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it does not accept fornication, it does not accept adultery, it does not accept denial of God, it does not accept those who reject the lordship of the dispensation of God and of his apostles, but it accepts one in a great enterprise, another in nautical experience, another as a pilot and expert, another at the prow, another at the stern, having the most expert knowledge of oversight, another who possesses a certain measure of substance and property, and another only so far as to cross over and not be drowned in the sea. And it is not at all that it does not provide salvation to the one who has not acquired so much, but it knows how to save all, but each according to his own enterprise. And from where are those from Caesar's household who send greetings in the apostle? From where then is the apostle's saying: 'if he thinks he is acting improperly toward his own virgin, and so he ought to do, let him marry; he does not sin.' But it is not possible to fulfill the 'he does not sin' apart from the bath. For if 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 2.385 being justified freely by grace,' it is clear that it is through the bath of regeneration. For the bath has adorned the soul and the body, washing away every sin through repentance. Therefore the gift of baptism is indeed spread upon the one who is a virgin, and it hastens to be sealed upon the one who is not a virgin, on account of sin. 5. But let no one, being watered down again, suppose, if we say that the apostle ordained concerning a virgin that she should marry, that the apostle ordained these things wishing to drag down from her own course the one who has once dedicated her virginity to God. For the argument is not about these, but about virgins past their prime, who remained in their prime not for the sake of virginity, but because they were at a loss for men to marry. For the apostles, coming from the Jews and having lived according to the law, made the beginning of the proclamation, still being held by the ordinances in the law, not according to any justification of the flesh, but according to the careful security and precision of the law. For the law wonderfully proclaimed that the Israelites should not give their daughters to foreigners, lest they lead them astray to idols. Each of the believers at that time was therefore commanded to give his virgin not to Jews, but to Christians of the same faith and mind. But since the proclamation was new, there was not yet a multitude of Christians and of Christian teaching in place after place. Therefore, whoever at that time had virgin daughters, not being well-supplied with Christians to give them to, kept their virgins for a long time, and they, being past their prime, fell into fornication through natural necessity. The apostle, therefore, seeing the penalty that resulted from this precision, permitted it, saying, 'but if anyone wishes to give his virgin in marriage,' and he did not say 'his own virginity,' for he was not speaking about his own body, but about the father who was keeping a virgin; but if he also says his own virgin is his own body, nothing will prevent it. He says, therefore, 'he who stands firm in his own mind and ought to do this, let him marry,' he says, 'he does not sin.' ga2.386 let him marry, to whomever he may have the means, he does not sin.' And for this reason he says: 'Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a release. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.' The one who says, 'I wish that all were as I myself am,' also said, 'if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry.' 6. Again, exhorting the unmarried, he said, 'I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they remain as I am.' How then did he say again, 'Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek a release'? Or how will he not be found legislating against his own Lord who says, 'Whoever does not leave father and mother and brothers and wife and children and daughters, is not my disciple'? How then does the one who says that one must leave a respectable wife and father, himself say again, 'He who honors father and mother; for this is the first commandment with a promise' and 'what God has joined together, let not man

