Clement of Alexandria · a new plain-English translation from the original language
Our philosopher, then, holds fast to these three things: first, contemplation; second, the fulfillment of the commandments; third, the formation of good men. These, coming together, complete the Gnostic. Whatever of these is lacking, the work of knowledge limps. Whence Scripture speaks divinely: "The Lord addressed Moses in these words: Tell the sons of Israel this, declaring to them: I, your God, am the Lord. Do not act as they act in the land of Egypt, where once you dwelt; nor act as they act in the land of Canaan, to which I am now leading you; do not follow their customs either. Carry out my judgments, hold fast to my statutes, and live by them: I, your God, am the Lord. Keep every one of my statutes, and put them into practice. Whoever carries them out will find life through them: I, your God, am the Lord."
Whether, then, Egypt and the land of the Canaanites stand for the cosmos and its deceptions, or rather for the passions and vices from which we must hold back, the oracle points us toward the sort of conduct we ought to embrace instead, seeing that it is godly rather than worldly. And when it says, "whoever carries them out will find life through them," it names as life both for the Hebrews themselves and for those near them—that is, for us—their amendment and our own discipline and advancement; for the dead in their transgressions are made alive together with Christ through our covenant. And Scripture, by repeating so often "I am the Lord your God," abashes us most persuasively, teaching us to follow the God who gave the commandments, while gently reminding us to seek God and, so far as possible, to attempt to know him—which would be the greatest contemplation, the epoptic vision, the true science, the knowledge that remains unshaken by reason. This alone would be the knowledge of wisdom, from which right conduct is never separated.
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