Fragments of Clemens Alexandrinus

[Translated by Rev. William Wilson, M.A.]

---

I.--From the Latin Translation of Cassiodorus. [3712]

I.--Comments [3713] On the First Epistle of Peter.

Chap. i. 3. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who by His great mercy hath regenerated us." For if God generated us of
matter, He afterwards, by progress in life, regenerated us.

"The Father of our Lord, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:" who,
according to your faith, rises again in us; as, on the other hand, He
dies in us, through the operation of our unbelief. For He said again,
that the soul never returns a second time to the body in this life; and
that which has become angelic does not become unrighteous or evil, so
as not to have the opportunity of again sinning by the assumption of
flesh; but that in the resurrection the soul [3714] returns to the
body, and both are joined to one another according to their peculiar
nature, adapting themselves, through the composition of each, by a kind
of congruity like [3715] a building of stones.

Besides, Peter says, [3716] "Ye also, as living stones, are built up a
spiritual house;" meaning the place of the angelic abode, guarded in
heaven [3717] . "For you," he says, "who are kept by the power of God,
by faith and contemplation, to receive the end of your faith, the
salvation of your souls."

Hence it appears that the soul is not naturally immortal; but is made
immortal by the grace of God, through faith and righteousness, and by
knowledge. "Of which salvation," he says, [3718] "the prophets have
inquired and searched diligently," and what follows. It is declared by
this that the prophets spake with wisdom, and that the Spirit of Christ
was in them, according to the possession of Christ, and in subjection
to Christ. For God works through archangels and kindred angels, who are
called spirits of Christ.

"Which are now," he says, [3719] "reported unto you by them that have
preached the Gospel unto you." The old things which were done by the
prophets and escape the observation of most, are now revealed to you by
the evangelists. "For to you," he says, [3720] "they are manifested by
the Holy Ghost, who was sent;" that is the Paraclete, of whom the Lord
said, "If I go not away, He will not come." [3721] "Unto whom," [3722]
it is said, "the angels desire to look;" not the apostate angels, as
most suspect, but, what is a divine truth, angels who desire to obtain
the advantage of that perfection.

"By precious blood," he says, [3723] "as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot." Here he touches on the ancient Levitical and sacerdotal
celebrations; but means a soul pure through righteousness which is
offered to God.

"Verily foreknown before the foundation of the world." [3724] Inasmuch
as He was foreknown before every creature, because He was Christ. "But
manifested in the last times" by the generation of a body. "Being born
again, not of corruptible seed." [3725] The soul, then, which is
produced along with the body is corruptible, as some think.

"But the word of the Lord," he says, [3726] "endureth for ever:" as
well prophecy as divine doctrine.

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood." [3727] That we
are a chosen race by the election of God is abundantly clear. He says
royal, because we are called to sovereignty and belong to Christ; and
priesthood on account of the oblation which is made by prayers and
instructions, by which are gained the souls which are offered to God.

"Who, when He was reviled," he says, [3728] "reviled not; when He
suffered, threatened not." The Lord acted so in His goodness and
patience. "But committed Himself to him that judged Him unrighteously:"
[3729] whether Himself, so that, regarding Himself in this way, there
is a transposition. [3730] He indeed gave Himself up to those who
judged according to an unjust law; because He was unserviceable to
them, inasmuch as He was righteous: or, He committed to God those who
judged unrighteously, and without cause insisted on His death, so that
they might be instructed by suffering punishment.

"For he that will love life, and see good days;" [3731] that is, who
wishes to become eternal and immortal. And He calls the Lord life, and
the days good, that is holy.

"For the eyes of the Lord," he says, "are upon the righteous, and His
ears on their prayers:" he means the manifold inspection of the Holy
Spirit. "The face of the Lord is on them that do evil;" [3732] that is,
whether judgment, or vengeance, or manifestation.

"But sanctify the Lord Christ," he says, "in your hearts." [3733] For
so you have in the Lord's prayer, "Hallowed be Thy name." [3734]

"For Christ," he says, [3735] "hath once suffered for our sins, the
just for the unjust, that he might present [3736] us to God; being put
to death in the flesh, but quickened in the spirit." He says these
things, reducing them to their faith. That is, He became alive in our
spirits.

"Coming," he says, [3737] "He preached to those who were once
unbelieving." They saw not His form, but they heard His voice.

"When the long-suffering of God" [3738] holds out. God is so good, as
to work the result by the teaching of salvation.

"By the resurrection," it is said, [3739] "of Jesus Christ:" that,
namely, which is effected in us by faith.

"Angels being subjected to Him," [3740] which are the first order; and
"principalities" being subject, who are of the second order; and
"powers" being also subject, which are said to belong to the third
order.

"Who shall give account," he says, [3741] "to Him who is ready to judge
the quick and the dead."

These are trained through previous judgments. [3742] Therefore he adds,
"For this cause was the Gospel preached also to the dead"--to us,
namely, who were at one time unbelievers. "That they might be judged
according to men," he says, [3743] "in the flesh, but live according to
God in the spirit." Because, that is, they have fallen away from faith;
whilst they are still in the flesh they are judged according to
preceding judgments, that they might repent. Accordingly, he also adds,
saying, "That they might live according to God in the spirit." So Paul
also; for he, too, states something of this nature when he says, "Whom
I have delivered to Satan, that he might live in the spirit;" [3744]
that is, "as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Similarly
also Paul says, "Variously, and in many ways, God of old spake to our
fathers." [3745]

"Rejoice," it is said, [3746] "that ye are partakers in the sufferings
of Christ:" that is, if ye are righteous, ye suffer for righteousness'
sake, as Christ suffered for righteousness. "Happy are ye, for the
Spirit of God, who is the Spirit of His glory and virtue, resteth on
you." This possessive "His" signifies also an an angelic spirit:
inasmuch as the glory of God those are, through whom, according to
faith and righteousness, He is glorified, to honourable glory,
according to the advancement of the saints who are brought in. "The
Spirit of God on us," may be thus understood; that is, who through
faith comes on the soul, like a gracefulness of mind and beauty of
soul.

"Since," it is said, [3747] "it is time for judgment beginning at the
house of God." For judgment will overtake these in the appointed
persecutions.

"But the God of all grace," he says. [3748] "Of all grace," he says,
because He is good, and the giver of all good things.

"Marcus, my son, saluteth you." [3749] Mark, the follower of Peter,
while Peter publicly preached the Gospel at Rome before some of
Caesar's equites, and adduced many testimonies to Christ, in order that
thereby they might be able to commit to memory what was spoken, of what
was spoken by Peter, wrote entirely what is called the Gospel according
to Mark. As Luke also may be recognised [3750] by the style, both to
have composed the Acts of the Apostles, and to have translated Paul's
Epistle to the Hebrews.

II.--Comments on the Epistle of Jude.

Jude, who wrote the Catholic Epistle, the brother of the sons of
Joseph, and very religious, whilst knowing the near relationship of the
Lord, yet did not say that he himself was His brother. But what said
he? [3751] "Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ,"--of Him as Lord; but "the
brother of James." For this is true; he was His brother, (the son)
[3752] of Joseph. "For [3753] certain men have entered unawares,
ungodly men, who had been of old ordained and predestined to the
judgment of our God;" not that they might become impious, but that,
being now impious, they were ordained to judgment. "For the Lord God,"
he says, [3754] "who once delivered a people out of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that believed not;" that is, that He might train them
through punishment. For they were indeed punished, and they perished on
account of those that are saved, until they turn to the Lord. "But the
angels," he says, [3755] "that kept not their own pre-eminence," that,
namely, which they received through advancement, "but left their own
habitation," meaning, that is, the heaven and the stars, became, and
are called apostates. "He hath reserved these to the judgment of the
great day, in chains, under darkness." He means the place near the
earth, [3756] that is, the dark air. Now he called "chains" the loss of
the honour in which they had stood, and the lust of feeble things;
since, bound by their own lust, they cannot be converted. "As Sodom and
Gomorrha," he says. [3757] ... By which the Lord signifies that pardon
had been granted; [3758] and that on being disciplined they had
repented. "Similarly [3759] to the same," he says, [3760] "also those
dreamers,"--that is, who dream in their imagination lusts and wicked
desires, regarding as good not that which is truly good, and superior
to all good,--"defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of
majesty," that is, the only Lord, [3761] who is truly our Lord, Jesus
Christ, and alone worthy of praise. They "speak evil of majesty," that
is, of the angels.

"When Michael, the archangel, [3762] disputing with the devil, debated
about the body of Moses." Here he confirms the assumption of Moses. He
is here called Michael, who through an angel near to us debated with
the devil.

"But these," he says, [3763] "speak evil of those things which they
know not; but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in these
things they corrupt themselves." He means that they eat, and drink, and
indulge in uncleanness, and says that they do other things that are
common to them with animals, devoid of reason.

