Miscellanies 5.4.22 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:340

Ναὶ μὴν καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἕλλησι σοφῶν καλουμένων τὰ ἀποφθέγματα ὀλίγαις λέξεσι μείζονος πράγματος δήλωσιν ἐμφαίνει, οἷον ἀμέλει τὸ χρόνου φείδου ἤτοι ἐπεὶ ὁ βίος βραχύς, καὶ οὐ δεῖν τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον εἰς μάτην καταναλῶσαι, ἢ κατʼ ἐναντιότητα φείσασθαι τῶν ἀναλωμάτων τῶν ἰδιωτικῶν, ἵνα κἂν πολλὰ ἔτη ζήσῃς, φησί, μὴ ἐπιλείπῃ σοι τὰ ἐπιτήδεια.

English · Claude translation

Indeed the sayings of those called the wise men among the Greeks show, in a few words, the expression of something greater; for example, “Spare time,” either because life is short and we must not spend this time in vain; or, conversely, spare your private expenses, so that, even if you live many years, it says, you may not lack necessities.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:340 · 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.

Topics

Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

“Spare time” is attributed to Pittacus or Chilon.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (wrong accent: disjunctive ἢ): καταναλῶσαι, ἣ κατʼ ἐναντιότητα → καταναλῶσαι, ἢ κατʼ ἐναντιότητα.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.4.22 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/5/4/22/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.4.22 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/5/4/22/).