Stromata Editions · The Shepherd of Hermas
Similitude IX · chapters 25–33
Sim. 9.25.1–9.33.3
Complete audiobook →Chapter 25
Greek source
Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ ὀγδόου, οὗ ἦσαν αἱ πολλαὶ πηγαὶ καὶ πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις τοῦ κυρίου ἐποτίζετο ἐκ τῶν πηγῶν, οἱ πιστεύσαντες τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν·
Translation
“Those who believed from the eighth mountain, where there were many springs and all the Lord's creation drank from them, are like this:
Greek source
ἀπόστολοι καὶ διδάσκαλοι οἱ κηρύξαντες εἰς ὅλον τὸν κόσμον καὶ οἱ διδάξαντες σεμνῶς καὶ ἁγνῶς τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου καὶ μηδὲν ὅλως νοσφισάμενοι εἰς ἐπιθυμίαν πονηράν, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἀληθείᾳ πορευθέντες, καθὼς καὶ παρέλαβον τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. τῶν τοιούτων οὖν ἡ πάροδος μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐστίν.
Translation
“Apostles and teachers who proclaimed throughout the world, taught the Lord's word reverently and purely, and appropriated nothing at all for wicked desire. They always lived in righteousness and truth, just as they had received the holy spirit. Their passage is in the company of the angels.
Chapter 26
Greek source
Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ ἐνάτου τοῦ ἐρημώδους, τοῦ [τὰ] ἑρπετὰ καὶ θηρία ἐν αὐτῷ ἔχοντος τὰ διαφθείροντα τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, οἱ πιστεύσαντες τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν·
Translation
“Those who believed from the ninth, desolate mountain, with [the] creeping creatures and wild beasts that destroy people, are like this:
Greek source
οἱ μὲν τοὺς σπίλους ἔχοντες διάκονοί εἰσι κακῶς διακονήσαντες καὶ διαρπάσαντες χηρῶν καὶ ὀρφανῶν τὴν ζωὴν καὶ ἑαυτοῖς περιποιησάμενοι ἐκ τῆς διακονίας ἧς ἔλαβον διακονῆσαι· ἐὰν οὖν ἐπιμείνωσι τῇ αὐτῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ, ἀπέθανον καὶ οὐδεμία αὐτοῖς ἐλπὶς ζωῆς· ἐὰν δὲ ἐπιστρέψωσι καὶ ἁγνῶς τελειώσωσι τὴν διακονίαν αὐτῶν, δυνήσονται ζῆσαι.
Translation
“Those with stains are ministers who served badly, plundered the livelihood of widows and orphans, and acquired things for themselves from the service entrusted to them. If they persist in the same desire, they are dead and have no hope of life. But if they turn back and fulfil their service purely, they will be able to live.
Greek source
οἱ δὲ ἐψωριακότες, οὗτοι οἱ ἀρνησάμενοί εἰσι καὶ μὴ ἐπιστρέψαντες ἐπὶ τὸν κύριον ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλὰ χερσωθέντες καὶ γενόμενοι ἐρημώδεις, μὴ κολλώμενοι τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ μονάζοντες ἀπολλύουσι τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς.
Translation
“The scabby ones are those who denied and did not turn back to their own Lord. They became barren and desolate, not holding closely to God's servants, but living alone and destroying their own souls.
Greek source
ὡς γὰρ ἄμπελος ἐν φραγμῷ τινι καταλειφθεῖσα ἀμελείας τυγχάνουσα καταφθείρεται καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν βοτανῶν ἐρημοῦται καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ ἀγρία γίνεται, καὶ οὐκέτι εὔχρηστός ἐστι τῷ δεσπότῃ ἑαυτῆς, οὕτω καὶ οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἄνθρωποι ἑαυτοὺς ἀπεγνώκασι καὶ γίνονται ἄχρηστοι τῷ κυρίῳ ἑαυτῶν ἀγριωθέντες.
Translation
“A vine left in a hedge and neglected is ruined, laid waste by weeds, and grows wild over time, no longer useful to its owner. In the same way, people like these have given up on themselves and, grown wild, become useless to their own Lord.
Greek source
τούτοις οὖν μετάνοια γίνεται, ἐὰν μὴ ἐκ καρδίας εὑρεθῶσιν ἠρνημένοι· ἐὰν δὲ ἐκ καρδίας εὑρεθῇ ἠρνημένος τις, οὐκ οἶδα, εἰ δύναται ζῆσαι.
Translation
“Repentance is available to these if they are not found to have denied from the heart. But if someone is found to have denied from the heart, I do not know whether they can live.
