| Clement passage | Greek cited / alluded to | Synoptic locus | Markan corridor location | Gospel profile | Effect on Secret Mark / Canon thesis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strom. 18.1–18.2 | τοὺς πλουσίους… δυσκόλως εἰσελευσομένους εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν | Mark 10:23–25 (cf. Matt 19:23–24; Luke 18:24–25) | Inside corridor (Mark 10) | Markan saying interiorized; no Matthean redactional markers | Supportive (Markan logic preserved, spiritualized) |
In Stromateis 18.1–18.2 Clement explicitly engages the dominical saying about the difficulty for the rich to enter the kingdom, insisting that it must be heard μαθηματικῶς—that is, with disciplined, analytical understanding—rather than crudely, carnally, or in a literalistic manner. This polemic presupposes the familiar wording of Mark 10:23–25, where Jesus comments on the rich immediately after the rich man’s failure to follow him.
Crucially, Clement does not detach the saying from its Markan argumentative function. In Mark, the saying clarifies why the summons «δεῦρο ἀκολούθει μοι» fails: wealth obstructs discipleship. Clement preserves this causal logic but relocates the obstacle from external possessions to internal dispositions. Salvation, he argues, does not hinge on τὰ ἐκτός—whether possessions are many or few, great or small—but on the moral and spiritual state of the soul: virtue, faith, hope, love, brotherly affection, knowledge, gentleness, humility, and truth.
This move is interpretive rather than harmonizing. Clement neither blends Matthean perfection language nor adopts Lukan redistribution motifs. Instead, he remains within the Markan corridor (Mark 10), explaining its inner rationale. The “difficulty” (δυσκόλως) of entry into the kingdom is not denied or softened; it is anatomized. Wealth remains the problem insofar as it signifies attachment, pride, and passion—precisely the psychic maladies Clement has already identified as lethal “riches” of the soul.
From the standpoint of gospel profile, the passage is best classified as Markan interiorization. The narrative force of Mark 10 is intact: renunciation is required, following is costly, and entry into the kingdom is obstructed by wealth unless a radical transformation occurs. Clement’s catalogue of virtues functions as the positive counterpart to the Markan demand for dispossession, not as a replacement of it.
Accordingly, Stromateis 18.1–18.2 is supportive of the Secret Mark / Canon thesis. It shows Clement reasoning from a Markan saying located squarely within the discipleship corridor and preserving its theological pressure, even while reframing it in Alexandrian ethical language. The passage neither contradicts nor dilutes a Mark-shaped gospel framework; it presupposes it and seeks to explain its severity.
