Clement of Alexandria · a new plain-English translation from the original language
For this reason, decking oneself in gold and resorting to somewhat softer garments need not be cut off altogether, but the irrational impulses must be bridled, lest they carry us off and hurl us headlong into luxurious living, snatching us away through much license; for luxury run to satiety is terrible - apt to bolt, to toss its mane, and to shake off its rider, the tutor, who from far off checks the reins and guides and carries toward safety the human horse - the irrational part of the soul which, in pursuit of blameworthy pleasures and appetites and stones and gold and dappled clothing and the rest of extravagance, turns into a wild beast. Let them keep especially in mind that most holy saying: "maintain honorable conduct in the sight of the nations, so that in the very matter where they slander you as wrongdoers, they may, from observing your noble deeds, give glory to God." The tutor, then, allows us to wear plain clothing, and of white color, as we have said before, so that, being made familiar not with what is variegated by art but with what is born by nature, having thrust away everything deceitful and everything that gives the lie to truth, we may embrace the single form and single face of truth. Sophocles, reproaching a young man for soft living, says: "you stand out conspicuous in womanish garments." For just as the soldier and the sailor and the ruler each has his proper dress, so too the temperate person's proper garb is one unfussy, decorous, and clean. For this reason also the law set down through Moses concerning leprosy rejects the mottled and many-spotted as unholy, resembling the varied scales of the serpent. It requires that one no longer flowered with variegated colors, but made wholly white throughout, from the top of the skull down to the underside of the feet, be counted clean, so that, corresponding to the change undergone in the body, having laid aside the variegated and cunning affection of the mind, we may come to love the unvariegated, undoubting, simple color of truth. And Plato too, the best of all men, a zealot in this very matter of Moses, approves that weaving in which there is no more work than belongs to a temperate woman; "white colors," he says, "would be fitting for dignity, both elsewhere and in weaving; dyeing should be reserved solely for the trappings of warfare." White, then, is suited to peaceable and luminous people. Just as signs that stand nearest to their causes indicate their presence, or rather demonstrate the existence of what produced them - as smoke indicates fire, and good complexion and firm pulse indicate health - so too among us such dress indicates the state of one's character. Temperance is clean and simple, since cleanliness is a habit that prepares a clean way of living unmixed with shameful things, and simplicity is a habit that removes what is superfluous. Solid clothing, and especially clothing that has not been fulled, shuts in the warmth of the body - not because the garment itself possesses the warmth, but because it turns back the warmth going forth from the body and gives it no passage out; and if any cold should chance to enter, catching it within itself the garment, warmed by the body's heat, warms the body in turn; for which reason it is especially to be used in winter. This is a serviceable garment; and serviceability is a habit that is not extravagant but is receptive of whatever suffices, without deficiency, for a life lived according to reason - a healthy and blessed life. Let the woman too make use of plain and dignified dress, somewhat softer than would befit a man, yet not altogether shameless, nor flowing with softness. Let clothing be suited to age, appearance, place, nature, and pursuit. For the divine apostle counsels us most excellently "to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts." Reason forbids those who violate nature to bore through the fleshy part of the ears. Why then not the nostril too? That indeed that saying might be fulfilled: "like a golden ring in a swine's snout, so is beauty in a woman without discretion." For, generally speaking, if anyone thinks he is adorned by gold, he is less than gold, and one who is less than gold is not master of it. And is it not utterly absurd to confess oneself inferior even to a lump of Lydian gold dust? Just as gold itself is defiled by the uncleanness of a swine when it stirs up filth with its snout, so the more luxury-loving women, puffed up by their abundance, run riot and outrage true beauty with the stains of sensual indulgence. The tutor, then, gives them a ring of gold - not this either for ornament, but for sealing things at home worth guarding, on account of care for the management of the household. For if all were being trained under the tutor, there would be no need at all of seals, since bondservants and masters would be on equal footing in righteousness; but since lack of discipline gives great impetus toward wrongdoing, we have had need of seals. But there is a time when it is fitting to relax the tension somewhat. For sometimes indulgence must be granted to women who have not been fortunate in a temperate marriage and who adorn themselves to please their husbands. But