Greek source
καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ εἰς ταύτας τὰς ἡμέρας λέγω, ἵνα τις ἀρνησάμενος μετάνοιαν λάβῃ· ἀδύνατον γάρ ἐστι σωθῆναι τὸν μέλλοντα νῦν ἀρνεῖσθαι τὸν κύριον ἑαυτοῦ· ἀλλ’ ἐκείνοις τοῖς πάλαι ἠρνημένοις δοκεῖ κεῖσθαι μετάνοια. εἴ τις οὖν μέλλει μετανοεῖν, ταχινὸς γενέσθω πρὶν τὸν πύργον ἀποτελεσθῆναι· εἰ δὲ μή, ὑπὸ τῶν γυναικῶν καταφθαρήσεται εἰς θάνατον.
Translation
“I am not saying this about these present days, so that someone may deny and then receive repentance. It is impossible for someone who is now going to deny their own Lord to be saved. Rather, repentance seems available to those who denied long ago. If anyone is going to repent, let them be swift, before the tower is completed. Otherwise, the women will bring them to ruin and death.
Greek source
καὶ οἱ κολοβοί, οὗτοι δόλιοί εἰσι καὶ κατάλαλοι· καὶ τὰ θηρία, ἃ εἶδες εἰς τὸ ὄρος, οὗτοί εἰσιν. ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ θηρία διαφθείρει τῷ ἑαυτῶν ἰῷ τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀπολλύει, οὕτω καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνθρώπων τὰ ῥήματα διαφθείρει τὸν ἄνθρωπον καὶ ἀπολλύει.
Translation
“The chipped ones are deceitful and slanderous. They are the wild beasts you saw on the mountain. Just as the beasts ruin and destroy a person with their venom, so the words of people like these ruin and destroy a person.
Greek source
οὗτοι οὖν κολοβοί εἰσιν ἀπὸ τῆς πίστεως αὐτῶν διὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἣν ἔχουσιν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς· τινὲς δὲ μετενόησαν καὶ ἐσώθησαν. καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ τοιοῦτοι ὄντες δύνανται σωθῆναι, ἐὰν μετανοήσωσιν· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ μετανοήσωσιν, ἀπὸ τῶν γυναικῶν ἐκείνων, ὧν τὴν δύναμιν ἔχουσιν, ἀποθανοῦνται.
Translation
“Their faith is chipped because of the conduct they harbour. Some repented and were saved. The rest of these people can also be saved if they repent. If they do not repent, they will die through those women whose power they possess.
Chapter 27
Greek source
Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ δεκάτου, οὗ ἦσαν δένδρα σκεπάζοντα πρόβατά τινα, οἱ πιστεύσαντες τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν·
Translation
“Those who believed from the tenth mountain, where trees sheltered some sheep, are like this:
Greek source
ἐπίσκοποι καὶ φιλόξενοι, οἵτινες ἡδέως εἰς τοὺς οἴκους ἑαυτῶν πάντοτε ὑπεδέξαντο τοὺς δούλους τοῦ θεοῦ ἄτερ ὑποκρίσεως· οἱ δὲ ἐπίσκοποι πάντοτε τοὺς ὑστερημένους καὶ τὰς χήρας τῇ διακονίᾳ ἑαυτῶν ἀδιαλείπτως ἐσκέπασαν καὶ ἁγνῶς ἀνεστράφησαν πάντοτε.
Translation
“Overseers and hospitable people, who always gladly welcomed God's servants into their homes without hypocrisy. The overseers continually sheltered people in need and widows through their service, and always conducted themselves purely.
Greek source
οὗτοι οὖν πάντες σκεπασθήσονται ὑπὸ τοῦ κυρίου διαπαντός. οἱ οὖν ταῦτα ἐργασάμενοι ἔνδοξοί εἰσι παρὰ τῷ θεῷ καὶ ἤδη ὁ τόπος αὐτῶν μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἐστίν, ἐὰν ἐπιμείνωσιν ἕως τέλους λειτουργοῦντες τῷ κυρίῳ.
Translation
“All these will therefore be sheltered by the Lord for ever. Those who did these things are glorious before God, and their place is already with the angels, provided they persevere to the end in serving the Lord.
Chapter 28
Greek source
Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ ἑνδεκάτου, οὗ ἦσαν δένδρα καρπῶν πλήρη, ἄλλοις καὶ ἄλλοις καρποῖς κεκοσμημένα, οἱ πιστεύσαντες τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν·
Translation
“Those who believed from the eleventh mountain, where trees were full of fruit, adorned with many different kinds, are like this:
Greek source
οἱ παθόντες ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ, οἳ καὶ προθύμως ἔπαθον ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας καὶ παρέδωκαν τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν.
