēseōs tas gynaikas, allʼ ouk epi palēn kai dromous paraklēteon autas, talasiourgią de gymnasteon kai histourgią kai tǭ parastēnai tę̄ pettousę̄, ei deoi. eti de autourgikōs prokomizein chrē ek tou tamieiou tas gynaikas hōn deoimetha, kai tǭ mylǭ proselthein ouk aischron autais; oude mēn peri toupson ascholeisthai, hopōs thymēres ę̄ tandri, oneidos oikourǭ gametę̄ kai boēthǭ. ei de kai strōmnēn anatinaxai diʼ hautēs kai poton orexai dipsōnti tǭ gegamēkoti kai opson paratheiē, euschēmonestata mentan kai eis sōphrona hygieian gymnastheiē; tēn toiautēn gynaika ho paidagōgos apodechetai, hē »tous pēcheis ektenei eis ta chrēsima, tas cheiras de autēs ereidetai eis atrakton; cheiras de autēs diēnoixen penēti, karpon de exeteinen ptōchǭ«, tēn kallistēn diakonian ouk epę̄schynthē zēlōsasa Sarran, hypourgēsai tois hodoiporois. eipen gar autę̄ Abraam; »speuson kai phyrason tria metra semidaleōs kai poiēson enkryphias.« »Rhachēl de hē thygatēr Laban ērcheto«, phēsi, »meta tōn probatōn tou patros autēs.«
For youths, the gymnasium is enough, even if a bath is available; and indeed for men too it is perhaps not bad to prefer it to the baths, since it has something useful for the health of the young and instills zeal and ambition to care not only for good bodily condition but also for good spirit; done without being drawn away from better works, it is pleasant and not unprofitable. Nor are women to be excluded from bodily exercise here; but they should not be called to wrestling and running, but exercised in spinning, weaving, and helping the baker if need be. Women should also fetch from the storeroom with their own hands what we need; and it is not shameful for them to go to the mill; nor is it a reproach to a wife who keeps house and is a helper to be busy with the cooking, so that it may please her husband. If she shakes out the bed herself, hands her husband a drink when he is thirsty, and serves him food, she would be exercised most becomingly and for self-controlled health. The Instructor approves such a woman, who “stretches out her arms to useful work, and sets her hands to the spindle; she opens her hands to the needy, and stretches out her fruit to the poor”; who was not ashamed of the finest service, emulating Sarah in waiting on travelers. For Abraham said to her: “Hurry and knead three measures of fine flour and make cakes.” “And Rachel the daughter of Laban came,” it says, “with her father's sheep.”
Prov 31:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 31:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 18:6 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 29:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 2:18 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Young men should exercise in the gymnasium; women should exercise in spinning, weaving, and housework, like the woman of Proverbs 31, Sarah, and Rachel.
- The quotations are Prov 31:19–20 (LXX), Gen 18:6, and Gen 29:9.
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.10.49 (Stählin 1:264–265; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-10-49).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.10.50Stählin 1:265
καὶ οὐκ ἤρκει ταῦτα, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀτυφίαν ἐκδιδάσκων προσεπήγαγεν· »αὕτη γὰρ ἔβοσκεν τὰ πρόβατα τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς.« καὶ μυρία ὅσα αἱ γραφαὶ ὀρέγουσιν εὐτελείας ἅμα καὶ αὐτουργίας, πρὸς δὲ καὶ γυμνασίων ὑποδείγματα. ἀνδρῶν δὲ οἳ μὲν γυμνοὶ καὶ πάλης μετεχόντων, οἳ δὲ καὶ σφαίρῃ τῇ μικρᾷ παιζόντων τὴν φαινίνδα παιδιὰν ἐν ἡλίῳ μάλιστα· ἄλλοις ὁ περίπατος αὐτάρκης ἀγρόνδε βαδίζουσιν ἢ εἰς ἄστυ κατιοῦσιν. εἰ δὲ καὶ σκαπάνης ἅψαιντο, οὐκ ἀγεννὲς τοῦτο παρεμπόρευμα οἰκονομικὸν γυμνασίου γεωργικοῦ. ἀλλὰ γὰρ μικροῦ δεῖν ἔλαθέν με [εἰπεῖν] ὁ Πιττακὸς ἐκεῖνος, ὅτι ἤληθεν ὁ Μιτυληναίων βασιλεὺς ἐνεργῷ γυμνασίῳ χρώμενος. καλὸν δὲ καὶ ὕδωρ ἀνιμῆσαι διʼ αὑτοῦ καὶ ξύλα διατεμεῖν, οἷς αὐτὸς χρήσεται. »Ἰακὼβ δὲ ἐποίμαινεν τὰ πρόβατα Λάβαν τὰ ὑπολειφθέντα«, σημεῖον ἔχων βασιλικὸν »ῥάβδον στυρακίνην«, ἐναλλάττειν μελετῶν διὰ τοῦ ξύλου ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον τὴν φύσιν.
kai ouk ērkei tauta, alla tēn atyphian ekdidaskōn prosepēgagen; »hautē gar ebosken ta probata tou patros autēs.« kai myria hosa hai graphai oregousin euteleias hama kai autourgias, pros de kai gymnasiōn hypodeigmata. andrōn de hoi men gymnoi kai palēs metechontōn, hoi de kai sphairę̄ tę̄ mikrą paizontōn tēn phaininda paidian en hēliǭ malista; allois ho peripatos autarkēs agronde badizousin ē eis asty katiousin. ei de kai skapanēs hapsainto, ouk agennes touto paremporeuma oikonomikon gymnasiou geōrgikou. alla gar mikrou dein elathen me [eipein] ho Pittakos ekeinos, hoti ēlēthen ho Mitylēnaiōn basileus energǭ gymnasiǭ chrōmenos. kalon de kai hydōr animēsai diʼ hautou kai xyla diatemein, hois autos chrēsetai. »Iakōb de epoimainen ta probata Laban ta hypoleiphthenta«, sēmeion echōn basilikon »rhabdon styrakinēn«, enallattein meletōn dia tou xylou epi to beltion tēn physin.
And that was not enough, but teaching freedom from pride he added: “For she was the one who pastured her father's sheep.” The Scriptures offer countless examples of frugality and working with one's own hands, and of exercise too. As for men, let some strip and take part in wrestling, some play with the small ball the game called phaininda, especially in the sun; for others walking is enough, going out to the country or down to town. If they take up the hoe too, this is no ignoble economic side-benefit of farm exercise. I nearly forgot to mention that famous Pittacus, king of the Mitylenaeans, who ground grain, using an active exercise. It is good also to draw water oneself and to cut the wood one will use. “Jacob pastured the sheep of Laban that were left,” having as a royal sign “a rod of storax,” practicing to change nature for the better by means of the wood.
Gen 29:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 30:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 30:37 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Scripture gives examples of humble work: Rachel pastured sheep and Jacob tended Laban's flocks; men may wrestle, play ball, walk, hoe, draw water, and chop wood.