"Woe unto them!" he says, [3764] "for they have gone in the way of
Cain." For so also we lie under Adam's sin through similarity of sin.
"Clouds," he says, [3765] "without water; who do not possess in
themselves the divine and fruitful word." Wherefore, he says, "men of
this kind are carried about both by winds and violent blasts." [3766]
"Trees," he says, "of autumn, without fruit,"--unbelievers, that is,
who bear no fruit of fidelity. "Twice dead," he says: once, namely,
when they sinned by transgressing, and a second time when delivered up
to punishment, according to the predestined judgments of God; inasmuch
as it is to be reckoned death, even when each one does not forthwith
deserve the inheritance. "Waves," he says, [3767] "of a raging sea." By
these words he signifies the life of the Gentiles, whose end is
abominable ambition. [3768] "Wandering stars,"--that is, he means those
who err and are apostates are of that kind of stars which fell from the
seats of the angels--"to whom," for their apostasy, "the blackness of
darkness is reserved for ever. Enoch also, the seventh from Adam," he
says, [3769] "prophesied of these." In these words he verities the
prophecy.

"Those," he says, [3770] "separating" the faithful from the unfaithful,
be convicted according to their own unbelief. And again those
separating from the flesh. [3771] He says, "Animal [3772] not having
the spirit;" that is, the spirit which is by faith, which supervenes
through the practice of righteousness.

"But ye, beloved," he says, [3773] "building up yourselves on your most
holy faith, in the Holy Spirit." "But some," he says, [3774] "save,
plucking them from the fire;" [3775] "but of some have compassion in
fear," that is, teach those who fall into the fire to free themselves.
"Hating," he says, [3776] "that spotted garment, which is carnal:" that
of the soul, namely; the spotted garment is a spirit polluternal lusts.
[3777]

"Now to Him," he says, [3778] "who is able to keep you without
stumbling, and present you faultless before the presence of His glory
in joy." In the presence of His glory: he means in the presence of the
angels, to be presented faultless, having become angels. [3779] When
Daniel speaks of the people and comes into the presence of the Lord, he
does not say this, because he saw God: for it is impossible that any
one whose heart is not pure should see God; but he says this, that
everything that the people did was in the sight of God, and was
manifest to Him; that is, that nothing is hid from the Lord.

Now, in the Gospel according to Mark, the Lord being interrogated by
the chief of the priests if He was the Christ, the Son of the blessed
God, answering, said, "I am; [3780] and ye shall see the Son of man
sitting at the right hand of power." [3781] But powers [3782] mean the
holy angels. Further, when He says "at the right hand of God," He means
the self-same [beings], by reason of the equality and likeness of the
angelic and holy powers, which are called by the name of God. He says,
therefore, that He sits at the right hand; that is, that He rests in
pre-eminent honour. In the other Gospels, however, He is said not to
have replied to the high priest, on his asking if He was the Son of
God. But what said He? "You say." [3783] Answering sufficiently well.
For had He said, It is as you understand, he would have said what was
not true, not confessing Himself to be the Son of God; [for] they did
not entertain this opinion of Him; but by saying "You say," [3784] He
spake truly. For what they had no knowledge of, but expressed in words,
that he confessed to be true.

III.--Comments on the First Epistle of John.

Chap. i. 1. "That which was from the beginning; which we have seen with
our eyes; which we have heard."

Following the Gospel according to John, and in accordance with it, this
Epistle also contains the spiritual principle.

What therefore he says, "from the beginning," the Presbyter explained
to this effect, that the beginning of generation is not separated from
the beginning of the Creator. For when he says, "That which was from
the beginning," he touches upon the generation without beginning of the
Son, who is co-existent with the Father. There was; then, a Word
importing an unbeginning eternity; as also the Word itself, that is,
the Son of God, who being, by equality of substance, one with the
Father, is eternal and uncreate. That He was always the Word, is
signified by saying, "In the beginning was the Word." But by the
expression, "we have seen with our eyes," he signifies the Lord's
presence in the flesh, "and our hands have handled," he says, "of the
Word of life." He means not only His flesh, but the virtues of the Son,
like the sunbeam which penetrates to the lowest places,--this sunbeam
coming in the flesh became palpable to the disciples. It is accordingly
related in traditions, that John, touching the outward body itself,
sent his hand deep down into it, and that the solidity of the flesh
offered no obstacle, but gave way to the hand of the disciple.

"And our hands have handled of the Word of life;" that is, He who came
in the flesh became capable of being touched. As also,

Ver. 2. "The life was manifested." For in the Gospel he thus speaks:
"And what was made, in Him was life, and the life was the light of
men." [3785]

"And we show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and
was manifested unto you."

He signifies by the appellation of Father, that the Son also existed
always, without beginning.

Ver. 5. "For God," he says, "is light."

He does not express the divine essence, but wishing to declare the
majesty of God, he has applied to the Divinity what is best and most
excellent in the view of men. Thus also Paul, when he speaks of "light
inaccessible." [3786] But John himself also in this same Epistle says,
"God is love:" [3787] pointing out the excellences of God, that He is
kind and merciful; and because He is light, makes men righteous,
according to the advancement of the soul, through charity. God, then,
who is ineffable in respect of His substance, is light.

"And in Him is no darkness at all,"--that is, no passion, no keeping up
of evil respecting any one, [He] destroys no one, but gives salvation
to all. Light moreover signifies, either the precepts of the Law, or
faith, or doctrine. Darkness is the opposite of these things. Not as if
there were another way; since there is only one way according to the
divine precepts. For the work of God is unity. Duality and all else
that exists, except unity, arises from perversity of life.

Ver. 7. "And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son," he says, "cleanses
us." For the doctrine of the Lord, which is very powerful, is called
His blood.

Ver. 10. "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and
His word is not in us." His doctrine, that is, or word is truth.

Chap. ii. 1. "And if any man sin," he says, "we have an advocate [3788]
with the Father, Jesus Christ." For so the Lord is an advocate with the
Father for us. So also is there, an advocate, whom, after His
assumption, He vouchsafed to send. For these primitive and
first-created virtues are unchangeable as to substance, and along with
subordinate angels and archangels, whose names they share, effect
divine operations. Thus also Moses names the virtue of the angel
Michael, by an angel near to himself and of lowest grade. The like also
we find in the holy prophets; but to Moses an angel appeared near and
at hand. Moses heard him and spoke to him manifestly, face to face. On
the other prophets, through the agency of angels, an impression was
made, as of beings hearing and seeing.

On this account also, they alone heard, and they alone saw; as also is
seen in the case of Samuel. [3789] Elisaeus also alone heard the voice
by which he was called. [3790] If the voice had been open and common,
it would have been heard by all. In this instance it was heard by him
alone in whom the impression made by the angel worked.

Ver. 2. "And not only for our sins,"--that is for those of the
faithful,--is the Lord the propitiator, does he say, "but also for the
whole world." He, indeed, saves all; but some [He saves], converting
them by punishments; others, however, who follow voluntarily [He saves]
with dignity of honour; so "that every knee should bow to Him, of
things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth;"
[3791] that is, angels, men, and souls that before His advent have
departed from this temporal life.

Ver. 3. "And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments." For the Gnostic [3792] [he who knows] also does the
Works which pertain to the province of virtue. But he who performs the
works is not necessarily also a Gnostic. For a man may be a doer of
right works, and yet not a knower of the mysteries of science. Finally,
knowing that some works are performed from fear of punishment, and some
on account of the promise of reward, he shows the perfection of the man
gifted with knowledge, who fulfils his works by love. Further, he adds,
and says:--

Ver. 5. "But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of God
perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him,"--by faith and love.

Ver. 7. "I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment,
which ye had from the beginning,"--through the Law, that is, and the
prophets; where it is said, God is one. Accordingly, also, he infers,
"For the old commandment is the word which ye have heard."

Again, however, he says:--

Ver. 8. "This is the commandment; for the darkness" of perversion, that
is, "has passed away, and, lo, the true light hath already
shone,"--that is, through faith, through knowledge, through the
Covenant working in men, through prepared judgments.

Ver. 9. "He that saith he is in the light,"--in the light, he means in
the truth,--"and hateth," he says, "his brother." By his brother, he
means not only his neighbour, but also the Lord. For unbelievers hate
Him and do not keep His commandments. Therefore also he infers:--

Ver. 10. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light; and there is
none occasion of stumbling in him."

Vers. 12-14. He then indicates the stages of advancement and progress
of souls that are still located in the flesh; and calls those whose
sins have been forgiven, for the Lord's name's sake, "little children,"
for many believe on account of the name only. He styles "fathers" the
perfect, "who have known what was from the beginning," and received
with understanding,--the Son, that is, of whom he said above, "that
which was from the beginning."

"I write," says he, "to you, young men, because ye have overcome the
wicked one." Young man strong in despising pleasures. "The wicked one"
points out the eminence of the devil. "The children," moreover, know
the Father; having fled from idols and gathered together to the one
God.

Ver. 15. "For the world," he says, "is in the wicked one." Is not the
world, and all that is in the world, called God's creation and very
good? Yes. But,

Ver. 16. "The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the ambition
of the world," which arise from the perversion of life, "are not of the
Father, but of the world," and of you.

Ver. 17. "Therefore also the world shall pass away, and the lust
thereof; but he that doeth the will of God" and His commandments
"abideth for ever."

Ver. 19. "They went out from us; but they were not of us"--neither the
apostate angels, nor men falling away;--"but that they may be
manifested that they are not of us." With sufficient clearness he
distinguishes the class of the elect and that of the lost, and that
which remaining in faith "has an unction from the Holy One," which
comes through faith. He that abideth not in faith.

Ver. 22. "A liar" and "an antichrist, who denieth that Jesus is the
Christ." For Jesus, Saviour and Redeemer, is also Christ the King.

Ver. 23. "He who denies the Son," by ignoring Him, "has not the Father,
nor does he know Him." But he who knoweth the Son and the Father, knows
according to knowledge, and when the Lord shall be manifested at His
second advent, shall have confidence and not be confounded. Which
confusion is heavy punishment.

Ver. 29. "Every one," he says, "who doeth righteousness is born of
God;" being regenerated, that is, according to faith.

Chap. iii. 1. "For the world knoweth us not, as it knew Him not." He
means by the world those who live a worldly life in pleasures.

Ver. 2. "Beloved," says he, "now are we the sons of God," not by
natural affection, but because we have God as our Father. For it is the
greater love that, seeing we have no relationship to God, He
nevertheless loves us and calls us His sons. "And it hath not yet
appeared what we shall be;" that is, to what kind of glory we shall
attain. "For if He shall be manifested,"--that is, if we are made
perfect,--"we shall be like Him," as reposing and justified, pure in
virtue, "so that we may see Him" (His countenance) "as He is," by
comprehension.

Ver. 8. "He that doeth unrighteousness is of the devil," that is, of
the devil as his father, following and choosing the same things. "The
devil sinneth from the beginning," he says. From the beginning from
which he began to sin, incorrigibly persevering in sinning.

Ver. 9. He says, "Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, for His
seed remaineth in him;" that is, His word in him who is born again
through faith.

Ver. 10. "Thus we know the children of God, as likewise the children of
the devil," who choose things like the devil; for so also they are said
to be of the wicked one.

Ver. 15. "Every one who hateth his brother is a murderer." For in him
through unbelief Christ dies. Rightly, therefore, he continues, "And ye
know that no murderer and unbeliever hath eternal life abiding in him."
For the living Christ [3793] abides in the believing soul.

Ver. 16. "For He Himself laid down His life for us;" that is, for those
who believe; that is, for the apostles. If then He laid down His life
for the apostles, he means His apostles themselves: us if he said, We,
I say, the apostles, for whom He laid down His life, "ought to lay down
our lives for the brethren;" for the salvation of their neighbours was
the glory of the apostles.

Ver. 20. He says, "For God is greater than our heart;" that is, the
virtue of God [is greater] than conscience, which will follow the soul.
Wherefore he continues, and says, "and knoweth all things."

Ver. 21. "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, it will have confidence
before God."

Ver. 24. "And hereby we know that He dwelleth in us by His Spirit,
which He hath given us;" that is, by superintendence and foresight of
future events.

Chap. iv. 18. He says, "Perfect love casteth out fear." For the
perfection of a believing man is love.

Chap. v. 6. He says, "This is He who came by water and blood;" and
again,--

Ver. 8. "For there are three that bear witness, the spirit," which is
life, "and the water," which is regeneration and faith, "and the
blood," which is knowledge; "and these three are one." For in the
Saviour are those saving virtues, and life itself exists in His own
Son.

Ver. 14. "And this is the confidence which we have towards Him, that if
we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us." He does not
say absolutely what we shall ask, but what we ought to ask.

Ver. 19. "And the whole word lieth in the wicked one;" not the
creation, but worldly men, and those who live according to their lusts.

Ver. 20. "And the Son of God hath come and given us understanding,"
which comes to us, that is, by faith, and is also called the Holy
Spirit.

IV.--Comments on the Second Epistle of John.

The second Epistle of John, which is written to Virgins, is very
simple. It was written to a Babylonian lady, by name Electa, and
indicates the election of the holy Church. He establishes in this
Epistle that the following out of the faith is not without charity, and
so that no one divide Jesus Christ; but only to believe that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh. For he who has the Son by apprehension in
his intellect knows also the Father, and grasps with his mind
intelligibly the greatness of His power working without beginning of
time.

Ver. 10. He says, "If any come unto you and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed; for he that
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." He forbids us to
salute such, and to receive them to our hospitality. For this is not
harsh in the case of a man of this sort. But he admonishes them neither
to confer nor dispute with such as are not able to handle divine things
with intelligence, lest through them they be seduced from the doctrine
of truth, influenced by plausible reasons. Now, I think that we are not
even to pray with such, because in the prayer which is made at home,
after rising from prayer, the salutation of joy is also the token of
peace.

 II.--Nicetas [3794] Bishop of Heraclea.
From His Catena.

I.--Job i. 21.

But Job's words may be more elegantly understood of evil and sin thus:
"Naked" was formed from the earth at the beginning, as if from a
"mother's womb: naked to the earth shall I also depart;" naked, [3795]
not of possessions, for that were a trivial and common thing, but of
evil and sin, and of the unsightly shape which follows those who have
led bad lives. Obviously, all of us human beings are born naked, and
again are buried naked, swathed only in grave-clothes. For God hath
provided for us another life, and made the present life the way for the
course which leads to it; appointing the supplies derived from what we
possess merely as provisions for the way; and on our quitting this way,
the wealth, consisting of the things which we possessed, journeys no
farther with us. For not a single thing that we possess is properly our
own: of one possession alone, that is godliness, are we properly
owners. Of this, death, when it overtakes us, will not rob us; but from
all else it will eject us, though against our will. For it is for the
support of life that we all have received what we possess; and after
enjoying merely the use of it, each one departs, obtaining from life a
brief remembrance. For this is the end of all prosperity; this is the
conclusion of the good things of this life. Well, then, does the
infant, on opening its eyes, after issuing from the womb, immediately
begin with crying, not with laughter. For it weeps, as if bewailing
life, at whose hands from the outset it tastes of deadly gifts. For
immediately on being born its hands and feet are swaddled; and swathed
in bonds it takes the breast. O introduction to life, precursor of
death! The child has but just entered on life, and straightway there is
put upon it the raiment of the dead: for nature reminds those that are
born of their end. Wherefore also the child, on being born, wails, as
if crying plaintively to its mother. Why, O mother, didst thou bring me
forth to this life, in which prolongation of life is progress to death?
Why hast thou brought me into this troubled world, in which, on being
born, swaddling bands are my first experience? Why hast thou delivered
me to such a life as this, in which both a pitiable youth wastes away
before old age, and old age is shunned as under the doom of death?
Dreadful, O mother, is the course of life, which has death as the goal
of the runner. Bitter is the road of life we travel, with the grave as
the wayfarer's inn. Perilous the sea of life we sail; for it has Hades
as a pirate to attack us. Man alone is born in all respects naked,
without a weapon or clothing born with him; not as being inferior to
the other animals, but that nakedness and your bringing nothing with
you may produce thought; and that thought may bring out dexterity,
expel sloth, introduce the arts for the supply of our needs, and beget
variety of contrivances. For, naked, man is full of contrivances, being
pricked on by his necessity, as by a goad, how to escape rains, how to
elude cold, how to fence off blows, how to till the earth, how to
terrify wild beasts, how to subdue the more powerful of them. Wetted
with rain, he contrived a roof; having suffered from cold, he invented
clothing; being struck, he constructed a breastplate; bleeding his
hands with the thorns in tilling the ground, he availed himself of the
help of tools; in his naked state liable to become a prey to wild
beasts, he discovered from his fear an art which frightened what
frightened him. Nakedness begat one accomplishment after another; so
that even his nakedness was a gift and a master-favour. Accordingly,
Job also being made naked of wealth, possessions, of the blessing of
children, of a numerous offspring, and having lost everything in a
short time, uttered this grateful exclamation: "Naked came I out of the
womb, naked also shall I depart thither;"--to God, that is, and to that
blessed lot and rest.

II.--From the Same.

Job v. 7. Calmness is a thing which, of all other things, is most to be
prized. As an example of this, the word proposes to us the blessed Job.
For it is said of him, "What man is like Job, who drinketh up scorning
like water?" For truly enviable, and, in my judgment, worthy of all
admiration, a man is, if he has attained to such a degree of
long-suffering as to be able with ease to grapple with the pain, truly
keen, and not easily conquered by everybody, which arises from being
wronged.

III.--From Nicetas' Catena on Matthew.

Matt. v. 42. Alms are to be given, but with judgment, and to the
deserving, that we may obtain a recompense from the Most High. But woe
to those who have and who take under false pretences, or who are able
to help themselves and want to take from others. For he who has, and,
to carry out false pretences or out of laziness, takes, shall be
condemned.

IV.--From the Same.

Matt. xiii. 31. The word which proclaims the kingdom of heaven is sharp
and pungent as mustard, and represses bile, that is, anger, and checks
inflammation, that is, pride; and from this word the soul's true health
and eternal soundness [3796] flow. To such increased size did the
growth of the word come, that the tree which sprang from it (that is
the Church of Christ established over the whole earth) filled the
world, so that the fowls of the air--that is, divine angels and lofty
souls--dwelt in its branches.

V.--From the Same.

Matt. xiii. 46. A pearl, and that pellucid and of purest ray, is Jesus,
whom of the lightning flash of Divinity the Virgin bore. For as the
pearl, produced in flesh and the oyster-shell and moisture, appears to
be a body moist and transparent, full of light and spirit; so also God
the Word, incarnate, is intellectual light, [3797] sending His rays,
through a body luminous and moist.

III.--From the Catena on Luke, Edited by Corderius.

Luke iii. 22. God here assumed the "likeness" not of a man, but "of a
dove," because He wished, by a new apparition of the Spirit in the
likeness of a dove, to declare His simplicity and majesty.

Luke xvi. 17. Perhaps by the iota and tittle His righteousness cries,
"If ye come right unto Me, I will also come right to you; but if
crooked, I also will come crooked, saith the Lord of hosts;" intimating
that the ways of sinners are intricate and crooked. For the way right
and agreeable to nature which is intimated by the iota of Jesus, is His
goodness, which constantly directs those who believe from hearing.
"There shall not, therefore, pass from the law one iota or one tittle,"
neither from the right and good the mutual promises, nor from the
crooked and unjust the punishment assigned to them. "For the Lord doeth
good to the good, but those who turn aside into crooked ways God will
lead with the workers of iniquity." [3798]

IV.--From the Books of the Hypotyposes.

OEcumenius from Book III. On 1 Cor. xi. 10.

"Because of the angels." By the angels he means righteous and virtuous
men. Let her be veiled then, that she may not lead them to stumble into
fornication. For the real angels in heaven see her though veiled.

The Same, Book IV. On 2 Cor. v. 16.

"And if we have known Christ after the flesh." As "after the flesh" in
our case is being in the midst of sins, and being out of them is "not
after the flesh;" so also "after the flesh" in the case of Christ was
His subjection to natural affections, and His not being subject to them
is to be "not after the flesh." But, he says, as He was released, so
also are we.

The Same, Book IV. On 2 Cor. vi. 11.

"Our heart is enlarged," to teach you all things. But ye are straitened
in your own bowels, that is, in love to God, in which ye ought to love
me.

The Same, Book V. On Gal. v. 24.

"And they that are Christ's [have crucified] the flesh." And why
mention one aspect of virtue after another? For there are some who have
crucified themselves as far as the passions are concerned, and the
passions as far as respects themselves. According to this
interpretation the "and" is not superfluous. "And they that are
Christ's"--that is, striving after Him--"have crucified their own
flesh."

Moschus: Spiritual Meadow, Book V. Chap. 176.

Yes, truly, the apostles were baptised, as Clement the Stromatist
relates in the fifth book of the Hypotyposes. For, in explaining the
apostolic statement, "I thank God that I baptised none of you," he
says, Christ is said to have baptised Peter alone, and Peter Andrew,
and Andrew John, and they James and the rest. [3799]

Eusebius: Ecclesiastical History, Book VI. II. 1.

Now Clement, writing in the sixth book of the Hypotyposes, makes this
statement. For he says that Peter and James and John, after the
Saviour's ascension, though pre-eminently honoured by the Lord, did not
contend for glory, but made James the Just, bishop of Jerusalem.

Eusebius: Ecclesiastical History, II. 15.

So, then, through the visit of the divine word to them, the power of
Simon was extinguished, and immediately was destroyed along with the
man himself. And such a ray of godliness shone forth on the minds of
Peter's hearers, that they were not satisfied with the once hearing or
with the unwritten teaching of the divine proclamation, but with all
manner of entreaties importuned Mark, to whom the Gospel is ascribed,
he being the companion of Peter, that he would leave in writing a
record of the teaching which had been delivered to them verbally; and
did not let the man alone till they prevailed upon him; and so to them
we owe the Scripture called the "Gospel by Mark." On learning what had
been done, through the revelation of the Spirit, it is said that the
apostle was delighted with the enthusiasm of the men, and sanctioned
the composition for reading in the Churches. Clemens gives the
narrative in the sixth book of the Hypotyposes.

Eusebius: Ibid.

Then, also, as the divine Scripture says, Herod, on the execution of
James, seeing that what was done pleased the Jews, laid hands also on
Peter; and having put him in chains, would have presently put him to
death, had not an angel in a divine vision appeared to him by night,
and wondrously releasing him from his bonds, sent him away to the
ministry of preaching.

Eusebius: Ecclesiastical History, VI. 14.

And in the Hypotyposes, in a word, he has made abbreviated narratives
of the whole testamentary Scripture; and has not passed over the
disputed books,--I mean Jude and the rest of the Catholic Epistles and
Barnabas, and what is called the Revelation of Peter. And he says that
the Epistle to the Hebrews is Paul's, and was written to the Hebrews in
the Hebrew language; but that Luke, having carefully translated it,
gave it to the Greeks, and hence the same colouring in the expression
is discoverable in this Epistle and the Acts; and that the name "Paul
an Apostle" was very properly not prefixed, for, he says, that writing
to the Hebrews, who were prejudiced against him and suspected, he with
great wisdom did not repel them in the beginning by putting down his
name.

Eusebius: Book VII.

1 Tim. ii. 6. "In his times;" that is, when men were in a condition of
fitness for faith.

1 Tim. iii. 16. "Was seen of angels." O mystery! The angels saw Christ
while He was with us, not having seen Him before. Not as by men.

1 Tim. v. 8. "And especially those of his own house." He provides for
his own and those of his own house, who not only provides for his
relatives, but also for himself, by extirpating the passions.

1 Tim. v. 10. "If she have washed the feet of saints;" that is, if she
has performed without shame the meanest offices for the saints.

1 Tim. v. 21. "Without prejudice;" [3800] that is, without falling
under the doom and punishment of disobedience through making any false
step.

1 Tim. vi. 13. "Who witnessed before Pontius Pilate." For He testified
by what he did that He was Christ the Son of God.

2 Tim. ii. 2. "By many witnesses;" [3801] that is, the law and the
prophets. For these the apostle made witnesses of his own preaching.

Eusebius: Ecclesiastical History, Book. VII. II. 1.

To James the Just, and John and Peter, the Lord after His resurrection
imparted knowledge (ten gnosin.) These imparted it to the rest of the
apostles, and the rest of the apostles to the Seventy, of whom Barnabas
was one.

Eusebius: the Same, II. 2.

And of this James, Clement also relates an anecdote worthy of
remembrance in the seventh book of the Hypotyposes, from a tradition of
his predecessors. He says that the man who brought him to trial, on
seeing him bear his testimony, was moved, and confessed that he was a
Christian himself. Accordingly, he says, they were both led away
together, and on the way the other asked James to forgive him. And he,
considering a little, said, "Peace be to thee" and kissed him. And so
both were beheaded together.

Eusebius: the Same, VI. 14.

And now, as the blessed Presbyter used to say, since the Lord, as the
Apostle of the Almighty, was sent to the Hebrews, Paul, as having been
sent to the Gentiles, did not subscribe himself apostle of the Hebrews,
out of modesty and reverence for the Lord, and because, being the
herald and apostle of the Gentiles, his writing to the Hebrews was
something over and above [his assigned function.]

Eusebius: the Same.

Again, in the same books Clement has set down a tradition which he had
received from the elders before him, in regard to the order of the
Gospels, to the following effect. He says that the Gospels containing
the genealogies were written first, and that the Gospel according to
Mark was composed in the following circumstances:--

Peter having preached the word publicly at Rome, and by the Spirit
proclaimed the Gospel, those who were present, who were numerous,
entreated Mark, inasmuch as he had attended him from an early period,
and remembered what had been said, to write down what had been spoken.
On his composing the Gospel, he handed it to those who had made the
request to him; which coming to Peter's knowledge, he neither hindered
nor encouraged. But John, the last of all, seeing that what was
corporeal was set forth in the Gospels, on the entreaty of his intimate
friends, and inspired by the Spirit, composed a spiritual Gospel.

V.--From the Book on Providence.

S. Maximus, Vol. II. 114.

Being is in God. God is divine being, eternal and without beginning,
incorporeal and illimitable, and the cause of what exists. Being is
that which wholly subsists. Nature is the truth of things, or the inner
reality of them. According to others, it is the production of what has
come to existence; and according to others, again, it is the providence
of God, causing the being, and the manner of being, in the things which
are produced.

