Who Is the Rich Man That Shall Be Saved? · §33 · Clement of Alexandria

Giving to all without judging worthiness

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Clement is explaining how a person can give these things to God, namely by honoring God's friends, and he urges the reader not to judge who is worthy of help.

How then does a human being give these things? Because the Lord gives them for the sake of that person's honor, goodwill, and kinship. For he says, "I will give not only to friends, but also to the friends of friends." And who is this friend of God? Do not judge who is worthy and who is unworthy, for you may miss the mark in your judgment. Since the matter is uncertain through ignorance, it is better to do good even to the unworthy for the sake of the worthy than to be on guard and, by avoiding the less good, fail to encounter the excellent. For from sparing and pretending to test who will rightly receive or not, you may neglect some who are loved by God, and the penalty for that is fiery eternal punishment. But from giving to all in turn who are in need, you must certainly find some who are able to be saved with God. "Do not judge, then, so that you may not be judged; with the measure you measure, it will be measured back to you; a good measure, pressed down and shaken and running over, will be given to you" (Luke 6:38; cf. Matthew 7:1-2). Open your inward parts to all who are enrolled as disciples of God. Do not look at the body with contempt; do not be disposed carelessly toward age; and if someone appears without possessions or poorly clothed or ugly or weak, do not be annoyed in your soul at this and turn away. This shape is wrapped around us from outside as a means for our entrance into the world, so that we may be able to enter this common training place. But within dwells hidden the Father and his Son, who died for us and rose with us.

Greek

Πῶς οὖν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ταῦτα δίδωσιν; ὅτι διὰ τὴν ἐκείνου τιμὴν καὶ εὔνοιαν καὶ οἰκείωσιν ὁ κύριος δίδωσι· »δώσω γὰρ οὐ μόνον τοῖς φίλοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς φίλοις τῶν φίλων.« καὶ τίς οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ φίλος τοῦ θεοῦ; σὺ μὲν μὲν μὴ κρῖνε, τίς ἄξιος καὶ τίς ἀνάξιος· ἐνδέχεται γάρ σε διαμαρτεῖν περὶ τὴν δόξαν· ὡς ἐν ἀμφιβόλῳ δὲ τῆς ἀγνοίας ἄμεινον καὶ τοὺς ἀναξίους εὖ ποιεῖν διὰ τοὺς ἀξίους ἢ φυλασσόμενον· τοὺς ἧσσον ἀγαθοὺς μηδὲ τοῖς σπουδαίοις περιπεσεῖν. ἐκ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ φείδεσθαι καὶ προσποιεῖσθαι δοκιμάζειν τοὺς εὐλόγως ἢ μὴ τευξομένους ἐνδέχεταί σε καὶ θεοφιλῶν ἀμελῆσαί τινων, οὗ τὸ ἐπιτίμιον κόλασις ἔμπυρος αἰώνιος· ἐκ δὲ τοῦ προΐεσθαι πᾶσιν ἑξῆς τοῖς χρῄζουσιν ἀνάγκη πάντως εὑρεῖν τινα καὶ τῶν σῶσαι παρὰ θεῷ δυναμένων. »μὴ κρῖνε« τοίνυν, »ἵνα μὴ κριθῇς· ᾧ μέτρῳ μετρεῖς. τούτῳ καὶ ἀντιμετρηθήσεταί σοι· μέτρον καλόν. πεπιεσμένον καὶ σεσαλευμένον. ὑπερεκχυνόμενον, ἀποδοθήσεταί σοι.« πᾶσιν ἄνοιξον τὰ σπλάγχνα τοῖς τοῦ θεοῦ μαθηταῖς ἀπογεγραμμένοις. μὴ πρὸς σῶμα ἀπιδὼν ὑπερόπτως. μὴ πρὸς ἡλικίαν ἀμελῶς διατεθείς, μηδ᾿ εἴ τις ἀκτήμων ἢ δυσείμων ἢ δυσειδὴς ἢ ἀσθενὴς φαίνεται, πρὸς τοῦτο τῇ ψυχῇ δυσχεράνῃς καὶ ἀποστραφῇς. σχῆμα τοῦτ᾿ ἔστιν ἔξωθεν ἡμῖν περιβεβλημένον τῆς εἰς κόσμον παρόδου προφάσει, ἵν᾿ εἰς τὸ κοινὸν τοῦτο παιδευτήριον εἰσελθεῖν δυνηθῶμεν· ἀλλ᾿ ἔνδον κρυπτὸς ἐνοικεῖ ὁ πατὴρ καὶ ὁ τούτου παῖς ὁ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀποθανὼν καὶ μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν ἀναστάς.

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.