let this limit be set upon them: that their eagerness to please be directed toward their own husbands alone. I myself would not wish them to cultivate bodily comeliness, but rather to win over their husbands by temperate wifely devotion, a compelling and just remedy. Still, since they are bent on making their souls unhappy, let this be set before them, if indeed they wish to be temperate: to gently soothe the irrational impulses and desires of their husbands, and quietly to lead them by degrees, through habituation, toward simplicity and greater temperance. For dignified bearing is achieved not by adding what is showy but by removing what is superfluous. Just as one clips wing-feathers, so must the luxurious possessions of women be cut away, since they produce unstable vanities and empty pleasures, by which women, puffed up and given wings, often fly away from their marriages. Therefore women must be restrained becomingly and drawn in tight with modest reserve, lest they slip away from truth through vanity. It is good, then, for husbands, trusting their wives, to entrust to them the management of the household, given to them as helpers for this purpose. But if it should happen that we ourselves, engaged in civic affairs or in certain matters administered in the country, and often finding ourselves without our wives, need to seal something for security, the tutor grants to us as well a signet ring for this purpose alone, but the rest of the rings are to be cast away, since, according to Scripture, "a golden ornament to the wise is discipline." Women who wear much gold seem to me to fear that, should someone take their gold from them, they would be thought slaves, being unadorned. But true nobility, examined in the natural beauty of the soul, does not distinguish the slave by purchase and sale, but by an ignoble disposition; and it is fitting for us not merely to appear free but to be free, being disciplined by God and adopted by God. Therefore posture, movement, gait, dress, and, in a word, one's whole manner of life must be raised to the most befitting a free person as possible. Moreover, men should not wear the ring on the joint (for that is womanish), but on the little finger, and even there down toward the tip; for thus the hand will be free for use in whatever we need of it, and the seal will not easily fall off, being secured by the greater bulk of the joint. Let our seals show a dove, or perhaps a fish, or else a vessel scudding along under a favorable breeze, or a musical lyre, such as Polycrates used, or a ship's anchor, such as Seleucus had engraved upon his signet; and if someone should be a fisherman, he will call to mind an apostle and the children drawn up out of the water. For we must not have the faces of idols stamped upon our rings, since we are even forbidden to give them our attention, nor a sword or bow for those who pursue peace, nor drinking cups for those who are temperate. Many of the licentious have their beloved boys or their courtesans engraved upon their rings, so that even if they wished it, they could never let forgetfulness of their amorous passions come upon them, because of the constant reminder furnished by their intemperance.
Concerning hair, this is our judgment: a man's head should be closely shorn, unless he has naturally curly hair; but let his beard be thick, and let the twisted locks from the head not be allowed to descend too far, sliding down into womanish braids; for men, "well-bearded" is enough. And if someone should trim something of the beard, it should nevertheless not be shaved bare entirely; for the sight is shameful, and cutting the beard down to the skin is condemned as bordering on plucking and smoothness. Thus the psalmist, delighting in the luxuriance of the beard, says: "like the ointment that runs down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron" - celebrating in his refrain the comeliness of the beard, he gladdened the face of the Lord with the fragrant oil. But since the cutting of hair is not to be undertaken for the sake of decoration but out of necessity - the hair of the head, since it does not grow, being trimmed lest it hinder the sight as it falls over the eyes, and perhaps also the hairs on the mustache that get soiled during eating should be cut round, not with a razor (for that is ignoble), but with the two blades of the barber's shears - the hairs of the beard, causing no such trouble, should not be interfered with, since they lend to the face dignity and a certain awe-inspiring quality... indeed, its very form serves as a further tutor to many, keeping them from sin because it is so easily detected, while for those who wish to sin openly, the inconspicuousness of a shaved appearance, and the fact that it draws no notice, is most delightful, since, hidden beneath it, those who by ignorance are permitted to err, making themselves like the majority, have reaped the fruit of sinning without fear. So the bareness of the head not only makes a man look austere but also renders the skull less susceptible to harm, accustoming it to endure both cold and heat, and it wards off the injuries arising from these, which the hair, absorbing them into itself like a sponge, lodges as a lasting harm in the brain by way of the resulting dampness.
