Letter XLVI.372    Placed with the preceding.

To a fallen virgin.

1.  Now is the time to quote the words of the prophet and to say, “Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.”373    Jer. ix. 1.  Though they are wrapped in profound silence and lie stunned by their misfortune, robbed of all sense of feeling by the fatal blow, I at all events must not let such a fall go unlamented.  If, to Jeremiah, it seemed that those whose bodies had been wounded in war, were worthy of innumerable lamentations, what shall be said of such a disaster of souls?  “My slain men,” it is said, “are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.”374    Is. xxii. 2.  But I am bewailing the sting of the real death, the grievousness of sin and the fiery darts of the wicked one, which have savagely set on fire souls as well as bodies.  Truly God’s laws would groan aloud on seeing so great a pollution on the earth.  They have pronounced their prohibition of old “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife”;375    Deut. v. 21. and through the holy gospels they say that “Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery already with her in his heart.”376    Matt. v. 28.  Now they see the bride of the Lord herself, whose head is Christ, boldly committing adultery.377    cf. Letter ccxvii. § 60.  So too would groan the companies378    Τάγματα, with two mss.  The alternative reading is πνεύματα. of the Saints.  Phinehas, the zealous, because he can now no more take his spear into his hands and avenge the outrage on the bodies; and John the Baptist, because he cannot quit the realms above, as in his life he left the wilderness, to hasten to convict iniquity, and if he must suffer for the deed, rather lose his head than his freedom to speak.  But, peradventure, like the blessed Abel, he too though dead yet speaks to us,379    cf. Heb. xi. 4. and now exclaims, more loudly than John of old concerning Herodias, “It is not lawful for thee to have her.”380    Matt. xiv. 4.  For even if the body of John in obedience to the law of nature has received the sentence of God, and his tongue is silent, yet “the word of God is not bound.”381    2 Tim. ii. 9.  John, when he saw the wedlock of a fellow servant set at nought, was bold to rebuke even to the death:  how would he feel on seeing such an outrage wreaked on the marriage chamber of the Lord?

2.  You have flung away the yoke of that divine union; you have fled from the undefiled chamber of the true King; you have shamefully fallen into this disgraceful and impious corruption; and now that you cannot avoid this painful charge, and have no means or device to conceal your trouble, you rush into insolence.  The wicked man after falling into a pit of iniquity always begins to despise, and you are denying your actual covenant with the true bridegroom; you say that you are not a virgin, and made no promise, although you have undertaken and publicly professed many pledges of virginity.  Remember the good profession which you witnessed382    cf. 1 Tim. vi. 12. before God, angels, and men.  Remember the hallowed intercourse, the sacred company of virgins, the assembly of the Lord, the Church of the holy.  Remember your grandmother, grown old in Christ, still youthful and vigorous in virtue; and your mother vying with her in the Lord, and striving to break with ordinary life in strange and unwonted toils; remember your sister, who copies their doings, nay, endeavours to surpass them, and goes beyond the good deeds of her fathers in her virgin graces, and earnestly challenges by word and deed you her sister, as she thinks, to like efforts, while she earnestly prays that your virginity be preserved.383    These words occur in the mss. after “moderate fare,” below, where they make no sense.  The Ben. Ed. conjectures that they may belong here.  All these call to mind, and your holy service of God with them, your life spiritual, though in the flesh; your conversation heavenly, though on earth.  Remember days of calm, nights lighted up, spiritual songs, sweet music of psalms, saintly prayers, a bed pure and undefiled, procession of virgins, and moderate fare.384    Vide note above.  What has become of your grave appearance, your gracious demeanour, your plain dress, meet for a virgin, the beautiful blush of modesty, the comely and bright pallor due to temperance and vigils, shining fairer than any brilliance of complexion?  How often have you not prayed, perhaps with tears, that you might preserve your virginity without spot!  How often have you not written to the holy men, imploring them to offer up prayers in your behalf, not that it should be your lot to marry, still less to be involved in this shameful corruption, but that you should not fall away from the Lord Jesus?  How often have you received gifts from the Bridegroom?  Why enumerate the honours given you for His sake by them that are His?  Why tell of your fellowship with virgins, your progress with them, your being greeted by them with praises on account of virginity, eulogies of virgins, letters written as to a virgin?  Now, nevertheless, at a little blast from the spirit of the air, “that now worketh in the children of disobedience,”385    Eph. ii. 2. you have abjured all these; you have changed the honourable treasure, worth fighting for at all costs, for short-lived indulgence which does for the moment gratify the appetite; one day you will find it more bitter than gall.

