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being wicked; and just as a flame in damp wood is choked by smoke, being wicked, he contrives in himself vain and false thoughts not only about those present, but also often about those who are absent; for this reason, since the heart is greatly grieved and does not agree with the mind in such matters, it can in no way help, nor turn it away from vain reasonings.

(321) And these things are about the alterations of the mind and of our intellectual and divine soul. But the irregularities that occur to us concerning the body, even if they seem to be easy to diagnose and readily recognizable to us, yet it is not so. For in this especially, the change from nature is for the most part great. For the soul is immutable in nature and in essence, and likewise the mind has been created together with it by the Creator, that is, led only by choice and by its own will taking hold of virtue or evil, that is, they become eternal partakers and heirs of light or darkness—the soul, I say, and the mind—by choice clinging voluntarily to one of these, as has been said, and by will, whether they become good with the good, or are called evil with the evil. But the body is by nature mutable, because it is composite, and in essence fluid, because it is created from corruptible and fluid matter, having its temperament or constitution from things contrary to each other. For its substance is of hot and cold, as the wise in these matters say and as the truth holds, and of dry and wet. Yet in and of itself it is deprived of both choice and will, and, if one must say, of motion, unless someone should call its flux and its movement toward corruption a natural motion of its hypostasis, which is irrational; and if this is irrational, it is clear that it is also sinless and uncondemned by God. And rightly so; for what follows nature, this is also outside of condemnation. But burning desire and desire for marriage, intercourse, pleasure, gluttony, greed, excessive sleep, idleness, adornment of clothes and all the other things which, as many think, the body seeks—it is not the body, just as when it is dead, but the soul seeks these things through it, taking pleasure, once having been mixed with the clay (322) and like a sow wanting to wallow in the mire of these pleasures, somehow, craving the flesh that was mixed with it. Therefore, let no one suppose that he is pushed and compelled to these things by his own body; this is not so. But how? Listen with understanding.

"God formed man, taking dust from the earth." Behold, I have shown you the body; now you show me what passions are in it; but you have nothing at all to say. What then? "And the Lord God breathed into his face, and man became a living soul," and he rose from the earth and walked about, the spirit in him clearly moving the body with mastery and authority. But burning desire or motion or the irrational madness and appetite of the belly was nowhere yet, but his life was an undisturbed and griefless existence. Let us see then, lest perhaps, because there was no female or because there were no foods that stir up desire, for this reason man was moved neither toward desire for intercourse nor toward gluttony; what then does it say? "God made every beautiful tree spring up, and both Adam and Eve were naked in paradise and were not ashamed." Do you see that neither Eve being female nor both of them being naked harmed the chastity of either of them? But they were both naked and neither knew each other, nor were they ashamed, nor indeed were they led to intercourse by the nature of the body, but after the sin and the transgression and after being outside of paradise and being stripped of God and falling away from His divine glory, (323) then, as it is written, "Adam knew his wife and she conceived and gave birth."

Therefore, beloved, if you also love God genuinely, and remain in His love, you will never be mastered by any passion, nor by necessity

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πονηρευόμενος· καί ὥσπερ φλόξ ἐν ὑγροῖς ξύλοις ὑπό καπνοῦ συμπνιγομένη γίνεται, πονηρευόμενος οὐκ εἰς τούς παρόντας μόνους, ἀλλά δή καί περί τινων ἀπόντων πολλάκις μάταια καί ψευδῆ ἀναπλάττει ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἐνθυμήματα· ἔνθεν τοι καί τῆς καρδίας πολλά λυπουμένης καί μή συντιθεμένης εἰς τά τοιαῦτα τῷ νῷ, οὐδέν οὐδαμῶς ὠφελῆσαι δύναται, οὐδέ ἀποστῆσαι αὐτόν τῶν ματαίων συλλογισμῶν.

