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to marry. For now they understood what was said more than before. For this reason they were silent then, but now, since there has been objection and answer, and question and inquiry, and the law has appeared clearer, they ask Him. And they do not dare to contradict Him openly; but what seems from this to be heavy and burdensome they bring forward, 58.599 saying: If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is not good to marry. For it seemed very grievous to have a wife full of all evil, and to put up with a wild beast shut up within all the time. 3. And that you may learn that this greatly disturbed them, Mark, declaring it, said that they spoke to Him privately. What then is, If such is the case of the man with his wife? That is, if for this reason he was joined, that they might be one; or this, If the man will be held responsible for these things, and transgresses in every case by putting her away, it is easier to fight against the desire of nature and against oneself, than against an evil wife. What then does Christ say? He did not say, Yes, it is easier, and do this; lest they should think that the matter is a law; but He added: Not all men can receive this, but they to whom it is given; elevating the matter, and showing that it is great, and by this means drawing them on and exhorting them. But see here a contradiction. For He says this is a great thing; but they, that it is easier. For both needed to happen, both for it to be acknowledged by Him as great, that He might make them more eager, and from what was said by them for it to be shown to be easier, that in this way also they might rather choose virginity and continence. For since to speak of virginity seemed to be burdensome, from the necessity of this law He cast them into that desire. Then, showing that it is possible, He says: There are eunuchs who were born so from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven; by these words secretly leading them to the choice of the matter, and establishing the possibility of this virtue, and all but saying, Consider, if you were such by nature, or if you had endured this same thing from those who inflict such outrages, what would you have done, being deprived of the enjoyment, but having no reward? Therefore, give thanks to God now, that with reward and crowns you endure this, which they endure without crowns; or rather not even this, but a thing much easier, being corrected by hope, and by the consciousness of the right action, and not even having desire so surging. For not so much the cutting off of a member, as the bridle of reason, knows how to calm such waves, and to make a calm; or rather, reason alone. For this reason, then, He brought them forward, that He might anoint these; for if He were not establishing this, what does His saying about the other eunuchs mean? But when He says, They have made themselves eunuchs, He does not speak of the cutting off of members; far from it; but of the destruction of evil thoughts. Since he who cuts off the member is both liable to a curse, as Paul says: I would they were even cut off which trouble you. And very rightly. For such a one dares the deeds of murderers, and gives occasion to those who slander God's creation, and opens the mouths of the Manichaeans, and transgresses in the same way as those who are mutilated among the Greeks. For the cutting off of members has been from the beginning a work of demonic energy and satanic plotting; that they might slander the 58.600 work of God; that they might maim this living creature; that they might not by choice, but by the nature of their members, reason about everything, and so the many of them might sin without fear, as being irresponsible; and might injure this living creature in a twofold way, both by mutilating the members, and by hindering the eagerness of the will for good things. But these things the devil legislated, introducing another evil doctrine in addition to what has been said, and by this paving the way for the doctrine concerning fate and necessity, and everywhere corrupting the freedom given to us by God, and persuading