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οὐ δέχεται πορνείαν, οὐ δέχεται μοιχείαν, οὐ δέχεται ἐπαρνησιθεΐαν, οὐ δέχεται τοὺς ἀθετοῦντας τὴν δεσποτείαν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ διατάξεως καὶ τῶν αὐτοῦ ἀποστόλων, δέχεται δὲ τὸν μὲν ἐν μεγάλῃ πραγματείᾳ, τὸν δὲ ἐν ἐμπειρίᾳ ναυτικῶν, τὸν δὲ κυβερνήτην καὶ * ἐπιστήμονα, τὸν δὲ ἐν πρῳρικῇ, τὸν δὲ ἐν πρυμνικῇ, ἔχοντα τὸ ἐμπειρότατον τῆς ἐπισκοπῆς, τὸν δὲ καὶ ἐν μέτρῳ τινὶ ὑποστάσεως καὶ ἐνθήκης ὄντα, τὸν δὲ καὶ ἕως τοῦ διαπερᾶσαι μόνον καὶ μὴ ἐν θαλάσσῃ καταποντωθῆναι. καὶ οὐ πάντως ὅτι τῷ μὴ τοσαῦτα κεκτημένῳ τὴν σωτηρίαν οὐ παρέχει, ἀλλὰ οἶδε μὲν πάντας σῴζειν, ἕκαστον δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν πραγματείαν. καὶ πόθεν οἱ ἐξ οἰκίας τοῦ Καίσαρος ἀσπάζονται παρὰ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ; πόθεν δὲ τῷ ἀποστόλῳ τὸ εἰρημένον τό «ἐὰν νομίζῃ ἀσχημονεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν ἰδίαν παρθένον καὶ οὕτως ὀφείλει ποιῆσαι, γαμείτω· οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει». οὐκ ἐκτὸς δὲ λουτροῦ δύναται πληροῦν τὸ οὐχ ἁμαρτάνειν. εἰ γὰρ «πάντες ἥμαρτον καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ, 2.385 δικαιούμενοι δωρεὰν τῇ χάριτι», δῆλον ὅτι διὰ λουτροῦ παλιγγενεσίας. τὸ γὰρ λουτρὸν ἐκόσμησε τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα, ἀπολοῦσαν πᾶν ἁμάρτημα διὰ μετανοίας. ἄρα γε καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν οὖσαν παρθένον τὸ χάρισμα ἐφήπλωται τοῦ βαπτίσματος καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν οὐκ οὖσαν παρθένον σφραγίζεσθαι ἐπείγεται διὰ τὸ ἁμαρτές. 5. Ἀλλὰ μή τινες πάλιν ὑδαρευόμενοι νομίσωσιν, ἐὰν εἴπωμεν περὶ παρθένου διατάξασθαι τὸν ἀπόστολον τὸ γῆμαι, μὴ τὴν ἅπαξ ὁρίσασαν παρθενίαν θεῷ κατασπάσαι τοῦ ἰδίου δρόμου βουλόμενος ὁ ἀπόστολος ταῦτα διετάξατο. οὐ γὰρ περὶ τούτων ὁ λόγος, ἀλλὰ περὶ παρθένων ὑπεράκμων τῶν οὐ διὰ παρθενίαν ἐν τῇ ἀκμῇ παραμεινασῶν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ ἠπορηκέναι ἀνδρῶν πρὸς γάμον. ἐξ Ἰουδαίων γὰρ ὁρμώμενοι οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ κατὰ τὸν νόμον. πολιτευσάμενοι τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ κηρύγματος ἐποιήσαντο, θεσμοῖς ἔτι κατεχόμενοι τοῖς ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, οὐ κατά τινα σαρκὸς δικαίωσιν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν ἐμμελῆ τοῦ νόμου ἀσφάλειαν καὶ ἀκριβολογίαν. θαυμαστῶς γὰρ ἐκήρυττεν ὁ νόμος μὴ δοῦναι τὰς θυγατέρας τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας τοῖς ἀλλοφύλοις, ἵνα μὴ ἀποπλανῶσιν αὐτὰς ἐπὶ τὰ εἴδωλα. ἕκαστος τοίνυν τῶν πιστευσάντων τότε προσετάσσετο οὐκέτι Ἰουδαίοις ἐκδίδοσθαι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον, ἀλλὰ Χριστιανοῖς ὁμοδόξοις καὶ ὁμογνώμοσι. νέου δὲ ὄντος τοῦ κηρύγματος οὔπω πλῆθος κατὰ τόπον καὶ τόπον Χριστιανῶν ὑπῆρχε καὶ Χριστιανικῆς διδασκαλίας. οἵτινες οὖν τότε ἔσχον θυγατέρας παρθένους, μὴ εὐποροῦντες ἐκδίδοσθαι Χριστιανοῖς, ἐφύλαττον τὰς ἑαυτῶν παρθένους ἄχρι πολλοῦ τοῦ χρόνου, ἐκεῖναι δὲ ὑπερακμάζουσαι περιέπιπτον πορνείᾳ διὰ τὴν κατὰ φύσιν ἀνάγκην. ὁ γοῦν ἀπόστολος ὁρῶν τὸ ἐπιζήμιον τὸ διὰ τῆς ἀκριβολογίας συμβαῖνον ἐπέτρεψε λέγων «εἰ δέ τις βούλεται ἐκδοῦναι τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον», καὶ οὐκ εἶπε «τὴν ἰδίαν παρθενίαν» οὐ γὰρ περὶ τοῦ ἰδίου σώματος ἔλεγεν, ἀλλὰ περὶ τοῦ πατρὸς φυλάσσοντος παρθένον· εἰ δὲ καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ παρθένον τὸ ἴδιον σῶμα λέγει, οὐδὲν κωλύσει. φησὶν οὖν «ὃς ἕστηκεν ἑδραῖος ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ νῷ καὶ τοῦτο ὀφείλει ποιῆσαι, γαμείτω, φησίν, οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει. γα2.386 μείτω, ᾧ δ' ἂν εὐποροίη, οὐχ ἁμαρτάνει». καὶ διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· «δέδεσαι γυναικί, μὴ ζήτει λύσιν· λέλυσαι ἀπὸ γυναικός, μὴ ζήτει γυναῖκα». ὁ λέγων «θέλω πάντας εἶναι ὡς ἐμαυτόν» ἔλεγεν καί «εἰ οὐκ ἐγκρατεύονται, γαμείτωσαν». 6. Πάλιν δὲ προτρεπόμενος τοὺς ἀγάμους ἔλεγε «λέγω δὲ τοῖς ἀγάμοις καὶ ταῖς χήραις, καλὸν αὐτοῖς ἐὰν μείνωσιν ὡς κἀγώ». πῶς οὖν πάλιν ἔλεγε «δέδεσαι γυναικί, μὴ ζήτει λύσιν»; ἢ πῶς οὐκ ἀντινομοθετῶν εὑρεθήσεται τῷ ἰδίῳ κυρίῳ τῷ λέγοντι «ὃς μὴ καταλίπῃ πατέρα καὶ μητέρα καὶ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ γυναῖκα καὶ τέκνα καὶ θυγατέρας, οὐκ ἔστι μου μαθητής»; πῶς δὲ ὁ λέγων ὅτι δεῖ καταλιπεῖν γυναῖκα σεμνὴν καὶ πατέρα αὐτὸς πάλιν λέγει «ὁ τιμῶν πατέρα καὶ μητέρα· αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις πρώτη ἐντολὴ ὑπάρχουσα» καί «ὃ ὁ θεὸς συνέζευξεν, ἄνθρωπος μὴ