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and you laugh with them disorderly; and after all this you wish to be called a virgin, but I will no longer call you a virgin, you who have so thrown yourself away, and not even feared the danger. I will dare to say the prophetic word, Let heaven be astonished at this, and let creation shudder, to what shamelessness we have proceeded, even that of the prostitutes in the workshops. For just as they, led in herds by mimes ... of men, become more forward towards shameless acts; so also these women, having approved of cohabiting with men. God is indignant, men mock, and they, imitating the unjust judge, neither fear God, nor respect man; but after all this they speak more boldly even than those who live modestly with men in marriage.

These women rather treat arrogantly those with whom they cohabit, and disturb them, and insult them back, and wish to be masters of all his substance; and if he sometimes wishes to extend his hand in beneficence, she prevents him, and henceforth she is no longer a servant, but has become a mistress. Depart, therefore, from this alien cohabitation, O virgin, and I say not only of cohabitation, but be on your guard against even conversing or laughing with them. For if a wise man is scarcely permitted to smile quietly, for a wise woman this is barely commanded. For even to smile is a grave and dangerous thing for a woman professing godliness; for a woman is considered much better for her gravity than for her cheerfulness and merriment. And indeed, he who wrote the mystical Song, applying praises from a woman to the spiritual bride, marvels at her silence, and praises the austerity of her appearance, calling it awe; for this becomes most venerable and astonishing to those who see it. For her gravity must be terrible to curious eyes, and a deterrent to meddlesome impudence; for which reason He also took away from her the adornment of gold and braided hair and costly apparel, so that she might not gleam with the ornaments around her, and brighten the eyes of beholders, and provoke them to scandal; for this reason fastings, and continence, and ascetic practices, and a pale and stern appearance, and the virgin ought to have plainer clothing because of the slipperiness of nature; for this reason also Paul, writing to his true child Timothy, guards his respectful kindness toward women with the security of purity, saying: Honor younger widows as sisters, in all purity. But if the divine letters take away the adornment of the body from a woman, how much more fitting for a man is that which is completely unadorned, and clothing only for necessity, that it may be a covering and not an ornament, just as Paul named it: Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. For clothes for adornment should be considered feminine rather than masculine; for the law also says: A man shall not put on a woman's garment. Therefore let not a man be effeminate, where not even the female is fittingly effeminate before God. John wore a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt around his waist; and before him Elijah, whose spirit John wore, he too was clothed only in a sheepskin 48.1059. It is of a sluggish and lazy soul to admire brightly colored and finely worked clothing; but a magnanimous soul, one that perceives the truly real adornment, rejects all soft clothing, yearning for its higher adornment which is unadorned, more seemly, most grave, having preferred purity above all things. Be content, therefore, with the reminder through what has been said, but guard your gravity, not carrying exactness beyond measure as though it were bitter, which becomes sweeter than honey and the honeycomb both to the one who hears and to those who draw near.

For spiritual joy gravely and magnificently moors the soul in the unity of God, and it fills with sweetness also those who encounter it. But do not, taking a pretext from my words that you were forbidden to live in cheerfulness, begin

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καὶ συγγελᾷς ἀτάκτως· καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσιν σὺ μὲν θέλεις παρθένος καλεῖσθαι, οὐκ ἔτι δέ σε παρθένον ἐρῶ τὴν οὕτως ἑαυτὴν ῥίψασαν, καὶ μηδὲ φοβηθεῖσαν τὸν κίνδυνον. Τολμήσω εἰπεῖν τὸ προφητικὸν, Ἐκστήτω ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ, καὶ φριξάτω ἡ κτίσις, εἰς ὅσην ἀναισχυντίαν κεχωρήκαμεν, καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἐργαστηρίοις πορνῶν. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐκεῖναι, ὑπὸ μίμων ἀγελώμεναι ... ἀνθρώπων, ἰταμώτεραι πρὸς τὰς ἀσέμνους πράξεις γίνονται· οὕτω καὶ αὗται εὐδοκιμήσασαι ἀνδράσι συνοικεῖν. Θεὸς ἀγανακτεῖ, ἄνθρωποι διασύρουσι, κἀκεῖναι τὸν ἄδικον κριτὴν μιμούμεναι, οὐδὲ τὸν Θεὸν φοβοῦνται, οὔτε ἄνθρωπον ἐντρέπονται· ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τούτοις πᾶσι μειζόνως παῤῥησιάζονται καὶ τῶν ἐν γάμῳ σεμνῶς παροικουσῶν ἀνδράσιν.