- The quotations are Gen 29:9 and Gen 30:36–37 (LXX, “a rod of storax”). The rod, by which Jacob changed the flocks, is read as a figure of the cross (“the wood”). Pittacus of Mitylene, one of the Seven Sages, was said to have ground grain for exercise. The bracketed word is marked by the editor as spurious (to be deleted).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.10.50 (Stählin 1:265; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-10-50).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.10.51Stählin 1:265–266
πολλοῖς δὲ ἔσθʼ ὅτε καὶ τὸ γεγωνὸς τῆς ἀναγνώσεως γυμνάσιόν ἐστιν. καὶ δὴ τά γε [καὶ] κατὰ πάλην, ἣν ἐνεκρίναμεν, μὴ φιλονεικίας ἀχρήστου παραλαμβανέσθω χάριν, εἰς δὲ ἱδρώτων ἀνδρωδῶν ἐκκρίσεις· καὶ οὔτι γε τὸ ἔντεχνον διαπονητέον, τὸ ἐπιδεικτικὸν αὐτῆς, τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ ὀρθῆς πάλης, ἀπʼ αὐχένων καὶ χειρῶν καὶ πλευρῶν ἐξειλήσεως· κοσμιωδεστέρα γὰρ καὶ ἀνδρωδεστέρα μετʼ εὐσχήμονος ῥώμης ἡ τοιαύτη διαπόνησις ὑγείας ἕνεκεν εὐχρήστου καὶ ὀνησιφόρου παραλαμβανομένη, οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι πόνοι γυμναστικῆς οὐκ ἐλευθέρων στάσεων μελέτην καταγγέλλοντες. πανταχοῦ δὲ τοῦ μέτρου στοχαστέον. ὡς γὰρ πόνους σιτίων ἡγεῖσθαι ἄριστον, οὕτως τὸ ὑπὲρ τὸ μέτρον πονεῖν καὶ κάκιστον καὶ κοπῶδες καὶ νοσοποιόν. οὔτʼ οὖν παντάπασιν ἀργὸν εἶναι χρὴ οὐδὲ μὴν παντελῶς ἐπίπονον. καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς τροφῆς διεξεληλύθαμεν, παραπλησίως ἐν πᾶσι καὶ πανταχοῦ οὐ πρὸς ἡδυπάθειαν τετράφθαι καὶ ἀκόλαστον χρὴ δίαιταν οὐδʼ αὖ πρὸς τὴν ἐναντίαν τὴν ἄκρατον, ἀλλὰ τὴν μεταξὺ τούτων τὴν ἐμμελῆ τε καὶ σώφρονα καὶ καθαρὰν ἑκατέρας κακίας,
pollois de esthʼ hote kai to gegōnos tēs anagnōseōs gymnasion estin. kai dē ta ge [kai] kata palēn, hēn enekrinamen, mē philoneikias achrēstou paralambanesthō charin, eis de hidrōtōn andrōdōn ekkriseis; kai outi ge to entechnon diaponēteon, to epideiktikon autēs, ta de apo orthēs palēs, apʼ auchenōn kai cheirōn kai pleurōn exeilēseōs; kosmiōdestera gar kai andrōdestera metʼ euschēmonos rhōmēs hē toiautē diaponēsis hygeias heneken euchrēstou kai onēsiphorou paralambanomenē, hoi de alloi ponoi gymnastikēs ouk eleutherōn staseōn meletēn katangellontes. pantachou de tou metrou stochasteon. hōs gar ponous sitiōn hēgeisthai ariston, houtōs to hyper to metron ponein kai kakiston kai kopōdes kai nosopoion. outʼ oun pantapasin argon einai chrē oude mēn pantelōs epiponon. kathaper gar epi tēs trophēs diexelēlythamen, paraplēsiōs en pasi kai pantachou ou pros hēdypatheian tetraphthai kai akolaston chrē diaitan oudʼ au pros tēn enantian tēn akraton, alla tēn metaxy toutōn tēn emmelē te kai sōphrona kai katharan hekateras kakias,
For many, reading aloud is sometimes an exercise too. As for wrestling, which we have accepted, let it be taken up not for the sake of useless rivalry but for the manly sweating it produces; and not the artful kind, for show, but straight wrestling, with the unwinding of necks, hands, and sides. For such exercise is more decorous and manly, with seemly strength, taken up for useful and beneficial health; while the other exercises of the gymnasium teach unfree postures. Everywhere we must aim at measure. As it is best to take exercise before meals, so to labor beyond measure is worst, fatiguing, and causes disease. One should be neither entirely idle nor wholly laborious. As we discussed concerning food, so in everything and everywhere one must turn neither to voluptuousness and a licentious way of life nor to its opposite extreme, but to the mean between them, harmonious, self-controlled, and pure of both vices,
Notes and citation
Summary: Reading aloud and plain wrestling are good exercise, not for rivalry or show; in exercise as in everything, the mean between idleness and excess is best.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.10.51 (Stählin 1:265–266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-10-51).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.10.52Stählin 1:266
τρυφῆς τε καὶ φειδωλίας. ἤδη δέ, ὡς καὶ πρόσθεν εἰρήκαμεν, ἄτυφον ἡ αὐτουργία γυμνάσιον καὶ τὸ ὑποδήσασθαί τινα αὐτὸν αὑτῷ καὶ τὸ ἀπονίψασθαι τὼ πόδε, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τὸ ἀληλιμμένον λίπα ἀνατρῖψαι αὑτόν· τὸ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν τὴν ἴσην ἀνταποδοῦναι τῷ τρίψαντι ἐναλλὰξ καὶ τοῦτο δικαιοσύνης ἐστὶ κοινωνικῆς τὸ γυμνάσιον καὶ παραδαρθεῖν φίλῳ νοσοῦντι καὶ ὑπουργῆσαι μὴ δυναμένῳ καὶ παραθεῖναι δεομένῳ. »καὶ παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς«, φησίν, »Ἀβραὰμ τοῖς τρισὶν ἄριστον ὑπὸ τὸ δένδρον καὶ παρέστη ἐσθίουσιν αὐτοῖς.« καὶ ἡ ἁλεία, ὡς τῷ Πέτρῳ, εἰ σχολὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῶν ἐν λόγῳ μαθημάτων ἄγοιμεν. αὕτη δὲ βελτίων ἡ ἄγρα, ἣν ἐχαρίσατο ὁ κύριος τῷ μαθητῇ, καθάπερ ἰχθῦς διʼ ὕδατος ἀνθρώπους ἁλιεύειν διδάξας.
tryphēs te kai pheidōlias. ēdē de, hōs kai prosthen eirēkamen, atyphon hē autourgia gymnasion kai to hypodēsasthai tina auton hautǭ kai to aponipsasthai tō pode, pros de kai to alēlimmenon lipa anatripsai hauton; to de kai tēn amoibēn tēn isēn antapodounai tǭ tripsanti enallax kai touto dikaiosynēs esti koinōnikēs to gymnasion kai paradarthein philǭ nosounti kai hypourgēsai mē dynamenǭ kai paratheinai deomenǭ. »kai parethēken autois«, phēsin, »Abraam tois trisin ariston hypo to dendron kai parestē esthiousin autois.« kai hē haleia, hōs tǭ Petrǭ, ei scholēn apo tōn anankaiōn tōn en logǭ mathēmatōn agoimen. hautē de beltiōn hē agra, hēn echarisato ho kyrios tǭ mathētę̄, kathaper ichthys diʼ hydatos anthrōpous halieuein didaxas.
luxury and stinginess. As we have said before, working with one's own hands is an exercise free of pride: putting on one's own shoes, washing one's own feet, and rubbing oneself with oil. To return the same service in turn to the one who has rubbed us is an exercise of social justice; so is sleeping beside a sick friend, helping one who is unable, and serving food to one in need. “And Abraham set before the three a meal under the tree,” it says, “and stood by them as they ate.” Fishing too, as for Peter, if we have leisure from the necessary lessons of the Word. But the better catch is the one the Lord gave the disciple, teaching him to catch men, like fish, through water.
John 13:14 (echo, medium confidence) · Gen 18:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 25:36 (echo, medium confidence) · John 21:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 4:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 5:10 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Humble self-help and service to others, like Abraham serving his guests, are good exercise; fishing is allowed, but the better fishing is catching people through baptism.
- The allusions are John 13:14 (washing feet), Gen 18:8, Matt 25:36, John 21:3, and Matt 4:19 (Luke 5:10). “Through water” points to baptism.
