Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? · §15 · Clement of Alexandria

Possessions are indifferent; the passions are what must be renounced

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Clement is explaining that the command to sell one's possessions refers to the passions of the soul, not to external goods, which are indifferent in themselves.

I myself would say this as well. Since some things are within the soul and others are outside it, if the soul uses them well, these too appear good, but if badly, they appear evil. Does the one who commands us to alienate our possessions reject these first—the things whose removal still leaves the passions in place—or rather those things whose removal makes even possessions useful? For the person who has thrown away his worldly wealth can still be rich in passions even when the material is absent. His disposition does its own work: it chokes and presses his reasoning and burns with the desires that have grown up with him. So it has done him no good to become poor in money while he is rich in passions. He has not thrown away what should be thrown away, but only indifferent things. He has cut himself off from what could serve him, and by his lack of outward things he has kindled the innate fuel of evil. One must therefore renounce the possessions that cause harm, not those that can also help if someone understands their right use. Things managed with wisdom, self-control, and reverence do good, but the things that cause loss must be thrust away. Outward things do not harm.

So then the Lord also introduces the need for outward things.

Greek

Ἐγὼ γοῦν κἀκεῖνο φήσαιμ᾿ ἄν· ἐπειδὴ τὰ μὲν ἐντός ἐστι τῆς ψυχῆς, τὰ δὲ ἐκτός, κἂν μὲν ἡ ψυχὴ χρῆται καλῶς. καλὰ καὶ ταῦτα δοκεῖ, ἐὰν δὲ πονηρῶς. πονηρά, ὁ κελεύων ἀπαλλοτριοῦν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα π[ρ]ότερον ταῦτα παραιτεῖται ὧν ἀναιρεθέντων ἔτι τὰ πάθη μένει, ἢ ἐκεῖνα μᾶλλον ὧν ἀναιρεθέντων καὶ τὰ κτήματα χρήσιμα γίνεται; ὁ τοίνυν ἀποβαλὼν τὴν κοσμικὴν περιουσίαν ἔτι δύναται πλουτεῖν τῶν παθῶν καὶ τῆς ὕλης μὴ παρούσης· ἡ γάρ τοι διάθεσις τὸ αὑτῆς ἐνεργεῖ καὶ τὸν λογισμὸν ἄγχει καὶ πιέζει καὶ φλεγμαίνει ταῖς συντρόφοις ἐπιθυμίαις· οὐδὲν οὖν προὔργου γέγονεν αὐτῷ πτωχεύειν χρημάτων πλουτοῦντι τῶν παθῶν. οὐ γὰρ τὰ ἀπόβλητα ἀπέβαλεν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἀδιάφορα, καὶ τῶν μὲν ὑπηρετικῶν ἑαυτὸν περιέκοψεν, ἐξέκαυσε δὲ τὴν ὕλην τῆς κακίας τὴν ἔμφυτον τῇ τῶν ἐκτὸς ἀπορίᾳ. ἀποτακτέον οὖν τοῖς ὑπάρχουσι τοῖς βλαβεροῖς. οὐχὶ τοῖς ἐὰν ἐπίστηταί τις τὴν ὀρθὴν χρῆσιν καὶ συνωφελεῖν δυναμένοις. ὠφελεῖ δὲ τὰ μετὰ φρονήσεως καὶ σωφροσύνης καὶ εὐσεβείας οἰκονομούμενα, ἀπωστέα δὲ τὰ ἐπιζήμια· τὰ δὲ ἐκτὸς οὐ βλάπτει.

Οὕτως οὖν ὁ κύριος καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐκτὸς χρείαν εἰσάγει.

About this text

Clement explains Jesus' saying about the camel and the needle's eye, and shows how a rich person may be saved.

This homily was written by Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–c. 215), a Greek Christian teacher who led the Catechetical School of Alexandria. He addressed it to fellow Christians who were troubled by Jesus' saying about the camel and the needle's eye, and who either despaired of rich believers being saved or flattered the wealthy. Clement wrote to remove that false despair and to show how a rich person may be saved.

The occasion is a controversy over the moral danger of wealth and the question of who can be saved. Clement argues that Jesus' command to sell one's possessions is not a command to become outwardly poor, but to renounce the passions and attachments of the soul that wealth can excite. The rich man in the Gospel is not condemned for having wealth, but for loving it more than eternal life. Salvation depends on the soul's disposition, not on external possessions, and wealth can be used rightly for love of neighbor.

A reader will meet Jesus, whose words from the Gospels are quoted and interpreted throughout, along with Peter, Martha, Mary, Zacchaeus, Levi, Matthew, and Paul. Clement also cites the pagan philosophers Anaxagoras, Democritus, and Crates as examples of people who gave up wealth for the wrong reasons. The work closes with the story of the apostle John and a young robber, offered as proof that no sinner is beyond hope. To follow the argument, know that Clement uses 'passions' for the disordered attachments of the soul, 'freedom from passions' for the state required for salvation, and 'worldly wealth' for what the Gospels call mammon of unrighteousness. Bible books follow the Septuagint names and Psalm numbering, so Gospel passages correspond to Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-30, and Luke 18:18-30 in modern Bibles.

New English from the Greek base text; no published English used as wording.

Printed text used

Translated from Clement of Alexandria Otto Stählin Stromata, Buch VII-VIII. Excerpta ex Theodoto. Eclogae prophetica. Hinrichs Leipzig 1909 Clemens Alexandrinus 3 (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.