Chapter XII.—Continuation: with Texts from Scripture.
I would counsel the married never to kiss their
wives in the presence of their domestics. For Aristotle does not allow
people to laugh to their slaves. And by no means must a wife be seen
saluted in their presence. It is moreover better that, beginning at
home with marriage, we should exhibit propriety in it. For it is the
greatest bond of chastity, breathing forth pure pleasure. Very admirably
the tragedy says:—
“Well! well! ladies, how is it, then, that among men,Not gold, not empire, or luxury of wealth,Conferred to such an extent signal delights,As the right and virtuous dispositionOf a man of worth and a dutiful wife?”
Such injunctions of righteousness
uttered by those who are conversant with worldlywisdom are not to
be refused. Knowing, then, the duty of each, “pass the time of
your sojourning here in fear: forasmuch as ye know that ye were
not deemed with corruptible things, such as silver or gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and
without spot.”1737
“For,” says Peter,
“the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the
will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess
of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries.”1738
We have
as a limit the cross of the Lord, by which we are fenced and hedged about
from our former sins. Therefore, being regenerated, let us fix ourselves
to it in truth, and return to sobriety, and sanctify ourselves; “for
the eyes of the Lord are on
the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer; but the face of
the Lord is against them
that do evil.”1739
—“us” for “you.”
But the best training is good order, which is perfect decorum, and
stable and orderly power, which in action maintains consistence in
what it does. If these things have been adduced by me with too great
asperity, in order to effect the salvation which follows from your
correction; they have been spoken also, says the Instructor, by me:
“Since he who reproves with boldness is a peacemaker.”1741
And if ye hear me, ye shall be saved. And if ye attend not to what is
spoken, it is not my concern. And yet it is my concern thus: “For
he desires the repentance rather than the death of a sinner.”1742
“If ye shall hear me, ye shall eat the good of the land,”
the Instructor again says, calling by the appellation “the good of
the land,” beauty, wealth, health, strength, sustenance. For those
things which are really good, are what “neither ear hath heard,
not hath ever entered into the heart”1743
respecting Him who is really
King, and the realities truly good which await us. For He is the giver
and the guard of good things. And with respect to their participation,
He applies the same names of things in this world, the Word thus training
in God the feebleness of men from sensible things to understanding.
1744 [Here the pædagogue
is the child-guide, leading to the Teacher.]
while He conducts
them to the Master, these He suggests, and adduces the Scriptures
themselves in a compendious form, setting forth bare injunctions,
accommodating them to the period of guidance, and assigning the
interpretation of them to the Master.1745
For
the intention of His law is to dissipate fear, emancipating free-will
in order to faith. “Hear,” He says, “O child,”
who art rightly instructed, the principal points of salvation. For I will
disclose my ways, and lay before thee good commandments; by which thou
wilt reach salvation. And I lead thee by the way of salvation. Depart
from the paths of deceit.
“Follow, therefore,
O son, the good way which I shall describe, lending to me attentiveears.” “And I will give to thee the treasures of darkness,
hidden and unseen”1747
And
by one God are many treasures dispensed; some disclosed by the law,
others by the prophets; some to the divine mouth, and others to the
heptad of the spirit singing accordant. And the Lord being one, is the
same Instructor by all these. Here is then a comprehensive precept, and an
exhortation of life, all-embracing: “As ye would that men should do
unto you, do ye likewise to, them.”1749
We may comprehend the
commandments in two, as the Lord says, “Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy strength;
and thy neighbour as thyself.” Then from these He infers, “on
this hang the law and the prophets.”1750
1750Matt. xxii. 37, 39, 40.
Further, to him
that asked, “What good thing shall I do, that I may inheriteternallife?” He answered, “Thou knowest the commandments?”
