Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 3.11.74

Clement of Alexandria · Miscellanies · ca. 198–203 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: Paul wants the church presented as a pure virgin to Christ, its only Bridegroom; but each believer may lawfully marry, meaning a first marriage; Paul fears deception like Eve's.

Greek text · Stählin 2:229

ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Παῦλος, πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοίους ἀποτεινόμενος τοῖς εἰρημένοις, ταύτας οὖν ἔχετε τὰς ἐπαγγελίας φησίν, ἀγαπητοί· καθαρίσωμεν ἑαυτῶν τὰς καρδίας ἀπὸ παντὸς μολυσμοῦ σαρκὸς καὶ πνεύματος, ἐπιτελοῦντες ἁγιωσύνην ἐν φόβῳ θεοῦ· ζηλῶ γὰρ ὑμᾶς θεοῦ ζήλῳ, ἡρμοσάμην γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ. ἐκκλησία δὲ ἄλλον οὐ γαμεῖ τὸν νυμφίον κεκτημένη, ἀλλʼ ὁ καθʼ ἕκαστον ἡμῶν ἣν ἂν βούληται κατὰ τὸν νόμον γαμεῖν, τὸν πρῶτον λέγω γάμον, ἔχει τὴν ἐξουσίαν. φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως, ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν Εὔαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ, φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν, σφόδρα εὐλαβῶς καὶ διδασκαλικῶς εἴρηκεν ὁ ἀπόστολος.

English · Claude translation

That is why Paul too, aiming at people like those mentioned, says: “Having, then, these promises, beloved, let us cleanse our hearts from every defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.” The church, having the Bridegroom, marries no other; but each of us has the right to marry, according to the law, whomever he wishes, I mean the first marriage. “But I fear lest, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from the simplicity that is toward Christ,” the apostle said, very cautiously and as a teacher.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:229 · 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
Topics
Marriage, Remarriage, Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are 2 Cor 7:1 (a free form) and 2 Cor 11:2–3.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.11.74 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/11/74/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.11.74 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/11/74/).

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