Miscellanies 7.11.64
Summary: Peter and his wife show what Christian marriage should be: free of possessive passion and undistracted from love for the Lord; the soul of the one who knows is strong in every trial, an image of God's power and a temple of the Holy Spirit.
Textual problem in this passage: the printed text is uncertain or disputed here. See the notes.
Greek text · Stählin 2
τοιοῦτος ἦν ὁ τῶν μακαρίων γάμος καὶ ἡ μέχρι τῶν φιλτάτων τελεία διάθεσις. ταύτῃ καὶ ὁ ἀπόστολος »ὁ γαμῶν »ὡς μὴ γαμῶν«, ἀπροσπαθῆ τὸν γάμον ἀξιῶν εἶναι καὶ »ἀπερίσπαστον« τῆς πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἀγάπης, ἧς ἔχεσθαι ἀποδημούσῃ τοῦ βίου πρὸς τὸν κύριον τῇ γυναικὶ ὁ τῷ ὄντι ἀνὴρ παρῄνεσεν. ἆρʼ οὐ πρόδηλος ἦν ἡ πίστις αὐτοῖς τῆς μετὰ θάνατον ἐλπίδος τοῖς καὶ ἐν αὐταῖς τῶν κολάσεων ταῖς ἀκμαῖς εὐχαριστοῦσι τῷ θεῷ; βεβαίαν γάρ, οἶμαι, τὴν πίστιν ἐκέκτηντο, ᾗ κατηκολούθουν πισταὶ καὶ αἱ ἐνέργειαι. ἔστιν οὖν ἐν πάσῃ περιστάσει ἐρρωμένη τοῦ γνωστικοῦ ἡ ψυχή, οἷον ἀθλητοῦ τὸ σῶμα ἐν ἄκρᾳ εὐεξίᾳ καὶ ῥώμῃ καθεστηκυῖα. εὔβουλος μὲν γὰρ ὑπάρχει περὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπων, τῷ δικαίῳ τὸ πρακτέον γνωματεύουσα, τὰς ἀρχὰς θεόθεν ἄνωθεν * καὶ πρὸς τὴν θείαν ἐξομοίωσιν πραότητα ἡδονῶν καὶ λυπῶν σωματικῶν περιπεποιημένη· κατεξανίσταται δὲ τῶν φόβων εὐθαρσῶς καὶ πεποιθότως τῷ θεῷ. ἀτεχνῶς οὖν ἐπίγειος εἰκὼν θείας δυνάμεως ἡ γνωστικὴ ψυχή, τελείᾳ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένη, ἐκ πάντων ἅμα τούτων, φύσεως, ἀσκήσεως, λόγου, συνηυξημένῃ. τοῦτο τὸ κάλλος τῆς ψυχῆς »νεὼς« γίνεται »τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος«, ὅταν διάθεσιν ὁμολογουμένην τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ κατὰ πάντα κτήσηται τὸν βίον.
English · Claude translation
Such was the marriage of the blessed, and their perfect disposition even toward those dearest to them. So too the apostle says that “he who marries” should be “as though not marrying,” holding that marriage should be free of passionate attachment and should not “distract” from love for the Lord. To this love the true husband exhorted his wife to hold fast as she departed this life to go to the Lord. Was not their faith in the hope beyond death plain to see, since even at the height of their punishments they gave thanks to God? For they possessed, I think, a firm faith, and faithful deeds followed from it. In every circumstance, then, the soul of the one who knows is strong, like the body of an athlete in peak condition and strength. For it is wise in counsel about human affairs, judging what is to be done by what is just, taking its principles from God above …, and having acquired, for likeness to God, mildness toward bodily pleasures and pains; and it rises up against fears with courage and trust in God. Simply put, then, the knowing soul is an earthly image of divine power, adorned with perfect virtue, grown up from all these together: nature, discipline, and reason. This beauty of the soul becomes a “temple of the Holy Spirit” when it acquires, throughout its life, a disposition in agreement with the gospel.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The allusions are 1 Cor 7:29 (“as though not”), 7:35 (“undistracted”), 7:38 (“he who marries”), and 1 Cor 6:19 (temple of the Holy Spirit). “The true husband” plays on ἀνήρ, “man” and “husband.” An asterisk in the edition marks a gap after “from God above.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text; stray periods in the digital text): ὡς μὴ γαμῶν«. ἀπροσπαθῆ → ὡς μὴ γαμῶν«, ἀπροσπαθῆ; τῆς πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἀγάπης. ἧς → τῆς πρὸς τὸν κύριον ἀγάπης, ἧς; τὴν πίστιν ἐκέκτηντο. ᾗ → τὴν πίστιν ἐκέκτηντο, ᾗ; ἡ γνωστικὴ ψυχή. τελείᾳ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένη. ἐκ πάντων → ἡ γνωστικὴ ψυχή, τελείᾳ ἀρετῇ κεκοσμημένη, ἐκ πάντων; φύσεως. ἀσκήσεως → φύσεως, ἀσκήσεως.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.11.64 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/11/64/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.11.64 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/11/64/).
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