Hervet’sfirst edition, with the author’s preface advocating a lay use, which is
no doubt why he referred to it as extensively as he did. He seems to have been
thefirst author to rely on Clement to show that Christianity is not just the only
true religion but also the only true philosophy.
Moreover, Duplessis is the only sixteenth-century author to pick up on
Clement’s dual view of the Logos as universal reason and the saving mediator
who stands between man andGod. However, Duplessis’s importance for us lies in
his adaptation of the Alexandrian to a lay context. On the whole, he sees Clement
as a worthy precursor and a highly reliable source of information, to be placed on
the same footing as Athenagoras or Justin Martyr. He therefore uses theStromata
and other works as a treasure trove of references and snippets of information
which he transposes into a different context. We shall cite just one example of
his use of the Alexandrian. Arguing that God is universal reason, Duplessis
disparages all attempts made by human reason to reach God. To support his
argument, he cites Xenophanes after Clement’sStromata. The quotation he
selects is one where Xenophanes says that if animals tried to depict God, they
would portray him as one of them, being incapable of comprehending anything
beyond themselves. Human reason, he implies, is equally constrained. On the
other hand, Duplessis shows no interest in Clement’s role in the early consensus
of the church, his views on marriage, or indeed his concept of the Gnostic.
CONCLUSIONThe reception of Clement of Alexandria is, as one might expect, far more
restricted than that of Basil. From the outset, Clement is viewed above all as a
source of knowledge about pagan antiquity, while theologiansfind it difficult
to incorporate his thought into Reformation and Counter-Reformation frame-
works. It is as source of knowledge of pagan antiquity that the Alexandrian is
valued, which inevitably leads scholars such as Duplessis to conclude that
Clement’s recourse to pagan authors shows them to be harbingers of Chris-
tianity as the one true philosophical and theological system. In short, while the
clericalization and the controversial use of the fathers plays an important role
in the Reformation, it should not be forgotten that some fathers are also
transmitters of ancient languages, correct style, and rhetorical mode, as well
as of‘true philosophy’, which shows all pagan philosophical systems to be the
forerunners of Christianity. Of course, this does not apply to all church
fathers. However, the samples examined here show that scholars were aware
of the potential of patristic authors in the learning of humanities on the one
hand and in teaching us about certain realities of pagan antiquity on the other
hand. In short, the humanities, especially classical learning, without religion
were as incongruous in the early modern era as religion without classical
learning and the humanities as a whole.
54 Irena Backus