Miscellanies 5.14.131 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:415

Πάλιν αὖ Αἰσχύλος μὲν ὁ τραγῳδοποιός, τὴν δύναμιν τοῦ θεοῦ παρατιθέμενος, οὐκ ὀκνεῖ καὶ ὕψιστον αὐτὸν προσαγορεύειν διὰ τούτων· χώριζε θνητῶν τὸν θεὸν καὶ μὴ δόκει ὅμοιον σαυτῷ σάρκινον καθεστάναι. οὐκ οἶσθα δʼ αὐτόν· ποτὲ μὲν ὡς πῦρ φαίνεται ἄπλατος ὁρμή, ποτὲ δὲ ὕδωρ, ποτὲ δὲ γνόφος· καὶ θηρσὶν αὐτὸς γίνεται παρεμφερής, ἀνέμῳ νεφέλῃ τε καὶ ἀστραπῇ, βροντῇ, βροχῇ. ὑπηρετεῖ δὲ αὐτῷ θάλασσα καὶ πέτραι, καὶ πᾶσα πηγὴ καὶ ὕδατος συστήματα. τρέμει δʼ ὄρη καὶ γαῖα καὶ πελώριος βυθὸς θαλάσσης καὶ ὀρέων ὕψος μέγα, ἐπὰν ἐπιβλέψῃ γοργὸν ὄμμα δεσπότου. πάντα δυνατὴ γὰρ δόξα ὑψίστου θεοῦ. ἀρʼ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι ἐκεῖνο παραφράζειν τὸ ἀπὸ προσώπου κυρίου τρέμει ἡ γῆ;

English · Claude translation

Again, Aeschylus the tragic poet, setting out the power of God, does not hesitate to call him Most High, in these words: “Distinguish God from mortals, and do not think that he is made of flesh like yourself. You do not know him: at one time he appears as fire, an unapproachable rush, at another as water, at another as thick darkness; and he becomes like wild beasts, like wind, and cloud, and lightning, thunder, rain. Sea serves him, and rocks, and every spring and gathering of waters. Mountains tremble, and earth, and the monstrous deep of the sea, and the great height of mountains, whenever the fierce eye of the Master looks upon them. For all-powerful is the glory of the Most High God.” Does it not seem to you that he is paraphrasing the saying, “The earth trembles before the face of the Lord”?

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:415 · 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

Ps 114:7 (113:7 LXX) · quotation, medium confidence
Ps 97:5 (96:5 LXX) · echo, low confidence

Notes

Translation notes

These verses are almost certainly not by Aeschylus; they belong to the same Jewish collection of forged poetic testimonies (compare the pseudo-Justinian On the Sole Rule of God 2). The biblical saying is closest to Ps 114:7 (113:7 LXX); compare Ps 97:4–5 (96:4–5 LXX).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.131 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/5/14/131/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 5.14.131 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/5/14/131/).