Translation
“Those who suffered for the Son of God's name, who suffered eagerly with all their heart and gave up their lives.”
Greek source
Διατί οὖν, φημί, κύριε, πάντα μὲν τὰ δένδρα καρποὺς ἔχει, τινὲς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν καρποὶ εὐειδέστεροί εἰσιν; Ἄκουε, φησίν· ὅσοι ποτὲ ἔπαθον διὰ τὸ ὄνομα, ἔνδοξοί εἰσι παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, καὶ πάντων τούτων αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἀφῃρέθησαν, ὅτι ἔπαθον διὰ τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ. διατί δὲ οἱ καρποὶ αὐτῶν ποικίλοι εἰσίν, τινὲς δὲ ὑπερέχοντες, ἄκουε.
Translation
“Why, then, sir,” I asked, “do all the trees have fruit, but some fruit is more beautiful than the rest?” “Listen,” he said. “All who suffered for the name are glorious before God, and all their sins have been removed because they suffered for the Son of God's name. Now listen to why their fruit varies and some surpasses the rest.
Greek source
ὅσοι, φησίν, ἐπ’ ἐξουσίαν ἀχθέντες ἐξητάσθησαν καὶ οὐκ ἠρνήσαντο, ἀλλ’ ἔπαθον προθύμως, οὗτοι μᾶλλον ἐνδοξότεροί εἰσι παρὰ τῷ κυρίῳ· τούτων ὁ καρπός ἐστιν ὁ ὑπερέχων. ὅσοι δὲ δειλοὶ καὶ ἐν δισταγμῷ ἐγένοντο καὶ ἐλογίσαντο ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν, πότερον ἀρνήσονται ἢ ὁμολογήσουσι, καὶ ἔπαθον, τούτων οἱ καρποὶ ἐλάττους εἰσίν, ὅτι ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτῶν ἡ βουλὴ αὕτη· πονηρὰ γὰρ ἡ βουλὴ αὕτη, ἵνα δοῦλος κύριον ἴδιον ἀρνήσηται.
Translation
“Those brought before authority and examined, who did not deny but suffered eagerly, are more glorious before the Lord. Theirs is the surpassing fruit. Those who became afraid and hesitant, and considered in their hearts whether to deny or confess, but did suffer, have lesser fruit because this thought arose in their heart. It is a wicked thought for a servant to deny their own Lord.
Greek source
βλέπετε οὖν ὑμεῖς οἱ ταῦτα βουλευόμενοι, μήποτε ἡ βουλὴ αὕτη διαμείνῃ ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν καὶ ἀποθάνητε τῷ θεῷ. ὑμεῖς δὲ οἱ πάσχοντες ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματος δοξ[άζειν] ὀφείλετε τὸν θεόν, ὅτι ἀξίους ὑμᾶς ἡγήσατο ὁ θεός, ἵνα τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα βαστάζητε καὶ πᾶσαι ἡμῶν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ἰαθῶσιν.
Translation
“So take care, you who consider these things, lest this thought remain in your hearts and you die in relation to God. You who suffer for the name ought to [glorify] God, because God considered you worthy to bear this name and to have all our sins healed.
Greek source
[οὐκοῦν μακα]ρίζετε ἑαυτούς· ἀλλὰ δοκεῖτε ἔργον μέγα πεποιηκέναι, ἐάν τις ὑμῶν διὰ τὸν θεὸν πάθῃ. ζωὴν ὑμῖν ὁ κύριος χαρίζεται, καὶ οὐ νοεῖτε· αἱ γὰρ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν κατεβάρησαν, καὶ εἰ μὴ πεπόνθατε ἕνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματος κυρίου, διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ὑμῶν τεθνήκειτε [ἂν] τῷ θεῷ.
Translation
“[So count yourselves blessed]. Yet you think you have done a great deed if one of you suffers for God. The Lord grants you life, and you do not understand. Your sins weighed you down. If you had not suffered for the Lord's name, you [would] have died in relation to God because of your sins.
Greek source
ταῦτα ὑμῖν λέγω τοῖς διστάζουσι περὶ ἀρνήσεως ἢ ὁμολογήσεως· ὁμολογεῖτε ὅτι κύριον ἔχετε, μήποτε ἀρνούμενοι [πα]ραδοθ[ήσησθε] εἰς δεσμωτήριον.
Translation
“I say this to you who hesitate between denial and confession: confess that you have a Lord, lest by denying you [be] [handed over] to prison.
Greek source
εἰ τὰ ἔθνη τοὺς δούλους αὐτῶν κολάζουσιν, ἐάν τις ἀρνήσηται τὸν κύριον ἑαυτοῦ, τί δοκεῖτε ποιήσει ὁ κύριος ὑμῖν, ὃς [ἔχει] πάντων τὴν ἐξουσίαν; ἄρατε τὰς βουλὰς ταύτας ἀπὸ τῶν καρδιῶν ὑμῶν, ἵνα διαπαντὸς ζήσητε τῷ θεῷ.
Translation
“If the nations punish their slaves when they deny their own master, what do you think the Lord, who [has] authority over everyone, will do to you? Remove these thoughts from your hearts, so that you may live for God for ever.
Chapter 29
Greek source
Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ δωδεκάτου τοῦ λευκοῦ οἱ πιστεύσαντες τοιοῦτοί εἰσιν· ὡς νήπια βρέφη εἰσίν, οἷς οὐδεμία κακία ἀναβαίνει ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν οὐδὲ [ἔγνω]σαν, τί ἐστι πονηρία, ἀλλὰ πάντοτε ἐν νηπιότητι διέμειναν.
Translation
“Those who believed from the twelfth, white mountain are like this: they are like infant children. No malice rises in their heart, and they have never [known] what wickedness is, but have always remained in childlike innocence.
Greek source
οἱ τοιοῦτοι οὖν ἀδιστάκτως κατοικήσουσιν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ θε[οῦ, ὅτι] ἐν οὐδενὶ πράγματι ἐμίαναν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ μετὰ νηπιότητος διέμειναν πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς αὐτῶν ἐν τῇ αὐτῇ φρονήσει.
Translation
“People like these will certainly dwell in the kingdom of [God, because] they have not defiled God's commandments in any matter, but remained in childlike innocence and the same way of thinking all the days of their lives.
Greek source
ὅσοι οὖν διαμενεῖτε, φησί, καὶ ἔσεσθε ὡς τὰ βρέφη, κακίαν μὴ ἔχοντες, πάντων τῶν προειρημένων ἐνδοξότεροι ἔ[σε]σθε· πάντα γὰρ τὰ βρέφη ἔνδοξά ἐστι παρὰ τῷ θεῷ καὶ πρῶτα παρ’ αὐτῷ. μακάριοι οὖν ὑμεῖς, ὅσοι ἂν ἄρητε ἀφ’ ἑαυτῶν τὴν πονηρίαν, ἐνδύσησθε δὲ τὴν ἀκακίαν· πρῶτοι πάντων ζήσεσθε τῷ θεῷ.
Translation
“All of you who persevere,” he said, “and become like children, without malice, [will be] more glorious than all those mentioned before. All children are glorious before God and foremost with him. Blessed are all of you who remove wickedness from yourselves and put on innocence. You will be first of all to live for God.”
Greek source
μετὰ τὸ συντελέσαι αὐτὸν τὰς παραβολὰς τῶν ὀρέων λέγω αὐτῷ· Κύριε, νῦν μοι δήλωσον περὶ τῶν λίθων τῶν ἠρμένων [ἐκ] τοῦ πεδίου καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τεθειμένων ἀντὶ τῶν λίθων τῶν ἠρμένων [ἐκ] τοῦ πύργου, καὶ τῶν στρογγύλων τῶν τεθέντων εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν καὶ τῶν ἔτι στρογγύλων ὄντων.
Translation
After he finished the parables of the mountains, I said to him, “Sir, now explain the stones taken [from] the plain and placed in the building instead of those removed [from] the tower. Explain also the round ones placed in the building and those still round.”
Chapter 30
Greek source
Ἄκουε, φησίν, καὶ περὶ τούτων πάντων. οἱ λίθοι οἱ ἐκ τοῦ πεδίου ἠρμένοι καὶ τεθειμένοι εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ πύργου ἀντὶ τῶν ἀποβεβλημένων αἱ ῥίζαι εἰσὶ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ λευκοῦ τούτου.
Translation
“Listen about all these too,” he said. “The stones taken from the plain and placed in the tower's construction instead of the rejected ones are the roots of this white mountain.
