Miscellanies 6.10.80
Summary: The one who knows uses music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and dialectic as training for knowledge, as Abraham rose from the stars to the Creator; yet many fear Greek philosophy like children fear goblins.
Greek text · Stählin 2:471–472
Κατʼ ἐπακολούθημα τοίνυν καὶ τοῖς εἰς γνῶσιν γυμνάζουσιν αὐτὸν προσανάκειται, παρʼ ἑκάστου μαθήματος τὸ πρόσφορον τῇ ἀληθείᾳ λαμβάνων, τῆς μὲν οὖν μουσικῆς τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἡρμοσμένοις ἀναλογίαν διώκων, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἀριθμητικῇ τὰς αὐξήσεις καὶ μειώσεις τῶν ἀριθμῶν παρασημειούμενος καὶ τὰς πρὸς ἀλλήλους σχέσεις καὶ ὡς τὰ πλεῖστα ἀναλογίᾳ τινὶ ἀριθμῶν ὑποπέπτωκεν, ἐν δὲ τῇ γεωμετρικῇ οὐσίαν αὐτὴν ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς θεωρῶν καὶ ἐθιζόμενος συνεχές τι διάστημα νοεῖν καὶ οὐσίαν ἀμετάβλητον, ἑτέραν τῶνδε τῶν σωμάτων οὖσαν· ἔκ τε αὖ τῆς ἀστρονομίας γῆθεν αἰωρούμενος τε τῷ νῷ συνυψωθήσεται οὐρανῷ καὶ τῇ περιφορᾷ συμπεριπολήσει, ἱστορῶν ἀεὶ τὰ θεῖα καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἄλληλα συμφωνίαν, ἀφʼ ὧν ὁρμώμενος Ἀβραὰμ εἰς τὴν τοῦ κτίσαντος ὑπεξανέβη γνῶσιν. ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ διαλεκτικῇ προσχρήσεται ὁ γνωστικός, τὴν εἰς εἴδη τῶν γενῶν ἐκλεγόμενος διαίρεσιν, καὶ τὴν τῶν ὄντων προσήσεται διάκρισιν, μέχρις ἂν τῶν πρώτων καὶ ἁπλῶν ἐφάψηται. οἱ πολλοὶ δὲ καθάπερ οἱ παῖδες τὰ μορμολυκεῖα, οὕτως δεδίασι τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν φιλοσοφίαν, φοβούμενοι μὴ ἀπαγάγῃ αὐτούς.
English · Claude translation
As a consequence, then, he also devotes himself to the studies that train him for knowledge, taking from each discipline what contributes to the truth: pursuing in music the proportion in harmonies; in arithmetic noting the increases and decreases of numbers and their relations to one another, and how most things fall under some proportion of numbers; in geometry contemplating essence itself by itself and becoming accustomed to conceive of continuous extension and unchangeable essence, different from these bodies; and again from astronomy, raised from the earth in mind, he will be lifted up with heaven and will travel round with its revolution, always investigating divine things and their harmony with one another; setting out from these, Abraham ascended to the knowledge of the Creator. And the one who knows will also make use of dialectic, choosing the division of genera into species, and will take up the distinguishing of beings until he touches the first and simple things. But most people fear Greek philosophy as children fear bogeys, afraid that it will lead them away.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The allusion is Gen 15:5; the tradition that Abraham rose from astronomy to knowledge of God is also in Philo.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): ἀμετάβλητον. ἑτέραν → ἀμετάβλητον, ἑτέραν.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.10.80 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/10/80/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.10.80 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/10/80/).
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