[That We Ought Not to Return Injuries, Nor Revenge Ourselves on Him that Does Us Wrong.]

II. But if any one curse thee, do thou bless him. For it is written in the book of Numbers: “He that blesseth thee is blessed, and he that curseth thee is cursed.”  12  Num. xxiv. 9. In the same manner it is written in the Gospel: “Bless them that curse you.”  13  Luke vi. 28. Being injured, do not avenge yourselves, but bear it with patience; for the Scripture speaks thus: “Say not thou, I will avenge myself on my enemy for what injuries he has offered me; but acquiesce under them, that the Lord may right thee, and bring vengeance upon him who injures thee.”  14  Prov. xx. 22. For so says He again in the Gospel: “Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; and ye shall be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to shine on the evil and on the good, and raineth on the just and unjust.”  15  Matt. v. 44, 45. Let us therefore, beloved, attend to these commandments, that we may be found to be the children of light by doing them. Bear, therefore, with one another, ye servants and sons of God.

[Sec. II.—Commandments to Men. ]

[Concerning the Adornment of Ourselves, and the Sin Which Arises from Thence.]

Let the husband not be insolent nor arrogant towards his wife; but compassionate, bountiful, willing to please his own wife  alone,   16  Omitted in V. mss. Omitted in V. mss. and treat her honourably and obligingly, endeavouring to be agreeable to her; (III.) not adorning thyself in such a manner as may entice another woman to thee. For if thou art overcome by her, and sinnest with her, eternal death will overtake thee from God; and thou wilt be punished with sensible and bitter torments. Or if thou dost not perpetrate such a wicked act, but shakest her off, and refusest her, in this case thou art not wholly innocent, even though thou art not guilty of the crime itself, but only in so far as through thy adorning thou didst entice the woman to desire thee. For thou art the cause that the woman was so affected, and by her lusting after thee was guilty of adultery with thee: yet art thou not so guilty, because thou didst not send to her, who was ensnared by thee; nor didst thou desire her. Since, therefore, thou didst not deliver up thyself to her, thou shalt find mercy with the Lord thy God, who hath said, “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and, “Thou shalt not covet.”  17  Ex. xx. 14, 17. Ex. xx. 14, 17. For if such a woman, upon sight of thee, or unseasonable meeting with thee, was smitten in her mind, and sent to thee, but thou as a religious person didst refuse her,  18  The V. mss. add: “didst abstain from her, and didst not sin against her.” The V. mss. add: “didst abstain from her, and didst not sin against her.” if she was wounded in her heart by thy beauty, and youth, and adorning, and fell in love with thee, thou wilt be found guilty of her transgressions, as having been the occasion of scandal to her,  19  Matt. xviii. 7. Matt. xviii. 7.  and shalt inherit a woe.   20  Not in V. mss. Not in V. mss. Wherefore pray thou to the Lord God that no mischief may befall thee upon this account: for thou art not to please men, so as to commit sin; but God, so as to attain holiness of life, and be partaker of everlasting rest. That beauty which God and nature has bestowed on thee, do not further beautify; but modestly diminish it before men. Thus, do not thou permit the hair of thy head to grow too long, but rather cut it short; lest by a nice combing thy hair, and wearing it long, and anointing thyself, thou draw upon thyself such ensnared or ensnaring women. Neither do thou wear over-fine garments to seduce any; neither do thou, with an evil subtilty, affect over-fine stockings or shoes for thy feet, but only such as suit the measures of decency and usefulness. Neither do thou put a gold ring upon thy fingers; for all these ornaments are the signs of lasciviousness, which if thou be solicitous about in an indecent manner, thou wilt not act as becomes a good man: for it is not lawful for thee, a believer and a man of God, to permit the hair of thy head to grow long, and to brush it up together, nor to suffer it to spread abroad, nor to puff it up, nor by nice combing and platting to make it curl and shine; since that is contrary to the law, which says thus, in its additional precepts: “You shall not make to yourselves curls and round rasures.”  21  Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 5 Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 5 Nor may men destroy the hair of their beards, and unnaturally change the form of a man. For the law says: “Ye shall not mar your beards.”  22  Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 5 Lev. xix. 27, xxi. 5 For God the Creator has made this decent for women, but has determined that it is unsuitable for men. But if thou do these things to please men, in contradiction to the law, thou wilt be abominable with God, who created thee after His own image. If, therefore, thou wilt be acceptable to God, abstain from all those things which He hates, and do none of those things that are unpleasing to Him.

