22

burning the body, but the soul itself. And Solomon, declaring this very thing, he who especially knew these things with accuracy, how great a thing it is to speak with a woman who has a husband: Will someone, he says, bind up fire in his bosom, and not burn his garments? Or will someone walk upon coals of fire, and not scorch his feet? So it is with he who goes in to a married woman; and everyone who touches her will not be held guiltless. And what he says is this: just as, he says, it is not possible for one who associates with fire not to be burned, neither is it for one who is with women to escape the conflagration from it. But this man endured what was far more difficult. For he did not touch her himself, but was held by her, taken alone by her alone, although he had already been worn down by so many evils and pickled by so many plots and desired rest and security. But nevertheless, being in so many nets and seeing a multi-form beast attacking him and tearing at him through all things—through her touch, through her voice, through her eyes, through her complexion, through her painting, through her gold, through her perfumes, through her garments, through her character, through the adornment surrounding her, through the solitude, through the secrecy, through her wealth, through her power—and having with these a collaborator, as I said before—his age, his nature, his slavery, his being in a foreign land—he conquered all that flame. I say that this temptation is much more difficult than the envy of his brothers and the hatred of his kindred and the being sold and the dominion of barbarians and the long journey from home and the sojourn in a foreign land and the prison and the chain and the long time and the misery there; for indeed the danger was concerning the ultimate things. But since he escaped this war also and there was here too a whistling spirit of dew from both the grace of God and the virtue of the youth—for so much tranquility and chastity abounded in him that he even hastened to quell her madness—nevertheless, since he himself came out untouched, just as the young men who escaped the Persian flame (for not even the smell of fire was on them, it says), and was shown to be a great athlete of chastity and imitated adamant, let us see what sort of things he immediately enjoyed and what prizes succeed the victor. Plots again and pits and death and danger and slanders and irrational hatred. For that wretched woman then consoles her love with wrath and kindles passion with passion and adds unjust anger to her unrestrained desire. And after the adultery she also becomes a man-slayer and, breathing much bestiality and with a murderous look, she sets up a corrupt court—his master, her own husband, the barbarian, the Egyptian—and introduces a charge without a witness and does not even permit the accused to enter the court, but accuses him quietly, trusting in the foolishness and the goodwill of the one judging, in the credibility of her own person, and in the fact that the accused was a slave, and saying the opposite of what had happened, she prevailed over the judge and persuaded him to deliver a guilty verdict and to condemn the innocent man and to inflict a most harsh punishment: and immediately prison and being led away and a chain. And without even seeing a judge that wonderful man was condemned, and what was indeed more harsh, he was condemned as an adulterer, as one who desired his master's bed, as one who had broken into another's marriage, as one who had been caught, as one who had been convicted; for the judge and the accuser and the punishment make the drama seem credible to the many who do not know the truth.

But none of these things frightened him, nor did he say: Are these the rewards for the dreams? Is this the end of the visions? Are these the prizes for chastity, an irrational judgment and an unjust verdict and a wicked reputation again? For just as I was recently cast out of my father's house like a companion of harlots, so as an adulterer and one who violated a woman's chastity into prison

