Sophia Scriptura

The Instructor 3.10.52

Clement of Alexandria · The Instructor · ca. 190–200 · Alexandria · Read in context

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.

Greek text · Stählin 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.

English · Claude translation

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.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 1:266 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 1, Protrepticus und Paedagogus, GCS 12 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1905) · 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
Text
As printed in Stählin, GCS 12. Manuscript variants and the editor's apparatus are not reproduced; no textual problem is noted in this passage.
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-26 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1905); made independently of existing English translations.
Compare
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2 (1885) (an older public-domain English translation, whole volume at CCEL; checked against ours only after ours was made)
Scripture
Topics
Ethics, Baptism

Notes

Translation notes

  • 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 this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.10.52 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3/10/52/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.10.52 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3/10/52/).

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