3.  Who would not grieve over such things and say, “How is the faithful city become an harlot?”386    Is. i. 21.  How would not the Lord Himself say to some of those who are now walking in the spirit of Jeremiah, “Hast thou seen what the virgin of Israel has done to me?”387    cf.Jer. xviii. 13.  I betrothed her to me in trust, in purity, in righteousness, in judgment, in pity, and in mercy;388    cf. Hosea ii. 19. as I promised her through Hosea the prophet.  But she loved strangers, and while I, her husband, was yet alive, she is called adulteress, and is not afraid to belong to another husband.  What then says the conductor of the bride,389    The νυμφαγωγός was the friend who conducted the bride from her parents’ or her own house to the bridegroom’s.  cf. Luc., Dial Deor. 20, 16. the divine and blessed Paul, both that one of old, and the later one of to-day under whose mediation and instruction you left your father’s house and were united to the Lord?  Might not either, in sorrow for such a trouble, say, “The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”390    Job iii. 25.  “I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”391    2 Cor. xi. 2.  I was indeed ever afraid “lest by any means as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your mind should be corrupted;”392    2 Cor. xi. 3. wherefore by countless counter-charms I strove to control the agitation of your senses, and by countless safeguards to preserve the bride of the Lord.  So I continually set forth the life of the unmarried maid, and described how “the unmarried” alone “careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit.”393    1 Cor. vii. 34.  I used to describe the high dignity of virginity, and, addressing you as a temple of God, used as it were to give wings to your zeal as I strove to lift you to Jesus.  Yet through fear of evil I helped you not to fall by the words “if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy.”394    1 Cor. iii. 17.  So by my prayers I tried to make you more secure, if by any means “your body, soul, and spirit might be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”395    1 Thess. v. 23.  Yet all my toil on your behalf has been in vain.  Bitter to me has been the end of those sweet labours.  Now I needs must groan again at that over which I ought to have rejoiced.  You have been deceived by the serpent more bitterly than Eve; and not only your mind but also your body has been defiled.  Even that last horror has come to pass which I shrink from saying, and yet cannot leave unsaid, for it is as a burning and blazing fire in my bones, and I am undone and cannot endure.  You have taken the members of Christ and made them the members of a harlot.396    1 Cor. vi. 15.  This is an evil with which no other can be matched.  This outrage in life is new.  “For pass over the Isles of Chittim and see; and send unto Chedar and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.  Hath a nation changed their gods which are yet no gods.”397    Jer. ii. 10, 11.  But the virgin has changed her glory, and her glory is in her shame.  The heavens are astonished at this, and the earth is horribly afraid, saith the Lord, for the virgin has committed two evils; she has forsaken398    cf. Jer. ii. 12, 13, LXX. Me, the true and holy Bridegroom of holy souls, and has betaken herself to an impious and lawless destroyer of body and soul alike.  She has revolted from God, her Saviour, and yielded her members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity.399    cf. Rom. vi. 19.  She forgot me and went after her lover400    cf. Hosea ii. 13. from whom she will get no good.

4.  It were better for him that a mill-stone had been hanged about his neck, and that he had been cast into the sea, than that he should have offended the virgin of the Lord.401    cf. Luke xvii. 2.  What slave ever reached such a pitch of mad audacity as to fling himself upon his master’s bed?  What robber ever attained such a height of folly as to lay hands upon the very offerings of God, not dead vessels, but bodies living and enshrining a soul made after the image of God?402    St. Basil has no idea of the image and likeness of God being a bodily likeness, as in the lines of Xenophanes.

Who was ever known to have the hardihood, in the heart of a city and at high noon, to mark figures of filthy swine upon a royal statue?  He who has set at naught a marriage of man, with no mercy shewn him, in the presence of two or three witnesses, dies.403    i.e. by the old Jewish law.  Deut. xvii. 6.  Adultery was not capital under the Lex Julia, but was made so by Constantine.  Of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and defiled His pledged bride and done despite unto the spirit of virginity?404    cf. Heb. x. 29.  But the woman, he urges, consented, and I did no violence to her against her will.  So, that unchaste lady of Egypt raged with love for comely Joseph, but the chaste youth’s virtue was not overcome by the frenzy of the wicked woman, and, even when she laid her hand upon him, he was not forced into iniquity.  But still, he urges, this was no new thing in her case; she was no longer a maid; if I had been unwilling, she would have been corrupted by some one else.  Yes; and it is written, the Son of Man was ordained to be betrayed, but woe unto that man by whom He was betrayed.405    cf. Mark xiv. 21.  It must needs be that offences come, but woe to that man by whom they come.406    cf. Matt. xviii. 7.

5.  In such a state of things as this, “Shall they fall and not arise?  Shall he turn away and not return?”407    Jer. viii. 4.  Why did the virgin turn shamefully away, though she had heard Christ her bridegroom saying through the mouth of Jeremiah, “And I said, after she had done all these things (committed all these fornications, LXX.), turn thou unto me, but she returned not?”408    Jer. iii. 7.  “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?  Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”409    Jer. viii. 22.  You might indeed find many remedies for evil in Scripture, many medicines to save from destruction and lead to health; the mysteries of death and resurrection, the sentences of terrible judgment and everlasting punishment; the doctrines of repentance and of remission of sins; all the countless illustrations of conversion, the piece of money, the sheep, the son who wasted his substance with harlots, who was lost and was found, who was dead and alive again.  Let us not use these remedies for ill; by these means let us heal our soul.  Bethink you of your last day, for you will surely not, unlike all other women, live for ever.  The distress, the gasping for breath, the hour of death, the imminent sentence of God, the angels hastening on their way, the soul fearfully dismayed, and lashed to agony by the consciousness of sin, turning itself piteously to things of this life and to the inevitable necessity of that long life to be lived elsewhere.  Picture to me, as it rises in your imagination, the conclusion of all human life, when the Son of God shall come in His glory with His angels, “For he shall come and shall not keep silence;”410    Ps. l. 3. when He shall come to judge the quick and dead, to render to every one according to his work; when that terrible trumpet with its mighty voice shall wake those that have slept through the ages, and they that have done good shall come forth unto the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.411    cf. John v. 29.  Remember the vision of Daniel, and how he brings the judgment before us:  “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool;…and His wheels as burning fire.  A fiery stream issued and came forth before Him; thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him:  the judgment was set, and the books were opened,”412    Dan. vii. 9, 10. clearly disclosing in the hearing of all, angels and men, things good and evil, things done openly and in secret, deeds, words, and thoughts all at once.  What then must those men be who have lived wicked lives?  Where then shall that soul hide which in the sight of all these spectators shall suddenly be revealed in its fulness of shame?  With what kind of body shall it sustain those endless and unbearable pangs in the place of fire unquenched, and of the worm that perishes and never dies, and of depth of Hades, dark and horrible; bitter wailings, loud lamenting, weeping and gnashing of teeth and anguish without end?  From all these woes there is no release after death; no device, no means of coming forth from the chastisement of pain.

