To the Newly Baptized · §4 · Clement of Alexandria

Food, drink, and heavenly-mindedness

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Clement continues his direct moral instruction to the newly baptized, now turning from prayer and joy in Christ to rules for food, drink, and keeping the soul's firmness.

Do not loosen the firmness of your soul in feasting and the relaxation of drinks; consider what is necessary sufficient for the body. Do not hurry to food before the time for dinner has come. Let bread be your dinner, with herbs of the earth and ripe fruits from the trees. Go to your food calmly, not displaying rabid gluttony. Do not be a meat-eater or a wine-lover, unless some illness leads you to these things for healing. Instead of the pleasures found in them, choose the joys of divine words and hymns, given to you by the wisdom that comes from God, and let heavenly thought always lead you up to heaven.

Greek

Μηδὲ λῦε τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς τόνον ἐν εὐωχίᾳ καὶ ποτῶν ἀνέσει, ἱκανὸν δὲ ἡγοῦ τῷ σώματι τὸ χρειῶδες. καὶ μὴ πρόσθεν ἐπείγου πρὸς τροφὰς πρὶν ἢ καὶ δείπνου παρῇ καιρός· ἄρτος δὲ ἔστω σοι τὸ δεῖπνον, καὶ πόαι γῆς προσέστωσαν καὶ τὰ ἐκ δένδρων ὡραῖα· ἴθι δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν τροφὴν εὐσταθῶς καὶ μὴ λυσσώδη γαστριμαργίαν ἐπιφαίνων· μηδὲ σαρκοβόρος μηδὲ φίλοινος ἔσο, ὁπότε μὴ νόσος τις ἴασιν ἐπὶ ταύτην ἄγοι. ἀλλ’ ἀντὶ τῶν ἐν τούτοις ἡδονῶν τὰς ἐν λόγοις θείοις καὶ ὕμνοις εὐφροσύνας αἱροῦ τῇ παρὰ θεοῦ σοι χορηγουμένας σοφίᾳ, οὐράνιός τε ἀεί σε φροντὶς ἀναγέτω πρὸς οὐρανόν.

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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.

Fresh 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 our source check. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Greek on any section to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

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