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.10.52 (Stählin 1:266; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-10-52).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
The 3, chapter 11
3.11.53Stählin 1:266–267
Διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ χρυσοφορεῖν καὶ τὸ ἐσθῆτι μαλακωτέρᾳ χρῆσθαι οὐ τέλεον περικοπτέον, χαλινωτέον δὲ τὰς ἀλόγους τῶν ὁρμῶν, μὴ εἰς τὸ ἁβροδίαιτον ἡμᾶς ἐνσείσωσιν φέρουσαι ὑπὸ πολλῆς τῆς ἀνέσεως ἐξαρπάσασαι· δεινὴ γὰρ ἡ τρυφὴ εἰς κόρον ἐξοκείλασα σκιρτῆσαι καὶ ἀναχαιτίσαι καὶ τὸν ἡνίοχον, [καὶ] τὸν παιδαγωγόν, ἀποσείσασθαι, ὃς πόρρωθεν ἀνακόπτων τὰς ἡνίας ἄγει καὶ φέρει πρὸς σωτηρίαν τὸν ἵππον τὸν ἀνθρώπειον, τὸ ἄλογον μέρος τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ περὶ ἡδονὰς καὶ ὀρέξεις ἐπιψόγους καὶ λίθους καὶ χρυσίον καὶ ἐσθῆτα ποικίλην καὶ τὴν ἄλλην χλιδὴν ἐκθηριούμενον· ἐκεῖνο μάλιστα ἐν νῷ ἔχοντες τὸ εἰρημένον ἁγίως »τὴν ἀναστροφὴν ὑμῶν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἔχοντες καλήν, ἵνα ἐν ᾧ καταλαλοῦσιν ὑμῶν ὡς κακοποιῶν, ἐκ τῶν καλῶν ἔργων ἐποπτεύσαντες δοξάσωσι τὸν θεόν.« δίδωσιν οὖν ἡμῖν ὁ παιδαγωγὸς ἐσθῆτι χρῆσθαι τῇ λιτῇ, χρόᾳ δὲ τῇ λευκῇ, ὡς προειρήκαμεν, ἵνα μὴ τέχνῃ ποικιλλομένῃ, φύσει δὲ γεννωμένῃ οἰκειούμενοι, πᾶν ὅσον ἀπατηλὸν καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας καταψευδόμενον παρωσάμενοι τὸ μονότροπον καὶ μονοπρόσωπον τῆς ἀληθείας ἀσπασώμεθα. ἁβροδίαιτον ὀνειδίζων νεανίαν ὁ Σοφοκλῆς λέγει· γυναικομίμοις ἐμπρέπεις ἐσθήμασιν.
Dia touto kai to chrysophorein kai to esthēti malakōterą chrēsthai ou teleon perikopteon, chalinōteon de tas alogous tōn hormōn, mē eis to habrodiaiton hēmas enseisōsin pherousai hypo pollēs tēs aneseōs exarpasasai; deinē gar hē tryphē eis koron exokeilasa skirtēsai kai anachaitisai kai ton hēniochon, [kai] ton paidagōgon, aposeisasthai, hos porrōthen anakoptōn tas hēnias agei kai pherei pros sōtērian ton hippon ton anthrōpeion, to alogon meros tēs psychēs to peri hēdonas kai orexeis epipsogous kai lithous kai chrysion kai esthēta poikilēn kai tēn allēn chlidēn ekthērioumenon; ekeino malista en nǭ echontes to eirēmenon hagiōs »tēn anastrophēn hymōn en tois ethnesin echontes kalēn, hina en hǭ katalalousin hymōn hōs kakopoiōn, ek tōn kalōn ergōn epopteusantes doxasōsi ton theon.« didōsin oun hēmin ho paidagōgos esthēti chrēsthai tę̄ litę̄, chroą de tę̄ leukę̄, hōs proeirēkamen, hina mē technę̄ poikillomenę̄, physei de gennōmenę̄ oikeioumenoi, pan hoson apatēlon kai tēs alētheias katapseudomenon parōsamenoi to monotropon kai monoprosōpon tēs alētheias aspasōmetha. habrodiaiton oneidizōn neanian ho Sophoklēs legei; gynaikomimois emprepeis esthēmasin.
So wearing gold and using softer clothing is not to be cut off entirely; but the irrational impulses must be bridled, lest, carried off by too much relaxation, they hurl us into effeminacy. For luxury, running aground on satiety, is apt to leap and rear and throw off the charioteer, the Instructor, who, checking the reins from afar, leads and drives to salvation the human horse, the irrational part of the soul, made savage by pleasures and blameworthy appetites, stones, gold, embroidered clothing, and the rest of luxury; keeping in mind above all that holy saying: “Keeping your conduct among the Gentiles good, so that, though they slander you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God.” The Instructor, then, allows us to wear plain clothing, white in color, as we said before, so that, making our own not what is embroidered by art but what is born of nature, and rejecting all that is deceptive and lies against the truth, we may embrace the single form and single face of the truth. Sophocles, reproaching a luxurious youth, says: “You are conspicuous in clothes that imitate women.”
1 Pet 2:12 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Soft clothing and gold need not be wholly forbidden, but the Instructor, as charioteer, must rein in the passions; Christians should wear plain white clothing, witnessing by good conduct among the Gentiles.
- The quotations are 1 Pet 2:12 and Sophocles, fragment 769 (Nauck). The charioteer image recalls Plato, Phaedrus 246a–b.
Extrabiblical texts: Sophocles (Sophocles (plays and fragments); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.53 (Stählin 1:266–267; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-53).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.54Stählin 1:267–268
ὡς γὰρ στρατιώτου καὶ ναύτου καὶ ἄρχοντος, οὕτως δὲ καὶ σώφρονός ἐστιν οἰκεία στολὴ ἡ ἀπερίεργος καὶ εὐσχήμων καὶ καθάριος. παρʼ ὃ καὶ ὁ ἐν τῷ νόμῳ περὶ τῆς λέπρας διὰ Μωυσέως τεθεὶς νόμος τὸ ποικίλον καὶ πολύστικτον ὡς οὐχ ὅσιον ἀπωθεῖται ταῖς ποικίλαις τοῦ ὄφεως φολίσιν ἐοικός. τὸν γοῦν μηκέτι διηνθισμένον ποικιλίᾳ χρωμάτων, ὅλον δὲ λευκωθέντα διʼ ὅλων ἀπὸ κεφαλῆς ἄκρας ἄχρι ποδῶν ἐσχάτων καθαρὸν εἶναι ἐθέλει, ἵνα κατὰ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος μετάβασιν τὸ ποικίλον καὶ πανοῦργον τῆς διανοίας μεθέμενοι πάθος τὸ ἀποίκιλτον καὶ ἀνενδοίαστον τῆς ἀληθείας ἁπλοῦν ἀγαπήσωμεν χρῶμα. ὁ δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ ἄρα ζηλωτὴν Μωυσέως, ὁ πάντα ἄριστος Πλάτων, ὑφὴν ἐκείνην ἀποδέχεται, ᾗ μὴ πλέον ἔργον πρόσεστι γυναικὸς σώφρονος· »χρώματα δὲ λευκὰ πρέποντα ἂν εἴη σεμνότητι καὶ ἄλλοθι« λέγει »καὶ ἐν ὑφῇ· βάμματα δὲ μὴ προσφέρειν ἀλλʼ ἢ πρὸς τὰ πολέμου κοσμήματα.«
hōs gar stratiōtou kai nautou kai archontos, houtōs de kai sōphronos estin oikeia stolē hē aperiergos kai euschēmōn kai katharios. parʼ ho kai ho en tǭ nomǭ peri tēs lepras dia Mōyseōs tetheis nomos to poikilon kai polystikton hōs ouch hosion apōtheitai tais poikilais tou opheōs pholisin eoikos. ton goun mēketi diēnthismenon poikilią chrōmatōn, holon de leukōthenta diʼ holōn apo kephalēs akras achri podōn eschatōn katharon einai ethelei, hina kata tēn apo tou sōmatos metabasin to poikilon kai panourgon tēs dianoias methemenoi pathos to apoikilton kai anendoiaston tēs alētheias haploun agapēsōmen chrōma. ho de kai en toutǭ ara zēlōtēn Mōyseōs, ho panta aristos Platōn, hyphēn ekeinēn apodechetai, hę̄ mē pleon ergon prosesti gynaikos sōphronos; »chrōmata de leuka preponta an eiē semnotēti kai allothi« legei »kai en hyphę̄; bammata de mē prospherein allʼ ē pros ta polemou kosmēmata.«
As the soldier, the sailor, and the ruler each have their proper dress, so the self-controlled person has his: unelaborate, seemly, and clean. So the law about leprosy laid down through Moses rejects the many-colored and spotted as unholy, like the variegated scales of the serpent. It wishes the one no longer blooming with a variety of colors, but made white all over from head to foot, to be clean; so that, by transferring the lesson from the body, we may put off the varied and knavish passion of the mind and love the unvaried and unambiguous simple color of truth. And in this too the best Plato, the emulator of Moses, accepts that weaving which does not involve more than the work of a self-controlled woman: “White colors,” he says, “would befit dignity, both elsewhere and in weaving; and dyes should not be used except for the ornaments of war.”