6.  We can escape now.  While we can, let us lift ourselves from the fall:  let us never despair of ourselves, if only we depart from evil.  Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.  “O come, let us worship and fall down; let us weep before Him.”413    Ps. xcv. 6, LXX.  The Word Who invited us to repentance calls aloud, “Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”414    Matt. xi. 28.  There is, then, a way of salvation, if we will.  “Death in his might has swallowed up, but again the Lord hath wiped away tears from off all faces”415    Is. xxv. 8, LXX. of them that repent.  The Lord is faithful in all His words.416    Ps. cxlv. 13, LXX.  He does not lie when He says, “Though your sins be scarlet they shall be as white as snow.  Though they be red like crimson they shall be as wool.”417    Is. i. 18.  The great Physician of souls, Who is the ready liberator, not of you alone, but of all who are enslaved by sin, is ready to heal your sickness.  From Him come the words, it was His sweet and saving lips that said, “They that be whole need not a physician but they that are sick.…I am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”418    Matt. ix. 12, 13.  What excuse have you, what excuse has any one, when He speaks thus?  The Lord wishes to cleanse you from the trouble of your sickness and to show you light after darkness.  The good Shepherd, Who left them that had not wandered away, is seeking after you.  If you give yourself to Him He will not hold back.  He, in His love, will not disdain even to carry you on His own shoulders, rejoicing that He has found His sheep which was lost.  The Father stands and awaits your return from your wandering.  Only come back, and while you are yet afar off, He will run and fall upon your neck, and, now that you are cleansed by repentance, will enwrap you in embraces of love.  He will clothe with the chief robe the soul that has put off the old man with all his works; He will put a ring on hands that have washed off the blood of death, and will put shoes on feet that have turned from the evil way to the path of the Gospel of peace.  He will announce the day of joy and gladness to them that are His own, both angels and men, and will celebrate your salvation far and wide.  For “verily I say unto you,” says He, “there is joy in heaven before God over one sinner that repenteth.”419    cf. Luke xv. 7.  If any of those who think they stand find fault because of your quick reception, the good Father will Himself make answer for you in the words, “It was meet that we should make merry and be glad for this” my daughter “was dead and is alive again, was lost and is found.”420    Luke xv. 32.

ΠΡΟΣ ΠΑΡΘΕΝΟΝ ΕΚΠΕΣΟΥΣΑΝ

[1] Νῦν καιρὸς ἐκβοῆσαι τὸ προφητικὸν ἐκεῖνο καὶ εἰπεῖν: »Τίς δώσει τῇ κεφαλῇ μου ὕδωρ καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου πηγὴν δακρύων, καὶ κλαύσομαι τοὺς τετραυματισμένους θυγατρὸς λαοῦ μου;« Εἰ γὰρ καὶ τούτους βαθεῖα περιέχει σιγή, καὶ κεῖνται ἅπαξ κεκαρωμένοι τῷ δεινῷ, καὶ τῷ καιρίῳ τῆς πληγῆς ἀφῃρημένοι καὶ αὐτὴν ἤδη τοῦ πάθους τὴν αἴσθησιν, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡμᾶς γε παριέναι ἀδακρυτὶ τοσοῦτο πτῶμα χρή. Εἰ γὰρ Ἱερεμίας τοὺς ἐν πολέμῳ τὰ σώματα πεπληγότας μυρίων θρήνων ἀξίους ἔκρινε, τί ἄν τις εἴποι πρὸς τηλικαύτην ψυχῶν συμφοράν; »Οἱ τραυματίαι σου, φησίν, οὐ τραυματίαι ῥομφαίας, καὶ οἱ νεκροί σου οὐ νεκροὶ πολέμου.« Ἀλλὰ τὸ κέντρον τοῦ ὄντως θανάτου, τὴν χαλεπὴν ἁμαρτίαν ὀδύρομαι, καὶ τὰ πεπυρωμένα τοῦ Πονηροῦ βέλη, ψυχὰς ὁμοῦ μετὰ σωμάτων βαρβαρικῶς καταφλέξαντα. Ἦ μεγάλα ἂν στενάξειαν οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ νόμοι, τηλικοῦτον ἄγος ἐπὶ γῆς ἐπιβλέποντες, οἵγε, ἀπαγορεύοντες ἀεὶ καὶ βοῶντες πάλαι μέν: »Οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσεις τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον σου«, διὰ δὲ τῶν ἁγίων Εὐαγγελίων: »Ὅτι πᾶς ὁ βλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτὴν ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ«, νῦν δὲ ἐφορῶσιν αὐτὴν ἀδεῶς μοιχευομένην τοῦ Δεσπότου τὴν νύμφην. Στενάξειε δ' ἂν καὶ αὐτὰ τῶν ἁγίων τὰ πνεύματα: Φινεὲς μὲν ὁ ζηλωτής, ὅτι μὴ καὶ νῦν ἔξεστιν αὐτῷ τὸν σειρομάστην μετὰ χεῖρας λαβόντι σωματικῶς ἐκδικῆσαι τὸ μύσος: ὁ δὲ βαπτιστὴς Ἰωάννης, ὅτι μὴ δύναται καταλιπὼν τὰς ἄνω διατριβάς, καθάπερ τότε τὴν ἔρημον, ἐπὶ τὸν ἔλεγχον τῆς παρανομίας δραμεῖν, καί, εἰ παθεῖν τι δέοι, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποθέσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ τὴν παρρησίαν. Μᾶλλον δέ, εἴπερ ἡμῖν, κατὰ τὸν μακάριον Ἄβελ, καὶ αὐτὸς ἀποθανὼν ἔτι λαλεῖ καὶ βοᾷ νῦν καὶ κέκραγε μεῖζον ἢ περὶ τῆς Ἡρωδιάδος τότε: »Οὐκ ἔξεστί σοι ἔχειν αὐτήν«. Καὶ γάρ, εἰ τὸ σῶμα Ἰωάννου, κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῇ φύσει, τὸν θεῖον ὅρον ἐδέξατο καὶ ἡ γλῶσσα σιγᾷ, »Ἀλλ' ὁ λόγος τοῦ Θεοῦ οὐ δέδεται«. Ὁ γάρ, ἐπειδὴ συνδούλου γάμος ἠθετεῖτο, μέχρι θανάτου τὴν παρρησίαν προαγαγὼν τί ἂν πάθοι τηλικαύτην ἐφορῶν ὕβριν περὶ τὸν ἅγιον τοῦ Κυρίου νυμφῶνα;