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γαμῆσαι. Καὶ γὰρ νῦν ἐνόησαν μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον τὸ λεχθέν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τότε μὲν ἐσίγησαν, νῦν δὲ, ἐπειδὴ ἀντίῤῥησις καὶ ἀπόκρισις γέγονε, καὶ ἐρώτησις καὶ πεῦσις, καὶ σαφέστερος ὁ νόμος ἐφάνη, ἐρωτῶσιν αὐτόν. Καὶ φανερῶς μὲν ἀντειπεῖν οὐ τολμῶσι· τὸ δὲ ἐξ αὐτοῦ βαρὺ δοκοῦν εἶναι καὶ φορτικὸν εἰς μέσον προάγουσι, 58.599 λέγοντες· Εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς, οὐ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι. Καὶ γὰρ σφόδρα ἐπαχθὲς ἐδόκει εἶναι τὸ γυναῖκα πάσης κακίας γέμουσαν ἔχειν, καὶ ἀνέχεσθαι ἀνημέρου θηρίου διαπαντὸς ἔνδον συγκεκλεισμένου. γʹ. Καὶ ἵνα μάθῃς, ὅτι σφόδρα τοῦτο αὐτοὺς ἐθορύβει, ὁ Μάρκος αὐτὸ δηλῶν ἔλεγεν, ὅτι κατ' ἰδίαν εἶπον αὐτῷ. Τί δέ ἐστιν, Εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός; Τουτέστιν, εἰ διὰ τοῦτο συνήφθη, ἵνα ἓν ὦσιν· ἢ ἐκεῖνο, Εἰ αἰτίαν λήψεται ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ ἀνὴρ, καὶ πανταχοῦ παρανομεῖ ἐκβάλλων, κουφότερον πρὸς ἐπιθυμίαν μάχεσθαι φύσεως καὶ πρὸς ἑαυτὸν, ἢ πρὸς γυναῖκα πονηράν. Τί οὖν ὁ Χριστός; Οὐκ εἶπεν, ὅτι Ναὶ, κουφότερον, καὶ ποίει τοῦτο· ἵνα μὴ νομίσωσιν ὅτι νόμος τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστιν· ἀλλ' ἐπήγαγεν· Οὐ πάντες χωροῦσιν, ἀλλ' οἷς δέδοται· ἐπαίρων τὸ πρᾶγμα, καὶ δεικνὺς μέγα ὂν, καὶ ταύτῃ ἐφελκόμενος καὶ προτρέπων. Ἀλλ' ὅρα ἐνταῦθα ἐναντιολογίαν. Αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ μέγα φησὶ τοῦτο· ἐκεῖνοι δὲ κουφότερον. Καὶ γὰρ ἀμφότερα ἔδει γενέσθαι, καὶ παρ' αὐτοῦ μέγα ὁμολογηθῆναι, ἵνα προθυμοτέρους ἐργάσηται, καὶ ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων παρ' αὐτοῖς κουφότερον δειχθῆναι, ἵνα καὶ ταύτῃ μᾶλλον τὴν παρθενίαν ἕλωνται καὶ τὴν ἐγκράτειαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τὸ περὶ παρθενίας εἰπεῖν ἐπαχθὲς εἶναι ἐδόκει, ἐκ τῆς ἀνάγκης τοῦ νόμου τούτου εἰς τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοὺς ἐκείνην ἐνέβαλεν. Εἶτα τὸ δυνατὸν δεικνύς φησιν· Εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι, οἵτινες ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ἐγεννήθησαν οὕτως· καί εἰσιν εὐνοῦχοι, οἵτινες εὐνουχίσθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων· καί εἰσιν εὐνοῦχοι, οἵτινες εὐνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν· διὰ τούτων λανθανόντως ἐνάγων αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν τοῦ πράγματος αἵρεσιν, καὶ τὸ δυνατὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ταύτης κατασκευάζων, καὶ μόνον οὐχὶ λέγων, ὅτι Ἐννόησον, εἰ ἐκ φύσεως τοιοῦτος ἦς, ἢ παρὰ τῶν τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐπηρεαζόντων τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὑπέμεινας, τί ἂν ἐποίησας, τῆς ἀπολαύσεως μὲν ἐστερημένος, μισθὸν δὲ οὐκ ἔχων; Οὐκοῦν εὐχαρίστει τῷ Θεῷ νῦν, ὅτι μετὰ μισθοῦ καὶ στεφάνων τοῦτο ὑπομένεις, ὃ χωρὶς στεφάνων ἐκεῖνοι· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλῷ κουφότερον, τῇ τε ἐλπίδι διορθούμενος, καὶ τῷ συνειδότι τοῦ κατορθώματος, καὶ μηδὲ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν οὕτω κυμαίνουσαν ἔχων. Οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἐκτομὴ μέλους, ὡς λογισμοῦ χαλινὸς, τὰ τοιαῦτα οἶδε καταστέλλειν κύματα, καὶ γαλήνην ποιεῖν· μᾶλλον δὲ λογισμὸς μόνος. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐκείνους παρήγαγεν, ἵνα τούτους ἀλείψῃ ἐπεὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο κατεσκεύαζε, τί βούλεται ὁ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων εὐνούχων λόγος αὐτῷ; Ὅταν δὲ λέγῃ, ὅτι Εὐνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς, οὐ τῶν μελῶν λέγει τὴν ἐκτομήν· ἄπαγε· ἀλλὰ τῶν πονηρῶν λογισμῶν τὴν ἀναίρεσιν. Ὡς ὅ γε τὸ μέλος ἐκτεμὼν, καὶ ἀρᾷ ἐστιν ὑπεύθυνος, καθὼς ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Ὄφελον καὶ ἀποκόψονται οἱ ἀναστατοῦντες ὑμᾶς. Καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. Καὶ γὰρ τὰ τῶν ἀνδροφόνων ὁ τοιοῦτος τολμᾷ, καὶ τοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ διαβάλλουσι τὴν δημιουργίαν δίδωσιν ἀφορμὴν, καὶ τῶν Μανιχαίων ἀνοίγει τὰ στόματα, καὶ τοῖς παρ' Ἕλλησιν ἀκρωτηριαζομένοις τὰ αὐτὰ παρανομεῖ. Τὸ γὰρ ἀποκόπτειν τὰ μέλη, δαιμονικῆς ἐνεργείας καὶ σατανικῆς ἐπιβουλῆς ἐξ ἀρχῆς γέγονεν ἔργον· ἵνα τοῦ 58.600 Θεοῦ τὸ ἔργον διαβάλλωσιν· ἵνα τὸ ζῶον τοῦτο λυμήνωνται· ἵνα μὴ τῇ προαιρέσει, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῶν μελῶν φύσει τὸ πᾶν λογισάμενοι, οὕτως ἀδεῶς ἁμαρτάνωσιν αὐτῶν οἱ πολλοὶ, ἅτε ἀνεύθυνοι ὄντες· καὶ διπλῇ παραβλάψωσι τὸ ζῶον τοῦτο, καὶ τῷ τὰ μέλη πηροῦν, καὶ τῷ τῆς προαιρέσεως τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀγαθῶν προθυμίαν κωλύειν. Ταῦτα δὲ ὁ διάβολος ἐνομοθέτησε, πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις καὶ ἕτερον πονηρὸν δόγμα εἰσάγων, καὶ τῷ περὶ εἱμαρμένης καὶ ἀνάγκης καὶ ἐντεῦθεν προοδοποιῶν λόγῳ, καὶ πανταχοῦ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δοθεῖσαν ἡμῖν ἐλευθερίαν λυμαινόμενος, καὶ πείθων