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most excellent, not moved by anger, but touching with fatherly and child-loving affection. 2.26 Do not be contemptuous, because you have, but guarding, be afraid, so that you may have. 2.27 Do not bring every man into your house; for many are the snares of the devil. 2.28 Do not show your deposit to every man; for envy is everywhere. 2.29 Strictly forbid conversation with men; for from conversation in Genesis the first-formed one fell with Eve.

2.30 And even if the conversation is good, yet the worthless one jests. 2.31 For he is prudent in wickedness; he does not immediately apply the drugs, but mixing gall with honey, he escapes notice. 2.32 For just as from the lips of a harlot woman one is ensnared. in the same way also from an licentious man the words at first like honey anoint the throat, but the ends are more bitter than gall and sharper than a two-edged sword <and> more terrible. 2.33 Even if the appearance is respectable, even if the words are God-loving, do not trust, being fearful; for both parts of each grew from equal seeds, and it is impossible to root out the plant of desire, unless a sober reasoning should extinguish it. 2.34 Do not under the pretext of an all-night vigil, as if sending her to church, send her away as a captive. 2.35 Nor again, bearing a torch for the sake of a vigil, may she extinguish the lamp of purity. 2.36 Nor under the pretext of assemblies being plundered, may you be plundered by the assemblies, and remain unaccompanied by the saints. 2.37 Nor having gone out on account of some who have died, may she herself be found dead. 2.38 And guard the inner chamber carefully, for the slanderer is everywhere, but laughter and temper and anger and oath and idle talk and the other passions of the flesh. 2.39 Do not permit at all, so that no blame may be added to the blameless.

2.40 Take care of the green shoots, so that you may gather the sheaves. 2.41 Learn what you have, so that you may know also to guard a sanctuary for God, a temple of Christ, a pure altar for the king, a holy spirit incarnate, pure members of Christ, a phylactery of the law, a disciple of the gospels, a praise of the church of God, a correction of Eve's transgression, a recall from exile, a reconciliation toward men, a bride of the heavenly king, a pledge of life. 2.42 This deposit is the cause of so many deposits; therefore, do not guard carelessly, so that you may become a sharer of the achievement. 2.43 Whisper from the divine scriptures: better is childlessness with virtue, and what was said to the holy Mary by the angel: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. 2.44 And collecting things kindred to these from the seeds and benefits of the divine scriptures, the commandments that glorify purity, weaving together a pure crown with words of purity, add it, so that desiring those things she may eagerly enter into the undefiled bridal chamber of Christ, running with the wise virgins, so that you also who begot her may reap a bridal chamber of the kingdom, and she herself may receive a crown of incorruption. 3.45 But if she does not wish to remain so, no one forces, no one blames. 3.46 But she will blame herself, when her pains are present and the temporary*** escape, when birth pangs come together, when she makes a wailing like that of dragons and a mourning like that of the daughters of sirens. 3.47 For she has drawn upon herself the Lord's sentence, which he spoke to Eve in Genesis: I will greatly multiply your pains and your birth pangs, and: in sorrows you will bear children. 3.48 For she overlooked the 'hail, full of grace.' 3.49 And even if she holds in her hands the temporary man to whom she fled, far from her also is the help from him.

3.50 She will blame herself, when her daughter dies and her son is sick, when another mourning threatens her preceding mourning and a groan succeeds her groan. 3.51 She will blame herself, when her husband is abroad and her sorrows are at home, and the things for her needs are not present, when her husband is delayed by a journey and her sorrows take root, when having considered many paths, her tears come down in streams, when the death of her desired husband, an angel of her own death

