<-. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE WRITINGS AND OPINIONS OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA SOME. ACCOUNT OF THE WRITINGS AND OPINIONS OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA BY JOHN KAYE, D. D LATE LORD BISHOP OF LINCOLN LONDON GRIFFITH FARRAN OKEDEN & WELSH NEWBERY HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD AND SYDNEY .SZ 3TEPHEH3 [The Rights of Translation and of Reproduction are Reserved.'} INTRODUCTORY NOTE. THE learned author of the following work, John Kaye, was born at Hammersmith in 1783, received his early education under the well- known Greek scholar Dr. Burney, and afterwards became a member of Christ's College, Cambridge. He graduated at the head both of the Classical and Mathematical honour lists in 1804. The only other instance on record of a man winning such honours is that of Baron Alderson. In 1814 he became Master of his College, and in 1 8 16 succeeded Bishop Watson as Regius Professor of Divinity. It was in this ^ important position that he delivered his lectures on Tertullian and Justin Martyr. In 1 820 Lord Liverpool selected him, at an unusually early age, for the Bishopric of Bristol, advancing him in 1827 to Lincoln. In this large Diocese he found time to publish the work before us, with many Sermons and Charges. To some he never attached his name ; such were his Remarks on Dr. Wisemaris Lectures and Reply to the Travels of an Irish Gentleman. His last work, Some Account of the Council of Nicea, had not emerged from the press when he died, in 1853. He was an acute reasoner, and his works are marked with a singular fairness and calm- ness. Each question is touched with precision and accuracy, and this it is which makes his writings so valuable to the candid inquirer after truth. The work now before us will be found interesting to the student of Church History, as introducing him to the great representative of the Alexandrian School of Divinity. Our series has already comprised the earliest Fathers of the East and West, as well as the "Father of Latin Christianity," Tertullian, and the first of his great successors, Cyprian. The Alexandrian divines occupied a ground quite distinct from those of any other school. The hasty judgment upon them is that they were mystics, corrupting the Faith by mingling Greek and Oriental philosophy with it. Doubtless there was a danger, as there is danger in the teaching of every great leader of thought, of giving undue preponderance to those doctrines and principles which are dear to him ; and, as F. D. Maurice somewhere says, " it was not always possible for men educated in the hot lecture-rooms of Alexandrian philosophers to enter into the healthful simplicity of the scenes in the mountains and pastures of Palestine." We may admit, then, that Origen sometimes fell into errors, and came short of a full understanding of Hebrew theology. Yet, in spite of their 010214 vi Introductory Note. defects, the Alexandrian theologians were the founders of Biblical inter- pretation and criticism. They presented Christianity to the minds of cultivated and scientific intellects, as no other preachers could, in a form which met their deepest aspirations, and yet without losing hold of the truths which came home to the meanest slaves. They showed how the Gospel is for men, for all men for the wise and prudent who are content to learn of God, as well as for those who are unlearned and ignorant men. Alexandria had produced more teachers of the manifold forms of Gnosticism than any Church. But in the good providence of God their errors were removed out of the way by the setting up of a true Gnosis, which, like Aaron's rod, swallowed up the evil things. Even as St. John had directed aright the teaching which men had gotten from Philo of a Divine Logos, and had declared that this teaching was true and that the Logos had been made flesh and dwelt among us, so this later school of Christian doctors did not set up Dogmatism against Gnosticism, as if they were in absolute antagonism. They affirmed that God had given to His children a true knowledge, which was the antidote of the false, and showed how Plato had been a forerunner of Christ. It is true that they made much of a " Reserve" in teaching, and have excited enmity i'n some minds thereby, who allege that herein they were relapsing into heathenism. But the charge is not sustained. The heathen philosophers, it is true, had Mysteries which they concealed from the mob, the vulgar herd ; they gave them the husks to eat, and prided themselves upon a monopoly of an esoteric knowledge, too sacred to be profaned by vulgar eyes. But so did not Clement and his fellows. They declared that the whole of the mysteries of God were open to all alike, to philosophers and to slaves, and that the only test was a moral one, not an intellectual. They forbade their disciples to deal with hallowed things before they had put off the shoes from their feet, in the consciousness that they were treading hallowed ground. Who does not realize the profound truth of such a method ? How many young men " inquire," ask questions boldly, cavil at received opinions, all the while that their heart is unmoved, and they have no desire to walk in the light of the truth that they discover, and so end in negations and unbelief? It was this danger from which the Alexandrian teachers sought to protect their disciples, and their success lay in the fact that they were able to produce a vast moral improvement in Alexandrian life, so that that which was ready to perish revived again. How Alexandrian Christianity in process of time produced the great Athanasius, we know a man admitted by the sceptical Gibbon to be the greatest man of the fourth century. A great philosopher and subtle thinker, he was strong in the Faith ; and the teaching of Clement shone forth visibly blessed by God, in this his greatest disciple. W. B. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Account of Clement, and Catalogue of his Writings, CHAPTER II. The Hortatory Address, ... . The Pedagogue, . The First Book, . The Second Book, . The Third Book, . The Stromata The First Book, . The Second Book, . The Third Book, . The Fourth Book, . The Fifth Book, . The Sixth Book, . The Seventh Book, The Eighth Book, . The Tract entitled, CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV. o <ru%of*<vo; vr*.ou<no;, 24 25 39 53 65 76 86 91 101 109 119 129 131 CHAPTER V. Clement's Description of the Gnostic, . .... 134 CHAPTER VI. The Pseudo-Gnostics, ......... 154 Basilides, ....... ... 155 Marcion, ........... 161 Valentinus, . . . . . . . . . . .162 Heracleo, ........... 185 Nicolaus, ........... 186 Carpocrates and Epiphanes, . . . . . . . .186 Prodicus, ..... ...... 187 Julius Cassianus, . . . . . . . . . .187 Montanists Hermogenes Encratiire Simon Magus, . . .188 Peratici, Hoematitre, Caianistae, Ophiani, Entychitce, Hydroparastatre, 189 viii Contents. CHAPTER VII. PAGE The Divine Nature, 190 The Holy Trinity, 194 The Son, 196 The Holy Spirit, .... 208 The Origin of Idolatry, 209 Angels and Demons, 210 CHAPTER VIII. Scripture and Tradition, 214 Clement's Testimony to the Books of the Old and New Testaments, 218 His References to Apocryphal Books, 220 His Interpretation of Scripture, ....... 221 His Testimony to the Inspiration of Scripture, His Account of the Septuagint Version, 240 His Account of the Sibyl, 241 His Mode of quoting Scripture, . . . . . . .241 Barnabas Clemens Romanus Hermas Tatian, .... 244 CHAPTER IX. The Connexion between the Old and New Testaments, . . . 245 CHAPTER X. Clement's View of the Scheme of Redemption, .... 248 Faith, 249 Justification, 252 Free-Will and Predestination, 254 CHAPTER XI. Baptism, ........... 259 Catechetical Instruction, 263 The Eucharist, . 264 Prayer, 266 Fasting, 268 Marriage and Celibacy, 269 CHAPTER XII. The Church, its Orders and Discipline, 272 The Lives and Morals of Christians, ...... 272 Their Temporal Condition, ........ 277 The references throughout the Work are made to the pages in Potter's Edition. SOME ACCOUNT OF THE WRITINGS OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA. CHAPTER I. ST. PAUL, in the infancy of the church of Corinth, writing to the new converts, directed their attention to the fact that they could not reckon in their number " many wise men after the flesh, many mighty, or many noble ; " and there is every reason to suppose that the Apostle's remark was equally applicable to other Christian communities. The causes which indisposed the higher, and as they are usually esteemed the better- informed orders of society, to the reception of the Gospel, lay in the passions and prejudices of human nature, and were con- sequently of general operation. The dread of innovation and the desire of maintaining established authority influenced alike the Jewish high priest and the Roman governor; while the Rabbi and the philosopher, alike accustomed to look down with contempt on the great body of their fellow-men, were indignant at the temerity of the teachers of the new religion, who told them that, notwithstanding their pretensions to superior knowledge, they were, in fact, as ignorant as those whom they affected to despise, and had not advanced a single step towards the attainment of true wisdom. Yet, though the first converts were for the most part taken from the humbler ranks of life, we learn from the writings of the New Testament that, even in the days of the Apostles, the Gospel was not with- out its wealthier and more learned adherents that it had made its way into the palace of Caesar, and was deemed not unworthy of consideration by some at least among the followers of Zeno 2 Some Account of the and Epicurus. In the age immediately subsequent to that of the Apostles, the heathen philosopher, how reluctant soever to believe that a religion issuing from Judea could deserve his regard, would still be unable to close his eyes against its rapid progress, and the extraordinary effects which it was daily pro- ducing. The union of gentleness and fortitude in the Christian character the sincere and unalterable affection which the members of the Christian community displayed towards each other the unshrinking courage with which they encountered the persecutions of their adversaries the strict conformity of their lives to the belief which they professed a conformity sought in vain in the manners and morals even of the teachers of Gentile philosophy these were phenomena which could scarcely fail to arrest attention, and to excite a wish to obtain a nearer acquaintance with the causes in which they originated. When, however, the philosopher began to make Christianity the subject of his speculations, and to investigate its evidences, his previous pursuits and modes of thinking would lead him to regard it under a peculiar point of view. With him the argument from prophecy would have comparatively little weight, because he had not, like the Jew, been nurtured in the expectation that a great deliverer, pointed out by a long series of predictions, was about to appear on the earth ; nor would the exertions of supernatural power, to which Christ Himself appealed in proof of His divine mission, produce their due effect on the mind of one whom the heathen mythology had rendered familiar with stories of portents and prodigies; he would regard Christianity chiefly as a rule of life, and estimate it by its tendency to improve the disposi- tions and the practice of mankind. Under this point of view Christianity was regarded by Justin, who became a convert to it because, as he assures us, he found it to be the only true, and sound, and safe philosophy ; under this point of view it was regarded by Clement of Alexandria, of whose works I purpose giving an account in the present .volume. Clement, according to Jerome, was 1 a Presbyter of the church of Alexandria, the 2 scholar of Pantaenus, and after tffU)iyVfUtu t KKT sxovat rou ip'ivos. Psedagog. L. i. c. 6. cxx. 28. 2 Eusebius says that Clement in the Hypoty poses expressly mentioned Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 3 his decease Master of the Catechetical School at Alexandria. While he presided in it he had the honour of numbering the great Origen among his scholars. He flourished during the reigns of Severus and Caracal la (i.e. between A.C. 192 and 217), and was 1 contemporary with Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem, from whom he was the bearer of a letter to the church of Antioch. Jerome 2 gives the following list of his works, describing them as replete with learning and eloquence, and embracing both sacred and profane literature. ^r/)(o//aTts in eight books. :j Hypotyposes in eight books. Pantcenus as his master. See Eclogce ex Proph. Scriptuns, Ivi. He supposes also that Clement alludes to Pantamus in a passage in the Stromata, in which he is giving an account of the most distinguished men of the Apostolic succession, with whom he had met. L. 5. c. n. L. 6. cc. 6. 13. Phot. Cod. 109. 1 According to Eusebius he was prior to Victor, Bishop of Rome. L. 5. c. 28. See also L. 6. cc. 6. n. Alexander appears to speak of Clement as his master, in a passage quoted by Eusebius, L. 6. c. 14. Clement brings down the chronology of the Roman Emperors to the death of Commodus, i.e. A.C. 192. For the various opinions respecting the dates of Clement's works, see Cave. Dodwell, Diss. Iren. iii. Sect. 27. 2 Compare Eusebius, L. 6. c. 13. 3 The word uvorvvcaffts is used by Clement to express the delinea- tion, form, or outline of a thing. S. L. I. cccxxiv. 22. cccxxv. 19. CCCXLVIII. 34. L. 4. DLXIV. 2. io. L. 6. DCCXXXVI. 27. Cassiodorus, who has preserved some fragments of a Commentary on the Canonical Epistles probably a portion of the Hypotyposes appears to have trans- lated i/-rori"ruiri;, Adumbratio. In the Hypotyposes Clement, according to Eusebius, L. 6. c. 14, gave a summary account of the books of Scrip- ture, not omitting those of which the genuineness has been questioned the Epistle of Jude, and the other Catholic Epistles ; the Epistle of Barna- bas, and the Revelation of Peter. According to him, the Epistle to the Hebrews was written in Hebrew by St. Paul, and translated by St. Luke : which circumstance accounts for the similarity of the style to that of the Acts of the Apostles. St. Paul did not prefix his name, as in his other Epistles, on account of the prejudice entertained against him by the Jews, whom the very sight of his name would have prevented from reading the Epistle ; or as Clement states, on the authority of one whom he calls the blessed Presbyter^ St. Paul would not style himself an Apostle to the Hebrews, because that title belonged exclusively to Christ ; his office was to preach to the Gentiles. Clement appears also, on the authority ot a tradition handed down in the church, to have stated, with respect to the Gospels, that those containing the genealogies were first composed, and to have ascribed the following origin to the Gospel of Mark. While Peter was preaching at Rome by the inspiration of the Spirit, Mark, who had 4 Some Account of the One book addressed to the Gentiles. Three books entitled IlatSaywyo?. 1 One book concerning Easter. long been his companion, at the request of the hearers, committed his preaching to writing, Peter, being informed of the circumstance, expressed neither approbation nor disapprobation. (See, however, Eusebius, L. 2. c. 15, where, on the authority of the sixth book of the Hypotyposes, St. Peter is said to have sanctioned St. Mark's work.) St. John was the last of the Evangelists, and composed his Gospel at the suggestion of his friends. He saw that the other Gospels dwelt principally on points con- nected with the body : he therefore composed a spiritual Gospel, under the influence of the Spirit. In L. 2. c. 9, Eusebius tells a story respecting the martyrdom of James, Bishop of Jerusalem, which he had extracted irom the seventh book of the Hypotyposes. We learn from the Paschal Chronicle, p. 224, that Clement, in the fifth book of the Hypotyposes, treated of the seventy disciples whom Christ commissioned to preach the Gospel ; and the chronicler probably found in the same work the state- ment, which he gives on the authority of Clement, that St. John lived till the time of Trajan, and travelled about Asia and the neighbouring pro- vinces, appointing bishops and deacons, p. 251. However deeply we may regret the loss of this work, on account of the information which we might have derived from it respecting the early history of Christianity, it appears, if the account given of it by Photius is correct, to have been in other respects of little value. He describes it as containing some truth amidst much that was impious and fabulous ; that in it matter was represented as eternal, and forms as introduced according to certain fixed decrees ; that the Son was degraded into a creature ; that the doctrine of transmigration was asserted, and a succession of worlds before Adam ; that an obscene and impious account of the origin of Eve was given, at variance with the Scriptural narrative ; that the angels were stated to have cohabited with women ; that the Word was affirmed to have assumed flesh not in reality, but in appearance ; that the existence of two Words of the Father was asserted, of whom the inferior appeared to men, or, to speak more accurately, not even the inferior ; for the words of Clement are, "The Son is called the Word, bearing the same name as the paternal Word : but it is not he who was made flesh, nor yet the paternal Word ; but a certain power of God, being as it were an emanation from his Word, which, being made mind, pervaded the hearts of men." These notions Clement endeavoured to confirm by quotations from Scripture. Photius, however, suggests a doubt whether Clement was really the author of these absurdities, from which he admits that Clement's other writings are free. He describes the work as consisting of interpretations of Genesis, Exodus, the Psalms, the Epistles of St. Paul, the Catholic Epistles, and Ecclesiasticus. 1 This book, according to Eusebius, was occasioned by a work of Melito, and written at the request of his friends, who entreated him to commit to writing the traditions which he had received from the elders with whom he had conversed. L. 4. c. 26. L. 6. c. 13. It is quoted in the Paschal Chronicle, p. 7. Potter gives two fragments of this work, MXVII. 15. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 5 A Discourse concerning Fasting. A Discourse entitled, "Who is the Rich Man that shall be Saved ? " 1 One book on Slander. One on the Ecclesiastical Canons, and against those who follow the errors of the Jews, addressed to Alexander, Bishop of Jerusalem. This account of the works of Clement is principally derived from 2 Eusebius, who also mentions an Exhortation to Patience, addressed to the newly baptized. The address to the Gentiles, the Psedagogus, the Stromata, and the tract entitled " Who is the Rich Man that shall be Saved ? " have come down to us nearly entire. Of the other works we have only fragments. 1 See Potter's edition, MXX. 40. 2 L. 6. cc. 13, 14. Clement speaks as if he had composed a work on Continence, a-s^i lynpetTsiets, P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxvi. 20. But Fabricius thinks that he here alludes to the third book of the Stromata, see DXX. 15 ; as well as when he says, P. L. 2. c. 6. cxcix. 25, }ti4)*.tf*fui & $a,6vripiH Xoyw. Another on the Resurrection, P. L. I. c. 6. cxxv. 42. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxu. 33, and one on Marriage ( T yayuxf xyy, P. I/. 3. c. CCLXXVIII. 24), unless we suppose him there to refer to what he had said on the subject of marriage in the second book, c. 10. There is a passage preserved by Maximus and loannes Damascenes, which Grabe supposes to be a fragment of the yu.pix.os ko-yos, MXXII. Ed. Potter. There are in the works of Maximus, T. 2. pp. 144, 152, two quotations from a work of Clement, entitled vspi vpovoiu,:. Potter, -MXYI. Clement speaks frequently of his intention to write on Principles or Causes, vipi Kp%vv, S. L. 3. DXVI. 10. DXX. 9. L. 4. DLXIV. io. DCiv. 7. L. 5. DCCXXXIII. 15. L. 6. nccxxxvn. 28. DCCCXXI. 3, where Louth erroneously understands by the words rev u,p%ix.ov Xoyov, the Word or Son of God, referring to L. 7. DCCCXXXII. 38. See DCIV. 7. Quis Dives salvetur, DCDL. 41. He speaks also of a work concerning the Soul, S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXVIII. l6. L. 3. DXVI. 22. L. 4. DCI. 33. DLXXI. 17. L. 5. DCXCIX. 5. Potter gives two fragments supposed to be from this work, as quoted by Maximus, de Anima, MXX. He speaks of his intention to write against Heresies, S. L. 4. DCIV. 26. Probably in his work on Principles. Compare DCIV. 7. Of a work on Prophecy, S. L. I. ccccxvi. 14. L. 4. ncv. 3. L. 5. DCXCIX. 5. Of a work concerning Angels, S. L. 6. DCCLV. 15. ^ipi TW A/a/SsXa^. L. 4. DCI. 34. Of a work concerning the Origin of the World, probably also a part of the work on Principles, S. L. 6. ncccxxvn. 39. See C. v. S. L. 3. DLIV. 24. From Eusebius, L. 6. c. 13, we might infer that it was a work on the Book of Genesis. 6 Some Account of the From l Eusebius we further learn that Clement was a convert from heathenism. According to 2 Epiphanius, he was by some called an Athenian, by others an Alexandrian : whence Cave infers that he was born at Athens, and studied at Alexandria. The account given by Photius of the works of Clement, and of the time in which he lived, agrees with that of Jerome. We will proceed to examine the writings of Clement, taking them in the order in which they stand in Potter's edition. CHAPTER II. 3 THE first is the Hortatory Address io4he-QreeJ<:s. 4 Clement begins with remarking, that the Greeks gave credit to the various fables which had been handed down to them respect- ing the power of music ; they believed that Amphion by his lyre had raised the walls of Thebes, and that Orpheus had tamed wild beasts by the sweetness of his song. " Yet," he proceeds, " though the face of truth is now revealed to them in all its brightness, they look at it with suspicious eyes. Let us leave them to their Cithaeron and Helicon, and the feasts of Bacchus, and their dramatic exhibitions, which are chiefly founded on the calamities and crimes of man. Let us turn to the mountain of God, and to the holy prophetic choir, and draw down from heaven Truth, with her companion Wisdom ; that, diffusing her light around, she may enlighten all who are involved in darkness, and may free men from error, extending to them intelligence (o-wecrtv) as it were a hand to guide them / v to salvation. Orpheus, Amphion, Arion, and the Greek V musicians employed their skill in confirming the perverse- Vess of man, and leading him to idols, and stocks, and stones. Not so the Christian musician : he comes to destroy 1 Pracp. Evang. L. 2. c. 2. sub fine. Compare P. L. i. c. I. xcvu. 7. VtCC^OfltV. - Hoer. xn. or xxxn. 3 Clement refers to the Hortatory Address, P. L. I. c. i. sub in. S. L. 7. DCCCXLI. l6. <rovi /*iv yap vporpivti o K-jpio:, L. 6. DCCLXVI. 1 8. 4 C. i. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 7 the bitter tyranny of demons ; to substitute in its place the mild and gentle yoke of piety ; to raise to heaven those who had been cast down upon the earth. a He alone has tamed man, the most savage of beasts ; and has indeed made men out of stones, by raising up a Holy Seed from among the Gentiles who believed in stones. Such is the power of the New Song; it has converted stones and beasts into men. They, who were dead, without any portion of the real life, have revived at the mere sound." Clement pursues the same figure, comparing the combina- tion of the elements in the formation of the universe to the skilful combination of the different kinds of music ; and stating incidentally that the Gentile music was derived from 2 Tubal, the Christian from David. He then proceeds, " He who sprang from David, yet was before David, the Word of God, disdaining inanimate instruments, the harp and lyre, adapts this world, and the little world, man, both his soul and body, to the Holy Spirit, and thus celebrates God. What then does the instrument, the Word of God, the Lord, the New Song mean ? To open the eyes of the blind, and the ears of the deaf; to guide the lame and the wanderer to righteousness ; to show God to foolish man ; to put an end to corruption ; to overcome death ; to reconcile disobedient children to their Father. The instrument of God loves man. The Lord pities, disciplines, exhorts, admonishes, saves, guards, and of His abundance promises the kingdom of heaven as the reward of learning from Him, requiring nothing from us but that we shall be saved. 3 Think not, however, that the Song of Salva- tion is new. We existed before the foundation of the world ; existing first in God Himself, inasmuch as we were destined to exist ; we were the rational creatures of the Reason (or Word) of God ; we 4 were in the beginning through the Word, 1 Clement here compares men to different kinds of animals in reference to their different dispositions ; passionate men to lions ; followers of pleasure to swine, etc. iv. 15. See S. L. 4. DLXVIII. 41. 2 According to Gen. iv. 21, Jubal, not Tubal, was the inventor of musical instruments. * So S. L. 7- DCCCXCV. 2O. rou KKIVU; pit ^iyopivou, olpxce.ioru.rou ^, 4 Clement here plays on the word *?%* ^' * *?%*%*&** rv. vi. 38- 8 Some Account of the because the AVord was in the beginning. The Word was from the beginning, and therefore was and is the divine be- ginning of all things ; but now that He has taken the name, which of old was sanctified, the Christ, He is called by me a New Song. This Word, the Christ, was from the beginning the cause both of our being, for He was in God ; and of our well-being. Now He has appeared to men, being alone both God and man, the Author to us of all good; by Whom, being instructed how to live well, we are speeded onwards to eternal life. This is the New Song the manifestation, now shining forth in us, of the Word, Who was in the beginning and before the beginning. The pre-existent Saviour has appeared nigh unto us ; He Who exists in the Self-Existent has appeared ; the Word, Who was with God, has appeared as our teacher ; the Word, by Whom all things were made, Who in the beginning, when He formed us, gave us life as our Maker, appearing as our teacher, has taught us to live well, in order that hereafter He may, as God, give us life eternal. He has appeared to assist us against the serpent who enslaves men, binding them to stocks, and statues, and idols, by the wretched bond of superstition. He offered salvation to the Israelites of old by signs and wonders in Egypt and in the desert ; at the burning bush, and in the cloud which followed the Hebrews like a servant maid : He spoke to them by Moses, and Isaiah, and the whole prophetic choir. But He speaks to us directly by Himself. He is made man, that we may learn from man how man may become God. Is it not then strange that God should invite us to virtue, and that we should slight the benefit, and put aside the proffered salvation ? " 1 Clement afterwards inveighs in a contemptuous strain against the ancient oracles, and exposes the obscene character of the sacred rites and mysteries of the different deities. 2 He discovers in the rites of Bacchus an allusion to the deception practised by the serpent upon Eve. 3 He accuses the Greeks I 9- 2 - " IvroXoXu^ovrt; Evav, Euav txtivyv ^i riv h <rAv>j vretpyxoZ.o'Jtiyo-i. xou ffvp.i7ov opyiuv Bccx%ixtov ofyt; Itrrt rtriteffft'ivas. U-VTIKOC, yovv XKTK TJJV pt/3ff iuv 'Efipuiuv Qavyiv, ro ovoftx re Eilitx, ^ayvvoftsvav tpfttjvtVircu otyi$ n Qfa'.ux.. xi. 19. 3 xx. i. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 9 of a twofold Atheism ; they refused to acknowledge the true God, and acknowledged as gods those who were not gods. 1 " Atheism and superstition," he proceeds, "are the extremes of ignorance. Originally there was a native intercourse of man with Heaven; but erroneous opinions have withdrawn him, the offspring of Heaven, from heavenly converse, and prostrating him on the earth, have caused him to attach him- self to earthly creatures, and to invent seven kinds of idolatry. 2 He has deified the heavenly bodies ; the fruits of the earth, hence Ceres, Bacchus ; the punishments inflicted on evil deeds, hence the Furies; the passions and affections, hence Hope, Fear; the incidents of life, hence Fate, Justice; the twelve gods, whose origin is described by Hesiod ; the bene- factors of mankind." 3 Clement proceeds to describe the flagitious amours ascribed by the Gentiles to their gods. He inveighs against the public games ; and 4 points out the bloodthirsty character of the demons, who delighted in combats of gladiators, in war, in human sacrifices, being in respect of benevolence and kindness inferior to man. 5 He describes the progress of idolatry, and enumerates the places where many of the deities, worshipped by the Gentiles, were buried. 6 Before the arts of sculpture and carving were known, men worshipped rude symbols, a sword, a stone, a column. Afterwards statues were erected, of which Clement mentions the most celebrated, together with the names of the artists who made them. 7 "The makers of gods," he continues, "worship not, as far as I can understand, gods and demons, but earth and art, of which the images are composed. For the image is in truth dead matter, formed by the hand of the artificer. But our God, the only true God, is not an object of sense, made out of matter : he is compre- hended by the understanding. 8 Alas for your impiety ! You bury, as much as lies in your power, the pure essence ; and hide in tombs that which is uncontaminated and holy, robbing that which is divine of its true essence. Why do you thus give the honour due to God to those who are no gods ? Why, leaving heaven, do you honour earth? For what are gold, 1 xxi. 14. 2 Compare Ixxxi. 3, et seq. 3 xxvii. 17. 4 C. 3. 5 xxxviii. 22. t; C. 4. 7 xlv. 29. 8 1. 2. io Some Accoiint of the and silver, and adamant, and iron, and brass, and ivory, and precious stones, but earth, and from the earth ? Are not all these objects which you behold the offspring of our mother, the earth? Why, vain and foolish men, blaspheming the celestial abode, do you drag down piety to the ground, forming to yourselves earthly gods ? and, following these created things in preference to the uncreated God, immerse yourselves in thickest darkness ? The Parian stone is beautiful, but is not Neptune; the ivory is beautiful, but is not Olympian Jove. Matter always stands in need of art ; but God needs nothing. Art comes forth, and matter puts on a form : the costliness of the substance makes it convertible to the purposes of gain ; but the form alone renders it an object of veneration. Your statue, is gold, or wood, or stone, or earth ; if you consider its origin, it received its form from the workman. I have learned to tread upon the earth, not to adore it; nor is it lawful for me to trust the hopes of my soul to things without a soul (TOIS Again 1 . " We are they who bear about the image of God in this living and moving statue, man, the image which dwells with us : our counsellor, our companion both abroad and at home, who suffers with us, who suffers for us. We are dedi- cated to God for Christ's sake. We are 2 ' the chosen race, the royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people ; we who once were not a people, but are now the people of God;' we who, according to 3 John, are not from below, but have learned everything from Him Who came from above ; we who com- prehend the dispensation of God, and are trained to walk in newness of life. 4 Some, instead of God, adore the workman- ship of God, the sun, the moon, and starry choir, absurdly taking for gods what are only the instruments whereby to measure time (TO, opyava TOV ^povov). Human art forms houses, and ships, and cities, and pictures; but how can I declare the works of God ? Behold the universe it is His work ; the heavens, and the sun, and angels, and men, are the works of His fingers. How great is the power of God ! His mere volition is the creation of the world ; for God alone created it, since He alone is truly God. He creates by His 1 Hi. 27. - i Pet. ii. 9, io. '' viii. 23, iii. 31, iv. 25. 4 liv. 22. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 1 mere will, and the effects follow upon His mere volition. Herein consists the error of the philosophers, who rightly admit that man is made for the contemplation of heaven, yet worship the heavenly bodies, which are objects of sight ; for though the heavenly bodies are not the works of man, they were created for man. Adore not then the sun, but raise your affections to Him Who made the sun ; deify not the universe, but seek the Creator of the universe. Divine wisdom is left as the only refuge of him who would reach the gates of salva- tion ; thence proceeding, as from a sacred asylum, man hastens to salvation, no longer liable to be led astray by demons." 1 Clement proceeds to enumerate the opinions of the philo- sophers respecting the gods, and the first principles of things. Having pointed out their errors, he says, - " I long for the Lord of spirits, the Lord of fire ; I seek not the works of God, but the Creator of the world, the God who gives light to the sun. But whom must I take as the assistant of my search ? Perhaps you will say, Plato. Where then, O Plato, must we seek for God ? You answer, that it is difficult to discover the Father and Maker of the universe ; and, when we have dis- covered, impossible to declare Him to all. Why so ? He is ineffable. You say well, O Plato ; you almost touch the truth. But do not faint ; take up with me the inquiry concerning the good (Ta.yo.0ov) : for a certain Divine effluence distils upon all men, but chiefly upon those who employ themselves in rational inquiries ; on which account they confess, even against their will, that there is one God, imperishable, uncreated. 3 You say yourself that all things are around the King of all things, and that He is the cause of all. Who then is the King of all things? God, the measure of the truth of things. As things measured are comprehended by the measure, so the truth is measured and comprehended by comprehending God. 4 Even the poets, the dealers in fiction, have approached the truth in speaking of the gods." 5 From the consideration of the opinions of the heathen philosophers, Clement proceeds to the descriptions of the Deity given by the prophets, taking his first instance from the * C. 5. -' C. 6. lix. i. 3 lx. i. 4 C. 7. 5 C. 8. 12 Some Account of the Sibyl. He l then exclaims : " O the exceeding love towards man ! God speaks to us, not as a master to his scholars, not as a lord to his servants, not as God to men ; but He gently admonishes us as a father his children. Moses con- fessed that he was afraid and trembled, when he heard only concerning the Word. Do you not fear, when you actually hear the" Divine Word ? Do you feel no deep anxiety ? Do you not at the same time fear, and hasten to learn, that is, hasten to salvation, dreading the wrath, loving the grace, emulously seeking the hope, that you may avoid the judgment ? Come, come, O you, my youthful charge ; for unless you again become as children, and are born again, as the Scripture says, you cannot receive the really existing Father, or enter into the kingdom of heaven." ~ Clement's account of the progress of the convert is, that he is introduced by faith, taught by experience, instructed by Scripture, which says, " ' Come, O children, listen to me : I will teach you the fear of the Lord.' Then, as if addressing those who have already believed, it adds, * What man is he who wishes for life, who longs to see good days ? ' We, we will answer, the worshippers of the good (ro.yo.9ov), the followers of that which is good. Hear, ye who are afar off, and ye who are near. The Word is concealed from no one. He is a common light ; He shines on all ; there is no darkness in the Word. Let us hasten to salvation, let us hasten to the Regenera- tion ; 3 though we are many, let us hasten to be united in one love according to the union of the indivisible (/xovaSiKTJ?) Essence. Let us, who have received good, hasten ; let us in turn follow after unity, seeking the good Indivisible (p>vou$a). The union out of many, which out of discord and division receives a Divine harmony, becomes one concord, following one leader of the chorus and teacher, the Word ; reposing on truth itself, saying Abba, Father : God favourably accepts this true voice, when for the first time he hears it from his children." Clement 4 next supposes a heathen to object, that it is not 1 C. 9. Ixviii. 42. - Ixxii. 1 1. 3 waX/77Vff/v. Matt. xix. 28. S. L. 3. dxxxix. 3. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLX. 42. 4 C. 10. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. i 3 creditable to subvert the customs handed down to us by our forefathers. " Yet," he replies, " you forsake the kind of food with which the nurse supplied you in your infancy. You increase or diminish your paternal inheritance, and do not preserve it exactly as you received it. Why then should you not forsake a custom wicked and disturbed by passions (e/xTrafles), and godless ? and even though your fathers should take it amiss, why should you not turn to the truth, and seek the truly existing Father, and reject custom as a deadly poison ? for this is the most glorious of our undertakings, to show you that piety has been hated through madness and this thrice miserable custom. So great a good, than which a greater has not been given by God to the human race, would not have been hated and rejected, if hurried away by custom, and stopping your ears against us, you had not avoided our dis- courses, tossing the reins like hard-necked horses, and biting the bit ; and if, desiring to cast us off who are the guides of your life, and borne headlong by folly to the precipices of destruction, you had not deemed the Holy Word of God accursed. 1 God gives life: but wicked custom, after our departure hence, brings fruitless repentance, accompanied by punishment. Even a fool learns by experience, that supersti- tion destroys and piety saves. Look at those who are in the service of idols, with matted hair, with torn and squalid garments, never washed, with nails of enormous length like wild beasts, many of them emasculated, effectually showing that the groves of the idols are sepulchres or prisons. These men appear to me to mourn, not to worship the gods ; under- going sufferings, of which the effect is rather to excite pity than to evince piety. Yet seeing this, you still are blind, and look not up to the Master and Lord of the universe ; or take refuge from these prisons here below in the pity which is from above. 2 Let us not be enslaved, or like unto swine : but like legiti- mate children of the light, let us look upwards to the light, lest the Lord should prove us to be spurious, as the sun proves the eagles. Let us then repent, and pass over from ignorance to knowledge ; from folly to wisdom ; from intem- perance to temperance ; from unrighteousness to righteousness ; from ungodliness to God. To be a deserter to God is an honourable hazard. The lovers of righteousness, who follow i Ixxiv. 2. 2 Ixxv. 9. 14 Some Account of the after eternal salvation, have many other good things to enjoy those especially to which God alludes, speaking through Isaiah, ' there is an inheritance for the servants of the Lord : ' a fair and lovely inheritance : not gold, not silver, not raiment, which the moth corrupts ; not earthly things, which the thief breaks through to steal ; but that treasure of salvation, to which we ought to hasten, becoming l lovers of the Word. - You have received, O man, the Divine promise of grace : you have heard the opposite threat of punishment. By these the Lord saves, disciplining man by fear and grace. Why do we delay ? Why do we not avoid the punishment ? Why do we not receive the gift ? Why do we not choose the better part, taking God instead of the evil one ? Wisdom instead of idolatry ? Life instead of death ? ' Behold,' he says, ' I have placed before your face death and life.' The Lord proves you that you may choose life : as a father, He counsels you to obey God. ' If ye hearken to me and are willing, ye shall eat the good of the land.' Grace follows obedience. ' But if ye will not hearken or be willing, the sword and fire shall devour you.' Judgment follows disobedience. The mouth of the Lord hath spoken it: the law of truth, the Word of the Lord." Still inveighing against custom, Clement says, 3 that custom induces men to drink to excess, to commit injuries, to deify dead men, to worship idols. " But though the artisan can make an idol, 4 he has never made a breathing image, or formed soft flesh out of earth. Who liquified the marrow ? who hardened the bones ? who extended the nerves ? who inflated the veins ? who infused blood into them ? who stretched the skin around them ? who made the eye to see ? who breathed a soul into the body ? who freely gave righteous- ness? who has promised immortality? The Creator of all things alone, the Supreme Artisan, made man a living image ; but your Olympian Jove, the image of an image, far differing from the truth, is the dumb work of Attic hands. The image of God is His Word : the legitimate Son of Intelligence, the Divine Word, the original Light of light ; and the image of the Word is the true man, the mind which is in man, who on this account is said to be made in the image and likeness of God, 1 QiXoXoyous y.voMtvo'j;, Ix.XV. 26. - Ixxvi. 21. 3 Ixxvii. 8. * Ixxviii. 18. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 15 being assimilated to the Divine Word (or Reason) by the understanding in his heart, and therefore rational. But the earthly image of the visible man, the man sprung from the earth, the resemblance of man, appears as it were a momentary impression (e'/c/xayetoi/), far removed from the truth. * He who has never heard the Word may urge ignorance in excuse of his error ; but with respect to him who, having heard, is delibe- rately disobedient, his knowledge will be injurious to him, because it will convict him of having rejected that which is best. Man is bom to hold intercourse with God. As we apply animals to the uses for which they were naturally designed, so we invite man, who was made for the contempla- tion of heaven, who is indeed a heavenly plant, to the know- ledge of God. Let him perform the duties of his earthly calling, whatever they may be, but perform them in subordina- tion to his duty towards God. What is it but custom which causes men to worship stones, to expend their wealth and even life on matter ? Enslaved by it, they become unable to take compassion on themselves, and unfitted to obey those who would take compassion on them, and voluntarily go on to destruction, even to their latest breath. Custom induces men to deify stones, and the phenomena of nature, and the elements, and the heavenly bodies, and the passions and actions of men, and their bodily affections. But 2 when a certain providence of Divine power clearly appears around us, why do we refuse to confess that God, Who alone is God ? 'The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof.' While then we luxuriate in that which is His, how dare we to be ignorant of the Master ? Quit my earth, the Lord will say to you ; touch not the water, which I cause to spring up, or the fruits which I plant ; pay back the price of your sustenance to God j recognise your Master ; you are the peculiar workman- ship of God ; how can His property be justly alienated ? for that which is alienated, being deprived of its proper owner (crrepo/xei/ov TYJS oiKaor^Tos), is deprived of truth. 3 Blinded by your folly, you think that God speaks by a crow or a jackdaw ; you honour a crow as the messenger of God ; but persecute 3 Ixxix. 35. See S. L. 2. cccclxi. 3. I have here given the substance of Clement's reasoning, not his words. - fpovota. ns Svvoiftiu; ti'i'xv?, Ixxxi. JI. v l-Jvapts fi $iix,'/i, IxxxV. 36. 3 Ixxxii. 22. 1 6 Some Account of the and strive to kill the man of God, who does not caw or chatter, but speaks rationally, and instructs lovingly, and calls you to righteousness. You neither receive the grace nor dread the punishment from above ; for you believe not God, nor under- stand His power. His hatred of wickedness is as incompre- hensible as His love to man is ineffable. His anger prepares punishment for sin : His love to man benefits, in order to lead man to repentance. Most pitiable is the state of him who is deprived of Divine assistance. The blindness of the eyes and the deafness of the ears are the most grievous of the calamities inflicted by the evil one ; the one deprives us of the sight of heaven, the other of Divine instruction. But you, maimed as it were with respect to the truth, blind as to your mind, deaf as to your understanding, neither grieve, nor feel indignant, nor desire to see the heavens and the Maker of the heavens, nor strive to hear and to understand the Creator and Father of all things, nor apply your choice to salvation. No obstacle stands in the way of him who hastens to the knowledge of God : neither want of offspring, nor poverty, nor obscurity of station, nor want of possessions ; nor would any one take brass or iron in exchange for true knowledge : this he rightly prefers to all things. Christ is under all circumstances a Saviour ; for he who is an imitator of the Just One has few wants, because he is a lover of Him Who has no wants, laying up a treasure of blessedness, not in others, but in himself and God, where there is neither moth, nor robber, nor pirate, but the eternal Giver of good. 1 Believe, O man, in man and God : believe, O man, in Him Who suffered and is adored, the living God. Believe, O servants, in Him Who died. All men, believe in Him Who alone is God of all. Believe, and receive salvation as your reward. ' Seek ye the Lord, and your soul shall live.' He who seeks God is active about his own salvation. Have you found God ? You have life. Let us then seek Him that we may live. The reward of the discovery is life in the presence of God." Still urging the Gentiles to abandon their idolatrous and vicious practices, 2 Clement says, " Let the Athenian follow the laws of Solon ; the Argive, those of Phoroneus ; the Spartan, those of Lycurgus ; but if you enrol yourself among the citizens of God, heaven is your country, and God your lawgiver. And what are His laws ? 1 Ixxxiv. I. - Ixxxiv. 41. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. \ 7 ' Thou shalt not murder ; thou shalt not commit adultery,' etc. But besides these laws, there are others perfective of them, rational and holy laws, written upon the very heart. 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. To him who smites thee on one cheek, turn the other. Thou shalt not covet.' " Clement x proceeds to ascribe the rapid success of the Gospel to the superintending providence of God. " The Divine power, shining upon the earth, has with celerity not to be surpassed and benevolence easy of access, filled the universe with the seed of salvation. For without the providence of God, the Lord could not have accomplished so great a work in so short a time the Lord, Who was despised as to His out- ward appearance, but worshipped in act, the Expiator, the Saviour, the mild (/zaAi'xios), the Divine Word, manifested as truly God, equalled to the Lord of all ; for He was His Son, and 'the Word was in God ; ' neither disbelieved when He was first announced, nor unknown when, taking the 2 person of man and formed in the flesh, He acted the drama of man's salvation. He was a true combatant, and combated in con- junction with the creature ; and being most rapidly diffused throughout all mankind, rising more swiftly than the sun according to His Father's will, He caused God to shine upon us : proving whence He was and Who He was, by what He taught and did the Bearer of Peace the Reconciler the Word our Saviour a fountain giving life and peace, poured over the whole face of the earth through Whom, so to speak, the universe has become a sea of good." :] Clement proceeds to magnify the goodness of God, first in placing man in paradise, and then in restoring him to liberty, after he had fallen, and by his disobedience brought himself under the dominion of sin. He interprets the history of the Fall allegorically, saying, that by the serpent is meant pleasure. Speaking of the assumption of human flesh by Christ, in order to redeem man, he calls it a Divine mystery, and exclaims, "O mystical wonder! the Lord stooped down, and man arose; and he who fell from paradise receives a greater reward of obedience, even heaven. Since then the Word Himself came to us from heaven, we ought not, idly busy, to go for human instructions to Athens, or any other part of Greece, or to 1 Ixxxv. 35. '- TpoffMTitov, Ixxxvi. 8. 3 C. II. i8 Some Account of the Ionia. For if He is our teacher, Who has rilled all things with holy powers, creation, salvation, benefits, laws, prophecy, doctrine, our teacher instructs everywhere, and the Word has made the whole world, Athens, and Greece. Surely you will not believe the poetic fable, that the Cretan Minos was the boon companion of Jove ; yet disbelieve us who have become the disciples of God, and embraced the true wisdom, at which the greatest philosophers scarcely hinted, but which the dis- ciples of Christ comprehend and proclaim. Human philosophy deals in particular precepts : it inquires whether men should marry, or engage in public affairs, or beget children; but Divine philosophy extends to the whole life of man, to every season and circumstance, and looks to the accomplishment of one object, the attainment of everlasting life." After a glowing description of the light which the Word has shed on mankind, Clement exhorts all men to break out into the following strain of thanksgiving : 1 " Hail, O light : for light has shone upon us from heaven, upon us who were buried in darkness, and shut up in the shadow of death light purer than the sun, sweeter than our present life. That light is eternal life ; and whatsoever partakes of it, lives. But the night avoids the light ; and setting through fear, gives way to the day of the Lord. All things have become light, never again to set, and the setting has believed in the rising. This is the new creation. For the Son of righteousness, visiting all things in his career, comes alike to all mankind, imitating the Father, Who causes His sun to rise, and the dew of truth to fall on all men. He has brought the setting to the rising; and crucifying death, has raised up life ; and snatching man from destruction, has elevated him into the air, trans- planting corruption into incorruption, and converting earth into heaven." From the consideration of the benefits, temporal and spiri- tual, conferred by God on man, Clement infers the necessity of believing in Him. "God," 2 he says, "asks only faith in return; and do we refuse it? 3 The Word, revealing the truth, has shown to man the great salvation, that either repent- ing he may be saved, or disobeying he may be judged. This 1 Ixxxviii. 14. - Ixxxix. 12. s Ixxxix. 40. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 9 is the preaching of righteousness ; good tidings to the obedient, judgment to the disobedient. The loud -sounding trumpet calls together the soldiers, and denounces war. Shall not Christ then, breathing forth a peaceful strain to the very extremities of the earth, collect his peaceful army? O man, by His blood and His word, He has collected a bloodless army, and entrusted the kingdom of heaven to its care. The trumpet of Christ is His Gospel ; He has sounded it, and we have heard. T The imitation of God consists in paying Him holy worship ; and we best worship by imitating Him. Then do men possess heavenly and Divine love, when that which is truly fair, kindled by the Divine Word, shines forth in the soul. Have but a right will, and you have life ; they are necessarily yoked together. Christ freely offers you life ; and who is Christ? The Word of truth, the Word of incorruption, Who regenerates man, Who leads him back to the truth, Who is the centre (TO /ceVr/aoi/) of salvation, Who drives away corruption, Who expels death, Who builds up a temple in men, that He may place God in them. Purify the temple; cast pleasure and sloth, like a perishable flower, to the winds and flames ; culti- vate the fruits of temperance, and dedicate yourself, as an offering of first-fruits to God, that not only the work, but also the grace, may be his. It is fitting that he who is the disciple of Christ should both appear worthy of the kingdom, and should be pronounced worthy of it." " Let 2 us then," continues Clement, " shun custom ; let us shun it as a dangerous headland, or the threats of Charybdis, or the fabled Sirens : it strangles man, it turns him aside from the truth ; it leads him away from life ; it is a snare, an abyss, a pit." After comparing the danger arising to man from the seductions of pleasure to the temptation of Ulysses by the Sirens, and running a parallel between the mysteries of Bacchus and the doctrines of Christ, he exclaims, 3 " O the truly sacred Mysteries ! O the pure light ! I am led by the light of the torch to the view of heaven and of God ; I become holy by initiation. The Lord is the hierophant, Who, leading the can- didate for initiation to the light, seals him, and presents the believer to the Father to be preserved for ever. These are the orgies of my mysteries ; if thou wilt, be thou also initiated, 1 xc. 24. - C. 12. 3 xcii. 30. 20 Some Account of the and them shalt join in the dance with the angels around the uncreated, and imperishable, and only true God, the Word of God joining in the strain. He, the eternal Jesus, the one great High Priest of the one God and Father, prays for men, exhorts men. Hear, He says, ye innumerable tribes, or rather all who are endowed with reason, Barbarians and Greeks. I call the whole human race, whose Creator I am by the will of the Father ; come to Me, to be arrayed under one God, and the one Word of God; be not content merely to excel irrational animals by the possession of reason. To you alone of all mortal beings I give immortality. I wish to make you partakers of this grace ; to confer upon you a benefit entire in all its parts incorruption. I freely give you the Word, the knowledge of God ; I freely give you My whole self. This I am ; this God wills ; this is the musical concent, the harmony of the Father*; this is the Son, Christ, the Word of God, the arm of the Lord, the power of the Universe, the will of the Father ; of which things there were formerly images, but not all resemblances. I wish to guide you to the original, that you may all become like to Me. I will anoint you with the ointment of Faith, through which you cast off corruption. I will show you the naked form of righteousness, through which you ascend to God. ' Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' This l is the counsel of the Word, not to hesitate whether it is better to be sane or insane; but laying fast hold upon the truth, to follow God with all our might, in soberness of mind, and to deem all things His, as they are; having learned, moreover, that we are the fairest of his possessions, let us commit our- selves to God, and loving the Lord God, esteem this our business through the whole of life. If friends have all things in common, and man is the friend of God (and he is the friend, through the mediation of the Word), all things belong to man, because all things belong to God ; and all things are common to both the friends, God and man. It remains then to pronounce the pious Christian alone rich, and wise, and noble ; and in this respect to call and believe him the image and likeness of God; because he has been made just and holy and wise by Jesus Christ, and so far like even to God." Clement says in conclusion, " I have placed before you 1 xciv. n. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 2 1 Judgment and Grace : doubt not which is the better ; for life must not be compared with destruction." The foregoing sketch of the Hortatory Address to the Gentiles will sufficiently confirm the character given by Jerome of the writings of Clement. The work bespeaks a familiar acquaintance with the Scriptures and with profane literature. He, however, who shall open it with the expectation of find- ing a systematic exposition either of the evidences or doctrines of Christianity, will be greatly disappointed. In order justly to appreciate its merits, we must carry ourselves back to the times in which it was written, and endeavour to obtain a correct notion of the moral and religious condition of the Gentile world of the modes of thinking and reasoning then prevalent. I have said 1 elsewhere, that we ought to give the Fathers credit for knowing what arguments were best calculated to affect the minds of those whom they were addressing. It was unnecessary for them to establish by a long train of reasoning, the probability that a revelation may be made from Heaven to man ; or to prove the credibility of miracles. Some few philosophers might altogether deny the existence of the gods ; others, admitting their existence, might deny that they interfered in the concerns of men ; but the majority, both of the learned and unlearned, were fixed in the belief that the Deity exercised an immediate control over the human race, and consequently felt no predisposition to reject that which purported to be a communication of his Will. They would rather inquire of him who professed to be the bearer of such a communication, as the Athenians did of St. Paul, what is this new doctrine whereof thou speakest? and would judge of its pretensions to a Divine origin, not by external evidence, but by what it taught and enjoined. Accustomed as they were to regard the various systems proposed by the teachers of philosophy as matters of curious speculation, designed to exercise the understanding, not to influence the conduct, the chief difficulty of the advocate of Christianity was to prevent them from treating it with the same levity ; and to induce them to view it in its true light, as a revelation declaring truths of the highest practical importance truths which they could not disregard without endangering their dearest interests. 1 In my work on Tertullian. 22 Some Accoimt of the The point, therefore, at which Clement aims in his Horta- tory Address, is to show the infinite superiority of the Gospel to the religious systems, if systems they could be called, and to the philosophy of the Gentile world. With respect to the former, his task was easy. He had only to contrast the objects of Christian and Heathen worship the all-powerful, all-wise, all-perfect God, to whom the Christian bowed the knee, with the frail and vicious and monstrous deities with which Poly- theism had filled the universe. He had only to contrast the pure and spiritual service which the Gospel enjoined, with the impure and sensual and degrading rites by which the heathen strove to propitiate their deities. It is true that idolatry possessed, in the corruption of human nature, a stronghold from which it could with difficulty be dislodged ; it retained men under its dominion by the gratifications which it offered to their licentious appetites ; but it was indefensible by argu- ment. Its advocates, when pressed, could only plead pre- scription in its behalf; could only allege the authority of their forefathers, and declaim on the discredit of forsaking, for a religion which was the growth of yesterday, opinions, and usages, and rites which had been handed down to them from the remotest antiquity. Hence it was that the early apologists of Christianity employed so much labour in proving the superior antiquity of Moses, and in showing that the Gentile philosophers were indebted to his writings for whatever their own contained, in any degree approximating to the truth, concerning the Divine Nature or the obligations of morality. They wished to convince the defenders of Heathenism that, even on the ground of antiquity, Christianity was entitled to the preference. The professed aim of Gentile philosophy was to accomplish the amelioration of human nature ; to render man superior both to external circumstances and to his own appetites and passions, by placing before him a model of perfect virtue, of which he was never to lose sight, and to which he was to conform his whole life and conversation. The philosopher failed to effect his object, because he was alike ignorant of the true source of moral obligation, and of the true standard of moral excellence; and because he could supply no adequate sanctions to ensure obedience to his injunctions. The main Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 23 design of the Hortatory Address is to show that the Gospel possessed the requisites in which philosophy was deficient. It proceeded from the one true God, to Whose superintending Providence alone its rapid progress could be ascribed. The bearer of the revelation was the Son of God x " the Word, Who is the sun of the soul, by Whom alone, rising in the inmost recesses of the understanding, the eye of the understanding is enlightened. 2 From this Divine fountain of light some rays had flowed even to the Greeks, who had thereby been enabled to discover faint traces of the truth. But the Word Himself has now appeared in the form of man to be our teacher ; and the sanctions by which He confirms His precepts are the most powerful which can be proposed to a rational being an eternity of happiness to the obedient, of misery to the disobedient." Man, according to Clement, was created in the image of God, and was designed to enjoy the Divine intercourse ; but seduced into disobedience, he forfeited these high privileges. The Word descended upon earth to replace him in the situa- tion from which he had fallen ; to enable him to fulfil the purposes of his being, by exercising himself in the contempla- tion, and aspiring to the knowledge of God. He then, who lends a willing ear to the message of the Word, reconciled to God by the mediation of Christ, and transformed by the Holy Spirit of God, continually advances in righteousness, wherein his resemblance to God consists ; so that he becomes the friend of God and like unto God ; nay, he is as it were made God ; for piety, 3 according to Clement, raises the human nature to Divine. The purifying and sanctifying influence of the Gospel is the theme to which Clement continually recurs. In enlarging upon it, he expresses himself with an energy and fervour which, in the opinion of the pious Christian, will compensate 1 Hx. 26. 2 ixiv. 8. 3 "lva 3j KK.} (rv trapa. avfyuirou fteid'/i;, ffr von apa. Knfyurfo; yivy,ra.i 6ios. VIII. 31* T<> V XUI ftovov a.'ffiix.Kfftx.i xa.<T d^iKv Suvuftivov eivfyuwov Qiu. LXXI. 26. ru, hpofoiouvrct, X,K} Sioffoiovvrix. ypd/u./u,aret. 32. hofotuy rov Kvfyuwov, LXXXVIII. 33. KK&" ?jy ixhovftsvoi. P. L. I. C. 12. CLVI. 33. i%ofAOiovp,tvoi <r 6iu. CLVII. 24. 24 Some Account of the many offences against good taste and many defects in reason- ing. The character under which he delights to contemplate Christ is that of the restorer of man to original purity, of the Creator of man anew in righteousness and holiness. If he touches upon the peculiar doctrines of the Gospel, it is chiefly to point out the motives which they supply to increased exertions in well-doing. If his subject leads him to mention the miraculous acts by which Christ, during His residence on earth, gave proof of His Divine mission, Clement instantly reverts to the spiritual miracles which were to be accomplished by the preaching of the Word, in removing the film from the mental eye in opening the ear of the understanding to the reception of Divine truth in raising the morally lame and impotent from the ground, and enabling them so to run that they may obtain the prize of salvation. This may be said to be neither a systematic nor a complete, but it cannot justly be called a low or unworthy view of the Gospel dispensation. It gives birth to lofty and exalted notions of the purposes of our being : it is indeed an expansion of our blessed Lord's injunc- tion, " Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." CHAPTER III. THE design of Clement in the Hortatory Address was to con- vert those whom he was addressing from Heathenism to Christianity. His design in the^PaedagOgo^ the work which we shall next proceed to examine, was to instruct the new convert how to regulate his future conduct. The duties of a Christian have usually been divided into two classes, his religious and his moral duties ; those of which God is directly, and those of which He is indirectly the object ; for as God is the Author of the relations out of which our obligations to our neighbours arise, in fulfilling our duty towards our neighbour, we at the same time fulfil our duty towards God. From this division of our duties it is evident that we are liable to fall into two opposite errors. We may err by allowing our- selves to be entirely engrossed by the relation in which we Writing's of Clement of Alexandria. 25 stand to God ; to be entirely absorbed in meditation on the Divine perfections, and in anticipating the happiness of a glorified state. Giving ourselves up to the guidance of our imagination, we may fancy that we are already separated from all connexion with the earth, and raised far above all human ties and obligations. We may err, on the other hand, and it is an error of far more frequent occurrence, by giving our attention exclusively to the duties arising out of the relations in which we stand to our fellow-creatures, and fulfilling them from motives wholly unconnected with any regard to the will of the Author of those relations. The Gospel supplies a preservative from both these errors. Assuming the existence of the relations in which we stand to God, it makes them the foundation of moral obligation ; and thus enforces the necessity of active virtue by teaching us to refer our whole behaviour to the will of God. But it contents itself with pointing out generally the frame and temper of mind which the Christian ought to acquire ; it does not descend into particulars ; it does not teach morality systematically. Clement was not insensible to this peculiarity in the Gospel ; on the contrary, 1 he derived from it an argument in proof of the superiority of Christianity to Gentile philosophy ; the latter, he said, dealt in particular precepts ; the former regulated the springs of action, the thoughts and affections of the heart. Yet in his Paeda- gogue, written in order to fill up as it were the outline of the Christian character sketched in the Gospel, he has himself descended. into the minutest details of human conduct, and given rules for the direction of the convert in the common transactions of daily life. Clement begins with stating that in man three things are to be considered, moral 2 principles, actions, passions or affections. 1 See p. 1 8. 2 Mav, vpdfyuV) <7ta.Guv. It is evident that in this threefold^ division Clement means to refer to his three works : The Hortatory Address, which had in view the conversion of the Gentile to Christianity, and the formation of right principles in him ; the Pedagogue, which was designed to regulate the practice of the convert, and to fit him to receive the instruction conveyed in the Stromata (rta.3>u.yuy<)vvro$ lv iu vou Xoyou T*JV uvSpcaffuv a-ffdivtiKv d-tro TUV alffSYiTuv If] T-/JV vowiv. P. L. I. c. 12. CCCCIV. 3), which were to carry him onward to perfection, to make him perfect in knowledge, in other words, to make him the true Gnostic. See xcix. 5. The design of the 26 Some Account of the His Hortatory Address had treated of principles, guiding the heathen to piety, and laying, as it were, the keel on which the vessel of faith was to be built. The discourse, which regulates actions, must be of a preceptive : that which regulates the passions of a suasory character. " Yet it is the same Word Who, now by exhortation, now by precept, now by persuasion, rescues man from the dominion of worldly habit, and leads him to the salvation which is of faith in God. When the heavenly guide, the Word, calls men to salvation, the name of Hortatory then peculiarly belongs to Him. But when, pro- ceeding onward, He assumes at once the healing and preceptive character, we then give Him the appropriate name of Paeda- gogue ; his object being l practical, not methodical or doctrinal to ameliorate, not to instruct the soul to point the way to soberness of living, not to knowledge. The same Word is doubtless occasionally a teacher, but not in the present in- stance; for when He is a teacher, he is employed in the explication of doctrines ; but the Pedagogue, being practical, having first directed us to the formation of moral principles, then exhorts us to the performance of that which is right, delivering pure precepts, and holding up the images of former errors to those who come after. Both modes are most useful : the preceptive to produce obedience ; while that which places images before us operates in a twofold manner it induces us to imitate the good, and to avoid the evil. The cure of the passions is effected by the persuasive power of these images, the Paedagogue strengthening the soul, and preparing the sick by benevolent precepts, as it were by gentle medicines, for the perfect knowledge of the truth. Health comes through the application of remedies ; knowledge through instruction. Man Pedagogue is thus stated by Clement : $60.90,? It o Uui^Kyuyo? *)p7v, lv r/>/<r/ SteitpovftiYo; /3//3Xo/j, -ffriv IK wetiouv otyayvv TI xeti rpoQriv rru.pio'rriffty roursfrtv, ix K0,rn%wffi&>s ffvvuu^ovffav <rr, <ff'iff<rti veXirtia.v xtti xpovra.pa.ffx.iuoi'^evffo.v ro7f t}t ctv'bpu.s lyypcttpoftivoi; ivdpirov rriv -^v^v t tig ivriffrvipvis yvuffrixtj; vrapado%r,v. S. L. 6. DCCXXXVI. 7. See also DCCLXXVI. 19. 1 SeeC. 3. CII. 31. L. 2. C. Q.^CCXV. 25. XX' i%ifav y.f rot vu.tio.yuyixou T'OVOU, TO }du.ffxa.).ixov tHos z-a.puffti'yuv. It is evident from this passage that by the $/$a<rxaX/xo v v rf^o;, Clement meant instruction in the mystical inter- pretation of Scripture, the knowledge of which was essential to the true Gnostic. See also L. i. c. 3. cu. 30. L. 3. c. n. ccciv. 5. V** pi* elv olx.6i x. r. I. CCCIX. 30. S. L. I. CCCXLII. 38. XX* o vovs yi rov rpo<pr l ri*ov xcti TOV iidu.a'xa.Xixoii wviuftu'ro; x. 7. \, Writings of Clement oj Alexandria. 2 7 must be restored to perfect health before he can enter upon the course of doctrinal instruction. The diseased soul first needs the Pedagogue to heal its passions ; then the teacher, to purify it and render it meet for knowledge. Such is the economy of the benevolent Word : He is first hortatory, then acts the part of the Paedagogue, lastly of a teacher." Having said that the Word is the Psedagogue, : Clement goes on to describe Him as " like unto God His Father sinless, blameless, not subject to passion pure God in the form of man the minister of His Father's will God the Word in the Father, on the right hand of the Father God in the form of God. He is our spotless 2 exemplar; and our strenuous endeavour must be to bring our soul to a resemblance to His. But He is altogether exempt from human passions : the only Judge, because He alone is sinless ; our utmost aspiration must be to sin as little as possible. The best state is that of him who sins not at all ; this is the Divine state. The second, of him who commits no deliberate sin ; this is peculiar to the wise man. The third, of him who commits few involuntary sins ; this is peculiar to those who are well brought up under the Paedagogue. The last state is that of him who does not continue long in sin. The safety of those who are called to repentance consists in renewing the fight against sin. The Word took upon Him the office of Paedagogue in order that He might prevent sin. He is the physician Who heals the infirmities of man. The good Paedagogue, the Wisdom, the Word of the Father, Who created man, watches over the whole of His workmanship. The Saviour, the all-sufficient physician of man, heals both the body and soul. The soul He heals by precepts and gifts of grace (^apurfuurw) ; but His gifts precede His precepts. He begins with giving remission to us sinners : 'Thy sins,' he says, 'are forgiven.' His disposing care was first employed on the external world, the heavens, for man's sake ; then on man, Hfs greatest work." "The Lord," Clement 3 proceeds, "as God, remits the sins of man : as man, disciplines him so that he may not sin. Man is dear to God, inasmuch as he is God's workmanship : other beings He created by a command ; but man He fashioned with 1 C. 2. 3 s/**v, with reference to Gen. i. 26. 3 C. 3. 28 Some Account of the His own hands, and breathed into him something peculiar to Himself. That, therefore, which was made by God, and after His own image, was created by Him, either being selected on its own account, or on account of something else. If on its own account, He Who is good loves that which is good ; and that which is called the Inspiration or breath (TO e/A</>vo->7//,a) of God is the inward charm (TO <t>i\rpov) which renders man dear to God. If selected on account of something else, God could have no other motive for creating him than this that, unless he existed, God could not be a good Creator, or man arrive at the knowledge of God. For, unless man had been made, God would not have made that on account of which man was made ; and that force, which He possessed hidden in His will, He perfected through the external power of creation, receiving from- man 'that which made man (that on account of which man was made), and He saw him whom He had (made), and that which He willed took effect. Nothing is impossible with God. Man, therefore, whom God made, was selected on his own account ; but that which is selected on its own account belongs, as it were, to Him by Whom it is so selected, and is therefore dear to Him. How, indeed, could man be otherwise than dear to God ? man, on whose account the Only-Begotten descended from the bosom of the Father, the Word of faith, the superabundance of faith ? " Clement's reasoning is somewhat obscure ; but his meaning seems to be, that the object of man's creation must either be to display the goodness of God, or to enable man to arrive at the knowledge of God ; in either case, man was not created on account of anything exterior to him, but on his own account. The conclusion is, that we must in turn love Him, Who through His love of us has become our guide into the best course of life ; and must live according to the precepts which express His will ; not merely doing what is commanded, or avoiding what is forbidden, but also turning aside from some of the images ( l ciKoVcoj/), or examples set before us, and imitating others, and thus performing the works of the Pedagogue after His likeness ; so that we may realize the words, " in His image, after His likeness." 1 Compare c. r. xcvin. 20. S. L. 3. DLXXII. 19. P. L. 3. c. 8. cclxxx. i. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 29 1 Clement next shows that the Pedagogue's instructions are alike applicable to men and women. The feelings and habits of Gentile antiquity might render it necessary for him seriously to discuss points on which we should deem it impossible even to raise a question. Having shown who the Pedagogue is, 2 Clement proceeds to inquire who are the TrcuSes, the children. " We," he answers, " who are Christians." He proves this assertion by referring to the passages in Scripture in which Christians are called children, infants, sons, a new people, colts, lambs. " Let it not," :5 he says, " be supposed that we are called children because childhood is the age when the reason is not matured ; nor let us ignorantly misinterpret the words of Christ, 'Unless ye become as these children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of God.' We do not, like infants, roll upon the ground ; or creep upon the earth as heretofore, like serpents, twisting (tXvo-TTw/xei/ot, f. eiAvo-TTw/xerot, a word expressing the motion of a snake) our whole body around senseless desires ; but stretch- ing upwards in thought, renouncing the world and sin, touching the earth lightly with our toe, so as just to appear to be in the world, we follow after holy wisdom, which seems folly to those who are sharpened in craftiness. We are truly children who know God alone as our Father, simple, infantine, pure, lovers of the horn of the unicorn (worshippers of one God). 4 As the word child implies a learner, the word man implies an in- structor ; and in Scripture it is used to signify that which is perfect. The Lord is called a man on account of His being perfect in righteousness ; and we shall be perfected when we become the church, having received Christ the head. Clement 5 puts interpretations sufficiently fanciful on many of the passages of Scripture which he quotes in order to establish his point." G He next combats an opinion, advanced by some of the 1 C. 4. Compare S. L. 4. DXC. 15. DCXVII. 8. 2 C. 5. 3 cvii. 20. 4 cviii. 10. 5 cviii. 36. He discusses the etymology of the word IV-TH;, qu. vsjj*-/*,-, not vj (privative), and riV/,-. In cxi. we find more than one strange application of events in the history of Isaac to Christ. 6 C. 6. 30 Some Account of the Gnostic sects, that the word children was applied to ordinary Christians, who know, as it were, only the rudiments of Chris- tianity, in contradistinction from themselves, the enlightened few, who had attained to perfect knowledge. " On the con- trary, immediately upon our regeneration we attained the perfection, for the sake of which we were pressing for- wards; for we were enlightened, that is, enabled to know God. He who knows that which is perfect is not himself imperfect." In confirmation of this statement, Clement appeals to the circumstances which took place at the bap- tism of our Lord, Who was perfected by lavation only (He was baptized in order to fulfil all righteousness), and sancti- fied by the descent of the Holy Spirit. The 1 same is the case with us, to whom Christ was an example; being baptized, w r e are enlightened ; being enlightened, we receive the adoption of sons ; having received the adoption, we are perfected ; being perfected, we are rendered immortal. It seems, however, that the perfection in baptism of which Clement speaks, is not so much an actual as a prospective perfection the commencement of a perfection to be here- after accomplished. For he adds that, "as all things take place as soon as God commands, so the completion of grace follows upon His mere will to confer it. He anticipates the future by the power of His will. Moreover, the deliverance from evils is the beginning of salvation. Christians then alone, when they first touch the boundaries of life, are already perfect ; separated from death, they already live. To follow Christ is salvation. 2 For that which was made in Him is life. He Himself says, ' He who hears My words, and believes in Him Who sent Me, has" eternal life, and comes not into judg- ment, for he has passed from death to life.' Thus only to believe and to be bom again is perfection in life ; for God 1 Baptism, Clement says, is called grace (%pifp.u), and illumination, and perfection, and lavation. Lavation, because by it we are cleansed from our sins. Grace, because by it the penalty due to our sins is re- mitted. Illumination, because by it we behold that holy, saving light, that is, we discern the Divine nature. Perfection, because that which is perfect needs nothing ; and what can he need who knows God ? It is absurd to call that which is imperfect the grace of God. cxiii. 27. " An allusion to John i. 3, 4. But Clement entirely alters the meaning of the passage by a different punctuation. See Potter's Note, cxiv. 4. Compare P. L. 2. c. 9. ccxviii. 17. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 31 never fails in power. 1 As His will is an effect (epyov) and is called the universe (xoVftos), 2 so also His design is the salva- tion of man, and this is called the church. He knows them whom He has called, whom He has saved. He saved them when He called them." Clement 3 compares the state of a baptized person to that of one who has been couched for a cataract. The operator does not supply light from without, but removes the impediment to the transmission of light to the pupil. So in the case of the baptized person, the sins which obscured the Holy Spirit being removed, the spiritual eye, by which alone we behold the Deity, becomes free and unobstructed and clear, the Holy Spirit flowing into it from heaven. " Perhaps," Clement proceeds, " it may be said that he has not yet received the perfect gift. I admit it ; but he is in the light, and 4 the darkness does not comprehend him. There is no intermediate state between light and darkness. The end is reserved to the resurrection of believers, of which no man can partake unless he partakes of the promise pre- viously professed (of which he professed his belief in baptism). We mean not to say that the arrival at the end and the anti- cipation of the arrival are simultaneous; for eternity (cuwv) and time are not the same ; or the starting for the goal and the arrival at it ; but both relate to one object, and 5 one per- son is concerned in both. Faith, then, which is generated in time, may be termed the starting ; and the attainment of the promise, which is established through eternity, the goal. Clement's conclusion is, that believers possess that which will be after the resurrection, as if it already was, anticipating it by faith. 6 Knowledge, then, is in illumination (baptism), and the end of knowledge is rest, which is the ultimate object of desire. The bonds of sin are loosed by faith on the part of man, by grace on the part of God, there being one healing remedy rational baptism, or baptism by the Word (Aoywcw). We are by it cleansed from all our sins, and immediately cease to be wicked. This is one grace of illumination, that 1 Compare c. Iv. I. quoted in p. 10. 2 ttirus *< TO fitukHfUt etvrov oivfyuvruv ifrt ffeurnpiK, xot,} rotlro IxxXtiffiot, xixXrirati' oidtv evv ovs xixXqxiv, ou$ ffiruxtv. xixXrjxiv E oifta, xa,} ffiffuxiv. Perhaps we should read, oH^iv ovv ovs xixXyxtv. ou; ^l KIX^WKIV, cLpu. / a-ifaxtv. Cxiv. II. 3 cxiv. 23. 4 John i. 5. 8 &, perhaps the one Lord or Saviour, cxv. n. 6 cxvi. i. 32 Some Account of the our conversation is not the same after baptism as before." Clement 1 goes on to show, in opposition to the exclusive system of the Gnostics, that the offer of redemption is made to all. He quotes Gal. iii. 23 and i Cor. xii. 13, and infers from these passages that the distinction of believers into yvoxrriKoi and \lrvxutol was without foundation ; but that all, having put off fleshly lusts, are equal and spiritual before the Lord. The Gnostics, 2 against whom Clement is arguing, appear to have called the recollection of better things, the filtering, straining out 3 (SivAicr/Aw) of the Spirit ; meaning that the separation of the worse parts was effected by the recollection of the better ; but as he who is reminded of what is better necessarily repents of what is worse, according to this repre- sentation the Spirit repents. They seem to have insisted on i Cor. xiii. u, where St. Paul says, "When I was a child, I thought as a child, I spake as a child ; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." But here, Clement observes, " the apostle speaks of his conversation under the law, when like one not arrived at the age of reason, minding childish things, he persecuted ; and speaking childish things, he blas- phemed the Word. When he who himself 4 professed to preach childishness, sends it as it were into banishment ; he alludes not to any imperfection in age or stature, or to any definite measure of time, or to any secret instruction in manly and more perfect learning. He calls them who were under the law, children ; who were disturbed by fears, as children are frightened by masks ; and he calls those who obey the Word and are free agents, men ; who have believed, being saved by free choice, under the influence of a rational, not irrational fear childhood in Christ is perfection with reference to the law." Clement runs into a long digression respecting the meaning of i Cor. iii. 2, which was urged by the Gnostics in support of their opinion. Milk, 5 according to them, meant the first 1 cxvi. 23. 2 cxvii. 4. 3 Matt, xxiii. 24. See the Eclogas ex Prophetarum Scripturis. vii. TO KM,} Wiv ftetr a. a,xu,6a.f>roc,) ffVfJt.-ffi'ff'^t'Yf/Ava. <rri ^VXS?) JW'A.l^'wfju Va rr,; yin/rtu; rt 4 I Cor. xiv. 20. 5 cxxi. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 33 rudiments of Christianity ; meat meant spiritual knowledge. In the course of this digression, Clement takes an opportunity of displaying his physical science by describing the mode in which milk is formed in the breast of the mother for the nourishment of the infant. He gives various explanations of the words of St. Paul, most of them fanciful and far-fetched. His 1 conclusion is, that we are in all respects united to Christ ; ransomed by His blood, nourished by the Word, and guided to immortality by His discipline. Blood is symbolical of the passion, milk of the teaching of the Lord. After comparing milk and the different modes in which it is used, with the instruction conveyed in the Gospel, Clement 2 reproves the Gnostics for daring to call themselves perfect, in defiance of the express 3 declaration of St. Paul that he was not himself perfect. If he ever calls Christians perfect, it is with reference to their renunciation of their former sins, and their regenera- tion into the faith of Him Who alone is perfect. He calls them so, not as perfect in knowledge, but as aspiring to per- fection. Clement had before stated that the Word was the Paeda- gogue. He 4 now goes on to explain more fully the manner in which the Word performs the office, mentioning incidentally that the names of Saviour and Shepherd are given to the Word. The way in which the scholar is led (TratSayooyia) is piety, which is the science of the worship of God, instruction in the knowledge of the Truth, the right discipline which leads directly to Heaven. The word TrouSaywyia is variously used : with reference to him who is led and taught ; to him who leads and teaches ; to the discipline itself ; to the things taught, for instance to the commandments. But when used with reference to Divine things, it is the direction of truth by rule (KCLTevOvo-fjLos aXr)6eLa<s) to the contemplation of God, and the delineation of holy actions in perpetual perseverance. 5 Clement goes on to say that Christ acted the part of the Psedagogue in bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, and guiding them through the wilderness. He it was Who appeared to 1 cxxvii. 20. 2 cxxix. I. 3 Phil. iii. 12. 