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having lit the pyre, should blame the pyre because, having seized much wood, it was raised high; but the crime is not the fire's, but the one who lit the fire. For this was given for nourishment, for illumination, for other such services, not to burn houses; just as desire is for the procreation of children and the establishment of life, not for adultery and fornication and licentiousness; that you may become a father, not an adulterer; that you may lawfully have relations with a woman, not that you may unlawfully corrupt her; that you may leave seed, not that you may ruin another's. For committing adultery is not from natural desire, but from unnatural insolence; for desire seeks union only, not such a union.

4. Now these things have not been said by me simply, but we are preluding certain contests, and skirmishing against those who say that God's creation is evil, and while ignoring the soul's indolence, rave against the body and slander our flesh, about which matters the apostle Paul also speaks after this, not accusing the flesh, but the diabolical reasonings. But you, brothers, were called to freedom; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Here, then, he seems to enter into moral discourse, but he does something new, which he has not done in any of the other Epistles. For dividing them all into two parts, and discoursing first about dogmas, and last about life, here, having fallen into moral discourse, he again mixes in the dogmatic. For this again relates to that in the fight against the Manicheans. What does it mean, "Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh"? Christ, he says, has freed us from the yoke of bondage, He has left us masters to do what we wish, not that we should use this power for wickedness, but that we may have a reason for a greater reward, ascending to a greater philosophy. For since he everywhere calls the law a yoke of bondage, and grace a release from the curse; lest anyone should suspect that for this reason he commands to depart from the law, that it might be permitted to live lawlessly, he corrects the suspicion, saying: Not that our way of life should become lawless, but that our philosophy should be above the law; for the bonds of the law have been loosed. And I say these things, not that we may become lower, but that we may become higher.

For both the fornicator and the virgin have exceeded the measures of the law, but not in the same ways; the one being brought down to the worse, the other being raised up to the better; the one transgressing, the other surpassing the law. This, then, Paul says, that He loosed the yoke from you, not 61.670 that you should leap, nor that you should kick, but that you should walk rhythmically without a yoke. Then he also shows a way, by which such a thing could easily be achieved. What then is the way? "Through love serve one another," he says. Here again he hints that contentiousness and strife and love of power and arrogance were the causes of this error for them; for the mother of heresies is the desire for power. For by saying, "Serve one another," he showed that this evil had its beginning from arrogance and pride; wherefore he introduces a suitable remedy. For since you were divided by wishing to rule one another, "Serve one another;" for thus you will be gathered together again. But he does not openly state the sin, but he openly sets forth the correction, that through it they might also learn that; just as if someone, to one who is licentious, should not say that he is licentious, but should continually exhort him to be sober-minded. For he who loves his neighbor as he ought does not refuse to serve him more humbly than any slave. For just as fire coming into contact with wax easily softens it, so also the warmth of love dissolves all pride and arrogance more forcefully than fire. For this reason he did not say, "Love one another," simply, but,

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ἅψαντα τὴν πυρὰν, ἐγκαλέσειε τῇ πυρᾷ, ὅτι πολλῶν ἐπιλαβομένη ξύλων εἰς ὕψος ἤρθη· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι τὸ ἔγκλημα τοῦ πυρὸς, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἅψαντος τὸ πῦρ. Τοῦτο γὰρ πρὸς τροφὴν, πρὸς φωτισμὸν, πρὸς ἄλλας τοιαύτας ἐδόθη διακονίας, οὐχ ἵνα καίῃ τὰς οἰκίας· ὥσπερ οὖν καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία εἰς παιδοποιίαν καὶ βίου σύστασιν, οὐ πρὸς μοιχείαν καὶ πορνείαν καὶ ἀσέλγειαν· ἵνα πατὴρ γένῃ, οὐχ ἵνα μοιχός· ἵνα νομίμως ὁμιλήσῃς γυναικὶ, οὐχ ἵνα παρανόμως διαφθείρῃς· ἵνα καταλίπῃς σπέρμα, οὐχ ἵνα τὸ ἑτέρου λυμήνῃ. Τὸ γὰρ μοιχεύειν οὐ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐστὶ τῆς φυσικῆς, ἀλλὰ τῆς ὕβρεως τῆς παρὰ φύσιν· ἡ γὰρ ἐπιθυμία μίξιν ἐπιζητεῖ μόνον, οὐ τοιάνδε μίξιν.

