Miscellanies 6.11.89
Summary: Many Christians, like Odysseus' crew, stop their ears to Greek learning for fear of never returning; but the teacher of catechumens should gather what is useful from it, without lingering, and use music to form character.
Greek text · Stählin 2:476
Ἀλλʼ, ὡς ἔοικεν, οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν τὸ ὄνομα ἐπιγραφομένων καθάπερ οἱ τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως ἑταῖροι ἀγροίκως μετίασι τὸν λόγον, οὐ τὰς Σειρῆνας, ἀλλὰ τὸν ῥυθμὸν καὶ τὸ μέλος παρερχόμενοι, ἀμαθίᾳ βύσαντες τὰ ὦτα, ἐπείπερ ἴσασιν οὐ δυνησόμενοι ἅπαξ ὑποσχόντες τὰς ἀκοὰς Ἑλληνικοῖς μαθήμασι μετὰ ταῦτα τοῦ νόστου τυχεῖν. τῷ δʼ ἀπανθιζομένῳ τὸ χρειῶδες εἰς ὠφέλειαν τῶν κατηχουμένων καὶ μάλιστα Ἑλλήνων ὄντων (τοῦ κυρίου δὲ ἡ γῆ καὶ τὸ πλήρωμα αὐτῆς) οὐκ ἀφεκτέον τῆς φιλομαθίας ἀλόγων δίκην ζῴων, πλείω δʼ ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα βοηθήματα τοῖς ἐπαΐουσιν ἐρανιστέον. πλὴν οὐδαμῶς τούτοις ἐνδιατριπτέον ἀλλʼ ἢ εἰς μόνον τὸ ἀπʼ αὐτῶν χρήσιμον, ὡς λαβόντας τοῦτο καὶ κτησαμένους ἀπιέναι οἴκαδε δύνασθαι ἐπὶ τὴν ἀληθῆ φιλοσοφίαν, πεῖσμα τῇ ψυχῇ βέβαιον τὴν ἐκ πάντων ἀσφάλειαν πεπορισμένους. Ἁπτέον ἄρα μουσικῆς εἰς κατακόσμησιν ἤθους καὶ καταστολήν.
English · Claude translation
But, it seems, most of those who bear the name treat the Word boorishly, like the companions of Odysseus: they pass by not the Sirens but rhythm and melody, having stopped their ears with ignorance, because they know that once they have lent their hearing to Greek learning they will not afterwards be able to achieve their return home. But the one who gathers the flower of what is useful for the benefit of the catechumens, especially if they are Greeks (“and the earth is the Lord's, and its fullness”), must not abstain from the love of learning like irrational animals; he must rather collect as many aids as he possibly can for his hearers. Only, he must by no means linger among these things, except for the sole purpose of what is useful in them, so that, having taken and acquired it, he may be able to go home to the true philosophy, having secured for his soul a firm mooring cable, the security that comes from every quarter. We must, then, take hold of music for the adornment and composure of character.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The Sirens episode is Homer, Odyssey 12.173–200. The quotation is Ps 24:1 (23:1 LXX), also quoted in 1 Cor 10:26. “Those who bear the name” means Christians.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.11.89 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/11/89/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.11.89 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/11/89/).
Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)
Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text