Lev 13:12 (allusion, high confidence) · Lev 13:13 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The self-controlled have plain, seemly dress; the law of leprosy, where the one wholly white is clean, and Plato's preference for white teach simplicity.
- The allusion is Lev 13:12–13; the quotation is Plato, Laws 12.956a.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 956a (Plato (works); quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.54 (Stählin 1:267–268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-54).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.55Stählin 1:268
εἰρηνικοῖς ἄρα ἀνθρώποις καὶ φωτεινοῖς κατάλληλον τὸ λευκόν. ὡς οὖν τὰ σημεῖα τὰ ἐγγυτάτω ὄντα τῶν αἰτίων παρόντα σημαίνει, μᾶλλον δὲ δείκνυσι τὴν τοῦ ἀποτελέσαντος ὕπαρξιν, οἷον καπνὸς μὲν πῦρ, εὔχροια δὲ καὶ εὐσφυξία ὑγίειαν, οὕτως καὶ παρʼ ἡμῖν ἡ τοιάδε στολὴ τοῦ ἤθους τὴν κατάστασιν ἐνδείκνυται. καθάριος δὲ καὶ ἀφελὴς ἡ σωφροσύνη, ἐπεὶ ἡ μὲν καθαριότης ἕξις ἐστὶν παρασκευαστικὴ διαίτης καθαρᾶς καὶ ἀμιγοῦς αἰσχροῖς, ἡ δὲ ἀφέλεια ἕξις ἀφαιρετικὴ τῶν περιττῶν. ἡ δὲ στερεὰ ἐσθὴς καὶ μάλιστα ἡ ἄγναφος ἀποστέγει τὸ θερμὸν τὸ ἐν τῷ σώματι, οὐχ ὅτι ἐν αὑτῇ ἔχει τὴν θερμότητα ἡ ἐσθής, ἀλλʼ ὅτι τὴν ἐν τῷ σώματι ἐξιοῦσαν ἀναστρέφει καὶ πάροδον αὐτῇ οὐ παρέχει, εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐμπέσοι τις, συλλαβοῦσα αὐτὴν ἐν αὑτῇ ἔχει καὶ ὑπʼ αὐτῆς θερμανθεῖσα ἀντιθερμαίνει τὸ σῶμα, διʼ ὃ καὶ χειμῶνος μάλιστα ταύτῃ χρηστέον· εὔκολος δὲ αὕτη· εὐκολία δέ ἐστιν ἕξις ἀπέριττος προσδεκτικὴ τῶν πρὸς τὸ ἀνελλιπὲς ἐξαρκούντων εἰς τὸν κατὰ λόγον, τὸν ὑγιῆ καὶ μακάριον, βίον.
eirēnikois ara anthrōpois kai phōteinois katallēlon to leukon. hōs oun ta sēmeia ta engytatō onta tōn aitiōn paronta sēmainei, mallon de deiknysi tēn tou apotelesantos hyparxin, hoion kapnos men pyr, euchroia de kai eusphyxia hygieian, houtōs kai parʼ hēmin hē toiade stolē tou ēthous tēn katastasin endeiknytai. katharios de kai aphelēs hē sōphrosynē, epei hē men kathariotēs hexis estin paraskeuastikē diaitēs katharas kai amigous aischrois, hē de apheleia hexis aphairetikē tōn perittōn. hē de sterea esthēs kai malista hē agnaphos apostegei to thermon to en tǭ sōmati, ouch hoti en hautę̄ echei tēn thermotēta hē esthēs, allʼ hoti tēn en tǭ sōmati exiousan anastrephei kai parodon autę̄ ou parechei, ei de kai empesoi tis, syllabousa autēn en hautę̄ echei kai hypʼ autēs thermantheisa antithermainei to sōma, diʼ ho kai cheimōnos malista tautę̄ chrēsteon; eukolos de hautē; eukolia de estin hexis aperittos prosdektikē tōn pros to anellipes exarkountōn eis ton kata logon, ton hygiē kai makarion, bion.
White, then, befits peaceful and enlightened people. As signs closest to their causes signify their presence, or rather show the existence of what produced them, as smoke shows fire, and good color and a good pulse show health, so among us such dress shows the state of the character. Self-control is clean and simple, since cleanliness is a disposition that prepares a pure way of life unmixed with shameful things, and simplicity is a disposition that removes superfluities. Solid clothing, and especially undressed wool, keeps in the heat of the body, not because the clothing has heat in itself, but because it turns back the heat going out from the body and gives it no passage; and if any heat falls on it, it takes it in, keeps it, and, warmed by it, warms the body in return; so it should be used especially in winter. It is also a sign of contentment; and contentment is a disposition without superfluity, receptive of what is sufficient for a life lacking nothing according to reason, a healthy and blessed life.
Notes and citation
Summary: White and simple dress reflects a pure character; plain undressed wool keeps warm in winter and suits an easy, sufficient life.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.55 (Stählin 1:268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-55).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.56Stählin 1:268
κεχρήσθω δὲ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ τῇ λιτῇ στολῇ καὶ τῇ σεμνῇ, μαλακωτέρᾳ δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ προσῆκεν ἀνδρί, πλὴν οὐ τέλεον ἀπηρυθριακυίᾳ, οὐ διαρρεούσῃ τῇ μαλακότητι. ἔστων δὲ αἱ ἐσθῆτες ἁρμόζουσαι ἡλικίᾳ, προσώπῳ, τόποις, φύσει, ἐπιτηδεύμασιν. »ἐνδύσασθαι« γὰρ παγκάλως ἡμῖν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος συμβουλεύει »τὸν Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν, καὶ τῆς σαρκὸς πρόνοιαν μὴ ποιεῖσθαι εἰς ἐπιθυμίας«. κωλύει δὲ βιαζομένους τὴν φύσιν ὁ λόγος τοὺς λοβοὺς τῶν ὠτίων τιτρᾶναι. διὰ τί γὰρ οὐχὶ καὶ τὴν ῥῖνα; ἵνα δὴ κἀκεῖνο πληρωθῇ τὸ εἰρημένον· »ὥσπερ ἐνώτιον ἐν ῥινὶ ὑός, οὕτως γυναικὶ κακόφρονι κάλλος.« καθόλου γὰρ εἴ τις ἡγεῖται κοσμεῖσθαι χρυσίῳ, ἐλάττων ἐστὶν χρυσίου, ὁ δὲ ἐλάττων χρυσίου οὐκ ἔστι κύριος αὐτοῦ. ἀκοσμότερον δὲ ὁμολογεῖν ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἥττονα τοῦ Λυδίου ψήγματος πῶς οὐκ ἀτοπώτατον;
kechrēsthō de kai hē gynē tę̄ litę̄ stolę̄ kai tę̄ semnę̄, malakōterą de mallon ē prosēken andri, plēn ou teleon apērythriakuią, ou diarreousę̄ tę̄ malakotēti. estōn de hai esthētes harmozousai hēlikią, prosōpǭ, topois, physei, epitēdeumasin. »endysasthai« gar pankalōs hēmin ho theios apostolos symbouleuei »ton Christon Iēsoun, kai tēs sarkos pronoian mē poieisthai eis epithymias«. kōlyei de biazomenous tēn physin ho logos tous lobous tōn ōtiōn titranai. dia ti gar ouchi kai tēn rhina? hina dē kakeino plērōthę̄ to eirēmenon; »hōsper enōtion en rhini hyos, houtōs gynaiki kakophroni kallos.« katholou gar ei tis hēgeitai kosmeisthai chrysiǭ, elattōn estin chrysiou, ho de elattōn chrysiou ouk esti kyrios autou. akosmoteron de homologein heauton kai hēttona tou Lydiou psēgmatos pōs ouk atopōtaton?
