Miscellanies 6.3.28
Summary: The Greeks themselves tell wonders like those of the prophets, such as Aeacus' prayer that ended a drought, so they cannot reasonably disbelieve the miracles of Moses and the prophets.
Greek text · Stählin 2:444
Ἤδη δὲ οὐ μόνον ὑφαιρούμενοι τὰ δόγματα παρὰ τῶν βαρβάρων διελέγχονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ προσέτι ἀπομιμούμενοι τὰ παρʼ ἡμῖν ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῆς θείας δυνάμεως διὰ τῶν ἁγίως βεβιωκότων εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐπιστροφὴν παραδόξως ἐνεργούμενα, Ἑλληνικῇ μυθολογίᾳ τερατευόμενοι. καὶ δὴ πευσόμεθα παρʼ αὐτῶν ἤτοι ἀληθῆ ταῦτα εἶναι ἃ ἱστοροῦσιν ἢ ψευδῆ. ἀλλὰ ψευδῆ μὲν οὐκ ἂν φήσαιεν (οὐ γὰρ ἂν καταψηφίσαιντο ἑαυτῶν οὔκουν ἑκόντες τὴν μεγίστην εὐήθειαν, τὸ ψευδῆ συγγράφειν)· ἀληθῆ δʼ εἶναι ἐξ ἀνάγκης ὁμολογήσαιεν. καὶ πῶς ἔτι ἄπιστα αὐτοῖς καταφαίνεται τὰ διὰ Μωσέως καὶ τῶν ἄλλων προφητῶν τεραστίως ἐπιδεδειγμένα; πάντων γὰρ ἀνθρώπων ὁ παντοκράτωρ κηδόμενος θεὸς τοὺς μὲν ἐντολαῖς, τοὺς δὲ ἀπειλαῖς, ἔστιν δʼ οὓς σημείοις τεραστίοις, ἐνίους δὲ ἠπίοις ἐπαγγελίαις ἐπιστρέφει πρὸς σωτηρίαν. πλὴν ἀλλʼ οἱ Ἕλληνες. αὐχμοῦ ποτε τὴν Ἑλλάδα πολυχρονίως φθείροντος καὶ ἐπεχούσης ἀγονίας καρπῶν, οἱ καταλειφθέντες, φασί, διὰ λιμὸν ἱκέται παραγενόμενοι εἰς Δελφοὺς ἤροντο τὴν Πυθίαν πῶς ἂν ἀπαλλαγεῖεν τοῦ δεινοῦ. μίαν δʼ αὐτοῖς ἔχρησεν ἀρωγὴν τῆς συμφορᾶς, εἰ χρήσαιντο τῇ Αἰακοῦ εὐχῇ. πεισθεὶς οὖν αὐτοῖς Αἰακὸς ἀνελθὼν ἐπὶ τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν ὄρος, τὰς καθαρὰς χεῖρας ἐκτείνας εἰς οὐρανόν, κοινὸν ἀποκαλέσας πατέρα τὸν θεόν, ηὔξατο οἰκτεῖραι αὐτὸν τετρυμένην τὴν Ἑλλάδα. ἅμα δὲ εὐχομένου βροντὴ ἐξαίσιος ἐπεκτύπει καὶ πᾶς ὁ πέριξ ἀὴρ ἐνεφοῦτο, λάβροι δὲ καὶ συνεχεῖς ὄμβροι καταρραγέντες ὅλην ἐπλήρωσαν τὴν χώραν· ἐντεῦθεν ἄφθονος καὶ πλουσία τελεσφορεῖται εὐκαρπία, ταῖς Αἰακοῦ γεωργηθεῖσα εὐχαῖς.
English · Claude translation
Now they are convicted not only of stealing doctrines from the barbarians, but also of imitating the things wondrously done among us from above by divine power, through those who lived holy lives, for our conversion, and of dressing them up as marvels in Greek mythology. So we shall ask them whether what they recount is true or false. False they would not say (for they would not willingly condemn themselves of the greatest folly, writing falsehoods); they would have to admit that it is true. How then do the things shown wondrously through Moses and the other prophets still appear incredible to them? For God Almighty, caring for all people, turns some to salvation by commandments, others by threats, some by wondrous signs, and some by gentle promises. But take the Greeks. Once, when a drought had been ravaging Greece for a long time and the crops were failing, those who were left, they say, came to Delphi as suppliants because of famine and asked the Pythia how they might be freed from the calamity. She declared to them one remedy for the disaster: to make use of the prayer of Aeacus. Persuaded by them, Aeacus went up the Hellenic mountain, stretched out pure hands to heaven, called on God as the common father, and prayed him to pity Greece in its distress. And as he prayed an extraordinary thunder crashed, all the surrounding air was filled with cloud, and violent, continuous rains burst down and filled the whole country. From this came an abundant and rich harvest, cultivated by the prayers of Aeacus.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The story of Aeacus' prayer for rain on the Panhellenic mountain (on Aegina) is also told by Isocrates and Pausanias.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.3.28 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/3/28/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.3.28 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/3/28/).
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