And on him replying Yea, He said, “This do, and thou shalt be
saved.” Especially conspicuous is the love of the Instructor set
forth in various salutary commandments, in order that the discovery may
be readier, from the abundance and arrangement of the Scriptures. We
have the Decalogue1751
1751
[See Irenæus, vol. i. p. 482, this series. Stromata,
vi. 360.]
given by Moses, which, indicating by an elementary
principle, simple and of one kind, defines the designation of sins in a
way conducive to salvation: “Thou shall not commitadultery. Thou
shall not worshipidols. Thou shalt not corruptboys. Thou shalt not
steal. Thou shall not bear false witness. Honour thy father and thy
mother.”1752
And so forth. These things are to be observed, and
whatever else is commanded in reading the Bible. And He enjoins on us
by Isaiah: “Wash you, and make you clean. Put away iniquities from
your souls before mine eyes. Learn to do well. Seekjudgment. Deliver the
wronged. Judge for the orphan, and justify the widow. And come, and let
us reason together, saith the Lord.”1753
And we shall find many
examples also in other places,—as, for instance, respecting prayer:
“Good works are an acceptable prayer to the Lord,” says the
Scripture.1754
1754 Where, no one
knows.
And the manner of prayer is described. “If thou
seest,” it is said, “the naked, cover him; and thou shalt not
overlook those who belong to thy seed. Then shall thy light spring forth
early, and thy healing shall spring up quickly; and thy righteousness
shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall encompass thee.”
What, then, is the fruit of such prayer? “Then shall thou call,
and God will hear thee; whilst thou art yet speaking, He will say, I am
here.”1755
In regard to fasting it is said, “Wherefore do
ye fast to me? saith the Lord. Is
it such a fast that I have chosen, even a day for a man to humble his
soul? Thou shall not bend thy neck like a circle, and spread sackcloth and
ashes under thee. Not thus shall ye call it an acceptable fast.”
About sacrifices too: “To what purpose
is the multitude of your sacrifices to me? saith the Lord. I am full
of burnt-offerings and of rams; and the fat of lambs, and the blood of
bulls and kids I do not wish; nor that ye should come to appear before
me. Who hath required this at your hands? You shall no more tread my
court. If ye bring fine flour, the vain oblation is an abomination to
me. Your new moons and your sabbaths I cannot away with.”1757
Also to the soldiers, by John, He commands, “to be content with
their wages only;” and to the publicans, “to exact no more
than is appointed.” To the judges He says, “Thou shalt not
show partiality in judgment. For giftsblind the eyes of those who see,
and corrupt just words. Rescue the wronged.”
The liars and the proud, too, He threatens;
the former thus: “Woe to them that call bitter sweet, and
sweet bitter;” and the latter: “Woe unto them that are
wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.”1765
And now He bids us
“love our enemies, bless them that curse us, and pray for them
that despitefully use us.” And He says: “If any one strike
thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other also; and if any one take
away thy coat, hinder him not from taking thy cloak also.”1768
But He
welcomes the repentance of the sinner—loving repentance—which
follows sins. For this Word of whom we speak alone is sinless. For to
sin is natural and common to all. But to return [to God] after sinning
is characteristic not of any man, but only of a man of worth.
Such are the laws of the Word, the consolatory
words not on tables of stone which were written by the finger of the
Lord, but inscribed on men’s hearts, on which alone they can
remain imperishable. Wherefore the tablets of those who had hearts of
stone are broken, that the faith of the children may be impressed on
softened hearts.
However, both the laws served the Word for the
instruction of humanity, both that given by Moses and that by the
apostles. What, therefore, is the nature of the training by the apostles,
appears to me to require to be treated of. Under this head, I, or rather
the Instructor by me,1773
1773δἰ
ἐμαυτοῦ.
The reading here adopted is found in Bod. and Reg.
will
recount; and I shall again set before you the precepts themselves,
as it were in the germ.
