Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? · §24 · Clement of Alexandria

Wealth must be renounced only when it defeats you

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Clement is addressing the rich believer directly, continuing his argument that possessions themselves are not condemned, but only the soul's defeat by them.

Can you stand above your money? Then say so. Christ does not drag you away from what you own, and the Lord does not begrudge you. But do you see yourself being defeated by your possessions and overturned by them? Then let them go. Throw them away. Hate them, renounce them, flee from them. "If your right eye causes you to stumble, cut it out quickly" (Mark 9:47). It is better to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to be thrown into the fire with both eyes intact. And if it is your hand, or your foot, or even your very soul—hate it. For if it is destroyed here for Christ's sake, it will be saved there.

Greek

Δύνασαι καὶ τῶν χρημάτων ἐπίπροσθεν εἶναι; φράσον καὶ οὐκ ἀπάγει σε Χριστὸς τῆς κτήσεως, ὁ κύριος οὐ φθονεῖ. ἀλλ᾿ ὁρᾷς σεαυτὸν ἡττώμενον ὑπ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ ἀνατρεπόμενον; ἄφες. ῥῖψον. μίσησον, ἀπόταξαι, φύγε· »κἂν ὁ δέξιός σου ὀφθαλμὸς σκανδαλίζῃ σε. ταχέως ἔκκοψον αὐτόν·« αἱρετώτερον ἑτεροφθάλμῳ βασιλεία θεοῦ ἢ ὁλοκλήρῳ τὸ πῦρ· κἂν χεὶρ κἂν ποὺς κἂν ἡ ψυχή, μίσησον αὐτήν. ἂν γὰρ ἐνταῦθα ἀπόληται ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, ἐκεῖ σωθήσεται.

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.