Let the woman too wear plain and dignified clothing, softer than is fitting for a man, but not completely shameless nor dissolving in softness. Let clothes suit age, person, place, nature, and occupation. For the divine apostle very beautifully advises us to “put on Christ Jesus, and make no provision for the flesh, for its desires.” The Word forbids us to do violence to nature by piercing the lobes of the ears. For why not the nose too? So that that saying might be fulfilled: “As an earring in a pig's snout, so is beauty to an evil-minded woman.” In general, if anyone thinks he is adorned by gold, he is less than gold; and one who is less than gold is not its master. How is it not most absurd to confess oneself less adorned and inferior to the Lydian gold dust?
Rom 13:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 11:22 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Women may wear softer but plain clothing; Christians should put on Christ; ears should not be pierced; whoever thinks gold adorns him is worth less than gold.
- The quotations are Rom 13:14 and Prov 11:22. The Lydian gold dust came from the river Pactolus.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.56 (Stählin 1:268; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-56).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.57Stählin 1:268–269
καθάπερ οὖν καὶ τὸ χρυσίον μιαίνεται τῆς συὸς τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ τῷ ῥύγχει τὸν φορυτὸν ἐκταρασσούσης, οὕτως ἀσελγαίνειν αἱ τρυφητικώτεραι ὑπὸ τῆς περιουσίας ἐπαιρόμεναι τὸ κάλλος τὸ ἀληθινὸν καθυβρίζουσιν ἀφροδισίων μολυσμοῖς. δίδωσιν οὖν αὐταῖς δακτύλιον ἐκ χρυσίου, οὐδὲ τοῦτον εἰς κόσμον, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὸ ἀποσημαίνεσθαι τὰ οἴκοι φυλακῆς ἄξια διὰ τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῆς οἰκουρίας. εἰ γὰρ οἱ πάντες ἦσαν παιδαγωγούμενοι, οὐδὲν τῶν σφραγίδων ἔδει ἐπʼ ἴσης ὄντων δικαίων καὶ οἰκετῶν καὶ δεσποτῶν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡ ἀπαιδευσία πολλὴν ἐνδίδωσι ῥοπὴν εἰς ἀδικίαν, σφραγίδων ἐδεήθημεν. ἀλλʼ ἔστιν οὗ καθυφεῖναι τοῦ τόνου καιρός. καὶ γὰρ ἔσθʼ ὅτε συγγνωστέον ταῖς οὐκ εὐτυχούσαις περὶ γάμον σώφρονα καὶ τἀνδρὸς διὰ τὴν ἀρέσκειαν κοσμουμέναις. ὅρος δὲ αὐταῖς ἐπικείσθω ἡ πρὸς μόνους τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἄνδρας φιλοτιμία. ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἐβουλόμην τὴν σωματικὴν εὐπρέπειαν ἀσκεῖν αὐτάς, ἐπάγεσθαι δὲ τοὺς γήμαντας φιλανδρίᾳ σώφρονι, βιαστικῷ καὶ δικαίῳ φαρμάκῳ· πλὴν ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ δυστυχεῖν βούλονται τὴν ψυχήν, προκείσθω αὐταῖς, εἴ γε σωφρονεῖν ἐθέλοιεν, τὰς ἀλόγους ὁρμὰς καὶ ἐπιθυμίας τῶν ἀνδρῶν καταπραΰνειν ἠρέμα· ἡσυχῇ δὲ αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν λιτότητα ὑπακτέον τῷ πρὸς ὀλίγον πρὸς τὸ σωφρονέστερον ἐθισμῷ.
kathaper oun kai to chrysion miainetai tēs syos tę̄ akatharsią tǭ rhynchei ton phoryton ektarassousēs, houtōs aselgainein hai tryphētikōterai hypo tēs periousias epairomenai to kallos to alēthinon kathybrizousin aphrodisiōn molysmois. didōsin oun autais daktylion ek chrysiou, oude touton eis kosmon, allʼ eis to aposēmainesthai ta oikoi phylakēs axia dia tēn epimeleian tēs oikourias. ei gar hoi pantes ēsan paidagōgoumenoi, ouden tōn sphragidōn edei epʼ isēs ontōn dikaiōn kai oiketōn kai despotōn; epei de hē apaideusia pollēn endidōsi rhopēn eis adikian, sphragidōn edeēthēmen. allʼ estin hou kathypheinai tou tonou kairos. kai gar esthʼ hote syngnōsteon tais ouk eutychousais peri gamon sōphrona kai tandros dia tēn areskeian kosmoumenais. horos de autais epikeisthō hē pros monous tous heautōn andras philotimia. egō men ouk eboulomēn tēn sōmatikēn euprepeian askein autas, epagesthai de tous gēmantas philandrią sōphroni, biastikǭ kai dikaiǭ pharmakǭ; plēn allʼ epei dystychein boulontai tēn psychēn, prokeisthō autais, ei ge sōphronein etheloien, tas alogous hormas kai epithymias tōn andrōn katapraÿnein ērema; hēsychę̄ de autous epi tēn litotēta hypakteon tǭ pros oligon pros to sōphronesteron ethismǭ.
As gold is defiled by the uncleanness of a pig stirring up the filth with its snout, so the more luxurious women, exalted by abundance into licentiousness, outrage true beauty with the pollutions of sexual pleasure. He gives them, then, a gold ring, and not even this for adornment, but for sealing what is worth guarding at home, in their care of the household. If all were instructed, there would be no need of seals, since servants and masters would be equally just; but since lack of instruction gives much weight toward injustice, we have needed seals. But there are times to relax our strictness. Sometimes we must be indulgent to women who are not fortunate in having a self-controlled husband, and adorn themselves to please him. But let their limit be ambition to please their own husbands only. I would not wish them to practice bodily beauty, but to win their husbands by self-controlled love, a powerful and just medicine. Yet since they wish to be unfortunate in soul, let this be set before them, if they wish to be self-controlled: to calm gently the irrational impulses and desires of their husbands, and quietly lead them toward simplicity by accustoming them little by little to greater self-control.
Notes and citation
Summary: Women may wear a gold ring only as a seal for household goods; a wife with an unchaste husband may adorn herself to please him alone, while gently leading him to simplicity.
