Miscellanies 2.6.31
Summary: Faith is the first step to salvation, followed by fear, hope, repentance, self-control, and endurance, leading to love and knowledge; as Barnabas says, faith is the foundation of knowledge, as breath is of life.
Greek text · Stählin 2:129–130
θεία τοίνυν ἡ τοσαύτη μεταβολὴ ἐξ ἀπιστίας πιστόν τινα γενόμενον καὶ τῇ ἐλπίδι καὶ τῷ φόβῳ πιστεῦσαι. καὶ δὴ ἡ πρώτη πρὸς σωτηρίαν νεῦσις ἡ πίστις ἡμῖν ἀναφαίνεται, μεθʼ ἣν φόβος τε καὶ ἐλπὶς καὶ μετάνοια σύν τε ἐγκρατείᾳ καὶ ὑπομονῇ προκόπτουσαι ἄγουσιν ἡμᾶς ἐπί τε ἀγάπην ἐπί τε γνῶσιν. εἰκότως οὖν ὁ ἀπόστολος Βαρνάβας ἀφʼ οὗ φησὶν ἔλαβον, μέρος ἐσπούδασα κατὰ μικρὸν ὑμῖν πέμψαι, ἵνα μετὰ τῆς πίστεως ὑμῶν τελείαν ἔχητε καὶ τὴν γνῶσιν. τῆς μὲν οὖν πίστεως ἡμῶν εἰσιν οἱ συλλήπτορες φόβος καὶ ὑπομονή, τὰ δὲ συμμαχοῦντα ἡμῖν μακροθυμία καὶ ἐγκράτεια. τούτων οὖν, φησί, τὰ πρὸς τὸν κύριον μενόντων ἁγνῶς, συνευφραίνονται αὐτοῖς σοφία, σύνεσις, ἐπιστήμη, γνῶσις. στοιχείων γοῦν οὐσῶν τῆς γνώσεως τῶν προειρημένων ἀρετῶν στοιχειωδεστέραν εἶναι συμβέβηκε τὴν πίστιν, οὕτως ἀναγκαίαν τῷ γνωστικῷ ὑπάρχουσαν, ὡς τῷ κατὰ τὸν κόσμον τόνδε βιοῦντι πρὸς τὸ ζῆν τὸ ἀναπνεῖν· ὡς δʼ ἄνευ τῶν τεσσάρων στοιχείων οὐκ ἔστι ζῆν, οὐδʼ ἄνευ πίστεως γνῶσιν ἐπακολουθῆσαι. αὕτη τοίνυν κρηπὶς ἀληθείας.
English · Claude translation
Divine, then, is so great a change, that someone from unbelief should become a believer and believe both in hope and in fear. Faith appears to us as the first inclination toward salvation, after which fear, hope, and repentance, advancing together with self-control and endurance, lead us to love and to knowledge. Fittingly, then, the apostle Barnabas says: “From what I have received, I have been eager to send you a little at a time, so that with your faith you may also have perfect knowledge. The helpers of our faith, then, are fear and endurance, and our allies long-suffering and self-control. While these remain pure,” he says, “in what concerns the Lord, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and insight rejoice with them.” Since the virtues just mentioned are the elements of knowledge, faith turns out to be more elementary still, as necessary to the one who knows as breathing is to life for one living in this world; and as without the four elements it is not possible to live, so without faith knowledge cannot follow. This, then, is the foundation of truth.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- The quotation is Barn. 1.5 and 2.2–3 (Clement calls Barnabas an apostle).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray period in the digital text): ἀφʼ οὗ φησὶν ἔλαβον. μέρος → ἀφʼ οὗ φησὶν ἔλαβον, μέρος; τὰ πρὸς τὸν κύριον μενόντων ἁγνῶς. συνευφραίνονται → τὰ πρὸς τὸν κύριον μενόντων ἁγνῶς, συνευφραίνονται.
Cite this passage
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.6.31 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/6/31/).
Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 2.6.31 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/2/6/31/).
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