Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 4.9.74

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

Summary: Confession is always required, a defense only when given; those who confess God but deny him by works are condemned, while those who confess at the end have done one good work; martyrdom purifies sins with glory.

Greek text · Stählin 2:281

ὥστε τὸ ὁμολογεῖν ἐκ παντὸς δεῖ, ἐφʼ ἡμῖν γάρ, ἀπολογεῖσθαι δὲ οὐκ ἐκ παντός, οὐ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο ἐφʼ ἡμῖν. ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος, οὗτος σωθήσεται· ἐπεὶ τίς οὐκ ἂν τῶν εὖ φρονούντων βασιλεύειν ἐν θεῷ, ἀλλʼ οὐ δουλεύειν ἕλοιτο; θεὸν οὖν ὁμολογοῦσί τινες εἰδέναι κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις ἀρνοῦνται, βδελυκτοὶ ὄντες καὶ ἀπειθεῖς καὶ πρὸς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθὸν ἀδόκιμοι, οἳ δέ, κἂν τοῦτο μόνον ὁμολογήσωσιν, ἕν τι κατεπράξαντο ἐπὶ τέλει ἔργον ἀγαθόν. ἔοικεν οὖν τὸ μαρτύριον ἀποκάθαρσις εἶναι ἁμαρτιῶν μετὰ δόξης. αὐτίκα ὁ Ποιμήν φησιν· ἐκφεύξεσθε τὴν ἐνέργειαν τοῦ ἀγρίου θηρίου, ἐὰν ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν γένηται καθαρὰ καὶ ἄμωμος. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ κύριος ἐξῃτήσατο ὑμᾶς ὁ σατανᾶς λέγει σινιάσαι· ἐγὼ δὲ παρῃτησάμην.

English · Claude translation

So confessing is necessary in every case, for it rests with us; but making a defense is not in every case, for this does not rest with us. “And the one who endures to the end will be saved.” For who of the right-minded would not choose to reign in God rather than to serve? Some, then, “confess that they know God,” according to the apostle, “but deny him by their works, being abominable and disobedient and unfit for any good work.” But others, even if they confess only this, have accomplished one good work at the end. Martyrdom, then, seems to be a purification of sins with glory. The Shepherd, for example, says: “You will escape the working of the wild beast, if your heart becomes pure and blameless.” And the Lord himself says: “Satan has demanded to sift you; but I have interceded.”

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:281 · 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
Extrabiblical texts
  • Herm. Vis. 4.2.5 (Shepherd of Hermas: Visions) · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Martyrdom

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are Matt 10:22, Titus 1:16, Hermas, Vis. 4.2.5, and Luke 22:31–32 (a free form).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.9.74 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/9/74/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.9.74 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/9/74/).

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