The Instructor 3.11.59
Summary: Christians should live freely as God's adopted children; a man's signet ring should be worn on the little finger and engraved with a dove, fish, ship, lyre, or anchor, not idols or weapons.
Greek text · Stählin 1:270
θεῷ δὲ εἰσπεποιημένοις. διὸ καὶ στάσιν καὶ κίνησιν καὶ βάδισμα καὶ ἐσθῆτα καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς τὸν πάντα βίον ὅτι μάλιστα ἐλευθεριώτατον ἐπαναιρετέον. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν δακτύλιον οὐκ ἐπʼ ἄρθρῳ φορητέον τοῖς ἀνδράσι (γυναικεῖον γὰρ τοῦτο), εἰς δὲ τὸν μικρὸν δάκτυλον, καὶ τούτου εἰς τοὔσχατον καθιέναι· ἔσται γὰρ οὕτως εὐεργὴς ἡ χείρ, ἐν οἷς αὐτῆς δεόμεθα· καὶ οὐ ῥᾷστα ὁ σημαντὴρ ἀποπεσεῖται τῇ μείζονι τοῦ ἄρθρου συνδέσει φυλαττόμενος. αἱ δὲ σφραγῖδες ἡμῖν ἔστων πελειὰς ἢ ἰχθὺς ἢ ναῦς οὐριοδρομοῦσα ἢ λύρα μουσική, ᾗ κέχρηται Πολυκράτης, ἢ ἄγκυρα ναυτική, ἣν Σέλευκος ἐνεχαράττετο τῇ γλυφῇ, κἂν ἁλιεύων τις ᾖ, ἀποστόλου μεμνήσεται καὶ τῶν ἐξ ὕδατος ἀνασπωμένων παιδίων· οὐ γὰρ εἰδώλων πρόσωπα ἐναποτυπωτέον, οἷς καὶ τὸ προσέχειν ἀπείρηται, οὐδὲ μὴν ξίφος ἢ τόξον τοῖς εἰρήνην
English · Claude translation
and adopted by God. So our standing, movement, walk, clothing, and in a word our whole life must be as free as possible. Men should not wear a ring on the joint of the finger (that is womanish), but on the little finger, and pushed to its base; for so the hand will be free for the work we need it for, and the signet will not easily fall off, being held by the larger joint. Let our seals be a dove, a fish, a ship running before the wind, a musical lyre, which Polycrates used, or a ship's anchor, which Seleucus had engraved; and if one is a fisherman, he will remember the apostle and the children drawn up out of the water. For the faces of idols must not be engraved, to which we are forbidden even to pay attention; nor a sword or a bow for us who pursue peace,
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- This is the earliest literary evidence for Christian symbols on seals (dove, fish, ship, anchor). “The apostle” is Peter the fisherman; “the children drawn up out of the water” are the baptized (Matt 4:19). The allusions are Rom 8:15 (adoption) and Exod 20:4. The sentence continues in the next section.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.59 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3/11/59/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 3.11.59 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-paedagogus/3/11/59/).
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