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The one who is pure is able to purify [both] the inside and the outside, but he who purifies the outside does this looking to the praise of men and by the praise of those who give an account has nothing with God. And to whom does it not seem that it is better for a woman in her menses not to have intercourse but to be purified and baptized? But also after intercourse one must be baptized. But if you hesitate to do this, recall how you pursued the practices of purity when you worshiped senseless idols. Be ashamed that here where it was necessary—I do not say to do more, but—only and wholly to undertake purity, you become more hesitant. Understand, therefore, the one who made you do so there, and you will discern who it is that here casts hesitation for purity into you. But one of you will say: Must we then do as many things as we did among the idols? I say [to you]: Not all, but as many things as you did well, and here even more. For whatever is done well in error is derived from the truth, just as if anything in the truth should be done badly, it is from error. Reclaim, therefore, from all sides what is your own, not what is foreign, and do not say: If those in error do anything good, we ought not to do it. For by this reasoning, if someone who worships idols does not murder, we ought to murder, because he who is in error does not murder. No, but more, so that if those in error do not murder, we may not even be angry—if he who is in error does not commit adultery, we may not even conceive the thought in the first place—if he who is in error loves the one who loves him, we also love those who hate us—if he who is in error lends to those who have, we also lend to those who do not have. In a word, we who hope to inherit the infinite age ought to do better than the good things done by those who know only the present age, knowing that if their works, when examined against our works on the day of judgment, are found equal in good-doing, we too shall have cause to be ashamed, while they, having acted against themselves through error, will perish. But I have said "to be ashamed" in this respect: that we did not do more than them, of whom we have also known more. But if there is cause to be ashamed for showing good-doing equal to theirs and not more, how much more so if we show less good-doing than theirs? And that in truth on the day of judgment the deeds of those who have known the truth are measured against the good-doings of those in error, the truthful <prophet> himself taught us, saying to those who neglected to come and listen to him: “The queen of the south will rise up with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here, and you do not believe.” And to those among the people who were unwilling to repent at his preaching he said: “The men of Nineveh will rise up with this generation and will condemn it, because upon hearing they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than <Jonah> is here, and no one believes.” And thus, setting against all their impiety those from the gentiles who acted for the condemnation of those in godliness who had not done even as much good as those in error, he admonished those who have reason not only to do good things [perhaps] equal to the gentiles, but more. But my discourse has flowed on, having taken its occasion from the need to observe abstinence and to be baptized after intercourse, lest

