Miscellanies 7.12.75 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2

Οὗτος ἐργάτης εὔθετος, χαίρων μὲν ἐφʼ οἷς ἔγνω, συστελλόμενος δὲ ἐφʼ οἷς ἐπεγκυλίεται τῇ τοῦ βίου ἀνάγκῃ, μηδέπω καταξιούμενος τῆς ὧν ἔγνω ἐνεργούσης μεταλήψεως. ταύτῃ τῷ βίῳ τῷδε ὡς ἀλλοτρίῳ ὅσον ἐν ἀνάγκης συγχρῆται μοίρᾳ. οἶδεν αὐτὸς καὶ τῆς νηστείας τὰ αἰνίγματα τῶν ἡμερῶν τούτων, τῆς τετράδος καὶ τῆς παρασκευῆς λέγω. ἐπιφημίζονται γὰρ ἣ μὲν Ἑρμοῦ, ἣ δὲ Ἀφροδίτης. αὐτίκα νηστεύει κατὰ τὸν βίον φιλαργυρίας τε ὁμοῦ καὶ φιληδονίας, ἐξ ὧν αἱ πᾶσαι ἐκφύονται κακίαι· πορνείας γὰρ ἤδη πολλάκις τρεῖς τὰς ἀνωτάτω διαφορὰς παρεστήσαμεν κατὰ τὸν ἀπόστολον, φιληδονίαν, φιλαργυρίαν, εἰδωλολατρείαν.

English · Claude translation

This is a fit workman, rejoicing in what he has come to know, but holding back in the things in which he is entangled by the necessity of life, not yet counted worthy of an active share in what he has known. So he uses this life as something foreign to him, only so far as necessity requires. He also knows the hidden meanings of the fast on these days, I mean Wednesday and Friday. For the one is named after Hermes, the other after Aphrodite. Indeed, he fasts throughout his life from love of money and love of pleasure alike, from which all vices spring. For we have often shown before that, according to the apostle, the three highest kinds of fornication are love of pleasure, love of money, and idolatry.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2 · 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

Col 3:5 · allusion, medium confidence
Eph 5:5 · allusion, medium confidence
1 Tim 6:10 · echo, low confidence

Extrabiblical texts

Did. 8.1 (Didache) · echo, low confidence

Topics

Fasting

Notes

Translation notes

Wednesday (literally “the fourth day”) and Friday (literally “preparation”) were the Christian fast days (compare Didache 8.1); their pagan names were the days of Hermes, god of gain, and Aphrodite, goddess of love. The link of greed and idolatry with fornication draws on Col 3:5 and Eph 5:5; compare 1 Tim 6:10.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): ἐργάτης εὔθετος. χαίρων → ἐργάτης εὔθετος, χαίρων; τῇ τοῦ βίου ἀνάγκῃ. μηδέπω → τῇ τοῦ βίου ἀνάγκῃ, μηδέπω; ἣ μὲν Ἑρμοῦ. ἣ δὲ → ἣ μὲν Ἑρμοῦ, ἣ δὲ.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.12.75 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/12/75/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.12.75 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/12/75/).