Miscellanies 4.26.167 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:322–323

ὅθεν ἐπήγαγεν· διὸ φιλοτιμούμεθα, εἴτε ἐκδημοῦντες εἴτε ἐνδημοῦντες, εὐάρεστοι εἶναι αὐτῷ, τῷ ἑνὶ δηλονότι θεῷ, οὗ τὰ πάντα ἔργον τε καὶ κτίσις, ὅ τε κόσμος καὶ τὰ ὑπερκόσμια. ἄγαμαι τὸν Ἐπίχαρμον σαφῶς λέγοντα· εὐσεβὴς νόῳ πεφυκὼς οὐ πάθοις κʼ οὐδὲν κακὸν κατθανών, ἄνω τὸ πνεῦμα διαμένει κατʼ οὐρανόν· καὶ τὸν μελοποιὸν ᾄδοντα· ψυχαὶ δʼ ἀσεβῶν ὑπουράνιοι γαίᾳ πωτῶνται ἐν ἄλγεσι φονίοις ὑπὸ ζεύγλαις ἀφύκτοις κακῶν, εὐσεβῶν δὲ ἐπουράνιοι νάουσι, μολπαῖς μάκαρα μέγαν ἀείδουσʼ ἐν ὕμνοις· οὔκουν οὐρανόθεν καταπέμπεται δεῦρο ἐπὶ τὰ ἥττω ψυχή, ὁ θεὸς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ ἀμείνω πάντα ἐργάζεται, ἀλλʼ ἡ τὸν ἄριστον ἑλομένη βίον ἐκ θεοῦ καὶ δικαιοσύνης γῆς οὐρανὸν ἀνταλλάσσεται.

English · Claude translation

That is why he added: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether away or at home, to be pleasing to him,” clearly to the one God, whose work and creation all things are, both the world and what is above the world. I admire Epicharmus, who says clearly: “Being pious in mind, you would suffer no evil when you die; the spirit remains above in heaven.” And the lyric poet, who sings: “The souls of the ungodly flit under heaven on earth in murderous pains under inescapable yokes of evils; but those of the pious, dwelling in heaven, sing the great Blessed One in songs and hymns.” So the soul is not sent down here from heaven to worse things, for God works all things toward the better; but the soul that has chosen the best life from God and righteousness exchanges earth for heaven.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:322–323 · 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

2 Cor 5:9 · quotation, high confidence

Topics

Eschatology, Heresy

Notes

Translation notes

The quotations are 2 Cor 5:9, Epicharmus (fragment 22), and an unidentified lyric poet (sometimes attributed to Pindar). The last sentence rejects the pre-existence and fall of souls.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (final sigma before elision): μάκαρα μέγαν ἀείδουςʼ ἐν ὕμνοις → μάκαρα μέγαν ἀείδουσʼ ἐν ὕμνοις.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.26.167 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/26/167/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.26.167 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/26/167/).