[2] Ἀλλὰ σύ, τῆς θείας ἐκείνης κοινωνίας τὸν ζυγὸν ἀπορρήξασα, καὶ τὸν μὲν ἄχραντον τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Βασιλέως ἀποδρᾶσα νυμφῶνα, πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἄτιμον ταύτην καὶ ἀσεβῆ φθορὰν αἰσχρῶς πεσοῦσα, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἔχεις πῶς τὴν πικρὰν ταύτην κατηγορίαν ἐκφύγῃς, οὐδέ τίς ἐστί σοι τρόπος οὐδὲ μηχανὴ τὸ δεινὸν συγκαλύψαι, ὁμόσε τῇ τόλμῃ χωρεῖς. Καὶ ἐπειδήπερ ἀσεβής, ἐμπεσὼν εἰς βάθος κακῶν, λοιπὸν καταφρονεῖ, αὐτὰς ἀπαρνῇ τὰς πρὸς τὸν Νυμφίον συνθήκας, οὔτε εἶναι παρθένος, οὔτε ὑποσχέσθαι ποτὲ βοῶσα, ἣ πολλὰ μὲν ἐδέξω, πολλὰ δὲ ἐπεδείξω παρθενίας συνθήματα. Μνήσθητι τῆς καλῆς ὁμολογίας, ἣν ὡμολόγησας ἐνώπιον Θεοῦ καὶ ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀνθρώπων. Μνήσθητι τῆς σεμνῆς συνοδίας καὶ ἱεροῦ παρθένων χοροῦ καὶ συναγωγῆς Κυρίου καὶ Ἐκκλησίας ὁσίων, καὶ γηραλέας ἐν Χριστῷ μάμμης νεαζούσης ἄρτι καὶ ἀκμαζούσης τὴν ἀρετήν, καὶ μητρὸς ἐν Κυρίῳ πρὸς ἐκείνην ἁμιλλωμένης καὶ ξένοις τισὶ καὶ ἀήθεσι πόνοις καταλύειν φιλονεικούσης τῆς συνηθείας τὸ κράτος, καὶ ἀδελφῆς ὁμοίως τὰ μὲν ἐκείνας μιμουμένης, τὰ δὲ καὶ ὑπερβαίνειν φιλοτιμουμένης, καὶ τοῖς παρθενικοῖς πλεονεκτήμασιν ὑπερακοντιζούσης τὰ προγονικὰ κατορθώματα, καί σε τὴν ἀδελφήν, ὡς ᾤετο, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἴσων ἅμιλλαν καὶ λόγῳ καὶ βίῳ φιλοπόνως ἐκκαλουμένης. Μνήσθητι τούτων καὶ ἀγγελικῆς περὶ τὸν Θεὸν μετ' ἐκείνων χορείας καὶ πνευματικῆς ἐν σαρκὶ ζωῆς καὶ οὐρανίου ἐπὶ γῆς πολιτεύματος. Μνήσθητι ἡμερῶν ἀθορύβων καὶ νυκτῶν πεφωτισμένων καὶ ᾠδῶν πνευματικῶν καὶ ψαλμῳδίας εὐήχου καὶ προσευχῶν ἁγίων καὶ ἁγνῆς κοίτης καὶ ἐγκρατοῦς τραπέζης καὶ παρθενικῆς προόδου. Ποῦ μέν σοι τὸ σεμνὸν ἐκεῖνο σχῆμα, ποῦ δὲ τὸ κόσμιον ἦθος καὶ ἐσθὴς λιτὴ καὶ παρθένῳ πρέπουσα καὶ καλὸν μὲν τὸ ἐξ αἰδοῦς ἐρύθημα, εὐπρεπὴς δὲ ἡ ἐξ ἐγκρατείας καὶ ἀγρυπνίας ἐπανθοῦσα ὠχρότης καὶ πάσης εὐχροίας χαριέστερον ἐπιλάμπουσα; Ποσάκις ἐν προσευχαῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ τηρῆσαι τὴν παρθενίαν ἄσπιλον ἴσως ἐξέχεας δάκρυα; Πόσα δὲ γράμματα πρὸς τοὺς ἁγίους ἐχάραξας, δι' ὧν ἠξίους ὑπερεύχεσθαί σου, οὐχ ἵνα γάμου ἀνθρωπίνου, μᾶλλον δὲ τῆς ἀτίμου ταύτης φθορᾶς ἐπιτύχῃς, ἀλλ' ἵνα τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ μὴ ἐκπέσῃς; Πόσα δὲ δῶρα τοῦ Νυμφίου ἐδέξω; Τί δεῖ καὶ λέγειν τὰς δι' Ἐκεῖνον παρὰ τῶν Ἐκείνου τιμάς; Τὰς μετὰ παρθένων συμβιώσεις; Τὰς σὺν ἐκείναις προόδους; Τὰς παρὰ παρθένων δεξιώσεις; Τὰ ἐπὶ παρθενίᾳ ἐγκώμια; Τὰς παρθενικὰς εὐλογίας; Τὰ ὡς πρὸς παρθένον γράμματα; Ἀλλὰ νῦν ὀλίγην αὔραν δεξαμένη τοῦ ἀερίου πνεύματος, τοῦ νῦν ἐνεργοῦντος ἐν τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς ἀπειθείας, πάντων ἐκείνων ἔξαρνος γέγονας, καὶ τὸ τίμιον ἐκεῖνο καὶ περιμάχητον κτῆμα βραχείας ἡδονῆς ἀντικατηλλάξω, ἣ πρὸς καιρὸν λιπαίνει σὸν φάρυγγα, ὕστερον μέντοι πικρότερον χολῆς εὑρήσεις.

