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the source of incorruptibility, our Lord Jesus Christ himself, did not enter into the world through marriage, in order that he might show by the manner of his incarnation this great mystery, that purity alone is sufficient to receive the presence and entrance of God, which cannot otherwise be achieved with all exactness, unless one completely alienates oneself from the passions of the flesh. For what happened bodily in the undefiled Mary, "the fullness of the Godhead" shining forth in Christ through virginity, this also happens in every soul that is virgin according to reason, the Lord no longer making his presence bodily; "For we no longer know," he says, "Christ according to the flesh," but dwelling spiritually and bringing the Father in with himself, as the gospel says somewhere. 2.3 Since, then, such is the power of virginity, as to remain even in the heavens with the Father of spirits and to dance with the super-cosmic powers and to touch upon human salvation, bringing God down through itself to communion with human life, and giving wings to man in itself toward the desire of heavenly things, and becoming, as it were, a certain bond of man's appropriation to God, bringing into harmony by its own mediation things so distant from each other by nature, what power of words could be found to rise to the level of this wonder? But since it is altogether absurd to appear like the speechless or insensible, and one of two things, either to seem not to have recognized the beauties of virginity or to be shown unstruck and unmoved by the perception of beauties, we have been eager to say a few things about it, because it is necessary in all things to obey the authority of him who commanded us. But let no one seek from us the more boastful words; for such a thing is perhaps not possible for us even if we wished it, being unpracticed in such speech; and if the power to boast were present, we would not have preferred to be well-reputed among a few over what is commonly profitable. For I think that one who has sense must seek from all things not those things from which he will be admired above the rest, but those from which he might benefit both himself and the rest.

3.t Chapter 3. A recollection of the difficulties arising from marriage and an indication that the one who wrote the discourse is not unmarried.

3.1 If only it were somehow possible for me too to gain something more from such zeal. With how much more eagerness I would have undertaken the labor concerning these things, if indeed, according to what is written, "in hope of sharing" in the produce "of the plow and the threshing," I had labored on the discourse. But now, in a way, the knowledge of the beauties of virginity is vain and profitless to me, as the produce is to the ox muzzled while turning the threshing floor, or as the water flowing down the cliff is to the thirsty one, when it is unreachable. But blessed are they for whom the choice of better things is in their power, and who have not been walled off, having been preoccupied with the common life, just as we are separated as by some chasm from the boast of virginity, to which it is no longer possible to return for one who has once fixed his footprint in the worldly life. For this reason we are only spectators of others' beauties and witnesses of others' blessedness; and if we should conceive something skillful concerning virginity, we suffer the same thing as cooks and servants, who sweeten the table delicacy of the rich for others, themselves partaking of none of the things prepared. How blessed it would have been, if it were not so, and if we had not come to know the good by second thought. But now enviable

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πηγὴν τῆς ἀφθαρσίας αὐτὸν τὸν κύριον ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν Χριστὸν μὴ διὰ γάμου εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὸν κόσμον, ἵνα ἐνδείξηται διὰ τοῦ τρόπου τῆς ἐναν θρωπήσεως τὸ μέγα τοῦτο μυστήριον, ὅτι θεοῦ παρουσίαν καὶ εἴσοδον μόνη καθαρότης ἱκανή ἐστι δέξασθαι, ἣν ἄλλως οὐκ ἔστι πρὸς ἀκρίβειαν πᾶσαν κατορθωθῆναι, εἰ μὴ παντελῶς τις ἑαυτὸν τῶν τῆς σαρκὸς παθημάτων ἀλλοτριώσειεν. Ὅπερ γὰρ ἐν τῇ ἀμιάντῳ Μαρίᾳ γέγονε σωματικῶς, «τοῦ πληρώματος τῆς θεότητος» ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ διὰ τῆς παρθενίας ἐκλάμψαντος, τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ πάσης ψυχῆς κατὰ λόγον παρθενευούσης γίνεται, οὐκέτι σωμα τικὴν ποιουμένου τοῦ κυρίου τὴν παρουσίαν· «Οὐ γὰρ γινώσκομεν ἔτι», φησί, «κατὰ σάρκα Χριστόν», ἀλλὰ πνευματικῶς εἰσοικιζομένου καὶ τὸν πατέρα ἑαυτῷ συνεισ άγοντος, καθώς φησί που τὸ εὐαγγέλιον. 2.3 Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοσαύτη ἐστὶ τῆς παρθενίας ἡ δύναμις, ὡς καὶ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ τῶν πνευμάτων μένειν καὶ μετὰ τῶν ὑπερκοσμίων χορεύειν δυνάμεων καὶ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης σωτηρίας ἐφάπτεσθαι, τὸν μὲν θεὸν δι' ἑαυτῆς πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου βίου κοινωνίαν κατ άγουσα, τὸν δὲ ἄνθρωπον ἐν ἑαυτῇ πρὸς τὴν τῶν οὐρανίων ἐπιθυμίαν πτεροῦσα καὶ οἱονεὶ σύνδεσμός τις γινομένη τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης πρὸς τὸν θεὸν οἰκειώσεως, τὰ τοσοῦτον ἀλλήλων ἀφεστῶτα τῇ φύσει τῇ παρ' ἑαυτῆς μεσιτείᾳ εἰς συμφωνίαν ἄγουσα, τίς ἂν εὑρεθείη δύναμις λόγων συνανιοῦσα τῷ θαύματι; Ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ παντελῶς ἄτοπον ἀφώνοις ἢ ἀναισθήτοις ὅμοιον φαίνεσθαι καὶ τῶν δύο τὸ ἕτερον, ἢ μὴ ἐπεγνωκέναι δοκεῖν τὰ τῆς παρθενίας καλὰ ἢ ἄπληκτον καὶ ἀκίνητον πρὸς τὴν τῶν καλῶν αἴσθησιν ἐπιδειχθῆναι, βραχέα τινὰ περὶ αὐτῆς εἰπεῖν διὰ τὸ δεῖν ἐν πᾶσι πείθεσθαι τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τοῦ ἐπιτάξαντος ἡμῖν προεθυμήθημεν. Μηδεὶς δὲ τοὺς κομπωδεστέρους παρ' ἡμῶν ἐπιζητείτω τῶν λόγων· ἔστι μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ βουλομένοις ἡμῖν ἴσως δυνατὸν τὸ τοιοῦτον, ἀμελετήτοις οὖσι τῆς τοιαύτης λέξεως· εἰ δὲ καὶ παρῆν τοῦ κομπάζειν ἡ δύναμις, οὐκ ἂν τοῦ κοινῇ λυσιτελοῦντος τὸ ἐν ὀλίγοις εὐδοκιμῆσαι προετιμήσαμεν. Ζητεῖν γὰρ ἐξ ἁπάντων οἶμαι δεῖν τόν γε νοῦν ἔχοντα οὐκ ἐξ ὧν ὑπὲρ τοὺς λοιποὺς θαυμασθήσεται, ἀλλ' ἐξ ὧν ἂν καὶ ἑαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς ὠφελήσειεν.

