Food as Medicine of Body and Soul: Clement of Alexandria’s Dietary Prescriptions in the Paedagogus

For Clement of Alexandria, the goal of the Christian life is to advance in the comprehension of God and to be initiated into the divine mysteries. Clement devotes significant attention to diet in the Paedagogus because he believes that the body and soul coexist in a symbiotic relationship. Clement posits that wisdom and virtue can be achieved by cultivating a soul that is transparent, dry, and luminous, a state that is fostered by careful attention to dietary regimens.

Much twentieth century scholarship on Clement has focused narrowly on the relationship between Clement’s thought and Greco-Roman philosophy. For this reason, patristic scholars have concentrated primarily on Clement’s more philosophical treatises; the Paedagogus, by comparison, has been largely ignored—its focus on everyday ascetic discipline deemed trivial compared to Clement’s philosophical commitments. Clement’s belief in the interdependence of body and soul demonstrates that the Paedagogus, in its attention to bodily behaviors, is no less grounded in philosophical commitments than Clement’s more obviously philosophical treatises. Clement’s attention to diet is neither petty nor arbitrary; rather, his prescribed dietary regimen is designed to assist the Christian in cultivating the ideal state of the soul.

Galen explains the connection between body and soul by portraying the soul in almost corporeal terms, postulating a link between the soul and humoural mixtures within the body. Given the influence of food on bodily mixtures, Galen concludes that diet plays a central role in cultivating a dry and luminous soul. These theories undergird Clement’s advice regarding diet in the Paedagogus. Because moisture accumulates in the body primarily from excessive nutritional intake, Clement advocates that the Christian consume only enough nutriment to maintain bodily health. Clement specifically warns against meat and wine, which moisten, darken, and weigh down the soul, and advocates the use of foods that are low in nutritional value and facilitate bodily health. The link between soul and body lies at the core of Clement’s attention to diet and demonstrates how medical theory is crucial for understanding his dietary prescriptions.