{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p>Here again arise the cavillers, who say that joy and pain are\r\npassions of the soul: for they define joy as a rational elevation and\r\nexultation, as rejoicing on account of what is good; and pity as pain\r\nfor one who suffers undeservedly; and that such affections are moods\r\nand passions of the soul. But we, as would appear, do not cease in such\r\nmatters to understand the Scriptures carnally; and starting from our\r\nown affections, interpret the will of the impassible Deity similarly to\r\nour perturbations; and as we are capable of hearing; so,<span class=\"pagenum\" id=\"Page_44\">[44]</span> supposing the\r\nsame to be the case with the Omnipotent, err impiously. For the Divine\r\nBeing cannot be declared as it exists: but as we who are fettered in\r\nthe flesh were able to listen, so the prophets spake to us; the Lord\r\nsavingly accommodating Himself to the weakness of men. Since, then,\r\nit is the will of God that he, who is obedient to the commands and\r\nrepents of his sins should be saved, and we rejoice on account of our\r\nsalvation, the Lord, speaking by the prophets, appropriated our joy to\r\nHimself; as speaking lovingly in the Gospel He says, “I was hungry, and\r\nye gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me to drink. For inasmuch\r\nas ye did it to one of the least of these, ye did it to me.”<a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_166\" id=\"FNanchor_166\">[166]</a> As,\r\nthen, He is nourished, though not personally, by the nourishing of one\r\nwhom He wishes nourished; so He rejoices, without suffering change, by\r\nreason of him who has repented being in joy, as He wished. And since\r\nGod pities richly, being good, and giving commands by the law and the\r\nprophets, and more nearly still by the appearance of his Son, saving\r\nand pitying, as was said, those who have found mercy; and properly the\r\ngreater pities the less; and a man cannot be greater than man, being by\r\nnature man; but God in everything is greater than man; if, then, the\r\ngreater pities the less, it is God alone that will pity us. For a man\r\nis made to communicate by righteousness, and bestows what he received\r\nfrom God, in consequence of his natural benevolence and relation, and\r\nthe commands which he obeys. But God has no natural relation to us, as\r\nthe authors of the heresies will have it; neither on the supposition\r\nof His having made us of nothing, nor on that of having formed us\r\nfrom matter; since the former did not exist at all, and the latter is\r\ntotally distinct from God, unless we shall dare to say that we are a\r\npart of Him, and of the same essence as God. And I know not how one,\r\nwho knows God, can bear to hear this when he looks to our life, and\r\nsees in what evils we are involved. For thus it would turn out, which\r\nit were impiety to utter, that God sinned in [certain] portions, if\r\nthe portions are parts of the whole and complementary of the whole;\r\nand<span class=\"pagenum\" id=\"Page_45\">[45]</span> if not complementary, neither can they be parts. But God being by\r\nnature rich in pity, in consequence of His own goodness, cares for us,\r\nthough neither portions of Himself, nor by nature His children. And\r\nthis is the greatest proof of the goodness of God: that such being our\r\nrelation to Him, and being by nature wholly estranged, He nevertheless\r\ncares for us. For the affection in animals to their progeny is natural,\r\nand the friendship of kindred minds is the result of intimacy. But the\r\nmercy of God is rich toward us, who are in no respect related to Him;\r\nI say either in our essence or nature, or in the peculiar energy of\r\nour essence, but only in our being the work of His will. And him who\r\nwillingly, with discipline and teaching, accepts the knowledge of the\r\ntruth, He calls to adoption, which is the greatest advancement of all.\r\n“Transgressions catch a man; and in the cords of his own sins each one\r\nis bound.”<a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_167\" id=\"FNanchor_167\">[167]</a> And God is without blame. And in reality, “blessed is\r\nthe man who feareth alway through piety.”<a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_168\" id=\"FNanchor_168\">[168]</a></p>","headings":["THE WRITINGS OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.","BOOK II.","CHAPTER XVI. HOW WE ARE TO EXPLAIN THE PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE WHICH ASCRIBE TO GOD HUMAN AFFECTIONS."],"marker_anchor":"FNanchor_167","paragraph_id":"pg73020-paragraph-76"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"ed36814fe500c51e79d24447c0d5ec4d8fdebff2a70a6a1c9a6e4e9f6189889a","edition_title":"The writings of Clement of Alexandria, Vol. 2 (of 2)","edition_translators":["William Wilson"],"edition_year":1869,"explicit_reference_candidates":[{"book":"PRO","chapter":5,"kind":"unreviewed","source_notation":"Prov. v. 22","verse":22,"verse_end":22}],"headings":[],"id":"pg73020-Footnote_167","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Project Gutenberg metadata: Public domain in the USA. Existing 1869 English translation; translator died 1875. Electronic transcription subject to Project Gutenberg reuse terms.","source_anchor":"Footnote_167","source_ebook":73020,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\">\n<p><a class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#FNanchor_167\" id=\"Footnote_167\">[167]</a> Prov. v. 22.</p>\n</div>","source_sha256":"c35077683d75abe553cc6ef5d3ef5a1a978f07dfbcf4bad5c3d56302ad03dc19","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/73020/pg73020-images.html#Footnote_167","text_sha256":"007e23cc7d9249b2b8d7d6dbf39f391398e8b846d61c8c5ae6d966a0d73fe2a5","verified":false,"work_id":null}