[3] Ἐπὶ τούτοις τίς οὐκ ἂν πενθήσας εἴποι: »Πῶς ἐγένετο πόρνη πόλις πιστὴ Σιών;« Πῶς δὲ οὐκ ἂν αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος ἀποφθέγξαιτο πρός τινα τῶν νῦν ἐν πνεύματι Ἱερεμίου περιπατούντων: »Εἶδες ἃ ἐποίησέ μοι ἡ παρθένος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ; Ἐγὼ ἐμνηστευσάμην αὐτὴν ἐμαυτῷ ἐν πίστει καὶ ἀφθαρσίᾳ, ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ καὶ ἐν κρίματι καὶ ἐν ἐλέει καὶ οἰκτιρμοῖς, καθὼς διὰ Ὠσηὲ τοῦ προφήτου αὐτῇ ἐπηγγειλάμην. Αὐτὴ δὲ ἠγαπήκει ἀλλοτρίους καί, ζῶντος ἐμοῦ τοῦ ἀνδρός, μοιχαλὶς χρηματίζει καὶ οὐ φοβεῖται γενομένη ἀνδρὶ ἑτέρῳ.« Τί δὲ ἄρα ὁ νυμφαγωγός, ὁ θεῖος καὶ μακάριος Παῦλος, ὅ τε ἀρχαῖος ἐκεῖνος καὶ ὁ νέος οὗτος, ὑφ' ᾧ μεσίτῃ καὶ διδασκάλῳ τὸν μητρῷον οἶκον καταλιποῦσα τῷ Κυρίῳ συνήφθης; Ἆρα οὐκ ἂν εἴποι τῷ τοσούτῳ κακῷ περιπαθήσας ἑκάτερος: »Φόβος γὰρ ὃν ἐφοβούμην ἦλθέ μοι καὶ ὃν ἐδεδοίκειν συνήντησέ μοι: ἐγὼ μὲν γάρ σε ἡρμοσάμην ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ Χριστῷ«; Καὶ ἐφοβούμην ἀεὶ μή πως, ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν Εὔαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, οὕτω φθαρῇ ποτε τὰ νοήματά σου. Διά τοι τοῦτο μυρίαις μὲν ἐπῳδαῖς ἐπειρώμην ἀεὶ καταστέλλειν τῶν παθῶν τὸν τάραχον, μυρίαις δὲ φυλακαῖς συντηρεῖν τοῦ Κυρίου τὴν νύμφην, καὶ τὸν βίον ἀεὶ τῆς ἀγάμου διεξῄειν, ὅτι δὴ μόνη ἡ ἄγαμος μεριμνᾷ τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, ἵν' ᾖ ἁγία τῷ σώματι καὶ τῷ πνεύματι: καὶ τὸ ἀξίωμα τῆς παρθενίας ὑφηγούμην, καί, ναόν σε Θεοῦ προσαγορεύων, οἱονεὶ πτερὸν ἐδίδουν τῇ προθυμίᾳ πρὸς Ἰησοῦν ἀνακουφίζων, καὶ τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ δεινοῦ πρὸς τὸ μὴ πεσεῖν ἐβοήθουν λέγων: »Εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φθείρει, φθερεῖ τοῦτον ὁ Θεός.« Καὶ δὴ καὶ τὴν ἐκ τῶν εὐχῶν προσετίθουν ἀσφάλειαν, εἴ πως ὁλόκληρόν σοι τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα ἀμέμπτως ἐν τῇ παρουσίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τηρηθείη. Ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἰκῆ ταῦτα πάντα κεκοπίακα εἰς σέ, καί μοι πικρὸν ἐξέβη τῶν γλυκέων ἐκείνων πόνων τὸ πέρας, καὶ στένειν ἀνάγκη πάλιν ἐφ' ᾗ ἔδει με χαίρειν. Ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἠπάτησαι μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ ὄφεως τῆς Εὔας πικρότερον. Ἔφθαρται δέ σοι οὐ τὰ νοήματα μόνον, ἀλλὰ γὰρ σὺν ἐκείνοις καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ σῶμα: καὶ τὸ φρικῶδες ἐκεῖνο, ὃ καὶ εἰπεῖν ὀκνῶ καὶ σιωπᾶν οὐ δύναμαι (ἔστι γὰρ ὡς πῦρ καιόμενον ἐν τοῖς ὀστέοις μου, καὶ παρεῖμαι πάντοθεν καὶ οὐ δύναμαι φέρειν), ἄρασα τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ πεποίηκας πόρνης μέλη. Τοῦτο μόνον ἐν πᾶσι κακὸν ἀσύγκριτον, τοῦτο καινὸν ἐν βίῳ τὸ τόλμημα. »Ὅτι διέλθετε, φησί, νήσους Χεττιεὶμ καὶ ἴδετε: καὶ εἰς Κηδὰρ ἀποστείλατε καὶ νοήσατε σφόδρα εἰ γέγονε τοιαῦτα, εἰ ἀλλάξονται ἔθνη θεοὺς αὐτῶν, καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐκ εἰσὶ θεοί.« Ἡ δὲ παρθένος ἠλλάξατο τὴν δόξαν ἐν τῇ αἰσχύνῃ αὐτῆς. Ἐξέστη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ἔφριξεν ἡ γῆ ἐπὶ πλεῖον σφόδρα. Λέγει πάντως καὶ νῦν ὁ Κύριος ὅτι »Δύο καὶ πονηρὰ ἐποίησεν ἡ παρθένος: ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπε τὸν ἀληθινὸν ἁγίων ψυχῶν ἅγιον νυμφίον, καὶ ἀπέδρα πρὸς ἀσεβῆ καὶ παράνομον ψυχῆς ὁμοῦ καὶ σώματος φθορέα. Ἀπέστη ἀπὸ Θεοῦ σωτῆρος αὐτῆς καὶ παρέστησε τὰ μέλη αὐτῆς δοῦλα τῇ ἀκαθαρσίᾳ καὶ τῇ ἀνομίᾳ. Ἐμοῦ ἐπελάθετο καὶ ὀπίσω τοῦ ἐραστοῦ αὐτῆς ἐπορεύετο.«

