116

to be imprisoned; but later he sold him as a barbarian slave. And Plutarch says he transported oil to Egypt for the sake of trade. 12.72 But nevertheless, even hearing such criticisms, we admire the things he said well and the benefit from them, and we ask you to collect them. 12.73 For indeed we hear that there have also been praiseworthy women among the Greeks. For Lysidice, as they say, would bathe without even taking off her little tunic, because of her extreme modesty. And Philotera, when she went down into the bath, would uncover of her body little by little what was being covered by the water, lifting her tunic a little at a time; and then again when she came up, she would clothe herself in a similar way. And Theano the Pythagorean, when someone looked at her and said, "A beautiful forearm," replied, "But not a public one." And being asked again, "On what day after being with a man does a woman go down to the Thesmophorion?" she said, "From her own, immediately; but from another's, never." 12.74 These things and whatever is of such a kind we both praise and say are worthy of philosophy. And we accept Plato for ordaining marriage for the good and calling it a means of immortality and the continuation of the race; but we greatly blame Democritus and Epicurus, who command to abstain from both marriage and childbearing. For having defined pleasure as the goal, they utterly repudiated things that involve cares and certain 12.75 unpleasantnesses. But those of the Stoa traveled a middle road; for they joined marriage and childbearing with the things that are indifferent. But the divine oracles praise the chastity undertaken for the sake of philosophy, as procuring a life free from cares; and they legislate for temperate marriage, as both increasing the race and freeing from lust those who wish to be temperate; but they denounce fornication and other licentiousness as swinish. 12.76 "For marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled," says the divine apostle; "but fornicators and adulterers God will judge." And again: "But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry." And elsewhere: "But fornication and all uncleanness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints." And in another place: 12.77 "Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau." Our teachers, therefore, have legislated the life fitting for rational beings; but the best of the philosophers were themselves enslaved to pleasures and wrote laws teaching licentiousness; for such are Plato's laws concerning marriage and pederasty. And indeed, concerning friendship, Hippodamus the Pythagorean has written thus: "One kind comes from knowledge of the gods, another from the provision of men, and another from the pleasure of animals." 12.78 But the Lord Christ says in the holy gospels: "Greater love than this no one can show, that someone lay down his life for his friends." But teaching the most perfect things, he also commanded to love one's enemies; but he who was educated in the Pythagorean tetractys defined human friendship as being established by provision. 12.79 Not only is this saying discordant, but it is also completely inconsistent. For we find many who have been benefactors of their enemies; and many who, though having been treated well by some, have become very ungrateful toward their benefactors. Therefore, friendship is not the offspring of provision, but provision is the fruit of friendship. 12.80 These things again, O men, having compared and known how great is the distance between divine and human things, through those, as through certain elements, proceed to the perfection of these, and "make not excuses in sins," as the melody of the Spirit says. 12.81 For whenever we show that the evangelical laws are much higher than Greek philosophy, then you praise the laws, but you boldly bring forward those who transgress them and through them you try to slander the 12.82 laws. But you ought to blame them, and not accuse the laws. For neither on account of bad vines do we flee the best ones, nor on account of bitter almonds do we turn away from the sweet ones

