A Resolution
Clement of Rome's sermon addresses the moral and spiritual implications of seeking knowledge about the soul through necromancy.
Clement of Rome contemplates seeking a magician to call up a soul through necromancy to inquire about the immortality of the soul. However, after seeking advice from a philosopher friend, he is warned against this plan due to the potential consequences of going against the laws and disturbing souls after their release from the body. Despite the warning, Clement is conflicted but hesitant to proceed with his original plan.
Text
What, then, am I to do, unless this? I shall go into Egypt, and I shall become friendly with the hierophants of the shrines, and with the prophets; and I shall seek and find a magician, and persuade him with large bribes to effect the calling up of a soul, which is called necromancy, as if I were going to inquire of it concerning some business. And the inquiry shall be for the purpose of learning whether the soul is immortal.
But the answer of the soul that it is immortal shall not give me the knowledge from its speaking or my hearing, but only from its being seen; so that, seeing it with my very eyes, I may have a self-sufficient and fit assurance, from the very fact of its appearing, that it exists; and never again shall the uncertain words of hearing be able to overturn the things which the eyes have made their own.
However, I submitted this very plan to a certain companion who was a philosopher; and he counselled me not to venture upon it, and that on many accounts. For if, said he, the soul shall not listen to the magician, you will live with an evil conscience, as having acted against the laws which forbid the doing of these things.
But if it shall listen to him, then, besides your living with an evil conscience, I think that matters of piety will not be promoted to you on account of your making this attempt. For they say that the Deity is angry with those who disturb souls after their release from the body. And I, when I heard this, became indeed more backward to undertake such a thing, but I did not abandon my original plan; but I was distressed, as being hindered in the execution of it.
Sermon Outline
- I points: - Introduction to the quest for knowledge about the soul - The allure of necromancy and its implications - The philosophical perspective on seeking the soul
- II points: - The moral dilemma of consulting magicians - Consequences of disturbing the dead - The conflict between curiosity and piety
- III points: - The role of conscience in decision-making - The importance of heeding wise counsel - The ultimate quest for truth and understanding
Key Quotes
“I shall go into Egypt, and I shall become friendly with the hierophants of the shrines.” — Clement of Rome
“For they say that the Deity is angry with those who disturb souls after their release from the body.” — Clement of Rome
“I became indeed more backward to undertake such a thing, but I did not abandon my original plan.” — Clement of Rome
Application Points
- Consider the ethical implications of your quest for knowledge.
- Seek wise counsel when faced with moral dilemmas.
- Prioritize spiritual integrity over curiosity.