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Clement of Alexandria repeats a saying that a great catch holds one beautiful fish, and that truth shines out only with time and toil. The Gospel of Thomas also has one large fish among the small, but its fisherman picks it without difficulty.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Gospel of Thomas 1:8
Nag Hammadi
7 Jesus said, “Blessed is the lion that the man will eat, so that the lion becomes a man. And cursed is the man whom a lion will eat, and the lion will become a man.” 8 And he said, “The human being is like a wise fisherman who cast his net into the sea and drew it up from the sea full of little fish. Among them the wise fisherman found a large, fine fish. He threw all the little fish back into the sea, and chose the large fish without difficulty. Whoever has ears to hear should hear.” 9 Jesus said, “Look, the sower went out, took a handful of seeds, and scattered them. Some fell on the road, and the birds came and gathered them. Others fell on rock and they did not take root in the soil and did not produce ears. Others fell among thorns, and they choked the seeds and worms ate them. And others fell on good soil, and it produced good fruit. It yielded sixty per measure and one hundred and twenty per measure.”
Clement of Alexandria, Stromata 1.1.111
Early Christian
Wherefore we must set forth the opinions and utterances which cried individually to them, by which those who hear shall more readily turn. And, in truth, to speak briefly: Among many small pearls there is the one; and in a great take of fish there is the beauty-fish; and by time and toil truth will gleam forth, if a good helper is at hand. For most benefits are supplied, from God, through men.
Date: 195-205 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... (i) In the case of Clement (Strom. 1.1.16.3; 6.11.95.3), there are numerous differences. Bauer, ‘Synoptic Tradition’, 315–316, nevertheless, considers that Strom. 1.1.16.3 is quoting a proverb also drawn upon by Thomas. [...] 8.3 Without being troubled. Here, the fisherman, without pain, without a pang of regret, threw all the small fry back into the sea and kept the one. The phrase therefore emphasises the indifference which the disciple has towards the allures of the world which compete with discipleship: true disciples will not feel pain turning their backs on what others cherish. [...] Another possibility is that the sense is ‘without toil’ (cf. Philo, Imm. 91–92), in which case the contrast is with those who think that the discovery of the truth only comes with great labour (see Clement, Strom. 1.1.16.3). This would not fit well with Thomas’s employment of labour elsewhere, however, except perhaps as a parallel to the ‘easy yoke’ in GTh 90. ...”
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