Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 17
As it appears, the Greek philosophers call him God but do not truly know him, because they do not reverence God as God deserves. Their philosophical systems, as Empedocles describes them, have come down to us through many tongues in vain, having seen only a tiny fraction of the whole. Just as a craftsman can focus the sun's light through a water-filled glass vessel to produce fire, so philosophy takes a spark from divine Scripture and makes it visible in only a few things. In the same way that all living creatures breathe the same air, yet each does so differently and for a different purpose, most people engage with the truth—or rather, with the discourse about truth. They do not speak about God; instead, they project their own passions onto God and then explain them. They have made their lives a pursuit of what is plausible rather than what is true, yet truth is not taught by imitation but by learning.
We do not believe in Christ merely to appear good, just as we do not step into the sunlight only to be seen in it. Rather, we strive to become good and virtuous for the sake of being Christians, because the kingdom belongs especially to those who strive—through seeking, learning, and complete discipline—to become kings. The one who imitates mere appearance deceives himself and loses true foresight. But when someone takes a spark from reality and kindles it within the soul with longing and learning, that person sets everything in motion toward genuine knowledge. For whoever does not grasp a thing will neither long for it nor welcome the benefit that comes from it. Consequently, the Gnostic, at the culmination of their achievements, imitates the Lord as far as humanly possible, receiving a lordly quality for the sake of likeness to God. Those who lack this knowledge cannot regulate the truth. It is impossible to share in Gnostic insights unless we first empty ourselves of prior conceptions.
Truth is properly said of everything that is intelligible and sensible. One can immediately perceive the truth of painting beyond the commonplace, and the dignity of music beyond the intemperate. Likewise there is a truth of philosophy beyond the other philosophers, and a true beauty beyond the counterfeit. We must not, then, busy ourselves with partial truths—those by which truth is categorized—but with truth itself, not seeking merely to learn names. For the matter of God is not a single thing but many, and seeking God differs from seeking the things about God. In general, when speaking of the substance of each thing, one must distinguish its accidents. It is enough for me to say that God is the Lord of all. I speak of the Lord of all in a self-sufficient way, leaving nothing out by exception. Since there are two kinds of truth—names and things—those who speak of names, who devote themselves to the beauties of words, are the philosophers among the Greeks; but those who possess the things themselves are among us, the barbarians.
Greek