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.57 (Stählin 1:268–269; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-57).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.58Stählin 1:269–270
τὸ γὰρ σεμνὸν κατάστημα οὐ προσθήκῃ τοῦ φορτικοῦ, ἀλλὰ ἀφαιρέσει τοῦ περιττοῦ περιγίγνεται. καθάπερ οὖν ὠκύπτερα περικοπτέον τῶν γυναικῶν τὰ χρήματα τὰ τρυφητικά, χαυνότητας ἀβεβαίους καὶ κενὰς ἐμποιοῦντα ἡδονάς, ὑφʼ ὧν ἐπαιρόμεναι καὶ πτερούμεναι πολλάκις ἀποπέτονται τῶν γάμων. διὸ καὶ συστέλλειν χρὴ τὰς γυναῖκας κοσμίως καὶ περισφίγγειν αἰδοῖ σώφρονι, μὴ παραρρυῶσι τῆς ἀληθείας διὰ χαυνότητα. καλὸν μὲν οὖν ταῖς γαμεταῖς πεπιστευκότας ταῖς σφῶν τοὺς ἄνδρας τὴν οἰκουρίαν αὐταῖς ἐπιτρέπειν βοηθοῖς εἰς τοῦτο δεδομέναις. εἰ δὲ ἄρα δέοι καὶ ἡμᾶς ἐμπολιτευομένους καὶ ἄλλας τινὰς τῶν κατʼ ἀγρὸν διοικουμένους πράξεις, πολλάκις δὲ καὶ ἄνευ γυναικῶν γενομένους ὑπὲρ ἀσφαλείας ἀποσφραγίζεσθαί τινα, δίδωσιν καὶ ἡμῖν εἰς τοῦτο μόνον σημαντῆρα, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἀπορριπτέον δακτυλίους, ἐπεὶ »κόσμος« κατὰ τὴν γραφὴν »χρυσοῦς φρονίμῳ παιδεία«. αἱ δὲ χρυσοφοροῦσαι τῶν γυναικῶν δεδιέναι μοι δοκοῦσιν, μή, ἢν ἀφέληταί τις αὐτῶν τὰ χρυσία, δοῦλαι νομισθῶσιν οὐ κοσμούμεναι. τὸ δὲ εὐγενὲς τῆς ἀληθείας, ἐν τῷ φύσει καλῷ κατὰ ψυχὴν ἐξεταζόμενον, οὐ πράσει καὶ ὠνῇ τὸν δοῦλον, ἀλλὰ τῇ γνώμῃ τῇ ἀνελευθέρῳ διακέκρικεν, ἡμῖν δὲ οὐ φαίνεσθαι ἐλευθέροις, ἀλλὰ εἶναι ἁρμόζει, τοῖς θεῷ μὲν παιδαγωγουμένοις,
to gar semnon katastēma ou prosthēkę̄ tou phortikou, alla aphairesei tou perittou perigignetai. kathaper oun ōkyptera perikopteon tōn gynaikōn ta chrēmata ta tryphētika, chaunotētas abebaious kai kenas empoiounta hēdonas, hyphʼ hōn epairomenai kai pteroumenai pollakis apopetontai tōn gamōn. dio kai systellein chrē tas gynaikas kosmiōs kai perisphingein aidoi sōphroni, mē pararryōsi tēs alētheias dia chaunotēta. kalon men oun tais gametais pepisteukotas tais sphōn tous andras tēn oikourian autais epitrepein boēthois eis touto dedomenais. ei de ara deoi kai hēmas empoliteuomenous kai allas tinas tōn katʼ agron dioikoumenous praxeis, pollakis de kai aneu gynaikōn genomenous hyper asphaleias aposphragizesthai tina, didōsin kai hēmin eis touto monon sēmantēra, tous de allous aporripteon daktylious, epei »kosmos« kata tēn graphēn »chrysous phronimǭ paideia«. hai de chrysophorousai tōn gynaikōn dedienai moi dokousin, mē, ēn aphelētai tis autōn ta chrysia, doulai nomisthōsin ou kosmoumenai. to de eugenes tēs alētheias, en tǭ physei kalǭ kata psychēn exetazomenon, ou prasei kai ōnę̄ ton doulon, alla tę̄ gnōmę̄ tę̄ aneleutherǭ diakekriken, hēmin de ou phainesthai eleutherois, alla einai harmozei, tois theǭ men paidagōgoumenois,
For a dignified bearing comes not from adding what is vulgar but from taking away what is superfluous. Like wing feathers, the women's luxurious possessions must be clipped, since they produce unstable conceit and empty pleasures, by which, lifted up and given wings, they often fly away from their marriages. So women must be restrained decorously and girded with self-controlled modesty, lest they slip away from the truth through conceit. It is good for husbands who trust their wives to entrust the housekeeping to them, as helpers given for this. And if we too, taking part in public life and managing other affairs in the country, often apart from our wives, need to seal something for safety, he gives us too a signet for this purpose only; other rings must be thrown away, since, according to Scripture, “instruction is a golden ornament to the wise.” Women who wear gold seem to me to be afraid that, if one takes away their gold, they will be thought slaves because they are not adorned. But the nobility of truth, examined in what is naturally beautiful in the soul, distinguishes the slave not by sale and purchase but by an unfree mind; and it befits us not to seem free but to be free, instructed by God,
Gen 2:18 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Dignity comes from removing excess; husbands should entrust the household to their wives; men may have a signet ring for sealing only; freedom lies in the soul, not in ornaments.
- The quotation is Sir 21:21. “Helpers” recalls Gen 2:18. The sentence continues in the next section.
Extrabiblical texts: Sir 21:21 (Sirach [in RC, EO, ETH canons]; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.58 (Stählin 1:269–270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-58).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.59Stählin 1:270
θεῷ δὲ εἰσπεποιημένοις. διὸ καὶ στάσιν καὶ κίνησιν καὶ βάδισμα καὶ ἐσθῆτα καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τὸν πάντα βίον ὅτι μάλιστα ἐλευθεριώτατον ἐπαναιρετέον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν δακτύλιον οὐκ ἐπʼ ἄρθρῳ φορητέον τοῖς ἀνδράσι (γυναικεῖον γὰρ τοῦτο), εἰς δὲ τὸν μικρὸν δάκτυλον, καὶ τούτου εἰς τοὔσχατον καθιέναι· ἔσται γὰρ οὕτως εὐεργὴς ἡ χείρ, ἐν οἷς αὐτῆς δεόμεθα· καὶ οὐ ῥᾷστα ὁ σημαντὴρ ἀποπεσεῖται τῇ μείζονι τοῦ ἄρθρου συνδέσει φυλαττόμενος. αἱ δὲ σφραγῖδες ἡμῖν ἔστων πελειὰς ἢ ἰχθὺς ἢ ναῦς οὐριοδρομοῦσα ἢ λύρα μουσική, ᾗ κέχρηται Πολυκράτης, ἢ ἄγκυρα ναυτική, ἣν Σέλευκος ἐνεχαράττετο τῇ γλυφῇ, κἂν ἁλιεύων τις ᾖ, ἀποστόλου μεμνήσεται καὶ τῶν ἐξ ὕδατος ἀνασπωμένων παιδίων· οὐ γὰρ εἰδώλων πρόσωπα ἐναποτυπωτέον, οἷς καὶ τὸ προσέχειν ἀπείρηται, οὐδὲ μὴν ξίφος ἢ τόξον τοῖς εἰρήνην
theǭ de eispepoiēmenois. dio kai stasin kai kinēsin kai badisma kai esthēta kai hapaxaplōs ton panta bion hoti malista eleutheriōtaton epanaireteon. alla kai ton daktylion ouk epʼ arthrǭ phorēteon tois andrasi (gynaikeion gar touto), eis de ton mikron daktylon, kai toutou eis touschaton kathienai; estai gar houtōs euergēs hē cheir, en hois autēs deometha; kai ou rhąsta ho sēmantēr apopeseitai tę̄ meizoni tou arthrou syndesei phylattomenos. hai de sphragides hēmin estōn peleias ē ichthys ē naus ouriodromousa ē lyra mousikē, hę̄ kechrētai Polykratēs, ē ankyra nautikē, hēn Seleukos enecharatteto tę̄ glyphę̄, kan halieuōn tis ę̄, apostolou memnēsetai kai tōn ex hydatos anaspōmenōn paidiōn; ou gar eidōlōn prosōpa enapotypōteon, hois kai to prosechein apeirētai, oude mēn xiphos ē toxon tois eirēnēn
and adopted by God. So our standing, movement, walk, clothing, and in a word our whole life must be as free as possible. Men should not wear a ring on the joint of the finger (that is womanish), but on the little finger, and pushed to its base; for so the hand will be free for the work we need it for, and the signet will not easily fall off, being held by the larger joint. Let our seals be a dove, a fish, a ship running before the wind, a musical lyre, which Polycrates used, or a ship's anchor, which Seleucus had engraved; and if one is a fisherman, he will remember the apostle and the children drawn up out of the water. For the faces of idols must not be engraved, to which we are forbidden even to pay attention; nor a sword or a bow for us who pursue peace,
Rom 8:15 (echo, medium confidence) · Gal 4:5 (echo, medium confidence) · Matt 4:19 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 20:4 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians should live freely as God's adopted children; a man's signet ring should be worn on the little finger and engraved with a dove, fish, ship, lyre, or anchor, not idols or weapons.
- This is the earliest literary evidence for Christian symbols on seals (dove, fish, ship, anchor). “The apostle” is Peter the fisherman; “the children drawn up out of the water” are the baptized (Matt 4:19). The allusions are Rom 8:15 (adoption) and Exod 20:4. The sentence continues in the next section.