Greek source
ἐπεὶ οὖν οἱ πιστεύσαντες ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους τοῦ λευκοῦ πάντες ἄκακοι εὑρέθησαν, ἐκέλευσεν ὁ κύριος τοῦ πύργου τούτους ἐκ τῶν ῥιζῶν τοῦ ὄρους τούτου βληθῆναι εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ πύργου· ἔγνω γὰρ ὅτι, ἐὰν ἀπέλθωσιν εἰς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τοῦ πύργου οἱ λίθοι οὗτοι, διαμενοῦσι λαμπροί, καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῶν μελανήσει.
Translation
“Because everyone who believed from the white mountain was found innocent, the tower's lord ordered these stones from the roots of this mountain to be put into the tower's construction. He knew that if these stones entered the building, they would remain bright and none would turn black.
Latin source
quodsi de ceteris montibus adiecisset, necesse habuisset rursus visitare eam turrim atque purgare. hi autem omnes candidi inventi sunt, qui crediderunt et qui credituri sunt. ex eodem enim genere sunt. felix hoc genus quia innocuum est.
Translation
“But if he had added stones from the other mountains, he would have had to inspect that tower again and cleanse it. All these, however, were found white, both those who have believed and those who will believe. For they are of the same kind. Blessed is this kind, because it is innocent.
Latin source
audi nunc et de illis rotundis lapidibus et splendidis. hi omnes de hoc candido monte sunt. audi autem, quare rotundi sunt reperti: divitiae suae eos pusillum obscuraverunt a veritate atque obfuscaverunt. a deo vero nunquam recesserunt, nec ullum verbum malum de ore processit eorum, sed omnis aequitas et virtus veritatis.
Translation
“Now listen also about those round and bright stones. They are all from this white mountain. Listen to why they were found round: their riches left them a little darkened and clouded, away from the truth. Yet they never departed from God, and no evil word came from their mouth, but only righteousness and the virtue of truth.
Latin source
horum ergo mentem cum vidisset dominus, et posse eos veritati favere, iussit opes eorum circumcidi, non enim in totum eorum tolli, ut possint aliquid boni facere de eo quod eis relictum est; et vivent deo, quoniam de genere bono sunt. ideo ergo pusillum circumcisi et positi sunt in structuram turris huius.
Translation
“When the Lord saw their mind and that they could favour the truth, he ordered their resources to be trimmed, not taken away altogether, so that they could do some good from what remained to them. They will live for God, because they are of a good kind. That is why they were trimmed a little and placed in this tower's construction.
Chapter 31
Latin source
ceteri vero, qui adhuc rotundi permanserunt neque apti sunt in ea structura, quia nondum acceperunt sigillum, repositi sunt in loco suo; valde enim rotundi reperti sunt.
Translation
“The others, who still remain round and are not suited to that construction because they have not yet received the seal, were put back in their place. For they were found very round.
Latin source
oportet autem circumcidi hoc seculum ab illis et vanitates opum suarum, et tunc convenient in regno dei. necesse est enim eos intrare in regnum dei. hoc enim genus innocuum benedixit dominus. ex hoc ergo genere non intercidet quisquam; etenim licet quis eorum, tentatus a nequissimo diabolo, aliquid deliquerit, cito recurret ad dominum suum.
Translation
“This age and the empty things of their wealth must be cut away from them. Then they will fit in God's kingdom. For they must enter God's kingdom: the Lord has blessed this innocent kind. No one of this kind will therefore perish. Even if one of them, tempted by the most wicked devil, commits some offence, that person will quickly return to their Lord.
Latin source
felices vos iudico, ego nuncius poenitentiae, quicunque innocentes estis sicut infantes; quoniam pars vestra bona est et honorata apud dominum.
Translation
“I, the messenger of repentance, count you blessed, all of you who are innocent like infants, because your portion is good and honoured before the Lord.
Latin source
dico autem omnibus vobis, quicunque sigillum hoc accepistis, simplicitatem habere neque offensarum memores esse neque in malitia vestra permanere aut in memoria offensarum amaritudinis, in unum quemque spiritum fieri et has malas scissuras permediare atque tollere a vobis, ut dominus pecorum gaudeat.
Translation
“I tell all of you who have received this seal to be simple-hearted, not to remember offences, and not to persist in your wickedness or the bitter memory of offences. Let each become one spirit. Bridge these wicked splits and remove them from yourselves, so that the lord of the flock may rejoice.
Latin source
de his gaudebit autem, si omnia invenerit sana. sin autem aliqua ex his dissipata invenerit, vae erit pastoribus.
Translation
“He will rejoice over them if he finds them all sound. But if he finds some of them scattered, woe to the shepherds!