S. Maximus: in the Same, p. 152.

Willing is a natural power, which desires what is in accordance with
nature. Willing is a natural appetency, corresponding with the nature
of the rational creature. Willing is a natural spontaneous movement of
the self-determining mind, or the mind voluntarily moved about
anything. Spontaneity is the mind moved naturally, or an intellectual
self-determining movement of the soul.

VI.--From the Book on the Soul.

Maximus and Antonius Melissa. [3802]

Souls that breathe free of all things, possess life, and though
separated from the body, and found possessed of a longing for it, are
borne immortal to the bosom of God: as in the winter season the vapours
of the earth attracted by the sun's rays rise to him.

The Barocc. ms. [3803]

All souls are immortal, even those of the wicked, for whom it were
better that they were not deathless. For, punished with the endless
vengeance of quenchless fire, and not dying, it is impossible for them
to have a period put to their misery.

VII.--Fragment from the Book on Slander.

Antonius Melissa, Book. II. Sermon 69. [3804]

Never be afraid of the slanderer who addresses you. But rather say,
Stop, brother; I daily commit more grievous errors, and how can I judge
him? For you will gain two things, healing with one plaster both
yourself and your neighbour. He shows what is really evil. Whence, by
these arguments, God has contrived to make each one's disposition
manifest.

Antonius Melissa, Book I. Sermon 64, and Book II. Sermon 87. Also Maximus,
Sermon 59, p. 669; John of Damascus, Book II.

It is not abstaining from deeds that justifies the believer, but purity
and sincerity of thoughts.

VIII.--Other Fragments from Antonius Melissa.

I.--Book I. Sermon 17, on Confession.

Repentance then becomes capable of wiping out every sin, when on the
occurrence of the soul's fault it admits no delay, and does not let the
impulse pass on to a long space of time. For it is in this way that
evil will be unable to leave a trace in us, being plucked away at the
moment of its assault like a newly planted plant.

As the creatures called crabs are easy to catch, from their going
sometimes forward and sometimes backward; so also the soul, which at
one time is laughing, at another weeping, and at another giving way to
luxury, can do no good.

He who is sometimes grieving, and is sometimes enjoying himself and
laughing, is like a man pelting the dog of voluptuousness with bread,
who chases it in appearance, but in fact invites it to remain near him.

2. Book I. Sermon 51, on Praise.

Some flatterers were congratulating a wise man. He said to them, If you
stop praising me, I think myself something great after your departure;
but if you do not stop praising me, I guess my own impurity.

Feigned praise is worth less than true censure.

3. Book II. Sermon 46, on the Lazy and Indolent.

To the weak and infirm, what is moderate appears excessive.

4. Book II. Sermon 55, on Your Neighbour--That You are to Bear His Burdens, Etc.

The reproof that is given with knowledge is very faithful. Sometimes
also the knowledge of those who are condemned is found to be the most
perfect demonstration.

5. Book II. Sermon 74, on the Proud, and Those Desirous of Vainglory.

To the man who exalts and magnifies himself is attached the quick
transition and the fall to low estate, as the divine word teaches.

6. Book II. Sermon 87.

Pure speech and a spotless life are the throne and true temple of God.

IX.--Fragment of the Treatise on Marriage.

Maximus, Sermon III. p. 538, on Modesty and Chastity. Also, John of Damascus, Book III.--Parallel Chap. 27.

It is not only fornication, but also the giving in marriage
prematurely, that is called fornication; when, so to speak, one not of
ripe age is given to a husband, either of her own accord or by her
parents.

X.--Fragments of Other Lost Books.

Maximus, Sermon 2.--John of Damascus, II. Chap. 70.--Antonius Melissa,
Book I. Sermon 52.

Flattery is the bane of friendship. Most men are accustomed to pay
court to the good fortune of princes, rather than to the princes
themselves.

Maximus, Sermon 13, p. 574.--Antonius Melissa, Sermon 32, p. 45, and
Sermon 33, p. 57.

The lovers of frugality shun luxury as the bane of soul and body. The
possession and use of necessaries has nothing injurious in quality, but
it has in quantity above measure. Scarcity of food is a necessary
benefit.

Maximus, Sermon 52, p. 654.--Antonius Melissa, Book I. Sermon 54.

The vivid remembrance of death is a check upon diet; and when the diet
is lessened, the passions are diminished along with it.

Maximus, Sermon 55, p. 661.

Above all, Christians are not allowed to correct with violence the
delinquencies of sins. For it is not those that abstain from wickedness
from compulsion, but those that abstain from choice, that God crowns.
It is impossible for a man to be steadily good except by his own
choice. For he that is made good by compulsion of another is not good;
for he is not what he is by his own choice. For it is the freedom of
each one that makes true goodness and reveals real wickedness. Whence
through these dispositions God contrived to make His own disposition
manifest.

XI.--Fragments Found in Greek Only in the Oxford Edition.

From the Last Work on the Passover. (Quoted in the Paschal Chronicle.)

Accordingly, in the years gone by, Jesus went to eat the passover
sacrificed by the Jews, keeping the feast. But when he had preached He
who was the Passover, the Lamb of God, led as a sheep to the slaughter,
presently taught His disciples the mystery of the type on the
thirteenth day, on which also they inquired, "Where wilt Thou that we
prepare for Thee to eat the passover?" [3805] It was on this day, then,
that both the consecration of the unleavened bread and the preparation
for the feast took place. Whence John naturally describes the disciples
as already previously prepared to have their feet washed by the Lord.
And on the following day our Saviour suffered, He who was the Passover,
propitiously sacrificed by the Jews.

The Same.

Suitably, therefore, to the fourteenth day, on which He also suffered,
in the morning, the chief priests and the scribes, who brought Him to
Pilate, did not enter the Praetorium, that they might not be defiled,
but might freely eat the passover in the evening. With this precise
determination of the days both the whole Scriptures agree, and the
Gospels harmonize. The resurrection also attests it. He certainly rose
on the third day, which fell on the first day of the weeks of harvest,
on which the law prescribed that the priest should offer up the sheaf.

Macarius Chrysocephalus: Parable of the Prodigal Son, Luke xv., Oration on Luke xv., Towards the Close.

1. What choral dance and high festival is held in heaven, if there is
one that has become an exile and a fugitive from the life led under the
Father, knowing not that those who put themselves far from Him shall
perish; if he has squandered the gift, and substance, and inheritance
of the Father; if there is one whose faith has failed, and whose hope
is spent, by rushing along with the Gentiles into the same profligacy
of debauchery; and then, famished and destitute, and not even filled
with what the swine eat, has arisen and come to his Father!

But the kind Father waits not till the son comes to Him. For perchance
he would never be able or venture to approach, did he not find Him
gracious. Wherefore, when he merely wishing, when he straightway made a
beginning, when he took the first step, while he was yet a great way
off, He [the Father] was moved with compassion, and ran, and fell upon
his neck and kissed him. And then the son, taking courage, confessed
what he had done.

Wherefore the Father bestows on him the glory and honour that was due
and meet, putting on him the best robe, the robe of immortality; and a
ring, a royal signet and divine seal,--impress of consecration,
signature of glory, pledge of testimony (for it is said, "He hath set
to his seal that God is true,") [3806] and shoes, not those perishable
ones which he hath set his foot on holy ground is bidden take off, nor
such as he who is sent to preach the kingdom of heaven is forbidden to
put on, but such as wear not, and are suited for the journey to heaven,
becoming and adorning the heavenly path, such as unwashed feet never
put on, but those which are washed by our Teacher and Lord.

Many, truly, are the shoes of the sinful soul, by which it is bound and
cramped. For each man is cramped by the cords of his own sins.
Accordingly, Abraham swears to the king of Sodom, "I will not take of
all that is thine, from a thread to a shoe-latchet." [3807] On account
of these being defiled and polluted on the earth, every kind of wrong
and selfishness engrosses life. As the Lord reproves Israel by Amos,
saying, "For three iniquities of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn
him back; because they have given away the righteous for silver, and
the needy for a pair of shoes, which tread upon the dust of the
ground." [3808]

2. Now the shoes which the Father bids the servant give to the
repentant son who has betaken himself to Him, do not impede or drag to
the earth (for the earthly tabernacle weighs down the anxious mind);
but they are buoyant, and ascending, and waft to heaven, and serve as
such a ladder and chariot as he requires who has turned his mind
towards the Father. For, beautiful after being first beautifully
adorned with all these things without, he enters into the gladness
within. For "Bring out" was said by Him who had first said, "While he
was yet a great way off, he ran and fell upon his neck." For it is here
[3809] that all the preparation for entrance to the marriage to which
we are invited must be accomplished. He, then, who has been made ready
to enter will say, "This my joy is fulfilled." [3810] But the unlovely
and unsightly man will hear, "Friend, how camest thou in here, without
having a wedding garment?" [3811] And the fat and unctuous food,--the
delicacies abundant and sufficing of the blessed,--the fatted calf is
killed; which is also again spoken of as a lamb (not literally); that
no one may suppose it small; but it is the great and greatest. For not
small is "the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world," [3812]
who "was led as a sheep to the slaughter," the sacrifice full of
marrow, all whose fat, according to the sacred law, was the Lord's. For
He was wholly devoted and consecrated to the Lord; so well grown, and
to such excessive size, as to reach and extend over all, and to fill
those who eat Him and feed upon Him. For He is both flesh and bread,
and has given Himself as both to us to be eaten.

To the sons, then, who come to Him, the Father gives the calf, and it
is slain and eaten. But those who do not come to Him He pursues and
disinherits, and is found to be a most powerful bull. Here, by reason
of His size and prowess, it is said of Him, "His glory is as that of an
unicorn." [3813] And the prophet Habakkuk sees Him bearing horns, and
celebrates His defensive attitude--"horns in His hands." [3814]
Wherefore the sign shows His power and authority,--horns that pierce on
both sides, or rather, on all sides, and through everything. And those
who eat are so strengthened, and retain such strength from the
life-giving food in them, that they themselves are stronger than their
enemies, and are all but armed with the horns of a bull; as it is said,
"In thee shall we butt our enemies." [3815]

3. Gladness there is, and music, and dances; although the elder son,
who had ever been with and ever obedient to the Father, takes it ill,
when he who never had himself been dissipated or profligate sees the
guilty one made happy.

Accordingly the Father calls him, saying, "Son, thou art ever with me."
And what greater joy and feast and festivity can be than being
continually with God, standing by His side and serving Him? "And all
that is mine is thine." And blessed is the heir of God, for whom the
Father holds possession,--the faithful, to whom the whole world of
possessions belongs.

"It was meet that we should be glad, and rejoice; for thy brother was
dead, and is alive again." Kind Father, who givest all things life, and
raisest the dead. "And was lost, and is found." And "blessed is the man
whom Thou hast chosen and accepted," [3816] and whom having sought,
Thou dost find. "Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven, whose
sins are covered." [3817] It is for man to repent of sins; but let this
be accompanied with a change that will not be checked. For he who does
not act so shall be put to shame, because he has acted not with his
whole heart, but in haste.

And it is ours to flee to God. And let us endeavour after this
ceaselessly and energetically. For He says, "Come unto Me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." [3818] And
prayer and confession with humility are voluntary acts. Wherefore it is
enjoined, "First tell thy sins, that thou mayest be justified." [3819]
What afterwards we shall obtain, and what we shall be, it is not for us
to judge.

4. Such is the strict meaning of the parable. [3820] The repentant son
came to the pitying Father, never hoping for these things,--the best
robe, and the ring, and the shoes,--or to taste the fatted calf, or to
share in gladness, or enjoy music and dances; but he would have been
contented with obtaining what in his own estimation he deemed himself
worth. "Make me," he had made up his mind to say, "as one of thy hired
servants." But when he saw the Father's welcome meeting him, he did not
say this, but said what he had in his mind to say first, "Father, I
have sinned against Heaven, and before thee." And so both his humility
and his accusation became the cause of justification and glory. For the
righteous man condemns himself in his first words. So also the publican
departed justified rather than the Pharisee. The son, then, knew not
either what he was to obtain, or how to take or use or put on himself
the things given him; since he did not take the robe himself, and put
it on. But it is said, "Put it on him." He did not himself put the ring
on his finger, but those who were bidden "Put a ring on his hand." Nor
did he put the shoes on himself, but it was they who heard, "and shoes
on his feet."

And these things were perhaps incredible to him and to others, and
unexpected before they took place; but gladly received and praised were
the gifts with which he was presented.

5. The parable exhibits this thought, that the exercise of the faculty
of reason has been accorded to each man. Wherefore the prodigal is
introduced, demanding from his father his portion, that is, of the
state of mind, endowed by reason. For the possession of reason is
granted to all, in order to the pursuit of what is good, and the
avoidance of what is bad. But many who are furnished by God with this
make a bad use of the knowledge that has been given them, and land in
the profligacy of evil practices, and wickedly waste the substance of
reason,--the eye on disgraceful sights, the tongue on blasphemous
words, the smell on foetid licentious excesses of pleasures, the mouth
on swinish gluttony, the hands on thefts, the feet on running into
plots, the thoughts on impious counsels, the inclinations on indulgence
on the love of ease, the mind on brutish pastime. They preserve nothing
of the substance of reason unsquandered. Such an one, therefore, Christ
represents in the parable,--as a rational creature, with his reason
darkened, and asking from the Divine Being what is suitable to reason;
then as obtaining from God, and making a wicked use of what had been
given, and especially of the benefits of baptism, which had been
vouchsafed to him; whence also He calls him a prodigal; and then, after
the dissipation of what had been given him, and again his restoration
by repentance, [He represents] the love of God shown to him.

6. For He says, "Bring hither the fatted calf, kill it, and let us eat
and be merry; for this my son"--a name of nearest relationship, and
significative of what is given to the faithful--"was dead and
lost,"--an expression of extremest alienation; for what is more alien
to the living than the lost and dead? For neither can be possessed any
more. But having from the nearest relationship fallen to extremest
alienation, again by repentance he returned to near relationship. For
it is said, "Put on him the best robe," which was his the moment he
obtained baptism. I mean the glory of baptism, the remission of sins,
and the communication of the other blessings, which he obtained
immediately he had touched the font.

"And put a ring on his hand." Here is the mystery of the Trinity; which
is the seal impressed on those who believe.

"And put shoes on his feet," for "the preparation of the Gospel of
peace," [3821] and the whole course that leads to good actions.

7. But whom Christ finds lost, after sin committed since baptism, those
Novatus, enemy of God, resigns to destruction. Do not let us then
reckon any fault if we repent; guarding against falling, let us, if we
have fallen, retrace our steps. And while dreading to offend, let us,
after offending, avoid despair, and be eager to be confirmed; and on
sinking, let us haste to rise up again. Let us obey the Lord, who calls
to us, "Come unto Me, all ye that labour, and I will give you rest."
[3822] Let us employ the gift of reason for actions of prudence. Let us
learn now abstinence from what is wicked, that we may not be forced to
learn in the future. Let us employ life as a training school for what
is good; and let us be roused to the hatred of sin. Let us bear about a
deep love for the Creator; let us cleave to Him with our whole heart;
let us not wickedly waste the substance of reason, like the prodigal.
Let us obtain the joy laid up, in which Paul exulting, exclaimed, "Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?" [3823] To Him belongs glory
and honour, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, world without end.
Amen.

Macarius Chrysocephalus: Oration VIII. On Matt. viii., and Book VII. On Luke xiii.

Therefore God does not here take the semblance of man, but of a dove,
because He wished to show the simplicity and gentleness of the new
manifestation of the Spirit by the likeness of the dove. For the law
was stern, and punished with the sword; but grace is joyous, and trains
by the word of meekness. Hence the Lord also says to the apostles, who
said that He should punish with fire those who would not receive Him,
after the manner of Elias: "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are
of." [3824]

From the Same.--Book XIII. Chap. IX.

Possibly by the "iota and the tittle" His righteousness exclaims, "If
ye come right to me, I also will come right to you; if ye walk crooked,
I also will walk crooked, saith the Lord of hosts," [3825] alluding to
the offences of sinners under the name of crooked ways. For the
straight way, and that according to nature, which is pointed out by the
iota of Jesus, is His goodness, which is immoveable towards those who
have obediently believed. There shall not then pass away from the law
neither the iota nor the tittle; that is, neither the promise that
applies to the straight in the way, nor the punishment threatened
against those that diverge. For the Lord is good to the straight in the
way; but "those that turn aside after their crooked ways He shall lead
forth with those that work iniquity." [3826] "And with the innocent He
is innocent, and with the froward He is froward;" [3827] and to the
crooked He sends crooked ways.

His own luminous image God impressed as with a seal, even the
greatest,--on man made in His likeness, that he might be ruler and lord
over all things, and that all things might serve him. Wherefore God
judges man to be wholly His, and His own image. He is invisible; but
His image, man, is visible. Whatever one, then, does to man, whether
good or bad, is referred to Himself. Wherefore from Him judgment shall
proceed, appointing to all according to desert; for He will avenge His
own image.

XII.--Fragments Not Given in the Oxford Edition.

1. In Anastasius Sinaita, Quest. 96.

As it is possible even now for man to form men, according to the
original formation of Adam, He no longer now creates, on account of His
having granted once for all to man the power of generating men, saying
to our nature, "Increase, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
[3828] So also, by His omnipotent and omniscient power, He arranged
that the dissolution and death of our bodies should be effected by a
natural sequence and order, through the change of their elements, in
accordance with His divine knowledge and comprehension.

