Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 4.14.95

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

Summary: Christ commands love of enemies to make us like the Father; the “adversary” to be reconciled on the way is not the body but the devil, whose servants will hand over those who profess Christ while doing the devil's works.

Greek text · Stählin 2:290

Ὅση δὲ καὶ χρηστότης· ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν λέγει, εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς, καὶ προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμῖν καὶ τὰ ὅμοια· οἷς προστίθησιν· ἵνα γένησθε υἱοὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, τὴν ἐξομοίωσιν τὴν πρὸς θεὸν αἰνισσόμενος. πάλιν δʼ αὖ φησιν· ἴσθι εὐνοῶν τῷ ἀντιδίκῳ σου ταχύ, ἕως ὅτου εἶ ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ μετʼ αὐτοῦ· ἀντίδικος δὲ οὐ τὸ σῶμα, ὥς τινες βούλονται, ἀλλʼ ὁ διάβολος (καὶ οἱ τούτῳ ἐξομοιούμενοι), ὁ συνοδεύων ἡμῖν διʼ ἀνθρώπων τῶν ζηλούντων τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ ἐπιγείῳ τῷδε βίῳ. οὐχ οἷόν τε οὖν μὴ παθεῖν τὰ ἔχθιστα τοὺς ὁμολογοῦντας μὲν ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν δὲ τοῖς τοῦ διαβόλου καταγινομένους ἔργοις· γέγραπται γάρ· μή ποτε παραδῷ σε τῷ κριτῇ, ὁ κριτὴς δὲ τῷ ὑπηρέτῃ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ διαβόλου.

English · Claude translation

And how great is his kindness! “Love your enemies,” he says, “bless those who curse you, and pray for those who mistreat you,” and the like; to which he adds, “so that you may become sons of your Father in heaven,” hinting at likeness to God. Again he says: “Be well-disposed quickly to your adversary, while you are on the way with him.” The adversary is not the body, as some would have it, but the devil (and those who are made like him), who travels with us in this earthly life through men who emulate his works. It is not possible, then, for those who confess that they belong to Christ but spend their time in the works of the devil not to suffer the most hostile things. For it is written: “lest he hand you over to the judge,” and the judge to the servant of the devil's rule.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:290 · 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
Topics
Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are Luke 6:27–28 (Matt 5:44), Matt 5:45, and Matt 5:25.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.14.95 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/14/95/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.14.95 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/14/95/).

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