Miscellanies 7.1.2
Summary: The one who knows alone truly worships God; he honors what is oldest and best, above all the Son, through whom the Father beyond all speech is known and revered in silence.
Greek text · Stählin 2
Πρόκειται τοίνυν παραστῆσαι ἡμῖν μόνον τὸν γνωστικὸν ὅσιόν τε καὶ εὐσεβῆ, θεοπρεπῶς τὸν τῷ ὄντι θεὸν θρῃσκεύοντα· τῷ θεοπρεπεῖ δὲ τὸ θεοφιλὲς ἕπεται καὶ φιλόθεον. τίμιον μὲν οὖν ἅπαν τὸ ὑπερέχον ἡγεῖται κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν· καὶ τιμητέον ἐν μὲν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς τοὺς ἄρχοντας καὶ τοὺς γονεῖς καὶ πάντα τὸν πρεσβύτερον, ἐν δὲ τοῖς διδακτοῖς τὴν ἀρχαιοτάτην φιλοσοφίαν καὶ τὴν πρεσβίστην προφητείαν. ἐν δὲ τοῖς νοητοῖς τὸ πρεσβύτατον ἐν γενέσει, τὴν ἄχρονον ἄναρχον ἀρχήν τε καὶ ἀπαρχὴν τῶν ὄντων, τὸν υἱόν· παρʼ οὗ ἐκμανθάνειν ἔστιν τὸ ἐπέκεινα αἴτιον, τὸν πατέρα τῶν ὅλων, τὸ πρέσβιστον καὶ πάντων εὐεργετικώτατον, οὐκέτι φωνῇ παραδιδόμενον, σεβάσματι δὲ καὶ σιγῇ μετὰ ἐκπλήξεως ἁγίας σεβαστὸν καὶ σεπτὸν κυριώτατα, λεγόμενον μὲν πρὸς τοῦ κυρίου ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν ἐπαΐειν τοῖς μανθάνουσι, νοούμενον δὲ πρός γε τῶν ἐξειλεγμένων εἰς γνῶσιν παρὰ κυρίου. »τῶν τὰ αἰσθητήρια« φησὶν ὁ ἀπόστολος »συγγεγυμνασμένων«.
English · Claude translation
Our task, then, is to show that the one who knows alone is holy and pious, worshiping the true God in a manner worthy of God; and on what is worthy of God follow being dear to God and loving God. He considers everything that excels to be honorable according to its worth. Among things perceived by the senses, one should honor rulers, parents, and everyone older; among things taught, the most ancient philosophy and the oldest prophecy; and among things grasped by the mind, what is oldest in origin, the timeless and unbeginning beginning and firstfruits of all that exists, the Son. From him it is possible to learn the Cause beyond, the Father of the universe, the most venerable and most beneficent of all, no longer handed on by voice, but revered with worship and silence and holy awe, and venerable in the fullest sense; spoken of by the Lord so far as the learners could understand, and understood by those chosen by the Lord for knowledge, “those whose faculties,” says the apostle, “have been exercised.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotation is Heb 5:14. Clement plays on πρεσβύτερος “older” and πρέσβιστος “most venerable”; “the oldest prophecy” is the Hebrew Scriptures.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): κυριώτατα. λεγόμενον → κυριώτατα, λεγόμενον; μανθάνουσι. νοούμενον → μανθάνουσι, νοούμενον.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.1.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/1/2/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.1.2 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/1/2/).
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