The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

Clemens Romanus (Clement of Rome)

Clement of Rome. The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 1. Lake, Kirsopp, editor. London: William Heinemann Ltd.; New York: The Macmillan Company, 1912.

Oh, foolish men, compare yourself to a tree: take a vine, first it sheds its leaves, then there comes a bud, then a leaf, then a flower, and after this the unripe grape, then the full bunch.[*](This quotation which is also found in II. Clem. 11, 2, cannot be identified. Some think it is from the lost apocalypse of Eldad and Modad. Cf. Hermas, Vis. 2, 3.) See how in a little time the fruit of the tree comes to ripeness.

Truly his will shall be quickly and suddenly accomplished, as the Scripture also bears witness that he shall come quickly and shall not tarry; and the Lord shall suddenly come to his temple, and the Holy One for whom ye look.

Let us consider, beloved, how the Master continually[*](The resurrection foreshadowed in Nature) proves to us that there will be a future resurrection, of which he has made the first-fruits, by raising the Lord Jesus Christ from the dead.