Sophia Scriptura

Excerpts from Theodotus 69.1

Clement of Alexandria · Excerpts from Theodotus · ca. 200 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: Fate is the combined action of invisible, conflicting powers that govern the stars.

Greek text · Stählin 3:129

Ἡ Εἱμαρμένη ἐστὶ σύνοδος πολλῶν καὶ ἐναντίων δυνάμεων, αὗται δέ εἰσιν ἀόρατοι καὶ ἀφανεῖς, ἐπιτροπεύουσαι τὴν τῶν ἄστρων φορὰν καὶ διʼ ἐκείνων πολιτευόμεναι.

English · Claude translation

Fate is a meeting of many opposing powers; these are invisible and unseen, governing the course of the stars and ruling through them.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 3:129 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, Excerpta ex Theodoto, Eclogae propheticae, Quis dives salvetur, Fragmente, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 3 (GCS 17, 1909), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Text
As printed in Stählin, GCS 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 (1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Topics
Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

  • Chapters 69–86 turn to fate, the powers, and baptism; they may reflect Theodotus's school, Clement's own teaching, or both.

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (misreading of the first letter in the digital text): ῾Π Εἱμαρμένη → Ἡ Εἱμαρμένη.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Exc. 69.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-excerpta/69/1/).

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Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Exc. 69.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-excerpta/69/1/).

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