δʹ. Ταῦτα δέ μοι οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἴρηται νῦν, ἀλλὰ προανακρουόμεθά τινας ἀγῶνας, καὶ προακροβολιζόμεθα πρὸς τοὺς λέγοντας τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δημιουργίαν πονηρὰν εἶναι, καὶ τῆς μὲν ψυχῆς τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν ἐῶντας, κατὰ δὲ τοῦ σώματος μαινομένους, καὶ τὴν σάρκα ἡμῶν διαβάλλοντας, περὶ ὧν καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ὁ ἀπόστολος Παῦλος διαλέγεται, οὐ τῆς σαρκὸς κατηγορῶν, ἀλλὰ τῶν διαβολικῶν λογισμῶν. Ὑμεῖς δὲ, ἀδελφοὶ, ἐπὶ ἐλευθερίᾳ ἐκλήθητε· μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν εἰς ἀφορμὴν τῇ σαρκί. Ἐνταῦθα λοιπὸν δοκεῖ μὲν εἰς τὸν ἠθικὸν ἐμβαίνειν λόγον, πάσχει δέ τι καινὸν, καὶ ὅπερ οὐδὲ ἐν μιᾷ τῶν ἄλλων ἔπαθεν Ἐπιστολῶν. Πάσας γὰρ διαλαμβάνων εἰς μέρη δύο, καὶ τὰ μὲν πρῶτα περὶ δογμάτων, τὰ δὲ ἔσχατα περὶ βίου διαλεγόμενος, ἐνταῦθα εἰς τὸν ἠθικὸν ἐμπεσὼν λόγον, πάλιν ἀναμίγνυσι τὸν δογματικόν. Καὶ γὰρ οὗτος ἐκείνου πάλιν ἔχεται ἐν τῇ πρὸς Μανιχαίους μάχῃ. Τί δέ ἐστι, Μόνον μὴ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῇ σαρκὶ εἰς ἀφορμήν; Ἀπήλλαξεν ἡμᾶς, φησὶν, ὁ Χριστὸς τοῦ ζυγοῦ τῆς δουλείας, κυρίους ἀφῆκε τοῦ πράττειν ὅ τι βουλόμεθα, οὐχ ἵνα τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ πρὸς κακίαν χρησώμεθα, ἀλλ' ἵνα μείζονος λάβωμεν μισθοῦ πρόφασιν, ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίαν μείζονα ἀνιόντες. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἄνω καὶ κάτω ζυγὸν δουλείας καλεῖ τὸν νόμον, καὶ τὴν χάριν κατάρας ἀπαλλαγήν· ἵνα μή τις ὑποπτεύσῃ, ὅτι διὰ τοῦτο κελεύει τοῦ νόμου ἀποστῆναι, ἵνα ἐξῇ παρανόμως ζῇν, διορθοῦται τὴν ὑπόνοιαν, λέγων· Οὐχ ἵνα παράνομος γένηται ἡ πολιτεία, ἀλλ' ἵνα ὑπὲρ τὸν νόμον ἡ φιλοσοφία· ἐλύθη γὰρ τοῦ νόμου τὰ δεσμά. Καὶ ἐγὼ ταῦτα λέγω, οὐχ ἵνα ταπεινότεροι, ἀλλ' ἵνα ὑψηλότεροι γενώμεθα.

Καὶ γὰρ ὁ πορνεύων, καὶ ὁ παρθενεύων, ἀμφότεροι τοῦ νόμου τὰ μέτρα ἐξέβησαν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῖς αὐτοῖς, ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον κατενεχθεὶς, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον ἐπαρθείς· ὁ μὲν παραβὰς, ὁ δὲ ὑπερβὰς τὸν νόμον. Τοῦτ' οὖν φησιν ὁ Παῦλος, ὅτι Ἔλυσε τὸν ζυγὸν ἀφ' ὑμῶν, οὐχ 61.670 ἵνα σκιρτήσητε, οὐδ' ἵνα λακτίσητε, ἀλλ' ἵνα χωρὶς ζυγοῦ βαδίζητε εὔρυθμα. Εἶτα καὶ δείκνυσι τρόπον, δι' οὗ ῥᾳδίως ἂν τὸ τοιοῦτον κατορθωθείη. Τίς οὖν ὁ τρόπος; ∆ιὰ τῆς ἀγάπης δουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις, φησί. Πάλιν ἐνταῦθα αἰνίττεται ὅτι φιλονεικία καὶ στάσις καὶ φιλαρχία καὶ ἀπόνοια ταύτης τῆς πλάνης αἴτιαι αὐτοῖς ἐγένοντο· ἡ γὰρ τῶν αἱρέσεων μήτηρ, ἡ τῆς φιλαρχίας ἐστὶν ἐπιθυμία. Εἰπὼν γὰρ, ὅτι ∆ουλεύετε ἀλλήλοις, ἔδειξεν ὅτι ἐξ ἀπονοίας καὶ τύφου τοῦτο ἔλαβεν ἀρχὴν τὸ κακόν· διὸ κατάλληλον ἐπεισάγει φάρμακον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἀλλήλων ἄρχειν βουλόμενοι διεσχίσθητε, ∆ουλεύσατε ἀλλήλοις· οὕτω γὰρ συναχθήσεσθε πάλιν. Ἀλλὰ φανερῶς μὲν οὐ λέγει τὸ ἁμάρτημα, φανερῶς δὲ τίθησι τὴν διόρθωσιν, ἵνα δι' αὐτῆς κἀκεῖνο μάθωσιν· ὡς ἂν εἴ τις τῷ ἀσελγαίνοντι ὅτι μὲν ἀσελγαίνει μὴ λέγοι, παραινοῖ δὲ συνεχῶς σωφρονεῖν. Ὁ γὰρ ἀγαπῶν, ὡς χρὴ, τὸν πλησίον, οὐ παραιτεῖται δουλεύειν αὐτῷ παντὸς δούλου ταπεινότερον. Καθάπερ γὰρ πῦρ ὁμιλῆσαν κηρῷ, μαλάσσει ῥᾳδίως αὐτὸν, οὕτω καὶ ἡ τῆς ἀγάπης θερμότης πάντα τῦφον καὶ ἀπόνοιαν πυρὸς σφοδρότερον διαλύει. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἀγαπᾶτε ἀλλήλους, ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ,