The Instructor 1.5.24
Summary: Isaiah calls the Lord himself a child, “Mighty God” and “Prince of Peace”; John calls him the Lamb of God, the Father's infant, whom we children resemble.
Greek text · Stählin 1:104
ἱερουργίας ἀφειμένος ὁ Ἰσαάκ. μέγιστον δὲ εἰς συνηγορίαν καὶ ἄλλο παραθήσομαι τοῦ προκειμένου. τὸν κύριον αὐτὸν ὀνομάζει παιδίον, τοῦτο διὰ Ἡσαΐου θεσπίζον, τὸ πνεῦμα· »ἰδοὺ παιδίον ἐγεννήθη ἡμῖν, υἱὸς καὶ ἐδόθη ἡμῖν, οὗ ἡ ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ τοῦ ὤμου αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐκλήθη τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ μεγάλης βουλῆς ἄγγελος.« τί οὖν τὸ παιδίον τὸ νήπιον, οὗ κατʼ εἰκόνα ἡμεῖς οἱ νήπιοι; διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ προφήτου διηγεῖται τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ· »θαυμαστὸς σύμβουλος, θεὸς δυνάστης, πατὴρ αἰώνιος, ἄρχων εἰρήνης τῷ πληθύνειν τὴν παιδείαν· καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔστι πέρας.« ὢ τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ, ὢ τοῦ τελείου παιδίου· υἱὸς ἐν πατρί, καὶ πατὴρ ἐν υἱῷ· καὶ πῶς οὐ τέλειος ἡ παιδεία τοῦ παιδίου ἐκείνου, ἣ ἐπὶ πάντας διήκει τοὺς παῖδας ἡμᾶς παιδαγωγοῦσα τοὺς νηπίους αὐτοῦ; οὗτος εἰς ἡμᾶς ἐξεπέτασε τὰς χεῖρας τὰς ἐναργῶς πεπιστευμένας. τούτῳ προσμαρτυρεῖ τῷ παιδίῳ καὶ Ἰωάννης »ὁ μείζων ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν προφήτης«· »ἰδοὺ ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ.« ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἄρνας ὀνομάζει ἡ γραφὴ τοὺς παῖδας τοὺς νηπίους, τὸν θεὸν τὸν λόγον τὸν διʼ ἡμᾶς ἄνθρωπον γενόμενον, κατὰ πάντα ἡμῖν ἀπεικάζεσθαι βουλόμενον, ἀμνὸν κέκληκεν τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, τὸν νήπιον τοῦ πατρός.
English · Claude translation
Isaac was released from being sacrificed. I will add another very strong argument for my point. The Spirit calls the Lord himself a child, prophesying this through Isaiah: “Behold, a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder; and his name is called Angel of Great Counsel.” Who, then, is this infant child, in whose image we infants are? Through the same prophet he describes his greatness: “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace, for the increase of his instruction; and of his peace there is no end.” O great God! O perfect child! The Son in the Father, and the Father in the Son! And how could the instruction of that child not be perfect, which extends to all of us his children, instructing us his infants? He has stretched out to us his hands, which are clearly trusted. John too, “the greatest prophet among those born of women,” bears witness to this child: “Behold the Lamb of God.” For since Scripture calls the infant children lambs, it has called God the Word, who became man for our sake and wished to be made like us in every way, the Lamb of God, the Son of God, the Father's infant.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Isa 9:6 (9:5 LXX, which has “Angel of Great Counsel”), Isa 9:6–7 in another form (with “instruction,” παιδεία, for “government”), John 14:10, Matt 11:11 (Luke 7:28), and John 1:29. “He has stretched out his hands” refers to the cross.
- The digital text repeats ἐκείνου (“of that”); the repetition is removed.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word repeated in the digital text): τοῦ παιδίου ἐκείνου, ἐκείνου, ἣ → τοῦ παιδίου ἐκείνου, ἣ.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.5.24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/5/24/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.5.24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/5/24/).
Download citation:BibTeX ·RIS (Zotero, EndNote)
Whole work:BibTeX ·RIS ·Markdown text