Αὗται μᾶλλον ἐπηρμένως τὰ μεθ' ὧν συνοικοῦσιν διατίθενται, καὶ ἐκταράσσουσι, καὶ ἀνθυβρίζουσι, καὶ πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς ὑπάρξεως δεσπόζειν βούλονται· κἂν ἐνίοτε βούληται εἰς εὐποιίαν ἐκτεῖναι τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ, διακωλύει, καὶ λοιπὸν οὐκέτι ὑπηρέτις, ἀλλὰ δέσποινα γέγονεν. Ἀποχώρει οὖν τῆς ἀλλοτρίας συνοικήσεως, ὦ παρθένε, καὶ οὐχὶ μόνον τῆς συνοικήσεως λέγω, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ συνομιλεῖν ἢ συγγελᾷν παρατήρησαι. Εἰ γὰρ τῷ φρονίμῳ ἀνδρὶ μόλις ἡσυχῇ μειδιᾷν ἐπιτέτραπται, τῇ σοφῇ γυναικὶ μόλις καὶ τοῦτο κελεύει. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ μειδιᾶσαι γυναικὶ ἐπαγγελλομένῃ θεοσέβειαν, βαρὺ καὶ ἐπικίνδυνον· πολὺ γὰρ βελτίων ἐπὶ σεμνότητι θεωρεῖται γυνὴ, ἤπερ ἐπὶ τῇ φαιδρότητι καὶ ἱλαρότητι. Καὶ δὴ ἐπὶ τὴν πνευματικὴν νύμφην ἀπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐπιφέρων τοὺς ἐπαίνους ὁ τὸ μυστικὸν ᾆσμα γεγραφὼς τὴν σιωπὴν αὐτῆς θαυμάζων, καὶ τὸ τοῦ σχήματος αὐστηρὸν ἐπαινεῖ, θάμβος ὀνομάζων αὐτό· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ πάνυ σεμνὸν καὶ καταπληκτικὸν τοῖς ὁρῶσι γίνεται. ∆εῖ γὰρ αὐτῆς τὴν σεμνότητα φοβερὰν εἶναι τοῖς περιέργοις ὀφθαλμοῖς, καὶ τῆς πολυπράγμονος ἀναιδείας ἀποτρεπτικήν· ἧς διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν κόσμον ἀφεῖλε τὸν διὰ χρυσοῦ καὶ τριχῶν ἐμπλοκῆς καὶ ἐσθῆτος πολυτελοῦς, ἵνα μὴ καταστίλβῃ τοῖς περικειμένοις κοσμήμασι, καὶ φαιδρύνῃ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν τῶν ὁρώντων, καὶ προκαλῆται εἰς σκάνδαλον· διὰ τοῦτο νηστεῖαι, καὶ ἐγκράτειαι, καὶ ἀσκήσεις, καὶ ὠχρὸν καὶ στυγνὸν τὸ εἶδος, καὶ τὴν στολὴν εὐτελεστέραν ὀφείλει ἔχειν ἡ παρθένος διὰ τὸ τῆς φύσεως εὐόλισθον· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τῷ γνησίῳ τέκνῳ Τιμοθέῳ γράφων, τὴν πρὸς γυναῖκας αὐτοῦ τιμητικὴν χρηστότητα τῆς ἁγνείας ἀσφαλείᾳ προφυλάττει, λέγων· Νεωτέρας χήρας τιμᾷν ὡς ἀδελφὰς ἐν πάσῃ ἁγνείᾳ. Εἰ δὲ γυναικὸς τὸν περὶ τὸ σῶμα κόσμον ἀφαιρεῖ τὰ θεῖα γράμματα, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἀνδρὶ προσήκει τὸ παντελῶς ἀκαλλώπιστον, καὶ ἡ μέχρι τῆς χρείας περιβολὴ, ἵνα σκέπασμα ᾖ καὶ μὴ καλλώπισμα, καθάπερ ὠνόμασεν ὁ Παῦλος· Ἔχοντες διατροφὰς καὶ σκεπάσματα, τούτοις ἀρκεσθησόμεθα. Αἱ γὰρ εἰς καλλωπισμὸν ἐσθῆτες, γυναικεῖαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἀνδρεῖαι νομιζέσθωσαν· καὶ γὰρ ὁ νόμος λέγει· Οὐκ ἐνδύσεται ἀνὴρ στολὴν γυναικείαν. Μὴ τοίνυν θηλυνέσθω ἀνὴρ, ὅπου οὐδὲ τὸ θῆλυ σφόδρα προσήκει θηλύνεσθαι παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ. Ἐκ τριχῶν καμήλου ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐσθῆτα ἐφόρει, καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ· καὶ πρότερον Ἠλίας, οὗ τὸ πνεῦμα ὁ Ἰωάννης ἐφόρεσε, μηλωτὴν μόνον κἀκεῖνος 48.1059 ἠμφίαστο. Νωθρᾶς καὶ ῥᾳθύμου ψυχῆς τὸ θαυμάζειν εὐανθὲς ἔνδυμα καὶ κατὰ τὴν ἐργασίαν λεπτόν· ψυχὴ δὲ μεγαλοφυὴς ἡ τοῦ ὄντως κόσμου τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ αἰσθανομένη διαπτύει πᾶσαν μαλακὴν ἐσθῆτα, τὴν ὑψηλοτέραν αὐτῆς ἐπιποθοῦσα τὴν ἀπερίεργον, τὴν εὐπρεπεστέραν, τὴν σεμνοτάτην, τὴν ἁγνείαν πάντων προτιμήσασα. Ἀρκέσθητε τοίνυν τῇ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὑπομνήσει, φυλάξατε δὲ τὴν σεμνότητα, μὴ πέρα τοῦ μέτρου ἐξαγαγεῖν ὡς πικρὰν τὴν ἀκρίβειαν, ἥτις γλυκυτέρα ὑπὲρ μέλι καὶ κηρίον αὐτῷ τε τῷ ἀκούοντι καὶ τοῖς πλησιάζουσι γίνεται.

Ἡ γὰρ πνευματικὴ χαρὰ σεμνῶς καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς εἰς ἑνότητα Θεοῦ προσορμίζει τὴν ψυχὴν, πληροῖ δὲ τῆς γλυκύτητος καὶ τοὺς συντυγχάνοντας. Ἀλλὰ μὴ πρόφασιν λαβὼν ἐκ τῶν ἐμῶν λόγων, ὅτι ἐκωλύθης ἐν ἱλαρότητι διάγειν, ἄρξῃ