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for those to reach the summit. But the end and the time of the crowns will then persuade you well that safety is much better than empty ambition, and it is better to obey Christ than the vanity of one's own reasonings. For Christ says that not even renouncing all our own possessions is sufficient for us for virtue, unless we also hate ourselves. But you, being mixed up in all these things, said you were able to overcome. But, as I said, you will then know well how great an impediment to virtue a wife and the cares of a wife are.

46 If a wife is an impediment to the perfect life, how does scripture call her a helper for the man? How then, he says, did he call the one who is an impediment a helper? For "Let us make," he says, "for him a helper corresponding to him." And I will ask you, how is she a helper who deprived the man of so much security, and cast him out of that wonderful way of life in paradise, and threw him into the turmoil of the present life? For these are the acts not only not of a helper but also of a plotter. For "From woman," he says, "is the beginning of sin, and through her we all die." And the blessed Paul also says, "Adam was not deceived, but the woman, having been deceived, fell into transgression." How then is she a helper who subjected the man to death? How is she a helper through whom the sons of God, or rather all who then inhabited the earth, along with beasts and birds and all other living creatures, were deluged and perished? Was it not she who was about to destroy the righteous Job, if he had not been a very strong man? Did she not destroy Samson? Did she not cause the whole race of the Hebrews to be initiated to Baal-peor and to be cut down by the hands of their kinsmen? Who especially delivered Ahab to the devil, and before him Solomon, after all that great wisdom and renown? Do not many even now persuade their own husbands to offend God? Is it not for this reason that wise man says: "All wickedness is but little to the wickedness of a woman"? How then, he says, did God say to him: "Let us make for him a helper like himself"? For God does not lie. Neither would I say this, far from it, but she was made for this and because of this, but she did not wish to remain in her own proper station, just as her husband did not. For God made him also in his image and likeness; for he says, "Let us make man in our image and after our likeness," just as he said, "Let us make for him a helper." But having become both, he immediately lost them. For he preserved neither the "in the image" nor the "after the likeness"—for how could he, giving in to a strange desire and being caught by deceit and not mastering pleasure?—and the "in the image" was then taken away from him even against his will. For God cut off no small part of his rule, making him who was feared by all as a master, contemptible to his fellow-servants like an ungrateful house-servant after offending his master. For in the beginning he was feared by all the beasts. For God brought all things to him, and nothing dared to harm or plot against him; for it saw the royal image shining in him. But when he obscured those features through sin, he brought him down from that rule. Therefore, just as his not ruling over all things on the earth, but even trembling at and fearing some, does not make false the decision of God that says, "And let them rule over the beasts of the earth"; for the mutilation of authority came not from the giver but from the receiver. So also the plots of women against men do not corrupt that word which says: "Let us make for him a helper corresponding to him." For she was made for this, but she did not remain in this. And apart from this, it is also possible to say that she shows her help both for the constitution of the present life and for the begetting of children and for natural desire; but when it is no longer the time for the present life, nor for childbearing, nor for desire, why do you mention a helper here in vain? For the one to contribute in the smallest things

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ἐκείνοις φθάσαι κορυφήν. Τὸ δὲ τέλος καὶ ὁ τῶν στεφάνων καιρὸς τότε σε πείσει καλῶς ὅτι πολλῷ βελτίων ἀσφάλεια φιλοτιμίας κενῆς καὶ κρεῖττον τῷ Χριστῷ πείθεσθαι ἢ τῇ τῶν οἰκείων ματαιότητι λογισμῶν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Χριστὸς οὐδὲ τὸ τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀποτάξασθαι πᾶσι πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἡμῖν ἀρκεῖν φησιν, ἂν μὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς μισήσωμεν. Σὺ δὲ τούτοις πᾶσι φυρόμενος ἔφης δύνασθαι περιγενέσθαι. Ἀλλά, ὅπερ ἔφην, τότε εἴσῃ καλῶς ὅσον πρὸς ἀρετὴν ἐμπόδιον γυνὴ καὶ γυναικὸς φροντίδες.

