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And that wretched woman kindled a flame more terrible than this furnace, smelling of perfumes, with cosmetics on her cheeks, with painted eyes, with a broken voice, with movements, with an affected gait, with soft garments, adorned with gold, with countless other such enchantments bewitching the young man. And just as some skilled hunter, about to capture a hard-to-catch animal, employs all the tools of his art, so indeed she too, knowing the young man's self-control—for it was not likely to escape her notice for so long a time—thought that she needed much preparation for the capture of the youth, and for this reason she employed all the devices of licentiousness. And she was not content with these alone, but also watched for a suitable time and place for the hunt. For this reason, she did not attack him immediately upon being smitten, but waited a long time, travailing with and preparing for this wicked desire, fearing that with haste and her improvised plots the prey might escape. And once, finding him alone indoors in the house doing his usual tasks, she digs the pit deeper now and, spreading the wings of pleasure from every side, as if now holding the eagle in the middle of her nets, she comes in and gets him alone by herself; or rather, not alone; for she also had her age and her nature and her own devices present with her; she then drags that noble man by force to the unjust deed. What is more terrible than this temptation? Of what furnace and flame is this not more vehement, for a youth in his prime, a slave, alone, without a city, a foreigner, a sojourner, by a mistress so licentious and maddened, so wealthy, and invested with such great power, in such solitude—for this too contributes to such a capture—to be seized, held, flattered and led to his mistress's bed, and this after so many dangers and plots? For you know how the many, when they happen to have been weathered by hardships, being called to luxury and ease and a soft and dissolute life, run to it more eagerly. But not he; rather he remained through all, demonstrating his own endurance. I would confidently say that that chamber and the Babylonian furnace and the den of Daniel and the belly of the sea monster into which the Prophet fell are equal, or rather, even much more terrible than these. For there, the victory of the plot was the destruction of the body, but here, the utter ruin of the soul and immortal death and a calamity having no consolation. And this den was not terrible in this way only, but because with violence and deceit it was also full of much flattery, of a much varied and manifold fire, not burning the body, but inflaming the soul itself. And Solomon, who knew these things with the greatest accuracy, making this very thing plain, how great a thing it is to have dealings with a woman who has a husband, says: "Will one," he says, "bind up fire in his bosom, and not burn his clothes? Or will one walk on coals of fire, and not scorch his feet? So 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, so it is not possible for one who keeps company with women to escape the conflagration from it. But this man endured what was much more difficult. For he did not touch her, but was held by her, alone, cornered by her alone, having already been afflicted by so many evils and weathered by so many plots, and desiring rest and security, but nevertheless being in so many nets and seeing a many-colored beast attacking him and shooting at him through all things, through her touch, through her voice, through her eyes, through her cosmetics, through her painted eyes, through her gold, through her perfumes, through her clothes, through her character, through her words, through the adornment she wore, through

