Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 4.21.134

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

Summary: The apostles' writings show all the virtues; though Paul came later, his writing breathes the Old Testament, since faith in Christ explains and fulfills the law; without faith the old covenant is not understood.

Greek text · Stählin 2:307–308

εὑρήσεις γοῦν, ἢν θελήσῃς, ἐκ τῶν πράξεων καὶ τῶν συγγραμμάτων αὐτῶν τὴν γνῶσιν, τὸν βίον, τὸ κήρυγμα, τὴν δικαιοσύνην, τὴν ἁγνείαν, τὴν προφητείαν. ἰστέον μέντοι ὅτι, εἰ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τοῖς χρόνοις νεάζει, εὐθέως μετὰ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἀνάληψιν ἀκμάσας, ἀλλʼ οὖν ἡ γραφὴ αὐτῷ ἐκ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἤρτηται διαθήκης, ἐκεῖθεν ἀναπνέουσα καὶ λαλοῦσα· ἡ γὰρ εἰς Χριστὸν πίστις καὶ ἡ τοῦ εὐαγγελίου γνῶσις ἐξήγησίς ἐστι τοῦ νόμου καὶ πλήρωσις. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἴρηται τοῖς Ἑβραίοις· ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε, οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, τουτέστιν ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσητε τῷ διὰ νόμου προφητευθέντι καὶ ὑπὸ νόμου θεσπισθέντι, οὐ συνήσετε τὴν διαθήκην τὴν παλαιάν, ἣν αὐτὸς κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν ἐξηγήσατο παρουσίαν.

English · Claude translation

You will find, at any rate, if you wish, from their deeds and writings, their knowledge, life, preaching, righteousness, purity, and prophecy. But it must be known that, although Paul is young in time, having flourished immediately after the Lord's ascension, yet his writing depends on the old covenant, breathing and speaking from it. For faith in Christ and the knowledge of the gospel are the explanation and fulfillment of the law. And for this reason it was said to the Hebrews: “If you do not believe, you will not understand”; that is, if you do not believe the one prophesied by the law and foretold by the law, you will not understand the old covenant, which he himself explained at his coming.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:307–308 · 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
  • Isa 7:9 · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Scripture and canon

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotation is Isa 7:9 (LXX).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.21.134 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/21/134/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.21.134 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/21/134/).

Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)

Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text

Report an error in this passage