For women it suffices to soften the hair and to bind up the locks simply with a plain pin at the neck, with unadorned care, thereby increasing the genuine beauty of temperate tresses. For the braided intertwinings of the hair favored by courtesans, and the bindings of cords, besides showing them to be unsightly, also damage the hair, plucking it out through cunning plaiting - for the sake of which they do not even dare touch their own heads, fearing to disturb their hair, and even sleep comes upon them with dread, lest unawares they should ruin the arrangement of their plaiting. Additions of other people's hair are to be utterly rejected; to fit foreign locks upon one's own head is most godless, dressing the skull in dead men's tresses. For upon whom will the elder lay his hand? Whom will he bless? Not the woman who is so adorned, but another's hair, and through it another head. And if "the man stands as head over the woman, and Christ stands as head over the man," how is it not impious for them to fall into a double sin? For they deceive their husbands by this substitution of hair, and they dishonor the Lord, so far as lies in them, by adorning themselves like courtesans for the deception of truth, blaspheming the truly beautiful head. So then, hair must not be dyed, nor must gray hairs be given a different color; for neither is it permitted to make clothing many-colored; and above all, the venerable and trustworthy mark of age should not be concealed, but should be displayed openly in the light of God as an object of reverence to the young. Indeed, sometimes shameless men have been reformed, when the appearance of gray hair, standing over them like a tutor, has turned them toward temperance and, by the very brightness of its aspect, has struck down the youthful vigor of their desire.
But neither should women smear their faces with the tricks of cunning artifice; let us rather point out to them a temperate adornment. For the best beauty is, first, that of the soul, as I have often noted, whenever the soul is adorned with the Holy Spirit and inspired by the graces that come from it - righteousness, prudence, courage, temperance, love of the good, and reverence - than which no color has ever been seen to bloom more brightly. Next, let bodily beauty also be cultivated: "symmetry of limbs and members, together with good complexion." Here the adornment fitting to health finds its proper place, whereby the transition from a merely artificial semblance to the true form is achieved, in accordance with the shape given by God. A well-tempered use of drink and a proper measure of food have wonderful power to beautify in keeping with what is natural. Not merely does the body gain soundness from such measure, but it is likewise brought to shine forth in beauty. For from the fiery element comes the sheen and radiance, from the moist comes brightness and grace, from the dry comes manliness and firmness, and from the airy comes good breath and even balance - out of which this well-proportioned and beautiful statue that is the reasoning being is adorned. Beauty is the noble flower of health; for health works within the body, while beauty, blossoming out to the exterior of the body, shows forth the good complexion openly. Indeed, the finest and healthiest regimens, by exercising the body, produce genuine and lasting beauty, the heat drawing to itself all the moisture and the cold breath; for heat, fanned into motion, is by nature drawing toward itself. And once it has drawn this in, it gently vaporizes, through the flesh itself, the surplus arising from food, in due measure of moisture and excess of heat. Hence the former food is expended; but in a body without motion, the food eaten does not become attached but falls away, just as bread from a cold oven either falls out whole or leaves only its bottom crust behind. Naturally, then, in those who have excess, urine and waste abound at the excretions, and their other superfluities abound as well, and moreover their sweat, since the food is not properly assimilated by the body but is poured out into what is superfluous. From this source lustful desires also arise, the surplus flowing toward the parts devoted to procreation. Therefore, by well-measured exercise this surplus must be dissolved and turned back into digestion, through which beauty takes on its ruddy glow.