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καὶ ταλαίπωρος ἐκείνη γυνὴ τῆς καμίνου ταύτης χαλεπωτέραν ἀνῆψε φλόγα, μύρων ὄζουσα, ἐπιτρίμμασι παρειῶν, ὑπογραφαῖς ὀφθαλμῶν, κατακεκλασμένῃ φωνῇ, κινήμασι, βαδίσμασι διαθρυπτομένοις, ἱματίοις μαλακοῖς, περιβολῇ χρυσίων, ἑτέραις τοιαύταις μυρίαις μαγγανείαις καταγοητεύουσα τὸ μειράκιον. Καὶ καθάπερ τις θηρευτὴς δεινὸς δυσάλωτον μέλλων χειροῦσθαι ζῶον ἅπαντα κινεῖ τῆς τέχνης τὰ ὄργανα, οὕτω δὴ καὶ αὕτη τὴν σωφροσύνην εἰδυῖα τοῦ νέου-οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔμελλεν ἐν τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ λανθάνειν-πολλῆς ἐνόμισεν αὐτῇ δεῖν παρασκευῆς ἐπὶ τὴν αἰχμαλωσίαν τοῦ νεανίσκου καὶ διὰ τοῦτο πάντα ἐκίνει τῆς ἀκολασίας τὰ μηχανήματα. Καὶ οὐδὲ τούτοις ἠρκεῖτο μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ καιρὸν καὶ τόπον ἐπετήρει πρὸς τὴν θήραν ἐπιτήδειον. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ εὐθέως ἁλοῦσα προσέβαλεν, ἀλλὰ πολὺν ἀνέμεινε χρόνον τὴν πονηρὰν ταύτην ἐπιθυμίαν ὠδίνουσα καὶ παρασκευαζομένη, δεδοικυῖα μὴ τῷ τάχει καὶ ταῖς ἐσχεδιασμέναις αὐτῆς ἐπιβουλαῖς διαφύγῃ τὸ θήραμα. Καί ποτε εὑροῦσα μόνον ἔνδον ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τὰ συνήθη ποιοῦντα ἀνασκάπτει βαθύτερον λοιπὸν τὸ βάραθρον καὶ τὰ πτερὰ τῆς ἡδονῆς πάντοθεν ἀναπετάσασα, ὥσπερ ἐν μέσοις δικτύοις λοιπὸν ἔχουσα τὸν ἀετόν, ἐπεισέρχεται καὶ μόνη μόνον ἀπολαβοῦσα· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ μόνη· καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν καὶ τὴν φύσιν καὶ τὰ αὐτῆς μηχανήματα συμπαρόντα εἶχεν αὐτῇ· ἕλκει λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ἄδικον πρᾶξιν πρὸς βίαν τὸν γενναῖον ἐκεῖνον. Τί τοῦ πειρασμοῦ τούτου χαλεπώτερον; Ποίας τοῦτο καμίνου καὶ φλογὸς οὐ σφοδρότερον, νέον σφριγῶντα, δοῦλον, ἔρημον, ἄπολιν, ξένον, μετανάστην, ὑπὸ δεσποίνης οὕτως ἀκολάστου καὶ μαινομένης, οὕτω πλουτούσης, καὶ τοσαύτην δυναστείαν περιβεβλημένης, ἐν ἐρημίᾳ τοσαύτῃ-συντελεῖ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο πρὸς τὴν τοιαύτην ἅλωσιν-, συνειλημμένον κατέχεσθαί τε καὶ κολακεύεσθαι καὶ πρὸς εὐνὴν ἄγεσθαι δεσποτικήν, καὶ ταῦτα μετὰ τοσούτους κινδύνους καὶ ἐπιβουλάς; Οἶσθα γὰρ ὡς οἱ πολλοί, ὅταν τεταριχευμένοι τύχωσι τοῖς δεινοῖς, εἰς τρυφὴν καλούμενοι καὶ ἄνεσιν καὶ τὸν ὑγρὸν καὶ διαλελυμένον βίον, προθυμότερον ἐπιτρέχουσιν. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκεῖνος, ἀλλ' ἔμενε διὰ πάντων τὴν οἰκείαν καρτερίαν ἐπιδεικνύμενος. Ἐγὼ τὸν θάλαμον ἐκεῖνον καὶ τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν κάμινον καὶ τὸν τοῦ ∆ανιὴλ λάκκον καὶ τὴν γαστέρα τοῦ θαλασσίου θηρίου εἰς ἣν ὁ Προφήτης ἐνέπεσε, θαρρῶν ἴσην ἂν προσείποιμι, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ τούτων χαλεπώτερον. Ἐκεῖ μὲν γὰρ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἡ νίκη σώματος ἦν ἀπώλεια, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ψυχῆς πανωλεθρία καὶ θάνατος ἀθά νατος καὶ συμφορὰ παραμυθίαν οὐκ ἔχουσα. Οὐ ταύτῃ δὲ μόνον χαλεπὸς ὁ λάκκος οὗτος ἦν, ἀλλ' ὅτι μετὰ τῆς βίας καὶ τοῦ δόλου καὶ πολλῆς ἔγεμε τῆς κολακείας, πολλοῦ τοῦ ποικίλου καὶ παντοδαποῦ πυρός, οὐ σῶμα καίοντος, ἀλλὰ αὐτὴν φλέγοντος τὴν ψυχήν. Καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ δηλῶν ὁ Σαλομὼν ὁ μάλιστα ταῦτα μετὰ ἀκριβείας εἰδὼς ἡλίκον ἐστὶ τὸ γυναικὶ συμβάλλειν 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 ἀθῳωθήσεται.» Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· ὥσπερ, φησίν, οὐκ ἔνι ὁμιλοῦντα πυρὶ μὴ κατακαίεσθαι, οὕτως οὐδὲ γυναιξὶ συνόντα διαφεύγειν τὸν ἐντεῦθεν ἐμπρησμόν. Οὗτος δὲ ὃ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον ἦν ὑπέμεινεν. Οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸς αὐτῆς ἥψατο, ἀλλ' ὑπ' ἐκείνης κατείχετο μόνος ὑπὸ μόνης ἀπειλημμένος, 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 κατατοξεῦον, διὰ τῆς ἁφῆς, διὰ τῆς φωνῆς, διὰ τῶν ὀμμάτων, διὰ τῶν ἐπιτριμμάτων, διὰ τῆς ὑπογραφῆς, διὰ τῶν χρυσίων, διὰ τῶν μύρων, διὰ τῶν ἱματίων, διὰ τοῦ ἤθους, διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων, διὰ τοῦ κόσμου τοῦ περικειμένου, διὰ