22

σῶμα καίοντος, ἀλλ' αὐτὴν τὴν ψυχήν. Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ δηλῶν ὁ Σολομών, ὁ μάλιστα ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας εἰδώς, ἡλίκον ἐστὶ τὸ γυναικὶ συλλαλεῖν ἄνδρα ἐχούσῃ· ἀποδήσει τις, φησί, πῦρ ἐν κόλπῳ, τὰ δὲ ἱμάτια οὐ κατακαύσει; Ἢ περιπατήσει τις ἐπ' ἀνθράκων πυρός, τοὺς δὲ πόδας οὐ καταφλέξει; Οὕτως ὁ πορευόμενος πρὸς γυναῖκα ὕπανδρον καὶ πᾶς ὁ ἁπτόμενος αὐτῆς οὐκ ἀθωωθήσεται. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· ὥσπερ, φησίν, οὐκ ἔνι ὁμιλοῦντα πυρὶ μὴ κατακαίεσθαι, οὐδὲ γυναιξὶ συνόντα διαφεύγειν τὸν ἐντεῦθεν ἐμπρησμόν. Οὗτος δέ, ὃ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον ἦν, ὑπέμεινεν. Οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸς αὐτῆς ἥψατο, ἀλλ' ὑπ' ἐκείνης κατείχετο μόνος ὑπὸ μόνης ἀπειλημμένος, καίτοι τοσούτοις ἤδη κακοῖς κατειργασμένος καὶ τοσαύταις τεταριχευμένος ἐπιβουλαῖς καὶ ἀνέσεως ἐπιθυμῶν καὶ ἀδείας. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ἐν τοσούτοις δικτύοις ὢν καὶ ποικίλον θηρίον ὁρῶν αὐτῷ προσβάλλον καὶ διὰ πάντων αὐτὸν καταξέον, διὰ τῆς ἁφῆς, διὰ τῆς φωνῆς, διὰ τῶν ὀμμάτων, διὰ τῶν χρωμάτων, διὰ τῆς ὑπογραφῆς, διὰ τῶν χρυσίων, διὰ τῶν μύρων, διὰ τῶν ἱματίων, διὰ τοῦ ἤθους, διὰ τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ περικειμένου, διὰ τῆς μονώσεως, διὰ τοῦ λανθάνειν, διὰ τοῦ πλούτου, διὰ τῆς δυναστείας, ἔχουσαν μετὰ τούτων συνεργόν, ὅπερ ἔμπροσθεν εἶπον, τὴν ἡλικίαν, τὴν φύσιν, τὴν δουλείαν, τὸ ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ εἶναι, πᾶσαν ἐνίκησε τὴν φλόγα ἐκείνην. Ἐγὼ τοῦτον τὸν πειρασμὸν καὶ τοῦ φθόνου τῶν ἀδελφῶν καὶ τοῦ μίσους τοῦ συγγενικοῦ καὶ τῆς πράσεως καὶ τῆς τῶν βαρβάρων δεσποτείας καὶ τῆς μακρᾶς ἀποδημίας καὶ τῆς ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ διατριβῆς καὶ τοῦ δεσμωτηρίου καὶ τῆς ἁλύσεως καὶ τοῦ μακροῦ χρόνου καὶ τῆς αὐτόθι ταλαιπωρίας πολὺ χαλεπώτερον εἶναί φημι· καὶ γὰρ περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων ὁ κίνδυνος ἦν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ καὶ τοῦτον διέφυγε τὸν πόλεμον καὶ ἐγένετο καὶ ἐνταῦθα πνεῦμα δρόσου διασυρίζον ἀπό τε τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτος καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ νέου-τοσοῦτον γὰρ αὐτῷ περιῆν ἀταραξία καὶ σωφροσύνη ὅτι καὶ τὴν ἐκείνης μανίαν καταλῦσαι ἐσπούδασε-πλήν, ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς ἐξῆλθεν ἀνέπαφος, ὥσπερ οἱ νεανίσκοι τὴν περσικὴν διαφυγόντες φλόγα· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὀσμὴ πυρὸς ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς, φησί-καὶ σωφροσύνης μέγας ἀθλητὴς ἀνεδείχθη καὶ ἀδάμαντα ἐμιμήσατο, ἴδωμεν οἵων εὐθέως ἀπέλαυσε καὶ τίνα ἔπαθλα διαδέχεται τὸν στεφανίτην. Ἐπιβουλαὶ πάλιν καὶ βάραθρα καὶ θάνατος καὶ κίνδυνος καὶ συκοφαντίαι καὶ μῖσος ἄλογον. Ἡ γὰρ ἀθλία τότε ἐκείνη θυμῷ παραμυθεῖται τὸν ἔρωτα καὶ πάθος ἀνάπτει πάθει καὶ ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἀκολάστῳ προστίθησιν ὀργὴν ἄδικον. Καὶ μετὰ τὴν μοιχείαν γίνεται καὶ ἀνδροφόνος καὶ πνέουσα θηριωδίας πολλῆς καὶ φόνιον βλέπουσα καθίζει δικαστήριον διεφθαρμένον, τὸν δεσπότην τὸν ἐκείνου, τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἑαυτῆς, τὸν βάρβαρον, τὸν Αἰγύπτιον καὶ εἰσάγει κατηγορίαν ἀμάρτυρον καὶ οὐδὲ ἀφίησιν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς δικαστήριον τὸν ἐγκαλούμενον, ἀλλ' ἠρέμα κατηγορεῖ, τῇ τε ἀνοίᾳ καὶ τῇ εὐνοίᾳ τοῦ δικάζοντος, τῇ τε ἀξιοπιστίᾳ τοῦ οἰκείου προσώπου καὶ τὸ δοῦλον εἶναι τὸν ἐγκαλούμενον θαρροῦσα καὶ τὰ ἐναντία εἰποῦσα τῶν γενομένων, ἐκράτησε τοῦ δικαστοῦ καὶ τὴν νικῶσαν ἔπεισε ψῆφον ἐξενεγκεῖν καὶ καταδικάσαι τὸν ἀνεύθυνον καὶ τιμωρίαν ἐπιθεῖναι χαλεπωτάτην καὶ δεσμωτήριον εὐθέως καὶ ἀπαγωγὴ καὶ ἅλυσις. Καὶ μηδὲ ἰδὼν δικαστὴν κατεκρίθη ὁ θαυμαστὸς ἐκεῖνος ἀνὴρ καὶ τὸ δὴ χαλεπώτερον κατεκρίνετο ὡς μοιχός, ὡς δεσποτικῆς ἐπιθυμήσας εὐνῆς, ὡς ἀλλότριον διορύξας γάμον, ὡς ἁλούς, ὡς ἐληλεγμένος· ὅ τε γὰρ δικαστὴς ἥ τε κατήγορος παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς τὴν ἀλήθειαν οὐκ εἰδόσιν ἥ τε τιμωρία ἀξιόπιστον ποιεῖ τὸ δρᾶμα φαίνεσθαι.

Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων ἐφόβισεν ἐκεῖνον, οὔτε εἶπεν· αὗται τῶν ὀνειράτων αἱ ἀμοιβαί; Τοῦτο τῶν ὄψεων τὸ τέλος; Ταῦτα τῆς σωφροσύνης τὰ ἔπαθλα, κρίσις ἄλογος καὶ ψῆφος ἄδικος καὶ πονηρὰ πάλιν ὑπόληψις; Ὡς γὰρ ἡταιρικὼς ἐξεβλήθην ἔναγχος τῆς πατρῴας οἰκίας, ὡς μοιχὸς καὶ σωφροσύνην διορύξας γυναικὸς εἰς δεσμωτήριον