4 C. 7- 5 Clement calls the ears of the child the rudder by which the Psedagogue directs his course, cxxx. 18. B 34 Some Account of the Abraham, Who wrestled with Jacob, Who instructed Moses how to lead the people out of Egypt. Them He led by the hand of Moses ; His new people, the Christians, He leads face to face. l His covenant with His former people was communicated through a Mediator, and appealed to their fears ; His covenant with us was communicated by the Word Himself, and appeals to our love. Clement adds that the law was temporary, 2 because given by Christ through Moses, His servant : the Gospel eternal, because not given, but being through Christ Himself. Clement 3 proceeds to combat the error of those heretics, who inferred from the passages of the Old Testament, which represent God as threatening and chastising, that he could not be the same God of mercy and goodness Who gave the Gospel. "There is nothing," he 4 says, "which the Lord hates ; for He does not hate anything, and yet wish what He hates to exist ; nor does He wish anything not to exist, and yet cause the existence of that which He wishes not to exist ; nor does that exist which He wishes not to exist. If the Word hates anything, He wishes it not to exist ; but nothing exists of which God does not cause the existence ; nothing, there- fore, is hated by God, or by the Word, for both are one, viz. God. For He has said, ' In the beginning the Word was in God, and the Word was God.' If, then, He hates nothing which He has made, He loves it ; especially man, the most beautiful of the works of creation, an animal capable of loving God. God loves man ; the Word loves man ; and he who loves anything, wishes to benefit it. But that which benefits is better than that which does not benefit. But nothing is better than the Good (rov ayaOov). The Good, therefore, benefits : God is confessed to be good ; God therefore bene- fits. But the Good, inasmuch as it is good, does nothing but benefit : God therefore benefits universally. But He does not benefit without caring for man ; nor does He care for, without watching over man. That which benefits by choice or de- 1 cxxxiii. 17. 2 'E-rt p\v rov vo/tov, tiofa <pi<ri p'ovov' v & a.i.Muu, %cipis tlffa. <rov Uetrpos, tpyev ifri <rou JLoyev ttlvHto' K*i auxin VilttrSeu tiytrett, XX Ita. 'iruroZ yiyvit&cti, ov %upis lyivtra ovtii ex. cxxxiv. 5. 3 C. 8. * Compare S. L, 7. DCCCLXXIII. 27. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 35 liberation (Kara yvw/xT/v) is better than that which benefits, but not by choice ; but nothing is better than God. To benefit man by choice is nothing else than to watch over him : God, therefore, cares for and watches over man : this He shows by acts; for He guides man as a child (TraiSaywywv) by the Word, Who is the genuine coadjutor (o-wayowoTT/s y^crios) of the love of God towards man. The Good is not said to be good, because it has virtue : in like manner as Justice (?) SiKaioo-vvrj) is said to be good, not because it has virtue (for it is virtue), but because it is good in itself and by itself. That which is expedient (TO o-o^^pov] is said to be good also on another account ; not because it pleases, but because it benefits. On all these accounts Justice is good, both as it is virtue and as it is eligible of itself : not because it pleases ; for it aims not at gratifying by its judgments, but distributes to each according to his deservings. That which benefits follows that which is expedient. Whatever description you give of the Good, the same will apply to Justice ; both equally partaking of the same qualities, and being consequently equal and like to each other. Justice therefore is good. You will perhaps ask, If God loves man and is good, why is He angry ? why does He punish ? " Clement, in answer to this objection, compares the discipline to which the Christian is subjected, to the severe and unpleasant remedies to which the surgeon and physician have recourse. 1 " Reproof is like a medicine which softens the callosities of the affections, and purges the impurities of an intemperate life, and levels the tumours of pride, and reduces man to a sound and healthy state. Ad- monition is, as it were, the diet of the diseased soul, counselling what it should take and what it should avoid. All these things tend to safety and perpetual health. 2 To censure is a mark of good-will, not of hatred. The enemy and the friend alike reprove : but the former in derision, the latter in good- will. The Lord does not upbraid men through hatred ; He has even suffered for us, whom He might destroy 3 for our sins. , When God threatens or chastises, He does it for the good of man : no argument, therefore, can thence be drawn against the Divine goodness. 4 Plato was of opinion that they who are justly punished for their transgressions, are benefited 1 cxxxvii. i. " cxxxvii. 25. 3 -rctpa. ray i^ietg a,lr'ia.;. cxxxvii. 30. 4 In Gorgia. 36 Some Account of the by the punishment, because their souls are amended ; conse- quently in his estimation Goodness and Justice were com- patible. The threatenings of God are striking proofs of His goodness : He threatens in order to deter men from sin. If we wilfully persist in sinning, the fault is our own : we choose punishment. l In punishing us, God is not moved by anger, but considers what is just ; and it is not expedient that what is just should be left undone on our account. 2 God wishes not to look upon that which is evil, for He is good ; while He purposely averts His eye, wickedness springs up through man's unbelief. In Him who is good, inasmuch as He is essentially (<f>v(Ti) good, there must exist hatred of evil. Wherefore I admit that God punishes unbelievers (for punishment is for the good and benefit of him who is punished ; it is the bring- ing back to rectitude of that which has swerved from it), but I do not admit that God wishes to avenge Himself; for vengeance is the retribution of evil for the benefit of the avenger ; and He Who teaches us to pray for those who insult us cannot desire to avenge Himself." Clement further shows that in Scripture the epithets of good and just are alike applied to God. 3 But he seems to say that the appellation of good belongs more particularly to God as the Father; that of just to God as the Word or Son, because He is to judge the world. 4 Christ addresses the Father as the Creator of the world, and calls Him God ; but the Gnostics themselves allowed that the Creator of the world was just. Clement's 5 conclusion is, that the course pursued by God in His discipline of men is various ; but always designed for their salvation. The Psedagogue bears testimony to the good; He invites to better things those who have been called (TOVS /cX^rovs), and arrests in their career those who are hastening to sin, and exhorts them to turn to a better life. 6 In continuation of the same subject, Clement says that the Pedagogue adopts at different times different measures in order to save His children. 7 He admonishes, He reproves, He rebukes, He convinces, He threatens, He heals, He promises, He gratuitously gives. But whatever measures the Pedagogue 1 cxxxix. II. 2 cxxxix. 36. 3 cxl. 37. 4 cxli. 15. cxlii. 18. C. 9. 7 Of these terms Clement gives definitions, which he confirms by quota- tions from Scripture. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 37 adopts, they are all directed to one object, the salvation of mankind. Sometimes He uses gentle, sometimes rougher remedies. "They who are sick," Clement x proceeds, "need a Saviour ; they who have wandered, a guide ; they who are blind, one who shall lead them to the light ; they who thirst, the living fountain, of which he who partakes shall thirst no more; the dead need life; the sheep a shepherd; children a Psedagogue; all mankind need Jesus." "All these offices the Psedagogue performs for man. If, therefore, He addresses them through their fears, it is not because He is not good as well as just ; but 2 because mere goodness is too often despised, and it is consequently necessary to hold out the terrors of Justice. There are two kinds of fear ; one accompanied by reverence, such as children feel towards their parent; the other by hatred, such as slaves feel towards harsh masters. The Justice of God is shown in His reproofs ; His goodness in his compassion. There is no incompatibility between justice and goodness. The physician who announces to the patient that he has a fever, has no ill-will to him : nor is God, Who convinces man of sin, unfriendly to him. God of Himself is good : but He is just on our account : and just because good. He has displayed His justice to us through His Word, from the time that He became Father. For before the creation was, He was God, He was good ; and on this account He chose to be Creator and Father ; and in this relation of love originated justice ; He caused the sun to shine (in the natural creation), He sent down* His Son (in the spiritual crea- tion). The Son first announced from heaven that justice is good, when He said, ' No one has known the Son but the Father; or the Father but the Son.' This reciprocal and equally poised knowledge is the symbol of primitive justice. Justice then descended to men : in the Letter and in the Body, in the Word and in the Law, constraining mankind to a saving repentance; for it is good. If then thou art disobedient to God, blame thyself who bringest the judge upon thee." Having shown that the passages of Scripture, in which God holds out threatenings, are not inconsistent with His goodness, because they are manifestly designed to lead men 1 cxlvii. 31. 2 cxlix. 21. 38 Some Account of the to repentance, Clement l proceeds to quote other passages in which God aims at effecting the same object by the language of exhortation, and counsel, and encouragement, and bene- diction. Praise and reproof are to be used as the instruments of reforming men, according to their different dispositions and circumstances. God uses both, and is equally good, when He praises and when He reproves. Clement 2 repeats his statement that the Word had acted the part of the Psedagogue through Moses and the prophets : so that it was evident that Jesus, the one true, good, just Son, " in the image and after the likeness of the Father," the Word of God, had been uniformly the instructor of mankind. 3 " In His character goodness is mingled with severity; He commands, yet His commands are such as may be obeyed. He formed man out of the dust ; regenerates him by water ; causes him to grow by the Spirit ; instructs him by the word, directing him by holy precepts to adoption and salvation, in order that transforming by his access (e* 7rpocr/3acrea>s) the earth-born into a holy and heavenly man, he may fulfil the Divine words ' Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.' This Christ was in perfection ; the rest of mankind are only /;/ the image. Let us, O children of the good Father, pupils of the good Paedagogue, perform the will of the Father, listen to the Word, and express the truly saving life of our Saviour ; prac- tising even here that heavenly conversation, by which being made as it were Divine, we may be anointed with the pure, ever flourishing, sweet-smelling ointment of gladness, having the conversation of the Lord as a clear pattern of incorruption, and following the footsteps of God : to whom alone it apper- tains to consider, and who therefore cares, how and in what manner the life of man may be rendered more healthy. On this account the Word is called Saviour ; he devises remedies to bring man to a healthy sense and to salvation ; watching favourable opportunities, detecting lurking mischief, laying open the causes of the affections, cutting up the roots of irrational desires, admonishing man from what he ought to abstain ; furnishing every kind of antidote, in order to save them who are diseased. For to save man is the greatest and most royal work of God. The business of man, a 1 C. 10. - C. ii. Seep. 33. 3 C. 12. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 39 rational animal, is to contemplate the Divine nature ; to contemplate also the nature of man, and to live as truth prescribes ; exceedingly to love the Paedagogue and His com- mands, on account of their suitableness to each other and their harmony; and modelling himself by the image of the Paedagogue, so to live, that his actions may be in unison with his words." Clement 1 goes on to say, that whatever is contrary to right reason is sin; "lust, fear, pleasure, are sinful, as con- trary to right reason. On the other hand, obedience to the Word or reason, which we call faith, is productive of that which is called duty 2 (KaOfjKov). For virtue itself is a con- sistent disposition of the soul regulated by reason in every part of life. Obedience is based on commands ; which being the same as precepts (vTro^/cat), having truth for their ,aim, lead on to the ultimate object of desire, which is called the end. The end of piety is eternal rest in God ; and our end is the beginning of eternity. The Christian life in which we are now trained, is a certain system of rational actions, that is, a faultless performance of that which is taught by the Word. This we have called faith. The system is the commandments of the Lord, which being Divine opinions, spiritual suggestions, have been written for us, as suitable to us and to our neighbour (to the regulation of social life). In the description of duties, some relate to life itself, some to a good life." As the former had been sufficiently discussed by the Gentile writers, Clement pro- poses to consider those which relate to a good life, and consequently to eternal life. Throughout this chapter Clement studiously uses the terms employed by the Stoics, and applies them to the Christian doctrine. Having shown in the first book Who the Paedagogue is, who are they whom He instructs, and what the course pursued 1 C. 13. 2 Perfectum officium rectum, opinor, vocemus, quod Greed x hoc autem commune KK^XOV vocant. Cicero de Officiis, 1. i. c. 3. 4<D Some Account of the by Him in their instruction, Clement, in the second book, descends to particulars. He l begins with the duties which man owes to himself, premising that our first business is to clear the eye of the soul ; " we are, however, at the same time, to purify the flesh, in order that being freed from those parts of our nature, in respect of which we are dust, we may proceed directly to the apprehension of God. With respect, therefore, to food, we must eat in order to live, not live in order to eat ; for food is not our business, or pleasure our object ; but food is necessary during the time of our sojourning here, while the Word is disciplining us for incorruption. Like truth, there- fore, our food should be simple, not exquisite (d-Treptepyos) ; suited to the simplicity of children ; fitted to preserve life, not to pamper luxury. Our present life consists of two things, health and strength ; these are best promoted by a simple diet, which is easy of digestion, and contributes to lightness of body." Clement 2 proceeds to inveigh against the art of cookery, as the principal cause of disease ; and gives a catalogue of the delicacies most prized by the 3 gourmands of his day. He complains of the abuse of the word 4 agape, by those who applied it to luxurious and riotous entertainments. Referring to the original meaning of the word, he 5 says that the enter- tainment ought to have its rise in charity, not in luxury. After 6 delivering some precepts respecting food offered to idols, he 7 proceeds : " It should be our aim to raise our eyes to the truth, firmly to lay hold of the Divine food from above, and to be filled with the inexhaustible contemplation of Him Who really exists, tasting the unchangeable, enduring, pure pleasure. For the food of Christ signifies that we ought to look for this agape. But it is in a high degree absurd and unprofitable, and scarcely human, to be fattened like cattle in order to die ; to have our eyes turned downwards to the earth, always bending over tables which are furnished from the earth." ' 1 C. i. 2 cbdii. I6 . 8 Of a gourmand he says, */ poi 3oxt7 o TOIOVTOS civfyuvos ol&v xx* } yiiSog iivai. ' CLXV. 5. 4 clxv. 1 6. 5 clxvi. 15. 6 clxviii. 22. t clxix. 19. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 4 1 Clement's 1 conclusion is, that we must be moderate, and even sparing in our diet; purchasing, however, and eating every kind of food without scruple. He says that Christians, when invited to the entertainments of the heathen, were not required to abstain from a variety of food ; but they were not to be anxious about it, or guilty of excess. He 2 graphically describes the eagerness with which many persons scrutinized the various dishes at an entertainment, and the ridiculous gestures by which that eagerness was expressed. He 3 cautions his readers against all ungentlemanlike behaviour at meals; against soiling their hands, or couches, or beards; against eating too quickly; against speaking or drinking with a full mouth. He appears to have considered fish as a pure and simple food ; because our Lord fed the multitude with fish, and Peter at His command caught a fish, to pay the tribute money. "All 4 things were made for man ; but it is not right to use all things, or to use them at all times. Opportunity, and time, and manner, and purpose, are of great importance with reference to the benefit of him who is instructed by the Paedagogue. 5 We must avoid those kinds of food which pamper the appetite, or stimulate us to eat when we are not hungry. A moderate frugality supplies a wholesome variety of dishes; roots, olives, vegetables, milk, cheese, fruits in their season, and whatever is cooked without gravy or sauce : if we must have meat, we 6 should eat roast rather than boiled. Christians may also eat sweetmeats and honey cakes." In this chapter are many references to the First Epistle to the Corinthians, to which Clement's attention was necessarily directed by the subjects of which he was treating. We have only to compare Clement with St. Paul, in order to be con- vinced of the superiority of that mode of moral instruction, which lays down general principles, and leaves them to be applied by the discretion and conscience of each individual, 1 clxix. 33. 2 clxxi. 8. 3 clxxii. 10. 4 clxxiii. n. 6 clxxiii. 31. See S. L. 2. ccccxcii. 24, where Clement quotes the authority of Socrates for this precept. 6 Clement grounds this injunction on Luke xxiv. 41. clxxiv. 5. I adopt Casaubon's emendation. Compare S. L. 7. dcccxlix. 9. 42 Some Account of the according to his particular circumstances, to that which pro- fesses to regulate every single action, and by its minuteness becomes at once burthensome and ridiculous. Having shown how a Christian ought to conduct himself with reference to eating, l Clement proceeds to drinking. " Water is the natural drink of man : this the Lord gave to the Israelites, while they were wandering in the wilderness : though when they came into their rest, the sacred vine brought forth the prophetic grape. 2 Boys and girls ought to be confined strictly to water ; wine heats the blood and inflames the passions." 3 Clement allows only bread, without any liquid, for breakfast or luncheon (TO apiorov) to those who are in the flower of their age. At supper he allows wine in small quantities. " They who are advanced in life may drink more freely, in order to warm their chilled blood ; they must not, however, drink so much as will cloud their reason, or affect their memory, or cause them to walk unsteadily." These permissions and restrictions Clement grounds on medical reasons. He 4 quotes an author, named Artorius, who wrote on longevity, and said that men ought only to drink enough to moisten their food. " Wine may be used on two accounts, for health and relaxation. Wine drunk in moderation softens the temper. As 5 life consists of that which is necessary and that which is useful, wine, which is useful, should be mixed with water, which is necessary." After describing the effects of drunkenness, 6 Clement proceeds to refute the opinion of those who contended that no serious subjects should be discussed over wine. He argues, that per- fect wisdom, being the knowledge of things human and divine, comprehending everything in its superintendence of the human race, becomes as it were the art of life ; and is always present through the whole of life, producing its proper effect, a good life. If, then, wisdom is driven away from our entertainments, drunkenness follows with all its train of evils, of which Clement draws a picture, at once, to use his own expressions, ridiculous and exciting pity. 7 He compares the body of him who drinks to excess to a ship, absorbed into the abyss of intemperance ; 1 C. 2. 2 clxxviii. ii. 3 clxxix. I. 4 clxxx. 2. L Clement talks of the watery sense of the law into which Christ infused blood, producing at the appointed time the drink of the vine of truth, the mixture of the old law and the new Word, clxxxiv. 4. clxxxi. 15. 7 clxxxiii. 26. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 43 while the helmsman, the understanding, is tossed about in the billows, and dizzy amidst the darkness of the storm, misses the harbour of truth, steers towards that of pleasure, and striking on sunken rocks, makes miserable shipwreck. * " Wine may be used in winter to keep out the cold ; at other seasons to comfort the bowels. As we ought to drink only because we are thirsty, we ought not to be curious about 2 wines. In 3 drinking, as in eating, we must be careful not to show any indecent eagerness ; we must not drink with so much haste as to hiccup or spill the wine over our beard or dress." 4 Clement observes that the most warlike nations were those most given to drinking. Christians, therefore, a peaceful race, should drink in moderation, as Christ drank when He was made man for us. In conclusion, 5 Clement cautions females to be guarded in their manner of drinking, and not to fall into any indecency. In this chapter Clement has borrowed much from Plato. From drinking Clement 6 proceeds to drinking-cups, furni- ture, etc. He 7 condemns all splendour and expense in these articles, "since Christians ought always to bear in mind the Apostle's declaration, that ' the time is short.' * Sell that thou hast,' was our Saviour's injunction, 'and give to the poor; and come, follow me ; ' follow God, stripped of haughtiness, stripped of transitory pomp ; possessing only that which is thine, that which is good, that which alone cannot be taken away, faith in God, confession of Him Who suffered, beneficence towards man the most precious of possessions. The costliest articles are not more useful than the meanest. 8 In his food, his dress, his furniture, a Christian ought to preserve a decent consistency, according to his person, age, pursuits, and the particular occasion. 9 Wealth ill - directed is the citadel (aKpo7ro/\is) of wickedness. They who are earnest about salvation must understand that all possession is for use ; 1 clxxxiv. 12. - Clement enumerates the wines most in request, clxxxiv. 25, etc. clxxxv. l8. ouv vrpos ipvyr,v a.ia,<7f\uraZ 1 evffa. <roi> dipo; ItyiftiQi; hffu%y vKpctTTifAfritx,. clxxxvii. 9. * clxxxvi. i. 5 clxxxvi. 27. G C. 3. So C. 2. clxxxvii. 4. xctt ou%i ctketpciffrpot; vriv-iv xizuXvxaftlv' XX TO rdivitv tv TotJTOt; ftovov -rivtiv us aXec^ovixov vip CXC. 22. 9 CXCi. 2. 44 Some Account of the and that use is for sufficiency, which may be obtained from little. The best wealth is a poverty of desires ; and true greatness consists not in priding ourselves on wealth, but in despising it. Wisdom cannot be purchased with earthly money, or in the market; it is sold only in heaven, sold for true money, the incorruptible Word, the royal coin." Clement 1 proceeds to say, that all excess, and drunkenness, and revelling, must be banished from the entertainments of Christians; the pipe too, and the flute, as better suited to beasts than man not that the Gospel condemns all social entertainments, or all 2 music. " Christians may, like David, sing the praises of God to the lyre or harp. 3 As it is fitting that before our meals we should praise God, the Maker of all things ; so in taking our wine, we who participate in that which He has made, should sing psalms to Him. A psalm is a sober thanksgiving, composed in measure ; the Apostle terms it a spiritual song. In like manner, before we lie down to sleep, we who enjoy God's grace and bounty should give Him thanks, and so go immediately to rest." Clement 4 next delivers rules respecting laughter. " All buffoons and imitators of that which is ridiculous must be banished from Christian society. Our words are the fruit of our inward dispositions and sentiments ; if we either utter or delight in hearing that which is ridiculous, we show that we are ourselves light and frivolous. We may be facetious ; but must not lay ourselves out to excite laughter. We must con- trol our laughter; for though, when our manner of laughing is suitable, it bespeaks propriety, in other cases it bespeaks want of due restraint. In general, we must not attempt to eradicate that which is natural to man ; we must rather try to regulate and restrict it to proper occasions. Man is a laughing animal, but he must not always be laughing ; as a horse, though a neigh- ing animal, is not always neighing. Like rational animals, we must rightly temper our severer cares and anxieties by relaxing ourselves according to rule, not by disregarding all rule/' '- 2 Clement interprets in a fanciful manner the musical instruments mentioned in Psalm 150. cxciii. 5. 3 cxciv. 24. Compare S. L. 6. dcclxxxv. 9. 1.7. dccclxi. i. 4 C. 5. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 45 Clement x then distinguishes between the laughter which he permits, and that which he condemns. " We ought not to laugh in the presence of those who are older than ourselves, or whom we ought to reverence ; unless 2 they say something facetious in order to make us gay. We must not laugh with every one we meet, or in all places, or with all men, or at everything." Clement, however, objects to moroseness and severity of countenance. He 3 goes on to say, " that we must ourselves abstain from all licentiousness of language, and testify our disapprobation of it in others by looks, and gestures, and severe reproofs. The Divine Psedagogue guards the ears of His scholars against that which is indecent, by covering them with chaste precepts, and their eyes by directing them to the contemplation of that which is good and fair. 4 A great protection against this danger is the company and conversation of the virtuous. We must not hear, or say, or behold that which is indecent : much less must we do it. The Psedagogue aims at plucking up the very roots of sin ; He regulates the principles of action ; when He says, ' do not lust,' He in fact says, * do not commit adultery/ of which lust is the root. Licentiousness of language is a kind of preparation for licentiousness of action ; but chastity of conversation tends to purity of conduct. Indecent language consists not in mentioning those parts of the body which it is unusual to mention, but in talking of their employment to vicious purposes." 5 Jesting and scurrility must be excluded from the festive meetings of Christians. " The object of their meetings is to evince their mutual charity ; how can that object be promoted by scurrility which leads to quarrels and enmities ? On the whole, however, it is better that young men and women should absent themselves altogether from such entertainments, lest they should hear and see that which is improper, and which, their faith being yet unsettled, may inflame their thoughts ; especially as the unsteadiness of their age causes them more 1 cxcvi. 20. 2 Clement gives some amusing instances of what he deems facetious sayings, c. 7. ccii. 29. 5 C. 6. 4 cxcviii. 29. 5 C. 7. 46 Some Account of the readily to yield to their desires. l An unmarried woman ought not to be voluntarily present at any drinking parties of men." Clement gives many minute directions respecting the position in which men ought to sit or lie at table, the manner in which they ought to eat and drink, speak, sneeze, blow the nose, etc. The sum of his directions is, that the whole deport- ment of a Christian should be sedate, calm, peaceable : 2 in conformity with the Christian parting wish, " Peace be unto you." ''There 3 is no necessity for using crowns or ointments, which are incentives to pleasure, especially as night approaches. It is true that the Lord was not displeased with the woman who anointed His feet ; but the action had a mystical meaning ; and the woman had not yet partaken of the Word : she was still a sinner. In like manner the crowns of gold, adorned with precious stones, which were worn by the kings of Judah, had a symbolical meaning. 4 Aristippus, of Cyrene, defended the use of ointment, by contending that, when applied to a horse or dog, it did not affect their qualities. Why then should it be injurious to a man?" Clement's answer is not very satisfactory. "The horse," he says, "or dog, has no reason whereby to distinguish the ointment ; but man, whose senses are rational, and therefore can make distinctions, is more censurable for using effeminate perfumes." Clement enumerates and describes the several kinds of ointment most in use ; and says, that 5 makers of ointments and dyers of wool were banished from well-regulated states. "Christians should smell, not of ointments, but of virtue : and Christian females should be anointed with the ambrosial unction of chastity, delighting in the holy ointment, the Spirit. This Christ prepares for His disciples, the unction of a sweet savour, compounding it of heavenly aromatics. If we have prohibited luxury with reference to the taste, we must also prohibit it with reference to the sight and smell. It is useless to guard one avenue, and to leave others unclosed. 6 The luxurious man is assailed through all his senses ; and dragged along by perfumes, like a bull by a cord fastened by a ring through his nose." Clement does not, however, condemn the use of 1 cci. 18. 2 cciii. 22. cciv. 40. 3 C. 8. 4 ccvii. i. 5 ccviii. i. Compare S. L. i. cccxliv. 35. t; ccix. 17. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 47 perfumes indiscriminately ; "all do not affect the head, or act as provocatives to lust ; some are of a healing nature, and relieve the head, and strengthen the stomach. Silly women anoint their hair : of which the only * effect is to render them grey at an earlier period than they would otherwise be. As dogs trace wild beasts by the scent, so we trace the luxurious by the fragrance of the perfumes which they use." Clement prohibits the use of garlands, partly for medical reasons; partly because 2 flowers, which are intended to gratify the senses of smell and sight, when placed upon the head, gratify neither; they are not applied to their natural use. After discussing the qualities of different flowers, he 3 says, that " the ancient Greeks wore no garlands ; neither the suitors of Penelope, nor the luxurious Phseacians wore them; they were introduced after the Persian war, and first worn by the victors at the games. Another reason why Christians ought not to wear garlands is, that 4 the flowers of which they are composed are for the most part consecrated to the Heathen deities : as the rose to the muses ; the lily to Juno ; the myrtle to Diana. It was the custom also to crown the statues of the gods ; 5 but the living image of God ought not to be crowned like a dead idol. A crown of amaranth is reserved for him who leads a holy life; a 6 flower which earth is not capable of bearing, and heaven alone produces. 1 When our Lord was crowned with thorns, shall we, insulting, as it were, His passion, put on garlands of flowers ? " Clement discovers many mysti- cal meanings in the crown of thorns worn by Christ ; he 8 says, for instance, "that when God began to legislate by the Word, and wished to manifest His power to Moses, a Divine vision of light under a defined form was exhibited to Moses in a burn- ing thorn ; and when the Word had fulfilled His office of 1 Clement attempts to account for this effect, ccx. 20. a Compare Tertullian de Corona Militis. c. 5. 3 ccxii. 26. 4 Compare Tertullian de Corona, c. 7. 6 ccxiv. i. 6 Milton, Paradise Lost. B. ill. : ' " Immortal Amaranth, a flower, which once In Paradise fast by the tree of life Began to bloom ; but soon for man's offence To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows." 7 Compare Tertullian de Corona, c. 14. 8 ccxv. n. 48 Some Account of the legislator and His sojourning among men, He was mystically crowned with thorns ; thereby showing that, as He was first seen through a thorn, and at last taken up through a thorn, the whole was the work of one power ; He Himself being one, His Father being also one, the beginning and the end of time." Clement l concludes this part of his subject by saying that flowers and ointments and perfumes may be used for medical purposes, and for moderate recreation, but not for luxury. We may enjoy the scent of flowers, but not put them on our heads. The 2 next subject discussed by Clement is sleep. " After our meal, having given thanks to God for the good things of which we have been partakers, and for having been conducted in safety through the day, we may address ourselves to sleep. We must not be nice about the softness or costliness of our beds. For, not to mention that such nicety bespeaks a luxuri- ous character, soft beds impede digestion. But as, on the one hand, we must not affect magnificence in our beds, so, on the other, we must not affect coarseness; though in a case of necessity we must be content to sleep on the ground, as Jacob slept when he saw the heavenly vision. We should accom- modate our bed-coverings to the season of the year." Clement objects to carved bedsteads, because the carving frequently harbours reptiles. 3 " Sleep is to be considered as a rest or relaxation of the body; it should be light, so that we may easily awake ; for we ought to rise frequently in the night, in order to give thanks to God. That our sleep may be light, our food must be light. Deep sleep resembles death, suspend- ing the 4 activity both of the mind and of the senses, shutting out the light by closing the eyelids. Let not us, who are the children of the true light, exclude this light; but turning inwards to ourselves, enlightening the eyes of the hidden man, and contemplating the truth itself, and partaking of its influ- ence, let us clearly and discreetly interpret such dreams as are 1 Clement points out the medical virtues of different ointments, ccxv. 34. 2 C. 9. 3 ccxvii. 39. 4 / avoictv iif ctvciiffti'/iffiuv v-TToQifOplvr,, CCXVlii. 36. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 49 true ; not such as trouble the sleep of men oppressed with food and wine." Clement alludes to Lot's transgression, in proof of the mischief occasioned by indulgence in wine and sleep. " We who have the Word, the watchman, dwelling in us, must not sleep through the night, but must struggle against sleep, quietly and gradually acquiring such habits as will enable us to pass the larger portion of life awake ; for sleep, like a tax-gatherer, divides our life with us. Far be it from those to sleep by day, who ought to pass the greater part of the night in watching. Above all, we should bear in mind that it is not the soul which requires sleep ; the soul is always in motion ; but the body, composed to rest, is in a state of relaxation, the soul no longer acting upon it, but meditating within itself. On this account true dreams are to him, who rightly considers, the reasonings of the sober soul, which is not then distracted by its sympathy with the body, and takes the best counsels for itself. Total rest is the destruction of the soul. Wherefore always contemplating God, and by its con- stant intercourse with Him communicating to the body its own watchfulness, the soul raises man to a level with the angels ; anticipating eternal life by practising watchfulness." Clement 1 proceeds to treat of the intercourse of the sexes, which he permits only between man and wife ; and between them only with a view to the procreation of children. We cannot, however, follow him through the details into which he enters. He admits that the continuation of the human species is agreeable to the will of God ; but 2 evidently gives the preference to a life of celibacy. He speaks of the mis- chievous effect of lust in sinking man below humanity ; and 3 alluding to the Apostle's declaration, " this mortal must put on immortality," he says that "this will take place when insatiable desire, which hurries men into licentiousness, being disciplined by continence, and no longer in love with corruption, shall yield man up to eternal chastity." He 4 takes occasion 1 C. 10. Compare S. L. 2. CCCCLXXV. 24. ob $/ $n*s a CCCCLXXXI. i;. CCCCLXXXV. 2p. CCCCXCI. 20. L. 3. DXXXVI. 2. 1JXLIII. 25. DLIV. 41. DLXI. 21. L. 6. DCCXC. 12. - ccxxvi. 18 ; ccxxvii. 16 ; ccxxxvi. 4. Compare S. L. 3. DXXXIV. 26. L. 4. DCXXI. 13. DCXXX. 28. L. 7. DCCCLXXIV. 25. s ccxxx. 19. 4 ccxxxi. 14. 50 Some Accoiint of the to condemn all nicety and carefulness about dress and diet, entering in the course of his observations into aH the details of a lady's toilette. "The 1 design of clothing is to protect man from cold and heat; hence the dress of males and females ought to be the same, since they stand in equal need of pro- tection from the inclemency of the weather. If any 2 conces- sion is to be made to female weakness, women may be allowed to use garments of a finer texture ; but they must not wear dyed garments. 3 White garments are best suited to Christians who are pure within." Clement proceeds to deliver various precepts respecting female dress, and 4 particularly insists on the use of veils, which must not, however, be purple, since they would only serve to attract the gaze of man. His con- clusion is, that " whatever is covered is better than that which covers it the statue than the temple which contains it, the soul than the body, and the body than the garment. Now, on the contrary, if a female were to sell her body it would fetch only a thousand drachmae, whereas she buys a single garment for ten thousand talents. Why," he asks, "do we seek after that which is rare and expensive in preference to that which is at hand, and of low price ? Because we are ignorant of that which is truly fair and good ; and instead of the reality pursue the semblance, like insane persons, who mistake white for black." Clement 5 next condemns all ostentation respecting the covering of the feet for instance, the adorning of sandals and slippers with gold or precious stones ; some even having engraved upon them lascivious figures. We should look only to the use of shoes that they are intended to cover and protect the feet. Women, according to Clement, should go with their feet covered ; men barefooted. He confines women to the use of 1 ccxxxiii. 31. 2 Compare L. 3. c. n. cclxxxvii. 4. Clement enumerates the various dyes used in his day, ccxxxv. 16, and the fleeces most in request, ccxxxvii. 20. 3 ccxxxv. i. According to Clement, Christ wore a garment reaching to his foot. KKV TOV votitipy <r}s vapatyspri <rov Kvpiou. ccxxxviii. 12. Probably he took the statement from the ancient tradition of the Church. Compare L. 3- c - ! Ccl. 6. ov^i vrobyipotyopuv. 4 ccxxxviii. 30. 5 C. ii. Compare Tertullian de cultu foeminarum. L. i. c. 7. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 51 white shoes, excepting on a journey. His x censure is next directed against a fondness for gold and precious stones. He compares those who admire them to children who are attracted by the brightness of the fire, and run to touch it through ignorance of the danger which they incur. " How foolish to set so high a value upon a pearl, the produce of a shell-fish, when they have it in their power to be adorned with a sacred stone, the Word of God, called in Scripture a pearl, the trans- parent and pure Jesus, the eye which contemplates God, though in the flesh, the transparent Word, through Whom the flesh is rendered precious, being regenerated by water." The 2 ladies seem to have defended their use of precious stones by asking, "Why should we not use what God has given ? Why should we not take pleasure in that which we have ? For whom were precious stones intended, if not for us ? " Clement replies, " that such questions imply a total ignorance of the will of God. Whatever is absolutely necessary, as water and air, lies open to all ; what is not necessary, as gold and pearls, is concealed beneath the earth or water. Man, though the whole heaven is expanded before him, seeks not God ; but sets condemned criminals to dig for gold and precious stones, in direct opposition to Scripture, which cries aloud, ' Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things shall be added unto you.' Even if all things are given and permitted unto us, the Apostle says that all things are not expedient. God has admitted the human race to communion with Him, having first made them partakers of that which is His, and given His Word in common to all, making all things for all mankind. All things, therefore, are common, and let not the rich claim more than their share. To say, ' I have and abound; why then should I not indulge myself?' is not suited to the social character of man. It bespeaks greater charity to say, ' I have : why should I not give to those who are in need? ' Such a man is perfect, fulfilling the injunction, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' This is true luxury ; this the wealth really treasured up. That which is expended in vain desires is not expended, but lost. God has given us the power of using, but so far only as is necessary ; and He means the use to be common. It is unreasonable that 1 C. 12. - ccxlii. 10. 52 Some Account of the one should live in luxury, while many are in want. How much more glorious is it to benefit many than to dwell in splendour ! How much more rational to spend money on our fellow-men, than on gold and precious stones ! How much more advantageous to possess friends adorned with virtue (Kooyu'oW) than lifeless ornaments ! and what profit is there in estates equal to that of conferring benefits ? " Clement 1 proceeds to answer another objection which was urged on the part of the lovers of ornament " If all prefer that which is least costly, who is to possess that which is most costly?" " Man," he answers, "provided that he contracts not too great a fondness for precious stones, and sets not too high a value upon them. They who have renounced the world (rov KOCT/AOI') must not be curious about ornaments (TO. Koayua). They must be adorned within ; since beauty and deformity are seen only in the soul." Clement 2 makes particular objections to many of the ornaments worn by females ; for instance, " to chains of gold, by wearing which they show an anxiety to resemble criminals ; to ornaments in the form of snakes or serpents, the form under which Satan deceived Eve. If 3 women are handsome, nature is sufficient, and art should not attempt to vie with it ; for that is as if deceit vied with truth ; if they are plain, they convict themselves of want of beauty by their attempts to appear beautiful. Frugality becomes the servant of Christ. Frugality paves the way to holiness, levelling all inordinate desires, and deriving from the commonest things all the benefit which superfluity can confer. For frugality, as the name implies (TO AITOV), lifts not up itself, and is not puffed up ; but is always smooth, and equable, and without superfluity, and consequently sufficient to itself; and such a sufficiency is a habit attaining its proper end without excess, without defect. Justice is the mother of these qualities ; contentment (avrapKeta) their nurse. Let the ornaments on the hands of females be holy, a readi- ness to communicate, and to perform domestic duties. Let the ornaments of their feet be promptness to do good and to 1 ccxliii. 17. 2 ccxliv. 17. Compare Tertullian de cultu foeminarum. L. I. c. 7. L. 2. c. 10. 3 ccxlvii. 10. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 5 3 act justly ; the ornaments of their neck, modesty and con- tinence. Of these ornaments God is the maker. Let them not, against nature, bore their ears, in order to suspend from them gold or precious stones. The best ornament of the ear is instruction in the truth, descending through the natural channels of hearing ; eyes anointed by the Word, and ears pierced to the understanding, enable man to hear and t contemplate Divine things, the Word displaying before him true beauty, which eye hath not seen, or ear heard before." Clement proceeds in the third book to inquire wherein true beauty consists. " The greatest knowledge," * he says, " is to know one's self. He who knows himself will know God ; and knowing God, will be likened to God, in doing good and having as few wants as possible ; for God alone has no wants/'' Alluding to the Platonic division of the soul, he says, " that the intellectual or reasoning part is the inner man, who governs this visible man, and is governed by God. The angry part (TO QvfjuKov) being of the nature of the brute creation, is nearly allied to madness. The part in which appetite resides (TO eViflv/ATyTucov) assumes various forms, like Proteus. But in the man in whom the Word dwells there are no such changes ; he has the form of the Word ; he is likened to God ; 2 he is beautiful, not beautified ; he is the true beauty, for he is God ; that man becomes God, because God so wills. Well then did Heraclitus say, ' Men are gods, gods are men ; ' the Word Himself is an 3 apparent mystery ; God in man, and man God. The Mediator fulfils the Father's will ; for the Word is the Mediator, being common to both, the Son of God, the Saviour of man ; His Minister, our Pedagogue. Why should we be careful about adorning the flesh, the outward man, who is called a servant by the Apostle ? especially as God, by taking upon Himself flesh, has restored it to liberty, and delivering it from corruption and deadly and bitter servitude, has conferred upon it the holy ornament of immor- tality. Charity is another ornament of men." Clement grounds another argument against carefulness respecting the 1 C. I. 2 xaXoj iffnv, ou KO.X^.u'ffl'^trKi. CCLI. 17. IU<PKVI$, a mystery exhibited to man. 54 Some Account of the adorning of the person, on the inference erroneously drawn by the ancient fathers from the words of l Isaiah, that the personal appearance of Christ was mean ; " though Christ displayed the true beauty both of soul and body ; of the one in doing good, of the other in His immortality. Our care, 2 therefore, should be employed, not in ornamenting the outward man, but in adorning the soul with virtue and the flesh with continence. They who adorn only the outward, but neglect the inward man, are like the Egyptian temples, presenting every species of external decoration, but containing within not a deity, but a cat, or crocodile, or some vile animal." In pursuing this comparison, Clement takes an opportunity of inveighing against the artifices of female dress, which he ascribes to the sugges- tions of Satan. But his 3 principal argument is, that females, by the pains which they bestow upon the adorning of their persons, cast a reflection on their Creator, as if He had not sufficiently adorned them. He 4 pronounces gluttony and drunkenness less mischievous than the love of dress. "A certain expense will satisfy the cravings of the former, but for the latter all the wealth both above and under the earth is not sufficient. Birds and beasts are content with the plumage and hue which they received from nature ; women alone must curl and plait their hair in a variety of fashions." Clement 5 is particularly vehement against mirrors. " Moses forbade men to make any likeness, in opposition, as it were, to the workman- ship of God ; how then can women be excused for making their own likeness by reflexion ? " As Clement inserts long quotations from the writings of the comic poets, we may hope that his descriptions applied chiefly to the Gentile females ; otherwise the Christian community must have sadly degene- rated from its primitive simplicity and purity. The love of dress appears, however, not to have been con- fined to the females. Clement 6 goes on to expose the folly and effeminacy of the fine gentlemen of his day. "They think," he 7 says, "that, like snakes, they can cast off old age from 1 Hii. 2, 3. 2 C. 2. * Compare Tertullian de cultu foeminarum. L. 2. c. 4. 4 cclvii. 18. 6 cclviii. 22. Tertullian urges this argument against the masks used by actors. De Spectaculis. c. 23. 6 C. 3. 7 cdxi. 37< Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 5 5 their heads, and make themselves young. But though they dye their hair, they cannot escape wrinkles ; though they conceal the effects of time, they cannot conceal themselves from death. Why should we fear the appearance of old age when we cannot escape the reality ? The nearer man draws to his end, the more honourable does he in truth become, since he has no one older than himself but God, Who is eternally old, older than all existing things. Scripture calls Him ' the Ancient of days.'" The practice of dyeing the hair, in order to conceal the effects of age, appears particularly to have excited Clement's indignation : it was in direct contradiction to the declaration of Christ, that man cannot make a hair of his head black or white. Clement 1 next inveighs against shaving, and the practice of plucking out the hair from the parts of the body on which it grows. A beard is the distinguishing mark of manhood, and begins to appear when man arrives at the age of reason. The 2 beard is older than Eve, and the sign of a superior nature. 3 Christians, whom God has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, are guilty of great impiety if they cast indignity on that body which is conformed to the Lord. Clement draws a frightful picture of the profligacy of the age in which he lived. "Christians," he 4 concludes, "should imitate the simple and frugal mode of life practised by the barbarians. For they are called by the Lord, stripped of vanity and pride, bearing only the tree (u\ov) of life, and having no other covering than salvation." The 5 number of servants maintained by the rich, and the sums expended by them on birds, and dogs, and monkeys, furnishes Clement with the next subject of invective. The picture which he draws in this chapter of the morals of the females of his day is not more flattering than that which we have 6 already noticed. He 7 complains of their luxurious baths, and of their indecent custom of bathing promiscuously 1 cclxiii. 2. 2 Observe the references to Aaron's beard. CCLXVI. 6. Compare c. II. CCLXXXIX. 16, 25. 3 cclxiv. 19. * cclxviii. 2. 6 C. 4. fi See p. 54. 7 C. 5. 56 Some Account of the with the men. "We ought," he says, 1 " to respect our parents and domestics at home ; in the streets those whom we meet ; females in the baths ; ourselves in solitude ; the Word every- where, Who is everywhere, and ' without Whom nothing was made.' He alone will never fall who thinks that God is always present with him." Clement 2 proceeds to treat of the use of wealth. " We must impart it benevolently; neither meanly nor ostentatiously. We must not allow our love of that which is beautiful to run into selfishness or excess ; lest it should be said to us, ' His horse, or his farm, or his servant, or his plate, is worth fifteen talents, but he himself would be dear at three farthings.' Wealth is like a viper, which is harmless, if a man knows how to take hold of it ; but if he does not, it will twine round his hand and bite him. Not 3 he who has and keeps, but he who imparts, is rich ; to impart, not to possess, renders man happy : and readiness to impart is the fruit of the soul. Riches are situated in the soul. That which is good can only be acquired by the good. Christians are good ; a foolish and intemperate man can have no sense of that which is good, neither can he acquire it ; that, therefore, which is good can be acquired by Christians alone ; no wealth can be more precious than this good : Christians, therefore, alone are rich. Righteousness is true wealth, and the Word is more valuable than all treasure : this wealth admits no increase from cattle or lands : but, being the gift of God, cannot be taken away. The soul alone is the treasure of the Word, the best possession, rendering man truly blessed ; for he who has it desires nothing which is not in his own power, and he obtains what he desires. How can he who, when he asks, receives from God what he piously desires, how can he be otherwise than the possessor of all things, having a perpetual treasure, even God ? ' To him,' he says, ' who asks it shall be given : and to him who knocks it shall be opened.' If God denies nothing, all things belong to the pious." "Man," 4 continues Clement, "is a lofty animal, and magnifi- cent, and disposed to seek for that which is fair, inasmuch as he is the workmanship of the only God : but a 5 sensual life is unseemly, and opprobrious, and hateful, and contemptible." 1 cclxxiii. 23. 2 C. 6. 8 cclxxv. n. 4 C. 7. 4 In the original o t#i ya,<rripu, fl!o; t which is intended to convey the Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 57 Clement then condemns excess of every kind, in food, in dress, in ornaments, and commends frugality and contentment. " The Christian, who is a traveller, ought not to be encumbered with the things of this world. * He who vehemently presses forward towards heaven should take bounty as his staff, and by imparting his wealth to the afflicted, become himself a partaker of the true rest. For the Scripture confesses that a man's wealth is the ransom of his soul ; that is, if he is rich, he shall be saved by dispensing his riches. For as wells which are fed by springs, notwithstanding that water is drawn from them, rise to their former level : so almsgiving, being a good fountain of benevolence, after it has given drink to the thirsty, is filled again. Should any one say that he has often seen the righteous man wanting bread, we answer that this is rare, and occurs only when no other righteous man is near. Let the objector read, moreover, ' The righteous man shall not live by bread alone, but by the Word of the Lord ; Who is the true bread, the bread from heaven.' The good man shall never want so long as he preserves his confession towards God ; for it is his privilege to ask and to receive what he needs from the Father of the universe, and to enjoy what is his own, if he holds fast the Son. It is his privilege also to feel no want. The Word, Who is our instructor, gives us wealth ; and they who through Him are exempt from want, excite no envy by their wealth. He who has this wealth shall inherit the kingdom of God." Clement 2 proceeds to show that temperance and frugality are a good preparation for enduring persecution. "The Pedagogue," he 3 observes, "teaches by example, and deters us from sin by setting before us the punishment inflicted upon sinners." This remark he illustrates by the destruction of Sodom. " Baths," he 4 says, " are used for four purposes, to promote cleanliness, warmth, health, pleasure." He peremptorily for- bids the use of them for pleasure, and thinks the use of them for warmth unnecessary ; women may bathe for cleanliness meaning both of a sensual life and of the life of an animal which crawls on its belly, in opposition to the erect attitude of man. 1 cclxxvii. 20. 3 C. 8. 3 cclxxix. 25. 4 C. 9. 58 Some Account of the and health; men only for health. He adds some curious remarks on the effects of bathing. The great object is to wash the soul with the purifying Word ; this washing is spiritual. Clement 1 next recommends gymnastic exercises both for men and women ; but the latter must not wrestle or contend in the race. " To spin, to be active in the management of a family, to bake and cook, and make the beds, are appropriate exercises for them. Scripture furnishes many examples of the attention of females to domestic duties. Men may wrestle, or play at ball, or walk, or dig, or draw water, or chop wood. Reading aloud is to some a good exercise. Exercise must be used in moderation, excess being hurtful. A man should be able to do all things for himself, put on his shoes, wash his feet, etc., and be able also to perform those offices for another in time of sickness," etc. In the eleventh chapter Clement recapitulates the precepts which he had delivered in the previous part of the work, and enforces them by additional reasons. With respect to dress, he says "it should not be costly, and the colour should be white. White 2 garments befit those who are peaceful and enlightened (^wrctvots). Such 3 garments bespeak the dis- position, as smoke bespeaks fire; and a good colour and a good pulse, health. Cloth which has not undergone the process of fulling retains the heat, and is suited to winter. 4 Women may wear garments of a softer texture than men, but suited to their age, person, figure, character, pursuits. They 5 must not bore their ears. 6 They may wear a gold ring, not as an ornament, but as a mark of good housewifery, to keep everything valuable in the house carefully under seal. Some allowance must be made for women who are compelled to study dress in order to please their husbands ; their care, how- ever, should be to bring their husbands gradually to a better mind. Men should not wear rings on the joints of the fingers, 1 C. 10. 2 See L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxv. I, quoted in p. 50. 2 cclxxxvi. 25. * See L. 2. c. lo. ccxxxiv. 17, quoted in p. 50. 6 See L. 2. c. 12. ccxlviii. i. 6 cclxxxvii. 25. Clement says that the dishonesty of men renders seals necessary. See also cclxxxviii. 21. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 5 9 but on the little finger. The 1 emblems on our rings should be a dove, or a fish, or a ship sailing before the wind, or a lyre, or an anchor ; not the figure of an idol, which a Christian is forbidden to reverence ; or a sword, or a bow, ill-suited to a follower of peace ; or a cup, ill-suited to the temperate \ still less a naked figure. 2 The hair on the head of man should be thin, 3 his beard thick." Clement gives various reasons for these injunctions, viz. " when the hair is thin the skull becomes accustomed to cold and heat ; whereas when it is thick it acts as a sponge, and retains the moisture to the injury of the brain. 4 Women should be content to bind up their hair close to the neck with a simple clasp, and should not torture it into curls, so that they are afraid to touch it, or even to go to sleep, lest they should spoil the shape. False hair is on no account to be worn. For on whom does the Presbyter lay his hand ? whom does he bless ? not the woman herself, but the hair of another head, and through it that head. If the man is the head of the woman, and God of the man, must it not be impious to fall into a double sin ? to deceive man by a quantity of false hair, and to dishonour God by adorning themselves, as much as in them lies, after the manner of harlots, and by disguising their head which is really fair? 5 It is also sinful to dye the hair, especially grey hair, which is the honour of old age. The face must not be painted ; the best beauty is that of the soul, when it is adorned with the Holy Spirit, and the refulgence of His gifts, with righteousness, wisdom, courage, temperance, love of that which is good, and modesty. Bodily beauty consists in symmetry of limbs and a good colour." Clement then points out the effects of diet upon beauty. " It is absurd," 6 he proceeds, "for those who are made in the image and after the likeness of God to superinduce an adventitious beauty, as if they despised their archetype, pre- ferring vile human art to the Divine workmanship. 7 Women ought to be clothed with the works of their own hands. A domestic wife is the most beautiful work, who clothes herself and her husband with her own ornaments, on account of which 1 cclxxxix. 4. See C. liii. 10. S. L. 5. DCLXII. 4. 2 See L. 3. c. 3. 3 See L. 3. c. 3. cclxiii. 4. cclxvi. 6. Clement makes a distinction between ,upov and / ^vo /u,d%a,ipeu u.\ xoupixoti or y <^X>? /u,a,%aipx. CCXC. 5- 4 ccxc. 20. 5 ccxci. 13. See L. 3. c. 3. cclxii. 10. 6 ccxcii. 24. See L. 3. c. 2. ccliv. 17. 7 ccxcii. 42. 60 Some Account of the they all rejoice; the children in their mother, the husband in his wife ; she in them, and all in God. Women ought also to be correct in their gestures, looks, gait, tone of voice. l Even the female slaves who follow their mistresses should avoid all indecent words and actions ; for any want of decorum in them reflects on their mistresses, who are supposed to approve what they do not reprehend. 2 Men ought not to waste their time in the shops in order to look at the females as they pass, and to excite laughter by profane jests ; neither should they play at dice nor gamble. They who act thus do it from idleness." Clement 3 proceeds to declaim against spectacles and theatrical exhibitions. " ' But all,' 4 you will say, ' do not aspire to philosophy.' Do we not all pursue life ? What do you say ? How did you then believe ? How do you love God and your neighbour, unless you love philosophy ? or how do you love yourself, unless you love life ? You will reply, 'I have not learned letters.' But if you have not learned to read, there is no excuse for not hearing, since hearing is not taught. Faith is the possession of those who are wise, not according to the world, but to God j it is learned without letters; and its writing, which is at once Divine, and accommodated to the ignorant, is called love ; a spiritual composition. To engage in public affairs is not incompatible with the study of Divine wisdom ; nor are you forbidden to mix in the world, if you mix in it decorously, according to the will of God. Buyers and sellers ought not to have two prices ; nor in dealing should recourse be had to 5 oaths, which ought on all occasions to be avoided. The man and woman should come into the congrega- tion decently attired, with simplicity of gait ; in silence, with love unfeigned ; pure in body, pure in heart, fit to address God in prayer. Let the women, moreover, be always veiled, excepting at home, lest they should betray others into sin. 1 ccxcvi. 5. 2 ccxcvii. 9. 8 ccxcviii. 1 6. Compare S. L. 2. CCCCLXV. i. L. 7. DCCCLII. 12. DCCCLXXVII. 38. DCCCLXXXIII. 42. In some of these passages Clement connects public executions with theatrical exhibitions. See also Tertullian de Spectaculis passim. 4 ccxcix. 15. 5 Compare S. L. 7. DCCCLXII. 10, 18. 6 See L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxviii. 30. Clement says that the wife of ^neas refused to lay aside her veil even when Troy was taken, and she was flying from the flames. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 6 1 In their appearance and deportment throughout the whole tenor of life, Christians should show the same gravity as in the congregation, being equally gentle, pious, and affectionate. But they seem for the most part to change their behaviour and manners with the place ; like the polypus, which is said to take the colour of the rock to which it adheres." After inveighing at some length against this inconsistency, * Clement speaks of the kiss of peace, and says that it had been abused, and given occasion of scandal to the Gentiles. He adds, "that it is the duty of a Christian so to live, that he may be free, not only from impurity, but from the suspicion of impurity." Clement, 2 pursuing his remarks respecting the demeanour befitting Christians, cautions husbands against embracing or saluting their wives in the presence of servants. At length, escaping from these minute details, he says, "that the end of the Gospel is the sanctification of man ; and that the office of the Word is to lead on human weakness 3 from the objects of sense to those of the understanding. What we should observe, and how we should regulate our life at home, has," 4 he says, " been sufficiently declared by the Paedagogue ; but His con- versation with His children on the road, until He brings them to the Teacher, is summarily stated in Holy Scripture : He lays down simple precepts, fitting them to the length of time during which His scholars are under His guidance, but committing the interpretation of them to the Teacher j for His law aims at dissipating fear, giving the will freedom to believe." Clement then gives the discourse which he supposes the Paedagogue to address to the child. "Hear, O child, the sum of salvation; for I will unfold to thee My morality, and suggest to thee those fair precepts, through which thou shalt reach salvation ; for I will conduct thee in the way of salvation. Follow the good road by which I shall lead thee, lending to Me ready ears, and I will give thee treasures, hidden, secret, unseen by the Gentiles, seen by us. The treasures of wisdom are inexhaustible, in 1 CCCl. IO. ' C. 12. 3 oc.'Jfo rat aifffaruv isr) <rnv vorifftv. CCciv. 4. 4 In thus distinguishing between the Paedagogue and the Teacher (o TlKibityu'yos and o A/Sa<r*aX<j$), the office of the former being to lay before the Christian the practical precepts of the Gospel, of the latter to unfold to him their deep and hidden meaning, Clement intends to describe the different purposes of his two works, the Pedagogue and the Stromata. Compare cccix. 30. See p. 26. Note I. 62 Some Account of the admiration of which the Apostle says, ' O the depth of the riches and wisdom.' These various treasures are supplied by one God ; some through the law ; some through the prophets ; some by the Divine mouth ; some in unison with the seven- fold Spirit ; but the Lord, Who is one, is the same Pedagogue through all. There is one summary, practical precept, which comprehends all : * As you wish that men should do unto you, do ye also unto them.' All the commandments may be com- prised in two : ' Thou shalt love thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself.' The Paedagogue, for our easier instruction, has expanded these precepts in the Decalogue." Clement proceeds to quote passages of Scripture respecting the true nature of l prayer, of fasting, of sacrifice } respecting forbearance, the duties of soldiers, tax-gatherers, judges, stewards, or managers of property (oucwG/uieot) ; respecting charity, the duties of citizens, oaths, placability, and compassion, faith, the treatment of servants, vanity, repentance, liberality. 2 " These are the reasonable laws, the consolatory words, not written on tables of stone, engraved by the finger of the Lord, but on the hearts of men, which alone are not exposed to destruction. Both laws ministered to the Word for the instruc- tion of man : the one through Moses ; the other through the Apostles. 3 Many precepts in Scripture are addressed to select persons, as to presbyters, bishops, deacons, widows ; many are delivered enigmatically ; many in parables ; but the explica- tion of these belongs not to the Paedagogue, but to the Teacher, to whom we must next 'go." U O pupils," 4 Clement exclaims, " of a good education (7rat8ayojytas), let us complete the fair person of the church, and run like children to the good mother ; and if we are hearers of the W T ord, let us glorify the blessed economy, through which man is instructed, and sanctified as the child of God, and becomes a citizen of heaven, his preparation having been carried on below; and he then receives as his Father Him Whom he learns on earth. The Word does, and teaches all things, and acts the part of the Paedagogue in all things. O the Divine workmanship ; O the Divine injunctions." 5 " ' Let the water roll its billows within itself; let the fire restrain its rage ; let the air wander through 1 cccv. 16. - cccvii. 31. 3 cccix. 25. 4 cccx. 9. 5 Clement supposes the Word to speak thus. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 63 the sky ; let the earth become solid and move along ; when I wish to create man and wish for matter, I have the elements as matter ; I dwell with My own creation ; if you will know Me, fire shall be your servant.' So great is the Word : He is the Paedagogue, the Creator of the universe and of man." % Clement concludes with the following prayer to the Word : "Be propitious, O Paedagogue, to Thy children; O Father, charioteer 1 (fyioyt) of Israel, Son and Father, both One, O Lord, grant that we, who follow Thy injunctions, may perfect 2 the likeness of the image, and may, as far as is in our power, recognise at once a good God and a mild Judge. Grant that we 3 all, living in Thy peace, translated into Thy city, safely sailing through the waves of sin, may be tranquilly borne along together with the Holy Spirit, the ineffable wisdom ; and day and night until the perfect day, may praise with thanksgiving, and give thanks with praise, to the only Father and. Son, Son and Father, the Son, the Paedagogue and Teacher, together with the Holy Spirit, all things in one ; in Whom are all things ; through Whom all things are one ; through Whom is eternity ; Whose members we all are ; Whose is the glory, the ages 4 (aiwvs). To the All-good, All-fair, All-wise, All-just, be glory now and for ever. Amen." M. 5 Barbeyrac has given what he calls a general idea of the three books of the Paedagogue. If the reader compares it with 1 With reference, perhaps, to 2 Kings ii. 12. See S. L. 2. ccccxcv. 16. ivos fivti%ev x. T. J. - With reference to Gen. i. 26. See C. xciv. 26. 3 I read a,va.v<ra,$. 4 Grabe translates whose glory are the sons, the celestial Spirits. Notes on Bp. Bull's Def. Fid. Nic. Sect 2. c. 6. p. 89. 6 Traite de la Morale des Peres, c. 5. M. Barbeyrac says "that Clement was wholly ignorant of Hebrew." He makes this remark with reference to P. L. I. c. 2. c. 15* where Clement, following the Septuagint version of Numbers vi. 12, xai a! vftipai a.1 vponpui aXoyoi iffovrai, interprets the words ccXoyoi ttrovrxi, shall be irrational, instead of shall not be reckoned. The passage itself proves nothing either for or against Clement's knowledge of Hebrew. I suspect, however, that he did not understand it. tie seems in general to borrow his interpretations of Hebrew words from Philo ; thus P. L. i. c. 5. ex. 26. c. 7. cxxxn. 17, 21. c. 8. CXLIV. 5. S. L. i. cccxxxiv. i, 3, 12. L. 2. ccccxxxix. 7. CCCCLVI. 7. L. 5. DCXLVIII. 12. See also the whole of the sixth chapter of the fifth book. L. 7. DCCCXCVII. 19, compared with L. I. cccxxxv. i. Yet having said 64 Some Account of the the foregoing account of the work, he will perhaps be disposed to think that the learned writer's selections have scarcely been made in a spirit of fairness and impartiality. It may be true that, as a system of morality, the Pedagogue is most defective ; or, to borrow M. Barbeyrac's words, that "there is not a single virtue of which the nature is so explained as to place man in a capacity rightly to practise it ; not a single duty established on sound foundations ; not a single obligation, resulting from the relations between man and man, traced to its true principles, or so developed that it may be rightly applied in all different cases." All this may be true. It may also be true that Clement was wholly incompetent to the task of composing a system of morality. But the question is, Was it his intention to compose one ? Surely not. His intention was to deliver rules for the guidance of his fellow-Christians, in the common intercourse of life; many of his rules are puerile, many grounded on false principles ; but there is mingled with them much that may even now be read with profit ; much that is fitted to give a religious tone to the mind, and to inspire it with the love of purity and virtue. When, too, we censure the minutiae into which Clement descends, we should bear in mind that, situated as Christians then were, it was desirable to draw as marked a line of distinction as possible between their manner of life and that of the heathens, by whom they were surrounded. To prescribe strict rules for their guidance in matters indifferent, was an effectual mode of securing them against being betrayed into vicious or criminal compliances with the customs of the Gentile world. repeatedly, on the authority of Philo, that Rebekah in Plebrew is equivalent to uropovri in Greek, in S. L. 4. ncxxxvu. u, he makes it equivalent to @tou $o%a. In C. XI. 21, we find avrixet *yovv, x,x.ru. rriv a,xpifi TUV 'Efipaiav (pMvriv, <ro ovofAO. ro ~Euiu, $a,ffU*o/Litvav ipftvviuiTCii o<pu v 6vikna. t In P. L. I. c. 5. civ. 37, Clement interprets Hosanna, or as he writes it 'ft; avv, <Qu; xex.} $o%a, xcti aTvjf (itf txtrvpicts TU xvpico. In S. L. I. CCCXXXII. 10, Jerusalem is interpreted, opains ilpwvi;. In the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis LVII. our Saviour's exclamation, Eli, Eli, is referred to the Greek word Xi, and in P. L. 3. c. 12. cccix. 39, Clement appears to refer the name Jesus to the Greek word iZfftai. See S. L. i. ccccxxn. 30. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 65 CHAPTER IV. WE proceed to thefetromataj Some sentences are wanting at the commencement ;l\^e~TrTeh find Clement engaged in inquir- ing whether it is right to compose works and to leave them in writing to be transmitted to posterity. This he determines in the affirmative. - 1 "The sole object of the writer must be the welfare of his readers ; he must not be impelled to write by emulation or vainglory. On the other hand, the reader must not come to the perusal of Divine discourses through mere curiosity, or through a desire of obtaining a share of those worldly benefits which Christians were ready to impart. 2 Neither must he judge of them by comparison with the writings of those who are versed in the arts of rhetoric. He who possesses faith will judge most rationally, and be most firmly established for the reception of Divine truths." After some other remarks, Clement 3 proceeds thus : " This work is not intended for an exhibition of art j but I have treasured up these memoranda against old age, to be a remedy against forgetfulness, and as it were an image and outline of the clear and living words which I have been deemed worthy to hear from men blessed and really deserving of honour. 4 With one of them I met in Greece, the Ionian ; with another in Magna Graecia the former was from Ccele- Syria, the latter from Egypt. Some also there were from the East ; one from Assyria ; another, an Hebrew by descent, from Palestine. He with whom I last met was the first in power; and having dis- covered 5 him lying concealed in Egypt, I desisted from further search. For he was in truth a Sicilian bee, who, cropping the 1 cccxix. I. - cccxx. 2. 3 cccxxii. i. Compare cccxxiv. 19. L. 6. dccxxxvi. 29. si xou Xnp,uv; <rivt; xui iXixavas, XKI xvpix, xec'i <riw^oi/$, ffvva.yuya.f <piXofta0-7s vroixiX&if , ffuviypd^avro' <rt>7$ ' u; irvfciv iwi ftvr,ft.i>]v \X0ouffi, xou f^wn rr fir,** ry Qpuffii %iaxixa.0a,p/u.ivot;, 'Siiff'Tra.pftivois %i ivrirw^ts, a.vet^u.'i^ ft ruv "2,TpU{*.KTlfoY WfAiV VVrOTVTrcafflS, XilftUVOl OlXrjV TTi'X'OtXtX'rtX.I) XCti Of] UOl 'l^OV-Ttf \fji.oi Ti 'jiropv/ifAU.?!*, inv o.v t^tu'ffvfioc,^ TM Ti tif yvuait iwinidziit/j i'l <7ru$ vftpiTv^ot TfliVOi, rfpOg TO ffV[Jt,(QipOY XOil etlfytXlfAOV ftiTtZ IOpCtJ-TO; '/I l^YlT'/lfflS yiVritTlTOLl. L. 7. dccccii. 6. 4 I here follow the interpretation of Valesius, Eusebii Hist. Eccl. L. 5. C. II. 5 Clement is here supposed to speak of Pantsenus. C 66 Some Account of the flowers of the prophetic and apostolic meadow, caused a pure knowledge to grow up in the minds of his hearers. These men preserved the true 1 tradition of the blessed doctrine, as delivered by Peter, and James, and John, and Paul, the holy apostles, having received it in succession, the son from his father, though few resemble their fathers. At length, by the blessing of God, they have deposited the apostolic seed received from their forefathers with us ; and I well know that they will rejoice not that they will be pleased with the mere exposition, but with the accurate representation of what they delivered." Reverting then to the benefit resulting from the labours of authors, 2 Clement asks, " What is the value of wisdom which does not make wise him who is able to hear ? The Saviour is still engaged in the task of salvation; still works as He sees the Father work. He who teaches at the same time learns ; and while he speaks, hears together with his hearers. For there is one teacher both of him who speaks and of him who hears, he who waters both the understanding and the speech (rov Aoyoi/). Wherefore the Lord has not for- bidden us to 3 rest from good ; but has permitted us to impart the Divine mysteries and that sacred light to those who can receive them. He did not, however/ 4 immediately reveal to all that which was not intended for all ; but to a few only, to whom he knew it to be suited, who were capable of receiving it and being wrought into a resemblance to it. That which is not proper to be revealed is committed to speech, not to writing." Having 5 given some further explanation of the 1 Compare L. 6. DCCLXXIV. 27. 2 cccxxiii. 14. 3 arto ayoiSou <ra/3/3a<r/m. CCCXxiii. 21. 4 Compare cccxxviii. i. L. 5. DCLXXXV. 10. L. 6. DCCXXXVI. i. DCCLXXIV. 27. DCCXCVIII. 36. DCCC. 33. DCCCII. 44. DCCCIII. 33. DCCCV. 22. DCCCVI. 25. DCCCVII. 5. L. 7. DCCCLXXXVI. 9. DCCCI. 34. 5 Compare L. 6. DCCXXXVI. 19. L. 7. DCCCCI. 36, where he says that the Stromata resemble not a trim garden, in which the trees are planted in rows ; but rather a wood, in which are mixed trees bearing, and trees not bearing, fruit. \oi)utft Vt *<$ ol 'Zrpcapa.riis ov iretfei&urnf i%nfxtiptiruf } ixiivoi? <ro7; Iv ffVilYtt xx'ret'/fKpunufAivot; ilg rioovwv o^tu;' opu ^ ^aXXav ffuffxici) <r/w xa,} ^citrn' xuvrec,pi<r<roi$ xai vrXu.ra.vois, %K<pv/i n. xa.} xiyffu, ft'/iXotioiis <rt opou xai iXctiat; xent ffvxous xoe.ra.'Tri^UTivf^i.vui, iir/rff2tf ava^s^/y^sv^j rtj; xup<rotf>opeav TS. of&ou xent axdpTuv ^iv^puv, ^10, roti; vq>u.ipt7ffQa,t xoc,} ToXftuvrot.; TO, upia., \6iXou trris Xavtfdvtiv rr,; ypei^y,;' \\ uv ^>j [j.ir XKI fj.ira.QiiTivo'a.s, o yzupyos ufouov xix.'ruxoffp.rtffii -rapaliiiffov xxi Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 67 nature of the work, and 1 stated his reasons for introducing into it much of the Greek philosophy, he 2 adds, that "the Stromata (^rpco/Aareis) will contain the truth mixed up with the doctrines of philosophy ; or rather concealed by them, as the eatable part of a nut by the shell; for the seeds of the truth ought to be kept solely for the husbandmen of the faith. Some there are who think that 3 philosophy was the invention of some evil one, and that it has crept privily into life, to the injury of man. But I will show, through the whole of this work, that evil, being by nature evil, cannot cultivate that which is good, and that philosophy is the work of Divine Providence." Clement proceeds to justify his frequent references to the Greek philosophy, which he 4 describes as a clear image of the truth, a gift given from Heaven to the Greeks. 5 " Before the coming of the Lord philosophy was necessary to the Greeks for justification; now it is useful 'to piety, being a kind of preliminary exercise to those who obtain faith through demon- stration. We cannot err if we refer what is good, whether it be Greek or Christian, to Providence. For God is the cause of all that is good, sometimes immediately or principally ( 6 KO.TO. Trpo-riyovfjLcvov), as of the old and new covenants ; sometimes, by consequence, as of philosophy. Perhaps it was given even immediately to the Greeks, before God called them ; it was to 1 cccxxv. II. He alleges the example of St. Paul in his defence. CCCL. 27. CCCLXXIT. 17. 2 cccxxvi. 21. In L. 3, sub fine, Clement calls his work Commentaries (virofivvipeirii) on the true Gnostic philosophy. See also L. 4. DLXV. I, 33. L. 6. DCCXXXVI. i, 16. L. 7. DCCCXCV. 17. 3 Compare cccxLii. 32. cccLXVi. 19. L. 6. UCCLXXIII. 17. DCCLXXX. 18. DCCCXXII. 26. 4 a.'kyi&i'ia.g averav tixovu, ivetf'yri, $i'iu.v "oupiuv "EXXtjffi "$s$oftivy,v. CCCXXvii. 24. In like manner he says that all human arts and sciences proceed from God. cccxxxi. 3. See L. 6. DCCCXIX. 25. DCCCXXIII. 29. 5 cccxxxi. 22. Compare cccxxxii. 3. cccxxxvm. 36. CCCLXXVII. 5. L. 7. DCCCXXXII. 8. 6 xetTo, vpoyiyovptvov means that purpose which God had directly and principally in view. So ov xoira, Vfoyfyov^vov "k'nyov rw; Qi'koiroQtcx.; wapti- ffi^6oirv;, CCCXXVII. 32. It IS here opposed to KU.<T I^axoXayV^a, as in L. 8. DCDXXVII. 39, to XKTK TO xxoXoufov in L. 7. DCCCLXXXV. 32, to elvet>yxaiu; in DCCCLXXiv. 22, and in cccxxvi. 12, to olKovoftouptvo; and ffvpiripiQipofttvos. See also cccxxxvii. 23. L. 3. DXL. 12. L. 6. DCCLXIII. 25. DCCLXXX1X, 8. DCCCXXI. 37. L. 7. DCCCLXIII. 25. 68 Some Account of the them a schoolmaster,- as the law to the Hebrews, to lead them to Christ. It is preparatory, opening the way to him who is afterwards perfected by Christ. The way of truth is one, for streams run into it from different quarters as into a perennial river. The l direction of Scripture is, that we should use the wisdom of the world, but not entirely devote ourselves to it. As the sciences of music, geometry, grammar, rhetoric, contri- bute to philosophy, their mistress ; so philosophy contributes to the acquisition of wisdom, which is the knowledge of things divine and human, and of their causes." Clement confirms these statements by allegorical interpretations of the story of 2 Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, which are borrowed from Philo. 3 " Discipline in those things which are comprehended by the understanding purifies the soul from the objects of sense, and kindles a spark within it, so that it is enabled to see the truth. 4 There is doubtless in some a greater natural aptitude to virtue than in others ; but perfection in virtue is attained through education ; since many, ill-disposed by nature, have, through suitable discipline, become virtuous ; and many well- disposed have, through neglect, become vicious. God has created us fit for society, and just ; we must not, however, say that justice results from constitution alone ; but that what is good in our nature is stirred up by precept, the soul being instructed by discipline willingly to choose what is best. It is not faith alone, but a faith enlightened by instruction, which causes us to admit what is well, and to reject what is ill said. We can more easily and more speedily attain to virtue by means of previous discipline, though we may succeed without it : but even then we must have learned, and our senses must be exercised" The 5 preliminary Grecian discipline then, together with philosophy itself, appears to come from God to man. In speaking of philosophy Clement 6 meant not the Stoic, or Platonic, or Epicurean, or Aristotelian; but the Eclectic, 1 cccxxxii. 33. Compare CCCXLII. 8. CCCLXXIII. 21. CCCLXXVI. 40. 2 cccxxxiii. 15. Abraham attained to wisdom, passing through the con- templation of the heavens to faith in God and righteousness, cccxxxiv. 7. Compare L. 5. DCXLVIII. 10. L. 6. DCCLXXX. 13. DCCLXXXI. 37. cccxxxvi. 21. cccxxxvn. 21. cccxxxvm, ir, Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 69 which takes whatever is well said by each of the sects, and teaches righteousness with pious knowledge. When, however, Clement talks of philosophy as justifying the Greeks, he excludes those who had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the Scriptures ; which, according to him, were translated into Greek for the express purpose of depriving the Greeks of the excuse of ignorance. A life of obedience in such a case, without faith, will not avail ; for Abraham was justified, not by works, but by faith. There are many roads, but that which is in righteousness is that which is in Christ ; and blessed are they who enter into it. The arts of sophistry are, Clement 1 says, " little calculated to advance the cause of truth." He 2 declares himself, how- ever, opposed to the opinion of those who, assuming the title of orthodox (op#o8oao-Tai), said that faith alone was sufficient, and rejected the aid of human learning, 3 referring the inven- tion of philosophy and logic to Satan. He contends, on the contrary, that every branch of science and literature may be rendered subservient to the advancement of truth. "It is true that the Apostles were unlearned ; but they were guided by the Spirit ; we can only arrive at the right understanding of the sacred volume by study, and the usual modes of instruction." Having dwelt at some length on the connexion between acting well and speaking well (in a moral sense), he says 4 of himself, " It is my determination to live according to reason, and to understand what is signified (in Scripture) ; and without aim- ing at fluency of speech, to be satisfied with merely giving as it were a hint of what I understand ; nor do I care by what name that which I wish to communicate is called. For I know well that to be saved, and to co-operate with those who wish 1 cccxxxix. n, 35. " cccxli. 30. cccxlii. 8, 35. cccxliii. 12. 3 Compare cccxlvi. 16, 38, where various opinions respecting the origin of philosophy are stated. Some thought that it, obscurely and as it were by accident, shadowed out the truth ; others, that it was the suggestion of Satan ; others, that it was the inspiration of certain powers descending from above. Still, though it may not comprehend the greatness of the truth, and is too weak to secure the performance of the Divine commands, it prepares the way to the royal doctrine, correcting and fashioning the morals, and strengthening him who believes in a providence, for the reception of the truth. See Note 3, p. 67. 4 cccxliv. 12. 70 Some Account of the to be saved, is the main object: not to collect flowers of speech, like ornaments." "When St. Paul Condemns the wisdom of this world, he must be understood, not as indiscriminately condemning all philosophy, but the Epicurean, which annihilated Providence and deified pleasure, and paid honour to the elements, to the exclusion of their Creator. He condemns also the Stoic, who represented God as a body pervading the vilest matter. Far from forbidding inquiry, the Word invites men to investigate ; but 2 means them to cease from investigating when they have discovered the truth, and not to go continually in search of novelties. 3 The Christian doctrine makes God the Creator of the universe ; affirms that Providence extends to every part of creation, and that the elements were created and are liable to change ; teaches us so to live that we may be assimilated to God ; and proposes the Gospel dispensation as the principle of all instruction." Clement 4 proceeds to say that he was for a while deterred from writing, by the consideration that pearls ought not to be cast before swine. "Our Saviour, indeed, says, that 'what we hear in the ear, we are to declare on the house-tops ; ' but not indiscriminately to all ; for to ignorant and swine -like men nothing appears more ridiculous than the sacred traditions of the true knowledge (yi/oxreoos). 5 Each sect of philosophy, whether Barbarian or Greek, boasts that it possesses the whole truth, whereas it possesses only a fragment; our business, therefore, is to collect all those fragments into one body, in order that we may behold the truth. Thus it is that the true Gnostic is formed." Having thus justified his frequent reference to the Greek philosophy, Clement now 6 gives an account of its rise, for the purpose of showing that it was of much later date than the 1 cccxlvi. 