Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 2.20.109

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

Summary: The practice of death is to be content with natural needs; we must put on God's armor and take every thought captive to Christ, using wealth, health, and life without being moved by them, which requires much discernment.

Greek text · Stählin 2:172–173

εἴη δʼ ἂν τοῦτο μελέτη θανάτου, εἰ μόναις ταῖς κατὰ φύσιν μεμετρημέναις ὀρέξεσι, μηδὲν ὑπεροριζούσαις τῶν κατὰ φύσιν ἐπὶ τὸ μᾶλλον ἢ παρὰ φύσιν, ἔνθα τὸ ἁμαρτητικὸν φύεται, ἀρκεῖσθαι βουλοίμεθα. ἐνδύσασθαι οὖν δεῖ τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς τὸ δύνασθαι ἡμᾶς στῆναι πρὸς τὰς μεθοδείας τοῦ διαβόλου, ἐπεὶ τὰ ὅπλα τῆς στρατείας ἡμῶν οὐ σαρκικά, ἀλλὰ δυνατὰ τῷ θεῷ πρὸς καθαίρεσιν ὀχυρωμάτων, λογισμοὺς καθαιροῦντες καὶ πᾶν ὕψωμα ἐπαιρόμενον κατὰ τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ αἰχμαλωτίζοντες πᾶν νόημα εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὁ θεῖός φησιν ἀπόστολος. ἀνδρὸς δὴ χρεία ὅστις ἀθαυμάστως καὶ ἀσυγχύτως τοῖς πράγμασι χρήσεται ἀφʼ ὧν τὰ πάθη ὁρμᾶται, οἷον πλούτῳ καὶ πενίᾳ καὶ δόξῃ καὶ ἀδοξίᾳ, ὑγείᾳ καὶ νόσῳ, ζωῇ καὶ θανάτῳ, πόνῳ καὶ ἡδονῇ. ἵνα γὰρ ἀδιαφόρως τοῖς ἀδιαφόροις χρησώμεθα, πολλῆς ἡμῖν δεῖ διαφορᾶς, ἅτε προκεκακωμένοις ἀσθενείᾳ πολλῇ καὶ προδιαστροφῇ κακῆς ἀγωγῆς τε καὶ τροφῆς μετὰ ἀμαθίας προαπολελαυκόσιν.

English · Claude translation

This would be the practice of death: if we were willing to be content with the appetites measured by nature alone, which do not go beyond what is natural to excess or against nature, where sinfulness springs up. We must, then, “put on the whole armor of God, so that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil,” since “the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but powerful before God for the pulling down of strongholds, pulling down reasonings and every height raised up against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” says the divine apostle. There is need, then, of a man who will use without admiration or confusion the things from which the passions arise, such as wealth and poverty, glory and disgrace, health and disease, life and death, toil and pleasure. For in order to use indifferent things indifferently, we need much discernment, since we have been corrupted beforehand by great weakness and by the distortion of bad upbringing and nurture, having indulged ourselves in ignorance.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:172–173 · 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
Extrabiblical texts
  • Plato, Phaedo 81a (Plato (works)) · allusion, high confidence
Topics
Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are Eph 6:11 and 2 Cor 10:4–5. “Practice of death” is Plato, Phaedo 81a. “Indifferent things” is a Stoic category.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.20.109 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/20/109/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.20.109 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/20/109/).

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