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.59 (Stählin 1:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-59).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.60Stählin 1:270
διώκουσιν ἢ κύπελλα τοῖς σωφρονοῦσιν. πολλοὶ δὲ τῶν ἀκολάστων ἐγγεγλυμμένους ἔχουσι τοὺς ἐρωμένους ἢ τὰς ἑταίρας, ὡς μηδὲ ἐθελήσασιν αὐτοῖς λήθην ποτὲ ἐγγενέσθαι δυνηθῆναι τῶν ἐρωτικῶν παθημάτων διὰ τὴν ἐνδελεχῆ τῆς ἀκολασίας ὑπόμνησιν. Τριχῶν δὲ πέρι ταύτῃ δοκεῖ· ψιλὴ μὲν ἡ τῶν ἀνδρῶν κεφαλή, πλὴν εἰ μὴ οὔλας ἔχοι τὰς τρίχας, λάσιον δὲ τὸ γένειον, αἱ δὲ συνεστραμμέναι τῶν τριχῶν ἀπὸ τῆς κεφαλῆς μὴ καθικέσθωσαν ἄγαν εἰς πλοκάμους κατολισθαίνουσαι γυναικείους· ἀπόχρη γὰρ τὸ »ἠυγένειον« τοῖς ἀνδράσιν. εἰ δέ τις καὶ κείραιτό τι τοῦ γενείου, οὐ μέντοι παντελῶς ψιλωτέον αὐτό· αἰσχρὸν γὰρ τὸ θέαμα καὶ κατέγνωσται ἡ τοῦ γενείου ἐν χρῷ κουρὰ παρατίλσει καὶ λειότητι γειτνιῶσα. αὐτίκα γοῦν ὁ ψαλμῳδὸς τοῦ γενείου τερπόμενος τῇ κόμῃ »ὡς τὸ μύρον« φησὶ »τὸ καταβαῖνον ἐπὶ πώγωνα, τὸν πώγωνα τὸν Ἀαρών«· τῇ παλινῳδίᾳ τοῦ πώγωνος τὸ εὐπρεπὲς ὑμνήσας, τὸ πρόσωπον τῷ μύρῳ κατεγάνωσε κυρίου.
diōkousin ē kypella tois sōphronousin. polloi de tōn akolastōn engeglymmenous echousi tous erōmenous ē tas hetairas, hōs mēde ethelēsasin autois lēthēn pote engenesthai dynēthēnai tōn erōtikōn pathēmatōn dia tēn endelechē tēs akolasias hypomnēsin. Trichōn de peri tautę̄ dokei; psilē men hē tōn andrōn kephalē, plēn ei mē oulas echoi tas trichas, lasion de to geneion, hai de synestrammenai tōn trichōn apo tēs kephalēs mē kathikesthōsan agan eis plokamous katolisthainousai gynaikeious; apochrē gar to »ēugeneion« tois andrasin. ei de tis kai keiraito ti tou geneiou, ou mentoi pantelōs psilōteon auto; aischron gar to theama kai kategnōstai hē tou geneiou en chrǭ koura paratilsei kai leiotēti geitniōsa. autika goun ho psalmǭdos tou geneiou terpomenos tę̄ komę̄ »hōs to myron« phēsi »to katabainon epi pōgōna, ton pōgōna ton Aarōn«; tę̄ palinǭdią tou pōgōnos to euprepes hymnēsas, to prosōpon tǭ myrǭ kateganōse kyriou.
nor drinking cups for the self-controlled. Many of the licentious have their beloved boys or courtesans engraved on their rings, so that even if they wished they could never forget their erotic passions, through the constant reminder of licentiousness. About hair this is our view: the men's head should be close-cropped, unless their hair is curly, and the chin bearded; and let the hair gathered from the head not hang down too far, slipping into women's locks; “well-bearded” is enough for men. If one cuts part of the beard, it should not be made entirely bare; the sight is shameful, and shaving the beard to the skin is condemned as close to plucking and smoothing. The psalmist, delighting in the beard's hair, says, “like the ointment running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron”; praising the seemliness of the beard in the refrain, he made the face of the Lord shine with ointment.
Ps 133:2 (132:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christians should not engrave lovers on their rings; men should keep short hair and a beard, not shaved bare, as the psalmist praises Aaron's anointed beard.
- “Well-bearded” (ἠυγένειος) is a Homeric epithet (Odyssey 4.456). The quotation is Ps 133:2 (132:2 LXX).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (letter missing in the digital text): οὐ μέντοι πατελῶς ψιλωτέον → οὐ μέντοι παντελῶς ψιλωτέον.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.60 (Stählin 1:270; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-60).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.61Stählin 1:270–271
ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐχ ὡραϊσμοῦ χάριν ἡ κουρὰ παραληπτέα, διὰ περίστασιν δέ, τὰς μὲν τῆς κεφαλῆς τρίχας ὡς μὴ αὐξόμεναι ταῖς ὄψεσιν ἐμποδίζοιεν καταβαίνουσαι, καὶ ἴσως τὰς ἐπὶ τῷ μύστακι μολυνομένας κατὰ τὴν τροφὴν περικαρτέον, οὐ ξυρῷ (ἀγεννὲς γάρ), ἀλλὰ ταῖς δυοῖν μαχαίραις ταῖς κουρικαῖς, τὰς δὲ τοῦ γενείου μηδέν τι παραλυπούσας οὐκ ἐνοχλητέον, σεμνότητα μὲν τοῦ προσώπου καὶ κατάπληξιν γεννητικὴν * * ἐμποιούσας· πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ τὸ σχῆμα παραπαιδαγωγεῖ μὴ ἁμαρτάνειν διὰ τὸ εὐεξέλεγκτον, τοῖς δὲ ἀναφανδὸν ἁμαρτάνειν ἐθέλουσιν τὸ λανθάνον τοῦ σχήματος καὶ μὴ παράσημον ἐπιτερπέστατον, ὑφʼ ᾧ δεδυκότες οἷς ἔξεστι διʼ ἄγνοιαν πλημμελεῖν
epei de ouch hōraïsmou charin hē koura paralēptea, dia peristasin de, tas men tēs kephalēs trichas hōs mē auxomenai tais opsesin empodizoien katabainousai, kai isōs tas epi tǭ mystaki molynomenas kata tēn trophēn perikarteon, ou xyrǭ (agennes gar), alla tais dyoin machairais tais kourikais, tas de tou geneiou mēden ti paralypousas ouk enochlēteon, semnotēta men tou prosōpou kai kataplēxin gennētikēn * * empoiousas; pollous de kai to schēma parapaidagōgei mē hamartanein dia to euexelenkton, tois de anaphandon hamartanein ethelousin to lanthanon tou schēmatos kai mē parasēmon epiterpestaton, hyphʼ hǭ dedykotes hois exesti diʼ agnoian plēmmelein
Since cutting the hair is to be done not for beauty but out of necessity, the hair of the head should be cut so that, as it grows, it does not come down and get in the eyes; and perhaps the hair on the upper lip, which is soiled in eating, should be trimmed, not with a razor (that is ignoble) but with a pair of scissors; but the hair of the beard, which causes no trouble, should not be disturbed, since it gives the face dignity and inspires … respect. The appearance itself teaches many not to sin, because it makes them easily recognized; while for those who wish to sin boldly, an appearance that escapes notice and is not distinctive is most pleasing: slipping behind it, they can offend unrecognized,
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Hair should be cut only as needed, the moustache trimmed with scissors, and the beard left alone for its dignity; a distinctive appearance helps keep people from sinning.
