Miscellanies 7.16.99
Summary: Muddied by false doctrines, heretics cannot see the truth; like naughty children shutting out their tutor, they exclude the prophets from their churches, and like bad almonds they are empty of God's purposes and Christ's traditions.
Greek text · Stählin 2
ὡς γὰρ ὀφθαλμὸς τεταραγμένος, οὕτως καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῖς παρὰ φύσιν θολωθεῖσα δόγμασιν οὐχ οἵα τε τὸ φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας διιδεῖν ἀκριβῶς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν ποσὶ παρορᾷ. ἐν οὖν θολερῷ ὕδατι καὶ τὰς ἐγχέλεις ἁλίσκεσθαί φασιν ἀποτυφλουμένας. καὶ καθάπερ τὰ πονηρὰ παιδία τὸν παιδαγωγὸν ἀποκλείει, οὕτως οὗτοι τὰς προφητείας εἴργουσιν ἑαυτῶν τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ὑφορώμενοι διʼ ἔλεγχον καὶ νουθεσίαν. ἀμέλει πάμπολλα συγκαττύουσι ψεύσματα καὶ πλάσματα, ἵνα δὴ εὐλόγως δόξωσι μὴ προσίεσθαι τὰς γραφάς. ταύτῃ οὖν οὐκ εὐσεβεῖς, δυσαρεστούμενοι ταῖς θείαις ἐντολαῖς, τουτέστι τῷ ἁγίῳ πνεύματι. ὥσπερ δὲ αἱ ἀμυγδάλαι κεναὶ λέγονται οὐκ ἐν αἷς μηδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ ἐν αἷς ἄχρηστον τὸ ἐνόν, οὕτως τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς τοὺς] κενοὺς τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ βουλημάτων καὶ τῶν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παραδόσεων εἶναί φαμεν, πικριζόντων ὡς ἀληθῶς κατὰ τὴν ἀγρίαν ἀμυγδάλην ἐξάρχοντας δογμάτων. πλὴν ὅσα διʼ ἐνάργειαν τῶν ἀληθῶν ἀποθέσθαι καὶ ἀποκρύψαι οὐκ ἴσχυσαν.
English · Claude translation
For as a troubled eye cannot see clearly, so the soul, muddied by doctrines contrary to nature, cannot see the light of the truth distinctly, but overlooks even what lies at its feet. They say that eels too are caught in muddy water because they are blinded. And as naughty children shut out their tutor, so these people shut the prophecies out of their church, regarding them with suspicion because of their reproof and admonition. Indeed, they stitch together a great many lies and fictions, so that they may seem to have good reason for not accepting the Scriptures. In this way, then, they are not pious, since they are displeased with the divine commandments, that is, with the Holy Spirit. And as almonds are called empty, not when there is nothing in them but when what is in them is useless, so we say that the heretics are empty of the purposes of God and the traditions of Christ, leading off doctrines truly bitter, like the wild almond, except for those which, because the truths are so evident, they could not put aside and conceal.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The digital text has an unmatched closing bracket after “heretics”; the text is translated as it stands.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): διιδεῖν ἀκριβῶς. ἀλλὰ → διιδεῖν ἀκριβῶς, ἀλλὰ; τὸν παιδαγωγὸν ἀποκλείει. οὕτως → τὸν παιδαγωγὸν ἀποκλείει, οὕτως; ψεύσματα καὶ πλάσματα. ἵνα → ψεύσματα καὶ πλάσματα, ἵνα; οὐκ ἐν αἷς μηδέν ἐστιν. ἀλλʼ → οὐκ ἐν αἷς μηδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλʼ; ἄχρηστον τὸ ἐνόν. οὕτως → ἄχρηστον τὸ ἐνόν, οὕτως; εἶναί φαμεν. πικριζόντων → εἶναί φαμεν, πικριζόντων.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.16.99 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/16/99/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 7.16.99 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/7/16/99/).
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