Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume IX/The Epistles of Clement/The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians/Chapter 17

Chapter XVII.&#8212;The Saints as Examples of Humility.

Let us be imitators also of those who in goat-skins and sheep-skins went about proclaiming the coming of Christ; I mean Elijah, Elisha, and Ezekiel among the prophets, with those others to whom a like testimony is borne [in Scripture].&#160; Abraham was specially honoured, and was called the friend of God; yet he, earnestly regarding the glory of God, humbly declared, &#8220;I am but dust and ashes.&#8221; &#160; Moreover, it is thus written of Job, &#8220;Job was a righteous man, and blameless, truthful, God-fearing, and one that kept himself from all evil.&#8221; &#160; But bringing an accusation against himself, he said, &#8220;No man is free from defilement, even if his life be but of one day.&#8221; &#160; Moses was called faithful in all God&#8217;s house; and through his instrumentality, God punished Egypt with plagues and tortures.&#160; Yet he, though thus greatly honoured, did not adopt lofty language, but said, when the divine oracle came to him out of the bush, &#8220;Who am I, that Thou sendest me?&#160; I am a man of a feeble voice and a slow tongue.&#8221; &#160; And again he said, &#8220;I am but as the smoke of a pot.&#8221;