Sophia Scriptura

Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 34.1

Clement of Alexandria · Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? · ca. 190–210 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: The humble body hides from death and the devil the treasure within, guarded by the Father, the blood of the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Greek text · Stählin 3:182

Τοῦτο τὸ σχῆμα τὸ βλεπόμενον ἐξαπατᾷ τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὸν διάβολον· ὁ γὰρ ἐντὸς πλοῦτος καὶ τὸ κάλλος αὐτοῖς ἀθέατός ἐστι· καὶ μαίνονται περὶ τὸ σαρκίον, οὗ καταφρονοῦσιν ὡς ἀσθενοῦς. τῶν ἔνδον ὄντες τυφλοὶ κτημάτων, οὐκ ἐπιστάμενοι πηλίκον τινὰ »θησαυρὸν ἐν ὀστρακίνῳ σκεύει« βαστάζομεν, δυνάμει θεοῦ πατρὸς καὶ αἵματι θεοῦ παιδὸς καὶ δρόσῳ πνεύματος ἁγίου περιτετειχισμένον. ἀλλὰ σύ γε μὴ ἐξαπατηθῇς.

English · Claude translation

This visible form deceives death and the devil; for the inner wealth and beauty are invisible to them, and they rage around the poor flesh, which they despise as weak, being blind to the inner possessions, not knowing what a great “treasure in an earthen vessel” we carry, walled around by the power of God the Father, the blood of God the Son, and the dew of the Holy Spirit. But do not you be deceived.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 3:182 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, Excerpta ex Theodoto, Eclogae propheticae, Quis dives salvetur, Fragmente, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 3 (GCS 17, 1909), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Stählin, GCS 17. 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), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1909); 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
Christology, Trinity

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotation is 2 Cor 4:7. “The blood of God the Son” is strong language for the unity of Christ's divinity and suffering.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Quis div. 34.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-quis-dives/34/1/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Quis div. 34.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-quis-dives/34/1/).

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