Miscellanies 6.10.82
Summary: Learning serves the one who knows as a helper, not a virtue: it teaches him to distinguish words and things, even in Scripture, and to guard the truth, while useless learning is to be avoided.
Greek text · Stählin 2:472–473
Οὔκουν ὡς ἀρεταῖς ταύταις συγχρώμενος ἡμῖν ὁ γνωστικὸς πολυμαθὴς ἔσται, ἀλλὰ συνεργοῖς τισι, κἀν τῷ διαστέλλειν τά τε κοινὰ καὶ τὰ ἴδια προσήσεται τὴν ἀλήθειαν· ἔστι γὰρ πάσης πλάνης καὶ ψευδοδοξίας αἴτιον τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι διακρίνειν, πῇ τε ἀλλήλοις τὰ ὄντα κοινωνεῖ καὶ πῇ διενήνοχεν. εἰ δὲ μὴ κατὰ τὰ διωρισμένα τις τὸν λόγον ἐφοδεύοι, λήσεται συγχέας τά τε κοινὰ καὶ τὰ ἴδια, τούτου δὲ γινομένου εἰς ἀνοδίαν καὶ πλάνην ἐμπίπτειν ἀναγκαῖον. ἡ διαστολὴ δὲ τῶν τε ὀνομάτων τῶν τε πραγμάτων κἀν ταῖς γραφαῖς αὐταῖς μέγα φῶς ἐντίκτει ταῖς ψυχαῖς· ἀναγκαῖον γὰρ ἐπακούειν τῶν τε πλείονα σημαινουσῶν λέξεων καὶ τῶν πλειόνων, ὅταν ἕν τι σημαίνωσιν· ὅθεν καὶ τὸ ὀρθῶς ἀποκρίνεσθαι περιγίνεται. τὴν πολλὴν δὲ ἀχρηστίαν παραιτητέον, ἀπασχολοῦσαν περὶ τὰ μηδὲν προσήκοντα, οἱονεὶ δὲ συναιτίοις προγυμνάσμασιν εἴς τε τὴν ἀκριβῆ παράδοσιν τῆς ἀληθείας, ὅσον ἐφικτόν, καὶ ἀπερίσπαστον συγχρωμένου τοῖς μαθήμασι τοῦ γνωστικοῦ καὶ εἰς προφυλακὴν τῶν κακοτεχνούντων λόγων πρὸς ἐκκοπὴν τῆς ἀληθείας.
English · Claude translation
So our one who knows will be very learned, using these not as virtues but as certain helpers; and in distinguishing what is common and what is particular he will attain the truth. For the cause of all error and false opinion is the inability to discern in what way things share with one another and in what way they differ. And if someone does not follow the argument according to the distinctions, he will unawares confuse the common and the particular; and when this happens, he necessarily falls into pathlessness and error. The distinguishing of names and of things, even in the Scriptures themselves, produces great light in souls; for one must attend both to words that signify several things and to several words when they signify one thing; from this comes the ability to answer rightly. But much useless learning must be declined, which busies one with things of no concern; the one who knows uses the disciplines as auxiliary preparatory exercises, both for the exact transmission of the truth, as far as attainable, without distraction, and for protection against arguments contrived to cut the truth away.
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Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.10.82 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/10/82/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.10.82 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/10/82/).
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