Clement of Alexandria · a new plain-English translation from the original language
"And of these," he says, "I shall bring to nothing the cleverness of the clever, and the discernment of the discerning I shall cast aside." The apostle then goes on to ask: "Where, then, is your sage? Where your scribe? Where your debater of the present era?" — setting the seekers of this age, that is, the philosophers drawn from the nations, over against the scribes, by way of contrast. "Did God not turn the cleverness of this world into folly?" This is equivalent to saying he showed it to be both foolish and not true, as they had supposed it to be. And should you ask the cause of their conceit of wisdom, he will say it is on account of the hardening of their heart, seeing that, within God's own wisdom — that is, the wisdom proclaimed through the prophets — the world failed to recognize him, namely God, by means of the wisdom voiced through the prophets; "it pleased" this God, "through the folly of the preaching" — the folly that seems such to the Greeks — "to save those who believe"; since "the Jews," he says, "ask for signs" as a basis for faith, while "the Greeks seek wisdom," that is, plainly, the so-called compelling arguments and the other syllogisms; "but we proclaim a crucified Jesus Christ, to Jews an offense" — because though knowing the prophecy they refuse to believe its fulfillment — "and to Greeks folly"; for those who merely fancy themselves wise regard it as mythical that a divine son could speak through a man, and that there could exist a son belonging to God, and moreover that this son should have suffered; and it is from this that the preconception born of their own self-conceit persuades them to disbelieve. For the coming of the Savior did not render men foolish, hard of heart, and faithless, but rather perceptive, compliant, and, further, trusting. And those who were unwilling to be persuaded were shown, by their separation from the willing inclination of those who obeyed, to be senseless and unbelieving and foolish; but to those very ones who were called, Jew and Greek alike, Christ stands as God's power and as God's wisdom.
Should we not, then — and this is indeed the better course — take "did God not turn the cleverness of this world into folly" as equivalent to a negative, that is, to "he left it unfoolished," so that the cause of their hard-heartedness should not appear to have come from God, as though he were the one who reduced their cleverness to nonsense? For, on the contrary, though they were wise, they have incurred the greater blame precisely because, being wise, they refused to trust the message; for both the choice and the turning away from the truth were voluntary. Moreover, by "I shall bring to nothing the cleverness of the clever" he means, he says, that it will be eclipsed once set beside the barbarian philosophy that men despise and look down upon — just as a lamp, once eclipsed by the sun, can be said to be "destroyed," because it no longer produces an equal effect. Since, then, all men have been summoned, those who were willing to obey have been named the called. For there is no injustice with God. Accordingly, from each race those who believed became a people set apart. And within the record of the Apostles' deeds you will discover it put down exactly thus: "So, then, those who took his word to heart were given baptism" — while those who were unwilling to be persuaded plainly separated themselves.
To these the prophecy says: "If you are willing and obey me, you shall feed on the good yield of the land," — putting both the choice and the turning away squarely upon us. And the apostle named the teaching that follows the Lord's pattern "God's wisdom," wishing to show that the true philosophy is handed down through the Son. But indeed the man who merely fancies himself wise also has certain exhortations, those given by the apostle bidding men "put on the new man, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth." "Wherefore, putting away falsehood, speak the truth"; "give no opportunity to the devil"; "let him who steals steal no more, but rather let him labor, working what is good." And to "work" is to labor further in the search for truth, together with reasoned well-doing, "so that you may have to share with him who has need," both of worldly abundance and of divine wisdom. For he wishes the word to be thoroughly taught, and the silver to be deposited at the money-tables, carefully tested, so as to be lent out at interest. Hence he adds: "let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth" — and corrupt is that word which comes of self-conceit — "but only such as is good for building up, as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear." And a word that comes of necessity from a good God must itself be good. And how is the Savior not good?
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