7. 2 Compare Tertullian de Prsescriptionibus Hsereticorum, c. 9, where the same text, Matt. vii. 7, is quoted. 3 cccxlvii. 2. 4 cccxlviii. 15. Compare cccxxviii. i See Note 4, p. 66. 3 cccxlviii. 38. cccxlix. 27. 6 cccl. 17. This account well deserves the attention of the scholar. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 71 Hebrew, from which it was in truth borrowed. He x extends the same remark to other arts and sciences, of which the Barbarians, as the Greeks termed them, were the inventors. " Some 2 appear to have quoted, with reference to the Greek philosophy, the saying of our Lord, ' All before me were thieves and robbers.' The prophets indeed, inasmuch as they were sent and inspired by the Lord, were not thieves, but ministers. But philosophy was not sent ; it was given, they say, by a thief, not without the knowledge of the Lord, Who did not, however, prevent the theft ; for the theft was useful to mankind, though that was not the intent of the thief; but it was directed by Providence to a good end." Clement 3 hence takes occasion to discuss the question, Whether he who has the power of pre- venting, yet does not prevent evil, is not to be deemed the cause of it ? " The cause," Clement says, " is to be discovered by action ; but that which does not prevent is, in this respect, inactive, and 4 is, therefore, not a cause. That which prevents is rather a cause. 5 The Lord did not, indeed, prevent the sending of philosophy, but He turned it to a good purpose. To do good is as much the nature of God, as it is of fire to warm, or of light to illuminate. But the greatest exercise at once of the Divine goodness, and wisdom, and power, is to bring good out of evil. In philosophy, as in the fire stolen by Prometheus, there is a spark fit for light, a vestige of wisdom, an impulse from God. In this respect the Greek philosophers may be termed 6 thieves and robbers ; before the coming of the Lord they stole portions of truth from the Hebrew prophets, 1 ccclxi. 14. 2 ccclxvi. 28. In cccc. 17, Clement applies the text to the sooth- sayers among the heathen who pretended to the gift of prophecy. See L. 5. DCL. 10. 3 ccclxvii. 9. Clement, however, denies that the gift of philosophy was injurious, so as to call for the interference of providence. xx' oil' iTfifiXafiri; n ^offi; 97 v, 7v w KuXvtri? VftffX/ff. CCClxviii. 3. 4 Clement asks, "Would you say that Achilles would have been the cause of the destruction of the Grecian fleet, because he would not interfere to prevent Hector from burning it? He might be called <ruvt*trio;, a con- cause, or co-operating cause." See L. 4. DCII. 9. L. 8. DCDXXXI. 3. DCDXXXII. 44. DCDXXXIV. where Clement distinguishes between o-uvxinov, ffuYixrixov, ffvinpyov. See also CCCLXXVI. 37. 5 ccclxix. 20. 6 Compare ccclxxvii. 33. L. 5. DCL. 10. 72 Some Account of the without l clearly knowing them, and appropriated them to themselves ; some they adulterated ; some they sophisticated with ignorant diligence ; some they discovered ; for even they had perhaps the spirit of wisdom 2 (irv.v^a. awr#7Jo-ea>s). Still the 3 Greek philosophers occasionally put forth true doctrines ; whether by accident, though even that accident must be referred to the Divine providence ; or the produce of natural notions common to all men (fywiKal eWouu), in which case they must be referred to the Author of nature. 4 Philosophy contributes to the comprehension of the truth ; not being itself the cause of our comprehending it, but co-operating with other causes, it may be called a concurrent cause 5 (TO a-waiTiov alriov). Truth is one ; and many things conspire to the in- vestigation of it ; but the discovery is through the Son alone. We give to prudence, to temperance, to courage, to justice, the name of virtue ; the power of virtue being always one and the same. In like manner, truth being one, there is a geometrical, a musical, a philosophical truth ; but truth, properly so called, is that in which we are instructed by the Son of God. The Christian philosophy differs from the Greek, though it has the same name, in greatness of knowledge, in force of demonstra- tion, in Divine power, and in other like respects ; for Christians are taught of God, instructed in truly sacred literature by the Son of God. Still too much stress must not be laid on the assistance which philosophy can confer ; since many, without the least tincture of science or Greek philosophy, or letters, moved by the Divine and barbarous philosophy alone, have received the Truth concerning God in power, through faith, instructed by a self -working wisdom. We call that a con- 1 ov xotr lr/yvv. See CCCLXXII. 2O, 27. L. 6. DCCLIX. 23. DCCLX. 2. It is Opposed to x,a,ra. vipitppainv. 2 Perhaps from Exodus xxviii. 3. 3 ccclxxiii. 24. Clement compares the view which the Greek philo- sophers had of the Deity to that which we have of objects seen by refraction or reflexion, ccclxxiv. 15. 4 ccclxxv. 25. Clement illustrates his position by observing that if many men are engaged in towing a vessel, they are not deemed many causes, but one cause composed of many ; since each is not singly the cause of the vessel's motion, but in conjunction with the rest. See L. 8. DCDXXXII. 42. 5 See Note 4, p. 71. Clement had before spoken of the efficient cause, TO voivirtxov xinov, with reference to the Deity, CCCLXXIV. 9. See CCCLXXVII. I. L. 2. CCCCXLIII. 5. L. 3. DLL 21. L. 4. DXCVII. 27. L. 6. DCCLXXXI. 19. ffuvairiois Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 73 current cause, which of itself can effect nothing, but acts in conjunction with something else. Such is philosophy, which * formerly justified the Greeks, not with that perfect justification, towards which we have said that it contributes, but as the first and second steps of the ascent to the upper chamber. The senses contribute towards the discovery of the truth ; but it is the mind which thoroughly knows it. The 2 Greek stands to the Christian philosophy in the same relation in which the senses stand to the mind, with reference to the discovery of truth. Truth, according to the faith, i.e. Christian truth, is bread, necessary to life : Greek philosophy, merely dainties and sweetmeats." Clement now 3 enters into a long chronological detail, in order to show that Moses and the Prophets lived long before the rise of Grecian philosophy. He 4 then gives an account of the Septuagint version ; which he states to have been made during the reign either of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, or of Ptolemy Philadelphia, under the direction of Demetrius Phalereus. He asserts that the translators were inspired, as 5 Ezra was inspired, when he restored the Scriptures which had been corrupted or destroyed during the captivity at Babylon. He quotes, however, a passage from Aristobulus, from which it appears that the account of the departure of the children of Israel from Egypt, and of their conquest of the land of Canaan, and of the giving of the law, had been translated into Greek before the time of Alexander the Great. Clement G then gives a history of Moses, in which he principally follows Philo; though some of his statements appear to have been 7 derived from other sources. He 8 shows 1 See Note 5, p. 67. 2 Clement also compares philosophy to the fence of a vineyard, which keeps off the crafty attacks of those, the heretics for instance, who would break through and steal. CCCLXXVU. 21. 3 ccclxxviii. 5. It has been observed (Note I, p. 3) that Clement brings all his calculations down to the death of Commodus. CCCCII. 27. cccciii. 15, 29, 35. ccccvi. 8, 28, 30. ccccvn. 15. ccccix. 16. 4 ccccix. 26. Clement here follows Irenreus. L. 3. c. 25. 5 See cccxcii. 33. 6 ccccxi. 18. 7 For instance, that respecting the name given to Moses after his reception into heaven, ccccxi i. 24. 8 ccccxvi. 10. 74 Some Account of the that Moses was a prophet, a lawgiver, a general, a statesman, a philosopher. The functions of the general, the lawgiver, and the judge, pertain to the regal office, which may be considered under four points of view : a king may be a dispenser of good, in imitation of the Deity ; a violent despotic ruler, like Her- cules or Alexander ; a thirster after conquest, like the Persian kings who invaded Greece ; or a mere voluptuary, like Sar- danapalus. A king, according to Clement, is he who rules according to the laws, and knows how to rule over willing subjects. Clement 1 says that " the Greeks derived from Moses their strategical skill ; thus 2 Miltiades, in his night-march against the Persians, imitated the tactics of Moses in conduct- ing the Israelites out of Egypt." Clement goes so far as to compare the pillar of fire, which guided the Israelites by night, to a light which conducted Thrasybulus when he was bringing back the exiles from Phyle to the Munychia. In like manner 3 Plato borrowed his notions of legislation from Moses. The proofs which Clement produces of this asser- tion are far-fetched and inconclusive. 4 " Law," he says, " is not that which is enacted ; as sight is not that which is seen ; nor is it every opinion, since some opinions are bad ; but good, that is, true opinion, which discovers that which is (TO en/), and attains to it. ' He who is (6 tm/) has sent me,' are the words of Moses. On which account some, consistently with good opinion, have called the law right reason, commanding what is to be done, and forbidding what is not to be done. The law was rightly said to be given through Moses, being a rule to distinguish between right and wrong, and conducting man to God. A lawgiver is he who distributes to each part of the soul that which is suitable to it and its operations. Moses, in a word, was a living law, governed by right reason." The Greeks, 5 in order to add to the authority of their laws, said that Minos received his laws from Jupiter, Lycurgus from Apollo, Zaleucus from Minerva; yet they would not admit that the laws of Moses, from which all their own laws were borrowed, were derived from heaven. 1 ccccxvii. 29. 2 ccccxviii. 10. 3 ccccxix. 13. Clement, having spoken of Moses as a general, now speaks of him as a lawgiver. 4 ccccxx. 17. s ccccxxii. 8. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 75 Clement * proceeds to defend the law against the charge of not being good, because it inflicts punishments. " A surgeon is not deemed cruel, who causes pain to a patient in order to restore him to health ; nor ought the law to be deemed cruel, which removes the diseases of the soul by severe remedies. The 2 Providence which governs the world must be at once supreme and good, and by both these attributes it effects the salvation of man ; chastening him by punishment, as supreme ; and benefiting him, as good. Thus he has it in his power to cease to be a child of disobedience, and to pass from dark- ness to life : and lending his ear to wisdom, to become first a legal (vofjiifjiov) slave of God, then a faithful servant, fearing the Lord God ; and if he proceeds further, to be enrolled in the number of sons. For when ' charity has covered the multitude of sins,' then through the consummation of a blessed hope, being increased in charity, he is numbered in the elect adop- tion, which is called beloved of God, and utters in song this prayer, 'May the Lord be my God.' The 3 terror to which the law gave birth was in truth merciful by leading man to salvation. " The 4 philosophy of Moses may be divided into four parts : the historical, the legislative properly so called (these two relate to morals), the sacrificial, which belongs to physical contem- plation, and the theological, or inspection of mysteries (17 eVo- Trrci'a). In order to the understanding of this, the true logic is necessary ; which, inspecting all things, and examining their faculties and powers, ascends to the most excellent essence, and thence ventures onward to the God of the universe ; not professing skill in human matters, but the knowledge of that which is divine and heavenly ; to this is united the proper use of things human, both in word and deed. This logic is the science of distinguishing between things comprehended by the 1 ccccxxii. 23. Clement is now speaking of Moses as a judge. See ccccxxi. 13. What he here says with respect to the law, he had before said with reference to the Pedagogue. L. i. c. 8. See p. 34. We find the same illustration, cxxxvu. I. Compare also CCLXXX. 19, with ccccxxin. 13. See L. 2. ccccxcn. 22. L. 4. DLXVII. et seq. 2 ccccxxiii. 28. 3 ccccxxiv. 13. Compare L. 2. cccclxxii. 25. cccclxxiii. 26. 4 ccccxxiv. 27. Philosopher is the last in the list of titles given to Moses by Clement, ccccxvi, 10. 76 Some Account of the understanding, displaying the substance of everything purely and without mixture ; or it is the power which distinguishes between the genera (ytvrj) of things, and thence descends to individuals, and causes each to appear simply as it is. Where- fore it alone leads to true wisdom ; which is a Divine power, knowing things as they really are, attaining to perfection, and exempt from all affections (?ra^ov?), not, however, without the assistance of the Saviour, Who, by the Divine Word, removes from the eye of the soul the film of ignorance spread over it by evil conversation, and restores it to a healthy state, that we may distinguish between God and man. He it is who shows us how to know ourselves, and reveals the Father of the universe to whom He will, as far as human nature is able to comprehend Him." Clement 1 afterwards says, "that the law may be considered under three points of view, either as manifesting a sign (a miraculous communication), or as laying down precepts for a good life, or as predicting future events." Having in the first book described the nature and design of the Stromata, and while he justified his frequent references to the Greek, established the superior antiquity of the Hebrew philosophy, Clement begins the second with stating the sub- jects which he shall discuss, and repeating the charge against the Greeks of having stolen from the barbarous philosophy many miraculous narratives, and many doctrines of the highest importance concerning faith, wisdom, knowledge, hope, charity, repentance, temperance, and the fear of God. The Greek philosophers particularly imitated the hidden, or symbolical and enigmatical part of the barbarous philosophy, as the most useful, or rather most necessary to the knowledge of the truth. One of his objects, Clement says, "will be to reply to the accusations of the Greeks, by appealing to Scripture ; in the hope that the Jews may be led on, from what they now believe, to faith in Him in Whom they do not believe ; and the Greeks may become ashamed of their calumnious attacks, by learning what the Christian doctrines really are." Clement disclaims all attempts to win the assent of his readers by a Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 77 studied style. " The barbarous philosophy," * he continues, "which we follow, is perfect and true. It embraces the con- templation both of sensible objects, and of those which are comprehended by the understanding. Studied in conjunction with a good life, it conducts us, through that wisdom which is the artificer of all things, to the Governor of the universe, Who is difficult to be seized or apprehended, receding con- tinually and going to a greater distance from him who follows after. The same (God), an ineffable wonder, is at once afar off and nearest to us. ' I am a God at hand,' says the Lord. Afar off, with respect to His essence or nature ; for how can that which is created be near to that which is uncreated? But near in power, which comprehends all things in its bosom. The power of God is always present to us, either superintending, or benefiting, or instructing us." After some further remarks on the Divine nature, Clement 2 says, that they alone who are inspired by the Holy Spirit can attain to the understanding of Divine truth, through the medium of faith, which he defines "a voluntary anticipation, the assent of piety, 'the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' " He 3 then shows that the notions of faith entertained by Basilides and the Valentinians, le.d to the doctrine of an inevitable necessity, and subverted the dis- tinctions between right and wrong. He 4 says that "truth has reference to sensation, understanding, knowledge, and opinion ; that in the natural order understanding has the precedence ; but with respect to ourselves, sensation : and the essence of knowledge is composed of sensation and under- standing ; but evidence (TO empyes) is common both to sensa- tion and understanding. Sensation is the basis of knowledge ; faith, making its way through sensible objects, leaves opinion behind ; hastening on to that which is free from falsehood, it rests in the truth. Should any one 5 say that knowledge is 1 ccccxxx. 37. - ccccxxxii. 18, 36. 3 ccccxxxiii. 31. Compare L. 5. DCXLIV. 38. CCCCXXXV. 9- Tiffffdfuv o\ ovr&iV) tv 01; TO aXj^j* aiff^fflu^ vo 5 This was the definition of the philosophers. See ccccxxxiii. 16. CCCCLIV. 9. CCCCLXVIII. 27. L. 4. DCXXIX. ii. But the reader must bear in mind that the knowledge here spoken of is not that of the Gnostic, yvutn;, but tfiffriifat as opposed to %o%a. Clement distinguishes between iwwnii^tfi and yvSffts. CCCCLXVIII. 41. See also L. 3. DXXXI. 24. L, 4. DLXXXI. 78 Some Account of the demonstration by reason, let him be told that first principles admit not of demonstration ; they can be known neither by art nor prudence (^povTycret). l Unbelievers refer all things to sense, thinking that nothing exists but that which may be touched and handled, and making no distinction between body and essence." Clement 2 proceeds to state the opinions of Aristotle and Epicurus respecting faith; and then 3 resumes his old topic, that the Greeks stole their doctrines from Moses. He 4 next shows that in Christ were united all the qualities which the Stoics ascribed to their wise man that He possessed true beauty, was a king, was rich, a priest, a lawgiver, of noble birth. Returning to the subject of faith, he 5 says that "it would be absurd in the admirers of Pythagoras, who deemed it sufficient to allege in confirmation of what they advanced, that he had said it that it would be absurd in them to distrust the only Teacher Who was worthy of credit, God the only Saviour, and to require from Him proofs of what He taught." St. Paul, in Rom. x. 14, 15, 6 traces faith through hearing and the preaching of the Apostles to the word of the Lord, and to the Son of God. " What stronger demonstration can we have than the word of the Lord ? But in order that the word may have its due operation, there must be on the part of the hearer an aptitude to receive it ; the best instruction is of no avail, unless it is received by the learner. 7 Some have both the inclination and the power ; some only the inclina- tion : to will is an act of the soul ; but we cannot act without the body. Nor are we to estimate actions by the event alone ; we must judge by the choice of the individual, whether he has chosen readily, whether he has repented of his sins, whether he understands and recognises his error, and has changed his 26. L. 6. DCCLXIX. 8. between Ivto-rv/tv and <r<p/. L. 4. DLXVII. 2. DCXXXVIII. 28. P. L. 2. C. 2. CLXXXI. 26. We find Icr/c-r^^f yveoffrtKvs. L. 6. DCCXXXVI. 12. DCCCXXV. 6. DCCCXXIII. 34, and definitions of ffoQia, in P. L. 2. c. 2. CLXXI. 27. S. L. I. cccxxxm. 6. L. 4. DCXXXVIII. 28. L. 6. DCCLXVIII. i. DCCCVII. 43. 1 ccccxxxvi. 2. ' 2 ccccxxxvi. 21. 3 ccccxxxix. I. 4 ccccxxxiii. 15. 5 ccccxli. 25. c ccccxlii. 18. 7 ccccxliii. 13. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 79 sentiments ; for repentance is tardy knowledge ; innocence from the first is knowledge. Repentance, then, is an amend- ment through faith ; for unless a man believes that to be sin in which he was before implicated, he will not change ; and unless he believes that punishment hangs over the trans- gressor, and that salvation is the portion of him who lives agreeably to the commandments, he will not change. Hope also results from faith." Having again noticed the definition of faith given by Basilides, Clement 1 proceeds to define opinion, unbelief, incredulity, faith, expectation, confidence, 2 good-will (ewoia). He then says that "the promise made to Abraham pertains to Christians, who are Israelites, believing not through signs and wonders, but through hearing. 3 The covenants, which are two in name and time, adapted to the different ages and progress of the people of God, are one in power; both the old and the new being given by one God through His Son." This assertion Clement confirms by a reference to Rom. i. 17. 4 " Faith 'is not to be disparaged as a common and vulgar quality. Whether founded on love, or, as they who disparage it say, on fear, it is a Divine gift. It is a Divine change when unbelief becomes belief, and men believe in hope and fear. Faith appears to be the first inclination (vevo-t?) towards salvation : then follow fear and hope and repentance, which growing up together with temperance and patience, lead us on to love and knowledge. Faith is the first element of knowledge, preceding all its other elements, being as necessary to the Gnostic as respiration is to life. As we cannot live without the four elements, neither can we attain knowledge without faith : faith then is the basis of truth." " Some 5 heretics disparaged the law, because it addressed itself to the fears of man. For fear, they said, is an irrational affection of the mind. But how," Clement asks, "can fear be irrational, when the commandment is given by the Word or reason ? That fear must be rational, which is an avoiding of that which is hurtful, whence springs repentance for past 1 ccccxliv. i. 2 ccccxliv. 14. Compare P. L. I. c. n. CLVI. 7. 3 Compare CCCCLXXVI. 18. L. 3. DVII. n. DXIII. 30. 4 ccccxlv. 4. 5 ccccxlvi. I. 8o Some Account of the transgressions. ' The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.' The heretics who denied that the law is good, urged the passage of St. Paul, ' By the law is the knowledge of sin.' But the law," Clement x replies, "did not cause, it only declared sin ; by commanding what is to be done, it reproved that which is not to be done. It is the part of a good man to point out that which is salutary, and that which is injurious. The law must be good which was given as a schoolmaster to lead us to Christ, in order that being chastened by fear we might turn to perfection through Christ." Clement 2 proceeds to refute the interpretations put upon the text, " The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," by Basilides and Valentinus. "The fear of the Lord," 3 he says, "leads to repentance and to hope." He then defines hope, charity, hospitality, philanthropy, friendly affection (<J>i\oo-TopyCa) , brotherly love. "The Jews," he 4 says, "mis- took the meaning of the law by attending only to the letter; they did not believe in it as predicting the coming of Christ, and obeyed it through fear, not through affection and faith ; they did not perceive that Christ was the end of the law. But the goodness of God was manifested even in their rejection ; for their rejection was accompanied by the calling of the Gentiles." Clement 5 thus describes the progress of the Chris- tian to knowledge : " Faith becomes hope through repentance, as does fear through faith ; perseverance and exercise in these, united with instruction, are perfected into charity ; and charity is perfected into knowledge. Wisdom is the power of God, which teaches the truth ; and thence is derived the perfection of knowledge." " Three 6 qualifications are necessary to the perfection of the Gnostic : contemplation ; the fulfilment of the command- ments ; the ability to form good men. The 7 frequent repeti- tion in Scripture of the words, ' I am the Lord your God,' admonishes us quietly to seek God, and to endeavour as much as possible to know Him ; this is the highest contemplation, 1 ccccxlvii. 17. 2 ccccxlviii. 3. 3 ccccl. 22. 4 ccccli. 26. 3 cccclii. 25. ccccliii. 16. Compare L. 7. dcccxxx. 30. " ccccliv. 6. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. Si the * true knowledge, which is immutably founded on reason. This is the only knowledge of wisdom, from which good works are inseparable." Clement then 2 distinguishes faith into two kinds : that of knowledge (iTna-TrjjjioviKr)), and that of opinion (So^ao-rtK^). He makes a similar distinction with respect to demonstration. " Christians possess the only true demonstration, which is supplied by the Divine Scriptures and the heaven - taught wisdom. The demonstration of opinion is human, and founded on rhetorical arguments and logical syllogisms. That from above is knowledge." Clement then runs into a fanciful interpretation of Exodus xvi. 36. " Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah," or according to the Septuagint, "of three measures;" which three measures Clement 3 states to be " sensation, the measure of objects of sense ; speech or reason, of 4 names and words ; the under- standing or mind, of things which are perceived by it. This is the true and just measure, by which is measured the decad, 5 of which man consists the body and soul, the five senses, the power of speech ; the seminal power, and the cogitative or spiritual power." The last power bears the same relation to the other nine that the Creator does to the creation, which Clement, or rather Philo, divides into nine parts, the four elements (constituting one), the seven planets, and the fixed sphere. Then follows a comparison between the true and the Pseudo-Gnostic. " Faith 6 applies to the past and future, and is thus connected with memory and hope; we believe that past events have been, and that future events will be. Fear 7 becomes faith first, and afterwards love ; not, however, such a fear as men have of a wild beast, which they fear and hate ; but as they have of a parent, whom they fear and love ; faith is not predicated of the present, but persuasion or assurance." Clement, in pur- suing this argument, 8 says, that our assent is entirely in our own power. 1 See Note 5, p. 77. 2 ccccliv.,i8. 3 This fanciful interpretation is borrowed from Philo de Congr. qucerend. erudit. gratia. 4 lvofji.oi.Tuv xu.} pr/fteiruv, nouns and verbs. 5 Clement describes this Decad somewhat differently. L. 6. dcccviii. 5. 6 cccclvii. 12. 7 See p. 80. 8 cccclviii. 9. 82 Some Account of the Clement next l proceeds to the subject of repentance, and points out the dangerous condition of those who are continually repenting and relapsing into sin. 2 " The Gentile, who em- braces the Gospel, once receives the remission of his sins ; but he who afterwards sins and then repents, even if he obtains pardon, ought to feel shame, because he is not again washed for the remission of sins. He who is regenerated in the Spirit ought to quit his former mode of life ; that is, he ought not again to be involved in the same transgression, and again to repent. For repeatedly to ask forgiveness on account of repeated offences is not repentance, but a show of repentance." Clement 3 defines appetite a movement of the mind towards some object, or from it; passion an excessive appetite, over- stepping the bounds set by reason. All the passions are irrational affections. Having stated that obedience and dis- obedience are voluntary, he 4 says, that which is involuntary cannot be made the subject of judgment. He then points out the various modes in which men may act involuntarily. God looks not merely at the action, but at the intent of the agent. That 5 which is voluntary is either by appetite, by choice, or by deliberate intention. Clement then states in what a and dSt/oy/za differ from each other. The 6 Valentinians seem to have objected against ascribing joy and grief, which are human affections, to God. Clement replies, "that the Divine nature cannot be described as it really is. The prophets have spoken to us, fettered as we are by the flesh, according to our ability to receive their saying, the Lord accommodating Himself to human weakness for our salvation. It is the will of God that he who obeys the com- mandments, and repents of his sins, should be saved ; we then rejoice on account of our salvation ; and the Lord, speak- ing through the prophets, has appropriated to Himself our joy. God 7 has no natural (<vo-t/<7?v) relation to us, as the founders of the heresies assert, whether He formed us out of nothing (c* /XT/ OI/TGH/), or out of matter ; since the former has no existence, and the latter is in every respect different from God ; unless some one should venture to assert that we are part of God, and of the same essence (6/toowtous) with Him ; and I understand 1 cccclix. 26. 2 cccclx. I. 3 cccclx. 31. 4 cccclxi. 3. 5 cccclxii. i. 6 cccclxvi. 28. 7 cccclxvii. 37. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 8 3 not how he who knows God can bear to hear such an assertion, when he contemplates our life, and the evils in which we are involved. Were this the case, God would in part sin (/xcpiKoos), if the parts of the whole go to complete the whole ; but if they do not go towards its completion, they are not parts. But God, being by His nature rich in pity, in His goodness watches over us, who are neither parts of Him, nor His children by nature. The riches of God's mercy are manifested in this that He calls to the adoption of sons, those who belong not to Him in essence or nature, but simply in being the work of His will." Having defined knowledge (cTrio-r^r;), Clement 1 proceeds to say, that " whatever we do not, we do not either through want of inclination, or ability, or both. We wish to be as the Lord, but have not the ability to be : ' the disciple cannot be above his Master ; ' it is sufficient that we be as our Master ; not in essence, since it is impossible for that which is by adop- tion to be equal in essence to that which is by nature ; but in becoming immortal, in attaining to the contemplation of things as they really are, in being called sons, and in seeing the Father 2 in Himself. The inclination precedes ; for the reasoning or rational faculties are the ministers of the inclina- tion ; in the Gnostic the inclination, the judgment, the exercise, are one and the same." The Greeks derived their notions of moral virtue from Moses. This Clement 3 proves by references to passages in the Old Testament, inculcating justice, liberality, brotherly love, for- giveness of injuries, kind treatment of animals, and other virtues. He 4 says, incidentally, " that he who possesses one virtue as a Gnostic (yvcoo-n/aas), possesses all by mutual relation. 5 This is he who is * in the image and after the likeness,' the Gnostic, who imitates God as far as it is possible, omitting nothing which can contribute to the likeness, being continent, 1 cccclxix. 2. See Note 5, p. 77- 2 So I translate xa,} rov crarj^a $r TUV olxuuv xottfopoiv ftovov. 3 cccclxix. 23. 4 cccclxx. 32. The whole passage, in which Clement describes the mutual dependence of the virtues on each other, is worthy of attention. 5 cccclxxx. ii. Compare C. xciv. 26. F. L. I. c. 12. clvi. 25. L. 3. c. 12. cccxi. 6. S. L. 2. ccccxcix. 22. 84 Some Account of the forbearing, just ; king (/fco-iXoW) of his passions, communi- cating what he has, doing good by word and deed, to the utmost of his power. 1 The likeness to God (TO KO.T eucoVa, /cat 6/Aoiwo-iv) refers not to the body, for that which is mortal cannot be likened to that which is immortal; but to the understanding and reason, by which the Lord appropriately seals the likeness in doing good and in governing." 2 " Patience and endurance of suffering are also qualities through which the Gnostic will acquire exemption from passion (a7ra#etai/), and will approach to the resemblance of God. When tempted he will bless, like the noble Job; like Jonas, he will pray when swallowed by the whale, and his faith will restore him to prophesy to the Ninevites : if he is shut up with lions, he will tame their savageness ; if he is cast into the fire, he will be refreshed with dew, but will not be burned ; he will bear testimony (/xaprv/arjo-ct), by night, by day, in word, in life, in conversation ; conversing and dwelling with the Lord in the spirit, he will remain pure in flesh, pure in heart, holy in speech. ' The world,' he says, ' is crucified to him, and he to the world.' He bearing about the cross of the Saviour, follows the steps of the Lord, like unto God 3 becoming a Saint of Saints." Clement next enlarges in praise of temper- ance, and inveighs against pleasure. He 4 then explains the manner in which the demons act upon the souls of men, and seduce them into error. He 5 defends the law against the charge of severity which some brought against it, because it addresses itself to the fears of man ; it does this in order to secure to them exemption from anxiety by deterring them from unlawful pleasures. "To those," he 6 says, " who are inclined to sin, truth appears harshness ; and he who will not join them in their sinful practices appears destitute of sympathy." 1 cccclxxxiii. 33. 2 cccclxxxiv. 3. 3 See ccccxciv. 28. with reference to Ps. Ixxxii. I. "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, lie judgeth among the gods," or as it stands in the Septuagint, iv /u,=ff&> $1 hw; "Staxpiiti. Clement asks, " What gods? Those who are superior to pleasure and passion ; those who know what they do; the Gnostics, who have overcome the world." He makes similar applications of Ps. Ixxxii. 6, 7 ; Rom. viii. 9. 4 cccclxxxvii. 7. 5 ccccxcii. II. Seep, 79, 6 ccccxciv. 2. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 85 Having 1 enumerated the opinions of the philosophers re- specting happiness (TO re/\os), Clement 2 says that "the purpose of the Christian Gnostic is to attain to an end which is without end, obeying the commandments (that is, obeying God), and living conformably to them, unrebukeable (di/7riA.rJ7rTa>s, i Tim. vi. 14), and endued with knowledge (eVtcmy/AoVtos, Jas. iii. 13), through the knowledge of the Divine Will. That end is to assimilate ourselves, as far as lies in our power, to right reason, and to be restored to perfect adoption through the Son, and continually to glorify the Father through the great High Priest, Who has condescended to call us brethren and fellow-heirs. The Apostle in his 3 Epistle to the Romans, concisely describes the end, when he says, ' Now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, you have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.' 4 The doctrine of Plato, that the object of faith is a resemblance to God, as far as man can unite justice and holiness with prudence ; and that the end is a restoration of the promise through faith, is not different from the doctrine of St. Paul, and was indeed derived from the Scriptures of the Old Testament." Clement 5 next treats of marriage, which he defines the union of a man and woman according to the law, in order to have legitimate children. To the question, whether a man ought to marry, he answers that every man ought not to marry, but regard must be had to time, and person, and age. Having recapitulated the opinions of the philosophers for and against marriage, he brings forward the 6 usual arguments in favour of it, drawn from the distinction of sexes ; from the blessing pronounced by God on our first parents, " Increase and multiply;" from the necessity of marriage to the con- tinuation of the human race. The "liability to disease con- 1 ccccxcv. 22. 2 d. 33. 3 vi. 22. 4 Compare d. 7, with dii. 8. s dii. 14. 6 Some seem to have deemed marriage necessary to the perfection of the Gnostic. Clement puts the following argument into the mouth of one who held this opinion : "He who is childless does not reach his natural perfection, inasmuch as he does not substitute a successor in his own place ; for he is perfect who causes to exist one like to himself ; or rather, who sees that one do the same : that is, when he who is begotten arrives at the same natural condition as he who begat." Dili. 31. 7 div. 9. 86 Souie Account of the stitutes another argument in favour of marriage ; for the care and persevering attention of a wife surpasses the assiduity of other relations and friends, and she is described in Scripture as a help meet for man. In old age also the married man has a wife to take care of, and children to support him. Another argument * urged by Clement is, that if the loss of any object is an evil, the possession of it must be good ; but the loss of children is the greatest of evils ; consequently the possession of them is a great good. Throughout this discussion Clement says nothing in disparagement of marriage, but 2 affirms ex- pressly that Scripture counsels men to marry. Having described the manner in which the Gnostic character is gradually formed, and the qualifications necessary to its perfection, and having shown that the state of marriage is not incompatible with it, Clement proceeds in the third book to examine the opinions of the Pseudo-Gnostics, Basilides and Valentinus, respecting marriage. He then 3 expresses his own opinion. "We esteem," he says, "chastity blessed, as well as those on whom this gift is conferred by God ; we admire a single marriage, and the decorous gravity attached to it ; saying, however, that we ought to sympathize with each other, and ' bear each other's burdens, lest he who thinks that he stands should himself fall.' With respect to a second marriage, the Apostle says, ' If thou burnest, marry.' " Clement proceeds to detail the sentiments of Carpocrates, Marcion, and others of the Gnostics respecting marriage, and to condemn the licentiousness of many of their tenets. He 4 says that " the heretics might be divided into two classes ; those who taught the indifference of human actions, and those who inculcated continence, but impiously and through enmity to the Creator." Against the former he argues that, "it all 1 dv. 12. 2 o<rt ^ yccfttTv h Tpct(f>^ ffv^ovXititt, ou^l atpiffratrtfai won rr/s tru^vyta; Ivtrpivti, oivTixfvs vo/u,o0-Ts7. Clement then proceeds to quote Matt. v. 32. fcVI. 31. 3 dxi. 13, 4 dxxix. 15. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 87 modes of life are different, we are manifestly at liberty to choose a life of continence. A lover of pleasure gratifies his body ; but a temperate man delivers his soul, which is the mistress of the body, from passions. If 1 all things are lawful, and there is no fear of being disappointed of our hope through wicked actions, we might have a pretence for living wickedly. But since a happy life is pointed out to us through precepts, at which (life) we ought all to aim following whithersoever the Word may lead us, neither perverting anything that has been said, nor neglecting even the smallest part of that which is befitting if we shall fail to attain to that life, we must necessarily fall into eternal evil. They, therefore, who follow the sacred Scriptures, by which all direct their way who trust that they shall, as far as possible, be assimilated to God they must not live indifferently, but purify themselves from pleasures and desires, and watch over the soul, inasmuch as by it they perseveringly proceed to that which is alone divine. For the understanding, being pure and free from all wickedness, is in some measure capable of receiving the power of God, the Divine image being again raised up in it." Clement 2 says, " that knowledge (yvoxris) is not mere speech, but a certain Divine science (eTricm^), and that light which springs up in the soul from obedience to the commandments, which makes all things manifest in their very origin, and prepares man to know himself, and teaches him to reach unto God ; for knowledge is in the understanding, what the eye is in the body." Clement next replies to those heretics who inculcated continence, and forbade marriage, impiously and through hostility to the Creator. They appear to have appealed to various passages of Scripture, which he examines separately. "The end of the law," he 3 says, "is to lead men from un- righteousness to righteousness, by means of chaste marriages, and procreation of children, and holy life. The Lord came, not to destroy, but to fulfil the law ; not to fulfil it as if it were defective, but to accomplish the prophecies in the law by His appearance ; since the right course of life was pro- claimed to those who lived righteously before the law through the Word. The majority of mankind, not knowing what con- tinence is, live to the body, not to the spirit ; but we ought 1 dxxx. 18. 2 dxxxi. 23. 3 dxxxii. 15. 88 Some Account of the to be sanctified not only in the Spirit, but in the life and con- versation also, and in the body. 1 They who abstain from marriage, on the ground that they have received the resurrec- tion, ought also to abstain from eating and drinking ; for God will destroy both the belly and meats in the resurrection. As humility is a gentleness of mind, not a maceration (KCIKOV- X^a) of the body, so continence is a virtue of the soul, not. manifest, but in secret." Some of the 2 heretics appear to have defended their opinion by appealing to the example of Christ, Who was not married, and possessed nothing in this world. Clement answers, "that Christ had His own bride, the Church ; then He was not a common man, and consequently wanted no helpmate in the flesh ; nor was it necessary for Him to beget children, as He remains for ever, and is the only Son of God." Clement 3 further shows " that the practice of just men under the Old Testament, and of Christ and His Apostles under the New, was in this respect the same. All thankfully partook of the bounty of the Author of nature. In 4 like manner we are not forbidden to acquire wealth, but to acquire it unjustly and insatiably. The 5 continence of the Greek philosophers professed to struggle against con- cupiscence, and not to minister to it in act ; but Christian continence professes not even to desire ; so that we do not merely refrain from gratifying our desires, but do not even desire ; but this continence can only be obtained through the grace of God. As to be well is better than to be ill, and to talk about health ; so to be light, is better than to talk about light; and the continence according to the truth better than that taught by the philosophers. Our rule with regard to marriage, food, and everything else, should be, not to be the slaves of concupiscence, but to desire only what is necessary." Returning to the heretics, who taught the indifference of human actions, Clement 6 shows " that the end of the Gospel is the sanctification of man, to render him chaste instead of unchaste, temperate instead of intemperate, just instead of unjust." Reasoning on a passage which he had before quoted 1 dxxxiii. IO. 2 dxxxiii. 22. These heretics called marriage vopv.iei. 3 dxxxv. I. * dxxxvii. IO. 5 clxxxvii. 29. 6 dxxxix. 33. Writings of Cle men t of A lexa ndria . 8 9 from an * apocryphal gospel, Clement says, " that destruction in death is necessarily consequent upon generation, and that these must continue until the perfect separation and restora- tion of the election, by which the essences now mixed up in the world shall be restored to their proper and kindred place." He adds, " that Scripture speaks of man in two senses, the visible man, and the soul ; and again, the man who is saved, and the man who is not ; for sin is called the death of the soul. The separation of the soul and body follows their union by a physical necessity, arising out of the Divine economy. We are at liberty either to marry or to abstain from marriage ; a life of celibacy is not of itself better than a married life. They 2 who, in order to avoid the distraction of a married life, have remained single, have frequently become misan- thropic, and have failed in charity ; while others, who have married, have given themselves up to pleasure, and have become like unto beasts." Clement 3 draws an argument in favour of marriage from Matt, xviii. 20. " ' Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.' The three are the man, the woman, and their child ; for the woman is united to the man through God." He proceeds to quote other passages from Scripture, in opposition to the heretics, who rejected marriage through hostility to the Creator ; 4 observing, as he goes on, "that St. Paul uniformly speaks of the God Who gave the Gospel as the same Who gave the law. 5 Marriage and celibacy have each its peculiar duties and offices. Let every one, therefore, perfectly perform his service in the state in which he is called, that he may become free in Christ, receiving the appropriate reward of his service." Alluding to 1 The Gospel according to the Egyptians. DXXXIX. 45. Clement had before quoted it, DXXXII. 8. Salome asked our Saviour, " How long will death prevail?" He answered, "As long as ye women bear children." This the heretics construed into a condemnation of marriage. This passage is quoted also in the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, LXVII. 2 dxli. 35. 3 dxli. 41. Clement gives other interpretations of the verse; the three represented the Platonic division of the soul into anger, appetite, reason ; or the flesh, soul, and spirit (see DLIII. 20) ; or the vocation (xX^trts), election (\x-Xoyv}, and the race destined to the highest honour (the Gnostic) ; or the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church composed of both. 4 dxliv. 41. 5 dxlvi. 26. Compare DLL 31. DLV. 22. 90 Some Account of the Tatian, who interpreted the old man to mean the law, and the new man the gospel, thence contending that the law was given by another God, Clement l says, " the same Man and Lord, who makes old things new, no longer allows polygamy ; (formerly God required it, when it was necessary to increase and multiply,) but introduces monogamy for the procreation of children, and the care of a family, for which the woman was given as a helpmate. To some the Apostle concedes a second marriage, lest they should burn ; since such persons do not sin according to the Covenant ; for a second marriage was not forbidden by the law ; but they do not reach the full perfection of the Gospel. He acquires heavenly glory who has power over himself, and preserves unpolluted the union which was dissolved by death, and willingly obeys the dispensation, by which he is enabled, without distraction, to attend to the service of the Lord. If 2 the Giver of the law and of the gospel is one and the same, He cannot contradict Himself. For the law lives, being spiritual, when understood according to knowledge ; but ' we have died to the law through the body of Christ, that we may live to another, to Him Who has been raised from the dead,' Who was foretold by the law, ' that we may bring forth fruit unto God. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good.' We have died, therefore, to the law, that is, to sin, which was made manifest by the law : for the law 3 does not generate, but declares sin, by commanding that which is to be done, and forbidding that which is not to be done, thus convicting the sin which lies beneath, so that it may appear to be sin. 4 All the Epistles of the Apostle, while they inculcate chastity and continence, and contain various precepts respecting marriage, the procreation of children, the management of households, nowhere condemn a chaste marriage ; but preserving the consistency between the law and the gospel, approve both him who lives in the married state chastely and with thankfulness to -God, and him who lives a life of celibacy as the Lord wills ; each choosing to remain as he is called, without offence or imperfection." Clement 5 proceeds to notice the opinions of Julius Cassianus, the founder of the Docetae, respecting marriage, and to examine 1 dxlviii. 21. Compare DLIV. 15. 2 dxlix. 14. 3 See p. 79. ' * dl. 1 8. 5 dlii. 38. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 91 various passages of Scripture, which he alleged in their support. "If," x continues Clement, "generation is evil, let them at once say that the Lord Who partook of it, and the virgin who bare Him, were involved in evil. 2 But generation is holy, through which the world, the essences, the natures, and angels, and powers, and souls, and commandments, and the law, and the gospel, and the knowledge of God, exist. 3 Christ healed the infirmities of the body, as well as of the soul ; this He would not have done if the flesh is at enmity with the soul. They 4 who inculcate continence out of enmity to the Creator, act impiously, when they might choose celibacy agreeably to the sound rule of piety; giving thanks for the grace imparted to them, but not abhorring the creature, or despising those who marry ; for the world is the work of a Creator, as well as celibacy itself: but let both (the married and single) give thanks in the state in which they are placed, if they know for what purpose they are placed in it." Clement charges those who held the opinion which he is 'combating with leading licentious lives. Having in the third book shown, in opposition to the Pseudo-Gnostics, that the married state is not incompatible with Gnostic perfection, Clement begins the fourth book with stating the subjects which he means .to discuss, and the order in which he means to discuss them. He should speak of martyrdom first, then describe the perfect Gnostic ; then show that it was alike incumbent on freemen and slaves, on men and women, to philosophize ; then treat of faith and inquiry 5 (TTcpt TOI) ^reti/), and of the symbolic system ; and having thus completed the subject of morals, point out summarily the assistance which the Greeks had derived from the barbarian philosophy. He would then briefly produce passages of Scripture in opposition to the Greeks and Jews; and after- wards discuss the opinions of the Greeks and barbarians concerning natural principles (TO, Tre/ot dp^wi/ facrioXoyrjOevTa). The next step would be to treat of the prophetic writings, and to show that the Scriptures were sanctioned by the authority of 1 dlviii. 13. 2 dlix. 15. 3 dlix. 41. 4 dlx. 6. 5 Compare L. 5. dcxlvi. 5. 92 Some Account of the the Almighty, and that one God and Almighty Lord was pro- claimed by the law and prophets, and by the gospel. All these discussions would be only preliminary to the considera- tion of the Gnostic physiology, which depends on the history of the creation of the universe (/cooy/,oyoWa). Thence he would ascend to the consideration of Divine things (evrt TO Having assigned his reason for giving his work the title of the Stromata, and stated his expectation that few would under- it, he 1 says, " that man, like the Thessalian Centaur, consists of a rational and irrational part, a soul and body : the body cultivates the earth, and hastens to it; the soul reaches after God, and being instructed in the true philosophy, hastens to its 2 kindred above, turning aside from the desires of the body, and from toil and fear. 3 Death is the union of the soul, being sinful, with the body; life, the separation from sin. The separation, therefore, of the soul from the body, which the philosopher practises throughout his life, produces the alacrity of the Gnostic to bear the natural death, which is a dissolution of the chains binding the soul to the body." " 'The world,'" he says, " ' is crucified to me, and I to the world ; though in the flesh, I live as one who has his conversation in heaven.' " " Hence the genuine Gnostic is ready to give up his body to him who asks it, having first put off the affections of the flesh. He is the true martyr or witness (/xapTvpet). He 4 feels gratitude to him who has afforded him a plea for departing hence by laying a snare for him, and has given him an opportunity which he did not himself procure, of manifesting what he is, to his persecutor by patience; to the Lord by love. 5 Martyrdom is called perfection because it displays the perfect work of love." Clement 6 then combats the opinion of certain 1 dlxvii. 20. - !& TM ovrt 6viffu,vpo$ riftwv, 'iv6a. rt ffvyyiviia. rov vou, dlxxviii. 2O. 3 dlxviii. 28. * dlxix. 33. f> dlxx. 7. 6 dlxxi. 10. Yet he himself says, that if confession to God is martyrdom, every soul which unites purity of conversation to knowledge of God, and obeys the commandments, is a martyr in life and in word, whatever be the mode in which it is released from the body ; pouring forth faith as blood, through its whole life and at its departure. ULXX. 22. Compare ULXXXII. 12. DLXXXIII. II. DXCVI. If. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 93 heretics, who affirmed that the true martyrdom was the know- ledge of the true God ; and that he who encountered death in the confession of Christ was a suicide. He also condemns other heretics, who, through hostility to the Creator, voluntarily gave themselves up to the magistrates. Having noticed the opinion of the Stoics, that the soul is not affected by the body, and that health and sickness are indifferent, Clement * observes that " the martyr chooses pleasure in expectation, though obtained by immediate pain. But as there is pain in thirst, and pleasure in drinking, the antecedent pain is the cause of pleasure ; but that which is evil cannot be productive of good ; consequently neither pain nor pleasure is evil." Pursuing the subject of martyrdom, he 2 says, " that the judge who compels us to deny the beloved, proves who is and who is not the friend of God. 3 We ought to draw near to the word of salvation, not through the promise of gifts, or through dread of punishment, but for the good itself. We shall then stand on the right hand of the sanctuary. But they, who think to obtain that which is incorruptible by the gift of that which is corruptible, are called hired servants in the parable of the two brothers. Here, too, we see the dis- tinction between 4 the likeness and the image : the former live according to the likeness of the Saviour : those on the left hand after their image." Clement, while discoursing of the beatitudes, and of the blessedness of the pure in heart, 5 says, " Some good things are good in themselves ; some partake of good things, as virtuous actions. But neither good nor bad actions can be without the intervention of those things which hold the place of matter; as life, health, and other things either necessary or contingent. They, therefore, who come to the knowledge of God, should be pure as to bodily desires and holy thoughts, that nothing spurious may deaden the power of the ruling faculty of the soul (TO ^ye/Aoi/t/cov). When, therefore, the Gnostic, partaking of this holy quality, and conversing in 1 dlxxiii. 27. - dlxxvi. 4. 3 dlxxvi. 28. 4 With reference to Gen. i. 26. 5 dlxxxi. 13. Clement's object in this discussion on the beatitudes is to show that our Saviour's precepts were directed, not merely to the regula- tion of the external conduct, but to the formation of the internal disposition. DLXXIX. 12, 24. 94 Some Account of the purity with the Divine nature, gives himself up to contemplation, he approximates to a habit of impassible identity (ravTOT-rjTos aTraQovs), so that he no longer possesses l science and acquires knowledge, but is science and knowledge. 2 The last beatitude relates to those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, and is, as it were, the sum of the rest, instructing the Gnostic to despise death through love towards God. We should, however, understand that every kind of temptation affords an opportunity for martyrdom, i.e. for bearing testimony to the Gospel." Clement 3 proceeds to show that the martyr encounters death in order to obtain life, and dies for his own salvation. 4 " Miserable men think that the testimony to the Lord by blood is the most violent death, not knowing that such a gate of death is the commencement of the true life; and being unwilling to understand either the honours which after death await those who live holily, or the punishments which await those who live unjustly and lasciviously." Clement enumerates the various motives to martyrdom proposed in Scripture, faith, love, gratitude, hope. " The Gnostic 5 places not in life the end at which he aims, but in being eternally happy and blessed, and in being the royal friend (/2ao-iAiK<3 <tAa>) of God ; and if any one subjects him to dishonour, to banishment, confiscation of property, or lastly, to death, he will never be torn away from liberty and prevailing love (Kvptwrar^) towards God, which hides all things and endures all things ; for love is persuaded that the Divine Providence orders all things well. The first 6 step is instruction through fear, by which we abstain from injustice ; the second is hope, by which we aim at that which is best; love perfects us, instructing us through knowledge (yi/wo-riKws). Rational knowledge is set before those who press onwards to perfection ; of which knowledge the 7 founda- tion is the holy triad, faith, hope, charity." Having quoted instances of heathen philosophers who had 1 Scientia opposed to Opinio ; lyrtrr^n to Vo^a.. See L. 5. DCLXXXI. 28. 2 dlxxxi. 43. 3 dlxxxii. 27. 4 dlxxxiii. 19. 5 dlxxxvii. 15. 6 In the Greek o plv ovv n-puro? fta^os rou a-upa-To;, where the word pa.Tos is evidently faulty. 7 Compare L. 5. dclii. 25. dclxxxiii. 3. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 95 patiently endured severe tortures, Clement next 1 shows that the female is equally capable of virtuous actions with the male, and therefore equally bound to encounter martyrdom. It appears from what he 2 says on this point, that wives and children and servants frequently underwent great hardships, in consequence of the profession of Christianity, from unbelieving husbands, parents, and masters. Clement proceeds to quote passages of Scripture inculcating the obligation to encounter martyrdom rather than deny Christ ; among the rest Luke xii. 8, on which 3 he gives the comment of Heracleo, a follower of Valentinus. " Heracleo said that there were two modes of confessing Christ, one by faith and a holy conversation, the other by the lips, giving the preference to the former." Clement 4 replies that "he who confesses Christ before men at the hazard of his life must be supposed to have faith. Some do not merely confess, but plead in defence of Christianity, by 'which the members of the Church are 5 confirmed ; those among the Gentiles who busily seek after salvation are moved with admiration, and are led to the faith ; while the rest are astonished. We ought on every account to confess, for that is in our own power ; but to plead in defence of Christianity is not in our power. The Lord alone, in order to cleanse men who laid snares for Him and were unbelievers, drank the cup. The Apostles, as true Gnostics and perfect, imitating him, suffered for the churches which they founded. In like manner the Gnostics, who walk in the footsteps of the Apostles, ought to be free from sin, and through love to the Lord to love their neighbour ; so that, if an occasion should call them forward, undergoing afflictions without stumbling (do-Kcu/SaXta-Toi) they may drink the cup for the Church. As many as bear testimony by act in their life, by word before the tribunal, whether through hope or fear, are superior to those who confess only with the mouth unto salva- tion. But he who going beyond this arrives at love, he is the really blessed and genuine martyr (/xaprus), making a perfect confession both to the commandments and to God through the Lord ; Whom he loves and thus recognises as a brother, 1 dxc. 10. Compare DCXIX. 8. DCXXII. 28. P. L. I. c. 4. - dxciii. 37. 3 dxcv. 24. 4 dxcvi. 18. 5 dxcvi. 33. Compare DCI. 26. 96 Some Account of the surrendering himself up entirely through God, gratefully and lovingly rendering back, as a deposit, the man who is demanded from him." From the text, "When they persecute you in one city, flee to another," Clement 1 takes occasion to condemn those who voluntarily exposed themselves to martyrdom ; they were in fact accessory to the crimes of the persecutors. He then supposes the question to be asked, 2 " If God takes care of you, if you are under His Providence, why are you persecuted and murdered ? " Clement answers, " First, God does not wish the Christians to be persecuted ; but their persecution is necessary to the accomplishment of the prophecies, which, by announcing that they should be persecuted, taught them to prepare them- selves and to acquire the needful firmness and constancy. Secondly, persecution affords opportunity for the display of their constancy and of the prejudice of their judges, who 3 persecuted them solely because they were Christians, constru- ing the mere profession of the Gospel into a crime. Thirdly, the Christian, instead of being injured, is indebted to his per- secutor for transferring him so quickly from this life to a better." 4 Basilides, whose object appears to have been to maintain the perfect goodness of the Deity, contended that they who suffered martyrdom did not suffer unjustly ; they either suffered for actual sins, or on account of the sinfulness of their nature, or on account of sins committed in a former state of existence. Clement 5 shows that this hypothesis does not answer the purpose for which it is intended, that of defending the good- ness of God ; and points out various absurdities which flow from it. His 6 solution of the difficulty is that God does not cause, but permits, the persecution of the innocent, and turns the crimes of the adversaries of Christianity to its advantage. He next 7 refutes the notion of the Valentinians respecting the annihilation of death by division among the elect seed ; and 8 sums up the character of the Gnostic martyr in the words of St. Paul, Rom. viii. 38. 1 dxcvii. 23. 2 dxcviii. 13. 3 Compare the Apology of Tertullian, c. 2. 4 dxcix. 18. 5 dc. 37. 6 dcii. 8. Compare L. I. CCCLXVII. 9. 7 dciii. 8. 8 dcvi. 15. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 9 7 Having x distinguished between the knowledge and faith of the common and of the perfect Christian, Clement quotes various passages of Scripture to show that they who suffer in the cause of religion will be rewarded hereafter. He then 2 quotes a passage from the Epistle of Clemens Romanus, con- taining a description of the true Gnostic. 3 " The distinction between the Gnostic and the ordinary Christian with respect to martyrdom is, that the former suffers through love, the latter through fear or the hope of reward. 4 There is a differ- ence in actions, whether they are performed through fear or perfected in love ; whether they are the result of faith or knowledge ; in consequence there is a difference in the reward of the Gnostic and of the simple believer. Women 5 are as capable as men of attaining to perfection." This Clement proves by example both from sacred and profane history. 6 " A chaste wife should in the first place endeavour to associate her husband to herself in all things pertaining to happiness ; but if she cannot do this, she must by herself press onwards to virtue, obeying her husband in all things, and doing nothing against his will but that which is of moment to virtue and salvation. He who throws obstacles in the way either of a wife or female servant, sincerely actuated by such a principle, must wish to turn her aside from righteousness and chastity, and to render his own household unrighteous and licentious." Having further described the conduct of a good wife towards her husband, in order to show that the Gnostic perfection might be attained by the woman as well as the man, Clement 7 proceeds to say, " that Christ alone was perfect in all respects ; which man cannot be while he is man. The law merely proposes abstinence from evil, and is as it were a road to the Gospel and to the doing of good. 8 Legal perfection according to knowledge is an anticipation of the Gospel. The Gnostic advances in the Gospel, not using the law merely as a step, but understanding it as the Lord, Who gave the covenants, delivered it to the Apostles. If then 9 he lives virtuously, and becomes a martyr making a right confession through love, and 1 dcvii. 32. 2 dcix. 41. 3 dcxiv. 4. 4 dcxv. 3. 5 dcxvii. 8. Compare DXC. 10, quoted in p. 95. 6 dcxx. ii. f dcxxiii. I. 8 aXXa vofAtxov (t\v nXiiuffis yvtaffTixn ~Eucty"yiXioi> 9 Compare dxcvii. 13. 98 Some Account of the thus receives greater honour among men, even then he will not attain to the title of perfection while in the flesh. That is reserved to the end of life, when the Gnostic breathes out his spirit in the shedding of his blood. Our l business then is to strive after perfection as much as possible while we are in the flesh, practising by perfect concord here a concurrence with the Will of God, unto the restitution of the really perfect nobility and consanguinity in the fulness of Christ, which is perfected by our perfection. 2 Each Christian has his peculiar grace from God ; but the Apostles were filled with all." Clement then insists that the connexion between the law and the Gospel may be proved from St. Paul's writings : " For faith in Christ and the knowledge of the Gospel is the inter- pretation and the fulfilment of the law." "The 3 Gnostic is he who understands the law : he does not merely abstain from evil, or do good through fear or through the hope of reward ; he does good through love, and because he chooses it for itself. He 4 strives not to attain to the know- ledge of God for any consequences which will flow from the attainment ; the knowledge alone is the motive of his contem- plation. Were the choice proposed to him either to know God or to obtain eternal salvation (on the supposition that the two could be separated), he would choose the former. He does good, not occasionally, but habitually ; not for fame ; not for reward. He is perfected in the image and after the likeness of God. The flesh is dead in him ; he alone lives, having dedicated the sepulchre his body, as a holy temple to the Lord, and converted his former sinful soul to God. He is not continent, but habitually exempt from passion, waiting until he can put on the Divine form. All virtue is habitual in him, so that he cannot lose it even for a moment. He never varies ; a variety of affections arises from an attraction to material things." Noticing the 5 washings of the Heathens and Jews, Clement says " that perfect purity is purity of the mind, and actions, and thoughts, and sincerity of speech, and lastly, freedom from sin, even in dreams. Exact and stedfast repentance is a sufficient purification for man ; if condemning 1 dcxxiv. 25. 2 dcxxv. 12. 3 dcxxv. 27. See DCXXIX. 17. DCXXXI. 8. 4 dcxxvi. 5. 5 dcxxviii. 23. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 99 ourselves for our past actions we go forwards, understanding what is to come, and raising the mind above the delights of sense and former transgressions. The Gnostic, if he could obtain permission from God to do what is forbidden and be exempt from punishment ; or if he could receive the happiness of the blessed as a reward for doing it ; or if it was even possible for him to be persuaded that he could escape the eye of God, would do nothing contrary to right reason, having once chosen that which is. fair and eligible, and desirable for itself." "The : Gnostic understands that whatever has been created for our use is good ; but that to be like the Deity in exemption from passion and in virtue, is better. 2 His language is, ' I will deliver myself, O Lord, from concupiscence, by union with Thee. The dispensation of the creation is good, and all things are well disposed by Providence ; nothing exists without a cause ; I ought to be among Thine, O Almighty God ; and though I am here, I am with Thee ; I wish to be exempt from fear, that I may draw nigh to Thee, to be satisfied with little, and to practise Your just selection of good things from those that are like them.' 3 Such an one becomes in a certain manner a god, and is formed according to the form of the kindred spirit." Clement 4 asserts that to believe or not to believe is in our own power, and that we are in consequence justly punished for our sins. "Those committed before men embrace Christianity are remitted by the Lord. What is done cannot be undone, but may be as if it had not been done. Nor does this remission apply, as Basilides affirmed, only to sins com- mitted unwillingly and in ignorance. We must not so limit the grace of God. God in inflicting punishment has three things in view : to amend the transgressor ; to admonish those who can be saved by example ; and to prevent the injured party from becoming an object of contempt, and being thereby exposed to further injustice. There are also two modes of amending men ; by instruction, and by punishment or discipline. They who fall into sin after baptism are disciplined ; for the sins 1 dcxxx. 37. 2 dcxxxi. 21. 3 dcxxxii. 10, 17. 4 dcxxxiii. 24. TOO Some Account of the committed before are pardoned ; those committed after are cleansed." Clement, 1 after approving the sentiment of Plato that he who contemplates the unseen God, is a god living among men applies 2 it to the Gnostic, who, being already as it were an angel, "will be with Christ, employed in contemplation, and always looking to the will of God. 3 Purity, righteousness, and peace are the objects of his pursuit. 4 The heretics who speak evil of the body do not consider that its structure is erect, and fitted for the contemplation of heaven, and that the organs of sensation contribute to the acquisition of knowledge, and that the members are formed for that which is good, not for pleasure. Hence it becomes the habitation of the soul, which is most precious to God ; and is thought worthy of the Holy Spirit by the sanctification of the soul and body, being perfected by the perfection of the Saviour. The Gnostic is conversant with the Deity 5 morally, physically, and rationally ; possessing wisdom, which is the knowledge of things human and divine ; righteousness, which is the concord of the parts of the soul : holiness, which is the worship of God. 6 We admit that the soul is the better part of man ; the body the worse ; but neither is the soul good, nor the body bad by nature ; nor is that which is not good necessarily bad ; there are things between the two, and of these some preferred, some rejected (KCU Trporj-yfJLeva KOL aTTOTrpo^y/xeva. See Cicero de Finibus iii. 4, 15). As man was to be placed among sensible objects, he was necessarily composed of different, but not opposite parts, a soul and a body. The soul of the wise man and of the Gnostic, sojourning like a foreigner in the body, treats it with gravity and severity, not allowing itself to be affected by its passions ; as ready to quit the tabernacle of the flesh, when- ever the time of departure calls. Basilides speaks of the election as strangers to the world, being naturally above the world (vTTfpKoa-fjLLov). But this is not so. For all things are of 1 dcxxxiv. 31. - dcxxxv. 3. 3 dcxxxvii. 6. 4 dcxxxviii. 16. 5 Clement had just before said that God Himself, without beginning, is, as an essence (olffia,}, the beginning of the creative ; as He is the good, (ray4<jv) of the moral ; as he is understanding, (vovs) of the rational and judging topic (TOVOV). DCXXXVIII. 10. 6 dcxxxix. 12. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. i o i one God; and no one can by nature be a stranger to the world : there being one essence and one God ; but the elect live as strangers, knowing that all things are to be possessed, and then laid aside. They use the x three good things of which the Peripatetics speak ; but they use the body as men who are taking a long journey use the inns on the road; mind- ing the things of the world as of the place in which they sojourn ; but leaving their habitations and possessions, and the use of them, without regret, readily following him who withdraws them from life ; never looking behind ; giving thanks for the time of their sojourning, but blessing their departure, and longing for their mansion in heaven. 2 The heretical notion, that the soul is sent down from heaven into these lower regions, is erroneous. God ameliorates all things ; and the soul, choosing the best course of life from God and righteous- ness, receives heaven in exchange for earth. The Gnostic, assimilated to God as far as possible, is already spiritual, and on that account elect." Agreeably to the order which he had proposed to himself in the commencement of the fourth book, Clement begins the fifth with treating of faith, " which some referred exclusively to the Son ; while they referred knowledge to the Spirit. But faith and knowledge cannot be separated. We must believe with respect to the Son, that He is the Son, that He came, and how He came, and why, and that He suffered ; but we must also know Who is the Son of God. In like manner we cannot believe in the Son without knowing the Father. That knowledge of the Son and Father, which is according to the Gnostic rule, is the com- prehension of truth through the truth. We are believers in that which is disbelieved ; Gnostics in that which is unknown Gnostics, who do not express acts by speech, but by contempla- tion. Faith is the ears of the soul. The 3 Apostle speaks of a twofold faith ; or rather of one, which admits of increase 1 The goods of the soul, of the body, and those which are without, va. \XTOS. Compare L. 2. ccccxcvi. 21. L. 4. ULXXIV. i. - dcxl. 26. 3 dcxliv. 23. The allusion is to Rom. i. 17. IO2 Some Account of the and perfection ; for l common faith lies as the foundation. But that excellent faith which is raised upon it is perfected in the believer, and united with that which proceeds from instruction, and the rational fulfilment of the commandments. Such was the faith of the Apostles, which could move mountains." 2 Having refuted the opinions of Basilides, Valentinus, and Marcion respecting faith, Clement 3 proceeds to proclaim the excellence of that spirit of inquiry which accompanies faith, and builds up the magnificent knowledge of truth on the foundation of faith. He then briefly notices the different cases in which men think inquiry useless, and adds, "that faith is established, when all causes for further inquiry are removed. This is the case when we are told that it is God Who speaks, and that He has determined in the Scriptures the points on which we are inquiring." Clement remarks incidentally, " that the Divine Providence is manifested in the skilful and wise construction of all that we see, and in the order observable in the universe. He Who gave us being, gave us also reason, because He wished us to live rationally and virtuously. We cannot attain to the perfect good without free choice ; yet all does not depend upon our will ; for instance, the result or event. For we are saved by grace, yet not without good works. Our natural aptitude to that which is good must be accompanied by diligence and zeal. We must possess a sound mind, which wavers not in the search of good. For this we chiefly need Divine grace, right instruction, chaste affections, and require that the Father should draw us towards Himself. Since, being bound down in an earthly body, we apprehend sensible things by means of the body, but we attain to things comprehended by the understanding (TO. VOT/TO.) through the rational power. But if any one hopes to compre- hend all things through the senses, he is far beside the truth. In 4 consequence of the inability of the soul to comprehend things as they really exist, we needed a Divine teacher ; and the Saviour is sent down, at once to instruct us how to acquire 1 Compare DCLIX. 37, where Clement opposes common faith to perfec- tion of the Gnostic. Compare also DCLXIX. 27. 2 dcxliv. 38. Compare L. 2. ccccxxxm. 31. 3 dcxlvi. 5. 4 dcxlvii. 33. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 103 what is good, and to supply it, the ineffable holy revelation of the great Providence." "Our faith," Clement T says, "must not be inoperative or solitary, but united with inquiry : ' Seek and you shall find.' We must employ the perspective (SiopariKov) faculty of the soul for the discovery of truth, and remove all obstacles out of the way, contention, envy, strife. 2 Inquiry concerning God, if it tends not to strife, but to discovery, leads to salvation. They who truly seek, praising God, shall be filled with the gift from God, that is, knowledge, and their souls shall live; for the Father is made known through the Son." Clement adds, " that the Greeks had 3 some right notions respecting faith, hope, and charity." From Plato he 4 shows that they had also some hope of another life. " 5 There is this resemblance between faith and hope : both see intelligible (ra vorjra) and future things with the understanding. We speak of justice, honesty, and truth, as really existing ; yet we cannot see them with the eyes, but only with the understanding. The Word of God says, ' I am the truth.' The Word, therefore, must be contemplated with the understanding. But, the Word having come forth to be the cause of creation, then begat Himself when He became flesh, in order that He might be an object of sight. The 6 first instruction communicated to him who walks according to the Word is the consideration of his ignorance. Being ignorant, he seeks ; seeking, he finds the teacher ; having found, he believes ; having believed, he hopes ; and having in consequence loved, he becomes like to Him Who is beloved ; striving to be that which he had already loved." Clement quotes passages from the Greek writers in confirmation of his statements; and 7 justifies himself for so doing, on the ground that the Gentiles will be most easily brought to embrace the truth, if it is presented to them under a form with which they are familiar. " We," he says, " consider their knowledge as our own, because all things are God's ; and because whatever is good was derived to the Greeks through us." Clement then 8 goes on to show that not only among the 1 del. 25. Compare L. i. cccxxxvi. 26, quoted in p. 68. 2 deli. 14. 3 dclii. 25. 4 dclii. 34. 5 dcliii. 26. 6 dcliv. 23. 7 dclvi. 12. 8 dclvi. 35. 1 04 Some Account of the Hebrews, but among the Egyptians and Greeks, it was the practice to conceal the truths of religion under mysteries, to the knowledge of which none but the initiated were admitted. Prophecies and oracles were delivered under enigmas. The Egyptian l hieroglyphics, the apophthegms of the wise men of 1 dclvii. 14. The recent inquiries into the nature and meaning of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, have drawn the attention of learned men to this passage. I will, therefore, give it entire. avrtxcc ol <ra.p' AiytMfviiif <xa.tiivop.ivoi vrpurov ftiv vroivruv rriv Ajyvvriuv ypu,fji.[jt,a.ruv (it is Said of Moses S. L. I. CCCCXII1. 9. <ffpoffifje.oiv6a.vi $1 ru. Aiyv-rrtuv ypccftftarer,, it having been Said just before xoCi fpoffirt rviv OIK ffvju,fioXuv (p/Xfltf'afp/av, rjv lv ro7; iipoy\v(f)ixo7s ypdfjt,[je,ot,ffiv i^i^iixouvreti. The meaning of the words hpo- y\vq>ixo7s ypeip./u,oi<riy, when used with reference to the symbolic philosophy, may be collected from the following passage, DCLXXI. n. fan & xdv ra.7s xa.Xovfjt.iv 0,1; tru-p* avro7s xup.oe.ffia.is ruv huv xpvffa, a.yu.Xp.ce,roe, t ^vo plv xuvz?, 'iva. $ lipaxet, xai "ftiv ftictv npii^tpovo'i, xa,} xoiXovffi TO, r'iffffu,pu, ruv a.ya,X- fteiruv iftuXu, r'iffffu,pa. ypa.fjc.fjt.a.ra.. ) ftitfobov ix.p.u,v0u.vovffi, r>jy tfiffro^.oypKifixr,v xKXouft&v'/iv' ^iur'tpav ^\ rrtv iipctnxriv, r %p&>vreti ol hpoypx/^/u-oirtTs' (Clement speaks of ten sacerdotal books, hparixa, KO.XOU p,tvet / /3//3x^a, of Hermes:) VffTtt.T'nV ^ XOU TtXiUTOiiKV, TJV lifOyXv^HX^v' T; Tl [AtV IffTt dtOt TUV TCUTUY <rroi%tiuv xupto'koyix'h' n %l ffvp-fioXixri. rws ^ ffufAfioXtxr,;, fi p.lv xetra, ftip.r,ffiv' w V no-Tip rpovrixug ypti^frcti' n $i eivnxpvs u,XXvtyopi7rKi nvus ct.lvtyfjt.oii?. tjXiov yovv ypoi^/a,i fiouXoftivoi, xuxXov vrotouiri' ffiXwv ottbl; Ktt.<ra, ro xvpioXoyovfAtvov iH$os. rpoTtxu; %l, xu.r olxs xcti p.'-Ta.<ri0iv<ri; } TO. 5' l^ctXXcirrovris, ra. %l ffoXXtt^ of^/v. TOI/J yovv TUV fiaffiXtuv Ifeiivous, QioXoyouftivois vra.pccdi'bov'rts, u.vu.yptitQoua'i ^/a <ruv avayXvtfiuv. <rov t xetra, <roug cti rpirov t'tious ittyfiM 'iffTu robi' <ra ftlv yap ruv ciffrpav, $ia rrjv vopiietv rriv >.<j|jv, otytuv ffufjt.as.ffiv KVitxa^ov. rov %i wXtov, TM TOU xce.vSu.pov' -T/^j xvx- xa,} i^oifjt,yivov fjt,\v vvro yvs, QAripov ^t, rov irovs r^pot. TO t,utv rovro v-rip yri$ oiKiTctffQou' ffTipfAOi'iviiv T il? Ttfv ff!jponpot,v xoii ytvvctv, xot,} tiqXvv xoe.v6oc.pov pit ytyvio-dott. Clement gives other specimens of enigmatical hieroglyphics, DCLXX. 21. It is evident that in this passage Clement mentions three kinds of writing : the epistolographic, which the Egyptians used in their ordinary correspondence ; the hieratic, which the priests used in their sacred books ; the hieroglyphic, which was used on the sacred monuments. The hieroglyphic Clement divides into two kinds ; the cyriologic (%s *i f**v Icrn ^ta. ruv "TrpuTtav ffroi^iiuv^ xvpioXoytxy) and the symbolic. The latter he again divides into three kinds : the first, xvpioXoyi7rui xaroe, ^/^^v, of which he gives examples ; the second, uyxip rpoirixus ypatyirKi, of which he gives no examples ; the third, avnxpvs a^yyoptTrcti xa.ru, nvce.? a,lviy- povs, of which he gives examples. The chief, or rather the only difficulty in the passage, relates to the interpretation of the words S/a ruv vpuru* erroi%tiav in the description of the first or cyriologic kind of hieroglyphic writing. Warburton (Tom. iv. p. 142, Kurd's Ed.) understood by them alpha- betical letters ; and his interpretation derives support from the following Writing's of Clement of Alexandria. 105 Greece, are instances of the practice of throwing a kind of veil around important truths, in order that the curiosity of men may be roused, and their diligence stimulated. * All who treated of Divine things, whether Greeks or barbarians, concealed the principles. 2 Pythagoras employed the sym- bolical or enigmatical mode of instruction, of which Clement gives instances. 3 He then enumerates the various mysteries concealed under the divisions and furniture of the temple, the vestments of the priests, etc., taking Philo for the most part as his guide. From the Hebrew Scriptures he 4 turns to the Egyptian symbols, 5 the Ephesian letters, the passages, T'/IV tx TUV vnCfiftn xa,} ilxoffi 9Vl%tiH ^vx/ns ryaXaxrcaori rpoQ'/iv. DCLXXV. 9. ol Tovreav tUfitprot rvvoi, TO. -ffa-f iift7v (fiuv^iVTOC, ff L. 6. DCCCXII. 29. TO, ftlv ouv ovofAKru, h ypK{tp.a,rixr) us T& xattoXixu, rroixsiot xa.} u.\u.yii. L. 8. DCDXXVIII. 5. Mr. Bailey (Hieroglyphicorum Origo et Natura), though he admits that alphabetical letters are sometimes called vrpuru trrot^Tcc, yet thinks that in the passage of Clement the words xupioXoyixv liu, ruv vpuruv trroi^iiuv are to be understood of figures, each of which expressed a single meaning (quod sic prorsus concinnatae sint constitutseque, ut singulis notion! bus singular respondeant figure, p. 47), and supposes the figures of the infant and of the old man in the Saitic inscription to be of this kind. But Clement expressly refers that inscription to the enig- matical class ; and says that the infant is the symbol of generation (ytv'iffiu?}, the old man of destruction (ffapeis). DCLXX. 26. M. Letronne understands by vpara, a-rot^tTa, the alphabetical letters borrowed from the Phoenicians by Cadmus. A writer in the Edinburgh Review for December 1826 understands by ffparos. a-roix,^) ' ' the first or initial elements of words ; that is, by re- ference to the initial sounds of the words which denote those objects in the spoken language of the country ; " or rather "the pictures of objects, of which the names, in the spoken language," began with the sounds which were successively to be expressed. But as it is certain that by (puvnivra, <rrot%i7a, Clement understood vowels, the natural inference seems to be that by vpuret, ffroi%i7a. he meant alphabetical letters, not pictures of any kind. 1 dclviii. 5- * dclx. 20. Thus Pythagoras told his disciples not to sail iipon dry land ; by which, according to Clement, he meant to dissuade them from engaging in the tumultuous and unstable concerns of public life. 3 dclxiv. 31. 4 dclxx. 14. 5 dclxxii. 16. Clement ascribes the invention of the Ephesian letters to the Idrei Dactyli. L. i. CCCLX. 21. See also cccci. 19. These letters were, according to him, "Ao-xtov, Kurcio-xiov, A<|, Tirpas, Aa^va- /u.ivii>s, A'l'a-iK, and signified darkness, light, the earth, the year, the sun, the true voice. According to the author of the Phoronis quoted by the Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius, i. 1129, Aa^va^svsyj was the name of one of the Idosi Dactyli. S. L. i. CCCLXII. 9. io6 Some Account of the 1 words which were formed in order to impress the letters of the alphabet on the memories of children the enigmas of Orpheus and the Pythagoreans. " This symbolical mode of instruction contributes," he 2 says, " to sound theology, to piety, to the manifestation of intelligence and wisdom, and to the cultivation of brevity. 3 Whatever has a veil of mystery thrown around causes the truth to appear more grand and awful. Symbols also, being susceptible of various inter- pretations, exercise the ingenuity and distinguish the ignorant man from the Gnostic." Clement 4 proceeds to point out the sources from which the Gnostic derives his knowledge, and explains its nature. " St Paul speaks of the mystery which was made known to him by revelation ; which had been concealed from preceding genera- tions of men, but was now made manifest to the saints, to whom God was willing to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles. We must therefore dis- tinguish between the mysteries which had been concealed till the age of the Apostles, and were by them delivered as they had received them from the Lord concealed in the old covenant, but now revealed to the saints and the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, that is, faith and hope in Christ. The 5 Hebrews had received some things by unwritten tradition, but had not understood them. The Gnostic is he * who has 6 his senses exercised by reason of use to discern between good and evil.' 7 He who has not the knowledge of good is evil, because there is one good, the Father : and not to know the Father is death, as to know Him is eternal life through a participation in the power of Him 1 dclxxiii. 21. Clement gives three specimens of these words : " - i v 2/ They seem, however, to be incorrect ; for in the first the letter M is want- ing ; in the second 2 appears twice ; Bentley reads *Xy^e*r, A/w\L Diss. on Phalaris. Age of Tragedy. In the third N and 2 appear twice, and B is wanting. See Potter's Note on DCLXXIV. 33. 2 dclxxiii. 15. 3 dclxxix. 39. 4 dclxxxii. 16. Clement refers to Eph. iii. 3, 4, 5; Col. i. 9, 10, II, 25, 26, 27, 28 ; I Cor. viii. 7, and to the Epistle of Barnabas. 5 dclxxxiii. 22. 6 Heb. v. 14. 7 dclxxxiv. n. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 107 Who is incorruptible; and to be exempt from corruption is to partake of the divinity ; but separation from the knowledge of God produces corruption. * This perfect knowledge must not be revealed to all, for all are not capable of receiving it ; 2 babes must be fed with milk ; the perfect man with solid food ; milk is catechetical instruction, the first nourishment of the soul ; solid food, contemplation penetrating into all mysteries (17 ITTOTTTLK^ fcoyua), the blood and flesh of the Word, the comprehension of the Divine power and essence." 3 " A separation without regret," Clement proceeds, " from the body and its passions, is a sacrifice acceptable to God ; it is His true worship. On this account Socrates correctly termed philosophy the practice (ju-eAe'-n?) of dying. For he 4 pursues the true philosophy who in his meditations neither employs his sight, nor any of his senses, but a pure under- standing alone. The soul of the Gnostic must be stripped of the material skin, must be freed from corporeal trifling, and all the passions which vain and false opinions bring around it ; must put off fleshly lusts, and be consecrated to the light. 5 He begins the purifying process by confession ; the contem- plative by analysis. Proceeding to the first conception analy- tically, he commences from subject-matter ; he takes away the physical qualities of body, the dimensions of depth, breadth, and length, leaving a point, the unit, which has position or place : but when position is also abstracted, there remains the notion of the unit (voetrat //.ovas). If, then, rejecting whatever belongs to bodies and to things called incorporeal, we cast ourselves into the greatness of Christ, and go forward with holiness into immensity, we shall approach to the notion of the Almighty, knowing not what He is, but what He is not. We must not connect with it figure, or motion, or a stationary position, or a seat, or place, or right hand or left, although these are predicated of God in Scripture ; nor must we sup- pose the First Cause to exist in a place, but above place, and 1 dclxxxv. 30. 8 Compare P. L. i. c. 6. cxviii. 40. S. L. I. ccccxxvi. 2. In DCLXXXVIII. II, Clement calls yvufftt, XoyiKov fip&iftet. 3 dclxxxvi. 10. 4 Compare dcxc. 32. 5 dclxxxix. 6. By confession is meant the confession of faith made previously to baptism. io8 Some Accoiint of t lie time, and name, and comprehension. We 1 cannot of our- selves attain to this knowledge ; it is the gift of God through His Son." 2 " Moses was admitted to this knowledge when he went up into the Mount, and St. Paul when he was carried up into the third heaven." Clement 3 then dilates on the impossibility of describing God, or of giving Him a proper name ; " for what- ever has a name must have been generated or begotten. We 4 must, however, believe what is delivered in Scripture respect- ing the Divine nature on the authority of the Son of God Who delivered it. 5 The Greek philosophy is not sufficient to salvation, which must be obtained through faith in Christ ; for that which was hidden from former generations is now revealed to the sons of men. There was always a natural revelation of one Almighty God to men of sound mind; and they who had not entirely cast off shame laid hold of the eternal benefit agreeably to the design of Divine Providence. Xenocrates and 6 Democritus believed that irrational animals were not entirely without the notion of a God : man, therefore, could not be without it, inasmuch as he is recorded in the book of Genesis to have partaken of the Divine breath, receiving a purer essence than the other animals. But Christians further say that the believer is inspired by the Holy Spirit. We must not, however, suppose that the spirit in man is a part of God, though it is a Divine effluence." Clement 7 returns to his favourite topic, the plagiarisms of the Greek philosophers from the Scriptures. "Thence they had stolen (though they frequently disfigured what they stole) all that they delivered respecting the Divine nature, 8 respecting the existence of matter as a first principle ; 9 respecting provi- dence, 10 punishment after death by fire, the n immortality of the soul, the 12 creation of the world, the 13 evil spirit, the 14 in- 1 dclxxxix. 3- Xrr fo St'ia. %ciptTi xat fto'vy ru <xa.p KVTOU \'oyw TO liyvuffTov vosTv. DCXCVI. 4. See also DCXCVI. 1 8, 30. ' 2 dcxcii. 25. 3 dcxcv. 8. dcxcvi. n. Compare Justin. Apol. n, p. 44. D. 4 dcxcvii. 19. 5 dcxcviii. 16. 6 This is rather Clement's inference from the principles of Democritus. 7 dcxcix. 9. 8 dcxcix. 25. 9 dec. u. 10 dec. 15. 11 dcci. i. 13 dcci. 18. 13 dcci. 30. 14 dccii. 16. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 109 telligible and the sensible world, the x observance of the seventh day; and 2 going forth, as it were, from the barbarian philo- sophy, they ascribed the direction of the universe to Him Who is unseen, alone, the most powerful and skilful artificer, and the principal cause of all that is most fair ; but unless they are instructed by us, they are ignorant of the necessary consequence from these premises, and know not God as He ought to be understood, but only, as we before said, by a sort of circum- locution. With reference to power, God is the Lord and God of all, and really Almighty : with reference to knowledge, He is not the God of all ; for the Greeks know neither what He is, nor how He is Lord and Father and Creator, nor the rest of the economy of truth, not having been instructed by the truth itself." Clement's conclusion is, that the Greek literature is to be studied ; but in order to be studied profitably, it must be considered in connexion with the Hebrew Scriptures, the source from which it flowed. Clement begins the sixth book with stating that in it and in the 3 seventh having described the life and conversation of the Gnostic, he shall proceed to show that, far from being liable to the charge of impiety, the Gnostic is the only pious worshipper of the Deity. In the Paedagogue he had set forth the early training and education of the Christian ; the manner of life which grows together with faith by instruction, and pre- pares the virtuous soul, in those who have arrived at manhood, for the reception of real knowledge. The Greeks will learn from what he is about to deliver how impiously they themselves act in persecuting the true worshipper of God ; they will also find the solution of the difficulties which they and the bar- barians raise respecting the Advent of the Lord. 4 There are two kinds of knowledge : one common, scarcely deserving the name, conversant with the objects of sense ; the other con- versant with the objects of the understanding, through the simple operation of the soul. Before, 5 however, he enters 1 dccxiii. II. 2 dccxxx. 3. 3 See L. 7. DCCCCI. 31. 4 dccxxxvii. i. 5 dccxxxvii. 19. This account of the plagiarisms of the Greeks from each other deserves the attention of the scholar. no Some Account of the upon these subjects, he says that, "having shown in the preceding book that the symbolical mode of instruction was used by the Greeks as well as by the Hebrew prophets, he shall proceed to show that the Greeks, not content with steal- ing from the Hebrew Scriptures, stole from each other. They 1 borrowed also the wonderful tales connected with their mythology from the Scriptures ; and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls from the Egyptians." Clement 2 proceeds to show that the Greek philosophers worshipped the same God as the Christians, though erroneously and not according to knowledge. " The Greeks knew God, after a heathen manner (e^n/cws); the Jews knew Him Judaically ; the Christians, in a new manner, spiritually. The Greeks and Jews were the old ; the 3 Christians, the new or third race. 4 The law and the prophets were given to the Jews, and philosophy to the Greeks, to prepare them for the preaching of the Gospel. To those who were just according to the law, faith was wanting; to those who were just according to philosophy, not only faith, but also the renunciation of idolatry. Christ, 5 therefore, descended into Hades to preach to those who, whether Jews or Gentiles, had lived, not indeed perfectly, but agreeably to the rule of life proposed to them, and to bring them to salvation." Clement 6 seems to think that this descent of Christ into Hades, for the purpose of saving the virtuous men who had died before His appearance in the flesh, was necessary to the vindication of the Divine justice and goodness. "They," he "proceeds, "are called philosophers with us who love the wisdom of the Teacher and Creator of all things, 1 Clement gives some curious specimens of the miraculous stories current among the Greeks, DCCLII. 29, and an account of the ceremonies of the Egyptians, and of the Sacred Books of Hermes. DCCLVII. 2 dcclix. 23. Compare DCCLXXII. 31. DCCCXVII. 26. 3 ot xxtvu; avrov rpiru >yivii fftfioftivoi, Xptfnavoi. DCCLXI. 4. The heathen appear to have applied the expression Tertinm Genus to the Christians as a term of reproach. See Tertullian ad Nationes. L. I. cc. 7, 8, 19. 4 dcclxii. 14. Compare DCCXCIV. 16. DCCCXXV. 15. 5 dcclxiii. 15. Compare L. 2. CCCCLII. Clement seems to doubt whether Christ preached to both Jews and Gentiles ; or whether He preached to the Jews, and the Apostles to the Gentiles. DCCLXIV. 12. 6 dcclxiv. 42. 7 dcclxviii. 17. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 1 1 that is, the knowledge of the Son of God ; but with the Greeks, they who discuss questions about virtue. Philosophy then would be a collection of all the dogmas, not liable to objection, of each particular sect, accompanied by a corresponding life ; which, stolen from the grace bestowed from heaven on the barbarians, have been adorned by the Greeks with their eloquence. For some they have stolen ; others they have misunderstood ; some they have delivered, moved by a Divine impulse, but have not perfectly worked out ; some by human conjecture and reasoning, in which also they err. They think that they have attained to the perfect truth ; we that they have attained to it only in part, for they know nothing but of this world." Clement then x inquires from whom the Greeks received this partial knowledge of the truth ? " Not from man ; or from the angels, for they possessed no organs whereby to communicate with man ; moreover, as they are created beings, they must themselves have been taught. Who then was their teacher? The First Begotten, the Counsellor of God, Who foreknew all things. He is the teacher of all created beings ; He in various ways, from the foundation of the world, has instructed man, and leads him to perfection. 2 If they who, in any manner, have received the seeds of truth, have not cultivated them, the fault lies with them, not with the teacher. 3 Wisdom is the firm and sure knowledge and comprehension of things present, past, and future, delivered and revealed by the Son of God. If, then, contemplation (17 Oeupia) is the end of the wise man, the contemplation of him who is only a lover of wisdom * (c/>iAocro<os opposed to o-oc^os) desires Divine knowledge ; but does not attain to it, unless he receives by instruction the prophetic voice, by which he understands the present, past, and the future, as it is, and has been, and will be." Clement contends that St. Paul does not positively condemn philosophy, but merely says, "that he who aspires to the iuv 1 dcclxix. 8. Compare DCCLXXI. 35. 2 dcclxx. 7. 3 dcclxxi. 5. So dcclxviii. I. rvv $1 ffoQiKv, 'i^^ov yvutriv, avtipufivcav vrpayftdrav xaraX^^/v riven /3=/3#/av ouffav xent fftivn\n(pv7a,v TCC, <rz lovrex., xee.} ra, ^etpcu^'^xorx, xa.} <ra ftiXkavret. Compare also L. i. cccxxxin. 6. 4 So dccciii. l8. lv o.vdpe-j'ffci; (fnXoffotpavffiv, ouVivu ffo$o7t. 5 dcclxxi. 19. See DCCCXIX. 25. Heb. v. 12. Col. ii. 8. 1 1 2 Some Account of the Gnostic sublimity must not turn back to the Greek philosophy, which is elementary and preparatory to the truth." He 1 repeats what he had before said, " that philosophy was to the Greeks what the law was to the Jews, a way to righteousness or justification. The - Gnostic ought to be versed in every kind of learning. For though the principal end of man's creation is that he may know God, yet he cultivates the earth, and measures it, and studies philosophy, that he may live, and live well, and meditate on those subjects which admit of demonstration. Some 3 affirmed that the devil was the author of philosophy ; but whatever is useful or profitable to man, as philosophy is, must be regarded as coming from God. Philo- sophy was the peculiar testament of the Greeks, a step to the Christian philosophy. 4 It is elementary and partial, the per- fect knowledge being conversant with things beyond the world, the objects of the intellect, and even with things more spiritual, which 'eye had not seen, nor ear heard, nor had it entered into the heart of man to conceive,' until our Teacher revealed the truth concerning them to us. For we affirm that the Gnostic knows and comprehends all things, even those which pass our knowledge; such were 5 James, Peter, John, Paul, and the other Apostles. Knowledge is a peculiarity of the rational soul, exercised to the end that by means of knowledge it may be inscribed upon the roll of immortality. Knowledge and impulse (op^rj) are both powers of the soul. Impulse is a movement following a particular assent ; for he who is impelled to any act first receives the knowledge of it, and then the im- pulse. Knowledge is a contemplation by the soul of one or more existing things ; perfect knowledge, of all." Clement 6 proceeds to say that "the Gnostic is subject only to those appetites which are essential to the preservation of the body, hunger, thirst, and the like. But these appetites were not essential to the preservation of the body of the Saviour, which was held together by a holy power : He ate, not for the support of the body, but lest those who associated 1 dcclxxii. 25. - dcclxxii. 33. See DCCLXXXVI. 25. 3 See p. 67, Note 2. 4 dcclxxiv. 14. Compare DCCLXXI. 23. DCCLXXXI. 29. DCCXCIX. n. DCCCXXIII. 28. L. 7. DCCCXXXIX. 30. 5 Compare L. I. cccxxn. 19. 6 dcclxxv. 25. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 1 3 with Him should think that He had not a real body. He was free from all passions (dTraflr/s) ; He felt neither pleasure nor pain. The Apostles were enabled by His teaching to overcome anger, and fear, and desire ; and felt not even those emotions which have a semblance of good, boldness, emulation, joy, remaining after His resurrection fixed in one unalterable habit of discipline. It may be said that these emotions, when regulated by reason, are good ; but they must not be felt by the perfect man. He 1 requires not boldness, confidence, anger, emulation, desire. His friendship is not of the ordinary cast ; he loves the Creator through the medium of the creature. Like his Master, he is exempt from passion." But it may be objected, that the perfect man desires what is good, and that desire is a passion. Clement replies, " that this objection is founded on a mistaken notion of Divine love ; which is not a desire on the part of him who loves, but a possession of the object loved. The Gnostic by love has already attained to that in which he is to be ; he anticipates hope through know- ledge; he desires nothing, because he already possesses, as far as it is possible, the object of desire. 2 Exemption from passion, not moderation of passion, is the characteristic of the Gnostic. 3 To have passions which require to be controlled, is not a state of purity. It is not fitting that the friend of God, whom God predestined before the foundation of the world to the highest adoption, should be subject to pleasures or fears, and be occupied in restraining his passions. It may even be said, that as he is predestined through what he shall do and what he shall attain, so he, by predestination, possesses Him Whom he loves through Him Whom he knows. For he does not, like others, form uncertain conjectures respecting the future, but receives that which is obscure to others through Gnostic faith. The future is present to him through love ; he has believed in God, Who lies not, both through prophecy and through His Advent ; and he possesses that which he has believed, and enjoys the promise; for He Who has promised is truth. The 4 Gnostic needs not pray with the voice, but only in thought. ' Think and I will give,' are the words of God to him." 1 Clement assigns the reasons why the Gnostic requires not the several qualities here enumerated. DCCLXXVI. 3. 2 dcclxxvii. 15. 3 dcclxxviii. 5. 4 dcclxxviii. 38. Compare DCCXC. 34. H4 Some Account of the 1 "Knowledge is the object of the pursuit of the Gnostic ; he attends, therefore, to all things which will assist him in the attainment of that object. He renders all sciences subsidiary to his purpose : music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, 2 logic. He 3 feels no childish dread of being led astray by the Greek philosophy ; he can distinguish in it what is false from what is true. The 4 heretics abuse it ; but he uses it as an assistant in delivering accurately the truth, and guarding against subtle doctrines, which tend to the subversion of the truth." After some further remarks on the use which may be made of the Greek philosophy in preparing the Gentiles for the reception of the Gospel, Clement 5 proceeds to answer a question pro- posed by certain heretics. " Whether Adam was created perfect or imperfect? If imperfect, how happened it that the work of a perfect God was imperfect? if perfect, how happened it that he fell ? " Clement's answer is, " that he was not created perfect, but fitted to receive virtue. God wishes us to be saved through ourselves. We all are by nature fitted to attain to virtue : one attends more, another less to instruction and disci- pline ; thus some attain unto perfect virtue ; others make only a certain progress ; while some, through neglect, though well qualified by nature, go backwards. Not only the actions and thoughts, but the words also of the Gnostic are pure. His is not the repentance common to every believer, repentance for having sinned ; but the repentance which, understanding the nature of sin, persuades him to make it his 6 first aim to abstain from sinning ; and consequently he does not sin. 7 Some good things are eligible for themselves, others for the conse- quences to which they lead. Knowledge is eligible on both accounts, being the most perfect good. The 8 Gnostic, united to God through love, prays incessantly to God in thought : first, that his sins may be pardoned ; next that he may sin no more ; then that he may be able to do good, and to under- stand the whole creation and dispensation as conducted by the Lord, to the end that, becoming pure in heart through that 1 dcclxxix. 42. 2 Clement enlarges on the utility of logic, DCCLXXXI. 7. See also DCCLXXXV. 8. DCCLXXXVI. 25. 3 dcclxxx. 18. Compare DCCLXXXIV. 33. 4 dcclxxxi. 19. 5 dcclxxxviii. 7. 6 Ka.ru. rov -rrpo'/i'yoijftzvov Xoyov. DCCLXXXIX. 8. 7 dcclxxxix. 20. 8 dccxci. 8. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 1 5 knowledge (cTriyi/wVcws) which is through the Son of God, he may be initiated face to face into the blessed contemplation. The righteousness of the Gnostic consists not in mere absti- nence from evil actions ; he adds the doing of good, and the knowledge of the reason for which he is to abstain from some actions and do others. 1 As a certain glorious radiance sat upon the countenance of Moses in consequence of his righteous life and his frequent intercourse with God, so a certain Divine power of goodness, attaching itself to the righteous soul by inspection (e7r:o7r?yi/), by prophecy, by providential operation, makes an impression, as of an intelligent effulgence, like to the solar heat, a conspicuous seal of righteousness, a light united to the soul through inseparable love, at once bearing God and borne by Him. Hence breaks forth in the Gnostic the likeness to the Saviour God, and he becomes perfect as far as it is possible for human nature, even as his Father which is in heaven." 2 " He who in the first instance moderates his passions, and thus gradually attains to an exemption from passion, advancing to the well-doing (cvTrotta?) of Gnostic perfection, is even here equal to an angel; shining like the sun by his beneficence, he hastens on in righteous knowledge through the love of God to the holy mansion, like the Apostles ; who were not chosen to be Apostles for any special excellence of their nature, for Judas was of the number, but were seen by Him, Who fore- sees the end, to be fit to be chosen Apostles; as Matthias, who was not of the original number, proving himself worthy to become an Apostle, was substituted in the place of Judas. They, therefore, who exercise themselves in the command- ments of the Lord, and live perfectly according to the Gospel, may even now be inscribed in the number of the Apostles." Clement proceeds to distinguish between the character and the reward of the Gnostic and of the common believer. "Knowledge," 3 he says, "is superior to faith. Each has his appropriate place: the Gnostic attains the highest; the common believer only to an inferior station, and even that he does not reach until he has been purified by discipline from the sins 1 dccxcii. 10. - dccxcii. 31. 3 dccxciv. 21. 1 1 6 Some Account of the contracted after baptism. l With respect to the heathen, God gave them philosophy; and the sun, moon, and stars as objects of worship, in order to preserve them from falling into perfect atheism, or from worshipping stocks and stones. They, there- fore, are worthy of condemnation, because they fell into idolatry, and did not proceed upwards from the worship of the stars to the worship of the Creator. Every action of the Gnostic is 2 perfect ; of the common believer, is of a middle nature, not being performed according to reason and know- ledge : of the heathen, is sinful for an action must not only be right, but must be performed from a right motive, and directed to a right object. 3 The Gnostic has a good con- science, which, maintaining piety towards God and justice towards man, keeps the soul pure with grave thoughts, and chaste words, and righteous actions. Thus the soul, receiving power from the Lord, practises to become God, thinking nothing evil but ignorance and actions not agreeable to right reason : always giving God thanks for all things, by righteous hearing and Divine reading, by search after truth, holy obla- tions, blessed prayer. Such a soul praising, singing hymns, blessing, is never separated from God. * Each degree of holiness has its allotted reward; and the perfect inheritance is the lot of those who have attained unto the perfect man, according to the image (/car* ei/com) of the Lord ; for 5 the like- ness (6/xoiWt?) is not to be referred to the human form such a notion is atheistical ; nor is it a likeness in virtue to the First Cause this is the impious exposition of those who think that the virtue of man and of the Omnipotent God is the same. ' It is sufficient for the disciple to be as his Master.' He, therefore, who is appointed to the adoption and friendship of 1 dccxcv. 26. Clement alludes to Deut. iv. 19, following and misunder- standing the Septuagint translation. 2 dccxcvi. 4. xetTop0caft.K, perfectum officium, rectum, opinor, vocamus, quod Gmeci xarop0&>/u.a, hoc autem commune XK^KOV vocant. Cicero de Officiis, L. i. c. 3. Illud enim rectum est quod xar'ofdupa, dicitur, contin- gitque sapienti soli. De Finibus, L. 4. c. 6. Compare DCCCXVIII. 12. L. 7. DCCCLXII. 14. 8 dccxcvii. 8. 4 Clement discovers an allusion to different degrees of reward in the different produce of the good seed in the parable Matt. xiii. 8. DCCXCVII. 30. 5 Compare dcccix. 5. 6 Compare L. 2. DI. 23. L. 7. DCCCLXXXVI. 18. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 1 7 God, after the likeness of God, becomes a co-heir with the Lords and Gods, if, as the Lord has taught him, he is perfected according to the Gospel." Clement x goes on with his description of the Gnostic, and 2 says, incidentally, that " the evidences, that the Son of God is our Saviour, are the prophecies which preceded His appear- ance, the testimonies which accompanied His sensible genera- tion (His birth on earth, which made Him cognizable by the senses), and the powers which were announced and openly displayed by Him after His resurrection. Our evidence that the truth is with us is, that it was taught by the Son of God Himself." Clement 3 then assigns reasons why Christ delivered the truths of the Gospel in parables. " He meant to stimulate curiosity, and excite men to be earnest in discovering the word of salvation ; and to prevent those who were not fitted to receive knowledge from erroneously interpreting what had been delivered by the Holy Spirit. Thus the whole economy of the Gospel the birth, sufferings, death, and resurrection of Christ served as a parable, being a stumbling-block to the Jews and foolishness to the Greeks, but the power and wisdom of God to those whose ears were opened to the truth." As a specimen of the knowledge of the Gnostic, Clement 4 gives a mystical interpretation of the Decalogue. He then 5 goes on to say that " the Greek philosophers, though they named the name of God, knew Him not : they attributed human affections to Him. The Gnostic alone possesses this knowledge. 6 There is a true philosophy, in contradistinction from other philo- sophies ; and a true beauty, as distinguished from a counter- feit. There are two forms of truth; one relates to words, the other to things. The Greek philosophers employ them- selves about the beauty of words ; we, the barbarians, about things. 7 Yet philosophy may be reasonably supposed to have 1 Having occasion to quote Rom. xi. 17, Clement enters into a dis- cussion respecting different modes of grafting, and compares them to the different modes of Christian instruction. DCCXCIX. 37. 2 dccci. 17. He had previously divided evidence, o-fift&Tov, into vpo'/iyov- (Atvov, ffttvt>va.p%ov ) tvroft&vov. 3 dccciii. 27. 4 dcccvii. 25. As the text now stands, Clement interprets eight only out of the ten commandments. See L. 7. DCCCLXVIII. I. 5 dcccxvii. 26. 6 dcccxviii. 22. 7 dcccxix. 25. 1 1 8 Some Account of the been given by Divine Providence as a preparation for perfec- tion through Christ, if it is not ashamed to advance to the truth through instruction in the knowledge of the barbarians. If the hairs of our head are numbered, and even our slightest movements noted, can w.e suppose that Providence takes no account of philosophy? We must conclude that the arts of life were not given without a Divine power." * Clement describes the manner in which the philosopher may arrive at the truth. "They," 2 he adds, "who deny that philosophy comes from God, go near to question His particular Providence. At one glance He sees the whole and each part, though He produces many results through the instrumentality of man ; Providence disposes, man co-operates. The 3 thoughts of virtuous men arise from a Divine inspiration, the soul being in a manner disposed, and the Divine will imparted to it, by the Divine ministers who are appointed to that particular office. God especially imparts these impulses to those who are of a superior nature, and able to contribute to the benefit of the mass of mankind. They who affirm that philosophy was given by the devil, make him more benevolent than Divine Providence to good men among the Greeks. It is his province to do evil. If, therefore, philosophy makes men good, it cannot come from him, but from God, Whose property it is to do good. The law was given to the Jews, philosophy to the Greeks, until the Advent of Christ, Who was to collect all men, Greeks and barbarians, into one peculiar righteous people, through the teaching of faith." Clement 4 describes the manner in which the Gnostic is formed by Christ, and in which he forms others. " Whatever is beneficial in life is accomplished by God through His Son, Who is consequently the Saviour of all men ; but especially, as the Apostle says, of those who believe." " The 5 Gnostic constantly employs himself on these sub- jects, which are of the first importance ; if he touches the Greek philosophy, it is by way of relaxation. It is desirable to know all things ; but the mind, which is too feeble to attain to this universal knowledge, must select that which is best and most important." Clement then 6 addresses the Greek philo- 1 dcccxx. 8. " 2 dcccxxi. 19. dcccxxii. 26. 3 dcccxxii. 6. 4 dcccxxiv. 5. 5 dcccxxiv. 33. 6 dcccxxvi. 15. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 19 sophers, and asks them, " from whom they have learned the truth which they boast of possessing ? They will not answer, from God : from man then. But man is no trustworthy teacher of that which relates to God. He who is weak and mortal is not competent to speak of Him Who is self-existent and incorruptible; or the thing created of its Creator. He who is unable to say what is true respecting himself, is he more to be trusted when he speaks respecting God ? They who are taught by God Himself with difficulty attain to the notion of God, Divine grace assisting them to arrive at a qualified knowledge. The Christian is the only heaven-taught wisdom ; on it depend all the fountains of wisdom which even aim at the truth. From the very foundation of the world numerous precursors announced the coming of the Lord as the Teacher of men, foretelling where and how He should appear, and what would be the signs of His coming. The most eminent philo- sophers satisfied only their peculiar followers. But the Gospel was not confined to Judea, as philosophy was to Greece ; it spread through the whole inhabited earth, converting Greeks and barbarians, and not few even of the philosophers, to the truth. If any magistrate sets himself in opposition to the Greek philosophy, it vanishes at once. But though from the very first preaching of the Gospel, kings, and magistrates, and the multitude have endeavoured to crush it, it flourishes the more ; it perishes not like human doctrine, nor fades away like a feeble gift. It is the gift of God, and therefore strong ; and cannot be crushed, for the prophets have foretold that it shall be persecuted unto the end." Clement concludes the sixth book by saying, " that having made as it were a statue of the Gnostic, to exhibit the beauty and greatness of his moral character, he shall describe him as a contemplator of physical objects, when he comes to treat of the creation of the world." 1 Clement 2 says, "that in the seventh book he shall show that the Gnostic, far from being an atheist, as the Greeks 1 See L. 7. DCCCLXVII. 23, where Clement says that he shall defer the consideration of doctrines to a more fitting time. 2 Compare DCCCLV. i. DCCCLIX. 32. DCCCLXIV. 18. 1 20 Some Account of the falsely called him, was the only true worshipper of God. This he shall show concisely, without producing testimonies from the prophetic writings. With the l Gnostic, the service of God is a continual employment of the soul about His Divine attri- butes, accompanied by constant love. There are two kinds of 2 service paid to men : one emendatory, as the medical art of the body, philosophy of the soul ; the other ministerial, as that paid by children to parents, and subjects to rulers. In like manner in the Church the presbyters perform the emen- datory, the deacons the ministerial office. The angels minister in both these capacities to God in the dispensation connected with earthly things j and the Gnostic does the same, minister- ing to God, and exhibiting to men an emendatory contempla- tion, inasmuch as he is appointed to discipline them to their improvement; for he alone is a pious worshipper of God, who serves Him well and without reproach, in matters pertaining to men. 3 There are three effects of the Gnostic power : in the first place, he knows things (what they are) j in the second, he performs what the Word or reason suggests ; in the third, he can deliver secret truths in a manner worthy of God. How then can he be an atheist, who is persuaded that there is an Almighty God, and has learned the Divine mysteries from the only-begotten Son ? An atheist is one who does not think that there is a God ; a superstitious man is one who fears demons, and deifies all things, wood and stone." "The 4 first step in faith is to know God ; and after acquir- ing confidence in the teaching of the Saviour, to think that to do nothing unjust is suitable to the knowledge of God. The best thing in earth is the most pious man ; the best in heaven is the angel, who, standing in the nearer and purer place, par- takes of an eternal and blessed life. But the nature of the Son, which is nearest to the only Almighty God, is the most perfect, most holy, most powerful (/cvptwrar^), most kingly, most beneficent." After describing the universality of the Providence of Christ, Clement 5 proceeds "All men are His : 1 dcccxxix. 44. 2 The Greek word is fapaoftia, which may mean the act of serving, worshipping, or healing. 3 Compare L. 2. ccccuii. 16. 4 dcccxxxi. 10. 5 dcccxxxi. 33. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 2 1 some, through knowledge, to which others have not yet attained ; some, as friends ; others, as faithful servants ; others, merely as servants : as Teacher, He disciplines the Gnostic by mysteries ; the faithful, by good hopes ; the hard of heart, by correction through sensible operation. His providence ex- tends to all ; * He is the Saviour and Lord of all ; the Saviour of those who believe, because they are willing to know Him ; the Lord of the disobedient, until, being enabled to confess Him, they obtain, through Him, their peculiar and suitable benefit. 2 Drawn on by the Holy Spirit, the virtuous are domiciled in the first mansion, and the rest in order, until they come to the last ; but they who are bad through weak- ness, involved in a bad habit by unjust insatiableness, neither controlling nor controlled, are driven about by passions, and fall to the ground. 3 Christ, neglecting none, gave the com- mandments to the Jews, philosophy to the Greeks, shutting up unbelief till His coming ; whence every one who does not believe is without excuse ; for He leads them by a different process of improvement to the perfection which is through faith. 4 All things are appointed by the Lord of all for the salvation of all, both in general and in particular. Whatever is virtuous changes to a better state, having the choice of knowledge as the cause of its peculiar change ; which choice the soul has in its own power. But necessary discipline, by the goodness of the great over -seeing Judge, through the proximate angels, through various previous judgments, through the final judgment, compels even those who have entirely despaired to repent." Clement 5 proceeds to describe the gradual advancement of the Gnostic towards perfect happiness. " His perfection con- sists in holding intercourse with God through the Great High Priest, and in being as like unto the Lord as he can be, in the whole worship of God which tends to the salvation of men, 1 dcccxxxiii. i. 2 dcccxxxiv. 5. See L. 5. DCLXVII. 9. DCLXIX. 30. L. 6. DCCXCIV. 7. L. 7. DCCCXXXV. 24. DCCCLIV. 26. Clement supposes that there is a gradation of beings from Christ down to man, and even among men ; each class subject to those above and ruling over those below it, and each having its appropriate abode or mansion. 3 dcccxxxiv. 35. 4 dcccxxxv. 7. 5 dcccxxxv. 22. 37. Compare DCCCLVIII. 30. i 2 2 Some Account of the through the exercise of benevolence, through sacred ministra- tions, through teaching, through good works. The Gnostic l offers no sacrifice to God, Who gives all things to all, and needs nothing. His 2 object is to render first himself, then his neigh- bours, as good as possible. The 3 soul of a righteous man most nearly approaches to the Divine image and to a likeness of God ; in it, through its obedience to the commandments, the Ruler of mortals and immortals, the King and Parent of the good, takes up His abode, being truly a law, and decree, and eternal reason, and one and the same Saviour to each in particular and to all collectively." Clement then 4 describes the knowledge of the Gnostic, and his moral character and conduct in life. 5 " The Greek philosophy purifies and pre- pares the soul for the reception of faith, on which truth raises the superstructure of knowledge. He is the true athlete who is crowned for the true victory, the victory over all his passions, in the great stadium, the beautiful world ; for 6 the Almighty God institutes the contest ; the only-begotten Son of God dis- tributes the rewards ; the angels and gods are the spectators ; and the contest (TO 7ra.yKpa.Tiov) is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual powers of passions working through the flesh." " The Greeks T represented their gods under human forms, and subject to human passions. Inferring the character of their gods from their own, they could not fail to form un- worthy notions of the Deity. The Gnostic, on the contrary, being at once pious and free from superstition, forms grand and honourable conceptions of God, and makes Him the Author of all good, but of nothing evil, being persuaded that He alone is God. The Greeks are the real atheists, because they assimilate the Deity to the basest of mortals." Clement 8 insists on the absurdity of limiting to a spot Him Who cannot 1 dcccxxxvi. 25. 2 dcccxxxvii. 14. 3 dcccxxxvii. 29. 4 dcccxxxviii. 8. 5 dcccxxxix. 30. 6 Compare C. LXXVII. 27. Tertullian ad Martyres, c. 3. Bonum agonem subituri estis, in quo Agonothetes Deus vivus est : xystarches Spiritus Sanctus ; corona seternitas : brabium Angelicas substantial politia in coelis, gloria in ssecula szeculorum. Itaque epistates vester Christus Jesus. In the Tract Quis Dives Salvetur? we find yvp.va,<rry plv ry Xoyu dyuvoOiry %l ru X/j;<r<rf. DCDXXXVII. 24. 7 dcccxli. i. 8 dcccxlv. 6. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 123 be comprehended in space ; and of confining in temples made by hands Him Who embraces all things. He * ridicules idolatry, as involving the foolish supposition that God is subject to the wants and passions of man. " God 2 cannot need anything from man ; He cannot require sacrifices, as man requires food, through hunger. The Gnostic 3 honours God with prayer, considering it, when united with righteousness, the best and holiest sacrifice. The altar of Christians here on earth is the congregation of believers intent on prayer, having one voice and one mind. The sacrifice of the Church is prayer breathed forth from holy souls, the sacri- fice and the whole soul being simultaneously laid open to God. The really holy altar is the righteous soul. As the Gnostic always imitates God, he endeavours to reduce his wants within the narrowest possible limits ; 4 he cannot live without food, but he takes the simplest, and abstains from flesh." Proceeding with the description of the Gnostic, Clement 5 says, "that he does not pray only in certain places and at stated times, but makes his whole life a continued act of prayer. He knows that he is living always in the presence of God ; and whatever the occupation in which he is engaged, whether he is tilling the ground, or sailing on the sea, he sings and gives thanks to God. He frequents not the theatre ; he strives not to gratify his senses ; he never makes pleasure the end of his actions ; he seldom attends festive meetings. He is persuaded that God knows and hears all things, not merely the voice, but the very thoughts and desires. 7 His prayers and wishes correspond with his noble and elevated notions of the Deity ; he knows what is really good, and what he should ask, and when, and how. 8 Prayer in him is intercourse with God ; God hears him even though he opens not his lips. 9 He 1 dcccxlv. 39. 2 dcccxlvi. 28. 3 dcccxlviii. 15. 4 Compare dccclxxiv. 21. $10 K.\ IffQiu, xou viva, x.cu yotft',7, ol vrpoyiyovfAtvus, aXXa avayxa/?. DCCCLXXVIII. 12. 5 dcccli. 21. Compare DCCCLIV. 18. DCCCLVI. 5. 6 dccclii. 12, 25. Compare DCCCLVI. 14, 22. 7 dcccliii. 24. dccclvi. 12. 8 dcccliv. 3. Compare DCCCLXXV. 48. DCCCLXXIX. 23. In DCCCLXXIX. 39, Clement says that prayer is with the Gnostic a continual thanksgiving. 9 dccclv. 5. 1 24 Some Account of the always obtains that for which he prays. God knows him to be worthy to obtain it, and he never prays amiss. After the example of Christ, he gives thanks for those in whom his ministry is accomplished, and prays that as many as possible may come to the knowledge of the truth. His confidence that he shall obtain that for which he asks, constitutes in itself a species of prayer. 1 He seeks not even for the necessaries of life, being persuaded that God will bestow upon the good whatever is expedient for them, even though they pray not for it. He prays for perfect love ; he prays that he may grow and abide in contemplation ; he prays that he may never fall away from virtue, himself at the same time striving to be blameless. - He rejoices in present good ; and in promised good as if it were already present. At the same time that he prays, he himself labours after perfection. 3 For he who holds inter- course with God must have a pure and spotless soul ; or, at least, must have made some progress towards knowledge, and must long for it, and must tear himself away from the works of wickedness. He will pray in company only with good men ; for it is dangerous to be mixed up with the sins of others. He will pray in company with new believers on those points on which it will be necessary to act in union with them. His whole life is a holy festival (7rav?;yi;pis), his sacrifices are prayers, and praises, and reading of the Scriptures before meals ; psalms and hymns during meals and before he retires to rest ; prayers again during the night. Thus he unites him- self to the 4 heavenly choir by continual remembrance (of God), appointed to the post of continual contemplation. To these sacrifices he adds that of imparting both money and instruction to those in need. The Gnostic, 5 persuaded that God is everywhere, and consequently ashamed not to speak the truth, and knowing that to speak falsely is unworthy of him, is satisfied with the Divine consciousness and his own ; he never speaks falsely, or does any act contrary to his engage- ments. He neither 6 takes an oath when required ; nor denies 1 dccclviii. 34. - dccclix. 34. 3 dccclx. 37. 4 So %opov pu ffriKOV. DCCCLVIII. 13. TOV TUV uyiuv %opov. DCCCLXXIX. 26. DCCCLXXX. 34. 5 dccclxii. 25. 6 Clement had before said that the life of the Gnostic is an oath. ov%i $i xu.} x,a,0uptff{*.$vu; OOKOV ilvui TOVTM TOV fiiov. DCCCLXI. 24. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. i 2 5 (that he is a Christian) lest he should be guilty of a falsehood, even though he should die in torments." 1 " One office of the Gnostic is, in imitation of his Master, to instruct men in the way of salvation. He - may be truly called a living image of the Lord, not from any likeness of form, but from similarity of power and preaching. Whatever is in his mind, that he speaks; unless, perhaps, like the physician who deceives his patients in order to promote their restoration to health, he sometimes 3 accommodates himself to the opinions of his hearers for their good. But he has recourse to this insincere dealing only for the benefit of his neighbour ; he scorns to avoid personal danger by any subterfuge ; he freely gives himself for the Church and for his disciples, whom he has begotten in the faith ; as an example to those who are capable of receiving the highest dispensation of their instructor, in order to prove the truth of that which he delivers, and practically to display his love to the Lord, the lover both of man and God (<<Aav$pco7rou KCU <j>i\.o6ov). He alone bears perpetual testimony to the truth in word and deed." Having thus shown that the charge of atheism cannot be justly urged against the Gnostic, Clement 4 proceeds to dis- tinguish between faith, wisdom, and knowledge. 5 The pro- gress is from faith to knowledge ; from knowledge to love ; from love to the inheritance : this progress is minutely de- scribed. 6 " In the end the Gnostic is enabled to contemplate God face to face. 7 The first saving change is from heathenism to faith; the second from faith to knowledge, which being perfected in love, renders that which knows the friend of that which is known : thus the Gnostic becomes like to the angels. He 8 attains to an exquisite taste of the will of God; not giving his ears, but his mind to the things signified by words, through which he arrives at the essence of the things them- selves. Thus he understands the precepts of the Decalogue in a manner peculiar to himself. He never prefers that which i dccclxii. 33. See pp. 80, 119. - dccclxiii. 5. 3 Clement says that St. Paul practised such an accommodation when he circumcised Timothy. DCCCLXIII. 13. See L. 6. DCCCII. 21. 4 dccclxiv. 25. 5 dccclxv. 5. 6 dccclxv. 34. 7 dccclxvi. 3. 8 dccclxvii. 37. 126 Some Account of the is agreeable to that which is beneficial. T He is unmoved by disease, by accident, by death itself. He bears no malice, and cherishes no unfriendly feeling. 2 He alike despises earthly pleasure and earthly pain. 3 The soul of the Gnostic, adorned with perfect virtue, is an earthly image of Divine power; it becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, when it acquires a disposition agreeing through the whole of life with the Gospel. The Gnostic is superior to every fear and every terror; not only to death, but to poverty, and disease, and disgrace, and the like ; unconquered by pleasure, and lord of all irrational desires. 4 His courage is not of an irrational character : he duly appreciates the danger which he is called to encounter, and obeys the call through love towards God, having no other object than to please God. 5 He is fearless, trusting in the Lord, just, temperate. 6 Being a lover of the one true God, he becomes a perfect man, the friend of God, and is placed in the rank of son. His soul being wholly spiritual, proceeding towards that which is akin to it in the spiritual Church, abides in the rest of God." Clement 7 goes on to say, " that the Gnostic accurately fulfils all the duties which he owes to his fellow-creatures. The 8 principle of action in him is love ; not fear, which is only the foundation, and as it were preparatory to perfection. He 9 is so fully convinced of the reality of things future and unseen, that he deems them more present to him than the visible things at his feet." "The Gnostic 10 readily forgives injuries. He does not pray that he may possess abundance in order that he may be enabled to give to his neighbours in want, but that the abundance may be given directly to them. He knows that poverty and disease are designed to discipline and improve the sufferer; he prays that these evils may be mitigated to others ; and he does good, not through vainglory, but because he is a Gnostic, making himself the instrument of the goodness of God. n Leaving every obstacle behind, and looking down 1 dccclxviii. 22. ~ dccclxix. 20. 3 dccclxx. 3. 4 dccclxxi. 9, 31. 5 dccclxxii. 6. 6 dccclxxii. 38. 7 dccclxxiii. 8. 8 dccclxxxiv. 5. Compare DCCCLXXIX. 33, where Clement says that fear produces abstinence from evil ; love, the practice of good. 9 dccclxxvii. 5. 10 dccclxxxi. 15. n dccclxxxii. 17. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 2 7 on the matter which draws him aside, he cleaves the heavens through knowledge, and passing through spiritual essences, and every power and dominion, he reaches the highest thrones, tending to that only which he only knows. Blending the serpent with the dove, he lives perfectly and with a good conscience, mingling faith with hope in the expectation of the future." Clement, having concluded his description of the Gnostic character, x proceeds to confirm what he has said by quotations from Scripture. He refers to i Cor. vi. i, from which he concludes that the Gnostic is not allowed to seek redress, even by prayer, for injuries done him. 2 The Jews and philosophers appear to have urged as an argument against Christianity, the diversity of opinions prevailing among Chris- tians, and the variety of sects into which they were divided. Clement answers first, "that the argument was equally valid against Judaism and philosophy, since the Jews and philo- sophers were also divided into sects ; secondly, that the exist- ence of heresies was necessary to the accomplishment of our Saviour's prediction, Who foretold that tares would be sown among the wheat ; thirdly, heresies prove the faith of Chris- tians. Physicians embrace different theories of medicine ; but would it not be absurd on that account to reject medical assistance in sickness? No less absurd is it in a heathen, who is labouring under a disease of the soul, to urge the sects existing among Christians as a reason for not seeking in Christianity the cure of his malady. 3 The only effect pro- duced upon us by the existence of heresies, should be that of putting us on our guard, and rendering us more earnest and diligent in the search of the truth. The labour may be severe ; but it will be more than compensated by the pleasure of the discovery. We are like a traveller, to whom various roads present themselves ; he will not abandon his journey, because some of those roads may lead him into danger ; but he will take care to select the right road. 4 It is our duty to examine the Scriptures, and to discover wherein the heretics have erred. For the true rule of faith and life is to be found only in the 1 dccclxxxiii. 17. Clement gives an interpretation of the chapter, which affords a fair specimen of his mode of interpreting Scripture. 2 dccclxxxvi. 28. 3 dccclxxxvii. 46. * dccclxxxviii. 36. i 28 Some Account of the Scripture, which the heretics pervert 1 in order to make it agree with their preconceived notions. 2 The voice of the Lord, speaking in Scripture, is the only true demonstration : they who have merely tasted the Scriptures are faithful ; but the Gnostic, who has advanced farther, is an accurate index of the truth. The heretics, it is true, appeal to the prophetic writings; but they mutilate and garble them, and in inter- preting them, adhere servilely to the letter, neglecting the context. Whatever is ambiguous they studiously select, and wrest to their own purpose, 3 setting their own authority above that of the Apostles." Clement proceeds to instruct his readers how to escape the artifices of the heretics. "There are," 4 he says, " three states of the soul ignorance, opinion 5 (ofyo-ts), knowledge. Ignorance is the state of the Gentiles ; opinion that of the heretics; knowledge that of the true Church. The Gentiles live in pleasure ; the heretics in con- tention ; the Church in joy (\<*.po.v) ; the Gnostic in gladness (v<f>po(rvvr)v). There are two causes of transgression t! ignor- ance and weakness ; inability to discern what is right, and inability to perform it when discerned. To these two causes there are two corresponding corrections knowledge and clear demonstration by testimonies of Scripture, and rational dis- cipline through faith and fear. Both grow up together into perfect love ; for the end of the Gnostic here is twofold ; in some, contemplation with knowledge ; in some, practice. 7 The life of the Gnostic may be defined, actions and words corre- sponding to the tradition of the Lord." Proceeding in his remarks on the heretics, Clement 8 alleges in proof of the falsehood of their opinions their late appear- ance in the Church. He seems to assign the reign of Hadrian as the date of the rise of heresy; but the passage, 9 as it at present stands, is contradictory, not only to the generally received account, but to itself. He then 10 applies the dis- tinction of clean and unclean beasts in the Levitical law to 1 dcccxc. II. 2 dcccxci. 9. 3 dcccxcii. 14. 4 dcccxci v. 12. 5 See dccclxxxvii. 45. dccclxxxix. 18. dcccxciii. 3. 8 dcccxciv. 39. I read ayva/a, not va. 7 dcccxcvi. 27. 8 dcccxcviii. I. 9 See Pearson Vind. Ignat. P. 2. c. 7. 10 dcd. 1 8. Compare Irenceus. L. 5. c. 8. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 129 the Jews and heretics. " Those which divide the hoof and ruminate represent the Gnostic Christian ; those which rumi- nate but do not divide the hoof, the Jew ; those which divide the hoof but do not ruminate, the heretic. Those which neither divide the hoof nor ruminate are altogether 1 unclean." Clement closes the seventh book with a short description of the style and object of the Stromata. Photius 2 remarked that the eighth book of the Stromata neither agreed in title nor in subject with the other seven. In some manuscripts he found in the place of the eighth book that which is now extant under the title, TIS 6 cru>o'/>(,evos TrAovo-ios ; in other manuscripts he found a book, commencing as that now extant commences, with the words, dAA' ov&e oi TraXatTCLTOL TWI/ <iAocro</>coy. He remarked also that the Stromata contained some unsound positions. Heinsius, under- standing this remark, not of the Stromata in general, but of the eighth book, and finding no vestige of such opinions in that which we now have, concluded that the original book was lost, and that the present book formed part of the Hypotyposes. It is, in fact, a treatise on logic ; but 3 as the Gnostic was required to search, not merely the Scriptures, but also the common notions (ras eVi/otas ras KOWXS) in order that he might attain to the knowledge which was his ultimate object ; and as the gift of knowledge was promised to him from God, in case he conducted the search rightly and in a proper spirit, a treatise on logic appears to be no unsuitable part of a work designed for his instruction. 4 Having described the spirit in which our inquiries after truth should be conducted, Clement 5 says, "that we must in the. 1 Representing the Heathen. See L. 6. DCCXCV. 40. 2 Cod. cxi. 3 dcdxiv. 15, 30. 4 The concluding words of the seventh book seem to imply that Clement was about to take up a new subject ; xat Sj fttru. rov i(&ofiov rovrov fipw 5 dcdxiv. 40. Omnis enim, quse a ratione suscipitur de aliqua re, institutio debet a definitione proficisci, ut intelligatur quid sit id, de quo disputetur. Cicero de Officiis, L. I. c. 2. E 1 30 Some Accoitnt of the first place clearly define the word which is to form the sub- ject of discussion." He 1 then distinguished between proof (ev8eiis) and syllogism. " In the latter it is sufficient that the conclusion should be correctly drawn from the premises ; in the former that the premises should also be true. - Certain principles, themselves incapable of demonstration, but com- manding immediate assent, are the fountain of all demonstra- tions. The essence of demonstration consists in obtaining assent to that to which assent has not yet been given, through that to which assent has been given." Clement 3 distinguishes also between demonstration and analysis ; the process in the latter being that in the former inverted. " In order to demonstrate correctly, our first care must be that our premises are sound ; our second, that our conclusion is correctly drawn from them." 4 " Every inquiry supposes certain previous knowledge. Sometimes we know the substance, but are ignorant of its operations and affections ; sometimes we know the operations and affections, but know not the substance ; sometimes we know both." The 5 first case he illustrates by the question, " Whether that which is conceived in the womb is an animal or not?" the G second by the question, " In what part of the body the presiding or ruling faculty of the soul is seated ? " Having made some observations on the CTTO^ of the Pyr- rhonians, Clement 7 says, " that, as it is necessary to ascertain whether a thing is, what it is, and wherefore it is ; 8 induction (eTraycoyr)) shows that it is ; division (Sicu/oco-is) what it is ; demonstration (aTroSe/^ts) that it is, what it is, and wherefore it is. There are four causes material, moving, formal, final. We first take the genus, and then divide it into species or forms, and thus obtain a definition, e.g. of man. We take the genus, animal, which we divide into the species, mortal and immortal ; we divide mortal into terrestial and aquatic ; we divide terrestrial into pedestrian (irt&v) and winged ; we divide pedestrian into rational and irrational. Man, therefore, is 1 dcdxvi. 22. 2 dcdxvii. 18. * dcdxviii. 2. 4 dcdxix. i. dcdxix. 22. See the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis L., where the question respecting the foetus is decided in the affirmative. 6 dcdxxiii. 5. 7 dcdxxiv. 22. 8 dcdxxiv. 40. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 3 1 defined a mortal, terrestrial, pedestrian, rational animal. Thus division and definition in logic answer to analysis and synthesis in geometry. We 1 cannot know anything unless we are able to define it." " With respect to speech, we have the - thing, the concep- tion, and the name. Grammar is conversant with names, and reduces them to the twenty-four general elements or letters. Philosophy is conversant with conceptions and things, which it reduces under the ten categories. There are four causes 3 primary, efficient, co-operative, sine qua non. Thus with respect to the instruction of a child, the parent is the primary, the teacher the efficient, the genius of the child the co-operative, time the cause sine qua non. Some affirmed that causes are to be reckoned among things corporeal, others among things incorporeal ; e.g. the former said that the knife was the cause of the thing being cut j the latter that the 4 operation of cutting was the cause." After some further remarks on causes the book terminates abruptly j it is evidently imperfect. We proceed to the treatise entitled Ws 6 which Clement commences by saying that it is not his inten- tion to flatter the rich, but to suggest to them such advice as will assist them in their progress to salvation. " Some," he 5 says, "alarmed at our Saviour's declaration, that 'it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven,' have despaired of attaining to salvation, and abandoned themselves entirely to worldly pleasures, forgetting * that what is impossible with man is possible with God.' 6 Such persons must be encouraged by the assurance that, if they keep the commandments, and submit to the preparatory discipline, they will not be excluded from the kingdom of heaven." 1 dcdxxvi. 28. ~ dcdxxvii. 38. T u-roxzifttvet, ra, 9tvtfutvet t TO. ovo/^uroc,. The name is the symbol of the conception in the first instance, then of the thing ; the conception is the likeness or express image (UrvVflyta) of the thing, dcdxxix. 23. Wpaxci'retpx'rixoi, ffuvixTixK, trvvifyx^ TO, uv ovx eiviv. 4 dcdxxx. 4. rqv roftwv, Iv'tpyitav ovtrav. 5 dcdxxxvi. 26. 6 dcdxxxvi. 43. 132 Some Accoimt of the Clement then proceeds to comment on the * passage in St. Mark's Gospel, in which our Saviour's conversation with the rich man is recorded. The inquiry of the rich man was, What shall I do to inherit eternal life ? Clement's comment is, that 2 " the first step towards eternal life is to know God ; the second, to know the greatness of the Saviour, and the newness of the grace given by Him. 'The law was given through Moses ; but grace and truth were through Jesus Christ.' If the law could give eternal life, Christ came on earth and suffered in vain. The rich man in the Gospel had kept the law ; but he wanted one thing that disposition which alone could enable him to pay an unreserved obedience to the will of Christ. Not that 3 Christians are required to reduce them- selves to poverty in order to obtain eternal life, but to subdue all anxiety respecting wealth, and to extricate themselves from the cares of life. 4 It is easier to part with wealth than to subdue our passions and desires ; and an indigent man can scarcely fix his thoughts stedfastly on heavenly things, on account of the necessity under which he is placed of providing the means of daily subsistence. Moreover, if the Gospel required men to renounce their worldly possessions, it would be impossible for them to fulfil our Saviour's injunctions to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, etc. ; and the precepts of the Gospel would be found at variance with each other. 5 The poverty which Christ pronounces blessed is poverty of spirit. Riches are an instrument either of good or evil, according to the use which is made of them. Our endeavour must there- fore be to acquire that disposition of mind which will apply them to good purposes. We must learn so to employ wealth that we may attain to life eternal. 6 The rich man, who will be saved, must first love God with all his heart ; and next his neighbour as himself. The Samaritan, who took compassion on the wounded traveller, was his neighbour ; in like manner Christ, Who shed His blood for our sins, is our Neighbour, Whom we ought to love ; and our love towards Him must be manifested by obeying His commands and by honouring those who believe in Him. 7 We must not be too nice in weighing the worthiness of those on whom we confer our benefits ; it is 1 x. 17, etc. 2 dcdxxxix. 25. 3 dcdxli. 20. 4 dcdxlii. 8. 5 dcdxliv. 23. 6 dcdli. 8. 7 dcdliv. 9. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 3 3 better that they should fall on some unworthy persons than that one worthy man should be unrelieved." 1 "All believers are to be deemed our neighbours ; but among believers there are some more especially chosen, whom the Word calls the light of the world and salt of the earth. They are the seed, the image and likeness of God ; for their sake all things, visible and invisible, were created ; which will be preserved so long as they remain ; but will be dissolved when they are gathered to the Father." Clement then enforces the duty of loving our neighbour from the consideration of Christ's love towards us ; and 2 concludes with a narrative respecting St. John and a young man of Ephesus, the object of which is to illustrate the efficacy of repentance. This treatise bears the appearance of a homily. The style is very different from that of Clement's acknowledged works ; a circumstance which tends to -throw some doubt upon its genuineness. But Eusebius expressly ascribes it to Clement ; and I find in it many 3 words applied in a peculiar manner, similar to that in which they are applied by him. 1 dcdlv. 27. 2 dcdlviii. 44. Eusebius has copied this narrative into his Ecclesias- tical History. L. 3. c. 23. 3 Thus puffTnyuyiiv* DCDXXXVii. 5. Compare S. L. 4. DCXXXYJI. 28. L. 5. DCXCIII. 18. \\Q(ioiuffts used with reference to the resemblance of the true Christian to God. DCDXXXIX. 36. K-TK^IU, used to express the exemption of the true Christian from passion. DCDXLVII. 16. Compare S. L. 6. DCCXCII. 32. TUV IxX'.xruv ixXixririf*. DCDLV. 30. Compare S. L. 6. DCCXCIII. 21. *lxav xui o^o'twffi? Qtov used with reference to the perfect Christian. DCDLV. 39. Compare DCDLVIII. 13, with S. L. 4. DCV. 43, with reference to the interpretation of the word Jtirftmas. Matt. v. 14. There seems to be a reference to Clement's work vrsp} xp%uv, DCDL. 41. 1 34 Some Account of the CHAPTER V. THE object of Clement in composing the Stromata was to describe the Gnostic or perfect Christian, in order at once to furnish the believer with a model for his imitation, and to 1 prevent him from being led astray by the representations of the Valentinians and other Gnostic sects. Before, however, we proceed to consider his description of the Gnostic, it will be necessary briefly to review his opinions respecting the nature and condition of man. We find in his writings numerous references to Gen. i. 26, where it is said, "that God formed man in Ins image and after his likeness (/car' ei/coVa ^^ripav KCU K<x0' bfjiOiuo-Lv in the Septuagint version). 2 Man receives ; the image at his birth ; he acquires the 3 likeness gradually, as 1 S. L. 7. DCCCXCV. 33. L. 3. DLXII. 31. 2 ?j ya.fi ov% OVTM; Tivls TUV vif&iTipwv, TO plv XO.T -Ix-ova, -u0iu; KO.TO. rr/v y'sviffiv siXtitytvKt TOV oivQpafov' TO x,a.Q oftoiuinv ol, iffTipov XO.TU, Tr t v TiXziuffiv ftiXXtiv u.rto*.u.[A$Kvuv ix%i%ovTOit ; S. L. 2. CCCCXCIX. 21. So again P. L. C. 12. CLVI. 25. TIoiriffw/u.iv eivfyuvfov XKT itx'ova. xa,i xa.6 o/u-oituffiv *iju,&iv. no,} ? yiyoviv o XpiffTo; TOVTO <rXnpis, o-np itpw.v o &io;' o $i a,XXo; elvfyavro; jtKTo. (Aovw VOIITKI Tjv tixovK. He had before described Christ as iva. ftovov u.l.nStvov, a.yot.&ov, ^ixouov, Kctr tlxovu, xu.} opotuffiv TOV <ra.Tfo; uVw 'ivffwv. c. ii. CLV. 33. See S. L. 4. DLXXVI. 35. DXCII. 23. L. 6. DCCLXX. 36. In DCCLXXXVIII. 31, Clement quotes the Book of Wisdom, V. 23. OTt a @soj ixrifftv TOV civfyu'Tov \<TT} o,<p0xp<ria. x.oti tlxovo, TVS i^iec; i$iOTti<ro; (1. Ki"%ioTr,Tos) iiro'mffiv avTov. In L. 5. DCLXII. 19, Clement quotes a saying of Eurysus or Eurytus, the Pythagorean, that the Demiurge had used himself as a pattern in the creation of man. Among the fragments is one MXXII. 9, in which a distinction appears to be made between the man lv ofAOKa^o-Ti, who is invisible ; and the man, who is his image and visible. I say appears ; for the passage is corrupt. Compare S. L. 6. DCCLXXVI. 28. 3 xet} f) ftlv TtXiia, xXvpovoftiu, TUV tig civ^pec. T&IIOV uQixvovftivav XU.T itxova, TOV Kvptov. ri %l oftoiuffiS) ou% us TIVIS, fl xec,Tct TO ffxjnfia, TO aivSpiu- -TfUOV' OV^l ftrtV W KU.T 0,p'TYlV, 'A tpOS TO TfUTOV KtTlOV XO.f OftOIUfflV OVV TOV Siov o ilg vlofiffictv KCU (fnXitav TOV &iov xaTATay^if, XO.TU, TW ffvyxXvpovoftiav TUV xvp'twv xa,} huv yiyviTai, lav, xat.fu$ avTOf t$i$et%sv o Kupw:, XO.TU. TO svefy- y'i^iov r&tivffi. S. L. 6. DCCXCVIII. I. But DCCCIX. 4 WC find p.* TI OVV IIXOTUS XKT itXOVd (llOt XK0 QfAQlUffiv) SiOV yiyOViVOil KV&pU'X'OS s'tptlTKI } 0V KCLTK. TV; xa,T<zffx<vr,s TO <r%r,fta, ; and L. 3 DXLII. 3 XOC.TO, TWV vrpos TOV ^UTTIpU, l^OfiiOIMfflV XT' ilXOVK IxTiXoVfAiVOS TOV K.VplOV WpO; CCVTOV TOV Tifc* vtTOV civfycovo; rfaiioi. See L. 4. DCXIV. 36. L. 2. CCCCLXXXIII. 15, where a man who does good is said to be truly the image of God. P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxx. 21, where man is said to be the image of God, because he co-operates towards the generation of man. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 3 5 he draws nearer to Christian perfection. Christ alone, the Man exempt from passions and affections, is at once in the image and after the likeness" Clement, however, does not always accurately observe these distinctions. He, 1 on one occasion, says " that the image of God is His Word ; that the image of the Word is the true man ; the mind or understanding in man ; who is said to be in the image and offer the likeness, because he is assimilated to the Divine Word or reason in the sense of the heart, and is on that account rational ; but the earthly image of the visible, earth-born man, the mere resem- blance of man, is a frail impression far removed from the truth." On another occasion, Clement 2 says, " that the image of God is the Divine and royal Word, the man exempt from passion ; the human mind or understanding is the image of the image;" and 3 again, "The Only-begotten impresses, as with a seal, upon the Gnostic the perfect contemplation after His own image ; so that there is now a third Divine image, assimilated as nearly as possible to the second cause." But though the expression KO.T eiKoVa KOL KaQ* ofLoiuxrw, could in its full meaning be applied to Christ alone, yet Clement applies it 4 occasionally to the perfect Christian or 1 ilxuiv ftiv yotp TOV Siou o Kayos aurov, xa,i vlog rou vou yvr,o-iiss } o 0t7os Xoyo;, <f>et>ros up%srvvrov tyu?. ilxuv ^t rov Xoyou o uvfyavog aX^vaj, o vovs l avfyuvTM, XKT llXOVet TOV 010U XOil XtX,6 OftOIUfflV OlOi TOU70 yiyiVtlfftfeU XiyOftlVOf, TJ XOl'TU. xctpS'iKv tppovqffu ru 6iiea tfetpiixa^oftivo; Xoyu, xitt ravry Xayixof' avfyuvov %l <rov opuftiyou, TOV y/iyivovg, yritvo; ilxuv, TO. a.ydl.fj.tt.ra. ra. a.^poiixtXa,, vropp'tv <rris aXj^s/aj l-fftxccipov IxjtctyiTov xu,nx.<Qtt.tvs<ru.i. C. LXXVIII. 31, quoted in page 14. In xcin. 29, Clement calls true Christians ^a<p/x>5 xi hoitxiXa rov Xoyou ayaX^ara as contradistinguished from the faipwttX* a^a/^uara. See S. L. 4. DCXLII. 7. L. 6. DCCLXXVI. 25. 2 tlxuv (tiv yap hou Xoyos 0i7o; xcti /3a^X/of, u,v6puvos avrcc0r,$' ilxuv %' ilx'ovnt avfyafivos vovs. S. L. 5. DCCIII. II. * oSro; o ru ovrt ftovoytvvs Iva-z'oo'ippa.yi^ofAivos ru yvuffrixu rqv nXiia.v faupiav ar' tlx'ova, TJJV \a.vrou, u; tJvcti rpirriv fidy TVIV diluv tixovei, TJJV otrr, Svvoiftis \!?o{Aoiovftivwv <rpo; TO "bivripov ec'/rio*. S. L. 7- DCCCXXXVII. 36. 4 Thus the Christian is to pray that he may be enabled to perfect the likeness of the image. TO opoiupa. <rX'/ipM<ron <rr\$ tlx'ovo?. P. L. 3. c. 12. cccxi. 6. See p. 83, Note 5. Compare S. L. 4. DCXXVI. 31. DCXLII. 8. Quis dives salvetur. DCDLV. 39. In L. 2. CCCCLXXXIII. 33, Clement says that the words xa-r sljtova, ut xetf ofiotutrtv are to be understood with reference, not to the body, but to the mind and reason ; as he had said respecting the expressions xa.r iixova, and xx&' Jwa/W/v separately. See Note 3, p. 134. 1 36 Some Account of the Gnostic. " Man may be 1 assimilated to God, by knowing God ; by 2 the indwelling of the Word ; by 3 knowledge (yi/wcris), by 4 piety, by 5 justice, by 6 purity, by 7 placability, by 8 exemption from passion, by 9 having as few wants as possible. 10 Man may even become God. As by virtue he becomes like to God, so n by vice he becomes like to Satan." Man, according to Clement, 12 consists of a body and soul ; or as he 13 elsewhere says, of the apparent man and the soul. Sometimes he 14 speaks of the flesh, the soul, and the Spirit. But generally when he speaks of the Spirit, he does not speak of it as a separate part in the constitution of human nature, but with reference to the 15 union of the Holy Spirit with the soul of man. " It cannot be," 10 he says, "that man should 1 S'.ov 2> Ms, IfyfAOtaMfiTeu 9iu. P. L. 3. C. I. CCL. 6. 2 o $1 ccvfyuvro; IxsTvo;, u ffuvoixo; o Xoyot I%O/U,OIOUTCU TU SIM Ssof 31 \xi7voi o avfyurto; yiyviTcti, OTI $ovXiTce,t o Sios. P. L. 3. C. I. CCLI. 15. 3 S. L. 2. CCCCLIII. IO. 4 SlOff'ifillCt. ^l l^OfAOiOUffCi TU *, XKTO. TO ^VVUTOV, TOV oivfyufOV. C. I, XXI. 2^.. uifct. ouv yp.7v ftottv TOV Stofftfiw XptfTietvov iivri7v <rXov<riov <ri, xeti ffutypovct, xui svyivrj' xo,} recvrr, tlxovo, rou Stov f/sJ oftoiuffiu; xcti Xiytiv xst} Sixouov xeti offiov (tiro, <ppovr,<rias ytvofttvov vvro lyrov Xpiffrw, xeti ti: oftaiov %%t) *< SIM. XCIV. 24. 5 xu.} ovx iffnv O.VTU (&i&) o/Aoionpov auJtv, YI off-7 v r,ft&v y'-vv-ou o~i Sizctioruros. C. LXXVIII. 8. See S. L. 2. CCCCXCIX. 20. 6 S. L. 2. CCCCLXXI. 7. L. 4. DCXXVII. 30. 7 S. L. 4. DCV. 40. 8 S. L. 3. DXXX. 10. DXLII. 30. T^V rpos ro 6<7ov IZopoiufftv, a*ctfc t XKI ivupirov ytviffteu. L. 4. DCXXXI. I. DCXXXIII. 23. L. 6. DCCLXXVII. 10. L. 7. DCCCXXXVI. 3. 9 i^ofjLOtudrtfftrKt 6iT OTI /jLoiXtfTO. oXiytffTuv ^ioftsvo;. P. L. 3- C. I. CC'L. 8. 10 xeti XO.TO, TOV fiiov OTU fituTloy \ffop.tvu, xou $n l%o{*.otoi>{tivea %3r t <dtu. S. L. 7. DCCCXXX. 27. 11 ITTI yctfTipct; ip-rovTtf, drtf'to, ay^piixi^u,, X.O.T itxovo, TOV <ro.Tfo; O.L/TUV, TOV >J%vov 6npiov. P. L. 2. C. I. CLXVIII. 2. 12 o luptvos r,p.uv xcti ffup.ce. KO.} v/'f^Tjx, TOV ffitov avfyuvroy. P. L. 3. C. 12. cccix. 39. See L. 2. c. 2. CLXXVIII. 3. J3 TOV Tl QuivbfAtvov xut T7)v ^v^r,v. S. L. 3- HXL. IQ. 14 S. L. 3. DXLII. 15. ir< KOU yo.p us o,Xn6ui piv TO -rviuf^o, uxuuTot.t Tr, ot.v KVTOU tyipo P. L. 2. c. 2. CLXXVIII. 6. This union is effected by the Word, w xcti -^v^v tvuffit XKTCI. <rjv Tou Xoyou vvu.X6r,v. S. L. 3- DLIII. 28. pr,fjt,ct, TOV fHupiov ftzvii, TO %p7ffccv Tr t y ^v^rtv xcii \vuffct,v TU <*vtv{J.ot,Tt. DLIX. 22. 16 S. L. 5. dcxcviii. 30. In speaking of the Divine breath, Clement alludes to Gen. ii. 7. \Vhen he says, L. 3. DXXXII. 25, y* Se xo.} tro-o^o; TO ffupu. oivw -rviuftctTo;, he seems to use ffvivpu. as synonymous with IpQvffvft*, though from the context \ve should rather infer the allusion to be to the influence of the Holy Spirit. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 137 be without the notion or idea of God ; since at the moment of his creation (ev rrj ycj/eW, which may also mean, in the book of Genesis) he is described as having partaken of the Divine breath (e/x^vcr^aTos), and thus having obtained a purer nature than the other animals. Pythagoras, to whom Plato and Aristotle assent, affirms that mind or intelligence (vov?) comes to man by a Divine communication (#eta /xotpa), mind is a portion of the Divinity, communicated to man. But we say that the Holy Spirit is breathed in addition i/etcr&u) into the believer ; not, however, as if a part of God was in each of us." Clement J speaks of the flesh as the garment of the soul, and 2 calls the body the image or statue of the Word. Clement frequently 3 alludes to the Platonic division of the soul. The 4 rational faculty or power is peculiar to the soul of man. He speaks also frequently of 5 the principal or guiding faculty of the soul, which he 6 connects with the reason. The 7 rational soul was breathed by God from above into the face of man. Clement speaks also of a principal as opposed to a 8 subject 1 P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxvi. 2. 2 P. L. 3. c. n. ccxcii. I. 3 fofios TI, xai ivciOvpiot, xai ^oyurp'os. S. L. 3. DXLII. 14. L. 5. DCXCIV. 24. L. 8. DCDXX. 4. TO ciXoyov pipe; TV; "^v^s. P. L. 3. C. I. CCL. 12. c. ii. CCLXXXV. 24. S. L. 7. DCCCXLIX. 8. 4 fl Xoytxy ^l ^uva.fti$ y fiiet ovira. rtj; a.v6pu7rilu.; "^ti^tis. S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXVII. 27. 5 TO vyiftovixov rs ^VZ^S- S. L. 2. CCCCXCIX. 14. L. 4. DLXXXI. 12. DCXXVII. 24. L. 6. DCCLXII. 29. DCCLXXVIII. 43. DCCCVIII. 8, 30. L. 8. DCDXXIII. 5. In L. 6. DCCCVIII. 17, this faculty is said not to be generated XKTK rr>v rou ffvippa.ro; xot-~Kj5oX^v. But the contrary seems to be affirmed P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxx. 27. Clement speaks also of the ^y- ftt'jixov rov ffupa.ro? (the head). P. L. 2. c. 8. ccxv. 3. S. L. 4. DXCII. 21. L. 5- DCCIII. 8, of the riyipovixov rtjg xriffsus a, i 7foc,a"/i; (man). S. L. 6. DCCCXIX. IQ, Of the vyipovtxov rr,; yvufftu;. DCCCXXVI. 2, of the rtytpovixov ry>; rzXtiorr,ro$. L. 7- DCCCLII. 8. a Xoyifftos XKI ro Jrytftovixov. S. L. 2. CCCCLVI. 15. L. 6. DCCCVIII. l6, 22. 7 "^vx,** ^ T>JV XoyixriV a.vu6iv Ipt.fvivffd7iva,i irto rov &zov si; ffpoffu^fov. S. L. 5. DCCIII. 6. L. 6. DCCLXXIV. 31. See Note u, p. 136. In S. L. i. ccccxvu. 4, Clement seems to distinguish between faxfr and vovs on the one hand, and fayta-pos on the other. 138 Some Account of the spirit; the latter he calls the bodily soul, the carnal or irrational spirit ; the spiritual part which was given in the creation of man, and l which he distinguishes from the peculiar character impressed by the Holy Spirit, which comes through faith. 2 " The vital power, in which is included the power which nourishes and causes both growth and motion, falls to the share of the carnal spirit, which is quick of motion, and per- vades the senses and the rest of the body, and is first affected through the body ; while the principal spirit possesses the power of choice, to which are to be referred investigation, and learning (/xa^o-ts), and knowledge. Man perceives, de- sires, is pleased, is angry, is nourished, grows through the corporeal spirit ; through which also that which is conceived in the mind breaks forth into action ; but when man controls his appetites, then the principal faculty reigns." Clement 3 says, that the souls, both of rational and irrational animals, are invisible ; and that their bodies are not parts or members of their souls, but instruments (opyava). In speaking of the sense of hearing, he 4 says, " that though it is operated upon through corporeal channels, it apprehends not by means of the corporeal power ; but through a certain perception of the soul, and an intelligence which distinguishes between significant sounds." n uvoxHftivM. S. L. 6. DCCCVIII. 2. He afterwards calls this subject spirit TO Ktt.ro. -rXairiv <rvivju.anxi>v. DCCCVIII. 8. and ro vXcifftiv. DCCCIX. IO. aXXa xa,} cjj; ffuftarixys ^v^i? xaTia,vi<rra.ra.i, ffr'opiov \i*.$u.\uv a^iwaav<n <rf u^'oyw -TrvtvpKTi. L. 7. DCCCLXXX. 2O. 2/a rov ffupunxov cipee, WiufictTOf KifflJKvtra,! o oivfywrtos. L,. 6. DCCCVIII. 34- ff ^ v T V f*f*i*y* wviuftctn. DCCLXVII. 3. See DCCCVIII. 27, 40. We find vvii>/u.a<ri a,lrr$wrix.Z>. DCCCXX. 9. rr,s ^v^rif rvts a/<r^r<x55?. L. 8. DCDXX. 8. We find in S. L. 4. DCXXXIX. 21, the distinction between a better and dominant, and a worse and sinful s-pirit. 1 TO Sta, <rri$ flffTiug vrpoff'yi'yvoft'vov ctyloii wvsufteiras ^Kpaxrnpiffrixov ioia/u.a, S. L. 6. DCCCVIII. 7, 9. See DCCCXXI. 10. DCCLXXIV. 31. DCCXCII. 2. 2 See L. 6. DCCCVIII. 25. 3 S. L. 6. DCCCXXV. 25. Clement says that there is no distinction of sex in souls. DCCXC. 19. In the Eclogas ex Prophetarum Scripturis xvn. the author denies by implication the pre-existence of the soul, and xxn. speaks of the soul as self-moved. Compare S. L. 6. DCCLXXXVIII. 17- The author of the Commentary on the Catholic Epistles says that the soul is not incorruptible by nature, MVI. 27, but the contrary seems to be asserted in a fragment of Clement preserved by Maximus, MXX. 35. On the perpetual activity of the soul, see the passage quoted in p. 49. 4 S. L. 7. DCCCLII. 29. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 139 We have seen that Clement speaks of a peculiar character impressed on man by the Holy Spirit. With respect to the natural character, he says, "that generally man is * moulded according to the form of the congenial spirit ; for he is not produced without form in the workshop of nature, where the generation of man is mystically perfected. The essence of all is the same, as is the art employed on all ; but the character of the particular man is marked by the form impressed on his soul by the things which he chooses." Conformably to this opinion, Clement 2 calls the mind, or intelligence, the form by which man is distinguished. Speaking of human nature, Clement 3 says, " that man, though naturally liable to delusion, so as to assent to false- hood, nevertheless has within him that which impels him to believe the truth." In other places Clement 4 says, that man is by nature altogether alienated from God and 5 that, in addition to the perversion arising out of a bad education, he is encompassed with much infirmity. Clement 6 speaks also of a natural liability to sin, through which man becomes a sinner in act. The 7 consequence of Adam's transgression was, that he exchanged immortality for mortality. The foregoing brief notice of Clement's opinions respecting man, his soul, and his fallen state, appeared necessary as an 1 o ftlv eiuv oivfywros avXu; ourof xa,-r ti'ioiv <7f\KfftriTU,t rov ffu/Afyvov; fviu- f&uro;' ou!)l yap ifj3tf, ov%* *%ttftjiTterof Iv <ru rris tyuffia? Ipyatffr'/ip ' ixus a,v@pu<?rau ix r ri\<7rot.i ygvurig, xeiv%$ ovirns xou rtjs o ol T}; oiv6p/>j'x'o$ J XOLTU, TTJV ruvrutriv <r?v lyyivoftivtsv T?I %Kpaxmp'i%<-Tai. S. L. 4. Dcxxxn. 17. Clement illustrates this by the case of Adam. 2 TO yo,p ii^o? ixu,<r<roU) o vou$ } eu %*f&XVHft1*fAtt** Mens CUJUSqUG is CSt quisque. S. L. 6. DCCLXXVI. 27. xciv TI; Tothritfi; trxotry, ivpwtrn TOV a.v6pu<7rov, (fiuffst dietfisfiXtiftivov f/t\v wpo; r>jy TOV ^/tv^oLis ffuyxa,<rai@&ffiv ) t%ov<r ^l ot,$op[jt.a.s vpo; TiffTiv raXntfous. S. L. 2. CCCCLVIII. 16. 4 S. L. 2. CCCCLXVIII. II, with reference to Col. i. 21. 5 S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXVII. 4. 6 ctvrixa, o ftlv XCLKOS, Qvffsi ajuctprvrixo;, $10, xuxictv yivofttvos tyavXo; xa.&iffrrixtv t 'i%uv $v Ixuv itXiro' &ftltfTit<rt*{ ^l uv xeti xecra, wpci^n; ^laftap- 7<x.vu. S. L. 6. DCCLXXXIX. 15. 7 S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXI. 12. Adam's transgression consisted in anti- cipating the time assigned for his connexion with Eve. L. 3. DLIV. 9. DUX. 5. 140 Some Account of the introduction to the description of the true Gnostic. By yi/okris, Clement l understood the perfect knowledge of all that relates to God, His nature and dispensations. He 2 speaks of a twofold knowledge ; " one, which is common to all men, being derived through the senses, and of which irrational as well as rational natures partake ; the other, especially called knowledge, receives its character from mind and reason. 3 It is not born with men, but is acquired ; and the acquisition of it requires attention, and nourishment, and increase; then by incessant practice it becomes a 4 habit; thus being perfected in a mystical habit (a habit suited to one initiated), it is so fixed through love that it cannot fail. For the Gnostic comprehends not only the First Cause and the Cause begotten by him, and is fixed in his notions concerning them, possessing firm and immoveable reasons ; but also, having learned from the truth itself, he possesses the most accurate truth, from the foundation of the world to the end, concerning good and evil, and the whole creation, and in a word, concerning all which the Lord spake ; nor does he prefer to the truth anything which may appear persuasive or conclusive according to the Greek reasoning. To him the sayings of the Lord, though obscure to others, are clear and manifest : he has obtained knowledge concerning all ; for our oracles return answers concerning things present, as they are ; concerning things future, as they will be ; concern- 1 S. L. 4. DLXX. 34. L. 7. dcccxxxviii. 8. Sometimes Clement includes a corresponding practice in the definition, W/y yap, us 'ivos TWfATlS ffV[Jt,'7fX'/lf>OVU.lVyi t XOtTO, Tl TOV TOOTTOV Xdii TOV filOV XOl TOV XoyoV ffVfjt,- Qcavos xtx.} oft'oXoyo; loLVTrj T& xa.} Tea faitv Xoyu. S. L. 7 DCCCLXIV. 25. '/! <yvuffif TOV vys/u-ovixou T^S "^v^n* xeiUctpffis iffn, xa.} Ivtpyuci IffTiv a,yu.6r\. L. 4. DLXXXI. 12. Sometimes he uses yvutri? to express the simple knowledge of the Gospel, (rrpKTiuo/u,-vov <n xcc-TzlXytp-v yvutri? ; C. LXXX. 13. LXXXIII. 4. We find other definitions, as yvua-is 31, irturrvim rotJ OVTOS KVTOV' h tfto'TVif/.'/i ffvfJLfyuYos To7; ytvof&ivoi;. S. L. 2. CCCCLXVIII. 41. xat auryi xvfica; tSflffif Iffnv v\ yvufft;, KaraX'/i^i; ^riT^ff^u; vfdfi^ovffa,. L. 6. DCCCI. 13. 2 S. L. 6. DCCXXXVII. i. See p. 109. 3 S. L. 6. dcclxxix. 3. In the Eclogae ex Scripturis Prophetarum, it is said that we now know only in part ; but the knowledge which we possess is a pledge that we shall attain to a perfect knowledge, xn. 4 Yet Clement elsewhere seems to express a doubt whether know- ledge is to be called a habit or a disposition, itr olv ili; v yvutn;, i"<n $iK0i<rt; iivou Xiyotro. S. L. 4. DCXXVII. 22. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 4 1 ing things past, as they have been. He being alone pos- sessed of knowledge (cTricm/fton/) will excel in that which is the subject of knowledge, and will treat of the good (Trcpl rayaOov) ; always fastening upon those things which are the objects of the understanding, copying his administration of human affairs from the Archetypes which are from above. 1 Knowledge is discerned by fruits and the manner of life, not by words and flowers ; for we say that knowledge is not a barren word, but a sort of Divine science (eTTKmj//,??!/) ; and that light, which comes into the soul from obedience accord- ing to the commandments, and makes all things manifest in their origin, and prepares man to know himself, and teaches him to aim at attaining unto God ; for what the eye is in the body, that is knowledge in the understanding. 2 As death is the separation of the soul from the body, so knowledge is as it were a rational death, separating the soul from passions, and leading it on to a life of well-doing." With respect to the source from which this knowledge is derived, Clement 3 says that "it was imparted by Christ to Peter, James, John, and Paul, and by them delivered down to their successors in the Church. 4 It was not designed for the multitude, but communicated to those only who were capable of receiving it ; orally, not by writing." Alluding to Exodus xxi. 33, 34, he 5 says, that " we must be cautious in imparting this knowledge, lest we should meet with one who, being incapable of receiving the truth, should disobey and fall away 1 S. L. 3. dxxxi. 22. See p. 87. 2 S. L. 7. dccclxxiv. 42. 3 S. L. i. cccxxii. 1 8. Compare L. 6. DCCLXXIV. 27. See p. 66. 4 S. L. I. cccxxxiii. 23. cccxlviii. 31. L. 4. dcvi. 22. The subject is pursued at great length in L. 5. DCLXXXII. 16. See also L. 6. DCCXXXVI. I. DCCLXXI. 14. L. 7. DCCCLXIV. 46. DCCCLXXXVI. 8. DCDI. 35. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXXXVIII. 44. See p. 66, Note 4. We find frequent mention of the Gnostic tradition, TJJJ yvu<rnxtis vap&- Sofftus. L. I. CCCXXV. 2, 7. L. 4. DLXIV. 36. L. 6. DCCLXXI. 2. See also L. 6. DCCCXVI. 13. L. 7. DCCCXCII. 21. DCCCXCVI. 16 ; the passage quoted by Eusebius from the Hypoty poses Hist. Eccl. L. 2. c. I, and the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xxxv. 5 S. L. 5. dclxxviii. 26. I have translated the words <rov lfy*<rw t the operative ; and diuptav, speculation ; this being one of the modes in which Clement expresses the distinction between the ordinary Christian and the Gnostic. ipya,<riKy is opposed to faapvnxv, L. 6. DCCCIII. 21. 142 Some Account of the from it. The Gnostic, who is the master of the fountain of truth, will incur a penalty if he gives occasion of offence by causing one, who is still conversant only with minor points, to be swallowed up as it were by the magnitude of what he delivers ; and by transferring one who is only an operative to speculation." Various descriptions of the Gnostic are, as we have seen, scattered over the Stromata. In l one place he is described as one who is superior to - anger and desire ; who loves the creature through the God and Maker of all things ; who has acquired 3 a habit of self-command, unattended by effort, after the likeness of the Saviour ; who unites knowledge, faith, love, and therefore is 4 one in his judgment ; truly spiritual, formed into a perfect man after the image of the Lord by the artificer himself, worthy to be called brother by the Lord ; he is at once a friend and son (of God). In 5 another place he is said to use all diligence to subdue whatever is opposed to the understanding to employ himself in constant contemplation to exercise himself in abstaining from things pleasant (run/ ^SeW), and in acting rightly. He 6 keeps back nothing which the occasion requires to be said, either through favour or fear. He is conversant with those things which are compre- hended by the understanding and the spirit. He is mild, gentle, easy of access, affable, forbearing, right-minded, of a pure conscience, severe, so as to be not only incorruptible, but even inaccessible to temptation; he renders his soul incapable of yielding, or being subject to pleasure and pain; as a judge, he inclines not to either side, or yields anything to affection, but steadily pursues the path of justice : he is persuaded that all things are well administered, and that there will be a progressive amelioration in the souls which choose virtue, until they arrive at the good (TO ayaOov) itself, being brought nigh to the great High Priest, at the porch, so to speak, of the Father. Clement proposes 1 S. L. 3. dxlii. 