It is absurd that those who have come into being "according to the image and likeness of God" should, as if dishonoring the archetype, bring in an imported cosmetic art, choosing human ill-craft before the divine workmanship. The tutor bids them present themselves "in decent dress, ornamenting themselves through reverence and self-mastery," "submitting to their own husbands, so that even should some fail to heed the message, they might be gained, apart from any speech, through the manner of life of their wives, once they have witnessed," so it says, "your pure manner of life joined with awe; and let their ornamentation be, not the external kind consisting in braiding hair, hanging on gold, or dressing in fine clothes, but rather the concealed self of the heart, in the imperishable quality of a gentle and untroubled disposition, which carries great worth before God." And it is above all the labor of their own hands that lends women genuine loveliness, keeping their bodies active and decking themselves through their own exertion, not presenting an adornment toiled over by others - an adornment unbecoming, servile, and fit for courtesans - but the ornament that each temperate woman fashions and weaves with her own hands, whenever the need especially arises. For it is never fitting that women who conduct their lives according to God should appear adorned with things bought from the marketplace, but rather with the works of their own household management. For it is the finest work when a woman who keeps house arrays herself and her husband alike with adornments of her own making, in which all take delight - the children in their mother, the husband in his wife, she in them, and all in God. In sum, then, a courageous woman is a storehouse of virtue, one who "does not consume bread gained through idleness, and compassionate teaching rests upon her tongue," who "has parted her lips with wisdom and with order, and her offspring stand and pronounce her fortunate," as the sacred word declares through Solomon, "and her husband commends her too. For a woman who reveres God shall be counted fortunate; let such a one be commended for revering the Lord." And once more: "A woman of courage is a garland set upon her husband."
Above all we must correct their postures, their glances, their gaits, and their voices. For some women, emulating stage-acting and carefully imitating the broken movements of dancers, strut about in ordinary company as though on the boards, with their affected motions, their languid steps, and their contrived voices, casting soft glances all around, having schooled themselves into a bait of pleasure. "For honey drips from the lips of a harlot woman, who by speaking to please anoints your throat; but afterward you will find her more bitter than gall, and keener than a blade honed on both edges; for foolishness walks a path that carries her companions down into Hades together with death." Samson the noble was conquered by a harlot, and another woman shaved off his manhood. But no other woman deceived Joseph in this way — the Egyptian harlot was defeated, and self-control, though taking on chains, shows itself superior to the woman set loose. That saying too might be aptly quoted here: "I for my part do not know how to whisper, nor to walk about with my neck bent sideways in an affected manner, as I see many other effeminates doing here in the city, their hair plastered with pitch-wax." Womanish movements, affectations, and delicacies must be curbed altogether; for the luxurious swaying of gait in walking and the "mincing step," as Anacreon calls it, are utterly the marks of courtesans, so it seems to me. Comedy says that "the footprints of courtesans leave behind their bloom and their delicacy." "But the footprints of a harlot do not fix themselves upon the truth; for she does not walk the paths of life, and her tracks are unstable and hard to know." Above all the eyes must be spared, since it is better to stumble with the feet than with the eyes. The Lord, at any rate, heals this affliction most concisely, saying, "If your eye offends you, pluck it out," tearing out desire by its roots; languishing looks and the batting of the eyelids, which is winking through the eyes, are nothing other than committing adultery through the eyes, desire shooting its darts by their means. For the eyes are corrupted before the whole body. "The eye that beholds beautiful things gladdens the heart," that is, one who has learned to look properly is gladdened; "but he who winks the eye with deceit brings griefs upon men." Something of this sort, it seems, is how they portray the effeminate Sardanapalus, king of the Assyrians, seated astride his couch, carding purple wool and rolling up the whites of his eyes. The women who practice such things prostitute themselves by their own glances; "for the eye is the lamp of the body," says Scripture, through which the things within are made visible, illumined by the light that appears. "The fornication of a woman is in the lifting up of her eyes." "Put to death, therefore, the members that are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry, on account of which the wrath of God comes," the apostle cries out, but we rekindle our passions and feel no shame. Some of them, chewing mastic gum as they go about, grin at passers-by; others, as though they had no fingers, scratch their heads with pins they carry, and fuss over these pins made of tortoise-shell or ivory or some other dead creature; still others, having what look like blotches for the sake of beauty in the eyes of onlookers, adorn themselves with brightly colored cosmetics and thereby stain their own faces. Solomon calls such a woman "foolish" and "bold," "who does not know shame; she sat at the doors of her own house upon a seat, openly calling to those passing along the road, those who make straight their own paths," saying, evidently through her posture and her whole manner of life, "Whoever among you is most foolish, let him turn aside to me." And to those lacking sense she urges, "take pleasure in secret bread and stolen water that is sweet," meaning by this the thievish Aphrodite. Drawing on this, the Boeotian Pindar says, "something sweet, a stolen delight of Cypris." "But the wretched man does not know that those born of earth perish at her hands, and meet with the plank of Hades. But leap away," says the tutor, "do not linger in that place, nor fix your gaze upon her. For thus you will cross the alien water and pass over Acheron." For this reason the Lord says through Isaiah, "Because the daughters of Zion walked with necks held high and with wanton glances of the eyes, and as they went trailed their tunics and made a game with their feet, therefore God will humble the daughters of Zion and uncover their form" — their unseemly form.
