4. For which cause our Lord Himself also with His own mouth saith, “Cleanse what are within, and what are without will be clean.”7    Matt. xxiii. 26 And, also, in another place, when He was refuting the foolish speeches of the Jews, in that they spake evil against His disciples, eating with unwashen hands; “Not what entereth into the mouth,” said He, “defileth the man: but what cometh forth out of the mouth, that defileth the man.”8    Matt. xv. 11 Which sentence, if the whole of it be taken of the mouth of the body, is absurd. For neither doth vomit defile him, whom food defileth not. Forsooth food entereth into the mouth, vomit proceedeth forth out of the mouth. But without doubt the former words relate to the mouth of the flesh, where He says, “Not what entereth into the mouth defileth the man,” but the latter words to the mouth of the heart, where He saith, “But what proceedeth forth out of the mouth, this defileth the man.”9    Matt. xv. 17–20 Lastly, when the Apostle Peter sought of Him an explanation of this as of a parable, He answered, “Are ye also yet without understanding? understand ye not, that whatsoever entereth into the mouth, goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?” Here surely we perceive the mouth of the flesh, into which the food enters. But in what He next adds, in order that we might recognize the mouth of the heart, the slowness of our heart would not follow, did not the Truth deign to walk even with the slow. For He saith, “But what things go forth from the mouth, go out of the heart;” as though He should say, When you hear it said “from the mouth,” understand “from the heart.” I say both, but I set forth one by the other. The inner man hath an inner mouth, and this the inner ear discerns: what things go forth from this mouth, go out of the heart, and they defile the man. Then having left the term mouth, which may be understood also of the body, He shows more openly what He is saying. “For from the heart go out,” saith He, “evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are what defile the man.” There is surely no one of those evils, which can be committed also by the members of the body, but that the evil thoughts go before and defile the man, although something hinder the sinful and wicked deeds of the body from following. For if, because power is not given, the hand is free from the murder of a man, is the heart of the murderer forsooth therefore clean from sin? Or if she be chaste, whom one unchaste wishes to commit adultery with, hath he on that account failed to commit adultery with her in his heart? Or if the harlot be not found in the brothel, doth he, who seeks her, on that account fail to commit fornication in his heart? Or if time and place be wanting to one who wishes to hurt his neighbor by a lie, hath he on that account failed already to speak false witness with his inner mouth? Or if any one fearing men, dare not utter aloud blasphemy with tongue of flesh, is he on this account guiltless of this crime, who saith in his heart, “There is no God.”10    Ps. xiv. 1 Thus all the other evil deeds of men, which no motion of the body performs, of which no sense of the body is conscious, have their own secret criminals, who are also polluted by consent alone in thought, that is, by evil words of the inner mouth. Into which he (the Psalmist) fearing lest his heart should fall aside, asks of the Lord that the door of Continence be set around the lips of this mouth, to contain the heart, that it fall not aside into evil words: but contain it, by not suffering thought to proceed to consent: for thus, according to the precept of the Apostle, sin reigneth not in our mortal body, nor do we yield our members as weapons of unrighteousness unto sin.11    Rom. vi. 12, 13 From fulfilling which precept they are surely far removed, who on this account turn not their members to sin, because no power is allowed them; and if this be present, straightway by the motions of their members, as of weapons, they show, who reigneth in them within. Wherefore so far as is in themselves, they yield their members weapons of unrighteousness unto sin; because this is what they wish, which for this reason they yield not, because they are not able.

4. Propter quod etiam ipse ore proprio Dominus ait: Mundate quae intus sunt, et quae foris sunt munda erunt (Matth. XXIII, 26). Itemque alio loco cum Judaeorum stultiloquia refutaret, quia calumniabantur discipulis ejus non lotis manibus manducantibus: Non quod intrat in os, inquit, coinquinat hominem; sed quod procedit ex ore, hoc coinquinat hominem. Quae sententia si tota de ore corporis accipiatur, absurda est. Neque enim quem non coinquinat cibus, coinquinat vomitus. Cibus quippe in os intrat, vomitus ex ore procedit. Sed procul dubio priora verba pertinent ad os carnis, ubi ait, Non quod intrat in os, coinquinat hominem; posteriora vero ad os cordis, ubi ait, sed quod procedit ex ore, hoc coinquinat hominem. Denique cum ab illo apostolus Petrus expositionem velut parabolae hujus exquireret, ille respondit: Adhuc et vos sine intellectu estis? non intelligitis, quia omne quod in os intrat, in ventrem vadit, et in secessum emittitur? Hic certe in quod intrat cibus, os carnis agnoscimus. In his vero quae adjungit, ut agnosceremus os cordis, non sequeretur nostri tarditas cordis, nisi et cum tardis ambulare Veritas dignaretur. Ait enim, Quae autem procedunt de ore, de corde exeunt; tanquam diceret, Cum audis de ore, de corde intellige. Utrumque dico; sed alterum ex altero expono. Habet os interius homo interior, et hoc discernit auris interior: de hoc ore quae procedunt, de corde exeunt, et ea coinquinant hominem. Deinde jam relicto oris nomine, quod potest et de corpore intelligi, apertius quid dicat ostendit: De corde enim exeunt, inquit, cogitationes malae, homicidia, adulteria, fornicationes, furta, falsa testimonia, blasphemiae: haec sunt quae coinquinant hominem (Id. XV, 11-20). Nihil est certe istorum malorum, quae perpetrari etiam membris corporis possunt, quod cogitatio non antecedat mala, et coinquinet hominem, etiamsi aliquid impediat ne subsequantur opera flagitiosa et facinorosa membrorum. Si enim quia potestas non datur , vacat manus ab hominis interfectione, numquid ideo mundum est ab scelere cor homicidae? Aut si rem subripere alienam, non ut quis vult potest, numquid ideo in ipsa voluntate fur non est? Aut si casta est, quam vult adulterare non castus, ideo eam non est in corde moechatus? Aut si meretrix non inveniatur in fornice, ideo qui eam quaerit, non fornicatur in mente? Aut si cupienti per mendacium laedere proximum, tempus vel locus desit, ideo falsum testimonium non ore interiore jam dixit? Aut si quisquam homines timens, non audeat lingua carnis sonare blasphemiam, ideo non est hujus criminis reus, qui dicit in corde suo, Non est Deus (Psal. 0352 XIII, 1)? Ita caetera mala facta hominum, quae nullus agit corporis motus, quae nescit ullus corporis sensus, reos suos occultos habent; quos etiam solus inquinat in cogitatione consensus, id est, oris interioris verbum malignum. In quod timens ille declinari cor suum, ostium continentiae circum labia oris hujus poni poscit a Domino, quod contineat cor, ne declinetur in verba maligna: contineat autem, non sinendo cogitationem procedere in consensionem; sic enim secundum praeceptum apostolicum, non regnat peccatum in nostro mortali corpore, neque exhibemus membra nostra arma iniquitatis peccato (Rom. VI, 12, 13). A quo praecepto implendo utique alieni sunt, qui ob hoc ad peccandum membra non movent, quia potestas nulla permittitur: quae si adsit, protinus ex membrorum velut armorum motibus, quis in eis intus regnet, ostendunt. Proinde quantum in ipsis est, membra sua exhibent arma iniquitatis peccato; quia hoc volunt, quod propterea non exhibent, quia non possunt.