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of any virtue to grasp the precise account without also touching upon the others, but that when one of the virtues is present, the others necessarily follow. Therefore, conversely, any harm concerning what is in us extends to the whole virtuous life and truly, as the apostle says, the whole is affected with its members, if one member suffers, the whole grieves with it, and if it is honored, the whole rejoices with it.

16.t Chapter 10 That to be outside of virtue in any way whatsoever has an equal

danger. 16.1 But countless in our life are the deviations towards sin

deviations, and in many ways the scriptures signify this multitude: For 'many,' it says, 'are they who persecute me and afflict me,' and, 'Many are they who war against me from on high,' and many other such things. Perhaps, then, it is possible to say properly that many are they who plot adulterously to corrupt 'this truly honorable marriage and the undefiled bed'; and if one must also enumerate these adulterers by name: anger is an adulterer, greed is an adulterer, envy is an adulterer, vengefulness, enmity, slander, hatred; and all the things that are listed by the apostle as 'contrary to sound teaching' are an enumeration of adulterers. Let us suppose, then, that there is a certain woman, comely and worthy of love, and for this reason joined in marriage to a king, but is plotted against on account of her beauty by certain licentious men. Therefore, such a woman, as long as she is hostile toward all those lying in wait to corrupt her and accuses them before her lawful husband, is chaste and looks only to that bridegroom, and the deceits of the licentious have no place against her. But if she should join herself to any one of those plotting against her, her chastity regarding the others does not exempt her from punishment; for even to have the marriage bed defiled by one is sufficient for condemnation. So also the soul that lives for God will not fall in love with any of the specious goods that appear to it through deceit; but if through some passion it has accepted defilement in the heart, it too has dissolved the rights of the spiritual marriage. And just as scripture says, 'wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,' so it is possible to say truly that it is not possible for the good Bridegroom to take up his dwelling in a soul that is wrathful and slanderous, or has any other such transgression in itself. 16.2 For what concept will join together that which is by nature alien and incompatible? Hear the apostle teaching that there is no 'fellowship of light with darkness' or 'of righteousness with lawlessness' or, to speak concisely, all that the Lord is—as he is conceived and named according to the variety of things contemplated in him—with all the things that are understood oppositely in evil. If, therefore, fellowship is impossible for things by nature unmixable, then the soul possessed by any evil is completely alien and incapable of cohabitation with the Good. What then do we learn from these things? That the chaste and rational virgin must be separated from every passion that in any way touches the soul and keep herself pure for the Bridegroom who has lawfully betrothed her, 'having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing'; for there is one straight way, truly narrow and afflicted, which does not admit deviations to either side, and to be outside of it in any way whatsoever holds an equal danger of falling away.

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τινος ἀρετῆς κατὰ τὸν ἀκριβῆ περιδράξασθαι λόγον τὸν μὴ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐφαψάμενον, ἀλλ' ᾧ ἂν παραγένηται μία τῶν ἀρετῶν ἀναγκαίως ἐπακολουθεῖν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας. Οὐκοῦν ἐξ ἀντι στρόφου καὶ ἡ περί τι βλάβη τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν εἰς ὅλον τὸν κατ' ἀρετὴν διατείνει βίον καὶ ὄντως, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, τοῖς μέλεσι τὸ ὅλον συνδιατίθεται, ἄν τε πάσχῃ μέλος ἕν, συναλγοῦντος τοῦ παντός, ἄν τε καὶ δοξάζηται, τοῦ ὅλου συγχαίροντος.

