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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1899 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XII THE CHURCH AND THE SACRAMENTS It lias been remarked over and over again that Clement was strangely reticent on the subject of dogma. Various explanations of this concealment have been given. According to certain writers, the Christian Doctrine was in a nebulous condition in the age of Clement, being without any distinct baptismal formula, or even a general summary of faith. But this is hardly a sufficient or satisfactory solution of the question, as we shall see further on. For it is not likely that the Catechetical School of Alexandria in the second century was without a precise formula of faith. Besides, Clement constantly refers to an "ecclesiastical canon," to the " true and divine tradition," and to the "Gospel canon." He speaks also of a "Homologia" (bfjLoXoyia), or Confession of Faith. We must take into consideration the fact that Clement's economy in this respect is largely due to his not being willing to subject the dogmas of the Christian religion to the scoffing criticism of the " uninitiated,"1 to whom he did not wish the " sacred tradition" to be accessible (Strom. VII. cap. xviii.). We must also remember that he was writing as a philosopher on the philosophy of Christianity, and not as a historian of the Christian Church, and we must not expect to find in the works of our author any precise definition of the Church and the Sacraments, or any special reference to the Christian organization and its three orders. It is extraordinary, however, considering the philosophical bias of Clement's mind, to find so many allusions as we do to the Church principle and life. We shall now quote some of these references. THE CHURCH. "The Church," writes Clement, "is like a human being consisting of many members, and is nourished...