To the Newly Baptized · §6 · Clement of Alexandria

Facing sickness with a strong soul and praying for the afflicted

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Clement is concluding his moral instruction to the newly baptized, telling them how to face sickness and hardship and how to pray for those who suffer.

Knowing these things, prepare your soul to be strong against sicknesses as well, and take courage like some excellent man in the stadiums, ready to endure hardships with unbending power. Do not let your soul be utterly crushed by grief, whether a sickness presses upon you heavily or some other difficulty befalls you. Instead, oppose your thought to the hardships with a noble spirit, offering thanks to God even in the midst of painful circumstances, since he is wiser than humans and perceives what people cannot easily discover. Show mercy to those who are afflicted, and ask for God's help upon them. For he will nod assent to the friend who asks for the favor, and he will provide aid to the afflicted, wishing to make his power known to human beings, so that when they come to knowledge they may ascend to God and enjoy eternal blessedness, when the Son of God arrives restoring good things to his own people.

Greek

Ταῦτα εἰδὼς καὶ πρὸς νόσους ἰσχυρὰν κατασκεύαζε τὴν ψυχήν, εὐθάρσησον ὥσπερ τις ἀνὴρ ἐν σταδίοις ἄριστος ἀτρέπτῳ τῇ δυνάμει τοὺς πόνους ὑφίστασθαι. μηδὲ ὑπὸ λύπης πάνυ πιέζου τὴν ψυχήν, εἴτε νόσος ἐπικειμένη βαρύνει εἴτε ἄλλο τι συμπίπτει δυσχερές, ἀλλὰ γενναίως ἀνθίστα τοῖς πόνοις τὸ νόημα, χάριτας ἀνάγων θεῷ καὶ ἐν μέσοις τοῖς ἐπιπόνοις πράγμασι ἅτε δὴ σοφώτερά τε ἀνθρώπων φρονοῦντι καὶ ἅπερ οὐ δυνατὸν οὐδὲ ῥᾴδιον ἀνθρώποις εὑρεῖν. ἐλέει δὲ κακουμένους, καὶ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ βοήθειαν ἐπ’ ἀνθρώποις αἰτοῦ· ἐπινεύσει γὰρ αἰτοῦντι τῷ φίλῳ τὴν χάριν, καὶ τοῖς κακουμένοις ἐπικουρίαν παρέξει, τὴν αὑτοῦ δύναμιν γνώριμον ἀνθρώποις καθιστάναι βουλόμενος, ὡς ἂν εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἐλθόντες ἐπὶ θεὸν ἀνίωσιν καὶ τῆς αἰωνίου μακαριότητος ἀπολαύσωσιν, ἐπειδὰν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ υἱὸς παραγένηται ἀγαθὰ τοῖς ἰδίοις ἀποκαθιστῶν.

About this text

A short address to a newly baptized Christian on conduct, speech, self-control, and trust in God.

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215) wrote this short address to a newly baptized Christian. Clement was a leading teacher in the early Church at Alexandria, and he composed the work as a piece of moral and spiritual instruction for a recent convert. Its purpose is to guide the new believer in conduct, speech, self-control, and trust in God.

The address is a direct exhortation from Clement to the new believer, using second-person imperatives throughout. The reader will meet only Clement as the speaker, though he constantly refers the believer to God, Christ, and the Son of God. No other voices are quoted or argued against in this fragment.

A reader should know that the work uses several terms with specific meanings. 'Calm' means quietness and self-possession in speech and action, while 'vehemence' is rash intensity that disturbs the mind. The 'mind' should rule the 'passions' such as gluttony and anger from a quiet throne. 'Modesty' means reverence, especially toward women, and 'graciousness' is the manner of bearing with the proud. Believers are called God's 'members' and 'temples', meaning he cares for them as his own body and sacred shrines. The fragment contains no direct biblical quotations.

New English from the Greek base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Clement of Alexandria G.W. Butterworth Clement of Alexandria Harvard University Press Cambridge, MA William Heinemann London 1919 Loeb Classical Library (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.