yields the hem. Yes, for he is a physician who touches all our ailments, so that he might benefit all, the evil and the good alike, the ungrateful and the grateful. Wherefore, even now, having been invited by the Pharisee, he enters a house for the time being full of evil things. For where there is a Pharisee, there is a base of wickedness, a lodging-place of sin, a receptacle of arrogance. But even with the house being in such a state, the Lord does not disdain to be present. Rightly so; for just as the sun is not harmed by casting its own rays upon the mire, but on the contrary, it even wipes away the foulness within it, being in no way defiled itself, so also Christ, as the sun of righteousness, occupies every unclean and profane place and consumes foul-smelling sin with the rays of his goodness, suffering no defilement, no diminution, no pollution, according to the principle of his divinity. Therefore he readily consented to the Pharisee who invited him, remaining calm, silent, leaving his life unexamined. First, so that he might sanctify those who were invited, the one who invited, the household, the luxurious foods; then, showing that the incarnation was not a phantom, from his reclining, his eating, his drinking, his consumption of food. And another reason, since the prostitute was about to approach and show that fervent and fiery manner of repentance, for this reason he quickly consents to the Pharisee who invites him, so that by lamenting her own evils in the sight of the scribes and Pharisees, she might teach them how sinners, being sorrowful for their sins, ought to propitiate God. For behold, it says, a woman in the city, who was a sinner. Woman, the easily slipping nature, the first net of the devil, the introduction of error, the teacher of transgression, she who became a helper, but was revealed as an enemy, she who was created good by nature, but was proved evil by choice, the bringer of death, she who showed the beauty of the tree and lost all of paradise. And behold a woman, it says, in the city, who was a sinner, bearing the burdens of Eve, weighed down with many evils. And I will speak of the abundance of her former evils, so that you may know the richness of her repentance. God took a bone from Adam's side and, having fleshed it out, fashioned Eve, whom he called woman and gave as a helper to Adam. But after sinning and transgressing the law and being cast out of paradise and receiving death as the penalty, so that the race, being consumed by death, would not be utterly destroyed, he arrays marriage against death, so that one might sow, and the other reap; one might cut down, and the other sprout forth. And that the grace of marriage was given after being subjected to death is clear from Adam having been joined to Eve after the departure from paradise. For it is written that after he went out from paradise, then Adam knew his wife. Before sin, therefore, there was virginity, preserving the tunic of nature undefiled, but after the transgression, after the sentence of death, marriage was introduced instead, so that by gushing forth it might conquer death which drains, and by growing it might defeat death which harvests. Since, therefore, the law of marriage was given for the succession of the race and for the increase of nature, it sowed pleasure in man, and made the female alluring; not so that they might be provoked to intercourse like harlots, but so that they might be joined together in lawful marriage. Therefore, the lawful union of marriage is honorable before God, but that which is performed for the sake of pleasure is subject to death. For marriage is honorable and the marriage bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Those women, therefore, who unite lawfully with their husbands for the sake of procreation are blameless, just like Sarah and Rebecca and Rachel, and any other such as her; but those who, on the pretext of sensuality, stir up the young to licentiousness, as those who corrupt the temple of God, are delivered to corruption. For if anyone, it says, corrupts the temple of God, God will corrupt him. Of whom this woman was also one, the sinner at hand. For prostituting her nature and with external

