The Instructor and Miscellanies by Clement of Alexandria

First transcribed:Paidagogos, c. 190-200 c.e. (English translation, 1954); Stromateis, c. 190-200 c.e. (English translation, 1905)

Edition(s) used:Christ the Educator, translated by Simon P. Wood. New York: Fathers of the Church, 1954. The Stromata: Or, Miscellanies, translated by A. Cleveland Coxe. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1956

Genre(s): Nonfiction

Subgenre(s): Handbook for living; philosophy; spiritual treatise

Core issue(s): Faith; Gnosticism; truth; the Word

Overview

Born and reared in Athens, Greece, Clement went to Alexandria, Egypt, around 180. He served as a teacher and then, from 190 to 202, as head of the “school” of Alexandria founded by Pantaenus, accommodating Christian faith to the burgeoning number of cultured and well-educated folk who were then making inquiry. A Platonist, he drew heavily from Alexandrian Gnostics but distinguished himself from them at critical points. His three major extant works—Address to the Greeks, The Instructor, and Miscellanies—were directed to three different audiences—the unconverted, the cultured faithful, and those who sought a higher level of gnosis, or spiritual knowledge.

Clement divided The Instructor into two major parts. In book 1, he urged his pupils to strive to imitate the Word, who is without sin and who can heal unnatural human passions. God loves humankind. Humankind should reciprocate by fulfilling God’s commandments, turning away from evil and doing what is good. The unerring guide is the Instructor, Christ, who in the flesh demonstrated not only the theory but also the practice of virtue. Christians must come to him like children who are gentle and teachable. In baptism they are cleansed and enlightened and begin a journey toward perfection in knowledge (gnosis) and, ultimately the vision of God. Enlightenment leads to withdrawal from material things and a quest for spiritual nourishment by the Word, who feeds us as a mother feeds her children. He also chastises us so that we will keep striving toward the blessed life. He models the true life, both human and divine, and if we conform to him, we will truly live.

In books 2 and 3 Clement sets forth from Scriptures the practical rules for conducting the Christian life, emphasizing Stoic suppression of desire (apatheia) and moderation as the way to distinguish Christians from pagans in the use of food, drink, home furnishings, conduct at banquets and parties, wearing of adornments and perfumes, sleep, sexual intercourse (for procreation only), clothing and footwear, jewelry, toiletry, reliance on slaves, bathing, wealth, exercise, and even walk. All of these things, Clement insisted, should agree with the teachings of the Instructor as found in the Scriptures.

The Miscellanies, as the title suggests, contains a variety of materials, but each of its seven books stresses a dominant theme. Book 1 discusses the relationship between philosophy and Christian truth; book 2, faith and gnosis vis-à-vis the purpose of humankind; book 3, marriage (against certain heretical sects); book 4, martyrdom and gnostic perfection; book 5, the knowledge of God and symbolism; book 6, philosophy and revelation and human sciences as they prepare the true gnostic; and book 7, the true gnostic. Clement was the first Christian writer to grapple seriously with the question of the relationship of Christian faith to philosophy and culture. With him began a true Christian Platonism and humanism.

In book 1 Clement expressed his vigorous opposition to those who want to restrict Christian investigation to “what is most necessary and which contains the faith” or who thought philosophy was introduced by “an evil influence, for the ruin of humankind.” His main aim in the Miscellanies was to prove that philosophy is “in a sense a work of Divine Providence.” God was the source of all knowledge, including secular science and art. It served the Greeks as a Pedagogue to Christ, just as the Old Testament prophets served the Jews. Against those who contended for faith alone, Clement insisted that even interpretation of Scriptures required preparation in Hellenic philosophy. For him the ideal gnostic was one who could bring everything—geometry, music, grammar, and philosophy—to bear on truth, culling what is useful from what must be discarded. The Christian should avoid some elements, such as Epicurean rejection of providence and deification of pleasure or Stoic pantheism, not philosophy itself. If one were to bring together the fragments of eternal truth found in Hebrew and Greek philosophy, one would find the perfect Word, the truth.

Clement here confused his basic thesis when he outlined the history of Greek philosophy, for he argued that the Greeks borrowed from the “barbarians,” the Jews—a viewpoint he inherited from predecessors. If the divine Word taught the great philosophers directly, they would not have had to rely on the writings of Moses or Old Testament prophets. (Evidently Clement was stretching his argument to make philosophy as acceptable as he could to those who said, “Bible alone!”) Unlike other church fathers, Clement disallowed connections between heresies and philosophy. Philosophy might espouse errors, but they would not be as bad as heresies. Its purpose was to lead to truth, even if imperfectly.

In book 2 Clement defined faith as essentially a religious attitude based on Scriptures and adherence to the Word. The Christian, however, should not remain content with faith. It is really a point of departure of gnosis (spiritual or mystical understanding) and an essential prerequisite to it. As adherence to the Word, faith is the basis of the whole spiritual life. From the Word it draws the impetus for growth in such virtues as Stoics like Chrysippus admired—endurance, patience, continence, temperance, obedience, and preeminently apatheia. By practicing these the “gnostic” comes to resemble God as nearly as possible, the goal of humankind.

Like Augustine two centuries later, Clement insisted that faith must precede understanding. Not established by logical proofs, indeed incapable of demonstration, understanding depends on free assent to the Word, the Instructor. The Greek philosophers themselves said as much. The “gnostic,” therefore, is “fixed by faith.” The aim of faith is “assimilation to God” so that a person may become righteous and holy and endowed with wisdom.

In book 3 Clement repudiated the wife-sharing practiced by the Carpocratians and Epiphanians and the rejection of marriage by Marcionites and other dualists. He argued in favor of continence. The purpose of marriage is procreation, not pleasure.

After a brief review of the way in which he used Scriptures to evaluate philosophy and a capsule on the nature of the Stromateis in book 4, Clement presented a case of Christian martyrdom. The “gnostic,” he insisted, will readily accept martyrdom because of being already prepared for it by cultivation of virtue. He condemned both the cowardice of heretics who fled persecution and the impulsiveness of the faithful who rushed out to be martyred. He praised Stoic apatheia, insisting it entailed something positive, namely, desire for “treasure in heaven.” Those who “gnostically” devote themselves to contemplation enter into a state of identity in which they despise death. Women as well as men share this call to martyrdom and may exhibit the supreme example of love of God and of neighbor from which all other virtues derive.

Discussion of martyrdom led Clement to his recurrent theme of the character of the true “gnostic.” Paul provided the preeminent example in Ephesians 4:11-13. The objective of the “gnostic” is perfect harmony with the will of God so as to restore “truly perfect nobleness” and attain to the fullness of Christ.

Christians have varied gifts, but the apostles, who model the perfection of “gnostics,” achieved perfection in all. “Gnostics” do not seek simply to avoid evil or do good out of fear, but do good in all things out of love “for the sake of its own excellence,” thus living “after the image and likeness of the Lord.” The perfect person will always pay careful heed to cultivation of good habits and putting off of bad, especially inordinate affection for material things. “Gnostics” gradually withdraw from sensual things and concentrate on spiritual, thus moving imperceptibly toward God as God draws closer to them. True perfection, in the last analysis, consists in the knowledge and love of God, who is not subject to proof. Clement repudiated those who negated the physical. True “gnostics” occupy themselves with God “morally, physically, and logically” and combine knowledge, righteousness, and holiness perfectly.

In book 5 Clement reiterated his belief in the integral connection between faith and gnosis. Rejecting Marcion’s predestinarian theory, he insisted that human beings must exercise freedom of choice. Because human capacities for apprehending spiritual realities have been weakened by sin, however, we needed a divine Teacher, the Saviour, whom God sent as “the secret and sacred token of the great Providence.” The truth, the Word of God, must be pursued by the intellect, particularly because God spoke many things that are symbolic.

Indeed almost all Scripture is symbolic and thus will yield its treasures only to those who approach often. Paul, “the divine apostle,” confirms this approach in his writings. Since God cannot be comprehended in words, we must understand the Unknown “by divine grace and by the Word alone that proceeds from God.” Knowledge of God thus comes as a divine gift. It must be learned through Christ, the test of all truth.

In book 6 Clement returned again to philosophy as a preparation for the true “gnostic.” To undergird his case, he elaborated the conventional Christian theory of Greek “theft” of “barbarian” (especially Hebrew) philosophy. Although prepared to admit that the Greeks had some independent knowledge of God, he insisted that Christians surpassed both Greeks and Jews in their worship and understanding. The Greeks knew God “in a Gentile way,” the Jews “Jewishly,” but Christians “in a new and spiritual way.” Though philosophy prepared the Greeks and the law the Jews, both lacked faith taught by the Instructor. Among Christians the true philosophers are those who love wisdom, the Creator and Teacher of all things; among the Greeks, only those who argue about virtue. Inasmuch as Christ is himself Wisdom, the knowledge of things present, past, and future conserved in the tradition which comes from him is wisdom. Once again, at this point Clement observed that the apostles were perfect “gnostics.” They possessed the same quality of apatheia Jesus did, as was fitting for perfect persons. “Gnostics” also master all knowledge that contributes to the truth and do not fear Hellenic philosophy, which aids in securing truth. The first human being was neither perfect nor imperfect, but capable of receiving virtue such as the “gnostic” alone attains in this life, namely, apatheia. Those who have “exercised themselves in the Lord’s commandments and live perfectly and gnostically according to the gospel” belong to the ranks of the apostles and are the true presbyters and deacons of the Church and will achieve the highest places in heaven. “Gnostics” distinguish themselves by their likeness to the mind of the Master, whereas heretics depart from Christ’s teaching most in that they do not walk “according to the ecclesiastical rule.”

In book 7 Clement continued his sketch of the character of the “gnostic.” “Gnostics” spend their whole lives in that service of God which leads to the salvation of humankind, a true sacrifice. Having a firm grip on themselves and a knowledge of God, they subject themselves completely to God’s will. Because God is impassible (apathe), he requires no sacrifice but rather wishes holiness of lives. “Gnostics” offer this not just at times of worship but in whatever they do. They avoid theaters, luxuries, and banquets and strive for purity of thought, praying for what is really good. Prayer, therefore, is very proper to them and they never neglect any occasion for prayer. Above all, “gnostics” are truly pious, examples of virtue in all things, striving toward perfection, the face-to-face meeting with God. One must begin with faith, “a compendious knowledge of essentials,” but one must proceed to gnosis, “a sure and firm demonstration of the things received through faith.”

Here Clement established again the distinction between the Church and the sects in response to Jewish and Gentile criticisms. Christians observe essential articles of faith that heretics disregard and thus hold firmly to the truth. More important still, they live truly pious lives. If some still doubt the distinction, however, they may learn from study of the Scriptures how heretics depart from truth. To “gnostics” Scriptures are “pregnant,” but to heretics they are “barren,” for they spurn the Lord’s own voice, not using Scriptures at all or using only parts and perverting the natural sense of the words. Whereas Christians are characterized by knowledge and pagans by ignorance, heretics are characterized by conceit.

Christian Themes

A summary of the main Christian concerns of Clement of Alexandria’s The Instructor and Miscellanies would include the following points:

•Our chief instructor is the Word of God, the risen Christ, who spoke in ancient times through both the Greek philosophers and the Hebrew prophets, became incarnate and taught in the flesh, and still continues to teach through the Spirit.

•We can learn from the Word in many ways but especially through his own instruction in the Gospels.

•In behavior Christians should adhere to the principle of moderation in food, drink, dress, speech, and other aspects of life.

•Philosophy is not, as some argue, useless for Christians; on the contrary, it may contribute to the cultivation of piety, preparing the Hellenic mind for reception of Christ, the Word of God.

•Faith is an essential prerequisite for spiritual understanding (gnosis) whose aim is the vision of God. It is a “voluntary preconception, an assent of piety” given as a gift which entails obedience to the Word of God.

•Human beings possess free will, and thus must do good works, but since the soul was weakened as a result of the Fall, they must have the Instructor to guide them in doing good.

•Grace alone can equip the soul to rise above the divine light, attaining the perfection of love which the “gnostic” should achieve in learning from the Instructor.

Sources for Further Study

Buell, Denise Kimber. Making Christians: Clement of Alexandria and the Rhetoric of Legitimacy. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. Covers origin stories, procreative language, kinship metaphors, the rhetoric of Christian unity, and other issues in relation to Clement. Bibliography, indexes.

Ferguson, John. Clement of Alexandria. New York: Twayne, 1974. A popular biography by an accomplished scholar.

Hägg, Henny Fiskå. Clement of Alexandria and the Beginnings of Christian Apophaticism: Knowing the Unknowable. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. Covers the origins of Alexandrian Christianity, esoteric knowledge and gnosis, Clement’s concept of God, and the reception of Clement. Includes a bibliography and an index.

Karavites, Peter. Evil, Freedom, and the Road to Perfection in Clement of Alexandria. Boston: Brill, 1999. An exposition of Clement’s notions that God is active in human history and that individuals progress from childlike faith to full knowledge and love. Bibliography, index.

Lilla, Savatore R. C. Clement of Alexandria: A Study in Christian Platonism and Gnosticism. London: Oxford University Press, 1971. A basic critical interpretation of Clement.

Osborn, Eric. Clement of Alexandria. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. The standard history of “an influential but underestimated pioneer of Christian theological thinking” with Osborn’s scholarly transliterations and translations of the Greek. Clement is a key synthesizer of early Christian and classical ideas. Bibliography, index.

Tollinton, R. B. Clement of Alexandria: A Study in Christian Liberalism. 2 vols. London: Williams & Norgate, 1914. A still indispensable classic.