Page "Clement of Alexandria" Paragraph 25

The third book covers asceticism.

He discusses marriage, which is treated similarly in the Paedagogus.

Clement rejects the Gnostic opposition to marriage, arguing that only men who are uninterested in women should remain celibate, and that sex is a positive good if performed within marriage for the purposes of procreation.

However it has not always been so: the Fall occurred because Adam and Eve succumbed to their desire for each other, and copulated before the allotted time.

He argues against the idea that Christians should reject their family for an ascetic life, which stems from Luke, contending that Jesus would not have contradicted the precept to " Honour thy Father and thy Mother " ( Exodus ), one of the Ten Commandments.

Clement concludes that asceticism will only be rewarded if the motivation is Christian in nature, and thus the asceticism of non-Christians such as the gymnosophists is pointless.