46 Εἰ ἐμποδίζει πρὸς τὸν τέλειον βίον γυνή, πῶς βοηθὸν αὐτὴν καλεῖ ἡ γραφὴ τοῦ ἀνδρός. Πῶς οὖν, φησί, βοηθὸν αὐτὴν ἐκάλεσε τὴν ἐμποδίζουσαν; «Ποιήσωμεν» γὰρ «αὐτῷ», φησί, «βοηθὸν κατ' αὐτόν.» Κἀγὼ δέ σε ἐρήσομαι, πῶς βοηθὸς ἡ τοσαύτης ἀποστερήσασα τὸν ἄνδρα ἀσφαλείας καὶ τῆς θαυμαστῆς μὲν ἐκείνης ἐκβαλοῦσα διαγωγῆς τῆς ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ, εἰς δὲ τὴν τοῦ παρόντος βίου ταραχὴν ἐμβαλοῦσα; Ταῦτα γὰρ οὐ μόνον οὐ βοηθοῦ ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπιβούλου. «Ἀπὸ» γὰρ «γυναικός», φησίν, «ἀρχὴ ἁμαρτίας καὶ δι' αὐτὴν ἀποθνήσκομεν πάντες.» Καὶ ὁ μακάριος δὲ Παῦλος «Ἀδάμ», φησίν, «οὐκ ἠπατήθη, ἡ δὲ γυνὴ ἐξαπατηθεῖσα ἐν παραβάσει γέγονε.» Πῶς οὖν βοηθὸς ἡ τῷ θανάτῳ τὸν ἄνδρα ὑποτάξασα; Πῶς βοηθὸς δι' ἧς οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, μᾶλλον δὲ πάντες οἱ τὴν γῆν οἰκοῦντες τότε ἅμα θηρίοις καὶ πετεινοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι ζῴοις κατακλυσθέντες ἀπώλοντο; Οὐχ αὕτη τὸν δίκαιον Ἰὼβ ἔμελλεν ἀπολλύναι, εἰ μὴ σφόδρα ἦν ἐκεῖνος ἀνήρ; Οὐκ αὐτὴ τὸν Σαμψὼν ἀπώλεσεν; Οὐ τὸ πᾶν Ἑβραίων γένος τελεσθῆναι τῷ Βεελφεγὼρ καὶ ταῖς συγγενικαῖς κατακοπῆναι χερσὶ παρεσκεύασε; Τὸν δὲ Ἀχαὰβ τίς μάλιστα τῷ διαβόλῳ παρέδωκε καὶ πρὸ τούτου τὸν Σολομῶντα μετὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἐκείνην σοφίαν καὶ εὐδοκίμησιν; Οὐ μέχρι καὶ νῦν πολλὰ τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς ἑαυτῶν ἀναπείθουσι προσκρούειν τῷ Θεῷ; Οὐ διὰ τοῦτό φησιν ὁ σοφὸς ἐκεῖνος ἀνήρ· «Μικρὰ πᾶσα κακία πρὸς κακίαν γυναικός»; Πῶς οὖν, φησίν, εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός· «Ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν ὅμοιον αὐτῷ»; Οὐδὲ γὰρ ψεύδεται ὁ Θεός. Οὐδὲ ἐγὼ τοῦτο ἂν εἴποιμι, ἄπαγε, ἀλλ' ἐγένετο μὲν ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἠθέλησε δὲ μεῖναι ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας ἀξίας, καθάπερ οὖν οὐδὲ ὁ ταύτης ἀνήρ. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνον ὁ Θεὸς ἐποίησε κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν· «Ποιήσωμεν», γάρ φησιν, «ἄνθρωπον κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἡμετέραν» ὥσπερ οὖν εἶπε «Ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθόν.» Γενόμενος δὲ ἀμφότερα εὐθέως ἀπώλεσεν. Οὔτε γὰρ τὸ κατ' εἰκόνα οὔτε τὸ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν ἐφύλαξεν-πῶς γάρ; ἐνδοὺς ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἀτόπῳ καὶ ἀπάτῃ ἁλοὺς καὶ μὴ κρατήσας ἡδονῆς-, τό τε κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ ἄκοντος ἀφῃρέθη λοιπόν. Οὐ γὰρ μικρὸν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ Θεὸς ὑπετέμετο μέρος, τὸν φοβερὸν ἅπασι καθάπερ δεσπότην, ὥσπερ οἰκέτην ἀγνώμονα μετὰ τὸ προσκροῦσαι τῷ δεσπότῃ τοῖς ὁμοδούλοις ποιήσας εὐκαταφρόνητον. Παρὰ μὲν γὰρ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις ἅπασιν ἐπίφοβος ἦν. Πάντα γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἤγαγεν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ οὐδὲν αὐτῷ λυμήνασθαι οὐδὲ ἐπιβουλεῦσαι ἐτόλμησεν· ἑώρα γὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ λάμπουσαν τὴν εἰκόνα τὴν βασιλικήν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ τοὺς χαρακτῆρας ἐκείνους ἠμαύρωσε διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτὸν ἐκείνης κατήγαγεν. Ὥσπερ οὖν τὸ μὴ πάντων αὐτὸν ἄρχειν τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἀλλ' ἔνια καὶ τρέμειν καὶ δεδοικέναι οὐ ψευδῆ τοῦ Θεοῦ ποιεῖ τὴν ἀπόφασιν τὴν λέγουσαν· «Καὶ ἀρχέτωσαν τῶν θηρίων τῆς γῆς»· οὐ γὰρ παρὰ τὸν δεδωκότα ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸν εἰληφότα ὁ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἀκρωτηριασμὸς γέγονεν. Οὕτως οὐδὲ αἱ παρὰ τῶν γυναικῶν ἐπιβουλαὶ εἰς τοὺς ἄνδρας γινόμεναι, ἐκείνῳ τῷ λόγῳ λυμαίνονται τῷ λέγοντι· «Ποιήσωμεν αὐτῷ βοηθὸν κατ' αὐτόν.» Ἐγένετο μὲν γὰρ εἰς τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔμεινε δὲ ἐν τούτῳ. Χωρὶς δὲ τούτου κἀκεῖνο ἔστιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι καὶ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ παρόντος βίου σύστασιν καὶ πρὸς παίδων γονὴν καὶ πρὸς φυσικὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τὴν βοήθειαν ἐπιδείκνυται τὴν αὑτῆς· ὅταν δὲ μηκέτι καιρὸς ᾖ τοῦ παρόντος βίου μηδὲ παιδοποιΐας, μηδὲ ἐπιθυμίας, τί μάτην ἐνταῦθα μνημονεύεις βοηθοῦ; Τὴν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ἐλαχίστοις συμβαλέσθαι