Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 6.14.113

Clement of Alexandria · Miscellanies · ca. 198–203 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: A good conscience keeps the soul holy toward God and just toward others; such a soul, empowered by the Lord, practices being godlike, gives thanks in reading, prayer, offering, and song, and is never separated from God.

Greek text · Stählin 2:488–489

Καί μοι δοκεῖ κομπώδους μὲν εἶναι ψυχῆς καύχημα, πλὴν εὐσυνειδήτου, ἐπιφθέγγεσθαι τοῖς κατὰ περίστασιν συμβαίνουσι· πρὸς ταῦθʼ ὅ τι χρὴ καὶ παλαμάσθων· τὸ γὰρ εὖ μετʼ ἐμοῦ καὶ τὸ δίκαιον σύμμαχον ἔσται, καὶ οὐ μή ποτε ἁλῶ, καλὰ πράσσων. αὕτη δὲ ἡ εὐσυνειδησία τὸ ὅσιον τὸ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ τὸ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δίκαιον διασῴζει, καθαρὰν τὴν ψυχὴν φυλάττουσα διανοήμασι σεμνοῖς καὶ λόγοις ἁγνοῖς καὶ τοῖς δικαίοις ἔργοις. οὕτως δύναμιν λαβοῦσα κυριακὴν ἡ ψυχὴ μελετᾷ εἶναι θεός, κακὸν μὲν οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν ἀγνοίας εἶναι νομίζουσα καὶ τῆς μὴ κατὰ τὸν ὀρθὸν λόγον ἐνεργείας, ἀεὶ δὲ εὐχαριστοῦσα ἐπὶ πᾶσι τῷ θεῷ διʼ ἀκοῆς δικαίας καὶ ἀναγνώσεως θείας, διὰ ζητήσεως ἀληθοῦς, διὰ προσφορᾶς ἁγίας, διʼ εὐχῆς μακαρίας, αἰνοῦσα, ὑμνοῦσα, εὐλογοῦσα, ψάλλουσα· οὐ διορίζεταί ποτε τοῦ θεοῦ κατʼ οὐδένα καιρὸν ἡ τοιάδε ψυχή. εἰκότως οὖν εἴρηται· καὶ οἱ πεποιθότες ἐπʼ αὐτῷ συνήσουσιν ἀλήθειαν, καὶ οἱ πιστοὶ ἐν ἀγάπῃ προσμενοῦσιν αὐτῷ. ὁρᾷς οἷα περὶ τῶν γνωστικῶν διαλέγεται ἡ σοφία.

English · Claude translation

And it seems to me the boast of a soul that is proud, but has a good conscience, to exclaim at what happens in times of difficulty: “Against this let them contrive whatever they must; for the good is with me, and justice will be my ally, and I will never be caught while doing what is right.” This good conscience preserves holiness toward God and justice toward men, keeping the soul pure with solemn thoughts, chaste words, and righteous deeds. So the soul, receiving the Lord's power, practices being God, considering nothing evil except ignorance and activity not in accordance with right reason, and always giving thanks to God for all things, through righteous hearing and divine reading, through true inquiry, through holy offering, through blessed prayer, praising, hymning, blessing, singing psalms. Such a soul is never separated from God at any time. Fittingly, then, it has been said: “And those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love.” You see what Wisdom says about those who know.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:488–489 · 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
Extrabiblical texts
  • Wis 3:9 (Wisdom of Solomon) · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Prayer, Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The verse quotation is unidentified (perhaps tragic). The Scripture quotation is Wis 3:9. “Practices being God” is Clement's language of becoming like God. “Holy offering” may refer to the Eucharist; this is not certain.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.14.113 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/14/113/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.14.113 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/14/113/).

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