[4] Συνέφερεν αὐτῷ εἰ μύλος ὀνικὸς περιέκειτο περὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔρριπτο εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν, ἢ ὅτι ἐσκανδάλισε τὴν παρθένον Κυρίου. Τίς δοῦλος αὐθάδης εἰς τοσοῦτον ἐμάνη ὡς δεσποτικῇ κοίτῃ ἑαυτὸν ἐπιρρῖψαι; Ποῖος λῃστὴς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον ἀπονοίας προήχθη ὡς αὐτῶν ἐφάψασθαι τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀναθημάτων, οὐ σκευῶν ἀψύχων, ἀλλὰ σωμάτων ζώντων καὶ ψυχὴν ἔνοικον ἐχόντων κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ πεποιημένην; Τίς ἀπ' αἰῶνος ἠκούσθη ἐν μέσῃ πόλει καὶ σταθερᾷ μεσημβρίᾳ εἰκόνι βασιλικῇ χοίρων μορφὰς ἀκαθάρτων ἐπιγράψαι τολμήσας; Ἀθετήσας τις γάμον ἀνθρώπου, χωρὶς οἰκτιρμῶν, ἐπὶ δυσὶν ἢ τρισὶ μάρτυσιν, ἀποθνήσκει. Πόσῳ, δοκεῖτε, χείρονος ἀξιωθήσεται τιμωρίας ὁ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ καταπατήσας καὶ τὴν αὐτῷ καθομολογηθεῖσαν νύμφην νοθεύσας καὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τῆς παρθενίας ἐνυβρίσας; Ἀλλ' ἐβούλετο, φησίν, ἐκείνη, καὶ οὐκ ἄκουσαν ἐβιασάμην. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ δέσποινα ἡ ἄσωτος αὐτὴ τῷ καλῷ Ἰωσὴφ ἐπεμάνη, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐνίκησε τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῦ σώφρονος ἡ μανία τῆς ἀκολάστου, οὐδέ, χερσὶν αὐτῆς βιαζομένης, πρὸς τὴν παρανομίαν ἐκεῖνος ἐβιάσθη. Ἀλλ' ἐκέκριτο ἐκείνῃ τοῦτο, φησίν, καὶ οὐκέτι ἦν παρθένος: καί, εἰ ἐγὼ μὴ ἐβουλόμην, πρὸς ἄλλον ἂν ἐφθάρη. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου, φησίν, ἔδει παραδοθῆναι, ἀλλ' οὐαὶ δι' οὗ παρεδόθη: καὶ τὰ σκάνδαλα ἐλθεῖν ἀνάγκη, ἀλλ' οὐαὶ δι' οὗ ἔρχεται.