Latin source
quodsi ipsi pastores dissipati fuerint, quid respondebunt ei pro pecoribus huius? numquid dicent a pecore se vexatos? non credetur illis. incredibilis enim res est, pastorem pati posse a pecore, et magis punietur propter mendacium suum. et ego sum pastor, et altissimo oportet me de vobis reddere rationem.
Translation
“If the shepherds themselves are scattered, what will they answer him for his flock? Will they say that they were harassed by the flock? They will not be believed. For it is incredible that a shepherd could suffer at the hands of a flock, and he will be punished more severely for his lie. I too am a shepherd, and I must give the Most High an account of you.
Chapter 32
Latin source
remediate ergo vos, dum adhuc turris aedificatur.
Translation
“So put yourselves right while the tower is still being built.
Latin source
dominus habitat in viris amantibus pacem. etenim deo pax cara est, a litigiosis vero et perditis malitiae longe abest. reddite igitur ei spiritum integrum, sicut accepistis.
Translation
“The Lord dwells in people who love peace. For peace is dear to God, and he is far from the quarrelsome and those ruined by wickedness. So return the spirit to him whole, as you received it.
Latin source
si enim dederis fulloni vestimentum integrum novum, integrum iterum vis recipere; fullo autem, si tibi scissum reddat, recipies? nonne statim excandesces et eum convicio persequeris dicens: Vestimentum integrum tibi dedi. quare scidisti illud et inutile redegisti? et propter scissuram, quam in eo fecisti, in usum esse non potest. nonne haec omnia verba dices fulloni ei de scissura, quam in vestimento tuo fecerit?
Translation
“If you give a fuller a new, whole garment, you want to receive it back whole. But if the fuller returns it torn, will you accept it? Will you not immediately become angry and assail him with abuse, saying, ‘I gave you a whole garment. Why did you tear it and make it useless? Because of the tear you made in it, it cannot be used.’ Will you not say all these words to that fuller about the tear he made in your garment?
Latin source
si igitur tu doles de vestimento tuo et quereris, quod non illud integrum recipias, quid putas dominum tibi facturum, qui spiritum integrum tibi dedit, et tu eum totum inutilem redegisti, ita ut in. nullo usu esse possit domino suo? inutilis enim coepit esse usus eius, cum sit corruptus a te. nonne dominus spiritum eius propter hoc factum tuum afficiet?
Translation
“If you grieve over your garment and complain that you do not receive it back whole, what do you think the Lord will do to you? He gave you a whole spirit, and you made it completely useless, so that it can be of no use to its lord. Its use became worthless when you corrupted it. Will the Lord not afflict his spirit because of this deed of yours?”
Latin source
plane, inquam, omnes eos, quoscunque invenerit in memoria offensarum permanere, afficiet. clementiam, inquit, eius nolite calcare, sed potius honorate eum, quod tam patiens est ad delicta vestra et non est sicut vos. agite enim poenitentiam. utile est vobis.
Translation
“Certainly,” I said. “He will afflict everyone he finds persisting in the memory of offences.” “Do not trample on his mercy,” he said. “Rather, honour him, because he is so patient with your offences and is not like you. Repent: it benefits you.
Chapter 33
Latin source
haec omnia, quae supra scripta sunt, ego pastor, nuncius poenitentiae, ostendi et locutus sum dei servis. si ergo credideritis et audieritis verba mea et ambulaveritis in his et correxeritis itinera vestra, vivere poteritis. sin autem permanseritis in malitia et memoria offensarum, nullus ex huiusmodi vivet deo. haec omnia me dicente dicta sunt vobis.
Translation
“I, the shepherd, the messenger of repentance, have shown and spoken all these things written above to God's servants. If you believe, hear my words, live by them, and correct your paths, you will be able to live. But if you persist in wickedness and the memory of offences, none of you who are like this will live for God. All these things have been spoken to you by me.”
Latin source
ait mihi ille pastor: Omnia a me interrogasti? et dixi: Ita, domine. Quare ergo non interrogasti me de forma lapidum in structura repositorum, quod explevimus formas? et dixi: Oblitus sum, domine.
Translation
That shepherd said to me, “Have you asked me everything?” I said, “Yes, sir.” “Why, then, did you not ask me about the impressions of the stones placed in the building, and why we filled those impressions?” I said, “I forgot, sir.”
Latin source
Audi nunc, inquit, et de illis: hi sunt, qui mandata mea nunc audierunt et ex totis praecordiis egerunt poenitentiam. cumque vidisset dominus, bonam atque puram esse poenitentiam eorum, et posse eos in ea permanere, iussit priora peccata eorum deleri. hae enim formae peccata eorum erant et exaequata sunt, ne apparerent.
