Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? · §32 · Clement of Alexandria

The divine commerce of giving

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Clement is addressing the rich person directly, urging him to seek out worthy recipients of his generosity because the reward is an eternal dwelling in heaven.

This saying surpasses every divine teaching: do not wait to be asked, but seek out for yourself the one who is worthy to receive good. And then he fixes so great a reward for the sharing: an eternal dwelling. O beautiful exchange, O divine marketplace! Someone buys incorruption with money, and by giving the perishing things of the world he receives in return an eternal home for them in the heavens. Sail toward this, rich man, if you are wise; if need be, go around the whole earth. Do not spare dangers or hardships, so that here you may buy the kingdom of heaven. Why do shining stones and emeralds and a house delight you so much? Food for fire, or a plaything of time, or a byproduct of earthquake, or an outrage of a tyrant? Desire to dwell in the heavens and to reign with God; a human being imitating God will give you this kingdom. Here he receives a little, and there he will make you a co-dweller for all ages. Beg him to take it; hurry, struggle, fear that he may refuse you. For he has not been commanded to take, but you to provide. Indeed, the Lord did not say, "Give," or "Provide," or "Do good," or "Help," but "Make a friend." And a friend is not made from a single gift, but from whole rest and long companionship. For neither faith nor love nor endurance belongs to a single day, but "the one who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:13).

Greek

οὑτοσὶ δὲ ὁ λόγος ὑπὲρ ἅπασάν ἐστι θεότητα, μηδὲ αἰτεῖσθαι περιμένειν, ἀλλ᾿ αὐτὸν ἀναζητεῖν, ὅστις ἄξιος εὖ παθεῖν,

ἔπειτα τηλικοῦτον μισθὸν ὁρίσαι τῆς κοινωνίας, αἰώνιον σκηνήν. ὢ καλῆς ἐμπορίας, ὢ θείας ἀγορᾶς· ὠνεῖται χρημάτων τις ἀφθαρσίαν. καὶ δοὺς τὰ διολλύμενα τοῦ κόσμου μονὴν τούτων αἰώνιον ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀντιλαμβάνει. πλεῦσον ἐπὶ ταύτην, ἂν σωφρονῇς. τὴν πανήγυριν, ὦ πλούσιε, κἂν δέῃ, περίελθε γῆν ὅλην. μὴ φείσῃ κινδύνων καὶ πόνων, ἵν᾿ ἐνταῦθα βασιλείαν οὐράνιον ἀγοράσῃς. τί σε λίθοι διαφανεῖς καὶ σμάραγδοι τοσοῦτον εὐφραίνουσι καὶ οἰκία. τροφὴ πυρὸς ἢ χρόνου παίγνιον ἢ σεισμοῦ πάρεργον ἢ ὕβρισμα τυράννου; ἐπιθύμησον ἐν οὐρανοῖς οἰκῆσαι καὶ βασιλεῦσαι μετὰ θεοῦ, ταύτην σοὶ τὴν βασιλείαν ἄνθρωπος δώσει θεὸν ἀπομιμούμενος· ἐνταῦθα μικρὰ λαβὼν ἐκεῖ δι᾿ ὅλων αἰώνων σύνοικόν σε ποιήσεται. ἱκέτευσον ἵνα λάβῃ· σπεῦσον, ἀγωνίασον, φοβήθητι μή σε ἀτιμάσῃ· οὐ γὰρ κεκέλευσται λαβεῖν, ἀλλὰ σὺ παρασχεῖν. οὐ μὴν οὐδ᾿ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος· ›δὸς‹ ἢ ›παράσχες‹ ἢ ›εὐεργέτησον‹ ἢ ›βοήθησον‹, ›φίλον‹ δὲ ›ποίησαι‹· ὁ δὲ φίλος οὐκ ἐκ μιᾶς δόσεως γίνεται, ἀλλ᾿ ἐξ ὅλης ἀναπαύσεως καὶ συνουσίας μακρᾶς· οὔτε γὰρ ἡ πίστις οὔτε ἡ ἀγάπη οὔτε ἡ καρτερία μιᾶς ἡμέρας, ἀλλ᾿ »ὁ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος, οὗτος 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.