Chapters 12-23 start with a discussion of humility citing Christ, the prophets, and David as examples. They segue into a plea for peace, citing the order and harmony of the universe.

We discussed the power relationship between the churches of Rome and Corinth, coming down between the view of the primacy of Rome and total independence, thinking more in terms of the older, more experienced church giving advice. Clement appears to have considerable resources at his disposal, as evinced by his fluent use of the Old Testament and quotations from Jesus, not quite in their canonical form. We posited the existence of a large "library" of texts at Rome.