Translation
“Now listen about them too,” he said. “They are those who have now heard my commandments and repented from the depths of their heart. When the Lord saw that their repentance was good and pure, and that they could persevere in it, he ordered their earlier sins to be erased. These impressions were their sins, and they were smoothed away so that they would not appear.”
Reader’s notes
1. 9.9.7; 9.10.1–3; 9.33.2–3
The apparently single-stone tower and the filling of the stones' impressions are separate stages. “Fine pottery fragments” renders ὄστρακον λεπτόν alongside lime in 9.10.1. The material's precise form and use require lexical review; the text does not specify a modern plastering product. The later Latin formae is likewise rendered “impressions,” preserving the marks that are filled and then explained as sins.
2. 9.24.2–4; 9.25.2
The singular “holy spirit of these virgins” follows the chosen Greek. “Offspring” renders σπέρμα, retaining the promise concerning descendants rather than silently making it only a reference to followers. “Their passage is in the company of the angels” retains the unusual πάροδος in 9.25.2; whether this concerns passage, entrance, or passing onward remains a lexical question.
3. 9.26.2–6; 9.27.2–3
“Ministers” and “overseers” render διάκονοι and ἐπίσκοποι without importing a complete later institutional hierarchy. Widows' and orphans' livelihood is the object of plunder in 9.26.2. The different statements “I do not know,” “it is impossible,” and “repentance seems available” in 9.26.5–6 remain distinct. Earlier denial and a future denial in the present period are not conflated. Service to the end is a condition in 9.27.3.
4. 9.28.2–8
Willing suffering and suffering after hesitation receive different evaluations; both groups did suffer. In 9.28.5 the master prints “all our sins,” not “your”; the change of person remains. In 9.28.6 οὐκοῦν μακαρίζετε is rendered “So count yourselves blessed,” retaining an affirmative inferential reading rather than silently inserting a negation. Its force and relation to the following “yet” merit editorial review. Prison in 9.28.7 remains an image of threatened punishment; no unmentioned earthly proceeding is supplied.
5. 9.29–30.2
Childlike innocence is not lack of intelligence. The white mountain, its roots, the stones from the plain, and the confidence that they will remain bright preserve the source's relations.
6. Partial supplied spans in the final Greek section
supplied:partialmarks an affected English expression when only part of a Greek word or numeral lies inside the original supplied span. English phrases may also change order for normal syntax. These markers do not claim that all corresponding Greek letters were supplied. Where two supplied spans fall within one Greek word or expression (9.23.5 and 9.28.7), two markers remain in English. The Greek supplied portions for these partial cases are listed below; ordinary supplied spans remain separately marked in the translation. Square brackets present in the source are retained.7. Sim. 9.28.5
Partial spans: 1 · Greek portions inside supplied:
[άζειν]8. Sim. 9.28.6
Partial spans: 1 · Greek portions inside supplied:
[οὐκοῦν μακα]9. Sim. 9.28.7
Partial spans: 2 · Greek portions inside supplied:
[πα];[ήσησθε]10. Sim. 9.29.1
Partial spans: 1 · Greek portions inside supplied:
[ἔγνω]11. Sim. 9.29.2
Partial spans: 1 · Greek portions inside supplied:
[οῦ, ὅτι]12. Sim. 9.29.3
Partial spans: 1 · Greek portions inside supplied:
[σε]13. Latin ending: 9.30.3–10.4.5
These notes use HER-ENDING-SOURCE-v01. During this editorial pass, Hilgenfeld pp. 155, 158–159, 162 and their apparatus, and Tornau–Cecconi pp. 123, 125, 127 were read directly. This is an address-specific check, not verification of the entire printed apparatus. That source transcribes Hilgenfeld 1873, pp. 155–164, and reports an address-specific comparison with Tornau–Cecconi 2014, pp. 123–128. The latter supplies the paragraph grid, not this translation's Latin wording. Palatina is another ancient Latin version, not an additional Vulgata manuscript. Hilgenfeld's borrowings and emendations remain editorial choices even where his main text prints them without brackets. No fragments from the Greek master have been used to fill or replace this Latin block.
