I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him, who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.
Clement of Alexandria
By "fathers" John means those perfect people who understood everything from the very beginning and readily perceived that the Son had always existed.
He styles "fathers" the perfect, "who have known what was from the beginning," and received with understanding - the Son, that is, of whom he said above, "that which was from the beginning."
"I write," says he, "to you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one." Young man strong in despising pleasures. "The wicked one" points out the eminence of the devil. "The children," moreover, know the Father; having fled from idols and gathered together to the one God.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.