Miscellanies 6.7.54 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:459

ὡς πάλαι παρεσημειωσάμεθα, οὐ τὴν κατὰ ἑκάστην αἵρεσιν ἀγωγήν φαμεν, ἀλλʼ, ὅπερ ὄντως ἐστὶ φιλοσοφία, † ὀρθῶς σοφίαν τεχνικήν, τὴν ἐμπειρίαν παρέχουσαν τῶν περὶ τὸν βίον, τὴν δὲ σοφίαν ἔμπεδον γνῶσιν θείων τε καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων, κατάληψίν τινα βεβαίαν οὖσαν καὶ ἀμετάπτωτον, συνειληφυῖαν τά τε ὄντα καὶ τὰ παρῳχηκότα καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα, ἣν ἐδιδάξατο ἡμᾶς διά τε τῆς παρουσίας διά τε τῶν προφητῶν ὁ κύριος. καὶ ἔστιν ἀμετάπτωτος ὑπὸ λόγου, παραδοθεῖσα τῇ αὐτῇ, ᾗ καὶ πάντως ἀληθὴς ὑπάρχει, βουλήσει, ὡς διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐγνωσμένη. καὶ ἣ μὲν αἰώνιός ἐστιν, ἣ δὲ χρόνῳ λυσιτελής, καὶ ἣ μὲν μία καὶ ἡ αὐτή, αἳ δὲ πολλαὶ καὶ ἀδιάφοροι. καὶ ἣ μὲν ἄνευ παθητικῆς τινος κινήσεως, ἣ δὲ μετὰ παθητικῆς ὀρέξεως. καὶ ἣ μὲν τέλειος, ἣ δὲ ἐνδεής.

English · Claude translation

As we noted long ago, by philosophy we do not mean the discipline of each school, but what is truly philosophy, … a wisdom of skill that gives experience in the affairs of life; and wisdom we call firm knowledge of things divine and human, a sure and unchangeable apprehension that embraces what is, what has been, and what will be, which the Lord has taught us both by his coming and through the prophets. And it cannot be overturned by argument, having been handed down by the same will by which it is also altogether true, as known through the Son. The one is eternal, the other useful for a time; the one is one and the same, the others many and indifferent; the one is without any movement of passion, the other goes with passionate desire; the one is perfect, the other lacking.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:459 · 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; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.

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.

Notes

Translation notes

The text is corrupt (dagger) at “rightly … a wisdom of skill”; “…” marks the doubtful words. The word “philosophy” in the first sentence is supplied from the sense. The definition of wisdom as knowledge of things divine and human is Stoic.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): ἡ αὐτή. αἳ δὲ → ἡ αὐτή, αἳ δὲ.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.7.54 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/7/54/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.7.54 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/7/54/).