For my own part, I do not think it fitting for the maidservants who walk at a woman's left side, or those who attend her, to speak shamefully or act shamefully, but rather that they should be brought to self-control by their mistresses. The comic poet Philemon speaks very reprovingly on this: "Going out behind a free woman I see only a single pretty maidservant following behind, one from Plataea, and someone tagging along after her, ogling her." For the maidservant's licentiousness reflects back upon her mistress, giving a foothold to those who make attempts upon the lesser so as not to be cautious about the greater, since the mistress, by tolerating the shameful conduct, shows that she does not condemn it. Not becoming indignant at those behaving licentiously becomes a clear proof of a disposition inclining toward the same thing. "For as is the mistress," say those fond of proverbs, "so is the dog."
We must also banish frenzied haste from our walking, and choose instead what is dignified and unhurried — not a lingering, mincing gait, nor swaying along the roads and glancing sideways with head tilted back at those one meets, to see whether they are looking at him, as though performing on a stage and being pointed out with fingers. Nor should one be constantly turning about because of one's servants, pushed toward a snub-nosed affectation, as we see the more luxurious sort doing, appearing to be robust while actually enervated by softness of soul. In a noble man there ought to be no conspicuous sign of softness in his face, nor indeed in any other part of his body. Let unmanly unseemliness never be found, then, either in his movements or in his bearing. Nor indeed should the healthy man treat his servants as though they were beasts of burden. For just as it is enjoined upon servants, "submit yourselves to your masters with complete reverence, not merely to those who are kind and fair, but even to those who are harsh," as Peter says, so also fairness and patience and kindness are fitting toward masters on their part. "For the end of all things," he says, "is that all be of one mind, sympathetic, loving as brothers, tenderhearted, humble-minded," and what follows, "that you may inherit a blessing." Zeno of Citium seems to sketch out a fine and lovable image for a young man, and thus he fashions him like a statue: "Let his face be pure," he says, "his brow not lowered, nor his eye wide-opened or languidly broken, his neck not thrown back, nor the limbs of his body relaxed, but rather held up as though braced, his mind directed straight and keen toward reason, and a firm grasp of what is rightly said, and postures and movements that give no hope to the licentious. Let modesty and manliness be his outward bloom; but let there be no trace of the restless idleness that comes from perfume-shops and goldsmiths' shops and wool-shops, or from other such workplaces, where those adorned like courtesans, as women who sit upon the housetop, spend their whole days."
