Miscellanies 1.5.29
Summary: There is one way of truth fed by many streams; Scripture speaks of many ways of wisdom; the harlot of Proverbs is foolish pleasure, not Greek learning; worldly studies should be used but not dwelt in, as some neglect their mistress philosophy for her maidservants.
Greek text · Stählin 2:18–19
μία μὲν οὖν ἡ τῆς ἀληθείας ὁδός, ἀλλʼ εἰς αὐτὴν καθάπερ εἰς ἀέναον ποταμὸν ἐκρέουσι τὰ ῥεῖθρα ἄλλα ἄλλοθεν. ἐνθέως οὖν ἄρα εἴρηται· ἄκουε, υἱέ μου, καὶ δέξαι ἐμοὺς λόγους, φησίν, ἵνα σοι γένωνται πολλαὶ ὁδοὶ βίου· ὁδοὺς γὰρ σοφίας διδάσκω σε, ὅπως μὴ ἐκλίπωσίν σε αἱ πηγαί, αἱ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐκβλύζουσαι γῆς. οὐ δὴ μόνον ἑνός τινος δικαίου ὁδοὺς πλείονας σωτηρίους κατέλεξεν, ἐπιφέρει δὲ ἄλλας πολλῶν πολλὰς δικαίων ὁδούς, μηνύων ὧδέ πως· αἱ δὲ ὁδοὶ τῶν δικαίων ὁμοίως φωτὶ λάμπουσιν. εἶεν δʼ ἂν καὶ αἱ ἐντολαὶ καὶ αἱ προπαιδεῖαι ὁδοὶ καὶ ἀφορμαὶ τοῦ βίου. Ἱερουσαλὴμ Ἱερουσαλήμ, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυναγαγεῖν τὰ τέκνα σου ὡς ὄρνις τοὺς νεοσσούς. Ἱερουσαλὴμ δὲ ὅρασις εἰρήνης ἑρμηνεύεται. δηλοῖ τοίνυν προφητικῶς τοὺς εἰρηνικῶς ἐποπτεύσαντας πολυτρόπως εἰς κλῆσιν πεπαιδαγωγῆσθαι. τί οὖν; ἠθέλησε μέν, οὐκ ἠδυνήθη δέ· ποσάκις δὲ ἢ ποῦ; δίς, διά τε προφητῶν καὶ διὰ τῆς παρουσίας. πολύτροπον μὲν οὖν τὴν σοφίαν ἡ ποσάκις ἐνδείκνυται λέξις, καὶ καθʼ ἕνα ἕκαστον τρόπον ποιότητός τε καὶ ποσότητος πάντως σῴζει τινὰς ἔν τε τῷ χρόνῳ ἔν τε τῷ αἰῶνι, ὅτι πνεῦμα κυρίου πεπλήρωκε τὴν οἰκουμένην. κἄν τις βιαζόμενος λέγῃ· μὴ πρόσεχε φαύλῃ γυναικί, μέλι γὰρ ἀποστάζει ἀπὸ χειλέων γυναικὸς πόρνης, τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν εἶναι παιδείαν, ἐπακουσάτω τῶν ἑξῆς· ἣ πρὸς καιρὸν λιπαίνει σὸν φάρυγγα, φησί, φιλοσοφία δὲ οὐ κολακεύει. τίνα τοίνυν αἰνίσσεται τὴν ἐκπορνεύσασαν; ἐπιφέρει ῥητῶς· τῆς γὰρ ἀφροσύνης οἱ πόδες κατάγουσι τοὺς χρωμένους αὐτῇ μετὰ θανάτου εἰς Ἅιδην, τὰ δὲ ἴχνη αὐτῆς οὐκ ἐρείδεται. μακρὰν οὖν ποίησον ἀπὸ τῆς ἄφρονος ἡδονῆς τὴν σὴν ὁδόν, μὴ ἐπιστῇς θύραις οἴκων αὐτῆς, ἵνα μὴ προῇ ἄλλοις τὴν σὴν ζωήν. καὶ ἐπιμαρτυρεῖ· εἶτα μεταμελήσει σοι ἐπὶ γήρως, ἡνίκα ἂν κατατριβῶσί σου σάρκες σώματος. τοῦτο γὰρ τέλος τῆς ἄφρονος ἡδονῆς. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ταύτῃ· ὁπηνίκα δʼ ἂν φῇ· μὴ πολὺς ἴσθι πρὸς ἀλλοτρίαν, χρῆσθαι μέν, οὐκ ἐνδιατρίβειν δὲ καὶ ἐναπομένειν τῇ κοσμικῇ παιδείᾳ παραινεῖ· προπαιδεύει γὰρ τῷ κυριακῷ λόγῳ τὰ κατὰ τοὺς προσήκοντας καιροὺς ἑκάστῃ γενεᾷ συμφερόντως δεδομένα. ἤδη γάρ τινες τοῖς φίλτροις τῶν θεραπαινίδων δελεασθέντες ὠλιγώρησαν τῆς δεσποίνης, φιλοσοφίας, καὶ κατεγήρασαν οἳ μὲν αὐτῶν ἐν μουσικῇ, οἳ δὲ ἐν γεωμετρίᾳ, ἄλλοι δὲ ἐν γραμματικῇ, οἱ πλεῖστοι δὲ ἐν ῥητορικῇ.
English · Claude translation
There is, then, one way of truth, but streams flow into it, as into an ever-flowing river, from different places. So it is said inspiredly: “Hear, my son, and receive my words, that you may have many ways of life. For I teach you the ways of wisdom, that the fountains may not fail you,” the fountains that gush from the same earth. He did not enumerate many saving ways of one righteous man only, but adds many other ways of many righteous, indicating something like this: “But the ways of the righteous shine like light.” And the commandments and the preliminary trainings would be ways and starting points of life. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wished to gather your children as a hen her chicks.” Jerusalem is interpreted “vision of peace.” He shows prophetically, then, that those who have peacefully contemplated have been trained in many ways for their calling. What then? He wished, but was not able. How often, or where? Twice: through the prophets and through his coming. The words “how often” show that wisdom is manifold; and in each way, of quality and of quantity, it surely saves some, both in time and in eternity, since “the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world.” And if someone forcibly says that “Do not give heed to a worthless woman, for honey drips from the lips of a harlot” means Greek education, let him listen to what follows: “who for a time smooths your throat,” it says; but philosophy does not flatter. Whom, then, does he hint at as the one who has played the harlot? He adds expressly: “For the feet of folly lead those who use her down with death to Hades, and her tracks are not firmly set.” “So keep your way far from foolish pleasure; do not stand at the doors of her house, lest you give your life to others.” And he adds the witness: “Then you will repent in old age, when the flesh of your body is worn out.” For this is the end of foolish pleasure. So much for this. But when he says, “Do not be much with a strange woman,” he advises us to use worldly education, but not to linger and remain in it; for the things given at the proper times to each generation for its benefit are a preliminary training for the Lord's word. For already some, lured by the charms of the maidservants, have neglected their mistress, philosophy, and have grown old, some in music, others in geometry, others in grammar, and most in rhetoric.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Prov 4:10–11, 21 (LXX), Prov 4:18, Matt 23:37, Wis 1:7, Prov 5:2–5, 8–9, 11 (LXX), and Prov 5:20. “Jerusalem” means “vision of peace.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong capital letter in the digital text): ἐπακουσάτω τῶν Ἑξῆς → ἐπακουσάτω τῶν ἑξῆς.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.5.29 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/5/29/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 1.5.29 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/1/5/29/).
Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)
Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text