“Putting away lying, speak every man truth
with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Let not the
sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil. Let him
that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with
his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him
that needeth. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour,
and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye
kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ hath forgiven you. Be therefore wise,1774
“If we live in the Spirit, let us walk in the
Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another,
envying one another. Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so
fulfil the law of Christ. Be not deceived; God is not mocked. Let us
not be weary in well-doing: for in due time we shall reap, if we faint
not.”1776
Innumerable commands such as these are written in the
holy Bible appertaining to chosen persons, some to presbyters, some to
bishops, some to deacons, others to widows,1782
1782 [Consult Bunsen’s Handbook, book
iv. pp. 75–82. Thus did primitive Christianity labour to uproot the
social estate of heathenism.]
of whom we shall have another
opportunity of speaking. Many things spoken in enigmas, many in parables,
may benefit such as fall in with them. But it is not my province, says
the Instructor, to teach these any longer. But we need a Teacher of the
exposition of those sacred words, to whom we must direct our steps.
1783 That is, he who undertakes
the instruction of those that are full-grown, as Clemens does in the
Stromata. [Where see his esotericdoctrine.]
And He, receiving you who have been trained up in excellent discipline,
will teach you the oracles. To noble purpose has
the Churchsung, and the Bridegroom
also, the only Teacher, the good Counsel, of the good Father, the true
Wisdom, the Sanctuary of knowledge. “And He is the propitiation
for our sins,” as John says; Jesus, who heals both our body and
soul—which are the proper man. “And not for our sins only,
but also for the whole world. And by this we know that we know Him, if
we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His
commandments, is a liar; and the truth is not in Him. But whoso keepeth
His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that
we are in Him. He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself to walk even
as He also walked.”1784
O nurslings of His blessed training! let
us complete the fair face of the church; and let us run as children to our
good mother. And if we become listeners to the Word, let us glorify the
blessed dispensation by which man is trained and sanctified as a child
of God, and has his conversation in heaven, being trained from earth,
and there receives the Father, whom he learns to know on earth. The Word
both does and teaches all things, and trains in all things.
A horse is guided by a bit, and a bull is guided
by a yoke, and a wildbeast is caught in a noose. But man is transformed
by the Word, by whom wildbeasts are tamed, and fishes caught, and birds
drawn down. He it is, in truth, who fashions the bit for the horse, the
yoke for the bull, the noose for the wildbeast, the rod for the fish,
the snare for the bird. He both manages the state and tills the ground;
commands, and helps, and creates the universe.
“There were figured earth, and sky, and sea,The ever-circling sun, and full-orbed moon,And all the signs that crown the vault of heaven.”1785
1785Iliad, xviii. 483–485;
spoken of Vulcan making the shield of Archilles.
O divine works! O divine
commands! “Let this water undulate within itself; let this fire
restrain its wrath; let this airwander into ether; and this earth be
consolidated, and acquire motion! When I want to form man, I want matter,
and have matter in the elements. I dwell with what I have formed. If
you know me, the fire will be your slave.”
Such is the Word, such is the Instructor, the
Creator of the world and of man: and of Himself, now the world’s
Instructor, by whose command we and the universe subsist, and await
judgment. “For it is not he who brings a stealthy vocal word
to men,” as Bacchylidis says, “who shall be the Word of
Wisdom;” but “the blameless, the pure, and faultless sons
of God,” according to Paul, “in the midst of a crooked
and perverse generation, to shine as lights in the world.”1786
Be gracious, O Instructor, to us Thy children,
Father, Charioteer of Israel, Son and Father, both in One, O Lord. Grant
to us who obey Thy precepts, that we may perfect the likeness of the
image, and with all our power know Him who is the good God and not
a harsh judge. And do Thou Thyself cause that all of us who have our
conversation in Thy peace, who have been translated into Thy commonwealth,
having sailed tranquilly over the billows of sin, may be wafted in calm
by Thy Holy Spirit, by the ineffable wisdom, by night and day to the
perfect day; and giving thanks may praise, and praising thank the Alone
Father and Son, Son and Father, the Son, Instructor and Teacher, with the
Holy Spirit, all in One, in whom is all, for whom all is One, for whom
is eternity, whose members we all are, whose glory the æons1787
1787Αίῶνες,
“celestial spirits and angels.”—Grabe, in a note on Bull’s Defence
of the Nicene Creed. [I wish a more definite reference had been
furnished by the learned translator. Even Kaye’s reference
is not precise. Consulting Grabe’s annotations in vain,
I was then obliged to go through the foot-notes, where, at last
(vol. v. part i. p. 246.), I found in comparative obscurity Grabe’s
language. It may be rendered: “These words I think should be thus
construed—cujus gloria sunt sœcula—whose glory are the
heavenly spirits or angels. Concerning which signification of
τῶν
αἰώνων, note what I
have said among divers annotations on Irenæus, p. 32. ed.
