ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how Clement upholds the Philonic view that meanings are thoughts; language is a window to many stages of knowledge on account of intelligible divinity. Clement of Alexandria represents an important early attempt to reconcile Christianity and Greek philosophy, writing in the last quarter of the second century and the beginning years of the third. As recent work on his relationship to contemporary Platonism has shown, Clement attempts to balance the status of God beyond thought and language with his Christian Logos theology of divine revelation. Mark Edwards, among others, has pointed out that by the time of Clement, the classic 'two stage' theory of divine Logos, a favorite theme for a few of the second-century apologists, was losing ground among Greek Patristic writers. The tendency in Clement is to emphasize the ruling and saving activity of the Logos towards the world. For Clement, dialectic is a way in which philosophy contributes to the demonstration of the faith.
