Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 2.12.54

Clement of Alexandria · Miscellanies · ca. 198–203 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: Knowledge understands prophecy, whose fulfillment in past and present confirms what is still hoped for; faith grasps the past and hope the future; even the philosophers say assent is in our power.

Greek text · Stählin 2:142

πάλιν ἡ προφητεία πρόγνωσίς ἐστιν, ἡ δὲ γνῶσις προφητείας νόησις, οἷον γνῶσις τῶν ἐκείνοις προεγνωσμένων ὑπὸ τοῦ προφαίνοντος τὰ πάντα κυρίου. ἡ τοίνυν γνῶσις τῶν προαγορευθέντων τριττὴν ἐνδείκνυται τὴν ἔκβασιν, ἢ γεγονυῖαν πάλαι ἢ ἐνεστηκυῖαν ἤδη ἢ ἔσεσθαι μέλλουσαν. εἶθʼ αἱ μὲν ἀκρότητες ὑποπεπτώκασι πίστει ἢ τελεσθέντων ἢ ἐλπιζομένων, πειθὼ δὲ παρέχει ἡ ἐνεστηκυῖα ἐνέργεια πρὸς τὴν βεβαίωσιν ἀμφοῖν τοῖν ἄκροιν. εἰ γὰρ μιᾶς οὔσης τῆς προφητείας τὸ μὲν ἤδη τελεῖται, τὸ δὲ πεπλήρωται, πιστὸν ἐντεῦθεν καὶ τὸ ἐλπιζόμενον καὶ τὸ παρῳχηκὸς ἀληθές. πρότερον γὰρ ἐνεστὸς ἦν, εἶτα ἡμῖν παρῴχηκεν, ὡς εἶναι καὶ τὴν τῶν παρῳχηκότων πίστιν κατάληψιν παρῳχηκότος, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐσομένων ἐλπίδα κατάληψιν ἐσομένου πράγματος. τὰς δὲ συγκαταθέσεις οὐ μόνον οἱ ἀπὸ Πλάτωνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἀπὸ τῆς Στοᾶς ἐφʼ ἡμῖν εἶναι λέγουσιν.

English · Claude translation

Again, prophecy is foreknowledge, and knowledge is the understanding of prophecy, that is, knowledge of what was foreknown by the prophets from the Lord, who reveals all things beforehand. The knowledge of what was foretold, then, shows a threefold outcome: either one that happened long ago, or one already present, or one that is to come. Then the extremes fall under faith, either of things accomplished or of things hoped for, while the present working supplies persuasion for the confirmation of both extremes. For if, prophecy being one, part is now being fulfilled and part has been fulfilled, then from this the thing hoped for is trustworthy and the thing past is true. For it was first present, then it has passed for us; so that faith in past things is the apprehension of a past thing, and hope in future things the apprehension of a future thing. And not only the Platonists but also the Stoics say that assents rest with us.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:142 · 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.
Topics
Scripture and canon

Notes

Notes on the original text

  • Digital text corrected (misspelling in the digital text): τὸ μὶν ἤδη τελεῖται → τὸ μὲν ἤδη τελεῖται.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.12.54 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/12/54/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.12.54 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/12/54/).

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