26. ~ tupou xa.} iTdvpiet;, the two irrational parts in Plato's threefold division of the soul. In L. 6. DCCCIX. 7, the Gnostic is said to perform virtuous actions by the rational faculty. 3 t%iv liyxpetrtiKf civovov. * ii; uv ivQivbi <rw xpifftv. 5 S. L. 7. dccclviii. I. G The Gnostic rarely takes an oath. L. 7. dccclxii. 9. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 4 3 J John the Baptist and 2 Job as examples of the Gnostic character. Light is thrown on Clement's notion of the Gnostic by the distinction which he frequently draws between the qualifica- tions of the Gnostic and the common believer. Thus 3 the Gnostic acts from the principle of love : the common believer from fear, or the hope of reward. " Some," Clement 4 says, " confess Christ through love of glory ; some in order to avoid another and severer punishment ; some on account of the pleasures which await them after death : these are children in the faith ; blessed indeed, but not 5 men who have attained to maturity in the love of God, as the Gnostic has." He 6 supposes St. Paul to have intended to draw a comparison between common faith and Gnostic perfection, in the third chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. " Milk is the food of the common believer ; strong meat of the Gnostic. Faith is the foundation on which the Gnostic edifice is raised." 7 " Knowledge is superior to faith ; as to be deemed worthy of the highest honour after being saved is superior to being merely saved. 8 Knowledge is the perfection of man, 1 S. L. 3. dxxxvi. 15. 2 S. L. 7. dccclxxxi. 2. L. 4. dlxxii. 12. Other descriptions of the Gnostic character may be found, DCXXV. 27. DCXXVI. 23. L. 6. DCCLXXXVIII. 32. DCCCXXV. 38. L. 7. DCCCXXXVIII. 4. DCCCLII. I. DCCCLXVI. 17, where Clement applies Psalm xxiv. to the Gnostic. 3 S. L. 4. dcxiv. 4. dcxxv. 30. dcviii. 19. Compare the Comment on the First Epistle of St. John ii. 3, MX. 4, and the Eclogue ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xix. 4 S. L. 7. dccclxxi. 35. Compare L. 4. DCXXVI. 22. DCXXIX. 13. 5 So 7$ it; eivbpets iyypaQoftivu. S. L. I. CCCXX. 41. We find the words via?*} JivtipoXoyvftivoi, in Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDXLVII. 4, in connexion with *friftmtitf t as descriptive of persons not yet fully instructed. oivy^ptu/uivM occurs S. L. 7. DCCCLXXXVI. 8. The Lord is called clvvp, inasmuch as He is perfect in righteousness. P. L. i. c. 8. GVIII. 15. 6 S. L. 5. dclix. 37. dclx. 12. L. 6. dcccxix. 10. With respect to the connexion between knowledge and faith, see L. 2. ccccxxxvi. 34. CCCCXLV. 35. CCCCLV. 14. L. 6. DCCLXXIV. 2. tvra,v6a, yap '/I wiffTis fi yvufnw. DCCLXXV. l8. DCCLXXVIII. l8. DCCCXIX. IO. DCCCXXVI. II. DCCLXXIV. 24. L. 7. DCCCLVIII. 31. 7 L. 6. dccxciv. 20. See L. 2. CCCCXLV. 35. L. 3. CCCCLII. 24. 8 L. 7. dccclxiv. 25. See page 140, Note I. Clement here draws a distinction between knowledge and that wisdom (l-vufr^^} which is acquired by instruction. Yet we have seen, p. 140, that he considered 144 Some Account of the as man ; being perfected through the science (eTricrr?///,??!/) of Divine things, and being in unison with itself and the Divine Word, in manners, life, and conversation. Through it faith is perfected, as the believer through it alone becomes perfect. Faith is an internal (eV8ia0erov) good; without seeking God, it confesses Him and glorifies Him as God. Wherefore pro- ceeding from this faith, and growing up in it, we ought through the grace of God to receive the knowledge concerning Him as far as it is possible. Not to doubt about God, but to believe in Him, is the foundation of knowledge." Again, 1 " faith is a compendious knowledge of things which are of urgent necessity : knowledge a firm and valid demonstration of things received through faith, built upon faith through the instruction of the Lord, and conducting us on to an infallible apprehension. The first saving change is from heathenism to faith ; the second, from faith to knowledge : which, being perfected in love, renders that which knows the friend of that which is known. 2 The believer merely tastes the Scriptures ; the Gnostic, proceeding further, is an accurate index (yyw/>uov) of the truth ; as in matters of ordinary life the artificer is superior to the common man, and can express something better than the common notions (ras Kou/as ei/i/oias)." " The 3 Gnostic honours God, and returns Him thanks for the knowledge how to regulate his life, not in any definite knowledge (yv7j) to be acquired. In L. 6. DCCCXXV. 6, he says that the science (i*vrj/j) which the Gnostic alone has, is a firm apprehension leading upwards to the knowledge of the cause through true and valid reasons. Compare L. 7. Dcccxxxvm. 6. In L. i. CCCL. 6, Clement says that he is properly a Gnostic who is skilled in every kind of wisdom, *vs 1 S. L. 7. dccclxv. 38. See p. 125. See also DCCCLXXXIII. 13. In the Eclogoe ex Prophetarum Scripturis, the distinction drawn between the believer and the Gnostic is, that the former has received remission of sins from the Lord ; the latter, inasmuch as he no longer sins, receives from himself remission of his remaining sins. xv. See Quis Dives Sal- vetur. DCDLVII. 36. We cannot believe without instruction (xaTv%r,ffiw;), or apprehend without knowledge, xxvin. 2 S. L. 7. DCCCXCI. ii. See p. 128. For other marks of distinction between the believer and the Gnostic, see S. L. 6. DCCLXX. 31. DCCXCVIII. 26. DCCCVI. 15. L. 7. DCCCLXXVIII. io, where hope is also mentioned. 3 S. L. 7. DCCCLI. 21. See p. 123. Speaking of the manner of life of Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 145 place, or in any select temple, or on certain appointed festivals and days, but throughout his whole life, in every place, whether he is alone, or in company with those who believe as he does. He is persuaded that God is present every- where, and not confined within certain appointed places ; he dares not, therefore, to be intemperate either by night or day, as if he thought that he could be removed from the view of God. Making his whole life a festival, and persuaded that God is present everywhere, whether he tills the ground or navigates the ocean, in every transaction of life he sings psalms of praise and thanksgiving. Being more intimately united to God, he is at once grave and cheerful in all things ; grave, on account of his conversion to the Deity; cheerful, with reference to the worldly goods which God gives him. The 1 prophet thus commends the excellence of knowledge : * Teach me goodness, and discipline, and knowledge,' ascend- ing upwards to that wherein perfection principally consists. This is the truly kingly man ; this is the holy priest of God. He never mixes with the promiscuous crowds in the theatre. He admits not, even in his dreams, that which is said, or done, or seen, for the sake of pleasure. He neither gratifies his smell with expensive perfumes, nor his taste with exquisite dishes and variety of wines ; he renders not his soul effeminate by wreaths of fragrant flowers ; he refers the virtuous enjoy- ment of all those gifts to God Who gives them, thanking Him for the gift and the use, and for the reason which is given him. He rarely attends convivial meetings, excepting in order to promote friendship and concord; being convinced that God knows and hears all things, not only the voice, but the thought." Distinguishing between the perfection of the common believer and of the Gnostic, Clement 2 says, "that the perfection of the former consists in abstinence from evil, of the latter in doing good." 3 Again, "the Gnostic knows sin itself, not merely the Gnostic, Clement says, that it fits him for the habit of eternal life. L. 4. DLXXVII. 29. Referring to Clement of Rome, he speaks of walking in Gnostic holiness, lv oa-iorvn yvuffrixy. L. I. CCCXXXIX. 6. 1 Psalm cxix. 66, according to the Septuagint version. 2 S. L. 6. DCCLXX. 30. See DCCXCI. 37. DCCXCVIII. 26. L. 4. DCXXIII. 4. L. 7. DCCCLXXV. 24. DCCLXXIX. 33. DCCCLXXX. 25. Clement says that good works accompany knowledge as the shadow does the body. L. 7. DCCCLXXX u. 29. 3 S. L. 6. DCCLXXXVIII. 40. See p. 114. According to the commentator 146 Some Account of the that particular sin of which he repents (for this is common to all believers), but whatever is sin ; for he does not merely condemn this or that sin, but sin altogether ; nor does he know what this or that man has done amiss, but insists that sin is not to be committed. Wherefore there is a twofold repentance : one common, on account of having sinned ; the other under- stands the nature of sin, and persuades us in the first instance to abstain from sin ; the consequence of which is that we do not sin." 1 " The prayer of the Gnostic differs from that of a common believer, both as to its manner and its objects. The 2 Gnostic prays only in thought, and obtains that for which he prays. 3 Common believers pray for that which they do not possess, and ask for that which is seemingly, not really, good. The Gnostic prays for the permanence of that which he possesses, and asks that he may be fitted for that to which he will here- after be transferred, and that what he shall receive (I omit the negative particle) may be permanent. He prays for the permanent possession of that which is really good, the good of the soul." 4 Again: "the Gnostic through the surpassing greatness of his piety, is better prepared to fail, when he asks, than to obtain, when he does not ask. His whole life is prayer and converse with God ; and if he is pure from sin, he will obtain what he wishes. For God says to the righteous man: 5 'Ask, and I will give you; think, and I will do it.' If a thing is expedient, he will immediately receive it ; if inexpedient, he will not ask for it, and therefore will not receive it : thus what he wishes will always be. 6 The Gnostic alone on the First Epistle of St. John, the Gnostic (Intellector) necessarily fulfils the moral duties ; but he who fulfils the moral duties is not necessarily a Gnostic. MIX. 52. The reference is to I John ii. 3, xai lv rovru ywaffKopw OTI \yvuKKftiv al/roV) lav <rct; IvroXoc,; KVTOU TfifufAiv. 1 Clement seems to suppose a state of sinless perfection possible, ra, pi* fa.Sn utforifaftivou;, a.vctfta,prrirou; $i yivofjt.ivou$. S. L. 7- DCCCXXXVI. I9 See also DCCCLXXXIII. 14. 2 S. L. 6. DCCXC. 30. Compare L. 6. DCCLXXVIII. 38. L. 7. DCCCLIII. l8. DCCCLIV. 3. DCCCLVI. 22. 3 S. L. 7. DCCCLVII. 10. 4 S. L. 7. DCCCLXXV. 45. Prayer with the Gnostic is said to be thanks- giving. DCCCLXXIX. 39. 6 This sentence is quoted in other places. S. L. 6. DCCLXXVIII. 39 DCCXC. 35. 6 S. L. 7. DCCCXXIX. 25. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 147 is truly pious, and worships the true God in a manner worthy of God. He gives to everything the honour justly due ; among the objects of sense, to rulers, parents, elders ; among things which are taught, to the most ancient philosophy and prophecy ; among the objects of the understanding, to that which is eldest in origin ; to the beginning or principle without time and without beginning, the First-fruits of things (airapyr]v rwv oVrwv), the Son, from Whom we learn the supreme Cause, the Father of the universe, the oldest and most beneficent of all things, no longer delivered to us by the voice, but to be reverenced with awe and silence and holy wonder; revealed by the Lord, as far as it is possible for learners to understand, but understood by those who are elected to knowledge by Him by those of whom the Apostle says that * ' their senses are exercised/ To the Gnostic, then, the worship of God is a continual watchfulness over the soul, an employment about the Deity through unceasing love." The 2 excellence of the Gnostic character consists, not in controlling the desires, and wishes, and passions, but in being exempt from them. In him the struggle between inclination and the sense of duty has ceased ; because they coincide. 3 He fasts ; but he understands that the true fasting consists in abstinence from evil in act, in word, in thought. 4 The sacrifice which he offers is a willing separation from the body and its affections. 5 Though prepared to shed his blood in the cause of the Gospel, he considers the true confession of God to consist in a pure and holy life. One who so lives is a martyr, whatever the mode of his departure from this life. 1 Heb. v. 14. 2 See with respect to continence or temperance (lyx^are/a), S. L. 3. DXXXVII. 29. L. 4. DCXXVI. 40. With respect to the Gnostic exemption from passion (*&/), S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXIV. 3. L. 4. DLXXXI. 25. L. 6. DCCLXXV. 25. DCCLXXVI. 23. DCCXCVII. 31. L. 7. DCCCLXXXIII. 17. DCCCLXXXVI. 14. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLVII. 16. 3 S. L. 6. DCCXCI. 18. L. 7. DCCCLXXVII. 20. 4 S. L. 5. DCLXXXVI. 10, quoted in p. 107. See L. 7. DCCCXXXVI. 27. DCCCL. 29. it TOIVVV vrpo; 6tov oftoXoyia, futffttput Iffr}, vroiffa. v x,tt.$af>u; irtXiTtVfetpthit $u%ij {At<r ivriyvaffius TOU Qtou, w rct7; \vTo\a.7; ^a-KViKwltt.) f^ufrtif Iffrt x,aii @>IM xcti koytt, ova; <ffor\ TOV ffufMX.ro? aTaXX<r<r>;<r<. S. L. 4. DLXX. 22, quoted in p. 92, Note 6. See DLXXXVII. 19. DXCVIJ. 6. DCVI. 18. 1 48 Some Account of the Clement uses various terms to express the superior excellence and dignity of the Gnostic. " He is the 1 elect. The 2 seed of Abraham, the servants of God, are the called ; the sons of Jacob, they who by supplanting (^rcpi/to-ai/res) overcome the works of wickedness, are the elect. He is the Spiritual 3 Levite ; 4 the Divine philosopher; the true Israelite. He is the 5 Friend and Son, as contradistinguished from the servant, of God. 6 He is equal to the angels. He is a 7 King. He 8 imitates Christ, as far as it is possible for man, putting on in a certain degree the qualities of the Lord, in order that he may be assimilated to God. 9 He actually becomes God. 10 He 1 xav ptffufft <rov IxXtxrov nvtg. S. L. 4. DCXXVII. 14. So U lxXix<ry;, J/ aycivvs yvufnxvs. DCXIV. 4. See L. 4. DCXL. 36. L. 7. DCCCLI. 19. DCCCLXVI. 37. In Dccxcui. 21, and in the tract Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDLV. 30, we find mention of some who are TUV IxXixruv IxXixrortpoi. See L. 7. DCCCLXXXVII. 33. vpos y< ruv ifyiXtyu'ivwv il; yvufftv. DCCCXXIX. 41. xctra, rt>v xrifftv TJV iluXiypivnv. DCCCLXXVIII. 6. <njv -^v^.v TJJV \%itXiypivw. DCCCLXXXIX. 31. 2 S. L. 6. DCCLXX. 37. 3 S. L. 5. DCLIX. 34. DCLXIX. 28. 4 S. L. 6. DCCXCIII. 37. Compare the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scrip- turis. xxxin. 5 lx TQV a.yu.6ov xoil rtiffrov "bovXov ftira.ficiivuv ^/ aya-r>jf its QiXov. S. L. 7- DCCCLXVIII. 46. ptrarihis ix ^ovXiict; tig vMtffietv. DCCCLXXXII. 26. See also DCCCLXXXIX. 32. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXXXIX. 43. The Gnostic is first $*uX<5? vo/u-ipos, then vta-ros hpa-Trw, then via;. L. I. ccccxxni. 33. <piXo; is opposed to Burros. L. 7. DCCCXL. 17. See also L. 4. DLXVII. 13. 6 S. L. 6. DCCXCII. 33. L. 7. DCCCLXVI. 8. us KV v$n xa.} Ifftiy- ytXos. DCCCLXXIX. 24. oiiv ciyyiXo; %%n yivoftivos, ffu Xpiffru TI tffTKi, hupnrixos u*. 7 S. L. 6. DCCCI. 8. DCCCXVIII. 5. DCCCXIX. 15. DCCCXXV. 37. L. 7. DCCCXLI. II. DCCCLII. 19. DCCCLXXVI. l6. 8 P. L. i. c. 12. CLVII. 24. L. 3. c. i. CCL. 6. CCLI. 17. S. L. i. CCCXLVII. 6. L. 2. CCCCLIII. 10. CCCCLXXI. 7. ccccxcix. 19. L. 3. DXXX. 10. DXLII. 30. L. 4. DCV. 40. - DCXXVII. 32. DCXXXI. I, 21. DCXL. 36. S. L. 6. DCCLXXVI. 25. DCCLXXVIII. 34. DCCCXVIII. II, 14. L. 7. DCCCXXX. 28. DCCCXXXV. 35. DCCCXXXVI. 3. See Notes 8, 9, p. 136. 9 <7fy von Ufa, aM&puifos ylvnrcti hog. C. VIII. 32, quoted in p. 23, Note 3. See LXXI. 26, 32. LXXXVIII. 33. P. L. i. c. 12. CLVI. 33. S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXIV. 24. CCCCXCIV. 30. rovrfa St/va<rov ru rpovw rov yvcofrtxov y$v ytviffdat faov. S. L. 4. DCXXXII. 9. DCXXXIII. II, 23. DCXLII. 5. ovr&>; ^vvotftw ).a.fiovffa. xvpiaxriv y> $%?! fiiXtra, iHvat 6to;. L. 6. DCCXCVII. II. DCCCIII. 17. DCCCLXVI. 5. L. J. DcccLxv. 17. Dcccxc. 28. Eclogas ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xxvn. Qtios eipa o yvaffrixos, xoti rioifi u.yio;, Qiotyopuv xa.} 0-oipopoufm/o;. S. L. J. DCCCLXXXII. 7. Compare L. 6. DCCXCIT. 19. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 149 is Divine and Holy, bearing God, and borne or inspired by God. He is a T God, walking in the flesh." " The 2 Gnostic must pass through a course of probation and discipline before he can attain to perfection. 3 This perfection is attained, when he as it were hangs upon (/cpeyuao-tff?) the Lord, through faith, and knowledge, and love ; and ascends with Him thither where is the God and guardian of our faith and love. Knowledge is therefore given to them who are meet and selected for it ; inasmuch as it requires much preparation and exercise both to hear what is said, and to regulate the life and conversation, and to advance to that righteousness which is beyond the righteousness of the law." Sometimes, in speaking of this preparation and perfection, Clement 4 borrows the expressions used with reference to initiation into the heathen mysteries. " The 5 final state of the Gnostic is perpetual contemplation of God. In this consists his blessedness. 6 The Gnostic soul, in the grandeur of con- v 610$. S. L. 7. DCCCXCIV. 36. TOC.VTU, yvuffrixiis oiffx^trtu? 9ff0yuft9eit(JiMva, S. L. 4- IJCXXIV. 17. The. progress is said to be from faith through love to knowledge. DCXXVI. 22. See also L. 7. DCCCXXXIV. 17. 3 S. L. 7. dccclxv. 6. 4 Kara, TYIV ivovnxriv hupiav yvutrtu;. S. L. I. CCCXXIV. 46. CCCXLVI. 20. ccccxxiv. 33, quoted in p. 75. L. 2. CCCCLIV. 8. L. 5. DCLXXXV. 38. DCLXXXIX. 8. Compare L. 4. DLXIV. 31. 5 vrpoffftivzi <ry diupia. ry KI'^IM u.7fox(x,Ttx,ff r rot,ffi?. L. 7- DCCCLXV. 24. Compare L. 2. 'CCCCLXIX.' II. L. 5. DCCXXXII. 30. xvrtxpu; riXiiuv ^ixaio- ffuvqv u7roypu.tyU) ipytu n xa,} faapiq, vrtvX'/ipiiJftzv'/iv. L. 4* DCVII. 32. See also L. 6. DCCCIII. 24. L. 7. DCCCXXX. n. S. L. 7. DCCCXXXV. 22. Gnostic souls are compared to the wise virgins. L. 7. DCCCLXXV. 31. See DCCCLXXXII. 17. Clement applies to the perfect Gnostic the epithet pwf}j*f, meaning thereby that he has raised himself to a resemblance to God by becoming superior to all affec- tion or passion, and consequently always remains in one and the same unchangeable habit of mind. L. 4. DCXXXIII. 12. Thus he never wavers in faith, but is indissolubly united to the Word. DCXXXV. 22. Compare L. 7. DCCCLIX. 15. L. 3. DXLII. 31, quoted in p. 142, Note 4. o ^ <rw Ivt %*f*xrtipiZtr*t. L. 7. DCCCLXXII. 31. In the Comment on the First Epistle of St. John, we find, Monas namque Dei opus est : dyas autem et quicquid praeter Monadem constat, ex vitas perversitate contingit. MIX. 6. So C. LXXII. 21. it; [//ictv a,yu.7f'/iv ffvvct%@?ivoii ol TToXAo/, xu,-~a, v'/iv T'/tg {Aova,oi%'/i$ ov<rixf sv&xr/i', tr'/fsuffuftzv' a.yuSoipyovf/.zvQt ivaXoyiag ivor'/ira 'Si&ixap.tv, T-JJV ctya,t)r t v Ix&Tovvn; povatiu.. It is Said, S. L. 3. DXII. I, that Epiphanes introduced the Monadic Gnosis. 150 Some Account of the templation, passes beyond the state of the several holy orders, with reference to which the blessed mansions of the gods are allotted ; and reputed holy among the holy, transferred in a state of integrity from souls which are in a similar state (oAas e 6Awv), advancing continually from better to better places, embraces not the Divine contemplation ] in a mirror or through a glass, but feasts eternally upon the vision in all its clearness that vision with which the soul, smitten with bound- less love, can never be satiated and enjoys inexhaustible gladness for endless ages, honoured by a permanent continuance in all excellence. This is the contemplation attained to by the pure in heart ; this is the operation (rj ei/e'pyeta) of the perfect Gnostic, to hold intercourse with God through the great High Priest, resembling the Lord to the utmost of his power in every exercise of piety towards God." 2 " The Gnostic possesses the true logic, which alone leads to true wisdom ; that wisdom is a Divine power, knowing things as they are, having in itself perfection, exempt from all passion ; not to be obtained without the Saviour, Who, by the Divine Word, removes from the eye of the soul the film of ignorance spread over it by evil conversation, and gives us that which is best, the power of discerning between God and man." "The Gnostic- 3 possesses the true and spiritual meaning of the Scriptures ; that Gnostic explanation, to which reference is made, when 4 Isaiah is directed to take a new book and to write certain things in it ; the Spirit thereby predicting that the sacred knowledge, which was then unwritten, because it was not yet known, should afterwards be published through the Scriptures. For from the beginning it had been spoken only to the intelligent. But as soon as the Saviour taught the Apostles, 5 the tradition (before unwritten) of the written word was delivered unto us, inscribed on new hearts by the power of God, according to the renewal of the book." 1 See S. L. 4. dlxviii. 35. 2 S. L. i. cccxxv. 21. See p. 76. L. 6. ccxcix. 7. The Gnostic does not merely possess knowledge, but becomes knowledge. L. 4. DLXXXI. 26. 3 dcclxxviii. l8. o vofios, vrvivftot'nxo; uv, xai yvutrrtKu; voov/asvof. S. L. 3 DXLIX. 16. Compare L. 6. DCCLIX. 31. DCCXCVIII. 33. 4 viii. i. S. L. 6. DCCCVI. 17. ctypcttfo; '/idr, x,'*} il; r,[S Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 5 1 The Gnostic has also a 1 physiology peculiar to himself, which is derived from the history of the creation of the world. Clement speaks of 2 different degrees of reward proportioned to different degrees of advancement in righteousness ; to the Gnostic he assigns the highest. 3 " He who cleaves to the Lord in spirit becomes a spiritual body, by a more excellent union. He is wholly a Son, a holy man, exempt from passion, a Gnostic, perfect, formed by the teaching of the Lord ; to the end that, being brought into immediate union with the Lord in act, and word, and in the very spirit, he may receive the mansion due to one who has thus advanced to mature man- hood." Clement speaks of this as a mere sketch ; the whole mystery is not to be displayed to common eyes. Referring to Psalm xv. i, he 4 says that "the Gnostic will 5 rest in the holy mountain of the Lord, in the Church above ; in which are collected the Divine philosophers, the true Israelites, the pure 1 rnt TM ovrt yvufnxyv QutnoXoyiav [AiTtifttv. S. L. 4- DLXIV. 30, 37' 2 tivaXoyu; &pcc xxi povai vroixiXai xar' a/av ruv rfiffrtuffa.vrav. S. L. 6. DCCXCVII. 22. Compare L. 4. DLXXIX. 29. Of these mansions (ftovui) he describes three, TO. vwofitfitjxorx lv ru VKM rov Stou, os la-riv ri VKfftx, IxxXvfftct o xXqpo; lv vau Kuptou Qupnptffrtpos TO uwtpfarixov, 'ivSa, o Kupio; Iffrtv. Com- pare DCCXCII. 36. DCCXCIV. 7. L. 7. DCCCXXXV. 24. DCCCLIV. 26. 3 o ^ xoXXevfttvos TU Kupitu lv ffvivfjt,a,ri t <ffvivp.tt.rix.ov ffupu., TO ^telitpopov rwf ffuvobov yivos (there seems here to be an allusion to the tiidtpopov ffvippa of the Valentinians, as afterwards in the word ^of^ovfjavo? to the Valentinian notion that the appearance of the Saviour gave form to the elect seed. See Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. LXXIX.) uios oSros aVa?, Hvfyavos uytof, a-ra^rij, 'yvwo-rixoe, riXitos, ftoptyovfttvos TV <rou Kupiou ^i^a.ffxa.'X'ux.^ 'tvu. 5>7, xou 'ipy/u x%) Xoyu xec} (X.VTU TW XVHJ/U.U.TI ffpsfft^vis y^v'of^'.vo? Tea K.upiu } TTJV {/.ovriv ixnvw TYIV oQitXopivytv <ru> auras a.'Xvvbpupivw acroAa/S'/j. S. L. 7. DCCCLXXXVI. I. 4 S. L. 6. dccxciii. 36. 5 In L. 6. dcccx. 8, Clement speaks of exemption from passion ; and in P. L. i.e. 5. cxvi. i, of knowledge as the rest of the Gnostic. In L. 7. DCCCLXV. 31, he speaks of the Gnostic as passing through the several stages of initiation, until he arrives at the highest place of rest, where he contemplates God, with full knowledge and comprehension (iiftfr^fuvtxvs XKI xKTaXtivnxus (see L. 6. DCCLXXIII. 29) lvo<rriv<t}, face to face. For the perfection of the Gnostic soul is to rise above every purification and ministerial service, and to be, by proximate union, with God. So again DCCCLXXIII. I. r,v xopv(penoToiT'/iv fpoxovr'/iv '/i yvuff<rtxv $tJ%y Xa^/Sam/, xa.6ce.pa, ri^iov yivopivn, vrpoffuTTcv vpos rtpoffwrov opaiv etfttttg xu-TO^iouf^'ivrt rov -7ra.vroxptx.ropa. &tov' wi/tt/ftKrixr} ya.p oXy yzvoftiv/i, ftpo; ro ffvyyivl; %up'/)ffa,ffa,, lv fvivf^arix^ rr t si; r^v u.vei'x'a.vtriv rw Stou. See P. L. C. 13. CLX. 2. 1 5 2 Some Account of the in heart, in whom is no guile ; they who do not remain in the 1 Hebdomas of rest, but by well-doing, after the Divine likeness, look up to the inheritance in the Ogdoas. 2 Perpetually advancing in the work of amelioration, the Gnostic hastens, through the holy Hebdomas, to the paternal habitation, the mansion of the Lord, about to become, so to speak, an eternally permanent light, in every respect unchangeable." Clement 8 speaks also of the Gnostic as obtaining a place on the right hand of the sanctuary, with reference apparently to Matt. xxv. 33. We have 4 seen that Clement, at the end of the sixth book of the Stromata, speaks of himself as having made a statue of the Gnostic. But far from having made a statue, he has not even completed a single part or member : the most that can be said is, that in his work may be found the materials out of which a statue may be made. To give to those materials something approaching to a definite form, has been my design in the present chapter. If the reader should think that it has been very imperfectly accomplished, I must plead in my excuse the rambling and desultory character of the Stromata. It is no easy task to arrange and reduce to order the notices scattered throughout a work, which the author professes himself to have composed with a purposed neglect of arrangement and order. While these sheets have been passing through the press, the " Remains of the late Alexander Knox, Esq.," have fallen into my hands. In his letter to D. Parken, Esq., on the character of mysticism, having said that "all the earlier Fathers main- tained the attainableness of a state (the aTrdOcLa of Clement) in 1 By the Hebdomas, according to the Gnostic doctrine, was meant the rest from evil-doing, with reference to the Jewish Sabbath ; by the Ogdoas, the creation of man anew to a life of active well-doing, with reference to the day of our Lord's resurrection, the first or eighth day. See S. L. 4. ncxn. 23. L. 6. DCCCX. 8. In L. 4. DCXXXVI. n, with reference to the Ogdoas, Clement quotes Ezek. xliv. 27, and afterwards (21) says that the Ogdoas means the immoveable sphere, which is next to the intelligible world. iln x.ai YI KvrXotvy;; %&>[>, *> *XiW7w TU vo'/iru xo<r^u.u, oy^oa.? Xtyoiro. See Neander, p. 76. Compare L. 5. DCLXVII. 30. DCCXCiv. 2. DCCXIII. 2, 36. L. 6. DCLXVIII. 15. DCCCXI. 23. L. 7. DCCCLXXXIV. 17. a S. L. 7. dccclxvi. 10. 3 S. L. 4. dlxx. 42. dlxxvi. 30. 4 Page 119. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 153 which the conflict of the mind with itself with its internal appetites, acted upon by external objects is over, in conse- quence of the whole inner and outer man being brought into willing subjection to the law of God, and spirituality being not so much an effort as a nature," he 1 adds, "the first that made this state the subject of direct description was Clemens Alexandrinus in the sixth and seventh books of the Stromata ; his Gnostic being identically the mystic of a later period." He afterwards says that " Clement's portraiture of the perfect Christian is one of the noblest things of the kind that the world ever saw ; yet the assertions cannot always be defended." I have stated my own opinion to be, that Clement's description is not so much a portraiture of the perfect Christian as a representation of different portions of the Gnostic character, thrown upon the canvas without order or connexion. I do not think that Clement had formed to himself a well-defined notion of the character which he meant to draw. His anxiety to place Christianity in such a light as might conciliate the favour of the learned heathen, caused him to assimilate the model of Christian, as much as possible to that of philosophical, perfection ; and, as his view was continually passing from the one to the other, it necessarily became indistinct. To the same anxiety I trace his frequent use of the terms employed in the Greek philosophy. No man could have been better fitted to do that which Clement designed to do to draw the portrait of the true Gnostic than Mr. Knox himself, who retired from public life at a time when its fairest prospects were opening upon him, in order to cultivate personal religion; or, to borrow his own language, to elevate himself to the unclouded apprehension of the great and good God. 2 His remarks on the growth of mysticism show how clear and how just were his views of the subject ; and how capable he was of pointing out and enforcing the connexion between contemplative and active religion, in the neglect of which lies the error of the mystic. It is in this 1 Tom. i. p. 318. It is scarcely correct to say that Clement's Gnostic is identically the mystic of a later period ; though his speculative or con- templative (ftetftprt**) religion naturally paved the way to the introduction of mysticism. 8 Torn. i. p. 315. See also p. 292. 154 Some Account of the respect that Clement's description of the Gnostic character is most defective. 1 CHAPTER VI. I HAVE remarked that Clement's object in composing the Stromata was to describe the true Gnostic, and at the same time to guard his readers against the erroneous representations put forth by the Valentinians and other heretics. He 2 speaks of the winds of heresies which puff up of 3 men who are puffed up with knowledge of 4 knowledge falsely so called of 5 men who preach a new and strange knowledge. 6 Among the professors of this knowledge falsely so called he particularly mentions Valentinus, Basilides, Julius Cassianus, Marcion, Prodicus, and Heracleo. 7 One notion common to several of 1 The perusal of Mr. Knox's Remains has made me acquainted with the following passage of the writings of John Wesley. " By salvation I mean a present deliverance from sin ; a recovery of the Divine nature ; the renewal of our souls, after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness ; in justice, mercy, and truth. Now without faith we cannot thus be saved, for we cannot rightly serve God unless we love Him ; and we cannot love Him unless we know Him ; neither can we know God but by faith. Therefore, salvation by faith is only, in other words, the love of God by the knowledge of God, or the true recovery of the image of God by a true spiritual acquaintance with him." I transcribe the passage on account of its resemblance to one which occurs in the Stromata. L. 7. DCCCLXV. 5, quoted in p. 125. I know not whether John Wesley had read Clement. I learn from Mr. Knox that he was acquainted with the spiritualists of the Romish Church. 2 P. L. i. c. 5. cviii. 32. 3 P. L. I. c. 6. cxii. 35. cxxix. i. 4 S. L. 2. cccclvii. 5, from I Tim. vi. 20. Clement adds that the heretics, on account of this passage, rejected the Epistles to Timothy. Beausobre, Histoire du Manicheisme, Tom. ii. p. 5, doubts whether the charge applied to Basilides ; but according to Jerome (Preface to Com. on Ep. to Titus) Basilides rejected the Epistles to Timothy, to Titus, and to the Hebrews. Neander thinks that Jerome did not distinguish accurately between the Gnostic sects, and confounded Basilides with Marcion. On the Gnostic Systems, p. 67. See L. 3. DXXV. 4. DLXII. 16. L. 7. DCCCLIV. 33. 5 S. L. 3, DXVI. 6. fl S. L. 7. DCCCXCVI. 17. T S. L. 3. DX. 24. L. 6. DCCLXI. 15. DCCXCII. 37. L. 7. DCCCXCI. 46. Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. xxvr. Let me here state that I do Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 5 5 these heretics was, that the human race was divided into three kinds, differing by nature, and appointed from their birth to different destinations. One kind was destined to perfection. To this kind * Basilides gave the title of the election (e/cAoyrj), and said that it was a stranger to the world, being by nature above the world. 2 It knew God by nature, and was by nature faithful and elect. 3 Faith was, therefore, a natural endow- ment, which discovered all truth without the aid of demonstra- tion, by an intellectual apprehension. There was a peculiar faith and election in correspondence with each interval or order of the spiritual world. The worldly faith of every nature followed as by consequence the election above the world ; and to the faith of each there was a corresponding hope. Clement, in combating this notion, observes that, " according to it, faith was no longer a perfect exercise (KaropO^/jia) of the will, or a 4 rational assent; and that neither did the believer deserve reward, nor the unbeliever punishment ; nor was the appear- ance of the Saviour necessary to re-illuminate (ava\dfjL\j/a.i) fallen nature. 1 ' Clement 5 quotes a passage from the twenty-third book of the Exegetics of Basilides, from which it appears that he not profess to give a systematic account of the opinions of the different Gnostic sects ; but merely to collect the notices of them scattered over Clement's writings. 1 S. L. 4. DCXXXIX. 29. xet,} iv-Tiufav %'svvv rr,v IxXoyr,* TOU KOffftou o ]9ar/Xf/$iff tiXr>$i*eu Xtyu, &? .v itwsp%offju,i>>v (^vcr-t wtreiv. See DCIII. 15. See also P. L. i. c. 6. cxv. 15, where Clement maintains that all are alike capable of attaining to salvation, and cxvi. 40. Beausobre says that the election consisted in a Divine illumination, which constituted the spiritual, as dis- tinguished from the animal and material man. Tom. ii. p. 36. Still the illumination was originally imparted to a particular class. The name Uxy was probably taken from Rom. xi. 7. See S. L. 3. DXL. 14. DLV. 36. L. 4. DCXIV. 9. L. 5. DCLXXXIV. 10. DCXCVI. 32. Neander, p. 56. ' 2 S. L. 5. DCXLIV. 38. DCXLV. 10. :! L. 2. ccccxxxiu. 31. ccccxxxiv. 4. See Neander, p. 57. 4 S. L. 5. DCXLV. 6. See Neander, pp. 56, 59, 82. Basilides defined faith an assent of the soul to something which does not affect the senses, because it is not present ; and hope, an expectation of possessing good. L. 2. CCCCXLIII. 30. 5 S, L. 4. DXCIX. 18. DC. 37. Beausobre, Tom. ii. p. 3, supposes this work to have been a commentary on the Gospels, or rather on St. Matthew's Gospel. See also Tom. i. p. 39. In Jerome's account of Agrippa Castor, it is said that Basilides composed twenty-four books on the Gospel. See Eusebius, L. 4. c. 7. 1 56 Some Account of the believed in the pre-existence of the soul, and thought that it suffered punishment here on account of offences committed in another life ; the elect soul suffering to its honour through martyrdom ; other souls being purified by their appropriate punishment. He appears to have adopted this notion in order to clear the Providence of God from the imputation of evil. " He will," he says, " have recourse to any expedient rather than allow the truth of this imputation." For instance, in the case of l martyrs, he supposes that, although they suffer in appearance because they are Christians, yet they have com- mitted secret sins ; or if they have not sinned in act, that they have sinned in inclination, or have, like an infant, a sinful nature, and have only been prevented from sinning in act by want of opportunity ; or that they have sinned in a previous state of existence. In answer to this reasoning the Orthodox appealed to the example of Christ, Who was without sin, and yet suffered. Basilides rejoined that Christ was a Man, and that no man was free from stain. Clement 2 here accuses Basilides of deifying the Devil, and making the Lord a man liable to sin. 8 Basilides was one of the heretics who introduced two gods the good God and the Demiurge. Clement 4 mentions inci- dentally that Basilides placed Justice and her daughter Peace, as Hypostases, in his Ogdoas. From 5 the nature of the good God it followed that the fulfilment of His will consisted in loving 1 See Neander, p. 53. 3 L. 4. uci. 17. See Beausobre, T. ii. pp. 25* 26. Neander, pp. 41, 49) 5I an d the interpretation given by the followers of Basilides to Exod. xx. 5, in the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, xxvui., where we find the notion of the passage of the soul through different bodies in order to effect its purification. 3 S. L. 5. DCXC. 41. Compare L. 3. DXLII. 7. Beausobre says that Basilides acknowledged one Supreme God, Whom he called the Father, T. ii. p. 6. In one place Basilides is represented to have given the title of "A^a/v and o ftiyitrros etes to the Demiurge. S. L. 2. CCCCXLVIII. 4. CCCCXLIX. 2. But the passage in the fourth book, DCIII. 30, to which Beausobre refers, T. ii. p. 15, expresses rather the opinions of Valentinus than of Basilides. See also T. ii. p. 19. Neander says that the Demiurge was not opposed, but in subordination, to God, carrying on the dispensation without knowing that he did, pp. 38, 47, 53, 63. 4 S. L. 4. DCXXXVII. 22. See Beausobre, T. ii. p. 6. Neander, p. 34. 5 S. L. 4. DCI. 44. Compare L. 7. DCCCLXXXI. 18. See Neander, P- 59. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 5 7 all things, since all things have a relation to the universe (xpos TO TTCU/), in coveting nothing, and in hating nothing. 1 The theory of Basilides respecting human nature was, that the passions or affections were certain spirits appended essen- tially (KO.T ovcriav) to the rational soul, in consequence 2 of some original confusion of principles or elements that to these were afterwards attached other spirits of spurious and heterogeneous natures, as of the wolf, the monkey, the lion, the goat that the peculiarities of these spirits hovering about the soul assimilated its desires to those of the several animals, and caused it to imitate their actions. As the desires corre- sponded to the peculiarities of things animate, so the habits of the soul corresponded to the properties of things inanimate, which were appended to it. Thus hardness of heart corre- sponded to the property of adamant. On this theory Clement justly remarks, that "it represents man as a species of Trojan horse, enclosing a host of different spirits in one body." He quotes also a passage from a tract of Isidorus, the son of Basilides, entitled, a " Concerning the Adventitious Soul," from which it appears that Isidorus was alive to the objection which might be urged against this theory that it afforded men a plea for justifying their bad actions by 4 the plea of necessity. Isidorus held the opinion of the Pythagoreans that man had two souls (77 Xo-yLKT) and Pursuing the notion of three different kinds of men, so con- 1 S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXVIII. i. 2 x,ce,ra. rivet rix,pa%ov xoti trvyxvffiv ctp%ix,r,v. 4. See Neander, pp. 37, 54, Beausobre, Tom. ii. p. 21, who quotes passages from the Eclogze ex Prophetarum Scripturis, in which it is said that impure spirits are twined about the soul, vn., that material energies are separated from the soul by the spirit in baptism, xxv. , and in which the affections of the soul are called spirits influencing it by suggestion, XLVI. It may be inferred from these passages that the Eclogae were not the work of Clement. In S. L. 3. DXXVI. 19, Clement mentions heretics who maintained that the human body was formed by different powers : the upper parts down to the navel were the work of higher or more Divine art ; the lower parts of inferior art, 3 lv TU xipi UpeffQvavs -^v^;. 21. Isidorus here applies the epithet povofAipns to the soul ; he must therefore have thought that the doctrine of appendages was not inconsistent with its simplicity. See Neander, p. 55. 4 Isidorus denied that this plea was well founded ; man might resist the violence of the appended spirits. 158 Some Account of the stituted from their birth, Basilides l said on the subject of marriage, that " some men had a natural aversion to the female sex ; such men did well not to marry. Others ab- stained from marriage through worldly considerations, or physical defect. Others, because the cares incident to a married life would distract their attention from their spiritual interests. If, however, a man who abstained from marriage lived in a state of perpetual conflict with his passions, and of apprehension lest he should be overcome by them, and conse- quently could not keep his thoughts undividedly fixed upon his heavenly hopes, he ought to marry ; to such the Apostolic exhortation was addressed, ' It is better to marry than burn.' " On the subject of the remission of sins, Basilides 2 maintained that only involuntary sins, and sins done in ignorance, were remitted. 3 According to Clement, Basilides flourished in the reigns of Adrian and Antoninus Pius. His followers pretended that he had received his doctrine from Glaucias, the interpreter of Peter. They appealed also to the authority of Matthias the Apostle. 4 The followers of Basilides celebrated the anniversary of our Lord's baptism, having passed the preceding night in read- ing the Scriptures. They supposed Him to have been baptized 1 S. L. 3. dviii. 4. Basilides is here explaining Matt. xix. 12. On this subject Clement quotes a passage from Isidorus, in which he appears to pronounce a man in a state of imperfection who is under the necessity of praying that he may not fall into incontinence ; and recommends such a man to marry. He says that some acts which are natural to man are not necessary, and instances the use of marriage. The passage is taken from a Treatise on Morals. DIX. 21. See Neander, p. 60. " S. L. 4. dcxxxiv. i. See Neander, p. 52. 3 S. L. 7. dcccxcviii. 10. dcd. 8. dccclxxxii. I. In the account of Agrippa Castor given by Jerome in his Catalogue of Ecclesiastical Writers, it is said that Basilides died at Alexandria in the reign of Adrian ; but doubts are entertained respecting the correctness of the reading. See Beausobre, Tom. i. p. 39, Note 8. Neander inclines to the opinion of Epiphanius that Basilides was by birth a Syrian, p. 31. By the inter- preter (ipftr,vivs) of Peter, he understands the Expositor of the Esoteric doctrine of Peter, p. 65. 4 S. L. i. ccccvni. i. See Beausobre, T. ii. p. 29. Neander, p. 49, who supposes that Basilides only followed the custom of the Syrian churches. See also p. Si. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 59 in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, on the fifteenth day of the month Tubi, i.e. the ninth or tenth of January. 1 In the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, it is stated that " the followers of Basilides believed the dove which descended on Jesus at His baptism to be not the Holy Spirit, but the minister" This statement appears to have suggested to Beausobre an explanation of a very obscure passage in the 2 second book of the Stromata, where Clement says, " that the followers of Basilides, in commenting on the text of Scripture, ' The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom,' arrived at the following extraordinary conclusion That the Ruler of the world, hear- ing the words of the ministering spirit, was astonished both at the sound and at the sight, the announcement of the Gospel being wholly unexpected by him that his astonishment was called fear, being the beginning or principle of the wisdom which distinguishes the different kinds^ and separates, and perfects, and restores ; for He Who is over "all sends Him forth, having separated not the world only, but also the election." Beau- sobre supposes Basilides to have maintained that the Prince or Demiurge, who was previously ignorant of the Gospel dispen- sation, hearing the words spoken of Jesus by the ministering spirit at His baptism, was astonished. That this astonishment was to him the beginning of a knowledge of the mystery of redemption the beginning of that wisdom which enabled him to distinguish between the world which he had created and the heavenly world of the Supreme God ; in other words, 1 xvi. Neander, p. 46, compares P. L. 3. c. I. CCLI. 25. */ TOV /t\v Q-ou titoixovo;, fi/uuv $i va.tia.'yuyo; (Clement is speaking of the Xoyo;), and S. L. 5- DCLXVII. 2. iX-r/^ovraj rt xui fiXivrovTa.; /a TJJJ TUV CCCCxlviii. 3. \vTKv6u, 01 tt.fjt.^1 TOV BcttrtXiibriv, TOUTO i Ov adiv "Ap^ovTK, Ifctxovtr&VTU, TWV tpdffiv TOV ^iKxa TU <rt Kxov<r/jt.ot,Ti xoc,} TM 6io,fJi.ot,T^ rta- not, rjy ixfXn^iv a.v<roU) (fiofiov xXn^von, up%yiv ytvofttvov ffoQicc.; rt (see CCCCXLIX. l6. ) */ oiaxpinxtis, xoil rtXtanxri;, xui nxws' av ya,f ftovov TOV xoffftov, aXXa KO.} <r'/jv IxXoyyv ^toixotva.;, o \<xi vratffi trpoTripvti. See the Histoire du Manicheisme, Tom. ii. c. 3. Does it not appear from this passage that Basilides commented on the books of the Old Testament? See L. 6. DCCLXVII. 13. Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. xxvin. One consequence flowing from it is, that there could be no election, and so salvation, before the baptism of Christ. See L. 5. DCXLV. 21. 160 Some Account of the between the world and the election. l Beausobre's supposi- tion derives support from Clement's comment ; who says that Basilides, when he broached this opinion, was not aware that he was making the greatest, and by him much-celebrated God, liable to passions, by ascribing to Him astonishment, which astonishment implied previous ignorance, inasmuch as ignor- ance precedes astonishment. If, then, astonishment is fear, and the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, then ignorance goes nigh to be the antecedent cause of the wisdom (of God ; rov Oeov seems to be repeated from the preceding line), and of the whole formation of the universe, and of the restitution of the election itself. Are we, then, to consider ignorance as a good or an evil? If as a good, why should it be put an end to by astonishment? In that case, the minister, and the announce- ment of the Gospel, and the baptism, are superfluous. If as an evil, how happens it that evil is the cause of the greatest good ? For unless ignorance had first existed, neither would the minister have descended; nor would astonishment have seized the Ruler of the world, as they say; nor would he have received from fear the beginning of wisdom to enable him to distinguish between the election and the things of the world. 2 Some of the followers of Basilides appear to have per- verted his doctrine, and to have affirmed, that as they were born to salvation, they must necessarily be saved, however vicious their lives. But Clement, far from charging Basilides himself with impurity of living, expressly acquits him of sanctioning any immoral practices. Clement 3 quotes a passage from the first book of the Commentaries of Isidorus, on the Prophet Parchor, in which Isidorus charges the philosophers generally, and Aristotle in particular, with stealing from the Prophetic Writings; but 1 See Neander, p. 47. Beausobre quotes a passage from Tatian in support of his explanation ; but he appears to me to put interpretations on some of the expressions which the words will not bear. 2 S. L. 3. dx. 21. 1 L. 6. dcclxvii. 14. See Jerome's account of Agrippa Castor, where mention is made of the prophets, Barcabas and Marcob. BetpKufrpas **< Maflety. Euseb. L. 4. c. 7. See Neander, p. 64. See Beausobre, Tom. i. p. 327. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 6 i whether he refers to the prophets of the Old Testament is uncertain, as he names only the prophecy of Cham. We will now proceed to Marcion, * who, according to Clement, was contemporary with Valentinus and Basilides, but old when they were young. He was a native of Pontus. Marcion held the doctrine of two gods, the Supreme God and the Demiurge. To the latter he gave the title of 2 Just, and to the former that of 3 Good. In like manner he called the law 4 just, supposing it to have been given by the Demi- urge, in contradistinction from the Gospel, which he called good. He supposed 5 also that the Demiurge or Creator con- ferred upon those who believed in Him a peculiar salvation ; such as could be conferred before the Advent of the Lord. He affirmed 6 Matter, and consequently the procreation of children, to be evil. This latter opinion, according to Clement, he borrowed from Plato and the Pythagoreans ; from whom, 1 S. L. 8. dcccxcviii. 25. The reading of the text is us eruv.yiviro. But Vossius conjectured the true reading to be, &>? is viunpos. See Cave Hist. Lit. p. 34. Pearson Vindic. Ignat. P. 2. C. 7. 2 XX' ol ftiv a.'ffo Mctpxtuvos tfivffiv xaxviv (f. tyuffu xxxvv, i.e. <rjv yivtfftv) 'ix, Tt t/X'/j? xKxrit, xctt \x ^IXK'IOV y'voftivr/v Ay/tioupyou. S. L. 3* DXV. I'J . Compare DXVI. II. ol <ptXoffoif>oi %l uv lpvfiff@vp.iv, fa,f uv Triv yivtffiv xa.xr,v iiveti uffifiu; lx{AU.0ov<ri$ ol yfo Motpxiuvo;, xot.0a.'x-ip I^IM Soyftiz-Ti tppuuTrovrett, ol (^uffit xocxnv fiouXovrai rawTJjv sJvos/, aXXa <r r /i "^u^'/i -rri TO ot,\y\$ls otoibovffr,. P. L. i. c. 8. cxxxv. 8. 3 ffrttvbovrts wpog TOV xixXrixoru. a-yce-Sav, aXX* ov rov (f. aXXav) a; <f>Xff}, Qiov \v cixxw rpofu. Dxv. 22. Beausobre, torn. ii. p. 92, translates zov lv XX TP'OVCU, Dieu dans ^^n autre sens et d'um autre warnere, and infers from the words that Marcion did not assert the Demiurge to be God in the strict sense of the term. See Neander, p. 287, who also inter- prets the words as if used with reference to the Demiurge. S. L. 6. DCCCII. 17. 4 r't -To'ivuv rov No^av fiouXavrett (o't ce.'Tfo Mctpxitvvo;} ; xctxov fttv ouv, ov Qytrouffi' ^txcuov Be, "StotffrtXXovrss TO a,ya,6ov rov ^ixatiov. S. L. 2. CCCCXLIX. 37. lav yex,p n; roXftwcru.; Xtyy, Mctpxiuvi ivroftivof, rov Av/ttovpyov tr&i^nv TOV il? diiTov <7fiffTiiio'a,VTK) xxi TTpo T'/js TOV Kupiou "ffoipoiifftot j, IxXoytj; xu,} %rj KOI fful^Qf/Avr,; TVV fiietv KVTOV fuT'/ipiav. S. L. 5. DCXLV. 24. See Neander, p. 291. 6 S. L. 3. DXV. iS. DXVI. II. DXIX. 5, 22. DXX. 14. L. 4. DLXXXIV. ii. Tertullian states that Marcion denied the resurrection of the body. Clement mentions heretics who affirmed that they had already received the resurrection. S. L. 3. DXXXIII. 9. Compare Tertullian de Res. Carnis, c. 19. F 162 Some Accoimt of the however, he differed in this respect that he affirmed the pro- creation of children to be evil in its nature ; they said that it was evil with reference to the soul, which being divine was brought down into the world, as into a place of punishment ; for according to them it was necessary to purify souls once introduced into the body. Believing the works of the Demiurge to be evil, the Marcionites thought that they were bound to set themselves 1 in opposition to him, and to abstain from the use of worldly things. They abstained too from marriage, because they were unwilling to people a world of which the Demiurge was the maker. In support of their opinions they appear to have quoted our Saviour's words, " Leave the dead to bury their dead, but follow thou me:" understanding by the dead the things of this world. Clement seems to allude to the Marcion- ites, 2 when he condemns certain heretics, who courted martyr- dom through hatred of the Demiurge. They also spoke evil of the body. Clement 3 states, incidentally, that the belief in the evil nature of generation caused the Marcionites to intro- duce their notion of the a-tapa i/or^xm/, the body animated by the soul ; but he enters into no explanation of the expression. Valentin us was 4 contemporary with Basilides, and was said to have been a hearer of Theudas, a disciple of St. Paul. Besides the incidental notices of his opinions contained in the 1 avriraffffofttvot ru veoivry rev ffQuv. S. L. 3. DXV. 21. DXX. IQ. DXXII. 5- L. 4- DXCIII. 33* ' >ff-J/v $ a " yfopviiuv uvrtKpvs rov ydf&ov Xiyovfi, x.ctt v-ro TOU &.ta.$o)*ov return* vra,pa%ftoff?u,i. L. 3. DXXXIII. 22. Compare DXLVIII. 4. In L. 3. DXX vi. 29, Clement mentions certain heretics, called Antitacta*, who said, "the God of the Universe is our Father by nature, and what- ever He made is good ; but some one of those who were made by Him sowed tares, thereby generating the nature of evil, in which he has involved us all, setting us in opposition to the Father. Wherefore we, vindicating the Father, are opposed to the will of this second power ; and as he forbade us to commit adultery we, in order to make his command- ment void, commit adultery." These Antitactae were not Marcionites. See S. L. 4. DXXXIX. 42. DXLV. 4. 2 S. L. 4. dlxxi. 20. 8 S. L. 3. dlviii. 19. See the Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. ii. p. 1 14, and my account of Tertullian. 4 S. L. 7. dcccxcviii. 12. He dwelt principally at Alexandria, but travelled to Rome, where he was expelled from the communion of the Church. See Neander, pp, 92, 203. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. \ 63 works of Clement, we possess extracts from the writings of Theodotus, one of his followers. But as they do not contain a systematic account of the Valentinian doctrine, it is necessary to premise a few remarks on the number and generation of the Valentinus 2 considered, as the fountain of all existence, a perfect, eternal Being, dwelling in height invisible and ineffable, to whom he gave the titles of Bv$os, 'Ayrjporos, Upoapxr], n/ooTrartop. With this Being dwelt His thought or idea, ei/voia, to which were given also the titles 3 apprjrov, o-tyx), Xtt/ots. At first He was altogether unknown, perfecting all things with His own thought in silence. Hence 4 o-iyi) is called the mother of all things emitted by Bu#o? ; and it is said of her, that she was silent as to that which she could not declare respecting the ineffable (TO app-rjrov), and pronounced that, which she could comprehend, incomprehensible. Bv#os and 'Evyota, or iSiyr), were the first pair of ^ons. 5 The Father, being unknown, wished to be known, and, in consequence, 1 See Beausobre, lorn. i. p. 570. Neander, p. 95. Clement thus explains the word etluv. o y ovv oiluv TOV %povou TO (/.iXXoV) xat TO iviffTOS) oiUTap Jj KOU TO -rufM^nKos, iUUtfittt ffuviffT'/)ffi. S. L. I. CCCXLIX. 7- We find utSvet uKivn-Tiv. L. 5. DCLXVII. 26. In L. 6. DCCCXIII. 18, Clement asks, fug ' av Iv Xp'ovu yivoiTo xTiffi;, trvyyivopivov To7; ouiri aau TOV %povov. See also DCCCXV. 21. 2 Neander, p. 94. Beausobre, torn. i. pp. 550, 578. 3 We find the epithet a,ppYi<ro; applied to God by Clement. S. L. 5. DCLXXXV. 17. KffxvpdriffTos and aveavoftoiffTo;. DCXCV. 21 ; ayveafro;. ncxcvi. 4. In P. L. i. c. 7. cxxxn. 11, God the Lord is said to have been without name (avwvfl^a<rT,-), because He was not yet made-man. We find also, S. L. 6. DCCLVI. 37. ^ KUftetxw Quvri, Xoyo; a.<r%yi{ta,riff<ros. It was the opinion of the Orthodox, as well as of the heretics, that the Father never immediately revealed Himself to man. The Orthodox said that He revealed Himself through the Word. The heretics invented their Prolations (r^jSaX*j x ) as the medium of Revelation. 4 Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. xxix. In xxiii. it is said that the angels, instructed by the Son, contemplate as much of the Father as is comprehensible ; the rest of the Father is unknown. See Neander, p. 98. 5 Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriplis. vii. See Neander, p. 98. Beausobre says, torn. ii. p. 157, that the Enthymesis of the Valentinians is the rational soul, which knows not truths of itself, but possesses the capacity of knowing them by reasoning ; corresponding to the Xoyixov of Plato. But he is there speaking of the imperfect /Eon, produced by 2o0/, with- out the concurrence of Theletus or Fhiletus. See Neander, p. 107. 1 6 4 Some Account of th c through the contemplation of Himself (6\a rrjs eavrov), emitted the Only -Begotten. He, proceeding from knowledge that is, the contemplation of the Father became knowledge, that is, the Son ; for the Father is known through the Son. The spirit of love is mixed with the spirit of know- ledge, as the Father with the Son, and the contemplation with the truth. The only- begotten Son, Who remained in the bosom of the Father, revealed the contemplation through knowledge to the l ^Eons. Movoyei/7/? or Novs, and 'AX^cia, were the second pair of ./Eons. Ao'yo? and Zwry, the third. v Av0pa>7ros and 'EK/cX^o-ca, the fourth. These eight con- stituted the oySoa?. From Aoyos and Zwr/ proceeded ten other /Eons ; from v Ai/0po>7ros and 'E/c/cXT/o-ta twelve, of which the last pair were 3>iX?7Tos or eXr/ros, and So^i'a. The thirty yons constituted the pleroma. 2 We have seen that the Movoyev^? was the same as Nous. The Valentinians called Him also 'A/>x>/, or principle, with reference to the first verse of St. John's Gospel. 3 The Word, Who was in the principle (/ T$ dpx5) the Word in the Only- Begotten, in the intelligence, and the truth (V rw vJ> KU.I rfj 1 In giving names to their .-Eons, the Valentinians seem to have been guided by the appellations which Christ gave to Himself. Thus He called Himself the Truth and the Life, and they coupled "Sovs and 'AX*'ISJ, Aoyos and Zart, o y'tyoviv Iv aury ru A-o-yu, H^eaYi v ri ffit^vyo?. VI. The female yEons were, according to Beausobre, torn. i. pp. 551, 582, the attributes of the male. See Neander, p. 95. In S. L. 5. DCCXXIV. 35, Clement says, that the word /u.vrpo<rurup, which occurs in the Orphic Verses, suggested to the Valentinians their Ify<j/3oX}, and the notion of coupling an /Eon with God. See Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLVI. I. Neander, p. 209, Note 8. Le Nourry translates N?j, Spiritus. Beausobre, 1'Entende- ment, ou 1'Esprit pur, torn. i. p. 551. Neander, der Geist, p. 100. 3 On the meanings of the word -r*.ipcapa. t see Neander, p. 208, Note 7. 3 vi. Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. ii. p. 291. In John i. 18, the Valentinians read o ftovo'ysvyi; Sio; o ui ils rlv xox-rov TOSJ furpo;. So also Clement, S. L. 5. DCXLV. 2. See Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. p. 552. Compare Irenseus, L. I. c. I. s. 18. Clement, if he is indeed the Epitomist, gives the following as his own exposition. WE say, that the Word in identity (TOV lv ravrorrirt Xoyov) is God in God, Who is said to be in the bosom of the Father, inseparable, indivisible, one God. All things, whether spiritual, or intelligible, or sensible, were made through Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 165 6a, the second pair of yEons), means Christ, the Word and life (the third pair of ^Eons), whence St. John rightly calls Him God, inasmuch as He was in God the intelligence. That which was in the Word was life (the female ^Eon 17 1 In Bv0os all was one and undeveloped ; 2 He contained within Himself the whole world of JEons, the TrXrjpw/xa, to which He bore the same relation that each single ^Eon did to his female. On this account, Clement :! charges the Valen- tinians with teaching that God suffered, because the pleroma suffered with the suffering ^Eon. We see, too, from the passage just quoted, that the female ^Eon was sometimes included, when the male only was named. As the Father was made known only through His only-begotten, or the Son, the latter was said to reveal or give form to all life ; and in this respect the name Father was given to the Monogenes. He stood in the relation of Son to God, in the pleroma ; of Father, to all created existences. Clement himself appears to have entertained a similar notion ; for he 4 says, that as the Son beholds the goodness of the Father, so God works, being called Saviour; the Beginning or Principle of the uni- verse; the first image of the invisible God before the ages, which gave form to all that was created after it. He was Him, by the proximate operation of the Word in identity. He is the Saviour who revealed the bosom of the Father. The Hrst-begotten of all creation was produced from the thought of the Divine mind (KVO rtis ivvoiu; rns Iv ry ^v^y). The only-begotten in identity, through whose insepar- able power the Saviour acts, is the light of the Church, which was before in darkness and ignorance, vni. It is difficult, however, to distinguish the opinions of the Epitomist from those of Theodotus in this passage. Neander says that &v6os t vovs, ~k'oyos, composed the Valentinian Trinity, p. 101. ^ y\ fftyri, <potff}v ) [/.yiTYip ovffK -yv<r&;v TUV rtpofcXridivrMV Lyra $u.ffoi>?. XXIX. Compare S. L. $. DCXCV. 3- *& ^ aoparov xa.} cippnrov xoXvov ovoftcicrots &<ov, fia.0i>v ezurov x'xXwxairiv Ivnvfev riv*;, &>; civ v-.piS.iXvty'oru. xa.} iyxo%.<Vt/roiftivov TO. ^ravra, uviquxrov <r xa.} a.'Tipa.vrov. 2 Iv x'k.'npeapa.rt ovv lvorr,ro; outr/i;, 'ixctffro; rav CCIUVMV 'tiiov 'ix, il K^fywy-u.) T-/IV ffu^uyiav. xxxii. Neander, p. 97. 3 xxx. xxxi. 4 b'vofta, ^ -'ip'/irai Siov' I*-/, &; (t^i-ffii rov Ilxrpo: rr t v u,yu.$'oTYira, o via?, Ivtpyi7 o 0so? 2w7"/!o x-xX7jttv?, ft TUV o/*.uv ctpfcyi, rift; a,^rnxovtffTtx.i /u.\v Ix TOV Siov rov aopdrou, vrp&>ri>i xai vpo aluvcav* nTuvrcaxiv "&1 ra. pif lanirtiv olweivra, j>ivop,<vct. S. L. 5. DCLXIX. II. 1 66 Some Account of the called ] light inaccessible ; the 2 person or countenance of the Father ; the 3 principle or beginning of the contemplation of the Father ; the 4 heavenly bread, and spiritual nourishment, giving life through eating and knowledge ; 5 the light of men, that is, of the Church, with reference to the last pair of ^Eons in the Ogdoas, "Ai/tfpwTros and 'EKKA^o-ia ; the Q Invisible Name. We have seen that in section viii., where the Epitomist appears to be speaking his own opinions, he calls the Word in identity, the Saviour ; but in section xix. we find the following comment on the words, "The Word was made flesh": "The Word was made flesh, not only when He appeared as man on earth, but when, in the beginning, the Word in identity became man (that is, the Son) in outline or figure (Kara Treptypa^r/i/, so KCtl O K0.6' eKttOTOV TTeplWplOTai KCU TTeptyeypaTTTai, X., and Ct fJL-i] o-xrj/Acurtv ty Trepiycypa/A/xeVa, xi.), not in essence ; and again He became flesh when He wrought through the 7 prophets. The Son of the Word in identity is called the Saviour ; for * in the 1 xu,}, o ftlv <p&>? u.Tp'offiTov 'ipyrai, u; povoy-vr,;, xa.} vrpuroroxo:. X. d-rpoffirov q>u: xa.] $uvocp,is S-ov. XII. - ffOffw-Tfov $i rfctrpos o uiog V ov yvupi^iron o <ra.r^p. X. See XII. XXIII. Compare P. L. i. c. 7. cxxxn. 15. S. L. 5. ix LXV. 30. $<r vpo*u*o* ju.lv TJJJ %'ixwft'ivr,; uX^iias o via; TOV Siov. S. L. 6. DCCCI. 28. L. 7. DCCCLXVI. 26. In 2 Cor. iv. 6, we find <rpo; QuTHrpov TTJJ yvuffiws rr,s Vofys <rou &iov iv vrpotrcuvw Iriffov Xptffrov. a o %\ vlo; a.fx} n T ^ Tctrpixw; vTtip^ii 0'ia,;. XII. 4 ovro; lir-nv oipro; l-rovpeivto;. xiii., evidently with reference to John vi., but I doubt whether this applies to the Monogenes of the pleroma. 5 xiii. Neander, p. 103. 6 TO s KOfKTOv ovafita, o-rtp Ivriv o via; o povoyivr,!. XXVI. Bufo;, or the Father, was avuvoparros, the Son was the name, but invisible. Compare xxxi., where it is said that the void of knowledge (xivuju.ce. yvu<r<u;} occasioned by the error of 2a<p/, is the shadow of the name, that is, of the Son, the form of the ./Eons : ofip Iff-ri trxtu. rov OVOJU.CC.TOS, o-rtp lo-riv via;, popQv ruv xluvuv. Of the ^Eons also it is said that they are a name which cannot be named (ovofta. Kvuvo/u.affTov but Neander, p. 99, appears to have thought that oW/ta rou dvuvoftdio-rou was the right reading), a form, and knowledge. See Neander, p. 106. 7 The Valentinians held that the Spirit, which was imparted specially to each of the prophets to assist him in his ministry, was poured forth generally on all the members of the Church ; whence it came to pass that signs of the Spirit healing of diseases and prophecy were accomplished in the Church. They knew not, the Epitomist adds, that the Paraclete, Who now works immediately in the Church, is of the same essence and power as He Who worked under the Old Testament, xxiv. Neander, p. 131. Writing's of Clement of Alexandria. 1 6 7 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God : that which was born in Him is life ; ' and the Lord is life. Again, when St. Paul tells us * to put on the T new man, created after God,' he means that we should believe on Him, Who was created by God after (KO.TO.) God, the Word in God. The expression, created after God, refers to the perfection which man will finally attain. The Word of the Word in identity is the 2 image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature, born without passion, the original author of all created essences ; for in Him the Father made all things. He is said to have taken the form of a servant, not merely because He took flesh at His Advent, but because He took the essence of the subject or inferior (rov vTro/cet^eVov). This essence is a servant (8ovX>;), because it is passive (iro^r^), and subject to the efficient and dominant Cause. Here we find mention of a Word in identity, Who was in the pleroma ; of a Son (TCKVOV) of this Word in identity, Who was called the Saviour ; Who was the image of the invisible God, the first-born of every creature ; Who took flesh and was the perfect 8 Man, in Whose image Adam was formed. Some of the early fathers supposed that Adam is said to have been made in the image of God, because he was made in that form which the Saviour after- wards assumed. 4 To the first -created Word of God, the Word of the Word in identity, was applied the third verse of Ps. ex. (in the Septuagint, cix. 3), -n-po c Eooor<opov eyci/n/o-a ere." The Epitomist gives no detailed account of the passion or suffering of So^i'a, the last ^Eon, in the pleroma. He 5 says incidentally that, " wishing to attain to that which was above knowledge, she fell into ignorance and loss of form (d//,op<ia), and occasioned a void or vacuity of knowledge. She would have been dissolved and lost out of the pleroma, had she not been preserved by "Opos, 6 who separates the created world from the pleroma." 1 With reference to Eph. iv. 24, iv'Suo-ao-fat rov xaivov avfyu-rov, rov Kara. &iov xrif^'tvrot. ~ of Iffriv tixuv rov Stov rov ce.ofa.rov, wpuroroxos ffu.ffr,$ xr'tffiu;. Col. i. 15. 3 See Neander, p. 102. With respect to the different persons to whom the name Saviour is applied, see p. 113. 4 xx. xxxi. xivuftK yvuffiu;, opposed to vrXypufAO,. Thus \avrov xtvuffot,;, rov- riff-Tiv lx.ro; rov opov yivopivo;. xxxv. See Neander, p. 106. 6 xlii. See Neander, p. no. 1 68 Some Account of the 1 Christ, having left 2o<ia, who emitted Him, entered into the pleroma, to entreat assistance for the Wisdom left without. With the good pleasure of the .^Eons (e evSo/a'as ran/ aum/cov), Jesus was sent forth as the Paraclete to the lost yon ; hence Jesus was called the Paraclete : He had with Him the fulness of the ./Eons, as He proceeded from the whole (d TOV oAov). It was 2 before said, that the Word in the principle or only- begotten was Christ, the word and life ; and, according to Irenaeus, Christ was emitted by Novs, or the only-begotten. But the Christ of Whom Theodotus is now speaking was 3 emitted from the thought (e cWotas) of So</ua, and was called the image of the pleroma. When He left His mother and ascended into the pleroma, He was detained there by all its members, and, consequently, by the Paraclete. 4 He received the adoption of a Son, being added by election to the pleroma; and, becoming the first-born of all that is here below, He is, as it were, our head and root; the Church being the fruit of Christ, Who, fleeing from that which was uncongenial to Him, was gathered into the pleroma, having been emitted from the thought of His mother. 5 After the mother had been deserted by Christ, Whom she 1 xxiii. o Kirr t ffa{t<vo; rou; aiuva.; Xpiffros. XLI. TheodotllS Compares St. Paul to the Paraclete. As the Paraclete was sent forth after the passion of the lost ^Eon, St. Paul was sent forth to preach the resurrection after the passion of the Lord. a vi. Neander, pp. 114, 117, 121, says that Nay? was the general repre- sentative of the highest agent in each scale of being. He refers to a passage 111 Section vii., o %l Ivrctu&a. o$Q-};, tux sn povoyiw;, XX* u; fAovoyivris, ypos rov '\-jfoffroKou fpoffoi'yopiuircu, |v us povoytvov; (John i. 14) on il; xeti o avTog &Jv, Iv u\v TV xriffu WpuTOToxo; iffTiv Irtffoug, iv dt vrA'/ipuftctTi f^ovoyiv/,;' SE KUTOS iffTI, TOIOVTOS UV 'iKO-ffTU TOWM, 010$ Kl^UfTiffSaH OVVXTU.!, XOll Olio'-. tfQ-Tl TOV ftiivavro; o xra/3a? fA'pifyreti. Compare iv. and xxxiii., quoted in Note 3. Neander admits, however, that there is a confusion of names and persons in the Valentinian systems. 3 xxxii. 4 xxxiii. As Christ was emitted by 2^/, He was an image, not a member, of the pleroma. oVa olv Ix, <rv%wyiets vrpo't.pxi'ra.t ^rX^^ara Itrrtv' offo. $1 afo tvo;, itxovi;, xxxii. Compare xxxvi. The same remark is quoted by Clement ; S. L. 4. DCIII. 33. The Epitomist, if I interpret him rightly, calls this application of the title first-born Saviour to the Christ, emitted by 2^/a, a perversion of the true doctrine, tyrtv civ o "k'nyns oi/ro; ffu.pa.x.ovfffJ.a. rov f /!u,'<ripou, Ix YOU uvroxtiftivou wpuroroxov Xtyuv rov ffuTy.pa,. Compare XIX. XX xex,} <r>jv ovfftxv Ix TOtJ xxxix. 5 Writings of Clement of Alexandria. \ 69 emitted in perfect integrity (6AoKA7//ooi/), she emitted nothing perfect ; but x produced the Ruler of the dispensation in the image of Him Who had left her, and Who was Himself the type of the Father of all things ; but, as she produced him because she longed for the perfect Christ, he was inferior ; and when she saw his inferiority (rr/v aTroro/uW avrov), she was seized with aversion for him. 2 Jesus, Who descended, was the good pleasure (evSo/aa) of the whole ; for in Him was all the pleroma bodily ; all the seeds, therefore, suffered in His suffering. The whole was disciplined, and sympathized in the passion of the twelfth y-Eon, 2o<ta. 3 Jesus, our light, as the Apostle says, having emptied Himself, that is, having come without the boundary (rov opov), as He was 4 an angel or messenger, brought with Him from the pleroma the angels of the excellent seed. 5 2o(ia, when she saw Him and His likeness to the light which had left her, ran towards Him rejoicing, and worshipped Him ; and when she saw the male angels who had come forth with Him, she was ashamed, and put on a veil. Hence the Apostle orders women to bear power on their heads, on account of the angels (i Cor. xi. 10). 6 The Saviour then imparted form to all things, thereby con- demning and healing the passions of 3o<ta ; revealing from the self-existing Father what was in the pleroma, and rendering her free from passion. Thus, through the appearance of the 1 xxxiii. There seems here to be a play upon the word a-rara^/a, which may mean either the defective state of the luler of the dispensation ; or his severity, with reference to the character of the ruler of the dispensa- tion. Kvo-Top'iu, means severity. S. L. 2. ccccxciv. 5. 2 xxxi. on lv O.VTU xoe.roix.il vrciv ro -rXypaftoc, rws Si'orrtro? ffuftctrixus. Col. ii. 9. See also Col. i. 19. Neander, pp. 113, 116. 3 XXXV. tfpos TO tyas, o vrpurov rtfonyotyw, rovriffri rov 'iqffovv. XLI. 4 Theodotus applied to Jesus the title of the angel of counsel (Isa. ix. 6). ffvvoc.iviffK.vro? o\ xctt rov fXripa>f/,a.rof t IxyrifAvn'roti o <r?is fiouXris ciyyiXo;, xxi ymru xupaXw ruv 'dx&iv pira, rov fa.ripa,. XLin. The Valentinian definition of an angel was a word having the announcement (a^rayysX/av) of the Sdf-existent (rov ovros). xxv. Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. p 571. 5 xhv. 6 xlv. As the Only-Begotten gave form to all within the pleroma, so the Saviour gave form to all without it. Hence the expression popfa ruv applied to the Son, in xxxi. See Neander, p. 120. 170 Some Account of the Saviour, 2o<ia obtained existence (she was before in a state of dissolution), and the things without the boundary were created (John i. 3) by introducing the passions into the essence of what Theodotus calls the second disposition (TI}S oWe'pas SiatfeWos). 1 The passions, being incorporeal, could not collec- tively form an essence ; but they were transferred into matter, and then into bodies and concrete substances ( 2 o-vy/cpi/xara). Each body also received its natural adaptation. 3 The universal Saviour thus became the first Demiurge. The second, 2o<ia, built a house for herself, and supported it on 4 seven columns. She first emitted God, the image of the Father, through Whom she made the heaven and earth, that is, the things on the right and on the left. He, as the image of the Father, becomes a Father, and 5 emits first the animal Christ (TOV i/o^t/coi/ X/orr6i/), the image of the Son ; then the archangels, the images of the vEons; then the angels, the images of the angels, of an animal and lucid essence, of which the prophetic word speaks, when it says that " the Spirit of God was borne upon the face of the waters ; " meaning, that 1 xlvi. See Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. ii. p. 162. 2 These concrete substances were formed out of earth, water, and air. XLYIII. Beausobre translates <rvyxpi/u.a.TK KO.} ffupurfz, les corps niixtes et vivans. 3 xlvii. The Demiurge is called the image of the Only-Begotten, vn. Neander, pp. 120, 121, 217, where he quotes S. L. 4. DCIII. 24. 4 Prov. ix. i. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the early Fathers applied the name 2o<p/a to the second person in the Trinity. Clement has l-ri rr,s <ro<pia,$ rr t g Trparoxriffrov <r &ieu. S. L. 5. DCXCIX. 23. a These various relations appear to correspond to the Movoyivvs Now?, the Christ (kayos xi Z&>j), the vpuroxTKrroi, the archangels and angels in the pleroma. vi. x. Histoire du Manche'isme, torn. ii. p. 161. The V?U-TO- xTtffroi were seven in number (with reference to the seven yEons, who, to- gether with the Father, composed the first Ogdoas, as 2<p/, with the seven columns, composed the second. See LXII. The number seven was perhaps derived from Tobit xii. 15. See S. L. 5. DCLXVII. 5, and L. 6. DCXIII. 23, i-TTOc, pit ilffiv oi rviv (Aiyiffrw ^vvetftiv 'i^ovrtf fparo'yovoi a.yy'i'kwv ^vr=f), and, though numerically distinct, with reference to the circumscription of form, they were one and equal with reference to the similarity of their functions. As they received perfection at their first creation from God, through the Son, they were incapable of further advancement. X. Compare XL In S. L. 5- DCLXVII. 3, we find S/a TY,S TUV vpuraxriffruv }<**>/;, which Potter interprets, through the ministry of the Apostles. Theodotus defines angels intellectual fire and intellectual spirits. Intellectual fire, when thoroughly purified, is intellectual light. The Son is light inaccessible, xn. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 7 1 in the union of two essences the pure would be borne on the top, the heavy and material would sink to the bottom. 1 The epithet invisible implied the absence of body in the beginning. 2 When the Demiurge had separated the pure from the heavy parts, through his insight into the nature of each, he formed light, that is, he made things manifest, 3 by applying to them light and form. This was prior to the creation of the light of the sun and heaven. He employed, in the work of creation, the passions from which 3o</>i'a had been delivered. From her grief he formed the 4 spiritual things of wickedness, against which we have to contend ; from her fear, the beasts ; from her astonishment and perplexity, the elements of the world. Fire, according to Theodotus, is suspended and dis- persed in the other three elements, and has not an appointed place like them. 5 Love of activity was the characteristic of the Demiurge ; he fancied that he worked by his own power, while he in fact unconsciously obeyed the impulse of 6 Taking dust from the earth, a portion not of dry, but of various matter, he formed a material, irrational soul, of the same essence as that of beasts. This is the man 7 after the 1 The allusion here is to the Septuagint Version of Gen. ii. I. ^ 3s yv %v aopuro;. Histoire du Manicheisme, p. 161. 2 xlviii. See Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. ii. pp. I59j 163. Neander, pp. 122, 142. 3 So in xli. ftvvuav wipi rov (f>MTos rov Qavivro; xxi fAp(f>&i<fee,vros, with reference to John i. 9. 4 -z-vivftaTtxa, rris vov/ipia,;. Eph. vi. 12. Neander seems to consider this expression as equivalent to ra, -^i>%txci, p. 123. 5 xlix. Neander, p. 122. The benediction of the Sabbath, which was inconsistent with the activity of the Demiurge, proved that he was an in- voluntary agent. Rom. viii. 20 is quoted in confirmation of his compulsory agency, oc,r< yoc.p ^(jutvp'yti ) it&favg xivov/^ivos V-TTO rns 2o(f>ias t o'Uvett uvToxiv/iros Zivcu, opoiu; xctt at itlfptrtfM. LIII. 6 L. Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. ii. p. 159. The Demiurge is said to have produced Adam at the conclusion of the creation, having previously had him in his thought. XLI. 7 It is said afterwards that three natures sprang from Adam : the irrational (a %ot'xes, XO.T iixovu.} represented by Cain ; the rational and righteous (o ^v%txos, KO.&" uci*r/y) by Abel ; the spiritual (a' rttttputrixif, x<*r' /Jy) by Seth. LIV. Neander, p. 128. To this infusion of the spiritual seed through the ministry of angels, the Valentinians applied the difficult passage. Gal. iii. 19. LIII. 172 Some Account of the image (KCIT' eiKoVa). The man after the likeness (*a0' 6/xotWtv) is he whom he breathed into the former, and into whom he inserted something of the same essence as his own through the angels. Inasmuch as he is invisible and incorporeal, he called his essence l the breath of life. This, when it had received a form, became a living soul. 2 Thus there is a man in man, an animal in an earthly, not as a part in a part, but as a whole co-existing with a whole by the ineffable power of God. 3 Hence he was created in Paradise, the fourth heaven, whither the earthly flesh does not ascend. He was as a material flesh to the Divine soul. The words, 4 " This now is bone of my bone," alludes to the Divine soul concealed in the flesh ; and the words, " Flesh of my flesh," to the material soul, which is the body of the Divine soul. 5 This material soul is called also TO crw/xa TO 6 The spiritual seed was secretly inserted into the soul of Adam, by 5o</>ia, having been supplied by the male angels. 7 In Adam then were combined three incorporeal parts, the i/^x?) vX.tKj], the ifsvx*} OetOj and the o-Wp/Aa Tn/cv/xaTiKdV. Over these were thrown the coats of skins, with reference to those which our first parents made for themselves after the fall. 8 With respect to the spiritual and animal parts, we are not 1 our ouv atro iftQuffriftetros. LV. 2 li 3 In S. L. 5. DCXCIII. 17, it is said that the Elect Souls are not initiated into the mysteries of the Divine Nature till they pass above the third Heaven. 4 Compare liii., where the bone is said to be the rational and heavenly soul, into which the spiritual seed was inserted, in order that it might not be empty, but full of marrow. Compare also LXII. 5 To this material soul the Valentinians applied the terms adversary (see S. L. 4. DCV. 41), the law warring against the law of the under- standing ; the tares which grow with the good seed ; the seed of the Devil, of the same essence with him, with reference to Matt. v. 25 ; Luke xii. 58 ; Rom. vii. 23 ; Matt. xiii. 25. LI. LIII. Compare n. xiv. In S. L. 3. DLVIII. 19, Clement says that Valentinus introduced this notion of a yu^a. ^v^iKov, because he thought generation evil in its own nature. In LXXXI. we find mention of a fu(*.ot.rixov -ffv^u^a.. 6 liii. S. L. 4. DCIV. 3. 7 LV. See Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. ii. p. 35. 8 Were it otherwise, all would be equal and righteous, and instruction would be in all, whereas the material are many ; the animal not many ; the spiritual few. LVI. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. i 73 the children of Adam ; they are both divine, and are emitted through him, not by him. He is our father only as to the material soul. 1 The spiritual is saved by nature ; the animal, being endowed with free-will, has an aptitude for belief and incorruption, or for unbelief and corruption, according to its own choice j the material is lost by nature. 2 The Christ Who was emitted by Soviet put on the seed from His mother, which is gradually formed through knowledge. When 3 He arrived at the place which 2o<ta occupied after her ejection from the pleroma, he found and put on Jesus Christ, Who was announced by the Law and the Prophets, the image of the Saviour. 4 The animal Christ Whom He put on was invisible. But as He must be seen, be detained, and be conversant in the world, He must have a body the object of sense. 5 A body, therefore, was woven for Him of an invisible, animal essence. 6 He died in consequence of the departure of the Spirit which descended upo'n Him at the river Jordan. The body could not die so long as the life (the Saviour) re- mained in Him. Thus death was overcome by a stratagem ; for after he had possessed himself of the body, the Saviour, 1 Ivi. Compare S. L. 5. DCXLV. 9. Neander, pp. 128, 132. The spiritual seed is called Israel in Scripture, as in Rom. xi. 23. The spiritual seed is saved by receiving a form ; the animal by a transfer from bondage to freedom with reference to Gal. iv. 26. LVII. 2 lix. 2p/ contained within herself the whole spiritual seed, the elect. This the Saviour commended to the Father when he said, "Into thy hands I commend my Spirit." I. :5 Compare xxvi. The place here spoken of is called o TOKO; TVS f^nro- T'/iro;. See Neander, p. 120. A river of fire is said to flow from beneath the seat of 2o$ia into the void space of creation, the place itself being fiery. It has on this account a veil, within which the archangel alone is allowed to pass, as the chief priest alone entered into the Holy of holies ; Jesus fixed Himself there that He might mitigate the fierceness of the fire, and open a passage for the seed through it into the pleroma. xxxvin. 4 Compare xlvii. 5 Compare L. See Neander, p. 135. 6 Ixi. In LVIII. it is said that Jesus Christ, the great combatant, after the reign of death, saved and carried up with Him the elect and called, that is, the spiritual and animal ; receiving the former from His mother, the latter from the dispensation ; and through them those who resemble them. Compare LXXX. Compare also the reason assigned in section v. for Christ's injunction to the Apostles that they should tell no man Who He was. The Spirit which descended upon Jesus at the river Jordan was the Spirit of the thought (rtjs bfo/Mfauwj of the Father, xvi. Neander, p. 138- r 74 Some Account of the withdrawing the ray of His power which had gone forth from Him, destroyed death, and shaking off the passions, raised up the mortal body. Thus the animal parts are raised and saved ; but the spiritual parts through faith obtain a higher salvation, receiving souls as marriage garments. 1 The animal Christ sits on the right hand of the Demiurge until the consummation, in order that they may look on Him Whom they pierced. They pierced that which was visible (TO </>a/o'/Ai/oi/), that is, the flesh of the animal Christ. 2 The soul of Christ, when the body suffered, commended itself into the hands of the Father ; but the spiritual seed in the bone He still retains. 3 The rest (rj di/a7rav<ris) of the spiritual is in the Ogdoas, which is called of the Lord (r) KvptaKr) oVo/xa^ercu, to distinguish it from the Ogdoas of the pleroma) remaining with the mother, and having souls as garments. The other faithful souls remain with the Demiurge ; 4 but they at the consummation shall also ascend into the Ogdoas. Then will follow the marriage supper, which is common to all who are saved. Thus all are placed on an equality, and know each other. 6 The spiritual, then laying aside the souls, and receiving their bridegrooms, the angels, 6 enter into the bride-chamber, within the boundary, together with the mother, who receives the bridegroom. Then becoming intelligent yons they come to 1 Ixii. We find in XXVI. oparcti TO opa-rov TOU 'Itjrov' YI ffoffiict Kett fl lExxXriffien r/v TUV fffip/n,a.Tuv <ruv OtK^npovruv %v \ff-ToA.i<rix,<rov oia, rou ff&pxiou, Compare I. o vrpoifiaXi tra-pxiov T<U Xoyu w fotpiet, ro -7rvivfjt.ai.-Tix.ov ffvipua., rouro ffroXto-ciftivos xetrrixfav o Zwrvp. The Lord appeared as a man, not as an angel, through humility, iv. 2 This appears to be at variance with the quotation from section I, in Note 2, p. 173. a Ixiii. Compare LXXX. and p. 152. 4 In the TOKO; ftto-ortiros. When the mother, together with the son, is received into the pleroma, this place then attains to the power and rank now held by the mother, xxxiv. The excellent seed first goes with the Saviour as far as the boundary, then enters with Him through the door into the pleroma. Hence in Scripture Christ calls Himself the door. xxvi. 5 Ixiv. Compare LXXXVI. Neander, p. 219. d In xxvii. we find a somewhat obscure description of the transfer of the purified soul, first into the spiritual region, then into the presence of God, where it is said to be no longer a bride, but to become a word (/Eon), Writings of Clement of Alexandria. i 75 the sight of the Spirit, to the intellectual and eternal marriage of the Syzygy. x The president of the supper, the sponsor of the wedding, the friend of the bridegroom, standing before the bride - chamber, hearing his voice, rejoices. This is the fulness of his joy and rest. We have seen that So^to, contained within herself the '-'spiritual seed, the elect, and that she inserted the seed secretly into the soul of Adam. This seed was an effluence of the male, and angelic. Thus the soul and the flesh, which had been emitted by Soviet in a state of separation, were fermented together into one. The sleep of Adam was the oblivion of the soul, which prevented it from being 3 dissolved like the spiritual seed inserted into it by 4 the Saviour, Who, when He came, awakened the soul, and ignited the spark, by the power of the words of the Lord. 5 It appears to have been one of the tenets of the Valen- tinian school, that whatever sees, and is seen, must have a body and a form. The Moi/oyei/^s Novs had a peculiar form and a body suitable to His pre-eminence over all spiritual existences. The TrpcoroKrioTot also had a body suited to their superiority over the essences below them ; but not similar to the bodies in this world. They always behold the counten- ance of the Father, that is, the Son : they behold Him not with the eye of sense, but with the intellectual eye which the Father and to abide near the bridegroom, with the first called and first created. All this was typified by the entrance of the High Priest within the veil (Ex. xxviii. 32; Lev. xvi. 3). The space within the veil is called o voyros xitrpo;. Allusions are here made to circumstances of which there is no trace in the Sacred Writings. Mxv. 2 ii. To this seed the Valentinians applied the scriptural expressions, " The spark vivified by the Word," " The apple of the eye," i The grain of mustard seed," "The leaven." I. In n. it is said to be inserted into the elect soul, while asleep, by the Word, after the formation of the 3 2<<p/a, and consequently the spiritual seed, was in a state tending to dissolution. 4 iii. 5 x. Generally that which is created has an essence. oXus yap TO y.v/irov OUK Kvovvtov [tiv. Ill XI. it is asked, ffp'oaurtav & rou aff^'/if^ctTiirrau, vrus av I"Y,' ftus ' av XKI ovoftotret ^ia.(Qofa, XUTUV Ixiyiro, il fjt,n f^futfn '/iv KO.} ffupctTt. Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. p. 550. 176 Some Account of the has given them. l Archangels and angels have also bodies, incorporeal and without form, when compared with the bodies in this world ; defined, and objects of sense, when compared with that of the Son. The case of the Son is the same with reference to the Father. Each spiritual existence has its peculiar power and peculiar dispensation. 2 Demons have bodies, for they have form, as well as a sense of torment. The soul is a body ; for, unless it was a body, it could not suffer punishment ; since the visible body is not purified by fire, but resolved into earth. 3 The dove also appeared in a bodily form at the baptism of Christ. I have noticed the resemblance of the creation of the Demi- urge to the pleroma. The * TT/OCOTOKTIOTOI were the seven ^Eons, who, together with Bv06s, constituted the first Ogdoas. The archangels were the other ^ons. The next in order were the angels, who accompanied the Saviour, and announced His coming. 5 He was seen also in His descent by Abraham, and the just men who are in their rest on the right hand. Where- fore the Lord, after His resurrection, preached the Gospel to the just men at rest, and transferred them to live in His shadow : for the presence of the Saviour on earth is the shadow of His glory with the Father ; the shadow of light is not darkness, but illumination. 1 xi. When the Lord was seen by the Apostles in glory on the Mount, they saw not the light with the eye of flesh ; for there is nothing in common between that light and the flesh. But the power and will of the Saviour endowed the flesh with power to see ; moreover, what the soul saw, by its intimate union with the flesh, it enabled the flesh to see. v. Compare xi. See Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. p. 472. The Lord appeared on the Mount, not on His own account, but on account of the Church, to show the perfection to which He would attain after His departure out of the flesh ; and to fulfil the declaration in Scripture (Matt. xvi. 27 ; Luke ix. 27), that some who were standing there should not taste of death until they had seen the Son of man in glory, iv. - xiv. Reference is made to the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, to prove that the soul is a body ; and to the declaration of St. Paul, I Cor. xv. 49, that, as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall bear ihe image of the heavenly, i.e. of the spiritual, to prove that there are spiritual bodies, xv. Compare LXXXI. 3 xvi. 4 The Valentinians also called the ^ons *.oyoi. xxv. Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. p. 571. 5 xviii. Christ said that Abraham rejoiced to see His day ; that is, Ifis appearance in the flesh. John viii. 56. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. \ 7 7 1 Jesus Himself stood in need of redemption. 2 He had it, inasmuch as He came forth out of the pleroma \ and He brought with Him the angels for the correction of the seed. They are anxious to enter into the pleroma, but cannot enter without us ; they pray, therefore, 3 as for a part of themselves, and ask remission for us, in order that we may enter with them. Nor can the mother enter without us. 4 Jesus was redeemed by Him Who descended in the dove; and the angels were in the beginning baptized in the redemption of His name. They are baptized for us, inasmuch as we are parts of them ; in order that we, having the name, may not be prevented from pass- ing into the pleroma by the boundary and the cross (opos KOL o-ravpos). Wherefore in the imposition of hands at the conclusion of the ceremony of baptism, the Valentinians used to say, cts XvTpaxriv ayyeAixr/v, that he who receives redemption may be baptized in the name of Him, in which his angel had before been baptized. We find frequent mention of the Church, of the elect and called, of male angels, of the right and left, of the excellent seed. 5 The Church is called the elect race, the body of the Son, the heavenly bread, the blessed assembly. The elect are said to be of the same essence with reference to that which is subject 1 xxii. Compare LXXXV. respecting the temptation. Neander, p. 137. 2 xxxv. 3 &>; iiv-lp ftipovf. See Neander, p. 218. In the following section, xxxvi., it is said that the angels were emitted in unity, lv ivo>rv<ri. We, on the con- trary, are divided, f^-^fifff^ivoi. On this account Jesus was baptized : that which is indivisible being divided, until He unites us to the angels in the pleroma ; to the end that we, who are many, becoming one, may all be mixed with the one who was divided through us. 4 xxii. See Neander, p. 141. We find here the Valentinian exposition of the obscure passage in the First Epistle to the Corinthians, xv. 29, respect- ing the baptism for the dead. We are the dead, being as it were dead in our present condition ; the living are the male angels, not subject to this condition. We shall be raised in a condition of equality with them ; to a union with them, as members with members. In LXXXIII. it is said that impure spirits frequently descend into the water together with the person to be baptized, and, partaking of the seal, thenceforward become incurable. Hence, though baptism is an occasion of joy, that joy is mingled with fear, lest the candidate should not descend into the water alone. 5 i 78 Some Account of the (Kara TO vTroKtiptvov) as the Son ; and to be destined to the same end. X A11 are called; but they who abound more in faith are chosen. The faith of the called differs from that of the elect. 2 The Church is said to be of the same essence as the body of Jesus ; and in 3 another place Jesus, the Church, and 3o$6a, are said to be a mixture powerfully pervading all bodies. The Valentinian comment on Gen. i. 27, " In the image of God created He them (avrovs), male and female created He them," 4 was, that allusion was then made to the best prolation of 3o<ia, of which the male were the elect, the female the called. The male they called angelic ; the female are them- selves the excellent seed. Thus the male remained in Adam, the whole female seed passing from him became Eve : from her came the females ; from him the males. 5 The males were caught up with the Word; the female, becoming male, were united to the angels, and passed into the pleroma. Hence the woman is said to be transformed into the man : and the Church, here below, into angels. 6 The excellent seed came forth neither as passion, with the dissolution of which the seed itself would have been dissolved; nor as a creature ; but as children. The seed, which is to enter with the Saviour into the pleroma, was, as far as possible, 1 ix. Where passages of Scripture are quoted to show the distinction between the called and chosen. 2 xlii. 3 xvii. Bodies are said to mix with bodies. But the junction of spirit with spirit, or of the spirit with the soul, is by juxtaposition, not by mixture. The Divine power passes through the soul, and sanctifies it to its final perfection. But power penetrates not in respect of essence, but of power. 4 xxi. But it is said in xxxix. that 2<p/a having emitted the angelic existences of the place and the called, detained them with herself; the chosen angelic existences having before been emitted by the male. (The reading in Potter's edition is xXvpu*, but xXr,rav seems to be the true reading. ) 6 These are the faithful souls which remained in the place with the Demiurge. See LXIII. In LXXIX. the seed is said to be the offspring of the female until it receives a form ; it is then transferred into the male, and becomes the son of the bridegroom. Nearly the same statement occurs in LXVIII. 6 xli. In S. L. 4. DCIII. 16, the excellent seed is said to have come down to man in order to destroy death by dividing it. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 79 strained out (crvv&ivXicrQrj) in him ; wherefore the Church is said to have been elected before the foundation of the world. 1 The cross, which is the type of the boundary in the pleroma, separates the unbelievers from the believers, as the boundary the world from the pleroma. Wherefore Jesus introduces the seed into the pleroma, bearing them on His shoulders through the type. For Jesus is called the shoulders of the seed; Christ, the head. 2 The right (TO, Seia) were emitted by the mother before Christ asked for light; the seed of the Church afterwards, when the angelic seed were emitted by the male. 3 The powers on the left were emitted before those on the right ; they received not a form from the presence of the light, but were left to receive it from the place. *The right are said to have known the names Jesus and Christ before the advent of Christ. We have seen that Abraham and the other just men were said to be in their rest on the right. 5 In another place it is said, that of the descendants of Adam, the just, in passing through the creation, were detained in the place ; the rest, in the creation of darkness, on the left hand, where they felt the fire. 6 When God is said to visit the sins of the fathers unto the third and fourth generations, the Valentinians interpreted the three generations of the three places on the left, and the fourth of their seed : by the thousand generations on which he showed mercy, they understood the places on the right. Clement 7 quotes from a Homily of Valentinus the follow- 1 xlii. Clement, who appears purposely to have used, in many instances, the language of the Valentinians, in order to apply it in an orthodox- sense, Says, P. L. 3. C. 12. CCCIII. l6, opov s%e/tsv rov ffravpev rov Kvptou. 2 xl. 3 xxxiv. 4 xliii. Compare xxni., where St. Paul is said to have preached a begotten and suffering Saviour, on account of those on the left (Itoi rov; eipiffripous, not apio-rovf), in order that being able to know Him they might fear Him in the place ; and also a spiritual Saviour from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin, as the angels on the right know Him. (See LX. ) For each knows the Lord in a peculiar manner ; and all the angels of these little ones, the elect, who will hereafter be in the same inheritance and perfection, do not alike behold the countenance of the Father. The passage appears corrupt ; but the allusion seems to be to Rom. i. 3, 4. 5 xxxvii. 6 xxviii. 7 S. L. iv. dciii. 22. Neander's translation (p. 121) is, "What is the 1 80 Some Account of the ing passage: "The image is as inferior to the living coun- tenance as is the world to the living ALon. What, then, is the cause of the image ? the majesty of the countenance, which afforded the painter a type that it might be honoured through his name ; since form was not found to have any existence of itself, but the name filled up what was wanting in the thing created ; and that which is invisible of the Deity co-operates to produce faith in that which is formed." Clement's com- ment on this passage is, that Valentinus calls the Demiurge, inasmuch as he is called God and Father, the image and prophet of the true God ; he calls 2o<j>ia the painter, whose creation is the image, to the glory of the invisible ; : since what proceeds from the Syzygy is a pleroma, what proceeds from unity is an image. But 2 since that which appears is not from him, the soul comes out of the middle space, the excellent seed ; and this is the inspiration (TO c/A^vcr^/xa) of the excellent spirit, which is breathed into the soul, the image of the Spirit. Generally the Valentinians 3 say that what is said of the Demi- urge, who was made after the image, is prophetically spoken with reference to a sensible image, in that part of Genesis which treats of the generation of man ; they transfer the likeness (TT)I/ ofjLOLorrjra) to themselves, saying that 4 the insertion of the excellent spirit was unknown to the Demiurge. The generation of death, according to 5 Valentinus, was the work of the Demiurge ; and the excellent race came down from cause of the image ? the greatness of the countenance, which gave the image to the painter to be glorified through his own appearance (ovo/to, in the Greek), since no image is found to be anything existing of itself; the appearance of the original must fill up the deficiency of the image; and the effect of the revelation of the invisible Divine existence is to procure belief for the apparent image." His interpretation is, " As the image is nothing existing in itself, and is only a defective representation of the original ; so the whole apparent universe (the Demiurge, together with his creation con- sidered as a whole) is only a defective representation of the glory of the Supreme God, and can only be rightly understood and interpreted by those to whom the revelation of this invisible God is already intimately present ; the living yon is ~Bv6o; ; the painter, according to Clement's exposition, the Divine 2p/a ; the image, the Demiurge and his creation, whom the Valentinians were accustomed in another respect to call the prophet of the true God." 1 Quoted in xxxii. 2 Compare Ixii. TO tpctivoftivov. 3 Compare 1. liv. Iv. 4 Compare liii. 5 S. L. 4. dciii. 9, 16. According to Clement, as well as the Valen- Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 8 1 above to destroy it. This they were to effect, being them- selves the children of eternal life, by dividing it among them- selves ; so that death would die in them and through them. 1 The Valentinians said that the Saviour taught the Apostles the first truths typically and mystically ; the second in parables and enigmas ; the third openly and nakedly. 2 According to the Valentinians, fate was a concourse of numerous and opposite powers, which, being themselves un- seen, presided over the course of the stars, and governed the universe through them. Of themselves the stars effect nothing; they merely indicate the action of the presiding power j as the flight of birds causes no event, but indicates or foreshows it. Some of these powers are friendly to man, some unfriendly. The Saviour delivers him from their hostile conflicts. On this account the new and strange star, shining with a new and not a worldly light, arose to put an end to the former disposition of the stars ; and the Lord descended to transfer those who believed on Christ from the dominion of fate to the governance of his Providence. 8 The Magi, when they saw the star of the Lord, knew that a King of the Jews was born. The birth of the Saviour delivered us from the creation and fate ; His baptism snatches us 4 from the fire. We are tinians, ytv-ffi; and qQofu, are correlative ; the former implies the latter. yit'iff't yap <TO.VTU; 'ivtrctt xa.} (f>0opci. S. L. 3- DXXXII. 12. See also DLIII. 35. - 1 Ixvi. 2 Ixix. Ixx. Ixxi. Ixxii. Ixxiii. Ixxiv. Neander, pp. 139, 217. We find Tou; l^'.ffTMToe,; <ro~$ srXv;<r/j X.OC.TO, <r'/iv f-itav vrcovoictv. S. L. 5- DCLXVIII. 12. In LXXVIII. it is said that the astrologers were correct in asserting the existence of fate up to the time of Christ's baptism. The Valentinians thought that the Apostles were transferred into the twelve signs of the Zodiac. As the birth (->, ym-/j) was administered by the latter, so was the new birth by the Apostles, xxv. In LIII. it is said that man fancies him- self a voluntary agent, when in fact he is not. In LXXiii. the natural proneness of man to evil is noticed. 3 Ixxv. Theodotus here says that the prediction of future events proves the existence of fate. The Magi not only knew that a king was born, but a king to rule over the worshippers of God, that is, over the Jews, who were then the only worshippers of the true God. 4 Ixxvi. I have here translated yivia-ts, the creation. LXXVII. LXXVIII. See Neander, p. 139. 182 Some Account of the regenerated by baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, being l thereby rendered superior to all other powers. Baptism is called death, and the end of the old life : it is life in Christ. We are delivered, not by the mere wash- ing, but by the knowledge communicated to us who we were ; what we have become ; where we were, and on what place we were thrown ; whither we hasten, and from what we were redeemed ; what the birth, what the new birth. 2 Baptism is twofold, corresponding to the twofold fire from which it delivers us, that which is the object of sense, and that which is the object of intellect. 3 The sensible baptism, by water, delivers us from the sensible fire; the intelligible, by the Spirit, from the intelligible fire. We have seen that, according to the Excerpta, the faith of the elect differed from that of the called. Clement, in the Stromata, 4 says "that the Valentinians assigned faith to the simple (the mass of believers), but claimed for themselves, who are saved by nature, knowledge, which each individual possesses in proportion to his more abundant portion of the excellent seed, and which is as far removed from faith as the spiritual from the animal." Clement has 5 extracted from an epistle of Valentinus, a statement to which we find nothing similar in the Excerpta. " That the angels regarded that creature with fear because he 1 Compare Ixxx., where it is said that baptism in the three names delivers us from every Triad which exists in corruption. 2 Ixxxi. Theodotus here opposes the bodily spirit, ovw^ar/xov wwpK, to the spirit given from above, which is incorporeal. 3 In Ixxxii. and the following sections, we find some notices of the forms observed by the Valentinians in baptism, and of the reasons why they were observed. We find the same notion respecting a twofold fire in the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis. VIIL Clement, speaking of the fire which destroyed Sodom, says, o&i-yov TI TOU (ppovtftou vrupo; 1%'ivou, iff} TWV axoXairictv ixx'iuv. P. L. 3. c. 8. CCLXXX. 15. Compare C. XLVI. 34. XLVII. 8. Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xxv. In S. L. 7. DCCCLI. I, Clement distinguishes between ^up, TO Qpovipov, and TO -ra^ipayov xa,i fieiveiuffov. 4 L. 2. ccccxxxiii. 34. See p. 178. In L. 3. DXLII. 6, Clement speaks of heretics who, interpreting Matt, xviii. 20, contended that the Demiurge o yivtffiovpyos @ios, was with the multitude ; the Saviour, the Son of the good God, with the one, the elect. 5 S. L. 2. ccccxlviii. 12. See Neander, p. 124. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 183 spake greater things than were suited to a creature, through him who had secretly given him the seed of the essence from above, and who spoke boldly in him ; as in the generations of the men of this world, the works of men are a source of fear to those who make them, such as statues and images, and whatever their hands make in the name of God. For Adam, being formed in the name of man (the "AvfyxoTros of the pleroma), caused terror to be felt of the pre-existent man, as if he dwelt in him ; and they (the angels) were astonished and quickly obliterated their work." Clement gives : another extract from an epistle of Valentinus, in which it is said that " One is good, by whose 2 freedom of speech was the manifesta- tion through the Son ; and by him alone can the heart be purified, every evil spirit being expelled from it. For many spirits inhabit it, and will not allow it to be pure ; each of them, frequently indulging in unbefitting desires, produces its own peculiar works ; so that the heart resembles an inn, which is pierced through with holes, and undermined and filled with filth by men who act without any regard to decency, and care nothing for the place, as belonging to another. In like manner the heart, 3 until it is brought under the governance of Provi- dence, is impure, and the abode of many demons ; but when the only Good Father visits it, it is sanctified, and shines with light; thus he who has such a heart is blessed, because he shall see God." (Matt. v. 8.) Clement 4 says, "that the Valentinians defended marriage, inasmuch as their own .^Eons were emitted in pairs." This is confirmed in the 5 Excerpta, in which it is said that, according to the Valentinians, the Saviour, when He told Salome that death would exist so long as women bore children, did not mean to speak evil of the procreation of children, which is necessary to the salvation of believers, and must continue until 1 S. L. 2. cccclxxxviii. 34. Compare what is said on the subject of fate in LXIX. et seq. Neander, p. 140. - Grabe for ov <retf>pno-ia. wishes to read oS <raif>au<riK. But in CCCCXLVIII. 18, the passage just quoted, we find xcct vappv/riK^oftivov. 3 This was effected by the coming of the Lord. See LXXIV. With respect to the evil spirits, see LXXXIII. 4 S. L. 3. dviii. I. In DXXIV. 42, Clement says that the Valentinians maintained a spiritual community of women. 5 LXVII. See L. 3. DXXXII. 8, quoted in p. 89, Note I. 1 84 Some Accoiint of the the predestined seed is accomplished ; but alluded obscurely to the female ^Eon from above, out of whose passions the creation arose, and who emitted essences * without form ; through whom also the Lord descended, to deliver us from passion, and to introduce Himself. Clement 2 quotes a passage from a letter of Valentinus to Agathopus, in which we find the following strange notion : "Jesus bore all things, and had His appetites in subjection, and thus wrought out for Himself Divinity. He ate and drank in a manner peculiar to Himself: such was His control over His appetites, that the food became not corrupt in Him, since He was not subject to corruption." Clement 3 quotes also a passage from a Homily of Valentinus, entitled vrcpt <i'A.a>i/, the object of which is to prove that God revealed to the Heathen many truths which are contained in the Scriptures. "Many things," he says, " which are found in the public books (that is, according to Clement, either in the Jewish Scriptures or the writings of the philosophers) are found also in the Church of God ; for these are the common sentiments proceeding from the heart the law written in the heart this is the people of the beloved, loved by him, and loving him." Let me here repeat what I have already said, that I do not profess to give a systematic account of the opinions of the Gnostic sects. For such an account I must refer the reader to Dr. Neander's work. In no part of it are the learn- ing and ingenuity of the author more conspicuous than in that which relates to the Valentinians ; yet I cannot refrain from expressing a suspicion that they are sometimes indebted 1 Compare Ixviii. Ixxix. Ixxx. 2 S. L. 3. dxxxviii. 22. See Nearuler, p. 137. 3 S. L. 5- dcclxvii. 4. r$w "t)l xeti TUV Triv xoivorwru, wpifffiiv'nvruv o xopvq>a,7o; OuaXivrTvo; lv Ty -ripi (piXuv opiXia Koe.ro, Xt^iv yptityii . . HoXXoc, T&/V yiypa/uftivuv tv Teas d'/tpoffiois fi'ifaXoig ivpiffxirca yiypetftf&ivci: tv <rj txxXviffioi <rou Hoy TO. y&p xivu (1. XOIVK) Tccvroi IffTt TO, u.<7fo xapoi/z; ^fya<ra, vof/,o$ o ypa.'z'To; iv xapditz' ouro; Itrnv o Xao; (Grabe wishes to read Xoyos] o rov /lyotvyiftivou, o (piXovftivo;, xai q>iXur O.V-TOV. I understand him to mean that they upon whose hearts are written those truths, common to the Christian Scriptures and the public books, compose the people of the beloved. See Neander, p. 131. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 185 to him for discovering in their opinions a connexion and con- sistency, which they would themselves have been perplexed to point out. Beausobre,' though disposed at all times to place the doctrines of the heretics in the most favourable point of view, has pronounced what appears to me a correct judgment upon those of Valentinus. 1 2 Clement mentions Heracleo as the most celebrated disciple of the school of Valentinus, and gives his comment on Luke xii. 8 : " He who shall confess Me before men," etc. "There is a twofold confession, one in faith and conversation, the other with the voice ; the confession with the voice is made before the powers (of this world), and the multitude incorrectly think this the only confession ; for hypocrites can make it. Nor is this description universally applicable ; for all who are saved have not confessed with the voice, and so departed out of this life, as Matthew, Philip, Thomas, Levi, and many others. Moreover, the confession with the voice is not universal, but partial. By a universal confession, I mean an agreement of the practice with the faith ; this will be followed by the partial confession before the powers, if need requires and reason demands. For he who has previously confessed in his life and conversation, will confess with his voice. Well also has Christ added with respect to those who confess, In Me ('Ev ejLtot), but with respect to those who deny, Me ('E/xe). For they who do not confess Him in their practice, deny Him, though they confess Htm with the voice. They alone confess in Him (h avrw) who live in His confession and practice, in whom He also confesses, embracing them and embraced by them ; wherefore He cannot deny Himself. But they deny Him who are not in Him ; for He does not say, ' He who shall 1 " La Theologie Valentinienne est trop obscure, pour entreprendre de la developper. C'est un entassement d'enigmes mysterieuses, qui n'ont etc bien connues que des Maitres de la Secte, suppose meme qu'ils enten- dissent ce qu'ils disaient. II est vrai, que les Extraits de la Doctrine de Theodote, dont nous sommes redevables a Clement d'Alexandrie, en eclaircissent une partie, mais il reste encore des tenebres capables d'arreter la curiosite la plus opiniatre." Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. p. 550. See also p. 579. 2 S. L. 4. dxcv. 22. In the Selections from the Writings of the Prophets, Heracleo is quoted as saying that some sects marked the ears of baptized persons with fire. xxv. 1 86 Some Account of the deny in Me, but Me.' For no one who is in Him denies Him. The words before men apply alike to those who are saved (Christians) and to the Heathen ; before some, in life and con- versation ; before others, with the voice. Wherefore they cannot deny Him ; but they who are not in Him deny Him." l 2 Clement alludes to certain persons who professed to be followers of Nicolaus, but perverted his words. One of his precepts was, that men should abuse (TrapaxpacrOai) the flesh, by which he meant that they should cut off pleasures and desires ; and by this discipline extinguish the impulses and appetites of the flesh ; but they, misinterpreting the precept, ran into every luxurious excess. In 3 another place Clement refers to the same precept, and says, " that Nicolaus, after the Ascension of the Saviour, having a wife in the flower of her age, was charged by the Apostles with jealousy ; whereupon he brought her forth and gave any one permission to take her to wife." Clement defends the moral character of Nicolaus, and says, "that he cohabited with no other woman than his wife, and that both his daughters, as well as his son, remained single." 4 Clement mentions Carpocrates and Epiphanes, as main- taining the doctrine of a community of women. Carpocrates was an Alexandrian, and married a female of Cephallenia, by name Alexandria. Epiphanes was their son. He died at the age of seventeen, and was honoured by the inhabitants of Same, in Cephallenia, as a god. A temple was consecrated to him, and on every new moon the Cephallenians met together to celebrate his apotheosis. His father instructed him in the customary branches of learning (rr^v lyxvicXcov TraiSeiW), and in the philosophy of Plato. He was the founder of the 5 Monadic knowledge, and of the heresy of the Carpocratians. His works were extant in the time of Clement, who quotes a passage from a treatise concerning Justice, the object of which is to show that the institution of marriage is at variance with 1 Neander, p. 156. 2 S. L. 2. ccccxc. 33. 3 S. L. 3. dxxii. 21. 4 S. L. 3. dxi. 20. 5 n povotdixri yvaffis. Compare Irenseus, L. I. c. 2. p. 51. Clement says of the true Gnostic, /^OVK^IXOS yivirKi. S. L. 4. DCXXXIII. 12. ncxxxv. 23. See p. 146, Note 6. Clement thinks that Carpocrates was led to the notion of a community of women from misunderstanding Plato, nxiv. 25. See DXXII. 20. DXXIII. 18. Neander, p. 355, et seq. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 187 the justice of God, Who meant all things to be possessed in common. The light of the sun is common to all; sight is common to all. Human laws introduced property, and con- sequently * injustice, by interfering with the community in- tended by God. Clement 2 says, that the Carpocratians were guilty of the most horrible excesses at their meetings. These excesses appear to have brought the Christian Agapae into disrepute, and to have occasioned their discontinuance. Clement 3 mentions Prodicus as a leader of one of the Gnostic sect's. His followers asserted that they were by nature the sons of the Supreme or First God, and conse- quently at liberty to live as they pleased, being in subjection to no one, lords of the Sabbath, born superior to every other race, royal children. They 4 denied also the necessity of prayer. Clement 5 mentions Julius Cassianus as the founder of the sect of the Docetse ; and refers to one of his works, entitled " Con- cerning Continence," from which it appears that he adopted the notions of Tatian respecting the impurity of marriage. He quoted passages from 6 Apocryphal Scriptures, and per- verted passages from the 7 genuine Scriptures, in order to support his opinions. Clement says that " he had recourse to the fiction that Christ was only a man in appearance through 1 S. L. 3. DXIV. 3. The Carpocratians seem to have quoted Rom. vii. 7 in defence of this notion, " I had not known sin but by the law." They alleged also Matt. v. 42, <rf ulrovvri <rt Wov (Clement has $?), in defence of a community of women. DXXXVI. 18. In L. 2. ccccxc. 20, Clement mentions a licentious opinion, put forth by one who called himself a Gnostic, on the subject of pleasure. - dxiv. 13. Compare L. 7. ncccxcii. 37. 3 S. L. 3. dxxv. 4. 4 S. L. 7. dcccliv. 27. Clement says that they borrowed this doctrine from the Cyrenaic school. S. L. 3. dlii. 38. lv yovv rev Hip) 'Eyxpunia; % Tltpt Evvov^iea;. The Docetre are mentioned DLVIII. 18. L. vi. DCCLXXV. 33. L. 7. BCD. 13. See Histoire du Manicheisme, torn. i. pp. 378, 424. 6 From the Gospel according to the Egyptians. DLIII. 20. 7 2 Cor. xi. 3 ; I Cor. vii. I, 2 ; Jer. xx. 14. Cassianus interpreted the coats of skins in Gen. iii. 21, of the body. DLIV. 22. Compare the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. LV. 1 88 Some Account of the unwillingness to believe that He had been born of the Virgin, or partaken in any way of generation." Clement accuses him of borrowing from 1 Plato his notions respecting the evil nature of generation ; as well as 2 the notion that the soul was originally divine, but being rendered effeminate by desire, came down from above to this world of generation and destruction. Clement 3 mentions incidentally that the Phrygians (the Montanists) called those who did not believe in the new prophecy, animal It is stated in the 4 extracts from the writings of the prophets, that Hermogenes inferred from Ps. xix. 4 that our Saviour, when He laid aside His body (o-Krji/w/xa, fleshly tabernacle), deposited it in the sun. Clement 5 speaks of the Encratitae, who abstained from wine and from marriage. Clement appears to have traced the origin of the Christian heresies chiefly to the opinions of the Greek philosophers. He 7 speaks, however, of barbarian sects as distinct from Greek philosophers. 8 He mentions incidentally, that the followers of Simon Magus aimed at a resemblance in morals to the permanent or immutable (rw co-ram) whom they worshipped. Clement 9 says generally of the heretics, " that in their 1 S. L. 4. dlxxi. 31. Clement says this generally of the Gnostics. 2 S. L. 3. dliii. 33. 3 S. L. 4. dcv. i. There seems to be an allusion to them in L. 6. DCCLXXIII. 34. otfip xxi \<ffi <ruv 'rpotyvnvstv vvv J 'kiyop.ivuv vreipctrr,pr,'riov. They are mentioned also L. 7. DCD. n. 4 Ivi. Ps. xviii. according to the Septuagint version, in which the reading is, lv ru fai*> 3 i0sro ro o-xtvupa, siLrou. See Hist, du Manicheisme, torn. i. p. 564. 5 P. L. I. clxxxvi. 26. S. L. i. ccclix. 24. L. 7. dcd. 12. 6 S. L. 6. dcclxxiv. 5. 7 S. L. 2. CCCcliv. 12. tin Ktpiffiis thv peipfiapoi, I'l'n ol va.p "EX^tjffi QiXoffoQoi. 8 S. L. 2. cccclvi. 21. See Neander, p. 344. 9 S. L. 7. dcccxci. 21. Compare ucccxcin. 14. In L. 3. nxxix. 2, Clement speaks of some who, when they read the Scriptures publicly, per- verted the sense by laying improper emphasis, and making improper pauses. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 89 appeals to the prophetic Scriptures they either did not appeal to all the books, or did not quote the entire books to which they appealed, or did not quote them according to the sub- stance (TO a-wfjio) and context of the prophecy ; but, selecting ambiguous expressions, transferred them to their own opinions, picking out a few words here and there ; not looking to the sense, but to the letter. 1 When their opinions were proved to be opposed to the Scriptures, they set at nought either the consistency of their own doctrines, or the prophecy itself; at all times preferring that which was clearer in their own estima- tion to that which was said by the Lord through the prophets, and confirmed by the Gospel and the Apostles. Despising that which lay immediately before them, and anxious to exceed the common measure of faith, they overstepped the truth. ' Clement 2 accuses them of vanity and ambition. 3 Having said that there are three states of mind ignorance, opinion, knowledge : he adds that ignorance is the state of the heathen ; knowledge, of the true Church ; opinion, of the heretics. Clement 4 mentions among the heretics of his day the Peratici, Haematitae, Caianistae, Ophiani, and 5 Eutychitae ; the last he classes among the followers of Simon Magus. He mentions also heretics, who used bread and water in the celebration of the Eucharist 13 1 S. L. 7. dcccxcii. 6. - S. L. 7. dcccxcii. 25, 35. dcccxcvi. 10. 3 S. L. 7. dcccxciv. 12. Clement, however, admits that some traces of truth are to be found among the heretics. S. L. I. CCCXLIX. 12. 4 S. L. 7. dcd. 10. 5 See Neander, p. 350. w S. L. i. ccclxxv. 13. 190 Some Account of the CHAPTER VII. WE will now proceed to consider Clement's opinions respecting the Supreme Being, and the distinction of Persons in the God- head. l He thought that human wisdom cannot attain to the knowledge of God, Who, raised above all speech, and all thought, and ineffable in power, can never be made known by a written description. - Inasmuch as the cause or beginning of anything is always most difficult to be discovered, God, Who is the beginning and cause of existence to all things, can never be described by words. You cannot apply to Him the terms genus, difference, species, atom, number, accident, subject of accident, whole, part, figure ; 3 nor can any name be properly or essentially given Him. When we call Him One, or the Good, or Mind, or the Existent (TO 6i/), or Father, or God (eoV), or Creator, or Lord, we do not profess to give His name ; but through inability to discover more appropriate terms, apply these honourable appellations, in order that the thought may have whereon to rest. These appellations do not singly express the Deity, but are collectively indicative of the power of the Almighty. Names are given with reference either to some quality of the thing named, or to its relation to some other thing ; but neither of these circumstances is applicable to God. Nor can the Deity be comprehended by demonstrative 1 ohv o Muffws, ou <JfoTi KV&ptuvivy ffoQia, yvuff^tna-^ein rov &tov S. L. 2. CCCCXXXI. 15. o yap TUV oXuv Gio;, o v*lp <ra,ffa.v Quvnv X.KI faiv v'o'/ifAu, XKI ir'u.ira.v ivvoia.*, oi> eiv -ran ypcuQy TctpaSofatn, oippvros &>v $uva.ftu <ri Kurou. L. 5. DCIAXXV. 15. Dcxcin. 15.' Compare L. 6. DCCCXXVI. 31. C. I-IX. 26. LXII. 20. - S. L. 5. DCXCV. 8. Compare L. 4. DCXXXVIII. 10. L. 5. DCLXXXIX. 8, quoted in p. 107. ncxc. 36, and the Eclogee ex Prophetarum Scripturis, xxi. Vet, speaking of the study of astronomy, Clement says that it raises the mind of man from earth to heaven, causing him to be conversant with Divine things ; thus Abraham was raised to the knowledge of the Creator. S. L. 6. DCCLXXX. 9. See L. 2. ccccxxxr. 2. 3 Compare Justin Martyr, Apol. ii. p. 44. D. Clement applies the appella- tion TO ov to the Supreme Being, S. L. 2. CCCCLXXXI. I. Referring to Gen. iv. 25. Iav<rr>j<rv yap pot o 6<o; ff-rip/ta trtpov avrt "A/SsX, Clement argues that the insertion of the article before 650? proves that Moses intended to point out the Supreme God, in opposition to the Demiurge. vS. L. 3. DXLVIII. 6. See the interpretation of the word 'luol, o u,vv<vira.i o u\> xoii o iffaftivo;. L. 5- DCLXVI. 8. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 1 9 1 science ; for that proceeds upon preceding known truths ; whereas nothing can precede that which is uncreated or self- existent. It remains, therefore, that we can comprehend the Unknown (TO ayvaxTTw) by Divine grace and His word alone. As Luke, in the Acts of the Apostles, records Paul to have said, " Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious : for as I passed by and beheld your devo- tions, I found an altar with this inscription, * To the Unknown God.' ('Ayv<o<7Ta> ecp.) Whom, therefore, ye ignorantly wor- ship, him declare I unto you." Speaking of God, Clement 1 says that " He is all things, and all things He ; " that 2 inasmuch as He is an essence, He is the beginning of all reasonings that relate to the works of creation (all reasonings on created things must be traced up to Him as their source) ; inasmuch as He is the good, the beginning of all that relate to morals; inasmuch as He is mind, the beginning of all that relate to reason and judgment ; that 3 He alone exists in self-existent identity. 4 The Divine nature is exempt from wants and from passions. It is true, that in speaking of God we attribute to Him human affections, as we attribute to Him 5 sight and hearing. But 6 the virtue of man is not the same as that of God, as the Stoics affirmed; 7 although the good man re- sembles God as to the soul, and God on the other hand 1 P. L. I. CL. 3- v etuTos -TO, WUVTO., xeti ru, -ffa-vra, (o) otvros. Waterland applies this to the Son, vol. iii. p. 92, Note 6, but surely without reason. Tavrn yap o Sto; Iffriv. S. L. 6. DCCLVI. 6. 2 S. L. 4. DCXXXVIII. IO. o 8tof $ ava^a,-, cip^ ruv oXuv VecvrtXv;, Iffriv <raiyu0ov, TOV riQtxov' ri V KV Iffn voug, rov Xoyixov xxi xfirtxou rovrov. Compare a Fragment extant in Maximus, and supposed to be taken from the work of Clement on Providence. MXVI. 42. 3 S. L. 6. DCCCX. 2. iv ravrorvri yap u.yivnria o uv uvros p'',vo;. DCCCXIII. I7 sv TO /SavXjj^tta TOU &tou \v f&ici TCtuTOT^iTJ. 4 avv^j ^ev yap ro SiToy xa,i a.-yree.Si;. S. L. 2. CCCCLXXI. 9 T^ asra^av? 6ay. CCCCLXVII. 5. ou ya.fi 6'tpis ifAVadr, vo-7v rov &<ov. L. 5. DCLIX. 5. Siif $1 a.ira.fas, HQufAOs ri xtx.1 avt<ritiuf4r,TOS. L. 4. DCXXXII. 40. 5 S. L. 6. DCCCXVII. 39. oXa; axow *ai 0X0; o<Q0ot,X[jt,os, "vet rt; rovroif Xprnrwrai ro7s ovoftettfiv, o &tos. L. 7. DCCCLIII. IO. DCCCLII. 28. 6 S. L. 2. DI. 24. L. 6. DCCXCVIII. 5. L. 7. DCCCLXXXVI. 18. 7 S. L. 6. DCCLXXVI. 25. xctl Qioifiri; x*} hoiixiXo; o at.ya.6os -*nf> xetrx ^u%wv o <ri aZ Sios eivdpu-roiidtis' TO yap ii^og txuffrov o vou;, ca 192 Some Account of the resembles man ; since the image or form (elSog) by which the character of each man is determined is the mind. " God," says * Clement in another place, "gives us many things in which He has Himself no part : being Himself self-existent, He gives us a beginning of existence (yeVeo-tv) ; being Himself exempt from want, He gives us nourishment ; Himself always the same, He gives us growth ; Himself immortal and exempt from old age, He gives us a happy old age, and a happy death (I read with Sylburgius evOavacriav). When we read in the Hebrew Scriptures of the hands, and feet, and mouth, and eyes, and coming in and going out, and anger, and threats of God, we must not suppose that He is subject to affections ; but that some holy allegory is concealed under these names." Some of the heretical sects distinguished, as we have seen, between the Supreme God, Whom they called Good, and an inferior God, the Creator, the God of the Old Testament, Whom they called Just. The 2 design of the ninth chapter of the first book of the Pedagogue is to show that the attributes of goodness and justice are not incompatible in the Deity. " The justice of God," he 3 says in another place, " is good, and His goodness just." 4 When He chastises, He does it for the good of those on whom He inflicts chastisement. 5 The beneficence of God is from eternity, as He always was what He is ; there never was a time when He was not good, nor ever will be a time when He shall cease to be good. 6 His good- 1 S. L. 5. DCLXXXVII. 4. Compare DCLXXXIX. 20. 2 In P. L. I. C. 8. CXL. 36 (quoted in p. 36), Clement appears to say that God, when contemplated as the Father, is Good : when as the Son, the Word who is in the Father, he is called Just, o yap <W?, rous ^iv, Ix "b-fyuv, TOVS ^l, \\ ivuvvftuv, xa.6o ju.lv Tletrvp vot7reii, tx.yce.6os wv, aura //.ovov o Iffrt x'txXtjreti Kyettiog' xct,6o ^l vlos, uv o Aoyos ctlrou, Iv TU Hurpi Ig-n, ^ixetios /rpoffayopivirou, Ix <rris -vpo; ciXXtjXa, (r%i<rtc<>$. Compare CL. 13. 3 S. L. 6. DCCXCV. 7. Compare the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scrip- turis, ix. 4 S. L. 7. DCCCXCV. 31. God does not avenge (ol Tiftup-Jrcu), for vengeance is the returning of evil for evil ; or hate. S. L. 7. DCCCLXXIII. 27. Compare P. L. I. c. 8. cxxv. 28. 5 S. L. 5. DCCXXXIII. 30. The goodness of God is said also to be universal. 6 S. L. 6. DCCXCII. 27. uv Tt xxt ytvoft'.vos Iv a.lttx,^<i<rrois iv>ffoiia.is, Iv Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 9 3 ness is in constant activity. 1 Were He to cease to do good, He would cease to be God. As the knowledge of God cannot be attained by human wisdom, 2 so neither can He be seen by man. 3 Some of the heretics asserted that God has a natural relation (^V^IK^V er^eVti/) to man. This Clement denies to be possible; whether we suppose God to have created man out of nothing (IK /M) 6Vr<m/), or out of pre-existent matter; since, on the former supposition, there was no existence at all to which he could have relation ; on the latter, 4 matter is, in every respect, different from God. Some indeed have ventured to affirm that we are a part of God, and co-essential (OJJLOOVO-LOVS) with Him; an assertion which involves the blasphemous conse- quence, that God suffers and sins in us, who are parts of Him. Though human wisdom cannot attain to the knowledge of God, yet 5 the heathen possessed some obscure knowledge of Him. 6 For David says, " Sinners shall be turned back into hell, and all the nations which forget God." They could not forget, unless they had previously known Him. 7 The Greeks knew God as Creator ; not in the character of Father, as He was revealed to believers by the Son. * S. L. 6. DCCCXIII. 2. See also DCCCXIX. 18. ncccxxn. 20. " Si L. 5* DCXLVII. 29. owXov yxp [t'/fiiva. ***ri ouvufftfxi yrctpct 7ov <rv$ &"7r Xf>6vov TOV 0sov Ivapyu; x7d\K^ta-^Ki. Compare L. 6. DCCCXXV. 2O. iff it f^dlv KV-iKoviffpa, 7ov Qtov oTov 7i Iv ytvv/i7o7; itvui. He is seen only through the Son, *[t* ^l tfynvpu 6str l-ni, a; fiht<V-t TOV HxTpo; 77iv ot,yo,6o7r,70, o via;, lv'pys.7 o &io; ~2tu~'/ip KixX'/jf^ivo;, fi 7uv sktuv <zp%'4, %7i; u,iriiKOYiff7a,i ftlv IK 7ov Qiou 7ov aopxTou vpurv KOU vpo 7uv KIMVUV. L. 5. DCLXIX. II, quoted in p. 165, Note 4. *_S. L. 2. CCCCLXVII. 37, quoted in p. 82. See Histoire du Mani- cheisme, T. i. p. 232. In L. 5. DCCXXIX. 15, Clement describes the manner in which all created things are to be referred to a Sovereign Providence. 4 In S. L. 6. DCCCXVI. 5, Clement mentions some who applied the appellation of Father to God, as the creator of all things ; of Mother to the essence or substance, out of which we are made. 5 S. L. 6. DCCLXXII. 26. As Clement supposed a portion of the Xoyas to be imparted to the heathen, their obscure knowledge of the Deity was to be traced to this source. S. L. i. CCCXLIX. 5, 28. L. 2. ccccxcm. 17. CCCCLXXXII. 14. 6 Ps. ix. 17. 7 S. L. 5. DCCXXXI. 13. Compare L. 6. DCCLX. i. P. L. i. c. 8. CXL. 36, quoted in p. 36. G 1 94 Some Account of the With respect to the Divine Providence, Clement l says, that "he who asks for a proof of its existence deserves punishment ; and that it is impious to doubt whether pro- phecy and the dispensation of salvation are ordered according to Providence." These are points which we ought not to attempt to prove, since the Divine Providence is displayed in the skill and wisdom discernible in created things, and in the order in which they come into being, or make their appearance. He Who gave us being and life, gave us also reason, as He wished us to live rationally and well. 2 Pro- ceeding from the principal things (IK rCov TrpoT/yov/xeVan/), as from the head, the Divine Providence extends to all, "like the ointment which fell upon the beard of Aaron, and went down to the skirts of his clothing." 3 As the axe cannot work without a man to wield it, or a saw without a man to move it and none of these things work of themselves, but possess certain physical qualities which conspire with the action of the workman to accomplish the work in hand so an effectual operation is given, through the medium of the things proximately moved, to the general Providence of God, descending to each particular thing. 4 In the work of man's sanctification, the Providence of God does not destroy the freedom of the will. When we proceed to examine what Clement has said respecting the distinction of Persons in the Godhead, we find him referring the well-known 5 passage in the Second Epistle 1 S. L. 5. DCXLVI. 28. L. 6. DCCCI. 34. DCCCXVI. 27. To express the administration of the universe by the Divine Providence, Clement uses the words lio'txwi;, 3ioiKt7v. S. L. 2. DVI. 10. L. 3. DXIX. 19. DXL. 4. L. 4. DLXXXI. 37. DLXXXVII. 22. DCII. 37, 39. In L. 5. DCL. l8, we find the strange notion that the doctrine of Providence was revealed by the angels, who fell from their high estate (rov Zvu xxZpov) through the seductions of pleasure. ' 2 S. L. 6. DCCCXX. i. See DCCCXXI. 20. L. 7. DCCCXL. 37, with respect to a particular Providence. In L. 4. DCII. 42, we find the following sentence, which refers to the prince or "Ap%av of Basilides : W vrpovoiK $, il XKI #Vo Tov cip^^vrsg, us QcivKi, xw{iff6at ap%trtu, aA.^.' iyxccrifftfoipt] ra.7? ovtfixis ffvv XKI ry TUV ovffiuv ytvifii rfpo; TOV TUV oA.av Siov. 3 S. L. 6. DCCXVII. 19. In the Eclogae ex Prophetarum Scripturis, xvi., it is shown that God acts through the instrumentality of man. 4 S. L. 7. DCCCLV. 22. 5 r&'i rov VUVTUV /Saf/PJa vrtivra, Itrrty, xdxtivov 'iv<x,n TO. cravra, Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 195 of Plato to the Holy Trinity. He distinguishes them expressly in a J passage in the first book of the Pedagogue, where he says, "The Father of the universe is one; the Word of the universe is one ; the Holy Spirit is one and the same every- where." He 2 says that the Gnostic comprehends both the first cause, and the cause generated by the first, which he calls in 3 another place the second cause. It may be, how- ever, doubted whether he refers to the Trinity, when he in another place 4 speaks of the first, and second, and third, as suspended from one principle (apx?s)> working according to its will. Then, he adds, " at the boundary and extremity of the visible world are placed the blessed angels ; thus one order is ranged below another, until we arrive at man." This distinction of persons was not, in Clement's opinion, in the least at variance with the unity of the Godhead ; for he says of 5 God, that He is one, and beyond one, and above the Monad itself. Wherefore the pronoun Thou is emphatic, and points out the only really existing God, Who was, and is, and shall be ; for the participle (6 wv) includes the three divisions etl-nav KTruvruv xecXuv ^iit-rifov ^i "fifi, fot, "biV-Tipa,' xa,} rpirov v'spi, TO. rpira.' ovx a,AX&; 'iyuys. iV,a,xouu % TTJV xyieiv T fiance, pmtoiffeu' rpirov ft\v ya,p tlvat TO oiyiov TrvtUfAO,' rov vtov ^\ ttVTtftr, ;' ov rfdvret iyiv<ro xara, fiov*.?]fftv <rov yrarpos. S. L. 5. DCCX. 17. It is to be observed that Clement does not confine the word *pia,s to the three Persons in the Godhead. See S. L. 3. DXLII. 19. L. 4. DLXXXVIII. 9, where he calls faith, hope, and charity the Holy Trinity (vt &yiu rpids). L. 7. DCCCLIV. 26. rr,v [jt,a.x.a.pitt,v ruv otyiui rfiltiM povuv. Compare DCCCXXXIV. 6. In the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis LXXX. we find, with reference to the rite of baptism, xxi ^10, rpiuv ovoftctTav ffu.ff'ns <rriS sv tyQopa. Tpia^o? aVXA.Q/>7. 1 c. 6. cxxiii. 9. The three Persons are mentioned, C. xci. 27. P. L. 3. c. 12. cccxi. 14. S. L. 4. DCXXXV. 9. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLIV. 42, where the offices of the Persons are marked. See also the Eclogae ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xin. xxix. - S. L. 6. dcclxxix. 9. See L. 2. CCCCLXIX. 30. L. 7. DCCCXXIX. 36. 3 S. L. 7. dcccxxxviii. 2, 10. 4 S. L. 7. dcccxxxiii. 42. 5 P. L. I. C. 8. CXL. 21. sv Tt o Bio?, xoil Iv'ixsivu. <rou tvo$, xeit i><xlp uvr'/)v ftovadot.' $10 XKI TO 2y popiar (the reference is to John xvii. 21), $stx- nx'/iv s%ov 'i[Jt,(Qa.fftv, rov ovrus [tovov b'vrx, es wv, xxi tffri, xui effreti, ^tixvufft 0<ov' xx& uv rpiu* %povuv iv b'voftcc, xz7rxi, o uv. See p. 149, Note 6, and Beausobre's remarks on the Monad, Histoire du Manicheisme, T. ii. p. 283. P. L. 3. c. 7. CCLXXVI. 7. S. L. 5. DCLXXXIX. 14. L. 6. DCCLXXXIII. 42. L. 7. DCCCXCIX. 10. BCD. 3. 196 Some Accoimt of the of time, past, present, and future. The title * God is re- peatedly given to the second Person in the Trinity. We ' 2 find also several passages expressive of the intimate union which subsists between the Father and Son. In a 3 passage in the Hortatory Address are enumerated the titles given to the Son : the Harmony of the Father Christ the Word of God the Arm of the Lord the Power of the Universe the Will of the Father: and in 4 another passage quoted in p. 17, is a description of His nature and offices. 1 C. viii. 27. Ix'ivutriv $= lavTov o fXi*r*f/Mf 0sof, with reference to Phil. ii. 7, LXXXIV. 2. TU <ra.6'ovrt xot.} -rpoo-xwovpivtu 0<w T^UVTI. P. L. I. C. 5- CXII. 25. fov 0so v v <rov Aoyov, TOV 3t' riftx; a.vQpu'X'ov yivopivov ccftvov xixXtixs TOV &iov, TOV viov TOV 0t7, TOV vr,vrisv rev Uctrpoj. C. 6. CXIII. II. u/.Xu. <rpoffftufa7v plv KVTOV tixo; o'j^l v, 0ov OVTK. C. 7- CXXXI. 8. o %\ '/ift'tT'po; 'Tfotdoiyuyo; , uyto; Qio; Ir,o~ov; } o wctf'/;; 7%; Kv6puv'o~riTo; xu,6ttyif^uv Aoyo;' ai/To; o (p/A-av^wrof Stag iff<ri vrcuootyaayo;. CXXXII. II. 'In ol MK] ccvuvof4,a,ffras ?v o &io; o Kupio;, /^r^'-vca yiyivvftzti; civfyuTo;, quoted in p. l6j, Note 3. When the force of the word avuvouaa-To; is considered, and the manner in which it is applied by Clement (see S. L. 5. ncxcv. 21.), there can be no doubt of his belief in the essential Divinity of Christ. C. II. CLYI. 3. OTI Sio; xa.} ^Yiptovpyos. L. 2. C. 3. CXC. 13. o ciruQo: &io; xctt Kvpio; TUV oA.uv. C. 8. CCXIV. 29. otu. TOVT'O TOI ii; ov ovx iwi'ffTiuffKv Kvfpuvrov, TOV (QiXdvQp&J'n'ov 0sov, tTiyvuffovTUt Kupiov XKI OIXKIOV. L. 3. C. I. ("CLI. 33. o $1 ffvp.'ffKfa; 0soj, tuvro; faivQipeatr-v rrtv ffupKO,. C. 7. CCLXXYII. 32. Kviv%w$ yu-f o TOV ravToxpuropoi &<ov Aoyov s%uv. Compare o ^'/ipiovpyo: ruv ffup'x'u.v'ruv, o <7ra.VTOxpa.Tup xvpio;. S. L.- 4. PCIY. 24. S. L. I. CCCLXXIV. II. TOV 'S-urnpu,, aT^cta/, 6ov tipyff0cti ^u/v TO, vvv. Compare L. 2. CCCCXLII. 3. CCCCLIII. ii. L. 5. DCLXIX. 13. L. 6. DCCXCII. 20. DCCCXII. 10. eoj Iv ffapx'iM. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXXXIX. 16. trpo&ft*. as. evf Qzo$ ztx.} a. fAiXXu oupuTriffiff&ai xoti a, f*.i}*Xii T/J KVTU a.'7foxpiviG@ot.t. C. VII. 14. Ivritydivr, %l svxy%o; o vrpoav ^earrip' 1-vi^ia.vn o iv TU OVTI uv, OTI o Aoyos, os vtv <rpo$ TOV 6ov, Ai^ciffxKXo; \KiQdvri, u TO, -ravTU. ^i^yifJt.iovpyr,TKi. 2 P. L. I. C. 5- cxii. l6. u TOV [tiyoihou Qiov' u TOV TiXiiov vfuiSiov' via; Iv ffKTpl, xa.} -ruTVp Iv VIM. See C. 7. CXXIX. 21. C. 8. CXXXV. 28. av^lv apot. f^iffiiTon vvro TOU 0oy, xXX* oval uwo TOV Aoyov' 'iv yap KftQu, o ftsof. Clement then refers to John i. I. CXLII. 8. u; tUvai TCC~S a.^h'ia.^ XOC,T<$O.\\; TOV TUV ffVfJLfKVTUV 050V, V fAQVOV i'lVKI, UyiztJOV, OlXetlOV, O'/lfAtOVpyOVf VI6V IV UxTpi. S. L. 5. DCXLIII. ii. In S. L. 7. DCCCLXXXI. 21, Clement identifies the Son with the Father as to perfection, if the words ravr'sffnv txvTov are not a gloss. 3 xciii. 15. Compare in. 17. 4 Ixxxvi. I. In this passage the Word is represented as the fellow- combatant of the creature; but in LXXVII. 27, quoted in p. 122, Note 6, the Word is made not a combatant, but the judge of the contest, d-ro^v- era,[tsv9t <T ovv vripi<Qa.vu; Iv TU TV; A;^/j ffToti<y yvqoius a-yuvi^uptJa,, fipKJZiuovTOf fjitv TOV Aoyov TOV a,yiov, ay&jvoTitfovvTo; ol TOV OiffTroTou TUV oXuv. To the passages quoted in that note add P. L. I. c. 8. cxxxvi. 15. eg IO-TI Tr,$ TV Qsov * Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 1 9 7 By the Word Clement certainly understood x a person. Speaking of the idea of Plato, he 2 says, "The idea is the thought of God, which the barbarians called the Word of God " (Aoyoi/ TOV eov). Then he proceeds, " The Word going forth, the cause of creation, generates Himself, when He becomes flesh, in order that He may be seen by the eye." Clement had before said that justice, honesty, truth, cannot be seen with the eyes, only with the understanding. Inasmuch, therefore, as the Word of God said, " I am the truth," the Word can only be contemplated by the understanding. Speaking of the source of knowledge, Clement 3 says, "that we must ascend above all created things to arrive at the teacher. Since there is one Unbegotten, the omnipotent God ; and one First- Begotten, ' by Whom all things were made, and without Him was not any thing made.' For there is in truth one God, Who made the beginning of all things, that is, the first-begotten Son, as Peter writes (in the Praedicatio), who well understood the words, ' In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.' He is called Wisdom by all the prophets. He is the 1 C. iii. 17. Aoyos oiipdvio;, o yvjffio; ayavufTw; \7t\ TM travro; xoo-pov harpy ffTi<t>a.vov(Aivo;. P. L. I. C. 6. CXIII. 14. TOV Aoyov Tt\i>ov Ix TiXi'iov QUVTOI. TOV Ha.Tfo;. C. 9. CXLVIII. 3- ro ^ VoivToxpKTOpo; xxi TaTpixov Aoyov. C. LXYII. 41. L. 3. C. 5- CCLXXIII. 26. Jfa.vTat^ou ^\ TOV Aoyov, o; \ffTi <ffoc.vTtx.^ov. C. 8. CCLXXX. 7. irtii'biv avTov; o <7ra,vTi<rbfTyis Aoyos. S. L. I. CCCXXIX. 8. Ifu.vcx.'ffKvt.Ta.i TO xityd.Xot.iov TMV ov-reav, o %priffTo; xa.} nfttpos ^'oyo;. L. 5* DCCVIII. II. DCCXII. 5. - S. L. 5. DCLIV. 4. quoted in p. 103. 'A ^ /^ Iwovt^a. TOV e<ou, ov-ip 01 $a.p$oc.pot A-oyov <ipf,xetfi TOV Slav *^fX4vf $1 o Aoyo;, ^nftiovpyiot,; otiTtos, 'ivn-u. KOU IXVTOV yivva, OTXV o Aoyo; ffoc.0^ yiv/iTOii, 'iva. xtzi d<.6y. Clement USCS the expression o vrpotpopixo; Aoyo$, to signify the spoken Word, not as opposed to the Aoyo; IV^IK^TOS. S. L. 5- DCXLVI. 39- y^p TO^ TIeiTpo; TUV oXeav Aoyo;) ov% ouTOS IffTiv o vrpofyopixo;, ffofytiz, o\ xou % i p'/io~TOTr l f <potvipctiTK,T'/i TOV HOI/, ^i>vu.[/.l; Ti ecv < ff(x,'yxpcc,T^i^ xcu TW OVTI 6uot,' olioi TOI; f/,?i ofjioXoyotiffiv a.xoc,TU.v'oyiTo:, OKpa.Topix'ov. Compare DCXLViii. 21. ^x,^ f^ lv y**-P <> yiywa? ;' tfetTfip Bi TOVTOU, o vav;. S. L. 7- DCCCLXIV. 6, 40, where o yrpo(popixi)i s is opposed to faith, which is called Iv^iahTov TI a.yoc,&'ov. 31. 3 S. L. 6. DCCLXIX. 29. See L. 5. ncxcix. 20. In L. 7. DCCCXXIX. 34, Clement calls the Son the beginning and first-fruits of things existent, being without time and beginning, TJJV oi%povov xxi a,voc,p^ov upxtv TI xa\ TUV OVTUV TOV vlov. In the Eclogce ex Prophetarum Scripturis. i\ r . the application of the title 'Ap%r, to the Son, is founded on Hosea i. 7, 10. In S. L. 5. DCLXIX. 12, God the Saviour is said to work, being the beginning of all things, which was formed an image from the invisible God first and before the ages, and then gave form to all things created after itself. See p. 151, Note 3. 198 Some "Account of the Teacher of all created beings, the Counsellor of God, Who foreknew all things. He in various ways has instructed man from the first foundation of the world, and perfects him." When, however, we say that Clement speaks of the Word as a person, we mean not to deny that there are passages in which Aoyos may be interpreted of an attribute or an operation. Thus, l he speaks of the Heavenly Word, the all-harmonious, tuneful, holy instrument of God, the supramundane wisdom. He 2 exhorts us to receive the Word with open ears, and to entertain God as a guest in our purified souls. He 3 calls the Word of the Lord the law of truth. He 4 says that the voice of the Lord, the Word without form, 5 the power of the Word, the shining Word of the Lord, the truth which descended from heaven upon the assembly of the Church, works through a shining and proximate ministry. Clement says repeatedly, that " the Aoyos is the source of all the true knowledge to which man attains." Hence it is sometimes not easy to distinguish whether we are to under- stand by the word Aoyos the person who communicates the knowledge, or the operation of the communication on the mind of man. Thus he 7 calls the sound \Vord the sun of the soul, by which alone, rising in the deepest recess of the under- 3 C. vi. 5. Yet there immediately follows ri P/i ovv TO opy&vov, o rou &<ov Aoyos, a Kvpios /3avAr/. 2 C. Ixx. 25. So Ixxiii. 24. ivay/5 rov uyiov vvoXetftfieiviTS rou &iou hoyov. 3 C. Ixxvi. 37. 4 S. L. 6. DCCLVI. 37. Yet compare L. 7. DCCCXXXVII. 34, where the appellations law and eternal Word are applied to the Saviour. In L. I. CCCXLIII. 7, Clement plays upon the twofold meaning of the word Aoyo? Reason, and the Word. 5 In S. L. 6. dcclxiv. 40, Clement says that the Lord is the power of God, with reference to I Cor. i. 29. Compare Tatian, 145, A. In the Excerpta ex Prophetarum Scripturis. LIII. the Lord is called the Word with reference to Ps. xix. 3* ^t**?* r y nftzpa iptvyzrou pri/aa. c Thus C. Ixiv. 8, with respect to the Gentiles, si yap XKI ra, f^a,Xi/Tra, \vu,v <rp.oc.ru, rivoi rov Xoyou rov faiou \a.$ovri? "EAAjjvs;, oXiya, cirra. rri; oiXr,@iiu.; iq>6iy,a.vro. Here o x'oyo: o 0<.7o; seems to mean a Divine attribute. But in LXX. 32, the words clearly mean a person, dti olv rr t $ <pu\>?i$ uvKxouMftsv TOU 6iiou hoyou' (pas $1, o \oyo: avfy/uVot:, $i' oil KU.ru.vya^'o^Ja. rov 0ov. Compare LXXVIII. 31. P. L. 2. c. i. CLXII. 13. o p<r/v xy?. S. L. 2. CCCCLXIII. 27. 7 C. lix. 26. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 199 standing, the eye of the understanding is enlightened. He 1 speaks of the Father in the fulness of His love towards man showering down the Word, and the Word then becoming spiritual food to the prudent. Yet this passage is immediately followed by one already quoted, in which the personality of the Word is clearly expressed. We find the Word called the -wisdom of God, a title derived from Prov. viii. 22, or the 3 paternal wisdom 4 the good will of the Good Father, the genuine wisdom, the sancti- fication of knowledge 5 the truth, the wisdom, the power of God 6 the first-created wisdom, the 7 person or countenance of God, by which He is brought to light or revealed, and made known the 8 person of the revealed truth. With respect to this last title, Clement is speaking of the proof that the Son of God is our Saviour ; this, he says, " is proved by the prophecies which preceded His appearance ; . by the testimonies which co-existed with His sensible (cognizable by the senses) birth or existence ; and by the (miraculous) powers which were announced and openly displayed after His Ascension. That we possess the truth is proved by the fact that the Son of God is Himself our Teacher. For if in every inquiry a person (to effect) and a thing (to be effected) are universally found, the truth is revealed amongst us alone. Since the person of the revealed truth is the Son of God ; the thing is the power of faith, which prevails over every adversary, and the resistance of the whole world." This title then is a logical rather than a theological distinction. Perhaps, however, the clearest and most connected view of 1 P. L. i. c. 6. cxxiii. 6. See p. 194, Note 5. S. L. I. cccxxxvu. 36. " C. Ixviii. "' f*/ % tffnv o \'oo; oe,vrov. 3 P. L. I. C. II. clvi. I. art ffoQiu. lirr] 4 P. L. 3. c. 12. cccix. 36. 5 S. L. 2. CCCclvii. 8. ^uvctfti; ouv watrpix'/i vrfdpfcuv. L. I. CCCCXXI. 99. L. 7. DCCCXXXIII. 32. 6 S. L. 5. dcxcix. 23. Clement refers to Wisdom vii. 24 ; but see Prov. viii. 22. 7 P. L. I. c. 7- cxxxii. 15. ifptfetifit 31 TOII &*ou o A.oyos, a <ptrt%trtu o @<o$ xa,} yiuptt^treu. Compare S. L. 5- DCLXV. 30. Ivnvhv vf'offu'ffov tlp'/irut rov Hct'-po; o vlo? eurtjftm <mvra$i ffupxotyopo; yivoftivo; o Ao<yo;, o rov ffa.Tptuou p'/ivwrrts tinsufta.ro;. See also the passages quoted in p. 166, Note 2. 8 L. 6. dccci. 28. i<7Tii Kpoffuirov fx.lv rvs %uxvu{u.zvr,; dXwfcia,; o uio; rov &-ov. 2co Some Account of the Clement's opinions respecting the Second Person in the Trinity, may be found in a passage in the l seventh book of the Stromata. We find him there saying that " the most excellent thing on earth is the most pious man ; the most excellent thing in heaven, an angel, who having nearer access shares in greater purity the eternal and blessed life ; but the most perfect, the most holy, the most regal, the most beneficent nature is that of the Son, being most intimately united to 2 Him Who is alone omnipotent. His is the highest pre-eminence ; He orders all things according to the will of the Father, and gives them the best direction, and acts upon them with unwearied and inexhaustible power, being enabled to look into the secret thoughts. For the Son of God never quits the eminence from which He looks down upon the universe ; He is neither divided, nor cut off, nor transferred from place to place, but is at all times in every place, yet circumscribed by no place, being all intelligence, all the light of the Father, 3 all eye, seeing all things, hearing all things, knowing all things, by His power penetrating all powers. To Him the Word of the Father, Who received the holy dispensation through Him Who put it in subjection to Him is subject the host of angels and 4 gods. Hence all men are His ; some knowing Him ; others not having yet attained to the knowledge : some as friends ; some as faithful servants ; some as mere servants. He is the Teacher Who disciplines the Gnostic by mysteries, the believer by good hopes, the hard of heart by the corrective discipline of a sensible operation. Thence proceeds a Providence, particular, public or national, and universal." Clement then goes on to 1 dcccxxxi. 13. 2 ri re? P'OVM fav-oKpttropi <z-po<r<%z<r<ru,T'/i. Petavius objected to this expres- sion as savouring of Arianism, because the nature is represented, not as the same, but merely as proximate to that of the Father. See Bull, Defen. Fid. Nic. c. 6. sect. n. 6. The whole tenor of the passage proves that Clement ascribed all the attributes of the Godhead to Christ ; but when He is spoken of as the Son, with reference to the Father, or as sent forth by the Father to conduct the economy, the relation itself implies a certain subordination or inferiority. 3 We may observe that Clement here applies to the Son terms which in DCCCLIII. 10 he applies to God generally. 4 So S. L. 2, CCCclv. 29. TOV V'?ripu,vu> ruv &iuv. Is. 4. DCIV. 22. ol yap civ iron o vios <rt? fftx-rfi %iot(piXovuxoi'/i, xa} Tuvra. Iv Sto7f. L. 6. DCCXCVIII. II. xara, <rv ffvyx^yipovopiav <ruv xvpiav KOU Siuv. Compare DCCCXVI. 5- L. 7. DCCCLXV. 17. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 201 state that the Divine prophecies plainly declare that there is a Son of God, and that He is the Saviour and Lord of Whom we speak. " He draws to Him by persuasion those of the Greeks and barbarians who are willing to obey Him. He it was Who gave philosophy to the Greeks. * His providential care extends to all. Since, if it does not, we must conclude either that He wants the power, which would bespeak weakness ; or that, possessing the power, He wants the will, which would bespeak a deficiency in goodness ; nor can we suppose that He Who took upon Him suffering flesh on our account, indulges in luxurious indolence (like the gods of Epicurus). As, there- fore, it befits Him Who is the Lord of all, He takes care of all ; for He is the Saviour of all. He allots His benefits to Greeks and barbarians, according to the capacity of each to receive them that is, to those of them who are predestined and called at their proper season, faithful and elect. He, therefore, Who has called all equally, but has given more eminent honour to the more eminent believer, will not through envy withhold His benefits from any ; nor will He, \Vho is the Lord of all, and especially when He 2 ministers to the will of the good and omnipotent Father, be prevented by another from conferring them. Nor can envy be incident to the Lord Who, as He is without beginning (di/apx>s) 3 is also without passion ; nor can anything which man possesses be an occasion of envy to the Lord ; widely different is he to whom the passion of envy is incident. Nor can we say that the Lord was unwilling to save mankind through ignorance because He knew not how to provide for the care of each individual. Ignorance is not incident to God ; to Him Who before the foundation of the world was the counsellor of the Father. For this was * the wisdom in which the omnipotent God rejoiced. 7 The Son is 1 Compare dcccxxxi. 21. ~" TOV K,yot,&ov x,&i < x > a,v7ox.!>t Petavius objected also to this expression. See p. 200, Note 2. 3 We have seen that exemption from passion is regarded by Clement as an attribute of the Godhead ; he must therefore have considered Christ, Whom he states to be without beginning as well as without passion, to be God. Compare S. L. 4. DCXXXII. 40. &to; %l a.'vcx.&r,?, cidvpos TI, x,cti avtyrittvfAvrof, with L. 7- DCCCLXXV. l6. ; ftiv cuv jtovos o a,vi<Vi&v[jt.riTo; 55 &FX$St K-'jpu? o tyiXavfyu'Vo;, o KO.} /' jfta.; a.v6pta-7fo?. There is no contra- diction between the awa0vi; cv^i yzvoftsvo; and the l| &p%w; etiMftivfufrtt ; the former relating to the essential existence of Christ, the latter to His assumption of human nature. 2O2 Some Account of the the power of God ; inasmuch as existing before all created things He is the Word, in Whom is contained the principle of all things 1 (dp^tKcoraros Aoyos), and the wisdom of the Father ; and He may peculiarly be called the Teacher of the beings created by Him. Nor can He, Who, having taken upon Him flesh, which is naturally subject to passion, disciplined it into a habit of impassibility, be suspected of abandoning His care of man through the seductions of pleasure." Clement afterwards says that " every operation of the Lord has reference to the Almighty, and the Son is, so to speak, an energy or operation of the Father that the Son is constituted the causer of all good by the will of the Almighty Father, the first causer of motion, a power incomprehensible by sense ; for what He was man saw not through the weakness of the flesh. Wherefore taking upon Him flesh, which is cognizable by sense, He came to show to men what is possible with reference to obedience to the commandments." To the proofs of Clement's belief in the essential divinity of Christ, contained in the foregoing passage, we may add several passages in which His pre- existence is expressly declared. Thus 2 the Lord Christ is called the sun of the resurrection, begotten before the morning star, and gratuitously imparting life by His own rays. The precepts inculcating a righteous course of life are 3 said to have been announced before the law by the Word. It 4 is said of Abraham that, looking up to heaven, he saw either the Son in the Spirit, or as some inter- pret the passage, a glorious angel. In 5 another place Clement, 1 We find in ncccxxi. 3. TOV xf^ixov ^oyov, which Lovvth understood of the Xoyos, but as it appears to me erroneously; in S. L. I. cccxxxiv. 4. Ift TTIV ap%ixu<rdt r ry,v ffoifiiav. 2 C. LXX. 9, with reference to Ps. cix. 4. See v. 24. vn. 14. 3 S. L. 3. dxxxii. 21. In P. L. I. c. 7. cxxxi. 24, it is said that the Pedagogue (Christ) appeared to Abraham, Jacob, etc. 4 S. L. 5. dcxlviii. 14, uith reference to Gen. xvii. I. 5 P. L. i. c. 7. cxxxn. 27. cxxxm. 17. Compare S. L. 7. ncccxxiv. 30. and L. 5. DCXC. 28. *a< ^' u.yy'&ov rtfofftxu; (f. vpofftxovg as L. 7. UCCCXXXV. 1 8. ; TS ruv Vf>o<ri%uv uyyiX/vv) pvffra.yuyi7Ta,t, where the reference is to the angel who appeared to Abraham. In the Adumbra- tions on the First Epistle of St. John ii. I, we find Sed Moysi quidem propinquus ac vicinus Angelus. apparuit. MIX. 28. Bull, Def. Fid. Nic. c. I. sect. I. II. Clement says that Moses appears to have applied the appellation covenant to the Lord in Gen. xvii. 4. S. L. I. ccccxxvu. 21. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 203 comparing the old with the new covenant, says, " formerly the elder people had the elder covenant, and the law disciplined the people with fear, and the Word was an angel ; but to the new people was given a new covenant, and the Word was made (yeye'viyrai) and fear was changed into love, and the mystical angel Jesus is born." There is a passage in * the fourth book of the Stromata which appears at first sight to be at variance with one which has been quoted from the first book of the Pedagogue, as declaratory of the distinction of persons in the unity of the Godhead. " God," he says, " not being demonstrable, is not an object of knowledge; but the Son is wisdom, and know- ledge, and truth, and whatever is akin to them ; demonstration, therefore, and description (8ieoSoi/) apply to Him ; all the powers of the Spirit, being collectively one thing, conspire to the same point, the Son, Who is infinite with reference to the notion (ciWas) of each of His powers. The Son is neither absolutely one, as one ; nor yet many, as parts, but one, as all things ; for from Him are all things ; and He is the circle of all powers collected and united into one. On this account the Word is called Alpha and Omega. In Him alone the end is the beginning, and He ends in the beginning, not admitting any interval or distance." It is not easy to attach a precise meaning to many of the expressions in this passage j yet it seems only to mean, 2 as Bull has interpreted it, that God can- not be known directly, and is known only mediately through the Son. In other respects it makes the Son co-existent with the Father. That Christ was at once God and man is 3 repeatedly affirmed. In commenting on the injunction given by Christ to eat His flesh and drink His blood (John vi. 53, 54), Clement 1 dcxxxv. 9. 2 Def. Fid. Nic. sect. 2. c. 6. 7. 3 Thus C. vii. 2. vvv >TJ I<T<pv/? a,v0p&<voi; auros ou<ro$ o Aoyos, o ftovos Kfttyu, &sos <ri KOI.} civfyuvo;, KWKVTUV hpiv a.'1-nos a,ya,Quv. See LXXXIY. I. P. L. I. c. 9. CXLVIII. 33. L. 3. c. i. CCLI. 22. S. L. 7. Dcccxxxn. 17, 43. DCCCXXXIII. 10. In the second book of the Stromata, CCCCLXXIX. 30, mention is made of the fourth Hypostasis of the Lord, which Potter supposes to mean Christ's human nature, which together with the Three Persons in the Trinity makes the 2O4 Some Account of the 1 says "that the Spirit signifies allegorically the body or flesh, the Word the blood ; the mixture of the two is the Lord, the food of infants ; for the Lord is Spirit and Word ; the food, that is the Lord Jesus, the Word of God, is incarnate spirit ; sanctified heavenly flesh." 2 He was not, however, a common man. 3 It would be ridiculous to suppose that the body of the Saviour, as a body, required necessary sustenance for its preservation ; He ate, but not for the body, which was held together by a holy power ; but lest His companions should be induced to think 4 otherwise of Him (than as a man), as after- wards some supposed that He was only a man in appearance. He was altogether exempt from passion, subject to no impulse of passion ; neither of pleasure nor pain. In 5 the Eclogee ex Prophetarum Scripturis, we find it affirmed that "as the Saviour, while in the body, spake and performed cures, He did the same before through the prophets ; and does it now through the Apostles and teachers. For the Church ministers to the operation of the Father. On that account He then took upon Him man, that He might in the human form minister to the will of the Father: and on all occasions God W T ho 'Moves man puts on man for the salvation of man ; formerly He put on the prophets ; He now puts on the Church (a collection of faithful men), for it was suitable that like should minister to like for a like salvation." 1 P. L. i. c. 6. cxxin. 35. - S. L. 3. dxxxiii. 31. 'ivn-ra. o'-, oLo- civfyuxo; r,v xoivi;. :1 S. L. 6. dcclxxv. 28. 4 In S. L. 6. dccciv. 10, Clement says that the Son of God took upon Him flesh, which was an object of sense. Le Nourry thinks that there is no allusion to the human nature of Christ. His explanation is, Quaternio virtutum Deo consecratur ; tertii sola, nimirum justitia, hominem quartce Domini w-ro<rra<r-/, hoc est, firmo nee mutationi amplius obnoxio Domini statin conjungente, p. 901. Still we are not told why this unchangeable state of the Lord is called the fourth Hypostasis. 5 xxiii. In S. L. 7. DCCCLXVIII. 9, the Lord is said to have assumed flesh, in order that He might instruct through the mouth of man. In the Eclogce ex Prophetarum Scripturis, LIII. it is said that the Devil was aware of the coming of the Lord, but did not know that Jesus (Qsos is improperly inserted) was He ; and therefote tempted Him to ascertain His power ; then left Him for a season, waiting for His resurrection ; for the Devil knew that the Lord was to rise. The demons supposed that Solomon was the Lord, till he sinned ; they knew that Christ was the Lord after His resurrection. " o tpiXuvfyuvo; &io;. We find the \oyo; so styled in P. L. I. c. 7. cxxxi. 10. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 205 In the J second book of the Paedagogue, Clement says " that the Word of God in Scripture is called a pearl, being the pellucid and pure Jesus, the superintending or inspecting eye in the flesh, the transparent Word; through Whom the flesh, regenerated in the water, becomes precious." According to Clement, our Lord was born in the ' 2 twenty- eighth year of the reign of Augustus, when the census was first ordered to be made. Like several of the Fathers, he 3 inferred from the words of Isa. Ixi. i, "To preach the acceptable year of the Lord," that our Lord's ministry lasted only a single year. We learn also that even in his time considerable diversity of opinion existed respecting the days on which our Lord was born and suffered. He 4 says that " Love was the motive which impelled the Son of God to suffer for us." He speaks of Christ as 5 sacrificed for us ; and with reference to i Cor. v. 7, " Christ our passover is sacrificed for us," he G says, "Truly an astonishing sacrifice, the Son of God sancti- fied for us." We have "seen that Clement calls upon us to be believers in the suffering and adored living God. He did not, however, suppose that the Godhead suffered. On the con- trary, speaking of the offering of Isaac, he 8 says, "that the fact that Isaac was not sacrificed has reference to the divinity of the Lord ; for Jesus arose after His interment, not having suffered (in His Divine nature), as Isaac was preserved from the sacrifice." In another 9 place Clement, having referred 1 c. 12. ccxli. 31. Compare a fragment found in the Catena of Nicetas on Matt. xii. 46, in which it is said that the pearl is the pellucid and most pure Jesus, Whom the Virgin conceived from the Divine lightning (1% affrpavr,; TVS fata;}. For as the pearl, being in flesh, and in a shell, and in liquid, appears to be a liquid and transparent body full of light and spirit, so the incarnate Divine Word (&7, not fao? Aoyos} is intelligent light, shining through light and a liquid body. MXIV. 15. 2 S. L. i. ccccvi. 31. The twenty-eighth year must be reckoned from the victory at Actium. 3 S. L. i. ccccvii. 8. Compare L. 5. DCLXVIII. 22. See the two frag- ments supposed to be taken from Clement's Work de Paschate. MXVII. 15. 4 S. L. 6. dcclxxv. 15. 5 S. L. 7. dcccxxxvi. 27. 6 S. L. 5. dclxxxvi. 8. eivopov u; u,Xr,6eas 0vp.cc,, vlo? 0tou v<ff\? Wftuv Kyiu^opivo;. But it has been ingeniously conjectured that for a,yix%o/x,zvos we should read ff^a-yiot^'n^tvo?. See DCLXXXVI n. 20. 7 C. Ixxxiv. 2. wifnvffov, oivfyuvz, rea <xa.6ovTi xa,} vrpoffx.vvov[&zvw 0iu 2/yvn, quoted in p. 195, Note 3. 8 P. L. i. c. 5. cxii. 3. 9 C. xxiii. 7. 2o6 Some Account of the to the passage in the Epistle to the Ephesians xi. 4, 5, where it is said that " God caused us, who were dead in sins, to live together with Christ," adds, " For the Word, living and buried with Christ, is raised on 1 high together with God ; " that is, as I understand Clement, the Word did not suffer at the cruci- fixion, but was present with Christ's human nature in the tomb, and preserved it from corruption to elevate it in the resurrection. Clement 2 says expressly that the Word alone was with- out sin. He 3 appears to have entertained, in common with many of the early fathers, the opinion, founded on a misinterpretation of Isa. liii. 2, 3, that the personal appearance of Christ was mean. In common, too, with many of the early fathers, he 4 plays upon the words Xpto-ros and Xprja-ros. He finds also various mysteries in the letters of the name 'I^o-ovs. Thus 5 the rectitude or straightness (^ evOeia) of the goodness of the Lord is denoted by the letter I. In the number of Abra- ham's servants (318, T/) with whom he rescued Lot, Clement finds I H, the initials of 'I??o-o{)?, the saving name. The "number of the commandments has also reference to the first letter of that name. The 8 instrument of ten strings 1 Or perhaps is elevated together (with Christ) to God. See Potter's Note on the passage. - P. L. 3. C. 12. CCCVII. 17. ftovs; yup KVK/MxprrrTo; KVTO; o \oyos. 3 P. L. 3. C. I. CCLII. 7. rov <5 Kvpiov avTov rnv o-^iv at<r%pov yiyoviveii / 'VLffKiov TO nv'upa. /u.ctpTVp<7. Compare S. L. 2. CCCCXL. 24. L. 3. DLIX. 26. L. 6. DCCCXVIII. 38. We find, indeed, in S. L. 2. ccccxxxix. 16, the following statement with reference to the Saviour, pog ftuv, TO xstXov TO a.X'/}tvov <7n>7roo'JVTeav' '/tv yap TO $&>; But Clement always describes the beauty of the soul as the only true beauty. 4 C. LXXII. 10. xcv. 5. S. L. 2. ccccxxxvni. 10. CCCCLXVI. 23. L. 5. DCLXXXV. 41. 5 P. L. i. c. 9. CXLVIII. 40. 6 S. L. 6. dcclxxxii. 4. Clement borrowed this from the Epistle of Barnabas, c. 9. 7 S. L. 6. dcccxv. 35. P. L. 3. c. 12. cccv. 3. Clement frequently calls ten the perfect number. See S. L. 2. CCCCLV. 28. L. 6. DCCLXXXII. II. DCCCVII. 25. and the whole of chapter 16. 8 P. L. 2. C. 4. CXCIV. 22. xot,} [A'/tTt TO ^ixci%op'<>ov -^stXT'/ipiov, TOV A.'oyov TOV I'/lffOVV [A'/lVll'it) TU ffTOlfcttto T)j: OiKKOO, fyKViCOUfAlVOV, Writings of Clemen t of A lexa ndria . 207 mentioned in Ps. xxxiii. 2, has a similar reference. In the * sixth book of the Stromata there is a strange appli- cation of the word 'ETrto-ry/x-og, expressing the number six, to our Lord's incarnation and transfiguration. We find, too, fanciful references to the 2 form and to the material of the cross. With respect to the descent of Christ into Hades, it is expressly affirmed by Clement in the 3 sixth book of the Stromata, "Wherefore the Lord preached the Gospel also to them in Hades. The Scripture says, ' Hades says to destruc- tion, we have not seen His form, but we have heard His voice.' It was not the place which then found a voice and uttejed the foregoing words ; but they who were consigned to Hades, and who had given themselves up to destruction, like men who voluntarily cast themselves out of a ship into the sea. These, therefore, are they who hear the Divine power and voice. For who in his senses would suppose that the souls of the righteous and of sinners are in one condemnation, thus imputing injustice to Providence? Do not the Scriptures 4 show that the Lord preached the Gospel to them who were destroyed in the deluge ; or rather, to them who were bound and are now detained in prison and custody? We have shown in the 5 second book that the Apostles also, imitating the Lord, preached the Gospel to them in Hades. For it was fitting, I think, that the chief of the disciples should be imitators of their Master, there as well as here ; so that HE might lead the Hebrews, THEY the Gentiles to conversion ; that is, G those who had lived in the righteousness, which is according to the law and to philosophy, and had walked, not 1 (Icccxii. 8. o ^l ^IK, yiviffius, r t v l^YjXeaffiv '/i \%a$ Ivr'nr'/ipo;, oy^oa; ti-ffup^uv, (pu.v'ri Qzo; tv ffctpxiM. -'S. L. I. ccccxix. ii. L. 5. dclxvi. 23. dcxc. 5. As the numerical power of the letter I referred to the Saviour, so the letter T referred in form and numerical power to the cross. L. 6. DCCLXXXII. 3. DCCLXXXHI. 36. C. xci. 26. pi%pt rov ffyipiiou, until His passion. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXXXIX. 46. S. L. 7. DCCCLXXX. 16. 3 dcclxii. 36. The passage of Scripture referred to seems to be Job xxviii. 22. 4 i Pet. iii. 19, 20. 5 cccclii., where Clement quotes a passage from the Shepherd of Hernias. li This is more fully explained in ncci.xiv. DCCLXV. 208 Some Account of the indeed perfectly, but in sin and error ; for it befitted the Divine dispensation, that they, who had made the greater pro- ficiency in righteousness, and had in their lives made it their principal object (Trpo^yov/AeVws), and had repented of their transgressions, in whatever place they might be, since they confessedly were of the number of those who belong to the Almighty God, should be saved, each according to his own knowledge." According to Clement, therefore, Christ and the Apostles went down to Hades to preach the Gospel there to those who had died before His appearance on earth, whether Jews or Gentiles. This l was necessary to clear the Divine economy from the imputation of injustice. We may take this, opportunity of observing that Clement - maintained the perpetual virginity of Mary. With respect to the Holy Spirit, we have already quoted passages in which the distinction of persons in the Godhead is clearly expressed. To those may be added the 3 following. " He Who sprang from David, yet was before David, the Word of God, overlooking the lyre and harp, inanimate instruments, but attuning this world, and the little world man, his soul and body, to the Holy Spirit, plays to God on the many-voiced instrument, and sings to that instrument, man. 3 ' Again, com- paring man's passage through life to the voyage of Ulysses, Clement 4 exhorts us to avoid the seductions of pleasure, as Ulysses closed his ears against the song of the Sirens ; and adds, "that the Word of God will steer us, and the Holy Spirit will moor us in the harbour of heaven. 1 ' Clement * speaks of the Paraclete as sent by the Lord ; of the new man, transformed by the Holy Spirit of God ; 7 of the Holy Spirit breathed upon the believer. Speaking of the first or eighth day, he 8 says, "From that day wisdom and knowledge first shone upon us ; for the light of truth, the true light, with- out shadow, the Spirit of the Lord, 9 divided without division 1 dcclxv. 13. See the Valentinian notion in the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. xvni. 2 S. L. 7. dccclxxxix. 35. 3 C. v. 24, quoted in p. 7. 4 C. xci. 25. 5 C. Ixxi. 7. 6 C. Ixxxvii. 12. 7 S. L. 5. dcxcviii. 36. 8 S. L. 6. dcccx. 13. K t uifu; f&zpi^ofAivov *7fviV[AO. Kupiou ;'i$ <rov; oia vrtyr-u; '/lyiccfffASvoii;. See L. 6. DCCC. 24. In S. L. 5. DCXCIX. 2, Clement says that the Spirit is not in each of us as a part of God ; and promises to show how the divi- Writing's of Clement of Alexandria. 209 to those who are sanctified through faith, is like a luminary to guide to the knowledge of things as they really exist." In enumerating the ten parts which are combined in man, Clement 1 says that the eighth is the spiritual part breathed into him at his creation (^ 7iW) w?js), the tenth is the characteristic peculiarity of the Holy Spirit which is added through faith. With respect to the inspiration of the prophets, Clement says, 2 " Sometimes that God, sometimes that the Lord, some- times that the Word, sometimes that 3 the Holy Spirit, spoke through them. Whatever they uttered, while thus inspired, was 4 true." On the subject of idolatrous worship, we find in Clement the notion, founded on a misinterpretation of Deut. iv. 19, that God had given the sun and moon as objects of worship to the Gentiles, in order that they might not sink into absolute atheism. Yet in the G Hortatory Address we find him saying, that he knew not how men were induced to worship the work- sion takes place, and what the Holy Spirit is,, in His works on prophecy and on the soul. In L. 7. DCCCX. 22, he says that our participation in that wisdom, which teaches us to know by comprehension (jMWXn-r**f) things divine and human, is in power, not in essence or substance. 1 L. vi. dcccviii. 8. See L. 2. CCCCLV. 19. - C. Ixxv. 20. 610,- 2< 'Hff^ov Xa^v. P. L. 3. C. II. CCXCV. 30. S. L. I. CCCC. 23. $10, TOVTO rods. Xiyu Kvptog $10. 'Riraioy. P. L. 2. C. JO. CCXXI7. 27. oia. Muffia; o \oyo; vapiyyuXw. CCXXXVI. 27. $10. A/3$. L. 2. C. 12. CCXLVI. 36. o \oyoslia, rev <rpo<pj<rou. (Hosea.) L. 3. C. II. CCXCIII. 12. us $10, 2oZ.o[&&ivro; Xiyit o ciyio; Koyo;, 3 C. Ixvi. 28. 'Isptftieis $1 o fpotyriTr,;, o VKvtroQo:, ^aXXov $1 iv 'l<p<[j.iq, TO clyiov Uviupa.. So P. L. 2. C. 12. CCXXIII. 7. P. L. I. C. $. CVII. 6. l^'yyvo; ftdprv; $10. 'Hfo-'iov TO Tlvivfta,. So L. 2. C. I. CLXVIII. II. L. I. C. 7- cxxxi. ii. tiet TV? ulvs with reference to Deut. xxxii. 10. c. 9. CXLIX. 38. o Aaf-,^, TovTiffTi TO Ilvsvfta, TO ^/ oiVToiJ. So L. 2. C. IO. CCXXXVIII. l6. C. 2. CLXXXV. 15. ^tu. TOV 'A/U.OJ;. C. 12. CCXLVI. 22. $10. TOU 2oq>oviov. In P. L. i. c. 5. civ. 32, we find TO #po<pr,Tiov trviupa. In C. LXVIII. 39, Clement calls the Holy Spirit the mouth of the Lord, with reference to Isa. i. 20. In S. L. 7. DCCCXCIII. 18, Clement identifies the Divine commandments with the Holy Spirit. <r/~V fctat; IvTeXaTs, rovTiffTi TU a,y'w Uvivpa-Ti. * S. L. 2. CCCCXXxii. 14. au yap zif&faou; ot "irti-Trvoi IK &*.ov Joyous 5 S. L.' 6. dccxcv. 26, quoted in p. 116. In S. L. 5. DCLXII. 16, Clement speaks of persons who worshipped an imitation of the circum- ference of the heavens, embracing the stars. liv. 22, quoted in p. 10. 