↑ Sim. 9.30.3↑ Sim. 9.30.5↑ Sim. 9.31.2↑ Sim. 9.31.3↑ Sim. 9.31.4↑ Sim. 9.31.5↑ Sim. 9.31.6↑ Sim. 9.32.2↑ Sim. 9.32.3↑ Sim. 9.32.4↑ Sim. 9.33.1↑ Sim. 9.33.2↑ Sim. 9.33.3↑ Sim. 10.1.2↑ Sim. 10.1.3↑ Sim. 10.2.2↑ Sim. 10.2.3↑ Sim. 10.2.4↑ Sim. 10.3.1↑ Sim. 10.3.2↑ Sim. 10.3.3↑ Sim. 10.3.4↑ Sim. 10.3.5↑ Sim. 10.4.1↑ Sim. 10.4.2↑ Sim. 10.4.3↑ Sim. 10.4.4↑ Sim. 10.4.514. 9.30.3 — decisive reading
Hilgenfeld prints necesse, not non necesse: “he would have had to inspect … again and cleanse it.” Tornau–Cecconi (2014, p. 123) prints non necesse, reversing that assertion, and iuvenes, “young men.” Hilgenfeld also prints inventi, “found,” rather than iuvenes, “young men.” Both choices are reported as based on Palatina; neither “not” nor “young men” has been imported into this translation. This does not establish that Hilgenfeld's reading is original to every Vulgata witness.
15. 9.30.5
No separate clause that they should remain good has been added. The source reports that clause only as a reading of an earlier edition in the apparatus. The trimming of resources and the good use of what remains are explicit in Hilgenfeld's main text.
16. 9.31.2–4
The seal, cutting away this age and wealth's empty things, and entering the kingdom remain distinct. The source reports amaritudinis in 9.31.4 as Hilgenfeld's conjecture with recourse to Palatina. “Let each become one spirit” preserves the difficult in unum quemque spiritum fieri without replacing it with Palatina's simpler wording. “Bridge” interprets the rare printed permediare in relation to the splits that must be removed; this remains a lexical and syntactic question.
17. 9.31.5–6
“Scattered” follows dissipata / dissipati and retains the flock-and-shepherd image. The shepherds answer for the flock; the sheep do not answer. The referents in ei pro pecoribus huius are difficult, but the answer is addressed to the flock's lord in context. “Most High” follows Hilgenfeld's explicitly emended altissimo. The source reports a different construction in the modern edition; it has not been substituted here.
18. 9.32.2–3
The source reports editorial changes in etenim deo and the repetitions of integrum. “Whole” remains repeated in the garment-and-spirit comparison. A fuller washed and treated cloth; the ancient occupation has not become a modern laundry business inside the dialogue.
19. 9.32.4 — participants retained
In Hilgenfeld's dominus spiritum eius … afficiet, the Lord is the subject and “his spirit” the object of affliction. The possessor intended by eius is not explicit enough to replace “his” confidently with “your” or a named person. The preceding question still asks what the Lord will do to you. Tornau–Cecconi (2014, p. 125) instead prints dominus spiritus … <te> … afficiet, with the lord of the spirit as subject and a supplied “you” as object of punishment. That may be clearer, but it is a different text. This translation does not exchange the participants to produce it. “Afflict” preserves the broad verb afficere in the punitive context. The printed dot after in is treated as a typographical feature, not a sentence break.
20. 9.33.1–3
The conditional warning in 9.33.1 is retained even though the source reports its absence from several Vulgata witnesses. In ea in 9.33.3 is also an editorial choice, not uniformly transmitted wording. “Impressions” renders formae, tied to the stone marks filled earlier and now erased as sins; it does not silently introduce a psychological category.
About this edition
English translation v02. Greek source v01: Molly Whittaker, second revised edition, 1967; Patristic Text Archive (2018), Annette von Stockhausen — conversion to CTS-compliant PTA TEI and markup of places and persons. Technical derivative: Stromata Editions, 2026-09-29. Fixed version ef861ab3.
Dotted underlining marks editorial supplied spans in the selected source and the corresponding translation, including partial spans. The sign alone does not establish the intervention’s nature or necessarily indicate a conjecture. Original square brackets are preserved.
Latin ending: the ancient Vulgata edited by Adolphus Hilgenfeld, Hermae Pastor (Leipzig, 1873), pp. 155–164; project source HER-ENDING-SOURCE-v01. Hilgenfeld took the insertion in Sim. 10.2.4 from the Palatina and added habet himself. The Greek digital source’s license does not automatically cover the Latin edition or the translations.
The translation is a reviewed working version following an AI editorial pass; human philological review is not claimed.
The reproduced Greek source and its technical derivative: CC BY-SA 4.0. Whitespace adapted for reading; words and diacritics preserved. Attribution does not imply endorsement of Stromata by PTA contributors.
Vulgata · Hilgenfeld 1873 · StromataPTA · ef861ab3CC BY-SA 4.0
← Hermas edition hub