Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 2.18.87

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

Summary: Love shows itself in gentleness, patience, and freedom from envy and resentment; the law commands returning a stray animal, teaching us to treat what we find as a deposit and to bear no grudge.

Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.

Greek text · Stählin 2:159–160

Ἔχει μὲν οὖν καὶ ἄλλας † ἐκδόσεις τὰ προειρημένα φυσικωτέρας περί τε ἀναπαύσεως καὶ τῆς ἀπολήψεως τῆς κληρονομίας, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐν τῷ παρόντι λεκτέαι. ἀγάπη δὲ πολλαχῶς νοεῖται διὰ πραότητος, διὰ χρηστότητος, διʼ ὑπομονῆς, διʼ ἀφθονίας καὶ ἀζηλίας, διʼ ἀμισίας, διʼ ἀμνησικακίας· ἀμέριστός ἐστιν ἐν πᾶσιν, ἀδιάκριτος, κοινωνική. πάλιν ἐὰν ἴδῃς φησὶ τῶν οἰκείων ἢ φίλων ἢ καθόλου ὧν γνωρίζεις ἀνθρώπων ἐν ἐρημίᾳ πλανώμενον ὑποζύγιον, ἀπαγαγὼν ἀπόδος. κἂν οὖν τύχῃ μακρὰν ἀφεστὼς ὁ δεσπότης, μετὰ τῶν σαυτοῦ διαφυλάξας ἄχρις ἂν κομίσηται ἀπόδος. διὰ φυσικὴν κοινωνίαν διδάσκει τὸ εὕρημα παρακαταθήκην λογίζεσθαι μηδὲ μνησικακεῖν τῷ ἐχθρῷ.

English · Claude translation

The things just mentioned also have other, more natural … interpretations, about rest and the recovery of the inheritance; but they are not to be spoken of now. Love is understood in many ways: through gentleness, kindness, patience, freedom from envy and jealousy, freedom from hatred, freedom from resentment. It is undivided in all things, impartial, sharing. Again, it says, if you see a beast of burden wandering in the wilderness belonging to one of your family or friends, or in general to people you know, lead it back and return it. And if its owner happens to be far away, keep it with your own until he recovers it, and return it. Because of natural fellowship it teaches us to consider what we find as a deposit, and not to bear a grudge against an enemy.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:159–160 · 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; the problem in this passage is discussed in the notes.
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
Topics
Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The text is corrupt at “interpretations” (dagger). The allusions are 1 Cor 13:4–5 and Deut 22:1–2 (Exod 23:4).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.18.87 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/18/87/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.18.87 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/18/87/).

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