Exhortation to the Greeks 1.6
Summary: The Word, the new song, heals and saves; though it seems new, it is older than all things, for “in the beginning was the Word.”
Greek text · Stählin 1:6–7
Τί δὴ οὖν τὸ ὄργανον, ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ λόγος, ὁ κύριος, καὶ τὸ ᾆσμα τὸ καινὸν βούλεται; ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀναπετάσαι τυφλῶν καὶ ὦτα ἀνοῖξαι κωφῶν καὶ σκάζοντας τὼ πόδε ἢ πλανωμένους εἰς δικαιοσύνην χειραγωγῆσαι, θεὸν ἀνθρώποις ἀφραίνουσιν ἐπιδεῖξαι, παῦσαι φθοράν, νικῆσαι θάνατον, υἱοὺς ἀπειθεῖς διαλλάξαι πατρί. φιλάνθρωπον τὸ ὄργανον τοῦ θεοῦ· ὁ κύριος ἐλεεῖ, παιδεύει, προτρέπει, νουθετεῖ, σῴζει, φυλάττει καὶ μισθὸν ἡμῖν τῆς μαθήσεως ἐκ περιουσίας βασιλείαν οὐρανῶν ἐπαγγέλλεται, τοῦτο μόνον ἀπολαύων ἡμῶν, ὃ σῳζόμεθα. κακία μὲν γὰρ τὴν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιβόσκεται φθοράν, ἡ δὲ ἀλήθεια ὥσπερ ἡ μέλιττα, λυμαινομένη τῶν ὄντων οὐδέν, ἐπὶ μόνης τῆς ἀνθρώπων ἀγάλλεται σωτηρίας. ἔχεις οὖν τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν, ἔχεις τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν· τῆς χάριτος μεταλάμβανε. καί μου τὸ ᾆσμα τὸ σωτήριον μὴ καινὸν οὕτως ὑπολάβῃς ὡς σκεῦος ἢ ὡς οἰκίαν· »πρὸ ἑωσφόρου« γὰρ ἦν, καὶ »ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος·« παλαιὰ δὲ ἡ πλάνη, καινὸν δὲ ἡ ἀλήθεια φαίνεται. εἴτʼ οὖν ἀρχαίους τοὺς Φρύγας διδάσκουσιν αἶγες μυθικαί, εἴτε αὖ τοὺς Ἀρκάδας οἱ προσελήνους ἀναγράφοντες ποιηταί, εἴτε μὴν αὖ τοὺς Αἰγυπτίους οἱ καὶ πρώτην ταύτην ἀναφῆναι τὴν γῆν θεούς τε καὶ ἀνθρώπους ὀνειρώσσοντες· ἀλλʼ οὐ πρὸ γε τοῦ κόσμου τοῦδε τούτων οὐδὲ εἷς, πρὸ δὲ τῆς τοῦ κόσμου καταβολῆς ἡμεῖς, οἱ τῷ δεῖν ἔσεσθαι ἐν αὐτῷ πρότερον γεγεννημένοι τῷ θεῷ, τοῦ θεοῦ λόγου τὰ λογικὰ πλάσματα ἡμεῖς, διʼ ὃν ἀρχαΐζομεν, ὅτι »ἐν ἀρχῇ ὁ λόγος ἦν.«
English · Claude translation
What, then, does the instrument, the Word of God, the Lord, and the new song desire? To open the eyes of the blind and unstop the ears of the deaf, to lead by the hand into righteousness those who limp or go astray, to show God to foolish people, to put an end to corruption, to conquer death, to reconcile disobedient sons to their Father. God's instrument loves humankind. The Lord pities, disciplines, exhorts, admonishes, saves, and guards, and he promises us, abundantly, the kingdom of heaven as the reward for our learning, taking from us only this benefit: that we are saved. For wickedness feeds on the corruption of human beings; but truth, like the bee, harming nothing that exists, delights only in the salvation of human beings. You have the promise, then; you have his love for humankind; take your share of the grace. And do not suppose that my song of salvation is new in the way that a vessel or a house is new. For it was “before the morning star,” and “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Error is old, but truth appears new. Let the mythical goats teach that the Phrygians are ancient, or the poets who record the Arcadians as older than the moon, or those who dream that the Egyptians were the first people, gods and men alike, that this earth brought to light. Yet not one of these existed before this world. But we existed before the foundation of the world: we who, since we were destined to be in him, were begotten beforehand by God. We are the rational creatures of God's Word, and because of him we are older than all, for “in the beginning was the Word.”
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “The mythical goats” refers to Herodotus's story (2.2) of children raised by goats, used to show that the Phrygians were the oldest people; the Arcadians claimed to be older than the moon.
- “Before the morning star” is Ps 110:3 in the Septuagint (109:3).
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 1.6 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/1/6/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 1.6 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/1/6/).
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