16.t Κεφάλαιον ιʹ Ὅτι τὸ ὁπωσοῦν ἔξω γενέσθαι τῆς ἀρετῆς ἴσον

κίνδυνον ἔχει. 16.1 Ἀλλὰ μυρίαι κατὰ τὸν βίον ἡμῶν αἱ πρὸς τὴν ἁμαρτίαν

παρατροπαὶ καὶ πολυτρόπως αἱ γραφαὶ τὸ πλῆθος τοῦτο διασημαίνουσι· «Πολλοὶ γάρ», φησίν, «οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με καὶ θλίβοντές με», καὶ «Πολλοὶ οἱ πολεμοῦντές με ἀπὸ ὕψους», καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα πολλά. Τάχα τοίνυν κυρίως ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι πολλοὶ οἱ μοιχικῶς ἐπιβουλεύοντες πρὸς τὸ διαφθεῖραι «τὸν τίμιον τοῦτον ὡς ἀληθῶς γάμον καὶ τὴν ἀμίαντον κοίτην»· εἰ δὲ χρὴ καὶ ὀνομαστὶ τοὺς μοιχοὺς τούτους ἀπαριθμήσασθαι, μοιχὸς ἡ ὀργή, μοιχὸς ἡ πλεονεξία, μοιχὸς ὁ φθόνος, ἡ μνησικακία, ἡ ἔχθρα, ἡ βασκανία, τὸ μῖσος· καὶ πάντα ὅσα παρὰ τοῦ ἀποστόλου κατείλεκται ὡς «ἀντικείμενα τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ διδασκαλίᾳ» μοιχῶν ἐστιν ἀπα ρίθμησις. Ὑποθώμεθα τοίνυν εἶναί τινα ἐν γυναιξὶν εὐπρεπῆ τε καὶ ἀξιέραστον καὶ διὰ τοῦτο βασιλεῖ πρὸς γάμον συναρμοσ θεῖσαν, ἐπιβουλεύεσθαι δὲ διὰ τὴν ὥραν ὑπὸ ἀκολάστων τινῶν. Οὐκοῦν ἡ τοιαύτη, ἕως μὲν ἂν πρὸς πάντας τοὺς ἐπὶ διαφθορᾷ παρεδρεύοντας ἐχθρῶς ἔχῃ καὶ κατηγορῇ τού των ἐπὶ τοῦ νομίμου ἀνδρός, σώφρων ἐστὶ καὶ πρὸς μόνον ἐκεῖνον τὸν νυμφίον ὁρᾷ καὶ οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσι χώραν κατ' αὐτῆς αἱ τῶν ἀκολάστων ἀπάται. Εἰ δέ τινι πρόσθοιτο τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων, οὐκ ἐξαιρεῖται αὐτὴν τῆς τιμωρίας ἡ ἐπὶ τῶν λοιπῶν σωφροσύνη· ἀρκεῖ γὰρ εἰς κατάκρισιν καὶ τὸ δι' ἑνός τινος μιανθῆναι τὴν κοίτην. Οὕτω καὶ ἡ τῷ θεῷ ζῶσα ψυχὴ οὐδενὶ τῶν δι' ἀπάτης αὐτῇ προφαινομένων καλῶν ἐρασθήσεται· εἰ δὲ παρεδέξατο διά τινος πάθους τὸν μιασμὸν τῇ καρδίᾳ, ἔλυσε καὶ αὐτὴ τοῦ πνευματικοῦ γάμου τὰ δίκαια. Καὶ ὥς φησιν ἡ γραφὴ «εἰς κακότεχνον ψυχὴν μὴ εἰσελεύσεσθαι σοφίαν», οὕτως ἔστιν ἀληθῶς εἰπεῖν μηδὲ εἰς θυμώδη καὶ βάσκανον ἢ ἄλλο τι ἔχουσαν τοιοῦτον ἐν ἑαυτῇ πλημμελὲς δυνατὸν εἶναι τὸν ἀγαθὸν νυμφίον εἰσοικισθῆναι. 16.2 Τίς γὰρ ἐπίνοια συναρμόσει τὸ τῇ φύσει ἀλλότριόν τε καὶ ἀκοινώνητον; Ἄκουσον τοῦ ἀποστόλου μηδεμίαν «κοινωνίαν εἶναι φωτὶ πρὸς σκότος» διδάσκοντος ἢ «δικαιο σύνῃ πρὸς ἀνομίαν» ἢ συνελόντι φάναι πάντα, ὅσα ἐστὶν ὁ κύριος κατὰ τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ θεωρουμένων νοού μενός τε καὶ ὀνομαζόμενος, πρὸς πάντα τὰ ἐν κακίᾳ κατὰ τὸ ἐναντίον νοούμενα. Εἰ οὖν ἀμήχανος τῶν τῇ φύσει ἀμί κτων ἡ κοινωνία, ἀλλοτρία πάντως καὶ ἀνεπίδεκτος τῆς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ συνοικήσεως ἡ ὑπὸ κακίας τινὸς κατειλημμένη ψυχή. Τί οὖν ἐκ τούτων μανθάνομεν; τὸ δεῖν τὴν σώφρονα καὶ λελογισμένην παρθένον παντὸς πάθους κατὰ πάντα τρόπον τῆς ψυχῆς ἁπτομένου χωρίζεσθαι καὶ φυλάσσειν ἑαυτὴν ἁγνὴν τῷ νομίμως αὐτὴν ἁρμοσαμένῳ νυμφίῳ, «μὴ ἔχουσαν σπίλον ἢ ῥυτίδα ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων»· μία γάρ ἐστιν ὁδὸς εὐθεῖα στενή τε ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ τεθλιμμένη καὶ τὰς ἐφ' ἑκάτερα παρατροπὰς οὐ παραδεχομένη, καὶ τὸ ὁπωσοῦν ταύτης ἔξω γενέσθαι ἴσον ἔχει τὸν τῆς ἀπο πτώσεως κίνδυνον.