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sinking into the earth, seeking such ways of gain? And where are these the words of a man? A woman has one thing only: to keep safe what is gathered, to preserve the revenues, to take care of the house; for indeed for this purpose God gave her, that in these things she might help us, along with all the others. For since these two things are accustomed to constitute our 51.231 life, public and private affairs, God, having divided both of these, assigned to her the management of the house, but to men all the affairs of the city, those in the marketplace, the law courts, the council chambers, military commands, all other things. A woman cannot hurl a spear, nor shoot an arrow; but she can take up a distaff, and weave a web, and manage well all other things in the house. She cannot introduce a motion in the council chamber; but she can introduce a motion in the house, and often what the husband has overlooked regarding the house, she has seen better. She cannot manage public affairs well; but she can raise children well, the chief of possessions; she can perceive the misdeeds of maidservants, and care for the modesty of those who serve, provide all other security for her husband, and free him from all such care in the home, taking care of storerooms, wool-working, preparation of meals, propriety of clothing, all other things, which it is neither seemly nor easy for a man ever to handle, even if he were to contend ten thousand times. For this too is the work of God's generosity and wisdom, that the one useful in greater things is inferior and useless in lesser things, so that the need for the woman becomes necessary. For if He had made the man capable in both, the female sex would have become easily despised; again, if He had entrusted the greater and more useful part to the woman, He would have filled women with much arrogance. For this reason He gave neither both to one, so that the other sex might not be diminished and seem to be superfluous; nor did He distribute both equally to each, so that again a battle and rivalry might not arise from equality of honor, with women contending to be deemed worthy of the same precedence as men; but at once providing for peace and preserving the fitting order for each, having divided our life into these two, He has given the more necessary and useful part to the man, but the lesser and inferior part to the woman; so that the one might be highly valued by us because of the necessity of his function, and the other might not rise up against her husband because of the inferiority of her service. Therefore, knowing all these things, let us seek one thing only, virtue of soul and nobility of character, that we may enjoy peace, that we may delight in concord and perpetual love. For he who has taken a wealthy wife, has taken a mistress rather than a wife. For if, even without this, women are filled with pride and easily fall into a love of glory, if they also receive this addition, how will they be bearable to their husbands? But he who has taken a wife of equal or poorer station, has taken a helper and an ally, and has brought all good things into his house. For the necessity of her poverty persuades her to serve her husband with much care, and to yield and obey in all things, and it removes all pretext for strife, battle, arrogance, and insolence; and becomes a bond of peace, and concord, and love, and harmony. Let us not, therefore, seek this, how we may have money, but how we may have peace, how we may enjoy pleasure; for this reason there is marriage, not that we may fill our houses with war and battle, not that we may have strife and contentions, not that we may be at odds with each other and make life unlivable, but that we may enjoy help, and have a harbor and 51.232 a refuge, and the comfort of impending evils, that we may converse with our wife with pleasure. How many wealthy people,

