So that, on the
one hand, then, there are the Mysteries which were hid till the time of
the Apostles, and were delivered by them as they received from the Lord,
and, concealed in the Old Testament, were manifested to the saints. And,
on the other hand, there is 'the riches of the glory of the mystery in
the Gentiles,' which is faith and hope in Christ; which in another place
he has called the 'foundation.'" He quotes S. Paul to show that this
"knowledge belongs not to all," and says, referring to Heb. v. and vi.,
that "there were certainly among the Hebrews, some things delivered
unwritten;" and then refers to S. Barnabas, who speaks of God, "who has
put into our hearts wisdom and the understanding of His secrets," and
says that "it is but for few to comprehend these things," as showing a
"trace of Gnostic tradition." "Wherefore instruction, which reveals
hidden things, is called illumination, as it is the teacher only who
uncovers the lid of the ark."[109] Further referring to S. Paul, he
comments on his remark to the Romans that he will "come in the fulness
of the blessing of Christ,"[110] and says that he thus designates "the
spiritual gift and the Gnostic interpretation, while being present he
desires to impart to them present as 'the fulness of Christ, according
to the revelation of the Mystery sealed in the ages of eternity, but now
manifested by the prophetic Scriptures'[111].... But only to a few of
them is shown what those things are which are contained in the Mystery.
Rightly, then, Plato, in the epistles, treating of God, says: 'We must
speak in enigmas; that should the tablet come by any mischance on its
leaves either by sea or land, he who reads may remain ignorant.'"[112]

After much examination of Greek writers, and an investigation into
philosophy, S. Clement declares that the Gnosis "imparted and revealed
by the Son of God, is wisdom.... And the Gnosis itself is that which has
descended by transmission to a few, having been imparted unwritten by
the Apostles."[113] A very long exposition of the life of the Gnostic,
the Initiate, is given, and S. Clement concludes it by saying: "Let the
specimen suffice to those who have ears. For it is not required to
unfold the mystery, but only to indicate what is sufficient for those
who are partakers in knowledge to bring it to mind."[114]

Regarding Scripture as consisting of allegories and symbols, and as
hiding the sense in order to stimulate enquiry and to prese