The Instructor 3.6.36
Summary: Only the good, the Christians, can possess true goods: righteousness and the Word; the one who asks God receives, so the godly possess all things.
Greek text · Stählin 1:257–258
καὶ μὴν τὰ μὲν ἀγαθὰ ἔστω μόνοις κτητὰ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς, ἀγαθοὶ δὲ οἱ Χριστιανοί· ἄφρων δὲ ἢ ἀκόλαστος ἄνθρωπος οὔτʼ ἂν αἴσθησιν ἀγαθοῦ σχοίη οὔτʼ ἂν κτήσεως τύχοι· μόνοις ἄρα τοῖς Χριστιανοῖς κτητὰ τὰ ἀγαθά. τούτων δὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν πλουσιώτερον οὐθέν· πλούσιοι ἄρα οὗτοι μόνοι. πλοῦτος γὰρ ἀληθινὸς ἡ δικαιοσύνη καὶ ὁ παντὸς θησαυροῦ πολυτιμότερος λόγος οὐκ ἀπὸ θρεμμάτων καὶ χωρίων αὐξανόμενος, ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δωρούμενος, πλοῦτος ἀναφαίρετος (ἡ ψυχὴ μόνη θησαυρὸς αὐτοῦ), κτῆμα τῷ κεκτημένῳ ἄριστον, μακάριον τῇ ἀληθείᾳ παρεχόμενον τὸν ἄνθρωπον. ᾧ γὰρ ἂν ὑπάρχῃ μηδενὸς μὲν ὀρέγεσθαι τῶν οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ὧν δὲ ὀρέγεται, τούτων τυγχάνειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧν ὁσίως ἐφίεται, ταῦτα αἰτούμενον λαμβάνειν παρὰ θεοῦ, πῶς οὗτος οὐ πολυκτήμων καὶ παγκτήμων, θησαυρὸν ἔχων αἰώνιον τὸν θεόν; »τῷ αἰτοῦντι«, φησί, »δοθήσεται καὶ τῷ κρούοντι ἀνοιγήσεται.« εἰ μηδὲν ἀρνεῖται ὁ θεός, τὰ πάντα τοῦ θεοσεβοῦς γίνεται.
English · Claude translation
Goods can be acquired by the good alone, and Christians are the good; a foolish or licentious person could neither perceive the good nor obtain its possession; so goods can be acquired by Christians alone. Nothing is richer than these goods; so these alone are rich. For true wealth is righteousness and the Word, more precious than any treasure, not increased by flocks and fields but given by God, wealth that cannot be taken away (the soul alone is its treasury), the best possession for the one who has it, making the human being truly blessed. For the one who desires nothing that is not in our power, and obtains what he desires, and receives from God by asking whatever he holily seeks: how is he not rich in possessions, possessing all things, having God as his eternal treasure? “To the one who asks,” he says, “it will be given, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” If God refuses nothing, all things belong to the godly.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The argument follows the Stoic paradox that only the wise man is rich. The quotation is Matt 7:7–8 (Luke 11:9–10).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent: grave on ἂν): οὔτʼ ἄν κτήσεως → οὔτʼ ἂν κτήσεως.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.6.36 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3/6/36/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.6.36 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3/6/36/).
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