3.t Κεφάλαιον γʹ Μνήμη τῶν ἐκ τοῦ γάμου δυσχερῶν καὶ ἔνδειξις τοῦ

τὸν γεγραφότα τὸν λόγον μὴ ἄγαμον εἶναι. 3.1 Εἴθε πως οἷόν τε ἦν κἀμοί τι γενέσθαι πλέον ἐκ τῆς τοιαύτης

σπουδῆς. Ὡς μετὰ πλείονος ἂν τῆς προθυμίας τὸν περὶ τούτων πόνον ἐνεστησάμην, εἴπερ κατὰ τὸ γεγραμ μένον «ἐπ' ἐλπίδι τοῦ μετασχεῖν τῶν ἐκ τοῦ ἀρότρου καὶ ἀλοητοῦ» γεννημάτων ἐφιλοπόνουν τὸν λόγον. Νυνὶ δὲ τρό πον τινὰ ματαία καὶ ἀνόνητος ἡ γνῶσις ἐμοὶ τῶν τῆς παρθε νίας καλῶν, ὡς τῷ βοῒ τὰ γεννήματα τῷ μετὰ κημῶν ἐπιστρεφομένῳ τὴν ἅλωνα ἢ ὡς τῷ διψῶντι τὸ ὑπορρέον τὸν κρημνὸν ὕδωρ, ὅταν ἀνέφικτον ᾖ. Μακάριοι δὲ οἷς ἐν ἐξουσίᾳ τῶν βελτιόνων ἐστὶν ἡ αἵρεσις, καὶ οὐκ ἀπετει χίσθησαν τῷ κοινῷ προληφθέντες βίῳ, καθάπερ ἡμεῖς οἷόν τινι χάσματι πρὸς τὸ τῆς παρθενίας καύχημα διειρ γόμεθα, πρὸς ἣν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπανελθεῖν ἔτι τὸν ἅπαξ τῷ κοσμικῷ βίῳ τὸ ἴχνος ἐναπερείσαντα. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο θεαταὶ μόνον τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐσμὲν καλῶν ἡμεῖς καὶ μάρτυρες τῆς ἑτέρων μακαριότητος· κἄν τι δεξιὸν περὶ παρθενίας νοήσωμεν, ταὐτὸν πάσχομεν τοῖς ὀψοποιοῖς τε καὶ ὑπηρές, οἳ τὴν ἐπιτραπέζιον τῶν πλουσίων τρυφὴν ἄλλοις ἡδύνουσιν, οὐδενὸς αὐτοὶ τῶν παρεσκευασμένων μετ έχοντες. Ὡς μακάριόν γε ἂν ἦν, εἰ μὴ οὕτως εἶχε μηδὲ τῇ ὑστεροβουλίᾳ τὸ καλὸν ἐγνωρίσαμεν. Νυνὶ δὲ ζηλωτοὶ