2. Joannes Veccus, Patriarch of Constantinople, on the Procession of the Spirit. In Leo Allatius, Vol. I. p. 248.

Further, Clement the Stromatist, in the various definitions which he
framed, that they might guide the man desirous of studying theology in
every dogma of religion, defining what spirit is, and how it is called
spirit, says: "Spirit is a substance, subtle, immaterial, and which
issues forth without form."

3. From the Unpublished Disputation Against Iconoclasts, of Nicephorus of Constantinople; Edited in Greek and Latin by Le Nourry in His Apparatus to the Library of the Fathers, Vol. I. p. 1334 a.b. From Clement the Presbyter of Alexandria's Book Against Judaizers.

Solomon the son of David, in the books styled "The Reigns of the
Kings," comprehending not only that the structure of the true temple
was celestial and spiritual, but had also a reference to the flesh,
which He who was both the son and Lord of David was to build up, both
for His own presence, where, as a living image, He resolved to make His
shrine, and for the church that was to rise up through the union of
faith, says expressly, "Will God in very deed dwell with men on the
earth?" [3829]

He dwells on the earth clothed in flesh, and His abode with men is
effected by the conjunction and harmony which obtains among the
righteous, and which build and rear a new temple. For the righteous are
the earth, being still encompassed with the earth; and earth, too, in
comparison with the greatness of the Lord. Thus also the blessed Peter
hesitates not to say, "Ye also, as living stones, are built up, a
spiritual house, a holy temple, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." [3830]

And with reference to the body, which by circumscription He consecrated
as a hallowed place for Himself upon earth, He said, "Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up again. The Jews therefore
said, In forty-six years was this temple built, and wilt thou raise it
up in three days? But He spake of the temple of His body." [3831]

4. From ms. Marked 2431 in the Library of the Most Christian King.--Ibid. p. 1336 a. From the Very Holy and Blessed Clement, Presbyter of Alexandria, the Stromatist's Book on Providence.

What is God? "God," as the Lord saith, "is a Spirit." Now spirit is
properly substance, incorporeal, and uncircumscribed. And that is
incorporeal which does not consist of a body, or whose existence is not
according to breadth, length, and depth. And that is uncircumscribed
[3832] which has no place, which is wholly in all, and in each entire,
and the same in itself.

5. From the Same ms.--Ibid. 1335 D.

Phusis (nature) is so called from to pephukenai (to be born). The first
substance is everything which subsists by itself, as a stone is called
a substance. The second is a substance capable of increase, as a plant
grows and decays. The third is animated and sentient substance, as
animal, horse. The fourth is animate, sentient, rational substance, as
man. Wherefore each one of us is made as consisting of all, having an
immaterial soul and a mind, which is the image of God.

6. In John of Damascus--Parallel--Vol. II. p. 307.

The fear of God, who is impassible, is free of perturbation. For it is
not God that one dreads, but the falling away from God. He who dreads
this, dreads falling into what is evil, and dreads what is evil. And he
that fears a fall wishes himself to be immortal and passionless.

7. The Same, p. 341.

Let there be a law against those who dare to look at things sacred and
divine irreverently, and in a way unworthy of God, to inflict on them
the punishment of blindness.

8. The Same, p. 657.

Universally, the Christian is friendly to solitude, and quiet, and
tranquillity, and peace.

9. From the Catena on the Pentateuch, Published in Latin by Francis Zephyrus, p. 146.

That mystic name which is called the Tetragrammaton, by which alone
they who had access to the Holy of Holies were protected, is pronounced
Jehovah, which means, "Who is, and who shall be." The candlestick which
stood at the south of the altar signified the seven planets, which seem
to us to revolve around the meridian, [3833] on either side of which
rise three branches; since the sun also like the lamp, balanced in the
midst of the planets by divine wisdom, illumines by its light those
above and below. On the other side of the altar was situated the table
on which the loaves were displayed, because from that quarter of the
heaven vital and nourishing breezes blow.

10. From J. A. Cramer's Catenae Graecorum Patrum in Nov. Test. Oxford 1840 Vol. III.

On Acts vii. 24. The mystics say that it was by his word alone that
Moses slew the Egyptian; as certainly afterwards it is related in the
Acts that [Peter] slew with his word those who kept back part of the
price of the land, and lied.

II. The Same, Vol. IV. p. 291.

On Rom. viii. 38. "Or life, that of our present existence," and
"death,"--that caused by the assault of persecutors, and "angels, and
principalities, and powers," apostate spirits.

12. p. 369, Chap. x. 3.

And having neither known nor done the requirement of the law, what they
conceived, that they also thought that the law required. And they did
not believe the law, as prophesying, but the bare word; and followed it
from fear, but not with their disposition and in faith.

13. Vol. VI. p. 385.

On 2 Cor. v. 16. "And if we have known Christ after the flesh."

And so far, he says, no one any longer lives after the flesh. For that
is not life, but death. For Christ also, that He might show this,
[3834] ceased to live after the flesh. How? Not by putting off the
body! Far be it! For with it as His own He shall come, the Judge of
all. But by divesting Himself of physical affections, such as hunger,
and thirst, and sleep, and weariness. For now He has a body incapable
of suffering and of injury.

As "after the flesh" in our case is being in the midst of sins, and
being out of them is to be "not after the flesh;" so also after the
flesh, in the case of Christ, was His subjection to natural affections,
and not to be subject to them was not to be "after the flesh." "But,"
he says, "as He was released, so also are we." [3835] Let there be no
longer, he says, subjection to the influences of the flesh. Thus
Clement, the fourth book of the Hypotyposes.

14. From the Same, p. 391.

On 2 Cor. vi. 11. "Our heart is enlarged."

For as heat is wont to expand, so also love. For love is a thing of
warmth. As if he would say, I love you not only with mouth, but with
heart, and have you all within. Wherefore he says: "ye are not
straitened in us, since desire itself expands the soul." "Our heart is
enlarged" to teach you all things; "but ye are straitened in your own
bowels," that is, in love to God, in which you ought to love me.

Thus Clement, in the fourth book of the Hypotyposes.

15. From Vol. III. V. 286.

Heb. i. 1. "At sundry times and divers manners."

Since the Lord, being the Apostle of the Almighty, was sent to the
Hebrews, it was out of modesty that Paul did not subscribe himself
apostle of the Hebrews, from reverence for the Lord, and because he was
the herald and apostle of the Gentiles, and wrote the Epistle to the
Hebrews in addition [to his proper work]. [3836]

16. From the Same.

The same work contains a passage from The Instructor, book i. chap. vi.
[3837] The passage is that beginning, "For the blood is found to be,"
down to "potent charms of affection." Portions, however, are omitted.
There are a good many various readings; but although the passage in
question, as found in Cramer's work, is printed in full in Migne's
edition, on the alleged ground of the considerable variation from the
text of Clement, the variation is not such as to make a translation of
the passage as found in Cramer of any special interest or value.

We have noted the following readings:--

ginetai, where, the verb being omitted, we have inserted is: There is
an obstruction, etc.

suringas, tubes, instead of serangas (hollows), hollows of the breasts.

geitniazouson, for geitniouson, neighbouring (arteries).

epilepsei, for emperilepsei, interruption (such as this).

apoklerosis occurs as in the text, for which the emendation apoleresis,
as specified in the note, has been adopted.

hetis esti, omitted here, which is "sweet through grace," is supplied.

P. 142.

gala, milk, instead of manna, manna, (that food) manna.

P. 149.

chre de katanoesai ten phusin (but it is necessary to consider nature),
for ou katanenoekotes, t. ph., through want of consideration of nature.

katakleiomeno, agreeing with food, for katakleiomeno, agreeing with
heat (enclosed within).

ginetai for gar (which is untranslated), (the blood) is (a preparation)
for milk.

P. 144.

toinun ton logon is supplied, and eikotos omitted in the clause, Paul
using appropriate figurative language.

P. 145.

ple n is supplied before alla to en aute, and the blood in it, etc., is
omitted.

P. 146.

"For Diogenes Apolloniates will have it" is omitted.

pante, rendered "in all respects," is connected with the preceding
sentence.

P. 147.

hoti toinun, for Hos d'. And that (milk is produced).

tenikauta for tenikade in the clause, "and the grass and meadows are
juicy and moist," not translated.

proeiremeno, above mentioned (milk), omitted.

truphes for trophes, (sweet) nutriment.

to omitted before glukei, sweet (wine), and kathaper, "as, when
suffering."

to liparon for to liparo, and aridelos for aridelou, in the sentence:
"Further, many use the fat of milk, called butter, for the lamp,
plainly," etc.

