Miscellanies 2.6.27
Summary: Repentance and hope arise from faith; the faithful servant keeps what God has entrusted; God is faithful and worthy of belief; faith is not mere supposition but assent to what is strong.
Greek text · Stählin 2:127
πίστεως οὖν καὶ ἡ μετάνοια κατόρθωμα· ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ πιστεύσῃ ἁμάρτημα εἶναι ᾧ προκατείχετο, οὐδὲ μεταθήσεται· κἂν μὴ πιστεύσῃ κόλασιν μὲν ἐπηρτῆσθαι τῷ πλημμελοῦντι, σωτηρίαν δὲ τῷ κατὰ τὰς ἐντολὰς βιοῦντι, οὐδʼ οὕτως μεταβαλεῖται. ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς ἐκ πίστεως συνέστηκεν. ὁρίζονται γοῦν οἱ ἀπὸ Βασιλείδου τὴν πίστιν ψυχῆς συγκατάθεσιν πρός τι τῶν μὴ κινούντων αἴσθησιν διὰ τὸ μὴ παρεῖναι. ἐλπὶς δὲ προσδοκία κτήσεως ἀγαθοῦ· πιστὴν δὲ ἀνάγκη τὴν προσδοκίαν εἶναι. πιστὸς δὲ ὁ ἀπαραβάτως τηρητικὸς τῶν ἐγχειρισθέντων· ἐγχειρίζονται δὲ ἡμῖν οἱ περὶ θεοῦ λόγοι καὶ οἱ θεῖοι λόγοι, αἱ ἐντολαί, σὺν τῇ καταπράξει τῶν παραγγελμάτων. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ δοῦλος ὁ πιστός, ὁ πρὸς τοῦ κυρίου ἐπαινούμενος. ἐπὰν δὲ εἴπῃ πιστὸς ὁ θεός, ᾧ ἀποφαινομένῳ πιστεύειν ἄξιον, μηνύει· ἀποφαίνεται δὲ ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἂν εἴη πιστὸς ὁ θεός. πῶς οὖν εἰ τὸ πιστεύειν ὑπολαμβάνειν ἐστί, βέβαια τὰ παρʼ αὐτῶν οἱ φιλόσοφοι νομίζουσιν; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ὑπόληψις ἡ ἑκούσιος πρὸ ἀποδείξεως συγκατάθεσις, ἀλλὰ συγκατάθεσις ἰσχυρῷ τινι.
English · Claude translation
Repentance too, then, is an achievement of faith. For if someone does not believe that what he was held by is a sin, he will not change; and if he does not believe that punishment hangs over the offender and salvation over the one who lives by the commandments, not even so will he change. Hope too is constituted from faith. The followers of Basilides define faith as the assent of the soul to something that does not stir the senses because it is not present. Hope is the expectation of possessing a good; and the expectation must be faithful. The faithful man is one who keeps unswervingly what has been entrusted to him; and what is entrusted to us are the words about God and the divine words, the commandments, together with the carrying out of the precepts. This is “the faithful servant” praised by the Lord. And when it says “God is faithful,” it shows that he is worthy to be believed when he declares something; and his Word declares, and God himself would be faithful. How, then, if believing is supposing, do the philosophers think their own teachings firm? For voluntary assent before demonstration is not supposition, but assent to something strong.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotations are Matt 25:21, 23 (Luke 12:42) and 1 Cor 1:9 (10:13).
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.6.27 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/6/27/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.6.27 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/6/27/).
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