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Clement of Rome

First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

Chapter 54

He who is full of love will incur every loss, that peace may be restored to the church.

Who then among you is noble-minded? who compassionate? who full of love? Let him declare, “If on my account sedition and disagreement and schisms have arisen, I will depart, I will go away whithersoever ye desire, and I will do whatever the majority1 commands; only let the flock of Christ live on terms of peace with the presbyters set over it.” He that acts thus shall procure to himself great glory in the Lord; and every place will welcome2 him. For “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.”3 These things they who live a godly life, that is never to be repented of, both have done and always will do.

Notes

  1. Literally, “the multitude.”↩
  2. Or, “receive.”↩
  3. Ps. xxiv. 1; 1 Cor. x. 26, 28.↩

Translation by Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson and Frederick Crombie: The Ante-Nicene Christian Library, vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1870).
Text from Project Gutenberg eBook #77576, proofread by Distributed Proofreaders from Internet Archive scans. Public domain.