Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 4.23.152

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

Summary: Christ removed anger with desire; the one deified into freedom from passion becomes one; like sailors pulling on an anchor who draw themselves to it, those who seek God are drawn to him; serving God is caring for oneself, and purity makes one like God.

Greek text · Stählin 2:315–316

αὐτίκα ὁ σωτὴρ διὰ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας συνανῄρει καὶ τὸν θυμόν, τιμωρίας ὄντα ἐπιθυμίαν· καθόλου γὰρ τὸ παθητικὸν παντὶ γένει ἐπιθυμίας, εἰς δὲ τὴν ἀπάθειαν θεούμενος ἄνθρωπος ἀχράντως μοναδικὸς γίνεται. καθάπερ οὖν οἱ ἐν θαλάττῃ ἀπὸ ἀγκύρας τονούμενοι ἕλκουσι μὲν τὴν ἄγκυραν, οὐκ ἐκείνην δὲ ἐπισπῶνται, ἀλλʼ ἑαυτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν ἄγκυραν, οὕτως οἱ κατὰ τὸν γνωστικὸν βίον ἐπισπώμενοι τὸν θεὸν ἑαυτοὺς ἔλαθον προσαγόμενοι πρὸς τὸν θεόν· θεὸν γὰρ ὁ θεραπεύων ἑαυτὸν θεραπεύει. ἐν οὖν τῷ θεωρητικῷ βίῳ ἑαυτοῦ τις ἐπιμελεῖται θρῃσκεύων τὸν θεὸν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἰδίας εἰλικρινοῦς καθάρσεως ἐποπτεύει τὸν θεὸν ἅγιον ἁγίως· ἡ γὰρ σωφροσύνη ἐν παραστάσει γε νοουμένη ἑαυτὴν ἐπισκοποῦσα καὶ θεωροῦσα ἀδιαλείπτως ἐξομοιοῦται κατὰ δύναμιν θεῷ.

English · Claude translation

For example, the Savior, in doing away with desire, did away with anger too, which is a desire for revenge; for in general the passionate belongs to every kind of desire; and a man deified into freedom from passion becomes undefiled and one. As those at sea held by an anchor pull on the anchor, but do not draw it to them, but draw themselves to the anchor, so those who, according to the life of knowledge, draw God to themselves, without knowing it bring themselves to God. For the one who serves God serves himself. In the contemplative life, then, one cares for oneself while worshiping God, and through one's own pure purification beholds God holily; for self-restraint, understood as self-possession, observing and contemplating itself unceasingly, is made like God as far as possible.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:315–316 · 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, Prayer

Notes

Translation notes

  • The allusion is Matt 5:22 (anger).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.23.152 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/23/152/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.23.152 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/23/152/).

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