Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 15.1

Summary: Since outward things are good or bad according to the soul's use, Christ's command must refer to the inner passions, not to outward goods.

Greek text · Stählin 3:169

Ἐγὼ γοῦν κἀκεῖνο φήσαιμʼ ἄν· ἐπειδὴ τὰ μὲν ἐντός ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς, τὰ δὲ ἐκτός, κἂν μὲν ἡ ψυχὴ χρῆται καλῶς. καλὰ καὶ ταῦτα δοκεῖ, ἐὰν δὲ πονηρῶς. πονηρά, ὁ κελεύων ἀπαλλοτριοῦν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα π[ρ]ότερον ταῦτα παραιτεῖται ὧν ἀναιρεθέντων ἔτι τὰ πάθη μένει, ἢ ἐκεῖνα μᾶλλον ὧν ἀναιρεθέντων καὶ τὰ κτήματα χρήσιμα γίνεται;

English · Claude translation

I would say this too: since some things are within the soul and others outside it, and the latter also seem good if the soul uses them well and evil if it uses them badly, does the one who commands us to give away our possessions reject the things whose removal still leaves the passions remaining, or rather those whose removal makes possessions too useful?

About this passage

Source

Stählin 3:169 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, Excerpta ex Theodoto, Eclogae propheticae, Quis dives salvetur, Fragmente, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 3 (GCS 17, 1909), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0

Translation

Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1909); made independently of existing English translations.

Topics

Ethics

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Quis div. 15.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-quis-dives/15/1/).

Plain text

Clement of Alexandria, Quis div. 15.1 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-quis-dives/15/1/).

Who Is the Rich Man That Is Saved? 15.1

Greek text · Stählin 3:169

English · Claude translation

About this passage

Notes

Translation notes

Cite this passage