Excerpts from Theodotus 23.3

Summary: In the Valentinian reading, Paul preached Christ in two ways: as born and suffering, for the lower beings, and as spiritual, born of the Spirit and a virgin, for the higher.

Greek text · Stählin 3:114

αὐτίκα μετὰ τὸ πάθος τοῦ κυρίου καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπεστάλη κηρύσσειν· διὸ καὶ καθʼ ἑκάτερον ἐκήρυξε τὸν σωτῆρα, γεννητὸν καὶ παθητὸν διὰ τοὺς ἀριστερούς, ὅτι τοῦτον γνῶναι δυνηθέντες κατὰ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον δεδίασιν, καὶ κατὰ τὸ πνευματικὸν ἐξ ἁγίου πνεύματος καὶ παρθένου, ὡς οἱ δεξιοὶ ἄγγελοι γινώσκουσιν.

English · Claude translation

Immediately after the Lord's passion he too was sent to preach. That is why he preached the Savior in both ways: as begotten and able to suffer, for the sake of those on the left, because, being able to know him in this character, they are afraid of him; and according to the spiritual, as from the Holy Spirit and a virgin, as the angels on the right know him.

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Source

Stählin 3:114 · 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.

Topics

Heresy

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Exc. 23.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-excerpta/23/3/).

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Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Exc. 23.3 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-excerpta/23/3/).

Greek text · Stählin 3:114

English · Claude translation

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Notes

Translation notes

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