2 1 o Some Account of the manship of God instead of God, the sun and moon and starry choir ; absurdly taking for God things which are the instruments of (whereby to measure) time. In l another place he enumerates seven sources of idolatry. Some, beholding the " 2 heavens and the motions of the heavenly bodies, moved with admiration, deified and worshipped them. Some deified 3 the fruits of the earth by which the life of man is sustained. Others the visita- tions and calamities inflicted in punishment of crime ; hence the furies and avenging deities of the tragic poets. Some, and among them certain philosophers, deified human passions ; fear, love, joy, hope. Some deified the course of human affairs, and gave 4 bodily forms to justice and to fate. Many deities were the offspring of poetic fiction ; and lastly, men through gratitude deified 5 those who had conferred any signal benefit on them. These seven sources are not very accurately distinguished from each other. Clement notices the silence of the Heathen oracles, C. x. 12. Clement speaks of the angelic nature as the most excellent (created) nature in heaven, nearest in place and purity to the Divine, and partaking of an eternal and happy existence. 7 The angels were infinite in number, and there were among them different orders or ranks. s Seven of them, being the first-born, possessed the greatest power, and were the leaders of the angelic host. 9 Each nation and city was assigned to 1 xxii. 5, quoted in p. 9. ' 2 iovs In 7ov 6i7v ovoju-eco-avri; <rov; xa.} ffiXyvyiv, u? &pvyt$. 8. a A'/jw, rov ff7'Tov, u$ ' A.&r,vciioi' xu.} yopiiiffuv. II. 4 sraXAaj ruv ^XI^OVMV 1-nvn^tru.ffa, [t.op$u.;. C. LXXIX. 15. 5 The Barbarians gave the appellation of gods to their lawgivers. S. L. I. CCCLV. 17. cccxcix. 29. Clement alludes to the deification of Alexander the Great. C. LXXVII. 36. In P. L. 2. c. 9. ccxin. 20, he mentions the practice of crowning idols with garlands. Following Plutarch, he says that Numa prohibited the erection of any figure of God, either in the likeness of a man or of any other animal. S. L. I. CCCLIX. i. 6 S. L. 7. dcccxxxi. 14. " S. L. 7- dccclxix. 8. ftifof B' >><T9vs vuTv KftQftM ^oyi^ift-vo; 8 S. L. 6. dcccxiii. 21. dcccxxii. 16. 9 S. L. 7- dcCCXXxii. IO. <Vi 'yap ffi>y%tcx.v-vc/t'/;/u.svot fffoffra.^n Silo, n xu.} tx.pxa.ia. uyyiXoi xa.ru. Mw. Compare L. 6. DCCCXXII. io. This notion was founded on the reading of Dent, xxxii. 8 in the Septuagint. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 211 the care of a particular angel. Some also presided over the 1 planets, and some, under the direction of the Divine Provi- dence, were even assigned to 2 particular individuals; their office was to assist in disposing the mind for the reception of the Divine inspiration. In the 3 lowest order of angels were they who were in immediate communication with man, and the immediate agents in the direction of mortal events. Thus God 4 rains upon the just and the unjust, through the instru- mentality of the subordinate powers. They were also employed to give 5 philosophy to the Greeks. Clement speaks of angels, whom he calls watchers ; of 7 angels appointed to punish the unjust, though here perhaps he is merely stating the opinion 1 S. L. 5- dclxviii. 12. <rov; itytff-ru-Tu; To7; vrXuv/i'ru.i; x.a.70, TTJV faiuv Kpovoiav, Compare DCCI. n. L. 6. DCCCXVII. 5. etp%ovnxos u.yy&o; lv '/iXitu. Ecloga: ex Prophetarum Scripturis. i.vi. - S. L. 6. dcccxxii. 7, 12. rd^a. 11 KK} ruv (Lowth reads X.K-K ray?), \-7fl ftipov;, uv iviot; uvror-rei%ct<rui nvi;. See L. 7. DCCCLXXXI. 23, where the Gnostic is said not to be dependent an the aid of angels, but to be under the guardianship of God Himself. DCCCLXV. 37. 3 They are called proximate angels, tiot, TUV ^fotri^uv clyyixuv. L. 7. DCCCXXXV. 18. Compare L. 6. DCCCXXII. 14. trpm%trrffet w i*i<rxo<rr,. Adumbrationes in Ep. Juda; v. 9, MVIII. 34, in I John ii. I, MIX. 28. 4 S. L. 6. dccliii. 24. ^la. TUV vmTtnt<yftiv9 ^uvx/^iuv. Compare DCCLIV. 15. DCCCXXIV. 12. L. 7. DCCCXXXIII. 45, where Clement speaks of the gradation of beings from angels down to man. DCCCLXV. 26. 5 S. L. 7- dcccxxxii. 8. o<ro; Itrnv o %t$6Li: xoci <ro7$ "EXX'/jdT/ rvv (fnXoffo^iKv Itx <ruv vTToliiffTtjiuv uyyi^uv. Compare DCCCXXX. 8. In the Eclogaj ex Prophetarum Scripturis, LI. it is said that the first-created angels, moved by the Lord, acted upon the angels who were in immediate proximity to the pro- phets (its rol>; <rf>o<r<%<7; ro7; -rpotywrui; uyysXot/;), declaring to them the glory of God (with reference to Ps. xviii. i), that is, the covenants; and that all things which are done on earth by the ministry of angels are done through the first-created angels to the glory of God. In LVI. it is said that the first - created angels will be advanced from their/present ministerial office to a state of rest, in which their sole occupation will be the contem- plation of God ; that the order next below them will be advanced into their place ; and every succeeding order will rise to a higher rank. In LVII. we find the strange notion that men pass into the angelic state, and having been instructed for a thousand years by angels, are then perfected ; that their instructors are elevated to the station of archangels, and that they themselves become in turn the instructors of men ; thus at stated periods they are restored to their appropriate angelic rank. 6 P. L. 2. C. 9. CCXviii. 12. ircpois KUTOU; aTtixctZ,ovr<s olyyi^ot? ov; lypvyopov; xctXov/u'v. See the Note of Cotelerius on the Apostolic Constitution. L. 8. C. 12. 7 S. L. 5. dec. 27. 2 1 2 Some Account of the of Plato ; of l an angel of repentance ; of ' 2 angels who presided over the ascent of the blessed into heaven. The angels 3 have no bodily organs or members : 4 their perception is most acute. We find in Clement nothing to countenance the notion that prayers ought to be addressed to them. He 5 represents them, as well as men, as praying for blessings from God. Clement G speaks of apostate angels, who, 7 smitten by the beauty of women, and giving themselves up to their lusts, were cast down from heaven. They s revealed to women the Divine mysteries which had come to their knowledge, and which it was intended to keep secret until the Advent of the Lord. Thus men received the doctrine of Providence and the knowledge of sublime things (roV /xerew/xoi/). Demons, n according to Clement, are hateful and impure spirits, always tending downwards to the earth, hover- ing about tombs and monuments, where they are obscurely seen, like shadowy phantasms. He 10 couples them with bad angels, and says that the name of angels or demons was given to the souls of men. In some places he n applies the name I Quis Dives Salvetur. dcdlxi. 8. In the Eclogre ex Prophetarum Scripturis, XLI. we find mention of an angel who had the charge of exposed infants. See also XLVIII. " S. L. 4- dcxvi. 17. To7$ \$i<r-ruin <rr, clvo^M ayyi^ois. 3 S. L. 6. dcclxix. 21. 4 S. L. 7. dccclii. 37. '' S. L. 7- dcccliii. 41. o&iv ilx,it~u; ivo$ ovro; rov oiyoiSav @iov, wap O.VTOU ftovov ruv aya-Quv TO, fjt.lv ^o6r,vu.i, TO. 31 vra.pa.[jt.{ivu,i iv<gjptl4, '/)f'i7; ?'* xcti oi riyy&ot. See L. 3. DXXXIII. 19. c S. L. 5. dccxxv. 24. L. 7. DCCCI. xxxiv. 27. 7 P. L. 3. c. 2. cclx. 17. S. L. 3. DXXXVIII. 19. This notion was derived from the Septuagint version of Gen. vi. 2. In S. L. 7. DCCCLIX. 8, Clement ascribes their fall to indolence ; and says that they did not attempt to rise from double-mindedness to singleness of habit, tig rnv piav ixiivnv 'iliv IK. TV; il; rvv 'bivrXo'/iv i-riT'/^-i'o-nro;. Unity implies perfection ; duality imperfection the possibility of the existence of evil as well as good, and of choosing the former. See p. 149, Note 6. 8 S. L. 5. del. 13. Compare Eclogae ex Prophetarum Scripturis, LIII. where there is a reference to the Book of Enoch. According to Clement, Satan inspired women with the love of dress. P. L. 3. c. 2. CCLIII. 27. 9 C. xlix. 22. xxxvii. 27. 10 S. L. 6. dccliv. 28. Plagues and hail-storms and tempests were caused by them. DCCLV. 5, 9. See P. L. 2. c. I. CLXVIII. 25, where Clement, quoting Homer, says that the souls of the dead flock to the meats offered in sacrifice to idols. II C. 1. 33- Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 2 r 3 to the heathen gods ; in others he x alludes to the Platonic distinction between gods and demons. With respect to the worship of demons, ' 2 Clement doubts who first erected altars and offered sacrifices to them ; but says expressly that the first altar to Love was erected by Charmus (qu. Charinus) in the academy. He 3 speaks of a demon to whom gluttons are subject ; but 4 says that men cannot truly ascribe their sins to the agency of demons ; since if they can, they will themselves be free from guilt. He 5 defines the passions, impressions made upon the soft and yielding soul by the spiritual powers, against whom we have to wrestle. The object of these malevolent powers is on every occasion to produce something of their own habits or dispositions ; and thus to bring again under their subjection those who have renounced them (in baptism). In 6 the case of demoniacal possessions, the demon entered into the possessed person, who in consequence did not speak his own language, but that of the demon. The 7 magicians, however, pretended that they could at all times command the services of the demons. Clement s speaks of a prince of the demons, whom he calls the Devil, the dragon. In the Adumbrations on the First Epistle of St. John, iii. 8, Ab initio diabolus peccat, we find the following comment, which implies that the first offence of 1 C. xxxv. 4. Clement quotes Plato as defining i&*tpmi*r t TO it> rov 'ba.ffAova, %nv' "bxiftova, $1 >Jy-^/, ro ~w; "^v^; ripuv hyipovixov, S. L. 2. ccccxcix. 13. ' J C. xxxviii. 33, Clement mentions Phoroneus and Merops. He inter- prets itttiitufm'm the fear of demons, the disposition to deify everything, wood, stone, air. S. L. 7. DCCCXXXI. 6. See L. 2. CCCL. 12. 3 P. L. 2. c. I. clxxiv. 13. See clxviii. 4. 4 S. L. 6. dcclxxxix. 9. In the Eclogoe ex Prophetarum Scripturis, vn. we find the notion that unclean spirits are entwined around the soul. In XLVI. the affections of the soul are called spirits. 5 S. L. 2. cccclxxxvii. 7. See C. iv. n. (i S. L. i. ccccv. 2. In C. vi. 2 is an allusion to Saul's possession. 7 C. Hi. 7. 8 S. L. 5. dcci. 31. L. 7. DCCCLXXI. 2. C. xiv. n, where it is said that Jupiter, when he metamorphosed himself into a dragon, showed what he was. 9 MX. 31* * ^ "SiKfioXv;, Kvri'f.ovffio; wv : KK} ft* 7 av or, vat 010; r- wv, S. L. I. CCCLXVII. 36. 2 14 Some Account of the the devil might have been repaired by repentance : Ab initio scilicet, a quo peccare ccepit inconvertibiliter, in peccando per- severans. -o CHAPTER VIII. 1 WE have seen that in the beginning of the Stromata Clement speaks of the true tradition of the blessed doctrine, which had been handed down from the holy Apostles, Peter, James, John, and Paul. He - afterwards says, "that the Lord per- mitted the Divine mysteries and the holy light to be com- municated to those who were capable of receiving them ; He did not reveal them to many, inasmuch as they were not adapted to many ; but to fe\v, to whom He knew them to be adapted, and who were capable of receiving them, and 1 L. i. cccxxii. 1 8, quoted in pp. 66 and 141, Notes 3, 4. See L. 6. DCCI.XXI. 15. According lo a passage quoted by Eusebius (H. E. L. 2. c. i) from the seventh book of the Hypotyposes of Clement, the Lord communicated this knowledge (rvv yvuiriv} to James, and John, and Peter, after the resurrection ; who delivered it to the other disciples, and they again to the seventy. Compare S. L. 6. DCCLXXV. 43. James, and John, and Peter appear to have been selected because Christ took them to be witnesses of His transfiguration ; and St. Paul uniformly states that he had received the truth by immediate revelation. ' 2 cccxxxiii. 21, quoted in p. 66, cccxxiv. 13. This distinction between written and unwritten tradition is found also in cccxvin. 3. cccxix. 25. ovxxi. 12. L. 4. DCXIII. 23. L. 6. DCCLXXXYI. 7, though in these passages Clement seems merely to be contending that the labours of those who publish the Gospel by writing, and of those who publish it by preaching, are equally useful. In L. 6. ncccvi. 20, he says, that when God commanded Isaiah to take a new book, and to write in it (viii. i), He meant to intimate that the holy knowledge, which was then unwritten, being originally imparted to those only who could comprehend it, would afterwards be communicated through the Scriptures. This was fulfilled when the Saviour taught the Apostles, and they committed to writing His unwritten teaching. According to the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis, xxvii. the ancients (ol vrpurfitnpoi) committed nothing to writing, because they were unwilling to add the trouble of writing to that of teaching ; or to consume in writing the time which they must employ in meditating on that which they should have to say. Perhaps, too, they thought that the talents of writing and teaching (orally) were seldom united in the same person. Clement mentions an unwritten tradition given to the Hebrews. S. L. 5. DCLXXXIII. 22. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 2 1 5 of being conformed to them. Secret things, like God, are committed to oral, not to written tradition (Adyo>, ov y/aa/^an)." Clement goes on to say, that he does not pretend to give in the Stromata a perfect account of these secret doctrines ; he means merely to renew the recollection of them ; some had been obliterated from his memory through lapse of time, having never been committed to writing ; and of those which he retained he made only a selection ; since there were some to which he was unwilling to allude even in words, much more in writing ; lest they who met with them should pervert them to their own injury, and he should thus be placing, according to the proverb, a sword in the hand of a child. 1 In ' 2 the fifth book of the Stromata, Clement having quoted what St. Paul says in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians (vv. 3, 4, 5) respecting his knowledge in the mystery of Christ, adds that there is a certain instruction of the per- fect, to which St. Paul alludes in his Epistle to the Colossians (i. 9, 10, n, 25, 26, 27). "Some mysteries," Clement pro- ceeds, " were concealed until the times of the Apostles, and were by them delivered as they received them from the Lord ; concealed in the Old Testament, but now revealed to the saints." He then quotes other passages from St. Paul's Epistles, to show that the knowledge of which he is speaking, is not vouchsafed to all believers. He quotes the Epistle of Barnabas to the same effect; and 3 finds in Psalm xix. an allusion to the distinction between that which is written and that which is concealed, inasmuch as it is the subject of this higher knowledge. Hence instruction (/za^rei'a) is called illumination (</>otmcr//,os), because it makes manifest that which 1 Compare I.. 6. clccxxxvi. I. dccciii. 30. L. 7. dcdi. 35, p. 141, Note 4. " dclxxxii. 1 6. ov yap Ixxux}.i7v %pri ro ftvfrypftYf IftQaivztv ^s offov tl; u,vu,- ftvnfftv ro7; [A'rs.ffX'/iKoa't TV; yvuffiiu;, o't xoci tfuv'/iffovfftv artus tSpnveu wpos rou Kupiov, yntftit &>$ o 9T*<ri)p VJAUV rit.uoi. L. 7- DCCCLXXXVI. 9. Compare DCCCXCVI. 29. Clement quotes our Saviour's injunction, that "pearls are not to be cast before swine," in justification of this concealment of the higher knowledge. L. i. CCCXLVIII. 17. L. 2. ccccxxxn. 20. 3 '/Iftipa, yap ry yif^ipa IpiuyiTfti p'tiftei, TO yiypctftftivov uvrixpt/;' xai vy| VUX-T'I a.vayy'i'k'kii yvufftv, <rjv l<z"ixsxpi>[6{tivnv ftufrixu;. DCLXXXIV. 21. See a different application of this verse, p. 198, Note 5. 2 1 6 Some Account of tJic is hidden. When St. Paul expressed his wish to communicate in person some spiritual gift to the Roman converts, he alluded to the Gnostic (in Clement's acceptation of the word) tradition, which he could not impart by letter. When in the third chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (vv. i, 2, 3) he told them that he " could not speak to them as spiritual, but as carnal, as infants in Christ, and that he had in consequence fed them with milk, not with strong meat," he meant by milk catechetical instruction in the first rudiments of the Gospel ; by strong meat, x the full and perfect insight into the mysteries ; that is, the flesh and blood of the Word the comprehension of the Divine power and essence. In conformity with the distinction between the Gnostic and the common believer, Clement 2 says, "that in proceeding to the contemplation of the mysteries of knowledge, he shall adhere to 3 the celebrated and venerable rule of tradition. commencing from the origin of the Universe, setting forth those points of physical contemplation which are necessary to be premised, and removing whatever can be an obstacle in the way ; so that the ears may be prepared for the reception of the Gnostic tradition, the ground being cleared of weeds and fitted for the planting of the vineyard ; for there is a conflict previous to the conflict, and mysteries before the mysteries." Speaking of the heretics, Clement 4 says, " that they did not transmit or interpret the Scriptures agreeably to the dignity of God ; for the understanding and the cultivation of the pious yi hufiu. DCLXXXV. 38. 2 S. L. I. CCCXXV. I. 3 KU.7U, rov tuxXiw xa.} ffiftvov 7r,; fctpadoff'u; xa,vovu. In CCCXXV. 28 \VC find -fffo alrri? r7,; <ffa.pa.Votnu? rr t ? ffwr.fovt, which appears to be opposed to Tjjj yvtotrvixii; fapKOOfftui in 7. 4 S. L. 6. dcccii. 35. o xotvuv rr,s *&/?. L. 6. DCCCVI. 8. DCCCXVIII. 15. L. 7. DCCCXC. 14 is equivalent to o Ixx'^ffienrnxos xavuv. DCCCIII. IO. DCCCLXXXVII. 19. DCCCXXVI. 14. DCCCLV. I. o ttuvuv rtss 'ExxXtif'tK;. L. i. CCCLXXV. 14. L. 7. DCCCXCVII. 25, as is * x$i? /($<*. DCCCXLV. 5, where there is a direct reference to the Heathen mysteries, to r /i 'ExxZ.riffiuff<rixy> fu-pa^offt:. DCCCXC. 24. j yvufft; fi 'ExxXr,ffia(rrixri. DCCCXCII. 21. DCCCXCVI. l6. al rov Xpttrrou vctpaVoffti;. DCCCXCIII. 22. '/I rou Kupiov fupu.'tioffis. DCCCXCVI. 28. DCCCXCVII. 40. faia fapci'Soffi;. DCCCXCVI. 14. rt ' A-rotrroXiXTi xeti 'F.xxXyffia.irrixri opdoraftta, 7uv ^oypdruv. DCCCXCVI. 23. o xa.ro. T^V aX^s/av zva'yysl.ixo; xavuv. L. 3- r)XLI. l6. o xxvuv 7tj; ftffTZtu;. L. 4- DCVII. 25. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 2 1 7 tradition, agreeably to the teaching of the Lord delivered by the Apostles, is a deposit to be rendered to God. The Scrip- tures are to be interpreted according to the canon of the truth. Neither the prophets, nor the Saviour Himself, announced the Divine mysteries so as to be easily comprehended by every one, but spoke in parables ; which will be understood by those who adhere to the interpretation of the Scriptures ac- cording to the ecclesiastical rule ; and that rule is, the harmony of the Law and the Prophets with the covenant delivered by the Lord during His presence on earth." When we proceed to inquire what were the mysterious truths which had been thus transmitted by unwritten tradition, and were unfitted for the ear of the common believer, we shall find that they consisted chiefly of precepts for the formation of the true Gnostic the perfect Christian. The use to which the Romish Church applies unwritten tradition and the J Disciplina Arcani in order to account for the total silence of the first ages of Christianity respecting certain doctrines which it now requires its followers to believe as necessary to salvation this use receives no sanction from the writings of Clement. The same Scriptures were placed in the hands of Clement's Gnostic, and of the common believer, but he interpreted them on different principles ; he 2 affixed to them a higher and more spiritual meaning. The same doctrines were proposed as the objects of his faith, but he explained them in a different manner ; he discovered in them hidden meanings which are not discernible by the vulgar eye. Clement's Esoteric system agrees only in one respect with the Romish Disciplina Arcani ; it is equally destitute of solid foundation. Far, however, from teaching his Gnostic to rely on unwritten tradition, Clement 3 says, " that they who are labouring after 1 In S. L. 4. dcvi. 22, Clement gives a specimen of the secret discipline in his day, for the purpose of showing its absurdity. Potter has mis- understood the passage. See his Note. 2 See what is said in the tract entitled Quis Dives Salvetur respecting the hidden wisdom contained even in the simplest of our Lord's say- ings ; not merely in those which perplexed His disciples, and which" He explained 7o7$ 'iffu xa.1 oc,lro7s rots TYii /3ar/X/aj v'ixvois vir avrov XKAOU- ftivoi;. DCDXXXVIir. 30. XA. 01 'TfOtil'i \70l[AOl t^t 7(>7; XCtX/^lffTOi; 2 1 8 Some Account of the excellence will not stop in their search of truth until they have obtained proof of that which they believe from the Scrip- tures themselves." He 1 alleges that the heretics perverted the Scriptures according to their lusts ; - that they did not obey the Divine Scriptures, and kicked off the tradition of the Church. He 3 says that, in cases in which it is not sufficient merely to state a doctrine, but we are also required to prove what we affirm, we then do not look for human testimony, but appeal to the voice of the Lord, which is a greater surety than all demonstration; or rather is the only demonstration. With reference to this knowledge, they who merely taste the Scriptures are believers ; they who proceed further are accurate indexes (yvw/xovcs) of the truth ; they are Gnostics. 4 Thus we, bringing proof respecting the Scriptures from the Scriptures themselves, rest our belief on demonstration. Clement says that the 5 Gnostic follows whithersoever God leads him in the divinely-inspired Scriptures ; and G couples clear demonstration from the testimony of the Scriptures with knowledge (17 yvoxris), when he speaks of the remedies of ignorance. He 7 opposes the tradition of the blessed Apostles and teachers, which was in agreement with the divinely-inspired Scriptures, to human doctrines ; and 8 repeatedly asserts the unity of the Apostolic tradition. Clement has quoted 9 all the books of the Old Testament rtpiv v T'/iv ccwoozi^iv a.'Tf KUTUV Xeifiaffi TUI ypettyuv, S. L. 7- DCCCLXXXIX. 13. He gives an unhappy illustration of his own precept by appealing to an apocryphal Scripture in proof of the perpetual virginity of Mary. DCCCXC. 4. 1 S. L. 7. dcccxc. ii. Compare DCCCXCI. 19, 40. L. 3. DXXIX. 2, quoted in p. 188, Note 9. 2 S. L. 7. dcccxc. 2O. T/> ft'ietn \7fil6ovro KV ypa!pu7s. DCCCXCIV. 7. So / xvpiKKCu ypa,fya,'i. DCCCXC. 2, 34- 3 S. L. 7. dcccxci. 6. Clement says that the Gnostic grows old in the Scriptures, preserving the apostolic and ecclesiastic division (ip4orfu*v) of doctrines. Dcccxcvi. 23. See L. 3. DXLIII. 15. 4 So S. L. 7 dcccxci. 35. ff fisfiKiouv txcto-rov TUV avo'biix.vtjftivuv KU.TO, TO.? ypa.<Qa,$ \\ avruv rtd'kiv rav opoiuv ypcKfiwv. See also DCCCXCVI. 8. 6 S. L. 7. dcccxciv. 38. 6 S. L. 7 dcGCXCV. IO. lv yvuffit rn ^ta, ruv ypaQuv <7rapu%i'$o{//sv'/;. DCCCXCVII. 8. 7 S. L. 7. dcccxcvi. 11. 8 As in S. L. 7. dcd. 8. 9 There appears to be a reference to the book of Ezra. S. L. I. cccxcn. 35, and to that of Nehemiah. cccxcn. 15. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 2 1 9 with the exception of that of Ruth, the second book of Chronicles, the Song of Solomon, and the Prophecy of 1 Obadiah. Of the Apocryphal books, he quotes 2 Ecclesiasticus, and gives it the title of Scripture. He quotes it also under the title of 77 2o</ua. He 3 quotes also the book of Wisdom under the title of r/ 2o<ia, a title which he 4 gives to the book of Proverbs ; it may therefore be inferred that he conceived the three books to have been composed by Solomon. He 5 quotes Baruch under the name of Jeremiah, and gives the book the title of Divine Scripture. He G mentions the book of the Maccabees in conjunction with that of Esther and Mordecai ; and 7 speaks of the compiler of the epitome of the acts of the Maccabees, with a particular reference to the second book, i-io. He 8 refers to the book of Tobit under the title of Scripture. There 9 appears to be 1 Obadiah ('A/sS/aw) is mentioned in the enumeration of the prophets. S. L. i. cccc. 31. ~ 3?ofio$ yot-? Kupiau a.fu6i7ra,t a,f/.oe,prrif/,a,rix,' citfiofio; o ou ouvr,orircii otxcuaQriVKi, $'/iff}v fi ypa.q>'/i. i. iS, 22. P. L. i. c. 8. cxxxix. 7. See also L. 2. c. 6. CXCVI. 29. C. 8. CCX. IO. SriipKvo; oipa. troQiets, y tpnffiv w Soviet, 0/3aj Kuptou. i. 18. L. i, 8. cxxxix. 25. So also CXLI. 2. c. 9. CXLII. 41. c. 13. CLIX. l6. L. 2. C. I. CLXVIII. 22. C. 7. CCI. 6. 3 typovr}; B vra^i'ia.; aya-tri jv v\ 2o^/a "kiyti* a.ya.Tr^ $1, rrif/iffi? voftuv a-vrr,;. VI. 17, l8. P. L. 2. C. I. CLXVII. 4. S. L. 2. CCCCXXX. 38. 4 w 6ux. Sotpta utyopuft'ivri wapayyiXXit ro7$ Karri? rtxvoig, p.n "ff6i oivoTfor'/i;, xxiii. 20, 21. P. L. 2. c. 2. CLXXXII. 24. So c. 9. ccxviu. i8. L. 3. C. 12. CCCVI. 37. S. L. I. CCCLXXV. IO. fi VccviipiTO? 2o<p/a. S. L. 2. DI. 36. See the Note of Cotelerius at the end of the Epistle of Clemens Romanus. Clement, quoting passages from the book of Proverbs, calls them fan; \K vai^o; 'EfipctiotJ fftffoQiffpivov. C. LXVII. 36. So P. L. 2. C. 8. CCXIV. 22. vrpoQ'/irlitzv ovffa.v fftffo<piffftivvv. 5 xtx} ftwv KO,\ !)ia. *li[>t{Jt.iou T'/JV Qpovriffiv \%flyiivoU) ^KKcipioi t<r(jt,\v, "iffpar,^., Xzyeuv, on roe, apiffroc, ru SIM yvuffra, y/ft7v Ifrt. III. 13. P. L. I. C. IO. CLII. 9, 12, 37. vru'yxKA.u; yovv w fata. -TTOU *.<yu ypK^ri, after which follows a quotation from Baruch, in. 16, 17. L. 2. c. 3. CLXXXix. 16. 6 S. L. I. cccxcii. 19. 7 S. L. 5. dccv. 20. 8 S. L. 2. Dili. 19. Touro fipctfc'su; v\ yputy'si ^i^r t Xuxiv 'IpyxvToi, S ftiffii?, ov vowo-sis. Tobit iv. 16. See also L. 6. DCCXCI. 17. 9 S. L. 2. ccccxlvii. 32. 2 2O Some Account of the one reference to the book of Judith, viii. 27 ; and there l are references also to the Apocryphal books of Esdras. Clement quotes all the four Gospels. We have 2 already noticed the accounts given by Eusebius out of the Hypotyposes, respecting the origin of St. Mark's and St. John's Gospels. In S. L. 4. dxcv. 32, Clement makes Matthew and Levi distinct persons. See Le Nourry, p. 1014. Clement 3 ascribes the Acts of the Apostles to Luke. He quotes all the Epistles of St. Paul, excepting that to Philemon. That to the Hebrews he 4 ascribes expressly to St. Paul. Of the Catholic Epistles he quotes three ; for I agree with 5 Lardner in doubting whether there is any express reference to the Epistle of James, to the second of Peter, or to the second and third of John. But Clement c quotes what he calls the larger Epistle of John, thereby implying that there was at least one smaller epistle composed by that Apostle. In the T Adumbrations on the Epistle of Jude it is said that Jude was brother of the sons of Joseph ; and that though he knew his relationship to the Lord, yet he did not style himself the brother of the Lord, but of James. Clement s ascribes the Apocalypse to St. John. With respect to Apocryphal writings, he <J has one express reference to the Gospel according to the Hebrews. 1 S. L. i. cccxcii. 32. cccxciii. I. ccccx. 22. L. 3. DLVI. 30. - P. 3, Note 3. See the Adumbrations on the fifth chapter of the First Epistle of St. Peter, v. 14. MVII. 39. 3 S. L. 5. dcxcvi. 5. The passage of the Adumbrations referred to in the preceding Note. 4 S. L. 6. dcclxxi. 24. See also L. 2. ccccxxxm. i. DI. 7, 34. L. 4. DCVIII. 26, p. 3, Note 3 of this work, and the Adumbrations on the First Epistle of Peter. MVII. 16, 46. 5 Credibility, Part 2. c. 22. sect. 8. (! 'laKvvyi; b rr ftii&vt IviffroXy. S. L. 2. CCCCLXIV. 3. The author of the Adumbrations says that the second Epistle was addressed to virgins, and especially to a Babylonish virgin named Electa. MXI. 13. 7 MVII. 49. Eusebius, E. H. I,. 6. c. 14, says that Clement in the Hypotyposes quoted the Epistle of Jude.' It is expressly quoted S. L. 3. DXV. 10. 8 S. L. 6. dccxciii. n. Compare P. L. 2. c. 12. CCXLI. 37. 9 S. L. 2. ccccliii. 2. See Lardner, Credibility, Part 2. c. 22. sect. 13. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 2 2 1 He 1 quotes from the Gospel according to the Egyptians, two questions put by Salome to Christ. He 2 quotes an Apocryphal work entitled the Traditions of Matthias ; to whom, as we 3 have seen, the followers of Valen- tin us, Marcion, and Basilides appealed in support of their opinions. He 4 quotes a work entitled the Preaching of Peter, and from the manner of quoting seems to have attached some authority to it. Upon this point, however, as well as upon Clement's citations from other Apocryphal writings, I refer the reader to 5 Lardner. Eusebius G says that Clement in the Hypotyposes quoted the Revelation of Peter. We find 7 references to it in the Eclog?e ex Prophetarum Scripturis. Having considered the testimony borne by Clement to the genuineness of the books of Scripture, we will proceed to con- sider his mode of interpreting it. To begin with the book of Genesis. "By the serpent," he 8 says, "is allegorically repre- sented pleasure, which creeps upon the belly, an earthly vice." The laughter of Sarah, when it was announced to her that she should bear a son, was the laughter, not of incredulity, but of bashfulness. 10 Lot's wife, because she willingly turned to look back on worldly vice, was left without sensation, be- 1 S. L. 3. dxxxix. 45. dxli. 14. Compare DXXXII. 8. L. 3. DLIII. 14. Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. LXVII. Jones says that Clement had never himself seen this gospel. 3 S. L. 2. cccclii. 37. L. 3. dxxiii. 15. L. 7. dccclxxxii. IT. g* vivas uvoxpvtpou. L. 3. DXXIV. 30. 3 S. L. 7. dcd. 9. 4 S. L. I. CCCCXXVli. 27. lv $1 <rf Uivpov xripvyftun iupois uv vopov xett Xoyov vov Kvpiov vpoffa>yopiviftivov. L. 2. CCCCLXV. 5. L. 6. DCCLIX. 24. DCCLXI. 22. DCCLXII. 9. DCCLXIV. 47. DCCLXIX. 34. DCCCIV. 35. EclogEC ex Prophetarum Scripturis. LVIII. Neander considers this work as the com- position of a moderate Gnostic. On the Gnostic Systems, p. 30. 5 Credibility, Part 2. c. 22. sect. 13. See also Jones on the Canon. <{ E. H. L. 6. c. 14. 7 xli. xlviii. xlix 8 C. Ixxxvi. 23. Compare S. L. 6. DCCCXX. 30. 9 S. L. 6. dccxc. 23. 10 S. L. 2. cccclxi. 35. Compare C. LXXXII. n. 222 Some Accoimt of the coming a pillar of salt ; and, being thus prevented from pro- ceeding further, was fixed, not as an empty and useless figure, but fitted to salt or preserve (dpriWt) those who have a spiritual discernment. * Abraham, when he obeyed the command to sacrifice his son Isaac, on the third day lifting up his eyes saw the place afr off. The following is Clement's comment. " The first day is that of the sight of that which is fair ; the second is the best desire of the soul ; on the third the mind discerns spiritual things, the eyes of the understanding being opened by the Teacher Who rose again on the third day. Or the three days may be the mystery of the seal (of baptism), through which man believes on the true God. Hence Abraham saw the place afar off; for the place of God is hard to be comprehended. Plato calls God the place of ideas (x^P ^ tSeon/), having collected from Moses that He is a place, inas- much as He comprehends all things." With reference to Gen. xlix, n, Clement 2 says that the blood of the Lord is called allegorically wine. " He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes." 3 Moses, speaking allegorically, called the Divine Wisdom the tree of life planted in Paradise ; by which Paradise we may also understand the world, wherein all the works of creation are called into birth. Clement 4 interprets the history of Joseph allegorically. The coat of many colours which Joseph wore indicated his various knowledge, of which his brethren were envious. They cast him, therefore, into a pit in which was no water, after they had stripped him of his coat, that he might, like them, be without knowledge. To follow Clement through all his allegorical 5 interpretations would be a wearisome and unprofitable labour ; I shall there- 1 Gen. xxii. S. L. 5. dcxc. 15. - P. L. I. c. 6. cxxvi. 12. 3 S. L. 5. dcxc. I. 4 S. L. 5. dclxxviii. 7. 5 The reader will find allegorical interpretations of Exod. xv. I in S. L. 5. DCLXXVII. 35. Exod. xix. 18. L. 6. nxxi.v. 24. Exod. xxi. 33. L. 5. DCLXXVIII. 19. Exod. xxxiv. 5. L. 2. ccccxxxi. 17. Levit. i. 6. L. 5. DCLXXXVI. 21. Levit. xviii. I. L. 2. CCCCLUI. 23. Numb. vi. 9. P. L. i. c. 2. C. 4. Deut. xxii. 5. S. L. 2. CCCCLXXI. 20. Deut. xxiii. i. C. xxi. 15, where Clement calls Moses the hierophant of truth. Deut. xxv. 15. C. LX. 6. He frequently produces different interpretations of the same passage. Thus P. L. 2. c. i. CLXXII. 37. c. 8. ccv. 20. S. L. 2. CCCCLXXIV. 22. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 223 fore content myself with producing some of the most remark- able. In * the sixth book of the Stromata he gives the Gnostic explication of the Decalogue. He 2 first observes, that "the number ten is a sacred number. The finger of God, with which the commandments were written, is the power of God, by which the heaven and earth, represented by the two tables, were created. There is a celestial Decalogue ; the sun, moon, stars, clouds, light, wind, water, air, darkness, fire. There is also a terrestrial Decalogue ; men, cattle, creeping things, beasts, two kinds of animals living in the water, fishes and whales (KIJTYJ) ; two kinds of winged animals, carnivorous, and those that live on milder food ; two kinds of plants, those that bear fruit, and those that do not. The ark, in which the tables were deposited, was the knowledge of things human and divine, i.e. Wisdom. The two tables may also mean the two covenants. In consequence of the abounding of ignorance and sin, they (the tables) were mystically renewed, the commandments being written with two spirits, the superior and the subject (TO> re ??ye/xoi'iKto, TO> re vTroKet/^eVo)), ' for the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.' There is, moreover, a decalogue in man ; the five senses, the faculty of speech, the seminal principle, the spiritual principle breathed into man at his creation, the principal faculty (TO" j^ye/xoi/iKoV) of the soul, the characteristic peculiarity of the Holy Spirit which is added through faith." Clement then proceeds to interpret the several precepts, and in his enumeration appears to confound the first and second together; for he makes the prohibition to take God's name in vain the second, and the command to observe the seventh day the third. There is, however, reason to suspect some corruption of the text ; for he calls the command to honour parents the fifth. Interpreting this commandment, he says, " that by father is meant God ; and by mother, not as some suppose, the substance out of which men are created ; nor, as others say, the Church ; but the Divine knowledge and wisdom, which Solomon 3 calls the mother of just men." The next commandment is that against adultery : by adultery Clement understands a departure from the true knowledge of God. In like manner by murder he understands a violent taking away of the truth respecting God and His eternal exist- 1 dcccvii. 25. ' 2 Compare P. L. 3. c. 12. cccv. 3. 8 Prov. i. 8 ; xxxi. I. 224 Some Account of the ence. Theft is the appropriation to ourselves of any part of the honour due to God, as the author and preserver of all created things. The Greeks, too, when they imitated the true philosophy, were thieves. Clement then passes immediately to the tenth commandment. 1 We have already 2 noticed the following extraordinary com- ment on Exod. xvi. 16 : "Now an Omer is the tenth part of an Ephah," or, according to the Septuagint, "of the three measures" (rwv rptwv /xer/awv). "By the three measures are signified the three criteria in us : sensation, of things sensible ; speech, of things spoken, nouns and verbs ; the understanding, of things intelligible " 3 According to the mystical interpretation of Scripture, Moses slew the Egyptian who smote the Hebrew with a word. The 4 Israelites, when they departed out of Egypt, spoiled the Egyptians, not from greediness of gain, as their accusers affirmed ; but partly in order to obtain a recompense for the service which they had rendered during their sojourn in Egypt ; partly in order to punish the Egyptians for reducing them to a state of bondage, in violation of the laws of hospitality; for they came originally into Egypt as supplicants in a time of famine. 5 The pillar of fire which preceded the Israelites signified that it is impossible to represent God by an image ; it signified also His stedfastness and His unchangeable light, which cannot be reduced to a figure. Hence the ancients set up columns or pillars which they worshipped as Gods. The prohibition of various kinds of food in the Mosaic law 1 Among the prohibitions in the Decalogue, Clement inserts ol /$- Qfopfoug. C. LXXXV. 3. P. L. 2. C. 10. CCXXIII. 33. L. 3. C. 12. CCCV. 6. S. L. 3. DXXVII. 32. It is omitted L. 2. CCCCXLVI. 19. - S. L. 2. CCCCLV. 4. See p. 81. 3 S. L. i. ccccxiii. 20. * S. L. i. ccccxv. 25. Clement here follows Philo. 5 S. L. i. ccccxviii. 37. See p. 193, Note 2. fi P. L. 2. c. I. clxxv. 24. Compare c. 10. ccxx. 31. ffvfi&ofaxus. L. 3- C. II. CCXCVII. 24. S. L. 2. CCCCLXIV. 20. L. 5. DCLXXVI. 2J. Clement in support of these mystical interpretations quotes the Epistle of Barnabas. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 225 was designed in a mystical manner suited to the economy (oiKoi/o/AtKWTo/ra) to teach the Jews frugality. Moses assigned particular reasons for the several prohibitions ; spiritual reasons, which were secret ; carnal, which were openly declared, and in which the Jews believed. * The clean beasts, which divide the hoof and chew the cud, are symbolical of the Orthodox, who are stedfast in the faith, and meditate on the oracles of God day and night. The beasts which chew the cud, but divide not the hoof, signify the Jews ; who profess to meditate on the law of the Lord, but do not walk firmly forward to the Father through the Son. The beasts which divide the hoof, but chew not the cud, are the heretics ; who profess to believe in the Father and the Son, but do not rightly interpret the oracles of God. The beasts which neither divide the hoof nor chew the cud represent those who are altogether impure. In 2 another place Clement says, that " the command to take a turtle-dove for a sin-offering (Levit. xii. 6) signified allegorically that the purification of the irrational part of the soul is acceptable to God." In the 3 fifth book of the Stromata the reader will find an allegorical interpretation of the tabernacle and its furniture, of the dress of the priests, etc., borrowed, like many other of Clement's fanciful interpretations, from Philo. When Job said that " he came naked out of his mother's womb and should return thither naked," according 4 to Clement, he did not mean stripped of worldly possessions, but free from vice and sin, and the invisible spectre which follows those who have lived a life of injustice. In Ps. i. i, Clement 5 interprets the "counsel of the 1 S. L. 7. dcd. 23. Clement here borrows from Irenreus. L. 5. c, 8. Levit. i. ii. See p. 129. 2 S. L. 7. dcccxlix. 5. Compare P. L. i. c. 5. cvi. 2. Levit. xv. 29. 3 S. L, 5. dclxiv. 26. See L. 6. DCCLXXXIII. 16. 4 S. L. 4. dcxxxvi. 26. Potter supposes Clement to have borrowed the notion of the invisible spectre, aitiov; ti3&>Xou, from the Phsedo of Plato. 5 S. L. 2. ccclxiv. 23. This interpretation is given on the authority of a man wise in these matters, ffotyov rot, roiaurx. Clement gives another interpretation, which he thus introduces, 'inpos Ti ttvpntrtfiv tXiytv. He finds in ver. 3 of the same Psalm an allusion to the resurrection. P. L. i. c. 10. CLII. 25. H 226 Some Account of the ungodly," of the Gentiles ; " the way of sinners," of the Jews ; " the 1 seat of the scornful," of the heretics. In 2 Ps. xix. 2, " Day unto day uttereth speech," refers to that which is expressly written ; " night unto night sheweth knowledge," to that knowledge which is mystically concealed. " There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard," to the Omnipresence of God. On Isa. i. 2, "Hear, O heaven, and give ear, O earth," Clement 3 says that by hear the prophet means understand ; by heaven, the soul of the Gnostic who has taken up the contemplation of heaven and of Divine things ; by earth, the man who prefers ignorance and hardness of heart ; and that the expression give ear (evam'oi;), i.e. use the organs of hearing, has a particular reference to those who are wholly attached to the objects of sense. When Isaiah says, xi. 7, that " the ox and the bear shall feed," Clement 4 discovers that by the ox, which is under the yoke, and is deemed a clean animal by the law, because it divides the hoof and chews the cud, is meant the Jew ; and by the bear, an unclean and savage animal, the Gentile. As the bear licks its cub into shape with its tongue, so the Gentile is formed and tamed by the Word. In Isa. liii. 6, " And the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all," Clement 5 follows the Septuagint version, /ecu Kvpios Trape'Soo/cei/ avrov rat? d/xapTi'ats ^/xwv, and supposes the words to mean that Christ is to be the judge and corrector of our sins. 1 Ku.0&puv Xoipuv in the Septuagint. 2 S. L. 5. dclxxxiv. 22. There are allegorical or mystical interpretations of Ps. viii. 5. in S. L. 4. DLXVI. 28. xlv. 8, 9. in P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxvi. 28. S. L. 6. DCCLXXXVI. ii. of Ps. xlix. 13. P. L. i. c. 13. CLIX. 13, where Clement refers the words, "He is like the beasts that perish," to the fall of Adam ; of Ps. li. 5. S. L. 3. DLVII. 5. of Ps. Ixxxii. 6. C. xciv. 30. P. L. I. c. 6. cxm. 26. of Ps. ciii. 14. P. L. i. c. 8. cxxxv. 16. and of Ps. cl. P. L. 2. c. 4. cxcin. 5. of Prov. i. 14. P. L. I. c. 10. CLIV. 14 (Clement interprets this passage of our Saviour's passion) of Prov. iii. 5. S. L. 2. ccccxxx. 17, of Prov. ix. 18, according to the Septuagint version. P. L. 3. c. 2. CCLVII. 13. 3 S. L. 4. dcxli. i. Clement had previously given a similar interpreta- tion of J[er. xxii. 29. There are allegorical or mystical interpretations of Isa. vii. 9. in S. L. 4. DCXXV. 33. xxii. 20. L. 6. DCCXXXVI. 4. XLIX. 8. DCCLXXI. 17, of Jer. xii. 9, according to the Septuagint version. P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxm. 9, of Zech. ix. 9. P. L. i. c. 5. cvi. 37. C. xcm. 33. 4 S. L. 6. dcclxv. 43. * P. L. I. c. 8. cxxxviii. 30. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 227 1 may take this opportunity of remarking that Clement 1 mentions a heretical interpolation of Mai. iii. 15. 2 Clement, if I understand him, thus calculates Daniel's seventy weeks. The temple was rebuilt in seven ; then after an interval of sixty-two weeks the Messiah came ; then after an interval of half a week, Nero placed the abomination in the temple of Jerusalem ; and after another half week the temple was destroyed by Vespasian. 3 Clement says that the three series, each of fourteen genera- tions, into which St. Matthew divides the genealogy of Christ (i. 1 7), had a mystical meaning ; which, however, he does not explain. 4 When John the Baptist said that God was able to raise up children unto Abraham out of stones, he meant by stones the Gentiles, who put their trust in stones. The 5 command to pluck out the right eye if it offends us (Matt. v. 29), according to Clement is a direction to pluck out all evil lusts by the roots. When Christ said that He spake to the Jews in parables, in order that seeing they might not see (Matt. xiii. 13), He did not mean that He would cause them to be ignorant ; He merely predicted their ignorance. These are among the more sober of Clement's interpretations. 7 When Christ said, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt, viii. 22), He alluded to men who live vicious lives and are dead 1 S. L. 3. dxxviii. 22. 2 S. L. i. cccxliv. 7. ccccviii. 16. Clements connects the 1290 and 1335 days in c. xn. with the half week in c. ix. ccccix. i. 3 S. L. i. ccccix. 25. Clement speaks of the genealogy as beginning from Abraham and terminating with Mary the mother of the Lord. 4 Matt. iii. 9. C. iv. 23. So by the generation of vipers were meant the venomous hypocrites who laid snares for the righteous. 5 P. L. 3. c. II. ccxciv. 15. The heretical perversion of Matt. v. 42, TU KiTovvri ffi ^'^ov, has been already noticed. S. L. 3. DXXIII. 28. DXXXVI. 20. There are interpretations of Matt. viii. 20. S. L. i. cccxxix. 4. L. 4. DLXXVII. 12. xi. 15. L. 5. DCXLIV. 12. xiii. 33. L. 5. DCXCIV. 22. xiii. 31. P. L. i. c. ii. CLV. 5. xvii. 27. L. 2. c. i. CLXXII. 28, 37. xviii. 3. L. I. c. 5. civ. 28. cvn. 22. xviii. 20. S. L. 3. DXLI. 41. xxiv. 19. L. 3. DXXXIV. i. xxvi. 7. P. L. 2. c. 8. ccv. 5. ccvi. 14. 6 S. L. i. cccxvii. 1 6. 7 P. L. 3. c. ii. ccci. 2. S. L. 3. dxxii. 13. L. 4. dcxxxv. 7. 228 Some Account of the to God ; who dig their own graves. 1 When Christ told His disciples " to proclaim on the house-top that which they had heard in the ear" (Matt. x. 27), He meant that they should declare with suitable grandeur the secret mysteries imparted to them, and explain the Scriptures according to the canon of truth. In the pathetic address of our Saviour to Jerusalem, Clement 2 discovers that by chickens are meant Christians, the Word mystically ascribing simplicity of soul to the age of boyhood. In 3 another place he says that the address alludes to the various modes in which they, who peaceably contemplate sacred things, are prepared for vocation by Christ ; for Jerusalem signifies the vision of peace. Commenting upon the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Clement 4 says, " that the former was the multitude, the worth- less grass which is cast into the fire (Luke xii. 28) ; the latter, the true Christian, the good grass, which is watered by the dew of Divine grace, and, when cut, springs up again in the bosom of the Father." Clement 5 defends his allegorical interpretations by appealing to John iv. 34, where Christ says, " My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me." Commenting on John vi. 53, 54, Clement 6 writes, " Our Lord has symbolically alluded to this kind of food in St. John's Gospel, saying, * Eat My flesh, and drink My blood,' signifying allegorically by that which is drunk the faith and promise by which the Church, consisting, like man, of many members, is watered and receives increase and is compacted together of both ; of a body, that is, faith ; of a soul, that is, hope ; as the Lord was composed of flesh and blood ; for truly hope is the blood of faith, by which faith is kept together as by a soul. But when hope is breathed away, the vital power of faith is dissolved, like blood poured forth." 1 S. L. 6. dcccii. 39. 2 Matt, xxiii. 37. P. L. i. c. 5. cvi. 10. 3 S. L. I. cccxxxii. 8. 4 Luke xvi. 19. P. L. 2, c. 10. ccxxxii. 38. 5 P. L. i. c. 6. cxxv. 19. 6 P. L. i. c. 6. cxxi. i. Compare cxxm. 24. cxxv. 27. The teaching or doctrine of the Saviour is called our spiritual food, apparently with reference to John vi. Compare the comment on John x. 9, "I am the door." C. ix. 35 and S. L. 7. DCCCXCVI. 38. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 229 Clement : alleges John xiv. 2, " In My Father's house are many mansions," to prove that different degrees of reward will be assigned to different degrees of virtue. He 2 finds in Acts vi. 2, " It is not reason that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables," and in the Apostolic decree, Acts xv. 23, prohibitions of gluttony. 3 The wise virgins in the parable (Matt, xxv.) are the souls of the wise, who, understanding that they are placed in a world of ignorance, light their lamps and rouse their intellect, and illuminate the darkness, and dispel ignorance, and seek the truth, and wait for the appearance of the Teacher. Or, as Clement 4 says in another place, they are Gnostic souls, which have abstained from evil, and wait for the Lord in love, and light their lamps for the contemplation of things (TO>I> The miracle of the five barley loaves and two fishes is 5 thus interpreted. The barley loaves signified the previous prepara- tion of the Jew and Greek for the Divine wheat, i.e. the Gospel ; barley appearing earlier in the summer than wheat. The fishes signified the Greek philosophy, which was generated and carried along amidst the Gentile billows. They were given for the nourishment of those who still lay on the ground, and did not increase like the fragments of the loaves ; yet partaking of the blessing of the Lord, they had the Divine resurrection breathed into them through the power of the Word. Or one of the fishes may mean the encyclical course of instruction, the other the philosophy which is after- wards taught ; and these two are collected by the word of the Lord. Speaking of the Gnostic, Clement 6 says that " he supplies the place of the Apostles, by an upright life, by accurate know- ledge, by assisting his friends, by removing the mountains of his neighbours, and casting down all the inequalities of their souls." 1 S. L. 4. dlxxix. 30. 2 P. L. 2. c. 7. ccii. 7. 3 S. L. 5. dclv. 4. 4 S. L. 7. dccclxxv. 32. 5 S. L. 6. dcclxxxvii. 3. The reference is to John vi. 6 S. L. 7. dccclxxviii. 21. 230 Some Account of the Clement l speaks of persons who transposed the Gospels ru>v //,T(m0eW<Di/ TO. Emyye'Ata, by which Mill understands that they transferred marginal explanations into the text. May it not mean that they transferred into the genuine Gospels passages which they found in other accounts of our Saviour's life and preaching? In 2 another place Clement says " that some ascribed to Matthias, the words which in Luke xix. 8 are given to Zacchaeus." We may observe that by euayye'Ata, in the fore- going passage, are clearly 3 meant written Gospels. By the last day, in John vi. 40, Clement 4 understood this world, which is reserved unto a particular time, when it shall cease to exist. With reference apparently to Luke xvi. 12, "If ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's " (eV TU> dAAorpuu), Clement 5 says that " the precept to desire nothing does not mean that the things desired are another's (dXXorpta), as they suppose who affirm that the Creator was not the Supreme God ; or that the things created are evil and detestable ; that would be an atheistic opinion : but we call the things of the world dAAdrpia, because our abode among them is not for ever; because they are aAAorpia with respect to possession, inasmuch as they must pass to those who are to succeed us ; though with respect to use they are our own (tSta), since they were made for us, so long as it is necessary for us to live among them." On Rom. xiii. 12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand ; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light," Clement 6 says " that by the 1 S. L. 4. dlxxxii. 2. See Mill's Note, quoted by Potter, who refers to L. 7. DCCCXCI. 31. iv ry /u.<TK>ri0iveti <ru <r'/!/u.uivop,iva. See also L. 3. DXXIX. 4. 2 S. L. 4. dlxxix. 13. 3 So Iv ro7? ilayyiXiois. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXXXVII. 44. 4 P. L. i. c. 6. cxv. 20. 5 S. L. 4. dcv. 20. In the tract Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDXLVI. 3, that which relates to the Spirit is said to be ftiov, that which relates to the world aXXorptov. See also DCDLIII. 15. DCDLVI. 20. P. L. 3. c. i. CCLII. I. C. 2. CCLVII. 17. 6 S. L. 4. dcxxviii. 16. Clement seems in v. 11 to have read siting rov Kvpiov instead of ti$ors$ rov xaipov. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 23 1 day and the light is allegorically signified the Son, and by the armour of light the precepts of Christ." We : find the following paraphrase of Rom. viii. 38, " For I am persuaded that neither death (threatened by per- secution), nor life (the present life), nor Angels (apostate Angels), nor principalities (the principality of Satan is the life which he has chosen ; his are the principalities and powers of darkness), nor things present (in which we now live, as the soldier in hope, the merchant in gain), nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature," which by an operation peculiar to man acts against the faith of him who freely chooses (for creature is here synonymous with operation, which is our work), no such operation shall be able to separate us. Clement's 2 interpretation of i Cor. iii. 12, is that the gold, silver, precious stones were the Gnostic structures erected on the foundation of faith in Christ Jesus ; the wood, hay, and stubble were the additions of the Heretics. When St. Paul expressed his anxiety to impart to the Roman converts (i-n) " some spiritual gift, to the end they might be established," he alluded to the Gnostic building. He could not openly com- municate such spiritual gifts by letter. Clement ;! interprets i Cor. vii. 14, "But now are they (your children) holy," by a reference to John iii. 6, " That which is born of the flesh is flesh : and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." This, he says, applies not only to parturition, but also to instruction ; the children are holy, 4 being acceptable to God; to Whom the words of the Lord have betrothed their souls. 1 L. 4. dcvi. 5. 2 S. L. 5. dclx. 8. The interpretation given by Basilides of i Cor. vii. 9, "It is better to marry than to burn," may be seen L. 3. uix. 16, quoted in p. 156. There are remarks on the 5th and 36th verses of the same chapter, DXLVI. 10, 17; and interpretations of i Cor. i. 21. S. L. I. CCCLXX. 19. CCCLXXI. 3. of i Cor. ix. 5. L. 3. DXXXVI. i. of Gal. ii. 19. L. 3. DLX. 41. of Gal. v. 16. L. 4. DXCI. 8. of i Tim. iv. i. S. L. 3. DL. 2. 3 L. 3. dxlix. 33. ^ KV7IKK aytOt, TO. TiXVCt) Oil tlot,ptff<ffiffil$ (f. K lilKplffTYlffzi) TU &&>, TUV XUfiUKUV 232 Some Account of the Clement l says that the word Tropi/eia is used by the Apostle in three different senses. As the desire of having more (TrXeovc^ta) is called Tropveta, being opposed to contentment; and as Idolatry is so called, being the distribution of the (worship due to the) one God among many ; so Tropi/ci'a is a falling away from one marriage to many. Clement 2 affirms that the word (J>VO-LOL, i Cor. viii. i, does not mean puffeth up, but causeth man to think greatly and truly, and supports his interpretation by a quotation from one of the books of Solomon ; but the passage is not extant in the form in which he quotes it. CEcumenius has 3 preserved a fragment of the Hypotyposes, in which Clement, interpreting i Cor. xi. 10, " For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels," says " that the angels are righteous and virtuous men, who might be tempted to sin if the w r omen were unveiled." The real angels of heaven see them, even when veiled. On i Cor. xiii. 4, " Charity vaunteth not itself" (ou 7rep7repeuTai), 4 Clement observes " that TrcpTrepeia is that attention to orna- ment which indicates superfluity and uselessness ; wherefore the Apostle adds, * doth not behave itself unseemly ; ' for a form not our own and not according to nature is unseemly ; this he expresses by adding that ' Charity seeketh not that which is not her own ' (TO /x,r) ecumjs), for truth calls that which is proper its own ; whereas the love of ornament seeks that which is not its own, being estranged from God, and the Word, and Charity." 5 Clement's comment on the nth verse of the same chapter, When I was a child, is, that when St. Paul was a child, that is, a Jew, he understood as a child, that is, he walked according to the law j but ivhen he became a man, that is, a Christian, he put 1 S. L. 3. dlii. i. Compare L. 6. DCCCXVI. 19. L. 7. DCCCLXXVII. 18. 2 S. L. 7- dcccxcvii. I. vi ao^'ia,, Qvffiv o SaXa^v, lvKf>t>triiuffiv TO, iavrw; T'IXVK. The commentators suppose Clement to refer to Ecclus. iv. u. trotyia. vtov; itturvi (for iuurri;) avv^uffi. 3 mxiv. 25. The Valentinian interpretation appears in the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, xciv. 4 P. L. 3. ccli. 38. I know not where Clement found the reading TO P.V layrjjj. In the tract Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDLVI. 30, we find the common reading ra. layr??. 5 P. L. i. c. 6. cxviii. 30. Writing's of Clement of A lexandria. 233 away childish things, that is, the things of the law ; and under- stood the things of Christ, Who is called in Scripture by excellence the Man. On i Cor. iii. 2, Clement x says, " that by spiritual, St. Paul meant those who believed in the Holy Spirit ; by carnal, those who were newly instructed, and not yet purified (by the water of baptism) ; he called them carnal, as they were on a footing with the heathen, still carnally- minded. He gave them, therefore, milk to drink, i.e. he poured knowledge into them, which is communicated by catechetical instruction, and nourishes unto eternal life." The expression / give to drink (eVoTio-a) is significant of perfect participation : for full-grown men are said to drink, infants to suck. 2 His interpretation of 2 Cor. xii. 2, "I knew a man in Christ," etc., is, that St. Paul by the unspeakable words which he heard meant the ineffable nature of God ; and that he was not restrained from uttering them by any positive prohibition, but because it was impossible to declare the Divine Nature. That can only be declared above the third heaven, by those whose office it is to initiate the elect souls. Clement, speaking of Phil. ii. 7, " But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant," 3 says that St. Paul called the outward man a servant, with reference to his state before the Lord became a servant, and took upon Him flesh. But God Himself in His compassion made the flesh free ; delivering it from corruption and from a deadly and bitter servitude, investing it with incorruption, and throwing around it the holy ornament of immortality. 1 P. L. i. c. 6. cxix. 30. Clement seems to have read ^aXa l^? ivoriffa., u? vritriov?, Iv XpitrrM, ov fipcupa. He Separates the words lv Xpio-ry from us vyiviov;, and connects them with yaXa l^a,? Ivano-a,. His para- phrase is, I have instructed you in Christ with simple, true, and natural nourishment, viz. spiritual. As nurses feed new-born infants with milk, so I nourish you with the milk of Christ, the Word, instilling into you spiritual food. Thus the perfect milk is perfect food, and leads to an increasing perfection, which knows no cessation (axr<Tw<r<rav). Where- fore this milk, together with honey, was promised in the land of rest. See Exod. iii. 8. cxix. 13. 2 S. L. 5. dcxciii. 10. See p. 172, Note 2. 3 P, L. 3. c. i. ccli. 30. 234 Some Account of the By the expression true yoke-fellow (o-^vye yi^o-u), in Phil, iv. 3, Clement x supposed St. Paul to mean his wife, to whom he alludes in i Cor. ix. 5. For according to Clement, Peter, 2 Philip, and Paul were married. In Col. i. 28, our translators have rendered iravra avOpu-rrov, every man. According to 3 Clement, they should have said, the whole man, that is, purified both in soul and body. The expression cannot mean every man absolutely, for then there would be no unbelievers ; nor yet every believer , since all are not perfect. With reference to Heb. i. 3, Clement 4 says "that the Apostle calls the Son ^apaKr^pa r>}<? 80^175 rov Ilcn-pos, because He teaches the truth concerning God, and shows us as it were by an express image (xapaKTr/pio-ai/ra), that God and the Father is the one and only ruler of all ; Whom no one has known excepting the Son, and he to whom the Son has revealed Him." Clement 5 thought that both Christ and the Apostles preached to the spirits in Hades. He quotes in support of the opinion i Pet. iii. 19, "By which also He went and preached to the spirits in prison." By the charity which covers a multitude of sins (i Pet. iv. 8), Clement seems to have understood the love of Christ which remits the sins of man. 1 S. L. 3. clxxxv. 19. Compare with reference to i Cor. ix. 5. L. 4. DCVII. i. - Clement appears here to confound Philip the deacon with Philip the apostle. See Potter's Note, nxxxv. 16. 3 S. L. 5. dclxxxiii. 5. 4 S. L. 7. dccclxvi. 28. Clement appears to quote from memory ; the reading of our text is os uv u.veu.vya.fffj'.u. T>J; Ba^? / ^fr^f rf v#o<rrtt,fftus U.VTOV. In Heb. xi. 40, Clement supposes the word p'ovot to be understood 7v ^ x M fc n^uv <r<x<tu0u<ri (povoi). S. L. 4. DCIX. 13. 5 S. L. 6. dcclxiii. u. See p. 207. 6 S. L. i. ccccxxiii. 36. L. 2. CCCCLXIII. 23. It may be observed with reference to 2 Pet. i. 20, that the word lyri^ufft; is used by Clement to signify an explanation of a word or passage in Scripture. P. L. 2. c. I. CLXXII. 37. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 235 Clement * finds in the twelve gates of the Heavenly Jeru- salem (Rev. xxi. 21) an allusion to the twelve Apostles. Having given so many examples of the mode in which Clement applied the language of Scripture, I will add one of his modes of interpreting a Heathen poet. 2 Of the following lines of Hesiod, KsTvo; [tzv tfGtviipiffro;, o; avro; vroivTa, vowff'/i, E<r$%.o; o u,v xaxitvo; os ti/ ilvrovri ^r/^^Ta/, "Oj Vt xi fA'/ir KVTO; voty, ftwr' ciXXou ccxovav 'Ev @u[Jt,u jSaXX^jra/, aT aZ<r a,%priios civwp, ' the first describes Abraham, who sought God ; the second, the disciples, who obeyed the Word; the third and fourth, the Gentiles, who did not follow Christ. The authority of Clement has been quoted in support of a mode of interpretation KO.T oucoyo/xiW, but, in my opinion, erroneously. We know that the word OIKOVO/XOS, in its literal sense, is equivalent to house -steward, Rei familiar is dis- pensator ; and consequently okoi/o/^a to 3 stewardship. St. Paul, therefore, speaks of himself as a steward or dispenser of the mysteries of God (i Cor. iv. i), and of a bishop as the steward of God (Tit. i. 7). He speaks of himself also as entrusted with a stewardship (i Cor. ix. 17) ; as a minister of the Church according to the stewardship of God assigned him for the Colossians (i. 25). In another place he speaks of the stewardship of the grace of God assigned him for the Ephesians (iii. 2). Hence if St. Paul said or did anything /car' okovo/xtW, he said or did it as a steward of God, entrusted with the dispensation of the grace of the Gospel among the 1 P. L. 2. c. 12. ccxlii. 2. It appears from L. I. c. 6. cxxv. 2, that he considered the Jerusalem which is above synonymous with heaven. He Speaks of it as r>jj oupecvovokM;. 2 P. L. 3. c. 8. cclxxix. 9. 3 It is used in the original sense, P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxvu. 8, where Clement, having said that the use of dyed wool weakens the texture of the cloth, adds, ro %t oub' il$ olxovo^iav iiltitrov. So x'Kptft'ropiUftct, olxovofAtKov. L. 3- c> IO- CCLXXXIII. 33. oux, tri rttpi rov oixov ilrt ccv [t'ovn fi olxovoftia,. S. L. I. CCCXXXVI. II. ryv cixpxv oixovopiav. L. 7. DCCCLXIV. 2. pciXi<rra, $1 Tolif ryXtxavrTiv olxovo^av vrivriffTivpivovs. L. 4. Devil. io, where there is a direct allusion tO I Cor. IX. 17. TJJ? rov yu.'kaxros olxovopia,?. L. 2. CCCCLXXVII. 16, seems to mean the provision of milk made by God for the nourishment of the infant. wSee P. L. i. c. 6. cxxn. 26. 236 Some Account of the Gentiles. Nor, when in the Epistle to the Ephesians St. Paul speaks of the dispensation of the fulness of times (eis otKovo/xtW rov TrXTy/aw/xaros ra> /coupon/, i. 10), is the use of the word very different ; the meaning is, that the dispensation of the Gospel was reserved to the fulness of time. Having premised these few observations respecting the use of the word oiKovo/ua in the New Testament, let us proceed to consider the passages in which it is used by Clement. He J says of Christians, that they understand the dispensa- tion of God; that is, the Providence of God in His moral government of the universe. OIKOI/O/U'O, here is put, not for the office of dispensing, but for the thing dispensed. The sense is the same when he 2 speaks of the beautiful economy used by the Word in leading men on to perfection ; and when assigning the reason why God, notwithstanding His goodness, is angry, and punishes man, he 3 says that such a procedure, ^ ot/coj/o/xta, conduces to the right education of children. 1 C. Hi. 37- *' r ^ v oixovoftiuv rov Qi 2 P. L. I. C. 1. xcix. 3. rJj xaXJf ffvy%pr;reti slxovofJLtcf. o vavret *.'oyo$. So Christ is said to have received perfect regeneration at His baptism, xu.ro. ry,v oixovo/u.ix^v rftM*wr*fa t according to that which had been prefigured with reference to the Gospel dispensation. 3 P. L. I. C. 8. cxxxvi. 35. Compare T/IV olxovo^tav rnv letvrev. CXXXIX. 26. vra,pu rriv olxtvofiietv rtis asrs/XJJj. 3 2 - * rpo<ros rns oixovoftiets avrov. CXLII. IQ. T"/IV wip} ro lvriffru$siv rriv av^<wTOTiTa oixovoftietv. C. IO. CL. 32. ovx tipnxivwv oixotofttKv l^viXtuffot,;. L. 3. c. 4. ccLXix. 14, where Clement is speaking of the government of an earthly monarch. In c. 12. cccx. 12, Clement says, "If we become hearers of the Word, let us glorify the blessed Economy," rrtv p,Kxa,pia.v %o%a,%&>fttv otxovo/Aitzv, where by oixa- VO/U.IKV we must, according to Potter, understand the incarnation of the Word ; but here also it means the Divine procedure in sending the Word to take our flesh. So S. L. i. CCCXLVI. 39. fi yap XXTO. TTJV &/v *-/>- ^offtv (piXoffoipia 'iffrrifft rnv xp'ovotitv xett Ptfiaio7' ns etvcnpthi<rt!s, p-v0os 91 tipi rov ^tarrifee, oixovof&ict (^etivirai. L. 5- DCXLVI. 31. T/IV xara, ffd-pxa. oixovoftiav. DCLXIX. 21. L. 6. DCCLXIV. 22. CCCLXXIII. 27. 6tia,? olxovopia,? n Vipi- vruffis. If the Greeks by chance said anything in agreement with the true philosophy, that chance was a part of the Divine economy ^or procedure ; was in the order of Divine providence, ccccxvu. 36. tr'tpot yap %v olxovofticc, It was another part of the Divine procedure. L. 2. ccccxxx. 29, where rJJ oiovop.iq, rov &iov is evidently equivalent to rr piei xec} 0<ia., r% -xpovoyinxri ^loixfoit in 27. L. 3. DXL. 5. L. 4. DCXXXI. 24. L. 6. u'cccn. 13.' L. 7. DCCCLV. 40. DCCCLXXXII. 32, 37. CCCCXXXIX. 8. rov ri 'iffaax ruvrov iffbftivov rif4.7v otxovoftia,; ffurnplov. The sacrifice of Isaac was a type of the Divine procedure in accomplishing our salvation. L. 5. DCCXIV. 3. L. 6. DCCCXII. 23. CCCCLXXXI. 24. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 237 If we turn to the passages in which the verb is used, we shall find that it has a corresponding meaning. n ^l oixovoftia ctvrv, xoc.} tfpatyyirtxw xoci rv-Tfix^. This part of the Divine procedure (with reference to the sons of Abraham) was both pro- phetical," and typical. L. 3. DXL. 28. Qvnw uvdyxri fa'tag oixovofticts. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLV. 41. DXLVIII. 34. ry olxovoptu. rtiMptvos tvxpitrrus. DLIX. 24. n xarot. rv t v Ex x X^ffimv XK$' ripeis oixovoftict, L. 4* DLXXVI. 1 8. dixeiicts ouo"/is r%s olxovopio.;. Here the word refers to God's distribution of gifts to each man according to his deserts. DLXXX. 5. rri$ cifprtrou olxovo/ticts KXI Xurovpy'icts. Here, however, olxovoftiot. may mean simply office. DCII. 38. tl piv yap ftw tin TV? 6110.? $ioix*i<rsas (^ xvravfioffi;} o"%tru,i ti olxovopia. ruv xutiapffiuv, x,u.\ vr't'X'ruxiv n vfohtrtg Kuro7s' it o\ tx vpovoiec; ret xtada-pffia., Ix <ffpovota.$ xtx.} a.1 xo^a,ffii;. For if the retribution IS not of Divine appointment, then there is an end of the expiatory pro- cedure (of the procedure for the purpose of expiation or purification according to the system of Basilides), and their hypothesis falls to the ground ; but if the expiation proceeds from God's providence, so also do the punishments. L. 5. DCLXXIX. l8. ovras i\vffiv ro Kipets ruv hoyiuv TYts olxovopia.;. He (John the Baptist) pointed out the true end of the oracles respecting the Divine procedure . in the incarnation of Christ. L. 6. DCCCIV. 7. DCCXXX. l8. ovll TVV ci*.Xw "irucrtv olxovopiav rvg u,*.v0t'ia.e. Nor are they (the Greeks) acquainted with the rest of the Divine procedure as it truly is. L. 6. DCCLXV. 9. ri olv ; ov%i xai tv u%ov y KVTY) y'yoviv oixovopia. What then? Was not the Divine pro- cedure the same apud inferos? See DCCLXIII. 24. DCCXCI. 12. XMI <r.ffa,v <r?iv xctTO, <rov Kupiov ^nfttoupyiotv <ri xeti oixovoftiav ffuviivsti. To com- prehend the whole procedure in reference to the work of creation and the dispensation as conducted by the Lord. DCCXCIII. 28. 'A.yyi*.ix,y; 'bofy; xKxiivns rtis oixovopia; (imitations) of the angelic glory, and of the distribution of offices established in heaven. DCCCXVII. 4. ra sis MMM/KMO ivirrduei, that which was necessary to the fulfilment of the Divine counsel. L. 7- DCCCXXX. 9. xa.ru. T>jy ruv vfipiyiluv oixovoftiav. According to the Divine procedure with reference to earthly things. DCCCXXXI. 31. The Word is spoken of as displaying rvv a.yia.v oixovopiav. But instead of a.vot^i^uyfjt.ivu we should perhaps read a.vu%tltypivM as in DCCCLXII. 35. rov fAtytffrou IT/ ry$ yns ce.ya,&ov Xoyeu n xxi 'ipyo? avocdiZcifAtvos. DCCCLXXIV. 35. tv rrj xxra, rov fi'tov oixovopia means in life and conversation. DCCCLXXV. 44. jj ffn olxovopia., thy (that is, Christ's) procedure in con- ducting the government of the world. DCCCLXXVI. u. olxavopla. rov iruK,- tff6a,i %i' ulrov ftiXXovra. <rpoopu/tivy, the procedure grounded on foreseeing that a certain individual would be saved through his means. The Word is used in the same sense in the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, v. where Christ's injunction to the three disciples not to reveal what they had seen on the Mount, is said to have been given, lest the Jews, understanding what the Lord was, should abstain from laying hands on Him, and thus the economy should be incomplete, xui art*.vs v oixovo^ia yivtireni. In xi. it signifies office. In xxvn. it appears to be used in the same sense, and as in xi. is opposed to ^vvupts. Perhaps, however, it may here mean dispensation^ as it does in xxxni. and LVIII. the dispensation beyond the pleroma. 238 Some Account of the It 1 means to administer^ with reference either to worldly affairs, or the providential governance of the universe. The passage which has been most frequently produced in proof of an interpretation of Scripture KCLT oiKovo/uav is in S. L. 6. DCCCII. Clement is there speaking of the circumcision of Timothy by St. Paul, in accommodation to the prejudices of the Jews. St. Paul, he 2 says, knew well that circumcision does not justify; but while he maintained the essential doctrines, he admitted that he became all things to all men (Kara o-v/x/Trept- <f>opav), by accommodation, that he might gain all. Daniel in like manner wore the golden chain put upon him by the king of Persia, in order to save his countrymen from oppres- sion. " They, therefore," proceeds Clement, " are not in reality deceivers, who accommodate themselves in conformity to the part assigned them by Providence for the salvation of Others (01 criyz7repi(po/x,evoi oY OIKOVO/XIO.V crcor^pias), nor they who partially err; but they who err on essential points." According to Clement, St. Paul and Daniel acted Kara o-v/A7repi- <f>opav, or crv/ji7rpi(f)p6fjLvoL 3 oY oiKovofjLLav <ra)T?7pi'as. He inter- preted their acts as done in accommodation, with reference to 1 In this sense it is used Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLIII. 46. vrpeoixo- voft'/idtjvat. S. L. I. CCCXXIV. 46. oixovoftouvra, rriv $ii%o$ov. P. L. 2. C. 7 cciv. 27. vSo oixovopixZ; ^<$opiva.i. S. L. 2. ccccxLiv. 37. The two covenants were given, each in its appointed time by the Providence of God. a,[A<f>o7v yccp vt ^vvotfii; oixovo l u,i7 ffur'/ip'ux.v. L. I. CCCCXXIII. 29. The twofold exercise of the power of Providence, in punishing and in con- ferring good, dispenses salvation. cravra piv ouv olxovopurui eivafav il; xaXov. CCCLXIX. 12. 2 Compare S. L. 7. dccclxiii. 13. For the use of the word ffv^i- piQipsfffat, see also P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxiv. 16. In S. L. I. cccxxvi. 13, it is joined with oi*ovopi7ff0eu. Clement says, "that we must, in choosing our part, choose, not that which is not blamed, but that which is not justly blamed. For it does not follow, because a man will not do an act (for itself, vpovyot/iuivu;, making it his principal object), that he will not do it under certain circumstances ; on the contrary, he will then do it, proceeding agreeably to the Divine Wisdom, and accom- modating himself otx.ovo[Aoup.s.i>os TE Siotrotyus xou ffi/ft'z'ipi<ptpo{.tvo$." See also S. L. 2. CCCCLXVII. 12. L. 3. DXLI. 38. L. 7. DCCCLXVIII. 40. DCCCLXXXI. 13. DCCCLIV. 2. <ro7s V KVv^.'y'/ix.offtv o yvuffnxos olxovopoiv <rwv Kirnffiv. The Gnostic will adapt his prayer to the case of those whose conscience is seared. See Gataker's Note on Marc. Anton, in p. 330. 3 So P. L. I. C. Q. Cxlvi. 3. ffUT'/ipiav olKovo/Aoupiv'/i. L. 3- c - ^ 2 ' CCCIII. 28, oixovoftovftivog <rvi? l-Tfavo^uffiu; rr t v fttvupfof. S. L. 6. DCCCXX. 34. <ffpoffot>iov(>[Aovv7Ki ff<pi<riv ai Ka.x.oi, the wicked take such measures. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 239 the parts assigned them by Providence; but there is no mention of an interpretation of Scripture KCLT ot/covo/xtW. In like manner, when he says (P. L. 2. c. i. CLXXV. 24) that frugality was recommended to the Jews under the law ot/covo/xw- rara by the prohibition of different kinds of food, he means that it was recommended in conformity to the character of the dispensation ; Moses assigning openly carnal reasons, which the Jews believed; but in secret spiritual reasons. The passage which appears to give the greatest sanction to the notion of an interpretation KCLT OIKOVO^LCIV is in P. L. 2. c. 9. ccxix. 1 6, where, speaking of Lot's incest, he says, "I omit the interpretation which refers it to the economy of the restitution of all things, 7rapa7re/x7ro/xat yap vvv T^S 7ra\iyyV(Tiov oiKovofJiias rr]V e^-rjyrjcnV'" But here also by oucovo/ua is to be understood the Divine procedure with respect to the restitution. Clement speaks of the Scriptures as given by the Inspira- tion of God ; " God," he l says, " leads men according to the divinely inspired Scriptures." He 2 says also, that "to take offence at the Divine commands is to take offence at the Holy Spirit." He 3 calls the Prophets instruments of the Divine voice. Speaking of those who pretended to the spirit of prophecy among the heathen, he 4 says, that they were all thieves and robbers (with reference to John x. 18), who either foretold future events from observation and probable conjecture, as physicians and fortune-tellers judge from the countenance ; or were moved by demons ; or were excited by the influence of water, or of frankincense, or by some quality of the air. But the Hebrew prophets foretold events by the power and inspiration of God; as before the law, Adam, who 5 pro- phesied with respect to the woman, and on the occasion of 1 nyiirKi ^\ xctra, <ra,$ 6io<ffvivff-T<w; ypaQa.:. S. L. 7 dcCCXC'lV. 38. rdtg titrmvtrnt Xoyon. DCCCXCVI. I. - $ufetptffrtvfttei rc&7$ faiui; ivToXa,7s, rouriffn TM uyitu <7rviv[AO.n. L. 7- DCCCXCIII. 18, quoted in p. 209, Note 3. 3 Tov} l TOU votvToxparopo; vrpotyftru,; Qtou ovx civ rig xctra'VXa'yi'/], opyuva, hia; yivopivous Quvm. S. L. 6. DCCCXXVII. 33- 4 S. L. i. cccc. 17. Compare S. L. 5. ncxcix. 10. 6 When Adam said, "Therefore shall a man leave his father," etc., Gen. ii. 24, which the Fathers, from Eph. v. 32, understood to be prophetic. See Tertullian, de Anima, c. u. 240 Some Account of the the naming of the animals ; Noah, who preached repentance ; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who clearly foretold many future events, both distant and near at hand ; so also, when the law was given, Moses and Aaron prophesied ; after the law was given, Joshua, Samuel, etc. 1 In another place, Clement, speaking of false prophets, 2 says that they sometimes spoke the truth, but spoke in ecstasy, as ministers of the Apostate (angel). Like others of the early fathers, he 3 believed that the Word imparted to all men, but especially to those who cultivated their reasoning powers, a certain Divine influence, by which they were led to the recognition of One God, self-existent and eternal. With respect to the Septuagint version, Clement 4 says " that the Law and the Prophetical books were translated into Greek in the reign of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus ; or, according to some, in that of Ptolemy Philadelphus ; and that Demetrius Phalereus was very zealous in forwarding the work, which was performed by seventy elders, chosen from those most con- versant with the Scriptures, and the Greek language, who were sent from Jerusalem to Alexandria for the purpose, Each made his version separately; but when the several versions were compared, they were found to agree both in sense and words. This was effected by the Providence of God, Who designed that the Scriptures should reach the ears of the Greeks. Nor ought it to occasion any surprise ; for the Scriptures, having been lost during the Babylonish captivity, 5 Ezra, the Levite and Priest, inspired by God, renewed them in the time of Artaxerxes. 1 Clement says that the whole number of prophets was thirty-five. He mentions as female prophets, Sarah, Rebekah, Miriam, Deborah, and Olda. 2 S. L. i. ccclxix. 6. On the subject of Prophesying in ecstasy, see my work on Tertullian. 3 Thus C. Hx. 14, Ivso-Totxrat Tig avtfpoia, 6ux-/i. LXI. 8. LXII. 2O. LXIV. 8. S. L. 2. ccccxcui. 17. See p. 193, Note 5. 4 S. L. i. ccccix. 26. See p. 73. Compare Irenreus, L. 3. c. 25. Clement quotes a passage from the first book of the work of Aristobulus to Ptolemy Philometor, in which it was said that the parts of Scripture which recorded the most remarkable events connected with the history of the Hebrews had been translated into Greek before the time of Demetrius, and even of the conquest of Persia by Alexander. 5 See S. L. i, cccxcii. 32. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 241 Clement 1 uniformly speaks of the Sibyl as endowed with the gift of prophecy. In 2 the first book of the Stromata he mentions the various accounts which had been given of her birthplace, parentage, etc., and in 3 the same book he enume- rates the different Sibyls and the ages in which they lived. There is in the 4 sixth book a passage in which St. Paul is represented as appealing to the books of the Sibyl and Hystaspes ; for I agree with Grabe in thinking that, as it at present stands, it will scarcely bear the interpretation put upon it by Cotelerius. Clement refers either to some Apocryphal book, which bore the name of St. Paul, or to some discourse of St. Paul, which was introduced into the work entitled " The Preaching of Peter." Clement's quotations from Scripture appear generally to have been made from memory. The consequence is, that he 5 sometimes blends passages from different parts of Scripture in one quotation; 6 sometimes expresses the sense in words very different from those of Scripture ; 7 sometimes attributes to one sacred writer passages which belong to another. ,} <xotviTix'/i 2//3yA.X#. C. xxiv, I. So XLIY. 6, 26. fu-fa. r$ *ff*rj} -rvs'Efyaiuv. LXI. 22. LXVI. IO. S. L. 5. DCCXIV. 23. The Sibyl is also quoted, C. LIV. 2. LX. 31. P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxix. 7. L. 3. c. 3. CCLXI. 16. S. L. 3. DXVII. 2. S. L. 5. DCCXVIII. 20. 2 ccclviii. 7. See Lardner's Credibility, c. 22. 3 ccclxxxiv. 5. The Phrygian, named Artemis ; the Erythraean, Hero- phile ; the Egyptian ; the Italian, who dwelt at Rome, and whose son Evander built the temple of Pan, called Lupercal. In cccxcix. 5, Clement mentions the Samian, Colophonian, Cumoean, Erythraean, Pythian, the Taraxandrian (qu. Taxandrian), the Macetian (Macedonian), the Thessalian, and the Thesprotian. 4 dcclxi. 22. See Cotelerius, Judicium de Epistola posteriore dementis Romani, Beverege in Cod. Cam. L. i. c. 14. Grabe Spicil. torn. I. p. 66. On the subject of the Sibylline verses, see Prideaux's Connexion. P. 2. B. 9. 5 Thus Isa. Ixiv. I, 2, and Ixvi. i. C. LXVI. 36. Isa. xl. 8, and li. 6. Ixvii. 5. Isa. i. 16, 17, and Ps. xxxiii. 14. xliv. 9. P. L. i. c. 7. cxxxin. 26. Matt. v. 40. Luc. vi. 29 and L. 3. c. ult. cccvu. 4. 6 Thus C. Ixvi. 40. LXVIII. 30. P. L. i. c. 5. civ. 20. cvi. i. c. u. CLVI. I. L. 3. C. 12. CCCV. 17. CCCVI. 26. CCCVIII. 12. S. L. 3. DLV. 2O. 7 Thus having quoted one of the Psalms, he proceeds to quote Ps. xxiii. 4, fi pctfi^og ffou x.ct] w fiaxrnpia, ffov 7retpixoi>.sffav fts, ti-ri <ri$ &<rtpos, as if from another prophet. P. L. i. c. 7. cxxxv. 3. He quotes also, as from one of the books of Kings, a passage made up of different passages in the book of Job. S. L. 4. DCXLI. 12. He quotes as from a Gospel (fv nv 242 Some A ccount of the He frequently quotes, as from Scripture, passages which are not to be found in it. Thus he l says, " that Moses forbade the Israelites to eat the hare and the hyaena." 2 He quotes as Scripture the following words, ooyx>) evcoS/as r<3 ea> KapSi'a Soaovo~a rbr TrcTrXaKoVa avTrjv. 3 Again, cTSes yap rov d8eX<oV crov, etSes TOV eoV crov. 4 Again, atretcr^e yap TO, /xeyaXa, Kat ra /jiLKpa V/JLLV Trpofrre^r/crerat. Again, yiWcr^e So/a/xot Tpa7reiVai. He 6 expressly attributes to Solomon the following sentence, which is not to be found in Scripture, TOV TTIOTOV oXos 6 Kooyxos TWV xp7)fjia.T(DV, 6 5oXo/xo)v Xeyei, TOT) Se aTrioTou ovSe o/3oXos. 7 Having quoted Isa. liv. i, he adds the following words, as part of the quotation, e/3twcras cts TO 7rpi'<pay/xa TOV Xaov. evvXoy^7yo"av TO, TCKva erov ets Tas o~K^vas TWV TraTepwv, and shortly afterwards, eKX^povd/x^o-as T^V Siatfrj/c-^i/ TOV 'Io-pa7JX. 8 He says that the disciple to whom Christ addressed the words, "Let the dead bury their dead" (Matt. viii. 22), was Philip. He 9 quotes, after Clemens Romanus, eyo> Se ct/xt aT/xt? a,7ro ^vTpas, as the words of Scripture. Having 10 quoted Micah i. 2, dKovVciTe, Aaot, Xoyov (in the Vatican MS. Xoyovs), the following words, ftvffrvipiov I/to* l/to} xa/ ro7s viol? TOV o"xou /u,ou, which appear in the translation of Theoclotion to have followed the words lx#t; TU ivftftu. Isa. xxiv. 1 6. See Jerome in loco. S. L. 5. DCI.XXXIV. 9. He quotes as from Hosea words found in Amos iv. 13. C. LXVII. 14. (See S. L. 5. DCCXXV. 2), and as from a prophet, words not to be found in Scripture, but quoted also in the Epistle of Barnabas, c. II. S. L. 3. DL. 29. 1 P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxx. 32. He appears here to have followed the author of the Epistle ascribed to Barnabas, c. 10. - P. L. 3. c. 12. cccvi. 8. The same words are quoted as Scripture by Irenaeus, L. 4. c. 32. See Grabe's Note. 3 S. L. i. ccclxxiv. 10. L. 2. CCCCLXVI. 15. 4 S. L. i. ccccxvi. 21. These words are quoted by Origen, de Oratione, sect. 2. If, however, we compare S. L. 4. DLXXIX. 7, we shall perhaps conclude that they are Clement's interpretation of Matt. vi. 33. See Lardner's Credibility, c. 22. a S. L. i. ccccxxv. 14. There are allusions to this quotation, L. 2. ccccxxxvi. 14. L. 6. DCCXXXX. 28. L. 7. DCCCLXXXVII. 35. The reader may consult Usher, Proleg. ad Ignatium, c. 8. sect. 7, or Cotelerius ad Constit. Apost. L. 2. c. 36. G S. L. 2. ccccxl. 2. " S. L. 2. ccccxliv. 25. 8 S. L. 3. dxxii. 13. Grotius in loco supposes Clement to have learned this from tradition. In the corresponding passage, Luke ix. 59, the person addressed is not called a disciple. 9 S. L. 4. dcxi. 15. See the Notes on the iyth chapter of the Epistle of Clemens Romanus, in the edition of Cotelerius. 10 S. L. 4. dcxli. 8. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 243 he adds, Kvptov ot owot/coiWes oSvVats. He - 1 quotes the following words, Trot^o-et rts Kpvffra, /cat OV^L eVoi^o/xat avroV, as spoken by the Almighty. He ascribes 2 to Zephaniah a long passage, of which there is no trace in our Scriptures. Having alluded to i Sam. i. 13, he 3 adds, air^o-at, faa-lv 17 ypa<?7, /cat TTooja-ar cwoyOrjTt, /cat Scocrw. He 4 gives an account of the ascension of Moses, which 5 Grotius supposes to have been copied from an Apocryphal work under that title. He 6 quotes as part of Scripture the words rero/cev /cat ov rero/cey, which Tertullian expressly ascribes to Ezekiel. In the 7 tract, Quis Dives Salvetur, we find the following words ascribed to God, l<f> ots yap av evpto v/JLas, e?rt roirrots /cat /cptvto. I know not whether the following words, which occur in the 8 seventh book of the Stromata, ov eyw Trara^o), a-v eAe^crov, or the follow- ing, which occur in 9 the Hortatory Address, orv yap et /ct0apa, /cat avAo?, /cat voos e/xos, or the 10 following, to which he gives the title of Prophecy, rore yap, <^>?o;i TIS Trpoc/^reta, 8vo-rvx^" et ra r^Se Trpay/xara, or' av dvSptacrt Trto'Tevo'coo'tv, are intended for quotations from Scripture. As Clement frequently quotes from memory, it is not easy to determine whether in cases in which his quotations differ from the present text, we are to conclude that different readings existed in the MSS. to which he had access. He n says that the testimony borne to Christ after His baptism was conveyed in the words, vios [AOV et crv dyaTr^ro?, eya) cr^/xcpov yeyevv^/ca o", where he appears, as Justin had done before him, to have confounded Ps. ii. 7 with Luke iii. 22. In John i. 3, 4, he 12 seems to have read o yeyovci/ ev avrw, a>?) rjv, a reading 1 S. L. 5. dclxxxiv. 25. 2 S. L. 5. dcxcii. 14. 3 S. L. 6. dccxc. 35. See also DCCLXXVIII. 39. L. 7. DCCCLV. 3. DCCCLXI. 13. DCCCLXXVI. 3. 4 S. L. 6. dcccvi. 32. This book is quoted by Origen, de Princip. L. 3. c. 2, according to the translation of Rufinus. 5 In Jude, ver. 9. 6 S. L. 7. dcccxc. 4. See Tertullian, de Carne Christi, c. 23. 7 dcdlvii. 41. They are quoted, with some variation, as a saying of Christ, by Justin Martyr, Dial. p. 267, A. See Grabe Spicil. T. i. p. 327. 8 dccclxxvi. 36. 9 v. 31. 10 Ixxviii. 15. 11 P. L. i. c. 6. cxiii. 5. See my work on Justin Martyr. 12 P. L. i. c. 6. cxiv. 4. L. 2. c. 9. ccxviii. 17. Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis. VI. Adumb. in I John v. 2. MIX. 34. See Chrysostom and Theophylact on the passage in St. John. 244 Some Account of the adopted by those who denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit. In Ecclus. xxxi. or xxxiv. 26, he 1 quotes otvos Se KapSiW v, whereas in the printed editions we find ovrws ou>os ev fAQ-XV v7repr)(f>dvcDv. In xix. 5 he 2 quotes 6 Se dvro(- f)8ovrj orTe</>ai'oi T?)I/ ^w^v O.UTOV, which Grotius believes to be the true reading, instead of 6 /uoxov AoAiav eXarrovovrat Kcua'a. He 3 alludes to an addition to the last verse of the ninth chapter of Proverbs which is found in the Vatican MS. In the Epistle of Jude, ver. 6, he 4 appears to have read VTTO 6<f>ov aypiMv dyycAoov TtTijprjKtv : in i Cor. ix. 27, he 5 reads eT/o instead of V7rw7riao). Clement frequently quotes the Epistle ascribed to Barnabas as the work of the Apostle of that name. CIKOTWS ovv 6 'ATrocrroAos Ba/3va/?a? are the words with which he 6 introduces a quotation from the first and second chapters. In 7 another place he calls the author rov 'ATrocrroAiKoi/ Bapm/3ai/, and says that he was one of the seventy, and the fellow-labourer of St. Paul. Clement 8 quotes also the first of the two Epistles which go under the name of Clemens Romanus, and 9 calls the author an Apostle, lv rfj Trpos Kopiv0iovs 'ETTIOTOATJ 6 'ATrocrroAos KAiJ/xr;?. In 10 another place he calls it the Epistle of the Romans to the Corinthians. Clement n quotes several passages from the Shepherd of 1 P. L. 2. c. 2. clxxxii. 17. 2 P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxi. 5. There is also at ccxxix. I, a passage of Ecclesiasticus, xxvi. 22, not extant in our printed copies, but probably derived from a MS. 3 P. L. 3. c. 2. cclvii. 9. 4 P. L. 3. c. 8. cclxxx. 