Prophetic Extracts 21.1

Summary: No thought of God is worthy of him, but we may think of him as unapproachable light, all-good, compassionate, impassible, and all-knowing.

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Greek text · Stählin 3:142

Εἰ δή τις νοεῖ θεόν (κατʼ ἀξίαν μὲν οὐδαμῶς, τίς γὰρ ἔννοια ἀξία θεοῦ; ἀλλʼ ὡς δυνατόν ἐστι), νοείτω μέγα καὶ ἀπερινόητον καὶ κάλλιστον »φῶς ἀπρόσιτον«, πᾶσαν δύναμιν ἀγαθήν, πᾶσαν ἀστείαν ἀρετὴν συγκεκληρωμένον, πάντων κηδόμενον, φιλοικτίρμον, ἀπαθές, ἀγαθόν, πάντα εἰδός, προγινῶσκον πάντα, εἰλικρινές, γλυκύ, λαμπρόν, ἀκήρατον.

English · Claude translation

If anyone conceives of God (in no way worthily, for what conception is worthy of God? but as far as possible), let him conceive of him as a great, incomprehensible, and most beautiful “unapproachable light,” endowed with every good power, every fine virtue, caring for all, compassionate, impassible, good, knowing all things, foreknowing all things, pure, sweet, bright, undefiled.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 3:142 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, Excerpta ex Theodoto, Eclogae propheticae, Quis dives salvetur, Fragmente, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 3 (GCS 17, 1909), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Scripture
Topics
Trinity

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Ecl. 21.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-eclogae/21/1/).

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Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Ecl. 21.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-eclogae/21/1/).

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