Miscellanies 2.23.146 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:193

ἀνύποπτον δὲ εἰς διαβολὴν δείκνυσι γυναῖκα τὸ μὴ καλλωπίζεσθαι μηδὲ μὴν κοσμεῖσθαι πέρα τοῦ πρέποντος, εὐχαῖς καὶ δεήσεσι προσανέχουσαν ἐκτενῶς, τὰς μὲν ἐξόδους τῆς οἰκίας φυλαττομένην τὰς πολλάς, ἀποκλείουσαν δʼ ὡς οἷόν τε αὑτὴν τῆς πρὸς τοὺς οὐ προσήκοντας προσόψεως, προὐργιαίτερον τιθεμένην τῆς ἀκαίρου φλυαρίας τὴν οἰκουρίαν. ὁ δὲ ἀπολελυμένην λαμβάνων γυναῖκα μοιχᾶται, φησίν, ἐὰν γὰρ τις ἀπολύσῃ γυναῖκα, μοιχᾶται αὐτήν, τουτέστιν ἀναγκάζει μοιχευθῆναι. οὐ μόνον δὲ ὁ ἀπολύσας αἴτιος γίνεται τούτου, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ παραδεξάμενος αὐτήν, ἀφορμὴν παρέχων τοῦ ἁμαρτῆσαι τῇ γυναικί· εἰ γὰρ μὴ δέχοιτο, ἀνακάμψει πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα.

English · Claude translation

What shows a wife to be above suspicion of slander is not beautifying herself nor adorning herself beyond what is fitting, devoting herself earnestly to prayers and supplications, avoiding frequent outings from the house, shutting herself off as far as possible from the sight of men who are not related to her, and considering the care of the home more important than untimely chatter. “And the one who takes a divorced woman commits adultery,” it says; “for if anyone divorces a wife, he commits adultery against her,” that is, he compels her to commit adultery. And not only does the one who divorced her become the cause of this, but also the one who receives her, giving the woman an occasion to sin; for if he did not receive her, she would go back to her husband.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:193 · 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

Matt 5:32 · quotation, high confidence
Luke 16:18 · quotation, medium confidence
Mark 10:11 · quotation, medium confidence
1 Tim 2:9 · allusion, medium confidence
Titus 2:5 · allusion, medium confidence

Topics

Marriage, Divorce, Remarriage

Notes

Translation notes

The quotations are Matt 5:32 (Luke 16:18) and a free form of Matt 5:32 / Mark 10:11. Clement reads μοιχᾶται αὐτήν as “makes her commit adultery.” His ideal of the wife's seclusion reflects the customs of his time.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (misspelling in the digital text): μηδὲ μὴν κοσμεῖται πέρα → μηδὲ μὴν κοσμεῖσθαι πέρα.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.23.146 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/23/146/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.23.146 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/23/146/).