Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Two Epistles Concerning Virginity/First Pseudo-Clement/Chapter 13

Chapter XIII.&#8212;What Priests Should Be and Should Not Be.

Beloved brethren! that a man should build up and establish the brethren on the faith in one God, this also is manifest and well-known.&#160; This too, again, is comely, that a man should not be envious of his neighbour.&#160; And moreover, again, it is suitable and comely that all those who work the works of the Lord should work the works of the Lord in the fear of God.&#160; Thus is it required of them to conduct themselves.&#160; That &#8220;the harvest is great, but the workmen are few,&#8221; this also is well-known and manifest.&#160; Let us, therefore, &#8220;ask of the Lord of the harvest&#8221; that He would send forth workmen into the harvest; such workmen as &#8220;shall skilfully dispense the word of truth;&#8221; workmen &#8220;who shall not be ashamed;&#8221; faithful workmen; workmen who shall be &#8220;the light of the world;&#8221; workmen who &#8220;work not for the food that perisheth, but for that food which abideth unto life eternal;&#8221; workmen who shall be such as the apostles; workmen who imitate the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; who are concerned for the salvation of men; not &#8220;hireling&#8221; workmen; not workmen to whom the fear of God and righteousness appear to be gain; not workmen who &#8220;serve their belly;&#8221; not workmen who &#8220;with fair speeches and pleasant words mislead the hearts of the innocent;&#8221; not workmen who imitate the children of light, while they are not light but darkness&#8212;&#8220;men whose end is destruction;&#8221; not workmen who practise iniquity and wickedness and fraud; not &#8220;crafty workmen;&#8221; not workmen &#8220;drunken&#8221; and &#8220;faithless;&#8221; nor workmen who traffic in Christ; not misleaders; not &#8220;lovers of money; not malevolent.&#8221;

Let us, therefore, contemplate and imitate the faithful who have conducted themselves well in the Lord, as is becoming and suitable to our calling and profession.&#160; Thus let us do service before God in justice and righteousness, and without blemish, &#8220;occupying ourselves with things good and comely before God and also before men.&#8221; &#160; For this is comely, that God be glorified in us in all things.

Here endeth the first Epistle of Clement.