29. See Mill on the place, who observes that Lucifer Calaritanus follows the same reading. 5 S. L. 3. dlviii. 4. See the Note in Potter's edition. 6 S. L. 2. ccccxlv. 27. See ccccxlvii. 37. cccclxxii. 29, where the quotation is from the last chapter of the Greek edition. 7 S. L. 2. cccclxxxix. 43. See also L. 5. dclxxxiii. 33. The Epistle is referred to P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxx. 31. L. 3. c. n. ccxcvu. 24. ccxcvm. 2. S. L. 2. CCCCLXIV. 10. L. 5. DCLXXVI. 27. L. 6. DCCLXXXII. i. 8 S. L. i. cccxxxix. 7. In L. 6. DCCLXXII. 19, Clement attributes part of the passage here quoted to Barnabas, though he shortly after refers another part to Clemens Romanus. DCCLXXIII. 4. 9 S. L. 4. dcix. 41. 10 S. L. 5. dcxciii. 29. 11 S. L. i. ccclxix. 8. ccccxxvi. 36. L. 2. ccccxxx. 15. cccclii. 3. cccclviii. 20. L. 4. dxcvi. 47. L. 6. dcclxiv. 14. dcccvi. 9. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 245 Hermas. He * quotes also the address of Tatian to the Greeks ; and 2 ascribes to the same writer a work entitled Trept TOV /cara TOV ^atTTJpa /caraprto'/xou, written, as the passage quoted clearly shows, after he had seceded from the Church, and had become a disciple of Valentinus. It appears from the selections from the prophetic writings, that Tatian 3 inter- preted the words, " Let there be light," as a prayer, not as a command. CHAPTER IX. WE have seen that among the pseudo-Gnostics, whose errors Clement undertook to confute, were 4 some who asserted that the law was not given by the Supreme God Who gave the Gospel. He insists, therefore, that the law and the Gospel are only parts of the same economy, in which the same God is revealed to mankind. " There is," 5 he says, " in truth one covenant of salvation, extending from the foundation of the world to our time, which, according to the difference of genera- tions and seasons, is supposed to be given in different forms. For it is fitting that there should be one unchangeable gift of salvation, proceeding from one God through one Lord, but 1 S. L. I. ccclxxviii. 10. - S. L. 3. dxlvii. 20. It contains an interpretation of I Cor. vii. 5> dis- paraging marriage. See DLIII. 12. Tatian interpreted the Old Man in Eph. iv. 22, 24, of the law, and the New Man of the Gospel, meaning that the law did not proceed from the Supreme God, Who gave the Gospel. DXLVIII. 1 6. 3 xxxviii. 4 One of their arguments was, that the law addressed itself to the fears of men. Clement, in answer, points out the utility of fear as a means of discipline. S. L. 2. CCCCXLVI. I. 5 S. L. 6. dccxciii. 12. A passage has been already quoted in p. 215, in which the ecclesiastical rule is said to be the harmony of the law and the prophets with the covenant given during our Lord's abode on earth. DCCCIII. ii. See also L. 5. DCCXXX. 20. L. 6. DCCLXXXIV. 30. and L. 2. CCCCXLIV. 34, where Clement infers that the law and Gospel were given by the same God, because in both faith is set forth as the medium of justification : in proof of this he quotes Rom. i. 17. L. I. ccccxxiv. 13. L. 2. DVII. II. L. 3. DXLIV. 40. L. 4. DCXIV. 21. DCXXIII. 13. DCXXV. 20. Clement gives a different interpretation of Rom. i. 17 in L. 5. DCXLIV. 22. 246 Some Account of the conferring its benefits in different ways. On this account the middle wall which separated the Greek from the Jew is re- moved ; so that both are formed into a peculiar people, meeting together in the unity of the faith ; and there is one election (eKAoyr) fjiia) from both." We must bear in mind that, accord- ing to the Gnostics, certain persons, called the election, were destined by nature to salvation. Speaking * in another place of the unity of the Church, he says that " there is one ancient and Catholic Church, existing in the unity of one faith, which has reference to the peculiar covenants, or rather, to the one covenant given, at different times, by the will of one God, and collecting together, through one Lord, those appointed to receive its benefits, whom God has predestined, having known from the foundation of the world that they would be just." Ac- cording to Clement, 2 the law regulated the actions, the Gospel the thoughts of men. He 3 speaks of four ancient covenants, which 4 in the selec- tions from the writings of the prophets are said to be those made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses. He 5 speaks also of commandments given before the law. We have seen that in his enumeration of the commandments of the Decalogue, Clement makes that which relates to the observance of the seventh day the third. "The third precept," he 6 says, "is that which declares that the world was made by God, and that He gave the seventh day as a rest for men, on account of the hardships and sufferings to which they are subject in this life. God is exempt from fatigue, and suffering, and want ; but we who are in the flesh require rest ; wherefore the seventh day is called rest (the Sabbath), 7 an exemption from ills, ushering 8 in the day which is the commencement of creation, our 1 S. L. 7. dcccxcix. 14. 3 S. L. 7. dccclxxvii. 20. See L. 3. DXIII. 28. 3 Kyiu; [Artvvfta. TirpdtSot ^tct^xuv vezXaiuv. S. L. 5. DC'LXVI. 6. 4 li. 5 S. L. 6. dcccix. 10. 6 S. L. 6. dcccx. 3. See p. 223. 7 So S. L. 4* dlxvi. 25. y ftoi 'Soxii TO ffKfifiaro* / ct<ro^o^7 l ; (1. efff^^i) Potter supposes Clement here to allude to Christ, who gives us being, and light, and rest. I suspect that he rather alludes to the eighth day, the commencement of the new creation, lv xaracrawo-a? TO. cravra, ap^yiv jftipttf lyfrons <roiriffia, o iffnv, aXXou xoffftou xp%wv' /o xai r>jv '/ipipav T'/JV oy'bcnv 115 su<ppo<ruvriv, lv y xai o 'iritrovs oivitrr'/i Ix Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 247 real rest ; which is in truth the first generation of that light, in which all things are contemplated and possessed. From this day the first Wisdom and Knowledge enlightens us ; for it is the light of truth, the true light, without shadow, the Spirit of the Lord distributed without division among those who are sanctified through faith ; having the place of a luminary, to the end that all existing things may be known. Following this light throughout our life, we are rendered exempt from suffering; and that is rest. Wherefore Solomon says, that Wisdom was with the Almighty before the heaven and earth, and all existing things ; a participation in which, I mean not in its essence, but in its power, teaches man to comprehend and know things divine and human." Clement, then, having discussed for a while the properties and virtues of the num- bers * six, seven, and eight, reproves those who interpreted the rest of God (Gen. ii. 2) as if it meant that God had then ceased to work ; for, inasmuch as He is good, if 2 He ever ceased to do good, He would cease to be God. The rest of God means, that God then prescribed the order which all created things were to observe for ever without deviation ; and that He then put an end to the previous confusion. vixpav. Barnab. Ep. c. 15. We have seen that, speaking of the true Israelites, or Gnostics, Clement says that they do not remain in the Hebdomas of rest, but being by good works assimilated to God, they raise themselves to look into the inheritance of the Ogdoas, and there continually apply themselves to pure contemplation, with which they cannot be satisfied. L. 6. DCCXCIV. i, quoted in p. 152. So again the true Gnostic hastens through the holy Hebdomas to his Father's abode, to the mansion of the Lord ; that is, the Ogdoas. L. 7. DCCCLXVI. n. Compare DCCCLXXXIV. 17. For the Valentinian notions of the Ogdoas, see the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, LXIII. and LXXX. The rest of the Hebdomas was assigned to the common believer ; for the Gnostic was reserved the Ogdoas, the state of perfect blessedness in the presence of God. See S. L. 5. DCCXIII. i. 1 Clement frequently speaks of the hidden meanings of the numbers seven and eight; and of the Gnostic mystery of the Hebdomas and Ogdoas. S. L. 4. DCXII. 23. This he afterwards explains DCXXXVI. 18, where, speaking of the seven days during which a man who touched a dead body was deemed unclean (Num. xix. n), he says, that the number seven may signify either the seven returns of Sabbatical years, at the end of which comes the rest of the year of Jubilee (Lev. xxv. 8); or the seven heavens ; the Ogdoas being the fixed space (ft az-Xai^? x,&p x \ which is near to the intelligible world (<rf VOWTM KOO-^M}. See also L. 5. DCLXVII. 30. a-/3jST/v. S. L. I. CCCXXIII. 21. 248 Some Account of the Having quoted a passage from the tenth book of Plato's work De Republica, in which he discovers an allusion to the Lord's day, under the name of the eighth day, Clement l pro- ceeds to produce passages from Greek writers to show that the seventh day was by them considered holy. All that can be fairly collected from these passages is, that the Greeks attached some peculiar sanctity to the seventh day of the month, and some peculiar virtue to the number seven ; but this they did also to other days and numbers. It is scarcely necessary to observe that Clement never applies the name Sabbath to the first day of the week, which he calls the 2 Lord's day. CHAPTER X. CLEMENT always speaks of the redemption of man as effected by the death of Christ. 3 " Christians are redeemed from cor- ruption by the blood of the Lord. 4 The Word poured forth His blood for us, to save human nature. 5 The Lord gave Himself as a victim for us. 6 By His own passion He delivered us from offences and sins, and thorns of that kind (in allusion to the crown of thorns placed on our Saviour's head)." 7 His interpretation of Isa. liii. 6, " The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all " (in the Septuagint, KV/HOS TrapeoWei/ avrov rat? oLfjiapT LOLLS ^/xwv) is, that the Lord sent Him as the corrector of our sins. " On this account He is alone able to remit trans- gressions, being appointed by the Father of the Universe to be our schoolmaster (TratSayooyos), and alone able to distinguish 1 S. L. 5. dccxii. 31. The verses which Clement ascribes to Callimachus are by Eusebius given to Linus. 2 See a mystical application of the name. S. L. 7. DCCCLXXVii. 29. 3 P. L. I. c. 5. cxii. i. See also c. 6. cxxvn. 22. c. 9. CXLVIII. 29. L. 2. c. 2. CLXXVII. 25. Eclogue ex Prophetarum Scripturis, xx. 4 P. L. i. c. 6. cxxiv. 8. 6 P. L. I. c. 11. clvi. 5. 6 P. L. 2. c. 8. ccxv. 5. See L. i.e. 8. cxxviii. 30. Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDXLVIII. 44. 7 P. L. i. c. 8. cxxxviii. 30. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 249 between obedience and disobedience." * Clement held that salvation was offered to all who believed in Christ ; in opposi- tion to the notion of the Gnostics that the spiritual seed alone was saved. In the 2 second book of the Stromata, Clement treats of faith. His object seems to have been to show, in opposition to the Greeks, who called it empty and barbarous (that is, 3 unphilosophical), that it was practical a principle of action ; and to show, in opposition to Basilides and the Valentinians, who considered it as a natural quality, that it was voluntary. He defines it, a voluntary anticipation, a pious assent, the substance of things hoped for^ the evidence of things not seen. He notices the definitions given by others; by 4 Theophrastus, for instance, who said that sen- sation was the principle of faith, inasmuch as from it are derived all the principles which extend to our reason and understanding. Clement 5 elsewhere defines faith the rational assent of a soul free to choose ; and says that it is the worker of good and the foundation of a righteous course of action. In speaking of faith, Clement insists particularly on the freedom of man to choose and to refuse ; "this," he 6 says, "is plainly declared in Scripture, so that we rest upon faith, an immutable criterion, showing a ready mind; inasmuch as we have chosen life, and have believed in God through the voice of the Word." He had previously said that a voluntary faith is the foundation of salvation. Clement 7 says, " that faith is superior to knowledge, and is 1 P. L. i. c. 6. cxv. 15. 2 ccccxxxii. 35. In CCCCXLV. 5, he mentions some who spoke of faith as easy and vulgar. 3 But in S. L. 5. DCXCVII. 33, he says, that it is the part of those who censure philosophy also to disparage faith. 4 ccccxxxiii. 4, 19. In the former place there is a distinction between faith and demonstration. Aristotle's definition is given ccccxxxvi. 21, and that of Epicurus, ccccxxxvi I. I. Faith is called the ears of the soul. L. 5. DCXLIV. 9. Compare DCLII. n. DCLXXIX. 22. 5 S. L. 5. dcxlv. 5. dcxcvii. 36. In L. 2. CCCCXLIV. 5, we find xut W ftlv Tr'nrn; vvroXvr^is ixovirios, *a) vrpoXw^i; tvyvu/tavd; wpoxizTKXriiJ/iuf. 6 S. L. 2. ccccxxxiv. 28. 7 S. L. 2. ccccxxxvi. 23. He afterwards thus expresses the relation of faith to knowledge, Tiffr-/! roivvv w yvua-is, yvuffrrt t ri vriffTts Qtia, <rm 250 Some Account of the its test ; that l the exercise of faith becomes knowledge, fixed on a firm foundation. 2 Repentance is the perfect work of faith ; for unless a man believed his previous state to be sinful, he would not quit it ; and unless he believed that punishment awaited the sinner, and salvation him who kept the command- ments, he would not change. 3 Hope also depends on faith ; for hope is the expectation of the possession of good ; and that expectation must be founded on faith." They who dis- paraged faith 4 represented it as having its origin in fear. This Clement does not deny ; but 5 contends that " fear first be- comes faith, and then love ; since there are two kinds of fear : one coupled with hatred, such for instance as we feel towards a wild beast ; the other with love, such as we feel towards a parent." Faith, according to Clement, was the medium of justifica- tion under all the Divine dispensations. This he 6 shows by a reference to the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 7 When the Apostle says (Rom. i. 17), that the " righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel from faith to faith," he means that salvation is taught by one and the same Lord, first through prophecy, then perfectly through the Gospel. Clement 8 speaks of the ONE mode of salvation by faith in God. He 9 talks of being moored by the firm cable of faith yiviTo.1. 34. The word which I have here translated knowledge is iffi<rr'/ip,?!, scientia, opposed to $o%r l} opinio. Clement is not speaking of the perfect yvu<ri;. See ccccxxxv. 33. CCCCLIV. 14. 1 S. L. 2. ccccxxxiii. 14. 2 S. L. 2. ccccxliii. 24. 3 In P. L. i. c. 6. cxxi. 10, Clement calls hope the blood of faith, by which faith is kept together, as by a soul. When hope is breathed away, like blood flowing out, the vitality of faith is dissolved. Clement also distinguishes confidence v&vottfxris from faith. S. L. 2. CCCCXLIV. 8. L. 5. DCXCVII. 29. 4 S. L. 2. ccccxlv. 10. 5 S. L. 2. cccclvii. 24, quoted in p. Si. 6 S. L. 2. ccccxxxiv. 36. 7 S. L. 2. ccccxliv. 39. Clement adds the words T^V ^/av after it; xiffriv in his quotation. So also in L. 6. DCCLXV. 33. KO,; o Itttyopit Xpovoi; 'Slot, v'urrtus ffufais ri. xeti ffa>6r,ff'ofj,ivo;. Yet DCCLXII. 30, he speaks of faith as wanting to those who were just according to the law. See also L. 5. DCLXXVIII. 12. 8 P. L. i. c. i. xcvii. 15. Faith is said to be the way to truth. S. L. 2. CCCCXXX. 24. tfiyn; %l iff^,v; ;/; trur'/iptctv xa] ^vva.fti; ils ^ur,v Kiavtov. CCCCLVII. 32. 9 P. L. i. c. 4. ciii. 1 8. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 251 in the Lord. Having 1 said that the first endeavour after salvation is faith, which is generated in time (as opposed to eternity), he 2 goes on to say that faith is the perfection of instruction that nothing is wanting to faith, which is perfect and complete in itself that 3 catechetical instruction leads men to faith, which is taught in baptism by the Holy Spirit, and is the one universal salvation of human nature. "Abraham," he 4 says, "was justified not by works, but by faith ; wherefore good works are of no avail after the end of life to those who perform them, unless they also have faith." He calls faith " a grace, which leads men from principles which admit not of demonstration to the universal simple (essence), which is neither united to matter, nor is matter, nor is subject to matter ; whereas unbelief drags man down from heaven and things invisible to earth. 5 Whether faith is founded on love or fear, it is something divine ; for it comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God ; but there must be a meetness to receive it on the part of him who hears." When, however, Clement' compares faith with knowledge (yi'wo-is), he speaks of it as imperfect. " The believer is per- fected by knowledge. G Faith is an internal good ; without seeking God, it confesses and glorifies Him as God. Wherefore the believer, setting out from faith and growing in it by the grace of God, must as far as it is possible acquire the know- ledge of God. 7 As it is natural for him who has hands to lay hold ; and for him who has sound eyes to see the light ; so is it natural for him who has received faith to become a partaker of knowledge, if he is willing to build gold, silver, 1 P. L. I. C. 6. CXV. 12. opf&rj [A\Y w Wtffris Iv X,P V V 'y^vuju.ivtj yap 7i ft6t$y,o'*u; TiXnoT'/i; oi>o\v o\ Ivon TJJ 2nV<rs/, <nXsiqt ouffri i% a 2 P. L. . c. 6. cxvi. 21. Clement, S. L. 5. DCLV. 31, speaks of those who demand demonstration, and are not content with salvation by faith. 3 S. L. I. cccxxxviii. 21. 4 S. L. 2. ccccxxxv. 33. 5 S. L. 2. ccccxlv. ii. ccccxlii. 18. See also CCCCLIV. 28. */ n cr/Vr/? ouvctfAi; TI$ TOV Stan, i<r%u; ovffu, <rn? ot,\'/}l)s'ioi,$, 6 S. L. 7. dccclxiv. 31. In the Eclogse ex Prophetarum Scripturis, XV. the believer is said to receive remission of sins from the Lord ; the Gnostic from himself. (See Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLVII. 35), and Ps. xvii. 50 is quoted to prove that all believers are kings. XLIV. 7 S. L. 6. dcccxix. 8. Clement, L. 5. DCLXXIX. i, speaks of an ex- temporaneous Or sudden faith. <rr,s K^roa-^iou vitrrsus. 252 Some Account of the precious stones, on the foundation which has been laid (i Cor. iii. 12)." We have seen that Clement calls faith the worker of good. Sometimes he appears to confound it with its fruits ; as when he 1 says that faith is obedience to the Word ; 2 or an undeviat- ing performance of those things taught by the Word. He 3 interprets Rom. xi. 22, "If thou continue in His goodness," if thou continue in faith in Christ. I have said that Clement speaks of faith as the only medium of justification ; but as he occasionally confounds faith with its fruits, so he seems to represent the latter as contributing towards the justification of man. "Sins," he 4 says, "are cleansed by alms and faith." We have seen, too, that he 5 speaks of faith as wanting to those who were justified according to the law. His notion was that philosophy was given to the Gentiles by God for the same purpose for which the law was given to the Jews ; in order to prepare them for justification under the Gospel by faith in Christ. Hence he infers the necessity of the descent either of Christ or of the Apostles into the receptacle of departed spirits, in order that they might preach the Gospel to those Jews and Gentiles who had died before Christ's coming ; having conformed their practice, though imperfectly, to the rule of life, which the law and philosophy had set before them respectively. 1 P. L. i. c. 13. clix. 3. 2 P. L. i. c. 13. clx. 14. 3 P. L. i. c. 8. cxl. 3. 4 S. L. 2. CCCclxvi. 25. 'EXtriftoffuvetig ovv xet] veiffrtffiv afoxcttietipovrai upetpTiai, where there seems to be an allusion to Prov. iii. 3 in the Septuagint. 'EXififtoffuvui xa.} ^riffrsis fj^n IxXiiffiTuo'ix.v <rs. The expression $i uraxows tbixKiovro. L. 4. DCXXXII. 29, applies to the covenant made with Adam. 5 S. L. 6. dcclxii. 30, quoted in p. 250, Note 7, DCCXCIV. 14. The Gentiles wanted not only faith, but also the renunciation of idolatry. 33. See DCCLXIV. IO. aXX* us XKTO. xxipov %xti TO xvpvyfta, vuv, oilru; KO.TO. xetipov t%o6w vojuos [MY xa.} TpoQwTKi fiecpfioipois, Qt^offotyia, *%\ "EXXyyi, TO,; axoa; \6i^ovira. vrpog TO xYipuypa,. DCCLXII. 14. DCCLXIV. 33. tixoTus ovv 'liutetietf plv vopos, xctra TOV Kupiou, TOO (JL'OIIOU tvog otpQo'iv Qtou, 'EXXwveav TI xtti fictpfioipevv, ^aXXov 01 -ruvTOf rov TUV a,v6pa*uv yivov;. Dcccxxni. 2O. See also Dccxcv. 25, where Clement quotes Deut. iv. 19, which he interprets, like the other early fathers, as a permission to the Gentiles to worship the sun and moon. DCCLXXII. 25. L. i. ccccxxn. 4. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 253 It is certain, however, that Clement did not believe that heathen virtue possessed of itself any efficacy towards justifica- tion. For he x says that every action of the heathen is sinful ; since it is not sufficient that an action is right ; its object or aim must also be right. Although, too, he 2 speaks of being .justified by abstinence from evil, with a particular reference to our Lord's remarks on righteousness (Sucaioo-wi;) of the Phari- sees (Matt. v. 20), and says that a Christian must be perfected by doing good after the example of Christ, yet it cannot be doubted that he considered no action good unless it sprang from faith. "Righteousness," he 3 says in another place, "in order to be perfect, must halt in no respect, in word, in act, in abstinence from evil, in doing good, in Gnostic perfection. Every righteous man is a believer, but every believer is not righteous; I speak now of that growth and perfectness in righteousness, with reference to which the Gnostic is called righteous : faith was imputed to Abraham for righteousness because he believed ; but he advanced to higher and more perfect degrees of faith." 4 Again, " the office of saving righteousness is to lead man on to that which is better, according to his capacity." The justification of the Gnostic, according to Clement, consisted not in being merely reckoned, but in being made just. 5 He thus interprets i Cor. vi. TI, " Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus ; " ye are, so to speak, made just as He is just, and mixed as far as it is possible with the Holy Spirit. Casaubon 6 has observed that the language of Clement, as well as of the other early fathers, on the subject of justification, requires to be leniently interpreted. He refers particularly to a passage in the first book of the Stromata, in 7 which it is said 1 S. L. 6. dccxcvi. 7. See also L. 7. DCCCLXVII. 2. DCCCLXXIII. 40. and L. 3. DXXXIV. 26, where Clement says that an act to be right must be done through the love of God. 2 ovx KVo%y XKXUV ftovov 'btxa.iuSiis, wpog $1 xoc.} <ry xvptaxri <ri\&iu6ii; ivwo'i'ia. S. L. 4. DLXXVI. 22. lv pw <7r~ks.Qvu.ffr, u/ttav ri ^ixouoffuvy <rXs7ov <ruv j>petft/u,a,<riav xa.} Qctiffui/uv, <ruv xa.ro. utro'/iv xoixuv ^txuioupivuv, truv <ru [AS.TU. <rr,s Iv rourots xai ru rov tfXyfov ayacrav xoc, suspysTiv uvaffatt, ovx L. 6. 'DCCCXXV. 33. 3 S. L. 6. dccxci. 20. 4 S. L. 7. dcccxxxv. 9. 5 S. L. 7. dccclxxxv. 23. 6 Exercitationes in Baronii Annales ad Apparatum. I. 7 CCClxxvii. 6. xtzf iotvrriv &IXKIOU <7foT\ xeti w ^iXoffotptcc, <rov; "EAXjva?, but 254 Some Account of the that philosophy of itself justified the Greeks. As I have already stated and Casaubon himself produces a passage which confirms the statement I believe Clement to have meant that philosophy and the law were respectively the pre- parations of the Gentile and Jew for the justification of the Gospel. Under the Gospel, faith is the medium of justifica- tion ; but the believer ought not to remain stationary ; he must strive continually to advance towards Gnostic perfection. The apparent incorrectness of Clement's language arises from not making that 2 clear distinction between justification and sancti- fication, which the controversies at the time of the Reformation introduced among Protestant divines. In speaking of faith, I referred 3 to a passage in which Clement strongly asserts the freedom of man to choose and to refuse. He argues that it is necessary to the responsibility of men, that they should not 4 be moved by strings like inanimate machines. 5 God confers eternal salvation on those who work together with Him in knowledge and good actions; the perform- ance of His commandment being in our own power. G Every man partakes of (the Divine) beneficence in the degree in which he chooses \ since the suitable choice and discipline of the soul constitute the superiority of the election (in opposition to the heretical notion of a race elect by nature). 7 Our assent is Clement adds, ovx, ti; rrjv xa,6'oXou ^l ^txctioffvvw. We find ixdirrov r,ftuv tuurtv ^iKettouvroS) % 'ifttfaXiv a-ruffi KCtra.ffx,tvti'C,ov<ro;. L. 3- DXL. 38. 1 Clement calls philosophy vvrofieifyav rr,$ xara, Xfifrov QiXoffoQiKs. S. L. 6. DCCLXXIII. 40. 2 On this subject the reader will do well to consult an article in the Theological Quarterly Review for April 1835 on the Remains of Alexander Knox, Esq.; as well as the Letter to D. Parken, Esq., on Justification, in the first, and the second and third Essays in the second volume of those Remains. 3 S. L. 2. ccccxxxiv. 28. Compare L. i. CCCLXXI. 7, 22. L. 2. CCCCXLIII. 10. CCCCLXXXIX. 39. L. 3. DXXIX. 32. L. 4. DCXXXIII. 24. L. 7. DCCCXXXIV. ii. DCCCXXXV. i. DCCCXXXVII. 2. Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDXL. 22. 4 [tri viupofftfeiffrouftiyov u-^/v^uv < opyoivuv. S. L. 4- DXCVIII. 3^- L. 7- DCCCXXXII. 5. DCCCLV. 29. 5 S. L. 7. dccclx. 17. 6 S. L. 5. dccxxxiv. I. So L. 7. dcCCXXxix. l6. oiiri yap Qvffit T'/IV ap'.rvv yivvupiQa. i%ovTSs, * r. i. L. -4. DCXX. 25. L. 6. DCCLXXXVIII. 17, where Clement says that it is the nature of the soul to be moved by itself. 7 3. L. 2. CCCCLVIII. 9. L. 5. DCCXXXI. 15. Writings of Clement of A lexandria. 255 in our own power ; this the Stoics, as well as the disciples of Plato, admitted. In like manner a obedience, disobedience, transgression, are in our own power. 2 Neither praise nor honour could be justly conferred, nor censure nor punishment justly inflicted, if evil was involuntary, and the soul had not the power of desiring and abstaining. In a fragment 3 cited by Maximus, we find various definitions of will, e.g. a natural power desiring that which is according to nature a natural desire, suitable to the nature of that which is rational a natural free movement of the free mind, or the mind freely moved with reference to any object. Freedom is the mind naturally moved, or an intelligent free movement of the soul. Which of these definitions Maximus meant to ascribe to Clement is not certain. In the 4 second book of the Stromata Clement says, that choice (Trpoat/aeo-ts) is the deliberate desire of an object. Clement 5 says, "that God, by commanding Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, though He at the same time foretold that Pharaoh would not let them go, mani- fested at once His divinity, by His foreknowledge of the future, and His love of man by giving the free soul an opportunity of repentance." Clement does not, however, attempt to explain how the prescience of God and the freedom of man are to be reconciled. He 6 seems to have entertained a notion, founded on Gal. iii. 23, 24, 25, that the Jews, who were under the terrors of their schoolmaster, the law, were not free ; whereas the Christian, who is under the guidance of the Word, is; 7 freedom consisting in obedience to the Word. While, however, Clement strongly insists on the freedom of man, he does not exclude the operations of Divine grace. 1 S. L. 2. cccclx. 36. cccclxii. 12. cccclxv. 22. cccclxviii. 30. In P. L. 3. c. 5. CCLXXII. 12, Clement uses the expression rnv uvri^ovtriov it**jtwtutv. The devil possessed freedom of will, and was capable of repentance. S. L. i. CCCLXVII. 36, quoted in p. 213, Note 9. L. 7. DCCCLX. 34. 2 S. L. i. ccclxviii. 12. L. 2. ccccxxxviii. 9. L. 6. dcclxxxix. 16. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLIII. 14. Fragment cited by Maximus. MXXIII. 10. 3 mxvii. 5, 4 ccccxxxiii. 6. 5 P. L. i. c. 9. cxliii. 25. 6 P. L. I. C. 6. Cxvi. 33. oux, uKdVin art lie IxtTvov <rov vojtcv ovxtri tfft\9 t o: %v p*<ra. Qofiou' Irto 1\ rov Aoyov, <rv; vpoaipiffius rov <7ra.i%a.yuybv ; Compare cx'vni. 7. L. 3. c. 12. ccciv. 14. 7 Quisnam igitur liber ? Sapiens, sibi qui imperiosus. 256 Some Account of the " It is not," he 1 says, " possible to obtain anything without a choice or purpose ; yet all does not depend on our intention, the event, for instance ; since 'by grace we are saved,' not, however, without good works. They who have a natural dis- position towards good must cultivate it. They must have a sound purpose, which does not waver in the pursuit of good. To this end we stand in especial need of Divine grace, and right instruction, and pure affection, and we require that the Father should draw us towards Himself." On ^another occasion he says, " Whether then the Father draws towards Himself every one who leads a pure life and is capable of attaining to the idea of the blessed and incorruptible nature ; or whether the free power within us, coming to the knowledge of the good (raya^ov), leaps over the barriers, according to the language of the gymnasium ; yet without a special grace the soul does not soar above all objects placed above it, casting off and giving back to the kindred earth whatever weighs it down." In the 3 Extracts from the writings of the prophets we find the following attempt to explain the different offices of grace and free-will in the work of salvation. "Since the soul is moved of itself, the grace of God demands from it that which it has, viz. a ready temper, as its contribution towards salvation. For the Lord wishes that the good which He confers on the soul should be its own since it is not without sensation, that it should be impelled like a body. To possess is the lot of him who has received ; to receive, of him who has wished and desired ; to retain what he has received, of him who studies and is able to retain. For this purpose God has given free choice to the soul, that He may point out what is right ; and the soul, having chosen, may receive and keep it." From what has been said, it is evident that Clement must 1 S. L. 5. dcxlvii. 5. In distinguishing Greek or philosophical from Christian continence (lyx^arj/a), Clement says that the former controlled the act, the latter the very desire. He adds that the latter can only be obtained through the grace of God. S. L. 3. DXXXVII. 29. He says that the Saviour alone quickens the eye of the soul. L. 5. DCLVI. 30. See also L. 6. DCCCXXVI. 36. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLVII. 20. 2 S. L. 5. dcxcvi. 12. See also DCXCVIII. 36. L. 6. DCCCXXII. 6. L. 7. DCCCLX. 17. 3 xxii. See S. L. 6. DCCLXXXVIII. 17, quoted in p. 254, Note 6. Compare xvii. Writing's of Clement of Alexandria. 257 have held the doctrine of Predestination in the Arminian sense, or ex prcevisis mentis. * " There are two kinds of wickedness ; one acts secretly, with deceit \ the other with violence ; the Divine Word has cried aloud, calling all collec- tively, well knowing those who would not obey. Since, how- ever, obedience and disobedience are in our own power, in order that no one may plead ignorance, He has made the calling just, and demands from each that which he has the ability to do." 2 "God, Who foresaw the event, was aware both of the unworthiness of Judas, and of the worthiness of Matthias." 3 In the Comment on the Epistle of Jude, ver. 4, "who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men," the author observes that they were not pre- destined to ungodliness ; but, being ungodly, were predestined to condemnation. The Calvinist would say that they were predestined to both. According to 4 Clement, all men are called ; but to those who are willing to obey, the appellation of called (^cAi/roc) is given. The distinction which he 5 draws between the called and the elect is similar to that drawn by St. Paul between the seed of Abraham according to the flesh and according to faith. The necessity under which he was placed of combating the notions of 6 Valentinus and Basilides respecting the elect seed, 1 S. L. 2. ccccxliii. 5. So P. L. I. c. 7. cxxxiii. 34. rels vpo H xoffttv il? -rifriv lyvutrp'ivou; &tu. S. L. 4. DLXX. I. $/ %$ *9tkiwrt ru K.t>pift>, X.KI vfpo rws yiv'ifftcas rr/v fpaotip-yiv rov f^KprvpnvinvTo; ZIOOTI, L. 7 I^-D. I. ot/s wpeupiffiv o Qso$, ^iKction; Iffoftivou? tfpo xartn.^oXri; xoff/totJ lyvux&i;. DCCCXCIX. 7. See also L. 6. DCCI.XXVIII. 10. In .S. L. 7. DCCCXXXII. 22, Clement speaks of those who were predestined, and called at their proper season. In DCCCLYI. 2, of those who are appointed to different stations and offices by God. 3 S. L. 6. dccxcii. 40. Compare dccxcv. 23. s mvii. 53. Clement says, S. L. 4. DCXXXIV. 13, that God admonishes those who are capable of salvation by examples, el $/' y^aSs/y^aT^v ffeofavou lwo.fji.ivoi. It follows, therefore, that there are some incapable of salvation by examples. 4 S. L. i. ccclxxi. 13. Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDXXXVI. 45. 5 ol fttv yap trwipf&K ' Afipetaft, ^ov^ai tn TOV Q-au, ouroi tifiv el x,%.r,Tal' t>!oi %t 'laxufi el lx.Xix.ro} etisreu, ol rr,$ xotxiot; fr-.fViffoc.vTi; rvtv ivipyuotv. S. L. 6. DCCLXX. 37. In L. 3. DXLII. 17, Clement makes a threefold distinction into the called, the elect, and a third class destined to the highest honour. 6 See S. L. 5. dcxlv, L. 6. dcclxv. 26. I 258 Some Account of the may account in some measure for the strong terms in which he asserts the entire freedom of man. With God, according to Clement, to will and to effect are the same. l " How great is the power of God ! His mere will is the creation of the world. He creates by His mere will, and the effect follows upon His wish." 2 Again, " as His will (OiXfj^a) is an act, and that act is called the universe (KOCT/AOS) ; so His will (^ovXrjfjia) is the salvation of man, and that will is called the Church. For He knew whom he called; and whom He called, them He also saved." 3 Again, "that which will hereafter believe is to God as if it already believed." 4 Again, "God, Who knows the future as if it was already present, knows the elect according to His purpose, even before the creation (Trpo TT}S yevecrews)." From this intimate connexion between the will of God and its effects, it might appear to 5 follow that evil is to be ascribed to Him. This Clement denies. G " God's providence is good as well as supreme. 7 Though He inflicts punishment, His will is to discipline and benefit, and to save those who turn to Him." I am far from meaning to contend that the language of Clement on these abstruse questions is always consistent ; my office is merely to state what his opinions are. 1 C. lv. i. See P. L. I. c. 6. cxin. 37. 2 P. L. i. c. 6. cxiv. 10. See p. 31. I read oitzv ovv ov; xixXyxw' OL/S $i xixXtjxiv, Kpa. xat ffio-uxiv. Clement appears to distinguish between ttt.vu.u, and fiouXriftu. Is it the distinction between will and purpose? 3 S. L. 7. dcccxlvi. 25. Compare P. L. 3. c. 3. cclxiii. 37, where Clement distinguishes between #poetip<ffn and ^s7.j,*. 4 S. L. 7. dcccliii. 6. Compare L. 6. dccxci. 5, where the epithet avap%o; is applied to the purpose of God. C. vi. 36, where he speaks of Christians as being before the foundation of the world, ol TM 1-7v tfitrfui lv U.U--M vponpov yiy-ivy/iju-ivoi TU Qtu. 5 In order to get rid of this inference, Clement proposes to read I Cor. 1. 2O, o-J%t ifteupay-v o 0*o; r-/iv ffo(fiia.v rov xoffpov rovrov, without an interroga- tion. S. L. I. CCCLXXI. I. 6 S. L. i. ccccxxiii. 28. See L. 4. ncn. 10. 7 S. L. 6. dcclxvi. 38. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 259 CHAPTER XL CLEMENT uniformly connects regeneration with baptism. "The Pedagogue," he * says, " forms man out of the dust, regenerates him with water, causes him to grow by the Spirit." The effects of baptism are 2 thus described: "Our transgres- sions are remitted by one sovereign medicine, the baptism according to the Word (Aoyi/3 /?a.7rr 107x0,). We are cleansed from all our sins, and cease at once to be wicked. This is one grace of illumination, that we are no longer the same in conversation (TOV rpoirov) as before we were washed ; inasmuch as knowledge rises together with illumination, shining around the understanding; and we who were without learning (djaa$ets) are instantly styled learners (/xa^rai), this learning having at some former time been conferred upon us ; for we cannot name the precise time ; since catechetical instruction leads to faith, and faith is instructed by the Holy Spirit in baptism." 3 Our flesh is said to become precious, being regenerated by water. But the regeneration by water must be accompanied by a regeneration by the Spirit or by the Word ; for Clement 4 says at one time that the Father regenerates by the Spirit unto adoption all who flee to Him ; at 5 another, that man is regenerated by the Word. 1 P. L. i. c. 12. clvi. 1 8. See also C. Ixix. 9. P. L. I. c. 5. civ. 30. c. 6. cxii. 36. L. 3. c. 12. ccciii. 18. S. L. 3. dli. 25. L. 4. dcxxxvii. 3. 2 P. L. i. c. 6. cxvi. 13. See also cxiv. 27. I'iv^of^vot pavrierp.K.ri. CXVII. 13. Xovoftsvos i'S oiqiiffiv u/uetpriuv. S. L. 2. CCCCLX. 5. 3 P. L. 2. C. 12. CCxli. 34. So L. I. C. 6. CXX1V. 39. Cv6vi 1>\ avetyzv 4 P. L. C. 5. CX. 24. vSo iv Kvwfjt.u.ri a.va.yivvufjt.<vov. S. L. 2. CCCCLX. 9. On the baptism of the affections, see L. 7. DCCCLXXXV. 9. 5 S. L. 2. ccccl. 32. In L. 7. dccclxxxix. 29, we find Christ repre- sented as Styling Himself TOV ctvu.'yivvuvru., #< KVKKTI^OVTK xcti n@wovp.s.vov r'/iv 4>v%Ytv rrjv t?ti>.i>y{tivvv, and Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLVIII. 31, Christ is introduced as thus addressing the Christian, lyca <ri xvi'yivvyffu. In P. L. 3. c. 12. cccx. 19, man is said to be formed anew (f*vrw*X*r*triai} by the Word ; but there is no reference to baptism. Clement alludes to baptism under the name of ffiup *.o>yixov. C. LXXIX. 18. As that which begets immediately supplies food to that which is begotten, so He Who regenerates us nourishes us with His own milk, the Word. P. L. I. c. 6. cxxVu. 16, See also cxxvni. 7. 260 Some Account of t/ie "Baptism," Clement J says, "has various titles. It is called grace (xa/oioy/,a), illumination (</>amo-/xa), that which is perfect (reAetov), and washing (Xovrpov). Washing, because by it we are cleansed from our sins. Grace, because by it the punish- ment due to our sins is remitted. Illumination, because by it we behold that holy saving light, and our sight is sharpened to behold the Divine nature. That ivhich is perfect, because nothing is wanting to him who knows God. It is absurd to call that which is not perfect the grace of God ; God Who is perfect will give gratuitously (xaptemu) perfect gifts." The name cr<payts is also - applied to baptism, or to the imposition of hands, which concluded the rite. The word TroAtyyeiWa occurs, but not in connexion with baptism. " Let us hasten," Clement 3 says, " to salvation, to regeneration (eVi TT/V to a union with the one Essence (rfjs Here the word seems to relate to the state of the just in the resurrection. 4 Again, " She who has committed fornication, lives to sin, but dies to the commandments ; she who has repented, being as it were born again by conversion of life, has regeneration of life (TraAiyyci/eo-tav (0779)." Suicer quotes the latter passage to show that TraAiyyeveo-i'a is used to express the gift of God by which the corrupt nature of man is renewed after His image. But it refers to that gift as con- nected, not with baptism, but with repentance. So also in the tract entitled 5 Quis Dives Salvetur, SiSovs /xe'ya 7rapa8eiy/m /xeravot'as a\7]@Lvf)<; KOL /xc'ya yrojpicr/Aa TraA.iyyei'ccrias. 1 P. L. i. c. 6. cxiii. 27. Clement had before said, " Being baptized, we are illuminated ; being illuminated, we are adopted ; being adopted, we are perfected; being perfected, we are rendered immortal." So C. LXXV. 36. IT/ TO hourpovy IT/ ryiv ffeuT'/ipietv, \f\ TOV Quriffp'ov. P. L. I. C. 6. CXIV. 21. CXXVIII. 2. TO \ovrpoM TO <xv<vpa.nx,ov. S. L. 5. DCLXXXIX. I. P. L. 2. C. 9- CCXVIII. 15. lypriyopiv oipa, <rpo; TOV Stov o vr'tpunffftivo; . L. 3. c. II. ccc. 21. rovg ^piffru nXoufttvov;, where there is an allusion to initiation into the mysteries. S. L. 5. DCLIII. 12. IT-/ */ vetpa. roH; fiapfieipoi; <p/Xofl*0/j TO xar'/i%>iffa,i r$ xxi (f>a<Tiffai a.va.yivvy.ffu.t ^ly-rai. DCLXXXIV. 26. ${, vovro Qcorifffto; v f*.ei0v<riia. x,ix.*.v7a.i, where the name <$uriffpo$ appears to be given to the instruction received previously to baptism. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLIX. 20. TO rtt.iuTa.7ov l^wrnfi. '~ uffrs, ov$l jSaTT/^a T/ s^Xoyov, oi-^l f^Kxetpix ff^ptzyi;. S. L. 2. CCCCXXXIV. 23. TJJJ trtypK'yi'bo; [tvffrwpiov, ^/' %s o ru ovn ^riffntjirKt &<b;. L. 5. DCXC. 22. fJt-ira. TVV ff$pa.y'tia.. Quis Dives Salvetur. I)CDL"\'II. 8. u; TO Ti^iov O.VTM (pvXKKT'^piov IfiffT^ffo,; T>7v fftyptz.'y'iba, rov Kvpioit. UCDLIX. 22. Eclogre ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xn. :{ C. Ixxii. 21. See p. 12. 4 S. L. 2. dvii. 13. 5 dcdlx. 41. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 261 We find, as we might expect, fanciful allusions to baptism. " We are to quench the fiery darts of * the wicked one (Eph. vi. 1 6), with the watery points which have been dipped by the Word." Clement 2 says that the numerous washings prescribed by Moses are all comprehended in the one baptism ordained by Christ ; and that our regeneration is prefigured in Lev. xv. 1 8. 3 The custom among the heathen of washing before prayer or the performance of any sacred rite, which Clement supposes them to have derived from the Levitical law, was a figure or image of baptism. 4 Speaking of the resurrection, Clement says, that to partake of it is merely to attain to the promise of which the belief had previously been professed in baptism. Such, at least, is the interpretation put upon the words by Langbain, in a 5 letter to Archbishop Usher, cited by Lowth. Whether this is so or not, there is in the 6 second . book of the Stromata a clear allusion to the renunciation of the powers of evil, made in baptism. Clement 7 alludes to the custom of giving milk mixed with honey to the newly-baptized. He 8 alludes also to a custom of mixing milk with sweet wine ; but whether with any refer- ence to baptism is uncertain, though Jerome 9 states that in the Western Churches such a mixture was given in baptism. Potter 10 finds an allusion to the practice of anointing the candidate for baptism ; but it is, to say the least, obscure. There are n passages from which we may infer that baptism was then administered by immersion. retT; l/tro rov \oyov fiifiaftftsveu;. C. XC. 19. 2 S. L. 3. dxlviii. 40. 8 S. L. 4. dcxxviii. 23. See also L. 5. DCLXXXIX. i. 4 iv ^\ -rr avutf-Tatfn ruv wur-riuovruv atfoxitr/zi ro rtXo?' TO s olx, ce.XXu rtv'o; Itrn ftiraXufisTv, aXA.' % ?%$ fpouf^o^.o'y/if^iv'/;; Ifx-yytXta; Tti%i7v. P. L. I. C. 6. CXV. 4. 5 Numbered 216 in the Appendix to Parr's Life of Usher. 6 cccclxxxvii. 14. J P. L. i. c. 6. cxxviii. n. Compare cxxv. 2. 8 P. L. i. c. 6. cxxviii. 18. 9 In Esaiam, Iv. i. 10 P. L. i. c. 12. clvii. I. 11 T&Jv 1% u^aro? Kva-ff-TrufAivuv VfKibittV, P. L. 3- c * II< CCLXXXIX. 8. o;, when immersed in ignorance. C. iv. 20. 262 Some A ccount of the 1 loannes Moschus has preserved a fragment from the fifth book of the Hypotyposes of Clement, in which, commenting on i Cor. i. 14, he says that "Christ baptized Peter only; Peter, Andrew ; Andrew, James and John ; they, the other Apostles." In the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, we find a statement of the Valentinian notions respecting baptism. ~ " There is a twofold baptism ; one of sense (ato-^roV) by water ; the other of the understanding (vo-qrov) by the Holy Spirit. As the bread (in the Eucharist), and the oil (in baptism), are sanctified by the power of the name (pronounced over them), not being the same in appearance as they are received, but changed by that power into a spiritual power ; so the water, which has been exorcised and has become baptism, receives not only that which is worse (TO x *P v )> but also sanctification. We ought to go joyfully to baptism. But 3 as unclean spirits frequently descend together with the baptized person, and receiving the seal (-075 o-^paytSos), after- wards become incurable ; our joy is mixed with apprehension lest we should not descend alone into the water.' 3 4 In the Extracts from the writings of the prophets is a fanciful com- parison between the work of creation and of regeneration. It is asked, " whether baptism, being a sign of regeneration, is not a going forth from matter through the teaching of the Saviour, a strong, and mighty, and incessant wind bearing us along ? Thus the Lord bringing us out of disorder illuminates us, leading us to the light which has no shade, not to the material light. As all generation is by water and the Spirit, so is regeneration. 5 ' For the Spirit of God was borne over the abyss.' And on this account our Saviour, though He Himself needed not baptism, was baptized, in order that He might sanctify all water, to those who are born again. Thus we are purified not only in the body, but also in the soul. This, then, 1 mxvi. 33. The question respecting the baptism of the Apostles appears to have been much agitated in those days. See Tertullian, de Baptismo. c. 12. 2 Ixxxi. Ixxxii. Ixxxiii. Clement himself finds an allusion to heretical baptism in Prov. ix. l8. ou<ra yap ^iaj->'/i<ryi fi^up uXXorpiov. S. L. I. CCCLXXV. 19. He speaks also of some who baptized men into vice. L. 3. DLXII. n. 3 Compare S. L. 2. ccccxc. 7. 4 v. vii. viii. 5 Igitur omnes aquas de pristina originis praerogativa sacramentum sanctificationis consequuntur, invocato Deo. Tertullian, de Baptismo. c. 4. Writings of Clement of Ale %an dria. 263 is a sign that our invisible parts are purified, and that the unclean spirits entwined about the soul are strained out by the new and spiritual generation." On the words, "the waters which were above the heaven or firmament" (Gen. i. 7), it is observed that "there is a sensible (cuV^roV) and an intelli- gible (i/orjToV) water. The earthly cleanses the body ; by the heavenly water is allegorically expressed the Holy Spirit, Which purifies things unseen." In the same J Extracts, Heracleo is introduced as saying that some marked the cars of baptized persons with fire, thus interpreting John the Baptist's declara- tion that " He Who came after him should baptize with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Then follows a fanciful comment on Matt. iii. 12, where the chaff is said to mean our material covering, which is winnowed by the Spirit, and then burned with fire ; the wheat, which means our incorruptible part, the seed of life, is gathered into the garner. I have-already referred to a 2 passage in which Clement speaks of catechetical instruction as leading men to faith. On one occasion he 3 says, that "the meat mentioned by St. Paul (i Cor. iii. 2) is faith converted into a foundation by cate- chetical instruction ; " 4 on another, that " milk is catechetical instruction, being as it were the first nourishment of the soul : meat is the full contemplation of the mysteries (17 eTroTrri/o) 0eo>pia). 5 The carnal were they who had been recently admitted to catechetical instruction the babes in Christ." In communicating this instruction, regard 6 appears to have been had to the previous condition of the convert ; a different course was pursued in the case of a Greek and a barbarian. Clement 7 mentions incidentally that the name fathers was given to the catechists. 1 XXV. 2 P. L. I. C. 6. CXvl. 21. ri ftlv xtzr'/i%ytri; itg wiffnv Wt.pta.'y-i, quoted in p. 251, Note 2. '' P. L. i. c. i. cxx. 39. 4 S. L. 5. dclxxxv, 36. In dclxxv. 14, Clement speaks of the Word as inflaming and illuminating man from the first catechetical instruction to the growth of manhood, to the measure of the stature. In L. 6. DCCCXXVI. 12, he opposes knowledge, which he calls the perfection of faith, to cate- chetical instruction. See L. 2. CCCCLXXIX. 28. L. 7. DCCCLXIII. i. 5 P. L. i. c. 6. cxix. 32. 6 S. L. 6. dcclxxxiv. 40, compared with dcclxxxvi. 10. 7 S. L. i. cccxvii. i. Compare L. 3. DI.V. 33. On the manner in which Christian children were educated, see C. LVIII. 28. 264 Some Account of the We come now to the Eucharist. Clement l says that the Scripture calls wine a mystic symbol of the holy blood. " Christ," he 2 says, "partook of wine; for He was a man; He even blessed it, saying, 'Take, drink, this is My blood/ the blood of the vine : He thus calls allegorically the Word, Who was poured forth for many for the remission of sins, the sacred stream of gladness." 3 Again, " He showed that what He blessed was wine, by saying to His disciples, ' I will not drink of the fruit of this vine ' (Clement quotes apparently from memory), * until I drink it with you in the kingdom of My Father.' " Commenting on Gen. xlix. n, "Binding his foal to the vine," 4 Clement thus interprets the words : " He bound the simple and infant people to the Word, Who is called allegori- cally a vine. For the vine bears wine, as the Word bears blood ; both are drunk by men unto salvation ; the wine bodily, the blood spiritually." r ' Again, " There is a twofold blood of the Lord ; the one carnal, by which we are redeemed from corruption ; the other spiritual, by which we are anointed. To drink the blood of Jesus is to partake of the incorruption of the Lord. The Spirit is the strength of the Word, as the blood is of the flesh. According to this analogy, the wine is mixed with water, the Spirit with man ; the mixture of wine and water supplies a banquet unto faith ; the Spirit leads the way unto incorruption ; the mixture of both, of that which is drunk and of the Word, is called the 6 Eucharist, an admirable and lovely grace, which sanctifies both the body and soul of those who partake of it in faith ; the will of the Father mystically mixing up the Divine mixture, man, with the Spirit and the W T ord. Thus the Spirit is truly united to the soul, 1 P. L. 2. c. 2. clxxxiv. 9. 2 P. L. 2. C. 2. Clxxxvi. II. See S. L. 5. dclxxv. II. <r&turx7ov $, aTpa afAvr'&ov, TOV \oyou, TOV a,'l6o<ffa, oivov TYIV T'X f .iouffa.v *r,s Kyiayri? ivQpofvvvv ^i^eiirxn. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLH. 8. OUTO; o TOV ouov, TO alpa. TVS Kpvil.ov Tr,t 3 P. L. 2. c. 2. clxxxvi. 18. See S. L. I. cccxliii. 14, where Clement calls that which Christ brake bread. $ta TOVTO ovv o Zurrsp, ciprov x/3&>v, xa.} sv%ap'urr)iffiv itra. xhdifus TOV ap-rov Tpoifaxiv. x. <r. fpu-ov XcXytrsv xa. sv%apurr)iffiv itra. xhfus TOV ap-rov Tpoxiv. x. <r. Again, speaking of the bread and wine which Melchizedec brought to Abraham, he says, TOV otvtv xa.} TOV eipTov TKV yiyia-ffftivw ^t$ov; Tpa(f>rtv t tig TVTOV litxa.piffTiois. S. L. 4. DCXXXVII. 19. 4 P. L. I. c. 5. cvii. I. 5 P. I,. 2. c. 2. clxxvii. 24. 6 Clement also uses the word st/^a^o-r/ain its original signification, giving of thanks. L. 2. c. I. CLXX. 14. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 265 which is borne along or impelled by it ; the flesh to the Word, on account of which (the flesh), the Word became flesh." Clement T gives various interpretations of Christ's expressions in the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel respecting His flesh and blood; but in no instance does he interpret them literally. On one occasion he 2 says that the flesh and blood of the Word is the comprehension of the Divine power and essence. His notion 3 seems to have been that by partaking of the bread and wine in the Eucharist, the soul of the believer is united to the Spirit, and that by this union the principle of immortality is imparted to the flesh. Clement 4 speaks incidentally of some, who in the distribu- tion of the Eucharist, allowed the people to take each his share. He speaks also of heretics who used only water in the Eucharist. He 6 applies the. expression holy supper (TO SetTTvov TO aytov) to Christ's supper with His disciples in the house of Simon the leper (Matt. xxvi. 6). We find him 7 com- plaining of the abuse of the word agape, which some applied in his time to luxurious entertainments ; and 8 speaking of the horrible acts committed by the followers of Carpocrates at the feasts to which they gave the name of agape. He 9 mentions also the abuse of the kiss of peace which was given in the agape. 1 P. L. i. cxxi. cxxiii. cxxv. cxxvi. - S. L. 5. dclxxxv. 38. So dclxxxvi. 2. f->putn$ yap */ vo<ris rov 6<Mv ).'oyov fi yvuffi; <<rri rr t ; 6<ia,; olo-ia.;. In the Excerpta ex Theodoti Scriptis, xin. we find the Valentinian exposition of John vi. 51. The Son is the living bread given by the Father to those who are willing to eat. " The bread which I will give," He says, "is My flesh ;" either the bread by which the flesh is nourished in the Eucharist ; or rather, the flesh is His body, that is, the Church, the heavenly bread, the blessed assembly. s ti; oi<p0ctf>(rietv ixrp&Quv. P. L. i. c. 6. cxxvi. 5. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLVIII. 41. Christ is introduced as saying that He gives Himself as bread, of which if any one tastes he shall not experience death. 4 n xai rjy 'E.l^a.fiffritx.v rivt; %iavti{Aavri$, ug ttfo;, alrov ^ ixenffTov rov "ka,av Xa/3rv rrjv ftoTpav Ifirfifovfiv. S. L. I. CCCXVIII. 32. 5 <}*} yap ot xai v$ap -^tXov iii^apt<rrjviriv. . S. L. I. CCCLXXV. 15. See p. 189. 6 P. L. 2. c. 8. ccv. 5. 7 p. L. 2. c. r. clxv. 1 6. See p. 40. 8 S. L. 3. dxiv. 13. and L. 7. dcccxcii. 37. &' ri'v xaxsivqv T^V ffvp<ro<rntr,v 6ta, rr,; ^iuliavuftov aya,^"/;: fffwroK^KriKv mnr#%9rm. See p. 187. 9 P. L. 3. c. ii. ccci. 10. 266 Some Accoiint of the With respect to the nature of prayer, Clement says that our prayers will correspond to our conceptions of the Deity. 1 "An inadequate conception of God, turning aside to low and unworthy thoughts, preserves no piety in its hymns, in its words, in its writings, in its opinions." 2 " Prayer is an evidence of the moral character." He 3 defines it to be con- verse with God. " If we only whisper, or without opening our lips address God in silence, we cry aloud from within. For God hears without ceasing this internal converse." This, 4 as we have seen, was the mode of prayer especially used by the Gnostic, 5 "who prayed in every place not openly, in the sight of the multitude, but when he was walking, when he was conversing, when he was quiet, when he was reading, in the performance of every rational act, on all occasions ; if he only meditated in the secret chamber of his soul, still he called ' with groanings that cannot be uttered,' upon the Father, Who was near to him even while he was yet speaking. 6 His whole life is prayer and converse with God. His 7 prayer is a continual thanksgiving. 8 "The Gnostic receives whatever he asks ; for God knows who are worthy and who are unworthy of His gifts. Prayer, however, is not superfluous, even though good things are con- ferred without prayer. The confidence that we shall receive what we ask is a kind of prayer, deposited, as it were, in the mind of the Gnostic. Prayer is an occasion of converse with God, and we ought to omit no occasion of approaching Him. In a word, the holiness of the Gnostic, in union with the blessed Providence, through a voluntary confession, displays the perfect benevolence of God." In these last remarks the object of Clement appears to be to show that prayer on the 1 S. L. 7. dcccliii. 12. 2 S. L. 7. dccclvi. 12. 3 strnv ouv, uc i}<7n7v To^^poripov, o/mXiu, wpos <rov 0ov 5 tv%v, *. T. $. S. L. 7- DCCCLIV. 3. Compare DCCCLVI. 22. The Pythagoreans, Clement say?, directed men to pray aloud ; not because they doubted of God's ability to hear the stillest prayer, but that men might always pray for that for which they would not be ashamed that others should hear them pray. L. 4. DCXLI. 29. 4 See pp. 123, 146. 5 S. L. 7. dccclxi. 9. 6 S. L. 7' dccclxxv. 48, quoted in p. 146. 7 S. L. 7. dccclxxix. 39, quoted in p. 123, Note 8, and in p. 146, Note 4. 8 S. L. 7. dccclv. 4. Clement says that peculiar efficacy was ascribed to prayers uttered in an unknown tongue. L. i. ccccv. 20. W ritings of Clement of A lexandria. 267 part of man is not incompatible with perfect goodness on the part of God ; and to anticipate the objection, "Why, if God is good, does He not bestow His gifts on His creatures without requiring to be asked for them ? " 1 " The man who asks in prayer, with a right disposition and with a grateful mind, in some measure contributes to the result, receiving willingly that for which he asks." 2 There can be no effectual prayer without virtue. They who do not live virtuously cannot pray to receive what is good from God, since they know not what is really good ; even if they received it, they would be insensible to the gift. 3 It is true that God sometimes grants the petitions of sinners ; but not for their own sake, but for the sake of those who may be benefited by them. 4 When they obtain that for which they ask, it operates to their injury, because they know not how to use it. When Clement 5 says that the Gnostic does not pray in any fixed place, or on any stated days or festivals, but throughout his whole life, he gives us incidentally to understand that Christians in general did meet together in fixed places, and at appointed times, for the purposes of prayer ; and on one occasion he 6 mentions that by some the third, sixth, and ninth hours were set apart for prayer. 7 It was customary for those who joined in prayer to stretch forth the head and to raise the hands to 'heaven, and to rise up on their feet when the words with which the prayer concluded were pronounced by the whole congregation ; by these gestures they signified the zeal of the spirit to approach the intelligible essence, and their anxiety to raise the body from the earth, while the soul was borne upwards, as it were on wings, by the desire of better things ; and thus contemptuously casting off the chain of the flesh to press forward to the holy place. 8 Christians turned 1 S. L. 7. dccclvi. 7. 2 S. L. 6. dccxcvi. 25. In L. 5. dcliv. 15, Clement says that they who take the kingdom of heaven by violence (Qietrrett), take it not by contentious words, but by a continuance in well-doing, and by unceasing prayers. 3 S. L. 7. dccclxxvi. 6. 4 S. L. 7. dccclvii. 5. 5 S. L. 7. dcccli. 21, quoted in p. 123. DCCCLVI. 6. 6 S. L. 7. dcccliv. 1 8. 7 S. L. 7. dcccliv. 7. Compare the Extracts from the Writings of the Prophets, x. Tertullian, de Oratione. 8 S. L. 7. dccclvi. 25. Clement here observes that the most ancient 268 Some Account of the their faces towards the east in prayer, because the east is the image of the day of (spiritual) nativity ; the point from which the light first shines out of darkness, and from which the day of the knowledge of truth rose like the sun upon those who were immersed in ignorance. In l the Commentary on the Second Epistle of St. John, ver. 10, we find an allusion to the custom of giving the kiss of peace after prayer ; but with a particular reference to family prayer (in oratione quas fit in domo). Clement 2 says that our supper ought to be light, in order that we may be ready to wake to prayer, 3 and that we ought to rise frequently from our bed in the night, in order to praise God ; 4 that before we take our meals we ought to bless and sing praises to the Maker of all things ; and that we ought to do the same before we go to sleep. It r> seems also to have been customary among the first Christians to sing hymns during their meals, expressive of their gratitude towards God ; as the heathen were accustomed to sing songs in honour of their deities. Among the precepts which he delivers about drinking, he 6 says that they who are in the flower of their age, and find it convenient to take a meal (apia-rov) in the day-time, should take bread only, without drinking, in order that their super- fluous moisture may be sucked up by the dry food (^po^ayta), as by a sponge. Here, though he uses the word Xerophagia, he does not appear to have intended to allude to the fast so termed : as the reasons which he assigns for prohibiting the use of liquid have reference only to bodily health. The Gnostic would, of course, comply with the fasts of the Church ; not so much from the value which he attached to the outward temples looked to the west, so that they, who stood with their faces turned to the statue of the god, looked to the east. 1 mxi. 21. In P. L. 2. c. 7. cciii. 22, Clement mentions the Christian salutation, " Peace be with you." 2 P. L. 2. c. i. clxvii. 14. 3 P. L. 2. c. 9. ccxviii. 9, quoted in p. 48. Compare Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLVIII. 32. 4 P. L. 2. c. 4. cxciv. 24, quoted in p. 44. See also c. 9. crxvi. 21. c. 10. CCXXVIII. 5. S. L. 2. DVI. 22. L. 7. DCCCLXI. I. 5 S. L. 6. dcclxxxv. 9. 6 P. L. 2. c. 2. clxxix. i, quoted in p. 42. Compare c. 10. ccxxxn. 13. / / * ri.tings of Clement of A lexandria . 269 act, as out of regard to the inward meaning which it con- cealed. Fasting, J according to the Gnostic, signified an ab- stinence from all evil ; in act, in word, and even in thought. The - Gnostic understood the mysteries of the days of fasting, the fourth and sixth days of the week, called the Dies Stationari, of which the former was dedicated to Mercury, the latter to Venus. Fasting on those days signified to him that he was to renounce the love of gain and the love of pleasure. In 3 the Extracts from the Writings of the Prophets we find the following remarks on fasting. " Fasting is abstinence from food, as the word (nyo-reia) implies. But food renders us neither more nor less righteous. Mystically, however, fasting shows that, as life in each individual is supported by food, and not to be nourished by food is a symbol of death, so we ought to fast from worldly things that we may die to the world, and afterwards partaking of Divine food may live to God. Moreover, fasting purifies -the soul from matter, and renders it, as well as the body, pure and light to receive the Divine discourses. The worldly food is the former conversa- tion and sins ; the Divine food is faith, hope, love, patience, knowledge, peace, temperance. 4 ' Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after the righteousness of God, for they shall be filled.' But this desire appertains to the soul, not to the body." On the subject of marriage it is not easy to reconcile Clement to himself. At one time he combats the notions of the heretics, who, like 5 Marcion, enjoined abstinence from marriage, in order that the world created by the Demiurge might not be peopled ; or, like 6 Tatian, dared to ascribe the institution of marriage to the devil, contending that the bind- 1 S. L. 6. dccxci. 18. - S. L. 7. dccclxxvii. 12. 3 xiv. Clement says that the Apostles lived generally on berries and vegetables. P. L. 2. c. i. CLXXIV. 19. He ascribes the institution of sacrifices to the desire of eating flesh. S. L. 7. DCCCXLIX. 23. 4 i Cor. viii. 8. 5 S. L. 3. dxv. 19. The Valentinians, who arranged their /Eons in couples, allowed marriage. DVIII. i. The Carpocratians allowed a community of women. DXI. 20. B S. L. 3. dxxxiii. 22. dxlvii. 15. Among the passages alleged by the heretics against marriage were Matt. vi. 19. DL. 33; 2 Cor. xi. 3. DLII.I. 36 : Gen. iii. 5. DLIX. 33. 2 70 ' Some Account of the ing of the woman to the man, mentioned by St. Paul (i Cor. vii. 39), meant the union of the flesh to corruption. On these occasions l Clement contends that neither marriage renders us acceptable to God, nor abstinence from marriage, unless accom- panied by knowledge ; 2 that the real man is not manifested by choosing a single life j but that he surpasses others, who can attend to all the duties incident to the married and parental state, and yet not be separated from the love of God ; who can rise superior to every trial occasioned by children, by a wife, by servants, by possessions. 3 Some of the Apostles were married, and had children ; Peter, for instance, and Philip ; the latter gave his daughters in marriage. 4 Paul also was married. If 5 Christ did not marry, the reason was, that He had His own bride, the Church. Moreover, He was not a common man, so as to stand in need of a helpmate after the flesh ; nor was it necessary for Him to beget children, inas- much as He remains for ever and is the only-begotten Son of God. At other times Clement gives a decided preference to celi- bacy. " If you ask," he 6 says, " my opinion on the subject, I answer, that I pronounce those to whom the gift of chastity is given by God blessed ; that I admire monogamy and the grave modesty of a single marriage. But I say that we ought to sympathize with each other, and bear each other's burdens ; lest he who thinks that he stands securely should himself fall. With respect to a second marriage, I say with the Apostle, let him who burns, marry." 7 The Gnostic marries, as he eats and drinks, not for the thing itself, but from necessity. 8 His wife, after she has borne children, is to him as a sister born of the same father ; so that she is only re- 1 ov$l iwv yeiftos (w/uti; fetpaffr^ffn} aXX* ovb\ airo%r! ydy-ov iv ayvufftK. S. L. 4. DCXXX. 29. Compare L. 3. DXXXIV. 26. - S. L. 7. dccclxxiv. 25. 3 S. L. 3. dxxxv. 16. Compare DLII. 32. L. 7. DCCCLXIX. 21. See p. 234, Note 2. 4 We have seen, p. 234, that Clement supposed St. Paul in the words ffufyyi yvwffit (Phil. iv. 3), to address his wife. 5 S. L. 3. dxxxiii. 30. 6 S. L. 3. dxi. 12. See the passages quoted, p. 49, Note 2. ? ^to xai IffS'ai, xat rm/, x,a.} ya.pt.il^ ov fpoyiyovfjt.ivui, aXXa avcfyxa^ca:. S. L. 7. DCCCLXXIV. 21. 8 S. L. 6. dccxc. 12. Compare L. 3. DXXXVI. 2. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 2 7 1 minded of her husband when she looks upon her children ; and she will be truly his sister, when both lay aside the flesh. The solution of this inconsistency in Clement's language seems to be, that he * deemed the performance of any act, by which the senses are gratified, for the purpose of obtaining that gratification, derogatory from Christian perfection nay, even sinful. 2 Hence he limits the lawful use of marriage to the procreation of children. God said, " Be fruitful and multiply ; " the world must be peopled ; men, therefore, must marry as they must eat and drink in order to preserve their own lives ; the Gnostic recognises this necessity, but 3 limits the use of marriage by it. With respect to a second marriage, we- have seen that, according to Clement, the Apostle- permits him who burns to marry a second time ; but the 4 Apostle discourages a second marriage in i Cor. vii. 40. " Some," Clement says, 5 " deemed the virtue of a widow, who did not contract a second marriage, superior to that of a virgin." iX>) yap iovw, xav tv yoftu wapccXtityr', wecf>a.vo{to; ffri, xou ci*.oya;. P. L. 2. C. 10. CCXXV. l6. 2 P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxx. 7. L. 2. c. 3. clxxxix. 2. 3 *5 ftiv yap (ffuvovffia.) KKTO, v'opav fftpaXspa.' 11 f/,ri offov eturw; If} - P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxvin. 38. Compare ccxxvn. 23. S. L. 3. DLV. i, and the observations respecting pregnant women. P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxv. 14. vS. L. 3. DXLIII. 31. L. 2. CCCCLXXV. 22. CCCCLXXXI. l6. CCCCLXXXV. 29. L. 3. DXXXVIII. 5. DXLVI. 2O. DLXI. 21. 4 S. L, 3. dxlvii. 14. dxlviii. 26. dxliv. 21. dli. 37. 5 S. L. 3. dlviii. 10. Compare L. 7. DCCCLXXV. 21. DCGCLXXVII. 26. 272 Some Account of the CHAPTER XII. THE Church ('EKKAT/O-IO,), according to 1 Clement, consists of those whom God called (KCKA^KCV) and saved ; the ' 2 congrega- tion of the elect ; 3 the congregation of those who dedicate themselves to prayer ; 4 the spiritual and holy choir, forming the spiritual part of the body of Christ, of which they, who bear only the name of Christians, but do not live according to reason, are the flesh. 5 The Church on earth is the image of the Church in heaven, which Clement 6 elsewhere calls the holy assembly of love, 7 the holy mountain, the Church on high above the clouds, touching the heavens the 8 heavenly Jerusalem. We have seen that Clement 9 calls the Church the will of God. He seems to have been led to this expression by the words of the Lord's Prayer, " Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." He says of the Church, that it is governed by the Word, being a city on earth, impregnable, and free from oppression ; the 10 Divine will on earth as in heaven. Clement insists strongly on the unity and antiquity of the Church. Speaking of the origin of the heretical sects, he 11 says, " From what has been said, it is, I think, plain, that the true, the really ancient Church is one, in which are enrolled all who are just according to (God's) purpose. For as there is 1 P. L. I. c. 6. cxiv. 13, quoted in p. 31, Note 2. - S. L. 7- dcccxlvi. IO. ov 'yap vvv rov TOTOV, X/.a ro oifftoiffjt.ee, ruv IxX-xruv (Bishop Montague suggested that the true reading is I 3 S. L. 7. dcccxlviii. IQ. ro eifpoifpa. raJv ra.7; il%ec7s va.x-ip'-vuv. 4 S. L. 7. dccclxxxv. 34. 5 S. L. 4. dxciii. 22. In a fanciful interpretation of Ps. ci. Clement says that the Church on earth practises (^jXe-ra) the resurrection of the flesh. P. L. 2. c. 4. cxcni. 12. 6 P. L. 2. c. I. clxvii. 2. " P. L. i. c. 9. cxlviii. 15. Compare S. L. 6. DCCXCIII. 36. 8 S. L. 4. dcxlii. 13. 9 aura; xa.} TO /5oyX;<6ta tx.Lrov avdptkivruv Iffri tfuTtjpiex,' x,tti roZro 'Ex.xAri>rix xix.Xvra.i. P. L. I. c. 6. cxiv. 12. See p. 31, Note 2. S. L. 4. DXCIII. 23. 10 ^Xtf^a 6i7ov If] yri$, u; Iv ovpetvu. S. L. 4. DCXLII. 19. 11 S. L. 7- dcCCXClX. 5. rvv \l a^j 'ExxXvtr'iav. L. I. CCCI.XXV. 5. The Church is described by Clement as at once a virgin and mother ; a virgin in purity, a mother in affection. P. L. I. c. 6. cxxin. 14. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 273 one God and one Lord, so that which is most highly valuable is praised because it is one, being an imitation of the one prin- ciple. The one Church, then, is associated to the nature of the One ; which Church those men violently attempt to divide into many sects. In substance, in sentiment, in principle or origin, in excellence, we say that the ancient and Catholic Church is alone ; collecting through one Lord into the unity of one faith, modified according to the peculiar covenants, or rather to the one covenant at different times, by the will of one God, all the preordained whom God predestined, having known that they would be just from the foundation of the world. But the excellence of the Church, like the principle of every substance, is in unity, surpassing all other things, and having nothing similar or equal to itself." In 1 this ancient Church alone is the true knowledge to be found ; because in it was 2 preserved the Apostolic right division (op0oro/ua) of doctrine. In 3 this Church, which is perfected in Christ its Head, are united thanksgiving, blessing, joy and gladness, and patience, which works together with them. It has appeared from a passage 4 already cited, that in the time of Clement the name 'EKKA^O-I'O, was given to the place in which Christians assembled for the purposes of Divine worship. On 5 one occasion he opposes it to the word a-wayatyrj. But in general the word 'EK/cA^o-ia is used by him to express the whole body of Christians, which he calls the great temple of God, the true believer being the small temple. In describing the progress of the Gnostic towards perfection, Clement 7 says that "it is possible for a man even in the present day, who exercises himself in the commandments of the Lord, and lives 1 S. L. 7. dccclxxxviii. 38. - S. L. 7. dcccxcvi. 23. 3 P. L. I. c. 5. cxi. 25. 4 In p. 272, Note 5. That particular places were set apart for the pur- poses of Divine worship, appears also indirectly from S. L. 7. DCCCLI. 21. o0zv o'jrt tuptf/tivov rovrov, ov^l i?a.iptrov hfov, x. r. I., quoted in p. 269. 3 In a fanciful comment on Prov. ix. 18. rbvov rw ffvvKyuyw, ol%} l\ 'Exx^wffiav, opuvupu; -rfotf^-ffiv. S. L. I. CCCLXXV. I'J. We find oixov xvptaxov S. L. 3. DLXII. I, but with reference to the dwelling-house of a Christian ; not to a house set apart for public worship. veto; o'i iff<rtV) o f/,\v [/,iyiz$) a; n Exx^.'/ifficZ:' o o\ /uixpo;, us o olvfyuifo; o TO ffxippa, ffu^uv <ro 'Afyxtip, S. L. 7. DCCCLxxxn. 14. See L. 6. DCCXCVII. 26. In L. 7- DCCCLXXIII. 5, the spiritual soul is said to go to its kindred place in the spiritual Church. 7 S. L. 6. dccxciii. I. K 274 Some Account of the perfectly and gnostically according to the Gospel, to be enrolled in the number of the Apostles. Such a man is the true Pres- byter of the Church, and the true minister (Sia/coi/os) of the will of God, if he does and teaches that which is of the Lord ; not chosen (x^porovov^vo^) by men; not deemed righteous because a Presbyter, but enrolled in the presbytery because righteous ; and although he may not be honoured with the first place (TrpwroKafleSpta) upon earth, yet will he sit among the 1 four-and-twenty thrones, judging the people, as John says in the Apocalypse." Clement proceeds to remark, that these four - and - twenty judges will be selected from the most perfect members of the Church, now composed of Jews and Gentiles ; and then adds, "for the degrees (at vrpoKOTrcu) in the Church on earth, of Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons, are, in my opinion, imitations of the angelic glory, and of that dispensation which is said in Scripture to await all who, walking in the steps of the Apostles, live in perfect righteousness according to the Gospel. These, 2 according to the Apostle, being raised into the clouds, will first minister (&aKoi/>7(mv), will then, receiving an advancement in glory (for there are differences in glory), be enrolled in the Presbytery, until they come unto the perfect man." Whatever we may think of the comparison which Clement here institutes, one consequence flows necessarily from the passage that there were in Clement's time three degrees or orders of ministers in the Church Bishops, Presbyters, Deacons. On 3 another occasion Clement says that precepts are addressed in Scripture to select persons ; to presbyters, bishops, deacons, widows. Sometimes, indeed, only presbyters and deacons are men- .tioned. 4 The office of the former is said to be to amend the soul ; of the latter, to minister. In the tract entitled Quis Dives Salvetur, 5 the titles eTrib-KOTros and Trpevp\ntpo<; are in- differently applied to the same person ; but St. John had 1 Clement has here mixed up Apoc. iv. 4, xi. 16, with Matt. xix. 28, or Luke xxii. 30. 2 i Thess. iv. 17 ; I Cor. xv. 41 ; Eph. iv. 13 are here mixed together. 3 P. L. 3. c. 12. cccix. 24. 4 oftoiag ^ IK} xetroc, <rtjv ixxXtiffietv, rri ftlv ^iXneartx.riv ol wpiffpurifot fu^oviriv ilx,'ova.' Tjy vVYiptnxriV "Si ol ^idxovot. S. L. 7 DCCCXXX. 5- 5 dcdlix. II, 18, 42. In P. L. 3. c. n. ccxci. 3, Clement speaks of the Presbyter as laying his hand on the head of the woman, and blessing her ; Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 275 previously been described as travelling through Asia Minor appointing bishops, forming whole Churches, and admitting into the number of the clergy (K\rjp<f) those who were marked out by the Holy Spirit. Here there is no mention either of presbyters or deacons. It is evident, therefore, that the bishop was distinguished from the rest of the clergy ; he was in truth the chief presbyter. Clement 1 mentions expressly the distinction between the clergy and laity. He 2 alludes to the injunctions given by St. Paul in one of his Epistles to Timothy respecting female deacons. He 3 speaks also of the custom of reading the Scriptures ; but with reference to private, not public exercises of devotion. With respect to the discipline of the Church, Clement 4 distinguishes between sins committed before and after baptism ; the former are remitted at baptism ; the latter are purged by discipline. A 5 part of this discipline was the e^o/^oAoy^cris, a public confession of sin and profession of repentance. The G necessity of this purifying discipline is which seems to refer to the imposition of hands after baptism. Diseases are said to be cured by the laying on of hands. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLV. 6. We find P. L. i. c. 5. cxx. 29, the expression el TUV Ixx^rffi&iv vpwyov- ftivoi, presidents of the Churches, who are said to be shepherds. S. L. 7. DCCCXLII. 36. 1 xav vrpiffQuTipo: r,, xav ^ixxave;, X.K.V X&ixa;. S. L. 3- DI'H. 15' *- KIX V? aVHrria.? opposed to hpetrutr, 2/a*<JV/. L. 5. DCLXV. 1 8. DCLXVI. I. - "fftiv yap xa,} oa-y. f-p Aitzxovuv yvv>x,ix,uv Iv T'/I iTZpa, vrpo; Ttpodiov \<riff-roXy a y-wix,7os ^iKTUffffi-rut UKV>.O?. S. L. 3. Dxxxvi. 6. The allusion appears to be to I Tim. iii. n. He had before represented the 0sX<pj lywuTxus, whom the Apostles carried about (i Cor. ix. 5), as intended to assist them in introducing the Gospel into private families, o-uv^taxovov; i<ro/t<vK; -rpo; r? tixoupov; yvva,7x,ct;, / uv xai it; T'/JV yvva,ix,cav7rtv ct0nz&}.r,ru; 'Tfu.puff^viro ri <ro~J Kvpiov ^iba.ffx.tx.^la.. 3 P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxviii. L. 3. c. 12. cccv. 9. S. L. 7. dccclx. 48. 4 S. L. 4. dcxxxiv. 18. ncxxxm. 35. L. 2. CCCCLX. i. In the tract Quis Dives Salvetur, DCDLVII. 35, the author seems to say that God gives remission of sins committed before baptism ; but that each man gives him- self remission of sins subsequently committed. Compare Eclogoe ex Prophetarum Scripturis. xv. 5 -rft/v tv fttrctvoia i%of*.oXo'yovftivuv. S. L. 2. CCCCLX. 21. ev ffvvn't; TO TH Aa/3/^ XKT \%o{A6*.oy7iffiv iipvpivov. L. 6. DCCLXIX. 5. L. J. DCCCLXXX. 28. 6 Compare S. L. 6. dccxciv. 18. dccxcv. 8. L. 7. dccclxv. 17, 37. dccclxxix. 8. Excerpta ex Prophetarum Scripturis. XL. 276 Some Account of the such, that if it does not take place in this life, it must after death ; and is then to be effected by 1 fire, not by a destructive, but a discriminating (^poVt/xov) fire, pervading the soul which passes through it. Clement - speaks of two kinds of repentance ; one arising from the dread of punishment ; the other from the shame with which the consciousness of guilt overwhelms the soul. True 3 repentance consists in renouncing sin and rooting it out from the soul. By this repentance, God, Who can alone forgive sins, is induced again to dwell in man. Clement 4 quotes a passage from the Theaetetus of Plato as descriptive of the life of Christians in his day ; from which it would appear that they abstained as much as possible from all public business, and kept themselves aloof from all meetings, whether of a political or convivial character. Though present in their bodies on earth, they had their conversation in heaven. This description, however, must be understood to apply rather to the Gnostic or perfect Christian, than to the common believer ; of whose life Clement draws a picture in the eleventh chapter of the third book of the Pedagogue. In 5 one instance he couples together the theatres and tribunals of justice, as alike to be avoided by the Christian, under the title of "the seats of the scornful" (Ps. i. i, KaOtSpa Xoi/uov in the Septuagint). The Christians G called each other brethren, because they were regenerated by the same Word ; or as Clement expresses 1 S. L. 7. dcccli. 10. See p. 182, Note 3. ' 2 S. L. 4. dlxxx. 22. In L. 6. DCCCLXXXIX. 4, Clement distinguishes between the repentance of the common believer and of the Gnostic. See p. 146. 3 Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDLVII. 14. 4 S. L. 5. dccvi. 20. In P. L. 2. c. 10. ccxxxvii. 31, Clement speaks of John the Baptist as turning aside from the pomp of the city to go into the wilderness, and there to converse in quiet with God. 5 S. L. 2. cccclxv. i. In P. L. 3. c. II. ccxcviii. 18, interpreting the same words, Clement unites the stadium and the theatre, with reference to the executions which took place in the former. Compare S. L. 7. DCCCLXXVI. 38 ; and with respect to theatres. DCCCLI i. 12. 6 S. L. 2. ccccl. 31. In S. L. i. cccxix. 19, Clement speaks of the liberality of Christians in assisting the poor. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 277 himself in J another place, because they were of the same tribe and the same mind, and were partakers of the same Word. ' 2 Gnostics or perfect Christians are brethren, inasmuch as they are an elect creature, as their conversation and the character of their actions is the same, as they agree in thought, in word, in deed, entertaining always the holy sentiments which God willed the elect to entertain. The Christians appear still to have observed the injunction respecting abstinence from blood ; for which Clement 3 assigns two reasons : first, that the body of man is nothing but flesh fertilized (yewpyoiyxei/??) with blood j secondly, because the blood of man partook of the Word, and has communication of grace through the Spirit. I find only one passage in the writings of Clement which has any bearing on the question of the existence of miraculous powers in the Church. In the 4 Extracts from the Writings of Theodotius, the Valentinians are represented as saying that the Spirit, which each of the prophets specially possessed for the purposes of his ministry, was poured forth on all the members of the Church. Hence the signs of the Spirit, cures of diseases and prophecies, are accomplished through the Church. Clement's comment (if the epitome is rightly ascribed to him) is, that the Valentinians were ignorant that the Paraclete, Who now works proximately (w/oocrexaJs) in the Church, is of the same essence and power with Him Who worked proximately under the Old Testament. With respect to the temporal condition of the Christians, Clement 5 says that the Greek philosophers willingly closed their ears against the truth ; partly because they despised the barbarous language of the first converts ; partly because they dreaded the hazard of death which the civil laws suspended over the head of the believer. It appears, therefore, that the profession of Christianity was then punished by death. In 1 S. L. 2. cccclxxiii. 2. This, however, as well as another passage, L. 3. DXIII. 32, rather describes the relation in which the Jews stood to each other. - S. L. 7. clccclxxviii. 5. 3 P. L. 3. c. 3. cclxvii. 30. 4 xxiv. 5 S. L. 6. dcclxxiii. 42. 278 Some Account of the 1 another place Clement says, that his object is to show that the Gnostic is the only true worshipper of God ; to the end that the philosophers, learning what the true Christian is, may be ashamed of their own ignorance in rashly persecuting the mere name of Christian, and calling those atheists who acknow- ledged the only true God. 2 Remarking upon the saying of Zeno that the sight of one Indian burning in the flames would be more convincing than all the arguments ever urged in favour of the endurance of suffering he adds that Christi- anity could furnish 3 numerous instances of men, who had been burned, tortured, beheaded, having been led by the fear of the law, as of a schoolmaster, to Christ, and thus been exercised to display their piety even by pouring forth their blood. The Valentinians 4 contended that there were two modes of confession ; one by faith and by conduct, the other by the voice. The latter took place before the civil authorities, and was supposed by the multitude to be the only confession, erroneously, since even hypocrites may make it ; and all are not called to make it. Many who have attained to salvation have departed this life in the natural course ; Matthew, for instance, Philip, Thomas, 5 Levi, and others. As the effect of this mode of reasoning must have been to indispose men to confess Christ before the magistrates, by representing martyr- dom as a very uncertain mark of true Christian courage, Clement combats it" strenuously. Yet he too, playing upon the word /xaprus, 6 speaks of every man as a martyr who bears testimony to God by a virtuous life and conversation. On one 1 S. L. 7. dcccxxviii. i. Compare L. 6. nccxxxvi. 15. DCCCXXVII. 18. 2 S. L. 2. ccccxciv. 23. Compare L. 4. dxcviii. 19. 3 S. L. 7. dccclxix. 32, Clement speaks of Christian women, as well as men, who prepared themselves to die for Christ. S. L. 4. DXC. 7. 4 S. L. 4. dxcv. 24. Clement speaks of certain heretics who said that the knowledge of the true God was the real martyrdom ; but that he who confessed unto death was a suicide. DLXXI. 10. 5 Clement here makes Levi a different person from Matthew. See Potter's Note. u Compare S. L. 2. cccclxxi. 23. cccclxxxiv. 18. cccclxxxvi. 12. L. 4. dlxix. 18. dlxx. 22. dlxxv. 6. L. 7. dccclxiv. 10. See p. 147, Note 5. Quis Dives Salvetur. DCDXLIX. 22. Clement speaks of persecution from without and from within. Writings of Clement of Alexandria. 279 1 occasion he defines martyrdom a purification from sins, accompanied by glory. Clement condemns those who courted martyrdom by volun- tarily presenting themselves before the tribunals. We may sometimes think his reasoning on the subject overstrained ; for instance, when he 2 says that by such a proceeding men render themselves accomplices of the persecutor, and partakers of his guilt. Yet on other occasions he 3 opposes the rashness of those who courted danger to the steady, rational courage of those who avoided it, when they could without a denial of their profession ; and cheerfully and boldly met it, when they could not. 4 He contends also, that no man is at liberty to withdraw himself from life. As my design in the present work was to collect, for the use of the theological student, those passages of Clement's writings which serve to illustrate the history, the doctrines, and the practice of the Church of Christ in his day, I have rarely touched upon any matters not immediately connected with that design. I cannot, however, close this volume without observing, that among the early Fathers there is none whose writings will more amply repay the labour bestowed upon them by the classical student ; on account of the numerous quota- tions from the Greek poets and philosophers, and the numerous allusions to the customs of heathen antiquity, which they contain. 1 S. L. 4. dxcvi. 46. soixsv ovv ro paprvpiov K^roxei^atpffi: itvtui K/u-aprtuv /u.*ra $*. See DCIX. 31. In the Extracts from the Prophetic Writings it is said that martyrdom presupposes persecution ; no man is a martyr unless he is persecuted. LXIII. 2 S. L. 4. dxcvii. 27, etc. In the Extracts from the Prophetic Writings it is said of the elders, that they were grieved when they were not suffering under some calamity, bodily or temporal ; inasmuch as they thought that, if they received not the punishment of their transgressions in this life, they should suffer more severely in the life to come. xi. 3 S. L, 7. dccclxxi. 16. 4 S. L. 6. dcclxxvii. 39. Clement alludes to the cases in which the philosophers deemed suicide allowable. DCLXXVI. i. MORRISON AND GIP.B, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH. 3 M-V 4/90- 14 DAY USE Tl >ESK FROM WHICH BORROWED LOAN DEPT. This book is due on the last date stamped below on the date to which renewVd ' enewed books are subject to immediate recall. 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