Miscellanies 1.24.158
Summary: Moses was prophet, lawgiver, general, statesman, and philosopher; true kingship is divine rule by God and his Son, above rule by spiritedness or mere conquest.
Greek text · Stählin 2:99–100
Ἔστιν οὖν ὁ Μωυσῆς ἡμῖν προφητικός, νομοθετικός, τακτικός, στρατηγικός, πολιτικός, φιλόσοφος. ὅπως μὲν οὖν ἦν προφητικός, μετὰ ταῦτα λεχθήσεται, ὁπηνίκα ἂν περὶ προφητείας διαλαμβάνωμεν· τὸ τακτικὸν δὲ μέρος ἂν εἴη τοῦ στρατηγικοῦ, τὸ στρατηγικὸν δὲ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ· πάλιν τε αὖ τὸ νομοθετικὸν μέρος ἂν εἴη τοῦ βασιλικοῦ, καθάπερ καὶ τὸ δικαστικόν. τοῦ δὲ βασιλικοῦ τὸ μὲν θεῖον μέρος ἐστίν, οἷον τὸ κατὰ τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸν ἅγιον υἱὸν αὐτοῦ, παρʼ ὧν τά τε ἀπὸ γῆς ἀγαθὰ καὶ τὰ ἐκτὸς καὶ ἡ τελεία εὐδαιμονία χορηγεῖται· αἰτεῖσθε γάρ, φησί, τὰ μεγάλα, καὶ τὰ μικρὰ ὑμῖν προστεθήσεται. δεύτερον δέ ἐστιν εἶδος βασιλείας μετὰ τὴν ἀκραιφνῶν λογικὴν καὶ θείαν διοίκησιν τὸ μόνῳ τῷ θυμοειδεῖ τῆς ψυχῆς εἰς βασιλείαν συγχρώμενον, καθʼ ὃ εἶδος Ἡρακλῆς μὲν Ἄργους, Ἀλέξανδρος δὲ Μακεδόνων ἐβασίλευσε. τρίτον δὲ τὸ ἑνὸς ἐφιέμενον τοῦ νικῆσαι μόνον καὶ καταστρέψασθαι (τὸ δὲ πρὸς κακὸν ἢ ἀγαθὸν τὴν νίκην ποιεῖσθαι τῷ τοιούτῳ οὐ πρόσεστιν). ᾧ Πέρσαι ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα στρατεύσαντες συνεχρήσαντο. τοῦ γὰρ θυμοῦ τὸ μὲν φιλόνικον μόνον ἐστιν, αὐτοῦ τοῦ κρατεῖν ἕνεκα τὴν δυναστείαν πεποιημένον, τὸ δὲ φιλόκαλον, εἰς καλὸν καταχρωμένης τῆς ψυχῆς τῷ θυμῷ.
English · Claude translation
Moses, then, is for us a prophet, a lawgiver, a tactician, a general, a statesman, and a philosopher. How he was a prophet will be said later, when we discuss prophecy. The tactical would be part of the art of generalship, and generalship part of kingship; and again lawgiving would be part of kingship, as is judging. Of kingship, one part is divine, such as that according to God and his holy Son, from whom the good things of the earth, external goods, and perfect happiness are supplied; for “ask,” he says, “for great things, and the small will be added to you.” The second kind of kingship, after the pure rational and divine administration, is that which uses only the spirited part of the soul for rule, by which kind Heracles reigned over Argos and Alexander over the Macedonians. The third is that which aims at one thing only, to conquer and subdue (whether to win victory for evil or for good does not concern such a one); this the Persians used when they marched against Greece. For of spiritedness one part is merely contentious, having made its power for the sake of ruling itself, the other is noble, when the soul uses spiritedness for what is good.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotation is an agraphon (a saying of Jesus not in the canonical Gospels), also in Origen, On Prayer 2.2; compare Matt 6:33.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent and breathing: οἷον; wrong accent on the relative ᾧ): τὸ μὲν θεῖον μέρος ἐστίν, οἶον τὸ → τὸ μὲν θεῖον μέρος ἐστίν, οἷον τὸ; οὐ πρόσεστιν). ᾦ Πέρσαι → οὐ πρόσεστιν). ᾧ Πέρσαι.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.24.158 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/24/158/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.24.158 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/24/158/).
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