Nor, then, should men either, spending their time at barbershops and taverns, keep up idle chatter and gossip, and hunt for the women passing by — let them stop that at last; many, too, do not stop making blasphemous remarks for the sake of a laugh. Further still to be forbidden is play with dice, and likewise the practice of covetousness through knucklebones, which they love to handle. Their unchecked appetite for luxury contrives such wretched pastimes for them; the cause is idleness; and one who loves vain things is a lover of things outside the truth; for there is no other way to acquire enjoyment without harm; and the choice a person makes for his life is an imitation of his own thinking. But, as it seems, only companionship with good men is beneficial. Conversely, then, recognizing that living together with base men is swinish, the all-wise tutor through Moses forbade the older people to partake of the flesh of swine, thereby showing that those who call upon God must not mix with unclean men, who, like swine, itch after bodily pleasures and filthy foods and licentious ticklings, taking delight in the malicious pleasure of lust. But he also says one should not eat "kite, or vulture, or eagle," meaning, do not come near those who provide their living through plunder; and the rest is likewise allegorized. To whom, then, should one be attached? To the just, he says, again speaking allegorically. For every animal that "divides the hoof and ruminates" counts as pure, because the divided hoof signifies justice, the equal balance, chewing the cud its own proper nourishment of righteousness — namely, reason entering from outside, in the same way as food, through catechetical instruction, and being sent back up from within, as if from the belly of the mind, into rational remembrance. The just man chews the cud of spiritual nourishment, having the word ever in his mouth, and righteousness fittingly parts the hoof, both sanctifying in this present age and sending him forward into the age to come.
Therefore the tutor will not lead us to spectacles either, nor would one be wrong to call the stadiums and theaters a "seat of pestilence"; for "counsel" there too is wicked, just as it is against the just man, and so the assembly gathered there is accursed. These gatherings, at any rate, are filled with much disorder and lawlessness, and the very pretexts of the assembly are a cause of disgrace, men and women coming together indiscriminately to view one another. There already the whole assembly turns to vainglorious display. For as the eye grows greedy, the appetites grow warm, and the eyes, becoming accustomed to look with increasing boldness upon those nearby, through the license of leisure kindle amorous desires to flame. Let spectacles, then, be forbidden, and likewise entertainments full of much buffoonery and idle scurrility. For what shameful deed is not put on display in theaters? What shameless word do the jesters not bring forth? Those who have partaken of the vice found there carry home vivid impressions of it stamped upon themselves; conversely, those unmoved and unaffected by such things would never stumble into idle pleasures of that sort. For even if it will be said that spectacles are taken up as a kind of play, for the sake of amusement, I would not call those cities temperate who make even their play a serious business. For the love of glory is no longer mere play when it becomes so pitilessly murderous, nor are empty ambitions and irrational rivalries mere play, nor the vain squandering of wealth on these things, nor the factional strife that arises from them. Idleness ought never to be purchased at the price of empty ambition. For no one of sound mind would ever choose the more pleasant thing over the better. But, someone says, not all of us practice philosophy. Then do not all of us pursue life either? What do you mean? How then have you come to believe? And how do you still love God and your neighbor without practicing philosophy? How do you love yourself, if you do not love life? I have not learned letters, someone says. But even if you have not learned to read, hearing admits of no excuse, since it requires no instruction; faith is a possession not of the wise of this world, but of those who belong to God; and faith is taught even without letters, and its writing, at once unlettered and divine, is called love — a spiritual composition. And while it is permitted to listen to divine wisdom, it is also permitted to live as a citizen, and it is not forbidden to conduct one's worldly affairs in an orderly manner, according to God.
And let the one who sells or buys anything never state two prices, one for buying and one for selling, but rather state a single price and practice truthfulness; even if he does not attain the price he wants, in attaining truth he becomes wealthy in the right disposition of soul. Let praise and oath-taking regarding whatever is sold be absent, and let oaths be absent in other matters as well. In this too market-traders and shopkeepers may practice philosophy: "You must not use the name of the Lord carelessly, since the Lord will not leave unpunished the one who uses his name carelessly." Those who act contrary to this — the money-lovers, the liars, the hypocrites, those who peddle the truth — were driven by the Lord from his Father's courtyard, for he would not allow the sacred dwelling of God to turn into a marketplace of dishonest dealing, whether in words or in material possessions.
