SOURCE: “Techniques of Quotation in Clement of Alexandria: A View of Ancient Literary Working Methods,” in Vigiliae Christianae, Vol. 50, No. 3, 1996, pp. 223-43.

In the following excerpt, van den Hoek examines Clement's use of borrowed and quoted passages, including his accuracy, his method of giving credit, and his characteristic way of incorporating the material.

Introduction

Borrowed material embedded in the flow of a writer's text is a common phenomenon in Antiquity. Since Clement's writings have so many borrowings, his case is of almost emblematic significance for this aspect of ancient literary technique. The problem has many facets. The way he accumulated his borrowed material deserves attention, and there the testimony of other ancient writers can be of great value. The sources that Clement quotes should be investigated, as well as how accurately he uses them, and how often and in what way he credits them. Turning the issue of...