Miscellanies 4.6.33
Summary: God silences the boastful and rises for the poor; Christ belongs to the humble; the treasures of earth that thieves break into are possessions, anxieties, and bodily loves; the true treasure is with God, gained by sharing.
Greek text · Stählin 2:262–263
διὰ τοῦτο ἄλαλα γενηθήτω τὰ χείλη τὰ δόλια· τὰ λαλοῦντα κατὰ τοῦ δικαίου ἀνομίαν. καὶ πάλιν· ἐξολεθρεύσαι κύριος πάντα τὰ χείλη τὰ δόλια καὶ γλῶσσαν μεγαλορήμονα, τοὺς εἰπόντας· τὴν γλῶσσαν ἡμῶν μεγαλυνοῦμεν, τὰ χείλη ἡμῶν παρʼ ἡμῖν ἐστι· τίς ἡμῶν κύριός ἐστιν; ἀπὸ ταλαιπωρίας τῶν πτωχῶν καὶ τοῦ στεναγμοῦ τῶν πενήτων νῦν ἀναστήσομαι, λέγει κύριος· θήσομαι ἐν σωτηρίῳ. παρρησιάσομαι ἐν αὐτῷ, ταπεινοφρονούντων γάρ ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός, οὐκ ἐπαιρομένων ἐπὶ τὸ ποίμνιον αὐτοῦ. μὴ θησαυρίζετε τοίνυν ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις ἀφανίζει καὶ κλέπται διορύσσουσι καὶ κλέπτουσι, τάχα μὲν τοὺς φιλοκτήμονας ὀνειδίζων λέγει ὁ κύριος, τάχα δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἁπλῶς μεριμνητάς τε καὶ φροντιστάς, ἤδη δὲ καὶ τοὺς φιλοσωμάτους· ἔρωτες γὰρ καὶ νόσοι καὶ οἱ φαῦλοι διαλογισμοὶ διορύσσουσι τὸν λογισμὸν καὶ τὸν ὅλον ἄνθρωπον, ὁ δὲ τῷ ὄντι θησαυρὸς ἡμῶν ἔνθα ἡ συγγένεια τοῦ νοῦ. ἔτι τὸ κοινωνικὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης παραδίδωσιν, ἐμφαίνων δεῖν ἀποδιδόναι τῇ συνηθείᾳ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἀναστροφῆς τὰ ὑπʼ αὐτῆς ἡμῖν περικτηθέντα καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν θεὸν ἀνατρέχειν ἔλεον αἰτουμένους. οὗτός ἐστι τῷ ὄντι βαλλάντιον μὴ παλαιούμενον, ἐφόδιον ζωῆς ἀιδίου, θησαυρὸς ἀνέκλειπτος ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὅτι ἐλεῶν ἐλεήσω ὃν ἂν ἐλεῶ φησὶ κύριος.
English · Claude translation
That is why “let the deceitful lips become mute, which speak lawlessness against the righteous.” And again: “May the Lord destroy all deceitful lips and the boastful tongue, those who said, ‘We will magnify our tongue, our lips are our own; who is lord over us?’ Because of the misery of the poor and the groaning of the needy, now I will arise, says the Lord; I will set him in safety; I will speak boldly in it.” For Christ belongs to the humble, not to those who exalt themselves over his flock. “Do not, then, store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal,” the Lord says, perhaps reproaching the lovers of possessions, perhaps also those who are simply full of cares and anxieties, and also the lovers of the body; for loves, diseases, and evil thoughts break through the reasoning and the whole man; but our true treasure is where the mind's kinship is. Further, he teaches the sharing nature of righteousness, showing that we must give back to the habit of our old way of life what it acquired for us, and run back to God asking for mercy. This is truly “a purse that does not grow old,” provision for eternal life, “an unfailing treasure in heaven.” “For I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,” says the Lord.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Ps 31:18 (30:19 LXX), Ps 12:3–5 (11:4–6 LXX), 1 Clem. 16.1 (Christ belongs to the humble), Matt 6:19–21, Luke 12:33, and Rom 9:15 (Exod 33:19).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words repeated in the digital text): θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς → θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.6.33 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/6/33/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.6.33 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/6/33/).
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