Miscellanies 2.19.97 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:166

Οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ κατʼ εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν, ὁ γνωστικός, ὁ μιμούμενος τὸν θεὸν καθʼ ὅσον οἷόν τε, μηδὲν παραλιπὼν τῶν εἰς τὴν ἐνδεχομένην ὁμοίωσιν, ἐγκρατευόμενος, ὑπομένων, δικαίως βιούς, βασιλεύων τῶν παθῶν, μεταδιδοὺς ὧν ἔχει, ὡς οἷός τέ ἐστιν, εὐεργετῶν καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ. οὗτος μέγιστος, φησίν, ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ ὃς ἂν ποιῇ καὶ διδάσκῃ μιμούμενος τὸν θεὸν τῷ παραπλήσια χαρίζεσθαι· κοινωφελεῖς γὰρ αἱ τοῦ θεοῦ δωρεαί. ὃς δʼ ἂν ἐγχειρῇ τι πράσσειν μεθʼ ὑπερηφανίας, τὸν θεὸν παροξύνει, φησίν· ἀλαζονεία γὰρ ψυχῆς ἐστι κακία, ἀφʼ ἧς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κακιῶν μετανοεῖν κελεύει ἁρμοζομένοις τὸν βίον ἐξ ἀναρμοστίας πρὸς τὴν ἀμείνω μεταβολὴν διὰ τῶν τριῶν τούτων, στόματος, καρδίας, χειρῶν.

English · Claude translation

This is the one who is according to the image and likeness, the one who knows, who imitates God as far as possible, leaving out nothing that leads to the likeness that is attainable: exercising self-control, enduring, living justly, ruling over the passions, sharing what he has as far as he can, doing good both in word and in deed. “He is greatest in the kingdom,” it says, “who does and teaches,” imitating God by giving similar gifts; for the gifts of God are for the common good. “But whoever undertakes to do anything with arrogance provokes God,” it says; for pride is a vice of the soul, and from it, as from the other vices, it commands us to repent, bringing our life from disharmony into harmony for the change to the better through these three: mouth, heart, and hands.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:166 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 2, Stromata Buch I–VI, GCS 15 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1906); vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 2–3 (GCS 15, 17, 1906–1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0

Text

As printed in Stählin, GCS 15, 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 (1906–1909); 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) · Book 3 is left partly untranslated (in Latin) there.

Scripture

Gen 1:26 · allusion, high confidence
Matt 5:19 · quotation, high confidence
Num 15:30 · quotation, high confidence
Deut 30:14 · allusion, medium confidence

Topics

Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

The quotations and allusions are Gen 1:26, Matt 5:19, and Num 15:30 (LXX). Mouth, heart, and hands come from Deut 30:14.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): δικαίως βιούς. βασιλεύων → δικαίως βιούς, βασιλεύων.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.19.97 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/19/97/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.19.97 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/19/97/).