Clement of Alexandria, Miscellanies 7

We are commanded to reverence and honor the Word, for we have been persuaded that he is both Savior and Leader, and through him the Father as well; we must do this not only on special days, as some people do, but continuously throughout our entire life and in every possible way. For the chosen race is justified in saying, 'I have praised you seven times a day' (Psalm 119:164), doing so in accordance with the commandment. Therefore the knowledgeable person needs neither a designated place, nor a special temple, nor appointed festivals and days; rather, he honors God in every place and at all times, whether he happens to be alone or among others who believe likewise, which is to say he gives thanks for the knowledge and the way of life he has received. If the presence of a good man always molds the one who meets him toward what is better through shame and respect, how much more will the one who is continually present with God through knowledge, life, and unceasing gratitude become better in every respect — in deeds, words, and disposition? Such a person is convinced that God is present everywhere; he does not suppose that God is confined to specific places, lest he ever imagine himself to be without God and behave recklessly by day and by night. Consequently we conduct our whole life as a festival, persuaded that God is present everywhere; we farm while praising, we sail while singing hymns. We conduct ourselves skillfully according to the rest of our civic duty. The knowledgeable person draws especially near to God, being at once dignified and cheerful in all things: dignified because of his turning toward the divine, and cheerful because of his reckoning of the human goods that God has given us. The prophet displays the excellence of knowledge in these words: 'Teach me goodness, discipline, and knowledge,' increasing the ruling part of perfection. This one, then, is truly the royal man; this one is the holy priest of God — a priestly race still preserved even now among the most reasonable of the barbarians, who bring the priesthood to the kingdom. Such a man does not surrender himself to the rule of the mob in the theaters; he does not so much as approach in a dream the things said, done, and seen for the sake of dissolute pleasure. He avoids those pleasures of spectacle, and he avoids the varied enjoyments through the other senses — such as the costly fragrance of incense that beguiles the sense of smell, or the elaborate preparations of foods and the diverse enjoyments of wines that entice the sense of taste, or the many-hued and sweet-scented weaves that soften the soul through sensation. Instead, he always directs the dignified enjoyment of all things toward God, and for food and drink and anointing he offers first-fruits of thanksgiving to the Giver of all, acknowledging both the gift and the use of what was given to him through the Word.