(321) Καί ταῦτα μέν περί τε τῶν ἀλλοιώσεων τοῦ νοός καί τῆς νοερᾶς ἡμῶν καί θείας ψυχῆς. Αἱ δέ γινόμεναι ἡμῖν περί τό σῶμα ἀνωμαλίαι, εἰ καί δοκοῦσιν εἶναι εὐδιάγνωστοι καί ῥᾳδίως ἡμῖν ἐπιγινωσκόμεναι, ἀλλ᾿ οὐχ οὕτως ἔχει. Πολλή γάρ ἐν τούτῳ μάλιστά ἐστιν ἡ ἐκ φύσεως ὡς ἐπί τό πλεῖστον μεταβολή. Ἡ μέν γάρ ψυχή ἄτρεπτος τῇ φύσει καί τῇ οὐσίᾳ ἐστίν, ὡσαύτως δέ καί ὁ νοῦς ταύτῃ συνάμα παρά τοῦ Κτίστου γεγένηται, μόνῃ δηλαδή τῇ προαιρέσει ἀγόμενα καί τῷ ἰδίῳ θελήματι ἀρετῆς ἤ κακίας ἐπιλαμβανόμενα, τουτέστι φωτός ἤ σκότους συγκοινωνοί αἰωνίως καί κληρονόμοι καθίστανται, ἡ ψυχή, φημί, καί ὁ νοῦς ἑνί τούτων προαιρέσει, ὡς εἴρηται, καί θελήματι ἑκουσίως κολλώμενα, εἴτε τῷ ἀγαθῷ τά ἀγαθά γίνονται, εἴτε τῷ πονηρῷ καί πονηρά χρηματίζουσι. Τό δέ γε σῶμα καί τῇ φύσει τρεπτόν, ὅτι καί σύνθετον, καί τῇ οὐσίᾳ ῥευστόν, ὅτι ἐξ ὕλης φθαρτῆς ἔκτισται καί ῥευστῆς, τήν σύγκρασιν ἔχον ἤτοι τήν σύστασιν ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων πρός ἑαυτά. Ἐκ θερμοῦ γάρ καί ψυχροῦ, ὡς φασίν οἱ περί ταῦτα σοφοί καί ἡ ἀλήθεια ἔχει, ἐκ ξηροῦ τε καί ὑγροῦ ἡ οὐσία τούτου ἐστί. Πλήν αὐτό καθ᾿ ἑαυτό ἐστέρηται καί προαιρέσεως καί θελήσεως, εἰ χρή δέ εἰπεῖν καί κινήσεως, εἰ μή τι πάντως τήν τούτου ῥεῦσιν καί τό χωροῦν εἰς φθοράν κίνησίν τις εἴπῃ τῆς αὐτοῦ ὑποστάσεως φυσικήν, ἥτις ἐστίν ἄλογος· εἰ δέ ἄλογος αὕτη, δῆλον ὅτι καί ἀναμάρτητος καί παρά Θεοῦ ἀκατάκριτος. Καί εἰκότως· ὅς γάρ τῇ φύσει παρέπεται, τοῦτο καί καταδίκης ἐκτός. Πύρωσιν δέ καί ἐπιθυμίαν γάμου, συνουσίας μίξιν, ἡδονήν, γαστριμαργίαν, λαιμαργίαν, πολυυπνίαν, ἀργίαν, στολισμόν ἱματίων καί τἆλλα πάντα ἅπερ, ὡς οἱ πολλοί νομίζουσι, τό σῶμα ἐπιζητεῖ, οὐ τό σῶμα, ὡς οὐδέ ὅτε νεκρόν, ἀλλ᾿ ἡ ψυχή διά τούτου ταῦτα ἐπιζητεῖ ἡδυνομένην, ἅπαξ τῷ πηλῷ (322) συγκραθεῖσα καί οἵα δή σῦς ἐν τῷ βορβόρῳ ταύτης ἐγκυλινδεῖσθαι θέλουσα τῶν ἡδονῶν πως, τῆς συγκραθείσης αὐτῇ γλιχομένη σαρκός. Μηδείς οὖν πρός ταῦτα ὑπό τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος συνωθεῖσθαι καί καταναγκάζεσθαι ὑπολάβοι· οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο. Ἀλλά πῶς; ἄκουε συνετῶς.

"Ἔπλασεν ὁ Θεός τόν ἄνθρωπον, χοῦν λαβών ἀπό τῆς γῆς". Ἰδού ἐγώ ἔδειξά σοι τό σῶμα, δεῖξον οὖν μοι καί σύ ποῖα τά πάθη τά ἐν αὐτῷ· ἀλλ᾿ οὐδέν οὐκ ἔχεις ὅλως εἰπεῖν. Εἶτα τί; "Καί ἐνεφύσησεν εἰς τό πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ Κύριος ὁ Θεός, καί ἐγένετο ἄνθρωπος εἰς ψυχήν ζῶσαν" καί ἀνέστη ἀπό τῆς γῆς καί περιεπάτει, τοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ πνεύματος κινοῦντος δηλονότι τό σῶμα δεσποτικῶς τε καί ἐξουσιαστικῶς. Πύρωσις δέ ἤ κίνησις ἤ γαστρός ἄλογος μανία καί ὄρεξις οὐδαμοῦ ἔτι ἦν, ἀλλά ἦν αὐτῷ ζωή ἀστασίαστος καί ἄλυπος διαγωγή. Ἴδωμεν οὖν μήποτε, διά τό μή εἶναι θῆλυ ἤ διά τό μή εἶναι τά πρός ἐπιθυμίαν κινοῦντα βρώματα, τούτου γε ἕνεκα ὁ ἄνθρωπος οὔτε πρός συνουσίας ἐπιθυμίαν, οὔτε πρός γαστριμαργίαν κεκίνητο· τί οὖν φησίν; "Ἐξανέτειλε ὁ Θεός πᾶν δένδρον ὡραῖον καί ἦν ὅ τε Ἀδάμ καί ἡ Εὔα ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ γυμνοί καί οὐκ ᾐσχύνοντο". Ὁρᾷς ὅτι οὔτε τό θήλειαν εἶναι τήν Εὔαν οὔτε τό γυμνούς ἀμφοτέρους τυγχάνειν πρός σωφροσύνην παρέβλαψέ τινα ἐξ αὐτῶν; Ἀλλά καί γυμνοί ἦσαν καί οὔτε ἀλλήλους ἐγίνωσκον, οὔτε ᾐσχύνοντο, οὔτε μήν ὑπό τῆς τοῦ σώματος φύσεως πρός μίξιν ἐνήγοντο, ἀλλά μετά τήν ἁμαρτίαν καί τήν παράβασιν καί μετά τό ἔξω γενέσθαι τοῦ παραδείσου καί τοῦ Θεοῦ γυμνωθῆναι καί τῆς αὐτοῦ θείας δόξης ἀποπεσεῖν, (323) τότε, ὡς γέγραπται, "ἔγνω Ἀδάμ τήν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ καί συλλαβοῦσα ἔτεκε".

Τοιγαροῦν, ἀγαπητέ, ἐάν τόν Θεόν ἀγαπήσῃς γνησίως καί σύ, καί ἐμμείνῃς ἐν τῇ ἀγάπῃ αὐτοῦ, οὐχ ὑπό τινος πάθους κυριευθήσῃ ποτέ, οὐδέ ὑπό τῆς ἀνάγκης