ecclesia quidem delicta donabit, sed ecclesia spiritus per spiritalem hominem, non ecclesia numerus episcoporum;" de anima 11, 21. Contradictions in detail need not surprise us in Tertullian, since his whole position as a Catholic and as a Montanist is contradictory.] [Footnote 155: The notion that the true Gnostic can attain the same position as the Apostles also preserved Clement from thrusting the ideal conception of the Church into the background.] [Footnote 156: Some very significant remarks are found in Clement about the Church which is the object of faith. See Paed. I. 5. 18, 21; 6. 27: [Greek: hos gar thelema tou Theou ergon esti kai touto kosmos onomazetai, houto kai to boulema autou anthropon esti soteria, kai touto ekklesia kekletai]--here an idea which Hermas had in his mind (see Vol. I., p. 180. note 4) is pregnantly and excellently expressed. Strom. II. 12. 55; IV. 8. 66: [Greek: eikon tes ouraniou ekklesias he epigeios, dioper euchometha kai epi ges genesthai to thelema tou Theou hos en ourano]; IV. 26. 172: [Greek: he ekklesia hupo logou apoliorketos aturannetos polis epi ges, thelema theion epi ges, hos en ourano]; VI. 13. 106, 107; VI. 14. 108: [Greek: he anotato ekklesia, kath' hen hoi philosophoi sunagontai tou Theou]; VII. 5. 29: [Greek: pos ou kurios ten eis timen tou Theou kat' epignosin hagian genomenen ekklesian hieron an eipoimen Theou to pollou axion ... ou gar nun ton topon, alla to athroisma ton eklekton ekklesian kalo]; VII. 6. 32; VII. 11. 68: [Greek: he pneumatike ekklesia]. The empirical conception of the Church is most clearly formulated in VII. 17. 107; we may draw special attention to the following sentences: [Greek: phaneron oimai gegenesthai mian einai ten alethe ekklesian ten toi onti archaian, eis hen hoi kata prothesin dikaioi egkatalegontai, henos gar ontos tou Theou kai henos tou kuriou ... te goun tou henos phusei sunklerountai ekklesia he mia, hen eis pollas katatemnein biazontai haireseis].] [Footnote 157: It may, however, be noted that the old eschatological aim has fallen into the background in Clement's conception of the Church.] [Footnote 158: A significance of this kind is suggested by the notion that the orders in the earthly Church correspond to those in the heavenly one; but this idea, which afterwards became so important in the East, was turned to no further account by Clement. In his view the "Gnostics" are the highest stage in the Church. See Bigg, l.c., p. 100.]