The Instructor 2.1.4
Summary: Gluttony has no limit; the belly will be destroyed; and those who call their lavish dinners agapai (love feasts) profane the holy name of love.
Greek text · Stählin 1:155–156
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν εὔκολον βρῶσιν τὸν ἄρτον ἐκθηλύνουσιν ἀποσήθοντες τοῦ πυροῦ τὸ τρόφιμον, ὡς τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς τροφῆς ὄνειδος γίνεσθαι ἡδονῆς. οὐκ ἔχει δὲ ὅρον παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἡ λιχνεία. καὶ γὰρ εἰς τὰ πέμματα καὶ τὰ μελίπηκτα, πρὸς δὲ καὶ εἰς τὰ τραγήματα ἐξώκειλεν, ἐπιδορπισμάτων πλῆθος εὑρίσκουσα, παντοδαπὰς θηρωμένη ποιότητας. καί μοι δοκεῖ ὁ τοιοῦτος ἄνθρωπος οὐδὲν ἀλλʼ ἢ γνάθος εἶναι. »μηδὲ ἐπιθύμει«, φησὶν ἡ γραφή, »τῶν ἐδεσμάτων τῶν πλουσίων· ταῦτα γὰρ ἔχεται βίου ψευδοῦς τε καὶ αἰσχροῦ.« οἳ μὲν γὰρ ἐξέχονται τῶν ὄψων, ἃ μετʼ ὀλίγον ἐκδέχεται κοπρών, ἡμῖν δὲ τοῖς θηρωμένοις τὴν βρῶσιν τὴν ἐπουράνιον ἄρχειν ἀνάγκη τῆς ὑπὸ τὸν οὐρανὸν γαστρὸς ἔτι τε μᾶλλον καὶ τῶν ταύτῃ προσφυῶν, ἃ »ὁ θεὸς καταργήσει«, φησὶν ὁ ἀπόστολος, εἰκότως ἐπικαταρώμενος λαιμάργοις ἐπιθυμίαις. »τὰ γὰρ βρώματα τῇ κοιλίᾳ«, ἐξ ὧν ὁ σαρκικὸς ὄντως οὑτοσὶ καὶ φθοροποιὸς ἀπήρτηται βίος· εἰ δʼ ἀγάπην τινὲς τολμῶσι καλεῖν ἀθύρῳ γλώττῃ κεχρημένοι δειπνάριά τινα κνίσης καὶ ζωμῶν ἀποπνέοντα, τὸ καλὸν καὶ σωτήριον ἔργον τοῦ λόγου, τὴν ἀγάπην τὴν ἡγιασμένην, κυθριδίοις καὶ ζωμοῦ ῥύσει καθυβρίζοντες ποτῷ τε καὶ τρυφῇ καὶ καπνῷ βλασφημοῦντες τοὔνομα, σφάλλονται τῆς ὑπολήψεως, τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν τοῦ θεοῦ δειπναρίοις ἐξωνεῖσθαι προσδοκήσαντες. ταῖς μὲν γὰρ ἐπὶ τῇ εὐφροσύνῃ συναγωγαῖς ἐγκαταλέγοιμεν ἂν καὶ αὐτοὶ δειπνάριά τε καὶ ἄριστα καὶ δοχὰς εἰκότως ἂν καλοῖμεν τὴν συνήλυσιν ταύτην ἑπόμενοι λόγῳ, τὰς τοιαύτας δὲ ἑστιάσεις ὁ κύριος ἀγάπας οὐ κέκληκεν. λέγει γοῦν πῇ μέν· »ὅταν κληθῇς εἰς γάμους, μὴ κατάκεισο εἰς τὴν πρωτοκλισίαν, ἀλλʼ ὅταν κληθῇς, εἰς τὸν ἔσχατον τόπον ἀνάπιπτε«, πῇ δέ· »ὅταν ποιῇς ἄριστον ἢ δεῖπνον« καὶ πάλιν· »ἀλλʼ ὅταν ποιῇς δοχήν, κάλει τοὺς πτωχούς«, ἐφʼ ᾧ μάλιστα δεῖπνον ποιητέον, ἔτι τε·
English · Claude translation
They even make effeminate that easy food, bread, sifting out the nourishing part of the wheat, so that what is necessary in food becomes a reproach to pleasure. Gluttony has no limit among human beings. It has run aground on cakes and honey pastries and sweetmeats, inventing a host of desserts, hunting for every kind of dish. Such a man seems to me nothing but a jaw. “Do not desire,” says Scripture, “the dishes of the rich; for these belong to a false and shameful life.” They cling to dishes which the latrine soon receives; but we, who seek the heavenly food, must rule the belly beneath the heavens, and still more what is attached to it, which “God will destroy,” says the apostle, rightly cursing gluttonous desires. “For foods are for the belly,” and on them this truly fleshly and destructive life depends. And if some, with unbridled tongue, dare to call by the name of agapē (love) certain little suppers reeking of the savor of meat and sauces, insulting the good and saving work of the Word, the sanctified agapē, with pots and streams of sauce, blaspheming the name with drink and luxury and smoke, they are mistaken in their idea, expecting to buy God's promise with little suppers. For gatherings for the sake of good cheer we too would reckon as little suppers and dinners and receptions, and would rightly call such a meeting so, following the Word; but the Lord did not call such feasts “love feasts” (agapai). He says in one place: “When you are invited to a wedding, do not recline in the place of honor, but when you are invited, recline in the lowest place”; in another: “When you give a dinner or a supper”; and again: “But when you give a reception, invite the poor,” for whom above all a supper should be made; and further:
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The agapē or love feast was a common meal of the church, distinct from the Eucharist; Clement objects to its abuse as an occasion for luxury (compare 1 Cor 11:20–22; Jude 12).
- The quotations are Prov 23:3 (LXX), 1 Cor 6:13, Luke 14:8, 10, and Luke 14:12–13. The sentence continues in the next section.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word repeated in the digital text): ἀγάπην τινὲς τινὲς τολμῶσι → ἀγάπην τινὲς τολμῶσι.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 2.1.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/2/1/4/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 2.1.4 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/2/1/4/).
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