Ἀλλ’, ὡς ἔοικεν, οἱ φιλόσοφοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων θεὸν ὀνομάζοντες οὐ γιγνώσκουσιν, ἐπεὶ μὴ σέβουσι κατὰ θεὸν τὸν θεόν. τὰ φιλοσοφούμενα δὲ παρ’ αὐτοῖς κατὰ τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα ὡς διὰ πολλῶν δὴ γλώσσης ἐλθόντα ματαίως ἐκκέχυται στομάτων, ὀλίγον τοῦ παντὸς ἰδόντων. ὡς γάρ που τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φῶς δἰ ὑελοῦ σκεύους πλήρους ὕδατος μεθοδεύει ἡ τέχνη εἰς πῦρ, οὕτω καὶ ἡ φιλοσοφία ἐκ τῆς θείας γραφῆς τὸ ἐμπύρευμα λαβοῦσα ἐν ὀλίγοις φαντάζεται. ναὶ μὴν ὡς τὸν αὐτὸν ἀέρα ἀναπνεῖ τὰ ζῷα ἅπαντα, ἄλλα δὲ ἄλλως καὶ εἴς τι διάφορον, οὕτως δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀλήθειαν μετίασιν οἱ πλείους, μᾶλλον δὲ τὸν περὶ ἀληθείας λόγον. οὐ γὰρ περὶ θεοῦ τι λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἑαυτῶν πάθη ἐπὶ θεὸν ἀνάγοντες ἐξηγοῦνται. γέγονεν γὰρ αὐτοῖς ὁ βίος τὸ πιθανὸν ζητοῦσιν, οὐ τὸ ἀληθές· ἐκ μιμήσεως δὲ ἀλήθεια οὐ διδάσκεται, ἀλλ’ ἐκ μαθήσεως. οὐ γὰρ ἵνα δόξωμεν εἶναι χρηστοί, εἰς Χριστὸν πιστεύομεν, καθάπερ οὐδὲ εἰς τὸν ἥλιον ἕνεκά γε τοῦ φαίνεσθαι μόνον ἐν ἡλίῳ ὄντας παρερχόμεθα, ἀλλ’ ἐνταῦθα μὲν τοῦ ἀλεαίνεσθαι χάριν, ἐκεῖ δὲ τοῦ εἶναι καλοὶ καὶ ἀγαθοὶ ἕνεκα Χριστιανοὶ εἶναι βιαζόμεθα, ὅτι μάλιστα βιαστῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία, ἐκ ζητήσεως καὶ μαθήσεως καὶ συνασκήσεως τελείας τὸ γενέσθαι βασιλέα καρπουμένων. ὁ μιμούμενος ἄρα τὴν δόκησιν δολοῖ καὶ τὴν πρόληψιν. ὅταν δέ τις ἔναυσμα λαβών του πράγματος ἐξάψῃ τοῦτο ἔνδον ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ πόθῳ καὶ μαθήσει, πάντα ἐπὶ τούτοις κινεῖ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιγνῶναι. οὗ γάρ τις μὴ ἀντιλαμβάνεται, οὐδὲ ποθεῖ αὐτὸ οὐδὲ ἀσπάζεται τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ ὠφέλειαν. τὸ ὕστερον οὖν ὁ γνωστικὸς ἐπὶ τέλει τῶν κατορθωμάτων μιμεῖται τὸν κύριον, εἰς ὅσον ἐφικτὸν ἀνθρώποις, ποιότητά τινα κυριακὴν λαβὼν εἰς ἐξομοίωσιν θεοῦ. οἱ δὲ μὴ ἐπιστάμενοι τὴν γνῶσιν οὐδὲ κανονίζειν δύνανται τὴν ἀλήθειαν. μεταλαμβάνειν οὖν τῶν γνωστικῶν θεωρημάτων οὐχ οἷόν τε, ἐὰν μὴ τῶν προτέρων διανοημάτων κενώσωμεν ἑαυτούς. ἁπλῶς γὰρ οὕτως ἀλήθεια κοινῶς λέγεται παντὸς νοητοῦ τε καὶ αἰσθητοῦ. αὐτίκα ἔνεστι θεάσασθαι καὶ ζωγραφίας ἀλήθειαν παρὰ τὴν δημώδη καὶ μουσικῆς σεμνότητα παρὰ τὴν ἀκόλαστον. καὶ φιλοσοφίας οὖν ἐστιν ἀλήθειά τις παρὰ τοὺς ἄλλους φιλοσόφους καὶ κάλλος ἀληθινὸν παρὰ τὸ δεδολωμένον. οὔκουν ποτὲ τὰς ἐπὶ μέρους ἀληθείας, καθ’ ὧν ἡ ἀλήθεια κατηγορεῖται, αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν ἀλήθειαν πολυπραγμονητέον, οὐκ ὀνόματα ζητοῦντας μαθεῖν· τὸ γὰρ περὶ θεοῦ πρᾶγμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἕν, ἀλλὰ μυρία, διαφέρει δὲ τὸν θεὸν ζητεῖν ἢ τὰ περὶ θεοῦ. καθόλου δὲ εἰπεῖν περὶ ἑκάστου πράγματος τῆς οὐσίας τὰ συμβεβηκότα διακριτέον. Καί μοι ἀπόχρη φάναι θεὸν εἶναι τὸν κύριον πάντων. αὐτοτελῶς λῶς δὲ λέγω τὸν κύριον πάντων, οὐδενὸς ὑπολειπομένου κατὰ ἐξαίρεσιν. ἐπεὶ τοίνυν δύο εἰσὶν ἰδέαι τῆς ἀληθείας, τά τε ὀνόματα καὶ τὰ πράγματα, οἳ μὲν τὰ ὀνόματα λέγουσιν, οἱ περὶ τὰ κάλλη τῶν λόγων διατρίβοντες, οἱ παρ’ Ἕλλησι φιλόσοφοι, τὰ πράγματα δὲ παρ’ ἡμῖν ἐστι τοῖς βαρβάροις.