Sophia Scriptura

Miscellanies 4.5.24

Clement of Alexandria · Miscellanies · ca. 198–203 · Alexandria · Read in context

Summary: The poets call wealth blind and a bad teacher of manliness; poverty is akin to wisdom; love of money ruins cities; virtue is true currency.

Greek text · Stählin 2:258–259

αὐτίκα πρὸς τῶν ποιητῶν τυφλὸς ἐκ γενετῆς κηρύττεται· καί οἱ γείνατο κοῦρον, ὃς οὐκ ἠλέκτορα εἶδεν, φησὶν ὁ Χαλκιδεὺς Εὐφορίων. κακὸν οὖν ἦν τι παίδευμα εἰς εὐανδρίαν ὁ πλοῦτος ἀνθρώποισιν αἵ τʼ ἄγαν τρυφαί, ἐν τῷ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ ὁ Εὐριπίδης πεποίηκεν. εἴρηταί γε· ἡ πενία σοφίαν ἔλαχε διὰ τὸ συγγενές. ἁ φιλοχρηματία δὲ οὐ Σπάρταν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσαν πόλιν ἕλοι ἄν. οὔκουν μόνον τοῦτο νόμισμα λευκὸς ἄργυρος ἢ χρυσός ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ ἀρετὴ βροτοῖς, ὥς φησιν ὁ Σοφοκλῆς.

English · Claude translation

For example, wealth is proclaimed by the poets as blind from birth: “And she bore him a son who never saw the light,” says Euphorion of Chalcis. “Wealth was a bad training in manliness for men, and excessive luxury,” Euripides has written in the Alexander. It has been said: “Poverty has obtained wisdom because of kinship.” “Love of money would take not only Sparta but every city.” So not only is “white silver or gold currency, but virtue too for mortals,” as Sophocles says.

About this passage

Source
Stählin 2:258–259 · Otto Stählin, ed., Clemens Alexandrinus, vol. 2, Stromata Buch I–VI, GCS 15 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1906); vol. 3, Stromata Buch VII und VIII, GCS 17 (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909) · Greek text: Otto Stählin, Clemens Alexandrinus 2–3 (GCS 15, 17, 1906–1909), digitized by the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 4.0
Translation
Claude translation (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 · Translated by Claude from the Greek text of Stählin (1906–1909); made independently of existing English translations.
Extrabiblical texts
  • Euripides, Alexander frag. 54 (Euripides (plays and fragments)) · quotation, high confidence
  • Sophocles, fragment 788 (Sophocles (plays and fragments)) · quotation, high confidence
Topics
Ethics

Notes

Translation notes

  • The quotations are Euphorion (fragment), Euripides, Alexander (fragment 54 Nauck), Euripides (fragment 641), an oracle to Sparta, and Sophocles (fragment 788 Nauck).

Cite this passage

Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.5.24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/5/24/).

Plain text
Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.5.24 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/clement-stromata/4/5/24/).

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