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ὁ καθαρὸς [καὶ] τὸ ἔσω καὶ τὸ ἔξω καθᾶραι δύναται, ὁ δὲ τὰ ἔξω καθαίρων πρὸς ἀνθρώπων τὸν ἔπαινον ἀφορῶν τοῦτο ποιεῖ καὶ ἐπαίνῳ τῶν ἱστο- ρούντων παρὰ τῷ θεῷ οὐδὲν ἔχει. τίνι δὲ οὐ φαίνεται ὅτι κρεῖττόν ἐστιν γυναικὶ ἐν γυναικείοις οὔσῃ μὴ συνελθεῖν ἀλλὰ καθαρθείσῃ καὶ βαπτισθείσῃ; ἀλλὰ καὶ μετὰ κοινωνίαν βαπτίζεσθαι δεῖ. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο ποιεῖν ὀκνεῖτε, ἀναπολή- σατε πῶς τὰ τῆς ἁγνείας μέρη μετεδιώκετε, ὅτε ἀναισθήτοις εἰδώλοις ἐθρησκεύετε. αἰσχύνθητε ὅτι ἐνταῦθα ὅπου ἐχρῆν οὐ τὸ πλεῖον λέγω, ἀλλὰ μόνον καὶ ὅλον τὸ τῆς ἁγνείας ἀναδέξασθαι ὀκνηρότεροι γίνεσθε. νοήσατε οὖν τὸν ἐκεῖ ὑμᾶς πεποιηκότα καὶ διανοηθήσεσθε τίς ἐστιν ὁ ἐνταῦθα ὄκνον πρὸς ἁγνείαν ὑμῖν ἐμβάλλων. ἀλλ' ἐρεῖ τις ὑμῶν· Χρὴ οὖν ἡμᾶς ποιεῖν ὅσα ἐν εἰδώλοις ἐποιοῦμεν; φημί [σοι]· Oὐχ ὅλα, ἀλλ' ὅσα καλῶς ἐποιεῖτε καὶ ἐνταῦθα πλεῖον. ὅτι γὰρ ἂν καλῶς γίνηται ἐν τῇ πλάνῃ, ἀπὸ τῆς ἀλη- θείας ἤρτηται, ὡς εἰ καί τι ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ κακῶς γένοιτο, ἀπὸ τῆς πλά- νης ἐστίν. ἀπολάβετε οὖν ὑμῶν πανταχόθεν τὰ ἴδια, μὴ τὰ ἀλλότρια, καὶ μὴ λέγετε· Eἴ τι ποιοῦσιν οἱ πεπλανημένοι καλόν, ποιεῖν οὐκ ὀφείλο- μεν. τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ λόγῳ, ἐὰν μὴ φονεύῃ τις εἴδωλα σέβων, φονεύειν ὀφείλομεν, ὅτι ὁ ἐν πλάνῃ ὢν οὐ φονεύει. οὐχί, ἀλλὰ τὸ πλεῖον, ἵνα ἐὰν οἱ ἐν πλάνῃ μὴ φονεύωσιν, ἡμεῖς μηδὲ ὀργιζώμεθα-ἐὰν ὁ ἐν πλάνῃ μὴ μοιχεύῃ, ἡμεῖς τὴν ἀρχὴν μηδὲ ἐνθυμηθῶμεν-ἐὰν ὁ ἐν πλάνῃ τὸν ἀγαπῶντα ἀγαπᾷ, ἡμεῖς καὶ τοὺς μισοῦντας-ἐὰν ὁ ἐν πλάνῃ δανείζῃ τοῖς ἔχουσιν, ἡμεῖς καὶ τοῖς μὴ ἔχουσιν· ἁπαξαπλῶς ὀφεί λομεν οἱ τὸν ἄπειρον αἰῶνα ἐλπίζοντες κληρονομεῖν τῶν τὸν παρόντα μόνον εἰδότων τῶν ὑπὸ αὐτῶν γενομένων καλῶν κρεῖττον ποιεῖν, εἰδότες ὅτι, ἐὰν αὐτῶν τὰ ἔργα τοῖς ἡμετέροις ἔργοις ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ἀνακριθέντα ἴσα τῇ εὐποιίᾳ εὑρεθῇ, καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐναισχυνθῆναι ἔχομεν, αὐτοὶ δὲ διὰ πλάνην τὰ καθ' αὑτῶν ποιήσαντες ἀπολέσθαι. τὸ δὲ αἰσχυνθῆναι κατὰ τοῦτο εἴρηκα ὅτι μὴ πλεῖον ἐποιήσαμεν αὐτῶν, ὧν καὶ πλεῖον ἐγνώκα- μεν. εἰ δὲ αἰσχυνθῆναι ἔστιν τὴν εὐποιίαν αὐτοῖς ἴσην δείξαντας καὶ οὐ πλεῖον, πόσῳ γε μᾶλλον, ἐὰν αὐτῶν τῆς εὐποιίας τὸ ἧττον δείξω- μεν; ὅτι δὲ ὄντως ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κρίσεως ταῖς τῶν πεπλανημένων εὐποιίαις αἱ τῶν ἀλήθειαν ἐγνωκότων ἰσάζονται πράξεις, αὐτὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ ἀψευδὴς ἐδίδαξεν <προφήτης>, εἰπὼν πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀμελοῦντας ἐλθεῖν καὶ ἐπακούειν αὐτοῦ· «Βασίλισσα νότου ἐγερθήσεται μετὰ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καὶ κατακρινεῖ αὐτήν, ὅτι ἦλθεν ἀπὸ τῶν περάτων τῆς γῆς ἀκοῦσαι τὴν σοφίαν Σολο- μῶνος· καὶ ἰδοὺ πλεῖον Σολομῶνος ὧδε, καὶ οὐ πιστεύετε». πρὸς δὲ τοὺς ἐν τῷ λαῷ μὴ θέλοντας μετανοῆσαι ἐπὶ τῷ κηρύγματι αὐτοῦ εἶπεν· «Ἄνδρες Νινευῖται ἐγερθήσονται μετὰ τῆς γενεᾶς ταύτης καὶ κατακρινοῦ- σιν αὐτήν, ὅτι ἀκούσαντες μετενόησαν εἰς τὸ κήρυγμα Ἰωνᾶ· καὶ ἰδοὺ πλεῖον <Ἰωνᾶ> ὧδε, καὶ οὐδεὶς πιστεύει». καὶ οὕτως πρὸς πᾶσαν ἀσέ- βειαν αὐτῶν ἀντιπαραθεὶς τοὺς ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν πεποιηκότας εἰς κατάκρισιν τῶν ἐν θεοσεβείᾳ μηδὲ τὸ ἴσον καλὸν τοῖς πεπλανημένοις πεποιηκότων, τοὺς ἔχοντας λογισμὸν ἐνουθέτει μὴ μόνον ἴσα τοῖς ἔθνεσιν τὰ καλὰ [ἴσως] ποιεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὸ πλεῖον. ὁ δὲ λόγος μοι ἐρρύη, πρόφασιν λαβὼν ἐκ τοῦ δεῖν φυλάσσειν τὴν ἄφεδρον καὶ ἀπὸ κοινωνίας βαπτίζεσθαι, μὴ