Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 3.4.33

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

Summary: Those who live like the worst of the worldly cannot claim a higher nature; Christ demands righteousness greater than the Pharisees', and Scripture teaches obedience and self-control.

Greek text · Stählin 2:210–211

πόθεν οὖν κρείττους εἰσὶ τῶν κοσμικῶν οἱ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες καὶ τοῖς χειρίστοις τῶν κοσμικῶν ὅμοιοι; ὅμοιοι γάρ, οἶμαι, τὰς φύσεις οἱ καὶ τὰς πράξεις ὅμοιοι. ὧν δὲ ὑπερφέρειν κατὰ τὴν εὐγένειαν ἀξιοῦσι, τούτων καὶ τοῖς ἤθεσιν ὑπερέχειν ὀφείλουσιν, ὅπως τὸν εἰς τὴν φυλακὴν συγκλεισμὸν διαφύγωσιν. ὄντως γὰρ ὡς ὁ κύριος ἔφη, ἐὰν μὴ περισσεύσῃ ἡ δικαιοσύνη ὑμῶν πλείω τῶν γραμματέων καὶ Φαρισαίων, οὐκ εἰσελεύσεσθε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ, περὶ δὲ τῆς τῶν βρωμάτων ἐγκρατείας δείκνυται ἐν τῷ Δανιήλ. συνελόντι δʼ εἰπεῖν, περὶ ὑπακοῆς ὁ Δαβὶδ ψάλλων λέγει· ἐν τίνι κατορθώσει νεώτερος τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ; καὶ παραχρῆμα ἀκούει· ἐν τῷ φυλάσσεσθαι τὸν λόγον σου ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ. ὅ τε Ἱερεμίας φησί· τάδε λέγει κύριος· κατὰ τὰς ὁδοὺς τῶν ἐθνῶν μὴ πορεύσησθε.

English · Claude translation

How, then, are those who do such things better than worldly people, when they are like the worst of the worldly? For those alike in their deeds are, I think, alike in their natures. Those whom they claim to surpass in noble birth they ought also to surpass in character, so as to escape being shut up in prison. For truly, as the Lord said, “Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” And self-control in food is shown in Daniel. To put it briefly, David, singing of obedience, says: “By what will a young man set his way straight?” and at once hears: “By keeping your word with his whole heart.” And Jeremiah says: “Thus says the Lord: Do not walk according to the ways of the Gentiles.”

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:210–211 · 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
Heresy, Ethics, Fasting

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations and allusions are Matt 5:20, Dan 1:8–16, Ps 119:9 (118:9 LXX), and Jer 10:2.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.4.33 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/4/33/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 3.4.33 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/3/4/33/).

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