Exhortation to the Greeks 10.95
Summary: God sets life and death before us; faith in the Good should choose life at once, instead of deliberating only about godliness.
Greek text · Stählin 1:69–70
ποίαν, ὦ μακάριε, δόξαν, εἰπέ μοι· »ἣν ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδεν οὐδὲ οὖς ἤκουσεν, οὐδὲ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου ἀνέβη· καὶ χαρήσονται ἐπὶ τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ κυρίου αὐτῶν εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, ἀμήν.« ἔχετε, ὦ ἄνθρωποι, τὴν θείαν τῆς χάριτος ἐπαγγελίαν, ἀκηκόατε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην τῆς κολάσεως ἀπειλήν, διʼ ὧν ὁ κύριος σῴζει, φόβῳ καὶ χάριτι παιδαγωγῶν τὸν ἄνθρωπον· τί μέλλομεν; τί οὐκ ἐκκλίνομεν τὴν κόλασιν; τί οὐ καταδεχόμεθα τὴν δωρεάν; τί δὲ οὐχ αἱρούμεθα τὰ βελτίονα, θεὸν ἀντὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ, καὶ σοφίαν εἰδωλολατρείας προκρίνομεν καὶ ζωὴν ἀντικαταλλασσόμεθα θανάτου; »ἰδοὺ τέθεικα πρὸ προσώπου ὑμῶν,« φησί, »τὸν θάνατον καὶ τὴν ζωήν.« πειράζει σε ὁ κύριος ἐκλέξασθαι τὴν ζωήν, συμβουλεύει σοι ὡς πατὴρ πείθεσθαι τῷ θεῷ. »ἐὰν γὰρ ἀκούσητέ μου«, φησί, »καὶ θελήσητε, τὰ ἀγαθὰ τῆς γῆς φάγεσθε,« ὑπακοῆς ἡ χάρις· »ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ὑπακούσητέ μου μηδὲ θελήσητε, μάχαιρα ὑμᾶς καὶ πῦρ κατέδεται,« παρακοῆς ἡ κρίσις. »τὸ γὰρ στόμα κυρίου ἐλάλησεν ταῦτα·« νόμος ἀληθείας λόγος κυρίου· βούλεσθε ὑμῖν ἀγαθὸς γένωμαι σύμβουλος; ἀλλʼ ὑμεῖς μὲν ἀκούσατε· ἐγὼ δέ, εἰ δυνατόν, ἐνδείξομαι. ἐχρῆν μὲν ὑμᾶς, ὦ ἄνθρωποι, αὐτοῦ πέρι ἐννοουμένους τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἔμφυτον ἐπάγεσθαι πίστιν, μάρτυρα ἀξιόχρεων αὐτόθεν οἴκοθεν, περιφανῶς αἱρουμένην τὸ βέλτιστον, μηδὲ ζητεῖν εἰ μεταδιωκτέον, τὸ δʼ ἀγαθὸν ἐκπονεῖν. καὶ γὰρ εἴ τῳ μεθυστέον, φέρε εἰπεῖν, ἀμφιβάλλειν χρή· ὑμεῖς δὲ πρὶν ἢ ἐπισκέψασθαι μεθύετε· καὶ εἰ ὑβριστέον, οὐ πολυπραγμονεῖτε, ἀλλʼ ᾗ τάχος ὑβρίζετε. μόνον δʼ ἄρα εἰ θεοσεβητέον, ζητεῖτε, καὶ εἰ τῷ σοφῷ τούτῳ [δὴ] τῷ θεῷ καὶ τῷ Χριστῷ κατακολουθητέον, τοῦτο δὴ βουλῆς καὶ σκέψεως ἀξιοῦτε, οὐδʼ ὃ πρέπει θεῷ, ὅ τι ποτέ ἐστι, νενοηκότες.
English · Claude translation
What glory, blessed one, tell me? That “which eye has not seen nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man; and they will rejoice in the kingdom of their Lord forever, amen.” You have, you people, the divine promise of grace; you have heard also the other, the threat of punishment; by these the Lord saves, training the human being with fear and grace. Why do we delay? Why do we not avoid the punishment? Why do we not accept the gift? Why do we not choose what is better, God instead of the evil one, and prefer wisdom to idolatry, and take life in exchange for death? “Behold,” he says, “I have set before your face death and life.” The Lord tests you, to see whether you will choose life; he counsels you as a father to obey God. “For if you listen to me,” he says, “and are willing, you will eat the good things of the land”: the grace of obedience. “But if you do not obey me and are not willing, the sword and fire will devour you”: the judgment of disobedience. “For the mouth of the Lord has spoken these things.” The Word of the Lord is the law of truth. Do you want me to be a good counselor to you? Then listen, and I will show you, if I can. You ought, you people, when you think about the Good itself, to bring forward an innate faith, a trustworthy witness at hand from within, which plainly chooses what is best, and not to ask whether it should be pursued, but to work hard at the good. For if the question were whether one should get drunk, say, doubt would be in order; yet you get drunk before you consider it. And whether one should behave outrageously, you do not inquire, but behave outrageously as fast as you can. Only whether one should be godly do you question, and whether one should follow this wise God and Christ: this you think worthy of deliberation and inquiry, without having understood what befits God, whatever it may be.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are 1 Cor 2:9 (with an ending, “and they will rejoice …,” from an unknown source), Deut 30:15, and Isa 1:19–20. The bracketed word is marked by the editor as spurious (to be deleted).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray space before the closing quotation mark): ὑμῶν, « → ὑμῶν,«; εσθε, « → εσθε,«; εται, « → εται,«.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 10.95 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/10/95/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Protr. 10.95 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-protrepticus/10/95/).
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