N. B.

[Le Nourry decides that the Adumbrations were not translated from the
Hypotyposes, but Kaye (p. 473) thinks on insufficient grounds. See,
also (p. 5), Kaye's learned note.]
__________________________________________________________________
[3712] [M. Aurelius Cassiodorus (whose name is also Senator) was an author and public man of the sixth century, and a very voluminous writer. He would shine with a greater lustre were he not so nearly lost in the brighter light of Boethius, his illustrious contemporary. After the death of his patron, Theodoric, he continued for a time in the public service, and in high positions, but, at seventy years of age, began another career, and for twenty years devoted himself to letters and the practice of piety in a monastery which he established in the Neopolitan kingdom, near his native Squillace. Died about a.d. 560.]
[3713] Comments, i.e., Adumbrationes. Cassiodorus says that he had in his translation corrected what he considered erroneous in the original. So Fell states: and he is also inclined to believe that these fragments are from Clement's lost work, the Hupotuposeis, of which he believes The Adumbrationes of Cassiodorus to be a translation.
[3714] "Utramque" is the reading, which is plainly corrupt. We have conjectured "animam." The rest of the sentence is so ungrammatical and impracticable as it stands, that it is only by taking considerable liberties with it that it is translateable at all.
[3715] The text here has like a drag-net or (sicut sagena vel), which we have omitted, being utterly incapable of divining any conceivable resemblance or analogy which a drag-net can afford for the re-union of the soul and body. "Sagena" is either a blunder for something else which we cannot conjecture, or the sentence is here, as elsewhere, mutilated. But it is possible that it may have been the union of the blessed to each other, and their conjunction with one another according to their affinities, which was the point handled in the original sentences, of which we have only these obscure and confusing remains. [A very good conjecture, on the strength of which the text might have been let as it stood.]
[3716] Chap. ii. 5.
[3717] "Coeli," plainly a mistake for "coelo" or "coelis." There is apparently a hiatus here. "The angelic abode, guarded in heaven," most probably is the explanation of "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven."
[3718] Ver. 10.
[3719] Ver. 12.
[3720] Ibid.
[3721] John xvi. 7.
[3722] Ibid.
[3723] Ver. 19.
[3724] Ver. 20.
[3725] Ver. 23.
[3726] Ver. 25.
[3727] Chap. ii. 9.
[3728] Ver. 23.
[3729] Sic.
[3730] Hyperbation.
[3731] Chap. iii. 10.
[3732] Ver. 12.
[3733] Ver. 15.
[3734] Matt. vi. 9.
[3735] Ver. 18.
[3736] Offerret.
[3737] Ver. 20.
[3738] Ibid.
[3739] Ver. 21.
[3740] Ver. 22.
[3741] Chap. iv. 5.
[3742] Ver. 6.
[3743] Ibid.
[3744] 1 Cor. v. 5.
[3745] Heb. i. 1.
[3746] Ver. 13.
[3747] Ver. 17.
[3748] Chap. v. 10.
[3749] Ver. 13.
[3750] The reading is "agnosceret." To yield any sense it must have been "agnoscatur" or "agnosceretur."
[3751] Ver. 1.
[3752] "Son" supplied.
[3753] Ver. 4.
[3754] Ver. 5.
[3755] Ver. 6.
[3756] Terris.
[3757] Ver. 7.
[3758] "Quibus significat Dominus remissius esse," the reading here, defies translation and emendation. We suppose a hiatus here, and change "remissius" into "remissum" to get the above sense. The statement cannot apply to Sodom and Gomorrha.
[3759] Similiter iisdem.
[3760] Ver. 8.
[3761] Dominus--Dominium, referring to the clause "despise dominion." [Jude 8.]
[3762] Ver. 9.
[3763] Ver. 10
[3764] Ver. 11.
[3765] Ver. 12.
[3766] Spiritibus.
[3767] Ver. 13.
[3768] The reading is "agnosceret." To yield any sense it myst have been "agnoscatur" or "agnosceretur."
[3769] Ver. 14.
[3770] Ver. 19.
[3771] "Discernentes a carnibus,"--a sentence which has got either displaced or corrupted, or both.
[3772] Animales.
[3773] Ver. 20
[3774] Ver. 22.
[3775] Ver. 23.
[3776] Ver. 23.
[3777] By a slight change of punctuation, and by substituting "maculata" for "macula," we get the sense as above. Animae videlicet tunica macula est" is the reading of the text.
[3778] Ver. 24.
[3779] We have here with some hesitation altered the punctuation. In the text, "To be presented" begins a new sentence.
[3780] Mark xiv. 62. There is blundering here as to the differences between the evangelists' accounts, as a comparison of them shows.
[3781] Virtutis.
[3782] Virtutes.
[3783] Matt. xxvi. 64: "Thou has said: nevertheless, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
[3784] i.e., It is as you say.
[3785] John i. 3, 4.
[3786] 1 Tim. vi. 16.
[3787] 1 John iv. 16.
[3788] Consolatorem.
[3789] 1 Sam. iii. 3, 4.
[3790] 1 Kings xix.
[3791] Phil. ii. 10.
[3792] "Intellector" in Latin translation. [See p. 607, footnote.]
[3793] The text reads "Christi," which yields no suitable sense, and or which we have substituted "Christus."
[3794] [His Catena on Job was edited by Patrick Young, London, 1637.]
[3795] This down to "lives" is quoted in Strom., book iv. ch. xxv. p. 439, supra.
[3796] eukrasia
[3797] Photos here has probably taken the place of photeinou. [This passage is in the Stromata; and also a similar figure, p. 347, this series.]
[3798] Ps. cxxv. 4, 5.
[3799] [See Kaye, p. 442, and the eleventh chapter entire.]
[3800] prokrimatos, "without preferring one before another."--A.V.
[3801] dia. A.V. "before."
[3802] Sermon 53. On The Soul, p. 156. [Anton. Melissa, a Greek monk of the twelfth century, has left works not infrequently referred to by modern authors. Flourished a.d. 1140.]
[3803] 143, fol. 181, p. 1, chapter On Care For The Soul.
[3804] On Slanderers and Insult. The evidence on which this is ascribed to Clement is very slender.
[3805] Matt. xxvi. 17.
[3806] John iii. 33.
[3807] Gen. xiv. 23.
[3808] Amos. ii. 6.
[3809] We have ventured to substitute entautha instead of enteuthen. He is showing that the preparation must be made before we go in.
[3810] John iii. 29.
[3811] Matt. xxii. 12.
[3812] John i. 29.
[3813] Numb. xxiii. 22.
[3814] Hab. iii. 4.
[3815] Ps. xliv. 5.
[3816] Ps. lxv. 4.
[3817] Ps. xxxii. 1.
[3818] Matt. xi. 28.
[3819] Isa. xliii. 26.
[3820] Here Grabe notes that what follows is a new exposition of the parable, and is by another and a later hand, as is shown by the refutation of Novatus towards the end.
[3821] Eph. vi. 15.
[3822] Matt. xi. 28.
[3823] Rom. viii. 35.
[3824] Luke ix. 55.
[3825] Lev. xxvi. 24.
[3826] Ps. cxxv. 5.
[3827] Ps. xviii. 26.
[3828] Gen. i. 28.
[3829] 1 Kings viii. 27.
[3830] 1 Pet. ii. 5.
[3831] John ii. 19-21.
[3832] With an exclamation of surprise at the Latin translator giving a translation which is utterly unintelligible, Capperonn amends the text, substituting hou topos oudeis to, etc., for oO topos oOdeis topos to, etc., and translates accordingly. The emendation is adopted, with the exception of the to, instead of which to is retained.
[3833] See Stromata, book v. chap. vi. [136]p. 452, which is plainly the source from which this extract is taken.
[3834] We omit hoti, which the text has after deixe, which seems to indicate the omission of a clause, but as it stands is superfluous. The Latin translator retains it; and according to the rendering, the translation would be, "showed that He ceased."
[3835] This extract, down to "are we," has already been given among the extracts from the Hypotyposes, p. 578.
[3836] This extract, almost verbatim, has been already given from Eusebius, among the extracts from the Hypotyposes, p. 579.
[3837] See p. 219, and the argument following, supra.

The Pastor of Hermas - Introductions

The Pastor of Hermas: Book 1

The Pastor of Hermas: Book 2

The Pastor of Hermas: Book 3

Tatian the Assyrian's Address to the Greeks

Fragments - Tatian the Assyrian

Theophilus of Antioch - Introduction

Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus: Book 1

Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus: Book 2

Theophilus of Antioch to Autolycus: Book 3

Athenagoras

A Plea for Christians by Athenagoras the Athenian: Philosopher and Christian

The Treatise of Athenagoras the Athenian, Philosopher and Christian, on the Resurrection of the Dead

Clement of Alexandria - Introductory Note

Exhortation to the Heathen

The Instructor (Paedagogus) - Book 1

The Instructor (Paedagogus) - Book 2

The Instructor (Paedagogus) - Book 3

Elucidations - Clement of Alexandria

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 1

Elucidations - Purpose of the Stromata

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 2

Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 2

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 3

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 4

Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 4

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 5

Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 5

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 6

Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 6

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 7

Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 7

The Stromata, or Miscellanies - Book 8

Elucidations - The Stromata, Book 8

Fragments of Clemens Alexandrinus

Clemens Alexandrinus on the Salvation of the Rich Man

Elucidations - Clemens Alexandrinus on the Salvation of the Rich Man