If the Lord counts the natural beauty of the body inferior to that of the soul, what thinks He of spurious beauty, rejecting utterly as He does all falsehood?
Clement Of AlexandriaRead
For, in truth, an image is only dead matter shaped by the craftsman's hand. But we have no sensible image of sensible matter, but an image that is perceived by the mind alone: God, who alone is truly God.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the distinction between physical reality and the perception of it, suggesting that true understanding lies beyond mere images.
Clement of Alexandria's quote conveys the idea that physical representations, such as images created by craftsmen, are inanimate and devoid of true essence. It suggests that our understanding and perception of reality is deeply mental rather than purely sensory, positing that God embodies the ultimate truth that transcends material representations.
Themes
PerceptionRealityTruthImagesUnderstandingGod
In practice
Example use cases
During a philosophy lecture discussing the nature of reality and perception.
More from Clement Of Alexandria
All quotes βHis Son Jesus, the Word of God, is our Instructor.... He is God and Creator.
Clement Of AlexandriaRead
But those who are ready to toil in the most excellent pursuits, will not desist from the search after truth, till they get the demonstration from the Scriptures themselves.
Clement Of AlexandriaRead
The Word of God became man, that thou mayest learn from man how man may become God.
Clement Of AlexandriaRead
We are not to throw away those things which can benefit our neighbor. Goods are called good because they can be used for good: they are instruments for good, in the hands of those who use them properly.
Clement Of AlexandriaRead
Similar quotes
On this ancient and miraculous world, where such beautiful natural and living things have evolved, something has gone wrong when life itself is used as a manufacturing process.
Roger EbertRead
My dog does not care where heat comes from, but he cares that it comes, and soon. Indeed he considers my ability to make it come as something magical, for when I rise in the coal black pre-dawn and kneel by the hearth to make a fire, he pushes himself blandly between me and the kindling splits I have laid in the ashes, and I must touch a match to them by poking it between his legs. Such faith , I suppose, is the kind that moves mountains.
Aldo LeopoldRead
Mystical references to society and its programs to help may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more power in the hands of bureaucrats.
Thomas SowellRead
A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.
T. S. EliotRead
Do not act following customary beliefs.
Miyamoto MusashiRead
Cease being intimidated by the argument that a right action is impossible because it does not yield maximum profits, or that a wrong action is to be condoned because it pays.
Aldo LeopoldRead