| Clement passage | Greek cited by Clement | Synoptic locus | Markan corridor location | Gospel profile | Effect on Secret Mark / Canon thesis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strom. 3.18.107.2 | εἰς ὁδὸν ἐθνῶν μὴ ἀπέλθητε … κρεῖττον ἦν αὐτῷ μύλον περιτεθῆναι | Matt 10:5; Matt 18:6–7 (cf. Mark 9:42; Luke 17:2) | Partially adjacent (Mark 9, not corridor proper) | Harmonized Matthean with Markan diction | Neutral to mildly supportive (non-decisive) |
In Stromateis 3.18.107.2 Clement juxtaposes two dominical sayings: the prohibition against entering the δρόμος ἐθνῶν and πόλεις Σαμαρειτῶν, and the woe against scandalizing “one of the elect,” accompanied by the millstone imagery. The first saying is unmistakably Matthean in provenance (Matthew 10:5), lacking any parallel in Mark. The second saying, however, occupies a shared synoptic space: while Matthew preserves it in an ecclesial-discursive context (Matt 18:6–7), Mark transmits a closely related formulation in Mark 9:42, using distinctive diction (“τῶν μικρῶν τούτων τῶν πιστευόντων”) and situating it just prior to the discipleship corridor.
Clement’s formulation does not strictly reproduce Matthew’s wording, nor does it adhere verbatim to Mark’s. Instead, it exhibits clear signs of harmonization: the Matthean missionary prohibition is combined with a woe-saying whose imagery and moral force resonate strongly with Markan usage, particularly the absolute severity of scandal within the community of the elect. The fusion is rhetorical rather than narrative. Clement is not reconstructing a gospel sequence but assembling dominical authority to condemn παρανομία and communal corruption.
From the perspective of the Markan discipleship corridor argument, this passage occupies an intermediate position. It does not fall within the corridor proper (Mark 8:34–10:52), nor does Clement signal any awareness of Mark’s narrative logic. However, the millstone saying belongs to the same instructional continuum that, in Mark, flows directly into the corridor’s themes of responsibility, renunciation, and judgment. Clement’s version preserves that gravity while detaching it from narrative order.
Accordingly, Stromateis 3.18.107.2 neither advances nor undermines the Secret Mark hypothesis. It confirms Clement’s habitual practice of harmonizing dominical material across gospel traditions without privileging a single narrative axis. At the same time, it remains consistent with the broader pattern whereby Markan material—especially severe discipleship logia—circulates independently and authoritatively within Clement’s Alexandrian framework. The passage is therefore best classified as evidentially neutral, compatible with Markan usage but not probative for a Mark-shaped gospel underlying Stromateis.