[3] Βαστάξετε οὖν, οἱ δοῦλοι καὶ υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλήλους. Ὁ μὲν ἀνὴρ τὴν γυναῖκα, μὴ ὑπερήφανος μηδὲ ἀλαζών, ἀλλ' εὔσπλαγχνος, εὐμετάδοτος, τῇ ἰδίᾳ γυναικὶ μόνον βουλόμενος ἀρέσκειν καὶ ταύτην κολακεύειν ἐντίμως, σπουδάζων καταθύμιος εἶναι αὐτῇ, μὴ καλλωπιζόμενος εἰς τὸ ἀγρευθῆναί τινα ἑτέραν ἐπὶ σοί. Εἴτε γὰρ ἀναγκασθεὶς ὑπ' αὐτῆς ἁμαρτήσεις εἰς αὐτήν, θάνατος παρὰ Θεοῦ ἐπελεύσεταί σοι αἰώνιος ἐν αἰσθήσει πικρῶς κολαζομένῳ. Εἴτε μὴ ποιήσεις τὸ μύσος, ἀλλ' ἀποσεισάμενος αὐτὴν ἀρνήσῃ αὐτό, καὶ τοῦτο ἥμαρτες, εἰ καὶ μὴ ἐπ' ἴσης, μόνον δὲ τὸ διὰ τοῦ καλλωπισμοῦ σου παγιδεῦσαι γυναῖκα εἰς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαί σου: ἐποίησας γὰρ τὴν τοῦτο παθοῦσαν διὰ τῆς ὀρέξεως μοιχευθῆναι ἐπὶ σοί. Ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτως αἴτιος ὑπάρχεις διὰ τὸ μὴ προσαποστεῖλαί σε τῇ ἐπὶ σὲ πεπαγιδευμένῃ: οὐ γὰρ σὺ ἐπεθύμησας αὐτῆς: μὴ συνεπιδιδοὺς δὲ αὐτῇ ἑαυτὸν ἐλεηθήσῃ ὑπὸ Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ εἰπόντος: «Οὐ μοιχεύσεις», καὶ «Οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις». Εἰ γὰρ ἐκείνη θεασαμένη σε ἢ ἀκαίρως σοι συναντήσασα ἐπλήγη τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ προσέπεμψέν σοι, σὺ δὲ ὡς θεοσεβὴς ἠρνήσω αὐτὴν ἀπέσχου τε καὶ οὐχ ἥμαρτες εἰς αὐτήν, ἐκείνη μέντοι τὴν καρδίαν ἐτραυματίσθη, εὐμόρφου νεωτέρου ὑπάρχοντός σου καὶ κεκαλλωπισμένου, ὥστε ἐρασθῆναί σου, ἔνοχος εὑρίσκῃ σὺ τοῦ ἐκείνης παραπτώματος, ὡς αἴτιος αὐτῇ σκανδάλου γενόμενος καὶ τοῦ οὐαὶ κληρονόμος. Διὸ δεήθητι Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὅπως μηδέν σοι διὰ τούτου κακὸν στηριχθῇ. Οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώποις σε χρὴ ἀρέσκειν εἰς ἁμαρτίαν, ἀλλὰ Θεῷ εἰς ὁσιότητα, ζωῆς τε καὶ ἀναπαύσεως τῆς αἰωνίου ἀντέχεσθαι. Τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεώς σοι δεδομένον ἐκ Θεοῦ κάλλος μὴ προσεπικαλλώπιζε, ἀλλὰ ταπεινοφρόνως μετρίασον αὐτὸ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, οὕτως τὴν τρίχα σου τῆς κόμης μὴ παρατρέφων, μᾶλλον δὲ συγκόπτων καὶ καθαιρῶν αὐτήν, ἵνα μὴ κατακνιζομένου σου καὶ ἄσκυλτον τηροῦντος τὴν κεφαλὴν ἢ καταμεμυρισμένου σου ἐπαγάγῃς σεαυτῷ τὰς οὕτως ἀγρευομένας ἢ ἀγρευούσας γυναῖκας. Μηδὲ ἐπιτετηδευμένῃ σοὶ τῇ ἐσθῆτι χρήσῃ εἰς ἀπάτην, μηδὲ ἀναξυρίδας ἢ κρηπῖδάς σου τοῖς ποσὶ κακοτέχνως ὑπορράψῃς, ἀλλὰ τὸ τῆς σεμνότητος καὶ τῆς χρείας μόνον: μηδὲ χρυσήλατον σφενδόνην τοῖς δακτύλοις σου περιθῇς, ὅτι ταῦτα πάντα ἑταιρισμοῦ τεκμήρια ὑπάρχει, ἅπερ παρὰ τὸ προσῆκον ἐπιτηδεύων οὐ ποιήσεις δικαίως. Πιστῷ γάρ σοι ὄντι καὶ ἀνθρώπῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐκ ἔξεστίν σοι τρέφειν τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς καὶ ποιεῖν σισόην, ὅ ἐστιν σπατάλιον, ἢ ἀπόχυμα ἢ μεριστὴν τηρεῖν: οὐδὲ μὴν ὀγκοποιεῖν διαξαίνειν τε καὶ πλάσσοντα οὔλην διατιθεῖν ἢ ξανθοποιεῖν αὐτήν, ἐπείπερ καὶ ὁ νόμος ἀπαγορεύει φάσκων ἐν τῷ Δευτερονομίῳ: «Οὐ ποιήσετε ὑμῖν σισόην οὐδὲ ἀναξυρίδας.» Χρὴ δὲ οὐδὲ γενείου τρίχα διαφθείρειν καὶ τὴν μορφὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου παρὰ φύσιν ἐξαλλάσσειν: «Οὐκ ἀπομαδαρώσετε γάρ, φησὶν ὁ Νόμος, τοὺς πώγωνας ὑμῶν.» Τοῦτο γὰρ γυναιξὶν εὐπρεπὲς ὁ κτίσας ἐποίησεν Θεός, ἀνδράσι δὲ ἀνάρμοστον ἐδικαίωσεν: σὺ δὲ ταῦτα ποιῶν διὰ ἀρέσκειαν ἐναντεούμενος τῷ νόμῳ, βδελυκτὸς γενήσῃ παρὰ Θεῷ τῷ κτίσαντί σε κατ' εἰκόνα ἑαυτοῦ. Ἐὰν οὖν θέλῃς Θεῷ ἀρέσκειν, ἀπόσχου πάντων ὧν μισεῖ αὐτός, καὶ μηδὲν πρᾶσσε τῶν αὐτῷ ἀπαρεσκόντων.