Miscellanies 6.17.152 · Sophia Scriptura

Greek text · Stählin 2:510

ὡς δὲ τῷ χεῖρας ἔχοντι τὸ λαβεῖν κατὰ φύσιν καὶ τῷ ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑγιαίνοντας κεκτημένῳ τὸ φῶς ἰδεῖν, οὕτως τῷ πίστιν εἰληφότι τὸ γνώσεως μεταλαβεῖν οἰκεῖον πέφυκεν, εἰ προσεξεργάσασθαι καὶ προσοικοδομῆσαι χρυσόν, ἄργυρον, λίθους τιμίους τῷ καταβληθέντι θεμελίῳ γλίχοιτο. οὐ τοίνυν ὑπισχνεῖται βούλεσθαι μεταλαμβάνειν, ἀλλὰ ἄρχεται· οὐδὲ μέλλειν, ἀλλʼ εἶναι βασιλικόν τε καὶ φωτεινὸν καὶ γνωστικὸν καθῆκεν, οὐδὲ ὀνόματι, ἀλλʼ ἔργῳ ἐθέλειν ἅπτεσθαι τῶν πραγμάτων προσῆκεν. ἀγαθὸς γὰρ ὢν ὁ θεὸς διὰ τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν τῆς κτίσεως ἁπάσης, σῴζεσθαι βουλόμενος τοῦτο, ἐπὶ τὸ ποιεῖν ἐτράπετο καὶ τὰ λοιπά, πρώτην ταύτην εὐεργεσίαν, τὸ γενέσθαι, ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς παρασχὼν αὐτοῖς· ἄμεινον γὰρ εἶναι πολλῷ τὸ εἶναι τοῦ μὴ εἶναι πᾶς ἄν τις ὁμολογήσειεν. ἔπειτα, ὡς ἐνεδέχετο φύσεως ἔχειν ἕκαστον, ἐγένετό τε καὶ γίνεται προκόπτον εἰς τὸ αὑτοῦ ἄμεινον.

English · Claude translation

As it is natural for one who has hands to take, and for one who has healthy eyes to see the light, so it is natural for one who has received faith to share in knowledge, if he longs to build upon the foundation laid gold, silver, and precious stones. He does not, then, promise that he wishes to share in it, but begins; nor does he intend to be, but it befits him to be kingly, luminous, and a knower; and it befits him to wish to lay hold of realities not in name but in deed. For God, being good, for the sake of the ruling part of the whole creation, wishing to save it, turned to making the rest too, giving them from the beginning this first benefaction, existence. For anyone would admit that to be is much better than not to be. Then each thing, as far as its nature allowed, came to be and comes to be, advancing toward what is better for itself.

About this passage

Source

Stählin 2:510 · 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

1 Cor 3:12 · allusion, high confidence
1 Cor 3:10 · allusion, medium confidence

Notes

Translation notes

The allusion is 1 Cor 3:10–12. The garbled word before “foundation” is corrected to τῷ (“the”).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (misreading in the digital text (τῷ garbled)): τ̣̣̔̓ καταβληθέντι → τῷ καταβληθέντι.

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.17.152 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/17/152/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 6.17.152 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/6/17/152/).