{"author":null,"backreferences":[{"context_html":"<p>Follow God, stripped of arrogance, stripped of fading display,\r\npossessed of that which is thine, which is good, what alone cannot be\r\ntaken away—faith towards God, confession towards Him who suffered,\r\nbeneficence towards men, which is the most precious of possessions. For\r\nmy part, I approve of Plato, who plainly lays it down as a law, that\r\na man is not to labour for wealth of gold or silver, nor to possess a\r\nuseless vessel which is not for some necessary purpose, and moderate;\r\nso that the same thing may serve for many purposes, and the possession\r\nof a variety of things may be done away with. Excellently, therefore,\r\nthe Divine Scripture, addressing boasters and lovers of their own\r\nselves, says, “Where are the rulers of the nations, and the lords of\r\nthe wild beasts on the earth, who sport among the birds of heaven, who\r\ntreasured up silver and gold, in whom men trusted, and there was no\r\nend of their substance, who fashioned silver and gold, and were full\r\nof care? There is no finding of their works. They have vanished, and\r\ngone down to Hades.”<a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_496\" id=\"FNanchor_496\">[496]</a> Such is the reward of display. For though\r\nsuch of us as cultivate the soil need a mattock and plough, none of\r\nus will make a pick-axe of silver or a sickle of gold, but we employ\r\nthe material which is serviceable for agriculture, not what is costly.\r\nWhat prevents those who are capable of considering what is similar from\r\nentertaining the same sentiments with respect to household utensils,\r\nof which let use, not expense, be the measure? For tell me, does the\r\ntable-knife not cut unless it be studded with<span class=\"pagenum\" id=\"Page_213\">[213]</span> silver, and have its\r\nhandle made of ivory? Or must we forge Indian steel in order to divide\r\nmeat, as when we call for a weapon for the fight? What if the basin\r\nbe of earthenware? will it not receive the dirt of the hands? or the\r\nfootpan the dirt of the foot? Will the table that is fashioned with\r\nivory feet be indignant at bearing a three-halfpenny loaf? Will the\r\nlamp not dispense light because it is the work of the potter, not of\r\nthe goldsmith? I affirm that truckle-beds afford no worse repose than\r\nthe ivory couch; and the goatskin coverlet being amply sufficient to\r\nspread on the bed, there is no need of purple or scarlet coverings.\r\nYet to condemn, notwithstanding, frugality, through the stupidity of\r\nluxury, the author of mischief, what a prodigious error, what senseless\r\nconceit! See. The Lord ate from a common bowl, and made the disciples\r\nrecline on the grass on the ground, and washed their feet, girded with\r\na linen towel—He, the lowly-minded God, and Lord of the universe. He\r\ndid not bring down a silver foot-bath from heaven. He asked to drink of\r\nthe Samaritan woman, who drew the water from the well in an earthenware\r\nvessel, not seeking regal gold, but teaching us how to quench thirst\r\neasily. For He made use, not extravagance His aim. And He ate and drank\r\nat feasts, not digging metals from the earth, nor using vessels of gold\r\nand silver, that is, vessels exhaling the odour of rust—such fumes as\r\nthe rust of smoking<a class=\"fnanchor pginternal\" href=\"#Footnote_497\" id=\"FNanchor_497\">[497]</a> metal gives off.</p>","headings":["THE WRITINGS OF CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.","THE INSTRUCTOR.","BOOK II.","CHAPTER III. ON COSTLY VESSELS."],"marker_anchor":"FNanchor_497","paragraph_id":"pg71937-paragraph-374"}],"canonical_references":[],"date_end":null,"date_start":null,"deduplication_fingerprint":"5e30f9c2de46c2c9b7c56ae81cc3ca9608f47069b72471263f8c527a478c421d","edition_title":"The writings of Clement of Alexandria, Vol. 1 (of 2)","edition_translators":["William Wilson"],"edition_year":1867,"explicit_reference_candidates":[],"headings":[],"id":"pg71937-Footnote_497","license_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html","public_import_allowed":false,"record_kind":"original-editor-translator-note","review_required":["work and recension attribution","original-work chronology","Bible reference numbering and citation kind","English edition rights and attribution"],"review_status":"needs_review","rights_evidence":"Project Gutenberg metadata: Public domain in the USA. Existing 1867 English translation; translator died 1875. Electronic transcription subject to Project Gutenberg reuse terms.","source_anchor":"Footnote_497","source_ebook":71937,"source_html":"<div class=\"footnote\">\n<p><a class=\"label pginternal\" href=\"#FNanchor_497\" id=\"Footnote_497\">[497]</a> Or, proud.</p>\n</div>","source_sha256":"8e5c5bc39922dbad2626ac7651c2eb2e3d94cdcbd721f781e9792143ebb1cd03","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/71937/pg71937-images.html#Footnote_497","text_sha256":"7398a1a3f976e5673461fa600deaaf1997ea060c5d9d2ba3853b17b42bd2d33b","verified":false,"work_id":null}