[5] Ἐπὶ τούτοις: »Μὴ ὁ πίπτων οὐκ ἀνίσταται, ἢ ὁ ἀποστρέφων οὐκ ἐπιστρέφει;« Διὰ τί ἀπέστρεψεν ἡ παρθένος ἀποστροφὴν ἀναιδῆ, καίτοι ἀκούσασα Χριστοῦ τοῦ νυμφίου διὰ Ἱερεμίου λέγοντος: »Καὶ εἶπα μετὰ τὸ πορνεῦσαι αὐτὴν ταῦτα πάντα: πρός με ἀνάστρεψον, καὶ οὐκ ἀνέστρεψε. Μὴ ῥητίνη οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν Γαλαάδ, ἢ ἰατρὸς οὐκ ἔστιν; ἐκεῖ Διὰ τί οὐκ ἀνέβη ἴασις θυγατρὸς λαοῦ μου;« Ἦ πολλὰ μὲν ἂν εὕροις ἐν τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ τοῦ κακοῦ ἀλεξήματα, πολλὰ δὲ ἐξ ἀπωλείας εἰς σωτηρίαν φάρμακα: τὰ περὶ θανάτου καὶ ἀναστάσεως μυστήρια, τὰ περὶ κρίσεως φοβερᾶς καὶ αἰωνίου κολάσεως ῥήματα, τὰ περὶ μετανοίας καὶ ἀφέσεως ἁμαρτημάτων δόγματα, τὰ μυρία ἐκεῖνα τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ὑποδείγματα: τὴν δραχμήν, τὸ πρόβατον, τὸν υἱὸν τὸν καταφαγόντα τὸν βίον μετὰ τῶν πορνῶν, τὸν ἀπολωλότα καὶ εὑρεθέντα, τὸν νεκρὸν καὶ ἀναζήσαντα. Τούτοις χρησώμεθα τοῦ κακοῦ βοηθήμασι, διὰ τούτων τὴν ψυχὴν ἑαυτῶν ἰασώμεθα. Λαβὲ εἰς ἔννοιαν τὴν ἐσχάτην ἡμέραν (οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνη σὺ τὸν αἰῶνα βιώσεις) καὶ συνοχὴν καὶ πνιγμὸν καὶ θανάτου ὥραν καὶ ἀπόφασιν Θεοῦ κατεπείγουσαν καὶ ἀγγέλους ἐπισπεύδοντας, καὶ ψυχὴν ἐν τούτοις δεινῶς θορυβουμένην καὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ συνειδότι πικρῶς προμαστιγουμένην καὶ πρὸς τὰ τῇδε ἐλεεινῶς ἐπιστρέφουσαν καὶ ἀπαραίτητον τῆς μακρᾶς ἐκείνης ἀποδημίας ἀνάγκην. Διάγραψόν μοι τῇ διανοίᾳ τὴν τελευταίαν τοῦ κοινοῦ βίου καταστροφήν, ὅταν ἔλθῃ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀγγέλων αὐτοῦ, »Ἥξει γὰρ καὶ οὐ παρασιωπήσεται«: ὅταν ἔλθῃ κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκροὺς καὶ ἀποδοῦναι ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν πρᾶξιν αὐτοῦ: ὅταν ἡ σάλπιγξ ἐκείνη, μέγα τι καὶ φοβερὸν ἠχήσασα, τοὺς ἀπ' αἰῶνος ἐξυπνίσῃ καθεύδοντας, καὶ ἐκπορεύσονται οἱ τὰ ἀγαθὰ ποιήσαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν ζωῆς, οἱ δὲ τὰ φαῦλα πράξαντες εἰς ἀνάστασιν κρίσεως. Μνήσθητι τῆς τοῦ Δανιὴλ θεοπτίας, ὅπως ἡμῖν ὑπ' ὄψιν ἄγει τὴν Κρίσιν. »Ἐθεώρουν, φησίν, ἕως ὅτου θρόνοι ἐτέθησαν καὶ Παλαιὸς ἡμερῶν ἐκαθέζετο, καὶ τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ λευκὸν ὡς χιών, καὶ ἡ θρὶξ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ ἔριον καθαρόν, οἱ τροχοὶ αὐτοῦ πῦρ φλέγον. Ποταμὸς πυρὸς εἷλκεν ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ. Χίλιαι χιλιάδες ἐλειτούργουν αὐτῷ καὶ μύριαι μυριάδες παρειστήκεισαν αὐτοῦ. Κριτήριον ἐκάθισε καὶ βίβλοι ἀνεῴχθησαν«, τὰ καλά, τὰ φαῦλα, τὰ φανερά, τὰ κεκρυμμένα, τὰ πράγματα, τὰ ἐνθυμήματα, τὰ πάντα ἀθρόως εἰς ἐξάκουστον τοῖς πᾶσι καὶ ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἀνθρώποις σαφῶς ἀνακαλύπτουσαι. Πρὸς ταῦτα ποταποὺς εἶναι ἀνάγκη τοὺς κακῶς βεβιωκότας; Ποῦ ἄρα ἡ ψυχὴ ἐκείνη καταδύσεται, ἡ ἐν ὄψεσι τοσούτων θεατῶν ἐξαίφνης ὀφθεῖσα αἰσχύνης ἀνάπλεως; Ποίῳ δὲ σώματι τὰς ἀπεράντους ἐκείνας καὶ ἀνυποίστους ὑποστήσεται μάστιγας, ὅπου πῦρ ἄσβεστον καὶ σκώληξ ἀθάνατα κολάζων καὶ πυθμὴν ᾅδου σκοτεινὸς καὶ φρικώδης καὶ οἰμωγαὶ πικραὶ καὶ ὀλολυγμὸς ἐξαίσιος καὶ κλαυθμὸς καὶ βρυγμὸς ὀδόντων καὶ πέρας οὐκ ἔχει τὰ δεινά; Τούτων οὐκ ἔστιν ἀπαλλαγὴ μετὰ θάνατον, οὐδέ τις ἐπίνοια οὐδὲ μηχανὴ τοῦ διεκδῦναι τὰ πικρὰ κολαστήρια.

