Clement [of Alexandria] is unique and there is no substitute for his combination of innocence, erudition, faith, and joyous understanding of the great mystery of Christ. His is a wisdom that has no equal because he is the first if his kind: the first to embrace with his whole heart the new and dangerous vocation of teaching Christianity to the intellectuals and society people of a great cosmopolitan city.
— Thomas Merton, The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia by William H. Shannon, editor, Christine M. Bochen, editor, Patrick F. O'Connell, editor