The Instructor 1.6.50
Summary: Blood and milk together symbolize Christ's passion and teaching; as milk mixes well with water, the Word is joined with baptism.
Greek text · Stählin 1:119–120
τὸ αὐτὸ ἄρα καὶ αἷμα καὶ γάλα τοῦ κυρίου πάθους καὶ διδασκαλίας σύμβολον. ἐφεῖται τοιγαροῦν ἡμῶν ἑκάστῳ τῶν νηπίων ἐγκαυχᾶσθαι τῷ κυρίῳ, ἐπιφθεγγομένοις πατρὸς δʼ ἐξ ἀγαθοῖο καὶ αἵματος εὔχομαι εἶναι. ὡς δʼ ἐξ αἵματος γάλα κατὰ μεταβολὴν γίνεται, ἤδη μὲν σαφές, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ τῶν ποιμνίων ἔκ τε τῶν βουκολίων ἔξεστι μαθεῖν. τὰ γὰρ ζῷα ταῦτα τοῦ ἔτους κατὰ τὴν ὥραν, ἣν ἔαρ καλοῦμεν, ὑγροτέρου τοῦ περιέχοντος γεγονότος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς πόας καὶ τῶν νομῶν εὐχύλων τὸ τηνικάδε οὐσῶν καὶ ἐνίκμων, αἵματος πίμπλαται πρότερον, ὡς ἐκ τῆς διατάσεως τῶν φλεβῶν, κυρτουμένων τῶν ἀγγείων, δείκνυται· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ αἵματος δαψιλέστερον χεῖται τὸ γάλα· θέρους δʼ ἔμπαλιν ὑπὸ τοῦ καύματος συγκαιόμενον καὶ ἀναξηραινόμενον ἵστησι τὴν μεταβολὴν τὸ αἷμα, καὶ ταύτῃ ἔλαττον ἀμέλγονται. ναὶ μὴν καὶ συγγένειάν τινα πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ φυσικωτάτην ἔχει τὸ γάλα, καθάπερ ἀμέλει πρὸς τὴν πνευματικὴν τροφὴν τὸ λουτρὸν τὸ πνευματικόν· οἱ γοῦν ἐπιρροφοῦντες τῷ προειρημένῳ γάλακτι ψυχροῦ ὀλίγον ὕδατος ὠφελοῦνται παραχρῆμα· οὐ γὰρ ἀποξύνεσθαι τὸ γάλα ἐᾷ ἡ πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ κοινωνία, οὐκ ἀντιπαθείᾳ τινί, προσπεπαινομένου δὲ προσπαθείᾳ. καὶ ἣν ὁ λόγος ἔχει πρὸς τὸ βάπτισμα κοινωνίαν, ταύτην ἔχει τὸ γάλα τὴν συναλλαγὴν πρὸς τὸ ὕδωρ.
English · Claude translation
The same thing, then, blood and milk, is a symbol of the Lord's passion and teaching. So each of us infants may boast in the Lord, saying: “I claim to be of a good father's race and blood.” That milk comes from blood by change is already clear; but it can also be learned from the flocks and herds. For these animals, in the season of the year we call spring, when the air is moister, and the grass and pastures are then juicy and moist, first fill with blood, as is shown by the swelling of the veins, the vessels bulging; and from the blood the milk flows more abundantly. In summer, on the other hand, the blood, scorched and dried by the heat, stops the change, and so they give less milk. Indeed, milk has a most natural kinship with water, just as the spiritual washing has with the spiritual food. Those who sip a little cold water after drinking the milk just mentioned benefit at once; for its fellowship with water does not let the milk turn sour, not by any antipathy, but by sympathy, as it is further ripened. And the fellowship the Word has with baptism, milk has with water.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The verse is a combination of Homer, Iliad 14.113 and 6.211. The allusion is 1 Cor 1:31.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.6.50 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/6/50/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.6.50 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/1/6/50/).
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