2

κράσπεδον παραχωρεῖ. Ναί, ἰατρὸς γάρ ἐστι πάντων ἐφαπτόμενος τῶν παθῶν, ἵνα πάν τας ὠφελήσῃ, πονηροὺς ἅμα καὶ ἀγαθούς, ἀχαρίστους καὶ εὐγνώ μονας. Ὅθεν καὶ νῦν ὑπὸ τοῦ φαρισαίου κληθεὶς εἰσέρχεται εἰς οἰκίαν τέως μεστὴν κακῶν. Ὅπου γὰρ φαρισαῖος, ἐκεῖ πονηρίας ὁρμητήριον, ἁμαρτίας καταγώγιον, ὑπεροψίας ὑποδοχή. Ἀλλὰ καὶ οὕτως αὐτοῦ διακειμένης τῆς οἰκίας οὐκ ἀπαξιοῖ παραγε νέσθαι ὁ κύριος. Εἰκότως· ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ ἥλιος οὐ καταβλάπτεται βορβόρῳ τὰς οἰκείας ἀκτῖνας ἐπιβάλλων, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον καὶ τὴν ἐνοῦσαν ἀηδίαν περιμάσσεται μηδὲν αὐτὸς ὑβριζόμενος, οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ὡς ἥλιος δικαιοσύνης πάντα ἐναγῆ καὶ βέβη λον τόπον καταλαμβάνει καὶ τὴν δυσώδη ἁμαρτίαν ταῖς ἀκτῖσιν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀγαθότητος ἀναλίσκει, οὐχ ὕβριν, οὐ μείωσιν, οὐ μο λυσμὸν ὑπομένων κατὰ τὸν τῆς θεότητος λόγον. Ὅθεν ἐπένευσεν εὐκόλως τῷ φαρισαίῳ καλοῦντι, ἠρεμῶν, σιωπῶν, ἀνεξέλεγκτον αὐτοῦ τὸν βίον ἀφείς. Πρῶτον μέν, ἵνα ἁγιάσῃ τοὺς κληθέντας, τὸν καλέσαντα, τῆς οἰκίας τὸ σύστημα, τῆς πολυτελείας τὰ βρώματα· ἔπειτα δεικνὺς ὡς οὐ φάσμα ἦν ἡ ἐνανθρώπησις, ἐκ τῆς ἀνακλίσεως, τῆς βρώσεως, τῆς πόσεως, τῆς τῶν σιτίων δαπάνης. Ἄλλως δέ, ἐπειδὴ ἤμελλεν ἡ πόρνη προσιέναι καὶ τὸν θερμὸν ἐκεῖνον καὶ διάπυρον τῆς μετανοίας δεικνύναι τρόπον, διὰ τοῦτο καλοῦντι τῷ φαρισαίῳ ἐπινεύει ταχέως, ἵνα ἐπ' ὄψεσι γραμματέων καὶ φαρισαίων τὰ οἰκεῖα ἐκτραγῳδήσασα κακὰ διδάξῃ αὐτοὺς πῶς δεῖ τοὺς ἁμαρτωλοὺς ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις στυγνάζοντας ἐξευμενίζεσθαι θεόν. Ἰδοὺ γάρ, φησί, γυνὴ ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἥτις ἦν ἁμαρτωλός. Γυνή, ἡ εὐόλισθος φύσις, τὸ πρῶτον δίκτυον τοῦ διαβόλου, ἡ τῆς πλάνης εἰσαγωγή, ἡ τῆς παραβάσεως διδάσκαλος, ἡ βοηθὸς μὲν γεναμένη, πολεμία δὲ ἀναδειχθεῖσα, ἡ γεναμένη κατὰ φύσιν καλή, ἐκ προαιρέσεως δὲ ἀποδειχθεῖσα κακή, ἡ θανάτου πρόξενος, ἡ τὸ κάλλος τοῦ ξύλου δείξασα καὶ ὅλον τὸν παράδεισον ἀπολέσασα. Καὶ ἰδοὺ γυνή, φησίν, ἐν τῇ πόλει, ἥτις ἦν ἁμαρτωλός, τὰ τῆς Εὔας φέρουσα βάρη, πολλοῖς κακοῖς βριθομένη. Ἐρῶ δὲ αὐτῆς τῶν προτέρων κακῶν τὴν δαψίλειαν, ἵνα γνῶτε αὐτῆς τῆς μετανοίας τὴν πολυτέλειαν. Ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῆς πλευρᾶς τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ὀστέον λαβὼν καὶ τοῦτο σαρκώσας τὴν Εὔαν εἰργάσατο, ἣν δὲ γυναῖκα καλέσας ἔδωκε βοηθὸν τῷ Ἀδάμ. Ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὸ ἁμαρτεῖν καὶ παραβῆναι τὸν νόμον καὶ ἐκβληθῆναι τοῦ παραδείσου καὶ θάνατον τὸ ἐπιτίμιον λαβεῖν, ἵνα μὴ τῷ θανάτῳ δαπανώμενον ἄρδην τὸ γένος ἀπώλη ται, γάμον ἐπιστρατεύει τῷ θανάτῳ, ἵν' ὁ μὲν σπείρῃ, ὁ δὲ θερίζῃ, ὁ μὲν τέμνῃ, ὁ δὲ βλαστάνῃ. Καὶ ὅτι μετὰ τὸ θανάτῳ ὑποβληθῆναι ἡ τοῦ γάμου ἐδόθη χάρις, δῆλον ἐκ τοῦ τὸν Ἀδὰμ μετὰ τὴν ἔξοδον τοῦ παραδείσου συναφθῆναι τῇ Εὔᾳ. Γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι μετὰ τὸ ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ τοῦ παραδείσου, τότε ἔγνω Ἀδὰμ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ. Πρὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας οὖν παρθενία ἦν ἀμόλυντον τηροῦσα τὸν χιτῶνα τῆς φύσεως, μετὰ δὲ τὴν παράβασιν, μετὰ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου ἀπόφασιν ὁ γάμος ἀντεισήχθη, ἵνα ἀντλοῦντα τὸν θάνατον νικήσῃ βρύων καὶ τρυγῶντα ἡττήσῃ φύων. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπὶ διαδοχῇ τοῦ γένους καὶ ἐπὶ αὐξήσει τῆς φύσεως ὁ τοῦ γάμου ἐδόθη νόμος, τῷ μὲν ἀνθρώπῳ ἡδόνην ἐνέσπειρε, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ θωπευτικὸν ἐποίησεν· οὐχ ἵνα ἑταιρικῶς πρὸς μίξεις ἐρεθίζων ται, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἐννόμως πρὸς γάμον συνάπτωνται. Ὅθεν ἡ μὲν ἔνθεσμος τοῦ γάμου μῖξις τιμία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, ἡ δὲ πρὸς χάριν τῶν ἡδονῶν ἐκτελουμένη θανάτῳ ὑποβέβληται. Τίμιος γὰρ ὁ γάμος καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος· πόρνους δὲ καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ θεός. Αἱ οὖν χάριν παιδογονίας ἐννόμως τοῖς ἀνδράσι μιγνύμεναι ἀνέγκλητοί εἰσιν, ὥσπερ ἡ Σάρρα καὶ ἡ Ῥεβέκκα καὶ ἡ Ῥαχήλ, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλη ἀπ' αὐτῆς· αἱ δὲ λόγῳ ἡδυπαθείας τοὺς νέους πρὸς ἀκολασίαν διεγείρουσαι, ὡς φθείρουσαι τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, παραδίδονται φθορᾷ. Εἴ τις γάρ, φησί, φθείρει τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ θεός. Ὧν καὶ αὕτη μία ἦν, ἡ μετὰ χεῖρας ἁμαρτωλός. Τὴν γὰρ φύσιν καπηλεύουσα καὶ ταῖς ἔξωθεν

2