Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor 5
That the word "pedagogy" literally means the leading of children is clear from the name itself; next we must examine the children whom Scripture praises, and then set the Pedagogue before them. We are those children; yet Scripture celebrates us in many ways and allegorizes us through a variety of names, transmuting the simplicity of faith. In the Gospel the Lord stood on the shore and called to his disciples, who were fishing, "Children, do you have any fish?" (John 21:5), addressing men already in a state of knowledge as children. Again, people brought children to him for a blessing through the laying on of hands, but the disciples tried to stop them. Jesus said, "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" (Matthew 19:14). What this means the Lord himself explains: "Unless you turn and become like these children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:3). He is not allegorizing regeneration here, but holding up the simplicity found in children as a pattern for us to imitate. The prophetic Spirit also singles out children: "The children went out to meet the Lord with palm and olive branches, crying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’" (Matthew 21:9). That cry is light, glory, and praise mingled with supplication to the Lord; for "Hosanna," when rendered into Greek, means exactly that. It seems to me that Scripture, by allegorizing this prophecy, reproaches the faint-hearted in the words, "Have you never read, ‘From the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?" (Matthew 21:16; Psalm 8:2). In the Gospel the Lord likewise opens the disciples’ eyes, urging them to attend to him as one already hastening to the Father. He makes his hearers more eager, foretelling that he will soon be taken from them, and shows how diligently they must grasp the truth while the Word has not yet been taken up into heaven. Once more, therefore, he calls them children: "Children, I am with you only a little longer" (John 13:33). And again he likens the kingdom of heaven to children sitting in the marketplaces who call out, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn’ (Matthew 11:16–17), along with whatever else fits that picture. Not only does the Gospel think this way; prophecy agrees with it. David says, "Praise the Lord, you children; praise the name of the Lord" (Psalm 148:12–13). And Isaiah says, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given me" (Isaiah 8:18). Do you marvel, then, to hear that men among the nations are children to the Lord?
Greek
Ὅτι μὲν οὖν ἡ παιδαγωγία παίδων ἐστὶν ἀγωγή, σαφὲς ἐκ τοῦ ὀνόματος· λοιπὸν δέ ἐστι τοὺς παῖδας ἐπιθεωρῆσαι, οὓς αἰνίττεται ἡ γραφή, εἶτα τὸν παιδαγωγὸν αὐτοῖς ἐπιστῆσαι. οἱ παῖδες ἡμεῖς· πολλαχῶς δὲ ἡμᾶς ἐξυμνεῖ πολυτρόπως τε ἀλληγορεῖ ὀνόμασι ποικίλοις τὸ ἀφελὲς τῆς πίστεως ἐξαλλάττουσα ἡ γραφή. ἐν γοῦν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ· »σταθείς«, φησίν, »ὁ κύριος ἐπὶ τῷ αἰγιαλῷ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητάς (ἁλιεύοντες δὲ ἔτυχον) ἐνεφώνησέν [τε], παιδία, μή τι ὄψον ἔχετε;« τοὺς ἤδη ἐν ἕξει τῶν γνωρίμων παῖδας προσειπών. »προσήνεγκάν τε αὐτῷ«, φησί, »παιδία« εἰς χειροθεσίαν εὐλογίας, κωλυόντων δὲ τῶν γνωρίμων, εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς »ἄφετε τὰ παιδία καὶ μὴ κωλύετε αὐτὰ ἐλθεῖν πρός με· τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.« τί βούλεται τὸ λεχθέν, αὐτὸς διασαφήσει ὁ κύριος λέγων »ἐὰν μὴ στραφῆτε καὶ γένησθε ὡς τὰ παιδία ταῦτα, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν,« οὐ τὴν ἀναγέννησιν ἐνταῦθα ἀλληγορῶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐν παισὶν ἁπλότητα εἰς ἐξομοίωσιν παρακατατιθέμενος ἡμῖν. τοὺς παῖδας [ἡμᾶς] καὶ τὸ προφητικὸν ἐκλέγεται πνεῦμα· »δρεψάμενοι«, φησί, »κλάδους ἐλαίας ἢ φοινίκων οἱ παῖδες ἐξῆλθον εἰς ὑπάντησιν κυρίῳ καὶ ἐκέκραγον λέγοντες, ὡσαννὰ τῷ υἱῷ Δαβίδ, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου,« φῶς καὶ δόξα καὶ αἶνος μεθ᾿ ἱκετηρίας τῷ κυρίῳ· τουτὶ γὰρ ἐμφαίνει ἑρμηνευόμενον Ἑλλάδι φωνῇ τὸ ὡσαννά. καί μοι δοκεῖ ἡ γραφὴ ταύτην αἰνιττομένη τὴν προφητείαν τὴν προειρημένην ἐν ὀνείδους μέρει τοῖς ῥᾳθύμοις ἐγκαλεῖν· »οὐδέποτε ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ἐκ στόματος νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον;« τοῦτό τοι καὶ ὁ κύριος ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ μυωπίζει τοὺς γνωρίμους, προσέχειν αὐτῷ παρορμῶν ὡς ἤδη σπεύδων πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, ὀρεκτικωτέρους παρασκευάζων τοὺς ἀκροατὰς μετ᾿ ὀλίγον ἀπεῖναι προμηνύων, ὡς δέον αὐτοῖς ἀποκαρπίζεσθαι τῆς ἀληθείας ἀφειδέστερον δηλῶν ὅσον οὐδέπω ἀπαίροντος εἰς οὐρανὸν τοῦ λόγου. πάλιν οὖν αὐτοὺς παιδία καλεῖ· φησὶ γὰρ »παιδία, ἔτι μικρὸν μεθ᾿ ὑμῶν εἰμι.« αὖθίς τε παιδίοις ὁμοιοῖ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν »ἐν ἀγοραῖς καθημένοις καὶ λέγουσιν, ηὐλήσαμεν ὑμῖν καὶ οὐκ ὠρχήσασθε, ἐθρηνήσαμεν καὶ οὐκ ἐκόψασθε,« καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τούτοις οἰκείως ἐπήγαγεν. καὶ οὔτι γε μόνον τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ταύτῃ φρονεῖ, ὁμοδοξεῖ δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ προφητεία. λέγει γοῦν Δαβὶδ »αἰνεῖτε, παῖδες, κύριον, αἰνεῖτε τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου.« λέγει δὲ καὶ διὰ Ἡσαΐου »ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ καὶ τὰ παιδία, ἅ μοι ἔδωκεν ὁ θεός.« Θαυμάζεις ἀκούων τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς ἐν ἔθνεσι παῖδας παρὰ κυρίῳ;