Primary source · Koine Greek
The Stromateis (Miscellanies)
Clement of Alexandria · c. AD 198–203
What this text is
Clement’s eight books of ‘patchwork’ — philosophy as the Greeks’ schoolmaster unto Christ, the true gnostic, and a trove of otherwise lost traditions: the sayings of Matthias, the defence of Nicolaus, the death of James’s accuser.
Profile of Epiphanes, son of Carpocrates →
Interlinear passages
Word-for-word glosses of the original; the complete public-domain translation is linked below.
Book I.5 — philosophy the schoolmaster
ἐπαιδαγώγειwas schoolmasterγὰρforκαὶalsoαὐτὴitselfτὸto theἙλληνικὸνGreek [world]ὡςasὁtheνόμοςlawτοὺςtheἙβραίουςHebrewsεἰςuntoΧριστόν.Christ
Public-domain translations
W. Wilson (ANF, 1885)
Philosophy was a schoolmaster to bring the Hellenic mind, as the law the Hebrews, to Christ. Philosophy, therefore, was a preparation, paving the way for him who is perfected in Christ.
Manuscript witnesses
Florence, Laurentianus V 3
11th c.The Stromateis rest almost wholly on this one Florentine codex.
Patrologia Graeca, vol. 8 (Migne)
1857Standard pre-critical text of the corpus.
Provenance
Alexandria, c. AD 198–203 — the 'Miscellanies' of Christian gnosis
Editions & scholarship
Critical editions and standard translations behind the text above.
- Clemens Alexandrinus (GCS 52)Otto Stählin, rev. L. Früchtel, 1960–1970The critical edition.
- Stromateis, Books 1–3 (FOC 85)John Ferguson, 1991Faithful annotated translation.