Perfection of Man and Woman

Ταύτης τοι τῆς τελειότητος ἔξεστιν ἐπίσης μὲν ἀνδρὶ, ἐπίσης δὲ καὶ γυναικὶ μεταλαβεῖν. Αὐτίκα οὐχ ὁ Μωϋσῆς μόνος ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· 'Λελάληκα πρὸς σὲ ἄπαξ καὶ δὶς, λέγων· Εὠρακα τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον, καὶ ἰδού ἐστι σκληροτραχελος· ἔασόν με ἐξολοθρεῦσαι αὐτοῦς, καὶ ἐξαλείψω τὸ ὄνομα αὐτῶν ὑποκάτωθεν τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ποιήσω σε εἰς ἔθνος μέγα καὶ θαυμαστιον, καὶ πολὺ μαλλον ἤ τοῦτο·' ἀποκρίνεται δεόμενος, μὴ τὸ ἑαυτοῦ σκοπῶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν κοινὴν σωτηρίαν· 'Μηδαμῶς, Κυριε· ἀφες τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τῷ λαῷ τουτῳ, ἢ κάμὲ ἐξάλειψον ἐκ βίβλου ζώτων,' Ὅση τελειότης τοῦ συναποθανεῖν ἐθελήσαντος τῷ λαῷ, ἢ σώζεσθαι μόνος; Ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἰουδὶθ, ἡ ἐν γυναιξὶ τελειωθεῖσα, ἐν συγκλεισμῷ τῆς πόλεως γενομένης, δεηθεῖσα τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, εἰς μὲν τὴν παρεμβολὴν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων ἐξέρχεται, τοῦ παντὸς καταφρονήσασα κινδύνου ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος ἑαυτὴν ἐπιδοῦσα τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐν πίστει Θεοῦ· λαμβάνει δ' εὐθὺς τὰπίχειρα τῆς πίστεως, ἀριστεύσασα γυνὴ κατὰ τοῦ πολεμίου τῆς πίστεως, κυρία τῆς Ὀλοφέρνου γενομένη κεφαλῆς. Πάλιν τε αὖ ἡ τελεία κατὰ πίστιν Ἐσθὴρ, ῥυομένη τὸν Ἰσραὴλ τυραννικῆς ἐξουσίας καὶ τῆς τοῦ σατράπου ὠμότητος, μόνη γυνὴ νηστείαις τεθλιμμέναις πρὸς μυρίας ὁπλισαμένας ἀντετάξατο δεξιὰς, τυραννικὸν διὰ πίστεως ἀναλύουσα δόγμα· καὶ δὴ τὸν μὲν ἐτιθάσσευσεν, ἀνέστειλε δὲ τὸν Ἀμὰν, καὶ τὸν Ἰσραὴλ τῇ τελείᾳ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν δεήσει ἀπαθῆ διεφύλαξεν. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λόγος Τέταρτος, Κεφ ΙΘ'

In this perfection man and woman may equally share. It is not only Moses who heard from God, 'I have spoken to you once and twice, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is stiff-necked. Allow me to exterminate them and blot out their name from under heaven, and I will make you into a great and wonderful nation, one much greater than this one,' 1 who not regarding himself, but concerned for the common salvation, answers beseechingly: 'By no means, O Lord! Forgive this people their sin or blot me out of the book of the living.'2 Such perfection in wishing to suffer together with the people, rather than to be saved alone. But Judith too, she who became perfect among women, during the siege of the city, at the entreaty of the elders, went out into the camp of foreign peoples, despising all danger for the sake of her country, giving herself to the enemy with faith in God, and immediately she obtained the reward for faithfulness: a woman prevailing over the enemy of the faithful, mistress of the head of Holofernes. And again Esther, perfect in faith, rescued Israel from the power of the king and a satrap's cruelty, a woman alone, suffering through fasting, set herself against ten thousand armed hands,  and by faithfulness cancelled a tyrannical decree. She tamed him, she restrained Haman, and Israel, by perfect prayer to God, she preserved unharmed. Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book 4, Ch 19.  1 Ex 32. 9-10  2 Ex 32. 31-32