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τὴν γῆν καταδύῃ τοιούτους κερδῶν ἐπιζητῶν τρόπους; καὶ ποῦ ταῦτα ἀνδρὸς τὰ ῥήματα; Γυναικὸς ἕν ἐστι μόνον, τὰ συλλεγόμενα διαφυλάττειν, τὰς προσόδους διατηρεῖν, τῆς οἰκίας ἐπιμελεῖσθαι· καὶ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο αὐτὴν ἔδωκεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἵνα ἐν τούτοις ἡμῖν βοηθῇ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸν βίον τὸν 51.231 ἡμέτερον δύο ταῦτα συγκροτεῖν εἴωθε, τὰ πολιτικὰ καὶ ἰδιωτικὰ πράγματα, διελὼν ἀμφότερα ταῦτα ὁ Θεὸς, ταύτῃ μὲν τὴν τῆς οἰκίας προστασίαν ἀπένειμε, τοῖς δὲ ἀνδράσι τὰ τῆς πόλεως ἅπαντα πράγματα, τά τε ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, δικαστήρια, βουλευτήρια, στρατηγίας, τὰ ἄλλα πάντα. Οὐ δύναται ἀκοντίσαι δόρυ, οὐδὲ ἀφεῖναι βέλος ἡ γυνή· ἀλλ' ἠλακάτην δύναται λαβεῖν, καὶ ἱστὸν ὑφᾶναι, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα τὰ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν διαθεῖναι καλῶς. Οὐ δύναται γνώμην εἰσηγήσασθαι ἐν βουλευτηρίῳ· ἀλλὰ δύναται γνώμην εἰσηγήσασθαι ἐν οἰκίᾳ, καὶ πολλάκις ἅπερ συνεῖδεν ὁ ἀνὴρ τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν, βέλτιον αὕτη συνεῖδεν. Οὐ δύναται τὰ δημόσια διαθεῖναι καλῶς· ἀλλὰ δύναται παιδία διαθρέψαι καλῶς, τὸ κεφάλαιον τῶν κτημάτων· δύναται θεραπαινίδων κακουργίας συνιδεῖν, καὶ σωφροσύνης ἐπιμεληθῆναι τῶν διακονουμένων, τὴν ἄλλην ἅπασαν τῷ συνοικοῦντι παρέχειν ἄδειαν, καὶ πάσης αὐτὸν τοιαύτης ἀπαλλάξαι φροντίδος ἐν οἴκοις, ταμιείων, ἐριουργίας, ἀρίστου παρασκευῆς, ἱματίων εὐσχημοσύνης, τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἐπιμελουμένη, ἅπερ ἀνδρὶ οὔτε εὐπρεπὲς, οὔτε εὔκολον μεταχειρίσασθαί ποτε, κἂν μυρία φιλονεικῇ. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλοτιμίας καὶ σοφίας ἔργον, τὸν ἐν τοῖς μείζοσι χρήσιμον, ἐν τοῖς ἐλάττοσι καταδεέστερον καὶ ἄχρηστον εἶναι, ἵνα ἀναγκαία γένηται τῆς γυναικὸς ἡ χρεία. Εἰ γὰρ ἐν ἀμφοτέροις ἐποίησε τὸν ἄνδρα ἐπιτήδειον εἶναι, εὐκαταφρόνητον ἂν τὸ τῶν γυναικῶν ἐγένετο γένος· πάλιν, εἰ τὸ μεῖζον καὶ χρησιμώτερον ἐπέτρεψε τῇ γυναικὶ, πολλῆς ἂν ἐνέπλησε τὰς γυναῖκας τῆς ἀπονοίας. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὔτε ἀμφότερα ἑνὶ ἔδωκεν, ἵνα μὴ τὸ ἕτερον ἐλαττωθῇ γένος, καὶ περιττὸν εἶναι δοκῇ· οὔτε ἐξίσης ἀμφότερα ἑκατέρῳ διένειμεν, ἵνα μὴ πάλιν ἐκ τῆς ἰσοτιμίας μάχη τις γένηται καὶ φιλονεικία, τῆς αὐτῆς προεδρίας τοῖς ἀνδράσι φιλονεικουσῶν ἀξιοῦσθαι τῶν γυναικῶν· ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ καὶ τῆς εἰρήνης προνοῶν, καὶ τὴν πρέπουσαν ἑκάστῳ τάξιν διατηρῶν, εἰς δύο ταῦτα διελὼν ἡμῶν τὴν ζωὴν, τὸ μὲν ἀναγκαιότερον καὶ χρησιμώτερον τῷ ἀνδρὶ, τὸ δὲ ἔλαττον καὶ καταδεέστερον δέδωκε τῇ γυναικί· ἵν' ὁ μὲν διὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς χρείας περισπούδαστος ἡμῖν ᾖ, ἡ δὲ διὰ τὸ καταδεέστερον τῆς διακονίας μὴ κατεξανιστᾶται τοῦ συνοικοῦντος. Ταῦτ' οὖν ἅπαντες εἰδότες, ἓν μόνον ζητῶμεν, ψυχῆς ἀρετὴν καὶ εὐγένειαν τρόπων, ἵνα εἰρήνης ἀπολαύωμεν, ἵνα ἐντρυφῶμεν ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ καὶ ἀγάπῃ διηνεκεῖ. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ εὔπορον λαβὼν γυναῖκα, δέσποιναν μᾶλλον ἔλαβεν ἢ γυναῖκα. Εἰ γὰρ, καὶ χωρὶς τούτου, φρονήματός εἰσιν αἱ γυναῖκες ἐμπεπλησμέναι, καὶ πρὸς δόξης ἔρωτα εὐέμπτωτοι, ἂν καὶ ταύτην προσλάβωσι τὴν προσθήκην, πῶς ἔσονται φορηταὶ τοῖς συνοικοῦσιν αὐταῖς; Ὁ δὲ ὁμότιμον ἢ πενεστέραν λαβὼν γυναῖκα, βοηθὸν καὶ σύμμαχον ἔλαβε, καὶ πάντα εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν εἰσήγαγε τὰ ἀγαθά. Ἡ γὰρ τῆς πενίας ἀνάγκη θεραπεύειν αὐτὴν μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἐπιμελείας ἀναπείθει τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ πάντα εἴκειν καὶ πείθεσθαι, καὶ ἔριδος μὲν, καὶ μάχης, καὶ ἀπονοίας, καὶ ὕβρεως πᾶσαν ἀναιρεῖ πρόφασιν· εἰρήνης δὲ, καὶ ὁμονοίας, καὶ ἀγάπης, καὶ συμφωνίας γίνεται σύνδεσμος. Μὴ τοίνυν τοῦτο ζητῶμεν ὅπως χρήματα ἔχωμεν, ἀλλ' ὅπως εἰρήνην, ὅπως ἡδονῆς ἀπολαύωμεν· διὰ τοῦτο γάμος, οὐχ ἵνα πολέμου καὶ μάχης τὰς οἰκίας ἐμπιπλῶμεν, οὐχ ἵνα ἔρεις καὶ φιλονεικίας ἔχωμεν, οὐχ ἵνα πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαστασιάζωμεν, καὶ ἀβίωτον τὸν βίον ποιῶμεν, ἀλλὰ ἵνα βοηθείας ἀπολαύωμεν, καὶ λιμένα ἔχωμεν καὶ 51.232 καταφυγὴν, καὶ παραμυθίαν τῶν ἐπικειμένων κακῶν, ἵνα μεθ' ἡδονῆς τῇ γυναικὶ διαλεγώμεθα. Πόσοι πλουτοῦντες,