Miscellanies 3.2.9
Summary: The law's death penalty and Christ's “but I say, do not desire” show the force of the commandment; Epiphanes mocks “you shall not covet” as absurd, since God gave desire, and calls marriage private ownership.
Greek text · Stählin 2:199–200
εἰ δὲ ἡ μοιχευθεῖσα καὶ ὁ εἰς αὐτὴν πορνεύσας θανάτῳ κολάζεται, δῆλον δήπου τὴν ἐντολὴν τὴν λέγουσαν οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον περὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν διαγορεύειν, ἵνα τις κατὰ νόμον καὶ τῆς τοῦ πλησίον καὶ τῆς ἀδελφῆς ἀποσχόμενος ἄντικρυς ἀκούσῃ παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω, οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις· ἡ δὲ τοῦ ἐγὼ μορίου προσθήκη προσεχεστέραν δείκνυσι τῆς ἐντολῆς τὴν ἐνέργειαν, καὶ ὅτι θεομαχεῖ ὅ τε Καρποκράτης ὅ τʼ Ἐπιφάνης, ὃς ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ πολυθρυλήτῳ βιβλίῳ, τῷ Περὶ δικαιοσύνης λέγω, ὧδέ πως ἐπιφέρει κατὰ λέξιν· ἔνθεν ὡς γελοῖον εἰρηκότος τοῦ νομοθέτου ῥῆμα τοῦτο ἀκουστέον ›οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις‹ πρὸς τὸ γελοιότερον εἰπεῖν ›τῶν τοῦ πλησίον‹· αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν δοὺς ὡς συνέχουσαν τὰ τῆς γενέσεως ταύτην ἀφαιρεῖσθαι κελεύει μηδενὸς αὐτὴν ἀφελὼν ζῴου· τὸ δὲ ›τῆς τοῦ πλησίον γυναικὸς‹ ἰδιότητα τὴν κοινωνίαν ἀναγκάζων ἔτι γελοιότερον εἶπεν.
English · Claude translation
And if the adulteress and the man who committed sexual immorality with her are punished with death, it is clear that the commandment that says, “You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,” speaks about the Gentiles, so that one who, according to the law, abstains from his neighbor's wife and from his sister may hear plainly from the Lord: “But I say, you shall not desire.” The addition of the word “I” shows the more intense force of the commandment, and that Carpocrates and Epiphanes fight against God. In that much-talked-of book, I mean On Justice, Epiphanes adds, word for word: “Hence the saying ‘You shall not covet’ must be heard as spoken ridiculously by the lawgiver, and still more ridiculous is his saying ‘your neighbor's goods.’ For the very one who gave desire, as holding together what belongs to generation, commands it to be taken away, though he took it from no living thing. And ‘your neighbor's wife,’ which forces fellowship into private ownership, he said even more ridiculously.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The allusions are Lev 20:10, Exod 20:17, and Matt 5:27–28 (a free form).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misreading in the digital text (εἶπεν); misspelling in the digital text): εἰρηκότος τοῦ νομοθέτου ῥῆνα τοῦτο → εἰρηκότος τοῦ νομοθέτου ῥῆμα τοῦτο; ἔτι γελοιότερον εἶκεν → ἔτι γελοιότερον εἶπεν.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.2.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/2/9/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.2.9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/2/9/).
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