- The asterisks mark a gap in the manuscript. The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.61 (Stählin 1:270–271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-61).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.62Stählin 1:271
τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐξομοιούμενοι τὸ ἁμαρτάνειν ἀδεῶς κεκάρπωνται. οὐ μόνον οὖν αὐστηρὸν δεικνύει τὸν ἄνδρα τῆς κεφαλῆς τὸ ψιλόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ δυσπαθὲς κατασκευάζει τὸ κρανίον, προσομιλεῖν ἐθίζον καὶ κρύει καὶ καύματι, καὶ τὰς ἀπὸ τούτων διωθεῖται βλάβας, ἃς ἡ κόμη σπόγγου τρόπον εἰς ἑαυτὴν ἀναλαμβάνουσα, ἐγκατασκήπτει τῷ ἐγκεφάλῳ παράμονον ἐκ τῆς νοτίδος τὴν βλάβην. Ταῖς γυναιξὶ δὲ ἀπόχρη μαλάσσειν τὰς τρίχας καὶ ἀναδεῖσθαι τὴν κόμην εὐτελῶς περόνῃ τινὶ λιτῇ παρὰ τὸν αὐχένα, ἀφελεῖ θεραπείᾳ συναυξούσαις εἰς κάλλος γνήσιον τὰς σώφρονας κόμας. καὶ γὰρ αἱ περιπλοκαὶ τῶν τριχῶν αἱ ἑταιρικαὶ καὶ αἱ τῶν σειρῶν ἀναδέσεις πρὸς τῷ εἰδεχθεῖς αὐτὰς δεικνύναι κόπτουσι τὰς τρίχας, ἀποτίλλουσαι ταῖς πανούργοις ἐμπλοκαῖς, διʼ ἃς οὐδὲ θιγγάνουσι τῆς κεφαλῆς τῆς σφῶν αὐτῶν συγχεῖν τὰς τρίχας φοβούμεναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ὕπνος αὐταῖς μετὰ δέους παραγίνεται, μὴ κατασκύλωσιν λαθοῦσαι τὸ σχῆμα
tois pollois exomoioumenoi to hamartanein adeōs kekarpōntai. ou monon oun austēron deiknyei ton andra tēs kephalēs to psilon, alla kai dyspathes kataskeuazei to kranion, prosomilein ethizon kai kryei kai kaumati, kai tas apo toutōn diōtheitai blabas, has hē komē spongou tropon eis heautēn analambanousa, enkataskēptei tǭ enkephalǭ paramonon ek tēs notidos tēn blabēn. Tais gynaixi de apochrē malassein tas trichas kai anadeisthai tēn komēn eutelōs peronę̄ tini litę̄ para ton auchena, aphelei therapeią synauxousais eis kallos gnēsion tas sōphronas komas. kai gar hai periplokai tōn trichōn hai hetairikai kai hai tōn seirōn anadeseis pros tǭ eidechtheis autas deiknynai koptousi tas trichas, apotillousai tais panourgois emplokais, diʼ has oude thinganousi tēs kephalēs tēs sphōn autōn synchein tas trichas phoboumenai, alla kai ho hypnos autais meta deous paraginetai, mē kataskylōsin lathousai to schēma
and, being like the many, have reaped fearless sinning. A close-cropped head not only shows a man to be austere, but also hardens the skull, accustoming it to cold and heat, and wards off the harm from these, which long hair, soaking it up like a sponge, brings down on the brain, a lasting harm from the moisture. For women it is enough to make their hair soft and to tie up their hair simply with a plain pin at the neck, their self-controlled locks growing with simple care into genuine beauty. For the courtesans' braiding of hair and binding of plaits, besides making them look ugly, cut the hair, pulling it out with their cunning plaits; because of which they do not even touch their own heads, afraid of disarranging their hair; and even sleep comes to them with fear, lest they unwittingly spoil the shape
Notes and citation
Summary: Short hair toughens a man's head; women should tie their hair simply with a plain pin, since elaborate braiding damages the hair and makes them fearful of spoiling it.
- The sentence continues in the next section.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.62 (Stählin 1:271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-62).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
3.11.63Stählin 1:271–272
τῆς ἐμπλοκῆς. ἀλλοτρίων δὲ αἱ προσθέσεις τριχῶν τέλεον ἔκβλητοι, ὀθνείας τε ἐπισκευάζεσθαι τῇ κεφαλῇ τὰς κόμας ἀθεώτατον νεκροῖς ἐνδιδυσκούσας πλοκάμοις τὸ κρανίον· τίνι γὰρ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἐπιθήσει χεῖρα; τίνα δὲ εὐλογήσει; οὐ τὴν γυναῖκα τὴν κεκοσμημένην, ἀλλὰ τὰς ἀλλοτρίας τρίχας καὶ διʼ αὐτῶν ἄλλην κεφαλήν. εἰ δὲ »κεφαλὴ γυναικὸς μὲν ἀνήρ, ἀνδρὸς δὲ ὁ Χριστός«, πῶς οὐκ ἄθεον διττοῖς αὐτὰς περιπίπτειν ἁμαρτήμασιν; τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀπατῶσι, τοὺς ἄνδρας, διὰ τὴν ὑποβολὴν τῆς κόμης, καταισχύνουσι δὲ τὸν κύριον τὸ ὅσον ἐπʼ αὐταῖς ἑταιρικῶς κοσμούμεναι εἰς ἀπάτην ἀληθείας καὶ τὴν ὄντως οὖσαν καλὴν βλασφημοῦσαι κεφαλήν. οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ βαπτέον τὰς τρίχας οὐδὲ μὴν τὰς πολιὰς μεταχρωστέον· οὐδὲ γὰρ τὴν ἐσθῆτα ποικίλλειν συγκεχώρηται· καὶ μάλιστα τὸ γεραιὸν τῆς ἡλικίας καὶ ἀξιόπιστον οὐκ ἐπικαλυπτέον, ἀναδεικτέον δὲ ὑπʼ αὐγὰς τοῦ θεοῦ τὸ τίμημα εἰς σέβασμα τῶν νέων· καὶ γὰρ ἀναισχυντοῦσιν ἔσθʼ ὅτε πολιᾶς ἐπιφάνεια παιδαγωγοῦ δίκην ἐπιστᾶσα ἐπὶ σωφροσύνην μεθηρμόσατο αὐτοὺς καὶ κατεπλήξατο τῇ στιλπνότητι τῆς ὄψεως τὸ νεάζον τῆς ἐπιθυμίας.
tēs emplokēs. allotriōn de hai prostheseis trichōn teleon ekblētoi, othneias te episkeuazesthai tę̄ kephalę̄ tas komas atheōtaton nekrois endidyskousas plokamois to kranion; tini gar ho presbyteros epithēsei cheira? tina de eulogēsei? ou tēn gynaika tēn kekosmēmenēn, alla tas allotrias trichas kai diʼ autōn allēn kephalēn. ei de »kephalē gynaikos men anēr, andros de ho Christos«, pōs ouk atheon dittois autas peripiptein hamartēmasin? tous men gar apatōsi, tous andras, dia tēn hypobolēn tēs komēs, kataischynousi de ton kyrion to hoson epʼ autais hetairikōs kosmoumenai eis apatēn alētheias kai tēn ontōs ousan kalēn blasphēmousai kephalēn. oukoun oude bapteon tas trichas oude mēn tas polias metachrōsteon; oude gar tēn esthēta poikillein synkechōrētai; kai malista to geraion tēs hēlikias kai axiopiston ouk epikalypteon, anadeikteon de hypʼ augas tou theou to timēma eis sebasma tōn neōn; kai gar anaischyntousin esthʼ hote polias epiphaneia paidagōgou dikēn epistasa epi sōphrosynēn methērmosato autous kai kateplēxato tę̄ stilpnotēti tēs opseōs to neazon tēs epithymias.
of the braid. Adding other people's hair must be utterly rejected; putting on the head someone else's locks, clothing the skull in dead tresses, is most godless. For on whom will the presbyter lay his hand? Whom will he bless? Not the woman who is adorned, but the other person's hair, and through it another head. And if “the head of the woman is the man, and the head of the man is Christ,” how is it not godless for them to fall into a double sin? They deceive the men, their husbands, by substituting hair; and, as far as in them lies, they shame the Lord by adorning themselves like courtesans to deceive the truth, blaspheming the truly beautiful head. Nor, then, should hair be dyed, nor gray hair colored; for neither is it permitted to make clothing varicolored. Above all, the venerable and trustworthy mark of age should not be covered, but the honor from God displayed in the light for the reverence of the young; for sometimes the appearance of gray hair, standing over the shameless like an instructor, has turned them toward self-control and startled the youthfulness of their desire by the brightness of its look.
1 Cor 11:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 11:15 (echo, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Wigs are godless: when the presbyter lays on hands in blessing he blesses someone else's hair; wives who wear false hair deceive their husbands and shame Christ; gray hair should not be dyed.
- The presbyter's laying on of hands in blessing is an early witness to this practice. The quotation is 1 Cor 11:3.
Topics: Church office, Ethics, Marriage
Cite (SBL): Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.63 (Stählin 1:271–272; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3-7-36/#p-3-11-63).
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.