[6] Ταῦτα φεύγειν ἔξεστι νῦν. Ἕως ἔξεστιν, ἑαυτοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ πτώματος ἀναλάβωμεν μηδὲ ἀπελπίσωμεν ἑαυτῶν, ἐὰν ἀναλύσωμεν ἀπὸ τῶν κακῶν. Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸν κόσμον ἁμαρτωλοὺς σῶσαι. »Δεῦτε, προσκυνήσωμεν καὶ προσπέσωμεν αὐτῷ καὶ κλαύσωμεν ἐναντίον αὐτοῦ.« Ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ μετάνοιαν καλῶν ὁ Λόγος βοᾷ καὶ κέκραγεν. Ἔστιν ὁδὸς σωτηρίας, ἐὰν θέλωμεν. Κατέπιεν ὁ θάνατος ἰσχύσας, ἀλλ' εὖ ἴσθι ὅτι πάλιν ἀφεῖλεν ὁ Θεὸς πᾶν δάκρυον ἀπὸ παντὸς προσώπου τῶν μετανοούντων. Πιστὸς Κύριος ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ. Οὐ ψεύδεται εἰπών: »Ἐὰν ὦσιν αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ὡς φοινικοῦν, ὡς χιόνα λευκανῶ: ἐὰν δὲ ὦσιν ὡς κόκκινον, ὡσεὶ ἔριον λευκανῶ.« Ἕτοιμός ἐστιν ὁ μέγας τῶν ψυχῶν ἰατρὸς ἰάσασθαί σου τὸ πάθος. Ἐκείνου ῥήματά ἐστιν, ἐκεῖνο τὸ γλυκὺ καὶ σωτήριον στόμα εἶπεν: »Οὐ χρείαν ἔχουσιν οἱ ἰσχύοντες ἰατροῦ, ἀλλ' οἱ κακῶς ἔχοντες. Οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους, ἀλλὰ ἁμαρτωλούς, εἰς μετάνοιαν«. Βούλεται Κύριος καθαρίσαι σε ἀπὸ τοῦ πόνου τῆς πληγῆς καὶ δεῖξαί σοι φῶς ἀπὸ σκότους. Σὲ ζητεῖ ὁ Ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, καταλιπὼν τὰ μὴ πεπλανημένα. Ἐὰν ἐπιδῷς σεαυτήν, οὐκ ὀκνήσει οὐδ' ἀπαξιώσει σε ὁ φιλάνθρωπος ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων βαστάσαι τῶν ἰδίων, χαίρων ὅτι εὗρεν αὐτοῦ τὸ πρόβατον τὸ ἀπολωλός. Ἕστηκεν ὁ Πατὴρ καὶ ἀναμένει τὴν σὴν ἀπὸ τῆς πλάνης ἐπάνοδον. Μόνον ἀνάλυσον, καί, ἔτι σου μακρὰν οὔσης, προσδραμὼν ἐπιπεσεῖται ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλόν σου, καὶ φιλικοῖς ἀσπασμοῖς περιπτύξεται τὴν ὑπὸ τῆς μετανοίας ἤδη κεκαθαρμένην. Καὶ στολὴν ἐνδύσει, τὴν πρώτην, ψυχὴν ἀπεκδυσαμένην τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον σὺν ταῖς αὐτοῦ πράξεσι, καὶ περιθήσει δακτύλιον χερσὶν ἀποπλυναμέναις τοῦ θανάτου τὸ αἷμα, καὶ ὑποδήσει πόδας ἀποστρέψαντας ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ κακῆς πρὸς τὸν δρόμον τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου τῆς εἰρήνης. Καὶ εὐφροσύνης καὶ χαρᾶς ἡμέραν καταγγελεῖ τοῖς ἰδίοις καὶ ἀγγέλοις καὶ ἀνθρώποις, καὶ παντὶ τρόπῳ τὴν σὴν ἑορτάσει σωτηρίαν. »Ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω, φησίν, ὑμῖν ὅτι χαρὰ γίνεται ἐν οὐρανῷ ἐνώπιον τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι.« Κἂν ἐγκαλέσῃ τις τῶν ἑστάναι δοκούντων ὅτι ταχὺ προσελήφθης, αὐτὸς ὁ ἀγαθὸς Πατὴρ ὑπὲρ σοῦ ἀπολογήσεται λέγων: »Εὐφρανθῆναι δεῖ καὶ χαρῆναι, ὅτι αὕτη ἡ θυγάτηρ μου νεκρὰ ἦν καὶ ἀνέζησε, καὶ ἀπολωλυῖα καὶ εὑρέθη«.