Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Pseudo-Clementine Literature/The Clementine Homilies/Homily XII/Chapter 7

by Anonymous

Chapter VII.—“Not to Be Ministered Unto, But to Minister.”

But I, when I heard this, fell a-trembling and weeping, that such a word should be spoken by a man to whom all the men of this generation are inferior in point of knowledge and piety.  But he, seeing me weeping, asked the cause of my tears.  Then I said, “In what have I sinned so that you have spoken to me such a word?”  Then Peter answered, “If it were wrong of me to speak of being your servant, you were first in fault in asking to be mine.”  Then I said, “The cases are not parallel; for to do this indeed becomes me well; but it is terrible for you, the herald of God, and who savest our souls, to do this to me.”  Then Peter answered, “I should agree with you, but that^[1] our Lord, who came for the salvation of all the world, being alone noble above all, submitted to the condition of a servant, that He might persuade us not to be ashamed to perform the ministrations of servants to our brethren, however well-born we may be.”  Then I said, “If I think to overcome you in argument, I am foolish.  However, I thank the providence of God, that I have been thought worthy to have you instead of parents.”

Footnotes

1. A negative particle seems to be dropped from the text.