To church, both woman and man alike should go decently attired, with a natural gait, embracing silence, possessing "love without pretense," clean of body, clean of heart, worthy to offer prayer to God. Let the woman observe this more particularly: let her be veiled entirely, except when she happens to be at home; for the veil is dignified and gives no occasion for prying eyes, and she will never go astray who sets modesty and her wrap before her own eyes, nor will she entice another into the slip of sin by baring her face. For this is what the passage means: that veiling befits her when she offers prayer. They say that Aeneas's wife, out of surpassing modesty, did not uncover herself even when terrified as Troy was being captured, yet even as she fled the blaze she kept her covering on the whole way. Such, throughout their whole lives, ought those consecrated to Christ appear and fashion themselves to be, such as they compose themselves to look in the churches, toward greater dignity — and to be such, not merely to seem such, so gentle, so reverent, so full of love. But now, I do not know how, they change their postures and their manners along with the place, just as they say the octopus takes on the color of whatever rocks it clings to, appearing to match them. So then, having put off the divine character of the assembly once they depart from it, they make themselves like the common crowd, with whom they also spend their time; or rather, they are exposed for what they truly were all along once they lay aside the counterfeit pretense of dignity. And having revered the word concerning God, they leave behind, within the place where they heard it, what they revered, while outside they run wild with the godless, filling themselves up with the music and warbling of erotic songs, with flute-playing and clapping and drunkenness and every kind of refuse; and thus singing and answering one another in song, the very ones who a moment before were hymning immortality, at the end, base men basely twanging out the most ruinous recantation: "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." But they, truly, are dead already to God, not merely tomorrow, burying their own dead — that is, burying themselves alive into death. Against them the apostle sets himself very forcefully indeed: "Do not be deceived; neither adulterers, nor the soft, nor those who lie with men, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers," and whatever else he chants along with these, "will inherit the kingdom of God." But if it is we who have been summoned into God's kingdom, then let our manner of life befit citizens of that realm, loving both God and neighbor. Love is judged not by a kiss, but by goodwill. But some accomplish nothing except filling the assemblies with the noise of kissing, while lacking love itself on the inside. For indeed this too — the promiscuous use of the kiss, which ought to be something mystical — has provoked shameful suspicion and blasphemy (the apostle has called it "holy"); rather the soul, tasting the goodwill through a chaste and closed mouth, by which a gentle character is chiefly ministered, ought to let us live worthily of the kingdom. There is also another, unclean kiss, full of poison, feigning holiness. Do you not know that even the venomous spiders, merely by touching with their mouths, afflict men with pains, and kisses too often inject the poison of licentiousness? It has therefore become clear to us that the kiss is not love; "for love comes from God." "And in this consists loving God," John says, "in that we keep his commandments," not that we fawn upon one another with the mouth, "and his commandments are not a burden." Moreover the greetings exchanged along the roads by those who call themselves "beloved," full of senseless ostentation and wishing to be conspicuous to outsiders, share in no grace at all, however slight. For if it is right to pray mystically "in the inner chamber" to God, it would follow that one should likewise show mystical and inward affection toward one's neighbor, whom we are commanded to love second, buying back the season from within; for it is we who are "earth's salt," and, as scripture says, "one who greets his companion at dawn with a booming shout will find it reckoned no different from a curse."
It seems that above all else he has kept himself from gazing upon women. For it is possible to sin not merely by touch but by the very act of looking, and this the one who is truly in training must guard against most of all. "Let your eyes look straight ahead, and let your eyelids incline to what is just." For is it not possible, even having seen, to hold oneself back? Rather it is the inward stumble that one must watch against. For a man who has looked may well trip and stumble, whereas a man who has never looked cannot be seized by longing. It is not enough for the self-controlled merely to be pure inwardly; they must also labor to stand clear of reproach, closing off any ground for suspicion, so that holiness may be complete, and we might not merely hold to the faith ourselves but stand shown as trustworthy in others' eyes. And indeed this too must be carefully watched, as the apostle says: "lest anyone find fault with us; for we take thought for what is good not only before the Lord but also before men." "Turn your eye away from a graceful woman, and do not gaze intently upon another's beauty," says the scripture. And should you inquire the reason, it will further explain to you: "for by the beauty of a woman many have been led astray, and from this desire is kindled like a fire," leading into an unquenchable fire through sin, this desire that springs from fire, which they have called eros.
← All of Clement of Alexandria: Exhortation, Instructor & Miscellanies