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βέλτιστα, μὴ ὀργῇ κινούμενος, ἀλλὰ στοργῇ πατρικῇ καὶ φιλοτέκνῳ ἁπτόμενος. 2.26 Μὴ καταφρόνει, ὅτι ἔχεις, ἀλλὰ φυλάσσων φοβοῦ, ἵνα ἔχῃς. 2.27 Μὴ πάντα ἄνθρωπον εἰσάγαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου· πολλαὶ γὰρ αἱ ἔνεδραι τοῦ διαβόλου. 2.28 Μὴ παντὶ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπιδείξῃς τὴν παραθήκην σου· ὁ φθόνος γὰρ πανταχοῦ. 2.29 Ἐκτενῶς κώλυε τὴν πρὸς ἄνδρας ὁμιλίαν· ἐκ γὰρ τῆς ὁμιλίας ἐν τῇ Γενέσει ὁ πρωτόπλαστος μετὰ τῆς Ἔυας ἔπεσε.

2.30 Κἂν χρηστὴ ᾖ ἡ ὁμιλία, ἀλλ' ὁ ἄχρηστος προσπαίζει. 2.31 Φρόνιμος γάρ ἐστιν ἐν κακίᾳ· οὐκ εὐθέως ἐπιφέρει τὰ φάρμακα, ἀλλὰ μέλιτι μίξας τὴν χολὴν λανθάνει. 2.32 Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀπὸ χειλέων γυ ναικὸς πόρνης παγιδεύεται. τῷ αὐτῷ ἤδη καὶ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς ἀκολάστου οἱ λόγοι ἐν ἀρχῇ μέλιτος δίκην λιπαίνουσι φάρυγγα, τὰ δὲ τέλη χολῆς πικρότερον καὶ ἠκονημένον μᾶλλον μαχαίρας διστόμου <καὶ> δεινότερον. 2.33 Κἂν τὸ σχῆμα σεμνόν, κἂν οἱ λόγοι θεοφιλεῖς, μὴ ἐμπιστεύσῃς φοβούμενος· ἑκάτερα γὰρ ἄμφω τὰ μέρη τοῖς ἴσοις σπέρμασιν ἔφυσαν, καὶ ἀδύνατον ἐκριζῶσαι τὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας φυτόν, εἰ μὴ σώφρων λο γισμὸς τοῦτο σβέσοι. 2.34 Μὴ προφάσει παννυχισμοῦ, ὡς ἐπὶ ἐκκλησίαν ἀπολύσας, ἀποστείλῃς αἰχμάλωτον. 2.35 Μηδὲ πάλιν λαμπαδεύουσα ἀγρυπνίας χάριν, σβέσῃ τὴν λαμπάδα τῆς ἁγνείας. 2.36 Μηδὲ προφάσει συνόδων συληθεῖσα, ὑπὸ τῶν συνόδων συληθῇς, καὶ μείνῃς ἀσυνόδευ τος τῶν ἁγίων. 2.37 Μηδέ τινων τελευτησάντων ἕνεκεν ἐξελθοῦσα, αὐτὴ εὑρεθῇ νεκρά. 2.38 Καὶ τὴν ἔσω κοίτην ἀκριβῶς πρόσεχε, πανταχοῦ γὰρ ὁ βάσκανος, γέλωτα δὲ καὶ θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ ὅρκον καὶ λόγον ἀργὸν καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς σαρκὸς πάθη. 2.39 Μὴ δ' ὅλως συγχώρει, ὅπως μηδεὶς μῶμος τῷ ἀμώμῳ προσγίνηται.

