Ante-Nicene Christian Library; Translations Of The Writings Of The Fathers Down To A.D. 325, Volume 4: The Writings Of Clement Of Alexandria, Volume 1

발행: 1867년

분량: 502페이지

출처: archive.org

분류: 미분류

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EXHORTA NON TO TNE MATHEM

as the rocis on tho se aliore are covered over missi se

meed, mari sol os immortali , like the old man os Ithaca, eagerly longing to sis, not the truth, not tho satherland in heaven, not the true light, but smohe. But godliness, that maes man as far as can be like God, designates God as

to God. This tinctiing the apostie knows as truly divine. Thou, o Timothy,V ho sus, hom a child hast known thoholy letters, Whicli are able to mahe thee Wise unio salvation, through faith that is in Christ Jesus. For truly holy arethoso tollers that sanctisy and dei*; and the writings orvolumes stat consist of those holy letters and syllabies, thesame apostlo consequently calis inspired os God, Ming pr stabis for doctrine, for reproos, for correction, for instructionin righteousness, that the man os God may be persec thoroughly furnished to every good Work. ' No ono mill boso impressed by tho exhortations of any of the sainis, as ho laby tho motas of tho Lord Himself, the lover of man. Forthis, and nothing but this, is His only Work-ste salvationos man. Thorofore He Himself, urging them on to salvation, eries, o Engdom of heaven is at hand.VM Thoso monthat dran near through fear, He converta. Thus also thea stlo of the Lord, beseeching the Macedonians, becomestho intorpreter of the divino Volce, When lie says, The Lordis at hisd; talio caro that ye be not apprehended emptyI' But Me yo so devoid os fear, or rather of faith, as not toboliovo tho Lord Himself, or Paul, who in Chrises stoad thus entreala: Tasis and seo that Christ is God '' Festh

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86 EXHORTATION TO THE HEA THEMtoWards the precipices of destruction, and rogard the holymord of God as an accursed thing. The re aes of yourchoice, thereiore, as described by Sophocles, follows:

the wiched shali receive meet punishment. For the author os evit, torment has been prepared ; and so the prophet Zecharias threatens him: He that hath chosen Jerusalem rehuhe

you not escape from those dungeons, and flee to the mercythat comes do- from heaven i For God, of His meat loveto man, comes to the help of man, as the mollie bird flies toone of her yο g that has fallen out of the nost; and is a serpent open ita mouth to sWalloK the litile bird, the mother fluitem round, ultering cries of griei over her dear progeu; ' and God tho Father feelis His creature, and heias his tran gression, and p sues the serpent, and recoVera the γοung one, and incites it to fly up to the nest.

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should be subject to another master, and, What is more, servetho tyrant insisad of the rightful Κin the evit ons in-Mead of the good For, in the name of truth, What man in his senses turas his bach on mod, and attaches himself to ovil l What, then, is he who flees from God in consori With demons Who, that may become a son of God, prefersto bo in bondage Or Who is ho that pureues his Way to Erebus, Whon it is in his poWer in be a citigen os heaven, andio cultivato Paradise, and Walh about in heaven and partae of tho tres of life and immortali , and, cleaving his Waythro h tho sis in tho trach of the luminous cloud, behold, liho Elias, tho rain os salvation Some there are, Who, lihe

daring to inhe our Way to God; and the enjoment of many other good things is Mihin the reach of the lovere os righ eo ness, Who puraue eternat lite, specialty those inings to

is an inheritance for thoso who servo the Lord y Noble

Isa. i. 3. 3 Iaa. liv. 17.

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88 EXHORTATION TO THE MATHEM

grace ; and thus our loving Father-the truo Father-ceases uot to e ori, admonish, train, love us. For He censes notio fave, and invises the best co se: Become rightoo , says tho LMLy Yo that thiret, come to tho Water; and Dibat have no money, come, and buy and drink Without money. He invites in the laver, in salvation, to illumination, ait butcrying out and saying, The land I give thee, and the sea, mychild, and heaven too; and est the living creaturos in them Isreely besto upon thee. Gly, O child, iniret for thy Father;

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does great ham to men, and seduces them hom salvation. Letus then openly strip for the contest, and nobiy strivo in tho

os the universe prescribing the contest. For 'tis no insignificant priae, the merdon os immortali hicli is set betore M. Pay no more regard, then, is you are rated by some of tho loWrabbio who lead the dance of impiety, and are driven on to

the fame pit by their sol ly and insanity, mahers of idols and

Worshippers of stones. For these have dared to deisy men,- Alexander of Macedon, for example, Whom they canoniged asthe thirteenth god, vlose pretensions Babylon confuted, Whichinowed him dead. I admire, thereiore, the divine sophist. Theocritus Was his name. Aster Alexander's death, Theocritus, holding up the vain opinions entertained by men respectingine gods, to ridicule besore his fello citigens, sald : Μen, heep up Four hearis as long as Fou see the gods hing monerthan men.' And, truly, he who Worships gods that are visibie, and the promiscuous rabbie os creatures begotten and born, and attaches himself to them, is a far more Wretched objectthan the very demons. For God is by no manner os means unrighteous, as the demons are, but in the very hioest degreo righteous; and nothing more resembles God than one os us hen ho becomes righteous in the highest possibie degree:

sashioners of stones, and worshippers of them. Let yo Phidias, and Polycletus, and your Praxiteles and Apelles too, come, and ali that are engaged in mechanicat arta, Who, being

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His Word, tho genuine Son os Mind, the Divine Wota, thearchetnal light of light; and the imago of the Word is thotrusi man, tho mind whicli is in man, Who is therefore saidio have been mado in tho imago and likenem os God,' assimilatod to tho Divino Word in tho affections of the foui, and theroforo rational; but emgies sculptured in human fom, the earthly imago of that pari os man which is visibis andeartitabora, are but a perishable impress of humanitri manifestly Wido of the truth. That lise, then, Whicli is occupied

mith so muta earnesinem about matter, seems to me to be

made Du insto Mndage and unmasonable care, is fostered by Vain opinion; and ignorance, Which has proved to the humanrace the cause of unlawful rites and delusivo fhows, and also

of Madly plagum and hatelai images, has, by devising many

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on matrer. Your means and substance Fou squander on

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