Clement of Alexandria

Exhortation to the Heathen (Protrepticus) Clement of Alexandria

Protrepticus (Exhortation to the Heathen) was the first in the trilogy of Clement of Alexandria. It lays a foundation in the knowledge of divine truth. Paedagogus, The Instructor, was the second in the trilogy and goes onto develop a Christian ethic. Protrepticus, deals with the religious basis of Christian morality, Paedagogus, the second and Stromata, third with the individual cases of conduct. As with Epictetus, true virtue shows itself with him in its external evidences by a natural, simple, and moderate way of living. Titus Flavius Clemens, known as Clement of Alexandria, was a Christian theologian who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. A convert to Christianity, he was an educated man who was familiar with classical Greek philosophy and literature. Clement was influenced by Hellenistic philosophy to a greater extent than any other Christian thinker of his time, and in particular by Plato and the Stoics.