116

εἱρχθῆναι· ὕστερον δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ ὡς ἀνδράποδον ἀπέδοτο βάρβαρον. Καὶ ὁ Πλούταρχος δέ φησιν ἔλαιον αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἐμπορίας χάριν μετακομίσαι. 12.72 Ἀλλ' ὅμως καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ψόγων ἀκούοντες, θαυμάζομεν αὐτοῦ τὰ καλῶς εἰρημένα καὶ τὴν ἐκ τούτων ὠφέλειαν καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀξιοῦμεν ξυλλέγειν. 12.73 Καὶ γὰρ δὴ καὶ γυναῖκας γεγενῆσθαι παρ' Ἕλλησιν ἀξιεπαί νους ἀκούομεν. Λυσιδίκη μὲν γάρ, ὥς φασιν, ἐλοῦτο μηδὲ τὸν χιτωνίσκον ἐκδυομένη, διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς αἰδοῦς. Ἡ δὲ Φιλωτέρα κατιοῦσα εἰς τὴν πύελον κατὰ βραχὺ τὸ τῷ ὕδατι κα λυπτόμενον ἐγυμνοῦτο τοῦ σώματος, ἀναστέλλουσα κατ' ὀλίγον τὸν χιτῶνα· καὶ αὖ πάλιν ἀνιοῦσα παραπλησίως ἠμπίσχετο. Θεανὼ δὲ ἡ Πυθαγορική, ἀποβλέψαντός τινος εἰς αὐτὴν καὶ εἰπόντος· "Καλὸς ὁ πῆχυς", "ἀλλ' οὐ δημόσιος" ἀπεκρίνατο. Ἐρωτηθεῖσα δὲ πάλιν· "Ποσταία γυνὴ ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς εἰς τὸ Θεσμοφόριον κάτεισιν;" "Ἀπὸ μὲν τοῦ ἰδίου παραχρῆμα" ἔφη, "ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ἀλλοτρίου, οὐδέποτε." 12.74 Ταῦτα καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα καὶ ἐπαινοῦμεν καὶ φιλοσοφίας εἶναι ἄξιά φαμεν. Καὶ ἀποδεχόμεθα τὸν Πλάτωνα τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τὸν γάμον ξυντάξαντα καὶ ἀθανασίας ἐπίνοιαν καὶ διαμονὴν τοῦ γέ νους καλέσαντα· ∆ημοκρίτῳ δὲ καὶ Ἐπικούρῳ λίαν μεμφόμεθα, παραιτεῖσθαι καὶ τὸν γάμον καὶ τὴν παιδογονίαν κελεύουσιν. Τὴν γάρ τοι ἡδονὴν ὁρισάμενοι τέλος, τὰ φροντίδας ἔχοντα καί τινας 12.75 ἀηδίας παντελῶς ἀπεκήρυξαν. Οἱ δὲ τῆς Ποικίλης μέσην τινὰ ὁδὸν ὥδευσαν· τοῖς γὰρ ἀδιαφόροις τὸν γάμον καὶ τὴν παιδογο νίαν ξυνέζευξαν. Οἱ δὲ θεῖοι λόγοι τὴν μὲν διὰ φιλοσοφίαν ἐπι νοουμένην ἁγνείαν ὑμνοῦσιν, ὡς βίον προξενοῦσαν φροντίδων ἐλεύθερον· τὸν δὲ σώφρονα γάμον νομοθετοῦσιν, ὡς καὶ τὸ γένος αὔξοντα καὶ λαγνείας τοὺς σωφρονεῖν βουλομένους ἐλευθεροῦντα· πορνείας δὲ καὶ τῆς ἄλλης ἀκολασίας ὡς συώδους κατηγοροῦσιν· 12.76 "Τίμιος γὰρ ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσι, καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος" φησὶν ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος· "πόρνους δὲ καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ Θεός." Καὶ πάλιν· "Λέγω δὲ τοῖς ἀγάμοις καὶ ταῖς χήραις· καλὸν αὐτοῖς ἐστιν, ἐὰν μείνωσιν ὡς κἀγώ· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐγκρατεύονται, γαμησάτωσαν." Καὶ ἑτέρωθι· "Πορνεία δὲ καὶ ἀκαθαρσία μηδὲ ὀνομαζέσθω ἐν ὑμῖν, καθὼς πρέπει ἁγίοις." Καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ· 12.77 "Μή τις πόρνος ἢ βέβηλος ὡς Ἡσαῦ." Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἡμέτεροι διδάσκαλοι τὸν λογικοῖς πρέποντα διεθεσμοθέτησαν βίον· οἱ δὲ τῶν φιλοσόφων ἄριστοι καὶ αὐτοὶ ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ἐδουλώθησαν καὶ νόμους ἔγραψαν ἀκολασίαν διδάσκοντας· τοιοῦτοι γὰρ οἱ περὶ γάμων καὶ παιδεραστίας τοῦ Πλάτωνος νόμοι. Καὶ μέντοι καὶ περὶ φιλίας Ἱππόδαμος ὁ Πυθαγόρειος οὕτω γέγραφεν· "Ἁ μὲν ἐξ ἐπιστάμας θεῶν, ἁ δὲ ἐκ παροχᾶς ἀνθρώπων, ἁ δὲ ἐξ ἁδονᾶς ζῴων." 12.78 Ὁ δὲ δεσπότης Χριστὸς ἐν τοῖς ἱεροῖς εὐαγγελίοις φησίν· "Μείζονα ταύτης ἀγάπην οὐδεὶς δύναται δεῖξαι, ἵνα τις θῇ τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ τῶν φίλων αὐτοῦ." Τὰ τελεώτατα δὲ ἐκπαι δεύων, καὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ἐκέλευσεν ἀγαπᾶν· ὁ δὲ τὴν Πυθαγό ρειον ἐκπαιδευθεὶς τετρακτὺν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φιλίαν ἐκ παροχῆς 12.79 ὡρίσατο κατορθοῦσθαι. Οὐ μόνον δὲ ἀπᾴδων ὅδε ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάμπαν ἀξύστατος. Πολλοὺς γὰρ ἐχθρῶν εὐεργέτας γεγε νημένους εὑρίσκομεν· πολλοὺς δὲ εὖ μὲν παρά τινων πεπονθότας, ἀχαρίστους δὲ μάλα περὶ τοὺς εὐεργέτας γεγενημένους. Οὐ τοίνυν παροχῆς ἔκγονος ἡ φιλία, ἀλλὰ καρπὸς φιλίας ἡ παροχή. 12.80 Ταῦτα πάλιν, ὦ ἄνδρες, παρεξετάσαντες καὶ γνόντες, ὅσον θείων καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων τὸ μέσον, δι' ἐκείνων, οἷον δή τινων στοι χείων, ἐπὶ τὴν τούτων ὁδεύσατε τελειότητα καὶ "μὴ προφα σίζεσθε προφάσεις ἐν ἁμαρτίαις", ᾗ φησιν ἡ μελῳδία τοῦ Πνεύ 12.81 ματος. Ὅταν γὰρ τοὺς εὐαγγελικοὺς ἐπιδείξωμεν νόμους πολλῷ τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς φιλοσοφίας ὄντας ὑψηλοτέρους, τηνικαῦτα ὑμεῖς τοὺς μὲν νόμους ἐπαινεῖτε, τοὺς δὲ τούτους παραβαίνοντας ἀδεῶς εἰς μέσον προφέρετε καὶ δι' ἐκείνων πειρᾶσθε διαβάλλειν τοὺς 12.82 νόμους. Ἔδει δὲ ψέγειν μὲν ἐκείνους, ἀλλὰ μὴ τῶν νόμων κατη γορεῖν. Οὐδὲ γὰρ διὰ τὰς φαύλας ἀμπέλους φεύγομεν τὰς ἀρίσ τας, οὐδὲ διὰ τὰς πικρὰς ἀμυγδάλας καὶ τὰς γλυκείας ἀποστρε