Benedict.”]
are; for the All-good, All-lovely, All-wise,
All-just One. To whom be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
1788
[Elucidation III.] The translator has done what he could to render this
hymn literally. He has been obliged, however, to add somewhat to it
in the way of expansion, for otherwise it would have been impossible
to secure anything approaching the flow of English versification. The
original is in many parts a mere string of epithets, which no ingenuity
could render in rhymed verse without some additions.
1791
By altering the punctuation, we can translate thus: “Guide, O holy
King, Thy children safely along the footsteps of Christ.”
O footsteps of Christ, O heavenly way, perennial Word, immeasurable
Age, EternalLight, Fount of mercy, performer of virtue; noble [is the]
life of those who hymnGod, O ChristJesus, heavenly milk of the sweet
breasts of the graces of the Bride, pressed out of Thy wisdom. Babes
nourished with tender mouths, filled with the dewy spirit of the
rational pap, let us sing together simple praises, true hymns to
Christ [our] King, holy fee for the teaching of life; let us sing in
simplicity the powerfulChild. O choir of peace, the Christ-begotten,
O chaste people, let us sing together1792
1792 The word used here is ψάλωμεν,
originally signifying, “Let us celebrate on a stringed
instrument.” Whether it is so used here or not, may be matter
of disupte.
1793 [The holy virgin of Nazareth is the author of the
first Christianhymn, The Magnificat. It is a sequel to the
psalms of her fatherDavid, and interprets them. To Clement of Alexandria
belongs the praise of leading the choir of uninspired Christianpoets,
whom he thus might seem to invoke to carry on the strain through all
time.]
To the Pædagogus.
Teacher, to Thee a chaplet I present,Woven of words culled from the spotless mead,Where Thou dost feed Thy flocks; like to the bee,That skilful worker, which from many a flowerGathers its treasures, that she may conveyA luscious offering to the master’s hand.Though but the least, I am Thy servant still,(Seemly is praise to Thee for Thy behests).O King, great Giver of good gifts to men,Lord of the good, Father, of all the Maker,Who heaven and heaven’s adornment, by Thy wordDivine fitly disposed, alone didst make;Who broughtest forth the sunshine and the day;Who didst appoint their courses to the stars,And how the earth and sea their place should keep;And when the seasons, in their circling course,Winter and summer, spring and autumn, each1794
1794 [The hymn suffixed to Thomson’s Seasons might seem to have been suggested by this ancient example of praise to the Maker. But, to feel this hymn, we must reflect upon its superiority, in a moral point of view, to all the Attic Muse had ever produced before.]
Should come, according to well-ordered plan;Out of a confused heap who didst createThis ordered sphere, and from the shapeless massOf matter didst the universe adorn;—Grant to me life, and be that life well spent,Thy grace enjoying; let me act and speakIn all things as Thy Holy Scriptures teach;1795
Thee and Thy co-eternal Word, All-wise,From Thee proceeding, ever may I praise;Give me nor poverty nor wealth, but what is meet,Father, in life, and then life’s
happy close.1796
1796 [Kaye’s
careful criticism of M. Barbeyrac’s captious complains against
Clement, are specially instructive. p. 109.]