2.40 Ἐπιμελοῦ τῶν χλωρῶν, ἵνα ἄρῃς τὰ δράγματα. 2.41 Μάθε τί ἔχεις, ἵνα γνῷς καὶ φυλάσσειν ἁγιαστήριον θεῷ ναὸν Χριστοῦ, θυσιαστήριον καθαρὸν βασιλεῖ, πνεῦμα ἅγιον σεσαρκω μένον, μέλη καθαρὰ Χριστοῦ, νόμου φυλακτήριον, εὐαγγελίων μαθή τριαν, ἐκκλησίας θεοῦ σεμνολόγημα, παραβάσεως Ἔυας κατόρθωμα, ἐξορισμοῦ ἀνάκλησιν, διαλλαγὴν πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, νύμφην ἐπουρανίου βασιλέως, ἀρραβῶνα ζωῆς. 2.42 Αὕτη ἡ παραθήκη τοσαύτων παραθηκῶν αἴτιός ἐστι· μὴ οὖν ἀμελῶς πρόσεχε, ἵνα κοινωνὸς γενῇ τοῦ κατορθώματος. 2.43 Ὑποφώνει ἐκ τῶν θείων γραφῶν τό· κρεῖσσον ἀτεκνία μετὰ ἀρετῆς, καὶ τὸ τῇ ἁγίᾳ Μαρίᾳ ῥηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀγγέλου· Χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. 2.44 Καὶ τὰ τούτων ἀδελφὰ ἀνθολογῶν ἐκ τῶν σπερμάτων καὶ ὠφελημάτων τῶν θείων γραφῶν, τὰ τὴν ἁγνείαν δοξολογοῦντα ἐντάλματα, στέφανον καθαρὸν λόγοις ἁγνείας συμπλέκων προστίθει, ἵνα ἐκεῖνα ποθοῦσα προθύμως ἐπιβαίνῃ εἰς τὸν ἄχραντον τοῦ Χριστοῦ νυμφῶνα, ταῖς φρονίμοις παρθένοις συντρέχουσα, ὅπως καὶ σὺ ὁ γεννήσας παστὸν βασιλείας τρυγήσῃς, καὶ αὐτὴ ἀφθαρσίας στέφανον δέξηται. 3.45 Εἰ δὲ οὐ θέλει οὕτω μένειν, οὐδεὶς ἀναγκάζει, οὐδεὶς μέμφε ται. 3.46 Μέμψεται δὲ ἑαυτήν, ὅταν οἱ πόνοι αὐτῇ παραστῶσι καὶ οἱ πρόσκαι ροι*** διαφύγωσιν, ὅταν ὠδῖνες συνέλθωσιν, ὅταν ποιήσῃ κοπετὸν ὡς δρακόντων καὶ πένθος ὡς θυγατέρων σειρή νων. 3.47 Εἵλκυσε γὰρ ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἀπόφασιν, ἣν πρὸς τὴν Ἔυαν ἐλάλησεν ἐν τῇ Γενέσει· πληθύνων πληθυνῶ τοὺς πόνους σου καὶ τὰς ὠδῖνας σου, καὶ τό· ἐν λύπαις τέξῃ τέκνα. 3.48 Τὸ γὰρ χαῖρε κεχαριτωμένη παρέβλεψε. 3.49 Κἂν μετὰ χεῖρας κρατῇ, ὃν προσέφυγε πρόσκαιρον ἄνδρα, μακρὰν ἀπ' αὐτῆς καὶ ἡ παρὰ τούτου βοήθεια γίνεται.

3.50 Μέμψεται ἑαυτήν, ὅταν ἡ θυγάτηρ ἀποθάνῃ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς νοσῇ, ὅταν τῷ προηγησαμένῳ πένθει αὐτῆς ἕτερον πένθος ἀπειλῇ καὶ τὸν στεναγμὸν αὐτῆς στεναγμὸς διαδέξηται. 3.51 Μέμψεται ἑαυτήν, ὅταν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀπόδημος καὶ αἱ λύπαι αὐτῆς ἐνδημῶσι, καὶ τὰ πρὸς τὰς χρείας μὴ παρῶσιν, ὅταν ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀποδημίᾳ βραδύνῃ καὶ αἱ λύπαι ἐνριζώσωσιν, ὅταν πολλὰς στράτας σκοπεύσασα, κρουνηδὸν καταβῇ τὰ δάκρυα, ὅταν θάνατον τοῦ ποθουμένου αὐτῆς ἀνδρὸς ἄγγελος τοῦ θανάτου αὐτῆς